Donald Trump telling the world in the company of a beaming Benjamin Netanyahu that ‘the US will take over the Gaza Strip”
Should we take at face value what he’s selling as a grand development scheme… and what critics denounce as a quixotic pipe dream that can only lead to ethnic cleansing of the two million Palestinians who live in Gaza?
How does one rebuild Gaza after destruction on a biblical scale? In the aftermath of past wars, Gulf States that footed much of the bill. The money went to housing but was also diverted by Hamas. We’ll gauge regional reactions after Tuesday night’s bombshell announcement out of Washington. And where in the short term does the promise of a U.S. takeover leave the current ceasefire deal? Did Trump just torpedo his administration’s own efforts? What’s the next surprise?
It would be a “major mistake” to deploy British, French and other allied troops to guarantee Ukraine’s security without involving the US, the Ukrainian president has told Sky News.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy even said such a move would “give Russia an advantage”, signalling that he did not believe a European-only option to deter future Russian aggression in the wake of any potential ceasefire deal with Moscow would be strong enough.
The president also had a warning for London and other NATO member states to spend now on strengthening their militaries or risk finding themselves in Ukraine’s position – at war and forced to invest its whole budget on defence.
Mr Zelenskyy was speaking after a meeting in Kyiv with David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary.
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UK against ‘Putin’s imperialism’
As the two men sat down for their discussion, though, Sky News asked the Ukrainian leader whether ceasefire talks with Russia would need to start in the coming weeks.
Speaking in English, Mr Zelenskyy said: “First of all, we have to manage our meeting and our own plans with the US, Europe, European leaders, our partners.
“We have to have a common agenda between us, then share it even with the enemy. In any way step by step.”
One possible step that is being discussed by the UK, France and a number of other European allies is the potential deployment of an international force to Ukraine to provide security guarantees that Russia would not attack again following a peace deal.
It is still only an idea but is increasingly being talked about.
At the news conference following the meeting with Mr Lammy, Mr Zelenskyy was asked whether he believed European militaries alone had the strength to deter Russia or whether only an international force that included the United States would be credible.
The president, speaking in Ukrainian, said: “When we talk about this, is Europe enough? No. Because this isn’t just a matter of numbers. It’s about sharing responsibility and ensuring security guarantees.”
He continued: “This cannot be pursued without the involvement of the United States. Doing so would be a major mistake. It could very well be Russia’s desire to see Europe defending and supporting Ukraine without the US. That would give Russia an advantage, and I believe it could amount to a geopolitical and strategic win for them.”
He added: “When we talk about security guarantees, we need the United States as the primary guarantor of security, alongside European countries. The European Union plus the United Kingdom – these European nations are crucial for us.”
Donald Trump has said he will end the war in Ukraine, though he has not explained how. He plans to speak with Vladimir Putin and his team is talking to Mr Zelensky’s side.
Even if the US did agree to contribute to an international security force as part of a ceasefire deal, it would still be a huge undertaking for the UK and other European partners.
Analysts question whether Britain’s military would be able to take on the role in a credible way without a serious increase in defence spending and regrowing its shrunken forces.
Mr Trump has said NATO allies should spend 5% of GDP on defence – more than double the level that the UK invests.
Asked whether he thought the UK and other European allies needed to increase their military expenditure, Ukraine’s president said: “I don’t know how much you need to contribute – two percent, three percent. But listen, we are spending our entire budget right now.
“I think that’s your answer. If you don’t want to be spending your entire budget on defence in the future, invest the necessary percentage today and take steps to strengthen your defence now.”
A seal reading “Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation” is displayed on the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington, D.C. in 2022.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
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A top Justice Department official said FBI agents who “simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner” when conducting investigations into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot do not face the risk of being fired.
That message to the FBI workforce on Wednesday from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove is the latest in a back-and-forth between the Justice Department and the bureau as the Trump administration looks to remake the department, implement its agenda and push out those it deems disloyal.
“Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties,” Bove writes in the message, a copy of which was obtained by NPR.
The FBI is part of the Justice Department, which declined to comment.
The message to the workforce comes as Pam Bondi was sworn in as the new attorney general on Wednesday.
The only individuals who should be concerned, the memo says, “are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent, who blatantly defied orders from Department leadership, or who exercised discretion in weaponizing the FBI.”
The FBI has been in turmoil since last week when Bove issued a memo, with the subject line “Terminations,” that ordered the firing of eight senior FBI officials, and demanded the bureau identify all current and former FBI personnel who worked on Jan. 6 cases or the recent prosecution of Hamas leaders.
That set off panic across the FBI and fears of a mass purge of agents who worked on those investigations.
On Tuesday, the FBI provided the Justice Department with a list of bureau employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases, but that list did not contain names. Instead, the bureau provided employee ID numbers and other information, according to a person familiar with the matter.
President Trump said Tuesday he would investigate California’s high-speed rail plan, calling it “the worst-managed project” he has seen.
“They have hundreds of billions of dollars of cost overruns,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “It’s impossible that something could cost that much.”
In response, the High-Speed Rail Authority posted a progress report on X.
“Ignore the noise. We’re busy building,” the post said, highlighting the project’s environmental clearance for construction between Los Angeles and San Francisco, construction in the Central Valley and more than 14,000 jobs the project has provided.
An authority spokesperson said that of the roughly $13 billion that has been spent on the project, $10.5 billion has been funded through the state of California — “not hundreds of billions.”
“Every dollar of the project is accounted for and has been thoroughly reviewed by the independent Office of the Inspector General,” the spokesperson said. “Expenditures have created over $22 billion in economic impact.”
But the project has faced ongoing challenges over timeline and funding. The budget is roughly $100 billion more than the authority’s original $33-billion estimate, and the authority has yet to identify tens of billions of dollars needed to finish it.
The project was initially expected to be completed by 2020. But that timeline has moved back considerably. Construction has so far been limited to the Central Valley. The authority expects a 171-mile stretch between Merced and Bakersfield to be completed between 2030 and 2033. It is unclear when construction would begin on other parts of the line.
Authority leaders have acknowledged funding and timing issues in board meetings, and lawmakers and transit experts have pointed to a need for private-sector investment in the absence of federal funding commitments. A state-appointed peer review group has repeatedly advised the authority to consider alternative plans for the project.
California’s high-speed rail endeavor has been targeted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. In post on X in December, it highlighted the $6.8 billion the project has received in federal funding, and the authority’s request for an additional $8 billion. Musk had said earlier last year that billions of dollars have been spent on high-speed rail “for practically nothing.” U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) has introduced legislation to defund it.
In January, state leaders went on the offense and touted the train’s progress to eventually connect the state and link to a high-speed rail line between Southern California and Las Vegas.
Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed back against criticism the project has faced with regard to past decisions. The train has been faulted for not utilizing a direct route along Interstate 5.
“We can’t go back. We just have to accept the responsibility of where we are, and that’s exactly what we are doing,” Newsom said last month.
No. 1-ranked flyweight contender, Brandon Royval, has withdrawn from his Manel Kape main event, previously scheduled for the UFC Vegas 103 card on Sat., March 1, 2025 inside the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Unfortunately I’m going to have to pull out of my fight,” Royval wrote on Instagram. “I’m sorry to Manel Kape and my fans. I’m facing an injury that has me questioning when I’ll be able to train again.”
“This is absolutely a fight I think needs to happen for the flyweight division but as of right now competing (next) month has been ill advised,” Royval continued. “Love y’all and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I’ll have more details on my YouTube this week.”
Royval (17-7) is coming off back-to-back victories over Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira, pushing “Raw Dawg” to 5-1 across his last six. As for Kape (20-7), he rebounded from a decision loss to Muhammad Mokaev to stop Brazilian bruiser Bruno Silva.
UFC has yet to announce a new main event for its March 1 lineup.
Dementia risk could one day be assessed during a trip to the dentist after scientists uncovered new evidence that mouth bacteria is linked to changes in brain function.
University of Exeter researchers found certain bacteria were linked to better memory and attention, while others appeared to increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers said harmful bacteria may impact brain health when they enter the bloodstream, or an imbalance of bacteria could reduce the conversion of nitrate to nitric oxide.
The chemical plays a crucial role in brain communication and memory formation.
Study leader Dr Joanna L’Heureux, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “Our findings suggest that some bacteria might be detrimental to brain health as people age.
“It raises an interesting idea for performing routine tests as part of dental checkups to measure bacterial levels and detect very early signs of declining brain health.”
The study recruited 110 people aged 50 and over, who were split into two groups depending on whether they showed any signs of mild cognitive impairment, which is often a precursor to dementia.
People who had large numbers of the bacteria groups Neisseria and Haemophilus had better memory, attention and ability to do complex tasks, as well as higher levels of nitrite in their mouths.
On the other hand, greater levels of the bacteria, Porphyromonas, was more common in individuals with memory problems. And the bacterial group Prevotella was linked to low nitrite.
Study co-author Professor Anne Corbett said the findings, published in the journal PNAS Nexus, could also lead to new treatment avenues.
“The implication of our research is profound,” she said. “If certain bacteria support brain function while others contribute to decline, then treatments that alter the balance of bacteria in the mouth could be part of a solution to prevent dementia.
“This could be through dietary changes, probiotics, oral hygiene routines, or even targeted treatments.”
The study was supported by Wellcome and part funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Exeter Biomedical Research Centre.
Like many other airlines, Virgin Atlantic puts on frequent promotions for buying points through its buy, gift, or transfer Virgin Points feature.
As is always the case, speculatively buying points might not be the best idea; however, it can be a lucrative opportunity to take advantage of sweet spots in premium cabins, or to top up your account for an upcoming redemption.
With the latest promotion, Virgin Atlantic is selling Virgin Points with a 70% bonus throughMarch 7, 2025.
Buy Virgin Points with a 70% Bonus
Until Marh 7, 2025, Virgin Atlantic is offering up to a 70% bonus on purchased Virgin Points.
You’ll receive a greater bonus as you purchase more Virgin Points, which is structured as follows:
Buy 5,000–24,000 Virgin Points and get a 20% bonus
Buy 25,000–69,000 Virgin Points and get a 40% bonus
Buy 70,000–124,000 Virgin Points and get a 60% bonus
Buy 125,000–200,000 Virgin Points and get a 70% bonus
A 70% bonus on purchased Virgin Points is in line with the best-ever offers, so it’s definitely worth considering if you stand to benefit.
Normally, Virgin Atlantic sells points at a base price that varies depending on where you live.
If your account is registered in the UK, the standard rate is £15 (~$18 USD) per 1,000 Virgin Points, prior to taxes, fees, and any bonuses. This works out to a cost of 1.5 pence per point, which is equivalent to 1.8 cents per point (USD).
If your account is registered in the United States, the standard rate is $25 (USD) per 1,000 Virgin Points, prior to taxes, fees, and any bonuses. This works out to a cost of 2.5 cents per point (USD), not accounting for any taxes and fees.
No matter where your account is registered, there’s a transaction fee of £15 or $22 (USD), which is added to the total cost of your purchase, and increases the cost per point accordingly.
If you were to take advantage of the 70% bonus promotion, you’re reducing the acquisition cost down to 1.48 cents per point (USD) for transactions in US dollars, and down to 0.89 pence per point for transactions in British pounds.
0.89 pence is equivalent to around 1.08 cents (USD), which is clearly much lower than the acquisition cost for accounts subject to purchases in US dollars.
It’s worth noting that you need to have made at least one qualifying earning or spending transaction in your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account to be eligible to purchase points. If you have a new account without any activity, you aren’t able to buy Virgin Points.
How many Virgin Points can you buy?
Typically, members are limited to purchasing a maximum of 100,000 Virgin Points each year. However, that number has been doubled for this promotion.
If you were to max out this promotion, you’d earn a total of 340,000 Virgin Points, at a cost of either $5,022 (USD) or £3,015 ($3,679 USD), depending on where your account is registered.
Which credit card should you use to buy Virgin Points?
As with many loyalty programs, Virgin Atlantic sells Virgin Points through Points.com. Therefore, you won’t be able to benefit from travel category bonuses on your credit card.
When buying or gifting Virgin Points, it’s recommended that you use a US-issued credit card for purchases in US dollars.
If you’ll be charged in British pounds, then it’s best to use a credit with no foreign transaction fees. This way, you’ll avoid the 2.5% foreign transaction fee you’d otherwise be subject to.
You might want to use a credit card that has a high base earning rate, or one on which you’re working to meet the minimum spending requirement.
For example, buying points can be worthwhile if you’re short by a few Virgin Points for an upcoming booking, and you have no other way to top up your account. During a promotion such as this, the standard cost is lowered, and you wind up getting a better deal.
Furthermore, buying points during promotions can sometimes result in a significant discount on what travel in premium cabins would otherwise cost if you were to book a revenue fare.
Just remember that as long as you redeem your points for a flight with a value that’s higher than your acquisition cost, you’ll wind up in the black.
Redeem Virgin Points for Virgin Atlantic Upper Class
For example, a one-way flight from Western North America to Japan in ANA First Class costs 72,500 Virgin Points, and a one-way flight from Eastern North America to Japan prices out at 85,000 Virgin Points.
Redeem Virgin Points for ANA First Class
With the current promotion, buying 72,500 Virgin Points would cost around $1,138 (USD), while buying 85,000 Virgin Points would cost around $1,335 (USD). In either case, that’s a massive discount to the cash fare for one of the best First Class products available, which can sell for upwards of $15,000 (USD).
ANA business class pricing is also excellent through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, at 52,500 Virgin Points from Western North America to Japan, or 60,000 Virgin Points from Eastern North America to Japan.
Redeem Virgin Points for ANA business class
It’s worth noting that award availability on ANA business class and First Class is quite difficult to come by these days, due to how popular the products are. Therefore, you’d want to make sure you’ve found award availability before you purchase Virgin Points, especially since there could be another devaluation at any time.
Naturally, you can also book Virgin Atlantic flights through Flying Club; however, you’ll be hit with upwards of $2,000 (USD) in taxes, fees, and surcharges in Upper Class, which erodes a lot of the value.
For example, the lowest cost of a round-trip flight in Upper Class from New York to London prices out at 95,000 Virgin Points, plus around $2,269 (USD) in taxes and fees.
If you were to buy 95,000 Virgin Points with a 60% bonus, you’d wind up paying around $1,491 (USD) for enough points for a round-trip flight in Upper Class. Then, you’d then have to pay $2,269 (USD) in taxes and fees, with a total out-of-pocket cost of around $3,760 (USD).
On the other hand, you could simply pay cash for those same flights, which in this case, price out at just over the same cost amount of taxes, fees, and surcharges on the award booking.
It goes to show that you should always check the cash price of flights before buying points, as it may wind up being cheaper in some circumstances.
Other Ways to Earn Virgin Points
As is always the case, it’s worth exploring other ways to come across Virgin Points aside from just outright buying them.
US Credit Cards
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a transfer partner with many US credit card transferable points currencies. Therefore, you can earn points from your credit card through welcome bonus and daily spending, and then transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to Virgin Points.
The following programs have Virgin Atlantic Flying Club as a transfer partner:
Many of these programs also offer occasional transfer bonuses when transferring into Virgin Points, typically with a bonus of 30%.
If you’re able to hold out for one of these promotions, you’re effectively reducing the cost of a Flying Club redemption by 30%, which can be an outstanding deal.
Transfer from Marriott Bonvoy
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is also a transfer partner with Marriott Bonvoy.
Marriott Bonvoy points can be easily earned in Canada and the United States, either through credit card welcome bonuses and spending, or by converting transferable points into Marriott Bonvoy points.
You can transfer Bonvoy points into Virgin Points at a 3:1 ratio; however, your best bet is to convert them in chunks of 60,000 Bonvoy points, as you’ll get a bonus 5,000 Virgin Points.
For example, by converting 60,000 Bonvoy points, you’ll get 25,000 Virgin Points: 20,000 from the standard 3:1 ratio, and 5,000 as a bonus for transferring 60,000 points.
As you decide whether or not this promotion is a good opportunity, here’s a look back at Virgin Atlantic’s past bonuses for purchasing Virgin Points:
Conclusion
Virgin Atlantic is currently offering a bonus of up to 70% on purchased Virgin Points.
Buying Virgin Points can be a great deal in some situations, especially if you’re able to find award availability for ANA First Class or ANA business class.
If you’re interested in taking advantage of the promotion, you’ll need to act quickly, because the 70% bonus is only live until March 7, 2025.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Discovering something new can be easily done, however, truly learning and applying it to real life is another challenge.
People look at me today as the founder and CEO of a $100 million business and think I’ve always had everything figured out.
The truth is, I was not the best student in my early years, traditionally speaking. My idea of learning didn’t line up with the state’s curriculum. I cut school so often that my parents finally agreed it wasn’t the right environment for me. So, at 16, I officially — and with my parents’ legal blessing — became a high school dropout.
Of course, a formal education is hardly the only way to learn. Life is the best teacher.
I didn’t learn business from books; I learned from experience.
But whenever I did run into something I couldn’t solve on my own, I would research the subject. I still have many books on management and business on the shelves in my office that are full of highlights, scribbles and marked pages for reference.
As it turns out, scientific studies prove that writing on paper and interacting with print materials helps us learn better. These days, I do listen to podcasts and books while I ride my bike, and watching YouTubers and reading blog posts is helpful. However, I still make it a point to incorporate notebooks and books in my business, both for my employees and clients.
Why? Because the power of print still stands strong today in a sea of digital noise. Here’s how to make the most of it:
1. Incorporate notebooks and other print materials into your business operations so both employees and customers can learn more
According to neuroscientists at the University of Tokyo, writing on physical paper can lead to more brain activity when remembering the information an hour later. After a number of studies, researchers concluded that unique, complex, spatial and tactile information associated with writing by hand on physical paper is likely what leads to improved memory.
Contrary to the popular belief that digital tools increase efficiency, people who used paper completed the note-taking task about 25% faster than those who used digital tablets or smartphones.
The research concluded: “Our take-home message is to use paper notebooks for information we need to learn or memorize.”
Another perk of print: People are more likely to revisit printed copy as opposed to digital documents. Marketing research has shown that nearly a third of all direct mail remains in the home more than a month later, making this a valuable tool for your business.
I can confidently say I’ve experienced the power of print firsthand. I built my own business, PostcardMania, from nothing to over $100 million in annual revenue by spearheading our own marketing with direct mail. It’s always been the cornerstone of our promotion, and today we mail over 230,000 postcards every week to promote ourselves.
We’ve also helped 121,976 businesses nationwide with direct mail-led campaigns. Along the way, we’ve racked up over a thousand direct mail case studies across hundreds of industries — and those are just the campaigns I’ve gotten permission to share far and wide. Speaking of which…
2. Launch a direct mail marketing campaign to increase your new leads
Which advertisement does the average person respond to more? A digital ad on Facebook, Instagram, Google or a postcard? One study revealed that participants’ recall was 70% higher if they were exposed to a direct mail piece (75%), rather than a digital ad (44%).
This gives you a major advantage over competitors if you incorporate direct mail into your integrated marketing strategy. This doesn’t mean you ditch social media or digital ads altogether, but adding direct mail as a physical touchpoint bolsters your digital strategies. It all works together.
A new law is also going into effect this year that will limit lead-buying and lead-sharing. This means generating new, organic leads will be far more important. The industries of real estate, mortgage and insurance will be heavily impacted.
One of my clients, Klooster Family Dental, tripled their monthly customers — from 15 new patients a month to 56 — after mailing postcards consistently. By adding postcards to their marketing mix, they were also able to open another office location!
With more regular new business coming in, and the potential for repeat purchases, your revenue can skyrocket.
3. Implement direct mail automation into sales funnels to boost sales
Direct mail marketing will affect your new lead numbers, but it also has the potential to close more leads as well. By automating your mailers and placing them inside your sales funnel, you’ll be able to reliably close more leads.
About 85% of marketers agree direct mail delivers the best conversion rate of all channels they use, up from 74% in 2023.
The main reason for this is because of the tangible — and more memorable — impact of mail. And with today’s technology, automation helps take the work out of mailing postcards or letters every month, too, so you can save time as well.
I suggest you connect your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to a direct mail automation platform. That way, postcards can be triggered in your CRM. Someone becomes a new lead? They receive a postcard in the mail. Someone receives a new quote? They get a postcard as well. A lead goes cold? Postcard.
Automated direct mail is growing fast. This is the fastest-growing part of my business currently, and we expect to grow even faster in 2025.
If you still doubt the power of paper, I challenge you to at least try out one of these initiatives. You’ll likely be happily surprised by the outcome!
Amazon is set to release its long-awaited — and delayed — Alexa generative artificial intelligence voice service, said three people familiar with the matter, and has scheduled a press event for later this month to preview it.
Once released, it would mark the most significant upgrade to the product since its initial introduction accelerated a wave of digital assistants more than a decade ago.
Amazon on Wednesday sent press invites to an event to be held on Feb. 26 in New York featuring the head of its devices and services team, Panos Panay.
Once released, the revamped Alexa AI service would mark the most significant upgrade to the product since its initial introduction accelerated a wave of digital assistants more than a decade ago. AP
A spokesperson said the event is Alexa-focused, while declining to elaborate.
The new generative AI-powered Alexa represents at once a huge opportunity for Amazon, which counts more than half a billion Alexa-enabled devices in the market, and a tremendous risk.
Amazon is hoping the revamp, designed to be able to converse with users, can convert some of its hundreds of millions of users into paying customers in an effort to generate a return for the unprofitable business.
The AI service will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and, company executives have said, even act as an “agent” on behalf of users by taking actions for them without their direct involvement. That contrasts with the current iteration, which generally handles only a single request at a time.
Executives have scheduled a meeting, known as a “Go/No-go,” for Feb. 14.
There they will make a final decision on the “street readiness” of Alexa’s generative AI revamp, according to the people and an internal planning document seen by Reuters.
Alexa’s revamp carries with it all the challenges inherent in now-familiar generative AI chatbots from OpenAI, Alphabet and others including the possibility of fabricated answers, known as hallucinations.
The AI service will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and, company executives have said, even act as an “agent” on behalf of users by taking actions for them without their direct involvement. . AP
With access to Alexa available in cars, televisions, thermostats and mobile phones, it could become an essential daily tool for scheduling and even shopping.
Initially, Amazon plans to roll out the new Alexa service to a limited number of users and will not charge for it, the people said, though it has considered a $5 to $10 monthly fee.
The company will also continue to offer what it is calling “Classic Alexa,” the version broadly available today for free.
One of the people said Amazon has discontinued adding new offerings to Classic Alexa.
While Apple’s Siri voice assistant preceded Alexa’s 2014 release by three years, the Amazon service supercharged the acceptance of voice assistants.
While Apple’s Siri voice assistant preceded Alexa’s 2014 release by three years, the Amazon service supercharged the acceptance of voice assistants. AP
But for many people, Alexa is now used for little more than kitchen timers and weather updates due to its lack of significant overhauls in the last few years.
Alexa is the brainchild of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who envisioned a service that would resemble the voice-activated computers on TV’s “Star Trek.”
The hope was that once perfected, users would turn to the voice assistant for hundreds of everyday tasks like turning on lights, preheating the oven, accessing the internet, playing music, writing emails and summoning taxis.
“Someday in the future — that might be years or decades away — it could answer everything that you would ever ask it,” Amazon’s then chief of devices, Dave Limp, said nearly a decade ago.
With those weighty expectations, the move to upgrade Alexa has suffered delays over concerns around the quality and speed of its responses, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
Amazon dubbed the new service “Banyan” internally, as well as “Remarkable Alexa,” though it was not immediately clear if the Seattle company planned on using either as a new product name.
In a January Financial Times interview, Amazon executive Rohit Prasad acknowledged some of the obstacles in developing what is effectively an entirely new service, including the work to eliminate hallucinations.
Analysts at Bank of America estimate Amazon could generate $600 million annually if 10% of active users, which it estimates at around 100 million devices, pay $5 per month for the service.
For Wikipedia, “true” is now synonymous with “left wing,” as a bombshell new report from the Media Research Center reveals. Will Google and other search sites adjust for that bias?
The slant is unquestionable: Wikipedia maintains a blacklist compendium of sources that page writers and editors are allowed to cite — and guess which will get you in trouble?
Outfits like the Daily Caller, the Federalist, the Washington Free Beacon, Fox News and even The Post.
Wikipedia maintains a blacklist compendium of sources that page writers and editors are allowed to cite. monticellllo – stock.adobe.com
Notice a theme?
It’s certainly not the reason Wikipedia claims, i.e., that these sites are especially unreliable.
Quite the contrary.
The Post’s 100% correct Hunter Biden reporting was tagged as disinformation by Big Tech and its allies in an effort to help Joe Biden win the election.
The Free Beacon delivers scoop after scoop, all fully backed up by documents, on government malfeasance and lefty insanity.
No — it’s that its journalism cuts against preferred lefty narratives and embarrasses progressives in positions of corporate and governmental power.
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For proof, look at the sites that get the green light from Wikipedia.
The New York Times, a chief organ of actual disinformation on everything from Joe Biden’s glaring senility to COVID risks.
Vox, another lefty disinfo bomb(and font of general stupidity: Remember the infamous bridge its reporter Zack Beauchamp hallucinated between Gaza and the West Bank?).
Jacobin, for Pete’s sake — an outfit only slightly less extreme than al Qaeda’s in-house publication Inspire.
Indeed, Wikipedia refuses its stamp of approval to 100% of right-leaning media sources versus only 16% of left-leaning ones.
Recall too that ultra-left NPR CEO Katherine Maher served as the head of Wikipedia’s parent foundation from 2016 to 2021 — and that she has called the First Amendment her “number one challenge” to fighting “disinformation.”
The source blacklist has zero to do with accuracy and everything to do with shutting down any journalist who doesn’t bend the knee to the left.
And stifling any discourse not approved by progressive would-be overlords in biz and government and the NGO sector.
In other words, Wikipedia is engaged in an actual disinformation op.
Other information-space players have a duty to face this fact, or be complicit: Notably, Wikipedia is routinely a top result in Google information searches.
Whether they blacklist Wiki or simply flag its blatant bias, Big Tech firms need to prove their commitment to open discourse is more than just cosmetic.
