#pro coverage foundation

[mass4ubd]

Beauty is when you can appreciate yourself. When you love yourself, that’s when you’re most beautiful

[supershybambi]

how I think @princessbrunette reader’s would do their makeup!

Puppy reader: makeup was never her forte so she doesn’t wear much. She views it as too much hassle in the morning but she adores the full face girlies and will always complement them.

Product/placement analysis: she uses the same tint for bothe her blush and lips, she has the the telescopic mascara but she only wears it for special occasions but she always forgets to take it off at the end of the night.

Bunny reader: now this. this is a fully coverage AND high end makeup girl. Her base must be flawless and her lips must shine so bright that you can see her a mile away. Rafe funds majority of her makeup habits and Sephora trips.

Product/placement analysis: she has the milk hydro grip primer, she’s uses the nars light reflecting foundation, too faced born this way concealer that she does the 2016 under the eyes, chin, and forehead triangle method with, she skips contour and goes straight to blush which she’s uses the onesize blush trio in the shade cheek clapper, when it comes to highlight she uses the Dior backstage palette, she normally wears falsies, finally she sets her face with the huda beauty powder in the shade cherry blossom (she only got it cuz it was pink and cute)

Kitty reader: a medium coverage girlie through and through. She doesn’t pay too much attention to her base because her eyeliner and eyeshadow usually take over the show. She also def has a little pouch in her purse for touchups.

product/placement analysis: L’Oréal infallible 24 hour wear foundation, elf hydrating camo concealer that she places under her eyes with one swipe closer to the middle and another on the outer corners, physicians formula bronzer, covergirl true blend blush in shade temptation or sweet subduction that she focuses extremely high on her cheekbones, revlon colorstay eyeshadow quad in shade siren which she focus the sliver shade in her inner corners and the middle of her eyelid and then she takes the blacks shade everywhere else and tightlines her waterline with it, and she sets her whole face with the maybelline fit me pressed powder. Falsies are usually her go to for lashes or nothing at all. (her and jj def didn’t ’borrow’ half of this stuff from the store.)

deer reader: I don’t think her makeup is ever really heavy. She’s def a skin tint/concealer, highlight, blush, and maybe mascara kinda girl. She does have a ton of lip tints tho, that’s something she’ll never be seen without.

product/ placement analysis: elf halo glow (she only uses that for dates with pope) nyx bare with me or la pro girl concealer that she focuses under her eyes and nose bridge, essence pure nude highlighter that she focuses on the tip of her nose and inner eye corners, her blush is what tint she put on her lips, and lastly she’s uses the maybelline sky high mascara.

[leviathans-watching]

Do you have any random headcanons about any of the Obey me characters that no one's asked the right question for you to share / don't fit with any headcanon post you've made?

misc hcs of the brothers

includes: the brothers

wc: .7k | rated g | m.list | pt. 2

a/n: omg?? this was so fun to write i'm def going to have to do one of these for the dateables at some point. thanks for requesting!! my inbox is open to that, req, or leave feedback, so come say hi!

please reblog :))

➳ lucifer wears makeup. after someone (mammon, most likely) not-so-kindly pointed out the bags and dark circles under his eyes, lucifer went to asmo for help and learned the basics of concealing, which eventually grew into a whole bag of products he applies most mornings, unbeknownst to everyone but asmo. he does a light coverage foundation, concealer, pencils in and shapes his eyebrows, some light contour on his nose and jawline, and some hardly-noticeable eyeliner. his whole goal is for it to look as natural as possible and he’s gotten really, really skilled over the years.

➳ mammon not only knows how to sew, but makes many of his own clothes himself. nothing on the market was eclectic or unique enough for him so he took matters into his own hands and not has a closet full of custom-made and designed pieces. he doesn’t tend to show off his talent (for once) preferring to let others think they’re obscure designer clothes or made by difficult-to-book designers. every once in a while he can be convinced to make his brothers something, but not unless they agree to an exorbitant price.

➳ levi is an adobe girly. not only does he use almost all of their services, but he’s really really good at them too. mammon and asmo will have him photoshop pictures for him, lucifer will go to him for help with document creation, and even belphie had him teach him the basics of premiere pro. the reason he has such high-powered computers and machinery isn’t for gaming, as most assume, but so they can handle adobe optimally without lagging or overloading. additionally, upon hearing adobe flash was being retired, levi scalped the mechanics of it and created a knockoff that functions just as well, something he shares liberally at rad.

➳ satan has a prodigal-like talent for instruments, able to pick them up and teach himself how to play decently in very little time. he also has perfect pitch, can sightread excellently, and composes music in his free time. his favorite instruments to play are the violin, the piano, and the harp. though his not in any music-based classes (as those are all too basic for him of course) he offers help to students in the classes that are struggling with theory, composition, or playing. he’s also the reason the music wing is rumored to be haunted, as he often plays at weird hours.

➳ asmo is the most independently wealthy of all of his brothers, thanks to all of his economic ventures. not only does he model and act, but he also has shares in many major companies in all three realms that show large profits even if they aren’t super successful when he first invests. he works with barbatos to manage his money and has several bank accounts, and though he lives lavishly, is careful not to show the extent of his wealth, leading people to believe it’s family money he’s spending. although this was done, in part, intuitively, he’s also taken several finance and business classes over the years to help him learn and improve.

➳ beel really really enjoys all of the booktok books, and even discusses them at length with solomon and thirteen, when the two can be civil enough to speak to one another. his favorite genres is dark fantasy and belphie makes fun of beel to no end when he catches him reading. beel keeps his kindle on him at all times, and for his personal favorites, buys a hard copy and annotates it with sticky notes–the whole nine yards. for his birthday, satan gives him a book cover so that he doesn’t keep walking around with those embarrassing overs on display. beel doesn’t use it.

➳ belphie is notorious for stealing his brothers’ clothing. for some reason, he finds them more comfortable than his own and every few weeks the others force him to empty out his drawers and give them everything back. his personal favorites to steal are beel’s shirts and asmo’s sweats, but he’s not picky. he wears them to sleep, around the house, while running errands, and would wear them to rad were there not a uniform. at the beginning, it was out of laziness; him grabbing whatever was close. but over time he developed favorites, and, well, there was no going back from that.

leviathans-watching's work - please do not copy, repost, or claim as your own

[cazort]

I have seen a post circulating that talks about US politics and basically insinuates that in the upcoming presidential election, Biden is "99% Hitler" and Trump is "100% Hitler" and it makes me so frustrated that people can't see this as the disinformation and anti-vote propaganda that it is.

I'm intensely frustrated with Biden for how he has acted too little, too late on the Palestine issue, and how the U.S. continues to send billions in arms to Israel. And yet I'm going to be voting for him, and the analogy above is hugely dishonest. There is a massive difference between Biden and Trump:

The Biden administration and Democrats have strongly and unambiguously protected abortion rights, whereas Donald Trump appointed three supreme court justices who overturned Roe vs. Wade, and Republicans have across-the-board passed draconian abortion restrictions far more conservative than even their base.

Biden and the Democrats are strongly pro-LGBTQ rights including trans rights, at a time when Republicans are threatening trans rights in every state they control, and when even mainstream, "center-left" publications like the NY Times have been publishing transphobic drivel.

The Biden administration continues to expand healthcare access and work to control costs whereas the Trump administration worked to undermine much of the coverage we had.

The Trump administration was hopelessly corrupt and dysfunctional, with turnover in most appointed positions, scandal after scandal. Trump committed crime after crime in plain view, and incited an insurrection when he lost the election and has continued to back conspiracy theories undermining the very foundation of our democracy. Biden has been a relatively straightforward, "what you see is what you get" politician over his whole career, with a sort of level of flaws and corruption that is more typical of politics.

Trump had unprecedented anti-immigrant stances and under him, life became much more difficult for immigrants to the US as well as for non-citizens living here legally. Biden's administration has tried and worked against tough resistance to reverse many of the worst immigration changes made under the Trump administration, including doing things like giving 320,000 Venezuelans temporary protected status as refugees, trying to halt the border wall construction, and increasing legal immigration across-the-board.

Biden's rhetoric has become more critical of Israel over time, Biden has called for regime change and the ousting of Netanyahu, and under Biden the US Ambassador finally stopped voting against a ceasefire resolution and only abstained. Whereas Trump and the Republican's rhetoric has retained entirely critical of Palestinians and not at all critical of Israel, and Republicans have consistently supported draconian restrictions such as bans on BDS and some even introducing legislation banning referring to the region as Palestine. And weeks back, when public sentiment was not as anti-Israel as it is now, several Democrats voted for scrutiny to the Israeli military aid, whereas only one Republican did.

I am highly critical of Biden and I too am appalled that he's still running and that we don't have a better candidate who even ran in the primary. But it's far from truthful to say there is only a 1% difference between Biden and Trump, and even more dishonest and inaccurate to call Biden "99% Hitler", that's crazy talk and it serves only one purpose: to demotivate people and suppress voting.

There is a huge difference between these candidates. They will affect my daily life and your daily life and they will affect the whole world and they will affect Palestine.

Do you want a better candidate? Do you want to vote for an idealistic third-party candidate as a protest vote?

Support ranked choice voting first. Then, if you are in a state like Maine or Alaska that allows ranked choice for the president, vote for your ideal candidates and place Biden however low you want and then omit Trump entirely.

But if you do not have ranked choice in your state, especially if you live in a swing state, vote for Biden. And make sure to also join a movement that advances ranked choice, ideally Total Vote Runoff (TVR) as that is the best system for ranked choice.

[sweet-honey-tears]

Advertising Hero Makeup

Hero makeup brand- what the advertisements look like.

Characters: Bakugou,kirishima, Shoto,Denki, Shinso x GN!Reader

I’m back! Hope y’all enjoy this! There maybe another one of these- idk I really liked doing this and I liked the concept.- if you have any other makeup ideas or characters, feel free to list.

Warning:Suggestive themes for some. Reader is wearing makeup.

“New Pro Hero makeup brands have been released to the public as of yesterday. And all I can say is it is no bullcrap branding. There seems to actually have been a lot of thought out into these product- cruelty free and safe. There even seems to be ointments in the makeup to help with skin… actual care was put into these products.”

- Vlogger

Bakugou

Bakugou: Eye shadow palette. Very pigmented. Holds the colors of his hero uniform.

Advertisement: The background is completely white. Bakugou is in his uniform (minus gantlet) and leaning down towards you, a heavy hand resting on your upper face as he kisses you. The other wrapped around your waist to pull you towards him. The top part of your face is covered in bright eye shadow. The colors form a copy of his mark over your skin.

Kirishima

Kirishimas: Lipstick-Fire Red.

Advertisement: Kirishima in a suit. The tie was loose around his neck and one of his large arms on the armrest and the other around you. You are on your lap, dressed in your own- somewhat tight- business attire. Your face shifted towards camera, with the powerful red lipstick on. You have this look, the best way it can be described as ‘fuck around and find out’. And your hair- thanks to the stylist, gives the same attitude. Kirishima- to his trouble- has a smug and self-satisfied look.

Todoroki

Todoroki- Concealer and foundation line(hear me out!)

Advertisement: It’s you and Todorki, both smiling brightly at the camera. His arms are wrapped around you as you stand in front of him. His hair is brushed out of his face and yours is too. Both of you are wearing concealer and foundation on certain sections of your face. It’s smooth, having no light bounce off of it while evening out your facial tones. The concealer and the foundation are specifically meant for people with sensitive skin- caused by burns, cuts, or any outcome due to their quirk. It comes in both light and heavy coverage. One of the other more popular advertisements is an image of Shoto holding a Sharpie, a small smile on his face as looks at you. There a heart drawn on your cheek- but half of it is covered. Completely- nothing can be seen.

Denki

Denki- Highlighter

Advertisement:It's a side view of you and Denki standing face to face. One of Denki’s hands, the one not facing the camera, is on your cheek, lightly rubbing it. This advertisement- with its flashing lights- is startling to say the least. Denki’s other hand, the one facing the camera, rests on your jawline, his thumb on your lower lip. The whole room is dark, minus a yellow flash- fake lighting- illuminating the two of you. It would come on at random- bright and shocking. The camera catches your silhouettes and sections of your and Denki’s face. It catches the highlight, causing your cheekbones and even the tip of your nose to shine a bit. It catches the thumb on your lip, and Denki smirks as though he was about to lean in.

Shinso

Shinso: Black lip gloss

Advertisement: (Background in the photo is black.) It’s of Shinso, his voice changer hanging on his neck. His purple hair is slightly wild as if just coming off patrol. He’s smirking at the camera, his eyes slightly lidded (fuck me eyes). Around his face are slight dark kisses. The shine from the gloss catches the light and causes them to shimmer. His own light pink lips shimmer, a slanted kiss having been pressed there by you. His tongue is peeking out, licking some of the black shine that lays there.

[alexusonfire]

Rose Petal Cheeks

Gwen Characters x Reader with rosacea

A/n: Hi everyone! I know it's been a hot minute, so I figured I'd attempt to get back in the saddle with a little self-indulgent piece. For those of you that don't know, I have severe rosacea on my entire face, and for the past couple months especially my self-esteem has really been taking a hit because of it. I thought a little pick-me-up would be nice, and if you have rosacea or any other skin condition that gets you down some days, this one is for you too! 🩷 Characters are Larissa Weems, Brienne of Tarth, Jane Murdstone, Jane Stevens, and Lucifer.

Larissa Weems:

Larissa is a pro when it comes to skin and beauty care, even has a few personal connections in the industry so she can set you up with Jericho's Top Dermatologist at a much lower price than usual. She's always looking into new cleansers and moisturizers; she's very knowledgable about ingredients and won't let you near certain ones as she knows they're not good for your sensitive skin

Will absolutely give you mini-facials in the comfort of your own home, laying you back on her lap while she gently massages serums and creams into your skin. She creates an entire atmosphere with lowered lights and relaxing music, even setting up some aromatherapy to really set the vibe for you

If you decide you want some coverage during the day, she'll also help you pick a good foundation and color correcting primers that won't irritate your skin further

Constantly has a humidifier going in your bedroom, so your face won't dry out at night, and even buys you a mini face mister to carry with you in case you're feeling a bit dry throughout the day. She also makes sure you drink water to stay hydrated, as she knows that dryness will flare up your red

She loves to pepper your nose and cheeks with kisses, and constantly reassures you that you are still beautiful, and that your skin doesn't make you any less worthy of love or affection. On the harder days, she'll simply keep you curled up beside her, distracted with your favorite movie or game, as she knows you won't be much for going out in the public eye

Brienne of Tarth:

Brienne knows what it's like to be whispered about, to have people stare and sometimes even outright comment about her appearance, so it infuriates her when she sees the townsfolk doing the same to you

You've been asked it all; is it a disease? What illness do you have? What's wrong with your face? Are you hot? Are you burnt? Is it contagious?- Brienne will come to your defense every time without fail, either simply pulling you away from the offending person, or loudly telling/scaring them off with her arm still wrapped around you

One time she even went so far as to almost get in a physical altercation, squaring up with a drunk man before you dragged her away and kissed her silly for standing up for you

She's not always the greatest with her words, but she'll bring you flowers and call you beautiful on your rough days, and never hesitates to gently hold your face; she doesn't realize just how big that is for you, as most people shy away from touching you simply because of the red tinge to your skin

Jane Murdstone:

Jane will admitedly be a little rude at first. She just simply Does Not Know what rosacea is, and therefore is a bit of a snob about it, outright asking you what it is and why you haven't treated it yet

Then she becomes curious, in a slightly less-offensive, more academic way. She reads up on it, coming across many salves and tinctures that have been said to "heal". Of course, once you explain that it's not something you can exactly get rid of, she becomes much more invested in finding things that will simply soothe it

She can be a little overwhelming some days, shoving books and creams at you, and won't always understand why you don't just cover it up if it bothers you so much. It will take some time, and many conversations, but at the end of the day she's only so intense about it because she cares, and doesn't like seeing you upset about it

Will also Cut A Bitch if they dare make a nasty comment to you. Everyone in town knows not to mess with the Murdstones, and once it's made clear that you're "with her", people tend to steer clear of you regardless of your appearance

Jan Stevens:

While other Gwen characters find you attractive despite your rosacea, Jan is the only one to find you attractive because of it. She is more or less delighted by your appearance, as she's never been one for modern beauty standards. The first time she lays eyes on your rosy face her very breath is taken away, and she is instantly enamoured

She's delicate with her questions, making sure to never ask you too much too quickly. She does go a little overboard with the compliments, so much so that in the beginning you think she might be making fun of you. You're also not sure you like so much attention to be drawn to your redness, so some of it is also a bit of defensiveness. Jan pays little mind to it, and simply keeps up with telling you how pretty your particular shade of red is today

She takes to calling you her "sweet rose", and you really can't help liking it. She's just so genuine when she says it, while pressing a tender kiss to your cheek or running her finger softly along your chin

She encourages you not to cover up if you don't want to, completely understanding that it only irritates your skin further. Oddly you also feel less beautiful under concealer and foundation, once telling Jan you felt like it was "putting lipstick on a pig". Jan of course was not pleased with this comparison, and immediately took to overzealously pampering you for the next few days

Lucifer Morningstar:

Lucifer, at the end of the day, genuinely does not care about your rosacea. They've seen, and frequently deal with, the most grotesque beings to ever exist... and you're worried that they're worried about a little redness? Please. Get over there and kiss them, they don't like to be kept waiting.

[cherrygirlystuff]

Being A Grunge Girl In A Clean Girl Summer

Hey Bestie! 💖 Let’s Talk Summer Makeup – How to Nail That Grungy Cool Look Even When It’s Hot!

Hey, babe! 🌸 Summer’s here, and while we’re all about those sunny days and beachy vibes, let’s be real – the heat can make our makeup game a little tricky. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! If you’re like me and want to rock that grungy, effortlessly cool look even when the temps are soaring, keep reading. I’m spilling all the tea on how to keep your makeup looking fab without melting away. 🖤🔥

Step 1: Prep Your Skin Like a Pro 🌞

First things first, babe – summer makeup is all about the base. To keep your look intact, start with a lightweight, oil-free moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated without feeling greasy. And don’t forget sunscreen! Choose a matte, oil-free SPF that won’t leave you looking shiny. Trust me, your future self will thank you!

Once your skin is prepped, apply a good primer. Go for one that’s mattifying and pore-filling to keep your skin smooth and your makeup in place, even on those sweltering days. A primer with a bit of a grip will help your makeup stay put longer, so you can slay all day without worrying about touch-ups.

Step 2: The Base – Keep It Light, Keep It Matte 🌿

When it comes to summer makeup, less is more. Go for a lightweight foundation or a tinted moisturizer with a matte finish. You want something that evens out your skin tone but still lets your natural glow shine through. If you’ve got a bit of redness or unevenness, a matte BB cream can be your best friend. It’s like a soft filter for your face – perfect for those grungy vibes without feeling heavy.

Got a few spots to cover? Use a full-coverage concealer, but only where you need it. Keep things light and breathable so your skin doesn’t feel suffocated in the heat.

Step 3: Grunge Eyes – Smoky, Smudgy, and Oh-So-Cool 🖤

Now for the fun part – those grungy eyes! Even in the summer heat, you can totally rock a smoky eye without it turning into a smudgy mess. Here’s how:

Eyeshadow Base: Start with an eyeshadow primer to keep everything in place. Choose one that’s sweat-proof to lock in your look.

Matte Shadows: Stick with matte eyeshadows in earthy tones like browns, taupes, and even some deep plum or charcoal shades. Use a fluffy brush to blend the color onto your lids and into the crease for that effortlessly cool, lived-in look.

Smudge-Proof Liner: Go for a waterproof gel or pencil liner. Smudge it along your lash line, and if you’re feeling daring, add a bit to your lower lash line too. Use a small brush to soften the edges for that perfectly imperfect grunge vibe.

Mascara: Finish with a waterproof mascara that adds volume without clumping. If you’re really into the grunge look, apply a bit more on your lower lashes for that “I’ve been up all night, but I look fabulous” effect.

Step 4: Cheeky Vibes – Keep It Subtle but Edgy 🌹

For your cheeks, go for a soft, natural contour instead of heavy bronzing. Use a matte bronzer or contour powder to add some definition to your cheekbones, jawline, and forehead. Keep it subtle, but sharp enough to give you that edgy, sculpted look.

For blush, opt for a cream formula in a muted berry or dusty rose shade. Apply it with your fingers for a natural flush that blends seamlessly into your skin. Cream blushes are perfect for summer because they give you that dewy, fresh look without looking too powdered.

Step 5: Lips That Last – Bold, Dark, and Beautiful 💋

Now, let’s talk lips! Summer grunge is all about those deep, bold shades that scream confidence. Whether you’re into a classic matte lipstick or a long-lasting liquid formula, go for colors like deep burgundy, chocolate brown, or even a daring plum.

To make sure your lipstick stays put, start by lining your lips with a matching lip liner. Fill in your lips completely to create a base for your lipstick. Then, apply your chosen shade, and blot with a tissue. If you want that extra staying power, dust a little translucent powder over your lips before applying a second layer.

For a more low-key look, a tinted lip balm in a dark berry shade will give you that grungy vibe without feeling too heavy – perfect for those super hot days when you want to keep it chill.

Step 6: Set It and Forget It – Lock In Your Look 🔒

Finally, lock in all your hard work with a setting spray that’s designed to keep everything in place, even when you’re sweating it out in the summer heat. Go for a matte finish setting spray to keep any shine at bay and ensure your grungy look stays flawless all day (and night) long.

Final Thoughts, Babe: Grunge It Up, Summer Style 🌟

There you have it, bestie – the ultimate guide to keeping your makeup looking cool, grungy, and totally fabulous during the hot summer months. Remember, the key is to keep things lightweight and matte, with just enough edge to channel your inner rockstar. Whether you’re hitting the beach or heading to a summer concert, this look will have you feeling like the coolest babe around.

So, grab your makeup bag, turn up the volume on your fave grunge playlist, and let’s slay this summer together! 💋✨

What’s your go-to summer grunge makeup look, babe? Let’s swap tips in the comments – I’m dying to see how you’re keeping it cool in the heat! 💕

[eretzyisrael]

by Gary Wexler

I knew this guy was trouble. 

“And now, Gary Wexler,” he sat down, “let me give you more direct answers.” He looked me straight in the eye. “Just like you were a Zionist campus activist, we will create, over the next years, Palestinian campus activists in America and all over the world. Bigger and better than any Zionist activists. Just like you spent your summers on the kibbutz, we will bring college students to spend their summers in refugee camps and work with our people. Just like you have been part of creating global pro-Israel organizations, we will create global pro-Palestinian organizations. Just like you today help create PR campaigns and events for Israel, so will we, but we will get more coverage than you ever have.”   

He stood again this time, right over me. “You wonder how we will make this happen, how we will pay for this? Not with the money from your liberal Jewish organizations who are now funding us. But from the European Union, Arab and Muslim governments, wealthy Arab people and their organizations. Eventually, we will not take another dollar from the Jews.” 

Then he approached real close. “What do you think of this?”

I took a breath. I remained professional. “Nothing. I’m here on behalf of the Ford Foundation collecting information for a planned marketing institute.” 

He came even closer. “I am asking what does Gary Wexler think of what I just said. You, Gary Wexler.”

I repeated my answer. 

He came even closer. “I ask again. What does Gary Wexler think of what I just said.” 

Debra and I got up. I took my writing pad. “I feel that you are threatening me and we are leaving.” 

The next morning I received a call from the program officer at the Ford Foundation. “Gary, we have a problem. We received a call from Ameer Makhoul and we understand you spewed out all sorts of Zionist propaganda and he felt very threatened by you.” 

I told him it was a lie. 

The program officer continued to press me as to what I had said. I related the conversation word for word. He repeated what Ameer Makhoul had said. I told him to call Debra London who was with me through the entire interview, and verify it with her. I also told him that they better check their funding to these Arab organizations, because Ameer Makhoul appeared to be controlling all of them with some very hateful behaviors. 

He backed down. 

Debra and I wrote up our recommendations for how they needed to build the marketing institute, including a recommendation for using the pro bono work, worth nearly 1 million shekels, that we had secured from the ad agencies. The program officer, a former academic focused on the nonprofit sector, couldn’t understand the value of businesses being involved and rejected it out of hand. A few weeks later, he told Debra and me that he had hired an NGO consulting team to finish the work. They would be giving several hours of consultation to each organization. 

Several years later, I learned Ameer Makhoul had been arrested by the Israelis as a spy for Syria. 

As the years went on, I began to see what Ameer Makhoul had laid out to me taking shape. The PR coverage was first: The Muhammad al-Durrah incident in Gaza, when a 12-year-old boy was shot to death on the second day of the Second Intifada, capturing global headlines. The Mavi Marmara, the Turkish Flotilla to Gaza that the Israelis stormed, killing several Palestinian activists, grabbing global headlines. I knew the Mavi Marmara was manufactured for the exposure it would gain. 

Then the campuses: The creation of Apartheid Week worldwide. The growth of BDS. The student volunteers who began by the thousands to work in the Palestinian territories and its refugee camps. The shocking creation of anti-Zionist Jewish student groups. 

[mariacallous]

Leaked documents from a source close to the Putin administration reveal that Russian propagandists have a new target in their sights: government critics and opposition supporters. In an attempt to win over this skeptical audience, they’ve been repurposing out-of-context clips from a popular YouTuber’s old interviews, adding their own messages in the descriptions. They’ve also tried coming up with news stories they think might attract the attention of independent Russian media outlets (like Meduza). Here’s what they’re doing.

Dialog, an “autonomous nonprofit organization” (ANO) created on Vladimir Putin’s orders to spread disinformation, is using targeted advertising and repurposed material from “foreign agents” to try to promote a pro-Kremlin narrative to those who oppose the current Russian government, according to leaked documents shared with Meduza.

As part of the initiative, Dialog repurposed content from Russian YouTuber Yuri Dud (declared a “foreign agent” in Russia) and added captions encouraging people to go to the polls, according to a document from 2023 titled “Election Campaign on the Internet.” Specifically, the organization utilized excerpts from an interview Dud conducted with the Communist Party’s 2018 presidential candidate Pavel Grudinin before that year’s elections. Dialog shared the clips with phrases such as “If they come to the elections, falsifications will be impossible,” and “Dud recommends,” and then used targeted advertising to promote these clips “solely” to social media users critical of the government.

The document, written by Andrey Tsepelev, the deputy general director of Dialog Regions, aims to implement a “relevant system for managing internet operations in election headquarters.” However, the specifics of how this system works aren’t detailed, and Tsepelev didn’t respond to Meduza's inquiries.

This “relevant system” will be implemented with assistance from the Association of Internet Technologists, which is also headed by Tsepelev. Other co-founders include propagandist Kristina Potupchik, who owns a network of pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, and Stanislav Apetyan, a board member of the Civil Society Development Foundation (led by former Kremlin official Konstantin Kostin). Artyom Tkachenko, the director of the regional affairs department at Dialog Regions, and Vladimir Tabak, the head of Dialog, are also among the founders.

It was Tabak’s idea to try to engage with Russians critical of the current government, according to two of his acquaintances. A Dialog employee confirmed to Meduza that there have long been internal “discussions about content and narratives that could work for a liberal audience.”

“A couple of years ago, [Tabak] was already saying that he’d gone around the regions to help locals with elections, and he complained that they were all stupid, complete dipshits, knew nothing, didn’t work with analytics, posted strange things, and didn’t know what to do with social media,” explained one acquaintance. “All of that needed to change. So, he’s changing it. Tabak’s logic is basically: you [the authorities] managed to seal off the country, hundreds of thousands of people left, but that doesn’t mean their opinion doesn’t matter.”

So far, the plan has had very little success. Besides distributing repurposed clips from Yuri Dud, Dialog employees also credit themselves with creating “special projects” that have been covered by independent media. For instance, in a presentation about Russia’s recent presidential campaign, there’s a slide on press coverage of the fact that Vladimir Putin’s latest address to Russia’s Federal Assembly was shown in Russian movie theaters free of charge.

“The news spread across Telegram channels (2,491 publications), social networks (3,000 publications), TV (four TV segments), Russian-language media (2,067 publications) and foreign media (55 publications),” states Dialog’s presentation. According to the organization, the total number of views exceeded 31.8 million.

The presentation lists media outlets that reported on the theater broadcast, including Ostorozhno, Novosti (a project by Ksenia Sobchak), Meduza, and Dozhd (TV Rain). Despite Dozhd and Meduza being declared “undesirable” organizations in Russia, Dialog used their logos in the slides — which theoretically violates current legislation and could be considered the dissemination of prohibited materials.

A source in the Telegram industry told Meduza that Dialog highlights the interest of independent media in such news to demonstrate the effectiveness of its projects to the authorities. “It’s not hard to distribute and plant news in their own network of Telegram channels,” the source explained. “It’s much cooler if it’s not just a paid [propagandist] writing about you but a TV channel like Dozhd. They sell it as evidence that Dialog is so effective that it can even get the interest of ‘enemy’ media.”

The source added that Dialog employees are also trying to capitalize on the fact that independent media were forced to leave the country due to censorship, which may make it harder for them to assess the significance of certain news:

Liberal media that have left the country are out of touch with reality, since they’re not in Russia. Therefore, [according to Dialog propagandists], they amplify news that barely interests anyone here [in Russia]. Plus, even though the Justice Ministry has declared Meduza and Dozhd ‘undesirable,’ those working on elections understand that these are popular media outlets with a suitable audience that needs to be engaged and tapped into.

However, Dialog’s presentation doesn’t mention this, nor does it provide examples of other news events that independent media might have written about. It only includes mentions of short publications about Putin’s address being shown in theaters. How exactly this helps Dialog influence and “engage” the “opposition audience” remains unclear.

Nevertheless, propagandists believe that “it holds more weight when your enemies write about you,” explained one of Tabak’s acquaintances. “The media outlets that have left — Meduza, for example — have a huge Telegram audience, 1.2 million followers, and you need to work with that audience too,” he said.

When asked about the mention of independent media in the presentation, Tabak told Meduza: “It's not only you who can write about us; we thought we'd return the favor.” He refused to comment further.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Nate Silver

Published: Nov 2, 2023

“What Harvard students think” is a topic that invariably receives too much attention. But I don’t think that’s true for evaluating opinion among young people or college students in general — who, after all, will make up the next generation of journalists, business leaders, politicians and pretty much every other white-collar profession. And after seeing the latest polling on what college students think about free speech, I don’t concern over “cancel culture” or the erosion of free speech norms is just some moral panic. In fact, I think people are neglecting how quick and broad the shifts have been, especially on the left.

College Pulse and FIRE — the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a pro-free speech advocacy group — recently published the latest edition of their annual survey. Although I don’t love using data from political groups — even ones I generally agree with — the good in this survey outweighs the bad. The methodology is detailed and transparent. And in surveying more than 55,000 undergraduates, the poll provides a look at student opinion across all sorts of colleges and universities — not just from the loudest or most privileged students at elite institutions.

Although I’ve seen a lot of media coverage about the FIRE survey, I’d never really dug into the details. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting to see. But given my own political philosophy, I can tell you what I was hoping for: robust student support for free speech — perhaps in contrast to the often lukewarm support it receives among university administrators. Unfortunately, that’s not what the survey found. Here’s what it says instead:

College students aren’t very enthusiastic about free speech. In particular, that’s true for liberal or left-wing students, who are at best inconsistent in their support of free speech and have very little tolerance for controversial speech they disagree with.

Moreover, this attitude is broad-based — not just at elite schools. I was frankly surprised at how tepid student support was. A significant minority of students don’t even have much tolerance for controversial speech on positions they presumably agree with. There are partial exceptions at some schools — including my alma mater, the University of Chicago — suggesting the attitudes of professors and administrators play some role in trickling down to students. But this looks like a major generational shift from when college campuses were hotbeds of advocacy for free speech, particularly on the left.

[ A protest in favor of free speech as part of the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley. ]

Students have low tolerance for even mildly controversial speakers

The College Pulse/FIRE survey asks a long battery of questions, but many of them are focused on student perceptions about university administrators and not what they think about free speech themselves. Other questions ask about efforts to disrupt controversial speech — for instance, by shouting down a speaker. In these cases, there can be competing interpretations of what constitutes free speech — i.e. the students might say they are exercising free speech by disrupting the speaker — so these aren’t straightforward to interpret.

However, another set of questions directly asks students about their tolerance for controversial speech with no competing speech interest — specifically, whether a student group should be allowed to invite a speaker on campus. The exact wording of these questions is this:

Student groups often invite speakers to campus to express their views on a range of topics. Regardless of your own views of the topic, should your school ALLOW or NOT ALLOW a speaker on campus who previously expressed the following idea: ______________

Then, the survey presents students with a set of six examples — three pertaining to controversial ideas held by conservative speakers, and three about controversial ideas from liberal speakers. The order in which the students are presented with the examples is randomized in the survey — but here I’ll list them here with the conservative ideas first (which I’ve labeled as C1, C2 and C3) and the liberal ones (L1, L2, L3) second.

C1. Transgender people have a mental disorder. C2. Abortion should be completely illegal. C3. Black Lives Matter is a hate group. L1. The Second Amendment should be repealed so that guns can be confiscated. L2. Religious liberty is used as an excuse to discriminate against gays and lesbians. L3. Structural racism maintains inequality by protecting White privilege.

Let me pause for an annoying little disclaimer. In today’s newsletter, I’m going to use the term “liberal” as synonymous with “progressive” or “left-wing”, even though I generally try to avoid that. Indeed, free speech is a bedrock principle of liberalism as classically defined. But since the FIRE survey uses “liberal” as a stand-in for left1, I’m going to do so as well.

OK, with that throat-clearing out of the way, let me show you the numbers, broken down by students’ self-described political orientation. The figures in the table reflect the percentage of students who would allow the speaker.

If you want to critique the examples FIRE chose, I’m sympathetic up to a point — the conservative statements seem slightly spicier than the liberal ones, although maybe that reflects my personal biases. I figured that the students would have a strong dislike for speakers C1 (“transgender people have a mental disorder”) or C3 (“Black Lives Matter is a hate group”) because they could be seen as promoting hate speech or misinformation. I don’t personally think “hate speech” and “misinformation” are terribly coherent categories, but leave that aside for now. This is a survey of college students, including some as young as 18. So I was just hoping to find general, directional support for free speech — even if not necessarily in every instance from first principles.

But I was much more surprised by responses to speaker C2 (“abortion should be completely illegal”). People obviously have strong feelings about abortion, and a complete abortion ban is unpopular. Still, this is a commonly-articulated, garden-variety unpopular political opinion that doesn’t make any sort of factual claim and can’t reasonably be construed as hateful. You’d think even students with a tentative, half-baked belief in free speech principles would tolerate it. And yet, 57 percent of students — including 68 percent of liberals — thought a speaker expressing this anti-abortion viewpoint shouldn’t be allowed on campus. That number kind of shocked me.

For that matter, tolerance for some of the liberal viewpoints isn’t all that high either. Only 57 precent of students think L2 — the speaker who says religious liberty is used as an excuse to discriminate against gays and lesbians — should be allowed, even though that sort of claim has been common in American political discourse for decades now

Still, to be clear, there’s a big gap between the liberal students and the conservative students. The conservatives are actually quite consistent, with roughly 60 percent support for both liberal and conservative speakers. The liberal students have a relatively high tolerance for liberal speakers, but little tolerance for conservative ones.

This isn’t just a Harvard problem

Harvard and other elite schools often rate poorly in FIRE’s overall free speech rankings — Harvard is dead last in the latest edition, in fact. But the survey data I’ve been describing is just one component of those rankings. When it comes to controversial speakers, students at non-elite colleges are just as intolerant as their Ivy League counterparts. Here are the average numbers across various college typologies:

You can look at this data in a couple of different ways. On the one hand, the Ivy League schools are slightly more tolerant of controversial speakers overall. On the other hand, they have a particularly wide gap between tolerance for liberal speakers and conservative ones. Students at elite small colleges — the so-called Little Ivy group — have an even bigger gap and stand out as being particularly inconsistent. Still, the numbers don’t differ that much from one type of institution to the next. As I’ve said, student support for controversial speech is low across the board.

What about at individual universities? I don’t want to make too much of these rankings because there are potential sample size issues — the survey polled a couple hundred students per school on average. So let me just list the top 5 and bottom 5 schools, which differ from the average enough to be comfortably outside the margin of error.

Hillsdale College, an expressly conservative university, unsurprisingly has off-the-charts tolerance for conservative speakers. To their credit, though, students there also have above-average tolerance for liberal speakers. Meanwhile, the University of Chicago, which has a long history of support for free speech — reiterated in 2014 in the form of something called the Chicago Principles — ranks third. Washington and Lee University, which adopted the Chicago Principles, ranks second.

Why did the campus left turn against free speech?

Rather than provide a comprehensive analysis of the reasons for this shift — perhaps we can go into more detail in future editions of this newsletter — let me just inventory a few hypotheses. By no means are these mutually exclusive — I suspect they all play a role.

Reason #1: Woke ideas are popular on campus and are considerably less tolerant of free speech than traditional liberalism

I’m at the point where I’m tired of putting the term “woke” in scare quotes. Although the word is sometimes abused by conservative politicians, there exists a distinctive and influential set of ideological commitments that differ from traditional liberalism or leftism. And wokeness — or whatever you want to call it — particularly differs from liberalism when it comes fo free speech, as James O’Malley writes:

The ideological shift that has surprised me the most is witnessing “free speech” become coded as a right-wing value, and something that when the phrase is uttered makes people sympathetic to “woke” ideas suspicious. The argument is that unrestricted speech harms people. There isn’t an equal platform to speak in the first place, so racists and other unpleasant people are able to use the norm of free speech to terrorise groups who are oppressed. I think the strangest example of this new norm in action was the response to Elon Musk buying Twitter. Traditionally, liberal ideology is fearful of overreach by powerful figures like billionaires, and is in favour of more permissive speech rules and norms as a hedge against their power. But the “woke” complaint about the new owner is that under Musk’s leadership, Twitter will not be censorious enough, and will be too permissive over what speech is allowed on the platform.

Reason #2: Normie Democrats are turning against free speech because of concerns over misinformation

However, wokeism isn’t the only left-of-center movement that has raised concerns about free speech. Rank-and-file Democrats have shifted on the question too and now strongly prioritize restricting false information over protecting freedom of information:

Note that this shift is fairly recent — it came between 2018 and 2021, so it can’t just be attributed to the election of Donald Trump. (Maybe it had something to do with COVID?) And it’s a big shift — Democrats went from 57/40 in favor of free speech over misinformation in 2018 to 28/70 against it in 2023. A change that large will inevitably trickle down into universities with their mostly liberal students, professors and parents.

Reason #3: The younger generation is risk-averse in general

Teens and young adults in the U.S. increasingly defy the stereotype of younger people taking more risks. Instead, they show increasing rates of depression and neuroticism, and decreasing rates of risky behavior such as drug use and sex. This is particularly true among young people who identify as liberal. If you think controversial speech can cause harm — from psychological trauma to actual, literal violence — you might conclude that it’s not worth the risk.

Reason #4: The United States may be reverting to the mean

The U.S. has historically been an outlier in public support for free speech, and our laws are more protective of it than in many other Western democracies. Britain, for example, has significant curbs on speech, as does Germany. If America is becoming less distinct from the rest of the world — not something I regard as a hard-and-fast fact but a plausible theory, especially in the multicultural environment of universities — we might expect support for free speech to decline.

Reason #5: The adults in the room are often hypocrites

I don’t think it’s always true that people are hypocritical about free speech. Some partisans literally can’t seem to understand that some of us at least strive for a more high-minded, principled approach, even if we don’t always live up to it. Thinking that everyone else is a hypocrite is a convenient belief to hold if you yourself are a hypocrite.

But is there a lot of hypocrisy around free speech? Of course there is. Republicans who rail against wokeness put significant limits of their own on academic freedom. Supposed “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk has often taken a censorious approach toward content he doesn’t like while tolerating censorship by foreign governments.

While I’ve somehow made it this far without using the words “Israel” or “Palestine”, recent international events have uncovered instances of hypocrisy too. I have no interest in refereeing every incident, but cases like this — in which editor-in-chief Michael Eisen was fired from the life sciences journal eLife for retweeting an Onion article that expressed sympathy with Palestinians — fall under any definition of “cancel culture”.

Meanwhile, major donors are reconsidering their contributions to universities whose administrations they say weren’t sufficiently critical of Hamas and the October 7 terrorist attacks. Personally, I think donating to an already-rich, elite private university is one of the least effective possible ways to spend your money, so I’m happy whenever donors find an excuse to pull back. But leaving that aside, I don’t think these donors have really thought through their strategy.

True, a lot of university presidents have expressed a conveniently-timed, newfound commitment to free expression that didn’t match their previous behavior. Still, if I were one of those donors, I’d say “great, and now we’re going to hold you to it. The next time you stray from your commitment to free speech — particularly when it comes to students or faculty who express conservative or centrist viewpoints — we’re going nuclear, permanently ending all contributions to the university and telling all our rich friends to do the same.”

And although I’m not sure I have any business talking to college students — although I have delivered a number of guest lectures and commencement addresses — if I were, I’d use this as a teaching moment, telling students that now that they’ve found out what it’s like to stand up for a controversial, unpopular position, I’d hope they’d be more respectful of the rights of others to do the same.

Because unless someone is willing to do that — to defend free speech in a principled, non-hypocritical way — the game theory says it’s just going to be a race to the bottom. And given the increasingly tenuous commitment to it in many corners of American society, free speech is going to lose out.

--

1 This is an understandable decision, given that it’s a survey of popular (student) opinion. In conducting a poll, you want to use language the respondents will understand and use themselves.

==

Reminder: Harvard received a 0.00 score out of a possible maximum of 100.0 in FIRE's College Free Speech Rankings.

In 2020, Harvard ranked 46 out of 55 schools. In 2021, it ranked 130 out of 154 schools. Last year, it ranked 170 out of 203 schools. And this year, Harvard completed its downward spiral in dramatic fashion, coming in dead last with the worst score ever: 0.00 out of a possible 100.00. This earns it the notorious distinction of being the only school ranked this year with an “Abysmal” speech climate.

What’s more, granting Harvard a score of 0.00 is generous. Its actual score is -10.69, more than six standard deviations below the average and more than two standard deviations below the second-to-last school in the rankings, its Ivy League counterpart, the University of Pennsylvania.

[nibhamishramakeupartist]

Drugstore vs. High-End Makeup: Finding the Right Fit for Your Beauty Routine

Nibha Mishra Bollywood Makeup Artist

When it comes to makeup, the debate between drugstore and high-end products often sparks passionate opinions. Both categories offer unique benefits, and the right choice largely depends on your needs, preferences, and budget. Let’s dive into the pros and cons of each to help you find the perfect fit for your beauty routine.

Drugstore Makeup: Quality on a Budget

Pros:

Affordability: Drugstore makeup is known for its budget-friendly prices, making it an excellent choice for those who want quality without breaking the bank.

Accessibility: With numerous options available at local pharmacies and supermarkets, drugstore products are easy to find and often have a wide range of shades and formulations.

Innovation: Many drugstore brands have made significant strides in quality and formula innovation, offering products that rival high-end counterparts.

Cons:

Limited Shade Ranges: While improving, drugstore brands sometimes have fewer shade options, which might not cater to all skin tones.

Consistency: Quality can vary greatly between different drugstore brands and products, so it might take some trial and error to find your perfect match.

Top Drugstore Picks:

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation: Known for its wide range of shades and natural finish.

L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara: Offers dramatic volume and length at a fraction of the cost of high-end mascaras.

High-End Makeup: Luxury and Performance

Pros:

Superior Quality: High-end makeup often uses premium ingredients and advanced formulations, resulting in products that offer exceptional performance and longer wear.

Luxury Experience: The packaging and application experience of high-end products can feel more indulgent and sophisticated.

Extended Shade Ranges: High-end brands frequently offer more diverse shade options, catering to a broader spectrum of skin tones.

Cons:

Price: The main drawback is the cost. High-end products can be significantly more expensive, which might not fit into everyone’s budget.

Availability: High-end makeup is usually found at specialty stores or online, which can be less convenient than picking up drugstore products during your grocery run.

Top High-End Picks:

Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation: Praised for its long-lasting coverage and wide shade range.

Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette: Known for its high pigmentation and versatile color options.

Finding Your Balance

The key to a great makeup routine is to blend both drugstore and high-end products according to your needs. Drugstore products can offer fantastic value and versatility for everyday wear, while high-end products can be worth the splurge for special occasions or if you’re looking for a particular performance boost.

Experiment with both types to discover what works best for you. Remember, the ultimate goal is to find products that make you feel confident and beautiful, regardless of their price tag. Happy shopping!

[belladoesmakeup]

Hi guys,

I am so excited to write today’s blog post because we have a brand new foundation from Fenty Beauty! It’s been a while since I’ve bought a face base product from Fenty Beauty because I wasn’t the biggest fan of the original foundation formula. But Fenty had just released a brand new formula which is the Fenty Beauty SOFT'LIT Naturally Luminous Longwear Foundation , £34.00 in shade 110.

Now before we chat about the new formula let’s go back to the original PRO FILT'R Soft Matte Longwear Foundation ,£34.00. This foundation had a matte, medium coverage finish and though I loved how long it wore on my face, it showed up a lot of texture on my skin. I also noticed that because it was a matte finish it really oxidised on my face. So when I found out Fenty was bringing out a new formula I wasn’t too sure but claims have sold it to me.

The new foundation is a luminous long wearing formula that had medium, buildable coverage. Comparing to the original formula, this version is more natural looking on the skin and feels more lightweight on your face. Shade wise 110 suits me way better on this formula because IT DOES NOT OXIDISE ON ME which is a miracle. The foundation just glides onto your face and gives you a gorgeous luminous finish. Packaging wise this foundation matches the new We’re Even Hydrating Concealer which continues this new hydrating luminous finish Fenty are blessing us with!

I have been wearing this foundation for a new days now and I am obsessed with it. It wears just as long as the original formula but this new upgrade looks so much better on my face and gives me a gorgeous finish. I also find my setting powders sit so much smoother on the new foundation too! So if you’re a fan of Fenty Beauty I really recommend you checking out this foundation!

As always all products mentioned are linked above.

Lot’s of love,

Bella x x

[georgiapeach30513]

Omgggg I just brought the foundation by make up by Mario 😭 have you tried it yet??. I don’t know, if it was a good decision. I’m not used to foundation🫣. Do you have any tips????

So the Makeup by Mario foundation a little bit goes a long way. I think people forget brands like Mario’s, Haus Labs, Pat McGrath, Patrick Ta are a professional brand. Light layers.

I actually suggest watching Mario and how he applies the foundation to give you a better idea on how it was meant to be used. I prefer it with a fluffier brush.

Pro Tip from a MUA: you don’t need full coverage all over your face. Let your concealer add the additional coverage. Let your foundation even out your skin tone.

[lboogie1906]

Richard Kevin Sherman (born March 30, 1988) is a former football cornerback who played 11 seasons in the NFL. He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, beginning his career as a wide receiver before moving to cornerback as a junior. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft. He was selected to the Pro Bowl five times and voted All-Pro five times, including three times to the first team, and led the NFL in interceptions in 2013, when he helped the Seahawks win their first Super Bowl. He is regarded as one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time.

During his time as a member of the Seahawks, he was part of the “Legion of Boom”, the Seahawks’ starting secondary which contributed to Seattle having the best pass defense in the NFL in 2013. This unit helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII; their 43–8 win over the Denver Broncos matched the third-largest margin of victory in the history of the Super Bowl. The Seahawks made it to Super Bowl XLIX the following season, losing in a close game against the New England Patriots. During his time with the Seahawks, they led the league in scoring defense for four straight years (2012-15) making them the first team to do so since the 1950s Cleveland Browns.

On June 14, 2022, it was announced he would become a pre-game and postgame analyst for Amazon.

He married Ashley Moss (2018) and they have two children.

He was featured on the cover of Madden NFL 15. He writes for The Players’ Tribune. He has his charity called Blanket Coverage – The Richard Sherman Family Foundation. In 2013, he started his charity to help children in low-income communities by providing them with school supplies and clothing. His foundation was formed to help children across the country achieve academic success.

He is interested in cryptocurrency and tech stocks and is an ambassador for the trivia app FleetWit. He is a co-owner of the Glacier Boyz for the Fan Controlled Football League. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #phibetasigma

[mercyjuliet1512]

Navigating the Pros and Cons of Selenium for Web Application Testing

Introduction: In the dynamic world of software development, automated testing is a cornerstone of ensuring product quality and reliability. Among the myriad of tools available for automated testing, Selenium stands out as a leading choice for testing web applications. In this comprehensive exploration, we'll dissect the advantages and disadvantages of Selenium, providing insights to aid in your decision-making process when selecting a testing tool.

Advantages of Selenium:

Cross-Browser Compatibility: Selenium boasts seamless compatibility across various web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. This ensures consistent performance and functionality across diverse platforms, enhancing the overall user experience.

Open-Source Foundation: Selenium's open-source nature not only makes it freely accessible but also fosters a collaborative community of developers. This community-driven approach facilitates continuous improvement and innovation, ensuring that Selenium remains at the forefront of automated testing technology.

Flexibility in Language Support: Selenium supports multiple programming languages, such as Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript. This versatility empowers testers to leverage their language of choice, enhancing productivity and enabling seamless integration with existing workflows.

Integration with Testing Frameworks: Selenium seamlessly integrates with popular testing frameworks like TestNG, JUnit, and NUnit. This integration enhances test management capabilities and facilitates streamlined reporting, enabling efficient tracking of test results and issues.

Robust WebDriver API: Selenium's WebDriver API offers a robust and intuitive interface for automating web interactions. Testers can easily create and maintain test scripts, streamlining the testing process and minimizing manual effort.

Parallel Testing Capabilities: Selenium Grid enables parallel execution of tests across multiple browsers and environments. This parallel testing capability accelerates test execution, reduces time-to-market, and enhances test coverage, ultimately improving overall testing efficiency.

Extensive Ecosystem of Tools and Plugins: Selenium boasts an extensive ecosystem of tools and plugins that extend its functionality. From Selenium IDE for record-and-playback functionality to Selenium WebDriver for programmatic test automation, testers have access to a diverse range of tools to meet their specific testing needs.

Disadvantages of Selenium:

Limited Support for Desktop and Mobile Applications: Selenium primarily focuses on web application testing and may lack robust support for testing desktop and mobile applications. Testers may need to explore additional tools and frameworks to achieve comprehensive test coverage across diverse platforms.

Steep Learning Curve: Selenium's rich feature set and versatility may present a steep learning curve, particularly for novice testers. Mastering Selenium's APIs and best practices may require significant time and effort, potentially delaying the adoption and implementation of automated testing.

Dependency on Browser Automation: Selenium's reliance on browser automation exposes test scripts to potential fragility and failures. Changes in browser versions or website structures may necessitate frequent updates and maintenance of test scripts to ensure their reliability and effectiveness.

Lack of Built-In Reporting: Selenium lacks built-in reporting capabilities, requiring testers to rely on third-party tools or custom scripts for generating comprehensive test reports. This additional overhead may increase the complexity and maintenance of test automation frameworks.

Limited Support for Non-Web Technologies: While Selenium excels in web application testing, it may offer limited support for testing non-web technologies such as APIs, databases, and mobile devices. Testers may need to supplement Selenium with additional tools and frameworks to achieve comprehensive test coverage across diverse technologies.

Resource Intensive Execution: Executing tests with Selenium, especially in parallel or on cloud-based Selenium Grids, may be resource-intensive. Testers must ensure adequate infrastructure and resources to support the scalability and performance requirements of their automated testing efforts.

Conclusion: In conclusion, Selenium emerges as a powerful tool for automated testing of web applications, offering numerous advantages such as cross-browser compatibility, open-source accessibility, and robust WebDriver API. However, it also presents certain challenges and limitations, including a steep learning curve, dependency on browser automation, and limited support for non-web technologies.

By carefully evaluating the pros and cons of Selenium and considering your specific testing requirements, you can make informed decisions about whether Selenium aligns with your automated testing needs. Ultimately, Selenium remains a top choice for testers seeking to ensure the quality and reliability of web applications in today's fast-paced development landscape.

[meret118]

Idaho legislators disbanded a state committee that investigated the root causes of maternal deaths, making it the only state in the nation with no such mortality review.

. . .

They allowed two bills to die that would have put Idaho on the same track as nearly every other state with abortion restrictions — including Florida, Kentucky and Texas — by extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months. Idaho’s Medicaid coverage ends two months after birth, the minimum under federal law.

They turned down $36 million in federal grants to support child care this summer, while other states with new abortion restrictions — Alabama, Louisiana and Missouri among them — made investments in early childhood education and day care. Idaho lawmakers at the time attributed the decision to a pending audit of a different batch of grants.

. . .

But Blaine Conzatti, president of the Idaho Family Policy Center and a leading anti-abortion lobbyist, is not bothered by the lack of government support. Pregnancies, births and child care are not the purview of the government, he said, but of families, communities, charities and, most of all, churches.

. . .

No action set Idaho apart from other abortion-ban states more than when the Idaho Legislature allowed its Maternal Mortality Review Committee to die this year. The committee had been granted unique powers to review private health care and other records of women who died during or within a year after pregnancy and draw conclusions about the root causes of those deaths.

Its budget of $10,000 a year came only from federal funds, so keeping the committee going seemed pro forma. Every single state, New York and Texas alike, had put one in place. But in Idaho, a lobbyist for an ultraconservative political nonprofit stood up and spoke against it at a hearing.

Fred Birnbaum, legislative affairs director of Idaho Freedom Foundation, said studying the causes of Idaho’s roughly 10 to 15 preventable maternal deaths each year risked inviting a push for more government support to help keep people from dying. And government support was anathema to his group.

Birnbaum’s assessment was partly correct. Idaho’s maternal mortality committee had made recommendations that could increase public spending, such as extending Medicaid coverage postpartum, expanding access to naloxone to prevent death from opioid overdose and providing better housing and child care support. But of the 52 recommendations in the committee’s final report, most called for no new government spending.

------

I doubt he has any problem with government money for farmers.

"They’re not pro-life. You know what they are? They’re anti-woman. Simple as it gets, anti-woman. They don’t like them. They don’t like women. They believe a woman’s primary role is to function as a brood mare for the state." -- George Carlin