Hegseth's war crimes; Trump tanking; "rage bait" word of the year; A.I.: lying, committing crimes, causing total breakdown of society
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—Kevin G. Barkes
Lawmakers suggest follow-up boat strike could be a war crime. Top Republicans have joined Democrats in demanding answers about the escalating military campaign the Trump administration says is aimed at targeting drug traffickers.
Trump grilled about pardoning Ex-Honduran president: Why would you pardon a ‘notorious drug trafficker?’
Trump unleashes latest insult at female reporter as he says he will release MRI results.
Trump’s brand is tanking. His approval rating with voters has cratered to its lowest level of his second term—and that’s not all.
Godfather of AI predicts total breakdown of society. Tech billionaires “are really betting on AI replacing a lot of workers.”
If you turn down an AI’s ability to lie, it starts claiming it’s conscious.
Chatbots are becoming really, really good criminals. Cybersecurity was already a nightmare. Now comes AI.
Journalist caught publishing fake articles generated by AI. “I did not speak with this reporter and did not give this quote.”
The world still hasn’t made sense of ChatGPT. OpenAI’s chaos machine turns three.
‘Rage bait’ named Oxford word of the year 2025. (Ed: uh… that’s two words, fellas.)
FBI issues urgent warning to iPhone users about dangerous scam. The FBI alert states that the agency is warning of “cyber criminals impersonating financial institutions to steal money or information in Account Takeover fraud schemes.”
Don’t buy a house built after 2020. “Most of these houses go up in four days. No joke. We pour the foundation. They don’t even wait a day for it to cure.”
Polymarket CEO says his prediction market- where you can bet on anything- is “the most accurate thing we have as mankind right now.” (Video)
Why you may not want lower prices as much as you think you do. TLDR: Falling prices can both signal a recession and trigger one.
Cannabis-induced ‘scromiting’ is on the rise, study finds. “Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is real, and it’s becoming a more routine part of emergency medicine in the U.S.”
Late Night:
Why is there a Late Night section? Because late night comedians, unfettered by institutional journalistic and corporate inhibitions, often provide observations and analysis that are more thorough and comprehensive than network or cable news. And the humor helps.
David Letterman says Trump’s Truth Social post attacking Seth Meyers shows he’s a ‘dictator’.
History highlight:
1955 –In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and was arrested for violating the city’s racial segregation laws, an incident which led to that city’s bus boycott.
Bookmark KGB Report Notes and check periodically for cartoons, memes, news, commentary and other stuff that didn’t fit or broke between e-mail newsletter issues. It’s also a great place to comment and chat.
Keep scrolling down. Lots of interesting stuff in Quote of the Day, Holidays, On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn something new.
Quote of the Day:
If one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator from a study of creation it would appear that God has an inordinate fondness for stars and beetles.
--J.B.S. Haldane (Wikipedia link)
(More J.B.S. Haldane quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Antarctica Day, Bifocals at the Monitor Liberation Day, Civil Air Patrol Day, Cyber Monday, Day With(out) Art, Eat a Red Apple Day, Great Union Day, International Maratheftiko Day, National Christmas Lights Day, National Cookie Cutter Day, National Peppermint Bark Day, National Pie Day, Neurologist Day, Prisoners for Peace Day, Rosa Parks Day, Walt Disney Day, Wear a Dress Day, and World AIDS Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA.
On This Day:
2020 – The Arecibo Telescope collapsed. (Video)
2019 – The outbreak of coronavirus infection began in Wuhan.
2006 – The law on same-sex marriage came into force in South Africa, legalizing same-sex marriage for the first time on the African continent.
2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada was inaugurated as the president of Mexico, marking the first peaceful transfer of executive federal power to an opposing political party following a free and democratic election in Mexico’s history.
1991 – Cold War: Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum for independence from the Soviet Union.
1990 – Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France met beneath the seabed.
1988 – World AIDS Day was proclaimed worldwide by the UN member states.
1984 –The film “Beverly Hills Cop” premiered in Los Angeles. (Video)
1969 – Vietnam War: The first draft lottery in the United States since World War II was held. (Video)
1968 – Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s musical “Promises, Promises” opened at the Shubert Theatre in New York City. (Video)
1959 – Opening date for signature of the Antarctic Treaty, which set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and banned military activity on the continent.
1958 – The Our Lady of the Angels School fire in Chicago killed 92 children and three nuns.
1956 – Leonard Bernstein‘s operetta “Candide” opened at the Martin Beck Theater in New Tork City. (Video)
1955 –In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and was arrested for violating the city’s racial segregation laws, an incident which led to that city’s bus boycott.
1952 – The first issue of Playboy magazine was published.
1952 – The New York Daily News reported the news of Christine Jorgensen, the first notable case of sex reassignment surgery.
1941 – World War II: Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City and Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, signed Administrative Order 9, creating the Civil Air Patrol.
1941 – World War II: Emperor Hirohito of Japan gave his tacit approval to the decision of the imperial council to initiate war against the United States.
1934 – Russian revolutionary Sergei Kirov murdered.
1924 – The National Hockey League‘s first United States–based franchise, the Boston Bruins, played their first game in league play at home, at the still-extant Boston Arena indoor hockey facility.
1919 – Lady Astor became the first female Member of Parliament (MP) to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
1918 – Iceland became a sovereign state, yet remained a part of the Danish kingdom.
1913 – Ford’s assembly line started rolling.
1903 – The film “The Great Train Robbery” was released. (Video)
1878 – President Rutherford B. Hayes had the first telephone installed in the White House.
1865 – Shaw University, the first historically black university in the southern United States, is founded in Raleigh, North Carolina.
1862 – In his second State of the Union Address, President Abraham Lincoln reaffirmed the necessity of ending slavery as ordered ten weeks earlier in the Emancipation Proclamation.
1824 – United States presidential election: Since no candidate received a majority of the total electoral college votes in the election, the United States House of Representatives was given the task of deciding the winner in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
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Some Birthdays:
1988 – Zoë Kravitz, American actress, singer, and model
1985 – Janelle Monáe, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1982 – Riz Ahmed, English actor and rapper
1976 – Matthew Shepard, American hate crime victim (died 1998)
1970 – Sarah Silverman, American comedian, actress, and singer
1970 – Jonathan Coulton, American singer-songwriter (“Code Monkey“) and guitarist (Video)
1960 – Carol Alt, American model and actress
1958 – Charlene Tilton, American actress and singer
1958 – Candace Bushnell, American journalist and author
1951 – Treat Williams, American actor (died 2023)
1951 – Obba Babatundé, American actor, director, and producer
1946 – Gilbert O’Sullivan, Irish singer-songwriter and pianist (Video)
1946 – Jonathan Katz, American comedian and actor
1945 – Bette Midler, American singer-songwriter, actress and producer (Video)
1940 – Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2005) (Video)
1940 – Jerry Lawson, American electronic engineer and inventor (died 2011)
1939 – Lee Trevino, American golfer and sportscaster
1934 – Billy Paul, American soul singer (died 2016) (Video)
1933 – Lou Rawls, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (died 2006) (Video)
1929 – David Doyle, American actor (died 1997) (Video)
1928 – Malachi Throne, American actor (died 2013) (Video)
1928 – Emily McLaughlin, American actress (died 1991)
1923 – Dick Shawn, American actor (died 1987) (Video)
1923 – Stansfield Turner, American admiral and academic, 12th Director of Central Intelligence (died 2018)
1913 – Mary Martin, American actress and singer (died 1990) (Video)
1898 – Cyril Ritchard, Australian-American actor and singer (died 1977) (Video)
1886 – Rex Stout, American detective novelist (died 1975)
1761 – Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (died 1850)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2023 – Sandra Day O’Connor, first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1981–2006) (born 1930)
2018 – Ken Berry, American actor, dancer, and singer (born 1933)
2008 – Paul Benedict, American actor (born 1938)
1989 – Alvin Ailey, American dancer and choreographer (born 1931)
1987 – James Baldwin, American novelist, poet, and critic (born 1924)
1973 – David Ben-Gurion, Israeli politician, 1st Prime Minister of Israel (born 1886)
1964 – J. B. S. Haldane, English-Indian geneticist and biologist (born 1892)
1947 – Aleister Crowley, English magician, poet, and mountaineer (born 1875)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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kgb on some next level mind control OR IS THIS A TREND w. conservatives?! !? https://substack.com/@atheistinfluencer/note/c-182971486?r=69vs2f&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web
The look on the generals’ faces when Hegseth was speaking.