Category Archives: Transhuman News

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Political ideas are too abstract. They are not enough to make people emotional about identity. Swiss identity has a cultural element.

Almost all countries face the question of whether multiple ethnic groups and different identities can co-exist peacefully under the same umbrella of a single government. Switzerlands four ethnic groupsGerman, French, Italian, and Romanschhave done so for hundreds of years. Is there a Swiss success formula we should pay attention to?

Dr. Oliver Strijbis, a Swiss-born professor at the University of Zurich in the Institute for Political Science, has been studying this topic for more than a decade.

At a caf in Zurich where light filtered through grand windows, Dr. Strijbis and I sat down with cappuccinos in hand. Next to us, hairline cracks in a tawny leather couch exuded a sensible wealth, the kind that sits unnoticed, and intentionally so. Croissants filled red baskets at every table.

In your 2011 paper The Swiss, a political nation?, you argued that Switzerland is not just a political union of four different ethnic groups.

Political ideas are too abstract. They are not enough to make people emotional about identity. Swiss identity has a cultural element. [The problem is that cultural divides such as those found within Canada] can threaten the unity of a country. In Switzerland, that does not exist. The French-speaking minority, the Italian-speaking minority, have almost the same levels of identification as the German-speaking majority.

Do you identify yourself as Swiss-German?

No. I think there are very few people that identify as Swiss-German. The interesting thing is that Swiss-Germans are the most proud of the four languages. This is the main thing of [Swiss] diversity. But, this is not a melting-pot for all-over-the-world diversity.

[Is there] a limited diversity of four ethnicities?

Yes. It is something everyone can agree with from the Right to the Left. The Left can like this because it is part of diversityidentification with Switzerland as a diverse country. For the Right, it is also a diversity they can agree with because it does not include immigration. Everyone can agree with direct democracy, our federalism, and the four languages. That [is] Swiss identity. When Swiss travel abroad, they often talk [proudly] about the four languages of Switzerland. If you ask people from India travelling abroad, about India, they will not tell you they have [780] languages and be proud of it. But, for the Swiss, this is very [important].

Could one argue that Switzerland is a multicultural country that rejects multiculturalism?

I think people would not call it multiculturalism, to show it is not for immigration. There is not a catchy word for this.

Is there wisdom that Switzerland could impart to other countries?

The specific mix of cultures can become a part of the national identity. You cannot say that multiculturalism is part of Spanish identity, but you can say there are three main languages: Basque, Catalan and SpanishLa Espaaplural. People could be proud of this plurality. It is less than diversity but more than unitarianism.

Is there a territorial component to ethnicity in Switzerland? Swiss-Germans having one territory, while Swiss-French have another?

No. The territorial boundaries of the Cantons do not follow the languages. In the east and west, you do have linguistically homogeneous Cantons. But, at the borders, the Cantons are all bilingual. They always have a large minority within the Canton. Valais has two-thirds French, and one-third German speakers. Fribourg is about the same: two-thirds French, one-third German.

In the former Czechoslovakia, there was the sense that one group [Slovaks] felt they were being usurped by the other [Czechs]. Would you say that in Switzerland there seems to be an understanding that everyone is fairly represented through Switzerlands unique democratic institution of direct democracy, so there is no threat of one group trying to dominate the others?

Yes, it is true although complicated. For example, when the French-speaking part was more in favor of European integration than the German-speaking part, direct democracy was rather divisive. And, historically, direct democracy had the effect that all major political groups of the country would form little cartels because they were always threatened by direct democracybecause decisions could be overruled by the citizens. So we have a system where minorities are always included in government, and I think this is what actually makes the French-speaking Swiss not [feel] threatened. This is what we see all over the world. Where minorities are better integrated into decision-making, you have less threat of separatism. This is the Swiss story. It is not about giving autonomy to the language groups because, in fact, the boundaries of the Cantons cut across the language divisions. Also, religion was historically much more conflictive in Switzerland than language.

As a political scientist, what are your thoughts on the United States at the moment?

For a moderate like Biden, it is going to be difficult to create enthusiasm. He would have to win with only anti-Trump preferences. Just being against the other candidate, it is difficult to energize your followers.

Your 2017 paper Assimilation or social mobility? explaining ethnic boundary crossing between the Ecuadorian 2001 and 2010 census examined the malleability of a persons ethnicity. Do you think this is an under-appreciated phenomenon: that a persons identity is malleable?

Im in the middle. In theory, it is possible. But, in practice, it is in-between. Mostly it happens over generations. So when you switch identities, you have more mixed categories; in Ecuador, [this is] from indigenous to mestizo. But it is not that they change five times in their life! What I find interesting is that in Ecuador, there are territorially concentrated ethnic groups. They move a lot. [So the question is] do they change identities within their country when they move? I found they switch between mixed categories. But they dont switch between hard categoriesnot from white to black, indigenous to white, or indigenous to black. [Instead,] there are large mixed categories. It probably explains why it doesnt happen in the U.S., but it does happen much more in Brazil where you have the category of brown. This is a big difference between countries.

What are your thoughts on the way they define identity?

I find it very interesting: this issue of whether Antonio Banderas is a person of color or not. In the U.S., they didnt want to make the mistake of categorizing him in a politically incorrect way. Some said he was a person of color, while in some Spanish-speaking countries, people said that it is racist to say he is not white. There was a complete misunderstanding across cultures because of different typologies of ethnic categorization.

It is interesting, no? The schemes for ethnic categorization are still national, while categorization of famous people is a global phenomenon. It does not match. Globally, famous people are being categorized into different ethnic groups in different countries. With globalization of media, there is a mismatch.

For us in Switzerland, using the term race is completely unheard of. It is one of the biggest political taboos. You cannot use the term race. If you talk about race, you are [considered] fascist. Yet, we are confronted ever more with this division in the U.S. about racial identities. And it creates a complete cognitive dissonance for us.

Eric Kaufmann, in his book Whiteshift, argues that global migration is redefining the perception of what constitutes white.

There is a growing literature of what is perceived as white. Puerto Ricans, for example, have been categorized as being whiter and whiter over time. The white category gets broader. I think it is a universal phenomenon.

In your new book with Pieter deWilde, Ruud Koopmans, Wolfgang Merkel and Michael Zrn, The Struggle Over Borders: Cosmopolitanism and Communitarianism, you tackle the larger issue of globalization.

It is about the divide between people that are positive about globalization and those that are negative about globalization [and] the conflict between these two camps.

[After the analysis was completed,] I thought it interesting [that] there is not a big divide between elites, this being less than I expected. The masses are more divided.

How do you explain that?

The populist arguments among the Right and far-left are anti-elite arguments. Trump uses the term globalist in a negative way, saying elites are globalists. Elites are positive about globalization, [but] they are not representing the masses so well. This allows [populists] to win elections. It seems this anti-elite argument has some basis.

Over croissants we began to veer off, and I started explaining that my next interview would be with a woman whose father belonged to the Serbian Secret Police prior to the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. War and ethnic cleansing were something her family was perhaps both perpetrator to and victim of, to which Strijbis added some final thoughts.

Those born into families on the wrong side are interesting. You have to defend yourself for what your parents did. It is easier to be a child of someone who suffered. Then, you are always on the right side. It must be much harder to be a child of the ones on the wrong side.

This seems applicable to an entire nation such as Germany, doesnt it?

Of course. In Germany, as soon as you are somehow critical of the allies, you are very quickly on the fascist side, so people are not willing to talk about this. But I saw a new book about these German women who at the end of the war were abused by Russian and American soldiers. Maybe [a more complete] bit of history is being written.

Mark Hecht is a Canadian-British writer and academic. As a geography instructor, he received an award for Excellence in Teachingfrom Mount Royal University. He now writes for various publications.

Link:
Interview with Oliver Strijbis: Swiss Lessons on Identity and National Unity - Merion West

From Trumps Nazi-style propaganda to PePe memes, everywhere you look, youre being called to do something.

Most of these postings are ads, but theyre not far from propaganda. They use the same techniques, pulling at your emotions, appealing to your reason, and moral high-grounding.

However, you may observe propaganda more often than you may think.

Propaganda is any information presented in a way meant to sway you toward a particular opinion.Often, when we agree with the message, we will see it as truth rather than a rallying cry.

Much of the time, it intentionally misleads or contains misinformation.

Propaganda uses the same techniques as do advertisers. If theyre proven to work, why wouldnt they?

The above picture is a piece of propaganda from possibly the most disastrous enacted event in Americas history. Made to incite celebration across the country this poster for the Thirteenth Naval District, United States Navy, shows a snake representing Japan being bombed by an eagle.

Another piece of propaganda youll recognize is the I Want You For U.S. Army recruitment poster. This recruitment poster became a staple of Americana, lasting over a century.

With a message so simple, it just worked.

This piece plays on the American sense of patriotism and duty to country. If you dont join, youre no patriot (read not a man). By tugging at the manhood of America, James Montgomery Flaggs poster was printed over four million times.

Just as often as its used to inspire, propaganda stokes fear. Above are Nazi propaganda posters, the left demonizing Jews. By scapegoating the Jews for Germanys economic depression, Hitler was able to rally the people behind fear.

The Nazis were skilled at both kinds of sentiment stirring, however. The right poster shows a handsome, fit, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and smiling Hitler loving youth. By appealing to the Aryan sense of superiority, the poster essentially says this could be you.

While these posters werent common in our lifetimes, propaganda never went away. It has only taken new forms. In its present form, theyre memes, weaponized for an agenda. It should be noted that this happens on both ends of the political spectrum.

4chans Politically Incorrect board (/pol/) was instrumental in the 2016 Presidential Election. By weaponizing memes, which are used to spread humor, users in /pol/ made themselves heard and seen. While many can enjoy them in an ironic sense, right-wing trolls worked on several fronts.

Being that the SJW crowd is notoriously easy to offend, people who may not have even believed the message still shared the memes. Perhaps some of these people didnt realize what that would really do.

By being the most offensive memes, the Trump-supporting kind got the most shares from right-wingers and trolls alike. By appealing to fans of offensive comedy, ironic support turned unironic in many cases.

The campaigns by the left did not have the same effect. Being that the memes shared were all focused on Trump, he got the most coverage.

An important part to remember iswho exactly creates these pro-Trump memes. It was found in 2016 that Russia was behind a great deal of these. It was done in the same spirit as propaganda of old: prop up Trump and attack Hillary Clinton.

By pairing the strong sentiment America has for the troops with misleading information, you got a propaganda salad.

All agendas built on fear need an enemy to scapegoat. In recent years, immigrants and Muslims have carried the brunt of this. The Trump administration is trying to add Antifa to the terrorist organization list with a Nazi symbol.

Trump, himself, has engaged in quite a bit of propagandizing in his campaign. We all know he tends not to fact check himself before speaking, and speaks in generals.

His campaign platform of Make America Great Again harkens to that of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.In an interview with NPR, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said,

Intentionally or otherwise, using symbols that were once used by the Nazis is not a good look for someone running for the White House. It isnt difficult for one to criticize a political opponent without using Nazi-era imagery.

Trumps platform was built on anti-immigrant and xenophobic language. Even with his denouncement of them, he speaks their language.

He benefits from their support. With an emphasis on patriotism and returning to a better time, the slogan romanticizes Americas racist past.

This official t-shirt from the Trump campaign knew who they were appealing to. The resemblance is striking.

The left-wing attempt at propaganda was to spin, spin, spin. Anything bad about Trump shared on Facebook was taken as fact, while anything Hillary did wasnt that bad.

This only fueled the fires of right-wing trolls.

Being that we live in an age of misinformation, the truth can be hard to find. When you read a catchy headline online, ask yourself: what am I being made to feel? Is someone made out to be the enemy?

These articles get so many clicks because of our emotional investment. Were committed to the idea often before reading, let alone verifying. Weve all been guilty of this.

Its paramount to look at multiple sources. One way to do this is to paste the headline into Google and compare results. If there are several sources writing about it, there is a bit more credence to it, but not enough. The source is key itself.

Stay informed, stay objective, friends.

Read the original post:
Why Trump's Nazi-style propaganda is only the tip of the iceberg - Kulture Hub

SIR I sympathise with those who had to paint the prime-minsterial aircrafts tail-fin flag (report, June 26). These things need to be right.

In 1956, British Railways introduced a new emblem for its locomotives. It was a dignified thing, with a rampant lion emerging from a crown, holding a wheel in its paws, based on the heraldic achievement of the British Railways Board. Thousands were ordered, in two sizes. Each was left- or right-handed, so that the lion always looked towards the front of the locomotive.

The Garter King of Arms is said to have seen the emblem on a locomotives tender at Euston. He was impressed and toddled round the other side, but had an apoplectic fit when he saw this lion also facing forwards; according to heraldic convention, it should have faced left.

BR quietly used up the stocks of transfers and, from 1959, only used the heraldically correct version. This fact is useful for dating pictures of steam trains, if youre so inclined.

David PearsonHaworth, West Yorkshire

SIR Nikolai Tolstoy (Letters, June 26) draws attention to the indifference with which, after the war, the British delivered millions to be killed or enslaved by Stalins henchmen.

Harold Macmillan was responsible for turning over the Cossacks. But why? I doubt it was simply to demonstrate we were reliable allies.

Macmillan believed (as did many of his contemporaries) in world government. This was to be organised through regional governments under a new United Nations Organisation. Western Europe was to be one region; Eastern Europe under the Soviet Union another. America gave up on the idea under Harry S Truman. But Macmillan did not. He clung to the ideal, showing little concern about the Soviets running Eastern Europe.

As late as November 7 1957, one of his Foreign Office ministers, the Earl of Gosford, could still declare that Britain was fully in agreement with world government. In 1961, the Future Policies Committee, set up by Macmillan under Sir Frank Lee, concluded that, by 2000, it was questionable whether Britain would still be an independent state. By then it would be simply a province of a united Europe. The EU had an unhealthy history from the very start.

Professor Alan SkedLondon School of EconomicsLondon WC2

SIR In 1944, shortly after turning 20, my husband drove his tank on to the beach at Arromanches on D-Day.

During the campaign his sergeant was killed at his side. Later he lost comrades whose tanks were hit.

After the ceasefire, he had to drive a truck full of refugees to the Russians and hand them over. Even with everything else he had experienced, he found this greatly upsetting. He never forgot it.

May NuttallGreat Bentley, Essex

We accept letters by post, fax and email only. Please include name, address, work and home telephone numbers.ADDRESS: 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DTFAX: 020 7931 2878EMAIL: dtletters@telegraph.co.ukFOLLOW: Telegraph Letters on Twitter @LettersDesk

More here:
Letters: When the nation needs the Church to unite it, Justin Welby divides it - Telegraph.co.uk

Written by Kshitij Rawat | New Delhi | Updated: June 29, 2020 4:13:42 pm Here are the 10 comic-book characters who need their own movies. (Photo: DC Comics and Marvel Comics)

It is no exaggeration to say that superhero films rule Hollywood these days. Nearly every movie based on characters from comic-books capitalises on the existing fan bases to earn millions.

But comic-books have more to offer, and the lore is far from exhausted. Here are five DC and five Marvel superheroes who need their own movies:

Formerly Batmans protege, Nightwing created his own, independent persona to fight crime in Gotham City. A live-action movie on the superhero has been in development since forever.

Not your typical superhero, Lobo is a mercenary and a bounty hunter who traverses the length and breadth of the universe. He is basically DCs Deadpool (while predating the Marvel character), in that he is a foul-mouthed master troll and likes to crack ironic, politically incorrect jokes.

At times, Lobo, also called the Main Man, is even more extreme than the Merc with a Mouth. His name literally translates to he who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it. He committed genocide on his own people (the entire planet of Czarnia), and is now the final Czarnian. He also has a striking appearance, which is very comic-booky. He is a tall, totally white-skinned, brawny man.

After Aquaman, it is now Marvels turn to introduce their own amphibian superhero Namor to the world through movies. Contrary to popular belief, Namor inspired Aquaman instead of the other way around. Like Aquaman, Namor is the half-human king of the submerged ancient kingdom of Atlantis. But unlike Aquaman, Namor is more like an anti-hero than purely a hero. Marvel Studios could make an interesting movie on the character while keeping it different from Aquaman.

A superhero who uses a magic ring for his superpowers. The ring is given to him to protect a particular sector of the universe by mystical beings called the Guardians who watch over and protect the universe. The character there have been several Green Lanterns uses his imagination and emotions to create weapons and other objects to fight enemies. One Green Lantern appeared in Justice League movie, and we might see more in the upcoming Snyder Cut of the movie.

One of the most famous cosmic superheroes in Marvel Comics, Adam Warlock was an artificial human being who played a major role in taking down Thanos in comics Infinity Gauntlet storyline. Warlock is immortal, superstrong, superfast, heals quickly and can fly.

Basically Marvels answer to Superman, Sentry has the power of one million exploding suns. He does have one weakness his wife. She can be used against him to either manipulate him or calm him down.

Named Brian Braddock, Britains version of Captain America is imbued with mystical powers of his native country.

A mainstay of Justice League, Martian Manhunter is one superhero who can beat Superman. A green-skinned extraterrestrial humanoid from Mars (thus the name), he also has shapeshifting abilities. In addition to that, he can become invisible and make his body intangible to move through solid objects.

A man from the future who travels back in time and uses his knowledge of the events that have already occurred to prevent tragedies. A movie on him, with a good director, can be really interesting as a reflection of the lure of celebrity and celebrity culture.

We have seen how interesting Miles Morales can be if done well in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Spider-Man: Homecoming already hinted towards the possibility. Just give us live-action Miles!

The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

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See the original post:
10 DC and Marvel characters that deserve their own movies - The Indian Express

Youve finished the Vikings and you are looking for similar series to watch ? Here are 6 of the series in the same sense, The Last Kingdom of Marco Polo, the binge-watcher on Netflix.

The Last Kingdom (2015-)

British series adapted from the historical novels The Stories of saxony Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom tells the story of Uhtred, the son of a noble who has been kidnapped by the vikings in the Ninth century. Torn between England, his native country, and the warlike people who raised him, Uhtred is destined to be an extraordinary destiny. The Last Kingdom share a lot of common points, the characters, in particular, with the mythology of the Vikings to the point that some of you may think that this is a sequel, that is not the case. Fans of the Vikings found there necessarily.

The vikings (2016-)

When The Office meets with the Vikings ! If you like the universe of the Vikings, but you need the humor when the Vikings, is made for you ! With three seasons in the counter for the moment, this Norwegian comedy is as gory as it is funny and tells of the theft, plunder, and the struggle of the Vikings Norheim who do not code and that solve their problems through violence. Very gore and full of anachronisms, Scandinavians gave for his sense of humor and the absurdity of politically incorrect.

Ragnarok (2020-)

Notice to fans of norse legends and series for teens, Ragnarok mix of genres and offers an entertaining teen fantasy under the aegis of the gods. Follow Magne, a young man who discovers that the supernatural powers of his arrival in a small town in norway to be contaminated and in danger of extinction because of the melting of the glaciers. With his new group of friends, the young man understands that the survival of all rested on his shoulders and that his legend is one that will have to fight against an evil ancient and inspired by nordic myths, that embodies the climate emergency and the warming of the planet.

Knightfall (2017-2019)

Knightfall was one of the other flagship series of the chain of History that the emissions Vikings in the united States. For lovers of the series inspired by the historical events and bloody battles, Knightfall is a good alternative for people who have finished the Vikings. During the Middle Ages, Knightfall tells the complex missions of the knights Templar, a military order, powerful, rich and mysterious. You must protect the relics of christendom, the order of the knights Templar is facing the King of France refractory and multiple betrayals. But despite its fall, the fraternity of the legendary warrior monks strives to improve his coat of arms and thwart the political conspiracy.

Marco Polo (2014 To 2016)

If the expeditions of Ragnar and Floki you are missing, is served by Marco Polo ! This series follows the adventures of the famous Italian merchant after his journey of the silk route. He found himself servant to the court of Kublai Khan, and you must adapt to this universe, fascinating but dangerous because he doesnt know everything. Marco Polo used for his malice and skill to avoid traps and to gain the confidence of the Khan to help him in his expeditions and his conquest of the world. The intrigues and games of great wealth do of Marco Polo, a series of staples that can appeal to fans of the Vikings.

Of the border (2016-)

The border is a historical drama that narrates the adventures of Declan Harp (Jason Momoa), a law of the half-the half irish-cree (aboriginal nation in North America). The last fight with the hunters against the contractors to break down the trading monopoly of the fur trade to the Company of Hudson Bay in Canada in the Eighteenth century. The series american-canadian who is studying the historical facts, little-known with a gallery of engaging characters and dourhands in stunning landscapes, like that of the Vikings.

Read the original here:
If you liked the Vikings, these 6 other series are similar to binger on Netflix News-Series TV - D1SoftballNews.com

Hi all,

I would prefer if you keep this anonymous.

I am a long-term follower and not-so-long-term subscriber. I started following you because of the association with Madhu and soon became a fan of Hafta, as you always mentioned it was an exercise in letting the listeners know of your biases.

My father is a librarian and I had the privilege of reading 6-7 Hindi newspapers everyday during my childhood. We always used to discuss how Navbharat Times had a slightly different take on the same headline as compared to Dainik Bhaskar due to their ideological bends. How editorials of different papers choose different stances or ignore certain topics. Following Newslaundry has educated me about "journalistic rigour" and how editorial biases or journalists' own views often colour the views of its readers/viewers, which I often used to ignore earlier. So, thank you for that.

At the same time, after six years, I now feel that Hafta has become somewhat repetitive because on each issue, I can pretty much anticipate what your positions are. Unless you get credible alternate views on subjects, the views on Hafta range from left of centre (Manisha) to Left (Mehraj) to rants (Abhinandan), without any deep insight. It's still informative but there's no invigorating discussion or counterpoints thrown on the subjects by anyone. Anand, as your sole source of right of centre, is too polite to counter your group. Moreover, his views are too nuanced for even right-wingers to understand.

Since you mentioned in this Hafta that it's your media critique vehicle and not a news source for the week, I would recommend you pick media reports in the last two or three weeks, or interviews (maybe one good and one bad), and discuss what went right/wrong and how it could have been improved, rather than discussing all headlines. If you can invite those journalists for reports, it's even better.

As a subscriber, I would like to know more about the work journalists do and how they do it. I don't just want to keep listening to all the wrong the media is doing, as even Peeing Human now has two channels to do it and you have Newsance. Moreover, pretty much everyone knows which channels are pro-government and which ones are still trying to balance their views.

Lastly, I'm not on your Europe subscribers' group so can you please add me?

***

Dear NL team,

My wife and I are long-time subscribers and occasional contributors to the science desk, which says it all about what we think of NL. Coming to a substantive point of discussion related to the question of NL catering to a wider audience and being more Left in Hafta 282, we make the following brief points:

1. We have tried to introduce NL content to our friends and family who are educated and relatively well-off but mostly failed, not because of their Left and Right leanings. In fact, they have no clue what Left or Right means, but rather think in terms of pro- or anti-government stances, and refuse to see any facts presented that oppose the governments line. This is simply due to them NOT having skin in the game, in the words of Nassim Taleb. In other words, they dont have any costs or harm associated with their belief in these falsehoods. I would love to unpack this but for the word limit.

2. Manish's concern on NL being classified as more leftist is misconceived as you are falling for the propaganda trap of Left-Right dichotomy. NL should instead be educating about the fallacy of applying over-simplistic Left-Right categories, especially to Indian politics.

3. Another reason you should not be bothered about pandering to a wider audience is the fact of history that a truth-seeking person or organisation has always been marginalised in society ,and never became mainstream until people realised and accepted it much later.

The above point implies that the number of subscribers NL will have will always be inversely proportional to the inconvenient truth-content of NL, as it is improbable to get a majority to subscribe because most refuse to see facts. Rather, they turn into sheeple due to a combination of our evolutionary past and the psychology of groupthink (this also needs more explanation but can't due to word limit).

NL should instead stick to fact-based critiquing and reporting as it has been, and there will always be a critical minority of people who would support this endeavour.

Here are a couple of useful links to think about the Left, Right, communism, socialism:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Tq4VE8eHQ - Chomsky's take on socialism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc4DI-BF28 - Nassim Taleb on skin in the game

Best,

Shobha and Niranjan

***

Hello Team NL,

This is Sagar. Ive been following you people for four months as of now as a subscriber. I'm very happy to be a part of this organisation; I can truly say that it represents my aspirations as a news consumer.

I want to thank you so much for giving me the student subscription. Being a student truly sucks in this corona lockdown period as all the money sources are dried up, and being locked up in home along with family isnt the best thing.

NL has become my saviour: Every day I wake up and visit NL. I wait for the weekend to come up so that I can get Newsance and Hafta. Tippani is also a great initiative. All of you are my favourites, though I would want to point out that Raman Sir should be given more time as he is the most experienced one. Manisha, Meharaj, Abhinandan, Anand, you all rock.

Coming to one of the suggestions: I want my father to be involved with NL as much as I am but at the end of the day, he is the same average person who watches TV news because of the range of topics covered. Though I get that there is a resource constraint, I think a daily podcast in Hindi on the lines of Daily Dose should be encouraged.

This being my first mail, I want to keep it short. Wishing you all the very best, stay safe, and stay mad, thats the only way.

Sagar

***

Hello NL. Due to the extensive word limit, I am not going to dwell on a detailed appreciation of NL. I have been a subscriber for about four years and a listener of the Hafta podcast for about five years now. Please dont unread this feedback.

I have been meaning to write this for a long time and gave up, thinking it's of no substance. This is regarding how the reporting and podcast stance of NL is slowly shifting. Also recently, there was a discussion about so-called monkey balancing. But since the last few Haftas, Manisha has been wondering about the reasons why people think so.

Here is my input.

While I am okay with personal ideology and individual bias, I do feel that some sort of balance in the reporting, the discussion you pick up for Hafta, or the people you choose to criticise, is necessary. You are not perceived as Left-leaning just because you criticise the Right. It is also because you choose not to criticise the prominent local Left.

For example:

- You criticise Swarajya for their stories that have been written with a predetermined government-friendly stance and sometimes, selected aspects of the stories are highlighted to give it right-wing flavour. Which is okay and should be done. But what you dont do is criticise their mirror image, the Wire, whose few reports have been in the past with added flavour to give it certain colour.

I can understand that NL has some sort of ties, where their people appear on our podcast and things like that, but then it comes at a price. We listeners and readers notice that. We can do better in that area.

- You criticise Jaggi and a few journalists for their right-wing outbursts on Twitter. But I am sure you follow people like Sid Varadarajan, Arfa Khanum, Rana Ayyub, Sagarika Ghose (pity she blocked Nikku ), and many more. Often on Twitter, they have been caught sharing unverified, half-baked and sometimes fake posts as they might have believed them to be true because of their prejudices. We subscribers see that these people are never questioned openly by platforms like NL. And thats where you are perceived as Left-leaning. They are always questioned by right-wing loonies and that only gives these personalities a sense of being right (pun unintended).

- Another reason is the strong personal bias of NL contributors which hardly gets checked when used unnecessarily. While Mehraj is the one of the finest in the lot, he often gets away by his biased remarks, often without interventions.

For example, recently while discussing the authorities brutalities on reporters in Kashmir, he loosely said see what happened to Shujaat Bhukhari, he was killed. I mean, he was killed by terrorists, not by the authorities. It was a totally wrong example in the discussion and no one corrected him. On the other side, Anand Vardhan often has to clarify his ground observations as not being his own opinions, just because other panelists would not let those politically incorrect ideas go unchecked. Nothing critical, but these things add up in how listeners perceive.

- Now my last point is regarding Abhinandan ridiculing this idea of giving equal weightage as monkey balancing. No, it may be not the case all the time. Only, you said that because Hafta is the conglomeration of individual opinions and that brings the balance discussion. But you never table the issues up for discussion that will involve people or platforms that I have mentioned earlier. And if there is already a pattern of what you put up for discussion, how are you going to bring that balance flavour?

I am conscious of word count so will stop here. Few quick notes:

- Prateek Goyal and Manisha are assets. Please make sure you retain them.

- Please add me to the Australia/New Zealand WhatsApp group. I am already part of the NL general subscribers' group.

Bhavesh Bhatt

***

Hi Team Newslaundry!

As always, cant resist writing in when I hear discussions about healthcare.

To Raman Sirs point that bed occupancy has remained relatively stable over three months, while that may appear reassuring, the details are more troubling.

Hospitals make most of their money from surgeries and procedures, and not as much money from treating medical problems. For the same reason, surgeons are paid much more than physicians.

During this pandemic, most patients as well as doctors are postponing elective, non-urgent surgeries such as knee replacement. That is why the bed occupancy may be stable: same number of patients, but now mostly Covid and very few non-Covid.

However, the healthcare system (in most countries with a capitalist healthcare system, including the US where I practise) is so flawed, that not having many surgical patients cannot be sustained by the hospital for more than a few months without incurring severe losses, which will result in them shutting down. So, while the numbers are being made to look good, the overall situation remains grave. This pandemic has exposed all kinds of problems in the healthcare system that people in power have chosen to ignore for the last several years, but this road through hell is paved with hope and good intentions.

On a side note, would like to sponsor Newslaundry subscriptions for 10 students. Please let me know how to go about it.

Also, Abhinandan, let Manisha get her time off. 🙂

Cheers and stay safe,

Shaunak Kulkarni

***

Mail 1:

Hi NL team,

Long-time subscriber.

I was quite disappointed at the China border issue discussion, specifically towards the end when the entire panel agreed that India should not do anything, or words to the same effect.

China is stronger, but we aren't a pushover either. The gap is not like US-Afghanistan or US-Iraq. China will beat India in a full-scale war, but it will be long and costly for them too. Right now, it's a case of a stronger bully flexing. That's not the time to take flight, we should at least be willing to take a few bruises on our nose before we do that. We are weaker, but if we don't fight now, we are timid as well, and they will keep taking whatever belongs to India without much of a fight.

Yes, 20 lives killed in action is tragic but scale matters. And a country with 1.2 billion people should be willing to fight more. Make them lick their wounds at least before trying to take us on. Especially shocking to hear phrases like "we should be friendly with our neighbours" from Mehraj; are you guys that delusional? Neither Pakistan nor China is interested in friendship with us. They have shown repeatedly that no matter how poor Pakistan is, or how prosperous the Chinese are, it's only India who is wooing them with dates in Mahabalipuram and Lahore bus hookup and similar bullshit.

High walls and wide moats is the only way, apart from of course working to become a richer state as well. Grow some spine.

Mail 2:

I am writing a second mail in the same week because of this tweet from a former NL journalist.

In case the tweet gets deleted, here's what he said about Shahrukh, the guy who pointed a gun at the police in Delhi during the CAA protests: "I am proud of Shahrukh bhai. He fought for the community when the entire state machinery and Hindutva army was involved in killing and looting our community. He is our hero!"

This tweet was brought to my notice by one of my friends who considers NL a loony Left. I have disagreed with him every time. But I was wondering what would NL do in such a case, if it was by a currently employed journalist? Put out a statement or fire or just ignore, because the tweet itself is not inciting violence nor bigoted, but really in bad taste by supporting a violent protester. Would like to know thoughts by the Hafta panel.

Prakash Iyer

Excerpt from:
Hafta letters: Diversifying Hafta, ideological divides, healthcare and bed occupancy - Newslaundry

A Harvard graduate has reportedly lost her job after posting a now-viral TikTok video in which she vowed to assault anyone who didnt support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The internet had mixed feelings about her firing.

Claira Janover became an overnight sensation after several news outlets caught wind of a video in which she threatened to attack anyone entitled enough to believe that all lives matter.

Ima stab you, and while youre struggling and bleeding out, Ima show you my paper cut and say, My cut matters too, she declared in the TikTok clip.

The video sparked pandemonium on social media, and according to Janover, uprooted her life. In a follow-up message, the recent Harvard graduate said she had been fired by Deloitte, an international accounting firm, over the stabbing threat. In it, she claimed the threat wasnt literal but rather an analogous joke.

Holding back tears, Janover said shed worked really hard to receive a position at the company, and complained that her contract had been terminated even though Deloitte claims to stand against systemic racism.

She blamed her sudden misfortune on Trump supporters and said her future has been completely compromised by the incident. Despite the setback, she insisted she was too strong for racist Trump supporters and would continue to use social media to advocate for social justice.

The internet was split over Deloittes decision to ax her. Andy Grewal, a professor at Iowa Law School, said he was not a fan of Janovers initial video, but she didnt deserve to be fired over it.

Others warned that Deloitte would suffer financially for firing an employee speaking up for Black Lives Matter.

However, there were plenty of commenters who said Janovers fate was richly deserved.

File under Schadenfreude or Karma, noted conservative firebrand Michelle Malkin.

Her follow-up video shows her to be mentally unstable and unwilling to take personal responsibility for her actions, argued similarly amused observers.

Janovers firing is unusual as it marks a rare case of reverse cancel culture. Social-justice activists have typically been the ones using social media to attack anyone who is suspected of holding politically incorrect views.

Last month, the chair of the University of British Columbias board of governors stepped down after a student group publicized that he had retweeted posts by Donald Trump and messages critical of BLM. Similar campaigns have forced apologies and resignations from a multitude of celebrities and public officials.

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Karma or overkill? Harvard grad fired by Deloitte after threatening to stab anyone who thinks all lives matter - RT

A senior doctor today told of his personal battle with Covid-19 and how the diseaserobbed him of seeing his dying father.

Wrexham Maelor respiratory consultant Dr Stephen Kelly revealed how most of his colleagues became infected with coronavirus and risked respiratory failure and death, simply for doing their job as they battled the pandemic.

And he told how unreliable tests meant in the early weeks we moved many false negative patients to safe areas where they were likely to haveinfected other patients.

The British Medical Association Welsh Consultants Committee member also issued a stark message about funding, saying he didnt know how the public had put up with the level of NHS service over the last 30 years.

Sat in his office Dr Kelly nodded to a window to his left as he explained how his father Gary, 77, had been ill for some time and lay in a ward just a few hundred yards away.

He said his father had not contracted the virus but it stopped Dr Kelly from being able to visit up until his death in May.

He said: I can pretty well see the building he was in from here. Its not a place I normally go to, so literally he spent a month, month and a half just a few hundred yards from my office.

I would literally walk past the ward going to other parts of the hospital. I didnt see him until he passed away I got there too late for him ultimately. Thats sad but its an experience lots of people have had.

I suppose its hard whenyoure walking past the ward but its not easy when youre at home and cant come anywhere near the hospital that experience is very tricky for people.

Dr Kelly told how staff quickly had to learn how to don and doff PPE from colleagues who had worked with Ebola and be fit tested for face masks as they ran up to five wards at the height of the crisis.

He revealed how early swab testing of patients was not as reliable as they would have liked.

We learned as patients came in, so some things we could have done better with hindsight, he said.

We initially did not know how sensitive the swab tests were and in the early weeks we moved many false negative patients to safe areas where cross infection then likely occurred.

Now, if we suspect Covid-19, we swab and swab again.

He said the disease was unlike normal influenza and staff became good at spotting Covid patients.

He said: We could see those at risk of being ventilated on the day they came in, but I was caught out by several patients who had been very ill seeming to get better for a couple of days to then suddenly crash in the now recognised cytokine storm and need ITU.

I learned not to be reassured until seeing 3-4 days of improvement.

Dr Kelly said he had to make difficult calls to people but then felt guilty because people were so nice to him. Two of those calls stood out, he said.

I cant forget telling a soldier just leaving his house to help build a rainbow hospital that his father was not likely to make it to the end of the day, and one to an elderly lady to tell her that her husband was deteriorating when I knew her son was also ventilated on ITU and at serious risk, Dr Kelly said.

Most of his colleagues caught the virus as they treatedpatients with many medical staff feeling there was not enough PPE to go round initially.

Dr Kelly said national PPE guidance matched the stock they had rather than what they needed to be safe.

He added: The false belief of safe patient areas filled with those early false negative patients led to inadequate protections for staff and close working conditions likely spread the virus among us quickly.

Many of us faced the very real risk of respiratory failure and death, simply for doing our job.

Thankfully my wife and I recovered after a few quite unpleasant days and our two children had no symptoms despite high exposure.

However he said the way the service got things done, in a way hed never seen before filled him with hope the NHS can work in a better and faster way, with more funding from those who hold the purse strings.

Dr Kelly, who has been at Wrexham Maelor for 16 years, pulled no punches about lack of NHS funding.

He said: Before Covid-19 we lacked staff, beds, were swamped with patient numbers and my actual take home pay was less per day than 16 years ago when I was still at the bottom of the salary scale.How we will be able to function with Covid-19 still here and needing so much more working space to allow safe practice and let alone catch up with months of inaction will be the real hard work.

So at the next election perhaps clap a door stepping politician in the face to wake them up to provide the funds and allow a service the country can really applaud.

I dont think its terribly politically incorrect for me to say you go to hospitals, were not flush with beds, were not flush with staff.

Being completely apolitical, I dont understand how the British public has put up with the kind of level of service in the NHS that they have for the last 30 years.

By Jez Hemming BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme)

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Wrexham doctor speaks of personal battle with COVID-19 and how the disease robbed him of seeing his dying father - Wrexham.com