#the problem is that it is not effective for the upcoming election campaign

[schrobrm]

me tomorrow at work

[beardedmrbean]

In early May, Claudia Sheinbaum, the favorite to win Mexico's upcoming presidential election next month, suddenly pulled out of a planned visit to Apatzingan, a town in the violent state of Michoacan.

Three sources from her inner circle told Reuters the decision was taken because a drug cartel set fire to several vehicles shortly before the rally, forcing the federal government to call in the military to restore order.

Sheinbaum denied the cancelation was due to the violence, saying only that the Apatzingan event had never been fully confirmed.

INDIANA BEAUTY QUEEN ARRESTED IN MEXICAN CARTEL BUST THAT INCLUDED ONE OF FEDS' MOST WANTED FUGITIVES

Yet, the episode highlights how Sheinbaum - who has campaigned on the reduction of Mexico City's murder rate during her term as mayor - could face much tougher challenges in repeating this success in places like Michoacan, where criminal groups exert a level of control far beyond what Sheinbaum encountered in the capital.

Sheinbaum's advisors told Reuters that, if elected, she aims to reduce by 2027 Mexico's murder rate from 23.3 homicides for every 100,000 residents to around 19.4 per 100,000 - putting it on par with Brazil.

To achieve this, she will double the number of federal investigators to 8,000, increase the number of National Guard troops to 150,000 from around 120,000, decrease impunity through judicial reform, and create youth education and community programs, her advisors said.

Juan Pablo Morales, an academic who helped develop Sheinbaum's plan, said the team are aware of the differences between Mexico City and the country as a whole but that many lessons from the capital can be applied nationally.

"Claudia (Sheinbaum) helped drive a lot the professional development of the police in Mexico City, giving them new powers, responsibilities," Morales said.

CARTEL WAR

Mexico City's homicide rate fell 50% between December 2018, when Sheinbaum was inaugurated as mayor, and June 2023, when she stepped aside to begin her presidential campaign, a drop she attributes to effective security policies that improved police work and coordination with prosecutors.

She says this experience will allow her to further drive down the high national homicide rate, which has fallen around 20 percent under current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum's close political ally and mentor, according to preliminary data.

Yet, López Obrador's full six-year term is still the bloodiest on record, with over 185,000 murders through April.

Moreover, critics say that López Obrador's less confrontational security policy against organized crime groups would make his successor's job even harder.

"The country's security situation depends on the national war between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel," said David Saucedo, a consultant who works with state governments and companies on national security issues, "the ball is not in her court."

Under López Obrador, this rivalry has expanded to ever more territory, while smaller crime groups have further entrenched their power - including in places like Michoacan, according to security experts.

Six out of 10 Mexicans consider insecurity to be the country's main problem, according to an annual public survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

Crime experts say Sheinbaum's plan lacks details and sources from her close circle say that the 61-year-old scientist has avoided criticizing López Obrador's security failures because she owes her popularity to the president.

"So far Sheinbaum has released relatively little information in terms of concrete details about her security plans," said Nathaniel Parish, a political risk analyst for Latin America. "What we have are signals about what she would like to do but we don't have specific concrete dollar amounts of what she plans to devote to these initiatives."

NUMBER QUESTIONS

Some critics have also raised questions about whether the former Mexico City mayor was as successful as she claims in reducing crime.

They point to the large number of deaths in the capital that are categorized as "events of undetermined intent." These deaths, which include drownings, poisonings and sometimes suspected but unproven homicides, often equal or exceed the number of homicides. Miscategorization of these deaths could explain some of the decrease in the murder rate, critics say.

Another issue is disappearances, which went up in Mexico City under Sheinbaum and could also help explain the significant reduction in official homicide numbers.

"(The figures) confirm suspicions of cover-up of homicides and suicides in some entities, starting with Mexico City," said sociologist Jorge Ramirez. This issue has also been flagged at the federal level.

Sheinbaum's team reject the accusation that murder figures were artificially low.

Jose Merino, an advisor for Sheinbaum, told Reuters it's "absurd" to say homicides are being covered up.

Merino said the number of deaths filed as "events of undetermined intent" and later found to be homicides account for less than 10% of the total.

He also said the rise in disappearances was due to an increase in reporting of these incidents rather than an uptick in their occurrence.

[cakesandfail]

okay, so, hi. I have a question about UK politics that you are 100% free to ignore.

starting context! If I, a usamerican saw a usamerican ~content creator~ I liked campaigning/vocally supporting/etc a third party candidate for our upcoming election, my reaction would be "'oh, this person sucks and is tacitly supporting the fascists winning"' because that's literally how our stupid two party system works. In our current hellscape, it's a massive red flag, and a hard no from me.

So my actual question! If a UK ~content creator~ that otherwise was inoffensive was working with one of those joke(?) (the trashcan guy) candidates during your most recent election, does that have the same connotations? Is that the sort of thing you'd cancel a patron sub/unfollow/etc over? Or is it a more neutral/harmless thing?

i am a dumb usamerica and i crave context, thanks <3

Generally speaking, no, it doesn't have the same connotations, because our political system works differently to yours, and because we're a nation of dickheads (affectionate) who love taking the piss out of important people.

In terms of who actually gets to govern, it's effectively a two-party system, but there are a significant number of other legitimate political parties in parliament. And also Reform UK, unfortunately. Anyway. Some context:

When we have a general election, we're voting for a candidate in our local area (constituency) to represent that area as a Member of Parliament (MP). There are 650 constituencies, each represented by one MP. The party who gets the highest number of MPs elected becomes the new government. The party leader becomes the Prime Minister, but that's not a separate thing like it is with the US presidential election- the person has to get re-elected as an MP in their own constituency and you only vote for them directly if you live there. For example, I've never voted for our new prime minister Keir Starmer, because I don't live in the part of London where he's an MP.

Big third-party candidates here can be an issue when they're going to split the vote. That's actually what happened to the right in this general election- the Conservatives pissed everyone off so much by being absolutely shit at everything that a lot of their more, uh, passionate voters (*cough*racists*cough*) voted for Reform UK instead. But unless that's happening on a national scale like it did this time, having parties other than Labour and the Conservatives around is generally a good thing (again, with the exception of Reform UK, who are shit and awful, but at least there's only five of them and Nigel Farage doesn't turn up to work). The Liberal Democrats, Greens, and local parties in the devolved nations all represent their constituencies as intended and it's not really a problem. I actually voted Lib Dem myself in this election because the options where I live were Lib Dem or Conservative, and I am never going to vote Conservative.

The joke candidates are... different lmao. They are never anywhere near getting the sort of numbers that would put any legitimate candidates in danger of losing- we're talking a couple of hundred votes here, and usually in places where the winner is ahead by many thousands. They're generally doing silly things to make serious points or to take the piss out of specific politicians. Count Binface is a pretty good example actually- he always runs against the sitting prime minister, who will probably keep their place as an MP even if they don't get to be prime minister any more, and certainly won't lose their job to a bloke with a bin on his head.

And actually, given that you mentioned Binface and content creators: I'm guessing you're familiar with Matt Parker? I have zero issues with him being involved with Count Binface's latest run because Binface wasn't going to beat Rishi Sunak and didn't intend to. It's not about making a real challenge so much as just turning up to give a big middle finger to a powerful person that nobody really likes. I would consider unfollowing/no longer supporting a content creator that was involved with candidates who were genuinely dangerous or harmful in some way, but I probably wouldn't do it over a joke candidate unless they also met the 'genuinely terrible' criteria.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, September 24, 2023

As the world’s problems grow more challenging, the head of the United Nations gets bleaker (AP) At the annual meeting of world leaders last year, the U.N. chief sounded a global alarm about the survival of humanity and the planet. This year, the alarm rang louder and more ominously, and the message was even more pressing: Wake up and take action—right now. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ assessment, delivered in his no-nonsense style, aimed to shock. We are becoming “unhinged,” he said. We are inching closer to “a great fracture.” Conflicts, coups and chaos are surging. The climate crisis is growing. Divides are deepening between military and economic powers, the richer North and poorer South, East and West. “A new Rubicon” has been crossed in artificial intelligence. Guterres has spoken often on all these issues. But this year, which he called “a time of chaotic transition,” his address to leaders was tougher and even more urgent. His message to the presidents and prime ministers, monarchs and ministers gathered in the vast General Assembly hall was unambiguous and stark. “We seem incapable,” Guterres said, “of coming together to respond.”

Surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada led to allegations around Sikh killing, official says (AP) The allegation of India’s involvement in the killing of a Sikh Canadian is based on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally, a Canadian official told The Associated Press on Thursday. The official said the communications involved Indian officials and Indian diplomats in Canada and that some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, which includes the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand, in addition to Canada. The official did not say which ally provided intelligence or give details of what was contained in the communications or how they were obtained. The revelation came as India stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens and told Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff as the rift widened over allegations by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh separatist.

White House preparing for government shutdown as House Republicans lack a viable endgame for funding (AP) The White House on Friday directed federal agencies to get ready for a shutdown after House Republicans left town for the weekend with no viable plan to keep the government funded and avert politically and economically costly disruption of federal services. A federal shutdown after Sept. 30 seems all but certain unless Speaker Kevin McCarthy can persuade his rebellious hard-right flank of Republicans to allow Congress to approve a temporary funding measure to prevent closures as talks continue. Instead, he’s launched a much more ambitious plan to try to start passing multiple funding bills once the House returns Tuesday, with just five days to resolve the standoff. McCarthy signaled his preference for avoiding a closure, but a hard-right flank of his House majority has effectively seized control. The standoff with House Republicans over government funding puts at risk a range of activities—including pay for the military and law enforcement personnel, food safety and food aid programs, air travel and passport processing—and could wreak havoc with the U.S. economy.

Election emotions (Yahoo News) What’s the No. 1 feeling that comes to mind for Americans when thinking about the upcoming presidential election? “Dread,” according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll. The survey of 1,636 U.S. adults, which was conducted from Sept. 14 to 18, offered respondents seven emotions—three positive, three negative, one neutral—and asked them to select any and all that reflect their attitude toward the 2024 campaign. Dread, the most negative option, topped the list (41%), followed by exhaustion (34%), optimism (25%), depression (21%), indifference (17%), excitement (15%) and delight (5%). In total, a majority of Americans (56%) chose at least one of the three negative feelings (dread, exhaustion or depression), while less than a third (32%) picked at least one of the three positive feelings (optimism, excitement or delight).

Mexico Feels Pressure of Relentless Migration From South America (NYT) At a Mexico City shelter, the nun in charge made another difficult announcement to the mothers and children arriving Wednesday: There was no more space. Five hundred migrants were already crammed into a facility built for 100. Near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala, frustrated people stormed a refugee aid office on Monday after waiting weeks for appointments to receive the necessary documents that allow them to travel farther north. And in Tijuana, nearly all of the city’s 32 shelters were at full capacity this week, as people from nearly 70 countries waited for a U.S. asylum appointment or a chance to sneak across the border. Similar scenes are playing out across the country as Mexico’s immigration system strains under a tide of people desperately trying to go north. The relentless surge has led to a hodgepodge response in Mexico ranging from shutting down railways heading north to the busing of people to areas with fewer migrants. American officials are also contending with a new wave of unlawful border crossings that is straining government resources and leaving local officials scrambling as thousands of migrants are released from federal custody. On Wednesday, thousands of people crossed into Eagle Pass, Texas, leading the mayor to declare a state of emergency and a deployment of 800 active-duty military personnel to help process the arrivals.

Costa Rica’s homicide rate rises in deadliest year ever (Reuters) More than 656 people have been killed so far in Costa Rica’s deadliest year on record, official homicide data showed on Friday, though the government expects this figure to soar past 900 by the end of this year. Costa Rica, which has for decades been recognized as the safest Central American country, saw more homicides in six of its seven provinces, with the capital San Jose seeing the highest increase—double those in the same period last year. Authorities have reported crimes such as torture, gang murders and assassinations carried out by highly-trained hitmen, similar to crimes committed by Mexican cartels. They attribute two-thirds of such killings to turf war gangs for control over drug trafficking operations in the country, a strategic location between producers in Colombia and consumers in the United States and Europe.

U.S. will send Ukraine long-range missiles, after delay (Washington Post) The Biden administration plans to provide Ukraine with a version of ATACMS long-range missiles armed with cluster bomblets rather than a single warhead, according to several people familiar with the ongoing deliberations. The cluster-armed ATACMS, with a range of up to 190 miles, depending on the version, could allow Ukraine to strike command posts, ammunition stores and logistics routes far behind Russian front lines and dug-in defenses. Biden moved during the summer from a firm and long-standing “no” to saying the issue was “still in play.” Although the administration backed away from initial concerns that Kyiv, which has asked for hundreds of the long-range weapons, would use them to strike inside Russian territory, the Pentagon still worried that drawing down enough ATACMS from relatively small military stockpiles to make a difference on the Ukraine battlefield would undercut the readiness of U.S. forces for other possible conflicts.

For South Korea’s Senior Subway Riders, the Joy Is in the Journey (NYT) The subway rumbled toward its final stop north of Seoul. Along the way, hordes disembarked, with the determined, brisk gait of those with somewhere to be. By the end of the line, many who remained on board were noticeably older—nodding off, gazing out the window, stretching their shoulders. Lee Jin-ho had taken two subway lines for more than an hour from his home to the last stop, Soyosan, on a steamy August day. He ambled about a hundred yards beyond the station, rested briefly in the shade—and then got right back on the train heading south. An 85-year-old retired interior designer, Mr. Lee is one of Seoul’s throngs of subway-riding seniors, who take advantage of the country’s longstanding policy of free fares for people older than 65 and spend their days riding the trains to the end of the line, or to nowhere in particular, and sometimes back again. On long summer days—with Seoul’s temperatures averaging highs of more than 87 degrees in August—the air-conditioning is robust, the people-watching is engrossing and the 200 miles of subway tracks in the city are almost limitless in their possibilities for urban wanderings. Older adults who ride free of charge make up about 15 percent of Seoul’s annual ridership. The riders have become such an established part of the city’s fabric that they have a nickname—“Jigong Geosa,” derived from the phrase “free subway”—and the lines and stations frequented by them are well known.

[lordnot]

OK,I think I understand what's going on now: you've been convinced that we are in a Forced Binary Choice scenario. It's relatively common nowadays, so don't feel bad! I just didn't realize that it ran this deep.

Let me try to help you out here. See, despite what you have been told: the only action that is a vote for Donald Trump is actually voting for Donald Trump. Clicking or checking off the Donald Trump/J.D. Vance Ticket, either at a polling site or through mail-in voting. You can tell that this is the case, because the Trump campaign isn't encouraging people to sit at home on Election Day, or vote Third Party, or sit on social media arguing about "The Revolution". That would be foolish, because they know that none of those actions help get Trump elected.

In contrast, if you wanted to vote for another four years of starvation wages for nursing home aides, daycare workers, and college professors along with unaffordable nursing homes, day cares, and colleges, you actually have a number of effective options for this upcoming election. As you pointed out, one is voting Republican. Another is voting Democrat.

Because you're right: a number of studies show "the economy" does better under Democrats. It's just that when economists measure "the economy", they put very little weight into concerns like income and affordability. Instead they look at productivity, how much is being produced at a time. And if you can pay people less to do the same work and then charge them more, as the tweets above describe, then productivity is increased and profit is up! What a great "economy"!

So no: whether "the economy" did better under Bidenomics or MAGA isn't all that relevant to the original topic. Now I'm usually in no position to lecture anyone on reading theory. But if you read the tweets above and the terms "Bourgeoisie" and "Proletariat" don't flash in your mind, then the problem may be that you simply don't have the tools to conceptualize a solution to the problem described.

[maharashtraelctions]

Maharashtra Unfiltered: Raw Politics, Daily Delivered – 19 November 2024

Maharashtra’s politics are full of excitement right now as the state gets ready for the 2024 Assembly elections, which are set for November 20. This election is very important, and there will be a tough race between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress, and their partners, the Shiv Sena groups and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). This election is a big deal in Maharashtra’s political history[2, 3] because over 4,140 candidates are running in 288 districts.

Important Politicians and Parties

There are important people on both sides of the election:

The BJP is led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who has made his group in the Shiv Sena a key partner. Shinde’s government has put a lot of effort into building up facilities and progress[4].

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Congress: Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are in charge of this party, which wants to regain ground in Maharashtra.

Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT): Thackeray is running on a platform of social justice and regional pride. He wants to get his party’s power back after it broke up with Shinde.

Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction: Ajit Pawar, who is now deputy chief minister, is also a major candidate. He leads a group that has traditionally had a lot of power in Maharashtra politics[3].

Important Changes

As of today, November 19, 2024, politics are very heated, with people running for office at the last minute and making last-minute plans. The opposition coalition, called the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), is trying to take power away from the Mahayuti alliance, which is run by the BJP. Both groups have gotten national leaders to help their campaigns, so the stakes are high. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been working hard to get people all over the state to back the cause[5].

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Important Groups to Keep an Eye on

Several groups are being closely watched as possible predictors of the overall election outcome:

1. Worli: A big election with Aaditya Thackeray (Shiv Sena-UBT) running against Milind Deora (Shinde group) and Sandeep Deshpande (MNS).

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Baramati is a traditional base for the Pawar family. In this fight, Ajit Pawar is up against Yugendra Pawar, who is backed by Sharad Pawar.

3. Kopri-Pachpakhadi is Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s district, where he is running against Kedar Dighe. This election has personal stakes for both of them [3, 4].

How Elections Work

The upcoming elections aren’t just about parties; they also show problems in society as a whole. There are now over 96 million registered voters, including almost 2 million people who are voting for the first time. This change in the population could affect how people vote, especially younger voters who are becoming more worried about things like unemployment and the economy[2].

Also, claims of election fraud have come to light, including claims that cash was given to voters to change how they voted. Law enforcement agencies across Maharashtra have seized large amounts of cash and illegal gifts, which raises worries about the fairness of the election process[5].

What this means for Maharashtra

The results of these elections will have long-lasting effects on how Maharashtra is run and what policies are made. A win for the coalition led by the BJP could strengthen its grip on power and allow it to keep working on its growth plans. If, on the other hand, the MVA is able to take back control, it could mean a move toward more progressive policies that focus on social justice and regional growth.

All eyes will be on Maharashtra tomorrow, November 20, as people get ready to go to the polls for what looks like it will be one of the most important elections in recent memory. The findings will be made public on November 23. They will not only decide how local governments will work in the future, but they will also set the stage for national political alignments before the next general elections[2, 3].

Citations:

[1] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/maharashtra-political-crisis

[2] https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/maharashtra-elections-2024-live-updates-mahayuti-mva-maharashtra-government-formation-election-rally-campaign-speech-roadshow-bjp-congress-shiv-sena-ncp/3667888/

[3] https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/maharashtra-assembly-elections-2024-bjp-congress-uddhav-thackerays-shiv-sena-and-eknath-shindes-shinde-sena-clash-for-288-seats-spotlight-on-9-key-constituencies-454256-2024-11-19

[4] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/maharashtra-politics/news

[5] https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/maharashtra-assembly-election-2024-check-polling-date-time-exit-polls-result-counting-details-454259-2024-11-19

[6] https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/cash-chaos-ahead-of-maharashtra-elections-crores-in-a-car-water-stream-and-allegations-fly/article68782098.ece

[7] https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/crowd-of-confusion-on-the-maharashtra-political-scene-polls/article68846189.ece

[8] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maharashtra-assembly-election-5-maha-battles-among-288-seats-to-watch-out-for-key-constituencies-and-candidates-101731989475836.html

https://maharashtraelection.in/maharashtra-unfiltered-raw-politics-daily-delivered-19-november-2024/

[scrumptiouskiddefendor]

Nara Lokesh Leads TDP's 'Shankaravam' Initiative

In a bid to mobilize its cadre and address the governance failures of the ruling party, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) National General Secretary, Nara Lokesh, is set to inaugurate the ambitious 'Shankaravam' program in Srikakulam district on Sunday. This strategic initiative marks a pivotal moment in the party's preparation for the upcoming elections, as it aims to mobilize support and express the concerns of the people across 120 constituencies in Andhra Pradesh. The 'Shankaravam' program is not simply a political rally but a complete effort to engage with the base level, understand their grievances, and offer solutions. Nara Lokesh, a prominent figure in the TDP's leadership, will spearhead this initiative by conducting meetings in Ichapuram, Palasa, and Tekkali constituencies, commencing on February 11, 2024. These gatherings will serve as platforms for open discussions where local activists, TDP leaders, and citizens can voice their concerns directly to the TDP party leadership.

The core objective of the 'Shankaravam' initiative is a dual one: firstly, to evaluate and highlight the shortcomings of the present government, and secondly, to equip the TDP Party cadre with the necessary tools and strategies to effectively challenge these shortcomings in the upcoming elections. By engaging in face-to-face interactions with local activists and leaders, Nara Lokesh aims to establish a deeper connection with the electorate and build momentum for the party's electoral campaign. The TDP administration has left no stone unturned in ensuring the success of the 'Shankaravam' program. Careful arrangements have been made to facilitate smooth logistics, robust security, and efficient communication channels throughout the forty-day endeavor. Moreover, the party leadership under N. Chandrababu Naidu is committed to transparency and accountability, pledging to address the concerns raised during these interactions with sincerity and skill.

As Andhra Pradesh stands at a crucial point, facing multiple challenges ranging from agricultural problems to governance lapses, the 'Shankaravam' initiative emerges as a beacon of hope for those seeking meaningful change. By organizing its cadre and amplifying the voices of the people, the TDP agenda aims to reclaim its position as a formidable force in the state's political landscape. In essence, the 'Shankaravam' program symbolizes the TDP's unwavering commitment to democratic principles, active governance, and inclusive development. As Nara Lokesh embarks on this transformative journey, the TDP party envisions a future where the aspirations of every citizen are heard, respected, and realized. Follow thelatest news and live updates to learn more about the Shankaravam campaign.

[jessicap498]

Deepfakes

Deepfake videos and the digital manipulation of video/audio has become a large topic of discussion (and concern) in the last couple of years. However, this kind of technology has existed for longer than people realize. As the CNN article states, computer-generated images (CGI) have been utilized in many different sectors of work already, most notably in Hollywood. The article lists several examples of CGI used to replicate the likeness and/or the face of a deceased actor, to age an actor up/down and to manipulate existing video/audio to create a new reality. It also touches upon how audio is also affected by deepfake technology. We have seen an increase in AI-generated audio like song covers and voiceovers across the internet recently. The rise of AI has made deepfake technology more accessible as computers, not humans, do the hard work. Now, the largest problem surrounding deepfakes is its democratization (how anyone and everyone can/will soon be able to easily create deepfakes for any use around the world). The harder it gets to detect a deepfake, the less people will trust any kind of media source. 

Deepfake technology is already creating a polarizing, worldwide issue. If people already question the factual existence of things like The Holocaust and 9/11, even though there is very solid evidence of these events occurring (including eye-witnesses and survivors, let alone video and photographical evidence), adding deepfakes onto the list of possible media sources will create so many more problems for everyone. The CNN article includes a snippet of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio speaking about the dangers of deepfake technology. Rubio makes a formal request to the Director of National Intelligence to address the use and harm of deepfakes, worrying about the global fallout if a convincing deepfake goes viral before it’s detected.

As a country that is already so politically and socially divided, I believe we should all be concerned about the existence of deepfake technology, especially with an upcoming presidential election upon us where candidates are unafraid to come at each other with all of the campaign strength they have. Deepfakes have proven themselves to provide so many negative effects, and people can literally manipulate video/audio how they see fit. Politicians could go crazy using deepfake technology to its fullest potential. From a journalist's standpoint, I am extremely worried about how deepfakes impact people's trust in the media, which is already at an all-time low today. As the world grows, evolves and adapts to high-tech ideas such as AI and deepfakes, it gets harder and harder to detect and avoid fake news and fake content. I love how CNN called this "a new kind of arms race," because that's basically what it is--a new version of the Cold War where instead of nukes we are racing to conquer digital weapons. Although we can all learn from other countries researching this technology, there is always the possibility of this research being used against us in the long-run. All the U.S. can do is be the first ones to master the technology and more importantly be able to detect its use.

[gstqaobc]

FROM THE MONARCHIST LEAGUE OF CANADA

As this Ecomm went to publication, we received word of the death, at the great age of 96, of Bill Silver, a significant benefactor of the League from its early days, and for many years a pillar of our Ottawa Branch.  We wished to remember him here: his ebullient spirit, fierce loyalty spoken gently, innate modesty and kindness.  Indeed Chaucer might have had forethought of Bill in describing one of his characters as a “very parfitt gentle knight.” May his ardent spirit rest in peace, and his memory be a blessing and example to us all.   LEAGUE ISSUES NEW FLYER: THE CASE FOR THE CROWN The League thought it timely and useful to issue, offer in its advertising and distribute as widely as possible - both via the website and in printed form - a new flyer which will give you, our members, ammunition to argue logically the case for the Crown in conversation with others, and, we hope, to distribute strategically. One never knows when such an item, left on a waiting room table at the doctor or dentist’s office, affixed to a supermarket or other community bulletin board, put through neighbours’ mail slots - the possibilities are many - will do good work for our cause. We hope you will both enjoy and profit from this item, and that many thousands will be distributed across the country. See item one in the WHAT CAN I DO FOR THE CANADIAN CROWN? section of this Ecomm, below, to read online and request printed copies.   And special thanks to our wonderful team of no less than seven translators, all francophones from La Belle Province, who so kindly volunteered to make the French version one that is accurate in expression and eloquent in its prose.                     WHAT CAN I DO FOR THE CANADIAN CROWN? Some suggestions for member activity during these times. We invite members to send additional ideas by return of email. 1.    How about asking the League to send you several print copies of our new flyer:  THE CASE FOR THE CROWN, or print them on your home computer:  https://www.monarchist.ca/index.php/publications and give them to others who may be unaware or sceptical of the importance of Canada’s constitutional monarchy, or even hostile to it. School teachers could be encouraged to read the League’s educational booklets, also available both online and in print at the same URL, or even to request a class set.   2.    When you read an editorial, opinion column or letter to the editor in a newspaper, or a tweet or Facebook post, critical of the Crown, don’t get mad - get even! In other words, use a temperate tone and logical argument to refute the writer’s attack.  Keep it brief: focus on the obvious flaws in reasoning, mis-statements of fact or name-calling substituting for logic.  Same goes for radio talk shows. In the long run, on all media, whatever the provocation, whatever the momentary satisfaction of ”giving them a piece of my mind” - an old adage remains true: “You catch more flies with honey.” 3.    Write your elected representative at the federal level to re-state briefly the reasons you support constitutional monarchy as our system of government,  and asking the MP whether not your view is shared. 4.    Once pandemic restrictions ease, try to make sure that Royal events - such as the upcoming 95th birthday of our Queen, 10th Wedding Anniversary of William and Catherine or 100th birthday of Prince Philip are celebrated both in your home but also among your wider family, your friends, your colleagues at the office,  your place of worship/faith community or service club. The League generally sends you some ideas to mark these celebrations. Remember, as they are incorporated into family life and public life, the     Crown becomes further embedded in the heart of the nation, and truly represents The Queen’s wish that it ”reflects all that is best and most admired in the Canadian ideal.” This is especially true when you go out of your way to include in your observance the newest members of our Canadian family, who generally are eager to participate in the traditions of their new homeland, and in turn to share their own traditions with the wider community. 5.    Always use a Queen stamp when you write a letter or pay a bill by mail. 6.     At events of ceremony, whether a Council meeting, a graduation, a civic celebration - whatever - make sure that the Royal Anthem is sung as well as the National Anthem. To the extent you can, discourage event organizers from having a soloist “perform” them. Far more pride and         learning develop from the untrained voices of loyal folk singing together. In that way, the Anthems are sung “with heart and voice” and not merely listened to.   A FINAL IDEA: AN ACT OF LOVING SUPPORT & THANKS Apart from the above, we think it would be enormously comforting and supportive for every one of us to  write a kind letter to The Queen, expressing your thoughts at a difficult time: her beloved husband ailing, a grand-child chiding other family members via sensational television, the drumbeat of the tabloids and the restrictions on her busy life caused by the pandemic.  A selection of letters, especially those from Commonwealth Realms, are indeed seen by The Queen - and their number and tone are summarized to Her Majesty. The address is - Her Majesty The Queen, Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA, UK Theoretically you don’t need postage to write the Sovereign; in practice, it is safer to affix the international airmail stamp available from your local Canada Post outlet.   AN INTERESTING OPINION PIECE FROM TODAY’S DAILY TELEGRAPHWe thought you might be interested to see the following strongly-worded opinion piece, reflecting a good deal of the tone of recent British public opinion, rather different from much of the Canadian and US commentary. Meghan’s fake interview has real-world effects The Sussexes’ claims have undermined the monarchy and done lasting damage to the Commonwealth by Tim Stanley, March 15, 2021 Two headlines appeared on the BBC News website on the same day. At the top: “Harry and Meghan rattle monarchy’s gilded cage”. At the bottom: “The kidnapped woman who defied Boko Haram”. Well, that puts the Sussexes' problems in perspective, doesn’t it? Yet across Africa, one reads, the Duchess’s story has revived memories of colonial racism, tarnishing the UK’s reputation, and has even lent weight to the campaign in some countries to drop the Queen as head of state. The only nation that seems to think a lot of nonsense was spoken is Britain. In the wake of an interview that Joe Biden’s administration called courageous, British popular opinion of Harry and Meghan fell to an all-time low, and the American format had a lot to do with it. Oprah Winfrey is not our idea of an interviewer. She flattered, fawned and displayed utter credulity. Imagine if it had been her, not Emily Maitlis, who interviewed Prince Andrew over the Jeffrey Epstein allegations. “You were in a Pizza Express that day? Oh my God, you MUST be innocent! Tell me, in all honesty, though...did you have the dough balls?” This wasn’t an interview, it was a commercial for a brand called Sussex, a pair of eco-friendly aristo-dolls that, if you pull the string, tell their truth – which isn’t the truth, because no one can entirely know that, but truth as they perceive it. “Life is about storytelling,” explained Meghan, “about the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we’re told, what we buy into.” Meghan is a postmodernist. Just as Jean Baudrillard said the Gulf War never happened, but was choreographed by the US media, so the Royal narrative she was forced to live was fake, her public happiness was fake and, following that logic, this interview might involve an element of performance, too. People have challenged her claims, alleging contradictions and improbabilities, but one of the malign effects of wokeness is that you have got to be very careful about pointing this out. Why? Because wokery insists on treating a subjective view as objective truth, or even as superior, because it’s based upon “lived experience”. To contradict that personal perspective is perceived as cruel, elitist and, in Meghan’s case, potentially racist, so it’s best to wait a few weeks to a year before applying a fact check. In the meantime, affect sympathy. People would rather you lied to their face than tell them what they don’t want to hear. The result is profoundly dishonest, for I have never known an event over which there is such a gulf between the official reception, as endorsed by the media and politics, and the reaction of average citizens, who are wisely keeping it to themselves. Into that vacuum of silence steps not the voice of reason but bullies and showmen – like Piers Morgan, who said some brash stuff about Meghan’s honesty and, after an unseemly row on Good Morning Britain, felt obliged to resign from his job.  “If you’d like to show your support for me,” he wrote afterwards, “please order a copy of my book.” Dear Lord, was this row fake, too? I can no longer be sure, though I despised Good Morning Britain before and still do: it embodies the cynical confusion of emotion and fact, a show made for clicks, where even the weatherman has an opinion. So what is real in 2021? The Commonwealth, which does a lot of good in a divided world. The monarchy, which has been at its best during the pandemic, doing the boring stuff of cutting ribbons and thanking workers that, one suspects, Meghan never grew into (can you imagine her opening a supermarket in Beccles?). It contains flawed people, but that only adds to its realness, and they can adapt faster than you might think. Prince William got the ball rolling by telling reporters, who he is trained to ignore, that his family is not racist. His wife paid her respects to the murder victim Sarah Everard, demonstrating that she is neither cold nor silenced. I’d wager Kate does her duty, day after day, no complaint, not because she is “trapped”, as Harry uncharitably put it, but because she loves her family and believes in public service. Meghan and Harry have indeed prompted the Royal family to change: not in order to endorse their criticisms, however, but to answer them.

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

[bopinion]

2021 / 29

Aperçu of the Week:

"You can tell a person's character by the jokes he laughs at."

Alfred Biolek

Biolek is a veteran of German television. In the 1970s, he produced the most successful TV show, "Am laufenden Band," and then he was in front of the camera himself: first talking and hosting, later also cooking, in each case as the first (!) in his field. Thanks to him, people in this country know Monty Python and The Police, for example. A great man, a star without airs and graces, an innovator and cultural leader, a man who was never prejudiced, never unfair, always in a good mood, always interested, never superficial, always friendly, who stood by his homosexuality - at a time when it was still considered disreputable, not only in his industry. I had the privilege of meeting him almost 30 years ago, as we both shared a valuable experience as exchange students with AFS. Dr. Alfred Franz Maria Biolek died yesterday in Cologne at the age of 87. Rest in peace!

Bad News of the Week:

The fourth wave is coming. It's already there in the UK and Spain. In France and Italy, the values are still (reasonably) low, but the growth is rapid. Thanks to the delta mutant, formerly known as the Indian. Here, everyone is watching spellbound for the infamous "7-day incidence," which so far has been slow to increase. That's about to change. Especially because the longed-for herd immunity will remain a utopia - because immunization above 85% is impossible if all children and adolescents are not considered for vaccination. And more and more so-called skeptics refuse - whereby an obligation to vaccinate would be an immense encroachment on fundamental rights, the justification of which is difficult. But is there a fundamental right to ignorance? I'm torn apart...

What is currently taking place in the UK is a large-scale medical experiment. Not under expert supervision in a laboratory, but completely detached in public. All Corona protections such as mask wearing or social distancing have been completely removed. At a time when the incidence is approaching 500 - the highest since the all-time high in January. In our country, it's under 15, and we're worrying about how to organize the start of school after the summer vacations. And Boris Johnson basically says to that, "Why not now? When then?". Well, for example, when the vaccination campaign is more advanced and the numbers are lower. But he'll know what he's doing - even if it's irresponsible. Let's see how British voters will remember this decision in his upcoming re-election.

But this is not the only area where the British government lacks logic in Corona measures. A work colleague of mine is Irish and was supposed to visit his mother next week. But she lives in Northern Ireland. Since he already has full vaccination protection, he didn't expect any problems - and now he would have to spend ten days in a quarantine hotel without being allowed to see his mother. That's over 70% of his total two-week stay. The reasoning is remarkable: according to British regulations, he is considered unvaccinated because a vaccination in an EU country is not recognized. Although it is the same vaccine in the same dose in the same schedule. But the stamp in his vaccination certificate is just the wrong one.

Good News of the Week:

"Pragmatism and melancholy" is the Tagesschau's headline about Angela Merkel's last federal press conference - a kind of forum for free questions from journalists - as chancellor in Berlin. After all, she will not be running again in the federal elections in just under two months. It was therefore not surprising that, in addition to current political issues, many media representatives primarily took stock of Merkel's 16-year term in office. The financial and the euro crisis, nuclear and coal phase-out, the EU and China, Corona and digitization, and so on. Life without crises is easier, but when they are there, they have to be dealt with, Merkel replied to the question of whether she felt flattered by the title "crisis chancellor." After all, last week U.S. President Joe Biden, another old hand in world politics, had remarked that she would be missed.

In an interview today, climate activist Luisa Neubauer, the German face of "Fridays for Future," accuses Merkel of not tackling the climate crisis in the proactive manner that is her style in other crises. Although this one is by far the biggest and most urgent. One might add, even though Merkel was once environment minister. And seems to overlook two things: first, nuclear and coal phase-out ultimately serve climate protection. And secondly, there is no patent remedy, no reference, no example, no role model. Perhaps that's the point: who should be able to tackle the issue in a decisive way if not someone who is internationally acknowledged, respected across party lines, unpretentious and without any self-interest, scientifically sound, moderating and balancing, pragmatic and energetic? So who, if not Merkel?

Dr. Angela Dorothea Merkel turned 67 two weeks ago. Unlike Helmut Kohl - the other chancellor who ruled for what felt like an eternity of 16 years and ended up looking powerless and burnt out - it's hard to imagine Merkel going from one day to another just reading books and trying out potato salad recipes. And we have learned from the U.S. that the political zenith is apparently not reached until the age of 70+. And from demography we have learned that women live longer and are more efficient in old age than men. So: starting this fall, there will be an "elder stateswoman" in waiting on the world stage, who I personally would like to see again in every conceivable position. EU Council president, UN secretary general, pope, conductor, chef - I don't care. But give her something to do. She won't screw it up. Thank you, Mrs. Merkel, for providing a solid counterbalance to all the testosterone and alpha dog behavior in our nation, in Europe and a little bit in the whole world all these years. Of course, not all that glitters is gold, and even you haven't done everything right. But your taking stock is positive, and that's what remains at the end of the day.

Personal happy moment of the week:

I have never owned a purse. Probably because I never had enough money ;-) So coins always end up in a big box that the kids carry to the bank by the kilo on World Savings Day. And for bills, I had a plain money clip by Danish designer Georg Jensen, whose functional-style silversmithing helped shape industrial design in Scandinavian countries. I had already lost it once and after much research was able to purchase one again. A good half year ago I scatterbrained lost it again. Fuck the 20, 30 euros - but my beautiful clip was gone. And this time it was impossible to find another one. Yesterday, I put on a suit that I obviously hadn't worn for a long time - because in my pants pocket I found my money clip. Empty, but valuable. I got it back. And my personal happy moment of the week.

I couldn't care less...

...for the Olympic Games. Because they are so far from the original ideal of the sporting high office of the amateurs, endlessly commercialized, run by a corrupt organization, without any grounding and leaving the same too often burnt. I can still remember the promises made before the Summer Games in Beijing in 20008: sport would be an ambassador of peace and democratization, the Olympics would have a lasting effect on politics and society. Really? Nothing at all has happened. Except that the 2022 Winter Games will once again be held in Beijing. Bravo!

As I write this...

...it's thundering and lightning in the mountains again. And everybody is afraid that there will be heavy rain, squalls and hail again. Because the soils, especially in the disaster areas of the last week, are still waterlogged and loose and many dams no longer exist. So it only takes a comparatively small amount of rain to have mudslides, rivers overflowing their banks, and flooded homes again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all of us.

[ranger-report]

Opinion: CUTIES (2020) Might Actually Be A Decent Film, But The Marketing Is Killing That Chance

You’ve heard of it. Your Twitter followers have heard of it. Aunt Gail on Facebook has heard of it. Netflix recently has come under fire for an upcoming film titled Cuties, which is about a group of preteen girls coming together and discovering themselves as part of a hip-hop dance crew. It’s being accused of sexualizing 11-year-old girls and enabling pedophilia. Let’s read the full description:

“Eleven-year-old Amy lives with her mom, Mariam, and younger brother, awaiting her father to rejoin the family from Senegal. Amy is fascinated by disobedient neighbor Angelica's free-spirited dance clique named "Cuties", a group that stands in sharp contrast to stoic Mariam's deeply held traditional values. Undeterred by the girls' initial brutal dismissal and eager to escape her family's simmering dysfunction, Amy, through an ignited awareness of her burgeoning femininity, propels the group to enthusiastically embrace an increasingly sensual dance routine, sparking the girls' hope to twerk their way to stardom at a local dance contest.”

At best, this sounds like the forgotten YA novel someone read in their junior high days that helped them come to some sort of awareness of their bodies but was generally admonished by parents because (GASP) it talked about girls bodies. At worst, this is going to attract every Jeffrey Epstein with a Netflix account to watch the premiere and further the sexualization of young girls in film and across media. If you’ve seen the Netflix ads, you’d be forgiven for assuming that it’s the latter. But what, exactly, is going on with this film?

Cuties is written and directed Maïmouna Doucouré, a French director of Senegalese descent. It’s her first feature-length film, and it won the Directing Jury Award at Sundance, which praised the script. Right off the bat there’s some merit behind the camera. A woman of color exploring themes that appear relevant to her own history and culture. So far, so good. On paper, this again seems at worst like said YA novel, or now film adaptation of such. Maybe some people might find it mildly offensive because it deals in girls’s bodies and their own agency over them.

But, oh. Netflix. Your marketing.

Look at this poster:

We’ve got some problems here.

This does not, in any way shape or form, indicate that we are getting the kind of film that is in the official description above. This looks like Magic Mike for the Babysitter’s Club. This is bad. This is abhorrent. On top of that, the film itself is getting a TV-MA rating on the streaming platform, which doubles-down on the shadiness of using sexual imagery of young girls. And, that being said, this is killing the film’s chances overseas.

Let’s be kind for a moment and say that this is a well-made coming of age film. It sure doesn’t look like it, but let’s roll with it. Maybe young Amy gets to challenge her family’s strict culture and comes to better terms with her parents as a result of it. Maybe the dance routines aren’t as hyper-sexual as the poster makes it appear, and is maybe more like a high-energy Step Up version of Sparkle Motion. Problem is, now that we’ve seen THIS poster, there’s no way we’re going to see this film as anything else. The marketing has effectively killed that possibility. Already there is a petition urging Netflix to take down the film from its platform, and why not? Look at that poster! It’s almost as if Netflix was courting controversy by design.

But what about the film? Well, I haven’t seen it. Part of me wants to now, just so I can see just how different the final product is from the obvious male gaze of the marketing. It’s difficult to believe that a woman behind the camera would fill her coming-of-age story with hypersexual imagery of eleven-year-olds, but that fact should not give the film an immediate pass. This is cautionary territory. We’re living in a world where the aforementioned Epstein was killed before he could point the finger at members of his inner circle who traded in young bodies for sex, where conspiracy theories abound over celebrity sex trafficking as a means to distract from the upcoming election, and somehow Michael Jackson is still revered as an artist despite the continual acknowledgement that he was most likely a pedophile. All over media, images like the poster for Cuties drive home the image that young girls can and should dress, pose, act, and become far more sexual at a young age than they should. But what if this film navigated around that? What if it actually spoke to young girls who are beginning to discover themselves at this early age, leading up and into the teen years as changes are happening to them and they’re beginning to understand how their bodies work? Well, “what if” may not apply here anymore. The marketing has given this film a scarlet letter. Approaching it from any angle is akin to dealing with the devil. Defending it as a work of artistic merit could get one slapped with defending pedophilia. Trashing it as a work of trash could discredit the legitimate filmmaking and storytelling quality within. And it doesn’t matter that it seems to be playing well in France, where it’s been out since April. What matter is that here, in the good old U S of A, judgement has already been passed thanks to a brutally disastrous and frankly disgusting advertising campaign.

Netflix has bent over backwards apologizing for the inappropriate marketing that doesn’t reflect the film itself. The trailer for the film online has 77 likes....and close to 3000 dislikes. The trailer itself appears benign, like Bring It On for eleven year olds, again like the lost YA novel everyone loved reading in their bedroom late at night understanding that someone got what it meant to be dealing with these changes and their strict families. But if that’s the film actually on display, Netflix has killed it. Botched marketing can make or break a movie, and now Cuties is simply about underage girls dancing inappropriately and there is nothing the streaming platform or the filmmakers can do about it. Which is sad, because the trailer seemed to promise a genuine story of a young torn between freedom of self, and the dedication to family. Unfortunately, like many films in the past, the terrible marketing has destroyed whatever quality film may lie underneath, and its chances of possibly being seen in that light are effectively over.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Pluralistic, your daily link-dose: 27 Feb 2020

Today's links

Ripping the window-dressing off the .ORG selloff: It's not even an ethos.

CDC guide to filter-mask-friendly facial hair: You're good to go with a Zappa, Villain or Hitler, but stay away from the Dali, Hulahee and the dread F(l)u Manchu.

Don't trust Google to build Toronto's Smart City: Sidewalk Labs's sleaze has disqualified it.

A "girls-only" social service wants to analyze your facial bone structure: "It's science!"

Norman Rockwell turned into a radical civil rights activist: His last painting was of Nixon, too.

Gmail's filters are blocking opt-in election emails: Mayo Pete and Andrew Yang are winning the spam-filter primary.

Talking Radicalized with The Next Chapter: Shelagh Rogers is a national treasure.

Neoliberalism kills, the coronavirus edition: And you thought capitalism would kill us all with climate change!

Bernie Sanders and Public Enemy LA rally this Sunday: With Sarah Silverman and Dick van Dyke!

Venezuelan women's "army" break into dead factories to reboot them: "Only the people can save the people."

Meet Akil Augustine, voice of the Raptors…and Radicalized: A fighter in my corner.

This day in history: 2019, 2015, 2005

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Ripping the window-dressing off the .ORG selloff (permalink)

The latest on ISOC's shameful attempt to flog off .ORG to a group of sketchy billionaires: Ethos Capital's promises concerning its stewardship are pure window-dressing.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/02/empty-promises-wont-save-org-takeover

Its binding promise not to increase prices for .ORG domains? Still allows it to DOUBLE prices in 8 years, then allows UNLIMITED increases afterwards. Its "Stewardship Council"? Handpicked by Ethos's own bagmen, & only empowered to rule on very narrow questions of de-anonymization and censorship, AND Ethos can simply ignore its rulings by declaring them to be required by a government or consistent with anti-abuse policies.

In an open letter in the Nonprofit Times, Cindy Cohn of EFF and Amy Sample Ward of NTEN break it down:

https://www.thenonprofittimes.com/npt_articles/commentary-org-still-wouldnt-be-safe/

"Your proposal cabins the council's authority by placing anything construed as 'advice or recommendations regarding day-to-day operational, financial or budgeting matters, or pricing out of bounds. It would be trivial to categorize harmful practices as 'operational.'"

CDC guide to filter-mask-friendly facial hair(permalink)

The CDC has an infographic enumerating the effect of various styles of facial hair on filtering respirators.

You're good to go with a Zappa, Villain or Hitler, but stay away from the Dali, Hulahee and the dread F(l)u Manchu.

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/FacialHairWmask11282017-508.pdf

Don't trust Google to build Toronto's Smart City (permalink)

Google is planning to turn a vast swathe of Toronto into a high-tech "smart city" through its Sidewalk Labs division. They've been incredibly misleading and opaque about their plans, and yet the city keeps greenlighting through successive phases.

The latest phase is the publication of the Digital Strategy Advisory Panel's report, a wide-ranging critical report from technologists and tech experts on Google's plan to instrument the city and extract its data.

https://quaysideto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/DSAP-Supplemental-Report-on-Sidewalk-Labs-Digital-Innovation-Appendix-DIA-Appendices-FINAL.pdf

It's pretty sharp stuff. Michael Geist's introductory letter gives a taste of things.

https://quaysideto.ca/blog/dsap-releases-supplemental-commentary-on-the-digital-innovation-appendix

But far more pointed is Andrew Clement's Appendix D, a kind of minority report that makes it abundantly clear that Google has totally disqualified itself from this project.

Question One: Does Sidewalk have a strong track record as an urban innovator appropriate for Toronto?

Short answer: No

(Sidewalk lied, omitted other projects that were terrible, and literally followed a grifter's playbook called "BOLD")

Question Two: Can Sidewalk Labs' core claims be relied on?

Sidewalk "consulted" with 21,000 Torontonians, but it hasn't shown that it's willing to take any of that consultation advice to heart ("corporate self-defense").

Sidewalk claims it's not "tech for tech's sake," but the whole plan reeks of it.

Sidewalk claimed it's not about extracting data, but the plan is totally about extracting data.

Question Three: What does experience with Sidewalk to date in this project indicate about its reliability as a partner? In particular, has Sidewalk respected its contracts and other commitments?

Nope. For example, it held its expert panel to NDAs after promising it wouldn't.

Question Four: Can Sidewalk be treated as independent of its parent Alphabet/Google and its wider enterprise?

Obviously not! "In business strategy, financing and overall managerial control, there are clear indications that Sidewalk is unlikely to diverge from Alphabet/Google."

"Nearly all Alphabet revenues are earned by Google and they have the same CEO, Sundar Pichai, and same CFO, Ruth Porat."

Question Five: What are the risks of partnering with an Alphabet enterprise?

"It has been fined a combined $9.5 billion since 2017 by EU antitrust regulators while facing further significant government investigations for its anti-competitive behaviour."

"It will be challenging to make a positive determination absent public evidence of a thorough, independent risk-benefit analysis of the prospective partnership or other contractual relationship."

A "girls-only" social service wants to analyze your facial bone structure (permalink)

Well, this is the most "now you've got two problems" moment in recent memory. "Giggle" is an all-girl social network. To be "all-girl" they have keep men off of the platform. How do they do that? With FACIAL BONE STRUCTURE scans.

"It's science! Just like archaeologists do with mummies."

JFC.

The impulse to start a girl-only social space is a potentially fine one, but deploying what amounts to eugenics – heavily borrowed from the incel movement's obsession with facial bone-structure – is idiotic.

"Unfortunately it doesn't verify trans-girls."

No shit. Also, it doesn't verify people whose bone-structure fails your digital phrenology tests. And it WILL verify men and boys who generate false positives in the system.

https://pipedreamdragon.tumblr.com/post/611048332070109184

I can't believe I need to say this, but: The goal of making girls feel OK with who they are cannot be attained by subjecting their facial bone-structure to algorithmic femininity assessments.

Norman Rockwell turned into a radical civil rights activist (permalink)

I hadn't known that at the end of his career, Norman Rockwell became a political radical, breaking with the Saturday Evening Post over his desire to depict the civil rights struggle.

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2020/2/19/21052356/norman-rockwell-the-problem-we-all-live-with-saturday-evening-post

Writing in Vox, Tom Carson describes how Rockwell's personal tragedies – the death of his wife – and the advice of his therapist helped him transform into an acerbic, radical painter, the opposite of who we remember him as.

Switching from the Post to Look Magazine, Rockwell depicted such subjects as 6-y-o Ruby Bridges being escorted into an all-white school by federal marshalls who led her past howling mobs of white supremacists.

He went on to paint a depiction of the imagined last moments of civil rights workers Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, who were tortured and murdered by white nationalists.

http://www.nrm.org/MT/text/MurderMississippi.html

A staunch anti-war activist, he pestered LBJ with an endless stream of telegrams demanding negotiations, not bombings, in Vietnam (ironically, he voted for Nixon in the hopes that he would end the war).

Further irony: the last substantial painting he completed was of Nixon after his election win: "This time around, he managed what he'd once said was impossible. His subject looks like a nice man who is, nonetheless, unmistakably Richard Nixon."

It's the only Rockwell painting in the National Portrait Gallery.

https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.72.2

Gmail's filters are blocking opt-in election emails (permalink)

Gmail's spam filters perform very differently when it comes to fundraising emails from Democratic leadership contenders: Mayo Pete evades filters 63% of the time, Yang lands 46% of the time. EVERY Warren campaign email tested got filtered to spam.

https://themarkup.org/google-the-giant/2020/02/26/wheres-my-email

These are all emails that Gmail users have opted to receive, too, but most are filtered to the "promotions" inbox, rather than "primary." In all only 11% of emails from "candidates, think tanks, advocacy groups, and nonprofits" reached primary.

It's turning email — the last federated platform on the internet — into Facebook, a filternet whose rules are set by unaccountable algorithms operated by a secretive monopolist.

Goog has a conflict of interest here: "While Gmail does not sell ads in the primary inbox, advertisers can pay for top placement in the social and promotions tabs in free accounts."

This was Facebook's media-killing strategy: when you started your media outlet's FB presence, the company delivered 100% of your posts to your followers, then, once you depended on that, it dialed delivery down unless you paid for "reach."

The pretense of Big Tech is that you they connect you to the stuff you ask for (this is also the premise behind Net Neutrality). The reality is that they decide, unaccountably, invisibly and inexplicably, what you may see.

While the overfiltering might in error, it's an error Goog is incentivized to wontfix: "'You're not precluded from buying an ad in the promotions tab, or offering a deal,' said Lee Carosi Dunn, who at the time led election sales, political outreach and policy for Google."

Talking Radicalized with The Next Chapter (permalink)

My book Radicalized is a finalist for Canada Reads, the CBC's national book prize

https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2020-contenders-1.5433115

That means all kinds of good stuff, but one of the highlights was talking with Shelagh Rogers for The Next Chapter. I grew up listening to Shelagh, and she's so incredibly smart about books.

The interview came out great! (How could it not, given the interviewer). We ranged widely over "Canadianness," "Americanness," literary forms, anxiety and creativity, and the substance of the stories themselves.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/full-episode-feb-22-2020-1.5469642

You can get the MP3 here:

http://16523.mc.tritondigital.com/CBC_THE_NEXT_CHAPTER_FROM_CBC_RADIO_P/media-session/fecd5192-14ef-43b6-b9a7-7c125875d93b/nextchapter-0I9Y1liD-20200226.mp3?ttag=season:12

It's also been included in my podcast feed, which you can subscribe to here:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast

Neoliberalism kills, the coronavirus edition (permalink)

Neoliberalism kills, a play in two acts

Act I: UK employers are not required to offer sick pay to asymptomatic potential coronavirus carriers, even if those workers' doctors have ordered them to "self-isolate" to avoid spreading pandemic.

https://memex.naughtons.org/self-isolation-and-employee-rights/28723/

Leaving workers with a stark choice: perform your duty to the public health and lose your wages or even your job, or turn up for work and infect your co-workers and customers.

Typhoid Mary vs Moral Hazard in action, there.

Act II: Alex Azar, the US Health and Human Services secretary, has ruled out price controls for a coronavirus vaccine, arguing that pharma companies need "incentives" to produce.

https://twitter.com/mmcauliff/status/1232784696792297472

"Alex Michael Azar II (/ˈeɪzər/ born June 17, 1967) is an American attorney, politician, pharmaceutical lobbyist, and former drug company executive who serves as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services."

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

This former pharma lobbyist, whose industry gobbles public subsidies like a tweaker gobbles bennies, firmly believes that his once-and-future paymasters must be permitted unlimited gouging, and if they choose to leave those who can't pay to die, that's "the market."

Lambert Strether, 2014:

"I propose two simple rules to which neo-liberalism can be reduced. They are:

"Rule #1: Because markets.

"Rule #2: Go die!"

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/03/neo-liberalism-expressed-simple-rules.html

It turns out that all those people who thought late-stage capitalism would exterminate the human race through climate change were wrong! It's going to kill us all with pandemics, instead.

Herd immunity has a well-known leftist bias.

Bernie Sanders and Public Enemy LA rally this Sunday (permalink)

Angelenos! Bernie Sanders is doing a gig with Dick Van Dyke (!), Sarah Silverman (!!) and Public Enemy (!!!) this SUNDAY (Sunday Sunday Sunday!) at the LA Convention Center.

Admission is free, but you need to RSVP here. Doors open at 3, rally starts at 5, ends at 7. Word of warning: the last Sanders rally I attended (in 2016) started REALLY late, like 2h.

https://events.berniesanders.com/event/252466/

Campaigning presidential candidates have hard-to-predict schedules apparently (but warn your babysitter).

Venezuelan women's "army" break into dead factories to reboot them (permalink)

The "Productive Army" is a Venezuelan women's collective that has been operating since 2017. They visit shuttered factories, get workers to explain what's needed to reopen them, break in and start them up again.

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.elsaltodiario.com%2Fmapas%2Fbatallas-ejercito-productivo-obrero-venezuela-guerra-no-convencional

They organize themselves like military units, with captains, etc, and the units generally have to beg their bosses for time off to roam the country, putting it back on its feet. Operations typically run for less than a week, and incorporate weekends to minimize time off.

They describe themselves as carrying out the Chavismo doctrine of "workers' control of factories," which even Chavez largely treated as a slogan, and which his successors have been even less committed to.

They remind me of the elite Chinese students whom Xi ordered to read Marx and Lenin, who then decided Xi was a bourgeois sellout and took to the road to support wildcat workers' strikes against Xi-aligned factory owners.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/world/asia/china-maoists-xi-protests.html

The Productive Army's slogan is "Only the People Can Save the People." Its missions are "productive battles." A productive battle might involve repairing the furnace in a sardine canning factory to get it running again, then turning it over to workers: "In the EPO they say that they not only repair machines but, above all, consciences."

One of the crispest definitions of "rightism" came I've heard came from Steven Brust: "Ask them what's more important: property rights, or human rights? If they answer, 'Property rights are human rights," they're on the right." (I quoted this in Walkaway).

When people want the things the factory produces, and workers want to produce those things in the factory, but the spreadsheet says the factory isn't viable, the problem is with the spreadsheet, not the people.

Meet Akil Augustine, voice of the Raptors…and Radicalized (permalink)

In the #CanadaReads national book prize, each book gets a "champion" – a defender who speaks for the book in a series of televised debates. My champion is the incredible Akil Augustine, voice of the Toronto Raptors.

Akil and I met in Toronto last month when they announced that my book Radicalized was a finalist for the prize, and the CBC sat us down for a rollicking joint interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duL6rZeNJY0

I love that Radicalized connected with Akil, given how divergent our interests are (I can't even name a single basketball goalie!). I love even more how competitive he is. As someone who grew up at hippie summer-camp playing "co-operative volleyball" I'm very grateful to have a fighter in my corner who plays to win!

This day in history (permalink)

#15yrsago Halle Berry accepts "Razzie" for Catwoman, calls it a "piece of shit" https://web.archive.org/web/20050306093431/http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7748301&type=entertainmentNews

#5yrsago Mass surveillance hip-hop from the director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee https://shadowproof.com/2015/02/26/after-hearing-capitol-police-arrest-lawyer-for-shouting-question-at-clapper-about-nsa-surveillance/

#1yrago Bunnie Huang's tour-de-force explanation of how hardware implants and supply chain hacks work https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=5519

#1yrago AOC grills Equifax CEO: the Congressional record now contains the obvious, infuriating truth that everyone else already knew https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/11/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-takes-aim-equifax-credit-scoring/?utm_term=.cbab554db359

#1yrago Fox hit with $179m (including $128m in punitive damages) judgment over shady bookkeeping on "Bones" https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/fox-bones-arbitration-emily-deschanel-179-million-1203150879/

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: JWZ (http://www.jwz.org/blog/), Pipe Dream Dragon (https://pipedreamdragon.tumblr.com/), Metafilter (https://metafilter.com/), Karl Bode (https://twitter.com/karlbode), RCB Leon (https://twitter.com/rcbleon), Naked Capitalism (https://nakedcapitalism.com/).

Hugo nominators! My story "Unauthorized Bread" is eligible in the Novella category and you can read it free on Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

Upcoming appearances:

Canada Reads Kelowna: March 5, 6PM, Kelowna Library, 1380 Ellis Street, with CBC's Sarah Penton https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cbc-radio-presents-in-conversation-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-96154415445

Currently writing: I just finished a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel now, though the timing is going to depend on another pending commission (I've been solicited by an NGO) to write a short story set in the world's prehistory.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last week, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs" this week; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: Gopher: When Adversarial Interoperability Burrowed Under the Gatekeepers' Fortresses: https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/02/24/gopher-when-adversarial-interoperability-burrowed-under-the-gatekeepers-fortresses/

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020.

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a very special, s00per s33kr1t intro.

Posted on February 27, 2020Tags 2020, akil augustine, apple, basketball, bernie sanders, books, canada, canada reads, cbc, cdc, cdnpol, chavismo, coronavirus, democrats, dick van dyke, dotorg, dweb, eff, elections, ethos, facebookification, facial hair, federation, filternet, gmail, google, hip hop, isoc, los angeles, onpol, pir, politics, private equity, public enemy, radicalized, sarah silverman, science fiction, sidewalk labs, smart cities, surveillance, toronto, torpol, venezuela, walkawayLeave a comment on Pluralistic, your daily link-dose: 27 Feb 2020 Edit "Pluralistic, your daily link-dose: 27 Feb 2020"

[violetsystems]

Microsoft has added to the slowly growing pile of technologies aimed at spotting synthetic media (aka deepfakes) with the launch of a tool for analyzing videos and still photos to generate a manipulation score.

The tool, called Video Authenticator, provides what Microsoft calls “a percentage chance, or confidence score” that the media has been artificially manipulated.

“In the case of a video, it can provide this percentage in real-time on each frame as the video plays,” it writes in a blog post announcing the tech. “It works by detecting the blending boundary of the deepfake and subtle fading or greyscale elements that might not be detectable by the human eye.”

If a piece of online content looks real but ‘smells’ wrong chances are it’s a high tech manipulation trying to pass as real — perhaps with a malicious intent to misinform people.

And while plenty of deepfakes are created with a very different intent — to be funny or entertaining — taken out of context such synthetic media can still take on a life of its own as it spreads, meaning it can also end up tricking unsuspecting viewers.

While AI tech is used to generate realistic deepfakes, identifying visual disinformation using technology is still a hard problem — and a critically thinking mind remains the best tool for spotting high tech BS.

Nonetheless, technologists continue to work on deepfake spotters — including this latest offering from Microsoft.

Although its blog post warns the tech may offer only passing utility in the AI-fuelled disinformation arms race: “The fact that [deepfakes are] generated by AI that can continue to learn makes it inevitable that they will beat conventional detection technology. However, in the short run, such as the upcoming U.S. election, advanced detection technologies can be a useful tool to help discerning users identify deepfakes.”

This summer a competition kicked off by Facebook to develop a deepfake detector served up results that were better than guessing — but only just in the case of a data-set the researchers hadn’t had prior access to.

Microsoft, meanwhile, says its Video Authenticator tool was created using a public dataset from Face Forensic++ and tested on the DeepFake Detection Challenge Dataset, which it notes are “both leading models for training and testing deepfake detection technologies”.

It’s partnering with the San Francisco-based AI Foundation to make the tool available to organizations involved in the democratic process this year — including news outlets and political campaigns.

“Video Authenticator will initially be available only through RD2020 [Reality Defender 2020], which will guide organizations through the limitations and ethical considerations inherent in any deepfake detection technology. Campaigns and journalists interested in learning more can contact RD2020 here,” Microsoft adds.

The tool has been developed by its R&D division, Microsoft Research, in coordination with its Responsible AI team and an internal advisory body on AI, Ethics and Effects in Engineering and Research Committee — as part of a wider program Microsoft is running aimed at defending democracy from threats posed by disinformation.

“We expect that methods for generating synthetic media will continue to grow in sophistication,” it continues. “As all AI detection methods have rates of failure, we have to understand and be ready to respond to deepfakes that slip through detection methods. Thus, in the longer term, we must seek stronger methods for maintaining and certifying the authenticity of news articles and other media. There are few tools today to help assure readers that the media they’re seeing online came from a trusted source and that it wasn’t altered.”

On the latter front, Microsoft has also announced a system that will enable content producers to add digital hashes and certificates to media that remain in their metadata as the content travels online — providing a reference point for authenticity.

The second component of the system is a reader tool, which can be deployed as a browser extension, for checking certificates and matching the hashes to offer the viewer what Microsoft calls “a high degree of accuracy” that a particular piece of content is authentic/hasn’t been changed.

The certification will also provide the viewer with details about who produced the media.

Microsoft is hoping this digital watermarking authenticity system will end up underpinning a Trusted News Initiative announced last year by UK publicly funded broadcaster, the BBC — specifically for a verification component, called Project Origin, which is led by a coalition of the BBC, CBC/Radio-Canada, Microsoft and The New York Times.

It says the digital watermarking tech will be tested by Project Origin with the aim of developing it into a standard that can be adopted broadly.

“The Trusted News Initiative, which includes a range of publishers and social media companies, has also agreed to engage with this technology. In the months ahead, we hope to broaden work in this area to even more technology companies, news publishers and social media companies,” Microsoft adds.

While work on technologies to identify deepfakes continues, its blog post also emphasizes the importance of media literacy — flagging a partnership with the University of Washington, Sensity and USA Today aimed at boosting critical thinking ahead of the US election.

This partnership has launched a Spot the Deepfake Quiz for voters in the US to “learn about synthetic media, develop critical media literacy skills and gain awareness of the impact of synthetic media on democracy”, as it puts it.

The interactive quiz will be distributed across web and social media properties owned by USA Today, Microsoft and the University of Washington and through social media advertising, per the blog post.

The tech giant also notes that it’s supporting a public service announcement (PSA) campaign in the US encouraging people to take a “reflective pause” and check to make sure information comes from a reputable news organization before they share or promote it on social media ahead of the upcoming election.

“The PSA campaign will help people better understand the harm misinformation and disinformation have on our democracy and the importance of taking the time to identify, share and consume reliable information. The ads will run across radio stations in the United States in September and October,” it adds.

[maharashtraelctions]

Maharashtra Unfiltered: Raw Politics, Daily Delivered – 15 November 2024

As Maharashtra gets ready for its assembly elections on November 20, 2024, there is a lot of competition in the political world and big changes are happening. The upcoming elections are not just another election; they are also a turning point in the state’s government, with different groups competing for power against a background of new scandals and policy changes.

Important Political Events

Sharad Pawar’s Views on Government

Sharad Pawar, who is the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is one of the most important voices in this election period. At a recent campaign event in Chinchwad, Pawar spoke out against the current government, saying that Maharashtra has “fallen into the wrong hands” and that the state’s infrastructure has gotten worse while they’ve been in charge[1, 3]. His comments support a larger story told by opposition parties that want to take advantage of people’s dissatisfaction with the performance of the ruling alliance.

- Advertisement -

The BJP’s Big Promises to Help People

In answer to criticism, the Mahayuti alliance, which is led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and includes the BJP, has released an ambitious budget of ₹6.12 lakh crore that includes a lot of welfare programs. Some of these are free LPG tanks for families living below the poverty line and money for women [2, 4]. It looks like the BJP’s plan is a calculated attempt to win back voters’ trust after a disappointing showing in the Lok Sabha. This will likely be a big part of their campaign narrative.

Health as a Key Issue in the Election

These days, health care is one of the most important issues in party platforms. The opposition coalition, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), supports a “Right to Healthcare” policy that would give everyone access to health services[1, 3]. The BJP’s “Mission Swasth Maharashtra” plans to put a lot of money into public health. This shift toward health-focused initiatives shows that public health needs are becoming more apparent after the COVID-19 pandemic, making health care a major problem for voters.

Political Leaders and Groups

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Factional fights within the big parties make things even more complicated in politics. The Shiv Sen is split into two groups, led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. The NCP is also split into two groups, led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar[2, 5]. This division could have a big effect on the results of the election as people decide which groups best serve their needs.

Arguments and Points of View

In the middle of these events, there have been controversies about claims that businesses have an effect on political choices. Leaders of the opposition have said that Gautam Adani, a business figure, is trying to change Maharashtra’s politics to benefit the BJP. This suggests that his goals may not align with those of the people of the state[3, 4]. Opposition parties are using this story more and more to try to make the elections seem like a fight against the power of corporations in politics.

- Advertisement -

Effects on the Political Scene in Maharashtra

Maharashtra’s politics are about to change a lot because of the upcoming elections. A strong showing by either the Shiv Sena or the NCP could make their coalitions stronger and help them work together better. On the other hand, if the union led by the BJP is able to keep its power, it could keep its supporters stable but also lead to more scrutiny of its track record as a government.

What the voters think about these groups and their leaders will be shown by the polls. Voter turnout is likely to reflect wider societal concerns about the quality of government, economic stability, and issues of social justice, especially for marginalized groups like the Marathas, who have been vocal about their need for reservation policies[1, 2].

Bottom Line

As Maharashtra’s assembly elections get closer, the way that welfare promises, health programs, partisan politics, and claims of corporate influence interact will determine not only the results of the elections but also the state’s future government. This election is very important for Maharashtra’s political prospects because voters have to make tough choices that will have direct effects on their lives.

Citations:

[1] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/maharashtra-political-news

[2] https://indianexpress.com/about/maharashtra-politics/

[3] https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/maharashtra-assembly-elections-2024-live-updates/article68868322.ece

[4] https://www.business-standard.com/elections/maharashtra-elections/maharashtra-secured-52-national-investment-under-bjp-says-fadnavis-124111500695_1.html

[5] https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/ajit-pawar-yogi-adityanath-maharashtra-assembly-polls-9662171/lite/

[6] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/maharashtra-politics/news

[7] https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/crowd-of-confusion-on-the-maharashtra-political-scene-polls/article68846189.ece

[8] https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/maharashtra-polls-bollywood-hopes-for-reforms-for-daily-wagers-tax-cuts-124111500699_1.html

[aalt-ctrl-del]

the creepiest thing Im finding in the current republican campaign adverts right now, is the disconnect from reality. Not sure what’s going on, what it’s supposed to mean - aside from being disconnected from our current crisis. It’s like the republicans campaigning for the upcoming elections are stuck in a alternate timeline, where covid never hit, and the government is chugging along.

I haven’t seen any Democratic opposing adverts, or whatever. That’s odd, but the republicans are super noisy here.

The ad comes on the radio, or the yt video, and it’s always “Our values of religion and family are under attack, and that needs to be stopped” or “Our super delicate amendment rights are under attack, and I’ll stop that.”

And it’s sort of an echo chamber. They don’t go through anything about covid, the pandemic, or measures we need to continue until we get the pandemic under control. fuck, not even what to do with people suffering with long-term effects and health issues. The republicans won’t shut up about stuff that is not a priority right now, unless you think gun rights and reproductive rights take precedent above an uncontrolled plague and supply shortages.

Remember the supply shortages? We have supply shortages. And people in Arizona, a spike in covid cases, might be headed into another gasoline strife. That is concerning right here, because people have died due to the heat while trying to reach essential supplies - utilities included. And that rolls into non-essential businesses shutting temporarily, others going bankrupt, and states not providing aid to those affected financially by a plague.

So these should be issues that republicans breeze through, bring awareness to, and assure voters we will work on to manage. Not this imaginary threat to promised freedoms, it’s redundant at this point. People are dying, are sick, we are financially impacted - but republicans are insisting that this isn’t a problem , and are warning people the freedoms to religion and other... things... are in grave danger.

Really

WHAT

THE

FUCK

IS

GOING

ON ?????

Honestly, I don’t really care what these people say at this point, I don’t care what republicans are talking about or whatever. It’s not important. I’m really calculating through what the Democrats are doing at this point, plans that they are implementing regarding the situation. On congress-woman advertises safety measures, where to pick up free mask supplies if you don’t have them. People are on unemployment, schools are suspended at this time and the School Board broadcast a live virtual meeting discussing the measures they couldn’t put into place - because that was stupid to try and put all these kids in a classroom together. The government in control of my state is doing a high rate job of keeping people informed and up to date, it’s actually hard to escape the messages playing. 

But that’s the stuff Im paying attention to right now. Businesses can’t open, if our infection rate is rising. When we maintain our rigorous precautions, and keep on testing indiscriminately, we are able to ascertain the alleviation of some restrictions. The Democrats won’t shut up about restrictions, updated procedures, or how to keep the community safe.

So you see why the republican faction is a problem right now? That group isn’t taking the incentive, those people working toward those divisions of power are not involved with the process of maintaining safety among members of the community. It feels as if they’re speaking to a division of people that deosn’t exist, or a group of people who still believe the covid pandemic is a hoax.

This paradox is bizarre to me. I don’t care if republicans have to align their group behind trump, and all his delusions. It’s destructive to the whole of the Republican party. It sort of promotes the bare theme behind the two parties:

republicans: “This virus doesn’t exist. Go to work. Your business went bankrupt and now you can’t afford rent? Well, fuck off, you should’ve had $10,000 in emergency funds. If you die, sucks to be you. At least you perished with freedom in your eyes.”

Democrats: “There is a deadly virus we don’t understand, so we’ll minimize business operations to only essentials and some non-essentials, but only if we work hard at preventing the spread. Please wash your hands, wear a fucking mask. These are difficult times, but together we’ll get through this strong and rebuild what was lost. Here’s some money. Stay safe, think of others.”

Don’t even get me started on conspiracy theorist.