TracingVRL by A.J. Fish

BOOM: California Enforcer Says the Paramount-Warner Merger Is "Not a Done Deal" California Attorney General Rob Bonta says he's investigating the $110 billion Paramount-Warner deal. Can he challenge it? Will he? And if he does, can he win?

"Is this deal illegal? The Clayton Act is pretty vague, it just says that mergers that “may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly” are illegal. But there are more specific guidelines based on case law last updated in 2023." www.thebignewsletter.com/p/can-the-pa...

Oakland Figure Skater Alysa Liu’s Gold Medal Story Has a Surprising Lesson for Cities A joyful, ebullient performance on ice provides a reason to look back at a landmark community investment program that no longer exists.

Had it been left to the free market, Alyssa Liu's hometown ice rink would not have existed. The Redevelopment Agency -- which Gov Jerry Brown eliminated in 2012 to close a budget deficit -- bought the parcel of land to save it from being a parking lot nextcity.org/features/oak... Great article:

David Zaslav Says Donald Trump’s Re-Election Could Offer Media Business “A Pace Of Change And An Opportunity For Consolidation” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said Donald Trump's re-election as president and Republican control of Congress bode well for more media M&A.

Because he wanted Trump so he could make more money? deadline.com/2024/11/davi...

Eliza, the original chatGPT, in 1964: #AI #ArtificialIntelligence
(See also: Signal CEO Meredith Whitaker on when/why they don't call it "Machine Learning" anymore www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHL_... )

You wrote a book? Intriguing. I came over to ask: how to Substackers-looking-to-flee know beehiv or ghost won't do the same sketchy things Substack did?

The kids don't know about the Amanda Bynes poster hastily airbrushed to avoid implying she endorsed peace

Measles outbreaks are costing the U.S. millions of dollars. The true losses can't be counted. As vaccination rates decline, the economic consequences will increase, research suggests.

Maybe the slogan "Measles will make us lose money" is what would finally break through in a society suffering from end stage capitalism.🤷🏽‍♀️
1.5 billion dollars cost annually for every percentage drop in vaccination coverage just might be what does it.
www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-...

but also-- these are people who truly believe in curses! they seem never to forget.
Salman Rushdie expressed total surprise that, after so many years, this malcontent from NJ, who'd never read a word of Salman's prose, should "honor" the fatwa.

next form of credit laundering coming soon: "well we didn't ask it to bomb it / target that person, the AI decided to"

time to update 1979 ibm slide again

Polymarket Iran Bets Hit $529 Million as New Wallets Draw Notice As US and Israeli bombs fell on Iran this weekend, bettors on Polymarket — where $529 million was traded on contracts tied to the timing of the strikes — were cashing in. Almost immediately, blockchain sleuths began hunting for unusual patterns in recent bets.

As US and Israeli bombs fell on Iran this weekend, bettors on Polymarket — where $529 million was traded on contracts tied to the timing of the strikes — were cashing in

⤵️

Oakland Figure Skater Alysa Liu’s Gold Medal Story Has a Surprising Lesson for Cities A joyful, ebullient performance on ice provides a reason to look back at a landmark community investment program that no longer exists.

Had it been left to the free market, Alyssa Liu's hometown ice rink would not have existed. The Redevelopment Agency -- which Gov Jerry Brown eliminated in 2012 to close a budget deficit -- bought the parcel of land to save it from being a parking lot nextcity.org/features/oak... Great article:

It's my new favorite word! I've never heard it. I read Kelly Vance movie reviews because he usually uses one stretch word I have to look up.

no

Personally, I always wanted to be a teacher because I so cherish my role as a cog in economic infrastructure.

damn, Trump's surgeon general nominee Casey Means is a transparent bullshitter even by the standards of the regime. Watch how she's tries to blame Chris Murphy's staffers for the fact he has her dead to rights on being dishonest and corrupt.

Flame and Fortune: It’s trees vs. fire in an attempt to get ahead of California’s pending summer of smoke | East Bay Express | Oakland, Berkeley & Alameda "Trees provide shade during heat waves, sequester CO2, filter groundwater and have shown to reverse desertification in Burkina Faso. Yet approaching the 30th Anniversary of the Tunnel fire—that’s the ...

You must have written about the first season. Who could forget it! I wrote about Survivor for my Fire article: eastbayexpress.com/flame-and-fo...

Gambling on wars? Prediction markets usher in a 'Wild West' of betting Prediction markets, which allow wagers on almost anything in politics, business or culture, takes betting to a new level. They're also raising alarms.

Gambling on wars? Prediction markets usher in a 'Wild West' of betting - by Terry Collins @usatoday.com www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

George Washington's teeth - Wikipedia

Ugly practice from that time, to buy teeth from others. But he paid for them. He bought the teeth en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_....

I don't really do "great man" stuff @damienveatch.bsky.social . And yes, he did pay slaves (or free Black men and/or women) for their teeth. But people need to know about GW.

He's very inscrutable, or has been inscrutable, but some good articles have brought more of him to light. It takes time to get to know enough about George Washington to appreciate him, and he evolved in his lifetime.

Really? I'm writing on why George Washington's birthday should be its own holiday, separate from "presidents day".

Unfettered media consolidation has real consequences.

When business interests outweigh the public interest, communities face layoffs, shrinking newsrooms, and fewer local stories.

NYU Wants Students to Put Down Their Phones. Will They? Drawing on the work of Jonathan Haidt, the university is unveiling a new effort that aims to nudge students away from rampant use of smartphones.

The @bart.gov board of directors needs to designate "reading cars" or "video-free cars". (Analog cars?) Phone peckers or "phone pigeons" rapidly pecking at their phones create eyeline pollution and make it hard to read your book/magazine www.chronicle.com/article/nyu-...

Destroying evidence by proxy?

Deluge revives concerns about European food price rises Winter ‘pantry’ depleted as rains devastate crops in Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco

"There’s no way around it: we’ll see the pressure on vegetable and fruit prices":

A wave of extreme rain across Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco has battered the winter growing regions that feed Europe, disrupting supplies of fruit and vegetables

www.ft.com/content/8504...

Zuckerberg this week is denying in court his company planned the "milestones" of increased time spent on Instagram that internal documents show it in fact planned. And big tech is spending big in Europe to halt social media bans: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/21/b... #Instagram antisocial media

Oy vey

Someone make this into an article. Too much video

It's so sad. Don't use your imagination!