🚨 WOW: Jonathan Weinhagen, former Minneapolis Chamber CEO and frequent Tim Walz donor, has been indicted on five counts of bank and wire fraud, embezzling over $200K.
He is also accused of stealing $30K in reward money meant to hold child murders accountable. pic.twitter.com/nYi9hG3i2e
[GEO.TV] Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... has appointed Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan bin Abdullah al-Fawzan as grand mufti, state media said.
Al-Fawzan was named the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia by royal decree, the official SPA news agency reported. The newly appointed grand mufti replaced Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, who passed away on September 23.
Al-Fawzan has been a member of Ifta and the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research since 1992, as well as the Council of Senior Scholars, the Saudi Gazette reported.
In addition, he was a member of the Supervisory Committee for Preachers during the Hajj, the Islamic Fiqh Council, and the Moslem World League.
Al-Fawzan was born in al-Qassim in 1935 and attended school in Buraidah. He graduated from the College of Shariah in Riyadh with a master's and a doctorate in fiqh. He later became the Higher Institute of Judiciary's director.
The newly appointed grand mufti is also a multi-book author and has conducted several radio shows, including the well-known Nur Ala al-Darb programme.
Al-Fawzan succeeds Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, who died in September after more than 20 years in the role.
He was appointed on the recommendation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists... , the de facto Saudi ruler who has ushered in sweeping reforms in a bid to diversify the economy of the world's biggest oil exporter.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2025 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1749 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
[BLS] The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in September, after rising 0.4 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12
months, the all items index increased 3.0 percent before seasonal adjustment. Note that September CPI data collection was completed before the lapse in appropriations.
The index for gasoline rose 4.1 percent in September and was the largest factor in the all items monthly increase, as the index for energy rose 1.5 percent over the month. The food index increased 0.2 percent over the month as the food
at home index rose 0.3 percent and the food away from home index increased 0.1 percent.
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in September, after rising 0.3 percent in each of the 2 preceding months. Indexes that increased over the month include shelter, airline fares, recreation, household
furnishings and operations, and apparel. The indexes for motor vehicle insurance, used cars and trucks, and communication were among the few major indexes that decreased in September.
The all items index rose 3.0 percent for the 12 months ending September, after rising 2.9 percent over the 12 months ending August. The all items less food and energy index also rose 3.0 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index
increased 2.8 percent for the 12 months ending September. The food index increased 3.1 percent over the last year.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
10/25/2025 00:00 ||
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[1746 views]
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#1
Here in GA. USA back in July-Sept. 2025, we averaged around $2.54 to $2.74 a Per/gallon of 87 E-octane.
GASBUDDY.COM - Shows we are running $2.33 to $2.62 p/gal today.
[Remix] Both countries have been sending aid to Ukraine for its war effort and receiving Ukrainian refugees who need their own form of support
Ever since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Ukrainian citizens aged 18 to 60 have been able to leave the country only with official permission. But at the end of August, Kyiv decided to liberalize the law, allowing young men aged 18 to 22 to travel abroad.
According to data from the German Interior Ministry, the number of Ukrainians coming to Germany per week increased from just 19 in August to over 1,000 in September.
In October, the number increased even further to 1,400-1,800 per week.
#3
In the east there's a barren expanse
Where the Great Slavs and hateful Slavs dance,
And they're wearing no pants --
Don't you dare look askance! --
As a Russophile chants, "France, France, France!"
[red balloon popped by bandersnatch lance]
Posted by: Snineque Protector of the Antelope8284 ||
10/25/2025 14:39 Comments ||
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[Greek Reporter] The Vatican Apostolic Library, located in Vatican City, has designated a prayer space for visiting Muslim scholars, marking a notable gesture of inclusivity at one of the world’s most important centers of religious and cultural scholarship.
The move, confirmed by Vice Prefect Giacomo Cardinali, comes after several Muslim academics requested a quiet area for daily prayers during their research visits. In response, the library provided a room equipped with a prayer rug to meet their needs.
Cardinali told La Repubblica, an Italian daily, that the request was modest and easily fulfilled. He emphasized that the library serves a global academic community, and accommodating prayer was in line with its broader mission.
This development reflects a growing effort by the centuries-old institution to welcome scholars of all backgrounds.
A universal repository of knowledge
Founded in 1451 under Pope Nicholas V, the Vatican Library is widely regarded as the intellectual heart of the Catholic Church. It holds a vast collection of manuscripts and texts that span multiple faiths and cultures.
#2
He is another leftist pope even if from Chicago and a Cubs supporter.. and Cubs are the near north team so many of their supporters are far left dems.
Just pointing it out.
#10
Go to a Catholic hospital. Built by Catholics because they faced discrimination, just like our Schools and colleges
They all have Muslim prayer rooms now, because Muslims do not build. They occupy.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
10/25/2025 12:12 Comments ||
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#11
Ditto for Jewish hospitals, Regular joe. Probably Mormon ones as well, if there is such a thing.
Intermountain Healthcare is a United States not-for-profit healthcare system with 385 clinics and 33 hospitals in the Intermountain West (primarily Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah)...The combined system employs more than 64,000 people.
"Lady reading! Security, stat!"
"There! A Christian! Not cricket!" [bites hat]
"And worse yet, a Bible!"
"Attempt a revival?"
"No, wait, Sergeant Bhatt, not like that!"
[GEO.TV] European aerospace groupsunveiled an initial deal on Thursday to pool their loss-making satellite manufacturing activities, combining forces after months of negotiations to counter the runaway growth of rivals led by Elon Musk's Starlink.
The keenly awaited deal between Airbus, Thales and Leonardo aims to forge a new venture starting from 2027, subject to approval by European regulators who have resisted such moves in the past.
The unnamed new entity will employ 25,000 people across Europe with annual revenues of 6.5 billion euros ($7.58 billion), based on 2024 figures, the companies said in a statement.
Airbus will hold 35%, while Thales and Leonardo will each hold 32.5%, the statement said, adding it would operate under joint control "with a balanced governance structure".
The space combination is expected to generate "mid-triple digit" millions of euros of synergies on operating income per year, starting after five years, the companies said.
Code-named "Project Bromo," talks between the three aerospace groups started last year in a bid to copy the co-operation model of European missile maker MBDA, which is owned by Airbus, Leonardo and BAE Systems.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2025 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1789 views]
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#1
If you look at the photos of this merger all the people in it are politicians and MBAs not a single engineer or scientist. Just suggesting that SpaceX can keep smiling..
#5
"Leonardo, he helluva thinka!"
"And Thales a philosophe drinker!"
"And Airbus flies high!"
"Shall we bake you a pie?"
Major triad: "La Maginot Linke!"
Posted by: Snineque Protector of the Antelope8284 ||
10/25/2025 18:51 Comments ||
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[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Standing in his well-manicured suburban garden in northern Virginia, Bala Thumma looked over the fence to where a giant data center is about to go up.
'It's going to be humungous,' he told the Daily Mail. 'Three times the size of my home. We'll be about 500ft away and the noise when the generators are on will be above 90 decibels.'
Not only that, it means his once quiet residential lane of million-dollar detached houses will soon be surrounded on all sides by the sinister-looking behemoths.
At the top of the cul-de-sac there already looms a giant black and red one. At the other end of the street bulldozers are busy excavating a massive 200-acre site for yet another. A traditional old barn and grain silo, relics of what used to be rolling farmland, are coming down.
'I'm not opposed to progress, said Thumma, a 47, an IT consultant. 'Tech is my bread and butter. But you don't see this anywhere else in the country.'
Or, indeed, on the planet. There are hundreds of data centers in this previously serene corner of Northern Virginia, about an hour west of Washington D.C.
Staggeringly, two third's of the world's internet traffic passes through them.
On Monday, the web faced a massive three-hour disruption across the world that hit a litany of services including including social media, gaming, food delivery, streaming and financial platforms. Those affected included Netflix, Disney+, ChatGPT, Fortnite and Roblox.
The problem was traced to Amazon Web Services' US-East-1 region, its biggest cluster of data centers, in northern Virginia.
AWS provides behind-the-scenes cloud computing infrastructure for many of the world’s biggest online businesses, along with government departments and universities.
While it's not possible to determine which particular center was the source, one of them is a stone's throw from Laura Thomas's back porch, and looms over a nearby Greek orthodox church and preschool.
'It's a pain in the ass,' Thomas, 69, told the Daily Mail. 'The traffic means I can't see to get out of my neighborhood. It used to be woods. There were deer. I would rather have had the woods and the wildlife.'
She added: 'It's ugly. When they first built it I said what is this thing and the security guy said, I can't tell you. I thought it must be the CIA. If it's a data center why so secretive, who cares?'
Indeed, security around the brown and gray monolith is tight. It is protected by iron fencing, a security barrier, an array of cameras, and even along one stretch a moat.
The proliferation of data centers has helped make Loudoun County the wealthiest in the United States, and brought it the unofficial titles 'Data Center Capital of the World' and 'Data Center Alley.'
It was fueled by several factors including being the base for AOL in the 1990s, closeness to the federal government in Washington, and an aggressive local policy of nearly $2 billion in tax breaks for data centers.
Now, when information is saved to 'the cloud' there is a good chance it is stored there.
AWS's US-East-1 began in 2006 and services everything from streaming and gaming giants to news websites.
However, the outage this week was just the latest in a string of problems traced to the rolling fields of northern Virginia.
That included a huge internet meltdown in 2021 when everything from airline reservations and auto dealerships to payment apps and video streaming services were affected for more than five hours. There were other problems in 2017 and 2023.
Local campaigners against data centers are now warning that, as the AI surge hits, there will be yet more data centers built in the area, requiring even more power, and potentially leading to disaster.
Already over 25 percent of all power produced in Virginia goes to data centers, and it could rise to 46 percent by 2030. One data center uses as much water as 1,000 houses.
'This industry is a threat to humanity. Virginia is the canary in the coalmine,' Elena Schlossberg, who has been campaigning against the rise of data centers for a decade, told the Daily Mail.
'To me it's the height of avarice and greed and the rest of the seven deadly sins. It's an abomination. What happens when an industry like that collapses? It's not just a state impact, its a global impact.
'From a business perspective, you've got most of the world's internet concentrated here. Who thought that was a good idea? People talk about terrorist vulnerability, maybe that's not a good idea. Isn't it ripe for some kind of sabotage?'
She added: 'What happens when there's stress on the grid in peak time and the grid goes down? The worst case scenario, there are cascading blackouts, the diesel fuel on site lasts 24 to 48 hours. We're not going to have enough power.
'If the world wants to sacrifice the state of Virginia they need to put in a trillion dollars. The the world needs to pout more skin in the game. Virginia is a microcosm of what will happen to the rest of the globe.'
The U.S. has 10 times the number of data centers as its nearest rival Germany.
The data centers in Loudoun currently cover around 50 million square feet and contribute $9 billion a year for the county's economy, supporting over 70,000 jobs.
According to a recent estimate by the U.S. Department of Energy data centers could use up to to 12 percent of all U.S. electricity by 2028, up from 4.4 percent in 2023.
[TheRegister] Amazon has published a detailed postmortem explaining how a critical fault in DynamoDB's DNS management system cascaded into a day-long outage that disrupted major websites and services across multiple brands – with damage estimates potentially reaching hundreds of billions of dollars.
The incident began at 11:48 PM PDT on October 19 (7.48 UTC on October 20), when customers reported increased DynamoDB API error rates in the Northern Virginia US-EAST-1 Region. The root cause was a race condition in DynamoDB's automated DNS management system that left an empty DNS record for the service's regional endpoint.
The DNS management system comprises two independent components (for availability reasons): a DNS Planner that monitors load balancer health and creates DNS plans, and a DNS Enactor that applies changes via Amazon Route 53.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[GEO.TV] 
[Greek Reporter] The Vatican Apostolic Library, located in Vatican City, has designated a prayer space for visiting Muslim scholars, marking a notable gesture of inclusivity at one of the world’s most important centers of religious and cultural scholarship.
