@Techmeme@techhub.social2025-12-22 11:30:37
Sequoia, a16z, and other VC firms invested $1.2B into police and public safety tech startups over the past year, following the success of Palantir and others (Abram Brown/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/a
@cdarwin@c.im2025-10-22 14:55:28
Trump Dismisses Another Inspector General,
Fueling Oversight Concerns
With the firing of Parisa Salehi,
the Export-Import Bank’s inspector general,
the president has sidelined around two dozen of the watchdogs who seek out fraud and mismanagement in federal agencies.
Even among Republicans on Capitol Hill, Ms. Salehi’s firing is prompting some backlash.
Senator Charles E. Grassley,
Republican of Iowa, raised concerns that the termination was illegal, …
@hex@kolektiva.social2025-11-21 10:08:16
It's Interesting today that the popularization of @…'s concept of "enshittification" is leading us to really think hard about how various methods of vendor lock-in enable corporations to abuse users. We see how first there's lock-in then quickly abuse follows, and recognize that the only way out of this trap is to build systems where users can leave at will.
But it's interesting that in this time of rising fascism no one is making the connection to fascism, as both increased lock in and enshittification of government. And no one is making the connection between the need to make systems optional to avoid enshittification, and libertarian socialist arguments against the systemic lock-in (and following abuse) of capitalism and the state.
@pre@boing.world2025-11-22 10:39:50
Despite much opinion to the contrary, the government money we use is crappy.
I'm at bitfest in Manchester to find out if Bitcoin could be a better money.
It could hardly be worse.
The mood is still good, people are joking about recent devaluation rather than crying. Those who aren't all in are trying to buy more at the discount.
After an introduction by Mad Bitcoins, Joe Bryan explains the problem with government money.
He imagines an island on which two types of money are tried, with a dividing wall between them.
When economic problems hit, government can just print more money on the fiat side. Everyone now using money which is worth less. Distorting prices, inflating asset prices, making the rich (who hold assets) richer and the poor (who have to pay inflated prices) poorer. Driving wealth inequality.
On the hard money side, government must tax properly. Take in more from the rich rather than inflating to take it from the poor. Reducing wealth inequality.
On the government money side, the wealthy monitize houses, stocks, resources. Saving in money is impossible, its inflated away. So they save in assets and hording resources. Capital is misallocated. The youth can't afford houses. Poverty traps are caused. The only way out is printing more for benefits. Making it all worse. More economic crises, more printing. More government debt.
Eventually, the wall is broken. Government money people can save in the hard money instead. It reduces the value of government money further. More printing. More inflation.
Eventually, war. Funded by printed money.
The dollar is the best of a bad bunch all other government money is falling in value even faster.
I wonder, is bitcoin really this better money though? It's limited, hard, and can't be printed without energy investment.
I'm still unsure that fixing money fixes the world.
--
Note: "crypto" is mostly more like government money than bitcoin. It can be printed indefinitely by it's makers, does not cost it's makers to print. Crypto is usually just a scam people to get more bitcoin. Bitcoin is not crypto.
#bitfest #bitcoin
@raiders@darktundra.xyz2025-11-08 05:52:35
Colin Cowherd Makes Feelings Clear on Raiders’ Geno Smith https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/las-vegas-raiders/colin-cowherd-feelings-clear-geno-smith/?adt_ei=[email]
@nemobis@mamot.fr2026-01-13 13:44:54
Bloomberg News: «There is still a very real gap in the current value, or stock, of all the investments that the US and China have out in the world. At the end of 2024, the total value of US companies' long-term physical investments overseas was some $6.8 trillion», 5 more than China.
https://archive.is/WR8NN…
@cdarwin@c.im2025-12-09 02:51:12
A leaked memo by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi
directs the Justice Department and FBI to ❌compile a list of groups that may be labeled
“domestic terrorism” organizations
- based on political views related to immigration, gender and U.S. policy.
The memo was obtained by independent investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein,
who joins us to discuss how it expands on Donald Trump’s "NSPM-7 directive" following the assassination of Charlie Kirk,
--…
@Techmeme@techhub.social2025-12-02 21:35:52
Sources say President Trump's efforts to block state-level AI regulations through a preemption proposal are facing significant opposition on Capitol Hill (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/02/ai-preemption-push-stalls-trump-pressure
@cdarwin@c.im2026-01-03 07:49:45
#Explosions, loud noises and low-flying aircraft have been heard in the #Venezuelan capital of #Caracas,
amid reports that Donald Trump had ordered strikes against the South American country.
In the early hours of Sat…
@cdarwin@c.im2025-12-09 15:44:49
FBI Is Offering a “Bounty” for Reporting “Anti-Trump Thought”
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/12/8/ken_klippenstein_fbi_domestic_terrorism_nspm7