Most of what it can and can’t do. As far as what’s publicly available at any rate Is still largely theoretical. As the field itself is still in its comparative infancy. For all we know we could end up with Quantum computers capable of replacing laptops eventually. We just don’t know enough about it with any true degree of certainty yet.

Though I also wouldn’t discount something being locked up in a Black Project or Off the Books program Government or Corporate. The list of shit they’ve declassified and willingly acknowledged was at one time a program or product of theirs could fill multiple books all on its own. Lord knows what they still have locked away or actively working on.

Fiction at the very least has to be believable. Reality is under no such limitations.

It’s worth pointing out. International law and the Geneva Suggestion only specifically mentions Humans.

Extraterrestrials, Demons, Lab grown Science projects for Blue Beam or whatever Aliens actually are aren’t mentioned.

Ironically part of why I find the freakouts over spending hilarious. We’ve long passed the point any amount of belt tightening, cutting spending, and ‘Sound Fiscal Responsibility’ will actually change anything. The arguments are largely political at this stage and cutting off or funding one party’s policy goals.

Hell most of the metrics for economic health are ultimately pointless numbers that can be massaged to mean whatever they want.

At this stage of the game. Either they (Trump and Co) pull off a miracle. Or everything is going to inevitably blow up anyway. Regardless of what we do or don’t do. The math stopped mathing years ago.

They’ve been issuing similar warnings for years long before AI. I imagine they’ve switched to warning about AI. Because AI is the boogeyman that seems to actually motivate people to actually do something.

But the backend’s of many Governments and Corporations are Frankenstein monstrosities ranging from absolute ancient tech to cutting edge modern. Held together by IT departments operating off of Caffeine, Stress, Spite, adhoc patch jobs, duct tape and IT black magic.

I mean it might also be because people were actually looking at the breakdown of who was getting measles and mumps and discovering the overwhelming majority were imports. Or people with regular close contact with them.

There’s still a lot of companies with influence in the administration and vested financial interests in importing labor. And naturally given the surging Anti-immigration sentiments. They’ll naturally begin targeting anything that supports such sentiments and gives them credibility. Like the reappearance of diseases almost unheard of here exclusively in immigrant groups.

Much like how all the chatter surrounding Monkey Pox died abruptly when it began showing up in children and animals and people naturally started making connections.

There’s still other interests at play. And there are significant sections of the right with their own sacred cows, agendas, and goals. That don’t necessarily align with everyone else’s. A Significant cohort of that is the corporations and Businesses who want the cheap labor.

Likely it might dissuade the Anti-Authority casual who doesn’t really believe in anything beyond a general dislike for anything they view as authority. They just want an excuse to riot, steal shit, and fight whatever they view as authority. While using the NGO networks to avoid consequences.

Any true dyed in the wool believer of the crap they peddle. Likely won’t be dissuaded.

The only groups that can probably legitimately be considered decentralized with no real structure or leadership are the online meme groups that burn out after it stops being funny.

Any group that has any sort of political goals. Is funded and directed by someone. There might multiple layers of middlemen in between the group and the people calling the shots. But someone is inevitably in charge.

It’s not always a Government power funding it either. Often enough Corporations and Wealthy Individuals will fund various groups to their own ends as well.

Are they able to recover the funds? Or at the very least seize property purchased with the funds?

If they’ve seized property. Then we should probably see some cool stuff start turning up at Federal Auctions.

She looks exactly like what I expected she’d look like.

TBH it should at the very least be a rule you should be born here and lived here the majority of your life. Before you can hold office or be employed as a Judge.

At least then we can take some measure of comfort that it’s homegrown stupidity.

Other disgruntled populations are watching with interest. Scotland has a strong independence movement. As does Wales. Then there’s Spain’s Catalonia region. And the United States’ own California.

The Scottish Party has failed everytime it’s gotten a vote put in front of the people. And the SNP often ends up making the Labor Party look conservative in comparison. That’s probably not going anywhere. Regardless of the breathless rhetoric online.

Wales? The Welsh are a group in active decline. Even if they manage it. They likely aren’t going to be the ones calling the shots given the imports numbers. Catalonia probably has the best shot out of all the groups listed.

California. It’s mostly pissy liberals that quiet down when Conservatives aren’t in Office. I likely wouldn’t seriously consider it a legitimate threat. The California political establishment will smother it in the crib if at actually tries to go anywhere. They know better than anyone the house of cards they built is reliant on the rest of the country to remain functional.

Technically though under some strict interpretations of the relevant laws even entertaining it at all could be considered sedition and grounds to arrest the organizers.

As to the rest of the article. Even if Alberta doesn’t opt for annexation. It will effectively end up a U.S outpost by virtue of proximity, resources we need, and American Security and Defensive Concerns.

Prolonged amounts of Humidity can overtime with other factors lead to the eventual formation of rain and storms. And affect air pressure.

But you’d need massive quantities. To cause any significant change.

Considering some Federal Agencies switching to Windows 10 was considered massive news a couple years ago. Switching to Quantum computing by 2031 will be an interesting endeavor. Especially since it’s now 2026 and Quantum Computing and what it can and can’t do is still largely theoretical. And tech companies are buying up every scrap of computer parts they can get their hands on for AI and other gadgets and gizmos.

I feel like it’s just the set up to start releasing classified DARPA/Contractor tech. As the timescale seems exceptionally rushed for it to be stuff they don’t already have waiting in the wings.

With consumer goods like a T.V remote.

1. It’s got to be made to be somewhat usable by the lowest common denominator. Not necessarily so they can figure out all the features. But just enough a room temperature IQ can figure how to switch channels at least.

2. It also has to be made in such a way that any civil suit cases regarding problems that might result from its misuse. Such as injuries from a remote ending up in orifices remotes aren’t meant to go in. Is of reduced likelihood.

TLDR: It’s got to be relatively idiot proof. And provide the company some measure of legal protection against potential lawsuits from the exceptionally stupid.

It’s a fascinating timeframe. Especially as the initial ideals of the founding fathers collided with the political, military, and economic realities of the timeframe. Which caused no shortage of problems. Though it can be a struggle to filter the Mythologization of the era and the ‘Popular History’ of the timeframe. From the actual events.

There’s a lot of idealization, Mythologization, and later retroactive oversimplifications by various historians and modern political factions. Especially in the immediate aftermath of the founding when so many of the founders were still active in domestic politics. As a lot of the reality of what went on wasn’t necessarily as morally and ethically clean as many Americans would prefer. And much of the rhetoric bandied about by both the founding fathers and other American Statesmen came with unspoken caveats that would so heavily influence later history.

There’s a lot of people who need to be beaten upside the head with History Books.

At best. Assuming he felt exceptionally generous or saw immediate political gain from it. Johnson may have given Chicago PD a grant for something generic like ‘Training’ and maybe given a generic ‘Violence is Bad’ speech/statement and promises of support that would never materialize. But outside of that he likely wouldn’t have cared.

Much like the rest of the country stopped caring. Hell sometimes shootings in Chicago barely make the news in Chicago. People have become so fucking desensitized to Chiraqs body counts and crime rates. The only time they make National News now is if the body count of killed or wounded is unusually high.

A significant portion of the geopolitical establishment. Which are the fuckheads that generated the policies in the first place. Have been stuck in a Cold War mindset and all their strategies and planning revolves around that. The USSR stopped existing in 1991. All that strategy stopped being relevant or useful in 1991.

By 2001 it was actively detrimental. Which is probably why Bush Jr, and Barry did nothing to change it. Trumps first term ironically marked the first real attempt to adapt strategy and foreign policy to the modern day.

Was it actually in self-driving mode? Or is that just an excuse being used to cover for shitty decisions? Lord knows plenty of people drive like shit and speed where they shouldn’t. Then blame the vehicle for the inevitable wreck.

And should it have been in self driving mode. Why didn’t the driver take it out of said mode? One would think it would have been clear to the driver there was issues with the vehicle self-driving if it was apparently flying down the road like it was. And last I was aware the self-driving mode was also supposed to be extremely easy to shut off. As easy as just gripping the wheel. In order to enable a quick response in the event the self-driving mode failed.

Though it does reinforce the point that you shouldn’t be reliant on these systems. All it takes is a Software or hardware malfunction/failure and your up shits creek and someone is at minimum injured or at worst dead.

Need to do it for just a minute to root around in the glovebox, maybe change a setting sure. Letting it Completely take over, regardless of how it’s marketed, just seems irresponsible.

and it is illegal under federal law to sell food to which delta-8 THC has been added

Considering what is legal to sell as food additives. All it really tells us is someone hasn’t paid the prerequisite bribes to the FDA to have it reclassified under the loopholes the other major food giants use for their frankenfood.

Depends on what her actual objectives and the reasons for placing her there were. What we expect or think isn’t necessarily what’s actually going on.

Good to see we’re getting back to good old fashioned gunboat diplomacy

Apparently easily. The Brazilian Government at least is blaming a hack at any rate

I mean one of the obvious solutions here would be to cut the Israelis loose. Considering they’ve been the sticking point in this whole fiasco and may or may not be the ones violating what does get signed more often than not. Though this latest violation is a case of he said and she said and yet another instance where everyone involved has both the incentive to lie, and a history of lying through their teeth, to justify whatever actions they seek to take. So whoever did or didn’t violate it is probably a moot point at this time.

Though given it’s now clearly become a pain point and point of leverage. Given the previous status quo has been upended. The Iranians will very likely keep doing it periodically any time they feel like they could potentially squeeze concessions out of the West and or their Gulf State neighbors. Regardless of whatever deals get signed or not. Given it, outwardly facing at least, appears to work in securing concessions that are at least somewhat favorable and or at the very least not entirely intolerable and an improvement over their previous status at the very least.

If they can’t justify it with the Israelis bombing someone. They’ll probably be able find another reason to do it in short order if they wanted to. It’s not like the Middle East is short of grudges and reasons for everyone to hate each other even before the U.S or Israelis started mucking about.

Now whether the constant talks and diplomatic outreach is some long and drawn out dance routine to some end not immediately obvious is a different albeit related matter. As it seems clear to many that no piece of paper that gets signed is ultimately going to hold in the long term. Or even the short term at this rate. Which would suggest the diplomatic outreach is ultimately a tactic that may mostly be for show and or cover for other stuff occurring that’s not so readily obvious.

All I know is I wouldn’t want to be on the Diplomatic Team at the moment. As it seems like it’d be an exceptionally stressful and or schizophrenic time. Given how rapidly stuff switches back and forth.

Whatever disclosure is. There’s going to be a lot of folks upset because it won’t match what they’ve convinced themselves it’ll be.

Whether it’s Aliens, Demons, Extra-dimensional entities, Humans from an alternate dimension, time travelers etc.

Lack of capacity for organized and sustained violence. Northern Ireland still has its various paramilitary groups still active. And given they were loyalists during the troubles there was the tacit approval from the British Government. Which means they weren’t pursued or attacked to anywhere near the same extent as the IRA. So their command structures and stockpiles are still largely intact.

The rest of the UK does not have the same level of organization. Plus the world wars and the colonial conflicts as the Empire collapsed. Not to mention changes in inheritance laws over the last century. Killed or left destitute a lot of the people in the rest of the country who’d have been liable to have had the wealth and influence in the local communities to be able to organize similar paramilitary groups.

Organization and Leadership is ultimately the key. It’s not that they won’t act. It’s that they lack the organization and leadership. The Mythos and popular history surrounding the Revolution, not to mention niche political ideology has warped a lot of Americans understanding of how things actually function.