Global oil stockpiles are "scarily thin" owing to the U.S.-Iran war, Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said Monday, days after G7 nations agreed to release more of their inventories to ease supply concerns.
The head of Germany's foreign intelligence agency also cautioned that NATO countries must beware of Moscow's "little green men." read more
City police say they were not aware that a white supremacist group was demonstrating outside their department Saturday night until after they were gone.
Tony Lyons, the leading organizer of the Make America Healthy Again movement, promised to raise $100 million to support Republicans this year. He's nowhere close. read more
An OpenAI employee focused on AI safety has quit the company and warned that top artificial intelligence firms aren't doing enough to mitigate the technology's risks, joining a growing chorus of employees raising alarms from within the industry. read more
... The Homeland Security Department signed a multi-million dollar agreement to buy five aircraft from a company owned by a political contributor of the secretary on her last day, documents show. ...
This looks even worse when the details are shown ...
(non-pay-walled)
www.seattletimes.com
... The Department of Homeland Security agreed to pay the donor's firm $108 million for a Boeing 737 airliner that had been converted into a massive private jet, complete with a stand-up bar, two bedrooms, marble showers and a table covered in manta ray skin.
The firm, Daedalus Aviation Corp., had bought the same plane a few months earlier from a seller who had asked for less than $90 million, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.
At the same time, the agency agreed to buy two smaller Gulfstream luxury jets at prices that also seemed to yield a hefty profit for the seller. Daedalus spent about $83 million to buy the pair, but resold them to the agency for $106 million, the documents show.
The agency also paid the company $45 million apiece for a pair of 17-year-old Boeing 737 passenger planes, the documents show. The Times spoke to six aviation experts, who said that those prices were millions of dollars higher than the typical market value for jets of that age. ...
After taking over, Mullin explored backing out of the deal, according to two White House officials, but feared a significant financial penalty. The officials said that Mullin consulted White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who shared his concerns about the possible financial ramifications and told him that he should not seek to block the purchase. He did not.
Mullin's staff did not address specific questions about that account but provided a statement saying that "these planes were purchased prior to Secretary Mullin's arrival at DHS." ...
My comments on another thread ...
imo, this rapid exit is more serious than that.
For example, the bombers seemed to have been removed before the refueling planes were ready to accompany them.
iow, it looks like a scramble to get those bombers the f*** out of there. And quickly.
OK, if this was all just a routine security incident that led the US to remove the bombers from that RAF base, then the haste with which they were removed just handed the Iranians a significant PR upside.
Iran eventually may be crowing, ~hey, look what we caused to happen...~
But for now, Iran seems to be staying silent in their denials.
imo, more to develop here.
The Planes Left Before the Tankers Were Ready
americanlibertypac.com
... On Sunday the United States pulled every B-1 bomber off a British airfield and sent it home. Twelve of them, parked for seven months at Fairford in Gloucestershire, where they had been flying the war against Iran. The crews were ordered up so fast that the tankers meant to get them across the Atlantic were still being fueled when the bombers rolled. By Sunday night at least three had landed in South Dakota. The rest followed. A peacetime ally, a base we have used for decades, and the planes left in a day. ...
@#15 ... For example, the bombers seemed to have been removed before the refueling planes were ready to accompany them. ...
The Planes Left Before the Tankers Were Ready
americanlibertypac.com
... On Sunday the United States pulled every B-1 bomber off a British airfield and sent it home. Twelve of them, parked for seven months at Fairford in Gloucestershire, where they had been flying the war against Iran. The crews were ordered up so fast that the tankers meant to get them across the Atlantic were still being fueled when the bombers rolled. By Sunday night at least three had landed in South Dakota. The rest followed. A peacetime ally, a base we have used for decades, and the planes left in a day. ...
Another view ...
Germany at risk of 'violent conflict' with Russia -- intelligence chief
p.dw.com
... Germany is facing a growing risk of a violent confrontation with Russia as Moscow continues a campaign of hybrid warfare with other countries in Europe, the head of Germany's BND foreign intelligence service warned on Monday.
Speaking before the Bundestag at the annual public hearing of intelligence chiefs, Martin Jger said: "The confrontation we are facing with Russia has taken on a new, more dangerous dimension."
"Germany is in danger of becoming embroiled in a violent conflict with Russia " the attempted attack in Leipzig is just one example," he said. ...
@#2 ... Remember Obama's 'the eighties called' comment? ...
This?
Obama: The '80s called, they want their foreign policy back (2012)
www.salon.com
... In an exchange about al-Qaida during the debate, Obama attacked Romney for calling Russia "without question, our No. 1 geopolitical foe" earlier this year.
"Gov. Romney, I'm glad you recognize al-Qaida is a threat, because a few months ago when you were asked what is the biggest geopolitical group facing America, you said Russia, not al-Qaida," Obama said. "You said Russia. And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back. Because the Cold War has been over for 20 years. But Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policy of the 1950s, and the economic policies of the 1920s." ...
... The president went on a tear against the Gray Lady after it reported that the venue where he hosted a rally in Alabama on Friday "was not full." ...
I saw videos of two recent rallies that Pres Trump held, in low-capacity arenas.
There were lots of empty seats.
The Alabama rally was held at Mitchell Center, which seats 10,000 people. ( www.southalabama.edu )
Yet there seemed to be some empty seats in that 10,000 seat arena...
nypost.com
@#4 ... The Democrats are going to stop all these billionaires from building these data centers ...
Republicans also seem to have issues with data centers, especially many (most?) of them are being proposed in rural areas.
In a divided America, the left and right unite to oppose artificial intelligence data centers (August 2026)
apnews.com
... In rural eastern Nebraska, a technology revolution could rise from fields of corn and soybean in the form of new data centers to power the artificial intelligence boom.
But just like around many parts of the country, opposition has been building in ways that defy typical partisan boundaries. Conservative farmers and the state Sierra Club chapter recently found common cause against labor leaders as they filled the firehouse in Murdock -- population around 275 -- to share concerns about data center development moving too quickly.
The scene exemplified an unlikely coalition that worries about dwindling farmland, declining water supplies and rising electricity bills -- not to mention how massive corporations could reshape small town America into nodes in a national network of computing warehouses.
The debate around data center projects is one of the rare modern issues to cut across party lines, demographics and geography -- from Republican-dominated Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming to swing-state Pennsylvania to Democratic-leaning New Mexico. ...
RFK Jr. Set to Unveil New Vaccine Injury Research Initiatives at NIH
www.ainvest.com
... - HHS Secretary RFK Jr. announced NIH-led vaccine injury research, aligning with his anti-vaccine advocacy background and agenda to reshape CDC vaccine schedules.
- The initiative targets liability protections for vaccine makers by proposing narrower recommended schedules and expanded injury compensation categories, risking civil lawsuits and data disclosure.
- Legal challenges loom over schedule changes and a proposed "presumed causation" table for COVID vaccines, with court outcomes determining whether liability shields for manufacturers remain intact. ...
Hochul declares state disaster emergency over ongoing measles outbreak
abc7ny.com
... Governor Kathy Hochul has issued an executive order on Monday declaring a State Disaster Emergency in response to the growing number of measles cases across rural areas of New York and neighboring states.
As of October 3, there have been seven confirmed cases in New York City and 101 in New York State outside of of the city, for 108 total cases this year, amid a global and domestic increase in measles cases.
Since July 15, there have been 92 cases reported among under-immunized, rural communities in 18 counties.
Since then, local health departments have administered over 1,000 doses of the MMR vaccine across rural areas of New York State.
The executive order signed on Monday expands the network of vaccine administrators to add paramedics, advanced EMS, midwives and pharmacists.
"After reviewing the latest data on measles cases in New York State, I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront this disease," Governor Hochul said. "No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease. ...
Sec Def Hegseth said he wants a testosterone-enabled fighting military.
Looks like he is succeeding.
Rubio says he doesn't think death linked to Russian plague lab is cause for alarm
www.scrippsnews.com
... The U.S. says it is monitoring a situation in Russia after a woman who worked at a plague research institute died from an unknown cause after developing pneumonia.
The case has raised concerns following unconfirmed reports that the woman died from pneumonic plague. Russian officials, however, said they have found no evidence that her illness was linked to materials she worked with at the institute.
The woman reportedly died at a hospital in Siberia. Officials said the hospital has been placed under quarantine and is no longer accepting new patients.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that he does not think there is cause for alarm at this time.
"It is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it, and we're doing that," Rubio said. ...
... When blue states chase away their billionaires ...
Simple.
They take more than they give.
And constantly look to reduce the amount they have to give.
So they want to move to a place that allows them to take more than they give.
It's obvious.