Hi there, !
Today Sun 02/15/2026 Sat 02/14/2026 Fri 02/13/2026 Thu 02/12/2026 Wed 02/11/2026 Tue 02/10/2026 Mon 02/09/2026 Archives
Rantburg
582797 articles and 1984932 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 66 articles and 179 comments as of 8:08.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion    Local News    Politix   
US prepping to send 2nd carrier strike group to Mideast — Wall Street Journal
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
0 [1753] 
0 [1775] 
0 [1761] 
8 19:19 Frank G [1800] 
5 09:12 Mercutio [1767] 
15 15:41 swksvolFF [1769] 
8 17:29 Woodrow [1839] 
8 20:39 Super Hose [1787] 
5 12:39 SteveS [1762] 
0 [1774] 
7 21:26 Crusader [1798] 
0 [1761] 
1 09:24 Skidmark [1766] 
5 15:41 Procopius2k [1819] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
0 [1768]
0 [1774]
0 [1759]
0 [1769]
6 15:06 NoMoreBS [1770]
4 17:37 Woodrow [1808]
14 21:01 trailing wife [1855]
0 [1812]
0 [1782]
0 [1784]
0 [1823]
0 [1800]
0 [1778]
Page 2: WoT Background
1 17:40 DarthVader [1793]
2 10:25 Slaising Speans3611 [1763]
0 [1777]
3 09:06 Skidmark [1800]
6 23:12 Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 [1800]
0 [1773]
0 [1759]
2 13:15 trailing wife [1825]
0 [1798]
0 [1804]
3 11:46 SteveS [1848]
3 10:00 Grom the Affective [1788]
0 [1777]
1 00:57 Skidmark [1770]
0 [1775]
3 14:24 DarthVader [1771]
Page 4: Opinion
1 14:49 trailing wife [1774]
0 [1756]
4 20:27 Super Hose [1797]
7 16:14 Grom the Affective [1790]
2 15:50 Lord Garth [1812]
7 14:37 NoMoreBS [1771]
1 04:36 Super Hose [1768]
2 15:01 trailing wife [1782]
7 17:51 NoMoreBS [1792]
1 04:31 Super Hose [1773]
6 21:30 Crusader [1814]
2 12:08 Abu Uluque [1768]
6 15:12 trailing wife [1786]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
0 [1761]
0 [1775]
1 16:25 Knuckles Grundy1702 [1790]
0 [1757]
0 [1760]
0 [1761]
Page 6: Politix
0 [1773]
2 14:56 DarthVader [1771]
10 21:37 Crusader [1802]
9 21:11 trailing wife [1868]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Awful final words of [LA] fire captain emerge as wife faces trial for murder at their stunning California home
Research shows lesbian marriages crash and burn at a much higher rate than gay or hetero marriages.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A fire captain's devastating final words were revealed in a California courtroom on Tuesday as her wife was ordered to stand trial for her murder.

Rebecca 'Becky' Marodi, 49, was found dead in her San Diego home on February 17, 2025, with 23 stab wounds.

Her wife, Yolanda Marodi, 54, fled the scene and escaped to Mexico, launching a massive month-long manhunt before she was arrested for first-degree murder in connection with Becky's gruesome death.

Homicide Detective Jessica Ricca testified during a recent court hearing that surveillance camera footage from the murder revealed Becky pleading for her life and telling her wife, 'I don't want to die.'

The footage wasn't shown in court, but Ricca said it depicted Yolanda carrying a knife and Becky pleading with her to call 911, NBC 7 San Diego reported.

Becky was also heard on video calling out for her mother, with Yolanda responding, 'She's not here,' Ricca testified.

The footage then cuts out, and when Becky returns in frame, she's seen 'covered in blood.'

After pleading for her life, Yolanda is heard snapping, 'You should have thought about that before.'

Yolanda was then captured on tape fleeing the home and loading items into an SUV before driving off.

Becky's mother, Lorena Marodi, also testified during the recent preliminary hearing. She lived in the home with her daughter and daughter-in-law, but wasn't present during the alleged killing.

She testified that on the day of her daughter's chilling death, Yolanda confided in her about the marriage, which was a rarity in their relationship.

Lorena told the court that Yolanda said that she and Becky had 'some things to work out, but there wouldn't be any fighting,' according to NBC 7.

Lorena recalled that on the night of the alleged murder, she was out with friends and drove by the home while dropping people off.

She noticed that Yolanda's car was gone, and when she returned home later that night, she was met with a trail of blood.

Lorena testified that she then made the gruesome discovery of her daughter's body and called 911.

An arrest warrant viewed by NBC 7 stated that Becky wanted to leave her marriage before her death.

Yolanda allegedly sent a text message after Becky's killing that read: 'Becky came home and told me she was leaving me, she met someone else, all the messages were lies. We had a big fight and I hurt her ... I'm sorry.'

The judge who presided over the hearing ruled that there was enough evidence to send the case to trial, which is scheduled for June. Yolanda has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.

She was previously convicted in an eerily similar case in 2000 on voluntary manslaughter charges for the death of her husband, James J Olejniczak Jr.
Apparently she gets all stabby when someone pisses her off
Yolanda had filed for divorce against James months earlier, and the pair agreed to 'mutual restraining orders' and joint custody of their two children.

James was then found with stab wounds, and Yolanda turned herself in just a day later, according to court documents in the case.

Posted by: Skidmark || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1767 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Research shows les marriages crash and burn at a much higher rate

Reminds me of a story where a bi woman started dating women after a breakup with a guy and she said, "Men were right about women."
Posted by: Eohippus Lover of the French1437 || 02/12/2026 0:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Statistically, LGBT's partner murders are 2x the rate of Heterosexual partners per 1000.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/12/2026 4:48 Comments || Top||

#3  I guess that this goes to show that leaving the toilet seat up is not as big an issue as everyone thinks.

Snark O'The Day
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/12/2026 5:05 Comments || Top||

#4  ^#3 nomination for SNARK OF THE DAY
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/12/2026 6:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Awful final words ?

"I'm voting for Newsom after I'm dead."?
Posted by: Mercutio || 02/12/2026 9:12 Comments || Top||


Rep. Massie got to go in the locked room with the unredacted FBI files. He comes out and names names, Lex Wexner first, but who are the others?
The FBI was only supposed to redact the names of victims but redacted Les Wexner, billionaire owner of Bed Bath & Beyond.
The rest I don't understand but they sound Arab, Emraiti, Saudi or who? Someone want to list the names? The second half is a bunch of crap about the Royal family, boring. Who are the rest? Clear misconduct by the FBI by redacting the names of these powerful men. Wexner gave Epstein his full power of attorney.
There must be accountability otherwise we live in a lawless state. It's coming out that Trump was one of the first to blow the whistle which is why they're so angry.

But Mr. Wexner is not accused of anything on the lurid side of Mr. Epstein’s activities. Rather, he is accounted among the Epstein dupes, having settled in 2008 that Mr. Epstein would repay him $100 million for “theft or misappropriation,” which would explain the choice to redact his name. The Israel Times has more here. The man emoting in the corner window calls himself Asmongold, real name Zachariah "Zack" Hoyt. He started out narrating World of Warcraft, then moved into political commentary through rejection of the woke nonsense attacking gamer culture, including sharing his disdain for Hamas and Sharia law as he learnt about them.




For perspective, this is how the world saw Mr. Epstein when Mr. Wexner gave him an investment account to manage:
Posted by: Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1819 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They will dribble out the names in an attempt to mollify us. It won’t work.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/12/2026 5:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Or to put it another way - Wexner's money funded Epstein's activities.
Posted by: Clem+Elmish4239 || 02/12/2026 6:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Epstein's "unexplained wealth" will eventually be found to have community origins.

"Everybody works for somebody."
~ John Kiriakau, 'Doing time like a spy.'
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/12/2026 6:20 Comments || Top||

#4  How long was Massie in the locked room and how is the information presented?

If Massie had to go through hard copy, that could take weeks.
Posted by: Chantry || 02/12/2026 9:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Given who they know is in there, dribbling it out all the way through mid-terms may be goal, particularly if it hits the right targets.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/12/2026 15:41 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
A re-examination has shown that Cobain did not commit suicide, according to media reports.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] A re-examination of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's death has shown that he did not commit suicide. This was reported by the British publication Daily Mail, citing independent researchers.

According to the generally accepted version of the singer's death, he committed suicide in his Seattle home in 1994. Large quantities of illegal substances were found in his blood, which, according to forensic experts, were the cause of his suicide. His death was caused by a shot from a 20-gauge Remington shotgun.

However, recently, an unofficial team of forensic experts decided to take a fresh look at Cobain's autopsy results and crime scene materials. They brought in gunshot trauma and overdose specialist Brian Burnett, who soon concluded that the musician's death was not suicide. Specifically, the team presented at least ten pieces of evidence suggesting Cobain was, in fact, murdered. One of these was organ damage related to oxygen deprivation, which does not occur in the instantaneous death of a gunshot.

The new version is that Cobain was attacked by one or more assailants who injected him with a large dose of heroin to incapacitate him, and then one of them shot him in the head, put the gun in his hands, and left a fake suicide note.
Why? Why did they reexamine the evidence and why did it take so long to do so?
The Seattle Medical Examiner's Office, which handled the Cobain case, stated that it was prepared to reconsider its findings if new evidence emerged. However, in this case, they believe nothing contradicts the initial conclusion of suicide.

Posted by: badanov || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1798 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why

Death of Ellen Greenberg

The mysterious circumstances surrounding the manner of death have prompted significant political activity, legal action, and global media coverage.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/12/2026 1:10 Comments || Top||

#2  2026 - 1994 = 32 years ago.

So we are looking at around 2051 for Epstein, then?
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/12/2026 2:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Now do Chester.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/12/2026 5:00 Comments || Top||

#4  ...At the risk of sounding cruel, I've always suspected that those around him simply got sick and tired of his drug use and depression, and left him alone to finally get it over with.

Mike
Posted by: MikeKozlowski || 02/12/2026 6:23 Comments || Top||

#5  Some have speculated because Courtney Love wanted the ownership of the Nirvana Catelogue and rights to the songs Kurt Cobain helped her write for Hole.

The Seattle Locals I've met, never thought Kurt killed himself. That was always national media spin.
Posted by: mossomo || 02/12/2026 12:47 Comments || Top||

#6  Did he know Hillary and Bill? Was this Arkancide?
Posted by: Silentbrick || 02/12/2026 15:29 Comments || Top||

#7  Watch "Soaked in Bleach". Yes, it gets a lot of criticism, but it shows how Kurt could not have shot himself AND THEN had the gun be found in the position it was.
Posted by: Crusader || 02/12/2026 21:26 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
A new solar flare of the penultimate power class has been recorded
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[REGNUM] A new M1.4-class flare has been recorded in an active region on the Sun.
Moscow, February 11, 2026, 6:48 PM — Regnum News Agency. A new flare of the penultimate power class was detected in an active region on the Sun on February 11, the Institute of Applied Geophysics reported.

An M1.4 class flare lasting 38 minutes was recorded at 16:12 Moscow time in the X-ray range in the sunspot group 4366 (N12W88).

Earlier that day, the Institute reported a series of three solar flares in the same active region. They were recorded between 3:00 and 4:00 AM Moscow time. All three flares were shorter in duration than the last one recorded.

The Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences previously reported that active region (spot group) 4366 on the Sun, visible from Earth, had set a new 21st-century record for the number of strong solar flares. By February 8, this region had recorded 66 flares of class M or higher.

Posted by: badanov || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1761 views] Top|| File under:


-Land of the Free
Trump White House Touts Wins
[PJMedia] In a Feb. 9 White House press release, the Trump-Vance administration listed some half dozen reasons to feel optimistic about the present and future this midterm election year. “While the Fake News and Radical Left collude to distract, depress, and divide, they’re simply lying to mask the undeniable truth: America is safer, stronger, richer, and more secure than at any point in decades. Don’t take the bait,” the White House urged.

Among these wins is increasing compliance with the Trump administration's ban on "Barbaric Mutilation" of minors through "transgender" pseudo-science. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has finally agreed that children should not receive body-altering "treatments" in pursuit of the fantasy of sex change, and Minnesota's biggest children's hospital is the latest medical institution to halt puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for kids.

Furthermore, the border is sealed with no illegal southwest border crossings reported for the ninth month in a row. A federal appeals court sided with the Trump administration on detention of illegal aliens, in a case where foreign nationals falsely laid claim to certain rights reserved to citizens.

Besides that, the White House boasted:

In just the past week, ICE arrested 650 illegals in West Virginia — including a convicted child sex abuser, drug pushers, burglars, and fraudsters. Nationwide, ICE continues removing convicted murderers, terrorists, drug traffickers, sex offenders, child abusers, domestic abusers, money launderers, and scores of other dangerous criminal illegals. In Minnesota, Operation Metro Surge has already taken over 4,000 criminal illegals off the streets — and it’s not stopping.
This is the strongest argument Republicans have going into the midterm elections, because around two-thirds of Americans support mass deportations, according to Rasmussen Reports poll data.

Then there’s economic news, such as the Dow Jones hitting 50,000 for the very first time and record-breaking numbers from the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

National median rents have fallen to a four-year low following six consecutive monthly declines, while mortgage affordability has surged to a four-year high following President Trump’s bold action to make homeownership affordable again. PepsiCo announced price cuts of up to 15% on core brands.
The White House also highlighted TrumpRx.gov, a new site to help Americans find lower-cost prescription drugs.

Of course, as with any administration, there are always areas where the Trump administration can improve, including by standing more strongly with the Iranian protestors and Israelis, by not taking advice from terror-sponsoring Qatar's regime, by cutting off the H1B visa program, by not giving an inch on ICE enforcement in sanctuary cities, and by more thoroughly gutting the Deep State. But if Democrats were in charge, the country would be in an exponentially worse case than it is.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1774 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Cuba's energy collapse deepens after Mexico halts key oil supplies
Now, about those cartels ...
[IntelliNews] Mexico’s decision to suspend oil shipments to Cuba while expanding humanitarian aid has exposed the limits of its room for manoeuvre under renewed US pressure, as well as the depth of Cuba’s escalating energy and economic crisis.

The move reflects a careful recalibration by President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government, which is attempting to shield Mexico from punitive tariffs threatened by Washington while avoiding a complete rupture with Havana.

At the centre of the dispute is a January executive order signed by US President Donald Trump declaring a national emergency with respect to Cuba and authorising sanctions and secondary tariffs on any country supplying oil to the island.

This followed the US military intervention in Venezuela, long Cuba’s main energy provider, and the subsequent collapse of already dwindling fuel flows from Caracas in the wake of the ouster of Nicolas Maduro. According to Bloomberg, Mexico had effectively become Cuba’s principal oil supplier in recent months, covering close to 80% of its imported crude needs together with Venezuela last year, based on data from Kpler.

Sheinbaum confirmed this week that all oil shipments are currently “detained”, explicitly citing the need to avoid economic retaliation against Mexico from its key trading partner, the US. While rejecting the legitimacy of the broadening US embargo, she acknowledged that continued exports could trigger tariffs affecting Mexican trade.

The suspension marks a sharp reversal from late 2024, when oil deliveries to Cuba increased significantly and were partly classified as humanitarian aid following Hurricane Rafael.

The scale of the commercial relationship underscores the sensitivity of the decision. Official data released by the Mexican government and cited by El País show that Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), through its subsidiary Gasolinas Bienestar, sold nearly $1.5bn worth of crude and petroleum products to Cuba between 2023 and 2025, at market prices and under contracts denominated in pesos.

In 2024 alone, average exports reached over 20,000 barrels per day, equivalent to 2.8% of Mexico’s total crude exports. Pemex executives stressed that the arrangement was commercial rather than concessional, and that Cuba had remained current on payments.

For Cuba, however, the halt has had immediate consequences. The communist-run island recorded its first month with zero oil imports in a decade in January, according to shipping data cited by Bloomberg.

Despite recent efforts to diversify its electricity matrix with Chinese-made solar plants, Cuba generates over 80% of its electricity from oil, with stuttering thermal power plants – many of Soviet design – relying heavily on both domestic crude and, predominantly, imported fuel.

As a result, oil shortages have rippled across the economy: aviation fuel supplies have been exhausted, forcing authorities to warn international airlines that they cannot refuel on the island, several major tourist resorts have shut down, and queues at petrol stations in Havana have stretched for hours.

Cuban officials have previously acknowledged that national gasoline demand stands at roughly 8,200 barrels per day, a level that Mexican shipments had only just managed to cover for about a month at a time.

The humanitarian impact has been even more severe. Hospitals have suspended surgeries, restricted patient transfers and run critically low on diesel, medicines and basic supplies. Public transport networks have effectively collapsed in several provinces, with long-distance bus and ferry services curtailed due to lack of fuel, as reported by Cuban state media. Food rationing has intensified, with staples reportedly sufficient for only a few weeks.

Against this backdrop, Mexico has opted to maintain and expand non-energy assistance. Two Mexican navy vessels—the Papaloapan and Isla Holbox—departed the port of Veracruz carrying 814 tonnes of food and hygiene supplies, including rice, beans, canned fish and powdered milk. Further consignments, amounting to more than 1,500 tonnes of additional supplies, remain pending

Sheinbaum has framed the aid as a humanitarian obligation detached from ideological alignment, arguing that sanctions “should not strangle people”. Diplomatically, Mexico has positioned itself as a potential intermediary.

The president has said her administration is pursuing channels with Washington to find a formula that would allow Cuba to receive fuel without triggering sanctions, while the Havana regime has moved from defiance to some degree of willingness to engage with the Trump administration, albeit without placing political reform on the table.

Sheinbaum's policy illustrates the tension facing middle powers under intensifying US sanctions regimes, as governments are forced towards balance economic self-interest, regional solidarity and humanitarian considerations.

The suspension of oil exports may protect Mexico from immediate retaliation, but it removes one of the last buffers cushioning Cuba from a rapidly deepening energy shock, leaving humanitarian aid as an imperfect substitute for the fuel that underpins the island’s basic services.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1787 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Oh, THAT'S why this is happening. oil contracts in pesos. I wondered why Cuba became an issue all the sudden. All oil contracts worldwide must be in USD. This is the foundation of the petrodollar system. If anyone takes down the sign from the shop window it shakes the whole system.
Besides WMD, terrorism and being a threat to the entire middle east, one of the reasons Saddam got overthrown was denominating contracts for Iraqi oil in Euros instead of dollars.
Posted by: Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 || 02/12/2026 3:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Nonsense. This is about pushing the communist Cuban government to collapse by cutting off the financial support it needs to survive.

America is a net oil exporter again under Trump 47. We come out ahead as exporters if the price of oil goes up, no matter the currency the contract is paid, and we come out ahead as importers if the price of oil goes down, no matter the currency. But our enemies, like Russia and Iran, and those Arab countries that support jihad, they suffer when the price of oil goes down.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/12/2026 4:12 Comments || Top||

#3  We can do two things at once. We could have shoved Cuba over at any time during the War on Terror but it just started now. The petrodollar isn't a secret.
It goes back to the Carter Doctrine of the 1970s with U.S.-Saudi Arabia agreements where oil-producing nations, particularly OPEC members, price and transact petroleum exports exclusively in U.S. dollars. This arrangement bolsters the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency by creating sustained international demand for it, as countries must hold dollars to purchase oil. In return, the U.S. provides military security, economic aid, and investment opportunities to these exporters, while petrodollar recycling funnels oil revenues back into U.S. assets like Treasury bonds, helping finance American deficits and stabilize global finance. Despite ongoing challenges from dedollarization efforts by countries like China and Russia promoting alternatives such as the yuan or ruble in energy trades, and shifts toward renewable energy, the system remains a cornerstone of American prosperity and global power.
If people get the idea they can buy oil in anything but USD it will start a cascade effect. Trump openly threatened BRICS when they said they were going to establish their own currency and trade among themselves, refusing to use USD.
Posted by: Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 || 02/12/2026 4:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Venezuela and Mexico were propping up Cubs like two guys carrying home a drunk friend from a bar. Trump arrested one of the friends. Mexico has decided that they have their own problems and that Cuba without Venezuela isn't viable anyway.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/12/2026 4:54 Comments || Top||


#6  Cuba libre! Hawaii trembles.
Posted by: jefe101 || 02/12/2026 11:06 Comments || Top||

#7  Venezuela and Mexico were propping up Cubs

And Russia until the Ukraine war got more expensive, right?
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/12/2026 15:11 Comments || Top||

#8  I think also Iran. They were mutually supportive through the unlicensed tanker sanction workaround system. Trump put Iran, Venezuela and Cuba in check through sea control and power projection. They should fall. Iran is blocked from interrupting traffic through Hormuz. I can’t see Trump making an attack during the Olympics unless Iran attacks ships. Cuba is screwed.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/12/2026 20:39 Comments || Top||


Economy
'Winner Takes All': UBS Speaks With Swiss Watch Industry Insider On 'Stabilizing Market'
[ZERO] The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks secondary-market prices for the 50 most-traded watches by value, has been ticking higher for about a year, rebounding from a multi-year slump that followed the Covid-era luxury watch mania fueled by cheap interest rates and easy money.

Our last note on the secondary watch market was about a month ago, covering the rebound in prices from a 2025 low (read here) and the shifting tastes of Gen Z collectors (or at least the ones with money).

To add more color to the Swiss watch cycle, UBS analysts, led by Zuzanna Pusz, spoke with a veteran industry insider.

Pusz's key takeaway from the conversation with the expert is that the industry has "entered a stabilization phase following the post-Covid boom and the subsequent normalization period marked by pronounced weakness in China."

Here's the full takeaway that gives readers more guidance on what to expect from the luxury timepiece industry this year:
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/12/2026 06:28 || Comments || Link || [1761 views] Top|| File under:


Fed employment said lowest in 50 years


Posted by: trailing wife || 02/12/2026 2026-02-12 00:03 || Comments || Link || [1800 views] Top|| File under:

#1  About time.
BTW: Anyone else remember, when our paychecks looked like a Computer Data punch card with holes in it?
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/12/2026 2:30 Comments || Top||

#2  The graph peaks during the HW Bush Administration. It is lower under layer Dem regimes. The graph of NGO and contractor employment probably peaks under the Autopen.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/12/2026 4:43 Comments || Top||

#3  First time a "fascist tyrant" reduced the size of government bureaucracy.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/12/2026 7:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Still not low enough, can be much lower and government can still function well!
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 02/12/2026 9:05 Comments || Top||

#5  1. the spikes in the graph with the red line are temporary census workers

2. although federal employment is down, that is not the case regarding State and other govt employment. There were about 4M state employees and about 16M other govt. employees as of mid 2025.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 02/12/2026 9:22 Comments || Top||

#6  State and other govt employment.

I’d expect to see blue state and community employment to continue to rise until the collapse. In red states and communities it should drop following lowered demands from the feds for reports and actions, and as the NGOs evaporate that were creating work for them. So I suspect that will probably lag by a year or several. First the police, fire departments, and social workers will see workloads reduced from overwhelming to bearable, which I’m totally ok with.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/12/2026 15:19 Comments || Top||

#7  about 4M of the 'other govt' employees are teachers and another 2M or so are non teaching professionals

using individualized AI teaching and other economies, this could probably be cut to 2M teachers and 0.5 non teaching professionals

but this would take time and would face headwinds from the NEA, etc.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 02/12/2026 17:01 Comments || Top||

#8  San Diego has had a hiring freeze. The Mayor got around it with "Program Managers". Those days are coming to an end.
Posted by: Frank G || 02/12/2026 19:19 Comments || Top||


Heineken slashes 6,000 jobs because Americans are giving up on beer
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1839 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Drop the price!
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/12/2026 1:05 Comments || Top||

#2  I mostly see people ordering Heineken Zero alcohol
Posted by: Frank G || 02/12/2026 1:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Maybe if they came out with a "Lite" version.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/12/2026 2:37 Comments || Top||

#4  The should have rebranded the same beer with craft sounding names.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/12/2026 4:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Our wages are so low, our buying power is so low that going out anymore is like going to Disney Land. Who can afford it? Not the kids. They cant even afford the rents.

Fun is prohibitevely expensive in this day and age.
Posted by: mossomo || 02/12/2026 12:37 Comments || Top||

#6  With wages reportedly going up, mossomo, it will be interesting to see how much of this is preferences and how much poor incomes.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/12/2026 15:20 Comments || Top||

#7  You're telling me that Dylan Mulvaney didn't induce the buying public to consume more?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/12/2026 15:38 Comments || Top||

#8  I remember at one point Heineken had a map at HQ on which Israel was missing. F them. I do miss the Champaign yeast which the beer is brewed with.
Posted by: Woodrow || 02/12/2026 17:29 Comments || Top||


Europe
Swiss to vote on proposal to cap the population
ZURICH, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Switzerland will vote on capping its population at 10 million until 2050, a proposal that speaks to widespread concerns about high immigration but risks depriving the country of much-needed workers and shattering relations with the European Union.

A popular vote is set for June 14, the government said this week.

WHAT IS THE PROPOSAL?
The initiative, launched by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), wants to write into Switzerland's constitution that the permanent resident population of the country shall not exceed 10 million people before 2050. In subsequent years, the limit would be adjusted annually by the Swiss government to account for any birth surplus.

Under the slogan "preserving what we love," backers of the initiative want to limit options for asylum-seekers and their families to permanently reside in Switzerland if the population exceeds 9.5 million people before 2050. In that event, the Swiss government "shall also seek to renegotiate international agreements that drive population growth," according to the proposal.

If the 10-million threshold is permanently crossed, authorities would be required to take all available measures to comply with the limit. That explicitly includes terminating a key agreement with the EU on the free movement of people.

WHAT IS BEHIND IT?
Switzerland's population has risen rapidly this century, stirring concern that infrastructure is being stretched, rents are too high, and wages under pressure. While the population only passed 7 million in the mid-1990s, it is now over 9 million, growing faster than in most neighbouring countries and putting Switzerland on track to hit the SVP threshold before mid-century.
Germany now paying migrant families as much as €30,000. to return to their native lands.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/12/2026 11:03 || Comments || Link || [1753 views] Top|| File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants


Czech NGOs condemn planned 50% cuts to foreign and humanitarian aid
announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Petr Macinka of the anti-green and eurosceptic Motorists for Themselves party
Helping starve the beast.
[IntelliNews] Czech NGOs have condemned plans to cut foreign and humanitarian aid programmes by approximately half, announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Petr Macinka of the anti-green and eurosceptic Motorists for Themselves party as part of an austerity drive.

Under the budget drafted for this year by the previous centre-right cabinet of Petr Fiala, the allocation for the MFA’s humanitarian, development and economy aid programme amounted to CZK1bn, while Macinka’s cuts reduced it to CZK500mn, Czech Television (CT) noted.

Earlier, Macinka blamed the previous cabinet for the need to resort to cuts in foreign and humanitarian aid programmes, stating “there is no money, real savings need to be made,” as quoted by online news outlet Novinky.cz last week.

Man in Need, one of the best known Czech NGOs active internationally, including in Gaza, Syria and Yemen, is to have the funding for its activities from the Czech MFA scrapped altogether after receiving CZK165mn last year.

“For this year – according to this proposal – it looks like zero,” head of humanitarian aid at Man in Need Marek Štys told CT, adding that “the government proposal, which is now going to the Chamber [of Deputies] implies in the sharp lowering dismantling of the whole Czech foreign aid”.

Macinka also told media earlier that his ministry already spent CZK10mn on heat generators for Ukraine, leaving CZK40mn allocated for humanitarian aid.

As bne IntelliNews reported earlier, the new cabinet led by Andrej Babiš' populist ANO party scrapped the budget for this year drafted by the predecessor cabinet, arguing it was unrealistic.

After the Babiš government moved to revise the original budget, the country entered this year on provisional budget rules, which cap the spending at 1/12 of the 2025 budget costs a month.

The revised budget is expected to be passed by the parliament on March 11, where the ANO, Motorists and the far right SPD coalition wields a comfortable 108-majority.

Babiš did not rule out raising the foreign aid spending after the provisional budget rules are replaced with the final budget for this year, stating that “we will help in a humanitarian way, we said, we won’t pay for weapons”.

Earlier, Babiš’s coalition reviewed the Czech-led initiative of collecting and supplying ammunition to Ukraine, arguing the scheme is not transparent, but the prime minister also stated he would not object to the initiative if other states fund it.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1762 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Given, it's Non-Government Organizations.

Why should any Taxpayer support things and places, they are morally or politically against. Just because DC Swampers or family members are getting rich from the kickbacks.

QUESTION
What happened to those Billionaires and Millionaires that champion these NGO's and causes? Are they putting up $$$$$$ or just giving camera face time (eg. Gore)?
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/12/2026 2:50 Comments || Top||

#2  ^They're taking a share - from the top.
Posted by: Grom the Affective || 02/12/2026 2:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Once USAID funds are out of the marketplace things tighten up across the board in the NGO world.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/12/2026 4:57 Comments || Top||

#4  USAID, an innocent sounding name. The truth however, lies elsewhere.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/12/2026 5:21 Comments || Top||

#5  ^ Totally unlike the National Endowment for Democracy which is all about endowing democracy and stuff. Perhaps with a bit too much emphasis on "stuff".
Posted by: SteveS || 02/12/2026 12:39 Comments || Top||


Great White North
Jesse Strang, 18, named as transgender Canadian school shooter who murdered eight before dying by suicide
Follow up to yesterday’s story.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A gunman who murdered eight people in the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history is a transgender tearaway who also killed his mother and brother.

Jesse Strang, 18, opened fire in the library at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia on Tuesday afternoon, a parent whose son attends the school told the Daily Mail. A female teacher was killed, alongside three girls and two boys aged between 13 and 17.

Strang took his own life at the school. He killed his mother, Jennifer, and brother, Emmett, at their home beforehand, CTV News reported.

Strang was named by Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Wednesday as Jesse Van Rootselaar and described as a woman. He is understood to have used his mother's name, Strang, socially and at school.

RCMP added that Jesse began identifying as female six years ago, aged 12, and said there had been multiple call-outs to his home related to his mental health. Strang stopped attending school four years ago, aged just 14, the spokesman said.

A parent whose son attends the school said his child knew Strang and played sports with his sister. His son was at the academic institution on Tuesday when Strang carried out the deadly massacre. He is now 'afraid to go back to school', his father added.

Juno News and Western Standard News were among the first publications to identify Strang and reveal his transgenderism. Initial reports described the shooter as 'a female in a dress.'

A total of 25 people were injured in the massacre. Maya Gebala, 12, was shot in the neck and head and is not expected to survive the night. She is the only injured victim named so far.

Sources told the Daily Mail that Strang lived at the home with three relatives.

Strang is also believed to have used she/her pronouns on his since-deleted social media accounts.

Locals Juan van Heerden and Liam Irving told the Western Standard that Strang was a 'quiet kid' who was often seen 'sitting by himself in the corner'.

Irving said his mother works at the school and was on the floor where the shooting took place. 'She heard pretty much all the shots,' he added. Irving claimed Strang's mother and younger brother were well known in the Tumbler Ridge community, and 'good friends' of his family.

'There's not one person in this town right now that's not affected by this,' he added.

Maya's family said she was hit by shrapnel during the shooting but it was unknown how she was hit and how much damage was done.

'We were warned that the damage to her brain was too much for her to endure, and she wouldn't make the night,' Maya's mother Cia Edmonds said on Wednesday afternoon.

Tumbler Ridge, a picturesque mountain valley town in the foothills of the Rockies about 736 miles north of Vancouver, has a population of 2,400.

It is described as an 'incredibly safe community' by town councilors.

The remote community is known for its lakes, rivers, waterfalls and hiking trails. The area earned UNESCO Global Geopark status due to the presence of hundreds of dinosaur tracks and fossils.

The secondary school - which enrolls 175 students - and its elementary school, will be closed for the rest of the week.

Related:
Transgender killer, 18, behind deadly Canada high school rampage that left eight dead is seen gripping assault rifle in disturbing image
Outrage after Canadian police obsess over school shooter's PRONOUNS after killing eight


Posted by: Skidmark || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1769 views] Top|| File under: Nut Jobs

#1 
Posted by: Grom the Affective || 02/12/2026 2:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Bee: Media Baffled As To Anything Mass Shooters Might Possibly Have In Common
Posted by: Frank G || 02/12/2026 3:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Testing
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/12/2026 3:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Sorry for the Testing comment... several of the Stories on this Trans-Murderer were not posting written and submitted comments this morning.

Either way.
When will the Left, cease supporting this Transgender Mental Illness agenda for the LGBT_ votes, and address it.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/12/2026 3:13 Comments || Top||

#5  Coulter's Law was right again.
Posted by: Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 || 02/12/2026 3:17 Comments || Top||

#6  I guess Canada should have banned our export of crazy.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/12/2026 4:39 Comments || Top||

#7  Re #2, Frank, BEE really? It seems to hit closer to the truth than one might think!
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 02/12/2026 8:58 Comments || Top||

#8  The news article in the related links was either written by a moron or they are pushing an agenda. The rifle in the picture is clearly a bolt action rifle with a scope. I haven't followed the story closely enough to know if law enforcement specifically mentioned the weapon used.
Posted by: Chantry || 02/12/2026 9:21 Comments || Top||

#9  Psycho killers, qu'est-ce que c'est?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 02/12/2026 9:23 Comments || Top||

#10  #8The news article in the related links was either written by a moron or they are pushing an agenda.

Embrace the power of "and"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/12/2026 9:44 Comments || Top||

#11  Babylon Bee's satire of yesterday's report where they used the word 'gunperson'.

https://babylonbee.com/news/canadian-reporterperson-announces-policepersons-have-identified-gunperson
Posted by: Lord Garth || 02/12/2026 9:46 Comments || Top||

#12  ^ My google-fu is weak this morning, but I believe the phrase "gunperson in a dress" was first used by the local politically-correct cops. Canada is currently suffering an epidemic of this nonsense.

Based on personal observation, the Bee seems to have an uncanny power to predict the future, no matter how stupid it is. But in this case, Canadian law enforcement beat them to the punch.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/12/2026 10:10 Comments || Top||

#13  the Bee seems to have an uncanny power to predict the future

Put them to work on the space alien arrival.

Posted by: Skidmark || 02/12/2026 14:10 Comments || Top||

#14  ^ Already in the past
Posted by: Frank G || 02/12/2026 14:27 Comments || Top||

#15  July 2028 does seems like a long time ago.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/12/2026 15:41 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Is Ivermectin the Key to Fighting Cancer? People are being cured all over the world….
[WHATFINGER] Ivermectin found fame — and in some corners of the media, infamy — during the COVID-19 pandemic for it’s groundbreaking use by medical experts in the early treatment of COVID. Ivermectin is, once again, being hailed as a medical miracle for it’s potential application in the fight against cancer.

According to The Gateway Pundit,

A new cancer treatment protocol involving repurposed drugs Ivermectin, Fenbendazole, and Mebendazole has recently passed peer review and is being heralded as a potential breakthrough in cancer therapy.

The science behind the application of Ivermectin along with Mebendazole in the potential treatment of cancer is compelling:

This strategy is based on the mitochondrial-stem cell connection (MSCC) theory, which posits that cancer originates from impaired mitochondrial function in stem cells, leading to the formation of highly tumorigenic cancer stem cells (CSCs).

These CSCs are believed to drive tumor recurrence and metastasis and exhibit resistance to conventional therapies.

According to the publication, ivermectin, fenbendazole, and mebendazole each exhibit anticancer properties through distinct yet complementary mechanisms. Ivermectin, an antiparasitic agent, induces apoptosis in cancer cells by modulating mitochondrial function and inhibiting critical pathways such as glycolysis. It has shown significant efficacy in shrinking tumor volumes in various cancer types, including pancreatic cancer, when used alone or in combination with other agents.

The Ivermectin and mebendazole protocol recently garnered internation attention after Mel Gibson and Joe Rogan discussed it in a recent episode of Rogan’s popular podcast.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/12/2026 09:16 || Comments || Link || [1775 views] Top|| File under:


Lockheed - US defense firm reveals smart underwater drone that hitches rides to battle
[InterestingEngineering]
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 02/12/2026 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1766 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Go nuke and they can loiter.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/12/2026 9:24 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
42[untagged]
8Hamas
4Govt of Iran
2Commies
1ISWAP
1Migrants/Illegal Immigrants
1Moslem Colonists
1Nut Jobs
1Pak Taliban (TTP)
1Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
1[untagged]
1Antifa/BLM
1Banditti
1Govt of Sudan

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2026-02-12
  US prepping to send 2nd carrier strike group to Mideast — Wall Street Journal
Wed 2026-02-11
  IDF forces located and destroyed a weapons depot belonging to the military-terrorist wing al-Jama’a al-Islamiya
Tue 2026-02-10
  IDF says it killed four Hamas gunmen who emerged from Rafah tunnel, fired on troops
Mon 2026-02-09
  At Least 112 USAF C-17 Aircraft Headed To Middle East: 'Desert Storm Levels'
Sun 2026-02-08
  Nioro du Sahel in Mali under siege
Sat 2026-02-07
  The death toll from the suicide bombing at a mosque in Islamabad’s Tarlai area has risen to 31; ISIS claims responsibility
Fri 2026-02-06
  Mastermind behind Benghazi attack arrested and in US custody as Bondi takes dig at Hillary Clinton
Thu 2026-02-05
  FBI arrests 55 in massive drug ring with alleged China supplier flooding US streets with fentanyl
Wed 2026-02-04
  Military airstrike neutralizes 27 Bad Guys in Katsina dawn operation
Tue 2026-02-03
  Over 100 mortar shells found in UNRWA bags in Gaza
Mon 2026-02-02
  In Minneapolis Antifa set up checkpoints to check IDs against their data base for ICE agents
Sun 2026-02-01
  LA descends into a war zone as furious protesters brandishing Mexican and American flags while wearing gas masks ATTACK police
Sat 2026-01-31
  Iran targets injured at hospitals in crackdown on protesters
Fri 2026-01-30
  Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, attorney says
Thu 2026-01-29
  Battlefield 'voice of God' sonic weapon used in warzones unleashed on Minneapolis protesters


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.
216.73.216.168
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (13)    WoT Background (16)    Opinion (13)    Local News (6)    Politix (4)