Archive for 2024

GAZA WAR: Hamas Bets on Ramadan to Help It Survive Israel’s Assault.

Hamas’s chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is also calculating that Ramadan, which begins with the new-moon sighting expected Monday or Tuesday, could spark violence near religious sites in Jerusalem, expanding the conflict beyond Gaza and drawing Iran and Hezbollah deeper and more directly into his war against Israel, according to political analysts.

Israel has warned that unless a deal is reached by Ramadan to release hostages and pause the fighting, its military will push ahead with plans to attack Hamas in its last stronghold of Rafah on Gaza’s southern border, where an estimated 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.

Cease-fire talks are expected to resume Sunday. But their halting progress is increasing the likelihood of an Israeli assault against Hamas in Rafah, the last major city in Gaza that Israeli forces haven’t taken.

“Hamas thinks the month of Ramadan will serve its interests,” said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist at Al-Azhar University in Gaza who is now based in Cairo. Hamas leaders’ belief that the holy month will increase international pressure on Israel to end the war is “why they keep saying they are in no rush” to agree to a cease-fire, he said.

Joe Biden agrees that a ceasefire — which he is pushing — helps Hamas:

Biden clearly did not mean to admit the truth but that’s OK because the press will cover for him.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Kamala Harris Is Dumber and Closer to the Presidency Than Ever. “To the surprise of no one, there was a lot of ceasefire/Gaza nonsense at last night’s Academy Awards ceremony. We expect that from vapid, uninformed actors though. It is an entirely different thing when the Vice President of the United States of America is throwing an ally under the bus and publicly propping up the bad guys.”

CHANGE: Why Walmart’s quick success in generative AI search should have Google worried.

Walmart is talking up its ability to use generative AI as a one-stop shop to search when you need to plan an event, rather than online destination to search for individual items. During a call with analysts after its February earnings, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon talked about the gen AI search capabilities in its app.

“The thing we’re most excited about that’s already happened is the way search has improved, and the way generative AI helped us really improve a solution-oriented search experience for customers and members,” McMillon said on the earnings call. “And it happened pretty quickly.”

It also adds to the questions about future use of a search engine like Google.

Walmart long ago established itself as a major tech player, successfully fending off years of anxiety over Amazon and remaining a leader in the retail space whose shares are now trading at an all-time high. The tech narrative is one the company has been spinning since it bought Jet.com, started by a former Amazon executive Marc Lore, noted Forrester vice president, principal analyst Sucharita Kodali. As a technology company, Walmart has to experiment a lot, and in the case of adding generative AI search capabilities, there’s a very low cost for failure, she said.

“It establishes them as an innovator in the space,” Kodali said. “They’re better to be a leader than a follower in their shoes. They’re operating from a position of strength.”

Google’s worst enemy is actually Google: “Experiments can go wrong, though, as happened to Alphabet recently when it launched the Gemini gen AI into the market before it was ready.”

Except that isn’t true. Gemini was ready and performed exactly as it was designed to perform.

Google created a trust issue that search upstarts like Walmart don’t have.

HMM: BRICS Nations Challenge US Dollar Dominance: Blockchain Payment System In The Works.

This system, fueled by the cutting-edge technology of blockchain, promises to disrupt the current dollar-dominated landscape, potentially altering the course of international trade and finance.

Fueling speculation about a potential paradigm shift, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov recently announced plans for a BRICS-led payment system based on blockchain technology. This move is widely seen as a push towards de-dollarization, aiming to reduce reliance on the US dollar in international transactions.

Ushakov emphasized the system’s goal to be “convenient for governments, businesses, and common people to use, as well as cost-effective and free of politics,” implying a clear break from the current dollar-centric system.

BRICS is made up of countries you wouldn’t trust to walk your dog, much less hold sway over international trade. The only reason BRICS hasn’t been laughed off the world stage is us.

All we had to do was show a little fiscal restraint, and maintain the naval and air forces we had 30 years ago — but apparently that was too much to ask.

OH NO, KIM. YEAH, IF COKE ANNOYS TERRORSYMPS, I’LL NOW HAVE TO DRINK COKE. THIS WON’T BE GOOD FOR THE BUDGET OR THE ETERNAL ATTEMPTS AT DIET, BUT NEEDS MUST WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES:  Time To Step Up.

Or this case, when the devils throw tizzies.

AND IT WILL KILL THE NATION, IF WE DON’T KILL IT FIRST:  DEI killed the CHIPS Act.

Also, the proper way to acronym that abomination is DIE or perhaps IED.  In the spirit of the thing, you know?