Thomas
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blommethomas.bsky.social
Thomas
@blommethomas.bsky.social
200 followers 470 following 760 posts
Actief in Sales & Marketing. Fan van Standard Luik en brouwt af en toe een 🍺 op blommecaes.be
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blommethomas.bsky.social
Als je 1 iets leest vandaag, laat het dan dit zijn. Het is een heel, heel, heel goed stuk: www.wheresyoured.at/the-enshitti...
The Enshittifinancial Crisis
Soundtrack: Lynyrd Skynyrd — Free Bird This piece is over 19,000 words, and took me a great deal of writing and research. If you liked it, please subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, ...
www.wheresyoured.at
December 29, 2025 at 6:59 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Tegendraadse mening: misschien zal het missen van de AI/tech boom binnen 10 jaar net de winst van Europa blijken
edzitron.com Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 12h
Enshittification's first three stages - from a platform people love to a platform businesses profit off of to a platform that hurts consumers and businesses alike - are well-known. But I argue we're in a fourth stage where stocks have become enshittified too.
www.wheresyoured.at/the-enshitti...
Image Alt Text: We are watching one of the greatest wastes of money in history, all as people are told that there “just isn’t the money” to build things like housing, or provide Americans with universal healthcare, or better schools, or create the means for the average person to accumulate wealth. The money does exist, it just exists for those who want to gamble — private equity firms, “business development companies” that exist to give money to other companies, venture capitalists, and banks that are getting desperate and need an overnight shot of capital from the Federal Reserve’s Overnight Repurchase Facility or Discount Window, two worrying indicators of bank stress I’ll get into later. No, the money does not exist for you or me or a person. Money is for entities that could potentially funnel more money into the economy, even if the ways that these entities use the money are reckless and foolhardy, because the system’s intent on keeping entities alive incentivizes it. We are in an era where the average person is told to pull up their bootstraps, to work harder, to struggle more, because, as Martin Luther King Jr. once said, it’s socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor. The “free market” is a fucking con. When you or I run out of money, our things are taken from us, we receive increasingly-panicked letters, we get phone calls and texts and emails and demands, we are told that all will be lost if we don’t “work it out,” because the financial system is not about an exchange of value but whether or not you can enter into the currently agreed-upon con. By letting neoliberalism and the scourge of the free markets rule, modern society created the conditions for what I call The Enshittifinancial Crisis — the place at which my friend Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification Theory meets my own Rot Economy Thesis in a fourth stage of Enshittification. :In November 2025, Reuters revealed that Meta projected in late 2024 that 10% of its annual revenue ($16 billion) would come from advertisements for scams or banned goods, mere weeks after Meta announced a ridiculous $27 billion data center debt package, one that used deep accountancy magic to keep it off of its balance sheet despite Meta guaranteeing the entirety of the loan. One would think this would horrify investors for two reasons: Meta’s business is both supporting and profiting from organized crime, and at 10% of its revenue, it’s also kind of dependent on it. Meta is using deliberate and insidious accounting tricks to act like a data center that it is paying to build and will be the sole tenant of is somehow an “off balance sheet” operation. One would be wrong. Morgan Stanley said a few weeks ago that it is “one of the handful of companies that can leverage its leading data, distribution and investments in AI,” and raised its target to $750, with a $1000-a-share bull case. Wedbush raised Meta’s price to $920, and Bank of America staunchly held firm at…$810. I can find no analyst commentary on Meta making sixteen billion dollars on fraud, because it doesn’t matter to them, because this is the Rot Economy, and all that matters is number go up.
December 29, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by Thomas
zoandbehold.bsky.social
"And I never say no"

We need to have a serious talk about the way "AI companion" apps not only prey on the vulnerable, but are priming their users to ignore consent and to conflate love with control.

We need AI regulations across so many sectors, but this area is particularly horrifying.
December 28, 2025 at 6:20 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Met het einde van het jaar in zicht: wie moet ik hier op BlueSky zeker nog volgen voor wat meer plezier in 2026? (Nederlandstalig) #dtv #followsunday
December 28, 2025 at 10:39 AM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Blackberries met fysiek toetsenbord, de ronde navigatie knop in een wagen, een fysiek deurslot... Ik hoop echt dat ze terugkomen
wired.com WIRED @wired.com · 2d
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its…
wrd.cm
December 28, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Thomas
rechtuitgezegd.bsky.social
Wegens ziekte kunnen onze vrienden niet naar PairiDaiza gaan 😓
Iemand interesse in de tickets (voor volwassenen) aan korting?

Geldig tem 02/01
www.ticketswap.be/listing/pair...

En geldig tem 04/01

www.ticketswap.be/listing/pair...

RT is lief ❤️
Pairi Daiza
Op TicketSwap koop en verkoop je veilig, makkelijk en eerlijk tickets voor concerten, festivals, sportwedstrijden, theater en dagjes weg.
www.ticketswap.be
December 28, 2025 at 6:21 AM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Zo'n countdown doet me ook altijd wat dingen opzoeken op de fantastische tijdloze.rocks website. Ik kom er bv. achter dat Beach Boys en The Clash nog nooit in de top 100 hebben gestaan. Kennen jullie er zo nog? (van de echte classic groepen bedoel ik dan)
tijdloze.rocks
Statistieken en informatie over de Tijdloze 100, de allertijden-lijst van Studio Brussel
tijdloze.rocks
December 27, 2025 at 7:57 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Dat is toch ook een pipo eerste klas hoor. Een regering zonder Vlaamse meerderheid als oplossing? Dan moet ik aan Tindemans denken: de grondwet is geen vodje papier www.standaard.be/politiek/ahm...
Ahmed Laaouej: “2025 was een jaar van enorm veel tijdverlies”
Een jaar lang hield lokaal PS-kopstuk Ahmed Laaouej voet bij stuk: geen Brusselse regering met de N-VA. Nu de MR ook buitenspel staat, komt het spel helemaal zijn richting uit, en die van een centrumlinkse coalitie. “Sommigen beweerden dat ik per se minister-president wilde worden. Dat klopt dus niet.”
www.standaard.be
December 27, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Reposted by Thomas
edzitron.com
Premium: How The AI Bubble bursts in 2026 - The largest funder of AI data centers is pulling out, OpenAI and Anthropic need more money than ever during a massive VC liquidity crisis - and NVIDIA's debt-powered customer base is quietly shrinking.
www.wheresyoured.at/premium-how-...
Premium - How The AI Bubble Bursts In 2026
Hello and welcome to the final premium edition of Where's Your Ed At for the year. Since kicking off premium, we've had some incredible bangers that I recommend you revisit (or subscribe and read in t...
www.wheresyoured.at
December 22, 2025 at 5:38 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Slechts 2 clubs (degradatie kandidaten) scoren minder als Standard Liège. En toch staan we als bij mirakel op de 6de plaats 🙌 Al denk ik nu wel dat we na 30 speeldagen een paar plaatsen gaan zakken
December 21, 2025 at 9:11 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Cuba dreigt het kind van de rekening te worden. Ik was er in 2019, blijkbaar het laatste 'goede' jaar www.wsj.com/world/americ...
U.S. Oil Blockade of Venezuela Pushes Cuba Toward Collapse
Cuba’s economy, dependent on cheap Venezuelan oil for decades, now struggles to function as a result of the U.S. military’s buildup in the Caribbean and the sharp drop in oil shipments from Venezuela...
www.wsj.com
December 21, 2025 at 7:15 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Er is 1 en ander in beweging nu in de VS. Achter Trump zelf durven ze nog niet aan gaan, maar wie er net onder staat wel.
debpearlstein.bsky.social Deborah Pearlstein @debpearlstein.bsky.social · 8d
Wow. Last used ~1934, inherent contempt would in effect bring Bondi to trial in the House & by majority vote empower the House to put her in jail. Far more effective than other options (criminal referral to her own DOJ or endless civil litigation), it'd be a huge bipartsan stand against the Admin.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d
BRENNAN: What are you going to do to force DOJ to comply?

MASSIE: The quickest way and most expeditious way to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi. That doesn't require going through the courts. We're drafting that right now.
December 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
I'm out #whammageddon
December 21, 2025 at 2:14 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Dit dus.
maxbergmann.bsky.social Max Bergmann @maxbergmann.bsky.social · 11d
Just kinda shocked that they just said, f-it, and did the Eurobonds.

It will hardly be covered but that’s hugely important for the EU and Ukraine. EU crossed joint borrowing rubicon. They can just do it again, and again. There aren’t enough Euros in debt markets.
December 19, 2025 at 6:28 AM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Een gezamenlijke lening was altijd de beste oplossing. Alleen was het politiek lastig om het door een stemming te krijgen + permanent te maken. Historisch akkoord indien daar oplossing voor is, met consequenties die veel verder gaan als enkel Oekraïne
sandertordoir.bsky.social Sander Tordoir @sandertordoir.bsky.social · 11d
I have a lot of questions about this outcome. If common borrowing is viable because Hungary and Slovakia are on board then alright, but very curious on the plumbing for this.

But for after Xmas.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
December 19, 2025 at 6:22 AM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Dit gaat een flater van jewelste blijken. Ze stappen uit de markt net wanneer het momentum aan het kantelen is. In de VS kom je er misschien met hybride, maar je mag de Europese en Aziatische markt volledig vergeten www.wsj.com/business/aut...
Ford Takes $19.5 Billion Charge to Write Down EV Investments
The sum marks the U.S. auto industry’s biggest reckoning to date that it can’t realize its EV ambitions anytime soon.
www.wsj.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:22 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
"Sluit maar snel een deal, of ik haal mijn garanties van tafel!" Wat een farce
kyivindependent.com The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 14d
⚡️ Update: US reportedly offers 'Article 5-like' security guarantees to Ukraine.

Citing U.S. officials, Politico reported that Washington is ready to offer "Article 5-like" guarantees to Kyiv as part of a peace deal, though warning that such "guarantees will not be on the table forever."
Ukraine hails 'real progress' toward peace after talks with US envoys in Berlin
Kyiv and Washington made "real progress" toward peace in Ukraine during two-day talks in Berlin, top security official and negotiator Rustem Umerov said on Dec. 15.
kyivindependent.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:09 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Duikboot gezonken 🌊💥
specialkhersoncat.bsky.social 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 @specialkhersoncat.bsky.social · 14d
First Combat Use of Underwater Kamikaze Drones: Russian Kilo class Submarine Disabled in Novorossiysk

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has carried out a special operation in the port of Novorossiysk, marking the first-ever combat use of underwater kamikaze drones.
December 15, 2025 at 6:40 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
6 miljard aan stock compensaties... Schrijf maar op: volgend jaar zijn ze failliet. Dit feestje kan niet blijven duren.
December 14, 2025 at 7:17 AM
blommethomas.bsky.social
#karma it's a lonely world als je al je vrienden laat vallen
December 13, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Reposted by Thomas
matthewdownhour.bsky.social
So, El Fasher looks like one of the worst single event atrocities to happen this century so far, but the evidence has come in such a trickle it seems to only now be getting verified
At least 60,000 murdered in Sudanese city, which resembles ‘a slaughterhouse’
Satellite evidence shows extent of paramilitary massacre in El Fasher
www.irishtimes.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Reposted by Thomas
peark.es
*US SEIZES OIL TANKER OFF THE COAST OF VENEZUELA
December 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Thomas
garius.bsky.social
One of my fave niche history facts is how many loaded pistols your average highwayman had during a hold up.

We're talking four minimum on his saddle, then at least two in his belt. Ideally three or four.

Because fuck trying to reload a 17th century pistol on horseback that's why.
December 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Reposted by Thomas
aphclarkson.bsky.social
Americans will demand that Europe does more to rearm and then complain when Europeans ignore an America they no longer need.
kevinrothrock.me Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · 20d
It ain't just Trump, folks. NYT says it's time to pony up, U.S. allies: "A more secure world will almost certainly require more military commitment from allies like Canada, Japan, and Europe, which have long relied on American taxpayers to bankroll their protection." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | Overmatched: Why the U.S. Military Must Reinvent Itself
Investing in the old ways of war leaves America at risk.
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
blommethomas.bsky.social
Hoe zwakker Trump staat in eigen land, hoe harder hij een akkoord nodig heeft tussen de Russen en Oekraïne. De enige met een zwakke positie in dit hele verhaal is hijzelf
December 9, 2025 at 5:44 PM