8x8 (13. 637)

founder and ceo of edgars industries: 1995 episode of Babylon 5 sums up the political situation in the US rather eerily  

decoy: an ambiguous, superimposed typeface that hides from AI  

add “crack spread” to your economics vocabulary: an explainer on the disconnect on the price of crude versus petroleum-derived products  

presque vu: the latest batch of new emoji seem familiar—via Waxy  

my father was a barn burner: a PSA from the Norwegian Consumer Council on why we can’t have nice things—see previously  

benford’s law: the counterintuitive observation that helps catch financial fraud—via Quantum of Sollazzo  

dazzle camouflage: more on adversarial apparel, clothing designed to confound and encourage public dialogue on the surveillance state and privacy—via MetaFilter—see more 

it’s show-time, synergy: the Flop House on the quintessentially 1980s cartoon—the funniest lines came out over the mid-season theme song replacement, to the tune of Fame, “Jem—I’m gonna live forever! I am a hologram!”

synchronoptica

one year ago: Sylvanian Families sues over defamation (with synchronoptica) plus a mothballed West German army garrison 

two years ago: assorted links worth revisiting plus Geraldine Ferraro accepts her party’s nomination (1984)

three years ago: a banger from Genesis (1986), English occupations in 1881 plus assorted links worth revisiting 

four years ago: a ferry to Newcastle, the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games plus arriving in Scotland

five years ago: a visit to Bohuslän 

six years ago: the Upping of the Swans plus a tour of Rhöngrabfeld 

9x9 (13. 633)

scrubbed launch: SpaceX has lost over a trillion dollars since its initial public offering on 12 June  

off-sides: the extensive rules and regulations governing tournaments in the Middle Ages—via Strange Company  

outside the far side: a short biography of comic creator Gary Larson—see previously 

two birds, one stone: alkaline thermal treatment of plastic waste produces high purity hydrogen as a fuel source 

memento: how memories and stored in the brain and how retrieval alters them  

street view: gorgeous photologs of San Diego in the 1970s plus more about this municipal mapping method  

the king’s great fortune: a fairy tale written in classic style with contemporary resonance 

from the chinagate hoax department: documents Trump ordered declassified to demonstrate meddling from Beijing cost him the 2020 presidential race show instead that Moscow was championing his re-election  

vikram-1: India’s first private rocket reaches low Earth orbit and deploys a satellite

deadpool (13. 631)

As Superpunch informs, popular and controversial predictions market platform Kalshi (previously) is expanding its betting profile from economic indicators, political and legislative outcomes and armed conflict to now include sports-like wagering in biotechnology, gambling on clinical trials and regulatory approval of new drug therapies. Already a highly speculative market subject to wild swings, opening up new contracts with Big Pharma, companies like Gilead, is expected to motivate traders to put their thumb on the scale, out of self-interest to improve their odds, with assuredly unscientific and deadly consequences. Kalshi, for its part defends its ethical stance, arguing, without scholarly consensus since the pool numbers are never disclosed, that the wisdom of the crowds and their investment on being right (or at least less wrong than the competition) more efficiently and accurately—a counterbalance to the greed, fraud and corruption endemic to the industry—steers optimal outcomes.

synchronoptica

one year ago: historic images of NASA’s research campus (with synchronoptica), assorted links to revisit, the flags of Iran plus new additions to UNESCO’s world heritage register

two years ago: American’s AI-military complex plus an evil cocktail

three years ago: Trump investigated for falsifying business records 

five years ago: your daily demon plus the island of Kållandsö

six years ago: Operation Jade Helm, unpopular essays plus more corporate sing-alongs

seven years ago: Les Horrible Cernettes, Wiesbaden’s Deutsches Filmhaus plus Trump’s disdain for the press

day one-hundred thirty-four (13. 627)

Trump’s Board of Peace scales down recovery programme to a tiny pilot plot in south Gaza. The US unleashes fresh waves of assaults, with American gulf allies taking the flak, as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz grows. The Revolutionary Guard has made arrangements with Houthi rebels in Yemen to close access to the Red Sea should the US begin threatened attacks on bridges, highways and power plants. During a primetime televised address, Trump speaks at length regarding election integrity, citing without evidence widespread voter fraud, McCarthy-era Communist infiltration and repeated false claims about the 2020 presidential race being stolen from him—an unremarkable rehash of old grievances ahead of the midterms when some expected more of a bombshell, like announcing that elections were postponed indefinitely due to the war or that he was running for a third term.

day one-hundred thirty-four (13. 625)

The US conducts another nighttime wave of strikes against Iranian civilian and military infrastructure and disables two tankers trying to breach the blockade of its ports, shooting munitions into the ships’ smokestacks. Trump says raids will continue until he says “it’s enough,” reluctant to give reporters a deadline for Iran to return to negotiations. Beatings will continue until morale improves... Bombs fall on Tehran for the first time since the ceasefire and the opening volleys of the war, as more retaliatory drone and missile attacks target US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. Global markets seem spooked with demand destruction, unreflective of the realities of an increasingly dire situation with the Persian Gulf again closed and Russian refinery capacity shut down. Zelenskyy dismisses his defence minister as Keir Starmer during his last day in office visits Ukraine.

day one-hundred thirty-three (13. 622)

Facing international backlash, just like over his arbitrary and vacillating tariff regime, Trump walked back his plan to impose twenty percent transit fees on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, turning to investment deals in the gulf to help offset costs of policing the waterways. US strikes continue with explosions reported on Qeshm Island and the deployment of submarine drones—threatening to bomb bridges, highways and power plants over stalled talks, whilst Iran continues aerial assaults against Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. New sanctions against the Iranian shadow financial network by America are announced. The governor of South Carolina appoints Lindsay Graham’s sister to serve out his term as the governor of Kentucky demands an in person interview with Mitch McConnell and a medical assessment, wanting to make his own appointment should McConnell be unable to return to the senate chamber.

day one-hundred thirty-three (13. 619)

Claiming that the strait separating the Persia from the Omani gulf is open and will “remain” so “with or without Iran,” Trump announced that the USA will reinstate the IRANIAN BLOCKADE and issues assurances that all other countries will have fair and open use of the vital waterway, with the USA henceforth known as the “‘The GUARDIANS OF THE HORMUZ,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.” Not only is Trump ignorant of the fact that his actions have caused the regional and global turmoil and an insult to the gulf partner nations hosting American military bases under attack, the transit fees are more than ten times higher than the tolls Tehran charged and the US has pronounced a toll on international waters to be illegal under international law. Iran’s foreign ministry announces that diplomacy has failed and is under no obligation to adhere to the framework of the MOU after the blatant violations of the US. Following the unexpected death of senate colleague Lindsay Graham, Mitch McConnell supposedly issues a statement as a sign of life, complete with a still photograph showing him reclining in his hospital bed, his wife at his side and reading the sports section of today’s Washington Post, like how a kidnapper would send a date-stamped ransom picture with the hostage holding up a newspaper.

9x9 (13. 609)

washington state: the incorporated polity was originally to be named Colombia after its chief river but people feared it would be confused with the national capital district, so gave it the name of the city that comprises DC 

hemi-finals: strange alignment of the last eight World Cup national teams  

mr pibb is aspirational—he’s currently in med school: sodas with a doctorate  

zero-sum game: circular deals and a shameless Ponzi scheme sends everyone to the moon  

false equivalence: political tribalism and the whataboutism of the Right for the Left 

a show about nothing: a scrolly-telling of the history of the sitcom Seinfeld—see previously here and here—via Web Curios  

wake up neo: a signet ring with OLED display shows the cascading green code from The Matrix  

après moi, le déluge: a forecasting tool for sea-level rise to drown the world  

separated by a common language: what North Americans call a cookie, the British call a biscuit—and what Americans call a biscuit has no exact counterpart in UK cuisine. Discuss.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Terracotta Army (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links to revisit

two years ago: double-click jargon, more on the zombification of the legacy web plus Biden vows to stay in the US presidential race   

three years ago: a secret weather modification programme for Vietnam, a ska special plus more links to enjoy

four years ago: the Hollywood Bowl, Avogadro’s Number plus US vs USSR in chess championship (1972)

five years ago: a stone ship in Sweden 

six years ago: the Ehrenburg of Ehrenbach 

day one-hundred twenty-eight (13. 603)

Speaking at the NATO summit, Trump says that the US is preparing to launch a heavy assault on Iran—“I’ll give a little warning: we are going to hit them hard tonight”—after declaring that the truce was over and suggesting that return to war is imminent, the military conducting further strikes to “degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation.” Despite disparaging comments by Trump “not wanting to deal with them,” the US president adds that negotiations will continue. The US president further suggests that they might seize Kharg Island with Iranian forces already retaliating. As hopes dim that the MOU could lead to permanent peace in the region, oil prices soar and world stock markets tumble.  Although the NATO meeting could have gone worse for the alliance, with Trump airing old grievance, repeating demands for Greenland and stopping all trade with Spain, he did not denounce Article V, the pledge for mutual protection and was cordial with Zelenskyy, even granting the license to Ukraine to build its own Patriot missile systems.

value-captured (13. 597)

Via Kottke, we are directed towards an anti-Bildungsroman about reflections on the growth and development of a digital native and a life squandered in the pursuit of increasingly tantalising internet points and the Overton window, the normative discourse of one’s peers as less than perspective and insight but rather something tethered, untethered and estranging, of others. Vicarious and evangelical, our protagonist aspires to live the life of others—achievable but deferred—and nonetheless consumed with consumption, and in the end, looking back at these parasocial relationships, realises too late it came at the expense of her own dreams and aspirations. While it may strike as a touch sententious and judgemental, that’s the exact impetus for reflection and to evaluate those metrics that malnourish us (sometimes described as gamification but I think that’s a misnomer as the most oppressive ones are the most ungamely) from those that help us reach our potentials.

synchronoptica

one year ago: everything becomes crab (with synchronoptica) 

two years ago: assorted links worth revisiting, a forgotten pioneer of cinematography, swimming with Benjamin Franklin plus France at the polls

three years ago: the first study-abroad programme 

four years ago: assorted links to enjoy plus volcanologist William Hamilton 

five years ago: sliced bread, the Quasi-War of 1798 plus a visit to Fladungen

six years ago: titleist Maurice Binder plus more adventures along the Moselle

day one-hundred twenty-two (13. 583)

Without irony, US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz proclaims that Iran is holding the world economy hostage by its violations of the Islamabad MOU, whilst US permanent representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker says that the alliance has moved past operational frictions in the Middle East and is ready to demonstrate and deliver on defence alignment and spending ahead of next week’s summit in Ankara. Iran holds funeral services, a multi-day mass for the country’s leaders killed in strikes on the Khamenei compound at the start of the war at the end of February. Revolutionary Guard troops clash with Kurdish rebels in the far north of the Islamic Republic.

day one-hundred sixteen (13. 557)

Lebanese-Israeli ceasefire negotiations in Washington are extended. FIFA allows Pride flags for Iran-Egypt match in Seattle despite objections from national football federations. Trump claims that unfrozen Iranian funds will be used to buy US crop staples, saying the country is experiencing a famine and the deal will be mutually beneficial. Tehran denies any arrangement to purchase US agricultural products.  The UN Maritime agency pauses evacuation efforts after a vessel came under attack in the Gulf of Oman. Oil prices—though the affect does not immediately translate to the petrol pump—have fallen to pre-war levels.

face-value (13. 546)

A pair of back-to-back podcasts had an interesting that addressed the subject of minting money from different angles and both touching on seigniorage from Planet Money and 99% Invisible presented an interesting correspondence. First the Indicator episode explored the pros and cons of introducing a commemorative two-hundred fifty dollar bill for the upcoming US birthday celebration, which notwithstanding actual and potential hurdles over decorum and legality, would be a boom for criminal activity, money laundering and tax avoidance—the EU got rid of its largest denominated five-hundred euro bill, nicknamed the bin Laden and favoured by smugglers and traffickers for its portability. Most other governments have followed suit and there is even pressure to remove the current largest American note, the one-hundred dollar bill by the same reasoning, though the argument that the US treasury cites for keeping it is that the some twenty billion outstanding, through seignorage, a promissory note redeemable and fungible at any time, the positive return or carry for issuing money, represents a two trillion dollar, interest-free loan for the US, as long as they stay in circulation, particularly internationally—or stored in a vault, or in the next example, lost in the couch cushions, mellowing in a change jar or held as collectors’ items. As 99% Invisible reports, though public reaction to the debasing of American coinage from 1964 to 1965 was frictionless acceptance of face-value despite that specie had been removed and replaced with a slug clad with a shiny coating, the price of metal meant minting incurred more demurrage, depreciation, and so inspired by the commemorative issues, like the Kennedy half-dollar or the 1976 bicentennial quarters, the mint got permission, not wholly out of civic pride, in 1999 to produce twenty-five cent pieces honouring each state—and eventually Washington, DC and the territories over a ten year period, the government earning a profit for each that went coin that went into a collection, the mint itself only absorbing the fractional production costs.

day one-hundred six (13. 516)

After several tense hours when an IDF strike of the suburbs of Beirut looked to sabotage the entire negotiations—one Trump said shouldn’t have happened, “Let’s not blow it—Iran and the US reached a tentative peace settlement and approved the memorandum of understanding, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the American blockade of Iranian ports. Some twelve billion dollars of frozen Iranian assets will be released, with Europeans insisting that sanction relief must be conditioned on de-nuclearisation. The MOU is scheduled to be signed in Geneva on Friday and at this juncture, de-mining operations will start to clear the waterway to ensure safe passage—and whilst world leaders hailed the return to status quo ante bellum as positive, market reactions were less enthusiastic than expected, with energy prices not expected to come down soon and more time needed to restore lines of distribution and refining. It remains unclear whether Tehran will be able to impose tolls on transiting vessels. The issue of enriched uranium has been tabled for now and Israel was not party to the talks and has not yet responded to the outcome. Questions also remain with respect to Lebanon and the Israeli occupation at the southern border. Although calling it a grand deal, the United States is in a significantly weaker strategic position than when they started the war, failing to achieve objectives laid out for beginning the joint conflict in the first place and not substantively different than what was agreed to under the Obama administration in 2015 and uncertainty remains how enduring this peace might be.

day one hundred-four (13. 508)

Again losing control of the narrative and lashing out with chaotic and contradictory claims of progress towards achieving a peace accord, Trump pulls back on his threats to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure and seize petroleum processing facilities, offering that a deal could be reached by the weekend, after first decrying news out of Tehran that nothing had been agreed upon and then accusing them of spreading disinformation with a leaks of the draft as a sign of movement. Unconscionably, world energy markets hang on Trump’s every word, valuations lurching wildly despite the lack of positive news (he has promised a swift resolution no less than thirty-eight times since the ceasefire went into effect) and minting former first buddy and race-baiting Space Karen Elon Musk as the world’s first trillionaire with his rocket company going public. Neither Tehran nor Washington have disclosed what the terms of the agreement are—which seems to largely hinge on Israel’s actions in Lebanon, the aggressor excluded from the negotiations—but the administration is conservatively saying still that a deal is imminent, though to my mind the odds are not convincing.

day ninety-one (13. 473)

No deal emerges between Washington and Tehran after the praise-a-thon cabinet meeting in the Situation Room as the chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz continues to grind away on the global economy and energy supplies with attendant effects on tourism, world food security and investment opportunities for the gulf states. Though it seems that Trump’s only exit strategy is surrender and Republicans are warning him to spin whatever settlement is achieved as materially different and superior to the agreement that Obama reached and Trump torpedoed in his first term in office and tolerance for his destructive whims will not be enduring, it is yet baffling that the stupidity and hubris of a single individual can in a decentralised society where the power and relevance of nation states are subverted by corporations can cause so much chaos and influence without the cooperation or consent of traditional allies and partners. Bored with the messes he has made and little appetite for the politics of the upcoming midterms, Trump turns his attention to preening and MCing America’s birthday bash—a relatively harmless activity, despite the potential for propaganda.

days eighty-four and five (13. 460)

Insisting that he does not make bad deals, Trump has issued a non-update on the progress of peace negotiations with Iran, again calling out disparaging and doubtful reports to the contrary as unpatriotic and subversive.  Premature news hailed the settlement as a settled matter with an attendant and designed market rally, yet little has emerged from Pakistan’s intermediary shuttle diplomacy other than Trump trying to distinguish his concept of a deal as superior to what Tehran and Obama achieved. With the US still intransigent about unfreezing Iranian assets, reparations in exchange for a supposed longer moratorium on nuclear research and development—only amounting to a further sixty day extension to the ceasefire, something which no one wants.

day seventy-seven (13. 435)

Returning from Beijing with little apparent progress of AI integration, the question of support for Taiwan or Middle East peace, and still haunted or harnessed with the spectre of not being concerned about the worsening economic welfare of the American people in pursuit of a war only speciously connected with their security, Trump’s threats to recommence military operations has Iranians on edge—the chief outcome of the meeting in China being the reaffirmation that Trump is an agent of chaos and Xi heading the more competent, staid and predictable superpower. Meanwhile, the administration appears to make good on its announcement to withdraw American troops and mid-range missiles stationed in Europe, the redeployments already seemingly underway in Bavaria and the deployment of a brigade level combat unit to Poland halted as the threat of Russia on NATO’s eastern flank remains.

 

synchronoptica 

one year ago: a catalogue of non-synonymous phrases (with synchronopticæ) plus a baffling online oracle

fourteen years ago: Iceland’s Kitchenware Revolution

fifteen years ago: a Eurovision watch-party plus America loosing its competitive edge

day seventy-six (13. 432)

Taking a pragmatic approach to the region, China lobbies for a lasting ceasefire for the region and oppose the militarisation of the Strait of Hormuz as the Beijing trip concludes. Trump expresses more frustration with Tehran but seems to soften on demands regarding taking the stockpiles of enriched uranium, as the vote on the war powers act, which would require the president to withdraw forces from the Persian gulf, fails to pass the lower house of congress by a single vote. Taipei takes silence as the best possible outcome following private talks between Xi and the US president. The only clear winners were the entourage of business executives, including the family syndicate, who secured investment deals in microchips and aerospace, with no indication that China, which purchases ninety-percent of Iranian petroleum exports, would alter its arrangement. Twice this week, Venezuela has been referred to as America’s fifty-first state, with Caracas rather nonplussed at this announcement. Renewed negotiation between Israel and Lebannon will begin over the weekend, despite intense fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah.

synchronoptica

one year ago: pigeon bells (with synchronopticæ), the Volstead Act of 1925, assorted links to enjoy plus an ancient Roman mosaic

thirteen years ago: search results and word association 

fourteen years ago: bank bailouts plus continued opposition to increasing farm yields with GMOs

day seventy-five (13. 430)

Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Xi ends after two hours with the US president preparing to depart for home, Trump characterising their relationship as “better than ever” following bilateral talks. Concerns that America would abandon Taiwan appear to be unfounded with that sticking point papered over for now as the Chinese leader, citing the Thucydides Trap, used to describe US-China relations and the fear of being displaced by an emerging power, like the Greeks to the Spartans, should be avoided and work towards becoming “partners and not rivals.” It is unclear what concrete outcomes were achieved. Vice president Vance announces that progress has been made in negotiations with Iran but is yet unclear if Tehran’s concessions will satisfy Trump’s red lines on Iranian nuclear ambitions. Fifteen ships carrying humanitarian aid have been allowed to pass through the US naval blockade of the Persian gulf after a month of the sea embargo being in operation. The almost complete internet blackout in the country reaches its seventh fifth day as the government names Mohammad Reza Aref new cyberspace policy chief.  Continued attacks in Lebanon has reportedly increased support for Hezbollah.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the latest mashup from DJ Earworm (with synchronopticæ) plus night fishing for distant broadcasts 

thirteen years ago: the origins of the peace symbol,  the magic roundabout plus a collection of food and drink patron saints