Sam Plattner
@frekulex.bsky.social
Sound designer/insect photographer in Oakland, CA
The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station, Carrier, Bad Vibes, Hit Job
IG: @frekulex
The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station, Carrier, Bad Vibes, Hit Job
IG: @frekulex
Reposted by Sam Plattner
if we want to use tobacco & opioid firms as examples, the real mistake was that we did not draw enough blood. we have to come away with some scalps this time, not More Transparency. they will simply manufacture doubt just like tobacco & opioid firms did.
AI firms must be clear on risks or repeat tobacco’s mistakes, says Anthropic chief
AI firms must be clear on risks or repeat tobacco’s mistakes, says Anthropic chief
Artificial intelligence will become smarter than ‘most or all humans in most or all ways’, says Dario Amodei
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Business live – latest updates
Artificial intelligence companies must be transparent about the risks posed by their products or risk repeating the mistakes of tobacco and opioid companies, according to the chief executive of the AI startup Anthropic.
Dario Amodei, who runs the US company behind the Claude chatbot, said he believed AI will become smarter than “most or all humans in most or all ways” and urged his peers to “call it as you see it”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:56 PM
if we want to use tobacco & opioid firms as examples, the real mistake was that we did not draw enough blood. we have to come away with some scalps this time, not More Transparency. they will simply manufacture doubt just like tobacco & opioid firms did.
Reposted by Sam Plattner
This is why I write so critically and frequently about Ezra Klein (and Matt Yglesias). Democrats are led by the centrist blogosphere, yet for the last year they’ve claimed progressives control the DNC to excuse their failure. Klein, Yglesias, Chait, etc ushered in GOP fascism and refuse…
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New York Times columnist Ezra Klein isn't content with opining about the Democratic Party — he's positioned himself as a powerbroker inside of it.
How Ezra Klein's power play is guiding Democrats
The New York Times columnist, podcaster and author has helped shape the party's strategies and policies in President Trump's second term.
www.axios.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:57 AM
This is why I write so critically and frequently about Ezra Klein (and Matt Yglesias). Democrats are led by the centrist blogosphere, yet for the last year they’ve claimed progressives control the DNC to excuse their failure. Klein, Yglesias, Chait, etc ushered in GOP fascism and refuse…
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Reposted by Sam Plattner
matt yglesias' primary claim about politics is that to win elections, democrats should adopt the strategy which has given starmer a 13% approval rating in the UK
November 16, 2025 at 8:26 PM
matt yglesias' primary claim about politics is that to win elections, democrats should adopt the strategy which has given starmer a 13% approval rating in the UK
Reposted by Sam Plattner
I don't want to hear shit about how Newsom is standing up to Trump. A judge has issued a stay preventing the feds from yanking the CDLs of legal immigrants but @governor.ca.gov is going forward with it anyway. Just like he's persecuting trans people anyway.
If the Teamsters were worth a shit, weren't labor aristocracy and weren't aholes that shit on indy and immigrant truckers, the whole country could be shut down over this.
www.kqed.org/news/1206398...
www.kqed.org/news/1206398...
California Is Revoking Licenses of 17,000 Immigrant Truckers Amid Federal Pressure | KQED
The commercial licenses expire in 60 days, but labor groups contend that the courts have temporarily frozen the federal rules restricting which foreigners can drive trucks.
www.kqed.org
November 15, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I don't want to hear shit about how Newsom is standing up to Trump. A judge has issued a stay preventing the feds from yanking the CDLs of legal immigrants but @governor.ca.gov is going forward with it anyway. Just like he's persecuting trans people anyway.
Reposted by Sam Plattner
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:01 PM
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Reposted by Sam Plattner
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
November 9, 2025 at 12:10 AM
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
Reposted by Sam Plattner
This is actually a pretty standard and unremarkable move, as evidenced by Justice Jackson issuing it.
But most people won't believe that for several good reasons.
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But most people won't believe that for several good reasons.
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#BREAKING: Justice Jackson has issued an "administrative" stay, temporarily pausing a district court order that would've required the USDA to continue using contingency funds to pay SNAP benefits.
The stay expires 48 hours after the First Circuit rules on USDA's request for a stay pending appeal.
The stay expires 48 hours after the First Circuit rules on USDA's request for a stay pending appeal.
November 8, 2025 at 2:40 AM
This is actually a pretty standard and unremarkable move, as evidenced by Justice Jackson issuing it.
But most people won't believe that for several good reasons.
/1
But most people won't believe that for several good reasons.
/1
Reposted by Sam Plattner
Reposted by Sam Plattner
Rampant criminalization, DAs stacking tons of charges on people, explosion of digital evidence submissions demanding time to review.... PD system (and us) taking the hit.
The cop-prison machine groaning under it's own weight
The cop-prison machine groaning under it's own weight
"The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office warned that the city’s public defense system is collapsing under excessive workloads, forcing it to declare itself unavailable for new cases on certain days"
davisvanguard.org/2025/11/publ...
davisvanguard.org/2025/11/publ...
San Francisco Public Defenders Warn Caseload Crisis Is Forcing Unavailability Declarations - Davis Vanguard
The San Francisco Public Defender's Office is facing an overload of cases due to increased complexity of laws and digital evidence, leading to potential release of incarcerated people due to lack of d...
davisvanguard.org
November 5, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Rampant criminalization, DAs stacking tons of charges on people, explosion of digital evidence submissions demanding time to review.... PD system (and us) taking the hit.
The cop-prison machine groaning under it's own weight
The cop-prison machine groaning under it's own weight
Reposted by Sam Plattner
The factional grifters will hate this, but the Mamdani-Spanberger-Sherrill axis actually suggests the outlines of a broad, emerging Dem coalition organized around both anti-Trump *and* affordability politics, not a party bitterly divided against itself.
These big wins will embolden Dems to take on Trump's lawbreaking and show there's a price for GOP enabling of him. Folks hate to hear this, but normal patterns are asserting themselves: Liberalism isn't dead, Rs are likely to lose in 2026, and Trump is really unpopular, not a magical exception.
November 5, 2025 at 2:48 AM
The factional grifters will hate this, but the Mamdani-Spanberger-Sherrill axis actually suggests the outlines of a broad, emerging Dem coalition organized around both anti-Trump *and* affordability politics, not a party bitterly divided against itself.
Reposted by Sam Plattner
Teen Vogue did some great journalism around immigration detention and enforcement. Sounds like corporate has now killed that off.
The media landscape shrinks even further.
The media landscape shrinks even further.
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Teen Vogue did some great journalism around immigration detention and enforcement. Sounds like corporate has now killed that off.
The media landscape shrinks even further.
The media landscape shrinks even further.
Reposted by Sam Plattner
This is sometimes read as "look 'AI' isn't working". But the opposite is true.
_This_ is what "AI" is _for_. Push down labor power, push down wages, make employment more insecure.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/forrester_ai_rehiring/
_This_ is what "AI" is _for_. Push down labor power, push down wages, make employment more insecure.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/forrester_ai_rehiring/
October 30, 2025 at 12:05 PM
This is sometimes read as "look 'AI' isn't working". But the opposite is true.
_This_ is what "AI" is _for_. Push down labor power, push down wages, make employment more insecure.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/forrester_ai_rehiring/
_This_ is what "AI" is _for_. Push down labor power, push down wages, make employment more insecure.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/29/forrester_ai_rehiring/
Reposted by Sam Plattner
If SNAP serves ~1 in 8
Every person in the US - each person in your household - must donate an entire day's worth of food per week to compensate. If you know 3 people who do not donate, you'd need to donate 12 meals/week
Point: do everything you can; also PUSH bc there is only 1 realistic solution
Every person in the US - each person in your household - must donate an entire day's worth of food per week to compensate. If you know 3 people who do not donate, you'd need to donate 12 meals/week
Point: do everything you can; also PUSH bc there is only 1 realistic solution
October 30, 2025 at 8:47 PM
If SNAP serves ~1 in 8
Every person in the US - each person in your household - must donate an entire day's worth of food per week to compensate. If you know 3 people who do not donate, you'd need to donate 12 meals/week
Point: do everything you can; also PUSH bc there is only 1 realistic solution
Every person in the US - each person in your household - must donate an entire day's worth of food per week to compensate. If you know 3 people who do not donate, you'd need to donate 12 meals/week
Point: do everything you can; also PUSH bc there is only 1 realistic solution
Reposted by Sam Plattner
so a reporter with a right wing UK outlet set out to file a Mamdani hit piece, emailed who he thought was former Mayor Bill de Blasio but it was really a Long Island man who now lives in Florida named Bill DeBlasio, who used ChatGPT to give the reporter a quote that was published
October 30, 2025 at 4:58 PM
so a reporter with a right wing UK outlet set out to file a Mamdani hit piece, emailed who he thought was former Mayor Bill de Blasio but it was really a Long Island man who now lives in Florida named Bill DeBlasio, who used ChatGPT to give the reporter a quote that was published
Reposted by Sam Plattner
So the $20,000 humanoid robot housekeeper actually just webcams your house to a random person in a call center with an Xbox controller www.wsj.com/tech/persona... @joannastern.bsky.social
I Tried the Robot That’s Coming to Live With You. It’s Still Part Human.
1X’s Neo wants to be your housekeeper. First, it needs to be controlled by a human in your home. Cool with you?
www.wsj.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:49 AM
So the $20,000 humanoid robot housekeeper actually just webcams your house to a random person in a call center with an Xbox controller www.wsj.com/tech/persona... @joannastern.bsky.social
Reposted by Sam Plattner
They are also intentionally conflating machine-learning and generative AI slop to confuse and try to make GenAI seem necessary. Google Maps traffic stuff is machine learning, not GenAI, for example. Auto-correct is too. Don't let them make you lose the thread. GenAI slop is slop.
the nyt posts this stuff like avoiding AI for 48 hours is hard and meanwhile i have literally never once intentionally used an AI program for anything ever
October 28, 2025 at 6:44 PM
They are also intentionally conflating machine-learning and generative AI slop to confuse and try to make GenAI seem necessary. Google Maps traffic stuff is machine learning, not GenAI, for example. Auto-correct is too. Don't let them make you lose the thread. GenAI slop is slop.
Reposted by Sam Plattner
how does donald trump keep breaking all these norms when all i'm doing is repeatedly suggesting he might do that with softball questions and then writing up the answers as if it's not a settled issue and attributing equal validity to his sundowning avarice and the written constitution
hes not allowed to run for a third term so why are you even asking him
October 27, 2025 at 2:44 PM
how does donald trump keep breaking all these norms when all i'm doing is repeatedly suggesting he might do that with softball questions and then writing up the answers as if it's not a settled issue and attributing equal validity to his sundowning avarice and the written constitution
Reposted by Sam Plattner
New York Times reports that it is unclear whether having a federal agency accept money in excess of congressional appropriations "violates a law prohibiting federal agencies from accepting money in excess of congressional appropriations." I guess we'll never know!
October 24, 2025 at 10:05 PM
New York Times reports that it is unclear whether having a federal agency accept money in excess of congressional appropriations "violates a law prohibiting federal agencies from accepting money in excess of congressional appropriations." I guess we'll never know!
Reposted by Sam Plattner
Reposted by Sam Plattner
The paradigm should be pretty clear by now.
The fascists do something indefensible or obviously crazy, they frame it as “concerning” while obscuring the danger.
Anyone anywhere brings up reform and you get nonstop coverage of how “dangerous” it is.
It’s consent manufacturing.
The fascists do something indefensible or obviously crazy, they frame it as “concerning” while obscuring the danger.
Anyone anywhere brings up reform and you get nonstop coverage of how “dangerous” it is.
It’s consent manufacturing.
October 19, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The paradigm should be pretty clear by now.
The fascists do something indefensible or obviously crazy, they frame it as “concerning” while obscuring the danger.
Anyone anywhere brings up reform and you get nonstop coverage of how “dangerous” it is.
It’s consent manufacturing.
The fascists do something indefensible or obviously crazy, they frame it as “concerning” while obscuring the danger.
Anyone anywhere brings up reform and you get nonstop coverage of how “dangerous” it is.
It’s consent manufacturing.
Reposted by Sam Plattner
Just as with hype, I think just saying "there is a bubble" is far too little. The point is explaining that bubbles immiserate the many, but are at this point designed to be profitable for the few (though of course they may pose systemic risks)
At some point in Melinda Cooper's 5-hour @thedigradio.bsky.social marathon she explains Greenspanism as a macro-framework that is actively tolerant of asset bubbles, and when one pops the priority is to defend the monetary conditions for the next one to arise
Bubbles are good, actually…
on.ft.com/476jUkn ‘Of course it’s a bubble’: AI start-up valuations soar in investor frenzy
on.ft.com/476jUkn ‘Of course it’s a bubble’: AI start-up valuations soar in investor frenzy
October 17, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Just as with hype, I think just saying "there is a bubble" is far too little. The point is explaining that bubbles immiserate the many, but are at this point designed to be profitable for the few (though of course they may pose systemic risks)
Reposted by Sam Plattner
"[Yesterday's] raids across Southern California showed a continuing escalation of violence by masked federal agents as they kidnapped at least 20 people, including parents after their school drop-offs, U.S. citizens, and a mother is ripped from her infant."
lataco.com/daily-memo-o...
lataco.com/daily-memo-o...
DAILY MEMO: ICE Rips Mom From Her Infant, Takes U.S. Citizens and Parents After School Drop-off, and Assaults Worker with a Taser ~ L.A. TACO
Today’s raids across Southern California showed a continuing escalation of violence by masked federal agents as they kidnapped at least 20 people, including parents after their school drop-offs, U.S. ...
lataco.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:32 PM
"[Yesterday's] raids across Southern California showed a continuing escalation of violence by masked federal agents as they kidnapped at least 20 people, including parents after their school drop-offs, U.S. citizens, and a mother is ripped from her infant."
lataco.com/daily-memo-o...
lataco.com/daily-memo-o...
Reposted by Sam Plattner
Remember how the Death Star had that one hidden weakness?
Well, an important kill switch in this massive surveillance network is: individual control over a bunch of the nodes. People hold the power to tear the network down.
Love your neighbour, trash the Ring camera.
Well, an important kill switch in this massive surveillance network is: individual control over a bunch of the nodes. People hold the power to tear the network down.
Love your neighbour, trash the Ring camera.
Legion of Doom to partner with the Sinister Six.
Amazon's Ring to partner with Flock, a network of AI cameras used by ICE, feds, and police | TechCrunch
Agencies that use Flock can request that Ring doorbell users share footage to help with "evidence collection and investigative work."
techcrunch.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Remember how the Death Star had that one hidden weakness?
Well, an important kill switch in this massive surveillance network is: individual control over a bunch of the nodes. People hold the power to tear the network down.
Love your neighbour, trash the Ring camera.
Well, an important kill switch in this massive surveillance network is: individual control over a bunch of the nodes. People hold the power to tear the network down.
Love your neighbour, trash the Ring camera.
Reposted by Sam Plattner
this is the dumbest shit i have ever read
October 15, 2025 at 7:52 PM
this is the dumbest shit i have ever read
Reposted by Sam Plattner
you gotta hear him say it. really good stuff here
Actual quote from Johnson:
"I think the most frightening thing I've seen yet are the naked bicyclists."
-__-
I cannot believe we have to take these disingenuous bags of dicks seriously
"I think the most frightening thing I've seen yet are the naked bicyclists."
-__-
I cannot believe we have to take these disingenuous bags of dicks seriously
October 14, 2025 at 9:26 PM
you gotta hear him say it. really good stuff here