More from the article...

... Christopher Stanley, a 33-year-old engineer who has worked at both Musk's social media company X and space-launch company SpaceX, is a senior advisor in the Deputy Attorney General's office, according to a former Justice Department official and a staff directory listing reviewed by Reuters.

Stanley was assigned there while working for Musk's Department of Government Efficiency that President Donald Trump set up to slash the federal bureaucracy. Musk has said no "organization has been more transparent" than DOGE, but there's been little public information on the responsibilities and background of its staff.

Stanley ran a series of websites and forums starting as far back as 2006, when he was 15, registration data preserved by the internet intelligence firm DomainTools shows. Several of those sites distributed pirated ebooks, bootleg software and video game cheats, according to copies maintained by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit whose 'Wayback Machine' preserves old websites.

Stanley boasted about hacking into websites on at least two of the forums, according to archived posts, one of which dates to when he was 19. At the time, he said he had put his hacking days behind him. But a YouTube video he posted in 2014 shows his involvement in the breach of customer data from a rival hacking group, when he was 23. ...

... A New Jersey state trooper faces multiple charges after allegedly shooting and killing his dog, fleeing his home, vandalizing a stop sign, and assaulting a local police officer. ...

Well, that certainly seems to be quite unbecoming of a State Trooper.

@#14 ... Silence on those two House seats I see, congrats? ...

Living in a cave?

A question I have asked before, one that has not yet been answered ...

Is Mr Musk gathering all this personal information? And if so, for what purpose?

To sell to advertisers for a profit?

Or maybe even to threaten blackmail at some future date to make someone keep "in line" with the governing party?

More from the article ...

... Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has gained access "to a payroll system that processes salaries for about 276,000 federal employees across dozens of agencies," despite "objections from senior IT staff who feared it could compromise highly sensitive government personnel information" and lead to cyberattacks, The New York Times reported today.

The system at the Interior Department gives DOGE "visibility into sensitive employee information, such as Social Security numbers, and the ability to more easily hire and fire workers," the NYT wrote, citing people familiar with the matter. DOGE workers had been trying to get access to the Federal Personnel and Payroll System for about two weeks and succeeded over the weekend, the report said.

"The dispute came to a head on Saturday, as the DOGE workers obtained the access and then placed two of the IT officials who had resisted them on administrative leave and under investigation, the people said," according to the NYT report. The agency's CIO and CISO are reportedly under investigation for their "workplace behavior." ...

@#136 ... Why do I get the exact same responses as you posted above when I feed the following prompts into ChatGPT? ...

I dunno.

Maybe your current alias should ask ChatGPT that question.

                        :)

More from the article ...

... Why It Matters

Rising tensions between Iran and the U.S. have reignited concerns of the potential for military conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have escalated the tone of their remarks, intensifying the standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" campaign, which has led to the reimposition of strict sanctions in order to weaken Iran's economy and stop its nuclear program. Iran has refused direct negotiations under pressure but said indirect negotiations were possible.

What To Know

In an interview with the Russian International Affairs magazine, Ryabkov said Russia opposed military strikes on Iran if Tehran refuses to agree to a nuclear deal, warning of "catastrophic" consequences, "especially if the nuclear infrastructure is hit."

Trump threatened to bomb Iran if it does not agree to a new nuclear deal. Tehran has rejected a U.S. proposal to engage in direct negotiations under "maximum pressure" policies.

"Threats are really heard, and ultimatums are also heard. We consider such methods inappropriate, we condemn them," Ryabkov added. ...

@#3 ... So, the Trump tariffs may be pushing our long-term allies, Japan and South Korea, towards China? ...

With all the recent pivoting of the Trump admin against China, it surprises me that the Trump admin would seem to be actively pushing our strong and long-term allies towards China.

So, the Trump tariffs may be pushing our long-term allies, Japan and South Korea, towards China?

My guess would be that Pres Xi is elated at Pres Trump's apparent short-term transactional "Let's Make A Deal" approach to international relations.

@#1 ... the suggestion that there was a joint response to U.S. tariffs appears to have been somewhat exaggerated," ...

"somewhat exaggerated"

But not denied.

Hmmmm...

More from the article ...

... The state media comments came after the three countries held their first economic dialogue in five years on Sunday, seeking to facilitate regional trade as the Asian export powers brace against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Japan and South Korea are seeking to import semiconductor raw materials from China, and China is also interested in purchasing chip products from Japan and South Korea, the account, Yuyuan Tantian, linked to China Central Television, said in a post on Weibo.

All three sides agreed to strengthen supply chain cooperation and engage in more dialogue on export controls, the post said.

When asked about the report, a spokesperson for South Korea's trade ministry said "the suggestion that there was a joint response to U.S. tariffs appears to have been somewhat exaggerated," and referred to the text of the countries' joint statement. ...

... USSECDEF Pete Hellsbreath issued a secret memo outlining US military priorities which comes straight from the conservative Heritage Foundation ...

Well, duh ...

Did you ever think that Sec Hegseth would be capable of thinking?

Really, did you ever think that Sec Hegseth would be capable of thinking?

I mean, like most of the Trump Cabinet, he seems to have been chosen to the job because of his unfettered adultationb of Pres trump and, secondarily, his media skills.

@#1

That raises a question or two for me ...

Why all the attention to Hunter Biden?

Was he an elected politician?

@#11 ... Someone (quoting Musk) said earlier that he might be retiring from politics, perhaps sometime in May, because his businesses (Tesla) are failing without his leadership, charisma and charm.

Take it for what it's worth. ...

Yup. And some Tesla shareholders seem to be concerned about Mr Musk's apparent lack of attention towards Tesla.

Wow, "it" seems not to be limited to Wisconsin ...

fwiw, local news ...

@#134 ... What I see is even more insidious. ...

... is the lame deflection attempts by the MAGA troll farm?

So... Mr Musk was not able to buy an election?

@#3 ... Sorry pal, you bought the business AND its contracts. ...

Twenty years or so ago, I was the Executor for my Mom's estate.

At one point we (my siblings) had to place her in an assisted care facility.

Long story short, I read, agreed to, and signed the contract.

Then I asked for a copy of the contract I had just signed.

I was told, ~our printer isn't working.~

Much longer story short, after many days of that excuse, I had to involve lawyers to get that copy of the contract.

@#5 ... The State doesn't send ballots to the counties/cities ...

And if (and that is a huge "if" based upon the usual comments of your current alias) that is a correct statement, does your current alias have anything to substantiate it?

@#7 ... Today those margins dropped by more than half.
Escambia county in District 1 that hasn't been blue in decades went blue by 3 points. ...

Yup.

It's fun to see the ad hominem attacks trying to deflect from that reality.

OK, I will state it differently ...

In a deep Red Florida, when the voting results change from a 30+ percentage lead by Republicans to a 15 or so point lead by Republicans ...

What does that say about how non-deep-Red voters view Republicans?

As an aside, it was significant enough that Pres Trump withdrew Stefanik's nomination to the UN.

If the deep-Red Republicans lose 15 or so percentage points in a deep Red state, what does that say about Independents going forward?

@#5 ... Gaslighter is really firing on all cylinders to get people to post. ...

Ya really need to stop projecting.

:)