The Red Planet might be a lot more like Mad Max than we'd realized. read more
The move follows a series of others made by the Trump administration against the recommendation of vaccines. read more
Finnish police on Wednesday seized a ship sailing from Russia on suspicion of sabotaging an undersea telecoms cable ... read more
In the weeks after a widely shared video circulated online where politicians urged servicemembers to refuse illegal orders, a separate campaign began placing billboards near Florida military communities with a shorter message: "Obey Only Lawful Orders." read more
Ever since a U.S. military cemetery in the southern Netherlands removed two displays recognizing Black troops who helped to liberate Europe from the Nazis, visitors have filled the guestbook with objections. read more
@#6 ... Not really. I just saw a Reddit post that said there had been 590,000 pre-orders. ...
thx for that follow-up.
I found this in my travels ...
Trump Phone Still Missing After 5 Months of $100 Deposits (November 2025)
www.techbuzz.ai
... Five months after Trump Mobile started collecting $100 deposits for its promised T1 Phone, the device remains completely missing in action. The company's website sits unchanged with no release date beyond "this year," while customers' money potentially generates returns elsewhere. This latest non-update highlights a growing pattern in tech vaporware - collect first, deliver never.[emphasis mine]
The Trump phone saga continues its bizarre journey into tech industry legend, and not in a good way. Trump Mobile promised a revolutionary T1 Phone back in June, but five months later, customers who put down $100 deposits are still waiting for any sign their money will produce an actual device.
This isn't just another delayed product launch - it's shaping up as a textbook case of vaporware done wrong. The company's website remains frozen in time, offering no updates beyond the vague promise of delivery "this year." Trump Mobile's social channels have gone completely silent, and emails to the company go unanswered, according to The Verge's latest investigation.
The financial implications get more interesting when you dig deeper.
Those $100 deposits from early customers have been sitting somewhere for almost five months now.
If Tesla stock is any guide, that money could have generated solid returns. A $100 investment in Tesla on June 16th -- when the Trump phone was first announced -- would be worth $131.90 today, a profit of $31.90. Apple would have performed even better, turning that same $100 into $136.57.
But here's the thing about vaporware -- it's often more profitable than actual product development.
Taking deposits upfront with no obligation to deliver creates a perfect cash flow machine.
We don't know how many preorders Trump Mobile collected, but even modest numbers could generate significant returns when invested rather than spent on R&D or manufacturing.
The smartphone market has seen its share of ambitious promises that never materiialize. Remember the Phantom phone? Or any number of crowdfunded devices that collected millions before disappearing? Trump Mobile's approach follows a familiar pattern: big promises, early money collection, then radio silence.
What makes this case particularly frustrating for customers is the complete lack of communication.
Most legitimate companies facing delays will at least update their backers with progress reports, manufacturing challenges, or revised timelines. Trump Mobile has offered nothing -- not even acknowledgment that delays exist.
The Trump Organization's refusal to respond to media requests adds another layer of opacity to the situation. For a brand that built its reputation on bold public statements, the silence around the T1 Phone speaks volumes about the project's actual status. ...
@#3
VP Vance seems to be quite mercurial.
How many different names has he used?
How many different religions has he followed?
OK, for the former ...
JD Vance
en.wikipedia.org
... Vance was born James Donald Bowman ...
After he was adopted by his mother's third husband, Bob Hamel, his mother changed his name to James David Hamel ...
His surname eventually changed to her maiden name (his full name therefore changing to James David Aikins) ...
...
And to the latter ...
JD Vance
en.wikipedia.org
... Vance was raised in a "conservative, evangelical" branch of Protestantism.[241] ...
When entering college, he was an atheist.[242] ...
In August 2019, Vance was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church. ...
So, if I may ask ... how do the voters of the United States know who VP Vance is, if he seems to have such difficulty finding himself?
Or, should the voters just stand by and wait for a billionaire like say, Mr "I'm proud to be gay, I'm proud to be a Republican -- but most of all, I'm proud to be an American"[1] Thiel, to come by and dump a whole lot of money into a campaign?
===
1- www.npr.org
Ian Dury and The Blockheads " Reasons To Be Cheerful, Pt. 3 (1979)
www.youtube.com
That's a lyrics-enabled video, albeit a bit cryptic.
So ...
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
[Verse 1]
Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly
Good golly, Miss Molly and boats
Hammersmith Palais, the Bolshoi Ballet
Jump back in the alley and nanny goats
18 wheeler Scammells, dominica camels
All other mammals, plus equal votes
Seeing Piccadilly, Fanny Smith and Willie
Being rather silly and porridge oats
A bit of grin and bear it (Reasons to Be Cheerful)
A bit of come and share it (Part 3)
You're welcome we can spare it, yellow socks
Too short to be haughty (Reasons to Be Cheerful)
Too nutty to be naughty (Part 3)
Going on forty, no electric shocks
The juice of a carrot (Reasons to Be Cheerful)
The smile of a parrot (Part 3)
A little drop of claret, anything that rocks
Elvis and Scotty (Reasons to Be Cheerful)
The days when I ain't spotty (One, two, three)
Sitting on a potty, curing small
...
Trump-Endorsed Candidate JD Vance Once Said Trump Might Be America's Hitler' (2022)
www.vice.com
... Former President Donald Trump's newest Senate endorsee was even less of a Trump fan than he'd publicly let on.
Back in 2016, during his #NeverTrump phase, Ohio Senate candidate and Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance said Trump was either a "cynical [anal-pore]" or "America's Hitler" in a private message to an old law school classmate.
It's no secret that Vance, who won the coveted Trump endorsement last weekend, wasn't a Trump fan back then -- he publicly mocked Trump all year and refused to vote for him in the 2016 general election, and publicly called him "noxious," "reprehensible," and an "idiot" in October 2016.
But Vance went even further rhetorically in a private Facebook message he sent to Josh McLaurin, Vance's old Yale Law School roommate, when McLaurin reached out to ask for his take on the GOP primary in February 2016.
"I think most people are not very ideological, and Trump, while I find him loathsome, touches a legitimate nerve. You should read David Frum's piece in the Atlantic on the Republican revolt.
But I'm not surprised by Trump's rise, and I think the entire party has only itself to blame," Vance messaged McLaurin. "We are, whether we like it or not, the party of lower-income, lower-education white people, and I have been saying for a long time that we need to offer those people SOMETHING (and hell, maybe even expand our appeal to working-class black people in the process) or a demagogue would.
We are now at that point. Trump is the fruit of the party's collective neglect."
Vance then said Trump was either like disgraced former President Richard Nixon"or Nazi leader Adolph Hitler.
"I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical [anal-pore] like Nixon who wouldn't be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he's America's Hitler. How's that for discouraging?" Vance concludes, before asking McLaurin how his work was going. ....
@#2 ... Cool, now do 3IAtlas. ...
OK ...
A Giant Telescope Searched 3I/ATLAS For Signs of Aliens. Here's Why.
www.sciencealert.com
... A dedicated scan for signs of radio-transmitting technology in interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has come back with absolute cometary radio silence.
The Breakthrough Listen project used one of the world's biggest, most sensitive radio telescopes, the 100-meter Green Bank Telescope, to listen for several hours to the comet roughly a day before it reached perigee on 19 December 2025.
The team searched for artificial technosignatures across a wide range of radio frequencies, and while many signals were heard, not a single one turned out to be from the comet.
That's not a surprise -- there's absolutely nothing about 3I/ATLAS that indicates anything other than "comet" -- but, well, the Universe handed humanity this opportunity on a platter.
We'd have been silly NOT to look. ...
I saw on the evening NYC TV news here...
Shortly after his inauguration, Mayor Mamdani has been mingling among the people of NYC ...
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani greets commuters on subway, announces Office of Mass Engagement
abc7ny.com
... Friday is the second day in office for New York City's new mayor and Zohran Mamdani is already looking to follow through on campaign promises.
On his second day in office, Mamdani announced an effort to get more people involved in city government -- a move meant to mirror the grassroots energy of his successful campaign.
The creation of the Office of Mass Engagement will be led by Tascha Van Auken, the head of his huge campaign volunteer network.
"For too long, city government has only listened to the wealthy and well-connected while working New Yorkers remain further and further disconnected from those elected to serve them," Mamdani said.
"The Office of Mass Engagement will fundamentally change this, creating a deeper connection between City Hall and community organizations, faith-based groups, and everyday New Yorkers looking to make their voices heard."
He started his day on Friday morning like an everyday New Yorker himself, greeting commuters on a packed W train as he rode from Astoria, Queens to City Hall.
He gripped an iced coffee in one hand as he shook hands with the other commuters -- laughing and joking with riders, while taking countless selfies.
"I love your energy, you're awesome," one rider told him after shaking hands.
Asked by another rider how long he would be commuting from Queens, he said "for just a little bit longer," indicating he would be moving into Gracie Mansion soon. ...
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces action to make New York City housing more affordable
abc7ny.com
... The press conference was held at 85 Clarkson Avenue in Brooklyn, a rent-stabilized building, where residents are threatening a rent strike. ...
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