"The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West" | Book by Alex Karp and Nicholas W.Zamiska

Karp’s manifesto-via-tweet asserts primarily that we can achieve peace through war, and that billionaires brandishing “grand narratives” in the manner of Elon Musk should be in the country’s driver’s seat, sending ordinary citizens to the battlefield whether they like it or not. 

• (Among the recommendations in Karp’s unhinged rantings is a proposal to revive the military draft—a singularly boneheaded idea at a moment when the country is waging an unprovoked, illegal, and massively unpopular war.) 

 

 

Digital Watch Observatory

2 days ago

Weekly #259 The 'Technological Republic' tech oligarchs immagine 

Digital Watch Observatory

 

• 

  YouTube

  Palantir · 2:20
  

  The Technological Republic | Book Trailer

GLOBAL IMPACT Sound + Fury: A threat. A backdown. Rinse. Repeat. Fatigue is setting in with Donald Trump's consistent inconsistency on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz | Wendy Wu SCMP

 A threat, a backdown, and a third US aircraft carrier

25 April 2026

Sound and fury Wendy Wu China Editor

Dear reader, A threat. A backdown. Rinse. Repeat. Fatigue is setting in with Donald Trump's consistent inconsistency on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. There is no sign of any near-term end to the impasse so the markets are pricing in the cost of a new normal and the public in China are tuning out the US president's early-morning missives. One year into his second term and Trump has become all noise and no signal. We will suspend our newsletter next week because of the public holiday. Read our exclusive on how a Hong Kong-flagged tanker made it through the Strait of Hormuz.      The Big Picture The next normal   Trump extends the ceasefire with Iran, US forces are ordered to “kill” boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and a third US aircraft carrier arrives in the Middle East. Why it matters: as Iran talks stall, time is running out for Trump to prepare for his trip to China Meanwhile, why is the Iran war the surest sign that the US is in decline? Also, what does China say in its new NPT report and why is a US senator pushing for Chinese involvement in nuclear talks? Meanwhile, what message has Xi Jinping sent about the Middle East impasse? And, why should China be wary of the US focus on global maritime chokepoints?   Close to the wind The Chinese navy makes rare transits off southwest Japan following a rare transit of a Japanese vessel through the Taiwan Strait. Why it matters: the passage takes place at a sensitive time and is meant as a deterrent Meanwhile, why is Japan taking part in the massive US-Philippine joint drills?  And, what will be the true fineness of the Golden Fleet?     Wins and Fails Baby pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will take up residence at Zoo Atlanta  Trump ally Steve Daines plans to visit China before the US president’s trip     Big Numbers 0 – the number of H200 chips China has bought from Nvidia 3 – the number of weeks the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been extended US$4 million – the bounty the US is offering for the arrest of a Chinese money launderer 57% – the share of surveyed Taiwanese who do not believe the US would send troops to defend the island     Direct Quote “We need a new equilibrium in our relations with China. Both sides [have agreed] to take incremental or baby steps towards that.” Jaime FlorCruz, Philippine ambassador to China, tells the South China Morning Post in an exclusive interview

All the best, Wendy Wu

SCMP NEWSLETTERS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU VIEW AND SIGN UP SCMP Today: HK Edition A daily morning briefing analysing Hong Kong and China's top stories on Business, Tech, Lifestyle and more. Dark Matters Your weekly doses of insights on China's rise in science, technology and military that goes under the surface. Lunar A weekly newsletter dedicated to celebrating women in Asia and sharing stories that matter to all of us.

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MARICOPA COUNTY ARIZONA: Most Polluted Place to Live in the U.S....Phoenix #4 Most Polluted City

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YouTube

Arizona’s Family (3TV / CBS 5) · 2:29

686 × 386

Report: Phoenix metro among the worst for air quality

Uploaded: Apr 24, 2024·152 Likes

A new report from the American Lung Association shows several Arizona counties with failing grades for air quality., For more Local News from KPHO: https://www.azfamily.com/, For more YouTube ...

AirNow.gov

7 hours ago

National Maps | AirNow.gov

 

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LOOKING FOR THE FUTURE IN A CRYSTAL BALL Bonus editorial cartoon | Plant@ink.com

 

The Outlier and the Discontinuous Future | balaji bal

THE PHYSICS OF INNOVATION: 

 

 

balaji bal

 

"One of the recurring mistakes in how we think about the future is that we assume it will emerge as an extension of the present. Consensus predictions are often built on linear extrapolation: if a technology has improved steadily for the last ten years, we assume it will continue improving at roughly the same rate for the next ten. 

• If adoption has grown gradually, we model further gradual growth. 
• If institutions, markets, and experts broadly agree on the likely direction of change, that agreement begins to feel like realism itself.

But technological evolution rarely moves in a straight line.

My view is that the future imagined by consensus is usually a projection of current trajectories, while the future that actually changes the world is often produced by outliers — individuals, teams, or ideas that do not merely continue the line, but break it. 

• They create jump steps. 
• They alter the slope. 
• They introduce a discontinuity. 
• And that discontinuity, more often than not, is what changes the course of technological history.

This is not a criticism of consensus. It is not evidence of collective blindness or institutional failure. It is simply the physics of innovation.

  

 

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