Cargo Cult

Talking about Truth Social and killer robots.

On this 4th of July, it's time to meet Palantir, a powerful and Patriotic software company that helps Western countries derive insights from their data and whose first client was the CIA. In this episode, we disclose the company's underreported origins, make fun of the eccentricities of its bipartisan founders, and cover its controversial work with the US military, cops, border patrol, and more. We discover some Lord of the Rings lore.

We talk about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which will enable a new level of financial surveillance and social control. And we’re joined by John F O’Donnell, a guy with horrible karaoke etiquette. We promise we're not a con op lim hang !!! Photo: Jerome Powell

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Kitty History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Lvv1f5Qu4

Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act of 2023: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5776?s=1&r=42#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20House%20(09%2F27%2F2023)&text=This%20bill%20directs%20the%20Department,the%20ages%20of%2018%2D65.

A Proposal for CBDC based UBI: https://www.institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/proposal-web3-based-universal-basic-income

IMF’s CBDC Virtual Handbook: https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/fintech/central-bank-digital-currency/virtual-handbook

“Greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303763804579183680751473884

Digital Currency vs. Existing Electronic Currency: https://www.nttdatapay.com/blog/types-of-digital-currency/#:~:text=What%20distinguishes%20digital%20currency%20from,those%20connected%20to%20the%20Internet.

CBDC vs. Crypto: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/11/cbdcs-how-different-cryptocurrency-stablecoin/#:~:text=The%20main%20difference%20between%20CBDCs,data%20protection%20and%20online%20privacy.

The Federal Reserve Dissing Crypto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SxNyL3YFaM

IMF Dissing Crypto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4NpCf5Phj0

BIS Dissing Crypto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mvSsM1uqGo

The benefits of a cashless society: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/benefits-cashless-society-mobile-payments/

Atlantic Council CBDC Tracker: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker/

Atlantic Council Donors: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/2022-annual-report/

IMF Working Hard on Global CBDC Platform Concept, Georgieva Says: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-19/imf-working-hard-on-global-cbdc-platform-concept-georgieva-says?embedded-checkout=true

BIS Survey on CBDCs: https://www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/bispap136.pdf

BIS Explained: https://www.bis.org/about/index.htm

BIS Livestream, “Central bank digital currencies, digital payments, and the future of money”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVD1ZFPzcbg

Biden Executive Order on CBDCs: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/03/09/executive-order-on-ensuring-responsible-development-of-digital-assets/

Statement from Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen on the Release of Reports on Digital Assets: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0956<...

We discuss the "Friends of the IDF" in leadership roles at Interscope (Kendrick’s label), UMG (Drake’s label and Interscope’s parent company), NBC Universal (UMG’s parent company), and Comcast (NBC Universal’s parent company). We apologize for our tardiness and this cop-out pop culture ep. We both had crazy schedules the last couple of weeks (on top of our side hustle as outside agitators on college campuses). We will return to our regularly scheduled program next week ... BBL Drizzayyyy. Photo: Lucien Grange

Google and Meta are scrambling to bring the internet to Africa. And private U.S. corporations like Google and Meta mediating access to the internet is lowkey goated when digital colonialism is the vibe. Photo: Mark Zuckerberg