the technate of north america (13. 054)

Given the recent invasion by the United States on the southern limit of this hypothetical map of a continental federation, a sphere of influence, self-sufficient and only requiring minimum trade with outsiders, aligned with the recently published Trump Corollary, the technocracy movement, founded chiefly by engineer Howard Scott after World War I, flourishing in the minds of many as a genuine alternative political ideology, more popular than fascism or communism, up through the Great Depression and the entry of the US in World War II—though suffering many internecine breakups and dogmatists at odds in the steering committees of the various groups and factions under this umbrella, just like Scott’s own falling out with the unionists and the IWW that first fostered his ideas, has again been garnering attention. Understandably with propagandised charts showing US influence stretching from Greenland to the north, through Panama all the way down to Venezuela, people are worried that Trump may make good on his threats of annexation by force, but Technocracy Incorporated, administered by besuited technocrats with legions of working-class followers, including one chiropractor (a suspect pseudo-science itself) from Regina, Joshua Norman Haldeman, the maternal grandfather of Elon Musk (members were required to adopt numbers in place of names, which may have inspired great-grandson XÆ A-12 as well as other notions of Musk’s), was not premised on utopian technology that would make labour superfluous and end scarcity but rather its opposite, suggesting that progress would never outpace population-growth and that the monetary system needed reform—proposing an energy theory of value to replace the price based systems of economy, privileging exchange and property and believed to perpetuate market inefficiencies. Energy input and output would replace fiat currency as a metric of labour and worth, non-fungible rationed allotments distributed to regulate the flow of energy that could not be bartered outside the system—tied to an individual’s productive credit account—and having an expiration date to discourage hoarding and accumulation of capital, as a form of technological feudalism.

pdvsa (13. 047)

Founded on this day in 1976 in concert with the nationalisation of the oil industry and the take over of more than thirty foreign operations, including Exxon, Mobil and Gulf, the state owned Petróleos de Venezuela (Sociedad Anónima, a limited public company) manages the largest hydrocarbon reserve in the world and oversees day-to-day of the fifth biggest exporter of petroleum, formalised as a promise of the ongoing social movement of the Bolivarian Revolution begun by Hugo Chávez and continued by his successor Nicolás Maduro as a stand against neo-colonialism, record profits generated during the OPEC embargo by Middle East producers from three years earlier. Although many cite focus on political programmes to the detriment of technical know-how and inefficiencies in extraction and refining—as well as fostering endemic corruption—the accusations do seem rather pedestrian and rather like a projection for those excluded from exploiting this resource and relentless attempts to thwart the enterprise with sanctions and diplomatic isolation. 

synchronoptica 

one year ago: a Parisien pocket interpreter, more future forecasts, Public Domain Day plus assorted links to revisit

two years ago: a tribute to celebrity deaths (with synchronopticæ) plus cinema and literature set in 2024

nine years ago: New Year’s salutations, more Public Domain Day, the International Date Line, seed banking, vintage disruptive technology plus the Japanese art of not sleeping

ten years ago: more New Year’s greetings, more links to enjoy plus more on animal cognition

eleven years ago: a past year pop-quiz, the Eurasian Economic Union plus the power of admitting contraction

twelve years ago: pig dogs plus the Order of the Ursulines

thirteen years ago: a 1987 retrospective plus guided by an occult hand

fifteen years ago: champagne and krimskoye 

mmxxv (13. 042)

As this year draws to a close and we look forward to 2026, we take the time agin to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place during the past twelve months. Thanks as always for visiting. We’ve made it through another wild year together.

 january: a vehicle ramming attack kills ten and injures dozens in central New Orleans.  After a five year deal expires without renewal, Russian gas can no longer be piped through Ukraine to the EU as the continent braces for a cold winter.  After a decade as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau announces he will step aside.  An earthquake strikes the holy city of Shigatse in Tibet.  Wind-swept wildfires devastate southern California.  Joe Biden and others eulogise Jimmy Carter for his state funeral.  After the US supreme court rejects a petition to delay sentencing over his hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, Trump becomes a convicted felon, although given an unqualified discharge by the presiding judge and will serve no time.  Sunset Boulevard is unrecognisable after being engulfed by wildfires.  Israel and Hamas appear close to reaching a truce to bring about a permanent ceasefire.  Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth faces a gruelling nomination hearing in congress for role of secretary of defence.  Donald Trump is inaugurated for a second time and unleashes a flurry of executive orders, including a hiring freeze, immediate rescinding of Biden era policies, removal of DEI initiatives within the federal government and contracting partners, declaring that there are two genders only, issuing a blanket pardon to the January Sixth rioters in an attempt to reframe and rewrite history, freezing virtually all foreign aid, closing the borders and vowing to unleash agents to facilitate mass-deportations.  Cabinet nominees are approved by the US senate, including, narrowly—Trump’s pick to head the Department of Defence.  Trump proposes that Gaza be depopulated of Palestinians and urges neighbouring Egypt and Jordan to take in all displaced individuals.  A scrappy open-source AI developed in China on a shoe-string budget knock a trillion dollar hole in the grift-cum-technofedualism markets in the US.  Prolific blog commentator and good soul XOXOXOBruce (see more here and here) has passed away.  A passenger plane collides with a Blackhawk helicopter over Washington, DC, killing all, including members from American and Russian figure skating teams.  Iconic entertainer Marianne Faithfull passes away, aged 78. Mexico, Canada and China hit back against US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.  The government of El Salvador agrees to allow the US to offshore its most dangerous incarcerated population.  A deadly shooting occurs at a continuing education centre in Örebro.  Trump meets with Netayahu and offers to own the Gaza Strip and redevelop it, expelling the Palestinian population.

february: Novelist Tom Robbins dead, aged 92.  Relenting on implementing tariffs for Mexico and Canada after security promises already underway, Trump shocks the markets by imposing a twenty-five percent duty on all aluminium and steel globally.  Trump orders federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against disgraced New York City mayor Eric Adams after repeated attempts to curry favour with the president.  The Aga Khan passes away, aged 88. Boycotts to protest inflation and A ramming attacked is perpetrated in München, ploughing into a crowd of union protesters, a day ahead of the Munich Security Conference.  Pope Francis is hospitalised with double pneumonia, his prognosis for recovery guarded.   Veteran actor Gene Hackman found dead, aged 95, at home along with his wife and dog.

march: By executive order, Trump makes English the official language of the United States.  Israel blocks humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, demanding that Hamas abide by changed conditions dictated by the US, leading by mid-month to a resumption in airstrikes on the territory.  Rosenstolz singer AnNa R passes away, aged 55.  A French politician calls for the return of the Statue of Liberty.  After rejecting a previously brokered US peace deal, during a telephone call with Trump, Putin signals he will agree to a thirty-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure.  Boxer and entrepreneur George Foreman passes away, aged 76.  Germany’s marked fiscal pivot to embrace debt and invest in defence stunned fellow EU members.  Trump’s commerce secretary proposes cutting the social security safety net for seniors and the disabled.  Arrest and detention of Erdoğan rival and Istanbul mayor ignites protests in Türkiye.  Wildfires ravage South Korea.  A coalition of the willing convene in Paris in solidarity with Ukraine, fearful of the outcome of a US-brokered deal with Russia.  Thousands dead and many more displaced after an earthquake ravages Myanmar.  Globally, thousands participate in Tesla Takedown protests against Musk.  Far-right French politician Marine Le Pen banned from public office after being found guilty for misappropriating EU funds.

april: Despite millions in campaign donations, Musk and conservatives were unable to flip the state supreme court in Washington.  New Jersey Democrat Corey Booker spoke in the Senate, rebuking the Trump administration for a record twenty-five hours and five minutes, beating Strom Thurmond’s filibuster against integration and equal rights.   Actor Val Kilmer dead at age 65.  Israeli defence forces annex huge swaths of the Gaza Strip.  Foregoing over two billion dollars in federdal funding, Harvard refuses to give in to Trump demands.  Katy Perry and an all-female crew travel briefly to the edge of space.  The world mourns Pope Francis.  The US threatens to walk away from the Ukraine-Russia peace deal it brokered.  As a rebuke to Trumpism, Canada elects another liberal government with Mark Carney as Prime Minister.

may: The US Department of Homeland Security is planning to remove illegal migrants to Libya.  The College of Cardinals elect the first American pope, Leo XIV.  India and Pakistan exchange violent skirmishes over the disputed territories of Kashmir and Jammu.  Austria wins the Eurovision song contest.  A tall ship from the Mexican navy collides with the Brooklyn bridge during manoeuvrers.  Romanian elects a centrist, pro-EU mathematician for president in a surprise turn-out.  Former US president Joe Biden diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.  UK, France and Canada sharply criticise Israel for its continued assault on Gaza and blockade of humanitarian aid, suspending trade talks and recalling diplomatic staff.  Veteran actor George Wendt passed away, aged 76. King Charles delivers a speech of solidarity from the throne in Canada to open parliament.  Trump blasts Putin for escalation of fighting in Ukraine.

june: In planning for eighteen-months, Ukraine carries out surprise drone attack on Russian bombers in five regions.  Trump rescinds nomination of private astronaut to head NASA after apparent falling out with Elon Musk, who recommended the nominee for the job.  Trump federalises the California national guard against the will of the state’s governor to suppress protests against ICE raids.  The Israeli defence forces seise a Gaza-bound cargo ship of humanitarian aid with activist Greta Thunberg onboard.  A London-bound plane crashes shortly after departure from Ahmedabad with a sole survivor. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys passes away, aged 82.  Israel launches air strikes against Iran’s nuclear processing facilities, killing the commander of the Revolutionary Guard. The US bombs three Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities.  In the last week before recess, the US supreme court delivers Trump several judicial victories. Veteran journalist and moderator Bill Moyers has died.  Israeli attacks on Gaza humanitarian assistance sites markedly intensify.  

july: The US congress narrowly passes Trump’s domestic policy agenda.  Flash flooding in Texas Hill Country claims dozens, including many from a summer camp for girls.  Russian transport minister found dead hours after his dismissal ostensibly for his failure to secure Moscow from Ukrainian drone attacks.  Trump announces twenty-fiver percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, as the administration pushes for ninety trade deals in ninety days.  Trump disavows MAGA supporters who demand the release of the Epstein files. Israel launches airstrikes on Damascus to defend Druze communities living on the border of the Golan Heights.  UK government resolves to lower voting age to sixteen.  The US senate approves rescission bill to defund public broadcasting in America and eliminate billions in foreign aid.  Iconic rocker Ozzy Osboure has died, aged 76.  The famine in Gaza worsens as hundreds have been killed just queuing for aid.  France resolves to acknowledge Palestinian statehood.  Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan passed away, aged 71.  The EU negotiates a last minute trade and tariff deal with Trump, giving Europe worse than nothing but perhaps preserving global security and stability in Ukraine.  Contrary to assurances that the Qatari gift of Air Force one would not be for the Trump’s personal use post-presidency, the secretary of defence accepted the gift, explicitly calling it not a bribe.  Trump admits his friendship with Epstein came to an end because Epstein was stealing employees from his pleasure spa.  

august: Trump’s redacted name appears in the Epstein files.  Microsoft joins Invidia as the first firms to reach a four trillion dollar market valuation.  Global stocks are shocked by tariff deadline with few deals.  Trump fires government statistician after poor jobs-growth report, revising downward previous months’ estimates.   Sabre-rattling, two nuclear submarines move within striking distance of Russian.  Netanyahu announces plans to take over Gaza City whilst Trump again threatens to federalise Washington, DC. Astronaut and Apollo XIII commander Jim Lovell dies, aged 97.  Putin has a summit with Trump in Alaska, followed by a meeting in Washington, DC between Trump and Zelenskyy with several European leaders also inviting themselves.  Texas and California commence with their redistricting war to gerrymander the mid-terms.  The Florida department of transportation removes the rainbow crosswalk memorial of the Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre.  Rumours of the death of Trump are trending.  The White House announces intent to end mail-ballots and allow only in-person voting.  Israeli attacks aided by the US kill Houthi prime minister in Yemen.  Modi and Xi meet with Putin as counterbalance to western hegemony.

september: A devastating earthquake hits Afghanistan.  Google emerges more or less unscathed from a landmark anti-trust case.  Chaos at the US Centres for Disease control prompts many states to do their own research.  Celebrated fashion designed Giorgio Armani dead, aged 91.  Over a dozen killed in a tragic funicular accident in Lisbon.  The US targets an alleged Venezuelan drug-boat and deploys warships to the Caribbean.  Israeli Defence Forces order the complete evacuation of Gaza City. Right wing influencer and conservative activist Charles Kirk is assassinated during a speaking event at a college campus in Utah.  Actor, activist and director Robert Redford passed away, aged 89. Donald Trump arrives in London for his second state visit.  The GOP are exploiting the death of Charlie Kirk to silence dissent. Portugal, the UK, Canada and Australia recognise Palestinian statehood, ahead of the UN General Assembly—with host nation refusing to issue visas to the country’s delegation to attend (the first time the US has barred entry since 1998 and banning PLO head Yasser Arafat, which prompted the UN to change the venue to Geneva).  Trump gives a rambling and dangerous speech falsely linking acetaminophen, childhood vaccinations with autism.  Erik Adams drops his re-election bid to be mayor of New York City.

october: At an impasse, the US government shuts down.  Renowned primatologist and wildlife advocate Jane Goodall passes away, aged 91. Veteran UK actor Patricia Routledge dies, aged 96.  Hamas and Israel reach a tentative ceasefire days after the second anniversary of the the beginning of the war.  Gazans begin returning home, joy amid sorrow and destruction as the Israeli army pulls back.  Actor Diana Keaton has died, aged 79.  Trump misappropriates funds to make military pay-day during the shutdown.  Hamas begins releasing the remaining Israeli hostages.  Elite universities in the US choose to forego federal funding rather than submit to conditions on research and hiring practises.  The US CIA begin covert operations to overthrow the government of Venezuela.  Every major US media outlet surrendered their Pentagon press credentials rather than sign a pledge to only report on approved releases. Former Trump national security advisor John Bolton indicted for mishandling of classified information.  NPR founding reporter and anchor Susan Stamberg passed away, age 87.  Partial demolition begins on the East Wing of the White House to construct Trump’s ballroom.  The Japanese parliament elects its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.  Charles III and Pope Leo XIV pray together in the Sistine Chapel.  Against America’s peace agenda, the Knesset votes to annex the West Bank.  Leftwing candidate Catherine Connolly wins Ireland’s presidency.  Veteran television star June Lockhart passes away, aged 100.  Fawlty Towers actor Prunella Scales dies, aged 93. US government shutdown surpasses Trump’s old record for the longest in history.  Dick Cheney dies, aged 84.  Zohran Mamdani wins mayorship of New York City.

november: Redistricting efforts in Texas ahead of US mid-term elections are ruled to be unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. The US federal government reopens after an unprecedented shut-down as Democrats fold.  A violent civil war continues to rage in Nigeria.  COP 30 begins in Brazil.  Tech businesses and telecoms shed tens of thousands of employees.  In response to a cadre of congressional representatives urging service members not to obey illegal orders, Trump cries sedition and threatens them with execution.  US leaks a twenty-eight point peace plan for Ukraine and Russia. Marjorie Taylor Greene announces she will leave the US congress in January after a public falling out with Trump.  Flames engulf a residential apartment block in Hong Kong.  The pope makes his first trip abroad, visiting Türkiye and Lebanon.  With war in Venezuela imminent, closing the country’s airspace, Trump pardons notorious Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez, commuting his sentence in a US federal prison after smuggling weapons and four hundred tonnes of cocaine into the country.  A deadly fire in a Hong Kong housing estate kills scores.

december: Playwright Tom Stoppard passes away, aged 88.  Influential architect Frank Gehry has died, aged 96.  Australia launches a world first social media ban for young people.  The US military seizes a Venezuelan oil tanker, escalating tensions.  Articles of impeachment are forwarded for both secretary of war and RFK, Jr.  Indiana state lawmakers reject Trump’s redistricting plans to gerrymander Democrats out of existence.  A gunman kills a dozen individuals gathering at Australia’s Bondi beach for Hanukkah celebrations.  Actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer-Reiner are found murdered—with the couple’s son arrested as the the prime suspect.  The US justice department releases a heavily redacted version of the Epstein files.  Singer, songwriter Chris Rea, performer behind “Driving Home for Christmas” dies, aged 74.  Brigitte Bardo has died, aged 91.  Trump announces ground strikes in Venezuela.  Xi announces intent to reunite Taiwan in New Year’s Eve address.

9x9 (13. 024)

participation, in this context, is a kind of alignment: the Vanity Fair photo shoot of Trump’s cabinet 

escape velocity: a super-massive runaway black hole has been ejected from its home galaxy and is careening through space—via Kottke 

that thoth over there: a guide to the messy divine family of Egyptian mythology  

beyond the last-minute gift guide: the year of Tedium wrapped  

no-one comes to casablanca for the waters—you were misinformed: every drink in the 1942 classic (see previously, oddly no gin)—via MetaFilter  

capital allocation: on the social uselessness of finance, creating winners and losers  

homecoming: a preview of Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey—see also 

intraterrestrials: subsurface microbes have geological lifespans 

unreliable narrator: Epstein and company as Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert—see previously

i, pencil (13. 006)

Via Super Punch, we learn that adding such a quotidian thing as the writing implement to his list things to make do with less of as a kind of patriotic austerity during a recent rally, veering again from casting affordability as a hoax and blaming high prices on immigration—“You can give up certain products. You could give up pencils—because under the China policy, every child gets thirty-seven pencils. They only need one or two. They don’t need that many. You always need steel. You don’t need thirty-seven dolls for your daughter. One or two is nice. So, we’re doing things right.” US consumers are foregoing a lot more things at the moment and is unclear how less of one equals more of another, but the example chosen (and not for the first time) may come from a parable used to illustrate global supply chains and trade that one of Trump’s handlers though might be couched in terms he could comprehend on a basic level of Ricardian economics but instead was grossly misconstrued. The 1958 essay by libertarian free market think tank founded, under the long title, “I, Pencil: My Family Tree as Told to Leonard E Read,” written in first person from the perspective of the pencil, summarises the complexity of its creation, listing its parts (wood, lacquer, ferrule, pumice, wax, glue, graphite), those people (sort of like a gratitude chain) that put it together down the janitor of the factory and the lighthouse keeper that ensured that the shipment made it safely to port, conclude that since, in the absence of a master mind directing all these the activities—something no individual would be capable of—there is only the Invisible Hand of capitalism running the show, proclaiming that the “know-hows” should not be impeded terms of self-coordination. Apparently Trump interprets the fable that he is Providence.

x ↦ 𝑓(x) (12. 974)

Via Clive Thompson’s latest Linkfest, we are directed to towards a hidden reliquary of old, obscure Microsoft Excel functions maintained update after update to preserve compatibility and integrity of spreadsheet data—some being very dated like the ticker-tape age DOLLARDE and DOLLARFR when stocks and bonds were quoted in fractional dollars pre-decimalisation or highly specific like ROMAN which converts Arabic numerals, mainly for decorative use only as they are not well suited to double-entry bookkeeping (see also) and BAHTTEXT that transforms a value spelled out in Thai Baht, introduced in accordance with the country’s invoicing standards that require numbers expressed both ways to ensure clarity. Like the way the amount on a cheque is written out in long form, Excel only offers this feature for Thailand, which isn’t the only jurisdiction that requires it.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a virtual Advents Calendar of work entering the public domain (with synchronopticæ), Saint Zephania plus a game of incense

thirteen years ago: combatting youth unemployment, a post-industrial revolution plus a Lt Uhura My Little Pony

fifteen years ago: extremophiles 

sixteen years ago: holiday shopping 

seventeen years ago: authorised delay 

gini coefficient (12. 949)

Via the ever-marvellous Nag on the Lake, we are treated to a rather interesting and thorough comparison of Gross Domestic Product per capita and purchasing power parity of nations richer and poorer than the United States in 1980 (a rather unique instant in time given the 1979 Oil Crisis) versus how they are faring relative to today. 

 Of course a lot of things occurred over the intervening decades that factor into the changes and reversals, like with the benchmark of Germany of then and now but is nonetheless a revealing look at the geopolitics of economies and invites one to fill in the gaps between these snap-shots.

building & loan (12. 886)

Whilst calling “affordability” a hoax perpetrated by Democrats and blathering on about how much grocery, energy costs and inflation is down (a sentiment contrary to economic realities and one that the public is not buying), Trump seeming undermined his own argument with a multi-pronged approach to lowering consumer prices first by directing the justice department to investigate price gouging and collusion in the meat-packing industry that has made beef more expensive, reversing tariffs on some staple imports—plus a promise to issue individual stimulus cheques from duties dividends, through revenues won’t satisfy promised payouts, direct payments as opposed to extended subsidies for health insurance coverage premiums to encourage Americans to become entrepreneurs in their wellness and most controversially the introduction of a fifty-year mortgage to make homeownership achievable to more with nominally lower monthly outlays—though over a much long period, deferring outright tenancy and building equity, with more going towards interest rather than the principal.

7x7 (12. 878)

breaking rust: Billboard’s top country-genre song is AI generated slop—see previously  

crown jewels: Hapsburg family to display to the public a secret, personal stash of treasures hidden in Canada since WWII  

grist for the mill: all the commercial, off-kilter blogs were private-equitied out of existence—via Kottke  

mecces: visiting a McDonald’s in West Berlin in 1984 

s-money: a 1963 patent to replace US paper currency with square plastic wafers—see previously, see also here and here 

the call of the first æthyr: occult poetry by Aleister Crowley (see previously) delivered in his only known recording  

poice: Sora created videos of fake immigration raids in the US infest Facebook

negative seigniorage (12. 876)

The Philadelphia Mint struck its last batch of pennies today after issuing the one cent coins continually since 1793 after Trump declared them retired earlier in the year, with some four times the face value going into the smallest denomination. Although retailers and speciests had been advocating for its cancellation for decades, the abrupt execution has left cashiers frustrated with many rounding down to avoid short-changing as supplies begin to dwindle for the legal tender for all debts public and private, and some ironically offering a premium for paying with a sweaty palm of coins to hold in reserve.

9x9 (12. 872)

climate change is no longer a threat of the future—it is a tragedy of the present: COP30 opens in Belém at the edge of the Amazon rainforest  

splice: following resignations, Trump threatens to sue BBC for one billion dollars over January Sixth documentary  

french windows: the animation of Ian Emes that defined Pink Floyd’s signature visual style 

epoch and era: geologists reject the Anthropocene age but it is still a valuable lens for understanding our present and future  

industrial organisation: the perpetuated belief that vertical monopolies and monopsonies are good for the consumer  

victory is mine again trebek: a clip reel of a Jeopardy! category  

so you’ve been bitten by a radioactive spider: a survival guide for the Marvel universe 

punt: anything other than a clear CR, US senate concludes debate and return the bill to congress for passage to reopen the federal government—including provisions for members to seek half-a-million dollars in compensation for having their phones searched for the January Sixth investigation (plus more pardons) and a ban on hemp  

money talks: Bill Gates apparently reverses stance on near-term emission reduction goals

synchronoptica

one year ago: AI espionage (with synchronopticæ), RFK Jr’s future role in Trump’s cabinet plus the lead narrows in the US congress

thirteen years ago: toothpaste for dinner, the architecture of choice plus making an animated gif

fourteen years ago: double-eleven 

sixteen years ago: new wheels 

baumol’s cost disease (12. 856)

Courtesy of NPR’s always engrossing Planet Money podcast, discussing inflation and the various factors that contribute to the rise of the costs of goods and services, pointedly discussing another sector—which I think should not be taken as letting those usual suspects, private equity and their ilk, off the hook for being caught holding the bag—pointedly discussing some of the pain points of veterinary medicine, we learn about prolific economics writer and namesake of the above effect in labour markets. In collaboration with economist and academic William Gordon Bowen (who also founded the digital library JSTOR), William Baumol (also a prolific sculptor and painter who helped create cultural economics, calling art collecting and patronage a gamble and presaging its fetishisation as an investment , evinced by these animal spirits) described the outcome of stagnant productivity countered with rising wages in certain sectors, which cannot innovate or advance on the same terms as other fields. Enterprises that rely on manufacturing and mass-production or mass-distribution for instance have benefited from technology that allows for automation and removing human labour from the picture. Other industry’s reliant on human expertise and interaction, like veterinarians, concert violinists, barbers, educators and carpenters, are unable to increase their output at scale. And while arguably some trades and professions—especially in the US, teacher—are not so richly compensated, their higher wages are sustained by cross-demand at the expense of profit because of their essential nature and lack of serviceable substitute. Furthermore unwillingness to offer competitive pay would led to a scarcity of expertise and prevents the greater misalignment that would come of no one entering these fields.  

synchronoptica

one year ago: Democrats concede (with synchronopticæ) 

twelve years ago: war-mongering, jackalopes plus more on Germany’s Fateful Day (9 November)

thirteen years ago: the G20 and the US elections, marine parasites plus an R2D2 scooter

fourteen years ago: questionable dental hygiene 

fifteen years ago: bisphenol in everything 

sixteen years ago: need-to-know news 

capricious and mercurial (12. 854)

Though the US supreme court has during its shadow docket reliably sided with president, at least on a provisional basis, over the past several months, for the justices’ first properly vetted and argued case regarding the legality of Trump’s imposition of tariffs through a 1977 emergency powers act—not mentioning trade or embargo—is marked with scepticism and seemingly signals in the midst of the longest shutdown of the federal government and the Democrats winning several special elections a referenda on the hallmarks of Trump’s economic and foreign policy agendas, not to mention his style magisterial style of governance that has dulled the enumerated powers of the judiciary and legislature. Although much of the opening argument was given over to definitions, semantics and pragmatics and whether the major questions doctrine of the court, a statutory interpretation of the law that issues of major political or fiscal importance holding that congressional powers cannot be delegated to the executive—cited when clawing back the initiatives of student loan forgiveness under Joe Biden over the hundred billion dollar discharge though its applicability and precedent questioned over potentially trillions, the case does not address more fundamental questions whether tariffs are themselves an effective foreign policy tool privileged as they are over the regular channels of diplomacy and negotiation for attracting international investment and reshoring given the turmoil and chaos that such vacillations are inspiring, an productive instrument of national security for stemming drug-trafficking or even a constructive way of generating revenue for the treasury given that they are effectively a tax on US consumers—again the defence for the US government deflecting the scope of the case by saying that the monies made are “only incidental,” not convincing the panel of judges. Deliberations could take a month—rather swift by the court’s standards as the administration has demanded that this case be expedited.

rock on gold dust woman (12. 844)

Missing this gift exchange during the last leg of Trump’s Asia in the chaos of last week—which netted no concrete trade deals other than a tepid tariff rapprochement with China—it seems in poor taste at first blush for South Korean president Lee Jae Myung to have presented the US president with a replica of an ancient gold crown, particularly right after the No Kings demonstrations, and bestowed on him the Grand Order of the Mugunghwa (Pink Hibiscus) and it’s of course pandering to his doltish vanities. A little low-effort research reveals, however, a possibly deeper meaning that’s half again cleverer than the copy of the birth certificate that Germany gave Trump of his ancestor who fled to avoid the draft and was subsequently stripped of his citizenship. Dating from the Silla dynasty (see previously) and designated among Korea’s National Treasures these delicate gold crowns, with the tensile strength of a tin-foil hat, which were discovered during an excavation of a royal tomb in the old capital city of Gyeongjuwere likely crafted as funerary wares and not to be worn by the living, due to their inherent flimsiness and impractical design, with this lavish headdress a burial good. That’s some apt diplomacy (see also), especially after the US deported all those South Korean workers.

synchronoptica

one year ago: private language creation among twins (with synchronopticæ), the Collins’ Direction Word of the Year, assorted links to revisit, caesaropapism plus the Balfour Agreement of 1917

twelve years ago: an operatic live-stream

fourteen years ago: Palestine is admitted to UNESCO 

 

fiscal forecast (12. 818)

As the shutdown of the US federal government drags on and Donald Trump appears far more interested in razing the White House (check out the major events timeline), betraying the ranching community that voted him back in office by touting Argentinian beef over domestically sourced (added to the bailout of the peso to ensure that the Trump crime family has a safe space for exile like Nazis in hiding) and uncharacteristically, charitably silent for a few hours perhaps embarking on another Weekend at Bernie’s, Washington and Ontario have suspended trade talks over an advertisement aired on social media at the behest of the province’s premier which excerpted a portion of a 1987 speech by Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs—counter-programming a series ran by Trump lauding their supposed benefits. Insisting that Reagan’s quote that “trade barriers hurt every American worker” was taken out of context and politicised (messaging also used by China), Marco Rubio, the secretary of state—charged with diplomacy but focused on economic issues and destabilising the government of Venezuela and who pointedly during the 2016 Republican primary debates called tariffs a tax on the American people—announced that negotiations have been put on hold, later echoed by the US president, calling the ad fake and fraudulent and declaring talks “hereby terminated.” Moreover the a group called the Reagan Foundation cried foul over the misrepresentation and is exploring legal options against Canada—to which Ontario released an extended version of the address—in the public domain—to differentiate it from Trump’s AI slop and distortions. This derailment comes ahead of the mandated six year reassessment of the NAFTA redux negotiated by Trump and the announcement of the Canadian federal budget, expected to emphasise a pivot away from reliance on its neighbour to the south.

8x8

tor’s cabinet of curiosities: a collection of weird hagiographies 

photographie de rue: photography student Lionel Derimais’ impressions of New York City in the winter of 1980 

non-generative ai: artist Pablo Delcan responds to human prompts  

canary in the coal mine: the collapse of US private equity firms echoes the collapse of the sub-prime real estate market that caused the Great Recession of 2008  

to catch a thief: reconstructing the Louvre heist  

grattacieli: the medieval skyscrapers of Bologna—see previously 

breaker one-niner: the computer industry’s first challenge from the US federal communications commission was over frequency interference for citizens’ band radio—see previously  

elevator pitch: podcasters debate listening to episodes at 2x speed

continuing resolution (12. 793)

In order to dull the pain or inconvenience that the average member of the American public associates with the furlough and partial government shutdown and avoid the optics of service members in uniform queuing at food pantries on pay-day, the administration has proposed, akin to the rescission-process from earlier in the year, re-programming funds already committed, still in defiance of authorisations, to other projects, like army research and development or monies generated from sources outside the process of congressional appropriations, so air-traffic controllers, airport security agents and soldiers do not miss their next pay cheque. Whereas travel disruptions may be more relatable than the potential for mutiny over breach of contract, both are still within the realm of possibilities. Despite having virtually insurmountable control over the three branches of the federal government, Republicans persist in blaming the closure on Democrats—though perceptions are changing and the public and the federal workforce, in many cases not working or deemed essential and working for the promise of delayed pay, seeming more tenuous, know that the layoffs and evisceration of programmes were planned well in advance of the 30 September deadline and are something that the GOP would have carried out regardless.

synchronoptica

one year ago: university commas (with synchronopticæ), Peabody visual aides, an out-of-season bloom plus Dungeons & Dragons as group therapy

fifteen years ago: tabloid news 

sixteen years ago: the most beautiful object in the world 

10x10 (12. 780)

third amendment rights: ICE officers and associates beg to use the restroom  

dance this mess around: Cardhouse’s 2025 mixtape session—see previously 

anti-deficiency act: an omnibus of reports on the US federal government shutdown, including the threat to withhold back-pay from disloyal workers  

any dream of avarice: a historical comparison of the world’s wealthiest individuals—see also  

angry little clouds: Bob Ross paintings (see previously here and here) to be auctioned off to US support public broadcasters after federal funding cut  

the weight of a city: revisiting the idea of gradually x-raying a spot off-limits with ghostly cosmic particles through imagined and inspired celestial espionage  

permanent polycrisis: Curios Brain’s trends for 2026 of sustained chaos counterbalanced with the end of coincidence 

a good mix of the apocalypse and looney tunes: Thomas Pynchon (previously) has been warning us about American fascism his whole literary career 

r u experienced: a glorious re-upload of Devo’s 1984 cover of the Jimi Hendrix song  

in the land of the dollar bill: Trump threatens to arrest the mayor of Chicago for failing to protect immigration agents and invoke the Insurrection Act as he goes full authoritarian

synchronoptica

one year ago: boating on the Röblinsee (with synchronopticæ)

twelve years ago: fiat currency plus extending the sacrament to divorced Catholics

thirteen years ago: making crespelle 

franklin mint (12. 773)

Although some polities issue currency bearing the obverse of their current reigning monarch, most including the United States of America and many others only impress images of departed historic contributors and presidents—the heretofore exception for the US being the commemorative coinage passed by congress in March of 1925 to feature portraits of the current incumbent Calvin Coolidge with George Washington for the sesquicentennial half-dollar to be sold to the public at a premium above their face value and much of the specie returned to the minters for reuse after disappointing reception (the one-hundred-fiftieth year celebration of the the nation’s founding also going down in the annals of the most poorly executed and received—see also). We are certain that in the not-too-distant future, people will puzzle over why so much ink was split over a has been, fascist country and their daily drivel. The draft engraving of the semiquincentennial dollar coin—introduced during the government shutdown—features images of Trump both on the obverse and reverse (perhaps inspired by Charles III on the new ten £ note after his recent visit) with the latter struck to match the defiant pose after his attempted assassination in Butler County Pennsylvania—already the iconography of his cryptocurrency.

synchronoptica

one year ago: anchor Dan Rather assaulted (with synchronopticæ), an ongoing treasure hunt plus another scavenger hunt 

twelve years ago: US government shut-down disrupts NASA projects plus capture houses and bait cars

thirteen years ago: more tarnished smiles 

fourteen years ago: the Occupy Wall Street movement 

fifteen years ago: reflections on twenty years of German unity 

 

 

fe-fi-fo-furlough (12. 758)

After cancelling a meeting with Democrat leadership from the house and senate, saying there was nothing to discuss with the opposition party over the impending shut-down of the federal government, making the lapse in appropriations seem inevitable—though the drama has become almost an annual occurrence. A memo circulated by the Office of Management and Budget, however, seems to raise the stakes and change the calculus significantly: directing federal agencies to not only prepare furlough notices for non-essential employees but also prepare reduction-in-force (layoff) plans for those discretionary programmes not deemed consistent with Trump’s priorities, thus eliminating more of the federal workforce in the event of closure, leveraging the Democrats to vote to keep the government open without entertaining any concessions to the other party. For their part, the Democrats in congress recognise this new intimidation tactic, having averted a shutdown in March arguing at the time that that would have unleashed the administration to do even greater damage to the civil service, but after rescissions and clawing back funds already obligated and voted on—realising that the GOP will do whatever it is ordered—seem to have come to the conclusion that closure is only way forward. We’ll see how this standoff plays out in the next few days.