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'The Rise of Jordan Peterson' — A review

Carol Horton
Quillette
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 19:05 UTC
Jordan peterson movie poster film
© Holding Space Films
‘The Rise of Jordan Peterson’
Given today's downward cultural spiral, it's disturbing but not surprising that the makers of a thoughtful new documentary about Jordan Peterson are having a hard time finding somewhere to show their film. Many mainstream and independent cinemas have refused to screen it because they're "fearful of controversy" or "morally concerned." One theater in Toronto cancelled a week-long showing after some of the staff "took issue with it." A theater in Brooklyn cancelled a second screening, despite the fact that the first sold out and received good reviews, "because some staff were offended . . . and felt uncomfortable."

Jordan Peterson. Jordan Peterson. Jordan Peterson! That name, that man, that swirling storm of impassioned controversies — again? After the flood of protests, podcasts, profiles, social media storms, hit pieces, and heartfelt testimonials that saturated the English-speaking world after Peterson posted his "Professor Against Political Correctness" video in Fall 2016, some might assume that squelching a new film about him is no big deal. After all, is there really anything worthwhile left to say about the man and the cultural maelstrom he provoked?

Comment: A thoughtful review of a thoughtful film. A quality in short supply on the rabid left.

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Hammer

Extinction Rebellion co-founder arrested during Trafalgar Square protest which disrupted London for a week

Thomas Burrows
The Sun
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 18:06 UTC
Gail Bradbrook
© AFP
Gail Bradbrook smashes a window at the Department of Transport on Tuesday morning.
Extinction Rebellion's co-founder was arrested this morning for smashing a window at the Department of Transport with a hammer and screwdriver.

It came as police ordered the activists to stop their protest immediately or face arrest - as they cleared Trafalgar Square to try and put an end to more than a week's disruption in London.

Climate change protesters were told last night to leave Trafalgar Square, where many have congregated lawfully since Monday last week.

But despite the city-wide ban, the activists continued with their demonstrations on Tuesday morning.

Gail Bradbrook, the group's co-founder, led a protest at the Department for Transport in London where she "lightly" hit the window with a hammer.

Comment: Video footage:





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Cell Phone

Huawei vice president John Suffolk says company faces 1 million cyberattacks per day

Drago Bosnic
Fort Russ News
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 18:02 UTC
John Suffolk Huawei
© Bison & Rose
John Suffolk, Huawei's vice president and chief of its cyber security department.
Chinese tech titan Huawei is experiencing around one million cyberattacks per day both inside and outside the country that are aimed at stealing the company's 5G design technologies, Huawei Senior Vice President John Suffolk revealed to Kyodo News.

Speaking to the Japanese media at Huawei's facilities in Dongguan, Suffolk, who is also in charge of the firm's global cybersecurity, said that the tech giant managed to defend itself from most of the attacks the sources of which remain unidentified, but some of its old-style computers have been affected by the intrusions.

Suffolk also explained that the attacks included stealing confidential information by sending a computer virus via email. In September, Huawei accused the Donald Trump administration of "launching cyberattacks to infiltrate Huawei's intranet and internal information systems". The US president declined to comment on the allegations.

Comment:

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Info

Forget privacy abuses, liberals call to DeleteFacebook after learning Zuckerberg met with conservatives

Helen Buyniski
RT
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:22 UTC
Trump n Zuck
© Global Look / White House
Facebook's history of abusing users' trust by sharing their private data with corporate partners and government spooks pales in comparison to its CEO's decision to sit down with prominent conservatives, for some.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been meeting with conservative commentators, journalists, and politicians in "small, off-the-record dinners" and "informal talks," Politico revealed on Monday, sending shockwaves through the internet. He reportedly discussed "free expression, unfair treatment of conservatives, fact checking, partnerships, and privacy" with prominent right-wing critics of Facebook, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Washington Examiner correspondent Byron York, and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

This, the mainstream media and many liberals on social media have declared, is an outrage. The hashtag #DeleteFacebook was trending for most of Monday as Woke Twitter finally realized the fourth-richest man in the US, who infamously called Facebook users "dumb f***s," was an unworthy trustee of their digital lives. Just kidding - they were upset that the platform had become yet another tool of white supremacy.
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Robot

Researchers jump though hoops to explain why sex robots that can give consent are a good thing

Lexi Lonas
The College Fix
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 17:22 UTC
Sexbots
© Agence France-Presse
Are "virtuous sex robots" the way of the future? University researchers suggest that robots created for human pleasure should be designed so that they can grant or withhold consent, as well as teach sex education.

Anco Peeters, a doctoral student at Australia's University of Wollongong, and Pim Haselager, associate professor at The Netherlands' Radboud University, published "Designing Virtuous Sex Robots" in the International Journal of Social Robotics last month.

The paper examined four areas: "virtue ethics and social robotics," "Contra instrumentalist accounts," "Consent practice through sex robots" and "Implications of virtuous sex robots."

The authors do not focus on child sex robots or sex robots that play into rape fantasies, but "the potential positive aspects of intimate human-robot interactions through the cultivation of virtues."
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Yellow Vest

Police blast French firefighters with water cannons during protest over working conditions


RT
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:29 UTC
firefighters protest paris yellow vests
© Reuters / Charles Platiau
Firefighters protesting in Paris, France on October 15, 2019
French riot police have turned water cannons on some of the thousands of firefighters who are marching through Paris to demand better resources in order to tackle the increasing number of forest fires each year.

Police have also reportedly fired tear gas at the demonstrators.

Firefighters are demonstrating against a number of key concerns, chiefly government policies on resources for their sector, funding problems, and difficult working conditions.

Comment: Again? Another massive industrial blaze breaks out in France, 100 firefighters deployed near Lyons, France

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Airplane

Air Canada to stop announcing 'ladies and gentlemen' in recognition of gender fluidity

Carlin Becker
Washington Examiner
Sun, 13 Oct 2019 17:40 UTC
air canada jet plane
Employees aboard Air Canada flights will no longer greet guests by referring to them as "ladies and gentlemen" or "mesdames et messieurs," which has been typical protocol for years, in an effort to be conscious of gender fluidity.

Flight attendants and other staff will not use the language in boarding announcements, and the company instead plans to replace the standard greetings with neutral words, such as "everybody" or "tout le monde."

Comment: This is catching on. See:

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Display

Fortnite gamers suffer meltdowns, "trauma" and "withdrawal symptoms" after blackout event discontinues game play

Elias Marat
The Mind Unleashed
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 15:48 UTC
epic games
© Epic Games
Gamers were sent into a state of extreme shock and mourning on Sunday when Fortnite simply disappeared.

Millions of gamers were sent into a state of confusion — and even extreme shock, anguish and withdrawal symptoms — on Sunday when the 10th season of Fortnite ended by simply disappearing.

More than 5 million gamers were hoping to put in a full-day session of Fortnite during the live event titled "The End" before a meteor descended on the island where the online battle royale takes place, enveloping the game in a cosmic meltdown that left only a black hole for perplexed gamers to stare at.

In a tweet showing video of the event, top Fortnite player James Jarvis said:

"Fortnite's season X event, The End, just wiped out the whole island."


Comment: What the heck are these game-addicted individuals going to do with themselves when a real blackout or environmental disruption occurs and disrupts their gaming on a more or less on-going basis?!

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Fire

China chemical plant blast kills 4, injures 6


XinhuaNet
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 16:59 UTC
chemical factory explosion Yulin China
© The People's Daily/Weibo
The chemical factory in the city of Yulin is seen completely destroyed by the huge explosion
Four people were confirmed dead and six others injured after a blast occurred in a chemical plant in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Tuesday, local authorities said.

The blast occurred at around 11:20 a.m. in a chemical plant in Luchuan County in the city of Yulin, according to the regional emergency management department and fire department.
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Snakes in Suits

On psychopathy and power

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 00:01 UTC
world psychopaths
Due to a very painful and disturbing revelation in my personal life I have had the unfortunate occasion to spend the last several days thinking a lot about psychopaths and what makes them tick. I don't want to get into the hairy details at this time, but I would like to share some of the more general thoughts that have been coming up here on the matter.

It is interesting that psychopathy should have reached a dark tentacle into my life in the way that it did, given that the three years I've been at this gig have been spent writing more and more about the way our world is run by calculating manipulators who are devoid of empathy. I often say that we have found ourselves ruled by psychopaths because we have a system wherein (A) those who are willing to do anything to anyone are rewarded with immense wealth, and (B) immense wealth translates directly to immense political power. Add in the fact that studies have shown that wealth itself kills off empathy and compassion, and you've got yourself a perfect recipe for a plutocratic dystopia dominated by antisocial personality disorder.

Comment: See also:

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