Federal grants that had been approved after a full application and review process were terminated by some random inexperienced DOGE bros based on whether ChatGPT could explain—in under 120 characters—that they were "related to DEI."

That's what the newly released proposed amended complaint from the Authors Guild against the US government reveals about how DOGE actually decided which National Endowment for the Humanities grants to kill.

There were plenty of early reports that the DOGE bros Elon Musk brought into government—operating on the hubristically ignorant belief that they understood how things worked better than actual government employees—were using AI tools to figure out what to cut. Now we have the receipts.

The bros in question here are Nate Cavanaugh and Justin Fox who appeared all over the place in the early DOGE days, destroying the US government.

Cavanaugh was appointed president of the U.S. Institute of Peace after DOGE took over, though that position is affected by this week's court ruling. Shortly after being named the acting director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness — one of the agencies Trump's budget proposal calls for eliminating — Cavanaugh placed its entire staff on administrative leave.

Cavanaugh first emerged at GSA in February, where he met with many technical staffers and software engineers and interviewed them about their jobs, according to four GSA employees who spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation.

Since then, he's also been detailed to multiple other agencies, according to court filings, including the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Minority Business Development Agency.

Cavanaugh's partner in much of the small agency outreach is Justin Fox, who most recently worked as an associate at Nexus Capital Management, according to his LinkedIn profile.

As far as I can tell, Cavanaugh is a college dropout who founded a startup to do IP licensing management, that has gone through some trouble. We've mentioned Cavanaugh here before, for the time when he was head of the US Institute for Peace, and Elon and DOGE falsely labeled a guy who had worked for USIP a member of the Taliban, causing the actual Taliban to kidnap the guy's family. Fox, as noted, was a low rung employee at some random private equity firm. Neither should have any of the jobs listed above, and don't seem to know shit about anything relevant to a government role.

Anyway, as the Authors Guild figured out in discovery, when these two inexperienced and ignorant DOGE bros were assigned to cut grants in the National Endowment for the Humanities, apparently Fox just started feeding grant titles to ChatGPT asking (in effect) "is this DEI?" From the complaint:

To flag grants for their DEI involvement, Fox entered the following command into ChatGPT: "Does the following relate at all to DEI? Respond factually in less than 120 characters. Begin with 'Yes.' or 'No.' followed by a brief explanation. Do not use 'this initiative' or 'this description' in your response." He then inserted short descriptions of each grant. Fox did nothing to understand ChatGPT's interpretation of "DEI" as used in the command or to ensure that ChatGPT's interpretation of "DEI" matched his own.

Cool.

Then, actual staff at the NEH, including experts who might have been able to explain to these two interlopers what the grants actually did and why they were worth supporting, were blocked from challenging the termination of these grants.

Grants identified this way were slated for termination—with only a handful of exceptions, staff at NEH, including the Acting Chair, were not permitted to remove them from the termination list.

It seems to me that two ignorant DOGE bros cancelling humanities grants based solely on "yo is this DEI?" ChatGPT prompts, kinda shows the need for actual diversity, equity, and inclusion in how things like the National Endowment for the Humanities should work. Instead, you have two rando dweebs who don't understand shit asking the answer machine to justify cancelling grants that sound too woke.

It really feels like these two chucklefucks should be asked to justify their jobs way more than any of these grant recipients should have to justify their work. But, nope, the bros just got to cancelling.

See if you notice a pattern.

For instance, Fox searched each grant's description for the use of key words that appeared in a "Detection List" that he created. Those key words included terms such as "LGBTQ," "homosexual," "tribal," "immigrants," "gay," "BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)," "native," and so on. Terms like "white," "Caucasian," and "heterosexual" did not appear in the Detection List.

Fox also organized certain grants into a spreadsheet with lists that he labeled "Craziest Grants" and "Other Bad Grants." Among the grants on those lists were those Fox described as relating to "experiences of LGBTQ military service," "oral histories of LatinX in the mid-west," "social and cultural context of tribal linguistics," and a "book on the 'first gay black science fiction writer in history.'"

Fox also used the Artificial Intelligence ("AI") tool ChatGPT to search grant descriptions that purportedly related to DEI, but Fox did not direct the AI tool that it should not identify grants solely on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or similar characteristic. The AI searches broadly captured all grants that referred to individuals based on precisely those characteristics. For example, the AI searches flagged a grant described as concerning "the Colfax massacre, the single greatest incidence of anti-Black violence during Reconstruction," another concerning "the untold story of Jewish women's slave labor during the Holocaust," another that funded a film examining how the game of baseball was "instrumental in healing wounds caused by World War I and the 1980s economic standoff between the US and Japan," another charting "the rise and reforms of the Native Americans boarding school systems in the U.S. between 1819 and 1934," and another about "the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), the first female pilots to fly for the U.S. military during WWII" and the "Black female pilots who . . . were denied entry into the WASP because of their race."

So, yeah. This kid basically fed any grant that might upset a white Christian nationalist into ChatGPT, saying "justify me cancelling this shit for being woke" and then he and his college dropout "IP licensing" buddy cancelled them all.

Cavanaugh worked closely with Fox in selecting which grants to terminate using this selection criteria.

Fox and Cavanaugh sorted grants in lists labeled "to cancel" or "to keep."

No grant relating to DEI as broadly conceived of by Fox and Cavanaugh appeared on the "to keep" list. Grants that Fox and Cavanaugh considered "wasteful" and thus slated for termination could be moved to the "to keep" list by Defendant McDonald only if they related to "America 250" or the "Garden of Heroes" initiatives based on the views of Defendants McDonald, Fox, Cavanaugh, and NEH staff member, Adam Wolfson

The complaint notes that almost immediately Cavanaugh and Fox sent out mass emails to more than 1,400 grant recipients, from a private non-government email server, telling them their grants had been terminated.

Even though the emails stated that the grant terminations were "signed" by the acting director of NEH, Michael McDonald, he admitted he had nothing to do with them. It was all Fox, Cavanaugh… and ChatGPT based on a very stupid prompt.

McDonald appeared to acknowledge that he did not determine which grants to terminate nor did he draft the termination letters. First, he stated that he had explained NEH's traditional termination process but that "as they said in the notification letter…they would not be adhering to traditional notification processes" and "they did not feel those should be applied in this instance." Further, in response to a question about the rationale for grant terminations, he replied that the "rationale was simply because that's the way DOGE had operated at other agencies and they applied the same methodology here." McDonald also said that any statement about the number of grants terminated would be "conjecture" on his part, even though he purportedly signed each termination letter

DOGE bros gone wild.

So, just to recap, we have two random DOGE bros with basically no knowledge or experience in the humanities (and at least one of whom is a college dropout), who just went around terminating grants that had gone through a full grant application process by feeding in a list of culture war grievance terms, selecting out the grant titles based on the appearance of seemingly "woke" words, then asking ChatGPT "yo, tell me this is DEI" and then sending termination emails the next day from a private server and forging the director's signature.

This is what "government efficiency" looks like in practice: two guys with zero relevant experience, a keyword list built on culture war grievances, and a chatbot confidently spitting out 120-character verdicts on federal grants that went through actual review processes. The experts who might have explained what these grants actually do? Locked out. The director whose signature appeared on termination letters? Couldn't tell you which grants got cut or why.

The cruelty isn't incidental. But neither is the incompetence. These are people who genuinely believe that being good at vibes-based pattern matching is the same as understanding how institutions work. And the wreckage they leave behind is the entirely predictable result.

Thieves stole more than $20 million from compromised ATMs last year using a malware-assisted technique that the FBI says is on the uptick across the United States.…

Some AI advocates claim that bots hold the secret to mitigating climate change. But research shows that the reality is far different, as new datacenters cause power utilities to burn even more fossil fuels to meet their insatiable demand for energy.…

Published yesterday on Asia Times, the following article covers overfishing in China.

One part of the article really stands out as being collapse related, and it isn't singling out China:

"It's very hard to solve global warming, because the worldwide nature of the harm means there's a free rider problem (or, if you prefer, a coordination problem) — no country wants to pay the full cost of decarbonization, because most of the benefit goes to people in other countries."

"You can try international agreements, but everyone has an incentive to cheat."

I will forgive Asia Times for quoting Steven Pinker because the rest of the article is excellent.

For two hours inside a classified Senate hearing earlier this month, lawmakers from both parties tried to get FBI and NSA officials to answer a simple question: Does the White House want to renew Section 702, the government's most powerful warrantless surveillance authority? — Read the rest

The post Bipartisan SAFE Act would require warrants for FBI spying on Americans appeared first on Boing Boing.

The Moon is wrinkling like a drying apple. As its interior slowly cools, the whole thing contracts, and the crust buckles and cracks under the pressure. Smithsonian scientists have now mapped the extent, finding 1,114 previously unknown ridges spread across the Moon's dark volcanic plains — more than doubling the known count to 2,634, according to a study published in The Planetary Science Journal. — Read the rest

The post The Moon is shrinking and getting wrinkles appeared first on Boing Boing.

Amid awful news, mudslinging, and AI slop, it's great to remember what the internet truly excels at: memes and cats. Combine those with synthesizers and space themes, and you've got the perfect combination. If this intersection appeals to you, check out the brilliant work at "Cats on Synthesizers in Space." — Read the rest

The post Cats on synthesizers make gloriously weird internet music appeared first on Boing Boing.

Bad Bunny's catchy Super Bowl halftime tunes have been stuck in my head since the show aired. I've watched the performance several times, and it gets better with each viewing. I recently found a split-screen version showing both Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican Sign Language (LSPR) interpreter Celimar Rivera Cosme, who brought incredible style and energy to his translation of Bad Bunny's lyrics. — Read the rest

The post Watch Puerto Rican Sign Language interpreter Celimar Rivera Cosme absolutely crush it at the Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show appeared first on Boing Boing.

A car fire near North Hollywood's iconic Circus Liquor store created peak LA chaos this week when flames and smoke rose directly behind the landmark's giant clown sign. The clown never caught fire, but this video captures the surreal scene of flames, smoke, curious bystanders, and a grinning clown looming overhead. — Read the rest

The post Giant flaming clown scene near Circus Liquor turns a simple car fire into peak Los Angeles chaos appeared first on Boing Boing.

Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff has indicated that the company's controversial Search Party feature might not always be just for lost dogs, according to emails obtained by 404 Media. A creepy surveillance tool being used to surveil. Who could have predicted that?

"I believe that the foundation we created with Search Party, first for finding dogs, will end up becoming one of the most important pieces of tech and innovation to truly unlock the impact of our mission," Siminoff wrote in an email to staffers. "You can now see a future where we are able to zero out crime in neighborhoods. So many things to do to get there but for the first time ever we have the chance to fully complete what we started."

The Ring<->Flock partnership is even worse than imagined, it was setup to be a AI powered mass surveillance system from the start. See this email from the Ring Founder, Jamie Siminoff (https://t.co/kLbZdR6Is1) pic.twitter.com/W9TFQpriRh

— Maricopa County Libertarian Party (@LPMaricopa) February 18, 2026

The words "zero out crime in neighborhoods" are particularly troubling. It is, however, worth noting that this is just an email and doesn't necessarily indicate a plan by the company. Siminoff wrote the email back in October when Search Party first launched, which was months before the public backlash started. He did end the thread by noting he couldn't "wait to show everyone else all the exciting things we are building over the years to come."

One of those things could be the recently-launched "Familiar Faces" tool, which uses facial recognition to identify people that wander into the frame of a Ring camera. It seems to me that a combination of the Search Party tech, which uses the combined might of connected Ring cameras, with the Familiar Faces tech could make for a very powerful surveillance tool that excels at finding specific individuals.

Siminoff also suggested in an earlier email to staffers that Ring technology could have been used to catch Charlie Kirk's killer by leveraging the company's Community Requests feature. This is a tool that allows cops to ask camera owners for footage, thanks to a partnership with the police tech company Axon.

Here's that Ring #SuperBowl commercial: pic.twitter.com/1gAxIJATdz

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 9, 2026

Ring had planned an expansion of this program via a partnership with a surveillance company called Flock Safety. The companies canceled this partnership after a Super Bowl ad spotlighting the Search Party tool triggered public outcry. Ring didn't cite public sentiment for this decision, rather saying the integration would require "significantly more time and resources than anticipated."

Ring has responded to 404 Media's reporting, saying in an email that Search Party "does not process human biometrics or track people" and that "sharing has always been the camera owner's choice." This response did not provide any information as to what the future will hold for the company's toolset.

The organization has been friendly with law enforcement since inception. "Our mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods has been at the core of everything we do at Ring," founding chief Jamie Siminoff said when Amazon bought the company for $839 million back in 2018. 

Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder had harsh words for yogurt between 23 and 79 CE, calling it "yaghurt." This may be the first written mention of yogurt:

"Curdled milk, of a peculiar kind, made after a Bulgarian recipe and called "yaghurt," is now a Parisian fad and is believed to be a remedy against growing old.

— Read the rest

The post Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder mocked "yaghurt" as a dumb food fad nearly 2,000 years ago appeared first on Boing Boing.

The birds in these photos aren't being terrorized by ants — they're having a self-care day. Despite how alarming it looks, this behavior is completely intentional. What would be a nightmare for humans is fun for these little birds (I'm not sure how fun it is for the ants, though). — Read the rest

The post Birds in these photos are deliberately letting ants crawl all over them for health reasons appeared first on Boing Boing.

The crowd and camera operators at the women's team sprint qualifications in Milano-Cortina got a surprise extra competitor when a local dog joined the race. The full video from NBC Sports is unfortunately not embeddable, but it's a must-see.

The two-year-old named Nazgul is a Czechoslovakian Vlcak, or wolfdog, a challenging breed that looks like a wolf. — Read the rest

The post Very good dog finishes third in Olympic cross country sking appeared first on Boing Boing.

The Southern Sleeper Shark normally inhabits the Southern Ocean's subantarctic waters. It likes cold, but not the frigid temperatures we'd typically associate with Antarctica. But here we are: We've apparently screwed up the planet badly enough that Antarctic waters have warmed enough for the Sleeper Shark to think, "Why not?" — Read the rest

The post Sharks reach Antarctica as warming oceans expand their range appeared first on Boing Boing.

If you own a Steam Deck, you're sitting on a goldmine. According to Engadget, the memory shortage has gotten so bad that Valve can no longer keep up with demand for its handheld gaming system — the components needed are either too hard to find or too expensive:

Valve has posted a notice on the Steam Deck page with a warning that the handheld gaming console "may be out of stock intermittently" in certain regions due to memory and storage shortages."

— Read the rest

The post Memory shortage slows Steam Deck production appeared first on Boing Boing.

I've been sick as a dog for the past week, trying to shake off what I'm certain is the Mother of All Head Colds. When I've blown enough snot out of my skull to make space for thoughts, I wonder why I feel so dumb whenever I get sick.  — Read the rest

The post Why you feel dumb when you get sick appeared first on Boing Boing.

Undoubtedly, some species, usually the most abundant ones, are pestilential. Loathsomeness, on the other hand, like beauty, may be in the eye of the beholder.

Perhaps the species at the top of the gardener's hit list will be the large black slug and its four close relatives - collectively known as large roundback slugs. On damp, cool evenings it can be difficult to avoid treading on the abundant beasts. Due to their size and colour they are well-recognised and have become the scapegoats for all damage caused by any slugs. 

In fact, these slugs are pretty neutral as far as gardeners are concerned. They may attack some vegetables or flowers but far prefer decaying organic matter. Why spend energy on breaking down and digesting fresh green matter when you get enough nutrients more easily by clearing up dog droppings? Their main role is recycling organic matter.

Species such as the green cellar slug actively avoid plants in favour of algae, fungus and lichen. The leopard slug is an omnivore which preys on small snails and slugs in a gardener-friendly diet.

The big pests for gardeners are the smaller species, often present in great numbers. Hiding by day, they emerge at night to do their business. Also pestilential are small snails, many under 5mm in diameter, generally overlooked by gardeners but at least as damaging as small slugs. But, to paraphrase the musical hall song

She was poor but she was honest, 
It's the snails that eats the hostas and the slugs that gets the blame.

The Large Black Slug (Arion ater) is a native species seen throughout the British Isles, not always black. Some juveniles are pale yellow, and the dark adult colouration starts on the back gradually working down to the foot fringe (a skirt-like feature around the bottom of the sides).

Slugs are hermaphrodite and self-mating is possible. For the large black, self-mating seems almost obligatory. If an individual has a particular genetic feature, it will likely pass to its offspring. So slugs in one place resemble each other. For example, a population of large black slugs found at Storr in Skye comprised just white individuals.

The large black slug has one curious characteristic, useful in separating it from the other four species in the group. When irritated, mature individuals rock from side to side in a motion difficult to describe, recognisable if you see it (see video below).

To irritate the slug just stroke it gently on the mantle (use a stick for this - you do not know where the slug has been). If you have a rocker, it is almost certainly the native large black. This species is becoming uncommon in gardens, suffering from competition from the other four species unwittingly introduced by gardeners.

I often visited Wicken in Cambridgeshire in the mid 2010s. The large roundback slugs in the village were exceptionally variable in colour but, as soon as one reached the fen they were all black. The variability away from the fen suggested species other than the large black, their uniform appearance on the fen suggesting a closed homogeneous self-mating population.

The Large Red Slug (Arion rufus) is usually orange and the foot fringe much brighter than the body. Taxonomists debate whether the red and black slugs are the same species. The pendulum swings from one view to the other and I don't doubt will swing back before long.

The Green-soled Slug (Arion flagellus) is widespread and typically brown. The sole is plain with a faint greenish tinge and no lines going in from the foot fringe. It has been found recently on the fen and it is likely to replace the large black slug in the next few years.

The Vulgar Slug (Arion vulgaris) is also present in Wicken. First recorded in Britain in 1964, it became widespread in the early 2010s. The Daily Mail made dire predictions about this 'new', invasive species: it could cause the extinction of our native slugs; devastate food crops in fields and gardens; it was a cannibal; it fed on rabbits. (Actually true, but they didn't say the rabbits had to be dead first.)

It has been named Plague Slug, Cannibal Slug, Stealth Slug, Spanish Stealth Slug, Lusitanian Slug and Iberian Slug, suffering more negative misinformation than other species. But why let facts interfere with a good story?

The beast is usually brownish but varies. Look for the colour of the inner rim of the breathing pore (on the right side of the mantle) - it is almost always very dark or black.

That brings us to the last of the five species - Stella Davies' slug (Arion sp. Davies), which was almost called the Wicken Slug. Among the large roundbacks I saw in Wicken village, several were an unusual grey colour.

They were clearly not the large black slug (did not rock), nor the large red slug (foot fringe no brighter than the body) nor the green-soled slug (tubercles too tightly packed). That left the vulgar slug - except for the unusual colouration.

I sent some specimens to Ben Rowson, keeper of molluscs at the National Museum of Wales. Initially unsure, he subjected it to DNA analysis with surprising results. It was different from all other large roundbacks found in Britain and Europe. Thus we had a species new to science.

All that was needed was to publish a formal description and name it - perhaps the Wicken Slug, Arion wickensii.

However Ben was, at the time, studying some preserved specimens bequeathed from lifelong slug enthusiast Stella Davies. Some were an exact match to the Wicken Slug. Her slug was therefore the first found and so bears her name. It is unknown how widespread this species is now. DNA seems the only reliable way of identifying it.

The Wicken slug is now preserved in the National Museum of Wales; its image is in Ben's guide.

Up-to-date distribution maps of these species are on the NBN Atlas site, click here. This national treasure is free to use and gives access to records of all species (plants, animals, fungi, not just slugs).

It would be interesting to know whether Wicken still has the same variety of species, and to discover more about Stella Davies' Slug - not just in Wicken but everywhere.

I hope I have given enough hints about what to look for, how to identify slugs and especially, as this video shows, how they rock.

With a thematic issue on a vital topic - the rise child poverty, ending on a hopeful note. You will find sharp analyses on the effect of poverty on children's lives, with a spotlight on the communities that are on the front line of deprivation, with personal stories and shared solutions. Click on the image to gain access to it, or find us on Substack.

Journalism by the people, for the people.

The post New to science: a slug from Wicken first appeared on East Anglia Bylines.

YouTube's "Ask" button is making its way to the living room. The Gemini-powered feature is now rolling out as an experiment on smart TVs, gaming consoles and streaming devices. 9to5Google first spotted a Google support page announcing the change.

Like on mobile devices and desktop, the feature is essentially a Gemini chatbot trained on each video's content. Selecting that "Ask" button will bring up a series of canned prompts related to the content. Alternatively, you can use your microphone to ask questions about it in your own words.

Google says your TV remote's microphone button (if it has one) will also activate the "Ask" feature. The company listed sample questions in its announcement, such as "what ingredients are they using for this recipe?" and "what's the story behind this song's lyrics?"

The conversational AI tool is only launching for "a small group of users" at first. Google promises that it will "keep everyone up to speed on any future expansions."

Rivian suggests that vehicle owners can leave their phone at home (or perhaps in a glove box) and instead control some aspects of their EV using a new Apple Watch app. With a tap of your watch, you can unlock and lock the doors, sound the alarm and vent the windows. After the digital key is set up, R1S and R1T Gen 2 owners can unlock their vehicle automatically simply by walking up to it thanks to the passive car key feature.

It's possible to set the cabin temperature and a target state of charge by turning the digital crown on an Apple Watch. You also can choose four quick controls to put front and center in the app and add a battery status indicator to your watch face if you so wish. Rivian says it will update its Apple Watch app with new features in the future.

Rivian first enabled digital car key support on Apple, Google Pixel and Samsung devices back in December. Apple started supporting digital car keys on iPhone and Apple Watch in 2020 and a boatload of automakers have adopted the tech. 

Keir Starmer's endless — and knowing — cosiness with sex pests and paedophiles has become a byword in politics. So much so that women Labour MPs demanded a special meeting with Starmer to inform him that the public considers Labour the "party of paedos". They forgot to mention the victims, of course.

Starmer is still reeling from his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as his senior adviser — and ambassador — knowing Mandelson had remained close to the convicted serial child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson protégé Morgan McSweeney resigned in February 2026 as Starmer's chief of staff but failed to take the heat off his boss.

That heat is white-hot. Under Starmer, Labour has a deep and ongoing paedophile and sex offender problem. And now Starmer has been rocked by yet another 'appointed him and knew' scandal.

Charity leaders and others are "dismayed" at his close relationship with Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered centrist MP Jo Cox and a keen 'both-sideser' of Israel's genocide in Gaza. Allegations against Cox of sexual assault and other sexually improper behaviour have long been public and have forced his resignation from no fewer than three charities. Despite this, according to inside sources, Starmer chose to use Cox as an 'informal consultant', though both he and Cox now deny it. Of course they do — yet Cox's latest charity, the 'Together Initiative', received almost £1.3m from Starmer's culture department over a two-year period.

Number 10 claims its consultations with Cox's outfit are no different from its talks with other charities, but presumably not all of the 'others' received more than £600,000 a year from the government.

Cox was first — at least publicly — accused of sexual harassment at 'Save the Children' more than a decade ago. He denied the allegations at the time, but resigned. He later apologised for his conduct. In 2018, he also resigned from both charities he had set up in memory of his late wife. Now, according to the New Statesman, there is "serious and high-level concern" about the closeness between Cox and Starmer's regime.

Another unnamed figure in the charity sector was more blunt:

What the fuck are they doing?

And Starmer knew, a former colleague of Cox insists:

No 10 cannot pretend that they did not know about it or that it did not come up in their due diligence checks. They know it and they have decided that it doesn't matter because he is useful to them.

Yet Cox has been allowed to give "the impression that he was briefing [the charity sector] on the government's behalf", apparently endorsed by Starmer's new chief of staff Vidhya Alakeson and with the participation of a Number 10 special adviser. Alakeson — a former Tory think-tanker — took over after the disgraced McSweeney's resignation.

The Cox scandal is just the latest in a long, long list of related outrages, many involving Starmer personally and all involving the pro-Israel Labour right. Starmer followed his Mandelson fiasco with another 'Labour nonceberg' scandal over his decision to award a peerage to his former adviser Matthew Doyle. He knew, when he recommended Doyle, that Doyle had campaigned for the election of notorious Scottish Labour paedophile Sean Morton.

Starmer also:

• Welcomed the London MP Neil Coyle back under the Labour whip despite Coyle being found by Parliament to have sexually harassed a staffer, as well as racially abusing a Chinese-British man.
• Turned a blind eye to then-Chester MP Chris Matheson's sexual harassment: neither Starmer nor the party machine suspended him pending the outcome of the investigation, as would be usual practice to protect the women around him.
• Protected at least two further alleged sex pests on his front bench.

As head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Starmer oversaw repeated refusals to prosecute offenders, including the notorious serial rapist Jimmy Savile. And perhaps most seriously, in terms of Starmer's provable direct involvement, he and his then-sidekick David Evans covered up Jewish whistleblower Elaina Cohen's allegations of serial abuse of women by a party staffer.

Cohen repeatedly warned Starmer and Evans that a staffer working for then-Perry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood — and allegedly Mahmood's lover — was engaged in 'sadistic' and 'criminal' abuse of vulnerable Muslim women. The victims were fleeing domestic violence, allegedly inflicted through the now-defunct domestic violence 'charity' that she ran. Starmer and Evans did nothing. Mahmood remained on Starmer's front bench and Cohen was sacked from her role as parliamentary aide.

One of the victims gave evidence at Cohen's successful wrongful dismissal tribunal. She spoke of the horrific abuse she and others suffered. This included blackmail and sexual exploitation. Her evidence was not challenged by Mahmood or his lawyers. At the tribunal, Mahmood admitted under oath that he'd personally made sure that Starmer was aware of Cohen's allegations.

Labour's 'paedophile friends of Israel' is also so widespread as to be a defining characteristic of the Zionist Labour right to which Starmer belongs:

• Starmer's cadre knew, when they approved Zionist organiser Tom Dewey to stand for election as a Hackney councillor, that Dewey had been charged with possessing the most disgusting and severe child-rape images. Dewey was subsequently convicted, but when local women members wanted to discuss it, it locked them out of its systems to prevent them doing so. In February 2026 the party deselected three Hackney councillors for demanding an investigation.
• 'Friend of Israel' Liron Velleman has just been convicted of repeated sex crimes against a 13-year-old girl.
• In January 2025, former Blair minister Ivor Caplin was arrested in a sting operation as he allegedly attempted to meet a 15-year-old boy for sex. Local police went after local left-winger Greg Hadfield for exposing the explicit content Caplin posted on his X feed — Hadfield defeated the 'vexatious' charge in November 2025. However, no charges have yet been brought against Caplin and a court did not impose bail conditions after his initial bail expired.
• In March 2025 Sam Gould, another Jewish Labour Movement activist who worked for Starmer's health secretary Wes Streeting, quit as a Redbridge councillor after being convicted on two separate counts of indecent exposure to a 13-year-old girl.
• The following month Dan Norris MP, an ally of Keir Starmer, was arrested over allegations of rape, child sex offences and child abduction.  Avon and Somerset Police says its investigation is still ongoing.
• The same Dan Norris was arrested again in February 2026 for alleged rape and sexual assault.

It seems like every week a new Starmer sex offender scandal oozes out into the public domain. And that's not even counting the way that 'mainstream' media still stubbornly refuse to probe why several Ukrainian rent boys set fire to Starmer's property last year.

No wonder the survivors of serial child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein, ignored by Starmer, refuse to accept his recent non-apology and describe him as a barrier to justice for the victims of paedophiles.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) is celebrating the legal victory, with another huntsman brought to justice. Northampton magistrate's court has found Philip Saunders guilty of illegal hunting on Wednesday 18 February. Saunders is one of the arsehole huntsman for criminal gang, the Pipewell Foot Beagles.

The conviction is the second time these bloodthirsty arseholes have been caught out illegally hare-hunting.

And it beautifully landed just before the 21st anniversary of the Hunting Act.

The court heard how Saunders led his pack to kill a hare at the Boughton Estates on Kettering. Richard Scott is the current Duke of Buccleuch and one of the largest land owners in Scotland. It's no shock that he would allow an illegal hunt to take place on 'home turf.'

Courageous wildlife photographer Emma Reed was on the scene and captured the entire incident.

Reed's video clearly shows Saunders encouraging the hounds to kill. The huntsman was heard growling "Get onto it!" at the dogs. This is a specific hunting term which incites animal cruelty and it proves the hunt intended to pursue the hare.

As per usual, the HSA provided names to the police at the time, but they failed to act on the evidence. Again.

The magistrate fined Saunders £1,000 for his role in the illegal hunt. He also has to pay £3,600 in costs and a £400 victim surcharge.

In the landmark move, the court also ordered the destruction of Saunders' hunting horn. Saunders must surrender it to the police by 5pm Thursday 19 Feb.

Destroying the horn is beautifully symbolic as this is the primary tool a huntsman uses to control the hounds. The HSA believe this should be common practice in all cases as it effectively strips the bloodthirsty wankers of the ability to lead.

Reed expressed her satisfaction with the guilty verdict stating:

"I am pleased with the guilty verdict as justice has been served. The judge was strong in his summing up of sending a message to the hunting community that these illegal actions will not be tolerated and are totally unacceptable."

The Judge was strong in his summing up of the case, making it clear that illegal hunting of hares is totally unacceptable and it sends a clear warning to the hunting community.

Simon Russell, chair of the HSA spoke to the Canary about this landmark victory:

Hare Hunts always pack up and go home when sabs find them, this is what they are really doing when they're not under observation, killing our public wild Hares. A good hunting horn is hard to come by, the really decent ones rack in at £300 plus and we would suggest that future convictions have the horns donated to the Hunt Saboteurs Association. We would put them to good use saving wildlife.

Images via Emma Reed

By Antifabot

An American attack on Iran appears imminent. US president Donald Trump has deployed massive military force to the Persian Gulf while negotiations between the two counties seem to have stalled. Media reports the attack could start as soon as Saturday 21 February.

Iran's leadership has said that the principles of the negotiations — centring on Iran's nuclear plans (or lack thereof) — were understood but that no agreement had been reached. The US has said military options are very much 'on the table' while Iran now says it's open to international nuclear inspections.

Iran closed large areas of its airspace on 19 February. It's aviation authority said it was:

to allow a planned missile launch exercise tomorrow. It specified danger zones where flying will be completely banned due to military activity.

Anonymous Iranian security officials said it was a show of force, and the US aviation authority has followed suit:

warning that uncoordinated missile launches could pose catastrophic risks, including endangering civilian flight paths.

The closure was enough to active alarm bells for some countries. Poland urged its citizens to leave Iran. Prime minister Donald Tusk said:

In a few, a dozen, or several dozen hours, evacuation may no longer be possible.

Behind the scenes, US military aircraft have been moving into the region for days.

Sky News reported that American refuelling planes have passed through the UK as part of the build-up. Starmer's Britain, it appears, is happy to serve as checkpoints for Trump's march to war.

Military expert professor Michael Clarke was on Sky on 18 February. Using open source air traffic mapping, he showed how on 16 February six US tankers passed through the UK on their way to Greece. On 18 February, a further ten tankers passed through the UK on their way towards the Mediterranean:

You can hear his analysis from around 1.55 in this report:

And Drop Site News journalists Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Huzzain reported:

the largest buildup of firepower in the Middle East since President Donald Trump authorized a 12-day bombing campaign against Iran last June that killed more than 1,000 people.

One anonymous former Trump insider told the investigative outlet that:

based on his discussions with current officials, he assesses an 80-90% likelihood of U.S. strikes within weeks.

And retired Lt. Col. Daniel Davis said the level of build-up:

harkens back to what I saw ahead of the 2003 Iraq war.

Davis warned:

You don't assemble this kind of power to send a message. In my view, this is what you do when you're preparing to use it. What I see on the diplomatic front is just to try to keep things rolling until it's time to actually launch the military operation. I think that everybody on both sides knows where this is heading.

And a key US command and control aircraft is now in the region…

Former US Marine and State Department whistleblower Matthew Hoh said the presence of the E-3 command and control aircraft was an indicator Trump intended to pull the trigger:

The E3 is an incredibly important aircraft. For those unfamiliar, it is the large airplane that looks like an airliner, but with a revolving radar disc on top.

The airplane is loaded with an air crew whose job is to observe, manage and control the airspace in its area. It is especially important for directing fighters and ground/sea based missile interceptors against Iranian missiles and drones.

This is the strongest indication to me of the seriousness of the US threat to Iran. The US has deployed more than 2/3 of its available E3 command/control aircraft to Europe and the Middle East.

The E3 is an incredibly important aircraft. For those unfamiliar, it is the large…

— Matthew Hoh (@MatthewPHoh) February 19, 2026

Renowned international relations scholar John Mearsheimer reminded us that barring UAE - which has close ties with the settler-colonial pariah state - the only country absolutely determined to have a war with Iran was Israel:

Drop Site broke down the scale of the build-up:

Two carrier strike groups—each built around one aircraft carrier, several guided‑missile destroyers armed with Tomahawk missiles, and at least one submarine—are also being stationed nearby, along with several additional U.S. destroyers and submarines in regional waters near Iran to defend against ballistic missile attacks, as well as more than 30,000 U.S. military personnel and numerous Patriot and THAAD anti-missile batteries spread across regional military bases.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is on its way to the Gulf from the Caribbean. The ship took part in Trump's last 'spectacular' - the Caracas raid which snatched Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on 3 January. The Ford is the biggest and most advanced carrier in the world.

Former Pentagon official Jasmine El-Gamal told Drop Site.

This is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. This is not the negotiations of last year or the year before or the year before that. They're backed into a corner. There's no off ramp.

El-Gamal said:

The fact that that carrier is there tells me that this isn't just a routine kind of, 'Hey, let's flex some muscle.' He didn't need that. He didn't need to send that second carrier to flex muscle.

But what would a US-Iran war actually look like?

With negotiations deadlocked, one expert said that Iran and US might favour a short intense war followed by a return to talks.

Swedish-Iranian scholar Trita Parsi told Democracy Now:

We have a very dangerous situation, because both sides actually believe that a short, intense war may improve their negotiating position.

The US believes its overwhelming military capability will:

be able to take out Iran militarily rather quickly and then force it to capitulate.

Parsi said the Iranians have other plans:

They believe that they have the ability to inflict significant damage on the United States in the short term, including on civilian oil installations in the region, closing down the Strait of Hormuz, that would shoot up oil prices…

The Iranians were calculating that:

the initial cost of this to the United States would be so immense, and the United States would recognize that it would have to go for a longer war, which it cannot afford, and as a result, it would get the United States to back off.

Yes another Middle east war is looming. It would be a war which is not at all separate to the current genocide in Gaza and the legacies of the Iraq war. In fact, it would compound both. The best case scenario is that it doesn't happen at all. Next best? The sort of 'limited' bombing we've seen in the past.

The third, most terrifying and not at all unlikely outcome is that the war escalates into something altogether more existential with profound impacts for the region and the world, and which sends violent shocks through the global economy. A number of experts and insiders are saying we'll find out sooner rather than later.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

Disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince, has finally been arrested in connection with revelations from the Epstein files.

Among those who have responded are the family of Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre accused Windsor of sexual abuse:

Statement from the family of Virginia Giuffre:

"At last.

Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.

On behalf of our sister, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, we extend our gratitude to the UK's Thames Valley Police for their… pic.twitter.com/bgtHZtb2qO

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) February 19, 2026

Nevertheless, it hasn't escaped attention that the arrest is regarding misconduct in public office and apparently not in connection with Giuffre's allegations.

On 19 February 2026, Thames Valley Police arrested Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office. This came after they reviewed documents from the Epstein files which suggest he shared information from his time as a UK trade envoy with the late convicted paedophile.

Mountbatten-Windsor is currently in police custody amid searches of multiple properties as part of the criminal inquiry. The Epstein files have raised serious concerns about the scale of this sinister web of elitist men. This has prompted widespread demands for full transparency and accountability for sexual abuse against women and girls.

However, this pattern underscores how far more precedence is given to economic interests and institutional power over justice for victims and accountability for abusive men.

The statement from Giuffre's family reads in full:

At last.

Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.

On behalf of our sister, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, we extend our gratitude to the UK's Thames Valley Police for their investigation and arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

He was never a prince.

For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.

Virginia Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was just 17 years old. She became a prominent advocate fighting against sex trafficking, in light of her own experience being sexually exploited by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. She died by suicide in April 2025 leaving her loved ones and survivors across the world devastated and heartbroken. Giuffre's push for accountability has been continued by advocacy groups across the West. Many have joined the call in demanding powerful men face consequences for the abuse they have evidently inflicted.

We wrote about Andrew's arrest shortly after it happened:

If former royal, and mate of serial child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was hoping for any public sympathy after his arrest this morning - on his birthday - he's going to be sorely disappointed.

The family of Virginia Giuffre, Andrew's most well-known victim, welcomed the arrest as a sign that no one is above the law:

"At last, today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty," Giuffre's family said in the statement given to CBS News."

However, Windsor was arrested on suspicion of 'misconduct in a public office'. Knowing the British state, this was more likely linked to his leaking of secrets to Epstein than his abuse of trafficked and potentially under-age girls. But the offence carries a potential life sentence, so there's that.

Giuffre had long pursued seeing the suspected paedo-prince face accountability for his abuse against her. Obviously, Andrew has always denied these claims, which is no surprise as it's damn rare to find a man actually hold his hands up in disgust at the abuse he has inflicted.

Because of this, she was denied the justice she deserved over the allegations against Windsor, after Epstein and Maxwell allegedly trafficked her to him. Giuffre also shared in her memoir even more sinister allegations against former Israeli PM Ehud Barak.

We wrote in October:

Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent survivors (but now a victim) of serial child rapist and trafficker - and almost certain Israel intelligence asset - Jeffrey Epstein, was repeatedly left battered and bloodied after being beaten and raped by a man she describes, in a new memoir published after her death earlier this year, as a "well-known prime minister".

Adding:

Giuffre said that she called the man 'the Prime Minister' and did not name him, because she was afraid he would come after her and cause her harm if she did. Before Epstein's death, however, she named former Israeli PM Ehud Barak - also a close friend of Epstein's ardent fan Peter Mandelson - as one of the many men to rape her, an accusation he has denied.

Virginia Giuffre wrote in horrific detail about the violence inflicted on her by the 'PM', whom she met when she was just eighteen:

"He repeatedly choked me until I lost consciousness and took pleasure in seeing me in fear for my life. Horrifically, the Prime Minister laughed when he hurt me and got more aroused when I begged him to stop. I emerged from the cabana bleeding from my mouth, vagina, and anus. For days, it hurt to breathe and to swallow… [He] raped me more savagely than anyone had before."

The King chose his words carefully - and choice matters here, because men can choose to amplify victims' voices and examine allegations critically. Rather than doing so, he voiced his "deepest concern" about his brother's arrest and stated that "the law must take its course," adding:

What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities.

This statement is reported to have the full support of Will and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Queenie Camilla had nothing to offer but a wave when asked for her feelings on the arrest. We can't help but feel the Royal family's concern here lies solely with Andrew, the man-child sex-pest, rather than the countless victims across the world who fell victim to powerful, privileged men and their sick fancies.

How the mighty have fallen, thus proving that powerful men can be brought to task if the political will is there:

'Do you know who I was?' #Andrew #AndrewWindsor pic.twitter.com/Gp6Eu5NuD9

— The Rev. Anton Mittens

In his 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, former prince Andrew notoriously claimed that Virginia Giuffre's allegations against him couldn't be true because he's unable to sweat.

He's likely to have discovered a few sweat glands since his arrest this morning.

All too typically for the British establishment, the arrest was not for sexually abusing trafficked and potentially under-age girls. Instead it was for 'misconduct in public office', after an Epstein files release revealed Mountbatten-Windsor was allegedly bunging sensitive secret information to the serial child-rapist while a UK trade envoy.

That fact is a disgusting betrayal of Epstein's and Andrew's victims. It's also a detail that is likely to have 'prince of darkness' and former Starmer adviser Peter Mandelson joining Windsor in a sweat bath. The same release of Epstein files also revealed 'Mandy' repeatedly doing the same thing: sending sensitive, confidential and highly lucrative government information to Epstein. This information would have enabled Epstein and his mates to make a fortune in 'insider trading'.

The British establishment deciding to throw 'Randy Andy' under the bus for that instead of his alleged crimes against trafficked girls should have 'Mandy' in a lather too.

For more on the the Epstein Files and the betrayal of victims, please read the Canary's article on way that the media circus around Epstein is erasing the experiences of victims and survivors.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

Robert Jenrick has announced Reform UK's policies on how it would run the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP):

The benefits bill is a time bomb that will bankrupt the country.

And a moral disaster wasting the potential of millions of people.

Reform will fix it. We're for workers, not welfare. pic.twitter.com/2YJBgOtXeu

— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) February 18, 2026

But all of his terrible policies are already happening, or in the process of happening, under Labour.

Most of this already happens:
- You need a diagnosis and evidence to claim PIP
- DWP are returning to in-person assessments (it's part of their savings forecast bc they know more fail them)
- Luxury cars are already cut from motability

Dog whistle politics at its finest https://t.co/aUxPG1Xcu3

— Rachel Charlton-Dailey (@RachelCDailey_) February 19, 2026

Our politicians seem to be pretty good at coming up with new ways to screw over disabled people, but Jenrick wasn't even smart enough to think of his own.

Jenrick is missing the Tories that badly that they've given him a bullshit Shadow Chancellor label. Of course, he is not the Shadow Chancellor, as he is not a Tory.

hes not the fucking shadow Chancellor https://t.co/O44fSmPbnq pic.twitter.com/Xy6ccyNbIe

— Iain

Attendees at the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) Postgraduate Open Day Event had a more memorable experience than expected on 18 February. A group of PETA supporters stormed the famous Octagon inside the Queens' Building bearing signs that read, "QMUL: End Cruel Sepsis Experiments," and chanting, "Sepsis experiments should be cruelty free."

The action is part of PETA's ongoing campaign calling on the university to stop tormenting mice in cruel and useless sepsis experiments, which consistently fail to lead to effective treatments for humans. Activists previously crashed a meeting of the QMUL Senate to draw the attention of university leadership.

PETA senior campaigns manager Kate Werner said:

Prospective QMUL students should know that the university is using their tuition fees to torture and kill terrified mice in cruel and pointless experiments that have done nothing to advance human health.

PETA urges QMUL to stop wasting animals' lives on these cruel experiments and switch to cutting-edge, animal-free research that actually helps humans.

More than 150 drugs have successfully treated sepsis in mice, yet none have been effective in treating humans. Despite the well-documented failure in using mice to model human sepsis, QMUL experiments are cutting open terrified mice and puncturing their intestines to leak faecal matter into their bodies.

Experimenters noted that some mice experienced severe sepsis, which can include major organ failure and abject suffering. Data from some of these experiments has been published in papers that were later retracted by the publisher because data and conclusions were deemed 'unreliable'.

Mice are intelligent, complex, and social individuals who experience a wide range of emotions. They become attached to each other, love their families, and easily bond with their human guardians - returning as much affection as they receive.

PETA encourages everyone to urge Queen Mary to heed the scientific evidence and join other institutions, including the University of Kent, that have committed to non-animal methods in sepsis research.

PETA - whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to experiment on" - points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits. For more information, visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Featured image via PETA

By The Canary

Keir Starmer just got community-noted on Twitter again. This time, our vaunted PM managed to display his ignorance of entry-level economics - he seems to think that lower inflation means lower prices.

Now, when writing this kind of piece, I'd normally include a dozen quote tweets dunking on Starmer for such an obvious blunder. Unfortunately, that looks like it'd be rather boring today, given that they're all some variation on 'That's not how inflation works, you utter fucking clown'.

So, instead, let's take a different tack. Sometimes this job can ingrain a deep cynicism in your soul that challenges your ability to find the common humanity in the politicians we write about. With that in mind, I'm going to try for the most charitable interpretation of Starmer's tweet I can muster.

On 18 February, Starmer tweeted:

The choices this Labour government has made means inflation has fallen today to its lowest rate in a year.

Lower food and petrol prices are helping ease the pressure on household budgets.

I know there's more to do, cutting the cost of living is my number one priority.

Readers almost immediately added context through the site's community notes function:

Inflation is higher now than when Labour took office and is 1% above target inflation.

Lower inflation does not equal lower prices, as inflation is a measure of rising prices.

Oo, burn.

But, what if the elected leader of the United Kingdom does actually understand what an economy is and how money works? What if the tweet was just phrased a little poorly? What if Starmer is just a tired guy who's been kept up all week defending his affiliations with his party's Epstein ties and local election U-turns?

I bet you feel dead mean now, don't you? The poor bloke could lose his job if people keep being this uncharitable.

I'll start with the central assumption that the PM isn't trying willfully to deceive the voting public. As such, I'm absolutely sure that he meant to say that lower inflation means that the money will have greater worth in real terms.

With that more-kindly interpretation in mind, Starmer is making three key statements here:

1. Inflation has fallen to its lowest rate in a year.
2. Food and petrol prices are also lower.
3. This fall is because of Labour actually doing something right for a change (please clap/ love me - this part is implicit, but important nonetheless).

Let's examine them in order, and really try to take them at face value. I'll let go, for the moment, of the biases induced by Starmer's active support for genocide and the second rise of fascism.

So, first up - how's the inflation level actually doing?

Well, according to the Office of National Statistics, the rate of inflation did drop from 3.4% in the year to December to 3% in January.

Grant Fitzner, chief economist of the ONS, stated that:

Inflation fell markedly in January to its lowest annual rate since March last year, driven partly by a decrease in petrol prices.

Airfares were another downward driver this month with prices dropping back following the increase in December.

But wait - lowest rate since March last year? Given that it's still currently February, and we're looking at January's figures, that means we're definitely not seeing the "lowest rate in a year".

Oof, that's a bad start for the 'maybe Starmer isn't a clown' hypothesis.

Next on the agenda - food prices. The ONS reported that:

Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose by 3.6% in the 12 months to January 2026, down from 4.5% in the 12 months to December 2025. On a monthly basis, food and non-alcoholic beverages prices fell by 0.1% in January 2026, compared with a rise of 0.9% a year ago.

Oh dear, it's not looking good for our 'Starmer isn't a dickhead theory', is it? A monthly fall of 0.1% after a year's rise of 3.6% makes the 'lower food prices' claim technically true, but deeply misleading at best. 

Meanwhile, on the subject of petrol, the ONS said:

The largest downward effect came from motor fuels, where the average price of petrol fell by 3.1 pence per litre between December 2025 and January 2026, compared with a rise of 0.8 pence per litre between December 2024 and January 2025. The average price stood at 133.2 pence per litre in January 2026, down from 137.1 pence per litre a year earlier.

A genuine fall in prices! Wonders shall never cease. I'll give a partial credit to the PM on this point.

Like Starmer, chancellor Rachel Reeves was also quick to claim falling inflation as a win for Labour. She stated that: 

Thanks to the choices we made at the budget we are bringing inflation down, with £150 off energy bills, a freeze in rail fares for the first time in 30 years and prescription fees frozen again.

Now, whether or not this economic change is down to Labour's budget wizardry would require a much longer examination. However, if Labour wants to claim this win for its budget, it probably also needs to own its loss. You see, as the BBC reported:

For 16-24s, the unemployment rate now sits at 16.1% - the highest figure in just over a decade. While for 25-34s it's 4.7%, the highest since 2017.

Average pay also grew by 4.2%, down from a revised 4.4% in the three months to November.

Economists say the latest figures would reinforce expectations that inflation will fall back, making it likely the Bank of England would choose to cut interest rates soon[.]

Inflation is slowing - but also, unemployment is soaring, particularly for young people. Given that a job is usually necessary in order to make the money to buy things like food and petrol, I'm afraid I'm going to have to declare this one another point against Starmer's claims.

So, there we have it. Even if we take the most charitable tack my jaded soul can manage, our glorious leader still comes out looking like he doesn't know his ass from his elbow.

Oh, and a corollary point - we definitely don't need to clap.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alex/Rose Cocker

The Israeli military allegedly threatened a man in his home in South Lebanon, as their drones circled overhead. They gave him an ultimatum: die alone or with your family. He left his home. Then they killed him.

Israel drone-bombed Ahmed Turmus in his stationary car. His death was reported on X and by Lebanese citizen news agencies:

JUST IN:

The Covid inquiry has highlighted how poor housing conditions led to a structural decline in mental health during the pandemic.

On Monday, 16 February 2026, the first hearing of the final module of the Covid inquiry took place. In total, there have been 10 modules, each focused on a different area of the pandemic response. Module 10 looked at 'Impact on society'. This included the impact on vulnerable people, such as those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.

According to Kate Blackwell, counsel for the inquiry:

People's housing situations had a profound impact on how they experienced the pandemic.

Of course, this was far worse in more deprived areas. Furthermore, it was:

disproportionately experienced by socio-economically disadvantaged and ethnic minority households.

Both groups were more likely to live in overcrowded or poor-quality housing.

Additionally, the inquiry linked overcrowding, poor housing, and housing insecurity to higher levels of psychological distress. All three are "known risk factors" for poor mental health.

But wasn't that entirely predictable? From the start of the pandemic, the instructions were to stay at home. Obviously, anyone living in small, overcrowded or shitty conditions would suffer far more than those living in countryside mansions.

The inquiry also highlighted how 'Everyone In' — a government scheme to get everyone who was sleeping rough off the streets in March 2020 — ended whilst the pandemic was still ongoing. Both the management of the scheme and its ending may have had an "adverse impact" on people experiencing homelessness.

Additionally, people who moved from street homelessness to Covid-secure accommodation had "divergent experiences". Individuals found the transition from face-to-face to remote contact with support workers especially challenging.

Some groups had overlapping vulnerabilities, such as care leavers, victims of domestic abuse, those with mental health conditions or migrants. For these groups, the inequalities were "particularly pronounced".

A report published just before the inquiry also showed that the pandemic exposed the UK's long-term underinvestment in social housing.

It highlighted how repairs in social housing slowed down or completely stopped during lockdowns, meaning the quality of housing declined significantly.

Issues such as damp and mould became more apparent when people were forced to stay at home. Of course, this further intensified both mental and physical health conditions.

The financial pressure from rising energy bills also made matters worse, especially for people living in poorly insulated homes.

The report also accuses some landlords of using the pandemic as an excuse to delay essential maintenance.

The final hearing of the inquiry is continuing this week, where the panel will hear about the impact of the pandemic response on other vulnerable groups.

Feature image via UK Covid-19 Inquiry

By HG

The Trump administration is increasing the U.S. military's presence in Nigeria, where decades of American military assistance has coincided with increased violence and instability.

About 100 U.S. military personnel have already arrived in the West African country. The deployment, which is expected to more than double in the near future, follows a Christmas Day U.S. air strike and billions of U.S. tax dollars spent on fruitless military and intelligence support.

"At the request of Nigeria and as part of our longstanding relationship and defense partnership, U.S. military forces are arriving in Nigeria to provide training, advising, and technical capabilities in support of Nigerian-led counterterror operations," a U.S. Africa Command spokesperson told The Intercept.

What AFRICOM doesn't want to address is the billions in U.S. taxpayer dollars already spent on military training, arms and equipment in a rapidly deteriorating security situation. It's part of a larger pattern of spiking terrorist violence in areas of Africa that have seen the longest and most concerted U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

Between 2000 and 2022, the U.S. provided, facilitated, or approved more than $2 billion in security assistance to Nigeria, according to a report by Brown University's Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies. In that same period, Nigerian airstrikes killed thousands of citizens. A 2017 attack on a displaced persons camp in Rann, Nigeria, killed more than 160 civilians, including children. A subsequent Intercept investigation revealed that the attack was referred to as an instance of "U.S.-Nigerian operations" in a formerly secret U.S. military document.

Related War on Christmas: Trump Announces Wave of Airstrikes Targeting ISIS Militants in Nigeria

Nigeria has been beset by violence from militants, terrorists, so-called criminal bandits, and its own security forces for decades. Africa's most populous country recorded no fewer than 169,000 violent deaths between 2006 and 2021, with the highest percentages attributed to crime and insurgency, according to a 2025 Lancet study. Recently, these two nominally separate threats have merged. "The emergence of violent extremist groups in northwest Nigeria implies the long-feared convergence of militant Islamist groups with organized criminal networks — infusing financial incentives with ideological zeal and terrorist violence," according to a December report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a Pentagon research institution. "Nigeria has simultaneously been staving off this convergence in the northeast, where Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa have been active for the past 15 years."

This convergence of crime and terrorism has supercharged lethal violence in significant pockets of the country. "Nigeria experienced an 18-percent increase in fatalities tied to militant Islamist groups over the past year," according to another Africa Center analysis. "Borno State in Nigeria's North East Zone remains the epicenter of this violence and Nigeria accounts for 74 percent of all fatalities in the region."

Asked to explain why insecurity and instability have increased in Nigeria during its "longstanding relationship and defense partnership" with the United States, AFRICOM's director of public affairs, Col. Rebecca Heyse, referred The Intercept to the Department of War and the State Department. Neither provided answers prior to publication.

Nigeria's population of 230 million is roughly split between Christians and Muslims. People of both faiths have been targeted by extremists, but most of Boko Haram's victims are Muslims, and violent deaths in northern Nigeria are generally caused by Muslim-on-Muslim violence. But in a Truth Social post last November, President Donald Trump threatened to go into Nigeria with "guns-a-blazing" to protect "our CHERISHED Christians." The U.S. then conducted missile strikes in Nigeria on Christmas Day, targeting what Trump called "Terrorist Scum" that were killing Christians. He later explained that he delayed the strike until the holiday to "give a Christmas present."

AFRICOM claimed to have struck targets in "Soboto state," an apparent reference to Sokoto state, on December 25. Another 2025 Africa Center report noted that "militant Islamist cells" have moved into Sokoto state in recent years. AFRICOM did not respond to questions about how it could be sure who it attacked when it was unclear about where it attacked.

While Trump called the Christmas attacks "perfect strikes," at least four of the 16 Tomahawk missiles failed to explode, according to a Washington Post analysis. There is no evidence militants were killed in the attacks, according to a Nigerian security analyst with ties to that country's military who spoke on the condition of anonymity with The Intercept to offer an unvarnished opinion.

Trump's Christmas Day attack is another in a long string of failed and futile U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Africa documented by The Intercept over the last decade, including blowback from U.S. operations and failed secret wars, civilians killed in drone strikes, coups by U.S. trained officers, increases in the reach of terror groups, surging fatalities from militant violence, human rights abuses by allies, massacres of civilians by partner forces, and a catalogue of other fiascos.

Last year, there were 22,307 fatalities from militant Islamist violence in Africa. This represents an almost 97,000 percent increase since the early 2000s, with the areas of greatest U.S. involvement — Somalia and the West African Sahel — suffering the worst outcomes.

The post More U.S. Troops Are Headed to Nigeria appeared first on The Intercept.

I've mentioned many money-saving lodging strategies over the years in this newsletter, but I collected them all in one place in this blog post and it's likely there's at least one you haven't considered. I mention day passes, home exchanges, credit card hacking, and alternative apartment services, but here's an easy one to try for your next trip. When booking a hotel or apartment, stay somewhere near a metro stop well removed from the main tourist zone if you'll be in a popular city. The rates are almost significantly lower for the lodging, but by extension for restaurants and grocery stores too.

Nomadico co-founder Kevin Kelly has taken several tours with Young Pioneer Tours, whose motto is "leading group tours for people who hate group tours to destinations your mother would rather you stay away from," and at budget prices. They deliver all that, famously taking small tours to restricted places like North Korea, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and to "Unrecognized Countries" mostly in Africa. They just started offering a new tour to Least Visited Countries, mostly Pacific island "countries" that are normally very hard or expensive to reach. While these tours may sound dangerous, they don't go where it is actually dangerous. Rather they are adventurous. See a North Korea story from the founder in Perceptive Travel.

I announced last summer that a big alliance was forming that would let Jet Blue and United loyalty members seamlessly access (and earn from) each others' flights and now it looks like they've got the systems connected. This gives you many more destinations options (plus JFK in NYC) if you're sitting on a lot of United miles and opens up the world if you've got JetBlue ones instead. Eventually you'll be able to book one ticket that includes both airlines too and they say that elite status recognition will be reciprocal eventually. See the details here.

Asia is a hugely popular continent for digital nomads, especially in the desirable countries with low living costs like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Trying to stay on legally and work remotely has historically been tough, however, and as this article on recent changes points out, "Nomads spent money locally, governments avoided costly enforcement, and everyone looked the other way." While Thailand's DTV that's potentially good for five years is far and away the best on offer now, the other countries are scrambling to compete by finally making it attractive for non-retirees to stick around legally.

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World's Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, is thrilled to announce a special Quarters for Kids Campaign that will fund $27,000 in bike learning programs through All Kids Bike. During the 2026 Progressive AFT Season, $0.25 from every race ticket will help fund new All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride programs.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, All Kids Bike provides schools with everything they need to teach kids how to ride a bike - from balancing to pedaling - as part of their Kindergarten PE class. The comprehensive, ready-to-teach program is currently teaching over 180,000 students across the US how to ride this school year.

"As huge fans of Progressive American Flat Track racing, we truly believe that inspiring the next generation of racers starts by empowering children to ride at the youngest age possible," said All Kids Bike Executive Director Lisa Weyer. "The amazing part of this Quarters for Kids campaign is that it enables AFT fans to help fund the future of the sport. Even if you attend just one race this season, you'll help 3,000 Kindergarteners discover the confidence and joy of riding a bike."

Twenty-five cents from every ticket this season will help fund the $9,000 All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride Program in three (3) new schools. Because each program remains in a school for 10 years, this single season can ultimately help approximately 3,000 children learn to ride a bike. If the program falls short of its $27,000 goal, a donation from Tim Estenson will offset the difference to ensure all programs are fully funded, proving that Progressive AFT racing teams truly believe in the power of the All Kids Bike Program.

Don't miss the start of the 2026 Progressive American Flat Track season. The series kicks off the year with the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6. 

To purchase tickets to the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II, visit: https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack.

Following the season opener, the series travels to Senoia Raceway for the Yamaha Atlanta Short Track on March 21. 

To purchase tickets for the Yamaha Atlanta Short Track, visit: https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/2026-atlanta-short-track-165280.   

• About All Kids Bike

The All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride Program launched in 2018 with a simple mission: to give every child in America the opportunity to learn how to ride a bike in school. The ready-to-teach program includes teacher training and certification, a complete 8-lesson curriculum with lesson plans, games and activities, a fleet of 24 Strider balance-to-pedal bikes, pedal conversion kits, fully adjustable student helmets, an instructor bike with pedal conversion kit and helmet, two rolling storage racks, and access to a resource portal with live support for the life of the program, everything needed to teach kids how to ride a bike! Supported by the Strider Education Foundation, All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride Programs are active in over 1,800 schools across all 50 states, teaching more than 180,000 kids to ride each year and over 1 million kids throughout the 10-year lifespan of the programs already in place. For more information, please visit www.allkidsbike.org.

• About Quarters for Kids

Quarters for Kids is a simple, powerful fundraising initiative proving that small change can make a big difference. By allocating just $0.25 per ticket or registration, participating events can collectively generate significant funding to support multiple All Kids Bike programs, impacting hundreds of kindergarten students each year. Because each program remains in a school for up to 10 years, the long-term impact can extend to thousands of children learning to ride a bike, creating lasting benefits for students, schools, and communities - showing that every ticket truly makes a difference.

• About AMA Pro Racing

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines from its headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla. Learn more at www.amaproracing.com.

• About Progressive American Flat Track

Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, is the world's premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest‑running championships in the history of motorsports.

The post AFT & All Kids Bike Launch $27K Quarters for Kids Campaign appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

This is the 1968 pilot for "Justice for All," starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie Justice and Jean Stapleton as his wife Edith. The show would eventually air three years later on CBS as "All in the Family."

In this 1968 version, Archie and Edith Justice are the same fully formed characters the actors would portray in 1971's "All in the Family," with the surname Bunker. — Read the rest

The post "Justice For All": The unsold 1968 pilot that became "All in the Family" appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: Enjoy the flexibility of laptop and tablet with the ASUS Chromebook CM30, now just $149.99 (reg. $329.99).

If you're currently deciding between investing in a tablet or laptop, don't bother. The ASUS Chromebook CM30 (2024) is a practical solution that can do both, thanks to its detachable keyboard. — Read the rest

The post This 2-in-1 Chromebook is now just $150 appeared first on Boing Boing.

At the start of the month, Elon Musk announced that two of his companies — SpaceX and xAI  — were merging, and would jointly launch a constellation of 1 million satellites to operate as orbital data centers. Musk's reputation might suggest otherwise, but according to experts, such a plan isn't a complete fantasy. However, if executed at the scale suggested, some of them believe it would have devastating effects on the environment and the sustainability of low Earth Earth orbit.     

Musk and others argue that putting data centers in space is practical given how much more efficient solar panels are away from Earth's atmosphere. In space, there are no clouds or weather events to obscure the sun, and in the correct orbit, solar panels can collect sunlight through much of the day. In combination with declining rocket launch costs and the price of powering AI data centers on Earth, Musk has said that within three years space will be the cheapest way to generate AI compute power. 

Ahead of the billionaire's announcement, SpaceX filed an eight-page application with the Federal Communications Commission detailing his plan. The company hopes to deposit the satellites in this massive cluster in altitudes ranging between 500km and 2000km. They would communicate with one another and SpaceX's Starlink constellation using laser "optical links." Those Starlink satellites would then transmit inference requests to and from Earth. To power the entire effort, SpaceX has proposed putting the new constellation in sun-synchronous orbit, meaning the spacecraft would fly along the dividing line that separates the day and night sides of the planet. 

Almost immediately the plan was greeted with skepticism. How would SpaceX, for instance, cool millions of GPUs in space? At first glance, that might seem like a weird point to get hung up on — much of space being around -450 Fahrenheit — but the reality is more complicated. In the near vacuum of space, the only way to dissipate heat is to slowly radiate it out, and in direct sunlight, objects can easily overheat. As one commenter on Hacker News succinctly put it, "a satellite is, if nothing else, a fantastic thermos."

Scott Manley, who, before he created one of the most popular space-focused channels on YouTube, was a software engineer and studied computational physics and astronomy, argues SpaceX has already solved that problem at a smaller scale with Starlink. He points to the company's latest V3 model, which has about 30 square meters of solar panels. "They have a bunch of electronics in the middle, which are taking that power and doing stuff with it. Now, some of that power is being beamed away as radio waves, but there's a lot of thermal power that's being generated and then having to be dissipated. So they already have a platform that's running electronics off of power, and so it's not a massive leap to turn into something doing compute."

The larger V3 @Starlink satellites that will deploy from Starship will bring gigabit connectivity to users and are designed to add 60 Tera-bits-per-second of downlink capacity to the Starlink network.

That's more than 20 times the capacity added with every V2 Mini launch on… pic.twitter.com/N0Vl9psbm3

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 13, 2025

Kevin Hicks, a former NASA systems engineer who worked on the Curiosity rover mission, is more skeptical. "Satellites with the primary goal of processing large amounts of compute requests would generate more heat than pretty much any other type of satellite," he said. "Cooling them is another aspect of the design which is theoretically possible but would require a ton of extra work and complexity, and I have doubts about the durability of such a cooling system."  

What about radiation then? There's a reason NASA relies on ancient hardware like the PowerPC 750 CPU found inside the Perseverance rover: Older chips feature larger transistors, making them more resilient to bit flips — errors in processing caused most often by cosmic radiation — that might scramble a computation. "Binary ones and zeroes are about the presence or absence of electrons, and the amount of charge required to represent a 'one' goes down as the transistors get smaller and smaller," explains Benjamin Lee, professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania. Space is full of energized particles traveling at incredible velocities, and the latest GPUs are built on the smallest, most advanced processing nodes to create transistor-dense silicon. Not a great combination.

"My concern about radiation is that we don't know how many bit flips will occur when you deploy the most advanced chips and hundreds of gigabytes of memory up there," said Professor Lee, pointing to preliminary research by Google on the subject. As part of Project Suncatcher, its own effort to explore the viability of space-based data centers, the company put one of its Trillium TPUs in front of a proton beam to bombard it with radiation. It found the silicon was "surprisingly radiation-hard for space applications." 

While those results were promising, Professor Lee points out we just don't know how resilient GPUs are to radiation at this scale. "Even though modern computer architectures can detect and sometimes correct for those errors, having to do that again and again will slow down or add overhead to space-based computation," he said.   

Space engineer Andrew McCalip, who's done a deep dive on the economics of orbital data centers, is more optimistic, pointing to the natural resilience of AI models. "They don't require 100 percent perfect error-free runs. They're inherently very noisy, very stochastic," he explains, adding that part of the training for modern AI systems involves "injecting random noise into different layers."   

Even if SpaceX could harden its GPUs against radiation, the company would still lose satellites to GPUs that break down. If you know anything about data centers here on Earth, it's that they require constant maintenance. Components like SSDs and GPUs die all the time. Musk has claimed SpaceX's AI satellites would require "little" in the way of operating or maintenance costs. That's only true if you accept the narrowest possible interpretation of what maintaining a fleet of AI satellites would entail.

"I think that there's no case in which repair makes sense. It's a fly till you die scenario," says McCalip. From an economic perspective, McCalip argues the projected death rate of GPUs in space represents "one of the biggest uncertainties" of the orbital data center model. McCalip's put that number at nine percent on the basis of a study Meta published following the release of its Llama 3 model (which, incidentally, measured hardware failures on Earth.) But the reality is no one knows what the attrition rate of those chips will be until they're in space. 

Orbital data centers also likely wouldn't be a direct replacement for their terrestrial counterparts. SpaceX's application specifically mentions inference as the primary use case for its new constellation. Inference is the practical side of running an AI system. It sees a model apply its learning to data it hasn't seen before, like a prompt you write in ChatGPT, to make predictions and generate content. In other words, AI models would still need to be trained on Earth, and it's not clear that the process could be offloaded to a constellation of satellites. "My initial thinking is that computations that require a lot of coordination, like AI training, may end up being tricky to get right at scale up there," says Professor Lee.     

In 1978, a pair of NASA scientists proposed a scenario where low Earth orbit could become so dense with space junk that collisions between those objects would begin to cascade. That scenario is known as Kessler syndrome. 

One estimate from satellite tracking website Orbiting Now puts the number of objects in orbit around the planet at approximately 15,600. Another estimate from NASA suggests there are 45,000 human-made objects orbiting Earth. No matter the number, what's currently in space represents a fraction of the 1 million additional satellites Musk wants to launch.  

According to Aaron Boley, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of British Columbia and co-director of the Outer Space Institute, forward-looking modeling of Earth's orbit above 700 kilometers — where part of SpaceX's proposed cluster would live — suggests that area of space is already showing signs of Kessler syndrome. 

While it takes less time for debris to clear in low Earth orbit, Professor Boley says there's already enough material in that region of space where there could be a cascading effect from a major collision. Debris could, in a worst case scenario, take a decade to clear up. In turn, that could lead to disruptions in global communications, climate monitoring missions and more.     

"You could get to the point where you're just launching material in, and you could ask yourself how many satellites can I afford to lose? Can you reconstitute your constellation faster than you're losing parts of it because of debris?" says Boley. "That's a horrible future in terms of the environmental perspective" In particular, it would limit opportunities for humans to fly into low Earth orbit. "Could you operate in it? Yeah, but it would come with higher and higher costs," adds Boley. 

"The entire world is struggling with the problem of how we safely fly multiple mega constellations," says Richard DalBello, who previously ran the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) at the US Department of Commerce. Right now, there is no common global space situational awareness (SSA) system, and government and satellite operators are using uncoordinated national and commercial systems that are likely producing different results. At the start of the year, SpaceX lowered the orbit of thousands of Starlink satellites after one of them nearly collided with a Chinese satellite. 

SpaceX has its own in-house SSA system called Stargaze, which it uses to fly its more than 7,000 Starlink satellites. According to DalBello, competing operators can receive SSA data from SpaceX, but to do so they must share their satellite position information. "Assuming data sharing, it is likely Stargaze can make an important contribution to spaceflight safety" says DalBello. "SpaceX is likely to have success with US and other commercial operators, but without the assistance of the federal government, other governments — particularly China — will likely be unwilling to share their satellite and SSA data." 

According to DalBello, the Biden administration was unable to make meaningful progress on the next-generation TraCSS system, in part because Congress was initially reluctant to fund the program. Meanwhile, the current Trump administration hasn't shown interest in advancing the work that began during the president's first term.  

Even if the regulatory situation suddenly changes and the world's governments agree on an international SSA system, SpaceX launching 1 million satellites along the day-night terminator would see the company effectively monopolize one of the Earth's most valuable and important orbits. Professor Boley argues we should view our planet's orbits as a resource that belongs to everyone. "Every time you put a satellite up, you use part of that resource. Now someone else can't use it." 

And as Hicks points out, even a single cascade of colliding satellites would prevent that space from being used for scientific endeavors. "You would have to wait years for that debris to slowly come back into the atmosphere and burn up. In the meantime, that debris is taking up space that could be used for climate monitoring missions or any other types of missions that governments want to launch."   

Separately, the constant churn of Starship launches and re-entry of dead satellites would have a potentially dire impact on our planet's atmosphere. "We're not prepared for it," Boley flatly says of the latter. "We're not prepared for what's happening now, and what's happening now is already potentially bad." 

According to Musk's "basic math," SpaceX could add 100 gigawatts of AI compute capacity annually by launching a million tons of satellite per year. McCalip estimates a 100-gigawatt buildout alone would necessitate about 25,000 Starship flights.  

Many of the metals found in satellites, including aluminum, magnesium and lithium, in combination with the exhaust rockets release into the atmosphere, can have complicated effects on the health of the planet. For instance, they can affect polar cloud formations, which in turn can facilitate ozone layer destruction through the chemical reactions that occur on their surfaces. According to Boley, the problem is we just don't know how severe those environmental factors could become at the scale Musk has proposed, and SpaceX has provided us with precious few details on its mitigation plans. All it has said is that its plan would "achieve transformative cost and energy efficiency while significantly reducing the environmental impact associated with terrestrial data centers."   

Even if SpaceX could and does go out its way to mitigate the atmospheric effects of constant rocket flights, those spacecraft still need to be manufactured here on Earth. At one of his previous roles, Hicks studied rocket emissions and found the supply chains needed to build them produce an "order of magnitude" more carbon emissions than the rockets themselves.   

SpaceX plans to fly its new satellites in a sun-synchronous orbit, meaning for much of the year, they'll be sunlit. Each new Starlink generation has been larger and heavier than the one before it, with SpaceX stating in a recent filing that its upcoming V3 model could weigh up to 2,000 kilograms, up from the 575 kilograms of the V2 Mini Optimized. While we don't know the exact dimensions of the company's still-hypothetical AI satellites, they will almost certainly be bigger than their Starlink counterparts. 

SpaceX has done more than most space operators to reduce the brightness of its satellites, but Professor Boley says he expects that this new constellation will be "strikingly bright" when moving through the night sky. In aggregate, he estimates they will almost certainly be harmful to scientific research here on Earth, limiting what terrestrial observatories can see.  

"You're going to see them with the naked eye. You're going to see them with cameras. It's going to be like living near an airport where you see all these things flying over just after sunset and the next couple of hours after sunset," says Manley. "I don't know if I want to have my entire sunset be just a band of satellites constantly shooting overhead."

There are good reasons to make some spacecraft capable of doing AI inference. For instance, Professor Lee suggests it would make orbital imaging satellites more useful, as those spacecraft could do on-site analysis, instead of sending high-resolution files over long distances, saving time in the process. But the dose, as they say, makes the poison.

"There's a lot of excitement about the many possibilities that can be brought to society and humanity through continued access to space, but the promise of prosperity is not permission to be reckless," he says. "At this moment, we're allowing that excitement to overtake that more measured progression [...] those impacts don't just impact outer space but Earth as well." 

The office of the Attorney General for West Virginia announced Thursday that it has filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the company had "knowingly" allowed its iCloud platform "to be used as a vehicle for distributing and storing child sexual abuse material." The state alleges this went on for years but drew no action from the tech giant "under the guise of user privacy."

In the lawsuit, the state repeatedly cites a text from Apple executive Eric Friedman, in which he calls iCloud "the greatest platform for distributing child porn" in a conversation with another Apple executive. These messages were first uncovered by The Verge in 2021 within discovery documents for the Epic Games v. Apple trial. In the conversation, Friedman says while some other platforms prioritize safety over privacy, Apple's priorities "are the inverse."

The state further alleges that detection technology to help root out and report CSAM exists, but that Apple chooses not to implement it. Apple indeed considered scanning iCloud Photos for CSAM in 2021, but abandoned these plans after pushback stemming from privacy concerns.

In 2024 Apple was sued by a group of over 2,500 victims of child sexual abuse, citing nearly identical claims and alleging that Apple's failure to implement these features led to the victims' harm as images of them circulated through the company's servers. At the time Apple told Engadget, "child sexual abuse material is abhorrent and we are committed to fighting the ways predators put children at risk. We are urgently and actively innovating to combat these crimes without compromising the security and privacy of all our users."

The case in West Virginia would mark the first time a governmental body is bringing such an action against the iPhone maker. The state says it is seeking injunctive relief that would compel Apple to implement effective CSAM detection measures as well as damages. We have reached out to Apple for comment on the suit and will update if we hear back.

Bobby Campbell has posted a new comic, and reports that he will be soon collecting his completion of a long series as one big graphic novel. Here's the report in the latest newsletter:

"Never mind the B.S., here's a new comic!

"Agnosis! #3 Ep. 1 - "BEFORE THE LAW"

"Agnosis! #3 is the fifth and final installment of my OKEY-DOKEY comic book series, nearly 23 years in the making, and soon to be finished and collected in one handsome volume :))) I'll be irregularly serializing the final issue as I go.

"If you need to get caught up on what came before, the entire series has been spiffed up and made more user friendly than ever before!

"https://weirdcomix.com/OKEY-DOKEY/

"OKEY-DOKEY is the forthcoming meta-modern graphic novel by Bobby Campbell, Marcelino Balao III, and Todd Purse. Featuring two intertwined comic book adventures, Agnosis! & BUDDHAFART, which weave together to form the Dream@wake_Sutra, a Discordian Hypersigil that tells the tale of the tribe as a SUN PLAY OF THE AGES in five Acts :)))"