Odds and Ends — 25.9.25

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:

Coronavirus and Public Health:

When Illness Makes You Into A New Person

In her second novel, Patricia Lockwood wonders whether long COVID has replaced her old self with someone entirely different.

https://twitter.com/DiabolicalSpuds/status/1970667190149169155

https://twitter.com/TheOnion/status/1970867849880039487

Politics:

https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1970914700415406449 https://twitter.com/covie_93/status/1970926826169172379

Trump Nominee Tried to Erase Thousands of Tweets

Jeremy Carl, a top Trump State Department nominee, deleted thousands of social media posts, many demonstrating a history of inflammatory commentary— including incendiary posts about race, claims that ‘peaceful coexistence’ with Democrats is impossible, and even a call for a political opponent to face the death penalty.

https://twitter.com/glcarlstrom/status/1970387293069627588

Colombia's president calls US attacks on alleged drug boats 'act of tyranny'

https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1970984632146653526

———— Detainees Shot and Killed at ICE Facility ————

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1970882728255230250

https://twitter.com/TheWapplehouse/status/1970891148110528873

Congressman Says He Doesn’t Trust the FBI to Objectively Investigate Dallas ICE Office Killings

https://twitter.com/johnbourscheid/status/1970891761464770783

https://twitter.com/covie_93/status/1971017123960062372

https://twitter.com/KellyScaletta/status/1970986634398269602

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

Massie: Republican leaders threatened supporters of push to release Epstein files

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1970871053212864607

Republicans Work to Block Vote on Epstein Files

Top congressional Republicans and White House allies are working behind the scenes to prevent a politically charged floor vote to release the government’s Jeffrey Epstein case files next month. While the exact strategy to avoid a vote is not yet clear, some of the GOP lawmakers who have signed on are privately being pressured to withdraw their name from the petition, which would prevent a vote from taking place.

https://twitter.com/OurShallowState/status/1970953291204022290

https://twitter.com/jimstewartson/status/1970971079528284606

———— Deny. Defend. Depose. ————

https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1970875036006248598

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/1970688754437497041

America’s Zombie Democracy

Today’s authoritarianism doesn’t move people to heroic feats on behalf of the Fatherland. The leader and his cronies, in and out of government, use their positions to hold on to power and enrich themselves. Corruption becomes so routine that it’s expected; the public grows desensitized, and violations of ethical norms that would have caused outrage in any other time go barely noticed. The regime has no utopian visions of a classless or hierarchical society in a purified state. It doesn’t thrive on war. In fact, it asks very little of the people. At important political moments it mobilizes its core supporters with frenzies of hatred, but its overriding goal is to render most citizens passive. If the leader’s speech gets boring, you can even leave early (no one left Nuremberg early). Twenty-first-century authoritarianism keeps the public content with abundant calories and dazzling entertainment. Its dominant emotions aren’t euphoria and rage, but indifference and cynicism. Because most people still expect to have certain rights respected, blatant totalitarian mechanisms of repression are avoided. The most effective tools of control are distraction, confusion, and division.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1970931913826369591

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1970932049881305289

https://twitter.com/JamesSurowiecki/status/1971013725030326380

———— Blatant In-Your-Face Corruption ————

https://twitter.com/bryanbehar/status/1970719023160787424

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1970815415187116140

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1970772795157065987

Ukraine’s Plan to Starve the Russian War Machine

Negotiations have stalled. Trump keeps changing his policies. Ukrainians, backed by Europeans, are taking matters into their own hands.

https://twitter.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1970926541552103457

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1970876718358696325

Russia rejects Trump's criticism over Ukraine war, with Kremlin declaring the country "a real bear"

———— Mors Imperii ————

https://twitter.com/MrGeorgeWallace/status/1970984731220246895

Trump Seeks Equity Stake in Another Company

The Trump administration is seeking an equity stake of as much as 10% in Lithium Americas as it renegotiates terms of the company’s $2.26 billion Energy Department loan for its Thacker Pass lithium project with General Motors.