Remember my book “Broken Web” from back in 2012?  I had no idea when it would show up, exactly. Nor did I have any idea which of multiple threat vectors would be “the one that got us.”

Then I got a note from my AI stack:

“You’re not alone in facing issues with Walmart’s online “I’m not a robot” verification. Many users have reported problems with the CAPTCHA system on Walmart’s website and app, particularly the “press and hold” feature, which often glitches or loops endlessly, preventing access or checkout. Here’s a breakdown based on available information:

• Widespread Complaints: Posts on X and web forums show frustration with Walmart’s CAPTCHA. For example, a user on June 26, 2025, expressed annoyance at being asked to prove they’re not a bot, threatening to stop ordering from Walmart. Similar sentiments appear on Reddit, with users describing the CAPTCHA as “deliberately designed to block access” and reporting failures across multiple browsers, devices, and even after clearing caches or using incognito modes.
• Technical Issues: The “press and hold” CAPTCHA, implemented to verify human users, has been glitchy for years. Reports from 2020 to 2025 highlight issues like error loops, especially during high-traffic events (e.g., PlayStation 5 launches). Some users get stuck after completing the CAPTCHA, with the system reloading it repeatedly or erroring out with messages like “Please try again.” Others note it spikes CPU usage to 90%, suggesting server-side or design flaws.
• Possible Causes: High website traffic, browser incompatibilities, or ad-blockers/privacy plugins can trigger these issues. Walmart’s system may flag certain IPs as suspicious, especially if using a VPN or shared dynamic IP. Disabling VPNs or switching browsers (e.g., from Opera GX to Chrome) has worked for some. However, a 2023 case raised concerns when a Walmart representative claimed they don’t use pop-up CAPTCHAs, suggesting potential malware or third-party interference in rare instances.
• Workarounds: Users suggest trying incognito mode, disabling ad-blockers, clearing cookies, or switching devices. Restarting the browser or contacting Walmart support at 1-800-925-6278 is another option, though some report unhelpful responses. If the issue persists, it may require Walmart to fix server-side bugs.”

I don’t change modes, disable ad blocking, allow tracking, or do third party cookies. We’ll shop elsewhere until this gets fixed.

Our first point of the week is simply this – and it’s a big one.  War on the Web is surfacing. Can’t hear the gunfire or smell the cordite? There’s a reason we snagged a stack and taught it what BS smells like:

“Walmart’s online platform exemplifies the crisis, with its CAPTCHA system malfunctioning, trapping users in infuriating loops of “I’m not a robot” verifications that block access and fuel suspicions of targeted sabotage or bot-driven overload, as countless customers vent their frustration online.

This is no isolated incident—Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks are surging, with Microsoft reporting 1.25 million mitigated attacks in 2024 and Cloudflare neutralizing a staggering 7.3 Tbps assault in May 2025, driven by AI-enhanced botnets that overwhelm critical infrastructure with unprecedented precision.

Corporate greed adds fuel to the fire: Microsoft is allegedly sabotaging its own Edge browser with deliberate “friction,” pushing users toward its AI-powered Copilot while hindering access to rival services, a move critics slam as a cynical power grab. The threats multiply with insidious fake CAPTCHA pages, uncovered by TrendMicro in June 2025, tricking users into running malicious code, alongside a 400% surge in techscam fraud from 2021 to 2023, eroding trust in digital platforms. Nation-state hackers are intensifying attacks on education and IT sectors, while hacktivist groups like SN_Blackmeta unleash crippling DDoS strikes, as seen with the Internet Archive’s takedown in 2024.

From phishing scams using homoglyph domains to AI-driven propaganda, the web is a contested warzone where access, security, and truth are casualties, signaling a dire future for the open internet unless urgent defenses are mounted.”

Key to know: Those “urgent defenses break shit.”  Starting to understand those “watch tower” rumors about big retailer parking lots? Yeah, just “conspiracy theories” right?

Meanwhile, when our browser prompts us to “Approve” something…no frigging way.

Nukes Ahoy?

If you’ve been following our (*sometimes) paranoid ramblings, you know the “event sequence” we have been tracking since Israel’s first “blow of steel” (after G.A/ Stewart’s label – but he’s under attack, too) on Iran. Here’s the five-step spiral into Oblivion:

• Israel pops Iran
• Drags the U.S. into the fray
• U.S. brings in bunker busters
• But Israel’s not so sure they works despite US claims
• So they go in to finish the job.  You can guess what follows.

Which is the next thing on the event-spiral calendar on this one.

Don’t toss out the flash goggles just yet:  Intercepted call of Iranian officials downplays damage of U.S. attack.

In the world of Spy vs. Spy, just about anything can go sideways, But, for the genuinely smart (but maybe paranoid) one can see how controlling the online access to food (which will get instantly sketchy with a nuke going off anywhere) could bed married up with pending events in the sandbox and drive you to double-up on Ure meds today.

Fortunately, this is conspiracy ramblings and not to be taken seriously.  Except, well…

Idaho: Murderous Crazies

Who are the preps is what we want to know:  2 Idaho firefighters killed in ambush, dead man found with gun near Canfield Mountain- khq.com

This cuts a little close to the bone: Son G2 still has his wildland fire “red card” even though he’s moved on to server farm medic work… Idaho fire shooting: Firefighters lured into ‘sniper ambush’ as suspected gunman found dead. While the world watches Iran, America’s internal fault lines crack…

MAGA Scam Inflation Sighted

How many senators actually read a 16-hour bill? Zero. You know it, I know it.

The latest from The Rocketeer himself? “Elon Musk rips into ‘utterly insane’ Trump-backed megabill.”

Did I mention that almost no one has read it? Takes a claimed 16-hours to read.  Senate wraps up 16-hour reading of Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ moves to debate

The good news (such as it is)?  If you like pork wraps, baby, the Senate’s got your ass covered.

We were reminded of the old saying “Tell the Truth and leave shortly thereafter…” scrolling through Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina won’t run in 2026 after opposing Trump’s bill.

Side of Streaming Screaming?

(With your pork wraps)?  Finance first:

Bad news if you like to plan ahead: The Future of Social Security Just Went From Bad to Worse. Here’s What Seniors Can Expect Next.

This is a holiday week – markets shutter Friday for the Fourth – so no surprise the rally is “game on”. Early Futures posted +200, +28, and +150 for your Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ boards.  With inflation usually come higher metals, too:

But with Gold up less than $8 and silver down, they aren’t buying the rally or the big beautiful budget blaster, either.  Here, notices our Houston Bureau:  Senate Republicans reinstate Medicaid cuts to salvage Trump’s budget – which flies in the face of what’s in my newest book (“Downsizing”) set for early release to Peoplenomics subscribers Wednesday.

Here’s the TL;DR of it:

“In Downsizing, Ure unveils a gripping exploration of a world teetering on the edge of collapse, driven by the overcomplexity of seven major systems—food, shelter, transportation, communications, energy, environment, and finance. The first half of the book dissects how these systems, bloated with inefficiency and interdependence, are primed for catastrophic failure at any moment. The second half pivots to Ure’s bold vision: a global shift from obsessing over products to prioritizing people. While AI continues to advance, Ure warns that human consciousness, empathy, and consciousness evolution are stagnating, posing a deeper threat than technological disruption. This urgent call to refocus on humanity’s core values challenges readers to rethink progress in a world on the brink.”

The Wax Witch Warns…

…from Peoplenomics’ flame:

“Today’s PMI is not a game.

A Powell-howl Tuesday may come up lame,

Then Challenger, ADP  take flight.

Can they brew up a Wednesday fright?

Thursday, jobs may turn to dust—

The numbers grim, betray our trust.

What falters early will come to Bust.

Mark these words, for they’ll be true…

The Wax Witch has been warning you.

Stay thee put, upon thy rump,

No devils needed, we have Trump.

Burma-Shave? 

(A tisket, a tasket, put George in a basket…)

Around the Ranch: New Saw Landing

Countless years before the keyboard, I reckon, have entitled me to piss away a little money on toys now and then. As I mentioned in ShopTalk Sunday, the new 10-inch Evolution Power Tools multi-material saw shows up today.

It didn’t take long to sell me on the idea of being able to cut (soft) steel square tube at perfect angles while also handling wood and plastics to wheedle a few hundred away from Mr. Tightwad.

The old table saw is now recovering in my neighbor’s shop, along with an assortment of blades and a dust cyclone for ShopVac hoses.  I’ll be “hard lumping” the new saw into the central vac here…

But, can’t even open it today.  That guy I work for (me, and you by extension) are real taskmasters and with a four-day workweek?  No time off until Friday and maybe not even then.

Regret: With 11-hours of book editing Sunday, I didn’t even turn on a ham radio for Field Day this weekend.  For while I don’t know whether I should bow or apologize.  On the one hand, one less station’s signal to add to the pile-ups.  On the other, goose eggs and no contest entry. Blance in all things (except work), huh?

For this morning, this is about all the techno-civil collapse meets spiritual war theme. But it should be enough to explain why each of us may be better served by personal demonetization and getting out from the clutches of the Grunch.

What?  You don’t remember?

“The Grunch,” coined by Buckminster Fuller in Grunch of Giants, stands for “Gross Universal Cash Heist”—his term for the invisible corporate and financial forces that quietly control governments, rig markets, and siphon global wealth. It represents a parasitic system of multinational entities that prioritize profit over humanity, leaving individuals powerless and society hollowed out.”

No point to remembering that, is there?  Why, it could never happen HERE… Nope. No sir. Not HERE.  (And certainly not NOW…)

Write when you get rich, and drop by tomorrow for another edition of Map the Madness…

[email protected]