Author Archive: Stephen Green
February 1, 2023
FOR OUR PJ MEDIA/TOWNHALL VIPS: You Won’t Believe Who Google Laid Off (Or Maybe You Totally Will). “So who is Google trimming, the meat or the fat? Maybe a bit of both.”
Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.
CHANGE: Iran, Russia integrate banking systems.
A top Iranian official announced on 30 January that Iran and Russia had integrated their interbank communication and transfer systems to help enhance trade and financial operations in an effort to bypass strict economic sanctions on their financial infrastructure.
With the signing of the agreement, 52 Iranian and 106 Russian banks are connected through the Russian Financial Message Transfer System, which will facilitate economic relations between the two countries, said Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Mohsen Karimi.
“This system is immune to sanctions as it is based on the infrastructures of both countries,” Karimi said, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.
It’s more like tying two dinghies together because they’re no longer allowed on the ship.
SUCH A CHARMER: Hunter Biden Withheld Employee’s Pay Until She Let Him Watch Her Shower.
What is it with the Bidens and showers?
ENERGY: BP’s CEO Plays Down Renewables Push.
Chief Executive Bernard Looney plans to dial back elements of the oil giant’s high-profile push into renewable energy, he has said in recent discussions with people close to the company.
Mr. Looney has said he is disappointed in the returns from some of the oil giant’s renewable investments and plans to pursue a narrower green-energy strategy, according to people familiar with the discussions. He has told some of the people that BP needs to do more to convince shareholders of its strategy to maximize profit in areas where it has a competitive advantage, including its legacy oil-and-gas operations.
In some of the conversations, Mr. Looney has said he plans to place less emphasis on so-called ESG goals—a catchall term for environmental, social and governance—to help clarify that those aren’t distracting the company from its ability to deliver profits, the people said.
Mr. Looney, the people said, is casting the moves as a modest short-term course correction rather than a major strategic pivot for the 114-year-old company.
Since this ought to put BP in a better position than its rivals, I wonder how long the “correction” will remain “modest.”
NO ENEMIES TO THE LEFT: Suddenly Domestic Terrorism Charges Are a Problem Now That Atlanta Is Using Them Against Antifa.
BOTS FIGHTING BOTS: OpenAI released its AI-written text identifier. Here’s how to use it.
OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, have clearly heard the critiques about its AI chatbot. Namely, those from educators who have voiced concern regarding students using ChatGPT to do their homework or write their papers for them.
On Tuesday, OpenAI released(Opens in a new window) a new AI classifier tool aimed at directly addressing those concerns. The free web tool was created by OpenAI in order to help users determine whether a block of text was written by a human or a computer.
The tool is simple to use. Simply visit the AI classifier(Opens in a new window), log in, and copy and paste the block of text you want to check. The classifier will then rank the text on a scale as either likely to be AI-generated, possibly, unclear, unlikely, or very unlikely.
We were promised flying cars. Instead we got algos spotting lazy students using algos.
NOW SHE’S SET HERSELF UP FOR A POSSIBLE FELONY CHARGE: Kari Lake Is Too Reckless to Run for Office Again.
CALIFORNIA: McDonalds President Says It Might Be ‘Impossible’ to Operate in These Key States.
While discussions around the tech exodus took place throughout much of 2020 and 2021, a new discussion has begun around an industry that exists in every state in the country: the fast food business.
In the fall of 2022, the state passed what shortens to the FAST bill — the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act could require fast-food restaurants to pay workers up a minimum wage of $22 an hour with an annual raise of 3.5%.
While initially passed, the law has faced significant pushback both from the industry and local voters. A referendum vote has been set to November 2024 and implementation is blocked until that takes place.
Industry leaders have predictably been very vocal against the law. In an open letter from January 25, McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger wrote that it “makes it all but impossible to run small business restaurants.”
That’s a feature not a bug.
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Dems Might Be in the Market for a Bus to Throw Kamala Harris Under. “Given the fact that the Dems live, eat, and breathe diversity, getting Harris out of the way will be no easy task. She’s a double HISTORIC FIRST, they can’t just unceremoniously push her aside. It’s not impossible, but it’s going to take a lot of effort.”
HMM: Russian Ruling Party Told to Liken Ukraine War to Stalingrad Victory. “Road signs at the entrance to present-day Volgograd have been replaced with ‘Stalingrad’ in honor of the 80th anniversary ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s expected visit there.”
I wonder if this is a temporary propaganda move or if the Kremlin will re-rename the city back to Stalingrad.
Previously: Putin’s dangerous campaign to rehabilitate Stalin.
PAUL KENGOR: What in the Hell Is the Penn Biden Center? “I’ve worked for think tanks with budgets under a million bucks that produced more in five months than the Penn Biden Center has done in five years. Chi-comm connections aside, let it be said that even the very essence of the Penn Biden Center as a think tank is questionable. Other than serving as a dubious tribute entity to Joe Biden, I don’t see this thing as doing much.”
Suits its namesake.
Earlier: White House Misled Public About FBI Search of Penn Biden Center.
January 31, 2023
IF IT’S USEFUL OR JUST FUN, THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO HAVE IT: Now the Left Is Coming for Your Pickup Trucks, America — and Their ‘Logic’ Couldn’t Be More Ridiculous.
NEWS YOU CAN USE? These jobs are most likely to be replaced by chatbots like ChatGPT.
UPDATE (FROM GLENN): I have some thoughts here.
ANALYSIS: TRUE. The COVID-19 Pandemic Was a ‘Catastrophe for Human Freedom.’
FASTER? PLEASE! DARPA nails latest US hypersonic missile test flight. “After deployment, the booster automatically fired, boosting the glider to supersonic speeds, after which a scramjet engine took over, accelerating the glider to over five times the speed of sound as it reached an altitude of over 60,000 ft (18,000 m).”
LINCOLN BROWN: Lightfoot Dances as Chicago Burns. “She does know that the mayoral election is closing in fast, right? And that she has nine challengers for her job? Maybe this was an ill-fated publicity stunt suggested by her P.R. people. Or maybe she is so clueless and entitled that at this point she really doesn’t care.”
DECOUPLING: U.S. stops granting export licenses for China’s Huawei, sources say. “One person familiar with the matter said U.S. officials are creating a new formal policy of denial for shipping items to Huawei that would include items below the 5G level, including 4G items, Wi-Fi 6 and 7, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing and cloud items.”
I REALLY DON’T: Still Need Proof of LGBT Grooming in Schools?
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Rolls-Royce teases small nuclear reactor for space travel and moon bases. “The Micro-Reactor will house uranium particles underneath multiple containment levels so they can withstand the intense conditions that accompany space travel. For years, Rolls-Royce has discussed the reactor as the center of its space-oriented ambitions.”
VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR WEEKLY INSANITY WRAP: We Need to Talk About That Trans Figure Skater. “Finland’s trans figure skater is a genuine victim… of the people claiming to promote diversity.”
Plus:
- CNN viewers finally learn that Donald Trump is no longer POTUS.
- WaPo dances on the grave of objective journalism.
- It’s definitely too soon for this meme, but I’m publishing it anyway.
So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.
THE END OF AN ERA: The last 747.
On Tuesday, Boeing will wave a final goodbye to the 747 jumbo jet.
In the years after its launch, the 747 elevated the Puget Sound region to the world’s premier airplane manufacturing site and boosted Boeing to preeminence in aviation. It made international air travel routine.
A diverse cross-section of the Boeing workers who helped bring this transformative piece of engineering to life tell their stories below. They reflect upon their affection for the jumbo jet that changed their lives, and aviation.
Almost exactly 54 years after the first flight, thousands of current and former employees and guests will attend a bittersweet ceremony in Everett on Tuesday before cargo carrier Atlas Air flies away a 747 freighter model, the 1,574th and last “Queen of the Skies” ever built.
This is an excellent read.