From jbn at forestfield.org Sat Jul 1 22:26:57 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2023 17:26:57 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Max Blumenthal addresses UN Security Council on Ukraine aid Message-ID: <2e43f1de-f242-2730-ebc9-e31d6fee724a@forestfield.org> Max Blumenthal addresses UN Security Council on Ukraine aid https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ddc1ix_9MII From jbn at forestfield.org Sat Jul 1 22:34:32 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2023 17:34:32 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Tucker on Twitter (for now) and on Rumble too: https://rumble.com/c/TuckeronTwitter Message-ID: <8f3d5e85-affa-6c98-7e8a-9d5984dd0981@forestfield.org> I'm not sure if Tucker Carlson's show "Tucker on Twitter" is going to stay on Twitter. Twitter policy has changed: now Twitter is unreadable without a Twitter account. Elon Musk claimed that he instituted this and other changes (such as limits on how many posts one can read in 24 hours) were made "To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation". But now Twitter gets to know that any Twitter post is only read by a Twitter user account holder, not the general public reading posts without logging in. So until Twitter front-ends like Nitter (see https://nitter.net for more info) get accounts and use them to proxy-read posts, you won't be able to read Twitter without a Twitter account. I don't think Twitter's policy changes were aimed at Tucker Carlson. But I think those changes sharply hurt Carlson's reach. If I were Carlson I'd switch to other distribution points (archive.org, rumble.com, rokfin.com, and Carlson's own website among other technically-literate and less easily censored choices like encrypted networks and use of BitTorrent) so that people can continue to download and watch his show without any kind of account anywhere. Someone (possibly Tucker Carlson's team) has been posting his videos to Rumble.com as well: https://rumble.com/c/TuckeronTwitter From jbn at forestfield.org Sat Jul 1 23:14:07 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2023 18:14:07 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?RT=3A_=22Gas_guzzlers_cheaper_to_use_i?= =?utf-8?q?n_Britain_than_EVs_=E2=80=93_report=22?= Message-ID: <881519db-33f8-4932-eaba-fc3066bc4587@forestfield.org> It looks like the price of joining the US in its proxy war against Russia via Ukraine is hurting Western Europe even more. Perhaps this has always been a war of choice against multiple targets: Ukraine (which is paying the heaviest price in lives), Russia (a regime change war), other NATO countries (as they sacrifice their economies to further US-driven ends), and the US non-elites (we pay higher prices and lose as-yet-unacknowledged 'boots on the ground')? From https://www.rt.com/business/578933-uk-ev-charge-electricity-prices/ > Soaring electricity costs in the UK have made gasoline and diesel cars cheaper to > use than environmentally friendly electric vehicles (EVs) as charging the latter > have become almost unaffordable for many, a report by the Climate Change > Committee (CCC) showed. > > A rise in electricity prices along with a widespread reduction in disposable > income is having a considerable impact on EV owners in the UK, according to the > report. > > ?Sharply rising electricity prices have reduced the per-mile cost savings offered > by EVs compared to fossil-fuelled vehicles,? the CCC said in its 2023 progress > report to the British Parliament. > > Drivers reliant on rapid and ultra-rapid public chargers now face higher costs > than owners of gasoline or diesel cars, the CCC said. Electric car owners, whether > charging their cars at home or via contracts with charging operators, have seen > sharp price rises over the past year. > > A further surge in power costs is expected, owing to the fact that the price of > electricity is linked to that of natural gas, which has become scarcer since > imports from Russia to Western Europe were slashed amid sanctions imposed on > Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine. > > The EV charging network in Britain has expanded by around one-third over the past > year, according to the CCC report. Researchers pointed out, however, that the > provision of charging points across the country remained inconsistent, sparking > concerns over their reliability and cost. From jbn at forestfield.org Sat Jul 1 23:16:31 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2023 18:16:31 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] John Mearsheimer's new Substack and interview with Glenn Greenwald Message-ID: <6032cccf-2f9d-12b3-a44f-fff229fb22af@forestfield.org> John Mearsheimer's article on his new Substack https://mearsheimer.substack.com/p/the-darkness-ahead-where-the-ukraine Glenn Greenwald interviews John Mearsheimer about this article https://rumble.com/v2x7via-system-update-show-109.html From jbn at forestfield.org Sun Jul 2 01:46:38 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2023 20:46:38 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Town Hall on NewsNation Message-ID: <1313d174-fd85-e1db-00dd-354189b6074e@forestfield.org> Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Town Hall on NewsNation ? RFK Jr. Town Hall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLW9s6NpS7w This is worth seeing if only to hear someone with some ability to speak and be heard talk peace about Ukraine (around 9m), point out how BoJo broke up the Minsk accords, that the US did not act in good faith, and admit that our war is a regime change war against Russia. The host (Elizabeth Vargas, former host of Disney's "20/20" so-called 'news magazine') just can't stop trying to break up this talk with more establishment-friendly name-calling which never recognizes US culpability and how well American leaders fit her description. But Kennedy does a good job of keeping on message. It's clear, once you listen to what Kennedy says from his own mouth, that you're being fed fake news about Kennedy by establishment-serving media. All cards on the table: I bought a copy of Kennedy's book on Dr. Tony Fauci and it's excellent research work. It takes a long time to read and follow up on the many footnotes but it was well worth the effort. I've also got Kennedy's next book ("The Wuhan Cover-Up: How US Health Officials Conspired with the Chinese Military to Hide the Origins of COVID-19") on order and (surprise!) that book is being delayed again and again (I was supposed to receive my copy by late May 2023. It was delayed to late June 2023, 1st week of August 2023, and now delayed again to mid-September 2023). I think that it's highly unlikely that the DNC Corporation (aka "the Democratic Party") will choose Kennedy. Primaries are public affairs festivals aimed at distracting people who don't understand that they have no real say in how that corporation chooses its standards bearers[1]. So it doesn't matter what a so-called primary election says or how that was conducted, hence this NewsNation "Decision Desk '24" is playing right into that distraction. I think that if Kennedy seriously wants to be POTUS he is not likely to get there by running with the DNC corporation and running with that corporation seriously interferes with electoral success for him. But perhaps there is value in being able to speak and be heard to the degree that he is being heard. If you want a serious interview, at length, on issues that matter it's clear that you go to the most watched media: Joe Rogan. Rogan's shows get a much larger audience than anything NewsNation, ABC, CBS, CNN, New York Times, MSNBC, PBS, etc. put on. So Rogan is the mainstream, if mainstream means evaluating media by popularity. And Rogan has made it clear that a 3-hour+ interview is fine. This threatens the establishment. If Peter Hotez, PhD, MD debated RFK Jr. on vaccines and Covid policy for hours on Rogan's show (as Rogan invited both Kennedy and Hotez to do) Kennedy would wipe the floor with Hotez and everyone knows it, including Hotez and his big pharma-backed set of commentators who are desperately trying to convince people that it's somehow unfit for Hotez to debate Kennedy at length on Rogan's show. [1] DNC corporate lawyer Bruce Spiva pointed out to the court years ago in the lawsuit brought by disaffected Bernie Sanders supporters: > Bruce Spiva: [...] We're gonna, you know, choose our standard bearer, and we're > gonna follow these general rules of the road, which we are voluntarily deciding, > we could have ? and we could have voluntarily decided that, Look, we're gonna go > into back rooms like they used to and smoke cigars and pick the candidate that > way. That's not the way it was done. But they could have. And that would have also > been their right [...] I don't know where to get the complete source to this court transcript because the copy formerly at http://jampac.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/042517cw2.pdf is no longer reachable. This reads on every so-called political party headed up by a corporation, not just the DNC corporation (Democrats). From jbn at forestfield.org Thu Jul 6 21:06:12 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2023 16:06:12 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] What's Really Behind The French Riots w/ Pepe Escobar In-Reply-To: References: <43d4e7e4-652a-d1bf-9c50-9544bac60b3c@forestfield.org> <4eaebc4d-b21c-9b94-e7c4-1963ead889d7@forestfield.org> <3b74f0f1-2327-b864-a464-5102ac674bc9@forestfield.org> <29717df7-6280-9058-1539-6c199c49dc4d@forestfield.org> Message-ID: What's Really Behind The French Riots w/ Pepe Escobar https://youtube.com/watch?v=LrwH_MmYero https://rumble.com/v2xyedi-whats-really-behind-the-french-riots-w-pepe-escobar.html This is an RT interview by Fiorella Isobel (who co-hosts The Convo Couch) with Pepe Escobar. From jbn at forestfield.org Thu Jul 6 21:08:58 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2023 16:08:58 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?RT=3A_Half_of_Berlin=E2=80=99s_militar?= =?utf-8?q?y_modernization_budget_to_end_up_in_Washington=E2=80=99s_hands?= Message-ID: https://rumble.com/v2yh184-half-of-berlins-military-modernization-budget-to-end-up-in-washingtons-hand.html https://www.rt.com/news/579223-us-contractors-german-modernization/ Where some of the money in the latest American war grift is coming from. From jbn at forestfield.org Thu Jul 6 21:20:16 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2023 16:20:16 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] RT: China calls for Japan, South Korea to unite and move away from Western ideals Message-ID: <2a0f7efc-e015-e994-0725-63d21245fb08@forestfield.org> https://rumble.com/v2ygdcw-china-calls-for-japan-south-korea-to-unite-and-move-away-from-western-ideal.html Interesting commentary which rightly calls American military bases on foreign land what they are--occupation. From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Thu Jul 6 21:50:23 2023 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2023 17:50:23 -0400 Subject: [Peace-discuss] breaking: Cluster bomb xfer prohibition introduced on House NDAA In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I gather that this is a work in progress. I heard that the Quest for a Republican co-sponsor is underway. https://twitter.com/justfp/status/1677060923536572417 [image: image.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 572740 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jbn at forestfield.org Thu Jul 6 23:41:13 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2023 18:41:13 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?RT=3A_Half_of_Berlin=E2=80=99s_militar?= =?utf-8?q?y_modernization_budget_to_end_up_in_Washington=E2=80=99s_hands?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I wrote: > Where some of the money in the latest American war grift is coming from. And related to this in regards to the American budget, Glenn Greenwald's show tonight -- https://rumble.com/v2yi1b6-system-update-111.html -- focuses on how endless war bankrupts us starting with public services we all care about and eventually need such as Medicare and Social Security. I've been watching it live and I can already see that I'll recommend this video for both anti-war purposes and a practical means of getting money to pay for stuff (as in the "how're you gonna pay for that?" line often raised when someone suggests social programs but is never raised when a war is proposed or threatened). We're paying a lot for this war against Russia via Ukraine over a region of the world long identified (even by previous Democrats) as of no significant interest to the US. We could save over a quarter of a trillion dollars by ending American wars of choice. That's enough to fund anything we want: guaranteed potable water to all American homes, continuing Social Security & Medicare, maintaining American roads & bridges, and so much more (including building and/or allocating extant small family homes for the "homeless living under every bridge" as Jimmy Dore points out). And there are plenty of jobs to be had in all of these efforts. Other countries seem to understand the connection that money spent in war is money not spent to improve the infrastructure of the country (including the improvements in the lives of their citizens). What was it that the Students for a Democratic Society said, "everything is connected"? From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Fri Jul 7 15:43:25 2023 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2023 11:43:25 -0400 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Codepink: ask Reps to co-sponsor NDAA amendment banning cluster bomb transfer In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Codepink is in the House. In particular: if we could get *one* Republican co-sponsor on this amendment, the amendment would become "bipartisan." That would likely help us significantly in the Rules Committee to get a floor vote. Remember: 40 Republicans voted with us in June 2016 on the Lieu-Conyers amendment to bar the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia. Here are the 40 Republicans who voted yes. Burgess and Massie are on the Rules Committee now . Amash, Blum, Brooks (AL), *Burgess*, Clawson (FL), Cramer, Davidson, Dent, Duncan (TN), Garrett, Gibson, Gohmert, Gosar, Grothman, Huelskamp, Issa, Jones, Jordan, Knight, Labrador, LoBiondo, Lummis, *Massie*, McClintock, McKinley, Meadows, Mulvaney, Palmer, Pitts, Poe (TX), Posey, Roe (TN), Rohrabacher, Rooney (FL), Schweikert, Sensenbrenner, Smith (NJ), Stutzman, Walker, Yoho. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Marcy Winograd Date: Fri, Jul 7, 2023 at 8:47?AM Subject: [CODEPINKCONGRESS] Pls ask your House rep to co-sponsor the NDAA amendment banning cluster bombs. Here's a link to the amendment. Dear CODEPINK Congress: House reps Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) have introduced an amendment to the NDAA or military budget to ban the use and export license for cluster munitions (see photo attachment). *Please call your House rep (202-224-3121) and email, too, urging your rep to co-sponsor this amendment and vote for it* *when it reaches the floor soon.* CODEPINK sent out an alert this morning to mobilize opposition to sending these internationally-banned weapons, each one containing hundreds if not thousands of shiny bomblets that often fail to explode until years later when a child picks up a bomblet thinking it's a toy, only to have a limb blown off. Please click on this alert. This morning the Washington Post reported the White House will send Ukraine cluster munitions, bypassing US law prohibiting the shipment of cluster bombs with a failure to detonate rate of more than 1 percent. More than 120 countries, according to the Post, have signed the UN Convention on Cluster Munitions to outlaw their use. Peace, Marcy Winograd Coordinator, CODEPINK Congress (codepink.org/codepinkcongress) Co-Chair, Peace in Ukraine Coalition @MarcyWinograd on twitter -- Marcy Winograd Coordinator, CODEPINK Congress (codepink.org/codepinkcongress) Co-Chair, Peace in Ukraine Coalition @MarcyWinograd on twitter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From moboct1 at aol.com Sun Jul 9 02:23:39 2023 From: moboct1 at aol.com (moboct1 at aol.com) Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2023 02:23:39 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] WHAT??? ELLIOT ABRAMS, NEOCON CONVICTED OF LYING TO CONGRESS, In-Reply-To: <844372189.6674178.1688868800826@aol.com> References: <844372189.6674178.1688868800826@aol.com> Message-ID: <1544574979.804808.1688869419157@mail.yahoo.com> Abrams, who served as a State Department advisor to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush on the U.S. dirty wars in Latin America and State Dept. foreign affairs advisor to President Trump on Iran and attempted coup in Venezuela, who was convicted of lying to Congress about Iran-Contra while Joe Biden was in the Senate, now appointed by President Biden to the Public Diplomacy Commission? WHAT???? HAS THE MAN LOST HIS MEMORY?? Is Uncle Joe trying to lock up the Repugnantcan vote too? To use an old Irish expression, THAT GOES BEYOND THE BEYONDS! To use an old Irish expression, THAT GOES BEYOND THE BEYONDS! Midge O'Brien ?? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From moboct1 at aol.com Sun Jul 9 02:27:36 2023 From: moboct1 at aol.com (moboct1 at aol.com) Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2023 02:27:36 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fw: The shocking nomination In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1774383337.798621.1688869656751@mail.yahoo.com> Subject: The shocking nomination Biden blatantly disregards human rights by nominating Elliott Abrams Over the 4th of July long weekend, President Biden quietly nominated Elliott Abrams to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.? Hardline neoconservative, architect of catastrophic interventions and coups in Latin America ? someone who embodies the complete opposite of public diplomacy ? yes that Elliott Abrams is the one Biden nominated. His recent stint as Trump's special envoy to Iran and Venezuela should be a glaring reminder of his approach to foreign policy and reckless disregard for humanitarian concerns. And who could forget that Abrams' past includes pleading guilty to two counts of withholding information from Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal.? It is deeply disturbing that Abrams, who deliberately misled Congress and the people of the U.S., is now nominated to a diplomatic post. It?s incumbent upon President Biden to swiftly reconsider this nomination and demonstrate a commitment to upholding human rights. Sign now and add your name to this petition and show the White House that they can?t sneak this nomination through. President Biden?s nomination of Elliot Abrams to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy is completely unacceptable. | ACT NOW | We understand that the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy is a non-partisan commission and President Biden is expected to nominate Republican candidates as well. But Elliott Abrams should never have been considered in the first place ? let alone actually receive the nomination.? Abrams' record includes a horrific endorsement of human rights abuses. His actions during the Reagan era, when he downplayed reports of a massacre in El Mozote, El Salvador, and supported Latin American death squads, are gruesome.? It's a stark reminder of his consistent negligence and reckless disregard for human life and dignity. The thought of such a person serving on the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy is disgraceful.? Critics, human rights advocates, and all those who value democratic principles agree that Abrams' nomination is indefensible. His legacy of deception and brutal policies tarnishes any commitment by President Biden to human rights and global diplomacy.? We must ensure our voices are heard loud and clear, stating that we do not accept this nomination and that Abrams should have no place in any Democratic administration. Join the collective call to action against Elliott Abrams' nomination to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Democracy, transparency, and human rights must be upheld in the face of this nomination. Thank you for working for peace, Sam, Eric, Raimy, and the Win Without War team P.S. Here?s a clip of Rep. Ilhan Omar questioning Elliott Abrams on his disastrous record during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in 2019. ??? | Donate | | A U.S. foreign policy rooted in human rights and justice won?t happen overnight. If you?re with us for the long haul, consider a monthly donation. | | Win Without War is a 501(c)4 organization and donations are not tax deductible. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution, please visit the Win Without War Education Fund here. | | | | | ? Win Without War 2021 1 Thomas Circle NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 656-4999 | info at winwithoutwar.org? This email was sent to moboct1 at aol.com. Email is the most important way for us to reach you about opportunities to act. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, click here to unsubscribe. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jbn at forestfield.org Mon Jul 10 01:01:34 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2023 20:01:34 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Recent Danny Haiphong interviews include Pepe Escobar, The Duran In-Reply-To: References: <43d4e7e4-652a-d1bf-9c50-9544bac60b3c@forestfield.org> <4eaebc4d-b21c-9b94-e7c4-1963ead889d7@forestfield.org> <3b74f0f1-2327-b864-a464-5102ac674bc9@forestfield.org> <29717df7-6280-9058-1539-6c199c49dc4d@forestfield.org> Message-ID: Pepe Escobar: NATO is CRUMBLING as Russia and China Assume World Leadership https://youtube.com/watch?v=_NNLv4LmizM Related: RT https://rumble.com/v2ybx2q-brics-plans-to-introduce-new-gold-backed-currency.html The Duran: Liz Truss' PATHETIC Taiwan Visit Escalates Conflict with China https://youtube.com/watch?v=0go1Ti8p2jI The Duran: Ukraine is OUT OF TIME as Russia's Air Force Destroys Patriot Systems https://youtube.com/watch?v=oIb_AMQ3xgY From carl at newsfromneptune.com Mon Jul 10 19:06:19 2023 From: carl at newsfromneptune.com (C. G. Estabrook) Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2023 14:06:19 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: The Cradle References: Message-ID: > Begin forwarded message: > > From: "The Cradle" > Subject: The Cradle > Date: July 9, 2023 at 4:33:43 PM CDT > To: carl at newsfromneptune.com > Reply-To: contact at thecradle.co > > Can't read or see images? View this email in a browser > > <> > The Cradle ?@thecradlemedia > Please support The Cradle on Patreon? today. To learn more about our unique journalism and vision, click here . Thank you for reading our free content. > Exclusives > > How the Taliban crushed the CIA's heroin bonanza in Afghanistan > > Despite western accusations, it has never been The Taliban behind the Afghan drug industry, but only ever the US and its allies, with billions in profits breezily laundered through the global financial system. By William Van Wagenen > > Finance, power, integration: The SCO welcomes a new 'Global Globe' > > Discussions at the recent SCO Summit in New Delhi now point to the inevitable: The merging of new multipolar organizations and their collective reorganization of global finance. By Pepe Escobar > > From Washington to Beijing and Moscow: Netanyahu's quest for global relevance > > As an Atlanticist colonial project, the state of Israel is now wrestling with how to engage with the multipolar east without losing its unconditional western support. By MK Bhadrakumar > > Israel's bloodcurdling 'poison policy' to replace Palestinians with Jewish settlers > > To vacate Palestinian lands for incoming Jewish settlements, Israel greenlit covert crop-dusting operations to spray toxic chemicals that would drive out the local population. By Kit Klarenberg > > How the Mossad finally crossed Turkiye's red lines > > Once intelligence-sharing partners, Israel's notorious Mossad spy agency now faces a massive backlash from Turkiye for violating its sovereignty and infiltrating its national security. By Hasan Illiak > News > > Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov disappears in Baghdad > > Erdogan returns Azov prisoners to Ukraine, angering Moscow > > Jenin resistance confronts largest Israeli siege in 21 years > > Iraq wants to drop dollar in Iran trade to 'relieve US pressure' > > Syria revokes BBC accreditation for ?biased and misleading? reports > > Turkish authorities detain seven linked to Mossad cell > > US-backed militia abducts young men in ?recruitment? campaign in eastern Syria > > Algerian, Iranian FMs meet to deepen cooperation > > > > > This email was sent by contact at thecradle.co to carl at newsfromneptune.com > Not interested? Unsubscribe | Manage Preference | Update profile > The Cradle | West Asia > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jbn at forestfield.org Sun Jul 23 00:03:19 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2023 19:03:19 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] All the more why we need independent journalism Message-ID: <77b15c3f-6ea5-2f71-bd88-78c60ca5beff@forestfield.org> https://www.rt.com/news/580131-google-journalism-ai-chatbot-genesis/ begins > Google is testing an AI-powered journalism product and pitching it to major news > organizations, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing three sources close > to the matter. The Times was allegedly one of the outlets approached by Google. > > Known internally as Genesis, the tool is capable of generating news stories based > on user inputs ? details of current events like who, what, where, or when, the > sources said. The company allegedly sees it as ?responsible technology? ? a > middle-ground for news organizations not interested in replacing their human staff > with generative AI. > > In addition to the creep factor ? two executives who saw Google?s pitch reportedly > called it ?unsettling? ? Genesis? mechanized approach to storytelling rubbed some > journalists the wrong way. Two insiders told the Times it appeared to take for > granted the talent required to produce news stories that were not only accurate > but well-written. > > A spokeswoman for Google insisted Genesis was ?not intended to?replace the > essential role journalists have in reporting, creating, and fact-checking their > articles? but could instead offer up options for headlines and other writing > styles. This means that what constitutes news could come from one organization with well-known government ties (think union of state and private power) -- Google -- quickly generating articles that are published by a number of front-ends -- organizations whose brand names you ostensibly trust. Publishing under a lot of different brands reduces those outlets to brand names and gives the reader the impression that they're getting the same overall view from multiple outlets which will help the unsavvy reader think that they're getting the truth. With the exception of being automatically generated, we see this in the tech articles all the time. In tech journalism, industry norms are repeated with great speed. Humans read press releases from all of the big tech names you know such as Microsoft, Apple, Qualcomm, and others, then reiterate (and in some cases repeat and/or point to) those press releases. The human-generated output is published as news. Tech discussion sites link to those news articles and invite the public to discuss the article. Countervailing opinions on tech discussion sites are quickly "moderated". For instance, if one dares to bring up software freedom (the freedom to run, share, and modify published computer software) in the context of an article where non-free software is at the center of the discussion, one finds that that post is silenced. On Hacker News, for example, such a post will be drawn in a color closer to that of the background color making that post harder to see by default. On Slashdot, the post's score will be lowered by other site account holders (including industry shills and people who don't want to engage in honest conversation). This makes the post less likely to be shown at all because high-scoring posts are sorted to the top. Eventually the low-score post is simply not republished by default which means most visitors to the site won't see that post. Posts that support (or at least don't challenge) the article's assumptions and point of view are either given points or left alone. Moderation is thus indistinguishable from censorship and because moderation is done by other user accounts, we're supposed to believe that moderation is acceptable. Pro-software freedom articles are rarely accepted for discussion on such tech discussion sites. They show up just often enough to allow the site to dodge criticisms that the site is entirely one-sided but if you scroll through the articles you'll easily find far more articles and posts supporting industry narrative than those challenging industry narrative. Google's main contribution here, then, is automating the first step of writing the article. This has bad outcomes for anyone whose opinions don't align with the site's pro-industry narratives. I think that this model is going to show up more in other areas of journalism including issues such as war and peace, life and death. From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Tue Jul 25 15:00:00 2023 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2023 11:00:00 -0400 Subject: [Peace-discuss] "moonshot": Bipartisan Senate vote on cluster bombs in Ukraine In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: 1. There has been a bipartisan vote in the House. There has been no vote in the Senate. 2. The Senate has different tools than the House. For example: a Joint Resolution of Disapproval pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 is privileged in the Senate, not in the House. A human rights report demand pursuant to Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act is privileged in the Senate, not in the House. A *joint* War Powers Resolution is privileged in the Senate, not in the House. 3. We have the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as a Validator. How often is that true? It's like a meteor shower that comes to visit us once every seven years. Let's make the most of it. https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/us-bishops-international-justice-and-peace-chairman-cluster-munitions-ukraine https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254804/bishop-expresses-moral-concern-over-us-provision-of-cluster-munitions-to-ukraine -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jbn at forestfield.org Mon Jul 31 23:37:00 2023 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2023 18:37:00 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] RFK Jr. interview on Jimmy Dore live now Message-ID: https://rumble.com/v33p0yr-democratic-presidential-candidate-robert-f.-kennedy-jr.-in-studio.html I virtually guarantee you this will not show up on YouTube because YouTube is so censorious. YT is basically killing itself carrying out the authoritarian policies of the Biden/Harris administration. Here's hoping that Rumble will not buckle in its stance to let people speak and be heard to the degree that Rumble does do this. -J