The trifecta of daily life essentials, electricity, fuel and food prices are rising at exceptional rates. Natural gas prices at record highs in Asia and parts of the E.U, shipping rates set a new maritime world record for price, highest ever electricity rates in the UK and snow in Vietnam. Chinas coal shortages continue.

At this point we find ourselves confronted by a very disquieting question: Do we really wish to act upon our knowledge? Does a majority of the population think it worthwhile to take a good deal of trouble, in order to halt and, if possible, reverse the current drift toward totalitarian control of everything? If the United States of America is the prophetic image of the rest of the urban-industrial world as it will be a few years from now — recent public opinion polls have revealed that an actual majority of young people in their teens, the voters of tomorrow, have no faith in democratic institutions, see no objection to the censor­ship of unpopular ideas, do not believe that govern­ment of the people by the people is possible and would be perfectly content, if they can continue to live in the style to which the boom has accustomed them, to be ruled, from above, by an oligarchy of assorted experts. That so many of the well-fed young television-watchers in the world's most powerful democracy should be so completely indifferent to the idea of self-government, so blankly uninterested in freedom of thought and the right to dissent, is distressing, but not too surprising. "Free as a bird," we say, and envy the winged creatures for their power of unrestricted movement in all the three dimensions. But, alas, we forget the dodo. Any bird that has learned how to grub up a good living without being compelled to use its wings will soon renounce the privilege of flight and remain forever grounded. Something analogous is true of human beings. If the bread is supplied regularly and copiously three times a day, many of them will be perfectly content to live by bread alone — or at least by bread and circuses alone.

Take the right to vote. In principle it is a great privilege. In practice as recent history has repeatedly shown the right to vote by itself is no guarantee of liberty. Therefore if you wish to avoid dictatorship by referendum break up modern society's merely func­tional collectives into self-governing voluntarily cooperating groups capable of functioning outside the bureaucratic systems of Big Business and Big Govern­ment.

- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited, 1958

This isn't how I intended to return to writing. There was supposed to be a new website and a new focus, but circumstances emerged and laid waste to my plans. So here I am, back again. I'm a bit rusty so bear with me.

There's no reason to rehash what happened over the last several days, but the gist of it is that significant components of internet infrastructure were weaponized for ideological and political purposes. If we're being honest with ourselves, we all knew this day was coming. We just didn't want to admit it or confront it, because it's not a comforting or easy thing to admit or confront. But the day has arrived and we're no longer in a position to ignore it. The most concerning aspect isn't that it happened, but that it could happen at all. The internet is clearly broken, possibly dying, and if we want to digitally associate freely again at some point in the future, we have no choice but to fix it.

An elementary school in Cupertino, California — a Silicon Valley community with a median home price of $2.3 million — recently forced a class of third-graders to deconstruct their racial identities, then rank themselves according to their "power and privilege."

Based on whistleblower documents and parents familiar with the session, a third-grade teacher at R.I. Meyerholz Elementary School began the lesson on "social identities" during a math class. The teacher asked all students to create an "identity map," listing their race, class, gender, religion, family structure, and other characteristics. The teacher explained that the students live in a "dominant culture" of "white, middle class, cisgender, educated, able-bodied, Christian, English speaker[s]," who, according to the lesson, "created and maintained" this culture in order "to hold power and stay in power."

Next, reading from This Book Is Antiracist, the students learned that "those with privilege have power over others" and that "folx who do not benefit from their social identities, who are in the subordinate culture, have little to no privilege and power." As an example, the reading states that "a white, cisgender man, who is able-bodied, heterosexual, considered handsome and speaks English has more privilege than a Black transgender woman." In some cases, because of the principle of intersectionality, "there are parts of us that hold some power and other parts that are oppressed," even within a single individual.

The President of the Pasco Association of Educators in Washington state says the cries for returning to in-person learning are the product of "white privilege."

Scott Wilson was one of many who spoke at Tuesday night's meeting during the Pasco School District School Board. Wilson announced himself as the president of the union when he began speaking. He represents hundreds of teachers within the district.

Several times during his comments, Wilson compared the cries for in-person learning to the culture of white supremacy and white privilege.

The deadly riot at the US Capitol bore the markings of an organized operation planned well in advance of the January 6 joint session of Congress. A small number of cadre used the cover of a huge rally to stage its attack. Before it began, I saw from my vantage point on the West Front of the Capitol, what appeared to be four separate cells or units:

1. Plainclothes militants. Militant, aggressive men in Trump and MAGA gear at a front police line at the base of the temporary presidential inaugural platform;
2. Agents-provocateurs. Scattered groups of men exhorting the marchers to gather closely and tightly toward the center of the outside of the Capitol building and prevent them from leaving;
3. Fake Trump protesters. A few young men wearing Trump or MAGA hats backwards and who did not fit in with the rest of the crowd in terms of their actions and demeanor, whom I presumed to be Antifa or other leftist agitators; and
4. Disciplined, uniformed column of attackers. A column of organized, disciplined men, wearing similar but not identical camouflage uniforms and black gear, some with helmets and GoPro cameras or wearing subdued Punisher skull patches.

All of these cells or groups stood out from the very large crowd by their behavior and overall demeanor. However, they did not all appear at the same time. Not until the very end did it become apparent there was a prearranged plan to storm the Capitol building, and to manipulate the unsuspecting crowd as cover and as a follow-on force.

How is it possible that the USA has about 20 percent of the world's cases of Covid-19 and a similar share of deaths, but just 4.2-percent of the world's population?

In very compliant and obedient states, like California, with the first city shut down in the country (San Francisco), and constant stay-at-home orders and lockdowns, things are worse than ever. Why?

Current reporting now says that it is worse all over the country as 2021 unfolds. How are we the worst in the world? We have not done less precautions than in the EU or South America, Asia or Africa. In fact, we've done more. More masks, more lockdowns.

Confronted over his condemnation of last week's riot at the US Capitol, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has struggled to excuse his seemingly hypocritical endorsement of less-than-peaceful protest tactics by Black Lives Matter in June.

A little over six months ago, Cuomo savaged commentators who dared voice their disapproval for the large-scale property destruction and physical attacks perpetrated by groups of Black Lives Matter rioters. "Please, show me where it says protesters are supposed to be polite and peaceful" in the Constitution, the news anchor sneered on air.

After last week's unrest at the Capitol, however, Cuomo - the younger brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo - explicitly condemned the unruly pro-Trump demonstration, calling out "those who stoked these flames" for "feeding lies" and "moving people" to violence.

Delta's CEO said this morning during an interview on CNBC that the airline will ban customers who were seen on video berating Senators Lindsey Graham and Mitt Romney after they refused to challenge the Electoral College votes on January 6:
The airline will also ban passengers from checking guns in their luggage ahead of Joe Biden inauguration on January 20:

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the registration of Sputnik V, the world's first vaccine against Covid-19, sections of the Western media have taken aim at a formula they've dubbed both dangerous and ineffective.

However, in recent weeks, Moscow-based representatives of the very same outlets have lined up to receive the much-maligned Sputnik V. Living in Russia, it is no surprise that the correspondents have a much more realistic view of the country than their New York and London-based superiors.

On Friday, the New York Times' Andrew Kramer revealed he had received his first dose of Sputnik V, praising the "bona fide accomplishment for Russian scientists continuing a long and storied practice of vaccine development," even noting that Moscow has avoided some of the logistical problems seen in the West.

The tech giant says it is 'running a few experiments that will each reach about 1% of Google Search users in Australia'.

Google has been hiding some Australian news sites from search results, in a move media outlets say is a show of "extraordinary power" as the tech company bargains with the Australian government over financial payment for content.

The Australian government is attempting to impose a new code on Google and Facebook that would force them to negotiate a fair price for displaying local news content.