Lurker > Antifar

Contribute to climate change by holding go-karting tournaments

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I've never played the first two or four swords. Twilight Princess literally made me sick to play.

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The richest 1% own half of it, so
https://twitter.com/RBReich/status/1362519530514259968?s=19

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refmon posted...

its literally an hour long

Well that's not true. I've played about an hour and only have 15 cat shines.

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Just started playing today after beating 3DW, and there's a lot going on here that I like.

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https://twitter.com/marianne_levine/status/1362870975646285833?s=20
https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1362874290551590913
Lol

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/world/europe/france-universities-culture-wars.html

Stepping up its attacks on social science theories that it says threaten France, the French government announced this week that it would launch an investigation into academic research that it says feeds Islamo-leftist tendencies that corrupt society.

News of the investigation immediately caused a fierce backlash among university presidents and scholars, deepening fears of a crackdown on academic freedom especially on studies of race, gender, post-colonial studies and other fields that the French government says have been imported from American universities and contribute to undermining French society.

While President Emmanuel Macron and some of his top ministers have spoken out forcefully against what they see as a destabilizing influence from American campuses in recent months, the announcement marked the first time that the government has moved to take action.
It came as Frances lower house of Parliament passed a draft law against Islamism, an ideology it views as encouraging terrorist attacks, and as Mr. Macron tilts further to the right, anticipating nationalist challenges ahead of elections next year.

Frdrique Vidal, the minister of higher education, said in Parliament on Tuesday that the state-run National Center for Scientific Research would oversee an investigation into the totality of research underway in our country, singling out post-colonialism.

In an earlier television interview, Ms. Vidal said the investigation would focus on Islamo-leftism a controversial term embraced by some of Mr. Macrons leading ministers to accuse left-leaning intellectuals of justifying Islamism and even terrorism.

Islamo-leftism corrupts all of society and universities are not impervious, Ms. Vidal said, adding that some scholars were advancing radical and activist ideas. Referring also to scholars of race and gender, Ms. Vidal accused them of always looking at everything through the prism of their will to divide, to fracture, to pinpoint the enemy.

France has since early last century defined itself as a secular state devoted to the ideal that all of its citizens are the same under the law, to the extent that the government keeps no statistics on ethnicity and religion.

A newly diversifying society, and the lasting marginalization of immigrants mostly from its former colonies, has tested those precepts. Calls for greater awareness of discrimination have met opposition from a political establishment that often views them as an invitation to American multiculturalism and as a threat to Frances identity and social cohesion.

In unusually blunt language, the academic world rejected the governments accusations. The Conference of University Presidents on Tuesday dismissed Islamo-leftism as a pseudo notion popularized by the far right, chiding the governments discourse as talking rubbish.

The National Center for Scientific Research, the state organization that the minister ordered to oversee the investigation, suggested on Wednesday that it would comply, but it said it firmly condemned attacks on academic freedom.

The organization said it especially condemned attempts to delegitimize different fields of research, like post-colonial studies, intersectional studies and research on race.
Opposition by academics hardened on Thursday, when the association that would actually carry out the investigation, Athna, put out a sharply worded statement saying that it was not its responsibility to conduct the inquiry.
The seemingly esoteric fight over social science theories which has made the front page of at least three of Frances major newspapers in recent days points to a larger culture war in France that has been punctuated in the past year by mass protests over racism and police violence, competing visions of feminism, and explosive debates over Islam and Islamism.

It also follows years of attacks, large and small, by Islamist terrorists, that have killed more than 250 French, including in recent months three people at a basilica in Nice and a teacher who was beheaded.

While the culture war is being played out in the media and in politics, it has its roots in Frances universities. In recent years, a new, more diverse generation of social science scholars has embraced studies of race, gender and post-colonialism as tools to understand a nation that has often been averse to reflect on its history or on subjects like race and racism.

They have clashed with an older generation of intellectuals who regard these social science theories as American imports though many of the thinkers behind race, gender and post-colonialism are French or of other nationalities.

Mr. Macron, who had shown little interest in the issues in the past, has won over many conservatives in recent months by coming down hard against what he has called certain social science theories entirely imported from the United States.
In a major speech on Islamism last fall, Mr. Macron talked of children or grandchildren of Arab and African immigrants revisiting their identity through a post-colonial or anticolonial discourse falling into a trap set by people who use this discourse as a form of self-hatred nurtured against France.

In recent months, Mr. Macron has moved further to the right as part of a strategy to draw support from his likely main challenger in next years presidential election, Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader. Polls show that Mr. Macrons edge has shrunk over Ms. Le Pen, who was his main rival in the last election.

Chlo Morin, a public opinion expert at the Fondation Jean-Jaurs, a Paris-based research group, said that Mr. Macrons political base has completely shifted to the right and that his ministers use of the expression Islamo-leftism speaks to the right-wing electorate.

It has perhaps become one of the most effective terms for discrediting an opponent, Ms. Morin said.

Last fall, Mr. Macrons ministers adopted a favorite expression of the far right, ensauvagement, or turning savage, to decry supposedly out-of-control crime even though the governments own statistics showed that crime was actually flat or declining.

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COVxy posted...

But maybe it being around for over a decade and having their constituency heavily depend on it had something to do with that?

Why did it stay around? Not because of the filibuster. No instead the filibuster meant Democrats needed Joe Lieberman and Max Baucus' votes, resulting in the public option being taken out of the bill.

I am not convinced that legislation rarely passing in the first place is preferable to a party that wins the presidency, house, and senate being able to implement its agenda. The quagmire created by the filibuster just contributes to the growing sense many have that nothing can get done through congress, which Republicans are just fine with.

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My point being: if Mitch McConnell doesn't think getting rid of the filibuster would help Republicans, whose agenda is unpopular and whose elected officials show no real interest in governing, why should you?

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I beat Yakuza 0 in like 10 days, but that's probably as quick as I've rushed through a game in my adult life.

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Fam_Fam posted...

The GOP will have NO mercy if you give them power, they've shown that time and time again.

I agree. So why do you think Mitch McConnell didn't get rid of the filibuster when he had the power to do so in 2017?

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Fam_Fam posted...

they'd be able to implement lots and lots of horrible policies for lots of people. Wanting the majority party to be able to have free reign over all policy sounds like when you're in charge. it is very, very bad when the other side is in charge. people are too short-sighted to see that though.

None of our 50 state governments have a supermajority requirement for regular legislation, nor do any other major countries. The senate itself didn't until like 25 years ago!

All the filibuster accomplishes is making our federal government sclerotic, unable to pass any legislation on climate change, gun control, or minimum wage, at a time when the public overwhelmingly wants action on these issues. Republicans are entirely comfortable with that status quo; Democrats shouldn't be.

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Bump

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What does CE think?

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Were_Wyrm posted...

1. Logs in
2. Rejects all ride offers
3. ???
4. Profit!!!

Uber already can penalize drivers who reject too many offers.

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I'm glad Uber drivers will be paid for the time they spend working.

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https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/539436-biden-team-unveils-new-ice-deportation-measures?amp

"While the Biden administration rightly acknowledges that immigrants are our family members, our coworkers, and our neighbors, for now it has chosen to continue giving ICE officers significant discretion to conduct operations that harm our communities and tear families apart," Naureen Shah, senior advocacy and policy counsel for ACLU, said in a release.
"The interim enforcement priorities detailed today import the injustices of the criminal legal system and will lead to continued disproportionate deportations of Black and Brown immigrants. The priorities use sweeping and overbroad presumptions of threat that have for decades resulted in biased profiling," Shah added.
The ACLU also criticized the portion of the policy allowing the arrest of anyone that crossed the border illegally after Nov. 1, something they say assumes that all recent border crossers are threats and conflicts with Biden's attempts to redesign the asylum process.

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Semi-related
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1362515223886848003?s=19

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https://twitter.com/Jeffrey_Hannon/status/1362601426699116546

It's a long thread, but starts getting into what happened starting here

https://twitter.com/Jeffrey_Hannon/status/1362601436694130690


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Taking notes on which users don't pick me, and adding them to my spreadsheet

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The "Build Complete Feb 14" not being checked off by now, the 18th, is what has me confused. I'm probably just paranoid.

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whitelytning posted...

He is a US Senator that spends a ton of time outside of Texas and has little to do with the running of the actual state.

Beto O'Rourke doesn't hold any office currently, and found the ability to do this
https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1362280019863564291

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We can and should expect high-ranking public officials to help out during times of crisis, rather than vacationing abroad in a pandemic.

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Hitman 3 - A fine successor to one of my favorite games of all time
Mario 3D World - Really neat; it's recognizable as a platformer, but there are moments when I swear it feels more like a WarioWare game.
Wreckfest - Smashing shit is a lot of fun!

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pure_temper posted...

Gotta get things stable, lay the groundwork for elevating society, and then when people see that there's nothing to fear...be even bolder!

Just want to note that this was Obama's approach, and when he left office Trump was president and the GOP controlled congress.

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https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/539436-biden-team-unveils-new-ice-deportation-measures?amp

The Biden administration rolled out new instructions to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers Thursday, temporarily restricting the causes agents can rely on for initiating deportation.

The enforcement priorities, which will be in effect for up to 90 days while ICE develops long-term guidelines, shrinks the types of convictions that allow for someone to be deported as a public safety threat.

The guidelines additionally allow for deportation of those who are deemed a national security threat due to terrorism or espionage concerns or who illegally crossed a U.S. border after Nov. 1 of last year.

The policy will also create more oversight of ICE agents, requiring pre-approval before seeking to deport anyone that doesn't meet the new criteria.

"By focusing our limited resources on cases that present threats to national security, border security, and public safety, our agency will more ably and effectively execute its law enforcement mission," ICE Acting Director Tae Johnson said in a release.

"Like every law enforcement agency at the local, state, and federal level, we must prioritize our efforts to achieve the greatest security and safety impact."

The order specifically notes agents are not required to arrest or remove anyone, and that ICE officers are expected to "exercise their discretion thoughtfully."

"This is a great first step in terms of laying out clear priorities in terms of going after national and domestic threats for deportations, focusing on gang members and cartel members and terrorists as opposed to going after Juan the gardener or Maria the maid, which made no sense," Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, told The Hill.

Those living in the U.S. undocumented will be deemed a public safety threat if they've been convicted of an aggravated felony, a term that includes violent crimes but can include some serious but nonviolent offenses. The memo also encourages a focus on those involved in gang activity.

But the directive also encourages ICE officers to weigh a broad set of factors before pursuing deportation.

"In evaluating whether an individual poses a threat to public safety, officers and agents are to consider the extensiveness, seriousness, and recency of any criminal activity, as well as mitigating factors, including, but not limited to, personal and family circumstances, health and medical factors, ties to the community, and evidence of rehabilitation," ICE wrote in its release.

Though seeking to limit how criminal history can be used in the deportation process, officers will still hold considerable discretion, making it difficult to determine how the memo will be used in the field going forward.

That concerns the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

"While the Biden administration rightly acknowledges that immigrants are our family members, our coworkers, and our neighbors, for now it has chosen to continue giving ICE officers significant discretion to conduct operations that harm our communities and tear families apart," Naureen Shah, senior advocacy and policy counsel for ACLU, said in a release.

"The interim enforcement priorities detailed today import the injustices of the criminal legal system and will lead to continued disproportionate deportations of Black and Brown immigrants. The priorities use sweeping and overbroad presumptions of threat that have for decades resulted in biased profiling," Shah added.

The ACLU also criticized the portion of the policy allowing the arrest of anyone that crossed the border illegally after Nov. 1, something they say assumes that all recent border crossers are threats and conflicts with Biden's attempts to redesign the asylum process.

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Cool!

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Accolon posted...

I always laugh when people are surprised that Biden isn't doing Progressive stuff.

Like, what did you think he was? If you wanted Progressive, Bernie was running.

Do you see surprise here?

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As someone who repeatedly made anti-Cuomo topics last summer, that never happened to me.

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https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1362546211018866691


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Oh whoops, lol
https://gfycat.com/WeightyGlaringIrishwaterspaniel.mp4

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Tl;dr: it's a racing/demolition derby game from the devs who made the old Burnout titles, with all the crash physics and damage you'd want and expect.

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https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/02/gop-plan-for-broadband-competition-would-ban-city-run-networks-across-us/

House Republicans have unveiled their plan for "boosting" broadband connectivity and competition, and one of the key planks is prohibiting states and cities from building their own networks. The proposal to ban new public networks was included in the "Boosting Broadband Connectivity Agenda" announced Tuesday by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Bob Latta (R-Ohio), the top Republicans on the House Commerce Committee and Subcommittee for Communications and Technology, respectively.

Republicans call it the CONNECT Act, for "Communities Overregulating Networks Need Economic Competition Today." The bill "would promote competition by limiting government-run broadband networks throughout the country and encouraging private investment," the Commerce Committee Republicans said in their announcement, without explaining how limiting the number of broadband networks would increase competition. Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) is the lead sponsor.

The bill itself says that "a State or political subdivision thereof may not provide or offer for sale to the public, a telecommunications provider, or to a commercial provider of broadband Internet access service, retail or wholesale broadband Internet access service."

The bill has an exception that would allow existing government networks to continue in cities and towns without substantial broadband competition. States or municipalities that already offer Internet service may continue to do so if "there is no more than one other commercial provider of broadband Internet access that provides competition for that service in a particular area."

But existing networks would also be prevented from expanding into other areas. The bill says that states and municipalities already offering service "may not construct or extend facilities used to deliver broadband Internet access service beyond the geographic area in which the State or political subdivision thereof lawfully operates." The Republican bill also makes an exception for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which operates a fiber network but doesn't have carveouts for any other specific entities.

The bill is reminiscent of laws in nearly 20 states that restrict the building of municipal networks. But it has no realistic chance of passage in the Democratic-controlled House.

"I think they know it won't go anywhere and just want to make a statement against municipal networks without really caring how it will work," Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, told Ars. Mitchell's group has done research on how publicly owned networks encourage economic development by attracting businesses and jobs.

PCMag recently named Chattanooga, Tennessee, the best work-from-home city in the nation, citing in part the city's "widely available broadband Internet" provided by the Chattanooga Electric Power Board. Comcast initially tried to block that public network from being built but eventually upgraded its own service to better compete against the public option.

The Republicans' proposed ban on state and municipal networks is one of 28 bills in the Republican agenda. Most of the others remove regulatory requirements or speed up permitting processes for ISPs. Republicans said the 28 bills "aim to turbocharge public and private investment," even though the ban on state or municipal networks would reduce public investment.

Comcast thanks them for their service

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That's too tall!

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specialkid8 posted...

disease goes down and life expectancy goes up.

In the US, life expectancy has gone down five of the last six years
https://www.voanews.com/science-health/after-4-years-decline-us-life-expectancy-rises-little
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/us-life-expectancy-drops-year-half-2020-amid/story?id=75965992

Anyways, I think in general we're seeing better conditions for racial and sexual minorities in the western world, while simultaneously careening towards climate disaster that will immiserate hundreds of millions in the decades to come.

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Pot que no los dos

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I would just note, again, that Cruz won among transplants and lost among native Texans in 2018, according to exit polling
https://www.fox4news.com/news/exit-poll-more-native-texans-voted-for-beto-orourke-than-ted-cruz

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