“McDonald’s Secret Sauce Is Really Commercial Surveillance”
August 13th, 2026Via: Wired:
When I first downloaded the McDonald’s app years ago, I signed up for its loyalty program hoping to get better deals. Why not get some cheap french fries? While I understood that this would entail some type of data tracking, I didn’t grasp how the information would be used to algorithmically predict my next purchase.
As a California resident, I have the legal right to access the data a company stores about me. So, I decided to request that information from McDonald’s to better understand what one of the major fast-food companies is collecting about its customers. A few days after I visited the McDonald’s Privacy Rights Center site and requested access, I received a 515-page file in my inbox with the iconic golden arches stamped across the top.
Massive Blast Rocks Italian Munitions Plant At Heart Of Europe’s Ammo Supply Chain
August 13th, 2026Via: ZeroHedge:
A massive explosion has been reported at a major Italian manufacturer of medium- and large-caliber ammunition, formerly known as Simmel Difesa. The plant operates in Colleferro and Anagni, near Rome.
…
Fire and explosion at Colleferro, in the facility of the former Simmel Difesa, currently owned by KNDS Ammo Italy. The company, located in the Quarto Chilometro area, along via Latina, between Colleferro and Artena, produces medium- and large-caliber ammunition for land and naval defense, as well as solid fuels for aerospace launch vehicles.
Whitney Webb: How the Epstein Network Is Privatizing Govt & Building the Surveillance State
August 13th, 2026Via: Chris Hedges:
More: Technate, Ohio: How Leslie Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein Built The Silicon Heartland
Catherine Austin Fitts: “There Is a Bipartisan Commitment to Depopulation”
August 13th, 2026“People are finally saying, ‘Oh, they really are trying to kill us.'”
Via: Tucker Carlson:
U.S. and Ukrainian Forces Went Head-to-Head in an Exercise. Ukraine’s Drones Won.
August 13th, 2026Via: Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Army troops faced off against Ukrainian drone operators at a military exercise in Germany earlier this year. It didn’t go well for the Americans.
During the exercise, called Combined Resolve, Ukrainian drone units easily spotted and defeated U.S. troops and armored vehicles on rotation from Fort Hood in Texas, according to people familiar with the events.
The exercise, coupled with U.S. casualties in Iran, shows American vulnerabilities to drones—years after the U.S. made uncrewed systems an essential part of warfare. America pioneered using long-range drones in war. The Pentagon has recently spent billions acquiring new drone and counterdrone technology and formed special units to operate it.
Related: “War is hell. And then drones appeared on the battlefield.”
FAA Hiring Thousands of Gamers to Become Air Traffic Controllers
August 13th, 20262000? Those are rookie numbers.
FAA could probably sort the whole thing out with 20 high tier Starcraft 2 players and unlimited energy drinks:
Via: CBS:
Video gamers are in demand to help patrol the nation’s skies.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a recent social media post that the federal agency’s recruitment campaign to recruit gamers as air traffic controllers has been a “game changer” for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA hired more than 2,000 video gamers to train as air traffic controllers, meeting 94% of its hiring goal, according to the Transportation Department. Another 2,000-plus candidates are in the hiring pipeline, Duffy added.
Scientists Identify Mushroom Behind ‘Tiny People’ Hallucinations
August 13th, 2026Via: The University of Utah:
People in communities thousands of miles apart have described the same strange experience after eating a mysterious mushroom: vivid visions of tiny humans moving through and interacting with the physical world around them. Known as Lilliputian hallucinations—a reference to the 6-inch-tall inhabitants of “Gulliver’s Travels”—the phenomenon has long been thought to stem from cultural influences rather than biology.
A new study suggests otherwise.
Using DNA sequencing, University of Utah (U) researchers confirmed that a single mushroom species, Lanmaoa asiatica, is responsible for these hallucinations in Southwest China and the northern Philippines. They also discovered that the mushroom contains none of the psychoactive compounds known to science, including psilocybin. Instead, the findings point to an entirely new hallucinogenic compound that could offer new insights into neurological disease and how the brain shapes perception and consciousness.
Excess Non-Covid Natural Cause Mortality in 2026
August 13th, 2026Hmm, what could be causing it?
Everyone must remember that we are still experiencing Excess Non-Covid Natural Cause Mortality of ~ 2700 deaths per week as of Week 18 of 2026, and rising into the summer months.
As the astute may notice, TES's models now 6+ years out, are DEAD ON ACCURATE … The PFE is… pic.twitter.com/IDiIQGSO1Q
— Ethical Skeptic ? (@EthicalSkeptic) August 12, 2026
China Leads in Humanoid Robotics
August 12th, 2026Via: ZeroHedge:
It should surprise no one that new data from Smart Analytics Global, cited by Bloomberg, shows that Chinese humanoid robot makers accounted for a staggering 97% of global shipments in the first half of 2026.
…
China’s dominance on humanoids reflects years of policy support and government funding aimed at accelerating robotics, drones, electric vehicles, and much more. The country’s progress was on display at the World AI Conference in Shanghai last month, where dozens of companies demonstrated rapid advances in dexterity, speed, and autonomous capabilities.
The US recently banned imports of new Chinese humanoid and quadruped robots, as well as certain components, citing national security concerns and cybersecurity risks to AI infrastructure.
Fauci Privately Warned of Miscarriage Risk Linked to COVID Vaccine While Publicly Claiming No Issues
August 11th, 2026Via: NY Post:
Dr. Anthony Fauci privately raised concerns that the COVID-19 vaccine could “theoretically” be linked to miscarriages in expectant mothers, despite having publicly insisted there were “no red flags” for pregnant women.
“I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of,” wrote Fauci in a Jan. 25, 2021, text exchange with then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
“Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester,” added the then-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director.
More:
Fauci Raised COVID Vaccine Miscarriage Risk, Texts Reveal
