THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

NBC: “Cornell student who gave police leads in alleged rape feels 'betrayed' over its handling.” I expect prosecution of the perps on this one. But it’d be more due to heightened politics than it is carried out as a significant move to eradicate a “youth culture” that results in the obvious. Frat parties, rock concerts backstage shenanigans, and secret gatherings in abandoned barns and warehouses?

      These are part/s of young life’s “rites of passage,” I guess. In those situations, these are expected: Shaming, rape, orgies, illegal drugs (add fentanyl), all sorts of alcohol etcetera happen.

      The victim in the Cornell incident went to the police but how many didn't? It is a society at large that tolerates this widespread wrongdoing and how we raise our children (boys or girls) that concern me. Would the law and schools now “outlaw” fraternities/sororities? Would concert producers bar “girls” in a band’s dressing room or hotel accommodation? Would law enforcement per se be more strict in policing youths in these wild parties? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind? (Art: Dreamstime.) ⚖️😒⚖️

New York Sun: “Short of Soldiers, Ukraine Is Building a Robot Army.” Almost everyday, Volo Zelensky has an insane plan to share with the universe. While “robot armies” are eventual reality as AI invades the roost, in the case of Ukraine's lost war versus Russia, this is nothing but bluster or idiocy.

      Meanwhile, the 39.5 distressed Ukrainians (+ American taxpayers) demand an accounting of how Kyiv's leadership spent all the foreign aid, from the start of the crisis in 2022.

      We are talking about approximately $360 billion in total foreign aid from international allies and institutions. Major Donors: <>The European Union collective, $195 billion. <>United States, $134 billion.

      These bilateral allocations represent the largest single-country generosity, though actual disbursements vary based on multi-year obligation schedules and funding mechanisms. Although words like “pledged/committed” and “disbursed” sometimes confuse people. Complex? Let's just say a day of war costs either country $190 million to $1 billion. 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

New York Times: “He Says He Killed a Man and Cast Out Demons. He Wants to Run Colorado.” And adds: “Some Republicans in the state fear that the sensational biography of Victor Marx, their party’s candidate for governor, could drag down the rest of the ticket.”

      Victor “brags” that he killed a man when he was 7 years old, after his super baddie stepdad made him do it. However, there's no police record of such a shooting that supposedly happened in Mendenhall, Mississippi. Mr Marx also says he can "cast out" demons via spiritual rituals that he calls “retooling prayers,” not exorcism. Uh huh.

      These are the sorta politicians who are running for office these days. But that is also a historical fact.

      An interesting guy is Vermin Supreme of the US Pirate Party. He was a Libertarian, Democrat, Republican, and Independent. He actually came third in the 2020 Libertarian National Convention. He wears a large winter boot as a hat and carries a giant toothbrush. Vermin's platform includes: <>Mandatory teeth-brushing laws. <>A promise of a free pony for every American. <>Funding for time-travel research. <>Preparing the nation for a zombie apocalypse. There you go! 😏😒🤨

I am sure you also notice that there seems to be (mostly) one face in choice TV commercials these days: Arturo Castro. He is heavily featured, aside from major AT&T, Verizon, and skin products advertising rotation. AI Mode says he serves major cultural moments like sports tournaments and the Super Bowl, which puts his face on screen repeatedly. No big deal because commercials are quick, supposedly. Until Amazon Prime and Hulu (+ other free movie sites) started messing up our viewing pleasure with ads! Yes, regardless that you are a paying subscriber.

      And Arturo’s face gets annoying, LOL! Why not diversity their ad performers? I dig that Liberty dude, the Geico gecko, and where are the Budweiser lizards, frogs, and woodchucks? More dogs and cats, please!

      Mr Castro is a Guatemalan citizen and immigrant who lives and works in the United States, rather than a native U.S. citizen. Any qualified “cultural diversity” face who is a U.S. citizen? Filipinos? My cousin who lives in L.A. and Vegas is an actress. Ha! No commercials yet for Alex Eala? Hey, aren’t there any other Latino(a), other than Arturo? I just want a new face in TV ads, okay? Enough of Arturo! 📺🤨📺

The Hill: “Education Department formally rescinds Title IX protections for LGBTQ students.” The U.S. Department of Education formally rescinded the Biden-era Title IX regulations that provided explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students based on sexual orientation and gender identity, returning the federal standard to the 2020 rules.

       Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced the final action, which officially removes the “expanded definitions” of gender, especially. DepEd is officially enforcing the Title IX framework established during the first Trump administration in 2020. This framework interprets sex discrimination strictly through biological sex assigned at birth rather than self-assessed gender identity. I agree. Male and female, regardless of other gender IDs. But you don’t need to argue with me. I digress. 🏛🗽🏛

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.) 🤨😞🤨