Tesla said it delivered 384,122 vehicles in the second quarter, down 13.5% from 443,956 units a year ago

Tesla posted another big drop in quarterly deliveries on Wednesday, putting it on course for its second straight annual sales decline as demand falters due to backlash over CEO Elon Musk’s political stance and an ageing vehicle lineup.

The stock has lost 25% of its value so far this year as investors feared brand damage in Europe, where sales have slumped most sharply, and in the US from Musk’s embrace of rightwing politics and his role in spearheading the Trump administration’s cost-cutting effort.

The day Trump and Musk split publicly in early June, Tesla lost about $150bn in market value. Its share price has somewhat recovered in the ensuing month, but Trump and Musk have likewise reignited their feud as they spar over Trump’s sweeping tax bill.

This email is from subscription.service@subscriptions.ssa.gov. I have NEVER signed up to receive emails from the Social Security Administration save for invoices. For an administration that is set to run out of money and have to cut benefits by 2033, it's REALLY impressive they found money to push PARTISAN SPAM. I am ABSOLUTELY fucking disgusted right now. I've reached out to my representatives about this. As normal I expect they won't message anything back.

The email states:

The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.

Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans.

The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy.

“This is a historic step forward for America’s seniors,” said Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. “For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation reaffirms President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security and helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they’ve earned."

The new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples. Additionally, it provides an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older, ensuring that retirees can keep more of what they have earned.

Social Security remains committed to providing timely, accurate information to the public and will continue working closely with federal partners to ensure beneficiaries understand how this legislation may affect them.

Stay Connected with Social Security:

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This email was sent to anthonyzone@pm.me by the Social Security Administration, and was produced and disseminated at U.S. taxpayer expense.

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Every year, tech reviewers position the latest chip as much better than the old one, and the same thing happens next year, and the next. The Snapdragon 8 Elite was better than the Gen 3, which was better than the Gen 2, and so on.

If the “flagship” chips are so good, why not just stop to save cost? Why upgrade the chipset every year with minimal gains?

If everyone stuck with the same generation of chip, smartphones could be cheaper (good for consumers) OR profit margins could be increased (good for companies). Or maybe a mix of both.

What drives the yearly update in chips? AI maybe?

“There’s always a risk when corporate interests are negotiating agreements with governments in back rooms,” he said. “They [the Ford government] often point to external pressures — energy demand, housing need, trade tariffs — as reasons to act quickly. But it’s really about removing democratic guardrails and making it easier to cut backroom deals with powerful corporations.”

Support is lowest in France, Spain and Poland, while 21% back authoritarian rule under certain circumstances

Only half of young people in France and Spain believe that democracy is the best form of government, with support even lower among their Polish counterparts, a study has found.

A majority from Europe’s generation Z – 57% – prefer democracy to any other form of government. Rates of support varied significantly, however, reaching just 48% in Poland and only about 51-52% in Spain and France, with Germany highest at 71%.

More than one in five – 21% – would favour authoritarian rule under certain, unspecified circumstances. This was highest in Italy at 24% and lowest in Germany with 15%. In France, Spain and Poland the figure was 23%.

Nearly one in 10 across the nations said they did not care whether their government was democratic or not, while another 14% did not know or did not answer.

"Sorry we fired you, have you tried talking to an LLM about it? Our therapists are only for people that are worth talking to."

I was watching two people buy ice cream using their phones today. It occurs that they can only do that because the central bank that controls their phone apps/bank account hasn't frozen their favors.

If money represents personal favors between two people, introducing a third party into money means someone else can show you disfavor (heh)

Fiat money is "controlled" centrally, but not each transaction.

Digital Fiat money is both "controlled" centrally, but each transaction must be approved by a third party (outside of some fringe distributed ledgers).

Like if you were a human rights reporter in a war torn country, and you tried to buy ice cream... maybe you couldn't anymore, all your favors have been expired.

Full Disclosure - I've been influenced by this great book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5,000_Years

I had this thought in a swimming pool, and not a shower, but a pool is shower adjacent so I thought this might count.

[July 2025] Updates to YouTube Partner Program (YPP) Monetization policies: In order to monetize as part of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), YouTube has always required creators to upload “original” and "authentic" content. On July 15, 2025, YouTube is updating our guidelines to better identify mass-produced and repetitious content. This update better reflects what “inauthentic” content looks like today.