Guitar player and blogger. UK. Runs @rochefoucauld.bsky.social & @mrfluent.bsky.social Find my blog called 'Bulletins' here: http://mattsbulletins.blogspot.com/
261 followers 501 following 1,100 posts
view profile on Bluesky 
I watched the DSA and OSA "Censorship" Hearing in the House Judiciary Committee today so you don't have to. I have some questions. A 🧵 of my internet lawyer, free speech expert, First Amendment scholar ponderings, to no no one in particular: Why are we here? 1/
I do find this eagerness, even determination, to see the Chinese Gov.t in a positive light puzzling.
There's a strange element of the left which view the Chinese Gov.t with great indulgence, & take it at its own estimation, b/c it's NOT the U.S. Gov.t, which they see as the source of all evil. I suppose the anti-imperialist left has a long history, but they're definitely still around.
There's a strange element of the left which view the Chinese Gov.t with great indulgence, & take it at its own estimation, b/c it's NOT the U.S. Gov.t, which they see as the source of all evil. I suppose the anti-imperialist left has a long history, but they're definitely still around.
Rick Beato fabulous new long interview with David Gilmour. (He did Glyn Johns recently as well.): www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT_K...
<< who is constantly trying to attack & undermine what they're trying to do. Satan the Disruptor. This became a motive force behind the Great Purges. It also provides a reason why the promised land has not arrived: because of Trotskyists, saboteurs, wreckers, spies.
It makes me think of Stalinism at its height, & the fact that Stalin trained to be a priest, which I think left an under-appreciated deep mark on him. You can see in Stalinism the transposition of a certain kind of christian idea that the godly must be perpetually vigilant against Satan >>
Whether/how/when to regulate Big Tech is the regulatory puzzle that keeps policymakers up at night. Anu Bradford & @klonick.bsky.social join @kevintfrazier.bsky.social to sort things out. The Brussels Effect is still alive, industrial policy is taking new forms & China is still the missing piece
Long story short, this 800-pound gorilla has been the elephant in the room from day one.
Great thread. This short piece of mine from 2023 argues against allowing the far-right to own & define patriotism: mattsbulletins.blogspot.com/2023/10/agai... I think I might need to update + expand it, or write a new one.
via @chrischirp.bsky.social . A thread worth your time.
The Washington Post is not allowed to mention the concept of the Network State. But I wrote about how Trump's Gaza fantasy is a pure expression the Network State ideology, as is the lust for stealing Greenland. www.techpolicy.press/trumps-gaza-...
V interesting. Your last 4 sentences there make me think of left-wing and right-wing violence in Italy during the chaos after WWI.
Meduza and Mediazona’s latest estimate — based on inheritance case data — puts Russia’s total combat losses in Ukraine at more than 200,000. At some points in 2024, Russia’s losses likely exceeded 2,000 per week. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
I think one of the things people misunderstand about being anti-ChatGPT and related products is that they are being forced into institutions and other products and services in ways that affect all of our lives whether they work or *not* and we will all have to deal with the consequences
Il a fallu un mot pour faire entrer l’innommable dans le droit. En 1944, "Axis Rule in Occupied Europe", publié par le juriste polonais Raphael Lemkin, introduit le terme "génocide" : une invention juridique qui a changé notre rapport à l’histoire… et à la justice. ➡️ https://l.franceculture.fr/4Dm
Her understanding of economics being famously thorough & complete.
Retrodict your term of art.
It does have a ring to it, no question.
I haven't heard that yet, but Lysenko is definitely relevant right now.
As RFK Jr. destroys the US healthcare system and attacks science, @mariarepnikova.bsky.social and I talked to science historian William de Jong Lambert for Rhyming Chaos about Trofim Lysenko, a Soviet agronomist and pseudoscientist whose policies killed millions.
Looking forward to this. Lysenko is definitely relevant now. What is it with tyrannies & weird scientific beliefs ? Definitely a pattern. Twisted science was a massive element of Nazism as well, as you know. & think of the bizarre personal beliefs of Himmler & Rudolf Hess.Telepathy,reincarnation etc
"Once MAGA brands you as an enemy, your fortunes shift. No amount of strategic silence will change your new identity, so you may as well lean into it." I wrote about why I chose—and keep choosing—to speak up and fight back. wiczipedia.substack.com/p/on-resisti...
The underlying hero of our story.
fintechdystopia.com/chapters/cha...
Yes, that's a really good point. I'm on chapter 3 of Fintech Dystopia. I found this part in chapter 1 very illuminating:
The AI companies are also like pickpockets who protest, "But if I can't steal wallets, the economics of my business make no sense !" As if it's an unanswerable argument.
I'm really enjoying Fintech Dystopia. It's clarifying. The AI companies understand perfectly what IP is when it's their own. When it's someone else's IP that they want to use without payment, suddenly they find the concept really hard to understand.
250. True eloquence consists of saying all that is needed and only what is needed.
In honor of National Dog Day, may we suggest one of these authentic and delightful medieval dog names for your next pet? Tell us which is your favorite in the comments 👇
What would you be proving and to who if you "hadn't heard of Taylor Swift" ? It's sheer affectation.
Betting the ranch on when the rubber hits the road.
Newsletter: My 16,000 word opus - How To Argue With An AI Booster, a comprehensive guide to arguing with AI boosters, addressing both their bad faith debate style and their specific (and flimsy) arguments as to why generative AI is the future. www.wheresyoured.at/how-to-argue...
This is an excellent summary of the whole problem.
Great stuff. This short piece of mine argues we should not allow the right + far-right to co-opt patriotism: mattsbulletins.blogspot.com/2023/10/agai...
A man whose conscience, such as it is, is for sale. The worst kind of Liberal.
The malleability of past victories, those phantom bowmen fought the French. See also: making 'Henry V' as a patriotic film in WWII.
Clichés won't love you back.
Beware chatbots. They’re a #privacy disaster. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
In a bold change from senate norms, Chancellor Palpatine has declared himself "Galactic Emperor"
Very interesting report, @lorak.bsky.social , @danahull.bsky.social : www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah2B... The headline alone is striking.
#OnThisDay 22 August 1642 King Charles I raised his standard outside Nottingham Castle. This is often regarded as the 'official' start of the First #EnglishCivilWar; in reality there had been military actions, fighting & casualties for the preceding few months. #17thCentury #OTD
via @artistina.bsky.social
Plato responds: Stop abusing my name & my work to give spurious profundity to your marketing nonsense.
@edzitron.com Report from the Telegraph via MSN, "US tech stocks lose $1tn on AI bubble fears": www.msn.com/en-gb/money/...
They're still at it, still spouting this stuff - Jason Calacanis, David Sacks & Eric Schmitt @ninajankowicz.com , @noupside.bsky.social : www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbRd...
They banned Mark Galeotti a while ago.
Have you seen this ? @rafaelbehr.bsky.social
This is the point of why Putin wants the rest of Donetsk, a preposterous demand on his part - think the Sudetenland or the Golan Heights.
Deep in the weeds of the near term horizon.
"Treasured local talents" is nice, isn't it ? Great compliment.
Screenshot from the Investopedia page about SPVs. They then go on to give a brief description of how Enron used them.
Think of the Allies firebombing Japan, before they used the atom bombs. Curtis LeMay said "I suppose if I had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal." I often think about that.
John Schlesinger didn't like Stamp & didn't want him for the film. I presume the producers insisted. It seems odd because Stamp is so right, but he must have had his reasons.
Very sad news about the death of Terence Stamp. He was outstanding as Sgt. Troy. He had this dark magnetism in that role. All of the crazy things that Bathsheba does for him make perfect sense.
Sad news indeed.
'Greenmantle', T. E. Lawrence, St John Philby, Sir Mark Sykes, on & on & on.
Reading Lunt's popular book "The Story of Islam" which was published in 1909. The most striking feature of the book is its dedication which is very prophetic when you take into account of what British public school boys did in the Middle East during and after the FWW.
Seamless deliverables, actionable takeaways.
A federal judge has blocked the FTC's investigation into Media Matters research around advertising and antisemitic content on X.
You can argue "What choice did they have ? it was just the reality of the situation", I mean about giving up eastern Europe to Stalin, & I agree with you, but still. Realpolitik is & always has been a dirty business.
When the Big 3 met in Tehran, we British & the Soviets had jointly occupied Iran, rather like the Nazis & Soviets had Poland in 1939. Ain't great power politics grand ?
Like the British Empire & the US did at the Tehran Conference in 1943 ?
So being a soviet spy while being a senior member of MI6 wouldn't seem as weird & unnatural as it would to you or me.
Not come across this. Looks excellent. I think a major motivation for Kim was that he was competing with his father, who was an over-achiever putting it mildly. Also, the family business was influencing the fate of nations from the shadows, & taking your own line about it.
"PURSUING PEACE" ? Whatever he thinks or says, Putin started the war for no good reason (2014 & 2022) and he can stop it now, immediately if he wanted to.
Here is the European joint statement - Ukraine needs "ironclad security guarantees" - No limitations on Ukraine's armed forces - No Russian veto on Kyiv's EU/Nato membership - No decisions on Ukraine's territory without Ukraine - No let up on Russian sanction
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin greeted each other to kick off the Alaska summit, where the two world leaders are expected to discuss the Ukraine war on a military base in Anchorage, Alaska. Follow live updates: www.ft.com/content/c676...
The bit we like is the heroic liberation of Europe. Hence all the focus on D-Day.
I think we, the English, have trouble remembering the WWII in the Far East because it's much more clearly to do with the Empire, and therefore something we'd rather forget than emphasise. In the middle east, El Alamein is celebrated,but shorn of its context.(Why were we in Egypt in the 1st place ?)
Looking forward to that. I'm just reading the Introduction now. I've been following crypto closely off and on for years now, partly b/c I got interested in big frauds ever since Enron. Also following Big Tech closely, & appalled by it. So your work right up my street.
@profhilaryallen.bsky.social !
The free world calls Lukashenka the last dictator in Europe. Trump calls him “highly respected.”
That petty thug Lukashenka. Trump's comments are disgraceful.
Revolutions provide opportunities for untapped military talent cf. Oliver Cromwell.
It's rather like confidently thinking "I can't be scammed" when I can be & have been. That false confidence actually makes one more vulnerable. The thing is to try to be aware of it & minimise it.
Meet Jermaine Cognitive-Load, thought leader in real time transformation and vertical synergies.
Interesting. Do you recommend that Orwell: The New Life ?
"Fascism has critics. But does it have benefits?" -future Beltway publication headline
Jack London had an enormous influence on Orwell. 'The Iron Heel' is a significant influence behind '1984' as you point out, & 'The People of the Abyss' surely inspired both the project behind & the book 'Down & Out in Paris & London', which was Orwell's breakthrough book.
Alex Kantrowitz released an interview with Amjad Masad today. At 30 minutes in he quotes your work. I made a clip of it, here is the link: youtube.com/clip/Ugkxy7D...
@sarahkendzior.bsky.social Definitely one for you.
N.B. I don't favour either side in our civil wars, & I certainly do not defend Cromwell's brutality in Ireland, or English brutality in Ireland more broadly.
Finally in 1649, Parliament was ready to address militarily the situation in Ireland, which had had its own internal momentum since 1641.
These included excise taxes on particular goods such as tobacco, which as you can imagine were incredibly unpopular - excise offices & officials were sometimes targeted in riots.
& so the two sides fought on & off until August, 1648. Parliament executed the King in January 1649. Having to fight the war had led Parliament gradually to create the - burdensome - systems to finance an effective & well-equipped army.
The King issued Commissions of Array, which was a medieval device, another instance of him reviving & stretching out of date laws for his own advantage (Distraint of Knighthood, Ship Money). Parliament issued the Militia Ordinance, 'ordinance' not Act b/c it didn't have the monarch's consent.
because they thought that the first people the King would use that army would be them. Which I think was a well-founded fear. So both sides in the prospective civil war in England set about raising forces by dubiously legal means b/c neither side ought really to be creating armies without the other.
Ireland, from Cromwell's perspective, was unfinished business. The uprising in Ireland in 1641 was the immediate trigger of the civil wars in England, because an army had to be raised to put it down, & a significant part of Parliament was not prepared to entrust that army to the King: >>
+ @markstout.bsky.social Fabulous. I saw an exhibition of another Viking hoard from Yorkshire which had a coin from Samarkand in it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vale_of...
Another Andreessen absurdity: when many advertisers + companies were refusing to advertise on X, he suggested it was "conspiracy in restraint of trade." This from a supposed believer in free-markets. But obviously I am unable to fathom his genius.
Densify your opportunity set for a seat at the table.
Absolutely. My point is not that what Thiel's saying is like Nietzsche because both are right wing, my point is that the idea "it all went wrong with Christianity because the herd then dragged down the master men" is a prominent idea of Nietzsche's, among other thinkers.
Recycled Nietzsche.
As others have pointed out, this is recycled Nietzsche.
It's renaissance pastoral, which Shakespeare is partly celebrating & partly sending up in 'As You Like It'. He came from Warwickshire, he knew exactly what the countryside was really like as opposed to literary idealisations of it.
