To Whom It Should Concern...
“Mr. Dernbach, don’t play Russian roulette with H’s life. Err on the side of caution. There’s a reason the US government along with many other governments don’t recognise the Taliban. Apply principles of common sense and decency.” That was an email that Jon, a retired American from a Philadelphia suburb, fired off from his Gmail account to a prosecutor at the Dept of Homeland Security after reading a story about efforts to deport an Afghan whose life would be in immediate danger from the Taliban. The email contained no threats. It was just a measured call for caution and decency from someone who thought that people like him needed to speak up if we want to preserve America’s better values. The response was less measured. “Five hours and one minute later, Jon was watching TV with his wife when an email popped up in his inbox. He noticed it on his phone. ‘Google,’ the message read, ‘has received legal process from a Law Enforcement authority compelling the release of information related to your Google Account.’ Listed below was the type of legal process: ‘subpoena.’ And below that, the authority: ‘Department of Homeland Security.’ That’s how it began. Soon would come a knock at the door by men with badges and, for Jon, the relentless feeling of being surveilled in a country where he never imagined he would be.” There are a lot of things going on in our country that we never imagined would be. Most of the coverage goes to the things happening out in the public, often captured on video. But, as the knock on Jon’s Philadelphia front door makes clear, there are a lot of things happening in the shadows as well. WaPo (Gift Article): Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon. Anything you say can and will be used against you. But that’s no longer just limited to the moments after you’ve been arrested and read your Miranda warning. Anything you say, write, buy, do, share, or send anywhere, anytime can be used against you. Just ask a guy named Jon from a Philadelphia suburb who shared this story, but who, for obvious reasons, asked that his last name not be used. In America.
+ Everything we do online, and much of what we do offline, is easily trackable. Many of us have long worried that corporations compiling and crunching all that data can use it for marketing purposes. We have something bigger to worry about now. Tressie Mcmillan Cottom in the NYT (Gift Article): ICE Is Watching You. “The companies that already use our data — to target us with advertisements, to assess our eligibility for loans or insurance — are limited largely by the concerns of business: for the most part, a company wants your wallet, not your liberty. The same cannot be said of this administration.”
+ Sometimes surveillance seems like a good thing. Flock cameras are used by cities and towns across the country to help police departments catch car thieves and other crooks. But like all other data, this material is not safe when we have a federal government that even law enforcement can’t trust. Mountain View police turn off license plate readers, allege unauthorized federal use. Last month, another Bay Area city terminated its Flock contract for the same reason.
France Stance
“French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning.” In different times, this may have been an investigation American officials would have led. Instead, we can expect a lot of pushback, and probably some threats, from the US government.
+ Reuters: Despite new curbs, Elon Musk’s Grok at times produces sexualized images – even when told subjects didn’t consent.
+ The missing guardrails on xAI are no mistake. They were removed to boost the app’s popularity. WaPo (Gift Article): Inside Musk’s bet to hook users that turned Grok into a porn generator.
+ This is no longer just a story about a social network or a consumer AI program. “The biggest merger in history, with an asterisk, just happened: SpaceX has acquired xAI to create a $1.25 trillion giant. It’s an all-stock deal — and the stock is private (and privately valued, hence the asterisk), though SpaceX plans to go public later this year.” The Numbers, and Questions, Behind Musk’s Mega-Merger. (Tired: Too big to fail. Wired: Too big to care.)
Tear Jerkers
“I know that intellectually. But I still did not expect them to gas a chill, friendly protest full of nurses and teachers and children and the elderly.” Sarah Jeong in The Verge: How to tear gas children.
+ “The 7-year-old Gresham girl who was detained on her way to see the doctor last month is only eating bread with mayonnaise and her family has to purchase water because the water provided at the Texas detention center where they’re being held is undrinkable.” (In a twist that seems all too predictable in today’s America, there’s also been a measles outbreak in the facility.)
Five Ring Circus
It sort of seems hard to believe that the Winter Olympics are just a few days from now. For a quick preview, NPR has a guide to 19 Winter Olympic storylines. For Americans, all eyes will be on Lindsey Vonn, whose high-profile comeback was dealt a serious blow when she crashed at the last event before the games. Despite a ‘ruptured’ knee ligament, Lindsey Vonn says she will compete in the Olympics. (If I had a ruptured knee ligament, I’m not sure I’d have the strength to watch the Olympics…)
Extra, Extra
Grill Bill and Hill: “For months, the Clintons resisted subpoenas from the committee, but House Republicans — with support from a few Democrats — had advanced criminal contempt of Congress charges to a potential vote this week. It threatened the Clintons with the potential for substantial fines and even prison time if they had been convicted.” Clintons finalize agreement to testify in House Epstein probe, bowing to threat of contempt vote.
+ Drone Blown: Tensions between the US and Iran just got more tense. US fighter jet shoots down Iranian drone approaching US aircraft carrier.
+ We’ll Have Something For You in Two Weeks: “The legislation will ensure full-year funding for the federal government through the end of September, with the lone exception of the Department of Homeland Security, which is put on a two-week leash as Democrats insist on changes after federal agents fatally shot two Americans in Minneapolis.” House passes bill to end the shutdown and punt on DHS funding.
+ Owning the Lib: “Manufacturers shed workers in each of the eight months after Trump unveiled ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, according to federal figures, extending a contraction that has seen more than 200,000 roles disappear since 2023.” WSJ (Gift Article): U.S. Manufacturing Is in Retreat and Trump’s Tariffs Aren’t Helping.
+ Longevity Influencer Falls Short: “If you didn’t know who Peter Attia was last week, here’s how you’ll remember him going forward: Attia is the guy who once emailed Jeffrey Epstein to confirm that ‘pussy is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though.'” The Longevity Influencer Who Went Into ‘Withdrawal’ Without Jeffrey Epstein. Attia has been forced to step down from several roles, including at protein bar company David Protein. His recent hiring to be an expert at the all-new CBS News is also at risk. It’s interesting how the Epstein connection can ruin some people and not harm others at all.
+ Harvard Yardline: “Trump issued his latest broadside hours after the New York Times reported that his administration had retreated from pressuring Harvard for $200 million to satisfy accusations of wrongdoing.” Trump Says He Wants $1 Billion From Harvard in New Attack.
+ Mouse Click: “D’Amaro, 54, is seen as CEO in the classic Disney mold with nearly 30 years of experience on the retail side of Disney, giving him a visceral understanding of how children and families interact with the Mouse House brand.” Josh D’Amaro Is Disney’s Next CEO, Replacing Bob Iger.
+ Trevi Levy: “Tourists hoping to get close to the Trevi Fountain had to pay 2 euros ($2.35) starting Monday as the city of Rome inaugurated a new fee structure to help raise money and control crowds at one of the world’s most celebrated waterworks.” (You can expect this to be the norm in more places as over-tourism, especially at Instagram-famous spots, remains a big issue.)
Bottom of the News
“For decades, Japan has enjoyed a reputation as one of the cleanest places in the world, all while having almost no public trash cans. But an influx of foreign visitors—a record 42.7 million last year—is disrupting the garbage equilibrium. In some tourist-heavy areas, littering is on the rise, leading some local officials to rethink waste management.” Tourists in Japan Are Baffled: Where Are the Trash Cans?
