#critical care congress 2023

[populationpensive]

SCCM Congress 2023

Hey hey hey! So I shall be attending the Society of Critical Care Medicine Congress next week in San Francisco (providing San Fran hasn't simply fallen into the bay) and was wondering if there are any PAblrs, medblrs, pharmblrs, or nurblrs going? I realize it's a bit of a niche conference to an extent. But, if you're going, let's connect!

In all honesty, I am a little worried it will get cancelled or something. I only say that because of the horrible flooding AND my track record of signing up for conferences that then get cancelled.

Other than conferences, just chillin' like a villain in my ICU. Worked my last 12 of the week and will spend the weekend doing my volunteer gig.

[picturejasper20]

Wow... people having to identify themselves to a government because of they are part of a group that is seen as ¨other¨ or because they want to learn about a certain topic...where i have seen this before...

I don't know... maybe what it is considered one of the biggest red flags in steps of dehumanization of groups, mainly minorities?

Btw, this is what the people behind KOSA are trying to impose in all the United States of America.

[Image ID: News politcs article about USA politics that says ¨Kansas governor passes law requiring ID to view acts of 'homosexuality' online, vetoes anti-LGBTQ+ bill¨ /.End ID]

Link to the article: https://www.advocate.com/politics/kansas-veto-age-verification-gender-affirming-care-abortion

Edit: Since this gained more notes, for those who don't know KOSA is, it is a USA bill that was reintroduced on May 2023 (last year). It is called ¨Kids Online Safety Act¨ (KOSA for short). It has been introduced and reintroduced for a while now since 2022. It is meant with the intention to ¨protect kids¨ by restricting their use of internet by pushing age restrictions and people having to present their ID to use internet or access certain websites, quite similar to the Kansas state bill that got passed. Many groups and people have criticized this bill for the potential censorship it can come with it and do more harm to the kids than help them. Possible censorship that has been suggested this bill can bring is LGBT+ content, politics and news, mental health search, political and social opinions in general (adults included). What is more, it has been put into question the possible invasion of privacy for both minors and adults by having to share an identification to use certain websites. That people could get censored or doxxed by doing this.

As for the bill itself, there was a hearing earlier today in the Senate. ( April 17th-Wednesday). It could take a while before it gets voted and has to pass different stages. Then it would take months (18 months) to be implemented if it gets passed.

I'm not American myself, so i'm not sure how much i can do about this. What i do recommend is making calls to senators and people involved in pushing this bill to make clear your disapproval of it. Try sign petitions or just telling others about it.

Some sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_Online_Safety_Act https://www.stopkosa.com/ https://www.badinternetbills.com/ https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/dont-fall-latest-changes-dangerous-kids-online-safety-act

Website to keep track of the KOSA bill movements and cosponsors of the bill:

[mollyjimbly]

🚨🚨ATTENTION🚨🚨

Another Disgusting anti-LGBT bill, planning to censor queer content online.

Yet again another law that infringes on privacy. and anonymity.

The bill is KOSA

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1409

KOSA is a threat to LGBTQ+ youth.

It allows right-wing AGs to censor LGBTQ+ content in the name of "protecting kids".

This doesn't protect kids. This actually hurts kids even more.

It will snuff out LGBTQ+ spaces and makes the internet more of a dangerous place for them, more or less...

"Of course, like so many of these “bipartisan” anti-internet bills that have bipartisan support, the support on each side of the aisle is based on a very different view of how the bill will be used in practice. We went through this last year with the AICOA antitrust bill. Democrats supported it (falsely) believing that it would magically increase competition, while Republicans were gleefully talking about how they were going to use it to force websites to host their propaganda."

"Now, with KOSA, again you have Democrats naively (and incorrectly) believing that because it’s called the “Kids Online Safety Bill” it will magically protect children, even though tons of experts have made it clear it will actually put them at greater risk."

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/05/24/heritage-foundation-says-that-of-course-gop-will-use-kosa-to-censor-lgbtq-content/

KOSA will also undermine privacy in the name of "protecting children".

"This bill would effectively place many internet services behind an age verification wall, prevent anonymous surfing, and would require all users – adults or teens – to verify their age before they can access information or content.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association supports the enactment of comprehensive privacy legislation at the federal level, but has concerns about KOSA’s duty of care, vague requirements that would prevent teens from accessing critical information, and compliance provisions that conflict with current trends toward data minimization."

https://ccianet.org/news/2023/05/ccia-statement-on-unintended-consequences-of-kosa-legislation-would-place-most-internet-services-behind-age-verification-wall/

Age verification technology is just not secure enough for usage at the moment, leaks are likely to happen, it will be especially dangerous if the leaked Age verification information has a government ID linked to it. That would mean that malicious individuals may get a hold of personal addresses, bank details, basically you'll get doxxed by the government...

You may be asking, "well is there anything to do about it?"

Of course there is, but we really need your help spreading awareness around, because the bill is most likely to pass this July!

This website was put together by Fight for the Future. It has everything, from petitions to calls scripts. It's very easy to understand and use and one of the best links to spread. I urge you to use this when calling your members of congress. All you need to do is put in your phone number once and read off the script provided and it does the rest for you.

https://www.badinternetbills.com/

Signable petitions and open letters;

If you live in the states, call your state representatives;

Joinable Discord server;

More information;

I have to say again and I am not exaggerating, this is URGENT the bill could be passed THIS MONTH!

I am begging you, please OPPOSE KOSA!!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

We must make our focus keeping the barbarians outside the gate, not figuring out how to lessen the damage once they are on the inside. That was my immediate thought Sunday when I read NY Times in-depth article, “The Resistance to a New Trump Administration Has Already Started.” The piece featured a wide network of Democratic officials, progressive activists and more who are engaged in “extraordinary steps to prepare for a potential second Trump presidency.”  Examples include Democratic Governor Washington State Jay Inslee’s efforts to make the state a safe haven for women seeking reproductive freedom to an organization hiring a new auditor in case a second term Trump directs the Internal Revenue Service to target them. On one hand, I truly applaud these officials and organizations for grasping that Donald Trump back in the White House poses a unique threat to our freedoms and democratic Republic. Far too many don’t understand this threat.

But on the other hand, the only certain way to prevent Trump from using the government to wage a campaign of retribution, ending civil service protections so that only Trump loyalists will be in key positions in the federal government--as well as ushering in a far right wing agenda being peddled by his allies--is to defeat him this November. Again, we must make our focus keeping the barbarians outside the gate, not figuring out how to lessen the damage once they are on the inside. Trump is telling all who will listen his dark goals for a second term—from mass deportations to building in essence concentration camps for migrants to expanding executive power. There’s also Trump’s deeply concerning vow to “liberate” America from those not loyal to him. We first heard this during his 2023 speech at the conservative gathering CPAC where he promised his supporters to be their “retribution.” He then alarmingly  vowed that if elected to target Democrats, “the fake news media,” Republicans in name only, the globalists and others who oppose him, bellowing, “we will liberate America from these villains and scoundrels once and for all.”

He has repeated this pledge to “liberate” our nation from those who oppose him, including at a rally last month in Wisconsin.  When have you ever heard an American political figure speak about “liberating” America from those who politically oppose him or her?! You can’t find it because we never had an aspiring fascist—who has pledged to be a dictator on “day one”— lead one of the two main political parties. To be blunt, the forms of resistance utilized to stymie some of Trump’s agenda in the first term are unlikely to work against this bitter, angry convicted felon who is hellbent on retribution and purging America from those who won’t bend a knee to him.

[...]

From a legislative point of view, If Trump were able to win and his MAGA GOP were able to also take control of the House and Senate, we can expect him deliver for them on a laundry list of right-wing policy dreams from national abortion and birth control bans to further weakening civil rights protections for LGBTQ and Black Americans and worse. This won’t be like Trump’s first term when some Republicans stood up to him to block his radical agenda—with the most famous example being the late Senator John McCain preventing Trump from repealing the Affordable Care Act with his vote.  The Republicans who have dared to stand up to Trump are almost all out of Congress or now capitulated to his undemocratic goals. Of the ten House Republicans who voted in  January 2021 to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection, only two remain in the House. Senator Mitt Romney--a vocal critics of Trump--will be leaving office  this January. Even GOP Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell who slammed Trump on the Senate floor after the Jan. 6 attack with the words, “There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day,” last week met with Trump and dubbed  it “entirely positive.”

[...] If Trump wins, there are few things that can rein him in. That is why diverting efforts at this point to second term resistance strategies is dangerous given the threat Trump poses. Rather, the top and only priority must be utilizing all resources to defeat him. Nothing else matters.

Dean Obeidallah dropping truth nuggets in his latest Dean's Report post on why defeating fascist felon Donald Trump is imperative to save our nation.

See Also:

CNN: Opinion: Don’t focus on bracing for a Trump win

[mariacallous]

If Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November, the guardrails could come off of artificial intelligence development, even as the dangers of defective AI models grow increasingly serious.

Trump’s election to a second term would dramatically reshape—and possibly cripple—efforts to protect Americans from the many dangers of poorly designed artificial intelligence, including misinformation, discrimination, and the poisoning of algorithms used in technology like autonomous vehicles.

The federal government has begun overseeing and advising AI companies under an executive order that President Joe Biden issued in October 2023. But Trump has vowed to repeal that order, with the Republican Party platform saying it “hinders AI innovation” and “imposes Radical Leftwing ideas” on AI development.

Trump’s promise has thrilled critics of the executive order who see it as illegal, dangerous, and an impediment to America’s digital arms race with China. Those critics include many of Trump’s closest allies, from X CEO Elon Musk and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen to Republican members of Congress and nearly two dozen GOP state attorneys general. Trump’s running mate, Ohio senator JD Vance, is staunchly opposed to AI regulation.

“Republicans don't want to rush to overregulate this industry,” says Jacob Helberg, a tech executive and AI enthusiast who has been dubbed “Silicon Valley’s Trump whisperer.”

But tech and cyber experts warn that eliminating the EO’s safety and security provisions would undermine the trustworthiness of AI models that are increasingly creeping into all aspects of American life, from transportation and medicine to employment and surveillance.

The upcoming presidential election, in other words, could help determine whether AI becomes an unparalleled tool of productivity or an uncontrollable agent of chaos.

Oversight and Advice, Hand in Hand

Biden’s order addresses everything from using AI to improve veterans’ health care to setting safeguards for AI’s use in drug discovery. But most of the political controversy over the EO stems from two provisions in the section dealing with digital security risks and real-world safety impacts.

One provision requires owners of powerful AI models to report to the government about how they’re training the models and protecting them from tampering and theft, including by providing the results of “red-team tests” designed to find vulnerabilities in AI systems by simulating attacks. The other provision directs the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to produce guidance that helps companies develop AI models that are safe from cyberattacks and free of biases.

Work on these projects is well underway. The government has proposed quarterly reporting requirements for AI developers, and NIST has released AI guidance documents on risk management, secure software development, synthetic content watermarking, and preventing model abuse, in addition to launching multiple initiatives to promote model testing.

Supporters of these efforts say they’re essential to maintaining basic government oversight of the rapidly expanding AI industry and nudging developers toward better security. But to conservative critics, the reporting requirement is illegal government overreach that will crush AI innovation and expose developers’ trade secrets, while the NIST guidance is a liberal ploy to infect AI with far-left notions about disinformation and bias that amount to censorship of conservative speech.

At a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last December, Trump took aim at Biden’s EO after alleging without evidence that the Biden administration had already used AI for nefarious purposes.

“When I’m reelected,” he said, “I will cancel Biden’s artificial intelligence executive order and ban the use of AI to censor the speech of American citizens on Day One.”

Due Diligence or Undue Burden?

Biden’s effort to collect information about how companies are developing, testing, and protecting their AI models sparked an uproar on Capitol Hill almost as soon as it debuted.

Congressional Republicans seized on the fact that Biden justified the new requirement by invoking the 1950 Defense Production Act, a wartime measure that lets the government direct private-sector activities to ensure a reliable supply of goods and services. GOP lawmakers called Biden’s move inappropriate, illegal, and unnecessary.

Conservatives have also blasted the reporting requirement as a burden on the private sector. The provision “could scare away would-be innovators and impede more ChatGPT-type breakthroughs,” Representative Nancy Mace said during a March hearing she chaired on “White House overreach on AI.”

Helberg says a burdensome requirement would benefit established companies and hurt startups. He also says Silicon Valley critics fear the requirements “are a stepping stone” to a licensing regime in which developers must receive government permission to test models.

Steve DelBianco, the CEO of the conservative tech group NetChoice, says the requirement to report red-team test results amounts to de facto censorship, given that the government will be looking for problems like bias and disinformation. “I am completely worried about a left-of-center administration … whose red-teaming tests will cause AI to constrain what it generates for fear of triggering these concerns,” he says.

Conservatives argue that any regulation that stifles AI innovation will cost the US dearly in the technology competition with China.

“They are so aggressive, and they have made dominating AI a core North Star of their strategy for how to fight and win wars,” Helberg says. “The gap between our capabilities and the Chinese keeps shrinking with every passing year.”

“Woke” Safety Standards

By including social harms in its AI security guidelines, NIST has outraged conservatives and set off another front in the culture war over content moderation and free speech.

Republicans decry the NIST guidance as a form of backdoor government censorship. Senator Ted Cruz recently slammed what he called NIST’s “woke AI ‘safety’ standards” for being part of a Biden administration “plan to control speech” based on “amorphous” social harms. NetChoice has warned NIST that it is exceeding its authority with quasi-regulatory guidelines that upset “the appropriate balance between transparency and free speech.”

Many conservatives flatly dismiss the idea that AI can perpetuate social harms and should be designed not to do so.

“This is a solution in search of a problem that really doesn't exist,” Helberg says. “There really hasn’t been massive evidence of issues in AI discrimination.”

Studies and investigations have repeatedly shown that AI models contain biases that perpetuate discrimination, including in hiring, policing, and health care. Research suggests that people who encounter these biases may unconsciously adopt them.

Conservatives worry more about AI companies’ overcorrections to this problem than about the problem itself. “There is a direct inverse correlation between the degree of wokeness in an AI and the AI's usefulness,” Helberg says, citing an early issue with Google’s generative AI platform.

Republicans want NIST to focus on AI’s physical safety risks, including its ability to help terrorists build bioweapons (something Biden’s EO does address). If Trump wins, his appointees will likely deemphasize government research on AI’s social harms. Helberg complains that the “enormous amount” of research on AI bias has dwarfed studies of “greater threats related to terrorism and biowarfare.”

Defending a “Light-Touch Approach”

AI experts and lawmakers offer robust defenses of Biden’s AI safety agenda.

These projects “enable the United States to remain on the cutting edge” of AI development “while protecting Americans from potential harms,” says Representative Ted Lieu, the Democratic cochair of the House’s AI task force.

The reporting requirements are essential for alerting the government to potentially dangerous new capabilities in increasingly powerful AI models, says a US government official who works on AI issues. The official, who requested anonymity to speak freely, points to OpenAI’s admission about its latest model’s “inconsistent refusal of requests to synthesize nerve agents.”

The official says the reporting requirement isn’t overly burdensome. They argue that, unlike AI regulations in the European Union and China, Biden’s EO reflects “a very broad, light-touch approach that continues to foster innovation.”

Nick Reese, who served as the Department of Homeland Security’s first director of emerging technology from 2019 to 2023, rejects conservative claims that the reporting requirement will jeopardize companies’ intellectual property. And he says it could actually benefit startups by encouraging them to develop “more computationally efficient,” less data-heavy AI models that fall under the reporting threshold.

AI’s power makes government oversight imperative, says Ami Fields-Meyer, who helped draft Biden’s EO as a White House tech official.

“We’re talking about companies that say they’re building the most powerful systems in the history of the world,” Fields-Meyer says. “The government’s first obligation is to protect people. ‘Trust me, we’ve got this’ is not an especially compelling argument.”

Experts praise NIST’s security guidance as a vital resource for building protections into new technology. They note that flawed AI models can produce serious social harms, including rental and lending discrimination and improper loss of government benefits.

Trump’s own first-term AI order required federal AI systems to respect civil rights, something that will require research into social harms.

The AI industry has largely welcomed Biden’s safety agenda. “What we're hearing is that it’s broadly useful to have this stuff spelled out,” the US official says. For new companies with small teams, “it expands the capacity of their folks to address these concerns.”

Rolling back Biden’s EO would send an alarming signal that “the US government is going to take a hands off approach to AI safety,” says Michael Daniel, a former presidential cyber adviser who now leads the Cyber Threat Alliance, an information sharing nonprofit.

As for competition with China, the EO’s defenders say safety rules will actually help America prevail by ensuring that US AI models work better than their Chinese rivals and are protected from Beijing’s economic espionage.

Two Very Different Paths

If Trump wins the White House next month, expect a sea change in how the government approaches AI safety.

Republicans want to prevent AI harms by applying “existing tort and statutory laws” as opposed to enacting broad new restrictions on the technology, Helberg says, and they favor “much greater focus on maximizing the opportunity afforded by AI, rather than overly focusing on risk mitigation.” That would likely spell doom for the reporting requirement and possibly some of the NIST guidance.

The reporting requirement could also face legal challenges now that the Supreme Court has weakened the deference that courts used to give agencies in evaluating their regulations.

And GOP pushback could even jeopardize NIST’s voluntary AI testing partnerships with leading companies. “What happens to those commitments in a new administration?” the US official asks.

This polarization around AI has frustrated technologists who worry that Trump will undermine the quest for safer models.

“Alongside the promises of AI are perils,” says Nicol Turner Lee, the director of the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation, “and it is vital that the next president continue to ensure the safety and security of these systems.”

[ivygorgon]

AN OPEN LETTER to THE U.S. CONGRESS

Put the Good Jobs for Good Airports standards in the FAA reauthorization bill!

104 so far! Help us get to 250 signers!

I’m calling on you to stand with working people, passengers and our communities by supporting Good Jobs for Good Airports standards (GJGA) in the FAA reauthorization bill. Airports should and can be strong, vibrant drivers of good jobs in every part of our country. The Good Jobs for Good Airports standards are central to that mission and our nation’s future prosperity. Billions of our public dollars are invested in our nation’s aviation system every year, and we must ensure that our public resources serve the public good. That includes ensuring airports better serve the needs of our families, our passengers, our communities and the airport service workers who make it all possible.

It is evident that our air travel industry is in crisis. From record flight cancellations during summer travel peaks to mountains of lost luggage during the holiday travel season. Airports are critical publicly-funded infrastructure vital to the health of our local communities and global economy, but right now airports aren't working the way they should for travelers or airport service workers — a largely Black, brown, multiracial and immigrant service workforce. These working people, including cleaners, wheelchair agents, baggage handlers, concessionaires and ramp workers, keep airports safe and running smoothly even through a global pandemic, climate disasters and busy travel seasons. Yet many are underpaid and underprotected--even as some major airlines rake in record profit and billions of our tax dollars are invested in our national air travel system.

Domestic passenger numbers increased by 80% between 2020 and 2021, total industry employment fell by nearly 14%, leaving airport service workers to sometimes clean entire airplanes in as little as five minutes as many take on additional responsibilities outside of their typical job duties. Meanwhile, wages have barely budged for airport service workers in 20 years. The Good Jobs for Good Airports standards has the power to transform workers’ lives by ensuring airport service workers have the pay and benefits they need to care for their families.

The Good Jobs for Good Airports standards would help build a stronger, safer, more resilient air travel industry by making airport service jobs good jobs with living wages and benefits like affordable healthcare for all airport workers. Airport service workers at more than 130 covered airports would be supported through established wage and benefit standards, putting money back into hundreds of local economies and helping families thrive. If passed over 73% of wage increases will go to workers making $20 or less, estimates show.

I urge you to include the Good Jobs for Good Airports standards in the FAA reauthorization bill, and help ensure our public money serves the public good.

▶ Created on September 20, 2023 by Jess Craven

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[snalsupremacy]

2023 events

2022 events list

Again, these are not all of the events, just the ones i happen to come across with

- All of Sherlock Holmes is now officially public domain - Lil Nas X back at it again with... THE WIGGLES?! - Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers in Stranger Things, comes out as gay - US gov can't vote for a speaker of the house - McCarthy wins speaker of the house after 15 votes - Bolsonaro supporters storm the Congress and vandalize the whole place, are arrested on location -golden globes n stuff -JOJO LEAK JOJO LEAK ITS A BOY ITS A BOY -Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, dies at 54 -M3gan is a gay icon pass it on -AO3 down, 40 injured 15 dead -New FOB album - Velma show unsurprisingly sucks - Pink Sause on wallmart -Paramore back & new album coming soon - UK blocks scottish law that helped trans people and this might lead to their independence (pls) -TUMBRL ADDED POLLS! TUMBRL ADDED POLLS!! - #team snail worm deserved to lose the centopéia or however you say in english winning was RIGGED AND I CAN PROVE IT - Pete Wentz leaked Brendon Urie’s oncoming baby which leads him to breaking up Panic! At The Disco. Finally. - Holy fucking bingle! Trans Bi Lesbian It/She pronouns swiss hacker just leacked the US no-fly list, and plot twist, its very racist, what?! :3 - Justin Roiland is fired from Rick and Morty for being a bad person - Cecil from welcome to nightvale defeats Reigen in the Tumbrl Sexyman rematch pools! Idk who he is i just voted him bc i dont want reigen to win. -CECILSWEEP IS EVERYWHERE THE FINALS ARE SANS VS CECIL WHO WILL WIN - CECIL PALMER WITH THE STEEL CHAIR BEATS SANS TO PULP AT THE BACK OF PAPA JOHN'S!!! -The last of Us everywhere, seems to be a good game adaptation! glad to see more of those!

-Toby Fox scores the very first interview with creator of Yume Nikki, kikiyama with 9 yes or no questions and 1 "free response" question asking what they would get at a Denny's -FNAF movie officially starts filming - Marceline wins tumbrl woman - Just vote for vanilla extract and waive boys, just vote for vanila extract and wave - 7.8 earthquake hits Turkey and Syria, thausands of casualities - Spotted chinese (?) spy baloons (?) in America - Now theres a Tumbrl vanilla extract bottle, awesome - Hogwarts Legacy release discourse follows - Tear of the kingdom trailer out this is the most emotion link has shown in canon in 36 years - Youtube channel schaffrillas productions gets involved in car accident, Christopher Schaffer and Patrick Phyrillas pronounced dead on site while James Phyrillas in critical condition - Italian manwhore summer (Sanremo) - Netflix creating something thats gonna ruin password sharing people and everyone is mad - Brianna Ghey, 16 yo trans teenager, is stabbed to the death at a park -THE JOJOLANDS! AMAZING! MINDBLOWING! LIFE CHANGING! NEVER THE SAME! 10/10! -Succession will end in S4 -NEW MAGNAPINNA SQUID FOOTAGE HUNTING??

-New gen of TMNT (Mutant Mayhem)!! -Minesota lagislature makes trans health care (wait for it) LEGAL! - New mario movie trialer the babygirlification of Luigi continues -Willow project approved ‘_’ - More anti trans legislation. whats the news - Esc songs dropped the guy w the green top is already tumbrl’s top 1 jenn should have won etc etc -Gerard Way presenting in full office lady style. Tbh im just more impressed he did a show in tights. - Jojolands #2 out! Hot dog guy has a name now and Rohan canonically transcend the multiverse! - Taylor Swift eras tour congrats swifties - ICC issues arrest warrant to Vladmir Putin for war crimes -Trump to be arrested -Arab Cartoon Network hacked (Update: hacking was fake) - Tik Tok banned on government phones after spying accusations -New FOB album - The ladies from RWBY just kissed! mazal tov! - Justin Roiland case dropped - Kid in brazil attacks school teacher with knife - School shooting in US - Resident Evil 4 remake - Dobi dies in a glue trap -Trump got indicated, idk what that means but seems bad for trump which is good

-10 year anniversary of the Mishapocalypse - Ofc all your fave properties do an April fool’s special,, most notably Toby Fox’s “accidental foam pic” and Sonic The Hedgehog free murder mystery game that looks gorgeous?? they take the trophy this year -Kasane Teto gets her official voicebank for her 15th anniversary -wait... the DSMP is over..? it ended..? for real..?? WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLL!!1!!11!!!!!11 - Dalai Lama [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] - Harry Potter HBO series... just what we needed ‘_’ - Misha Collins reveals Warner Brothers wanted him to stay out as bisexual after that one off joke last year - Out of touch thursday on 4/20 we did it boys - We DOUBLE DID IT BOYS! Elon Musk’s rocket explodes because he forgot to build a flame diverter?? Or did he not build one on purpose? Anyway no one was inside THANKFULLY - Movie markplier is working on is revealed to be..IRON LUNG?! - Elon Musk takes out all the unpaid blue check marks expecting the celebrity accounts to pay for them, instead #blocktheblue movements started in which you block all users with blue check mark, Musk then responds to this by awarding random popular users with check marks -Tucker Carlson fired, ill b real, I have no idea who he is -Don Lemon also fired, again, idk who he is - Ray Toro and Gerard Way on fnaf movie soundtrack?!? -Disney sues Florida governor Ron Desantis, woag.. I cant believe im saying this but it’ll be easier to make the governor leave than the rat theme park

-JASON DERULO JUST FELL OFF THE STARS AT THE MET GALA! 😱😱😱 - WGA on strike! -And may Eurovision posting begin! Im rooting for finland what ab y’all - Tony Hawk and chocolate guy collab?!?!?!?! -ABSOLUTELY BULLSHIT EUROVISION RESULTS KAARIJA IS THE REAL WINNER SWEDEN BE DAMNED -FNAF trailer drop -Barbie Movie trailer drop -IDubz apologises for content cop, better late than never ig -Succession finale - I saw that execution clip from generation loss cuz it cant be thaaat fucked up right? haha.... im traumatized -Seth Everman announces he will leave the internet in 200ish days -Ted lasso ends, and so, pride month begins.... -Hank Green got cancer

-Happy pride month guys! - Jojo musical adaption of Phantom Blood confirmed - Russian occupiers in Ukraine blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station -Across the spiderverse takes the internet by storm AS IT SHOULD - Fires in canada kinda spreads the smoke like all around and its all a gray haze over there -Kaarija and Bojan concert together doing a shit job at beating ther allegations happy pride month kings -Hank Green is bisexual, likes Brennan Lee Muligan, and found that out because of wreck it ralph cosplays i can’t believe this is real -Redit blackout? 196? im very confused, but the redditors are here and tumbrl are welcoming them WAY better than we did twitter users which i find fitting lol -Adrien and Marinette from miraculous lb finally kissed omg its been like 8 years?? insane -The Idol sucks - Shit submarine w 5 people goes missing and the more we find out the more inevitable it felt       • Oceangate...gate brings awareness to migrant ships who drown and kill hundrents of migrants       • Iron Lung game sell suddenly spikes       •Submarine found, it imploded, all passengers dead - Joes Biden (US president)'s son committed tax fraud -Mark Zuch and Elon Musk are going to fight?? -Military coup in Russia (failed) -Miranda sings revolutionizing the YouTuber apology genre by apologizing for groomer allegations via ukulele - wtf is a grimace shake - Happy pride month! US overruled law prohibiting homophobic discrimination based on religion!

-Nimona is out! I haven’t watched it yet but the reception is great! (Edit: watched it, its good) -Superman finally got his long deserved sailor moon style transformation. good for him. -AO3 down, 500 dead 756 injured (Update: AO3 is down due to DDOS attack, which is when a group overwhelms the website with requests. This seems to be made by a group who claims to be doing it for homophobic reasons tho they likely have uterior reasons) -SAG-AFRA joins WGA strike - Universal prunes trees outside their building to try and prevent WAG/SAG-AFRA picket line. However, these trees are city property and "tree law" (heavy fine for destroying gov owned nature) might be called into action - Happy Barbenheimer tho all who celebrate - MITSKI ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT?! - Fnaf DLC smth smth eclipse - Elon Musk tries to change twitter to X ? - Good Omens season 2 finale so tragically good it re animated OFMD SPN and Hanibal into trending page

- Tik tok parody of every 90's euro disco song goes viral - New James Webb telesc ope picture shows a giant ? in space. poetry. - Forest fires in Hawaii destroying homes -Anti semetic hate crime against USP teacher in Amazonas - Tik tok tried to create their Goncharov (Zepotha) and it turns out to be a plot to promote a musician's new song - Planet of the bass music vide out!! - Trump might actually get arrested, mugshot and all - Who thought it was a good idea to make the actor portraying Bernstein in the new biopic wear a PROSTHETIC NOSE?? - India first country to land on south pole of the moon! - Someone tracked down spanish spn’s rogue translator, who claims he did not add that in, meaning in some version of spn destiel was canon - Riverdale ends with all of them in a polycule. Which honestly is the best possible ending - TRUMP MUGSHOT TRUMP MUGSHOT

-That mole do be interesting -Castiel 15th birthday WAIT 15?? A DECADE AND A HALF?? - Ladybug and Chatnoir are emo now. Like, literally. - WGA strike succesfully ends -The Pokemonx Miku collab is everything actually - WGA stricke officially ends wed 27/9 12:01 AM, the deal is finalized and the writer’s guild got most of what they wanted! yay uniuns!

- Israel-Palestine conflict breaks into full on war with many casualities on both sides -NOOOOOO BAKUGO IS ALIVE PUT HIM BACK IN THE GRAVE!! KILL HIM AGAIN!!

- Spock wins the AO3 polls unsuprisingly - youtuber SSSniperwolf doxxes youtuber JacksFilms -Merlin twitter account is active...why? -Mathew Perry, Friends actor and advocate for alcoholism and drug abuse issues dies at age 54

-Happy 3 anniversary to Nov 5th -THANK G-D ATTACK ON TITAN IS OVER ITS FINALLY OVER FUCKK YES FINALLY -NOOOOO LIVE ACTION ZELDA CONFIMRED WHYYYY - Actor strike is over =D - GTA 5 anounced - SHREK 5???? - Omegle shut downs for ever - Zack and Cody’s restaurant reservation is today - Dream and the voice actor of Gumball beefed and tbh it was hilarious - Russia declares LGBT groups extremists organizations - Henry Kissinger, american politician, dies at 100 - SONIC 3 DATE REVEAL YEAHHH

-Hbomber guy DESTROYS James Somerton and Internet Historian’s career with his new video on plagiarism - TODD IN THE SHADOWS COMES BACK WITH THE STEEL CHAIR IN JAMES SOMERTON!! - BG3 Game Awards Sweep including GOTY

[demgraphics]

Republicans complain about "cancel culture" while attempting to ban anything and everything they don't like.

A likely response to this graphic is disbelief, so here is some supporting documentation to help with any discussions:

Abortion:

https://truthout.org/articles/senator-republicans-will-100-percent-pass-abortion-ban-if-they-win-congress/

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-privately-favors-16-week-national-abortion-ban-new-york-times-reports-2024-02-16/

Affordable Healthcare:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-obamacare-health-care-biden-c2b1f5776310870deed2fb997b07fc2c

https://ballotpedia.org/Republican_and_conservative_proposals_to_repeal_the_Affordable_Care_Act_(Obamacare)

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/02/28/fact-sheet-the-congressional-republican-agenda-repealing-the-affordable-care-act-and-slashing-medicaid/

Gay Marriage:

https://www.vox.com/23274491/senate-republicans-same-sex-marriage-bill-respect-for-marriage-act

https://time.com/6240497/same-sex-marriage-rights-us-obergefell/

Birth Control:

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/04/birth-control-is-next-republicans-abortion.html

Books:

https://newrepublic.com/article/175372/banned-books-republican-right-wing-war

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-04-22/book-bans-soaring-schools-new-laws-republican-states

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/09/republican-book-bans-censorship-free-speech

Minorities Voting:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_efforts_to_restrict_voting_following_the_2020_presidential_election

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/23/659784277/republican-voter-suppression-efforts-are-targeting-minorities-journalist-says

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-01-19/republicans-block-voting-rights-bill-again-triggering-action-on-filibuster-reform

Muslims:

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/donald-trump-muslim-ban-immigration-2024-1234730150/

Protests:

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/25/990710251/republicans-push-wave-of-anti-protest-bills-in-alternative-universe-backlash

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/04/gop-anti-protest-bills

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tennessee-republicans-trying-expel-democratic-lawmakers-supported-gun-rcna78103

Refugees:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-republicans-asylum-limits-funding-bill/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/house-republicans-pass-new-asylum-seeker-restrictions-as-title-42-ends-biden-promises-veto

Trans People:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-republican-transgender-laws-pile-up-setting-2024-battle-lines-2023-05-18/

https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-care-republican-legislatures-5d98832c0234de079263672c738e0631

Unions:

https://truthout.org/articles/republicans-say-theyll-go-after-labor-movement-if-they-take-control-of-house/

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/22/new-senate-bill-targets-national-labor-law-and-port-union-workers.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/collective-bargaining-ban-in-wisconsin-under-attack-by-unions-after-supreme-court-majority-flips/

Words:

https://apnews.com/article/desantis-florida-dont-say-gay-ban-684ed25a303f83208a89c556543183cb

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a37804650/wisconsin-legislature-police-speech-schools-critical-race-theory/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/11/republican-new-climate-change-strategy-ban-words-climate-change

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/heres-the-long-list-of-topics-republicans-want-banned-from-the-classroom/2022/02

https://apnews.com/article/sarah-huckabee-sanders-politics-united-states-government-arkansas-hispanics-4f23386e609acd8206d2396719c17cab

[bopinion]

2023 / 45

Aperçu of the Week:

"Conflicts come and go. Money stays."

(Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, ex-President of the Russian Federation)

Bad News of the Week:

It was feared for a long time, now it's happening: the Ukraine war may not be losing its horror, but it is losing its attention. As happened with Syria. And with Yemen. How is Iraq actually doing? Or Libya? New times bring new headlines. People's attention span is limited. And people's empathy too. It is not only in the US Congress that voices are getting louder questioning support for Ukraine. It would be a bottomless pit anyway. And you can't take care of everything.

In this country too, people are now taking to the streets for or against Palestine, for or against Israel. The aggression of Hamas or the Netanyahu government is obviously closer to us than the aggression of Putin. At least now. But perhaps also in Europe in general, to which Israel is often counted. France has a not only flattering history in the region and a large Arab population, Germany's special relationship with the Jewish people ("reason of state") need not even to be mentioned.

And now there is growing evidence that Ukraine does not always wear white shirts either. Research by the Washington Post, among others, into the background to the explosives attacks on the North Stream pipelines leads to Ukraine. Former intelligence officer and special forces commander Roman Chervynsky is described in security circles as the "coordinator" of these attacks, responsible for the logistics of the sabotage commando. If Ukraine is now behind the biggest act of sabotage of all time, no German, whose energy prices have tripled as a result, will be pleased. If, at the same time, direct military aid is doubled to 8 billion euros, the purse strings will be tight. In real terms, but above all in terms of feeling.

I very much hope that the solidarity that has united us Europeans up to now will only crumble and not collapse. Because it is still true that European values are being defended in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to win. But I am increasingly worried that his calculations could work out. Time is clearly working in his favor. Sidenote: the Russian economy is currently doing better than the German.

Good News of the Week:

Jeff Bezoz and Elon Musk are known as negative examples of capitalism. Attacking competitors, exploiting employees and paying as little tax as possible. Virtually all investors and almost every multinational corporation try to structure their balance sheets in such a way that as little as possible goes to the state(s). Even though those depend on tax revenues for their public welfare tasks. Tax evasion is how all our companies work.

The problem is, on the one hand, the well-known tax havens such as Cayman Island and, on the other hand, competition between nations as to where which company with which activity sets up shop. Because of jobs and because of taxes. I have remembered a creative example of tax avoidance in Europe from recent years: the sporting goods manufacturer Nike.

Its German business - the largest market on the continent for Nike despite its domestic competitors Adidas and Puma - generates enormous sales, but strangely enough no profit, which would be relatively highly taxed in this country. The trick: for every pair of sneakers etc., Nike Germany pays a license fee for patents, design, brand use etc. to Nike Ireland, where the tax rates are significantly lower. And strangely enough, always in the exact amount so that nothing is left over. Thank you very much.

My criticism is less directed at the company, whose nature it is to generate as much profit as possible. But rather to Ireland, which allows tax evasion at the expense of its European colleagues. But this will soon come to an end. Because the global minimum tax is just around the corner. The German tax office calls it "one of the biggest reforms in the international taxation of companies".

Until now, the taxation of multinational corporate groups has largely been organized on a national basis. A group only has to pay taxes on its profits in the countries in which it has a physical presence. This is becoming less and less important in the increasingly cross-border movement of goods and in the digital economy in general. And even within Europe, tax rates vary greatly: from 9% to 35% according to the OECD.

Now 138 countries around the world, including all G20 states, have committed to a global minimum tax of 15%. Experts call its introduction a "game changer" in the fight against decades of tax dumping by large corporations. Estimates are based on this. The global minimum tax will generate an additional 200 billion euros a year for the international community. This will finance their commonwealth, from which all citizens will benefit. And not just the investors on the stock markets and the shareholders of companies.

Personal happy moment of the week:

Senta Berger. One of our greatest actresses. As a young woman in the 60s and now, at 82, she still is. I have always admired her. For her artistic work and for her humanity. She fights for the protection of wildlife and against leukemia. And admitted to having an abortion in 1971 (!). She was and is a great woman. I bumped into her in the elevator today. And told her exactly that. She said I made her day. And she made mine.

I couldn't care less...

...for the carnival. On 11.11. at 11h11 on the dot, tens of thousands of "Jecken" celebrated the start of the Rhineland carnival and the foolish season in Cologne. As if the time before had been normal in any way.

As I write this...

...I'm fighting a nascent cold. And a stomach virus. And muscle tension. And tiredness. It's November. But maybe I'm just getting old.

Post Scriptum

Nikki Haley could become a serious challenger to Donald Trump in the Republican primaries. Last you heard from Ron DeSantis? Exactly.

[libertariantaoist]

News Roundup 11/15/2023 | The Libertarian Institute

Here is your daily roundup of today's news:

News Roundup 11/15/2023

by Kyle Anzalone

Russia

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained across Europe for the war with Russia. French trainers say they are careful not to get close to the Ukrainian cadets over fears they will be killed on the frozen front lines. The AP reported that Ukrainian soldiers preparing for deployment have resigned themselves to the “grimness of the future.” The Institute 

A facility to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets was officially opened in Romania on Monday as NATO countries are working to get the US-made warplanes to the battlefield in Ukraine. AWC

China

Biden Hopes Normal Coorspondace Between Washington and Beijing Can Be Reestablished During Meeting with Xi. X

Expectations are low for the meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping that will take place Wednesday in San Francisco during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. AWC

Israel

The UN says 100 of its staff have been killed in Gaza. X

A group of US-based aid, advocacy, and religious groups sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urging the Pentagon to scrap plans to provide Israel with 155mm artillery rounds due to the massive civilian casualty rate in Israel’s war on Gaza. AWC

A State Department dissent memo obtained by Axios slams President Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza, saying the US is backing Israeli “war crimes.” AWC

Dozens of State Department Employees Have Signed Dissent Cables Slamming Biden’s Support for Israel. X

More than 400 US officials from 40 government agencies have sent a letter to President Biden criticizing his unconditional support for Israel’s war in Gaza in the latest example of dissent from within the US government. AWC

Hamas’s armed wing said Monday that it discussed with Qatari mediators a deal to free up to 70 Israeli hostages in exchange for a five-day ceasefire and the release of some Palestinian prisoners. AWC

Doctors at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital are pleading for help as the medical facility has ceased functioning after its power failed over the weekend amid an Israeli siege. The medical staff has refused to evacuate the hospital due to fears that the approximately 700 hundred patients they would leave behind will die. AWC

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is expected this week to introduce a bill to block an arms transfer to Israel, which will mark the first piece of legislation aimed at reining in President Biden’s strong support of Israel’s brutal war on Gaza. AWC

Two members of the Israeli Knesset wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal arguing for Western countries to take in refugees from Gaza as Israeli officials continue to call for Palestinians to be pushed out of the enclave. AWC

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and other members of Congress spoke at a pro-Israel rally at the National Mall in Washington DC on Tuesday, where demonstrators made clear their opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza. AWC

Dutch Defense official in Israel says violates “international treaties and laws of war” and increases the chance of regional escalation. X

Around 180 decomposing bodies at the al-Shifa hospital will be buried in a mass grave at the hospital. X

Middle East

US Forces in Iraq and Syria Targeted at least Four Times After US Airstrikes on Sunday. XAWC

A US official told Reuters on Tuesday that up to seven people were killed in the US airstrikes in eastern Syria on Sunday that targeted Shia militias. AWC

Read More

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Steve Brodner, Full Court Press

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 12, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

DEC 13, 2023

Last night, Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to decide Trump’s claim that he is immune from any and all criminal prosecution for anything he did while in office. That claim is central to Trump’s defense; he has requested the charges against him be dismissed because of that immunity. 

When Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is overseeing the case in which Trump is charged with trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election, dismissed this claim, Trump’s lawyers appealed and asked for the case to be frozen while the appeal worked its way up through the courts. By going straight to the Supreme Court, Smith appears to be trying to stop Trump from delaying the trial until after the 2024 election.  

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether it will hear the case. So far, Justice Clarence Thomas refuses to recuse himself, even though his wife Ginni was deeply involved in the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. His refusal suggests that the Supreme Court’s new ethics rules are as toothless as their opponents charged.

In another filing last night, Smith revealed that the government expects to introduce the testimony of three experts who will speak to the use of cell phones by Trump and one other person after the 2020 election, including on January 6, a revelation that Los Angeles Times legal analyst Harry Litman suggested must “have the Trump camp totally freaked out.”

Inflation slowed again in November, dropping to 0.1% as gasoline prices fell, so that the annual inflation over the past year has dropped to 3.1%. 

Fallout continues from the Texas Supreme Court’s decision that a woman carrying a fetus with a fatal condition cannot abort that fetus even though it threatens her own health and future fertility. President Joe Biden promised today to continue to fight to protect access to reproductive health care, saying: “No woman should be forced to go to court or flee her home state just to receive the health care she needs. But that is exactly what happened in Texas thanks to Republican elected officials, and it is simply outrageous. This should never happen in America, period.”

But for all the importance of these major stories, the outstanding story of the day is that the Republican Party appears to have decided to undermine financial support for Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion. 

This is simply an astonishing decision. Majorities in both the House and the Senate want to pass supplemental aid to Ukraine, which both protects North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries and provides jobs in the United States, but an extremist minority in Congress is stopping passage of a measure that would provide more weapons to Ukraine.

There is no doubt previous funding has been effective. A newly declassified intelligence memo shows that Russia had an army of 360,000 before the war and that thanks to the Ukraine resistance it has lost 315,000 troops—87% of its army—forcing it to squeeze more recruits out of its civilian population. It has also lost 2,200 out of 3,500 tanks, forcing it to turn to Soviet-era equipment. 

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Washington, D.C., today to try to convince Republicans to pass such a measure, noted that Ukraine has regained half the land Russia seized in the February 2022 invasion, forced Russian warships out of Ukrainian territorial waters, and opened export corridors to get Ukrainian grain to countries that desperately need it. At the same time, he said, Ukraine’s economy is growing at a 5% rate, suggesting it will be less dependent on foreign aid going forward. 

In The Atlantic, David Frum, who has criticized Democrats on immigration policy, pointed out that Biden and the Democrats have made a real effort to negotiate with extremist Republicans but the Republicans are simply refusing to engage. Frum concluded that Republicans do not want to make a deal. Either they want to perform a ritual in which Republicans demand and Democrats comply, or they want to keep the border as a campaign issue, or they actually oppose aid to Ukraine. And yet, Frum reiterates, majorities in both the House and the Senate want the supplemental aid package to pass.  

Republicans appear to want to keep the issue of immigration front and center in 2024, hoping that people will focus on it rather than on abortion, especially in states like Texas.

Poland’s newly elected prime minister Donald Tusk today vowed that he would “loudly and decisively demand the full mobilization of the free world, the Western world, to help Ukraine in this war,” but Russia expert Fiona Hill told Politico’s Maura Reynolds that U.S. funding will be key to determining whether Ukraine wins back control of its territory. That decision, she says, is really about our own future.

Permitting Putin to win in Ukraine, she says, would create a world in which the standing of the U.S. in the world would be diminished, Iran and North Korea would be strengthened, China would dominate the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East would be more unstable, and nuclear weapons would proliferate. 

“Ukraine has become a battlefield now for America and America’s own future—whether we see it or not—for our own defensive posture and preparedness, for our reputation and our leadership,” Hill told Reynolds. “For Putin, Ukraine is a proxy war against the United States, to remove the United States from the world stage.”

“The problem is that many members of Congress don’t want to see President Biden win on any front,” Hill said. “People are incapable now of separating off ‘giving Biden a win’ from actually allowing Ukraine to win. They are thinking less about U.S. national security, European security, international security and foreign policy, and much more about how they can humiliate Biden. In that regard,” she said, “whether they like it or not, members of Congress are doing exactly the same thing as Vladimir Putin. They hate that. They want to refute that. But Vladimir Putin wants Biden to lose, and they want Biden to be seen to lose as well.”

Today, Biden noted that Russian media outlets have been cheering on the Republicans. "If you're being celebrated by Russian propagandists, it might be time to rethink what you're doing,” he said. “History will judge harshly those who turned their back on freedom's cause."

Congress is set to leave for the holiday break on Thursday, returning in the second week of January. Biden urged Congress “to pass the supplemental funding for Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess—before they give Putin the greatest Christmas gift they could possibly give him.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[that-fema-corps-blog]

Day 329

June 27, 2023

Spent the morning cleaning data and doing laundry. We had a midsite meeting with the (new?) assistant unit leader to discuss our thoughts on the project and the overall program. The team leaders were told to leave partway through so Corps members could more comfortably criticize them, but we mostly ended up airing grievances about FEMA Corps in general (things in parentheses are things I have personally seen/experienced):

Lack of communication from FEMA Corps. Not knowing where we’d be sent. Having sudden team member swaps with little explanation, sometimes after being told nothing should change. Sharing constructive criticism only to never hear anything back. Not getting feedback on performance from team leaders’ end-of-round member evaluations (every round).

Not feeling as if AmeriCorps staff care about Corps members. Staff reaching out to team leaders but expecting Corps members to initiate almost any interaction. Team leaders having much longer feedback meetings with staff while Corps members’ feedback sessions are cut short. Chain of command and not knowing staff well enough to feel comfortable asking for help (round 2 especially). Very high turnover in AmeriCorps with little opportunity to get familiar with new staff. Notifying staff of dangerous driving behavior of members and nothing being done (a couple instances).

Team leaders not being properly vetted. Past team leaders getting multiple complaints but not being removed until months later. Completely unqualified team leaders being given a team; some past teams would have had a much easier time without a leader (end of round 2). So much tea.

Low stipends for Corps members. Team leaders making around three times our pay for not much extra work… We should get more than $11 or $12/day when our work is to a similar level as that of many FEMA reservists. Non-disaster food stipends of $6/day can be difficult in some higher cost-of-living areas. Congress sets the budget, so there’s not a ton we can do about that.

Lack of health care. Having to change virtual therapists/councilors every time a team moves to a different state. Going without mental health support because it is too much effort to find on one’s own. Not having mental health support back on campus. Not being able to access Teledoc in Puerto Rico (round 1/2).

Not having enough work. Being sent to a project only to find they have little plan for what FEMA Corps is going to do for them (this round is an exception). FEMA staff not seeing us as capable and leaving us with little to do, even when there is work that needs doing. Being given work that is inefficient or does not appear to accomplish much (round 1/2 PR).

Working without proper support. Lack of training upon arrival to new project (round 1 PR). Having to teach some paid FEMA reservists and tell contractors how to do their jobs. Having to advocate for oneself because staff are not regularly checking in.

Hurry up and wait. Being told to pack everything and get ready to move, only to be delayed for several days (round 1, DC->PR). Deploying to a new location, just to have no work or workstations to begin with (round 1 DC/round 3). Getting assigned a project and having to wait weeks to get access to certain files and permissions (round 1 DC).

Deploying the wrong teams. Sending people to Puerto Rico who do not speak Spanish and cannot do much useful work (round 1/2). Deploying a team that is occupied to a disaster project when there are teams with very little work who have to stay; disaster projects having priority even when little work is being accomplished at some of those project locations.

Nonsensical project transitions. Teams having to travel multiple days to spend a week on campus, only to drive straight back (transition 2). Having some of the same trainings as we recieved during onboarding, yet not receiving much information/preparation for life after AmeriCorps (transition 2). COVID restrictions shutting down campus gyms and socialization areas while multiple people from different teams are crammed in the same dorm rooms (transition 2/3). Virtual transitions worked well (transition 1).

Dealing with AmeriCorps operations on campus. Members being accused of stealing dishes on campus. Arriving for transition to find most washing machines are broken (transition 3). Vans not being automatically taken to the shop for checks and tune-ups (transition 2). Dorms missing blinds (onboarding/transition 2). Dorms having mold upon arrival. Being expected to clean to a higher standard than things were when we arrived (transition 2).

Isolation from both FEMA and AmeriCorps. Sometimes unclear who to reach out to when there is an issue or question; asking for help and being told to go to someone else, sometimes until arriving back where one started. Not being connected with / told about other AmeriCorps teams in the area; could be a good opportunity for independent service projects when work is slow.

The assistant unit leader does not have the power to do much at the moment, but it is nice to feel like we’re actually being listened to. That being said, I’ll believe it when I see it. We were told that most of the changes going forward will be for the upcoming class, since our class only has a month left (understandable). Both teams met for dinner along with the assistant unit leader.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Lula's government is criticized for creating an area for therapeutic communities after pressure from Brazilian religious entities

Responding to requests from religious entities, the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) government created a specific sector for therapeutic communities aimed at treating drug addicts, structures encouraged by the Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party) administration.

The creation of the Department of Support for Therapeutic Communities, published on January 20th 2022, raises criticism from human rights organizations contrary to the sheltering of drug addicts generally based on isolation, abstinence, and religiosity. To circumvent the pressures, the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family, and Fight against Hunger went on to say that the sector is under review.

One of the solutions evaluated by the government is to change the cabinet's name to reinforce the discourse that it does not serve only therapeutic communities, say members of the government who follow the discussion.

The department was not part of the initial structure of the new ministry. The area was created by decree published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette three days after the team of Minister Wellington Dias (Workers' Party) received representatives from the treatment centers. The group had been complaining about the extinction of Senapred (National Secretariat for Care and Prevention of Drugs), focused on dialogue with communities during the Bolsonaro government.

Confenact (National Confederation of Therapeutic Communities) participated in the meeting with the new government. During the elections, the confederation published an image of Bolsonaro on social networks, in addition to messages from members advocating voting for candidates against drugs, abortion, and "gender ideology".

The confederation told the report that it supports public policies and governments that adopt as a strategy "the non-liberation of drugs, the non-decriminalization of marijuana or any other illicit drug, the defense of Christian principles and values, abstinence as a prevention and treatment strategy, spirituality, [and] the work of third sector entities".

On Tuesday (24), the National Council for Human Rights (which brings together representatives of civil society and public power) cited the creation of the department and recommended that the Lula government audit all contracts signed with therapeutic communities in the past administration, in addition to the cancellation of partnerships with entities that receive teenagers.

The council also suggested to the Ministry of Health the creation of a program "aiming at the effective replacement of therapeutic communities by territorial mental health strategies and services".

Federal funding for these structures has exploded in recent years. It went from R$44 million in 2017 to around R$ 100 million [~US$ 19.41 million] in 2019, according to a survey by Conectas, an NGO dedicated to human rights.

The 2023 Budget has R$ 272 million [~US$ 52.79 million] reserved for "drug demand reduction". This budgetary action primarily serves these communities.

A 2020 survey by Folha de S.Paulo showed that 74% of therapeutic communities that received federal funding were religious in origin.

Treatment sites still have strong support from Congress. Of the amount reserved for this year, R$ 75 million [~US$ 14.56 million] are from individual amendments by parliamentarians, a number higher than the R$ 45 million [~US$ 8.73 million] indicated by deputies and senators in 2022.

The bet on therapeutic communities is resisted by members of the Lula government and the left.

The health transition group, of which Minister Nísia Trindade was a member, suggested in the final report the immediate repeal of government regulations linked to these entities. The human rights group also recommended reviewing the Bolsonaro government's policies on the topic.

The previous management even used BRL 24.5 million [~US$ 4.75 million] leftovers from Bolsa Família to cover expenses with these communities, as revealed by Folha de S. Paulo.

The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), stated in one of the first speeches after taking office that he intends to increase vacancies in therapeutic communities. For Gabriel Sampaio, director of Conectas, inspection of these treatment centers should be carried out by the Ministry of Health and follow SUS (Brazil's unified public healthcare system) standards, in addition to national and international regulations on human rights.

He also claims that there is a high volume of public resources destined to communities with little control over the works.

Confenact said that there are more than 2,000 therapeutic communities in Brazil and that this type of structure is one of the treatment alternatives for people with dependence on alcohol and other drugs. They also said that the effectiveness of reception is scientifically proven.

"Involuntary admissions are not among the characteristics of therapeutic communities, whether in the legal, technical, nor in the scope of current regulations.", stated the confederation.

Representative of Renila (National Inter-nuclei Network of the Anti-Asylum Fight), a group that criticizes the creation of the department, psychologist and psychiatrist Miriam Abou-Yd said that the therapeutic community is one of the impasses that surround the Lula government.

She claims that inspections carried out in these spaces find "restriction of the right to come and go, imposition of creed", in addition to the performance of unqualified professionals and the work of inmates, in situations "similar to slave labor".

"It is the most faithful photograph of the use of the suffering and the body of the other, always in the name of faith, but generating profit for ambitious, voracious and ruthless entrepreneurs", said Miriam.

Sought, the Ministry of Development said only that "the decree is being reviewed". The cabinet did not say how much should be passed on to therapeutic communities in 2023 and who will lead the new department.

Source, translated by the blogger.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Samantha Riedel at Them:

The Trump campaign has been building out “Agenda47” into a 20-point platform — explained in a series of videos on the campaign site — since late 2022. Most of the component planks deal with perennial Trump scapegoats: Chief among Trump’s priorities, for example, is bringing an end to what he calls the “migrant invasion,” partly via a massive deportation campaign. Two “Agenda47” policies target LGBTQ+ people in particular, specifically transgender people, with Trump promising to wage war on “radical gender ideology” in schools and also “keep men out of women’s sports.”

Republicans have eagerly latched on to trans women athletes as a wedge issue in recent years, asserting that trans women have biological athletic advantages over cis women (despite a lack of evidence for such claims). In a February 2023 message decrying “left wing gender insanity,” Trump affirmed that if elected, he would interpret the federal anti-discrimination statute Title IX to entirely prohibit trans women from participating in women’s sports, and ask Congress to pass legislation to affirm that interpretation. Although President Joe Biden introduced new trans-inclusive rules for interpreting Title IX during his term, those changes applied to trans students in all areas except athletics (and are currently blocked pending litigation in federal court).

But Trump’s anti-trans plans aren’t limited to sports. His February 2023 proclamation stated that he would seek a federal definition of “gender” that is restricted to only “male and female” as assigned at birth. Trump also vowed to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth, falsely labeling such medical care “mutilation” and “mutation” and promising to terminate trans-affirming doctors from Medicare and Medicaid. In his Agenda47 video, Trump falsely claimed that trans people and gender dysphoria did not exist “until the radical left invented it just a few years ago.” He also accused pharmaceutical companies of pushing hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgeries for profit, but provided no evidence of such a conspiracy. “Under my leadership, this madness will end,” Trump concluded in the video.

Much of Agenda47’s anti-trans language dovetails with Trump’s anti-teacher and anti-education positions, representing a series of attacks not just on queer and trans students, but on teachers and educators who do not adhere to the Republican party line. At various points, Agenda47 describes schools as “indoctrinating” students with “Marxism,” “critical race theory,” and “gender ideology.” Trump’s solutions to the imagined problem would include monetary rewards for schools who strip K-12 teachers of their tenure; a federal “Parents Bill of Rights,” likely with similar language to anti-LGBTQ+ state bills of the same name; a Red Scare-like hunt for “the radicals who have infiltrated the federal Department of Education”; and a new teacher certification board to ensure educators “embrace patriotic values.” Trump is also heavily courting conservatives who homeschool their children, a longtime Republican pet project that has rapidly gained ground in recent years. The Trump team has insisted that their candidate has nothing to do with the now-infamous Project 2025, despite its breathless ambition towards “institutionalizing Trumpism” (and Trump’s close ties with its architects). But Agenda47’s policy items are near-indistinguishable from Project 2025’s, making the difference largely a matter of branding. As Ms. magazine noted, Project 2025 also seeks an end to federal protections for trans people at any level, diametrically opposes Biden’s reinterpretation of Title IX, and would establish a “male/female” gender binary on the federal level, even prohibiting school officials and educators from using a trans student’s pronouns. Where the Heritage Foundation-organized document differs from Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ platform, it is in its discussion of marriage: While Trump avoids the topic of gay marriage, Project 2025 confidently states that “married men and women are the ideal, natural family structure.”

The policy agendas of both Agenda 47 and Project 2025 regarding LGBTQ+ (and especially trans rights) are major concern, should Donald Trump get back into office.

While there is significant overlap between Heritage’s Project 2025 and Trump’s Agenda 47, both have slightly different priorities regarding the LGBTQ+ issue, whereas A47 deemphasizes opposition to marriage equality and P2025 embraces it.

[mariacallous]

In November, voters in at least 10 states will vote on ballot initiatives seeking to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions. Voters nationwide and in battleground states consider abortion to be one of the most important issues in this election.   

For this and other reasons, it is critical that the public be informed about the issue. Here are five myths about abortion in America, compared to the reality.   

MYTH #1: Many women are having abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy, including in the ninth month or later.  

REALITY: The vast majority of abortions (93%) occur in the first trimester of pregnancy, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). So-called “late-term abortions” performed at or after 21 weeks of pregnancy are extremely uncommon and represent less than 1% of all abortions in the U.S. They generally occur because of the discovery of a fatal condition affecting the fetus or serious risks to the life or health of the mother. The claim that abortions happen “moments before birth” or even “after birth” is false. In no state is it legal to kill a baby after it has been born.   

MYTH #2: The overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to fewer abortions. 

REALITY: The number of abortions that occurred in the U.S. increased by 11% in 2023, the first full year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, compared with 2020 levels. This increase was driven primarily by the greater availability of medication abortion pills and privately financed funds that supported women seeking abortions.  

MYTH #3: Because abortion totals have not declined, women cannot have been harmed by abortion bans and restrictions. 

REALITY: Although many women living in states with abortion bans have been able to circumvent those bans by traveling to another state or by obtaining medication abortion pills using telehealth and the mail, others have not been so lucky. So even though abortion rates have increased, on balance, it’s still the case that many women who wanted abortions have been unable to get them. 

In addition, abortion restrictions are putting women’s lives and health at risk. The same procedures used for terminating unintended pregnancies are also essential for addressing a number of other situations, including miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and severe fetal abnormalities.  

Federal authorities have documented dozens of cases where pregnant women have been refused emergency medical treatment because doctors in ban states fear criminal prosecution. This has resulted in women having miscarriages in public restrooms, bleeding out in their cars, or experiencing delays in receiving care that have led them to develop infections or sustain bodily harm.  

Already, a woman in Georgia named Amber Thurman has died from infection after doctors delayed performing a routine procedure out of fear of criminal liability under the state’s abortion ban. The state’s maternal mortality review committee called Thurman’s death “preventable” and said the delay in care had a “large” impact in causing her death. Other similarly tragic stories are sure to emerge once state review committees begin to publicize their findings, which operate with a lag.  

MYTH #4: Depending on who is elected, there will be a federal law either banning or legalizing abortion nationwide.

REALITY: It is highly unlikely the election will change the composition of Congress enough to give either party sufficient votes to pass a federal law either banning or legalizing abortion nationwide.

Vice President Harris has consistently supported abortion rights over the course of her political career. As the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris has said she supports legislation that would restore the protections established by Roe v. Wade. She has not answered the question about whether she opposes any restrictions on abortion. Under Roe v. Wade, states could only restrict abortion after the point of fetal viability, or about 22 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases where abortions were necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.

Former President Trump’s position on a national abortion ban has wavered significantly over time. As president, Trump supported a 2018 bill that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy nationwide. Earlier this year, Trump signaled support for a 16-week and then a 15-week abortion ban. His current position is that the legality of abortion should be left to the states. During the presidential debate against Vice President Harris, Trump declined to say whether he would veto a national ban if he were reelected.

To enact legislation that would protect or ban abortion nationwide, the party that won the presidency would also need to secure majorities in both the House and Senate. All three are shaping up to be tight races. Because it is highly unlikely either party will secure sufficient support in this election, including the 60 votes needed to overcome the Senate filibuster, neither will be able to pass a federal law codifying abortion policy nationwide. This means those in favor of protecting reproductive rights need to do so through the kind of measures that will be on the ballot in many states. 

MYTH #5: Women living in states where abortion is legal will not be affected by the outcome of the 2024 election.

REALITY: Federal regulation, largely determined by executive agencies operating under the authority of the president, plays a major role in determining access to abortion.

In recent years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made multiple revisions to its policy toward mifepristone (one of the two drugs used in medication abortion) that have made medication abortion far more accessible. These pills are now widely used, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all abortions nationwide.

If Trump were reelected, he could limit the use of these abortion pills by appointing a new head of the FDA or Health and Human Services (HHS) who could reverse the FDA’s revised policies toward mifepristone or override the agency’s approval of the drug completely.

Trump could also direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to enforce a 151-year-old federal law known as the Comstock Act that bans the shipment of abortion-related materials. In 2022, the DOJ under the Biden-Harris administration issued a legal opinion stating that the Comstock Act does not prohibit the mailing of abortion drugs even to recipients in states where abortion is banned. Trump could direct the DOJ to reverse this position to instead outlaw and prosecute the interstate shipment of abortion pills, or other materials related to abortion.

The Heritage Foundation, as part of its Project 2025 initiative, has called for a potential future Trump administration to end medication abortion and prosecute those who ship and transport abortion pills and supplies using these strategies. As Jonathan Mitchell, an anti-abortion advocate and key architect of Project 2025, said to the New York Times, “We don’t need a federal ban when we have Comstock on the books.” Trump has sought to distance himself from the Project 2025 plan whose authors include many former members of his administration.

When asked about these issues during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in August, Trump said he was receptive to using his authority as president to revoke access to abortion pills. A couple of weeks later, Trump said that he “generally speaking would not” use the Comstock Act to outlaw the shipment of abortion pills.

[ivygorgon]

An open letter to the U.S. Congress

Separation of church & state! Co-sponsor S 1206 / HR 2725 the Do No Harm Act.

267 so far! Help us get to 500 signers!

As your constituent, I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor S 1206 / HR 2725 the Do No Harm Act. Religious freedom means that everyone should be able to practice their religion or no religion at all, so long as they do not harm others. And this bill is an important step to fulfilling that promise. The Do No Harm Act will ensure that a federal law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which was designed as a shield to protect religion, is not used as a sword to harm others. Our country is strongest when we are all free to believe or not, as we see fit, and to practice our faith without hurting others. As you know, passage of the Do No Harm Act is more critical than ever. Unfortunately, RFRA is being misused to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people, women, religious minorities, nonreligious people and almost anyone else – all under the guise of religious freedom. For example, the law has been misused to allow discrimination against workers, undermine people’s access to healthcare, and deny children in the foster care system the loving homes they deserve simply because families don’t meet the agency’s religious litmus test. The Do No Harm Act would serve to prevent dangerous rulings and policies like these in the future. Please co-sponsor it now! Thanks.

▶ Created on November 14, 2023 by Jess Craven

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