News Vérité

I love all things Ancient Egypt, and in my several decades of life, I have been able to view King Tut exhibits twice in Los Angeles, as well as visit the pyramids in Egypt (which are not “along the Nile,” as a famous song once intoned). It was thus fascinating for me today, on the anniversary of Howard Carter’s uncovering the tomb of Tutankhamun in1922, to read again of the Curse of the Pharaohs. The curse was supposedly unleashed by the opening of Tut’s tomb. According to legend, the most prominent victim of the curse was Lord Carnarvon, who financed the Carter expedition to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Lord Carnarvon (whose house is featured in the TV series “Downton Abbey”) died just four months after the Tut discovery from an infection borne from shaving. He had two half-brothers who also suffered bizarre deaths. Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey of Egypt was fatally shot by his wife not long after having his picture taken at the Pharaoh’s tomb. American railroad magnate George Jay Gould died suddenly of a fever after visiting the tomb. He was vacationing on the French Riviera at the time of his demise. In all,

On today’s anniversary of ENIAC, the world’s first programmable and electronic computer, I rewatched the movie “Forbidden Planet,” which was the tale of a civilization that took technological development to the Nth degree, only to be undone — and annihilated — by basic human instincts. The 1956 movie called these instincts “monsters from the ID,” referring to a term used by Sigmund Freud to describe subconscious human needs and desires, not only for survival but also for power, tyranny, evil, usw (German for etc.). According to Freud, the ID operates below the level of consciousness. You don’t usually know you’re taking actions based on subconscious desires, though they sometimes can show up in dreams and slips of the tongue. This got me thinking that, no matter how noble are the words and concepts mouthed by leftist politicians, in truth, these people are driven by their subconscious need to control others. This shows up not only in politicians — think Zohran Mamdani for an extreme example — but also in mere bureaucrats who seize upon their authority to unlock their demonic need to control others, if only through regulations that take on all the characteristics of a religion. Remember, when you go

The Nancy Guthrie disappearance saga is now two weeks in the making, with virtual nonsense media coverage. TMZ, in particular, has found new fame — and media attention — as it has been the recipient of Guthrie ransom and tip emails. Now, the original ransom note received by TMZ sought $6 million in Bitcoins for the return of Mrs. Grace, but it offered no vehicle to prove she was still alive, whether through a FaceTime chat, phone call, photo, or whatever. Another email evidently threatened her demise (which I’m pretty sure has already transpired). Then, after the FBI started offering rewards for tips leading to the 84-year-old’s whereabouts or kidnappers’ identity, TMZ got another email, promising to reveal the identity of the perpetrator, or perpetrators, depending on which passage of the email you read. Of course, the email sender wanted payment up front, at least half of the $100,000 reward. Let’s see, pay $6 million for the return of Mrs. Guthrie without having any proof she is still alive, or how about $50,000 for half a tip of who did it? And we’re supposed to take these emails seriously? TMZ main man Harvey Levin definitely hopes we do. He’s been