Ah, Peter van Buren - good source. I find it truly curious that the only way he can get a wide audience for his work is in AmCon, considering his professed views and the subject matter of his books. The current hysteria has truly made strange bedfellows, no? Question: wasn't the Obama administration (or the early Trump - not sure of the timing) mulling making RT register as a foreign agent? Pretty sure I heard that. ...and my question is answered: One wonders if PressTV (which is HILARIOUS) is on the list. Or, for that matter, the equally hilarious i24 (I'm gonna go ahead and guess that latter isn't, nor ever will be).
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41991683 RT registered in November, 2017 "The edge between journalism and propaganda is very thin, especially, if we are talking about the media which is founded by the government," says Lata Nott, the Newseum Institute's executive director. "Not all materials of RT are propaganda, but it is very clear that they have only one angle and they have never criticised their own government." Good thing there's never been a voice of America skirting the edges of news/information/propaganda .... I mean, I think RT was petty seriously slanted, and would mock posters that used it as their exclusive conclusive-proof link source, but it's not like it was hard to figure out. On the other hand, back when BBC America was 95% cooking and gardening shows, I would've voted to make those guys register, if not leave the country all together...
Later than I thought. I do recall hearing threats before the Orange Baboon took over, though. Probably coming from the DoJ itself, then. ISWYDT. Precisely. They introduced me to Top Gear, so they get a pass. PressTV (what I saw when FSTV/OneWorld/Whatever was still doing the foreign briefs) was epic. So were the various Israeli broadcasters. AJ Arabic could be counted on for most disturbing on-location video (something, frankly, that needs to be seen here in the US). AJ English...all of the opinion with none of the raw footage. AJ America...<sniff>...you were not as good as your big brothers, but you were ours. Dammit.
I am not sure if it was here or the racist thread where we discussed Genetics studies. but I will post here. The article starts with perhaps somewhat of a straw-man. Denying Genetics Isn’t Shutting Down Racism, It’s Fueling It By Andrew Sullivan Well, even if this was freely studied and not controversial at all, racist (and other people) would just pick and choose some of the science that they seem to believe reinforces their preconceived convictions and ignore anything that contradicts them. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligence...isnt-shutting-down-racism-its-fueling-it.html
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Pretty decent article, esp. given all the crap ones on this topic. I'll have to finish it this weekend
FFS, no biologist claims that humans haven't continued to evolve. That shows just how much dreck this article is. The blank slate is not a position any serious biologist would EVER promote. This is a complete straw man argument, and a very easy one for the author to knock down. Andrew Sullivan, shows his complete ignorance, or at least willful misrepresentation, of the whole concept of evolution. Here he shows where he has bought into the BS These are the exact kind of guys that the author of the opinion piece is warning us against. He ends with a correct statement that absolutely no honest and serious person would contend. Brilliant! Right? It's literally the first sentence in any textbook covering evolution. All his article does is provide cover for the above a$$hats. Like this part in what David Reich actually wrote: Andrew Sullivan's lack of self-awareness is astounding. Or he is willful in his misrepresentation. -------- You should instead read what the actual Harvard Geneticist said. Not this awful article that implies the exact thing the Dr. David Reich urges against. Unhelpfully though, Mr. Reich makes the classic fallacy of suggesting IQ tests actually measure something relevant. Yeah, administer a test and find some gene sequences that correlate with high-performance.... this is called p-hacking. This is not helpful to the conversation. This is where the controversy comes in. How do you define intelligence? How about IQ? What does performing well on tests mean? Does a considerable portion of the score mean that you have learned how to sit still and focus? Example: White kids on average score 10% better on some math test than their black peers. Genetic difference, right? If white kids in Alabama score 10% worse than white kids in Massachusetts on the same test, does that also prove that Alabamans are genetically inferior?
Just saw this article by Ezra Klein re: Sam Harris and their (really, just Harris') spat over this opinion piece by David Reich. Hold on. Let me ask Dr. Watson.
And there is the concept of what is the definition of race. It is not a scientific concept, it is a social concept. Even using ethnicity to explain biological deviations like diabetes risk or advantages for long distance running by the kalenji of Kenya can be problematic. the differences can be for many reasons factors with biological differences only being a very small part. That is why it can be dangerous and sensitive to try to have a "scientific" argument about IQ and race, when we don't even have a scientific definition of what is race.
Glad you didn't think I was yelling at you. Just realized it could have been construed as such. I just get so steamed at shitty science "journalism".
Here is an article on why using race in biology or science should be done away with, Ancestry is a better term to talk about differences in people groups. http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/science-genetics-reshaping-race-debate-21st-century/
Just happened upon another response penned and cosigned by many fellow scientists critiquing Reich's Op-Ed. Snippet:
This was a trick question, right? We all know the answer to that one. (This is intended to be a joke, and NOT a serious imputation of the genetics of the people of Alabama, who I am sure are "fine folks" and have "big, beautiful" genes.)
The best comedy always comes from a dark place. On an anecdotal basis as I become happier in my life,I find edge humor less interesting. OTOH,when my daughter discovered that Alexa farts if you tell her to..... LOLOLOLLL
israel uses anti-terror laws to lock up Palestinian woman for writing a poem against occupation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dareen_Tatour
Not only arrested but convicted. So that is more than just the right wing government heavy handedness, the courts are also fvcked up in Israel. https://electronicintifada.net/blog...raeli-prosecution-concludes-case-against-poet http://www.jordantimes.com/news/region/arab-convicted-israel-court-incitement-her-poetry Poetry is a dangerous business, here is Saudi Arabia. https://electronicintifada.net/tags/ashraf-fayadh I do believe his conviction was reduced from beheading to "only" 800 lashes. That is the type of clemency that Donald Trump would appreciate.
Not to make light of the subject but Vogon poetry is pretty bad. The very worst poetry of all the universe is from Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Sussex.