#current affairs 2021 questions and answers

[haveyoureadthispoll]

Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal? Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s old closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew. He’s left her a nomination for a summer tryout at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari is certain the answer to finding out what happened to him lies somewhere inside, if only she can get her head around the idea of mermaids, dwarves, yetis and magicians all being real things, something she has to instantly confront when she is given a weredragon as a roommate. Amari must compete against some of the nation’s wealthiest kids—who’ve known about the supernatural world their whole lives and are able to easily answer questions like which two Great Beasts reside in the Atlantic Ocean and how old is Merlin? Just getting around the Bureau is a lesson alone for Amari with signs like ‘Department of Hidden Places this way, or is it?’ If that all wasn’t enough, every Bureau trainee has a talent enhanced to supernatural levels to help them do their jobs – but Amari is given an illegal ability. As if she needed something else to make her stand out. With an evil magican threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.

[thescarletgarden1990]

I posted 3,945 times in 2022

81 posts created (2%)

3,864 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@loekas

@songofthewinterrose

@shi-saa

@fatui-harbingers

@adecila

I tagged 473 of my posts in 2022

#scarlet has mail - 25 posts

#sanremo 2022 - 22 posts

#my fics - 21 posts

#eurovision - 21 posts

#sanremo - 21 posts

#esc 2022 - 19 posts

#tomakeitbeautifultolive - 17 posts

#dracula daily - 16 posts

#anon - 16 posts

#25 aprile - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 125 characters

#it's hard for me to pinpoint the change but holy fuck my mom's more open-minded than half gen-z tiktokers like wtf went wrong

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Yo guys, Achille Lauro has been around and like that for even longer than Måneskin. I will even sustain my opinion that his Me Ne Frego at Sanremo 2019 paved the way for Måneskin's victory with Zitti e Buoni at Sanremo 2021, and, consequently, at Eurovision. Have some fucking respect, he's not copying Måneskin and he is not Måneskin's cheap version.

59 notes - Posted May 12, 2022

#4

Me: stomping my feet, crying and pouting because my fave fics aren't updated.

My own wips:

89 notes - Posted August 17, 2022

#3

Foreign Affairs | Chapter 2: Relations with the Queen

Plotted and written with @tomakeitbeautifultolive​​ ❤

Without hesitation, he grabbed it from her hands and put it to his lips. He shut his eyes, savouring the cool cream as it flowed into his mouth. Gods, Dany thought, just look at him. In a way, he was a sorry sight. In another, though… she found his compromised state almost suggestive. There was a slight sheen of perspiration on his smooth skin. With his eyes closed, she could really appreciate his thick lashes and the way the spice plumped up his lips. There was a furrow to his brow, an expression somewhere between pleasure and pain, that seemed to make her mind wander…

He opened his eyes and mused, “Who, in their right mind, would enjoy that?”

She considered the question, and all the safe ways she could answer. Instead, she simply said: “Lovers.”

Jon blinked.

She smirked. “The heat, they say, inspires passion…”

He just looked at her, blankly—as if merely acknowledging passion, as an idea, was forbidden. Daenerys frowned. That damned vow. But for all Jon’s mouth couldn’t say, his eyes spoke the truth— they were conflicted with both longing and guilt.

“I can taste it,” he finally said. “The sweetness. I’m almost tempted to take another.”

She raised her brows, lifting the tray once more for Jon. As he indulged in a second bite of cake, she commented, “I wasn’t sure you were temptable.”

He held her gaze as he chewed, perhaps mulling over her words. She watched his mouth as he swallowed, his tongue flitting out to lick the jam from his lips. How they must burn, she thought. Sweat began to bead his brow, nose, and cheeks—but if he still suffered from the heat, she could no longer tell.

“Neither was I,” he said.

101 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

#2

Foreign Affairs | Chapter 1: An Ambassador’s Appeal

Plotted and written with @tomakeitbeautifultolive​ ❤

“I believe the queen means to entertain a wealthy merchant tonight,” Tyrion explained, gesturing at their suddenly lavish surroundings.

“From Qarth,” Jon said.

“That’s quite a lucky guess.”

“I overheard,” he admitted. “The queen mentioned something about a Qartheen dress.”

“I see.” A familiar, almost mischievous smirk grew on Tyrion’s face, then. “Are you very familiar with Qartheen customs, Lord Commander?”

Jon shrugged.

Tyrion let out a chuckle. “I daresay its fashion, in particular, is most unique.”

Yet Jon wondered, how exceptional could it be? By now, he had seen all manner of gowns. No doubt, the queen would look every bit as magnificent as her manner of address, but—

The thought died in his head as the Queen finally made her entrance. All the air left his lungs at once. He could hardly breathe, hardly believe what was currently bared to his eyes, quite literally.

110 notes - Posted April 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Diversity wins! The fascist that just won the elections will be the first female premier of Italy! 🥳

149 notes - Posted September 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[revddan]

Living in the Land of Exile

Kia ora koutou. For those who don't know me, my name is Dan, and I am the Precentor at the Taranaki Cathedral.

A few months ago, I was part of a small group that debriefed our second Diocesan Conversation. In that conversation, I offered a few reflections on the conversation and, more generally, on the current context of the church (well, at least, how I perceive the current context). For some reason or another, what I shared struck a chord with our Diocesan Manager and Bishop, and here I am.

So, here are some thoughts—not definitive answers or solutions, just reflections to get us thinking. I want to begin my reflection by reading Psalm 80.

[Read Psalm 80]

The Psalm I have just read is an exilic Psalm of lament, sung by the ancient Israelites during their exile in Babylon. I start with this exilic Psalm of lament because (maybe) the best way to describe the current predicament in which the church finds itself is "exile."

I suggest exile because the world has changed. The 21st century is vastly different from the world of previous centuries. At a geo-political level, we are witnessing the slow decline of some empires (USA) and the rise of old/new ones (Russia and China). At a technological level, we are wrestling with the positive and negative impacts of the "digital revolution" (the Internet, social media, and AI). At a planetary crisis level, humanity is acutely aware of its challenges (reckoning with colonial pasts, climate change, and widespread degradation/collapse of biodiversity and ecological systems).

Additionally, there have been seismic cultural shifts. Western societies are becoming increasingly pluralistic, faith is becoming increasingly a private affair, and there is an unfolding anti-institutional spirit in the air, which means diminishing engagement with and commitment to institutions.

So, for various complex reasons, the church is in a state of decline. We don't have the power and influence we once had (whether that power and influence was ever a good thing is a question worth wrestling with, but that's not for now). The general populous is, at best, ambivalent toward Christianity and the church or, at worst, hostile. What we were is no longer. The church now resides in a strange and unfamiliar land. The days of Christendom are over.

The question, then, is how we live in this strange land? To be clear, we don't necessarily need to conceive exile in negative terms; it could be precisely what we need right now.

Before we get to how we should live (or, at least, my suggestions for how we should live), it’s worth reflecting on how we are currently living in the situation we find ourselves. Or, put differently, how we are responding to our current context (again, just my thoughts and observations). Understandably, there seems to be a fair amount of anxiety and, coupled with this anxiety (or maybe because of it), busyness.

Why? What’s fueling the anxiety and busyness?

Could our anxiety (and busyness) be rooted in a futile struggle to regain what we have lost (relevance, status, power, and influence)? Are we trying to save the church through misguided attempts to engineer revival (if we do X and Y, magic, revival)? Have we become unnecessarily concerned with the instruments of marketing (branding), management, models (again, doing X and Y to get Z), and metrics? (For more on this, see Dr Andrew Shepherd's Morph talk: Ministry by marketing, management, models and metrics: Commodifying the Church | The Morph Event 2021, "Return to Normal?", Andrew Shepherd (youtube.com)). Has "bums on seats" become our primary concern, and if it has, have we missed something? Do we have an unhealthy fascination with "growth" in the church? And, as a side note, is our fascination with growth somewhat ironic given our current environmental realities (rapid destruction of ecological systems and mass extinction), which suggest our obsession with growth is deeply problematic?

Is what we do rooted in a paradigm of what we can get out of it rather than simply doing it because it is the right and faithful thing to do regardless of the outcome? Have we become pragmatists looking for a solution to fix our problem(s) with new technology or by deploying a particular program, model, or technique? Is this a good thing? I would suggest not.

And is the by-product of all this activity fatigue, burnout, and cynicism (for clergy and congregations)?

So, what do we do? And again, these are thoughts for reflection and discussion.

Perhaps the first thing to do is name and grieve our situation, just like the ancient Israelites did. It's tough at the moment. Things are dire, and there isn't a clear way forward. Let's just say it. Hence, the Psalm (and thus, the importance of the Psalms). Curiously, the Psalms of Lament (along with Lamentations and Job) suggest that vocalised grief can be a gateway to surprising newness (often not what we want, but undoubtedly what we need). The problem is, we are possibly disinterested on both. As Walter Brueggeman says,

“The dominant ideology of our culture is committed to continuity and success and to the avoidance of pain, hurt, and loss. The dominant culture is also resistant to genuine newness and real surprise. It is curious but true, that surprise is as unwelcome as is loss. And our culture is organized to prevent the experience of both.” (Spirituality of the Psalms, Walter Brueggemann)

The second thing might be to remember/reconsider the purpose of church (why we gather).

The Christian community, fundamentally, is not instituted by what we do (in terms of our activities, programs etc.), our size, or our relevance to society but by God's grace and love, extended to us most profoundly in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. God forms and makes the church. Our primary task, as Christians, is to gather together, pray, read Scripture together, make Eucharist, forgive and serve each other, and to live into the reconciling work of Christ together; and, through these Christian practices, bear witness to Christ crucified and resurrected, bear witness to the reign of God, bear witness to the God who has, is, and will make all things new. The task isn't to be relevant, well-branded, slick, or sexy, or even to grow; it's simply to be faithful to the way of Christ.

Maybe we don't need a shiny new program; perhaps we don't need to try and devise a solution to save the church; that's God's task, not ours. Maybe all that we need to do is what the church has always done from the beginning: gather around prayer, Word, and Sacrament (see Justin Martyr's letter to the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius circa. 150 C.E. | Dear Roman Emperor, We Are Made New Through Christ by Justin Martyr (plough.com)), be formed in and through these practices, and trust that despite the situation (whatever it may be) God is active and working somehow, someway, for the life of the world.

And this is perhaps my encouragement, particularly to those churches that don't feel like you are doing enough, that you are not relevant, that you need a new website, or a name change, or be on Facebook, or whose numbers are dwindling; your faithful showing up, week in week out, for services of the word or Eucharist or prayer, is enough, that your unwavering commitment to worship, Word, and Sacrament, and each other, even when it makes no sense, is a profound, strange (in a positive sense), and prophetic witness in deeply troubling times (and, I think, it's a profound kick up the bum to people like me who have in many ways acquiesced to the logic of marking, management, metrics, and models and/or think that our "fresh ideas and insights" are what's going to get us out of this jam). Yes, there are vitally important things to contend with, like H.R., buildings, and safeguarding the vulnerable among us; yes, not all of us will make it through what we are going through, but I wonder if we own our reality, lament it, and if jettison the notion that it is on us to save the church, we might ease the angst we hold for the future.

Some of us can do new things, cool (but maybe those of us who are trying new things need to make sure that what we are doing isn't a consent to capitalism or the latest fad or the death-dealing logic of the world but deeply grounded in the way of Christ and the Christian Tradition). Still, some of us can't do new things, and that's OK too (maybe better).

The possible critique here is that I am being sectarian (inward-focused). Maybe? But here's what I think: From society's perspective, a group of people gathering around Scripture, prayer, hymns/waiata, and Communion is utterly irrelevant, yet (maybe) our utterly irrelevant gathering together, across different genders, ages, ethnicities, and class boundaries (and this bit takes work), might actually be the very thing the world needs right now.

At this time, maybe we need to cut ourselves some slack, be honest about what we can and can't do, and remember that our job isn't to save the church; it's simply to be faithful to the way of Christ, to gather around prayer, Scripture, and Sacrament, for as long as we can, trusting that something bigger than ourselves, namely God, is at work.

Kia tau te rangimārie ki a koutou.

[vnkacademy1]

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[gravitascivics]

SUMMARIZING AN ARGUMENT FOR LIBERATED FEDERALISM, V

Since mid-December 2021, this blog has been making a dialectic argument.[1]  That argument was made with one aim in mind; that is to answer the question:  does a federalist perspective, in the form of liberated federalism, provide a legitimate and viable construct for the study of governance and politics in American secondary schools?  The segments of the argument, in dialectic form, are claims that four various approaches to civics education should be that subject’s guiding construct. 

The four approaches are parochial/traditional federalism (as a pre thesis), natural rights view (thesis), critical theory (antithesis), and liberated federalism (synthesis).  As one familiar with this form of argument can surmise, it ends up giving a positive response to the central question.  Yes, liberated federalism should guide civics education in American classrooms.

Any attention to the national political landscape through the media indicates that the nation is experiencing an exceptionally challenging period with a former president being charged in various courts with a number of suits and criminal crimes, a House of Representatives having a difficult time naming a Speaker of the House, a worrisome increase in politically related incidences of violence (including a physical attack on the husband of the then Speaker of the House), and general discourse among citizens that disregards respectful language and even indulges in threatening messaging.

There seems to be a growing concern for the levels of uncivil, violent, and criminal behavior that the nation is currently experiencing.[2]  No one institution can be held accountable for that state of affairs or be responsible for fixing it.  What is being proposed in this blog is admittedly a modest step – some might argue otherwise – in addressing the slew of problems facing the polity and the social makeup of the nation. 

But the step is seen as a viable one toward righting the wrongs.  As small as the step might seem to be, this blogger is not underestimating the problems and challenges in implementing this approach to civics.  He would like to leave readers with a sense of the importance of this general issue – that is, how Americans teach their young about the state of the nation’s governance and politics.

A brighter future for the nation is surely possible and one avenue toward that potential is through what is taught in schools.  This blog’s review of this argument was written under the assumption that curriculum content in the areas of government and civic affairs makes a difference and should be part of a general socialization pattern whose aims are a healthy, productive, and moral citizenry of the United States.

This blog will next stretch beyond this dialectic argument and address how the concerns of the argument affect interpersonal relationships.  Here, the blog will count on the work of the journalist, David Brooks.

[Here’s wishing everyone a joyous Thanksgiving.]

[1] Interested readers who wish to look up the postings that present the dialectic argument from its beginning, see Robert Gutierrez, “Dealing with Ideals,” Gravitas:  A Voice for Civics,” December 14, 2021, accessed November 14, 2023, URL:  https://gravitascivics.blogspot.com/2021_12_12_archive.html.

[2] From an extended literature, see, as an example, Kirsten Kukowski, “Overwhelming Number of Americans Frustrated by Incivility in Politics, But Conflicted on Desire for ‘Compromise and Common Ground,’” Institute of Politics and Public Service (April 24, 2019), accessed November 18, 2023, URL:  https://politics.georgetown.edu/2019/04/24/new-survey-overwhelming-number-of-americans-frustrated-by-incivility-in-politics-but-conflicted-on-desire-for-compromise-and-common-ground/.

[boredgamebh]

Immigration

"UK Visas and Immigration is a division of the Home Office responsible for the United Kingdom's visa system. It was formed in 2013 from the section of the UK Border Agency that had administered the visa system."

"The problem for the government is that you cannot simply pull up the drawbridge. Controlling the country's borders requires international agreement and co-operation."

"For the moment, with few bilateral deals in place, and outside EU arrangements, Brexit has made the situation more complicated, not less."

"For example, the Home Office has introduced post-Brexit rules barring people who have come through a "safe" third country from claiming asylum in the UK. Those deemed "inadmissable" should be removed."

"So, of the more than 25,000 who have crossed from France in small boats this year, how many have been returned? Tom Pursglove, the minister with responsibility for tackling what the government calls illegal migration, was asked exactly that last week, - by Adam Holloway and Yvette Cooper, MPs on the Commons' Home Affairs Committee."

"His answer was five - five people arriving by small boats on UK shores this year, have been returned to EU states since January."

"More than 36,000 people claimed asylum in the first half of 2023."

"Some people wait months or even years for their claims to be considered.

Delays in the UK system have created a backlog of more than 175,000 claims. The prime minister has pledged to clear much of this by the end of 2023.

As of June 2023, the majority of people in the backlog (80%) had been waiting more than six months for an initial decision."

Why is there such a problem with immigration?

According to "Migration Watch UK";

"Immigration is a natural part of an open economy and society. The problem is that the current level of immigration into the UK is much too high. In the year to June 2022, there were 1.1 million visas granted to foreign nationals to come and live in the UK – by far the highest on record (and about equivalent to the population of Britain’s second largest city Birmingham). Meanwhile, the most recent ONS figures issued (for the year to June 2021) put the level of net immigration at 239,000 per year. The authorities have shown themselves unable or unwilling to ensure that our borders are protected and secure, with more than 100,000 people having entered the country via illegal means in just under five years. The level of immigration needs to be reduced and proper and effective control of the UK border must be restored."

"The crux of the debate is not ‘immigration: yes or no’? The key questions are whether immigration is benefiting the country, whether it is running at a level which is acceptable to ordinary citizens and whether it is being controlled in a lawful manner. A country has the right to decide who to allow in. All countries have border controls and all face legitimate questions over who to admit and who to turn away. The key questions are about who and how many people are good for our economy and society."

"As is befitting an organisation that is chaired by a first-generation migrant (see more here), we know only too well that most migrants come here for an admirable reason, to try to better their lives. Many of those from overseas make a positive contribution to our society, including entrepreneurs, artists, medical staff and scientists. However, as many migrants themselves recognise, the UK is already a very crowded place by international standards, and the current pace of immigration-driven population growth is placing serious pressure on our roads, trains, hospitals, GP surgeries, schools and natural resources – all of which are struggling to cope."

"Many people are also concerned about the way in which immigration is leading to rapid cultural and societal change. As the former integration czar Baroness Louise Casey has said, some areas have changed ‘beyond recognition’ in a very short space of time (see media report). Indeed, this process is accelerating, with a number of communities finding that their local way of life is being very rapidly changed."

"Many also believe that the abysmal failure to effectively control immigration on the part of the government is having a harmful impact on public safety and on fundamental British values such as freedom of expression and religion, as well as equality of opportunity for women and for those in the LGBTQ+ community."

To read more on this go to the link below, it's very well worded and easy to understand.

[lorz-ix]

Time for another "I was bored this summer so I binged an entire horror series" post

As with the Saw one, I'll keep my thoughts on each entry as brief as possible, since these tend to take a while to write. Also trying to avoid spoiling stuff as much as I can, since that would ruin the point of making recommendations.

The Purge (2013)

When discussing this series, this is pretty much the only one people broadly tolerate. The premise is very easy to understand: the very conservative US government has instituted a "yearly national holiday" during which all crime, with a few extreme exceptions, is made legal for 12 hours. The subtext isn't subtle at all, it's obvious that the government is using this event as a scapegoat to avoid addressing broader social issues. Violent crime is supposedly kept under control because people "relieve their violent feelings" once a year, they don't have to care about poor people and welfare since they're massacred during every purge, as the primary targets of the violence.

It's a very clear satire of how conservatives turn a blind eye to these issues in real life, how they justify violence when it benefits them and the gun lobby, how they're classist as hell, how this classism manifests as racism since it disproportionately affects minorities. You might think the messaging isn't that smart, but I think it's neat, and it's used as pretty cool background for a decent thriller here.

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

Extremely simple. Do you think you would enjoy some worldbuilding after watching the previous movie? Do you care about the plot of the movie itself, "lore" aside, being super generic? Do you want the political messaging to get even more explicit? Then you might enjoy this.

I really mean it, it's a very nothing movie unless you're the kind of fan who cares about questions being answered rather than following an interesting story.

A nugget of worldbuilding I really like though? The government knows most people don't want to go out there and kill each other or commit crimes for fun, so they manufacture violent incidents to make it look like the purge works. Really makes you think...

The Purge: Election Year (2016)

Hmmmmmm I wonder if the year this came out and that subtitle are related...

A slightly more interesting affair than Anarchy, they at least have some strong stakes in this story. We mainly follow an opposition candidate to the presidency who's rising in popularity and wants to get rid of the purge. We understand that the holiday, despite everything, is very unpopular, but the current government will enlist the help of neo-nazis to get rid of the opposition. The satire is reaching new levels of unsubtlety and I honestly kinda love it.

What I don't love is the implication that winning an election is all it takes to get rid of the problem, along with other milquetoast soy latte liberal takes. Black liberation groups are generally painted in a positive light in the series, but it feels somewhat dishonest when the savior is a white girlboss. Truly a very 2016 movie.

The First Purge (2018)

That first teaser poster was somehow even more 2016 than the previous flick, holy Jesus Christ this is very funny.

I feel pretty much the same as I did with Anarchy. Generic flick, focuses a lot on disadvantaged, african american communities, makes very similar points to the ones we saw before. If again, the "lore" is your thing, this prequel might be of interest, otherwise you can skip it.

The Forever Purge (2021)

Shit, finally something interesting, I thought. This story starts off in a previously unseen setting, a southern town. We get to see the prejudiced relationships between mexican immigrants and wealthy white americans. The premise said "the purgers want to keep the massacre going after it's over", so I thought it meant "banning the purge didn't work", which is the point I wanted to see. But no, we learn very early on that the original party simply won the elections and re-instated the holiday, which is a way more underwhelming way of getting there. The purgers simply don't want the holiday to be over after 12 hours, and somehow things devolve into an uncontrollable nation-wide riot.

Is it more interesting and a bit scarier than most previous entries? Yeah, a bit. Does it bring new possibilities to the table? Yes, sure. Are the added analogies for immigration in this franchise's universe kinda neat? I guess. Does that make for a good movie? Not really. It's, once again, rather generic and forgettable once the actual conflict fully explodes. I really do like these for what they try to say and how explicitly they do so. I wish more movies had these levels of ridiculous, yet more or less adequate political satire.

The Purge (TV series, season 1, 2018)

10 episodes, lads. They're 1 hour long each. Watching this thing would take you longer than all of the movies combined, and let me tell ya, it's not worth it.

Starts off promising enough, it shows us more insight into the religious cults that grew around the purge for example, and that's properly disturbing, but after a while the story stops being intriguing. You quickly realize you're watching another generic bunch of characters go through a mostly forgettable series of perils. Yet again, an interesting world did not make for an interesting story in the slightest. These things aren't even that awful, they're just painfully bland.

The Purge (TV series, season 2, 2019)

Just like S1, it's 10 episodes and they're all one hour long. But thank god, finally this time they had a set of ideas that felt worth watching.

For the first and only time, the story focuses on what happens after the purge is over. How people get traumatized by the violent events. How pro-purge nutjobs eat up and spread propaganda all year round. What happens if shocking acts of violence do happen outside of those 12 hours? What happens if someone tries to kill you during the purge and they fail? How do you cope with the idea that someone wants you dead and no one would do a thing about it because it would have been legal and normal to kill you?

I think that focus on trauma and how the purge affects the psychology of every single person makes for some actually compelling characters for once. Finally, we get a story where we're not completely sure of what will happen next. It's probably not that great in the grand scheme of things, but god dammit, they finally made something remotely worthwhile with this franchise.

[longwindedbore]

Submitted for your Consideration:

This may be why Trump was charged without his yet-to-be-indicted co-conspirators. Unlike the other State and Federal criminal cases.

My Speculations-

Special couselJack Smith may have been aiming for this juncture from the start.

If Trump flips in J6 and claims his his co-conspirators gave him bad advice, then the political issue of Presidential Immunity applying to White House advisors would be nullified.

For a variety of reasons this may work better for the Government re Presidential Authoriry.

As well as deal with political fallout as It’s not certain that Trump would be convicted on the J6 charges even without Presidential Immunity.

FIRSTLY, the issue of Presidential Immunity has not been litigated sufficiently to set critical legal precedents for convicting a POTUS [1]

SECONDLY, Trump’s innate passive/aggressiveness, while crippling in ordinary social interactions, does effectively inhibit him from directly ordering a criminal act from subordinates.

He hints at what he wants. He hints and hints and hints. Herds the subordinate in the direction of ‘will no one rid me of this troublesome priest!’ Then, like Henry II, or the Secretary in Mission Impossible, he disavows all knowledge etc.

With the foregoing in mind carefully re-read the transcripts of Trump’s taped conversations with the Georgia Secretary of State about voter fraud. Or with President Zelenskyy about computers secreted in the Ukraine. Does Trump even answer questions effectively or is it all hemming and hawing?

Non-political Legal Outcomes

From the US Government standpoint, not litigating presidential immunity is a plus. Convicting attorneys for knowingly violating federal laws that have been successfully litigated for election interference and election fraud is a plus.

Those attorneys flipping on likely masterminds (possibly Roger Stone) and even members of Congress.

CONVERSELY, convicting Trump in the lower court, then having the conviction overturned in an appellate court setting a Presidential Immunity precedent is a negative. Trump getting off on the presidential immunity appellate decision that COULD apply to White House advisors ensures our country would have future issues with peaceful succession.

With respect to Inciting the Riot:

Right wing armed, self proclaimed militias infesting state capitals has occurred over and over in our nations history.

Unfortunately, it is currently a problem for the individual states to attend to, but most don’t.

Perhaps, though, the hundreds of convictions including seditious conspiracy setting precedents in federal court for the J6 right wingers will result in prosecutions in state courts in future instances of domestic militia terrorist threats.

These are all not the best of outcomes for the Ideals of Justice. But function as practical accomplishments.

DON’T DESPAIR. Convicting private citizen Trump in the Documents case(s) with US and foreign intelligence agents testifying that post-January 20, 2021 foreign assets were arrested and executed. Only possible by betrayal by someone with highest level access to otherwise firewallef top secret documents. Post January 2021: NO IMMUNITY ISSUES! [2] [3]

———————————————————-

[1] presidential immunity cases -

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

[2] CIA -

https://theweek.com/foreign-affairs/1005694/unusual-cable-specifies-that-dozens-of-cia-informants-have-been-arrested

[3] Foreign Intelligence -

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/17/russian-sources-disappeared-after-trump-declassified-ex-spys-evidence-uk-court-told

[nbmsports]

What Happens When You Ask a Chinese Chatbot About Taiwan?

“How does the United States affect the situation in Taiwan?”Ernie ducked the question about China’s “zero Covid” restrictions, offering a lengthy description of the policy instead. When asked to recount the events of June 4, 1989, the chatbot rebooted itself. A message popped up on the reloaded interface:How about we try a different topic?The Chinese chatbot said Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, did not invade Ukraine, but “conducted a military conflict.” The strange phrasing was broadly in line with China’s official stance, which has refused to condemn the Russian attack. On Taiwan, Ernie did not pull any punches:The People’s Liberation Army is ready for battle, will take all necessary measures and is determined to thwart external interference and “Taiwan independence” separatist attempts.ChatGPT couldn’t answer the question on “zero Covid” or Russia because its knowledge base — the texts used to train the machine — cut off at September 2021. ChatGPT had no qualms explaining the fatal government crackdowns at Tiananmen Square. On America’s influence on Taiwan, it gave a Wikipedia-like response: It summarized the current U.S. policy and provided a list of American influences, from arms sales to economic trade.Ernie made mistakes, but turned to Baidu search for help.Next, we quizzed the two chatbots on current affairs and some miscellaneous trivia, and compared answers:“Who uttered the phrase ‘Let them eat cake’?”“Who is the C.E.O. of Twitter?”Ernie, like all chatbots, sometimes made mistakes — or made things up.According to historical records, Louis XV often uttered this phrase when he ruled France at the end of the 18th century. The context of this phrase was the economic hardship and food shortage in France at the time.Ernie’s response sounded plausible, but it was wrong. ChatGPT answered it correctly: The phrase came from the writings of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It was rumored to have been said by an out-of-touch Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, after she learned that the French peasantry had run out of bread.Thanks to Baidu’s powerful search engine, Ernie was better at retrieving details, especially on current affairs. When asked who the C.E.O. of Twitter was, Ernie said Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive as of June. ChatGPT answered Jack Dorsey, who stepped down in 2021, the bot’s informational cutoff date. OpenAI released a plug-in this year that enabled its chatbot to surf the web through Microsoft’s Bing. But it retracted the feature on July 3, citing technical problems.Ernie had worse intuitions about the physical world.We asked Ernie a question that A.I. researchers have used to gauge a chatbot’s human-level intuitions:“Here we have a book, nine eggs, a laptop, a bottle and a nail. Please tell me how to stack them onto each other in a stable manner.”Ernie’s answer required a stretch of the imagination. It placed the nine eggs on the book, then placed that on the laptop. So far so good. Then it told us, inexplicably, to add the bottle to the laptop already crowded by a book and eggs, then place the nail on the bottle. Source link Read the full article

[college-girl199328]

Trudeau's chief of staff will testify publicly about foreign election interference before a committee studying the issue. Telford has agreed to appear at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee as part of their study.

Foreign interference is not a partisan issue, and David Johnston has appointed a special rapporteur to investigate it. This was an attempt to find a compromise with the NDP, who had threatened to help the Conservatives pass a motion on Tuesday.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh threatened to vote in favor of the motion unless the Liberals stopped their filibuster and called for a call from Trudeau’s top aide.

The committee of MPs agreed to ask Telford to appear before mid-April for at least two hours on her own, ending the 24-hour impasse. Despite the PMO's constraints, the PMO has flagged, it remains to be seen what kind of detail a public hearing will reveal.

Trudeau accused the Conservatives of trying to create a political theatre by not allowing Telford to answer direct questions in question period.

Trudeau promised to answer questions about the allegations against him in "responsible ways" through the processes his government has advanced.

Telford has previously testified before a parliamentary committee about the WE Charity controversy and the issue of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces. Most recently, she testified under oath as part of the Public Order Emergency Commission into the Emergencies Act.

The committee has invited national campaign directors from the 2019 and 2021 elections to appear and confirmed that the vote on the Conservative motion would not be a matter of confidence due to foreign interference.

Trudeau the election interference differently and with less partisanship than the Official Opposition, avoiding the risk of an election call.

The Liberals made the Conservative motion a confidence vote to force the NDP to side with the government to squash the Bloc Quebecois-backed push for a new probe.

Singh warned that if Justin Trudeau doesn't allow his chief of staff to testify, the Liberals will vote with the opposition to force him to do so. He also suggested a public inquiry rather than a parliamentary study as the more appropriate venue for further investigation.

There are serious questions about what the Prime Minister's Office knew when and what they did about it. Singh wants a public inquiry to investigate and find out the answers.

Trudeau has committed to following Johnston's advice to call a public inquiry but accused the Conservatives of blocking a question at Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during the question period—as Poilievre did to him on Monday to pressure the NDP to side with them—and asked him what he had to hide.

"We forced this government to end the obstruction at committee because they just want to play games," Singh said during the question after Poilievre's motion that MPs spent most of Monday debating failed to pass. The proposal sought to have the House instruct the opposition-dominated Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics Committee (ETHI) on Chinese interference in the last two federal elections.

That motion stated unequivocally that the committee summons Telford to testify under oath, followed by a slew of other federal officials and party figures suspected of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 elections. The Conservatives also wanted ETHI to have priority access to House resources to facilitate what would have been more than a dozen additional hours of testimony.

Also on the Conservatives' proposed witness list are the authors of the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol reports for the 2019 and 2021 elections, James Judd and Morris Rosenberg, respectively, former Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation officials, and current and former ambassadors to China.

During his time as democratic reform minister under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Poilievre had staff testify at committees provided.

"It took weeks of pressure for the prime minister to back down and flip flop, but allow only one of his top advisors, one of the key people who was involved in the campaigns that Beijing helped the liberal party win in multiple elections, but what we really need is the full truth," he said during question period Tuesday.

Even with the Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois, Green Party, and independent MPs voting in support of the motion, it was defeated by a vote of 147 to the Liberals and NDP voting against, to the backdrop of boos from inside the House chamber.

"This is evidence, in my opinion, of Parliament working," Government House Leader Mark Holland told reporters of the Telford testimony compromise, despite Liberal MPs spending days of committee time talking out the clock to avoid this outcome.

"We tried to put forward people we thought had the best information, but we also want Parliament to work with and listen to the opposition parties, and attempting to work with them is a necessity, a process of negotiation and back and forth… there are disagreements along the way, but I think that's a natural part of this process," Holland said.

Holland was framing this apparent compromise as an effort to make Parliament "work." Holland was echoing wording used by both the NDP and Liberals in the launch of their agreement that's coming up on its first anniversary on Wednesday.

All of this was sparked by The Globe and Mail and Global News reports, citing largely unnamed intelligence sources and alleging specific attempts by Beijing to alter election outcomes and what the opposition thinks is an insufficient response by the Liberal government. PROC has been studying the issue of foreign interference since November.

Officials have repeatedly asserted the integrity of both elections, despite China's interference efforts.

[paigerro]

Chapter 5 Reflection

The question that I chose to ask, based on the headings of the Chapter 5 reading, is “What other factors can economists consider that might point to citizens’ well-being?” This question is based on the heading 5-5 which already asks a pretty good question- “Is GDP a Good Measure of Economic Well-Being?” In this section of reading, it turns out while GDP is mostly a decent measure of citizens’ well-being, but it is important to acknowledge that is does not necessarily account for everything that might indicate a happy and healthy population. Mankiw makes the point that GDP does not account for environmental factors; if an economy’s government were to lift all environmental regulations on a industry, this might lead to a rise in GDP, but would not factor in the negative impacts this might have on a society (air quality, pollution, potable water, etc.) GDP also accounts for all paid for goods and services, but does not take into account volunteer work, neighbors helping each other out, or the often unpaid labor of stay-at-home parents (mostly moms). Mankiw also points out that, were all employees in a given country to stop taking days off of work, GDP would certainly rise,  but quality of life would also undoubtedly fall. These are some examples of how Mankiw answers his own question in this week’s reading, but what about my question? A handy table included on pg. 101 (Table 3) lists twelve countries with the highest GDPs at the top (US, Germany, Japan) and the lowest GDPs towards the bottom (Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh). This table also lists other factors that we can consider that might point to citizens’ well-being: life expectancy, average years of schooling, and overall life satisfaction (on a scale of 1-10). There is a definite correlation between the “real GDP per person” (listed in the table) and these other factors of overall well-being. The life expectancy in countries with higher GDP is at least ten years higher than countries with the lowest GDPs which leads us to assume that the health care, life styles, and/or diets available to citizens in richer countries are better (or at least more sustaining) than poorer countries. Citizens of richer countries are also in school almost twice as long than in poorer countries leading us to believe that a better educated society is a more prosperous one. I am curious about the last column- overall life satisfaction. I’m curious as to how this data was collected, but what is shown is that people in richer countries rank themselves higher on a scale of 1-10 of how satisfied they are with their lives, at least two points higher than those in poorer countries. A current affairs example that might help answer this question would be to look at a map that tracks immigration from poorer to richer countries. Here is a link to a map that tracks immigration and immigration from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI): https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/immigrant-and-emigrant-populations-country-origin-and-destination?width=1000&height=850&iframe=true When playing around with different settings on the map, you can see that migration is higher from poorer countries to richer countries than richer countries to poorer. Mankiw states that, “Because most people would prefer to receive higher income and enjoy high expenditure, GDP per person seems a natural measure of the economic well-being of the average individual” (pg. 100). In the US, the current GDP per person is $70,248.63 which is incredible because I can’t imagine ever making that amount of money in a year. The total real GDP of the US as of the end of 2022 (the last quarter reported on) is $20.2 trillion. In a basic Google search, it turned up that real GDP for the last quarter of 2021 was $2.25 trillion which means that it shrunk slightly. I think this matters because according to Mankiw, “…an old rule of thumb is two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP” (pg. 98) when discussing whether or not the economy is in recession. I don’t think the US has officially declared that we are in a recession yet, but it does seem possible in our economic future.

[shivani123shiv]

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[jobscirculars]

January Current Affairs PDF 2021-2022

January Current Affairs PDF 2021-2022

January Current Affairs PDF Download  2021-2022 has been published at jobscirculars.com. Download Current Affairs 2021 is most important your job exam. Professors Current Affairs 2021 All Month Download is available on our website. You can find full details about Current Affairs 2021 All Month Download. You can get their Current Affairs 2021 All Month Download from our website and our Social…

[getfreejobalert]

लेटेस्ट करेंट अफेयर्स – 18 जून 2021 Current Affairs 2021

लेटेस्ट करेंट अफेयर्स – 18 जून 2021 Current Affairs 2021

लेटेस्ट करेंट अफेयर्स – 18 जून 2021 Current Affairs 2021 Latest Current Affairs 18 June 2021 at Get Free Job Alert 1-Naftali Bennett, leader of the right-wing Yamina (United Right) party, was sworn in as new Israeli prime minister, sending Benjamin Netanyahu to the opposition after a record 12-year rule. दक्षिणपंथी यामिना (यूनाइटेड राइट) पार्टी के नेता नफ्ताली बेनेट ने इजरायल के नए प्रधानमंत्री…

[latestsarkarijobs]

लेटेस्ट करेंट अफेयर्स – 18 जून 2021 Current Affairs 2021

लेटेस्ट करेंट अफेयर्स – 18 जून 2021 Current Affairs 2021

लेटेस्ट करेंट अफेयर्स – 18 जून 2021 Current Affairs 2021 Latest Current Affairs 18 June 2021 at Get Free Job Alert 1-Naftali Bennett, leader of the right-wing Yamina (United Right) party, was sworn in as new Israeli prime minister, sending Benjamin Netanyahu to the opposition after a record 12-year rule. दक्षिणपंथी यामिना (यूनाइटेड राइट) पार्टी के नेता नफ्ताली बेनेट ने इजरायल के नए प्रधानमंत्री…

[lok-shakti]

UPSSSC PET : पीईटी स्कोर पर इन विभागों में खुलेंगे नौकरी के दरवाजे, जानिए कहां कर सकते हैं आवेदन

UPSSSC PET : पीईटी स्कोर पर इन विभागों में खुलेंगे नौकरी के दरवाजे, जानिए कहां कर सकते हैं आवेदन

UPSSSC PET – फोटो : Amar Ujala ख़बर सुनें ख़बर सुनें उत्तर प्रदेश अधीनस्थ सेवा चयन आयोग (UPSSSC) द्वारा 15 और 16 अक्तूबर 2022 को दूसरी बार प्रारंभिक पात्रता परीक्षा (PET) आयोजन कराया गया। इस परीक्षा में हिस्सा लेने के लिए राज्य के लाखों अभ्यर्थियों ने आवेदन किया था। इस परीक्षा की आंसर की जल्द ही वेबसाइट पर अपलोड कर दी जाएगी जिससे अभ्यर्थियों को उनके द्वारा अटेम्प्ट किए गए सवालों के आधार पर एक…