01a Apocalyptic

EU’S AI Act Kicks in

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

Starting this Sunday, the EU’s new AI Act begins to take effect, which includes key provisions empowering the EU to regulate AI models and apply fines to companies that fall out of compliance. The law also gives the EU investigatory powers to penalize non-cooperating companies and individuals.

The Act itself presents a challenge to AI geopolitical realities of power as nations and associations like the EU attempt to use domestic laws to affect foreign AI powers. For instance, the fines countries give to foreign companies doing business in their territory due to non-compliance with their AI rules could become weapons of war in the AI geopolitical reality of power.

EU to begin enforcing AI Act from Sunday with hefty fines for rule breakers – Firstpost– news.google.com
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The European Union will begin enforcing key provisions of its AI Act from Sunday, empowering regulators to oversee AI models and fine companies that violate the bloc’s rules.

The European Union will take a major step in regulating artificial intelligence from Sunday, when authorities gain the power to enforce key provisions of the bloc’s landmark AI Act. The move allows regulators to oversee advanced AI systems, order corrective measures and impose significant financial penalties on companies that fail to comply with the law.

The AI Act, adopted by the European Union in 2024, is being rolled out in phases and follows a risk-based framework.

Under the legislation, AI systems considered to pose greater risks to people’s rights or health face stricter obligations designed to safeguard individuals.

The law also prohibits the use of AI for predictive policing, emotion recognition systems in workplaces or schools, and technologies that manipulate human behaviour.

 

Australia Wants to be the World’s Internet Cop

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

The Australian government is considering legislation that appears to give Australia jurisdiction over all social media companies worldwide that run afoul of their national laws. The legislation would grant Australia the power to retrieve any data from any person or company affiliated with a social media company.

X protested the bill, claiming it would “compel any person outside Australia to provide information and documents merely because they are affiliated with a company.” X claimed the bill gave no “due regard to procedural fairness, privacy, the broader impacts on online services, and Australia’s digital economy.” Elon Musk called it a “backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians.”

Australian Government Moves to Censor Americans with Global Free Speech Crackdown– slaynews.com
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Elon Musk’s X is sounding the alarm over a sweeping new Australian censorship proposal that could allow government regulators to demand documents and personal information from people outside the country, including Americans.

In a formal submission to the Australian Senate, X warned that the legislation would dramatically expand the power of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner and reach far beyond the nation’s borders.

Under the proposal, a person would not need to live in Australia or operate an Australian company to be targeted.

They would only need to be considered “affiliated” with an online platform.

U.S. Props Yen with Euros

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

The Department of Treasury is using its Exchange Stabilization Fund to buy Japanese Yen in the hopes of propping up the dangerously weak currency. This hasn’t happened in 30 years. The U.S. is not using U.S. dollars; it is using Euros.

This action follows a recent previous Treasury intervention to help a weakening Argentinian currency. That deal resulted in the loan being paid back in full (at profit). These interventions signal a shift in Treasury policy from two plus decades of international currency passivity to aggressive interventionism.

U.S. Treasury sells euros, not dollars, to help lift yen. Economists warn it could backfire– fortune.com
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The U.S. is stepping in to help boost Japan’s yen for the first time in nearly three decades after the currency hit a 40-year low, but the intervention has an unusual feature: instead of selling dollars to buy yen, the New York Fed reportedly sold euros to fund the purchase.

The coordinated move on Friday lifted the yen to 157 to the dollar and marked the first time the U.S. and Japan jointly bought the currency since 1998 during the Asian financial crisis. In 2011, the U.S., alongside the G7,  weakened the yen after the Fukushima disaster caused the yen to be too strong, threatening Japan’s export-reliant economy.

Japan is estimated to have spent $52.8 billion. The exact amount from the U.S. is unknown, though a photo of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s notepad suggests a range between $5 billion to $10 billion.

Mamdani’s Soviet Grocery Stores Require Photo ID

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

If you want to get the promised 30% discount of Mamdani’s Socialist grocery stores, you’re going to need Photo ID confirming you are a resident of the city. Zohran Mamdani, the Islamist Socialist Mayor of New York City, is opening his state-owned grocery stores to the public, but only if they have photo ID.

Mamdani, who hates Voter ID, will require it for his grocery stores– www.louderwithcrowder.com
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In America, the left has determined that mandating ID for voting in federal elections is, in fact, racist. This is why it is bizarre, hypocritical, and illogical, based on leftist standards, that NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani will be requiring ID to obtain goods at his future municipal grocery stores.

The double standards sure are doubling, aren’t they?

According to Mamdani, this is not a program for “people to make a quick buck through reselling.” It is for New Yorkers “to put people’s food on the table.” While they tried to downplay this by claiming a library card may suffice, they know exactly how asinine it is for them to demand you are who you say you are, as they imply people do not follow the rules, but could not care less about those standards at the ballot box. To call this a threat to Democracy would be an understatement.

Per The Post Millennial:

Mamdani’s DSA and Democrat elected leaders at large have opposed voter ID or even ensuring citizenship before voting. A majority of Americans support voter ID and citizenship-only voting with verification. The DSA endorsed DSA-member Mamdani ahead of his election, and claims, “Our candidates for office stand firm against racist voter ID laws and secret poll taxes like the ‘SAVE America Act.'”

– YouTube www.youtube.com

 

New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer warns DSA are using party as ‘vessel’ for communism | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer warns DSA are using party as ‘vessel’ for communism | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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The New Jersey congressman warned that the Democratic Socialists of America are attempting to reshape his party while distancing himself from the movement’s platform.

Democratic Representative Josh Gottheimer has warned that members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are attempting to transform the Democratic Party into a vehicle for socialist and communist ideology, saying they “are not Democrats” and should form their own political party.

“I’m a very proud, common-sense Democrat, and I don’t think DSA members are Democrats. They’re socialists,” Gottheimer told Fox. “I’m all for them having their own party if they want one, but if they’re trying to take over our party, that’s unacceptable to me… They’re trying to use the Democratic Party as a vessel for their ideas. As you heard in some of these conventions, literally, they’re supporting the Communist Manifesto and Trotsky. They’re anti-American, they’re anti-cop, they don’t believe in borders.”

Uncertainty on Iranians’ minds as Trump fluctuates on war and talk | US-Israel war on Iran News– www.aljazeera.com

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

Uncertainty on Iranians’ minds as Trump fluctuates on war and talk | US-Israel war on Iran News– www.aljazeera.com
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Tehran, Iran – For months now, US President Donald Trump has been making nearly daily proclamations about the war on Iran – from threats of extensive bombing to claims of renewed negotiations. But Faezeh, a financial firm employee in Iran’s capital, says she has long stopped paying attention.

“His words certainly impact our lives, but I try to escape this toxic environment of uncertainty by focusing on what I can control and protecting myself and my loved ones,” the 27-year-old told Al Jazeera.

She is not the only one to do so.

As the war approaches its six-month mark, a number of Iranians are opting against chasing the non-stop headlines in an effort to protect their mental health. This week, as the threat of large-scale US military action once again loomed large, the level of expectation and concern among Iranians appeared to be much lower than on April 7, when the US president warned that “a whole civilisation will die tonight”, only to announce a ceasefire shortly afterwards.

“The US used to have presidents who talked less and did more,” asserted Roham, a colleague of Faezeh at the financial company in central Tehran. “But now with the role of social media and other outlets in which Mr Trump is well-versed, he talks more and doesn’t have to do as much,” he told Al Jazeera.

Capitol One Claims It Debanked Trump Organization in 2021 over ‘Money Laundering’ Concerns, Not Political Bias– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

Capitol One Claims It Debanked Trump Organization in 2021 over ‘Money Laundering’ Concerns, Not Political Bias– www.breitbart.com
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Capital One has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of debanking President Donald Trump’s company after the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol in Washington, DC, claiming it closed Trump Organization accounts following an anti-money-laundering review.

The bank submitted a court filing on Friday and said the internal review was conducted due to patterns that “are among the types of activity flagged by federal banking guidance,” Bloomberg reported Saturday.

“The filing does not give details about the transactions at issue or accuse Trump or his company of wrongdoing,” the outlet said. “The decision to close the accounts was made as part of a process involving the lender’s anti-money-laundering professionals ‘with decades of law enforcement experience,’ the bank said.”

UCLA Student Paper Says Misgendering is Too Harmful for Free Speech– legalinsurrection.com

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

UCLA Student Paper Says Misgendering is Too Harmful for Free Speech– legalinsurrection.com
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Mind you, these exceptions only flow in one direction. Leftists will still be allowed to call conservatives Nazis.

Aspiring journalists still want First Amendment exceptions for hurt feelings

A month ago, The College Fix reported on Defending Education’s lawsuit against the University of California system for allegedly requiring the use of “preferred pronouns.”

The lawsuit asserted that a student “who uses ‘he’ or ‘him’ when referring to a biological male who identifies as a female will be punished for ‘misgendering’ that student.”

Defending Education Senior Legal Counsel Sarah Parshall Perry noted colleges certainly can act to prohibit true harassment — “targeted, severe, and pervasive conduct that interferes with a student’s education” — but can’t “weaponize vague harassment policies to regulate viewpoints on matters of public concern, such as biological sex and gender identity.”

Seven killed as drone hits packed Russian beach and tourists run for their lives– www.mirror.co.uk

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

Seven killed as drone hits packed Russian beach and tourists run for their lives– www.mirror.co.uk
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Drone dive-bombs beach in southern Russia killing tourists

At least seven people have been killed, including three children, as a “downed” Ukrainian drone crashed and exploded onto sunbathers on a Russian beach.

Forty people were also injured, with 21 of them taken to hospital, as the unmanned device exploded in Arkhipo-Osipovka. The drone was seen dive-bombing onto tourists at the popular beach as temperatures reached 29C.

Beachgoers have claimed no warning sirens were heard before the incident as some sheltered under sun loungers.

Thousands of Admissions in Doubt at University in Mexico After AI is Used to Prevent Cheating– legalinsurrection.com

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

Thousands of Admissions in Doubt at University in Mexico After AI is Used to Prevent Cheating– legalinsurrection.com
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AI is probably going to be an ongoing issue in higher education for years to come.

A top Mexican university used AI to prevent exam cheating. Now thousands of admissions are in doubt

Daniel Fernando García Velázquez took the admissions exam for Mexico’s most famous university four times before finally getting the result that should have guaranteed him admission.

On his first three attempts, he had no option other than to travel the 400 km (250 miles) from his native Veracruz to Mexico City to take the test, because the prestigious National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) insisted it had to be taken in person.

On his fourth – and what should have been victorious – attempt this June, he traveled up anyway, even though this time, for the first time in the university’s history, it would be administered online.

This time, Velázquez aced the exam – scoring 94 out of 120 in what should have secured him a spot on the Communication and Journalism degree program offered at UNAM’s Aragón School of Higher Studies.

MSNOW Frets Trump ‘Otherizing’ Illegal Alien Truckers, No Mention of Deaths– www.newsbusters.org

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

MSNOW Frets Trump ‘Otherizing’ Illegal Alien Truckers, No Mention of Deaths– www.newsbusters.org
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On Friday’s Money, Power, and Politics on MS NOW, fill-in host Ali Vitali fretted that President Donald Trump is “otherizing” illegal alien truck drivers while replacing them with veterans, but did not mention the problem of many such illegal aliens causing car crash deaths.

In contrast with Fox News, which has given substantial coverage to the issue of illegal aliens who are unable to pass driving tests being given commercial drivers licenses in blue states, and then going on to cause deadly car crashes, MS NOW has a history of barely mentioning such truckers.

Damian Paletta, the anti-Trump Washington Bureau Chief at The Wall Street Journal, told Vitali the Trump administration is trying to “do as much as they can to get their immigration agenda through” before the midterms, because if Democrats take over one house of Congress or both, “there might be huge roadblocks in the next year.”

Palestinian activist tells Tommy Robinson he’s lucky security is stopping rioters from getting him as the crowd applauds– www.louderwithcrowder.com

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

Palestinian activist tells Tommy Robinson he’s lucky security is stopping rioters from getting him as the crowd applauds– www.louderwithcrowder.com
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To be clear up front, this is a thirty-second clip that’s gone viral from an over two-hour debate on whether the right has a right to be suspicious of Islam. And in those thirty seconds, a person arguing that the right should NOT be suspicious of Islam… gives the right a damn good reason to be suspicious of Islam. Whether or not it’s a chilling threat or a dingbat who had what she thought was a zinger she should have thought through more is open for interpretation.

Representing the religion of peace is Aisha Khan Aziz. She’s the co-president of a South Asian debating society in Oxford. One of the people she is addressing is Tommy Robinson, a man who need to introduction if you’ve been with us at the Louder with Crowder Dot Com website for any extended period of time.

Would-Be SCOTUS Assassin Moved To Prison For Trans Inmates– thefederalist.com

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

Would-Be SCOTUS Assassin Moved To Prison For Trans Inmates– thefederalist.com
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Nicholas Roske, the would-be assassin of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh who now identifies as a woman, has been assigned to Federal Medical Center (FMC) Fort Worth, a detention center the Biden administration turned into a “transgender” medical intervention facility, offering inmates taxpayer-funded “gender reassignment” surgeries.

Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, shirked the federal guidelines for sentencing Roske, who now goes by “Sophie.” Those recommend 30 years to life in prison. Instead, Boardman gave him only eight years.

Boardman persistently referred to Roske, a male, with female pronouns. She added, “I take into consideration the conditions of pre-trial confinement and the fact that she [sic] is a transgender woman and will be sent to a male-only [Bureau of Prisons] facility.”

Canadian Government Begins Arresting Citizens at Home for Sharing Wrongthink Online– slaynews.com

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

Canadian Government Begins Arresting Citizens at Home for Sharing Wrongthink Online– slaynews.com
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Canadians are reportedly being arrested at their homes over social media posts written months or even years ago after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government enacted a sweeping new “hate speech” law that dramatically expands the state’s power to prosecute online expression.

The alarming reports were revealed by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF).

The JCCF says it has begun hearing from Canadians who have been visited at home by government officials and charged over historical online posts following the implementation of Bill C-9, the “Combating Hate Act.”

Many of those arrested now potentially face years in prison for sharing wrongthink on social media, even if the posts were made before the law came into force.

Israel says it has serious concerns with Hamas disarmament deal– abcnews.com

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

Israel says it has serious concerns with Hamas disarmament deal– abcnews.com
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TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has shared “serious security concerns” with the White House regarding the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official said as Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday evening killed at least 17 people, including children, in Gaza.

The remarks by Doron Spielman, spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, were some of the first public comments since U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement.

Spielman told The Associated Press that Israel’s intelligence assessment is that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely demilitarizing. He said the Israeli military would not withdraw from Gaza — where it controls more than 60% of the territory — before Hamas disarms.

AI is ready to run spacecraft. Is the space industry ready for it? (op-ed)– www.space.com

pgnewser August 3, 2026 0

AI is ready to run spacecraft. Is the space industry ready for it? (op-ed)– www.space.com
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Martin Halliwell is a Partner at NewSpace Capital, one of the world’s first private equity firms devoted exclusively to growth-stage companies working in the space technology sector. He formerly served as Chief Technology Officer of SES, where he led global technology and R&D from 2011 to 2019. Halliwell contributed this article to Space.com’s Expert Voices section.

There are now some 16,000 active satellites in orbit. Market intelligence firms like Novaspace say that up to 43,000 satellites will be built and launched over the coming decade. Others, such as Goldman Sachs, think as many as 70,000 new low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites could be launched in the next five years alone. The exact number is less important than what these predictions reveal: that satellite constellations are getting bigger.

This is a good thing. Space is a crucial enabling force in the modern world, touching just about every part of ordinary life. But as these constellations grow, it will become increasingly difficult for human operators to run them. A network of a few satellites can be managed from the ground; a network of hundreds, or even thousands, cannot be managed in the same way. These satellites must share data, avoid interfering with one another, meet changes in customer demand, and deal with technical problems. Some decisions must be made in seconds, without waiting for instructions from Earth. This is why onboard processing, automation and artificial intelligence are becoming all-important. Satellites will need to sift through and analyze more information in orbit, then act within clear limits set by human operators.

‘Platner on steroids’: Max Miller abuse claims have Republicans silently sweating– www.politico.com

pgnewser August 3, 2026 0

‘Platner on steroids’: Max Miller abuse claims have Republicans silently sweating– www.politico.com
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Public scrutiny of domestic abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller is quickly mounting. His Republican colleagues have been slow to respond.

New reporting on government documents claiming that Miller poured hot water on his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, held a gun to her head and broke their young daughter’s collarbone has brought a wave of new attention to the Ohio lawmaker’s long-running public marital dispute. This week, Moreno’s lawyer filed for a restraining order against Miller, accusing him of harassing his ex-wife’s counsel.

The surge of attention presents a dilemma for Republicans: speak out against their colleague who is running in a competitive race or face accusations of hypocrisy after hammering multiple similarly scandal-plagued Democrats — including Graham Platner, who recently ended his Maine Senate campaign, and Eric Swalwell, who resigned his House seat in April.

Miller, like Platner and Swalwell, denies any wrongdoing. And so far, those fellow Republicans have been largely silent. A host of prominent GOP leaders nationally and in Ohio either declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries from POLITICO.