Bookmarks 2026-02-28T07:16:04.956Z
by Owen Kibel
28 min read
Bookmarks for 2026-02-28T07:16:04.956Z
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āAttempted corporate murderā: Trumpās threats against Anthropic chill AI industry - POLITICO Added: Feb 27, 2026
āAttempted corporate murderā: Trumpās threats against Anthropic chill AI industry
Site: POLITICO
The unprecedented conflict over the militaryās use of Anthropicās AI model could transform the relationship between Washington and the tech sector.

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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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CNN's Stelter Compares Network Mission to Ellison's Balanced News Vision Amid Merger / X Added: Feb 27, 2026
Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Katie Miller's Birth Control Post Sparks Fertility Debate / X Added: Feb 27, 2026
Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Katie Miller on X: "Most girls in the US were put on birth control at 15 ā now IVF is a $25 billion dollar market. Birth control creates customers for life." / X Added: Feb 27, 2026
Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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habibi on X: "Today's Green Party needs no encouragement from George Galloway of any kind. Filthy racism comes to it naturally." / X Added: Feb 27, 2026
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Gideon Miller on X: "@habibi_uk This is fantastic - is it AI? (Though not sure AI knows how to look quite that pathetic)." / X Added: Feb 28, 2026
Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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President Donald J. Trump on the United States Military Major Combat Operations in Iran - YouTube Added: Feb 28, 2026
President Donald J. Trump on the United States Military Major Combat Operations in Iran
Site: YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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Everything You Can Do With Google's Nano Banana 2 Image Generator | Lifehacker Added: Feb 28, 2026
Everything You Can Do With Google's Nano Banana 2 Image Generator
Site: Lifehacker
Nano Banana 2 is now rolling out to all Gemini usersātake a look at what it's capable of.
Last year, Google's Gemini AI took a major step forward in image generation with the launch of its Nano Banana upgradeāperhaps as much due to its quirky codename as its impressive capabilitiesāand now the next iteration is here. Nano Banana 2 is another notable upgrade for AI image-making, and it's currently rolling out to all Gemini users.Nano Banana 2 is a combination of the original Nano Banana and the Pro version that followed a few months later. It's essentially Nano Banana Pro at faster speeds, as noted in Google's announcement, though Nano Banana Pro is also sticking around for those on Plus, Pro, and Ultra plans for situations where detail and accuracy matters more than speed.
A hard-working (if rather generic) journalist (Nano Banana 2 on the left, Nano Banana Pro on the right.) Credit: Lifehacker
If you're keeping track of the underlying, technical names for these models, Nano Banana is "Gemini 2.5 Flash Image," Nano Banana Pro is "Gemini 3 Pro Image," and Nano Banana 2 is "Gemini 3.1 Flash Image" (reflecting the upgraded capabilities, at "flash" speed).What Nano Banana 2 can doNano Banana 2 has inherited much of the feature-set of Nano Banana Pro, bringing with it advanced world knowledge (so you can add in real time information like weather forecasts), and accurate and legible text (often a failing of early AI image models). Google is also talking up its subject consistency, ability to follow detailed instructions, aspect ratio and resolution control, and visual fidelity.
Nano Banana 2 gets you started more quickly with a selection of presets, Credit: Lifehacker
While Nano Banana 2 is now available for all users, there are usage limits, as you would expect. You can create 20 images a day if you're not on any subscription, 50 images a day as an AI Plus subscriber, 100 images a day with AI Pro, and 1,000 images a day with AI Ultra. (Google does caution that "limits may change frequently" based on demand).You'll see Nano Banana 2 replacing Nano Banana Pro pretty much everywhere you use Gemini, including in AI Mode for search and Google Lens. As always, generated pictures will be marked with Google's SynthID technology that tags images as AI-made.Picking apart what's actually changed here isn't all that easy, but essentially, free users previously had very limited access to Nano Banana Proāsometimes as few as one or two generations a day, depending on general demand. Thanks to the improved efficiency of Nano Banana 2, these users can now create many more pictures with a model that almost matches the quality of Pro (at least until Google tweaks the usage limits again).For paying users, Nano Banana Pro remains available, though Nano Banana 2 will be the default. That shows that Pro is still slightly better (if slower), and Google talks about it being more suitable for "high-fidelity tasks requiring maximum factual accuracy" and where "additional detail" is required.Testing Nano Banana 2
The current weather, papercraft style. (Nano Banana 2 on the left, Nano Banana Pro on the right.) Credit: Lifehacker
All of which is to say, once you start testing out Nano Banana 2, you might not think it seems massively different to Nano Banana Proāyou'll just get your picture back more quickly. I've been putting the new model through its paces with a variety of different prompts, and it certainly impresses, even if it's not yet at the stage where its results are flawless every time.TO start, select Create image in the Gemini app and you'll see there's a new template feature available: You can pick from presets like Gothic clay or Oil painting and then add to the prompt, or just type out a prompt from scratch as normal. As before, you can also create a starting image (or multiple images) for Gemini to work from, via the + (plus) button.
The Pro version is a little better to my eyes here. (Nano Banana 2 on the left, Nano Banana Pro on the right.) Credit: Lifehacker
If you are signed up for Gemini's AI Plus, AI Pro, or AI Ultra plans, once Nano Banana 2 has rendered your picture, you can tap or click on the three dots underneath it and choose Redo with Pro to get the same prompt rendered again with the aid of the extra thinking power of Nano Banana Pro (though this does seem to somehow delete the image template, if you selected one).In one of my tests, I asked Gemini to produce a papercraft style weather forecast for New Yorkāmaking use of image generation, real time information, and text renderingāand it completed the task well, using both Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro. The two models came up with quite different but equally high-quality results. As expected, the Pro model offered slightly more detail.
Nano Banana 2 (left) does the better Lifehacker infographicāmaybe Nano Banana Pro (right) was having an off day. Credit: Lifehacker
I also asked tested out landscape painting and infographic creation, and even had it make a comic strip charting the opening moments of Bleak House by Charles Dickens (one for the copyright lawyers to look into). The end results were mostly impressive across the board, with text and graphics that were accurate, styles that matched the instructions, and few errors.AI images still aren't all the way thereThese models aren't perfect. Words are occasionally misspelled, the physics of images are occasionally wonky (AI still can't faithfully recreate the real world), and these graphics still have the generic feel of something that's been trained on lots and lots of previous content, rather than something that's actually original.How Nano Banana 2 compares to Nano Banana Pro
Realistic comics from both models here, but Nano Banana 2 (left) makes some typographical errors. Credit: Lifehacker
It's difficult to compare Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro directly, as obviously the prompt gets redone from scratch each time, so you get something original when you pick Redo with Pro rather than a tweak of the first image you had. Overall, it does feel as though Pro still has the edge in terms of quality and subtle touches, but in certain cases I preferred what Nano Banana 2 served up.After plenty of test runs, it feels as though the biggest gain right now is in the way Gemini can pull information from the web (like weather conditions or specific details) to create imagery. These models are also getting better at working in different styles, and leaving behind fewer and fewer giveaways that the pictures were made by AI. How you feel about that will vary from person to person, of course.

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Musk bashes OpenAI in deposition, saying 'nobody committed suicide because of Grok' | TechCrunch
Added: Feb 28, 2026Musk bashes OpenAI in deposition, saying 'nobody committed suicide because of Grok' | TechCrunch
Site: TechCrunch
In his lawsuit against OpenAI, Musk touted xAI safety compared with ChatGPT. A few months later, xAI's Grok flooded X with nonconsensual nude images.

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US, ISRAEL BEGIN "MAJOR COMBAT OPERATIONS" IN IRAN Added: Feb 28, 2026
U.S and Israel begin "major combat operations" in Iran
Site: Axios
Some U.S. officials have been worried about entering into such a conflict without a clear sense of how it will end.

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Read Trump's full statement on U.S. "major combat operations" in Iran - CBS News Added: Feb 28, 2026
Trump announces "major combat operations" in Iran. Watch the full video and read his statement.
President Trump says his objective in attacking Iran "is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats" from the regime in Tehran. Read his full statement and watch the video here.
President Trump announced early Saturday that the U.S. was undertaking "major combat operations in Iran," as Israel said it was launching a preemptive attack on the country. Read a transcript of Mr. Trump's full statement, which he shared in a video on his Truth Social network, here:"A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted "Death to America" and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops and innocent people in many, many countries.Among the regime's very first acts was to back a violent takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding dozens of American hostages for 444 days. In 1983, Iran's proxies carried out the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American military personnel. In 2000, they knew and were probably involved with the attack on the USS Cole. Many died. Iranian forces killed and maimed hundreds of American service members in Iraq. The regime's proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as U.S. naval and commercial vessels in international shipping lanes. It's been mass terror, and we're not going to put up with it any longer.From Lebanon to Yemen, and Syria to Iraq, the regime has armed, trained and funded terrorist militias that have soaked the earth with blood and guts. And it was Iran's proxy, Hamas, that launched the monstrous October 7 attacks on Israel, slaughtering more than 1000 innocent people, including 46 Americans, while taking 12 of our citizens hostage. It was brutal. Something like the world has never seen before.Iran is the world's number one state sponsor of terror, and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested. It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular, my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I'll say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon.That is why, in operation midnight hammer last June, we obliterated the regime's nuclear program at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.After that attack, we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons, and we sought repeatedly to make a deal. We tried. They wanted to do it. They didn't want to do it. Again, they wanted to do it. They didn't want to do it. They didn't know what was happening. They just wanted to practice evil.But Iran refused, just as it has for decades and decades, they rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can't take it anymore.Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas, and could soon reach the American homeland. Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had, and actually were armed with, nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message.For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated.We're going to annihilate their navy. We're going to ensure that the region's terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces and no longer use their IEDs or roadside bombs, as they are sometimes called, to so gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans.And we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It's a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon.This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States Armed Forces. I built and rebuilt our military in my first administration, and there is no military on earth even close to its power, strength or sophistication. My administration has taken every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel in the region. Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we're doing this, not for now. We're doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.We pray for every service member as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure that Americans and our children will never be threatened by a nuclear armed Iran. We ask God to protect all of our heroes in harm's way, and we trust that, with his help, the men and women of the armed forces will prevail. We have the greatest in the world, and they will prevail.To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police, I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity, or in the alternative, face certain death. So lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death.Finally, to the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don't leave your home. It's very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations.For many years, you have asked for America's help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want, so let's see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.May God bless the brave men and women of America's Armed Forces. May God bless the United States of America. May God bless you all. Thank you."

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Candace Owens Series on Erika Kirk: Disgraceful Ravings from Conspiratorial Podcaster | National Review Added: Feb 28, 2026
Candace Owens Series on Erika Kirk: Disgraceful Ravings from Conspiratorial Podcaster | National Review

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Human brain cells on a chip learned to play Doom in a week | New Scientist Added: Feb 28, 2026
Human brain cells on a chip learned to play Doom in a week
Site: New Scientist
Neuron-powered computer chips can now be easily programmed to play a first-person shooter game, bringing biological computers a step closer to useful applications

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I don't pay for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Claude ā I stick to my self-hosted LLMs instead
Added: Feb 28, 2026I don't pay for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Claude ā I stick to my self-hosted LLMs instead
Site: XDA
There's no point in relying on AI tools when my local LLMs can handle everything

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A simple chemical tweak could supercharge quantum computers | ScienceDaily Added: Feb 28, 2026
A simple chemical tweak could supercharge quantum computers
Site: ScienceDaily
Quantum computers need special materials called topological superconductorsābut theyāve been notoriously difficult to create. Researchers have now shown they can trigger this exotic state by subtly adjusting the mix of tellurium and selenium in ultra-thin films. That tiny chemical tweak changes how electrons interact, effectively turning a quantum phase ādialā until the ideal state appears. The result is a more practical path toward building stable, next-generation quantum devices.

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Trump's Trade Advisor on Supreme Court Tariff Ruling & China Cheating the World - YouTube Added: Feb 28, 2026
Trump's Trade Advisor on Supreme Court Tariff Ruling & China Cheating the World
Site: YouTube
White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro joins Miranda Devine to explain why the Supreme Courtās ruling against American tariff is really a win for President ...

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Trump WANTS Cuba - YouTube Added: Feb 28, 2026
Trump Floats āFriendly TAKEOVERā of Cuba, American Empire Is Taking Shape
Site: YouTube
SUPPORT THE SHOW BUY CAST BREW COFFEE NOW - https://castbrew.com/Join - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLwNTXWEjVd2qIHLcXxQWxA/joinHosts: Phil @PhilThatRem...

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WE ARE TAKING CUBA | Timcast IRL #1459 w/ Priya Patel - YouTube Added: Feb 28, 2026
WE ARE TAKING CUBA | Timcast IRL #1459 w/ Priya Patel
Site: YouTube
Go to my sponsor https://venice.ai/tim and use code tim to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using my code will get you 20% off a pro plan.SUPPORT THE SHOW BUY C...

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Israel targets Khamenei, top leaders in bid to bring down Iran's regime Added: Feb 28, 2026
Israel targets Khamenei, top leaders in bid to bring down Iran's regime
Site: Axios
"The goal is to create all the conditions for the downfall of the Iranian regime..."

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Ana Kasparian affirms beliefs in hateful anti-Israel post | The Jerusalem Post
Added: Feb 28, 2026Ana Kasparian affirms beliefs in hateful anti-Israel post | The Jerusalem Post
Site: The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com
Israel is "about to drag us into another war [with Iran], and all we hear from Israelis and their braindead supporters is 'ANTISEMITE' if you disagree with Israel's agenda," Kasparian wrote.
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Psychology says when an elderly parent starts repeating the same stories over and over, they're not losing their memoryāthey're doing something with those specific stories that most families never stop to understand - Silicon Canals
Site: Silicon Canals
While most families grow frustrated hearing the same tales for the hundredth time, psychologists reveal that elderly parents are actually performing a sophisticated act of wisdom transmission, unconsciously selecting and adapting specific stories to match exactly what their listeners need to hear at that moment in their lives.

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UK Green Party's election upset is a crippling blow to Labour - and a major boon to anti-Zionism | The Times of Israel
Added: Feb 28, 2026UK Green Party's election upset is a crippling blow to Labour - and a major boon to anti-Zionism | The Times of Israel

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Starmerās premiership is dying. Nobody knows how to save it. ā POLITICO Added: Feb 28, 2026
Starmerās premiership is dying. Nobody knows how to save it.
Site: POLITICO
Reeling from a by-election calamity, one Labour MP predicts the governing party will āsit and do nothing until at least May,ā when another huge test looms.

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British Election Shows the Consequences of Mass Migration | National Review Added: Feb 28, 2026
British Election Shows the Consequences of Mass Migration | National Review

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Which do you prefer? Can you tell a difference? #violin #vivaldi - YouTube Added: Feb 28, 2026
Which do you prefer? Can you tell a difference? #violin #vivaldi
Site: YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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DATING IS BROKEN - YouTube Added: Feb 28, 2026
They Are SCREWED ft. Hoe_Math
Site: YouTube
Download Rumble Wallet now and step away from the big banks ā for good! https://rumblewallet.onelink.me/bJsX/timcastculturewarsBUY CAST BREW COFFEE TO SUPPOR...

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Biden & Xi - YouTube Added: Feb 28, 2026
Biden & Xi
Site: YouTube
Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of Pod Force One: https://www.youtube.com/@PodForce1Watch full clips of Pod Force One with Miranda D...

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Americaās Birthrate Is COLLAPSING, Liberals HATE Children - YouTube Added: Feb 28, 2026
Americaās Birthrate Is COLLAPSING, Liberals HATE Children
Site: YouTube
SUPPORT THE SHOW BUY CAST BREW COFFEE NOW - https://castbrew.com/Join - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLwNTXWEjVd2qIHLcXxQWxA/joinHosts: Phil @PhilThatRem...

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Scientists discover microbe that breaks a fundamental rule of the genetic code | ScienceDaily Added: Feb 28, 2026
Scientists discover microbe that breaks a fundamental rule of the genetic code
Site: ScienceDaily
Scientists at UC Berkeley have discovered a microbe that bends one of biologyās most sacred rules. Instead of treating a specific three-letter DNA code as a clear āstopā signal, this methane-producing archaeon sometimes reads it as a green lightāadding an unusual amino acid and continuing to build the protein. The result is a kind of genetic coin flip: two different proteins can emerge from the same code, influenced partly by environmental conditions.

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Psychology says the generation raised in the 1960s and 70s internalized one lesson that today's culture has almost entirely reversed ā that discomfort is a teacher not a threat, and the instinct to remove every obstacle from a child's path is producing adults who collapse at the first problem no one can remove for them
Site: Global English Editing
While previous generations learned to fix their own bike chains and walk to school in the snow, today's young adults are calling for help when their food delivery is late ā and psychologists are connecting the dots between our obsession with removing every obstacle from children's paths and a generation that crumbles at the first problem no one else can solve for them.

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"Megan Rapinoe is Jealous Team USA Menās Hockey Team is in the Spotlight - Enjoy Your Bitter Life" - YouTube Added: Feb 28, 2026
"Megan Rapinoe is Jealous Team USA Menās Hockey Team is in the Spotlight - Enjoy Your Bitter Life"
Site: YouTube
Megyn unloads on Megan Rapinoe...LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos everyday: https://bit.ly/3Aw93ywWatch full clips of The Megyn Kelly Show here: https://bit.l...

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Ajit Pai Resurfaces 1979 Times Op-Ed Urging Trust in Khomeini / X Added: Feb 28, 2026
Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Brianna Wu on X: "I thought no one was free until everyone was free? Or does that not count when it helps Jews and Israel? https://t.co/E0O4kU3XVI" / X Added: Feb 28, 2026
Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Dave Rubin on X: "Watching progressives melt down as women are liberated is sight to beholdā¦" / X Added: Feb 28, 2026
Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Fingerprint From Stonehenge Changes What We Know About Its Origins Added: Feb 28, 2026
A Fingerprint Taken From Stonehenge Changes Everything We Know About Its Mystical Origins
Site: Popular Mechanics
Hereās how scientists unlocked new hidden secrets of the iconic monument.
