Daily Archives: April 17, 2021

ANTI-CANCEL CULTURE IS REALLY JUST ANTI BLACKNESS…AGAIN – The Red Hook Star-Revue

Posted: April 17, 2021 at 11:49 am

For the better part of the last decade, America has experienced a snowball of pushback against customs that were once considered social norms, but now acknowledged to be inappropriate.Social media continues to play a major role in a particular kind of public and social accountability, also known as cancelling. In recent months weve seen comedians, politicians, and other public figures debate and disparage this sometimes effective accountability/shaming tool cancel culture. So, what exactly is cancel culture and why is the movement against it anti-Black?The origins of cancel culture trace back to Black Twitter. Black Twitter is the space of the platform where Black users retweet and discuss ideas about entertaining or trending stories.Around 2014, the phrase youre canceled began appearing. The phrase was simply a tweet or hashtag used to call out current or past wrongdoings by public figures. Today, its being referred to as a culture and a movement. However, like many of Black folks creations, the hijacking and misrepresentation of this so-called movement was sure to follow.In mid-2020, a bevy of non-Black critics of BLM protests began speaking out against what they saw as cancel culture. The critics ranged from well-known Youtubers to obscure Instagramers, but eventually reached the realm of politics and daytime TV.Critics like Meghan McCain, Ted Cruz, and even Barack Obama have weighed in on the movement, albeit with some distinct points of view, respectively (Obama). There are observable patterns with mainstream anti-cancel culture warriors, they are usually white, and often conservative. With growing criticism of the movement, several conservatives have used cancel culture as a way to reframe their unfavorable sentiments on political correctness and accountability.Interestingly, the earliest critiques of cancel culture actually came from the Black community. However, those critics did not attempt to do away with the idea of accountability. Early critics discussed the need to affirm rehabilitation and personal growth of individuals, pivoting away from the sometimes unforgiving shaming tool that is canceling.Yet, despite diverging sentiments among Black social media, cancel culture helped hold R. Kelly accountable, for example. Cancel culture and the Me Too movement also called for accountability from folks like Harvey Weinstein, Bill OReilly, Megyn Kelly, Matt Lauer and many more. So, how can holding sexual predators and bigots accountable be a bad thing?Well, for those who oppose the movement, canceling probes spotlights the issues a bit too much. Moreover, in an era where most conservatives supported an alleged sexual predator and racist (and still do), Donald Trump, anti-cancel culture was/is the answer a convenient and pithy retort for those who dont want to think about the complexities of social inequality and injustice.Anti-cancelers are the bad spin-off no one asked for. Simply, what most anti-cancelers want is no consequences. Instead, like public figures Senator Ted Cruz, and Fox news opinionist Tucker Carlson, anti-cancelers appeal to white Americans fatigue with confronting inequality and racism.Earlier this year when Dr. Suess enterprises decided to stop printing six of its books containing blatantly racist imagery (Africans depicted as monkeys, and Asians being called China men), both Carlson and Cruz reacted publicly, by blaming cancel culture.Critics of the discontinuation of these books, simply ignored the racist imagery, succumbing to their childhood nostalgia. During a recent airing of his show, Tucker Carlson went on to say,The liberals have a problem with mid-century American culture, thats the problem with wokeism.Carlson yet again misrepresenting yet another Black colloquialism, woke. To add, mid-century American culture most certainly had no problem with Black people being depicted as monkeys and apparently, neither does Tucker Carlson.At this years Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), anti- cancel culture was highlighted. Speakers like Ted Cruz prioritized spreading the message of anti- cancel culture, or what I call, racist spinoff.Racist spinoff is the repackaging of any social justice tool, to communicate or defend racist ideas. Therefore, anti-cancel culture is indeed anti-Black, because it takes a Black social justice term or movement, and repurposes it in defense of racism. Also, racist spinoff is profitable, Cruz was recently selling signed Dr. Seuss books for sixty dollars, attempting to fight cancel culture.Anti-cancel warriors prioritize ignoring the experiences of marginalized groups and recycling manifest destiny dreams of white America. Moreover, anti-cancel warriors dont seem to care that much when Black people like Bill Cosby, or liberal figures are being canceled.Usually, their outrage is piqued when white American nostalgia is critiqued, and marginalized groups speak loudly about social issues.Again, it seems what anti-cancelers truly want is complete freedom from accountability and consequences storming the nations Capitol and expecting no charges or prison time.When we look back at American history there are many things to learn from. Part of learning from history is identifying a problem and setting a new standard. I believe in reform and the ability for people to change, but first, the problem must be acknowledged and yes, canceled. Honestly, a lot of so-called canceled celebs dont actually suffer any long-term financial or social loss. Many public figures reemerge a few months later. They simply wait out the backlash, issue an apology letter on social media, or stay silent. In reality, cancel cultures effectiveness varies.As the anti-cancel culture movement grows, we can expect to see it used as a right-wing campaign tactic for the 2022 and 2024 elections. And yes, performative activism and the increasing amount of viral moment addicts posing as intellectuals is annoying. However, systemic injustices are far more annoying and quite frequently deadly, so cancel away, please. In other words may the consequences for ones actions apply.Byline: Roderick Thomas is an NYC based writer, filmmaker, and Host of Hippie By Accident Podcast.(Instagram: @Hippiebyaccident,

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ANTI-CANCEL CULTURE IS REALLY JUST ANTI BLACKNESS...AGAIN - The Red Hook Star-Revue

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Boycotting by businesses not the best of tactics – The Courier-Express

Posted: at 11:49 am

Boycott is happening frequently in the context of politics.

That is disturbing.

Georgias recently enacted laws carry overtones of revenge by Republicans for former President Donald Trumps 2020 defeat in that state and the election of two Democratic senators from Georgia that gave Democrats control of the Senate.

But mixing politics and business is bad business. Americans traditionally require businesses to be open to the public, regardless of whether the customer is Democratic, Republican, etc.

Shouldnt we also expect businesses that are publicly owned to similarly stay at arms length from political decisions?

There is no outright crisis to be fought here. Georgias new laws, while regressive, are nowhere near the racism of the Jim Crow era.

Some provisions, such as the one forbidding anyone from offering even water to voters waiting in lines, are politically stupid. As to food, there is precedent: Free food, booze, etc., has been used as a wrongful vote-buying enticement since the dawn of the Republic.

Every Presidential election from Washingtons through Lincolns prominently featured free booze as an encouragement to vote. That smacks of machine politics. But no water? That is dumb.

So are some boycotts.

Major League Baseball is pulling its All-Star Game out of Atlanta. Do all of the owners of Major League Baseball teams approve of this? Probably not. Do all of the players, umpires and other employees? Assuredly not.

Coca-Cola is publicly traded. Its owners are hundreds of thousands of stockholders from all around the world. No vote of stockholders was taken. Other companies taking similar positions include Delta Airlines, JPMorgan Chase, Viacom CBS, Citigroup, Cisco, UPS, and Merck.

Individual Americans can withhold patronage from any business for any reason or for no reason. That right can extend to sole proprietorships of the Mom and Pop variety.

But companies with many employees swim in dangerous waters when they attempt to navigate partisan political doings.

Far better to let voters have their say about Georgias new laws in elections in 2022 and 2024. Far better to actually see the consequences of Georgias new laws unintended as well as wink-and-nod intended consequences.

Boycotts are divisive and extremist by their nature, pitting groups of Americans against each other in our ability to earn our livings or conduct our businesses.

The rush to boycott in Georgia smacks of self-aggrandizing political correctness.

Lets not use that tactic.

Denny Bonavita

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Boycotting by businesses not the best of tactics - The Courier-Express

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Diversity and inclusion in automotive under the spotlight in new webinar series – AM

Posted: at 11:49 am

Auto Trader and Ennis & Co are collaborating on a new series of webinars to bring together leaders in the automotive sector to discuss and share diversity and inclusion (D&I) best practice.

Ennis & Cos founder and director, Lynda Ennis, will be joining the next episode of Auto Traders Courageous Conversations webinar series, alongside Haymarket Automotives managing director, Rachael Prasher, to discuss the role of political correctness and PC language in the workplace.

Within the context of a fast-evolving PC landscape and popular social movements, as well as a growing cancel culture, the one-hour webinar will explore where the struggles are with understanding what is and isnt acceptable. The session will also be looking at what steps businesses can take to ensure their D&I strategies are adapting in accordance to the changing PC landscape.

Courageous Conversations is open to everyone and will take place from 14:30 15:30 on April 21. The webinar is accessible at: https://bit.ly/CC-Ep4.

The webinar will be followed by the third annual Making Diversity & Inclusion a Business Reality event on May 4, in which HR directors, MDs and CEOs from leading retail and manufacturing brands, as well as trade bodies, will come together to share their D&I experiences and identify practical solutions to driving greater diversity within their businesses and across the wider industry.

The two-hour digital seminar will feature panel discussions, brand new research findings, and guest speakers from outside of automotive.

Daksh Gupta, Marshall Motor Group CEO, who has been closely involved with the event since its launch in 2017, said: I am very much looking forward to being involved in the Making Diversity and Inclusion a Business Reality in partnership with Ennis and Co and Auto Trader. Whilst we are starting to see some real traction on gender diversity across the sector, and certainly within Marshall, theres clearly more work to be done to make our businesses more accessible, attractive and inclusive to a wider talent pool than we have today.

"With our combined commitment and drive from across the sector, I have every confidence we really can make Diversity and Inclusion our business reality.

Marshall Motor Groups HR director (HRD), Jo Moxon, will join other people leads on a panel to discuss the impact of the pandemic on their D&I strategies, and why its more important than ever to focus on their diversity commitments. Shell be joined by Mandeep Dhatt, HRD for McLaren Automotive, Penny Weatherup, HRD for Volkswagen Group UK, Laura Haskins, HRD for CitNOW, and Alison Fisher, HRD for Cox Automotive International.

Auto Traders group sales director, Rebecca Clark (pictured), wholl be hosting the panel, said: At a time when the industry has faced so many unprecedented challenges, and been forced to undergo such a significant transition, we wanted to bring together the leading brands and thought leaders to understand just how vital diversity and inclusion will be to the future success of the market.

"The huge response weve received from the industrys most senior stakeholders speaks volumes about how much a priority this issue is for businesses, and their ongoing commitment to bring about change in the automotive industry.

Leading a second panel discussion, Al Clarke will be speaking with Nissan UKs managing director, Andrew Humberstone, Facebooks global category director, automotive, Geraldine Ingham, and member of the board for people, digitalisation and IT at Bentley, Dr Astrid Fontaine, about the integral role D&I will play in the future health of the automotive market

Lynda Ennis, founder and director of Ennis & Co, added: Bringing back Making Diversity and Inclusion a Business Reality this year is extremely important to Ennis & Co for several reasons. Firstly, it allows us the chance to revisit core diversity and inclusion themes that emerged in 2018 and 2019 and secondly, to benchmark how far we have come as an industry during this time. Thirdly, and importantly it also allows us to be together, albeit virtually, to discuss the subject we feel so passionate about.

"As automotive and mobility continue to experience change at an alarming rate I feel confident that positive aspects of diversity and inclusion have accelerated over the past couple of years, and I am looking forward to delving into this in further detail.

Making D&I a Business Reality is open to everyone and will take place from 11:00 13:00 on May 4. The webinar is accessible at: http://bit.ly/MDIBR-21.

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Seuss, Blyton, Willy Wonka: With flaws in beloved childrens classics, where does one draw the line? – Hindustan Times

Posted: at 11:49 am

Did you understand what the fuss about the withdrawal of Dr Seusss books last month was about? I have to say it meant very little to me because Dr Seuss was not part of my reading when I was a child. His stories are a mostly American phenomenon and I had no idea that some of his books contained racist images.

However, I did grow up on the books of Enid Blyton who has faced a more sustained attack than Dr Seuss. The biggest problem with Blytons work is a character called Golly who inhabits Toyland and is clearly a racist caricature. I grew up too on Mark Twain, in whose books the N word is liberally used and actually forms part of the name of one character. What about Roald Dahls Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where the Oompa-Loompas are African pygmies who are enslaved in Willy Wonkas factory?

What about If, that stirring poem that schoolchildren are still taught? It is written by Rudyard Kipling, who we now accept had contempt for the idea that Indians could rule themselves.

Meanwhile, there is now a campaign to cancel JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, because she has expressed views seen by some to negate the transgender experience.

Is all this political correctness gone mad? Examples of the now-pervasive cancel culture? Or are the objections valid and reasonable?

There is no clear, single answer and each case seems different. In the case of Enid Blyton, we need to accept that she was writing at a time when golliwogs were common childrens toys. As late as 2002, the popular food brand Robertsons still sold jams (in the UK) whose mascot was a golliwog. So perhaps it was understandable that Blytons Toyland included golliwogs.

On the other hand, as far back as 1966, the British newspaper The Guardian wrote an editorial criticising Blytons book The Little Black Doll, which featured a toy doll who was ostracised for its ugly black face, until it was scrubbed pink, rendered pretty and then welcomed back.

So yes, she probably was racist. So it is with Roald Dahl and his Oompa-Loompas. Dahl was (at the very least) an anti-Semite and his estate has had to apologise for his prejudiced views on this front.

On the other hand, Mark Twain was not a racist and spoke and wrote against slavery. As for Kipling, he believed Indians were unfit to govern themselves, but he created sympathetic and memorable Indian characters such as Mowgli. JK Rowling, whatever her views on transgender issues, has written books that are feasts of the imagination and clearly not racist or prejudiced.

Should an authors personal views even matter, if they arent reflected on the page? Should we deny children the joy of reading Blytons Malory Towers and Secret Seven books or even Noddy, because the author was racist? And is it okay for them to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer because Mark Twain was not?

The short answer is that we should judge the book by the book, not the author. The golliwogs in the Noddy books clearly perpetrate a racial stereotype so they should go. The use of the N word in Twains books should end and indeed it has been excised from recent editions. On the Oompa-Loompas, as far back as 1971, the first film version of Dahls book changed their race and dispensed with the nonsense about them being from Africa. It made no difference to the book or the movie and children continued to enjoy the tale.

As for Kipling, we may disagree with his views on Indians and our capacity for self-governance, but If is still an inspiring poem for children to read.

The key issue here is the ability of stories to poison childrens minds. A child who grows up reading about Black people as golliwogs, pygmy slaves or N words is likely to have his worldview coloured. To object to those portrayals is not political correctness. It is common sense.

When it comes to adult fiction, of course, things get more complicated. Was The Satanic Verses anti-Islamic? Maybe it was. Maybe it wasnt. Adults should be allowed to read it for themselves and decide.

Is The Merchant of Venice anti-Semitic? I dont think it is but every time the play is staged in America, Jewish groups picket the theatre or protest. They are entitled to that view. But every theatregoer is entitled to make up his or her mind.

Sadly, in India these days, we have surrendered the right to decide for ourselves and handed it over to the mob. So Tandav is called anti-Hindu. Scenes should be cut or the makers will go to jail. Why is there a Bhagwad Geeta in Bombay Begums? Thats anti-Hindu too. And so on.

Much of the criticism of cancel culture stems from this kind of excess. There is no fundamental right to not be offended. But we act as if it exists. There is however a right to free speech which, if it is to mean anything, must include the right to offend.

Sadly, all too often we deliberately confuse the need to protect children from racial and religious stereotypes with a mandate to censor content consumed by adults.

Bottom line: Children need to be protected. Adults need to be free.

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Seuss, Blyton, Willy Wonka: With flaws in beloved childrens classics, where does one draw the line? - Hindustan Times

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The Weakening of American Culture – The Michigan Review

Posted: at 11:49 am

There are many values of the average conservative that used to be cornerstones of the United States. Our country was founded with religious ideals in mind, as explained by John Adams: We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. Americans used to be united by these shared cultural and societal values. However, those values changed when a counterculture arose in the late 1960s and 1970s. That counterculture attack was, and still is, due to the giant shift away from tradition in the U.S. This shift caused a push against the interconnected, foundational morals of the country, the roles of women in society, and the importance of family unity.

That counterculture attack was, and still is, due to the giant shift away from tradition in the U.S. This shift caused a push against the interconnected, foundational morals of the country, the roles of women in society, and the importance of family unity.

Today, it seems that the boundaries of that counterculture have been over-extended so much that its now the mainstream culture. The foundational morals of the U.S. were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, every single one of these values is now turned on its head. Justice and truth are overrun by political correctness and hypersensitivity. Sexual immorality is now the norm thanks to the third-wave feminism perpetuated by the legality and acceptance of abortion and divorce. And now politics are run based on identity, pushing the public (and even students here at U-M) to view others, not by their individual values and actions, but by their social groups.

This role of sexual immorality is yet another example of how the counterculture movement has turned the push for female equality into a social justice warrior petition. A good example of this is American societys stance on sexual liberation, perfectly exemplified by the left-wing praise of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallions Grammys Performance. When I watch this clip, it doesnt make me feel empowered or liberated. Its really quite disheartening to see how celebrities are teaching young girls and men that sexualizing women is supposed to be the same as empowering them. And, frankly, its rather disgusting to watch.

When I watch this clip, it doesnt make me feel empowered or liberated. Its really quite disheartening to see how celebrities are teaching young girls and men that sexualizing women is supposed to be the same as empowering them.

The counterculture against the unity of families has turned into a fluidity and acceptance of divorce, which is statistically one of the worst ways that children can be raised. The Black Lives Matter movement specifically stated in their charter that We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure. Why? Because they believe its an American tradition that still points to white supremacy and a lack of community. Its a traditional value to create strong nuclear families, and because of the shift away from tradition, we can see the same shift away from strong families. This causes children who are raised in single-parent households to be more likely to commit higher crimes and are more likely to live in poverty.

Overall, because of the shift away from traditional values, America has seen more division than it has in many years. People act as though traditions are wrong and should have never been, when they dont think about the reasons those traditions were ever in place. I think most of that disrespect for tradition comes from the younger generations, who think they know better but, in reality, have lived the least amount of time. Therefore, they may not have the same wisdom or understanding of such traditions as older generations who lived through them. So, they try to change the traditions that they dont understand, and the country is left in tatters.

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Democrats want abortion and trans athletes Tulsa Beacon – Tulsa Beacon

Posted: at 11:49 am

Republicans labeled racists by Dems

Legislative Democrats are trying to label some Republicans as racists, anti-choice and transphobic due to the passage of bills that seek to stop abortion and to keep boys from pretending to be girls and competing in school sports.

Democrats were livid when they claimed that Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Sallisaw, said in debate over Senate Bill 612 that the fight to abolish abortion is more critical than the fight to end slavery.

The bills author was Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow. It would criminalize and abortion in Oklahoma expect to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency. It passed 38-9 in the Senate and 8-1 in the House Public Health Committee.

Democrats want Olsen punished for voicing his opposition to the murder of unborn babies. And they want all elected Republicans to be forced to attend diversity training to conform to the Democrats view of political correctness.

The constant barrage of cavalier racism is a distinct sign that Oklahoma is not doing fine. This is not the first time in this session alone that in debating the abortion issue, a Republican legislator evoked a racist trope to defend their indefensible position, said Alicia Andrews, Chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party

The Oklahoma Democratic Party demands not only an apology from Representative Olsen but also that Speaker of the Oklahoma House, Charles McCall, immediately censures Olsen. Moreover, we request that all Oklahoma House Representatives undergo Diversity and Inclusion training conducted by a nationally recognized facilitator before this session is over and at the beginning of every session in the future.

Rep. Denise Brewer, D-Tulsa, wants abortion to stay legalized and wants the Republicans to stop introducing and passing bills to protect the lives of unborn children.

We have been bombarded by anti-choice bills, which all have a common theme: written by men focusing on taking away the rights of pregnant people to control their bodies, Brewer said. SB 612 is particularly offensive. It is an attempt to destroy doctor-patient confidentiality, threatens physicians with huge fines and felony charges, and none of these bills say anything about the responsibility of the father.

Today, we heard a claim that the abortion fight is bigger than the hundreds of years when African Americans were kidnapped and enslaved, with no control of their bodies, families, or even recognized as humans. Those insensitive ideas are alive and well in our Capitol.

We continue as policy makers to chip away at the rights of women to choose proper healthcare for themselves in Senate Bill 612, and now we are hearing our colleagues compare these healthcare issues to slavery which also limited the rights of Black women by not allowing them to have a choice not to have children by their slave masters, said Rep. Ajay Pittman, D-Oklahoma City.

House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, and State Rep. Mauree Turner, D-OKC, are livid due to the passage of Senate Bill 2, which prevents boys from playing on athletic teams meant for girls.

We need infrastructure, but my colleagues continue to double down on legislation that denies the existence of trans youth. Trans girls are girls full stop, said Turner.

We will continue to show up in the face of bigotry and anti-trans legislation. We have defeated other anti-LGBTQ2S+ and anti-trans legislation, and we will do it again- but we cant do it without you and groups like ACLU of Oklahoma, Freedom Oklahoma and so many more. Please keep fighting.

Senate Bill 2 ostracizes children and casts a dark cloud on our states reputation nationally, Virgin said. Our tax structure means nothing if businesses refuse to be associated with us due to the legislation we run. Instead of hurtful legislation, we need Oklahoma focused solutions.

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Democrats want abortion and trans athletes Tulsa Beacon - Tulsa Beacon

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Heart the locals, mind the goat: Tips on being a good neo-rural – Hindustan Times

Posted: at 11:49 am

Nothings readymade. Expect animals (and insects) everywhere. Love thy neighbour. Above all, be humble. That, in a nutshell, is the advice that two women who have moved from cities to rural areas in India during the pandemic year, Mamta Chitnis Sen, 42, an artist and social worker, and Arpita Paul, 28, a PR manager, would like to offer to their fellow neo-rurals to help them not be a nuisance.

The term neo-rural is used to describe people who move from an urban to a non-urban area, particularly those seeking a hybrid life where they retain their original livelihoods and split their time between city and non-city (as opposed to, say, switching to a life of farming or animal-rearing).

Work from anywhere has meant that the world has acquired a lot more neo-rurals. In India, techies have packed up and moved to Goa in hordes; executives of all kinds have thronged mountain and beach getaways. The trouble occurs when expectation doesnt meet reality the pace is not just slower, its too slow, wi-fi is patchy, the power goes out for hours, theres no takeout on demand.

To make such a move without doing the requisite homework might seem odd, particularly in 2021. But in France, similar reverse migrants doing it all wrong sparked such a furore filing complaints against a neighbours rooster for crowing too early, against a local cow for leaving droppings in its wake, against fowl on a nearby farm for being smelly that France passed a new sensory heritage law, in January, to protect the sounds and smells of its countryside.

Back to our two advisers, Sen moved from Mumbai to Ronapal village in the Konkan last May and has built a small house and art studio there. Paul has lived in nine small villages across Sikkim since August. She fell in love with rural life, she says, and moves around because she wants to see as much of unexplored India as possible.

The most important thing theyd like to say about being a neo-rural is, its not cheaper. The concept of the daily commute doesnt exist, so getting around is expensive. In my village, I have to pay 500 to travel 20 km, says Sen.

The overall business of living is more expensive too whether its plumbing or repairs, car maintenance or construction, expect each task to stretch out over days. The work-life balance is vastly different outside the cities, the focus tilting heavily towards life. People will take leave on the local bazaar day, for a local festival, a wedding or celebration, if its too sunny or if it starts to rain, says Sen.

MAKE NICE

Make peace with the animals. Sen has had all her garden saplings eaten by goats. You must learn about grazing routes and local fauna before you plant anything or even plan your activities for the day, she says.

Be prepared for frankness, frank interest and curiosity. I have realised there is no political correctness here, says Paul. If youre new, it will be pointed out, questions will be asked. Ditto if you are single, differently abled, married but child-free.

But people mean no harm and they are certainly not asking you these questions to hurt you. Its more out of curiosity about a way of life that is unfamiliar to them, Paul says.

Neighbours wont just notice what youre doing, theyll get involved. When Sen picked the most expensive option for the well on her plot black stone she didnt realise she was also building a local attraction. Neighbours now stop by unannounced, to look at the well and chat over tea. Youngsters have begun to stop by to take selfies against it.

Each encounter whether you have a black stone well or not will take longer than you expect. Dont be rude and, for instance, go into a grocery store, picks up supplies and leave. Everyone talks to each other. They wont hesitate to walk into your house if theyre passing by, and youd be welcome to do the same. So embrace the local community and learn to be more social.

BE HUMBLE

Village folk lead simple lives and thats how they like it. Dont brag about your city life. It wont impress them but rather put them off, Sen says.

If theres a local eatery, eat whats on offer or make your own. Dont ask about fast food. Try the local snacks, and refrain from comment if they turn out to not be to your liking.

Stay well-stocked on medicines and cash. The nearest ATM could be hours away, and chemists are few and far between.

Expect load shedding and odd internet hotspots Sen and Pauls coworkers have become used to seeing crops and goats in the background on video calls, since the middle of a farm and a hilltop are, respectively, where both women get the best connectivity.

Whatever else you do, respect the local culture. In Sikkim, people really dont like it if you pluck flowers. So do not do it, says Paul. In the Konkan, village fairs and local cricket tournaments are big social events, says Sen. If youre invited, show up. Its considered very rude not to.

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Cloud Computing? There’s a Lot of Smoke in Those Clouds – Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence

Posted: at 11:48 am

When we think about environment problems, we naturally imagine huge smokestacks turning the sky dark and coating the trees with soot. But glitzy high tech stuff like cloud computing and cryptocurrency use a lot of energy too.

Cloud computing, where we use computing resources via the internet without installing and maintaining them, is a huge energy hog we never see:

The music video for Despacito set an Internet record in April 2018 when it became the first video to hit five billion views on YouTube. In the process, Despacito reached a less celebrated milestone: it burned as much energy as 40,000 U.S. homes use in a year.

We tend to think of the internet as immaterial but thats mainly because the material stuff is mostly not where we live:

If you live your life online, both in terms of browsing and storage, its easy to feel a kind of digital weightlessness. Its not often that we consider how many servers are actually propping up our wireless lifestyles. The cloud is not a memory palace to retrieve your data from. The cloud is a physical storage facility that has a burden on the world.

In the US, streaming music services dump between 25,000 and 40,000 tons of CO2 into the air every year. Data centres take large amounts of energy to power and need to be on 24 hours a day to ensure that access to data never drops. So arent data centres the hottest places on earth? Well, not really, as they need to be cooled. That takes a lot of energy.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the biggest cloud providers, is trying to move toward powering its servers with 100% renewable energy. But that will involve a lot of infrastructure investment, not just pre-COVID-style group hugs.

As Mark White puts it, The cloud is a vague place that none of us even think about. Were happy to dump our data there provided we remember the password.

Its the same with cryptocurrency. As programmer Jonathan Bartlett notes, the energy costs associated with having a trustless system such as Bitcoin is immense, with Bitcoin transactions generally costing 400,000 times as much energy as a single transaction on the Visa network. According to the BBC, the Bitcoin network which, again, very few people are regularly transacting in now consumes more energy than the entire country of Argentina. (Mind Matters News, March 15, 2021) If green companies like Tesla are embracing Bitcoin, as he says, we need to ask them some questions. Perhaps it is relevant that Tesla apparently profited more on the Bitcoin investment than in the entire last year of selling cars that are supposed to be green.

Philosopher of technology George Gilder warns that cloud computing is reaching its limits. The cloud isnt something ethereal up there, Gilder reminds us; it is giant factory floors of computers. He sees blockchain (currently used to produce cryptocurrencies) as replacing cloud computing, but that doesnt solve the energy problem.

Thoughts are immaterial and the human brain, while itself material, exceeds the most powerful computers in efficiency. But once we seek to turn our thoughts into actions, energy issues arise. The energy always goes somewhere and does something. Digital lifestyles dont change that. No one has repealed the Laws of Thermodynamics.

So maybe our first step is to recognize how much energy our digital lifestyle really uses, even though we imagine that those digital documents are somehow immaterial. Theyre not. They just belong to an energy budget not directly associated with ourselves.

You may also wish to read: Could carbon computing make computers more environment friendly? As a key component of life forms, carbon is abundant and energy efficient. Carbon-based computing uses vastly less energy than silicon-based, just as a human brain, with as many connections as the internet, uses much less energy.

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Cloud Computing? There's a Lot of Smoke in Those Clouds - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence

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#islandertech – Taking the mystery out of cloud computing – Islander News.com

Posted: at 11:48 am

We often hear the term cloud storage or cloud computing discussed, but what exactly is cloud computing or storage? How does it work? Is it safe, and is it the right solution for your needs? Here, we will answer those and other questions about this often mysterious subject.

Boiling it down to its simplest form, cloud computing is storage on somebody elses computer server. It is accessible mainly via a password-protected account, with a device connected to the internet. Some samples of this are Dropbox, Google Drive or iCloud.

In those services, an account is created usually using your email with password protection. You can store files there, such as pictures or documents, just like on a computer folder. The advantage is that your documents are safe and available from just about any device with an internet connection. You dont have to worry if your computer fails; just log into your account with another computer and access your files.

Another plus is the ability to increase your storage capacity, usually for a fee, or go down on storage space when desired. Its like having a flexible hard drive you can access from anywhere. This also makes synchronization between devices easy since you can access all your files from any internet-linked device.

Is cod computing safe? The short answer is yes because it is protected by your user ID and password. Of course, there is always risk so use a safe password and change it frequently.

Dropbox is well known to be safe, and you can get a free account for basic storage, or a paid, full-fledged business account. Google Drive is another expandable solution, but you need a gmail account to use it.

A iCloud account can only be created on an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) running iOS 5 or higher, or on a Mac computer running OS X Lion or higher.

You can set up an account for the services mentioned above by simply creating an account up for them at their websites.

In my next column I will discuss antivirus protection for your computer devices. Who needs it and which one to get.

If you have any suggestions on tech topics youd like to see addressed, contact Leo Quintana at (305) 523-9203 or leo@leoquintana.com

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#islandertech - Taking the mystery out of cloud computing - Islander News.com

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The 10 hottest cloud computing jobs on Indeed – TechRepublic

Posted: at 11:48 am

If you're looking for job security and salaries averaging over $100,000, it's a good time to gain cloud skills.

Image: iStock/t:Radachynskyi

The top three cloud jobs on Indeed right now are cloud engineer, software architect and cloud consultant.

It is often said that the future looks cloudy. At a time when a globally distributed workforce has meant moving to the cloud or potentially not surviving, and organizations are scrambling to digitally transform their operations, cloud computing jobs are hotter than ever.

Rounding out the top 10 cloud jobs on the site are development operations engineer, senior software engineer, software developer, software engineer, full-stack developer, data engineer and platform engineer.

SEE:13 career fields with a future: Sustained recovery(TechRepublic)

In the U.S., the average base salary for a cloud engineer is $118,003, according to Indeed. A software architect can make an average of $135,473 in the U.S. and a cloud consultant, an average of $108,233, according to the site.

"In addition to high salaries and job availability, cloud computing professionals also benefit from the field's flexibility,'' according to a Northeastern University graduate program blog post. "Most jobs within the industry can be performed remotely, protecting them from many of the workplace uncertainties brought about during the COVID-19 pandemic and allowing professionals to work anywhere in the world."

"Essentially, every meaningful consumer application or service that you can think of today is based on cloud technology,'' said Scott Bonneau, vice president of global talent attraction at Indeed. "As a result, the demand for cloud talent has shot up over this same period of time."

It is hard to compare how this year's top cloud jobs rank to past years as the timeframes are likely different, Bonneau said. But as the chart shows demand has changed over the last few years.

Image: Indeed.com

(Methodology: Indeed calculated the percentage change in the share of job postings (per 1M) and the share of job seeker searches containing the cloud terms in the title from March thru March of the respective year. Cloud terms included: 'amazon webservices', 'amazon web services', 'amazon webservice', 'amazon web service','aws', 'azure', 'google cloud', 'cloud', 'openstack', 'open stack.')

Many cloud computing jobs do not require a four-year college degree, he said.

"It is becoming increasingly common for software development roles to no longer require a four-year college degree--including many cloud engineering roles. I anticipate this trend will continue into the future,'' Bonneau said.

Instead, "practical experience, a demonstrated ability to learn and apply newly learned skills in a professional environment and an ability to be a great team player are often much more key factors than someone's four-year degree."

Given that effectively, all consumer software these days is built for and runs in the cloud, the job opportunity is enormous, Bonneau said. "It's a rapidly evolving field with a ton of innovation, especially right now. I expect this trend to continue."

He offered some tips for employers looking to hire cloud talent:

Clearly define your talent needs. This sounds easy but can actually be tricky. Do you think you need specific industry experience? Or new college grads? Define your target candidate group, and then focus all your attention there.

Know your value proposition as an employer. What sets the opportunity to work for you apart from the others? Are you mission-driven in a unique way? Find what makes you, you, and lean into that, and make sure every candidate experiences that in each touchpoint they have during the process.

Expand your sources of hire. Once you understand your needs and have sorted how you're going to convey your value proposition, look for sources of hire where the talent you need might be. There are lots of great sources that often go overlooked, like coding boot camps that may have candidates with non-traditional backgrounds and huge amounts of potential.

1. cloud engineer

2. software architect

3. cloud consultant

4. development operations engineer

5. senior software engineer

6. software developer

7. software engineer

8. full stack developer

9. data engineer

10. platform engineer

This is your go-to resource for XaaS, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, cloud engineering jobs, and cloud security news and tips. Delivered Mondays

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The 10 hottest cloud computing jobs on Indeed - TechRepublic

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