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Created
Fri, 17/02/2023 - 10:30
Who can blame him? Biden knows that some people are irredeemable. Ron Johnson is one of them: Over his 36 years in the Senate, JOE BIDEN took pride in establishing friendships across the aisle. And now, as president in a hyper-partisan time, he often waxes nostalgic for the old days and states aloud just how much he likes many Republicans, including Minority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL. But Biden’s love of bipartisanship has its limits. The president clearly detests some on the opposite side of the aisle. There are those he views as convenient foils, allowing him to draw a distinction between his old GOP pals and the new crop of “MAGA Republicans” who, he often argues, pose a threat to the country. Biden frequently seizes on Florida Sen. RICK SCOTT’s plan to cut spending, including putting Social Security and Medicare on renew-every-five-year plans, as a cudgel with which to bash the GOP. There is little love lost between the two men. But Biden holds real antipathy for one Republican above all others: Sen. RON JOHNSON.
Created
Fri, 17/02/2023 - 09:18

Self-described Christian reactionary livestreamer Nick Fuentes led his “Groyper Army” into a war against the conservative movement’s most prominent figures, including TPUSA’s Charlie Kirk and podcaster Ben Shapiro. Fuentes blasted conservative rivals as too pro-gay, pro-immigrant, and pro-Israel to champion the ideals of “America First.” Between 2020 and 2023, he hosted a rival “America First” conference (AFPAC) to compete with the annual CPAC confab of the conservative establishment. AFPAC’s main achievement has been engulfing MAGA-aligned politicians in controversy. In 2022, […]

The post From the ‘Groyper Wars’ to ‘America First’: Nick Fuentes becomes a ‘somebody’ appeared first on The Grayzone.

Created
Fri, 17/02/2023 - 09:03

DrupalCons are for everyone who loves to build and grow with Drupal. These events bring together community leaders, developers, designers, content creators, and users to share their knowledge, skills, and experiences. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, DrupalCons are a perfect platform to expand your horizons, network with like-minded individuals, and have fun in the process!

And what could be a more effective way to interact with as many people as possible than to volunteer? The highly anticipated DrupalCon Pittsburgh 2023 is just around the corner, and we’re looking for event volunteers to make it a resounding success!

Why volunteer?

For starters, you get a free ticket when you volunteer for a minimum of 8 hours! If that doesn’t cut it for you, discover more reasons to volunteer and be a part of this exciting event:

Created
Fri, 17/02/2023 - 09:00
The latest Russian defenestration The defenders of the Putin regime seem to think these are all totally coincidental and nothing to be alarmed about. Right: A Russian military official in charge of financial provisions for the military district blamed for the Kremlin’s worst losses in Ukraine has been found dead after a nasty fall from a St. Petersburg high-rise. Marina Yankina, head of the department of financial provisions for the Western Military District, was found dead on a sidewalk on Wednesday morning, according to multiple local reports. She is just the latest in a growing list of Russian military officials, defense industry figures, war critics, and gas and oil execs to die suddenly and mysteriously since the start of the full-scale invasion last year. The 58-year-old’s belongings and documents were found on a balcony on the 16th floor of the building, Mash reports. Russia’s Investigative Committee is looking into the circumstances of the deadly plunge, with their preliminary conclusion being suicide, according to Fontanka.
Created
Fri, 17/02/2023 - 07:30
I’m just going to leave this NY Times article about the new AI Bing search engine here. It may be one of the most disturbing articles I’ve read in years. I have no idea where we are going with this stuff but I have to wonder if it’s not going to come back to bite us in the ass: Last week, after testing the new, A.I.-powered Bing search engine from Microsoft, I wrote that, much to my shock, it had replaced Google as my favorite search engine. But a week later, I’ve changed my mind. I’m still fascinated and impressed by the new Bing, and the artificial intelligence technology (created by OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT) that powers it. But I’m also deeply unsettled, even frightened, by this A.I.’s emergent abilities. It’s now clear to me that in its current form, the A.I. that has been built into Bing — which I’m now calling Sydney, for reasons I’ll explain shortly — is not ready for human contact. Or maybe we humans are not ready for it. This realization came to me on Tuesday night, when I spent a bewildering and enthralling two hours talking to Bing’s A.I.
Created
Fri, 17/02/2023 - 06:50
by Merve Sancak* Skills have been shown as an answer to ongoing socio-economic problems such as unemployment, economic inequality, or lack of economic growth both in the Global North and Global South. The issue has been particularly prominent in the debates about the ‘lack of’ economic development in the Global South countries. It has been […]
Created
Fri, 17/02/2023 - 05:30
Neal Katyal on the special counsel rules he wrote and which John Durham is bastardizing: The recent revelations about the special counsel John H. Durham’s investigation of the origins of Robert Mueller’s Russia inquiry paint a bleak picture — one that’s thoroughly at odds with governing law. Those rules, called the special counsel regulations, contemplate someone independent of the attorney general who can reassure the public that justice is being done. I drafted those guidelines as a young Justice Department official, and there is zero chance that anyone involved in the process, as it was reported on by The New York Times, would think that former Attorney General William Barr or Mr. Durham acted appropriately. According to the report, Mr. Barr granted Mr. Durham special counsel status to dig into a theory that the Russia investigation likely emerged from a conspiracy by intelligence or law enforcement agencies. That investigation has taken almost four years (longer than Mr. Mueller’s inquiry) and appears to be ending soon without any hint of a deep state plot against former President Donald Trump.
Created
Fri, 17/02/2023 - 05:01
Scandalously little challenge from BBC to bigotry of Labour right – but at least presenter asked the question Right-wing horror Ruth Smeeth exposed the reality of the arrogance and bigotry of her faction when she boasted today on BBC News that left-wing Jews, who support the human rights of Palestinians and do not support Israeli […]