Paul Dempsey

Hack. Tech and politics in DC is better than tech and no politics in China

[Paul Dempsey @DempseyPaul]

"So hope for a great sea-change
On the far side of revenge.
Believe that farther shore
Is reachable from here."
Seamus Heaney.

[Paul Dempsey @DempseyPaul]

The US lead over China in #AI has halved, according to the former Google chief as Beijing applies hardware and software innovation with pragmatism in the face of export controls.
https://t.co/mVMMRi6fH3

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Absurd and inhuman violence is spreading ferociously through the sacred places of the Christian East, profaned by the blasphemy of war and the brutality of business, with no regard for people’s lives, which are considered at most collateral damage of self-interest. But no gain can be worth the life of the weakest, children, or families. No cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood.

[Very Brexit Problems @VeryBrexitProbs]

MAGA calls Europe freeloaders. Here’s what they’re not telling you.

​1. Ramstein Air Base, the most important US military hub outside America, is built on German land provided rent-free, with Germany contributing hundreds of millions to its upkeep. The US couldn’t replace it anywhere in the world.

2. Every US military operation in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia flows through Ramstein. Lose it and US power projection in the Eastern Hemisphere is crippled.

3. The UK provides and maintains RAF Lakenheath used almost entirely by the US Air Force. Italy provides Aviano. Greece provides Souda Bay. Turkey provides Incirlik. European land. European infrastructure. American operations.

4. The US Sixth Fleet depends entirely on European ports for fuel and supplies. Souda Bay, Naples, 11 Greek ports. Without them the Sixth Fleet cannot operate in the Mediterranean or project power into the Middle East.

5. The majority of NATO’s intelligence and surveillance capacity is hosted on European soil and fed directly to the CIA, NSA and Pentagon.

6. Early warning radar at Fylingdales, UK. Missile tracking in Greenland. Norwegian monitoring stations near Russia. All dependent on European goodwill.

7. It would cost America MORE to bring the troops home than keep them here. European hosts subsidise roughly a third of all basing costs.

8. Europe is America’s largest arms customer. Stop buying American and part of their defence industry goes bankrupt.

9. The bases aren’t charity. They’re America using European soil, European money and European goodwill to project power across the world.

10. We’re not the freeloaders.

[Paul Triolo @pstAsiatech]

This.....

[NASA @NASA]

Liftoff.

The Artemis II mission launched from @NASAKennedy at 6:35pm ET (2235 UTC), propelling four astronauts on a journey around the Moon.

Artemis II will pave the way for future Moon landings, as well as the next giant leap — astronauts on Mars.

[PA Media @PA]

Iranian man arrested for trying to get into nuclear submarine base

[Zephyr @zephyr_z9]

Old man Wally was with Jensen 2-3 days ago
LMAO

[Paul Dempsey @DempseyPaul]

@malonebarry Foolish to be caught on camera doing that - one of those likely to come back with bite. The Japanese use 'decorum' cleverly in diplomatic negotiations. Signaling that it's no longer so important neutralizes that advantage.

[Paul Dempsey @DempseyPaul]

@RaymondSnoddy Also wondering if it reflects Paramount looking for 'easier' one-off cuts after having overpaid for WBD.

[Raymond Snoddy @RaymondSnoddy]

Is this more about CBS wanting to avoid upsetting Trump with inconvenient facts than "economic realities" - round the world radio is doing very well

[Ed Newton-Rex @ednewtonrex]

Very confused messaging on AI and copyright from the U.S. administration today.

Kratsios says Congress should allow AI to train on copyrighted materials. But the National AI Policy Framework he is announcing says something different - it says Congress should let the question play out in the courts.

What's more, in the Framework, the Administration says it *believes* training on copyrighted work is legal. But this conflicts with the advice of the US Copyright Office, whose role is to advise Congress on copyright issues. So on what is it basing this belief?

All of this sounds exactly like what you’d expect to happen when the Administration’s closest advisors on the topic are tech VCs.

If Congress *did* take Kratsios’ advice and attempt to legalise training on copyrighted work, other countries should take the issue to the WTO, as it would contravene international copyright agreements.

[Madelaine Hanson @MadelaineLucyH]

My best friend is Muslim, and she has been fasting. I’m not a Muslim, and I don’t. We joke about it. She’s going to a white CoE funeral, and calls me to ask what the norms are and what to wear and say. This summer, I’ll be going to a family wedding with her and asking the same.

Because that’s integration.
That’s how you build a society that works.
We don’t all have to be the same.
We just need to have policies that allow for proper mixing and insight.

[Stanley Kubrick @StanleyKubrick]

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Philip Castle.

Few collaborations in cinema are as visually iconic as Philip Castle and Stanley Kubrick.

Castle’s airbrush artistry gave unforgettable shape to Kubrick’s vision - the iconic poster of #AClockworkOrange and the haunting imagery of #FullMetalJacket remain engrained in cinematic art.

Philip Castle: 20th October 1942 - 20th February 2026

[non aesthetic things @PicturesFoIder]

We are about to witness history after 144 years, the Sagrada Familia, Catalan Spain!

[Acyn @Acyn]

Reporter: Why didn't you tell allies about the war before attacking Iran?

Trump: We wanted it to be a surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?

[Capital Weather @capitalweather]

It was a long, harsh winter in D.C. We can finally call it over.

After a long and often harsh season — punctuated by persistent cold, stubborn snow and ice, and a late-season chill this week — the pattern ahead has shifted. Milder air is taking hold, and there are no meaningful signs of a return to sustained cold or accumulating snow.

That means we can officially declare the winter of 2025-2026 behind us.

We’ve made it a tradition to mark the onset of spring once the threat of prolonged cold and lasting snow has passed. The forecast now clearly favors warmer days, budding trees and a steady march toward spring — even if a few bumps remain along the way.

The forecast ahead is promising for flowers — and for fans of warmer weather.

Highs surge into the 60s on Friday and reach the 70s by Sunday. But a warning: Springlike weather doesn’t mean sustained warmth.

Next week, for example, daily highs bounce between the low 50s and mid-60s — a reminder that spring is a season of swings.

Still, there is little sign of any return to sustained wintry weather.

[Rodney Marshall @RodneyMarshall1]

Remembering Patrick McGoohan, BOTD in 1928 in Astoria, Queens, NYC. Actor, director, writer. Unpredictable, creative, self-willed, demanding, anarchic. More than anything else, perhaps, a unique force of nature. Six of my favourite on-screen Pat performances... 1/7

[Ed Newton-Rex @ednewtonrex]

Fantastic news in the UK today - the government has apparently ditched its plan to force creatives to 'opt out' if they don't want AI companies training on their life's work.

The opt-out proposal was unfair and unworkable. Many couldn't realistically have opted out at all, and it would have affected small rights holders disproportionately negatively.

We should be grateful to the government for listening to reason on this, rather than just listening to the big tech lobby. They have done the right thing by putting opt-out behind us.

They should now reaffirm what the law says - that AI companies must license people's work if they want to train on it - and commit not to change that law.

https://t.co/w93YKCMniV

[🇺🇦James Church🇪🇺 @Fenchurchy]

@EssexPR I've been to war in the Middle East, and I brought home mates in boxes with flags on them, the same flags you so desperately love to shag.
Lives lost, billions spent, and we won nothing of worth to the UK.
You want a war?
You go and fucking fight it.

[Jeff Stein @jstein_star]

Some personal news: This is my last week at The Washington Post.

I’ve loved so much of the last 9 years here, but my faith in the paper’s current leadership is broken beyond repair.

Incredibly excited to get to work with the newsroom below (I start in June) & join the extraordinarily talented kickass reporters such as @anna_c_kramer, @OrianaBeLike, @reesejgorman & many more

Please get in touch w/ me anytime on Signal: 9178872891