1161: Replacists

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 13:13

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc advertising cost worldwide in the fiscal years 2014 to 2019 (in billion U.S. dollars)

In its fiscal year ending in January 2019, Walmart invested more than three billion U.S. dollars in advertising, the highest for the retail company in five years. This was an increase of 400 million dollars compared to what the company spent in the previous year. Walmart was the leading global retailer in 2018, with sales reaching 526 billion U.S. dollars, outranking 40 other companies in the industry. Walmart's sales and brand growthWalmart includes discount stores, supercenters, neighborhood markets and Sam's Club warehouse membership clubs in the United States. The multinational company with operations in retail, wholesale, and online products, saw its global sales increase by almost 14.5 percent between 2017 and 2018. A possible reason for this, cited in the company's annual report, could be the customer-focused initiatives introduced that year, including digital payments and mobile express checkout in their U.S. locations.

Walmart's brand value stood at 34 million U.S. dollars in 2018. The retail conglomerate was behind major companies like Amazon and Home Depot, but still amongst the top five leading valuable retail brands worldwide. Show more Wal-Mart Stores, Inc advertising cost worldwide in the fiscal years 2014 to 2019 (in billion U.S. dollars)Advertising costs in billion U.S. dollars20193.520183.120172.920162.520152.420142.4Advertising costs in billion U.S. dollars20193.520183.120172.920162.520152.420142.4 About this statistic

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In its fiscal year ending in January 2019, Walmart invested more than three billion U.S. dollars in advertising, the highest for the retail company in five years. This was an increase of 400 million dollars compared to what the company spent in the previous year. Walmart was the leading global retailer in 2018, with sales reaching 526 billion U.S. dollars, outranking 40 other companies in the industry. Walmart's sales and brand growthWalmart includes discount stores, supercenters, neighborhood markets and Sam's Club warehouse membership clubs in the United States. The multinational company with operations in retail, wholesale, and online products, saw its global sales increase by almost 14.5 percent between 2017 and 2018. A possible reason for this, cited in the company's annual report, could be the customer-focused initiatives introduced that year, including digital payments and mobile express checkout in their U.S. locations.

Walmart's brand value stood at 34 million U.S. dollars in 2018. The retail conglomerate was behind major companies like Amazon and Home Depot, but still amongst the top five leading valuable retail brands worldwide. Show more Show sources information As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic.

Show publisher information Release date March 2019 Region Worldwide Survey time period February 1, 2013 to January 31, 2019 Supplementary notes Walmart's fiscal year runs from February 1 to January 31 of the following year.Figures have been rounded. Source Show sources information As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic.

Show publisher information Release date March 2019 More informationRegion Worldwide Survey time period February 1, 2013 to January 31, 2019 Supplementary notes Walmart's fiscal year runs from February 1 to January 31 of the following year.Figures have been rounded.Other statistics on the topicStatista Accounts: Access All Statistics. Starting from $588 / Year

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Thu, 01 Aug 2019 19:41

An FBI document, first reported by Yahoo News, identifies conspiracy theories as potential domestic terrorism threats, specifically identifying QAnon, a group that believes there is a "deep state" working against President Trump Donald John TrumpComedy Central shoots down Trump Jr. after he joked network should host Democratic debates Booker: If Obama was running for a third term, 'I wouldn't be running' De Blasio releases plan to substantially raise taxes on the rich, corporations MORE , in the memo.

The FBI specifically points to QAnon and Pizzagate, a conspiracy theory that claims Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonComedy Central shoots down Trump Jr. after he joked network should host Democratic debates Michael Moore urges Michelle Obama to run against Trump Trump echoes Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign slogan in post-debate tweets MORE and other top Democratic figures are running a child sex-trafficking ring beneath a pizza shop in Washington, D.C., as examples of groups whose messages could lead to ''violent acts.''

''The FBI assesses these conspiracy theories very likely will emerge, spread, and evolve in the modern information marketplace, occasionally driving both groups and individual extremists to carry out criminal or violent acts,'' the document, dated May 30, reads.

Acts of violence or attempts thereof have already been tied to both of the conspiracy theories.

In December 2016, a man fired a gun in the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in D.C., claiming he was there to ''self-investigate'' the Pizzagate conspiracy, and an attorney for the man charged with the murder of the alleged boss of the Gambino Mafia family claimed his client, Anthony Comello, was inspired by QAnon.

The revelation of the document comes a week after FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee that white supremacist violence was the motivator for the majority of domestic terrorism cases the bureau has investigated in fiscal 2019.

The same month the document was written, Michael C. McGarrity, the FBI's assistant director of the Counterterrorism Division, told Congress the FBI classifies domestic terror as either racially motivated, anti-government/anti-authority, environmental extremism, or abortion extremism, which he said encompasses both pro- and anti-abortion rights advocates.

The memo states that the new category for conspiracy theories is closely related to anti-government extremism but distinct from racially motivated violence.

The new extremism category focuses specifically on views that ''attempt to explain events or circumstances as the result of a group of actors working in secret to benefit themselves at the expense of others'' and are ''usually at odds with official or prevailing explanations of events,'' according to the document.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 02:08

The suspect in the killing of at least 20 people in El Paso posted an online manifesto before starting on the deadly rampage that was described by Texas law enforcement and political leaders as hate-filled and racist.

Media reports have identified 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas, as the suspect in the shooting Saturday at a Walmart in the border city.

Although authorities did not publicly confirm his identify or describe the precise contents of the manifesto, a document posted on the website 8chan hours before the rampage spoke about the ''invasion'' of Latino immigrants and said the writer agreed with the shooter who killed worshipers at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. That document was posted by an anonymous user who posted another document under the file name ''P._Crusius.'' That file was taken down, and it is not clear what it contained.

A Twitter account that appeared to belong to Crusius was shut down Saturday evening. Tweets on the account had praised President Trump and, in particular, his effort to build a wall along the U.S- Mexico border.

Daniel Heo of Plano, Texas, told The Times that he attended elementary school with Crusius and remembers playing basketball and soccer with him during recess. They attended kindergarten together at Beverly Elementary School in Plano, according to Heo, 20.

Heo said he fell out of touch with Crusius after elementary school. It wasn't until Saturday, when he received a text message from his friend about the shooting and how Crusius was a suspect, that Heo remembered him.

''I'm shocked. I remember him being a nice kid,'' Heo said.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 13:52

by Nan and Byron McKeeby August 4, 2019

Mass shooter Patrick Crusius murdered 20 people today at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

Crusius published a manifesto before his shooting spree.

It is clear from his words that he is a PROGRESSIVE white nationalist '' what was once defined as a ''Nazi.''

This is not to say he's a Democrat or a Republican, but he is without question a progressive.

All you have to do is read his manifesto to see the obvious tell-tale signs.

Under his section titled ''Economic Reasons'' for the attack, the shooter states:

''In the near future, America will have to initiate a basic universal income to prevent widespread poverty and civil unrest as people lose their jobs (to automation). Joblessness is in itself a source of civil unrest. The less dependents on a government welfare system, the lower the unemployment rate, the better. Achieving ambitious social projects like universal healthcare and UBI would become far more likely to succeed if tens of millions of defendants are removed.''

Now THAT is some Nazi level stuff right there. Kill the undesirables so we can have our glorious government programs!

His was an act of environmental terrorism as well:

''The decimation of our environment is creating a massive burden for future generations. Corporations are heading the destruction of our environment by shamelessly overharvesting resources.''

Not exactly sounding like a Republican, but this next quote does remind me of one of the parties:

''I am against race mixing because it destroys genetic diversity and creates identity problems'....But the idea of deporting or murdering all non-white Americans is horrific. Many have been here as long as the whites, and have done as much to build our country. The best solution to this for now would be to divide America int a confederacy of territories with at least 1 territory for each race.''

Huh. Where have we heard about a confederacy in the past? We'll have to think on that one.

The fact is, this guy is the real deal NAZI. He's a white nationalist socialist, and this is EXTREMELY inconvenient for progressives because he throws progressive history right in everyone's faces.

Nazis weren't just white nationalists. They were proud Progressives of their day, and this terrorist is a proud white nationalist progressive millennial.No wonder progressives are running from this story, and begging you to run from it as well.

Glory is what these men want. Don't say the El Paso's shooter's name, don't share his picture, or his (possibly entirely fake) manifesto. Media orgs should follow, as much as possible, these guidelines for reporting as well: https://t.co/79ZMLgZ7CE pic.twitter.com/w1Z2QaeDjS

'-- Soraya Chemaly (@schemaly) August 3, 2019

Here again is the deranged killer's manifesto.

Source: The Gateway Pundit

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 11:01

An active shooter killed at least nine people and wounded at least 16 more at Ned Peppers bar in Dayton, Ohio just hours after a gunman in El Paso, Texas shot and killed 20 people at a Walmart, police confirmed. Authorities referred to the Dayton shooting as a ''mass casualty incident'' on the scanner.

Assistant police chief Matt Carper said in a press conference that, just after 1 a.m. on August 4, 2019, there was an ''active shooter situation in the Oregon District'...we had one shooter that we are aware of and multiple victims. Right now, the shooter is deceased from gunshot wounds from the responding officers. We have nine victims deceased in addition to that, and we have approximately 16 more victims hospitalized right now in unknown conditions'...This is a very tragic incident.''

He said police are working on identifying the suspect to ''see what possible motivation there might have been. The suspect was firing a long gun with multiple rounds at the victims.'' Carper said the convention center was being opened up with resources for family members, and the FBI is at the scene. He said the shooting ''all occurred outside.''

Miami Valley Hospital spokesperson Terrea Little told MSNBC that the hospital has received 16 victims. ''It's a very short timeline of violence,'' Carper said because multiple Dayton police officers took down the suspect.

Terrified people posted accounts on social media. ''Wow could've lost my life tonight at Ned peppers, I'm still shaking prayers for the ones who didn't make it '... thanks for reaching out I'm safe ðŸ--'' wrote one woman on Facebook. A man told friends on Facebook that he was too ''busy trying to survive honestly smh I just know I saw them trying to resuscitate multiple people.''

James Williams, who said he was an eyewitness, wrote, ''People this is awful I've never seen nothing like this in my whole life.'' A video captured heavy gunfire (be aware that the language is very graphic in it.)

''Shots fired! Shots fired!'' an officer shouts in archived scanner audio, which you can listen to here. The dispatcher indicates the shooting occurred in the Oregon District. At one point, an officer said on the scanner that it looked like 9 to 10 people were shot. The Dayton Daily News reported that it was working to confirm accounts from eyewitnesses that a person opened fire after being denied entry to the bar.

''We got shots fired. We got multiple people down. We need multiple medics'...We need to shut the whole street down'....We think there's one shooter. He's down. We're looking for a second shooter,'' says an officer in the audio. (There are often incorrect reports of multiple shooters in the early moments of active shooter incidents, and it was clear that officers were trying to get a handle on a chaotic situation with possibly conflicting early information on that point. Dayton police later said they believe there is probably only one shooter.)

Here's what you need to know:

Videos & Photos From the Scene Showed Multiple Bodies on the SidewalkCarper said in the press conference that the area where the shooting occurred is normally very safe.

Scanner audio '' and multiple Twitter reports '' indicated the shooting was focused around Ned Peppers. The Ned Peppers' website describes it as a ''traditional western-ish themed bar located right in the heart of the Oregon District in Dayton Ohio.''

Ned Peppers wrote on Facebook, ''All of our staff is safe and our hearts go out to everyone involved as we gather information.''

There was an active shooter in the bar i was in tonight. I am told that he had an AR15. @HannahRayNinja and I are ok. I am so incredibly heartbroken for those affected by this. I have never been so scared in my life.

'-- Daniel Williams (@xcadaverx) August 4, 2019

''We have one with a head wound,'' an officer said at another point on the scanner. ''We just need all the medics. We need the first medic in Ned Peppers'...right now. We've got several down,'' an officer says. ''Shooter is down.''

According to WHIO-TV, police ''are responding to a report of an active shooter in the area of East 5th Street in the Oregon District.'' The television station reported that multiple people were shot, the shooter may be down, and ''medics are responding to the area.'' The Dayton Daily News had a similar account.

A graphic video was posted to Facebook showing bodies lying on the sidewalk covered with sheets as uniformed police officers stood guard. ''Sad people are not right,'' wrote a man named James Williams on Facebook, who posted it, and said he was an eyewitness. ''I'm safe happened Right in front of the patio where I was sitting in front of Neds the guy in front of Ned peppers door is the active shooter he tried to go into the bar but did not make it through the door someone took the gun from him and he got shot and is dead. There are at least eight people dead right by the picnic table where I was at on street. A bunch of people was taken to the hospital I don't know how many this place is a disaster.''

The following different video contains graphic language. The man speaking in it talks about bodies lying on the street and says at least 40 shots were fired.

In a separate video he posted on Facebook, Williams claimed, ''We had an active shooter with an AR 15. Came up with an AR 15 with a vest on and ear muffs and just started blowing bullets everywhere'...there are casualties everywhere. Outside Ned Peppers, there were at least eight victims. I don't know how many people they took away from other locations'... it's awful.''

However, this information was preliminary and had not yet been confirmed by authorities. ''It's not confirmed, but there might be other shooters'...'' police said on the scanner, saying that they were putting out the unconfirmed information for officer safety. They were also setting up a command post. Scanner reports indicated there were multiple victims.

Daniel Williams wrote on Twitter: ''There was an active shooter in the bar i was in tonight. I am told that he had an AR15. (A friend) and I are ok. I am so incredibly heartbroken for those affected by this. I have never been so scared in my life.''

Williams then responded to another person and wrote, '''...I'm still not sure exactly what happened. People were piling on top of each other to get out. It's all a blur. F-cking awful.'' The bar has not been confirmed by authorities.

Williams' friend then tweeted, ''We heard gunshots while on the patio.. ran indoors only to be shoved back out because the shots were coming from inside the bar. We ran for our lives and hopped a fence trampling multiple people in the process/hid anywhere we could.''

Another man wrote: ''They just shot up ned peppers while I was in line'.... police just killed dude 5 feet in front of me'... I can't go out in this city anymore ðŸ'¯.'' Authorities have not confirmed whether the shooter is dead or how that occurred, though.

Taylor Mayberry wrote, ''Me and (friend's name) made it out of Nedpeppers safe. Scariest thing of my life. Prayers for all of the people who didn't make it out ðŸ­.''

''Reports of an active shooter with multiple victims in Dayton so I'm laying in bed listening to scanners and hearing them call for homicide detectives. Is not even been 24 hours'... This country has gone mad,'' wrote one woman on Twitter.

''If you got fam at Oregon district.. check on them ðŸðŸ½,'' wrote one man on Twitter. ''I was on the phone w my boy & gun shots start going off right next to him.. hella rounds smh Dayton is cursed.''

A woman wrote: ''It's so sad you can't go out anymore and feel at peace, I'm so thankful all of my friends were safe during the shooting that just happened in the Oregon district in Dayton. A place we all felt safe in for the most part ! Check in on your dayton friends !''

You can listen to live scanner traffic here.

On Facebook, the Oregon District bills itself as ''Dayton's favorite dining, shopping, and entertainment destination,'' and adds, ''Come explore the galleries, shops, restaurants, bars, and businesses that call the Oregon District home. Oregon is Dayton's oldest neighborhood, dating back to the 19th century, and its creative inhabitants are passionate about preserving the entrepreneurial spirit of their district. Nearly all of the businesses are locally owned and operated.''

This post will be updated as more information is known about the Dayton shooting.

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Archived Version

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 14:59

CLOSE

Three people were shot and killed and as many as 15 others were injured during the July 28 shooting. Nate Chute, USA Today Network

SALINAS, Calif. '' The gunman who opened fire on unsuspecting festivalgoers in Gilroy on Sunday killed himself, the Santa Clara Coroner's Office found.

The gunman shot himself in the mouth and died by suicide, a representative of the coroner's office said Friday.

Earlier in the investigation, Gilroy police said they had "engaged" the shooter, Santino William Legan, and it was widely believed that police had shot and killed Legan.

Legan gunned down three others at the festival before he died.

Six-year-old Stephen Romero, 13-year-old Keyla Salazar and 25-year-old Trevor Irby all died as a result of their gunshot wounds at the festival. Sixteen others were wounded, police have said.

What we know: 3 dead, including 2 children, at Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting

According to Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee, officers ran to the area where Legan was shooting at festivalgoers. As they did, he began shooting at them instead of the crowd. They returned fire, and Legan fell to his knees, then the ground.

Smithee did not know at which point Legan used his AK-47-type rifle to shoot himself.

He pushed back on suggestions that the coroner's report contradicted earlier reports by police that officers had stopped Legan.

"I don't think it contradicts anything," Smithee said at a Friday news conference. "Whether he was able to get a shot off into his head after we shot him doesn't change the series of events at the scene.

"In my mind, it changes nothing. The officers still got there fast ... they eliminated the threat. Whether he fired that final shot, in my mind, changes nothing."

Smithee didn't have any information as to how many rounds the officers fired or how many hit Legan. He didn't know whether Legan had any drugs or alcohol on him.

The coroner still has more investigation to do, including toxicology reports.

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ITM Adam,

Unfortunately my son, Sir Dragonheart, and I just

returned from the Orange County Meetup very disappointed in that we could not

find other NA people. We drove 1 1/2 hours from West LA to get to Golden Road

Brewing and got there around 1:15 PM (the meetup hours were 2:00 PM to

8:00 PM). We were very lucky since parking was completely

full, but found a spot as someone was leaving. The location is very big with a

large inside space, mainly for people eating and a main bar, and a large spread

out outside space separated into various sections and play areas.

The place was full of people everywhere. My son and I

spent the next 1

1/2 hours walking around trying to find where the meetup

was going to be based or to at least find other NA attendees with no luck. We

asked the staff if an area was reserved or sectioned off for the NA Meetup and

were told they had no idea as they don't take reservations on the weekends. We

asked the front desk if they knew where the meetup was and was told they had no

idea. My son was frustrated and asked to leave.

This is not a reflection on you or John or meetup

organizers, but if people are going to setup meetups, there should be some way

of connecting with everyone, finding everyone. This is especially true for

people we have never met or a location we have never been to which is full of

other patrons. I really wanted to meet some of the characters I have connected

with in the troll room as well as our fellow SoCal sane folks.

Sorry for the frustrated rant,

Sir Hastag Null

Adam

Already on it...our posting software had a thing where you

put down your time zone, from a long pull down list.... and it's

confusing. I've already sent notes to Daniel about this....

and since MOST people figure it out, I haven't been checking

(and since I haven't had to post anything...didn't see the issue until this

morning). So, if you don't chose the default is Africa time zone

(yeah, I know, WTF)

I've just re checked ALL the postings...and fixed all of the

ones that were wrong.

I already emailed Daniel about how to fix

this.... oddly enough the Europeans never get this

wrong.... but, the US stuff is just daft. I will keep an

eagle eye on this from now on....

Ahhhhhhh

M

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Archived Version

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 13:07

After Tulsi Gabbard destroyed Kamala Harris on her history of locking up black people as a prosecutor, idiots on Twitter began claiming that Gabbard had been hired by Russia to bring down Harris.

Yes, really.

During last night's debate, Gabbard took Harris to task for her role in ''putting over 1500 people in jail for marijuana violations'' then laughing about it when asked if she ever smoked marijuana.

As you can see from the video, Harris was left floundering, with her usual righteously indignant front shattered.

Kamala Harris' feigned angry righteous indignation suddenly deflates when she's called out on her BS. A joy to watch. pic.twitter.com/z77osQ2MQx

'-- Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) August 1, 2019

Despite all the other candidates trending on Twitter last night, and despite her being the most searched candidate on Google, Gabbard did not trend on Twitter.

However, she was responsible for the hashtag #KamalaHarrisDestroyed '' which started trending this morning.

This led an army of Russian collusion conspiracy theorists to ludicrously assert that Gabbard had been hired by the Kremlin to take down Harris.

''Have you heard the news? Tulsi was hired by Russia to take down Kamala and help Trump,'' tweeted Peter D'Ambrosca with a sampling of the insanity.

Have you heard the news? Tulsi was hired by Russia to take down Kamala and help Trump.

Totally *not* a delusional conspiracy theory. #KamalaHarrisDestroyed pic.twitter.com/1LuFOLLHY5

'-- Peter D'Abrosca (@pdabrosca) August 1, 2019

''When you wake up to see hashtag #KamalaHarrisDestroyed trending, you know the Russian troll bots and trumpers are worried about Kamala Harris, bigly,'' tweeted another user.

When you wake up to see hashtag #KamalaHarrisDestroyed trending, you know the Russian troll bots and trumpers are worried about Kamala Harris, bigly.

They don't care so much about Tulsi Gabbard, who wouldn't denounce Assad if her life depended on it.

Black Women SCARE them.

'-- BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) 1 August 2019

''Tulsi is 2020's Jill Stein. A fraudulent, Vladimir Putin approved spoiler. Putin took Tulsi, an American soldier, and turned her into a Trojan Horse, his own #SiberianCandidate,'' tweeted another.

Tulsi is 2020's Jill Stein. A fraudulent, Vladimir Putin approved spoiler. Putin took Tulsi, an American soldier, and turned her into a Trojan Horse, his own #SiberianCandidate.

Evidence? Putin's bots and paid for shills are pushing #KamalaHarrisDestroyed '...

'-- Mattison (@Mattison) August 1, 2019

The same people who claim social media bias against conservatives is a ''conspiracy theory'' routinely think Russia is behind every trending hashtag they don't like.

That's the biggest, nuttiest conspiracy theory of them all.

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Archived Version

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 12:41

Authored by Tom Luongo via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

The second debate among Democratic hopefuls was notable for two things. The lack of common decency of most of them and Tulsi Gabbard's immense, career-ending attack on Kamala Harris' (D-Deep State) record as an Attorney General in California.

Harris came out of the first debate the clear winner and Gabbard cut her down to size with one of the single best minutes of political television since Donald Trump told Hillary Clinton, ''Because you'd be in jail.''

Gabbard's takedown of Harris was so spot on and her closing statement about the irresponsible nature of the Trump Administration's foreign policy was so powerful she had to be actively suppressed on Twitter.

And, within minutes of the debate ending the media and the political machines moved into overdrive to smear her as a Russian agent, an Assad apologist and a favorite of the alt-right.

Now, folks, let me tell you something. I write and talk about Gabbard a lot and those to the right of me are really skeptical of her being some kind of plant for Israel or the establishment. If she were truly one of those she wouldn't have been polling at 1% going into that debate.

She would have been promoted as Harris' strongest competition and served up for Harris to co-opt.

That is not what happened.

No, the fact that Gabbard is being smeared as viciously and baselessly as she is by all the right people on both the left and the right is all the proof you need that she is 1) the real deal and 2) they are scared of her.

When Lindsey Graham tweets about Tulsi Gabbard twice after a debate, when the Washington Post neocons like Josh Rogin are attacking her, you know she's got their panties in a bunch.

You expect it from the Harris camp, obviously. But when it comes directly from people like Navid Jamali (double agent, navy intelligence, MSNBC contributor) you know the empire is beginning to get worried.

Like Jill Stein and Donald Trump, Gabbard is counting on Russian support. This is why she won't criticize Assad. This is what we've become. An election rife with foreign influence. This is how they attack our election security, not by hacking, but by doing this. https://t.co/delzVncET1

'-- Naveed Jamali (@NaveedAJamali) August 1, 2019Gabbard is now getting the Ron Paul treatment. It will only intensify from here. They will come after her with everything they have.

In the past week she's destroyed Kamala Harris on national TV, sued Google for electioneering and signed onto Thomas Massie's (R-KY) bill to audit the Federal Reserve. What does she do next week, end the Drug War?

Tulsi Gabbard is admittedly a work in progress. But what I see in her is something that has the potential to be very special. She's young enough to be both passionately brave and willing to go where the truth takes her.

And that truth has taken her where Democrats have feared to tread for more than forty years: the US Empire.

The entire time I was growing up the prevailing wisdom was Social Security was the third rail of US politics. That, like so many other pearls of wisdom, was nonsense.

The true third rail of US politics is empire. Any candidate that is publicly against the empire is the enemy of not only the state, it's quislings in the media, the corporations who profit from it and the party machines of both the GOP and the DNC.

That is Gabbard's crime. And it's the only crime that matters.

When the Empire is on the line, left and right in the US close ranks and unite against the threat. The good news is that all they have is their pathetic Russia bashing and appeals to their authority on foreign policy.

Foreign policy, by the way, that most people in America, frankly, despise.

And the response to her performance at the second debate was as predictable as the sun rising in the east. It's also easily countered. Gabbard will face an uphill battle from here and we'll find out in the coming weeks just how deep into Trump Derangement Syndrome the average Democrat voter is.

If she doesn't begin climbing in the polls then the Democrats are lost. They will have signed onto crazy Progressivism and more Empire in their lust to destroy Donald Trump. But they will lose because only a principled anti-imperialist like Gabbard can push Trump back to his days when he was the outsider in the GOP debates, railing against our stupid foreign policy.

No one else in the field would be remotely credible on this point. It's the area where Trump is the weakest. He's not weak on women's rights, racism, gay rights or any of the rest of the idiotic identity politics of the rest of the Democratic field.

He's weakest on the one issue that got him elected in the first place, foreign policy. Hillary was the candidate of Empire. Trump was not. It's why we saw an international conspiracy formed to destroy him and his presidency. Now that same apparatus is mobilized against Tulsi Gabbard.

That's good. As a solider she knows that when you're taking flak you are over your target. Now let's hope she's capable of sustaining herself to push this election cycle away from the insanity the elite want to distract us with and make it about the only thing keeping the world from healing, ending the empire of chaos.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 14:57

Attorney Michael Avenatti arrives at United States Court in New York, July 23, 2019.

Mike Segar | Reuters

The firebrand attorney Michael Avenatti is back considering a run for the Democratic nomination for president after he declared last year he wouldn't take part in the contest.

Avenatti, who in the past represented porn star Stormy Daniels against the likes of President Donald Trump and his then fixer Michael Cohen, told CNBC late on Friday that he is yet again contemplating entering the expansive 2020 arena.

"Never say never," he said when asked if he's going to get into the race. "The Dems need a non-traditional fighter. They have a lot of talent but not a lot of fighters." He later noted that the odds of him getting into the race are at 50/50 and he could make his decision in a few months.

"I don't think I need to make a final decision for a number of months. I have the name ID and everyone knows I'm one of the few effective fighters that the Dems have," he said.

For Avenatti, those comments are a reversal from his announcement late last year when he said that he's ruling out a 2020 run.

At the time, he was raising money for a potential 2020 campaign through his own political action committee, The Fight PAC. Data collected by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics shows that the committee spent $25,000 on Break Something LLC, a major Democratic consulting firm. It also invested $13,000 on plane flights and more than $5,000 on hotels. The PAC is still active and has raised over $20,000 so far this cycle, according to its latest Federal Election Commission filing. It currently has $3,540 on hand.

As he's watched the almost two dozen candidates square off in the primary debates, Avenatti says he continues to believe Democrats don't have the fighter that can take on Trump come the general election and suggested he could be the candidate to beat him.

"I am increasingly concerned that the Dems don't have the right fighter to go toe to toe with Trump," he said. "And the future of the republic and our way of life is on the line. He is a brawler who has no bounds. The Dems need a guy who can match him punch for punch. I may be that guy."

Still, Avenatti said he has a "number of things to deal with" before deciding whether he will jump into the race.

He was arrested in New York in March for an alleged $20 million extortion scheme against Nike. A month later, federal prosecutors in California indicted Avenatti on three dozen counts including stealing money from clients and lying to regulators about his income. He has denied wrongdoing in both cases.

He also says he's representing three alleged victims of sexual abuse from R&B star R-Kelly. The famed musician has denied those accusations.

For anyone who doubts him, Avenatti said this:

"To those that call me a 'criminal' - first, I haven't been convicted of anything by Trump's DOJ and second, the biggest criminal in America is currently in the White House."

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Sat, 03 Aug 2019 12:37

Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) met with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) right before the August recess. On Friday, one week later, AOC's office announced that her chief of staff and early patron, Saikat Chakrabarti, is leaving for a liberal nonprofit focused on the Green New Deal. Chakrabarti had made many high-profile flubs recently, but his worst offense involved a scathing attack on moderate Democrats. It is highly probable that Pelosi asked AOC to oust Chakrabarti in exchange for something AOC wanted.

"Saikat has decided to leave the office of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez to work with New Consensus to further develop plans for a Green New Deal," AOC's Director of Communications Corbin Trent said in a statement to The Intercept. "We are extraordinarily grateful for his service to advance a bold agenda and improve the lives of the people in NY-14."

AOC's office framed his departure as another step in the crusade to bring "progressive" change to America. "From his co-founding of Justice Democrats to his work on the Ocasio-Cortez campaign and in the official office, Saikat's goal has always been to do whatever he can to help the larger progressive movement, and we look forward to continuing working with him to do just that," Trent concluded. Chakrabarti also has a new baby, and reportedly will devote more time to parenting. (Having recently become a father, I can sympathize, but I can also say fatherhood does not preclude working a demanding job.)

Perhaps in order to obfuscate from this big news, Ocasio-Cortez broke some more news to The Intercept: Trent is moving from her congressional office to her campaign. He is "shifting to our campaign side so we can work on some ambitious comms projects we've been looking forward to working on," AOC said in a text message. She faces a Republican challenger, Scherie Murray, a New York businesswoman who immigrated from Jamaica as a child.

According to the official narrative, these are two ordinary staff changes: one staffer is moving from the D.C. office to the campaign, and one is moving to a progressive nonprofit. Yet Chakrabarti's departure is far more significant than AOC is letting on.

After all, Chakrabarti founded Brand New Congress PAC in 2016 and Justice Democrats in 2017. Justice Democrats aimed to get far-left candidates elected to Congress, and AOC was both the beneficiary and the poster child of that effort.

In fact, it appears Chakrabarti gave Ocasio-Cortez a vital influx of cash when the candidate's hopes for victory seemed dashed. He paid her live-in boyfriend '-- a web developer '-- for "marketing" in August 2017.

As Luke Thompson, a podcast host and former staffer for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) explained, "At the beginning of October, more than four months into her campaign, AOC's fundraising had been anemic. Excluding an in-kind contribution from Chakrabarti, she'd raised only $3,032.75 but had already spent $27,591.27 '-- more than half of which she'd paid to Chakrabarti's Brand New Congress LLC. By the end of 2017 she'd spent $37,249.94 but raised only $8,361.03."

"Since no loans are recorded on her campaign books, presumably either AOC or Roberts was fronting the necessary cash," he added. "It looks to me like Chakrabarti was effectively reimbursing AOC for a third of her expenses with Brand New Congress LLC, perhaps so that she would stay in the race despite her mounting debt."

The shenanigans with Brand New Congress may get Pelosi in big trouble for violating campaign finance law, but even if it does, AOC owes Chakrabarti a great deal.

She is likely extremely grateful for Chakrabarti. She owes her seat in Congress '-- and her huge national profile '-- to this patron, in at least two ways. So when she boots her patron from her office, that's a big deal. So why did it happen?

In recent weeks, Chakrabarti has been a pain in AOC's neck.

Early last month, he came under fire for wearing a t-shirt featuring Subhas Chandra Bose, an Indian nationalist whom Adolf Hitler recognized as the leader of the Free India Government. Bose broadcast Hitler's propaganda and enlisted tens of thousands of Indians to support the Japanese invasion of British India in 1944 as part of Hitler's war against Britain. While AOC herself had quoted Evita Per"n, the Nazi sympathizer first lady of Argentina, Chakrabarti's mistake may have irked her.

Also last month, AOC's then-chief of staff admitted that the Green New Deal "wasn't originally a climate thing at all." He added that his office "really" thinks of it "as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing." This seemingly confirmed conservatives' suspicions that the key environmentalist project started as a socialist proposal. As Rush Limbaugh said in 1992, environmentalists are socialists in green clothing.

But Chakrabarti's sin against Pelosi involved comparing a Native American congresswoman to the Ku Klux Klan.

In late June, Republicans and Democrats squabbled over a pair of bills to fund border agencies desperately in need of money to handle the horde of migrants crossing America's southern border. House Democrats eventually approved the clean funding bill passed overwhelmingly by the Senate, but Pelosi originally had her own bill with limits on the president.

Ocasio-Cortez and her three close allies '-- Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) '-- refused to vote even for the original Democratic bill, claiming the border security system itself is racist.

In the midst of this battle, Chakrabarti condemned centrist Democrats who voted for the bill as "new Southern Democrats" who "certainly seem hell-bent to do to black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did in the 40s," a potential reference to the Ku Klux Klan. In other words, by abetting law enforcement (the demonized ICE) in enforcing U.S. immigration law and giving them more money to better the conditions at detention facilities, House Democrats were effectively helping a racist terror organization. Another liberal asked if Chakrabarti would apply this even to Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), a Native American of color. He did so.

"I think the point still stands. I don't think people have to be personally racist to enable a racist system. And the same could even be said of the Southern Democrats. I don't believe Sharice is a racist person, but her votes are showing her to enable a racist system," he tweeted. While he deleted the first tweet, he did not delete the second.

The official House Democrats account attacked Chakrabarti.

"Who is this guy and why is he explicitly singling out a Native American woman of color? Her name is Congresswoman Davids, not Sharice. She is a phenomenal new member who flipped a red seat blue. Keep Her Name Out Of Your Mouth," the account, which aims to represent the House Democratic caucus and is reportedly controlled by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), tweeted. That tweet has since been deleted.

Drew Hammill, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, retweeted that message. In other words, it seems highly likely that Pelosi or her staff had a direct beef with Chakrabarti.

Last week, AOC met with Pelosi in a closed-door meeting that the speaker proudly posted in Twitter. PJ Media's Stephen Kruiser noted that the young congresswoman looks much happier than the speaker of the House.

Today, Congresswoman @RepAOC and I sat down to discuss working together to meet the needs of our districts and our country, fairness in our economy and diversity in our country. pic.twitter.com/eVp1LS0Gpw

'-- Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 26, 2019 After the meeting, AOC called the meeting "positive" and "productive," and said Pelosi "absolutely" understood her concerns. In other words, there was a meeting of the minds.

It appears AOC may have done her part by nixing Chakrabarti '-- sorry, I mean "politely asking him to go work on the Green New Deal somewhere else." The real question is, what is Pelosi's part of the bargain? What does AOC get for this enormous concession?

Follow Tyler O'Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 13:55

It looks like we have an answer for why Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's chief-of-staff abruptly resigned on Friday; he's under federal investigation.

According to the New York Post, Saikat Chakrabarti - the architect behind AOC's meteoric rise from bartender to ball-buster, is being investigated in connection with two political action committees he founded.

The two PACs being probed, Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats, were both set up by Chakrabarti to support progressive candidates across the country.

But they funneled more than $1 million in political donations into two private companies that Chakrabarti also incorporated and controlled, according to Federal Election Commission filings and a complaint filed in March with the regulatory agency.

In 2016 and 2017, the PACs raised about $3.3 million, mostly from small donors. A third of the cash was transferred to two private companies whose names are similar to one of the PACs '-- Brand New Congress LLC and Brand New Campaign LLC '-- federal campaign filings show. -New York Post

As the Post notes, PACs are required to adhere to stringent disclosure rules, while the private companies Chakrabarti funneled money into are not.

According to a complaint filed by Virginia government watchdog group - the National Legal and Policy Center, Chakrabarti's LLCs appear to have been specifically designed to circumvent federal reporting requirements.

As noted by the Washington Examiner in March:

The cash transfers from the PACs '-- overseen by Saikat Chakrabarti, the freshman socialist Democrat's chief of staff '-- run counter to her pledges to increase transparency and reduce the influence of "dark money" in politics.

Chakrabarti's companies appear to have been set up for the sole purpose of obscuring how the political donations were used.

The arrangement skirted reporting requirements and may have violated the $5,000 limit on contributions from federal PACs to candidates, according to the complaint filed by the National Legal and Policy Center, a government watchdog group. -Washington Examiner

According to the Post, "Federal authorities are looking at new salary rules imposed by Ocasio-Cortez when she took office earlier this year, and whether they were put in place to let Chakrabarti dodge public financial-disclosure rules, according to sources."

Interestingly, the Harvard-educated Chakrabarti agreed to take a massive pay cut this year - taking in just $80,000, while the average pay for his position is $146,830. With a salary below $126,000, he was not required to disclose his outside income.

And now, he's under federal investigation.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 13:55

March 5, 2019 | 10:01am | Updated March 5, 2019 | 10:50am

Enlarge Image Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with aide Saikat Chakrabarti AP

A conservative government watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's top aide of funneling $1 million in donations into his private accounts in a possible violation of the law, according to a report.

The transfers were made by Saikat Chakrabarti, Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, and may have run afoul of the Federal Election Campaign Act that places a limit of $5,000 on contributions from political action committees to candidates, the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday.

The complaint, filed Monday by the National Legal and Policy Center, said the transfers violated the law because PACs must disclose what those funds were used for '-- such as advertisements, payments to vendors and donations to candidates.

The private companies Chakrabarti moved the money to are not subject to those requirements.

The National Legal and Policy Center wants the FEC to audit the two operations in question '-- Brand New Congress PAC and Justice Democrats PAC '-- claiming they were part of ''an elaborate scheme to avoid proper disclosure of campaign expenditures.''

Tom Anderson, director of the National Legal and Policy Center's government integrity project, said he's never seen ''a more ambitious operation to circumvent reporting requirements.''

''Ocasio-Cortez has been quite vocal in condemning so-called dark money, but her own campaign went to great lengths to avoid the sunlight of disclosure,'' he said in a statement.

Chakrabarti's PACs raised about $3.3 million in 2016 and 2017.

In the same time period, the PACs transferred more than $1 million to two companies controlled by Chakrabarti '-- Brand New Campaign LLC and Brand New Congress LLC '-- the newspaper report said, citing federal election filings.

The payments were for ''strategic consulting,'' according to the filings.

Chakrabarti declined to comment to the Washington Examiner, as did Corbin Trent, a spokesman for Ocasio-Cortez.

The Post reported in its Sunday editions that good-government groups were also raising questions about whether Chakrabarti violated campaign finance laws through payments made and received by the PACs '-- Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 13:55

The Feds are looking into possible campaign finance misdeeds by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff and lead rainmaker, who suddenly resigned Friday, federal sources told The Post.

The inquiry centers on two political action committees founded by Saikat Chakrabarti, the top aide who quit along with Ocasio-Cortez spokesman Corbin Trent,the sources said. Trent left to join the congresswoman's 2020 re-election campaign.

The brash Chakrabarti, who masterminded Ocasio-Cortez's campaign and steered her proposed Green New Deal, had caused uproar in the halls of Congress with a series of combative tweets that contributed to a rift between his rookie boss and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

''People were not happy that he used his Twitter account to comment about members and the bills that he and his boss oppose,'' a senior House Democratic staffer said. ''There was a series of colliding and cascading grievances.''

The two PACs being probed, Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats, were both set up by Chakrabarti to support progressive candidates across the country.

But they funneled more than $1 million in political donations into two private companies that Chakrabarti also incorporated and controlled, according to Federal Election Commission filings and a complaint filed in March with the regulatory agency.

In 2016 and 2017, the PACs raised about $3.3 million, mostly from small donors. A third of the cash was transferred to two private companies whose names are similar to one of the PACs '-- Brand New Congress LLC and Brand New Campaign LLC '-- federal campaign filings show.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez APWhile PACs must follow stringent federal rules on disclosure of spending and fundraising, private companies are not subject to the same transparency.

The complaint filed by the National Legal and Policy Center, a government watchdog group based in Virginia, alleged that the LLCs appeared to have been set up to obscure those federal reporting requirements.

In March, when the FEC complaints were filed, a lawyer for the PACs, the LLCs and the Ocasio-Cortez campaign told the Washington Post that the arrangement ''fully complied with the law and the highest ethical standards'' and that Chakrabarti never profited from any of the political entities he formed.

They may also have violated the $5,000 limit on contributions from federal PACs to candidates, according to the complaint. It is not known if any of that money flowed to Ocasio-Cortez's campaign.

Federal authorities are looking at new salary rules imposed by Ocasio-Cortez when she took office earlier this year, and whether they were put in place to let Chakrabarti dodge public financial-disclosure rules, according to sources.

Although Ocasio-Cortez raised the salaries of junior staffers in her office to just over $52,000 a year, Chakrabarti took a massive pay cut. The Harvard graduate and tech millionaire agreed to an annual salary of $80,000 '-- far less than the $146,830 average pay for his position.

Because his salary was less than $126,000, congressional rules exempted the chief of staff from having to disclose his outside income.

The legal quagmire comes on the heels of Chakrabarti's attacks on fellow Democrats.

Nancy Pelosi GettyIn June and July, Chakrabarti accused Pelosi of being a weak leader and said that moderate Democrats were racists, ''hell-bent to do to black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did in the 40s.''

''Pelosi claims we can't focus on impeachment because it's a distraction from kitchen table issues,'' he posted July 6. ''What is this legislative mastermind doing?''

Four days later, Pelosi reprimanded Ocasio-Cortez and her ''squad'' of young progressives during a closed-door meeting, demanding they stop airing their grievances in public.

''So, again, you got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it,'' Pelosi admonished, according to Politico.

But the next week, President Trump kicked up the controversy again with a series of Dem-needling tweets, That led to a July 26 clear-the-air meeting between Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez, one week before Chakrabarti's departure to join a nonprofit think tank, New Consensus.

AOC did not show up at a Bronx event on her schedule Saturday. Her office would not comment on the staff departures, and Chakrabarti did not return several messages. Trent declined comment.

Additional reporting by Ben Cohn

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 14:47

by Michael Malloy

Delegates of the Democratic Socialists of America convened in Atlanta for their 2019 National Convention, where they overwhelmingly voted in favor of resolutions that, among other things, call for open borders and endorsing a Green New Deal program.

Brandon Rey Ramirez, a DSA member and co-sponsor of the Open Borders resolution, stated in a press release that DSA ''unapologetically support[s] free movement for all people. It is unacceptable that a Fortune 500 corporation can ship a job across a border without consequences while a mother crossing a border to see her child is put into a concentration camp.''

The Open Borders resolution calls for the ''uninhibited transnational free movement of people, the demilitarization of the US-Mexico border, the abolition of ICE and CPB without replacement, decriminalization of immigration, full amnesty for all asylum seekers, and a pathway to citizenship for all non-citizen residents.''

These demands, aligned with DSA's growing presence in local and nationwide elections, are part of an organization-wide strategy of responding to the growing crisis of harassment, detention, and inhumane treatment of immigrants and their families.

While the border control policies of the current administration have clearly drawn the immediate attention of convention delegates, this endorsement targets the fundamental structure of the immigration policies supported and maintained by presidents of both parties, with Ramirez stating, ''Our current system is morally indefensible at its core. We need open borders and the complete dismantling of ICE and CPB in order to respect the dignity that every person deserves.''

The Green New Deal proposed in the resolution describes the climate crisis in terms that attack the domestic and international policies of the United States that exacerbate and intensify the effects of man-made climate collapse. The resolution calls for ''the redistribution of resources from the worst polluters, like Wall Street and the bloated U.S. military, to fund the transformation we need from an extractive to a regenerative economy.''

As with the Open Borders resolution, this response ties climate policy to the broader causes of this crisis, rejecting lesser solutions that merely address the symptoms of these issues. DSA member Ashik Siddique, a co-sponsor of this resolution, states, ''Capitalism and the corporate greed it inspires are the cause of our present crisis, but ecologically informed socialism is the answer. We cannot allow ourselves the luxury of despair.''

As DSA establishes itself as the premier socialist organization in the US, this response is essential to their strategy of responding to the political crises instigated by the far-right wing agenda of Republicans and Democrats at both the state and national levels. On the heels of victories for DSA candidates and local initiatives in elections across the country, the organization seems to have aligned upon a strategy of growing their membership by building off growing public outrage in response to far-right wing policies. The convention will continue into the weekend, with delegates voting on a wide range of resolutions and internal policies.

Michael Malloy is the Protean correspondent covering the 2019 DSA National Convention.

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Fri, 02 Aug 2019 03:59

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Emergency services were called to the Kennedy compound on Thursday Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the granddaughter of Robert F Kennedy, has died, a family statement has confirmed.

The 22-year-old daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's fifth child, Courtney, died on Thursday.

Emergency services were called to the Kennedy residence in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Ms Kennedy Hill was pronounced dead at Cape Cod Hospital.

The Kennedy family has seen a number of tragedies including the assassination of Saoirse's grandfather in 1968.

A statement from the family made to local media said: "Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was filled with hope, promise and love."

A statement from her grandmother added: "The world is a little less beautiful today."

The 22-year-old was a communications major at Boston College, according to the New York Times.

The compound was the summer White House for President John F Kennedy in the 1960s.

President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.

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Fri, 02 Aug 2019 04:04

Facebook Saoirse-Kennedy-Hill

Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the woman who died at the famous Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, was a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy and was a student at Boston College, according to the New York Times and her LinkedIn page.

According to WCVB Boston, Saoirse's death may have been from a overdose.

Kennedy Hill (whose first name is pronounced SUR'-shuh) died on the afternoon of August 1, 2019 ''after paramedics were called to one of the homes on the Kennedy Compound property.'' In 2016, she wrote about struggling with depression in a column published in The Deerfield Scroll.

This is Saoirse Kennedy-Hill. The young Kennedy who died today at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport. When she attended Deerfield Academy she wrote in the school paper about her depression. We DON'T know the cause of her death. She was only 22. Too young. pic.twitter.com/wyi80aweHv

'-- David Wade (@davidwade) August 2, 2019

Hyannis News is reporting that the call came from the home of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy. That property is located on the complex at 28 Marchant Ave.

Here's what you need to know:

1. Kennedy Hill Is the Granddaughter of RFK & the Daughter of Courtney Kennedy Hill & Paul Hill Getty Courtney Kennedy Hill and daughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill attend the Speak Truth To Power Memorial Benefit Gala at Pier Sixty, October 6, 2006 in New York City.

According to The New York Times, Saoirse Kennedy Hill was the daughter of Courtney Kennedy Hill, a daughter of the assassinated presidential candidate. When she died, Saoirse was at the compound where Ethel Kennedy lives, according to the Times. The Associated Press reported that she is Courtney's daughter with Paul Michael Hill, ''who was one of four falsely convicted in the 1974 Irish Republican Army bombings of two pubs.''

''Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse,'' the Kennedy family said in a statement, according to the Times. ''Her life was filled with hope, promise and love.'' Ethel Kennedy, 91, said, ''The world is a little less beautiful today.'' The Kennedy statement further stated that Saoirse ''was passionate about human rights and women's empowerment and that she worked with indigenous communities to build schools in Mexico,'' AP reported.

WCVB reported that police are investigating, and the call came in as a possible overdose. There are multiple homes in the famous Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port.

2. The Call Came in on Thursday Afternoon for a Possible Overdose & Kennedy Hill Was Involved in Campus PoliticsSaoirse Kennedy Hill with Tom BRady.

According to Hyannis News, the call came in just after 2:30 p.m. Emergency radio transmissions reviewed by Hyannis News indicated that police and rescue were called ''to reports of an overdose inside the Kennedy Compound.'' The newspaper did not indicate the patient's condition or give a name.

The New York Times reported that Kennedy Hill was vice president of the College Democrats.

An officer who responded indicated in the radio transmissions that the person was in cardiac arrest and requested a supervisor.

Getty An Honor Guard carries the casket of the late US Sen. Edward Kennedy across the porch of his home at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts on August 27, 2009.

On Twitter, she wrote, ''Boston College student account for Social Media and Social Justice class. Raising awareness for the #metoo movement.'' She wrote on Twitter, ''Under the Obama Admin., sexual assault on college campuses was an issue that was heavily focused on. College administrations were held responsible for creating a culture in which inappropriate sexual behavior would be punished to the highest extent.''

She supported the #metoo movement. ''Sexual harassment training in professional workplaces have been mandatory in certain states for quite some time. The #metoo movement has sparked a push for training sessions & is calling on lawmakers to pass bills to ensure mandatory training in more cities & states<" she wrote.

3. Kennedy Hill Was Interested in Mass Media & Communications Getty A partial view of the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, MA where a large tent stands intended for Rory Kennedy's wedding reception and now where family members wait to hear word of the missing John F. Kennedy Jr. 18 July 1999.

According to her LinkedIn page, Kennedy Hill wanted to merge politics with the media.

''I am a Junior at Boston College with a passion for the study of mass media and communication. I seek a career where I can merge my studies with my interest in politics and contribute to the national dialogue on the issues that are most important to me through TV, radio, music, and film,'' she wrote.

Kennedy Hill wrote on LinkedIn that she attended Boston College from 2016 to 2020.

4. Kennedy Hill Wrote About Depression & Mental Health

In a very moving and poignant column in the Deerfield Scroll, Kennedy Hill shared that she was struggling with mental health issues.

''When you were little, did you ever have friends your mom made you hang out with, even though you didn't want to? Then those friends kept showing up, and you were confused and sick of them,'' she wrote. ''Soon enough, those friends were around so much that you got used to them. Finally, those friends were always with you and never left, and you almost began to enjoy having them around.''

She added: ''Until last year, this was my relationship with my mental illness. My depression took root in the beginning of my middle school years and will be with me for the rest of my life. Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest. These bouts would come and go, but they did not outwardly affect me until I was a new sophomore at Deerfield.''

She continued: ''We all know that some people find winter at Deerfield lonely, dark, and long. I began isolating myself in my room, pulling away from my relationships, and giving up on schoolwork. During the last few weeks of spring term, my sadness surrounded me constantly. But that summer after my sophomore year, my friend depression rarely came around anymore, and I was thankful for her absence.''

You can read the full piece here.

Ethel Kennedy's large brood has had its share of tragedy since the assassination of her husband. While some of the 11 children have been very successful (such as Kathleen Kennedy Townsend), two children died tragically, David and Michael. David Kennedy died at age 28 of an overdose in Palm Beach back in 1984. Michael was killed in a skiing accident.

In 2017, in a series commemorating what would have been President John F. Kennedy's 100th birthday, WBUR reported that Cape Cod is where the president's legacy remains most visible in the landscape. In addition to the famous Kennedy Compound, where the family has gathered throughout the years, there is a JFK museum, memorial and legacy walk in Hyannis Port, the television station reported.

5. The Kennedy Compound Is a Symbol of the American Political DynastyThe Kennedy Compound where Kennedy Hill died is one of the most famous cluster of homes in America.

''The house is a symbol of the Kennedys because so much happened there, especially during the presidential years with different people coming there for conferences or ambassadors visiting heads of state,'' said Bob Luddington, a consultant to the Kennedys, to WBUR for that series. The television station described the cluster of buildings as being ''in an unassuming residential neighborhood, mostly obscured from street view by tall wooden fences and shrubs'' and said Ethel Kennedy was still living there as of 2017.

According to Architectural Digest, ''Vivid images of the famed Kennedy compound are emblazoned in the eyes of several generations: Marine One landing on the lawn for weekends President John F. Kennedy spent with his brothers; cousins running toward the helicopter to greet their fathers. Patrick wasn't born yet, but he speaks of it as if he remembers.''

There have been various incidents throughout the years in Hyannis Port involving the Kennedys, such as when RFK's son Max and his daughter were arrested after a house party in the area.

''This historical gem was once home to the beloved and iconic United States president John F. Kennedy. Today, the Kennedy family still uses the property. For this reason, it is private property and not open to the public. However, you can still view the estate from a distance,'' Candleberry Inn notes.

According to RAAB Collection, ''In 1926 Joseph P. Kennedy rented a large, beautiful, oceanfront summer cottage on Cape Cod at 28 Marchant Avenue in Hyannisport, MA. Two years later, he purchased the structure, which had been erected in 1904, and enlarged and remodeled it to suit his family's needs.''

This post will be updated when more information is learned.

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Fri, 02 Aug 2019 11:52

View the Petition as PDF.

View the Press Release as PDF.

Public Citizen joins four other organizations in petitioning the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require a more informative and comprehensive Black Box Warning for the smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix). The petition also asks that the FDA add restrictions to the Indications section of the product label warning against the drug's use by individuals in sensitive or hazardous occupations, such as pilots, emergency medical workers, and others, in whom the neurological and psychiatric adverse effects of varenicline could pose a danger to themselves or others.

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Sat, 03 Aug 2019 14:08

The media missed the latest news on China. And it's not good, at least as far as Leftists in America are concerned.America is winning!As AP reports,

China's factory activity contracted in July for a third month amid a tariff war with Washington and weak domestic demand.

A monthly index released Wednesday by an industry group, the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, stood at 49.7 on a 100-point scale. That was up 0.3 points from the previous month but still below the 50-point mark that shows activity contracting.

The data indicate China's economic downturn was slowing, said a logistics federation statement. But it said the economy still faced ''downward pressure.''

Chinese exporters have been hurt by President Donald Trump's tariff hikes in a dispute over Beijing's technology policies and trade surplus. Consumer demand also has weakened, hurt by uncertainty about China's economic outlook.

China's economic growth fell to 6.2% over a year ago in the quarter ending in June, its lowest level since 1993.

U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators met Wednesday but economists said an early breakthrough was unlikely.

The manufacturing decline ''will continue in 2019 until the trade and technology negotiations make some progress,'' said Iris Pang of ING in a report.

Chinese leaders have tried to shore up economic activity by pumping money into building highways and other public works. That has supported demand for construction materials but failed to reverse the overall downturn.

Exports of Chinese goods to the United States fell 7.8% in June from a year earlier. China's global exports sank 1.3%.

I reported on this a while back. And my information came from two sources.First, I have a friend who lives in China who gave me his observations on the ground. He said that many Chinese factories were idle. He said that far too many Chinese weren't in their normal pattern of sleep and work.

Second, my pretend-parents have factories in China. They said that negotiations for their activities favored them for the first time in over a decade. They have factories begging for their business, each willing to undercut the other.

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Latest: It's Official: Trump Winning the Trade War

Sadly, the media doesn't want Americans to know what common sense explains. When President Trump removed $250 billion from the Chinese economy, the Chicoms felt the impact.

The American economy continues to grow. And had it not been for Boeing's issue with the 737-800s, the Trump economy would likely still be setting stock market records.

Fear not, for the bull market will continue'...in America.

China won't fare so well. That's because they bet on the wrong strategy.As AP reported:

U.S. and Chinese envoys held ''constructive'' trade talks on Wednesday, the White House said, after President Donald Trump rattled financial markets by accusing Beijing of trying to stall in hopes he will fail to win reelection in 2020.

The meeting, aimed at ending a tariff war over trade and technology, ended about 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Neither delegation spoke to reporters before U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin left for the airport.

But White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement hours later that ''the meetings were constructive,'' and that talks are expected to resume in Washington in September, though exact dates were not announced.

According to the statement, the Chinese confirmed their commitment to President Donald Trump to buy more U.S. agricultural exports, something Trump had publicly been casting doubt on.

Economists had said quick breakthroughs were unlikely because the two governments face the same disagreements over China's technology policy and trade surplus that caused talks to break down in May. Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed in June to resume negotiations but neither has given any sign of offering big concessions.

The dispute over U.S. complaints that Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology has battered exporters on both sides and disrupted trade in goods from soybeans to medical equipment. Trump has raised tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports while Beijing responded by taxing $110 billion of U.S. products.

Trump's economy is an undeniable success.And as Newt Gingrich recently reminded us, strong economies win elections.

''If the economy stays good and the president stays focused, he's going to win,'' he remarked.

While making the prediction, Gingrich pointed to the Trump campaign's increasing momentum, which he said: ''is all predicated on just tremendous amounts of hard work.''

Our team weighed in:

Just last month, Trump broke another amazing economic record. It's hard to believe one president could have so much success, but that's only because we spent eight years taking the beat-down of a lifetime. And while Obama promised an economic recovery, Trump delivered.

It's that simple. During the Obama administration, we lost jobs. Manufacturing packed up and headed overseas. ObamaCare strained small businesses to the breaking point. The stock market posted dismal numbers. In short, Obama put us in a depression darker than the Great Depression.

However, the morning after the election, stocks started to rise. The promise of a Trump White House put confidence back in the market. Manufacturing returned. Jobs came back. An as for the depression, Trump was the Prozac that put an end to it. Now, we can't stop breaking records.

Meanwhile, desperate democrats can't find a solid candidate or a unifying message. But no matter what they cling to, the Trump economy slaps them in the face. And when you add the trade war victory to the economy, the Trump train becomes unstoppable.

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Archived Version

Sat, 03 Aug 2019 13:47

Published time: 3 Aug, 2019 11:12 Edited time: 3 Aug, 2019 11:39

A new documentary by the Redfish media group follows the Black Vests, a growing protest movement among migrant workers from Africa who fight for labor rights in France.

Hundreds of migrant activists occupied Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris and the HQ of one of the world's largest catering companies. They then staged a sit-in inside the Pantheon, a well-known historical landmark in the French capital.

They call themselves the Black Vests (Gilets Noirs), undocumented workers from Africa, who campaign for labor rights and fight forced deportations.

Also on rt.com Undocumented 'Black Vest' migrant protesters occupy Pantheon in Paris, demand papers (VIDEOS) The documentary by investigative journalists from the Redfish media group explores their struggle in modern France, where the ruling government has been quietly cracking down on migrant laws.

''We went there to attack, to tell them to stop the exploitation. We are not slaves,'' one activist said, describing the protests.

Just like with the Yellow Vests, their activities led to clashes with police.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 12:07

Attempts to solve the climate crisis by cutting carbon emissions from only cars, factories and power plants are doomed to failure, scientists will warn this week.

A leaked draft of a report on climate change and land use, which is now being debated in Geneva by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), states that it will be impossible to keep global temperatures at safe levels unless there is also a transformation in the way the world produces food and manages land.

Humans now exploit 72% of the planet's ice-free surface to feed, clothe and support Earth's growing population, the report warns. At the same time, agriculture, forestry and other land use produces almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, about half of all emissions of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, come from cattle and rice fields, while deforestation and the removal of peat lands cause further significant levels of carbon emissions. The impact of intensive agriculture '' which has helped the world's population soar from 1.9 billion a century ago to 7.7 billion '' has also increased soil erosion and reduced amounts of organic material in the ground.

In future these problems are likely to get worse. ''Climate change exacerbates land degradation through increases in rainfall intensity, flooding, drought frequency and severity, heat stress, wind, sea-level rise and wave action,'' the report states.

It is a bleak analysis of the dangers ahead and comes when rising greenhouse gas emissions have made news after triggering a range of severe meteorological events. These include news that:

' Arctic sea-ice coverage reached near record lows for July;

' The heatwaves that hit Europe last month were between 1.5C and 3C higher because of climate change;

' Global temperatures for July were 1.2C above pre-industrial levels for the month.

This last figure is particularly alarming, as the IPCC has warned that rises greater than 1.5C risk triggering climatic destabilisation while those higher than 2C make such events even more likely. ''We are now getting very close to some dangerous tipping points in the behaviour of the climate '' but as this latest leaked report of the IPCC's work reveals, it is going to be very difficult to achieve the cuts we need to make to prevent that happening,'' said Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

The new IPCC report emphasises that land will have to be managed more sustainably so that it releases much less carbon than at present. Peat lands will need to be restored by halting drainage schemes; meat consumption will have to be cut to reduce methane production; while food waste will have to be reduced.

Among the measures put forward by the report is the proposal of a major shift towards vegetarian and vegan diets. ''The consumption of healthy and sustainable diets, such as those based on coarse grains, pulses and vegetables, and nuts and seeds '... presents major opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,'' the report states.

There also needs to be a big change in how land is used, it adds. Policies need to include ''improved access to markets, empowering women farmers, expanding access to agricultural services and strengthening land tenure security'', it states. ''Early warning systems for weather, crop yields, and seasonal climate events are also critical.''

The chances of politicians and scientists achieving these goals are uncertain, however. Nations are scheduled to meet in late 2020, probably in the UK, at a key conference where delegates will plant how to achieve effective zero-carbon emission policies over the next few decades.

The US, the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, will have just had its presidential elections. A new Democrat incumbent would likely be sympathetic to moves to control global heating. Re-election of Donald Trump, who has called climate change ''a hoax'', would put a very different, far gloomier perspective on hopes of achieving a consensus.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 11:56

Despite (or perhaps because of) the rapidity and scale of Austin's long, recent boom'--the open floodgates of tech money, the tripling down on tourism and ensuing hotel glut, and the luxury residential towers necessary for a city suddenly full of rich young people'--the skyline has remained stubbornly pedestrian.

Sure, there are exceptions (The Independent, the not-even-new Frost Bank Tower), but not enough for a city that wants to be taken seriously.

Luckily, when Austin got around to redeveloping the former sites of the Seaholm Power and the Thomas C. Green Water Treatment plants (now prime downtown, lakefront real estate), it decided to go big'--or at least get more creative.

The power plant was repurposed for mixed use in a way that made it contemporary but kept highly visible elements of its original Art Moderne design; the new Central Library, on part of the former water treatment plant grounds, takes a completely different approach with an exciting, dynamic new build'--an important building and a model of sustainability.

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Naturally, expectations for Block 185'--across Shoal Creek from the library and also part of the former water-treatment plant grounds'--have been, shall we say, towering. It was with surprisingly little fanfare, then, that plans for that site were unveiled at a recent city Design Commission meeting'--especially because they are renderings of a 35-story office tower that could become a distinguishing part of the New Austin skyline.

It was only a couple of months ago (in a January 31 article) that the Austin American-Statesman confirmed that the entire building has already been leased by Google, and renderings were first made public just a week ago, at the aforementioned meeting (and after the project had already broken ground).

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company For architecture fans, it was worth the wait. The currently unnamed building is designed by internationally renowned firm Pelli Clarke Pelli, fresh off the completion of a building for another tech giant, Salesforce Tower, which is now the tallest building in San Francisco. Other notable designs by the Connecticut-based firm include New York's World Financial Center complex (now called Brookfield Place) and the landmark Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Joining Pelli Clarke Pelli on the project are local firms STG Design and Campbell Landscape Architecture.

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company A building-height, curved glass wall and tapered structure allows outdoor terraces on every level, creating the overall effect (as many have noted) of a sail eternally catching a breeze from the lake across the street.

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company The tower will have 793,883 square feet of office space'--enough for about 5,000 people'--and will include standard tech-company perks: a fitness center and recreation areas, lounges, kitchen and dining areas, conference centers, a bar/tavern, and, surely, more. Its 1,327 parking spaces will be on lower floors, with some of it underground.

Google, which currently occupies a 29-story tower on another tract of the redevelopment site east of the new building site, has about 800 employees in Austin, according to the Statesman story.

While the upper floors of the new building will be occupied entirely by Google offices and parking, the structure will relate to its surroundings in a variety of ways. Retail businesses will occupy its ground floor, and its large, open lobby will provide access to the Second Street retail and entertainment district. The building also will have a plaza along Shoal Creek with bicycle and pedestrian access connecting West Cesar Chavez and West Second streets.

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company Google's occupancy and Pelli Clarke Pelli's Salesforce Tower experience aren't the only tech connections at play in the new tower. According to the Statesman article, the project's financial backer is MSD Capital, Michael Dell's personal investment firm.

Developer Trammell Crow purchased Block 185 for about $10.27 million in January, according to the Statesman story, which adds that the company and the city arrived at that amount in a 2012 master development agreement, which also supersedes some of the standard design process with the city.

The new tower will be on the last of the four parcels of the former Greenwater plant redevelopment. In addition to the building where Google currently has its offices (500 West Second Street), the Northshore apartment tower and the almost-completed Austin Proper Hotel & Residences occupy the other tracts covered in the plan.

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/STG Design/Trammell Crow Company The new tower had to fit within angled setbacks on the sides that face Shoal Creek and Lady Bird LakeCivilitude Engineers As a March 26 Towers article explains in great, informative detail, development code necessity was likely the mother of design invention in the case of this last, important piece of the site's redevelopment puzzle.

Towers's James Rambin points out that the 589-foot building's unusual shape is no doubt due partly to two setback requirements incurred from its location between Shoal Creek and Lady Bird Lake. The resulting envelope forms a roughly pyramidal shape into which the architects and engineers had to fit the structure. In the view of many, they went above and beyond the challenge, to the benefit of Austin's changing urban landscape.

Lady Bird Lake Lady Bird Lake Trail, Austin, TX 78704

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 12:24

U.S. | California Is the First State to Scrap Cash Bail Image Gov. Jerry Brown said the law he signed eliminating cash bail will treat ''rich and poor alike.'' Credit Credit Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO '-- California on Tuesday became the first state to fully abolish cash bail, a step that backers said would create a more equitable criminal justice system, one less dependent on a person's wealth.

''Today, California reforms its bail system so that rich and poor alike are treated fairly,'' said Gov. Jerry Brown, who signed the California Money Bail Reform Act into law on Tuesday.

The driving principle of the law is that a suspect will be evaluated on the basis of risk to public safety and the likelihood of not appearing in court, rather than on his or her ability to post a certain bail amount. Those evaluations would help determine if the suspect would be held while awaiting trial or released.

The California law is part of a wave of criminal justice reforms taking place across the country. A number of states, including New Jersey, New Mexico and Kentucky, have sharply curtailed their cash bail system, but California is the first to completely dismantle it.

''This is a transformative day for our justice system,'' said Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the chief justice of California and a main backer of the legislation, in a statement. ''Our old system of money bail was outdated, unsafe and unfair.''

She called the new law ''a fair and just solution for all Californians.''

But the law, which will take effect in October 2019, was criticized by some as giving the courts too much power.

''The bill gives a lot of power to the courts, which may be used in ways that raise concerns,'' said Natasha Minsker, an advocate in the California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes the law. Ms. Minsker also said the law ''lacks protections against racial bias.''

The details of how individuals will be assessed has been left for California's judiciary to work out. And some legislators said the state was moving too fast on a very complex issue. The bill passed the State Assembly last week by a 41-27 vote.

The law relies on the state's Judicial Council, a body that sets the rules for California's courts, to create the new system of pretrial assessments. Suspects will be classified into ''low risk,'' ''medium risk'' and ''high risk'' by Pretrial Assessment Services, which already exist in some California counties but which will be somewhat standardized by the law.

The law allows courts to detain a suspect ''if there is a substantial likelihood that no condition or combination of conditions of pretrial supervision will reasonably assure public safety or the appearance of the person in court.''

Even social justice organizations that are united in their criticism of the current system, and the bail bond industry that has developed around it, were divided over the new law, with some claiming it could lead to more people behind bars.

The Essie Justice Group, a California organization formed by women with relatives and loved ones in prison, lobbied against the new law, saying it could lead to ''more and disproportionate incarceration of black, brown and low-income people.''

The new law gives too much discretion to prosecutors, who could call for preventive detention for a broad range of crimes, the group argued. ''This is incarceration without any due process,'' Essie Justice said in a statement.

California had already taken steps earlier in the year to mitigate the effect of cash bail on the indigent. In January, a California Court of Appeal criticized the practice of setting bail above what defendants can pay, ruling that a defendant ''may not be imprisoned solely due to poverty.''

The ruling came in a case involving Kenneth Humphrey, 64, who spent almost a year in jail, unable to afford his $350,000 bail, after he stole $5 and a bottle of cologne from a 79-year-old disabled man. Mr. Humphrey, who has a history of substance abuse and multiple prior felony convictions, had followed the man into his apartment in San Francisco and threatened to put a pillow case over his head, demanding money. He was released in May, pending trial.

Jeff Adachi, the public defender in San Francisco, said that under the new law, there would be a ''presumption against release'' for that type of offense. ''Mr. Humphrey would probably not have gotten out under this new law,'' Mr. Adachi said.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 14:54

California's Education Department has issued an ''Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum'' and is soliciting public comments on it until Aug. 15. The legislatively mandated guide is a resource for teachers who want to instruct their students in the field of ''ethnic studies,'' and was written by an advisory board of teachers, academics and bureaucrats. It's as bad as you imagine.

Ethnic studies is described in the document as ''the interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with an emphasis on experiences of people of color in the United States.'' But that's not all it is. ''It is the study of intersectional and ancestral roots, coloniality, hegemony, and a dignified world where many worlds fit, for present and future generations.'' It is the ''xdisciplinary [sic], loving, and critical praxis of holistic humanity.''

The document is filled with fashionable academic jargon like ''positionalities,'' ''hybridities,'' ''nepantlas'' and ''misogynoir.'' It includes faddish social-science lingo like ''cis-heteropatriarchy'' that may make sense to radical university professors and activists but doesn't mean much to the regular folks who send their children to California's public schools. It is difficult to comprehend the depth and breadth of the ideological bias and misrepresentations without reading the whole curriculum'--something few will want to do.

Begin with economics. Capitalism is described as a ''form of power and oppression,'' alongside ''patriarchy,'' ''racism,'' ''white supremacy'' and ''ableism.'' Capitalism and capitalists appear as villains several times in the document.

On politics, the model curriculum is similarly left-wing. One proposed course promises to explore the African-American experience ''from the precolonial ancestral roots in Africa to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and enslaved people's uprisings in the antebellum South, to the elements of Hip Hop and African cultural retentions.''

Teachers are encouraged to cite the biographies of ''potentially significant figures'' such as Angela Davis, Frantz Fanon and Bobby Seale. Convicted cop-killers Mumia Abu-Jamal and Assata Shakur are also on the list. Students are taught that the life of George Jackson matters ''now more than ever.'' Jackson, while in prison, became ''a revolutionary warrior for Black liberation and prison reform.'' The Latino section's people of significance include Puerto Rican nationalists Oscar L"pez Rivera, a member of a paramilitary group that carried out more than 130 bomb attacks, and Lolita Lebr"n, who was convicted of attempted murder in a group assault that wounded five congressmen.

Housing policy gets the treatment. The curriculum describes subprime loans as an attack on home buyers with low incomes rather than a misguided attempt by the government to help such home buyers. Politicians'--Republicans and Democrats'--imposed lower underwriting standards on the home-loan industry. Republicans billed it as a way to expand the middle class, while Democrats crowed that it would aid the poor.

In a sample lesson on Native Americans, the curriculum suggests students offer their responses to a fictional environmentalist speech by Chief Seattle as well as an anodyne quote about relationships from the recently deceased rapper Nipsey Hussle. The Chief Seattle error is part of a larger problem. The curriculum perpetuates the myth that the Indians had the same values as present-day ecologists. In truth, Native Americans had a mixed approach to nature. The curriculum writers should have looked carefully at the scholarly evidence presented in Shepard Krech's 1999 book, ''The Ecological Indian'''--about, for example, the setting of brush fires that got out of control and the needless killing of buffalo, beaver and deer.

The curriculum lauds bilingual education, but it omits that this program'--in which teachers conducted class mostly in Spanish until seventh grade'--failed in California and was disliked by much of the Latino community.

The curriculum is entirely wrongheaded when it comes to critical thinking. Critical thinking is described not as reasoning through logic and consideration of evidence but rather a vague deconstruction of power relationships so that one can ''speak out on social issues.'' Thinking critically ''requires individuals to evaluate phenomenon [sic] through the lens of systems, the rules within those systems, who wields power within systems and the impact of that power on the relationships between people existing within systems.''

Such a curriculum presents a serious problem of fairness to students. In a course titled ''Math and Social Justice,'' will you be graded on having correct answers on the math or politically correct answers on social justice?

This curriculum explicitly aims at encouraging students to become ''agents of change, social justice organizers and advocates.'' In the sample unit teachers are directed to have students plan ''a direct action (e.g., a sit-in, die-in, march, boycott, strike).'' Teaching objective history clearly isn't the goal. Rather, it's training students to become ideological activists and proponents of identity politics.

Mr. Evers is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He served as assistant secretary of education for planning, evaluation, and policy development during the George W. Bush administration.

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Fri, 02 Aug 2019 12:27

Great news, Texans! The domestic terrorist group known as Antifa is coming to our state!

Finally, after all this time, they've decided to step out of locations where they're protected by politicians, and are saying they're going to make an appearance for a ''10-day siege in El Paso, TX,'' according to Antifa's most hated reporter, Andy Ngo.

Ngo sent out a tweet last Monday that showed that Antifa is apparently going on some kind of recruitment tour that ends in Texas, where a hand-drawn picture depicts Antifa shooting bows and arrows, throwing Molotov cocktails, and destroying the border barrier so that illegal migrants can get through.

''Antifa is leading a 'Border Resistance' militancy training tour that will converge on a 10-day siege in El Paso, TX. The promotional image shows border enforcement officers being killed & government property fired bombed. Organizers asking for 'white comrades' to pay for others,'' tweeted Ngo.

Antifa is leading a "Border Resistance" militancy training tour that will converge on a 10-day siege in El Paso, TX. The promotional image shows border enforcement officers being killed & government property fired bombed. Organizers asking for "white comrades" to pay for others. pic.twitter.com/zwG7iMLMZT

'-- Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) July 29, 2019

The drawing has a lot of destruction in it, but as you can see, it also depicts deadly violence. Below the burning truck is depicted a dead ICE officer stuck with arrows laying in what appears to be a pool of blood.

You can see in the upper right-hand part of the drawing what I assume to be more agents. One falling to his death, stuck with arrows, and another hanging on to the railing of the burning tower.

If Antifa believes they're going to overcome the border agents, they've got another thing coming. For one, it's not ICE they'll be dealing with. It's our military, and Texas's national guard. Soy'd out communists who have never operated outside of their politically protected bubbles are in for a hard lesson if they believe they're going to storm into Texas and have their way.

All they're doing is threatening Texans with a good time.

More important is the fact that Antifa has now shown themselves willing to actually destroy and kill. They are, without a doubt, a domestic terrorist group.

I'd like to say I sincerely doubt that Antifa would take it this far, but this wouldn't be the first attack by Antifa on a border station. However, he went there to die. I doubt Antifa members are willing to go as far as him.

However, rest assured, if Antifa begins an open violent attack in Texas, there will be death, but it won't at all go Antifa's way.

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Sat, 03 Aug 2019 13:46

Traditionally home to female and transgender prostitutes, activists hope the neighborhood's famous windows can be opened up to all sex workers. The equality campaign is part of Amsterdam's Gay Pride festival.

Several men on Saturday displayed their half-naked bodies in some of the tall windows that make up Amsterdam's Red Light District.

The protest is part of a call for equal rights in Europe's most liberal tourist destination, which is mostly inhabited by female and transgender female sex workers.

Prostitutes rent a room in the De Wallen neighborhood and use one of the 300 or so windows to advertise their services.

But despite making up 5% of the estimated 25,000 sex workers operating in the Netherlands, men are rarely seen.

Read more: How Amsterdam is fighting mass tourism

The so-called occupation of the Red Light District organized by the non-profit campaign group My Red Light, which rents rooms to sex workers and advocates for improved rights and labor conditions.

Vulnerable to exploitation

Campaigners insist that male sex workers also need safe spaces to operate from, noting that many men experience violence, abuse and exploitation while carrying out their work.

Organizers said the men taking part in the photoshoot are models and not available for sex.

Saturday's protest forms part of Amsterdam's Gay Pride festival, which runs until Sunday, and which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

Read more: Inside Bordoll, a German sex-doll brothel in Dortmund

Amsterdam's first female mayor, Femke Halsema, recently announced plans to repair De Wallen's reputationas a dangerous part of the city, amid a rise in drunken tourists, bachelor parties, human trafficking and drug use.

She also noted a major increase in unlicensed, underground prostitution.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam Cruising the canalsAmsterdam's more than one hundred kilometers (more than 62 miles) of canals are the best way to get around the city. The canal system dates back to the 17th century when the Dutch capital was the richest city and one of the busiest ports in the world. Today these waterways are used for everything from daily commutes to sightseeing.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam Two-wheel drive!For those who prefer dry land, biking is the perfect option. With more than 800,000 on the road, bikes outnumber people in Amsterdam. Every summer it is one of the many cities that host the World Naked Bike Ride to raise awareness of toxic emissions and promote body positivity. But every day's a good day to take in the sites on two wheels.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam Amsterdam architectureThe gables decorating many houses are the quintessence of traditional Amsterdam. The various types of gables provide insight into the history of each of the buildings. Many fine examples can be seen along the banks of the city's canals.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam The masters of the cityThe sheer amount of art in Amsterdam is mind-boggling. The Rijksmuseum on Museum Square houses one of the world's finest collections of works by the Dutch Masters, including Rembrandt, Hals, Vermeer, and Steen. It is here that Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch' can be seen, having been returned in 2013 after a decade of renovations to the museum.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam Sunflowers galore!Vincent van Gogh is memorialized in the Museumplein as well. Along with more than 700 paintings and drawings, the Van Gogh Museum features the post-impressionist's correspondence and the works of his contemporaries. For its re-opening in 2015, the museum was surrounded by mazes of his most recognizable motif '-- sunflowers.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam Anne FrankIt was on Prinsengracht in Amsterdam that Anne Frank and 7 others hid for over 2 years during World War II. Her diary, translated into 60 languages, is testimony to the human capacity for optimism in the face of evil. The main house is now a museum, but the Secret Annex has been preserved, allowing visitors to more fully comprehend the harsh reality of a life in hiding.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam Dutch conventionsHistory, art, and joie de vivre can all be found in abundance in Amsterdam. This city celebrates hedonism and heroism, pleasure and enlightenment. On May 5, Liberation Day marks the end of World War II for the Netherlands. Festivities take place along the canals and alleys of the Netherlands' changing, unpredictable, and lively capital.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam Beyond the Red LightsThe Red Light district in the inner city evokes Amsterdam's historic reputation for vice. But it is far from just salacious. For the more academically inclined, the oldest sex museum in the world, the Venustempel, explores the history and culture of sex, while Red Light Secrets (pictured) is the world's first museum of prostitution.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam Coffee shopsAmsterdam's varied cultural treasures are not equally appreciated by everybody. The city is also (in)famous for its policy on marijuana. Smoking is both the norm and a draw for tourists, many of whom travel to the city explicitly to indulge. Easy access to the drug in coffee shops has contributed to the capital's tolerant reputation as well as the heated debate with regard to drug tourism.

10 reasons to visit Amsterdam Into the futureGround-breaking modern architecture can be seen throughout the city, contrasting with the traditional Renaissance structures. Among the most popular are the Lex van Delden Bridge and the Woodlofts Buiksloterham. Renzo Piano's NEMO Science Museum (pictured) pays tribute to Amsterdam's maritime origins while pointing towards the future.

Author: Isabelle Ross

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Archived Version

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 12:09

Playboy has abandoned Hugh Hefner's legacy and hired a team of millennials to transform it into a woke publication with a focus on social consciousness '-- while still continuing to fill its pages with naked women.

For the first time in the magazine's history, no one in the Hefner family is involved with the publication, which relaunched earlier this year as an ad-free quarterly under the editorial leadership of a gay man and two women who are all under the age of 32.

Playboy is trying to enter a new era, according to a New York Times profile, and the angle of the magazine has shifted dramatically as a result, with the cover of the new summer issue featuring three nude activists posing underwater instead of models.

New look: Playboy has hired a team of millennials to transform it into a socially conscious publication as it struggles to find its voice in the modern era

Woke enough? The cover of the new summer issue features three activists posing underwater instead of models, but the women are still nude

And that's not all that has changed when it comes to the cover shoot, which no longer focuses on sex, but rather on 'sexual fluidity'.

'The water is meant to represent gender and sexual fluidity,' explained Shane Singh, the magazine's openly-gay executive editor.

Singh edits Playboy along with Erica Loewy, the publication's 26-year-old creative director, and Anna Wilson, 29, who is in charge of photography and multimedia.

With its quiet relaunch going relatively unnoticed, Playboy's hip-new millennial vision and focus on inclusivity has certainly taken more than a few people by surprise.

Ed Freeman, the photographer behind the summer issue's underwater cover, told The Times he was shocked when Playboy hired him for the shoot and even asked himself: 'Do they know I'm gay?'

While struggling to find its voice following Hefner's death in 2017, the magazine has now reinvented itself with a feminist tilt '-- even though its chief executive Ben Kohn is still a straight white male and three-quarters its readers are men.

Surprised: Ed Freeman (pictured), the photographer behind the issue's latest cover, admitted he shocked when Playboy hired him for the shoot and wondered if they knew he is gay

Inclusivity: Transgender model and advocate Geena Rocero (left) appears in the new issue along with Tarana Burke (right), the activist who founded the #MeToo movement

The publication tried banning nudity in 2015, only to bring it back a few years later with the tagline 'Naked is normal.'

The new Playboy claims to have moved away from the male gaze, but no matter how tasteful it may be, it is still relying on nudity.

'We talk a lot about when something is objectification versus when it is consensual objectification versus when it is art,' Singh said. 'I think objectification removes the agency of the subject.

'Consensual objectification is the idea of someone feeling good about themselves and wanting someone to look at them. Art means, O.K., we can hang this on a wall. And if it's both, for us, that's the major win.'

It seems that in the eyes of staffers, the sophisticated nude centerfolds are meant to enhance the beauty of the magazine, which is now made of 'thick-stock, matte-paper,' instead of pandering to the male gaze.

Tasteful spread: Teela LaRoux models a gray bra and matching underwear as the 'July Playmate.' Playmates are 'paid freelancers' and no longer appear on the cover

Playmates '-- the women who appear in nude centerfolds '-- no longer appear on the cover of the publication, and they are often photographed by women with on-set intimacy coordinators to monitor the shoot.

The magazine has also changed up its lingo, giving its models more politically correct titles.

Playboy bunnies have been dubbed 'brand ambassadors, while playmates are to be called the 'September Playmate' instead of 'Miss September.'

Playmates are also 'paid as freelancers,' and the company told The Times that it is working on providing them with health care benefits as many of the models continue to represent Playboy at public events.

According to the profile, staffers at the inclusive new Playboy use terms like 'intersectionality,' 'sex positivity,' and 'privileging' to describe their editorial vision.

Throwback: While struggling to find its voice following Hugh Hefner's death in 2017, the magazine has now reinvented itself with a feminist tilt. Hefner is pictured in 2014

Gone: For the first time in the magazine's history, no one in the Hefner family is involved with the publication. Hefner's son Cooper (pictured) stepped down as chief creative officer in April

The summer issue contains articles on BDSM and gender-neutral sex toys as well as a profile of Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and an interview with Tarana Burke, the activist who founded the #MeToo movement.

Instead of having a staff writer to speak with Burke, Playboy enlisted Dream Hampton, the filmmaker behind 'Surviving R. Kelly,' the documentary that led to multiple charges against the singer.

For the upcoming fall issue, artist Marilyn Minter has shot a photo essay celebrating female pubic hair.

Despite the changes, the debate over whether or not Playboy is even worth saving is still being had nearly two years after Hefner's death,

Even before the #MeToo movement, critics insisted Hefner was a sexual predator whose legacy should be left behind , while others argued he was an advocate for sexual liberation and free speech.

New faces: Shane Singh, an openly gay man, serves as Playboy's executive editor. Singh said the water in the new cover is 'meant to represent gender and sexual fluidity'

Open: Singh joined Sam Brinton, Dusty Ray Bottoms, Peter Nunn, Veronica Kennedy, and Garrard Conley (left to right) at the Playboy Playhouse in June to talk about conversion therapy

When asked if it was possible to reinvent the brand, Joanna Coles, former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, made it clear that she thinks we should all say good riddance to Playboy.

'Through today's lens, Hugh Hefner is grotesque and his women victims,' she said. 'They should lay it to rest with Hugh's smoking jacket.'

Meanwhile, Carrie Pitzulo, a historian at Colorado State University and the author of 'Bachelors and Bunnies: The Sexual Politics of Playboy' agreed that the magazine does objectify women and privileges straight white men but noted it wasn't all bad.

'At Playboy's height of influence in the 1960s and early 1970s, it was what we might consider the 1960s version of "woke,"' she explained in the profile.

Rachel Webber, Playboy's chief marketing officer, who barely makes the millennial cutoff at age 37, told The Times at the company's goal is to reach an audience that is 50 per cent female.

'We talk a lot about what's the Playboy gaze and how we need to diversify that,' she said. 'It's a little like being in a gender studies class.'

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Archived Version

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 13:54

Helicopter service is blossoming across the New York region, showing how income inequality affects even the basic commute.

Image Sophie Covillard boarding a helicopter in Manhattan to travel to the Hamptons on Long Island. More people are riding helicopters over New York. Credit Credit Chang W. Lee/The New York Times [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

Aakash Anand, who was on his way to Kennedy International Airport, looked out the window at the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn. ''I'm not sitting in that bumper-to-bumper traffic,'' he said happily.

He was right. He was 3,000 feet above the traffic, in a helicopter.

In New York City, which is saddled with gridlocked roads and slow and unreliable public transit, more and more of those who can afford to are flying over it all.

Helicopter service is blossoming in the region, not just to the area's three main airports, but also to the Hamptons, a popular playground for the rich. The Hamptons, on the East End of Long Island, have the same downside as the airports: Getting there by car or commuter train can be no fun at all.

Of course, helicopter travel is fun if you have the money to pay for it, which would leave most New Yorkers sharing the pain on the ground while the privileged fly overhead '-- yet another manifestation of the income inequality that has come to define life in a new Gilded Age.

But for the fortunate few like Mr. Anand, it can be enjoyable to look down on one of those New York traffic jams that seem to go on as long as the Hundred Years' War.

And sitting in a fancy departure lounge enjoying a cocktail is far more enjoyable than stewing in an unmoving car.

''The exclusivity of it, I like that,'' said Tami Fox, a writer who has flown by helicopter to Southampton. ''I like the efficiency. I'll be there by sunset with a glass of ros(C) in my hand.''

Uber, which has transformed the way people travel on the ground, is now moving into the airspace; it started helicopter service to Kennedy in early July.

Another company, Blade, started flying to New York's three major airports '-- Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark Liberty International '-- in the spring after testing the routes in previous years. It said ridership was flourishing, though it declined to provide figures.

The company said it had also seen high demand for service to towns its helicopters fly to on Long Island: East Hampton, Southampton, Montauk, Sag Harbor and Westhampton.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airports, said helicopter traffic has increased in recent years. At La Guardia, there were 1,096 helicopter takeoffs and landings last year, compared with 874 in 2017, a 25 percent increase. At Newark Liberty, there were 4,391 helicopter takeoffs and landings last year, up from 3,626 in 2017, a 21 percent increase.

At Kennedy, there were 1,966 takeoffs and landings in the first five months of this year, up from 1,064 during the same period a year ago, an 84 percent increase.

The jump in helicopter traffic has upset some people on the ground below the flight path who say they have to listen to the incessant roar of the vehicles.

''There's a bunch more helicopters than there used to be,'' Betty Brayton, the chairwoman of a local community board in Queens, said, adding that there is also more noise. ''Just because somebody's got a couple hundred bucks to get to the airport doesn't mean they should be doing that to the negative impact of somebody else. They can get to the airport the same way everybody else gets to the airport.''

The increase in helicopter traffic has also raised concerns about safety '-- a pilot was killed when a private helicopter crashed on the roof of an office building in Midtown Manhattan in June '-- and three City Council members recently called on the Federal Aviation Administration to ban ''nonessential'' helicopter travel over the city.

''These flights are run solely for the benefit of the private operators and the few passengers with the means to afford the expensive ticket,'' said one of the three, Mark Levine of Manhattan, adding that the city does not have the authority to ban such flights.

Mr. Anand's trip on a Blade helicopter took less than eight minutes from liftoff at the West 30th Street Heliport in Manhattan to landing at Kennedy, where Blade had sport-utility vehicles waiting. The S.U.V.s drove him and the other passengers on his Blade flight to the airline terminals, where they boarded their commercial flights.

The helicopter ride cost $195, about $100 more than a typical Uber ride would cost, about $135 more than a taxi trip and $187.25 more than a subway-and-AirTrain combination.

To one passenger, James Kogut, the price was not exorbitant.

''If you value your time, paying this kind of money to get a couple of extra hours is worth it,'' said Mr. Kogut, 30, an associate broker in a Manhattan real estate firm who was bound for a JetBlue flight from Kennedy to Reno, Nev., and a bachelor party in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Image ''If you value your time, paying this kind of money to get a couple of extra hours is worth it,'' said James Kogut as he waited for a helicopter to take him to Kennedy International Airport. Credit Chang W. Lee/The New York Times In the New York area, taking a helicopter to the Hamptons has long been a way that people with money are different. ''It's conspicuous consumption,'' said Bob Mann, an aviation industry analyst. ''It's instantaneous satisfaction, or almost.''

But chartering a helicopter costs $1,500 and up, and if there is only one passenger, there are several empty seats.

One goal of Blade is ''moving the word 'indulgence' away from helicopters,'' according to its chief executive, Rob Wiesenthal. By offering what amounts to ride-sharing in the sky, Blade, which also has operations to airports and other destinations around San Francisco and Los Angeles, has made helicopter flights less expensive if still not affordable for everyone.

''We basically say, look, congestion in the city has never been worse,'' he said. ''We turn a two-hour drive into a five-minute flight. We say this is not an indulgence, this is mobility.''

Uber said its mission is different from Blade's. ''We're not trying to launch helicopter service for the 1 percent,'' Matt Wing, an Uber spokesman, said. ''We're just trying to test for the future.''

The company's operation in New York is a dress rehearsal for an aerial ride-sharing network elsewhere, using not helicopters but what are essentially air taxis '-- electric vertical takeoff and landing craft, designed to rise straight up like a helicopter but fly like a fixed-wing aircraft.

Uber said it expects to begin test-flying such machines next year in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles areas. They will have pilots, at least at first, and the aircraft will need federal approval '-- and permission from local authorities if they are to take off or land from the tops of buildings in downtown areas.

First, Mr. Wing said, Uber wanted to master what will be involved on the ground. ''You order it, the car takes you to the heliport, you get in the helicopter, it takes off, it lands, you get out and another car takes you to your terminal,'' he said.

The helicopter operation to Kennedy is aimed at figuring out how to make each part of the trip unfold seamlessly. That was an important reason behind Uber's decision to fly to Kennedy: It is one of the world's busiest and most complicated airports. Uber figures if service works there, it can work anywhere.

Though the services have added to the traffic in the skies over New York City, Mr. Mann, the aviation analyst, said traveling by helicopter is ''never going to be a mass-market thing.''

Image Helicopters are attracting people with the means to pay $195 for a ride to the region's major airports and even more to go to the Hamptons. Credit Chang W. Lee/The New York Times ''It's either going to be high-net-worth individuals or high-time-value individuals, or people who are out for a lark and a joy ride,'' he said.

Dietrich Stephan, a geneticist and entrepreneur from Pittsburgh, was in the second category. His decision to take a Blade helicopter to the Hamptons for a meeting ''was spur of the moment,'' he said.

He had dreaded ''facing near 100-degree weather, slogging through Penn Station, switching at Jamaica and spending three hours on the Long Island Rail Road,'' he explained. ''Someone in my last meeting said, 'You should look into Blade.' I said for $195, it was worth it.''

He was misinformed. While the fare to Kennedy is $195, a ride to the Hamptons starts at $695 and can cost about $1,400, depending on the type of aircraft. The $795 Dr. Stephan was charged did not faze him.

''I decided you only live once,'' he said. ''I do have to be there for a meeting.''

Mr. Wiesenthal said Blade draws roughly equal numbers of passengers under and over 40, but there are distinct differences. ''Our older customers value the time,'' he said. ''Younger customers value the experience more.''

That explains passengers who arrive 40 minutes before departure time, snapping selfies in the lounge. ''I say, 'You could come in five minutes before,' and they say, 'I want to record this for posterity.'''

For first-time passengers like Sophie Covillard, an export sales representative, the lounge at the 30th Street Heliport was part of the experience. ''I'm using my savings to do this,'' she said before boarding, ''but it's worth it.''

After her flight to Southampton, she said that she had smiled all the way as she looked down at traffic on the Long Island Expressway.

James Barron is a Metro reporter and columnist. He is the author of the books ''Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand'' and ''The One-Cent Magenta'' and the editor of ''The New York Times Book of New York.''

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Hailing a Helicopter To Beat the Traffic

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As a

consumer, I prefer to pay with cash because it’s what my parents have always

done and I find it easier to keep track of my spending, however, as a worker in

retail, I prefer when people pay with cards. The reason for that is because

there has been an abundance of counterfeit money going around and when your

place of work doesn’t provide the appropriate technology to check for

counterfeit bills(at my work we only have the very unreliable pen that turns

black when it senses a fake bill) the customer service workers who take a fake

bill get reprimanded for it.

It

feels as if I’m the only millennial who HATES closed captions sometimes.

I’m still searching for why so many of my peers prefer to

have their closed captions on, one of my theories is that they don’t have the

common sense and problem solving skills it takes to figure out the storyline

when you miss some audio in a TV show or movie, for example, when I am watching

something and I miss some audio I use my brain to try and figure out what was

said by observing the reactions of the actors or the next line of dialogue, I

don’t find it difficult but I have observed that most of my peers will instead

lazily say “What did they say?” or “Rewind, I didn’t hear what they said.” I

will keep observing and report back with any new information!

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Archived Version

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 20:57

Next-gen standard may leapfrog ATSC 2.0Reprinted From Broadcast EngineeringBy Rich Chernock, ATSC TG3 Chairman

Alexandria, Va. '-- Technology doesn't stand still; instead, it evolves at an ever-growing pace. This is especially true in the area of bringing media to viewers.

In the past, video entertainment in the home was relatively simple, consisting of sitting in front of the TV to watch broadcasts when they were scheduled. Today, people want the capability to watch nearly anything they want, on any device, wherever they are'--with content delivered over the air, over cable or satellite, via the Internet or locally stored. It is clear that the broadcast industry must evolve to accommodate this desire.

The current work on the ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast standard is meant to address this issue, using advanced transmission and video/audio coding techniques to bring new and creative services to viewers.

It has become clear that to adapt to consumers' changing habits and demands, a new system is needed by broadcasters to support new viewing behaviors. Such a system must include the capability to evolve with consumer demands, and thus provide extensibility that permits future adaptation.

''Television'' is now ''viewed'' in a variety of ways, through a growing range of media sources and delivery platforms. Among these, the Internet has become a major source of television content for consumers. Developing a new DTV system that incorporates all these elements is now not only desirable, but has become essential.

Flexibility in service options is a keystone of the next-generation ATSC 3.0 DTV broadcast system, including the opportunity for terrestrial broadcasters to send hybrid content services to fixed and mobile receivers seamlessly'--combining both over-the-air transmission and broadband delivery. Options such as ''multiview'' and ''multiscreen'' are also important, as is the option of choosing among standard definition, HD and Ultra HD resolutions.

The ATSC 3.0 system also must adapt to future innovations. ''Scalable,'' ''interoperable'' and ''adaptable'' are some of the key words that describe the general principles behind ATSC 3.0

Although work is already underway to enhance the existing ATSC TV system with Internet compatibility and caching capability for storing programs (a backwards-compatible suite of enhancements dubbed ''ATSC 2.0''), the future needs of viewers and broadcasters is the focus of the ATSC 3.0 initiative. Technologies developed for ATSC 2.0 are expected to be supported in the new ATSC 3.0 system.

Because ATSC 3.0 is likely to be incompatible with current broadcast systems, it must provide improvements in performance, functionality, and efficiency significant enough to warrant implementation of a non-backwards-compatible system.

It is important to remember that the original A/53 DTV standard was launched in 1996. A number of significant developments have occurred since then, notably:

Spectrum is becoming increasingly scarceMajor improvements have been made in video coding efficiencyA strong desire exists for higher-resolution imagesAudio has become more efficient and immersiveInteractivity has become expected on the part of consumersDelivery paths other than broadcast have become commonplaceMobile devices have proliferatedTablets are in widespread useThese developments, taken collectively, have reshaped the television landscape, with the development of ATSC 3.0 as a response. The work on ATSC 3.0 has been broken up into a number of layers, as discussed below.

PHYSICAL LAYERThe physical layer is the core transmission system that is the basis for any over-the-air broadcast service. The physical layer is focused on modulation and coding, emission waveforms and other common system elements.

Multiple types of TV receivers, including fixed devices (such as traditional large-screen living room and bedroom TV sets), handheld devices, vehicular screens and portable receivers are being considered in the work on ATSC 3.0. A primary goal of the ATSC 3.0 physical layer is to provide TV service to both fixed and mobile devices.

Spectrum efficiency and robust service are some key focus areas. Increased data rates to support new services such as Ultra HD are a priority as well.

Furthermore, mechanisms for extensibility of the ATSC 3.0 system are being explored so that advancements and technologies that may be developed in the future can be accommodated without redefining the entire system. Determining mechanisms for graceful and agile evolution are an integral part of the ATSC 3.0 work.

In addition to traditional fixed services, ATSC 3.0 is intended to provide robust mobile services to devices that move, such as phones, tablets, laptops and personal televisions. Since these devices are likely to move across borders, it is highly desirable that the specification contains core technologies that will have broad international acceptance and enable global interoperability.

Figure 1: Physical layer skeleton architecture

The overall physical layer skeleton architecture is illustrated in Figure 1. Currently, the following baseline features are amongst those that have been tentatively agreed to:

OFDM-based modulation, with a wide range of guard intervals to mitigate multipathLDPC based FEC, with a wide range of code rates in two code lengths (supporting mobile and fixed)Wide range of constellation sizesThe ATSC 3.0 physical layer is expected to provide a large range of possible operating points for broadcasters, all of which are very close to the Shannon limit (the theoretical limit of how much information can be carried over a noisy channel) as illustrated in Figure 2, below. Basic operating tradeoffs include selecting a lower data capacity/more robust service and/or higher data capacity/less robust service, or points in-between.

Figure 2: Example capacity curve for ATSC 3.0 physical layer

Broadcasters have the opportunity to choose operating points that support their business models. Through the use of multiple physical layer pipes (PLPs), it is possible to use different operating points simultaneously'--for example, devoting a portion of the emission bandwidth to UHD services and the remainder to mobile services.

MANAGEMENT AND PROTOCOLS LAYERThe management and protocols layer is the plumbing connection between the physical layer and presentation layer, supporting service delivery and synchronization, service announcement and personalization, and interactive services and companion-screen services.

A consensus has been reached on the use of Internet Protocol transport for broadcast delivery of both streaming and file content. The use of IP transport (instead of MPEG-2 transport as used in the previous DTV system) provides a large degree of commonality with other delivery mechanisms. Streaming content (for example, live TV) will be delivered in chunks (using ISOBMFF as a content format), rather than a continuous stream of bits.

Again, this provides commonality with other delivery mechanisms, as well as making things such as localized or personalized ad insertion relatively simple.

ATSC 3.0 is being designed to allow the seamless use of broadcast combined with broadband to deliver services and components of services. One example of this might be delivering video and one audio language (which might be expected to be used by a majority of viewers) in broadcast, with alternate language audio streams delivered via broadband'--allowing the viewer to select among a number of options. One enabling technology for hybrid delivery is the use of UTC (or some other form of ''absolute'' time) for synchronization and buffer management.

Although the details are still being worked out, an example protocol stack for ATSC 3.0 is shown in Figure 3, below. As can be seen, there is significant commonality between delivery via broadcast and delivery via broadband, especially above the delivery protocol layer, with complete convergence in the Application Layer.

Figure 2: Example protocol stack model for ATSC 3.0

In a number of situations, the receiver may only have access to uncompressed audio and video; e.g., via an HDMI cable connected to a set-top box. For ATSC 3.0, additional components and services are desired that may not make it all the way to the receiver in the main delivery path.

Automatic Content Recognition can enable the receiver to identify what is being viewed. ACR methods include fingerprinting and watermarking. ACR-aware receivers with a broadband connection could request and retrieve additional content via broadband.

APPLICATIONS AND PRESENTATION LAYER

The applications and presentation layer represents essentially the elements that the viewer experiences, including video coding, audio coding and the run-time environment. The service model for ATSC 3.0 allows for more complex services to allow broadcasters to evolve their business. Major elements include:

Enhanced linear TV, plus on-demand supportSubscription and pay-per-view (PPV) supportConditional access and digital rights management (DRM) capabilitiesMobile and fixed device, plus companion device supportHybrid delivery (broadcast and broadband), combined with pushed contentFor video coding, UHD and HD enhancements are a key initial goal, with 4K support at the start and 8K support possible later via extensibility. HEVC (H.265) has been selected as the core video codec. Portable, handheld, vehicular, and fixed devices in both indoor and outdoor settings are all targeted, and hybrid integration of broadcast/broadband delivery is a required capability for broadcasters.

Physical layer ''pipes'' (PLPs) may enable the flexible trade-off of robustness vs. throughput for each component. Layered (scalable) coding is under consideration, possibly on multiple PLPs. The latter situation may allow delivery of an HD version for core service over a robust pipe and an enhancement layer over a higher-bitrate pipe to bring the video to UHD.

For audio coding, new personalization features are envisioned that include control of dialog, use of alternate audio tracks and mixing of assistive audio services, other language dialog, special commentary, and music and effects. Furthermore, normalization of content loudness and contouring of dynamic range, based on the specific capabilities of a user's fixed or mobile device and unique sound environment, is expected.

An enhanced immersive experience is envisioned, with high spatial resolution in sound source localization (in azimuth, elevation, and distance), for an increased sense of sound envelopment. Features will include targeted services to various devices (fixed, mobile) and speaker set-ups, support for hybrid broadcast/broadband delivery, and support for audio-only content as well as audio/video content.

The runtime (or application) environment will likely be based on HbbTV 2.0, with modifications as needed to accommodate differing needs and requirements. Some aspects from the ATSC 2.0 application environment may be used as well.

EXTENSIBILITYAlthough the ATSC 3.0 standard is meant to last, technology continues to advance and consumer demands will evolve in ways that are difficult to predict. As a result, methods must be included in the ATSC 3.0 standard to facilitate a graceful evolution from the initial technologies to newer, more advanced technologies that may be developed in the future.

Signaling is being developed that will permit new receivers to take advantage of new technologies when they are available. This signaling begins at the physical layer and extends through to the application/presentation layer. The physical layer will have a very basic, highly robust form of signaling that can indicate what technology is used for the physical layer itself. At a minimum, each layer will have the ability to signal what technologies are used in the layer above.

Signaling and announcement information will include the ability to indicate the capabilities necessary to successfully render services, with a distinction between those considered essential (by the content creator) and those considered optional.

GET INVOLVEDWork on ATSC 3.0 has been underway for more than two years. Much work remains, and many decisions are yet to be made.

Participation in ATSC is open to all with a direct and material interest in the work. Organizations interested in joining ATSC will find more information on the ATSC web site www.ATSC.org

Rich Chernock, chief science officer of Triveni Digital, holds an Sc.D. degree in nuclear materials from MIT. He is one of the principal developers of the ATSC 3.0 standard. Rich can be reached at rchernock@trivenidigital.com.

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Archived Version

Sat, 03 Aug 2019 04:51

Amazon has become the latest of the trio of tech giants to curb their secretive harvesting and processing of voice recordings via virtual assistants. The practice was rife with Google and Apple, as well.

Amazon announced on Friday it would allow users of its smartphone assistance app Alexa to deny the company access to their private conversations. ''We take customer privacy seriously and continuously review our practices and procedures,'' the Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Also on rt.com Constant surveillance: How big tech's household devices are SPYING on you She said that Amazon would also be updating the app's settings for it to include a disclaimer informing the customers that Amazon might subject their recordings to manual review if they don't opt out.

That practice reportedly saw Amazon employees listening to and transcribing some of the recordings, with the stated goal of improving the virtual assistant's services. Amazon was not alone in spying on its customers while keeping them in the dark. Google and Apple were doing the same using Google Assistant and Siri, respectively.

It all came to an abrupt end after the clandestine practice was exposed in a series of groundbreaking revelations. Google came under intense scrutiny by a German watchdog after some 1,000 voice recording were leaked to Dutch public broadcaster VRT NEWS last month. About one-tenth of recordings studied by VRT turned out to had been made in error, without a direct command by the customer. Caught red-handed, Google assured the regulator it would not be making any transcripts of speech data in the EU for at least the next three months.

Also on rt.com Siri 'regularly' records sex encounters, sends 'countless' private moments to Apple contractors Apple said Thursday it was discontinuing the practice and initiating a ''thorough review'' as well. That was, however, not before the explosive Guardian report last week revealed that third-party contractors for Apple were able to listen to medical appointments, business deals, sexual intercourse and even what appeared to be criminal interactions while combing through the troves of data vacuumed by Siri.

Amazon was the last of the three to put the human reviews on pause, although Bloomberg reported back in April that ''thousands'' of Amazon employees could be snooping on customers' ''conversations'' with Alexa with the ostensibly noble cause of upgrading the software.

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Sat, 03 Aug 2019 12:45

The US military is conducting wide-area surveillance tests across six midwest states using experimental high-altitude balloons, documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reveal.

Up to 25 unmanned solar-powered balloons are being launched from rural South Dakota and drifting 250 miles through an area spanning portions of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri, before concluding in central Illinois.

Travelling in the stratosphere at altitudes of up to 65,000ft, the balloons are intended to ''provide a persistent surveillance system to locate and deter narcotic trafficking and homeland security threats'', according to a filing made on behalf of the Sierra Nevada Corporation, an aerospace and defence company.

The balloons are carrying hi-tech radars designed to simultaneously track many individual vehicles day or night, through any kind of weather. The tests, which have not previously been reported, received an FCC license to operate from mid-July until September, following similar flights licensed last year.

Arthur Holland Michel, the co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York, said, ''What this new technology proposes is to watch everything at once. Sometimes it's referred to as 'combat TiVo' because when an event happens somewhere in the surveilled area, you can potentially rewind the tape to see exactly what occurred, and rewind even further to see who was involved and where they came from.''

The tests have been commissioned by the US Southern Command (Southcom), which is responsible for disaster response, intelligence operations and security cooperation in the Caribbean and Central and South America. Southcom is a joint effort by the US army, navy, air force and other forces, and one of its key roles is identifying and intercepting drug shipments headed for the United States.

''We do not think that American cities should be subject to wide-area surveillance in which every vehicle could be tracked wherever they go,'' said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union.

''Even in tests, they're still collecting a lot of data on Americans: who's driving to the union house, the church, the mosque, the Alzheimer's clinic,'' he said. ''We should not go down the road of allowing this to be used in the United States and it's disturbing to hear that these tests are being carried out, by the military no less.''

For many years, Sierra Nevada has supplied Southcom with light aircraft packed with millions of dollars' worth of sensors, which then flew over Mexico, Colombia, Panama and the Caribbean sea. But planes require expensive crews and can only fly for a few hours at a time. In a report to the Senate armed services committee this February, Southcom's commander, Admiral Craig Faller, wrote: ''While improving efficiency, we still only successfully interdicted about six percent of known drug movements [in 2018].''

The new balloons promise a cheap surveillance platform that could follow multiple cars and boats for extended periods. And because winds often travel in different directions at different altitudes, the balloons can usually hover over a given area simply by ascending or descending.

Neither Sierra Nevada nor US Southcom responded to requests for comment on this story. However, the rival balloon operator World View recently announced that it had carried out multi-week test missions in which its own stratospheric balloons were able to hover over a five-mile-diameter area for six and a half hours, and larger areas for days at a time.

''The very nature of [these balloons] is that they can operate for weeks and months,'' said Ryan Hartman, the CEO of World View. ''The challenge is how to harness the stratospheric winds to be able to create a persistent station-keeping capability for customers.''

Raven Aerostar, the company that is supplying the balloons for Southcom's tests and launching them from its facility in South Dakota, told the Guardian that it has had balloons remain aloft for nearly a month. Raven also makes balloons for the Alphabet subsidiary Loon, which uses them to help deliver internet and cellphone service from the stratosphere.

The FCC documents show that Southcom's balloons are carrying small, satellite-like vehicles housing sophisticated sensors and communication gear. One of those sensors is a synthetic aperture radar intended to detect every car or boat in motion on a 25-mile swath beneath the balloon.

The balloons also have advanced mesh networking technologies that allow them to communicate with one another, share data and pass it to receivers on the ground below.

The FCC filing notes that this networking includes video information. That suggests that the balloons might also carry a Sierra Nevada video capture system called Gorgon Stare. This wide-area surveillance system comprises nine cameras capable of recording panoramic images across an entire city simultaneously.

While Gorgon Stare is usually deployed on drones, Michel said that the US army has used tethered spy blimps in Afghanistan, and that US Customs and Border Protection has experimented with low-altitude balloons along the Mexico border.

But surveillance from stratospheric balloons is relatively new, said Michel, author of Eyes in the Sky, a recent book on wide area surveillance: ''The higher the altitude of the system, the wider the area that you can cover. The trade-off is that depending on the area and the system, you may get lower-resolution images.'' Balloons are also subject to fewer restrictions and regulations than drones.

It is unclear from the FCC documents whether Southcom's tests within the US are linked to any active narcotic or counter-terrorism investigations. Also, none of the parties involved would say whether the midwest vehicle data would be deleted, stored or passed on to other federal or local agencies.

''[We would like to know] what they are they doing with that data, how they are storing it, and whether they are contemplating deploying this in the US,'' said the ACLU's Stanley. ''Because if they decide that it's usable domestically, there's going to be enormous pressure to deploy it.''

The Southcom surveillance tests are probably just the tip of the iceberg. Scott Wickersham, the vice-president of Raven Aerostar, told the Guardian that it has also been working with Sierra Nevada and the Pentagon's research arm Darpa on a ''highly sophisticated and challenging development around the stratosphere''. This refers to the agency's Adaptable Lighter-Than-Air (Alta) program, an ongoing effort to perfect stratospheric balloon navigation which has included multiple launches across the country, Wickersham said.

Ryan Hartman said that World View had also completed a dozen surveillance test missions for a customer it would not name, capturing data he would not specify.

''Obviously, there are laws to protect people's privacy and we are respectful of all those laws,'' Hartman said. ''We also understand the importance of operating in an ethical way as it relates to further protecting people's privacy.''

Meanwhile, World View is currently preparing for its next surveillance flight, and Sierra Nevada's tests in the midwest continue.

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Sierra Nevada Corporation | SNCSierra Nevada Corporation SNC LogoSierra Nevada Corporation | SNC | Logo MinSierra Nevada Corporation SNC Logo Smallsearchsearch iconarrow rightarrow right iconpresspress release iconeventevent iconawardaward iconhornannouncement iconfacebookfacebook icongooglegoogle plus iconlinkedinlinkedin iconyoutubeyoutube iconinstagraminstagram iconflickrflickr iconicon pdfpdf download iconicon phonetelephone number iconicon emailemail address icon Home News & Resources Sierra Nevada Corporation Achieves Milestone for USAF's Advanced Wide-Area Airborne Persistent Surveillance System '' Gorgon Stare Increment 2

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02-08-2018, 11:03 AM #10Member

Join Date: Jan 2018

Location: Tennessee

Posts: 89

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Originally Posted by

chandler5566Don't take this personally....it's strictly my perception of the video program. You might notice that I referred to it as "craziness"....implying it appears to send a very strong message that conservatives and those who consider themselves as "right leaning" and Constitutionalists are all a bunch of nuts who should be institutionalized. That's a perception that I do not want to convey and believe this Forum needs to be on guard for. I do believe in and support free speech but there are times when caution is warranted.

With all due respect, these guys are constitutionalists and hardly a "nut job" portrayal of such.

It is comedy, guys. Comedy is not an invention made for one political side. If this form of comedy is threatening then why would Walther themselves allow it to be portrayed with their name?

But, hey, lesson learned. This is a "humor-free" zone. So I will take it out of my holster and lock it in my car before I come to the forum.

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A technology revolution in personal sound management will put you in control of your own attention in a noisy world. By Mike Elgan

Contributing Columnist, Computerworld | PT

In an age of mass production, the global internet and digital everything, the most valuable commodities have become time and attention. And everybody wants yours.

Your work demands them. Advertisers need them. Broadcast media crave them. Social networks want them. Marketers, charity panhandlers, evangelists, celebrities, smartphone apps, political campaigns and others are all clamoring for you to focus on them and ignore the rest.

Finally there's help, in the form of an emerging revolution in audio. Low-power components, better batteries, smaller AI processors, rapidly advancing digital signal processors (DSP), advanced microphone arrays, improving Bluetooth specs and other technologies are converging to enable a new world of smart earbuds, headphones and hearing aids.

What's more, with better touch and gesture controls and on-board accelerometers, very small hearable devices can be controlled without a smartphone or app.

Controlling the noiseSeveral new products are coming out this year that promise to give you control over what you hear and, therefore, what you pay attention to.

Every day for the past week, I've been wearing Bose's new wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, which first became available last month. The headphones have eight microphones, most of which are used for what is probably the best noise cancellation in the business. (Noise cancellation works by detecting ambient noise, then playing opposing soundwaves to cancel out the noise.) Some of the microphones are used for isolating your voice from the ambient noise while talking to someone in person or on the phone.

You can dial the noise cancellation from zero (this is called ''Transparency Mode'' and it lets you hear all the surrounding noise) to 10, which is maximum noise cancellation, and very quiet'--without any of the hiss common with most noise cancellation headphones.

Buttons, voice commands and built-in touchpad functionality on the outside of the right ear cup give you control from the headphones themselves; no need to use the app or your phone to control audio. One of those buttons will trigger Google Assistant or Amazon's Alexa.

The headphones can pair with two devices at the same time, giving you audio and control from either or both.

But what's impressive isn't the noise cancellation itself, but the fact that it's applied in a way that's contextually aware. For example, say you're listening to music on the Bose 700 headphones from your laptop with noise cancellation set to 10 (maximum) and get a call. Simply tap on the side of the headphones to accept the call. The headphones pause the music on your laptop and answer the call on your phone, while simultaneously turning down noise cancellation so you can hear yourself talk on the call. Meanwhile, it uses noise cancellation for the caller. In other words, your noise cancellation is reduced to about half volume, while being turned all the way up for the caller, who then can't hear the noisy room you're in. When the call ends, the device is switched back to the laptop, noise cancellation goes back up and music play is resumed.

In other words, a change in context (you go from listening to music to answering a call) leads to multiple changes in the entire audio setup to accommodate the new context. That's the future of hearables.

One promising direction comes in the form of the Jabra Elite 85h product, which offers a mode called ''SmartSound.'' The mode analyzes ambient sounds and mutes them based on their specific signatures, which means that the type of noise cancellation changes as you move from one environment to the next. For example, for safety reasons it automatically mutes sound less when you're near traffic and more when you're in a noisy coffee shop.

Another huge leap forward recently came from Sony. It's new WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds, which can be pre-ordered now but won't ship until August, have active noise cancellation (a rare feature for wireless earbuds).

And yet another emerging category is smart glasses that are optimized for audio. Bose Frames, for example, are sunglasses that have sensors and speakers built-in. Unlike other smart glasses, they don't use bone conduction. They direct actual sound into your ears without covering them. Their purpose is to convey sound from your smartphone and enable phone calls. Reviewers say they're surprised by the quality of both sound and microphone. Bose Frames hint at a future of augmented audio attention management without earbuds or headphones.

These Bose, Jabra and Sony products offer a small sample of the future of AI-enhanced attention management, where the sound you hear intelligently changes based on the needs of your context at any given moment, and where the features of today's headphones become available in tomorrow's wireless earbuds.

For a glimpse of the future, look to the pastAn early and ill-fated project, Here One earbuds from a company called Doppler, sought to kick-start the hearables revolution. The earbuds, which went on sale in 2017, promised to enable app control over sounds in the environment. For example, at a nightclub, you could block conversation and listen only to music, or vice versa. You could block the sound of a baby crying.

These earbuds offered advanced features, but their price, battery life and size all said, ''Not quite ready for prime time.'' The company's intellectual property was sold to Dolby.

But it's clear that Doppler was just early to market '-- the technology wasn't ready. Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and other companies are now working on bringing similar technology to the market.

The future of earbuds are hearables that are Doppler-like but smaller, lighter, more intelligent and powered by batteries that last all day.

It's also easy to predict the merger of smart earbuds and hearing aids, with hearables able to customize and optimize sound for everyone, including the hearing-impaired. When AI-based hearables go mainstream, hearing aids will become obsolete.

A company called Resound launched a product this year called LiNX Quattro, which is a hearing aid that uses AI. Over time, it learns to adjust the audio settings according to the wearer's preferences. It also supports Apple's Siri virtual assistant and pairs with smartphones for additional app-based control, including voice control. This all sounds great, but the problem is that the product costs thousands of dollars. Hearables and hearing aids will merge when the price of this technology comes way down '-- which, of course, it will.

The leading hearables today, of course, are Apple's AirPods, the current version of which offers always-listening Siri support and voice commands, as well as noise-filtering and the ability to pick your voice out of a cacophony of environmental noises. Apple is reportedly hard at work adding intelligence and sophisticated features into future AirPods.

Augmented reality goes audioWe tend to think of augmented reality (AR) as a primarily visual technology. But before we're all walking around wearing visual AR glasses, we'll get audio AR.

Of course, museums and sporting events (like professional tennis games) use location to offer an audio stream of information or commentary only to those present. Over time, we'll get all kinds of audio-based augmented reality applications. This is likely to take the form of features in virtual assistants that are more context-aware.

Bose, for example, is developing something called Bose AR, an audio augmented reality platform. The company is trying to initiate an ecosystem of apps that provide contextual information and notifications. The idea is that contextual information will be whispered into your ears rather than shown on a tiny screen.

Glasses with eye tracking combined with a virtual assistant will allow us to look at a business and ask, ''When does it open?'' or at a machine and ask, ''How does this work?'' and get the answer spoken to us.

Why hearables will dominate wearablesToday, smartwatches dominate the wearables market. One of the big drivers in the smartwatch and smartband categories is the quantified self '-- mostly fitness tracking. Watches can monitor activity, movement, heartbeat and other biometrics.

But guess what. So can hearables. They can even track our mental state.

Poppy Crum, a Stanford University neuroscientist and chief scientist at Dolby Laboratories, believes that in-ear hearable computing devices that deliver audio will also monitor our mood or emotional state, and using that information to change how virtual assistants interact with us. Hilariously, she says that the human ear is like a USB port to the brain, the ideal location for both ''reading from'' and ''writing to'' the brain. Both pulse and brain electrical signals can be monitored there, and she says that stress can be both detected and reduced (by reducing the sounds that cause stress, such as police sirens or babies crying).

So like watches, hearables will be able to monitor motion and heart rate. But unlike watches, they'll be able to act on that detection by changing what we're paying attention to.

In short, hearables will be less intrusive and more satisfying to use than smartwatches, and will likely overtake smartwatches in the market within 10 years.

Why people want to control attentionA recent survey by Bitkom Research in Germany found that nearly half of all people who wear headphones do so to mute their surroundings. Another 42% use them as a signal to others not to disturb them. Around 20% use headphones to focus on work.

Even without AI-augmented sound management and audio AR, people are already instinctively using even primitive headphones to seize control of their own attention.

This is the year when the first crop of capable products emerges that use AI and other advanced technologies to automatically control what you hear in order to help you control your attention.

So pay attention. The revolution in attention management audio is just beginning.

Copyright (C) 2019 IDG Communications, Inc.

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Thu, 01 Aug 2019 19:57

Image Over the years, Jeffrey E. Epstein surrounded himself with many prominent scientists, including several affiliated with Harvard. Credit Credit Rick Friedman/Corbis, via Getty Images Jeffrey E. Epstein, the wealthy financier who is accused of sex trafficking, had an unusual dream: He hoped to seed the human race with his DNA by impregnating women at his vast New Mexico ranch.

Mr. Epstein over the years confided to scientists and others about his scheme, according to four people familiar with his thinking, although there is no evidence that it ever came to fruition.

Mr. Epstein's vision reflected his longstanding fascination with what has become known as transhumanism: the science of improving the human population through technologies like genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. Critics have likened transhumanism to a modern-day version of eugenics, the discredited field of improving the human race through controlled breeding.

Mr. Epstein, who was charged in July with the sexual trafficking of girls as young as 14, was a serial illusionist: He lied about the identities of his clients, his wealth, his financial prowess, his personal achievements. But he managed to use connections and charisma to cultivate valuable relationships with business and political leaders.

Interviews with more than a dozen of his acquaintances, as well as public documents, show that he used the same tactics to insinuate himself into an elite scientific community, thus allowing him to pursue his interests in eugenics and other fringe fields like cryonics.

Lawyers for Mr. Epstein, who has pleaded not guilty to the sex-trafficking charges, did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Epstein attracted a glittering array of prominent scientists. They included the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann, who discovered the quark; the theoretical physicist and best-selling author Stephen Hawking; the paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould; Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and best-selling author; George M. Church, a molecular engineer who has worked to identify genes that could be altered to create superior humans; and the M.I.T. theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek, a Nobel laureate.

Image Mr. Epstein's ranch in New Mexico, which he confided to scientists and others he hoped to use as the site for seeding the human race with his DNA. Credit Drone Base/Reuters The lure for some of the scientists was Mr. Epstein's money. He dangled financing for their pet projects. Some of the scientists said that the prospect of financing blinded them to the seriousness of his sexual transgressions, and even led them to give credence to some of Mr. Epstein's half-baked scientific musings.

Scientists gathered at dinner parties at Mr. Epstein's Manhattan mansion, where Dom P(C)rignon and expensive wines flowed freely, even though Mr. Epstein did not drink. He hosted buffet lunches at Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, which he had helped start with a $6.5 million donation.

Others flew to conferences sponsored by Mr. Epstein in the United States Virgin Islands and were feted on his private island there. Once, the scientists '-- including Mr. Hawking '-- crowded on board a submarine that Mr. Epstein had chartered.

The Harvard cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker said he was invited by colleagues '-- including Martin Nowak, a Harvard professor of mathematics and biology, and the theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss '-- to ''salons and coffee klatsches'' at which Mr. Epstein would hold court.

While some of Mr. Pinker's peers hailed Mr. Epstein as brilliant, Mr. Pinker described him as an ''intellectual impostor.''

''He would abruptly change the subject, A.D.D.-style, dismiss an observation with an adolescent wisecrack,'' Mr. Pinker said.

Another scientist cultivated by Mr. Epstein, Jaron Lanier, a prolific author who is a founder of virtual reality, said that Mr. Epstein's ideas did not amount to science, in that they did not lend themselves to rigorous proof. Mr. Lanier said Mr. Epstein had once hypothesized that atoms behaved like investors in a marketplace.

Mr. Lanier said he had declined any funding from Mr. Epstein and that he had met with him only once after Mr. Epstein in 2008 pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Image Harvard's Steven Pinker was one of the scientific luminaries who met with Mr. Epstein. Credit Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times Mr. Epstein was willing to finance research that others viewed as bizarre. He told one scientist that he was bankrolling efforts to identify a mysterious particle that might trigger the feeling that someone is watching you.

At one session at Harvard, Mr. Epstein criticized efforts to reduce starvation and provide health care to the poor because doing so increased the risk of overpopulation, said Mr. Pinker, who was there. Mr. Pinker said he had rebutted the argument, citing research showing that high rates of infant mortality simply caused people to have more children. Mr. Epstein seemed annoyed, and a Harvard colleague later told Mr. Pinker that he had been ''voted off the island'' and was no longer welcome at Mr. Epstein's gatherings.

Then there was Mr. Epstein's interest in eugenics.

On multiple occasions starting in the early 2000s, Mr. Epstein told scientists and businessmen about his ambitions to use his New Mexico ranch as a base where women would be inseminated with his sperm and would give birth to his babies, according to two award-winning scientists and an adviser to large companies and wealthy individuals, all of whom Mr. Epstein told about it.

It was not a secret. The adviser, for example, said he was told about the plans not only by Mr. Epstein, at a gathering at his Manhattan townhouse, but also by at least one prominent member of the business community. One of the scientists said Mr. Epstein divulged his idea in 2001 at a dinner at the same townhouse; the other recalled Mr. Epstein discussing it with him at a 2006 conference that he hosted in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

The idea struck all three as far-fetched and disturbing. There is no indication that it would have been against the law.

Once, at a dinner at Mr. Epstein's mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Mr. Lanier said he talked to a scientist who told him that Mr. Epstein's goal was to have 20 women at a time impregnated at his 33,000-square-foot Zorro Ranch in a tiny town outside Santa Fe. Mr. Lanier said the scientist identified herself as working at NASA, but he did not remember her name.

According to Mr. Lanier, the NASA scientist said Mr. Epstein had based his idea for a baby ranch on accounts of the Repository for Germinal Choice, which was to be stocked with the sperm of Nobel laureates who wanted to strengthen the human gene pool. (Only one Nobel Prize winner has acknowledged contributing sperm to it. The repository discontinued operations in 1999.)

Mr. Lanier, the virtual-reality creator and author, said he had the impression that Mr. Epstein was using the dinner parties '-- where some guests were attractive women with impressive academic credentials '-- to screen candidates to bear Mr. Epstein's children.

Image Mr. Epstein's island in the United States Virgin Islands. Credit Marco Bello/Reuters Mr. Epstein did not hide his interest in tinkering with genes '-- and in perpetuating his own DNA.

One adherent of transhumanism said that he and Mr. Epstein discussed the financier's interest in cryonics, an unproven science in which people's bodies are frozen to be brought back to life in the future. Mr. Epstein told this person that he wanted his head and penis to be frozen.

Southern Trust Company, Mr. Epstein's Virgin Island-incorporated business, disclosed in a local filing that it was engaged in DNA analysis. Calls to Southern Trust, which sponsored a science and math fair for school children in the Virgin Islands in 2014, were not returned.

In 2011, a charity established by Mr. Epstein gave $20,000 to the Worldwide Transhumanist Association, which now operates under the name Humanity Plus. The group's website says that its goal is ''to deeply influence a new generation of thinkers who dare to envision humanity's next steps.''

Mr. Epstein's foundation, which is now defunct, also gave $100,000 to pay the salary of Ben Goertzel, vice chairman of Humanity Plus, according to Mr. Goertzel's r(C)sum(C).

''I have no desire to talk about Epstein right now,'' Mr. Goertzel said in an email to The New York Times. ''The stuff I'm reading about him in the papers is pretty disturbing and goes way beyond what I thought his misdoings and kinks were. Yecch.''

Alan M. Dershowitz, a professor emeritus of law at Harvard, recalled that at a lunch Mr. Epstein hosted in Cambridge, Mass., he steered the conversation toward the question of how humans could be improved genetically. Mr. Dershowitz said he was appalled, given the Nazis' use of eugenics to justify their genocidal effort to purify the Aryan race.

Yet the lunches persisted.

''Everyone speculated about whether these scientists were more interested in his views or more interested in his money,'' said Mr. Dershowitz, who was one of Mr. Epstein's defense lawyers in the 2008 case.

Luminaries at Mr. Epstein's St. Thomas conference in 2006 included Mr. Hawking and the Caltech theoretical physicist Kip S. Thorne. One participant at that conference, which was ostensibly on the subject of gravity, recalled that Mr. Epstein wanted to talk about perfecting the human genome. Mr. Epstein said he was fascinated with how certain traits were passed on, and how that could result in superior humans.

Image Mr. Epstein and his onetime lawyer, Alan M. Dershowitz. Credit Rick Friedman/Corbis, via Getty Images Mr. Epstein appears to have gained entree into the scientific community through John Brockman, a literary agent whose best-selling science writers include Richard Dawkins, Daniel Goleman and Jared Diamond. Mr. Brockman did not respond to requests for comment.

For two decades, Mr. Brockman presided over a series of salons that matched his scientist-authors with potential benefactors. (The so-called ''billionaires' dinners'' apparently became a model for the gatherings at Mr. Epstein's East 71st Street townhouse, which included some of the same guests.)

In 2004, Mr. Brockman hosted a dinner at the Indian Summer restaurant in Monterey, Calif., where Mr. Epstein was introduced to scientists, including Seth Lloyd, the M.I.T. physicist. Mr. Lloyd said that he found Mr. Epstein to be ''charming'' and to have ''interesting ideas,'' although they ''turned out to be quite vague.''

Also at the Indian Summer dinner, according to an account on the website of Mr. Brockman's Edge Foundation, were the Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and Jeff Bezos, who was accompanied by his mother.

''All the good-looking women were sitting with the physicists' table,'' Daniel Dubno, who was a CBS producer at the time and attended the dinner, was quoted as saying. Mr. Dubno told The Times that he did not recall the dinner or having said those words.

Mr. Brockman was Mr. Gell-Mann's agent, and Mr. Gell-Mann, in the acknowledgments section of his 1995 book ''The Quark and the Jaguar,'' thanked Mr. Epstein for his financial support.

However impressive his roster of scientific contacts, Mr. Epstein could not resist embellishing it. He claimed on one of his websites to have had ''the privilege of sponsoring many prominent scientists,'' including Mr. Pinker, Mr. Thorne and the M.I.T. mathematician and geneticist Eric S. Lander.

Mr. Pinker said he had never taken any financial or other support from Mr. Epstein. ''Needless to say, I find Epstein's behavior reprehensible,'' he said.

Mr. Thorne, who recently won a Nobel Prize, said he attended Mr. Epstein's 2006 conference, believing it to be co-sponsored by a reputable research center. Other than that, ''I have had no contact with, relationship with, affiliation with or funding from Epstein,'' he said. ''I unequivocally condemn his abhorrent actions involving minors.''

Lee McGuire, a spokesman for Mr. Lander, said he has had no relationship with Mr. Epstein. ''Mr. Epstein appears to have made up lots of things,'' Mr. McGuire said, ''and this seems to be among them.''

Correction:Aug 1, 2019An earlier version of this article misstated when the prominent scientists Stephen Jay Gould, Stephen Hawking, Murray Gell-Mann, Oliver Sacks and Frank Wilczek attended gatherings hosted by Jeffrey E. Epstein. The events they attended occurred before Mr. Epstein's 2008 conviction, not after it.

Freeman Rogers contributed reporting.

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Politics | President Trump Grants Pardon to Conrad Black Image The former press baron Conrad M. Black was found guilty of fraud and obstruction of justice after swindling his company, Hollinger International, of $60 million. Credit Credit John Gress/Reuters WASHINGTON '-- President Trump on Wednesday granted a full pardon to Conrad M. Black, the former press baron and onetime society fixture who was found guilty of fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007.

The pardon of Mr. Black, a political ally and longtime associate of Mr. Trump's, was the latest example of the president using one of the unilateral powers of his office to absolve a high-profile public figure whose case resonates with him personally, bucking the more traditional practice of sifting through thousands of pardon applications awaiting his review.

In 2017, Mr. Trump granted a pardon to Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff and another close political ally whose aggressive efforts to detain undocumented immigrants earned him a criminal contempt conviction.

Last year, the president pardoned Dinesh D'Souza, the conservative commentator convicted of campaign finance violations.

His pardon of Mr. Black, a personal friend and the author of pro-Trump opinion pieces as well as a flattering book, ''Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other,'' is his first since the release of the special counsel's report, which did not come to any conclusion on whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice. It comes as Mr. Trump has continued to vent publicly about being the target of what he views as an unjust ''witch hunt.''

Mr. Black, who was born in Canada and is also known as Lord Black of Crossharbour, was charged with swindling his company, Hollinger International, of $60 million. He was sentenced to a prison term of six and a half years but was released after serving just over two years. After a federal judge ruled that Mr. Black had not served enough time, he returned for about a year.

In a statement, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, noted that the Supreme Court ''largely disagreed'' with the prosecutors who put Mr. Black in jail, and ''overturned almost all charges in the case.'' She added, ''He nevertheless spent 3.5 years in prison.''

Ms. Sanders described Mr. Black, who once owned The Chicago Sun-Times, The Jerusalem Post and The Daily Telegraph in London, as ''an entrepreneur and scholar'' who ''has made tremendous contributions to business, as well as to political and historical thought.'' She also cited support for Mr. Black from Henry A. Kissinger, the former secretary of state; Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host and a frequent golf partner of the president's; and the musician Elton John.

Mr. Black, an outsize character in the vein of the president, has a long history with him. During Mr. Black's 2007 trial, Mr. Trump was expected to be called as a witness to bolster Mr. Black's defense. He was expected to fly to Chicago and testify that a lavish $62,000 surprise party Mr. Black threw for his wife at the restaurant La Grenouille in New York '-- the bulk of which he charged to his company '-- was a business event, not a social event.

He was expected to say that he was negotiating a possible joint venture with Mr. Black's company to turn the headquarters of The Sun-Times into a hotel and residential tower.

But Mr. Black's defense lawyers decided at the last minute not to have Mr. Trump testify.

A day before his pardon was announced, Mr. Black published an opinion piece in National Review titled ''Smooth Sailing Ahead for Trump.'' Mr. Trump was ''the only serious businessman to hold the office,'' Mr. Black wrote, asserting that Mr. Trump would have ''a stronger argument for reelection next year than any president since Richard Nixon in 1972.''

On Tuesday night, Mr. Black posted an essay explaining that when the president called him last week, he believed it was a prank.

Mr. Black wrote that Mr. Trump addressed him as ''the great Lord Black'' and said he was pardoning him to ''expunge the bad rap you got.'' He said that Mr. Trump and the White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, who was in the room with the president, agreed that he could say publicly that the pardon was being granted because Mr. Trump believed that his verdict was unjust.

''We've known each other a long time,'' Mr. Trump said, according to Mr. Black. ''But that wasn't any part of the reason. Nor has any of the supportive things you've said and written about me.''

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A 22-year-old has been arrested in an alleged scam of the largest internet retailer that totaled nearly $370,000 by sending return packages filled with dirt.

James Gilbert Kwarteng, of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, allegedly swindled Amazon by filling up the ordered items' boxes with dirt and registering with the exact weight of the product. He would then receive a refund from Amazon and sell the original item, according to El Espa±ol and El Diario de Mallorca.

MORE FROM FOXBUSINESS.COMThe return packages would end up sitting around in Amazon's warehouses where they aren't checked often. The scam wasn't discovered until through a random search where someone opened a box and discovered it was full of dirt.

Amazon's return policy states items shipped from the website, including Amazon Warehouse, can be returned within 30 days of receipt. Refunds are processed in two business days and customers can expect their funds show in their account in three to five business days.

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The report states the success of the alleged scam by Kwarteng, who has been released on bail, enabled him to create his own company.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 12:15

2020 Democratic Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson is coming under fire following comments made over the controversial vaccine issue. During an interview with MSNBC host Ari Melber, Williamson said that there were less chronic illnesses when she was growing up. The comment suggests that modern vaccine schedules increase illnesses.

Williamson has also deemed mandatory vaccination laws as ''draconian'' and ''Orwellian'' in the past.

''When I was a child we took far fewer vaccines, and there was much less bungling. And there was much less chronic illness.'' She said during the interview.

WATCH: @AriMelber presses Marianne Williamson on her stance on vaccinationhttps://t.co/uPYtdwa7GK pic.twitter.com/hYInk3J4kh

'-- TheBeat w/Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) July 31, 2019

Williamson says that chronic illnesses have increased since 1986, which is the same year that the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was instilled. This act formalized the United States vaccine schedule. The CDC claims that six out of every 10 adults are diagnosed with a chronic illness.

Williamson's bigger target seems to be the pharmaceutical industry in general, who she feels lobbies their way to favorable policy.

''When you look at all the money that is spent by pharmaceutical companies '... why are we so okay with the complete shutdown of any conversation about this topic?'' She says.

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She went on to clarify her position as pro-vaccine, but that's not likely to quell mainstream condemnation over the matter.

''On the issue of vaccinations, I'm pro-vaccination. I'm pro-medicine and pro-science,'' she said.

A month ago, Williamson was more aggressive in her tone regarding mandatory vaccines. During a rally in New Hampshire, Williamson compared the vaccine debate to the debate over abortions.

''To me, it's no different than the abortion debate. The US government doesn't tell any citizen, in my book, what they have to do with their body or their child,'' she said.

Williamson has made waves ever since she announced her candidacy. The Democratic debates, which have featured a slew of mudslinging and party instability, has left open the possibility that an unlikely candidate carves a path. Following Tulsi Gabbard's takedown of 2020 favorite Kamala Harris, the party is as unstable as it's been in decades. There is no clear Primary candidate among the herd, something that Liberals fear gives Trump the upper-and in 2020.

In the end, the Democratic party needs to come up with a more unified message that offers party stability. Unfortunately, the vaccine issue is tricky territory for a party already engaged in a slew of polarizing social issues. Williamson and Gabbard (mostly Gabbard) are likely to continue to destabilize a political party that already cracked at the seams.

Here's a guide to every 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate's position on vaccines.

Author: Jim Satney PrepForThat's Editor and lead writer for political, survival, and weather categories.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 04:22

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 04:16

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. '-- The families of Walmart workers Anthony Brown and Brandon Gales never knew they wouldn't return home following their shifts on Tuesday. Authorities say the two were shot and killed by a former co-worker.

Complete strangers say they immediately began praying for restored peace.

"I just said, 'God, cover those that witnesses it and those that were actually the victims of it, their family and anyone connected to it," a resident said.

Police identified the suspect as Martez Abram, who has been described as a "disgruntled employee."

Two flower bouquets mark the sport where a vigil will soon take place. It's where many are expected to gather and honor those affected.

What happened is hard to adults to understand, so it comes as no surprise when 13-year-old Myeshia Cunningham says, "This is not the world I want to grow up in, because it's like when you go into a store it feels like it's kind of dangerous. You can get robbed, shot or even witness it."

She's struggling to make sense of the senselessness. Even the young say the community coming together will offer much needed support for the victims, while beginning the healing process.

The candlelight vigil will be held Friday night. It begins at 7:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Southaven Walmart.

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THE INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING. SHEREE:SHEREE: MORE FALLOUT OVER THAT VIRAL VIDEO INVOLVING A GROUP OF COVINGTON CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS A NEW LIBEL LAWSUIT HAS NOW BEEN FILED. EIGHT UNNAMED STUDENTS, WHO ARE SHOWN ON VIDEO DURING THAT ENCOUNTER INVOLVING NICK SANDMANN AND NATHAN PHILLIPS. ARE SUING A NUMBER OF PEOPLE. THE LAWSUIT CLAIMS. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ELIZABETH WARREN, COMEDIAN KATHY GRIFFIN, AND A PRINCETON HISTORY PROFESSOR AMONG OTHERS. THEY SAY, SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTS CALLED FOR THE BOYS TO BE PUBLICLY IDENTIFIED, AND RETALIATED AGAINST. AND ACCORDING TO THE SUIT. EVERYONE NAMED AS A DEFENDANT WAS GIVEN THE CHANCE TO CORRECT, DELETE OR APOLOGIZE FOR THE STATEMENTS. ONCE MORE INFORMATION CAME

Covington Catholic students file lawsuit against public figures over social media comments about viral video

A 30-page libel lawsuit was filed against a dozen public figures who wrote about the Covington Catholic incident on social media and online.The lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight unnamed students who became the subjects of international scrutiny thanks to viral videos of an encounter in Washington, D.C., between Nicholas Sandmann, 16, and Native American activist Nathan Phillips. The lawsuit goes after a number of people including a Princeton history professor and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. The suit claims the public figures made defamatory comments about the Covington Catholic High School students on social media and online. It says social media comments called for the boys to be publicly identified and retaliated against.The suit lists the public figures as defendants, and they are as follows:Rep. Debra Haaland (D-N.M.)Ana Violeta Navarro Flores, a Republican strategist and political commentatorSen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and presidential candidateMaggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for The New York Times and a political analyst for CNNKathy Griffin, a comedian and actressMatthew Dowd, a political consultantReza Aslan, a scholar of religious studies and authorKevin M. Kruse, a professor of history at Princeton UniversityShaun King, an activistAdam Edelen, former auditor of public accounts for the commonwealth of KentuckyClara Jeffery, editor-in-chief of Mother JonesJodi Jacobson, editor-in-chief of Rewire.NewsAccording to the suit, everyone named as a defendant was given the chance to correct, delete or apologize for the statements once more information came out, but all of them refused to do so.Kevin L. Murphy, who is an attorney from Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, is representing the students.Last month, a judge threw out Sandmann's defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post.

KENTON COUNTY, Ky. '--A 30-page libel lawsuit was filed against a dozen public figures who wrote about the Covington Catholic incident on social media and online.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight unnamed students who became the subjects of international scrutiny thanks to viral videos of an encounter in Washington, D.C., between Nicholas Sandmann, 16, and Native American activist Nathan Phillips.

The lawsuit goes after a number of people including a Princeton history professor and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren.

The suit claims the public figures made defamatory comments about the Covington Catholic High School students on social media and online. It says social media comments called for the boys to be publicly identified and retaliated against.

The suit lists the public figures as defendants, and they are as follows:

Rep. Debra Haaland (D-N.M.)Ana Violeta Navarro Flores, a Republican strategist and political commentatorSen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and presidential candidateMaggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for The New York Times and a political analyst for CNNKathy Griffin, a comedian and actressMatthew Dowd, a political consultantReza Aslan, a scholar of religious studies and authorKevin M. Kruse, a professor of history at Princeton UniversityShaun King, an activistAdam Edelen, former auditor of public accounts for the commonwealth of KentuckyClara Jeffery, editor-in-chief of Mother JonesJodi Jacobson, editor-in-chief of Rewire.NewsAccording to the suit, everyone named as a defendant was given the chance to correct, delete or apologize for the statements once more information came out, but all of them refused to do so.

Kevin L. Murphy, who is an attorney from Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, is representing the students.

Last month, a judge threw out Sandmann's defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post.

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Sat, 03 Aug 2019 14:00

It's a new day in DC with President Trump in charge.As Trump surmised, DC is more than a swamp. It's also the burial ground of pricks and other anti-American naer-do-wells. And the president decimated them over his tenure, so much so that many surviving swamp rats now see the light.

According to former District Attorney Joe DiGenova, many DC scoundrels now flock back to the IG to 'correct their testimony'.

''As a result of the appointment of #Durham ppl are flocking back to #Horowitz to 'correct their testimony' to let him know they remembered new things'... ppl r worried & they should be'... Incl FBI officials.''- #JoeDiGenova pic.twitter.com/T1FMNm2iMF

'-- 🇺🇸ðŸ--¥Lady De'PlorableðŸ--¥ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸ (@LadyRedWave) July 25, 2019

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Partial transcript: DiGenova: ''Here's what's happening. As a result of the appointment of Durham, people are flocking back to Horowitz to quote 'correct their testimony'. to let him know they remembered new things. That they found out stuff that they didn't know about. People are worried and they should be. This includes FBI officials and others, and as a result of that I'm delighted he's delaying.''

You know you're on the right track, when Democrats pimp their strategy.

Back in June of this year, Adam Schiff mentioned needing whistleblowers to step forward:

At a Q&A Tuesday morning at the Council on Foreign Relations, House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff said that Attorney General Bill Barr's wide definition of presidential authority essential means he believes the president is ''above the law.''

''We might not know, unless a whistleblower steps forward, whether Bill Barr is abusing his authority even beyond fundamental abuse by trying to exonerate the President on obstruction of justice,'' Schiff said. ''And so we find ourselves, I think for the first time, with an attorney general who really is the President's defense lawyer and spokesperson.''

What Schiff really means is that whistleblowers are coming forward against the Democrats, as DiGenova discussed.But what I really appreciate is Schiff's comment about Barr protecting President Trump. Particularly considering what Eric Holder said and did for Obama.

Back in 2013 in an interview with Tom Joyner, then Attorney General Eric Holder brushed off a question about when he might leave the administration. Instead, the top lawman professed his allegiance to President Barack Obama.

''I'm still enjoying what I'm doing, there's still work to be done. I'm still the President's wing-man, so I'm there with my boy. So we'll see.''

And we saw, as the Washington Times reported of Holder:

President Barack Obama's attorney general who once described himself as his president's ''wing man'' showed up on television over the weekend to brag that unlike Attorney General Jeff Sessions he had the pleasure of serving a president ''I did not have to protect.'' The man is either suffering from early onset dementia or lying to rewrite history.

Ironically, Trump fired Sessions, his supposed ''protector''. Moreover, as we will soon see, Trump's only need for protection was from the Democrats who attempted the coup.

And you can bet that Holder would have been part of the epicenter of that coup had he remained with Obama. The article continues:

As those outside the confines of the Democratic Party might remember, Eric Holder has the distinction of being the only attorney general in history ever held in contempt of Congress. The charges stemmed from his stonewalling and lying to Congress as he scrambled to keep investigators away from any evidence that might link a major Obama administration scandal directly to the White House.

In other words, Holder isn't out of the woods just yet.But before I expound on this, recall that Obama invoked executive privilege to protect Holder:

Back to Horowitz: Investigate the investigators.The Washington Examiner reported on the updated release date for the Inspector General's report,

Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures that he ''expects that report later this fall.''

His colleague John Ratcliffe, who has spoken to Horowitz, gave a more specific target. The Texas congressman told Fox News' Bret Baier on Wednesday, ''I think that we will get the IG's report probably sometime right after Labor Day.'' Labor Day is Sept. 2.

Why the delay? Because more people now rethink their previous testimony. Moreover, with Durham in charge, the people being investigated no longer center around Trump.

The article continues,

The delay in Horowitz's work was reportedly due to his team's two-day meeting with Steele in person in London in early June, during President Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom. Investigators found Steele's information credible enough to warrant extending their investigation.

I can only imagine the scrambling of the swamp rats when the news came of Durham replacing Obama appointee John Huber. Because that replacement represented the signal to DC that things had changed.

U.S. Attorney John Durham can and will likely convene a grand jury. Further, he has the authority to subpoena people outside of the government.

The clock ticks. Christmas will come early for Conservatives when the veil is pulled back on this political scam of biblical proportions.

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Fri, 02 Aug 2019 21:02

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Fri, 02 Aug 2019 03:48

''97 percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is real.''

How many times have you heard that statement? Probably hundreds. It may seem like a compelling and scientific argument against fossil fuels, but it's one of the most illogical, unscientific arguments you can make. To see how, let's use this form of argument for another controversial product, vaccines.

An anti-vaccine person approaches you and says, ''97 percent of doctors say that the side effects of vaccines are real?''

What would you say in response?

You'd probably say, ''Yeah but the benefits far outweigh the side effects.''

By saying that ''97% of doctors agree that vaccine side effects are real'' without mentioning any of the benefits of vaccines, the anti-vaccine activist is trying to get you to look at the potential dangers of vaccines out of context.

When fossil fuel opponents say ''97 percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is real,'' they are doing the same. Yes, using fossil fuels for energy has a side effect'--increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Okay. But what about the upside? In the case of fossil fuel that upside is enormous: the cheap, plentiful, and reliable energy that makes modern life possible, and at a scale no other energy source can match.

So, how significant is the side effect? This raises another problem with the statement ''97% percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is real.'' It tells us nothing about the meaning or magnitude of ''climate change'''--whether it's a mild, manageable warming or a runaway, catastrophic warming. This is an example of the fallacy of equivocation'--using the same term in different, contradictory ways.

If someone were to say ''97% of doctors agree that vaccine side effects are real,'' what exact ''vaccine side effects'' do the doctors agree on? That a certain number of babies will get a rash? Or that large percentages will get full-blown autism? Precision is key, right?

But fossil fuel opponents don't want you to know the precise magnitude of climate change. Because if you did you wouldn't be scared of climate change, you would be scared of losing the benefits of fossil fuels.

For example, listen to how Secretary of State John Kerry manipulates the ''97 percent of scientists'' line. ''97 percent of climate scientists have confirmed that climate change is happening and that human activity is responsible,'' he said in a speech in Indonesia in 2014. Later, in the same speech, he claimed that Scientists agree that, ''The world as we know it will change'--and it will change dramatically for the worse.'' 97 percent of climate scientists never said any such thing.

So what did the 97 percent actually say? It turns out, nothing remotely resembling catastrophic climate change. One of the main studies justifying 97 percent was done by John Cook, a climate communications fellow for the Global Change Institute in Australia. Here's his own summary of his survey: ''Cook et al. (2013) found that over 97 percent [of papers surveyed] endorsed the view that the Earth is warming up and human emissions of greenhouse gases are the main cause.''

''Main cause'' means ''over 50 percent. But the vast majority of papers don't say that human beings are the main cause of recent warming. In fact, one analysis showed that less than 2 percent of papers actually said that.

How did Cook get to 97 percent, then? First, he added papers that explicitly said there was man-made warming but didn't say how much. Then, he added papers that didn't even say there was man-made warming, but he thought it was implied.

A scientific researcher has a sacred obligation to accurately report his findings. Cook and researchers like him have failed us'--as have the politicians and media figures who have blindly repeated the 97 percent claim to support their anti-fossil fuel goals.

How can we protect ourselves against this kind of manipulation? Whenever someone tells you that scientists agree on something, ask two questions: ''What exactly do they agree on? And, ''How did they prove it?''

I'm Alex Epstein, author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, for Prager University.

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Thu, 01 Aug 2019 21:55

August 1, 2019 at 4:40 pmBALTIMORE (WJZ) '-- Baltimore Police are investigating after the home of Rep. Elijah Cummings was broken into early Saturday morning.

The burglary occurred around 3:40 a.m. at his Baltimore home in the 2000 block of Madison Avenue.

The 2000 block of Madison Avenue, where Rep. Elijah Cummings lives. Credit: WJZ Chopper 13.

RELATED COVERAGE:

White House Tweets Baltimore's Murder Rate Is Higher Than Honduras, El Salvador, GuatemalaRep. Elijah Cummings Visits Baltimore Constituents In Waverly After Trump Tweet FalloutBen Carson Booted From Baltimore Church PropertyNancy Pelosi Defends Baltimore Hometown, Calls Kushner A 'Slumlord'Trump lashes out about Baltimore on TwitterAt this time, police don't know if any property was taken.

This was several hours before President Donald Trump tweeted criticizing Cummings and his district including Baltimore.

Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA'...'...

'-- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019

Trump has continued to criticize over the last couple of days. Cummings has remained mostly silent as Trump continued to tweet and speak about Baltimore's high crime rate and what he called a ''rodent-infest mess.''

On Thursday, he visited Baltimore constituents in Waverly.

I visited a packed house at Stadium Place today to provide the seniors there with a legislative update & to talk about my work in Congress. We talked about what matters to them, & they encouraged me to keep doing my job & continue fighting for them in Washington. pic.twitter.com/UPKxoHGSA3

'-- Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) August 1, 2019

Detectives from the Central District are investigating this incident. Anyone with information is asked to call 410-396-2221 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.

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Thu, 01 Aug 2019 21:27

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