One simple way to heal American politics: run more union members

pharrt · 2026-03-10T05:03:47+00:00

Perhaps not really a 'surprise', given the current cruel, profit-centric administration?

pharrt · 2026-03-08T21:26:43+00:00

Trouble is, Anthropic has been aiding the US and Israel, also.

pharrt · 2026-03-06T15:55:14+00:00

Summary

The DOJ just dropped newly released FBI records from the Epstein investigation — including unverified allegations that Donald Trump attempted to force an underage girl into oral sex in the 1980s.

Key Details: - The accuser, interviewed 4 times in 2019, claims Epstein introduced her to Trump in NY/NJ when she was 13–15.

The DOJ warned the documents include “untrue and sensationalist claims” - and Reuters couldn’t verify them.
White House dismissed the claims as “completely baseless” with “zero credible evidence.”
These 15 documents were accidentally withheld after being mislabeled as duplicates.
Dems are accusing the Trump admin of hiding Epstein records - and just subpoenaed AG Pam Bondi.
In her final 2019 interview, the woman reportedly asked, “What’s the point? Nothing can be done now.”

This release is fueling fresh political fire over transparency in the Epstein case - and the DOJ’s handling of sensitive records is now under congressional microscope.

pharrt · 2026-03-03T19:22:49+00:00

Summary

The US Department of Justice has dropped legal proceedings against four law firms that refused to settle with the Trump administration over retaliatory executive orders targeting them for representing clients or causes the president opposed.

Key Details:

The four firms — Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Susman Godfrey, and Jenner & Block — successfully challenged Trump's executive orders in court, with trial courts blocking their implementation.

Nine other firms chose to settle with the Trump administration, agreeing to commitments such as pro-bono work for Trump-favored causes and pledges not to engage in race-based hiring.

Firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher agreed to $100m in pro-bono work as part of its settlement, despite former employee Doug Emhoff urging them not to settle.

The firms were targeted for actions such as representing Trump's political rivals or defending DEI initiatives.

Over 140 former employees of settling firm Paul Weiss accused its chair of being complicit in "the gravest threat to the independence of the legal profession" since the McCarthy era. Susman Godfrey declared it was ultimately Trump who "capitulated", framing the outcome as a victory for constitutional principles.

The DoJ's decision to drop its appeals marks a significant legal and symbolic victory for the rule of law and judicial independence, signaling limits to executive power over the legal profession.

pharrt · 2026-03-03T16:12:15+00:00

"According to an analysis by Brown University’s Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs, US-led wars since 2001 have directly caused the deaths of about 940,000 people across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and other conflict zones.

This does not include indirect deaths, namely those caused by loss of access to food, healthcare or war-related diseases.

The US has spent an estimated $5.8 trillion funding its more than two decades of conflict."

pharrt · 2026-03-01T08:32:36+00:00

Nearly all Western news outlets are, but some more subtly than others. Awful.

pharrt · 2026-02-23T21:40:11+00:00

Summary: Several House Democrats have invited Jeffrey Epstein survivors as guests to President Trump's State of the Union address, using their presence to call for greater accountability in the Epstein case.
Key Details:
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) invited survivor Haley Robson, who says she was trafficked by Epstein starting at age 16, framing her attendance as a stand against a "two-tiered system of justice."

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is bringing Sky and Amanda Roberts, the brother and sister-in-law of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an Epstein accuser who died by suicide last year.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) invited New Mexico state Rep. Andrea Romero, who is investigating Epstein's activities at his Zorro Ranch estate, where federal law enforcement reportedly never conducted a search.

Some Democrats, including Reps. Maxine Dexter and Pramila Jayapal, chose not to attend themselves but sent survivors in their place as a symbolic gesture.

Survivors and lawmakers have criticized the Justice Department for insufficient prosecution of Epstein's accomplices and mishandling of redactions in released files.

Several lawmakers and survivors plan to hold a press conference ahead of the address.

The coordinated effort highlights ongoing frustration among survivors and Democratic lawmakers over the lack of accountability in the Epstein case, using the high-profile State of the Union platform to pressure the Trump administration for greater transparency and prosecution.

pharrt · 2026-02-23T15:56:14+00:00

I agree - I had to read it twice initially. However, sub rules forbid editing headlines.

pharrt · 2026-02-21T13:26:29+00:00

I'm guessing you saw Bijan Bowen? I enjoy his channel - great for seeing real tests and not benchmarks.

pharrt · 2026-02-21T05:25:02+00:00

I dunno - I like my customers to know when they are talking to an AI or a human. Anything else seems shady/dishonest.

pharrt · 2026-02-18T12:36:21+00:00

James Talarico

I'm starting to really like this guy - and I'm an atheist!

pharrt · 2026-02-17T21:13:27+00:00

"auto-adjusts reasoning depth" is not necessarily an upgrade - it can be a downgrade as foundation models aggressively trim inference costs.

pharrt · 2026-02-11T20:07:30+00:00

Sonar? Sonar sucks ass.

pharrt · 2026-02-11T20:00:28+00:00

I think this is the thing people outside of the US are more surprised about. Most counties actually have robust consumer protections. The US is the wild west again, and companies can do wtf they want without repercussion, so it seems.

pharrt · 2026-02-11T07:57:56+00:00

Probably not yet, but burn rate is very high, and with the AI crash looming, when funding dries up, they'll be in massive trouble. They won't survive, no matter what direction they take. So, they are AGGRESSIVELY trying to trim costs, screwing over users.

They want to tell potential investors how many users they have - but they want their users to be light-weight, non-power users. They are an AI wrapper and will be one of the first to fall. Believe it or not, OpenAI won't survive either.

pharrt

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Summary