THE ONES TO REALLY WORRY ABOUT ARE THE ONES THAT DELIBERATELY FAIL: A Chatbot Has Passed a Critical Test For Human-Like Intelligence. Now What?
April 16, 2025
SCIENCE, UNSETTLED: Thought To Be Impossible: Scientists Break Century-Old Physics Barrier.
WHEN I THINK OF JUDGE BOASBERG, I THINK OF CONTEMPT: Jeb Boasberg’s “Criminal Contempt” Finding Makes Mockery of Separation of Powers: After setting the contempt trap, Judge James Boasberg today snapped the trap shut with a wild 46-page opinion accusing Trump officials of “willful disregard” for his now vacated court orders.
Somebody sure wants to create a constitutional crisis. https://t.co/P7uZNtaBSb
— Randy Barnett (@RandyEBarnett) April 16, 2025
IN A NATION OF 300 MILLION PEOPLE THAT DOESN’T SEEM LIKE MANY AT ALL, ACTUALLY: Emergency rooms treat a gunshot wound every half-hour. I’d guess they remove foreign objects from people’s anuses about that often.
A CRAZY IDEA: Mazda’s Rotary-Engined Sports Car Is Almost Ready.
A TRILLION HERE AND A TRILLION THERE…: ‘Massive Numbers’: Trump’s Economic Agenda Sparks $7 Trillion In Investment.
THE DEMAND FOR RIGHT-WING VIOLENCE IN AMERICA VASTLY EXCEEDS THE SUPPLY: “The man accused of setting fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence Sunday indicated he was motivated by his views on the Israel-Gaza war and believed Shapiro needed to stop the killing of Palestinians a newly unveiled search warrant says.”
FAIL, BRITANNIA: Once-Great Britain Took Another Big Step on the Road to Venezuela.
STAY SAFE: Headlamp Rechargeable 50000 Lumens Super Bright LED Head Lamp for Adults. #CommissionEarned
HMM: Chinese factories are taking the trade war somewhere new.
Chinese suppliers have been flooding American social media this week, urging users to outflank President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs on Beijing by buying directly from their factories.
One TikTok user, who goes by Wang Sen, claims that he is the original equipment manufacturer for most luxury brands, while standing in front of a wall of what appear to be ultra-spendy Birkin bags. OEMs work behind the scenes to make the products that another company then sells under its own brand.
“Why don’t you just contact us and buy from us? You won’t believe the prices we (will) give you,” he said in one clip.
His video was later taken down by the app. In the meantime, though, DHgate, an online wholesale store infamous for selling Chinese dupes of luxury goods, has shot to #2 on the US Apple app store. Another app, Taobao, China’s OG e-commerce site, is at #7.
It’s highly improbable that these are real suppliers for brands like Lululemon and Chanel, multiple experts told CNN. Legitimate manufacturers usually sign non-disclosure agreements, so it’s unlikely that these creators are selling the real thing.
Or they’re desperate enough to try, regardless. Who knows? So caveat emptor.
CUT THE RED TAPE WITH MILEI’S CHAINSAW: Restrictive and Sometimes Ludicrous Regulations Are Stifling the Revolution in Nuclear Reactors.
THIS IS WHAT “GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA,” A FAVORITE SLOGAN OF HAMASNIKS, LOOKS LIKE: Suspect in Shapiro arson attack cited plight of Palestinians.
Nothing to see here, just a leftist loon taking campus Hamasnik rhetoric seriously and trying to murder a Jewish governor and his family on the first night of Passover.
CLEAN YOUR KEYBOARD: Solareye Compressed Air Duster – 180000RPM Electric Air Duster. #CommissionEarned
THIS IS NEWS? Dogs’ speech recognition: New study shows they listen beyond tone.
A new study conducted by animal behavior and mammalian cognition experts at the Universities of Lincoln and Sussex, and Jean Monnet University, reveals that dogs may be far better at understanding human speech than previously understood.
The group’s research paper, “Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) recognize meaningful content in monotonous streams of read speech,” published in Animal Cognition, explains that dogs actually “listen in” when we are speaking, even if the speech is not directed at them. According to the findings, dogs possess the neurological capacity to passively sift through information and commands relevant to them when humans are talking.
Humans and dogs have lived symbiotically for more than 14,000 years, yet despite our mutualistic bond, there remains a poor understanding of whether dogs do understand what we say.
My Golden knows what end credits music sounds like — any end credits music — and perks up because the movie is over and dinner is near.
EXTEND THE TAX CUTS: Georgians Send a Tax Day Message to Sen. Jon Ossoff.
WELL, GOOD: Trump to sign memo combating Social Security fraud.
Immigrants are unable to receive Social Security if they are in the country illegally, but Trump and his advisers, including X owner Elon Musk, have amplified claims that millions are being placed into the program.
According to Leavitt, the memorandum will also expand the Social Security Administration’s fraud prosecution program, direct the agency to ensure ineligible aliens are not receiving funds, and establish a Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution program in 15 U.S. attorney’s offices.
Lastly, the memorandum will require the agency’s inspector general to investigate earnings reports for people aged 100 or older with mismatched Social Security records to combat identity theft. This topic has been top of mind for Musk as he leads the Department of Government Efficiency.
The news comes as former President Joe Biden is set to reenter the public sphere by delivering a speech on Social Security at a conference in Chicago.
On the last point, nobody cares.
STANDING UP FOR AMERICAN COMPANIES: FCC head Brendan Carr tells Europe to get on board with Starlink.
OR MAYBE YOU WILL: You’ll Never Believe What Slow Learners the Democrats Are. “It seems like only earlier today [it was only earlier today, Steve —Editor] that I was encouraging Democrats to go on with their bad selves and dive deep into progressive loserdom with future presidential candidates like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It is my gleeful duty to report that no such encouragement was required.”
THE PEOPLE WHO AFFECT TO BE UPSET ABOUT THIS DON’T SUPPORT JAILING OR DEPORTING THE SHOOTERS, THOUGH: Emergency rooms treat a gunshot wound every half-hour.
The Texas teen accused of fatally stabbing a high school football star at a track meet allegedly lives in a $900K home inside a luxurious gated community — despite requesting a judge lower his $1 million bond because of financial difficulties, according to a report.
Karmelo Anthony, 17, is shacked up with his family at the pricey home inside the gated community of Richwoods in Frisco, Texas, after he was released from jail Monday on a reduced $250,000 bond for allegedly killing Austin Metcalf earlier this month, the Daily Mail reported.
The home — where rent is estimated to be $3,500 a month — had a white Suburban, a black Acura, and a third sedan in the driveway on Tuesday, according to the outlet.
A neighbor said that the family had just bought a new ride.
“He got a new car,” the resident told the outlet. “If you look at the license plate, it’s got a paper tag and it says it expires June 4.”
Being an accused murderer with multiple witnesses ain’t what it used to be.
THE U.S. ACCOUNTS FOR .1% OF GLOBAL SHIPBUILDING: So, Does China’s Shipbuilding Capacity Concern You?
VDH: China Would Lose a ‘Trade War’ With the US—’Gradually, then Suddenly.’
China has done everything possible to incur global distrust and fear.
Most of the world accepts that the COVID-19 epidemic that killed and maimed millions worldwide was birthed in a Wuhan virology lab under the auspices of the People’s Liberation Army. The world also remembers that China and the Chinese-controlled WHO lied repeatedly about the origins and spread of the virus.
The global public may recall that China stopped all domestic flights out of Wuhan on the internal news of the lab leak of the virus, while for days greenlighting nonstop air travel to major European and American cities. The world now accepts that China will never explain exactly when the virus appeared, how it “escaped” from the lab, why it was created in the first place, why Beijing repeatedly lied about all such inquiries, and what happened to an array of whistleblowers who warned of the leak.
China’s so-called allies, such as Russia and India, have historical grievances and ongoing border disputes fueled by Chinese aggression.
NATO, the EU, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the US also are curious as to why China is using its vast foreign exchange not to lift about a quarter of its population out of third-world-level poverty. Instead, it is frantically building 3-4 nuclear bombs a month, a 700-ship navy, and 2,500 combat aircraft as it ratchets up pressure on Taiwan.
The complexities of trade and tariffs present all sorts of minefields. But the Trump administration is beginning to navigate them, and its trajectory is rather simple. In the next 90 days, it will likely conclude trade deals with our allies and third parties that bring either tariff parity or no tariffs at all that will reduce the U.S. trade deficit.
Of course, our allies and neutrals still use stealth tariffs to ensure advantage by money manipulation, VAT taxes, and pseudo-health and security impediments to free trade. And they deeply resent the Trump administration’s loud denunciations of their surpluses and asymmetrical tariffs. But those machinations can be addressed later in round two after tariff reciprocity or elimination is finalized.
For now, Trump should persuade our allies that if they were not so subject to Chinese mercantilism, they would have more flexibility to ensure fair trade with the U.S. And thus, they should not do something self-destructive and side with China but instead join the U.S. to force China to keep its long-broken promises and play by international rules. A reduced import footprint from China in the U.S. could make room for increased imports from the EU, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—if they strike parity deals with the Trump administration. Barring that, they should simply get out of the way and not opportunistically cut reformist trade deals with China.
If China really does reduce most of its exports to the U.S., America will have to scramble for a year or so to establish new supply chains and some alternate importers of U.S. products. But after a year of gradual dislocation, China will begin to hemorrhage, and then quite suddenly, given the U.S. has almost all the advantages—if it chooses to use them.
Flashback to November of 2019: How to Conduct Business with Chinese Companies That See a Dark Future.
