Remember a few years ago when the administration of failed US President Joe Biden came up with a foster care rule that sought to require children who identify as LGBTQ be placed with families willing to accept them through gender identity? That outrageous rule was never implemented but the Trump administration formally eliminated it which is good for the United States, according to a news report by Newsmax.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt of the Newsmax report. Some parts in boldface…
The Trump administration on Tuesday formally eliminated a Biden-era foster care rule that sought to require children who identify as LGBTQ be placed with families willing to affirm their stated gender identity or sexual orientation.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) removed the April 2024 regulation from the Code of Federal Regulations, saying the move will provide clarity and help recruit more foster families nationwide.
The rule never took effect after it was struck down by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, but the administration said removing it entirely closes the door on the policy.
Assistant HHS Secretary Alex Adams told The Daily Wire the decision reflects the administration’s belief that more families should feel welcome to foster children.
“The message that we think it sends is that all families are welcome,” Adams said. “We have too few foster families nationally. We must roll out the red carpet, and we must ensure that there’s homes waiting on kids, not kids waiting on homes.”
The Biden administration’s rule directed federally funded child welfare agencies to ensure that children who “self-identify with an alternative sexual orientation or self-identify as something other than their sex in foster care” were placed with families that would affirm those identities.
The Trump administration said rescinding the regulation supports first lady Melania Trump’s “Fostering the Future” initiative and a related executive order calling for a government-wide effort to strengthen the nation’s foster care system.
Adams said the administration has also launched its “Home for Every Child” campaign to increase the number of foster homes available for children entering the system.
“Nationally, we have a shortage,” Adams said. “We only have 57 homes for every 100 kids coming in, so we can and must do better to ensure that there’s enough homes for kids because when there’s not enough homes, kids end up in short-term rentals, hotels, government office spaces, etc.”
Adams said families with strong religious beliefs and moral convictions make up a large share of those willing to foster children, making it critical that the federal government not discourage them from participating.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Are you delighted that US President Donald Trump and his administration scrapped the Biden-era rule and made sure it would not be revived soon? Do you think the woke, the SJWs and LGBTQ mob will react violently to this development?
Do you believe that the internationalist and justice-disrupting International Criminal Court (ICC) should meddle in your nation’s justice system? The Department of State officially launched a huge campaign to the dismantle the ICC to protect the sovereignty of the United States.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the entire announcement by the State Department. Some parts in boldface…
Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty. The campaign will feature a whole-of-government response to systematically disable the ICC’s ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty.
The ICC poses an intolerable threat to U.S. sovereignty – it claims the authority to prosecute and even imprison American servicemen and officials operating on behalf of America’s national interest. Americans never signed up for this, and all American presidents since the ICC’s ratification have maintained that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Americans. The ICC previously opened an investigation into U.S. servicemen and intelligence officers and has since refused to close these cases.
The ICC now seeks to become the unaccountable global arbiter – positioning itself above and beyond the nation state as a supranational enforcement arm of a globalist bureaucracy empowered to persecute American servicemen and officials at will. No diplomatic option will be off-limits in the campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to Americans.
The campaign will feature a wide range of actions intended to ensure that the International Criminal Court is incapable of threatening U.S. sovereignty or targeting Americans.
Actions under consideration include:
Diplomatic calls from the Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary, ambassadors, and other members of senior leadership to foreign nations highlighting the abuses of the ICC and the risks posed to Americans and other nations urging them to withdraw from the ICC
Nations that partner with American law enforcement and the U.S. military or that enjoy the benefits of the U.S. security umbrella are called upon to reject the ICC’s purported authority to prosecute American officials and servicemen
Increased scrutiny of nations that refuse to reject the ICC’s false authority while relying on U.S. assistance
Diplomatic calls urging other nations that, like America, that are not party to the Rome Statute to leverage their diplomatic networks to take similar actions alongside us
Visa revocations and travel bans for ICC personnel
Increased sanctions against the ICC and affiliated organizations
For added insight, watch the YouTube video below. Pay close attention to what US State Secretary Marco Rubio said.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think the Trump administration will make huge impact against the ICC through diplomacy and legal systems? What should the US do to nations that were found to have been following the ICC while receiving American assistance? Do you consider the ICC a living international body of injustice and violator of the sovereignty of nations that bowed to its authority?
As the military conflict between the United States and the Islamic terrorist state of Iran intensifies, the State Department announced that action has been taken to cut off the financial lifelines of the evil regime.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the entire announcement by the State Department. Some parts in boldface…
The United States is taking decisive action to cut off the financial lifelines sustaining Iran’s ruling elite. Today’s action targets Ali Ansari, a Dubai-based Iranian national who has built a sprawling global network of real estate and commercial holdings — spanning Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Cyprus, the UAE, and beyond — on behalf of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and other regime insiders.
The United States also sanctioned three Iran-based currency exchange houses — Mohammad Darbani and Partners, Lavasani and Partners, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners — along with their managing partners and associated front companies. By targeting these networks, the United States is directly disrupting the regime’s ability to access foreign currency and conduct international financial activity.
These actions reflect the Trump Administration’s commitment to holding accountable all those who enable the regime’s corruption and regional aggression. The United States will continue to pursue sanctions against individuals, companies, and financial institutions — including foreign entities — that facilitate illicit Iranian commerce, and will not relent until the Iranian regime ends its destabilizing behavior and its exploitation of the Iranian people.
Today’s action is being taken pursuant to E.O. 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran’s financial and petroleum sectors, E.O. 13876, which focuses on the Supreme Leader of Iran and his affiliates, and the counterterrorism authority E.O. 13224, as amended by E.O. 13886. These designations build on a series of OFAC actions targeting Iranian shadow banking and currency exchange house networks
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think the US will be able to cut off Iran’s links to all financial sources around the world? Could it be possible that the sinister financiers behind LGBTQ and transgender mobs and human traffickers (involved with mass migration targeting Europe) could secretly be funding the Islamic terrorist regime of Iran?
As a long-time Xbox fan and owner of three Xbox game consoles, I can say that this current console generation has been disappointing and the current state of Xbox gaming is a huge letdown.
With the approval of Microsoft’s leadership, Team Xbox acquired a lot of game companies that include the giants Activision-Blizzard-King (ABK) and Bethesda, going right down to the smaller game studios. Those were acquired with the promise of new and exciting games that would make Xbox gaming really great in the form of exclusive games, new content for Game Pass subscribers and more.
Sadly, things turned out really disappointing and now the new Xbox head Asha Sharma has the tremendous challenge of making drastic reforms, downsizing and correcting the cases of mismanagement by the previous leadership. That said, she declared a hard reset of the Xbox business and the changes are being implemented already.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Xbox announcement focused on Asha Sharma’s message to the entire team. Some parts in boldface…
We are beginning the most significant restructure in XBOX history. After careful consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27. This will include approximately 1,600 role eliminations today, and in addition, four studios will leave XBOX to new management. I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale.
I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building XBOX. Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved XBOX. Today’s decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.
Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset XBOX.
First, we will reset our content portfolio.
Since 2018, we have aggressively expanded our studio portfolio while the number of games created each month across the industry now outpaces the last ten years combined. We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios. It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio. We have also learned that we are not the best home for every type of studio; in a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested. As we reset XBOX, we will help independent creators succeed by providing open development tools and audiences to realize their vision.
Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3. In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.
We are also making reductions across other units, and in some cases, shifting investment to focus on higher priority projects. These changes vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and XBOX Game Studios. None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.
In addition, Mojang and King will now report directly to me. These two studios have increasingly become platforms and are our largest by monthly active players. They bring critical geographic, demographic, and differentiation to XBOX.
Second, we will reset our platform.
We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger. Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players. As we reset XBOX, we will simplify.
We will reduce management layers to no more than 5, and where possible, 3. We will deliver success through a flatter organization that is built around makers (individual contributors focused on building), player-coaches (leaders who remain deeply involved in the work while developing their teams), and directly responsible individuals (DRIs) who own key decisions and outcomes. And we will streamline how we work across our tools, with a cleaner code base, shared services, and 50% reduced vendor spend.
Third, we are resetting how we operate.
As XBOX grew our headcount, we became more fragmented. Teams, studios, and functions often operate independently, and it became harder to work towards a shared goal, make the right tradeoffs, and get things done.
For the first time, we are establishing a Chief Operating Officer with end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services. Helen Chiang has been promoted to this role and will report directly to me. Over nearly two decades at XBOX, Helen has helped build some of our most important businesses, from XBOX Live to leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise. She will bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.
Thank you, Dave McCarthy, who is retiring after 17 years with XBOX. Dave has played a defining role in building the platform that millions of players rely on every day and has been a trusted partner through many of the biggest moments in XBOX’s history. We wish him all the best.
These changes are about a bigger future for XBOX, not a smaller one. The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we’ve seen before. This year, we’ll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates.
I want XBOX to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect.
Indeed, the Xbox business model deteriorated financially and became much harder to manage. The billions of Dollars spent on Xbox gaming over the past several years did not result in the great gaming experiences for fans and gamers, nor did it compel the Xbox game studios to become productive and disciplined.
First-party games of Xbox in the generation of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have been lackluster in quality and enjoyment overall. I played Starfield a lot on my Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass and my enjoyment of it has been limited compared with other games of Bethesda. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was fun at first but it ended up being hollow. As the said Ninja Theory-developed game lacked depth with its gameplay and game design, I never bothered to replay it after finishing it. Obsidian Entertainment, a company that specialized in making role-playing games (RPGs), produced new RPGs under the Xbox umbrella but none of them were great. In fact, Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 ended up as commercial failures.
Going back to Asha Sharma’s message, I can say that letting go of Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions was the right move as the huge amount of money Team Xbox spent of them did not result in great games. Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight was a $100,000,000 production that ended up with sales of way below one million copies. More notably, Compulsion Games has a discriminating woke and hateful community manager who goes by the handle @PikaChulita. Look at the captured evidence below.
The community manager of Compulsion Games openly hates gamers.
Look at the details very closely.
Speaking of wokeness and discrimination, the controversial Matt Hansen has been laid off from Obsidian Entertainment. Hansen was heavily involved in the huge disappointment called Avowed. That being said, Team Xbox should really REMOVE all the untalented woke activists among its many game developers. Those activists – the feminists, the LGBTQ mob, the Islamists, the Black Lives Matter zealots and others –do not care about making great games at all and they have been misusing Microsoft’s money to turn new Xbox games into vehicles of Leftist/woke/socialist propaganda. Xbox should also cut off any ties with the super woke Sweet Baby Inc.
When it comes to the larger entities like Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King and Mojang, the layoffs are painful but it makes sense to shift investment to focus on higher priority projects. Activision should regain focus on ensuring quality and great fun with its continued productions of Call of Duty (COD) games. Bethesda has to deliver new Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games faster and with the highest quality possible.
With the way things are right now, I am not certain if I will pursue the next-generation Xbox console called “Project Helix”. Memory has gotten much more expensive in recent times due to extremely high demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the memory manufacturers’ deals with AI companies. How much memory could the next-generation Xbox have and could its retail price exceed $1,000 at launch?
Indeed, the future of Xbox gaming is really clouded and I can only hope that the hard reset of the Xbox business under Asha Sharma will create positive changes and results. To say the least, the reforms have started and only time will tell what will happen next.
In ending this blog post, posted below are selected YouTube videos about the state of Xbox for your enlightenment.
Following the disturbing ballistic missile launch of Communist China into the Pacific Ocean, the United States reaffirmed its support for the Philippines, according to a news report by the Manila Bulletin. Symbolically, the new US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton issued an official statement.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the report of the Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…
The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to the Philippines after China test-launched an unarmed intercontinental-range ballistic missile from a submarine into the southern Pacific Ocean.
In a statement on Tuesday, July 7, US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton said the launch underscored concerns over Beijing’s nuclear weapons buildup and its implications for regional peace and stability.
“The ironclad US-Philippine Alliance has been a tremendous and transparent source of regional peace and stability for over seven decades,” Lipton said.
“Beijing’s provocative missile launch yesterday is further evidence of its rapid and secretive nuclear weapons development program, which runs counter to regional stability and is inconsistent with the pursuit of meaningful arms control discussions,” he added.
Lipton said the United States shares the Philippines’ concerns over the missile launch and remains committed to its “oldest security ally in the region.”
The statement followed a July 6 statement by US State Department spokesperson Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, who said the United States had monitored China’s test launch of an unarmed intercontinental-range ballistic missile from a submarine.
According to Pigott, the missile landed in the southern Pacific Ocean.
“At a time when the United States is working harder than ever to prevent nuclear proliferation, China is doing the opposite,” Pigott said.
He said China’s “rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup” remains a major concern for countries in the region and the international community.
The United States also urged China to participate in meaningful arms control talks and establish a regular notification arrangement for all intercontinental-range ballistic missile and space launches.
Such an arrangement, Pigott said, would be consistent with commitments made by the other members of the P5, or the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
“The United States remains steadfast in our defense commitments to our allies and partners,” Pigott said.
The latest US statements come amid continuing concerns over China’s expanding military capabilities and increasingly assertive activities in the Indo-Pacific, including in the West Philippine Sea.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Are you concerned that China could someday attack the Philippines with ballistic missiles? Do you think this destabilizing move by China could spark the US to send more naval vessels into the Asian region? How do you think US President Donald Trump will react if ever China launches even more ballistic missiles?
The United States of America (USA) celebrated its 250th anniversary and during his 4th of July speech at the National Mall, US President Donald Trump honored the American heroes as well as the Founding Fathers of the nation, according to a news report by Newsmax.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the report of Newsmax. Some parts in boldface…
President Donald Trump celebrated America’s 250th anniversary in a rousing speech on the Fourth of July at the National Mall on Saturday night.
Trump delivered his remarks after 11 p.m. ET, after being delayed by over an hour due to lightning and heavy rains. But Trump said he would not be deterred in celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
“If we have to speak in front of one person at four in the morning I’m going to be here,” Trump said in a speech streamed live on Newsmax. “There’s no way we can be deterred.”
“Tonight we come together for one of the most joyous and glorious milestones of all time,” Trump added. “For two and a half centuries, our American Republic has stood as the crowning achievement of human history.
“This country is the home of freedom. This is the land of liberty. And this is a flag that’s the banner of the most extraordinary, most exceptional, most incredible nation ever to exist on the face of the Earth.”
The president said the American people have shown more courage, done more good, righted more injustice and achieved more greatness than anyone else.
“For 250 years, the United States of America has been the hope, the promise, the light and the glory among all of the nations of the world, all over the world, they try and be like us,” Trump said.
“Nobody can be like us, and with God’s help, we will always be this,” Trump added. “Or even better. We’re going to be better.”
Trump used his speech to honor numerous veterans who fought in American wars, bringing them on stage to salute the flag while telling their tales of heroism.
Among those honored were 104-year-old Ken Schrubing, who was just 19 years old when he survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and 101-year-old Don Graves, who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima.
“These are the fighters and the banners of the Greatest Generation,” Trump said. “They are the greatest generation. They saved the world and they made America very, very proud. We’re very proud of you, heroes all.“
Marine Corporal Pat Finn and Private First Class Rudy Meekins, who fought in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War, were also honored, along with astronaut Jack Schmitt, the last American to walk on the moon, and the Artemis II flight crew.
Eleven Gold Star families were also presented with flags during Trump’s speech.
Speaking in front of the first American flags produced, Trump praised the Founding Fathers and the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
“Those 56 patriots put everything at risk, stepped onto the stage of destiny, and seized a victory for the ages,” Trump said.
Trump said the Founding Fathers have allowed America to thrive for 250 years.
“Our cause was just. Our people are brave, our culture is exceptional, and our destiny is written by God,” Trump said.
“And as we can see here tonight, after 250 years, the spirit of 1776 still lives within us all,” Trump added.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Are you delighted with the way America’s 250th anniversary was celebrated this year? Are you thankful to America’s Founding Fathers, war veterans and other brave heroes who kept the US a shining light on the world? Do you think the unpatriotic Americans will eventually realize they are wrong with their current beliefs and make a drastic change to love the United States again?
Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching.
Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following videos I found.
#1 CinePals React To Scary Movie (2000) – In my honest opinion, Scary Movie (2000) is still the best film parody Hollywood has released in the 21st century. The film is loaded with jokes, pop culture references and fine acts by Anna Faris, Marlon Wayans and Shannon Elizabeth to name a few. In relation to the 2026 movie Scary Movie, the original film was featured in new reaction videos from YouTubers and I enjoyed watching CinePals’ reaction video of it. I encourage you to watch it now.
#2 Xbox Sports Network (XSN) Revisited – When Microsoft entered the competitive video game console industry with the original Xbox in 2001, they really invested a lot of money to make first-party games as they could not yet form strong business relationships with game companies that had been doing business with PlayStation and Nintendo. Along the way, Team Xbox established its very own lineup of exclusive, first-party sports video games with licenses of professional sports leagues or associations. That was the Xbox Sports Network (XSN or XSN Sports) and it had Xbox-exclusive games of the NBA, NFL, NHL and alternative sports. Sadly, XSN lasted only a few years and you can learn much more by watching the retrospective videos below.
#3 Ranting For Vengeance Exposes Racist And Woke Agenda Behind Matt Reeves’ Batman – If you actually enjoyed Matt Reeves’ The Batman in 2022, did you even notice the wickedness of wokeness behind it all? Matt Reeves is still pushing with the woke agenda on the cinematic Batman which is very unfortunate. To learn more, I urge you to watch the video of Ranting For Vengeance who explains a lot of things in great details. At the same time, be aware that there are lots of woke nuts, modern-day Commies, socialists and reckless social justice warriors (SJWs) who are operating as fake fans obsessed with hijacking established entertainment to turn it all into their own. Ranting For Vengeance has a huge wake-up call for Batman fans, comic readers and superhero fans in general.
#4 Retro Alleyway In Tokyo – I have been to Tokyo in Japan a long time ago. Sadly, I was unable to visit the retro alleyway district where there are lots of small shops and food joints to visit. Such a place keeps on attracting both locals and foreign tourists as there is so much to discover and experience there. Watch and learn from the in-depth video of Nippon TV below.
#5 Einhänder Revisited – Released on PlayStation in the late 1990s, Einhänder was an ambitious 3D polygonal side-scrolling shooter game that created a lot buzz and won the admiration of many as a lot of gamers enjoyed it. Einhänder was arguably a serious attempt by SquareSoft – already famous for role-playing games (RPGs) – to offer gamers something new, engaging and cinematic in the genre of 2D side-scrolling shooters. Behind the scenes, SquareSoft had Tatsuo Fujii as the game director and his experience working on Gradius II and Xexex with Konami was evident in Einhänder’s design. To learn more about the history of the game, watch the video below.
#6 CineBinge And You, Me And The Movies React To Child’s Play 2 – In 1991, my friends and I saw Child’s Play 2 and Child’s Play 3 on home video. Having seen both films, most of us enjoyed Child’s Play 2 over its follow-up. A classmate of mine who saw all three Child’s Play movies pointed to Child’s Play 2 as the very best and the most replayable one. Still, one has to wonder if Child’s Play 2 aged well after more than three decades. To see if the old movie has any impact on YouTubers, watch the reaction videos of CineBinge and You, Me and the Movies below.
#7 Jodi Huisentruit Still Missing – Since late-June of 1995, American television news anchor Jodi Huisentruit has been missing. No matter how much time and effort were invested to solve the case, her disappearance was never solved. In 2001, she was declared legally dead. There were theories about how she disappeared but no breakthroughs happened. The website FindJodi.com is dedicated to solving the mystery and remains active. As such, now is the ideal time to revisit Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance and learn the crucial details by watching the videos below. Do you personally know someone who went missing without a trace?
#8 Ashleigh Burton Reacts To Steven Spielberg’s Hook – Way back in 1991, Steven Spielberg’s movie Hook was heavily promoted here in the Philippines complete with trailers and print ads. While the film was released in North American theaters during the Christmas season, it opened in Philippine cinemas on February 8, 1992. Hook is a cinematic take on the classic Peter Pan story but with the concept of Peter being a grown man and a father of two children. The film was not universally admired by the movie critics but it still made over $300 million worldwide. Behind it all, Spielberg described himself being a victim of the Peter Pan syndrome and he worked on making Hook with a lot of heart. To find out if Hook has any real emotional impact, watch Ashleigh Burton’s reaction video below.
There is a surging global demand for ube (purple yam) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says the Philippines is missing out on it as its ube production declined a lot in 2025, according to a news report by the Manila Bulletin.
Ube has long been produced here in the Philippines and it has been consumed in its standalone form and also has been used as a key ingredient in making other delicacies. The strong international demand for ube of recent times is new. The purple yam is also used in certain flavors of ice cream.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the report of the Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…
The Philippines is well-positioned to meet the surging international demand for ube (purple yam), but persistent gaps in domestic production are limiting its ability to capitalize on this export potential, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In a market brief dated June 26, the USDA noted that the country’s ube production has significant room for expansion given its growing global appeal, driven by consumers who increasingly favor novel flavors and plant-based products.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the USDA reported that the country produced only 12,483 metric tons (MT) of ube in 2025, a 6.7 percent decline from the 13,382 MT recorded the previous year.
The limited output was attributed to several constraints, including scarce planting materials, fragmented smallholder production, and insufficient processing capacity.
According to the USDA, these chronic gaps keep the ube sector underdeveloped relative to its massive market potential.
“Strengthening the ube value chain—from input supply and farm production to processing and market linkages—presents significant opportunities for increasing farmer incomes, expanding rural employment, and growing agricultural exports,” the report read.
To unlock the sector’s full potential, the USDA suggested that the government explore coordinated investment programs to address these production bottlenecks in a unified manner. One such initiative is the USDA’s Food for Progress (FFPr) program, which has identified the Philippine ube value chain as a priority sector.
In a formal notice, the USDA announced plans to award $34.12 million in funding to an eligible organization to implement a field-based project aimed at boosting ube output in both Luzon and the Visayas.
This private-sector partner will be tasked with developing a strategy aligned with existing government and donor programs to tackle key challenges, particularly where access to high-quality inputs remains limited.
Other planned interventions include training farmers on good agricultural practices and financial readiness, strengthening farmer groups and cooperatives, upgrading postharvest systems and processing quality, and promoting the adoption of sustainable technologies.
Erlier, the Department of Agriculture (DA) proposed establishing a steering committee and a technical working group to streamline government coordination and harness the ube sector’s growth trajectory.
The body would define the official scope of ube, standardize raw and processed products, and harmonize quality requirements across agencies and exporters.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you consider the UDSA’s assessment on Philippine ube as a serious wake-up call? What delicacies involving purple yam have you eaten lately? What do you think are the main factors as to why ube production in the Philippines declined a lot in 2025?
There is no denying the fact that fraud and other forms of crime went up in the United States whenever illegal aliens get involved. Recently an illegal alien was sentenced to eight years in prison for his involvement in an $89 fraudulent payroll scheme that saw illegal alien construction workers and their employers evade taxes, according to a news report by Breitbart. The convicted illegal alien criminal is from Honduras.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the report of Breitbart. Some parts in boldface…
An illegal alien has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his involvement in an $89 million fraudulent payroll scheme that saw illegal alien construction workers and their employers evade taxes.
“Today, we held an illegal alien from Honduras accountable for a brazen scheme that stole more than $38 million from American taxpayers to facilitate the employment of illegal aliens,” Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said.
“This case exposes how unchecked illegal immigration fuels widespread payroll tax fraud and underground economies that harm American workers and taxpayers,” McDonald said. “This sentence sends a strong message: Those who exploit our open borders, cheat the U.S. Treasury, and violate federal laws will face justice.”
Department of Justice (DOJ) officials detailed how the illegal alien helped operate the payroll scheme through several maneuvers to ensure that illegal construction workers were kept off the books:
According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2015 to 2022, Mario Flores, of Honduras, an illegal alien, conspired with others to create a series of shell companies to run an unlicensed check cashing and cash courier service business. These shell companies cashed approximately $89 million in checks from subcontractors in the construction industry, charging them a percentage of the dollar amount of the checks they cashed as a fee for this service. Through this scheme, construction contractors and subcontractors paid their workers in cash without withholding and paying required payroll taxes, allowing them to operate without regard to the workers’ legal authority to work in the United States. Flores also caused the filing of false tax documents with the IRS to conceal the scheme.
…
In addition, Flores and his conspirators defrauded workers’ compensation insurance companies by leasing their certificates of insurance to contractors and by providing false and fraudulent information to the insurers about, among other things, the number of workers covered by the insurance and the amount workers were paid.
“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to protecting the integrity of our financial system and enforcing our nation’s laws,” HSI’s John Condon said. “Those who orchestrate large-scale payroll tax fraud and facilitate the illegal employment of unauthorized workers will be held accountable.”
Flores pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think America still has a lot more illegal aliens working in construction and committing fraud to this day? Do you think illegal aliens are obsessed committing fraud and harming American workers and taxpayers?
The State of Israel is literally climbing great heights as Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the development of space lasers capable of carrying out attacks above Earth, according to a news report by The Jerusalem Post.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the report of The Jerusalem Post. Some parts in boldface…
Israel is developing space lasers to carry out attacks above the Earth, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday.
“One of the central goals that the prime minister and I set is that we are recruiting the best minds,” he said in a briefing with military reporters. “As of today, no country has the ability to mount attacks in space. We must be the leading country in the world with this capability.”
“If we achieve this, it will ensure the advantage of deterrence, of the ability to attack, destroy, and all of the other matters, versus our enemies with large resources,” he added.
Last Thursday, Katz said Israel was committed to becoming the leading player with capabilities to attack from space. But his latest statement was the first time he had specifically mentioned space lasers.
Israel is already a leading country in this field, having developed Iron Beam as a land-based space laser. During a recent visit to Elbit, The Jerusalem Post both witnessed and was informed about a project to enable fighter jets to fire lasers in the future.
Israel leads in developing laser weaponry – During the briefing, Katz seemed to be referring to Iran. Notably, during the war with Iran this year, Israel struck multiple Iranian facilities related to the space war, including those that were developing capabilities to attack satellites in space.
What remains unclear is whether Katz seeks to deter Russia and China from assisting Iran in the space race and other matters.
His statement that no other country has these capabilities was not entirely accurate, however, because both Russia and China have performed attacks on their own satellites and convincingly destroyed their test targets.
Lasers potentially could destroy enemy satellites and incinerate debris caused by attacks in space, according to foreign reports.
There has been speculation that Israel has the capability to destroy enemy satellites using the Arrow 3 missile system, which currently can strike ballistic missiles in space.
Being that Russia and China already have experience dealing with debris, however, many countries are working on other techniques, such as paralyzing, damaging, jamming, dragging, or using lasers against satellites in space.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think Israel will be able to achieve huge breakthroughs with its development of space lasers? Do you think having a highly efficient space laser system will enable Israel to destroy enemy satellites while enhancing national defense? What is your opinion about the current state of the space race?
