Karsten Lemm
@lemmk.bsky.social
Business & Technology writer. Former Californian, now in Berlin. Details -> www.kalemm.com
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
My obit for DOGE points out that in the end it didn’t even save money. It did kill 430,000 children, though. If the goal was to eliminate foreigners, DOGE was a stunning success. About 64 expired for every AID employee fired or placed on administrative leave.
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
DOGE May Be Dead, But Its Crimes Live On
A now-abolished agency that never was did a remarkable amount of damage—including, surprisingly, to the budget deficit.
newrepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:43 PM
My obit for DOGE points out that in the end it didn’t even save money. It did kill 430,000 children, though. If the goal was to eliminate foreigners, DOGE was a stunning success. About 64 expired for every AID employee fired or placed on administrative leave.
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
AI tools are already supercharging cyberattacks. Could chatbots enable a “golden age” for hackers? Matteo Wong reports:
Chatbots Are Becoming Really, Really Good Criminals
Cybersecurity was already a nightmare. Now comes AI.
bit.ly
November 25, 2025 at 9:00 PM
AI tools are already supercharging cyberattacks. Could chatbots enable a “golden age” for hackers? Matteo Wong reports:
“Dmitriev: No, look. I think we’ll just make this paper from our position, and I’ll informally pass it along, making it clear that it’s all informal. And let them do like their own.”
Read a transcript of an Oct. 29 phone call between Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s most senior foreign-policy adviser, and Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to the Russian president
Putin Advisers Discuss Plans for Dealing With Trump: Transcript
The following is a transcript of an Oct. 29 phone call between Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s most senior foreign-policy adviser, and Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to the Russian president.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 9:41 PM
“Dmitriev: No, look. I think we’ll just make this paper from our position, and I’ll informally pass it along, making it clear that it’s all informal. And let them do like their own.”
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
Read a transcript of an Oct. 29 phone call between Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s most senior foreign-policy adviser, and Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to the Russian president
Putin Advisers Discuss Plans for Dealing With Trump: Transcript
The following is a transcript of an Oct. 29 phone call between Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s most senior foreign-policy adviser, and Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to the Russian president.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Read a transcript of an Oct. 29 phone call between Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s most senior foreign-policy adviser, and Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to the Russian president
Next: We learn that his real name is Vitkovsky…
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Next: We learn that his real name is Vitkovsky…
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
OpenAI merges ChatGPT's voice mode directly into the main text chat interface by default; users can still switch back to the original, separate voice mode (Zac Hall/9to5Mac)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
November 25, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Today’s painful pun award goes to an @economist.com colleague who just couldn’t resist… 👇
www.economist.com/who-will-win...
www.economist.com/who-will-win...
November 25, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Today’s painful pun award goes to an @economist.com colleague who just couldn’t resist… 👇
www.economist.com/who-will-win...
www.economist.com/who-will-win...
If Trump were the president of my country I’d probably be praying too…
Trump: "We have more people praying. The churches are coming back. I don't know if you've been reading that story but religion is coming back to America."
November 25, 2025 at 5:34 PM
If Trump were the president of my country I’d probably be praying too…
“Why Google’s Soaring Stock Is Defying Fears of an AI Bubble
…
Google is making important strides in the AI race while also keeping its core business humming.” ( @wsj.com )
Reminds me of Web 2.0 when Facebook was supposed to be the Google killer.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
…
Google is making important strides in the AI race while also keeping its core business humming.” ( @wsj.com )
Reminds me of Web 2.0 when Facebook was supposed to be the Google killer.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
Why Google’s Soaring Stock Is Defying Fears of an AI Bubble
A lot of value was unlocked when the company beat back the government’s breakup efforts. Now, Google is making strides in the AI race while its core business offers it financial flexibility.
www.wsj.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:13 PM
“Why Google’s Soaring Stock Is Defying Fears of an AI Bubble
…
Google is making important strides in the AI race while also keeping its core business humming.” ( @wsj.com )
Reminds me of Web 2.0 when Facebook was supposed to be the Google killer.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
…
Google is making important strides in the AI race while also keeping its core business humming.” ( @wsj.com )
Reminds me of Web 2.0 when Facebook was supposed to be the Google killer.
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
I haven’t opened Safari in months. Orion is far superior, not least because of the seamless integration of Kagi search & AI features (like summarizer).
Highly recommended as a Chromium/Firefox alternative.
Highly recommended as a Chromium/Firefox alternative.
After six years of relentless development, Orion for MacOS 1.0 is here: blog.kagi.com/orion
Also: Orion for Linux is currently in Alpha, and Orion for Windows has officially started development with a target launch for late 2026.
Orion also has a dedicated website now: orionbrowser.com
Also: Orion for Linux is currently in Alpha, and Orion for Windows has officially started development with a target launch for late 2026.
Orion also has a dedicated website now: orionbrowser.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I haven’t opened Safari in months. Orion is far superior, not least because of the seamless integration of Kagi search & AI features (like summarizer).
Highly recommended as a Chromium/Firefox alternative.
Highly recommended as a Chromium/Firefox alternative.
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
After six years of relentless development, Orion for MacOS 1.0 is here: blog.kagi.com/orion
Also: Orion for Linux is currently in Alpha, and Orion for Windows has officially started development with a target launch for late 2026.
Orion also has a dedicated website now: orionbrowser.com
Also: Orion for Linux is currently in Alpha, and Orion for Windows has officially started development with a target launch for late 2026.
Orion also has a dedicated website now: orionbrowser.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
After six years of relentless development, Orion for MacOS 1.0 is here: blog.kagi.com/orion
Also: Orion for Linux is currently in Alpha, and Orion for Windows has officially started development with a target launch for late 2026.
Orion also has a dedicated website now: orionbrowser.com
Also: Orion for Linux is currently in Alpha, and Orion for Windows has officially started development with a target launch for late 2026.
Orion also has a dedicated website now: orionbrowser.com
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
Newsletter: Crypto’s latest “infinite money machine” is the digital asset treasury company — a publicly traded firm that exists primarily to accumulate crypto. For a while, these stocks traded at hefty premiums to the underlying assets. But now, the trade is unraveling.
Digital asset treasury companies are running out of steam
Convincing traders to pay $2 for $1 of bitcoin worked — for a while. As premiums evaporate, an unwind could be painful.
www.citationneeded.news
November 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Newsletter: Crypto’s latest “infinite money machine” is the digital asset treasury company — a publicly traded firm that exists primarily to accumulate crypto. For a while, these stocks traded at hefty premiums to the underlying assets. But now, the trade is unraveling.
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
VW is now admitting that "in China for China", its motto of the past years, is really "in China for the World" (minus the US). Not a good recipe for German jobs and the broader economy.
www.ft.com/content/b772...
www.ft.com/content/b772...
VW says it can halve EV development costs with ‘Made in China’ car
German automaker is seeking to reclaim share in the world’s biggest market
www.ft.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:18 AM
VW is now admitting that "in China for China", its motto of the past years, is really "in China for the World" (minus the US). Not a good recipe for German jobs and the broader economy.
www.ft.com/content/b772...
www.ft.com/content/b772...
Big Tech pushes #AI everywhere as productivity booster – and Big Tech (here: Cisco) urges everybody to update their routers etc. NOW!
Because AI everywhere happens to be a #security risk.
#economy #investing
www.wired.com/story/cisco-...
Because AI everywhere happens to be a #security risk.
#economy #investing
www.wired.com/story/cisco-...
With the Rise of AI, Cisco Sounds an Urgent Alarm About the Risks of Aging Tech
Generative AI is making it even easier for attackers to exploit old and often forgotten network equipment. Replacing it takes investment, but Cisco is making the case that it’s worth it.
www.wired.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Big Tech pushes #AI everywhere as productivity booster – and Big Tech (here: Cisco) urges everybody to update their routers etc. NOW!
Because AI everywhere happens to be a #security risk.
#economy #investing
www.wired.com/story/cisco-...
Because AI everywhere happens to be a #security risk.
#economy #investing
www.wired.com/story/cisco-...
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
For years, geoengineering—artificially lowering global temperatures through technological means—has been met with skepticism. But the progression of climate change has pushed many scientists to seriously consider the strategy, Alexander C. Kaufman writes:
Who’s Ready to Think About Blocking Out the Sun?
The idea of artificially lowering the planet’s temperature is gaining supporters and hitting political opposition.
bit.ly
November 24, 2025 at 5:15 PM
For years, geoengineering—artificially lowering global temperatures through technological means—has been met with skepticism. But the progression of climate change has pushed many scientists to seriously consider the strategy, Alexander C. Kaufman writes:
“This is the final post-truthification of a platform that long ago pivoted toward a maxim used by the journalist Peter Pomerantsev to refer to post-Soviet Russia: Nothing is true and everything is possible.” 👇
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:43 PM
“This is the final post-truthification of a platform that long ago pivoted toward a maxim used by the journalist Peter Pomerantsev to refer to post-Soviet Russia: Nothing is true and everything is possible.” 👇
“…Musk may have revealed that the platform he’s long called “the number 1 source of news on Earth” is really just a worthless, poisoned hall of mirrors.” 👇
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:41 PM
“…Musk may have revealed that the platform he’s long called “the number 1 source of news on Earth” is really just a worthless, poisoned hall of mirrors.” 👇
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
Reposted by Karsten Lemm
The World’s Most Militarized Economies by Three Metrics 🪖
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-most-militarized-economies-by-three-metrics/
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-most-militarized-economies-by-three-metrics/
November 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The World’s Most Militarized Economies by Three Metrics 🪖
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-most-militarized-economies-by-three-metrics/
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-most-militarized-economies-by-three-metrics/
Too many #AI startups have relied on a “fake it until you make it” strategy, @wsj.com says.
“The hustle rests on one basic flaw in the current approach: Providing AI services costs more than customers pay, so the more customers companies attract, the more they lose.”
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
“The hustle rests on one basic flaw in the current approach: Providing AI services costs more than customers pay, so the more customers companies attract, the more they lose.”
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
AI Investors Want More Making It and Less Faking It
The artificial-intelligence industry took Silicon Valley’s hustle mentality to an extreme—and investors are catching on.
www.wsj.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Too many #AI startups have relied on a “fake it until you make it” strategy, @wsj.com says.
“The hustle rests on one basic flaw in the current approach: Providing AI services costs more than customers pay, so the more customers companies attract, the more they lose.”
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
“The hustle rests on one basic flaw in the current approach: Providing AI services costs more than customers pay, so the more customers companies attract, the more they lose.”
www.wsj.com/finance/stoc...
“Trump seems to repeat the mistakes that Putin already made several times, underestimating the strength of Ukrainian society…” analyst Niko Lange tells @wsj.com
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
For a Weakened Zelensky, Yielding to Trump Is Riskier Than Defiance
With most Ukrainians rejecting a surrender, he would court a crisis with his own military if he accepted major concessions to Russia.
www.wsj.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:42 AM
“Trump seems to repeat the mistakes that Putin already made several times, underestimating the strength of Ukrainian society…” analyst Niko Lange tells @wsj.com
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
www.wsj.com/world/europe...
And so the pendulum swings back again…
Score one for lung #cancer.
#smoking #influencers #culture
www.wsj.com/style/fashio...
Score one for lung #cancer.
#smoking #influencers #culture
www.wsj.com/style/fashio...
Celebrities Are Making Smoking Cigarettes Cool Again
Cigarettes are resurfacing in pop music and movies, raising fears that a yearslong decline in smoking rates could reverse.
www.wsj.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:36 AM
And so the pendulum swings back again…
Score one for lung #cancer.
#smoking #influencers #culture
www.wsj.com/style/fashio...
Score one for lung #cancer.
#smoking #influencers #culture
www.wsj.com/style/fashio...
“Magician forgets password to his own hand after RFID chip implant”
Story of our times.
Via @charlesarthur.bsky.social
theoverspill.wordpress.com/meta-researc...
www.theregister.com/2025/11/21/m...
Story of our times.
Via @charlesarthur.bsky.social
theoverspill.wordpress.com/meta-researc...
www.theregister.com/2025/11/21/m...
Magician loses password to his hand after RFID chip implant
: Storing credentials safely and securely is the real trick
www.theregister.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:59 AM
“Magician forgets password to his own hand after RFID chip implant”
Story of our times.
Via @charlesarthur.bsky.social
theoverspill.wordpress.com/meta-researc...
www.theregister.com/2025/11/21/m...
Story of our times.
Via @charlesarthur.bsky.social
theoverspill.wordpress.com/meta-researc...
www.theregister.com/2025/11/21/m...