Odds and Ends — 29 August 2025

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

US Government taps Chainlink, Pyth to publish economic data onchain

Because .gov websites aren’t available?

German Consumers Feel Ever Gloomier as Economy Slumps

Canadian Firm Luxxfolio Plans $73M Raise to Expand Litecoin Treasury Strategy

Coronavirus and Public Health:

https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1961026367916540125

White House Picks RFK Jr. Deputy and Thiel Ally to Lead CDC

https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1961026747039658442

Politics:

Much of Europe Is Losing the Ability to Govern

Given the prevailing headwinds, who could have predicted that Italy under Giorgia Meloni would emerge as a relative bastion of stability?
Hers is an exception, though. The truth is that much of Europe looks close to ungovernable.

https://twitter.com/factpostnews/status/1961067585803358397

Foreign Tourists Are Avoiding America

America has rarely been out of the headlines this year. The world has watched as the Trump administration has slashed government departments, shaken alliances, increased deportations and sent the National Guard onto city streets.
For the tourism industry, not all publicity is good publicity: our analysis of available data suggests that the number of international visitors in 2025 is sharply lower than in the same period in 2024.

Donald Trump Looks Terrible. Why Won’t the Press Ask Him What’s Wrong?

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

Bondi, Patel to testify before Congress amid Epstein fallout

The attorney general and FBI director are expected to face fierce questioning by Democrats and some Republicans over the DOJ’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

———— Gaza ————

The evolution of famine in Gaza, in maps and charts

For the first time, catastrophic levels of hunger have been confirmed in the strip

———— Autocracy R Us ————

Trump’s Reach for Power Is Growing

President Donald Trump has activated the military on U.S. streets, attempted to oust a Federal Reserve board governor and threatened to prosecute his political opponents — all in the past few weeks.
Trump is testing the limits of presidential authority at a steady clip. And some of his opponents fear that with a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, not even the courts will stop the president from overreach.

Right-wing media celebrate Trump’s campaign of retribution against political opponents

https://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1961099318753907158

U.S. Sends First Deportees to Rwanda

Rwanda received its first group of migrants deported from the US, making good on a controversial deal it struck with President Donald Trump’s administration to accept them.

https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1961066579120042276

———— Corruption ————

Democrats probe Trump administration's retreat from public corruption cases

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/Microinteracti1/status/1961043743311609982

https://twitter.com/NoahCRothman/status/1961026922743247149

Trump admin offers subdued response to Russia’s assault on Kyiv, and Europe’s outrage

Allies sought to convince Trump that deadly overnight attacks make clear that Putin’s not interested in peace. But they made little headway.

https://twitter.com/InsiderGeo/status/1960997432759664768

———— Smoot-Hawley 2.0 ————

Trump’s tariffs remain unpopular, a warning sign for Republicans

Stanford Economists: Trump’s New Tariff Rules Will Fuel Inflation

———— Melon Husk ————

How Elon Musk’s billionaire DOGE lieutenant took over the US’s biggest MDMA company

———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————

Inside Pete Hegseth’s Civilian Purge at West Point

———— Mors Imperii ————

https://twitter.com/OldManLefty1/status/1961136558221992052

Rural Hospitals to Lose Funds Despite Promises

Rural hospitals are preparing to lose billions of dollars from President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending cut bill signed into law this summer.
Dozens, already on the brink, have warned they face the prospect of closure or reduced services because of the bill’s cuts to Medicaid, which is funded by federal and state governments and provides health care coverage for the poorest Americans.

https://twitter.com/dieworkwear/status/1960825072480137434

YouTube’s Deal with the Devil

late 2020, YouTube took a decisive step: The company suspended the right-wing conspiracy factory One America News, demonetized its channel, and declared that it was not an ‘authoritative’ source. It was the correct call: OAN has a lengthy record of spewing dangerous lies about everything from Covid to the 2020 election…
Now, less than five years later, Google boss Sundar Pichai and YouTube chief Neal Mohan have executed a shameless, whiplash-inducing reversal. On Wednesday, YouTube TV and OAN proudly announced that they had inked a carriage deal, catapulting the channel onto one of the country’s largest digital pay-TV platform. In effect, Google tossed a lifeline to the outlet, since most every other major carrier in the country had booted it from its lineup. The move will make YouTube TV among the biggest distributors of the MAGA propaganda outlet in America.

https://twitter.com/BraddrofliT/status/1961148451502346311

Serendipity:

https://twitter.com/slye/status/1961044132597502409

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