KGB Report

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Today is Wednesday, September 20, the 263rd day of 2017 in the Gregorian calendar, with 102 days remaining.

This is the 243rd day of Donald Trump's presidency. There are 1,217 days remaining in his term, assuming he doesn't resign, is otherwise removed from office, or his unhinged, psychotic behavior results in the destruction of the republic.

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What happened on September 20 from  On This Day

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Among other things, today is National String Cheese Day.

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Florida man, 70, charged after machete fight in Bank of America parking lot.

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Quote of the day:

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
-Upton Sinclair (September 20, 1878 - November 25, 1968)
(More Upton Sinclair quotes)

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On this date in 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in "The Battle of the Sexes" tennis match.

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Your support is appreciated... If you've ever considered donating to KGB Report, now would be a good time. Some annual site-related expenses are coming due, and I could use a new pair of eyeglasses. It certainly would help reduce the number of typos. You can make a donation here, or send a check to the address below. Thanks for your support!

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Apologies for the lack of a web-based Report yesterday. Comcast/Xfinity was down from about midnight until early this morning, doing "scheduled" maintenance. Maybe it was on their schedule, but it wasn't on mine. How about a heads up, fellas? A reminder- KGB Report's Facebook page is updated regularly with new posts. Even when broadband is out, we can update the Facebook page with smartphone-generated posts. Alas, the website requires full broadband access for update.

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Why does it seem that Late Night comedians are the only group actively follwing the machinations of Washington politics?

A bipartisan push to fix Obamacare is dead as the GOP makes another attempt to repeal the affordable care act. Time to contact your Republican senators...

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President Trump delivered his first address to UN on Tuesday, threatening North Korea, Iran and Venezuela. As a friend on Facebook noted, all that was missing was him pounding his shoe on the podium.

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As Category 5 Maria continues to chew up the island nations of the south Atlantic, its leaders seek international funding for hurricane recovery. The entire population of the small island of Barbuda relocated to Antigua. Not a single person remains on Barbuda, which estimates $300 million will be required to rebuild. And over a hundred are dead in a 7.4 earthquake that struck near Mexico City.

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Of course, the epitome of natural disasters is scheduled for this September 23, which is supposed to be either the Rapture or the end of the world. Here's what it's going to look like. Hopefully the real thing will have a larger budget.

Personally, I don't think this will happen, because a just and loving God would not end the world the day before the premiere of a new Star Trek television series. And if there is no God, then this Rapture business is all nonsense, right?

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If you are what you eat, America tastes like chicken.

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Cargo ships trigger lightning storms. Nah, humans have no effect on the environment...

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Networks pass on Sean Spicer for paid contributor role. They say he has a "lack of credibility." Go figure.

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Before Bigfoot and Yeti, there was the legendary Wampahoofus of Vermont.

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It would appear humans aren't the only tool-using primates pushing other species into extinction.

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Not drinking, driving, dating, or working for pay, teens increasingly put off traditional markers of adulthood.

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Donald Trump, Jr. and Kellyanne Conway have dropped their Secret Service protection, Trump Jr. over "privacy concerns." Conway's protection had been ordered by the President due to threats she had received. Her threat level has apparently decreased.

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Blade Runner 2049 remains the rarest of Hollywood propositions: an R-rated, $150 million sequel to a movie that not a lot of people liked (or even fully understood) when it first came out. It's an even darker vision of the future than the original, amping up the dystopic futurism-funk that bombed with moviegoers and critics back in 1982. Wired takes a look at the history sci-fi dystopia.

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See posts throughout the day on KGB Report's Facebook page.

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All KGB Report content is available for free, with no subscription fees or pay walls. If you're a regular reader, please consider making a donation here, with your PayPal account (credit cards also accepted)... it's secure and protected. Or, send a donation to 1512 Annette Avenue, South Park, PA 15129. Becoming a patron will also get you free copies of any new books we publish on Amazon or Kindle and reduced prices on any other products. Thanks for your support!

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Comcast had another one of their "scheduled" outages overnight. Since I do the report in the wee hours, I had no access to the web server and other resources. So, no web report today.

However, you can check us out on Facebook, where we post new stuff regularly.

Thanks for your understanding. Trying to get Comcast to explain why they don't announce outages in advance. If I don't know about them, they're not scheduled, as far as I'm concerned...

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Like KGB Report on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Get KGB Report free via email every day (Monday-Thursday)!
Click here to subscribe.
And spread the news... forward us to a friend.

Stay up to date... see new posts throughout the day, including more on topics covered here, by visiting KGB Report's Facebook page.

Read on the website.

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Today is Monday, September 18, the 261st day of 2017 in the Gregorian calendar, with 104 days remaining.

This is the 241st day of Donald Trump's presidency. There are 1,221 days remaining in his term, assuming he doesn't resign, is otherwise removed from office, or his unhinged, psychotic behavior results in the destruction of the republic.

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What happened on September 18 from  On This Day

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Among other things, today is National Cheeseburger Day. Click on the link for places with cheeseburger deals.

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Irma dredges up snakes, alligators, and, of course, the 'Florida Man.'

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Quote of the day:

"One needs solitude and quiet to think. The cacophony of modern culture is designed to make that impossible."
-Chris Hedges
(More Chris Hedges quotes)

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On this date in 1977, the US Voyager I space probe takes the first space photograph of Earth & Moon together.

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Please help... If you've ever considered donating to KGB Report, now would be a good time. Some annual site-related expenses are coming due, and I could use a new pair of eyeglasses. It certainly would help reduce the number of typos. And the air conditioner died last week. You can make a donation here, or send a check to the address below. Thanks for your support!

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Here's a list of last night's Emmy winners. Good God, I'm getting old... I've only watched a handful of them...

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Where do they put eight million cubic yards of toxic hurricane debris? You don't want to know.

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I suspect I might get further in job interviews if they were being conducted by an artificial intelligence chatbot. That is, of course, until they see the year I graduated from high school.

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Speaking of AI, why superintelligent AI could be the last human invention. It's not as terrifying as it sounds, until the author compares teaching super AIs to raising children. We're doomed.

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How to calm anxiety in uncertain times, according to this famous Buddhist. There are famous Buddhists? It turns out the list includes Tiger Woods, Keanu Reeves, k.d. lang, Richard Gere, Oliver Stone, and Steve Jobs. But they didn't write this piece.

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Verizon has decided to abruptly cut off wireless internet to some 8,500 rural customers in 13 states, saying their heavy data use had made it impossible to profit off of the accounts—even though many of the users had purchased unlimited plans.

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Governments suing public records requesters. Instead of granting or denying their requests, a growing number of school districts, municipalities and state agencies have filed lawsuits against people making the requests- taxpayers, government watchdogs and journalists who must then pursue the records in court at their own expense.

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Trump shares GIF of himself striking Hillary Clinton in the back with a golf ball. Oh, yeah. He's presidential.

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To make their tax plan work, Republicans eye a favorite blue-state break: deductions for state and local taxes could be eliminated.

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Don't have enough to worry about? How about a list and photos of the worst human parasites?

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Add to the list of things you didn't know was a thing: Use of deer-attractant scents growing more controversial.

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US Army kills enlistment contracts for hundreds of immigrant recruits. Some face deportation. "It's a dumpster fire ruining people's lives. The magnitude of incompetence is beyond belief."

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The big question as the United Nations gathers: what to make of Trump? More accurately, how badly will he embarrass us?

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See posts throughout the day on KGB Report's Facebook page.

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All KGB Report content is available for free, with no subscription fees or pay walls. If you're a regular reader, please consider making a donation here, with your PayPal account (credit cards also accepted)... it's secure and protected. Or, send a donation to 1512 Annette Avenue, South Park, PA 15129. Becoming a patron will also get you free copies of any new books we publish on Amazon or Kindle and reduced prices on any other products. Thanks for your support!

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Categories: The Daily KGB Report

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Like KGB Report on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Get KGB Report free via email every day (Monday-Thursday)!
Click here to subscribe.
And spread the news... forward us to a friend.

Stay up to date... see new posts throughout the day, including more on topics covered here, by visiting KGB Report's Facebook page.

Read on the website.

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Today is Thursday, September 14, the 257th day of 2017 in the Gregorian calendar, with 108 days remaining.

This is the 237th day of Donald Trump's presidency. There are 1,225 days remaining in his term, assuming he doesn't resign, is otherwise removed from office, or his unhinged, psychotic behavior results in the destruction of the republic.

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What happened on September 14 from  On This Day

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Among other things, today is National Cream-Filled Donut Day.

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Florida Man drives Can-Am right into swimming pool without even spilling his beer. “Would you like for me to hold your beer?” offers a kind soul nearby. “No, I got this,” said the true, honest-to-goodness Florida Man man atop a camo-print 2013 Can-Am XMR 1000 at the bottom of the pool.

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Quote of the day:

"We cannot abdicate our conscience to an organization, nor to a government. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' Most certainly I am! I cannot escape my responsibility by saying the State will do all that is necessary."
-Albert Schweitzer
(More Albert Schweitzer quotes)

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On this date in 1978, Mork and Mindy premiered on ABC-TV.

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Please help... If you've ever considered donating to KGB Report, now would be a good time. Some annual site-related expenses are coming due, and I could use a new pair of eyeglasses. It certainly would help reduce the number of typos. You can make a donation here, or send a check to the address below. Thanks for your support!

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In one of the stranger stories of the day, "Pharmacy Bro" Martin Shkreli is jailed for offering to pay $5,000 to anyone who could obtain a hair from Hillary Clinton. No explanation available for why Shkreli wants the hair, which he said must contain a follicle to get the cash.

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Smartphones could be leading to a mental health crisis. And no, it's not from labeling someone willing to pay a thousand dollars for an iPhone as being insane. This guy claims technology is making millennials unhappy and unprepared to be adults.

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The fantasy-industrial complex: how America got lost inside a dream. Where America really went haywire, author Kurt Andersen explains, is when the cult of celebrity and the cult of capitalism merged: it was the opening of Disneyland in 1955. A bizarre reality where advertising met animation. You could buy real wares, from fake characters, in real stores, with make-believe themes.

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U.S. moves to ban Kaspersky software in federal agencies amid concerns of Russian espionage. There's a good chance you may have their security software on your PC. But don't worry, the NSA already knows everything about you.

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Russia isn't the only country that tries to tamper with foreign politics. Reagan documents shed light on U.S. 'meddling'. "Secret" documents, recently declassified by the Reagan presidential library, reveal senior White House officials reengaging a former CIA "proprietary," The Asia Foundation, in "political action," an intelligence term of art for influencing the actions of foreign governments.

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Pelosi and Schumer say they have deal with Trump to replace DACA. Democratic leaders on Wednesday night declared that they had a deal with President Trump to quickly extend protections for young undocumented immigrants and to finalize a border security package that does not include the president's proposed wall. Trump appears to be stepping up his courtship of House and Senate Democrats.

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Tagging fake news on Facebook doesn't work. A Yale survey of 7,500 people shows little benefit, and possible detriments, to fact-check programs.

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Good bye, Cassini. The spacecraft's mission will come to an end with a plunge into Saturn's atmosphere, which will destroy the spacecraft launched in 1997.

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Why the underfunded 2020 census is a civil rights issue. The census is in klaxon-level trouble. The decennial census, that once-every-ten-years count of the American population, is drastically underfunded. And what happens if it's underfunded? A lot of people don't get counted, so they don't get what they need in terms of hospitals, schools, roads, emergency services, healthcare, social services- the census numbers are the starting point for allocating more than $600 billion of federal funding every year.

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Hackers attacking US and European energy firms could sabotage power grids. Cybersecurity firm Symantec says 'Dragonfly' group has been investigating and penetrating energy facilities in US, Turkey and Switzerland.

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Equifax faces multibillion-dollar lawsuit over hack. Class action seeking to represent 143 million consumers alleges company didn't spend enough on protecting data.

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Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you'll remember.

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Hackers have already started to weaponize artificial intelligence. Last year, two data scientists from security firm ZeroFOX conducted an experiment to see who was better at getting Twitter users to click on malicious links, humans or an artificial intelligence. The researchers taught an AI to study the behavior of social network users, and then design and implement its own phishing bait. In tests, the artificial hacker was substantially better than its human competitors, composing and distributing more phishing tweets than humans, and with a substantially better conversion rate.

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Noted science fiction author and former Byte magazine columnist Jerry Pournelle passed away on September 8. Pournelle is generally acknowledged to have produced the first published book written on a computer, and his interest in computers led to his wildly popular Chaos Manor column in Byte. His conversational tone, voicing the perspective of a typical hobbyist/user, was the prototype for many others, including my own DCL Dialogue column in DEC Professional magazine back in the 90s. One of my most prized possesions from that era is a hand-written note from Jerry in response to my column on DCL hacking. Nearly 30 years later, it's still proudly tacked to my bulletin board. Politically an ultra-conservative, self-described to be "somewhere to the right of Ghengis Khan", he was nontheless a gentleman and a master of civilized discourse. We won't see his like again.

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The web edition of KGB Report will be back on Monday, but we're active through the weekend. Check KGB Report's Facebook page whenever you're on line for new posts.

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All KGB Report content is available for free, with no subscription fees or pay walls. If you're a regular reader, please consider making a donation here, with your PayPal account (credit cards also accepted)... it's secure and protected. Or, send a donation to 1512 Annette Avenue, South Park, PA 15129. Becoming a patron will also get you free copies of any new books we publish on Amazon or Kindle and reduced prices on any other products. Thanks for your support!

See posts throughout the day on KGB Report's Facebook page.

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Categories: The Daily KGB Report

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Like KGB Report on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Get KGB Report free via email every day (Monday-Thursday)!
Click here to subscribe.
And spread the news... forward us to a friend.

Stay up to date... see new posts throughout the day, including more on topics covered here, by visiting KGB Report's Facebook page.

Read on the website.

-----

Today is Wednesday, September 13, the 256th day of 2017 in the Gregorian calendar, with 109 days remaining.

This is the 236th day of Donald Trump's presidency. There are 1,226 days remaining in his term, assuming he doesn't resign, is otherwise removed from office, or his unhinged, psychotic behavior results in the destruction of the republic.

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What happened on September 13 from  On This Day

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Among other things, today is National Peanut Day.

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"Florida Man" vs Irma: Tales of heroism and stupidity as a hurricane makes landfall. And check out the story that follows the Florida man coverage: We rely on the internet during a crisis. So what if the next crisis threatens the internet?

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Quote of the day:

"Don't gobblefunk around with words."
-Roald Dahl
(More Roald Dahl quotes)

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On this date in 1899, Henry Bliss became the first person in the United States to be killed in an automobile accident.

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That mental boost you get from coffee may be a placebo effect. As Stephen Wright said, "I'm addicted to placebos. I could quit, but it wouldn't matter."

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Just the important stuff from yesterday's Apple extravaganza.

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Face-reading AI will be able to detect your politics and IQ, professor says. Probably by judging the severity of the look of terror on our faces.

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How Trump Is Ending the American Era. For all the visible damage the president has done to the nation’s global standing, things are much worse below the surface.

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In 232 days, President Trump has made 1,145 false and misleading claims. It would be a lot simpler if they just listed the number of times he's told the truth.

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Lawmakers demand accounting from Equifax on massive security breach. Criminals using false identities could do "irreparable harm" to the IRS, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

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Bitcoin is "a fraud" and "won't end well. Someone is going to get killed." So sayeth JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Bitcoin stock fell roughly 0.8% after his comments.

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Interesting article showing much of Star Trek's technology is borrowed from sci-fi pulp magazines.

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Talk about a vote of confidence... HBO orders three more 30 episode seasons of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is set to release his long-awaited “Medicare for all" bill Wednesday afternoon with the backing of several prominent Democrats. Sanders' opinion piece in today's New York Times.

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A colossal 'fatberg' clogging London's sewage system is ten times bigger than the last one. And it's not pretty.

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Why has our sun been freaking out so much lately? Well, just because.

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All KGB Report content is available for free, with no subscription fees or pay walls. If you're a regular reader, please consider making a donation here, with your PayPal account (credit cards also accepted)... it's secure and protected. Or, send a donation to 1512 Annette Avenue, South Park, PA 15129. Becoming a patron will also get you free copies of any new books we publish on Amazon or Kindle and reduced prices on any other products. Thanks for your support!

See posts throughout the day on KGB Report's Facebook page.

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Categories: The Daily KGB Report

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