Tag: Politics

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Ministers resist calls to block Musk donations to Farage's Reform UK – The Guardian

Government fears moves to curb any potential cash from the tech titan could backfire and play into Reform UK’s hands
Ministers are resisting demands to rush through measures to block Elon Musk from handing millions to Nigel Farage, amid a growing clamour for an overhaul of Britain’s political donation laws.
The government is facing mounting calls this weekend for an urgent clampdown that would limit the amount a foreign national can donate via their UK-based companies.
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Ministers resist calls to block Musk donations to Farage's Reform UK – The Guardian

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This Was the Year Elon Musk Took Over Politics – WIRED

Donald Trump may be the next president, but the person who defined the 2024 election was never even a candidate. Centibillionaire Elon Musk all but shut down the US government via X post before Trump, behind whom Musk threw his full support, was even in office. How the political system can adapt to such a figure is unclear.
What is clear is that Musk’s particular blend of superwealth, celebrity, and influence in the world of the Silicon Valley has already made him a key player in shaping the […]
This Was the Year Elon Musk Took Over Politics – WIRED

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Inside the use of artificial intelligence to track and help protect endangered wildlife around the world

An endangered Geoffrey's spider monkey that had been rescued and living in the care of the Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary in Dominical, Costa Rica, is pictured in March, 2023.Matt O'Brien/The Associated Press
The endangered Geoffrey’s spider monkeys that dangle high in the rainforest canopy are elusive and hard for scientists to track.
So biologist Jenna Lawson hid 350 audio monitors in trees across Costa Rica’s lush Osa Peninsula to spy on them.
The devices recorded the sounds of the […]
Inside the use of artificial intelligence to track and help protect endangered wildlife around the world

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Elon Musk among billionaires set to donate to Reform UK, says treasurer – The Guardian

Nick Candy promises that party will deliver ‘political disruption like we have never seen before’
The treasurer of Reform UK has said that Elon Musk is among a “number of billionaires” interested in donating to Nigel Farage’s party, promising “political disruption like we have never seen before”.
Nick Candy told the Financial Times that the party will raise more funds than “any other political party” for grassroots campaigning, data and polling.
He also predicted Reform UK […]
Elon Musk among billionaires set to donate to Reform UK, says treasurer – The Guardian

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Mike Johnson jokingly asks Elon Musk if he wants to be House speaker after spending bill drama

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he jokingly asked Elon Musk if he wanted to take over his job — after the billionaire helped torpedo a major government spending bill on Thursday, resulting in a pared-down version that passed Friday night after two days of intense wrangling.
“Elon Musk and I talked within about an hour ago and we talked about the extraordinary challenges of this job,” Johnson (R-La.) told reporters after the House overwhelmingly passed the final […]
Mike Johnson jokingly asks Elon Musk if he wants to be House speaker after spending bill drama

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How far do Elon Musk and Reform UK share a political vision? – The Guardian

Immigration, culture wars and shrinking the public sector all feature highly on their agendas
The get-together last week of Elon Musk, Nigel Farage and Reform UK’s treasurer, Nick Candy, was not just a gathering of Donald Trump fans. It was a meeting of minds.
Immigration, culture wars and shrinking the public sector all feature highly on their political agendas, developed under the umbrella of Trump’s Maga vision.
“We only have one more chance left to save the west and we can do great […]
How far do Elon Musk and Reform UK share a political vision? – The Guardian

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Could $100m of Elon Musk's money sway a general election for Reform UK? – The Guardian

Spending such a seemingly game-changing sum would face several hurdles and could even hinder the party’s chances
Over the 2024 general election period, combined donations to every UK party totalled about £50m. If reports are to be believed, Elon Musk could be about to give considerably more to just one – Reform UK. Is this a political game-changer? As ever with politics and money, there is no one answer.
One caveat must be mentioned: not only is the prospect of the world’s richest person […]
Could $100m of Elon Musk's money sway a general election for Reform UK? – The Guardian

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The Government Is Shutting Down Because Elon Musk Has Factories in China

There’s a mundane reason for the late-term chaos, and it’s called a conflict of interest.
Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai, China, is seen on December 31, 2023.
In a sense, Donald Trump is picking up where he left off. Most of us remember the last official act of his presidency as the Capitol Riot, but just before that, just before Christmas 2020, he inserted himself late into a government funding fight that he had been previously disinterested in. Congress had agreed to a bipartisan […]
The Government Is Shutting Down Because Elon Musk Has Factories in China

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Elon Musk Declares Himself President, Shuts Down Government – The American Prospect

And Donald Trump, for now, is fine with it.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
On Wednesday, Elon Musk began posting frantically on Twitter against the continuing resolution Congress needs to pass to keep the government operating.
For weeks now, House Republicans have been negotiating a traditional American funding bill. Since the government is broken and regular-order budgeting doesn’t happen anymore, Congress is routinely passing “continuing resolutions” (CRs) funding the […]
Elon Musk Declares Himself President, Shuts Down Government – The American Prospect