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Sure B4, I watched most of the Congressional hearings that had the ceo's of big social media lambasted for not doing enough and sooner
The catch phrase was legislation that would "open the courtroom doors" TO THEM.
So, Canada has now tabled something a bit similar and also starts with protecting children like the article says:
The proposed Online Harms Act requires social media platforms to remove posts - such as those which sexualise children - within 24 hours.
It lists seven categories of harmful content that providers would be required to remove from their websites. Banned content includes posts made to bully a child or those encouraging self-harm.
He said that the bill would ban deep-fakes, such as images that recently went viral showing Taylor Swift's head on a naked woman's body.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government also plans to amend the criminal code to increase hate crime penalties, including by introducing a new offense punishable by up to life imprisonment for those found guilty of inciting genocide.
Just catching up: Other countries, including the UK, Australia and France, have recently introduced new laws intended to stem online hate content.
There are all kind of laws already in place when these human rights are violated and gov'ts are only now catching up with the interwebz. My vote - yay.
Moment medical students find out school will be tuition-free
Students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine erupted in cheers and tears on Monday as Dr Ruth Gottesman, a former professor, announced the school would be tuition-free because of her $1bn donation.
The college is in the Bronx, New York City's poorest borough. Tuition at the school is nearly $59,000 (£46,500) each year and Dr Gottesman's gift is the largest donation ever given to a medicine school in the US.
Read more: College to offer free medical degrees after $1bn gift
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68374453
Thanks B4, those are good points and I did read the Atlantic article - this is complicated.
Another, equally perplexing struggle in these times reveals odd things like
Phil Mickelson is a Palestinian liability for the Saudi's:
Good one. A lot of issues could use that definition.
Fluffy stuff should get vacuumed up before it has time to dust bunny.
B4, Jan 6 was an exceptional president/precedent setting event - how do you describe it in your own words?.
Zor, this is not the place to be pumpin' or shortin' ur tickers..
"You gotta fight. For your rights. In Fiiiiinance!"..
47% Think Democrats May Replace Biden as Candidate
Coni, my logical mind always goes for solutions to seemingly intractable problems cuz I was both gifted and cursed with that perspective.
Any version of this will be fine: Keep Biden in there with an acceptable replacement close at hand. YW.
What an excellent and poignant essay B4 - good find. I'll post whole article as it's not that long and worth a read. Thanks again..
Consumer Behavior
The Dangerous Psychology of Convenience
Our modern focus on creature comforts is shortsighted and puts us at risk.
Posted August 21, 2023 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer
Modern life has revolved around one central motif perhaps more than any other: the culture of convenience. Since the Industrial Revolution, society has focused exponentially on the power of productivity, using technology to make everything bigger, better, faster, stronger, and easier in order to enhance our quality of life. Yet, despite these continuing advances, it isn’t always clear that civilization has become healthier and happier. There are always unintended or ignored consequences of exchanging one form of labor for another, and there are worrisome underlying intentions and motivations for short-term conveniences.
This decade has tragically made us aware that our unfettered push for convenience is reaching a breaking point. The pandemic likely emerged from this overheated brew of commerce, globalization, and overpopulation…and spread rapidly because of it. Climate change is setting off unprecedented warning signs left and right: a hurricane hitting Southern California, possibly 1000 people incinerated by a sudden wildfire in Maui, toxic Canadian wildfire plumes polluting the air across the United States…and this is just in our country. Rates of cancer are rising in younger people, with new potential sources identified daily, as longer-term data rolls in for everything from artificial sweeteners to PFAS chemicals in our public water.
In turn, our economy and thirst for innovation tries to outpace these existential dangers with even more technology: We rapidly created novel COVID-19 vaccines; we advocate for electric cars and sustainable energy; we analyze genetic codes to target and produce new therapies yearly for various diseases. But it still feels like a game of whack-a-mole or a ringed serpent ultimately biting its own tail, and various distracting forces make it all feel like too little, too late.
With the rise of oligarchic capitalism, the programs and governments that are meant to look out for the public interest seem increasingly influenced by conflicts of interest and ways to maximize profiteering, short-term gains, and wealth instead of looking toward the greater good and the future. There is a tense balance between these perspectives in our regulations and our politics that seems eroded more and more by power and greed. These human behaviors are nothing new; since time immemorial, society has been prone to hierarchies and resulting conflicts and wars. Unfortunately, now married to technology, these psychological tendencies affect the very fiber of our planetary balance on a larger and potentially irreversible scale.
Yet, these conflicts of interest largely go under the radar and unopposed. At times, they're even valorized by the masses who are being thrown under the bus. One possible reason is that, despite growing economic disparity, technology has also successfully democratized certain aspects of comfortable living that keep most people lulled into complacency: Our thirst for convenience has been successfully targeted and nourished. Many people in America, even with minimal income, have access to cell phones, internet-driven social media, video games, and flat-screen televisions that keep people entertained. And, they can purchase easy thrills like movies, quick and tasty food, groceries, rides via apps, and more. Revolutions and protests only seem to happen when something truly rends at the fabric of our safety and well-being…and, aside from brief flareups related to social media or news-driven movements, we have largely stayed off the streets despite the growing warning signs that there are major civil upheavals headed our way.
On some level, we are still assuaged and satisfied by our easy-access, instant-gratification culture. We just assume that the growing dangers won’t affect us directly, even as that bubble of comfort increasingly erodes. We assume the bullets from a mass shooting won’t hit us, that a mass-disabling virus won’t give us long COVID-19, that repeated exposures to toxic chemicals won’t give us cancer, that hurricanes or heat waves won’t destroy our homes and families because we are still in our safe little nest surrounded by our gadgets. We will be okay, because right here, right now, we still feel okay.
But we are not okay. Aside from these larger-scale dangers, older forms of community-building and socialization seem to be breaking down, and individual unhappiness and pressures to keep up with rising costs of living and productivity demands seem potentially linked to all-time escalating suicide rates. Our continued focus on this anesthetized here-and-now indulgence belies a deep-seated emptiness and despair. The Surgeon General has even noted there is an epidemic of loneliness currently. So much of what we do now focuses on quick material or superficial rushes, and not on how we can truly help and comfort others on a more connected level. But it is now so difficult to incentivize this type of meaningful work for people: Who truly has the time or money to just volunteer for others when we have to keep up with the demands of the rat race of our world?
There are no easy answers, but we can try to start with some simple basics. We can advocate for values and known social support mechanisms that help all people: access to health care, education, social equity and justice, compassion, support for those who need assistance or are less fortunate, clean air and water, and more. We need to figure out how to move beyond the manipulative divisiveness of social media messaging and commit to causes that we know are humanistic and help all of us as a society. The psychology of convenience has lulled us into complacency, but we are now asleep at the wheel, heading for a cliff. We need to wake up and save ourselves.
Sticking with the best facts as we know them helps to handle cognitive conflict.
Fact is the creator of that vid should feel the cognitive conflict like Salman Rushdie
I know. Nothing is sacred. Just lodging my complaint - I can't get no satisfaction..
I find something inherently wrong with this association/mashup.
Very good summation B4. You do think about these things. I'm hopeful there will be a turn around or push back because that is the usual way - pendulum swings.
Wish the target of grievance was more clear so peeps could unite, but it isn't. It's an amorphic mess.
Humans suck at collective organization.
Rap on, brother, rap on..
Leader Dementia spreading younger and younger, where will it end?..
Trudeau states
— sonofabench (@therealmrbench) February 26, 2024
"Russia must win this war."
Then says
"Ukraine must win this war."
Why the confusion?pic.twitter.com/V2Q9JCFkgt
You could very well be treading new ground that will require everyone else some time to catch up.
I may have to include myself for that one.
Look forward to it ;).
Lol, hi B4. Do you happen to have a link that exemplifies that those "Dems don't even try"?.
Of course, you don't need one. Why defer to some acclaimed and accredited expert with a Nobel Prize when
You could very well be treading new ground that will require everyone else some time to catch up.
If so, look forward to it - cuz it wouldn't be the first time! ;).
Of course 12, if there is an interest in not addressing the root but rootin' for the home team your inquiry may be moot. ;).
User
same question rephrased in different ways: Why is Trump a thing?.. a movement?. What is not being addressed that creates such an outcry of dissatisfaction?. Are Democratic politicians really oblivious to this fairly large constituency?.. thanks..
ChatGPT
The phenomenon surrounding Trump's rise to prominence and the enduring support for him can be attributed to various factors. Here are several ways to rephrase your question:
What factors contribute to Trump's significance and the movement he represents?
What underlying issues fuel the widespread dissatisfaction that Trump's supporters express?
Are Democratic politicians failing to acknowledge and address the concerns of this significant segment of the population?
The appeal of Trump and the movement he leads can stem from a variety of sources, including economic anxiety, cultural grievances, dissatisfaction with the political establishment, and a desire for change. It's essential to examine these factors to understand the depth of support for Trump and the issues that resonate with his base.
Regarding Democratic politicians, there may be debates about whether they adequately understand and address the concerns of Trump supporters. Some argue that there's a disconnect between certain Democratic policies and the priorities of these voters, while others suggest that efforts to engage with these communities are ongoing but face significant challenges. Understanding and bridging this gap is crucial for effective governance and fostering unity within the broader society.
I got a bit caught up in the Donnie Dementia trending on Twitter and it was good ;).
I keep an eye out for this stuff. Good to see a gov't and gov't body stand to say we are not your whippin' boy.
He may just have been mistaken - in not keeping up with latest data or alike. So, wouldn't be too harsh ;).
In 2024, the Russians will receive surprises and I do not recommend the civilian population to use the Crimean Bridge," Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Central Statistical Office, said in a statement. #SlavaUkraini pic.twitter.com/t3vrgIGen3
— TOGA △ (@TOGAjano21) February 25, 2024
Nope, link back - Biden doesn't have dementia.
Lol, trending on twitter is Donnie Dementia..
He added: “We have languages coming into our country … they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a horrible thing.”
But Trump broke from the teleprompter into a series of bizarre riffs. One was a convoluted story about flying into Iraq in darkness: “I sat with the pilots ... the best-looking human beings I’ve ever seen. Not my thing ... But they are handsome. Central casting. Better looking than Tom Cruise. And taller.”
Once again he had the faithful eating out of the palm of his hand – a scene that may set off alarm bells for defenders of democracy. “By the way, isn’t this better than reading off a fricking teleprompter?” he asked. The crowd cheered.
“Nobody can ramble like this,” he said, adding: “They’ll say: ‘He rambled, he’s cognitively impaired.’ Well, it’s really the opposite. It’s total genius – you know that.” The crowd cheered some more.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/24/donald-trump-cpac-speech
Chase that crazy baldhead outta town..
Caroline Kennedy is to swap her chauffeured BMW for the driver’s seat of beat-up Ford Falcon, driving from Adelaide to Perth in April in a car worth less than $1,500 to raise money for cancer research.
Shitbox Rally was founded in 2010 by James Freeman who lost both his parents to cancer within a year. It has since raised more than $40m for research across Australia, with each rally crew acting as fundraisers for the Cancer Council.
Caroline Kennedy, the United States ambassador to Australia, meets with John Koloni and Nelma Ane at a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the battle of Guadalcanal.
Caroline Kennedy meets children of Solomon Islanders who saved JFK’s life
Read more
Kennedy’s Falcon, dubbed Moonshot, has been named in honour of US president Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, which aims to eradicate the disease, and as a homage to her father’s ambition to reach the moon in the 1960s.
“We do these things because they’re hard,” said Kennedy, channelling words spoken in 1962 by her father, former US president John F Kennedy, as he explained why the US wanted to land a man on the moon.
“I’ve met so many inspiring scientists here in Australia, who are working to cure cancer and have a lot going on with colleagues in the United States ... [and] having met the people I’ve met, I could not be more hopeful.”
On Sunday morning, the ambassador and her team sizzled hundreds of sausages and kilos of onions outside a hardware store to raise money for the Cancer Council.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/25/us-ambassador-caroline-kennedy-prepares-for-shitbox-rally-across-outback-australia
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/g30186235/caroline-kennedy-pictures/
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Tomorrow, SC starts deliberations on butt hurt repug anti censorship lol - u read that right. Social media corps must print their bullshit and must not influence the political public dialogue ... u know like Citizens United lol:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/02/supreme-court-order-facebook-x-election-lies.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us
Fuagf, enjoyed this movie last night - Sapphires. Has a few elements that overlap with you. Cheers..
Rooster, don't think that qualifier for what type of bitch is appropriate
This is an appropriate use of the term:
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine has a right to use its Western-supplied weapons to defend itself against Russia, even if that includes striking targets within Russia's borders.
"This is Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, which is a blatant violation of international law," Stoltenberg told Radio Liberty during an interview on Tuesday.
"And according to international law, Ukraine has the right to self-defense. And it also includes strikes against legitimate military targets, Russian military targets outside of Ukraine. That's international law, and of course, Ukraine has the right to do that to defend itself."
https://www.newsweek.com/nato-gives-ukraine-go-ahead-cross-putins-red-line-1872629
I think better examples would be North and South Korea or the USA where the same "people" split themselves (into civil wars).
Non sectarian for the most part until the larger party made a power play.
No, Ukrainians are not Russians but like many countries made it work
Until it didn't like Czechoslovakia..
Yugoslavia wouldn't be an example - too ethnically diverse.
Almost 2 million Ukies still living in Russia in 2023
Putin just needs a bullet and life can get back to some semblance of sanity.
Yup, one is a behavior and one is atheism. Made me curious if there are any atheist countries:
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=are+there+any+majority+atheist+countries
A protracted stalemate might be the only solution for Russia to avoid total economic collapse.
The Russian regime has no incentive to end the war and deal with that kind of economic reality. So it cannot afford to win the war, nor can it afford to lose it. Its economy is now entirely geared towards continuing a long and ever deadlier conflict.
It's clear the battlefield is not the only place to look at in forming an opinion as to who - between the West and Putin - is winning or losing the war.
In the big picture -- Putin is losing. Ukraine is losing. The West is winning.
Think I'll remain unaligned and remain with my token comment.
But will continue to maintain a five to one advantage (weapons and fodder)
For sure Fuagf, both things are true at the same time but particularly where one wants to put the emphasis.
My emphasis, I used "token" out of sadness. Sad, how long it is taking to contain Putin and protect the Ukrainian people.
Hundreds of thousand are dead and the next months look like more of the same.
There can be no "lethal blow" to Russia as well. Has to be a long drawn out and incremental war of attrition - ie; terrible outlook.
Do you think if Ukraine/Da West wiped out the whole fleet of those new fancy long range (and nuclear capable) planes one of which Putin
Was riding around in yesterday - that Kiev wouldn't be flattened like Hiroshima?.
Incrementalism fuck.
The original context and where we got the "godless" key word:
What ISN'T equivocating is to state that Johnson is a wannabe theocrat who routinely blurs the line between church and state by always choosing church over state. The GOP Taliban has it's leader in the House. Someone should ask him why he hamstrings Ukraine in it's fight against godless communism.
Then, I would say the context becomes clearer with your
There's no clearer example of a cynically, insincerely, professed faith that cannot walk its talk than Putin's mendacity and international lawlessness as manifested in his invasion of Ukraine, and Crimea before that.
If you mean't Putin when you said godless communism than I concede your point.
If you mean't the Russian State and as I read it [communism.. is an ism usually reserved for conceptual frameworks; ageism, socialism, etc, but sure, can absolutely be attributed to an individual practising such.] then with a minority of about 18% atheists Russian State is quite "god" fearing. Shouldn't probably say it that way either - those peeps may just think of god as a nice cozy comforter like their house insurance. [.. you did go from the conceptual frameworks of "church and state" right to the individual Johnson so I suppose can be either ;]
Thanks, another excellent compilation, good reads and appreciate your "two reasons" may be sufficient but
Yeah, knowing Donnie and the "cartel" of stop at nothing desperate Repug insurgency nutters I'm definitely thinking Iran/Contra.
[Did Donnie "Ollie North" Trump just get cut off from drug cartel slush funds?]
..until and if ever there is any supportive evidence for it
Exactly the type of research I was thinking of and would like to see here by resident super sleuths.
I guess we all script ourselves and Putin is a master calculator for that (read whole article) and
Agree, about the social control which I believe is also fairly universal but no
Russia is no longer the "godless" variety of communism and likely not a communist country by definition or at least a good one:
.. were characterized by one-party rule by a communist party, the rejection of private property and capitalism, state control of economic activity and mass media, restrictions on freedom of religion, and suppression of opposition and dissent.
In early meetings with then US President George Bush, Putin certainly made much of his personal faith, showing off the small aluminium cross that he wore round his neck and making much of his Christian commitment. Bush was by all accounts certainly impressed – relating the account of the meeting in his book Decision Points.[xiv] Bush, of course, was famous for his own evangelical faith and it is entirely possible that Putin emphasised this precisely to win a friend in the US president. However, the story of this little baptismal cross is one which Putin has highlighted on several occasions and figures prominently in a passage from the biography written by Hutchins and Korobko.[xv]
The story goes that this baptismal cross was given to Putin by his Christian mother when she had him secretly baptised in the early 1950s and it has apparently been an object of great sentimental value to him ever since. Putin did not wear it while he was an active KGB officer, but he reports that “in 1993 when I worked on the Leningrad City Council, I went to Israel as part of an official delegation. Mama gave me my baptismal cross to get it blessed at the Lord’s Tomb. I did as she said and then put the cross around my neck. I have never taken it off since.”[xvi]
The story takes on a mythical element to it, however, in an account of a fire at the Putin family dacha.[xvii] According to the story, the property burned down in the mid–90s, destroying many of the family’s key possessions including a good portion of their money. However, the cross survived the fire and was presented back to Putin by one of the firemen. If the account seems extraordinary it is nonetheless one which has been repeated often. It bears, in fact, a close resemblance to an ancient Russian religious myth in which an icon of St Nicholas was said to be impervious to flame.[xviii] Whether or not that connotation is deliberate and the tale of Putin’s cross is a mythical construct, it is striking that this story is one that forms part of the official narrative on Putin’s faith. Putin certainly wishes to portray a strong personal faith that is exemplified in these stories.
There is some reason to believe that this goes beyond cynical self–image. For many years Putin has certainly had a close relationship with Archimandrite Tikhon, the Father Superior of Sretensky monastery. So close, in fact, is this relationship that there are those who would paint Tikhon as an éminence grise. Certainly Tikhon, a former film student, with a reputation as a spiritual healer seems to have served for some years as confessor to Putin. One biographer speculates that Tikhon probably knows more about Putin’s life than anyone else.[xix] He is also a priest with some rather remarkable political views......
https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2022/02/16/essay-on-vladimir-putin
Ukraine has some more asset targets
https://twitter.com/search?q=Tu-160M&src=trend_click&vertical=trends
President Putin's flight on a Tu-160M strategic missile carrier. The head of state was in the air for 30 minutes. Pre-flight preparations took another 45 minutes. https://t.co/4u50hBXDJD pic.twitter.com/ea26eZW22x
— ⏳Towhee 🌏☮️ (@amborin) February 22, 2024
Someone should ask him why he hamstrings Ukraine in it's fight against godless communism
Not Really Hawks, they are quite into it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Russia
Yes, that's the history. To be fair the US alone has spent 75B. Germany next highest.
Unfortunately, looks like Russia will keep the territory taken and for some time.
You are likely correct - business as usual going forward. Token sanctions and cont'd profits.
Good one!, literally screwballs "travellin' through the cosmos" - at least that's a baseline.