Tag: generation

Revealed: the child victims of Tinder, Grindr and other dating apps

The culture secretary wants strict age checks to stop under-18s using dating apps

Source: The Sunday Times

The failure of tech giants to enforce adult age limits on dating apps is placing a generation of children at risk of grooming and sexual exploitation, a Sunday Times investigation reveals today.

Lax controls on apps used by millions, such as Tinder and Grindr, are giving sexual predators and paedophiles easy access to children across Britain, according to police documents revealed under freedom of information laws.

Detectives have investigated more than 30 incidents of child rape since 2015 where victims evaded age checks on dating apps only to be sexually exploited. One 13-year-old boy on Grindr was raped or abused by at least 21 men.

The Zombification Of America Accelerates – 45% Of Teens Are Online “Almost Constantly”

Fully 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online ‘almost constantly’, according to the latest Pew Research Center poll, increasing concerns, about what The Atlantic’s Jean Twenge calls the most crucial question of our age… “have smartphones destroyed a generation?”

Despite the nearly ubiquitous presence of social media in their lives…

Pew notes that there is no clear consensus among teens about these platforms’ ultimate impact on people their age. A plurality of teens (45%) believe social media has a neither positive nor negative effect on people their age. Meanwhile, roughly three-in-ten teens (31%) say social media has had a mostly positive impact, while 24% describe its effect as mostly negative.

There is slightly less consensus among teens who say social media has had a mostly negative effect on people their age. The top response (mentioned by 27% of these teens) is that social media has led to more bullying and the overall spread of rumors.

“Gives people a bigger audience to speak and teach hate and belittle each other.” (Boy, age 13)

“People can say whatever they want with anonymity and I think that has a negative impact.” (Boy, age 15)

“Because teens are killing people all because of the things they see on social media or because of the things that happened on social media.” (Girl, age 14)

Meanwhile, 17% of these respondents feel these platforms harm relationships and result in less meaningful human interactions. Similar shares think social media distorts reality and gives teens an unrealistic view of other people’s lives (15%), or that teens spend too much time on social media (14%).

“It has a negative impact on social (in-person) interactions.” (Boy, age 17)

“It makes it harder for people to socialize in real life, because they become accustomed to not interacting with people in person.” (Girl, age 15)

“It provides a fake image of someone’s life. It sometimes makes me feel that their life is perfect when it is not.” (Girl, age 15)

“[Teens] would rather go scrolling on their phones instead of doing their homework, and it’s so easy to do so. It’s just a huge distraction.” (Boy, age 17)

Another 12% criticize social media for influencing teens to give in to peer pressure, while smaller shares express concerns that these sites could lead to psychological issues or drama.

But, as we detailed previously, there is compelling evidence that the devices we’ve placed in young people’s hands are having profound effects on their lives – and making them seriously unhappy.

You might expect that teens spend so much time in these new spaces because it makes them happy, but most data suggest that it does not. The Monitoring the Future survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and designed to be nationally representative, has asked 12th-graders more than 1,000 questions every year since 1975 and queried eighth- and 10th-graders since 1991. The survey asks teens how happy they are and also how much of their leisure time they spend on various activities, including nonscreen activities such as in-person social interaction and exercise, and, in recent years, screen activities such as using social media, texting, and browsing the web. The results could not be clearer: Teens who spend more time than average on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy, and those who spend more time than average on nonscreen activities are more likely to be happy.

There’s not a single exception. All screen activities are linked to less happiness, and all nonscreen activities are linked to more happiness. Eighth-graders who spend 10 or more hours a week on social media are 56 percent more likely to say they’re unhappy than those who devote less time to social media.

…

The correlations between depression and smartphone use are strong enough to suggest that more parents should be telling their kids to put down their phone. As the technology writer Nick Bilton has reported, it’s a policy some Silicon Valley executives follow. Even Steve Jobs limited his kids’ use of the devices he brought into the world.

…

If you were going to give advice for a happy adolescence based on this survey, it would be straightforward: Put down the phone, turn off the laptop, and do something—anything—that does not involve a screen. Of course, these analyses don’t unequivocally prove that screen time causes unhappiness; it’s possible that unhappy teens spend more time online. But recent research suggests that screen time, in particular social-media use, does indeed cause unhappiness. One study asked college students with a Facebook page to complete short surveys on their phone over the course of two weeks. They’d get a text message with a link five times a day, and report on their mood and how much they’d used Facebook. The more they’d used Facebook, the unhappier they felt, but feeling unhappy did not subsequently lead to more Facebook use.

I realize that restricting technology might be an unrealistic demand to impose on a generation of kids so accustomed to being wired at all times. Prying the phone out of our kids’ hands will be difficult, even more so than the quixotic efforts of my parents’ generation to get their kids to turn off MTV and get some fresh air. But more seems to be at stake in urging teens to use their phone responsibly, and there are benefits to be gained even if all we instill in our children is the importance of moderation. Significant effects on both mental health and sleep time appear after two or more hours a day on electronic devices. The average teen spends about two and a half hours a day on electronic devices. Some mild boundary-setting could keep kids from falling into harmful habits.

Read the full report here…

 

White House expects to take action on 5G, artificial intelligence soon

February 6, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House will take “executive action” in the coming weeks to make sure the United States keeps its research and development advantage in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, quantum computing and next generation wireless networks, known as 5G, a White House official said on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump discussed investing in what he called “industries of the future” as part of expanded infrastructure investment in his State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

The White House, which held meetings last year to discuss these technologies, did not provide detail on what the actions might be. The Wall Street Journal reported the administration wanted to increase the government’s role to quicken the pace of development.

“Within the coming weeks we could expect to see executive action designed to preserve American R&D leadership,” the official said.

Presidential adviser Ivanka Trump said in a statement: “This administration is committed to ensuring that America is positioned for dominance in the industries of the future, and that our workforce, current and future, is equipped with the skills they need to thrive in our modern, increasingly digital economy.”

(Reporting by Chris Sanders)

Watch Jimmy Dore Dismantle NYT Journo After Failed Tulsi Gabbard Hit-Job

For those who missed it, Joe Rogan had Bari Weiss on “The Joe Rogan Experience” two weeks ago – where he took the New York Times’ journalist to task in real time as she fumbled over facts, figures, and using a word without knowing what it means.

Weiss, a vocal critic of Donald Trump, was attempting to smear Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who is quite possibly the largest threat to establishment Democrats in 2020 for her staunch “anti-interventionist” foreign policy agenda and populist views on the economy. 

Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran, took heat over a January 2017 trip to Syria, where she met with President Bashar al-Assad in what she said was an unplanned trip approved by the House Ethics Committee. For this, Gabbard has been mercilessly smeared by the establishment media – which has published blatant propaganda painting her as a Kremlin stooge. 

When Weiss attempted to smear Gabbard by calling her an “Assad Toady,” Rogan didn’t toe the line – asking her “what does that mean?” in reference to the word “Toady.” 

Weiss, perhaps used to milquetoast NPR hosts, wasn’t prepared for the pushback – fumbling around for an explanation of what a “Toady” is – even spelling it wrong in the process. 

“No, I think it’s like, uh… T-O-A-D-I-E. I think it means what I think it means…” stammered the New York Times journalist. 

Rogan informs Weiss that a Toady is a “sycophant,” and then asks her what qualifies Gabbard as a “sycophant”? To which Weiss replies: “I don’t remember the details.” 

Enter Jimmy Dore

While Rogan’s pushback of Weiss was indeed devastating – progressive populist comedian and political commentator Jimmy Dore absolutely dismantled her on Monday’s edition of The Jimmy Dore Show. Yes, this is all a bit meta – but it’s worth watching Dore and his guests perform a brutal dissection of Weiss’s appearance that’s worth 18 minutes of your time. 

Dore – who criticised NBC News over an anti-Gabbard report which relied on a discredited Democrat-run firm, has come under fire himself for criticizing the obvious propaganda. 

After Dore called out Russiagater Caroline Orr for her criticism of Gabbard, Orr tweeted “I wouldn’t doubt it if Jimmy Dore was a Russian asset.”

Apparently anyone who doesn’t conform to pro-war establishment narratives is a Russian stooge.

Disturbing new study highlights the potential risks of “Franken-food” creations

(Natural News) Just when you thought Big Biotech couldn’t be any more vile, the next generation of genetically modified crops appears on the horizon. Under the new name, “gene-edited,” proponents of the GMO industry claim that the next phase of abominable foods will be safer — and there is already a covert campaign to keep…

Studies confirm: Potential risks of 5G wireless radiation are too serious to ignore

(Natural News) Last year, Qatar became the first country in the world to roll out 5th generation (5G) wireless technology. Though they were the first, Qatar will by no means be the last country to make the move to 5G. Experts estimate that by next year virtually every country on the globe will have embraced…

As Midwest Freezes, Aussie Heatwave Reaches Record Highs

While Midwest America hunkers down for the coldest temperatures in a generation, temperature records have also tumbled across South Australia, with the city of Adelaide experiencing its hottest day on record.

Life-threatening cold is sweeping across Chicago…

As Australians face animal culls, mass fish deaths across the nation,  roads melting, and bats falling from trees…

Adelaide hit 46.6C, the hottest temperature recording in any Australian state capital city since records began 80 years ago, sending homelessness shelters into a “code red”, and sparking fears of another mass fish death in the Menindee Lakes in the neighbouring state of New South Wales.

In central and western Australia, local authorities were forced to carry out an emergency animal cull, shooting 2,500 camels – and potentially a further hundred feral horses – who were dying of thirst.

In Port Augusta, 300km north-west, an all-time record was also set, as the city hit 49.5C.

So, which is it? Global warming or global cooling?

The Polar Vortex Will Bring A Brutal Cold Spell To Large Part Of U.S.

A large lob of a Polar vortex is set to snap off and ice a large area around the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest by the beginning of next week.  This will be the most extreme cold that the area has faced in a generation.

The prolonged and life-threatening cold spell will see temperatures plunge to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit below average. Parts of Minnesota could see temperatures plummet to -60 degrees Fahrenheit, while large areas will see -50 or  -40, according to The National Weather Services Twitter post. 

Those in the areas that could get extremely cold should begin making preparations for such.  Stay off the roads if you can, and if you must go outside, prepare by wearing several layers of clothing.

Hardcore Survival: What To Wear in the Harshest Conditions

When preparing for a cold snap of this magnitude, many would suggest having a backup source of heat that is not on the grid:  a woodburning stove, for example.  Although this may not be enough time for most in the harshest parts of this polar vortex to outfit their homes with a woodburning stove, extra blankets, hats, and coats should be readily available in case the power goes out taking your source of heat with it.

The Weather Service also that warned frostbite can occur to exposed skin within minutes under such extreme conditions. “Make sure your heating system, pipes, etc. are as well-prepared as possible,” it advised. “It may be wise to stock up on groceries between now and Monday evening so outdoor time is minimized.”

According to Science Alert, cold air is already seeping into the U.S. Madison, Wisconsin’s temperature sank to a record-crushing -23° F (-30°C) on Saturday, its lowest temperature in nearly 23 years. On Sunday, International Falls, Minnesota tumbled to -46° F (-43°C), the fifth lowest temperature it has ever recorded.

“There’s no mild way of saying it. Brutal cold is coming,” the National Weather Service office serving Chicago tweeted. It is predicting air temperatures close to -20°F and wind chills of -35°F to -45°F Wednesday morning.

Farmer’s Almanac Prediction: We Are ‘Calling For Teeth-Chattering Cold’

Desperate to find meaning in their lives, Millennials are now obsessed with the occult and the paranormal

(Natural News) Millennials – people born between 1980 and 2000 – are often referred to as the most useless generation in history. Fairly or unfairly labeled in this way, it is perhaps unsurprising that a large number have begun to feel that their lives lack meaning. Conditioned by their parents and teachers to have unrealistic beliefs…

International Appeal: Stop 5G on Earth and in Space

To the UN, WHO, EU, Council of Europe and governments of all nations

We the undersigned scientists, doctors, environmental organizations and citizens from (__) countries, urgently call for a halt to the deployment of the 5G (fifth generation) wireless network,

…

The post International Appeal: Stop 5G on Earth and in Space appeared first on Global Research.

What Is 5G? Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The Newest Cell Phone Technology

Authored by Lisa Dunn via UpRoxx.xom,

Just the other day, I was sitting on my couch in North Carolina, face-to-face with my nieces, who were cuddling on their couch hundreds of miles away. They were breathlessly recounting, in the way children of a certain age do, how they spent their snow day. The usual: sledding, screaming, making snow angels. But just as my eldest niece was about to tell me her favorite part of the day, both her face and her voice shuddered and shut down. FaceTime had frozen. Suddenly the miles between us, collapsed by technology, expanded to separate us once again. I cursed. I tapped my phone with my index finger, like a Boomer typing a letter to the editor. I dialed again and again to no avail. My 4G phone, which gives me the ability to talk to loved ones hundreds of miles away, had failed me.

It’s time, I thought. Time for 5G. No more of this nonsense timing out and taking an entire 30 seconds to download a song. No more AirDrop that doesn’t work every once in a while. I need more Gs!

Well, the Gs are coming. In fact, 5G has already arrived on some carriers in some parts of the country. Here’s everything you need to know.

So what is 5G, anyways?

First things first: the “G” in 5G. You probably really started noticing all the talk about Gs right around the time that ear-worm there’s a map for that commercial was released. So let’s make things simple: the “G” stands for “generation.” And those generations specifically refer to the different stages of wireless technology called mobile networks. For those who really want to get technical, PC Mag explains,

1G was analog cellular. 2G technologies, such as CDMA, GSM, and TDMA, were the first generation of digital cellular technologies. 3G technologies, such as EVDO, HSPA, and UMTS, brought speeds from 200kbps to a few megabits per second. 4G technologies, such as WiMAX and LTE, were the next incompatible leap forward.

In other words, if you think 1G, think Zack Morris. If you think 3G, think those extremely pixelated videos you watched on your LG enV with all your friends. 5G will be more like gigabit-level speeds. So, those same videos, but high quality, fast loading time, less lag, and on a much nicer phone.

So it’s just 4G, but slightly nicer?

Yes and no. While providers build their 5G networks across different spectra, they’ll use their 4G networks for support, especially as some high-band spectra upon which certain 5G networks (specifically: AT&T and Verizon) are being built can’t penetrate certain buildings. So, for instance, if you’re a Verizon customer who uses 5G, you’ll frequently be using their LTE network either in buildings or in certain areas of the map that don’t yet have coverage.

What does that mean for me? Why should I care?

According to Digital Trends, users with 5G can expect “exponentially faster download and upload speeds. Latency, or the time it takes devices to communicate with each other wireless networks, will also drastically decrease.”

In plain English: downloads and uploads will be 5-10 times faster, and because the 5G buildout will rely so heavily on 4G coverage, first generation 5G phones won’t experience the same battery drain as the switch from 3G to 4G about 10 years ago.

In fact, at the 2018 IBM Think Conference, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam predicted that 5G phones will eventually have month-long battery life,thanks to the lack of lag the new network will provide. I mean, I think most people would take every 2-3 days, but sure, a month works, too.

Is 5G really necessary?

Is your attitude really necessary?

All jokes aside, yes. Not only are we used to lightning internet connectivity now, thanks to the increased availability of fiber and other high-speed internet connections, there are more devices than ever that require wireless connectivity. This isn’t just about allowing you to watch HBOGo at the gym without the damn wifi password (though that is, admittedly, very important). Smart appliances also require wireless connectivity, so 5G will mean decent connectivity for the approximately 21 billion Internet of Things items predicted to be connected to the internet by 2020.

Is it available yet?

For certain places: yes.

Verizon has already made what they’re calling 5G home service (aka regular old internet) available. Their home service is what PC Mag describes as a “nonstandard” version which “offers multi-gigabit wireless speeds and will be swiftly transitioned over to the standard version.” In other words, while it’s not technically 5G, it’s still wicked fast and will eventually be true 5G. They’ve announced plans to roll out their 5G mobile network sometime this year.

AT&T’s 5G mobile service is currently available in 12 cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Fla., Louisville, Ky., Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Raleigh, N.C., San Antonio and Waco, Texas.” Further, in “the first half of 2019” they plan on rolling out 5G mobile in “Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose.”

T-Mobile has announced plans to start building a network in 2019 with full rollout in 2020.

Phones will start rolling out shortly. Samsung’s Galaxy S10 is 5G-capable (among other capabilities) and will go to market around March. Other phones are sure to roll out in a similar time frame.

Should I go out and get a 5G phone right now? Where are my keys? WHERE ARE MY DANG KEYS??

Slow down there, speed racer. While early adopters of 5G won’t suffer as much as early adopters of 4G (first-gen 4G phones had terrible battery life, among other issues), we recommend you just chill. First of all, as the New York Timesreports, the security of the network is currently dubious. And given that the Trump administration repealed existing protections against cybersecurity threats, we’d wait and see how the roll-out actually goes, in a practical sense.

Plus, as Ars Technica reports, odds are that it’ll take a while for 5G to come to your region, and we’re not quite sure what the trade-offs will be yet for early adoption. So let someone else do the frustrating work for you. And in the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy your current phone. Until you inevitably smash it in frustration and finally give in.

CRAZY CORTEZ CRACKS: WORLD ENDING IN 12 YEARS!

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “And I think the part of it that is generational is that millennials and people, in gen z, and all these folks that come after us are looking up and we’re like, the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change. You’re biggest issue, your biggest issue is how are going to pay for it? — and like this is the war, this is our world war II.

And I think for younger people looking at this are more like, how are we saying let’s take it easy when 3000 Americans died last year, how are we saying let’s take it easy when the end person died from our cruel and unjust criminal justice system? How are we saying take it easy, the America that we’re living in today is dystopian with people sleeping in their cars so they can work a second job without healthcare and we’re told to settle down. It’s a fundamental separation between that fierce urgency of now, the why we can’t wait that King spoke of.

That at some point this chronic reality do reach a breaking point and I think for our generation it reached that, I wished I didn’t have to be doing every post, but sometimes I just feel like people aren’t being held accountable. Until, we start pitching in and holding people accountable, I’m just gonna let them have it.”

Demographic Catastrophe: China’s Birth Rate Falls To Historic Low

Over the weekend, China’s statistics bureau announced a significant dip in the country’s birth rate with the number of babies born in China last year falling by 2 million to the lowest annual rate since the country was founded in 1949, despite Beijing’s recent attempts to encourage couples to have more children.

In 2016, China partially ended its one-child policy to allow couples to have two children, but as we warned repeatedly since then, the policy has done done little to spur population growth as rising living costs weigh on couples considering a child.

In numbers (via DW):

  • The birth rate in 2018 dropped to 10.94 per thousand, down from 12.43 the previous year.
  • The number of babies born in 2018 dropped by 2 million compared to the previous year to 15.23 million.
  • The birth rate is the lowest since 1949.
  • China’s population is nearly 1.4 billion.

Commenting on China’s demographic collapse, Wang Feng, a sociology professor at the University of California, Irving, said: “Decades of social and economic transformations have prepared an entirely new generation in China, for whom marriage and childbearing no longer have the importance they once did for their parents’ generation.”

Cited by DW, Beijing officer worker Mina Cai said: “Many of us grew up as only children and we’re a little selfish about putting our own satisfaction above having kids.”

Independent Chinese demographer He Yahu echoed these concerns when he said: “The low birth rate has led to a seriously ageing population. On one hand, families are getting smaller, reducing support for the elderly; on the other hand, the elderly population to workforce is growing, which increases the burden on the working population.”

As we reported at the time, China surprised the world three years ago when it announced the end of its one-child policy, which limited many families from having more than one child. The policy was criticized for giving rise to forced abortions and sterilizations, for encouraging couples to try to have boys rather than girls and for catalyzing China’s sharp decline in births.

China’s new civil code is set to be unveiled in 2020, with all mentions of “family planning” removed from the text, according to media reports. Observers suggest it could mean Beijing will be lifting limitations on family sizes introduced in 1979 to control population growth.

Besides demographics, China’s transformation into the next Japan has major, and potentially dire, consequences for the local economy.

As we reported back in October via Econimica, the 0-to-24 year old Chinese population swelled by over 300 million from 1950 to it’s ultimate peak in 1991.  Since that peak, the total population of young in China has fallen by 176 million, or a 30% decline in the number of children across China.  Moving forward, the UN has expressed hopes the formal elimination of the one child policy would simply slow the rate of decline in the population…but by no means will China’s fast declining childbearing population (those aged 15-44) nor disproportionately young male population potentially be offset by a slightly less negative birth rate.  Contrast that with the quantity of debt being forcibly injected into a nation that faces a massive imminent population decline.

To put that debt into perspective, the chart below shows that total debt and annual GDP each divided by the 0 to 24 year old Chinese population.  As of 2018, every child and young adult in China under the age of 25 is presently responsible for over $100 thousand dollars in debt while the annual economic activity (GDP) created by all this debt continues to lag ever faster. 

And the coming decade only worsens as the young population continues its unabated fall and debt creation (absent concomitant economic growth) continues soaring… building more capacity all for a population that is set to collapse.

China’s predicament and reaction to it are not particularly unique…but given China’s size, the ultimate global impact of China’s slow motion train wreck will be unprecedented… particularly as their 15 to 64 year old population is now in indefinite decline.  Chart below shows annual change in Chinese 15 to 64 year old population, in both millions (green columns) and percentage (blue line).

Simply said, without a dramatic rebound in China’s birth rate, massive overcapacity (thanks to over a decade of government mandated malinvestment) versus an ever swifter declining base of consumption does not add up to a burgeoning middle class or a happy ending.

Of course, it’s not just China: for context, here is a chart showing US federal debt per capita of the 0 to 24 year old US population…

… confirming that the next generation, whether in China or the US, is set for a painful collision course with debt bubble dynamics.

SMBC urges jetmakers to erase production snags before raising output

January 21, 2019

By Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) – The head of one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies has told leading planemakers to “get their house in order” and wipe out manufacturing delays before pushing already record production rates to even higher levels.

SMBC Aviation Capital’s chief executive, Peter Barrett, urged caution over production increases as he confirmed a new order for 65 Airbus <AIR.PA> A320neo-family aircraft to secure the Japanese-owned leasing company’s growth well into the next decade.

“We have been consistent with both manufacturers (Airbus and Boeing) in saying get deliveries right today … get your production and delivery systems up to scratch,” Barrett told Reuters.

Airbus and Boeing <BA.N> are within reach of production rates at or close to 60 aircraft a month for their best-selling narrow-body models but have struggled with late deliveries.

Both have begun exploring future output of about 70 jets a month to meet strong demand, but some of their engine makers are reluctant to back the move immediately, given difficulties experienced in switching to a new generation of fuel-saving engines.

The cautious tone on future production reflects recognition that manufacturers must first “get their house in order” and improve the timing and quality of aircraft already being delivered, Barrett said.

Aircraft lessors who control about half the world’s fleet are traditionally cautious about production increases, fearing that a glut would knock values of assets they already own. But they have also been increasingly vocal about supply disruptions.

SMBC Aviation, the world’s fourth-largest leasing company, has said the order for 65 planes first reported by Reuters included 15 Airbus A321neos, the largest medium-haul model.

Barrett said SMBC also had the option to upgrade A321neos to the longer-range A321LR version and that it is monitoring possible plans by Airbus for a longer-range A321XLR.

Industry sources have said Airbus has stepped up pre-marketing for a 101-tonne A321XLR, which would expand the use of narrow-body jets for longer transatlantic trips. It is expected to launch it by mid-year to pre-empt Boeing proposals for a new mid-market jet with 220-270 seats.

Barrett said SMBC would look at the possible new Boeing jet but its price and performance would be critical.

Aircraft financiers are meeting in Dublin this week against the backdrop of a sector concerned that a decade-long boom is faltering as uncertainty creeps into the global economy and interest rates rise.

SMBC is watching developments in China and uncertainty over Britain’s exit from the European Union for any wider economic impact but says overall demand for leased jets remains solid.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by David Goodman)

Army Struggles To Reach Generation Z, Tries Recruiting At Video Game Tournaments 

Army recruiters are having a challenging time convincing Americans born between 1995 and 2005 to sign up and serve. The situation is so dire that Army Recruiting Command has turned to e-Sports video game tournaments.

“It is incredible, the amount of coverage that you get and the amount of the Z Gens that are watching these games,” Gen. Frank Muth, the head of Army Recruiting Command, told NPR.

Sponsoring video game tournaments is an effort to boost recruitment after the Army fell short of its 76,500 recruitment goal by 6,500 people last year.

“Calling the Z generation on the phone doesn’t work anymore,” Gen. Muth told NPR. “We’re really giving the power back to our recruiters to go on Twitter, to go on Twitch, to go on Instagram, and use that as a venue to start a dialogue with the Z generation.”

NPR noted that a recent e-Sports tournament featured an Army recruiter as an announcer and went viral with more than 2 million views, adding that “Half [the views] were from people aged 17 to 24.”

To further implement the strategy, the Army is now screening more than 4,000 applications from soldiers who want to play video games.

Army Recruiting Command will select 30 of the service’s top gamers to be on the new Army e-Sports Team to compete in national gaming tournaments.

Generation Z soldiers are part of this subculture, according to Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Jones, a noncommissioned officer overseeing the Army e-sports Team.

“Soldiers are showing a want and desire to not only play gaming … but also be in competitive gaming, and we understand that is a really good connection to our target market,” he said.

“These soldiers will actually be hand-selected, so what we are doing is grouping them together and — based upon the title and platform that they wish to compete in — having them scrimmage within those groups to find out who are the best we have.”

Part of the screening process will include ensuring that candidates also meet Army physical fitness, height, and weight standards.

“Those soldiers will be screened from there to make sure that not only can they compete, but [they] are the top-quality soldier that we are looking for in order to move here to Knox to compete,” Sgt. Jones said.

“We want those soldiers, when they go to these events, to be able to articulate to the public.”

The team of Army gamers will serve on 36-month rotations at Fort Knox and travel to tournaments around the country, supporting the Army’s recruitment efforts at gaming events.

Gen. Muth is not sure that the Army can hit its recruitment goals for 2019. He told NPR, the e-Sports strategy could be the key to unlocking a new wave of future soldiers. 

However, there is a problem: “Health-Risk Correlates of Video-Game Playing Among Adults” study shows that video gamers in America are overweight and depressed. It seems that the Army’s strategy in recruiting the younger generation at gaming events could backfire. 

Denmark: “In One Generation, Our Country Has Changed”

Authored by Judith Bergman via The Gatestone Institute,

  • The decision to send the criminal inhabitants of the asylum center to the uninhabited island of Lindholm caused great relief in Bording — an element the international press appears to have missed. Clearly, the right of law-abiding citizens to live in peace does not count for much on the scale of international moral outrage.

  • Significantly, the outraged international press did not offer any answers to the legitimate question of what governments are supposed to do with hardened criminal asylum seekers, who pose a genuine threat to their surroundings and have been sentenced to deportation, but cannot be deported from the country because of international human rights obligations.

  • The problem is far from a uniquely Danish one: virtually all European countries have signed international human rights conventions that leave them with the same dilemma.

  • The country did not just “change”. Danish politicians, with their policies, changed it.

In his recent New Year’s speech, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen mentioned that Muslim parallel societies constitute a problem and that immigrants must learn to put secular values over religious ones. He just did not say how he planned to address all that. Pictured: Rasmussen in October 2018. (Photo by Rune Hellestad/Getty Images)

Denmark made international headlines in late November 2018, when the Danish government announced a plan to send certain asylum seekers to the small, uninhabited island of Lindholm. The international outrage was intensified when it came to light that the island currently houses a research center for contagious animal diseases; that the ferry which the asylum seekers will be able to take to the mainland during the day (it does not operate in the evening) is named “Virus”; and that the asylum center will be accompanied by a constant police presence on the island.

The group of asylum seekers meant to live in Lindholm consists of criminals of various sorts, including those who have been sentenced to be deported from Denmark, those who are considered a security threat to Denmark, and so-called “foreign warriors”.

The asylum seekers, however, cannot be deported to their country of origin, either because those countries do not adhere to human rights conventions, (which Denmark has signed and by which it is therefore obligated) that prohibit the use of torture, so-called inhumane treatment and the death sentence, or simply because the country of origin refuses to take them back.

The island will undergo a comprehensive renovation, estimated to take nearly three years and to cost Danish taxpayers approximately 759 million Danish kroner (approximately $116 million). Until the renovation is completed, this group of asylum seekers will remain at their current housing facility, an asylum center known as Kærshovedgård, 6 kilometers from the nearest town of Bording. Kærshovedgård, a former prison, was established as an asylum center in 2016.

In the two and a half years since, police have filed 85 charges of violence, threats of violence, vandalism, shoplifting, and drug-related crimes against the inhabitants of the asylum center. The manager of the local supermarket in Bording called the presence of the asylum center “a living hell on earth”. The decision to send the criminal inhabitants of the asylum center to the uninhabited island of Lindholm caused great relief in Bording — an element the international press appears to have missed. Clearly, the right of law-abiding citizens to live in peace does not count for much on the scale of international moral outrage. Now, however, neighbors of Lindholm in the tiny town of Kalvehave on the mainland have voiced their fearsregarding the establishment of the asylum center on Lindholm, which they see as merely moving the problem from one area to another. Some inhabitants are talking about putting up cameras, fences, barbed wire and even acquiring gun permits.

Significantly, the outraged international press did not offer any answers to the legitimate question of what governments are supposed to do with hardened criminal asylum seekers, who pose a genuine threat to their surroundings and have been sentenced to deportation, but cannot be deported from the country because of international human rights obligations. The problem is far from a uniquely Danish one: virtually all European countries have signed international human rights conventions that leave them with the same dilemma.

The prospect of inadvertently attracting more foreigners who may prove to be either criminals or security threats, however, did not dissuade Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen from signing the UN’s Global Migration Compact in December 2018, despite opposition to the initiative in his own government. It was even claimed that computer “bots” had generated the popular opposition against the Compact on the internet. The more likely reason for opposition to the UN Compact is that more Danes have come to acknowledge that migration has led to a number of grave problems in Denmark.

One such problem is the presence of Muslim parallel societies in major Danish cities, a situation that Danish documentary filmmakers already documented in 2016 in an undercover investigation, with hidden cameras, into claims that imams are working towards keeping parallel societies for Muslims within Denmark.

Since then, things have not improved. In February 2018, for example, Danish television station TV2 News visited Vollsmose, a neighborhood in Denmark’s third largest city, Odense, where Muslim parallel societies are prevalent. The television crew spoke to young Somali women in a café, where men and women sit in separate areas. 31-year-old Hibo Abdulahi, who came to Denmark when she was ten years old, said the reason for the self-imposed gender-segregation is that “Those are our rules. Yes, our law… That is Islamic law, men and women do not sit together”. The reporter asked her if that meant that he was not allowed to sit in the women’s section of the café. “Yes, you can sit here, because you are a white person, so you probably don’t know any better”. Hibo Abdulahi apparently did not consider the café part of a Muslim parallel society:

“The café follows Danish law… This is our culture which we lack and miss a little. What is wrong with that? I simply do not understand why we have to become so integrated. Does that mean we should put away all our culture and be completely Danish? I’ve had enough now. I am very integrated, I have many Danish friends, take it easy, let us have something to ourselves”.

Another way Denmark’s landscape has changed is in the increased presence of mosques. “The minaret is first and foremost a symbol”, according to the Turkish Cultural Association, which is behind the building of a Turkish mosque in Århus, Denmark’s second largest city. The mosque’s minaret, a 24-meter-high construction, is visible to visitors to the city when approaching it from the motorway.

Turkey has been extremely active in ramping up its activities in Denmark, apparently as part of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plan of strengthening Islam in the West. Denmark already has around 30 Turkish mosques out of approximately 170 mosques in total as of end of 2017. In 2006, there were 115 mosques in all of Denmark — an increase of nearly 50% in little more than a decade.

A recent government study, “Analysis of children of descendants with a non-Western background”, shows that there continue to be huge problems with assimilating immigrants into Danish society.

According to the study, third-generation immigrants — the second generation to be born in Denmark — still do not get better grades in school than their parents did, nor do more of them finish higher education or find employment. As of January 2018, there were 24,200 third-generation immigrants in Denmark, of whom 92% had a non-Western background. Of those with a non-Western background, 41% were of Turkish descent, and 21% were of Pakistani descent.

Today, there are roughly 500,000 immigrants and descendants of immigrants in Denmark. The cost to the Danish state is 33 billion Danish kroner per year ($5 billion or 4.4 billion euros), according to the Danish Ministry of Finance. It is estimated that in 2060 there will be nearly 900,000 immigrants and descendants of immigrants in Denmark, according to Denmark’s official statistical bureau, Danmark’s Statistik. Denmark currently has a total population of 5.8 million people. If the lack of integration persists in the next generation of descendants of immigrants, Denmark is looking at a significant societal problem to which no one appears to have a solution.

Least of all, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. In his New Year’s speech, he said that things are “going well” in Denmark. He did not mention the study about the descendants of non-Western immigrants, or that the Danish government has no significant answers to the many questions that the existence of Muslim parallel societies poses — although he did mention that Muslim parallel societies constitute a problem and that immigrants must learn to put secular values over religious ones. He just did not say how he planned to address all that. “When I was in high school, he also said, “there were around 50,000 people with a non-Western background in Denmark. Today, there are almost half a million. In one generation, our country has changed”. The country did not just “change”. Danish politicians, with their policies, changed it.

Rasmussen also mentioned the recent brutal rape and beheading by ISIS terrorists of two young Scandinavian women, one of whom was Danish, hiking in Morocco:

“We all react with disgust and sorrow. But we must also react by standing for what we believe. Freedom and equality of men. We must fight for our values…. It is not enough to have tough policies, police and border controls. It requires close European cooperation, development aid, diplomacy and increased investments in our defense. We must stand for our free societies”.

Danes might be excused for thinking that their prime minister, who recently joined the UN Global Migration Compact, which encourages more migration, comes across as less than sincere.

Muslim Rep. Andre Carson Envisions Muslim Rep. Rashida Tlaib Becoming Speaker of the House

(CNSNews.com) – Welcoming his two fellow Muslim newcomers to Congress, Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) on Thursday evening envisioned a future with 30-35 Muslim members serving by 2030, and with Muslims holding posts ranging from committee chairs to the presidency of the United States.

Speaking at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reception in honor of himself and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ihlan Omar (D-Minn.), Carson also spoke in defense of his “sister Rashida,” who has been under fire for using a vulgar expletive to describe President Trump.

Asked by a reporter what he thought about Tlaib “and what she said,” Carson said he had replied, “I love her, I’ve known her for decades. She’s a fighter and I stand with her.”

“And we should stand with her,” he added, drawing applause from the CAIR gathering at a hotel in Arlington, Va.

https://www.mrctv.org/embed/536122

Carson likened Tlaib and Omar to superheroes who arrived at a time when he was feeling “all alone” after his then sole Muslim colleague, Rep. Keith Ellison, had stepped down to run for attorney general of Minnesota. (Ellison took up the post on Monday; Omar won the election in November to succeed him as representative for Minnesota’s 5th District.)

“All of a sudden I looked in the sky and saw Wonderwoman come out of nowhere,” Carson said. “And then I looked on the other side and I saw Storm from the X-Men come out of nowhere.”

“We’ve got firepower in Congress. We’ve got sister Rashida [Tlaib] in the House, and she’s tough.”

“She’s the kind of sister you take to a debate with scholars with you, because she’ll rock the house,” Carson continued. “She’s also the kind of sister you take with you if you’re about to get jumped, because she’ll fight too. That sister’s tough.”

Carson said it was important to have three Muslims in Congress, but that he would not rest until there were five more Muslims in Congress in 2020, and ten more by 2022 or 2024.

“In 2030 we may have about 30, 35 Muslims in Congress,” he said.

“Then we’re talking about Madame Chair Rashida. We’re talking about Madame Chair Ilhan,” Carson continued.

“Hell, we could be saying Speaker of the House Ilhan, Speaker of the House Rashida, Senator Rashida, Governor Ilhan, President Fatima, Vice President Aziza.  Inshallah [Allah willing].”

Carson described Tlaib and Omar as “powerful” and “smart.”

“They’re ready. They represent the next generation of Democratic leadership. They’re unapologetic about who they are, and they won’t bow down and they’ll never, never sell you out.”

Concluding his speech, Carson said every American Muslim has “a directive to represent Islam, in all of our imperfections, but to represent Islam and let the world know that Muslims are here to stay, and Muslims are a part of America. And we will have a Muslim caucus that is sizeable, that is formidable, and that is there for you.”

British Army Looking For ‘Gamers, Snowflakes & Phone Zombies’ To Join The Military

The British army has sunk to a new level with their latest campaign to get the younger generation to enlist. 

Their new recruitment drive targets young people with posters calling on “snowflakes, selfie addicts, class clowns, phone zombies, and me, me, millennials” to join the military.

RT reports: The campaign is a bid to attract young people to join the UK forces by claiming the army is looking for special skills in order to convince young people that their snowflake attitudes, obsession with their phones, and passion for video games make them right for a career in combat.

“Me-me-me millennials, your army needs your self-belief,” and “snowflakes, your army needs your compassion,” are some of the slogans featured on the posters.

The campaign’s television ads show young people being undervalued in their jobs, and claims the army is looking for such people as it recognises their potential. The drab work scenes are cut with exciting scenes of soldiers delivering humanitarian aid and other military moments.

The WWI Conspiracy – Part Two: The American Front

Via CorbettReport.com,

Each year, we lay the wreath. We hear “The Last Post.” We mouth the words “never again” like an incantation. But what does it mean? To answer this question, we have to understand what WWI was.

WWI was an explosion, a breaking point in history. In the smoldering shell hole of that great cataclysm lay the industrial-era optimism of never-ending progress. Old verities about the glory of war lay strewn around the battlefields of that “Great War” like a fallen soldier left to die in No Man’s Land, and along with it lay all the broken dreams of a world order that had been blown apart. Whether we know it or not, we here in the 21st century are still living in the crater of that explosion, the victims of a First World War that we are only now beginning to understand.

See “Part 1 – To Start A War” here…

Part Two – The American Front

The election of Woodrow Wilson once again shows how power operates behind the scenes to subvert the popular vote and the will of the public. Knowing that the stuffy and politically unknown Wilson would have little chance of being elected over the more popular and affable William Howard Taft, Morgan and his banking allies bankrolled Teddy Roosevelt on a third party ticket to split the Republican vote. The strategy worked and the banker’s real choice, Woodrow Wilson, came to power with just forty-two percent of the popular vote.

With Wilson in office and Colonel House directing his actions, Morgan and his conspirators get their wish. 1913 saw the passage of both the federal income tax and the Federal Reserve Act, thus consolidating Wall Street’s control over the economy. World War One, brewing in Europe just eight months after the creation of the Federal Reserve, was to be the first full test of that power.

But difficult as it had been for the Round Table to coax the British Empire out of its “splendid isolation” from the continent and into the web of alliances that precipitated the war, it would be that much harder for their American fellow travelers to coax the United States out of its own isolationist stance. Although the Spanish-American War had seen the advent of American imperialism, the thought of the US getting involved in “that European war” was still far from the minds of the average American…

All along the Western front, the Allies rejoiced. The Yanks were coming.

House, the Milner Group, the Pilgrims, the Wall Street financiers and all of those who had worked so diligently for so many years to bring Uncle Sam into war had got their wish. And before the war was over, millions more casualties would pile up. Carnage the likes of which the world had never seen before had been fully unleashed.

The trenches and the shelling. The no man’s land and the rivers of blood. The starvation and the destruction. The carving up of empires and the eradication of an entire generation of young men.

Why? What was it all for? What did it accomplish? What was the point?

See Part 3 here…

Experts WARN: 5G technology will blanket the Earth with ultra-high microwave frequencies

(Natural News) As the dawn of the next generation of the internet, 5G, approaches, proponents of the new technology can’t seem to stop singing its praises. Faster speeds, better connectivity and nearly instantaneous data transfers are among the promises of 5G technology, but what no one is talking about is the cost of this venture. Beyond…

U.S. says suspected USS Cole bombing planner killed in Yemen strike

January 6, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Jamal al-Badawi, wanted by the United States for his suspected role in the attack on the USS Cole 18 years ago, was killed in a precision strike in Yemen on Jan. 1, U.S. Central Command said on Sunday.

Badawi was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2003 over his role in the October 2000 deadly bombing of the USS Cole, a Navy guided-missile destroyer. He escaped from prison in Yemen twice, once in 2003 and again in 2006.

“U.S. forces confirmed the results of the strike following a deliberate assessment process,” said Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban, two days after the Defense Department said U.S. forces had targeted Badawi in the strike.

It is the latest blow to Yemen’s al Qaeda branch, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has lost key leaders in U.S strikes in recent years. In 2018, U.S. officials said they believed that Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, once one of the world’s most feared bombmakers, had been killed.

Still, Katherine Zimmerman at the American Enterprise Institute conservative thinktank cautioned that AQAP had proven it will remain a threat. The group has benefited from the chaos of Yemen’s civil war, although it has lost major strongholds, including the port city of Mukallah.

“There is certainly a degradation of the leadership,” Zimmerman said.

“The big concern is that al Qaeda has always proven that its bench is much deeper and there is no clear strategy for stabilizing Yemen and setting the conditions where we don’t have a new generation (of militants) coming forward.”

Yemen’s conflict has pushed it to the verge of famine, with millions relying on food aid.

The death of Badawi removes perhaps the last major figure in the USS Cole attack from the battlefield.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted: “Our GREAT MILITARY has delivered justice for the heroes lost and wounded in the cowardly attack on the USS Cole.”

There was a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

The Cole attack was a devastating blow to the U.S. Navy.

On Oct. 12, 2000, two men in a small boat detonated explosives alongside the vessel as it was refueling in Aden, killing 17 sailors, wounding more than three dozen others and blasting a gaping hole in its hull.

(Reporting by Mary Milliken and Phil Stewart; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Rosalba O’Brien)

What Happens in Korea Now That Mattis Is Gone?

by Robert E. Kelly

Next week, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis will leave office. His position will be filled by an acting deputy. The U.S. Senate will eventually confirm his replacement. There is widespread concern that Trump is replacing his first generation of advisors and staff with a second generation selected for loyalty rather than competence. Mattis, like National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster before him, was often described as an “adult in the room,” in contrast to more unreservedly loyal advisors like the Sebastien Gorka or Jared Kushner.

There is deep anxiety, both in Washington and in allied capitals, that an underqualified Trumpist successor could wreak havoc on U.S. alliances given the critical importance of the defense secretary role. Mattis was indeed beloved by U.S. allies. He often sent traditional signals of alliance solidarity in the wake of Trumpian outbursts about allies free-riding on or ripping off America. I heard him speak at the 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue, and he received an extended ovation, almost solely for sounding traditional U.S. alliance themes in the age of Trump.

Much of the focus on Mattis’ departure has turned on the Middle East. It appears that Mattis is leaving primarily over Trump’s precipitous decision to remove U.S. forces from Syria. But Mattis’ abrupt resignation will also impact U.S. power in East Asia, where he has been a critical voice in stabilizing American relationships in an area bewildered by the populist upsurge in the West.

Mattis’s departure will matter less in Europe than Asia. Europe is going through a similar populist tumult as America. Brexit, Viktor Orban of Hungary, Andrzej Duda of Poland, the various radicals in Mediterranean governments like Italy and Greece, and so on have accustomed European allies to the kinds of social forces Trump is channeling. But in Asia, these sorts of populist explosions are rare. In democratic Asia, only Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte approximates Trump’s style. Elsewhere, in Japan and South Korea especially, Trump’s inconsistency and abuse have bewildered and alienated elites, who have taken to simply flattering Trump in response. In this confused environment, Mattis was a beacon of normality.

It is on North Korea that Mattis’ successor will arguably have the most impact. The contentious relationship with China is so broad-fronted and multifarious that many groups have vested interests in the outcome. Because of Korea’s smaller footprint and South Korea’s asymmetric defense dependence on the United States, the defense department plays a greater role. And here, Mattis was excellent.

Most importantly, Mattis was openly opposed to the various strike options discussed in 2017. As the op-ed pages were full of suggestions for giving North Korea a “bloody nose,” and as the president himself was throwing out language like “fire and fury” and “totally destroy North Korea,” Mattis was a voice of restraint. Trump had surrounded himself with hawks: UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Vice President Mike Pence, McMaster, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson were all fairly belligerent voices, as were McMaster and Tillerson’s successors. In that crowd, Mattis was the sole voice arguably consistently and aggressively for a negotiation track first.

Mattis also sent consistent signals to the South Koreans during this time that they would be consulted before any major military action might occur. Trump’s 2017 language was so harsh, that South Korean President Moon Jae-In felt compelled to publicly say to the national legislature a few days before Trump would speak there, that no one could attack North Korea without South Korea’s prior assent. The United States and South Korea have never agreed whose “permission” is required for any such action, and Mattis did an excellent job finessing that irresolvable issue throughout Trump’s extreme phase on North Korea.

Finally, Mattis sent similarly important signals to America’s South Korean ally that the relationship was greater than Trump’s transactional approach. Mattis made this concern plain in his resignation letter. He, like many, is deeply concerned that Trump is burning bridges with friends and partners by demanding that they “pay up.” Mattis never talked this way. He consistently used established language about the “iron-clad” relationship between Seoul and Washington. He never echoed Trump’s demand that South Korea pay more for the alliance, and it is likely that were he in charge of the current financial burden-sharing talks, that they would be wrapped up by now. Instead, they are deadlocked by Trump’s demand for more money from Seoul.

Most of these accomplishments were below the radar and negative rather than positive. That is, Mattis’ most important achievements were in stopping things from happening—a strike on the North with a possible slide towards war or a major alliance blow-up over financing. If Trump follows his practice elsewhere and replaces Mattis with a more supine loyalist, as with current National Security Advisor John Bolton or Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, America’s problems in Korea will likely multiple. For instance, the burden-sharing issue will grow to be the dominant issue in U.S. relations with South Korea. Regarding the North, a Trumpier successor may not restrain Trump from sliding back toward “fire and fury” when Trump finally realizes that North Korea has no intention of denuclearizing.

Mattis was a quiet manager. We’re all going to miss that soon.

Robert Kelly is an associate professor of international relations in the Department of Political Science at Pusan National University. More of his writing can be found on his website. He tweets at @Robert_E_Kelly.

Image: Reuters.

Should Energy Deregulation Be In Every State?

Over the past couple decades, a historic shift has slowly taken place within the $220 billion electric industry, much like the airline, trucking and telecommunications industries before it. Federal and state governments have chipped away at what has been referred to as the last government-sanctioned monopoly. Today, nearly half of all states have some version of full or partial electric deregulation.

With the goal of offering consumers the same freedom of choice they enjoy in choosing their cell phone carrier, the electric industry has been slowly laid open to competition with the aim of reducing costs to consumers and businesses alike. Deregulation of any industry is typically undertaken to improve competition in the marketplace, handing over the task of regulation to the industry itself.

Usually, only mature industries are considered prime candidates for deregulation, where the chance of one company dominating all others is low. For the most part, the process of deregulation has been a winning proposition for consumers and businesses alike.

Changes in energy policies enacted in 1978 and later in 1992 provided open access for electric suppliers to the U.S. power grid, but implementation of deregulation remained up to the individual states, according to YourFamilyEnergy.com.

Proponents in favor of dismantling power generation and distribution pointed to a number of problems with the current regulated system. For example, the city of Chicago noted a number of drawbacks prior to deregulation, including:

  • Inefficient power generation
  • Climbing electric rates
  • High electric costs driving industry out of town
  • Consumers taking all risk
  • Lack of industry innovation
  • Lack of options for consumers

After deregulation, power plants fell under the ownership of private operators who then sell power to retail electric suppliers within a competitive environment. The retail supplier then sells power to consumers, typically through a power supply contract. The power is delivered via a local utility. In Chicago, Ill., consumers have options regarding electric suppliers, but their power is always distributed via the same local utility.

Deregulation may not only bring savings to consumers and business owners, but investors in renewable sources of energy, such as wind, are finding a potential windfall in an unregulated energy environment, according to Business Insider, which reported in its May 9, 2013, edition on Warren Buffet’s nearly $2 billion investment in wind, sparked by electric deregulation. The article also noted options for those without money to invest. These folks cash in on deregulation via partnering with an energy service company for direct sales through referrals.

The advantages of electric deregulation are slowly being realized by state after state as they seek to do away with government involvement in favor of a competitive marketplace that severs ties between power generation and distribution. You can tap into an online energy-saving help center, government regulatory website or reliable news source to learn how your state has approached electric deregulation.

New Hampshire has had commercial deregulation in place for over a decade, though businesses didn’t really warm up to the idea of taking advantage of it until about 2006, when companies like New Hampshire Ball Bearings began realizing savings as high as $500,000 at a single location.

In Illinois, where electricity prices consistently floated above the national average by about 10 percent, rates fell below the country’s average after deregulation.

Globalists Push Internet Control Freak Treaty at the United Nations

By: Kurt Nimmo, Infowars.com

Popular outrage over SOPA and PIPA has forced the globalists to seek a new line of attack in their effort to control the internet. On February 27, they will engage in a “diplomatic process” that will hand over to the United Nations unprecedented control over a free and open internet.

Numerous countries are pushing for United Nations governance over the internet by the end of the year, including Russia and China. Russian PM Vladimir Putin said last year his goal is to impose “international control over the Internet” through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under the auspices of the UN.

The ITU is working to globalize the radio spectrum, latest-generation wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology along with the internet. It is positioning itself to control next-generation networks, the technology that will replace the current free and open internet.

Authoritarian China and Russia want to renegotiate the 1988 treaty that deregulated and decentralized the internet and paved the way for its fantastic success and popularity. The 1988 treaty, the Wall Street Journal notes, “insulated the Internet from economic and technical regulation and quickly became the greatest deregulatory success story of all time.”

The ITU treaty negotiated at the behest of the United Nations will radically modify the internet and bring it under control of the global elite. In addition to imposing cyber security mandates, it will outlaw peer-to-peer technologies and impose unprecedented economic regulations such as mandates for rates, terms and conditions. It will allow transnational corporations to charge fees for “international” internet traffic possibly on a “per-click” basis for certain web destinations.

The ITU will also end the nonprofit status of multi-stakeholder internet governance entities such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – in other words, UN bureaucrats answering to the globalists will control who is allowed to establish a presence on the internet. They will also control the Internet Engineering Task Force, the Internet Society and other multi-stakeholder groups that develop and configure engineering and technical standards for the internet.

To read more, visit:  http://www.infowars.com/globalists-push-internet-control-freak-treaty-at-the-united-nations/

RE Tea Party » Technology

Obama’s Tax Policy Targets Rising Sector of His Base: The Affluent

By JOHN HARWOOD, NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — Partisan clashes over President Obama’s proposed tax increases have obscured something remarkable: that the affluent Americans targeted by his policy represent a growing share of his own party’s base.

You would not know it from Republican cries of class warfare swirling around Mr. Obama’s new budget, which reiterates his calls for higher taxes on individuals earning more than $ 200,000 and households earning more than $ 250,000. Conventional understanding of election-season populism assumes that the president will be looking to stick it to die-hard Republicans.

In fact, affluent Americans have represented a growing portion of the Democratic Party for a generation. Even though Jimmy Carter won the presidency in 1976, for example, he trailed the Republican incumbent, Gerald Ford, 62 percent to 38 percent among voters in the highest income group (those earning more than $ 20,000, the equivalent of roughly $ 80,000 today) that were measured by people conducting exit polls.

By 2000, Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee, trailed George W. Bush 54 percent to 43 percent among the highest income group (those earning more than $ 100,000). In winning the presidency four years ago, Mr. Obama defeated Senator John McCain by 52 percent to 46 percent among voters in the top income group, those earning more than $ 200,000.

The conservative author Charles Murray, in his new book “Coming Apart,” which is about the nation’s widening class divide, identifies “Super ZIP codes” that the “hyper-wealthy and hyper-elite” call home. Even as he proposed higher taxes on the wealthy in 2008, Mr. Obama beat Mr. McCain in 8 of the top 10 such ZIP codes — by a ratio of 2 to 1 in communities like Atherton, Calif., Gladwyne, Pa., and Chappaqua, N.Y.

Mr. Obama also continued the Democrats’ progress among the much larger group of upper-middle-class voters. In counties with above-average incomes that the research organization Patchwork Nation calls Monied ’Burbs, Mr. Obama received 55 percent of the vote, up from the 49 percent President Bill Clinton received in 1996, the 43 percent that the Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis received in 1988 and the 36 percent Mr. Carter received in 1980.

To read more, visit:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/us/politics/obamas-tax-policy-targets-slice-of-his-base-the-affluent.html?_r=1

RE Tea Party » Taxes

We Are Change TV.US