Kings of Leon - To Space

New Type of ATM Theft Getting Traction with Local Gangs

ATM "jackpotting" is the exploitation of physical and software vulnerabilities in ATM machines that result in the machines dispensing cash. These attacks can happen at any time and typically take very little time so culprits can quickly commit the crime.  ATM jackpotting uses the elements of both physical crime and cybercrime to get an ATM to dispense cash. The offenders use a portable device to physically connect to the ATM. This "rogue" device can be a laptop, a smartphone or a tablet PC. They also use malware to target the machine's cash dispenser and force it to dispense cash.

Furthermore, attackers will often use deception to limit risk, like dressing as service personnel to avoid scrutiny while selecting easier targets, such as ATMs in isolated locations or unprotected by human security guards.  With physical access to a machine, ATM jackpotting enables the theft of the machine's cash reserves, which are not tied to the balance of any one bank account. Successful thieves who remain undetected can potentially walk away with all the cash that was stored in the machine at that time.

Gorillaz & IDLES - The God of Lying

Musk Gets Savaged by Old Lady on Social Media

It’s keyboards at dawn, folks!  Elon Musk has been comprehensively trolled on his own social media platform, and if that irony wasn’t delicious enough, his online nemesis isn’t some Fortnite-playing 12-year-old boy but an octogenarian literary icon. American author Joyce Carol Oates branded the tech boss “totally uneducated” and “uncultured” in a damning post which has evidently got under Musk’s skin.

The spat began when Musk bullishly defended his proposed trillion-dollar Tesla pay package. That inspired 87-year-old Oates to post a savage indictment: “So curious that such a wealthy man never posts anything that indicates that he enjoys or is even aware of what virtually everyone appreciates”, such as “praise for a movie, music, a book (but doubt that he reads)”.

Oates ended her attack: “In fact he seems totally uneducated, uncultured. The poorest persons on Twitter may have access to more beauty & meaning in life than the ‘most wealthy person in the world.’” The fact that she referred to the platform by its original name, Twitter, rather than Musk's attempted rebrand, was the icing on the cake.

The post about Musk went viral, with 5.5 million views, plus 11,000 retweets and 89,000 likes – and the subject of her stinging rebuke has not taken it well. In a series of erratic posts, Musk first went on the counter-attack, writing the following day: “Everything she says in her post about me can be shown to be demonstrably false with a simple search. Oates is a lazy liar and … an abuser of semicolons!” He followed that up with the cattier post: “Eating a bag of sawdust would be vastly more enjoyable than reading the laboriously pretentious drivel of Oates.”

However, Musk appeared to take Oates’s words to heart. Amusingly, right after the veteran author accused him of being culturally inert, Musk took great pains to demonstrate his bona fides. He shared such profound film insights as “Man on Fire is great”, "Edge of Tomorrow is a “great movie”, and “Fifth Element has great style”. Top tip for Musk: perhaps try using more than a single adjective when you’re feuding with a four-time Pulitzer finalist.

In an astonishing coincidence, X then promoted an ad from the book app Blinkist claiming that “Elon reads a lot” and sharing his nine non-fiction recommendations. Musk also advised his followers to listen to an audiobook of Homer’s Iliad at 1.25 speed, but linked to Homer’s Odyssey instead; he has since deleted the post. 

If Musk hoped that this burst of cultural engagement would silence Oates, he was sadly mistaken. The author landed another right hook on November 11, replying to a post about Musk always wanting to leave an event by saying: “That’s because when he gets there, he has brought his own self along; & whatever club he’s invited to join has been devalued by the invitation.” Oates also said of Musk’s estranged transgender daughter Vivian Wilson: “A normal parent would be very proud.” 

Musk clearly didn’t know who he was messing with. This particular literary lion simply loves to sharpen her claws on social media, and Oates has proved to be oddly well-suited to the medium thanks to her combination of intellectual acuity and unapologetically blistering, often outrage-sparking, opinions. 

 

Release the [Unredacted] Epstein Files!

Now that the House is being forced to take a vote on releasing the Epstein files,  convicted felon Donald Trump has changed course and now seemingly supports the release.  But many feel that there are other reasons for the Trump capitulation-- there are fears that Trump officials have spent the months-long delay redacting/deleting the names of Trump and other Republications.  

“They’ll [DOJ] redact every Republican or conservative person in those files, leave all the liberal, Democratic people in those files, and have a very slanted version of it come out… without really seeing any of their bad behavior,” admitted Joseph Schnitt, Acting Deputy Chief at the Office of Enforcement Operations for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), on hidden camera to an undercover OMG journalist. Schnitt confirmed that the government is in possession of an extensive trove of Epstein-related documents but warned that any release would be politically manipulated.

Schnitt admitted that “There’s thousands and thousands of page-open files,” and further described how the department would handle disclosure of the material: “If they’re released in any way, it’s going to be very redacted.”

He further revealed new information regarding Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. “She got transferred to a minimum security prison,” Schnitt said, despite her conviction as a sex offender. “It’s against BOP policy because she’s a convicted sex offender. And they’re not supposed to get minimum security prisons, which is an interesting detail because she’s getting a benefit, which means they’re offering her something to keep her mouth shut.”

Schnitt also revealed internal conflict within federal law enforcement over the release of said files. “The head of FBI [Kash Patel] really wants to… second-in-command [Dan Bongino] at FBI has been causing problems, because he’s like, ‘No, these [Epstein Files] have to be released.’ He added, “The FBI wants them out. The top two guys that will do it. But they work for Bondi, so… Bondi wants whatever Trump wants. Internally there’s a lot of conflict.”

Despite public assurances that the government has been transparent, Schnitt admitted that nothing substantive has been revealed: “Whatever they’ve released has already been publicly released anyway, so they haven’t released anything new. Even though they were the ones that were claiming that they were going to release everything.”

Another tidbit on the Epstein files has made news-- Mark Epstein (the brother of Jeffrey Epstein) made a public statement to shut down one of the most controversial interpretations of newly released Epstein estate emails, issuing a statement insisting that the now-viral “Bubba” reference in a 2018 exchange with his brother Jeffrey had nothing to do with former President Bill Clinton. In the statement, Epstein said the exchange was being misread entirely. “They were simply part of a humorous private exchange between two brothers and were never meant for public release or to be interpreted as serious remarks,” he wrote. He added, “For the avoidance of doubt, the reference to ‘Bubba’ in this correspondence is not, in any way, a reference to former President Bill Clinton.”

Other messages now public paint a darker and more politically treacherous picture. In a 2019 email to author Michael Wolff, Jeffrey Epstein claimed that Trump “knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.” Another email, sent in 2011 to Ghislaine Maxwell, alleges Trump spent hours at Epstein’s house with one of his sex-trafficking victims.

Despite the protestations of the White House, the latest revelations are damaging to Trump and the pressure seems to be on the rise. On Friday night, he launched into a caustic Truth Social tirade, complete with anti-transgender rhetoric, pulling his endorsement for and attacking Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of his staunchest allies, after she joined a bipartisan move to force a House vote compelling the DOJ to release all unclassified Epstein files. 

 

Kim Kardashian's TV Show Gets Trashed by the Critics

To be fair, Kim Kardashian is not an actress-- she is basically a reality internet star who got famous when her sex tape with Ray J was leaked on the internet. She filed a lawsuit against a distributor for selling copies of the tape, despite many in the industry telling her that the suit had no merit.  But guess what?  She dropped the lawsuit three months later (just as sales were peaking) in exchange for a financial settlement (i.e., a cut of the profits, perhaps?).  A mere four months later, her reality show debuted on cable TV.  Numerous media outlets later criticized her and her family for using the sex tape's release as a publicity stunt to promote their forthcoming reality show. 

Kardashian tried to raise her profile as an activist in 2017 during a visit to Uganda.  She was widely criticized for lending her celebrity to legitimize an increasingly authoritarian government, which had recently begun cracking down on political opponents and gay people.  Two years later, it was reported that she began studying for the bar exam (without going to law school).  Two years after that, she passed the "baby bar" on her fourth attempt.  After a further four years of "study," Kardashian failed to pass the actual bar exam.  But now, she is trying her hand at being an actress . . . I'll give you one guess on how that has turned out.

The reviews of Ryan Murphy's divorce drama have been universally horrible.  On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has garnered a shocking 4% rating.

The Guardian's zero-star review was titled "Kim Kardashian’s Divorce Drama is Fascinatingly, Existentially Terrible."  For context, I should tell you that the Guardian (in its 75 years of reviewing TV programs) has only given out two other zero-star reviews.  On the reality star's performance:  "Kim K as Allura . . . is as expressionless as you might expect, but is at least inoffensively useless."  On the overall cast: "No one seems to know what they’re doing; the performances seem to respond to about nine different ideas of what the show is and the plots are dismal. The trio (“You’re the best divorce lawyers in town – maybe the country”) wrap up multiple cases in the time it takes Kim K’s nail varnish to dry."  The show has also been derided for a jarring obsession with brand names (“Let’s get those Goyard travel cases and start stuffing!”), conspicuous consumption (“Oh my God – didn’t this belong to Elizabeth Taylor?”), and a concept of female empowerment (“I settled … Did I not love myself enough?”) that would have shamed the Spice Girls thirty years ago.

Empire magazine said that Kardashian performance makes "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" look like Citizen Kane.  "Then there’s Kim Kardashian herself, the show’s inexplicable lead. In one early scene, an absurd number of candles are lit around her, presumably to create the illusion of emotion on her otherwise bored face. “She’s a dominatrix, I love that for her,” says Kardashian at one point, yet no “love” or expression of any kind is apparent. So wooden is her acting that the furniture around her looks positively alive by comparison," it added.

The Hollywood Reporter said that Kardashian’s performance was "stiff and affectless without a single authentic note."

USA Today said "the dialogue is stilted to the point of laughability . . . the plots are offensively dull and idiotic, and . . . it’s all wrapped in expensive and tasteless fashion."

You get the idea-- no need to pile on.  Good luck to Kim K in her future endeavors.

China Played Trump Like a Chump (Again)

Convicted felon Donald Trump has been trying to claim victory in his ongoing trade tantrum with China, but look past the bravado and it’s clear that Chinese Premier Xi Jinping played the president—again. Even worse, it looks like Trump just surrendered some of the United States’ most advanced technology to our largest adversary for a literal hill of beans.

Trump’s new Chinese trade deal would see the U.S. selling its most advanced Blackwell artificial intelligence chips to China in exchange for a Chinese commitment to resume the country’s purchases of American soybeans, which ground to a halt during the latest trade unrest. Cybersecurity experts and U.S. business leaders now warn that giving China easy access to AI technology will make it even harder for American companies to compete in global markets while making it easier for Chinese operatives to compromise national security.  “The defining fight of the 21st century will be who controls artificial intelligence,” Delaware Sen. Chris Coons told CNN. “It would be a tragic mistake for President Trump, in order to get some soybean orders out of China, to sell them these critical cutting-edge AI chips.” 

Trump’s short-sighted soybean deal is just the most visible part of a trade deal that appears to benefit China on nearly every front. As The New York Times notes, Xi’s scheme to block American access to Chinese rare earth metals worked perfectly, bringing U.S. negotiators to the table without China actually needing to offer anything new. Xi’s team effectively offered Trump the chance to return to a deal the two nations already had in place, while American negotiators offered up a host of new concessions that will allow Xi to expand China’s growing tech dominance.

In addition to giving China access to the world’s most advanced AI chips, Trump also announced he would cut his more recent 20% tariff on Chinese goods by half, while also agreeing to remove export limits on key Chinese products. Those penalties were put in place earlier this year in an effort to stop the flow of fentanyl from Chinese ports, a fight Trump is now abandoning after only a few short months. It was a stinging defeat for a president who absolutely hates losing. 

The changing power dynamic was visible in Trump’s new and weaker language about Chinese fentanyl. Just months after threatening to shut down all trade with China unless they immediately halted the flow of fentanyl, Trump now seemed to acknowledge that it was China—not the United States—setting the terms of the negotiation.  “I believe that they’re going to help us with the fentanyl situation,” Trump told reporters. “They’re going to be doing what they can do.”

Trump’s sudden backtracking on everything from technology security to drug trafficking stunned Jeremy Mark, a nonresident senior fellow at the nonpartisan Atlantic Council.   “However the White House chooses to portray the agreement in the coming weeks, there is no avoiding the fact that Beijing has tremendous advantages in the ongoing negotiations,” Mark recently wrote.

So why did Trump fold so quickly on an issue as important to American national security as controlling the flow of highly advanced AI technology to foreign powers? One word: Nvidia. 

Katy Perry - bandaids

Fishing in the Caribbean

Hegseth’s Sexism is Pushing Qualified Women Out of the Military

Everything was set for the Navy officer to take over a new role that would have capped an already distinguished career— and made her the first woman in a Naval Special Warfare command overseeing Navy SEALs.  Ranked the top officer for promotion in her cohort, she received a Purple Heart after being injured in an IED attack during a combat tour in Iraq. She then became the first woman to serve with SEAL Team Six in the role of troop commander, one of several senior positions within the squadrons that make up the elite naval unit.   A formal ceremony marking her new position was planned for July. Invitations went out two months in advance.  

But just two weeks before the ceremony, her command was abruptly canceled with little explanation (according to a new report by CNN). The decision didn’t come through formal channels but by a series of phone calls from the Pentagon, which was designed to omit a paper trail, according to multiple sources.  With no command slot to take, under the Navy’s “up or out” policy, the officer’s more than two-decade military career is now effectively over.  As the news spread through the tight-knit world of Naval Special Warfare, a consensus began to form: The command was likely yanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth because of the officer’s gender.  

The command she was set to take over is closely aligned with recruiting for elite operations roles, including the Navy SEALs — and the impression those in the Naval Special Warfare community got from the Pentagon was that Hegseth did not want a woman fronting that role.  

A Pentagon official familiar with the situation said the command was pulled because the Navy captain wasn’t herself a SEAL, and that Hegseth was not involved.  But multiple people familiar with the dynamics of Navy personnel matters scoffed at those explanations. A broad panel of the most elite Navy SEAL leaders selected her for the new command.  “They can [try to] justify it by saying she’s not qualified because she’s not a SEAL,” said one retired SEAL. “But the SEALs thought she was qualified.”  To this person, the revoked command was a clear symptom of Hegseth’s views about women in the military. He said he believes the commander was removed because Hegseth is sexist.  “I’m sure they would repeal the whole women in combat thing [if they could], but this is what they can do,” the retired SEAL added.  

Her story is further evidence of what many in the military now fear is a culture of misogyny permeating the armed forces under Hegseth.  Many active-duty women have said they also know of other female service members who had recently been passed over for deserved promotions. Others said they are now considering leaving the military.  

Hegseth has already removed several women from prominent leadership roles, including firing Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the highest-ranking officer in the US Navy and the first woman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. That currently leaves the US without a female four-star general, the military’s highest rank.  Two years ago, there were four.  

In a speech to generals in Quantico, Virginia, in September, Hegseth announced his vision for rolling back policies aimed at promoting diversity or accommodating troops.  Among these were fitness standards that he claimed were eased in recent years to make it possible for women to serve in combat roles. In his speech, Hegseth vowed to implement fitness tests that would be judged to “the highest male standard.”  “If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it,” Hegseth said.  But the fact is that Hegseth’s claims are blatantly false—the physical standards for combat positions are already gender-neutral.  For the Navy captain whose command orders were revoked, she met every physical standard (according to multiple sources)-- including being able to perform 25-pound weighted pull-ups.  

According to a retired senior enlisted Navy SEAL who served with the Navy Captain denied a promotion, there was never any question about her qualifications for the role. “She was the best man for the job. There is absolutely no DEI ,” the retired SEAL said, adding that the captain spent her spare time competing in IRONMAN races.  She would have overseen bomb disposal technicians and divers in addition to Navy SEALs, three communities in which she had worked. “She’s a badass, and also extremely smart and capable,” the retired SEAL said.

For Hailey Gibbons, an Army veteran who was among the first women to graduate from Ranger School after it was opened to women a decade ago, the idea that women aren’t meeting the same standards as men is “laughable.” Her initial physical test at Ranger School – a grueling two-month training course – was the same as her male comrades, she said: 49 pushups, 59 sit-ups, and a five-mile run in under 40 minutes, plus six chin-ups. 

Another woman in the Army (an enlisted soldier in a combat arms unit) said that she is already feeling real-life effects of Hegseth’s September speech.  Following the secretary’s remarks, she said a male non-commissioned officer in her unit told her: “All you women are getting out now.”  “I want nothing to do with the military after this,” she said.   

For the Navy captain whose change of command was canceled she’s now unexpectedly winding down a trailblazing career in the Navy.  It makes her former SEAL Team Six teammate furious.  “It’s fuckin’ bullshit. That’s horse shit,” the former senior enlisted SEAL said.  He voted for and supports Trump, but says he thinks Secretary Hegseth’s personal views are blinding him from retaining obvious talent at the expense of some of the military’s most elite war fighters.  “I think my job is to protect women and children but occasionally there’s badass [women] out there, and we should capitalize and not limit ourselves,” he said. 

The Navy special operations source familiar with the matter lamented that one of the captain’s passions had been recruiting women to special operations roles. Now pulling the woman’s command could cut off access for other female service members, the person said.  “It pisses me off because it is clearly someone who is capable and has done extraordinary things and is being punished because of — and I hate that I have to say it this way — weak-ass men,” they said.

 

Using Your Credit Card May Get More Complicated

A settlement between Visa, Mastercard and U.S. merchants has been announced, which could usher in a new era of tiered pricing at the register and give businesses more power to charge fees depending on the credit card you use. The agreement comes after a two-decade antitrust battle over interchange fees, the charges banks collect from merchants every time a customer pays with plastic.

The settlement still needs court approval, and is likely to be contested by some merchant groups, which have disagreed over the fees and other terms in the past. A deal last year fell apart after lawyers for some merchants objected.

Merchants have always had the right to refuse to do business with a payment network entirely.  Costco, for example, only accepts Visa credit cards in stores. But current network rules say that if a store accepts one Visa credit card, it has to accept all Visa credit cards. The settlement could change that practice by allowing merchants to pick and choose which categories of cards to accept within a network. The settlement doesn’t affect debit cards.

A more likely outcome is that people will start to see more fees, according to analysts. Some merchants already tack on small fees when customers pay with a credit card instead of cash, but those tend to apply broadly across credit cards. The settlement would go a step further, allowing different surcharges depending on the category the card falls into. A basic, no-frills credit card, for instance, might come with a surcharge of 2.5% of the transaction amount, versus 3% for a rewards card.

The settlement would require banks to add clear visual markers to cards to help consumers and merchants determine what category a card falls into, but that could take years to update, analysts said.  For merchants, adding a surcharge would help offset their costs, but it also risks alienating customers. A recent survey commissioned by TD Cowen found that roughly two-thirds of consumers would switch payment methods if faced with a 3% to 4% surcharge.

The settlement also requires an average 0.1 percentage-point reduction in interchange fees phased in over five years. The banking industry has long argued that limiting interchange fees would threaten rewards for consumers. Analysts, however, say that the reductions spelled out in the settlement aren’t enough to result in sweeping changes to card rewards or annual fees. That means the travel points, cash-back bonuses, and lounge access that have come to define rewards and premium cards are likely to stay put.

 

Return of the Trump Curse; Fans Boo and Flip Him Off

The Trump Curse in the sporting world continues-- and has now struck once again.  The convicted felon  was the first sitting president to attend a regular-season NFL game since former President Jimmy Carter.  As expected, the orange man's presence led to the Washington Commanders' fifth straight loss, an embarrassing whipping by the Detroit Lions.

Many members of the crowd vocally booed when Trump and the rest of his entourage were projected onto the stadium’s screen in the first half, while smaller numbers clapped and yelled in apparent support.  During halftime, Trump also participated in an enlistment ceremony for members of the military, inspiring a similar response as he was shown conducting it. At times, the sound of the boos appeared to overpower that of Trump’s voice as he gave remarks over the speaker system.  People in the crowd could be seen giving a “thumbs down” gesture as Trump presided over the ceremony, while one fan was seen shaking both middle fingers at the president, according to a pool report from The New York Post’s Steve Nelson.

People in the crowd could be seen giving a “thumbs down” gesture as Trump presided over the ceremony, while one woman was seen shaking both middle fingers at the president, according to a pool report from The New York Post’s Steve Nelson.

Prior to his attendance at the game on Sunday, Air Force One did a flyover over the stadium, which Trump touted as “the greatest flyover ever.” Trump boasted about his smooth flight on Air Force One from Palm Beach to Washington while airline cancellations stranded thousands of Americans.  He also joined Fox commentators in the booth during the game’s third quarter and praised certain players while discussing his high school football experience. Trump took advantage of that occasion to tell a few whoppers.  He tried to claim (yet again) that “prices are coming down” and that over $17 trillion is being invested in the country, both fabrications that he has been repeating over and over again.  According to ESPN, he’s also reportedly eager for the team’s new football stadium to be named after him (which is almost certainly NOT going to happen). 

 

Qatar and Saudi Arabia Use Their Pocketbooks to Cheat Their Way into the World Cup

The unparalleled spending of Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the soccer world over the past decade has brought them influence, attention, and access that few other nations can rival.  But for the first time, it appears to have had an effect on events on the field as well.  

To many, Qatar and Saudi Arabia appear to have cheated their way into the World Cup, buying influence in FIFA's Asian Football Confederation (AFC).  The Qatari and Saudi national teams have secured places in next summer’s World Cup after AFC (a recipient of “lavish funding” from the two Gulf states) “changed qualification rules to give them home-field advantage, extra rest days and access to more tickets for fans,” according to the New York Times. 

The moves enraged opponents and brought new scrutiny to how power works atop global soccer.  "I simply can't understand it," said Carlos Queiroz, the coach Oman's national team, "I am absolutely convinced that this playoff format was the worst possible [thing] that football leadership could have done to its own credibility."   

The AFC had eight guaranteed spots for its members in next year's World Cup.  The Federation established the qualification process for its 47 member member countries a year before the qualification matches began in 2023.  After the early qualifiers, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates would have locked up hosting rights and top seeding for the final round of matches, based on their performances in those earlier qualifiers.  But the federation suddenly changed course in March.  Rather than giving hosting rights to the Iraqi and Emirati teams (as per the previously announced qualification process), it instituted a bidding process.  Guess who won the bids to host the final round of qualification matches?  The Asian federation awarded hosting rights not to Iraq and the Emirates, but to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, without explanation.  

Even worse, AFC went against their own qualification process, awarding Saudi Arabia top seeding (despite being outranked by Iraq in the early rounds). The higher seed comes with double the number of days off between games, compared with its opponents.  Host teams also have the privilege of selecting the venues for its games.  As a top seed, Qatar hosted its final qualifying match against UAE in one of its smallest stadiums (despite having a number or larger ones it built for the 2022 World Cup).  The small stadium limited the attendance by UAE fans, whose access to tickets was further restricted by the Qatar's ticketing policy.  UAE ended up losing the match in the face of highly aggressive Qatari fans, who disrupted the final stages of the game by throwing debris on the field.  Qatar's captain, Akram Afif, acknowledged later that he had goaded fans into the misbehavior, underlining the benefit of Qatar's home-field advantage.

National federations, competing teams and fans were furious with AFC's unprecedented last-minute changes to the qualifying process.  Miguel Maduro, FIFA’s former Head of Governance under current President Gianni Infantino, said that the “sudden change of regulations is the latest example of how soccer’s leaders have backpedaled from promises to be more transparent following a global corruption scandal in 2015."

Qatar and Saudi Arabia's lavish spending has repeatedly called into question soccer's credibility, particularly after FIFA (its global governing body) awarded the tiny Qatar the hosting rights to the 2022 World Cup in a bidding process widely seen as corrupt.  More outrage ensued when FIFA short-circuited its own rules and delivered the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia without competition.

 

This is the "Golden Age" of America

The difference between convicted felon Donald Trump's warped sense of the country and the reality that he has created has never been starker.  For the 42 million people who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, the country’s largest anti-hunger program), it has been a chaotic, nerve-racking week.  During an address at the America Business Forum in Miami this week, Trump said: 

 "Our opponents are offering an economic nightmare-- we are delivering an economic miracle."

Middletown, OH:  The uncertainty over SNAP benefits consume 49-year-old Mary Schiely her at home and follows her to the grocery store, where she has worked for almost 15 years. Most of the store’s customers depend on SNAP, she said, and so does she.   Her SNAP benefits (almost $500 a month) augment her $12-an-hour job. Her pay vanishes quickly on rent, electricity, cellphone and Wi-Fi.  SNAP, she said, “is what puts food on the table.”

Milwaukee, MN:  26-year-old Latrica Williams has not received SNAP funds since early October.  Her baby, 4 months old, was born with a heart defect and needs a special formula that does not trigger his allergies. Williams had paid for it with a combination of federal programs, including SNAP.  “Formula is really expensive,” Williams said. “It’s like $75 a can, and I don’t have $75 to get him a can of milk.”

Granada, CO:  25-year-old Arianna Payton quietly stepped across a Walmart parking lot and climbed into a dumpster.  “I grabbed as much as I could,” she told a reporter. “I wasn’t even looking to make sure that it was safe.”  When she got home, she inspected everything. She retrieved a few bags of frozen vegetables, meal replacement shakes, cheese and fruit. She also found some loaves of moldy bread that she thought she could salvage some usable pieces from. Last week, Payton (who has had health issues for years and lives on disability insurance) tried the only nearby food bank.  “Everything was gone,” she said.

 "America is back and is back stronger than ever before. We're doing numbers that nobody's ever seen before. We're the hottest country in the world, actually." Donald Trump (at the APEC CEO lunch in South Korea) 

Lewisville, TX:  55-year-old Jennifer Lunn went to a food pantry for the first time last week. She’s a customer service agent with four children. For the past two years, she has been able to feed her children because of SNAP.  After her SNAP benefits were cut off, she found herself at the Heart of the City Lewisville, a pantry near her house, north of Dallas-Fort Worth. Lunn received a box with chicken, canned goods and salad ingredients.  “This is something I never thought I’d have to do,” she said.  With SNAP, she usually buys noodles, potatoes, vegetables, chicken and ground beef, anything to keep her teenagers fuller for longer.  But, she said, they plow through the food. “Two and a half weeks, we’re done,” she said.

Annoka, MN:  At the grocery store, 44-year-old Jeanne Nihart, a single mother, picked up some deli meat, cheese and french bread for her 12-year-old daughter, who loves turkey sandwiches.  Then she remembered that her next SNAP payment was at risk.  “I can’t justify buying meat right now,” she recalled thinking at the time.  Nihart stopped working in 2010 because of health issues, including fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder that comes with pain and fatigue.  She receives a monthly $1,060 disability payment and relies on subsidized housing, Medicaid and a SNAP benefit of $436 a month.  She expects her next SNAP payment will be half the full amount. “It’s better than nothing,” she said. “But half doesn’t keep us fed for the whole month.” 

"We have the greatest economy.  We are the hottest country anywhere in the world, by far." Donald Trump at the American Business Forum. 

Jeffersonville, GA:  39-year-old Julia Asherman runs a farm, selling fruits and vegetables to small grocers and green markets. Her customers are often SNAP recipients.  She’s bracing for slower sales and a financial hit.  This time of year, Asherman said, is the worst time to take SNAP benefits away from farmers’ customers. That’s when little money is coming in, but farmers must spend money to prepare for spring planting. In her town, half the people who buy her produce are on SNAP.  And she needs it, too, for her and her 3-year-old son.  “My take-home at the end of the year already hovers around zero, like many farmers around this country,” she said.

Tuscon, AZ:  51-year-old Wesley Peake Jr. sat on his wheeled walker outside a grocery store. For breakfast, he ate crackers and cheese, and now, with his hunger slowly building, his mind conjured images of his favorite foods. Chicken, yogurt, bananas. But Peake, who is homeless, had no money. And his monthly SNAP benefit, $57, may not come as usual this month.  The food that SNAP provides usually lasts him about four days. That is a big help because it means fewer trips to a soup kitchen. His osteoporosis has weakened his bones. “I can’t walk that well,” he said, “because my hip sockets are deteriorating.” He sits outside the grocery store, hoping that passers-by will drop some change in his hands. These days he is reluctant to ask people outright for help. They, too, may be losing SNAP.

 "This is the golden age of America-- this is the golden age."

Chouteau, OK:   The grocery store is 12 miles from 61-year-old Deana Pearson’s trailer. The closest food bank is 10 miles away; the closest gas station is nine.  Which trip is worth the gas money?  Pearson, whose jewelry business closed during the coronavirus pandemic, is running low on food. Without her usual SNAP payment (around $287) she must rely on what she has left. On Tuesday, that was $1.18.  A gallon of gas is $2.50.  “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she said. “I’m hoping that maybe someone will give me a ride to the food bank.”  

Denver, CO:  39-year-old Jessica Mayne began receiving SNAP in 2019, after tumbling misfortunes.  Just before the pandemic, she and her husband lost their jobs. Then there was an accident that totaled her car. After she and her family moved in with her mother, her husband was diagnosed with kidney failure, which requires dialysis and a special diet.  “We were just trying to make it, and every single time something happened,” she said. They have made some progress: Mayne now works full time as a behavioral health technician, while her husband works part time in construction management.  They had hoped to get their own place. But Mayne must now handle the loss of her SNAP benefits ($650) for their family of eight. “We’re stretching all of our meals,” she said. “Everyone hates me for it, but it’s necessary.”  For dinner recently, she used one pound of ground beef (instead of three) mixing in rice and beans for added protein. She also took on more credit card debt to pay for groceries.  “It’s just shameful. I feel bad about it,” she said of her situation. “I feel like I’m failing as an adult.” 

"I think it's the best nine months, they say, of any president, and I really believe that." 

Alexandria, VA:  A year ago, 55-year-old federal worker Andrea Grimaldi was the one donating to those in need.  This year, she is the one receiving donations.  In February, Grimaldi was fired from a new job as a Head Start specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services. She received her last paycheck in May.  Although Virginia will now subsidize SNAP benefits through November, she has started to ration just in case. She still has $176 of her $292 monthly SNAP benefits left from October. Family and friends have also organized food and gift card deliveries.  She has cut her expenses, including streaming services and ride shares. But she has been forced to dip into her savings.  Grimaldi has been applying for jobs for months without success. She never expected to rely on government benefits, including SNAP.  “It could happen to anyone in the blink of an eye,” she said.

Passaic, NJ: When 32-year-old Rosy Hernandez, a single mother, called SNAP for assistance, an automated message said that her November payment, usually $748, was not yet available and might be late or not issued at all.  Her current balance: $50.  “It’s going to look a little bit different for me, restocking my fridge this month,” she said.  Hernandez, who has relied on SNAP for two years, cares for her sons, Xavier, 7, and Adrian, 4. She does not work because Xavier, who has autism, needs constant supervision. His needs make keeping a job difficult, although she is looking for part-time work.  She is nervous about relying on a food pantry. Xavier has sensory issues and demands specific food.  “His diet might have to be forcefully changed,” she said. “And there’s just no telling how he will react.”

"The golden age of American has begun.  A golden age like you've never seen before." 

 

Absnt Mind - Stitch

Trump's America

Cheney is Finally Dead

Dick Cheney, one of the major architects of the Iraq War that killed thousands of people (based on his lies about weapons of mass destruction) is now dead.  Cheney most infamously served as vice president to former President George W. Bush for eight years, in which the two presided over the war, the collapse of the American economy, and numerous scandals (like the administration’s disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans).

Cheney became vice president after the Supreme Court chose Bush in the fall of 2000, legitimizing the Republican Party’s tactics in the state of Florida that invalidated thousands of Democratic votes.  Cheney was regarded by many as the “brains” behind the Bush White House.

It was on their watch that America suffered the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history on Sept. 11, 2001. While the Bush-Cheney administration received a classified memo indicating that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network intended to launch attacks against America, the administration chose not to take any overt action to thwart the terrorist threat.

Almost immediately, the Bush-Cheney administration began pushing for a war in Iraq, based on the lie that Saddam Hussein was sympathetic to bin Laden and was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. Cheney was the front man for the WMD campaign, famously touting the purported use of “aluminum tubes” by Saddam as evidence that he was building a weapons program.  But that was all a lie-- there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

The American invasion of Iraq in 2003 ultimately killed at least 200,000 Iraqi civilians and 4,492 American soldiers, with an additional 32,292 service members wounded. The war cost the American people at least $728 billion and further destabilized the Middle East in ways that still reverberate today.  This debacle was the pinnacle of Cheney’s pathetic career as a leader, and he never expressed regret for his lies and the mistakes that led to the years-long disaster.

In March 2008, ABC News’ Martha Raddatz asked him about the disastrous war.  “Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting,” Raddatz said, “and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.”

“So?” Cheney shockingly replied.  Raddatz followed up: “So—you don't care what the American people think?”

“No,” Cheney said, “I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.”  To the bitter end, Cheney didn’t care what people thought of his war-- or the death and destruction it needlessly caused.

Along with pushing the fake case for war, Cheney also advocated for the use of reprehensible and counterproductive military tactics like torture.   Cheney defended the use of waterboarding in a 2014 interview, even though the tactic and other so-called enhanced interrogation tactics had long been internationally condemned and shown to be useless in gathering intelligence.  “I’d do it again in a minute,” he said of his role in creating the country’s torture program. 

In fact, despite its promises, its wars, and its ineffective interrogation techniques, the Bush-Cheney administration failed to capture bin Laden and bring him to justice.  That task fell to President Barack Obama.

The Bush-Cheney team was also in charge when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, killing thousands as many more residents suffered from a slow and disorganized response orchestrated by former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who had more experience with Arabian horses than natural disasters.

In 2008, as the nation faced an economic crisis triggered by subprime mortgage loans, Cheney made a statement symptomatic of the administration’s uncaring attitude.  “We don't want to interfere with the basic, fundamental working of the markets,” Cheney said.  As a result of that inept indifference, the country and the world were thrown into chaos, and while the Bush-Cheney administration bailed out banks, millions of regular Americans lost their homes and jobs, and the global economy entered what came to be known as the Bush Recession.

When he wasn’t pushing lies about WMD's, promoting torture, and ignoring natural disasters and looming economic crises, Cheney was pursuing leisure activities like “accidentally” shooting his friend.  During a 2006 hunting trip, Cheney shot lawyer Harry Whittington, whose body was embedded with birdshot pellets and who suffered a minor heart attack as a result. Amazingly, when he left the hospital, Whittington apologized to Cheney, his shooter.

In 2011 Cheney released his memoirs, which were poorly received.  Former Bush administration officials and prominent Republicans (such as Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and John McCain) said at the time that Cheney "did not accurately recount their private conversations"  (i.e., Cheney lied).  When all is said and done, Cheney was a poor leader and a stain on this country's history-- his achievements were primarily based on conniving, cheating and corruption.  If I could attend his funeral, it would only be so that I could tamp down the dirt.  Good riddance!

 

Trump Does His Best Marie Antoinette Impression for Halloween

Hours before he was set to shut off food stamp benefits to more than 40 million low-income Americans, convicted felon Donald Trump hosted a lavish Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago resort in posh Palm Beach, Florida, producing some of the most tone-deaf images ever captured of an American president. Video and photos show a smiling Trump sitting at a table while scantily clad women in glittery 1920s flapper outfits dance around his table.

Trump chats with a guest  dressed in a prison costume at the Mar-a-Lago Gatsby-themed party

Meanwhile, despite two federal judges clearly ordering Trump to continue to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—better known as food stamps—Trump said it was still unclear to him whether he had the authority to fund the program, and thus he was not yet releasing the funds.  It’s just the latest time Trump has defied court orders to do cruel things.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the SNAP program, also sent a letter to grocery stores that accept SNAP over the weekend saying those stores cannot provide discounts to food stamp recipients to help them pay for their groceries during the lapse in funding.  It shows the Trump administration is okay with following the law—so long as it hurts people they don’t care about.

Just hours before food stamp funding was set to expire, Trump also posted a series of images of a bathroom renovation at the White House, which was refitted with lavish marble and gold fixtures.  Trump also decided that the middle of a government shutdown (when millions of federal workers are being furloughed and worry they won’t be able to feed their families) was a great time to begin construction on a $300 million ballroom at the White House where he can host more of his rich pals for lavish affairs funded by taxpayer dollars. 

Ultimately, the images of Trump at a lavish party while he purposefully cut off food stamps is an absolute gift for Democrats, whose whole message during the month-long government shutdown has been that Trump is more concerned with taking care of himself and his rich pals than the millions of hardworking Americans who are struggling with the cost of living.

 

Botched Trump Interview Shows That CBS is Now a Propaganda Machine

In his interview with “60 Minutes” that aired on Sunday, convicted felon Donald Trump gloated over CBS’ decision to bribe him and praised the news division’s new right-wing leader—but the network did not air these comments during their telecast.

The comments about the payoff did not make the program’s televised edit, but CBS posted them online later, along with the rest of the interview. Ironically, the payout to Trump was based on his complaint that edits to an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 amounted to election interference.

Legal experts say Trump’s suit was without merit, but CBS chose not to defend its own journalism, instead pursuing a cozier relationship with Trump amid its parent company’s major merger. Congressional Democrats recently launched an investigation into the matter, suggesting the payoff was “an offer of payment and benefits to a government official designed to achieve a specific outcome from the government—in other words, a bribe.”

In other comments that CBS also chose not to air, Trump praised the network’s newly appointed editor-in-chief Bari Weiss as “a great person.” Weiss is a conservative columnist who most recently led The Free Press, a right-leaning media outlet, and who has begun to shift CBS’ news operation further to the right.

During the on-air segment Trump was asked about his pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, replying, “I don’t know who he is.” Asked about Zhao’s apparent role in boosting a crypto coin benefitting the Trump family, he responded, “I know nothing about it, because I’m too busy doing the other thing.” 

For years, Trump has argued that former President Joe Biden was unfit for office based on claims he was mentally unstable. And yet Trump has been accused of mental instability by several prominent political figures.  By paying off Trump, hiring Bari Weiss to run the news division, and then trying to hide damning comments made during the interview, CBS continues to demonstrate that it is a compromised media organization. The network continues to lurch to the right, and shouldn't be trusted as a news source.

 

Daylight Savings Ends-- What Time is It?

Please Help Jamaica and Cuba Relief Efforts

The government of Jamaica has began recovery operations for Hurricane Melissa, part of which included a newly launched website to “coordinate relief, mobilize support, and manage recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Melissa,” according to Prime Minister Andrew Holness. The Support Jamaica official disaster recovery portal accepts monetary donations, which it says will be used for “emergency relief, housing reconstruction, healthcare support, and economic recovery programs.”

Historically, experts have said that the best way to help from afar after natural disasters is through donating funds to empower organizations that are already logistically set up to provide relief efficiently. Several non-governmental organizations have also begun fundraising for Hurricane Melissa relief efforts. Here’s what to know about what they’re doing and where you can donate. 

Airlink said it was working with over 14 partners, including United and American Airlines, to facilitate the movement of critical aid in areas battered by Hurricane Melissa amid widespread airport closures. The D.C.-based group is accepting cash donations as well as donations of frequent flyer miles, which it says could speed up the deployment of aid workers to disaster-hit zones. 

The New York-based nonprofit American Friends of Jamaica has extended assistance to the island nation since 1982. Its board of directors announced a $1 million matching fund “to support critical relief and recovery efforts in Jamaica” following the destruction left by Melissa.  

International anti-hunger and anti-poverty organization CARE said that it is “urgently mobilizing to deliver lifesaving relief in Jamaica and other areas in the Caribbean” following the destruction left by Hurricane Melissa, and donations made will be allocated for first aid, hygiene supplies, emergency food rations, water and water treatment kits, and other shelter supplies. 

Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), a Los Angeles-headquartered nonprofit, is accepting cash donations for its Melissa response. On its donation page, the group said that with longstanding programs in Haiti and “extensive experience” responding to storms in the Caribbean, it has activated emergency response teams across Haiti and Jamaica to meet victims’ urgent needs.  

International humanitarian aid organization DirectRelief is accepting cash donations.  

The New Orleans-based solar energy nonprofit Footprint Project said Tuesday that it has prepared to ship more than 150 portable solar and battery power stations from Florida to Jamaica.  

Global Empowerment Mission, a U.S.-based nonprofit that has a history of responding to storms in the Caribbean, has a team based in Jamaica’s capital Kingston. It is seeking donations through the purchase of supplies in its Amazon Wishlist.

A spokesperson for non-profit food relief organization Mercy Chefs said that they are also seeking donations to respond to the impact of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and Cuba. 

Global humanitarian assistance organization World Vision said it has a presence in Haiti, with its teams in the country ready to support 4,000 households with food, clean water, hygiene kits, and shelter materials.

Food relief organization World Central Kitchen, which responds to crisis situations around the world, has mobilized in Jamaica to help serve fresh meals to families affected by Hurricane Melissa. It accepts donations to facilitate its operations.

The U.N.’s World Food Programme, the world’s largest humanitarian organization, is seeking donations for its response to Hurricane Melissa.  The WFP said it was airlifting 2,000 emergency food kits from the eastern island of Barbados to Jamaica amid the island’s “uniquely challenging geography,” which is a mix of mountainous terrain and coastal communities.