Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
erronis
erronis's Journal
erronis's Journal
April 16, 2023
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/12/writing-race-topic-matters/
Archived: https://archive.ph/XbrM5
The video at the end of the digsbyblog piece is also excellent.
"Refusing to break the chain" - Tom Sullivan in Digby
https://digbysblog.net/2023/04/16/refusing-to-break-the-chain/Why can’t we have the nice things that other wealthy nations have few problems providing them for their populations? It’s not just the greed and the power-hungriness of America’s richest. It’s race. But that’s impolite to mention.
Race is that locked door of the mind behind which our macho, therapy-averse culture refuses to look. Until it does, the pathologies will pass from generation to generation as in dysfunctional families.
“Shame is a toxic emotion, and it often causes people to direct hostility outward rather than inward,” Peter Wehner wrote last week.
We have yet to break the chain.
This is a great editorial based largely on Theodore Johnson's piece in the WaPo "You cannot love America and avoid the topic of race"
The nation’s trouble is not that it has a racist bone that simply needs removing but that it is disturbingly slow to recognize that racism is the sharp pain that helps us locate the fractures. I write about race because finding the fractures in our society and our democracy is a necessary step toward healing and strengthening, not destroying, the whole of the nation.
Race is that locked door of the mind behind which our macho, therapy-averse culture refuses to look. Until it does, the pathologies will pass from generation to generation as in dysfunctional families.
“Shame is a toxic emotion, and it often causes people to direct hostility outward rather than inward,” Peter Wehner wrote last week.
We have yet to break the chain.
This is a great editorial based largely on Theodore Johnson's piece in the WaPo "You cannot love America and avoid the topic of race"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/12/writing-race-topic-matters/
Archived: https://archive.ph/XbrM5
The video at the end of the digsbyblog piece is also excellent.
April 15, 2023
Idaho will be the first state to forbid a man from not completing the sexual act. (HUMOR?)
It's called the "If you start it, you must finish it" act.
The penalties for not "finishing" up are severe since they are the same as a woman not allowing herself to become pregnant and carrying the thing to fruition. Sales of enhancement drugs are skyrocketing, although they may be forbidden by a US circuit judge.
Men are thinking about crossing state lines to not be caught in this embarrassing situation. However the legislature is now also looking at building a border fence around the state - one which will catch both men and moose.
April 12, 2023
Cancer, Heart Disease Vaccines May Be Ready by 2030, Moderna Says
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/07/cancer-and-heart-disease-vaccines-ready-by-end-of-the-decadeMillions of lives could be saved by a groundbreaking set of new vaccines for a range of conditions including cancer, experts have said. A leading pharmaceutical firm said it is confident that jabs for cancer, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, and other conditions will be ready by 2030.
Studies into these vaccinations are also showing “tremendous promise”, with some researchers saying 15 years’ worth of progress has been “unspooled” in 12 to 18 months thanks to the success of the Covid jab.
Dr Paul Burton, the chief medical officer of pharmaceutical company Moderna, said he believes the firm will be able to offer such treatments for “all sorts of disease areas” in as little as five years.
The firm, which created a leading coronavirus vaccine, is developing cancer vaccines that target different tumour types.
Burton said: “We will have that vaccine and it will be highly effective, and it will save many hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives. I think we will be able to offer personalised cancer vaccines against multiple different tumour types to people around the world.”
Studies into these vaccinations are also showing “tremendous promise”, with some researchers saying 15 years’ worth of progress has been “unspooled” in 12 to 18 months thanks to the success of the Covid jab.
Dr Paul Burton, the chief medical officer of pharmaceutical company Moderna, said he believes the firm will be able to offer such treatments for “all sorts of disease areas” in as little as five years.
The firm, which created a leading coronavirus vaccine, is developing cancer vaccines that target different tumour types.
Burton said: “We will have that vaccine and it will be highly effective, and it will save many hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives. I think we will be able to offer personalised cancer vaccines against multiple different tumour types to people around the world.”
Burton said :“I think we will have mRNA-based therapies for rare diseases that were previously undruggable, and I think that 10 years from now, we will be approaching a world where you truly can identify the genetic cause of a disease and, with relative simplicity, go and edit that out and repair it using mRNA-based technology.”
But scientists warn that the accelerated progress, which has surged “by an order of magnitude” in the past three years, will be wasted if a high level of investment is not maintained.
The mRNA molecule instructs cells to make proteins. By injecting a synthetic form, cells can pump out proteins we want our immune system to strike. An mRNA-based cancer vaccine would alert the immune system to a cancer that is already growing in a patient’s body, so it can attack and destroy it, without destroying healthy cells.
This involves identifying protein fragments on the surface of cancer cells that are not present on healthy cells – and which are most likely to trigger an immune response – and then creating pieces of mRNA that will instruct the body on how to manufacture them.
First, doctors take a biopsy of a patient’s tumour and send it to a lab, where its genetic material is sequenced to identify mutations that aren’t present in healthy cells.
A machine learning algorithm then identifies which of these mutations are responsible for driving the cancer’s growth. Over time, it also learns which parts of the abnormal proteins these mutations encode are most likely to trigger an immune response. Then, mRNAs for the most promising antigens are manufactured and packaged into a personalised vaccine.
Burton said: “I think what we have learned in recent months is that if you ever thought that mRNA was just for infectious diseases, or just for Covid, the evidence now is that that’s absolutely not the case.
“It can be applied to all sorts of disease areas; we are in cancer, infectious disease, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases, rare disease. We have studies in all of those areas and they have all shown tremendous promise.”
But scientists warn that the accelerated progress, which has surged “by an order of magnitude” in the past three years, will be wasted if a high level of investment is not maintained.
The mRNA molecule instructs cells to make proteins. By injecting a synthetic form, cells can pump out proteins we want our immune system to strike. An mRNA-based cancer vaccine would alert the immune system to a cancer that is already growing in a patient’s body, so it can attack and destroy it, without destroying healthy cells.
This involves identifying protein fragments on the surface of cancer cells that are not present on healthy cells – and which are most likely to trigger an immune response – and then creating pieces of mRNA that will instruct the body on how to manufacture them.
First, doctors take a biopsy of a patient’s tumour and send it to a lab, where its genetic material is sequenced to identify mutations that aren’t present in healthy cells.
A machine learning algorithm then identifies which of these mutations are responsible for driving the cancer’s growth. Over time, it also learns which parts of the abnormal proteins these mutations encode are most likely to trigger an immune response. Then, mRNAs for the most promising antigens are manufactured and packaged into a personalised vaccine.
Burton said: “I think what we have learned in recent months is that if you ever thought that mRNA was just for infectious diseases, or just for Covid, the evidence now is that that’s absolutely not the case.
“It can be applied to all sorts of disease areas; we are in cancer, infectious disease, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases, rare disease. We have studies in all of those areas and they have all shown tremendous promise.”
February 9, 2023
Wonder if this is why so many rich plutocrats from the US are buying huge pieces of land in New Zealand? Are they planning for their self-inflicted armeggadon to come true?
I'm guessing that in a real nuclear winter, the end will come for all - perhaps a bit later for the rich, but just as painful
I keep coming back to the haunting book I read when I was around 10 and already fearful of the threats of war and a red tide (no not the magats then): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Beach_(novel)
Australia and New Zealand best placed to survive nuclear apocalypse, study finds
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/09/australia-and-new-zealand-best-placed-to-survive-nuclear-apocalypse-study-findsWonder if this is why so many rich plutocrats from the US are buying huge pieces of land in New Zealand? Are they planning for their self-inflicted armeggadon to come true?
The lucky country can count on one more piece of good fortune, with researchers finding Australia – followed by neighbour New Zealand – best placed to survive a nuclear winter and help reboot a collapsed human civilisation.
The study published in the journal Risk Analysis describes Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as the island countries most capable of producing enough food for their populations after an “abrupt sunlight‐reducing catastrophe” such as a nuclear war, super volcano or asteroid strike.
There would “likely be pockets of survivors around the planet in even the most severe” scenario, the researchers write – with those in the most resilient nations standing the best chance of avoiding a pre-industrial collapse.
The study published in the journal Risk Analysis describes Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as the island countries most capable of producing enough food for their populations after an “abrupt sunlight‐reducing catastrophe” such as a nuclear war, super volcano or asteroid strike.
There would “likely be pockets of survivors around the planet in even the most severe” scenario, the researchers write – with those in the most resilient nations standing the best chance of avoiding a pre-industrial collapse.
I'm guessing that in a real nuclear winter, the end will come for all - perhaps a bit later for the rich, but just as painful
I keep coming back to the haunting book I read when I was around 10 and already fearful of the threats of war and a red tide (no not the magats then): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Beach_(novel)
January 30, 2023
A good in-depth analysis of the positions of the Ukrainians and Russians at this point and into the future.
The final paragraphs:
'The big battle is coming': Ukrainian forces prepare for the war's most intense phase
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/27/the-big-battle-is-coming-ukrainian-forces-prepare-for-the-wars-most-intense-phaseA good in-depth analysis of the positions of the Ukrainians and Russians at this point and into the future.
The final paragraphs:
Even the most successful offensive on either front is unlikely to end the war. Ukrainians have seen too much of Russia’s genocidal intent in occupied territory to contemplate surrender, while Putin has made victory an existential matter for his regime. (My emphasis)
However, the offensives and counter-offensives over the coming few months could be decisive in setting the trajectory for the rest of the conflict. Ukraine’s success or failure will have an important effect on the stamina of the country’s backers to continue supplying advanced armaments, Kyiv’s strategic advantage.
Moscow’s most important strategic advantage is its vast reserves of manpower, coupled with the cheapness of Russian life for the regime, and so far for the population as a whole.
“Russia’s leadership can afford to throw into battle enormous numbers of people and suffer enormous casualties without social consequences,” Melnyk said. “So that is the biggest threat for us in a long war.”
To cut the conflict short, Ukraine is hoping to deliver a defeat big enough to shock Russia out of its current state of passive acceptance. It is far from clear yet what that will take.
However, the offensives and counter-offensives over the coming few months could be decisive in setting the trajectory for the rest of the conflict. Ukraine’s success or failure will have an important effect on the stamina of the country’s backers to continue supplying advanced armaments, Kyiv’s strategic advantage.
Moscow’s most important strategic advantage is its vast reserves of manpower, coupled with the cheapness of Russian life for the regime, and so far for the population as a whole.
“Russia’s leadership can afford to throw into battle enormous numbers of people and suffer enormous casualties without social consequences,” Melnyk said. “So that is the biggest threat for us in a long war.”
To cut the conflict short, Ukraine is hoping to deliver a defeat big enough to shock Russia out of its current state of passive acceptance. It is far from clear yet what that will take.
January 28, 2023
Tom Mustill's web page: https://www.grippingfilms.co.uk/about-tom-mustill
Roger Payne: https://rogerpayne.com/
Speaking Whale - a fascinating audio discussion about whales, language, humans, and AI
https://rumblestripvermont.com/2023/01/speaking-whale/Tom Mustill is a conservation biologist and he makes beautiful films about where nature and people meet. He’s worked with Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough, he’s been shat on by bats in Mexico, and recently he finished a book called How to Speak Whale. It describes the very real possibility that someday, maybe even in my lifetime, we’ll begin to understand the complex language of whales–and all this would imply.
I interviewed Tom for hours and I didn’t want him to stop until he’d told me every last thing he’s learned about whale behavior and every story he could remember. He was polite about it. I don’t know why I felt this insatiable need to hear every story. Maybe it seems that if we could understand whale culture a little bit, everything would make a little more sense? Anyway I recorded Tom for as long as he’d let me.
I interviewed Tom for hours and I didn’t want him to stop until he’d told me every last thing he’s learned about whale behavior and every story he could remember. He was polite about it. I don’t know why I felt this insatiable need to hear every story. Maybe it seems that if we could understand whale culture a little bit, everything would make a little more sense? Anyway I recorded Tom for as long as he’d let me.
Tom Mustill's web page: https://www.grippingfilms.co.uk/about-tom-mustill
Roger Payne: https://rogerpayne.com/
Roger Payne has studied the behavior of whales since 1967 and is best known for showing that the complex vocalizations humpback whales make are rhythmic repeated patterns and therefore are properly classified as songs. He has also showed that before propellor driven ships the loud, low frequency sounds of fin and blue whales were audible across entire oceans (a proposal since confirmed).
51 years ago Roger founded what is still the longest continuous study of baleen whales based on known individuals recognizable by their natural markings (it currently follows 3800 individual southern right whales).
51 years ago Roger founded what is still the longest continuous study of baleen whales based on known individuals recognizable by their natural markings (it currently follows 3800 individual southern right whales).
January 23, 2023
Another anti-musk, anti-twitter rant
Posted just now in response to yet another OP that just sticks a twitter link out there like it is "real news".
I hate to beat this drum. But just posting a link to Musk's fouled platform is a disservice.
Since so many here on DU say that they get their "news" from twitter - be aware - Musk is in control of what you see and will track you.
If you like Musk - fine - keep on just posting twitter links. But don't expect any thinking people to follow them to see the content.
But if you understand that he is not in this to forward accurate news clips, then you are participating in his propaganda network.
Since so many here on DU say that they get their "news" from twitter - be aware - Musk is in control of what you see and will track you.
If you like Musk - fine - keep on just posting twitter links. But don't expect any thinking people to follow them to see the content.
But if you understand that he is not in this to forward accurate news clips, then you are participating in his propaganda network.
January 7, 2023
(via Digsby: https://digbysblog.net/2023/01/07/the-american-nazi-history/)
Salon: Making excuses for dictators is nothing new: "Mr. Republican" and the Nazis
https://www.salon.com/2023/01/07/making-excuses-for-dictators-is-nothing-new-mr-republican-and-the-nazis/(via Digsby: https://digbysblog.net/2023/01/07/the-american-nazi-history/)
Readers may be familiar with Rachel Maddow's explosive new podcast, "Ultra." It tells the incredible story of a German spy who infiltrated Congress in 1940-41, inducing two dozen congressmen and senators to spread Nazi propaganda in floor speeches, op-ed columns and constituent mailings. Simultaneously, armed extremist groups began training for a violent takeover of the country. In many ways, the eight-decades-old story is a disturbing forerunner of the Trump era.
Contrary to our nostalgic memories of unity, America was deeply divided over the war in Europe, military aid to Britain, and whether fascism was the wave of the future that we might as well submit to. While political division on the eve of entry into the war was not uniformly partisan (some prominent Democrats supported isolationism), the GOP was by far the party that stood for America First and strict noninvolvement in foreign conflict.
That members of Congress would willingly become conduits for Nazi propaganda shows that for some, sincere concern to stay out of war was not their only motivation. There was surprisingly strong domestic sympathy for Hitler and the fascist powers. Those who actively worked for Germany crossed the line into subversion and treason, but even mainstream proponents of isolationism showed a tolerant understanding for fascism that, decades later, seems either shockingly naïve or disgracefully callous.
It is easy enough to write off Father Coughlin or Charles Lindbergh for their overt antisemitism and admiration of totalitarian regimes. But there is one America Firster who to this day is almost universally celebrated by the GOP as a statesman exemplifying pure, principled conservatism: three-time aspirant for the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. Robert A. Taft. He was such a pillar of the GOP that he was dubbed Mr. Republican.
Contrary to our nostalgic memories of unity, America was deeply divided over the war in Europe, military aid to Britain, and whether fascism was the wave of the future that we might as well submit to. While political division on the eve of entry into the war was not uniformly partisan (some prominent Democrats supported isolationism), the GOP was by far the party that stood for America First and strict noninvolvement in foreign conflict.
That members of Congress would willingly become conduits for Nazi propaganda shows that for some, sincere concern to stay out of war was not their only motivation. There was surprisingly strong domestic sympathy for Hitler and the fascist powers. Those who actively worked for Germany crossed the line into subversion and treason, but even mainstream proponents of isolationism showed a tolerant understanding for fascism that, decades later, seems either shockingly naïve or disgracefully callous.
It is easy enough to write off Father Coughlin or Charles Lindbergh for their overt antisemitism and admiration of totalitarian regimes. But there is one America Firster who to this day is almost universally celebrated by the GOP as a statesman exemplifying pure, principled conservatism: three-time aspirant for the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. Robert A. Taft. He was such a pillar of the GOP that he was dubbed Mr. Republican.
January 4, 2023
Secret Commandos with Shoot-to-Kill Authority Were at the Capitol
Source: Newsweek
On Sunday, January 3, the heads of a half-dozen elite government special operations teams met in Quantico, Virginia, to go over potential threats, contingencies, and plans for the upcoming Joint Session of Congress. The meeting, and the subsequent deployment of these shadowy commandos on January 6, has never before been revealed.
Right after the New Year, Jeffrey A. Rosen, the acting Attorney General on January 6, approved implementation of long-standing contingency plans dealing with the most extreme possibilities: an attack on President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, a terrorist attack involving a weapon of mass destruction, and a declaration of measures to implement continuity of government, requiring protection and movement of presidential successors.
...
On the morning of January 6, most of these forces staged closer to downtown Washington, particularly after intelligence was received indicating a possible threat to FBI headquarters building or the FBI's Washington Field Office. FBI tactical teams arrived on Capitol Hill early in the day to assist in the collection of evidence at sites—including the Republican and Democratic party national headquarters—where explosive devices were found. FBI SWAT teams and snipers were deployed to secure nearby congressional office buildings. Other FBI agents provided selective security around the U.S. Capitol and protection to congressional members and staff.
The presence of these extraordinary forces under the control of the Attorney General—and mostly operating under contingency plans that Congress and the U.S. Capitol Police were not privy to—added an additional layer of highly armed responders. The role that the military played in this highly classified operation is still unknown, though FBI sources tell Newsweek that military operators seconded to the FBI, and those on alert as part of the National Mission Force, were present in the metropolitan area. The lingering question is: What was it that the Justice Department saw that provoked it to see January 6 as an extraordinary event, something that the other agencies evidently missed.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-secret-commandos-shoot-kill-authority-were-capitol-1661330
December 16, 2022
From the comments section:
A newspaper vanished from the internet. Did someone pay to kill it? WAPO
Cross posted in GD at https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217463717 based on request.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/12/14/hook-charlottesville-vanished-archive/
Archived: https://archive.vn/lr6Rl
The Hook, a beloved Charlottesville weekly, closed a decade ago but its archives lived on — until its 22,000 stories were suddenly taken offline in June. Former staffers have theories about its mystery buyer.
One day in early June, a swath of Charlottesville’s history all but vanished from the internet.
Thousands of stories reported by the Hook — a defunct local paper whose online archives nevertheless had continued to inform historians, residents and public officials — disappeared. Anyone trying to read old stories about the university town’s sagas, scandals and sundry crimes was greeted by the same error message: “Sorry!”
In many ways, the erasure of the alternative weekly, whose print and online journalism ranged from nightlife listings to deep investigative work, isn’t unusual. Historians have long warned about the decay of digital news archives, which are increasingly falling victim to mishandling, indifference, bankruptcies and technical failures.
But some of the Hook’s founding journalists suspect the archive didn’t simply expire from natural causes. They think someone paid to kill it.
Thousands of stories reported by the Hook — a defunct local paper whose online archives nevertheless had continued to inform historians, residents and public officials — disappeared. Anyone trying to read old stories about the university town’s sagas, scandals and sundry crimes was greeted by the same error message: “Sorry!”
In many ways, the erasure of the alternative weekly, whose print and online journalism ranged from nightlife listings to deep investigative work, isn’t unusual. Historians have long warned about the decay of digital news archives, which are increasingly falling victim to mishandling, indifference, bankruptcies and technical failures.
But some of the Hook’s founding journalists suspect the archive didn’t simply expire from natural causes. They think someone paid to kill it.
One of those people was Curtis N. Ofori, now a D.C.-based investment banker and accountant. Ofori was a 21-year-old junior at U-Va. in 2004, when another student accused him of raping her in her room. After an investigation, an associate dean wrote that Ofori “used very bad judgment,” but said the university “was not able to conclude at the clear and convincing level” that he committed sexual assault, and so found him “not guilty,” according to a copy of a letter detailing its findings. Police investigated, but city prosecutors declined to file charges, Ofori’s lawyer would later state in a letter to the Hook.
The tipster had noticed that beginning in January — shortly after Spencer thinks the Hook’s archive was sold — an entity calling itself Experiential Solutions began sending takedown requests to Google, complaining that various news sites, blogs and discussion forums were infringing on the Hook’s copyrights. As catalogued on a Harvard University-hosted database called Lumen, the requests continued through late August and targeted 18 different web pages that reference alleged violent incidents at U-Va. The vast majority of the pages have one common denominator: the Ofori case.
An analysis by The Post found that 14 of the 18 targeted pages referenced Ofori, his accuser or her mother, or linked to Hook articles that did. Three of the pages cited the Hook’s 2011 article detailing the rape accusations. One of Experiential’s complaints targeted the same Russell document that Ofori tried to get delisted from Google in 2020. Google acted on at least 10 of Experiential’s complaints, removing those pages from search results.
An analysis by The Post found that 14 of the 18 targeted pages referenced Ofori, his accuser or her mother, or linked to Hook articles that did. Three of the pages cited the Hook’s 2011 article detailing the rape accusations. One of Experiential’s complaints targeted the same Russell document that Ofori tried to get delisted from Google in 2020. Google acted on at least 10 of Experiential’s complaints, removing those pages from search results.
From the comments section:
I didn't know that Curtis Ofori was (allegedly) a rapist, and never would have...but now I do. And I'm pretty sure this story is going to be at the top of any search results for him forevermore.
So if his goal was to hide his past (alleged) sexual assault, well...great job, Curtis Ofori. Now the whole nation knows that you're so afraid of your past that you'll literally destroy an entire paper's archives just to hide it.
So if his goal was to hide his past (alleged) sexual assault, well...great job, Curtis Ofori. Now the whole nation knows that you're so afraid of your past that you'll literally destroy an entire paper's archives just to hide it.
Thank goodness for Archive.org, at least until Ofori gets ahold of that, too.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150907001809/http://www.readthehook.com/102337/unsilenced-how-mother-fought-protect-her-daughter-and-yours
Yes, this. It's difficult to understand how someone could report this story and not make reference to The Hook's continued existence on the Internet Archive. Which is, of course, precisely why the Archive was created in the first place.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150907001809/http://www.readthehook.com/102337/unsilenced-how-mother-fought-protect-her-daughter-and-yours
Yes, this. It's difficult to understand how someone could report this story and not make reference to The Hook's continued existence on the Internet Archive. Which is, of course, precisely why the Archive was created in the first place.
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayHometown: Green Mountains
Home country: US
Member since: Tue Feb 5, 2013, 04:27 PM
Number of posts: 15,241
