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The social media star faced intense criticism from K-pop fans ahead of her heartbreaking death.

The social media star faced intense criticism from K-pop fans ahead of her heartbreaking death.

My First Encounter With Trans

Authored by Richard C. Crandall via American Thinker,

My first encounter with trans was in the early 1950s, when Christine Jorgensen became the first widely known person to undergo "sex reassignment" surgery. I remember some of my peers mocking Christine by threatening to swap the feminine lips and masculine mustache between Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. After some laughter, eye-rolling, and snide smiles, seven-year-olds settled the issue: It was ridiculous - we called it crazy - to believe that Mr. Potato Head could become Mrs. Potato Head any more than a man could become a woman.

The trans issue reemerged with the Reimer twins, Bruce and Brian. In the 1960s, during what was supposed to be a routine circumcision, Bruce's penis was destroyed. Dr. John Money at Johns Hopkins University saw an opportunity to demonstrate that sex roles are a blank slate at birth and are shaped by culture, not genetics. He convinced Bruce's parents that with surgery, hormones, and therapy, Bruce could be successfully transitioned to female. Bruce was castrated, given hormones, renamed Brenda, and not told that he had once been Bruce. From the beginning, "Brenda" didn't like acting like a girl. He tore off his dresses and played with his twin brother's toys more than his own. After applying makeup, Brenda said he looked like a clown. By his early teens, Brenda was confused, depressed, lonely, and suicidal. When Brenda was finally told that he was Bruce, he realized that he was normal and that those trying to turn him into a female were the problem. Brenda became David, underwent penile reconstruction, a double mastectomy, and hormone treatment and married a woman.

For years after "Brenda" became David, Dr. Money claimed that Bruce's transition to Brenda was successful. After the truth came out, I again thought the trans issue was resolved. However, in what can only be described as a new level of hell, swapping parts between Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head has been replaced by dolls that allow children to swap internal and external sexual parts.

I hold the same view I did at age seven. I will reconsider my stance when trans advocates agree to the following conditions.

First, we can change our race. Whites who claim to be black or Native American are called race hoaxers, even though some have demonstrated substantial knowledge of and connection to their new race. A recent example involves a white woman who received injections to darken her skin and surgeries to enlarge her lips. She plans to undergo butt augmentation and surgery to widen her nose. She feels that she is black, even though she is told she will never be black. But if all it takes for a man to be a woman are feelings and mutilating surgery, shouldn't this woman's feelings and surgeries make her black?

Second, we can change our age. If the sex listed on a birth certificate can be altered based on feelings, why not the date of birth? Many people feel younger or older than their chronological age, and some even undergo surgery to look and feel younger. If feelings, rather than biology, determine one's sex, shouldn't they also determine age?

Third, we can be both sexes. Recently, a judge ruled that a man who doesn't identify exclusively as male or female can have a surgically created vagina in the space between his scrotum and anus. And just in time, we have sologamy, "the practice of marrying oneself." Would this be a heterosexual marriage?

Fourth, we can change our species. Individuals who feel they are reptiles tattoo their hands and faces to resemble snake or lizard scales. Those who want to become snakes undergo surgery to remove their ears and noses and have their teeth filed to resemble fangs. Those who identify as lizards have their fingers and thumbs amputated, leaving claw-like hands. They have also had their tongues surgically altered to look forked. If removing a penis and testicles transforms a man into a woman, then does removing ears and fingers transform a human into a reptile?

Fifth, we can become space aliens. To achieve this transformation, one man tattooed his body black and removed his upper lip, nose, and ears. Another man, in addition to full-body tattoos, cut off some fingers, his ears, and part of his nose. A third man has full-body tattoos and fangs. He also chopped off a finger on one hand and had the other hand surgically altered so that his fingers remain in a permanent "V" formation. Again, if feelings and mutilation can change a man into a woman, then don't feelings and bodily mutilation transform someone into a space alien?

Sixth, we can choose our nationality. If men who feel they are women are allowed to use women's bathrooms and locker rooms, then shouldn't people who feel they are of a certain nationality be allowed to live in the country they feel they belong to?

Seventh, it would be easier to adjust feelings to match the existing body than to mutilate the body to match feelings. Why do trans proponents accept only chemical and surgical mutilation to align the body with feelings when it is more rational and humane to use therapy to adjust feelings to align with one's sex?

Eighth, feeling the desire to amputate a healthy arm or leg is abnormal. Body Integrity Dysphoria (BID) is a condition in which the body does not match how someone feels it should look. This goes beyond simply feeling that one's nose is too big or one's breasts are too small. Individuals with BID feel they have too many arms or legs, leading them to want the problematic limb amputated. Others with BID may wish to be paralyzed or to lose their hearing or sight. If chopping off a healthy arm is abnormal, then isn't removing healthy sexual organs also abnormal?

Ninth, we can belong to the ethnic group of our choice. Shouldn't feelings be enough to belong to an ethnic group?

Tenth, we don't need to accept and accommodate individuals' feelings about their identities. If a man who feels he is a woman also feels he is a queen, do we need to accommodate his feelings by addressing him as "Your Majesty" and bowing to him?

Eleventh, the feelings of trans people do not supersede those of people who believe trans people are mentally ill. Trans people demand that others tolerate their feelings, yet they don't tolerate others' feelings. We have seen men who look like men but feel they are women become unhinged when addressed as "sir" rather than "ma'am." There is the same lack of tolerance for those who feel that men pretending to be women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. They are even incapable of tolerating a T-shirt featuring the logo "XY ≠ XX." If trans people don't respect others' feelings, then can't others disrespect the feelings of trans people?

Feelings do not change reality, and the reality is that there are no Joseph Mengele, Dr. Moreau, Dr. Fauci, or Dr. Frankenstein medical procedures that can turn us into space aliens, reptiles, or the opposite sex.

Image via Pexels.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 19:15

Jaxson Dart seemingly had a loving homecoming back to New York.

McCoy was then asked if he believes he's the best corner in the draft.

"Woke 1 was crazy," "hot takes," nervous chuckles, shifting feet; did they really think we'd forget what their reckless rhetoric cost?

Maribeth Ellen Jones, 51, even swindled residents into cutting her hair under the guise of preparing for chemotherapy, cops said.

Remember the early 2020s when cancel culture ran rampant, defunding police was a standard position on the left and we were all supposed to fall in line with their bad ideas, or else?

The Lakers’ offseason has been a success.  An overwhelming success? No, that would be a bridge too far.  Especially when factoring in the holes remaining on their roster seven weeks before training camp starts and some of the details with certain decisions.  But considering what the Lakers’ goals and options were entering the summer, and...

The WNBA's incredibly weak leadership lives and dies by the word "inclusivity." But damn anyone thinking they will be included without bowing down to the progressive agenda.

It’s summertime. When living once was easy.

The bars Badlands and Toad Hall said they would stop using the AI-powered platform PatronScan, which was used to verify IDs and ages and flag problem patrons across all venues.

Charissa Thompson said the dress she chose for the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding last month left her with some bloody wounds.

A YouTuber put Beverly Hills' famously deep pockets to the test by spending a day delivering food around the ritzy California enclave.

Earl Walker Jackson says Director Anthea Hartig's push to use history as a 'tool of social justice' distorts facts

Study Finds 93% Of Avocado Oil Chips Contain Other Oils. There Is A Solution ...

A new University of California, Davis, study found that a shocking number of avocado oil-labeled chips at the supermarket, marketed as a healthier alternative to toxic seed-oil chips, might not be made with pure avocado oil and, in fact, contain other oils.

UC Davis researchers tested 54 avocado oil-labeled products purchased from California supermarkets and online retailers in 2025 and 2026 and found that 48, or 89%, contained cheaper oils despite being labeled as containing premium avocado oil. The failure rate included 93% of chips, and beyond the snack aisle, 71% of mayonnaise products and 100% of salad dressings tested also failed.

"Consumers are increasingly paying a premium for products made with avocado oil or olive oil," lead author Selina Wang, Professor of Cooperative Extension in the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology, stated in a press release. "They deserve to get what they pay for and food manufacturers deserve confidence that the ingredients they purchase from suppliers are authentic."

The Trump administration helped propel the MAHA movement into the mainstream, prompting millions of consumers to reevaluate what's actually in their food, including the widespread use of seed oils amid study after study showing potential health effects:

• The Facts About Seed Oils And Your Health
• Cooking Oils Used By Millions Linked To Cancer In Second Study In A Week

Results by brand:

There is only one real solution here: take control of what you eat. We've long believed that winning the information war starts with properly fueling the brain, which means getting back to real food and cutting out as much ultra-processed junk as you can.

And if you're still going to snack on a bag of chips, why not just keep it super simple? Potatoes cooked the old-fashioned way in actual grass-fed beef tallow. No mystery oils. No ingredient-label guessing games. Just a better chip.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 18:50

"He’d be happy with a kamikaze mission, I think," one operative told The Post of Tucker Carlson.

With each passing day providing another clue about Aaron Donald’s intentions, it’s becoming more and more apparent that it’s no longer a question of if one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history will come out of retirement to join the Rams’ pursuit of another Super Bowl. It’s a matter of when. And there...

Rev. Simon Biasell, the church’s pastor, said the doors were also vandalized earlier this summer.

Nvidia Confirms Record $500 Billion Off-Balance Sheet SPV Deal To Fund The World's Biggest Circle Jerk

Update (1630ET): After the bell, NVDA confirmed the earlier reporting (that it has signed agreements with six of the largest finance houses on Wall Street to mobilize a $500 billion package to fund the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out), with a press release quoting each of the BSDs involved in depth.

“NVIDIA has reached an important milestone. We began by building chips; today, we are helping create a new class of productive, investable infrastructure: AI factories,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “In AI, compute is revenue. NVIDIA compute is uniquely suited for this role. It is broadly adopted, flexible across models and workloads, fungible and transferable across customers and operators, and continuously improved through CUDA software — extending its useful life and improving its economics over time. It is supported by a deep global ecosystem of developers, customers and offtakers. That is why we are bringing the world’s leading long-term capital providers together to independently underwrite AI infrastructure. These financing platforms will help customers access scarce compute at scale and build the AI factories that will power every industry and country in the age of AI.”

“Modern compute has emerged as a scarce, mission-critical asset class with compelling investment characteristics that is positioned to drive significant long-term economic growth and productivity gains,” said Apollo President Jim Zelter. “The combination of NVIDIA’s proprietary technology ecosystem and Apollo’s flexible, long-term capital base provides a strong foundation to support the next stage of the AI buildout as part of the broader Global Industrial Renaissance.”

“The AI buildout will require unprecedented investment and a skilled workforce to turn that investment into the infrastructure that will help power future growth,” said Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock. “This partnership deepens our relationship with NVIDIA, including through the AI Infrastructure Partnership, and brings together NVIDIA’s leadership in accelerated computing with BlackRock’s ability to connect long-term capital to essential infrastructure. Together, we can help deliver the compute capacity that companies need to grow and create more jobs, supporting the continued growth of the U.S. and global economies, while creating attractive, long-term investment opportunities for our clients.”

“NVIDIA has created extraordinary demand for its compute through an intense focus on customer value and versatile technology,” said Jon Gray, President and COO of Blackstone. “We continue to be enormous investors globally across the NVIDIA ecosystem, and this announcement further underscores our confidence in their platform and the future of AI infrastructure.”

“As our strategic partner, NVIDIA is enabling us to scale AI factories. We are excited about further collaboration to build and fund the backbone of AI globally,” said Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield. “With demand for large-scale AI compute growing significantly as adoption scales across industries, compute is fast becoming the essential layer of infrastructure and a core pillar of the Brookfield AI infrastructure strategy.”

“We’re in a pivotal moment of a historic AI investment cycle. NVIDIA’s full-stack platform is in high demand and uniquely positioned at the center of that global buildout,” said David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. “Our investment and distribution roles reflect our confidence in NVIDIA’s leadership, and we’re excited for the new opportunity to create a market for credit backed by NVIDIA compute."

“Compute has become a critical infrastructure asset. As we’ve scaled our approach to digital infrastructure, we’ve learned that delivery, not ambition, is the hard part. That’s why we’re excited to build on our strategic partnership with NVIDIA, a founding investor in Helix Digital Infrastructure, to bring together NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platform with KKR’s long-duration capital, infrastructure expertise and capital markets capabilities to turn growing demand into real capacity at extraordinary scale,” said Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, Co-Chief Executive Officers of KKR.

But, you know this debt raise is urgent when the heads of all involved head to CNBC for a roundtable to discuss why "we need to raise more money as fast as possible"...

🤯🤯🤯
“We need to raise more money as fast as possible”

“We’re going to need to spend trillions and trillion of dollars on compute”

Oh my goodness. We did not even start…government funding is coming too. you’re bearish?? https://t.co/ADlrS88ex1 pic.twitter.com/YAcmno6NRr

— Nicholas Mugalli (@RealNickMugalli) August 10, 2026

...because "we’re going to need to spend trillions and trillion of dollars on compute"...

Hear it from the Horse’s mouth. Jensen talking about the trillions of dollars going into compute. Whoaaa https://t.co/pXAfYbRViD pic.twitter.com/pgsG5YknpC

— Nicholas Mugalli (@RealNickMugalli) August 10, 2026

...presumably to compete with the Chinese as overall Token spend plummets...

*  *  *

In what is shaping up as a record-breaking, off-balance sheet SPV deal, one which will send CDS and credit yields surging far beyond where the recent explosion in AI debt has already pushed them, and as shown in the chart below, it's pretty, pretty far...

... the FT reports that Nvidia - unable to generate fund the old-fashioned way by earnings - is working with the world’s largest financial groups are to assemble a $500bn funding package for AI infrastructure development, in what will be the biggest AI lending efforts to date of any kind.

A consortium of groups including private credit (and equity) giants Apollo, Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield, Goldman and KKR is entering a partnership with Nvidia to invest in the AI build-out, the FT cited six people briefed on the talks.

The "partnership" as the FT calls it as it sounds a bit better than "hail-may, off-balance sheet arrangement" underscores Nvidia’s increasingly desperate efforts to raise capital for itself and its clients (because everyone now admits that circular financing is absolutely critical to keeping the AI bubble going) to continue assembling the chips, power production and data centers at the heart of the AI boom.

The $5.25tn company, whose GPUs underpin most of the leading US AI models available today, has positioned itself at the center of the AI boom, providing chips, infrastructure and software to a wide array of partners developing the technology.

More ominously, as it brings back fresh memories of the vendor financing that was in part responsible for the collapse of the dot com bubble, the chipmaker traditionally provides financial backing to help its AI partners raise debt in capital markets, which then helps boost Nvidia’s own revenue, in what has become AI's trademark circle jerk deal.

As we have discussed here for the past year, the circular nature of such transactions has raised concerns about concentrated risks in the sector, and it's why NVDA stock slumped immediately after the FT news broke, sliding as much as 2% on the FT report and wiping out more than $70bn in market capitalisation.

Separately, Nvidia was in talks to provide a massive guarantee for a 10-gigawatt data centre project in Ohio leased to OpenAI, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The deal shows how Nvidia is building relationships with the giants of the private capital industry, which are collectively preparing to invest trillions of dollars of their insurance, retail and institutional investor assets into AI infrastructure. 

In recent years, private capital groups such as Apollo and Blackstone have structured off-balance sheet SPV, pardon, AI infrastructure deals to assist companies like Anthropic finance their heavy spending on chips and data centers. We discussed this extensively two months ago  in "The $1.8 Trillion Off-Balance Sheet Time Bomb At The Heart Of The AI Supercycle", a topic which the FT also caught up with today. 

The US hyperscalers have now signed up for about $1 trillion of lease commitments that don't appear in their financial data (and are on the hook for another $1 trillion of future purchase commitments). https://t.co/hLnjMGUHzJ pic.twitter.com/Tx2zRfwnIW

— Robin Wigglesworth (@RobinWigg) August 10, 2026

Nvidia, whose market cap has grown 15x since the launch of the first chatGPT in November 2022, is not the only beneficiary of the gargantuan circle-jerk deals that define the AI bubble: the biggest cloud-computing companies, including Meta, Oracle, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, have also dramatically increased their spending on AI infrastructure as they look to win the race to dominate the emerging technology. Morgan Stanley projects so-called hyperscalers will spend $3.5tn between 2026 and 2028.

That need for capital has forced technology groups to tap every source of cash they can find, including public equity, investment-grade and high-yield bonds, securitised debt, private credit and project finance markets.

“[The] sheer size of the AI infrastructure build-out is unprecedented,” Jim Zelter, president of Apollo, said on an earnings call earlier this month. “More than $8tn of capital is expected to be invested, a staggering sum. We see an enormous opportunity for private capital to finance a portion of this along with public capital.”

While all that is great, it appears nobody has done the math on what happens if traditional, expensive frontier models lose to vastly cheaper, open-weight/source models. One thing is certain: the free cash flow hockeystick projected in the chart below will never, ever happen should open-weight models win the arms race. 

So, uh, guys we still hockeystick FCF with everyone moving to open models? https://t.co/1i1Hs0XZIx

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 10, 2026

And now we sit back and wait to see just how far into the stratosphere this record SPV deal will send hyperscaler CDS and bond spreads. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 18:35