Francine McKenna

I have now watched all the Detective Montalbano, and even Young Montalbano. I am now fluent in Sicilian.

I have now watched all the Detective Montalbano, and even Young Montalbano. I am now fluent in Sicilian.

Tell him he is smarter than his teachers and so it does not matter. That's what my mom did and look where it got me. 😉

‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza The Israeli army has marked tens of thousands of Gazans as suspects for assassination, using an AI targeting system with little human oversight and a permissive policy for casualties, +972 and Local C...

For some time

www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-...

To strike 1,000 targets in 24 hours in Iran, the U.S. military leveraged the most advanced AI it’s ever used in warfare.

Anthropic’s Claude partnered with the military’s Maven Smart System, suggesting targets and issuing precise location coordinates. https://wapo.st/46BFe1T

Hey ChatGPT, write me a fictional paper: these LLMs are willing to commit academic fraud Mainstream chatbots presented varying levels of resistance to deliberate requests for fabrication, study finds.

Why tenured academics and administrators insist that using this technology is unproblematic and just how the future should work with none of our input is baffling to me. Feels like a modern cargo cult.

Sorry I'm not more open-minded about LLMs, it's just some fucking maniacs shoveled out a bunch of useless bloatware featuring that technology, did not give me any chance to opt out, reorganized the entire economy around it, zeroed out gains made by green energy, and made it impossible to buy RAM

Trump's Troubling RSVP While the WHCA publicly welcomed Trump’s decision to attend this year’s dinner, inside the organization, correspondents reacted with a mix of curiosity and dread—with several telling Status the conces...

From this: www.status.news/p/donald-tru...

“His participation will at least lend the weekend some electricity,” the reporter continued. “And also, most importantly, give media reporters a fresh angle on the same story they’ve been writing for the last decade.”
Mebbe if this reporter wants electricity they can go to MN and get tased by ICR.

Betting On Armageddon Following a viral call-out from The Lever’s David Sirota, Polymarket has removed a market for predicting nuclear detonation.

🚨NEWS: Last night, The Lever exposed Polymarket creating a market for gambling on nuclear war/nuclear detonation — the subsequent public outcry has now prompted Polymarket to shut it down.

www.levernews.com/betting-on-a...

the kind of thing that gets played at a war crimes trial

"It is fraud" -- Neguse nails Kristi Noem for lying during her testimony yesterday when she told the Senate that DHS's $220m ad campaign starring her "went out to a competitive bid" (it did not), and tells her "I think there's gonna be accountability" (1/2)

Not sure we really want someone who is better at her current job.

U.S. sub sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, killing 87 and expanding war zone A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington's pursuit of the Iranian navy.

A US submarine sinking a lonely, dinky Iranian surface ship an ocean away from the theater of the main conflict—and 9000
miles from North America—makes it pretty clear the US is fighting a general war, without the declaration required by the Constitution. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Randall on Mississippi: "One of the perpetrators of that fraud? Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who received $1.1m from the govt for speeches he never made. Congressional Republicans' response was to invite Favre to testify about how we should strengthen oversight of federal welfare programs."

A navy torpedo detonates under the target, lifts it out of the water and cracks the hull. The people who aren’t thrown overboard by the blast are knocked unconscious and buried alive in their compartments when the ship sinks. We did that to 141 people today for no reason.

My mom has that "record player"in her basement!

Best of Chicago 2025: Music & Nightlife - Chicago Reader An index of the Music & Nightlife staff picks for Best of Chicago 2025.

The Reader’s Best of Chicago issue is out today, I wrote 10 percent of the critic’s picks, which I’ll thread below. But first, here’s all the editorial contributions to the music and nightlife section

chicagoreader.com/best-of-chic...

he is 73 years old. my god.

Hegseth wants the people he sends to fight trump’s war of opportunity to die in anonymity.

Pete Hegseth suggested this morning that reporting on the 6 U.S. service members who were killed in Trump's Iran war is an example of the news media 'trying to make Trump look bad.'

My dad, a Chicago fireman is standing behind my mom, holding a brother. I am standing in front of dad and my sister is the one pouting in the chair. We would go to the firehouse for holidays if he had to work, so this was Christmas 1967. Fond memories of fake sliding down the poles, great food by "Odd Jobs" the cook, and climbing on the trucks and hoses. Older kids even got to take a ride up in the snorkel!

Remembering dad on 9th anniversary of his death. A quiet hero with tough job: husband to my mom and father of six kids on a Chicago fireman's salary! (He came from WWII ravaged Glasgow as a teen with nada, he said, but a paper bag full of fresh skivvies. A wonder he almost always smiled.) ❤️

The Original Mr. Beef Opens At Midway Airport The legendary River North beef stand — made even more famous by FX's "The Bear" — opened its second location near gate B14.

blockclubchicago.org/2026/03/03/t...

As Chicago Loses Another Iconic Neon Sign, Preservationists Sound The Alarm There are about 30 mid-century neon signs remaining in Chicago — but no clear incentives for owners to keep them up when their small businesses close, preservationists said.

blockclubchicago.org/2026/03/04/a...

Shelly Willingham and Nasif Majeed, two other Democratic lawmakers who also joined the GOP to help pass conservative priorities (though not the specific ICE bill I'm talking about here), also lost to progressive challengers tonight.

The Feds Targeted Charlotte. Now a Local Democrat Who Helped ICE Faces Voters. - Bolts North Carolina lawmaker Carla Cunningham voted to mandate compliance with ICE, and derided immigrants on the House floor. The Democrat faces an intense March primary.

JUST IN: North Carolina's Dem lawmaker Carla Cunningham gave the GOP the decisive vote to pass a law forcing police to comply with ICE. She said "all cultures are not equal."

She just lost reelection BIG in the Dem primary to a progressive pastor & activist, Rodney Sadler. 70% to 22%!

Context:

David Zaslav Cashing In Over $100 Million Of Warner Bros Discovery Stock; Other Top Execs Also Sell Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav is selling stock in the company worth north of $114 million.

The most disgusting combination of self-enrichment and failed management in the history of the entertainment business. deadline.com/2026/03/davi...

Bbbbbbbbbbbazinga.

When we talk about Baby Boomers not getting off the stage: In 1997, the US president was born in 1946.

In 2007, the US president was born in 1946.

In 2017, the US president was born in 1946.

And next year in 2027? The US president will have been born in 1946.