Trump’s DC Takeover is Crazier Than Everyone Realizes & The WNBA Scandal Exposes A BIGGER Problem
PDS Published 08/11/2025
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Story 1 - Transcript
Trump threatens DC takeover script
Y’all, how many times can America be liberated?
[Clip, 01:29:11 - 01:29:18] Caption: “This is liberation day in DC and we’re gonna take our Capitol back. We’re taking it back.”
Right, first it was the tariffs, now Donald Trump is promising to “MAKE OUR CAPITAL GREAT AGAIN!” By making “crime, Savagery, Filth, and Scum” disappear. [Continue B roll]
With him holding what he called “The Press Conference on Crime and Beautification” today, and we’ll get to what he means by “beautification,” but first, crime. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:31:06 - 01:31:20; Same clip, 01:43:57 - 01:44:04; Same clip, 01:29:19 - 01:29:36] Caption: “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs, bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people, and we’re not gonna let it happen anymore. We’re not gonna take it. … Today we’re formally declaring a public safety emergency. This is an emergency. This is a tragic emergency. … Under the authorities vested in me as the president of the United States, I’m officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act — you know what that is? — and placing the DC Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control.”
With him announcing that Attorney General Pam Bondi, who by the way still has not released the Epstein files, will assume command of the metro police.
And the Defense Department will activate some 800 national guard personnel, who will deploy to the streets of D.C.
Something which Trump has more authority to do, since unlike the state of California, the District of Columbia doesn’t control its own national guard. [Image]
Also, Trump reportedly plans to temporarily reassign some 120 FBI agents to nighttime patrol duties in D.C. [Quote, find “120”]
And for both the national guard and FBI, it’s currently unclear exactly what they’ll be doing.
Right, because over thee weekend, sources told reporters that they probably wouldn’t have arrest authorities. [Quote, find “have arrest”]
Instead, they would support local police, doing stuff like driving around the city, and running license plates for stolen vehicles and warrants. [Quote, find “stolen vehicles”]
But today, Trump said:
[Clip, 01:47:04 - 01:47:10] Caption: “They’ll immediately begin massive enforcement operations targeting known gangs, drug dealers and criminal networks.”
Either way, this comes after the weekend, Trump reportedly sent up to 450 federal agents to D.C. already. [Quote, find “450”]
And in what’s a frightening remark for many, he stated today: [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:46:45 - 01:46:53] Caption: “We will bring in the military if needed. People say, ‘Oh, that’s so terrible. He’s gonna bring in-’ it’s been many times over the years.”
With critics arguing that using the military for domestic law enforcement is illegal, but Trump already deployed marines to LA, and he’s shown himself willing to ignore the courts on many occasions.
Now as for what started this whole D.C. subplot, obviously there’s the need to distract from Jeffrey Epstein, but also there was the attempted carjacking and assault of a former DOGE staffer known as “Big Balls” last week. [Headline]
And since then, it’s turned into a story about the supposedly out of control crime plaguing D.C. and other Democratic cities.
With Trump today claiming: [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:30:55 - 01:31:05] Caption: “Murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever. They say 25 years but they don’t know what that means because it just goes back 25 years.”
But it’s telling that he picked out 2023 there, because crime was especially bad that year, but it’s come down significantly since then.
Part 2:
With violent crimes in 2024 reportedly hitting a 30-year low, and still dropping. [Quote, find “30-year”]
Reportedly down 26% this year from the same period last year, as property crime is also down 5% and overall crime is down 7%. [Quote, find “7%”]
So what’s Donald Trump’s response to that data? Fake news.
[Clip, 01:33:20 - 01:33:26] Caption: “We don’t want to show the real numbers. Let me do numbers so it looks like it’s going down. Not going down.”
And in fact, he claimed that DC is literally the number one murder capital of the world.
[Clip, 01:32:32 - 01:32:39; Same clip, 01:31:57 - 01:32:19] Caption: “Forty-one per 100,000, number one that we can find anywhere in the world. … Baghdad. We doubled up on Baghdad. Panama City; Brasilia; San Jose, Costa Rica; Bogota, Colombia, heavy drugs; Mexico City, I mentioned; Lima, Peru. All double and triple.”
But once again, that’s simply untrue.
Right, D.C.’s homicide rate last year was actually 27.3 per 100,000 people, far lower than the world’s ten most dangerous cities, according to one analysis. [Quote, find “27.3”]
And it’s not just D.C.; crime has been falling all over the country.
With The Washington Post reporting that homicides nationwide are down a whopping 30%. [Quote same link, find “30%”]
But hey, whatever! Crime’s only one half of the equation here; there’s also “beauty.”
And channelling his inner Wordsworth, Trump delivered this miracle of grammar. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:44:27 - 01:44:31] Caption: “We’re the most beautiful potentially capital in the world. We always had!”
So like the real estate developer that he is, he wants to make that potential a reality, and he’s got lots of ideas.
[Clip, 02:09:58 - 02:10:06; Same clip, 01:44:45 - 01:44:52] Caption: “We’re going to clean up the trash and the graffiti and the grime and the dirt and the broken marble panels. … We’re gonna replace the medians that are falling down all over the roads. We’re gonna replace the potholes. We’re gonna put a nice new coat of asphalt over the top.”
But those aren’t the only ways he’s planning to “clean up” the city.
Because he also wants to push out the homeless. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:57:49 - 01:57:54, 01:58:05 - 01:58:13] Caption: “We’re moving the encampments away, trying to take care of people. … We’re getting rid of the people from underpasses, public spaces from all over the city. There are many places that they can go.”
This as yesterday, he “truthed:”
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong. It’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border.” [Post]
Now as for the numbers, D.C. has a total population of about 700,000, and a local org told Reuters there are nearly 3,800 people homeless on any given night. [Image and Quote, find “3,782”]
With most of them staying in public housing or emergency shelters, and about 800 considered to be “on the street.” [Quote same link]
So it’s currently unclear where Trump intends to to put those people, and it’s also unclear what he meant by this vague comment about getting rid of the slums. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:36:11 - 01:36:18] Caption: “I know it’s not politically correct. You’ll say, ‘Oh, so terrible.’ No, we’re getting rid of the slums where they live.”
As for what else he might do with federal command over the Capitol, we’re just gonna have to wait and see, though we did get some hints today.
Because he talked about at least three things that, according to him, are responsible for the condition of D.C. and other Democrat-run cities.
First, the elimination of cash bail …
[Clip, 02:17:04 - 02:17:07] Caption: “This whole thing with cashless bail is a disaster.”
… sanctuary cities …
[Clip, 01:46:05 - 01:46:10] Caption: “This city will no longer be a sanctuary for illegal alien criminals.”
… and of course, woke police.
[Clip, 01:45:56 - 01:46:00] Caption: “You also have people that shouldn’t be there. They got in there because of woke.”
So if that’s his diagnosis, the cure would naturally be to bring back cash bail, enforce immigration laws, and quash whatever wokeness he thinks has infected the D.C. metro PD.
As well as generally taking this punitive, no bullshit, tough on crime approach that he laid out rather expressively.
[Clip, 01:36:47 - 01:36:54, 01:37:19 - 01:37:28, 01:37:35 - 01:37:43; Clip, 01:38:41 - 01:38:44, 01:39:34 - 01:39:44] Caption: “See, they fight back until you knock the hell out of them, because it’s the only language they understand. … And then they start spitting in their face, and I said, ‘You tell them, you spit, and we hit.’ And they get hit real hard. … And they’re told, ‘Don’t do anything under any circumstances,’ and you can see they want to get at it. … The Democrats are weak on crime. … Because they have no idea what they’re doing. That’s why they want men playing in women’s sports. That’s why they want transgender for everybody. Everybody transgender!”
But in his press conference, Trump didn’t just go after DC; he also gave a warning to other major cities. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 02:17:48 - 02:17:54, 02:17:56 - 02:18:03, 02:18:31 - 02:18:33, 02:18:55 - 02:18:59] Caption: “But then we’re gonna look at New York, in a little while. Let’s do this. Let’s do this together. … And if we need to, we’re gonna do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster. We have a mayor there who’s totally incompetent. … And I look at LA. … But hopefully LA is watching. That mayor also.”
Part 3:
Now in response to all this, you had the Democratic Mayors Association putting out a statement saying:
“If Trump actually cared about reducing crime, he wouldn’t have made unprecedented cuts to public safety programs that actually work. If Trump actually cared about our communities, he would be working with our cities, not against them. But the truth is Trump doesn’t care — he only wants to create yet another political charade to serve his own interests and distract Americans from his failures.” [Image]
With D.C.’s mayor, Democrat Muriel Bowser, saying in her own press conference this afternoon:
[Will add clip]
And notably, she’s been relatively deferential to Trump so far during his second term.
Right, during his first term, she was much more defiant, with her painting “black lives matter” on a street in front of the White House during the 2020 protests, for example.
Whereas in March, by contrast, she ordered the “Black Lives Matter Plaza” mural removed after Republicans threatened to withhold federal funding.
And as recently as last week, she’s expressed her eagerness to work with federal authorities on reducing crime in the district, though at the same time denying Trump’s claims that crime is out of control.
With a source telling CNN that Bowser sees little upside in creating rifts with agencies by opposing Trump’s deployment of federal officers.
Meanwhile, it’s far from obvious that the residents of D.C. are as welcoming of federal intervention.
With a survey from late April, early May finding that 71% felt Trump was getting too involved in local DC issues, while just 11% said he wasn’t getting involved enough. [Quote, find “11%”]
So for now, things are looking pretty heated in the Capitol, but whether you live there or not, I’d love to hear your reaction to this news.
Links:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kzz4m3ll1o
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It’s raining dildos at WNBA games.
That bizarre sentence is where this story starts, and it somehow gets even weirder from there.
So, this all begins on July 29, when someone threw a green dildo at a game between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries.
The person accused of throwing the toy has since been arrested, with one player telling reporters:
“I mean, first of all, it was super dangerous. And then when we found out what it was, I guess we just started laughing. I’ve never seen anything like that.” (2:05-2:13)
But since then, the WNBA has only seen more and more dildos.
With similar incidents happening at games in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New York, with sex toys sometimes reaching the court and sometimes hitting people in the crowds.
Right, in New York, the sex toy hit a 12-year-old girl in the leg, with the NYPD saying they are looking at this dude in a Beavis and Butthead shirt as a suspect. []
And the more it happens, the less funny players find it, with the Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham writing:
“stop throwing dildos on the court… you’re going to hurt one of us.”[]
Elizabeth Williams of the Chicago Sky also saying:
“It’s super disrespectful. I don’t really get the point of it. It’s really immature. Whoever is doing it needs to grow up.” (0:13-0;22)
After it happened a second time, the WNBA also released a statement saying:
“The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league. Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans. In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”
In addition to the arrest after the first incident in Georgia, an 18-year-old man was also arrested for throwing a dildo in Phoenix.
With reports saying the sex toy hit a man in the crowd, and possibly his niece, too.
And this might lead you to wonder: who the hell is behind this, right?
Why is there serial dildo throwing at WNBA games?
Well, a person who claims to be behind the spree of events just spoke to multiple outlets on Thursday and Friday, and said it is part of a crypto promo.
Right, and many had seen the act simply as a sexist prank targeting female athletes, but as that person told USA Today:
"We didn't do this because like we dislike women's sports or, like, some of the narratives that are trending right now are ridiculous. Creating disruption at games is like, it happens in every single sport, right? We've seen it in the NFL, we've seen it in hockey, you know . . . fans doing random things to more or less create attention.”[]
With that person going so far as to call it a protest against the “toxic” nature of the crypto world being dominated by influencers and scammers.
The coin is reportedly called the Green Dildo Coin, and that source did not reveal their identity, simply going by the nickname Lt. Daldo Raine.[][]
The coin apparently started trading on July 28, which is the day before the first Dildo was thrown, with that source telling ESPN:
"It was more or less like an opportunistic approach to, you know, what is already trending. Where is there already controversy and how do we intercept some of that attention?"
And while he said the second person arrested was in fact affiliated with the group, he said the first person arrested was not and did not throw the sex toy.
Though he did not say who did apparently throw it.
And the final twist this story takes is that you yourself can make some money on this whole ordeal – not by investing in the crypto, but by betting on if it will happen again.
Right, Polymarket lets you bet on whether or not dildos will be thrown at upcoming WNBA games.[]
As of this morning, there is over half a million dollars in betting volume, with people thinking there is a 7% chance it happens tonight, and 14% that it happens tomorrow.
And notably, the person who claimed to be behind it said they were going to be switching their stunts up and moving away from WNBA games, so that is potentially why the odds are so low. []
But you had people noting that this just seems ripe for abuse, because how hard is it to just make this happen?
Right, like what is stopping a person from betting that a dildo will be thrown and then throwing one themselves?
With one person writing last week:
“This is precisely what @Polymarket and other prediction markets should *not* be doing. These markets are designed to be self-fulfilling prophecies. Cost of a WNBA ticket + dildo is <$50, penalties (if caught) are a few days in jail, ~$1000 fine. Do the math on market volumes.”[]
“This is an irresponsible market that directly leads to anti-social behavior.”[]
So I would just love to know your thoughts on any of this here, the dildo throwing itself, the reason behind it, this betting angle, anything at all.
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CDC union says vaccine misinformation puts their employees at risk after a fatal shooting at the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta
A deadly shooting at the CDC has staff demanding action - not just on security, but on the lies they say are fueling the violence.
Right, if you didn’t see over the weekend, there was a shooting at the Atlanta headquarters for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Around 5 pm on Friday, police in Atlanta received a 911 call about an active shooter at the CVS across the street from the CDC office.
With dozens of bullets reportedly hitting the exterior of at least 4 CDC buildings - damaging the windows and walls.
And we know that the shooter initially tried getting into the CDC buildings themselves but was turned away by security before going across the street. []
Among the first wave of police response to the shooting was former Marine and rookie officer David Rose of the DeKalb County Police Department - who was shot on the scene and rushed to a nearby hospital where he died.
The shooter was then discovered dead himself on the second floor of the CVS though it’s unclear whether he died by his own hand or from shots fired by police. []
And there were no other reported injuries besides those two.
Now, we saw the responses you’d expect to a tragedy like this - the CDC director, Susan Monarez, sending a message to CDC employees saying,
“The active shooter incident near our campus today has understandably brought fear, anger and worry to all of us. I want to express my deep appreciation for your professionalism and resilience during this time.” []
And Health Secretary RFK Jr. saying in a statement,
“We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others. We are actively supporting CDC staff on the ground and across the agency. Public health workers show up every day with purpose — even in moments of grief and uncertainty.”
And Atlanta’s CDC employees were informed that they’d be working remotely today while a “security assessment” is conducted.
Though the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing CDC workers, has pushed for the walls and windows to be repaired before they are sent back into the office.
Saying,
“Forcing a return under these conditions risks re-traumatizing staff by exposing them to the reminders of the horrific shooting they endured.” []
As for the shooter himself, he was identified as 30 year old Patrick Joseph White.
He lived with his parents in Kennesaw, Georgia and his neighbors described him as a quiet man who often picked up odd jobs around the community like trimming hedges or walking dogs. []
But he’d reportedly recently become unsettled and fixated on vaccines - with his father saying he’d recently taken serious issue with the Covid-19 vaccine specifically. []
With White reportedly believing the vaccine made him depressed and suicidal.
And one of his neighbors told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that White would bring up vaccines unprompted and in unrelated conversation - saying,
“He very deeply believed that vaccines hurt him and were hurting other people.”
“I had no idea he thought he would take it out on the CDC.” []
That sentiment is what brings us to the latest update to this story - the American Federation of Government Employees is calling for the federal government to provide a statement condemning vaccine disinformation.
With the union saying that Friday’s attack wasn’t random and, quote, “compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured.”
And the union argues that a statement from the government is needed in order to protect CDC staff and scientists from violence - adding,
“Their leadership is critical in reinforcing public trust and ensuring that accurate, science-based information prevails.”
There are some - including a group of laid off CDC employees that have organized under the banner of Fired but Fighting - who are laying the blame for the vilification of the CDC and their staff on RFK Jr.
“Kennedy is directly responsible for the villainization of CDC’s workforce through his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety, which have fueled a climate of hostility and mistrust.”
“We don’t need thoughts and prayers. We need an administration that does not villainize federal workers who are just trying to do their job. We need a HHS Secretary who does not promote misinformation about science and vaccines.”
As of now, the investigation into this situation is still ongoing - with law enforcement still piecing together what led up to the shooting.
As well as an official motive.
So while we wait for more information and any response to the union’s call for a statement, I’ll pass the question off to you.
What are your thoughts here?
Let me know in those comments down below.
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Is Vladimir Putin manipulating Donal Trump to get out of new sanctions and tariffs while continuing his war in Ukraine?
Almost definitely, but the question is, will Trump fall for it?
Right, the pair is set to meet in Alaska on Friday.
And Putin has reportedly told the White House he’ll end the war if he can just keep all the territory he’s taken – plus a little extra – knowing damn well Ukraine is all but certain to reject that offer.
With him perhaps hoping he can get Trump back to thinking Zelensky is standing in the way of peace and, in doing so, keep waging the war he really started over a decade ago.
Right, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 (BROLL 0:13-0:18)
And in 2022, a few months after invading again, Putin announced the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia (Doe-netsk, Loo-honsk, Hair-sawn, Zah-poh-REE-zhuh – LINK TO AUDIO IN COMMENT) despite not actually having conquered all of them.
And in fact, after more than three years of war, he still hasn’t.
Russia has control over only around one-fifth of Ukraine – including all of Loo-honsk and most of Doe-netsk – which together make up the area known as Donbas (Don-bass).
And it has also taken large parts of Hair-sawn and Zah-poh-REE-zhuhalong with small parts of Kharkiv and Sumy (Har-keev and Soo-may).
Ukraine, notably, seized about 500 square miles of Russian territory in a shock offensive launched last year – hoping to use the land as a bargaining chip in potential peace talks (BROLL: 1:44-1:44, 0:16-0:18)
But now it’s hanging on to just about 4 square miles.
And since Trump returned to the White House, Putin has only ramped up his attacks on Ukraine.
In fact, Russia has more than doubled the number of missiles and drones it has fired monthly into Ukraine since January. []
But last week, Putin met with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and told him Russia would agree to a complete cease-fire if Ukraine agreed to withdraw all its forces from the Donetsk region (BROLL: 0:16-0:20).
This would leave Russia in control of Donbas – and it’s not entirely clear what would happen in the other regions where Russia controls territory.
Witkoff, however, reportedly told European officials that the Russian proposal included two phases.
The first phase would involve not only Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donetsk but also the freezing of the front lines.
And the second phase would involve Putin and Trump agreeing on a final peace plan that would later be negotiated with Zelensky. []
With one US official telling the Wall Street Journal Putin would negotiate land swaps with Ukraine, aiming to take full control over the four regions it said it annexed in 2022.
And of course, it’s not clear which territory Ukraine would receive in return. []
Also, notably, the proposal reportedly didn’t directly address Ukraine’s demand for security guarantees.
You just had Putin saying his government would pass legislation pledging not to attack Ukraine or Europe – which really isn’t all that reassuring coming from a guy like him. []
But either way, the territory Putin’s asking for? It kind of makes the deal dead in the water.
Right, Ukrainian and European officials have repeatedly rejected the idea of giving up more territory or recognizing Russian control over the territory it has seized.
And in fact, Ukraine’s constitution prohibits Zelensky from unilaterally authorizing territorial changes. []
Which Zelensky pointed out in a series of posts on X over the weekend, also arguing that Ukraine must be a part of any negotiation to end the war, writing:
“Any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not achieve anything.” []
“The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question already is in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will deviate from this—and no one will be able to. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier.” []
But with that, Trump is not only set to meet with Putin alone on Friday – he’s also already said that “There’ll be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both.”
And while JD Vance has said the US is working to set up a three-way meeting that also includes Zelensky, we’ve seen no sign Putin has any real interest in that.
And so in the meantime, Europeans are pushing to be consulted, worry that Putin is playing Trump.
Right, notably, Friday? It was actually the deadline Trump set for Putin to either cut a ceasefire deal or face sanctions targeting the Russian economy – including possible secondary sanctions on countries that do business with Russia.
And while Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, largely due to India being a major importer of Russian oil, it seems Putin’s offer and willingness to meet have delayed the deadline.
And he now may have a chance to try and drive a wedge between the US and Ukraine by making demands that he knows Ukraine cannot accept and then casting Zelensky as the obstacle to peace
And so in another series of posts over the weekend you had Zelensky trying to tell Trump that while also not pissing him off, writing:
“I have not heard any partners express doubts about America's ability to ensure that the war ends. The President of the United States has the levers and the determination. Ukraine has supported all of President Trump’s proposals, starting back in February. Ceasefire, all formats have been supported.” []
“Everyone clearly sees Putin’s tactics. He fears sanctions and is doing everything to bail on them. He wants to exchange a pause in the war, in the killings, for the legalization of the occupation of our land – he wants to get territorial spoils for the second time.” []
With Zelenksy also saying in his evening address to the nation last night.
“We understand the Russians’ intention to try to deceive America — we will not allow this.”
“I greatly appreciate the determination of President Trump to stop the deaths in war. But the only root cause of these killings is Putin’s desire to fight and manipulate everyone he comes into contact with.”
But of course, for now, we’ll have to wait and see where this all leads in the next few days and what ultimately happens at this summit in Alaska.
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U.S. experts say a Chinese tech firm has built an AI-powered propaganda machine - and it may be coming for your feed next
Right, two professors at Vanderbilt University Institute of National Security named Brett Goldstein and Brett Benson recently published an op-ed in the New York Times on the subject.
Specifically, they say that they have recently uncovered a bunch of documents that show a Chinese company called GoLaxy is at the head of a technologically advanced, state-aligned influence campaign to use humanlike bot networks and psychological profiling to target individuals.
With the big thing here being the killer combo of generative AI and mountains of personal data.
According to the Bretts, the documents say GoLaxy’s systems work by continually mining social media platforms to build dynamic psychological profiles and then customizing content to a person’s values, beliefs, emotional tendencies, and vulnerabilities.
From there, AI personas can engage users in what appears to be an authentic conversation that adapts in real time to avoid detection.
We’re talking liking posts, leaving comments, and pushing targeted content just like a real person.
With the op-ed reading,
“The result is a highly efficient propaganda engine that’s designed to be nearly indistinguishable from legitimate online interaction, delivered instantaneously at a scale never before achieved.”
With Axios reporting on this situation and laying out the risk in plain English - saying,
“The threat of smarter, more realistic fake friends transcends malicious actors trying to warp your sense of politics - or reality. It hits your most personal inner thoughts and struggles.” []
The Bretts go on to say that GoLaxy has already deployed this technology in Hong Kong and they say the documents suggest plans to do the same in the US. []
While they don’t provide any examples of conversations, they say that this tech was used to minimize opposition to a 2020 national security law that cracked down on political dissent in Hong Kong.
Then again in the lead-up to the 2024 Taiwanese election - with the Bretts saying that during the campaign, GoLaxy suggested ways to undermine Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, which opposes China’s claims over the island.
The company gathered and likely supplied information on trends in Taiwanese debate and recommended the deployment of bot networks to exploit political divisions between the parties.
Of course, GoLaxy denies providing any tech support for activities in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
And a rep from the company says that GoLaxy is focused on business intelligence and they deny the accusations in the op-ed.
As well as claiming that they are not under the authority of any government agency or organization.
Though the op-ed claims there are several connections that are too glaring to ignore.
Including their operation within China’s national security priorities; their founding happening back in 2010 at the state-controlled Chinese Academy of Sciences; along with their continued work with top intelligence, party, and military bodies.
Not to mention that in 2021, it started receiving funding from a Beijing-based supercomputing firm that the Pentagon had previously flagged as a Chinese military affiliate.
And there’s a noted risk here because as a Harvard Business Review study from earlier this year pointed out, the number one use for chat-based generative AI is therapy and companionship.
Which, as Axios reports, lines up with what the big AI companies are finding - people are turning to AI in search of buddies and shrinks. []
And with that comes its own avalanche of issues - namely being more vulnerable to tech like what the Bretts are warning about.
Which goes into how their op-ed closes out - encouraging the US to take action on all fronts.
Saying researchers need to map how artificial intelligence, open-source intelligence, and online influence campaigns converge to serve hostile state objectives;
the private sector needs to ramp up AI detection tools;
and the federal government needs to work on identifying and countering false profiles like this while also disrupting the infrastructure behind these operations. []
And then there’s the individual level - you as the user need to be vigilant with your friends lists and what you share online.
Remember that right now is the worst AI is ever going to be - it’s only going to get harder to detect and become more widely used as time goes on.
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Is Vladimir Putin manipulating Donal Trump to get out of new sanctions and tariffs while continuing his war in Ukraine?
Almost definitely, but the question is, will Trump fall for it?
Right, the pair is set to meet in Alaska on Friday.
And Putin has reportedly told the White House he’ll end the war if he can just keep all the territory he’s taken – plus a little extra – knowing damn well Ukraine is all but certain to reject that offer.
With him perhaps hoping he can get Trump back to thinking Zelensky is standing in the way of peace and, in doing so, keep waging the war he really started over a decade ago.
Right, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 (BROLL 0:13-0:18)
And in 2022, a few months after invading again, Putin announced the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia (Doe-netsk, Loo-honsk, Hair-sawn, Zah-poh-REE-zhuh – LINK TO AUDIO IN COMMENT) despite not actually having conquered all of them.
And in fact, after more than three years of war, he still hasn’t.
Russia has control over only around one-fifth of Ukraine – including all of Loo-honsk and most of Doe-netsk – which together make up the area known as Donbas (Don-bass).
And it has also taken large parts of Hair-sawn and Zah-poh-REE-zhuhalong with small parts of Kharkiv and Sumy (Har-keev and Soo-may).
Ukraine, notably, seized about 500 square miles of Russian territory in a shock offensive launched last year – hoping to use the land as a bargaining chip in potential peace talks (BROLL: 1:44-1:44, 0:16-0:18)
But now it’s hanging on to just about 4 square miles.
And since Trump returned to the White House, Putin has only ramped up his attacks on Ukraine.
In fact, Russia has more than doubled the number of missiles and drones it has fired monthly into Ukraine since January. []
But last week, Putin met with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and told him Russia would agree to a complete cease-fire if Ukraine agreed to withdraw all its forces from the Donetsk region (BROLL: 0:16-0:20).
This would leave Russia in control of Donbas – and it’s not entirely clear what would happen in the other regions where Russia controls territory.
Witkoff, however, reportedly told European officials that the Russian proposal included two phases.
The first phase would involve not only Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donetsk but also the freezing of the front lines.
And the second phase would involve Putin and Trump agreeing on a final peace plan that would later be negotiated with Zelensky. []
With one US official telling the Wall Street Journal Putin would negotiate land swaps with Ukraine, aiming to take full control over the four regions it said it annexed in 2022.
And of course, it’s not clear which territory Ukraine would receive in return. []
Also, notably, the proposal reportedly didn’t directly address Ukraine’s demand for security guarantees.
You just had Putin saying his government would pass legislation pledging not to attack Ukraine or Europe – which really isn’t all that reassuring coming from a guy like him. []
But either way, the territory Putin’s asking for? It kind of makes the deal dead in the water.
Right, Ukrainian and European officials have repeatedly rejected the idea of giving up more territory or recognizing Russian control over the territory it has seized.
And in fact, Ukraine’s constitution prohibits Zelensky from unilaterally authorizing territorial changes. []
Which Zelensky pointed out in a series of posts on X over the weekend, also arguing that Ukraine must be a part of any negotiation to end the war, writing:
“Any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not achieve anything.” []
“The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question already is in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will deviate from this—and no one will be able to. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier.” []
But with that, Trump is not only set to meet with Putin alone on Friday – he’s also already said that “There’ll be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both.”
And while JD Vance has said the US is working to set up a three-way meeting that also includes Zelensky, we’ve seen no sign Putin has any real interest in that.
And so in the meantime, Europeans are pushing to be consulted, worry that Putin is playing Trump.
Right, notably, Friday? It was actually the deadline Trump set for Putin to either cut a ceasefire deal or face sanctions targeting the Russian economy – including possible secondary sanctions on countries that do business with Russia.
And while Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, largely due to India being a major importer of Russian oil, it seems Putin’s offer and willingness to meet have delayed the deadline.
And he now may have a chance to try and drive a wedge between the US and Ukraine by making demands that he knows Ukraine cannot accept and then casting Zelensky as the obstacle to peace
And so in another series of posts over the weekend you had Zelensky trying to tell Trump that while also not pissing him off, writing:
“I have not heard any partners express doubts about America's ability to ensure that the war ends. The President of the United States has the levers and the determination. Ukraine has supported all of President Trump’s proposals, starting back in February. Ceasefire, all formats have been supported.” []
“Everyone clearly sees Putin’s tactics. He fears sanctions and is doing everything to bail on them. He wants to exchange a pause in the war, in the killings, for the legalization of the occupation of our land – he wants to get territorial spoils for the second time.” []
With Zelenksy also saying in his evening address to the nation last night.
“We understand the Russians’ intention to try to deceive America — we will not allow this.”
“I greatly appreciate the determination of President Trump to stop the deaths in war. But the only root cause of these killings is Putin’s desire to fight and manipulate everyone he comes into contact with.”
But of course, for now, we’ll have to wait and see where this all leads in the next few days and what ultimately happens at this summit in Alaska.
