EU Tightens Sanctions on Belarus After US Moves Woo Minsk
www.bloomberg.com

... The European Union expanded sanctions against Belarus, just days after the US said it would lift restrictions on exports of potash from the country, underscoring diverging approaches to the close ally of Russia.

"If the Belarus regime doesn't change its behavior, we might be both at different speeds and at different directions with the US," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said Monday in Brussels. ...

Donald Trump's Response to Rob Reiner's Death Sparks MAGA Backlash
www.newsweek.com

... Many Truth Social and X users were left aghast.

"I love you but this is seriously distasteful," wrote one supporter on Truth Social.

"I'm struggling to believe this is real or that the greatest President the US will ever have actually wrote these words, much less tapped send," one X user commented. ...

NASA says it expected space station garbage to burn up. The debris smashed into a Florida home instead (2024)
www.cnn.com

That's a part of the "then what."

A likely occurrence?

I hope not.

But, then, Hurricane Katrina was also not a likely occurrence.

So, at this point I have to ask, are you a betting person?

If so, what odds are you comfortable with?

:)

Musk calls Doge only somewhat successful' and says he would not do it again
www.theguardian.com

... Elon Musk has said the aggressive federal job-cutting program he headed early in Donald Trump's second term, known as the "department of government efficiency" (Doge), was only "a little bit successful" and he would not lead the project again.

Musk said he wouldn't want to repeat the exercise, talking on the podcast hosted by Katie Miller, a rightwing personality with a rising profile who was a Doge adviser and who is married to Stephen Miller, Donald Trump's hardline anti-immigration deputy chief of staff.

Asked whether Doge had achieved what he'd hoped, Musk said: "We were a little bit successful. We were somewhat successful." ...

Comedy icon Dick van ---- celebrates turning 100: "I still try to dance"
www.cbsnews.com

OK, Dick Van Dγke is a fav actor of mine. Since the days of the Dick Van Dγke show, back in the day.

I applaud him for that.

But this recent stuff that pops up on the search engines seems to be just Hollywood phlegm.

So sad for such a great person.

Some people are so poor all they have is money (2021)
www.lifeafterthedailygrind.com

... Some people are so poor all they have is money is a quote attributed to Patrick Meagher as well as Bob Marley.

It's always difficult to know who the original author of a quote was, and probably doesn't matter.

It's certainly the kind of thing Marley would have said. The below transcript is from an interview where his views on money are made clear.

Interviewer: are you a rich man?
Marley: what do you mean, rich?
Interviewer: you have a lot of possessions?
Marley: a lot of money in the bank? - possessions make you rich?
Marley: I don't know that type of richness, my richness is life

Coco Chanel made a similar remark when she said "There are people who have money and there are people who are rich".

I see Marley's (assuming it was him) quote of "Some people are so poor all they have is money" as an inverted, more concise version of Chanel's.

It probably doesn't need explaining, however, this quote relies on poor being viewed holistically and not simply in the context of money. It's an observation of people who have nothing but money, those that only care and think about their bank balance.

Marilyn Monroe

"I'm generally miserable"

Marilyn Monroe

Going from Marley to Monroe: despite her wealth and fame, Marilyn Monroe let it be known in a rare interview that on the whole, she felt miserable. ...

Here's why everyone's talking about a K-shaped' economy (December 1, 2025)
apnews.com

... From corporate executives to Wall Street analysts to Federal Reserve officials, references to the "K-shaped economy" are rapidly proliferating.

So what does it mean? Simply put, the upper part of the K refers to higher-income Americans seeing their incomes and wealth rise while the bottom part points to lower-income households struggling with weaker income gains and steep prices.

A big reason the term is popping up so often is that it helps explain an unusually muddy and convoluted period for the U.S. economy. Growth appears solid, yet hiring is sluggish and the unemployment rate has ticked up. Overall consumer spending is still rising, but Americans are less confident. AI-related data center construction is soaring while factories are laying off workers and home sales are weak. And the stock market still hovers near record highs even as wage growth is slowing. ...

Stated more bluntly, the billionaires are getting even richer, while the workers are struggling.

That's the "K."

Rich Russians flock to Florida to deliver American babies (2019)
www.france24.com

... In southern Florida's Sunny Isles Beach, Russian tourists Anna and Helen sip coffee with their husbands and newborn babies: a common scene in what has become a prized destination for well-off foreigners looking to secure US citizenship for their children.

Under the shadow of luxury skyscrapers -- among them Trump Towers -- exists an army of well-dressed women, either pregnant or pushing top-of-the-line strollers. Most are Russian or from former Soviet Union countries.

The weather, white-sand beaches and dazzling turquoise waters are common reasons given for traveling to give birth in this city of 20,000 people, north of Miami.

But one 34-year-old, who gave her name only as Anna, was more direct.

"For the American passport!" she told AFP, smiling. She arrived in the US while expecting now two-month-old Melania.

Both she and compatriot Helen, mother to a three-month-old, said tens of thousands of dollars and months of planning went into their trips. ...