WWonderings 1.24.24 - 144 DWIs On The Wall

Back at it with the white Vans! Not much to say about Nimarata Nikki “we’re not a racist country” Randhawa Haley and her choreographed tango with the Marmalade Monarch. Instead, here are images are taken from “Millions of Cats,” the oldest American picture book, a 1928 book by Wanda Hazel Gág, now in the public domain! That and today’s Wonderings are much more worth your time.

Half of recent US inflation due to high corporate profits, report finds (The Guardian) 53% of inflation was driven by corporate profits, as our post-COVID supply shocks were and are still being exploited by companies pretending they “need” to keep prices high. Just like we told you.

Pentagon Insists We're Not at War (Ken K) Military ends rescue search for Navy SEALs lost in maritime raid on ship with Iranian weapons (AP) We’re currently air striking targets in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, anchoring ships in Bahrain, deploying air & ground ops from Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Oman, and Saudi Arabia. We had Special Forces on the ground in Gaza, we’ve lost SEALs breaching a ship that we claimed had Iranian weapons. Yes, Congress hasn’t written up a document that says the word “war” on it and used a gavel after arguing about it. Do they think anyone outside the USA cares about that distinction?

Fake Joe Biden robocall tells New Hampshire Democrats not to vote Tuesday (NBC News) & New Hampshire investigating fake Biden robocall meant to discourage voters ahead of primary (AP) It’s hard to imagine the deluge of election related deepfakes, spam, robotrash, and Typhoon of Shit that we’re about to endure. Trust nothing, verify everything, understand that it will be like the air we breathe, especially from August to November.

144 DWI cases dismissed in Bernalillo County (KOAT ABC 7) & 'This is going to be a stain on the police department': Law enforcement expert reacts to FBI raid (7 Action News) When the FBI raids the homes of 4 cops and an attorney’s office, resulting in a local DA dropping 144 DWI cases, yea, that might leave a mark. Take one down, pass it around, 143 DWIs on the wall.

 “AI made us do it” is Big Tech’s new layoff rationale (Axios) This exact BS is why I started writing again. Big (and Little) Tech is going to layoff whoever they want and blame ChatGPT the exact same way they blamed McKinsey consultants or VC/private equity a generation ago. It’s the “business intelligence” that somehow never recommends CEO pay cuts or eliminating stock buybacks.

How does the Fed control interest rates? (Jabberwocking) Apparently the way we’re taught that the Fed controls interest rates “lending at a prime rate, etc”, hasn’t been the case for years and no one has updated the textbooks. Huh.

How satellite images and AI could help fight spatial apartheid in South Africa (MIT Tech Review) Spatial apartheid is a new term to me, one I assume we’re going to become familiar with as the climate crisis gets worse.

How Boeing Ruined the JetBlue-Spirit Merger (American Prospect) Boeing is so crappy, it’s breaking airline mergers. Great job Boeing!

The incredible shrinking podcast industry (Semafor) & Soon Will Come a Day That None of This Exists (Discourse Blog) The reason I can’t recommend journalism as a career is the same reason why FD will never be a podcast. Billionaires want to destroy news, local news, and social media that’s not curated-for-dollars. The destruction of journalism is accelerating, with what’s left being paywalled or free-but-fascist-adjacent.

Food Not Bombs trial rescheduled after too many jurors objected to $500 fine for feeding homeless (Houston Chronicle) We don’t get many heartwarming stories like this. They couldn’t get enough people to sit on a jury to try Food Not Bombs for feeding the homeless. I hope they never do.

Quote of the week

This week, Netflix announced that WWE RAW will be streaming live on the platform. Makes sense, Netflix has become very committed to anime over the last few years, and WWE is the most popular anime in America.~Ryan Broderick, Garbage Day 

Poem of the week

By Nikita Gill

Vibe of the week 

Armin is not only still making new music, he’s using that stutter effect that producers are loving these days, better than most out there. Enjoy the throbby, glimmering trance.

Keep your head up,tn