Katie Miller, a former U.S. administration official-turned-podcaster, posted an image late Saturday showing a map of Greenland in the colors of the Stars and Stripes with a one-word caption: "SOON." read more
Letting the unreliable Grok be its own "spokesperson" lets xAI off the hook. read more
The families of teenagers missing after a fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort are facing an agonising wait for news and appealing for information about their loved ones online. read more
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday that survivors jumped into the sea to escape a U.S. attack on suspected drug smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean. Petro warned regional governments in a post on X after posting a map showing where the strike allegedly occurred, near Mexico and Guatemala. read more
President Donald Trump said Friday that his doctors have proclaimed him to be in "perfect health," adding that he "aced" a cognitive exam. read more
@#5 ... The boats that Pres Trump has been destroying and the people he has been killing ...
Let's play with some numbers ...
Timeline of Boat Strikes and Related Actions
www.justsecurity.org
... On October 5, Trump spoke at a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. He implied there was an additional strike the prior evening, October 4, stating: "Every one of those boats is responsible for the death of 25,000 American people and the destruction of families. So when you think of it that way, what we're doing is actually an act of kindness. ...
OK, so, Pres Trump has said that each boat strike saves 25,000 American lives.
To wit ...
Trump: Each U.S. boat strike off the coast of Venezuela saves 25,000 people.
www.pbs.org
... The Trump administration has struck at least 32 vessels killing about 115 people in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean since September. Trump said previously that the boats were carrying drugs en route to the U.S. and during the press conference he said the drugs on each boat would kill "on average, 25,000 people."
However, experts on drugs and Venezuela told PolitiFact the country plays a minor role in trafficking drugs that reach the U.S. And the administration has provided no evidence about the type or quantity of drugs it says were on the boats. This lack of information makes it impossible to know how many lethal doses of the drugs could have been destroyed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 73,000 U.S. drug overdose deaths from May 2024 to April 2025.
That means the drugs on 32 boats would have been responsible for 800,000 deaths, nearly 11 times the number of U.S. overdose deaths in one year. ...
Wait, what?
Pres Trump lied?
Again?!?!?
Here's an interesting view ...
U.S. regime change under Trump 2.0: Empire at a crossroads (March 2025)
www.bjreview.com
... Donald Trump was elected U.S. president in 2016 with a platform opposing regime change. After four years, his administration attempted to overthrow the Venezuelan regime by violently appointing an unelected puppet Juan Guaido as the "interim president," covertly continuing President Barack Obama's efforts to overthrow the Syrian Government, and nearly taking the U.S. to war with Iran through the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. In 2024, Trump was elected again by an even stronger margin on the platform of being a "peacemaker." The question is: Will this be the moment when a U.S. president truly changes the course of American foreign policy away from regime change wars and toward peace?
The U.S. has conducted hundreds of regime change operations since World War II and has been successful in dozens. However, regime change comes with costs. America's shrinking share of global economic influence and its overextended military power has led to a reliance on proxy wars, covert operations, and shock and awe wars of aggression. The result: chronic instability, chaos and economic impoverishment, to which Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and several other nations can attest. ...
Trump's early foreign policy record indicates a dire need for Americans to understand "regime change" in a deeper way. Yes, regime change means the overthrow of governments, but the overthrow of governments is never without purpose. The purpose is the maintenance and expansion of U.S. imperial domination, and therefore all forms of U.S. interventionism are in a way linked to regime change. While Trump claims not to pursue direct regime change of any particular country, his administration's foreign policy remains committed to upholding U.S. dominance and the political manipulation required to achieve this. ...
Prescient?
Delcy Rodríguez strikes defiant tone but must walk tightrope as Venezuela's interim leader
www.theguardian.com
... In her first speech as Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodrguez lambasted the US and pledged fealty to Nicols Maduro. But the Trump administration has made a cold calculation: she will bow to Washington.
Rodrguez is a political veteran who served as Maduro's vice-president and oil minister and defended the regime against accusations of terrorism, drug-running and election-stealing, yet for now she is Donald Trump's favoured option to lead Venezuela. "She's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again," Trump said.
The US president has not ruled out deploying ground troops but appears to want to "run" Venezuela through Rodrguez, who finds herself in charge of a regime shocked and demoralised by the abduction of Maduro yet still in power. ...
fwiw, the Monroe Doctrine was stated in 1823. It looks like there were 24 states.
List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union
en.wikipedia.org
...
And the US was an agricultural country. Not in need of world trade.
So, maybe, not a good comparison?