Interesting change related to what contacts are telling me about "#AI" usage in companies, within the last two weeks:

• Outright threats ("Use 'AI', or get fired") have suddenly stopped
• Announcements of limits for "AI" usage are popping up ("it's becoming very expensive")

While the unsustainable ratio between subsidized subscription prices and actual cost of compute has long been known, the addicts and "tokenmaxxers" seem to be surprised now about their dealers raising prices, as expected.

I'm wondering what happens if a company can't afford the "required" amounts of tokens anymore, and learns much of their staff is actually no longer capable of actual #SoftwareDevelopment?

If you ignore the health, ethical, social, moral, financial, environmental, creative, cultural, privacy, quality, legal and geopolitical concerns, then this thing really has legs!!

The #GlobalSumudFlotilla is again being attacked by #Israel, before it reaches #Gaza.

Ask yourself: what kind of state needs to prevent humanitarian aid and humanitarian helpers from arriving at a strip of land that desperately needs them?

And ask your own country to stand by its citizens, and demand their immediate release. Merely being "concerned" about acts of piracy, abuse and torture is not enough.

»The organization’s livestream showed activists aboard several vessels putting on life jackets and raising their hands before a boat carrying troops approached. Israeli troops wearing tactical gear boarded the ship, and the livestream abruptly ended. Many of the ships are currently off the coast of Cyprus.«

https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-flotilla-c0574562f3b5b53a6708b498b9143246

Kai #Wegner, Regierender #Knüppelmeister von #Berlin: "Es muss einfacher werden, #Demonstrationen zu untersagen"

Wenn dich tief zugeneigte Schreiberlinge der #FAZ interviewen, und du endlich mal deine kaum noch verhohlenen Wünsche nach noch mehr #Polizeistaat in Worte fassen darfst.

(Keine Verlinkung, aus Gründen)

Today, as a German I'm celebrating the unconditional surrender of #Nazi #Germany to the allies that went into force on May 8th.

Here's a newsreel by United News Company, showing some events in the last days of the Third Reich (transcript below). You will particularly like the final scene.

Those were the days when many in the #US proudly believed they had defeated the #Nazis.

Today, if you wave a swastika flag in the streets of Germany, you'll end up in court. If you do it in the US, the sitting POTUS calls you a good person, on the other side.

Newsreel transcript:

»Historic pictures of the last days of the war in Europe show American and Russian troops as they joined at Torgau on the river Elbe, splitting German armies in two.

United States General Reinhardt meets Red Army General Rusakov. A meeting that spelled out certain German defeat.

At allied Mediterranean headquarters in Italy, the Germans unconditionally give up all of Italy and southern Austria. In civilian clothes, representatives of the German armies sign the surrender document. General W.D. Morgan, representing Supreme Mediterranean Commander Alexander, signs for the Allies. Preceding the final capitulation of Reims, this surrender eliminated a million German troops.

Inside Germany itself, the Allies seized the famous stadium of Nuremberg, scene of countless Nazi party rallies. With the capture of this famous German city, the American flag blots out the swastika. In a symbolic gesture, American troops destroy the Nazi party emblem.«

Wenn Dich die "#KI" nicht vor Extremwetterlagen warnt, egal wie häufiger sie jetzt werden – weil die in den wiedergekäuten historischen Trainingsdaten so selten sind, und die "KI" keinen Plan von Naturgesetzen hat:

https://www.tagesschau.de/wissen/forschung/ki-wettervorhersage-100.html

#Klimakatastrophe #Klimawandel #Wetterprognose #Unwetterwarnung

#Israel is subjecting #Lebanon to the playbook that was tested on #Gaza

Including the murdering of #journalists.

»At first, rescue workers were able to get to Faraj, who was seriously wounded, and retrieve the bodies of two killed in the first airstrike. But they were fired on by Israeli forces so they were forced to halt attempts to reach Khalil, the ministry said.

Khalil remained under the rubble for hours before the Lebanese army, civil defense and the Lebanese Red Cross were able to get to the scene hours later. Khalil’s body was retrieved shortly before midnight, at least six hours after the strike. […]

Her death brings to nine the number of journalists killed in Lebanon so far this year.«

https://apnews.com/article/lebanese-journalist-amal-khalil-killed-israel-airstrike-14cabe8f773f59450b1ac47e7706d0e6

A new video by @RichardJMurphy, well worth watching, as always:

»In the course of a few weeks, the ##US military has used somewhere between eight and ten years' worth of Tomahawk missile production. […]

The damage goes beyond missiles. Maybe three complex radar systems have been destroyed in the Middle East, each taking up to seven years to replace. […]

Meanwhile, #Iran's military model, based on low-cost, simple, rapidly replicable weapons, has proved devastatingly effective against the world's most expensive and over-engineered military power. Low-tech warfare has beaten the neoliberal military. Now, as a result, time favours Iran. It can replenish its arsenal quickly. The USA cannot.«

Youtube

Invidious

#USpol

#NBC's regular #poll, March 2026 results, on positive vs. negative feelings of US registered voters towards several individuals and institutions.

#ICE is seen more positive than "#AI", and the so-called "#Democrats" fall even behind "AI".

As long as that party continues to throw marginalized people under the bus, and to fight tooth and nail any of their own progressive candidates, anticipating "landslide" results at the #midterms is, mildly speaking, self-delusional.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27777984-nbc-news-march-2026-poll-03-08-2024-release-final/?mode=document

// Numbers via @stefan

#USpol

🇪🇸 #Spine

»Die spanische Regierung hat den Luftraum des Landes für alle Flugzeuge gesperrt, die mit dem Krieg der #USA und Israels gegen den #Iran in Verbindung stehen. Diese Maßnahme "ist Teil der Entscheidung der spanischen Regierung, sich an diesem einseitig begonnenen Krieg, der gegen das #Völkerrecht verstößt, nicht zu beteiligen und ihn nicht zu unterstützen", erklärte der stellvertretende Ministerpräsident und Wirtschaftsminister Carlos Cuerpo im Interview des Radiosenders "Cadena Ser".«

https://www.tagesschau.de/newsticker/liveblog-iran-montag-108.html#Luftraum

#DEpol #USpol #Spanien #Israel

Konsument*innen schröpfen, Vermögenssteuer für Reiche bleibt seit 1997 auch weiter ausgesetzt.

Das Programm dieser @Bundesregierung: die Mehrheit der Menschen immer ärmer und erpressbarer machen, die reiche Klientel nicht antasten.

Der Kadaver namens "#SPD" fault dabei einfach nur neben der Union weiter vor sich hin, vollkommen nutzlos.

https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/konjunktur/mehrwertsteuer-preise-konjunktur-inflation-100.html

#DEpol

There are extremely few journalists like #ShamJaff @shamjaff specializing on regions and countries in #Asia, #Africa, and the #Americas that never receive enough media coverage.

Sham is monitoring developments; evaluating, summarizing, and presenting them in an ultra-digestible format that still runs very deep.

She's been publishing her "What happened last week" #newsletter for 12 years in a row, and recently moved it to her own platform, https://gishty.com

She added "The Goodies", a quarterly newsletter dedicated to underreported good news; and "You should probably read", which recommends a non-fiction book.

I can't recommend her newsletters enough, they keep a lot of important things on my radar that I could impossibly keep track of myself.

#Journalism

The #HindRajabFoundation is making progress in holding perpetrators of #WarCrimes accountable.

May those committing such crimes find no place on earth to hide.

»The Hind Rajab Foundation (#HRF) confirms that the Brazilian Public Prosecutor’s Office has issued three probe orders directing the Federal Police to open investigations into Israeli soldiers present in Brazil, following complaints filed by HRF concerning crimes committed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. […]

#Brazil now faces a decisive moment. The question is whether the investigations ordered by the Prosecutor will be carried out fully and independently, or whether those implicated in crimes against the Palestinian population of Gaza will once again evade accountability.«

https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org/posts/brazil-orders-investigations-into-3-israeli-soldiers-after-hrf-filing-one-smuggled-out-two-still-at-large

#Gaza #Israel #WarCrimes

Der #Iran praktiziert derzeit dort, wo es ihm räumlich und zeitlich passend scheint, das Recht des Stärkeren und attackiert die Energiewirtschaft der Region, nach einer Analyse, wie ihm das Recht des Stärkeren den größten Effekt bringt.

Das ist die Konsequenz daraus, dass dieses Recht des Stärkeren ausdrücklich propagiert wird, und die Stärke des Rechts ausgehöhlt wurde.

Ich kann über die gespielte Empörung der Völkerrechtsverächter heute, und ihr Herumwedeln mit dem Völkerrecht jetzt, nicht einmal mehr lachen.

Sie haben sich untergebenst vor dem Narzissten und seiner Militärmaschinerie gebückt, unterstützen diesen "Alliierten", und geben sich von den Konsequenzen überrascht.

Und wie immer sterben Zivilist*innen, viele im Iran, einige außerhalb.

https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/iran-krieg-oelsektor-golfstaaten-100.html

#DEpol #USpol

Moved most of my activism follows to @penguinrebellion – will unfollow a few accounts from here, tomorrow, for a more focused separation of work.

When you point out obvious risks and dangers of something, and the reply is along the lines of "We must…":

Rest assured there never was, is, or will be such a mythical "we", or even the faintest feeling of being obliged to do anything.

"We must…" is the equivalent of "Here's your pacifier".

76-year-old Musk supporter Eddie is about to find out that his hero doesn't give a fuck about his #health, or his suggestions.

»Some Southaven residents might take issue with Musselwhite’s framing that their critiques are politically motivated. The 76-year-old Eddie Gossett, who lives on the same road as the xAI facility, supported Musk’s initiatives to slash federal spending through DOGE. But even he complains that he can’t sleep because of the roar of the turbines.

Gossett had a suggestion for Musk: “You need to come over and stay at my house for a week,” he told NBC.«

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/elon-musk-ai-facility-mordor

"#AI" #environment

Das ist der "Alliierte", dem die @Bundesregierung und #FriedrichMerz in einen völkerrechtswidrigen Angriffskrieg folgen wollen:

»Die Entscheidung, diese Operation zu starten, fußte auf einer kumulativen Wirkung verschiedener direkter Bedrohungen, die Iran für die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika darstellte, sowie auf dem auf Fakten basierenden Gefühl des Präsidenten, dass Iran eine unmittelbare und direkte Bedrohung für die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika darstellt.«

#Trump hatte also ein "Gefühl", zerbombt dafür die Infrastruktur aller großen Städte, ruft die Iraner*innen zum Bürgerkrieg auf und hat sie schon nach wenigen Tagen wieder fallen gelassen, Regimewechsel adé.

Nur noch wenige Monate, dann beginnen #Dobrindt und Merz mit der Hetze gegen Geflüchtete aus dem Iran.

https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/amerika/trump-begruendung-irankrieg-100.html

#OperationEpsteinFury #Iran #DEpol #USpol

A word to a (very) few of my "followers" from #Gaza:

I'm trying to support as many providers of food and aid as possible. It's never enough, but there is only so much I have to give.

Some of you may believe that hammering a list of 20+ Gaza supporters, day by day, and often multiple times per day, with never-changing posts was a good idea.

It is not. I never wanted to report anybody from Gaza for spamming, out of principle.

But I am VERY close to starting it.

// CC @aral

🇪🇸 Spine

#Iran #Spain #EU #PedroSanchez