#john for president 2032

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Jesse Duquette

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 13, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 14, 2024

Today illustrated that the Democrats have become America’s cheerleaders, emphasizing how investment in the nation’s infrastructure has created jobs and rebuilt the country. This week, the Biden-Harris administration is touting its investments in rebuilding roads and bridges, making sure Americans have clean water, getting rid of pollution, expanding access to high-speed internet, and building a clean energy economy, contrasting that success with Trump’s eternal announcements of an “Infrastructure Week” that never came. 

The White House today announced that it has awarded nearly $454 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including more than 56,000 projects across more than 4,500 communities across the nation. Those include fixing more than 165,000 miles of roads and more than 9,400 bridges and improving more than 450 ports and 300 airport terminals. It has funded more than 1,400 drinking water and wastewater projects and projects to replace up to 1.7 million toxic lead pipes, as well as more than 8,000 low- and zero-emission buses. It has funded 95 previously unfunded Superfund projects to clean up contaminated sites. It has improved the electrical grid and funded 12,000 miles of high-speed internet infrastructure, and exposed internet junk fees.  

The White House explained that this investment is making it cheaper to install clean energy technology and lowering families’ monthly energy bills, and highlighted today the available rebates to enable people to take advantage of the new technologies. 

On Wednesday, May 8, a report from the Semiconductor Industry Association and the Boston Consulting Group explored the “breathtaking speed,” as the president of the semiconductor organization put it, at which the industry is growing. In the Financial Times on May 9, John Thornhill reported that the CHIPS and Science Act, which provided a $39 billion investment in  the semiconductor industry, has “primed a torrent of private sector investment.” With the influx of both federal money and an additional $447 billion of private investment in 83 projects in 25 states, the report forecasts that the U.S. will increase its share of global manufacturing capacity for leading-edge chips from today’s rate of 0% to 28% by 2032. Thornhill compared this investment to that spurred by Russia’s 1957 launch of the Sputnik satellite. 

The Economist yesterday announced that the U.S. “is in the midst of an extraordinary startup boom,” and explored “[h]ow the country revived its “go-getting spirit.”

In contrast to the Democrats’ confidence in America, the Republicans are all-in on the idea that the country is an apocalyptic wasteland. At a rally in New Jersey Saturday, Trump announced: “On day one we will throw out Bidenomics and reinstate MAGAnomics.” He promised to extend his 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

But the gist of his speech was an angry, vitriolic picture of a failing nation full of “enemies” that are “more dangerous” than China and Russia and who are “going to destroy our country.” In his telling, the criminal case against him in Manhattan is “bullsh*t,” and President Biden has done more damage than the “ten worst presidents in the history of our country” combined: “[h]e’s a fool; he’s not a smart man…[h]e’s a bad guy…the worst president ever, of any country. The whole world is laughing at him.”

Trump lied that other countries are “emptying out their mental institutions into the United States, our beautiful country. And now the prison populations all over the world are down. They don’t want to report that the mental-institution population is down because they’re taking people from insane asylums and from mental institutions.” Then he riffed into “the late great Hannibal Lecter,” the fictional murderer and cannibal in the film The Silence of the Lambs, apparently to suggest that similar individuals are migrating to the U.S.

House Republicans this week are working to pass a nonbinding resolution to condemn Biden’s immigration policies, although it was Republicans, under orders from Trump, who killed a strong bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year. 

The only way to turn back this apocalypse, Trump and his supporters insist, is to put Trump and his team back into the White House. From there, Republicans will return those they consider “real” Americans to power. 

The last few days have added new information about what that means. On Thursday, May 9, Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) introduced the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) act. Britt—who is best known for her disastrous response to Biden’s State of the Union speech from her kitchen—said the measure would provide a federal database of resources for pregnant women and women parenting young children, but that information excludes anything that touches on abortion.

The measure is clear that it enlists the government in opposition to abortion, but more than that, it establishes that the government will create a database of the names and contact information of pregnant women, which the government can then use “to follow up with users on additional resources that would be helpful for the users to review.” 

A government database of pregnant women would give the federal government unprecedented control over individuals, and it is especially chilling after the story Caroline Kitchener broke in the Washington Post on May 3, that a Texas man, Collin Davis, filed a petition to stop his ex-partner from traveling to Colorado, where abortion is legal, to obtain an abortion. Should she do so, his lawyer wrote, he would “pursue wrongful-death claims against anyone involved in the killing of his unborn child.” Now Davis wants to be able to depose his former partner along with others he says are “complicit” in the abortion. 

Antiabortion activists are also seeking to make mifepristone and misoprostol, drugs used in many abortions, hard to obtain. In Louisiana, state lawmakers are considering classifying the drugs as “controlled dangerous substances,” which would make possessing them carry penalties of up to ten years in prison and fines of up to $75,000. 

More than 240 Louisiana doctors wrote to lawmakers saying that the drugs have none of the addictive characteristics associated with dangerous controlled substances and warning that the drugs are crucial for inducing routine labor and preventing catastrophic hemorrhage after delivery, in addition to their use in abortions. “Given its historically poor maternal health outcomes, Louisiana should prioritize safe and evidence-based care for pregnant women,” the doctors wrote. 

Louisiana lawmakers also rejected a bill that would have allowed anyone under age 17, the age of consent in Louisiana, to have an abortion if they became pregnant after rape or incest. Passionate testimony from those who suffered such attacks or who treated pregnant girls as young as 8 failed to convince the Republican lawmakers to support the measure. “That baby [in the womb] is innocent.… We have to hang on to that,” said Republican state representative Dodie Horton. 

Today, at the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization promoting Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander participation and representation at all levels of the political process, Vice President Kamala Harris encouraged young people to innovate and to move into spaces from which they have been traditionally excluded.

“So here’s the thing about breaking barriers,” she said. “Breaking barriers does not mean you start on one side of the barrier and you end up on the other side. There’s breaking involved. And when you break things you get cut. And you may bleed. And it is worth it every time…. We have to know that sometimes people will open the door for you and leave it open. Sometimes they won’t. And then you need to kick that f*cking door down.”

Harris’s advice reflects the history that happened on this date in 1862, when the enslaved mariners on board the shallow-draft C.S.S. Planter gathered up their families, fired up the ship’s boilers, and sailed out of the Charleston, South Carolina, harbor. The three white officers of the ship had gone ashore, leaving enslaved 23-year-old pilot Robert Smalls to take control. Smalls knew how to steer the ship and give the proper signals to the Confederates at Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, and three other checkpoints. 

Smalls piloted the Planter, the sixteen formerly enslaved people on it, and a head full of intelligence about the Confederate fortifications at Charleston to the U.S. Navy. In Confederate hands, the Planter had surveyed waterways and laid mines; now that information was in U.S. hands. Smalls went on to pilot naval vessels during the war, and in 1864 he bought the house formerly owned by the man who had enslaved him. 

A natural leader, Smalls went on to become a businessman, politician, and strong advocate for education. After serving in the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention that made school attendance compulsory and provided for universal male suffrage, he went on to serve in the South Carolina legislature from 1868 to 1874, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served until 1887. When President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the nation’s first national monument concerning Reconstruction, he cited the life of Robert Smalls.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[libertarian-druid-ny-separatist]

So, I plan on running for president in 10 years, and I'm going to be starting that campaign early and on Tumblr. But, I feel it's important to make my policy goals clear along with the motivation behind them. So let's get started.

Ending the war on drugs. This is big because the war on drugs has failed massively and only made drugs more dangerous. I plan to legalize the growth of poppies, coca, magic mushrooms, and cannabis nationwide and prepare a licensing program to distribute them. This will not include importation. All recreational drugs will need to be checked for purity and general safety within reason. Production will also require a license and be limited to a certain extent. At the same time, the destigmatization of drug use will make it easier for people to seek treatment and quit.

Taking responsibility for Liberia. They're a state that US created for freed slaves. And we've abandoned them. In all honesty, I'm tempted to say we should offer them statehood, but they deserve to be an independent nation if they so desire. We should help them set up an electrical grid and nation building logistical programs if the government of Liberia is willing to accept aid. Funding for this program could come from both the sales tax on recreational drugs and the savings from jails that no longer need to jail drug users or dealers.

Easing immigration requirements. We used to have a neat system set up with Mexico called "circular flow" where we got workers from Mexico that were paid in the US by US law and were legally allowed to work here and live in Mexico. Since banning that practice, we've increased illegal immigration. I want to bring back circular flow while also easing immigration requirements for those that want to live here. Hopefully streamlining the process.

Demilitarizing the police. This is one that I imagine is pretty well accepted. Our police forces in the US are militarized to all hell. Fuck's sake, Burlington, Vermont had a fucking apc. One of the most peaceful places in the nation, and they got a damn apc. This demilitarization will leave it so that only SWAT units get anything that's ex military. With drugs legalized, there won't be nearly as much crime to respond to and even less for violent crimes.

Nationally pass a right to repair bill. This one should be obvious, but when you buy something you own it. You should be allowed to fix it if it breaks.

Offer statehood to all US territories if they want it. They're US territories. If they pay taxes to the US government then they should be a state. Obviously they don't right now, but if they're willing to then we should incorporate them into the union. This will not be forced on them and will not involve any sort of invasion. Just accepting them as member of the union and getting them set up in Federal congress.

Increase US production by giving tax cuts to certain manufacturers that produce in the US. Including cars, steel, computer parts, oil, arms, and more.

Cut back on gun control laws. They don't work worth shit, I can go a town over from where I am now and buy an uzi for now $700. That's cheaper than civilian legal guns for a legitimate submachine gun. Whereas Vermont had no arms dealers that I was aware of and a peaceful society. NY, which has fucking intense gun control, has illegal guns out the ass and a fuckload of murders vs a max of 6 per year. That 6, happened once in the last hundred years. An armed society is a polite society.

Negotiate with terrorists. The biggest failure of the war on terror was the fact that we refused to negotiate peace with them. We kept making more as a result of that policy and we ended up killing tons of innocents. "Only a fool learns from his own mistakes, the wise man learns from the mistakes of others." Bismark was right there because holy fuck has America made some serious mistakes.

Attempt to create more peace in the world without creating more violence. The US military is a logistics machine that could be used to help these developing nations and frankly, should be used to help developing nations that want us to help. No UN style of "help" that just ends in people getting raped. We help where we're wanted only. If your nation doesn't want us there then we won't go there. And yeah, that includes Liberia, if we're not wanted there then we won't go.

Those are my top ten policies, but not my only ten. I want to put some more money into NASA and be more open with the American people. I want to outlaw lobbying. And if we have already found aliens then I want to tell the American people because there's a good chance they've got stuff to teach us. I also want to change the legal definition of rape to include forced to penetrate, essentially making it any forced sexual contact. Shit, if there was an ethical way to legalize sex work then I'd do it, but pimps and madames make that damn near impossible. Frankly, as long as you're not hurting anyone, you should be allowed to do what you want. So independent prostitution would be fine, if a person wants to sell their body for sex then they should be allowed to. Maybe some sort of licensing program to ensure they're sti free and only acting of their own accord. I want to expand the nuclear power program and start a kinetic bombardment weapons program. I want to fund research into nuclear fusion for power purposes. And despite being a libertarian, I want to incorporate some syndicalist policies by giving labor unions by converting the DEA into the Labor Law enforcement agency to ensure ethical treatment of workers. There is so much that I want to do for our nation and for other nations that we owe help to.

My name is John. And I want to be your president if you're an American citizen. I want to grow our gdp while lowering taxes for the average American citizen and create jobs by lowering them for businesses that produce in America.

My slogan is "Prosperity through peace." But honestly considering making it "Keeping the feds out of our damn business". If the Libertarian party wasn't so far right then I'd try to run under them, but I'm closer to the center so I'd either need to found my own party or find one that likes me enough. And with the changes going on in the libertarian party, by the year I can actually run, they might like me.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

1960: John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson vs Richard Nixon/Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.

1964: Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey vs Barry Goldwater/William E. Miller

1968: Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew vs Hubert Humphrey/Edmund Muskie vs George Wallace/Curtis Lemay

1972: Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew vs George McGovern/Sargent Shriver

1976: Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale vs Gerald Ford/Bob Dole

1980: Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush vs Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale

1984: Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush vs Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro

1988: George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle vs Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen

1992: Bill Clinton/Al Gore vs George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle vs Ross Perot/James Stockdale

1996: Bill Clinton/Al Gore vs Bob Dole/Jack Kemp vs Ross Perot/Pat Choate

2000: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney vs Al Gore/Joe Lieberman

2004: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney vs John Kerry/John Edwards

2008: Barack Obama/Joe Biden vs John McCain/Sarah Palin

2012: Barack Obama/Joe Biden vs Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan

2016: Donald Trump/Mike Pence vs Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine

2020: Joe Biden/Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump/Mike Pence

The same candidates tend to show up year after year. Not just President running for re-election, but Vice Presidents running for the top slot themselves, incumbents or candidates, successful or not; Richard Nixon (1952, 1956, 1960, 1968), Hubert Humphrey (1964, 1968), Walter Mondale (1976, 1980), Bob Dole (1976, 1996), Al Gore (1992, 1996, 2000)

I would expect John Edwards (D-2004) to try and make a comeback, though he was only a one term senator from North Carolina, so that’s looking increasingly unlikely. The state swung for Obama in 2008, but hasn’t voted blue since (except for governor, but he has no power because the Republicans control the state legislature)

Paul Ryan (R-2012) will be back for sure; he retired from the House in part over of disagreements with Trump, but one doesn’t just give up being Speaker and slink away into obscurity (just look at Newt Gingrich, he refuses to shut up or die), so I think Ryan is just biding his time and hoping the whole Trump thing blows over in the next decade. If the party shifts away from Trump, he might offer himself as a slightly more moderate (“moderate*”) alternative.

Or maybe Sarah Palin (R-2008) will try and reclaim the presidency for herself; she’s a hardcore right wing nutjob, she was a Bush supporter AND a Trump supporter, and she’s still relatively young, so I could see her stepping back into the spotlight to try and “being the country back” to the traditionalism of the early 2000s. Nostalgia is cyclical, so I figure around 2028 or 2032 people will start looking back fondly on the Clinton and Bush years (Clinton more so than Bush, what with 9/11 and the wars and such)

Tim Kaine isn’t even one of the famous senators; there are some senators that everybody knows, even if they’re not from your state, like Chuck Schumer, Joe Manchin, Lindsey Graham, Bitch McConnell, big names with big reputations. Tim Kaine is a nobody, just a bland and inoffensive white dude Clinton picked to be as uncontroversial as possible (she couldn’t pick a woman or a black person because then the ticket would have been “too diverse”). He’s not the future of the Democratic party, but I could see him trying to become part of the Senate leadership. Maybe the whip (vice leader), I don’t think he has what it takes to be leader outright.

I don’t think Mitt Romney (R-2012) will run for president again; that ship has sailed. Moderate Republicans are critically endangered, extinct in the wild, with single specimens in captivity (in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maryland). After back-to-back losses in 2008 and 2012, I don’t think Republicans will run a moderate candidate ever again. Romney could maybe just maybe become the whip if he so desired, he’s a big enough name with support enough to become their presidential nominee, though he’ll never be the leader; McConnell was their golden goose, he gave hem exactly what they wanted and changed the game to give them an advantage even in minority. They will only ever elect hardliners like him from now on. Romney is too soft; he cares too much about the other side (he’s not liberal by any stretch of the imagination, he’s a Mormon for Brigham’s sake, but he voted to impeach Trump twice which means he may as well be a liberal in the eyes of the public)

Mike Pence has committed political suicide. Democrats hate him for his homophobia, sexism, racism, classism, and weird relationship with his wife who he calls “mother.” Republicans hate him because he didn’t break the law to re-elect Trump. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. He’s ultraconservative and super religious, so under normal circumstances he’d be a shoo-in for the nomination, but after breaking with Trump in January he’s dead in the water (he didn’t even really break away, there was literally nothing legal he could do; if he had tried anything it would have been struck down by the courts). And besides that, Pence is boring as hell. He’s milquetoast, he’s a saltine cracker without the salt because it’s too spicy, he orders plain hamburgers with ketchup on the side, all his steaks are cooked well done, he gets a boner when he sees a woman’s ankle and has to self-flagellate for penance, he sends back water if it has too much ice because it makes his teeth hurt. He’s the sacrificial lamb they’d nominate specifically to lose so they can save a stronger candidate for later when there’s no incumbent.

Kamala Harris is basically president-in-waiting (or rather nominee-in-waiting; who knows if she can actually win?) Biden ran on the unspoken promise that he would step down in 2024, making her the front runner, but he has recently walked this back and says he plans on running for a second term himself, pushing Kamala back until 2028 at least. She has good PR and has convinced half the country that she’s a progressive instead of a cop, so if she runs she’ll definitely have an edge over Democratic challengers. The media picks the nominee, and in 24 or 28 they’ll pick her for sure.

It’s becoming increasingly harder for people to stay relevant over multiple decades. I can’t imagine any 2004 candidates running in 2024, but Bob Dole managed to get on as Ford’s #2 and come back as #1 himself twenty years later (he lost both times, but still). Richard Nixon beat the odds and actually got elected in 68 after losing the presidency in 60 and the governorship in 62; he was pretty much coasting on Eisenhower’s legacy, selling himself as the anti-Goldwater, who lost in 64 to LBJ in a landslide.

Trump is acting like he’s going to run again, but whether or not he’ll fully commit is up in the air. On the one hand, his least insane niece says that he doesn’t want to put himself in a position where he could lose again, his ego couldn’t take it, he’s so embarrassed he can’t even admit it happened the first time. On the other hand, he’s too proud to accept defeat and just let some other candidate take his spot as leader of the Republican Party; the Republicans haven’t had a leader since Eisenhower, every other president has disappeared after leaving office.

Nixon resigned in disgrace

Ford was elected out

Reagan disappeared in the 90s because he didn’t want the country to see him deteriorate from Alzheimer’s

Bush Sr was elected out

Bush Jr was despised with approval in the 20s (record low), and could potentially have been tried at The Hague if Obama had balls

Now Trump wants to stick around, even though he’s older than Reagan and FAR less healthy. He’ll probably be dead in 15 years anyway; no way he reaches 90. His mind may already be going, but unlike Reagan he isn’t self aware enough to know it, so he might try to stay in the spotlight even after the dementia sets in. Wo knows?

What his niece says, and what I think is most likely to happen, is that he will pretend like he’s running in order to scam donors out of millions of dollars to pay his exorbitant legal fees, but then bow out of the race before the primaries. Whichever candidate he personally endorses will become the nominee and go up against Biden. Biden will win the popular vote, but I don’t know if he’ll win the electoral college; if this happens for the third time in a quarter century, I expect nothing less than chaos in the streets, perhaps even civil war (well, I expected civil war after 2020, and we’re still standing, so again, who knows?). All I know is that congressional Democrats will throw a hissy fit but do nothing to stop the Republicans from sneaking their way into office without a mandate AGAIN.

The last Republican to legitimately win the presidency was George Bush Sr in 1988. Jr lost to Gore, and only got re-elected in 2004 because he invaded Iraq the year prior. Democrats have won 7 of the last 8 elections, including the last 4 in a row. There are more Democrats and left-leaning independents than Republicans and right-leaners. If the Republicans lose-but-win AGAIN, I don’t think the county could take it; there would be phony calls for secession on TV and legitimate whispers behind the scenes, there would be lawsuits, there would be an even bigger assault on the Capitol than January 6, people would riot, the National Guard would attack brown people with impunity while peacefully corralling the white ones with shields and loudspeakers.

There hasn’t been an assassination since 1963, and no assassination attempt resulting in injury since 1981. Someone threw a grenade at Bush Jr in 2005, but they wrapped a handkerchief around it so the lever didn’t release. I think multiple politicians on both sides of the aisle might be targeted in the event of another electoral college screw up.

Trump could face jail time for his tax crimes, though given his high profile I think he’d get off with a slap on the wrist. He has never faced consequences before, so why would they start now?

[justinssportscorner]

ABC News Australia:

Brisbane has won the right to host the Olympic Games in 2032.

The decision was confirmed after a meeting of International Olympic Committee delegates in Tokyo this evening.

Queensland's delegation — including Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck — had to restrain themselves to standing and clapping with COVID-19 restrictions ruling out any close-contact celebrations.

Brisbane's CBD riverside erupted in fireworks as the announcement was made.

Following the announcement, Ms Palaszczuk, Cr Schrinner and Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates took part in the formal signing of the Olympics contract.

Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games president Hashimoto Seiko congratulated Brisbane on its winning bid.

"My heartfelt congratulations go to the people of Brisbane and Australia," he said.

"Over the past year, the world's sporting community has faced the multiple challenges of COVID-19; however, under the steadfast leadership of IOC president Thomas Bach, the Olympic movement has made steady progress, culminating in today's decision in favour of Brisbane."

An expanded Gabba stadium will be the centrepiece of the Games, which will run from July 23 to August 8, to be immediately followed by the Paralympics.

Events will be staged at more than 30 venues across south-east Queensland in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Logan, Ipswich and Redlands.

[hangorin]

2032年ブリズベン五輪決定に抗議する！オリンピックはどこにもいらない／Against the Brisbane Olympics in 2032! NOlympics Anywhere

※The English version is available after the Japanese version. Please scroll down.

2032年ブリズベン五輪決定に抗議する！オリンピックはどこにもいらない

7月21日、東京で開かれたIOC総会で正式にブリスベンが2032年夏季オリンピック開催地に決定しました。オリンピックに反対・抗議する人々は、大量に動員された警官に取り囲まれながら、総会の会場となった一流ホテルの前で「NO Olympics Brisbane!　オリンピックはどこにもいらない！」と声を上げました。今年2月、IOCはブリスベンを「最優先候補地」に選出、この時点で事実上の開催地決定となりました。ブリスベンのあるクイーンズランド州は18年、コモンウェルスゲームズ(英連邦のスポーツ大会)の開催地となりました。その際、州都ブリスベンは既存施設の充実度や、優れた基本計画、大規模イベントの経験、気候のよさが評価され、選出の決定打となったといいます。

　2024五輪の立候補都市が住民投票などにより相次いで辞退する現実を目の当たりにしたIOCは2017年の総会で、24年・28年の開催地を同時に選出するという異例の決定を下しました。19年、IOCは更に開催地を原則7年前に決める規定を撤廃、開催に興味を示す有力都市を「一本釣り」できる制度を整えました。この新制度の下、初めて選出されたのがブリスベンです。選出過程の不透明さは「招致合戦」を繰り広げてい��当時と変わるところはありません。何よりも忘れてはならないのは、オーストラリアNOC会長は、今年5月に「緊急事態宣言が出ても五輪は開催できる」6月に「私は観客を見たいし、アスリートも見たいと思う」と開催地住民の命を一顧だにしない発言を繰り返したジョン・コーツIOC副会長だということです。

　選出の過程だけを見ても、オリンピックが開催地にまき散らし続けてきた「災害」のツケがもはや限界に達していることは疑うべくもないことです。

　「選出の決定打」となった要素を見ると、どこかで聞いたことのあるようなものばかりです。18年開催のコモンウェルスゲームズの「レガシー」を活用するというくだりは、東京オリンピック招致当時の知事・猪瀬氏が「2020東京五輪は神宮の国立競技場を改築するがほとんど40年前の五輪施設をそのまま使うので世界一カネのかからない五輪なのです」と豪語していたことを想起させられます。

　オーストラリアで忘れてはならないのは先住民の問題です。2000年シドニー大会では、先住民アスリートが聖火リレー最終ランナーをつとめる演出がなされました。ブリスベンは1982年のコモンウェルスゲームズ開催地で、この大会に象徴される帝国主義・植民地主義に抗して、先住民をはじめ多くの人が座り込みなどの闘争を行いました。クイーンズランド州で行われた18年大会の時も、この闘争の「レガシー」が継承され、たたかいが繰り広げられました。

オリンピックが先住民の土地を盗み、彼らの存在を都合よく利用し、差別と抑圧の現実を不可視化することは、オーストラリアだけではなく、カナダやロシアなど多くの開催地で起こっています。これは、東京大会成功の為に、在留資格の不安定な多くの在日外国人や難民申請者を入管に閉じ込め、その自由と人権を奪い続けている問題とつながっているように思います。札幌のマラソン・競歩の会場では「日本の多様性をアピールする」ためにアイヌ民族の歌と踊りが「世界に向けて」披露される予定だと言います。オリンピックが剽窃し、盗用した先住民の文化を使って差別の現実と抑圧と収奪の歴史をなかったことにする、このような暴力を繰り返させてはなりません。

21日、ブリスベンが32年オリンピック開催地に選出された瞬間、屋外の特設会場に集まった人たちから大きな歓声が起こりました。他方、歴代の開催地に比べ、はるかに小規模なブリスベンがオリンピック開催の負担に耐えうるのか、市民スポーツが後回しにされるのではないか、日常生活に不可欠なインフラ整備が市民のニーズに沿う形で行われるのかー開催地住民の不安の声が次々に出ています。コロナとのいつ終わるとも知れないー決して32年までに収束が約束されているわけではないーたたかいも続いています。オリンピックに命をうばわれようとしているのは、世界のどこでも同じです。

32年大会は、ブリスベンを中心に、ゴールドコーストなどクイーンズランド州各地に展開する予定だといいます。ＩＯＣとオーストラリア、クイーンズランド州の政財界は、開催地をどう料理し、利権を吸い上げようと虎視眈々とし始めているのは火を見るよりも明らかです。

オリンピックはいりません。パラリンピックはいりません。

32年まで持ち越すことを、私たちは許しません。

ブリスベン、クイーンズランド州、オーストラリアの仲間たちと、ともにたたかっていきたいと願っています。

2021年7月　反五輪の会

Against the Brisbane Olympics in 2032! NOlympics Anywhere

On July 21, 2021, the city of Brisbane was officially chosen as the host city for the 2032 Summer Olympics at the IOC General Assembly held in Tokyo.

"NO Olympics in Brisbane!” protesters shouted, gathered in front of the five-star hotel where the General Assembly was held, surrounded by a large swarm of police. This past February, the IOC selected Brisbane as the "top candidate" for the Olympic Games, effectively making it the host city. The state of Queensland, where Brisbane is located, became the host of the Commonwealth Games in 2018. At that time, the state capital Brisbane was chosen because of its existing facilities, excellent basic planning, experience in large-scale events, and favorable climate.

The IOC, faced with the reality that candidate cities for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics had withdrawn one after another due to referendums and other reasons, made the unusual decision at its 2017 General Assembly to select the host cities for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics at the same time. In 2007, the IOC abolished the rule that the host city must be decided seven years in advance, and established a system that allows the IOC to "single out" the leading cities interested in hosting the Games. Brisbane was the first city to be selected under this new system. The opaqueness of the selection process is no different from the time when the "bidding war" was being waged. Above all, we must not forget that the President of the Australian National Olympic Committee is IOC Vice President John Coates, who repeatedly insisted in May this year that the Olympics could be held even if a state of emergency was declared, and in June this year that "I want to see the spectators and I want to see the athletes," with no regard for the lives of the residents of the host city.

Just looking at the selection process alone, there is no doubt that the cost of the "disaster" that the Olympics has been spraying on the host cities has reached its limit.

The "decisive factor" in the selection of the host city is something we have all heard before: the idea of utilizing the "legacy" of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, when Inose, then-governor of Tokyo during the Olympics bid, said, "The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will renovate the National Stadium, but will mostly use the same 40-year-old facilities. It will be the least expensive Olympics in the world because we will use almost all of the same facilities that were used for the Olympics 40 years ago.

We cannot understandAustralia without understanding its problems against Indigenous peoples. In Sydney Olympics in 2000, an indigenous athlete was chosen as the final runner of the torch relay. Brisbane was the site of the 1982 Commonwealth Games, where many people, including indigenous people, staged sit-ins and other struggles against the imperialism and colonialism symbolized by the Games. The "legacy" of this struggle was carried over to the 2018 Games in Queensland, and people waged a battle.

The Olympic Games' theft of indigenous peoples' land, the convenient use of their existence, which then makes the reality of discrimination and oppression invisibile, is not only a phenomenon in Australia, but in Canada, Russia, and many other host countries. We see this related to the Japanese governmet locking up asylum seekers and undocumented immigrant in Japan into detention centers and depriving them of their freedom and human rights in order to make the Tokyo Games "a success." At the Sapporo marathon and walking race, the indigenous Ainu people will be performing songs and dances "for the world to see" in order to "promote Japan's diversity.” We must stop the cycle of colonization to manifest, as the Olympics use stolen and plagiarized indigenous cultures to pretend as if the history of oppression and dispossession does not exist.

As Brisbane was announced as the 2032 host of the Olympics, a huge cheer erupted among the people gathered at the outdoor venue. At the same time, people in the host city have voiced their concerns about whether Brisbane, which is much smaller than previous host cities, will be able to bear the burden of hosting the Olympics, whether community-based sport events will be put on the back burner, and whether the infrastructure essential for daily life will be developed in a way that meets the needs of local people. The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic also continues with no end in sight - no guarantees it will even be over by 2032.

Everywhere in the world, the Olympic Games are killing us. It is clear that the IOC and the politicians and capitalist class of Queensland are beginning to watch vigilantly for ways to cook up the host city and siphon off the profits.

We don't want the Olympics. We don't want the Paralympics. We will not allow this to go on until 2032. We will fight alongside our friends in Brisbane!

2021.7　Hangorinnnokai NO OLYMPICS 2020

[gamesbids]

Brisbane 2032 Olympic bid receiving due diligence by IOC as it enters 'last lap'

#Brisbane2032 Olympic bid receiving due diligence by IOC as it enters 'last lap'

The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid has entered the very final stage towards the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) awarding of the quadrennial multi-sport event. (Photo: Australian Olympic Committee) IOC Vice President and President of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) John Coates told the AOC Annual General Meeting on Saturday that Brisbane was on the verge of being…

[detroit-become-human-analyze]

Detroit: Become Human - Chronology and timeline of events... (CANON)

The chronology and timeline of events ( https://detroit-become-human.fandom.com/wiki/Chronology ) in the world of Detroit: Become Human.

pre-1960

1915: Birth of Arnold Brook.

1917: Zlatko Andronikov's family flees the revolution in Russia.

1960s

1963: Birth of Carl Manfred (July 13).

1970s

1978: Birth of Michael Brinkley (January 24), Amanda Stern (May 14).

1980s

1980: Birth of Gordon Penwick (June 10).

1982: Birth of Dennis Ward (June 11), Jeffrey Fowler (August 8).

1983: Birth of Christopher Gray (June 18).

1985: Birth of Hank Anderson (September 6), Cristina Warren (September 15).

1987: Birth of Jonah Graham (December 9).

1988: Birth of Joseph Sheldon (August 14), Gary Kayes (December 3).

1989: Birth of Derek Myers (May 7), Ben Collins (September 12).

1990s

1991: Birth of Zlatko Andronikov (September 21).

1992: Birth of Douglas Mitchell (August 10).

1993: Birth of Rose Chapman (March 31).

1994: Birth of Captain Allen (December 2).

1995: Birth of Edward Dempsey (February 8), Richard Perkins (July 13), Todd Williams (September 21).

1998:

1999: Birth of  Isaac Falone (March 10), Elizabeth Wilson (March 25), John Phillips (October 11).

Death of Arnold Brook.[1]

Birth of Chris Roberts (May 16).

2000s

2000: Birth of Michael Webb (September 9).

2001: Birth of Jimmy Peterson (February 1), Caroline Phillips (May 23).

2002: Birth of Elijah Kamski (July 17), Gavin Reed (October 7).

2005: Birth of Pedro Aabdar (January 25), Rosanna Cartland (December 12).

2008: Birth of Carlos Ortiz (October 27).

2009: Birth of Nathan Clark (August 18), Chris Miller (September 30).

2010s

2010: Birth of Leo Manfred (March 21), Joss Douglas (October 24).

2012: Birth of Samuel McCray (April 10).

2013: Birth of Adam Chapman (August 5).

2018: Elijah Kamski founds CyberLife, creates first androids.

2020s

2021: Release of RT600 "Chloe".

2022: RT600 Chloe first android to pass the Turing test.

2024:

2027: CyberLife sells 1 millionth android.

2028:

2028or 2029: United States pass the Android Act.

2029: Hank Anderson promoted to the rank of lieutenant (reported on August 22).

Release of ST200 "Chloe", first industrially produced android.

CyberLife leased a disused warehouse. (Extras Gallery)

CyberLife starts the commercial production of androids.

KNC's interview with Chloe (April 25).

Release of JB100 OR Andy (12-2027).

Death of Amanda Stern (February 23).

Elijah Kamski named Century magazine's "Man of the Century". Later, Kamski resigns as CEO and leaves CyberLife.

Red Ice Task Force dismantles a Red Ice network (reported on February 3).

Birth of Emma Phillips (September 2).

Release of EM400 (2028), Jerry (06-2028).

Birth of Cole Anderson (September 23).

Release of PC200 and PM700.

2030s

2030:

2031:

2032: Release of AX400, Kara (04-2032).

2033:

2034:

2035:

2036:

2037: Rose Chapman starts helping deviants.

2038: the year Detroit: Become Human takes place.

CyberLife reaches market valuation of $850bn.

Release of TR400 OR Luther (01-2030), HK400 OR Carlos' Android (05-2031), URS12 Android Bear (10-2030).

Androids introduced into the United States military and Michigan law enforcement. Red Ice Task Force seizes boat with nearly 1t Red Ice (reported on November 23).

Release of Ralph (/WR600?) and PJ500 (2031), Josh (11-2031).

Birth of Sumo (April 2031).

Release of JB300 336 445 581 (/JB300?) (05-2033), YK500, Alice (07-2033).

Carlos Ortiz spent several stays in a psychiatric hospital in 2033.

Release of PL600 (2034), Simon (02-2034).

April 2034 Season Finals Detroit's Champions Take An Early Lead (Basketball Magazine poster around Hank's Desk)

Release of "Traci"s WR400 and HR400 (2035), North (10-2035).

Death of Cole Anderson (October 11)[8].

Detroit Gears basketball Playoffs (Seen at Hank's desk)

Cristina Warren elected President of the United States.

Carlos Ortiz spent several stays in a psychiatric hospital in 2036.

Release of KL900 OR Lucy, Rupert (possibly plus WB200?).

Reported missing: Simon (February 16), Rupert (October 11).

Death of Rose Chapman's husband (estimated, "died 2 years ago" in 2038[9]).

2038

The year 2038 is the temporal setting of Detroit: Become Human.

global population 10 billion.[10]

January-July

Edit

January

February

The first DPD case file about deviants ("dates back nine months")[11]

March

April

May

June

July

August

RK800 "Connor" released (08-2038).

Birth of Damian Miller ("three months ago" in November).

Aug 15th: Chapter "The Hostage".

around 7:30 PM: Daniel takes Emma Phillips hostage.

Death of John Phillips (estimated 07:29 PM), Officer Antony Deckart (estimated 08:03 PM), and another officer (found dead in the pool). Officer M. Wilson is wounded by Daniel, death optional.

CyberLife sends RK800 Connor as a hostage negotiator. ITM televises the hostage situation.

08:29 PM: Chapter "The Hostage" begins. Connor arrives at the Phillips apartment.

08:30 PM: DPD reports that a deviant android is involved. (ITM report)

September

09/14: An android waiter (AV500 #234 777 821) in Fast Coney Dogs attacks Charles Bell and escapes.

October

10/04: Gordon Lopez's AL series android disappears. North deviates at a customer's home and escapes.

10/05: Eden Club manager Floyd Mills reports to the police that North is missing.

10/06: North arrives in Jericho (North has been in Jericho "4 weeks, 3 days, 11 hours" on Nov 6 after 5 PM).

around 10/17: Carlos Ortiz killed by Carlos' Android. (Based on his body being dead for 19 days on Nov 5th)

10/22: An android (AP700 #480 913 802) attacks her owner Sarah Cornwal, the house, and escapes.

November

Friday Nov 5th: Chapters: Shades of Color, The Opening, A New Home, The Painter, Partners, Stormy Night, Broken, Fugitives

CyberLife zoo opens in Detroit.

Several Russian warships have taken position in the Barents Sea since Saturday October 30th. (CTN news)

09:38 AM: Chapter "Shades of Color" begins. Markus arrives in Greektown to pick up Carl's paint from Bellini Paints.

09:58 AM: Chapter "The Painter" begins. Markus arrives back at Carl Manfred's House.

03:24 PM: Chapter "The Opening" begins. Todd Williams picks up Kara at Android Zone.

04:53 PM: Chapter "A New Home" begins. Todd and Kara arrive at Todd Williams' house.

"around 8" (PM or AM): Landlord calls police because he found Carlos Ortiz's corpse.

09:14 PM: Chapter "Stormy Night" begins. Dinner in the Williams house.

09:42 PM: Chapter "Broken" begins. Markus and Carl arrive home from the opening of Carl Manfred's retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art.

10:58 PM: Chapter "Fugitives" begins. Kara and Alice to get off the bus in Camden.

11:21 PM: Chapter "Partners" begins. Connor arrives at Jimmy's Bar to pick up Hank Anderson.

Saturday Nov 6th: Chapters:

The Interrogation, From the Dead, Waiting for Hank..., On the Run, Jericho, The Nest, Time to Decide, Zlatko, Russian Roulette, Spare Parts, The Eden Club

During the night: Russian carrier and American patrol boat reported to have exchanged warning shots in Arctic, no casualties. (~CTN news[11])

KNC reports on the first artificial intelligence to write a book.

CTN reports that a CyberLife prototype detective android is assisting the DPD. (~CTN news[11][15])

President Cristina Warren makes speech to Congress, demanding that Russian troops withdraw from the Arctic region. (~CTN news[8])

N/A: Severe hurricanes blight Mid-West, dozens killed. (seen under the scrolling header during Waiting for Hank.)   (~CTN news[8])

12:41 AM: Chapter "The Interrogation" begins. Hank interrogates Carlos' Android.

03:34 AM: Chapter "From the Dead" begins. Markus reboots in Solid Waste Landfill.

08:42 AM: Todd Williams' dead body is found by a friend and reported to the police. (If killed by Alice or Kara)

09:56 AM: Chapter "Waiting for Hank..." begins. Connor talks to Amanda. Then arrives at DPD Central Station.

10:25 AM: Chapter "On the Run" begins. Kara wakes in Camden.

03:02 PM: Chapter "The Nest" begins. Hank eats at Chicken Feed.

04:30 PM: Chapter "Jericho" begins. Markus travels to Ferndale Station.

06:24 PM (estimated[16]): Death of Michael Graham at Eden Club.

05:13 PM: Chapter "Time to Decide" begins. Markus meets Jericho androids.

07:45 PM: Chapter "Zlatko" begins. Kara and Alice arrive at Zlatko Andronikov's House.

07:51 PM: Chapter "Russian Roulette" begins. Connor talks to Amanda. Then visits Hank Anderson's home.

08:01 PM: Chapter "Spare Parts" begins. Jericho androids raid CyberLife Warehouse and Docks.

08:17 PM: Chapter "The Eden Club" begins. Connor and Hank arrive at the Eden Club.

Sunday Nov 7th:

Chapters: The Pirates' Cove, The Bridge, The Stratford Tower

01:02 AM: Chapter "The Pirates' Cove" begins. Kara's group travels by car.

01:19 AM: Chapter "The Bridge" begins. Connor and Hank in Riverside Park.

09:24 AM: Chapter "The Stratford Tower" begins. Markus sits on a street bench and gets an idea.

Monday Nov 8th:

Chapters: The Stratford Tower cont., Public Enemy, Midnight Train

01:30 PM: Chapter "The Stratford Tower" cont. Markus infiltrates the Stratford Tower.

01:59 PM: Markus is recording the message in Stratford Tower (Connor' "Pupil Reflection" scan is timestamped "13:59:54").

04:06 PM: Chapter "Public Enemy" begins. Connor talks to Amanda. Then Connor and Hank arrive at Stratford Tower Floor 79.

05:10 PM: Chapter "Midnight Train" begins. Kara's group arrives at Rose's Farm.

Tuesday Nov 9th:

Chapters: Capitol Park, Meet Kamski, Freedom March, Last Chance, Connor, Crossroads

01:51 AM: Chapter "Capitol Park" begins. Jericho androids discuss Stratford broadcast.

02:00 AM: Jericho android teams attack the five CyberLife stores in Detroit simultaneously. Markus and North arrive at Capitol Park 10 minutes previous.

11:17 AM: Chapter "Meet Kamski" begins. Hank (+/- Connor) arrives at Elijah Kamski's house.

12:04 PM: Chapter "Freedom March" begins. Markus on roof, reflecting.

04:13 PM: Chapter "Last Chance, Connor" begins. Connor talks to Amanda. At DPD, Connor has to find Jericho.

N/A: Military androids removed from service(~CTN news), resulting in armed forces losing 2/3 of effective personnel. Androids are ordered to be turned over to the authorities, to be delivered to the nearest police station or army barracks, to be put in camps. The lack of androids shuts down services and utilities such as hospitals, schools, water, electricity, networks. (~KNC news[19]) Detroit is under curfew.

09:34 PM: Chapter "Crossroads" begins. Kara's group is driving to find Jericho.

10:45 PM: FBI and military raid on Jericho (~Warren press announcement)

Wednesday Nov 10th:

Chapters: Night of the Soul

06:00 AM: national curfew declared (~Warren press announcement)

Chapter "Night of the Soul" begins.

04:17 PM: Markus visits Carl's grave. (Pay Respects)

07:31 PM: Markus visits Carl's house. (Welcome Home) Then Markus in church (Markus on Sacred Ground). OR Jericho androids in church without Markus. (Connor/North on Sacred Ground)

07:31 PM or N/A: Connor speaks to Amanda (Thin Ice), visits Hank (Hank's House).

N/A: Android leader gives speech in undiscovered Jericho. (Markus/North Among the People)

09:24 PM: President Cristina Warren press announcement on Jericho raid, curfew etc. (Battle for Detroit)

Thursday Nov 11th:

Chapters: Battle for Detroit (events from multiple paths)

N/A: The U.S. Army has set up temporary camps in most major cities (Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Boston, San Francisco) to gather and destroy androids. (KNC News report, which is heard in Kamski's house if everyone died)

"at/since dawn": Androids take to the streets, either in peaceful demonstration (Markus Demonstration) OR fighting to liberate camps (Markus Revolution).

10:48 PM: Connor arrives at CyberLife Tower. (Connor at the CyberLife Tower)

10:51 PM: Kara's group in West Side Industrial on the way to Bus Terminal. (Kara Leaving Detroit)

10:56 PM: Androids march down Woodward Avenue onto Hart Plaza (Markus Demonstration/Revolution/North)

11:01 PM:

11:02 PM: Kara's group reaches Bus Terminal. (Kara Leaving Detroit, Risky Checkpoint)

11:06 PM: Kara's group enters Enclosure. (Kara Captured)

11:07 PM:

11:08 PM:

11:15 PM: Kara's group reaches Bus Terminal. (Kara Leaving Detroit, Safer Detour)

11:15-30 PM: Last bus from Detroit Bus Terminal departs to Canada Border. Cross-border bus service is suspended afterwards.

11:16 PM: Hart Plaza barricade is attacked. (Markus Demonstration)

11:26 PM:

11:30 PM: Kara's group arrives at US-Canada Border. (Kara Leaving Detroit)

11:36 PM: Kara's group enters Canada. (Kara Leaving Detroit)

11:57 PM: Kara's group arrives at banks of Detroit River, Canada. (Kara Leaving Detroit)

presumably before midnight: President Cristina Warren gives speech (Battle for Detroit).

Connor arrives at Floor -49. (Connor at the CyberLife Tower) OR Connor on Hart Plaza rooftop. (Connor's Last Mission)

Androids at Hart Plaza launch attack. (Revolution)

Connor vs Connor-60. (Connor at the CyberLife Tower)

Hart Plaza final assault, Markus vs Connor, vs tank. (Revolution)

Androids in Hart Plaza barricade. Perkins offers deal. (Markus Demonstration)

Kara's group facing destruction in Hart Plaza camp. (Kara Captured)

Hart Plaza androids arrested, Markus killed (Markus Demonstration, surrender)

Kara's group arrives at banks of Detroit River, Delray. (Kara Leaving Detroit)

Friday Nov 12th:

Chapters: Battle for Detroit cont.

12:01 AM: Hart Plaza and CyberLife Tower android groups meet. Android leader gives speech. OR Machine Connor checks on Markus's corpse, after the latter's surrender to Perkins.

07:37 AM: Kara's group wakes in Solid Waste Landfill. (Kara Captured)

[lostanarchymagazine]

American Flagg! is an American comic book series created by writer-artist Howard Chaykin, published by First Comics from 1983 to 1989. A science fiction series and political satire, it was set in the U.S., particularly Chicago, Illinois, in the early 2030s. Writers besides Chaykin included Steven Grant, J.M. DeMatteis, Alan Moore and John Francis Moore.

American Flagg, which ran 50 issues (October 1983 – March 1988), was one of the first titles to be published by First Comics, an early alternative press comics company founded in Evanston, Illinoisin 1983. Unusually for the time, the company offered its freelance writers and artists creator rights, including ownership of their creations. Regardless, writer-artist Howard Chaykin, then living in New York City, felt trepidation when First Comics approached him to do a project. He recalled in 2010,

My concern had all and everything to do with the fact that this was a brand new company, located in [a suburb of] Chicago. I'd always worked for companies I'd visited and had day-to-day-dealings with. [But] they talked about a financial plan that would make it possible for me to get out from under the debt I had accrued working for [publisher] Byron Preiss [illustrating early graphic novels]. It was encouraging, so I went home and concocted a scenario, a pitch document, and that was it.

Chaykin devised a series set in 2031, a high-tech but spiritually empty, consumerist world in which the American government has relocated to Mars, leaving what remains of the U.S. to be governed by the all-encompassing corporation known as the Plex. The series star is Reuben Flagg, a former TV star drafted into the Plexus Rangers and posted as a deputy in Chicago, Illinois.

The first 12 issues, running through cover-date September 1984, consisted of four interlocking, three-issue story arcs. Chaykin recalled his difficulty in producing 28 pages of art and script monthly. "I was still a smoker and a drinker at the time. And [the output was such that] I'd never done anything like that before, and it was insane. It just devoured my life [and] I had no assistants. I didn't know how to work with an assistant at that point, and it was a very difficult process. ... I was trying to do a fairly high-quality product and I didn't want to slough it off."

Chaykin made wide use of Craftint Duoshade illustration boards for American Flagg!, which in the period before computers, enabled him to add shaded textures to the finished art.Ken Bruzenak's lettering and logowork also won notice, as it was integral to American Flagg's futuristic, trademark-littered ambiance.

American Flagg's first dozen issues form one complete story that has influenced comic creators including Brian Michael Bendis and Warren Ellis. The comic made a huge splash at the 1984 Eagle Awards, the United Kingdom's pre-eminent comics awards. Chaykin and American Flagg! were nominated for ten awards, eventually winning seven. American Flagg! also won the 1983 Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Comic Book and tied for the 1983 CBG Award for Favorite Character (Reuben Flagg).

After issue #12, Chaykin continued the series while also working on such other projects as his revamp of The Shadow for DC Comics and the graphic novel Time2, based on characters introduced in a one-off American Flagg! special in 1986. During this time, Alan Moore wrote a back-up story that ran several issues and concluded in an issue-length story.

Eventually, Chaykin left, to be replaced on a regular basis by first Steven Grant then J.M. DeMatteis. Grant left after only seven issues due to creative friction with the series's new artist, Mark Badger. According to Grant, he had wanted to continue doing stories in the same style that Chaykin had established, while Badger wanted to take the series in new directions. Chaykin returned for a brief run to wrap up storylines before the first volume ended in March 1988. The title was relaunched a few months later as Howard Chaykin's Amerikan Flagg!. This run saw Chaykin return to write the first issue before handing over to John Francis Moore, with Mike Vosburg and Richard Ory penciling and inking the interior art, but the franchise failed to recapture its early success and was canceled after 12 issues.

The story takes place in the year 2031, after a series of worldwide crises called the Year of the Domino (1996) has forced the U.S. government and the heads of major corporations to relocate to Hammarskjold Center, on Mars ("temporarily, of course"). In the wake of the American government leaving the planet and the Soviet Union collapsing from Islamic insurrections, there was a power shift throughout the world, with Brazilian Union of the Americas and the Pan-African League becoming the new superpowers on Earth.

However, the exiled American government, its corporate backers, and a group of technicians in the defected Soviet lunar colony of Gagaringrad form the Plex: a giant, interplanetary union of corporate and government concerns that conduct commerce and govern the United States from its capital on Mars. Many population centers are grouped around massive, fortified arcologies called Plexmalls and the law is enforced by the Plexus Rangers, the absentee Plex's Earthside militia.

The Plex has formed the Tricentennial Recovery Committee, to get America "back on track for '76", but the TRC is in reality a plan to sell the United States off to the new superpowers and to leech off the remaining inhabitants before gaining true self-sufficiency. As a result, the Plex has outlawed non-combat related education, organized sports such as basketball and personal aircraft, restricted media to only one outlet, the Plex itself (although it has multiple channels), and advocates and glorifies the use of political violence amongst independent policlubs by providing money and firearms for its hit TV show Firefight All Night LIVE!, and covertly sterilizes the population by using a combination contraceptive and antibiotic called Mañanacillin to reduce the population.

This all changes when former television star Reuben Flagg is drafted and transferred to Chicago's Plexmall to replace the local Ranger Hilton "Hammerhead" Krieger's fallen partner. He witnesses widespread graft and corruption throughout the Plexmall, but also a series of subliminal messages implanted in a television show that are causing outbreaks of gang violence. After he uses his emergency powers to interrupt the broadcast, he not only ends the violence, but also brings forth a series of events that causes the Plex to send in covert agents, the death of Hilton, and the unveiling of Q-USA, a secret TV station owned and operated by Krieger that opens Flagg's eyes to the nature of the Plex.

As the series progressed, Chaykin took less and less of a direct role in scripting and plotting the stories out, and by the third year of its run, he really had nothing to do with the book other than cover art. Stories began to violate the rules that Chaykin had explicitly stated in the writer's bible for the series (for instance, California was said to have slid into the Pacific Ocean, but in the final year of the book, California was merely shown to have been abandoned for reasons that were vague at best), and characterizations began to drift considerably as well. (Among other things, Flagg abandoned his interest in 1930s jazz, and was frequently shown listening to late-1960s rock, as well as becoming more of a traditional stern-jawed good-guy hero). After trying and failing several times to shore up declining interests, First Comics decided to lure Chaykin back into the writer's seat. "American Flagg!" wrapped up its principal storyline with issue #50. By this time, Reuben Flagg had traveled to Mars, overthrown the Plex, and become President of the United States. He then decided to separate Illinois from the United States and run it as his own personal fiefdom. All issues of this series took place in the year 2031.

The next year, the comic was re-launched under the name Howard Chaykin's Amerikan Flagg! (The "K" and a reversed "r" were to reflect the fact that most of this series took place in Russia) and picked up from where the earlier book had left off (in 2032). There is some difference of opinion as to whether this new book was intended to be a limited run, or open-ended as is the norm with comics. In either case, it ended after twelve issues. The final issue ends with a photo album of the Flagg's future domestic life, with lots of kids, a screaming shrew of a wife, and a balding, overweight Flagg.

Characters

Reuben Flagg, born in 2000 at Hammarskjold Center, Mars, to Axel and Rebecca Flagg, was a stand-up comic and popular television star of the show Mark Thrust, Sexus Ranger. After he was made superfluous by CGI technology, he joined the Plexus Rangers and emigrated to Earth, being stationed in the Chicago Plexmall. Flagg is Jewish, and his parents' "undesirably bohemian" attitudes have given him an idealistic view of the United States that runs contrary to the Plex. He has a desire to set things right again, and through inheriting Q-USA, begins to set on that path.

Raul the cat, an intelligent, talking orange tabby housecat. With the exception of his intelligence and his ability to speak (an ability whose origin is never explained), he appears to be otherwise a normal house pet. However, he has a customized set of cybernetic gloves, designed by Mandy Krieger, that give him opposable thumbs.

Hilton "Hammerhead" Krieger, was Flagg's superior at the Chicago Plexmall. A co-founder of the Genetic Warlords motorcycle gang along with  Charles Blitz, but after his 13th arrest, the Plex drafts him because of his criminal experience. Intending to take advantage of the fledgling organization, he meets his future wife Peggy and stays with the Rangers. He does not trust anyone, not C.K., the mayor, not his wife Peg, not his daughter Mandy, and, while a Plexus Ranger, he especially does not trust the Plex. He runs an underground television station called Q-USA that broadcasts illegal sports, pornography, and pre-collapse movies and television shows. He is killed by a Plex secret agent, and  his cat Raul gives Flagg the keys to the station.  He also leaves behind a video explaining to his "heir" the truth of the Plex and the rules he wishes his successor to follow.

Amanda "Mandy" Krieger, daughter of Hilton, she is the air traffic controller for O'Hare Chicago Plexport. However, since the O'Hare Plexport only receives two flights a week, Mandy spends her time tinkering with electronics or getting into mischief. She later becomes a deputy to Flagg.

Jules "Deathwish" Folquet, captain of the Skokie Skullcrushers basketball team. Despite his punk appearance, his hulking size and the extreme nature of the sport he plays, Jules is quite intelligent. He is referred to as the "king of the two finger lobotomy." He first teams with Flagg to resolve a hostage crisis, but later forms the Video Rangers auxiliaries, and then becomes a Ranger deputy. He also later hosts a talk show with Raul called the "Him and It Show". In the second series, he renounces his violent ways, and, through a remarkable series of events, becomes Pope.

Charles Keenan Blitz, also known as The Honorable C.K. Blitz, a co-founder of the Genetic Warlords along with Hilton Krieger, also ended up getting drafted into the Plexus Rangers, but ended up leaving to become mayor of Chicago. Blitz has his hand in every deal, regardless of how illegal it may be; is extremely wealthy and corrupt; and has killed political opponents. As a side venture, he runs the Skokie Skullcrushers blackmarket basketball team. He is usually flanked by his two robot bodyguards, Bert and Ernie, named after "a private joke no one under 40 understands". He has had affairs with Mandy Krieger and with Peggy Krieger, while Hilton was fighting a brushfire war in Carracas, which lead to her being kicked out by Hilton and giving birth to...

Medea Blitz, the offspring of C.K. and Peggy. Early in the series, Medea is a wild child and hangs out with Cyril Farid-Khan, gang leader of current Genetic Warlords. She has a secret affair with Hilton Krieger, but after his murder, is considered a suspect and is involved in a traffic accident, which causes her to miscarry Krieger's child. In order to clean up her act, C.K. Blitz has her join the Plexus Rangers to straighten her out. As the series progresses, Medea is shown to become more and more accepting of the Rangers and becomes a decent team player in Flagg's group.

Sam Luis Obispo also known as Ned Beaumont, also known as Tom Slick. A hustler Reuben meets in Havana while escorting the Skokie Skullcrushers, he later partners with Flagg for most of his time in South America. He has an affair with the wealthy daughter of the Brazilian ambassador, which causes all sorts of problems for Flagg and himself.

William Windsor-Jones, but his best friends just call him Bill. Bill is the youngest member of the Witnesses, a gang of octogenarian rebels. He helps Flagg out from time to time, giving him intelligence and technical support. He later has become a newscaster for Q-USA.  Bill is Prince William, and the rightful heir to the now-abolished British throne.

Luther Ironheart, a robotic Plexus Ranger with a head that consisted of a holographic projection. Assigned to be Reuben Flagg's partner on patrol. While not very bright, he exhibited superhuman strength and agility.

[theculturedmarxist]

On Wednesday, the US Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power (52-48) and obstruction of Congress (53-47). The largely party-line vote concludes the impeachment process initiated by the Democrats last fall.

The result is a political debacle for the Democratic Party that has only strengthened Trump.

Trump has scheduled a national address today at noon. The purpose, as he stated on Twitter, will be to “discuss our Country’s VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax.” On Wednesday afternoon, Trump retweeted an image of a Time magazine cover showing a series of signs: Trump 2024, Trump 2028, Trump 2032… Trump 4EVA. This is a repetition of his previous threats to remain in office beyond constitutionally mandated limits.

One day before the final vote, the outcome of which was not in doubt, the Democrats gave Trump a platform in Congress to deliver his State of the Union address. Trump used the opportunity to denounce his political opponents, rail against “socialism” and outline a raft of right-wing proposals.

Trump will utilize his acquittal to press forward with his antidemocratic and authoritarian measures. Jonathan Turley, writing in the Washington Post on Tuesday, pointed to the significance of the argument advanced by Alan Dershowitz in defending Trump during the Senate impeachment trial. Dershowitz’s claim that neither “abuse of power” nor “obstruction of Congress” is an impeachable offense became the central axis of Trump’s defense.

“The president’s defense was then tied inextricably to this extreme and chilling argument,” Turley wrote, a defense that has now been endorsed by the Senate.

Another comment in the Post, from David Von Drehle, cited a Gallup poll showing Trump’s approval ratings rising from 39 percent last fall to 49 percent by the end of the impeachment process—”the highest level of his presidency so far and at least three points higher than Barack Obama could claim in early February of his reelection year.”

Citing the same poll, the Wall Street Journal editorial board gloated that the Democrats may have “helped [Trump] win a second term by impeaching him.”

This outcome is the product of the methods employed in the Democrats’ campaign against Trump and the class interests involved. If there has been one constant element in the Democratic strategy, it has been to make sure that popular hatred of the Trump administration would be smothered and the Democrats’ opposition would be directed not to the left, but to the right.

Trump’s inauguration more than three years ago was followed immediately by protests against his attacks on immigrants, his racist policies against refugees, his appointment of fascists to top-level positions in his administration, his pro-corporate policies and tax cuts, his militarist threats, and his attacks on social programs. The day after his inauguration saw the biggest single day of protests across the country in US history, with more than a million people participating.

Popular opposition on each of these issues was suppressed and derailed as the Democrats focused their campaign against Trump exclusively on matters of foreign policy. In particular, they centered their opposition on the concerns within dominant factions of the military and intelligence establishment that Trump was not pursuing the fight against Russia with sufficient vigor.

Even before the election, the Democrats began concocting the narrative that Trump’s election campaign was the focal point of a massive conspiracy directed from the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin to “undermine our democracy” and “sow divisions” within the United States.

The anti-Russia campaign assumed hysterical dimensions, comparable only to the McCarthyite rants of the 1950s and the anti-Communist conspiracy-mongering of the John Birch Society. The Democrats turned unsubstantiated claims that Russia spent a few hundred thousand dollars on social media advertisements—a tiny fraction of the billions spent by corporations and the rich on the presidential campaigns—into lurid allegations of a “Russian plot” against America, in which Trump served as the puppet of Putin.

Throughout this process, the Democrats’ relation to Trump had a schizophrenic character. While they bitterly opposed the administration on foreign policy matters affecting the strategic interests of American imperialism, they were—and remain—eager to work with him on key elements of ruling-class policy on which they agree, particularly on social and economic policies to continue the enrichment of the financial oligarchy.

This began with President Barack Obama’s declaration immediately after Trump’s election that his “number-one priority” was to “facilitate a transition that ensures our president-elect is successful.” Obama coupled this with the declaration that the election was an “intramural scrimmage” between two sides “on one team.” The Democrats then collaborated with Trump in ensuring passage of his corporate tax cuts, his attacks on immigrants, his record military budgets and his aggressive actions against Venezuela, China and other countries.

Terrified of and opposed to any mass popular movement against Trump, the Democrats sought to pursue their conflict with the White House using the methods of a palace coup—behind-the-scenes maneuvers involving the intelligence agencies and disaffected factions within the state.

The Democrats have utilized the anti-Russia campaign to press their own demands for the suppression of free speech (in the name of combating “fake news”) and to legitimize their persecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for exposing the crimes of American imperialism.

Following the failure of the investigation into Russian “meddling” led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, the Democrats launched the impeachment campaign to continue their operation. The supposed “quid pro quo” alleged against Trump—the basis of the abuse of power charge—involved temporarily holding up military aid to the Ukrainian government, which is involved in a military conflict with Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine.

The methods employed by Trump’s opponents within the state are determined by the social and political interests motivating them. The Democratic Party is a party of Wall Street and the military and intelligence agencies, aligned with privileged sections of the upper-middle class that pursue their interests through the politics of racial and gender identity.

The Democrats’ palace coup has ended in a debacle. Now it is the socialist movement against Trump that must be developed. It is one thing for Trump to prevail against his reactionary and cowardly opponents in the Democratic Party. It is quite another for him to take on the growth of the class struggle.

The Socialist Equality Party launched its presidential campaign to build a revolutionary socialist leadership in the working class. Over the past two years, mass struggles have erupted in the United States and internationally. This is the social power that can bring down the Trump administration, end imperialist war, stop the drive to dictatorship and fascism, and put an end to capitalist exploitation and inequality.

The movement of the working class must be guided by a conscious socialist, revolutionary and internationalist program and perspective. We call on all workers and young people to support the Socialist Equality Party in the 2020 election and make the decision to join the SEP and its sister parties in the International Committee of the Fourth International.

[australianotschools]

Bond physiotherapy and occupational therapy students will soon be learning in brand-new, cutting-edge facilities

Set to open in August 2023, the $45-million project at Robina will meet the booming demand for new physiotherapists, exercise and sports scientists, dietitians, and occupational therapists.

The five-level building at the university’s Institute of Health & Sport precinct will create an additional 11,500m2 of education spaces, offices, and associated car parking beside Cbus Super Stadium.Bond Univeristy Institute of Health & Sport building

It will connect to the university’s existing High Performance Training Centre and double the current space for allied health programs. A traditional Smoke and Welcome to Country Ceremony by Kombumerri Elder Uncle John Graham will mark the start of work by ADCO Constructions.

The project is self-funded by Bond University and will create around 200 jobs during construction and more than 50 new highly-skilled, ongoing positions.

Bond University has held the site at 18 Stadium Drive for several years with an eye to future expansion.

It was provided to the 2018 Commonwealth Games as a warm-up field for athletes and since then has been used by Bond Bull Sharks sports teams as an additional training area.

Key features of the new facility include

an exterior design that complements the adjacent stadium and will add to the overall presentation of the Robina precinct

a range of new clinical spaces, including simulated hospital wards and clinician consulting rooms to accommodate treatments in physiotherapy, nutrition, rehabilitation and occupational therapy

a world-class 60m gait laboratory that incorporates pressure sensors and high-speed cameras to analyze human movement, used to assist everything from recovery and rehabilitation for age-related conditions to elite sports training

simulated residential settings to support research and education in occupational therapy

commercial simulated kitchen facilities for nutrition and dietetic studies

a rehabilitation gym

a unique indoor amphitheatre in an 230-seat atrium designed to encourage innovation

The design by XL Architecture prioritizes natural light, airflow, and a range of environmentally sustainable initiatives including solar power.

Bond University Vice Chancellor and President Tim Brailsford said strong growth was forecast in allied health disciplines, driven by demand in the aged care and disability sectors.

“This new facility will provide a significant expansion for our programs in allied health,” Professor Brailsford said, further explaining that the new building will meet the growing need of the Gold Coast for patients seeking assistance in a range of allied health services, and will add to the Gold Coast’s increasing reputation as a centre for high performance sports facilities planned for Brisbane 2032.

Master of Occupational Therapy

The Master of Occupational Therapy at Bond University combines lectures, tutorials, workshops, case studies, fieldwork and simulation to embed the skills and knowledge needed to succeed as an occupational therapist. You will learn from highly qualified occupational therapy academics with clinical and research experience.

The program places a strong emphasis on practical experience with 1,000 hours of practice education across various clinical contexts.

You will engage in research training before specializing in one of two elective pathways:

Clinically Focused Research Pathway

Business-focused Research Pathway

Program: Master of Occupational Therapy Location: Gold Coast, Queensland Intakes: May and September Duration: 2 years

[physiotherapyschoolinaustralia]

Bond physiotherapy and occupational therapy students will soon be learning in brand-new, cutting-edge facilities

Set to open in August 2023, the $45-million project at Robina will meet the booming demand for new physiotherapists, exercise and sports scientists, dietitians, and occupational therapists.

The five-level building at the university’s Institute of Health & Sport precinct will create an additional 11,500m2 of education spaces, offices, and associated car parking beside Cbus Super Stadium.Bond Univeristy Institute of Health & Sport building

It will connect to the university’s existing High Performance Training Centre and double the current space for allied health programs. A traditional Smoke and Welcome to Country Ceremony by Kombumerri Elder Uncle John Graham will mark the start of work by ADCO Constructions.

The project is self-funded by Bond University and will create around 200 jobs during construction and more than 50 new highly-skilled, ongoing positions.

Bond University has held the site at 18 Stadium Drive for several years with an eye to future expansion.

It was provided to the 2018 Commonwealth Games as a warm-up field for athletes and since then has been used by Bond Bull Sharks sports teams as an additional training area.

Key features of the new facility include

an exterior design that complements the adjacent stadium and will add to the overall presentation of the Robina precinct

a range of new clinical spaces, including simulated hospital wards and clinician consulting rooms to accommodate treatments in physiotherapy, nutrition, rehabilitation and occupational therapy

a world-class 60m gait laboratory that incorporates pressure sensors and high-speed cameras to analyze human movement, used to assist everything from recovery and rehabilitation for age-related conditions to elite sports training

simulated residential settings to support research and education in occupational therapy

commercial simulated kitchen facilities for nutrition and dietetic studies

a rehabilitation gym

a unique indoor amphitheatre in an 230-seat atrium designed to encourage innovation

The design by XL Architecture prioritizes natural light, airflow, and a range of environmentally sustainable initiatives including solar power.

Bond University Vice Chancellor and President Tim Brailsford said strong growth was forecast in allied health disciplines, driven by demand in the aged care and disability sectors.

“This new facility will provide a significant expansion for our programs in allied health,” Professor Brailsford said, further explaining that the new building will meet the growing need of the Gold Coast for patients seeking assistance in a range of allied health services, and will add to the Gold Coast’s increasing reputation as a centre for high performance sports facilities planned for Brisbane 2032.

Doctor of Physiotherapy

Bond University’s Doctor of Physiotherapy program is renowned for its unique blend of problem-based scientific learning, practical application, and more than 1,200 hours of clinical placements.

There is a strong emphasis on clinical experiential learning with six units of placements in clinical settings included in the core subject listing and a further internship offered as an elective. Placements are sought in a variety of settings that cover the lifespan of client services (paediatric, adult, ageing) and across the full spectrum of clinical areas.

Program: Doctor of Physiotherapy Location: Gold Coast, Queensland Intake: May Duration: 2 years

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Political Rant: Nothing To See Here

Literally, I just need to vent for a bit, just move along.  You didn’t see anything.  Go about your business.

I can’t keep pretending that I want Joe Biden to be president.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m gonna vote for him, but only because it’s a broken 2-party system, and I would literally rather die than vote for Donald Trump.

Joe Biden is at best a moderate centrist, and at worst a mainstream conservative who acknowledges what the people in his party want without actually doing it.  The Overton Window has shifted so far right in the last few years that people are hailing him as some bastion of liberal democracy; Democrats are acting like he’s the greatest politician they’ve ever nominated, and Republicans are calling him a communist.  He’s neither of those things; he’s store brand white bread, he’s a single scoop of plain vanilla with no mix-ins, he’s room temperature with 40% humidity so as not to be explicitly uncomfortable.

He very well could win in November.  I don’t doubt his qualifications, nor his popularity relative to the Gonad Lump we have now, but he’s not going to make any substantive changes if he takes office.  He’s not going to defund police, he’s not going to shrink the executive branch, he’s not going to raise the minimum wage, he’s not going to rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal or the Paris Climate Agreement or the WHO, and he’s certainly not going to abolish ICE and close the actual literal CONCENTRATION CAMPS. He’s going to uphold the status quo so as not to alienate the Republicans who didn’t vote for him, while driving a wedge in his own party between the old guard moderate leadership and the up-and-comers who even so much as lean to the actual political left.

Republicans are united under a common banner of cartoon supervillainy, Democrats are a party of chickens running around with their heads cut off. 

Republicans are lemmings who will follow their leader off a cliff. Democrats are turkeys that look up and drown when it rains.

There are no progressive Democrats in any real positions of power; their voices are being drowned out by the career politicians who would rather compromise with the right than fight for anything they claim to want.  Democrats will bend over backwards to reach across the aisle for the sake of bipartisanship, but Republicans would never budge an inch in our direction.  This is demonstrably true, just look at the last 50 years of presidents; Democrats controlled the House of Representatives for Ronald Reagan’s entire presidency, and he still managed to get a shit ton of legislation passed which fucks over the middle class and minorities to this day.

Bill Clinton was effectively a Republican, and they absolutely HATED him.  Newt Ging-bitch’s Republican Revolution?  And Obama, don’t even get me started on Obama.  George W. Bush was so unpopular that BOTH parties ran candidates under the platform of “I am not George W. Bush,” and it’s no surprise that between Barack Obama and John McCain voters chose the one who was the least like Bush.  Obama was a perfectly competent president who pulled us out of the worst economic recession since the 1930s, and Republicans hated him even more than Clinton!  The Tea Party rose up less than a month after he took office, before he’d even DONE anything!  I don’t agree with everything he did as president, in fact I oppose a lot of it (drones), but I know that America was a better place under his leadership than it is now.

And now the Democrats are kowtowing to the Republicans AGAIN, nominating an adequate politician, Average Joe, that Republicans wouldn’t complain about if he wore a red tie instead of a blue one, but even now they’re complaining about it!  They’re acting like he’s a far-left socialist because they want the country to think that his middle-of-the-road policies are WAY too radical; they want to make people think that normalcy lies to the right of Joe Biden, they want to keep shifting the Overton Window until they pick a candidate in 2032 or 2036 that will make Donald Trump look like Bernie fucking Sanders.  Republicans never shift to the left, they never try to appeal to Democratic voters, they never think twice about alienating liberals, they won’t compromise, they’d rather shut down the government than spare a dime for any even remotely liberal talking points.

I’m sick to death of this country.  I’m sick to death of everyone pretending like what we see is not what it is!  Joe Biden is better than Trump, but the bar is so low at this point that I’d feel ore comfortable with a flaming bag of dogshit in the Oval Office than the racist date rapist we have now.  I will swallow my pride and vote for Joe Biden, but I will not be happy about it.  This man does not stand for the people’s best interests.  He will face overwhelming opposition, cave to the pressure from the right, then lose re-election because I know for a fact that he’s too proud to admit he’s too old to run again in 2024.  People keep pretending like his VP is going to get the nomination, but there’s no way on Earth or in Heaven that this man is going to just retire!  This year was a vanity run; he wants to be president because he wants to be president, not because he wants to do anything.  He’s wanted it his whole career; he’s a dog chasing cars, he doesn’t know what to do when he catches one, and no, I don’t means he’s like the fucking Joker, I just think he’s focusing more on himself than the country.  What would it look like in 2024 if the president retired because he’s TOO OLD to keep the job?  The Democrats would be even bigger laughingstocks than they are now; there wouldd be no way for him to retire with dignity without admitting defeat and giving the Republicans a political victory.

He’s going to run for re-election in 2024, and he’s going to have his ass handed to him because by that point he’s going to be stumbling over his words even worse than Trump is now, and the Democrats aren’t going to blindly rally behind him like the Republicans do for Trump.  Republicans will vote in line with Trump whether they like him or not, they know their career depends on it, but Democrats won’t get in line behind one of their own because they want to appeal to everyone, even if that means ignoring the people they claim to represent.

If Trump wins in 2020, America will go the way of the Soviet Union.  You know what, no, that’s not true.  America will never break apart, it’s too obstinate.  What will happen is America will go the way of the British Empire; once a global superpower, now just a bunch of isolationist racists who don’t know they’ve been irrelevant for the last 80 years.  America will continue to alienate its allies while sucking up to its enemies, the wealth gap will widen, life expectancy will drop, infant mortality will rise, and we’ll peak in the 2030s or 40s before losing our position as the de facto “leaders of the free world.”  Under normal circumstances I’d say that’s a good thing because we have no right to force the rest of the world to do whatever we want, but the resulting power vacuum will almost certainly be filled by China which is even worse than we are.  If Trump wins in 2020, democracy dies.  His handlers will find a way to skirt the 22nd Amendment so he can run for a third term in 2024.  They’ll just unilaterally amend the constitution so he can do whatever he wants; every right-wing dictator does that.  Hitler did it, Pinochet did it, Putin is doing it now.  IF the Republicans want to PRETEND that laws still exist, they’ll have him “retire” at the end of his second term, but then stay on as a top advisor to his successor, who will almost certainly be his daughter he wants to fuck, at which point he will be president-by-proxy, ruling vicariously through her until his brain melts enough for him to disappear into the woodwork like Reagan did in the 90s.

If Trump wins in 2020, the Trump dynasty will hold power for decades.  This regime will be no different than the fucking Saudi Arabia or North Korea.

If Biden wins in 2020, we’re just kicking the can down the road; Trump won’t let himself become irrelevant without a fight.  Carter and Clinton and Bush and Obama don’t pretend that they’re still president, they don’t make their voices heard, but you KNOW that Trump will.  He will try to stay in the limelight forever, and the media will let him; they’ll report on every snide comment and contrarian remark he makes on Twitter and compare him to Biden every single day because he’s a demagogue, and Republicans aren’t just gonna move on after they’ve invested so much emotional capital into him over the last five years.  They’ve doubled down in support of him, he can do no wrong in their eyes, he’s their golden boy, the Fuhrer is Always Right; they’ll follow him to Hell and back (though let’s be honest, he’d never lead them out of Hell once he brings them there).  They’ll treat him like an elder statesman and a genius political strategist/advisor until he dies.  He’ll basically get to pick the nominee in 2024 because Republicans will vote for whoever he endorses.  And he’s going to pick Ivanka or maybe, MAYBE, Tom Cotton because he’s a brown-nosing right-wing toadie.

FUCK.

[tkmedia]

Brisbane 2032: IOC confirms Brisbane as host of 2032 Summer Olympics, Paralympic Games

The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that Brisbane will host the 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Australia will become just the fourth country to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games three or more times. Melbourne hosted the 1956 Games and Sydney was the host of the 2000 Games.The announcement was made at the 138th IOC Session in Tokyo ahead of the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, which officially begin Friday. In February, it was confirmed that Brisbane was the IOC's preferred bid for the 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.This began targeted dialogue between the IOC executive and the Brisbane 2032 bid to thoroughly examine the proposed plan for the Games.The process for awarding an Olympic Games has become much more extensive since the introduction of the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad.In June, the IOC's executive board unanimously voted in favor of the Brisbane 2032 bid which put it forward to Wednesday's IOC session.Only one major concern was presented at the IOC session, by member Pal Schmitt, surrounding the move to award the Games to Brisbane 11 years before and not the traditional seven.That concern was calmly addressed by the members of Brisbane's bid team, including AOC president John Coates, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner.That left the IOC members to vote on the question, "Do you accept to elect Brisbane as host of the Games of the XXXV Olympiad?"All Brisbane required at the IOC vote was a majority of IOC members to vote in favor of the Games. The vote passed.It has been reported that five IOC members voted against Brisbane's 2032 bid. Eighty votes were cast using an electronic ballot, with 72 supporting the bid, five opposing and three abstaining. There remain some dissenters among the IOC membership with 5 voting against the Executive Board's recommendation to elect #Brisbane2032 to host the Olympics. Still, a very large majority easily pushed it through. https://t.co/hOBMOmv51n — Robert Livingstone (@enotsgnivil) July 21, 2021

Details of Brisbane 2032 bid

A lot has been made of the unique nature of Brisbane's bid model as organizers look to reduce overall costs but keep the same Olympic experience.As has previously been mentioned, the Brisbane 2032 Games will be spread across South-East Queensland.While Brisbane will host the majority of events, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast will also host events and athletes.The games will also take place in Australia's winter; Queensland's weather was a big part of Brisbane's pitch.The opening ceremony is scheduled to be July 23, 2032, the same day and month that the Tokyo Games will start this year.

Australian Olympic Committee https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sportal_com_au/1f/c1/brisbane-olympic-venues_1przl5cjhrwvo140vdt82ve4ok.png?t=-117398559&w=500&quality=80 The bid organizers have also made a contractual commitment to be a 'climate positive' Games. Brisbane would be the first host city to agree to this contractually.This has been a big part of what has set the Brisbane 2032 group ahead as it wants the city to be seen as "clean, green and sustainable".Palaszczuk also confirmed that the state is working toward 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.A majority of venues used for the Games (80 percent) are either already built, in use or will be temporary.This will severely reduce much of the cost of hosting the games, and much of the infrastructure program will proceed regardless of the Games being held in Brisbane.While on the bid alone, the Future Host Commission confirmed that Brisbane 2032 spent approximately 80 percent less on its bid than other countries have in the past.You can view full details of the Master Plan for the 2032 Brisbane Games in the video below. An impact study carried out by KPMG into the economic and environmental impact of the 2032 Games in Brisbane concluded that the event would bring in an estimated $6.1 billion to the state of Queensland.More broadly for Australia, the study estimated it would bring in $13.4 billion nationally.

Reaction to Brisbane's successful 2032 bid

It's no surprise that many Australians are overjoyed at the thought of the country hosting another Olympic Games.While it's set to be a massive economic boost to the country and in particular the state of Queensland, it will also have a massive impact on Australia's sporting landscape.Sporting News spoke with a number of Australian Olympians competing in Tokyo ahead of the Brisbane 2032 announcement.All being Queenslanders, it's no surprise they were excited that their state would be hosting the Olympics.Gabriella Palm, a member of the Australian women's water polo team, The Aussie Stingers, believes it's set to give a massive boost to sports like water polo that don't necessarily have a big profile in Australia."Any Olympic Games is special, but to have an Olympics on your home soil is extra special," Palm said."Having the Games in Sydney where the Stingers won gold, having the chance to do that again and have an Olympic Games on home soil, it means everything."I could still be playing then, it's a possibility, so to potentially participate in those Games is another thing. But just to have it in Australia, I think it will be such good coverage and awareness for water polo."We're not the most well-known sport so I think bringing the Olympics to Aussie soil will be really great for water polo."And having it on Aussie soil will be a real incentive for me to keep going."Two-time Olympian Alyce Wood reflected on her own experiences of attending Sydney 2000 when thinking about Brisbane 2032.Getting to attend those Games inspired Wood to become an Olympian and she has no doubt Brisbane 2032 will do the same for a new generation of Australian athletes."I think, if we get 2032 it's a game-changer for so many reasons," Wood said."First and foremost for me, I, as an 8-year-old, went down to the Sydney Olympics and watched basketball and European handball, which are two sports that I knew nothing about."Just being exposed to a multisport event like the Olympics and seeing how everyone got around it was what made me want to be an Olympian way back then."To have that come to our state would be so special because the kids growing up would get to experience the same things as I did."You find a lot of Olympians on this year's team and Rio had that experience as a youngster in Sydney."Obviously, just having so many facilities shared around the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Brisbane and being able to get involved in it and seeing how much excitement the Olympics brings."The Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast were huge and everyone got super involved, but I can safely say the Olympics are a lot bigger deal. They can create a legacy in so many different areas beyond what the Commonwealth Games did."Daniel Beale, a member of the Kookaburras squad for Tokyo 2020, already knows he's going to be booking his tickets for Brisbane 2032 in his hometown."I think it would be huge for Brisbane," Beale said."I think the Olympics are up there with the biggest sporting spectacles in the world, so I think for Australia to win it, let alone home town of Brisbane to win one, I think it would be great for Australia and great for the city of Brisbane."I will definitely be flying there and watching as much of it as I can if they do win it. I really hope it gets there."Prime Minister Scott Morrison believes Brisbane 2032 will create a lasting legacy for Australia similar to that created by the Sydney 2000 Games.“They will support economic growth and investment, deliver lasting community benefits and inspire the next generation of Australian athletes," Morrison said.“I am proud of Australia, proud of Queensland and proud of our team that secured this win for our country.“The Commonwealth Government has supported Brisbane’s candidacy for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games right from the very start. We believe in this bid.“We know it’s a huge opportunity for our nation, just like the Melbourne Games in 1956 and the Sydney Olympics in 2000."

Who else bid for the 2032 Olympic Games?

Brisbane was the only bid up for vote at Wednesday's IOC Session, but it was not the only bid for the 2032 Games.IOC vide president and Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates confirmed in June that several other countries were looking at bidding for the 2032 Games.Those countries included Indonesia, the Netherlands and Qatar.However, Brisbane's bid was so far progressed that it was chosen to proceed into targeted dialogue with the IOC and the rest is history. Read the full article

[sciencespies]

NOAA to take first step toward a small satellite constellation

https://sciencespies.com/space/noaa-to-take-first-step-toward-a-small-satellite-constellation/

NOAA to take first step toward a small satellite constellation

It’s a good thing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has plenty of time to prepare for its next generation of polar-orbiting weather satellites — because the changes the agency is contemplating are dramatic.

Instead of flying satellites the size of pickup trucks like the current Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), NOAA is exploring the benefits of feeding data supplied by a constellation of small satellites in low Earth orbit into weather forecast models.

“We would like to start the process of adopting more commercial practices in low orbit and seeing how we might implement them,” said Greg Mandt, NOAA JPSS program director. “If we spend the next five or six years seeing what we could do, that could produce quite an interesting paradigm shift.”

NOAA is not the only government agency exploring the benefits of gathering weather data with small satellites. The U.S. Space Force is funding development of small satellites to characterize clouds and provide weather data in military theaters of operations. The European Space Agency is developing a prototype for a constellation of small Arctic Weather Satellite spacecraft.

Government agencies are eager to profit from the steady stream of commercial innovation. Companies are relaying communications and gathering weather-related information and imagery with growing fleets of cubesats and small satellites in low Earth orbit.

“We’re trying to explore how to take advantage of all that,” Mandt said.

ADVANTAGE: SMALL SATELLITES

Many of the advantages for weather agencies are obvious.

Small satellites tend to be less expensive and lighter weight than their sizable counterparts. As a result, they fit on many different launch vehicles and several can be launched at the same time, unlike school bus or truck-size satellites that generally require a dedicated launch vehicle, said Nick Bucci, missile defense and space systems vice president at General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems.

Luis Gomes, AAC Clyde chief executive, said small satellites can be deployed in large numbers, forming cooperative constellations with sensors making simultaneous measurements across large areas.

Agencies also can upgrade technology quickly. Operational weather satellites carry sensors developed decades ago.

“With small satellites, you could update technology on a much more rapid schedule and at lower cost,” said Kevin Maschhoff, BAE Systems engineering fellow.

What’s more, companies have begun manufacturing cubesats and small satellites in large quantities, reducing the cost per spacecraft.

Traditional NOAA weather satellites designed to operate in orbit for at least seven years were expensive, often requiring a decade and several hundred million dollars to move from proposal to orbit.

“Can you break those observations into smaller pieces because with all the small satellite providers, it’s almost like Henry Ford’s Model T era,” Mandt said. “Instead of building a specialty car, we’ve now got the Model T. As long as you are not trying to turn it into a Ferrari, you can drive down the cost.”

In addition to buying commercial satellite buses, NOAA could turn to the commercial sector to transfer data rather than continuing to pay for government infrastructure like satellite dishes at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, and Svalbard, Norway.

“Imagine instead having your little satellites talk to communication satellites that deliver data to you in the cloud,” Mandt said. “If you commoditize the infrastructure, you can put your money in the instruments and the data products.”

CHANGING ATTITUDES

Still, changing NOAA’s approach to gathering data in low Earth orbit won’t be easy.

“You’ve got to change the attitude of engineers, mission assurance people, contracting officers and your review process,” Mandt said. “We’ve got to reinvent all of our processes at the same time.”

NOAA also needs new cost models because the ones created by NASA and the Defense Department tend to be based on missions involving large government satellites with multiple sensors.

Instead of addressing all those issues at once, NOAA plans to conduct a series of demonstrations while continuing to draw weather data from the JPSS constellation. (NOAA plans to launch the three remaining JPSS satellites in 2022, 2027 and 2032.)

“How do we take baby steps to test the sort of distributed architecture and commercial capability we can bring into our operation so that we still provide reliable data for the nation?” Mandt asked. “Can we do it in a more efficient way, and a cheaper way, that leads to better forecasting?”

NOAA hopes to begin addressing those questions with SounderSat, a concept proposed in the NOAA Satellite Observing System Architecture study. That study noted the importance of atmospheric temperature and moisture soundings to numerical weather forecasts and suggested small satellites equipped with sounders could be flown in the mid-2020s to fill data gaps created by the anticipated retirement of the U.S. Space Force’s Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and NOAA’s Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites.

“SounderSat is the first low Earth orbit initiative off the blocks and we want to make it clear this is just the first part of an overall architecture,” Frank Gallagher said in January at the virtual American Meteorological Society conference.

NOAA laid the groundwork for SounderSat in 2020 by awarding contracts to companies to suggest contract approaches, sounding instruments and architectures. More than a dozen companies received six-month contracts worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to furnish NOAA with information on miniature sounders and satellite constellations as well as price tags for supplying weather data from commercial constellations. Among them were weather satellite specialists Ball Aerospace, L3Harris Technologies and Raytheon Technologies, prime contractors Lockheed Martin, Maxar Technologies and Northrop Grumman, and small satellite manufacturers General Atomics and York Space Systems. Additional contracts went to Atmospheric Sciences and Technology Corp., BAE Systems and Brandywine Photonics, firms known for satellite instruments.

“I’m taking all that information and trying to shape that into the direction we want to go,” Mandt said. “Soundersat is our idea of how we would take that first step.”

Incredible shrinking weather satellites

The words “small weather satellite” mean different things to different people.

Some are thoroughly convinced that constellations of cubesats could gather the imagery and data meteorologists require for weather forecasting. Others see greater promise in satellites weighing 150 to 200 kilograms.

There’s little doubt, though, that as electronics components continue to shrink, weather satellites will become smaller.

“Everyone sees the writing on the wall,” said Brandywine Photonics President John Fisher.

Already, cubesats have proven adept at monitoring atmospheric temperature and moisture by noting variation in signals traveling from GPS and other navigation satellites.

Other weather instruments, though, may be better suited to satellites weighing as much as 180 kilograms that fit on Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) rings or 320 kilograms for an ESPA Grande. Originally developed to carry secondary payloads on Pentagon-funded Atlas 5 and Delta 4 launches, ESPA rings have become a standard for accommodating small satellites on government and commercial launches of EELV-class rockets, namely United Launch Alliance’s vehicles and SpaceX’s Falcon 9.

“At Ball we’ve found that a sweet spot for Earth observation or operational weather being the ESPA or ESPA Grande size because it is possible in many cases to pack good capability into a satellite that can collect data across the globe, store that data and be reliable,” said Cory Springer, weather and environment director for Ball Aerospace. “That’s a good size to take advantage of lower launch costs.”

BAE Systems sees promise in constellations of 60- or 70-kilogram satellites following one another in low Earth orbit to reveal changing atmospheric conditions over time, said Kevin Maschhoff, BAE Systems engineering fellow.

Luis Gomes, CEO of AAC Clyde Space, cites the merits of even smaller satellites. “In the next few years we will see [weather satellite] masses coming down as more and more instruments are made smaller,” Gomes said. “From the evolution we are seeing on the instrumentation side, we believe there is a sweet spot for many applications in the 10-kilogram to 50-kilogram range.”

In spite of company preferences, though, everyone noted that government requirements often determine satellite size for a particular program. “The mission drives the capability required onboard: the avionics, propulsion, pointing accuracies, sensors and power requirements for all of those,” said Nick Bucci, vice president for missile defense and space systems at General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems.

This article originally appeared in the May 2021 issue of SpaceNews magazine.

#Space

[thisdaynews]

BREAKING:Japan denies cancellation of Tokyo Olympics.

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/breakingjapan-denies-cancellation-of-tokyo-olympics/

BREAKING:Japan denies cancellation of Tokyo Olympics.

Japan multiplied down on its obligation to have the Tokyo Olympics this year and straight kept reports on Friday from getting a crossing out, in a move that is probably not going to temper public feelings of dread of holding the occasion during a worldwide pandemic.

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In spite of the fact that a lot of Japan is under a highly sensitive situation because of a third rush of COVID-19 contaminations, Tokyo coordinators have reliably promised to press ahead with the Games booked to open on July 23 subsequent to having been delayed in March a year ago.

An administration representative said there was “no reality” to a report in The Times that Japan was presently centered around rescheduling the occasion to 2032.

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“We will plainly deny the report,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai said in a public interview on Friday.

The Tokyo 2020 getting sorted out panel additionally denied the report, saying its accomplices including the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee were “completely engaged” on facilitating the games as booked.

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In early worldwide responses, the Australian and U.S. Olympic Committees said they were getting ready for the Games as arranged.

“Shockingly, I need to address unwarranted bits of gossip that the Tokyo Olympic Games will be dropped, gossipy tidbits that just make more uneasiness for competitors,” Matt Carroll, the CEO of the Australian board, told columnists in Sydney on Friday.

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“The Tokyo Games are on. The fire will be lit on July 23, 2021.”

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is controlled by the IOC’s go-to person for the Tokyo Games John Coates.

Olympic panels from the U.S. also, Canada composed on Twitter they had not gotten any data proposing the Games would not occur as arranged.

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Japan has been hit less seriously by the pandemic than numerous other progressed economies, however a new flood in cases has constrained it to close its lines to non-inhabitant outsiders and pronounce a highly sensitive situation in Tokyo and significant urban areas.

Around 80% of individuals in Japan don’t need the Games to be held this mid year, late assessments of public sentiment show, over apprehensions the inundation of competitors will spread the infection further.

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In a meeting in front of Friday’s report, Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said he was carefully cheerful that effective rollouts of COVID-19 immunizations could help lead to the protected organizing of the world’s biggest game.

The Olympic Games speaks to a significant achievement for Japan and its head, Yoshihide Suga, who has said the occasion would bring “expectation and fortitude” to the world. Suga emphasized on Friday that it would proceed as arranged.

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Worldwide Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach reaffirmed his obligation to holding the Games this year in a meeting with Kyodo News on Thursday.

“We have right now, no explanation at all to accept that the Olympic Games in Tokyo won’t open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic arena in Tokyo,” Bach told Kyodo.