THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

GMA: “Locals flee occupied south Ukraine as hunger deepens.” A few months after the war started in February 2022, Russia had sent ceasefire feelers and/or proposals for peace negotiation. Each time, Ukraine rejected it, as the U.S. (under Joe Biden) and the EU continued to toss billions$ in military aid to Volodymyr Zelensky.

      Recall that before this crisis, Mr Zelensky was linked to a dubious network of offshore companies in the 2021 Pandora Papers investigation. His stash was reportedly "stored" in Cyprus, Belize, and the British Virgin Islands. Meanwhile, how much foreign aid Kyiv has already received? Numbers vary but still unbelievably high. From the U.S., $135.5 billion; from the EU, $84.4 billion. (Committed or already given? I also get confused. But still “lavish,” considering that the aid is taxpayer money.)

      Currently, Ukraine has been conducting active, high-profile internal corruption investigations led by its so-called independent bodies. Of course, Mr Z sort of leads this probe. Anyhow, I assume that Washington (especially under Donald Trump) has been doing its own digging. So while this is going on, Volo continues to attack Russia, and so Russia responds. Clearly, a continuing war means Ukraine continues to ask for aid. And Zelensky stays in power, no election. Insane!

      Meanwhile, Ukrainians face a severe cost-of-living crisis driven by high inflation, currency devaluation, and ongoing wartime destruction. In fact, many have turned to prostitution and pornography to survive. And now this news. Washington Post: “Ukraine weighs legalizing pornography to raise tax revenue and buy drones.” Wild, isn’t it? ☮️🇺🇦☮️

BBC: “27 killed in Johannesburg, Cape Town mass shootings.” Police stated the attack may have been a targeted retaliation, in connection with an incident at the same tavern the previous month that left one person dead and another wounded. No specific (civilian) suspects have been arrested or publicly named yet. No known terrorist group has claimed responsibility either. 

       South Africa is primarily used by international extremist networks as a logistics, recruitment, and financial hub rather than a base for major domestic attacks. But localized threats from domestic groups are also active, notably the Crusaders or NCRM and the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging. Add affiliates of ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

       Eight gunmen armed with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols stormed the site. Consider that South Africa has a relatively low percentage of gun ownership: 9.7 civilian firearms per 100 people. (The U.S. is 120.5 per 100.) But the country’s homicide rate is astoundingly high: 43.72 per 100,000 people. The global per capita average: 5.8. The U.S. annual homicide rate is 3.0, down from over 5 percent in 2023.

       Anyhow this Johannesburg carnage is way below the world record in human wastage by a civilian with no known political or ideological intent. The 2017 Las Vegas shooting was the worst: 61 dead. Next? The 1982 Woo Bum-kon incident in Uiryeong County, South Korea: 56 deaths, following a personal domestic dispute. 🇿🇦💝☮️

BBC: “Inside the FBI hack: Agents fearful and angry after 'dangerous' data breach.” Almost automatically, when matters like this happen, official reactions blame the “usual suspects.” Foreign entities: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea etc etcetera. The media and the public usually “second the motion.” Foreign terrorists!

      This fact though is the truth: Domestic terrorism and homegrown violent extremism make up the vast majority of terrorist plots and attacks in the U.S. compared to foreign-directed terrorism. Research databases (such as those tracked by Center for Strategic and International Studies and New America) show that domestic actors and U.S. citizens/legal residents have accounted for roughly 80 percent or more of terrorist attacks and plots in American soil since September 11, 2001. (Visual: Home Bank of CA.) 🏛🗽🏛

Yahoo Sports: “Stephen Curry’s new $116 million deal puts a rare NBA milestone within reach.” That’d be a two-year contract, with the Golden State Warriors. Around $58 million this season, or $4.8 million a month? Unbelievable! Considering as well that Mr Curry, hobbled by intermittent injuries, nears retirement. He is 38 years old, now into his 18th season in the league. 

      Meanwhile, the NBA salary scale is already stunningly huge! The average NBA player salary for the 2026-27 season is $11.95 million! The average first-year salary for a rookie ranges from roughly $3 million to over $15.2 million, depending on their draft position. Anyhow, whoever is (or are) paying Mr Curry, I wonder if they’re that generous with their employees and workers? Of course not. The average annual salary in the U.S. is $69,846.57 (monthly, over $5k). 🏀⛹️💰

Yahoo Life: “The internet judged her husband from a 30-second clip. Then she explained.” Yup, that’s what “internet/cellphone” high people do these days, whether the subject is a celebrity, politician, or an ordinary individual. Once you are tossed in Social Media, you are “judged”  by the universe–everybody is a shrink, expert, or moral crusader. Worse, in case you are ICE or kin of an ICE agent, you are auto-cancelled for the world to profusely mock. 

       In a parallel thought, in regards to “fakes” online and what they could instigate or motivate, I remember a 1983 political movie, “Under Fire.” Those were pre-internet/cellphone days, of course. In the Nick Nolte-topbilled movie, Nicaraguan revolutionary Augusto César Sandino (versus dictator Anastasio Somoza) was the historical reference. Here, he was named Rafael, and was killed. Guerrillas faked his death with his photo scattered in towns to tell people that “their leader” is alive and the revolution is still ongoing. 

       These days, and with AI sliding into human existence, “fakes” don’t just serve political ends and commercial (marketing) dubiousness. They also serve nonsensical frolic (sic) or people just do it because they can. (Visual: The Holly Spirit.) 🤨😞🤨

THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Clear as black smokes in the sky: The Middle East is the most conflicted region on earth. The main groups in (historical) conflicts: Israel, Iran, and the United States, alongside non-state groups in the Axis of Resistance coalition. The Axis is a military coalition led by Iran that opposes Israel and Western influence. These groups fight across borders. They form networks with shared goals and support from larger countries.

      <>Israel is at war in Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen, and has direct conflicts with Iran. <>Iran funds, arms, and trains a network of allied groups to expand its influence. These: Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Houthis, various Iraqi and Syrian militias, and Palestinian factions, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the PFLP-General Command.

      <>The U.S. deploys military forces and strikes groups that attack its allies or troops. <>Saudi Arabia leads a coalition against Houthi forces in Yemen. Note as well that like the majority of Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis are Shia Muslim; Hamas is Sunni. Sunni and Shia Muslims, while being in a number of disagreements, are not engaged in an all-out religious war, but localized sectarian violence and political rivalries persist in certain regions.

      Meanwhile, there’s also the anti-U.S. Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-backed Iraqi militias (such as Kataib Hezbollah and the Al-Nujaba movement). Also, the Islamic State (ISIS) is firmly against the U.S., as well as various Syrian opposition factions, which may have “cooled out” after the fall of the Assad regime, but this issue needs some elaboration. ☮️☮️☮️

Fox: “7 Republicans break with Trump in vote to rein in Iran war powers.” This issue confounds me a bit. I again reiterate that President Trump's hand was forced to launch a hit after the IRGC or Iran's security forces carried out mass killings of protesters after nationwide protests escalated in January of this year. Yet the U.S. sent emissaries to the Middle East before POTUS ordered a military action; it didn't work. Yet right after the Supreme Leader was taken out, the U.S. negotiated an end to hostilities. Again, that didn’t work, even after a peace plan offer that Trump's critics say massively favored Tehran.

      Anyhow, while it’s pretty clear that Iran’s hardliners intend to stay firm, Israel continues to defy Mr Trump’s call for an end to fighting. Bibi Netanyahu didn’t stop annihilating Iran’s “underlings,” especially Lebanon. So Iran keeps on retaliating, now the targets are Washington’s allies in the region.

      Meanwhile, this cloud stays over me: What if the U.S. ignored IRGC’s massacre of its own people in January, or what if Mr Trump simply hushes or tells the U.S. military to stand down as Iran continues to fire? Today’s CBS: “New photos show widespread damage at U.S. bases caused by Iranian attacks.” ☮️☮️☮️

Associated Press: “U.S. plans $2.8 billion Israel arms sale with 40,000 powerful bombs.” Whoever POTUS sits, military aid to Israel (#1 among Washington recipients) remains a truth than a fact, since the nation’s birth in 1948. For various reasons, Washington's hawks (and their corporate benefactors) favor this. Note that President Barack Obama signed a historic 10-year Memorandum of Understanding on September 14, 2016, providing Israel with $38 billion in military aid from 2019 to 2028. There you go. ☮️☮️☮️

New York Times: “In a Club of Emerging Powers, China and India Vie for Influence.” And adds: “China sees the BRICS group as a vehicle for challenging American power. India wants to keep the group broad enough to avoid choosing sides.”

      China and India are #1 and #2 in terms of global population. Hence they also lead in the area of labor force muscle. India's economic growth rate is 7.8 percent (consistently around 6 percent to 7 percent since Covid years). China, 4.3 percent (down from 6+ percent as the CCP diversified from manufacturing a decade or so ago. Still, China is world's #2 economy).

      Meanwhile, the U.S. is at 2.1 percent, although it remains as the world's #1 economy. The EU has been mired at below 1 percent for years now (currently 1.4 percent). Japan, the #3 economy is at 1.4 percent.

      Clearly, BRICS bros China and India prefer trade as their “weapon” for global supremacy, while the U.S. and Europe stick to military brawn, which worked for universal domination for centuries, until the 21st century. Europe has lost a lot of clout for years as Asia and the Middle East flourished. A prolonged relationship reliance on military aggression or wars only strengthen BRICS and other regions--as they put emphasis on trade or economics. 🇨🇳☮️🇮🇳 

Rolling Stone: “Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour due to venue threats after onstage comments.” The hip hop dude was taken out of the tour over his “Free Palestine” comments. Mr Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (a.k.a. Macklemore) wasn’t the only artist who experienced this. I believe it isn’t because the main event personality or the organizers harbor a contrary politics. Spewing partisan politics in public events turns off many fans, especially those who hush their personal ideology or simply are apolitical or “unengaged.”

      Then, many years ago, activist-artists/rockers simply ad-lib their anti-war stance and (creatively) put all their protests in their songs. Or the more committed ones did organize press conferences, but not while in a concert. You see, many fans go to see their rock idols for the music, not for the politics. Like, I am a longtime fan of Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young’s songs but I’d be disappointed to hear that the crowd is now cheering their hate-Trump angst over the rock `n roll. (Photo: Variety.) 🤨😞🤨

THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Yahoo: “Tupac’s murder case goes to trial today after 30 years. What took so long?” Tupac Shakur was murdered in 1996 in Las Vegas. The drive-by shooting centers around a casino altercation and a retaliatory gang-related dispute. 

       Personalities linked to the deadly event: <>Marion “Suge” Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records and driver of the BMW who was grazed in the shooting and is currently serving a prison sentence for an unrelated homicide. <>Sean “Diddy” Combs, founder of Bad Boy Records, whose label was tied to the East-West coast rivalry and the orbit of the South Side Crips. <>The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace), the Bad Boy Records rapper and friend-turned-rival whose murder six months later remains culturally and historically intertwined with Shakur's. All of these guys are African-Americans or black. 

       The new person linked to the crime? Duane "Keffe D" Davis, another black dude. He allegedly orchestrated the murder, while his nephew Orlando Anderson is widely believed to have fired the fatal shots. So are we nearing the conclusion of this case? Yet I wonder out loud: What if a suspect is white? Or any non-black individual? I bet this case would have been solved years ago? You know where I am going with this, right? ⚖️😒⚖️

Washington Post: “A $20 burrito sparks an online debate among conservatives over affordability.” So a burrito is now a (political) polar extremes dartboard pitch? Only “conservatives” debate the affordability of burritos? Liberals are cool about it? LOL! How idiotic this news report is! 

       Anyhow, the national median price for a restaurant burrito in the U.S. is $13.58. However, the actual cost ranges anywhere from $4.00 to over $20.00, heavily depending on where you buy it, what protein you choose, and if you use third-party delivery services. Okay? As for me, I am not into Mexican foods, except the Mojarra Frita. Are you now asking me about my politics? LOL! 👈☮️👉

Politico: “ICE's detention crackdown overwhelms the courts.” According to the report, one judge said: “Never seen anything like this.” Ah what partisanship-induced drama! This: Before the Obama administration (which began in January 2009), the U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions along the Southwest border were roughly 705,000 in fiscal year 2008 and 858,000 in fiscal year 2007, down from over 1 million per year between 2004 and 2006. Yet Mr Obama removed 400,000 on average in his first term.

      Again, from 2021 to 2024 or in Joe Biden’s years, undocumented crossings went back to 1 million+ av. What would Donald Trump do? No brainer. Exactly what Mr Obama did albeit more focused and intent. Last year, Mr Trump’s Homeland Security deported more than 605,000 individuals. Meanwhile, the U.S. Border Patrol agents recorded approximately 237,500 encounters along the U.S.–Mexico border. This total marked the lowest annual level for illegal border crossings since 1970.

      Of course, the Left isn’t concerned about that. They want “no borders!” instead. Which then brings us to European migrant crossings or the recent incident in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta. Etc etcetera. I wish I could discuss this (immigration/migrant) issue sans politics, and just focus on numbers and situations. 🗽🏃‍♀️🏃

BBC: “Teen hitmen are being recruited like gamers for killings across Europe.” This isn't really unusual. In the Philippines, at least in the 1980s when I was covering the beat, many urban guerrilla “hitmen” (a.k.a. Sparrow Unit) were teen-agers, as young as 14 years old. Whether they do it per political ideology or common crime, the young are easily recruited. A mix of fiery idealism, allure of perilous romanticism, easy money, daring boast (that they can do it, no problem) and gung-ho risk-taking. Plus, the advent of Social Media ups the adrenaline. They even post their deadly mischief online! This news, Associated Press: “Mexico City murder: A gunman kills a social media influencer during a livestream.” Wild, wild world! ☮️☮️☮️

CNN: “Teen kills classmates, teachers and his grandparents in Thai gun rampage, police say.” Absurd, surreal, bizarre. Mostly, I blame the internet or Social Media’s easy access to hate–for all these. Mass shootings aren’t just an exclusive American “deadly sport” anymore. Other countries do copycat crimes as well. European cities, African towns, everywhere. There’s one two or 3 months ago, perpetrated as well by youths, in the Philippines. Now, in Thailand.

      Meanwhile, from 1999’s Columbine massacre in Colorado, the “video-game” styled killing rampage in the U.S. hasn’t subsided. That’d include my once-peaceful city of Asheville. And when the community talks about the horror, the tone of the discussion is expectedly, Left vs. Right, or blame Trump. Me, I’d rather not engage in a discourse. I just stay safe when I am out there, which is pretty much an average of 2 errands (out in town) a month. ☮️☮️☮️

THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

GMA: “Cambridge professor resigns amid plagiarism and 'academic qualification' allegations.” I read a number of posts about this news story on Facebook, mostly in defense of Jason Arday, the professor, as though they are part of the investigating team. Mr Arday is black so this issue easily turned into a racially-fueled placard. The fact is, there have been a lot of firings and controversies about professors and students using AI. Meanwhile, shrinks and writers/journalists, surgeons and IT people (yes!) use AI, too. It really depends on whether your employment allows the e-crap or not. So if Jason was found to violate that job SOP, then he had to go. 

       Anyhow, months ago: <>A history professor at Alcorn State University, Jason Gibson, went viral on TikTok after posting a video explaining how 32 of his 35 students failed a portion of the midterm after they used AI to write their discussion post response. <>Northeastern University senior Ella Stapleton demanded an $8,000 tuition refund after catching her business professor, Rick Arrowood, secretly using generative AI tools like ChatGPT to create course notes and slides. <>BTW, Mr Gibson is black, but Mr Arrowood is white. You dig? Now, you may issue your insight, LOL! 🤨😞🤨

Rolling Stone: “Elliot Page explains why Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' felt so unforgettable.” Not commenting on Elliot (although I can talk about her exemplary performance in 2007’s "Juno") but responding to current cinema’s obsession with “reimagining” classics to fit their side in this annoying “culture war” caterwaul. We are not talking about Homer’s work’s philosophical wisdom anymore or the way he wrote it. We are talking about the “correctness” of Odyssey's supposed political extremity this time, based on how Hollywood prefers it.

      Meanwhile, whatever Ian Fleming or Mary Shelley or Jane Austen or William Shakespeare wrote has lost its bite, in favor of how their masterpieces are now “rewritten” to fit our Left or our Right. 🎥📹📽

Yahoo News: “Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt over COVID hearing.” True, anybody cannot be punished or criminally charged simply for refusing to answer police (or government inquiry) questions. The Fifth Amendment protects people from self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and loss of life, liberty, or property without due process. Given. But in the case of Mr Fauci, it is a bit tricky. The people want to know the lowdown. 

       You see, during the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid emergency spending and broken supply chains triggered widespread corruption, including billions of dollars in mismanaged public contracts and international price-fixing cartels. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to the POTUS in those years, knows stuff. Of course. But he refuses to talk. 🏛🗽🏛

CNN: “Iran's Hormuz plan is taking shape — but it clashes with Trump's vision.” What is the plan? That Iran "controls" the Strait of Hormuz? That’s always been the case. Along with Oman, Iran exerts territorial power over this vital energy chokepoint, where roughly 20 percent of global petroleum liquids consumption and a massive share of liquefied natural gas pass through its narrow shipping lanes daily. What is the media telling us now that we already know? 

       And what is Mr Trump's vision, which was shaken after his (military) hand was forced by the IRGC? No brainer, I must say. Trade. Economics. A playbook that coincides with the Arab League and China/BRICS, but not with Israel or those in Washington who use Bibi Netanyahu’s Israel as “bogeyman” for obvious reasons (don't we know?) ☮️☮️☮️

Washington Post: “Trump challenged Hegseth after learning of depleted weapons stockpiles, sources say.” / CNN: “The Navy's $275 billion battleship plan faces skepticism from military experts.” Depleted weapons stockpiles? Hard to believe this. Why? Pentagon's 2026 base discretionary budget is $838.7 billion; total allocated defense funding for FY 2026 reached $1 trillion. That is around 5x more than what China allocates to “defense.” In America, all I see/read is lotsa money for arms and stuff. Or billions$ sent continually to Ukraine and Israel. Yet no money to improve U.S. warfare? So $275 billion for a Navy battleship is such a big deal? (My sarcastic eyebrows, arching.) 🏛🗽🏛

THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

BBC: “U.S. launches 'heavy' strikes on Iran after attempted attack on American troops.” / Associated Press: “How views on Trump's handling of Iran have shifted, according to a new poll.” It’d be an understatement to say that the major storyline in Trump years is for him to fail. No matter what, he has to. That’d usher in a long discussion, essentially how the geopolitical grid shook as the 21st century strode in. There are many factors and variables to discourse but by pointing at Mr Trump, it sort of simplifies it all. I guess.

      Meanwhile, I read a lot of “Trump’s war” or “Trump started this war” etc etcetera as though this is the first time that the U.S. is at war overseas. Fact is, America is never without a war. The first foreign war fought by the United States was the First Barbary War, 1801 to 1805, off the coast of North Africa or in modern day Libya. From that point, the U.S. military never had rest. Yet today’s media makes Americans feel disgust and shame that the U.S. is at war with Iran, because of one man, Donald Trump. As though we are all 12-year olds. Uh huh. ☮️☮️☮️

Reuters: “Top U.S. commander warns troops that cellphone videos posted online can help Iran.” Not just videos posted by active soldiers (which must be officially banned) but videos and memes and many more that are posted in Social Media are dangerous. There must be a way to cut on these (mostly juvenile) shenanigans and hate-smothered mischief which cower behind the “shield” of the First Amendment. 

       Journalism these days doesn’t really give us the lowdown-info. They “influence” us to think or act this way or that way, mostly on the basis of partisan politics. And then mentally bothered individuals on Social Media pick `em up like jellybeans on a grocery shelf. These are the real threats in our midst. 🗣📲💻

USA Today: “Economists concerned as 300,000 Haitian migrants set to lose protected status.” Again, the media wants us to swallow the narrative that deportation of illegal migrants pummels the U.S. economy per se. Yet the real concern? Because these workers are undocumented, they are paid measly coins with no benefits of any kind. They are ghosts, not counted as individual human beings but as “nameless” throngs of modern slaves. Removals = loss of revenue for corporate farms and factories mostly.

      Tracking the exact number of “illegals” in the U.S. workforce is difficult due to the hidden nature of informal labor. Major research groups track totals using government census data but that isn’t very reliable. Sources say 8 million to 10 million undocumented immigrants participate in the labor force, making up nearly 5 percent of all civilian workers nationwide. But this: An average of 1 million+ crossed the border illegally from 2021 to 2024. Figure that out. 🗽🏃‍♀️🏃

Yahoo Sports: “LeBron's decision leaves Steph Curry facing the Warriors' biggest reality check.” / “The 76ers built a title contender around LeBron. How it could actually work.” LeBron can still play, in fact, a lot better than most stars ten years younger than he is. (He is 41.) But I don't think LeBron, in the case he opted to join the Warriors, would matter that much. Golden State has to rebuild. Steph is 38, and although he can still shoot magnificently, his bones are weakening. He is perennially hurt.

      Meanwhile, Mr James in Philadelphia wouldn’t mean the Sixers are easy title contenders either. Joel Embiid isn’t really healthy. Tyrese Maxey will still be the main dude although Jaylen Brown has joined them. Basketball is still a team effort. Which makes the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, and OKC Thunder top favorites, regardless of Giannis A. moving to Miami. 🏀⛹️🏀

The Hollywood Reporter: “Noah Kahan slams Trump's use of his song and says he'd 'never approve'.” Here we go again! Repeat: Recording artists don't really own the 100 percent right to their songs, regardless that they solely wrote them. The Big Guy who signed them owned the copyrights, primarily. Mr Kahan is under Republic Records or Mercury Records, which is owned by Universal Music Group, based in New York City.  

      Aging, retirable superstars also sold their catalog to corporate gods. Yup, that’d include perennial (political) whiners Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young. Another Trump-hater, Jon Bon Jovi has not sold his music catalog though. However, his former guitarist and co-writer, Richie Sambora, sold his share of Bon Jovi’s catalog rights to Hipgnosis in 2020.

      Reason why other acts, albeit less popular, shunned the trend. Example: Ani DiFranco released and published virtually all her own music and albums through her independent label, Righteous Babe Records. Ironically, she isn’t as loud (beyond music) as the others. Meanwhile, sure artists can always protest and stuff. That’d be marketing or PR, which are mostly facilitated by their Boss Company to sell the songs or products. 🎸🎼🎸

MORNING THOUGHTS. Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

In my younger years as a journalist, I also reviewed (recorded) music and rock concerts. Of course, I organized musical events and managed bands. But my (aesthetic) appreciation and pleasure of music started and evolved from the 1960s to the end of the 20th century. Although it was easy for me to enjoy my dad and mom’s Elvis Presley, Connie Francis, and Matt Monro LPs, not so much with most music from 2000 onwards. Do I need to elaborate? I don’t need to. 🎸🎼🎷

AP: “Why Trump's alarmist message on immigration may be resonating beyond his base.” Those who downplay or deny the U.S. border breach crisis are either thinking via partisan A.I. brain cells or simply not paying attention beyond hate memes. Many would rather hide behind Left/Right shields or anchor their dogma per Liberal/Conservative shell instead of poring over government policies that are flawed. Ah. The idiocy that partisanship zeal creates upon us. 👈👁👉

Life happens and we age. We get older with a thick book of experiences to reflect on. The good things are easy as Simon and Garfunkel songs wafting along with a lazy afternoon breeze. The “bad” things are harder. Stupid things that we did when we were young. Silly, gullible, hard-headed. Although I didn’t do illegal drugs, broke into houses for kicks, or figured in bar brawls and got jailed, I had episodes of craziness as well. WTH did I do those?!? Stoopid me! 🧑‍🦰👨‍🦰👴

What if Donald Trump is actually jailed and bankrupted yet still allowed to run as President? The first two would surely satisfy his haters. But the third would irreparably divide the nation, whether he wins or loses. In fact, the massive crack in American society was sort of predicted by historian Howard Zinn before he died in 2010 though Mr Trump wasn’t yet in GOP’s prez shortlist at that time. Yet The D is the Perfect Alibi for such a wide Left/Right fissure in the U.S. 🗽🇺🇸🗽

Whenever the word “maid” or “servant” is mentioned, many define it as “plantation slave.” A linear gaze (sic) at slavery, mostly in a (Western) political sense. Yet “maid” in the Philippines, for example, is usually a distant relative from the province who seeks life in the city. Not hired via the job market. They are not called “alila” or “muchacha” as handed down by Spanish colonizers. They are members of the family who help in house chores. Kin. 

       Younger househelps are also sent to school by owners of the house. Some “yaya” or care providers for children also join the family on trips abroad or they live with them in the U.S. or wherever the family decides to live, beyond the Philippines. 😼😾😼

Thankfully, nice stuff and things are also present on Facebook beyond the eerie disinformation, distorted memes, and juvenile banter. Cooking videos, for example. Try Twins TV, two young ladies cooking in the forest, firewood and all. Also, these two Chinese fishermen who feast on seafoods, my favorite chow! Cat videos are very funny, funnier than dogs. But the Golden Retriever Mau Mau is not only hilarious, he is also smart. Smarter than most hoomans. Fun! 🐈🦀🐕

NY Times: “It’s the Cat’s Meow but You Just Don’t Understand.” And adds: “A study suggests that humans often misinterpret a pet’s signals; even purring doesn’t guarantee a contented cat.” Never had a problem getting along with cats. Our cat, my cat, their cat/s. I guess, I also act, behave or exist like a cat. I am aloof, calculating, careful, curious, and territorial. I don’t “touch” or hug strangers, especially. I love a crowd as long as they don't mind me. 😼😎😾

SUNDAY Easter Day THOUGHT. Yet we still come across memes and posts that vilify or insult Christian ritual as religious observance or cultural festival. Hate. When I was in India, Japan, Vietnam, and with the Muslim in Mindanao island back home, I joined days of worship and celebration. Hindu, Shinto, Buddhist. Islam. Wicca. Paganism. Atheism. We are what we are. Respect is cool. We share the good, and reject the bad. Easter Egg hunt is good. And fun. Happy Easter to y’all! ✝️🥚☮️

This side of the political caterwaul who continually demonize Christianity are concerned or just heckling-hot? that Donald Trump sells Bible copies. Mr Trump is a business person. He knows his market. And with a flood of legal hassles on his way, The D raises some dough due to the obvious. As he campaigns for November. What am I concerned with? The billions$ tossed to two current wars. As RFK Jr. puts it, military aid is “laundered” American taxpayer money. ✝️🗽☮️

Another time of year to demonize Christians, I guess? “Holy Week.” Ah. Can’t we post stuff and things that’d be enjoyed, appreciated, and shared per our commonality? Is it really pleasing, validating and self-gratifying to engage in hate frolic as Social Media activity? I was born Catholic but I am not the religious sort. I can also say a lot that I dislike about the religious or irreligious, or Pagans or Islam, Hindu etcetera. But why would I? Because it is cool to offend them? ✝️☮️☪️

About Dogs and Cats and their Buddies. And other quick jokes.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

DOGS spend much of their day snoozing, but in the hours they're awake, they probably spend time thinking about some of the same things that a 2- or 3-year-old child would: Solving problems, what's for dinner, what's that over there? Until cats taught them stuff like objectivist epistemology, cognitive psychology, cultural anthropology, constructivist pedagogy of babedawgs and koolcats etcetera. 🐕🙄🐕

NUMEROUS studies indicate that social media use is linked to increased risks of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and low self-esteem. Other studies also say self-esteem is negatively associated with mobile phone addiction. The higher the individual's self-esteem, the lower the degree of mobile phone addiction. Fake news? I guess? Maybe it depends on what brand of cellphone you own? Samsung Galaxy S24 or Apple 1Phone 15? You reckon? 🥹📱📲

THE majority of cats can happily coexist with a dog if they are given time to comfortably get to know each other. If a puppy and kitten are raised together, they generally will learn right away to tolerate each other, and some cats and dogs grow to be real friends, even playing and napping together. Also, when they get really friendly with each other, cats teach dogs how to play chess and Uno, and how to google stuff or fiddle with the TV remote. 🐈🫂🐕

CAN a cat learn chess? While many animals have demonstrated impressive cognitive abilities, training them to play chess is highly unlikely. Chess requires a complex understanding of rules, strategy, and abstract thinking, which are difficult for most animals to grasp. Fizz The Wiz: “Fake news! Pasckie Dude, whoever told you that is wrong! I can teach that personage Sicilian Defense, Caro-Kann Defense, Ruy Lopez Opening, or my invention Shinobi Fizzo Tensai Variation.” 🐱♟🐱

DIGITAL wallets are online payment tools, usually in the form of an app. The wallet securely stores virtual versions of debit and credit cards, so you don't need to enter your card details or carry a physical card at all to make payments. You may also get yourself an “digital (--your name–)” a.k.a. A.I. to “hold” your digital wallet. Uh huh. 🤖👝🤖

YUP. AI or robots can now walk your dog. The robot does the job by continuously comparing sent and expected sensor information, running reflex loops, and adapting its motor control patterns. Algorithm stuff. Uh huh. But then, machines malfunction. So when AI/robot and doggie get lost, you’d see posts like: Has anybody seen a border collie with a robot dressed like a Barbie singing Bad Bunny’s `Me Porto Bonito’ repeatedly somewhere in your neighborhood?” 🦮🚶🏃

WHEN it comes to the type of pet owned, conservatives seem more likely to own dogs than cats, with no such difference existing among liberals. Experts say. So conservatives and liberals care for their dogs and cats the way they judge others, read, listen to music, watch a TV series, view Tay-Tay, do sex–based on their ideological paradigm yadda yadda. So when dogs and cats hang, they go, dog: “Hey, are you conservative or liberal?” / cat: “Hello? Just look at my hooman!” 🐈🤔🐕

SNIFFING is just something all dogs, puppies to adult dogs, do to get the lay of the land, mark their regular routes in the neighborhood, and sniff out familiar scents from other dogs marking those spots. Scent sniffing also helps them understand if something, or some new dog, is in their area. You may try it, too. When you walk your dog, sniff with him/her. You’ll know it makes sense. 🐕👃🐕

CATS don't thrive on a grain-rich diet because they should get their calories from animal protein. If you want to share some noodles with your cat, don't. They can be harmful. In fact, Fizz told me via a text that fact a day after she and sis Ching got here from Brother Wolf almost two years ago. Fizz also told me that a cat named Komofukfuk invented noodles but he didn't eat noodles. Like drug lords who don't use (illegal) drugs but they sell them. 🐱🥡🐱

CELLPHONE as a distraction is one of the most urgent issues that worry parents. Recent data from iKeepSafe suggest that 28 percent of teens report that their iPhone time interferes with stuff. So when a mom asks a teenager to wash the dirty dishes, the Gen Z says, “mom, I am busy with TikTok!” mom goes, “Oh okay, sorry. Never mind, I’ll just do it.” If you take your child away from the gadget for 15 solid minutes, that’d make her/him sad, hence depressed. You dig? 👧📱👦