July 26, 2024

The real deep state: Kevin Roberts, architect of Project 2025, has close ties to radical Catholic group Opus Dei

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/26/kevin-roberts-project-2025-opus-dei

Kevin Roberts, architect of Project 2025, has close ties to radical Catholic group Opus Dei

Heritage Foundation leader has long received spiritual guidance from group and his policy goals align with its teachings

What is Project 2025 and what is Trump’s involvement?

Rachel Leingang and Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Fri 26 Jul 2024 08.00 EDT

Kevin Roberts, the Heritage Foundation president and the architect of Project 2025, the conservative thinktank’s road map for a second Trump presidency, has close ties and receives regular spiritual guidance from an Opus Dei-led center in Washington DC, a hub of activity for the radical and secretive Catholic group.

Roberts acknowledged in a speech last September that – for years – he has visited the Catholic Information Center, a K Street institution headed by an Opus Dei priest and incorporated by the archdiocese of Washington, on a weekly basis for mass and “formation”, or religious guidance. Opus Dei also organizes monthly retreats at the CIC.

In the speech – which he delivered at the CIC and was recorded and is available online – Roberts spoke candidly about his strategy for achieving extreme policy goals that he supports but are out of step with the views of a majority of Americans.

Outlawing birth control is the “hardest” political battle facing conservatives in the future, the 50-year-old political strategist said, but he urged conservatives to pursue even small legislative victories – what he called “radical incrementalism” – to advance their most rightwing policy objectives.

… more… men talking about controlling women… enter battle against the enemies of Christ”.… men like Kevin Roberts and Leonard Leo.”… does not believe in the traditional separation of church and state.…

July 25, 2024

Five of the best books about conspiracy theories

https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jul/25/five-of-the-best-books-about-conspiracy-theories

Five of the best books about conspiracy theories

From Covid misinformation to the JFK assassination, these compelling reads explore how conspiracies seduce believers

James Ball
Thu 25 Jul 2024 07.04 EDT

Effective conspiracy theories draw in believers by appearing to give a glimpse behind the curtain, of how the world really works, while preserving a sense that even in the modern technological era, there are still mysteries beyond most people’s understanding.

The problem is that most conspiracies come at a cost. It might seem harmless to believe aliens have made contact with humans, but suggesting that terror attacks were “false flags” or that secret societies are abducting children can fracture communities, provoke violence, and tear families apart.

That mix of silly and serious, compulsion and repulsion can make books on conspiracy theories very compelling. These are five of my favourites – all about conspiracies, rather than spreading them, of course. Forewarned is fore-armed, after all – knowing how conspiracy theories work, what they have in common, and how they’ve spread before is crucial to understanding how they might be stopped.

…

Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy by Talia Lavin
To write this book, Talia Lavin went where most of us would be loath to tread, spending a year or so of her life in some of the nastiest far-right corners of the internet. Through a mixture of undercover online work with various personas and some gutsy attendance at in-person conferences, she shows not just the workings of the fringes, but how their views are “laundered” into the mainstream by seemingly more innocuous influencers.

…more…

July 25, 2024

Groups Demand Probe of Israeli Influence Operations Targeting Americans

https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-united-states

Groups Demand Probe of Israeli Influence Operations Targeting Americans

“The administration must work to defend our democracy fully, and ensure that no foreign state has a green light to inappropriately target American citizens or manipulate our democratic process."

JESSICA CORBETT
Jul 24, 2024

Over two dozen organizations on Wednesday demanded that the Biden administration launch a multi-agency investigation into recent reporting that "the Israeli government is engaging in illicit social media influence operations targeting U.S. elected officials and U.S. civil society."

Pointing to June reports by The New York Times, Haaretz, and The Guardian, the groups—including the Center for International Policy, CodePink, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), National Iranian American Council (NIAC), U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) Action, and Win Without War—wrote to President Joe Biden and the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and State.

…
Although the Israeli ministry denied involvement in the campaign and Stoic didn't respond to requests for comment, the newspaper noted that "at its peak, it used hundreds of fake accounts that posed as real Americans on X, Facebook, and Instagram to post pro-Israel comments. The accounts focused on U.S. lawmakers, particularly ones who are Black and Democrats."

As The Guardian reported on June 24, "That effort is only one of many such campaigns coordinated by the ministry." The newspaper detailed "a sprawling relaunch of a controversial Israeli government program initially known as Kela Shlomo, designed to carry out what Israel called 'mass consciousness activities' targeted largely at the U.S. and Europe."

…more…

July 24, 2024

Bob Newhart was more than an actor or comedian - he was a literary master

https://theconversation.com/bob-newhart-was-more-than-an-actor-or-comedian-he-was-a-literary-master-235181

Bob Newhart was more than an actor or comedian – he was a literary master

Published: July 22, 2024 8:21am EDT
Mark Canada, Indiana University Kokomo

If you knew Bob Newhart only as an actor – most notably as the star of the legendary “Bob Newhart Show” but also in a minor though memorable role in the movie “Elf” – you may not have thought of him as a literary figure.

However, Newhart, who died on July 18, 2024, at the age of 94, began his rise to stardom as a stand-up comic, crafting and delivering such brilliant monologues as “Driving Instructor” and “Bus Drivers School.” In those bits, he demonstrated a mastery of diction, dialect, character and dialogue worthy of the title “literary master.”

In my view, there is perhaps no more fitting recipient of the Mark Twain Prize than Newhart, who received it in 2002.

As a literary scholar, I typically study traditional poetry and fiction by canonical authors such as Twain and Edgar Allan Poe. But the mastery of language and character is not the sole possession of poets and novelists. Newhart demonstrated that stand-up comedy could also be an art form.

…more… video clips at link…

July 22, 2024

BBC world service used Cenk/Young Turks as commenter last night. Their bias is showing.

Ps Cenk really dislikes Kamala. ‘She hasn’t proven herself.’

Comment:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5nCxH0NlsPtyW8WvJ0rwDJP/about-world-service-radio

July 21, 2024

Draft Israeli law to limit academic speech labelled 'McCarthyite'

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/21/draft-israeli-law-to-limit-academic-speech-labelled-mccarthyite

Draft Israeli law to limit academic speech labelled ‘McCarthyite’

Law allowing committee to fire staff for ‘supporting terror’ backed by education minister and national student union

Emma Graham-Harrison and Matan Cohen
Sun 21 Jul 2024 09.56 EDT

Israel’s education minister and the country’s national union of students are backing a draft law to limit academic speech in the country, which the heads of leading universities have attacked as “McCarthyite” and fundamentally undemocratic.

The legislation, currently being debated in the Knesset, would give a government-appointed committee the power to order the firing of academic staff that it decides have expressed “support for terror”. If the universities refuse, their funding would be cut.
Critics say the legislation is fundamentally undemocratic and would undermine Israeli academia, because it restricts free speech and allows politicians to weaponise accusations that should be handled by the legal system.

The president of the prestigious Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, known for links to the country’s hi-tech and defence industries, said the law was “McCarthyite”.

“It is a form of McCarthyism, a very violent form, because it is meant to threaten people not to express their mind, in a system that should be free of any intimidation, encouraging free speech, encouraging criticism,” Uri Sivan said.

…more…

July 20, 2024

Childless cat ladies: Into the Auntieverse: a surreal fantasy of older women

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/19/auntieverse-art-niceaunties-surreal-fantasy-older-women

Into the Auntieverse: a surreal fantasy of older women

Inspired by her own family, Singaporean artist Niceaunties puts aunties at the heart of the world she conjures up

Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent
Fri 19 Jul 2024 09.46 EDT

There are high-rise living quarters built from stacks of Tupperware, spas where you can immerse yourself in a giant bowl of ramen and an altar where you can pay your respects to the Supreme Perm Goddess.

Welcome to Auntieverse, a world built by, and ruled by aunties, filled with everything aunties love.

…

In the Auntieverse, aunties dance in sequined outfits on the beach, pose with giant vegetables, and attend Nasa, (the Nice Aunties Sushi Academy), a cooking school located on the moon, where aunties undergo training, under the watchful eye of a giant cat.

Acronyms are a common feature in the Auntieverse (a nod to Singapore’s love of abbreviations), as are puns. You can ride a tofu-engineered sushi luxury auto (a Tesla), a transportation method that is made from tofu and sushi, and powered by legs. It’s based on wordplay: in the Chinese Hokkien dialect, the word for “leg” sounds the same as the English word for “car”, says Niceaunties.

…more… major exhibitions…

July 20, 2024

Life returns to Ukrainian reservoir drained by Russian strike on dam

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/20/life-returns-to-ukrainian-reservoir-drained-by-russian-strike-on-dam

Life returns to Ukrainian reservoir drained by Russian strike on dam

The water level fell dramatically after the dam was blown up downstream, creating ponds and lagoons.

Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The There is a unique smell here. It smells of bugs,”

A year later, animals, birds and saplings are populating a new landscape of ponds and lagoons

By Luke Harding in Malokaterynivka. Photographs by Alessio Mamo
Sat 20 Jul 2024 08.00 EDT

Standing in a scene of shimmering green, Vadym Maniuk pointed to a young white willow tree. “What happened here is a miracle,” he said. “Some of the saplings are already 4 metres tall. There is nowhere else like this on the planet. Not even the Amazon comes close.”

Maniuk, an ecologist, picked his way through a jungle of new branches. The sky above was scarcely visible. In the mud – cracked after days of sweltering temperatures – were the remains of molluscs. The scientist showed off black poplars, also racing upwards, reeds and a small mulberry. Under the leaves it was pleasantly cool.

Just over a year ago, the spot where Maniuk stood was under several metres of water. In the 1920s Stalin ordered the construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations along the Dnipro. The area between two of the dams – one in Zaporizhzhia, the other in Kakhovka – became a vast artificial lake.

…

In the absence of humans, animals and birds have taken up residence. A cuckoo and swallows flew above the treeline. A local shopkeeper, Karina, said she saw wild boar from her second-floor balcony. “Scientists say rebuilding the reservoir after Ukraine wins will cause a second ecocide. I’m more worried the boar will eat our vegetables,” she said. The Dnipro has resumed its old course. Fish not seen for eight decades have reappeared, including sturgeon and herring. Police discovered this remarkable fact when they arrested a group of poachers. In their boat were 16 endangered sturgeon. “Maybe the fish have a genetic memory. The water is fast-flowing again. There are more bream and perch,” Maniuk said.

… more… archaeological finds… “There is a unique smell here. It smells of bugs,”

July 20, 2024

Cat burglars: scientists try to solve mystery of why felines 'steal' random objects

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jul/20/cat-burglars-scientists-try-to-solve-mystery-of-why-felines-steal-random-objects

Cat burglars: scientists try to solve mystery of why felines ‘steal’ random objects

Researchers unsure why animals turn up with items such as socks and gloves – but agree pilfered items are not presents

Ian Sample Science editor
Sat 20 Jul 2024 02.00 EDT

…

The Frigiliana three are repeat offenders, but they are not the only cats to be rumbled. Charlie, a rescue cat from Bristol, was dubbed the most prolific cat burglar in Britain after bringing home plastic toys, clothes pegs, a rubber duck, glasses and cutlery. His owner, Alice Bigge, once woke to a plastic diplodocus, one of many nabbed from a nearby nursery, next to her head on the pillow. It reminded her of the infamous scene in The Godfather. She puts the items on a wall outside for owners to reclaim.

Another cat, Dusty from San Mateo in California, had more than 600 known thefts, once returning with 11 items on one night. His haul included Crocs, a baseball cap and a pair of swimming trunks. The bra found in the house was fortunately spotted on a video of Dusty coming in. In a feat of accidental social commentary, another cat, Cleo from Texas, came home with a computer mouse.

…

“Animals, including humans, respond to very simple stimuli,” says Daniel Mills, a professor of veterinary behavioural medicine at the University of Lincoln. “Something blowing in the wind might trigger hunting behaviour. Having ‘caught’ some weird items, cats may well decide to bring them back. I don’t think they’re thinking of them as gifts. It’s the simple rules of life that the cat brain operates to.”

Jemma Forman, a doctoral researcher at the University of Sussex who has studied cats playing fetch, agrees that the pets do not come bearing gifts. She says: “When it comes to cats, normally the explanation is they’re doing it for themselves.”

//

July 19, 2024

Exploitation of Chinese Immigrants Pervades the Marijuana Industry

https://truthout.org/articles/exploitation-of-chinese-immigrants-pervades-the-marijuana-industry/

NEWS | ECONOMY & LABOR
Exploitation of Chinese Immigrants Pervades the Marijuana Industry

From unsafe working conditions to wage theft and assault, Chinese immigrant laborers suffer in Oklahoma and beyond.

By Sebastian Rotella , Kirsten Berg , Garrett Yalch , Clifton Adcock , PROPUBLICA/THEFRONTIER
Published July 19, 2024

On the morning of April 12, the farmworker woke up struggling to breathe and delirious with fever.

Jiaai Zeng had spent the past month working nonstop at a marijuana farm in Oklahoma run by fellow Chinese immigrants. The job was brutal, the 57-year-old had told relatives in New York. He said his bosses made him labor up to 15 hours a day in the blast-furnace heat of a greenhouse. He was feeling awful even after a visit to the doctor, so he planned to return to New York that evening for medical treatment.

At 9:38 a.m., Zeng sent an audio message to a cousin in Manhattan’s Chinatown. In an agonized whisper, he asked her to buy a bag of oranges for when he arrived. “I don’t want to eat anything,” he said, speaking a dialect of Fujian province. “I just want to take a look at oranges and see if I’ll have an appetite.”

About an hour later, Zeng was unconscious and had no pulse when three people from the farm drove him to a nearby hospital. They dropped him off and left in a hurry while doctors were trying to revive him, according to a hospital report.

By 11:05 a.m., Zeng was dead.

…more… Chinese mafia… thousands of farms… slavery conditions with beatings, sexual assault …