Trump vs. his China hawks
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Connor Echols
“The president ushered in a bipartisan push for confrontation with Beijing in his first term. Is he now trying to usher it out?” (02/11/26)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Shakespeare in Love and Grief
Source: Quillette
by Mallory Young
“It appears that people now find comfort in the idea that the life of even the greatest of writers is no more satisfying than their own.” (02/11/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/02/11/shakespeare-in-love-and-grief-hamnet-upstart-crow-review/
Uber Eats adds AI assistant to help with grocery shopping
Source: The Verge
“Uber announced a new AI feature called ‘Cart Assistant” for grocery shopping in its Uber Eats app. The new feature works a couple different ways. You can use text prompts, as you would with any other AI chatbot, to ask it to build a grocery list for you. Or you can upload a picture of your shopping list and ask it to populate your cart with all your favorite items, based on your order history. … Uber says in the coming months, Cart Assistant will add more features, including ‘full recipe inspiration, meal plans, and the ability to ask follow up questions, and expand to retail partners.’ But like all chatbots, Uber acknowledges that Cart Assistant may make mistakes, and urges users to double-check and confirm the results before placing any orders.” (02/11/26)
https://www.theverge.com/transportation/876540/uber-eats-ai-chatbot-cart-assistant-grocery-shopping?
Reasonably Optimistic, 02/11/26
Source: Washington Post
“An economist explains why he’s still ‘bullish on America’ — AI and all.” (02/11/26)
When the Oligarchs Don’t Need You Anymore
Source: CounterPunch
by Kathleen Wallace
“We have a group of men who are actively preparing themselves for a societal collapse. In fact, by their own writings, they invite it. They build bunkers to hurriedly protect themselves from the fallout of their own actions. They seem to only want enough humans around to serve them in ways that AI cannot and even that looks to be an infinitesimally small number. … In a nation flush with cash, but not for you, millions are cast off on Medicaid, in what can only be considered a premeditated murder of the masses. But you see, they don’t care. It’s not an unfortunate side effect or a required austerity measure in a time of crisis. It is a class of individuals who do not see themselves as one of us.” (02/11/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/02/11/when-the-oligarchs-dont-need-you-anymore/
Bondi tries to brazen her way through House hearing over her Epstein cover-up
Source: NBC News
“Attorney General Pam Bondi clashed with lawmakers during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, with the department’s handling of its Jeffrey Epstein records and its attempts to prosecute critics of President Donald Trump causing the most tension. … At times, Bondi’s performance on Wednesday seemed targeted specifically for Trump. She appeared to be reading off pre-written talking points on occasion and sang Trump’s praises, calling him ‘the greatest president in American history.’ Wednesday’s hearing devolved into a series of shouting matches as Democrats peppered Bondi with questions about Epstein and survivors of his abuse, many of whom attended the proceedings. … Bondi, in turn, repeatedly accused Democrats of ‘theatrics’ and said that she would not ‘get in the gutter with these people,’ though she repeatedly lobbed personal attacks on Democratic lawmakers.” (02/11/26)
Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/11/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump May Send Another Aircraft Carrier to Mideast, US To Send 200 Troops to Nigeria, and More.” (02/11/26)
Gen Z’s Problem with “Fake” News
Source: Washington Monthly
by Anne Kim
“In the eyes of today’s teens, journalism and the media are doomed. In two major surveys of US teens conducted over the last two years, the nonprofit News Literacy Project found deep levels of mistrust and misunderstanding of the news …. The root of this distrust is the lack of ‘news literacy,’ argues Charles (‘Chuck’) Salter, the News Literacy Project’s President and CEO. Teens aren’t currently taught how to be savvy consumers of the information that flashes across their screens. They don’t know what makes good journalism and how to tell if a story is credible. As one result, far too many teens are falling into the trap of conspiracism and misinformation.” (02/11/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/11/gen-zs-problem-with-fake-news/
The Heavy Pot Taxes Favored by The New York Times Would Undermine Legalization
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“The newspaper’s plan to address marijuana abuse would compound the disadvantages that state-licensed suppliers face in competing with the black market.” (02/11/26)
Political Backflow From Europe
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander
“The European discourse can be — for lack of a better term — America-brained. We hear stories of Black Lives Matter marches in countries without significant black populations, or defendants demanding their First Amendment rights in countries without constitutions. Why shouldn’t the opposite phenomenon exist? Europe is more populous than the US, and looms large in the American imagination. Why shouldn’t we find ourselves accidentally absorbing European ideas that don’t make sense in the American context?” (02/11/26)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/political-backflow-from-europe