Google's goal to control prices
22 May 2026
Matt Stoller thinks Google's next goal is to control nearly all prices based on collecting personal information about nearly all purchases and personal preferences.
See https://www.consumerreports.org/money/questionable-business-practices/instacart-ai-pricing-experiment-inflating-grocery-bills-a1142182490/ and https://substack.com/redirect/d27787e6-e804-4231-8f23-2eaf0e1bc652?j=eyJ1IjoiMmRjd2YyIn0.m51z6BBZ0nK06POYEEH_mMhm8t1iRiokalBUx8IccKE
It is unfortunate that Stoller effectively boosts this scheme by describing it with the term "artificial intelligence".
Universities thinking about themselves as businesses
22 May 2026
Many US universities are thinking about themselves as businesses and judging their activities in terms of cost and profit.
The idea that an educated populace is important is being discarded.
Besides, why bother studying what people have written, or art they have made, when de-generative supposed intelligence can produce it faster?
Massachusetts trying to protect immigrants
22 May 2026
Describing what Massachusetts has done, and is considering doing, to protect immigrants from the federal deportation thugs and stop the latter from causing them gratuitous and avoidable problems.
(satire) Starving kids in basement
22 May 2026
(satire) *Stephen Miller Reminds Picky-Eater Son That There Starving Kids In Basement.*
Complete copies of books from LLMs
22 May 2026
Some well-known LLMs have been proved to be able to deliver up nearly complete copies of the text of some well-known books.
They may, as a result, be found to infringe the copyright on those books.
Precisely why and how this happens is a factual question, but this article does not tell us the answer. In particular, it does not prove that their developers intentionally and specifically stored large parts of any specific book's text verbatim. It could be that the writing style of that book is so distinctive that continuing repeatedly from any portion of the book always finds the text that comes next in the book.
A couple of years ago I heard that someone had made Copi(a)lot reproduce the whole text of the GNU GPL version 3 that way. GitHub surely did not intend for it to do that! And, of course, it omitted the crucial license notice which ought to say that the program is released under the GNU GPL, version 3 or later.
Where Deform party won local elections
22 May 2026
Where the Deform Party won election to local government, they will use local government power to spread persecution and fear.
Interest in human rights between China and US
22 May 2026
The rulers of China care only a little human rights, but the current rulers of the US have ceased to raise the issue because they care even less.
Campaign for the right to die
22 May 2026
The campaign for the right to die, and to assistance in dying, continues in the UK, though limited to those who are expected to die anyway within a short time.
US unprepared for new pandemics
22 May 2026
Budget cuts and direct cancellation of specific programs have left the US unprepared for new pandemics.
Both the saboteur in chief and the saboteur of health have pushed to create these new problems.
Publicly spread hatred of Muslims
22 May 2026
Some members of SCROTUS publicly spread hatred of Muslims.
The world's main religions — Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism — have all displayed in recent years the potential to persecute unbelievers. Right-wing fanatics try to stir up the hatred to the point of killing. However, in each of those religions, most believers do not want to kill and can live in peace with other groups. The crucial thing is to reject the right-wing killers.
US history of prosecuting whistleblowers
19 May 2026
The US history of prosecuting reporters and their sources (whistleblowers) runs through Nixon and Obama, and merges into the persecutor's current efforts to totally subjugate the news media.
Thugs visiting distant schools without warrants
19 May 2026
Two thugs from police departments miles away visited several Cincinnati schools and tried to conduct "wellness checks" of a list of students, with no warrants to justify this and having no jurisdiction there anyway. It turns out they were working on behalf of the deportation thugs, perhaps seeking to make a few unlucky children's life drastically worse. This follows the usual gross basic emotional dishonesty of the deportation thugs.
Errors by "AI" "scribes"
19 May 2026
"AI" "scribes" used by some doctors to generate medical records make significant errors in their output, fairly often.
Kash Patel snorkeling around USS Arizona National Monument
19 May 2026
Kash Patel faces a new criticism — for snorkeling in the vicinity of the USS Arizona National Monument.
Patel has done a series of cavalier, unjust, and repressive actions, for which he ought to be impeached and removed, and in some cases perhaps jailed. But snorkeling near a sunken battleship is not one of them. It is of no real significance — only a symbolic meaning which anyone might attribute or not.
I observe a tendency to reproach, excessively, alleged failures to "show respect" is a distraction from the real injustice that really matter. It plays into the hands of right-wing extremists, who just love "showing respect" for dead heroes as an excuse for persecuting or murdering the living heroes who campaign for freedom today.
Paths of repentance and rehabilitation for deportation thugs
19 May 2026
US deportation thugs may retain enough of an idea of common humanity and an idea of right and wrong to feel a moral conflict between that idea and the cruelty of their job. Various organizations are offering them paths to repentance and rehabilitation.
Excuses to deny asylum to true refugees
19 May 2026
European countries are seeking excuses to deny asylum to true refugees that have reason to fear being tortured, or wish to live where their close relatives live.
Threatening to kidnap Raúl Castro
19 May 2026
The persecutor seems to be threatening to kidnap Raúl Castro, the aged former president of Cuba.
In Cuba there are right-wing dissidents, that want to allow some people to get rich subjugating the rest, and there are left-wing dissidents, such as the late Oswaldo Payá, who want to preserve the educational and medical achievements of the Cuban revolution while establishing freedom of speech. The persecutor would surely despise Payá just as he despises the Americans funds for good education and medical treatment he is eliminating.
Wood burning emits lead pollution
17 May 2026
Among various kinds of dangerous pollution produced by burning wood in fireplaces, one shocking kind is lead.
Afflictive emotions story, social media
17 May 2026
What the incredibly expensive failed effort to save one stranded humpback whale says about people's irrational priorities.
Urgent: Payday loans law
17 May 2026
US citizens: call on your congresscritter and senators to oppose the Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act. It is a roundabout way of exempting payday loans from existing regulations that protect the public.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.
To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.
Please spread the word.
Urgent: Protect against datamining and manipulative fintech
15 May 2026
US citizens: call on Congress to Oppose H.R. 4801 and Protect Against datamining and manipulative fintech.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
I urge you to edit the letter's subject and text to remove the term "AI" and replace it with "snooping and manipulative fintech" or something else that rejects the marketing hype. For good measure, you could critique the term "AI" -- I did that too.
US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.
To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.
Please spread the word.
Urgent: No Kill Switches in Cars Act
15 May 2026
US citizens: Support H.R. 1137, the "No Kill Switches in Cars Act."
I think that if someone is convicted of driving under the influence, or something close to that, it is legitimate to attach a sensor-driven kill switch to stop per from driving while inebriated.
US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.
To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.
Please spread the word.
Urgent: End FISA law's spying on Americans
15 May 2026
US citizens: call on Congress to put an end to the FISA law's permission for warrantless spying on Americans.
The FISA court was supposed to prevent abuse of this power, but it has announced that the constraints on its operation made that impossible in practice.
US citizens: Join with this campaign to address this issue.
To phone your congresscritter about this, the main switchboard is +1-202-224-3121.
Please spread the word.
Lessons from destruction of Corbynism
15 May 2026
*The [English/Welsh] Greens need to learn the right lessons from the destruction of Corbynism.*
Corporate campaign against federal heat standard for workers
15 May 2026
*New Report Reveals Coordinated Corporate Campaign Against Life-Saving Federal Heat Standard for Workers.*
California's rule requiring businesses to protect their workers, with rest breaks and access to water and shade, is a big help, and extending it nationwide could avoid thousands of illnesses (some of them fatal) per year.
UK millionaires happy to pay more tax
15 May 2026
*Three-quarters of UK millionaires would be happy to pay more tax, research finds.*
Israelis-only road through the West Bank
15 May 2026
Israel is about to start building an Israelis-only road through the West Bank, designed as an excuse to exclude Palestinians from all the other roads in a central region of the West Bank — and force them all out.
Warning of domination of US government by rich
15 May 2026
Woodrow Wilson warned in his campaign in 1912 about the domination of the US government by a few rich people, and called for stripping them of their power.
At the same time, he pressured actively for racial segregation.
It is impossible to simplify Wilson to pure good or pure evil: we need to recognize both at once, in different areas of life, and judge each of them as it deserves.
JP Morgan on tax increases for foreign banks
15 May 2026
The boss of JP Morgan, a giant US bank, praises UK officials as "smart" when they reduce taxes for big foreign banks like his, and tries to threaten them with "investing less" if they might increase taxes for big foreign banks.
He is one of the arrogant rich men that Woodrow Wilson warned about. He is an enemy of Britain, and Britain should treat him as an enemy.
He is an enemy of America, too, for the same reason.
Shielding fossil fuel companies
15 May 2026
Republicans in Utah and Oklahoma want to shield fossil fuel companies from liability due to damage done by global heating.
Urgent: Shut down the hidden sweatshops of data workers
14 May 2026
US citizens: call on Take Action: Shut down the hidden sweatshops of data workers.
See the instructions for how to sign this letter campaign without running any nonfree JavaScript code--not trivial, but not hard.
I ask you follow me in expunging the acronym "AI" from your letter.
Sending asylum seekers to a country they've never been
14 May 2026
Australia's cunning cruelty of sending asylum seekers to (in effect) prison in a country where they have never been is now spreading world-wide.
Israel's violation of the "cease fire" in Gaza
13 May 2026
Israel agreed to a "cease fire" in Gaza, but violates it in several ways. In fact it is only a reduction in the frequency of atrocities.
Resisting construction of datacenters
13 May 2026
Resisting the construction of datacenters for pretend intelligence is not mere nimbyism. They are the only aspect of pretend intelligence that people have a chance to oppose.
*In the words of the antitrust expert Zephyr Teachout: "If you want democratic governance of AI [sic], block datacenters. Google's not coming to any democratic table, not listening to any rules, without people showing force."*
I see one other point where we can resist — by refusing to call it "intelligence".
Pushing toward abolishing FEMA
13 May 2026
The wrecker is pushing forward towards the goal of abolishing FEMA by rendering it useless.
Human languages in danger of dying out
13 May 2026
44% of human languages are now in danger of dying out.
(satire) Action by Americans treated as domestic terrorism
13 May 2026
(satire) *DHS Warns Any Action By Americans Will Be Treated As Domestic Terrorism.*
(satire) Taylor Swift additional wedding dates
13 May 2026
(satire) *Taylor Swift Adds Additional Wedding Dates In L.A., Miami, Boston.*
(satire) Mass grave of bully's advisors
13 May 2026
(satire) *Authorities Unearth Mass Grave Of [the bully's] Advisors.*
Critically low snowpack
13 May 2026
* Data from missions showing critically low snowpack on mountains across the west raises alarm among experts.*
This problem of global heating was predicted many years ago. We could have prevented some of the dryness if we had made a global effort.
Barring cops from involvement in extremist groups
13 May 2026
*Chicago Ordinance Would Bar Cops from Active Involvement in Extremist Groups.*
Every state should enact such a law, and so should the federal government, if we ever pry it lose from violent extremists in the federal government.
Ads for commercial gambling
13 May 2026
Arguing for a ban on ads for commercial gambling.
I can support this cause.
Demands for higher taxes on billionaires
13 May 2026
*Pity the poor billionaires – demands for higher taxes must feel hurtful.*
And biased! Don't forget the unfairness of increasing the tax rate only for the super-rich ;-!
Wheat crop failure in US
12 May 2026
Global heating has created a wheat crop failure in the US. *Temperature swings have left crops across the Plains in terrible conditions, with some farmers opting not to harvest.*
If we don't curb global heating, this will happen more and more often.
The nocebo effect is real
12 May 2026
The nocebo effect is real, just like the placebo effect.
According to one study, the nocebo effect seems to be responsible for around 3/4 of negative reactions to Covid-19 vaccine.
One LLM good at finding exploits in software
12 May 2026
Reportedly one LLM is very good at finding exploits in software. People will need to fix them.
Another future LLM may be very good at finding exploits in tax systems. People will need to fix them, too.
UK nationalizing train operating companies
12 May 2026
The UK is really nationalizing the train operating companies, reversing one disastrous ideological decision made by the Tories decades ago.
Iranian human rights activist memoir
12 May 2026
Narges Mohammadi, Iranian human rights activist, wrote a memoir which describes beatings, solitary confinement, and denial of medical treatment. She is dying in prison, and those cruel state actions are part of the cause.
I wonder why the US persecutor hates the Iranian persecutors so much, given that he seems to be just fine with Russia's persecutor. He surely does not care any more about Iranian's human rights than about Americans' human rights. Perhaps this reflects Netanyahu's influence on him; perhaps he hates Iran's rulers because they persistently organize Shi'ites to oppose Israel on behalf of Palestinians.
Pardoned January 6 rioter sentenced for burglary
12 May 2026
*Pardoned January 6 rioter sentenced to seven years for Virginia burglary.*
The bullshitter launched the mob at the Capitol after preparing them with violent hatred, and arranged to make armed support hard for the Capitol police to obtain. In 2025, he pardoned all those who had been convicted for participating in the attack. There is no reasonable doubt that he arranged the attack intentionally and considers it an act of support for him. Justice calls for him to be convicted of the attack and sentenced to prison.
Datacenter planning documents mislead on greenhouse gas emissions
12 May 2026
Google datacenter planning documents misleadingly minimized the projected greenhouse gas emissions by a factor of five.