Author and Newsweek Opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon put out a video for The Free Press explaining the real reason why many men would rather crawl naked over broken glass than pull the lever for Kamala Harris.

Batya Ungar-Sargon @bungarsargon
·
The real reason men of all races are fleeing Harris’ campaign is because it's not for them—it's for women. Liberal women want their men to dress like ranchers but vote like podcasters, to LARP as masculine men until it comes to their political selves; then women want submission.

8:47 PM · Oct 19, 2024. //

“I don’t think that this is messaging designed to convince men, but to reassure women. Like so much about the Harris campaign, it’s acting, and bad acting at that,” Ungar-Sargon said.

This assessment is spot on. In fact, even when Harris was anointed as President Joe Biden’s running mate, I pointed out that she wasn’t there to appeal to Black people, but to White women. She provided a way for female voters to support a woman and a racial minority.

Geoffrey Miller @primalpoly
·
Senior editor of @TheAtlantic doesn't know the difference between deep frying in hot oil and grilling on a barbecue.

Elites are out of touch: Exhibit #9,745

David Frum @davidfrum
Candidates for the presidency frying food. It's not a new move.
8:41 PM · Oct 20, 2024. //

surfcat50
a few seconds ago
If Trump’s short stint in the drive-thru window means nothing, why are all the leftists losing their minds over it?

Captain James Heise
@OvertempMarine
Jesse James was on apprentice he made a Facebook post supporting Trump, under the post, people were telling interesting story’s, an escalator installation guy, Trump bought pizza for everyone and sat and ate with everyone. But the story that stuck most with me was.

From a Limo driver, Trump used to bring vouchers for food to all the drivers waiting in the Casino parking garage, and stay and talk to the drivers, he could have any employee do that if it was just about rewarding drivers so they would bring their customers to his casino,

This driver was talking about how it was a personal touch to get to know the drivers ask about their lives and families, he’s been a huge celebrity since the early 80’s, it meant allot to this driver, enough to recount the story.

Erich Hartmann
@erichhartmann
True story: I've made a LOT of commercials, and one thing the industry gossips about is which celebrities are jerks & which aren't. Eg., Everyone loves Tom Cruise. Directors/gaffers who've worked with him says he's super gung-ho and supportive.

Also…Trump! 👇

In the mid 2000's a good buddy of mine shot a spot with The Donald, and he raved about how nice and accommodating he was. It was surprising to me at the time, because in NYC he was known as a total bastard with business deals. And based on his Playboy personality, you might expect him to be a total douche IRL. Not so, said my friend.

Then, in 2009 I was on a long business trip w/ a different friend of mine, who had worked with Trump on a different ad campaign, and he said the exact same thing: that Trump was surprisingly cool. Again, I was a bit surprised. So I asked him to give me the deets.

And this is the story he told me:

His team was booked to film Trump for one spot in a larger national campaign, and they had arranged to go to Trump Tower for a very tight window of time to film. Trump had gotten the script beforehand, too but non-actor celebrities are notoriously bad at doing their homework. Although it wasn't a complicated production, the team was nervous.

So they all went to Trump tower, pre-set up all the cameras, lights and equipment. But Trump was a few minutes late! They were very worried that they wouldn't have enough time to properly film him. Eventually, about 20 minutes past start time there was a huge flurry of activity as Trump emerged from the elevator. But instead of being harried and curt, he was upset at himself, and extremely apologetic about being late. Of course the team said "Oh, it's okay" etc, but Trump was insistent. He explained he was at a big deal that had gone long (because of some other asshole), and that he understood how valuable everyone's time was for this. And he promised to make it up to them.

Everyone was pleasantly surprised by his demeanor, and he announced to his team that he would be taking "as much time as needed" to make things right, and he xnsrudted them to push everything else in his afternoon schedule. He then proceeded to NAIL the script (because, surprisingly, he had actually practiced it), and when the director and team told him "Thanks Mr. Trump, we think we got it!" he said "Nah, we can do better!" and proceeded to do several more takes over the next hour, with ad libs and wild lines. My buddy said he was absolutely hilarious, game for anything fun, and everyone had a blast.

Then, after they had gotten all the takes they could thank of, he starts walking around the room glad handing and talking with every single one of them, person-to-person, for minutes at a time. This was way before he was even considering running for president, so this wasn't political. It was just… him.

The last point my buddy made about this was that after Trump had met all the bigwig clients, important agency people, the director and the crew, he made a point to go over and talk to the craft service guy: the lowest dude on the production totem pole, sitting there with his basket of kind bars and various gums and mints. And Trump had a super long conversation with the guy about his life, his family, and his hopes and dreams. Trump gave the kid some life advice, and then thanked everyone, apologized for being late (again), and exited the room.

To a round of applause. //

@amuse @amuse
Trump nailed it…
10:10 PM · Oct 20, 2024
·
21.5K
Views
https://x.com/amuse/status/1848185011012243744

Trump can pull it off because he’s having fun. “I could do this all day. I wouldn’t mind this job. I like this job. I think I might come back and do it again,” he said. //

Everyone knows Trump’s trip to Mickey Dees was a stroke of political genius, which is why they have been melting down over it ever since the footage began going viral on social media. It may not decide the outcome of the election, but it will certainly help Trump, which is why the left-wing press is currently on a campaign to discredit the move. Desperate times do call for desperate measures, do they not?

"Put simply, the evidence obtained by the Task Force to date shows the tragic and shocking events of July 13 were preventable and should not have happened."

Those stark words are contained in a damning House Task Force report about the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt against former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. //

The report also points to logistical issues – particularly on the part of USSS – in the hours before the rally took place. For instance, there were two command centers set up for the event, with a witness testifying that no one from the Butler Police Department was invited to the USSS’ hub. //

Roughly an hour after the local officers first noticed Crooks, the would-be assassin fired eight shots into the rally, hitting Trump and the three attendees before being killed by a Secret Service sniper. //

"To date, the Task Force has not received any evidence to suggest that message reached the former President’s USSS detail prior to shots fired," the report said.

The report also quoted a witness from the Butler County Emergency Services United (ESU) whose account of shooting Crooks appears to undercut the USSS’s assertion that one of its snipers killed the gunman.

"He fired a single shot from a standing position at Crooks, who was in a prone position on the roof. Butler ESU Witness 5 told the Task Force that he believes his shot hit Crooks," the report said.

Now, you might be asking yourself what incredible evidence the two Times "journalists" who wrote this piece came across to show that "Trump's latest allegation also appears to be false." Did they find tax records? Did they figure out what location she worked at? Did they speak to a former co-worker or manager? Did they find a mention of the job in her early resumes or writings? Nope. The entire claim that Trump is lying comes down to "the Harris campaign and a friend told us." //

As the above post mentions, Harris never said anything about working at McDonald's for her entire political career until she needed a talking point in 2019. It was also not listed on her college-era resume, where you would expect recent work history to be disclosed. In short, aside from one anonymous "friend" who suddenly decided to come forward, there is not an ounce of evidence that Harris ever worked at McDonald's.

Kamala Harris was offered an opportunity to finally work at a McDonald's restaurant but never responded to the invite, a statement circulating on social media indicates.

A franchisee on X posted what they describe as "an internal statement to the McDonald’s system from the US Senior Leadership Team" regarding Donald Trump's visit to a McDonald’s in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

They describe the memo as "100% real." //

"Earlier today, former President Trump visited a McDonald's restaurant in Pennsylvania following a request made to our local franchisee," it reads. "As we've seen, our brand has been a fixture of conversation this election cycle. While we've not sought this, it's a testament to how much McDonald's resonates with so many Americans."

"McDonald's does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President. We are not red or blue - we are golden." //

"Upon learning of the former President's request, we approached it through the lens of one of our core values: we open our doors to everyone," the company writes.

"It's with that same approach that franchisees have invited Vice President Harris and Governor Walz to their restaurants, in order to share how McDonald's provides meaningful pathways to economic opportunity and feeds and fosters local communities."

Speaking to a source familiar with the internal statement, they confirmed that the Harris campaign failed to respond to the invite. //

How hard would it have been to accept the invite and, based on your alleged experience having worked there, run circles around Trump? Wonder why she wouldn't jump at the chance. If she held a similar event, legacy media outlets left and right would have fawned over it. It would have disarmed Trump's line of attack. She could have even argued he was lying, not her.

But she didn't.

Elon Musk has been going all-in to stump for former President Donald Trump.

He was in Pennsylvania this weekend doing a town hall in Harrisburg. He covered a lot of topics including one not touched upon enough: that there's too much focus on a college education as a path to success. //

I think the value of a college education is somewhat overweighted. Too many people spend four years, accumulate a ton of debt and often don't have useful skills that they can apply afterwards.

I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands and we need electricians and plumbers and carpenters and that's a lot more important than having incremental political science majors.

I think we should not have this idea that in order to be successful you need a four year college degree.//

He also spoke about the problems presented by "the Machine" that we must defeat.

Kamala is just a puppet, if the teleprompter breaks, she doesn't know what to say. I just call it "The Machine'" When the Biden puppet was not working out, they got a new puppet. It's all the same machine. It's undemocratic what was done to Biden. It's bizarre to claim Trump is a danger to democracy when what happened to Biden was entirely undemocratic. Yeah, so, it doesn't make sense. //

Elon Musk @elonmusk
·
Tomorrow, I will tell the story of how SpaceX was forced by the government to kidnap seals, put earphones on them and play sonic boom sounds to see if they seemed upset

Colin Wright @SwipeWright
This story of strangulation by over-regulation from @elonmusk about the government requiring @SpaceX to asses whether their rockets could potentially hit SHARKS and WHALES is side-splittingly hilarious. 🤣
Embedded video
3:55 AM · Oct 20, 2024. //

GreenLanternMD
an hour ago edited
This isn’t at all about enforcing regulations, it’s about using them to control and obstruct whatever government employees don’t want to happen based on their personal and political beliefs. The government is the bad neighbor who’s been elected president of your HOA. //

EMCM(SS)
an hour ago
A “Department of Government Efficiency” will fix nothing. It will become another layer in the bureaucracy preventing anything from getting done. The system is the problem.
We don’t need government efficiency, we need government elimination. //

CaptainCall EMCM(SS)
an hour ago
It will create a thousand jobs for attorneys who will be lined up to sue every time a job is cut or an agency impacted. The only way it works is if the Rs win both houses and commit to cutting funding on the recommendations of the DGE, and that ain't gonna happen. //

mopani EMCM(SS)
2 minutes ago edited
First, every government entity needs to have a sunset clause.

Second, Trump has got to remove "baseline budgeting" (where next year's budget is based on whether the agency spent all of last year's budget, then adds a percentage increase) and go back to zero based budgeting, where every agency budget is zeroed and they have to itemize and justify their budget needs every year.

Additionally, those budgets then have to be adjusted government-wide to fit projected revenue for the coming fiscal year. And if the projection is too high and revenue is lower, then every department gets their budgets cut proportionally to fit revenue.

That will keep them busy fighting among themselves and free up the rest of us to get on with our lives.

It will keep them fighting among themselves and free up the rest of us to get on with our lives.

So, when Vice President Kamala Harris, in an apparent bid to pad a resume heavy on the government payroll and political appointment side and light on the middle-class street cred, claimed she had "worked fries" while in college, and when various attempts to dig up any corroboration of that claim produced nothing, Trump sensed an opportunity.

Sunday, he made good on it and spent time at a Pennsylvania McDonald's learning how to cook and serve fries and bag them up to hand to drive-thru customers. The only people who seem not to be entertained by Trump's adventures in spud-making are the sourpuses on the left who've forgotten how to have a sense of humor and are incensed at the notion of a candidate staging a campaign photo op.

I say kudos to Donald McRonald on this one. Seems he found a way to turn those golden arches into a W. //

surfcat50
an hour ago edited
At first I thought this was just an amusing campaign event.

Seeing all the leftists in a huff insisting it was some terrible thing made me realize what an epic troll it really was on various levels. //

anon-n4c1
2 hours ago
One of Alinsky's rules for radicals asserts, more or less, that you're not winning if you and your people aren't having fun. This is a great example of how to win by having fun. //

Hank Reardon
an hour ago
Waaay back in 1991, shortly after taking office, Slick Willie attempted to show himself as a ‘man of the masses’ by putting on his jogging shorts for a three-block jog and stopping by McD’s for a coffee. His fawning media LOVED it!

Thirty-three years later, what was once “genuine mingling with the common man” is now just a “silly campaign stunt by the Orange Man!”

Hahahahaha.
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
The lefist media exposes itself once again.

Migrating didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would—and dynamic DNS still works!

Instead of needing constant power, new system adjusts to use whatever is available. //

“Unlike reverse osmosis, electrodialysis is an electrically driven process,” Bessette says. The membranes are arranged in such a way that the water is not pushed through them but flows along them. On both sides of those membranes are positive and negative electrodes that create an electric field, which draws salt ions through the membranes and out of the water. //

The two most important parameters in electrodialysis desalination are the flow rate of the water and the power you apply to the electrodes. To make the process efficient, you need to match those two. The advantage of electrodialysis is that it can operate at different power levels. When you have more available power, you can just pump more water through the system. When you have less power, you can slow the system down by reducing the water flow rate. You’ll produce less freshwater, but you won’t break anything this way. //

Octavus Ars Scholae Palatinae
18y
1,115
On average, it desalinated around 5,000 liters of water per day—enough for a community of roughly 2,000 people.
Is 2.5L per day really enough per person when that is below the adequate intake levels according to the Institute of Medicine? Let alone for other purposes such as cooking and hygiene.

The Institute of Medicine has recommended adequate intake (AI) values for total water at levels to prevent dehydration. The AI for men aged 19+ is 3.7 liters each day, and 3 liters (13 cups) of which should be consumed as beverages. The AI for women aged 19+ is 2.7 liters about 2.2 liters (9 cups) of which should be consumed as beverages each day.
Water: An Important Part of a Healthy Winter Diet : USDA ARS //

Team Tardigrade Ars Centurion
4y
370
Octavus said:
Is 2.5L per day really enough per person when that is below the adequate intake levels according to the Institute of Medicine? Let alone for other purposes such as cooking and hygiene.

Water: An Important Part of a Healthy Winter Diet : USDA ARS
Like most other things in medicine and science there are different viewpoints on what total water intake needs to be. This study says an average minimum of 1.8 L. I've seen several textbooks that list anything from 1.5 to 2.5 L. I've also see other estimates going as high as 3.5-4 L. Age, sex, renal function, diet, and metabolic disease all have impacts on these numbers.

Hurricane Oscar developed on Saturday near Turks and Caicos, and to the northeast of Cuba, in the extreme southwestern Atlantic Ocean. As of Saturday evening, hurricane-force winds extended just 5 miles (8 km) from the center of the storm. //

Oscar was so small that its winds could not be detected by Earth-observation satellites that estimate wind speeds in tropical cyclones.

Writing in his summary of Oscar's development on Saturday afternoon, National Hurricane Center forecaster Philippe Papin noted that the hurricane was only discovered due to a last-minute flight by Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft.

"It is fair to say its been an unexpected day with regards to Oscar," he wrote in his 5 pm ET advisory. "After being upgraded to a tropical storm this morning, a resources-permitting Air Force Reconnaissance mission found that Oscar was much stronger than anticipated and in fact was a tiny hurricane. It is worth noting that remote sensing satellite intensity estimates are currently much lower." //

The Air Force aircraft found sustained winds, in a tiny area to be sure, of 85 mph (137 kph). Hence, Hurricane Oscar. //

Weather models struggle with the development of small hurricanes, and this is largely because the micro-physics of the smallest storms occur below the resolution of these models. Additionally, tiny hurricanes organize much more quickly and efficiently.

While we don’t know precisely what a second Trump term will look like, it’ll surely be chaotic and bleak, and could mark the end of something we certainly don’t want to lose: democracy as we know it.

That last paragraph isn't new ground. It isn't a new sermon. It has been repeated ad nauseum by the media, and Kamala Harris is getting shriller repeating it. Do people like Jong-Fast really believe their nonsense? Some do, but I think the majority of talking heads are simply in the final stages of losing their bet. They put all their money on a losing horse, and they are getting very shrill about losing. Simply, they don’t want to lose with the shame of picking the wrong horse. That their predictions of doom will never come true is what bothers them the most. In four years, they fear being collectively reminded of their "Heaven’s Gate” prediction - and that it didn’t come to pass. They also know that if Trump isn't elected, they can avoid the mockery of "I told you so". //

Media and nutty influencers are scared of one thing, and it's not a Trump presidency. Sure, they don't want to see a "President Trump", but they are mostly terrified of being wrong. Deep down, media types know that Trump isn’t going to round them up. //

Mocked relentlessly for being massively wrong is their fear. They're terrified of preaching a false religion.

Today, Politico, following on its improbable claim that Trump is eluding the media by holding rallies and cooking fries at Mcdonald's (see EPIC: Trump Trolls Kamala in Hilarious Move As He Works Fries, Drive-Thru Window at McDonald's) by claiming he has a way to seize power even if he loses on Election Day...or whenever Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin finally get around to counting their votes: The Very Real Scenario Where Trump Loses and Takes Power Anyway - POLITICO.

In the words of Donald Rumsfeld, they start with "an illogical premise and proceeding perfectly logically to an illogical conclusion." //

So, a Trump who has less power today than he had in 2020 and in a legal environment that has foreclosed some avenues that could have been exploited last time around is more likely to try to overthrow the election results. With this assertion, Donald Trump officially has achieved Super Villain status. //

An overwhelming Harris victory would make it harder for Trump to rally Republicans to his side. (If Trump wins, no one expects a comparable effort by Democrats to subvert the election.) //

The article goes on to spin a tale that would make Tom Clancy proud. All of it is predicated on two improbable events. First and foremost, the idea that a twice-defeated Trump has enough clout in state legislatures to convince them to contravene state law and just flip the electoral votes to Trump is, bluntly, both dishonest and quite possibly stupid as well. Second, the idea that a Republican House majority that literally can't pass a single budget bill has the unity to change the rules of certifying electors requires a level of dimwittery rarely witnessed, even among political journalists.

They have no concern about Kamala Harris, who serves as the presiding officer for the joint session of Congress that will elect the president, having an unresolvable conflict of interest in both corrupting the process and outcome and engaging in shenanigans of her own. //

anon-n4c1
4 hours ago
It's all projection. The DemoCommies just assume that their opponents are as corrupt and malicious as they are. Anything and everything they accuse Trump of, they have already done or they are planning to do themselves.

Former President Donald Trump is accusing 60 Minutes of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is false.

60 Minutes gave an excerpt of our interview to Face the Nation that used a longer section of her answer than that on 60 Minutes. Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. //

What is written above is simply a lie. As the above transcripts show, in no way, shape, or form were the two answers the "same." Further, to call Trump a liar when he is absolutely correct about what "60 Minutes" did just shows how far gone CBS News is. That statement is not from a news organization. It's a statement from the Harris campaign, and that wasn't lost on anyone, including the Trump camp. //

Greg Price @greg_price11
·
The way you know that 60 Minutes is 100% guilty and just pissed off about being caught is they released this pathetically defensive statement that almost immediately goes "but Trump" instead of releasing the full transcript of Kamala's interview.
60 Minutes @60Minutes
A statement from 60 Minutes: https://cbsn.ws/4eRVNZo
7:51 PM · Oct 20, 2024

GBenton
2 hours ago edited
The right understands the left. The left does not understand the right.

In sparring here with Trump haters for years I have noticed that they do not understand him. Their image of him is a simplistic charicature. In reality, Trump confounds easy categorization. He's got huge self confidence and ego and yet is unafraid to make fun of himself or get roasted. That's why he was able to thrive at the Al Smith dinner and Kamala could not - she cannot tolerate any jokes at her expense because she's so insecure and fake.

Trump is a billionaire who loves the common man and speaks in the language of the common man, including coarse language and jokes - and he's a genuine populist (where Bernie Sanders is not, trust me, he does not like the average American).

Kamala is not built for this contest. Trump is - and the things that some people don't like about his personality is part of why he is able to withstand all the hate and attacks and do things like this anyway.

Even though I make fun of losers like Billy Wallace, the truth is I feel sorry sometimes that they can only wake up and hate this man to the point of obsession. That's their right, of course, but it's still a pathetic way to go through life and warped way to experience this unique moment in American history.

He's the fighter we need to take down their Machine. He's part of the New Right that is willing to reach regular Americans where they live, unlike the Bushes and Cheneys and Romneys who look down at us (though GWB and Jeb! were somewhat better in this aspect).

Vote. Vote. Vote (even in blue districts). Let your voice be heard. Our leaders are NOT above us, they should serve us - and in this case, Trump was serving fries.

BJW#IStandWithTX GBenton
2 hours ago
You make a good point, ike they watched too many episodes of DALLAS and believed it was a documentary.

GBenton BJW#IStandWithTX
an hour ago
They love House of Cards, West Wing, Veep, Madame President, etc.

They think people on the right are the stereotype they hear about on MSNBC. And they stay in their bubble. That's why folks like Scott Jennings on CNN are so disruptive because they're speaking truth to stupid right to their faces.

What the left can't accept is that regardless of their level of intelligence, their ideology is fraudulent and their ideas are childish and quite stupid.

Their cancel culture seals the deal because they do not allow any "heretics" to stray from the narrative, which is why they get so blindsided when the people do not behave as they expect.

Tolly GBenton
an hour ago edited
"They love House of Cards, West Wing, Veep, Madame President, etc."

And this is why they have such a distorted and false understanding of how DC works and what the functions of the different branches of the government. It is their only source.

I noticed that in each of the shows you enumerate, the liberals were always portrayed as benevolent and saint like, and played by somewhat attractive actors, and the conservatives depicted as gruff, unstable, mean-spirited ogres, mostly played by the dorkiest of actors.
I wonder why that most always seemed to be the case.

Actually, I don't.

GBenton Tolly
an hour ago
They see the Republicans as fascists and tyrants and war mongers, religious zealots. And they grew up on Watergate and the fantasy that lefties are the good guys (and the ends justify the means).

They're pretty big fans of Game of Thrones, too.

President Donald Trump was having a great time working at McDonald's on Sunday.

If anyone else had done it, they probably would have looked awkward. But he looked like he was in his element, especially when he was greeting people at the drive-thru window and handing out orders. This was the "joy" and the fun that the Kamala campaign can't duplicate. The customers and the crowd outside just loved it, and you could tell he was having a great time. //

The reason? He naturally likes interacting with people, unlike Kamala. But it's also an indication that he'll stop at nothing to serve the people and do better for them. And that he isn't shy about doing any job and that he appreciates workers -- something that we don't see from Harris. //

Naturally, MSNBC had a meltdown. They're mystified and can't figure out, why he would be interacting with the working people in Pennsylvania? They really have no sense of how to reach out to people or run an effective campaign, but we already see that with Kamala's effort. This got massive attention and shows just how clueless they are: //

What's unstable about working at McDonald's? Are they really going that route to insult the people who work there? Every politician running for office does things like this traditionally.

MSNBC also tried to float Kamala's desperate last-ditch propaganda that Trump was "unstable," which was a silly rebuttal, seeing as he just worked with the folks at McDonald's to serve folks.

You could double your money in five minutes by buying a Birkin handbag at your local Hermès boutique and then flipping it. But getting your hands on the world’s most sought after purse is a lot more complicated than it sounds.

A basic black leather Birkin 25 costs $11,400 before tax at the Hermès store. Buyers can walk out and immediately give it to a handbag reseller like Privé Porter in exchange for $23,000 in cash. Privé Porter will then sell the Birkin on Instagram or at its Las Vegas pop-up store, possibly on the same day—box fresh, with receipt—for up to $32,000. All this for a bag that analysts estimate costs Hermès around $1,000 to make.

The unusual economics of the Birkin have upended the normal balance of power between shopper and store worker. At the Hermès boutique, it is the buyer who kowtows. Some of the wealthiest women in the world have brought homemade cookies to the store to cozy up to their sales assistant. They have offered tickets for Beyoncé concerts, trips to the Cannes Film Festival in a private jet and even envelopes stuffed with cash—all to get their hands on a Birkin. //

The Birkin turns 40 this year and is maturing into a phenomenon. To carry one is to signal that the wearer can afford to drop anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 on a handbag. It appeals to the limelight-seeking Kardashians, who own extensive collections, but also to European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, who is often photographed on her way to meetings carrying a Birkin. //

Shoppers seem to lust after the Birkin because it is rare, expensive and well made. There is no better status symbol for those who want to display their wealth. And the hunt involved in getting one might be the whole point. Wealthy shoppers tolerate waiting at the Hermès store in a way that wouldn’t be acceptable in other areas of their lives.

The one constant in the entire "Islamist terrorist" issue is that their leaders 1) never place themselves in any direct danger, although sometimes danger in the form of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) manages to find them anyway, and 2) they generally live in wealth and luxury while their fighters and the people forced to live in areas they control are in misery.

The latest example? The recently-unalived Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, whose bunker was loaded with United Nations rations, millions in cash, weapons, and much more.

Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was prepared to hide out the war in his secret bunker beneath Gaza flushed with UN food rations, thousands in cash, cologne and his own shower, Israeli officials say. //

At the back of the bunker was a small room reserved for the Hamas chief, with a large safe beside his bed containing “millions” of shekels — the Israeli currency, according to the soldier.

“He lives here in a good way, with all his millions, while the civilians above ground are living in poverty and are starving,” the IDF soldier said. //

This IDF soldier's use of the present tense is happily in error, as Sinwar's birth certificate has now been permanently revoked, along with a lot of his followers. There are, no doubt, others in line behind him, but it's a safe bet the IDF already has possible successors identified, and is making plans to likewise un-alive any follow-on goblins, pour encourager les autres. //

Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s wife was reportedly spotted fleeing into a Gaza tunnel with a $32,000 Birkin bag hours before the Oct. 7 massacre, Israeli officials claimed.

Sinwar, 61, and his wife Abu Zamar — holding what appears to be a super lux Hermes bag — can be seen helping their two young sons through the narrow bunker hallway at 10:45 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2023, timestamped footage released by the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday shows. //

And remember what the thing is about martyrs - they're dead