Odds and Ends — 29 January 2025

@preparedwombat 77

about 2 months ago (Edited)

oddsandends

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:

World’s largest sovereign wealth fund reports record $222 billion annual profit on tech rally

Top AI Investor Says Goal is to Crash Human Wages

Pot calls kettle black: OpenAI says it has evidence China’s DeepSeek used its model to train competitor

Czech Central Bank Governor to Present Plan to Add Bitcoin to Its Reserve

Coronavirus and Public Health:

https://twitter.com/CovidCanada1/status/1883977307217617297

Four lessons COVID taught us about the immune system

Amid pandemic upheaval, researchers have gained fundamental insights about how the body fends off infections.

Politics:

“On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” — H. L. Mencken

https://twitter.com/MarshallCohen/status/1884345984697680204

White House Calls Undocumented Immigrants ‘Criminals’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed immigrant rights groups’ fears that the Trump administration sees all undocumented immigrants as ‘criminals’ and isn’t just seeking to deport those who commit violent acts.
Reality check: There is no law making it a crime to live in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant. Instead, the law treats it as a civil violation.

https://twitter.com/briantylercohen/status/1884108597942182325
https://twitter.com/CA_DWR/status/1884122000232444407

This is just wrong: Pentagon to Pull Mark Milley’s Security Detail

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will announce he is revoking the security clearance and personal security detail for retired Army General and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
Hegseth will also direct a review to consider if Milley should be stripped of a star in retirement based on actions that ‘undermine the chain of command.’

https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1884227358942716087

Stay In Your Lane: Judiciary Rebukes Trump Admin For Email Blast To Court Employees

https://twitter.com/RossKneeDeep/status/1884217694901395668

Trump Is Ignoring the Law on TikTok

For over a week now, Donald Trump and the Justice Department have been flouting the law meant to shut down TikTok. The legislation was unambiguous and was passed by large, bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress; it was affirmed by a unanimous Supreme Court less than two weeks ago.
And for the most part, both Republicans and Democrats have sat quietly by as Trump has waved away their previously stated concerns, as well as the constitutional powers and institutional prerogatives of Capitol Hill.

https://twitter.com/danielsgoldman/status/1884230655841804333
https://twitter.com/whstancil/status/1884071883978727575

Republicans Claim They Don’t Know About Funding Freeze

House Republicans gathered at Trump’s Doral resort for their annual retreat are employing the age-old “I haven’t seen the tweet” strategy when asked about the federal aid pause. Representative Gabe Evans, a Colorado Republican from a district Kamala Harris won, said he would get back to us. Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York said she had not seen the memo.

The Impoundment Crisis of 2025

When, not if, recipients of the frozen funds sue to challenge agencies’ compliance… it’s a virtual certainty that the Trump administration will argue that the ICA is unconstitutional and that the President has inherent constitutional authority to impound.
That argument is a loser, but it’s a good bet that it’s going to be up to the Supreme Court to say so—and probably a heck of a lot sooner than we might have predicted as recently as yesterday.

https://twitter.com/AlexBondODUA/status/1884125420876095921

Ukraine Destroys 5% Of Russia’s Total Refinery Capacity In Only Two Nights Of Strikes

https://twitter.com/InsiderGeo/status/1884236006083399685

NOT from The Onion: Google Maps will soon rename Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’

https://twitter.com/thejackhopkins/status/1884144177988153835

Trump’s Perceived Enemies Brace for Retribution

Around the nation, those who have crossed Trump are readying themselves, their families and their colleagues for the retribution that the president and his allies have pledged will come. Those who fear they could be targeted include election officials, prosecutors, current and former elected officials, democracy advocates, people who worked in Trump’s first administration and those who appeared on a list of perceived enemies written by Trump’s FBI pick, Kash Patel.
Interviews with more than two dozen people revealed the lengths that some are taking to safeguard themselves from whatever comes — if anything, at all. They are bracing for criminal investigations, tax audits, congressional or state legislative scrutiny, arrests, online harassment and physical threats.
More than half said they are lining up attorneys, a few are packing ‘go bags’ in case they need to quickly flee, a couple are carrying recently acquired weapons, and several still in public office are getting employees ready to receive subpoenas or field interview requests by authorities. About a dozen have spoken to spouses or children about the steps they should take if police arrive at their homes.

Trump’s Disapproval Jumps

President Trump’s disapproval rating has jumped from 39 percent to 46 percent, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Interestingly, a big majority oppose ending birthright citizenship and renaming Gulf of Mexico.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1884270188876423214

Acosta’s next act: Hold on to the truth…

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1884275188243784186

Greenlanders Reject Trump With 85% Majority Against Joining US

https://twitter.com/NotHoodlum/status/1883984454689120301

Trump’s Commerce Pick Wooed Companies to Mexico

On the campaign trail with Donald Trump, Howard Lutnick railed against policies that encouraged factories and jobs to move to Mexico.
But at the same time, the president’s eventual nominee for commerce secretary runs a commercial real estate firm that has been pitching the virtues of Mexican manufacturing to American companies.

https://twitter.com/GianmarcoSoresi/status/1883933575134994526

Trump Takes His Corrupt Retribution Against The Justice Department

https://twitter.com/jvgraz/status/1883713575308743124