Balloon Juice - Open Threads Archives

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Regrets, They May Have A Few, Right Now…

by Anne Laurie| December 28, 20249:23 am| 233 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, Grifters Gonna Grift, Open Threads, Republicans in Disarray!, Trumpery, Schadenfreude

(John Deering via GoComics.com)

The latest from @crampell.bsky.social:
Oops! Consumers finally realize that Trump could worsen inflation.
Fearing high prices, some are stocking up for what could be an expensive four years.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202…

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— David Darmofal (@daviddarmofal.bsky.social) December 26, 2024 at 8:04 PM

Catherine Rampell, at the Washington Post — “Oops! Consumers finally realize that Trump could worsen inflation” [gift link]

A day late and a dollar short, Americans are realizing that President-elect Donald Trump plans to short them a few dollars. That’s right: Since the election, U.S. consumers have become more likely to say they expect prices to rise next year.

Trump based his 2024 campaign on a seductive promise: He’ll bring prices down. Alas, it is virtually impossible to reduce prices; the overall level of prices almost never falls unless an economy is really sick (as it was during the Great Depression, the last time we saw widespread deflation). The best that economists generally hope for is for growth in prices to slow and for prices themselves to more or less plateau. This is already happening for some consumer products, such as groceries.

However, none of this is intuitive to non-economists. And Trump has taken advantage.

Only after winning last month did Trump fess up, belatedly acknowledging he can’t bring prices down. “I’d like to bring them down,” he told Time magazine. “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard.”

Got that? There was no plan, there is no plan, and there was never going to be any plan to reduce prices. The only thing surprising about this admission is that he said it out loud.

One thing Trump didn’t acknowledge, however, is how his economic agenda — tariffs, deportations, tax cuts and kneecapping the Federal Reserve — could worsen the problem that voters hired him to solve.

But Americans seem to be catching on anyway. Every month for decades, the University of Michigan has surveyed consumers nationwide about their views on the economy. Since the election, there has been a surge in respondents saying that now is a good time to purchase big-ticket items, because prices will probably rise. Respondents became more likely to anticipate price increases for major household purchases (furniture, appliances, etc.) as well as for vehicles…

#ETTD…

Is he stupid? I mean, we all joke about him being not as clever as he thinks he is, but signing up to be Kaiser of the Trumpenreich and being shocked by all the immigrant haters is like going to Disney World and having a nervous breakdown because you didn’t expect to see Mickey Mouse.

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— Starfish Who Can’t Think Something Witty (@irhottakes.bsky.social) December 28, 2024 at 12:00 AM

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Saturday Morning Open Thread: Regrets, They <em>May</em> Have A Few, Right Now…Post + Comments (233)

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

by Rose Judson| December 28, 20248:15 am| 85 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Tech News & Issues, Subprime AI

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.

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— 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.

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Tech journalist/ PR guy/ podcaster Ed Zitron has been yelling about the GenAI threat to the tech industry and overall economy (often at great length) for the better part of two years now. This morning on Bluesky, he pointed out that OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, in addition to going cap in hand to investors for eye-watering sums of capital, has also been bankrolling several other startups from his own personal line of credit. Many of these startups do business with OpenAI. A June Wall Street Journal article laid this out. Click here to read the whole thing sans paywall, or just read the nut grafs that Ed Zitron posted below:

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

Hundreds of millions of dollars from his personal line of credit being passed out like candy to startups. Seems like a big risk… for JPMorgan Chase. And anyone else relying on JPMorgan Chase. Possibly. Someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this, etc.

To top this all off, OpenAI’s flagship product and its many imitators are sucking up more water and electricity than some small nations, per this September 2024 environmental impact report from the UN. The entire project is a planet-killing scam, and there’s still vanishingly little evidence that most people like the product or want to use it. The Irish journalist Séamas O’Reilly had an entertaining take on ChatGPT yesterday, calling it the 21st-century answer to past grifts like the learned pig or the talking dog. His whole article is worth a read, but I nodded along hard to this:

“I hate AI because it does not work at most of the things its promoters claim it does, and many of the things it does do are explicitly evil. Its missteps not only kill but dissolve the fragile fabric of trust in information we have left. The jargon of AI boosterism, like NFTs and cryptocurrency before them, has seized the imaginations of punters and investors who believe they’re being led to a world of ease and profit that will change the world and make them filthy rich in the process. It’s the last true ‘something for nothing’ we have left, delivered via mechanisms so abstruse to the lay person that its powers can be described with the folkloric hyperbole of a magic chicken.”

Just a Little More Capital, Bro, Just a Few More Billion 1

In theory, you could say that ChatGPT and other such products are the first step toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). Ali Akhatib, an editor at LOGICs Magazine with an academic background in ethical and justice issues surrounding algorithms and the use of data, points out that this line of argument is hard to justify when we can’t even agree what AGI will look like, or what AI as we currently know it actually is. We get wrapped around the axel trying to define it technically, he argues in a recent blog post, when “we should shed the idea that AI is a technological artefact with political features and recognise it as a political artefact through and through. AI is an ideological project to shift authority and autonomy away from individuals, towards centralised structures of power.”

That has truthiness for me, but it all just seems like a big dumb money rush. I don’t really hear a lot of strategy here in what Google CEO Sundar Pichai said to employees about the AI arms race their company is doubling down on next year:

“I think it’s really important we internalize the urgency of this moment, and need to move faster as a company. The stakes are high. These are disruptive moments. In 2025, we need to be relentlessly focused on unlocking the benefits of this technology and solve real user problems.”

Have you ever heard more bland, fluffy management-speak than that? It could’ve been written by ChatGPT.

Use this thread to vent about tech or talk about whatever. The Child and I are going for a walk.

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

Pre-Dawn Open Thread

by Betty Cracker| December 28, 20246:31 am| 123 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity

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)

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

by Adam L Silverman| December 27, 20248:28 pm| 29 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

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…

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— 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…

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— 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…

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— 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.

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

I nominate Finland to manage escalation instead of Jake Sullivan

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— 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.

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The Korean Nation Should Not Lose Its People in The Battles in Europe – Address By The President

27 December 2024 – 21:07

Dear Ukrainians!

Briefly about today.

I have just held a meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian business community – our Ukrainian companies, our regions. Different industries: defense, agriculture, pharmaceutics, banks. I am grateful to them all for operating in Ukraine and for Ukraine, and it is very important for us to maintain support for business, normal operation of Ukrainian enterprises, and our jobs in the state. We discussed concrete issues, which we will definitely solve. The economic foundation is the basis of both social life and our defense.

I held a meeting of the Staff today, with a separate report from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi regarding the front. The Donetsk areas are the most intense, as well as Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and the Kharkiv region. Details of the Kursk region’s developments – the North Korean military is involved in the fighting. They have many losses. A great deal. And we can see that the Russian military and the North Korean enforcers have no interest in the survival of these Koreans at all. Everything is arranged in a way that makes it impossible for us to capture the Koreans as prisoners – their own people are executing them, there are such cases. And the Russians send them into assaults with minimal protection. Today we received reports on several soldiers from North Korea, our warriors managed to capture them. But they were seriously wounded and could not be resuscitated. This is one of the manifestations of the madness dictatorships are capable of. The Korean nation should not lose its people in the battles in Europe. And this can be influenced, particularly by Korea’s neighbors, especially China. If China is sincere in its statements that the war should not escalate, it must exert appropriate pressure on Pyongyang.

There is an important decision of the United States today regarding our region – sanctions against Ivanishvili in Georgia. We have been calling for this. Ukraine has already applied its sanctions against this de facto ruler of Georgia personally and against his accomplices. We will not tolerate them surrendering Georgia to Russia’s control. And it is crucial to preserve Georgia’s true independence. I thank America for its support. And this should be supported at the level of the entire Europe – every country, all institutions: we need real sanctions and real pressure on this group of comrades in Tbilisi who like Moscow the most. Let them eventually end up in Moscow.

I had a good conversation today with the President of Argentina, Javier Milei. I noted Javier’s results in economic reform – he has successes that others in the world can learn from. A very correct example of economic growth benefits everyone. I thanked Argentina for supporting Ukraine – Javier was at the Peace Summit we organized this year. There were a hundred states and international institutions; all parts of the world were represented. And this is exactly how we must continue to move forward – to involve all partners in putting pressure on Russia and bringing peace closer. We will increase our cooperation with Argentina – economic, political, and security.

And one more thing.

Today we introduced a new format in our work within the country – a meeting of representatives of national communities. This is about both respect and politics. Each community, through its voice and informal diplomacy, can help us all, our entire state, to join the European Union faster, to achieve results in Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations sooner. And I am grateful to all those who provide this kind of assistance. This is a Ukrainian goal that we will achieve. For sure we will.

Glory to Ukraine!

The cost and the reason:

8 year old Alisa finally reunited with her mother. War had separated them and for almost three years Alisa hadn’t seen her mom. Under occupation, she faced constant danger. Russian soldiers conducted searches, pointed weapons at her, and forced her to attend a Russian school.

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— Sofia (@sofiaukraini.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 11:13 AM

Her grandparents protected her as best they could, concealing her mother’s whereabouts from the occupying forces. They fabricated a story that Tamila was working in Poland and took great care to ensure their granddaughter wouldn’t accidentally reveal the truth.

— Sofia (@sofiaukraini.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 11:15 AM

Despite everything, Alisa longed to be with her mom. She made one simple wish this year, to spend New Year’s with her mom. That wish came true thanks to the combined efforts of Save Ukraine and bring kids back.

— Sofia (@sofiaukraini.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 11:16 AM

Their first embrace after such a long separation became a powerful symbol that even in the darkest times, children’s dreams can come true.

— Sofia (@sofiaukraini.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 11:16 AM

Georgia:

Ivanishvili Inc. is sanctioned. Georgia’s fight for freedom continues.

Day 30 of #GeorgiaProtests

Video by Ezz Gaber

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— Katie Shoshiashvili (@kshoshiashvili.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 4:23 PM

December 27 – #Batumi

#GeorgiaProtests persist, demanding new elections and the unconditional release of those detained during pro-European demonstrations.

The daily protests began on November 28, after the Georgian Dream party announced it was halting #Georgia’s EU accession bid.

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— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) December 27, 2024 at 9:27 AM

Meanwhile, protests continue in Georgia. This is a march of musicians that will end on Rustaveli Ave.

#GeorgiaProtests Day 30

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 12:16 PM

“European Integration = Protected Rights for People with Disabilities” | A protest march of people with disabilities is underway from Republic Square to the Parliament.

#GeorgiaProtests
Day 30

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 9:53 AM

Acc/to Irakli Shaishmelashvili, the “chasers squad” deployed during rally dispersals is not part of the Special Tasks Dep. He claims the most aggressives are neither from the city police nor the Central Criminal Police Dep, but operate exclusively under the authority of “Khareba.”
#GeorgiaProtests

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— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) December 27, 2024 at 10:10 AM

2/3
Shaishmelashvili made this statement in an interview with Nodar Meladze, set to air on TV Pirveli tomorrow, December 28.

Shaishmelashvili resigned from his post on December 3, during the violent crackdown on pro-European protests in #Tbilisi.

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) December 27, 2024 at 9:39 AM

3/3
On December 26, he announced that he and his family were leaving #Georgia. The interview was conducted before his departure and was announced by Meladze on December 27.

In the interview, Shaishmelashvili discusses the threats and dangers he and his family faced.

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) December 27, 2024 at 9:39 AM

“Leave a book for the regime prisoners.”
“Books speak of freedom in the silent walls of a prison.”
Day 30. #GeorgiaProtests
📷 Sofo Gzirishvili

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 5:39 PM

Georgians have been waiting for sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili for years. For us, it’s a solid demonstration of support from our friends.
The American 🇺🇸 anthem was thus played at today’s protest, I think for the first time. Day 30. #GeorgiaProtests
📷 Giorgi Kandelaki

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 2:05 PM

📷 Koba Kareli

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 2:51 PM

Families of the unlawfully imprisoned requested to have a church service for their jailed loved ones at the protest, in front of the statue of the Father of the Nation Ilia Chavchavadze and Akaki Tsereteli. They lit the candles on the statue. #GeorgiaProtests
📷 Koba Kareli

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 2:32 PM

When I was deployed to Iraq, the 13th Shavnabada lived at Combat Outpost (COP) Carver. They built an entire cathedral out of plywood.

🟥 Zurab Japaridze, leader of “Girchi – More Freedom,” was banned from carrying arms for 3 years and fined 2,500 GEL after his arrest on December 2, following a pro-European rally dispersal on Chavchavadze Avenue, #Tbilisi.

#GeorgiaProtests #Georgia
🧷 netgazeti.ge/news/757938/

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— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) December 27, 2024 at 6:33 AM

1/ Civil servants who openly criticize Georgian Dream’s anti-Western policies are being dismissed.

#GeorgiaProtests
#TerrorinGeorgia

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 9:38 AM

2/ Giga Sopromadze, a coordinator for disability programs at Tbilisi City Hall for 8 years, was fired after criticizing the government’s anti-Western moves.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 9:38 AM

3/ Over 10 social workers have also been dismissed from the Probation Agency, citing expired contracts. However, the workers believe the decision is political, as no other reasons for their dismissal exist.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 9:38 AM

4/ For example, Mariam Siradze says she was assigned new cases just the day before, and Ana Endeladze was the only referral specialist in Kutaisi.

In the photo: Mariam Siradze

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 9:38 AM

5/ Two behavioral therapists were also dismissed from Rustavi City Hall’s psycho-social rehabilitation center under the pretext of expired contracts. Salome Mchedlidze, one of them, says the firing was politically motivated.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 9:38 AM

North Korea:

🇰🇵🇰🇷South Korea’s spy agency confirms Ukraine’s capture of injured North Korean soldier!

SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s spy agency on Friday confirmed Ukraine’s capture of a wounded North Korean soldier, the first reported instance of its kind.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 3:39 AM

Russia:

Russians have released a propaganda video in which Russian air defense shoots down Santa Claus over Moscow.

You couldn’t have picked a worse time to release this video on purpose.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 5:36 AM

Oy vey.

Back to Ukraine:

In October 2024, our team at Frontelligence Insight published an analysis showing that the limited number of remaining ATACMS was unlikely to have a significant impact on the battlefield. While we didn’t share exact numbers publicly, they are now available in the NYT article:

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— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 3:08 PM

Link to the NYT article:

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/27/w…

Link to our analysis from October:

frontelligence.substack.com/p/the-us-sta…

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— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 3:08 PM

Rep for the Ukrainian HUR, Andriy Yusov, reports that Ukrainian drones are hypothetically already capable of flying 2,000 kilometers deep into Russian territory. At the same time, he hints that any objects associated with the financing or support of the occupying army are legitimate targets.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 5:02 PM

Bakhmut:

93rd Brigade of Ukraine repels Russian AFV column attack on the Bakhmut front.

This attack is very notable because in addition to the BMPs, the destruction of 5 Russian T-62 was already visually confirmed.

This month, expect T-62s to account for around 30% of all known Russian tank losses.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 2:18 PM

Zaporizhzhia:

Ukraine’s intelligence, security forces, and military eliminated 3 senior Russian officers during a field meeting in Zaporizhzhia. Using HIMARS and drones, they struck the Russian commanders from the 4th Guards Base.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 4:10 AM

Kharkiv:

My mom and I spent some time on the phone, wondering if we would face another massive russian missile attack on New Year’s night and debating whose home would be safer to gather in.

As we spoke, Russia rained down glide bombs on the Kharkiv region. There’s also a threat of ballistic missiles.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 27, 2024 at 9:57 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron.

There are no new Patron skeets or videos today. Here is the next episode of his official animated series that I had not yet posted.

Open thread!

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

Friday Afternoon Open Thread

by WaterGirl| December 27, 20246:48 pm| 127 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Looks like we could use an open thread.

I am about to try making french fries in my new Breville toaster oven / air fryer thingie. Wish me luck.

What are you guys up to?

Friday Afternoon Open ThreadPost + Comments (127)

Goodbye To All That (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker| December 27, 202410:48 am| 108 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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)

Friday Morning Open Thread: Resisting the Distraction Economy

by Anne Laurie| December 27, 20248:18 am| 374 Comments

This post is in: Media, Open Threads, Trumpery

RESISTANCE NEWS
NBC is reporting that anti-Trump advocates are building a resource network with free legal and financial help for people who could be targeted by the incoming Trump administration.

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— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) December 25, 2024 at 1:52 PM

(h/t Uncle Ebenezer)

Here is what I am saying: Democratic voters organically–& understandably–retracted both our attention and energy after fighting like hell for nearly a decade. It also happens to be the case that this same retraction of attention and energy is turning out to our tactical benefit

— Magdi Jacobs (@magi_jay) December 26, 2024

This is really good news to close this year: When we refrain from giving Trump a foil, the atmosphere starts to shift criticism more sharply on Republican discord, Republican policy, etc. Republican voter discontent.

That doesn’t mean general disengagement. We all need to take a break for mental health in any case. It could well be the case that this mental health break is also tactically sound. We’ll re-engage/whatever when it suits. But there is some power in all of this.

I think a lot of people feel powerless. I do/did. Failed to stop so much. Tried so hard to explain. Etc. I don’t think we are powerless at all.

Pitting Elon vs. Trump vs. Congressional Republicans was also *GOLDEN* and House Democrats deserve applause for that messaging. Keep poking the nest. Perhaps narcissistic sycophants start to lose the sycophancy when their only foes are in the same Hive, get what I’m saying?

Remember: Trump is a fading King. You think Democrats are the only ones who get that?

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Friday Morning Open Thread: Resisting the Distraction EconomyPost + Comments (374)

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

The lights are all blinking red.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

We are learning that “working class” means “white” for way too many people.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

How stupid are these people?

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

So fucking stupid, and still doing a tremendous amount of damage.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

T R E 4 5 O N

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Regrets, They May Have A Few, Right Now…

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

Pre-Dawn Open Thread

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

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

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Friday Afternoon Open Thread

Goodbye To All That (Open Thread)

Friday Morning Open Thread: Resisting the Distraction Economy