#the reason we have the AP system is because of the Russians

[fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-liar]

Going to kill whoever came up with the concept of the College Board and the 20 college limit to the Common Application and the entire Coalition Application and the CSS Profile and-

[ultrajaphunter]

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Who is the top secret US document leaker Jack Teixeira?Story by Joshua Askew • 6h ago

FBI officers have arrested Jack Teixeira in connection with an embarrassing leak of top-secret US intelligence documents, which has kicked up quite the storm. But who is he? 

And what do we know about him? Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, served in the Massachusetts Air National Guard. He was an first class airman detailed to an Air Force intelligence unit, having only graduated from high school in 2020. 

That such a junior member of staff had access to highly classified information has raised eyebrows, with some suggesting it points to wider security flaws within the US government's security structures. Originally from North Dighton, Massachusetts, Teixeira was a member of a private online group which posted about video games, religious themes, guns and memes. Some of which were racist, according to AP. Under the pseudonym "OG", Teixeira is believed to have shared many documents in the "Thug Shaker Central" group, which had a few dozen members. From here it spread across the internet, reaching Russian Telegram channels, and then Western media. Members of the international group were reportedly asked to disclose his identity.

Classified document leak will 'lead to death', warns Pentagon

Teixeira — whose family has a history of serving in the armed forces — opposed many of the US government's goals and denounced the military “since it was run by the elite politicians,” AP quoted a person close to the matter as saying.

“He expressed regret (about) joining a lot,” they said. “He even said he'd kick my ass if I thought about joining,” the anonymous acquaintance said.

Related video: 

FBI arrests man for US intelligence leaks (Reuters)

Air National Guard over the leaks online of classified US

Reuters FBI arrests man for US intelligence leaks

cbc.caU.S. reservist arrested over Pentagon leak2:39

France 24Pentagon leaks: US arrests 21-year-old National Guardsman Jack Teixeira1:34

Global NewsWho was the U.S. military member arrested over Pentagon leaks?3:21

The person did not believe Teixeira leaked the documents to undermine the US government or for an ideological reason. Still, the fallout has been significant, with Washington saying earlier in the week that national security was at risk. He faces charges under the Espionage Act, which carries up to 20 years imprisonment. Aerial footage of Jack Teixeira's arrest. -/AFP or licensors© Provided by Euronews Another member of the chatroom described Teixeira as a young, charismatic gun enthusiast. 

Others said he was older than most of the group of mostly teenagers and was eager to impress them. At work, he was a "cyber transport systems specialist" or essentially an IT specialist responsible for military communications networks, including their cabling and hubs. He had a higher level of security clearance than most because he was tasked with ensuring protection for the network, a defence official told AP. Using various online monikers, such as Tex Killed You and The Excalibur Effect, the 21-year-old previously shared written versions of the classified documents in the chatroom. 

However, no-one reportedly noticed, causing him to become frustrated.

Western special forces on the ground in Ukraine, shows leaked documents

Things were racketed up a gear when he began publishing photos. "He got upset, and he said on multiple occasions, if you guys aren't going to interact with them [the files], I'm going to stop sending them," another unidentified group member told the Washington Post. Another group member offered a theory to the Washington Post on why Teixeira shared the material. "This guy was a Christian, anti-war, just wanted to inform some of his friends about what's going on," he told The New York Times. Soldiers fresh out of high school who went to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan have in the past used top-secret intelligence and programmes to target adversaries. Teixeira's record does not suggest any overseas deployment.

[gatheryepens]

A Short History Of Nearly Everything book review

If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing.

About : Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. Bill Bryson's challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry and particle physics, and see if there isn't some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. As a result, A Short History of Nearly Everything reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.

Author: Bill Bryson

Rating: 4/5 ✨

This book was bloody brilliant. I started reading this in October of 2021 (I know, I know) and it is one of the few non-fiction books that I have picked out of pure interest. I was doing geography at the time and my friend recommended I borrow her copy and read it - I’m so glad I did. If I’m being honest most of this stuff a lot of people will either know or it can easily be googled and found on Wikipedia or even in textbooks, usually (for some) this would be a mundane and dull experience, but Bryson has such a way with words that he makes the information somewhat interesting and even comedic at times. Bill Bryson is what I would call factumanus, he is able to manipulate information and facts in a way that makes it easier to understand as well as immersing for people who have no prior knowledge or interest about evolution or the structure of the earth. The first half of the book is definitely more ‘physical’ science and by that, I mean it mainly covers astronomy, physics, chemistry, and earth sciences (meteorology and geology). This was definitely my favourite half because as much as I love biology and evolution, there is something about the stepping-stones that lead us to evolution and by that, I mean how earth was formed or how certain chemicals played a part to create the climate we live in. The latter half of the book is mainly life science, to be more specific biology and genetics. This is Part 5 (Life itself) Part 6 (The Road to Us), where Bryson talks about the famous Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution as well as cell biology and evolving from apes. I am definitely more a physical scientist, albeit I do biology - the chemistry behind life as well as earth are where my interests are at. That being said my favourite parts of the book were definitely Part 3 (A New Ages Dawn) and Part 4 (Dangerous planet). To quickly summarise the book, Lost in cosmos is the first part of the book here Bryson essentially writes about how the universe is formed. Whilst explaining he credits theories like the Big Bang and the inflation. He then goes in depth about our universe as well as other planets in our solar system, discussing a key idea that if one thing was ever so slightly different that we may have not been present today and I wouldn’t be writing this review. In part 2, The size of the Earth, Bryson starts off with a bang or more like an apple dropping with Isaac Newton. If I’m being honest, I wish he went more in depth with Newton, as he predominately talked about his laws and his discoveries. The size of the earth mainly focuses on geology and chemistry, he name drops some big shots like James Hutton (Scottish geologist), Dmitri Mendeleev (Russian chemist) and Marie Curie (Polish-French Physicist). Fun fact about Curie most of her stuff is still radioactive, as they are contaminated in radium as a matter-of-fact Marie Curie is still radioactive and it’s the reason she died (she died from aplastic anaemia which is linked to high levels of radiation). Part 3 (A new age dawn) discussed theories such as Einstein’s relative theory and Planck’s quantum theory. Since A new age Dawn encompasses all of the 20th century, Bryson talks about a lot of big shots that helped discovered the atom for example Rutherford and Bohr. Astronomy is also a big part of the section to name drop someone who is worth googling Henrietta Swan Leavitt who discovered a correlation between period and luminosity of stars.

The title of part 4 is basically what Bryson writes about – how dangerous earth is. KT impact is mentioned, which is how dinosaurs became extinct by an asteroid. He also talks about one of my favourite topics – natural disasters. Natural disasters can be caused by a number of different causes, a big one being tectonic activity. However, scientist have discovered ways to predict some natural disasters – seismology. Seismology is the study of earthquakes; its name derives from ancient Greek – ‘seismós’ meaning earthquakes and ‘logía’ meaning study of. Seismology is just the study of waves (P and S waves) propagating through earth. Part 5 discusses the oceans as well as the atmosphere. Bill Bryson also talks about mammals and dinosaurs and Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection (species that are able to adapt and survive to pass on the following characteristics for future offspring). I would recommend doing some research on Darwin as a lot of factors during that time affected the publication of his theory. To bring the summaries to a close, The Road to Us ends on a more sombre note. Bryson starts off explaining and talking about the link between humans and apes and ends with him educating the reader about how human activity has caused extinction for a great amount of species. He makes a point that a lot of people are finally realising, in the future we are going to have to take a lot of care into earth and not be so reckless. Bryson’s research is so thorough that I can’t fault it, as someone who is not a scientist Bryson took a lot of care in researching all the nitty gritty details that I and many others most certainly would have not known. Yes, this can be easily googled. Yes, what Bryson is saying is nothing new. However, Bryson has a way with words that makes learning about science extremely fun!

Factumanus - someone who is able to manipulate facts

my last book review!!!

[underthehedge]

Ok time to learn about Pancrustacea

Right so I've explained on that "don't eat cicadas if you're allergic to seafood" post a bit but I love a weird factoid so: Insects are actually a weird subgroup of crustaceans.

"But how?!" I hear you cry, "what forbidden knowledge is this? surely it cannot be true!" I imagine you say because I've decided you're all incredibly melodramatic about Arthropod taxonomy like I am. First things first, let's start with some key players.

Arthropoda - a group of animals with exoskeletons and jointed (arthro-) legs (poda), your bugs your crabs your spiders your millipedes etc. Nature's crunchy bois.

Hexapoda - insects, springtails and a couple of other small arthropods, all notable for having six (hexa-) legs (poda). Flies, cockroaches, ants, moths, get stickbugged etc.

Crustacea - a massive group of arthropods that includes crabs, lobsters, water fleas, copepods, woodlice, brine shrimp, seed shrimp, scuds, mantis shrimp, barnacles and also a bunch of secret ones you've likely never heard of. Nearly all of them live in the water.

Chelicerata - not so relevant here but that's your spiders, your scorpions, your ticks, your mites, also now found to apparently includes horseshoe crabs which is a bit of a mind fuck.

Myriapoda - Centipedes and millipedes and a couple of their less famous cousins, name means "ten thousand feet" which is a bit of an overstatement but these lads sure do have a lot of legs.

Ok so if you don't know how Cladistics works, well you can google that but briefly, taxonomists organise groups of animals by descent: who's closest related to who. Groups can be monophyletic, polyphyletic or paraphyletic, but the only valid taxonomic units are monophyletic ones. I'll put a short explanation under the cut, with pictures and alt text.

Aaaanyway, so there are many different groups in the Arthropoda and their relationships to each other is A Whole Thing, taxonomists have been puzzling and fighting over it for centuries at this point. Traditionally, morphological analyses have come up with various possible configurations for the trees, like grouping Hexapods with Myriapods into Tracheata because they both breath through tracheae as opposed to Crustaceans which breath through gills. Alternatively, based on some shared features of the simple eyes it was the Crustacea and Hexapoda that were in fact sister groups, which they called Pancrustacea; there were good arguments for both. There have been a lot of competing theories but genetic data is much easier to obtain now and has confirmed and refuted many of the well reasoned theories based on morphology alone, which is great.

It's also sometimes throwing a rather exciting hand grenade into the fruit salad of existing theories, as with the Pancrustacea hypothesis. In the 2000s people started to work on that, collecting genetic data for key genes and comparing them across groups, building trees and finding that...wait what? Pancrustacea was right, but also, it wasn't. Pancrustacea clearly formed a monophyletic clade but uh, not quite how people thought it would.

Genetic data showed that Hexapoda are definitely not the sister group to Myriapoda, but they were also not a sister group to Crustacea, because when you work out the trees they're sat firmly within the Crustacea as a sister group to either the Remipedia, Branchiopoda or Cephalocarida.

Remipedes are weird centipede looking swimming crustaceans that are found in coastal cave systems, they're small, blind and kinda elegant if you go look up a video.

Cephalocarida are weird tiny looking buggers that live buried in mud, grow no more than 4mm long and generally look a bit like a worm. Some phylogenies put these with the others and other's say they go with the crabs instead. Idk.

And then there's the Branchiopoda, a large group that you're probably familiar with if you've ever raised sea monkeys, triops, fairy shrimp etc. They live in a number of habitats but almost all prefer temporary pools and lay special eggs that can survive desiccation.

These are all undeniably Crustaceans but...they're all apparently closer related to Hexapods than they are to crabs and lobsters for instance. The exact relationship is kinda fucky to work out, even with genetic data but it's kinda like people looked at humans and great apes and said "ah, we are similar to them, they are a group and we are the sister group to that" except eventually it turned out that, despite superficial similarities between the chimps(and bonobos) and gorillas, actually, humans and chimps are closer related so we're not cousins to the great apes, we are literally great apes.

So either Hexapods are crustaceans or we have to evict like, half of all Crustacean classes from Crustacea.

Ok so in this imaginary tree, A, B, C and D form a monophyletic group all descended from (1). A and B also form a smaller monophyletic group descended from (2), and likewise for C and D from (3). Shit nests like Russian dolls.

If you decided to group A, B and D together though, that would be a paraphyletic group as it doesn't include all descendants of (1), excluding C for no good reason. This has happened a lot in the past before new information has come to light, it is not a valid taxonomic unit but the names are sometimes preserved out of habit, e.g. most people don't include birds when they say "reptile", but birds are totally in that group.

If you decided to make a group from B and D because you think they look kinda similar that's a polyphyletic group, like grouping birds and mammals because they're both warm blooded. This is not a valid taxonomic unit at all.

[politicalprof]

On the safety of mail-in and in-person voting ...

For the first time ever, I posted a piece on voting as a supplement to my students. It’s below:

--------

Many, if not all, of you are facing the prospect of voting in your first presidential election. Presidential election years are always tense in some way or other. This one is much, much stranger than most.

Because it is a strange year, and because so many of you are entering the voting system for the first time ever, I am writing this note to comment on, and hopefully reassure you about, how voting works in America. There is a lot of very, very bad “information” being hyped up online, in the media, and from the White House. I am writing to let you know what the facts of the matter are rather than the amplified claims of conspiracy theorists seeking to undermine the election for their narrow partisan interests.

On mail-in voting

As you probably know, there has been a great deal of commotion recently claiming that mail-in ballots are dangerous, fraudulent, and a risk to democracy. Unfortunately, a great many of these comments have come out of President Trump’s mouth as well as from his Twitter feed. As a few examples, let me offer the following. (There are LOTS of these; this is only a sample.)

·      “Unsolicited Ballots are uncontrollable, totally open to ELECTION INTERFERENCE by foreign countries, and will lead to massive chaos and confusion!” (September 15, 2020).https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-election-2020-ap-fact-check-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-8c5db90960815f91f39fe115579570b4

·      “They’re sending out tens of millions of ballots to everybody, people that didn’t expect them. People are getting inundated with ballots, they’ll be showered with ballots.” (September 18, 2020). https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-calls-mail-in-voting-a-scam-says-democrats-are-teeing-up-a-mess

·      “There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone..... ....living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there, will get one. That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote. This will be a Rigged Election. No way!” May 20, 2020 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1265255845358645254

These claims are false. They are utterly, completely, absolutely, demonstrably false.

·  Ballots ARE NOT sent willy-nilly to whoever for whatever reasons.

·  There are states that are sending out ballots in conformity with existing state laws. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-80-million-unsolicited-ball/fact-check-clarifying-trumps-80-million-unsolicited-ballots-claim-idUSKBN2622SZ

·  Other states, like Illinois, require mail-in ballot applications: (https://abc7chicago.com/politics/how-to-request-an-illinois-mail-in-ballot/6378131/). This is done in accord with state law, and ballots that are returned by mail are subject to checks just like other ballots.

·  In case you don’t know, several states have been doing all mail-in voting for many years. Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington have been conducting their elections by mail for multiple election cycles. They do not have problems with systematic mail-in voting fraud.

Importantly, there is NO evidence that foreign powers or others are trying to steal or have stolen ballots, marked them, and turned them in. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ridiculous-claim-trump-pushes-baseless-conspiracy-about-foreign-interference-mail-n1231722

For your reference, there have been several academic and journalistic investigations examining whether there is systematic voting fraud in mail-in elections — including one by the Trump administration. There is no evidence of such fraud. (Occasionally there are specific cases of fraud, but there is no evidence of systematic voting fraud by mail-in voting.) You can find an excellent reference guide to these studies here: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/resources-voter-fraud-claims Not even the Trump administration has found systematic mail-in voting fraud.

By the way, if you or anyone you know has voted absentee, such votes are conducted by mail — and have been for decades. Mail-in voting is not new, new-fangled, or a departure from US electoral norms and practices.

Ballots cast by mail are legitimate, safe, and important. If you plan to vote by mail, your vote is valid, as are those of your fellow citizens who vote by mail. There is no systematic mail-in voting fraud in the United States.

That said, there ARE RISKS in mail-in voting. In particular, at least two come to mind: the postal service’s delivery problems that were widely reported earlier this summer, and politically motivated claims that counting mail-in ballots, many of which will not be counted until after the November 3 election, is somehow itself a fraudulent act.

·      The issue with delays in the postal service’s delivery of ballots are simple: all states have deadlines that indicate when the election authority has to receive ballots in order for them to count. (In Alaska, for example, that deadline is 10 days after the election. In Illinois, it’s 14 days.) If the mail is too slow, some ballots might not be counted. That’s why the postal delivery issue matters so much.

·      The issue with the politically motivated claims of fraud are more nuanced, and more subtle. Precisely because various states accept ballots after the election date – to accommodate delays in mail delivery, for example – it is entirely possible that the outcome of the presidential election will not be decided on November 3. We might not know the outcome for a week. (I know – crazy, huh?) This is mostly because so-called “swing states” – the ones where the presidential election is close – are ALSO likely to be the ones where all the absentee and mail-in ballots really, really need to be counted. Unfortunately, it is quite possible that numerous groups and actors will amp up the tensions during this period by claiming that ballots are being counted illegally, that illegal ballots are being counted, etc. Some claims seem likely to come from the Trump campaign; many others may well emerge from Russian internet trolls seeking to promote maximum chaos in the United States by exploiting the weaknesses in our election system and the social and political tensions that inflame our society.

Notably, neither of these concerns has anything to do with the security of mail-in ballots.  Instead, they are the result of our haphazard voting system, as well as of politically motivated responses to it.

ALL claims to the contrary are lies. Repetition does not make them true.

On in-person voting

While it has been forgotten in the current environment, in which there are incessant claims that mail-in voting is inherently fraudulent, we should note that President Trump and his supporters used to claim that in-person voting was also fraudulent. (Again, these are only a few of the many examples):

·      “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/802972944532209664

·      “Look forward to seeing final results of VoteStand. Gregg Phillips and crew say at least 3,000,000 votes were illegal. We must do better!”  — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2017 https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/824968416486387713?lang=en

·      "In many places, like California, the same person votes many times — you've probably heard about that….  They always like to say 'oh that's a conspiracy theory' — not a conspiracy theory folks. Millions and millions of people." https://www.npr.org/2018/04/05/599868312/fact-check-trump-repeats-voter-fraud-claim-about-california

·      “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California - so why isn't the media reporting on this? Serious bias - big problem!” — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2016 https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/803033642545115140?lang=en

These claims are false. They are utterly, completely, absolutely, demonstrably false.

·      One recent study found only 31 cases of in-person voting fraud in a period of 14 years: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/08/06/a-comprehensive-investigation-of-voter-impersonation-finds-31-credible-incidents-out-of-one-billion-ballots-cast/?arc404=true 

·      The study previously referenced, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/resources-voter-fraud-claims, also addresses in-person voting fraud if you’d like to explore further for yourselves.

·      And, as was the case with mail-in voting, even a Trump administration investigation of alleged in-person voting fraud found no systematic in-person voter fraud in the United States. https://apnews.com/article/f5f6a73b2af546ee97816bb35e82c18d

In-person voting fraud happens extremely rarely. It does not happen anywhere near the level President Trump claims.

That said, there ARE risks of in-person voting. At least two come to mind: a reduction in polling places nationwide, and the way delays in voting may stimulate political fights on election night.

There are fewer polling places and fewer poll workers this year than there usually are as fewer people have volunteered to work at polling stations for fear of COVID-19. This may slow voting on election day and may lead to reduced early voting in many places. It is entirely possible that there will be long lines on election day as more people try to vote in fewer locations.

Lines and technical issues at the polling places may also lead to delays in reporting election results since not everyone will necessarily be done voting at the “closing” time for polls. Unfortunately, it may well be the case that people begin claiming such voting delays are the result of corruption or other problems. Even worse, it may well be the case that such claims are generated not only by candidates and their campaigns, but by Russian internet trolls as well – again, seeking to exploit the weaknesses of our election system and the divisions that exist in the United States today.

Notably, neither of these concerns is related to the security of in-person ballots. Instead, they are the result of our haphazard voting system — as well as our sometimes politically motivated response to it.

ALL claims to the contrary are lies. Repetition does not make them true.

Final thoughts

I have been teaching this class in one form or another since 1988. This means I have taught this class, in one form or another, during eight presidential election cycles. 2020 is my ninth such cycle. I have never posted a comment like this to any of my previous classes.

To be clear:

Mail-in voting is safe. It is not prone to corruption or fraud. If you want to vote by mail, please do so, preferably as early as you feel comfortable in order to guarantee your vote has time to be delivered to the appropriate location for counting.

In-person voting is safe. It is not prone to corruption or fraud. If you wish to vote in-person, be assured that your vote will count and that no secret, corrupt storehouse of fraudulent ballots exists that will wipe out its value or importance.

Personally, I plan to vote in-person but early. I plan to do this to reduce pressure on the voting system. I will miss the energy and excitement of voting on election day, but I think it is important to not overtax the voting system on election day proper. But that’s my choice. Others are perfectly valid — and each is fundamentally safe, secure and appropriate.

We’re going to have to be patient and thoughtful on election night. I wish I could offer you better news, but between the problems inherent in our election system, the added stress of COVID-19, and the ways that President Trump has sought to delegitimate our elections system as such, this is going to be a long election night – indeed, at least a long election week.

I realize many of you may have people in your lives who will challenge or reject the points I have raised in this memo. They may insist that all the journalists and academics who have investigated these issues for decades are lying, or are biased, or are manipulating the truth to serve a partisan agenda. Unfortunately, I can’t offer you any way to reassure such people. If someone is dead set on believing that thousands of people who have studied issues for decades are lying about their work, that person is not interested in engaging in a discussion of the facts and the evidence. They are seeking only to confirm their existing point of view. No convincing is possible because nothing can shake their conviction that they are right, and all the professional analysts are wrong. That’s sad, but there is nothing anyone can do about it, at least in the short term.

Instead, I would encourage you to think about the issue this way: If someone claims that mail-in voting is inherently fraudulent, they are telling you, or at least implying, that you shouldn’t vote by mail. If someone claims that in-person voting is inherently fraudulent, they are telling you, or at least implying, that you shouldn’t vote in-person.

In other words, they’re suggesting you just shouldn’t vote.

Don’t listen to them. Failure to vote will NOT fix the problems I have outlined. Neither will just hoping these problems go away. Instead, if you can, you should vote for the candidates you prefer by whatever means you find most appropriate and most convenient.

Vote.

[newstfionline]

Friday, April 9, 2021

The $50 billion race to save America’s renters from eviction (Washington Post) The Biden administration again extended a federal moratorium on evictions last week, but conflicting court rulings on whether the ban is legal, plus the difficulty of rolling out nearly $50 billion in federal aid, means the country’s reckoning with its eviction crisis may come sooner than expected. The year-old federal moratorium—which has now been extended through June 30—has probably kept hundreds of thousands or millions of people from being evicted from their apartments and homes. More than 10 million Americans are behind on rent, according to Moody’s, easily topping the 7 million who lost their homes to foreclosure in the 2008 housing bust. Despite the unprecedented federal effort to protect tenants, landlords have been chipping away at the moratorium in court. Treasury Department officials have been armed with nearly $50 billion in emergency aid for renters who have fallen behind, and are racing to distribute it through hundreds of state, local and tribal housing agencies, some of which have not created programs yet. The idea is to get the money to renters before courts nationwide begin processing evictions again.

A court filing says parents of 445 separated migrant children still have not been found. (NYT) The parents of 61 migrant children who were separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border by the Trump administration have been located since February, but lawyers still cannot find the parents of 445 children, according to a court filing on Wednesday. In the filing, the Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union indicated slow progress in the ongoing effort to reunite families that were affected by a policy to prosecute all undocumented immigrants in the United States, even if it meant separating children from their parents. Of the 445 remaining children, a majority are believed to have parents who were deported, while more than 100 children are believed to have parents currently in the United States, according to the court filing. The government has yet to provide contact information that would help locate the families of more than a dozen children.

N Ireland leaders call for calm after night of rioting (AP) Rioters set a hijacked bus on fire and hurled gasoline bombs at police in Belfast in at least the fourth night of serious violence in a week in Northern Ireland, where Brexit has unsettled an uneasy political balance. Youths threw projectiles and petrol bombs at police on Wednesday night in the Protestant Shankill Road area, while rioters lobbed bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs in both directions over the concrete “peace wall” separating the Shankill Road from a neighboring Irish nationalist area. Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Roberts said several hundred people gathered on both sides of a gate in the wall, where “crowds ... were committing serious criminal offenses, both attacking police and attacking each other.” He said a total of 55 police officers have been injured over several nights of disorder. The recent violence, largely in pro-British loyalist areas, has flared amid rising tensions over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland and worsening relations between the parties in the Protestant-Catholic power-sharing Belfast government.

Biden seems ready to extend US troop presence in Afghanistan (AP) Without coming right out and saying it, President Joe Biden seems ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Biden is running out of it. Biden has inched so close to the deadline that his indecision amounts almost to a decision to put off, at least for a number of months, a pullout of the remaining 2,500 troops and continue supporting the Afghan military at the risk of a Taliban backlash. Removing all of the troops and their equipment in the next three weeks—along with coalition partners who can’t get out on their own—would be difficult logistically, as Biden himself suggested in late March. “It’s going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline,” he said. “Just in terms of tactical reasons, it’s hard to get those troops out.” Tellingly, he added, “And if we leave, we’re going to do so in a safe and orderly way.”

One in six Latin American youths left work since pandemic’s start (Reuters) Across Latin America and the Caribbean, one in every six people aged 18 to 29 has left work since the coronavirus pandemic began, forcing many to abandon their studies, a report said on Thursday. The precariousness of employment for young people rose across the region, according to an investigation by Canadian charity Cuso International based on data from a U.N. commission and a poll by the International Labour Organization. “It’s extremely difficult for young people to access the labor market due to issues around specialization, lower wages, and poverty,” the advocacy group’s Colombia director Alejandro Matos told Reuters. More than half of those who stopped working since the start of the pandemic were let go by their employers, the report said, while others saw their businesses close and those employed in the informal sector could not work due to lockdowns.

Myanmar ambassador in London locked out of embassy after speaking out against military (Washington Post) Myanmar’s ambassador to Britain, who has spoken out again the military coup in his country, said he was barred from the embassy in London on Wednesday by officials loyal to the military junta. “They are refusing to let me inside,” Kyaw Zwar Minn told the Telegraph. “They said they received instruction from the capital, so they are not going to let me in.” Kyaw Zwar Minn told the British newspaper that when he left the embassy during the day, colleagues and officials linked to the military stormed the premises and kept him from reentering that evening. In early March, the ambassador, a former military colonel, spoke out against the military’s detention of the former British colony’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi, drawing criticism from the junta that had orchestrated her ouster and praise from the British government for his “courage.” The London-based ambassador was recalled, according to Myanmar state television, after he posted a statement on the embassy’s Facebook page demanding “the release of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint,” but he did not return to Myanmar.

Merkel tells Putin to pull back troops as Kremlin accuses Ukraine of provocations (Reuters) German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to pull back the Kremlin’s military buildup near the border with Ukraine, while he in turn accused Kyiv of “provocative actions” in the conflict region. Ukraine has raised the alarm over an increase in Russian forces near its eastern border as violence has risen along the line of contact separating its troops from Russia-backed separatists in its Donbass region. Russia has said its forces pose no threat and were defensive, but that they would stay there as long as Moscow saw fit. A senior Kremlin official said on Thursday that Moscow could under certain circumstances be forced to defend its citizens in Donbass and that major hostilities could mark the beginning of the end of Ukraine as a country.

China builds advanced weapons systems using American chip technology (Washington Post) In a secretive military facility in southwest China, a supercomputer whirs away, simulating the heat and drag on hypersonic vehicles speeding through the atmosphere—missiles that could one day be aimed at a U.S. aircraft carrier or Taiwan, according to former U.S. officials and Western analysts. The computer is powered by tiny chips designed by a Chinese firm called Phytium Technology using American software and built in the world’s most advanced chip factory in Taiwan, which hums with American precision machinery, say the analysts. Phytium portrays itself as a commercial company aspiring to become a global chip giant like Intel. It does not publicize its connections to the research arms of the People’s Liberation Army. The hypersonic test facility is located at the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center (CARDC), which also obscures its military connections though it is run by a PLA major general, according to public documents, and the former officials and analysts, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Phytium’s partnership with CARDC offers a prime example of how China is quietly harnessing civilian technologies for strategic military purposes—with the help of American technology. The trade is not illegal but is a vital link in a global high-tech supply chain that is difficult to regulate because the same computer chips that could be used for a commercial data center can power a military supercomputer.

Indonesia landslides death toll rises to 140, dozens missing (AP) The death toll from mudslides in eastern Indonesia has risen to 140 with dozens still missing, officials said Wednesday, as rain continued to pound the region and hamper the search. East Flores district on Adonara island suffered the highest losses with 67 bodies recovered so far and six missing. Mud tumbled down from surrounding hills early on Sunday, catching people at sleep. Some were swept away by flash floods after overnight rains caused rivers to burst their banks. On nearby Lembata island, the downpour triggered by Tropical Cyclone Seroja sent solidified lava from a volcanic eruption in November to crash down on more than a dozen villages, killing at least 32 and leaving 35 unaccounted for, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Reversing Trump, Biden Restores Aid to Palestinians (NYT) The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would restore hundreds of millions of dollars in American aid to Palestinians, its strongest move yet to reverse President Donald J. Trump’s policy on the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The package, which gives at least $235 million in assistance to Palestinians, will go to humanitarian, economic, development and security efforts in the region, and is part of the administration’s attempt to rehabilitate U.S. relations with Palestinians, which effectively stopped when Mr. Trump was in office. The restoration of aid amounted to the most direct repudiation so far of Mr. Trump’s tilt toward Israel in its decades-old conflict with the Palestinian population in Israeli-controlled territories.

Royal rift ends (NYT) Jordan’s King Abdullah II said on Wednesday that the “discord” that has roiled the kingdom for days has “been stopped,” signaling a resolution to a rare royal rift that resulted in the house arrest of Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the former crown prince, and the detention of several Jordanian officials who were accused of plotting a foreign-backed coup against the monarchy.

Conflict and COVID driving record hunger in DR Congo, warns UN (Al Jazeera) A record 27.3 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are facing acute hunger, one-third of the violence-wracked Central African country’s population, largely because of conflict and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations has warned. The DRC is “home to the highest number of people in urgent need of food security assistance in the world,” the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization said on Tuesday in a joint statement, describing the scale of the crisis as “staggering”. “For the first time ever we were able to analyse the vast majority of the population, and this has helped us to come closer to the true picture of the staggering scale of food insecurity in the DRC,” Peter Musoko, WFP’s representative in the country, said. “This country should be able to feed its population and export a surplus. We cannot have children going to bed hungry and families skipping meals for an entire day,” he said.

Beware The Carpet Cleaner (The Guardian) Parkinson’s disease is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world, and the US is experiencing an explosion of cases. In the last decade, the number of Parkinson’s cases in America has increased 35%, and a neurologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center thinks over the next 25 years it will double again. Most cases of the disease are considered idiopathic—without a clear cause. But researchers now believe one factor is environmental exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE), a chemical compound used in industrial degreasing, dry-cleaning, and household products like some shoe polishes and carpet cleaners. TCE is a carcinogen already linked to renal cell carcinoma, cancers of the cervix, liver, biliary passages, lymphatic system and male breast tissue, fetal cardiac defects, and more. Several studies point to a link between Parkinson’s and workplace exposure to TCE. The US Labor Department issued guidance on TCE saying exposures to carbon disulfide (CS2) and TCE are presumed to “cause, contribute or aggravate Parkinsonism.”

‘Tantalizing’ results of 2 experiments defy physics rulebook (AP) Preliminary results from two experiments suggest something could be wrong with the basic way physicists think the universe works, a prospect that has the field of particle physics both baffled and thrilled. Tiny particles called muons aren’t quite doing what is expected of them in two different long-running experiments in the United States and Europe. The confounding results—if proven right—reveal major problems with the rulebook physicists use to describe and understand how the universe works at the subatomic level. “We think we might be swimming in a sea of background particles all the time that just haven’t been directly discovered,” Fermilab experiment co-chief scientist Chris Polly said in a press conference. “There might be monsters we haven’t yet imagined that are emerging from the vacuum interacting with our muons and this gives us a window into seeing them.” If confirmed, the U.S. results would be the biggest finding in the bizarre world of subatomic particles in nearly 10 years, since the discovery of the Higgs boson, often called the “God particle,” said Aida El-Khadra of the University of Illinois, who works on theoretical physics for the Fermilab experiment.

Unlikely chauffeur (Foreign Policy) Kevin Rudd is best known as a former Australian prime minister. Last Tuesday night in Queensland, he was mistaken for an Uber driver. The former Labor party leader became an unlikely chauffeur when a group of revelers—described as “tipsy” by Rudd’s daughter—piled into his car as he sought parking at a local restaurant. Rudd obliged the passengers, reportedly driving half the journey to the town’s main drag before being recognized by his would-be customers. “Four young Melburnians getting drenched in a Queensland subtropical downpour at Noosa last night with no Uber in sight … So what’s a man to do?” Rudd later wrote on Twitter.

[stephenjaymorrisblog]

The naked truth.

Goodbye, Orange Ape

(Epilogue for a Wanna-be Autocrat)

By Stephen Jay Morris.

11/08/20

©Scientific Morality

There is a breeze wafting across the nation in a collective sigh of relief. Saturday morning, I was doing some gardening in our backyard. At around 11:30 a.m., EST, Pamela came outside, her tablet in hand and a big smile across her face.  She called out to me.

“Honey! The news site, Politico, called the race! Nevada’s six votes went to Biden. He won!” We embraced and kissed, happy.  It was a really nice moment.

It’s nice to witness national exuberance for a change. However, at the back of my mind sits the bitter taste of subjective reality. Yay!  My joy will last for 24 hours, but then it’s back to the same old grind. This period reminded me of the night Nixon resigned. There was dancing in the streets on that  historic summer night in 1974, though I don’t remember how I felt.

Two years earlier, in 1972, kids were jumping and hollering with joy in the hallways of my Alma Mater, Fairfax High School.  When I asked what was going on, someone shouted, “George C. Wallace just got shot! Yeah!” Our fifth period teacher chided the jubilant class, “A man just got shot! There is nothing to celebrate! What’swrong with you kids!?” Governor Wallace from Alabama was a renowned racist. He was a segregationist who ran for president in 1968. One of his most famous quotes was, “The next Hippie is a dead Hippie!”  Like Trump, he was a miserable right winger. While running for president, he got shot by a lone gunman, Artie Bremer, on May 15, 1972.  Wallace would be in wheelchair for the rest of his life.  During the protest of the 1972 Democratic Convention, the Zippies (an offshoot of the Yippies), held a wheelchair race; the contestants wore Artie Bremer masks!

We are not out of the proverbial woods yet. Trump has just over two months left as a lame schmuck prez. After Biden takes office, the USA will experience a slow, difficult restoration; perhaps, it  will take years.  His top priority is to destroy this pandemic. Meanwhile, the ne'er-do-well, current president will use the judicial system in an attempt to sue his way to victory. Trump is so fucking stupid that he thinks loyalty means breaking the law on his behalf.  In reality, the fact that he appointed these judges is irrelevant.  They must follow the law or be dismissed from the Bench. He really thinks that those judges will bend the law as a favor owed to him.

Then, there are his supporters. Seventy million of them voted for him.  Yeah...they will elicit some violent backlash, but they are outnumbered and outgunned. Blood will be spilled. But more blood is spilled, every day, from gang fights. They are going to have temper tantrums and break a few windows; even plot kidnappings of Democratic office holders. His supporters are so fucking moronic, they never consider that the FBI has undercover agents infiltrating their stupid groups. One by one, they will vanish into oblivion.  A lot of Trumpers will ultimately deny that they ever supported him.

There is one positive thing that Trump brought us: the awareness of mental illness.  Most of us never heard of the term, “Narcissistic Personality Disorder,” until he became president.  The USA, essentially, is indifferent to mental health.

He also made Americans aware of Russian espionage in the USA.  Under Trump, that fact is, sadly, a “positive.”

So, what now? Biden reminds me of the late president, Dwight Eisenhower. a nice, grandfatherly figure. Vice president Harris may be the first woman and bi-racial person in the Executive Branch but, keep in mind, progressives will be disappointed in her and in Biden, as well. They are each left of center, but not ultra left.  Biden wants to work with the Republicans in government. You’d think, after all these years, that liberals would have learned that right wingers are duplicitous shitheads. They are not going to play nice. All this bullshit about uniting the country will not materialize. The reason the country was viewed as united after September 11th was because the left was scared shitless that they would be put in concentration camps.  So, they kept quiet.  America united is a Liberal wet dream.  

Me? I will have a nice, four years of rest. On this blog, I will write exclusively about things I am interested in.  I hate politics and always will.  There are more important subjects to explore.

[emblem-333]

What-If Richard Nixon won the election of 1960?

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic Ocean, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbin is the last thing standing in the way of total economic collapse of the government. Corbin is their Bernie Sanders, only with more political clout given the parliamentary system. Through years of effective party building, mobilizing and a decaying growth of income inequality worked to provide the Labour Party a large chunk of the seats, though not a majority. Though in the minority the gains of the Labour Party causes massive upheaval in Britain’s power structure. Conservative party leader Theresa May recently left office in disgrace after numerous electoral shortcomings. Right now the Prime Minister of the U.K is Boris Johnson. Basically, he’s mini-Trump. More disheveled, and aligned with the corporate class.

Elsewhere, the French did what the United States electorate couldn’t and bite the bullet and vote for the establishment Neoliberal shill in the face of the rising tide of fascism. Perhaps it was the debacle the Trump presidency only in its infancy managed to cause scared the French into running into the arms of Emmanuel Macron. You’d hope this brush with disaster would humble the centrist in the country. Except, in victory they’re only emboldened that only they know what needs to be done and the filthy unwashed peasants need to understand that. Macron shown hostility towards the Yellow Vest movement whose aims are to raise the poultry minimum wage, in U.S dollars roughly translates to 11.62. Far better than our federal minimum wage of $7.25. But hardly something that can be described as a livable wage.

Macron sits at 70 percent disapproval and his re-election date is 2022.

These three countries have come to the unanimous conclusion that is Neoliberalism is completely useless and only works to facilitate a totalitarian ruler to wrangle enough power to squeeze into power and bring us closer to the apocalypse. However, neither country is truly democratic. So the people, their ideals and concerns don’t matter in the slightest. Though, I’d say the United States is the least democratic of of the three. Two of the last six presidential elections have given us a winner who did not secure the plurality of the popular vote, but their superiority in the electoral college swung them to the Oval Office.

We are still in the early stages of our primary for the out of power party. Democrats are weeding out the competitive field and have three choices apparently to pick from. The candidate of the Hillary Clinton-wing of the Party, made up of aspiring Pod Save America Bros. former vice-president Joe Biden. To his way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way left is elder statesman, self described Democratic-Socialist Bernie Sanders. He is the only candidate marching with labor unions, not crossing the picket line to hold fundraiser with the party’s bigwigs. Somewhere in the middle blowing aimlessly in the wind is Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren. A real Rockefeller Republican. If only that wing of the Republicans didn’t collapse and migrate to the Democrats.

Back when Democrats were the party of the working man (you know, the alliance that allowed them to occupy the White House for all but eight-years between 1933 and 1969) in the middle o the Great Depression recently elected president FDR inherited a country on the brink of succumbing to the same forces that destroyed the Czardom. Luckily for them, the Bolshevik Revolution did anything but wet starving Americans appetites for socialism. The ugliness of the Russian Revolution, and a tinge of antisemitism kept what many in the establishment considered the electorates darkest impulses at bay. The New Deal was designed to prevent a movement similar to Eugene V. Debs from upending the established hierarchy.

In the 1932 election there were four far left candidates. William Z. Foster of the Communist Party, Norman Thomas of the Socialist, Verne L. Reynolds of Socialist Labor, and militant labor leader Jacob Coxey of Farmer-Labor. Together the four pooled 1,029,661 votes, enough for 2.6 percent of the vote share. In Debs’ best showing in his many campaigns for the presidency was 913,693 in the election of 1920.

Suffering Americans wanted the blood of the Wall Street tycoons responsible for the demise of their lives. The wolves were at the gates and Roosevelt went to work to ensure his head wouldn’t be on a pike. The New Deal gave the populist its needed relief and the left wing third parties withered away as the dire situation grew less gruesome. Democrats dominated the White House winning five consecutive elections. Conservatives in the party brought up in the era of States’ Rights and limited government radically had to alter their persona to ensure political survival. Harry S. Truman needed to mend his relationship between the AFL-CIO in order to win re-election in ‘48. Texas senator Lyndon Johnson built upon the New Deal instituting a “War on Poverty” birthing his “Great Society.” This aggressive pro-worker party that was a force at the ballot box brought the rise of the liberal republicans in the GOP. Laissez-faire Republicans like Robert A. Taft, Alf Landon, and Wendell Willkie could only push so far in an age where the voter couldn’t stomach the rich. From 1944 to 1960 the “eastern establishment” wing of the GOP ran on platforms which assured voters worried about giving the reins back to the party of Herbert Hoover their intentions are not to gut the popular social programs such as social security, though they wished government interference would not venture farther than it already had.

Moderates like New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, and the first presidential attempt of Richard Nixon failed to win the White House. Their only victory was famous war General Dwight Eisenhower, who could’ve ran as the nominee as any party and won by the substantial margin he did in ‘52 and ‘56. The party designed to appeal on the coasts couldn’t muster up the coalition in the Midwest needed to secure victory. Ultimately, Republicans learned the lesson today’s Democrats never will. Running as the lite-beer version of your opponent is a recipe for failure. In 1968, Nixon unleashed his Southern Strategy when the Democrats cast their lot in with the civil rights movement. The effects of the southern strategy are still felt today. The strategy itself still works over fifty-years after its inception.

But back in the early 1960’s neither party truly knew where they stood on the issue of civil rights. Dwight Eisenhower deployed federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to ensure the entry and safety of black students during integration. His opponent, Adlai Stevenson, a great man, a forward thinker, picked a Alabaman segregationist for his V.P. While the Democrats had its fair share of activist on their team, Hubert Humphrey to name one, who fought tooth and nail for a civil rights plank to be enacted into the party’s platform for 1948. But by the 1950’s the segregationist have regained control.

Perhaps the liberal republicans could have had more success if they exercised political fortitude in advocating and legislating in favor of civil rights. Rather than seeing leaders like Martin Luther King as a controversial figure, at the very least they could have viewed him as somebody who could get them more votes and be heralded as a hero in the process. The infamous “turnip session” in the heat of the ‘48 campaign incumbent underdog Truman addresses the Congress held predominantly by republicans he dared them to put their money where their mouths were regarding civil rights. Of course, they balked and lost the White House they were supposed to win and both the House and Senate.

Playing as Nixon on the Internet game “Campaign Trail” I tapped New Yorker Nelson Rockefeller to be my veep rather than tread water with actual running mate Henry Cabot Lodge. Other options are Arizona senator staunch Neocon Barry Goldwater, and moderate elder statesman Everett Dirksen of Illinois. I choose Rockefeller because I wanted to run on a civil rights platform. I condemned the arrest of of MLK, endorsed a federal minimum wage of $1.25 and didn’t distance myself when Rockefeller promised further civil rights legislation while on the campaign trail.

Though Rockefeller was the rising star of the party at the time, his efforts did not give me the crucial state of New York. However, I fortunately did not need it to secure victory. (I’ll post my answers at the bottom)

Richard Nixon/Nelson Rockefeller: 299; 32,825,498

John F. Kennedy /Lyndon B. Johnson: 224; 33,806,388

Harry Byrd/Strom Thurmond: 14; 328,017

[Post Game Speech] With luck, you will be able to duplicate the eight years of peace and prosperity under Eisenhower. Unfortunately, the Democrats maintain their majority in both houses of Congress. With luck, they will be good partners in a bipartisan governing coalition. Your first order of business is to mend fences with Lyndon Johnson, who is returning to his role as Senate Majority Leader.

I swept the northeast and cleaned up in the west and by the skin of my teeth, despite losing the popular vote changed the trajectory of U.S history. Butterflying JFK from the Oval Office basically ensures Robert Kennedy’s effect on the political landscape as well. People often forget right around this era both parties took orders from the mob thanks to their heavy influence in organized labor. In 1952, the voters of the Democrats eyed Estes Kefauver. Kefauver won 12 primary contests and made his political bones unearthing the dirty secrets of his own party’s ties to the mafia. He was shut out of the convention and didn’t sniff the presidential ticket. Nixon complains of ballot stuffing in crucial swing like Illinois. Only reason he never brought it to court is because his party was guilty of doing the same thing.

Without a president John, we don’t get senator Bobby prosecuting scumbag apes like Carlos Marcello. They could continue to exercise extreme influence over the parties today.

The trade off is maybe a Republican comes along and flushes the monsters out of the Democratic Party. It have to be Nixon. Anyone else is a far reach. Then again, this column is attempting to articulate Nixon, of all people, championing civil rights. So perhaps nothing is impossible?

A plus in not having JFK in the Oval Office is he isn’t around to bungle the Bay of Pigs and take us to the brink of nuclear annihilation in the subsequent Cuban Missile Crisis. Young John was inexperienced and couldn’t beat back the bloodthirsty members in his cabinet advocating for the removal of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Castro disliked Nixon - I’m not so sure the feeling wasn’t mutual. But Nixon was craftier than JFK when it comes to foreign policy. Kennedy waffled between caving completely to the pressure of Allen Dulles and standing his ground. Kennedy green-lit a half-assed attempt on Castro’s life, did not supply the CIA-sponsored Cuban exiles the support needed to sustain their offensive and their failure drove Castro right into the arms of the Soviet Union and Nikita Khruschev. By October of 1962 the Russians parked missiles 90-miles off the coast of Florida.

Nixon was far from a pacifist. But at the very least, his decisive nature would’ve warranted a legitimate threat to Castro and possibly dethroned him and turned Cuba into a puppet state for the United States. It’s debatable whether that is a good thing or not. I’m going to say it’s the latter. Cuba has tons of numerous human rights atrocities, but they treat their poor better than we do by giving them decent health care coverage.

The fate of Cuba probably isn’t different than the Dominican Republic in the mid-60’s when the U.S overthrew their democratically elected leader for implanting social programs that angered the church and corporate sectors of the country. Either Cuba becomes a fully impoverished country or succumbs to right-wing theocracy like Iran.

On a brighter note, Nixon likely pushes forward on civil rights and with his victory it vindicates the eastern establishment and sets up Rockefeller to be the face of the party. So we are spared Ronald Reagan. Though, the caveat is Rockefeller was an architect of the War on Drugs in the pre-Reagan era. So despite his superior record on civil rights we can still expect an explosion of the prison population for minor offenses for black Americans.

A Nixon victory in ‘60 keeps the GOP the party of Honest Abe. While the Democrats continue on as the White populist party. Maybe George Wallace gets a crack at the White House in ‘64 and he is the sacrificial lamb for the future trajectory of the party like Goldwater was in OTL for the Republicans. No more coastal or big city elites for the Democrats. They likely run southern gentleman like Wallace or Johnson from here on out.

Kennedy appointed two Supreme Court justices to the bench. It is likely Nixon nominates Warren E. Burger and maybe Thurgood Marshall to the bench. The difference this makes is Nixon probably never runs into Lewis Powell. The justice who would crusade in favor of big money contaminating our elections. If so, our political system is held hostage by the mob, but not by multinational corporations destroying the earth to make a profit.

[singh82nolan-blog]

The particular role of test preparation in getting admission from a highly regarded university abroad

If you are intending to study abroad next you must have come after the various tests engaged in a top admit. SAT coaching in Kolkata be the English proficiency exams such as this IELTS/ TOEFL, as well as the aptitude tests such as GMAT/ GRE/ SAT/ TAKE ACTION, you would have come over a few challenge or often the other such as these tests. Here we will go through the roles that each regarding these exams play inside the admissions process to analyze overseas at a good college. We will look at the most often asked questions we find out about English proficiency plus aptitude tests. Do My partner and i need to take typically the language proficiency assessments? Why don't start at the outset. Typically the short answer to help this issue is Of course, and No! Puzzled? 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An individual will need to have got a new very clear career system and be familiar with requirements involving the colleges you would like to attend. Another important feature for you to keep in mind will be the dates that this testing are conducted. For instance , this SAT exam will be carried out just 4 times a year in certain elements of the world. As well, your own scores can point in the direction of a proper group of educational institutions and give you plenty of to prepare for some other features of the app, such as page creating, CV building, essay ideation and preparation, recommendations, in addition to others. Getting done having often the tests early on will allow you to be able to have a hold on most aspects of the application form course of action. What precisely would be the aptitude or admissions try out that I actually need to have? Often the admissions process includes of different tests these kinds of as SAT/ GRE/ GMAT/ ACT/ APs/ LSAT etcetera. The short summary of each and every of the tests is given under: SAT/ ACT – The particular SAT/ BEHAVE is an skills analyze taken by students throughout high school for admissions to help universities in USA, Europe and some different parts of the earth. It primarily tests men and women at English and Maths. SITTING Subject Tests ~ A few colleges in the US ALL call for subjects test found in places such as Physics, Mathematics, Biochemistry, Dialects as well as World Record. GRE : The Scholar Record Test (GRE) or perhaps the GRE is one of the recommended understanding tests for universities providing top engineering and other programs, especially often the ones in the ALL OF US. GMAT – The GMAT can be conducted by typically the GMAC for admissions to help top universities and colleges in often the management programs. A great GMAT score is the place to start of getting a fine MBA admission. How do I prepare for these types of exams? Before you get started preparation you must extensively research on the actual scannings required for your admissions to the dream college or university. Check the deadlines together with estimate the fb timeline with regard to the entire process, not just the test prep period. There are about three well-liked modes of prep: • Self Study – This particular is appropriate if an individual are self-motivated and include the material readily offered. This problem is that you would need to research all the aspects from scratch, together with right now there wouldn’t be anyone to support with your doubts. • Online Prep – On the internet cooking has become famous in recent years due to much better internet velocities. Generally, the particular course requires a particular number of pre-defined several hours and in many situations the course can become self-paced. Lectures are generally good nonetheless individual focus is not current. A good point is that you can find not travel occasion engaged. • Classroom Ready : This is this traditional process regarding prep. Students benefit from face-to-face interaction and in several instances good institutes will definitely provide with least a few level of custom made preparation and doubt dealing with. Just how long will the preparation acquire? Prep normally requires anywhere involving 3-6 a few months but may even go up to a year for every of these examinations. We have taken the required test, what next? Hopefully a person have obtained your own personal desired scores. Now just prepare yourself the rest of your current application. You can speak for you to one of our specialist counsellors at +91 8583841032 or perhaps WhatsApp us from +91 8583841032 for further more data approach continue.

[fluentlanguage]

#clearthelist July 2018: French, Welsh, And Why I Am Not Learning Chinese Yet

Welcome to my latest language learning update through #clearthelist. Clear the List is a support and accountability blog group sharing monthly language learning goals.

The Fluent Show

Fantastic month for the Fluent Show as we reached 270,000 downloads in under a year. YAY!! Thank you so much.

I loved the conversation Lindsay and I had in the episode “What is Fluency, What Is Mastery…And How Do You Get There?”, my top pick for the month. Every ambitious learner should hear discussion, so do check it out.

What Happened in June

June was always going to be a busy one, because it was the first launch of my brand new course German Uncovered. This is a story-based German course going from zero all the way to B1. There was much to do, and it meant a few early mornings and evening shifts. If you’re on the course, give me a shout. I’m so excited to finally share it with you.

In June, I also attended my first Canterbury Pride celebration and took a lovely week off travelling to Marseille. I also attended the People's Vote March in London.

Learning Welsh

Welsh is still my main language, though it came up a little short this month.

Cymraeg Gogledd neu Cymraeg De?

One thing that slowed me down was my belief that I should switch from the Northern Welsh accent (which I’d studied for 2+ years) to the Southern Welsh accent. Why? Because I moved from North to South in England.

This turns out to be a silly idea. When people tell me “everyone will understand you no matter what accent”, they are right. When they say “only a few words are different”, they aren’t right. Even though it’s possible to understand both types of Welsh, learning to speak them both is harder than I thought. Just look at these two sentences:

1. North Welsh: Dw i eisiau gorffen cyn yfory.

2. South Welsh: Dw i’n moyn cwpla cyn yfory.

As far as I know, these are supposed to mean the same thing, but all native Welsh speakers will understand both.

My tutor at the Welsh class I attended told me “no mixing your accents”, which has made the idea of switching what I’ve studied next to impossible. My italki tutor is a lot more chilled, saying it doesn’t really matter as long as I’m not taking formal tests.

Conclusion: Welsh accents are confusing. I think I’ll declare Project Southern Welsh something I don’t want to continue. I stopped making progress because I felt trapped in this whole accent confusion, when it’s not that relevant. For now, I’ll speak how I speak and let life go on.

Let’s look at the goals from last month.

Listening

I had hoped to continue watching the series Ffit Cymru. But the show’s focus on weight loss as a measure of all good in the world started getting on my nerves. So I watched perhaps one more episode, and my listening in Welsh came up a little short.

Reading

I had hoped to finish the book Sgwp (there should be a ^ on the w but my keyboard can’t cope), and I’m getting behind on this one. But I did take my edition of the magazine Lingo Newydd with me and read it on the beach in France. Result!

One cool new resource I’m using in Welsh now is parallel.cymru, a website featuring parallel articles in Welsh and English. I’m loving the fact that I can read more on screen now, and I even submitted an article myself.

Click here to read my article on parallel.cymru in English or Welsh

Speaking

My goal was to fit in two 30 minute sessions with my tutor Gwyneth, and I did succeed. Scheduling these in advance was a huge help. I was a worse speaker than usual due to the accent kerfuffle, and due to speaking French for 10 days this month. But overall, mission accomplished.

Writing

I wanted to stick with poetry and write a haiku in Welsh, but I didn’t get it done. I didn’t even write much else. WARGH.

Daily Contact Goal

In May, I logged 14 days of contact with the Welsh language. Pretty good considering I was very busy with the German course, and also spent 10 days in France. My most used resources were Lingo Newydd, Ap Geiriaduron, and italki.

Speaking French In France

My second language of June was French, as I recorded my first bilingual podcast in French and English and then took some time off in Marseille. I had a great time, and noticed the difference a week in the country makes.

I was able to speak French pretty well anyway, as it’s a language I’ve studied on and off for 22 years. The week in France worked wonders for my comprehension and my speaking confidence. I refreshed all those everyday phrases like “you’re welcome”, “that was awesome”, or “for takeaway, please”.

I also learnt I enjoy being not-perfect at French. Here in England, I speak a foreign language almost every minute of every day. It doesn’t feel all that foreign anymore. But in French, I am still a learner. There’s a challenge, and that felt great because challenge means progress.

We didn’t stay in the main tourist quarter, and so a lot of people were amused and curious about this German and English couple where only one half speaks French. My husband relied on my French skills and I could tell that speaking the language was an advantage almost everywhere.

Good to Remember: People Switch To English For THEIR Reasons

In a busy restaurant, the host told me how to get to my table in French. It was noisy, and I didn’t understand what he was saying. I said Pardon? and he switched to English. I told him that I do speak French and he can speak to me in French.

His answer? “It is very busy here and I can speak English. In other words: He was too busy to slow down. He didn’t care if I speak French well, and he wasn’t judging my language skills. This was about getting something done.

If you’ve ever been in a similar situation, remember that people switch languages because it’s best for them. When someone switches to English, it’s often because they have other things on their mind than your language progress. Click to read more about this and get tips for dealing with the situation.

Goals For July 2018

Now that I’m in the intermediate haze with Welsh, I find it more important than ever to keep going forward. Happy to put French to one side and focus on Welsh again this month, especially because at the start of August I want to go to the National Eisteddfod again!

Listening

So disappointed I can’t watch the World Cup with Welsh commentary! I need to get ready for the Eisteddfod so it’s time to hear a lot of Welsh. I will Listen to Welsh For 90 Minutes Every Week Doesn’t matter if it’s the Pigion podcast or a show on S4C, the most important thing is that I hear a lot of Welsh right now.

Reading

Try and Finish The Book Sgwp Same as last month!

Speaking

Have 1 Long Lesson and 3 Conversations Loved having shorter classes in June (I scheduled 30 minutes at lunch times) and I’ll keep going with that, but as we know I struggle with yes/no in Welsh so I’ll also book a long lesson to drill these specifically.

And it’s time to catch up with my exchange partner!

Writing

Every month, I read about poetry and I read some poetry. But I’ve not written any. Goal: Write 1 Poem, Any Kind

Maybe asking myself to even to a Haiku was too much, a hurdle in front of getting started. So I will dial down the ambition one more. Easy.

Finally there is one more language I am playing around with, but here’s why I’m not learning Chinese right now.

Chinese

I’m still not learning Chinese. I’m going at the pace of two words a week. There’s so much in this language: words, tones, characters, all of it unknown to me. I can best describe this as a Prep phase, way before “learning the language”. I don’t want to put pressure on myself at this stage at all, and all I’m doing is driven by curiosity.

I had a similar phase in Russian and Welsh, where I’m currently at A1 and B1. Prep phases feel so valuable to me, especially when the other language is different from the ones I already know.

The Prep Phase And My Languages

Here’s an overview of the languages I know:

I speak German and English at native levels. (C2)

I’m fluent in French (C1?).

I’m conversational in Welsh, if the conversation partner helps me. (B1)

I’m somewhat conversational in Spanish, if the conversation partner helps me loads. (A1-A2)

I can read Spanish, Italian, some Latin. (A1)

I can read Cyrillic and exchange basic pleasantries in Russian. (A1)

I’ve never done much with Asian languages.

If I started to learn Romanian or Swedish I probably wouldn’t need a Prep phase. But with a new unfamiliar system, I find this extremely useful. If I decide to take this further, dabbling with tones and apps could turn into learning Chinese for real. But for now, I’m just learning about the language.

How Was YOUR Month?

Do you have a Prep phase too? Are you struggling with accents in your target language?

I would love to read about what you’re up to in the comments below!

If you want to join the linkup and share your own goals for the month, hop on to Clear The List with Lindsay Williams and Shannon Kennedy.

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Thursday, February 4, 2021

Pressure builds on schools to reopen during pandemic (AP) Pressure is building on school systems around the U.S. to reopen classrooms to students who have been learning online for nearly a year, pitting politicians against teachers who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In Chicago, the rancor is so great that teachers are on the brink of striking. In California, a frustrated Gov. Gavin Newsom implored schools to find a way to reopen. In Cincinnati, some students returned to classrooms Tuesday after a judge threw out a teachers union lawsuit over safety concerns. While some communities maintain that online classes remain the safest option for everyone, some parents, with backing from politicians and administrators, have complained that their children’s education is suffering from sitting at home in front of their computers and that the isolation is damaging them emotionally. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent study that there is little evidence of the virus spreading at schools when precautions are taken, such as masks, distancing and proper ventilation. But many teachers have balked at returning without getting vaccinated first.

House Dems make case for conviction; Trump denies charges (AP) Donald Trump endangered the lives of all members of Congress when he aimed a mob of supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the U.S. Capitol, House Democrats said Tuesday in making their most detailed case yet for why the former president should be convicted and permanently barred from office. Trump denied the allegations through his lawyers and called the trial unconstitutional. The dueling filings offer the first public glimpse of the arguments that will be presented to the Senate beginning next week. The impeachment trial represents a remarkable reckoning with the violence in the Capitol last month, which the senators witnessed firsthand, and with Trump’s presidency overall. Held in the very chamber where the insurrectionists stood on Jan. 6, it will pit Democratic demands for a final measure of accountability against the desire of many Republicans to turn the page and move on. The impeachment trial, Trump’s second, begins in earnest on Feb. 9.

Activists wary of broader law enforcement after Capitol riot (AP) As federal officials grapple with how to confront the national security threat from domestic extremists after the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol, civil rights groups and communities of color are watching warily for any moves to expand law enforcement power or authority. They say their communities have felt the brunt of security scrutiny over the last two decades and fear new tools meant to target right-wing extremism or white nationalists risk harming Muslims, Black Americans and other groups, even if unintentionally. “The answer ought to be to sort of pause. Because the instinct to do something is something I’m really quite afraid of,” said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, one of more than 130 civil and human rights organizations that say the FBI already has the tools it needs. “There’s an entire federal code in place that allows you to successfully go after this violence before you need to sort of say, ‘Oh, wait, you know, there’s this existing gap and we need more power,’” she added.

Jeff Bezos steps down (CJR) Jeff Bezos said yesterday that he will soon step down as CEO of Amazon. Andy Jassy, who runs the company’s cloud computing division, will replace him; Bezos will become executive chair, a role he says will give him more time to focus on outside commitments, including his ownership of the Washington Post. (As CNN’s Brian Fung noted, not many people can say “I’m quitting to spend more time with my newspaper and space rockets.”)

Dozen state police charged in the massacre of 19 in Mexico (AP) A dozen state police officers have been arrested for allegedly killing 19 people, including Guatemalan migrants, whose bodies were found shot and burned near the U.S. border late in January, Mexican authorities announced Tuesday. Tamaulipas state Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said all 12 officers were in custody and face charges of homicide, abuse of authority and making false statements. The killings revived memories of the gruesome 2010 massacre of 72 migrants near the town of San Fernando in the same gang-ridden state. But those killings were done by a drug cartel, while it is likely many people will find it more shocking that the Jan. 22 slayings allegedly were carried out by law enforcement. The attorney general did not say what motive the officers might have had, though corrupt local and state police in Mexico are often in the pay of drug cartels. Cartels in Mexico often charge migrant smugglers for crossing their territory, and kidnap or kill migrants whose smugglers have not paid or paid a rival gang.

Common pots prepared by neighbors feeding thousands in Peru (AP) At dawn, Genoveva Satalaya and her neighbors walk through Lima’s food markets hoping to find a kind merchant who will donate food to help fill the “common pot” that is feeding their neighborhood. The survival strategy that first appeared in Peru’s capital during the country’s civil conflict four decades ago has been vital since the coronavirus pandemic arrived in this South American nation. With the country again under a lockdown, Satalaya’s pot is feeding 120 people, including seniors, children and pregnant women. Satalaya and her neighbors prepare lunch Monday through Friday. There’s not enough food for weekday breakfasts or dinners or weekend meals. The common pots, also seen in other Latin American countries, have emerged as a symbol of the struggles of the region. Thousands of them are in use throughout Peru at levels not seen since the 1980s and 1990s during the armed conflict between the state and the Shining Path terrorist group. There are almost a thousand common pots in Lima that are recognized by officials in the municipality, but many, including the one run by Satalaya, are not registered and do not receive any kind of help. The government announced last week that it would send aid to many common pots, but since there are so many, the help may not reach every neighborhood.

Tycoon Ordered to Demolish His $70M Home (The Daily Beast) A French property tycoon has been ordered to tear down his $70m faux-Italianate palazzo in the hills of Provence after losing a 15-year legal battle over the 32,000 square foot structure, which was built without planning permission. Patrick Diter has been given 18 months to scrub every last trace of “Chateau Diter,” including its 18 bedrooms, two helipads, swimming pool, bell tower, Roman colonnade and orangery, from the landscape above Monaco. Subscription newsletter AirMail reports that France’s highest judicial court upheld a previous ruling in the appellate courts that the illegal château near the Provençal village of Grasse must be removed and the countryside restored to its original state. If the court orders are not complied with by June 2022, Diter will pay a fine of $600 per day. The court also slapped Diter with fines totaling $550,000.

Hundreds Arrested as Navalny Sentenced (Foreign Policy) A Moscow court handed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny a prison sentence of two years and eight months on Tuesday, as authorities hope to put an end to a saga that has seen thousands of Russians take to the streets in protest over the last two weeks. The court found that Navalny had broken the terms of his probation for a previous conviction for stealing $500,000 from two companies. Navalny denies the charges, and the European Court of Human Rights at the time called the case “arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable.” The reasoning behind his probation breach is murky, as Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have approved Navalny’s transfer to a German hospital for treatment after he was poisoned in August. Navalny’s relatively short prison term could soon be extended, as investigators prepare a fraud case that could carry another ten-year sentence. But Tuesday’s sentence may be just enough if it means Navalny will not be a threat in September’s parliamentary elections. The Kremlin has dismissed international condemnation of the verdict. “You should not interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. And we recommend that everyone deal with their own problems,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

India farming protests resonate with US agriculture (AP) Images of thousands of farmers streaming into India’s capital on tractors and carrying banners to decry potentially devastating changes in agricultural policy can seem a world away, but the protests in New Delhi raise issues that resonate in the United States. Indian farmers have left their homes to march through New Delhi in a desperate effort to force the repeal of laws they believe would end guaranteed pricing and force them to sell to powerful corporations rather than government-run markets. Despite decades of economic growth, up to half of India’s population relies on growing crops on small parcels of land, typically less than 3 acres, and farmers worry that without guaranteed prices they will be forced to sell their land and lose their livelihoods. The images of farmers marching through New Delhi recall similar scenes in Washington, D.C., during the farming crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when hundreds of trucks and tractors flooded the National Mall. Thousands of farmers lost their land, in part because of government policies that caused soaring interest rates as demand for their products plunged, leading to falling land values. In Iowa—one of the hardest hit states—there were about 500 farm auctions a month in 1983 when families had no choice but to sell. Decades later, those memories remain fresh for Rick Juchems, whose parents had to sell their 640-acre farm in Iowa. Just as feared by those protesting in India, the American farmers lost their livelihoods and sense of identity. “We were just trying to stay alive,” said Juchems, who later was able to continue farming thanks to his in-laws. “That’s what you work all your life for and then it’s gone.”

Myanmar’s Army Is Back in Charge. It Never Truly Left. (NYT) The men in army green never truly retreated. As Myanmar presented a facade of democracy to the world, the generals who had ruled the country for nearly half a century still dominated the economy and the halls of power. They even got away with what international prosecutors say was genocide in their murderous offensives against Rohingya Muslims. With its pre-dawn coup on Monday—unseating an elected government and putting its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, back under house arrest—the military, led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, was once again flaunting its ultimate authority. Yet in the process of reasserting their command, the generals have ripped apart a prized project: a carefully constructed political system decades in the making that allowed them to camouflage their fists behind a veneer of democracy. Though they allowed elections, army officers also reserved a quarter of the Parliament’s seats and crucial cabinet positions for themselves. The public, which felt like it could express its political aspirations by delivering landslide victories to Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, is furious. And the international community, which chose to focus more on the civilian part of the country’s civilian-military system, is now aware that one side of the scale clearly outweighs the other.

Iran reaches agreement with South Korea (Foreign Policy) Iran has agreed to release the crew of a South Korean oil tanker in what its foreign ministry called a “humanitarian” move after the vessel was impounded in early January. The vessel’s seizure was believed to be a bargaining chip to convince South Korea to free up $7 billion in Iranian funds currently frozen in South Korean banks as a result of U.S. sanctions. South Korea’s foreign ministry welcomed Iran’s decision to release the sailors, saying it was a necessary next step to “restore trust” before resolving the issue of the frozen funds. Regarding the funds, the ministry stated it “will do what it can in a speedy manner while discussing consultations with the United States on the issue.”

Tigray crisis: Ethiopia region at risk of huge ‘humanitarian disaster’ (BBC) Opposition parties in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have warned of a huge “humanitarian disaster” if aid is not delivered urgently. The parties said people were already dying from hunger and urged the international community to intervene. Ethiopia’s government says aid is being delivered and nearly 1.5 million people have been reached. The parties also said 52,000 people had been killed since the conflict started in November. They did not explain how they arrived at the estimate but said it included women, children and religious leaders. About two million people have been internally displaced in the conflict in Tigray. The government has heavily restricted access to the region for the media and aid agencies. On Monday, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said he had “rarely seen an aid response so impeded” in the 40 years he had worked in the humanitarian field. In a joint statement, three opposition parties—the Tigray Independence Party (TIP), Salsay Weyane Tigray, and National Congress of Great Tigray—said if food and medicine did not arrive quickly the “looming humanitarian disaster of biblical proportion” would become a “gruesome reality in Tigray”.

[dailynewswebsite]

Trump’s lies about the election show how disinformation erodes democracy

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters after collaborating in a video teleconference name with members of the army on Nov. 26, 2020, on the White Home in Washington. He reiterated his baseless claims throughout the information convention that the Nov. three election was 'rigged.' (AP Picture/Patrick Semansky)

Latest polls have discovered that 70 per cent of Republican supporters in the US imagine that President Donald Trump was defeated in an unfair or fraudulent election, echoing claims made by each international and home disinformation campaigns.

Quite a few authorized challenges by the Trump marketing campaign have been defeated in courts throughout the nation, and rumours about election fraud have been repeatedly debunked. That features by some journalists on Fox Information and Republican state officers, equivalent to Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state. Nevertheless it’s apparently not sufficient for elections to be free from fraud — they have to be perceived as such.

Even after Joe Biden takes workplace, tens of millions of Republican supporters will proceed to imagine the election was illegitimate. This isn’t only a downside for a clean transition to a Biden administration. Reasonably, it’s the most recent symptom of a dysfunctional public sphere.

Democratic societies want to incorporate residents in political processes, incorporate high-quality data into decision-making and guarantee a baseline of mutual respect. Whereas any explicit political dialogue could fall in need of these beliefs, the system as a complete should promote these three primary democratic features.

The risks of disinformation

In our current article for Political Analysis Quarterly, we present how disinformation campaigns assault these features. Particular person situations of dangerous communication will be efficiently challenged, however their quantity and persistence, and their concerted assaults on establishments and norms that allow productive political discourse, counsel extra severe and lasting harm.

Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for Trump, speaks throughout a information convention in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 19, 2020, alleging a sequence of outlandish acts of electoral fraud. (AP Picture/Jacquelyn Martin)

Disinformation is communication that deliberately promotes misunderstanding, by means of lies, misrepresentations, misleading sourcing or different ways. Disinformation campaigns are organized efforts that use disinformation to attain political or financial goals.

Russia has been seen as the first supply of disinformation campaigns within the 2016 election, and Russia and different international states proceed to focus on the U.S., however American partisan elites and residents are primarily accountable for disinformation within the 2020 election.

Whereas disinformation campaigns could also be initiated by a small variety of individuals, they’ve a lot better influence when their claims are amplified by high-profile influencers and atypical members of the general public.

Three dangerous types of disinformation

We establish three types of disinformation that may contribute to long-lasting harms.

The primary is corrosive falsehood, which isn’t garden-variety mendacity a lot as an try to undermine establishments that sometimes present high-quality data or appropriate false beliefs, equivalent to skilled information media and authorities data businesses. Russian propagandists, conservative commentators and Trump have persistently attacked the credibility {of professional} journalists, accused information organizations of spreading “pretend information” and created precise pretend information organizations to push partisan messages.

On this April 2018 photograph, an viewers member holds a ‘pretend information’ signal throughout a Trump rally in Michigan. (AP Picture/Paul Sancya)

Social media platforms did little to push again in opposition to false data surrounding the 2016 election. They’ve tried to take action this yr, and in consequence they’ve come underneath assault.

Learn extra: How tech corporations have tried to cease disinformation and voter intimidation – and are available up brief

The repeated harms of corrosive falsehoods can culminate in what we seek advice from as “epistemic cynicism,” which could lead residents to mistrust correct sources of data, frequently dismiss claims as the results of partisan commitments, or stop to imagine in any shared actuality.

The second hurt is ethical denigration. Disinformation campaigns frequently make false or deceptive claims to vilify people or misrepresent their beliefs. As an example, Trump and his allies have spent months selling conspiracy theories about Joe Biden underneath the #BidenCrimeFamily hashtag — or intentional misspellings of the hashtag, as soon as social media firms started to attempt to sluggish the unfold of falsehoods.

Trump has tossed out quite a lot of disinformation all through his presidency and notably within the post-election interval as he tries to baselessly counsel the election he misplaced was rigged. (AP Picture/Alex Brandon)

Extra broadly, main Democrats have been portrayed as supporters of shadowy globalist cabals, violent antifa factions or child-trafficking and pedophilia rings. Such claims provoke antipathy and disgust, and if believed they justify a complete disregard for something the accused people say.

On-line campaigns of some of these ethical denigration contribute to what we name “techno-affective polarization.” Whereas partisans have turn out to be more and more hostile to their political opponents for a while, social media seem to amplify these tensions.

Even if Biden obtained extra votes in key states like Arizona and Georgia, in addition to within the nationwide fashionable vote, so-called Cease the Steal campaigns emerged on social media and in varied right-wing media retailers.

Trump supporters maintain indicators as they attend a ‘Cease The Steal’ rally on the Oregon State Capitol on Nov. 14, 2020, in Salem, Ore. (AP Picture/Paula Bronstein)

These disinformation campaigns mirror the identical rhetoric because the baseless #BidenCrimeFamily hashtags, wrongly implying that political opponents are so undesirable that they might solely win by dishonest, which they’re prepared to do as a result of they’re corrupt.

Pretend accounts, pretend voters

The third hurt is unjustified inclusion, when individuals with out rights to take part in a democratic course of achieve this on the expense of legit individuals.

Most clearly, international disinformation campaigns obtain this by utilizing pretend accounts or bots claiming to be Americans. Home and international agitators have additionally used pretend accounts to fake to be members of explicit teams, equivalent to antifa or Black Lives Matter activists, to misrepresent their views and widen societal divisions.

Unjustified inclusion typically results in unjustified exclusion, equivalent to when the voices of actual residents are drowned out, or when actual people are labelled as pretend. This, too, is a typical technique of disinformation campaigns.

There have additionally been widespread, false accusations that anti-racism protesters or victims of gun violence are literally paid actors, or that tens of millions of faux persons are voting by mail. Over time, such allegations can produce a state of affairs of pervasive inauthenticity, when individuals imagine that pretend or unlawful participation of their democracy is widespread.

A Trump supporter sprays a substance as he’s surrounded by anti-Trump demonstrators at a Cease the Steal march on Nov. 14, 2020, in Washington. (AP Picture/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Picture/Jacquelyn Martin)

Whereas elections and the peaceable switch of energy are seen because the minimal circumstances for democracy, it’s changing into more and more clear {that a} wholesome, educated public sphere is definitely elementary to the correct functioning of elections.

If residents disbelieve the establishments that rely ballots and the organizations that precisely and credibly report on these outcomes, in the event that they see political opponents as unworthy of being heard, in the event that they dismiss the voices and votes of different residents as pretend or unlawful, then will probably be unattainable to agree on what a legit election appears like.

With out having the ability to speak to one another, who will get essentially the most votes could not matter.

Chris Tenove receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Analysis Council.

Spencer McKay receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Analysis Council of Canada.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/trumps-lies-about-the-election-show-how-disinformation-erodes-democracy/ via https://growthnews.in

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by Wild Bill on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: This post might be better titled “ramblings from a mind turned to mush by our “information highway”. I had the luck to be on ARPANet before it was opened to the public in the great “explosion” of information (the “dis” being optional but applicable in the too many cases.) As people, and especially as Preppers we make decisions based on the facts we are presented and our interpretation of their accuracy, so this hits us at home every minute of every day.

I still tell a story I heard from a Civics Teacher in High School that goes like this – There was a horse race between a Russian horse and an American horse. The American horse won and the newspaper headline the following day at the New York Post read “American Horse WINS!” Pravda’s headline that same day read “Russian Horse Places Second, American Horse Finishes Next to Last!”  – both are factual, both tell the truth. (The story was told to me with the American newspaper being the New York Times but I just could not bring myself to type that. It was awhile ago, when reporting the news was their agenda and the means by which they promoted their circulation.)

I am sure you have also all read or been told the theorem that if you put enough monkeys at enough keyboards eventually they will turn out the….Bible, or The Works of Shakespeare, or some other great historical accomplishment. I contend that the “internet, information highway” has disproved that theory.

My notes on what to point out, just the notes, are about to exceed 2,000 words so I will just put a couple in here and save the others for another day.

My Top Two: The Media and History

The Media, the Fourth Estate.

“It used to be that the media was called “the Fourth Estate” to accentuate the freedom of the press, not to be confused with the term “fourth branch” which proposes that they are not free from the government. The press is called the fourth estate in the United States usually because they observe the political process.” No longer, they are the political process, I believe they own the DNC as opposed to the other way around, but that may be the mush I alluded to earlier.

I know I am speaking to a lot of like minded people on this matter and won’t bore you reaffirming things we all know about the quality, or rather, the utter lack of journalistic integrity in America from the Fourth Estate. What you may or may not know is that it singularly poisons the world. I make no secret that I have traveled the world, been to every US state but one (Iowa), have been to 6 continents (I can see penguins in zoos), dipped my toes in the five major Oceans (though they are really just one), been to 7 Muslim ruled countries and on and on AND their news sources about America, and Americans, are AP (Associated Press) and all the alphabets – CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC and on and on as well a Reuters and all the others services.

Fox News and Breitbart and Drudge might as well not exist as they don’t really outside of North America and that isn’t 100% bad, I will expand on that in a little while. And yes, I know about Fox News Europe, and Breitbart Europe, but their market penetration in those markets is very low.

The media is a business and it sells content, period. It is just another channel on the TV or the internet trying to garner viewers to get improved Google Analytics to be used to sell advertising. Anyone who thinks that the Fourth Estate in America is doing it for any other reason is a candidate for, well, you fill in that sentence. Their are journalists with integrity, and a passion for what they do, I am sure, but if you want to succeed, you are an employee of the corporation and instructions come from the top like everywhere else. And there are shows hosted by people who care here and there, but it is still all show business and all about capturing advertising dollars. Am I cynical? Most likely but only from years of the droning, mock debates and the news outlets spinning news stories out of every current and over-the-hill celebrity’s tweets. Since I don’t spend a lot of time on the alphabets I will use Fox News and Breitbart as examples for this.

Any celebrity of any status in any industry is given the stage by them, their national pulpit as long as they can be quoted saying something that will infuriate their base, as determined by the Google Analytics they track and use as a determining factor in the generation of their SEO – Search Engine Optimization:

noun

COMPUTING

the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine.

“the key to getting more traffic lies in integrating content with search engine optimization and social media marketing”

This is taught at the college level, degrees in SEO are available from major universities across the country. In fairness I have taken college level courses in it to bolster my market penetration to reach more people. It is a normal business practice of all media outlets to have producers write incendiary comments on their posts on social media just to increase the number or responses they get as this too is a Google Analytics measure of success. When you see a post about say a successful NASA launch you can bet the comments on the post that go right to politics and attacks on politicians and have no relation to the subject matter are that producer looking to increase the number of replies to show that their content brought value to the business. It IS that crazy. It is spin in my opinion.

  Fox News just today put out posts from members of the ensemble casts of the TV shows Grey’s Anatomy and The Big Bang Theory as “news” because they sent out tweets against the NRA and against Conservative reporters in this weekends trending analysis. THIS is what is being spun as “news” and promoted as a “fair and balanced” alternative to the lock-step mindset of the mainstream’s slighted view. Just how does one fathom this as news in the first place, and, as an American, how does one defend this as the historians of our age, because that is how our history will be recorded. And to that point, I’ll go a little deeper.

When I was an avid skier I subscribed to the big industry magazines – Skiing, Downhill, Ski and on and on and like all sports they put out their “annual review of what’s new” for the coming season. For skiing this was an August release. None of the products reviewed were ever given any criticism as the advertising for that issue of the magazine and other issues as well, was from these same manufactures. The beginnings of my skepticism (Yes, I can be a slow learner.)

I could go on and on about this as I am sure we all could. My hope is that we never take things at face value, that we do our own due diligence, that we question even when we see something that “exactly” expresses what we were thinking. The enemy of my enemy is NOT necessarily my friend. Be open, but never accepting without your own due diligence.

History: What is No Longer Taught

I asked the question of a learned friend last week “Just how does one learn from the past when they are never taught the past?” The measure of an education after all is that you acquire some idea of the extent of your ignorance. By this measure our education system is excellent.

The teaching of History at every level of the American Education System now leaves a lot to be desired. I apologize to that singular history teacher that is out there a voice in the wilderness, they do exist and we should exalt those that do and try. When my two children were in high school “history” was the assistant football coach showing PBS reenactment movies of historical events and people. I almost got arrested for my reaction to this, more correctly my reaction to the stonewalling and apathy I got when I tried to change this. I lobbied in vain through the PTA and directly to the district. At the time I was a single father with two kids in high school and did not have the financial means to put them in private school, but had the sense to know when they were being severely limited in their ability to compete for college with peers who were receiving a well rounded education. In hind sight at least there weren’t taught from the viewpoint that our founding fathers were rich white elitist slave-owning murderers, that came after.

Today I come across people almost daily who look at me like “who?” when I mention some historical figure and then they go right to their smart phones and Google the information, getting those same impeachable media sources I ranted about above. My laptop has the words “Who is John Galt?” on it’s top and whenever I bring it to a meeting I can see the strangers in the room googling John Galt.

I was a scientist, I have the periodic table app on my iPad called “The Elements” which was done by Theodore Gray. The graphics are amazing. Click on “U Uranium 92” and arrow to the description and here is the first sentence “It is impossible to discuss uranium without acknowledging that the first atomic weapon used in anger was a uranium fission bomb, built in secret lab deep in the deserts of New Mexico and detonated over the unsuspecting city of Hiroshima on the Honshu island of Japan.”  While it certainly is possible to discuss this element, in the same context as all the others are discussed as opposed to the author’s revisionist view of historical events, it is of interest that there are blatant errors in this first sentence alone – there was a warning, it was ignored by the Imperial Japanese Command, just when was the first atomic weapon NOT used in anger used, Los Alamos is on a mountain top in north west New Mexico, I have property near there. BTW it has one of the most interesting interactive museums you will ever visit in the town itself. I have skied Pajarito Ski Area while visiting, it is managed by the labs, both my late wife and I did business with the labs which are still owned by the University of California. And following the first sentence you get 7 more paragraphs so laced with opinion and incorrect “facts” that no one could really learn much from this other than mankind is evil. This is just one obscure writing in a iPad app that probably isn’t on a lot of devices. But it is published as the truth. I almost suspect I will find Bitcoin mentioned in the description on Au Gold 79.

We have all seen example of how revisionist history is being taught, I can only imagine what it must be like to have kids in school today and seeing what they are taught, what homework assignments they are bringing home. Weekly we can read about yet another classic piece of literature “being dropped because it is offensive or non-inclusive.” Again, I don’t want this to be an indictment of teachers as there are great ones out there.

In my opinion the REAL power in America is wielded by educators. Period. They create and control everything your child sees, hears and reads in school and are only aided by the Fourth Estate which controls everything else they see, hear or read. Parents have been reduced to the lone voice in the wilderness. Once they enter the education system the education system gets the majority of their waking hours. In order to compete they must conform. If they question they may be subjected to ridicule, or worse. Most major school districts have an almost 1:1 ratio of administrator to classroom teacher.

My point is again, “Just how does one learn from the past when they are never taught the past?”

Sometime my rants run away with me….I look forward to your comments.

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[denisehil0]

Coronavirus slams Poland’s already-troubled coal industry

WARSAW, Poland — The coronavirus has ripped through Poland’s coal mines, where men descend deep underground in tightly packed elevators and work shoulder-to-shoulder to extract the source of 75% of the nation’s electrical power.

Of Poland’s more than 36,000 reported COVID-19 cases, about 6,500 are miners — making them nearly a fifth of all confirmed infections in the country, even though they make up only 80,000 of the country’s population of 38 million.

The virus hot spots, centred in the southern Silesia region, have paralyzed an already-troubled industry, forcing many to stay home from work and triggering a three-week closure of many state-run mines that are only now reopening.

It is one more blow that the pandemic has dealt to the global coal sector, already in steep decline in much of the world as renewable and other energy sources get cheaper and societies increasingly reject its damaging environmental impact.

Economic shutdowns from the virus also have cut electricity demand. Britain completely removed coal-fired power from its grid for 67 days starting April 9 — a record set since the Industrial Revolution as the National Grid works toward a zero-carbon system by 2025.

“Coal is in a long-term decline,” said Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics. “It’s simply cheaper to use gas or renewables, and the economics of coal just no longer make sense in many parts of the world.”

“The question is whether the recent sharp reduction in coal use is sustainable and will last beyond the impacts of the pandemic,” Ward said.

U.S. coal companies, already in financial trouble, are more likely to default because of the pandemic, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Italian utility ENEL says it will be able to close coal-fired power stations that it operates across the world sooner than anticipated due to the virus.

But China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, actually has been accelerating plans for new coal power plant capacity as it tries to revive its virus-hit economy.

Poland, under pressure from the 27-member European Union to lower carbon emissions, is seeing the pandemic complicate its coal troubles.

Poland is the only EU state refusing to pledge carbon neutrality by 2050. Governments in Warsaw have argued for years that as an ex-communist country still trying to catch up with the West, it cannot give up the cheap and plentiful domestic energy source. It also says its reliance on coal plays is important for weaning itself from Russian gas.

In reality, Poland’s coal production is becoming less efficient, and it has increasingly been importing cheaper coal from Mozambique, Colombia, Australia and even Russia. As it does so, Poland’s own coal piles up unused, and some mines have been closed.

“Look what’s happening with coal, how many millions of tons are being imported from outside Poland, and it was supposed to be completely different,” Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said at a campaign rally in Silesia. He faces conservative President Andrzej Duda in a presidential runoff election Sunday.

Piotr Lewandowski, president of the Institute for Structural Research in Warsaw, says Poland’s coal sector is being pushed to a “tipping point” by several factors: falling demand for coal because of warmer winters; wind and other renewables becoming cheaper; rising costs of carbon emissions; and a society less willing to tolerate high levels of air pollution.

“As coal mines struggle, their stock of unsold coal is the highest it has been in five years,” Lewandowski said. “The mines are between a rock and a hard place. They need to manage the outbreak while they are in financial tatters.”

In an open letter Friday to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, some 40 environmentalists, scientists and other groups urged him to urgently prepare a plan for phasing out coal use in order to receive EU funds for making a transition to a greener society. They said the pandemic has sped up “the economic, ecological and social problems” associated with coal.

Miners, however, worry the government could use the outbreak as a pretext to permanently shut inefficient mines. Conservative leaders have tried to calm those fears, aware of the political costs of job cuts to the industry.

When communism fell in Poland, it still had about 390,000 coal miners. Layoffs created high unemployment and poverty in Silesia, and miners staged violent protests in Warsaw.

Jacek Sasin, the deputy prime minister in charge of mining, insists there is no reason for miners to fear for their long-term prospects.

“All those who tried to argue that reduction was some sly plan to liquidate mines talked nonsense,” he said.

Certainly nobody expects any big decisions about coal before Sunday’s election between Duda, the incumbent, and Trzaskowski.

Coal miners already are frustrated by stagnant wages and a feeling the government is less committed to supporting them, said Patryk Kosela, a spokesman for a miners’ trade union, Sierpien 80.

Adding to their concerns have been long waits for coronavirus test results and a state mining institute report issued at the start of the pandemic that said miners were not at risk.

“It was wishful thinking,” Kosela said. “In mining, you work in tight groups. You go down in a packed small lift, people are crowded. Then you travel on an underground train, together, rubbing shoulders.”

Polish miners normally wear only goggles and helmets with lamps, but one of the biggest companies said it supplied masks and disinfectant, and implemented other hygiene measures at the start of the outbreak. It was unclear how many workers actually wore the masks.

The virus spread very fast, Kosela said. The good news is that very few have faced serious complications, and many have recovered.

“Some are surprised that they are infected because they feel fine,” he said.

Adam Henkelman, a 44-year-old miner who recovered from the virus, blames the government for the high infection rates and the other troubles in the sector.

“They had lost interest in us,” said Henkelman, who works in the Murcki-Staszic coal mine in Katowice. “We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

___

Associated Press writer Monika Scislowska contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

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