Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Finding joy where we can, and muddling through where we can’t.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

They spent the last eight months firing professionals and replacing them with ideologues.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Everybody saw this coming.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

You are here: Home / Archives for 2024

Archives for 2024

Just a Little More Capital, Bro, Just a Few More Billion

by | 85 Comments

This post is in: , ,

I’m gonna make it profitable for REAL this time, bro, I swear! I realise that there are more entertaining clown shows happening at the moment, but so far during the Betwixtmas period, I’ve mostly been paying attention to the pressure building inside the GenAI bubble. Some picky bits for you all to graze on:

Yesterday, according to CNBC, OpenAI published a statement on its website with more detail about its controversial intention to transition from a non-profit organisation to a for-profit public benefit corporation (PBC) in 2025. The post admits that this transition will require “more capital than we’d imagined.”

Mmhm. (OpenAI is currently valued at $157 billion, and raised $6.6 billion in October.)

From the CNBC report:

“OpenAI expects about $5 billion in losses on $3.7 billion in revenue this year, CNBC confirmed in September. Those numbers are increasing rapidly.

By transforming into a Delaware PBC ‘with ordinary shares of stock,’ OpenAI says it can pursue commercial operations, while separately hiring a staff for its nonprofit arm and allowing that wing to take on charitable activities in health care, education and science.

The nonprofit will have a ‘significant interest’ in the PBC ‘at a fair valuation determined by independent financial advisors,’ OpenAI wrote.”

 

Sure this seems unsustainable but keep in mind the massive losses today are positioning them for much bigger losses tomorrow.

[image or embed]

— A.R. Moxon, Bluesky Elderberry (@juliusgoat.bsky.social) December 28, 2024 at 11:47 AM

The staggering gap between incomings and outgoings isn’t the only thing at issue, obviously. OpenAI has bled top talent in recent months, with one former exec quoted in the CNBC article above saying that “safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products.” OpenAI is also embroiled in on-again, off-again lawsuits brought against it by Elon Musk, who wants to stop the company’s transition to a for-profit model. It’s also being sued by a consortium of U.S. news publishers, Canadian news publishers, the Intercept, a major Indian news agency, and the comedian Sarah Silverman, among many others. (You can see a running list here.)

But wait! There’s more.

show full post on front page

Just a Little More Capital, Bro, Just a Few More BillionPost + Comments (85)

Pre-Dawn Open Thread

by | 123 Comments

This post is in: , , , ,

Valued commenter matt posted this headline in the overnight thread:

Musk says ‘hateful unrepentant racists’ must be removed from Republican Party as visa feud deepens

Musk does realize Republicans need to maintain a majority until they entrench the rightwing kleptocracy he envisions, right? Maybe not!

Here’s another headline on the same brouhaha from CNN:

Musk calls some Trump supporters ‘contemptible fools,’ escalating tension with MAGA hardliners

Recumbent positions, dogs, fleas, etc.

In other news concerning two of the most loathsome oligarchs who’ve ever lived, Trump accidentally publicly posted a rather plaintive direct message to Musk on his (Trump’s) knock-off Twitter clone:

“Where are you? When are you coming to the ‘Center of the Universe,’ Mar-a-Lago. Bill Gates asked to come, tonight. We miss you and x! New Year’s Eve is going to be AMAZING!!! DJT.”

CNN says the “x” Trump (unconvincingly) claims he misses is the ever-present spawn Musk has been using as a human shield since Luigi Mangione shot the UHC CEO (prompting Musk to inform followers that killing executives isn’t “based.”)

It was especially pathetic that Trump threw in the bit about Bill Gates to impress Musk and lure him back to Disgraceland.

The next four years are going to be such a massive shitshow. We all knew that. But I’m a little surprised the wheels are starting to come off the coalition before the inauguration.

Open thread!

Pre-Dawn Open ThreadPost + Comments (123)

Friday Night Open Thread

by | 54 Comments

This post is in: 

The internet has been out for hours, and I just hooked up the phone to the laptop to use as a hotspot to tell you I couldn’t post. Now the internet is on, and I have no excuse and because I didn’t think about what I wanted to post before starting this is going to be random as all get out. Also, since I knew I was not going to have to post I took a half an edible.

Joelle is doing light years better, walking all over the place and doing her exercises and she even did a load of laundry and carried the basket herself while I was napping- I’ve been on laundry detail the past two weeks and still think I should be for a while longer, but if she wants to do a load and thinks it is safe, well, good. Her knee surgeon will not complain. Another sign of improvement is she showered again today, and putting on her compression socks was the easiest it has been.

I forget if I said it here, but I used to think the real test of a relationship was going to Ikea and then going home and putting together a piece of their furniture. I now think the ultimate test is putting compression socks on your partner after a knee replacement.

Speaking of recovering patients, dad had a check-in at the hospital and they say he is doing very well, they didn’t need to change any medicines, he has another cardiologist appointment coming up, and while he was there one of the doctors remarked again that he does not know how he is alive. I was talking about this with one of my buddies from the world of warcraft guild (I think I have mentioned how we have all been gaming together and in touch since 2004 and reunited for the release of classic servers in 2019- if not, I have now) who is a pharmacist, and he mentioned some study that says patients have better outcomes with younger medical personnel. Have not looked the study up because my internet was out and I could not activate the vpn to get into the library servers, so I will have to verify that later.

***

Here’s a feel good story:

A federal judge is signaling that Rudy Giuliani’s contempt hearing next Friday might not end so well for the former New York City mayor and onetime personal lawyer for President-elect Donald Trump as two Georgia election poll workers try to collect a $148 million defamation award they won against him.

Judge Lewis J. Liman in Manhattan issued an order Friday in which he was dismissive of what he described as attempts by Giuliani and his lawyer to dodge providing information to the election workers’ lawyers.

And he said the litigants should be ready at the contempt hearing to explain why he should not grant a request by lawyers for the two election workers that he make adverse inferences from evidence in the case that would put Giuliani’s Palm Beach, Florida, condominium in danger of being surrendered to satisfy the defamation award.

All together now, “AWWWWWW.”

***

Joelle and i finished Season 5 of Yellowstone which really went off the rails, but at least we have conclusion, Tyler Sheridan is making so much money off 1883, 1932, and Yellowstone that I would be shocked if there was not a spin-off with Beth or another season in between 1932 and Yellowstone. We’ll see.

Joelle said the most wonderful thing to me yesterday, and she came up behind me and whispered in my ear “I want to watch Game of Thrones next.” I immediately got thrilled thinking I was going to have to rewatch Downton Abbey or some period piece for the next two weeks with her (we only have one tv hooked up to the streaming services, so if we are watching something at night it is together) before our next pick. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pleasant and relaxing and fun with all the animals in there with us, but it’s also a relief to know her pick was something I am so excited to see.

I immediately warned her- “The show is great, but you need to understand that every character you like will be killed by in the most gruesome manner possible in the most surprising way imaginable, but it is ok because all the character yous hate get the same treatment.” Which, now that I think about it, is probably how the next four years will be under Donald Goffrey Baratheon. So I have been champing at the bit all day to start watching it to get her hooked, and got all the work and chores out of the way and then the internet went out. But it is up now, so off I go. Take care, people.

Friday Night Open ThreadPost + Comments (54)

War for Ukraine Day 1,038: Inching Closer to Awareness

by | 29 Comments

This post is in: , , , , , , ,

The Eagle-S, which is currently in Finnish custody and is alleged to have purposefully cut the undersea electricity cable connecting Finland and Estonia, was loaded to the gills with electronic and signals intelligence (ELINT and SIGINT) and surveillance equipment to collect on all vessels from NATO members.

“They were monitoring all Nato naval ships and aircraft,” Lloyd’s List was told. “They had all details on them. They were just matching their frequencies. “Russians, Turkish, Indian radio officers were operating it.” www.lloydslist.com/LL1151955/Ru…

[image or embed]

— Shashank Joshi (@shashj.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 12:16 PM

‘Eagle S also dropped “sensors-type devices” in the English Channel during a transit, they said.’ www.lloydslist.com/LL1151955/Ru…

[image or embed]

— Shashank Joshi (@shashj.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 12:17 PM

Lloyd’s List has the details:

RUSSIA-LINKED dark fleet* tanker Eagle S (IMO: 9329760), seized by Finland on December 25 for damaging an undersea cable, had transmitting and receiving devices installed that effectively allowed it to become a “spy ship” for Russia, Lloyd’s List has learnt.

The hi-tech equipment on board was abnormal for a merchant ship and consumed more power from the ship’s generator, leading to repeated blackouts, a source familiar with the vessel who provided commercial maritime services to it as recently as seven months ago.

As well as Eagle S, another related tanker from the same ownership cluster, UK-sanctioned Swiftsea Rider (IMO: 9318539), also had similar equipment installed, Lloyd’s List was told.

Cook Islands-flagged Eagle S and Honduras-flagged Swiftsea Rider are two of 26 elderly Russia-linked tankers with opaque ownership structures connected to three related shipmanagers, including two sanctioned by the UK government 12 months ago for “propping up Putin’s war machine”.

The sanctions-circumventing tankers were bought between 2022 and 2023 and placed under bareboat charter arrangements with Eiger Shipping, the shipping arm of Russia oil trader Litasco.

Eagle S was boarded by Finnish forces investigating sabotage of the Estlink 2 undersea cable that disrupted the supply of electricity to Estonia from Finland.

The tanker slowed and dragged its anchor around the cable around midday, December 25, Finland’s police said. Another three cables were also damaged.

The source, who declined to be identified to protect their safety, supplied at least 60 confidential documents about Eagle S to Lloyd’s List in June, including the vetting report that outlined many safety deficiencies discovered during an inspection undertaken while at anchor in Danish waters that month.

Much more at the link!

We are on the cusp of something with regards seabed warfare. For sure this latest incident has been responded to more quickly and robustly than the others. Maybe this will backfire for the ‘shadow fleet’

www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2…

[image or embed]

— H I Sutton (@covertshores.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 11:52 AM

It appears that we are inching closer to awareness that there is an actual world war underway.

Secretary-General Mark Rutte announces NATO “will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea” amid suspected Russian sabotage of undersea cables.

— Steve Herman 📡 (@newsguy.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 7:31 AM

Finland as usual showing a masterful & unusual combination of sangfroid and seriousness in response to a national security threat.

[image or embed]

— Shashank Joshi (@shashj.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 12:10 PM

I nominate Finland to manage escalation instead of Jake Sullivan

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 2:50 PM

You may not be interested in the world war Putin is waging, but Putin’s world war may be interested in you!

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

show full post on front page

War for Ukraine Day 1,038: Inching Closer to AwarenessPost + Comments (29)

Clown Fight at the Dipshit Corral

by | 531 Comments

This post is in: 

So, if you, like me, were wondering how the Republicans were going to handle the inherent contradiction of a nativist base that wants all filthy immigrants out and a billionaire wealth extraction class that requires loads of cheap immigrant labor to continue to reap profits for them, we are finally getting a taste of how that will play out:

TNR:

Right-wing influencer and Donald Trump gadfly Laura Loomer is attacking Elon Musk, seemingly over his desire for more immigrants to work and study in science and technology fields in the United States.

In several posts on X Thursday, Loomer railed against Musk and his influence on Trump. She attacked Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” project with Vivek Ramaswamy, calling it a “vanity project” on Wednesday before accusing it as a smokescreen for “the pet projects of tech bro billionaires” on Thursday. She also claimed that there would be a falling out between Musk and Trump soon.

In response, Musk accused Loomer of being a troll and said she should be ignored. Loomer continued her attacks unabated, calling the tech CEO a pawn of China, resorting to homophobic and racist insults, and accusing Musk of having “bought his way into MAGA.”

“Remember when you voted for Biden and propped up @GovRonDeSantis and you said Trump was too old? We all know you only donated your money so you could influence immigration policy and protect your buddy Xi JinPing,” Loomer wrote in one post, and in a follow-up, she called Musk “a total f****ing drag on the Trump transition.”

“He’s a stage 5 clinger who over stayed his welcome at Mar a Lago in an effort to become Trump’s side piece and be the point man for all of his accomplices in big Tech to slither in to Mar a Lago,” Loomer posted.

Since then, things have deteriorated rapidly until we are now fully in the midst of a major dumspter fire:

Another volley has been fired in the ongoing MAGA civil war that’s been playing out online between hardcore “America First” acolytes and Trump-backing Silicon Valley oligarchs over an immigrant worker visa program — and now Elon Musk is being accused of personally punishing his critics.

Laura Loomer and other far-right activists who have railed against the X (formerly Twitter) owner and his DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy for supporting H-1B visas and criticizing American work culture allege that Musk removed their X verification badges and ability to monetize their accounts in an act of retribution.

“[Musk] has removed my blue check mark on X because I dared to question his support for H1B visas, the replacement of American tech workers by Indian immigrants, and I questioned his relationship with China,” Loomer posted on Thursday night.

Loomer also claimed in a X Spaces chat on early Friday morning that the social media platform had temporarily locked her account for 12 hours, claiming it was due to her sharing private information in a tweet.

Apparently dozens of other maga diehards have had their blue check marks (that they pay for) removed and been demonetized by the platform, and this is only going to get better. I’m loving it.

Clown Fight at the Dipshit CorralPost + Comments (531)

Goodbye To All That (Open Thread)

by | 108 Comments

This post is in: 

Posted this on Bluesky the other day but wanted to share it here too: My sister and I agreed we would skip gift giving this year, but she picked up this ornament for me anyway to recognize that a monumentally shitty year is now drawing to a close:

Silhouette of dog in Santa hat pooping, with poop labeled 2024

It’s perfect!

Thanks to three medical appointments in a week, this year will be shitty to the last drop. But at least I’ll get some expensive treatment out of the way before my annual deductible rolls over.

***

I’m choosing to be optimistic about 2025, apart from the political situation. I’ve got one goal for the new year that I plan to fulfill within the next few weeks, which is to go swimming with manatees.

Manatees aren’t new to me; I grew up in the manatee capital of the world (YouTube), and my dad ran a dive shop/marina there from the mid-1970s until he sold the business a few years back. The stories I could tell!

Anyhoo, I don’t remember seeing my first manatee anymore than a railroad conductor’s kid would remember seeing their first train. They were a familiar part of the landscape growing up.

But for several years now, too caught up in my own bullshit, I’ve neglected my enormous, slow, farting, potato-looking friends, and it’s past time to pay them a visit. Will try to get pics.

Open thread!

By the way, if you ever get an opportunity to swim with manatees, keep in mind that they’re like dogs in the sense that they’re friendly and interactive, but if you chase them, they’ll move away. Stay still, and they’ll come to you. (Also, it’s illegal — and rude! — to chase them.)

Goodbye To All That (Open Thread)Post + Comments (108)