“One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, and compassion”

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”

― Simone de Beauvoir

Weekend at Kim Jong-un

Ten days ago CNN cited as a source “a US official with direct knowledge” to report that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was in “grave danger” following a recent surgery; a second source claiming familiarity with the intelligence said the US had been closely monitoring the supreme leader’s health. The South Korean government keeps tabs on the North and quickly downplayed the reports.

The rumor mill continued frantically churning out grist. Last Thursday President Trump said he doubted stories of Kim’s illness, and criticized CNN for a “fake report.” The next day TMZ was first to ‘reveal’ that Kim had “died, or is on his death bed with no hope for recuperation, according to media outlets in China and Japan.”

North Korea is so closed off, its regime so inscrutable, it’s hard to know who or what to believe. So amid the tornado of speculation and frothy fiction about Kim’s health, the Washington Post decided to turn to commercial satellite images for some potential clues. 

First, there’s an image of a train parked at least since April 21 at the Leadership Railway Station; the station is reserved for use by the Kim family and services the leader’s Wonsan compound. The train’s presence lends weight to reports that Kim is staying at his villa in the coastal resort of Wonsan, an elite area on North Korea’s eastern coast.

Second, new images of luxury boats owned by the supreme leader have been spotted at his villa. According to extensive analysis of their movements by NKPro, a specialist news and analysis service based in Seoul, this probably means Kim is simply holed up by the beach, just relaxing and avoiding Covid-19. 

• US ‘hasn’t seen’ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently, Mike Pompeo (BBC)
• Additional trailers: Weekend at Bernie’s Trailer. Given Kim Jong-un is a big fan of NBA basketball and Dennis Rodman one theory we have is that he’s watching The Last Dance (a documentary about Michael Jordan and the bulls) in seclusion. 

WhatsApparently Wrong With WhatsApp

• WhatsApp has alleged in new court filings that an Israeli spyware company, NSO Group, used US-based servers and was “deeply involved” in carrying out mobile phone hacks of 1,400 WhatsApp users, including senior government officials, journalists, and human rights activists.
• The new claims allege that the Israeli company bears responsibility in serious human rights violations, including the hacking of more than a dozen Indian journalists and Rwandan dissidents. NSO Group has claimed for years that its spyware, called Pegasus, is purchased by government clients for the purpose of tracking down terrorists and other criminals, and that it had no independent knowledge of how those clients use the software. 
• But in the year since WhatsApp first filed a lawsuit against NSO Group — the first of its kind by a major technology company — its own investigation into how Pegasus was employed showed that servers controlled by NSO Group — not its government clients — were an integral part of how the hacks against WhatsApp users were executed. (Guardian) Just a friendly reminder that WhatsApp is owned by Facebook.
• Facebook Restructures Its Security Teams (NYT, $)
• Emperor Zuckerberg is consolidating power within his empire: Mark Zuckerberg Asserts Control of Facebook, Pushing Aside Dissenters (WSJ, $) Zuckerberg is without a doubt the most powerful man in the United States if not the world. Consider this: his platform-company Facebook has been consistently tied to why Obama won in 2008 and why Trump won in 2016. He has more personal data than any country and there are more Facebook users than any country. 
• How a Digital Ad Strategy That Helped Trump Is Being Used Against Him (NYT, $)
• Trump erupts at campaign manager as reelection stress overflows (CNN)
• Clash of tech titans: Zuckerberg praises coronavirus lockdowns; Musk sees ‘fascism’ (Reuters)

Eye of Telecoms: All Seeing & All Powerful (Alternative Title: From WhatsApp to WeChat: There Are No Secrets On the Internet)

• Five former employees of tech giant Huawei were arrested and imprisoned by Chinese authorities after one of the men wrote a message on WeChat that read: “I can prove that Huawei sold to Iran.”
• The men were all involved in disputes with their former employer and had joined a group on the social app to organize. The message and the brief discussion that followed touched on an explosive issue for Huawei, which had just begun fighting US allegations that it committed fraud to bypass sanctions against Iran.
• For over a year the world’s largest maker of telecommunications equipment has been the target of an intense clampdown by the Trump administration, which accuses it of stealing trade secrets and lying about its business in Iran.
• American officials also say Huawei answers to the Chinese state, which the company denies. The former employees’ messages in the chat group contained no hard evidence that Huawei’s activities in Iran were unlawful. Nevertheless, within weeks of the December 11, 2018 WeChat discussion, the Chinese police had arrested all five men. (NYT)

Trump & China

• Trump says China wants him to lose re-election race (CNBC)
• Trump administration asks intelligence agencies to find out whether China, WHO hid COVID-19 information (NBC)
• US Navy stages back-to-back challenges to Beijing’s South China Sea claims (CNN)

 Additional World News

• U.S. passes 60,000 dead as hopes rise for a promising drug therapy (WaPo)
• ‘So what?’: Bolsonaro shrugs off Brazil’s rising coronavirus death toll (Guardian)
• Wuhan shows the world that the end of lockdown is just the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis (CNN)
• Putin has just made two huge mistakes — and his timing couldn’t be worse (WaPo, $)
• Italy Considers Permits For Undocumented Migrants To Fill A Big Farmworker Gap (NPR)
• Nicaragua is promoting illegal land grabs in indigenous territories – report (Guardian)
• Pandemic Shakes France’s Faith in a Cornerstone: Strong Central Government (NYT)
• Greece Curbs Coronavirus, Defying Expectations (NYT)
• US could be in for ‘a bad fall and a bad winter’ if it’s unprepared for a second wave of coronavirus, Fauci warns (CNN)
• China Sets Date for Congress, Signaling Coronavirus Is Under Control (NYT)
• Riots in crisis-hit Lebanon reflect growing poverty, despair (NBC)
• Trial begins in Germany of Syrian regime officer (CNN)
• Number of nursing homes with publicly reported cases of the coronavirus soars (WaPo)

• This Mother’s Day, you might be far apart. Keep her smiling with farm-fresh flowers! Meet The Bouqs Co. — bouquets, simplified. 
• Every bouquet is responsibly sourced from eco-friendly farms, so you always get the best blooms…the kind that stay fresher, longer. (She’ll notice.)
• Perfect for Mom, Grandma, and all the other mama bears in your life, The Bouqs’ lineup includes classic flowers, plants, succulents, tropical Bouqs, plus awesome gift bundles (flowers paired with jewelry and more). 
• Or, go big and gift a custom flower subscription to keep her smiling all year. Check out Bouqs.com for Mother’s Day or just because! 
• Use code PNUT at checkout to save 25% on your entire order.

Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Et Tu Foxe?

• Donald Trump has had a symbiotic relationship with Fox News throughout his presidency, leading some critics to term the station “Trump News.” But like so many other unions during the coronavirus lockdown, the closeness is beginning to crack under pressure, with an increasingly sensitive president furious at the conservative media channel.
• In recent days Trump has been on the attack, accusing the usually uncritical network of being “fed Democratic talking points.” Some observers have suggested the president’s ire may be caused in part by a string of anti -Trump ads due to run on Fox News this week.
• The breakdown was laid bare in a string of tweets from the White House on Sunday evening. “[Fox News] just doesn’t get what’s happening! They are being fed Democrat talking points, and they play them without hesitation or research,” Trump tweeted. “They forgot that Fake News @CNN & MSDNC [a term Trump has used for MSNBC] wouldn’t let @FoxNews participate, even a little bit, in the poor ratings Democrat Debates.” 
• Trump declared he and his record number of supporters who watch Fox News are angry, and want “an alternative now.” (Guardian)
• President’s intelligence briefing book repeatedly cited virus threat (WaPo, $)
• Trump Speech to Bring 1,000 West Point Cadets Back to Campus (NYT, $) In 2004 when Daily Pnut’s Tim graduated from West Point his commencement speaker was then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Even as a cadet it was obvious that the war in Iraq was strategic folly. And now it is clear as day that Rumsfeld and his coterie were complete buffoons. But if you are in the military you don’t have to like your chain of command but you do have to follow their lawful orders. No wonder some soldiers have an affinity for Stoicism for how else does one deal with a chain of command or a world that is outright out of their mind: Stoicism in a time of pandemic: how Marcus Aurelius can help (Guardian)

Manage Your Money Or Money Will Manage You

• As the coronavirus continues wreaking havoc on finances and household budgets, some suggestions are offered for how to decide what to trim back and what not to cut from your budget right now. To make the biggest impact, start with larger expenses. “It’s much better to tackle two big expenses than trying to tackle 20 small expenses,” says Ramit Sethi, a personal finance pundit.
• Start by reviewing your three biggest expenses: housing, transportation and food. If you have two cars, you can reduce or cancel insurance for the one you’re not driving. 
• If you haven’t already cut way down on your restaurant budget, now would be a good time to cut way back on takeout delivery.
• Homeowners with good credit and stable incomes should look into refinancing while rates are low.
• Renters may be able to negotiate their monthly rent payments. And the money you’re saving by sheltering at home? Make sure you’re actually saving it and not embarking on large projects, now that you have the time for all those DIY renovations. 
• Also, if you have big plans for later in the year, like a wedding or a big trip, consider canceling them, even if they might cost more in the future. “In a time like this [with increasing unemployment and uncertainty] money in your pocket now is worth more than money in your pocket later,” Sethi says. (NYT)

Daily Pnut Laughs

A great actor (and type of actor) that has unfortunately disappeared of late is John Cusack. What makes Cusack and his films so great are that they are interesting, humorous, love, and life affirming. And it seemed that many of his films were often loaded with great songs. Here are just a few of his fantastic movies that we are confident you’ll laugh at, be entertained, enjoy the unique rom-com approach, and leave you embracing the zaniness of life.

• Say Anything Trailer
• Better Off Dead Trailer
• The Sure Thing Trailer
• High Fidelity Trailer
• Perhaps our favorite Cusack film: Grosse Pointe Blank Trailer (fascinating this year would be my 20 year high school reunion)

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