September 14, 2026

OPEN THREAD: Monday, Monday.

Posted at 9:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds

BIG SHORT TRADER MICHAEL BURRY SLAMS OPENAI, ANTHROPIC FOR ‘SELF-SERVING’ CALLS TO SLOW AI:

Famed investor Michael Burry slammed leaders of OpenAI, Anthropic and other tech giants for orchestrating a “self-serving” call to slow the pace of AI development – joining tech bigwigs, President Trump and even the Chinese government in panning so-called AI fear-mongering.

Burry – the short-seller lionized in Hollywood blockbuster “The Big Short” for calling and profiting from the subprime mortgage crisis circa 2008 – wrote on X: “Let’s all take a moment to understand how self-serving it is for OpenAI, Anthropic and other execs of big hyperscalers to talk of slowing things down.”

Burry said AI juggernauts’s calls to hit the brakes were “cover for real uncontrollable slowing growth” as AI labs struggle to maintain the stratospheric growth they experienced earlier in the AI boom. A cooling period would help “as IPOs look to be pushed out,” Burry noted.

He also panned the negative drumbeat coming from AI leaders as regulatory capture – where the leaders in a space use regulations and slowdowns to thwart up and coming competition. He framed the calls for a slowdown as a marketing ploy ahead of massive IPOs for the AI giants.

The above article goes on to quote JD Vance: “I have to say, just personally, I feel a little bit weird about the fact that you have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them. It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a trojan horse.”

Posted at 9:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

DISPATCHES FROM THE MOLOTOV–RIBBENTROP-MAMDANI PACT:

Posted at 8:45 pm by Ed Driscoll

ON THE BEACH: The best, and worst, place to survive an apocalypse revealed.

Ever wonder where to go during a doomsday event? Researchers have you covered.

The best and worst countries in which to survive an apocalypse were listed in a new study — taking into account population, geographical features and the abundance of human necessities.

The most desirable spots to weather the end of the world will be remote, bountiful in food and energy sources and have a competent government that can hold it together when times are tight, according to a study published in the journal Global Challenge.

According to experts, survivalists would also be best to avoid urban areas, which are prone to becoming “death traps” in the event of all-out armageddon.

Taking those factors into account, the study found that Australia — particularly the state of Tasmania — is “likely the most resilient place on Earth.”

That’s due to the country’s remoteness, bountiful amount of energy-producing minerals and high food production, The Times of London reported.

Nevil Schute, call your office:

Posted at 8:35 pm by Ed Driscoll

OLD AND BUSTED: Queers for Palestine.

The New Hotness? Animal Rights Activists Defend Muslim Migrants Killing Animals.

After horrifying images of Muslim migrants who had invaded the Spanish North African territory of Ceuta killing a baby dolphin went viral, animal rights activists rallied to their defense.

“The party rejects the instrumentalization of the suffering of a people or of its animals to foment hatred,” Spain’s Partido Animalista (PACMA) party declared. The party whose former name was the ‘Animalist Party Against the Mistreatment of Animals’, was willing to defend animal abusers as long as it advanced the greater cause of Muslim migrants invading Europe.

But that makes PACMA no different than the feminists and gay rights groups advocating for Muslim invaders to enter Europe. Baby dolphins, once the most ironic image of beleaguered animals on whose behalf environmentalists once rallied in the streets, demanding the dismantling of modern industries, and the end of tuna fishing, are now just another sacrifice.

As the siege of Ceuta continues, more images continue to emerge of the animal cruelty that typifies Islamic culture. Beyond the scenes of Muslim migrants beating a baby dolphin to death with a stick, there are more scenes of animals from house pets to geese to an octopus being killed by laughing Muslim mobs demonstrating their control over the beaches of Spain.

Time to dust off “they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the dogs” memes from 2024:

Posted at 8:30 pm by Ed Driscoll

COCAINE MITCH MORPHED INTO CAPT. PIKE SO SLOWLY, I HARDLY EVEN NOTICED: A frail-looking McConnell returns to the US Senate after three-month absence.

Posted at 8:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

NEW SEASON OF BABYLON BERLIN LOOKS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING:

Posted at 8:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

JOHN ONDRASIK IS A GREAT AMERICAN:

Posted at 6:09 pm by Glenn Reynolds

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Date the world will be destroyed and universe ends calculated by scientists.

The team predicts the Big Crunch will occur in approximately 33.3 billion years.

Given that the universe is currently 13.8 billion years old, Earth and all other planets have roughly 20 billion years before complete annihilation, according to the findings.

So cashing out the kids’ college fund and taking off for Vegas seems premature.

Posted at 5:51 pm by Stephen Green

PROGRESSIVISM HAS ALWAYS BEEN RACIST, STARTING WITH EUGENICS OVER A CENTURY AGO:

Update: Sorry, but X is doing that random thing where it won’t embed a post. Instead, enjoy a lovely screenshot and this artisanal link to the original.

Posted at 5:40 pm by Stephen Green

WELL, THIS IS THE 21st CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Gatwick Airport unveils robotic car parking – but there’s a catch.

Gatwick has become the first UK airport to unveil robotic valet parking, allowing passengers to park their car and collect it without any human interaction.

At a press demonstration this week, a passenger drove up to a garage close to the South Terminal and scanned a QR code. After parking in their dedicated “parking suite”, the driver turned off the engine, removed their luggage and left the unit.

Moments later, a robotic vehicle emerged, lifted the car and took it away to an outdoor parking space. Watching on, you can’t help but wonder whether this is an example of “robots stealing jobs” that humans have feared for so long.

It’s not exactly Johnny Cab from Total Recall, but it looks quite efficient:

Posted at 4:33 pm by Ed Driscoll