I wanted to end today's Emptywheel Friday show with this bit of brilliance from FL gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds - but I couldn't find it in time while we were recording. Ths one's for you @emptywheel.bsky.social - Now you know why I left Floriduh . BTW, Today's show begins @ 3ET/12PT
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahhaahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahaha
Meanwhile IRL he looks like this trying to wear a hat (or grow a beard) bsky.app/profile/ashe...
Asher Langton@asherlangton.bsky.social · 2y ago
Jason Arday has been found dead. There’s nothing to add.
My god, what an image. Dead kings in a plastic box, carried off as the world burns.
Reuters@reuters.com · 12h agoSpain removes remains of 11th century kings from monastery as wildfire rages reut.rs/4zAAN4r
"They’ve asked me twice and I’ve had to explain my answer is never gonna change from a no.”"
Sarah O’Connell@sarahoconnellshow.com · 7h agoTHIS is how you be an actual trans ally! 🙌 variety.com/2026/tv/glob...
If someone near you is secretly recording with glasses, yell “META stop recording!” It works even if you’re not the owner. (This is more effective than the Disney trick, since there are AI tools to remove background music.)
Riley Bruce@rileybruce.bsky.social · 2d agoWhat’s a thing from your area of expertise (or special interest) that you think it would behoove everyone else to know?
Is Kalshi offering odds on whether or not it can still do business in Washington state?
Kathryn Tewson@kathryntewson.bsky.social · 7h agoA King County Superior Court judge in Washington state has found that Kalshi’s trick of calling itself a “prediction market” doesn’t make it not gambling under the Washington Gambling Act, and has therefore ordered Kalshi to stop almost all activity within the state. Read more here:
"the timing says it all"
isabella zavarise@isabellazavarise.bsky.social · 6h agoTuning in briefly to this emergency meeting. Council is discussing the plebiscite ABC announced yesterday. The mayor reiterated again that the province does not have involuntary care beds IN Vancouver but my colleagues have repeatedly fact-checked this: www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
Gas-powered plants fueling AI data centers aren’t just enormous—they’re also enormously inefficient. Case in point: Just one Amazon power plant is permitted to emit as much as about 160 average-sized gas plants. @mollytaft.com explains all:
The Real Reason Data Center Gas Power Plants Are So Dirty
A massive new gas plant in Texas will be built with much less efficient technology than regular gas plants. It’s far from the only data center power project to rely on dirty turbines.
wired.com
Anytime someone who should know better says that maybe Richard Hanania has a point, just send them this:
You don’t have to hand it to Richard Hanania
The so-called "former" white supremacist's work doesn't show accountability—or that he's actually moved on from his earlier views, Christopher Mathias writes.
thehandbasket.co
Stories about people vandalizing Flock cameras are fun, but they resonate for much bigger reasons. People are outraged at tech oligarchs undermining democracy. The cameras have become a symbol. It also means it's a chance to build a bigger movement. www.salon.com/2026/08/14/t...
The Flock uprising is just the beginning - Salon.com
People are sick of tech billionaires trying to control our lives
salon.com
Just finished watching an 8 hour live stream of the Clacton election! Did Binface become MP? No. Did Binface humiliate Nigel Farage so much that Farage MADE UP A FAKE TERROR THREAT AND SKIPPED THE RESULTS CEREMONY AND HIS PLANNED SPEECH?!?! Yes. Yes he fucking did!!!
41 years ago, Carl Sagan gave a clear and elegant explanation of the science behind global warming.
And now the investigation into the £5 million secretly-gifted by an ‘economic migrant’ recommences. If nothing else has been achieved with this daft by-election, the idea that Farage is some sort of master strategist has been put to bed. It’s easy to look good when you’re getting free passes galore.
A hugely embarrassing win for Farage in the Clacton by-election. Reform had been touting a 79% victory. Instead he got 63% against Count Binface who pulled in nearly 27%. Petulantly Farage didn’t turn up for the count to give a speech. The investigation into his finances begins again.
The euphemism for Great Depression just dropped.
Unusual Whales@unusualwhales.bsky.social · 21h ago"The jobless boom has arrived," per WSJ
This morning the website of Parliament’s standards commissioner has been updated to confirm that his investigation is no longer suspended
Victoria Derbyshire@vicderbyshire.bsky.social · 16h agoNigel Farage has won Clacton by-election, which was boycotted by other major Westminster parties The contest was triggered when the Reform UK leader resigned as an MP while under investigation for £5m gift he didn't declare Now he’s been re-elected, that parliamentary investigation will resume
“Ukraine Focus, a Washington-based nonprofit that delivers ambulances and lifesaving medical supplies to Ukraine, has adopted the city block in front of the Russian embassy, through DC’s Adopt-a-Block program.” Take out the trash.😈
“Ukraine Focus, a DC-based nonprofit, Adopts Block in Front of Russian Embassy” in the Boris Nemtsov Plaza - PoPville
2650 Wisconsin Avenue, NW "Dear PoPville, Ukraine Focus, a Washington-based nonprofit that delivers ambulances and lifesaving medical supplies to Ukraine, has adopted the city block in front of the Ru...
popville.com
⚡️ A Russian diplomat in Canada was caught popping blue-and-yellow balloons outside the Russian Embassy in Ottawa. Activists responded by filling the entire street with brand-new Ukrainian balloons. The Russian Embassy might need a full-time employee just to keep popping them.
Phang: Well, the FBI handwritten notes implicate Donald Trump. And I don't think it's a secret why they're doing this dance at the DOJ, to not release them
🚨BREAKING: A bombshell new investigation alleges Vivek Ramaswamy’s mother helped reanalyze failed clinical-trial data to make an Alzheimer’s drug look more promising. Vivek aggressively promoted the drug. He made a fortune. Then the Phase 3 trial failed—and the stock collapsed 70% in a day.
La NASA ha seleccionado hoy como "foto del día" la de Zaragoza con dos eclipses: el del cielo y el reflejado en el río Ebro science.nasa.gov/image-articl...
