#Center for Election Innovation and Research

[wausaupilot]

Your letters: Misinformation is rampant. Check for yourself.

Truitt: "When we listen carefully to various viewpoints and challenge our assumptions along the way, I think we will find that there is more that unites us than divides us."

Editor’s note: Wausau Pilot & Review gladly publishes commentary from readers, residents and candidates for local offices. The views of readers and columnists are independent of this newspaper and do not necessarily reflect the views of Wausau Pilot & Review. To submit, email editor@wausaupilotandreview.com or mail to 500 N. Third St., Suite 208-8, Wausau, Wis. 54403. Dear editor, I’m grateful…

[reasonsforhope]

For all the concern in recent years that U.S. democracy is on the brink, in danger or under threat, a report out Tuesday offers a glimmer of good news for American voters worried that casting a ballot will be difficult in 2024.

Put simply, the new data shows that voting in America has gotten easier over the past two decades. More voters have the ability to cast a ballot before Election Day, with the majority of U.S. states now offering some form of early in-person voting and mail voting to all voters.

"Although we often talk in a partisan context about voter fraud and voter suppression and whether voters have access to the ballot, the reality is, over the past 25 years, we've greatly increased the convenience of voting for almost all Americans," said David Becker, the founder and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR), which authored the new report...

The data shows that, despite real efforts by some Republican-led legislatures to restrict access at the margins, the trend in the U.S. since 2000 has been toward making it easier to vote: Nearly 97% of voting-age American citizens now live in states that offer the option to vote before Election Day.

"The lies about early voting, the lies about voting machines and efforts in some state legislatures to roll back some of the election integrity and convenience measures that have evolved over the last several decades, those efforts almost all failed," Becker said. "In almost every single state, voters can choose to vote when they want to."

Forty-six states and Washington, D.C., offer some form of early in-person voting, the report tallied, and 37 of those jurisdictions also offer mail voting to all voters without requiring an excuse...

In 2000

In 2024

Infographic via NPR. If you go to the article, you can watch an animation of this map that shows voting availability in every election since 2000.

There are some political trends that show up in the data. Of the 14 states that don't offer mail voting to all voters, for instance, 12 have Republican-led legislatures.

-via NPR, March 19, 2024. Article continues below.

But maybe the more striking trends are geographic. Every single state in the western U.S. has offered some form of early and mail voting to all voters since 2004, according to the data. And those states span the political spectrum, from conservative Idaho to liberal California.

"It's really hard to talk about partisanship around this issue because historically there just hasn't been much," Mann said. "We've seen voting by mail and early in-person voting supported by Republican legislatures, Democratic legislatures, Republican governors, Democratic governors. We see voters in both parties use both methods." ...

In 2020, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts all made changes to make voting more easily accessible, which have since partially or fully become permanent. Delaware is currently embroiled in a legal fight over whether it can implement early and mail voting changes this election cycle as well.

The South, with its history of slavery and Jim Crow laws, has long lagged behind when it comes to voting access. The CEIR data shows that, although some states have slowly started expanding options for voters, generally it is still the most difficult region for voters to cast a ballot.

As options nationwide have become more widely available, voters have also responded by taking advantage.

In the 2000 election, 86% of voters voted at a polling place on Election Day, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

In 2020, during the pandemic, that number dropped to less than 31% of voters. It went back up in 2022, to roughly half of the electorate, but was still in line with the two-decade trend toward more ballots being cast early.

...in reality, Becker says, more voting options actually make elections more secure and less susceptible to malicious activity or even human error.

"If there were a problem, if there were a cyber event, if there were a malfunction, if there were bad weather, if there were traffic, if there were was a power outage, you could think of all kinds of circumstances. ... The more you spread voting out over a series of days and over multiple modes, the less likely it's going to impact voters," he said...

-via NPR, March 19, 2024

[ngdrb]

Former Trump official warns ex-president is gearing up to claim 'rigged' election again

Donald Trump and his allies are preparing to make claims of election and voter fraud if he loses in November - according to election experts and a number of old-school Republicans.

Mesa, Arizona Mayor John Giles, a Republican who has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, said that if Trump loses, he and his associates “will throw everything at the wall and see what sticks,” according to The Guardian. 

“They’ll claim everything went wrong if they lose. I’d be surprised if Trump doesn’t try to incite insurrection if he loses the election,” the mayor said.

Both Trump and his allies are pushing the same lies as they did in 2020 about voting machines and drop boxes, but they’re now also attacking prosecutors on the state and federal levels who have charged the former president for trying to overturn the election. They have claimed that the charges against Trump amount to “election interference” and “lawfare” in attempts to paint the former president’s legal woes as political prosecution.

David Becker at the Center for Election Innovation and Research told The Guardian that  “A lot of false claims are masquerading as efforts to change policy to improve election integrity when in actuality they’re just designed to sow distrust in our system if Trump loses.”

“This is all designed to manufacture claims that if Trump loses, the election was stolen and to sow discord, chaos, and potential violence,” he added.

The right-wing organization Turning Point USA claims to be spending tens of millions on getting out the vote for Trump in important battleground states, also hosting several large rallies where false allegations that the 2020 election was rigged are still being shared.

Both in 2016 and 2020, Trump was unclear if he would accept the election results. Similarly, at the presidential debate with President Joe Biden on June 27, he said that he would accept the results if the election is “fair and legal.” That response came after he was asked three times about accepting the results and shortly afterward he yet again claimed that American elections are fraudulent.

In April, Trump hosted House Speaker Mike Johnson at Mar-a-Lago for an event prompting the lower chamber to pass legislation making it illegal for noncitizens to vote – something that was already outlawed and in the past has happened on a very small scale. 

The group True the Vote sent out a fundraising request in March pointing to their attempts to put together “arguments for litigation” as well as other measures to take aim at what they claim will be “chaos” around the election because of “illegal voter registrations.”

Both election experts and Republican stalwarts have told The Guardian that Trump and his allies are preparing to claim that November’s election has been rigged if the former president loses the election.

Former Republican Michigan Representative Dave Trott told the paper that “Trump continues to encourage his supporters like Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA to question the integrity of our elections.”

“He has no evidence or basis for claiming fraud and is only perpetuating these lies so he has a plan B to disrupt democracy in the event he loses,” he added.

Former Republican Pennsylvania Representative Charlie Dent told The Guardian that he believes Trump will claim fraud again if he loses in November.

“I expect he will do the same thing in 2024,” he said. “If he loses he will raise Cain in state capitals and he will descend on state capitals with his allies to make the case for fraud.”

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary, and analysis for the independently minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently-minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

[dertaglichedan]

Mark Zuckerberg ripped for claiming he didn’t realize $400M in ‘Zuck Bucks’ helped sway 2020 election for Biden

He’s sorry, not sorry.

Data geek Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed this week he didn’t realize $400 million he spent on “getting out the vote” in the 2020 election benefited one party over the other.

But Republican sources are skeptical that the Facebook boss was unaware his so-called “Zuck Bucks” — pledged to help finance fair local elections — were spent unevenly after being given to two known left-wing organizations.

...

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, an organization led by Zuckerberg’s wife, Priscilla Chan, gave more than $350 million to the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) and the Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR) on the pretense of getting out the vote to everyone.

But the administrators of those groups had deep ties to the left, researchers told The Post, including CTCL founder Tiana Epps-Johnson, a former Obama Foundation fellow.

[mariacallous]

On Saturday, former U.S. President Donald Trump became the latest major political figure worldwide to face an assassination attempt, in an incident that experts say may reflect a broader global pattern of increasing threats and violence against politicians.

In recent years, for example, both Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have survived being shot (Fico in May this year and Khan in November 2022), while then-Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner narrowly escaped a shooting attempt in 2022 when the gunman’s pistol jammed. South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in January, and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in 2018. And assassinations claimed the lives of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (in 2022) and British politicians Jo Cox (in 2016) and David Amess (in 2021). 

“We seem to be seeing that assassinations are on the rise now,” said Jacob Ware, a terrorism expert at the Council on Foreign Relations and the co-author of God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America, although he noted that he was drawing on anecdotal evidence. 

“Politicians and political figures are finding themselves in the crosshairs, and the people are determining that the ballot box and elections are no longer the best way to exercise political grievances,” Ware said. 

The United States is no stranger to high-profile assassinations and attempts, both on the lives of sitting U.S. presidents and presidential candidates. Four former U.S. presidents—Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy—were killed during their presidential terms. A handful more survived failed attempts, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush, the latter of whom had a hand grenade thrown at him while in Tbilisi, Georgia. In 1968, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, was assassinated. 

In recent years, the number of threats issued against U.S. public officials has grown, according to a 2024 study conducted by the researchers at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center. The study, which examined federal charges over the past decade, found that threats have “steadily risen” over that time period, coinciding with a surge in political polarization across the country. 

“In the last six years, the number of individuals who have been arrested at the federal level for making threats has nearly doubled from the previous four years,” the study’s authors wrote, while the number of federal prosecutions for such threats is “on pace to hit new record highs” in 2023 and 2024. 

“The mistrust and distrust of government is so great that it leads to almost the dehumanization of political figures,” said Bruce Hoffman, a counterterrorism expert at the Council on Foreign Relations and the other co-author of God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America. “That’s also contributed to this demonization of individuals that can, in the minds of certainly a minority of Americans, incite violence.”

Two recent examples are incidents involving former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who were the targets of failed abduction and assassination plots, respectively; in the Pelosi case, though the former speaker avoided the attack, her husband was brutally assaulted with a hammer. And in 2020, the FBI announced that it had arrested more than a dozen people in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and put her on trial for treason; nine people were ultimately convicted or pleaded guilty in the plot, and five were acquitted.

“It certainly feels like we’re in a different era. There’s a lack of civility that I think permeates our political discourse, and it’s frequently peppered with references to violence and extreme violence” said Colin P. Clarke, the director of research at the Soufan Group. That includes Trump himself, Clarke said, who “has been a big purveyor of this.”

That may not be a uniquely American phenomenon, either. While assassinations of high-profile leaders in the world’s most-developed nations may be relatively rare today, the outlook may be different for other government figures around the world.

One key example is Mexico, which recently reached a bleak new political milestone in holding its deadliest election season ever. During the country’s 2024 election cycle, 37 political candidates were assassinated, many of whom were vying for local office. In the country’s 2021 midterm election, 36 candidates were assassinated, according to Integralia, a security consultancy. 

Beyond the issue of assassinations, other violence against candidates was also more pervasive in Mexico this year. Integralia logged 828 nonlethal violent incidents during the 2024 election season, eclipsing the 389 attacks recorded in 2018 during the country’s previous presidential election. 

Pakistan has also experienced a rise in such threats in recent years. According to the University of Maryland’s Global Terrorism Database, whose data only goes as far as 2020, Pakistan experienced a marked uptick in assassinations and attempts against government officials from 2012 to 2016, peaking at 36 in 2013 and 2015. 

While variations in laws and data collection make it difficult for researchers to measure whether there’s been a broad global uptick in violence, these examples indicate that they’re hardly uncommon. Now, the attempted assassination of Trump may serve as an alarm bell for other officials around the world. On Sunday, John Woodcock, a member of the U.K. House of Lords and a former government advisor on political violence, said in an interview with the Guardian that the attempted assassination is “a vivid reminder of the vulnerability of all politicians” and warned of the possibility of similar attacks in the United Kingdom. 

“We have seen the growth in the UK of US-style politics of aggressive confrontation and intimidation which is unfortunately, exactly the toxic environment that could lead to another assassination attempt on a UK politician, of which we have already tragically seen a number in recent years,” he said. 

Ware, the Council on Foreign Relations expert, said that the attempted assassination of Trump, a former U.S. president, presents an “opportunity for Americans to come together and decide: ‘Is this really the kind of country that we want to build for the next generation?’”

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Chris Smith at Vanity Fair:

On a sunny afternoon the views from Joe Biden’s campaign headquarters in downtown Wilmington, Delaware are so clear that if you squint hard you can almost see the White House, 100 miles to the south. The floor plan is open and the windows run just about floor to ceiling, so all 200 staffers share in the sweeping vista.

With the striking exception of probably the most important person on the premises. That Jen O’Malley Dillon sits at the very center of the office is appropriate, symbolically: She is a hub of the reelection effort’s leadership infrastructure. It also means that O’Malley Dillon, officially the campaign chair, is the only person on the team who occupies a dimly lit cubicle. Four years ago, J.O.D., as most everyone in Bidenworld knows her, became the first woman to manage a winning Democratic US presidential campaign, and the first person of any gender in three decades to knock off an incumbent. O’Malley Dillon, 47, has shunned credit and most interviews since. So her nondescript current workspace—blank walls, a tiny desk strewn with papers, a small bookshelf holding a jumble of binders and framed family photos—fits her no-nonsense approach. O’Malley Dillon is ferociously focused on reelecting Biden. Gazing out the window would be a useless distraction. “You have to keep in perspective what’s at stake because every second I waste is a second that we could lose the thing that matters most to me, which is a future for my kids,” she tells me.

Her relentlessness is a good thing, because her candidate is running uphill. For months polls have shown Trump beating Biden nationally, though the race remains tight; more important, thanks to our genius electoral college system, is Trump’s advantage in six of the seven battleground states that are likely to be decisive. Things look equally rugged for Biden when you go deeper than the horse race: A majority of Americans believe economic conditions were better under Trump—despite Biden delivering record-low unemployment numbers—and inflation remains stubbornly high. In March the share of voters strongly disapproving of Biden’s job performance reached a new peak, according to a New York Times survey. Many voters under 35 are angered by the administration’s support for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. And voters of every age group think Biden, 81, is too old to bid for a second term.

The leaders of his reelection team aren’t in denial; they understand they’re facing daunting challenges. The coalition that elected Biden in 2020 has splintered. “We believe that Joe Biden has an important story to sell and has been a historic president,” a senior campaign strategist says. “But that doesn’t mean to say that everyone is going to love him perfectly.” Which may not make for the most stirring political rallying cry. But it underlies the campaign’s methodical drive to raise tens of millions of dollars to assemble a sophisticated operation that will press the fight in both conventional and innovative ways. The plan stretches from boosting Latino turnout in Arizona to winning Michigan—despite the state’s much-hyped “uncommitted” Democratic primary voters—to flipping North Carolina to wooing a meaningful number of Nikki Haley-Republican-primary voters to aggressively educating potential Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voters about his beliefs. For months the campaign has quietly built infrastructure in key states—a foundation that is now allowing it to capitalize on Republican gifts, like the Arizona supreme court’s approval of a near-total ban on abortion. “We know exactly the voters we need to turn out,” a senior campaign operative says, “and we’ve got a plan to do it.”

That confidence flows from data research that assigns probabilities to individual voters. It is also based on a deep roster of human political intelligence, like Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy campaign manager, who was a top aide on Raphael Warnock’s winning Georgia senate reelection campaign over Herschel Walker in 2022, and Julie Chávez Rodríguez, the 46-year-old campaign manager who is a granddaughter of pioneering labor leader César Chávez. “We wanted to make sure we had strong campaign experience, but also really strong lived experience for the communities and voters that we want to reach. So it’s not by default that it’s myself and Quentin running this campaign. That was extremely intentional,” Rodríguez says. “And being able to prioritize our base targets, it’s not the way that most presidentials have been run. They don’t usually invest in doing outreach to communities of color early.”

Yet much of the work of piecing together the strategy and the machinery has occurred in Wilmington, outside the national media spotlight, which has contributed to a perception among many Democrats that the Biden campaign is eerily, delusionally calm. “What scares me to death is they think they’ve proven everyone wrong every time,” a senior Democratic insider says. “They have this outward posture of, ‘We came from nowhere in the 2020 primary, we’re the only ones who beat Trump in the general, so trust us.’ But remember, in the fall of 2020, they sent Biden to Ohio and Kamala Harris to Texas where they had no chance, when they could have been in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. So let’s not get on too high of a horse.”

Maybe so—though Biden visited and won those four key states four years ago. And up close, it’s clear no one is resting on their horses, or their laurels. The 2024 campaign’s activities are intense and far-reaching, permeated by a deep sense of urgency. “I can certainly feel the weight of what we’re doing,” says Dan Kanninen, who leads the battleground-state effort. “But to be in it gives a measure of purpose that is different than just allowing your anxieties to take you somewhere else.” Biden’s lieutenants have forceful, detailed, logical pushbacks to every possible criticism of the campaign. There’s only one part of the reelection operation that feels unnerving: so much of the victory calculus hinges on voters, once they’ve heard the relevant facts, behaving rationally. That worry is compounded by the stakes. “If we lose this election,” a national Democratic strategist says, “we might not have another one.”

Rob Flaherty rates a private corner office. One of its walls is decorated with images of Biden’s trademark aviator sunglasses in a repeating pattern of green, blue, black, and orange. The opposite wall is dominated by a banner, its black background contrasting with large white letters reading “NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING.” Flaherty had better know something. His title, deputy campaign manager, doesn’t even hint at the magnitude of his responsibilities. The 32-year-old oversees two crucial aspects of Biden’s campaign: digital strategy and relational organizing. The first role means not simply figuring out how to target a multi-million-dollar pro-Biden online ad campaign, but trying to fight off a fire hose of right-wing attacks and disinformation. Flaherty did this craftily for Biden during the 2020 campaign, particularly in steering an effort to identify “market moving” issues—separating things that had the potential to actually influence voters, like concerns about Biden’s mental fitness, from mere noise, like the Republican obsession with Hunter Biden. In some respects—most notably Gaza and inflation—there are new substantive challenges this time. One major concern hasn’t changed: Biden’s advanced age. “The way you combat the age issue,” Flaherty says, “is, one, he gets out there and addresses it. What you see him doing in his paid [media] right now. And it’s by fighting on the issues that people care about. If we address the fact that they want to see him go and fight for them, the issue goes away pretty quick.”

Yet the online landscape has changed dramatically in four years, with media consumers fractured into ever-more-personalized content silos, many of them hardened against campaign messaging, a shift that seems to benefit Trump. “Voters who do not want to hear about politics never have to,” Flaherty says. “People who are not hearing about politics, they are not trusting of politicians, they’re not trusting the media. So it becomes incumbent on the campaign to think about, how do we reach those people where they are? You have to diversify the way you do paid media, right? You can't just spend 70% on linear broadcast television and hope you’re going to reach folks.”

One of Flaherty’s priorities is reaching tuned-out potential voters. “The voters who we think are pretty much the difference makers in this election, these voters, you have to persuade them to participate,” he says. “This is going to be a back-loaded election for when people start to pay attention. They are largely a younger, more diverse set of people who voted for us last time, who lean Democrat. They hate Trump. They are really hard to reach. And there’s just more of those this time.” A related task is neutralizing the deluge of Republican disinformation. “At the close of any campaign, I know my candidate is in trouble if key parts of the electorate are awash in more negative than positive information about my candidate,” a top Democratic strategist says. “And right now, particularly younger voters of color on social media, they’re hearing more negative than positive information about Joe Biden. How do they turn that?”

Massive spending is part of the answer. But the campaign believes the cash must be spread on a wider array of formats than ever before and in creative ways. So when Biden visited a North Carolina home in March, Flaherty’s team enlisted the family’s 13-year-old son to post a video on TikTok, generating more than five million views across a range of sites, the kind of reach a conventional rally doesn’t produce. The White House has bolstered the president’s online presence by encouraging the work of independent liberal influencers, including Aaron Rupar and Ron Filipkowski, who have driven news cycles by circulating video clips of Trump’s stumbles and incendiary comments. Biden’s team is also investing heavily in first-person testimonial ads from ordinary Americans. “Having elected officials give speeches or be on Sunday talk shows is important,” says Roger Lau, who was Elizabeth Warren’s campaign manager in 2020 and who now works closely with the Biden effort as deputy executive director of the Democratic National Committee. “But finding that nurse in Nevada who can talk about why capping the cost of insulin at 35 bucks a month is important to their families because Filipinos have a much higher rate of type two diabetes than other communities—that kind of video, digital, and social content, it just cuts through in a totally different way.”

Flaherty comes across as ebullient and exhausted, which is understandable given that he’s crafting in-real-life organizing plans at the same time he’s trying to counteract the Laura Loomers of the world online. His digital turf overlaps with his more experimental turf, relational organizing. “You have to get people to share content through their friends and family, trusted messengers,” Flaherty says. “This is important because of what I think is the second trend that is different from ’20. In 2022, half of the content shared on Instagram was in private. So if you’re running a digital strategy that is aimed just at reaching people in their feeds, you’re missing where a lot of conversation on the internet is happening.”

[...] While Biden’s Gaza-fueled problems with younger voters have likely been overstated, the conventional wisdom has been understating the damage the war could cause the president with swing voters—and not because of their allegiances to Israel or Palestine. The conflict itself fueled a sense that the world remains volatile, though it was still happening at a distance, literally and politically. Now campus skirmishes have made the mess domestic, and the president’s brand is all about delivering calm. “Biden has got to be seen as the reasonable guy who gets shit done, where Trump is a madman,” a top Democratic strategist says. “You can’t do that when you’ve got chaos on the southern border or chaos on campuses.”

The Biden administration has put together a compelling record in some big-picture ways, including the revival of the economy, the defense of Ukraine, and advances in the battle against climate change. The campaign’s challenge is to translate the president’s record into gains that voters recognize in their everyday lives. “If we’re able to frame the president’s accomplishments in the face of Republican extremist obstructionism,” Tyler says, “you actually have a fantastic story to tell. I mean, I’ll talk about Black folks, for example, right? Since before the pandemic, Black wealth is up 60%, highest rate of small business growth for Black-owned businesses in a generation, cutting Black child poverty in half through the child tax credit before MAGA Republicans ripped it away, which Joe Biden is going to bring back in a second term to make permanent.”

There are also large vulnerabilities in Biden’s first-term record: the suffocatingly high price of housing and the immigration crisis, to pick two. But presidential elections are weird, unique animals that more often turn on personality than on policy, on what Americans are feeling they need in the White House as much as what might objectively be best for the country. Mood is a powerful force in national elections, and the Biden campaign has identified an intriguing, and ominous, headwind. “We don’t like to talk about the fact that COVID still has an impact,” a senior strategist says. “It’s easy to kind of be nostalgic for a time before COVID, to remember, ‘Oh, well, the economy was better, or I felt like prices were better.’ And you don’t hear Trump every day. People are not viscerally feeling how they felt when he was a leader, because he’s been silent for lots of reasons. So we have a lot of work to do. Now, it just so happens that Trump says such crazy stuff all the time that we have ample opportunity.” Everyone at Biden HQ is well aware of the possible consequences, both for the country and for themselves, of Trump winning and turning the craziness into policy. “The people behind him are very well organized,” a Biden campaign operative says. “It can feel like an abstraction, but actually there are people I know, and myself, who would be targets.”

Vanity Fair has a story on the Biden campaign’s re-election team that is navigating tough headwinds to get Joe Biden re-elected.

[royalfamily-of-windemburg]

(Coat of arms of Windenburg)

Windemburg is a large and diverse country, with a population of approximately 41.32 M people according to the last census, its geography ranges from impressive coastlines to imposing mountain ranges. On the west coast, the Sea of ​​Aegir laps the golden sand beaches, providing fishing routes and a mild climate. To the east stretch the Moon Mountains, with peaks covered in snow for much of the year and deep valleys containing ancient forests.

The Lys Valley, where the capital Lysgard is located, is located in the center of the country, surrounded by rolling hills and green fields.

In Windenburg, culture is characterized by deep-rooted values ​​that promote community, harmony and respect for nature. Some important values ​​for citizens include honesty, solidarity, and appreciation for tradition. The connection with nature is reflected in seasonal festivals and rituals that celebrate natural cycles.

Windenburg flag:

Windemburg has its roots in ancient times, when nomadic tribes settled on the banks of the Eilen River. The first inhabitants, known as the Eilenites, were dedicated to agriculture and fishing. Archaeological remains indicate that the region was inhabited since 3000 BC.

In 500 BC, the unification of the tribes under the leadership of a charismatic leader, König Aminus, marked the beginning of the Age of the Aminus Empire. This civilization ruled what is now known as Windenburg for almost 2,000 years.

In the 9th century the Empire saw its end due to years of poor harvests and popular rebellions that caused its destruction and a new restructuring. Society was structured in a feudal system, with nobles ruling vast tracts of land and peasants working for them, the largest of these lands being ruled by the Windemburg Family. The fortification of cities and the construction of castles were prominent features of this period.

In the 15th century, after what was known as the War of the Fiefs, all the fiefs were unified into one great country: the Kingdom of Windemburg.

Government and Politics

Windemburg is one of the few Absolute Monarchies left on the continent of Arantis, although it has its peculiarities.

The government is made up of the Monarch who is the highest authority and his eight Parliamentarians, formerly known as Advisors, elected politicians who represent each of the regions of Windemburg defend the interests of their region and advise the Monarch in his political decisions, below among the Parliamentarians are the local Mayors. Justice is independent and is based on a system of codified laws that guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Economy

Windemburg is known for its robust technology sector, especially the city of Techvalley is an epicenter of innovation, where startups and technology giants develop cutting-edge products and solutions. The government actively supports research and development (R&D) through tax incentives and subsidies.

Agriculture remains a fundamental pillar of the Windenburg economy. The Eilen River Valley is one of the most productive agricultural areas, growing cereals, fruits and vegetables. Fishing is also essential in coastal areas such as Tartosa or the Sulani Islands.

(This section is still in the process of creation)

[foreverlogical]

It's been more than three years since baseless claims about the 2020 election inspired an attack on the Capitol, but the lies haven't stopped. With less than five months until November, Donald Trump is at it again with help from right-wing media. Laura Barrón-López discusses the conspiracy theories and their impact with David Becker of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research.

[anaverna]

Ecarden: Machinery of the Heavens

Ecarden is a very advanced and high-tech world, populated by a single biological sentient species self-named the engrath. Technically, there is also a bunch of sentient AI which was made in spite of the ban, but we will talk about those later. Despite a clear sci-fi focus, Ecarden has an unexpectedly vintage and even art deco look, with a great balance of urbanization and the preservation of nature as it is.

The entire Ecarden is divided into 22 autonomous cities called Districts, which in action are full-fledged states, forming together a strong alliance ruled by Ecardian Council. The common language, which was created at the beginning of the Era of Watchmaker, left all of the older languages in the past. However, each District possesses its own culture, laws, and general appearance. Power (except for the judiciary) belongs to the parliament and the Governor (aka the head of state), each elected for a five-year term.

And, perhaps the most important thing…

Ecarden is a world, where there is a rightful God!

*** Main characters

The main events take place in the 4th District in the backdrop of a few sudden serious problems, hence the main characters: the God themself, the Clergyman of the 4th District, his assistant AI in a body of an android, as well as the Governor of the 4th District.

As a deity, Watchmaker can shapeshift to any form, however, they rarely use this ability, dwelling on the images familiar and tested by time.

Watchmaker is the creator of the universe, but not the origin of the life existing in it (appearance of which, by the way, had become a real surprise for them). Being a demiurge, they are not a "God" in the sense in which we are accustomed to using this word, and for this reason, they call themself Watchmaker by analogy to the profession of a master-creator of the time mechanisms. In Ecarden Watchmaker acts like a full-fledged patron of arts and sciences, who with their own free will is ready to help with the development of the world and provide assistance with technology. They're considered the "Blind God", which means that they aren't a deity reigning over the world and watching over everything and everyone, but rather simple architect who knows about what is happening from the interactions with the Clergymen, who are mediators and representatives of each District, the most outstanding engineers who create the most advanced technology under Watchmaker's guidance. As a patron, Watchmaker presents the most important discoveries and innovations to the public, participates in ceremonies (such as Governor's inauguration, for example), and leads the main holiday of Ecarden named Thanksgiving Day, giving parting words and wishes for the next year, while maintaining a festive atmosphere.

***

Even though Eve and the other employees of the Complex have their uniforms, mostly it isn't forbidden to wear casual clothes, which he does quite often.

Zhaneeve Hezenlight is a Clergyman of the 4th District, a talented engineer in several fields, and a little bit practicing bionic. Most call Zhaneeve simply Eve, including employees of the Complex themselves (not to mention his close social circle).

His duties, like any other Clergyman, include:

Application in the development technologies which already exist and solving current problems with their help;

Development of completely new technologies (optional);

Periodic reports to the Watchmaker about what is happening in the headed District.

In addition, as one of the most competent bionics, he is also responsible for carrying out the most serious and urgent prosthetic operations and, in fact, mechanization in these cases.

On paper, each Clergyman is the head of the Complex of their District, the research center in which most of all development is carried out. In reality, Clergymen are very busy people, and each Complex is led by its deputy, leaving only the most important issues to the Clergyman.

Positive and kindhearted, always young in his soul (and a bit like a fashionista) Eve does plastic surgeries twice as frequently as any other engrath, he’s nonetheless quite a responsible person and tries to lead Complex and all the work going on there in the best way possible. 

***

Helper uses his small size and funny robotic look as an advantage. To display his emotions, he uses emoji or emoticons, sometimes reaching a completely absurd look.

Helper is an AI in а body of an android. He was created by Zhaneeve and originally was planned as a simple robot for small assignments, but Eve's creative approach (and his reluctance to do everything "according to a template") led to an unexpected result — AI gained consciousness and an edgy personality.

Possessing highly doubtful morals and being an obvious nihilist, the outwardly sarcastic and unfriendly assistant is the complete opposite of his creator. Barely recognizing any kind of authority, he doesn't perceive Eve as his creator, and even less as his boss, and works with him in a cooperative on a basis more similar to that of a friend, which doesn’t bother either of them as of yet.

Basically, Helper is something in between an omnipotent intelligence and a 7-year-old child (his real age), has his own Vlog, likes rap, and is quite good at it. 

***

Dark clothes are quite rare for a visually light Eсarden, and yet Nahash approves only two colours in his clothes which are black and burgundy.

Nahash Сerdes is a Governor of the 4th District. In general, he’s a rather serious and domineering man, one might even say harsh but he does an excellent job, for which he is very much loved by the townspeople. As the head of an almost full-fledged state, he bears a huge share of responsibility, and in practice also the entire executive power, which, however, doesn't bother him that much. He had changed his name and hides any true information about his past, had some traumatic experiences throughout his life that caused PTSD nightmares which make Nahash suffer from insomnia.

Officially, Eve is Nahash's personal bionic, who solves all issues regarding his mechanization, but in reality, these two are connected by a love affair something… more.

***

Character's voice canons

Saint Motel — Eat Your Heart Out

This song perfectly reflects cheerfulness, love for playing the guitar, and, to some extent, even Eve's philosophy.

Slide — See Thru Blue

Nahash's voice is usually a little bit more bassy, but he almost always talks to Eve in exactly this way.

Son Lux, Mitski, David Byrne - This Is A Life (male)

Watchmaker has an exceptionally polite manner of communication, as well as calm, measured speech. However, their voice changes slightly from time to time, similar to their appearance.

***

And finally…

Small typing of characters according to the lyric heroes from the song The Oh Hellos - Soldier, Poet, King, which isn't a canonical display of their professions, remains very indicative for understanding what all three of them are.

[bopinion]

2023 / 07

Aperçu of the Week:

"Success has two letters: Do!"

(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Bad News of the Week:

The only serious competition to Silicon Valley is neither in Europe nor in the Far East, but between the Dead, the Red and the Mediterranean Sea: Israel. Unfortunately. Because it's rather frightening innovations that come out of the more than 300 development and research centers around Tel Aviv. And I don't mean the energy that the state puts into cutting-edge technology for the military, surveillance and espionage. But rather the focus that private-sector companies in the region have also chosen.

Three examples: Cellebrite openly advertises that it can crack iDevices. Much to the delight of the FBI, for example, because Apple had refused to crack iPhones for U.S. authorities or to build a backdoor into their encryption. The questionable services are open to any organization, even criminal ones, for a fee, as if it were a normal IT service.

NSO became a global player in commercial spyware. A market that has grown into an industry estimated to be worth twelve billion dollars, estimates The New Yorker. Their tool named Pegasus was found on the phones of politicians, activists, and dissidents under repressive regimes. The suppression of the Catalan independence movement and the murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi with the help of this spyware are documented.

And just last week, investigative media revealed Team Jorge's business model: professional spreading of fake news to influence elections. They were hired for 32 campaigns, 27 of which were verifiably successful, they say. Yes, political success can be bought - at the expense of the opposition.

What these three examples have in common is a perfidious "not giving a fuck" attitude, which goals are pursued and also achieved with their help. For these are clearly directed against such trivialities as free democracy, independent media, functional rule of law or transparent power apparatuses. The main thing is that the money is right. The framework conditions for this seem to be optimal in Israel, of all places. And when I look at the position of Benjamin Netanyahu's newly enthroned right-wing government against an independent judiciary or free media, this will not change.

Good News of the Week:

In mid-February, Munich always hosts the "Munich Security Conference" (MSC), the world's most important meeting of top politicians on international security. While last year appeals to Russia not to attack Ukraine dominated - we all know what happened a few days later - this time it is about the concrete handling of the war that initiated the much-cited "turning point in time":

The unexpectedly dysfunctional NATO is strengthening internally (higher defense budgets) and externally (Sweden and Finland want to join the alliance), new bloc formations are emerging, the arms industry can no longer keep up with demand, Europe is groaning under a wave of refugees, economic sanctions by the West are turning out to be far less effective than expected, Putin is not wavering. War has become the order of the day.

Major strategic news is not to be expected. All countries have already clearly positioned themselves. From clear, even military support for Ukraine (e.g. all NATO members) to an effort of neutrality based on energy policy (e.g. India or Latin America) to support for the Putin course (e.g. Belarus, Syria or Myanmar). All countries have already taken a clear position? No - the elephant in the room is China.

The youngest major security power calls for peace, but does not name Russia as the aggressor. And just yesterday launched "Operation Mosi II," a joint large-scale naval maneuver with Russia and South Africa off the latter's Indian Ocean coast. So there was little hope that the Middle Kingdom - seen by almost all observers as the only power with de facto influence over the Kremlin - would actively do anything to defuse the conflict.

But then Wang Yi, longtime foreign minister of the People's Republic of China, entered the Munich stage - and stunned. By announcing a peace initiative to end Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, he said, "We will put something forward. And that is the Chinese position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis," the Politburo member said Saturday, according to an official translation. "We will stand steadfastly on the side of peace and dialogue." For a safer world, he said, "the principles of the UN Charter are something we must uphold." Good. Very good. Now words just need to be followed by action.

Personal happy moment of the week:

In our countryside, there are plenty of typical Bavarian inns. And, as everywhere, countless Italians and Asians. Rarer are nice cafés where you can have a good breakfast. One we have - thanks to a voucher that I already got last year for my birthday - tried today. Very good coffee, a manageable but balanced menu. With regional products and in a former monastery building. It was worth it. It's always nice to start the Sunday with a delicious breakfast.

I couldn't care less...

...that Ukraine has requested cluster bombs and chemical weapons on the MSC. These are internationally outlawed because they cause massive collateral damage in violation of international law - including to the civilian population. That Russia is not caring about this may be, is even probable. Nevertheless, this quid pro quo logic is too weak for me. If they go low, you (still should) go high.

As I write this...

...I am mourning a little Lothar Wieler quitting his job. As head of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) he was the Anthony Fauci of Germany. And yet more than just the side kick of the respective health minister. As a politically independent person, he moderated the pandemic in a serious but calm manner. He analyzed, commented, admonished and annoyed. Far away from the day-to-day political business. Against his will, he became a media star, even though he much preferred to sit in the lab and work on his figures. He did what he thought he had to do. Tormented by the thought that "even one more child must die". Big shoes to fill.

Post Scriptum

To be climate neutral, each person should only emit less than one ton of CO2 or similar greenhouse gases per year - currently the average is 11.6 tons. Far ahead of the consumption of beef or air travel to the South, individual transport is the main polluter: the Germans' favorite child, the car. But the will in this country to rely on electromobility seems to be driven more by financial interests than by actual conviction. When gasoline was expensive and electric cars were tax-subsidized in 2022, there was a boom. That plummeted dramatically over the turn of the year, with 83 percent fewer fully electric cars and 87 percent fewer plug-in hybrids registered in January 2023 compared to the previous month. Sigh...

[mim-essay]

Why These Are the Best MBA Colleges in UK

Overview

Gaining an MBA from a prestigious university can significantly advance your career and be a life-changing experience. The UK is home to a number of prominent MBA programs that are well-known for their superior academic standing, global outlook, and robust industry relationships. This article examines the best mba colleges in uk and offers advice on how to choose the best one for your professional goals as well as what makes them unique.

London School of Management

London Business School (LBS) is frequently listed as having one of the best MBA programs in the world. Situated in the center of London, LBS provides a lively atmosphere that blends a strong emphasis on international business with demanding academics. The program is renowned for its wide alumni network, spanning across industries and continents, as well as its varied student body Important Points to Note:

a strong emphasis on leadership and global business

Many networking chances in the financial center of London

a multicultural and multinational student body

Oxford University's Saïd Business School

The University of Oxford's Saïd Business School offers an MBA program that combines real-world experience with rigorous academic study. This curriculum is extremely sought after because of Oxford's illustrious academic history and emphasis on innovation. Oxford's vast resources, such as its esteemed faculty and wide alumni network, are advantageous to students.

Important Points to Note:

combining academic theory with practical application

Availability of Oxford's vast network and resources

a focus on global impact and leadership

Cambridge University's Judge Business School

The Cambridge Judge Business School is renowned for emphasizing entrepreneurship and innovation. The curriculum's strong connections to the Cambridge With its proximity to the innovative Silicon Fen region and its extensive university network, the university offers students a rare chance to interact with cutting edge business techniques.

Important Points to Note:

entrepreneurship and innovation are highlighted

strong ties to Cambridge University's research institutes

robust environment for entrepreneurship in the vicinity

Business School at Imperial College

The MBA program at Imperial College Business School, which is a division of Imperial College London, places a high priority on innovation and technology. The school's affiliation with the technology and engineering departments of Imperial College makes it possible to offer a distinctively multidisciplinary business education.

Important Points to Note:

Put an emphasis on innovation and technology

Combining Imperial College's resources and research

a strong focus on learning that is applicable to the workplace and practical

The Warwick Business School

The University of Warwick's Warwick Business School provides well-regarded MBA programs that are renowned for their adaptability and global outlook. The curriculum offers a customized approach to business education by accommodating a wide range of work experiences and career ambitions.

Important Points to Note:

A flexible curriculum offering a variety of specializations and electives

a worldwide perspective and solid international ties

Individualized guidance for professional advancement

Summary 

Choosing the best MBA program is essential to reaching your professional goals and developing personally. The top MBA programs in the United Kingdom, such as those offered by Warwick Business School, Oxford's Saïd Business School, Cambridge Judge Business School, Imperial College Business School, and London Business School, offer a variety of benefits to suit a variety of career goals. You can decide on a program by taking into account elements like network, location, and program focus which program will best support your goals and ambitions.

[mariacallous]

Almost immediately after the UK general election was called on May 22, the meme war began. Social media campaigns from both the Labour and Conservative parties shared hundreds of memes, from Labour’s viral TikTok using English singer and TV presenter Cilla Black’s “Surprise! Surprise!” to mock the Conservative Party’s plans for mandatory national service at the age of 18, to the Tories’ TikTok video showing only blank slides titled “Here are all of Labour’s policies.” Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party have contributed their own share of memes in the lead-up; meanwhile, the two leading parties in the polls have been engaged in a “trolling” back and forth on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X.

“The shitposters have gone mainstream,” says political strategist Jack Spriggs from Cavendish Consulting, who specializes in TikTok’s influence on politics.

But reactions to the meme war have been a mixed bag, particularly among the Gen Z electorate, ranging from amused to disgusted. “Although conversation provoking, it reads as infantilizing,” says 20-year-old voter Maya Hollick from London. “They’re trivializing a very serious event.”

The Labour Party launched its TikTok account as soon as the election date of July 4 was announced, and has gained more than 200,000 followers since then, with hundreds more videos than any other party. Many of its posts have more than a million views, but its reach spans even further. “The most important power of TikTok isn’t how much it stays on the platform, but how much it travels,” says Hannah O’Rourke, cofounder of Campaign Lab, an organization that researches campaign innovation.

“A meme is Labour’s way of getting somebody to look into party policy,” O’Rourke says, referencing Labour’s viral Cilla Black TikTok.

WIRED spoke to students from the University of Bristol, with Bristol Central being a constituency where Labour and the Green Party, which also appeals to young voters, are frontrunners. (It is also the university where this writer studies.) Certain voters like Ed Sherwin, a 20-year-old student, say they don’t find memes useful: “I don’t really use TikTok but I did see the video,” he says, referencing the Cilla Black meme. “However, it didn’t make me go and look at the national service policies. I did that when I saw it on the news.” Sherwin labeled the memes “kind of pathetic and insensitive considering the state of the country.”

Charlie Siret, a member of Extinction Rebellion Youth Bristol, one youth branch of the climate-focused pressure group XR, says that they personally think Labour’s memes “are transparent and embarrassing” and “show a complete lack of self-awareness,” while Conservative memes are “a half-hearted attempt to appeal to a generation that largely despises them.”

Some also critiqued the simplification of political issues that happens in the meme format. “The use of memes infers that young people need a simplified version of politics—we are more intelligent than they give credit for,” says Grace Shropshire, 21. “Their marketing is quick, loud, and short.” Marketing student Alisha Agarwal says she “likes Labour, but not the oversimplified way they’re marketing their campaign.”

Although many strategists say Labour’s campaign has been successful due to its simplicity—particularly as they’ve centered their campaign around the word “change”—even researchers think memes could be a step too far. “When politics is ‘memefied,’ it is drastically oversimplified,” says Samuel Woolley, an associate professor in journalism and media who directs a propaganda research lab at the University of Texas at Austin. “At its worst, this allows for insult politics, misleading messages, and sensational issues to take center stage.”

Gen Z users of social media have also highlighted the outdated meme formats and templates employed by the Labour Party, like the Ghost Car meme from 2005 that they put Rishi Sunak’s face on, posted on X just over a week ago. “Labour really misses the mark when it comes to their audience,” says Alex McDermott, a politics undergraduate at the University of Bristol. “They’re millennial in their delivery. It doesn’t translate well. My sister who is 19 said the memes are so weird and cringe.”

Some, like 20-year-old Emily Taylor, don’t like what they perceive as mudslinging in this meme war. “[The Labour Party] should focus more on actual policies and less on making fun of Tories—the Conservative Party manage that on their own without Labour’s help.”

Quin Lievesley, a member of the University of Bristol’s Labour Club, feels differently. “I know some people find the memes a bit tiresome, but they are a vessel for the message that Labour is saying to the country,” he says, arguing that they could be seen as the virtual version of leaflets or doorstep conversations with the electorate.

Targeting the youth vote using what parties think is their own language makes strategic sense. Only 47 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in the 2019 general election. This number is likely to decline further this year: By the registration deadline on June 18, only half of people between the ages of 18 and 25 were registered compared to the 2019 equivalent period, with just 746,000 Gen Z voters registering to vote compared to 1.4 million in the lead-up to the previous general election.

Like them or not, memes have made an impact.

Despite the critiques, the Labour Party’s memes have had a wide reach—16 of its TikTok videos exceed 1 million views. Recently, Labour parodied the viral “looking for a man in finance” song to accompany a video of Keir Starmer, with lyrics saying “I’m looking for a new prime minister, big plans, good vibes, change lives,” and using TikTok influencers such as @girl_on_the_couch to expand their campaign. The video has been viewed more than 600,000 times.

“I found the memes annoying at first, but they have grown on me,” says Finley Cooper, a 19-year-old student from Greater Manchester. “I know a bunch of people who are pretty politically apathetic, yet have been reposting Labour’s TikTok memes. It genuinely gets conversation started between young people, widens the engaged electorate and creates a more accessible and engaging (if oversimplified) synoptic view of policies.”

“Labour’s strategy has been to get young people to vote at all, because all the evidence suggests that if young people vote, they disproportionately vote Labour,” says Jim Murphy, a former Labour MP and current chief executive at communication company Arden Strategies. He believes that the meme campaign has been less about persuading young voters on policy and more about engagement, registration, and turnout.

“Labour already has overwhelming support from young voters when they’re polled,” says Sam Jeffers, executive director and cofounder of Who Targets Me, an organization that researches political campaigns and adverts. “It’s just about whether those young voters turn up.”

Gen Z voters are still most likely to vote for Labour, according to a Statista poll on June 11 which showed that 43 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 plan to vote for the party—a drop from the 57 percent YouGov prediction from May, but still the largest draw for that demographic.

Young voters, however, may not be the campaign’s end goal. “The Labour Party is targeting this middle ground of elder Gen Zs and millennials,” says Cavendish’s Spriggs. This may be why certain younger Gen Z-ers think Labour’s social media game lacks relevance. “Because Labour is so far ahead in polls, they don’t feel the need to do anything that is new or controversial,” says political strategist Lee Whitehill, director of communications at Whitehouse Communications. “I suspect that’s why they’re relying on older memes.”

Though many young voters don’t enjoy the Labour Party’s use of memes, the campaign has sparked significant engagement and has allowed the party to remain relevant in an election where many assume a Labour victory. “Talking to Labour’s own strategists, they are very pleased with how the social media game has played out,” says Arden’s Murphy. “However, is it consequential? Is it game changing? We will only know that after election day.”

[newstfionline]

Friday, September 13, 2024

Harris and Trump Bet on Their Own Sharply Contrasting Views of America (NYT) Donald J. Trump’s America is a grim place, a nation awash in marauding immigrants stealing American jobs and eating American cats and dogs, a country devastated economically, humiliated internationally and perched on the cliff’s edge of an apocalyptic World War III. Kamala Harris’s America is a weary but hopeful place, a nation fed up with the chaos of the Trump years and sick of all the drama and divisiveness, a country embarrassed by a crooked stuck-in-the-past former president facing prison time and eager for a new generation of leadership. These two visions of America on display during the first and possibly only presidential debate between Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump on Tuesday night encapsulated the gambles that each candidate is taking in this hotly contested campaign. Mr. Trump is betting on anger and Ms. Harris on exhaustion. Mr. Trump is trying to repackage and resell his “American carnage” theme eight years later, while Ms. Harris is appealing to those ready to leave that in the past. The question is who has a better read on the American psyche eight weeks before the final ballots are cast.

Cuba’s Broken Economy (El Espectador/Colombia) Cuba is on a downward spiral and appears to be headed for economic collapse. Cubans lack essential items such as food and medicine, especially milk and bread, while the prices of other products, such as gasoline and electricity, have increased by dizzying percentages of up to 500%. The island nation imports 80% of the food it consumes. In 1958, a year before the communist takeover, it was not only self-sufficient in beef, milk, tropical fruits, coffee, tobacco, fish and seafood, pork, chicken, vegetables and eggs, but it also exported surplus produce. Yet today, according to press reports, the magnitude of the crisis is such that Havana has contacted the UN World Food Program (WFP) for the first time in its history to request help. Since 1959 Cuba has systematically suffocated the private sector, renouncing innovation, competitiveness and excellence in the process. There have been consequences.

More than half of Brazil is racked by drought (Washington Post) In the north of Brazil, dried rivers have left communities accessible only by boat landlocked. In the central west, fires are razing what were once wetlands. And in the densely populated southeast, smoke from tens of thousands of blazes is choking cities. Brazil is in the grip of its worst drought on record, Brazil’s Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts said this month, a drought that has parched at least 59 percent of Latin America’s largest country and dried out more than 1,400 cities. Along the Rio Madeira in Amazonas state, locals are trekking miles on the hot sands of the dried riverbed in search of water. In the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland, fires have scorched an estimated 20,000 square kilometers (7,720 square miles). The vast Cerrado region is in the grip of the worst drought in at least 700 years, according to researchers at the University of São Paulo. And the air in São Paulo state has grown so heavy with forest fire smoke that authorities have urged people to avoid physical activity outside.

England’s Health Service Is in Deep Trouble, Report Finds (NYT) England’s National Health Service, one of the country’s most revered institutions, is in “critical” condition, according to a government-commissioned report that cited long waits for treatment, crumbling hospitals, mental health patients in “vermin-infested cells” and far fewer M.R.I. scanners than in comparable countries. The hard-hitting review, published late on Wednesday, was commissioned by Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, after he won the general election. The dire state of the N.H.S. was a key reason many people voted for his Labour Party in July, according to polls. But the report underscores the scale of the challenge the government faces to revive a health care system that is in a spiral of decline after years of underinvestment and administrative meddling and is still suffering the aftershocks of the pandemic.

Lawmakers review plan to raise retirement age in fast-greying China (Reuters) China’s top legislative body this week assessed an official plan to delay the country’s retirement age, among the world’s lowest, taking a key step towards changing decades-old labour laws and easing economic pressures stemming from a shrinking workforce. The ruling Communist Party said in July that China would gradually raise the country’s retirement age. The retirement age is now 60 for men, about six years below that in most developed economies, while for women in white-collar work it is 55, and 50 for women who work in factories. Having people work for longer would abate some pressure on pension budgets with many Chinese provinces already reeling from large deficits. It would also delay pension payouts and require older workers to stay at their jobs longer, which may not be welcomed by all of them. Reform is urgent with life expectancy in China rising to 78 years as of 2021 from about 44 years in 1960, and projected to exceed 80 years by 2050. At the same time, the working population needed to support the elderly is shrinking.

Pope marvels at Singapore’s skyscrapers and asks that the lowest migrant workers not be forgotten (AP) Pope Francis on Thursday praised Singapore’s economic strength as a testament to human ingenuity but urged the city-state to look after the weakest, too, especially foreign workers, as he opened the final leg of his tour through some of Asia’s poorest countries in one of the world’s richest. In a common appeal from history’s first Latin American pope, Francis called especially for dignified pay and conditions for migrant workers, who have helped build Singapore into one of the world’s most advanced financial powerhouses. “These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage,” Francis said. Singapore has long touted as a success story its transformation from a colonial port lacking natural resources into a financial and trade power in just a few decades since independence from Malaysia in 1965. The former British colony enjoys one of the highest living standards in the world, and is known for its safety and low crime rate. But it is also one of the most expensive cities to live in and its competitive work environment makes for a stressful, overworked people.

Israeli Commandos Carried Out Raid on Secret Weapons Site in Syria (NYT) Israel carried out a commando raid in Syria on Sunday that obliterated a Hezbollah missile production facility near the Lebanese border, killing a number of people at the site, according to American and other Western officials. The operation included a daring raid by Israeli special forces, who rappelled down from helicopters and apparently seized materials from the missile facility, the officials said. Ground forces were used in the attack because of its complexity and to recover information from the secret weapons site, the officials said, adding that there were no Israeli casualties. The officials said the raid included airstrikes on the sprawling site, the Scientific Studies and Research Center, which is near Masyaf, in the country’s northwest. Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported on Monday that 18 people were killed and dozens more injured.

New video, witnesses challenge Israel’s account of U.S. activist’s killing (Washington Post) Aysenur Eygi, a 26-year-old Turkish American, was fatally shot in the head on Friday in the village of Beita, near Nablus, following brief clashes after Friday prayers. The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday it was “very likely” she had been hit “unintentionally” by one of its soldiers. “The incident took place during a violent riot,” the statement said, and the fire was aimed at “the key instigator.” But a Washington Post investigation has found that Eygi was shot more than a half-hour after the height of confrontations in Beita, and some 20 minutes after protesters had moved down the main road—more than 200 yards away from Israeli forces. Last month, another American citizen, Daniel Santiago, a 32-year-old teacher from New Jersey, was shot in the thigh by Israeli forces in the same olive grove where Eygi was killed. The IDF said Santiago was “accidentally injured” when soldiers “fired live rounds in the air” to disperse protesters.

2,000-Pound Bombs Likely Used in Mawasi Strike (NYT) Large craters and a bomb fragment from an Israeli airstrike on a camp for displaced people early Tuesday provide strong evidence that Israel used 2,000-pound bombs, according to three weapons experts. The United States has previously warned Israel that the powerful munitions can cause excessive civilian casualties in the densely populated Gaza Strip, and suspended exporting U.S.-made 2,000-pound bombs to Israel earlier this year. Israel said it had carried out “precise strikes” aimed at Hamas militants, but has so far declined to say what sort of bombs were used. At least 19 people were killed in the blasts and more than 60 others injured, Gazan authorities said, a toll that appeared likely to rise. Video filmed after the attack and verified by The New York Times showed two enormous blast craters measuring close to 50 feet wide.

South Africa’s traveling ‘health train’ (AP) Thethiwe Mahlangu woke early on a chilly morning and walked through her busy South African township, where minibuses hooted to pick up commuters and smoke from sidewalk breakfast stalls hung in the air. Her eyes had been troubling her. But instead of going to her nearby health clinic, Mahlangu was headed to the train station for an unusual form of care. A passenger train known as Phelophepa—or “good, clean, health” in the Sesotho language—had been transformed into a mobile health facility. It circulates throughout South Africa for much of the year, providing medical attention to the sick, young and old who often struggle to receive the care they need at crowded local clinics. For the past 30 years—ever since South Africa’s break with the former racist system of apartheid—the train has carried doctors, nurses and optometrists on an annual journey that touches even the most rural villages, delivering primary healthcare to about 375,000 people a year.

Cholera Deaths Soar Worldwide Despite Being Easily Preventable (NYT) The cholera outbreaks spreading across the globe are becoming more deadly. Deaths from the diarrheal disease soared last year, far outpacing the increase in cases, according to a new analysis by the World Health Organization. Cholera is easy to prevent and costs just pennies to treat, but huge outbreaks have swamped even well-prepared health systems in countries that had not confronted the disease in years. The number of cholera deaths reported globally last year increased by 71 percent from deaths in 2022, while the number of reported cases rose 13 percent. Much of the increase was driven by conflict and climate change, the W.H.O. report said. “For death rates to be rising so much faster even than cases are increasing, this is totally unacceptable,” said Philippe Barboza, who leads the cholera team in the health emergencies program of the W.H.O. “It reflects the world’s lack of interest in a disease that has plagued humans for thousands of years, afflicting the poorest people who cannot find clean water to drink,” he said. “How can we accept that in 2024 that people are dying because they don’t have access to a simple bag of oral rehydration salts that cost 50 cents?”

“A hug? Why not!” (Worldcrunch) A video of King Charles sharing a hug with the New Zealand women's rugby union team at Buckingham palace has gone viral on social media. The British sovereign was hosting the Black Ferns—set to play against England's Red Roses on Saturday—at the palace when winger Ayesha Leti-I'iga asked him to share a hug with the team. “Why not?,” he answered before getting a group hug.

[beiruttimelb]

اخبار مترجمة :Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Sept. 1, 2024

On this “Face the Nation” broadcast, moderated by Nancy Cordes:  Jonathan Dekel-Chen Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Rep. Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas  David Becker, Center of Election Innovation and Research executive director  Click here to browse full transcripts of “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”    NANCY…