Category Archives: Politically Incorrect

It is said that laughter is the best medicine and it couldn't be truer. After all, great sense of humour is also deemed one of the most attractive qualities in someone you love. But there are other benefits to having a good sense of humour such as it benefiting your psychological health and mental health. So, without further ado, from Aquarius to Libra, see Zodiac air signs and the type of humor that appeals to them the most.

Libra

Deadpan humor is the sort that most appeals to this zodiac sign. Libra has a sharp wit and they use their intelligence to pass comments on people using dry humor. The best part is that during this process, they have a completely unemotional and straight-faced countenance, which confuses people. This air sign tends to make irony the champion in the way they pass jokes.

Aquarius

As one of the most arrogant of air signs, Aquarius borders on narcissism and true to their core personality, Satire is the style of humor that best suits them. Most Aquarius are intellectuals and they do their best to stay on top of present events. Their humor is peppered with pop culture references, trending jokes, memes and the fun they poke at mundane everyday situations. They seek to impress people with their wit along with making them laugh.

Gemini

Dark humour is the type of humour a Gemini is skilled at, as they can pass controversial comments that do not resonate with everyone. Most of them are closet stand-up comedians who wish to titivate the crowd with their jokes, alas, their style of humor does not evoke cheers from the audiences. This is mainly because it is deemed morose and cruel at times with an edge of chauvinism. It is more often than not, politically incorrect.

Disclaimer: While these attributes are generic, these are primarily focused on your zodiacal qualities; all the above traits may not necessarily hold true for you.

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Aquarius to Libra: See Zodiac air signs and the type of humor that appeals to them - PINKVILLA

Welcome to Tuesdays Early Edition from i.

Its going to be a dramatic day. The new prime minister will take the keys to No 10, at the same time thunder, lightning, and even a hailstorm will rain down on Westminster and other parts of the country. The forces of nature may also see Liz Truss bend from tradition and deliver her first speech as leader of the nation from within Downing Street instead of outside it. Drama also broke out late on Monday night, as Nadine Dorries and Priti Patel both quit the front bench. How will today unfold, and whats first on the Truss governments agenda? Well peek out from the covers to examine it after the headlines.

Thousands of Europeans living in the UK are still unable to work, travel or send their children to school due to the backlog in processing post-Brexit visa applications. Tens of thousands of people have been waiting longer than a year for the Home Office to make a decision on their application, with campaigners warning that the delays are threatening the livelihoods of those affected. The problem has been blamed on staff shortages by the Home Office.

A man deliberately infected with HIV has been denied compensation because he once shouted at David Cameron. Stuart Rodger has not received the 22,000 that would have been awarded to him as a victim of the crime because of a previous public order offence committed against the former prime minister. He said: I feel deflated and humiliated. Ive fallen through a legal crevice.

Refugees sent to Rwanda face an authoritarian regime which tortures and murders its opponents, the High Court has heard. A legal challenge to the Governments controversial Rwanda policy is under way in the High Court, in what is likely to be one of the first headaches for incoming prime minister Liz Truss. Charities and asylum seekers bringing the case argue the policy is unlawful and immoral.

Comedians will be prevented from ambushing politicians on the BBCs flagship Sunday morning show, after Liz Trusss team were said to be incandescent that her interview with Laura Kuenssberg was hijacked by Joe Lycett. There was concern within the BBC that the edition, which reignited criticism of the BBCs impartiality among Conservative MPs, could have long-term consequences.

Meghan Markle used a speech in Manchester to criticise those turning a blind eye to wrongs around the world, in her most high-profile UK engagement she and Prince Harrys high-profile departure as working royals. At the same event, Bob Geldof gave a fiery speech criticising Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

The war in Ukraine is bound to last for several more years as neither side currently have the capability to perform a knock-out blow on the other, an expert has told i. The counteroffensive in Kherson is being used by Ukraine to demonstrate to the West it can use all the arms supplied amid concerns of support sapping as the winter approaches, he added.

Donald Trumps demand for a special master to oversee the case into his handling of classified materials has been granted by a judge, in what is being seen as a small win for the former US president. It means he will be allowed an independent lawyer who decides if any of the records seized in a search by the FBI are covered by attorney-client or executive privilege.

The Israeli army has concluded there is a high possibility that a Palestinian journalist who died while covering a raid in the occupied West Bank was killed by one of its soldiers. Shireen Abu Akleh was working for Al Jazeeras Arabic language channel when she was shot in the city of Jenin on 11 May.

One of the suspects in a mass stabbing spree that left 10 people dead and 19 injured in Canada has been found dead, police said, but his brother, the other suspect, remains at large. Damien Sanderson was found dead on Monday, with injuries that are not believed to be self-inflicted.

Antarcticas so-called doomsday glacier has the potential to rapidly retreat in the coming years, scientists say, raising concerns over an extreme sea level rise event. The Thwaites Glacier, capable of raising sea levels by several feet, is eroding along its underwater base as the planet warms, a new study says.

many speeches. Boris Johnson kicks it all off around 7.30am with his farewell speech, while Liz Truss will address the nation for the first time as prime minister at 4pm.

Support for Liz Truss is weak but the prospect of electoral annihilation will focus Tory minds, says Katy Balls. Nothing scares MPs more than seeing the party sink in the polls and looking at what it means for their seat.

My old editor Charlie Wilson was wonderfully politically incorrect and workplaces need more people like him, argues Simon Kelner.

You dont have to live on an 80-acre estate to grow your own vegetables, writes Clodagh McKenna. A pack of seeds costs about 2. Shouldnt we all be doing this?

Dont Worry Darling: Harry Styles can act, but something went wrong in editing, writes Matthew Turner. Florence Pugh delivers a compelling, sympathetic turn thats probably better than the film deserves.

Boris Johnsons green legacy has major flaws its up to the next prime minister to rescue net zero, explains Madeleine Cuff. Mr Johnson likes to portray himself as a champion of climate action, but he leaves his successor with a net zero mountain to climb.

VAR has never worked and never will, its time to scrap it for the good of football, writes Daniel Storey. Another weekend on which refereeing and VAR came under fire after controversial decisions affected results.

Cockroaches are generally not met with squeals of delight, but even those suffering from the most severe form of katsaridaphobia would agree this latest invention could be a good one. Remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches, which are part insect and part machine, have been created by scientists hoping the innovation could be used to inspect radioactive sites. One of the scientists involved said: Keeping the battery adequately charged is fundamental nobody wants a suddenly out-of-control team of cyborg cockroaches roaming around.

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i morning briefing: A new prime minister addresses the nation - iNews

2022 is Philip Larkin's centenary, so it's no surprise to find my memories a little hazy. The chuggety-chug of "The Whitsun Weddings" (Eng Lit O Level 1979 - grade B, if you're asking), the Eminem-style opening line about your Mum and Dad, the friendship with Kingsley Amis and a vague sense of some politically incorrect stuff at a time when almost nothing could be genuinely categorised as politically incorrect. He died in 1985, about ten years before I would have guessed, at 63, the same age as his much disliked father, a last unwanted gift from the accident of birth.

Not much of that is going on the playbill, but we do get an absolutely splendid show, Ben Brown's award-winning 2000 four-hander revived with tremendous verve and no little pathos by Strut and Fret. Larkin, who looks a lot like Eric Morecambe, had much of that comedian's comic timing and ready wit and, in this version of him at least, holds the misogyny at bay and mines the misanthropy more for its capacity to amuse rather than to wallow in self-pity.

Daniel Wain is super in the role, laughing as much as I can recall an actor laugh on stage, often at Larkin's own expense, railing against the world, against his own shortcomings (personal and professional), against - with a little more seriousness - his block as a poet. Wain shows that Larkin can be insensitive, bend truth to his own ends and stick rigidly to his principles (at least when it suits him) but there's plenty of charisma there, a willingness to laugh at the world with the same schoolboyish sense of humour that morphed into his schoolboyish taste in Soho's under-the-counter, brown-enveloped magazines. Wain delivers a man whom we shouldn't like really, but we do - I suspect the women in his life felt something of the same.

Ah, the women of the title. I've left it 300 words before mentioning them because, unlike more than one play I've seen in the last month or so, these women are fully formed characters, Brown sidestepping the temptation to create them merely to cast light on The Great Man in whom he is really interested. They need no bolstering from your reviewer.

Lynne Harrison plays Maeve Brennan, coyly peeping out from behind a blonde fringe, a junior at Hull University Library invited by Larkin (who was Head Librarian) to his flat for tuition before her exams. Predatory behaviour? Well, she was 31, retained her strict Roman Catholic beliefs (allowing Brown to have a lot of fun giving Larkin cynical line after cynical line about marriage and the value of virginity) and they were together - albeit on and off, it was like that with Larkin - for many years. They not equals at work or in matters of the mind, but she's no victim either. Harrison vests her 'bit-on-the-side' (which is demeaning, but the right phrase for the time) with an ongoing hurt, but a love too for a man she idolised and could never quite leave - nor he her. It was, of course, a less judgemental time, at least beyond the boundaries set by twitching net curtains.

Betty Mackereth was for many years Larkin's efficient secretary, amused and a little fascinated by the man-child she tended (there's brilliant directing by John Gilbert and Jenny Hobson with a briefcase that says more about their relationship than any exposition) who becomes an occasional lover too. Annabel Miller gets a showstopping moment that provoked many a dubious chuckle in the stalls and captures the attitude of a woman who didn't want much, but got it from a man with much the same approach to their longstanding affair.

Mia Skytte goes through a glorious range of 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s Bohemian fashions (Junis Olmsheid is in award-worthy form as the designer, as the set is a delight to look upon and adapatable too) as the love of Larkin's life, the academic Monica Jones, with whom he shared a sense of humour and until very late in life, a fear of commitment. Skytte has a tricky role - she is not quite a wife, but more than just another lover, a source of sex intellectual stimulation and comfort for a man who probably wanted them in that order for the first half of their time together and in the reverse order for the second half. Skytte gets to show why Monica was so ideally suited to provide such, and like Harrison and Miller, creates a wholly rounded individual in whom we believe. It's wonderful to hear her laugh so much too.

There was more to Larkin than we see here - a play with the title Larkin With Men would cast him in a much darker light - but that was not Brown's objective and it's the playwright's call. What we do get from a very classy production indeed, is a warm, affectionate, funny examination of Larkin's relationships with the three women who circled him for much of his life. Larkin is more flawed than they are of course, but there isn't the tang of entitlement on his part nor condemnation from the playwright that would, one presumes, be foregrounded in any such play written today.

That's a moral judgement and you pays your money and you takes your chance with such matters - as a critical judgement, this is a fine example of what small scale, fringe theatre can. Delightful.

Larkin With Women is at The Old Red Lion Theatre until 17 September

Photo: Marc Brenner

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Review: LARKIN WITH WOMEN, Old Red Lion Theatre - Broadway World

Despite Phil Collins taking over as the lead vocalist in Genesis, he would have still given up the band in an instant to have joined The Who as a drummer following the death of Keith Moon. Collins even initiated talks with Pete Townshend, but it was poor timing on his behalf, and they couldnt strike a deal.

In 1975, after Peter Gabriels exit from Genesis, it was down to Collins to step up to the mantle and ensure the band survived. Much to his surprise, they became more wildly successful during his stewardship than under his predecessor and hit new heights. However, Collins would have given everything up in a heartbeat to join The Who and return to having the eyes off him.

It was never Collins plan to become one of the most recognisable vocalists in the world, but something he accidentally fell into. His role would have been to operate solely behind the drum kit and leave the singing to a professional if it was up to him.

The late Moon is one of Collins all-time favourite drummers, and it would have been an honour for him to continue his legacy. Speaking on reflection, he once said of The Who: I think that one of the classic rock tracks of all time is Wont Get Fooled Again and I remember seeing them on TV, they were televised from Charlton Football ground and I saw him with this gaffer tape around his head, with his headphones, you know, it hurts to take it off if youre foolish enough to put it around. The way he played, there was no orthodoxy at all.

Shortly after Moons death, Collins proposed the idea of him replacing the late drummer in The Who to Townshend, with who he was working on a project alongside. Unfortunately, the group had already decided to work with Kenney Jones, and Collins offered his services too late.

Absolutely would have joined The Who. I would have left Genesis to join The Who, he toldThe Guardianin 2016. But theyve got a great drummer now in Zak Starkey, hes fantastic. Someone with the balls that Keith Moon had.

He elaborated toClassic Rock: I played Uncle Ernie inTommy[in a 1989 concert with the Who], which I loved doing, though it was very politically incorrect playing a paedophile. But it was great because I was with the Who. I was working with Townshend just after Moon died [in 1978], and I said to him, Have you got anybody to play the drums? Because Id love to do it. Ill leave Genesis. And Pete said, Fuck, weve just asked Kenney Jones'.

Collins felt he was a much better fit for The Who than Jones, who he said was too polite for the band. He added: Because Kenney Jones, unbeknown to most people, played on stuff when Keith was too out of it. He was far too polite for the Who. But I would have done the job. I would have joined them.

Watch the footage below as Collins as Uncle Ernie inTommy.

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The moment Phil Collins tried to replace Keith Moon in The Who - Far Out Magazine

Suppose you had the revolution you are talking and dreaming about. Suppose your side had won, and you had the kind of society you wanted. How would you live, you personally, in that society? Start living that way now!

-Paul Goodman

A storm is threatening our very nation today and if we dont get some shelter, America is going to do a hell of a lot worse than fade away, or at least so it appears. Every other news story that comes out of this country lately seems to be haunted by a Let it Bleed harmonica riff. America has never been more divided, and the shit just keeps getting worse. While the oligarchs wage open war against each other with insurrections and FBI raids and the divide between the sad tribes of lost proletariats who base their increasingly shallow identities on these creeps deepens, talk of a Second American Civil War and the decline of Western-style liberal democracy has traveled from the fringe to the mainstream with respected partisan wonks and heavily published academics taking turns wailing like Mick Jaggers rusty harp.

Its not hard to see why. Aside from the fact that brilliant if criminally underlooked minds from Oswald Spengler to Ted Kaczynski have been warning us of this fate for decades, all the available numbers seem to be pointing towards an impending cataclysm which you can often catch glimpses of just looking out the fucking window. As Hurricane Trump leaves a tidal wave of white working-class nihilism and resentment in its wake that was present long before the Orange Bastard showed up to exploit it, firearm deaths in the US are on the rise with an increase of nearly 43% in the last decade. With the economic trauma of the Covid Pandemic and the geopolitical trauma of the states total inability to do anything but exploit it still tearing at the already frayed fabric of civil society, homicides in metropolitan areas have surged by 44% in just the last three years alone and the climate feels ripe for that carnage to spill over into the political arena. In other words, war, children, its just a shot away.

Recent studies have shown that one in five Americans believe that politically motivated violence is completely acceptable under certain extenuating circumstances with 7% of 18 million adults in this nation confessing that they themselves are willing to kill for a cause. Nearly half of these Americans expect a civil war in their lifetime and before you go blaming it all on MAGA consider the fact that 41% of Biden voters have stated a desire for their state to secede from the Union along with the lion share of Trump voters. The response from the corporate Washington intelligentsia to this swelling tide of bipartisan disenchantment seems to vacillate between total denial and hair-pulling hysteria. Many on the mainstream left seem to be desperately rifling through their cluttered junk drawers for a jerry-rigged defibrillator to revive faith in our dear old republic and its derelict democratic institutions before its too late. My own personal radical left-wing informed response to these trends however can essentially be summed up with about time and good riddance.

This politically incorrect point of view on the coming apocalypse is largely predicated on three equally taboo positions; America is fucking evil, what we call democracy in this country is bullshit, and with the previous two opinions in mind, any sane radical of any stripe should embrace the inevitable collapse of both with open arms as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and finally make things right.

Anyone whos read more than two sentences written by Howard Zinn or Lysander Spooner should be well aware of the painful fact that the American experiment has been a toxic exercise in pure evil from the drop. This is a genocidal slave colony that only declared independence from the British Empire to take its place in a malignant competition to see which camp of psychotic white supremacists could rape and pillage the entire circumference of the planet first. The fact that America won this disgusting race to become the worlds sole superpower is nothing to be proud of and neither is the electoral circus erected around it to give it the illusion of a free society.

Americas heretical take on democracy essentially amounts to little more than a childish pig fashion show in which the American people are free to choose a dancing puppet to represent the corporate military elites who really run this twisted fucking mess. Just because the Big Steal is big bullshit doesnt mean that everyday Americans are stupid to suspect that the system is rigged. Theyre only stupid if they believe an old money hustler like Donald Trump isnt in on the grift too. People have lost faith in this system because its a fraud that they never should have put their faith in it to begin with. This isnt disillusionment, its enlightenment and if the far left had any balls or ovaries left, they would approach this populist awakening as an opportunity worth exploiting.

This thing was never going to fucking last. Empire never does. Thats because empires are designed for mindless expansion and the larger a centrally organized territory expands the more impossible it becomes to control. This is why Rome fell. This is why the Soviet Union collapsed. And this is why China will never even become powerful enough to take Americas place. They are a Second World bureaucracy that inherited a First World-sized territory, and their dystopian police state is Americas future if we stubbornly insist on being united states. To put it bluntly, America is simply too goddamn big to be anything but tyrannical and the only other option aside from defacto military rule and a bloody civil war is to destroy America before it can destroy the world.

This only sounds insane because every single institution of power in this country is heavily invested in fooling us all into believing that anything less than full compliance with the status quo they designed to control us and rip us off is a recipe for fucking chaos. Well, take a good look around dearest motherfuckers because were already there. The collapse of any imperial power structure may be as inevitable as the rising sun, but it only ends in carnage when people insist on clinging to these same systems long after theyve clearly failed. Civil wars arent caused by secession. Theyre caused by the refusal of one power to let another leave their broken marriage. Any second civil war in this country will be the result of rival camps trying to impose their will on each other the way both sides of the last one did. The best solution to such a grotesque fate is a revolution or to be more precise, a thousand little revolutions.

Another sorry side effect of the status quos Delusional Industrial Complex is the belief often shared by even the most well-intentioned revolutionaries that we need one big epic revolution to overthrow one big epic empire. This formula generally only ends in one of two ways; either in a colossal bloodbath that only results in replacing one form of tyranny with another as weve seen in Russia and China or more commonly in a state of revolutionary stasis with a bunch of pissed off kids in Che Guevara t-shirts waiting around for some mythical critical mass that never seems to materialize. There are dusty old politburos across the globe clogged with big-mouthed polemics whove grown geriatric and gray waiting for their busted alarm clock to go off. But there is another way, and it is almost criminally simple; just drop out and exist unruled beneath the radar before the grid goes down.

As stated above, all empires collapse and this collapse only results in violence because people stubbornly stick to their designated statist delusions and insist on going down with a sinking ship. True revolution, therefore, is simply a matter of building an escape raft for your people and preparing for the inevitable. Forget about America. Forget about Washington and Wall Street. Forget about Trump and Biden and Republicrats and Dempublicans and all that fucking bullshit. Build the revolutionary society we all deserve right now where you live.

Build autonomous local networks capable of sustaining themselves without state or corporate institutions all while depriving the war machine of the tax revenue it subsists on through theft. Build your own food resources with community gardens and family farms. Build your own social resources with mutual aid societies and homeschooling collectives. Protect yourself and your people with volunteer civilian militias. Prepare for the very real possibility of having to defend your community from state intervention but dont provoke it by attempting to overthrow a busted system when you can simply replace it without even firing a shot and dont make the tragic mistake of trying to force your values on other communities who are just trying to do the same thing in different ways.

This has been done before by unsung pioneers across the political spectrum. The left-libertarian outlaw Karl Hess made his Washington DC neighborhood directly in the heart of the beast totally self-sufficient by building community gardens and creating a primitive but effective fish breeding facility using nothing but pumps from old washing machines and leftover construction materials that produced hundreds of pounds of meat a year. On the other end of the spectrum, the Black Panther Party created a free breakfast program that began with a single Episcopal church and donations from a handful of local grocery stores in inner city Oakland and ended up feeding thousands of impoverished children with 45 programs across the country. The federal government ultimately had to replicate these services themselves just to shut them down and keep the ghettos compliant.

And this is being done as we speak by pioneers across the globe. The Mexican city of Cheran has opted out of the colonialist War on Drugs by arming peasants against cartels and cops alike and forming a vibrant direct democracy built on local indigenous values. In the failed state of Lebanon, thousands of citizens of every creed have abandoned their corrupt centralized government services to rely solely on the services provided by local Hezbollah militias. And the Amish have been taking care of their own peacefully right in my own backyard with their own tightly woven networks of communal farms and craftsmen without even so much as touching a Glock.

It can be done and for some of us there has never really been any other choice. As a genderqueer person in rural Central Pennsylvania, the only thing separating my community from certain extinction is each other. The government will never understand us, and I honestly hope they never do because Ive seen what becomes of those they assimilate. All I want is for the freaks I love to live weird and free from fear and dependence on institutions defined by colonialist violence. By narrowing my goals to this simple and immediate revolutionary dream I can peacefully coexist with Anabaptist Puritans who seem as extraterrestrial to me as I do to them. This is how we prevent another civil war, dearest motherfuckers, by destroying America with nothing more severe than peace, love, and empathy.

I tell you, revolution, sister, its just a kiss away.

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The Only Solution to a Second American Civil War is a Thousand Little Revolutions - CounterPunch

"Hacks" is a comedy-drama that stars Jean Smart as wildly successful career standup comedienne Deborah Vance, Hannah Einbinder as her younger co-writer Ava, and Carl Clemons-Hopkins as her closest advisor. The show follows all three characters, as well as the office and career life of Downs' talent agent, Jimmy, excellently portrayed by series co-creator Paul Downs.

The show has won Emmys for writing, directing, and outstanding lead actress for Jean Smart, as well as the Golden Globe Award for best television Series. Alot of that acclaim goes to the writing, which is sensitive, brash, and never mawkish even when dealing with life's harshest twists.

While the celebration of Jean Smart who jumped back into the spotlight with turns in "Fargo,""Legion," and "Watchmen" is well-earned, a place must be reserved for Clemons-Hopkins navigating life as a Black, gay businessman. Audiences will also admire Einbinder's performance, as her complex Ava Daniels is the true lynchpin of the piece. Ava is unlike any character you've ever seen, and she'll stay with you long after the applause has faded.

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12 Best Shows Like Reboot That Fans Should Check Out - Looper

Last week I took a journey, one that had been a long time coming. I was finally opening the curtains to a slice of my childhood that my kids had heard often about, but with youthful (dis) interest had dismissed it as adult nostalgia. The girls and I went to Lawrence School, Sanawar.

Nestled amid a canopy of pine and deodar trees on a hilltop in Himachal Pradeshs Kasauli Hills where the winter sun chases its inhabitants is the oldest coeducational boarding in the country, some say even in the world.

It is also a place that transformed a gawky, anxious teenager too shy to even speak with relatives into a confident teenager who would one day become a prime time news anchor.

Three decades later, memories made unknowingly came gushing in like the mist from the surrounding hills, still as fresh as the day I entered those imposing gates for the first time, the same age then as my elder daughter is today.

If you havent been a citizen of this hilltop in the Himalayas with its slanting red roofs like dots in a forest, the 139 acres that slope up and steeply down can be daunting but nature has never preened as it has here and the hills around are as alive now as they were then.

Established by Sir Henry Lawrence and his wife Honoria in 1847 as a charitable institution, the school was initially set up for the orphans of British soldiers, an asylum from the debilitating effects of the tropical climate and the demoralising influence of barrack-life.

In 1920, it was rechristened Lawrence Royal Military School, its focused military training sending troops directly to the battlefield from the school campus.

Rich military tradition

The rich military tradition continues with a remarkable number of alumni in the armed forces, the bravery of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra remains legendary.

Staying true to the school motto Never Give In Khetarpal died in the 1971 Battle of Basantar during the Indo-Pak war, barely years after passing out from Sanawar and was posthumously awarded the nations highest gallantry award.

30 years later Khetarpals father went to Pakistan, his host an Armoured Corps officer reportedly admitted after a dinner that he had caused Arun Khetarpals death, adding that there were only two men left standing, one had to go.

Lawrence School, Sanawar has been a window to a rich history that evolved from the British era to modern independent India. The school has been presented the Kings Colours twice- the second time in 1922 by the King of Wales which are still trooped every October during the founders celebrations.

Its centenary celebrations in 1947 were presided by the then Governor-general Lord Mountbatten who read out a special message from King George VI. Shortly afterwards the control of the school was handed over to Indian authorities.

Sanawar is not a school, it is an institution, said former prime minister IK Gujral once. He couldnt have been more accurate. It continues to count as one of the top boarding schools in the country with a heritage that is hard to emulate.

Ask any Old Sanawarian (as those who pass out from school are called) including an abundance of notable alumni and they will tell you, it is a place that keeps its promises.

There are school campus and then there is Lawrence School, Sanawar. Perhaps nothing is as charming as the 149- year old school chapel with its ornate stained-glass windows.

Magic of the place

The war memorial, Birdwood the old stone building housing classrooms now touched with up with modern amenities, a printing press and a quaint post office - the first my children saw - a reminder of the time when without the impersonal email we did write letters home to our parents. A reminder also of times that didnt flirt with innocence.

Yet all this doesnt compete with a fraternity that the school builds, of students- past and present loyal to an imaginary oath of bonding simply because of where they come from. And that bond opens all doors.

I often look at new age school buildings and wonder, how many students will come back with a desperation once they pass out? Or behind the books how many are learning that religion, caste or background are only a means to push us back. No one spoke that language, it was never important.

But that didnt take away from the ingredients of a boarding school. Rumours, ghosts, birthday bumps, extras at lunch- everything was par for the course.

Rudyard Kipling famously wrote in Kim, Send him to Sanawar and make a man of him, it may be politically incorrect in todays woke times but the generation will appreciate how gender neutral the school has always been, with girls competing ferociously.

In 2013, 7 teenage boys from the school summited Mount Everest, not to be left behind 7 schools girls became the youngest trekkers to conquer Africas highest peak Mt Kilimanjaro.

And so the glory continues. Exactly a month from now the school celebrates its 175th (dodransbicentennial) anniversary.

The buildings are shining, the trees have spruced themselves up, the hotels in Kasauli town long booked out and the mist it will come on cue as it always does, reminding us of the magic of a place that is always a step away from a homecoming.

PS: My children admitted the place was charming.

Jyotsna Mohan

@jyotsnamohan

Jyotsna Mohan is the author of the investigative book Stoned, Shamed, Depressed. She was also a journalist with NDTV for 15 years.

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India: Lawrence School, Sanawar where you strive till the set of sun - Gulf News

A business without an app is missing a lot. Over the last decade, apps have played a significant role in company growth. If you want to move your business in the right direction, developing an app is simply a must.

The smartphone market generally features two operating systems Android and iOS. Although there are others, they are insignificant, as most mobile device users are either Android or iOS oriented. When choosing to develop a business app, you need to pick one of these and have your new app developed strictly for these operating systems.

When youre making your choice, consider iOS as your first choice. There are many reasons why, and thats what were talking about in this article. We will share five essential reasons you want to develop an iOS business app. Follow up and learn what the benefits of owning an iOS app are.

There are nearly 2 billion iOS users worldwide. Most of them live in western countries, like the US and Europe. iOS is the most popular mobile device brand in the US, with 211 million devices in use. Statistics say that 87% of teens prefer an iPhone over any other brand.

The western world, in general, has a higher spending power than the eastern world, but it is also well-known that iPhone and iOS users are willing to spend more on particular products. That gives you the right to think that having an iOS-oriented app will generate more profits.

IOS users regularly use around 20 apps. If you manage to develop an app that will be useful for them, you can expect them to use it frequently. If they do, that will provide great benefit for your company because not only will it strengthen the brand awareness, but it may also make profits.

If your business is tech-related, youll find great use of your iOS app. People who use Apple phones and mobile devices are tech-savvy and love exploring and buying new things. They also have a great eye for products created by companies in these fields.

Depending on your industry, youll need an app that is developed specifically for the type of users interested in that particular market. If youre unsure how your app needs to look and what to implement, it will be best to hire a full-service development company, like https://www.miquido.com/, a company that will know what you need.

Hire someone with numerous projects behind them and someone who can give you the right advice about what to implement. They know the markets, and theyll know what to install on your app. When it comes to iOS users, youll want perfection, as satisfying them is not easy.

When youre using a programming language for iOS apps, youre bound to develop something extraordinary. When we say extraordinary, we dont mean a piece of technology that will be flawless, but an app with a unique interface and looks.

Apple apps are always different from anything else. The main reason for this is that Apple as a brand allows app developers to experiment and be creative. When the app is finished, only Apple products will perfectly put the developers idea to practice and have the app look fantastic.

All this gives iOS users an excellent user experience. This is highly valuable for customers everyone using an expensive phone would like to have the best possible experience while using the apps on it. If you lack the perfection that Apple provides, users will quickly delete your app from their phones.

Nearly all iOS users are active on at least one social network. Most of them will post daily, which gives you a great chance for free marketing. Provide a social media integration in your business app, and let the users who download the app do the rest.

Youll also want to have your own social media profiles and pages. Create content that might be engaging for your fans and app users. Send notifications to your clients through the app with discounts, offers, and other activities, and see how the users share this information on their social networks.

If one of your attempts becomes viral, you will reach thousands or millions of viewers. As they say theres no bad marketing, so anything that draws users attention is a great activity. Just make sure youre not politically incorrect, as things like these may ruin your career entirely.

You may be involved in an industry with a local business considering a tight area, but some businesses operate worldwide. Whichever it is, you still have access to many consumers, especially if your business is located in a western country.

If youre trying to sell products worldwide, an iOS app is a must. Apple is a universal brand, and no matter where youre located, owning an app that is available in the App store will give you access to people living on the other side of the globe.

Theres no question that Apple is one of the biggest mobile device players. They might even be the greatest of all times. Android indeed has more users than Apple, but the spending power of iOS users is much greater than the spending power of Android users.

With this in mind, developing a business app means you must have it done for Apple users. Hire the best app developers and work closely with them to create something extraordinary. If you do this, the result will be an app that looks staggering and has fantastic value for your users.

The main things you need to address when developing an iOS business app are functionality, speed, and value for your customers. If youre successful in all three, your app will surely be successful. Millions will download it, and your business will thrive.

More:
5 Reasons to Have an iOS App for Your Business - Tech Guide

The Hindi film business is searching for explanations after a string of box office flops, but not even entertainment beat reporters can point out where they are going wrong. The list of problems goes on and on and doesnt even touch on things like lousy translations of foreign films, subpar acting, bad directing, terrible VFX and CGI, photography, etc. The audience is stating that the main issue is the basically anti-Hindu content, which may be too politically incorrect for analysts on the left to mention. But if they were, to be frank, and courageous enough to say it, could Mumbai-centered trade get its act together? No. Because the work that those in the profession have done thus far was done as a result of a design that was created soon after the professions creation.

The first Indian talkie, Alam Ara, was released in 1931, after Raja Harishchandra by Dadasaheb Phalke, who purportedly sold his wifes jewelry to produce Indias first silent film in 1913. It is evident that the initial audio production had a Muslim theme. The audience saw a prevalence of Urdu ordinary terms from Persian and jargon from Arabic in the lines recited by performers during the black-and-white era until the early 1960s. Two forces were at work in this situation: the legacy of Parsi theatre and a left-leaning group of artists known as the Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA).

PK was just the next installment in a protracted series, one that ultimately lost Aamir Khan the business of Laal Singh Chaddha. Even the Bharat of Bollywood, Manoj Kumar, had depicted men of three upper castes raping a helpless woman inside a warehouse in Roti, Kapada aur Makaan. If the 2014 movie featured an actor who hobnobs with Tablighi Jamaat Pakistans maulanas and amuses the family of Recep Tayyip Erdoan, he portrays a Hindu guru in his movie (1974). The character of Lala, played by CS Dubey, is one of the violators of Tulsi (Moushumi Chatterjee), who had been portraying Hindu criminals since Seema (1955).

Despite his good relations with the present administration, Ajay Devgn has similar bad luck. Rahim Lalas portrayal of the real-life gangster in Gangubai Kathiawadi sanitized his criminal activities, while a number of Hindu men and women who had aided the prostitute-turned-activist-cum-goon Ganga Harjivandas were all left out of the picture. Since her 2008 movie Raazi completely upended Harinder Sikkas 2008 novel Calling Sehmat, the lead actress Alia Bhatt has been beyond redemption.

Additionally, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar co-starred in the film Sooryavanshi in which terrorists claimed that terrorism is a legitimate response to a complaint!

Continued here:
Bollywood won't adapt, so we need to find alternatives. - Whizbliz.com

Adrian Monck is the managing director of the World Economic Forum.

Own nothing, be happy. You may have heard the phrase. It started life as a screenshot, culled from the internet by an anonymous antisemitic account on the image board 4chan. Own nothing, be happy The Jew World Order 2030, said the post, which went viral among extremists.

How did a years-old headline turn into a meme for the far right and a slogan picked up by mainstream conservative politicians? And whats the truth behind that headline?

The story begins in 2016 with the publication of an opinion piece on the World Economic Forums Agenda website by Danish MP Ida Auken under the headline Welcome to 2030: I own nothing, have no privacy and life has never been better.

It was part of an essay series intended to spark debate about socio-economic developments. This was the time of the booming app economy, and the commissioning editor had previously worked for conservative British newspaper The Telegraph. The piece gained a respectable readership and lived quietly on the website for a number of years.

Fast forward four years to 2020. The world looked very different. A pandemic was raging, and the World Economic Forum launched The Great Reset, promoting the idea of building back better so that economies could emerge greener and fairer out of the pandemic.

The pandemic magnified many societal ills. The mistrust in governments and leaders that had been building before the health crisis played into the hands of both fringe groups and state-sponsored actors looking to undermine and weaken rivals. Both came together on the anonymous dark web in places such as 4chans politically incorrect image board.

The board, which is completely unmoderated, was also used by operators of a Russian propaganda campaign. The intent was apparently to spread disinformation in a bid to stir far-right outrage about COVID-19 and perpetuate domestic extremism. The means was often via bots that would push far-right conspiracy theories to communities on boards such as 4chan.

Recent analysis explains how this context brought extremists together using rhetoric that trivialized National Socialism and the Holocaust. This same far-right, Holocaust-denying cohort latched onto the Great Reset, claiming that the Forum was part of a group that orchestrated the pandemic to take control of the global economy.

A number of threads appeared in this vein. One such 4chan thread linked the pandemic and the alleged nefarious control the Forum exercises over the global economy with the idea that youll own nothing and be happy.

It went truly viral, capturing the warped imagination of conspiracy and fringe groups. One neo-Nazi and white-supremacist website claimed the Great Reset was a response to the coronavirus faked crisis and would usher in global communism to ensure no one will be able to own anything.

Its popularity also saw more mainstream figures dog-whistle the phrase while ignoring its antisemitic and far-right origins. Threads proliferated, the catchphrase own nothing, be happy snowballed, and even more mainstream news sites, including Fox News and Sky News Australia, embraced it.

Actor and comedian Russell Brand talked about it in a video that received more than 1.8 million views on Facebook. Pierre Poilievre, currently running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, used it to discredit Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government, giving rise to a national movement.

Even though Reuters Fact Check concluded in February, 2021, that the World Economic Forum does not have a stated goal to have people own nothing and be happy by 2030, the trolling continues.

Users on Twitter and Facebook, for instance, have spread doctored content to promote the falsehood that, through the Great Reset, the Forum is advancing pernicious depopulation efforts. These include racist conspiracies that claim white people are the primary target for depopulation. Bad-faith actors have also targeted the Forums coverage of the circular economy (economic systems that aim to eliminate waste by reusing raw materials rather than disposing of them), decrying it as a top-down agenda coming from unelected globalists looking to reshape the world in their image. These are just some examples among many.

As far back as 2013, the World Economic Forums annual Global Risks Report flagged misinformation as a concern, warning then that it could spark digital wildfires in our hyperconnected world.

Today, that warning has largely been borne out. Misinformation is a serious challenge for regulators, a minefield for individuals who seek the facts, and a barrier to governments and organizations wanting to disseminate important information.

The consequences of unabated misinformation are dangerous. Misinformation concerning COVID-19 and vaccines cost lives during the pandemic. The revelations around the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot reveal how false information about elections can threaten the foundations of democracy. And 68 per cent of Americans agree, saying made-up news is detrimental to the countrys democratic system.

Moreover, the amount of data now being generated, predicted to almost quadruple by 2025, makes it easier and cheaper to use algorithms for malicious or manipulative purposes with unprecedented efficiency, speed and reach.

It is important to recognize that misinformation/disinformation is a tactic used to support an oftentimes political strategy. There are a variety of ways that bad information circulates for political gain. A classic example is for an actor to intentionally disseminate false, inaccurate or misleading information that inflicts demonstrable and significant public harm, said Steven Feldstein, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Another set of tactics involve trolling and harassment, probably the most common form of misinformation directed against the Forum. Trolling and harassment entail deliberately posting offensive content online in order to provoke or disrupt conversations.

The story of youll own nothing and be happy is anything but trivial and offers valuable insights into how misinformation is created and why its essential not to perpetuate its spread.

It also highlights how misinformation derails free speech. At the request of Ms. Auken, the Forum removed all media around her piece because of the online abuse and threats she had faced. Action to prevent lies being accepted as truth can help avoid similar situations and promote genuine free speech, allowing us all to freely exchange ideas and opinions.

In a world where the trolls often win, more forward-thinking conversations like the one Ms. Auken tried to initiate will be tarnished.

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The rest is here:
Opinion: How 'own nothing and be happy' sparked a misinformation campaign that targeted the World Economic Forum - The Globe and Mail