I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.. The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance - Carl Sagan
Afghans and their allies had been organizing for weeks, but as the last major cities fell to the Taliban within the span of a week, often without resistance, these efforts took on a new urgency. Working largely online, informal networks of people in and outside the country—including journalists, nonprofits, universities, and even government officials who sometimes worked outside of official policy—were organizing lists of Afghans eligible for different resettlement programs or even trying to bypass the slow-moving bureaucratic processes completely.
Military personnel fired tear gas to control the crowds of Afghans trying to gain access to Kabul airport Friday, a day after the Pentagon said that order was being restored at the site and evacuation flights from Afghanistan would be accelerating.
A source familiar with the Biden administration’s efforts also revealed a previously unreported call between NSC adviser Jake Sullivan and his Afghan counterpart. In that phone call, the source said, Sullivan “pressed them hard to adopt a realistic military plan…
That underlined part. What does it mean?
Since it was a phone call it's unlikely to mean pushed with his hand. Or foot. But does it mean, suggested really really hard? Yelled and screamed? Threatened? Threw things while hollering? Said naughty, naughty words? What?
It is left to you, dear reader, to figure that out, because I myself am bonkers.
According to their findings, the last 10 known digits of pi are now 7817924264. The DAViS team has already registered for entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, after which the full number will be revealed.
This twelve-month long program will provide media literacy and anti-disinformation training in English to audiences in Kazakhstan using the English for Media Literacy and English for Media Literacy for Educators Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) designed by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
Nonetheless, it is right to get out. It was right to get out 20 years ago.
Among the ripest targets for the cybertheft have been jobless programs. The federal government cannot say for sure how much of the more than $900 billion in pandemic-related unemployment relief has been stolen, but credible estimates range from $87 million to $400 billion — at least half of which went to foreign criminals, law enforcement officials say.
*An Illinois Senator named Everett Dirksen said that half a century ago. Maybe today he'd have to say trillion.
The home is down to its studs but netted at least eight offers in just a few days.
