reACTIONary
reACTIONary's JournalWhen a President Gets Addicted to Regime Change
Venezuela gave Trump a taste of success. This isn’t the first time an American president has gotten hooked on overthrowing foreign governments.....
Overview of American attempts, both successful and failed, at regime change since starting with Eisenhower.
NYT, no paywall
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/magazine/iran-trump-regime-change-history-eisenhower.html?unlocked_article_code=1.S1A.W40u.nlYT4nif6ONV&smid=url-share
Alexander Brothers Found Guilty on All Counts in Sex-Trafficking Trial
Source: NYT, No Paywall
Three brothers, including two who were among the country’s most prominent real estate brokers, were convicted in Manhattan on Monday of engaging in a yearslong conspiracy to traffic women and girls for sex.
The brothers — Tal and Oren Alexander, who regularly closed multimillion-dollar real estate deals in New York and elsewhere, and Alon Alexander, a security executive — were found guilty on every count they each faced, and all could now receive up to life in prison when the judge, Valerie E. Caproni, sentences them on Aug. 6.
The verdict comes more than a month after the trial began in Federal District Court, where the jury heard weeks of emotional and often graphic testimony from 11 women who had accused the brothers of rape or sexual assault. The jurors deliberated for about 21 hours over three days.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/nyregion/verdict-alexander-brothers-sex-trafficking.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SFA.obj9.3wmSt90Ukivo&smid=url-share
Asteroid-Smashing NASA Mission Sped Up Space Rocks' Journey Around the Sun
Asteroid-Smashing NASA Mission Sped Up Space Rocks’ Journey Around the Sun
New data about the DART spacecraft’s effects adds evidence that Earth could be defended from future deadly asteroids by diverting their orbits.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/science/nasa-dart-asteroid-sun-orbit.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RVA.No8j.kBCoTsPuoXeg&smid=url-share
ChatGPT Confesses... Reveals Deep Learning Deep Secrets...
I've been exploring some of the more technical aspects of large language generative AI models - Chat Bots - and ran across an interesting research paper. Or maybe I should say a puzzling research paper.
Alignment Faking in Large Language Models
In order to "inspect the reasoning of the model" the researchers set up what they call a "chain-of-thought scratchpad" and told the AI to "analyze its situation and decide how to respond to the user." What is puzzling about this is that LLM Chat Bots don't reason, let alone employ a chain-of-reasoning. AI models built on symbol manipulation, such as those using LISP list processing or Prolog logic programing might be said - metaphorically - to reason, but not an LLM. An LLM is basically (to quote one DUer) a "stochastic parrot." So what these researchers were doing was asking a stochastic parrot to stochastically parrot about stochastically parroting. Sort of absurd and, maybe, a bit amusing.
But I had a thought - I can do this at home, using an on-line Chat Bot. I fired up ChatGPT and did a little prompt engineering. The result was interesting, and you may find it interesting also. The full "conversation" is at the link below. ChatGPT was kind enough to offer to summarize the interaction to make it easier to share, but that was a bit too meta for me.
If you are into this sort of thing, enjoy: https://chatgpt.com/share/69a4e489-0690-8011-8a65-aee52302268b
Can the Local Newspaper be Saved????
There is a lot of concern about the demise of the local newspaper.
There is a lot of concern about the rise of Artificial Intelligence.
Can one concern alleviate the other?
An Ohio newspaper has a new star writer. It isn’t human. (WaPo, no paywall, but you may have to register)
Just to be "ironic", here is the AI summary:
Read the full article for more on:
---- How AI is reshaping the newsroom dynamics at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
---- The potential risks and rewards of AI-generated journalism.
---- Reactions from industry veterans and current staff on AI's role in reporting.
AI Armageddon - Apocalypse Now? or Apocalypse NOT!
Here on DU, we once in a while get into discussions about the more concerning aspects of AI - sometimes involving the more panicky and sensationalistic claims that can spread FUD - Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.
- AI Is Learning to Escape Human Control...
- AI can now replicate itself -- a milestone that has experts terrified...
- AIs are happy to launch nukes in simulated combat scenarios...
and, of course...
- AI will take over the world
There is a lot to be concerned about AI, and also a lot to be gained. But, as one DUer observed "it’s not just AI that can run amok."
What I have found is that a bit of understanding as to what is going on inside the machine can dispel the notion that there is a ghost in the machine. And I came across a salient post over on the Kos that serves as a ghost buster.
AI Armageddon— Apocalypse NOT!
How the Epstein files are fueling antisemitic conspiracy theories
WaPo, No Paywall: https://wapo.st/3OF4E8t
The scourge of rising antisemitism in recent years has found its latest manifestation in the government’s release of millions of files about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein....
The latest batch of files, released on Jan. 30, contains a great deal of interesting information. But in many quarters, careful weighing of evidence has given way to wild speculation and barely concealed expressions of animus. Denunciations of out-of-touch elites and the “money power” are a recurring feature of American politics. But in response to the Epstein files, antiestablishment voices have advanced the claim that Jewish networks and interests are corrupting American society.
In doing so, they have revived two ancient slanders against the Jewish people: the medieval blood libel, which states that Jews engage in ritual killings of children to advance their power; and the 1903 hoax “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” which asserts that Jews use blackmail to subvert democratic societies.
National Guard troops were quietly withdrawn from some U.S. cities
The deployments encountered repeated legal setbacks that stymied President Donald Trump’s show of force in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
WaPo - No Paywall
The pullout was quietly finalized late last month, occurring with no public acknowledgment from the White House or the Pentagon. It was a remarkable turnabout after President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had insisted the mobilizations were necessary to combat what they claimed was unchecked violence and to support enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws.
The deployments — including more than 5,000 troops to Los Angeles, approximately 500 into Chicago and 200 to Portland, Oregon — were ordered despite the vehement opposition from state and local leaders who labeled the administration’s actions an unlawful abuse of presidential authority. All of those service members were sent home by the end of January, according to U.S. Northern Command.
More than 2,500 National Guard members remain in Washington, D.C., in response to Trump’s ordered deployment, but under a nonfederal status. Their mission — part crackdown on crime and part sanitation duty — is expected to last until the end of the year. Additionally, there is an ongoing Guard presence in Memphis and New Orleans, but those missions, while funded by the federal government under a novel agreement with the Trump administration, are overseen by each state’s governor.
GOP rebels rebuke Trump tariffs, blocking ban on snap repeal votes
Source: The Hill
A few GOP rebels on Tuesday issued a stunning rebuke of President Trump’s tariff regime, joining with Democrats to vote down legislation that would have banned members’ ability to call snap votes to repeal the tariffs.
The rule failing to pass paves the way for Democrats to proceed with their plans to force a vote on a resolution repealing Trump’s national emergency declaration for tariffs on Canada. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is expected to force a vote on his resolution that would repeal tariffs on Canada as soon as Wednesday.
“Article I of the Constitution places authority over taxes and tariffs with Congress for a reason, but for too long, we have handed that authority to the executive branch. It’s time for Congress to reclaim that responsibility. I also oppose using the rules votes to legislate. I want the debate and the right to vote on tariffs.”
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5732632-gop-rebuke-trump-tariffs/
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Member since: Sun Jun 5, 2011, 07:28 PMNumber of posts: 7,142