Just heard about a new scam in my neighborhood that targets lost cats with chips. The scammer looks for strays - say your family cat jumped the fence for a neighborhood stroll - catches them and if they have an implanted chip they use an RFID scanner to obtain the chip’s number, then call a vet to access the pet registry database (usually telling the vet they’ve found a cat and want to return it) to obtain the pet owner’s contact info. Once they have that, they call the owner and say the cat was hit by a car and they need $$ transferred right now for immediate treatment - or the animal may die. They use cash transfer apps, or wallet transfers to get the money exchanged, then dump the cat. Damn…that’s vicious😱 #scam #scammers #Caturday #extortion

Just heard about a new scam in my neighborhood that targets lost cats with chips. The scammer looks for strays - say your family cat jumped the fence for a neighborhood stroll - catches them and if they have an implanted chip they use an RFID scanner to obtain the chip’s number, then call a vet to access the pet registry database (usually telling the vet they’ve found a cat and want to return it) to obtain the pet owner’s contact info. Once they have that, they call the owner and say the cat was hit by a car and they need $$ transferred right now for immediate treatment - or the animal may die. They use cash transfer apps, or wallet transfers to get the money exchanged, then dump the cat. Damn…that’s vicious😱 #scam #scammers #Caturday #extortion

Very displeased with one of my Alma Maters!

#Cornell Reaches Deal with #Trump Admin to Restore #Research #Funding

The Ivy League #university had warned of #layoffs after the Trump admin stripped it of funds this year. The cuts were among the deepest in higher #education.

#law #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #extortion
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/us/cornell-deal-trump-administration.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

In June, #Cornell University leaders warned that they anticipated #layoffs & had begun what they described as “a comprehensive review of programs & head count across the university,” where the work force had climbed by more than 15% in about 4 years.

The suspension of federal #funding turned that #growth into a #crisis.

#law #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #BrainDrain #extortion #Trump #AbuseOfPower #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #Dictatorship #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState

In April, the #Trump admin abruptly froze planned federal #research #funding for the #university. The govt had been scrutinizing #Cornell after accusing it of racial discrimination & antisemitism, & the university acknowledged receiving dozens of stop-work orders.

University leaders made clear that the #school was feeling extraordinary financial strain. The university has been considering issuing about $1 billion in bonds.

#law #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #extortion #Autocracy #fascism

Under the terms of the agreement, #Cornell is expected to pay a $30 million #fine to the govt & to invest another $30 million on programs designed to enhance efficiency & lower costs in #agriculture & #farming [they already have a world renowned Ag School]. A land-grant institution, Cornell is known for its agricultural #research programs.

#law #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #extortion #Trump #AbuseOfPower #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #Dictatorship #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState

#Cornell University reached an agreement with the #Trump admin Friday that would restore hundreds of millions in federal #funding to the #university, acc/to university & govt ofcls.

The agreement would also end government *investigations* that have placed the #school under months of federal scrutiny over accusations of *antisemitism* [ #FreeSpeech] & *discrimination* [ #diversity initiatives] in admissions.

#law #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #extortion

Very displeased with one of my Alma Maters!

#Cornell Reaches Deal with #Trump Admin to Restore #Research #Funding

The Ivy League #university had warned of #layoffs after the Trump admin stripped it of funds this year. The cuts were among the deepest in higher #education.

#law #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #extortion
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/us/cornell-deal-trump-administration.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Fucking DNS mafia... they make me beg for my DNS every now and again, and just silently cut me off if I don't supplicate myself before them. I just don't want to pay money to have a name. Is that so hard?

Well at least I know now why no one's messages over the last 11 hours have been able to reach me.

#meta #dns #extortion

#BigTech Helped Bankroll the #EastWing Destruction

#Meta, #Amazon, #Microsoft, #Apple, & #Google have a lot riding on their relationships with the #Trump admin. They all cut checks for the ballroom.

#TechBros #plutocracy #billionaires #corporations #corruption #bribery #extortion #law #antitrust #regulations #AI #energy
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/white-house-east-wing-destruction-google-meta-apple-microsoft-amazone/

But #BigTech’s donations for #Trump’s pet cause come at a time when the industry’s giants have a lot riding on their relationships with the #WhiteHouse. In a marked shift from Trump’s first term, #tech leaders have spent most of the last 12 months singing the president’s praises as they navigate #antitrust cases, #tariffs, & #regulatory hurdles; fight for #contracts; & push for #policies that benefit their bottom lines.

#EastWing #ballroom #bribery #extortion

Then there’s the #tech companies — #Google, #Apple, #Microsoft, #Amazon, & #Meta.

The tech companies themselves have been awfully quiet about the project they’re helping to underwrite. Just to make sure they hadn’t missed it, MJ sent a photo of the demolished #EastWing — & requests for comment — to representatives of all of these companies. A Microsoft spox confirmed the company had made a contribution but offered no further comment. None of the others responded.

#ballroom #bribery #extortion

The list of donors released by the #WhiteHouse includes the usual deep-pocketed #Republicans, such as #casino magnate #MiriamAdelson & private-equity mogul #StephenSchwarzman, but also a host of companies whose leaders have huge incentives to maintain good relations with an often vindictive head of state. They include #telecom giants & the #railroad giant Union-Pacific—which needs the #Trump admin’s sign-off on a proposed $85 billion merger with Norfolk Southern.

#EastWing #Ballroom #extortion

…If the destruction of the #EastWing is a shock, the #money that’s paying for it might be even more of a #scandal. The #WhiteHouse, eager to assure Americans that their tax dollars have not been diverted for a #vanity project, has emphasized that the #ballroom is being financed by individuals & major #corporations. Instead of going through a process to obtain & disburse federal funds, #Trump simply asked companies his admin is supposed to be #regulating to write checks [ #bribery / #extortion].

#BigTech Helped Bankroll the #EastWing Destruction

#Meta, #Amazon, #Microsoft, #Apple, & #Google have a lot riding on their relationships with the #Trump admin. They all cut checks for the ballroom.

#TechBros #plutocracy #billionaires #corporations #corruption #bribery #extortion #law #antitrust #regulations #AI #energy
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/white-house-east-wing-destruction-google-meta-apple-microsoft-amazone/

#BrownUniversity Rejects #Trump #Extortion Attempt

#Brown was the second #university to turn down the *deal*, which would have given a #funding preference to #universities that agreed to conform to #conservative *values* including #censorship & restrictions on #InternationalStudents.

#law #US #Constitution #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #education #democracy #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/us/brown-university-trump-compact-funding.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

The document, partially the brainchild of the #billionaire financier #MarcRowan, says that #schools are “free to develop models & values” other than the ones the #Trump admin proposed if they choose to “forego federal benefits.” And the government had dangled the possibility of “multiple positive benefits” for schools that agreed, including “substantial & meaningful federal grants.”

#extortion #law #US #Constitution #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #education #democracy #fascism #tyranny

The proposal, for which the #Trump admin asked #Brown & 8 other universities to submit feedback by Monday, calls for limits on #InternationalStudents, potentially “abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle & even spark violence against conservative ideas,” & policies enshrining “that #AcademicFreedom is not absolute,” among other conditions.
#extortion #law #US #Constitution #FirstAmendment #education #democracy #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny

“I am concerned that the compact by its nature & by various provisions would restrict #AcademicFreedom & undermine the #autonomy of #Brown’s governance, critically compromising our ability to fulfill our mission,” the #university’s president, Christina H. Paxson, told #Trump admin officials in a letter Wednesday.

#extortion #law #US #Constitution #FirstAmendment #education #democracy #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny

#Brown was the 2nd #university to rebuff the government’s proposal of so-called compact, after #MIT did so last week. But Brown’s decision was likely to carry extraordinary weight in #HigherEducation because it had previously reached a settlement with the #Trump admin to restore hundreds of millions in #federal #research #funding.

#extortion #law #US #Constitution #FirstAmendment #AcademicFreedom #education #democracy #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny