Cover for No Agenda Show 1555: AMAB
May 14th, 2023 • 3h 3m

1555: AMAB

Shownotes

Every new episode of No Agenda is accompanied by a comprehensive list of shownotes curated by Adam while preparing for the show. Clips played by the hosts during the show can also be found here.

Big Tech
JOE ALLEN: How corporate America is encouraging us to embrace the digital undead | Human Events | humanevents.com
"The virtual reality company Somnium Space has resurfaced in the media after offering digital immortality. Their nascent "Live Forever" mode promises to transform you or your deceased loved ones into a cross between an NPC and an NFT. They’re just one of many companies working on resurrection tech, including Microsoft and Amazon. The weirdest part is the technology works. Sort of.
Voice recordings, photographs, videos, emails, social media posts, and any other personal data are fed into AI systems. After a brief training period, the digital undead shamble out the other side. These wraiths will go on to haunt a hard drive or cloud storage space. Invigorated by recent advances in artificial intelligence—particularly OpenAI’s GPT—the Somnium Space CEO, Artur Sychov, believes he’ll be uploading human souls to the metaverse within the next few years."
"Amazon – At the 2022 MARS conference, the head scientist for Alexa AI, Rohit Prasad, exhibited an Alexa reading a story to a young child. The voice was the kid’s dead grandmother. “While AI can’t eliminate the pain of loss,” Prasad said, “it can definitely make memories last.” "
Big Pharma
There is a nationwide shortage of stimulant medications that is impacting all pharmacies
"There is a nationwide shortage of stimulant medications that is impacting all pharmacies. This may include brand and generic forms of Adderall®, Concerta® and Ritalin® used to treat ADHD and some other conditions." From my provider Kaiser Northern CA. I don't know why they would notify me but it was on top of the prescription page. Terry
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Transmaoism
Transmaoism And Technology Note
Bog Pharma is now using their 'science' and studies to reject the obvious, just like CIVID and Ivermectin of mRNA vaccines
We're fighting each other for politicians gain, when the real Enemy is Big Pharma
"Kiddos" BOTG
On recent episodes you have been discussing the phenomenon of people calling children "kiddos." I first noticed this and became uncomfortable with the term when watching the various non-binary TikTok weirdos out in the world. I can't think of any specific examples, but it seemed to always be the groomer teacher types.
I began associating the word kiddo with groomers. Something about the fact that they don't have children of their own and are using this diminutive term for others' children was very unsettling to me. I'm not saying that everyone who says kiddo is a groomer just that it seems common with that group. I have friends that say it and don't bring it up because I know they mean no harm.
The worst instance was one of my wife's doctors during her pregnancy referring to our then unborn child as a kiddo.
Basically I hear "kiddo" and I think "pedo."
Thank you for your courage.
Jordan
Kiddo BOTG
dear adam and john,
thank you for calling out the word “kiddo” because i recently told my boyfriend that only stupid people use that word and he was unconvinced but luckily he listens to the show and he won’t dare to refute us all!!!
this word drives me crazy, it’s a stupid trend word that everyone in my generation is using reflexively. they also say “doggo.”
i think it’s gross because it originated with the tik tok teachers calling their students “kiddos” as like a gender neutral cute name to make them seem innocent and caring. i have the same disgust reflex to it as you do…
1555 update, i haven’t seen any of those horror films so that’s not it for me. I think it’s because it originated with the people who are trans-ing the kids. they call adults “folks” and children “kiddos.” look out for kiddo in your teacher tik toks, john!!
love ya, mel
Kiddo gender neutral term = woke speak by teachers
The term "kiddo" is a colloquialism that is often used as a term of endearment or familiarity towards someone who is younger or less experienced. Its origins are unclear, but it has been in use for several decades.
One possible reason why "kiddo" became popular is that it has a friendly and affectionate connotation, making it a popular term of endearment between family members, friends, or even strangers. Additionally, the term "kiddo" can be used to convey a sense of protectiveness or mentorship, which can be appealing to some people.
Another possible reason why "kiddo" has become so popular is that it is a gender-neutral term that can be used to address both boys and girls, making it a versatile and inclusive choice of address. It is also a relatively informal term that can help to create a relaxed and approachable atmosphere in social interactions.
Overall, the popularity of the term "kiddo" can be attributed to its warmth, familiarity, inclusivity, and informal nature, which make it a popular choice for many people in various social contexts.
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Big Pharma is the enemy, the snake symbol, the serpent
Mom of 14 year old clinical test questions BOTG
My daughter had a sports physical in March, she was 14-years-old at the time. I looked over the paperwork they gave her as I’m curious about what they were wanting to know. They ask on one form that the questionnaire be filled out alone, in private, away from parents. SHE IS A MINOR!!! (please see both attached pictures). We live in Minnesota and went to a XXX XXXXclinic for the visit.
At the end of the physical the woman P.A. (Physicians assistant) told my daughter that she needed to do a visual exam of her breasts to make sure they were “developing properly.” My daughter gave her a look of wtf and disgust and then looked at me with an uneasy expression. The doctor said there would be no physical exam and I could leave to give her more privacy. I declined the “exam” on my daughters behalf because of how creepy this interaction was altogether- especially after having read the paperwork!!! Her friends who had to do these physicals also had to do the same thing, however they didn’t decline the visual “exam.” I’m not sure these girls or their parents know you can decline these things.
Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States | Pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics
recent descriptive article hypothesized the existence of a new subtype of gender dysphoria, putatively termed “rapid-onset gender dysphoria” (ROGD).3 The ROGD hypothesis asserts that young people begin to identify as TGD for the first time as adolescents rather than as prepubertal children and that this identification and subsequent gender dysphoria are the result of social contagion. This hypothesis further asserts that youth assigned female sex at birth (AFAB) are more susceptible to social contagion than those assigned male sex at birth (AMAB),3 with a resultant expectation of increasing overrepresentation of TGD AFAB youth relative to TGD AMAB youth.
Of note, this hypothesis was formed solely through the analysis of online parental survey data. As a subsequently issued correction to the article outlined, “ROGD is not a formal mental health diagnosis at this time. This report did not collect data from the adolescents and young adults or clinicians and therefore does not validate the phenomenon.”4
Despite this parent-centered study prompting substantial social5 and methodological6 critique in tandem with calls for more robust research studies with samples of TGD adolescents,7 the notion of ROGD has been used in recent legislative debates to argue for and subsequently enact policies that prohibit gender-affirming medical care for TGD adolescents.8 Notably, all relevant major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, oppose such legislative efforts.8
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BOTG AB INBEV Columbus Ohio Brewery weekend schedule.
In the morning Adam.
Attached and in the email below are the schedules for manpower needed at the Columbus Ohio AB brewery.
Typically this time of year all the lines numbered 25/85 (bottle lines) 45/55/65/75 (can lines) are fully staffed.
In the run up to Memorial Day and the subsequent summer season ALL LINES would be running flat out.......24/7.....making products for distributors.
Not so much the case now. This "Expression of Freedom" ™ shown by the previous consumers of our product is truly being felt on the floor of the breweries nationwide. We mechanics, electricians and operators stand in solidarity with the former consumers. For this is truly what it means to be American. YOU get to decide what you spend your money on. No one tells YOU that you must drink this or else.
The freedom of choice is one of the cornerstones of this great Republic, and one that we here hold near and dear.
I just wanted to send you this note to give you a sense of what is happening to the AB union employees nationwide.
Stand up for what you know is right, or stand for nothing at all.
Very Respectfully,
Name redacted
From:
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2023 8:11 AM
Subject: Weekend of 5/13 Schedules
Good morning all,
Firstly, I’d like to apologize to everyone for the constant changes. This is the 2nd weekend in a row that we’ve been given some directive to cut production and labor. This is coming from corporate, this is certainly not my decision. Obviously the weekend of 5/6 was the most extreme when we went from running 5 lines to 0 lines. But again for this weekend we had production/manpower scheduled and had to make some cuts. I know it’s frustrating. I’ve always said the weekend schedule is supposed to be final, and once you are on it we do not remove anyone. We have notified the Union stewards of course, but this is determined we’ve got to comply and make these changes.
So please double-check the manpower schedules if you are working or not. If you show-up and are not on the revised schedule you will be sent home.
Thank you,
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AI Prompt Engineer Pronouns (New!)
Christo-fascist
Adam, still listening to Thursdays show, in which you mentioned the new phrase "christo-fascist"
The correct response to these knuckleheads is to point out that they are christo-
Gary
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Elon / Twitter
Great Rest
Working two jobs full time BOTG
Hi Adam,
My fiat job is selling software to employment background screening companies. During this week’s episode (1555), you mentioned that since so many are working from home, there is a movement to get a second “full time” job & increase income.
As an FYI, Equifax owns The Work Number, which verifies previous employment, and maintains a massive database of US worker current and historical info. Tens of thousands of companies use this service.
Recently Equifax started selling info to employers that conduct “continual monitoring” of existing employees that alerts HR when any of their employees have more than one W-2 on file. Clearly, employers want to know they’re getting their money’s worth, and people with two W-2’s will now set off all sorts of alarms if their employer is one that subscribes to this service.
Big Brother is definitely watching. Proceed with caution.
If you use this info on any upcoming show, please don’t use my real name. I need my fiat job. 😎
Thanks for all you & John do.
---
Steve
Executive Producer, episode 1542
NPW Government Overreach Presentation
ITM Adam,
I have attached the PowerPoint. There is probably no new information for you here, but I hope you enjoy it..As a 32 year old presenting it to a bunch of 18-23 year olds, it was odd and seemed like no one cared, but whatever. Anyway, thanks again for the help. hope maybe there is someone in your life you could share it with as a primer (it was tough doing this chronologically and it deserves several books, not a slideshow, but I digress).. As always, much love and be good.
-MPW
Prime Time Takedown
Ukraine vs Russia
Climate Change
War on Guns
Before Las Vegas mass shooting, ex-con urged Stephen Paddock not to ‘kill innocent people’ | Las Vegas Review-Journal
"In a telephone interview from Texas, the ex-convict, Jim Nixon told the Review-Journal that no one in law enforcement ever contacted him after the mass shooting."
"Several of the letters indicated that Nixon was worried about Paddock’s mental health and seemed to foreshadow the killings he would commit."
"Later, on June 1, 2017, Nixon wrote: “My friend it sound like you are going to kill or murder someone or some people. Please whatever it is I would like to talk to you about it and we can discuss it. Please don’t go on any shooting rampage like some fool.”
Recently, the FBI released documents that provided new insight into Paddock’s final days. Among them were summaries of the letters found in Texas, but the FBI redacted most of the information in the summaries, citing confidential sources and an invasion of privacy."
M5M
African swine Flu and mRNA
USD CDBC BTC
Full faith and credit BOTG
The text reads:
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.
It does NOT say that the debt ceiling must be raised. We need to pay our debt. That can be done in many ways, one of them is to cut spending...
AC
My understanding is that the executive has standing to sue Congress to make the courts enforce the debt as something the executive branch can act unilaterally on, even if Congress hasn't budgeted out the money for the debt. And this would be based on the 14th amendments claim that public debt shall not be questioned. This is different than full Faith and credit, which like you said on the show forces states to acknowledge legal judgments of other states.
STORIES
Elon Musk stepping down as Twitter CEO, Yaccarino in talks
Sun, 14 May 2023 16:36
Linda Yaccarino speaking at the Variety Entertainment Summit at CES, Aria Resort and Casino, Las Vegas on Jan. 8, 2020.
Isaac Brekken | Penske Media | Getty Images
Elon Musk said Thursday that Twitter is getting a new CEO and that he will move to a product and technical role.
Musk said via Twitter that the new CEO, whom he didn't name, would start in about six weeks. NBCUniversal global advertising chair Linda Yaccarino is in advanced talks for the role, CNBC's Julia Boorstin reported, citing sources.
He added that he would transition "to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops."
Tesla shares jumped more than 2%, in a sign that investors were pleased about the move.
Several Tesla investors were concerned that Musk was too distracted by running Twitter and that he should redirect his time to steering the electric vehicle company, where he is also CEO. In April, a host of progressive Tesla shareholders publicly urged Tesla's board to ensure that Musk would dedicate more time to the automobile company.
Musk, who is also CEO of the reusable rocket maker SpaceX, completed the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October and made his mark there immediately. He fired the company's top executives and laid off hundreds of employees.
Under his leadership, Twitter's core advertising business has suffered. Multiple companies halted their paid promotional campaigns as the social messaging service saw an increase in offensive speech and hateful rhetoric, several advocacy groups have documented. Potential new CEO Yaccarino, however, is a well-connected and seasoned operator in the advertising world and could help Twitter bolster its ad business.
Musk has tried to make up for the ad revenue shortfall with a new subscription service, Twitter Blue, which offers features such as the ability to compose longer tweets. In April, the company removed so-called "legacy" blue checkmarks from non-paying users whose identities had been verified, opening the door to potential impostors. Government accounts and some corporate accounts will still maintain verification through a separate set of icons, in silver and gold, respectively.
He has also allowed previously banned users back on the platform and courted political controversy with statements such as saying that the media is racist against white and Asian people.
Twitter has also weathered several technical errors and outages during Musk's tenure as CEO, some of which coincided with massive layoffs, which he pitched as necessary for the financial health of the company.
Earlier this week, right-wing TV talk show host Tucker Carlson announced he would be hosting a new show on the platform after being fired by his previous employer, Fox News.
''CNBC's Julia Boorstin contributed to this report.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
American Psychological Association - Wikipedia
Sun, 14 May 2023 16:28
Scientific and professional organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C.
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States,[1] with over 146,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students.[1] It has 54 divisions'--interest groups for different subspecialties of psychology or topical areas.[2] The APA has an annual budget of around $125 million.[3]
Profile [ edit ] The APA has task forces that issue policy statements on various matters of social importance, including abortion, human rights, the welfare of detainees, human trafficking, the rights of the mentally ill, IQ testing, sexual orientation change efforts, and gender equality.[4]
Governance [ edit ] APA is a corporation chartered in the District of Columbia. APA's bylaws describe structural components that serve as a system of checks and balances to ensure democratic process. The organizational entities include:
APA President. The APA's president is elected by the membership. The president chairs the Council of Representatives and the board of directors. During his or her term of office, the president performs such duties as are prescribed in the bylaws.Board of Directors. The board is composed of six members-at-large, the president-elect, president, past-president, treasurer, recording secretary, CEO, and the chair of the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS). The board oversees the association's administrative affairs and presents an annual budget for council approval.APA Council of Representatives. The council has sole authority to set policy and make decisions regarding APA's roughly $125 million annual income. It is composed of elected members from state/provincial/territorial psychological associations, APA divisions and the APA Board of Directors.APA Committee Structure: Boards and Committees. Members of boards and committees conduct much of APA's work on a volunteer basis. They carry out a wide variety of tasks suggested by their names. Some have responsibility for monitoring major programs, such as the directorates, the journals and international affairs.[5]Good Governance Project [ edit ] The Good Governance Project (GGP) was initiated in January 2011 as part of the strategic plan to "[assure] APA's governance practices, processes and structures are optimized and aligned with what is needed to thrive in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex environment."[6] The charge included soliciting feedback and input stakeholders, learning about governance best practices, recommending whether change was required, recommending needed changes based on data, and creating implementation plans.[6] The June 2013 GGP update on the recommended changes can be found in the document "Good Governance Project Recommended Changes to Maximize Organizational Effectiveness of APA Governance".[7] The suggested changes would change APA from a membership-based, representational structure to a corporate structure. These motions were discussed and voted upon by council on July 31, 2013, and August 2, 2013.[7]
Organizational structure [ edit ] APA comprises an executive office, a publishing operation, offices that address administrative, business, information technology, and operational needs, and five substantive directorates:
the Education Directorate accredits doctoral psychology programs and addresses issues related to psychology education in secondary through graduate education;[8]the Practice Directorate engages on behalf of practicing psychologists and health care consumers;[9]the Public Interest Directorate advances psychology as a means of addressing the fundamental problems of human welfare and promoting the equitable and just treatment of all segments of society;[10]the Public and Member Communications Directorate is responsible for APA's outreach to its members and affiliates and to the general public;[11]the Science Directorate provides support and voice for psychological scientists.[12] Membership and title of "psychologist" [ edit ] APA policy on the use of the title psychologist is contained in the Model Act for State Licensure of Psychologists:[13] psychologists have earned a doctoral degree in psychology and may not use the title "psychologist" and/or deliver psychological services to the public, unless the psychologist is licensed or specifically exempted from licensure under the law. State licensing laws specify state specific requirements for the education and training of psychologists leading to licensure. Psychologists who are exempted from licensure could include researchers, educators, or general applied psychologists who provide services outside the health and mental health field.
Full membership with the APA in United States and Canada requires doctoral training whereas associate membership requires at least two years of postgraduate studies in psychology or approved related discipline. The minimal requirement of a doctoral dissertation related to psychology for full membership can be waived in certain circumstances where there is evidence that significant contribution or performance in the field of psychology has been made.[14]
Affiliate organizations [ edit ] American Psychological Association Services, Inc. (APASI) was formed in 2018 and is a 501(c)(6) entity, which engages in advocacy on behalf of psychologists from all areas of psychology.
Awards [ edit ] Each year, the APA recognizes top psychologists with the "Distinguished Contributions" awards; these awards are the highest honors given by the APA.
APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to PsychologyAPA Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of PsychologyAward for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public InterestAward for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in PsychologyAPA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied ResearchAward for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice.Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Practice in the Public SectorAPA Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of PsychologyAPA Award for Lifetime Contributions to Psychology (APA's highest award)APA International Humanitarian AwardPublications [ edit ] The American Psychologist is the association's official journal. APA also publishes over 70 other journals encompassing most specialty areas in the field; APA's Educational Publishing Foundation (EPF) is an imprint for publishing on behalf of other organizations.[15] Its journals include:[16]
Archives of Scientific PsychologyBehavioral NeuroscienceDevelopmental PsychologyEmotionHealth PsychologyJournal of Applied PsychologyJournal of Comparative PsychologyJournal of Experimental PsychologyJournal of Experimental Psychology: AppliedJournal of Family PsychologyJournal of Occupational Health PsychologyJournal of Personality and Social PsychologyPsychological BulletinPsychological ReviewPsychology and AgingPsychology of Addictive BehaviorsPsychology of ViolenceSchool Psychology QuarterlyThe APA has published hundreds of books.[17] Among these books are: the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (and a concise version titled Concise Rules of APA Style), which is the official guide to APA style;[18][19] the APA Dictionary of Psychology;[20] an eight-volume Encyclopedia of Psychology;[21] and many scholarly books on specific subjects such as Varieties of Anomalous Experience.[22] The APA has also published children's books under the Magination Press imprint, software for data analysis, videos demonstrating therapeutic techniques, reports, and brochures.[23]
The Psychologically Healthy Workplace program [ edit ] The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program (PHWP) is a collaborative effort between the American Psychological Association and the APA Practice Organization designed to help employers optimize employee well-being and organizational performance. The PHWP includes APA's Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards, a variety of APA Practice Organization resources, including PHWP Web content, e-newsletter, podcast and blog, and support of local programs currently implemented by 52 state, provincial and territorial psychological associations as a mechanism for driving grassroots change in local business communities. The awards are designed to recognize organizations for their efforts to foster employee health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance. The award program highlights a variety of workplaces, large and small, profit and non-profit, in diverse geographical settings. Applicants are evaluated on their efforts in the following five areas: employee involvement, work-life balance, employee growth and development, health and safety, and employee recognition. Awards are given at the local and national level.[24]
APA style [ edit ] American Psychological Association (APA) style is a set of rules developed to assist reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences. Used to ensure clarity of communication, the layout is designed to "move the idea forward with a minimum of distraction and a maximum of precision."[25] The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association contains the rules for every aspect of writing, especially in the social sciences from determining authorship to constructing a table to avoiding plagiarism and constructing accurate reference citations. "The General Format of APA is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. General guidelines for a paper in APA style includes: typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins on all sides. The font should be clear and highly readable. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font."[26] The seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was published in October 2019.[27]
Databases [ edit ] APA maintains a number of databases, including PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, PsycBOOKS, PsycEXTRA, PsycCRITIQUES, PsycTESTS, and PsycTHERAPY.[28][29] APA also operates a comprehensive search platform, PsycNET, covering multiple databases.[30]
PsycINFO is a bibliographic database that contains citations and summaries dating from the 19th century, including journal articles, book chapters, books, technical reports, and dissertations within the field of psychology. As of January 2010[update], PsycINFO has collected information from 2,457 journals.[31]
History [ edit ] Founding [ edit ] The APA was founded in July 1892 at Clark University by a small group of around 30 men; by 1916 there were over 300 members.[32] The first president was G. Stanley Hall. During World War II, the APA merged with other psychological organizations, resulting in a new divisional structure. Nineteen divisions were approved in 1944; the divisions with the most members were the clinical and personnel (now counseling) divisions. From 1960 to 2007, the number of divisions expanded to 54.[33] Today the APA is affiliated with 60 state, territorial, and Canadian provincial associations.[34]
Dominance of clinical psychology [ edit ] Due to the dominance of clinical psychology in APA, several research-focused groups have broken away from the organization. These include the Psychonomic Society in 1959 (with a primarily cognitive orientation), and the Association for Psychological Science (which changed its name from the American Psychological Society in early 2006) in 1988 (with a broad focus on the science and research of psychology). Theodore H. Blau was the first clinician in independent practice to be elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1977.[35]
Presidents [ edit ] Notable people [ edit ] Bart Rossi, psychologist and authorDivisions [ edit ] The APA has 56 numbered divisions, 54 of which are currently active:[36]
Society for General Psychology '' the first division formed by the APA, in 1945, concerned with issues across the subdisciplines of psychology[37]Society for the Teaching of Psychology '' provides free teaching material for students and teachers of psychology and bestows many awards[38]Society for Experimental Psychology and Cognitive ScienceCurrently vacant '' initially reserved for the Psychometric Society, which decided against becoming an APA division after the establishment of the similarly defined Division 5[39]Quantitative and Qualitative Methods '' previously named Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics[40]Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative PsychologyDevelopmental PsychologySociety for Personality and Social PsychologySociety for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI)Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the ArtsCurrently vacant '' initially Abnormal Psychology and Psychotherapy, which joined Division 12 in 1946[39]Society of Clinical Psychology '' established in 1945 with 482 members. Became the Division of Clinical and Abnormal Psychology in 1946, and took its current name in 1998. In 1962 it created clinical child psychology as its first section.[41]Society of Consulting Psychology - originally Division of Counseling and Guidance Psychologists[42]Society for Industrial and Organizational PsychologyEducational PsychologySchool Psychology '' originally formed as the Division of School Psychologists in 1945, renamed in 1969[43]Society of Counseling PsychologyPsychologists in Public ServiceSociety for Military PsychologyAdult Development and AgingApplied Experimental and Engineering PsychologyRehabilitation PsychologySociety for Consumer PsychologySociety for Theoretical and Philosophical PsychologyBehavior AnalysisSociety for the History of PsychologySociety for Community Research and Action: Division of Community PsychologyPsychopharmacology and Substance AbusePsychotherapySociety of Psychological HypnosisState, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Association AffairsSociety for Humanistic PsychologyIntellectual and Developmental Disabilities / Autism Spectrum DisorderSociety for Environmental, Population and Conservation PsychologySociety for the Psychology of WomenSociety for the Psychology of Religion and SpiritualitySociety for Child and Family Policy and PracticeSociety for Health PsychologyPsychoanalysisSociety for Clinical NeuropsychologyAmerican Psychology-Law SocietyPsychologists in Independent PracticeSociety for Family PsychologySociety for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender DiversitySociety for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority IssuesMedia PsychologyExercise and Sport PsychologySociety for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology DivisionSociety of Group Psychology and Group PsychotherapySociety of Addiction PsychologySociety for the Psychological Study of Men and MasculinitiesInternational PsychologySociety of Clinical Child & Adolescent PsychologySociety of Pediatric PsychologySociety for Prescribing PsychologyTrauma Psychology '' addresses issues of trauma with projects, working groups and via collaborations[44]Positions on sexual orientation [ edit ] Cause of sexual orientation [ edit ] The APA states the following:
There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation.[45]
In 1975, APA issued a supporting statement that homosexuality is not a mental disorder.[46][47]
Conversion therapy [ edit ] Conversion therapy (also referred to as reparative therapy) is the practice of attempting to change the patient's sexual orientation to heterosexual. Among the most prominent supporters of conversion therapy is the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), which continues to characterize homosexuality as a mental disorder, despite the declassification of homosexuality as a disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973.[48] One of the most notable members of NARTH is founder and former president Joseph Nicolosi, who practiced conversion therapy and has published case studies of some of his clients.[49]
The American Psychological Association (APA) task force report on appropriate therapeutic responses to sexual orientation concluded that conversion therapy was "unlikely to be successful" and involved "some risk of harm".[48] Likewise, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a call to action in 2001, concluding that "there is no valid scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed".[50]
In the task force's report, the APA recommends that therapists adopt an affirmative, supportive approach for clients who present for therapy to change their sexual orientation rather than attempting to convert their sexual orientation.[48]
There is a concern in the mental health community that the advancement of conversion therapy itself causes social harm by disseminating inaccurate views about sexual orientation and the ability of homosexual and bisexual people to lead happy, healthy lives.[51] Most mainstream health organizations are critical of conversion therapy, and no mainstream medical organization endorses conversion therapy.[51][52][53][54][note 1]
The APA adopted a resolution in August 2009 stating that mental health professionals should avoid telling clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments. The approval, by APA's governing Council of Representatives, came at APA's annual convention, during which a task force presented a report[55] that in part examined the efficacy of so-called "reparative therapy", or sexual orientation change efforts.
The "Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts" also advises that parents, guardians, young people, and their families avoid sexual orientation treatments that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder and instead seek psychotherapy, social support, and educational services "that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support, and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth."[56]
Same-sex marriage [ edit ] The APA adopted a resolution stating that it is unfair and discriminatory to deny same-sex couples legal access to civil marriage and to all its attendant rights, benefits, and privileges. It also filed an amicus brief in the federal court case in which Judge Vaughn Walker struck down California's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.[57] The APA later praised the decision and denied the existence of any "scientific justification" for a ban on same-sex marriage.[58]
In August 2011, the APA clarified their support of same-sex marriage in light of continued research suggesting that the same community benefits accepted as result of heterosexual marriage apply to same-sex couples as well. Clinton Anderson, then associate executive director of the APA and director of the Office on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns, said that, prior to this research, "We knew that marriage benefits heterosexual people in very significant ways, but we didn't know if that would be true for same-sex couples." Anderson also put forward the APA's view that merely allowing same-sex civil unions is an inadequate option: "Anything other than marriage is, in essence, a stigmatization of same-sex couples. Stigma does have negative impacts on people."[59]
APA internship crisis for graduate students [ edit ] The APA is the main accrediting body for U.S. clinical and counseling psychology doctoral training programs and internship sites.[60] APA-accredited clinical psychology PhD and PsyD programs typically require students to complete a one-year full-time clinical internship in order to graduate (or a two-year part-time internship). However, there is currently an "internship crisis" as defined by the American Psychological Association, in that approximately 25% of clinical psychology doctoral students do not match for internship each year.[61][62] This crisis has led many students (approximately 1,000 each year) to re-apply for internship, thus delaying graduation, or to complete an unaccredited internship, and often has many emotional and financial consequences.[63] Students who do not complete an APA-accredited internship in the U.S. are barred from certain employment settings, including VA hospitals, the military, and cannot get licensed in some states, such as Utah and Mississippi.[64][65] Additionally, some postdoctoral fellowships and other employment settings require or prefer an APA-accredited internship.[64] The APA has been criticized for not addressing this crisis adequately and many psychologists and graduate students have petitioned for the APA to take action by regulating graduate training programs.
Warfare and the use of torture [ edit ] A year after the establishment of the Human Resources Research Organization by the U.S. military in 1951, the CIA began funding numerous psychologists (and other scientists) in the development of psychological warfare methods under the supervision of APA treasurer Meredith Crawford. Donald O. Hebb, the APA president in 1960 who was awarded the APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award in 1961, defended the torture of research subjects, arguing that what was being studied was other nations' methods of brainwashing. Former APA president Martin Seligman spoke upon the invitation of the CIA on his animal experimentation where he shocked a dog unpredictably and repeatedly into total, helpless passivity. Former APA president Ronald F. Levant, upon visiting Guantanamo Bay, affirmed that psychologists were present during the torture of prisoners, arguing that their presence was to "add value and safeguards" to interrogations.[66] Former APA president Gerald Koocher argued, referring to allegations of continuing systemic abuse by psychologists, that such allegations were originating from "opportunistic commentators masquerading as scholars."[67]
During the Iraq War, Amnesty International released a series of reports, calling attention to violations of the human rights of prisoners in Abu Ghraib Prison and American detention camps, and the role of the United States and the United Kingdom in enacting these abuses.[68][69][70] The reports called on the occupying powers to protect the human rights of any detained civilians by giving them a fair and timely trial, not detaining civilians arbitrarily, and treating all people ethically while in detention. Amnesty International also called for justice, by trying individual perpetrators of abuse for their crimes.[70]
Despite these reports, the Bush administration instituted "enhanced" interrogation techniques, stating publicly that reported abuses were isolated incidents, and not standard practice. Internal memos from the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that an executive order by George W. Bush had sanctioned certain interrogation techniques, such as playing loud music, depriving prisoners of sleep, and stripping prisoners of their clothing.[71]
The CIA reportedly required involvement from health professionals to continue its practice of "enhanced" interrogations on detainees, to maintain the lawfulness of their practices. Psychiatrists and medical doctors were reluctant to participate in interrogations, however some psychologists participated.[72] A report by a group of psychologists alleges the same, implicating a number of APA officials as well.[73]
When it emerged that psychologists, as part of the Behavioral Science Consultation Team, were advising interrogators in Guantnamo and other U.S. facilities on improving the effectiveness of the "enhanced interrogation techniques", the APA called on the U.S. government to prohibit the use of unethical interrogation techniques and labeled specific techniques as torture.[74] Critics pointed out that the APA declined to advise its members not to participate in such interrogations.[75][76] In September 2008, the APA's members passed a resolution stating that psychologists may not work in settings where "persons are held outside, or in violation of, either international law (e.g., the UN Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions) or the U.S. Constitution (where appropriate), unless they are working directly for the persons being detained or for an independent third party working to protect human rights."[77] The resolution became official APA policy in February 2009. However, the APA has refused to sanction those members known to have participated in and, in some cases, designed abusive interrogation techniques used in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan interrogation centers.[78][79]
The APA directive was in contrast to the American Psychiatric Association ban in May 2006 of all direct participation in interrogations by psychiatrists,[80] and the American Medical Association ban in June 2006 of the direct participation in interrogations by physicians.[81] An independent panel of medical, military, ethics, education, public health, and legal professionals issued a comprehensive report in November 2013 that "charged that U.S. military and intelligence agencies directed doctors and psychologists working in U.S. military detention centers to violate standard ethical principles and medical standards to avoid infliction of harm."[82] One group of psychologists in particular, the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology, has been very harsh in its criticism of the APA stance on its refusal to categorically prohibit members from participating in any phase of military interrogations. They recently stated their continuing disagreement with APA leadership in an open letter posted on their website on October 31, 2012, in which they reiterated their condemnation of torture and enhanced interrogation techniques, and called for the APA to require its members to refuse participation in military conducted interrogations of any kind.[83]
After the abuses were made public, the APA created a task force called Psychological Ethics and National Security (PENS) and released a report stating that the APA Code of Ethics applies to psychologists working in any setting, and that psychologists do not facilitate or participate in any degrading or cruel behavior, referring back to the APA's 1986 Resolution Against Torture. The report also called on psychologists to report any suspected or observed inhumane treatment to the appropriate authorities and obey federal law.[84]
Amending the Ethics Code [ edit ] In February 2010, the APA's Council of Representatives voted to amend the association's Ethics Code[85] to make clear that its standards can never be interpreted to justify or defend violating human rights. There is a history of similar issues with the Canadian Psychological Association. Following are the two relevant ethical standards from the APA Ethics Code, with the newly adopted language shown in bold:
1.02, Conflicts Between Ethics and Law, Regulations, or Other Governing Legal Authority
If psychologists' ethical responsibilities conflict with law, regulations, or other governing legal authority, psychologists clarify the nature of the conflict, make known their commitment to the Ethics Code and take reasonable steps to resolve the conflict consistent with the General Principles and Ethical Standards of the Ethics Code. Under no circumstances may this standard be used to justify or defend violating human rights.
1.03, Conflicts Between Ethics and Organizational Demands
If the demands of an organization with which psychologists are affiliated or for whom they are working are in conflict with this Ethics Code, psychologists clarify the nature of the conflict, make known their commitment to the Ethics Code, and take reasonable steps to resolve the conflict consistent with the General Principles and Ethical Standards of the Ethics Code. Under no circumstances may this standard be used to justify or defend violating human rights.[86]
In its 2013 "Policy Related to Psychologists' Work in National Security Settings and Reaffirmation of the APA Position Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the APA condemns the use of any of the following practices by military interrogators trying to elicit anti-terrorism information from detainees, on the ground that "there are no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether induced by a state of war or threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, that may be invoked as a justification."[77]
Hoffman report [ edit ] In November 2014, the APA ordered an independent review into whether it cooperated with the government's use of torture of prisoners during the George W. Bush administration, naming Chicago attorney David H. Hoffman to conduct the review.[87] On July 2, 2015, a 542-page report was issued to the special committee of the board of directors of the APA relating to ethics guidelines, national security interrogations, and torture.[88] The report concluded that the APA secretly collaborated with the Bush administration to bolster a legal and ethical justification for the torture of prisoners.[89] Furthermore, the report stated that the association's ethics director Stephen Behnke and others had "colluded with important Department of Defense officials to have the APA issue loose, high-level ethical guidelines that did not constrain" the interrogation of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay. The association's "principal motive in doing so was to align APA and curry favor with DOD."[90] An APA official said that ethics director Stephen Behnke had been "removed from his position as a result of the report" and indicated that other firings or sanctions might follow.[90]
Ultimately, the findings of the Hoffman Report revealed that the APA had an unfair bias towards prisoners due to the organization's relationship with the federal government. This resulted in a tidal wave of consequences for the APA. On July 14, 2015, the APA announced the retirement of its CEO, Norman B. Anderson, effective the end of 2015, and of Deputy Chief Executive Officer Michael Honaker, effective August 15, 2015, and the resignation of Rhea K. Farberman, APA's executive director for public and member communication. Anderson had been CEO since 2003.[91][92]
Ban on involvement [ edit ] For at least a decade, dissident psychologists within and outside the APA, including the group WithholdAPAdues,[93] had protested the involvement of psychologists "in interrogations at CIA black sites and Guantnamo." Prior to the release of the Hoffman report, which undermined the APA's repeated denials and showed that some APA leaders were complicit in torture, the dissidents were ignored or ridiculed.[94][95]
On August 7, 2015, just weeks following the release of the Hoffman report, the APA council of representatives met at the association's 123rd annual convention in Toronto, Ontario. At that meeting, the APA council passed Resolution 23B, which implemented the 2008 membership vote to remove psychologists from settings that operate outside international law, and banning the participation of psychologists in unlawful interrogations. With 156 votes in favor and only one vote against, the resolution passed with the near unanimous approval of council members.[96] The adoption of Resolution 23B aligned the APA's policy with that of the American Psychiatric Association and that of the American Medical Association by prohibiting psychologists from participating in interrogations deemed illegal by the Geneva Conventions and the United Nations Convention against Torture.[95]
Implementation of the 2008 Membership Vote to Remove Psychologists from All Settings That Operate Outside of International Law (NBI #23B)
Council is asked to approve the substitute main motion below that includes a revised resolution with a new title, Resolution to Amend the 2006 and 2013 Council Resolutions to Clarify the Roles of Psychologists Related to Interrogation and Detainee Welfare in National Security Settings, to Further Implement the 2008 Petition Resolution, and to Safeguard Against Acts of Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in All Settings. This resolution further aligns the APA policy definition for "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" (in the 2006 and 2013 Council resolutions) with the United Nations (UN) Convention Against Torture and ensures that the definition applies broadly to all individuals and settings; offers APA as a supportive resource for ethical practice for psychologists, including those in military and national security roles; prohibits psychologists from participating in national security interrogations; clarifies the intended application of the 2008 petition resolution... and calls for APA letters to be sent to federal officials to inform them of these policy changes and clarifications of existing APA policy.[97]
The ban will not "prohibit psychologists from working with the police or prisons in criminal law enforcement interrogations".[96]
[ edit ] In 2013 a class action lawsuit was brought against APA on behalf of approximately 60,000 of its 122,000 members who were licensed clinicians. Those members paid an additional $140 practice assessment fee as part of their membership dues every year beginning in 2001 to fund the lobbying arm of APA, the APA Practice Organization (APAPO). The lawsuit accused APA of using deceptive means by representing that the assessment was mandatory for APA membership even though payment of the assessment was only required for membership in the APAPO. In 2015 APA settled the case by establishing a $9.02 million settlement fund to be used to pay claims made by members of APA who paid the practice assessment, as well as attorneys' fees and certain other costs. APA agreed to change its policies to make clear that the APAPO membership dues are not required for membership in APA.[98][99][100][101][102]
Animal research [ edit ] Currently, the APA enforces ethical standards to protect nonhuman animal subjects from unnecessary harm during the research process. Some of the requirements for using nonhuman animals in research include: proper justification of the research, maintenance and inspection of appropriate housing for the animals, minimizing discomfort and stress whenever possible, and preference of noninvasive measures.[103]
Despite these guidelines, however, many advocacy groups exist to either reduce or eliminate animal research, arguing that it is unethical to capture animals and subject them to research procedures.[104][105][106]
Evidence-based practice [ edit ] A current controversy among mental health professionals involves the use of the terms evidence based practice or evidence based treatment. Proponents of the evidence-based treatments movement argue that it is unethical to administer a therapeutic intervention with questionable research support when another treatment's effectiveness has been demonstrated for the client's condition, particularly when the intervention in question is potentially harmful (such as conversion therapy). Proponents argue that administration of an empirically questionable treatment violates the general Principle A of the ethical principles of psychologist: Beneficence and nonmaleficence (or "do no harm").[107]
Critics of the evidence-based practice movement note ethical concerns regarding the research and practice of evidenced-based treatments themselves. Despite the demonstrated effectiveness of a range of treatments, including psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies,[108] evidence-based practice is a term now associated only with short-term, manualized treatments which have been evaluated in randomized control trials. Among the problems associated with an exclusive focus on randomized control trials to determine treatment effectiveness is that the relevance of these trials (conducted on highly selected patient populations) is unclear for psychologists working with real-world patients.[109] Furthermore, while the public may assume evidence-based is synonymous for "likely to help", research studies indicate that most patients do not show meaningful improvement in so-called evidence-based treatments.[110]
See also [ edit ] American Board of Professional PsychologyAmerican Psychoanalytic AssociationAssociation of Black PsychologistsAssociation of Psychological and Social StudiesCanadian Psychological AssociationEuropean Federation of Psychologists' AssociationsNational Association of School PsychologistsPeace psychologySociety of Clinical Child & Adolescent PsychologyNotes [ edit ] ^ Mainstream health organizations critical of conversion therapy include the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Association of School Psychologists, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and the National Education Association. References [ edit ] ^ a b "About APA". APA.org . 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U.S. can avoid default in July if it gets cash in June: CBO
Sun, 14 May 2023 16:23
People walk and ride bicycles past the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 11, 2023.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON '-- The Congressional Budget Office on Friday said tax revenues and emergency measures after June 15 "will probably allow the government to continue financing operations through at least the end of July."
The updated guidance otherwise reiterated the CBO's earlier uncertainty about the debt ceiling during the first few weeks of June. Even though mid-June tax revenues could ease pressure on the Treasury through July, there's still the risk of default in the first few weeks of June, the key government forecaster said.
"If the debt limit remains unchanged, there is significant risk that at some point in the first two weeks of June, the government will no longer be able to pay all of its obligations," said the CBO report.
The new report came as the White House and congressional leaders postponed a scheduled Friday meeting to continue negotiations, citing little progress so far over any deal to cut spending and pair that with a debt limit hike.
Read more: Confused about the debt ceiling? Here's what you need to know
"The extent to which the Treasury will be able to fund the government's ongoing operations will remain uncertain throughout May, even if the Treasury ultimately runs out of funds in early June. That uncertainty exists because the timing and amount of revenue collections and outlays over the intervening weeks could differ from CBO's projections," said the latest report.
The CBO also issued an updated projection of the federal budget deficit for 2023, raising it to $1.5 trillion.
The office warned that there was still "a great deal of uncertainty" around the deficit figure, in part due to an expected Supreme Court ruling on President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan.
Legal experts told CNBC the nation's highest court is likely to strike down the $400 billion debt forgiveness plan, given the court's conservative majority.
If that happens, the administration would likely record the money it set aside for the loan forgiveness last year as a reduction in outlays this year, the CBO reported.
The CBO is a nonpartisan federal agency that provides objective budget and economic data to Congress, typically to inform legislation.
The debt ceiling talks were postponed less than a day before Biden was set to sit down with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
That meeting was to be the second this week, after a Tuesday huddle failed to produce any significant developments.
It was unclear Friday what impact, if any, the new report would have on talks currently underway at the staff level, between aides to the four congressional leaders and White House liaisons.
As both the House and Senate prepared to leave for the weekend on Thursday, McCarthy said he had not seen "a seriousness" from the White House regarding any potential deal. "It seems like they want to default more than they want a deal," the California Republican told reporters in the Capitol.
Democrats appeared equally dug in, as Schumer indicated in a letter to his caucus Friday, in which he said staff level talks would continue in the coming days.
Yet even as aides worked to find common ground, Schumer said Democratic senators would keep "highlighting the devastating impact" of cuts to the federal budget that are part of a bill passed by House Republicans last month.
Central to the partisan impasse is the White House's insistence that Congress vote to raise the debt limit without preconditions, and House Republicans' demand that any debt limit hike be paired with sweeping cuts to federal spending and new work requirements for social safety net programs.
Failure to raise the debt ceiling before the U.S. runs out of available cash and emergency measures would cause an "economic catastrophe," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday.
"That is something that could produce financial chaos, it would drastically reduce the amount of spending and would mean that Social Security recipients and veterans and people counting on money from the government that they're owed, contractors, we just would not have enough money to pay the bills," Yellen told CNBC's "Closing Bell: Overtime."
JOE ALLEN: How corporate America is encouraging us to embrace the digital undead | Human Events | humanevents.com
Sun, 14 May 2023 16:03
A techno-cult is swarming across the planet. For the adherents, technology is the highest power. Some call themselves ''futurists,'' others ''transhumanists.'' Many go by ''chief executive officer.'' They plan to create digital deities through AI, merge their minds and bodies with them, and live forever in electronic bliss.
Until then, they need lots of money. Once they achieve their goals, they'll probably need a lot more, if only to keep their resurrected avatars updated.
The virtual reality company Somnium Space has resurfaced in the media after offering digital immortality. Their nascent "Live Forever" mode promises to transform you or your deceased loved ones into a cross between an NPC and an NFT. They're just one of many companies working on resurrection tech, including Microsoft and Amazon. The weirdest part is the technology works. Sort of.
Voice recordings, photographs, videos, emails, social media posts, and any other personal data are fed into AI systems. After a brief training period, the digital undead shamble out the other side. These wraiths will go on to haunt a hard drive or cloud storage space. Invigorated by recent advances in artificial intelligence'--particularly OpenAI's GPT'--the Somnium Space CEO, Artur Sychov, believes he'll be uploading human souls to the metaverse within the next few years.
As the futurist Ian Pearson might say, your digital twin will attend the funeral when your body finally dies. Unlike Pearson, though, I doubt the emulation will see your corpse laying there, or feel anything one way or another. Chances are, it won't be conscious. It'll be more like those computerized picture frames people put on coffins, except your deepfake will talk to the bereaved as they file past. At least you'll be animated. That's better than nothing.
Riding this morbid wave, the AI investor Pratik Desai sent out a Holy Week tweet urging people to start ''regularly recording your parents, elders and loved ones.'' In other words, turn mamaw and papaw into surveillance state superstars. ''With enough transcript data, new voice synthesis and video models, there is a 100% chance that they will live with you forever after leaving physical body. [sic] This should be even possible by end of the year. [sic]''
It was an unnerving Easter message. The blowback was immediate and relentless. Interestingly, after people convinced Desai to watch the relevant Black Mirror episode'--presumably ''Be Right Back'''--he apologized and insists he's changed his mind completely.
I'd like to think these ghoulish bots will be so half-baked and deformed that most people will refuse to buy them. Then again, ten years ago I hoped most people would abandon smartphones in favor of face-to-face interaction. It could be a matter of time before I'm at a party where the guest of honor is an electro-specter. Maybe for some, this tech is ''inevitable.''
The idea has been floating around since the Cosmists emerged in 19th century Russia. This movement began with the Orthodox Christian ascetic, Nikolai Fyodorov, who believed ''true religion is the cult of ancestors.'' He argued the dead would be resurrected through science, machinery, and ''rational force.''
As a librarian, Fyodorov may have been inspired by the accumulation of cheap printed material and abundant portraits. Because the resurrected dead would soon overcrowd the earth, he thought, we'd have to extend our material Heaven out into the solar system.
Dostoyevsky adored Nikolai Fyodorov. Leo Tolstoy called him ''a saint.'' Russian cosmonauts were inspired by him. Transhumanists revere him as a founding father.
Two weeks ago, the dissident right mag IM'--1776 published an article lauding ChatGPT's spin on this tradition. ''By aggregating the thoughts of our ancestors, LLMs [large language models] weave together the writings of great thinkers and ordinary people alike to create an interactive tapestry of human thought,'' writes the pseudonomous Aristophanes. ''This virtual necropolis is a testament to man's unyielding desire for knowledge and understanding.''
These days, resurrection corporations are popping up all over the place. They're powered by artificial intelligence'--mostly large language models, but also image generators, deepfake tech, other forms of generative AI.
Here's the Top Five for those ready to be uploaded:
Microsoft '' In December 2020, they were granted a patent to use one's personal data to create a chatbot zombie. At present, they're holding off on rolling it out. But now that Microsoft is tied to OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, the tech is there when they decide to pull the trigger.Amazon '' At the 2022 MARS conference, the head scientist for Alexa AI, Rohit Prasad, exhibited an Alexa reading a story to a young child. The voice was the kid's dead grandmother. ''While AI can't eliminate the pain of loss,'' Prasad said, ''it can definitely make memories last.''Terasem '' An avowed transhuman techno-cult started by the transgender scientist, Martine Rothblatt. Their motto: ''Life is purposeful, death is optional, God is technological, and love is essential.'' One daily practice is ''mindfiling,'' where an adherent uploads personal data to be resurrected. There are around 62,000 souls waiting in Terasem's virtual purgatory.Augmented Eternity '' An MIT Media Lab project. ''My ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between life and death by eternalizing our digital identity,'' says innovation director Hossein Rahnama. ''Your physical being may die, but your digital being will continue to evolve.''Play.ht '' Their ''Podcast.ai'' debut summoned the digital ghost of Steve Jobs. ''It's not about believing in God or not, or even what the right answer is,'' the undead Jobs told a deepfake Joe Rogan. ''It's about asking the right questions.''And on and on'--forever.
Most of these projects will wind up in the start-up graveyard, taking their virtual zombies with them. However, given the techno fever gripping the public, it's plausible that some will be enduring fixtures in our degenerating culture. As more people croak and their uploads multiply, the digital undead shall inherit the earth.
To normal people, this sounds insane. That's correct. But in case you haven't noticed, the lunatics took over the asylum years ago. In the meantime, they've wired the place with wall-to-wall video screens and surveillance systems. Writhing in our digital straitjackets, we've become their experimental subjects.
If you don't let them mine your data, you cannot become immortal. So unlock your phone and open your soul. Take a few selfies. If you want to get personal, take off your pants. Who knows? Maybe your spirit will go viral for all eternity.
Before Las Vegas mass shooting, ex-con urged Stephen Paddock not to 'kill innocent people' | Las Vegas Review-Journal
Sun, 14 May 2023 16:02
Handwritten letters sent to Stephen Paddock before the Las Vegas massacre suggest that he had discussed his plans with an ex-convict, who implored him not to ''shoot or kill innocent people.''
''I can get someone for you who can help you,'' the ex-convict, Jim Nixon, wrote in a letter dated May 27, 2017. ''Please don't go out shooting or hurting people who did nothing to you. I am concern about the way you are talking and believe you are going to do something very bad. Steve please please don't do what I think you are going to do.''
The letter was one of 10 released by the Metropolitan Police Department late Thursday in response to a records request from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The letters were found in late November 2017 by the new owners of an abandoned office building in Mesquite, Texas, according to FBI records. The owners mailed the letters to Metro, which forwarded them to the FBI.
Paddock carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history on Oct. 1, 2017, when he opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest festival on the Strip and fatally shot 60 concertgoers. Paddock, 64, took his own life after the massacre.
Former Gov. Steve Sisolak, who was a Clark County commissioner at the time of the shooting and helped lead efforts to raise funds for the victims, said in an interview with the Review-Journal that this was the first time he had heard that the letters existed. He said he did not know what the reason would have been for keeping the letters secret.
Not releasing the letters sooner could feed into people's conspiracy theories ''when they find out there was evidence that was not made public,'' Sisolak said.
''I would have liked to have known,'' he said. ''I couldn't have changed anything.''
Nine of the newly released letters were sent to Paddock from Nixon between 2013 and June 2017. In the letters, Nixon referred to Paddock as his friend.
In a telephone interview from Texas, Nixon told the Review-Journal that no one in law enforcement ever contacted him after the mass shooting.
Sisolak said he found that detail ''really shocking,'' since Nixon seemed to know a lot about Paddock.
''I would think that would be a source of information,'' Sisolak said.
Served time for tax fraud
Nixon, a disabled Vietnam War veteran who is now 75, said he met Paddock more than a decade before the shooting, when he was visiting Virginia, where Paddock was living. Paddock would stay at Nixon's homes in California, and when Nixon moved to Las Vegas, Paddock would visit from Mesquite, Texas, and go fishing at Lake Mead.
''He did what he did and I feel bad I couldn't have stopped him,'' Nixon said. ''I didn't know he was going to do what he did.''
The letters mentioned that Nixon had been to prison. He told the Review-Journal he served time for tax fraud decades ago.
Several of the letters indicated that Nixon was worried about Paddock's mental health and seemed to foreshadow the killings he would commit.
''Remember you have to answer to God Almighty for your earthly crimes,'' Nixon wrote in the May 2017 letter.
Later, on June 1, 2017, Nixon wrote: ''My friend it sound like you are going to kill or murder someone or some people. Please whatever it is I would like to talk to you about it and we can discuss it. Please don't go on any shooting rampage like some fool.''
Recently, the FBI released documents that provided new insight into Paddock's final days. Among them were summaries of the letters found in Texas, but the FBI redacted most of the information in the summaries, citing confidential sources and an invasion of privacy.
In a statement Friday, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Las Vegas office said the agency ''does not comment on individual interviews conducted during an investigation.''
''There is no new information that the FBI was not aware of or that the FBI has not shared with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in this case. We stand by the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) key findings summary report,'' spokeswoman Sandra Breault wrote.
No clear motive
The FBI released the three-page summary report in January 2019.
''Throughout his life, Paddock went to great lengths to keep his thoughts private, and that extended to his final thinking about this mass murder,'' the report stated. ''Active shooters rarely have a singular motive or reason for engaging in a mass homicide.''
Metro released the letters Thursday with no redactions and did not respond to requests for comment. In August 2018, Metro released a 187-page investigative report, which found no clear motivation for the attack.
The first of Nixon's letters released by Metro, from 2013, detailed his plans to start a company with Paddock as the chairman of the board.
In a letter from August 2014, Nixon asked for clarification on statements Paddock had made about executing an upcoming plan.
''You said in (3) years you would be ready and that your plan would show up in Nevada, California, Illinois, Texas, New York and other cities,'' Nixon wrote. ''What do you mean?''
In a letter dated March 2, 2017, Nixon wrote: ''You must going on a hunting trip with all those guns you are stockpiling.''
Nixon, who told the Review-Journal he never contacted authorities about his concerns, encouraged Paddock to seek medical help and not to believe what his bad dreams were telling him to do.
''You are a good person and I want you to know that I am concern about you and your wellbeing,'' Nixon wrote in the May 2017 letter. ''I believe you are lying to me and you are going to hurt someone or kill someone. You sound like a real mad man on the phone tonight.''
The letters also indicate that Paddock had asked Nixon about high-rise hotels near Dodger Stadium and upcoming concerts.
''About your request for all nation festivals or musics you can google them yourself,'' Nixon wrote. ''Of course I can check on getting you some tickets for you and your girlfriend if you will tell me which one you want to attend?''
Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, issued a statement days after the shooting through her attorney. She said it never occurred to her that Paddock was planning violence against anyone.
''I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man. I loved him and hoped for a quiet future together with him,'' she said in the statement. ''He never said anything to me '-- or took any action that I was aware of '-- that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen.''
The last of Nixon's letters released by Metro indicated it was written the day before he was to go back to prison for 15 months in June 2017 for violating his probation.
He urged Paddock not to hurt anyone and to write to him in Arkansas, where he would be in custody.
''Look buddy I can get you some help,'' Nixon wrote. ''You need to talk to someone who know how to deal with dreams. Don't listen to what the damn dreams tell you. I will help you all I can.''
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Jessica Hill contributed to this report.
COINCIDENCE? Joe Biden Tells Howard Graduates White Supremacists are Greatest Threat to Country - Then Hours Later Mysterious Khaki-Clad Patriot Front Group Holds March in DC | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft
Sun, 14 May 2023 15:45
What a coincidence?
The Deep State is REALLY making it obvious these days.
On Saturday race-baiter Joe Biden warned graduates at the historically-black Howard University that, ''The most dangerous terrorist threat to our country is white supremacy.''
BIDEN at Howard University: "The most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy, and I'm not saying this because I'm at a Black HBCU'..." pic.twitter.com/qPL3bkGsCx
'-- RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 13, 2023
Hours later, the mysterious khaki-clad Patriot Front group held a march in Washington DC.
The leftist media has labeled the group, that is widely suspected of being controlled by federal operatives, to be a white supremacist group.
Feds on Parade: Hundreds of 'Patriot Front' Members March in Khakis and Masks Towards U.S. Capitol (VIDEO)
What a wild coincidence?
🚨#UPDATE: The patriot front group is continuing to march as numerous metro DC police escorts them while some of the counter protesters a yell and say get at the job pic.twitter.com/ey5R3H6rer
'-- R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) May 13, 2023
That's a lot of feds!
The Patriot Front was surrounded by black and white cops on bikes.
They didn't appear too concerned.
Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.
You can email Jim Hoft here, and read more of Jim Hoft's articles here.
12ft | GOP says Biden family financial records a smoking gun. White House calls it a 'political stunt' | AP News
Sun, 14 May 2023 15:11
Removing Paywall
The Spook to Bellingcat Pipeline: How Bellingcat Launders National Security State Talking Points into the Press
Sun, 14 May 2023 15:06
AMSTERDAM '-- Investigative site Bellingcat is the toast of the popular press. In the past month alone, it has been described as ''an intelligence agency for the people'' (ABC Australia), a ''transparent'' and ''innovative'' (New Yorker) ''independent news collective,'' ''transforming investigative journalism'' (Big Think), and an unequivocal ''force for good'' (South China Morning Post). Indeed, outside of a few alternative news sites, it is very hard to hear a negative word against Bellingcat, such is the gushing praise for the outlet founded in 2014.
This is troubling, because the evidence compiled in this investigation suggests Bellingcat is far from independent and neutral, as it is funded by Western governments, staffed with former military and state intelligence officers, repeats official narratives against enemy states, and serves as a key part in what could be called a ''spook to Bellingcat to corporate media propaganda pipeline,'' presenting Western government narratives as independent research.
Citizen journalism staffed with spies and soldiersAn alarming number of Bellingcat's staff and contributors come from highly suspect backgrounds. Senior Investigator Nick Waters, for example, spent three years as an officer in the British Army, including a tour in Afghanistan, where he furthered the British state's objectives in the region. Shortly after leaving the service, he was hired by Bellingcat to provide supposedly bias-free investigations into the Middle East.
Former contributor Cameron Colquhoun's past is even more suspect. Colquhoun spent a decade in a senior position in GCHQ (Britain's version of the NSA), where he ran cyber and Middle Eastern terror operations. The Scot specializes in Middle Eastern security and also holds a qualification from the U.S. State Department. None of this, however, is disclosed by Bellingcat, which merely describes him as the managing director of a private intelligence company that ''conduct[s] ethical investigations'' for clients around the world '-- thus depriving readers of key information they need to make informed judgments on what they are reading.
Bellingcat fails to inform its readers of even the most glaring conflicts of interestThere are plenty of former American spooks on Bellingcat's roster as well. Former contributor Chris Biggers, who penned more than 60 articles for the site between 2014 and 2017, previously worked for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency '-- a combat support unit that works under the Department of Defense and the broader Intelligence Community. Biggers is now the director of an intelligence company headquartered in Virginia, on the outskirts of Washington (close to other semi-private contractor groups like Booz Allen Hamilton), that boasts of having retired Army and Air Force generals on its board. Again, none of this is disclosed by Bellingcat, where Biggers's bio states only that he is a ''public and private sector consultant based in Washington, D.C.''
For six years, Dan Kaszeta was a U.S. Secret Service agent specializing in chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, and for six more he worked as program manager for the White House Military Office. At Bellingcat, he would provide some of the intellectual ammunition for Western accusations about chemical weapons use in Syria and Russia's alleged poisoning of Sergei Skripal.
Kaszeta is also a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank funded by a host of Western governments as well as weapons contractors such as Airbus, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Its president is a British field marshal (the highest attainable military rank) and its senior vice president is retired American General David Petraeus. Its chairman is Lord Hague, the U.K.'s secretary of state between 2010 and 2015.
A Bellingcat article covering the alleged poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a story covered heavily by the organization. Alexander Zemlianichenko | APAll of this matters if a group is presenting itself as independent when, in reality, their views align almost perfectly with the governments funding them. But yet again, Bellingcat fails to follow basic journalism ethics and inform readers of these glaring conflict of interests, describing Kaszeta as merely the managing director of a security company and someone with 27 years of experience in security and antiterrorism. This means that unless readers are willing to do a research project they will be none the wiser.
Other Bellingcat contributors have similar pasts. Nour Bakr previously worked for the British government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office while Karl Morand proudly served two separate tours in Iraq with the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division.
Government and intelligence officials are the opposite of journalists. The former exist to promote the interests of power (often against those of the public) while the latter are supposed to hold the powerful to account on behalf of the people. That is why it is so inappropriate that Bellingcat has had so many former spooks on their books. It could be said that ex-officials who have renounced their past or blown the whistle, such as Daniel Ellsberg or John Kiriakou, have utility as journalists. But those who have simply made the transition into media without any change in positions usually serve only the powerful.
Who pays the piper?Just as startling as its spooky staff is Bellingcat's source of funding. In 2016 its founder, Eliot Higgins, dismissed the idea that his organization got money from the U.S. government's National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as a ludicrous conspiracy theory. Yet, by the next year, he openly admitted the thing he had laughed off for so long was, in fact, true (Bellingcat's latest available financial report confirms that they continue to receive financial assistance from the NED). As many MintPress readers will know, the NED was explicitly set up by the Reagan administration as a front for the CIA's regime-change operations. ''A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,'' said the organization's co-founder Allen Weinstein, proudly.
Higgins himself was a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, NATO's quasi-official think tank, from 2016 to 2019. The Atlantic Council's board of directors is a who's who of state power, from war planners like Henry Kissinger, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell to retired generals such as James ''Mad Dog'' Mattis and H.R. McMaster. It also features no fewer than seven former CIA directors. How Higgins could possibly see taking a paid position at an organization like this while he was still the face of a supposedly open and independent intelligence collective as being at all consistent is unclear.
Bana Alabed, an outsoken anti-Assad child activist, promotes Bellingcat at an Atlantic Council event. Photo | TwitterOther questionable sources of income include the Human Rights Foundation, an international organization set up by Venezuelan activist Thor Halvorssen Mendoza. Halvorssen is the son of a former government official accused of being a CIA informant and a gunrunner for the agency's dirty wars in Central America in the 1980s and the cousin of convicted terrorist Leopoldo Lopez. Lopez in turn was a leader in a U.S.-backed coup in 2002 and a wave of political terror in 2014 that killed at least 43 people and caused an estimated $15 billion worth of property damage. A major figure on the right-wing of Venezuelan politics, Lopez told journalists that he wants the United States to formally rule the country once President Nicolas Maduro is overthrown. With the help of the Spanish government, Lopez escaped from jail and fled to Spain last year.
Imagine, for one second, the opposite scenario: an ''independent'' Russian investigative website staffed partially with ex-KGB officials, funded by the Kremlin, with most of their research focused on the nefarious deeds of the U.S., U.K. and NATO. Would anyone take it seriously? And yet Bellingcat is consistently presented in corporate media as a liberatory organization; the Information Age's gift to the people.
The Bellingcat to journalism pipelineThe corporate press itself already has a disturbingly close relationship with the national security state, as does social media. In 2019, a senior Twitter executive was unmasked as an active duty officer in the British Army's online psychological operations unit. Coming at a time when foreign interference in politics and society was the primary issue in U.S. politics, the story was, astoundingly, almost completely ignored in the mainstream press. Only one U.S. outlet of any note picked it up, and that journalist was forced out of the profession weeks later.
Increasingly, it seems, Bellingcat is serving as a training ground for those looking for a job in the West's most prestigious media outlets. For instance, former Bellingcat contributor Brenna Smith '-- who was recently the subject of a media storm after she successfully pressured a number of online payment companies to stop allowing the crowdfunding of the Capitol Building insurrectionists '-- announced last month she would be leaving USA Today and joining The New York Times. There she will meet up with former Bellingcat senior investigator Christiaan Triebert, who joined the Times' visual investigations team in 2019.
The Times, commonly thought of as the United States' most influential media outlet, has also collaborated with Bellingcat writers for individual pieces before. In 2018, it commissioned Giancarlo Fiorella and Aliaume Leroy to publish an op-ed strongly insinuating that the Venezuelan state murdered Oscar Perez. After he stole a military helicopter and used it to bomb government buildings in downtown Caracas while trying to ignite a civil war, Perez became the darling of the Western press, being described as a ''patriot'' (The Guardian), a ''rebel'' (Miami Herald), an ''action hero'' (The Times of London), and a ''liberator'' (Task and Purpose).
Until 2020, Fiorella ran an opposition blog called ''In Venezuela'' despite living in Canada. Leroy is now a full-time producer and investigator for the U.K.-government network, the BBC.
Bad news from BellingcatWhat we are uncovering here is a network of military, state, think-tank and media units all working together, of which Bellingcat is a central fixture. This would be bad enough, but much of its own research is extremely poor. It strongly pushed the now increasingly discredited idea of a chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, attacking the members of the OPCW who came forward to expose the coverup and making some bizarre claims along the way. For years, Higgins and other members of the Bellingcat team also signal-boosted a Twitter account purporting to be an ISIS official, only for an investigation to expose the account as belonging to a young Indian troll in Bangalore. A leaked U.K. Foreign Office document lamented that ''Bellingcat was somewhat discredited, both by spreading disinformation itself, and by being willing to produce reports for anyone willing to pay.''
Ultimately, however, the organization still provides utility as an attack dog for the West, publishing research that the media can cite, supposedly as ''independent,'' rather than rely directly on intelligence officials, whose credibility with the public is automatically far lower.
Oliver Boyd-Barrett, professor emeritus at Bowling Green State University and an expert in the connections between the deep state and the fourth estate, told MintPress that ''the role of Bellingcat is to provide spurious legitimacy to U.S./NATO pretexts for war and conflict.'' In far more positive words, the CIA actually appears to agree with him.
''I don't want to be too dramatic, but we love [Bellingcat],'' said Marc Polymeropoulos, the agency's former deputy chief of operations for Europe and Eurasia. ''Whenever we had to talk to our liaison partners about it, instead of trying to have things cleared or worry about classification issues, you could just reference [Bellingcat's] work.'' Polymeropoulos recently attempted to blame his headache problems on a heretofore unknown Russian microwave weapon, a claim that remarkably became an international scandal. ''The greatest value of Bellingcat is that we can then go to the Russians and say 'there you go' [when they ask for evidence],'' added former CIA Chief of Station Daniel Hoffman.
Bellingcat certainly seems to pay particular attention to the crimes of official enemies. As investigative journalist Matt Kennard noted, it has only published five stories on the United Kingdom, 17 on Saudi Arabia, 19 on the U.S. (most of which are about foreign interference in American society or far-right/QAnon cults). Yet it has 144 on Russia and 244 under its Syria tag.
In his new book ''We Are Bellingcat: An Intelligence Agency for the People,'' the outlet's boss Higgins writes: ''We have no agenda but we do have a credo: evidence exists and falsehoods exist, and people still care about the difference.'' Yet exploring the backgrounds of its journalists and its sources of funding quickly reveals this to be a badly spun piece of PR.
Bellingcat looks far more like a bunch of spooks masquerading as citizen journalists than a people-centered organization taking on power and lies wherever it sees them. Unfortunately, with many of its proteges travelling through the pipeline into influential media outlets, it seems that there might be quite a few masquerading as reporters as well.
Feature photo | Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins talks to the press at College Green in London, October 9, 2018. David Mirzoeff | PA Wire | Alamy
Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams.
Eisenhower Warned About Scientific Elites Like Dr. Fauci - Intellectual Takeout
Sun, 14 May 2023 14:35
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address is famous for his prophetic warning about the military-industrial complex: ''In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.''
Eisenhower's warning is often repeated but has gone mostly ignored, as has another observation from the same speech. Warning that scientists dependent on government contracts and grants might cripple scientific breakthroughs, Eisenhower said ''public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.''
Eisenhower put his warning in context: ''Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields.''
''In the same fashion,'' Eisenhower continued, ''the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity.''
''Scientific research and discovery'' should be held in ''respect'' Eisenhower said. Yet he foresaw, ''The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.''
Today, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is hailed as one of the world's great leaders and ''America's doctor.'' Fauci has headed the NIAID for 36 years. He controls a budget of almost $6 billion dedicated to fighting infectious diseases. He is one of the ''scientific-technological elite'' that Eisenhower warned against.
We don't have to attribute nefarious motives to Dr. Fauci to object to central planning by scientific-technological elites.
In his book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science, Tom Bethell writes, ''Government funding has'... promoted the idea that a theory can be regarded as true if it enjoys enough support.'' Bethell adds,
''Consensus discourages dissent, however. It is the enemy of science, just as it is the triumph of politics. A theory accepted by 99 percent of scientists may be wrong. Committees at the National Institutes of Health that decide which projects shall be funded are inevitably run by scientists who are at peace with the dominant theory.''
It would be na¯ve to think Dr. Fauci is eager to fund approaches to COVID-19 other than his preferred vaccine solution.
Some endorse Fauci's approach. Why not let him use his decades of accumulated wisdom to cut to the chase and save the day? Testing competing theories seems wasteful.
However, scientific breakthroughs occur when competing theories are tested. Bethell explains, ''Just as a competitive market system forces innovation into private enterprise, so the competition of theories drives science to investigate new approaches.''
Socialists like Bernie Sanders, who don't understand how competition drives innovation, argue too many brands of deodorants are wasteful. Similarly, some might believe studying non-vaccine solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic is wasteful. President Trump wants a vaccine by the end of the year. Dr. Fauci is a vaccine advocate, and so some might say let us not muddy the waters with other voices slowing down our efforts.
If you share such a mindset, you might cheer for ''Operation Warp Speed.'' Pause to take in Bethell's caution: ''When any single source of funding dominates, science will almost certainly become the handmaiden of politics.''
In his book Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, Steven Johnson describes ''a paradoxical truth about innovation: good ideas are more likely to emerge in environments that contain a certain amount of noise and error.''
Johnson echoes Eisenhower's wisdom: ''When you don't have to ask for permission, innovation thrives.''
Research shows the most innovative entrepreneurs reached for ideas beyond their narrow field of expertise. Johnson reports, innovative entrepreneurs ''borrow or co-opt new ideas from these external environments and put them to use in a new context.''
Like Eisenhower, Johnson observes, ''Governments and other non-market institutions have long suffered from the innovation malaise of top-heavy bureaucracies.''
Johnson adds, ''The more the government thinks of itself as an open platform instead of a centralized bureaucracy, the better it will be for all of us, citizens and activists and entrepreneurs alike.''
Today, we are a long way from the ''open platform'' Eisenhower, Bethell, and Johnson advocate.
At the close of his farewell address, Eisenhower imagined a time when ''all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.''
Politicians and the scientific-technological elites may pretend otherwise, but today policy is being made based on imperfect science.
For there to be a scientific breakthrough in an uncertain environment, ''respect'' for dissenting voices is essential. A lack of respect for dissenting voices goes with ''top-heavy bureaucracies'' led by the ''scientific-technological elite.''
Many people see these ''elites'' as heroes. Looking through Eisenhower's lens, because they are blocking science from evolving, they are dangerous to the nation's health.
'--
[Image Credit: Flickr-The White House, public domain]
U.S. Needs More Trade Deals that Eliminate Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers, NPPC Says | Pork Business
Sun, 14 May 2023 14:29
There's no sugarcoating this is a challenging time in the history of the U.S. pork industry.
"Hog producers are losing an average of $40 per head on each hog marketed. While hog prices have moderated significantly since 2022, current losses are largely due to record-high production costs that have increased up to 50% in the past year. These losses are putting a pinch on the pork industry, and this economic reality may force producers to exit the industry and drive consolidation at the farm level. This only adds to the uncertainty that already exists with the credit market and the presence of African swine fever (ASF) in the Western Hemisphere," Lori Stevermer, a Minnesota pork producer and president-elect for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), testified on Thursday before the House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture as part of its hearing on ''Stakeholder Perspectives on Agriculture Trade.''
''Trade is vital to America's pork producers, and exports continue to be a bright spot for our industry even during tough times,'' Stevermer said. ''Our success largely comes from our ability to produce the world's safest, most nutritious, and affordable pork products, as well as from fair and unfettered access to foreign markets negotiated through comprehensive trade agreements.''
Since 1989 when the U.S. implemented its first substantial trade agreement, U.S. pork exports increased more than 1,850% in value and more than 1,560% in volume. By 1995, the U.S. had moved from a net importer to a net exporter of pork.
''It is very clear that comprehensive trade deals are why we have been, on average, the top pork exporter in the world over the past decade,'' Stevermer explained. ''For the United States and America's pig farmers to stay on top, we need more trade deals that eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. products to allow for the free flow of goods and expand export markets.''
Last year, pork farmers exported nearly $7.7 billion worth of pork to more than 100 countries. These exports supported 155,000 mostly rural U.S. jobs and added $14.5 billion to the country's GDP. These exports equated to approximately $61, in value for each hog marketed in 2022.
She outlined the U.S. pork industry's top trade policy priorities in her testimony:
1. Negotiate comprehensive trade agreements that eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers.2. Expand market access in the Asia-Pacific region, including having China remove its 25 percent retaliatory tariff on pork.3. Leverage and renew U.S. preferential trade programs.4. Address the country's labor shortage.5. Support efforts to keep the United States free from African swine fever by adequately funding federal agencies that deal with foreign animal diseases.
"The importance of trade to the U.S. pork industry and to the entire U.S. economy cannot be overstated. Exports account for nearly a quarter of U.S. pork production and contribute significantly to the bottom line of U.S. pork producers and to U.S. agriculture's balance of trade," Stevermer said. "Free, fair and unfettered trade has helped the United States become an economic powerhouse. To maintain that position, the country must expand trade in existing markets and open new markets, and it must resolve issues that could negatively affect the ability to trade."
Read her complete testimony here.
Anheuser-Busch CEO shifts blame on Bud Light Dylan Mulvaney ads
Sun, 14 May 2023 14:26
The top executive of Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch on Thursday disavowed the embattled company's ties to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney as sales of the beer crater.
''We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,'' Michel Doukeris told investors during an earnings call.
Doukeris went on to decry the ''misinformation'' spread on social media after Mulvaney last month posted a photo with a Bud Light while in a bathtub on TikTok to her more than 10 million followers.
The company faced immediate blowback from many conservative regions of the country. Calls for a Bud Light boycott have threatened its leading position as the country's most popular brand.
During the week ended April 22 '-- the most recent industry data available '-- Bud Light sales plunged 21% vs. a year ago, accelerating from a 17% slide a week earlier and an initial weekly drop of 6% when the controversy kicked off during the first week of April, according to Nielsen IQ and Bump Williams Consulting.
Doukeris said the company was ''providing direct financial support'' to delivery drivers, wholesalers, and bar owners who were impacted by the backlash.
''We need to clarify the facts that this was one camp, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,'' top exec Michel Doukeris told investors during an earnings call. BELGA/AFP via Getty Images Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, has disavowed the marketing posts featuring Dylan Mulvaney. APHe then echoed the flat apology offered up by Bud Light CEO Brendan Whitworth on April 14.
''We will continue to learn, meet the moment in time, all be stronger and we work tirelessly to do what we do best: Bring people together over a beer and creating a future of more cheers,'' Doukeris told Fox Business.
The Post has sought comment from Anheuser-Busch.
Social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney's Bud Light pitch has stirred controversy. InstagramLast month, Mulvaney began posting images and videos of herself on social media pitching Bud Light '-- prompting anger and calls for a boycott.
The controversy also prompted Bud Light to place two marketing executives '-- Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing, and her boss, Daniel Blake '-- on leave.
The company has been trying to win back the hearts and minds of those who were upset by the Mulvaney campaign.
Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing, was placed on leave. Anheuser-BuschOver the weekend, Bud Light released a ''countrified'' YouTube ad showing young beer drinkers frolicking in the rain at a country music festival.
The ad, which premiered during the live airing of the NFL Draft last week on ABC and ESPN, shows people cracking open a can of beer as a hit song by the Zac Brown Band is heard playing in the background.
But critics accused the company of pandering in an attempt to regain consumer trust.
Bud Light 'will be extinct in a few years' for disavowing Dylan Mulvaney
Sun, 14 May 2023 14:25
The attempt by Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch, to distance itself from transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney puts the iconic American beer brand at risk of going ''extinct,'' according to an LGBTQ activist.
Stacey Lentz, co-owner of New York City's historic gay and lesbian landmark Stonewall Inn, told Newsweek that Bud Light ''missed an opportunity to stand by their commitment to the trans community by pandering to and giving in to transphobic outcries.''
Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris told investors on an earnings call Thursday that the company was disavowing ties to Mulvaney.
''We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,'' Michel Doukeris told investors during the call.
Doukeris was attempting damage control after calls for a boycott of Bud Light grew in the wake of its partnership with Mulvaney.
But Lentz and other LGBTQ activists think the company failed to stand behind the transgender influencer and stick up for the community.
''As far as marketing, I hope and think they realized that as a brand they will be extinct in a few years if they are not fully on the side of equality, as that is what the Gen Z consumer expects and demands,'' Lentz told Newsweek.
She said she sympathized with Mulvaney ''as this whole thing was not handled well and she was caught in the middle of a horrible firestorm.''
Anheuser-Busch's attempt to distance itself from transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney has angered some in the LGBTQ community. Dylan Mulvaney / InstagramLast month, John Casey, senior editor of the LGBTQ magazine Advocate, published an op-ed calling for a boycott of Bud Light for ''validating trans hate.''
What we know about Dylan MulvaneyWho is Dylan Mulvaney?
Dylan Mulvaney is a 26-year-old transgender influencer, who documented her transition from male to female on TikTok beginning in March 2021. Mulvaney has capitalized on the popularity of TikTok as well as companies trying to promote diversity.
What is the controversy surrounding Mulvaney?
Recently, Bud Light partnered with Mulvaney, sending her cans featuring her face and sparking a major controversy on the internet.
Mulvaney has reportedly earned over $1 million from endorsements, including fashion and beauty brands such as Kate Spade, Ulta Beauty, Haus Labs and CeraVe. Mulvaney also has a partnership with Nike, which critics have called ''a slap to the face.''
How did the public respond to the partnership?
Since news broke about the partnership, many celebrities have taken to social media to share their opinions on the matter, with some calling for a boycott of all Anheuser-Busch drinks.
One such celeb was Kid Rock, who posted a video of him opening fire on Bud Light cans.
Country music star Travis Tritt tweeted: ''I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same.''
As Megyn Kelly addressed the controversy, she was called out by viewers for what was dubbed a ''transphobic tirade.''
What was Anheuser-Busch's response to the backlash?
Anheuser-Busch defended its decision to enlist Mulvaney as a Bud Light brand influencer Monday in the face of growing backlash.
Anheuser-Busch said the cans with Mulvaney's face on them were a personal gift and that she's among hundreds of influencers with whom the company partners.
Learn more about Dylan Mulvaney
''Rather than come to the defense of a transgender woman, rather than defend a noble campaign that sought to reflect acceptance, and rather than let the campaign with Mulvaney speak for itself, Anheuser-Busch poured alcohol all over an extremist's fire, and that will continue to singe our community,'' Casey wrote.
The Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation's most prominent LGBTQ advocacy groups, denounced Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch for not forcefully pushing back on the boycott calls.
LGBTQ activists were frustrated over what they saw as Anheuser-Busch's failure to push back on ''transphobic outcries.'' @dylanmulvaney via REUTERS''In this moment, it is absolutely critical for Anheuser-Busch to stand in solidarity with Dylan and the trans community,'' Jay Brown, a senior vice president at HRC, said in a statement to Ad Age.
''However, when faced with anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic criticism, Anheuser-Busch's actions demonstrate a profound lack of fortitude in upholding its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to employees, customers, shareholders and the LGBTQ+ community.''
HRC said it was ''preparing to lower Anheuser-Busch's long-standing 100 percent Corporate Equality Index score, a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits relevant to LGBTQ employees'' as a result of its response to the Mulvaney backlash, according to the Hill.
Bud Light sales have steadily declined since the April 1 Dylan Mulvaney posts went viral. APAn LGBTQ boycott of Bud Light could be bad timing for the brand since Pride Month, which starts on June 1, is just weeks away.
Sales of Bud Light plunged 21% year-over-year during the week that ended April 22, the latest figures show.
The Post has sought comment from Anheuser-Busch.
A viral TikTok video appeared to show Red Sox fans at Fenway Park shun a concession stand whose refrigerator was stocked with cans of Bud Light.
Mother's Day brings only grief for those seeking Mexico's disappeared | Mexico | The Guardian
Sun, 14 May 2023 14:24
H er final Mother's Day feels like it was yesterday. It was a May morning in 2020, and Rosa Vald(C)s Vzquez had gone out to the store. When she returned, her daughter Piedad was waiting to surprise her with flowers, a cake and a wooden heart painted crimson.
Piedad, who had taken the day off work, sang the traditional Mexican birthday song Las Ma±anitas together with her two sisters; then they got to work making lunch for their mother. The four of them spent the afternoon downtown and went to the movies.
''It's something you can't forget,'' Vald(C)s said in a recent interview. ''Her joy filled us with life every day.''
A few months later Piedad, who had gone to a pool party with a friend, was snatched away by unknown assailants. Her friend's mother and younger brother were shot dead. Piedad, her friend and three others had vanished.
Relatives of disappeared people take part in a collective search for the disappeared in Valle de las Palmas, on the outskirts of Tijuana, Baja California. Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images''For me, there is no Mother's Day until she returns, or until I at least know where she is,'' said Vald(C)s. ''It's a day of grief, of sad memories. There's nothing to celebrate.''
For decades, Mother's Day '' celebrated in Mexico on 10 May '' was among the country's most important celebrations: people are known to hire mariachi bands to serenade their mothers before dawn, florists have their best sales of the year.
But in recent years, as cartel-fueled violence has overwhelmed the nation, the holiday has taken on a more sinister tone: more than 100,000 people have disappeared in Mexico since 1964, according to government figures, leaving tens of thousands of mothers across the country bereft.
Many take matters into their own hands, searching the streets or digging in fields for signs of dead bodies. Vald(C)s, who is part of a collective of mothers, has made two such grisly discoveries, though there is still no sign of Piedad.
''At least someone has found their relative,'' she said. ''At least someone will be able to rest.''
On Wednesday, hundreds '' perhaps thousands '' of women are expected to take to the streets in cities across the country to demand justice for their missing relatives.
''The mothers of the disappeared have absolutely nothing to celebrate,'' said Mar­a Herrera Magdaleno, who has four missing sons and helped found a national network of collectives searching for the disappeared. ''It's a day of pain, of suffering and of indignation because we feel unheard.''
For Luc­a de los ngeles D­az Genao, who founded a collective of mothers in eastern Veracruz state, the date is a double reminder of atrocity: first for her own disappeared son, who has been missing for almost a decade.
But it was also on Mother's Day in 2016 that the group received an anonymous tip: a map that pointed them toward a property with more than 150 hidden graves. Eventually, they located nearly 300 bodies.
''It was said to be a 'macabre gift','' D­az said ruefully.
Of late, the movement of mothers who lead the search for the disappeared has been marked by an even greater cruelty: since 2021, six searching mothers have been murdered across the country.
The latest, Teresa Magueyal, was killed last week, the second such killing in the violence-plagued state of Guanajuato in under six months.
''She was a very happy person,'' said Vald(C)s, who is part of a search collective called ''A Promise to be Kept'' that Magueyal also volunteered with. ''She was always cheering us up.''
A relative holds a minute of silence during the funeral of Teresa Magueyal, 65, a member of the missing persons search group 'A Promise to Keep'. Photograph: Sergio Maldonado/ReutersEarly last Tuesday, Magueyal sent off her good morning text to Vald(C)s and the other mothers as usual. Hours later, as she set off from her home by bicycle, she was shot deadh by two assailants on a motorcycle, according to local media reports.
Her death has been widely condemned, including by the United Nations.
''It is shocking to receive the news of another searching mother murdered in Guanajuato,'' said Jesºs Pe±a Palacios, deputy representative in Mexico of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, in a statement. ''Families deserve protection and justice, not death or the misfortune of dying without knowing where their loved one is.''
For Vald(C)s, this last has been one of the hardest parts of her colleague's death.
''To think that one day we could leave this world without knowing anything about our relatives, even more so as mothers '' it's a different kind of love,'' she said. ''To think that it could have happened to any one of us, that it could still happen to any of us.''
But for many searching mothers, who spend hours under the blistering sun looking for clandestine graves that could hold the remains of their missing children, danger is a constant: many work in territory run by violent cartels; death threats are common.
Mar­a Isabel Cruz Bernal runs a search collective of nearly 1,000 women in the state of Sinaloa, among Mexico's most dangerous. As a group, they have found nearly 500 bodies, and more than 18,000 burnt bone fragments, according to Cruz.
A flower vendor prepares bouquets for Mother's Day. Photograph: Sopa Images/LightRocket/Getty ImagesOnly the remains of about eight people have been identified, she said, a common issue in Mexico where thousands of bodies remain unidentified, many of them sitting in government morgues.
''The authorities aren't doing their jobs,'' Cruz said.
But searching for dead bodies in a state that is a stronghold for the Sinaloa cartel, Cruz's work has often put her in danger: she has received death threats seven times, and survived two attempted kidnappings. Last week, she began noticing young men standing outside her home who would make phone calls every time she came in or out '' cartel lookouts, she believes.
''It feels awful, being trapped in your own home,'' she said.
On Sunday, Cruz sounded the alarm under a protection mechanism for human rights activists: the police showed up, arresting one of the supposed look outs on Monday morning '' the surveillance has stopped, for now.
Still, the deaths of so many of her colleagues are a reminder that no one is safe.
''It affects all of us mothers who search,'' Cruz said. ''It's like they're sending us a warning that we could be next.''
Oscar Lopez is a fellow of the Alicia Patterson Foundation
VIDEO - Why Mother's Day is the most hated day in the restaurant industry | CNN Business
Sun, 14 May 2023 14:23
New York CNN '--
Mother's Day is one of the busiest days for the American restaurant industry, presenting a massive operational challenge to restaurants. That's why it gained a reputation among waiters and restaurant staff as one of the most grueling days on the calendar.
''Every server knows that working on Mother's Day is hell. In fact, if I die and go to hell, I completely expect it to be Mother's Day. 365 days a year,'' wrote Darron Cardosa, in his book ''The Bitchy Waiter: I'm Really Good at Pretending to Care.''
What's so bad about it? From big groups that show up in waves (''most of us are here!''), to food-fussy kids to splitting the check dramas and coffee-cup lingerers, restaurants hate this holiday. This year is expected to be particularly challenging as high inflation and rising menu prices give some restaurant-goers an extra sense of entitlement.
She created Mother's Day, later regretted it
''The anticipation alone can make you anxious,'' said Joe Haley, an abstract artist who works as a server at a Quincy, Massachusetts, Italian-American restaurant. It gets ''jam-packed. People are calling at the last minute for a reservation, there are other people who made multiple reservations so Mom could have her pick and they never cancel'... people who take out their mother once a year tell you 'Nothing can go wrong!''' he said.
But it does. With big tables, a few late arrivals can kick a kitchen into chaos. ''And every family has at least one black sheep or in-law who can't be relied upon to save their lives. Mother's Day: I dread it,'' Haley added.
Chefs, servers and owners said that this year guests have set their expectations high: Special occasion meals in a time of rising food prices. In a post-pandemic world, luxury '' or rather the appearance of luxury and excess '' is ''in.'' Across the country, customers will get aggravated if their $30 eggs Benedict isn't dolloped with caviar on Sunday.
Tastes have changed, literally, since Covid, said Chef Art Smith, who has been personal chef to Oprah Winfrey and Jeb Bush. He will be serving hundreds of Mother's Day meals at his four restaurants including his Homecomin' at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World.
The people who visit? ''They're drinking more. They want more carbs '' If it's mac and cheese, it has to be the cheesiest. But they want salads, and they want more veg sides, too. They just want more.''
The National Retail Federation forecasts that Mother's Day spending will reach $35.7 billion this year, with a record $5.6 billion alone spent on a meal or outing, up 6% from last year. It's the second-busiest day in the restaurant business, eclipsed only by Valentine's Day, according to online reservations site OpenTable.
Mother's Day presents ''an operational challenge,'' said Shawn Walchef, owner of five Cali BBQ eateries in the San Diego area. ''It's the busiest day of the year and also the day guests have the highest expectations. He foresees some fuss over tables on the patio '' ''In Southern California, everyone wants to sit outside.''
For many restaurants, this is the first big holiday since 2019 that hasn't been overshadowed by the pandemic. ''It's a lot of people getting together who haven't seen each other in a while,'' said owner Binh Douglas, who opened Main Prospect in Southampton, New York, about 18 months ago.
He expects that guests Sunday will be spending about 40% more than usual, and that a third of the adults will add the $19.95 ''bottomless mimosa'' to their meal. Fortunately, egg and seafood prices have come down in the last few weeks, he said.
But inflation has left its mark on Mother's Day brunch. At the Breakers in Palm Beach, Mother's day brunch in The Circle restaurant is $250 per person (up from $160 in 2019) with unlimited Champagne cocktails and a harpist who goes from table to table.
At the family-packed McLoone's Boathouse in West Orange, New Jersey, also home to a waterfront buffet, brunch has gone to $54.95 from $49.95 in 2019.
Pricing is touchy. ''Your Mother's Day meal can't be obnoxiously expensive,'' said Derek Axelrod, co-owner of Manhattan's Upper East Side T bar restaurant. Their Mother's Day menu will likely be upwards of $100 person, but won't turn much of a profit, he said. They're counting on liquor sales to do that. Meanwhile T bar is adding touches like a fois gras, cranberry and chicken parfait to the menu.
Servers and owners are also under pressure to ''push the lobster.'' Seven different restaurants at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas are serving Mother's Day meals that include lobster (The resort's round-up of all its Mother's Day menus notes that a subsequent gondola ride is an additional $39).
Ophelia, a rooftop restaurant near the United Nations in New York, solves the ''luxury'' problem neatly by offering a menu in which Mom gets it all: fried quail egg, lobster, filet mignon, waffles and smoked salmon '' but be warned: it's a $59-per-person presentation of ''petite bites.''
In Naples, Florida, the hamburger at the Veranda E restaurant on Sunday will be brought under glass, and a cloud of smoke will rise up as it is uncovered. ''That's new for us,'' says owner Mary Brandt, who will have four generations of women from her family at the restaurant.
To maximize profits and seating, chain restaurants are changing, too. Ruth's Chris Steak House, which has locations in about three-dozen states, is opening several for breakfast or brunch on Mother's Day; at the Fort Worth location, there will be wild blueberry pancakes. And some Red Lobsters are giving Moms a coupon for 10% off their next meal '' even including off the Ultimate Endless Shrimp Feast.
So, book now, and tip your server. Of all holidays, Mother's Day is considered so stressful for workers that the National Restaurant Association recommends that owners ensure that their servers are ''fed and properly hydrated'' and should be given a ''combat-duty'' bonus '' especially the mothers on staff who work the shift.
Server Joe Haley, in Quincy, has a better idea: ''Why can't you people just make your Mom breakfast?''
Why I'm Skipping Mother's Day - The Atlantic
Sun, 14 May 2023 14:18
Should people feel compelled to celebrate a holiday that is painful for so many?
Gregg Segal / Gallery StockThe best Mother's Day gift I ever received was not from my children. In May 2020, at the height of the pandemic, an anonymous plain brown package arrived in the mail with a note that said: ''We see you.''
A jeweler, a former single mother herself, had made 1,000 small heart charms, strung them on bright-orange cords, and asked people to nominate single mothers to receive them. Then she mailed the necklaces out, free of charge. There was something powerful in imagining 1,000 single mothers out in the world with these bright-orange strings and hearts around our necks. The following year, I nominated another friend who needed it. There was nothing performative about it'--if we tucked the necklace under a shirt, no one would even notice. Instead, the necklace functioned like a reminder string tied around my finger: I'm not alone; I am one of many, doing this work every day.
I needed that reminder more than my nominator could know.
A few weeks ago, I sat drinking coffee with a fellow mother. We were talking about blended families, about raising sons, about scheduling and carpools. We looked at the calendar and I noted we were closing in on May.
''Can I confess something?'' I asked. ''I really hate Mother's Day.''
''Oh, same,'' she said. ''It is my least favorite day of the year.'' We talked for a while about our years as single mothers. Without a partner to orchestrate the reminders of the upcoming day, organizing children's gifts and crafts, planning out any cake-baking or brunch-going, responsibility for all of the celebrations fell to us. Her honesty was a surprise and a relief; it was comforting to find someone else who was open to admitting that she tolerated the day for the sake of her children, and who looked at that second Sunday in May on the calendar with dread.
I shared with her that the day also spins my children out; I've consistently had the worst days of my mothering life on that holiday. She'd had a similar experience and we'd both attributed the tantrums to the day being a giant reminder to the kids that we are divorced. ''I wish we could just skip the day,'' she said.
I loved this idea. What if anyone who wanted to sit the day out could skip it?
This year, my mother suggested we do just that. We typically go on some family outing, to a zoo or a garden, and have a meal. But we've seen a lot of each other lately, and she wanted to spend the day relaxing. At first, I was hurt. Until I realized that this meant I could skip it too.
Why are so many of us still performing a holiday that fills us with so much ambivalence? Profit seems like one obvious answer. In 2023, Americans are expected to spend $35.7 billion on flowers, cards, and other gifts to celebrate moms, according to the National Retail Federation. That is more than the GDP of Iceland. Until my mother released me this year, I felt obligated to participate. ''Mothers have always existed but 'motherhood' is a comparatively recent invention,'' wrote Ann Dally in Inventing Motherhood: The Consequence of an Ideal. It turns out that the holiday has generated conflict for more than a century.
President Woodrow Wilson established Mother's Day as a national holiday on May 9, 1914. The holiday had originated a few years earlier, in West Virginia, where it was created by a woman named Anna Jarvis.
Jarvis's mother had died in 1905. On the second anniversary of her death, Jarvis honored her memory by distributing 500 white carnations at their church. She chose white carnations because they were her mother's favorite flower. After this first memorial in 1907, it became her dream to turn the day into an international celebration of all mothers. She often told people, ''I created Mother's Day not because I loved my mother, but because she loved me.''
As a graduate student at West Virginia University in 2004, the historian Katharine Lane Antolini was offered a tour of the International Mother's Day Shrine in Grafton, West Virginia, the site of the first official Mother's Day celebration, in 1908. After visiting the church, Antolini walked through the basement and noticed boxes of documents on the kitchen's floor. Concerned for the integrity of the papers, which she felt were vulnerable to flooding and mold, Antolini asked the trustees if she could archive the material. She found that the majority of the letters belonged to Anna Jarvis, who'd campaigned intensely for Wilson to sign the day into the national register. Antolini used the archival material to write Memorializing Motherhood: Anna Jarvis and the Struggle to Control Mother's Day.
Jarvis was an unlikely founder. She never married and was not a mother herself. ''The problem is, she didn't understand motherhood from the perspective of a mother,'' Antolini told me. ''It is hard for a single woman with no children to design a holiday asking households to celebrate mothers. Hers is a very sentimental, traditional, domestic view, whereas her mother would've done something much bigger.''
Although Jarvis believed she was creating a holiday to honor mothers, she made the holiday personal, a memorial designed by a daughter swamped with grief. Wilson supported the holiday because, in a time of turbulent change as women fought for more independence and expanded rights as citizens, it was aimed squarely at celebrating the women who stayed home and tended their brood.
We are constantly reinventing what it means to be a mother in this country, constantly revising what it means to honor one. I love being a mother. But I didn't always. I assumed everyone else just knew what to do. For a long time, I thought I was a failure as a mother. I thought that something hadn't turned on, that some switch hadn't been flipped.
Only years later, when I was on my own with these two strange creatures, did I begin to understand that my failure was not in mothering. My failure was in trying to do it alone. Once I started sharing my fears with other mothers, I was surprised by the care and camaraderie they shared back with me. I think of my friend in the coffee shop, the relief after just a few moments of conversation with someone who understood. We could have stayed sealed up, performing perfect motherhood, but instead we shared with each other, mother to mother.
I am no longer a single mother, but I still wear my necklace with the bright-orange string when I need to channel the power of mothers. I love my sons, and I love their handprint Mother's Day cards from when they were toddlers, but the support from other mothers and from my own mother at that time is what sustained me, what made me feel like a mother in the first place.
Supermarket forced to apologise over 'offensive' Mother's Day display
Sun, 14 May 2023 14:17
An Australian supermarket has been forced to apologise over a Mother's Day display which many have deemed 'offensive'.
Of course, all supermarkets put out big displays for the big annual events like Christmas, Halloween, Father's Day and Mother's Day.
It is a chance for creatives of the big supermarket brands to think outside the box in order to try and sell products during that special celebration.
But for Aussie supermarket Coles, many people believe they got it terribly wrong when it came to promoting their Mother's Day range.
That is for just one particular store though, as Coles has confirmed it was an 'isolated incident' to Yahoo.
A picture posted on Instagram shows an aisle of a Coles supermarket in Adelaide filled with gift ideas for moms - pretty common, right?
Coles are in the limelight for one of their Mother's Day displays. Credit: martin berry / Alamy Stock PhotoWell, not really, as Coles have been accused of 'living in the 60s' as the aisle was packed with cleaning products such as washing liquid and cleaning spray, plus sanitary products like menstrual cups.
Completing the questionable aisle were some fluffy slippers, a home rug, and some gift packs.
The photo was shared on an Adelaide-based satire page, with a caption mocking the display saying: "Happy Mother's Day from Coles.
"We hope your mum loves the bottles of Pine O Clean, the peg basket and the incontinence pads."
Many have flocked to the comments section of the Instagram post, and it is fair to say the majority are not best pleased.
"Don't know what's worse, the fabric softener down the bottom or the period undies on the top shelf," one angered person wrote.
A second added: "l have to send the kids there to pick up my present, can't wait to find out if I'm doing laundry or disinfecting the bathroom for Mother's Day."
Meanwhile, a third simply remarked: "I can't even look at this offensive photo."
The aisle has been described as 'offensive'. Credit: Instagram/@siobhanbossyColes has since issued an apology over the aisle, saying in a statement to Yahoo: "We are grateful this has been drawn to our attention and our Coles team in Adelaide apologises for this error.
"This was an unintentional human error where recently discontinued products, including sanitary and cleaning supplies were placed along the seasonal 'flex aisle.'"
They continued: "Celebrating Mothers and Mother figures is such an important occasion at Coles and we are committed to providing the best value and range of gifts to make this weekend extra special.
"We wish for all Mums and Mums-to-be and those who are remembering their mothers this weekend to have a memorable, and special day."
UNILAD has contacted Coles for further comment.
Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States | Pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics
Sun, 14 May 2023 12:53
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Articles | August 03 2022
Jack L. Turban, MD, MHS ; a Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
Address correspondence to Jack Turban, MD, MHS, 401 Quarry Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94304. E-mail:
jack.turban@ucsf.edu Search for other works by this author on:
Brett Dolotina, BS ; b Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
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Dana King, ALM ; c The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, Boston, Massachusetts
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Alex S. Keuroghlian, MD, MPH Alex S. Keuroghlian, MD, MPH
b Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
c The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, Boston, Massachusetts
d Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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Address correspondence to Jack Turban, MD, MHS, 401 Quarry Rd, Palo Alto, CA, 94304. E-mail:
jack.turban@ucsf.eduPediatrics (2022) 150 (3): e2022056567.
OBJECTIVE
Representatives of some pediatric gender clinics have reported an increase in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents presenting for care who were assigned female sex at birth (AFAB) relative to those assigned male sex at birth (AMAB). These data have been used to suggest that youth come to identify as TGD because of ''social contagion,'' with the underlying assumption that AFAB youth are uniquely vulnerable to this hypothesized phenomenon. Reported changes in the AMAB:AFAB ratio have been cited in recent legislative debates regarding the criminalization of gender-affirming medical care. Our objective was to examine the AMAB:AFAB ratio among United States TGD adolescents in a larger and more representative sample than past clinic-recruited samples.
METHODS
Using the 2017 and 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey across 16 states that collected gender identity data, we calculated the AMAB:AFAB ratio for each year. We also examined the rates of bullying victimization and suicidality among TGD youth compared with their cisgender peers.
RESULTS
The analysis included 91'‰937 adolescents in 2017 and 105'‰437 adolescents in 2019. In 2017, 2161 (2.4%) participants identified as TGD, with an AMAB:AFAB ratio of 1.5:1. In 2019, 1640 (1.6%) participants identified as TGD, with an AMAB:AFAB ratio of 1.2:1. Rates of bullying victimization and suicidality were higher among TGD youth when compared with their cisgender peers.
CONCLUSION
The sex assigned at birth ratio of TGD adolescents in the United States does not appear to favor AFAB adolescents and should not be used to argue against the provision of gender-affirming medical care for TGD adolescents.
What's Known on This Subject:
Representatives of some pediatric gender clinics have reported an increase in transgender youth assigned female sex at birth relative to those assigned male sex at birth. Such data have been used to suggest a theory of social contagion leading to transgender identity.
What This Study Adds:
Our findings from a national sample of adolescents across 16 states reveal that the sex assigned at birth ratio of transgender adolescents does not favor transgender adolescents assigned female sex at birth.
Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth are those whose gender identity does not strictly align with societal expectations based on their sex assigned at birth.1 Some TGD youth experience gender dysphoria, which, as currently described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision refers to the distress that arises secondary to one's gender identity being incongruent with societal expectations based on one's sex assigned at birth.2
A recent descriptive article hypothesized the existence of a new subtype of gender dysphoria, putatively termed ''rapid-onset gender dysphoria'' (ROGD).3 The ROGD hypothesis asserts that young people begin to identify as TGD for the first time as adolescents rather than as prepubertal children and that this identification and subsequent gender dysphoria are the result of social contagion. This hypothesis further asserts that youth assigned female sex at birth (AFAB) are more susceptible to social contagion than those assigned male sex at birth (AMAB),3 with a resultant expectation of increasing overrepresentation of TGD AFAB youth relative to TGD AMAB youth.
Of note, this hypothesis was formed solely through the analysis of online parental survey data. As a subsequently issued correction to the article outlined, ''ROGD is not a formal mental health diagnosis at this time. This report did not collect data from the adolescents and young adults or clinicians and therefore does not validate the phenomenon.''4
Despite this parent-centered study prompting substantial social5 and methodological6 critique in tandem with calls for more robust research studies with samples of TGD adolescents,7 the notion of ROGD has been used in recent legislative debates to argue for and subsequently enact policies that prohibit gender-affirming medical care for TGD adolescents.8 Notably, all relevant major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, oppose such legislative efforts.8
One element of the ROGD hypothesis has been understudied, namely, the sex assigned at birth ratio of TGD adolescents (ie, the number of TGD AFAB adolescents relative to the number of TGD AMAB adolescents). Although representatives of some pediatric gender clinics have reported an increase in TGD AFAB patients relative to TGD AMAB patients,9,10 there is a dearth of studies that explore this ratio in larger, national samples of adolescents. Using data from the 2017 and 2019 iterations of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) across 16 US states, we explored this component of the ROGD hypothesis and examined the AMAB:AFAB ratio among United States TGD adolescents in a larger and more representative sample than past clinic-recruited samples. Moreover, to test the assertion that youth identify as TGD because of social desirability, we also examined rates of bullying among those who identified as TGD and those who did not. We further compared rates of bullying victimization among TGD youth with rates among cisgender sexual minority youth because some have asserted that TGD youth identify as TGD because of their underlying sexual orientation and presumption that TGD identities are less stigmatized than sexual minority cisgender identities.11
Methods Data Source and Study PopulationData for this study come from the 2017 and 2019 iterations of the YRBS, which is a biennial survey of high school students in the United States conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the objective of assessing risk behaviors among United States adolescents. The complete YRBS methodology (ie, sampling methodology, data collection processes, response rates) has previously been described.12 Sixteen states that administered the YRBS in 2017 and 2019 collected gender identity data. Because data were publicly available, this study was exempt from institutional review board review.
Gender IdentityParticipants were asked, ''Some people describe themselves as transgender when their sex at birth does not match the way they think or feel about their gender. Are you transgender?'' Response options were ''Yes, I am transgender,'' ''No, I am not transgender,'' ''I am not sure if I am transgender,'' and ''I do not know what this question is asking.'' Youth who chose ''I am not sure if I am transgender'' and ''I do not know what this question is asking'' were excluded from analyses.
Sex Assigned at BirthYouth reported their sex assigned at birth by answering: ''What is your sex?'' Response options were female or male. Although this question does not refer to sex assigned at birth specifically, several studies have found that TGD youth are likely to understand ''sex'' to be sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity, due to the foundational salience of these characteristics to their identities.13,14,15 For this reason, we conceptualize responses to this question as referring to sex assigned at birth. Survey questions used to ascertain gender identity and sex assigned at birth are displayed in Supplemental Table 5.
Demographic, Bullying, and Mental Health VariablesDemographic variables including age, grade, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation were collected. Because proponents of ROGD have argued that youth are increasingly identifying as TGD because of social desirability,11 variables related to school bullying and electronic bullying were also included in the study analyses, to examine the veracity of these assertions. Moreover, because bullying is a predictor of negative mental health outcomes,1 we also included history of suicide attempts as a variable in the analyses.
Statistical AnalysesPercentages were calculated to determine the proportion of TGD adolescents overall as well as by sex assigned at birth. AMAB:AFAB ratios were calculated to compare the number of AFAB and AMAB participants who identified as TGD. Variables related to demographics, bullying, and suicidality were compared between TGD and cisgender youth by using χ2 tests.
ResultsThe analyses included 91'‰937 adolescents in 2017 and 105'‰437 adolescents in 2019. The percentages of excluded youth who indicated ''I am not sure if I am transgender'' or ''I do not know what this question is asking'' were 4.0% (n = 3785) and 3.2% (n = 3505) in 2017 and 2019, respectively. TGD and cisgender youth demonstrated significant differences across all demographic variables, bullying victimization, and suicidality (Table 1). TGD youth were more likely to be victims of school bullying and electronic bullying when compared with their cisgender peers, and they were also more likely to endorse a history of suicide attempts.
TABLE 1Demographic and Mental Health Characteristics
YRBS Year . 2017a . . 2019b . . . Cisgender, n = 89'‰776 . Transgender, n = 2161 . P . Cisgender, n = 103'‰797 . Transgender, n = 1640 . P . Sex assigned at birth, n (%) <.001 .001 'ƒFemale, AFAB 45'‰928 (51.2) 876 (40.5) 53'‰179 (51.2) 774 (47.2) 'ƒMale, AMAB 43'‰848 (48.8) 1285 (59.5) 50'‰618 (48.8) 866 (52.8) Age, y <.001 <.001 'ƒ'‰¤12 235 (0.3) 142 (6.6) 208 (0.2) 110 (6.7) 'ƒ13 209 (0.2) 19 (0.9) 443 (0.4) 37 (2.3) 'ƒ14 14'‰326 (16.0) 310 (14.4) 17'‰933 (17.3) 227 (13.9) 'ƒ15 23'‰947 (26.7) 504 (23.4) 28'‰377 (27.4) 351 (21.5) 'ƒ16 24'‰005 (26.8) 504 (23.4) 26'‰648 (25.7) 361 (22.1) 'ƒ17 20'‰250 (22.6) 464 (21.5) 22'‰287 (21.5) 358 (21.9) 'ƒ'‰¥18 6726 (7.5) 201 (9.3) 7804 (7.5) 192 (11.7) Grade, n (%) .009 .001 'ƒ9th 24'‰706 (27.7) 557 (27.2) 29'‰648 (28.8) 403 (25.7) 'ƒ10th 23'‰760 (26.7) 529 (25.8) 27'‰840 (27.0) 407 (25.9) 'ƒ11th 23'‰033 (25.8) 496 (24.2) 25'‰216 (24.5) 392 (25.0) 'ƒ12th 17'‰609 (19.8) 465 (22.7) 20'‰361 (19.8) 368 (23.4) Race/ethnicity, n (%) <.001 <.001 'ƒAmerican Indian/Alaska Native 1110 (1.3) 34 (1.7) 1022 (1.0) 27 (1.7) 'ƒAsian 5097 (5.8) 94 (4.6) 6123 (6.0) 81 (5.2) 'ƒBlack or African American 11'‰641 (13.3) 430 (21.2) 14'‰259 (14.0) 140 (9.0) 'ƒHispanic/Latino 9415 (10.7) 396 (19.5) 16'‰500 (16.2) 408 (26.4) 'ƒNative Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 1783 (2.0) 78 (3.8) 2131 (2.1) 52 (3.4) 'ƒWhite 52'‰859 (60.3) 860 (42.3) 55'‰261 (54.4) 734 (47.4) 'ƒMultiracial 5767 (6.6) 140 (6.9) 6301 (6.2) 105 (6.8) Sexual orientation, n (%) <.001 <.001 'ƒHeterosexual 77'‰451 (87.1) 761 (37.5) 88'‰172 (85.6) 403 (25.3) 'ƒGay or lesbian 1932 (2.2) 465 (22.96) 2236 (2.2) 442 (27.7) 'ƒBisexual 6462 (7.3) 545 (26.8) 8546 (8.3) 530 (33.2) 'ƒNot sure 3117 (3.5) 261 (12.8) 4012 (3.9) 220 (13.8) Bullied at school,cn (%) 13'‰052 (14.5) 675 (31.2) <.001 15'‰494 (14.9) 567 (34.6) <.001 Electronically bullied,dn (%) 13'‰291 (14.8) 628 (29.1) <.001 15'‰089 (14.5) 573 (34.9) <.001 Attempted suicide,en (%) <.001 <.001 'ƒ0 times 41'‰015 (94.0) 428 (67.0) 56'‰131 (92.7) 617 (69.2) 'ƒ1 time 1577 (3.6) 75 (11.7) 2649 (4.4) 111 (12.5) 'ƒ2 or 3 times 708 (1.6) 62 (9.7) 1221 (2.0) 79 (8.9) 'ƒ4 or 5 times 138 (0.3) 13 (2.0) 241 (0.4) 23 (2.6) 'ƒ6 or more times 175 (0.4) 61 (9.5) 277 (0.5) 61 (6.8) YRBS Year . 2017a . . 2019b . . . Cisgender, n = 89'‰776 . Transgender, n = 2161 . P . Cisgender, n = 103'‰797 . Transgender, n = 1640 . P . Sex assigned at birth, n (%) <.001 .001 'ƒFemale, AFAB 45'‰928 (51.2) 876 (40.5) 53'‰179 (51.2) 774 (47.2) 'ƒMale, AMAB 43'‰848 (48.8) 1285 (59.5) 50'‰618 (48.8) 866 (52.8) Age, y <.001 <.001 'ƒ'‰¤12 235 (0.3) 142 (6.6) 208 (0.2) 110 (6.7) 'ƒ13 209 (0.2) 19 (0.9) 443 (0.4) 37 (2.3) 'ƒ14 14'‰326 (16.0) 310 (14.4) 17'‰933 (17.3) 227 (13.9) 'ƒ15 23'‰947 (26.7) 504 (23.4) 28'‰377 (27.4) 351 (21.5) 'ƒ16 24'‰005 (26.8) 504 (23.4) 26'‰648 (25.7) 361 (22.1) 'ƒ17 20'‰250 (22.6) 464 (21.5) 22'‰287 (21.5) 358 (21.9) 'ƒ'‰¥18 6726 (7.5) 201 (9.3) 7804 (7.5) 192 (11.7) Grade, n (%) .009 .001 'ƒ9th 24'‰706 (27.7) 557 (27.2) 29'‰648 (28.8) 403 (25.7) 'ƒ10th 23'‰760 (26.7) 529 (25.8) 27'‰840 (27.0) 407 (25.9) 'ƒ11th 23'‰033 (25.8) 496 (24.2) 25'‰216 (24.5) 392 (25.0) 'ƒ12th 17'‰609 (19.8) 465 (22.7) 20'‰361 (19.8) 368 (23.4) Race/ethnicity, n (%) <.001 <.001 'ƒAmerican Indian/Alaska Native 1110 (1.3) 34 (1.7) 1022 (1.0) 27 (1.7) 'ƒAsian 5097 (5.8) 94 (4.6) 6123 (6.0) 81 (5.2) 'ƒBlack or African American 11'‰641 (13.3) 430 (21.2) 14'‰259 (14.0) 140 (9.0) 'ƒHispanic/Latino 9415 (10.7) 396 (19.5) 16'‰500 (16.2) 408 (26.4) 'ƒNative Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 1783 (2.0) 78 (3.8) 2131 (2.1) 52 (3.4) 'ƒWhite 52'‰859 (60.3) 860 (42.3) 55'‰261 (54.4) 734 (47.4) 'ƒMultiracial 5767 (6.6) 140 (6.9) 6301 (6.2) 105 (6.8) Sexual orientation, n (%) <.001 <.001 'ƒHeterosexual 77'‰451 (87.1) 761 (37.5) 88'‰172 (85.6) 403 (25.3) 'ƒGay or lesbian 1932 (2.2) 465 (22.96) 2236 (2.2) 442 (27.7) 'ƒBisexual 6462 (7.3) 545 (26.8) 8546 (8.3) 530 (33.2) 'ƒNot sure 3117 (3.5) 261 (12.8) 4012 (3.9) 220 (13.8) Bullied at school,cn (%) 13'‰052 (14.5) 675 (31.2) <.001 15'‰494 (14.9) 567 (34.6) <.001 Electronically bullied,dn (%) 13'‰291 (14.8) 628 (29.1) <.001 15'‰089 (14.5) 573 (34.9) <.001 Attempted suicide,en (%) <.001 <.001 'ƒ0 times 41'‰015 (94.0) 428 (67.0) 56'‰131 (92.7) 617 (69.2) 'ƒ1 time 1577 (3.6) 75 (11.7) 2649 (4.4) 111 (12.5) 'ƒ2 or 3 times 708 (1.6) 62 (9.7) 1221 (2.0) 79 (8.9) 'ƒ4 or 5 times 138 (0.3) 13 (2.0) 241 (0.4) 23 (2.6) 'ƒ6 or more times 175 (0.4) 61 (9.5) 277 (0.5) 61 (6.8) Note: All variables have <3% missing data except for attempted suicide (52% and 42% missing in 2017 and 2019, respectively).
a 2017 YRBS data come from the following states: Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
b 2019 YRBS data come from the following states: Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
c Bullied on school property in the past 12 mo, ''During the past 12 months, have you ever been bullied on school property'' (response options ''Yes'' or ''No).
d Bullied through texting, Instagram, Facebook, or other social media in the past 12 mo, ''During the past 12 months, have you ever been electronically bullied? (Count being bullied through texting, Instagram, Facebook, or other social media'' (response options ''Yes'' or ''No'').
e Number of suicide attempts in the past 12 mo, ''During the past 12 months, how many times did you actually attempt suicide?'' (response options those listed in table).
Table 2 highlights the numbers and percentages of TGD adolescents by year and sex assigned at birth. In 2017, 2161 (2.4%) of participants identified as TGD, with an AMAB:AFAB ratio of 1.5:1. In 2019, 1640 (1.6% of) participants identified as TGD, with an AMAB:AFAB ratio of 1.2:1.
TABLE 2Numbers and Percentages of Transgender and Cisgender Adolescents by YRBS Year and Sex Assigned at Birth
YRBS Year . 2017 . 2019 . All adolescents, n (%) 'ƒTransgender 2161 (2.4) 1640 (1.6) 'ƒCisgender 89'‰776 (97.6) 103'‰797 (98.4) AMAB adolescents, n (%) 'ƒTransgender 1285 (2.8) 866 (1.7) 'ƒCisgender 43'‰848 (97.2) 50'‰618 (98.3) AFAB adolescents, n (%) 'ƒTransgender 876 (1.9) 774 (1.4) 'ƒCisgender 45'‰928 (98.1) 53'‰179 (98.6) Sex assigned at birth ratio, transgender AMAB:transgender AFAB 1.5:1 1.2:1 YRBS Year . 2017 . 2019 . All adolescents, n (%) 'ƒTransgender 2161 (2.4) 1640 (1.6) 'ƒCisgender 89'‰776 (97.6) 103'‰797 (98.4) AMAB adolescents, n (%) 'ƒTransgender 1285 (2.8) 866 (1.7) 'ƒCisgender 43'‰848 (97.2) 50'‰618 (98.3) AFAB adolescents, n (%) 'ƒTransgender 876 (1.9) 774 (1.4) 'ƒCisgender 45'‰928 (98.1) 53'‰179 (98.6) Sex assigned at birth ratio, transgender AMAB:transgender AFAB 1.5:1 1.2:1 Additionally, TGD youth were significantly more likely to be victims of school bullying and electronic bullying when compared with cisgender sexual minority youth, who themselves were more likely to be victims of these types of bullying when compared to cisgender heterosexual youth (Tables 3 and 4).
TABLE 3χ2 Comparison of Bullying Rates Between TGD Youth and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth
YRBS Year . 2017 . 2019 . . Cisgender Sexual Minority, n (%) . Transgender and Gender Diverse, n (%) . P . Cisgender Sexual Minority, n (%) . Transgender and Gender Diverse, n (%) . P . School bullying 2034 (30.5) 675 (38.7) <.001 2515 (28.7) 567 (45.4) <.001 Electronic bullying 2213 (26.7) 628 (32.2) <.001 2577 (24.1) 573 (37.5) <.001 YRBS Year . 2017 . 2019 . . Cisgender Sexual Minority, n (%) . Transgender and Gender Diverse, n (%) . P . Cisgender Sexual Minority, n (%) . Transgender and Gender Diverse, n (%) . P . School bullying 2034 (30.5) 675 (38.7) <.001 2515 (28.7) 567 (45.4) <.001 Electronic bullying 2213 (26.7) 628 (32.2) <.001 2577 (24.1) 573 (37.5) <.001 TABLE 4χ2 Comparison of Bullying Rates Between Cisgender Heterosexual Youth and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth
YRBS Year . 2017 . 2019 . . Cisgender Heterosexual, n (%) . Cisgender Sexual Minority, n (%) . P . Cisgender Heterosexual, n (%) . Cisgender Sexual Minority, n (%) . P . School bullying 10'‰296 (17.1) 2034 (30.5) <.001 12'‰077 (16.6) 2515 (28.7) <.001 Electronic bullying 10'‰426 (13.5) 2213 (26.7) <.001 11'‰729 (13.4) 2577 (24.1) <.001 YRBS Year . 2017 . 2019 . . Cisgender Heterosexual, n (%) . Cisgender Sexual Minority, n (%) . P . Cisgender Heterosexual, n (%) . Cisgender Sexual Minority, n (%) . P . School bullying 10'‰296 (17.1) 2034 (30.5) <.001 12'‰077 (16.6) 2515 (28.7) <.001 Electronic bullying 10'‰426 (13.5) 2213 (26.7) <.001 11'‰729 (13.4) 2577 (24.1) <.001 DiscussionUsing a national sample of United States adolescents, we found that there were more TGD AMAB adolescents than TGD AFAB adolescents in both 2017 and 2019. Additionally, the total percentage of TGD adolescents in our sample decreased from 2.4% in 2017 to 1.6% in 2019. This decrease in the overall percentage of adolescents identifying as TGD is incongruent with an ROGD hypothesis that posits social contagion.
The AMAB:AFAB ratio, still in favor of more TGD AMAB participants for both years, shifted slightly toward TGD AFAB participants from 2017 to 2019. Importantly, this change was due to a reduction in the number of TGD AMAB participants, rather than an increase in TGD AFAB participants, again arguing against a notion of social contagion with unique susceptibility among AFAB youth.
Moreover, we found that TGD youth were more likely to be victims of bullying and to have attempted suicide when compared with cisgender youth, which is consistent with past studies.1 Our additional analyses reveal that TGD youth experience significantly higher rates of bullying than cisgender sexual minority youth, who themselves experience significantly higher rates of bullying when compared with cisgender heterosexual youth (Tables 3 and 4). These exceptionally high rates of bullying among TGD youth are inconsistent with the notion that young people come out as TGD either to avoid sexual minority stigma or because being TGD will make them more popular among their peers, both of which are explanations that have recently been propagated in the media.11 Of note, a substantial percentage of TGD adolescents in the current study sample also identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual with regard to their sexual orientation (Table 1), which further argues against the notion that adopting a TGD identity is an attempt to avoid sexual minority stigma.
The deleterious effect of unfounded hypotheses stigmatizing TGD youth, particularly the ROGD hypothesis, cannot be overstated, especially in current and longstanding public policy debates. Indeed, the notion of ROGD has been used by legislators to prohibit TGD youth from accessing gender-affirming medical care, despite the considerable methodological limitations underlying the generation of this hypothesis, as well as the unequivocal support for gender-affirming medical care by multiple major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Psychiatric Association.8 Multiple studies have revealed that prohibiting TGD adolescents from accessing gender-affirming medical care would be expected to have detrimental impacts on TGD youth wellbeing.16''18,22 The current study adds to the extant research arguing against the ROGD hypothesis by providing evidence inconsistent with the theories that (1) social contagion drives TGD identities, with unique susceptibility among AFAB youth, and (2) that youth identify as TGD due to such identities being less stigmatized than cisgender sexual minority identities.
Limitations of this study include that data were collected through a school-based survey; therefore, TGD youth who do not attend school were not represented. Additionally, all participants included in this study lived in states that administered the YRBS gender identity question, thus TGD youth in other states are not represented. Moreover, the question through which the sex of participants was ascertained did not use the established 2-step method of asking about gender identity.19 Although our results should be understood in the context of this limitation, we posit that TGD youth are likely able to accurately differentiate between sex and gender identity, given that these characteristics are foundationally salient to their identities. Indeed, several studies found that TGD youth seem to accurately navigate the differences between their sex assigned at birth and gender identity.13,14,15 Moreover, it is unlikely that the proportion of youth who answered the sex question based on their gender identity would differ by sex assigned at birth. Thus, the ratio of youth by sex assigned at birth is likely to be largely unaffected.19 Future studies could use the 2-step method of determining gender identity to more accurately capture subgroup characteristics by sex assigned at birth and gender,19 although we also acknowledge that best practices for gender identity data collection are iterative and ever-evolving.15,20,21,23
ConclusionsBy examining the AMAB:AFAB ratio of TGD adolescents across 16 states in 2017 and 2019, our findings are in direct contrast with central components of the ROGD hypothesis, as well as previous studies that used smaller samples from single clinics.9,10 The AMAB:AFAB ratio of TGD adolescents in the United States does not appear to favor TGD AFAB adolescents, and the notion of ROGD should not be used to restrict the provision of gender-affirming medical care for TGD adolescents. Results from this study also argue against the notions that TGD youth come to identify as TGD because of social contagion or to flee stigma related to sexual minority status.
AcknowledgmentsWe thank the YRBS adolescent participants and local education agencies for their continuous engagement in population health research.
Dr Turban conceptualized and designed the study and conducted the initial analyses; Brett Dolotina provided administrative support, assisted with initial analyses, and drafted the initial manuscript; Dana King coordinated data acquisition and assisted with initial analyses; Dr Keuroghlian supervised all phases of this study; and all authors critically reviewed and revised the manuscript for intellectual content, approved the final manuscript as submitted, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
FUNDING: All phases of this study were supported by R25 grant MH094612 from The National Institute of Mental Health (Dr Turban) and by The Sorensen Foundation (Dr Turban). The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURES: Dr Turban reports receiving textbook royalties from Springer Nature and expert witness payments from the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal. He has received a pilot research award for general psychiatry residents from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and its industry donors (Arbor and Pfizer) and a research fellowship from the Sorensen Foundation. Dr Keuroghlian reports receiving textbook royalties from McGraw Hill.
AFABassigned female sex at birth
AMABassigned male sex at birth
ROGDrapid-onset gender dysphoria
TGDtransgender and gender diverse
YRBSYouth Risk Behavior Survey
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Copyright (C) 2022 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
2022
Comments5 Comments
In Reply: Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United StatesAugust 26 2022
Jack L. Turban, MD, MHS(a), Brett Dolotina, BS(b), Dana King, ALM(c), Alex S. Keuroghlian, MD, MPH(c, d, e)
(a) University of California, (b) Columbia University, (c) Fenway Health, (d) Massachusetts General Hospital, (e) Harvard Medical School
We appreciate the interest in our recent study regarding the sex assigned at birth ratio among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents in the United States[1] from Lett et al.[2] and others who have shared their online comments.
We agree with Lett et al. that the notion of ''social contagion'' is a gross misrepresentation of TGD communities' social support, cohesiveness, and connectedness. Through our experience and expertise as gender-affirming care providers, as well as the lived TGD experience and community engagement within our authorship team, we are deeply aware that TGD youth seek out support and knowledge from peers about gender and health as part of their developmental milestones and resiliency.
Our article's introduction explains the specific questions we studied regarding the notion of social contagion for TGD identities, including the premise that adolescents assigned female sex at birth would be more susceptible to this phenomenon:
''A recent descriptive article hypothesized the existence of a new subtype of gender dysphoria, putatively termed ''rapid-onset gender dysphoria'' (ROGD). The ROGD hypothesis asserts that young people begin to identify as TGD for the first time as adolescents rather than as prepubertal children and that this identification and subsequent gender dysphoria are the result of social contagion. This hypothesis further asserts that youth assigned female sex at birth (AFAB) are more susceptible to social contagion than those assigned male sex at birth (AMAB), with a resultant expectation of increasing overrepresentation of TGD AFAB youth relative to TGD AMAB youth.''
We would emphasize again that we are not proponents of ROGD or social contagion hypotheses. We did not adopt ROGD or social contagion as our study's ''lens.'' Rather, we sought to empirically evaluate specific ideas that have been propagated as a result of these hypotheses. The conceptual link between the sex assigned at birth ratio and social contagion has been explicitly cited in recent political debates, including in expert witness testimony in Brandt v Rutledge, a case in Arkansas regarding the state's law that would ban gender-affirming medical care for adolescents,[3] despite opposition from all major medical organizations, including The American Academy of Pediatrics.[4] Given this, we maintain that the theoretical basis for our study is both sound and relevant.
Lett et al. state that our study performed a trend analysis based on only two time points. We would point out that we do not refer to a 'trend' or a 'trend analysis' in the article, which contains no claim beyond the findings in 2017 and 2019. We did not extrapolate beyond these two years. The primary question of this study was the sex assigned at birth ratio among TGD adolescents, which we found to favor TGD adolescents assigned male sex at birth in both 2017 and 2019. While the data from 2017 and 2019 could be combined to yield the same result, we presented the data from each of these two years separately for clarity and transparency.
Lett et al. also commented that we did not utilize Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) sample weights in our analyses. The YRBS methodology document describes the two-stage, cluster sample design to produce a representative sample within each jurisdiction.[5] The survey weights provided are for student nonresponse and the distribution of students by grade, sex, and race/ethnicity in each jurisdiction.[5][ However, no specific information is available for how the weights are calculated, and no external benchmarks are cited. With few data sources including gender identity information and no external benchmarks for whether TGD youth are more or less likely to respond, we intentionally opted to present unweighted results transparently.
Here we present additional analyses using the YRBS weights, as we believe the results may be of interest to readers. Table 1 below mirrors Table 2 from our original article, this time using the survey weights. With this weighted analytic approach, the sex assigned at birth ratio again favors TGD adolescents assigned male sex at birth in both 2017 and 2019, as we had found in the unweighted analyses.
Tables 2 and 3 below present analyses corresponding to those in Tables 3 and 4 of our original study, now using the YRBS weights. Our original findings are largely replicated by this additional analytic approach. In 2019, TGD adolescents faced significantly elevated rates of school and electronic bullying victimization when compared to cisgender sexual minority adolescents, who themselves faced significantly higher rates of school and electronic bullying victimization when compared to cisgender heterosexual adolescents. Using YRBS weights, the results comparing TGD adolescents to cisgender sexual minority adolescents in 2017 are not statistically significant, though they are in the same direction as the corresponding unweighted analyses. The purpose of this comparison in our study was to assess whether TGD youth report lower rates of victimization than cisgender sexual minority youth, a notion that has been proposed by others. Given that this is not the case even with application of YRBS weights, the findings from these additional, weighted analyses remain aligned with the overall conclusion of our study.
Lett et al. highlighted that different states were included in our analyses for 2017 and 2019. This is because not all states collected gender identity data in both years. Table 4 below presents the sex assigned at birth ratios with inclusion of only the nine states that collected data in both 2017 and 2019. The sex assigned at birth ratio again favors TGD adolescents assigned male sex at birth in both 2017 and 2019. We repeated these nine-state analyses applying the YRBS weights, and the resulting sex assigned at birth ratios were 1.19 in 2017 and 1.16 in 2019, again favoring TGD adolescents assigned male sex at birth in both years. Prior to receiving the comment by Lett et al. from the journal, we had informed the journal of a typo in footnote A of Table 1 that incorrectly listed states that collected gender identity in 2017; this has been corrected.
We would further highlight that even if the YRBS weighting methods were valid for TGD youth, employing the state-level weights would not produce a nationally representative sample. Contrary to the implication by Lett et al., we do not make the claim of a nationally representative sample in the study, and we chose to combine all available data to include the responses of as many TGD youth as possible. Our article's limitations section reads: ''Additionally, all participants included in this study lived in states that administered the YRBS gender identity question, thus TGD youth in other states are not represented.'' The article does not claim that results are generalizable to the entire United States.
We agree with Lett et al. that a nationally representative sample would be ideal for these analyses; those data do not yet exist. We have previously published on existing datasets that are available to study TGD health, describing their various strengths and limitations.6 Nevertheless, we believe that our approach involving existing samples is reasonable, that we have not overinterpreted findings, and that the study adds value to the existing literature. We note that non-probability samples are essential for studying minoritized populations.[6-8]
We agree with Lett et al. that different policy and social climates across states could impact how comfortable youth are disclosing TGD identities. For example, youth may feel more comfortable disclosing TGD identities in more accepting sociopolitical environments, such as states the U.S. Northeast, which are overrepresented among the states sampled by this study. We included these states because they are the ones that collected gender identity data, not because of their sociopolitical environments. That being said, some have claimed that adolescents in states with more accepting social environments are more susceptible to so-called social contagion. If this were true, based on the notion of social contagion one might expect that our study's overrepresentation of Northeastern states, which are generally more accepting of TGD youth, would result in a sex assigned at birth ratio favoring TGD adolescents assigned female sex at birth, which was not the case in our findings.
Lett et al. present state-level data for the sex assigned at birth ratio in their letter. As they point out, many of these state-level ratios are not particularly informative, as they are based on small sample sizes (e.g., they cite instability in the data from Rhode Island). This is the reason we did not examine state-level ratios. They also present a sensitivity analysis in which they exclude data from Maryland. The results of their sensitivity analysis align with our study's conclusions: that the sex assigned at birth ratio favored youth assigned male sex at birth in both 2017 and 2019.
Some online comments have mentioned that the YRBS does not use a 2-step question for gender identity collection, a point that we also discussed as a limitation in our article. We are hopeful that future large-scale survey studies like the YRBS will improve gender identity data collection to align with current recommended practices.[9] One citation we provided in our discussion of this was a study by Kidd et al. that asked adolescents about both their gender identity and their sex assigned at birth in a 2-step question.[10] Kidd et al. utilized a regionally modified YRBS in a Northeastern midsized city school district comprised of 13 high schools, with data collection taking place in 2018, the year between our study's two years of data collection. In examining data from that study, which utilized a 2-step question, the AMAB:AFAB ratio is 1.3, similar to that in our study. The 2-step question appears to be more sensitive (i.e., captures more TGD participants), but it does not appear to substantially impact the sex assigned at birth ratio, in line with Kidd et al.'s finding that similar proportions of TGD adolescents assigned female sex at birth and TGD adolescents assigned male sex at birth labeled their sex as their gender identity.10While the sex assigned at birth ratio from the Kidd et al. study is in line with our study's findings, we fully agree with the online comments that the way in which the YRBS collects sex assigned at birth and gender identity data is imperfect and would be improved by using current recommended practices. Gender identity data collection is an evolving area of epidemiologic research, where recommended practices continue to change as we strive for greater accuracy and cultural responsiveness. We disagree, however, with the idea that clinic-collected data represent the broader TGD population, a point that has been discussed by others in regard to the literature on the sex assigned at birth ratio.[11]
In summary, we appreciate the interest in our article that led us to share these additional analyses, showing that the original findings are robust across analytic approaches. We are glad that Lett et al. re-emphasized two important points we made in the original article: (1) that not all states collect gender identity data as part of their YRBS, and that such data are vital and should be collected by all states, and (2) that all states should collect gender identity data by using current recommended practices, with inclusion of TGD voices throughout this decision-making process.
REFERENCES
1. Turban JL, Dolotina B, King D, Keuroghlian AS. Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics. 2022; e2022056567.
2. Lett E, Everhart AR, Streed C, Restar A. Science and Public Health as a Tool for Social Justice Requires Methodological Rigor: A Response to Turban et al.''Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States''. 2022.
3. Levine S. Expert Declaration in Dylan Brandt et al. v Leslie Rutledge et al. 2022. Available at: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/045-1_stephen_levine_declaration.pdf . Accessed: August 20, 2022.
4. Turban JL, Kraschel KL, Cohen IG. Legislation to Criminalize Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Transgender Youth. JAMA. 2021;325(2):2251-2252.
5. Brener ND, Kann L, Shanklin S, et al. Methodology of the youth risk behavior surveillance system'--2013. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Recommendations and Reports. 2013;62(1):1-20.
6. Turban JL, Almazan AN, Reisner SL, Keuroghlian AS. The Importance of Non-Probability Samples in Minority Health Research: Lessons Learned from Studies of Transgender and Gender Diverse Mental Health. Transgender Health. 2022.
7. King WM, Restar A, Operario D. Exploring multiple forms of intimate partner violence in a gender and racially/ethnically diverse sample of transgender adults. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2021;36(19-20):NP10477-NP10498.
8. Lett E, Abrams MP, Gold A, Fullerton F-A, Everhart A. Ethnoracial inequities in access to gender-affirming mental health care and psychological distress among transgender adults. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2022;57(5):963-971.
9. Goldhammer H, Grasso C, Katz-Wise SL, Thomson K, Gordon AR, Keuroghlian AS. Pediatric sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in the electronic health record. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. 2022;29(7):1303-1309.
10. Kidd KM, Sequeira GM, Rothenberger SD, et al. Operationalizing and analyzing 2-step gender identity questions: Methodological and ethical considerations. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. 2022;29(2):249-256.
11. Ashley F. Shifts in assigned sex ratios at gender identity clinics likely reflect changes in referral patterns. The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2019;16(6):948-949.
Table 1. Percentages of TGD and Cisgender Adolescents by YRBS Year and Sex Assigned at Birth (Weighted Analyses)
YRBS Year
2017
2019
All adolescents
TGD
1.8%
1.6%
Cisgender
98.2%
98.4%
AMABadolescents
TGD
2.0%
1.7%
Cisgender
98.0%
98.3%
AFABadolescents
TGD
1.7%
1.5%
Cisgender
98.3%
98.5%
Sex Assigned At Birth Ratio(% Adolescents AMAB Who Are TGD: % Adolescents AFAB Who Are TGD)
1.2:1
1.1:1
Abbreviations: AMAB: assigned male sex at birth, AFAB: assigned female sex at birth, TGD: transgender and gender diverse, YRBS: Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Table 2. Comparison of Bullying Rates Between TGD Youth and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth (Weighted Analyses)
YRBS Year
2017
2019
Cisgender Sexual Minority
Transgender and Gender Diverse
Cisgender Sexual
Minority
Transgender and Gender Diverse
(%)
(%)
p
(%)
(%)
p
School bullying
30.0%
36.6%
.06
26.8%
44.8%
<.0001
Electronic bullying
26.8%
29.1%
.55
23.8%
33.6%
.0001
Abbreviation: TGD: transgender and gender diverse.
Table 3. Comparison of Bullying Rates Between Cisgender Heterosexual Youth and Cisgender Sexual Minority Youth (Weighted Analyses)
YRBS Year
2017
2019
Cisgender Heterosexual
Cisgender Sexual Minority
Cisgender Heterosexual
Cisgender Sexual Minority
(%)
(%)
p
(%)
(%)
p
School bullying
17.6%
30.0%
<.0001
15.7%
26.8%
<.0001
Electronic bullying
14.3%
26.8%
<.0001
12.5%
23.8%
<.0001
Abbreviations: TGD: transgender and gender diverse, YRBS: Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Table 4. Examining the Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio among States that Collected Gender Identity Data in both 2017 and 2019 (Unweighted Analyses)
State
AMAB 2017
AFAB 2017
Ratio 2017
AMAB 2019
AFAB 2019
Ratio 2019
Colorado
6
9
10
7
Hawaii
97
47
33
37
Maine
78
79
65
64
Maryland
881
542
342
278
Michigan
8
14
30
36
Rhode Island
17
22
12
4
Vermont
124
115
143
138
Wisconsin
22
15
7
12
Massachusetts
34
21
21
18
Total
1267
864
1.47
663
594
1.12
Abbreviations: AMAB: assigned male sex at birth, AFAB: assigned female sex at birth.
Submitted on August 26 2022
Deeply flawed and erroneous conclusions from a limited datasetAugust 15 2022
Leonora Regenstreif MD, Abigail Barker, Chan Moruzi, Kristen Dahlin
McMaster University
As authors of a manuscript under review that utilized data from the YRBSS to investigate the relationship between suicidality and experiences of bullying among sexual and gender minority youth, we feel compelled to document our concerns about the recent publication ''Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States'' by Turban et al. In conducting our analyses, our multidisciplinary team sedulously considered the non-random sampling of the population queried about transgender identity, the information not solicited in the survey, the wording and possible interpretations of the questions, as well as the accuracy and completeness of the data generated. We acknowledged multiple limitations due to the imprecise wording of several questions regarding self-identity and sexuality. Turban et al., on the other hand, assume away the key question of how trans-identified teens will answer ''What is your sex?'' by arguing for the ''foundational salience'' of biological sex. They cite three references that do nothing to substantiate their statement and ignore CDC documentation urging caution in interpreting the ''sex'' variable. They are oblivious to the missingness of this variable being a clue as to how it may be read by transgender-identified students who are 15 times more likely to leave it blank than chance.Turban et al. draw several conclusions that are simply flawed given the limitations of the survey. In particular, we note the following concerns:Their findings are in marked contrast to the internationally recognized phenomenon of a reversal in the sex ratio of adolescents presenting at gender clinics reported by multiple authors in settings where natal sex has been accurately documented;They fail to utilize the sampling weights included with the YRBSS data which invalidates any conclusions they make regarding the overall trend in transgender identification in 2017 and 2019;A population-level sex ratio that does not favor females (although this is not what they actually calculated given their failure to use sampling weights and the fact that the questions of interest were not asked across the U.S.) would not undermine the social contagion element of the ROGD hypothesis, as relative growth rates of transgender identification between the sexes over the past decade cannot be determined from their analyses;Examination of data over two points in time does not represent a trend;A dataset with no information about the timing of transgender identification relative to puberty, friends' transgender identification, or online activity can neither refute nor confirm the hypothesis that ROGD is a significant driver of the sharp increase in transgender identification;The survey provides no information regarding mental health comorbidities, a critical element of the ROGD hypothesis.The authors' assumptions and specious conclusions almost completely disregard the obvious limitations of the dataset, and they add to these problems with unforced methodological errors. Overall, this paper is a disservice to the debate on the etiology of adolescent-onset gender dysphoria.
Submitted on August 15 2022
My Clinical Experience Contradicts The Claims of Turban et al. in "Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States" August 15 2022
Lisa Marchiano
Gender Exploratory Therapy Association
As a psychotherapist who has been working with gender questioning young people and their families since 2016, I am unconvinced by Turban and colleagues' recent Pediatrics article ''Sex Assigned Birth Ratio among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States.'' Other commentators have addressed the significant methodological issues with the paper. Turban's assertion that his findings disprove the social influence hypothesis that has been offered to explain the rise in trans identifying teens and young people contradicts my clinical experience.
As we know from gender clinic data the world over, the number of adolescents presenting at such centers for treatment has skyrocketed over the past decade. For example, the Gender Identity Development Service in the UK saw referrals double between 2015 and 2016, with 50% increases in the years prior. Similar increases have been noted in Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia.
Meanwhile, my inbox and those of my colleagues working on this issue are filled with emails from families seeking therapists for their newly gender dysphoric adolescent. These emails tell strikingly similar stories '' children with no early history of any gender distress or incongruence who announced a new identity, often after spending time online consuming trans content or having one or more friends come out as trans.
The detransitioners I have worked with share personal stories that corroborate the hypothesis that peer and social media influence may play a role in the development of a trans identity. They report having a best friend come out as trans before they did or spending hours every day on sites such as Tumblr or YouTube. Most describe experiencing serious mental health issues prior to coming out as trans, including eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and depression.
I agree that we do not have conclusive proof that peer and social media influence are part of the equation, but we also don't have evidence that they are not. Given the high stakes nature of the medical interventions that are often sought by young people identifying as trans, this area of medicine needs more good quality research.
Lisa Marchiano, LCSW
McCall, B. (2021, April 23). Transition therapy for transgender teens drives divide. WebMD. Retrieved August 14, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/children/news/20210427/transition-therapy-for-transgender-teens-drives-divide
NHS. (2019, June 28). Referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) level off in 2018-19. NHS choices. Retrieved August 14, 2022, from https://tavistockandportman.nhs.uk/about-us/news/stories/referrals-gender-identity-development-service-gids-level-2018-19/
Submitted on August 15 2022
The Data Fail to Support the Claims in Turban et al., ''Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States.''August 12 2022
Lisa Littman, MD, MPH
The Institute for Comprehensive Gender Dysphoria Research
In ''Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States'', Turban et al. claim that their study contradicts the ROGD hypothesis by providing evidence inconsistent with the theories that (1) social contagion drives TGD identities, with unique susceptibility among AFAB youth, and (2) that youth identify as TGD due to such identities being less stigmatized than cisgender sexual minority identities''.1 However, the data they report do not support these claims. In fact, the study design and dataset used are not equipped to address these questions at all.
First, for Turban et al. to support or refute the possibility of social contagion for gender dysphoria in youth, they would have had to use a dataset that collected information about the relationships between participants and to have examined the pattern of distribution for gender dysphoria cases to determine if there was a presence or absence of clustering. Fluctuations in the overall rates of a condition, which they based their faulty conclusions on, are irrelevant to whether social contagion is or is not occurring, particularly in pockets of youth networks.
Second, the study was not equipped to evaluate any of the ROGD hypotheses. Briefly, the ROGD hypotheses pertain to youth with late-onset gender dysphoria and posit that social influences (including social contagion and peer contagion), mental health conditions, trauma, difficulty accepting oneself as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB), and other psychosocial factors can contribute the development of gender dysphoria in some individuals2,3. The YRBS did not collect information about the timing of participant onset of gender dysphoria in relation to puberty. It does not contain any data about comorbid mental health diagnoses or autism spectrum conditions. As these are key elements of the ROGD hypotheses, the evidence provided in the paper is weak to the point of being inconsequential.
Third, the authors claim that their results of higher rates of bullying for TGD youth than LGB (non-transgender) youth contradict the possibility that stigma about being lesbian, gay, or bisexual could contribute to youth becoming gender dysphoric or transgender-identified. Being bullied is not the same thing as experiencing stigma. Even people who have not been bullied can experience stigma for being lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Therefore, the study does not address nor can it argue for or against whether stigma or difficulty accepting oneself as LGB can contribute to gender dysphoria or transgender identification.
Finally, high-quality data from gender clinics worldwide demonstrate striking changes in the demographics of adolescent patient populations including a shift to sex ratios that favor natal females.4''7 The absence of a female predominant sex ratio in the unweighted YRBS sample of transgender-identified teens does not negate this fact. There is reason to doubt the reliability of the sex ratio reported by Turban et al., as a known limitation of the YRBS is that the ''What is your sex?'' question may be interpreted inconsistently by transgender-identified youth8. Further, the ROGD hypotheses have no requirement that all samples of gender dysphoric youth must favor natal females and thus, the sex ratio reported by Turban et al. can neither support nor refute the ROGD hypotheses.
While the study reveals some interesting findings, due to the design and dataset, it cannot provide any meaningful information about social contagion or the ROGD hypotheses. That the authors claim otherwise is deeply misleading.
References
1.Turban JL, Dolotina B, King D, Keuroghlian AS. Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics. Published online August 3, 2022:e2022056567. doi:10.1542/peds.2022-056567
2.Littman L. Parent reports of adolescents and young adults perceived to show signs of a rapid onset of gender dysphoria. Romer D, ed. PLOS ONE. 2018;13(8):e0202330. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0202330
3.Littman L. Individuals Treated for Gender Dysphoria with Medical and/or Surgical Transition Who Subsequently Detransitioned: A Survey of 100 Detransitioners. Arch Sex Behav. 2021;50(8):3353-3369. doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02163-w
4.Aitken M, Steensma TD, Blanchard R, et al. Evidence for an altered sex ratio in clinic'referred adolescents with gender dysphoria. J Sex Med. 2015;12(3):756-763. doi:10.1111/jsm.12817
5.de Graaf NM, Giovanardi G, Zitz C, Carmichael P. Sex ratio in children and adolescents referred to the Gender Identity Development Service in the UK (2009''2016). Arch Sex Behav. 2018;47(5):1301-1304. doi:10.1007/s10508-018-1204-9
6.Kaltiala-Heino R, Sumia M, Ty¶l¤j¤rvi M, Lindberg N. Two years of gender identity service for minors: overrepresentation of natal girls with severe problems in adolescent development. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2015;9(1):9. doi:10.1186/s13034-015-0042-y
7.Kaltiala R, Bergman H, Carmichael P, et al. Time trends in referrals to child and adolescent gender identity services: a study in four Nordic countries and in the UK. Nord J Psychiatry. 2020;74(1):40-44. doi:10.1080/08039488.2019.1667429
8.Johns MM, Lowry R, Andrzejewski J, et al. Transgender Identity and Experiences of Violence Victimization, Substance Use, Suicide Risk, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among High School Students '-- 19 States and Large Urban School Districts, 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(3):67-71. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6803a3
Submitted on August 12 2022
Science and Public Health as a Tool for Social Justice Requires Methodological Rigor: A Response to Turban et al. ''Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States''August 4 2022
Elle Lett, PhD, MA, MBiostat
Center for Applied Transgender Studies
Authors: Elle Lett,PhD, MA, MBiostat; 1,2,3 Avery Everhart, PhD;1,4,5 Carl Streed Jr, MD, MPH;6,7 Arjee Restar, PhD, MPH1,8,9
1. Center for Applied Transgender Studies, Chicago, IL
2. Computational Health Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
3. Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
4. University of Michigan School of Information, Ann Arbor, MI
6. Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
7. Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
8. Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA
9. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
We write, as scientists, methodologists, and clinicians working in gender-affirming care, our views to the recent article published in Pediatrics by Turban and colleagues, who also argue for better provision of healthcare for transgender and nonbinary (trans) youths. 1 The authors utilized the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) to examine the social contagion hypothesis of the unsubstantiated claim of rapid-onset gender dysphoria. While we agree with the authors' conclusion that social contagion rhetoric should not be used to politically and medically argue against the provision of care for trans adolescents '' as currently reflected and weaponized with several anti-trans policies in the US banning gender-affirming medical care 2,3 '' we examined cautiously the study's premise and analytical design, and identified critical theoretical and methodological concerns specific to its conceptualization of social contagion and its data analysis.
Foremost, in alignment with several bodies of major medical organizations, we assert that transphobia is a social contagion, and being transgender is not. Turban et al.' sex-assigned ratio analysis draws in on Littman's misconceptualized social contagion hypothesis, which was operationalized as parents' observation of their trans kid having at least one trans friend in their peer group, and occured more among parents with trans kids assigned female at birth (AFAB) than male assigned at birth (AMAB). 4 The premise of social contagion hypothesis is a gross misinterpretation of trans communities' social support, cohesiveness, and connectedness. Indeed, it is well-documented that trans youths, when asked directly, seek out support and knowledge from peers about gender and health as part of their developmental milestones and resiliency 5 . In addition, conducting analysis based on sex-assigned AMAB:AFAB-ratio is not conceptually a direct disconfirmation of the premise in the study by Littman given the significant recruitment bias that yielded a skewed study sample of mostly parents of AFAB trans kids. As such, the very phenomenon that is being interrogated by Turban et al.; the presence of a biased AMAB:AFAB-ratio, is an artifact of a flawed study design, rather than a true, verifiable component of the supposed theory. Therefore, researchers and policymakers' continued use of social contagion as a lens to account for trans youths' connectedness with each other rests on misguided practice of theorizing, hypothesis testing, and legislating.
To assess the validity of the ROGD hypothesis Turban et al. perform a trend analysis to provide point estimates of AFAB and AMAB trans youth nationally based on a set of samples from a subset of states. Unfortunately, there are serious threats to validity of both the trend analysis and the estimates of AFAB and AMAB youth. For the former, the trend analysis is based only on two time points, which is insufficient to provide robust interpretation, let alone a trend. Also unfortunate, is the study's data reporting error that severely misrepresents the robustness of the sample. Turban et al. state that their estimates of the AMAB:AFAB-ratio are based on 16 states in the abstract, 15 for 2017 and 15 for 2019 (Delaware in 2017 only and New Jersey in 2019 only) as shown in the caption for Table 1. However, only 10 states fielded the SOGI module in 2017, 6 and of them only 9 had publicly available data (Massachusetts does not provide permission for the CDC to share their data). 7 Similarly, only 14 states with publicly available data fielded the SOGI module in 2019. Under these circumstances, the trend analysis is comparing subsets of trans youth from different states and any differences are likely due to sampling bias making the trend analysis invalid.
Beyond issues with the trend analysis are issues with the individual point estimates for the AMAB:AFAB-ratio. For 2017 and 2019 less than one-fifth and one-fourth, respectively, of the 50 states and five territories in the United States are included in the analysis. Table 1 shows the high variability of the AMAB:AFAB-ratio between states and within states across time points. Much of this variability is driven by the sample size; for instance, in the Rhode Island sample between 2017 and 2019 the AMAB:AFAB-ratio inverted from 0.8 to 3.0, based on TGD youth samples of only 39 and 16 persons, respectively. In comparison to Rhode Island, Maryland dominates the sample for both years. Specifically, Maryland comprises 67% of the sample (1547/2302 persons) in 2017, and 40% (711/1790 person) in 2019. To show the sensitivity to state inclusion, we recalculated the AMAB:AFAB-ratio without that state for 2017 and 2019, and found 1.2 and 1.1, respectively compared to the 1.5 and 1.2 in the authors original analysis. Because the authors methodology did not account for oversampling, their analysis provided biased results and shifted the ''national'' estimate that is driven by a single state. Additionally, the analysis neglects the survey sampling design. YRBSS state surveys are two-stage cluster samples and the data include weights that allow for state-level representative analyses. We have written elsewhere that such analyses are suboptimal for estimating transgender populations when one-step gender identity measurements are used, 8 however; to overlook the sampling schema precludes the possibility of state-level representative estimates, making further extrapolation to the entire US dubious. This critique also applies to the pairwise comparative analyses in Tables 2 and 3 between trans, cisgender sexual minority, and cisgender heterosexual youth which similarly fail to account for survey sampling design and clustering by state. Providing details of any approach regarding accounting of sampling schema, if any were indeed utilized, would have benefitted the analysis. Lastly, the analysis becomes more problematic when one notes that the few states included are not a random sample of the US states and territories, but instead show a concentration of states in the Northeast, and a smaller group in the Midwest with remaining states having no neighbors that also collected data on TGD youth. There are state-level variations in policy climates for transgender youth in school 9''11 that would facilitate or prohibit their inclusion in the sampling frame for a given state. With the overrepresentation of Northeastern states, and the exclusion of most Southern and Midwestern states, the approach used here cannot reliably provide national estimates that incorporate regional variation in policy climes.
We applaud the authors for their approach to address the deleterious and unsubstantiated rhetoric of the anti-transgender movement. Many of the challenges that we identified are not specific to the authors but represent challenges facing all researchers, trans and cis, working in transgender health who are forced to work with suboptimal data sources that lack inclusion of transgender persons or fail to use best practices for gender identity ascertainment. 12 However, science and public health as a tool of social justice requires methodological rigor in addition to conviction and intent. While this study was admirable, we find that the results were overinterpreted and that the theoretical and methodological shortcomings of the article run the risk of being more harmful than supportive. A more productive pursuit is the continued advocacy of methods development to ascertain gender identity, comprehensive inclusion of transgender individuals in survey design and sampling strategies, and increased funding for prospective and truly representative datasets to answer these questions with high-quality and methodologically sound research studies. In the absence of more and better data, studies like this one create methodological problems for future scientists to correct rather than allowing the science to scaffold toward a more just and equitable future for trans youth, and indeed trans communities generally.
Table 1: State Breakdown of Data Availability and AMAB:AFAB-Ratio among States with Public YRBSS Data
State
2017 AMAB:AFAB (ratio)
N=2302
2019 AMAB: AFAB (ratio)
N=1790
Colorado (CO)
6:9 (0.7)
10:7 (1.4)
Delaware (DE)
18:12 (1.5)
--
Florida (FL)
--
33:41 (0.8)
Hawaii (HI)
97:47 (2.1)
33:37 (0.9)
Maine (ME)
78:79 (1)
65:64 (1)
Maryland (MD)
881:542 (1.6)
342:278 (1.2)
Michigan (MI)
8:14 (0.6)
30:36 (0.8)
Nevada (NV)
--
9:13 (0.7)
New Jersey (NJ)
--
4:5 (0.8)
New York (NY)
--
113:77 (1.5)
Pennsylvania (PA)
--
8:14 (0.6)
Rhode Island (RI)
17:22 (0.8)
12:4 (3)
Vermont (VT)
124:115 (1.1)
143:138 (1)
Virginia (VA)
--
36:30 (1.2)
Wisconsin (WI)
22:15 (1.5)
7:12 (0.6)
Overall
1251:855 (1.46)
845:756 (1.12)
Excluding Maryland
370:313 (1.18)
503:478 (1.05)
''--'' indicates that state did not field the SOGI module during that year
Note: Massachusetts does not provide permission for the CDC to share their data.
References
1.Turban JL, Dolotina B, King D, Keuroghlian AS. Sex Assigned at Birth Ratio Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Adolescents in the United States. Pediatrics. Published online August 3, 2022:e2022056567. doi:10.1542/peds.2022-056567
2.The Florida Health Department. Treatment of Gender Dysphoria for Children and Adolescnts. Accessed August 4, 2022. https://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2022/04/20220420-gender-dysphoria-guidance.pr.html
3.Movement Advancement Project | Healthcare Laws and Policies. Accessed August 4, 2022. https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare_laws_and_policies/youth_medical_care_bans
4.Restar AJ. Methodological Critique of Littman's (2018) Parental-Respondents Accounts of ''Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria.'' Arch Sex Behav. 2020;49(1):61-66. doi:10.1007/s10508-019-1453-2
5.Dowers E, White C, Cook K, Kingsley J. Trans, gender diverse and non-binary adult experiences of social support: A systematic quantitative literature review. Int J Transgender Health. 2020;21(3):242-257. doi:10.1080/26895269.2020.1771805
6.Johns MM, Lowry R, Andrzejewski J, et al. Transgender Identity and Experiences of Violence Victimization, Substance Use, Suicide Risk, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among High School Students '-- 19 States and Large Urban School Districts, 2017. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(3):67-71. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6803a3
8.Lett E, Everhart A. Considerations for Transgender Population Health Research Based on US National Surveys. Ann Epidemiol. Published online October 28, 2021. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2021.10.009
9.Movement Advancement Project | Safe Schools Laws. Accessed August 4, 2022. https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/safe_school_laws
10.Kosciw JG, Clark CM, Truong NL, Zongrone AD. The 2019 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth in Our Nation's Schools. A Report from GLSEN. ERIC; 2020.
11.State Policy Scorecards | GLSEN. Accessed August 4, 2022. https://maps.glsen.org/state-policy-scorecards/
12.Baker KE, Streed CG, Durso LE. Ensuring That LGBTQI+ People Count '-- Collecting Data on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Intersex Status. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(13):1184-1186. doi:10.1056/NEJMp2032447
Submitted on August 04 2022
'Social contagion' isn't causing more youths to be transgender, study finds
Sun, 14 May 2023 12:51
''Social contagion'' is not driving an increasing number of adolescents to come out as transgender, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics.
The study also found that the proportion of adolescents who were assigned female at birth and have come out as transgender also has not increased, which contradicts claims that adolescents whose birth sex is female are more susceptible to this so-called external influence.
''The hypothesis that transgender and gender diverse youth assigned female at birth identify as transgender due to social contagion does not hold up to scrutiny and should not be used to argue against the provision of gender-affirming medical care for adolescents,'' study senior author Dr. Alex S. Keuroghlian, director of the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center at the Fenway Institute and the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Gender Identity Program, said in a statement.
The ''social contagion'' theory can be traced back to a 2018 paper published in the journal PLOS One. Dr. Lisa Littman, who at the time was a professor of behavioral and social sciences at Brown University, coined the term ''rapid onset gender dysphoria,'' which she described as adolescents experiencing a conflict between their birth sex and gender identity ''suddenly during or after puberty.'' These adolescents, she wrote, ''would not have met the criteria for gender dysphoria in childhood'' and are experiencing dysphoria due to social influence.
Littman also hypothesized that adolescents assigned female at birth are more likely to be affected by social contagion and, as a result, are overrepresented in groups of adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria when compared to those who were assigned male at birth.
After intense debate and criticism, PLOS One conducted a post-publication reassessment of the article, and issued a correction that included changing the headline to clarify that Littman did not survey transgender or gender-diverse youth themselves, but actually surveyed their parents. The correction also noted that, ''Rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) is not a formal mental health diagnosis at this time.''
To test the social contagion theory, researchers used data from the 2017 and 2019 biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which collected gender identity data across 16 states from ages 12 to 18. In 2017, 2.4%, or 2,161 of the 91,937 adolescents surveyed, identified as trans or gender diverse. In 2019, that percentage dropped slightly to 1.6%, or 1,640 of 105,437 adolescents surveyed.
Researchers concluded that the decrease in the overall percentage of adolescents identifying as trans or gender diverse ''is incongruent with the (rapid-onset gender dysphoria hypothesis) that posits social contagion.''
The study also found that the number of transgender adolescents who were assigned male at birth outnumbered those assigned female at birth in both 2017 and 2019, providing additional evidence against a ''notion of social contagion with unique susceptibility'' among those assigned female at birth.
The social contagion hypothesis, by assuming that youth are coming out, for example, because their friends are, asserts that there's some social desirability to being trans. Some supporters of the theory, according to the study, also believe that more youth identify as trans or gender diverse because those identities are less stigmatized than cisgender sexual minority identities, or those who identify with their birth sex and are lesbian, bisexual, gay or queer, among other sexual identities.
To evaluate these claims, researchers examined rates of bullying among adolescents who identified as trans and gender diverse, and those who did not.
They found that, consistent with other surveys, trans and gender-diverse youth were significantly more likely to be victims of school bullying (at 38.7% in 2017 and 45.4% in 2019) compared to cisgender lesbian, gay and bisexual youth (at 30.5% in 2017 and 28.7% in 2019) and cisgender, heterosexual youth (at 17.1% in 2017 and 16.6% in 2019).
''The idea that attempts to flee sexual minority stigma drive teenagers to come out as transgender is absurd, especially to those of us who provide treatment to [transgender and gender diverse] youth,'' study lead author Dr. Jack Turban, incoming assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a statement. ''The damaging effects of these unfounded hypotheses in further stigmatizing transgender and gender diverse youth cannot be understated. We hope that clinicians, policymakers, journalists, and anyone else who contributes to health policy will review these findings.''
They wrote that despite the methodological flaws in Littman's study, the concept of rapid onset gender dysphoria ''has been used in recent legislative debates to argue for and subsequently enact policies that prohibit gender-affirming medical care'' for trans and gender diverse adolescents.
For example, in June, Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration issued guidance against gender-affirming care for minors '-- including social transition, which involves changing a child's name, pronouns, clothing and/or hairstyle. The guidance linked to reports that cited Littman's paper.
An increasing number of states have also tried to ban or restrict trans youths' access to gender-affirming medical care through legislation. The number of bills seeking to restrict gender-affirming health care for transgender youths has grown from one in 2018 to 36 this year, according to an analysis by NBC News. Governors in three states '-- Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee '-- have successfully signed such restrictions into law, though judges have prevented those measures from taking effect in Alabama and Arkansas.
The study lists several limitations, including that the data were collected through a school-based survey and, as a result, youths who don't attend school were not represented. It also noted that youths were asked, ''What is your sex?'' and that response options were limited to female and male. It didn't ask about respondents' ''sex assigned at birth'' and didn't include an additional question about their ''gender identity,'' which is an established research method for asking about gender identity. But the researchers credited several studies that found trans and gender-diverse youths are aware of the differences between their sex assigned at birth and gender identity.
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David Miranda, campaigner and former Brazilian congressman, dies aged 37 | David Miranda | The Guardian
Sun, 14 May 2023 12:49
Brazilian politicians, celebrities and social activists have paid tribute to the vivacious, loving and combative former congressman and campaigner David Miranda who has died in Rio de Janeiro aged 37.
President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva celebrated the ''extraordinary trajectory'' of the favela-born politician who served in the country's congress between 2019 and 2022 and was a powerful voice of resistance during the far-right administration of Jair Bolsonaro.
The death of Miranda, who was also a columnist for Guardian US, was announced on Tuesday by his husband, the American journalist and lawyer Glenn Greenwald, with whom he raised two sons, Jo£o and Jonathan.
''He would have turned 38 tomorrow,'' Greenwald tweeted. ''He died in full peace, surrounded by our children and family and friends.''
Miranda was admitted to hospital last August with a severe gastrointestinal infection and died early on Tuesday after nine months in intensive care.
''[I feel] such immense sorrow at the departure of my dear friend David Miranda. A funny, loving, party-loving guy who never gave up fighting for life and for the people of the favela,'' tweeted the leftist lawmaker Renata Souza, remembering Miranda's friendship with Marielle Franco, the Rio politician assassinated in 2018.
One of Brazil's most celebrated rappers, Emicida, tweeted: ''Today Brazil has lost a courageous young man who, in fighting for his dreams, ended up unshackling the dreams of many others too.''
Brazil's first lady, Rosngela Lula da Silva, said Miranda left a legacy ''of struggle and love''. ''He had a vivacity which brought joy to politics,'' tweeted the president of Lula's Worker's party (PT), Gleisi Hoffmann.
Another leading leftist, Guilherme Boulos, remembered how Miranda had relentlessly championed the LGBT cause throughout Brazil. ''He will be greatly missed,'' tweeted Boulos, a member of the Socialism and Liberty party (PSOL) to which Miranda belonged.
Greenwald, 56, remembered how his husband had been born in Jacarezinho, one of Rio's most deprived favelas, and been orphaned at the age of five after the death of his mother.
Despite those humble origins, Miranda rose to become the first gay man elected to Rio's city council and played an important role in 2013's Edward Snowden leaks, which Greenwald spearheaded. That year, Miranda was controversially detained for nine hours at London's Heathrow airport as he travelled back to Rio with memory sticks containing documents relating to that project.
''He inspired so many with his biography, passion, and force of life,'' Greenwald wrote.
''David was singular: the strongest, most passionate, most compassionate man I've known. Nobody had a bad word for him. I can't describe the loss and pain.''
In a 2019 New York Times profile of the couple, Greenwald remembered how he had met his future husband on Rio's Ipanema beach after Miranda knocked his drink over with a ball.
''I was not at all the type that ever fell in love with someone at first sight,'' Greenwald remembered. ''But the passion, David's intensity, it was like two asteroids colliding.''
All the TV Shows and Movies Affected by the WGA Writers Strike (Updating)
Sun, 14 May 2023 12:47
The WGA Writers Strike has officially begun and the picket lines have formed across Hollywood and New York City. This halt means that many scripted projects will inevitably go dark, resulting in a Hollywood shutdown not seen since COVID, and not felt since the last WGA strike took place 15 years ago. Variety will keep readers updated with a rolling list of everything that has been put on hold as a result of the strike, which went into effect Tuesday. For more information about the strike, check out Variety's FAQ primer on what it means for the industry.
UPDATE: ''Family Guy'' and ''American Dad'' updates added.
LATE-NIGHT SHOWS GO DARK. ABC's ''Jimmy Kimmel Live,'' CBS' ''The Late Show,'' and NBC's ''Tonight'' and ''Late Night'' are all going on hiatus and repeats will be shown. HBO will also cease live production of ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' and ''Last Week Tonight'' with John Oliver. Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show'' (which was currently being hosted by a rotating cast of comedians) is also on hiatus.
ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
The writers room for the third season of Emmy-darling ''Abbott Elementary'' was supposed to convene on May 2nd. That room has closed. In an interview with ''Democracy Now,'' writer Brittani Nichols revealed that this strike could ultimately impact the number of episodes they can pen for the upcoming season. ''We are a show that writes while we air,'' Nichols said. ''If this strike goes on for a significant period of time, our show will not come out on time and that could change the amount of episodes which I'm sure people will be very upset about.''
AMC SHOWS
Scripts for AMC's Anne Rice series and their ''Walking Dead'' spinoff shows are done, but no production has started.
AMERICAN DAD/FAMILY GUY
The teams behind the long-running adult animated comedies ''American Dad'' and ''Family Guy'' have walked off the job in support of the strike. ''Family Guy'' showrunners Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin, ''American Dad'' showrunners Brian Boyle and Matt Weitzman, and Seth MacFarlane (the creator, executive producer and star of ''Family Guy'' and co-creator, executive producer, and star of ''American Dad'') have all stopped working on the shows. ''Family Guy'' concluded its 21st season in early May, while ''American Dad'' began its 20th season in March.
ANDOR
Showrunner Tony Gilroy, who was criticized for pursuing non-writing producing work on ''Andor'' after strike action, confirmed that he's ceased all activities on the Disney+ show. In a statement Tuesday, he told Variety: ''I discontinued ALL writing and writing-related work on ANDOR prior to midnight, May 1. After being briefed on the Saturday showrunner meeting, I informed Chris Keyser at the WGA on Sunday morning that I would also be ceasing ALL non-writing producing functions.'' ''Andor'' Season 2 has been filming in the U.K.
BIG MOUTH
The Netflix animated series was six weeks into writing the 8th and final season of the show. The creators would have finished writing in August without a strike.
BLADE
Marvel has shut down pre-production on the vampire reboot ''Blade,'' which is set to star Mahershala Ali as the titular vampire hunter.
COBRA KAI
''Cobra Kai'' closed its writers room for season 6. Series co-creator Jon Hurwitz tweeted ''pencils down'' in solidarity. The writers room is closed and no writers are currently on set for season 6 production.
EVIL
Production on Season 4 of the Paramount+ series wrapped earlier than anticipated, as filming was impacted by a cast member's departure for a personal matter and picketing WGA members.
GOOD OMENS
Neil Gaiman has also posted his support for the writers strike. The creator tweeted earlier that the long-awaited season 2 of ''Good Omens,'' starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen, would appear sometime this summer. However, if you're hopeful for a stirring Gaiman press tour, you might need divine intervention for the writer is on strike.
GUTFELD!
Unlike the aforementioned late night shows, Fox News Channel revealed it will continue to broadcast new shows of Greg Gutfeld's talk show program.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
All of the scripts for the second season of ''Game of Thrones'' spinoff ''House of the Dragon'' have been turned in, and executive producer Ryan Condal remains working on the series in a non-writing capacity.
JEOPARDY!
Mayim Bialik is stepping away from her hosting duties of the long-running game show ''Jeopardy!'' in support of the strike, due to the fact that WGA writers typically work on the Sony-produced show. Production will continue on Season 39, however, with Bialik's fellow host Ken Jennings filling in for her for the remainder of the season.
MTV MOVIE AWARDS
Host Drew Barrymore exited her role as host for the MTV Movie Awards. The red carpet for this star-studded event was also rolled up in the wake of the strike.
RAP SH!T
Production on the second season of the Issa Rae series wrapped in April.
THE RINGS OF POWER
''The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'' will move forward with production on the second season amid the ongoing WGA strike, but the Amazon Prime Video show will not be using the services of executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay (who are supporting the guild on strike).
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
The live sketch show has gone dark in support of the writers strike. Former cast member Pete Davidson was supposed to host on May 6 along with musical guest Lil Uzi Vert.
STRANGER THINGS
''Stranger Things'' creators the Duffer brothers shared a statement that production would not move forward on the Netflix series until an agreement is reached between the WGA and AMPTP.
THE TALK
The daily talk show ''The Talk'' will not be filming. However, previously recorded new episodes scheduled to air will remain on the schedule. Episode listings previously released remain accurate for this week.
THE UPSHAWS
Production on the Netflix sitcom ''The Upshaws'' '-- starring Mike Epps, Kim Fields and executive producer Wanda Sykes '-- has been suspended during the writers strike, Sykes tells Variety. The series had wrapped filming 10 episodes of a 12-episode order for the show's next season; previously completed episodes are still due to premiere on Aug. 17.
YELLOWJACKETS
Co-creator of the series ''Yellowjackets'' Ashley Lyle tweeted that all progress on writing for season 3 of the Showtime drama has halted after exactly one day of progress. ''It was amazing, and creatively invigorating, and so much fun, and I'm really excited to get back to it as soon as the WGA gets a fair deal,'' she tweeted.
VIP+ Data: The Media Companies Most Impacted in a Strike
FDA approves first-of-its-kind drug to treat hot flashes - Good Morning America
Sun, 14 May 2023 12:42
Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-its-kind drug, fezolinetant, sold under the brand name Veozah, to treat moderate to severe hot flashes during menopause.
The drug, a pill taken once a day, is hormone-free, which makes it promising for women who cannot take hormone treatment because of other underlying health concerns, such as a prior history of strokes, heart attacks or blood clots.
According to the FDA, the drug works by targeting the brain's temperature control center to decrease both the frequency and intensity of hot flashes in women.
Prior to the FDA's approval of fezolinetant, the main treatment options for hot flashes related to menopause were hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and some types of antidepressants.
"Hot flashes as a result of menopause can be a serious physical burden on women and impact their quality of life," Dr. Janet Maynard, director of the Office of Rare Diseases, Pediatrics, Urologic and Reproductive Medicine, in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement . "The introduction of a new molecule to treat moderate to severe menopausal hot flashes will provide an additional safe and effective treatment option for women."
Astellas Pharma
Veozah is a once-a-day pill to treat moderate to severe hot flashes during menopause.Menopause is the point 12 months after a woman's last and final period. The transition to menopause, also known as perimenopause, can take place over the course of several years, which is also how long women can suffer symptoms like hot flashes, according to the National Institutes of Health .
Menopause symptoms include everything from the well-known hot flashes and night sweats to the lesser-known and discussed symptoms like anxiety, vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, decrease in sexual function, insomnia and joint pain. The age that a woman goes through menopause can be impacted by factors like genetics, autoimmune conditions, trauma to the ovaries and toxic exposures like chemotherapy and radiation.
Most women experience the menopausal transition between the ages of 45 and 55, according to the NIH.
Marci English, vice president and head of biopharma development at Astellas Pharma, which makes Veozah, said it was a priority for the company to offer a non-hormonal therapy to help women as they may experience several years of symptoms.
"One part when we talk about menopause I think is so overlooked '... the menopause transition is seven years on average. If we look at women overall, 60 to 80% of women are going to experience hot flashes during the menopause transition," English told ABC News. "We also know that some women, even after menopause in that postmenopausal period, may experience hot flashes up to 10 years. It can actually ebb and flow and it can last quite a long time."
She continued, "I think what's really important for people to understand is that this is a non-hormonal therapy, it is a first-in-class therapy, and this offers the choice for women."
Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a board-certified OBGYN and chief medical officer for Verywell Health, told ABC News she thinks the FDA approval of fezolinetant could be "revolutionary" in the menopause landscape.
In clinical trials, researchers found that fezolinetant has decreased hot flashes by more than 50% in most women studied.
Patients who take Veozah will need to get routine bloodwork every three months for the first nine months of treatment, and those with severe liver damage and kidney damage should not take the drug.
The most common side effects of Veozah include abdominal pain, diarrhea, insomnia, back pain, liver damage and hot flush, according to the FDA.
Astellas Pharma tells ABC News that the drug should be available in pharmacies within three weeks.
"Prescription drug insurance plans will make their own coverage decisions, and we expect insurance coverage to increase over the course of the year," a spokesperson for the company said Friday. "We expect VEOZAH to achieve widespread coverage over time. All co-pays vary by insurance plan and benefit design; however, the average commercial copays in 2022 were $37 for preferred brand tier and $67 for non-preferred brand tier."
Amanda Kravitz, MD, is a resident physician in pediatrics and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
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Tanaka suggests using artificial intelligence at City Hall to reduce labor costs '' Palo Alto Daily Post
Sun, 14 May 2023 12:28
Palo Alto Councilman Greg Tanaka. File photo.BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHTDaily Post Staff Writer
Palo Alto Councilman Greg Tanaka said tonight (May 1) that he wants to look at laying off city employees and replacing them with artificial intelligence.
''I wonder, with AI and using ChatGPT, do we need as many people as we have?'' Tanaka said during a discussion about the city budget.
In the local private sector, companies have been laying off 10 to 20% of their employees locally, and Twitter laid off 80% of its staff, Tanaka said.
''They're still operating. They're still providing their service,'' he said.
Tanaka noted that city employee salaries and benefits are growing at twice the rate of inflation in the next fiscal year. He encouraged managers to think about how to use AI.
ChatGPT is an AI program released earlier this year that can generate language that sounds like it was written by a human.
The arrival of the new technology has sparked fear, excitement and debate.
Superintendent Don Austin said last month that the Palo Alto Unified School District would embrace AI, using it to personalize learning and improve efficiency.
''It can translate text into multiple languages, edit documents, modify assignments for special education students and English learners, and produce summaries,'' Austin said.
At a San Francisco Press Club panel in Mountain View last week, journalists talked about both the promise and the peril of AI.
On one hand, ChatGPT makes up false information and can trick people into thinking they're getting information from a real person. But used correctly, it can be like having another worker on the team, VentureBeat editor Michael Nunez said.
''I'm convinced this is bigger than Google,'' he said.
Chemists Ask BioNTech: Are There Vaccine Lot Differences?
Sun, 14 May 2023 12:12
F¼nf Chemieprofessoren wollen wissen, ob es eine Erkl¤rung f¼r unterschiedliche Nebenwirkungen bei einzelnen Chargen des Covid-Impfstoffs gibt.
Herstellung von Impfstoffen der deutsch-amerikanischen Firma Biontech/Pfizer Boris R¶ssler/dpa
F¼nf Chemie-Professoren an deutschsprachigen Universit¤ten haben einen Brief an BioNTech geschrieben. Der Brief liegt der Berliner Zeitung vor. Die Professoren berichten dem Unternehmen von einer neuen wissenschaftliche Studie aus D¤nemark (Schmeling et al., 2023. DOI: 10.1111/eci.13998). Diese Studie zeige 'žganz deutlich, dass es zwischen den Chargen Ihres Impfstoffs auŸerordentlich groŸe Unterschiede bei den jeweils gemeldeten Nebenwirkungen und Impfsch¤den gab'', so die Professoren.
Die Chemiker bitten das Unternehmen nun um Erkl¤rung, wie es sein k¶nne, 'ždass drei verschiedene Gruppen von Impfstoff-Chargen mit stark unterschiedlichen Melderaten beobachtet wurden''. Die Professoren wollen wissen, on BioNTech dazu eigene Daten habe und ob das Unternehmen sich der d¤nischen Studie bereits auseinandergesetzt habe.
Die Studie aus D¤nemark zeige, 'ždass die Chargen mit hohen Nebenwirkungsmelderaten entweder weniger h¤ufig eingesetzt wurden oder es sich um kleine Chargengr¶Ÿen handelte''. Deshalb m¶chten die Professoren wissen, wie 'ždie unterschiedlichen Melderaten'' zu erkl¤ren seien. Es stelle sich die Frage, wie 'žsich die entsprechenden Chargen bez¼glich ihrer Zusammensetzung unterscheiden''.
Ferner bitten die Professoren um Bekanntgabe der Werte der analytischen Parameter aller Chargen. Die Professoren schreiben: 'žUns scheinen die nach unserer Kenntnis von der Europ¤ischen Arzneimittel-Beh¶rde (EMA) festgelegten Toleranzbereiche f¼r alle Wirk- und Hilfsstoffe unverh¤ltnism¤Ÿig hoch zu sein.'' Daher m¶ge das Unternehmen 'ždie von der EMA geforderten Toleranzbereiche f¼r alle Wirk- und Hilfsstoffe in den sogenannten Corona Impfstoffen'' bekanntgeben.
Weiters schreiben die Wissenschaftler: 'žDie Toleranzen erlauben nach unseren Informationen eine Variation der aktiven Substanz in den LNPs um etwa einen Faktor 4. Bitte geben Sie uns auch hier den genauen erlaubten Toleranzbereich an.'' Und schlieŸlich: 'žDie L¤nge der mRNA muss nur zu 50% richtig sein. Das f¼r die Freigabe zust¤ndige Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) hat uns mitgeteilt, dass mRNA mit falscher L¤nge nicht aktiv seien. Bitte geben Sie uns f¼r diese Aussage eine stichhaltige wissenschaftliche Begr¼ndung.''
Die Professoren waren bereits am 20. Januar 2022 bei BioNTech vorstellig geworden. Das Unternehmen antwortete darauf in der Berliner Zeitung. Eine Erwiderung der Professoren blieb unbeantwortet.
Die Wissenschaftler sind Prof. Dr. J¶rg Matysik, Analytische Chemie, Universit¤t Leipzig; Prof. Dr. Gerald Dyker, Organische Chemie, Ruhr-Universit¤t Bochum; Prof. Dr. Andreas Schnepf, Anorganische Chemie, Universit¤t T¼bingen; Prof. Dr. Tobias Unruh, Physik der kondensierten Materie, Universit¤t Erlangen; Prof. Dr. Martin Winkler, Materials and Process Engineering, Z¼rcher Hochschule der angewandten Wissenschaften.
Target's LGBTQ+ Pride Range Sparks Boycott Calls After Bud Light Controversy
Sun, 14 May 2023 02:23
A recently released range of clothing by Target for LGBTQ+ Pride Month'--which takes place every June'--has provoked outrage on social media, with calls for the retailer to receive "the Bud Light treatment."
The beer brand has been embroiled in controversy since the beginning of April, after it sent a commemorative can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to celebrate her first year of transitioning to a woman. The promotional move sparked calls for a boycott, and industry data shows sales of Bud Light declined more than 17 percent across the month.
Several brands have been the target of condemnation from conservatives over marketing advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. While experts have said such campaigns provide an opportunity for brands to appeal to consumers in new markets, critics have accused companies of alienating their traditional customer base.
The controversies sit at the heart of the culture wars, and speak to a broader debate around the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in public life.
A customer walks into a Target store in San Rafael, California, on February 28, 2023. The retailer is facing calls for a boycott over its latest Pride Month collection. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesA video of the new Target range, posted on Wednesday, which has since received more than 1.3 million views, shows a T-shirt with the slogan "trans people will always exist," another depicting a woman lying down with the caption "busy thinking about girls" and a babygrow with the words "bien proud" in the colors of the LGBTQ+ flag. It also included a rainbow neck pillow, multi-colored fairy lights as well as a trans flag.
Referring to the children's clothes on display, Gays Against Groomers, which describes itself as an "organization of gays against the sexualization, indoctrination and medicalization of children," wrote: "They are indoctrinating and grooming them with LGBTQ ideology. It is highly inappropriate and disturbing."
"The only thing these people understand is money," it added. "Target deserves the Bud Light treatment."
This is what you will find in the kid's section of @Target. We urge you to take your business elsewhere. They are indoctrinating and grooming them with LGBTQ ideology. It is highly inappropriate and disturbing.We hope there are enough parents out there that understand how'... pic.twitter.com/8g1UC41zAY
'-- Gays Against Groomers (@againstgrmrs) May 10, 2023"This is not cool," Clown World, a California-based clothing company with a large Twitter following, said. "Screw Target. They're targeting children."
Stefanie Daubert, a reporter for far-right newspaper Epoch Times and a self-described Trump supporter, tweeted: "Boycott Target for pushing this on children."
Newsweek approached Target via email for comment on Friday.
However, many were excited by the new range. One Twitter user wrote that the "Target pride collection gets better every year," while another said of a onesie with "gay" written on the back: "Losing my mind over this piece of clothing from target's pride collection."
According to the Daily Mail, Target has produced a range of items for Pride Month for a decade. Pride Month is celebrated every June. As well as sponsoring a number of Pride events, Bud Light is among the five of America's 10 most popular beers to have LGBTQ+ partnerships.
The two are not the only brands to have recently faced boycott calls over pro-LGBTQ+ marketing. In April, whiskey maker Jack Daniel's caused outrage after teaming up with three drag queens for a Pride Month promotion'--despite the campaign being nearly two years old.
Prior to that, chocolate makers Hershey's faced a similar response to an advertising campaign in February after including a transgender rights activist's face on special chocolate bar wrappers in Canada for International Women's Day.
DeSantis signs bills dealing with digital currency and gun sales | WUSF Public Media
Sun, 14 May 2023 02:17
Published May 13, 2023 at 7:00 AM EDT
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed bills that push back against the possibility of a federal central-bank digital currency and seek to prevent credit-card companies from tracking firearm and ammunition sales.
One of the bills (SB 7054) would prevent digital currency issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign governments from being treated as money under Florida's Uniform Commercial Code.
DeSantis spoke about the bills during a press briefing in Fort Myers.
President Joe Biden last year signed an executive order directing officials to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies. The order also sought recommendations on a central bank digital currency. Such a currency would be similar to cryptocurrencies, but it would include differences such as the value being fixed by the Federal Reserve.
The Republican-controlled Legislature overwhelmingly passed the bill that DeSantis signed Friday.
DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for president in 2024, said the bill is designed to keep the federal government from deciding how people can use their money.
''They're going to be able to have the window into what you're doing with the money and the ability to control where that money is going,'' DeSantis said during the briefing in Fort Myers. ''They could block, if you filled up your gas tank too much, hey, they're fighting global warming, 'You can't do any more.' Maybe you bought a firearm last week. They don't want you to buy another one this week.''
The other bill signed Friday (SB 214) will prevent credit-card companies from using a separate ''merchant category code'' for sales at gun businesses in Florida. Similar four-digit codes are already used to separate purchases and collect data from places such as grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants and bookstores. Last year, Visa, Mastercard and American Express announced plans to categorize gun-shop sales. But after Republican pushback in several states, the plans have been paused. The new laws will take effect July 1.
Copyright 2023 WGCU. To see more, visit WGCU.
Who Is Linda Yaccarino, Twitter's New CEO?
Sun, 14 May 2023 02:06
Linda Yaccarino, Twitter's new CEO, has had decades of experience with the advertising industry and has a position at the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been running Twitter since he bought it last fall, said he is ''excited'' to welcome Yaccarino to the post, which she will take on in about six weeks. Musk added that Yaccarino ''will focus primarily on business operations'' while he will ''focus on product design & new technology.''
Yaccarino graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1985. She lives in Sea Cliff, New York, with her husband, Claude Madrazo. They have two children, Christian and Matthew.
Extensive Advertising BackgroundYaccarino, 60, has a wealth of relationships with top chief marketing officers and other advertising executives, which can potentially benefit Twitter as it tries to reverse a plunge of billions of dollars in ad revenue since Musk's takeover.
Yaccarino has pushed the ad industry for change on several fronts, including advocating for relying less heavily on Nielsen ratings for measurement and introducing a digital platform called One Platform that makes it easier to buy ads across a variety of different media in an effort to better compete for ads against social media companies and traditional media companies.
1. NBC UniversalYaccarino's most recent post was chair of global advertising and partnerships at the Comcast-owned NBCUniversal. She oversaw all market strategy and advertising revenue for NBCUniversal's entire portfolio of broadcast, cable, and digital assets. The revenue totaled nearly $10 billion.
On Friday, prior to Musk announcing Yaccarino's new position at Twitter, NBCUniversal said she would step down immediately from her position, and Yaccarino confirmed she was departing the network, where she had spent a little under 12 years.
Linda Yaccarino during 2016 Advertising Week New York in New York City. on Sept. 28, 2016. (D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Advertising Week New York)Yaccarino joined NBCUniversal in 2011, around the time when Comcast was completing its merger with NBC. Besides overseeing the network's advertising strategy across television and digital properties, she also played a key role in launching the network's ad-supported streaming service Peacock in 2020.
A company profile at NBCUniversal showed that she oversaw a 2,000-member team, likely more people than those who work at Twitter. Musk told a BBC reporter that the company is down to 1,500 people after several layoffs under his watch.
2. Turner EntertainmentBefore joining NBCUniversal, Yaccarino was with Turner Broadcasting System for 15 years.
There, she held multiple roles, including executive vice president and chief operating officer across its advertising sales, marking, and acquisitions divisions, until leaving the media conglomerate in 2011.
As of April 2022, Turner Broadcasting System is owned by Warner Bros Discovery. It also currently operates CNN.
World Economic ForumIn her LinkedIn profile, Yaccarino indicates she has been the WEF's executive chair since January 2019. Specifically, she is the chairperson of the WEF's Taskforce on the Future of Work.
She is also a member of the WEF's Media, Entertainment, and Culture Industry Governors Steering Committee. According to the WEF website, the committee, made up of chief executives and chairs from partner organizations, ''define the industry agenda and drive change'' in media and entertainment to ''enable a more informed, united and inclusive society.''
Critics of the WEF often claim that the organization is working to control the world through its influence on global politics, the economy, and the media. They typically argue that WEF's focus on globalization and its promotion of neoliberal economic policies are evidence of this goal.
A World Economic Forum (WEF) sign is seen at the Davos Congress Centre during the organization's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 23, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)Additionally, some critics of the WEF view with disdain its exclusive, invitation-only membership and its annual meeting in Davos, which reinforce the organization's elitist image.
Yaccarino's profile says she is also ''highly engaged'' with the Value in Media initiative.
This WEF research project, in part, explores how different stakeholders in media'--such as content creators, advertisers, marketing agencies, and consumers'--each consume and promote media content.
It also looks at how people consume and pay for content, how that evolves, and how technology and large advertisers can and should shape the media environment and influence content online.
Work With US GovernmentYaccarino was appointed in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump to serve on his Council on Sports Fitness and Nutrition for two years.
Separately, as chair of the Ad Council in 2021 and 2022, Yaccarino has worked with the Biden White House and government agencies, as well as the business community, to help create a COVID-19 vaccination campaign that reached over 200 million Americans.
Onstage Interview With MuskYaccarino interviewed Musk on stage at an advertising conference in Miami last month, where she encouraged him to consider allowing advertisers to have an influence on the platform's content.
''So you've got a massive platform, you have a vision that is a spectrum of just daily, open sourced conversation, and they can conduct their lives, their business, their commerce, whatever they can do on your platform, that's a pretty big vision,'' she said.
''But in the middle should be advertising opportunity; it sounds like a great opportunity. I can talk about my brand, I can get my customers to communicate, and they can also buy stuff; it sounds pretty good, right? '... But they need to feel there is an opportunity for them to influence what you're building, that vision.''
In response, Musk said, ''It is important that'--if I were to say 'yes, you would be able to influence me,' that would be wrong. That would be very wrong. That would be a diminishment in freedom of speech.''
Yaccarino responded, ''I want to be more specific about influencing. It's more of an open feedback loop for the advertising experts in this room to help develop Twitter into a place where they will be excited about investing more money. Product development, ad safety, content moderation'--that's where the influence is.''
Musk again responded with freedom of speech concerns.
''It's totally cool to say that you want your advertising to appear in certain places on Twitter and not in other places,'' Musk said. ''But it is not cool to try to say what Twitter will do. And if that means losing advertising dollars, we lose it. But freedom of speech is paramount.''
She also asked whether Musk would commit to reinstating a ''much-loved influence council'' allowing advertisers to communicate with Twitter's leadership.
''Well, I don't think it should be 'influence council,''' Musk replied. ''I would be wary of that creating a backlash among the public. Because if the public thinks that their views are being determined by a small number of CMOs in America, they will be, I think, upset about that.
''But feedback, I think, is appropriate, and at the end of the day, if somebody is spending money for their ad campaign, it needs to yield results for their organization, or it doesn't make sense.''
Jack Phillips, Lorenz Duchamps, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Since the pandemic, Brits are mysteriously dying in their thousands | UK | News | Express.co.uk
Sun, 14 May 2023 01:54
Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. HOME News Royal Showbiz & TV Sport Comment Finance Travel Life & Style UK Politics Royal World US Science Weather Weird History Nature Sunday InYourArea From May to December last year, there were 32,441 excess deaths in England and Wales, excluding deaths from Covid. 23:38, Thu, May 11, 2023 | UPDATED: 10:06, Fri, May 12, 2023
Thousands of Brits are dying than expected, latest data suggests (Image: Getty Images)
The latest data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated that there were 32,441 excess deaths in England and Wales from May to December last year. These deaths excluded those from Covid. The shock revelation has raised alarm bells amid health professionals.
Excess deaths are defined as the number of people who died above the five-year average - worked out excluding 2020 due to how Covid spiked death figures that year.
The alarming numbers since the Covid pandemic, excess deaths have fluctuated wildly month on month, tumbling well below the five-year average or spiking far above it.
The rise in the number of fatalities could be attributed to a number of causes, however, it is not yet clear what's leading to the spikes or causing these drop-offs.
Similarly, earlier in 2022, excess deaths dipped well below average levels, with one expert group speculating to the Mirror that a 'mortality displacement' effect might explain why so many deaths are bunched up in the space of several months, being passed on from the months prior.
Professor David Coleman, Emeritus Professor of Demography at Oxford University, told the Mirror that no one knew for certain what had caused so many deaths throughout last year.
He pointed out that, post Covid, the UK's population had been changed through the deaths of a significant proportion of the elderly due to the virus.
He explained: ''Once those poor people have been packed off, the remaining population should be healthier, there should be a period afterwards where deaths are lower than usual but that hasn't happened.''
READ MORE: Londoners in panic at 'gigantic bang' heard across city
However, he highlighted two key reasons that could contribute towards spiking excess deaths, the fact Britain's getting older, and gaining a larger average body-mass index.
He said: ''The population is getting older, and also the population in Britain is the fattest in Europe and rather vulnerable to diseases notably heart disease and diabetes; some people have been forecasting separately from Covid that death rates would continue to get worse because the country is so unhealthy.''
One of the major causes behind the rise in the number of excess deaths was ischaemic heart diseases - which would track with the professor's warnings of a fatter population.
Similarly, when looking at the leading cause of death across much of 2022, it's dementia and Alzheimers - further supporting theories of an increasingly greying, and dying, population.
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Dementia and Alzheimers often aren't the leading cause of excess deaths, when that data is available, according to ONS figures, it's often pneumonia and influenza during the winter or symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions in other parts of the year.
He told Mirror: ''If you look at the detail and the reasons on death certificates, it's a bit unsatisfactory as symptoms, signs and ill-defined is one of the biggest components of these excess deaths and that's something associated with old age really.''
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Poor diabetes care may be behind 7,000 excess deaths - BBC News
Sun, 14 May 2023 01:53
Image source, Getty ImagesDelayed health checks among people with diabetes may have contributed to 7,000 more deaths than usual in England last year, a charity report suggests.
The routine checks help cut the risk of serious complications like amputations and heart attacks.
Diabetes UK says too many people are still being "left to go it alone" when managing their challenging condition.
NHS England said returning routine care to pre-pandemic levels was a key priority.
It said local areas had been given £36m to help restore diabetes services.
There are more than five million people in the UK living with diabetes, but around 1.9 million missed out on routine vital checks in 2021-22, Diabetes UK says.
Disruption to care during the pandemic is likely to be a factor in the current backlog, which may be leading to higher numbers of deaths than usual in people with diabetes, it says.
Between January and March 2023, for example, there were 1,461 excess deaths involving diabetes - three times higher than during the same period last year.
"Urgent action is needed to reverse this trend and support everyone living with diabetes to live well with the condition," the report says.
'My eyesight is like a snowflake shaker'
Anthony Parker, 44, from Berkshire, has lived with type 1 diabetes since the age of 10. He was due to have a check-up on his condition in January 2020, but it never happened.
He waited 18 months for another appointment, which was over the phone and a "waste of time", he says.
In the meantime, he had developed an eye condition called retinopathy which has damaged his eyesight and also affected his general health.
"My vision is like a snowflake shaker," he says.
Image source, Anthony Parker
Image caption, Anthony Parker's eyesight deteriorated during the pandemic when his check-ups were cancelled for nearly two years
"I like playing football and cycling but doing sport makes it worse so since last June, I've put on a bit of weight and my mental wellbeing has suffered too.
"I feel frustrated - it's affected my quality of life."
Anthony says he has a good GP who carries out some of the routine checks he needs on his blood pressure and cholesterol.
But his latest appointment with his diabetic consultant was on the telephone again which he says "is not what I need".
'Relentless'
About 90% of people with diabetes have a form of the condition called type 2, which means they do not produce enough insulin to turn food into energy. It is usually treated by following a healthy diet and doing regular exercise, although most will need medication which may include insulin.
About 8% have type 1 diabetes, which is the most common type in children and young adults. It starts suddenly and cannot be prevented, but it is treated with daily insulin doses.
Both types can be managed with routine health checks, but the charity's report says almost 300,000 fewer people with diabetes received all eight recommended checks in 2022 compared to the year before the pandemic (2019-20).
The report also highlights that:
there were 7,000 more deaths than normal involving people with diabetes last year - 13% up on pre-pandemic figuresonly 47% of people with diabetes in England received all eight of their required checks in 2021-22, down from 57% before the pandemicin some areas, only 10% had received routine checks and these areas were likely to be the most deprivedone in 10 people surveyed in the poorest areas said they had had no contact with their healthcare team in more than a year'¯Diabetes UK is calling for the government to draw up plans to tackle the backlog in diabetes care, reduce health inequalities and provide more support to help prevent people developing type 2 diabetes.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme was the largest of its kind in the world and had helped more than 18,000 people avoid type 2 diabetes through expert advice on healthy eating and exercise.
An NHS England spokesperson said: "While the proportion of people receiving all eight NHS diabetes care processes has continued to improve towards pre-pandemic levels, we know there is still work to do."
Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said diabetes was "relentless" and people living with it needed close support and monitoring by healthcare professionals.
'¯"Yet far too many people with diabetes are being left to go it alone managing this challenging and potentially fatal condition, with deeply alarming numbers of checks either missed or delayed," he said.'¯
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Diabetics forced to 'go it alone' as 7,000 excess deaths linked to condition, says charity | UK News | Sky News
Sun, 14 May 2023 01:53
The number of people with diabetes who aren't receiving relevant checks is "deeply alarming" - with more than 7,000 excess deaths linked to the condition last year, a charity has warned.
Diabetes UK said "fragmented access to services across the country" is having a huge impact and that many people are being left to "go it alone".
Its data showed a 13% rise in excess deaths linked to diabetes in England in 2022 compared with pre-pandemic levels, with most "not attributable directly to COVID".
The situation is said to have worsened in the first part of 2023, with 1,461 excess deaths between January and March - three times higher than the same period last year.
With the right support, diabetes can be managed and people can lead a normal life.
The condition is monitored by regular checks, known as care processes, around eight times a year to prevent serious complications.
The tests include things like blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, and are key to preventing serious diabetes-related complications.
But the charity found less than half (47%) of people with diabetes in England received all eight checks in 2021-22, meaning 1.9 million did not get the care they need.
Diabetes UK said the vital health checks often aren't happening, and the consequences can be fatal.
'Last two years a real challenge'
Anthony Parker was diagnosed with diabetes as a child and has lived with it for more than 30 years.
"It was pretty tough at first... being a youngster aged 10, having to inject myself four times a day," he said.
But the condition was brought under control by the time he became an adult thanks to new technology and regular checks.
In 2020, however, many of his check-ups were cancelled and eventually he developed retinopathy, a condition which can lead to blindness.
Image: Anthony Parker believes the problem with his eyes could have been avoided "It's very frustrating," said Mr Parker.
"Throughout the 30 years I have been diabetic, the support has been fantastic. But the last two years it has been a real challenge.
"It has changed my life.
"Since I had the problems with my eyes it meant I have been concerned about going out to keep fit and play football like I usually do, for fear of another bleed behind my eyes."
He added: "It's also meant I've stopped doing some of the activities I used to do with my son. It means I have put on a bit of weight and it has also impacted my mental health."
Mr Parker said he thinks his condition could have been avoided.
Read more:Why type 2 diabetes patients might want to swap sugary drinks for coffeeWeight loss can put type 2 diabetes in remission for 'at least five years'
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2:11 Man is diabetes free after new diet'Catastrophic impact' of 'stretched' NHS
Chris Askew, head of Diabetes UK, said: "Too many people with diabetes are being left to go it alone managing this challenging and potentially fatal condition, with deeply alarming numbers of checks either missed or delayed."'¯'¯
He said health professionals were working hard but are "too stretched to provide the time and personalised support that is required - and it's having a catastrophic impact".
Mr Askew wants the government to do more to tackle diabetes in its Major Conditions Strategy and prioritise local healthcare systems.
A health department spokesperson said the NHS diabetes programme is the largest "of its kind in the world" and had "helped over 18,000 people avoid type 2 diabetes through expert advice on healthy eating and exercise".
They added: "We're already helping people make healthier choices by restricting the location of foods high in fat, salt or sugar and introducing calorie labelling on menus.
"Our Major Conditions Strategy will cover Type 2 Diabetes and help to reduce pressure on the NHS.
"Cutting waiting lists is one of the government's top five priorities, and the NHS has virtually eliminated waits of over two years for treatment and has cut 18-month waits by over 50% in a year."
Urgent warning over 'deadly salt tooth' leading to thousands more Brit deaths - Mirror Online
Sun, 14 May 2023 01:53
Campaigners are urging people to curb their salt tooth to safeguard their health and reminding people that excessive salt can significantly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke
Research has found our cravings for salt are on the up ( Image: Getty Images)
An urgent warning has been issued over 'deadly salt tooth' after government figures showed Brits' daily salt intake is on average above the recommended amount.
Campaigners are urging people to curb their salt tooth to safeguard their health and reminding people that excessive salt can significantly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Some salt is vital for our health - table salt, aka sodium chloride, contains around 40 per cent sodium, an essential nutrient.
Eaten in a small quantity, sodium helps the conduction of nerve impulses, muscle contraction and relaxation, and helps maintain the balance of water and minerals. A lack of salt can lead to muscle cramps, nausea, fatigue and light-headedness
However, consuming more than the 6g a day recommended by the NHS for adults '' equating to around one teaspoon '' can be detrimental for your health .
However, a person living in the UK's average daily intake is 8g, according to Government figures, which is of major concern as excess salt leads to hypertension and high blood pressure, reports MyLondon.
For every 1g of salt cut from the average daily UK diet there would be an estimated 4,147 fewer premature deaths, saving the NHS £288 million each year.
Launching for Salt Awareness Week, Season With Sense is calling on people to take part in its 'Stick to Six' challenge, which invites participants to begin monitoring their salt intake.
Olivia Burley, registered associate nutritionist who is currently working on the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme said: "A high salt intake disrupts the natural sodium balance in the body.
"Hypertension is a condition where blood pressure remains elevated over time, which can increase the risk of heart and circulatory diseases."
Examples of foods high in salt can be canned fish or poultry, frozen foods such as breaded meats, salted nuts, canned beans, cured meats, soup and sandwiches.
And just because you've drunk enough water to quench your thirst doesn't mean you're negating the effects of too much salt, which is why it's important to be aware of other health indicators..
Four signs you've eaten too much salt HeadachesThe dehydration caused by excess salt intake can lead to severe headaches. Pippa Hill, nutritionist and founder of The Weight Loss Guru said:
''These headaches tend to be more painful than a mild one, giving a throbbing sensation as the blood vessels are being expanded,'' Hill says.
''They tend to come on between an hour or two after you've eaten, as sodium levels rise through the body.''
They may come on quicker if you have high blood pressure or suffer from chronic headaches in general, but can often be solved by rehydrating.
Hill added: ''As your water levels are imbalanced, by drinking more water you're able to minimise and get rid of the headache.''
Swollen feet and handsAlso known as edema, swelling of the fingers, ankles or feet can be a delayed reaction to a spike of sodium.
''When too much salt is consumed, the body retains the extra sodium and increases the fluid outside of the cells, Burley explains.
''This causes the kidneys to have reduced function, remove less water and therefore increase blood pressure.''
Swelling may occur more when sitting down for too long or on long journeys.
''This isn't an instant response after eating, but if in the next 24 hours of having eaten salty foods you notice swelling in these areas, it could be a link,'' Hill says.
''It's best to seek medical advice if this is an ongoing occurrence, as it could be a sign of a more serious health concern.''
High blood pressure''Salt is the largest cause of high blood pressure,'' Hill warns. ''Within just 30 minutes, eating excess salt will have a bodily reaction to the blood vessels.''
Also called hypertension, if left untreated it can increase your risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
Hills says: ''If after eating a salty diet, your symptoms include blurred vision, chest pain such as a tight feeling, palpitations, shortness of breath or sudden nosebleeds, it could mean you have a raised blood pressure.''
Hypertension can often have no symptoms and the only way to know your blood pressure is to get it monitored using a machine.
Frequent urinationExcessive thirst is a common response to eating salty foods and naturally leads to an increase in fluid consumption, causing excessive urination.
By sending the signal that you need to guzzle lots of liquid, the body aims to remove the excess salt build-up.
Although drinking more fluids in response to an increase in salt is one of the main reasons for urine production, it could be a symptom of other conditions like polyuria, therefore medical checks are best, nutritionists advice.
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Depressed Young People Are at Risk for Heart Disease | Psychology Today United Kingdom
Sun, 14 May 2023 01:52
Source: Sinitta Leunen/Unsplash
It's well-known that people with depression are more likely to suffer from heart disease (and vice versa). But doctors and parents may not be thinking about the problem in the young and taking action. That's a mistake because depression, anxiety, or bipolar illness at a young age increases the chance of heart trouble down the line.
For example, in a study of nearly 420,000 men evaluated at age 18 or 19 for military service in Sweden, the men who showed signs of depression or anxiety then had a 20 percent higher chance of suffering a heart attack by age 58.
This was so even after taking into account their blood pressure, body mass index, general health, and parents' socioeconomic status. A remedy? Coaching to help young people manage stress and stay fit through exercise, the researchers said.
Other research looked at a large group of American adults up to age 49, including more than 18,700 people between the ages of 18 to 29. It concluded that depression more than doubled the odds of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart attacks and strokes as well as other problems with the heart and blood vessels.
The link between heart disease and depression has been observed even in children. A study of 77 patients in a pediatric depression program found that 46 percent had a family history of early CVD. A quarter of them had high blood pressure and 28 percent had high total cholesterol. More than half of the participants had at least two CVD risk factors. The researchers recommended that depressed children routinely be screened for CVD, even if they aren't overweight.
One problem is that young people, even more than other Americans, eat junk food, putting their hearts at risk. They also don't exercise enough: In one study, only 14 percent of 11 to-19-year-olds had high marks in a scoring system that included diet, physical activity, and body mass index. In a classic bad loop, a poor diet and lack of exercise aggravate low mood, and low mood leads to more lying around and snacking or binging.
As early as 2015, after analyzing published studies of heart attacks and deaths among young people, an AHA committee of medical experts found that teens with major depression or bipolar disorder are more likely than other youngsters to have a host of CVD risk factors, including hardening of the arteries.
Mental health is a problem for many American teens. The latest, pre-pandemic, figures from the CDC report that among adolescents aged 12-17 years, more than 15 percent had a major depressive episode, nearly 37 percent had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, nearly 19 percent seriously considered attempting suicide, and 9 percent made an attempt.
Teens with mood disorders are more likely to smoke or abuse other drugs and avoid exercise. They also may be taking medications that increase blood pressure and can cause higher cholesterol. However, those factors don't entirely explain why these young people would have higher rates of CVD.
The bottom line for parents: Make sure your child is getting some exercise and eating a healthful diet (less red meat and more fish, plenty of vegetables and whole grains). With teens, you may need to talk to them to explain that they run more of a risk of heart disease if they choose to smoke or abuse drugs.
A version of this story appears at Your Care Everywhere.
Google "We Have No Moat, And Neither Does OpenAI"
Sat, 13 May 2023 14:20
The text below is a very recent leaked document, which was shared by an anonymous individual on a public Discord server who has granted permission for its republication. It originates from a researcher within Google. We have verified its authenticity. The only modifications are formatting and removing links to internal web pages. The document is only the opinion of a Google employee, not the entire firm. We do not agree with what is written below, nor do other researchers we asked, but we will publish our opinions on this in a separate piece for subscribers. We simply are a vessel to share this document which raises some very interesting points.We've done a lot of looking over our shoulders at OpenAI. Who will cross the next milestone? What will the next move be?
But the uncomfortable truth is, we aren't positioned to win this arms race and neither is OpenAI . While we've been squabbling, a third faction has been quietly eating our lunch.
I'm talking, of course, about open source. Plainly put, they are lapping us. Things we consider ''major open problems'' are solved and in people's hands today. Just to name a few:
LLMs on a Phone: People are running foundation models on a Pixel 6 at 5 tokens / sec.
Scalable Personal AI: You can finetune a personalized AI on your laptop in an evening.
Responsible Release: This one isn't ''solved'' so much as ''obviated''. There are entire websites full of art models with no restrictions whatsoever , and text is not far behind.
Multimodality: The current multimodal ScienceQA SOTA was trained in an hour .
While our models still hold a slight edge in terms of quality, the gap is closing astonishingly quickly . Open-source models are faster, more customizable, more private, and pound-for-pound more capable. They are doing things with $100 and 13B params that we struggle with at $10M and 540B. And they are doing so in weeks, not months. This has profound implications for us:
We have no secret sauce. Our best hope is to learn from and collaborate with what others are doing outside Google. We should prioritize enabling 3P integrations.
People will not pay for a restricted model when free, unrestricted alternatives are comparable in quality. We should consider where our value add really is.
Giant models are slowing us down. In the long run, the best models are the ones
which can be iterated upon quickly. We should make small variants more than an afterthought, now that we know what is possible in the <20B parameter regime.
https://lmsys.org/blog/2023-03-30-vicuna/ At the beginning of March the open source community got their hands on their first really capable foundation model, as Meta's LLaMA was leaked to the public. It had no instruction or conversation tuning, and no RLHF. Nonetheless, the community immediately understood the significance of what they had been given.
A tremendous outpouring of innovation followed, with just days between major developments (see The Timeline for the full breakdown). Here we are, barely a month later, and there are variants with instruction tuning , quantization , quality improvements , human evals , multimodality , RLHF , etc. etc. many of which build on each other.
Most importantly, they have solved the scaling problem to the extent that anyone can tinker. Many of the new ideas are from ordinary people. The barrier to entry for training and experimentation has dropped from the total output of a major research organization to one person, an evening, and a beefy laptop.
In many ways, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. The current renaissance in open source LLMs comes hot on the heels of a renaissance in image generation. The similarities are not lost on the community, with many calling this the '' Stable Diffusion moment '' for LLMs.
In both cases, low-cost public involvement was enabled by a vastly cheaper mechanism for fine tuning called low rank adaptation , or LoRA, combined with a significant breakthrough in scale ( latent diffusion for image synthesis, Chinchilla for LLMs). In both cases, access to a sufficiently high-quality model kicked off a flurry of ideas and iteration from individuals and institutions around the world. In both cases, this quickly outpaced the large players.
These contributions were pivotal in the image generation space, setting Stable Diffusion on a different path from Dall-E. Having an open model led to product integrations , marketplaces , user interfaces , and innovations that didn't happen for Dall-E.
The effect was palpable: rapid domination in terms of cultural impact vs the OpenAI solution, which became increasingly irrelevant. Whether the same thing will happen for LLMs remains to be seen, but the broad structural elements are the same.
The innovations that powered open source's recent successes directly solve problems we're still struggling with. Paying more attention to their work could help us to avoid reinventing the wheel.
LoRA works by representing model updates as low-rank factorizations, which reduces the size of the update matrices by a factor of up to several thousand. This allows model fine-tuning at a fraction of the cost and time. Being able to personalize a language model in a few hours on consumer hardware is a big deal, particularly for aspirations that involve incorporating new and diverse knowledge in near real-time . The fact that this technology exists is underexploited inside Google, even though it directly impacts some of our most ambitious projects.
Part of what makes LoRA so effective is that - like other forms of fine-tuning - it's stackable. Improvements like instruction tuning can be applied and then leveraged as other contributors add on dialogue, or reasoning, or tool use. While the individual fine tunings are low rank, their sum need not be, allowing full-rank updates to the model to accumulate over time.
This means that as new and better datasets and tasks become available, the model can be cheaply kept up to date, without ever having to pay the cost of a full run.
By contrast, training giant models from scratch not only throws away the pretraining, but also any iterative improvements that have been made on top. In the open source world, it doesn't take long before these improvements dominate, making a full retrain extremely costly.
We should be thoughtful about whether each new application or idea really needs a whole new model. If we really do have major architectural improvements that preclude directly reusing model weights, then we should invest in more aggressive forms of distillation that allow us to retain as much of the previous generation's capabilities as possible.
LoRA updates are very cheap to produce (~$100) for the most popular model sizes. This means that almost anyone with an idea can generate one and distribute it. Training times under a day are the norm. At that pace, it doesn't take long before the cumulative effect of all of these fine-tunings overcomes starting off at a size disadvantage. Indeed, in terms of engineer-hours, the pace of improvement from these models vastly outstrips what we can do with our largest variants, and the best are already largely indistinguishable from ChatGPT . Focusing on maintaining some of the largest models on the planet actually puts us at a disadvantage.
Many of these projects are saving time by training on small, highly curated datasets . This suggests there is some flexibility in data scaling laws. The existence of such datasets follows from the line of thinking in Data Doesn't Do What You Think , and they are rapidly becoming the standard way to do training outside Google. These datasets are built using synthetic methods (e.g. filtering the best responses from an existing model) and scavenging from other projects, neither of which is dominant at Google. Fortunately, these high quality datasets are open source, so they are free to use.
This recent progress has direct, immediate implications for our business strategy. Who would pay for a Google product with usage restrictions if there is a free, high quality alternative without them?
And we should not expect to be able to catch up. The modern internet runs on open source for a reason. Open source has some significant advantages that we cannot replicate.
Keeping our technology secret was always a tenuous proposition. Google researchers are leaving for other companies on a regular cadence, so we can assume they know everything we know, and will continue to for as long as that pipeline is open.
But holding on to a competitive advantage in technology becomes even harder now that cutting edge research in LLMs is affordable. Research institutions all over the world are building on each other's work, exploring the solution space in a breadth-first way that far outstrips our own capacity. We can try to hold tightly to our secrets while outside innovation dilutes their value, or we can try to learn from each other.
Much of this innovation is happening on top of the leaked model weights from Meta. While this will inevitably change as truly open models get better, the point is that they don't have to wait. The legal cover afforded by ''personal use'' and the impracticality of prosecuting individuals means that individuals are getting access to these technologies while they are hot.
Browsing through the models that people are creating in the image generation space, there is a vast outpouring of creativity, from anime generators to HDR landscapes. These models are used and created by people who are deeply immersed in their particular subgenre, lending a depth of knowledge and empathy we cannot hope to match.
Paradoxically, the one clear winner in all of this is Meta. Because the leaked model was theirs, they have effectively garnered an entire planet's worth of free labor. Since most open source innovation is happening on top of their architecture, there is nothing stopping them from directly incorporating it into their products.
The value of owning the ecosystem cannot be overstated. Google itself has successfully used this paradigm in its open source offerings, like Chrome and Android. By owning the platform where innovation happens, Google cements itself as a thought leader and direction-setter, earning the ability to shape the narrative on ideas that are larger than itself.
The more tightly we control our models, the more attractive we make open alternatives. Google and OpenAI have both gravitated defensively toward release patterns that allow them to retain tight control over how their models are used. But this control is a fiction. Anyone seeking to use LLMs for unsanctioned purposes can simply take their pick of the freely available models.
Google should establish itself a leader in the open source community, taking the lead by cooperating with, rather than ignoring, the broader conversation. This probably means taking some uncomfortable steps, like publishing the model weights for small ULM variants. This necessarily means relinquishing some control over our models. But this compromise is inevitable. We cannot hope to both drive innovation and control it.
All this talk of open source can feel unfair given OpenAI's current closed policy. Why do we have to share, if they won't? But the fact of the matter is, we are already sharing everything with them in the form of the steady flow of poached senior researchers. Until we stem that tide, secrecy is a moot point.
And in the end, OpenAI doesn't matter . They are making the same mistakes we are in their posture relative to open source, and their ability to maintain an edge is necessarily in question. Open source alternatives can and will eventually eclipse them unless they change their stance. In this respect, at least, we can make the first move.
Meta launches LLaMA , open sourcing the code, but not the weights. At this point, LLaMA is not instruction or conversation tuned. Like many current models, it is a relatively small model (available at 7B, 13B, 33B, and 65B parameters) that has been trained for a relatively large amount of time, and is therefore quite capable relative to its size.
Within a week, LLaMA is leaked to the public . The impact on the community cannot be overstated. Existing licenses prevent it from being used for commercial purposes, but suddenly anyone is able to experiment. From this point forward, innovations come hard and fast.
A little over a week later, Artem Andreenko gets the model working on a Raspberry Pi . At this point the model runs too slowly to be practical because the weights must be paged in and out of memory. Nonetheless, this sets the stage for an onslaught of minification efforts.
The next day, Stanford releases Alpaca , which adds instruction tuning to LLaMA. More important than the actual weights, however, was Eric Wang's alpaca-lora repo, which used low rank fine-tuning to do this training ''within hours on a single RTX 4090''.
Suddenly, anyone could fine-tune the model to do anything, kicking off a race to the bottom on low-budget fine-tuning projects. Papers proudly describe their total spend of a few hundred dollars. What's more, the low rank updates can be distributed easily and separately from the original weights, making them independent of the original license from Meta. Anyone can share and apply them.
Georgi Gerganov uses 4 bit quantization to run LLaMA on a MacBook CPU. It is the first ''no GPU'' solution that is fast enough to be practical.
The next day, a cross-university collaboration releases Vicuna , and uses GPT-4-powered eval to provide qualitative comparisons of model outputs. While the evaluation method is suspect, the model is materially better than earlier variants. Training Cost: $300.
Notably, they were able to use data from ChatGPT while circumventing restrictions on its API - They simply sampled examples of ''impressive'' ChatGPT dialogue posted on sites like ShareGPT .
Nomic creates GPT4All , which is both a model and, more importantly, an ecosystem . For the first time, we see models (including Vicuna) being gathered together in one place. Training Cost: $100.
Cerebras (not to be confused with our own Cerebra) trains the GPT-3 architecture using the optimal compute schedule implied by Chinchilla, and the optimal scaling implied by μ-parameterization . This outperforms existing GPT-3 clones by a wide margin, and represents the first confirmed use of μ-parameterization ''in the wild''. These models are trained from scratch, meaning the community is no longer dependent on LLaMA.
Using a novel Parameter Efficient Fine Tuning (PEFT) technique, LLaMA-Adapter introduces instruction tuning and multimodality in one hour of training. Impressively, they do so with just 1.2M learnable parameters. The model achieves a new SOTA on multimodal ScienceQA.
Berkeley launches Koala , a dialogue model trained entirely using freely available data.
They take the crucial step of measuring real human preferences between their model and ChatGPT. While ChatGPT still holds a slight edge, more than 50% of the time users either prefer Koala or have no preference. Training Cost: $100.
Open Assistant launches a model and, more importantly, a dataset for Alignment via RLHF. Their model is close (48.3% vs. 51.7%) to ChatGPT in terms of human preference. In addition to LLaMA, they show that this dataset can be applied to Pythia-12B, giving people the option to use a fully open stack to run the model. Moreover, because the dataset is publicly available, it takes RLHF from unachievable to cheap and easy for small experimenters.
What does a leaked Google memo reveal about the future of AI? | The Economist
Sat, 13 May 2023 14:19
T HEY HAVE changed the world by writing software. But techy types are also known for composing lengthy memos in prose, the most famous of which have marked turning points in computing. Think of Bill Gates's ''Internet tidal wave'' memo of 1995, which reoriented Microsoft towards the web; or Jeff Bezos's ''API mandate'' memo of 2002, which opened up Amazon's digital infrastructure, paving the way for modern cloud computing. Now techies are abuzz about another memo, this time leaked from within Google, titled ''We have no moat''. Its unknown author details the astonishing progress being made in artificial intelligence (AI)'--and challenges some long-held assumptions about the balance of power in this fast-moving industry.
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AI burst into the public consciousness with the launch in late 2022 of ChatGPT, a chatbot powered by a ''large language model'' (LLM) made by OpenAI, a startup closely linked to Microsoft. Its success prompted Google and other tech firms to release their own LLM-powered chatbots. Such systems can generate text and hold realistic conversations because they have been trained using trillions of words taken from the internet. Training a large LLM takes months and costs tens of millions of dollars. This led to concerns that AI would be dominated by a few deep-pocketed firms.
But that assumption is wrong, says the Google memo. It notes that researchers in the open-source community, using free, online resources, are now achieving results comparable to the biggest proprietary models. It turns out that LLMs can be ''fine-tuned'' using a technique called low-rank adaptation, or LoRa. This allows an existing LLM to be optimised for a particular task far more quickly and cheaply than training an LLM from scratch.
Activity in open-source AI exploded in March, when LLaMa, a model created by Meta, Facebook's parent, was leaked online. Although it is smaller than the largest LLMs (its smallest version has 7bn parameters, compared with 540bn for Google's PaLM) it was quickly fine-tuned to produce results comparable to the original version of ChatGPT on some tasks. As open-source researchers built on each other's work with LLaMa, ''a tremendous outpouring of innovation followed,'' the memo's author writes.
This could have seismic implications for the industry's future. ''The barrier to entry for training and experimentation has dropped from the total output of a major research organisation to one person, an evening, and a beefy laptop,'' the Google memo claims. An LLM can now be fine-tuned for $100 in a few hours. With its fast-moving, collaborative and low-cost model, ''open-source has some significant advantages that we cannot replicate.'' Hence the memo's title: this may mean Google has no defensive ''moat'' against open-source competitors. Nor, for that matter, does OpenAI.
Not everyone agrees with this thesis. It is true that the internet runs on open-source software. But people use paid-for, proprietary software, from Adobe Photoshop to Microsoft Windows, as well. AI may find a similar balance. Moreover, benchmarking AI systems is notoriously hard. Yet even if the memo is partly right, the implication is that access to AI technology will be far more democratised than seemed possible even a year ago. Powerful LLMs can be run on a laptop; anyone who wants to can now fine-tune their own AI.
This has both positive and negative implications. On the plus side, it makes monopolistic control of AI by a handful of companies far less likely. It will make access to AI much cheaper, accelerate innovation across the field and make it easier for researchers to analyse the behaviour of AI systems (their access to proprietary models was limited), boosting transparency and safety. But easier access to AI also means bad actors will be able to fine-tune systems for nefarious purposes, such as generating disinformation. It means Western attempts to prevent hostile regimes from gaining access to powerful AI technology will fail. And it makes AI harder to regulate, because the genie is out of the bottle.
Whether Google and its ilk really have lost their moat in AI will soon become apparent. But as with those previous memos, this feels like another turning point for computing. '–
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "A stochastic parrot in every pot?"
From the May 13th 2023 editionDiscover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
Linda Yaccarino | World Economic Forum
Sat, 13 May 2023 13:39
Chairman, Advertising and Partnerships, NBCUniversal, oversees all market strategy and advertising revenue for the company totalling nearly $10 billion. Since joining NBCU in 2011, has transformed the advertising division, leading over 1,400 employees and setting the standard for the entire industry. Throughout career, has helped numerous organizations navigate increasingly competitive and disruptive circumstances and find innovative, sustainable, winning positions. A visionary leader, has envisioned and executed company- and industry-level transformation. On several for-profit and non-profit boards, including Ascena Retail Group, Hulu, Ad Council, Open AP, Mobile Marketing Association, ACLD and The Female Quotient. Also part of the President's Council on Sports Fitness and Nutrition.
Pilot incapacitation - HiSKy Flight H4474 (DUB-KIV) to Chisinau, 20 min after liftoff pilot became "unable to act", plane diverted to Manchester on May 11, 2023 - 10th recent pilot incapacitation!
Sat, 13 May 2023 12:06
Air traffic situation '' Pilot is unable to act ( click here ) Today there was a HiSky Airbus A321-271 with registration YR-WIN on flight H4474 from Dublin / Ireland ( DUB ) to Chisinau / Moldova ( KIV ), leaving 12:45am, when the crew switched emergency code 7700 almost 20 minutes after the start in Dublin because one of the pilots had suddenly become unable to act.
The plane was then immediately redirected to Manchester / UK ( MAN ), where the sick crew member was transferred to medical care after landing. About 14 hours after landing in Manchester, the plane started again with an exchange crew for the onward flight to Chisinau, where it landed safely without further incidents.
May 4, 2023 - British Charter TUI Airways Flight BY-1424 (NCL-LPA) Newcastle to Las Palmas Spain pilot became ill, plane diverted back to NCL. ( click here )
April 4, 2023 - United Airlines Flight 2102 (BOI-SFO) - captain was incapacitated, first officer was only one in control of the aircraft. ( click here )
March 25, 2023 - TAROM Flight RO-7673 TSR-HRG diverted to Bucharest as 30 yo pilot had chest pain, then collapsed ( click here )
March 22, 2023 - Southwest Flight WN6013 LAS-CMH diverted as pilot collapsed shortly after take-off, replaced by non-Southwest pilot ( click here )
March 18, 2023 - Air Transat Flight TS739 FDF-YUL first officer was incapacitated about 200NM south of Montreal ( click here )
March 13, 2023 - Emirates Flight EK205 MXP-JFK diverted due to pilot illness hour and a half after take-off ( click here )
March 11, 2023 - United Airlines Flight UA2007 GUA-ORD diverted due to ''incapacitated pilot'' who had chest pains ( click here )
March 11, 2023? - British Airways ( CAI-LHR ) pilot collapsed in Cairo hotel and died , was scheduled to fly Airbus A321 from Cairo to London ( click here )
March, 3, 2023 - Virgin Australia Flight VA-717 ADL-PER Adelaide to Perth flight was forced to make an emergency landing after First Officer suffered heart attack 30 min after departure. ( click here )
Pilot death - April 13, 2023 - Phil Thomas, graduate of Flight Training Pilot academy in Cadiz, Spain (FTEJerez) died suddenly.
Pilot death - March 17, 2023 - 39 year old Westjet Pilot Benjamin Paul Vige died suddenly in Calgary
Pilot death - March 11, 2023 - British Airways pilot died of heart attack in crew hotel in Cairo before a Cairo to London flight (name & age not released)
I helped Epoch Times prepare two excellent articles on pilot incidents in-flight:
April 18, 2023 - IN-DEPTH: One Moment He Was in Command of a 150,000-Pound Plane, Next He Was Technically Dead
March 30, 2023 - Reports of 'Incapacitated' Airline Pilots Stoke Concerns, Calls for Investigations
Lijst van uitdrukkingen en gezegden A-E - Wikipedia
Fri, 12 May 2023 23:19
Uit Wikipedia, de vrije encyclopedie
Naar navigatie springenNaar zoeken springenHieronder staat een lijst van uitdrukkingen en gezegden met steekwoorden die beginnen met een letter in de serie A-E.
a Van A tot Z.Van het begin tot het einde; helemaal.aagje Een nieuwsgierig aagje.Een nieuwsgierig persoon.aambeeld Altijd op hetzelfde aambeeld slaan.Steeds weer op hetzelfde onderwerp terugkomen.aangebrand Gauw aangebrand zijn.Snel boos worden.Een aangebrande familie.(in Belgi) Familie met een of vaak meerdere voorouders die collaboreerden tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. De term wordt vooral gebruikt indien de afstammelingen niet duidelijk afstand namen van de activiteiten van hun ouders of grootouders.aanvaring Met iemand in aanvaring komen.Ruzie of problemen met iemand krijgen.aanzien Zonder aanzien des persoons.Zonder iemand voor te trekken; zonder er rekening mee te houden om wie het gaat.aap Aap wat heb je mooie jongen.Sarcastische opmerking over iemand die wat al te trots is op iets. Hij speelt aap wat heb je mooie jongen.Hij is overdreven vriendelijk (tegenover iemand van wie hij wat verwacht of tegenover wie hij wat goed te maken heeft). Nu komt de aap uit de mouw.Nu blijkt wat werkelijk de bedoeling was.In de aap gelogeerd zijn.In een vervelende positie beland zijn.Caf(C) In 't Aepjen aan de Zeedijk in Amsterdam (een van de twee nog bestaande laatmiddeleeuwse houten huizen in de stad) zou vroeger een logement zijn geweest waarvan de eigenaar apen hield, die ongedierte aantrokken.Ook werden rond de gouden eeuw veel mensen aangetrokken door ronselaars van de VOC (Verenigd Oost Indisch compagnie) in caf(C) In't Aepjen. De ronselaars lieten het alcoholisch vocht flink stromen om ervoor te zorgen dat hun slachtoffers hun handtekening zetten onder een contract. De volgende morgen werd het duidelijk dat ze geronseld waren en er geen weg meer terug was.Ook: De aap is een zeil, soms moeten gasten aan boord er genoegen mee nemen als beddengoed.Voor aap staan.In het openbaar belachelijk zijn.De aap beet hebben.De buit (het begeerde geld) binnen hebben.Iemand na-apen.Iemand nadoen.aard Dat is de aard van het beestje.Dat is typisch iets voor die persoon; zo zit hij of zij nu eenmaal in elkaar.Een aardje naar je vaartje hebben.Veel op je vader lijken.aardappel De aardappels afgieten.Urineren (door een man).De hete aardappel doorschuiven.Een vervelende beslissing aan een ander overlaten.Met een hete aardappel in de keel praten.Geaffecteerd praten.aarde In goede aarde vallen.Goed ontvangen worden (bijvoorbeeld van een voorstel, toespraak of boek).Iemand ter aarde bestellen.Iemand begraven.Abraham Abraham gezien hebben.50 jaar of ouder zijn.Weten waar Abraham de mosterd haalt.Weten hoe iets in zijn werk gaat; dingen goed snappen.achterdeur Via (of langs) de achterdeur.Indirect, onopgemerkt, stiekem.Een achterdeurtje.Een manier om iets te ontduiken.achterhoofd Hij is niet op z'n achterhoofd gevallen.Hij is behoorlijk slim; hij heeft iets wel in de gaten. acte de pr(C)sence Acte de pr(C)sence geven.Ervoor zorgen dat je ergens aanwezig bent.adamskostuum In adamskostuum.Naakt, zonder kleren.adder Als door een adder gebeten zijn.Opeens fel reageren.Een adder aan zijn borst/boezem koesteren.Hulpvaardig zijn tegen iemand die je er niet dankbaar voor zal zijn.addertje Er schuilt een addertje onder het gras.Er is een verborgen risico in het spel.adem De laatste adem uitblazen.Sterven, doodgaan.De langste adem hebben.Iets het langst volhouden.Iemands hete adem in de nek voelen.Bijna ingehaald worden; ook: opgejut of opgejaagd worden.Iets in (C)(C)n adem uitlezen.Iets zonder onderbrekingen uitlezen.advocaat Advocaat van de duivel spelen.Een mening geven waar je het zelf niet mee eens bent, maar die je geeft om reacties uit te lokken.aflossing Een aflossing van de wacht.Een vervanging van de ene persoon door een andere.aftocht De aftocht blazen.Vertrekken als de situatie te bedreigend of te moeilijk wordt.(Afgeleid van het trompetsignaal of hoornsignaal, waarmee men een legeronderdeel het bevel tot terugtrekken placht te geven.)afwezigheid Schitteren door afwezigheid.Ergens niet aanwezig zijn, terwijl je komst wel verwacht werd.agenda Een verborgen agenda hebben.Een doel hebben dat voor de anderen verborgen gehouden wordt, bijvoorbeeld in een samenwerkingsverband.Dat staat op de agenda.Dat gaat nog gebeuren; dat gaat nog besproken worden.akkertje Op z'n dooie akkertje.Op zijn gemak, heel rustig, heel langzaam.akkoord Het op een akkoordje gooien.Met elkaar afspreken iets op een bepaalde manier aan te pakken.alfa De alfa en de omega.Zowel het begin als het einde; alles.alles Alles op alles zetten.Zich tot het uiterste inspannen om iets te bereiken.ambacht Iemand van twaalf ambachten en dertien ongelukken zijn.Steeds verschillende baantjes hebben maar in geen enkel baantje succesvol zijn.angel Ergens de angel uit trekken.Ervoor zorgen dat iets minder gevaarlijk wordt door het meest gevaarlijke deel onschadelijk te maken; iets minder pijnlijk maken.anker Het anker lichten.Vertrekken. Ervandoor gaan.Voluit in de ankers gaan.Krachtig remmen.antenne Een antenne hebben voor iets.Iets goed aanvoelen.apegapen Op apegapen liggen.op sterven liggen; oneig. versuft, verslapt zijn, het zeer benauwd hebben (bijvoorbeeld door de warmte).apelazarus Je het apelazarus werken.Heel hard werken.Je het apelazarus schrikken.Door iets of iemand onverwachts heel heftig schrikken.appel Appelen voor citroenen verkopen; ook: Knollen voor citroenen verkopen.Oplichten, bedriegen.Appels met peren vergelijken.Verkeerde conclusies trekken door zaken te vergelijken die niets met elkaar te maken hebben.Appeltje-eitje.Een simpel klusje.De rotte appels uit de mand halen.De minder getalenteerde personen wegsturen, de minder goede dingen sorteren van de goede dingen.Door de zure appel heen bijten; ook: Door de zure appel bijten.Een onaangenaam karwei opknappen.Een appeltje met iemand te schillen hebben.Iets met iemand te bespreken hebben naar aanleiding van iets wat men die ander verwijt. Ook: wraak op iemand willen nemen.Een appeltje voor de dorst.Een reserve voor moeilijke tijden die mogelijk nog gaan komen.Een oogappel of oogappeltje zijn.Een zeer geliefd persoon zijn. Vaak gezegd van een kind of kleinkind.Voor een appel en een ei.Bijzonder goedkoop. propos Van je propos gebracht worden.In de war gebracht worden. propos!Voor ik het vergeet.arbeid Een Sisyphus-arbeid.Een zware, onmogelijke, zinloze taak.argusogen Iets met argusogen bekijken.Iets wantrouwend bekijken. Iets nauwlettend in de gaten houden.arm De sterke arm der wet.De politie.Iemand in de arm nemen.Iemands hulp vragen als je een bepaalde kwestie niet alleen kunt oplossen.Iemand met open armen ontvangen.Heel blij zijn met iemands komst en dat ook laten merken. armoe(de) Het is daar armoe troef.Daar heerst grote armoede.armslag Armslag krijgen.Meer mogelijkheden krijgen.augiasstal De augiasstal reinigen.Op een plaats waar heel veel dingen slecht geregeld zijn, de zaken eindelijk goed gaan regelen; een plaats waar heel veel rommel ligt, schoonmaken.averechts Averechts uitpakken.Helemaal verkeerd aflopen. Tegengesteld uitpakken.baal Ergens de balen van hebben.Iets niet meer leuk vinden en willen dat het stopt.baan Dat is van de baan.Dat gaat niet door.Iets op de lange baan schuiven.Iets uitstellen tot later.Iets in goede banen leiden.Ervoor zorgen dat iets goed verloopt.baard De baard in de keel krijgen.Een lage stem krijgen.Spelen om des keizers baard.Spelen om de eer.baas Er is altijd baas boven baas.Er is altijd iemand die het nog weer beter doet of beter weet.Iemand of iets de baas zijn.Iemand of iets kunnen overmeesteren.badwater Het kind met het badwater weggooien.Verkeerde maatregelen nemen om ongewenste zaken te bestrijden, zodat juist datgene verloren gaat wat het meest waardevol is.bak Aan de bak komen.Aan de beurt komen; een baan krijgen.Het is volle bak.Het is helemaal uitverkocht; er zijn heel veel mensen.baken De bakens verzetten.De zaak heel anders aanpakken.bakker Het komt voor de bakker.Het komt in orde; het wordt geregeld.baksteen Met een baksteen in de maag geboren worden.Graag een huis willen hebben dat van jezelf is, dat je eigendom is.bakzeil Bakzeil halen.Toegeven dat je ongelijk hebt; aanzienlijk minder hoge eisen stellen dan je eerder deed.bal Hij weet er geen bal van.Hij weet er niets van.De bal aan het rollen brengen.Ervoor zorgen dat iets onderzocht wordt, dat er actie ondernomen wordt.De bal terugkaatsen.Op een vraag die gesteld wordt geen antwoord geven, maar een tegenvraag stellen; op een kritische opmerking van iemand reageren door zelf ook meteen een kritische opmerking te maken over de ander.Elkaar de bal toespelen.Elkaar voordeeltjes geven; elkaar helpen.Dat is een bal voor open doel.Dat is een opmerking waar een zeer voor de hand liggend weerwoord op gegeven kan worden.Ergens een balletje over opgooien.Ergens voorzichtig over beginnen te praten om erachter te komen wat anderen ervan vinden.balans De balans opmaken.Kijken hoe iets verlopen is; nagaan of je ergens voordeel of nadeel van hebt gehad.balk Wel de splinter in het oog van de ander zien, maar niet de balk in het eigen oog. (Matthe¼s 7:3-5.)Iemand anders wel bekritiseren, maar eigen gebreken niet opmerken.ballon Een proefballonnetje oplaten.Een voorstel doen om er achter te komen hoe men er op zal reageren. (Met de bedoeling het terug te trekken bij te veel tegenstand, en door te zetten als anderen ermee instemmen).ban In de ban zijn van iets.Zo erg in iets ge¯nteresseerd zijn dat je aandacht alleen nog maar daarop kunt richten.band Aan de lopende band.Aan (C)(C)n stuk door; steeds maar weer.Door de band genomen.Gemiddeld; meestal; gewoonlijk. Met de "band" werd bedoeld een stokvishoepel waaraan stokvissen werden gehangen; deze vissen zien er allemaal eender uit. De variant "door de bank genomen" is tegenwoordig Algemeen Nederlands, terwijl in het Zuid-Nederlands nog "band" wordt gezegd.[1]Iets aan banden leggen.Ervoor zorgen dat iets zich niet verder kan uitbreiden.Uit de band springen.Uitbundig plezier maken, zonder rekening te houden met de regels van orde en fatsoen.bank Door de bank genomen.Zie: bandbar Het is bar en boos.Het is heel erg; het is heel slecht.Barbertje Barbertje moet hangen.Iemand moet ergens de schuld van krijgen, ook al heeft hij of zij het misschien helemaal niet gedaan.barricade De barricades opgaan.Actie voeren om iets voor elkaar te krijgen of juist tegen te houden.Bartjens Volgens Bartjens.Helemaal correct; zoals het hoort of zoals het moet; heel precies berekend.Willem Bartjens was een schoolmeester en schrijver van een rekenboek. Wanneer een rekensom klopt, is het dus correct volgens het boekje van Bartjens.bed Dat is ver van mijn bed "f Dat is een ver-van-mijn-bedshow.Dat is iets waar ik me helemaal niet mee bezighoud; dat is iets wat op grote afstand van hier gebeurt.Je bedje is gespreid.Je komt in een situatie terecht waarin alles al voor je geregeld is; je hoeft je geen zorgen te maken over de toekomst.bedelstaf Aan de bedelstaf raken.In een situatie terechtkomen waarin je geen geld of bezittingen meer hebt en dus heel arm bent.bedrijf Tussen de bedrijven door.Tussen andere bezigheden in; tussendoor.been Er geen been in zien.Geen bezwaar onderkennen. Er niet voor terugschrikken.Het been stijf houden.Niet toegeven.De benen nemen.Ervandoor gaan.Met beide benen op de grond staan.Een realist zijn.Met de benenwagen.Te voet.Tegen het zere been schoppen.Een pijnlijke opmerking maken over iets wat gevoelig ligt.Zijn beste beentje voorzetten.Iets zo goed mogelijk doen.Met het verkeerde been uit bed gestapt zijn.De dag met een slecht humeur beginnen.Dat houdt me op de been.Dat zorgt ervoor dat ik door kan blijven gaan; daardoor houd ik het vol.Iemand op het verkeerde been zetten.Iemand ergens een verkeerde indruk van geven, waardoor hij of zij iets gaat denken wat helemaal niet klopt.Mogelijk afkomstig uit de schermsport.Op de been blijven.Blijven staan; niet ziek worden; niet verslagen worden.Op de been zijn.Ergens zijn; niet langer ziek zijn.Op eigen benen staan.Voor jezelf zorgen; geen hulp nodig hebben.Op je achterste benen gaan staan.Boos worden; ergens fel tegen protesteren; het ergens helemaal niet mee eens zijn.Op je laatste benen lopen.Bijna niet meer kunnen van vermoeidheid.beer De beer is los.Er gebeurt opeens van alles; er ontstaat ruzie of paniek.Een ongelikte beer.Een man die geen nette manieren heeft; een onfatsoenlijke man.Daar is iets van de beer bij.Daar klopt iets niet; daar is iets aan de hand.Als er vroeger een zeug bij de beer was geweest wist een boer niet meteen of de zeug drachtig was. Hij hield de zeug daarom een tijdje in de gaten. Als de zeug zich anders ging gedragen dan ging de boer ervan uit dat de zeug drachtig was. Wanneer de boer vermoedde dat dit het geval was, was er dus letterlijk "iets van de beer bij".Beren op de weg zien.Bang zijn voor iets dat niet bestaat.beest De beest uithangen.Je misdragen; je schaamteloos en onfatsoenlijk gedragen; met name bij feesten.Het beestje bij zijn naam noemen.Duidelijk en precies zeggen hoe je over iets of iemand denkt; precies zeggen hoe iets zit.Het is bij de (wilde) beesten af.Het is verschrikkelijk; het is schandalig.beetje Alle beetjes helpen.Ook een kleine bijdrage is van nut.Alle kleine details voegen iets toe aan het geheel.begin Dat is het begin van het einde.Dat is het begin van iets wat uiteindelijk verkeerd zal aflopen.behang Iemand wel achter het behang kunnen plakken.Iemand heel vervelend vinden, waardoor je het liefst even helemaal niets meer met hem of haar te maken zou willen hebben.bek Breek me de bek niet open.Begin daar maar niet over, want daar kan ik heel veel negatieve dingen over vertellen.Op je bek gaan.Een grote fout maken; afgaan.bekaaid Er bekaaid van afkomen.Weinig krijgen in vergelijking met anderen.bel Aan de bel trekken.Duidelijk maken dat er iets aan de hand is; duidelijk maken dat er iets niet klopt.Er gaat een belletje rinkelen.Ik begin het te begrijpen.beloop Iets op zijn beloop laten.Iets gewoon maar verder laten gaan zonder dat je je ermee bemoeit, zonder dat je ingrijpt.benenwagen Met de benenwagen gaan.Gaan lopen.bepakt Bepakt en bezakt.Klaar staan met bagage.berde Iets te berde brengen.Een voorstel doen; iets ter sprake brengen.berg Bergen kunnen verzetten.Veel taken kunnen verrichten; heel veel werk aankunnen.De berg heeft een muis gebaard.Iets wat heel groot of bijzonder leek te gaan worden, is uiteindelijk op niets uitgelopen.Naar een van de fabelen van Aesopus.Bergafwaarts.Het gaat steeds slechter, bijvoorbeeld met iemands gezondheid, of met een bedrijf.Iemand gouden bergen beloven.Iemand heel veel beloven; iemand dingen beloven die je nooit waar kunt maken; iemand beloven dat hij of zij rijk zal worden.Ergens als een berg tegen opzien.Iets voor zichzelf beschouwen als een zeer moeilijke, of onplezierige, taak of omstandigheid.bericht Geen bericht is goed bericht. Ook: Geen nieuws is goed nieuws.Als je niet weet hoe het met iets of iemand gaat, kun je ervan uitgaan dat het goed gaat, zolang je geen slecht bericht ontvangt.beschuit Een beschuitje met iemand etenEen erotische nacht met iemand doorbrengen (gevolgd door een ontbijt).beugel Niet door de beugel kunnen.De norm overschrijden van wat nog behoorlijk is.beurs Beurs op de knip. Ook: Hand op de knip.Geen geld (meer) uitgeven.bierkaai Vechten tegen de bierkaai.Een gevecht aangaan dat je in principe al bij voorbaat verloren hebt.biet Ik snap er geen biet van.Ik snap er niets van.De bietenbrug op gaan.falen, ten onder gaan, zwaar verliezen.biezen De biezen pakken.Vertrekken, de biezen zijn een dubbele mand van vlechtwerk, gebruikt als kofferblad In een goed blaadje proberen te komen.Een goede reputatie proberen te verkrijgen bij de machthebbers.Geen blad voor de mond nemen.Zonder terughoudendheid een harde mening uiten; geen mooie of omslachtige woorden gebruiken om zijn beweringen minder onaangenaam te laten klinken.blaten Veel geblaat maar weinig wol.Veel gepraat maar weinig prestatie.blauw Het maar blauw blauw laten.Er verder maar niet over spreken.Een blauwtje lopen.Afgewezen worden (in de liefde)Een blauwe maandag.Een extreem korte periode (bijvoorbeeld ergens gewoond hebben of in dienst geweest zijn)Iemand bont en blauw slaan.Iemand zo slaan dat hij een dik gezicht met blauwe en geel blauwe vlekken krijgt.blind Met blindheid geslagen zijn.Verblind zijn, volkomen gebrek hebben aan inzicht.(Volgens Frederik August Stoett is deze spreekwijze ontleend aan de bijbel, Deut. XXVIII.)bloed Iemand het bloed onder zijn nagels vandaan halen.Iemand vreselijk treiteren of irriteren.Iemands bloed wel kunnen drinken.Iemand niet mogen en daardoor alles doen om die persoon te hinderen.bloem De bloemetjes buiten zetten.Eens flink er op los feesten.blok Een blok aan het been.Een last bij het voortgaan.Voor het blok zetten.Iemand onverwacht in een lastige positie brengen; bijvoorbeeld iemand dwingen te reageren die dat eigenlijk niet wil, of iemand dwingen een keuze te maken.bloot Bloot slaat dood.Term uit kinderspel bij het aftikken.blufpoker Blufpoker spelen.Hoog spel spelen. Risico's nemen.bocht Kort door de bocht.Voorbarig, nuanceringen negerend. (Voorbeeld: "De bewering dat fractiediscipline de democratie om zeep helpt is misschien wat te kort door de bocht.")Zich in bochten wringen.Op onnatuurlijke manier een moeilijkheid oplossen of zich ergens uitpraten.boeg Iets voor de boeg hebben.Nog werk te doen hebben. / Nog iets mee moeten maken.Over een andere boeg gooien.Een heel andere benadering gaan proberen om iets te trachten te bereiken.Een schot voor de boeg.Waarschuwing.boek Goed te boek staan.Een goede reputatie hebben.Volgens het boekje.Overeenkomstig de theorie of overeenkomstig de voorschriften.Over iemand een boekje opendoen.Informatie over iemand geven, waarvan diegene niet wil dat het bekend wordt.Buiten zijn boekje gaan.Zich bemoeien met iets wat hem niet aangaat.Hij is een open boek voor mij.Ik doorzie zijn karakter volledig.boer Boerenverstand.Zonder scholing toch slim zijn.De boer op gaan. Bij de klanten langsgaan. Hiervan ook: in bredere kring presenteren. Van venters, die van boerderij naar boerderij gaan.Goed boeren / goed geboerd hebben.Succesvol geweest zijn, vooral financieel.Lachen als een boer die kiespijn heeft.Zuurzoet lachen.Een ongeletterde boer.Weinig geleerd persoon.bok Een bok schieten.een fout (flater) begaan.Van de bok dromen.Er staat je een bestraffing te wachten of je krijgt het zwaar te verduren (met bok wordt in dit geval een strafwerktuig bedoeld)bokkenpruik De bokkenpruik op hebben.Slecht gehumeurd zijn.boom Een boom opzetten.Een informele discussie starten.Door de bomen het bos niet meer zien.Door alle details het overzicht verliezen.De kat uit de boom kijken.Een afwachtende houding aannemen.Een boom van een kerel.Een grote man.boon Voor spek en bonen meedoen.Wel mee doen met een spel of iets dergelijks, maar nooit kunnen winnen of verliezen.Zijn eigen boontjes doppen.Geen beroep doen op hulp van anderen; zijn eigen problemen zelf oplossen.(Soms gebruikt met 'moeten': "Zij moest haar eigen boontjes doppen.")Boontje komt om zijn loontje.Met de gevolgen of straf komen te zitten van iets waarvan je mee weg dacht te komen.(Voorbeeld: hij gokte dat hij dat geld wel binnen zou slepen, nu zit hij met jarenlange schulden te grienen.)boot De boot missen.Te laat zijn.Iemand in de boot nemen. Iemand voor gek zetten.Ergens de boot mee ingaan.Iets hebben ondernomen, dat tot een totale mislukking heeft geleid (bijvoorbeeld "Daar is hij flink de boot mee ingegaan").bord Met een bord voor de kop lopen. Niet voor andere omstandigheden of zienswijzen open staan.borst Maak je borst maar nat.Bereid je voor op een zware klus (of op veel tegenstand).Zichzelf op de borst slaan.Duidelijk aan de omgeving laten weten dat men ergens bijzonder trots op is.bos Door de bomen het bos niet meer zien.Door een veelheid aan detailinformatie het zicht op het grote geheel kwijtraken.bot Bot vangen.Geen resultaat boeken.Tot op het bot uitzoeken.Zeer grondig uitzoeken.boter Bij elkaar horen als boter en brood.Goed bij elkaar passen.Boter aan de galg zijn.Niet zinvol zijn, zonder resultaat zijn. "Daar is hy verslingert geraakt op een wilde losse meid, die piep jong en Gereformeert is; en of ik kyf en of ik knor, 't is boter aan den galg." B. Wolff en A. Deken, Sara Burgerhart.[2]Boter bij de vis.Contant afrekenen.Boter op het hoofd hebben.Hypocriet zijn. Zelf mede verantwoordelijk zijn voor iets wat men anderen verwijt.Botertje aan de boom.Een voorspoedige toestand; alles even mooi en goed.(Van: "Boter(tje) tot de bo´m [bodem]".)Het botert niet tussen hen.Ze kunnen niet goed met elkaar overweg.Met zijn gat in de boter vallen.(Onverwacht) goed terechtkomen.Met zijn neus in de boter vallen.(Onverwacht) goed terechtkomen.boterham Het op je boterham krijgen.Een stevig standje incasseren.Een goede boterham verdienen.Een goed salaris hebben.bovenkamer Er mankeert iets in zijn bovenkamer.Hij is niet goed bij zijn verstand.brand Iemand uit de brand helpen.Iemand uit een moeilijke situatie helpen.Moord en brand schreeuwen.Zie: moord.brandschoon Niet brandschoon zijn.Dingen misdaan hebben.breien Ergens een eind/punt aan breien.Snel tot een afsluiting komen (bijvoorbeeld van een toespraak)bril Door de bril van een ander zien.De mening van een ander blind vertrouwen.Elk ziet door zijn eigen bril.Ieder ziet het op zijn eigen manier.Iets door een gekleurde bril zien.De zaken niet onbevooroordeeld bekijken.Hij zet er de lakense bril bij op.Hij kijkt bijzonder scherp toe.Iemand een bril opzetten.Iemand inlichten en terechtwijzen.Een roze bril op hebben.Verliefd op iemand zijn en hierdoor zijn/haar mindere kanten niet zien.broek Bij die twee heeft zij de broek aan.Bij dat echtpaar neemt de vrouw de meeste beslissingen.Zij hebben een te grote broek aangetrokken.Die organisatie heeft een doel op zich genomen waarvoor ze niet de benodigde capaciteiten, financile middelen en/of invloed hebben.Het loopt hem dun door de broek.Hij is ergens heel erg bang voor.brood Als warme of hete broodjes over de toonbank gaan.Zeer goed verkopen.Bij elkaar horen als boter en brood.Zie: boterBroodnodig.Onmisbaar.Het eet geen brood.Het kost niets om het te bewaren, behoeft geen onderhoud.Zoete broodjes bakken.Dingen zeggen om een goede indruk achter te laten bij mensen met invloed.brug Dat is een brug te ver.Dat is te moeilijk. (Dit gezegde is een verwijzing naar de mislukte operatie Market Garden, waarover de film Een brug te ver werd gemaakt.)Over de brug komen.Betalen.Brugman Hij kan praten als Brugman.Hij kan makkelijk met veel woorden een min of meer overtuigend verhaal afsteken.brui Er de brui aan geven.Ergens uit ongenoegen mee ophouden.bruintje Dat kan Bruin(tje) niet trekken.Dat kunnen we ons niet veroorloven. (Afgeleid van een populaire naam voor trekpaarden.)buik Ergens de buik vol van hebben.Iets zoveel meegemaakt hebben dat men er een afkeer van gekregen heeft.Iets op je buik kunnen schrijven.Er vanuit kunnen gaan dat hetgeen dat men wilde niet door zal gaan.Plat op de buik gaan.Aan iemand toegeven, zich overleveren.Twee handen op (C)(C)n buik zijn.Het in alles eens zijn, (C)(C)n front vormen.bus Het sluit als een bus.Het past goed; het is logisch; het is volkomen juist; er is niets tegen in te brengen.Het klopt als een bus.Deze uitdrukking is een contaminatie van het sluit als een bus met: het klopt als een zwerende vingerbuskruit Hij heeft het buskruit niet uitgevonden.Hij is niet erg snugger.cactus Een cactus in de broekzak zijnDat is geen bijdrage van serieuze betekenis. cent Geen rooie cent waard.Waardeloos.Een fluitje van een cent.Heel gemakkelijk.Geen cent te makken hebben.Weinig te besteden hebben.chemie Tussen die twee was er geen chemie.Die twee mensen hadden te veel karakterverschillen om goed te kunnen samenwerken.contramine In de contramine zijn.Overal bezwaar tegen maken.daad De daad bij het woord voegen.Iets zeggen en het dan ook onmiddellijk doen.Wie de naam heeft, krijgt ook de daad.Wie als slecht bekendstaat, krijgt overal de schuld van.dak Je kan het dak op.Jouw wens wordt niet gehonoreerd.Dat ging van een leien dakje.Dat ging vanzelf.dans De dans ontspringen.Het noodlot ontlopen.deugd De deugd in het midden.In een gezelschap zit de belangrijkste figuur in het midden.deur Dt doet de deur dicht.Dt accepteer ik niet.Een open deur intrappen.Een stelling verkondigen, waarover iedereen het al eens is. Het voor-de-hand-liggende uitspreken.Iemand de deur wijzen.Iemand wegsturen.Iets de deur uit doen.Iets wegdoen.Met de deur in huis vallen.Zonder omhaal van woorden meteen ter zake komen.Niet met iemand door (C)(C)n deur kunnen.Niet met iemand kunnen samenwerken door verschillen in persoonlijkheid.Voor de rode deur moeten gaan.Voor het gerecht komen.Zo gek als een deur zijn.Gek zijn; vreemd gedrag vertonen.Zo zat als een deur zijn.Zeer dronken zijn.dief Als een dief in de nacht.Ongemerkt, onverwacht.diep In het diepe gegooid worden.In een baan aan het werk moeten zonder ingewerkt te worden.Te diep in het glaasje kijken.Zichzelf bedrinken.dijk Een dijk van een baan.Een geweldige baan.Dat zet geen zoden aan de dijk.Dat is geen bijdrage van serieuze betekenis.doekje Een doekje voor het bloeden.Een inadequate maatregel.Er geen doekjes om winden.Zonder iemand te ontzien de ernst van de zaak bespreken.doel Het doel heiligt de middelen.Een op zichzelf verwerpelijke methode wordt gerechtvaardigd door het goede doel dat ermee bereikt wordt.dominee Er komt een dominee voorbij.Er valt een plotselinge stilte in een rumoerig gezelschap.(Ontstaan door het gebruik in vissersplaatsen dat de dominee de familie op de hoogte moest stellen van een bericht van overlijden of vermissing bij een schipbreuk.)donderen Kijken alsof men het in Keulen hoort donderen.Zeer verbaasd kijken.Als een donderslag bij heldere hemel.Een onverwachte gebeurtenis, die een grote schok teweegbrengt.dood Als de dood zijn voor iets.Heel erg bang zijn voor iets.Iemand doodverven met iets.Iemand bestemd voor een post achten, iemand als de dader van iets afschilderen (doodverf is grondverf).[3]Een broertje dood hebben aan iets.Een grote afkeer hebben van iets.[4]Om de dooie dood niet.Volstrekt niet, in geen geval, al kost het me mijn leven.[5]Zo dood als een pier.Geheel en al dood, als een aardworm die slap aan de hengel hangt.[6]Over de doden niets dan goeds.Men ziet kwaadspreken over overledenen als iets heel onbeleefd, er mag niet gespot worden met de dood.doodbloeden De aanval bloedt dood.De aanval komt geleidelijk uit op een mislukking.Dat zaakje zal wel doodbloeden.Die kwestie zal geleidelijk aan wel worden vergeten.doof Doof als een kwartel zijn.Volledig doof zijn.Oost-Indisch doof zijn.Doen alsof men doof is.Stokdoof zijn.Volledig doof zijn.Ergens doof voor zijn.Niet gevoelig voor argumenten zijn.doopceel Iemands doopceel lichten.Gedetailleerde informatie over iemands leven inwinnen.draad De draad kwijt zijn.De loop van het verhaal niet meer kunnen volgen.De rode draad (in een verhaal of betoog).Het centrale thema, hetgeen waar steeds weer op wordt teruggegrepen.Aan een zijden draadje hangen.De kansen zijn nog niet verkeken, maar het scheelt erg weinig.Tot op de draad versleten.Helemaal versleten.drol Het interesseert me geen drol.Het interesseert me niets.Er geen drol van begrijpen.Ergens niets van begrijpen.De vos en de druiven. Uit
The †sop for Children, tekening van
Milo Winterdruif De druiven zijn zuur.Men zegt iets te versmaden wat men toch niet kan of mag krijgen.De uitdrukking is ontleend aan de fabel De vos en de druiven van Aisopos: De vos had zin in druiven maar ze hangen te hoog, en hij kan er niet bij. Om zichzelf te troosten veronderstelde hij toen maar dat de druiven zuur waren.druppel Dat is de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen.Dat is maar een kleine ergernis, maar samen met wat er al gebeurd is, wordt het niet meer geaccepteerd.Die twee lijken als twee druppels water op elkaar.Die twee lijken heel erg op elkaar.Een druppel op een gloeiende plaat.Een remedie die bij lange na niet voldoende is om een ongemak of gebrek te verhelpen.De druppel holt de steen.Een kleine oorzaak heeft door veelvuldige herhaling grote gevolgen.Het is de gestage druppel die de steen uitholt.Door volgehouden herhaling kunnen grote resultaten worden bereikt.dubbeltje Ieder dubbeltje moeten omdraaien.Zo weinig geld hebben, dat voor elke uitgave bedacht moet worden of die wel verantwoord is.Ieder dubbeltje drie keer omdraaien.Zo gehecht zijn aan geld dat men aarzelt bij iedere uitgave.Een dubbeltje op zijn kant.Een situatie die goed of fout kan aflopen; een hachelijke situatie.Plat als een dubbeltje zijn.Zeer plat zijn.Voor een dubbeltje op de eerste rang willen zitten.Tegen minimale kosten maximaal voordeel verlangen.duim Uit zijn duim gezogen.Gefantaseerd.Iemand onder de duim houden.Iemand in je macht hebben.duit Een duit in het zakje doen.Een kleine bijdrage leveren. Historisch de kleinst mogelijke gave in het collectezakje van de kerk.dweilen Dweilen met de kraan open.Geen kans op succes hebben, omdat men de symptomen bestrijdt zonder de oorzaak aan te pakken.eend Een vreemde eend in de bijt.Een vreemd exemplaar in de groep. (Een bijt is een door de mens gemaakte opening in het ijs.)ei Appeltje-eitje.Zie: appel.Dat is het hele eieren eten.Zo simpel is het.Dat zal hem geen windeieren hebben gelegd.Daar zal hij wel veel geld mee verdiend hebben.Een eitje met iemand te pellen hebben.Iets met iemand te bespreken hebben naar aanleiding van iets wat men die ander verwijt.Eieren voor zijn geld kiezen.Zijn principile standpunt of voornemen loslaten vanwege de consequenties. Een beperkte nederlaag accepteren om de kans op een groter verlies uit te sluiten.Het is alles koek en ei tussen hen.Ze zijn zeer bevriend.Het was een eitje.Het was heel gemakkelijk.Op eieren lopen.Zeer voorzichtig handelen.Voor een appel en een ei.Bijzonder goedkoop.Zijn ei kwijt kunnen.De gelegenheid hebben zich te uiten; of, zijn creativiteit kunnen gebruiken.eind Aan het eind van zijn akker zijn.Geen geld meer hebben.Aan het eind van zijn Latijn zijn.Zie: LatijnAan het kortste eind trekken.Een vervelende taak of positie toegewezen krijgen. (Afgeleid van het gebruik om te loten door een strootje te trekken uit een verzameling strootjes van verschillende lengte. Degene die het kortste eindje trekt, moet het opknappen.)Aan zijn eindje vasthouden.Zijn standpunt handhaven.De eindjes aan elkaar (moeten) knopen.Moeite moeten doen om de noodzakelijke uitgaven te kunnen doen met de beschikbare financin. Letterlijk: Een lijn moeten maken door aanwezige kortere lijnen aan elkaar te knopen.Een straatje zonder eind.Een eindeloos proces, iets wat nooit ophoudt.Het een eind uit de broek laten hangen.Royaal zijn.Op zijn einde lopen.Bijna afgelopen zijn.elleboog Het achter de ellebogen hebben.Achterbaks; zonder zijn zelfzuchtige bedoelingen te laten zien.(Oude methode van bedrog. Voorbeeld: Een el (lengtemaat vanaf de elleboog tot aan het topje van de middelvinger) touw wordt stiekem te kort afgemeten vlak achter de elleboog.)Ellebogenwerk.Succes boeken door op slinkse wijze van anderen misbruik te maken.engeltje Alsof er een engeltje over je tong piest.Iets lekker vinden.Een dronken vrouw is een engel in bed.Drank draagt bij aan het beindigen van de tegenstand.De engeltjes schudden hun kussens uit.Het sneeuwt.
Fed's Waller Drops Bombshell: 'Climate Change Risks Not Material To US' | ZeroHedge
Fri, 12 May 2023 22:55
This will not go down well with the climate alarmists and ESG grifters...
No lesser mortal than Fed Governor Christopher Waller has dared to proclaim that climate change does not pose such "significantly unique or material" financial stability risks that the Federal Reserve should treat it separately in its supervision of the financial system.
His comments echo Chair Powell's more conservative attitude towards The Fed's responsibility for climate issues than its counterparts in Europe, who previously said that the U.S. central bank was not a climate policymaker and would not steer capital or investment away from the fossil fuel industry, for example.
So presumably this means The Fed does not believe the world will end within a decade in a devastating flood and fireball?
Climate change is real, but I do not believe it poses a serious risk to the safety and soundness of large banks or the financial stability of the United States. Risks are risks. There is no need for us to focus on one set of risks in a way that crowds out our focus on others. My job is to make sure that the financial system is resilient to a range of risks. And I believe risks posed by climate change are not sufficiently unique or material to merit special treatment relative to others. Nevertheless, I think it's important to continue doing high-quality academic research regarding the role that climate plays in economic outcomes, such as the work presented at today's conference.
In what follows, I want to be careful not to conflate my views on climate change itself with my views on how we should deal with financial risks associated with climate change. I believe the scientific community has rigorously established that our climate is changing. But my role is not to be a climate policymaker. Consistent with the Fed's mandates, I must focus on financial risks, and the questions I'm exploring today are about whether the financial risks associated with climate change are different enough from other financial stability risks to merit special treatment. But before getting to those questions, I'd like to briefly explain how we think about financial stability at the Federal Reserve.
Financial stability is at the core of the Federal Reserve and our mission. The Federal Reserve was created in 1913, following the Banking Panic of 1907, with the goal of promoting financial stability and avoiding banking panics. Responsibilities have evolved over the years. In the aftermath of the 2007-09 financial crisis, Congress assigned the Fed additional responsibilities related to promoting financial stability, and the Board of Governors significantly increased the resources dedicated to that purpose. Events in recent years, including the pandemic, emerging geopolitical risks, and recent stress in the banking sector have only highlighted the important role central banks have in understanding and addressing financial stability risks. The Federal Reserve's goal in financial stability is to help ensure that financial institutions and financial markets remain able to provide critical services to households and businesses so that they can continue to support a well-functioning economy through the business cycle.
Much of how we think about and monitor financial stability at the Federal Reserve is informed by our understanding of how shocks can propagate across financial markets and affect the economy. Economists have studied the role of debt in the macroeconomy dating all the way back to Irving Fisher in the 1930s, and in the past 40 years it has been well established that financial disruptions can reduce the efficiency of credit allocation and have real effects on the broader economy. When borrowers' financial conditions deteriorate, lenders tend to charge higher rates on loans. That, in turn, can lead to less overall lending and negatively affect the broader economy. And in the wake of the 2007-09 financial crisis, we've learned more about the important roles credit growth and asset price growth play in "boom-bust" cycles.
Fundamentally, financial stress emerges when someone is owed something and doesn't get paid back or becomes worried they won't be paid back. If I take out a loan from you and can't repay it, you take a loss. Similarly, if I take out a mortgage from a bank and I can't repay it, the bank could take a loss. And if the bank hasn't built sufficient ability to absorb those losses, it may not be able to pay its depositors back. These dynamics can have knock-on effects on asset prices. For example, when people default on their home mortgage loans, banks foreclose and seek to sell the homes, often at steep discounts. Those foreclosure sales can have contagion effects on nearby house prices. When a lot of households and businesses take such losses around the same time, it can have real effects on the economy as consumption and investment spending take a hit and overall trust in financial institutions wanes. The same process works when market participants fear they won't be paid back or be able to sell their assets. Those fears themselves can drive instability.
The implication is that risks to financial stability have a couple of features. First, the risks must have relatively near-term effects, such that the risk manifesting could result in outstanding contracts being breached. Second, the risks must be material enough to create losses large enough to affect the real economy.
These insights about vulnerabilities across the financial system inform how we think about monitoring financial stability at the Federal Reserve. We identify risks and prioritize resources around those that are most threatening to the U.S. financial system. We distinguish between shocks, which are inherently difficult to predict, and vulnerabilities of the financial system, which can be monitored through the ebb and flow of the economic cycle. If you think about it, there is a huge set of shocks that could hit at any given time. Some of those shocks do hit, but most do not. Our approach promotes general resiliency, recognizing that we can't predict, prioritize, and tailor specific policy around each and every shock that could occur.
Instead, we focus on monitoring broad groups of vulnerabilities, such as overvalued assets, liquidity risk in the financial system, and the amount of debt held by households and businesses, including banks. This approach implies that we are somewhat agnostic to the particular sources of shocks that may hit the economy at any point in time. Risks are risks, and from a policymaking perspective, the source of a particular shock isn't as important as building a financial system that is resilient to the range of risks we face. For example, it is plausible that shocks could stem from things ranging from increasing dependence on computer systems and digital technologies to a shrinking labor force to geopolitical risk. Our focus on fundamental vulnerabilities like asset overvaluation, excessive leverage, and liquidity risk in part reflects our humility about our ability to identify the probabilities of each and every potential shock to our system in real time.
Let me provide a tangible example from our capital stress test for the largest banks. We use that stress test to ensure banks have sufficient capital to withstand the types of severe credit-driven recessions we've experienced in the United States since World War II. We use a design framework for the hypothetical scenarios that results in sharp declines in asset prices coupled with a steep rise in the unemployment rate, but we don't detail the specific shocks that cause the recession because it isn't necessary. What is important is that banks have enough capital to absorb losses associated with those highly adverse conditions. And the losses implied by a scenario like that are huge: last year's scenario resulted in hypothetical losses of more than $600 billion for the largest banks. This resulted in a decline in their aggregate common equity capital ratio from 12.4 percent to 9.7 percent, which is still more than double the minimum requirement.
That brings us back to my original question: Are the financial risks stemming from climate change somehow different or more material such that we should give them special treatment? Or should our focus remain on monitoring and mitigating general financial system vulnerabilities, which can be affected by climate change over the long-term just like any number of other sources of risk? Before I answer, let me offer some definitions to make sure we're all talking about the same things.
Climate-related financial risks are generally separated into two groups: physical risks and transition risks. Physical risks include the potential higher frequency and severity of acute events, such as fires, heatwaves, and hurricanes, as well as slower moving events like rising sea levels. Transition risks refer to those risks associated with an economy and society in transition to one that produces less greenhouse gases. These can owe to government policy changes, changes in consumer preferences, and technology transitions. The question is not whether these risks could result in losses for individuals or companies. The question is whether these risks are unique enough to merit special treatment in our financial stability framework.
Let's start with physical risks. Unfortunately, like every year, it is possible we will experience forest fires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters in the coming months. These events, of course, are devastating to local communities. But they are not material enough to pose an outsized risk to the overall U.S. economy.
Broadly speaking, physical risks could affect the financial system through two related channels. First, physical risks can have a direct impact on property values. Hurricanes, fires, and rising sea levels can all drive down the values of properties. That in turn could put stress on financial institutions that lend against those properties, which could lead them to curb their lending, and suppress economic growth. The losses that individual property owners can realize might be devastating, but evidence I've seen so far suggests that these sorts of events don't have much of an effect on bank performance. That may be in part attributable to banks and other investors effectively pricing physical risks from climate change into loan contracts. For example, recently researchers have found that heat stress'--a climate physical risk that is likely to affect the economy'--has been priced into bond spreads and stock returns since around 2013. In addition, while it is difficult to isolate the effects of weather events on the broader economy, there is evidence to suggest severe weather events like hurricanes do not likely have an outsized effect on growth rates in countries like the United States.
Over time, it is possible some of these physical risks could contribute to an exodus of people from certain cities or regions. For example, some worry that rising sea levels could significantly change coastal regions. While the cause may be different, the experience of broad property value declines is not a new one. We have had entire American cities that have experienced significant declines in population and property values over time. Take, for example, Detroit. In 1950, Detroit was the fifth largest city in the United States, but now it isn't even in the top 20, after losing two-thirds of its population. I'm thrilled to see that Detroit has made a comeback in recent years, but the relocation of the automobile industry took a serious toll on the city and its people. Yet the decline in Detroit's population, and commensurate decline in property values, did not pose a financial stability risk to the United States. What makes the potential future risk of a population decline in coastal cities different?
Second, and a more compelling concern, is the notion that property value declines could occur more-or-less instantaneously and on a large scale when, say, property insurers leave a region en masse. That sort of rapid decline in property values, which serve as collateral on loans, could certainly result in losses for banks and other financial intermediaries. But there is a growing body of literature that suggests economic agents are already adjusting behavior to account for risks associated with climate change. That should mitigate the risk of these potential "Minsky moments." For the sake of argument though, suppose a great repricing does occur; would those losses be big enough to spill over into the broader financial system? Just as a point of comparison, let's turn back to the stress tests I mentioned earlier. Each year the Federal Reserve stresses the largest banks against a hypothetical severe macroeconomic scenario. The stress tests don't cover all risks, of course, but that scenario typically assumes broad real estate price declines of more than 25 percent across the United States. In last year's stress test, the largest banks were able to absorb nearly $100 billion in losses on loans collateralized by real estate, in addition to another half a trillion dollars of losses on other positions.
What about transition risks? Transition risks are generally neither near-term nor likely to be material given their slow-moving nature and the ability of economic agents to price transition costs into contracts. There seems to be a consensus that orderly transitions will not pose a risk to financial stability. In that case, changes would be gradual and predictable. Households and businesses are generally well prepared to adjust to slow-moving and predicable changes. As are banks. For example, if banks know that certain industries will gradually become less profitable or assets pledged as collateral will become stranded, they will account for that in their loan pricing, loan duration, and risk assessments. And, because assets held by banks in the United States reprice in less than five years on average, there is ample time to adjust to all but the most abrupt of transitions.
But what if the transition is disorderly? One argument is that uncertainty associated with a disorderly transition will make it difficult for households and businesses to plan. It is certainly plausible that there could be swings in policy, and those swings could lead to changes in earnings expectations for companies, property values, and the value of commodities. But policy development is often disorderly and subject to the uncertainty of changing economic realities. In the United States, we have a long history of sweeping policy changes ranging from revisions to the tax code to things like changes in healthcare coverage and environmental policies. While these policy changes can certainly affect the composition of industries, the connection to broader financial stability is far less clear. And when policies are found to have large and damaging consequences, policymakers always have, and frequently make use of, the option to adjust course to limit those disruptions.
There are also concerns that technology development associated with climate change will be disorderly. Much technology development is disorderly. That is why innovators are often referred to as "disruptors." So, what makes climate-related innovations more disruptive or less predictable than other innovations? Like the innovations of the automobile and the cell phone, I'd expect those stemming from the development of cleaner fuels and more efficient machines to be welfare-increasing on net.
So where does that leave us? I don't see a need for special treatment for climate-related risks in our financial stability monitoring and policies. As policymakers, we must balance the broad set of risks we face, and we have a responsibility to prioritize using evidence and analysis. Based on what I've seen so far, I believe that placing an outsized focus on climate-related risks is not needed, and the Federal Reserve should focus on more near-term and material risks in keeping with our mandate.
And cue the outrage mob...
Music Side Project Studio: The Game-Changer Every Independent Musician Needs to Know - YouTube
Fri, 12 May 2023 18:12
'Brits are dying in their tens of thousands - and we don't really have any idea why' - Mirror Online
Fri, 12 May 2023 16:36
Tens of thousands more Brits were dying than expected and experts aren't quite sure why that is.
From May to December last year, there were 32,441 excess deaths in England and Wales, excluding deaths from Covid.
Excess deaths are defined as the number of people who died above the five-year average - worked out excluding 2020 due to how Covid spiked death figures that year.
This means that over 32,000 Brits would've been expected to be alive, but died according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures across this period.
These shocking figures raised a number of important questions about what is happening to the country's populations, how it's changing, and why so many more people are dying.
It isn't quite clear why so many more Brits than expected have died recently (stock image) ( Image:
Getty Images/iStockphoto)Ever since the Covid pandemic, excess deaths have fluctuated wildly month on month, tumbling well below the five-year average or spiking far above it.
The spikes in excess deaths can be attributed to a number of causes, but it isn't clear what's driving these spikes or causing these drop-offs.
Similarly, earlier in 2022, excess deaths dipped well below average levels, with one expert group speculating to the Mirror that a 'mortality displacement' effect might explain why so many deaths are bunched up in the space of several months, being passed on from the months prior.
Professor David Coleman, Emeritus Professor of Demography at Oxford University, told the Mirror that no one knew for certain what had caused so many deaths throughout last year.
He pointed out that, post Covid, the UK's population had been changed through the deaths of a significant proportion of elderly due to the virus.
He explained: ''Once those poor people have been packed off, the remaining population should be healthier, there should be a period afterwards where deaths are lower than usual but that hasn't happened.''
But he highlighted two key reasons that could contribute towards spiking excess deaths, the fact Britain's getting older, and gaining a larger average body-mass index.
''The population is getting older, and also the population in Britain is the fattest in Europe and rather vulnerable to diseases notably heart disease and diabetes; some people have been forecasting separately from Covid that death rates would continue to get worse because the country is so unhealthy,'' he said.
One of the noted causes behind a number of the excess deaths were ischaemic heart diseases - which would track with the professor's warnings of a fatter population.
Similarly, when looking at the leading cause of death across much of 2022, it's dementia and Alzheimers - further supporting theories of an increasingly greying, and dying, population.
Dementia and Alzheimers often aren't the leading cause of excess deaths, when that data is available, according to ONS figures, it's often pneumonia and influenza during the winter or symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions in other parts of the year.
''If you look at the detail and the reasons on death certificates, it's a bit unsatisfactory as symptoms, signs and ill-defined is one of the biggest components of these excess deaths and that's something associated with old age really,'' Professor Coleman told the Mirror.
This then brings up another problem, in that a lot of Brits are dying, but not necessarily of a specific cause.
So whilst a heavily ageing population may be throwing up yet another problem, it doesn't quite explain why over 30,000 more people than usual died from May to December last year.
For March and February of this year, symptoms, signs and ill-defined is the leading cause of excess deaths, before that in January it was influenza and pneumonia.
And throughout the year, other causes emerge dramatically as the leading cause of excess deaths.
Heat in particular persistently returns during the summer, and given climate change will only continue to pose such a fatal threat.
On the country's hottest days there is inevitably a spike in excess deaths as thousands succumb to it.
As previously mentioned, excess deaths are measured against the five-year average of deaths - going from 2016-19, and 2021.
But this has been criticised because it fails to take into account population changes of age, size, and more, in that time.
In short, the population in 2016, is different to that of 2023, and Professor Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics, The Open University, is one of a number who have pointed this out.
Using age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) does account for these changes, and when used goes some of the way to perhaps explaining the huge numbers of deaths.
It offers the percentage for which a specified time period is above or below the five-year average.
For December 2022, the number of excess deaths, 5,900, is 13.5 per cent above the five-year average.
But the ASMR is only 5.8 per cent above the five-year average - this explains that perhaps some of the tens of thousands of deaths should've been more expected, but still doesn't quite explain why they happened in the first place.
When you look across 2022, the ASMR usually gives a lower percentage than the percentage of straight excess deaths, but not far enough to eliminate the deaths or explain them away entirely.
However, ASMR has its own issues, as Professor McConway pointed out.
He said: ''To calculate the ASMRs, you need to know the population size in each age group.
''ONS could not (yet) use estimates based on the 2021 Census results because they are not yet available for the relevant dates, and in fact they used projections based on population estimates from 2018.
''These do not currently take into account major effects, such as the Covid pandemic, that would have affected the population size and pattern of ages.''
Which still leaves tens of thousands of dead Brits, with no clear explanation as to quite how they died.
Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More
(29) Senator Sharon Keogan on Twitter: "Careful Now! Don't be caught with the wrong opinions. This video explains the #Gardai powers under the new #HateSpeech bill. https://t.co/yV44hv3Ns5" / Twitter
Fri, 12 May 2023 13:40
Senator Sharon Keogan : Careful Now! Don't be caught with the wrong opinions. This video explains the #Gardai powers under the new'... https://t.co/L83JFVbOG9
Thu May 11 15:53:32 +0000 2023
Dopey McDopeface : @SenatorKeogan Criminals are running in the country now. Can you say Gestappo?
Fri May 12 13:36:37 +0000 2023
Dr. Sam McGregor 🏌ðŸ>>''‚¸ðŸ›¥ðŸ¹'¸ðŸŒ´ðŸ‡¹ðŸ‡­ 🇺🇸🇨ðŸ‡... : @SenatorKeogan As I've said before'.... Ireland is dead.It's citizens asked for this.
Fri May 12 12:42:33 +0000 2023
Citiz3n5 : @SenatorKeogan Hey @TLAVagabond have you seen this?
Fri May 12 12:37:36 +0000 2023
martin stevenson : @SenatorKeogan @OffgridIreland Amazing how we bang on about China and Russia and wherever else we dislike having no'... https://t.co/G3XEoF6lQE
Fri May 12 12:14:27 +0000 2023
CNN Poised To Tap Kaitlan Collins For 9 PM Primetime Slot '' Deadline
Fri, 12 May 2023 13:36
After moderating CNN's town hall with Donald Trump, Kaitlan Collins is expected to be tapped as the new host of the network's 9 p.m. hour, which has lacked a permanent occupant for more than a year.
The deal was being finalized before Wednesday night's event, after CNN Worldwide CEO Chris Licht had decided to launch a primetime show around her in recent weeks, sources said. Puck News first reported on the plans for Collins.
Currently co-anchor of CNN This Morning, Collins generally received positive reviews for her attempts to fact check Trump and call out his mistruths at the event, while critics have blasted the format. After the event ended, the network was quick to praise her performance, saying she ''exemplified what it means to be a world-class journalist.''
No announcement has been made, and a CNN spokesperson declined to comment on speculation about the timeslot.
Collins already has filled in during the 9 p.m. hour as one of the rotating hosts who have anchored under the title CNN Primetime. The network has tried to sweeten the hour with special events, like town halls and one-on-one big get interviews, but ratings have been spotty at best. CNN's cable news rivals do far better in the hour with permanent hosts, Fox News with Hannity and MSNBC with Rachel Maddow on Mondays and Alex Wagner the rest of the week.
CNN recently announced plans to program a once-a-week show with Gayle King and Charles Barkley, King Charles, in the time slot, starting in the fall. That still leaves the rest of the week.
Collins move to primetime also leaves the question of what happens to CNN This Morning. Collins left her position as the network's chief White House correspondent last fall to serve as co-anchor with Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow. Lemon was recently dropped from the network, with Collins and Harlow left as the sole co-anchors.
CNN's Donald Trump Town Hall Wins Time Slot With 3.12M Viewers '' Deadline
Fri, 12 May 2023 13:35
UPDATE: CNN's town hall with Donald Trump brought in 3.3 million viewers, enough for the network to beat its cable news rivals in the time slot and in primetime.
According to final Nielsen numbers, Fox News delivered 1.45 million viewers, and MSNBC posted 1.4 million.
Among adults 25-54, CNN averaged 781,000, compared to 160,000 for MSNBC and 140,000 for Fox News.
With live digital streaming factored in, the audience for the town hall rose to 3.41 million, according to CNN.
The network also scored a rare primetime win, drawing an average of 2.29 million viewers, compared to 1.68 million for Fox News and 1.46 million for MSNBC. This was CNN's best primetime showing since the midterms, when 2.61 million tuned in.
In the 25-54 demo, CNN drew an average of 510,000 viewers in primetime, compared to 189,000 for Fox News and 157,000 for MSNBC.
The viewership was below some expectations. Even though it helped the network win the evening, the town hall's total viewership was still below six other similar events that have aired on Fox News. CNN said that a town hall with Joe Biden in 2020 drew a slightly larger audience, 3.47 million in 2020.
Kaitlan Collins, who moderated the town hall, plans to anchor CNN's 9 p.m. ET hour this evening. She is expected to become permanent host in that time slot, according to sources familiar with the plans.
PREVIOUSLY: CNN's town hall with Donald Trump beat the cable news competition, as expected, with an average of 3.12 million viewers, according to early Nielsen numbers.
Fox News averaged 1.41 million viewers in the 8 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. ET time frame, while MSNBC posted 1.37 million.
In the 25-54 demo, CNN averaged 703,028, while MSNBC posted 154,991 and Fox News averaged 125,266.
RELATED: ''Nasty Person'': Trump Insults CNN's Kaitlan Collins During Live Town Hall; Newser Trolled Over Ex-POTUS's Falsehoods
On Fox News, the town hall competed against Fox News Tonight, hosted by Kayleigh McEnany this week, and the first part of Hannity. On MSNBC, the town hall's competition was All in with Chris Hayes, with Rachel Maddow as his guest, and the first part of Alex Wagner Tonight.
CNN is on track to win the evening. It averaged 2.2 million viewers in primetime, compared to 1.65 million for Fox News and 1.43 million for MSNBC. In the 25-54 demo, CNN averaged 472,000, compared to Fox News with 179,000 and MSNBC with 151,000.
CNN said that combined TV and live streaming brought the town hall viewership number to 3.22 million.
CNN drew criticism for giving Trump a platform to spew misinformation during the 70-minute event, but the network's CEO Chris Licht defended their decision to stage it, noting that it broke news and that Trump was faced with moderator Kaitlan Collins questioning in a way he has not been recently.
Fox News noted that six of its town halls with Trump drew larger audiences, including a 2020 event with Sean Hannity that garnered 5.1 million viewers.
CNN's event scored much better than other town halls this cycle, including those with former Vice President Mike Pence and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. The network said that the Trump town hall ranked second behind all of CNN's single candidate town halls since 2016, with a September, 2020 event with Joe Biden drawing 3.47 million viewers.
The figures are from Nielsen via CNN and Fox News.
Jamie Foxx, Barack Obama, Leonardo Dicaprio and the strange conspiracy theory catching fire | MEAWW
Fri, 12 May 2023 01:25
Jamie Foxx, Barack Obama, Leonardo Dicaprio and the strange conspiracy theory catching fireJamie Foxx's hospitalization has spawned conspiracy theories involving Barack Obama and Leonardo DiCaprio (Joe Maher/Alyssa Pointer/Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jamie Foxx has been hospitalized for about three weeks now, but there is no information about his "medical complication." The Academy Award-winning actor, 55, was rushed to hospital on April 11 in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was filming the action-comedy 'Back In Action' with Cameron Diaz. Now, the prolonged mystery behind his illness has spawned conspiracy theories.
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Foxx was reportedly listed as a high-profile witness in the trial of Fugees rapper Pras Michel who allegedly conspired to funnel money from a Malaysian government fund to finance Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. Leonardo DiCaprio, Foxx's co-star in Django Unchained, has already testified that Michel's co-conspirator Low Taek Jho '-- a Malaysian businessman accused of stealing billions from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad '-- told him about his intention to donate upward of $20 million to the Democratic Party. Now, conspiracy theorists are wondering whether Foxx was the target of an assassination before he could testify in court.
READ MORE
FBI grilled Kim Kardashian after she received $250K and lavish wedding gift from 1MDB fugitive Jho Low
'She'll always care': Katie Holmes worries about ex Jamie Foxx as he remains hospitalized
The various actors involvedAccording to Forbes, Michel is accused of conspiring with Jho and faces charges of money laundering, campaign finance violations, acting as an unregistered agent for foreign nationals, witness tampering, and lying to banks.
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Pras Michel, a member of the 1990's hip-hop group the Fugees, arrives at U.S. District Court on March 31, 2023, in Washington, DC (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)According to prosecutors, Michel received more than $100 million from Jho and participated in two illegal schemes. One of them was to enlist attendees for a fundraising dinner for Obama and later reimburse them using $40,000 of the foreign money on the condition they would not tell the authorities. Another scheme was to lobby officials in the Trump administration to drop an investigation into Jho. Michel, however, has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers told reporters that he was only a passionate Obama supporter who didn't intend to break any laws.
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DiCaprio, who wasn't accused of any wrongdoing, testified in court last month about his relationship with Jho, who allegedly used overseas funds to finance director Martin Scorsese's 2013 film, 'The Wolf of Wall Street', which starred the actor.
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The 'Titanic' star told the court that his relationship with the Malaysian tycoon was purely social initially. They had met at a number of parties, including Jho's lavish birthday bash in Las Vegas around 2010. At some point, Jho told DiCaprio that he intended to donate upward of $20 million to the Democratic Party. It was also reported that Michel's trial could include other high-profile witness testimonies as prosecutors listed Jamie Foxx, Mark Wahlberg, and Scorsese as potential witnesses.
In this handout image provided by Sony, actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx attend the "Django Unchained" party at Summer of Sony 4 Spring Edition held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on April 14, 2012, in Cancun, Mexico. (Photo by Matt Dames/Sony via Getty Images) ADVERTISEMENT
'They were literally trying to kill Jamie Foxx'Conspiracy theorists questioned the timing of Foxx's "serious medical episode" and his imminent testimony in court, with some insisting he was the possible target of an assassination. "I hope Jamie Foxx recovers so he can testify against Barack Obama for CCP money laundering just like Leonardo DiCaprio did after he named Foxx in his testimony. Django 2 is already a classic," one tweeted.
"I am not sure if many people are aware of this but they were literally trying to kill Jamie Foxx because he was willing to testify especially something concerning about Obama. The reason his family keeps it quiet from the media is because they are at risk," another alleged.
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"It's been reported that Jamie Foxx had a stroke He was also set to be a witness in the Leonardo DiCaprio case against the rapper Pras, who was an informant and apparently laundered millions in stolen CCP cash to Obama in 2012 The same year DiCaprio and Foxx starred in Django," a comment read. "Coincidence? Jamie Foxx was announced as a witness in the trial of Pras Michel in laundering millions of dollars to Obama's presidential campaign. Jamie Foxx mysteriously went to the hospital days after his name was announced," someone else chimed in.
"The timing of the Jamie Foxx stroke is very interesting. With him being a witness in this case which could implicate Obama for taking CCP money, makes you wonder if he did indeed suffer a stroke. What's really going on behind the scenes?" another speculated.
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I hope Jamie Foxx recovers so he can testify against Barack Obama for CCP money laundering just like Leonardo DiCaprio did after he named Foxx in his testimony. Django 2 is already a classic
'-- Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) May 10, 2023I am not sure if many people are aware of this but they were literally trying to kill Jamie Foxx because he was willing to testify especially something concerning about Obama.The reason his family keep it quiet from the media because they are at risk. https://t.co/4IXiNPjAQY
'-- ð'šƒð'šŽð'š›ð'š›ð'šŠð'šŽ (@terraeofficial) May 11, 2023 ADVERTISEMENT
It's been reported that Jamie Foxx had a strokeHe was also set to be a witness in the Leonardo DiCaprio case against the rapper Pras, who was an informant and apparently laundered millions in stolen CCP cash to Obama in 2012
The same year DiCaprio and Foxx starred in Django pic.twitter.com/ke8X7njqUr
'-- Vision4theBlind (@Vision4theBlind) April 26, 2023Coincidence? Jamie Foxx was announced as a witness in the trial of Pras Michel in laundering millions of dollars to Obama's presidential campaign. Jamie Foxx mysteriously went to the hospital days after his name was announced. https://t.co/STZ4fEqhPv
'-- WolvesAndFinance (@FinanceWolves) May 10, 2023 ADVERTISEMENT
The timing of the Jamie Foxx stroke is very interesting. With him being a witness in this case which could implicate Obama for taking CCP money, makes you wonder if he did indeed suffered a strokeWhat's really going on behind the scenes? pic.twitter.com/d0EbiHxAxy
'-- ItsDeedigital (@ItsDeedigital) May 3, 2023That said, the aforementioned claims are unverified and unfounded at this point.
Disclaimer : This is based on sources and we have been unable to verify this information independently.
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VIDEO - Libs of TikTok on Twitter: "Recent episode from the kid's show Transformers: EarthSpark. They're after your kids. https://t.co/D7TYsP9Sb0" / Twitter
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Libs of TikTok : Recent episode from the kid's show Transformers: EarthSpark. They're after your kids. https://t.co/D7TYsP9Sb0
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zah being🚹 : @libsoftiktok The fact is.. People who have problem identifying themselves shouldn't even be allowed to do things major in the society
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VIDEO - Open Forum, Part 2 | May 14, 2023 | C-SPAN.org
Sun, 14 May 2023 14:13
May 14, 2023 | Part Of Washington Journal 05/14/2023 Washington Journal2023-05-14T08:51:40-04:00 https://ximage.c-spanvideo.org/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwaWN0dXJlcy5jLXNwYW52aWRlby5vcmciLCJrZXkiOiJGaWxlc1wvNzU0XC8wMDFcLzE2ODQwNjg4OTZfMDAxLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciIsImhlaWdodCI6NTA2fX19 Viewers commented on news of the day.Viewers commented on news of the day.
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*This text was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.
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VIDEO - John Norris on Twitter: "Lil mini rant from yours truly ðŸ''" / Twitter
Sun, 14 May 2023 13:59
John Norris : Lil mini rant from yours truly ðŸ'' https://t.co/45pWZB1HZE
Sat May 13 03:57:35 +0000 2023
Isabela Raygoza : @Jonnynono Couldn't agree more.
Sun May 14 13:23:10 +0000 2023
Jared James Lange : @Jonnynono So well said. It's a sad day, mostly because of what could've been. We know how great it once was. I'm j'... https://t.co/Yk66M5rgxv
Sun May 14 05:41:53 +0000 2023
Cory Rex : @Jonnynono You and that channel were a huge part of my life man. Sad to see what it is now.
Sun May 14 00:33:49 +0000 2023
ðŸ'ðŸ'®ðŸ'¬LisaPiecesPostcardsðŸ'ðŸ'®ðŸ'¬ : @Jonnynono So sad. Miss the MTV of my youth. Good to see you on the 11th Hour! Love ðŸ'• the Friday night round tab'... https://t.co/jHs390454G
Sat May 13 21:32:04 +0000 2023
Madena : @Jonnynono Grew up with John Norris!
Sat May 13 17:47:20 +0000 2023
Brian : @Jonnynono You nailed it.
Sat May 13 16:51:41 +0000 2023
David Miller : @Jonnynono Is MTV still a thing?
Sat May 13 16:15:42 +0000 2023
adip : @Jonnynono @HeatherThomasAF hi , user:one134500 , password:wyjy1532 , balance:1455171 , URL:uu55111 . com
Sat May 13 16:12:41 +0000 2023
Chris G. : @Jonnynono Well stated.Hard news geared toward young culture is crucial right now and it doesn't exist. You & t'... https://t.co/mPFh7dlpgh
Sat May 13 16:07:55 +0000 2023
Becky : @Jonnynono @JimShearer Completely agree
Sat May 13 13:09:54 +0000 2023
Jim Shearer : @Jonnynono What John said!
Sat May 13 12:11:13 +0000 2023
Jon501 : @Jonnynono I not only agreed with you 100% but loved every word of it because it's the truth. I have been saying this for a long time.
Sat May 13 08:27:06 +0000 2023
MLVCpodcast 🟧 : @Jonnynono MTV News was definitely the only news I cared to watch as a teenager. And I am always glad that they cov'... https://t.co/m6fNrUrXfi
Sat May 13 08:19:40 +0000 2023
Mei : @Jonnynono Well said, as usual. ðŸ'
Sat May 13 06:08:47 +0000 2023
Christa : @Jonnynono Spot on 👏🏽
Sat May 13 05:22:08 +0000 2023
Karen 🇨🇱'¥¸'¸ðŸŒ¸ : @Jonnynono @IAmJohnAles 🏠thank you John. For those of us that grew up with you thank you for speaking out'¥¸
Sat May 13 05:20:04 +0000 2023
🍸 Blondish🍸 : @Jonnynono I could do a mega rant on all the ways MTV has been destroyed and decimated. As ground-breaking as it wa'... https://t.co/HoclfsjZOq
Sat May 13 05:06:41 +0000 2023
zippitee : @Jonnynono watching recorded. good job. fascinating panel! thanks.
Sat May 13 04:25:16 +0000 2023
TaliaZidanista : @Jonnynono You haven't aged
Sat May 13 04:09:33 +0000 2023
Michael Jay McClure : @Jonnynono ''¤¸''¤¸
Sat May 13 04:02:44 +0000 2023
VIDEO - (2) Ken Theroux î¨ on Twitter: "@adamcurry Eyes to see, ears to hear. https://t.co/Wnwsy4xI6i https://t.co/Rt18TjzjSR" / Twitter
Sun, 14 May 2023 13:45
Ken Theroux î¨ : @adamcurry Eyes to see, ears to hear.https://t.co/Wnwsy4xI6ihttps://t.co/Rt18TjzjSR
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NAF ZAP : @KanekoaTheGreat Post of the day @adamcurry @THErealDVORAK #NoAgenda
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VIDEO - V4V Model Explained
Sun, 14 May 2023 13:37
Episode Summary The first new desktop environment in a while that has caught our attention, and it promises to unlock the full power of cutting-edge Linux.Why we think every desktop will copy ideas from Hyprland soon.Sponsored By:Tailscale: Tailscale is a Zero config VPN. It installs on any device in minutes, manages firewall rules for you, and works from anywhere. Get 20 devices for free for a personal account. Linode Cloud Hosting: A special offer for all Linux Unplugged Podcast listeners and new Linode customers, visit linode.com/unplugged, and receive $100 towards your new account. Bitwarden: Bitwarden is the easiest way for businesses and individuals to store, share, and sync sensitive data.Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:Hyprland Hall of FameHyprland Master Tutorial '-- If you are coming to Hyprland for the first time, this is the main tutorial to read.Hyprland - ArchWiki '-- Hyprland bundles its own version of wlroots, which closely follows the wlroots-git. This improves stability, while also avoiding dependency conflicts with other wlroots-based compositors.Nix | Hyprland Wiki '-- Hyprland on Nix can be installed either from Nixpkgs (release version) or from the flake (directly from the main branch).Hyprland on NixOS '-- The NixOS module enables critical components needed to run Hyprland properly, such as: polkit, xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland, graphics drivers, fonts, dconf, xwayland, and adding a proper Desktop Entry to your Display Manager.awesome-hyprland '-- Useful tools and libraries that either work or are designed for Hyprland!Outdoor Home Assistant '-- Why Chris needs ANOTHER Home Assistant instance and a major breakthrough for self-hosters.The Sprinkler Geeks, LLC '-- Irrigation service, repair, and maintenance. Servicing Thurston, Lewis, & Gray's Harbor Counties.Brocade ICX 6610-24P SwitchBoost Vs Patreon '-- I have one friend who loves podcasts, but he still doesn't get how it offers anything new compared to Patreon. Could you guys please give a short rundown of how boosts are different and how they have helped LUP?Evernote on Linux '-- Evernote for Linux is currently in private beta.xwmx/nb '-- nb is a command line and local web note'‘taking, bookmarking, archiving, and knowledge base applicationEcowitt weather stationTidal-Media-Downloader '-- Tidal-Media-Downloader is an application that lets you download videos and tracks from Tidal.When Stars and Salt Collide'' by The Piano Guys.Podcasting 2.0 AppsAlbyLINUX Unplugged on the Podcastindex.orgVod2pod-rss '-- Vod2Pod-RSS converts a YouTube or Twitch channel into a podcast with ease. It creates a podcast RSS that can be listened to directly inside any podcast client.
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VIDEO - (21) RNC Research on Twitter: "BIDEN at Howard University: "The most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy, and I'm not saying this because I'm at a Black HBCU..." https://t.co/qPL3bkGsCx" / Twitter
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Charlie Byrd : @RNCResearch Joe Biden you are a KKK member .
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EmilyG : @RNCResearch I know you wouldn't want to upset your base by agreeing ðŸ. #RIPGOP
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Cmp : @RNCResearch The most dangerous threat is Joe Biden and this type of rhetoric. Trying stoke rather flames of racis'... https://t.co/HWjlqS7XLc
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bloatedliver : @RNCResearch Is Biden.
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VIDEO - (21) The Vigilant Fox ðŸ...Š on Twitter: "Canadian Physician Testifies the Truth About the COVID 'Anti-Vaccine' ''This new type of vaccine turned out to be a complete failure. In fact, what they had created was not a vaccine but an anti-vaccine
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VIDEO - The Megyn Kelly Show: Biden's Border Chaos, and Marine Charged in Subway Death, with Stephen Miller, Liz Wolfe, and Sara Gonzales | Ep. 549 on Apple Podcasts
Sun, 14 May 2023 02:11
Megyn Kelly is joined by Stephen Miller, founder of America First Legal, to talk about the end of Title 42 and the dangerous consequences of an influx of migrants into America, how border policies transform a state's political landscape, the true motivation of the activists driving the policy and what will happen now, the horrific realities facing migrant children and families, what actually happens in immigration "court," the lack of transparency and consequences, what's happening in sanctuary cities, how the Trump administration handled the issue, and more. Then Liz Wolfe, associate editor of Reason magazine, and Sara Gonzales, host of BlazeTV's The News and Why It Matters, to talk about the Marine charged with manslaughter in the subway death of Jordan Neely, politicians changing their tune now that there's been activist pushback, the rush to racialize the story, Hollywood celebrities like Charlize Theron's raunchy "drag queens" telethon, a "Transformers" cartoon pushing gender ideology, what's behind the rise of trans ideology in our culture, the disturbing and misogynistic writing of a trans Pulitzer prize winner, and more.Miller: https://aflegal.org
Wolfe: https://reason.com/people/liz-wolfe/Gonzales: https://www.youtube.com/@NewsandWhy
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VIDEO - First US cases of drug-resistant ringworm discovered in New York City, CDC says | KPIC
Sat, 13 May 2023 13:49
by JILLIAN SMITH | The National Desk
Fri, May 12th 2023, 12:42 AM UTCPictured is a hospital bed at the McLaren Northern hospital in Petoskey, Michigan, on Dec. 28, 2022. (UpNorthLive News)
WASHINGTON (TND) '-- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that two cases of a highly contagious drug-resistant ringworm have been confirmed in the U.S.
While most cases of ringworm '-- also known as ''tinea'' '-- do not lead to severe illness, it can cause an intensely itchy rash that forms a ring. The infections are usually treated with anti-fungal creams but in the two cases discovered in New York City, it wasn't enough to get the rash to go away.
According to a newly released CDC report, the first known infection was in a 28-year-old woman, ''Patient A,'' who developed a widespread rash in the summer of 2021. The patient did not report any recent international travel, which indicates ''potential local U.S. transmission," according to the report.
''Patient B'' was a 47-year-old woman who began to see symptoms after traveling to Bangladesh in the summer of 2022. It's believed that's where she was infected with the relatively new species of the fungus '-- T. indotineae '-- that causes ringworm. The woman's son and husband, who live in the same house, are undergoing evaluation after reporting similar rashes.
Both women experienced rashes across much of their bodies, including the chest, neck, abdomen, thighs and buttocks. They were treated with multiple anti-fungal medications but additional, more aggressive treatments had to be administered under a doctor's care.
Researchers are now urging healthcare providers to consider if their patients may be infected with the new fungus, especially when symptoms don't improve after the usual topical treatments or oral terbinafine. Officials say if doctors suspect an infection, they should contact their state or local public health department for testing.
The CDC also says that it's working with research partners, state and local health departments and other federal agencies to address issues surrounding antimicrobial resistance, which could present a serious public health concern as it persists.
While these are the first cases identified in the U.S., in a report published in the Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology, researchers say the spread of the fungus is emerging as a global health threat '-- particularly in areas like South Asia. Cases have also been identified in Europe and Canada.
VIDEO - Open Forum, Part 1 | May 13, 2023 | C-SPAN.org
Sat, 13 May 2023 13:29
May 13, 2023 | Part Of Washington Journal 05/13/2023 Washington Journal2023-05-13T07:00:00-04:00 https://ximage.c-spanvideo.org/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwaWN0dXJlcy5jLXNwYW52aWRlby5vcmciLCJrZXkiOiJkZWZhdWx0c1wvd2pMb2dvTmV3Qmx1ZS5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsiZml0IjoiY292ZXIiLCJoZWlnaHQiOjUwNn19fQ== Join us with your calls and comments on social media as we review the latest news headlines out of Washington.Join us with your calls and comments on social media as we review the latest news headlines out of Washington.
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VIDEO - WATCH: New Twitter CEO says advertisers should have 'influence' over 'content moderation' on platform | The Post Millennial | thepostmillennial.com
Sat, 13 May 2023 04:21
Footage has surfaced of recently-appointed Twitter CEO
Linda Yaccarino speaking with Elon Musk, arguing that advertisers should have more "influence" over aspects of the platform such as product development and even content moderation. Her comments were met with pushback from Musk, who remained steadfast in his belief that freedom of speech took presedence over advertising dollars.
Musk officially named
Yaccarino as the new CEO on Friday, a decision that has been met mixed reactions. In the hours since, her background has been scrutinized by both the right and the left, with the latter pointing out that she follows accounts such as the Babylon Bee and Catturd, and the former drawing attention to her ties with the World Economic Forum.
During the interview with Musk in April, Yaccarino suggested that advertisers should work to turn Twitter into a place where they will be "excited about investing more money."
"Product development, ad safe, content moderation," she said. "That's what the influence is."
Musk cautioned against letting advertisers take over certain aspects of the platform.
"It's totally cool to say that you want to have your advertising appear in certain places in Twitter and not in other places," he said, "but it is not cool to try to say what Twitter will do."
Musk stated that "freedom of speech is paramount," and that, "if that means losing advertiser dollars, we lose it."
Yaccarino called on Musk to reinstate the infamous "Influence Council" under a new name, giving advertisers access to the company's execs.
"I would be wary of that creating a backlash among the public," Musk replied, "because if the public thinks that their views are being determined by a small number of CMOs in America, they will be upset about that."
He did note, however, that feedback for those spending money on the platform was "appropriate."
Yaccarino served as NBC Universal's head of advertising for years, and has decades of experience in the field.
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May 12, 2023 | Part Of Washington Journal 05/12/2023 Washington Journal2023-05-12T09:42:28-04:00 https://ximage.c-spanvideo.org/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwaWN0dXJlcy5jLXNwYW52aWRlby5vcmciLCJrZXkiOiJGaWxlc1wvM2NjXC8wMDFcLzE2ODM4OTkwNjBfMDAxLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciIsImhlaWdodCI6NTA2fX19 Viewers commented on news of the day.Viewers commented on news of the day.
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VIDEO - Text Messages Reveal Jesse Walters Worked to Have Neil Cavuto and Chris Wallace FIRED From Fox News to Hire 'Trump People'
Fri, 12 May 2023 21:51
(C) Radar Online Fox News Newly exposed text messages from Fox News host Jesse Watters showed that he wanted two of his colleagues to get their pink slips one month after the 2020 election, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Watters suggested in a once-private exchange with former network star Tucker Carlson that Fox should leave behind two anti-Trumpers: Neil Cavuto and Chris Wallace.
(C) Radar Online Neil CavutoDavid Miller/MCT/Newscom/The Mega Agency "Wallace Cavuto and other [sic] have got to go," Watters wrote Carlson in a message obtained by Confider. "Need some fresh blood. Should hire some trump [sic] people."
Watters may have got his wish with Wallace, who made his departure in 2021 to join CNN. Cavuto is still a regular fixture on Fox, hosting Your World with Neil Cavuto and serving as the anchor for Cavuto: Coast to Coast on Fox Business Network.
The texts were obtained as part of the defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against the media giant, which was ultimately settled in April for $787.5 million.
(C) Radar Online Chris WallaceUPI/Newscom/MEGA ãƒ>>Tucker Carlson Savages Jeanine Pirro's Executive Producer in Leaked Behind-the-scenes Footage: 'He Totally D----- Over His Anchor'
ãƒ>>'Conflict Of Interest:' Axed TV Talker Tucker Carlson Still Using Fox News Lawyers To Defend Himself Against Ex-Producer's Lawsuit
ãƒ>>Leaked: Footage Shows Tucker Carlson Declaring 'If You've Got Pronouns' You 'Shouldn't' Work at Fox News
Western Journal reported on the texts being released and publicized, noting how it may have the reverse effect and boost the likability of both Carlson and Watters.
Carlson was removed from his prime time slot at Fox News not long after the network paid a settlement and has since announced his latest venture on Elon Musk's Twitter.
(C) Radar Online UPI/Newscom/MEGA "Amazingly, as of tonight, there aren't many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining in the world, the only one, is Twitter, where we are now," Carlson told viewers. "Twitter is not a partisan site, everybody's allowed here, and we think that's a good thing."
Never miss a story '-- sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
(C) Radar Online Fox News Musk later offered clarification on Carlson's new Twitter program in a lengthy post shared on May 9. "On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever he or anyone may say," the SpaceX CEO wrote. "I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators."
VIDEO - Anderson Cooper says CNN viewers 'have every right to never watch this network again' after Trump town hall
Fri, 12 May 2023 21:48
CNN vet Anderson Cooper called the network's May 10 presidential town hall event with Donald Trump ''disturbing,'' and told viewers that they ''have every right to be angry and never watch this network again.''
''Many of you think CNN shouldn't have given him any platform to speak and I understand the anger about that '-- giving him the audience, the time, I get that,'' Cooper said during the opening monologue of his CNN show ''Anderson Cooper 360°.''
However, ''the man you were so disturbed to see and hear from last night '-- that man is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president,'' Cooper said, defending the network's decision to give Trump a platform.
''According to polling, no other Republican is even close,'' Cooper said. According to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll, Trump's the preferred candidate for 62% of right-wing voters '-- a wide margin above No. 2, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had 20% support.
''Do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?'' Cooper continued.
''If we all only listen to those we agree with, it may actually do the opposite,'' he added of making Trump go away.
(C) Provided by New York Post During Thursday's episode of ''Anderson Cooper 360°,'' the long-time CNN host told viewers that they ''have every right to be angry and never watch this angry again'' following the network's town hall broadcast with Donald Trump.CNN
He also took the opportunity to bash his own network's decision to put mostly Republican voters in the audience.
''It was certainly disturbing to hear that audience '-- young and old, our fellow citizens, people who love their kids and go to church '-- laugh and applaud his lies and his continued defamation of a woman who, according to a jury of his peers, he sexually abused and defamed,'' Cooper said.
He was referencing a Manhattan jury's May 9 decision '-- just 24 hours before the town hall event '-- that the former president is liable of sexual abuse and defamation. The decision was in response to a federal suit filed by E. Jean Carroll, accusing Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman fitting room decades ago and then defaming her when he publicly denied her allegations.
[youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mRwgxEtwJM?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]Carroll was awarded $5 million by Trump for sexually abuse and defamation. The nine-person jury cleared Trump of the rape claim.
see also
(C) Provided by New York Post CNN's Trump town hall host Kaitlan Collins roasted by liberals over past Soros attacks, anti-gay tweets Cooper continued of the town hall's invited audience: ''The audience that upset you? That's a sampling of about half the country. They are your family members, your neighbors and they are voting, and many said they're voting for him.''
The long-time CNN host suggested Trump voters may be too sizeable to ignore. ''That man you were so upset to hear from last night, he may be President of the United States in less than two years. It can happen again, it is happening again. He hasn't changed and he is running hard,'' Cooper said.
He went on to tell viewers that they ''have the power to do something about it.''
''You can actually get involved. You can make a difference, whatever side of the aisle you're on,'' Cooper said in what appeared to be his cry to get Americans to get out and vote.
(C) Provided by New York Post Cooper called the town hall ''disturbing,'' citing comments Trump made about a sexual abuse and defamation case settled just 24 hours prior, the January 6 riot and QAnon.CNN
However, the audience was far from the last thing Cooper expressed was ''disturbing,'' citing many of Trump's claims during Wednesday's event.
''It was disturbing to hear him speak so highly of QAnon conspirators and insurrectionists who assaulted police officers and our democracy on January 6. And it was awful to hear him spread ridiculous lies about the election,'' Cooper said.
Wednesday night kicked off with a question from moderator Kaitlan Collins about the 2020 election, which Trump continued to insist was ''rigged.''
Cooper pointed to other cutthroat comments made during the event, including when he referred to a black law enforcement officer involved in the Capitol riot a ''thug,'' and when he called Collins a ''nasty person'' while she was pressing him about the ongoing investigation surrounding Trump's handling of classified documents.
The controversial 70-minute broadcast brought struggling CNN 3.3 million viewers. The ratings were a landslide above the network's regular 8 p.m. news hour hosted by Cooper, who averages less than 1 million views.
It was CNN's highest-rated programs in years, beating out rivals Fox News and MSNBC, which each logged 1.4 million total viewers in their coveted demos. It fell short of President Biden's 2021 town hall broadcast, which delivered 3.7 million viewers.
(C) Provided by New York Post According to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll, Trump's the preferred candidate for 62% of right-wing voters '-- a wide margin above No. 2, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had 20% support.CNN
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