Media & Market Matters:
- Goldman Sachs’s new Apple Credit Card business shows loss rates on credit card loans are up to 2.93 per cent, higher than their subprime lender counterparts.
- The FT’s Gillian Tett interviews Palantir’s Karp.
- The Telegraph unveils the explanation behind Liz Truss’ regularly sported necklace nicknamed the ‘Circle of Truss’.
- Twitter thread discusses how producers, film studios, and actors use problematic ‘Fan-Baiting’ marketing strategy to artificially spark controversies as a means of collecting publicity and dismissing critical reviews of upcoming productions.
- Mary Harrington questions those saying she has ‘shilled for authoritarianism’ for arguing that some Caesarianism-lite may not be the worst idea.
Military Matters:
The conflict is developing but the latest news suggests that Russia has brokered a ceasefire between both camps.
We would note this attack is critical as it took place inside Armenia proper rather than the disputed Nagorno-Karbakh region inside of Azerbaijan, where most of the recent fighting has taken place. -DGG
- Greece warns allies in NATO HQ, EU, and UN of a possible Ukraine-style War with Turkey
- Insight into the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency, a psychological operations unit looking to counter Russian disinformation.
- Zelensky “headlines” US defence industry conference.
- Released footage at Fort Irwin showcases a simulated attack of 40 quadcopters.
The above footage represents the first occasion in which I see a drone swarm physically shown simulating an attack. Formerly, all I had seen were renders or civilian variants.
I suspect the use of small drones will be limited to last-few-miles payload deliveries due to ongoing difficulties with battery efficiency. I’m surprised they haven’t come up with a winged drone of similarly small dimensions, with rotatable rotors to allow for STOL and VTOL capabilities alongside some glide.
The drones in the exercise were packed with Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaisance sensor suites. I have difficulty picturing how that could be an efficient use of battery power for drone swarms. Quadcopter drone swarms’ best bet is likely in payload deliverance. Leave the ISR-suite-packed quadcopters as supporting deployables to infantry squadrons. -DGG
Energy Crisis:
- In Warsaw, Poland, the energy crisis means outdoor cinema-goers pedal bicycles connected to a generator that produced at least 50% of the power needed to run one of its movies.
Covid Isn’t Over:
- Released as part of the lawsuit filed by the Attorney Generals of Missouri and Louisiana against the Federal Government, documents outline 50+ employees of Joe Biden’s administration may have tried to convince Big Tech companies to take action against accounts promoting supposed COVID misinformation.
A federal judge has also ordered Fauci and other top NIH and Government officials to produce their communication records.
It’s about time there are official inquiries into government overreach into freedom of the press through the banhammer of social media sites. -DGG