Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears Alarm caused by posts of Alex Karp, tech firm’s CEO, championing US military dominance and of AI weapons

#Palantir’s manifesto, which embraces AI state surveillance of citizens along with national service in the USA, is either a parody of a RoboCop film, or a disturbing narcissistic rant from an arrogant organisation

So much cosplay.

Opening text of a thread by Palantir from X Because we get asked a lot. The Technological Republic, in brief. 1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation. 2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible. 3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public. 4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.

Palantir put out a 22-point summary of their CEO's book The Technological Republic. It's pitched as a defence of the West, but if you read it through the VDA framework, verification, deliberation, accountability, what it's actually doing looks rather different.
twitter-thread.com/t/2045574398...

It should be greater cause for pause -- and alarm -- that, at a time when we increasingly associate manifestos with mass murderers, the Silicon Valley elites can't stop writing manifestos.

This one does not disappoint.

Why Climate Goals Aren’t a Lost Cause—Even If We Overshoot Them Earth will likely warm by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, but we can’t give up on trying to get temperatures back down

www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

Kae Tempest on creativity and his gender transition: ‘I’m just glad to be alive’ Ten years after his debut novel, the poet and musician has written a follow-up exploring self-discovery and a life lived on the edge. He talks about sexuality, pronouns and drawing strength from the l...

A great artist.

Local man decides governing by the seat of his pants will be faster in $29M jet.

So, is concealing the use of this jet the reason Ford wants to crush citizens’ freedom of information?

Where is the protest music, they asked. Whoa.

What problem does this solve?

Would you like to burn down a rain forest with your coffee order?

Dear Fellow Canadians, there are 5 more days to fill out this survey or contact Transport Canada about vehicle headlights and glare at night...

Tell your offline friends and family!
#cdnpoli

Conservative MPs defend Pierre Poilievre following byelection losses The show of unity came after the Carney Liberals secured a long-sought majority through a string of floor crossings and three byelections.

Inside the 🍁Conservative caucus you’re either a lemming preparing to follow piffleswipe Pierre Poilievre off the cliff or you’re secretly ruminating about crossing the floor.
No one has the courage to ask him to leave.
🤷🏼🤭🤷🏼
www.thestar.com/politics/con...

Doug Ford defends plan to increase Ontario jail capacity by thousands Province plans to add upward of 6,000 new jail beds by 2050

“The province’s plan should be seen for what it is – a radical, multibillion-dollar boondoggle that’ll line the pockets of Premier Ford’s friends in construction and the prison-industrial complex while depriving our communities of supports that actually make us safer.”

Alberta government takes aim at Globe reporter over coverage of procurement scandal United Conservative Party House Leader compares Globe reporting to ‘dietary advice from Jabba the Hutt’

The Globe is clearly doing something right. #Cdnpoli

Alberta moves to allow private diagnostic tests without a doctor’s referral | CBC News Bill 29, if passed, would allow Albertans to self-refer to private clinics across the province, later this year.

🚨I get the frustration with access, but this is madness…👇

Seems likely to:
> costs
> overdiagnosis
> unnecessary utilization
> anxiety
> GRIFTING!

Alberta moves to allow private diagnostic tests without a doctor’s referral www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... cc @thebreakdownab.bsky.social

Man Who Threw Molotov Cocktail At Sam Altman’s Home Claims He Was Following ChatGPT Recipe For Risotto SAN FRANCISCO—Following reports that a 20-year-old man had been arrested for throwing a Moltov cocktail at Sam Altman’s home, the suspect stated Monday that he only initiated the attack because he was...

“I’ve been using ChatGPT to help with cooking for a while now, so I didn’t think too much of it when the ingredients list included a bottle filled with gasoline and a cloth wick,” said the alleged attacker

How mRNA Vaccines Could Help Treat Cancer This Medical News article discusses experimental personalized messenger RNA vaccines designed to prevent recurrence and death in patients with cancerous tumors.

Yet another tough one for antivaxx cult...👇

How mRNA Vaccines Could Help Treat Cancer jamanetwork.com/journals/jam....

“I don’t think we’re far from when patients and providers could discuss where vaccines could fit in their cancer care.”

Is AI the greatest art heist in history? New technologies of reproduction are plundering the art world – and getting away with it

AI

Is AI the greatest art heist in history? New technologies of reproduction are plundering the art world – and getting away with it

"We are replaced by digital homunculi, trained on our stolen creations. And no, the work is not good, but that scarcely matters. Generative AI is a tool to discipline, then eliminate, the human worker. The audience will just have to get used to it. This is sold as progress," writes Molly Crabapple.

"We do not have to use our imaginations to see what can happen when boastful, bombastic leaders take control of our political life and guardrails like Ontario’s rules against partisan ads are taken away."

#OnPoli

& the government of Alberta is setting it up so that we, the taxpayers, pay for the cleanup. #StopSmith #SayNoMAS #PollutersPay #EnforceTheLaw #AbPoli CleanUpYourMess.ca

Today is World Homeopathy Day.

In its honor, let’s remember that time The Amazing James Randi overdosed on homeopathy and lived to tell about it.

#BREAKİNGNEWS
According to the province, safe drug consumption services in #Kingston will cease as of September 30, with a HART Hub to open October 1.
#YGK #KFLA #onpoli #CTS #HealthNews

What we know so far: www.kingstonist.com/news/kingsto...

Bloody hell. Researchers invented a disease, published two fake papers to see if LLM’s would ingest them and kick them up as fact — and then it broke containment and all the major AI’s bought in. Information pollution.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Best to keep your cats indoors!

Image of a book entitled End Times Fascism - and the fight for the living world. A wide burst on a yellow background with red letters.

One year after our original Guardian essay, Naomi Klein and I are excited to reveal the North American cover of our forthcoming book END TIMES FASCISM - and the Fight for the Living World. It will be on bookshelves on September 15th and is available for pre-order. More details below. bit.ly/4cbLfEr

RFK Jr’s CDC delays report showing benefits from Covid vaccine, insiders say Stalled publication has sparked concerns that information conflicting with Kennedy’s views may be sidelined

MORE evidence COVID vaccines hugely beneficial.

MORE lies & spin by RFK Jr et al.

CDC delays report showing benefits from Covid vaccine www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

"Covid vaccine cut their risk of urgent care and emergency visits by 50%, and Covid-related hospitalizations by 55%..."

"To put it bluntly, an X post today receives less than 3% of the views a single tweet delivered seven years ago."
If you think it is necessary to be on Twitter to communicate your fact-based worldview, the reality is that worldview is being smothered.

Alberta’s Separatists Are Chasing a Total Cowboy Fantasy The province they describe—rural, homogeneous, under siege—bears little resemblance to reality

My recent piece: Alberta’s Separatists Are Chasing a Total Cowboy Fantasy thewalrusca.substack.com/p/albertas-s... via @thewalrus.ca

Too often, talk about safety, jobs, or “distinct identity” functions as code for intolerance, built on claims that simply don’t hold up to scrutiny.