Congress Quietly Kills Military “Right to Repair,” Allowing Corporations to Cash In on Fixing Broken Products
The idea of a “right to repair” — a requirement that companies facilitate consumers’ repairs, maintenance, and modification of products — is extremely popular, even winning broad, bipartisan support in Congress. That could not, however, save it from the military–industrial complex.
Lobbyists succeeded in killing part of the National Defense Authorization Act that would have given service members the right to fix their equipment in the field without having to worry about military suppliers’ intellectual property.
Under one version, co-sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mt., defense companies would have been required to supply the information needed for repairs — such as technical data, maintenance manuals, engineering drawings, and lists of replacement parts — as a condition of Pentagon contracts.
Congress Quietly Kills Military “Right to Repair,” Allowing Corporations to Cash In on Fixing Broken Products
Both chambers included Pentagon budget provisions for a right to repair, but they died after defense industry meetings on Capitol Hill.Matt Sledge (The Intercept)
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Congress Quietly Kills Military “Right to Repair,” Allowing Corporations to Cash In on Fixing Broken Products
The idea of a “right to repair” — a requirement that companies facilitate consumers’ repairs, maintenance, and modification of products — is extremely popular, even winning broad, bipartisan support in Congress. That could not, however, save it from the military–industrial complex.
Lobbyists succeeded in killing part of the National Defense Authorization Act that would have given service members the right to fix their equipment in the field without having to worry about military suppliers’ intellectual property.
Under one version, co-sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mt., defense companies would have been required to supply the information needed for repairs — such as technical data, maintenance manuals, engineering drawings, and lists of replacement parts — as a condition of Pentagon contracts.
Congress Quietly Kills Military “Right to Repair,” Allowing Corporations to Cash In on Fixing Broken Products
Both chambers included Pentagon budget provisions for a right to repair, but they died after defense industry meetings on Capitol Hill.Matt Sledge (The Intercept)
Official Propaganda for Caribbean Military Buildup Includes “Crusader Cross”
cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/1260…
An official U.S. military social media account on Monday shared a photo collage that included a symbol long affiliated with extremist groups — and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.In a post on X trumpeting the deployment of troops to the Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command, or SOUTHCOM, shared an image that prominently displayed a so-called Jerusalem cross on the helmet of a masked commando.
The Jerusalem cross, also dubbed the “Crusader cross” for its roots in Medieval Christians’ holy wars in the Middle East, is not inherently a symbol of extremism. It has, however, become popular on the right to symbolize the march of Christian civilization, with anti-Muslim roots that made it into something of a logo for the U.S. war on terror.
Tattoos of the cross, a squared-off symbol with a pattern of repeating crosses, have appeared on the bodies of people ranging from mercenaries hired by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to Hegseth himself.
Now, the symbol has reared its head again to advertise President Donald Trump’s military buildup against Venezuela — an overwhelmingly Catholic country — and boat strikes in the Caribbean.
U.S. military forces are deployed to the #SOUTHCOM area of responsibility in support of #OpSouthernSpear, @DeptofWar-directed operations, and @POTUS' priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. pic.twitter.com/vLvg9fQ5Lx— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 8, 2025
“As with all things Trump, it’s a continuation, with some escalation, and then a transformation into spectacle,” said Yale University historian Greg Grandin, whose work focuses on U.S. empire in Latin America.
The social media post came amid rising controversy over a series of strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela, dubbed Operation Southern Spear.
[
Read Our Complete Coverage
License to Kill
---------------](theintercept.com/series/licens…)Hegseth is alleged to have ordered a so-called “double-tap” strike, a follow-up attack against a debilitated boat that killed survivors clinging to the wreckage for around 45 minutes. The U.S. has carried out 22 strikes since the campaign began in September, killing a total of 87 people.
The Pentagon’s press office declined to comment on the use of the Jerusalem cross, referring questions to SOUTHCOM. But in a reply to the X post on Monday, Hegseth’s deputy press secretary Joel Valdez signaled his approval with emojis of a salute and the American flag. In a statement to the Intercept, SOUTHCOM spokesperson Steven McLoud denied that the post implied any religious or far-right message.
“The graphic you’re referring to was an illustration of service members in a ready posture during Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR,” McLoud told The Intercept. “There is no other communication intent for this image.”
The original image of the masked service member appears to have come from an album published online by the Pentagon that depicts a training exercise by Marines aboard the USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean Sea in October. The photo depicting the cross, however, was removed from the album after commentators on social media pointed out its origins.
Amanda Saunders, a spokesperson for the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, the Pentagon-run photo agency, said she was unable to comment directly but forwarded the request to the Marine unit involved in the exercise.
“Content on DVIDS is published and archived directly by the registered units,” she said, “so we don’t have control over what is posted or removed, nor are we able to comment on those decisions.”
Hegseth and the Cross
The Jerusalem cross’s popularity on the right has surged in part thanks to featuring in various media, including the 2005 Ridley Scott film “Kingdom of Heaven” and video games, according to Matthew Gabriele, a professor of medieval studies at Virginia Tech and a scholar of Crusader iconography.“It supports the rhetoric of ‘defense of homeland.’”“It supports the rhetoric of ‘defense of homeland,’” Gabriele told The Intercept, “because the crusaders, in the right’s understanding, were waging a defensive war against enemies trying to invade Christian lands.”
The symbol’s position of prominence in official military communications is just the latest example of a trollish extremism by the Trump administration’s press teams, which have made a point of reveling in the cruelty wrought on its perceived enemies at home and abroad, or “owning the libs.”
[
Related
Team Leader at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Belongs to Anti-“Jihad” Motorcycle Club, Has Crusader Tattoos](theintercept.com/2025/08/06/ga…)
Monday’s post may also be intended as Hegseth putting his thumb in the eye of the Pentagon’s old guard. Hegseth’s embrace of the symbol — in the form of a gawdy chest tattoo — once stymied, however temporarily, his ambitions in the military.Folling the January 6 insurrection, according to Hegseth and reporting by the Washington Post, Hegseth was ordered to stand down rather than deploy with his National Guard unit ahead of the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden. The decision to treat Hegseth as a possible “insider threat” came after a someone flagged a photo of a shirtless Hegseth to military brass, according to the Washington Post.
“I joined the Army in 2001 because I wanted to serve my country. Extremists attacked us on 9/11, and we went to war,” Hegseth wrote “The War on Warriors,” his 2024 memoir. “Twenty years later, I was deemed an ‘extremist’ by that very same Army.”
Hegseth was hardly chastened by the episode and has since gotten more tattoos with more overt anti-Muslim resonance, including the Arabic word word for “infidel,” which appeared on his bicep sometime in the past several years. It’s accompanied by another bicep tattoo of the Latin words “Deus vult,” or “God wills it,” yet another slogan associated with the Crusades and repurposed by extremist groups.
The use of the image to advertise aggressive posturing in a majority-Christian region like Latin America may seem odd at first glance. In the context of renewed U.S. focus on Latin America, however, it’s a potent symbol of the move of military action from the Middle East to the Western Hemisphere.
“They’re globalizing the Monroe Doctrine.”The post comes on the heels of the release of the Trump’s National Security Strategy, a 33-page document outlining the administration’s foreign-policy priorities that explicitly compared Trump’s stance to the Monroe Doctrine, the turn-of-the-century policy of U.S. dominance in Latin America in opposition to colonialism by other foreign powers. Grandin, the Yale historian, described the document as a “vision of global dominance” based on a model of great-powers competition that can lead to immense instability.
“They’re globalizing the Monroe Doctrine,” Grandin said. “I’m no fan of the hypocrisy and arrogance of the old liberal international order, but there’s something to be said for starting from a first principle of shared interests, which does keep great conflict at bay to some degree.”
The post Official Propaganda for Caribbean Military Buildup Includes “Crusader Cross” appeared first on The Intercept.
From The Intercept via This RSS Feed.
Pete Hegseth’s Arabic tattoo stirs controversy: ‘clear symbol of Islamophobia’
Critics say US defense secretary’s tattoo of the word kafir, meaning ‘infidel’ or ‘non-believer’ could offend MuslimsMarina Dunbar (The Guardian)
Silex v3.5.1-5 Canary – UI Polish & Smarter Data Preview
A new canary version of Silex is available: canary.silex.me/
This update continues improving data-driven design and the overall editing experience, with refined UX across the editor, new expression tools, and better live preview handling. It’s now smoother, clearer, and more intuitive for anyone building dynamic sites.
Help us test it before it goes live — your feedback helps shape Silex.
What’s New Since v3.5.1-4
New Features
- Expression editor
- Copy and paste expressions between fields
- Data Source plugin
- Improved UX with inline help buttons
- Better layout and visual cues in the data source editor
- Loop deletion now removes cloned preview elements correctly
- Preview refreshes correctly at startup
- Fonts manager
- Major UX redesign: cards replace dropdowns
- Clearer variants and font details
Improvements & Fixes
- Chrome fixes for expression fields and data preview
- Prevent invalid tokens when clearing loop data
- Selector Manager: clearer class state display
- Internal performance improvements and cleanup
Developer Notes
- Lint & metadata cleanup across packages
- Refactored imports
- Ongoing UI/UX refinements
Try It Now
- Canary version → canary.silex.me/
- Stable version → v3.silex.me/
Get Involved
- Forum → community.silex.me/
- Chat → short.silex.me/chat
- Bug reports → github.com/silexlabs/Silex/iss…
For Developers
npm install @silexlabs/silex@3.5.1-5
docker pull silexlabs/silex:3.5.1-5
silexlabs/Silex
Silex is an online tool for visually creating static sites with dynamic data. With the free/libre spirit of internet, together. - silexlabs/SilexGitHub
2025 set for second-hottest year on record
2025 set for second-hottest year on record
This year is expected to match 2023 as one of the warmest on record, second only to 2024, EU scientists warn. They cite greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels as the main cause of global warming.Felix Tamsut (Deutsche Welle)
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Spoiler formatting looks like this:
::: spoiler Tap for spoiler
Spoilers go here
:::The "Tap for spoiler" part is what shows up in the post, like this:
::: spoiler Tap for spoiler
Snape kills Dumbledore
:::
You can put whatever you like instead of "Tap for spoiler", such as emojis:
::: spoiler 😱😱😱😱
Mrs Flood is the Rani
:::
That's all 😀
Tesla Optimus falls in Miami demo, hand movements sparks remote operation debate
Tesla Optimus's fall in Miami demo sparks remote operation debate
While falls are not unusual in robotics development, a specific hand motion has raised questions about the current level of autonomy in Tesla’s system.Jijo Malayil (Interesting Engineering)
Samsung shifts focus from HBM to DDR5 modules: DDR5 RAM results in FAR more profits than HBM
Samsung is reportedly scaling down its HBM production, shifting focus of DRAM production to DDR5 modules because there's FAR more profits to be made.
Woman hospitalized after Pluribus ad on smart fridge triggers psychotic episode
A Pluribus ad displayed on a Samsung smart fridge led a UK woman to seek hospital care for a psychotic episode.
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UK: People urged to wear masks when they are ill as UK faces ‘tidal wave’ of flu
People urged to wear masks when they are ill as UK faces ‘tidal wave’ of flu
NHS Providers boss says those who are ‘coughing and sneezing’ should wear face coverings on public transportNadeem Badshah (The Guardian)
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Ireland: Here are the hospitals that have introduced visitor restrictions due to high flu cases
Here are the hospitals that have introduced visitor restrictions due to high flu cases
The HSE has warned that Ireland is facing an early and difficult winter season.TheJournal.ie
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Massachusetts Church Keeps Anti-ICE Nativity Scene, Defying Diocese Leaders
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/40091546
The Christmas display, which replaces Jesus, Mary and Joseph with a sign saying “ICE Was Here,” has drawn criticism from Catholic leaders and immigration officials.Dec. 8, 2025
Massachusetts Church Keeps Anti-ICE Nativity Scene, Defying Diocese Leaders
The Christmas display, which replaces Jesus, Mary and Joseph with a sign saying “ICE Was Here,” has drawn criticism from Catholic leaders and immigration officials.Dec. 8, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/us/massachusetts-church-ice-nativity-scene.html
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Ireland: 54,000 without power as Storm Bram causes travel chaos
54,000 without power as Storm Bram causes travel chaos
Met Éireann has extended Status Orange wind warnings to all counties as Storm Bram brings high winds to the country.RTÉ News (RTÉ)
Huge Victory: Chat Control no longer forces us to break encryption! But: It now wants age verification. | Tuta
The EU Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse, first published in May 2022, has become the "most criticized law of all time". Here's how to stop it now!
Technology Channel reshared this.
Valve CEO Gabe Newell’s Neuralink competitor is expecting its first brain chip this year
Unlike his other products, it’s not powered by Steam.
Valve CEO Gabe Newell’s Neuralink competitor is expecting its first brain chip this year
Starfish Neuroscience, founded by Valve CEO Gabe Newell, has revealed plans to produce its very first brain chip later this year.Sean Hollister (The Verge)
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Technology Channel reshared this.
Google facing a new antitrust probe in Europe over content it uses for AI
The European Union is investigating Google for potential antitrust violations related to its AI models.
‘I Was Paid’: Bongino’s Confession About His January 6 Claims | The deputy director of the FBI admitted to lying during his days as a pundit.
‘I Was Paid’: Bongino’s Confession About His January 6 Claims
The deputy director of the FBI admitted to lying during his days as a pundit.David A. Graham (The Atlantic)
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Bullets in Luigi Mangione’s bag convinced police that he was UnitedHealthcare CEO killing suspect
Moments after Luigi Mangione was handcuffed at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, a police officer searching his backpack found a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear.The discovery, recounted in court Monday as Mangione fights to keep evidence out of his New York murder case, convinced police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that he was the man wanted in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan five days earlier.
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Justice Department can unseal Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case records, judge says
A federal judge on Tuesday granted the Justice Department’s request to publicly release grand jury transcripts and other material from Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking case, citing a new law that requires the government to open its files on Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime confidant, but he cautioned that people shouldn’t expect to learn much new information from them.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who along with other judges had previously rejected Justice Department unsealing requests before the transparency law was passed, said the materials “do not identify any person other than Epstein and Maxwell as having had sexual contact with a minor.”
“They do not discuss or identify any client of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s,” Engelmayer wrote. “They do not reveal any heretofore unknown means or methods of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s crimes.”
Unequivocal War Crimes
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
America Has Become a Digital Narco-State - Paul Krugman
America Has Become a Digital Narco-State
Social media giants have bought our government, and are trying to bully EuropePaul Krugman
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Krugman is a worthless hack. Sensational headline with implicit endorsement of prohibition is a prime example.
Edit about the "nobel": Everybody who's talking about this "nobel prize". There is no nobel prize in econ. It's a phony award made up by bankers. That's how pathetic the pseudo-science of economics is. They need to make up their own fake awards for relevancy. So please don't tout the phony awards of this pseudo-scientists. I could make up an award for flat earthers but that wouldn't legitimize flat earthism.
(And even if there were a nobel for econ... Who cares about awards if the underlying "science" is still trash?)
Here's one of the best traders talking about the same issue:
invidious.nerdvpn.de/watch?v=b…
It's eloquent and funny at the same time.
I included a timestamp to jump (almost) directly to the most relevant bit (also 33m, but 31m sets up a better context for an extra 2min of time compared to going directly to the 33m mark). But the whole video is worth watching.
Yes, Krugman is a hack.
The Plan is to Make the Internet Worse. Forever. | Aaron Bastani Meets Cory Doctorow
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
More than 9,000 children in Gaza hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October, UN says
More than 9,000 children in Gaza hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October, UN says
Aid agencies say Israel is still restricting their aid shipments despite ceasefire announced two months agoJulian Borger (The Guardian)
Leaked Memo: DOJ To List, Target Anti-Trump Activists as ‘Domestic Terrorists’
The Department of Justice (DOJ) will potentially treat opponents of President Donald Trump’s policies as “domestic terrorists,” according to a leaked memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi to all U.S. law enforcement agencies.
The document, which was first published over the weekend by investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein, appears to represent the first attempt to implement Trump’s calls to target left-wing activists and others who protest his administration’s policies as “terrorists” affiliated with antifa, an anti-fascist movement that often serves as a boogeyman for the right.
Leaked Memo: DOJ To List, Target Anti-Trump Activists as ‘Domestic Terrorists’ - Democracy Docket
The Justice Department will potentially treat opponents of President Donald Trump’s policies as “domestic terrorists,” according to a leaked memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi to all U.S. law enforcement agencies.Democracy Docket
I bambini che piangono quando viene tolto lo schermo: Alberto Pellai racconta la mutazione antropologica che ha cambiato l’infanzia
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Cose scontate, ma ignorate, evviva l'adhd per tutti!
Personalization algorithms create an illusion of competence, study finds
Selected highlights:
The researchers divided the participants into different groups to test the specific effects of algorithmic personalization. One group served as a control and viewed a random assortment of items with all features available to inspect. Another group engaged in active learning, where they freely chose which categories to study without algorithmic interference.the study measured the participants’ confidence in their decisions using a rating scale from zero to ten. The analysis showed that participants in the personalized groups frequently reported high confidence levels even when their answers were wrong. This effect was particularly distinct when they encountered items from categories they had rarely or never seen during the learning phase.
This indicates a disconnection between actual competence and perceived competence caused by the filtered learning environment. The participants were unaware that the algorithm had hidden significant portions of the information landscape from them. They assumed the limited sample they viewed was representative of the whole.
The findings provide evidence that the structure of information delivery systems plays a significant role in shaping human cognition. By optimizing for engagement, current algorithms may inadvertently sacrifice the accuracy of user knowledge. This trade-off suggests that online platforms can shape not just what people see, but how they reason about the world.
Personalization algorithms create an illusion of competence, study finds
While personalization algorithms keep users engaged, they may create a false sense of expertise. A new experiment reveals that curated content feeds limit information exploration, causing learners to form distorted views while remaining surprisingly …Eric W. Dolan (PsyPost Psychology News)
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Earth needs more energy. Atlanta’s Super Soaker creator may have a solution.
Nuclear engineer Lonnie Johnson worked on NASA's Galileo mission, has more than 140 patents, and invented the Super Soaker water gun. But now he's working on "a potential key to unlock a huge power source that's rarely utilized today," reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Waste heat...
The Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter, or JTEC, has few moving parts, no combustion and no exhaust. All the work to generate electricity is done by hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. Inside the device, pressurized hydrogen gas is separated by a thin, filmlike membrane, with low pressure gas on one side and high pressure gas on the other. The difference in pressure in this "stack" is what drives the hydrogen to compress and expand, creating electricity as it circulates. And unlike a fuel cell, it does not need to be refueled with more hydrogen. All that's needed to keep the process going and electricity flowing is a heat source.
As it turns out, there are enormous amounts of energy vented or otherwise lost from industrial facilities like power plants, factories, breweries and more. Between 20% and 50% of all energy used for industrial processes is dumped into the atmosphere and lost as waste heat, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The JTEC works with high temperatures, but the device's ability to generate electricity efficiently from low-grade heat sources is what company executives are most excited about. Inside JTEC's headquarters, engineers show off a demonstration unit that can power lights and a sound system with water that's roughly 200 degrees Fahrenheit — below the boiling point and barely warm enough to brew a cup of tea, said Julian Bell, JTEC's vice president of engineering. Comas Haynes, a research engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute specializing in thermal and hydrogen system designs, agrees the company could "hit a sweet spot" if it can capitalize on lower temperature heat...
For Johnson, the potential application he's most excited about lies beneath our feet. Geothermal energy exists naturally in rocks and water beneath the Earth's surface at various depths. Tapping into that resource through abandoned oil and gas wells — a well-known access point for underground heat — offers another opportunity. "You don't need batteries and you can draw power when you need it from just about anywhere," Johnson said. Right now, the company is building its first commercial JTEC unit, which is set to be deployed early next year. Mike McQuary, JTEC's CEO and the former president of the pioneering internet service provider MindSpring, said he couldn't reveal the customer, but said it's a "major Southeast utility company." "Crossing that bridge where you have commercial customers that believe in it and will pay for it is important," McQuary said...
On top of some initial seed money, the company brought in $30 million in a Series A funding in 2022 — money that allowed the company to move to its Lee + White headquarters and hire more than 30 engineers. McQuary said it expects to begin another round of fundraising soon.
"Johnson, meanwhile, hasn't stopped working on new inventions," the article points out. "He continues to refine the design for his solid-state battery..."
Atlanta’s Super Soaker inventor thinks his creation is an energy gamechanger
The legendary inventor of the Super Soaker, Lonnie Johnson, is refining technology in Atlanta that he thinks could help the planet reduce energy waste.Drew Kann (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
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Technology reshared this.
The Earth doesn't need a fucking thing it doesn't already have, except for a cleanup of human-generated pollution.
Most of the new demand for energy is to run LLMs that nobody actually needs.
Australia’s world-first social media ban begins as millions of children and teens lose access to accounts
Millions of children and teens lose access to accounts as Australia’s world-first social media ban begins
Accounts held by users under 16 must be removed on apps that include TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick, Twitch and Threads under banJosh Taylor (The Guardian)
Thailand launches airstrikes inside Cambodia after accusing it of violating ceasefire
At least six people have been killed and dozens of others injured in fresh clashes between the two South-East Asian neighbors, despite a ceasefire agreement signed in October under US mediation.
Introducing: Devstral 2 and Mistral Vibe CLI. | Mistral AI
Introducing: Devstral 2 and Mistral Vibe CLI.
State-of-the-art, open-source agentic coding models and CLI agent.Mistral AI (mistral.ai)
Report Exposes Instacart's Hidden AI Price Experiments That Could Cost Families $1,200 Per Year
cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/1253…
Consumer advocates on Tuesday called on the Federal Trade Commission and state officials to investigate artificial intelligence-enabled pricing experiments used by Instacart, the grocery shopping app millions of Americans rely on, that charge up to 23% more for some shoppers than others when they buy the same item at the same store.
Consumer Reports joined the advocacy group Groundwork Collaborative and the labor-focused media organization More Perfect Union to uncover Instacart's pricing experiments enabled by Eversight, an AI pricing software that Instacart acquired in 2022. The company's CEO said last year that the experiments have helped the company “to really figure out which categories of products our customers [are] more price sensitive on"—in other words, to tailor prices based on a customer's shopping habits, whether they're near a competing store, and other factors.
The groups' study, Same Cart, Different Price, describes how researchers ran five tests with 437 participants, studying the prices of a basket of items bought at two Target stores and three Safeway stores using Instacart.
In one test at a Safeway in Washington, DC, shoppers logged on to the app to buy a carton of eggs from the same brand at the same time and found that the price they were given varied widely. Some shoppers were charged just $3.99 for the eggs, while others saw a price as high as $4.79—20% higher.
Shoppers at a Safeway in Seattle saw a 23% difference in prices for Skippy peanut butter, Oscar Mayer turkey, and Wheat Thins crackers. At two different Safeways in Washington, DC, Instacart quoted shoppers at one store a price that was 23% higher than at another for Signature Select Corn Flakes.
"It’s time for Instacart to close the lab. Americans shopping for groceries aren’t guinea pigs and shouldn't have to pay an Instacart tax.”
For the same basket of groceries, shoppers at the Seattle store were asked to pay as much as $123.93, while others were charged just $114.34.
"The average price variations observed in the study could cost a household of four about $1,200 per year," said Groundwork.
Justin Brookman, director of tech policy at Consumer Reports, said Instacart's tactics "hurt families who are simply trying to purchase essential groceries."
"At a time when everyday Americans are struggling with high prices, it is particularly egregious to see corporations secretly conducting individual experiments to see how much a person is willing to pay," said Brookman. "Companies must be transparent and upfront with people about pricing, so that they can make informed choices and keep more of their hard-earned money. We encourage the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate Instacart’s pricing tactics."
Groundwork noted that Instcart's website acknowledges that it runs price tests, but states that "shoppers are not aware that they’re in an experiment" and are having their grocery prices selected for them via algorithm.
While Instacart has claimed its price experiments are "negligible," the groups emphasized that they're being used "against the backdrop of the fastest increase in food prices since the late 1970s."
After previous reporting on companies' use of "shrinkflation," "dynamic pricing," and other practices that keep prices high even as pandemic-era labor and supply chain issues have subsided, "today’s report shows Instacart’s experiments are yet another way corporate pricing tactics are squeezing American families," said Groundwork.
The study did not find evidence that Instacart is giving shoppers different prices based on their ZIP code or income, as companies like Amazon, Delta Air Lines, and Home Deport have been accused of doing.
But the groups said Eversight gives the company the capability to use that data to make pricing decisions tailored to particular shoppers.
“Instacart is quietly running pricing experiments on millions of shoppers during the worst grocery affordability crisis in a generation, and it’s costing households as much as $1,200 a year,” said Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens. “They have turned the simple act of buying groceries into a high-tech game of pricing roulette. When the same box of Wheat Thins can jump 23% in price because of an algorithm, that’s not innovation or convenience, it’s unfair. It’s time for Instacart to close the lab. Americans shopping for groceries aren’t guinea pigs and shouldn't have to pay an Instacart tax.”
The groups credited some state and federal lawmakers who have begun to take notice of pricing practices like Instacart's; US Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) introduced the Stop AI Price Gouging and Wage Fixing Act in July with the aim of prohibiting the use of automated systems to set prices. New York has enacted the first-of-its-kind Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act, which requires companies to prominently disclose to customers, "This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data" when they use methods like Instacart's. Other state legislation has been introduced in Colorado, California, and Pennsylvania to ban the use of surveillance to set prices.
The groups called on the FTC to take action under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which bans "unfair methods of competition." Those could include “'price discrimination not justified by differences in cost or distribution,' which appears to match Instacart’s pricing experiments and fluctuations," the report reads.
The FTC could also bring enforcement cases or initiate rulemaking to officially label AI-enabled pricing strategies as an "unfair or deceptive practice," affirming that companies who use them are breaking a consumer protection standard.
"Fair and honest markets are the bedrock of a healthy economy," reads Tuesday's report. "Companies like Instacart offer great convenience, but they are increasingly pursuing corporate pricing practices that unfairly decouple the price of a product from its true cost. As more consumers learn about, and decry, these practices, perhaps companies will change course. But if they do not, policymakers should intervene and require them to change their practices."
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
Casar-Tlaib Bill Would Ban Corporations From Using AI to Set Prices, Wages
"The idea that employers would leverage surveillance data to exploit a worker in a desperate position and offer them a lower wage is appalling," said Rep. Rashida Tlaib.stephen-prager (Common Dreams)
Trekking nella Riserva di Monte Catillo - "Orizzonti Tiburtini"
ESCURSIONE GRATUITA DI NATALE 🎁 🎄 + Cena di Gruppo - SABATO 20 DICEMBRE 2025
Una bellissima giornata nella Riserva Naturale di Monte Catillo, subito fuori il centro storico di Tivoli, a pochi passi da Roma.
Un variegato percorso naturalistico ci condurrà attraverso la macchia mediterranea e i boschi di sughera e cerro.
Lungo il sentiero potrai godere dei caratteristici affacci panoramici dell'area tiburtina: la splendida acropoli di Tivoli, la vasta campagna romana, i Monti Prenestini e Cornicolani (anche il mare se saremo fortunati).
> Ti racconteremo la storia, i miti e le leggende di questo luogo antico ed affascinante, forgiato dal fiume Aniene.
E' una facile escursione, a meno di un'ora dalla capitale, cui seguirà una cena di gruppo per festeggiare insieme la fine della stagione escursionistica!
Prenotazione (obbligatoria) aperta fino a Venerdì 19 Dicembre 2025 ore 15:00
Per informazioni contattate @greentrek@mastodon.uno
greentrek.it/escursioni/escurs…
Escursione nella Riserva di Monte Catillo - GreenTrek.it
Un trekking per ammirare i panorami della Riserva di Monte Catillo. A pochi metri da Tivoli un piccolo scrigno di biodiversità e bellezza.GreenTrek.it
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Privacy‑centric doom scrolling apps for iOS and android
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Create and upload your own with maximum privacy?
I cannot find information anywhere. Sorry, English is my second language.
I possess a DVD and want to upload this as a torrent so others can download it.
I burn the media to my Linux PC using a media ripper. I use Handbrake to convert the media and small the file size.
I can create a torrent. But how do I insure none of my computer's personal information and identifiers are saved on that file? I dont want me to be found out if someone opens the file and somehow can see I'm the one who created it.
In other hand, how do the pirates create and upload media into torrents while protecting themself from being found out?
Edit: Corrected to Linux PC
I think you worried about metadata mostly. Can maybe infer gpu/os/software from encode pattern, but probably not problem for you.
For image metadata usually called exif data, exiftool on linux work well for me. For video, ffmpeg has ffprobe tool to extract metadata using some option. Ffmpeg also have some option to clear metadata (but not all), complicated a bit to set up right.
If not available for windows, search for alternative. Or graphical wrapper if not like commandline.
First verify you have good method to see metadata, then try what method remove what.
If really paranoid, dump windows (has lot of spyware), use tool like gnu strings to see printable string in binary file might be metadata.
For torrent:
1. See if already exist by someone (public index search, dht search engine)
- Throw out handbrake, always upload original quality. Reencode fine if from raw source material, but no dvd/bluray has raw quality. Or if really want to offer small file, upload both.
- Create torrent with dht/pex enable to allow dht search engine and other peer to find.
- Use no-log vpn or i2p to seed.
More info probably in megathread or wiki.
Edit: 5. over vpn or i2p make account on public index and upload torrent as new post. Or share torrent with friend. Or on other forum.
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RRF Caserta. TV. Monster . Ed Gein l'origine e lo sfruttamento dell orrore
I love Wikipedia
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Explore Offline Wikipedia and Educational Content with Kiwix- Kiwix
Your gateway to offline Wikipedia and a vast array of educational content. Access knowledge anytime, anywhere without an internet connection.Kiwix
Digital House Arrest – How the EU Wants to Disempower Families
Digital House Arrest – How the EU Wants to Disempower Families
Of all people, it is center-right parties in Brussels that are supporting plans for the mass screening of private messages. The proposal cuts deep into civil liberties.Patrick Breyer
EU investigates Google over AI-generated summaries in search results
EU investigates Google over AI-generated summaries in search results
It is examining whether the tech giant did not offer "appropriate compensation" to web publishers.Liv McMahon (BBC News)
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Man, this should be the shortest, easiest investigation ever.
Here, let me help. Google does not offer any compensation to the websites they're ripping off with their AI summaries.
While you are at it, consider also investigating bing and duck duck go.
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Border Patrol Agent Recorded Raid with Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
On a recent immigration raid, a Border Patrol agent wore a pair of Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, with the privacy light clearly on signaling he was recording the encounter, which agents are not permitted to do, according to photos and videos of the incident shared with 404 Media.Previously when 404 Media covered Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials’ use of Meta’s Ray-Bans, it wasn’t clear if the officials were using them to record raids because the recording lights were not on in any of the photos seen by 404 Media. In the new material from Charlotte, North Carolina, during the recent wave of immigration enforcement, the recording light is visibly illuminated.
Archive: archive.today/3hDqM
Border Patrol Agent Recorded Raid with Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
On a recent immigration raid, a Border Patrol agent wore a pair of Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, with the privacy light clearly on signaling he was recording the encounter, which agents are not permitted to do, according to photos and videos of the incident shared with 404 Media.Previously when 404 Media covered Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials’ use of Meta’s Ray-Bans, it wasn’t clear if the officials were using them to record raids because the recording lights were not on in any of the photos seen by 404 Media. In the new material from Charlotte, North Carolina, during the recent wave of immigration enforcement, the recording light is visibly illuminated.
That is significant because CBP says it does not allow employees to use personal recording devices. CBP told 404 Media it does not have an arrangement with Meta, indicating this official was wearing personally-sourced glasses.
This post is for subscribers only
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Subscribe nowBorder Patrol Agent Recorded Raid with Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
New videos and photos shared with 404 Media show a Border Patrol agent wearing Meta Ray-Bans glasses with the recording light clearly on. This is despite a DHS ban on officers recording with personal devices.Joseph Cox (404 Media)
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How do you check if food is healthy?
Hey everyone 👋
I’m working solo on a small side project called BiteWise — it helps people understand what’s really in the food they eat 🍎
You can check it out here: bitewiser.carrd.co/
I’d love your feedback! Here’s a quick 2-minute questionnaire if you want to help shape it:
👉 tally.so/r/dWqa6z
Not selling anything yet — just testing if this solves a real problem 🙏
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U.S. Senator Wants $300 Billion Military ‘Make Up’ Payment From Canada
U.S. Senator Wants $300 Billion Military ‘Make Up’ Payment From Canada
Thom Tillis also suggested that Canadians should not criticize the lack of a universal public healthcare system in the U.S.Alex Cosh (The Maple)
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As Federal Funding Lags, a Critical Ocean Weather System Nears a Breaking Point | NOAA delays could mean imprecise forecasts, endangering fishermen, ships, and coastal communities.
As federal funding lags, a critical ocean weather system nears a breaking point
NOAA delays could bring imprecise forecasts, endangering fishermen, ships, and coastal communities.Mother Jones
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The LanguageTool extension will now be paid
Important: Upgrade Required - LanguageTool
Instantly check grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors with LanguageTool's AI-powered grammar checker. Enhance your writing in over 30 languages with ease.LanguageTool
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German state of Schleswig-Holstein to save €15 million each year by kicking out Microsoft for Open Source, local government says
Schleswig-Holstein [Germany's most Northern state] started its open source journey early, becoming something of a vanguard in Europe's move away from proprietary software [by ditching Microsoft and introducing Linux and LibreOffice].
Now, Dirk Schrödter, the Minister for Digital Transformation of the state, has shared some remarkable numbers (link to article in German language) that prove the financial case for implementing open source for government use cases.
...
According to Schrödter's ministry, Schleswig-Holstein will save over €15 million in license costs in 2026. This is money the state previously paid Microsoft for Office 365 and related services.
The savings come from nearly completing the migration to LibreOffice. Outside the tax administration, almost 80% of workplaces in the state government are said to have made the switch.
The remaining 20% of workplaces still depend on Microsoft programs. Technical dependencies in certain specialized applications keep these systems tied to Word or Excel for now. But converting these remaining computers is the end goal.
There is also a one-time €9 million investment set in motion for 2026, which would be used to complete the migration and further develop the open source solutions for the ministry.
[...]
Open Source statt Microsoft: Schleswig-Holstein spart Millionen
Schleswig-Holstein muss durch den Wechsel von Microsoft auf Open-Source-Software deutlich weniger Lizenzkosten zahlen. Digitalisierungsminister Schrödter verkündet rund 15 Millionen Euro Ersparnis.Jonas Bickel (Kieler Nachrichten)
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UK unveils AI-driven undersea surveillance network to counter Russian submarine activity
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anon5621
in reply to ethnss • • •ethnss
in reply to anon5621 • • •Do you know why?
Would it be able to federate with other instances that use I2P?
sobchak
in reply to ethnss • • •It may be possible to federate with other i2p instances, if not, I'm guessing it would require fairly simple code changes to lemmy to be able to point to other .i2p addresses.
To federate with clearnet, I think an instance would need to kind of act like a bridge that uses both clearnet and i2p; so it wouldn't be "hidden." I see there is also an exit node network (ran by StormyCloud) on i2p now, but that may be too slow for federation.
Edit: I imagine most clearnet instances would not want to federate with a darknet instance due to the higher probability of illegal content being posted.
Pearl
in reply to ethnss • • •Federation would be pretty bad.
Would be a lot easier to build a JavaScript free reddit
sobchak
in reply to Pearl • • •mmmac
in reply to sobchak • • •comfy
in reply to mmmac • • •Redlib is an alternate frontend to reddit.com.
I can't find "Ramble" so I'm guessing they might mean Raddle, which is a reddit-like website of its own, similar to Lemmy (without federation)
gtr
in reply to Pearl • • •maj
in reply to ethnss • • •