A new study of esports gamers has found that sparkling water could be better than still water if you want to maintain concentration and alertness over long sessions at a desk.
The conflict with Iran rages on for the United States, and now people across the country are beginning to sound off about wanting regime change in the Islamic Republic. On Sunday, rallies were held in New York City by advocacy groups calling for freedom for the Iranian people and the release of political prisoners. Organizers say the gatherings were intended not only to support Iranians fighting for basic rights and liberties, but also to show backing for the American and Israeli military actions against Iran that began more than two weeks ago.
President Donald Trump said Iran is ready to make a deal to end the war but the US wants better terms, signaling no letup in a conflict that's brought shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill and upended energy markets.
Taiwan saw a surge of Chinese military planes near the island, its defense ministry said Sunday, after a sharp drop in flights over the past two weeks had sparked discussions among observers. The ministry detected 26 Chinese military aircraft around the island on Saturday, with 16 of them entering its northern, central and southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone. Seven naval ships were spotted around the island, it reported.
A United Nations panel issued a Wednesday decision condemning hate speech from President Trump and raising concerns with his administration's immigration policies. read more
@#5 ... The MAHA Institute ...
That's a new one for me.
Found this ...
MAHA Institute
www.mahainstitute.us
... We focus on reforming the political, regulatory, and legislative environment to end corporate capture of government and restore its focus on the health of the American people. ...
We offer academic, strategic, and policy leadership.
We strengthen the MAHA movement from your neighborhood to Capitol Hill. By putting people before bureaucracy, we will achieve our goal of reforming and rebuilding the nation's political, regulatory, and legislative environment to realign it with the first principles of the United States of America.
We value and will fight for your freedom of choice, your freedom to stay informed, and your freedom to pursue health and happiness. ...
@#3 ... Regime change would be nice. ...
I cannot disagree.
The current regime in Iran is evil. OK, beyond evil.
But, Pres Trump seems to have miscalculated (I'm being kind) the difficulty in attaining regime change in Iran.
So now, Pres Trump seems to be desperately looking for an off-ramp to save face. Even to the point that he has been talking about negotiations with the Iranians that the Iranians assert do not exist.
Pres Trump said we obliterated Iranian nuclear capabilites in June 2025, and called it "fake news" for reporting that said otherwise.
Iran's Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated -- and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News (June 2025)
www.whitehouse.gov
Yet a goal of the current war with Iran was to destroy Iran's nuclear capability that Pres Trump said was obliterated in June 2025.
@#37 ... One third of Americans? -- I call bullshit! ...
... Healthcare Costs Impact Daily Life
news.gallup.com
In a nationally and state-representative survey of nearly 20,000 U.S. adults conducted from June through August 2025, roughly one-third of respondents -- the equivalent of more than 82 million Americans -- said they have made at least one trade-off with daily living expenses to afford healthcare. ...
Do you disagree because you have an issue with the polling methodology, or do you disagree because you do not like the results?
Serious question.
thx.
@#7 ... He fires anyone that tells him things he doesn't want to hear. ...
Yeah, I've seen that aspect.
But, then there is also this reporting ...
Trump's Humiliating War Miscalculation Exposed
www.yahoo.com
... President Donald Trump, convinced that Iran would quickly bend to any U.S. pressure, repeatedly ignored his general's warnings about Iran crippling a crucial oil shipping lane.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, repeatedly warned Trump that Iran would likely disrupt the Strait of Hormuz in response to a U.S. attack, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal[1].
In several briefings, Caine warned the president that Iran would send missiles and drones to the area.
Sources told the Journal that Trump acknowledged the risks but moved forward with his deadly war anyway.
Trump, 79, told his administration that he thought Iran would capitulate to the U.S. before it closed the Strait, adding that even if the Strait was threatened, the U.S. military could handle it. ...
=======
1 - Trump Knew the Risk of Iran Blocking the Strait of Hormuz. He Still Went to War. ( www.wsj.com ) [paywall]
@#3 ... How's that supposed to help?
There's literally millions of vacant houses in the United States right now. ...
At what cost to purchase compared to income of first-time home buyers? Maybe the asking price is a problem?
When I bought my house. the mortgage amount (with a 15% down payment) was between two- and three-times my household income.
What is the mortgage amount compared to household income nowadays?
Found this ...
Home Price-to-Income Ratio Reaches Record High (January 2024)
www.jchs.harvard.edu
... In 2022, the median sale price for a single-family home in the US was 5.6 times higher than the median household income, higher than at any point on record dating back to the early 1970s. ...
As the interactive shows, home prices have soared relative to incomes in a growing number of metro areas. Indeed, among the 100 largest markets in the country, 48 had a price-to-income ratio exceeding 5.0 in 2022, including seven markets with a price-to-income ratio above 8.0.
By comparison, 15 markets had price-to-income ratios above 5.0 as recently as 2019 and just five markets had ratios that high in 2000 (Figure 2). With the rapid rise in prices since the beginning of the pandemic, price-to-income ratios have reached all-time highs in 78 of the nation's 100 largest markets.
Only Syracuse had a price-to-income ratio under 3.0 among large markets in 2022. Price-to-income ratios that low were the norm across much of the country in prior decades.
Indeed, fully two-thirds of large markets had price-to-income ratios below
3.0 as recently as 2000. ...
@#26
Interesting timing of that song, though ...
It was written in 1929 when the stock market crashed and led the United States into its Great Depression of 1929 to ...
The Great Depression
www.federalreservehistory.org
... The longest and deepest downturn in the history of the United States and the modern industrial economy lasted more than a decade, beginning in 1929 and ending during World War II in 1941. ...
Pres Trump wants broadcasters to break out in a rendition of this song, that all is wonderful with his tenure ...
Leo Reisman Happy Days Are Here Again (19290
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
[Intro]
So long, sad times
Go 'long, bad times
We are rid of you at last
Howdy, gay times
Cloudy gray times
You are now a thing of the past
[Verse 1]
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again
[Verse 2]
Altogether shout it now
There's no one who can doubt it now
So let's tell the world about it now
Happy days are here again
[Bridge]
Your cares and troubles are gone
There'll be no more from now on
From now on
[Verse 1]
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy times, happy nights
Happy days are here again!
...
The (OK, not probably "the" but "a") problem the farmers are facing is that this is a critical time for them, i.e. planting season.
Farmers warn of 'food supply shocks' as Iran war disrupts global shipping
www.wesh.com
... Hegseth said the U.S. military is working to keep the shipping lane open.
"The only thing prohibiting transit in the Strait right now is Iran shooting at shipping. It is open for transit, should Iran not do that. Now, there's a reason why we chose as one of our primary objectives to destroy the navy. We understood the ability to interdict shipping is something Iran has done for 40 years. It's key terrain," Hegseth said.
The fighting is starting to ripple through the U.S. economy, with AAA reporting that gas prices nationwide are nearly 70 cents higher today than a month ago.
Farmers are now warning that food prices could be next.
"About 40 to 50% of some of the most needed fertilizers in the world travel through the Strait of Hormuz," said John Newton of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The American Farm Bureau Federation is warning the president that disruptions to fertilizer shipments during the critical spring planting season could threaten crop production. ...
While I do not disagree with his current cringy focus on junk food, my larger, much larger, concern is about his apparent goal of making Americans sick again.
I mean, the great people of the state of New Mexico seem to have disregarded his ~advice~ about vaccines ...
Measles vaccinations rose 291% among New Mexico adults during outbreak
arstechnica.com
... In January 2025, a measles outbreak erupted on the western edge of Texas and soon spilled over to New Mexico and other states. The overall outbreak would become the largest the country has seen since 2000, when measles was declared eliminated from the US. In Texas, it was the largest outbreak recorded since 1992. And in New Mexico, it was the first measles outbreak the state had even seen since 1996.[emphasis mine]
But the trajectory of the two states' measles cases diverged. Texas declared the outbreak within its borders over on August 18, with an end tally of 762 cases. In New Mexico, officials declared its outbreak, which began in February, over on September 26, with a total of just 99 cases.
One of the key differences, according to a new study, was that in New Mexico, the rapid spread of the highly infectious virus spurred a massive surge in measles vaccinations among children and adults. Overall, shots of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine increased 55 percent statewide from January to September compared to the same period in 2024.
The study, appearing in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, further broke down the increase in shots. Over the whole year, the number of MMR doses given to children (defined as less than age 18) increased 18 percent compared to 2024 -- from 27,988 in 2024 to 32,890 in 2025.
Doses in adults (aged 18 and up) skyrocketed by a whopping 291 percent -- from 5,748 in 2024 to 22,500 in 2025. ...
... many Democrats who consider themselves strong supporters of Israel have felt out of sync and uncomfortable....
Well, yeah.
My current view is that PM Netanyahu is continuing this war for the sole reason to avoid having to face the court trials that await him when the war ends.
Similar to the reason why Pres Trump likely ran for office in 2024 ...