GOD AND MAN AT THE PENTAGON:

“WE ARE NOWHERE NEAR AGI”:

Abstract and more here.

THEY WON THE OLD FASHIONED WAY:

KINSLEY GAFFE:

Or maybe read my book to find out why men have a problem with women like you.

GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG:

More:

He was initially reported as a civilian casualty, but the “Teachers’ Basij” organization later confirmed that he died “while on duty.” According to his mother, he was at the checkpoint with his father due to a shortage of personnel.

Earlier, Al Arabiya reported that the Islamic regime in Iran had lowered the conscription age and resumed recruiting minors into the armed forces. Teenagers have reportedly been assigned to checkpoints and patrol duties in Tehran.

The use of child soldiers is not new for the Islamic regime.

A legitimate government protects 12-year-olds. The Tehran regime uses them to save their own skins.

FAIL, BRITANNIA: NHS rations hospital referrals to cut waiting list.

The NHS is to ration hospital referrals as Labour scrambles to meet its pledge to cut waiting lists.
GPs have been ordered to consult on at least one in four referrals rather than sending them to hospital in order to reduce “unnecessary” appointments.

The quotas, the latest method the NHS is using to keep waiting lists down, will come into force on Wednesday.

But MPs and medics have raised concerns that setting an arbitrary target will delay patients from getting access to the healthcare they need.
Dr Luke Evans, shadow health minister and a former GP, told The Telegraph: “My biggest concern is about this single point of access, with a target to bounce back one in four referrals – that is bad for clinicians and it is really bad for patients.

“It is hard not to see this as a way of Wes Streeting simply controlling access to hospitals and massaging waiting lists.

“We don’t even know if the planned 1 in 4 patients bounced back to the GP are recorded. Is Labour planning on effectively rationing secondary care – it seems like it.”

Socialism always ends with rationing.

WHAT WILL DEMOCRATS DO ONCE AMERICAN TRAVELERS LEARN THAT ICE GUYS ARE PRETTY COOL, ACTUALLY?

CDR SALAMANDER: Base Defense: How Many More Warnings? Ignoring the known knowns. “The Army, especially during GWOT, didn’t just underfund air defense in general and treat it as a secondary career field—it never even considered what was needed to defend bases. The USAF? No better…and they relied on the Army for air defense. It was only 18 months or so ago they started to experiment with base defense.”

ED MORRISSEY: WaPo: On Second Thought, Our Reporter in Iran Is a Regime Hack.

CNN: We never learned our lesson from the Eason Jordan era.

Washington Post: Hold our beer.

Alternate headline: American Public Finds New Reasons to Hate the Media.

On Friday, the Washington Post accused the US military of a potential war crime. Its reporters in Iran took photos of what were purported to be anti-tank land mines supposedly tossed into residential areas, including in Shiraz, supposedly to deter the movement of mobile missile launchers (via Twitchy):

Read the whole thing.

DECLINE IS A CHOICE:

ROAD SAFETY: Foreign big rig drivers lose licenses by the thousands, but ride-shares still use illiterate drivers.

For CDLs, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) can audit, set minimum standards states must follow, and enforce safety rules nationwide for commercial trucks. Rideshare & taxis are treated as local services; therefore, the federal DOT (Department of Transportation) has almost no authority over driver licensing or day-to-day operations.

Even though states print and hand out the licenses, federal law, via the FMCSA, sets the minimum qualifications every state must follow. That includes the long-standing rule that commercial drivers must “speak and read English sufficiently” to understand road signs, talk to law enforcement, and handle emergencies.

The Trump/Duffy DOT used that federal leverage to identify and remove the 17,000 unqualified big-rig drivers (many of whom got CDLs through the previous administration’s lax “self-certifying” truck schools). States still have to cooperate on enforcement, which is why Duffy said he needs “partnership” (he even noted California Governor Gavin Newsom is starting to play ball).

Only because Newsom’s eye is on 2028.