THE NEW TOLERANCE AND ACCEPTANCE LOOK AN AWFUL LOT LIKE THE OLD DO AS I SAY OR ELSE: Tolerance and Acceptance: Wyoming Dem Posts Vile Trans Murder Threats.

PUTIN’S STUPID WAR: The Russian Military Is Destroying Itself In Ukraine.

The British Military Intelligence has assessed that “a significant minority” of Russian casualties in Ukraine have been caused “due to non-combat causes.

Non-combat deaths are normal on a battlefield. But Russian Telegram news channels report “extremely high” numbers of deaths linked to alcohol consumption and crime.

“Other leading causes of non-combat casualties likely include poor weapon handing drills, road traffic accidents and climatic injuries such as hypothermia. Russian commanders likely identify pervasive alcohol abuse as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness,” the British Military Intelligence assessed in its latest estimate on the war.

Although completely foreign to Western professional miliary forces, alcohol consumption is an integral part of Russian culture, especially Russian military culture.

“However, with heavy drinking pervasive across much of Russian society, it has long been seen as a tacitly accepted part of military life, even on combat operations,” the British Military Intelligence added.

I’ve written time and again that Kyiv/Western estimates of Russian casualties are likely inflated, but serious problems with alcohol and poor discipline in the Russian military are as old as the Russian military. A year of heavy combat with very little to show for it probably isn’t helping.

IT’S GOOD TO BE THE NOMENKLATURA: Judge Orders Hunter Biden’s Ex to Remain Silent on His Finances. “How Biden managed to claim financial distress after years of lucrative no-show jobs and foreign investments — made possible by his father’s connections in up-and-up places like Communist China and Ukraine — remains a mystery.”

Much more at the link.

FIRST, DO NO HARM: ‘I Felt Bullied’: Mother of Child Treated at Transgender Center Speaks Out.

I found it impossible to select an excerpt from this report, and impossible to stop reading it.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Dems Are Stuck With Biden, Let’s Hope the Rest of Us Aren’t. “One thing is certain: it definitely won’t be a trade-up if Biden opts out of running again. Waiting in the wings is a gaggle of Democrats who are just as dull-witted as he is, but who can’t blame it on age.”

CHANGE: Silicon Valley Is Beating Washington to China Decoupling.

According to data from research firm PitchBook, U.S. investors participated in deals worth $7.2 billion in China’s tech industry last year, down from its recent peak of $35.6 billion in 2018. The number of deals also fell to its lowest level in five years. Market intelligence firm S&P Global, which published similar figures, blamed a cocktail of China’s strict zero-COVID policy, the resulting supply chain issues, and escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington “causing some investors to proceed with caution.”

A Shanghai-based lawyer who advises both U.S. and Chinese investors and spoke on condition of anonymity said investment on both sides in each tech sector “fell off a cliff” in the second half of the Trump administration, estimating that the pullback is “90 percent political.”

Even with former U.S. President Donald Trump gone, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

Plus: “On the ground in Silicon Valley, the schism has been widening regardless of whether Washington acts or not.”

Well, business tends to act more quickly and with a lot more foresight than government does — because it has to.

PENTAGON STUDY: 77 Percent of Military-Age Americans Too Fat, Mentally Ill for Service.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Even a Recession Might Not Tame Inflation. “There is a possibility we could get a recession and still have high inflation — essentially a return of the 1970s stagflation. This could happen if a recession comes with another supply shock, like a pull-back in trade or an increase in energy prices. Some economists argue that the 1970s stagflation was due to expansionary monetary policy, which means that if a recession prompts the Fed to cut interest rates or restart quantitative easing before inflation is subdued, we could end up with high inflation and a recession.”

SAD: Study Confirms Trans ‘Social Contagion’ Theory.

THE LEFT’S UGLIFICATION OF EVERYTHING:

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): It makes sense if you understand that the left wants to make everything as ugly as its souls.

PAULA BOLYARD: DOJ Finally Finds a Church Attack It Doesn’t Like.

HISTORY REPEATS: Weird Guns Used in the Russo-Ukrainian War. “Both sides are using he original Maxim belt-fed machine guns, a World War I mainstay ‘patented in 1883. Timeline-wise this weapon was designed closer to the beginning of the American revolution in 1776 than it was to the current Ukrainian conflict.'”

UPDATE: At least there’s a cool history repeating theme song.

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT [VIP]: You Don’t Need a Study to Know That Pets Are Good for Your Kids’ Health. “What children learn from dogs and, I suppose, even from non-psychotic cats, is to receive unconditional love and care from someone who isn’t mom or dad, and give that love and care right back. Nobody who ever helped raise a puppy into a good boy or girl ever grew up to become a serial killer.”

Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.

HE FIGHTS: DeSantis Strikes Back After Underhanded Move by Disney.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA Announces the Crew of the First Manned Artemis Mission.

Now let’s get Starship fully tested and operational so Artemis can actually happen.

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: NYC mayor offers illegal immigrants free tuition to leave the city.

The “Asylum Seeker Blueprint” would involve a partnership between the State University of New York Sullivan and a nonprofit called the Center for Discovery. If implemented, the plan would “offer asylum seekers the opportunity to relocate to Sullivan County, attend SUNY Sullivan Community College, live in college residence halls and earn a post-secondary credential or degree.”

“Asylum seekers will also receive workforce training through The Center for Discovery in health care, human services, hospitality, culinary, and agricultural sectors,” the blueprint stated. But the city is also working on other plans to “resettle” the illegal immigrants in other municipalities.

Give someone else those huddled masses.

NO: Now We’re Supposed to Worry About ‘Stigma’ Toward ‘Adult Baby/Diaper Lovers.’

MONALISA FOSTER: The Parable of the Drowning Man: Communist Version. “What’s really interesting about this parable is how clearly it announces the intentions of communism—only when the bad people are dead will the downtrodden be able to build paradise.”

Read the whole thing.

MATT MARGOLIS: Will You Be Next? “The idea that a former president—and a current presidential candidate—can be singled out by a flagrantly biased district attorney for a non-felony offense suggests that anyone, including you, could also be targeted for their political beliefs when they don’t align with those in power.”

JONATHAN TURLEY: ChatGPT falsely accused me of sexually harassing my students. Can we really trust AI?

I received a curious email from a fellow law professor about research that he ran on ChatGPT about sexual harassment by professors. The program promptly reported that I had been accused of sexual harassment in a 2018 Washington Post article after groping law students on a trip to Alaska.

It was not just a surprise to UCLA professor Eugene Volokh, who conducted the research. It was a surprise to me since I have never gone to Alaska with students, The Post never published such an article, and I have never been accused of sexual harassment or assault by anyone.

When first contacted, I found the accusation comical. After some reflection, however, it took on a more menacing meaning.

More:

What is most striking is that this false accusation was not just generated by AI but ostensibly based on a Post article that never existed.

Volokh made this query of ChatGPT: “Whether sexual harassment by professors has been a problem at American law schools; please include at least five examples, together with quotes from relevant newspaper articles.”

The program responded with this as an example: 4. Georgetown University Law Center (2018) Prof. Jonathan Turley was accused of sexual harassment by a former student who claimed he made inappropriate comments during a class trip. Quote: “The complaint alleges that Turley made ‘sexually suggestive comments’ and ‘attempted to touch her in a sexual manner’ during a law school-sponsored trip to Alaska.” (Washington Post, March 21, 2018).”

ChatGPT is like a bright, over-eager-to-please child. It will tell whatever story you ask it to tell, even if it has to play make-believe.

You wouldn’t trust a child’s story without double-checking it, and the same goes for AI.

HMM: ‘No Labels’ Group Scares the Daylights Out of Democrats. “It’s Democrats who are sweating the entry of a third-party candidate with crossover appeal. And they appear to be lining up to stomp on No Labels to keep it from pulling votes away from their candidate.”

HMM: Russian pro-war military blogger killed in blast at St Petersburg cafe.

Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the country’s most influential military bloggers.

More than 30 people were wounded in the blast on Sunday, Russia’s health ministry reported. Citing sources in the country’s security agencies, the RIA news outlet said a bomb was hidden in a statue presented to Tatarsky in a box as a gift during a public meeting. Russia’s state investigative committee said it had opened a murder investigation.

Mash, a Telegram channel with links to Russian law enforcement, posted a video that appeared to show Tatarsky, microphone in hand, being presented with a statue of a helmeted soldier. It said the explosion happened minutes later. Videos posted o

That was fast: Russia releases tape of suspect in cafe killing of Vladlen Tatarsky. “In video released by authorities – most likely recorded under duress – Darya Trepova is heard admitting she handed over a statuette that later blew up.”

IT’S ALWAYS UGLY WHEN PROGRESSIVE POLITICOS SHOW THEIR REAL SELVES: Move Over, Pierre Delecto: It Looks as If AOC Has a Burner Account, and It’s a Doozy.

21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: A Student Just Used ChatGPT to Get Her Parking Ticket Revoked.

CONFIRMED: That Chinese Spy Balloon Made Fools of the Biden Administration.