Society's ChildS


Chalkboard

Schooling: The West's War on the West

Peter Berkowitz
Real Clear Politics
Sat, 23 Apr 2022 12:00 UTC
protest children
© AP Photo/John Minchillo
Exasperated parents have been known to admonish their self-centered, insolent, or sulking teen-agers with the words "You are your own worst enemy." It is highly unusual, however, for privileged adults to avidly turn on the civilization that has formed them, awarded them high status, and showered them with sundry and unprecedented material comforts. Yet progressive elites in the West revel in making themselves the West's own worst enemy.

History is littered with nations that have brought down calamity on their heads through reckless adventures abroad or descent into corruption and decadence at home. From Plato to Hegel, political philosophers have warned that to counter the seeds of their own destruction sown into their typical ideas and institutions, regimes should fashion an educational system that checks their worst tendencies and fosters the virtues on which their security, prosperity, and happiness depend. But in the United States - and in other western liberal democracies - elites have mobilized the educational system against Western civilization.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's:


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Bizarro Earth

Transgender rugby player slams female athletes, coach says three injured

Luke Gentile,
Washington Examiner
Thu, 14 Apr 2022 10:51 UTC
rugby balls pitch
© PAWorld Rugby does not allow transgender women to play in women’s game, the RFU allows participation if testosterone levels are below 5 nmol/L.
A high school rugby league is under fire after a transgender female athlete allegedly injured three biological female players during a Saturday match.

A biological male identifying and playing as a female on Guam High School's rugby team injured three biological female players from Tiyan High School during Saturday's season-opening match, according to Tiyan High School head coach Conrad Kerber.


Comment: The insanity level in this world is just incredible:

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Handcuffs

Derek Chauvin seeking new trial after conviction in George Floyd death

Louis Casiano
New York Post
Tue, 26 Apr 2022 22:34 UTC
derek chauvin
© Court TV via AP, PoolFormer Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is requesting a new trial.
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the death of George Floyd, is seeking a new trial.

In an 82-page brief filed Monday, Chauvin's attorney, William Mohrman, argued that it was impossible for his client to get a fair trial in Minneapolis amid the tense climate surrounding the proceedings and the pre-trial publicity.

He said the media coverage of the case "glorified Floyd and demonized Chauvin."

Comment: They're not wrong - a fair trial for Chauvin at the time was likely impossible. It may still be.

See also:

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Megaphone

Fauci: US is 'certainly' out of pandemic stage of COVID-19

Sophie Mann
Just the News
Wed, 27 Apr 2022 10:03 UTC
anthony fauci
Fauci noted that many Americans may have to receive vaccines every year in order to keep case numbers low.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, says the United States is "certainly" past the pandemic stage of fighting the coronavirus, though he acknowledges it continues in other countries around the world.

"We are certainly right now in this country out of the pandemic phase," he told PBS NewsHour host Judy Woodruff on Tuesday. "We don't have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now. So, if you're saying, are we out of the pandemic phase in this country, we are."

Comment: So it's 'certain' now. When just last week Fauci was decrying the court order that removed mask mandates on planes. This guy changes his tune so often it's hard to keep up. Good thing no one seems to really care what he's saying.

See also:

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Cell Phone

Best of the Web: Twitter offers explanation for why conservatives are mysteriously gaining followers. Does it add up?

Ailan Evans
Daily Caller
Wed, 27 Apr 2022 11:14 UTC
twitter follower boost
Twitter is claiming the recent surge in followers experienced by right-wing accounts since Elon Musk's takeover appears to be organic, but the picture may be more complicated.

Republican Twitter accounts saw a massive surge in followers after reports Monday that Twitter was on the verge of selling itself to Elon Musk, while the accounts of Democratic lawmakers shrank considerably, according to an analysis Tuesday by USA Today. Twitter claimed the wild swings in follower counts are organic and simply the result of new accounts being created and existing accounts being deactivated.

"We've been looking into recent fluctuations in follower counts. While we continue to take action on accounts that violate our spam policy which can affect follower counts, these fluctuations appear to largely have been a result of an increase in new account creation and deactivation," the company said in a statement Wednesday to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Comment: Don Jr.'s explanation seems to be the only plausible one offered. It's likely that Twitter has been up to some back-end shenanigans for a long time now - adjusting follower counts on both "the good guys" and "the bad guys". With the recent takeover by Musk, what we're likely seeing is the existing Twitter guard panicking about being found out and pulling the plug on their manipulative algorithm. It's the only real explanation for the sudden change in follower counts drawn perfectly along partisan lines. As Tim Pool says "Elon Musk did not just by a Twitter platform, he bought evidence."



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X

'Thoughtful moderation': Leaked audio reportedly from Twitter board meeting released by Project Veritas

Kay Smythe
Daily Caller
Thu, 28 Apr 2022 08:42 UTC
o'keefe twitter musk
© REUTERS/Shutterstock/REUTERS
Project Veritas released leaked audio Tuesday reportedly from a company-wide meeting at Twitter to address Elon Musk's takeover of the platform.

The audio contains statements reportedly made by Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and CMO Leslie Berland on April 25, 2022. Agrawal essentially admits in the audio that Twitter was "able to make the conversation" on the platform using "tools, processes" and that the company plans to continue these practices through "thoughtful moderation."

"Elon made it clear in public that a large part of the reason he bought the platform was because of our moderation policies and disagreements in how we deal with health," Berland reportedly says in the clip. "This puts Twitter service and trust and safety as well as anybody who cares about health on the platform in a very difficult position."

Comment: Because Instagram videos are absolutely terrible, here it is on Rumble:

See also:

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Eye 1

Clinical psychologist tells defamation trial that Amber Heard suffers two personality disorders and 'grossly exaggerated her PTSD' after split from Johnny Depp

Karen Ruiz and Daniel Bates
Daily Mail
Wed, 27 Apr 2022 08:08 UTC
amber heard
Clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Shannon Curry (left) described her medical evaluation Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's relationship as she took the stand in the defamation trial Tuesday
A clinical psychologist hired to review Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's turbulent relationship told jurors the actress suffers from two personality disorders and 'grossly exaggerated' her PTSD after the couple's bitter split.

Depp's legal team called expert witness Dr. Shannon Curry to the stand on Tuesday as the Hollywood star's highly publicized defamation trial against his ex-wife entered its ninth day.

The clinical and forensic psychologist told the court she concluded Heard had traits consistent with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) - two conditions found in people with patterns of emotional instability and attention-seeking behavior.

Comment: See MindMatters: Joshua Slocum: We're Living in a Cluster B World for more information on BPD and histrionics:



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Eye 1

The psychology of manipulation: 6 lessons from the master of propaganda

Ryan Matters
NewBraveWorld
Sat, 23 Apr 2022 05:57 UTC
propaganda
Edward L. Bernays was an American business consultant who is widely recognized as the father of public relations. Bernays was one of the men responsible for "selling" World War 1 to the American public by branding it as a war that was necessary to "make the world safe for democracy".

During the 1920s, Bernays consulted for a number of major corporations, helping to boost their business through expertly crafted marketing campaigns aimed at influencing public opinion.

In 1928, Edward Bernays published his famous book, Propaganda, in which he outlined the theories behind his successful "public relations" endeavours. The book provides insights into the phenomenon of crowd psychology and outlines effective methods for manipulating people's habits and opinions.

For a book that's almost 100 years old, Propaganda could not be more relevant today. In fact, its relevance is a testament to the unchanging nature of human psychology.

One of the key takeaways of the book is that mind control is an important aspect of any democratic society. Indeed, Bernays maintains that without the "conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses", democracy simply would not "work".
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X

An intellectual no-fly zone: Online censorship of Ukraine dissent is becoming the new norm

Alan Macleod
Mint Press News
Mon, 25 Apr 2022 06:38 UTC
google missile
© MintPresss News
Google has sent a warning shot across the world, ominously informing media outlets, bloggers, and content creators that it will no longer tolerate certain opinions when it comes to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Google AdSense sent a message to a myriad of publishers, including MintPress News, informing us that, "Due to the war in Ukraine, we will pause monetization of content that exploits, dismisses, or condones the war." This content, it went on to say, "includes, but is not limited to, claims that imply victims are responsible for their own tragedy or similar instances of victim-blaming, such as claims that Ukraine is committing genocide or deliberately attacking its own citizens."

This builds on a similar message Google's subsidiary YouTube released last month, stating, "Our Community Guidelines prohibit content denying, minimizing or trivializing well-documented violent events. We are now removing content about Russia's invasion in Ukraine that violates this policy." YouTube went on to say that it had already permanently banned more than a thousand channels and 15,000 videos on these grounds.

Journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin was deeply troubled by the news. "It is really disturbing that this is the trend that we are on," she told MintPress, adding:
It is a preposterous declaration considering that the victim is whoever we are told by our foreign policy establishment. It really is outrageous to be told by these tech giants that taking the wrong side of a conflict that is quite complicated will now hurt your views, derank you on social media or limit your ability to fund your work. So you have to toe the line in order to survive as a journalist in alternative media today."
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Fire

DeSantis concerned about California exodus; calls San Francisco 'dumpster fire'

Charlie McCarthy
Newsmax
Tue, 26 Apr 2022 12:10 UTC
DeSantis
© Getty ImagesFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., said people and companies leaving California could pose a problem for The Sunshine State.

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that Los Angeles and San Francisco both experienced steep population declines during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. California lost almost 262,000 residents from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021, according to data released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

"There is cause for concern," DeSantis said during an event Monday, The Recount reported.
"Texas would have all these companies moved from California over the years. So you'd have companies move from San Francisco to Austin, and they'd bring hundreds of employees with them. And those employees would vote the exact same way they voted that turned San Francisco into the dumpster fire that it is."
DeSantis expressed concern that Californians relocating to Florida would bring progressive politics with them.
"It's like the leftism, they will not draw the connection between their leftist ideology and the destruction that's all around them. It is a problem because I do think there's a class of voters who would come to Florida, and they would continue to vote the same way."
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