Dan Taylor

I will concede that AI probably has legitimate use cases for many things, but it appears using it to pick targets in a war is actually a horrifically awful idea.

Middle East war strengthens case for renewables, says Microsoft energy chief Oil and gas price shocks triggered by conflict reignite discussion about building defences to volatile fuel costs

This war is once again underlining the need to build out renewables and electrified transit.
www.ft.com/content/001a...

Oracle and OpenAI scrap deal to expand flagship Texas data centre Meta in talks to take up additional computing capacity that the ChatGPT maker will not take up

Oracle and OpenAI scrap deal to expand flagship Texas data centre ft.trib.al/7Ohcdfm

There is a legal provision in immigration law that someone married to a US citizen can stay in the US while there visa is pending. Immigration officials have long recognized it to allow residency during the wait time. The DHS has just stopped following this part of the law.

Attempted suicides, fights, pain: 911 calls reveal misery at ICE’s largest detention facility The calls to 911 poured in from staff at Camp East Montana, the nation's largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, in its first months of operation in El Paso, Texas.

"Detainee says guards bet on suicide"

There is no bottom to the hell that Trump has created.

apnews.com/article/suic...?

The War in Iran is costing taxpayers nearly $1 billion a day.

While Trump funds another illegal war, Republicans in Congress are cutting healthcare and food assistance. 

Invest in the American people, not more endless wars.

USA TODAY reports the death toll at the school at 85: “Iranian media and officials are reporting a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran struck a girls' primary school in the southern part of the country, killing 85.”
www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

🚨 IMPORTANT: Hours before President Trump announced “major combat operations” to achieve regime change in Iran, Oman’s foreign minister — the chief mediator in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks — told CBS a breakthrough deal could be reached “tomorrow” and warned that military action would derail it. Read the full breakdown of Trump’s claims vs. what Oman’s FM told 🔹 “Imminent Threat” Trump framed strikes as necessary to eliminate an “imminent” threat. FM Badr Al Busaidi said “a peace deal is within our reach” and that negotiators have made “substantial progress.” He said broad political terms could be agreed “tomorrow,” with technical implementation of a deal completed within 90 days. 🔹 Imminent Nuclear Threat vs. No Active Enrichment Trump suggested Iran is rebuilding toward a bomb. Al Busaidi said Iran is not enriching uranium right now and that the IAEA has confirmed no active enrichment beyond a limited research reactor. 🔹 Breakthrough on Stockpiles Trump insisted Iran can “never have a nuclear weapon” and justified force on that basis. Al Busaidi said negotiators have already secured agreement on: • Zero stockpiling • Down-blending existing enriched material

Al Busaidi said negotiators have already secured agreement on: • Zero stockpiling • Down-blending existing enriched material • Converting stockpiles into irreversible fuel • Full IAEA verification He called this a “completely new” achievement beyond the Obama-era deal. 🔹 Inspections Access Trump portrayed Iran as opaque and dangerous. Al Busaidi said a deal would guarantee full IAEA access and even suggested Iran is newly open to eventual U.S. inspector access — something never allowed before. 🔹 Missiles Trump vowed to destroy Iran’s missile industry. Al Busaidi said the current mandate is nuclear-only, and Iran said missile and regional security issues can be addressed through separate dialogue. 🔹 Timing & Urgency Trump acted as if no time remained. Al Busaidi said technical talks are scheduled in Vienna and another negotiation round within a week. He repeatedly asked for “just a bit more time.”

Timing & Urgency Trump acted as if no time remained. Al Busaidi said technical talks are scheduled in Vienna and another negotiation round within a week. He repeatedly asked for “just a bit more time.” 🔹 Strikes Will Complicate, Not Solve When asked about potential U.S. or Israeli strikes, Al Busaidi warned military action would “only complicate resolving this problem” and delay peace. 🔴 KEY: Trump justified military action as necessary to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions immediately. Oman’s mediator said negotiators had already secured key nuclear concessions and were 24 hours from inking a deal — and that war risks destroying that possibility. Full speech ⤵️

Face The Nation @FaceTheNation WATCH: After meeting with Vice President JD Vance, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi – a key mediator in the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks – tells @margbrennan "the peace deal is within our reach.” He also said, “I don't think any alternative to diplomacy is going to solve this problem.” See the full interview.

🚨 IMPORTANT: Hours before Pres. Trump announced “major combat operations” to achieve regime change in Iran, Oman’s foreign min. — the chief mediator in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks — told CBS a breakthrough deal could be reached “tomorrow” & warned that military action would derail it.

Read the full...

We bombed an elementary school.

great replacement except they want to import racists

Homeland security awarded $250,000 contract to Trump-aligned consulting firm Exclusive: DHS chose firm with ties to Corey Lewandowski after demanding partisan loyalty, in departure from federal procurement guidelines

DHS has awarded a $250,000 contract to American Made Media Company, managed by former Trump campaign officials, to provide “strategic counsel” to top officials.

AMMC will draft branch negotiations and secure preferred media outlets to cover Kristi Noem’s press conferences.

“She is an international student w/a visa…She appeared to have been taken from her Columbia-owned apartment on West 121st Street…Ms. Aghayeva posted a one-second video on her popular Instagram account showing her in the back of a vehicle with the caption: ‘Dhs illegally arrested me. Please help.’”

We’ve seen the link between rising inequality and fascist politics. Creating the situation for working people to thrive should be a key goal for any politics looking to reverse this trend.

Definitely interesting and definitely telling and it makes you wonder if an influx of jobs and working class employment would affect this. Lord knows people need the opportunity.

This means an actual decline in the number of working class people employed in the state, while at the same time, the politics has become more right wing and more focused on the culture war than economics.

Labor Force Participation Rate by State 2026 Discover population, economy, health, and more with the most comprehensive global statistics at your fingertips.

It's interesting to think about the intersection of labor force participation rates and state politics when it comes to a place like West Virginia, which currently has the lowest labor force participation rate in the country.
worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankin...

Good listen

Here is @aoc.bsky.social thankfully telling everyone exactly what to do to stop a concentration camp from being built where you live.

Please take it to heart and take action.

Put this one in the lack of self-awareness hall of fame

I don't want a war with Iran.

A dark harbinger.

This seems to very much undermine Duke Energy's plan to convert Belews Creek to nuclear power in North Carolina.

We know the hard-working folks at the Gordie Howe Bridge site. As AFL-CIO President @lizshuler.bsky.social told them, the union members who build infrastructure like this bridge move our country forward.

The work is done. Don’t let our members’ hard work go to waste for political games.

‘He’s not the same’: Father of Liam Conejo Ramos says 5-year-old continues to suffer Some people thought they say the 5-year-old during the Super Bowl halftime show. But Liam is still in hiding with his family, after he and his father were detained and then released from a Texas deten...

Super Bowl viewers Sunday speculated that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos appeared in the halftime show. In fact, he has been in hiding with his family.

“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.

So, the Epstein class consists of both elements from the capitalist/ownership class and the managerial class?

Jeffrey Epstein’s Money Mingled With Silicon Valley Start-Ups

Epstein had many known connections to Silicon Valley CEOs, but less known was how he made money from those relationships.

We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...

😕

We've publicly seen all the Musk stuff, but Thiel is basically J.D. Vance's mentor. It just goes to show that those with money, even if they aren't from our country, can still control our politics. Even while having ties to Epstein!

It's wild that two of the most prominent right wing tech oligarchs, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, are both products of apartheid South Africa. Both are foreign nationals, but through their wealth and complexion have gained immense power within current "America First" Administration.

Marimar Martinez, shot by Border Patrol in Chicago, speaks out after Good, Pretti deaths: 'I am their voice' In a wide-ranging interview with the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, Martinez discusses her shooting, the federal government’s failed attempt to prosecute her and the role she now sees for herself in a fi...

Marimar Martinez, shot 5 times by Border Patrol in Chicago, speaks out after Renee Good, Alex Pretti deaths

'I am their voice'

NEW w/ @adrianacardmag.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...