The new award, the administration's latest show of support for the Afrikaner cause, comes after it cut human rights funding to nations in crisis. One former diplomat called the move "offensive."
The state thrice denied the Satanic Temple's application for a family friendly holiday event featuring satanic carols, arts and crafts and a Krampus costume contest, arguing it would be harmful to minors.
Donald Trump's big, rapid American AI buildout now faces a major slowdown as voters in yesterday's elections overwhelmingly supported candidates and measures that favored increasing restrictions on AI and data centers nationwide.
As with interior design for houses, interior design for vehicles is also subject to fashion trends. read more
Recently, reports emerged that LG TVs are sniffing around your local network, and even listening to your local environment, even when the TV is purportedly "off." Some of those voice commands were then stored in plain text and uploaded to the internet. LG's response? To deny everything. read more
@#12 ... Congress has sole control over tariffs, correct? ...
Not necessarily so, in my understanding.
There's that 301 provision that seems to grant the President the ability to impose temporary tariffs for a period of time due to [I don't remember the reasons].
Found this ...
Section 301 Tariffs Explained: Impact on Import Costs and U.S. Businesses
uslawexplained.com
... Summary
Imagine you're the coach of a basketball team, and your opponent keeps breaking the rules"subtly pushing your players, using illegal screens, and distracting the referees. You can complain to the league, but that takes months. Instead, you have a special rulebook that lets you, as the coach, impose an immediate penalty on the other team to make them play fair.
That's essentially what Section 301 tariffs are. They are a powerful tool the United States government, specifically the United States Trade Representative (USTR), uses to penalize foreign countries for "unfair" trade practices that harm American businesses. Instead of a 15-yard penalty, the U.S. imposes a tax"a tariff"on goods imported from that country.
For a small business owner, this means the components you import to build your product could suddenly become 25% more expensive overnight.
For a consumer, it means the price of electronics, furniture, or clothing on the store shelf might go up. It's the U.S. government's way of leveling the playing field of international trade, but its effects ripple all the way down to the price you pay at the checkout counter. ...
YMMV, and all that...
Sympathy for the Devil
en.wikipedia.org
... Of the change in public perception the band experienced after the song's release, Richards said in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, "Before, we were just innocent kids out for a good time, they're saying, 'They're evil, they're evil.' Oh, I'm evil, really? So that makes you start thinking about evil ... What is evil? Half of it, I don't know how many people think of Mick as the devil or as just a good rock performer or what? There are black magicians who think we are acting as unknown agents of Lucifer and others who think we are Lucifer. Everybody's Lucifer."[16]
Hunter S. Thompson and his attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta kept replaying the song hundreds of times during their drug-induced road trip to Las Vegas in 1971 to maintain focus whilst high. In Thompson's novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the film of the same name, the song is referenced several times.[17]
Contrary to a widespread misconception, it was "Under My Thumb" and not "Sympathy for the Devil" that the Stones were performing when Meredith Hunter was killed at the Altamont Free Concert.[10] Rolling Stone magazine's early articles on the incident typically misreported that the killing took place during "Sympathy for the Devil",[18] but the Stones in fact played "Sympathy for the Devil" earlier in the concert; it was interrupted by a fight and restarted, Jagger commenting, "We're always having -- something very funny happens when we start that number." Several other songs were performed before Hunter was killed.[13] ...
The Republican Party of late? ...
Missing Persons - Destination Unknown (1982)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/missingpersons/destinationunknown.html
...
Life is so strange when you don't know
How can you tell where you're going to
You can't be sure of any situation
Something could change and then you won't know
You ask yourself
Where do we go from here
It seems so all too near
Just as far beyond as I can see
I still don't know what this all means to me
So you tell yourself
I have nowhere to go
I don't know what to do
And I don't even know the time of day
I guess it doesn't matter any way
Life is so strange
Destination unknown
When you don't know
Your destination
Something could change
It's unknown
And then you won't know
Destination unknown
You ask yourself
When will my time come
Has it all been said and done
I know I'll leave when it's my time to go
Till then I'll carry on with what I know
...
Also ...
Numerous firsts: The candidates that made history in the 2026 midterm elections
www.nbcwashington.com
... There were cheers and happy tears at election parties from New Mexico to Georgia late Tuesday once it became clear voters had elected the country's first Black female governor, the first Native American female governor, the first Native female senator and the first openly gay male U.S. senator.
By early Wednesday, the first Muslim U.S. senator was also added to the list of barrier-breaking milestones.
The astonishing blue wave also means the United States will likely have its first-ever Black speaker of the House.
Most of these firsts are Democrats, but the GOP has also broken some new ground. ...
Related ...
'Killing children': Bill Gates rips Elon Musk over aid cuts to poor nations (May 2025)
www.business-standard.com
...
Bill Gates slams Elon Musk over USAID shutdown
Gates, who recently announced that the Gates Foundation will wind down operations by 2045, told The Financial Times that Musk's actions could have deadly consequences.
"The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," Gates said, blaming Musk for acting "through ignorance".
...
Related ...
Fox News suffers ratings drop on bleak election night for Republicans
www.theguardian.com
... On a midterm election night that was a huge disappointment for Republicans, with Democrats taking control of the US House and Senate, the country's most prominent conservative television network seemingly felt the brunt of viewer disillusionment with Donald Trump and his party, according to final audience numbers released on Thursday.
The Fox News channel, which often leads among all news networks in viewership on election nights, fell behind two top broadcasters on Tuesday.
According to ratings dating from the Nielsen firm, the network averaged 4.3 million total viewers between 8 and 11pm, behind broadcast networks NBC (6.7 million viewers) and ABC (5.2 million viewers), though it edged out fellow cable networks CNN (4.1 million viewers) and MS Now (3.7 million viewers).
Fox News handedly defeat CBS News, which attracted just 2.8 million viewers. CNN performed better in the 25-to-54 age demographic prized by advertisers, besting Fox News, MS Now and CBS. ...
... Republican allies and strategists called for Trump to shake up his White House personnel ...
Marco Rubio Might Quit Trump Admin to Launch 2028 Presidency Bid After GOP Midterm Rout: Report
www.ibtimes.com
... Secretary of State Marco Rubio might soon quit the Trump administration to launch a bid for the presidency in 2028, especially after the party's rout in the midterms on Tuesday, according to a new report.
British outlet The Independent cited insiders in the U.S. and the UK who have increasing expectations for Rubio to leave the government, with one saying he needs to "distance himself from the Iran war and pin that one on Trump."
"It makes complete sense for him to step down and leave the administration," the source added, claiming that Rubio is the "leading candidate at the moment" and ahead of Vice President JD Vance. ...
Related ...
OpenAI Is Changing Its Tune on Data Centers Following Electoral Wipeout
gizmodo.com
... Following a blue wave that put Democrats in control of the next Congress and demonstrated Americans' discontent with the AI buildout, OpenAI is rolling out new commitments governing how it develops data centers.
The company behind ChatGPT announced Thursday that it will limit the controversial practice of using nondisclosure agreements with public officials and cover the electricity and energy infrastructure costs of future data centers it owns and operates.
The promises are part of OpenAI's new National Community Compact, a framework outlining how the company plans to work with locals in places where it builds data centers. The framework also includes pledges to be more transparent about construction plans and noise levels, develop water-use plans tailored to each community, and invest in local services such as childcare, education, healthcare, and transportation. ...
@#3 ... Yeah, he has a vote...which means he's still gonna be a problem. ...
Yup.
But my concern is not how he casts his vote, but whether the votes he casts still represent the state who elected him.
But, we may not know that for a couple years...