John Pallister

Father, husband, programmer, musician.

[WarMonitor🇺🇦🇬🇧 @WarMonitor3]

Ukraine has released the full video of Operation Spiderweb the daring container hidden drone operation which left over 40 Russian airforce aircraft damaged or destroyed last year.

[John Pallister @synchromesh]

@windscribe Great stuff, thanks team! Merry Christmas!

[John Pallister @synchromesh]

I'm proud to be backing Darren Watson's bid to record a new album of John Hiatt songs - it'll be awesome! Check it out! https://t.co/T9ncHaEtVR

[Yishan @yishan]

The original architects of American global power did something very clever that no other empire had ever done before: they deliberately hid the instruments of their power.

Specifically, they institutionalized the hard power of the post-WW2 American military into a "rules-based international order" and the organizations needed to run it.

These include the UN, IMF, World Bank, NATO, and numerous philanthropic NGOs like (as has been in the news recently) USAID.

The reason they did this is because repeated use of hard military power is fragile and self-defeating: it engenders resentment and breeds defiance. The British learned this and used prototypical methods of institutionalization in the declining years of their empire, but their American successors perfected it.

(If you don't understand how this works, I will link a post in the replies explaining how one example works - NATO)

The more sophisticated rivals of the US obviously know what's up, so they try to oppose or circumvent these institutions, but obviously the institutions are backed by hard power in the end. It sounds fair enough to say "if you don't abide by the 'rules,' we will invade you." It works well enough because it it sounds more fair to say that than "if you don't do what we tell you, we will invade you." Rival governments aren't fooled, but a lot of their ordinary citizens are, and combined with media dominance and control of the reserve currency (economic dominance), it's enough to keep everyone in line.

An unanticipated problem seems to have arisen:

It turns out that if you hide the levers of power, your own successors may have trouble understanding them. Especially if you failed to educate them, or let various cultural forces undermine the indoctrination of your elites.

With that happening, once the new generation of elites gains power, they don't recognize that the complicated weird control panel you built that doesn't seem to do anything but costs $10 billion a year to maintain is actually how you're controlling everything around the world and they take it down to save money. All because you did too good a job hiding the levers of power.

Soft power isn't "soft." It's real power. It's just soft because it's hidden.

I don't know how to solve this problem because I think hidden levers of power are definitely better, but you have to train a priesthood generation after generation to understand them, and that kind of thing corrupts itself too. Open power is much more honest, but no one likes it and it's hard to hold on to.

[Lakota Man @LakotaMan1]

Navajo Marine Ira Hayes helped raise the American flag over Iwo Jima in WW2.

Today Trump had him removed from military websites because his bravery in action is considered “DEI.”

Trump never served. Ira Hayes was a hero. Agree?

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

This is Lord Rothermere the owner of the Daily Mail.

He lives in a massive mansion in the English countryside, but he pays no tax here because he identifies as French.

While the Daily Mail is registered in Bermuda and pays no tax anywhere.

That is his ‘Patriotism’.

[Rory Stewart @RoryStewartUK]

We are so exhausted by Trump that it is tempting to just switch off. But that lets him win. We have to keep focusing and noticing. Today he abolishes the DOD’s key analysis functions on Russia threat and security.

[Rory Stewart @RoryStewartUK]

What is Musk’s problem? How did a geek with a troubled childhood become entranced with promoting violence? And how much damage will his anxieties, projections and fantasies do to the world?

[Fred Lambert @FredLambert]

Incredible takedown of Elon Musk by his former friend and colleague, Dr. Philip Low.

[Jack Clark @jackclarkSF]

The most surprising part of DeepSeek-R1 is that it only takes ~800k samples of 'good' RL reasoning to convert other models into RL-reasoners. Now that DeepSeek-R1 is available people will be able to refine samples out of it to convert any other model into an RL reasoner.

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

The original cars with their much larger restyling versions issued years later

[📹 roma_urraco]
https://t.co/FDwkvx5fXm

[James Watson CEng, FIET @EngineerLondon]

A few minutes ago, Unit 4 turbo-generator at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station desynced from the GB grid system, marking the END of electricity generation from COAL after 142 years 🇬🇧🙏🏻 @RobBurnett92 and I present a 🪡🧵on the evolution of coal fired power from 1882 to today 1/n

[Mueller, She Wrote @MuellerSheWrote]

NEW: THREAD: A new ruling from Judge McBurney in Georgia overturning the abortion ban and allowing the procedure to continue has some REMARKABLE quotes. Let's take a look at just a few. 1/

[Lukas Henkel @QVHenkel]

A wireless SD card running Linux. The open-source SiP fits nicely into an SD card footprint, with enough space left for a WiFi chip

[@jason @Jason]

Yep, time to regulate AI

[Seth Abramson @SethAbramson]

(📣) The President of Brazil has issued a statement about Twitter:

“The world isn’t obliged to put up with Elon Musk’s far-right free-for-all just because he is rich.”

RETWEET if you agree. https://t.co/0LjrIoTBvi

[Nate Bear @NateB_Panic]

Anarchist collective teach people how to make pirated versions of expensive pharma drugs using precursor ingredients. "A course of Solvadi, the drug by Gilead that cures Hepatitis C, costs $83,000. We made it for $70." https://t.co/IQyBlCVNkx

[John Pallister @synchromesh]

My new favourite tattoo studio! https://t.co/8wqSMulnqH @thetattoostudiokapiti

[Riley Goodside @goodside]

9.11 is bigger than 9.9.

[Goldbaby @Hugo_Tichborne]

The last couple of days of the SP1200 Collection sale! A 12-bit legend! Use this coupon to get 50% off: SP1200 https://t.co/pFJAc7ytF0 ***The sale ends May 31