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[hassanrutherford]

Just plain wow!

Cuando le das a los trucos en el FIFA

[hassanrutherford]

A Trump Bombshell Quietly Dropped Last Week. And It Should Shock Us All.

We’ve become so inured to Donald Trump’s proto-fascism that we barely blink an eye when we learn that he tried to manipulate the 2020 election. Yet the most recent revelation should frighten every American to their core.

On Friday, the House oversight committee released notes of a 27 December telephone call from Trump to then acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen, in which Trump told Rosen: “Just say the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R congressmen.” The notes were taken by Richard Donoghue, Rosen’s deputy, who was also on the call.

The release of these notes has barely made a stir. The weekend news was filled with more immediate things – infrastructure! The Delta strain! Inflation! Wildfires! In light of everything else going on, Trump’s bizarre efforts in the last weeks of his presidency seem wearily irrelevant. Didn’t we already know how desperate he was?

In a word, no. This revelation is hugely important.

Rosen obviously rejected Trump’s request. But what if Rosen had obeyed Trump and said to the American public that the election was corrupt – and then “left the rest” to Trump and the Republican congressmen? What would Trump’s and the Republicans’ next moves have been? And which Republican congressmen were in cahoots with Trump in this attempted coup d’état?

Make no mistake: this was an attempted coup.

Trump knew it. Just weeks earlier, then attorney general William Barr said the justice department had found no evidence of widespread fraud that could have overturned the results.

And a few days after Trump’s call to Rosen – on 2 January – Trump told Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, to “find” votes to change the election outcome. He berated Raffensperger for not doing more to overturn the election.

Emails released last month also show that Trump and his allies in the last weeks of his presidency pressured the justice department to investigate totally unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud – forwarding them conspiracy theories and even a draft legal brief they hoped would be filed with the supreme court.

Some people, especially Republican officeholders, believe we should simply forget these sordid details. We must not.

For the first time in the history of the United States we did not have a peaceful transition of power. For the first time in American history, a president refused – still refuses – to concede, and continues to claim, with no basis in fact, that the election was “stolen” from him. For the first time in history, a president actively plotted a coup.

It would have been bad enough were Trump a mere crackpot acting on his own pathetic stage – a would-be dictator who accidentally became president and then, when he lost re-election, went bonkers – after which he was swept into the dustbin of history.

We might then merely regret this temporary lapse in American presidential history. At best, Trump would be seen as a fool and the whole affair an embarrassment to the country.

But Trump was no accident and he’s not in any dustbin. He has turned one of America’s two major parties into his own cult. He has cast the major political division in the US as a clash between those who believe him about the 2020 election and those who do not. He has emboldened state Republicans to execute the most brazen attack on voting rights since Jim Crow. Most Republican senators and representatives dare not cross him. Some of his followers continue to threaten violence against the government. By all accounts, he is running for president again in 2024.

Donald Trump’s proto-fascism poses the largest internal threat to American democracy since the civil war.

What to do about it? Fight it, and the sooner the better.

This final revelation – Trump’s 27 December call to the acting attorney general in which he pleads “Just say the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me” – should trigger section 3 of the 14th amendment, which bars anyone from holding office who “engaged in insurrection” against the US. The current attorney general of the United States, Merrick Garland, should issue an advisory opinion clearly stating this. If Trump wants to take it to the supreme court, fine.

[hassanrutherford]

[hassanrutherford]

Georgia is a racist cessppol. End the illusion. White conservatives in Georgia are shitty. This guy was the police chief, a civic leader, and he was a corrupt piece of garbage. It's the design, not the flaw.

[hassanrutherford]

People aren’t out protesting to be waitresses and hairdressers again. People are out demanding that their waitresses and hairdressers go back to work. The idea is to force the service industry to serve them despite the risk to the servers.

If you have ever wondered what modern white america would think about slavery today consider the white women yelling and screaming because no one will die to do their frosted bangs. They feel every bit as entitled to own the lives of others as they did 150 years ago.

[hassanrutherford]

THE 16 PERSONALITY TEST is generally based on the personality indicator developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers. Their development of the test occurred in the 1940s and was built upon psychological research performed by Carl Jung in the 1920s. The type test is based on a series of questions that gather information on how a person usually responds or relates to various situations.

The answers to these questions are calculated to determine the person’s individual personality type. Important insights can be gained by understanding personality type, such as optimal career choice, better romantic partnerships, and paths to personal growth.

Personality Types: Tests that sort people into 16 different types which are organized by four pairs of opposite traits. 

These pairs are:

Extraversion (E) and Introversion (I)

Sensing (S) and Intuition (N)

Thinking (T) and Feeling (F)

Judging (J) and Perceiving (P)

One of each pair is combined to create a 4-letter abbreviation for each personality type, such as:

ESFP: extraversion (E), sensing (S), feeling (F), perception (P)

INTJ: introversion (I), intuition (N), thinking (T), judgment (J)

These personality traits are grouped into four categories that describe the way in which a person interacts with the world. Everyone experiences both traits in each pair, but usually one is more dominant than the other in the 16 personality test.

Extraversion (E)

Extroverts are energized when in the company of other people, unlike Introverts who are usually reserved, quiet, and prefer to be by themselves. Extroverts like speaking their minds and thrive in social situations. They are usually popular and well-liked by other people. Extroverts may feel down and become drained if they’re not in the company of others for too long.

Introversion (I)

Introverted people are quiet, reserved, and more comfortable being alone than an Extroverted person. Introverts prefer to rely on themselves for entertainment rather than seeking interaction or stimulation from others. They are usually self-sufficient and would rather work alone than in a group. Socializing drains an Introvert’s energy, and they need alone time to recharge. Because of this they put less emphasis on socializing and social skills than an extrovert would.

Sensing (S)

Sensing individuals place great emphasis on what they see, touch and experience in the real world, unlike Intuitive people who would rather live in their imaginations. Prioritizing facts and practicality, those with a Sensing character are outward-looking and prefer not to deal with philosophical ideas or introspective ponderings. They would rather focus on what they can concretely experience with their senses.

Intuition (N)

Intuitive individuals put emphasis on imagination and ideas, rather than what is actually in front of them. They tend to prioritize introspection and dreaming, and oftentimes feel like they do not belong or live in the real world. Unlike Sensing individuals, who enjoy seeing, touching and experiencing the world, intuitive people are inward-focused and prefer living in their own heads. While Sensing people like facts and practicality, Intuitive individuals tend to lean towards allusions, read between the lines, and analyze things at greater depth.

Thinking (T)

Thinking individuals are objective, rational, and logical. Their decisions and actions are usually governed more by their minds than by their hearts. Many people often judge Thinking people as lacking emotion, but that is not true. They can be just as emotional and sensitive as the Feeling group, but feelings are not their main priority, and they can hide their emotions or prevent them from coming to the surface. They prioritize facts over feelings.

Feeling (F)

Individuals with the Feeling trait care more about emotions and expressing them than what is deemed rational or logical. However, this does not mean that Feeling types are irrational; it only means that those with this trait are more likely to express their emotions, as compared to Thinking individuals who prefer to suppress their emotions. Those who focus on feelings and expressions of emotion tend to be more open-minded, vocal, empathetic, and sensitive.

Judging (J)

Those with the Judging trait tend to strategize and plan before they act. They’d prefer a thought-out plan over going with the flow. They are organized, reliable, responsible, and have very good work ethics. They are always prepared, armed with checklists and contingency plans. They are likely to commit to future plans, but may forget to live in the present.

Perceiving (P)

People who have the Perceiving trait rather than the Judging trait value their sense of freedom. They do not want to be tied down to a specific activity or commitment if they think there is something better that is worthy of their time. They are excellent in spotting new opportunities, and they grab them whenever they can. They are good with improvisation, even in emergency situations. They take life as it comes and feel stifled if forced to stick to a schedule.

More than the Sum of Its Parts

Each whole personality type is more than the sum of its traits. In addition to each of the four main traits of each profile, further personality insights from the personality test emerge when the combination of those traits are taken into consideration.

For example, a person with the combination of Thinking (T) and Intuition (N) will behave differently than someone with the traits of Thinking (T) and Sensing (S). The combination of Thinking and Intuition reflects someone who is often in their head, thinking about all the different possible circumstances or even fantastic ideas. But someone with the Thinking and Sensing traits, who may also be often lost in their own thoughts, will be relying on their senses instead of their intuition, and their ponderings will be rooted in the current state of reality.

Test your personality and discover more about yourself. 

[hassanrutherford]

Spotlight on Jean-Michel Basquiat

Born in 1960 to a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat spent his childhood making art and mischief in Boerum Hill. While he never attended art school, he learned by wandering through New York galleries, and listening to the music his father played at home. 

In 2017 his untitled artwork, a sky blue canvas ripped open by an enormous skull, was auctioned off for over 110 million dollars, one of America’s most charismatic painters, and currently, its highest sold.

Basquiat drew inspiration from unexpected places, scribbling his own versions of cartoons, comic books and biblical scenes on scrap paper from his father’s office. But it was a medical encyclopedia that arguably exerted the most powerful influence on Basquiat. When young Jean-Michael was hit by a car, his mother brought a copy of Grey’s Anatomy to his hospital bed. It ignited a lifelong fascination with anatomy that manifested in the skulls, sinew and guts of his later work – which frequently explores both the power and vulnerability of marginalized bodies.

By 17, he launched his first foray into the art world with his friend Al Diaz. They spray painted cryptic statements and symbols all over Lower Manhattan, signed with the mysterious moniker SAMO. These humorous, profound, and rebellious declarations were strategically scattered throughout Soho’s art scene. And after revealing himself as the artist, Basquiat leveraged SAMO’s success to enter the scene himself; selling postcards, playing clubs with his avant-garde band, and boldly seeking out his heroes. By 21, he’d turned to painting full time.

His process was a sort of calculated improvisation. Like Beat writers who composed their work by shredding and reassembling scraps of writing, Basquiat used similar cut-up techniques to remix his materials . When he couldn’t afford canvases, he fashioned them out of discarded wood he found on the street.  He used oil stick, crayons , spray paint and pencil  and pulled quotes from the menus, comic books and textbooks he kept open on the studio floor.

He kept these sources open on his studio floor , often working on multiple projects at once. Pulling in splintered anatomy, reimagined historical scenes, and skulls transplanted from classical still-lives, Basquiat repurposed both present day experiences and art history into an inventive visual language. He worked as if inserting himself into the legacy of artists he borrowed from, producing collages that were just as much in conversation with art history as they were with each other. 

For instance, Toussaint L’Overture versus Savonarola and Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta offer two distinct visions of Basquiat’s historical and contemporary concerns. But they echo each other in the details, such as the reappearing head that also resurfaces in PPCD.   All these pieces form a network that offers physical evidence of Basquiat’s restless and prolific mind.

These chaotic canvases won rapid acclaim and attention.  But despite his increasingly mainstream audience, Basquiat insisted on depicting challenging themes of identity and oppression. Marginalized figures take center stage, such as prisoners, cooks and janitors.  His obsession with bodies, history, and representation can be found in works evoking the Atlantic slave trade and African history, as well as pieces focusing on contemporary race relations. In less than a decade, Basquiat made thousands of paintings and drawings  - along with sculpture , fragments of poetry  and music. 

His output accelerated alongside his meteoric rise to fame, but his life and work were cut tragically short when he died from a drug overdose at the age of 27.  After his death, Basquiat’s work only increased in value  - but the energy and flair of his pieces have impacted much more than their financial worth. Today, his influence swirls around us in music , poetry , fashion  and film  - and his art retains the power to shock, inspire, and get under our skin.

This month, TED-Ed is celebrating Black History Month, or National African American History Month, an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history.

From the TED-Ed Lesson The chaotic brilliance of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat - Jordana Moore Saggese

Animation by Héloïse Dorsan Rachet

[hassanrutherford]

Republicans want to stick it to liberals by enabling a loose-dentured, demented abusive moron to pick his own judge in an obstruction of justice case.

[hassanrutherford]

:/

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[hassanrutherford]

Saw this shared on FB. It covers counter-arguments for a lot of the most common pro-gun points you’ll see people raise. Long read, but very helpful.

[hassanrutherford]

When I think of veterans I think of strength, courage, and resilience. I think of men, women, and transgenders alike who have made extraordinary sacrifices to protect and preserve our freedom. I think of a special breed of people who deserve the best treatment the government can provide and the utmost respect a group can receive.

But it’s not clear that the President feels the same way. We’ve all seen Trump’s actions over the last year, but in order to get a pulse on how veterans feel, I spoke with a number of them to get their take on how veterans’ issues are being handled in the Trump era.

Before we dive into their interviews, we have to put their responses in context. The Trump administration’s messaging is very pro-military, but Trump’s actions are not:

Trump’s disrespect for Gold Star families, including the Khan family.

The exchange he had with Myeshia Johnson, wife of Sergeant La David Johnson, the soldier killed in Niger, and then subsequently lied about.

Trump tried to ban transgenders from serving in the military.

Trump proposed a budget cut to benefits for veterans and government retirees.

Trump signed a law making it easier to fire employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Trump put a temporary hiring freeze on VA employees.

Trump’s budget plan was set to eliminate opioid treatment programs. 68,000 (13%) of all veterans possess some type of opioid-use disorder.

Trump said veterans who face PTSD are weak or not “strong” enough to serve.

Trump made fun of war hero and Senator John McCain for being a prisoner of war.

That time Trump blocked a progressive veteran’s group on Twitter.

he first woman veteran I spoke with is named Aida Gray, and she is 46 years old. Aida lives in the Southwest part of the state of Missouri. Ms. Gray is of Mexican descent. Aida served in the Marines for 9 years ending her active duty in 1998. Aida shared how she felt when she discovered that Trump was running.

Aida was dumfounded and really concerned about his “better than” aura, as she put it. After he won, she realized right away that he was going to go back on his campaign promises. Aida told me she had never been more disgusted than she was with the disrespect Trump showed veterans. She was particularly infuriated when she saw how the Gold Star Khan Family was treated by Trump. Aida was sure that the treatment was due to the family being Muslim.

Aida was at her wit’s end when she witnessed how Trump treated Carryn Owens after her husband — U.S. Navy Special Operator, Senior Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens — died in the botched Yemen raid. Aida felt as if Trump had used the widow as a prop for press. Many people felt that Trump’s lack of military experience led to the Special Op’s death.

Read Further ….

Phroyd

[hassanrutherford]

Guys we’re being presented with an opportunity to have Ajit Pai FIRED from his position which someone as corrupt and untrustworthy as him has no right to continue holding! SPREAD THE WORD!!! #FireAjitPai #FireAjitSavetheNet

[hassanrutherford]

Awkward family portraits with cats will always be one of my favorite things on the internet

[hassanrutherford]

This is an amazingly revealing interpretation of non simple wave form/function.

Particle and wave: A dichotomy

.“While the founding fathers agonized over the question “particle or “wave” de Broglie in 1925 proposed the obvious answer “particle” and “wave”.. This idea seems so natural and simple, to resolve the wave-particle dilemma in such a clear and ordinary way, that it is a great mystery to me that it was generally ignored”

- John Stewart Bell from Bell’s Theorem

Now having taken this grand tour in pilot-wave hydrodynamics, one must also be aware of the ongoing controversy that has wrapped around pilot-wave theory over the years.

De Broglie: The pioneer of Pilot wave theory

In the eyes of De Broglie, all this would be a trip down memory lane. In 1927, he proposed an alternate interpretation for quantum mechanics - The pilot wave theory by saying that all particles are accompanied by a pilot wave.

What on earth does that mean?

Here is the analogous version of it. Observe this animation carefully:

At first, you just see a wave propagating outwards like when you drop a pebble on a pond.

But when a vibrational excitation is given, that wave is split into two traveling waves moving in opposite directions.

And as you know when two waves traveling in opposite directions are set up just right, you obtain a standing wave pattern.

This is known as a pilot wave (or) wave that pilots/guides the droplet where to go.

How does it ‘pilot’ the droplet?

At each bounce, if the droplet is made to land on the ‘incline’ of a standing wave, it would propel the droplet forward at different rates based on the level of incline.

                    Think of a ball hitting an inclined plane for reference

If it were to land on a flat plane, of course, it would just bounce in the same place forever like so:

All this is essential because:

De Broglie said that all particles (electrons, protons, etc) like the droplet are accompanied by physical waves that act like a pilot to guide the particle along the trajectories.

And that the pilot waves spans the entire universe.

In the 1950s Bohm took this interpretation and made it even stronger. This came to be called as pilot wave theory or Bohm-de Broglie theory or just Bohmian Mechanics.

It offers determinism that Bohr’s theory doesn’t

The most satisfying thing about this theory is that it is deterministic, i.e., one can extract sufficient information to plot a particle’s path, something that is not allowed in Bohr’s interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Bohmian interpretation applied to the Double slit experiment. Notice that the path of the particles is clearly defined and none of the particle paths cross one another but yet one obtains the same interference pattern. 

For the droplet these trajectories looked like this :

All weirdness that encapsulates quantum mechanics such as wave-particle duality, wave function collapse and the paradox of Schrodinger’s cat can be avoided by using Bohmian mechanics (because it is deterministic) BUT there is a catch - nonlocality.

The pilot wave idea gives up on locality: meaning that every experiment can only be understood in the context of the entire universe. The “pilot wave” brings information from all over the entire universe to influence the event.

The cost of observing

In the series, we talked about the double-slit experiment. But here’s the deal: When you observe each electron as they are passed through the slit, the interference pattern disappears.

            Disappearance of the interference pattern when observed

The way one explains this through the Bohmian interpretation is that the act of observing must obviously interfere/disturb the wave field. This, as a result, destroys the interference pattern.

Why isn’t Bohmian mechanics popular?

Sadly, the reason why Bohmian mechanics is not popular is NOT that it is scientifically inaccurate. It is able to perform equally well as other interpretations out there.

This answer by Thad Roberts does a really good job of explaining why people don’t subscribe to Bohmian mechanics. The major argument is that “It hasn’t produced anything new or predicted something better than the other interpretations.” among other critical factors.

The future for pilot-wave hydrodynamics

The droplet wave experiments remain as spectacular analogs of the pilot-wave theory at the macroscale.

But thus far, there has been no seminal evidence of pilot waves at the quantum scale.

In addition, the analogs are only capable of describing the simplest of interactions, and phenomena such as quantum entanglement are still an area of active research.

How does one weave together all of these experimental revelations that we have unearthed so far? Is there a much bigger picture of how nature manifests itself that we are yet to comprehend or are we staring at the end of a barrel?

Only time will tell.

Thank you for joining us this week on this amazing journey as we explored the essence of pilot wave hydrodynamics.

If you are thirsty to know more, FYFD will be posting a list of useful resources that we compiled, do take a look at that.

[hassanrutherford]

[hassanrutherford]

From The Economist Espresso: Quote of the day