Havana Syndrome: Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to a series of mysterious ailments | CNN Politics

Now CNN is reporting on the mystery device. There is a lot of smoke to this fire.

The Defense Department has spent more than a year testing a device purchased in an undercover operation that some investigators think could be the cause of a series of mysterious ailments impacting US spies, diplomats and troops that are colloquially known as Havana Syndrome, according to four sources briefed on the matter.

A division of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, purchased the device for millions of dollars in the waning days of the Biden administration, using funding provided by the Defense Department, according to two of the sources. Officials paid “eight figures” for the device, these people said, declining to offer a more specific number.

The device is still being studied and there is ongoing debate — and in some quarters of government, skepticism — over its link to the roughly dozens of anomalous health incidents that remain officially unexplained.CNN has asked the Pentagon, HSI and the DHS for comment. The CIA declined to comment.

Source: Havana Syndrome: Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to a series of mysterious ailments | CNN Politics

Jurisdictions Work Toward Easier Single Sign-On for Residents

Larimer County, Colorado, has already centralized identity and access management (IAM) for hundreds of internal government applications, radically simplifying work life for county employees. Now, the county wants to extend that approach to resident services.

The county uses a cloud-based identity management platform to give staff members access to all the resources they need for their job with a single sign-on. No more juggling multiple login credentials for individual systems and databases. The next step is to give residents a single identity they can use to engage with any county department or program.

That’s harder than it sounds.

Source: Jurisdictions Work Toward Easier Single Sign-On for Residents

US used powerful mystery weapon that brought Venezuelan soldiers to their knees during Maduro raid: witness account

WASHINGTON — The US used a powerful mystery weapon that brought Venezuelan soldiers to their knees, “bleeding through the nose” and vomiting blood, during the daring raid to capture dictator Nicolas Maduro, according to a witness account posted Saturday on X by the White House press secretary.

In a jaw-dropping interview, the guard described how American forces wiped out hundreds of fighters without losing a single soldier, using technology unlike anything he has ever seen — or heard.

“We were on guard, but suddenly all our radar systems shut down without any explanation,” the guard said. “The next thing we saw were drones, a lot of drones, flying over our positions. We didn’t know how to react.”
Read more.

Exclusive: U.S. has been testing a captured device linked to Havana Syndrome, sources say

So, a recent news story claimed that a secretive, powerful, directed-energy weapon was used by U.S. Special Forces to slaughter Venezuelan troops during Maduro’s capture. Today there are rumors that such a device is indeed in the hands of the U.S. Military. I didn’t fully trust the report from Venezuela but now I am intensely curious.

Four people tell me the U.S. government has this weapon, which has been tested.

Source: Exclusive: U.S. has been testing a captured device linked to Havana Syndrome, sources say

The last days of the Southern drawl

Around Raleigh I hear fewer and fewer Southern accents and I think it’s sad. I can still muster up mine but it seems to only come out when I’m around other Southerners. The ratio of Southerners in Raleigh seems to be dropping by the day.

On Sundays after church, my family would pile into our crank-window GMC truck and head to Kentucky Fried Chicken. “Can I get me some of them tater wedges?” my father would say into the speaker, while my sisters and I giggled in the back seat. My dad has always had a southern accent: His words fall out of his mouth the way molasses would sound if it could speak, thick and slow. But his “KFC voice,” as my sisters and I call it, is country. It’s watered-down on work calls and during debates with his West Coast relatives. But it comes out around fellow cattle farmers and old friends from Kentucky, where he grew up.

My mother’s accent isn’t quite as strong. She’s a therapist, and she can hide it when she speaks with her patients and calls in prescriptions. But you can always hear it in her church-pew greetings, and when she says goodnight: “See you in the a.m., Lawd willin’.”

I was always clear on one fact: I wasn’t going to have a southern accent when I grew up. I was raised in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, near Nashville, where the accents grow stronger with each mile you travel from the city. I watched people snicker at the redneck characters on television who always seemed to play the town idiot. I knew what the accent was supposed to convey: sweet but simpleminded. When I was 15 and my family went to New York for the first time, the bellhop at our hotel laughed when my mom and I spoke; he said he’d never met cowgirls before. That was when I decided: No one was going to know I was from the South from my voice alone.

Source: The last days of the Southern drawl

The last days of the Southern drawl

Around Raleigh I hear fewer and fewer Southern accents and I think it’s sad. I can still muster up mine but it seems to only come out when I’m around other Southerners. The ratio of Southerners in Raleigh seems to be dropping by the day.

On Sundays after church, my family would pile into our crank-window GMC truck and head to Kentucky Fried Chicken. “Can I get me some of them tater wedges?” my father would say into the speaker, while my sisters and I giggled in the back seat. My dad has always had a southern accent: His words fall out of his mouth the way molasses would sound if it could speak, thick and slow. But his “KFC voice,” as my sisters and I call it, is country. It’s watered-down on work calls and during debates with his West Coast relatives. But it comes out around fellow cattle farmers and old friends from Kentucky, where he grew up.

My mother’s accent isn’t quite as strong. She’s a therapist, and she can hide it when she speaks with her patients and calls in prescriptions. But you can always hear it in her church-pew greetings, and when she says goodnight: “See you in the a.m., Lawd willin’.”

I was always clear on one fact: I wasn’t going to have a southern accent when I grew up. I was raised in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, near Nashville, where the accents grow stronger with each mile you travel from the city. I watched people snicker at the redneck characters on television who always seemed to play the town idiot. I knew what the accent was supposed to convey: sweet but simpleminded. When I was 15 and my family went to New York for the first time, the bellhop at our hotel laughed when my mom and I spoke; he said he’d never met cowgirls before. That was when I decided: No one was going to know I was from the South from my voice alone.

Source: The last days of the Southern drawl

A look back at 2025, part 1

I see I have a blog here and think it might be fun to add something to it every now and then.

The page has now turned on 2025 and many are saying “good riddance!” This year, I don’t know if I share that sentiment. Sure, a lot of undesired stuff happened but there are some moments that deserve to be celebrated.

Twenty-twenty five was the year I threw caution to the wind and went on a grand adventure by sailing to Cuba. It’s notable that I did it without Kelly, with whom I travel nearly everywhere. It was a Guy Trip, organized my friend Ken Thomas and a small circle of his friends. None of us knew anything about Cuba and only I had any real sailing experience. The great thing is that it didn’t matter as we were all willing to dive into the unknown and trust that we would figure things out. And we did, beautifully. It was a huge confidence-builder to take a leap and learn that I have the skills to succeed. More blog posts on this to come.

Politically, America’s rot is now out in the open for all to see. Congress has abdicated its role as a check on the executive, with the Supreme Court siding with the billionaire class nearly every time. There is naked corruption everywhere. The government services we all need to keep a functioning society have been deliberately thrown into chaos. Republicans are doing their damnmedest to codify racism. All in all, things look pretty bleak.

But do they? People everywhere are finally waking up. Democrats are winning landslide elections in formerly Republican-safe districts. The President’s approval rating is far underwater. Yes, lawless thugs are running roughshod over Constitutional protections in our immigrant neighborhoods, but the people are having none of it and fighting back. Folks are getting organized, fast! While it would be nice if our institutions would stand up for everyone, it is heartening to see so many people willing to step up to fill the gaps. The American experiment is not quite dead yet.

Along these lines, I attended a few very large demonstrations in 2025 that really hit home. Never before have I felt so emotional at a protest than I did this past year. It gives me so much hope. So, though the oligarch-controlled media does its best to keep it hidden, there is significant pushback against the folks trying to shred our Constitution.

ICE raids Hyundai plant in Georgia

Trump is doing his damnedest to destroy our economy.

South Korea says ‘many’ of its nationals were detained in immigration raid on Hyundai facility in Georgia

The South Korean government said Friday it had expressed “regret” to the U.S. Embassy over the raid at a battery plant under construction at one of the state’s largest manufacturing facilities.

South Korea said Friday that it had expressed “concern and regret” to the U.S. Embassy over an immigration raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia during which it said “many” South Korean nationals had been detained.

“The economic activities of our companies investing in the U.S. and the rights and interests of our nationals must not be unfairly violated,” said Lee Jae-woong, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry of the key U.S. ally, according to the Yonhap news agency.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ice-hyundai-plant-georgia-enforcement-action-rcna229148

I am a drummer

The winter before last, I bought an electronic drum kit from Facebook Marketplace. Seemed like a deal and I’d always wanted to learn, so why not? I drove a few hours to the seller’s home somewhere south of Charlotte and hauled it back home.

It sat in our playroom for a little while until I got over my intimidation. Then, like with everything else I want to learn nowadays, I fired up YouTube and watched my first drum tutorial video. After a day or two of practicing, I was able to do a basic pattern!

Once I had that down, I was constantly feeding myself new material to master. I would fire up Spotify in my headphones and drum along with whatever song struck my fancy. Soon I was doing more complicated music. Eventually, I progressed to watching videos that included drum tablature, getting to the point where I could read music and nearly play at full speed. Suddenly I was somewhat useful behind the kit.

Fast forward to today. My band DNR’s drummer, John Palmer, sometimes can’t make practice due to prior commitments. The rest of the band could either waste time, noodle around, play to a drum track, or bag the practice altogether. I have been stepping up in practice to take over drumming with the aim to keep a steady beat. I’m still new and not nearly as fancy as I want to be, but often I can get the job done. It does drive me to want to get better, especially since I know the caliber of musicians my bandmates are and that they deserve an equally talented drummer. I’m not quite there yet but I definitely get charged up about playing with a real band. John’s position is secure, let me just say!

While I still get self-conscious about missing a beat or not adding the right fill, I can appreciate how far I’ve come in the short time I’ve been a drummer. Drums to me are a welcome break from work. I will leave my home office for the playroom, sit down, and play to a song.

A little bit here and there can get you far, before you know it.

Umstead hike

The weather this past week has been phenomenal; a real taste of fall with highs in the low 80s, lows in the mid-50s, and very low humidity. Kelly and I had been itching to get outside and enjoy it, so today we packed up the dogs and spent a few hours hiking around Umstead Park. We didn’t have real plans once we got there and just began hiking one of the loops, which turned out to be Sycamore Loop and took us almost 7.5 miles. It was just as pleasant in the woods as we’d hoped, so our hike was mostly enjoyed by all.

One of our hounds, though, seemed to run out of steam after about five miles, so the last bit of our hike became more of a drag. It did go to show us that we really need to do more hikes like this.