September 29, 2026

OUR AWFUL LEADERSHIP CLASS:

Posted at 8:35 am by Glenn Reynolds

CHINA IS ASSHOE: Beijing’s Trojan Yacht.

Ferretti Group, the Italian builder of luxury yachts, is also a defense contractor. Since 2016 it has supplied patrol and fast-attack craft to the Italian Navy, Coast Guard and Carabinieri, and Rome designates it a strategic asset. Its “dual-use” technology can be used for both military and non-military purposes. The hull that lets a Pershing sports yacht exceed 45 knots, the composites that trim radar signatures, the propulsion that quiets the acoustic profile and the integration of sensors and weapons stations are engineered the same for both civilian customers and maritime security services. For example, Ferretti’s FSD195 naval interceptor craft, which is employed by a variety of countries, is derived from a Pershing hull.

Ferretti’s controlling shareholder is Weichai, a Chinese state-owned conglomerate founded after World War II to manufacture arms for Mao’s People’s Liberation Army. Today, Weichai builds diesel engines that power everything from trucks to mobile rocket launchers for the Chinese military. One customer, Norinco, answers to the Chinese Communist Party’s state-asset system. Weichai’s joint-venture partners are spread across countries adversarial to U.S. interests, including Russia, Belarus, and others.

Weichai owns 39.5 percent of Ferretti but was able to capture eight of nine board seats at the company’s May board meeting.

Read the whole thing.

Posted at 8:35 am by Stephen Green

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE:

Posted at 8:30 am by Glenn Reynolds

THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOR IS INVITING VIGILANTISM.

I can guarantee you, though, that they will crack down on vigilantes harder than on the criminals who spark vigilantism. The next stage in that process is vigilantes targeting police and prosecutors. It’s much better to prevent such a downward spiral by making the justice system do its job.

Posted at 8:00 am by Glenn Reynolds

EXPERTS: AI was supposed to hit new grads hard. So far, unemployment data says otherwise.

In “The Early Impacts of AI on Employment Among Recent College Graduates,” researchers Robert Fairlie and Jane Wu said they decided to focus on recent graduates “because changes in labor demand may first appear through reductions in hiring.” As AI gets good enough to at least perform the “relatively standardized tasks” in many entry-level office jobs, they argue, firms could reduce new hiring for simpler roles rather than laying off more experienced long-term employees.

There’s some reason to believe 2026’s graduating job seekers might be more at risk of AI displacement than those graduating just a year or two prior. The CESifo researchers point to a recent sharp increase in the number of firms “replacing a large number of employee tasks with AI” in a Census survey, as well as broad increases in AI spending per employee and ChatGPT Enterprise token use in the last 12 months.

Anecdotally, some major names also think that this is the year AI is finally capable enough to start replacing the jobs of some recent graduates. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen said earlier this year that “AI literally until December [2025] was not actually good enough to do any of the jobs that they’re actually cutting.” And BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in March that “the speed at which AI is changing” led him to worry that “when this year’s college graduates enter the workforce, we could see the highest unemployment rate among them in years—even without a recession.”

Innovation typically destroys existing jobs, but is a net job creator in new fields. Maybe AI really is different and will drive millions out of work permanently.

I’m not sure anybody really knows.

Posted at 7:33 am by Stephen Green

TOO MANY OF THESE STORIES HAVE BEEN OUTRIGHT FABRICATIONS. AND A GALVANIZE-WOMEN STORY THAT COMES OUT A MONTH BEFORE THE ELECTION IS DOUBLY SUSPICIOUS.

Posted at 7:30 am by Glenn Reynolds

HELLO, I’M NOT DATA REPUBLICAN: But I would like to highlight a comment on my blog, because it’s something we each can and should do before the midterms. So listen to S. Nelson, please:

Now that SCOTUS is allowing the SAVE list of illegal voters to be used, even though you can’t purge before the election, I’m working with my county GOP chair to set us up to use it for challenges after Election Day. We can data mine it against the list of peopl ewho signed the voter roll in person, or to verify mail in ballots that are counted.

If you haven’t talked to your county GOP chair, NOW is the time.

Posted at 5:57 am by Sarah Hoyt

I LIVE WITH A COMPUTER PERSON. NONE OF OUR STUFF IS CONNECTED:  Skynet is taking over our critical … refrigerators?

Some of our stuff is supposed to be connected. You have no idea the very strange workarounds we have to get around that. Though, please, explain to me why a cat litterbox no matter how automated its cleaning should be on the net. And imagine the horrors of a cat litterbox hacked by China. (Okay, I made myself laugh, but really.)

Posted at 4:00 am by Sarah Hoyt

THIS IS UTTER NONSENSE. AI DATA CENTERS ARE NO WORSE THAN OTHER DATA CENTERS:   Data Centers Face Fines, Permit Delays as States Weigh AI Growth Against Local Impacts.

No, they don’t use more water (it’s recycled) or electricity than any other data center. If you think they do, you fell for a Chinese psy-ops to corner AI development. What have I told you about falling for psy-ops? And how many times must I tell you the same thing?

Posted at 3:33 am by Sarah Hoyt