Odds and Ends — 12 April 2026

5 days ago

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:

The ‘Annoyance Economy’ Is More Than Just Annoying

A new estimate puts the cost of dealing with robocalls, hidden fees and customer service chatbots that can’t solve most problems at $165 billion.

Wipe out a ‘civilization’? Minor stuff compared with what just happened in AI

There’s a Way to Make Bitcoin Safe From Quantum Without a Fork, Researchers Say

Flash Fiction:

”I’ve tried, Tommy. Again and again I’ve tried. You’re my wife’s cousin so I’ve given you lots of chances, cut you more slack than any of my people. But you’ve screwed the pooch again and again. But this, this, has proven to me that you’re incapable of doing anything right. So here we are, at the top of Widow’s Bluff, among the glories of nature. Here’s your last chance to show that you’re capable of doing something right. Let’s see if you can fly.”

Written for this prompt.

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Scientists finally crack mystery of rare COVID vaccine blood clots

Iran:

Vance Says U.S.-Iran Peace Talks Break Down

Vance, in remarks early Sunday morning in Islamabad, Pakistan, said the talks lasted some 21 hours.
President Trump played down the importance of the peace talks with Iran that were ongoing in Pakistan against the backdrop of a fragile cease-fire, claiming the U.S. has already won.

https://twitter.com/Amy_Siskind/status/2043151420317135048

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/2043314820884169016

Trump Orders Blockade of Strait of Hormuz

Netanyahu Threatens Iran Peace Negotiations

Benjamin Netanyahu, by many accounts, helped push Donald Trump and the US into war.
Now he may be a major obstacle to the president’s effort to get out of it.
Long aligned by politics and personality, Trump and Bibi have different motivations on Iran. Trump appears ready to exit a fight that has damaged him politically and shaken the world economy, while Netanyahu faces sharp criticism at home for stopping too soon.

China Taking a More Active Role in Iran War

American intelligence agencies have obtained information that China in recent weeks may have sent a shipment of shoulder-fired missiles to Iran for its conflict with the United States and Israel.

https://twitter.com/JaneyOccupies/status/2042618684674302000

The Abraham Accords: A Hilarious Grift

And now, somewhere in Riyadh, the Crown Prince is staring at a charred THAAD radar, a half-empty interceptor magazine, and a $142 billion receipt, and he is doing the math Rubio did on television: 100 missiles a month versus six or seven interceptors. And he is realizing, perhaps for the first time, that the Abraham Accords were not a security guarantee. They were a customer acquisition strategy.

https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/2042963407981167023

Politics:

https://twitter.com/arenella1/status/2043012592839332285

Ex-New York Mayor Eric Adams Is Granted Albanian Citizenship

White House Tried — and Failed — to Push Candidate Out

Over several days in February before the deadline for primary candidates to withdraw, White House officials peppered Alexandra Wilson with phone calls, text messages and voicemails that she recorded and shared exclusively with NBC News.
In the calls, White House aides first tried to entice her to leave the race with possible job options. On another call, they later warned her about the money and attacks that would follow if she didn’t.

Viktor Orbán Could Actually Lose

It may not be obvious why an election in Hungary, a landlocked European country with a population roughly the size of Michigan’s, has commanded so much international attention. It’s not a nuclear power, a global media hub, or a center of innovation. Its language is a beast to learn.
But Sunday’s vote may well be one of the most important elections in the history of postcommunist Europe. It will test the longevity of a regime that has deviated from principles of democracy and the rule of law that were vindicated by the peaceful revolutions of 1989 and later secured by the European Union, which incorporated Hungary as part of its eastward expansion in 2004.
The bloc doesn’t have a mechanism to expel a wayward member, but Western diplomats told me that brazen electoral theft would inaugurate a perilous new era. Some suggested that the prime minister, who oversees entrenched patronage networks that reach into the minutiae of municipal jobs, has too much at stake to accept defeat.

https://twitter.com/vincempls/status/2042967772456423851