As Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and their peers have grown richer and more influential, Gil Durán argues they have all but abandoned democracy – and found the perfect government to enable them
In April, Gil Durán was permanently banned from Elon Musk’s X for posting just two words. Durán was responding to a post from the tech company Palantir outlining its 22‑point “technological manifesto”, which praised American “hard power”, western culture and AI weapons, denounced inclusivity and called for compulsory national service. Durán responded: “TLDR: Fascism” (TLDR is short for “too long, didn’t read”).
Durán didn’t break any of X’s written rules, he points out over a video call from San Francisco – so much for Musk’s “free-speech absolutism”. His ban might just have had something to do with his preceding tweet, showing the cover of his new book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy. The book’s central argument is that big tech is no longer our friend, as many of its billionaire owners have seized economic and political control and are steering the fate of the planet towards their own bizarre, apocalyptic visions.
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© Photograph: Winni Wintermeyer/The Guardian
© Photograph: Winni Wintermeyer/The Guardian
© Photograph: Winni Wintermeyer/The Guardian
Lord Sumption was a hero during Covid, standing up against the pandemic tyranny. But his recent attempt to paint Donald Trump as a despot of totalitarian bent couldn't be wider of the mark, says Professor James Allan.
The post Lord Sumption is Wrong: Trump is No Despot appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Cult classic Japanese monster films offer an unusual map of Trump-era politics.Em sua rede social (a Truth Social), o presidente dos Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, afirmou que investigará as multas cobradas pela União Europeia contra empresas de tecnologia americanas (como a Apple, a Amazon, o Google e a Meta) acusadas pelo bloco de terem violado a Lei dos Mercados Digitais (Digital Markets Act, ou DMA).
Na declaração, Trump prometeu reverter as penalidades financeiras aplicadas às empresas estadunidenses sancionando tarifas contra a UE. Ele também aproveitou a oportunidade para alfinetar o ex-presidente do país, Joe Biden:
A União Europeia atacou de novo e, como de costume, mirou diretamente nas GRANDES empresas americanas! Depois de multar a Apple, sem motivo aparente, em US$15 bilhões, a Meta em US$3 bilhões, a Amazon em US$2,5 bilhões, e muitas outras, nós acabamos de ser informados que o Google, um grupo fantástico e realmente avançado, acabou de receber outra multa de US$1 bilhão, sem explicação. Isso leva o total do Google para mais de US$18 bilhões!
Essa prática ilegal e altamente discriminatória começou nesses níveis elevados durante o primeiro ano da administração do dorminhoco Joe Biden, mas não continuará durante a administração Trump.
Os Estados Unidos da América não são um “COFRINHO” da Europa, e nós não vamos permitir que sejam!
Que esta VERDADE sirva para representar que vamos iniciar imediatamente uma investigação da Seção 301 1Lei americana de comércio que investiga práticas tributárias ou sanções injustas de outros países contra os EUA. sobre essa prática de “ROUBAR” empresas americanas e, por consequência, o contribuinte americano.
A União Europeia vai pagar caro por essa conduta ilegal e altamente antiética, sobre a qual venho alertando-os de maneira consistente. As penalidades serão inteiramente revertidas e, como esperamos, TARIFAS substanciais serão aplicadas contra eles assim que possível. Fiquem ligados!
Presidente DONALD J. TRUMP
Não é a primeira vez que o mandatário dos EUA critica a maneira como a UE penaliza as empresas americanas: em 2025, ainda recém-empossado, ele não apenas criticou essas práticas, como alegou que as multas eram, na verdade, pretextos para uma retaliação tributária e “injusta”.
Vale lembrar que o segundo mandato de Trump foi endossado de maneira reputacional e monetária por praticamente todas as empresas citadas na declaração — especialmente o CEO 2Chief executive officer, ou diretor executivo. da Apple, Tim Cook, que ajudou a financiar a cerimônia de inauguração do seu governo.
via MacRumors
The European Union is at it again and, as usual, taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies! After having fined Apple, for no reason at all, 15 Billion Dollars, Meta, 3 Billion Dollars, Amazon 2.5 Billion Dollars, and many others, we have just been informed that Google, a truly advanced and amazing group, has been fined yet another 1 Billion Dollars, without explanation. This brings the Google total to over 18 Billion Dollars! This illegal and highly discriminatory practice started at these high levels during the first year of the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, but it's not going to continue during the Trump Administration. The United States of America is not a "PIGGYBANK" for Europe, nor will we allow it to be! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that we will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of "ROBBING" American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer. The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about. The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment.
O governo dos Estados Unidos aplicou uma tarifa de 10% para importações de cerca de 60 países, incluindo alguns dos territórios onde os produtos da Apple são montados.
Resultado de uma investigação conduzida pelo Representante de Comércio dos Estados Unidos (United States Trade Representative, ou USTR) sobre o possível uso de trabalho forçado na produção de bens, as novas medidas tributárias entram em vigor hoje, substituindo a tarifa geral de 10% sobre importações imposta pela administração de Donald Trump, que deixou de valer após decisão da Suprema Corte americana.
O memorando publicado pela Casa Branca prevê algumas exceções à aplicabilidade do imposto, isentando itens que causam impactos econômicos generalizados caso sejam tarifados, além de produtos que não possam ser produzidos em quantidade suficiente ou a preços competitivos nos EUA — o que hipoteticamente poderia ser uma brecha para a Apple, que poderia argumentar não ter capacidade de realocar a sua cadeia de suprimentos para o território americano sem comprometer os preços praticados.
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O documento ainda prevê isenção das tarifas para produtos em que a medida não contribui de forma significativa para eliminar as práticas que motivaram sua elaboração.
É difícil afirmar com precisão como isso impactará os produtos da Apple, mas no âmbito das empresas impactadas pela medida, estão as operações da Foxconn, uma das principais parceiras da Maçã na montagem dos seus produtos. A empresa, vale lembrar, foi denunciada em 2025 por apresentar más condições de trabalho aos seus empregados durante a produção do iPhone 17, acarretando investigações das denúncias por parte da própria Apple.
Por tudo isso, é razoável afirmar que as isenções não deverão se aplicar aos produtos da Apple de imediato — e o CEO 1Chief executive officer, ou diretor executivo. da empresa, Tim Cook, poderá ter que entrar em campo novamente para negociar novos termos com o presidente Trump, antes mesmo de deixar o cargo para John Ternus.
via AppleInsider
‘Ratepayer Protection Pledge’ president has touted is non-binding as people continue to struggle with rising bills
Donald Trump has announced that about 200 entities have signed on to his non-binding “Ratepayer Protection Pledge”, expanding a voluntary commitment which claims to ensure US consumers will not bear the cost of the AI datacenter build-out.
Trump delivered remarks on Thursday at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters, alongside Lee Zeldin, the agency’s administrator, and Chris Wright, the energy secretary. Other attenders included governors who signed on to the pledge, including Brian Kemp of Georgia, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Spencer Cox of Utah and Jeff Landry of Louisiana.
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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
Donald Trump approves agreement to help country make fuel for civilian nuclear programme
Donald Trump signed a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that could enable the kingdom to enrich its own uranium for nuclear reactions.
The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, signed “a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement” and “an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement,” according to a statement from the US Department of Energy.
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© Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images
© Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images
© Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Diplomats say de-escalation talks continue as Trump vows retaliation over US soldier deaths
The US military said it has launched its 10th consecutive round of strikes on Iran to force the reopening of the strait of Hormuz.
Earlier on Monday, Iran’s president said the country is in a “full-scale war” after the US expanded its aerial campaign and Tehran struck Washington’s Gulf allies, even as diplomats said talks to de-escalate were continuing.
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© Photograph: US Central Command (CENTCOM)/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: US Central Command (CENTCOM)/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: US Central Command (CENTCOM)/AFP/Getty Images
The entrepreneur is known in Washington as the financial power behind the president’s crypto fortune. How did Sun’s business love-in with the Trump family spiral into dueling lawsuits?
The most infamous financial scandal in US presidential history – the 1920s Teapot Dome affair – involved then president Warren G Harding’s interior secretary, Albert Fall, taking roughly $400,000 in bribes. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $6m today. Last year, Donald Trump made at least $2.2bn; his single year of income is on the order of 200 to 300 times larger than the bribe that defined “presidential corruption” in the American imagination for a century.
It’s taken for granted that Trump flogs items like Bibles and gold sneakers as a way to wring more money from his loyal base. But of the president’s $2.2bn, at least $1.4bn came from his crypto businesses. That’s an extraordinary achievement, even for an unscrupulous sitting president. How exactly did he do it without any prior background in crypto?
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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
AI-friendly president shared a post saying governor Kathy Hochul should scrap the one-year policy ‘IMMEDIATELY’
Donald Trump railed against the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, for pausing the construction of large new datacenters, the resource-intensive facilities that power artificial intelligence.
New York became the first US state to enact a moratorium on new datacenters on Tuesday, when Hochul signed an executive order mandating a one-year statewide pause on so-called “hyperscale” datacenters.
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© Photograph: Matt Roberts/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Matt Roberts/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Matt Roberts/Shutterstock
Workers proud of their efforts to grow renewable energy say US president pursuing ‘personal vendetta’ at their expense
Donald Trump has blamed everything – from “national security” issues, the deaths of birds and whales, and cancer – in his decades-long campaign against windfarms. But as the Trump administration continues to undermine the industry, what worries workers most are their jobs.
Since taking office for a second term, Trump has issued an executive order aiming to halt all wind-energy leases and permits, attempted to issue stop-work orders on wind projects under construction, and paid more than $2.6bn in settlements to buy out wind energy leases. And hundreds of workers have been affected.
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© Photograph: Al Drago/Getty Images
© Photograph: Al Drago/Getty Images
© Photograph: Al Drago/Getty Images
Kemi Badenoch, who joined US anti-abortion activists and European far-right parties at ARC, described energy secretary as a ‘villain’
Britain’s net zero policies and the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, have come under fire at a conference of conservatives, rightwing populists and wealthy US backers linked to Donald Trump.
The energy policies pursued by the British government were described as a “tragic mistake” by Trump’s energy secretary, one of a number of officials from the US administration attending the event.
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© Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA
© Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA
© Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA
An elderly Texas woman tragically died Friday after a man who told police he was relying on his Tesla Model 3’s automated driver-assistance mode lost control and crashed his car into her family’s home.
In a statement, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Ars that Michael Butler said that “he was operating with an automated driving-assistance system engaged at the time of the crash.” Police are currently investigating whether the autopilot feature in any way caused the crash but confirmed that Butler was not intoxicated and is cooperating, partly by helping cops understand how Tesla’s Autopilot feature works.
“Butler failed to drive in a single lane, left the roadway, and struck the residence” at a “high rate of speed,” the sheriff’s office said.
© via The Office of Constable Terry Allbritton on Facebook
The Reflecting Pool turned green days after a $14 million makeover.Bernie Sanders has unveiled an aggressive plan to transfer trillions from leading AI firms to the public, and, to the likely horror of AI firms, it goes even further than expected to give Americans more control over the AI industry.
Sanders shared a summary of his legislation with AP News. If passed, the law would create a sovereign wealth fund “financed through a one-time 50 percent tax on the stock of the largest AI companies,” AP News reported. Any AI firm that does $200 million in annual AI sales would be subject to the tax, as would any new firm once it reaches that revenue level.
In total, Sanders estimated the fund could be worth $7 trillion, generating “hundreds of billions of dollars annually in direct payments to Americans and programs such as health care, education and housing,” AP News reported. Each American would likely receive more than $1,000 annually in 5 percent annual dividends, Sanders estimated.
© Nuthawut Somsuk | iStock / Getty Images Plus
O Trump Phone não é o que parece e uma nova desmontagem da iFixit confirma o que muitos suspeitavam. Afinal, o smartphone é quase idêntico ao HTC U24 Pro, lançado em 2024.
The post Que segredos esconde o Trump Phone? Desmontagem confirma que não é tão novo (ou americano) quanto parece appeared first on Tek Notícias.
The federally commissioned review found no net health benefit from alcohol.
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