Bookmarks 2026-03-01T20:32:05.142Z
by Owen Kibel
31 min read
Bookmarks for 2026-03-01T20:32:05.142Z
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Overture | YouTube Music Added: Mar 1, 2026
Overture
Site: YouTube Music
AdriĂĄn Berenguer
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Mist
Site: YouTube Music
Ekaterina Shelehova
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The Weaver's Song
Site: YouTube Music
EchoesOfVelandria
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For the Iranian diaspora in US, hope for a âBerlin Wall momentâ - POLITICO Added: Mar 1, 2026
For the Iranian diaspora in US, hope for a âBerlin Wall momentâ
Site: POLITICO
Tehrangeles, the nickname for the West LA neighborhood that is a hub of Iranian-American businesses and homes, erupted in noisy celebration on Saturday.
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Austin mass shooter possibly motivated by Iran attacks, Quran found in car as FBI eyes terrorism Added: Mar 1, 2026
Exclusive | Austin bar mass shooter possibly motivated by Iran attacks, Quran found in car as FBI eyes terrorism after 2 killed, 14 injured
Site: New York Post
The FBI is investigating the shooting as a possible ideologically motivated act of terrorism, the sources said.
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The Seamstress Who Solved the Ancient Mystery of the Argonaut, Pioneered the Aquarium, and Laid the Groundwork for the Study of Octopus Intelligence â The Marginalian Added: Mar 1, 2026
The Seamstress Who Solved the Ancient Mystery of the Argonaut, Pioneered the Aquarium, and Laid the Groundwork for the Study of Octopus Intelligence
Site: The Marginalian
âI armed myself with patience and courage, and only after several months managed to dissolve my doubts and see my research crowned with happy confirmation.â
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Operation Epic Fury Update, President Donald J. Trump - YouTube Added: Mar 1, 2026
Operation Epic Fury Update, President Donald J. Trump
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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President Trump Delivers Remarks on Energy, Feb. 27, 2026
Site: YouTube
Corpus Christi, TX
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Psychology says people who stop caring what others think as they age aren't becoming rude - they're experiencing a neurological shift where the brain's social threat detection system weakens after 60, making disapproval feel less dangerous than it did at 30 - Silicon Canals
Site: Silicon Canals
Everyone knows someone over 60 who says exactly what they think, doesn't soften it, and seems completely unbothered by how it lands. The usual explanation is
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I finally caught up and tried OpenClaw â itâs everything youâd expect
Added: Mar 1, 2026I finally caught up and tried OpenClaw â itâs everything youâd expect
Site: MUO
The âagentâ hype finally earned it.
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Kennedy addresses glyphosate concerns with Joe Rogan Added: Mar 1, 2026
RFK Jr. tells Joe Rogan he was not âparticularly happyâ with Trumpâs glyphosate order
Site: The Hill
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an interview that aired Friday that President Trumpâs order bolstering the controversial herbicide glyphosate was ânot something thâŠ
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an interview that aired Friday that President Trumpâs order bolstering the controversial herbicide glyphosate was ânot something that I was particularly happy with.â Kennedyâs remarks to podcaster Joe Rogan departed somewhat from his previous defense of Trumpâs move â though the Health secretary also expressed sympathy for the presidentâs position. âIt's not a good thing to have in your food so ... it's not something that I was particularly happy with. Let me put it that way, mildly,â he said. âBut I also understand the president's point of view,â he added. âIf you ban glyphosate overnight, or if you got rid of it ⊠it would destroy the American food system.â Kennedy previously defended Trumpâs order, which said that pesticide companies should have âimmunityâ on glyphosate. âI support President Trumpâs Executive Order to bring agricultural chemical production back to the United States and end our near-total reliance on adversarial nations,â he wrote in a post Sunday night on social platform X. The nationâs top health official and his allies in the "Make America Healthy Again" movement have been critical of pesticides, especially glyphosate. Trumpâs order ignited a furor among supporters of the group, which has been affiliated with the president. Glyphosate has been the key ingredient in Roundup weedkiller. Thousands of lawsuits have alleged that it is linked to cancer. Bayer, which owns Roundup-maker Monsanto, says that the chemical is not harmful. The company recently announced a settlement agreement with plaintiffs suing over the glyphosate.
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Victor Davis Hanson: Trumpâs Cost-Benefit Analysis For Striking Iran
Site: YouTube
Donald Trumpâs first State of the Union speech of his second term was long as it was a âgood slice of Americana,â argues Victor Davis Hanson on todayâs editi...
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Starlink Mission / X Added: Mar 1, 2026
Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Is Gen Z Really That Dumb?
Site: YouTube
Click this link https://boot.dev/?promo=SABINE and use my code SABINE to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev.If the headlines are to be believed, kid...
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The First Moon Landing Wasnât Apollo â And We Just Found It
Site: YouTube
Take courses in science and mathematics on Brilliant! Start learning for free at https://brilliant.org/sabine/ and get a 30-day free trial plus 20% off a pre...
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Google Nano Banana 2 in 12 mins!
Site: YouTube
Introducing Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image), our latest state-of-the-art image model. Now you can get the advanced world knowledge, quality and reason...
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Rick Beato: Greatest Guitarists of All Time, History & Future of Music | Lex Fridman Podcast #492
Site: YouTube
Rick Beato is a music educator, interviewer, producer, songwriter, and a true multi-instrument musician, playing guitar, bass, cello & piano. His incredible ...
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Centrist Dems launch '28 mission: Stop AOC Added: Mar 1, 2026
Centrist Dems launch '28 mission: Stop AOC
Site: Axios
It's a reflection of the deep divisions within the party over how to take on Trump's MAGA Republicans.
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I use Markdown instead of PowerPoint to make slideshows and it's fantastic
Added: Mar 1, 2026
I use Markdown instead of PowerPoint to make slideshows and it's fantastic
Site: MUO
Markdown slides feel like cheating in the best way.
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**Apollo-era space colony dreams inspire Muskâs moon transport plan **
Site: The Hill
Muskâs vision for cities on the moon and Mars is an attempt to make science fiction a reality.
When SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced a pivot from Mars to the moon, one detail of his plan caused eyebrows to raise. Musk plans to build something called a mass driver on the lunar surface to deploy AI data centers into Earth orbit. These facilities would be built on the moon before being launched into space using the device. What is a mass driver? It turns out that the technology has a storied history going back to just after the Apollo moon landings. It all started when a physics professor at Princeton named Gerard K. OâNeil, inspired by the Apollo program, asked his students to write papers describing the problems of building a human space habitat. Urged by his studentsâ insights, he published his own paper in Physics Today entitled âThe Colonization of Space.â He would later expand his ideas in a best-selling book called âThe High Frontier.â The idea of space colonies has been around for many decades, largely a topic of science fiction. All of the extraterrestrial settlements were depicted as being on the surface of another world, say the moon, Mars or someplace more Earth-like orbiting another star. Muskâs vision for cities on the moon and Mars is an attempt to make science fiction a reality. OâNeill hit upon the notion of building space colonies in space itself, in the form of free-flying cylinders that rotated to create gravity for people living inside. The âOâNeill Cylinders,â as they were called, would be built of material mined from the moon and the asteroids. Tens of thousands of people would live in each of these flying cities. The advantage of a free-flying space colony is that, unlike one on a planetâs surface, its gravity could be calibrated to Earth normal. Humans would not be obliged to live in a gravity field that the species did not evolve under. The mass driver would be the technology that transported the material to the construction site for the space colony. It would consist of a track that uses electromagnets to accelerate cargo past escape velocity. The moon, with its one-sixth gravity and no atmosphere to speak of, would be a perfect site for such a device. Whereas rockets can cost tens of thousands of dollars a pound to lift cargo into space, a mass driver would cost a few dollars a pound in electricity. OâNeill is credited for inventing the mass driver, though something like it was depicted in the 1966 novel, âThe Moon is a Harsh Mistress,â by Robert Heinlein. He even built a working subscale model under the auspices of the Space Studies Institute, a private research organization he founded. OâNeill made his space colony idea profitable by having them build solar power satellites. Huge solar arrays would be deployed in space, collect solar power 24 hours a day and then beam it to Earth. The notion was attractive during the energy crises of the 1970s, and has some resonance now because of fears of carbon-induced climate change, OâNeill never deployed a mass driver on the moon or used it to build space colonies. NASA certainly was in no position to take up the project during his lifetime. However, the rise of space billionaires with deep pockets has caused a revival of the idea. Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin and Muskâs main business rival, proposes to make OâNeillâs dream a reality. Bezos even suggests moving all heavy industry off the Earth, the better to protect the environment. His vision contrasts with that of Musk, who desires to build cities on the moon and Mars. So far, one of the only examples of an OâNeill space colony in fiction was the one depicted in the 1990s TV series, âBabylon 5.â Muskâs plans for a mass driver on the moon are a little less grandiose than OâNeillâs vision. A swarm of premade space-based AI data centers would be far easier and cheaper to build and deploy than a real-life version of Babylon 5 and would start making money almost immediately. Still, once a lunar-based mass driver is developed and deployed, what the technology will make possible will be limited only by the human imagination. Mass drivers on the moon and, later, on asteroids, would become a way to move cargo across the inner solar system. It will be an example of an idea, once impractical, suddenly enabling a better future than the past or the present. Mark R. Whittington, who writes frequently about space policy, has published a political study of space exploration entitled âWhy is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?â as well as âThe Moon, Mars and Beyondâ and, most recently, âWhy is America Going Back to the Moon?â He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner.
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Scientists Create Powerful New Form of Aluminum That Could Replace Rare Earth Metals Added: Mar 1, 2026
Scientists Create Powerful New Form of Aluminum That Could Replace Rare Earth Metals
Site: SciTechDaily
Researchers have uncovered an unusual new form of aluminium that challenges long-held assumptions about how this common metal behaves. Researchers at Kingâs College London have identified an unusual new form of aluminum, one of the most abundant metals in Earthâs crust. The discovery points to a
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4 free tools to run powerful AI on your PC without a subscription
Added: Mar 1, 2026
4 free tools to run powerful AI on your PC without a subscription
Site: MUO
Serious AI work doesn't need a subscription, or the internet.
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SNL: Mel Gibson, J.K. Rowling & More Canceled Celebs Blame Tourette's Added: Mar 1, 2026
After BAFTAs, Mel Gibson, J.K. Rowling and More Celebs Blame Hateful Speech on Touretteâs in âSNLâ Sketch
Site: Variety
On "Saturday Night Live," a bunch of canceled celebs blame their bad behavior on Tourette's after last week's incident at the BAFTAs.
In a cut-for-time sketch from the Feb. 28 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” a parade of opportunistic cancelled celebrities used last week’s incident at the BAFTAs to blame their bad behavior and speech on Tourette syndrome. During the Feb. 22 BAFTAs ceremony, John Davidson, a Tourette syndrome advocate who was attending to support the nominated [âŠ]
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Touretteâs - SNL
Site: YouTube
In this Cut for Time sketch, celebrities who suffer from Tourette syndrome release a joint statement regarding the 2026 BAFTA Awards.Saturday Night Live. Str...
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Experts Uncovered a Rare Medieval RingâWith Mystical Implications Added: Mar 1, 2026
Archaeologists Uncovered a Rare Medieval RingâWith Mystical Implications
Site: Popular Mechanics
The ring, made in part from deep-blue stone, was likely owned by a high-status woman during the Middle Ages.
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How brain networks work together is key to human intelligence - Futurity
Added: Mar 2, 2026How brain networks work together is key to human intelligence
Site: Futurity
A neuroimaging study investigates how the brain is organized and how that integrated system gives rise to intelligence.
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Dems eyeing 2028 split on criticism of attacks on Iran
Site: Axios
Their responses reveal subtle but important differences in their approaches to foreign policy and political strategy.
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If you use the Linux command line, youâre already programming
Added: Mar 2, 2026
If you use the Linux command line, youâre already programming
Site: How-To Geek
Scripting and the command-line are closer than you think.
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Is Reality an Illusion? New Theory Challenges Modern Physics Added: Mar 2, 2026
Is Reality an Illusion? New Theory Challenges Modern Physics
Site: SciTechDaily
A physicist proposes that consciousness is the fundamental basis of reality, with matter and spacetime emerging from it.
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Site: X (formerly Twitter)
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Trumpâs Road to War With Anthropic - WSJ Added: Mar 2, 2026
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How The Virgo Lunar Eclipse Affects Each Zodiac Sign This Week, From March 2 - 8, 2026 | YourTango Added: Mar 2, 2026
The Virgo Lunar Eclipse Is Here â How It Affects Your Zodiac Sign This Week
Site: YourTango
Here's how the Virgo Lunar Eclipse affects each zodiac sign this week, from March 2 - 8, 2026.
The Virgo Lunar Eclipse is here, and it affects each zodiac sign differently this week, from March 2 to 8, 2026. The Full Moon Lunar Eclipse rises in the earth sign on Tuesday, helping us reflect on the last six months. On Wednesday, March 4, the Libra Moon shows us the value of relationships and connections. Then, on Friday, March 6, Venus enters Aries, where it meets up with Saturn. While Venus in this sign wants freedom, Saturn grounds us. The week ends with the Scorpio Moon, showing us that the strength we want is already within us . All we have to do is find it. Aries Design: YourTango Take it easy this week, Aries. With Mars, your ruler, now in Pisces, it's easy to let your emotions get the best of you. While the clashing transits test your patience, you need to focus on doing things slowly. There's no need to rush ahead. Saturn is in your sign, instilling discipline and hard work. However, this can also spark some conflicts if youâre not careful. You may be too authoritarian around others. If disagreements present themselves, try to be flexible. Focus on diplomacy and maturity, even if the soldier within is craving to enter a battle you will not win. RELATED: Weekly Horoscopes Are Here For March 2 - 8 â A Powerful Lunar Eclipse Marks The End Of An Era Taurus Design: YourTango During this Virgo lunation, you're learning how to take better care of yourself , Taurus. You feel motivated to accomplish a lot, but Mercury retrograde warns us that going too fast only brings setbacks. This week, being methodical helps you become victorious. The Virgo energy fuels your inner critic, but the Pisces season teaches you how to be mindful of the negativity and to focus on more optimism. Prioritize the activities that fulfill you. Spend time with the people who inspire you, as they encourage you to have faith in yourself. RELATED: The Monthly Tarot Horoscope For March 2026 Is Here With A Reading For Your Zodiac Sign Gemini Design: YourTango As a Mutable sign, this is a potent lunation, reminding you that a solid base is needed before leaping ahead. Mars is now in Pisces, helping you bring balance to your life. Focus on family, especially if your energy has been poured into your work. If youâve avoided having tough conversations, this transit stirs things up. Thankfully, Jupiter and Venus show us how to mediate when presented with drama. This week encourages reconciliation and letting go of grudges . RELATED: 3 Chinese Zodiac Signs Attract Luck & Good Fortune During The Month Of March 2026 Cancer Design: YourTango During the Virgo Lunar Eclipse, your friendships are at the forefront of your mind. You are stepping into a leadership role that requires collaboration. This transit also shows you how to be more comfortable using your words and expressing yourself. This is a moment to hold tightly to dreams you may have abandoned in the last years. Mercury retrograde enjoys picking up where you left off on a project or plan. Utilize this period to build and construct an existing goal. You may surprise yourself with the ideas you conjure this week. RELATED: 5 Zodiac Signs Have The Best Horoscopes The Entire Month Of March 2026 Leo Design: YourTango The Virgo lunation shines a light on your self-worth and how you view yourself, Leo. This transit shows you the qualities you have and the magic you hold. This is not the time to settle for less than you deserve. If youâve been giving your energy to people who are not worth your time, this is the moment that changes. Relationships from the past are focal points during this period, as you learn not to repeat the same mistakes. You are honest with what you want in friendships or romantic partnerships moving forward. While the Virgo Moon is an emotional transit, it also brings a lot of healing and self-love. RELATED: Life Gets Much Better For 3 Zodiac Signs Before The End Of March 2026 Virgo Design: YourTango A story that began over a year ago begins to unravel during this Lunar Eclipse in your sign. Prepare to experience a wave of powerful emotions, and do what you can to channel this energy into projects or hobbies that bring you calm and joy. With your ruler, Mercury, currently retrograde, you have to be a better listener and show others a more compassionate and caring side . This allows for fewer misunderstandings and conflicts, with Mars now in Pisces stirring the pot. RELATED: 3 Zodiac Signs Are Attracting Major Financial Success During The Month Of March 2026 Libra Design: YourTango While Saturn in Aries adds to your responsibilities, the Virgo lunation helps you regain control over your life. Eclipse season brings fatigue, but you are presented with opportunities to take it easy and rest during this transit. We are all susceptible to the critical energy that this Virgo Moon brings, but with Mercury in Pisces, this is also an encouraging time. Consider journaling , as this practice helps you navigate your emotions. As long as you remain confident and self-assured, you can handle the chaotic energy of Mercury retrograde. RELATED: Jupiter Retrograde Is Testing Each Zodiac Sign From Now Through March 6, 2026 Scorpio Design: YourTango This eclipse lets others see your wonderful qualities, Scorpio. You are reclaiming your power and getting a whole lot of attention. Prepare to see how your charisma brings others to you. This week, you have the chance to meet new people and expand your social circle. This includes mentors who channel Mercurial qualities. They show you support and are willing to collaborate with you in the future. RELATED: Relationships Get So Much Better For 5 Zodiac Signs Before The End Of March 2026 Sagittarius Design: YourTango The Virgo Lunar Eclipse demands that you check on your foundation and what you have built over the last several years. This is a good time to build your network and show up for others. Although you may be willing to take action with Mars now in Pisces, try to plan ahead before making any impulsive decisions. This lunation asks you to be more logical and patient. If youâve been dreaming too much, this week, are more grounded in reality. It's time to collect the tools needed to excel in the long run. RELATED: This Zodiac Sign Has Entered A Powerful Era Of Abundance, Says An Astrologer Capricorn Design: YourTango The Virgo eclipse makes you feel courageous and adventurous, Capricorn. If you have a desire to travel, make sure to triple-check your information because Mercury is currently retrograde. This transit encourages you to learn new things and focus on building your skills. Consider picking up a book from the library about a new topic or attending a free course to expand your skillset. Follow your curiosity and take time to explore, so that when Mercury is direct, you can commit. RELATED: 7 Zodiac Signs Are Attracting Major Blessings From The Universe, Starting Now Aquarius Design: YourTango This week, you are healing your inner child , Aquarius. The Virgo Lunar Eclipse helps you focus and pay attention to details. However, with Mercury in Pisces, things can feel blurry. The impact of this lunation inspires you to break free from anything that is holding you back. Mercury encourages you to spread your wings and fly towards what you desire. Yet Mercury is retrograde, so you must be cautious. Evaluate how the past has empowered you, and examine how previous lessons learned can help you soar in the future. RELATED: The Luckiest Day Of The Month For Each Zodiac Sign In March 2026 Pisces Design: YourTango Things look promising for you this week, Pisces. While Mercury may not be fond of this placement, it is still in your sign, which brings some advantages. You have excellent ideas during this time and are more empowered to articulate and voice your thoughts. Share your opinions, but be sure to back up your arguments with facts. You are charismatic and have the opportunity to make some beneficial social connections this week. RELATED: Everything Gets So Much Better For 5 Zodiac Signs During Pisces Season, From February 18 - March 20 A.T. Nunez is an Afro-Latina Astrologer and philosopher living in NYC. She is passionate about astrology and aims to continue writing more about stargazing in the future.
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Letâs explore the best alternatives to Discord | TechCrunch
Added: Mar 2, 2026Letâs explore the best alternatives to Discord | TechCrunch
Site: TechCrunch
With many users feeling uneasy about Discord's new age-verification requirement, here are some alternatives that could be worth exploring.
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Grok predicted when Israel, US would strike Iran | The Jerusalem Post
Added: Mar 2, 2026Grok predicted when Israel, US would strike Iran | The Jerusalem Post
Site: The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com
Grok gave the clearest single-day answer in the original run: Saturday, February 28, tied to the outcome of talks in Geneva.
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guess the cousin!
Site: YouTube
Originally posted on TikTok in August of 2021TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@oddpride Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OddPride Merch store: https://www.etsy...
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AI Bots Are ONE SHOTTING Chinese Women, Birth Crisis WORSENS
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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Americaâs Leaking Nuclear Coffin Is a Climate Time Bomb
Added: Mar 2, 2026Americaâs Leaking Nuclear Coffin Is a Climate Time Bomb
Site: ZME Science
The Cold War left many inglorious legacies. The Runit dome is a good example.
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I used Gemini to automate Google Keep and Google Tasks, and it's been a game-changer
Added: Mar 2, 2026
I used Gemini to automate Google Keep and Google Tasks, and it's been a game-changer
Site: Android Police
The productivity cheat code
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President Trump Participates in a Medal of Honor Ceremony
Site: YouTube
The White House
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The Leftâs Brand Is the GOPâs Most Powerful Midterm Weapon | National Review Added: Mar 2, 2026
The Leftâs Brand Is the GOPâs Most Powerful Midterm Weapon | National Review
Site: National Review
âBlue cities are out of controlâ is not a sentence one usually hears from CNN hosts.
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Zohran Mamdani Appointment for Foreign Policy Position Shows Power of Progressive Machine | National Review Added: Mar 2, 2026
Zohran Mamdani Appointment for Foreign Policy Position Shows Power of Progressive Machine | National Review
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Scientists made AI agents ruder â and they performed better at complex reasoning tasks | Live Science Added: Mar 2, 2026
Scientists made AI agents ruder â and they performed better at complex reasoning tasks
Site: Live Science
A new project allowed AI chatbots to interrupt, stay silent or speak up the way humans do in conversation, and it made them smarter and more accurate.
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Will AI ever be more creative than humans? | Live Science Added: Mar 2, 2026
Will AI ever be more creative than humans?
Site: Live Science
A new study argues that AI can never be more creative than humans, but many experts argue that AI's output will only ever be as good as its input â with the goalposts shifting as AI improves in the years to come.
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Newsomâs âplay dumbâ routine is not new â in fact, it has a clinical name
Site: The Hill
Itâs science: White liberals systematically present themselves as less competent when speaking to Black audiences.
When California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) took the stage before a predominantly Black audience in Georgia recently, something revealing happened. He leaned into the microphone and offered his credentials for relatability: a 960 SAT score, a confession that he can't read well, and a childhood sustained by frozen lasagna and mac and cheese. Newsom's intention was for the crowd to feel seen. But that he actually exposed was a pattern that has been hiding in plain sight for thirty years â a pattern so well-documented that researchers at Yale and Princeton have given it a clinical name. In 2019, social psychologists Cydney Dupree of Yale and Susan Fiske of Princeton published a peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology with a striking conclusion: White liberals systematically present themselves as less competent when speaking to Black audiences than when speaking to white ones. They called it "competence downshift." Analyzing 25 years of presidential campaign speeches â 74 speeches delivered to mostly white or mostly minority audiences â they found that Democratic candidates consistently used fewer words associated with intelligence, ability, and status when addressing Black crowds. Republican candidates showed no such pattern. The difference was not random. It was consistent, measurable, and unique to white liberals. So what Newsom just did by playing dumb to a Black audience in Georgia was not a gaffe. Science says it is a feature. The researchers found that white liberals draw on minority-incompetence stereotypes when trying to connect with Black audiences. They reach for what they assume the room will relate to. And what they assume, the data reveals, is struggle, deficit, and disadvantage â not excellence, not ambition and not achievement. The lead researcher herself called the findings "kind of an unpleasant surprise" and acknowledged that even if it is well-intentioned, the behavior "could be seen as patronizing." Newsom's background makes the performance even harder to overlook. He comes from wealth. He built his career through powerful connections, including ties to the Getty family, and had every structural advantage. His dyslexia is real â he has spoken about it for years â but navigating a learning disability with private school resources and generational stability is a fundamentally different experience than navigating one in an underfunded public school with no safety net. When Newsom collapses that distinction to claim kinship with a Black audience in Georgia, he is not being vulnerable. He is borrowing from their story without having to pay for it. Competence downshift works in both directions. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference â a room filled with some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world â spoke of young Black kids in the Bronx as children who don't even know what the word computer means. She was not at a community event trying to relate. She was in an elite space, using Black children's assumed ignorance as a rhetorical prop. Newsom performs poverty to Black audiences. Hochul performs Black poverty to rich audiences. The through-line is identical: Black people are defined by their worst assumed circumstances and deployed whenever it is politically useful. To understand why this pattern persists, you have to understand the relationship that enables it. Since the civil rights movement, a dominant strategy among Black political leadership has been to extract political power and legislative goodwill as the path to community uplift. That strategy requires allies with money, access, and influence in spaces historically closed off to Black participants. White liberals stepped into that role. On paper, it looked like coalition. In practice, it has often functioned as something more transactional â and more troubling. The uncomfortable truth is that many of these white liberal allies come from the very class structures fueling the inequalities they claim to oppose. Their inherited wealth, their exclusive networks, their elite institutions â these are not separate from the problem but part of it. Aligning with Black political causes offers a form of absolution â a way to feel on the right side of history without disrupting the class order that benefits them. The mac and cheese story is not just pandering â it is guilt management. The Yale study adds a layer of irony that should not go unnoticed. A companion study by the same researcher found that Black and Latino conservatives, when speaking in predominantly white settings, do the opposite â they upshift competence, using language associated with power, status, and ability more frequently than their liberal counterparts. They refuse to be defined by stereotype. They lead with excellence. The contrast is striking: Black conservatives walk into white rooms and present their highest selves. White liberals walk into Black rooms and present their lowest. What makes this dynamic so difficult to challenge is how effectively it insulates itself from criticism. A Black voter who raises these concerns risks being dismissed as divisive, ungrateful, or â most conveniently â as a tool of the political right. The alliance protects itself by treating internal critique as betrayal. That is not solidarity. That is control. The outcomes should force a reckoning. The cities most dominated by this exact political coalition â San Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis â consistently post some of the worst racial wealth gaps, the lowest rates of Black homeownership, and the worst educational outcomes for Black children in the country. The rhetoric has been rich, but the results have been poor. Decades of bonding over struggle have produced not transformation but incumbency. A genuine ally does not walk into your community and lead with what they assume you have failed at. They speak to your aspirations, your excellence, and your future â the same way they speak to every other room they enter. Until that changes, what passes for solidarity in American politics is something far less flattering: a 30-year-old habit of bonding with Black America over its worst moments, documented by science, practiced by politicians, and long overdue for an honest name. David Sypher Jr. Is a black conservative freelance writer from New Jersey.
