Category Archives: Politically Incorrect

NO stranger to controversy, Mel Gibson has stoked the flames once more by saluting Donald Trump in a gesture that has thrown the spotlight back on the Hollywood stars headline past.

Braveheart himself?

The 1995 historical saga Braveheart, directed by Gibson and starring him as William Wallace, won him the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture and remains one of his most famous roles, along with his iconic appearances in movie franchises such as Lethal Weapon and Mad Max.

Whats he been up to?

The New York-born actor, now 65 - who moved to Sydney, Australia, with his family as a child - was spotted saluting former president Donald Trump at a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) match in Las Vegas between mixed martial artists Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. A TikTok video featuring the salute - showing Gibson raising his right hand to his head as Trump entered the arena and walked past him - instantly went viral.

What has Gibson said?

The star has not commented on the salute, but in a separate video on UFCs Twitter page, his presence at the event was highlighted and he said he wanted to see a good match ahead of the bout.

It hasnt gone down well?

Some of the online reaction included Trump fans declaring Gibson a true patriot, while other remarks ranged from straightforward Mel Gibson trending, time to log off from Meena Harris, niece of the current Vice President of the US, Kamala Harris, to other posts accusing the star of racism and saying There is no such thing as cancel culture if Mel Gibson isnt cancelled by now.

He has given no indication of being a Trump fan in the past?

Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, as Trump vied with Hillary Clinton, Gibson said the choices we have are, theyre not good choices at the moment And he said of Trumps plan to build a wall between the US and Mexico that it was nonsensical.

But he has sparked controversy in the past?

In 2006, he made widely reported anti-Semitic comments when he was arrested for drink-driving, accusing Jews of being responsible for all the wars in the world; later saying this did not reflect his true feelings and apologising to "everyone in the Jewish community. In 2010, he was heard in a voicemail to his former partner Oksana Grigorieva that if you get raped by a pack of n*****s, it will be your fault.

As for Gibson?

Said to be worth around $475 million, the father-of-nine has admitted his political incorrectness in the past. He told Fox News in the US last year: Who the hell cares what I think? Im not an expert what am I qualified to talk about? Its alright. It allows you a sense of anonymity so that in your performance you can come out and just be anything; youre not already carrying a lot of baggage. He added: I am politically incorrect, thats true. Political correctness to me is just intellectual terrorism.

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Issue of the day: Storm as 'Braveheart' salutes Trump - HeraldScotland

On this week's "Face the Nation," moderated by John Dickerson:

Clickhereto browse full transcripts of "Face the Nation."

JOHN DICKERSON: I'm John Dickerson in Washington. And this week on FACE THE NATION, with scientists now warning that if you are unvaccinated, you will likely get the coronavirus, will that change the minds of the biggest holdouts when it comes to getting vaccinated? America is seeing a summer surge of COVID. Case rates have more than doubled since late June, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant.

DR. GRANT COLFAX: The Delta variant is COVID on steroids. This virus is far more infectious than the COVID we were dealing with a year ago.

JOHN DICKERSON: According to the CDC, this surge was avoidable. Hotspots are mostly states or regions with low vaccine rates. In Springfield, Missouri, cases are up one hundred and fifty percent since last month. We'll talk with the city's mayor, Ken McClure. And we'll check in with former FDA Commissioner Doctor Scott Gottlieb. In their campaign to get more people vaccinated, the Biden administration targets COVID-19 social media misinformation.

MAN: What's your message to platforms like Facebook?

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And that's-- and they're-- and they're killing people.

Trending News

JOHN DICKERSON: What can be done to fight misinformation? We'll ask the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Chris Krebs. Elections expert, David Becker, will weigh in on challenges across the country to voting laws. And CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger will tell us why prices are rising, and if and when we should expect to see them return to normal. Plus, context on some of the jaw-dropping revelations from new books about the Trump presidency. With former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen.

It's all just ahead on FACE THE NATION.

Good morning, and welcome to FACE THE NATION. Many weeks when we put together this broadcast, we're challenged by the number of stories that we want to cover and how best to illuminate them. This is one of those weeks. We're going to try to get to a lot today. Our lead is clear, though, it's a story that has dominated the news for eighteen months now, with a dangerous new twist, causing a surge of the coronavirus here in the U.S. Mark Strassmann reports from Van Horn, Texas.

(Begin VT)

MARK STRASSMANN (CBS News Senior National Correspondent): COVID has boomeranged. The menace, the masking, the fear, all back. And it's largely a self-inflicted wound across our two Americas.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY: This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

MARK STRASSMANN: As of midnight, Los Angeles reimposed its indoor mask mandate. Las Vegas wants safer odds, now recommending masks in casinos and all indoor spaces. For the first time since January, new weekly COVID cases have jumped in all fifty states, fueled by the Delta variant. Nationally, a spike of almost seventy percent. Hospitalizations up roughly thirty-six percent. Deaths, twenty-six percent. But in the same week, nationally new vaccination doses plummeted another thirty-five percent.

Immunologists say these dots are easy to connect. Take Texas, in the bottom twenty states for its vaccination rate. Week to week, new cases here soared more than one hundred percent.

Or consider the sickest COVID patients, the ones in hospitals. Nationwide, ninety-seven percent of them are unvaccinated.

WOMAN: Let's get rid of the vaccine.

MARK STRASSMANN: Especially galling to scientists, the relentless campaign of distrust and disinformation against the vaccines. COVID patients are getting younger, more children in the ICU. Florida's rate of new COVID cases four times the national average. Governor Ron DeSantis encourages vaccinations but hawks merchandise online that's anti-Fauci and anti-masking, messaging that resonates with millions of Americans.

MAN #1: I'm just done. I'm not-- I've-- I'm vaccinated. I don't need to wear a mask.

MARK STRASSMANN: Infections surges in places like Tennessee in the bottom five for vaccinating adults. Eighty percent of children here between twelve and fifteen are also unvaccinated. But the state has stopped all vaccine outreach to adolescents.

MAN #2: We've got to get folks back into their pediatrician, back into their doctor, and really ensure that they have adequate access to vaccinations and adequate education.

(End VT)

JOHN DICKERSON: That's Mark Strassmann in Van Horn, Texas.

We go now to Ken McClure, the mayor of Springfield, Missouri, where cases have skyrocketed, driven by the spread of the Delta variant. Good morning, Mister Mayor.

KEN MCCLURE (Mayor of Springfield): Good morning, thank you for having me.

JOHN DICKERSON: In your community, the two largest hospitals are maxed out. One of them, the-- the CEO of the hospital tweeted that he was pleading with people so that nurses would have to stop zipping body bags. How did it come to this?

KEN MCCLURE: I think there are several reasons. First, Springfield is a hub. We are an attraction for tourism, we are an attraction for transportation, for business, for higher education and certainly health care. So, people come to Springfield to shop, to do business. And so, people will come here. And I think that has greatly increased our exposure, compounded with what has been already indicated on misinformation.

JOHN DICKERSON: What kinds of misinformation are you seeing in your community?

KEN MCCLURE: I think we are seeing a lot spread through social media as people are talking about fears which they have, health-related fears, what it might do to them later on in their lives, what might be contained in the vaccinations. And that information is just incorrect. And I think we as a society and certainly in our community are being hurt by it.

JOHN DICKERSON: There's been a conversation throughout this pandemic about information that comes from the top down and information that comes in the community, which is why we wanted to talk to you. What is the most effective work that's going on there on the ground to address those who are vaccine hesitant?

KEN MCCLURE: We are a community of collaboration. Nothing really of substance gets done in Springfield without a lot of people talking about it. And so, we're focusing on those trusted community leaders, those trusted community institutions. And we know that if it comes from the community and leaders of people trust that helps. The Springfield News-Leader this morning had a great article, focusing on several community leaders who had taken the vaccine, why they were encouraging it. So, we are working with so many entities to try to spread the word. And these are trusted sources. And I think that's a key to what we have to do to overcome this.

JOHN DICKERSON: How about in the churches? The pastors-- there's been-- pastors have been talking about it, haven't they?

KEN MCCLURE: The pastors have been a great help through this. We had established in April a year ago what we call the Have Faith Initiative, which at its peak had eighty to one hundred different churches across denominational lines. We've had several of our largest churches, including the pastors in the last week or ten days, stepping up from the pulpit and urging that their congregations get vaccinated. Churches have been stepping up to host vaccination clinics, and the key is faith leaders are trusted. People respect those who-- with whom they worship, their worship leaders. And so we are relying upon those trusted entities. And it's-- we had just this past week, for example, the latest numbers showing that we had the largest increase in our vaccination rate in several weeks. And so I am optimistic that that message is starting to take-- take hold right now.

JOHN DICKERSON: How about-- there's another somewhat mildly controversial issue about going door to door to get the information to people who may not get this kind of accurate information you were talking about? How-- how has that worked in your community?

KEN MCCLURE: Well, I think the whole discussion and going door to door has been overblown, I will tell you that public health has been using the door to-- going door-to-door philosophy for years. It has been a tried-and-true practice which they use. Our Springfield-Greene County Public Health Department is using it, has been using it for a long time. But the key is that these are trusted community people. We call them community advocates. So, it gets down to the people that community members will trust, the spreading information that is factual and trustworthy.

JOHN DICKERSON: And how has the community in-- in the past, there have been instances where a community faced with a challenge like this unifies. But we've seen so much disunity in America on some of these questions related to the coronavirus. How has the reaction been in this most recent wave, as you've seen the Delta variant come through Springfield?

KEN MCCLURE: The most recent wave, in my opinion, has been very positive because we're talking about community collaboration and that, ultimately, is going to be the key to our success. We know what the solution is. It's vaccination. People need to get it. It's readily available. We have so many sites that can ser-- provide that service. The age groups are now all encompassing down to age twelve. So it gets down to the community leaders, the community institutions that people trust, saying you have to get vaccination. That's the only way that we are going to emerge from this.

JOHN DICKERSON: You mentioned the school. Springfield is the home to the-- to the largest school district in the state as I understand it. Mass mandates have come back for the summer. What do you think about mandatory vaccinations for the fall when they go back to school?

KEN MCCLURE: Well, mandatory vaccinations are going to be a very, very touchy issues, particularly, as you get into publicly funded institutions. Some private institutions are doing that. I know our school district is strongly encouraging that vaccinations occur. They'll be doing that, I think, as students come back in the fall and to urge their parents to do that. But I have every confidence that the Springfield Public School District will take the appropriate steps to make sure students are as safe as can be. I know they want to focus on in-person learning and I believe that they'll be able to do that.

JOHN DICKERSON: A number of other counties in Missouri have low vaccination rates. What would you advise the mayors and leaders in those counties who haven't yet experienced what you're going through? What would your message to them be?

KEN MCCLURE: My message is that the surge is coming. The Delta variant will be there. It's going to spread. It's already spreading throughout Missouri. Take advantage of this time to get your vaccination rates up as high as you can. Use your community collaboration, your trusted sources, make sure that people have good information, solid information, and use that time wisely because it will be too late if you have not established those relationships by the time that it gets there. But the surge will spread. And so, hopefully, people can learn what we've been experiencing here in Springfield.

JOHN DICKERSON: Mayor Ken McClure, we thank you very much for being with us this morning. Good luck in your community. Thanks again.

KEN MCCLURE: Thank you.

JOHN DICKERSON: And we go now to former FDA Commissioner Doctor Scott Gottlieb, who is on the board of Pfizer and joins us from Westport, Connecticut. Good morning, Doctor Gottlieb.

SCOTT GOTTLIEB, M.D. (Former FDA Commisisoner/@ScottGottliebMD): Good morning.

JOHN DICKERSON: So the CDC director said this week that the-- that there is an epidemic of the unvaccinated. What's your reaction to that?

SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Well, look, when you look at the people who have been hospitalized, ninety-seven percent of the hospitalizations are in people who are unvaccinated and most of the deaths that are occurring right now are in people who are unvaccinated. The bottom line is that many people are no longer susceptible to COVID, more than fifty percent, about fifty percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. Probably another third of the American population has been previously infected with this virus. So many people aren't susceptible to the virus. But if twenty-five percent of the population remains susceptible to the virus, in absolute terms, that's still a lot of people. And this virus is so contagious, this variant is so contagious that it's going to infect the majority that most people will either get vaccinated or have been previously infected or they will get this Delta variant. And for most people who get this Delta variant, it's going to be the most serious virus that they get in their lifetime in terms of the risk of putting them in the hospital.

JOHN DICKERSON: We just talked to the mayor there of Springfield, Missouri, who said it was-- sent a message to other communities--it's coming. Do we-- it just reminds me of the original days of this pandemic where the numbers kind of caught up to where reality was. Is-- do we have a handle really on the Delta variant and how it's spreading and how much of it there is in the community.

SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Well, we're seeing a decoupling between cases and hospitalizations and deaths, and I think that's likely to persist, England is seeing that as well, and they're-- they're further ahead in terms of their Delta epidemic than us. And that's because more of the vulnerable population has been vaccinated. I think, at this point, we're probably undercounting how many infections are in the United States right now, because to the extent that a lot of the infections are occurring in younger and healthier people who might be getting mild illness, they're not-- probably not presenting to get tested. And to extent that there are some breakthrough cases either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic cases in those who have been vaccinated, they're not presenting to get tested because, if you've been vaccinated, you don't think that you have the coronavirus, even if you develop a mild illness. And we're not doing a lot of routine screening right now. Unless you work for the New York Yankees you're not getting tested on a regular basis. So, I think that this Delta wave could be far more advanced than what we're detecting right now in our ascertainment. The number of cases we're actually picking up could be lower. At the peak of the epidemic, in the wintertime, we were probably turning over one in three or one in four infections. In the summer wave of last summer, we were probably picking up more like one in ten infections. We might be picking up something on the order of one in ten or one in twenty infections right now because more of those infections are occurring in people who either won't present for testing or they're mild infections and they're self-limiting. So, the people who tend to be getting tested right now are people who are getting very sick or people who are developing tell-tale symptoms of COVID like loss of taste or smell. And that's only about fifteen or twenty percent of people who will become infected.

JOHN DICKERSON: So, if there's low ascertainment, if we don't really know as much that's in the community as is actually there. And you live in a low-vaccinated community that doesn't yet have the headlines about hospitals filling, is that a fair expectation that you're going to start seeing those headlines in some number of days?

SCOTT GOTTLIEB.: It depends on where you live, I think if you live in states like I'm in right now where vaccination rates are very high and there's been a lot of previous spread, there is a wall of immunity. And I think it's going to be a backstop against Delta spread. If you're in parts of the country where vaccination rates are low and there hasn't been a lot of virus spread and that's a lot of parts of the rural south. I think it's much more vulnerable. I think people who live in those communities, especially if you live in communities where the prevalence is already high, I think it's prudent to take precautions if you're a vulnerable individual. And Delta is so contagious that when we talk about masks, I don't think we should just talk about masks. I think we should be talking about high-quality mask. Quality of mask is going to make a difference with a variant that spreads more aggressively like Delta does, where people are more contagious and exude more virus and trying to get in N95 masks into the hands of vulnerable individuals in places where this is really epidemic, I think is going to be important. Even in cases where they're vaccinated, if they want to add another layer of protection, there are a supply of N95 masks right now. There is no shortage. There's plenty of masks available for health care workers. So it could be something that we start talking about getting better quality masks into the hands of people, because I think it's going to be hard to mandate these things right now. But we can certainly provide them so people can use them on a voluntary basis to try to protect themselves.

JOHN DICKERSON: Let me just underscore that briefly, because one of the things we have seen is in people who don't want to get vaccinated, they say, well, I'll wear a mask. But your point is if you're going to wear a mask, any old piece of cloth isn't going to do. You have to have an N95 or something that's truly robust.

SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Right, remember, the original discussion around masks was that if we put masks on everyone, people who are asymptomatic and likely to transmit the infection would be less likely to transmit the infection if they had a cloth mask on or even a procedure mask on. And there is data to suggest that. There's data in flu and there's now data in COVID. But if you want to actually derive protection from the mask, meaning you want to protect yourself from others spreading the virus to you. Quality of mask does matter and a-- and a high-quality N95 mask is going to afford you a much better level of protection, especially if you fit it and wear it properly. So, quality of mask is important. And I think if you're a vulnerable individual who wants to use that mask to protect yourself and not just use that mask to cut down on the risk that you could be a super spreader, you could be spreading the virus to others, then you have to look out for a high-quality mask. They are available. Remember, originally during the epidemic, people were reluctant to recommend masks because there was a shortage for health care workers. There's now plenty of masks. The administration has done a good job getting masks out into the marketplace so you can get them from reputable suppliers like 3M right now.

JOHN DICKERSON: Let me ask you about misinformation. From a medical perspective what are the one or two things that are out there that are the biggest sources of misinformation, in your view?

SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Probably the most pervasive is that somehow the vaccine itself is going to have an impact on fertility. I think that that's discouraging a lot of young women from getting vaccinated. I think quite the opposite is true. What we've seen is COVID infection during pregnancy can be very dangerous. I think every woman who's an expectant mom or a prospective mom should be talking to their doctor about getting vaccinated. The CDC has now started a registry called v-safe. You can go on and look at it right now where they've a one hundred and thirty-three thousand women who've registered for this registry who became pregnant after they got vaccinated-- they got vaccinated, while they were pregnant. And so, they are prospectively collecting data on the safety of the vaccine in pregnancy, and it looks very encouraging. Pfizer, the company I'm on the board of, is also doing a study of the vaccine in pregnancy. So, I think this is the single biggest piece of misinformation out there to discourage use of the vaccine. The other one is that this is somehow a DNA vaccine. It's going to integrate into your genome. That's not the case. This is an mRNA vaccine. And what it really is doing is delivering a genetic sequence of mRNA of the-- of the spike protein. So, basically, the sequence that codes for production of the spike protein, which is a protein on the surface of the virus that we want to develop antibodies against. And when the body sees that mRNA, it does one of two things. Either it destroys it or it translates it into the protein, and then your body develops antibodies against that protein. All vaccines work on the same basic principle and that they're trying to deliver a protein on the surface of the virus, that you're trying to stimulate the immune system to develop antibodies against. In this case, instead of delivering that protein directly what you're delivering is a genetic sequence for that protein.

JOHN DICKERSON: All right. Doctor Scott Gottlieb, thank you so much, as always. See you next week. FACE THE NATION will be back in a minute. Stay with us.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS)

JOHN DICKERSON: Last week the Biden administration outlined several steps aimed at fighting back against both cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns. Chris Krebs is the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and now founding partner of Krebs Stamos Group. And he joins us now in person as a real live human here. Nice to see you, Chris.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS (Partner, Krebs Stamos Group/Former Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency/@C_C_Krebs): Good to be here.

JOHN DICKERSON: Thank you for being here. Let's start with misinformation. The-- the-- the surgeon general put his finger on misinformation in terms of blocking people getting to vaccines. You fought a lot of misinformation with respect to elections. Do you see similarities between those two?

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: Absolutely. And it was a-- it was a remarkable week in terms of pronouncements both from some of the social media platforms, Facebook as well as the administration. What-- what we are seeing here, though, is an ecosystem of information purveyors. Some of this is politically motivated. Some of it is the anti-vax community. Some of it is, you know, profiteering. And I tend to believe that there's a lot of that going on here--

JOHN DICKERSON: Profiteering, people selling quack cures.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: Yeah. And-- and there was a-- there was a Washington Post piece the other day about the FTC, a former FTC commissioner, Terrell McSweeny, that asked the FTC to investigate some of this, some of the profiteering off of the pandemic. And I think that is an incredibly important development in how we're going to move beyond not just the pandemic-related disinformation, but also some of the election-related disinformation.

JOHN DICKERSON: And is this different? Is there any foreign meddling in this kind of disinformation? We know about people passing, you know, neighbors who are passing information that isn't square, but is-- are there any foreign entities involved?

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: I think yes, there are. And there tends to be a set of actors. There's state actors, intelligence agents-- agencies. Again, the profiteers, you have conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers. You have political activists as well. In what happens, whether it's elections, whether it's COVID, whether it's technology issues, you tend to have an overlap of these different actors. And when you talk about foreign actors and Russian disinformation specialists, in particular, they-- they don't actually have to do a whole lot because we've done so much here domestically to ourselves. But they get the seeds of division that they then amplify, they drive more activity. And, ultimately, what they're looking to do is undermine our confidence in United States of America, ourselves.

JOHN DICKERSON: We're all ready to fight and they just drop in. I think that creates a new round of fighting. Let me ask you about Facebook. They responded to the administration and said eighty-five percent of our users are interested in vaccines, basically, saying the administration is wrong. But the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which the administration pointed to, said that there were basically about twelve Facebook accounts that are spreading this disinformation. Help us think through what the right way to think about this is.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: Unfortunately, both can be true at the same time. So, yes, Facebook and other social media platforms can provide helpful information on the facts behind the vaccine. And the same thing happened in the elections last year. They had a banner and a trust page. But, at the-- but at the same time, there are those that can use those platforms for their own benefits to continue to push disinformation. Now, what has happened over the last several months is that some of those that the-- the Dirty Dozen or whatever they're calling it, some of those have been de-platformed. But the problem is particularly for vaccine disinformation, it is metastasized and it is now, you mentioned it earlier about the top down and the bottom up, the grassroots piece. It is now so pervasive that it exists just naturally within the ecosystem on Facebook and elsewhere. And that's where we need the platform to be more transparent in how their algorithms work, how engagement works, so that outside security experts and researchers can dig in and hold them accountable, that us as consumers of these platforms can hold them accountable and demand better.

JOHN DICKERSON: So we have about fifteen seconds left? Do you mean the structure of-- of Facebook is-- is raising up just regular people who are spreading information?

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: Unfortunately, fear sells and those clicks drive more engagement.

JOHN DICKERSON: All right. Chris, stay right there. Chris, we'll be right back. We need to take a short break, but stay with us.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS)

JOHN DICKERSON: If you're not able to watch the full FACE THE NATION, you can set your DVR or we're available on demand. Plus, you can watch us through our CBS or Paramount+ app.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS)

JOHN DICKERSON: We'll be right back with a lot more FACE THE NATION, continuing our conversation with Chris Krebs. Stay with us.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS)

JOHN DICKERSON: Welcome back to FACE THE NATION, more with former head of the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency, Chris Krebs.

Chris, REvil, this is the Russian-based operation that was responsible for the Colonial Pipeline. What happened to them?

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: It's not clear. There are three possibilities. One is that-- that the President meeting with Putin had an effect and the law enforcement or intelligence services in Russia told him to knock it off. That's certainly an option. The second is that some sort of U.S. or allied operation put enough kind of sand in their gears where they decided to pack it up. The third is the theory that Dmitri Alperovitch, formerly of CrowdStrike, now of Silverado Policy Accelerator, is-- has advanced that it's hot in Moscow right now. And these guys just made a lot of money. So maybe they're hanging it up for a couple of months going down to the Black Sea. You know they just picked up some territory there in east-- eastern Ukraine. So maybe hanging out down there.

JOHN DICKERSON: So on the first two theories, the first would be that the Russians are basically proving Biden's case, which is you have control over these people and you can make them stop, which would have implications, wouldn't it, for the-- for the just the general, because the Russians are involved in a lot of bad activities.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: Absolutely. And, you know, that would tell them-- tell me that they as you said, they have some authority and some ability to compel action. But that doesn't mean that these folks are just going to go away. They can go to other safe havens. Belarus could be an option where they just move up, pack up operations, and go elsewhere that-- that may provide them a little bit more of a, you know, a comforting environment.

JOHN DICKERSON: Now, let's imagine they go for whichever of the three reasons it is, how easily can they be replaced by an equally creative, malevolent force?

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: I would-- what I would expect to see this team, the REvil team who was previously known as GandCrab, I would expect that they would come back and rebrand in the fall probably some new name, some rebrand, and that gives them the advantage of staying off the radar of law enforcement. And if the administration starts sanctioning some of these ransomware crews, which they've done in the past, that, you know, by changing names, it-- it-- it makes law enforcement in the Treasury Department play catch up.

JOHN DICKERSON: Speaking of playing catch up, so there is now somebody in your old jobs.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: Yes.

JOHN DICKERSON: The administration has a lot of players on the field. Give me your assessment of the Biden administration's cybersecurity team, and I'll throw in there something Garrett Graff in Wired wrote about, which is maybe they got so many people on the field, it's going to be hard for everybody to stay coordinated.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: So they-- they have an impressive team. And really-- so, Jen Easterly just came in, was confirmed earlier this week. They also have Chris Inglis, who's the new first national cyber director. You have Anne Neuberger in the White House. You have Rob Joyce at the National Security Agency. It's a-- it's a-- it's almost an embarrassment of riches from a capability perspective and kind of going from the last administration, which was, you know, a much smaller set of cyber experts. There's going to be some adjustments. But CISA, my old agency, now Jen Easterly's agency, is the front door for private sector engagement with the U.S. government. And I really look forward to her in that team continuing to move the ball forward on improving cyber defenses here domestically.

JOHN DICKERSON: All right. Chris Krebs, we're out of time. We're probably going to be talking to you a lot more about this issue. So we really appreciate it.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS: Thanks, John.

JOHN DICKERSON: Thank you.

And we turn now to the state of the economy and the recent uptick in consumer prices. CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger joins us from Long Island. Good morning, Jill.

JILL SCHLESINGER (CBS News Business Analyst/@jillonmoney): Good morning.

JOHN DICKERSON: So prices are up five percent, it's the biggest rise in thirteen years since August of 2008. What's going on?

JILL SCHLESINGER: Well, there's a lot of different forces. And I just want to point out that a lot of this has to do with the fact that a year ago when we have these price increases, we look back a year, that's when the economy was still mostly shut down. So the effect of looking one year ago is that it seems like this gigantic, big jump in prices. But we also have the confluence of good-old Econ 101: supply and demand. So, obviously, we've been shut down mostly for sixteen months, red-hot consumer demand. There is more than two trillion dollars of excess savings that we have burning a hole in our pockets, and we're spending it big time. And then on the supply side, we've had a lot of bottlenecks in supply in certain areas, and that has really cut off a lot of supply. So you put it altogether, and, as you said, a big price increase even when we take out volatile food and energy, we have the biggest price-- price increases in thirty years.

JOHN DICKERSON: So help us understand what is the result of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and this strange coming out of that with an economy, what's going up-- what-- what's increasing and what portion of what's increasing do you think is a result of, say, those bottlenecks you talked about which have to do with the pandemic, and-- and what portion of what's increasing is likely to maybe stay higher as the economy recovers?

JILL SCHLESINGER: Well, I think it's important to note that economists are battling this very question right now. And we don't know the answer. Here's what we do know, the things that went down the most in price during the pandemic are seeing huge increases. So everything in leisure and hospitality has gone sky-high. You know go look for a hotel right now, go try to fly, it's tough. Okay. But then what other areas, as we talk about those supply chains, semiconductor chips are really in need right now. And those are needed in cars because new car production stalled in the beginning of the pandemic, very few suppliers thought that there's going to be this huge demand for cars. Well, no new cars, let me go to the used car market. Wait a second. There are used cars that are up forty percent in price from before the pandemic. This is a huge number. Those kinds of bottlenecks will not continue. But I think the area that economists are most worried about is everything else. And that means that we've got to watch wages, we've got to watch food prices. Clothing and apparel was up very big. And it is unclear to anyone at this moment in time how much of that will stick and for how long.

JOHN DICKERSON: Jill, what about-- I mean, wages are a part of this as well. We hear about labor shortages, and-- and you see companies in the fast-food industry adding more not only to the paycheck, but also benefits. How much are wages a part of this picture, and what do you think the durability of that is? Will that change? Or will they go back down again?

JILL SCHLESINGER: I think this is a really interesting question because for so many years it really felt like employers had the upper hand. And through the pandemic, because there was a lot of ability for people to stay home, we wanted them to stay home, people were really happy to collect the money and be safe, and that was smart. Now we have smaller companies, specifically, complaining they cannot find labor. Now a company like McDonald's or a Starbucks or an Amazon, they can pay up. They've made gobs of money throughout the pandemic. No problem. I think the concern is around some of the smaller employers. The mom-and-pop stores, they are saying we can't find people, we can't afford to pay these wages to compete with the big guys, and we're getting squeezed out. Now if you're a worker, you're feeling pretty good. But remember one thing, we have to really look at these prices because if prices are up by five percent and you only have a three-percent increase, you're losing. In fact, the Labor Department said that if you look at the average wages right now, from a year ago, and you account for inflation, we actually are making 1.7 percent less than we did a year ago. And that's not a great condition for workers.

JOHN DICKERSON: With thirty seconds left, Jill, we can't talk about inflation without talking about the Federal Reserve. What's your sense of what the Federal Reserve will do in response to these signals of inflation?

JILL SCHLESINGER: Well, remember, the Fed has basically two jobs: they want to foster enough economic growth to get people in the labor force; and they want to keep an eye on prices. For ten years prior to the pandemic, they were worried that prices were not rising enough. Now they've got to focus on inflation. The Fed chair, Jerome Powell, has said that the Fed is willing to let inflation run hotter for a little bit longer to get the millions of people who are not yet back in the labor force back in. So I think that we are going to see higher prices at least for another six months. Next year, that's another question. John.

Originally posted here:
Full transcript of "Face the Nation" on July 18, 2021 - CBS News

A majority of American fourth- and eighth-graders cant read or do math at grade level, according to the Education Department. And that assessment is from 2019, before the learning losses from pandemic school closures.

Whenever someone asks me about critical race theory, that statistic comes to mind. Whats the priority, teaching math and reading, or turning elementary schools into social-justice boot camps?

Given that black and Hispanic students are more likely to be lagging academically, its a question that anyone professing to care deeply about social inequality might consider. Learning gaps manifest themselves in all kinds of ways later in life, from unemployment rates and income levels to the likelihood of teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and involvement with the criminal-justice system. Our jails and prisons already have too many woke illiterates.

Wealthier parents will make sure their kids receive a decent education, even if it means using private schools or hiring tutors. But the majority of children are relegated to the traditional public-school system, where progressives now want to prioritize the teaching of critical race theory. In addition to being a horrible idea, the timing couldnt be worse. As the country rapidly diversifiesfor more than a decade, U.S. population growth has been driven primarily by Asians and Hispanicsliberals want to teach children to obsess over racial and ethnic differences. What could go wrong?

Recently, the nations two largest teachers unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, announced that they had jumped on the bandwagon. At its annual meeting earlier this month, the NEA adopted a proposal stating that it is reasonable and appropriate for curriculum to be informed by academic frameworks for understanding and interpreting the impact of the past on current society, including critical race theory. More, the organization pledged to fight back against anti-CRT rhetoric and issue a study that critiques empire, white supremacy, anti-Blackness, anti-Indigeneity, racism, patriarchy, cisheteropatriarchy, capitalism, ableism, anthropocentrism, and other forms of power and oppression at the intersections of our society. There was no proposal vowing to improve math and reading test scores, alas.

See the rest here:
Critical Race Theory Is a Hustle - The Wall Street Journal

Ananya Pandey, Chunky Panday and Bhavana Pandey attended a prayer meet for his mother, Snehlata Panday, on Tuesday. Snehlata died on Saturday.

Chunky Panday was seen in a white shirt and jeans while Ananya Panday was dressed in a white kurta for the meet. Bhavana Pandey wore a light-coloured kurta-pyjama set.

A day after Snehlata's death, Neelam Kothari, Samir Soni, politicians Bhai Jagtap and Baba Siddiqui paid their respects to her. Nirvan Khan, the son of Sohail and Seema Khan, was also seen at Chunky Panday's house.

Upon the death of her grandmother, Ananya Panday posted childhood pictures with her and wrote in a long note, "Rest in power, my angel when she was born the doctors said she wouldnt live beyond a few years because of a defected heart valve, but my Dadi lived and how. She worked every day up until the age of 85, going to work at 7 am in her block heels and red streaked hair. She inspired me every single day to do what I love and Im so grateful to have grown up basking in her energy and light. She had the softest hands to hold, gave the best leg massages, she was a self proclaimed (and very politically incorrect) palm reader and never ever failed to make me laugh. The life of our family. Youre too loved to ever be forgotten Dadi - I love you so much."

Bhavana had also posted pictures with her late mother-in-law and wrote, "The Best !!!! Mom, Mom in Law , Grandmother to my kids , Inspiration in every possible way !!!!! Love you ! Miss you ! Rest in Peace #blessedwiththebest #thefunnestpersonever."

Also read: EXCLUSIVE: Has KL Rahul finally made it official with Athiya Shetty?

Earlier this year, Ananya had posted a picture with her grandmother on Women's Day. She also wrote about her influence on her life. "The epitome of grace, beauty, perseverance, humour, badass energy and boss woman vibes. my Dadi and Nani - happy Womens day to my best. and happy Womens day to all the lovely ladies out there - you are so very special and everything you need is right inside of you I love you guys u rock," she wrote.

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Ananya Panday, Chunky Panday, Bhavana pay their last respects at prayer meet for his mother. See pics - Hindustan Times

Ron Johnson| Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Editor's note: USA TODAY NETWORK Wisconsin is publishing Sen. Ron Johnsons op-ed in the interestof promoting a healthy dialogue and providing a forum for readers representing a range of perspectives.Our network of 11 newspapers across Wisconsin has a long history of independence, holding politicians of all political parties accountable to the citizens, whose views cover all points in the political spectrum. This includesDemocratic political appointees running theMilwaukee Fire and Police Commission,sexual harassment allegationsagainst a former Democratic Assembly member from Green Bay and Johnsons continued public criticism of certified election results, of the advice of medical doctors and public health experts, and of other evidence that runs counter to his goals or those ofhis backers. We stand by the accuracy, fairness and integrity of our reporting.To date, Johnson has not asked for any corrections of fact in any of the news stories or the editorial he cites in his commentary.

It is sad, and a troubling reflection on the current state of mainstream media, that I find myself having to respond to yet another unwarranted hit piece by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and its Wisconsin affiliates. I write this response with no guarantee they will run it but with full assurance that, if they do, they will publish an accompanying smear in response.

The measure of their misrepresentations and distortions is so extensive that it is impossible to adequately respond in the space they allowed me in the last go-round.So I will make general observations here and present more complete rebuttals on my website.

Freedom of speech and a free press are indispensable to liberty and a vibrant democracy.Both are currently imperiled.Freedom of speech is under assault by the growing power, bias, and censorship of social media oligarchies.A free press is threatened by its self-inflicted bias and groupthink, and by its alliance with, and promotion of, one political party over the other.

RELATED: 'Fundamentally dangerous': Ron Johnson has long history of promoting views at odds with scientific research

EDITORIAL: Ron Johnson's anti-science crusade sets back the drive to vaccinate more people in Wisconsin

Mainstream media have abused the trust vested in them by the public.This breach of trust has exacerbated the political divide.Those on the liberal end of the political spectrum can be confident that media will reinforce and promote their beliefs while denigrating and working to marginalize the viewpoint of conservatives.Knowing their views will not be presented fairly, conservatives become increasingly frustrated and support candidates who fight back.

Instead of using their enormous power in a fair and balanced fashion to allow the public to draw its own conclusions, media advocates and indoctrinates. They may be oblivious to how they are violating the basic tenets of journalism (although I doubt it), but I can assure you, conservatives are fully aware. The result of modern yellow journalism is that it exacerbates our national divide.It is far more likely to incite than to heal.

It amazes me that the liberal mainstream media have declared me a polarizing figure.I certainly was never polarizing when I volunteered my time and efforts to community organizations in Oshkosh prior to entering the political realm.I dont see how anyone could look at what weve accomplished with the Joseph Project and then label me a racist and say Im polarizing.

Im not bombastic, and I dont engage in personal political attacks.Instead, I tell the truth.Often times, it is truth the liberal mainstream media do not want to hear.It counters their narrative, and they dont want to allow it.Because they are allies of the Democratic Party, they are also on board with the Democrats goal of controlling both of Wisconsins U.S. Senate seats.So they seize any opportunity where they believe they can damage me politically.

RELATED:Senator Ron Johnson calls editorial about him 'unhinged and uninformed.' The Editorial Board responds.

EDITORIAL:Ron Johnson, Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Tiffany should resign or be expelled for siding with Trump against our republic

EDITORIAL:Ron Johnson's dangerous shilling for Donald Trump makes him unfit to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate

The yellow journalism hit pieces following the June 28 press event, where I simply allowed five women and a 13-year-old child to tell their stories about possible vaccine injury, is a prime example. Instead of genuinely listening and showing even an ounce of human sympathy for their tragic stories, most of the media used the occasion to attack me.

One of the women, Bree, and the 13-year-old child, Maddie, are national heroes who assumed the risk of participating in COVID vaccine trials to benefit us all.They have suffered grievous injury as a result, and all they were asking was to be seen, heard and believed so they can find effective treatments.The mainstream media would not allow it.

RELATED: Facing backlash, Ron Johnson defends news conference with five people who said they got side effects from COVID-19 vaccine

Instead, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel used the occasion to publish a defamatory hit piece they had been working on for months.I encourage readers to go to my webpage and read the written questions John Fauber submitted to me and my written responses.Then compare those questions and answers to his June 29 hit piece.You will get a good sense with how insidious the process of yellow journalism is.

Media outlets feed off each other.One piece of yellow journalism is used to create another. Before you know it, media have redefined perfectly reasonable and true statements as politically incorrect taboo. And, of course, anyone who has uttered such a newly declared politically incorrect taboo is labeled the new Joe McCarthy.

I truly havent decided whether to run for re-election.Campaigns are too long and expensive.Delaying its start is probably a good thing.Too bad the media doesnt agree: They cant wait to stir up more division.The viciousness of todays politics is not only depressing, its exhausting for all of us. It deters many good people from seeking public office.

But the good people who do run decide that this marvel we call America is something rare and precious and must be preserved.They ignore the vitriol and they steel themselves against the lies and distortions.They hope that truth can and will prevail.

Ron Johnson, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Wisconsin. To contact Senator Johnson, go to:www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/contact

Read the original post:
Opinion: Sen. Ron Johnson says 'Mainstream media have abused the trust vested in them by the public' - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The national flags of China and the United States [Photo/Xinhua]

To debunk some US politicians' preference to blame China for miscellaneous problems in the United States, a senior Chinese diplomat has said that "to destabilize China is by no means a solution to the US' problems".

"For a superpower like the US, the biggest challenge is always itself," Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Yucheng said in an interview with Chinese news portal guancha.com published on Saturday, covering a wide range of topics related to the world's two largest economies.

"We have no strategy for seeking hegemony but for our own development, and our goal is to realize the people's aspiration for a better life," Le said.

The interview came at a time when the bilateral ties have seen no major signs of relief from strains in recent months, as Washington has continued to publicly discredit or denounce China on issues ranging from cutting-edge technology and infrastructure to the COVID-19 pandemic and human rights.

Le said Beijing hopes that Washington can return to reason and the track of dialogue and cooperation, and the US should neither take confrontation against China as its policy nor consider suppression of China to be "politically correct".

"To mess up China-US relations and bring the two major powers of the world into confrontation and conflict is most politically incorrect," Le said.

Friday marked the 50th anniversary of former US national security adviser Henry Kissinger's icebreaking secret trip to China in 1971 in the lead-up to the two countries' establishment of diplomatic ties.

In the past 50 years, China-US engagement and cooperation accomplished many major things for the world, solved many difficult problems, and addressed major global challenges such as terrorism and the international financial crisis, Le noted.

The benefits that people and enterprises in the US obtained from China "were unimaginable 50 years ago. How can they say the US engagement with China has failed and is outdated?" Le said.

On the human rights issues, Le said some Western countries led by the US "are not in a position to talk about democracy and human rights with China because of their own deplorable human rights record", as they have committed genocide against the aboriginal people and discriminated against and persecuted minority groups.

The diplomat used the sarcastic Chinese proverb "a weasel pays a Lunar New Year courtesy visit to a chicken" regarding such countries' attacks and "concerns" about human rights in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"Most US bombs have fallen on the land of Muslim countries in the past years. The US is the first in the world to release the anti-Muslim ban. Strangely, it cares about 'human rights' of Chinese Muslims who lead a happy life in Xinjiang. Isn't it groundless and absurd?" Le said.

As the Communist Party of China has led 1.4 billion Chinese people to eliminate extreme poverty and live a happier life, it can be said that the Party is blameless on human rights issues, and it deserves a medal, he added.

Earlier this year, Washington proposed the Build Back Better World, or B3W, infrastructure plan, in a bid to counter the China-led Belt and Road Initiative.

Le said the B3W plan cannot compete with the BRI, but further proves the BRI is "right and promising".

The success of the BRI lies in translating it into reality with down-to-earth efforts, such as building roads, bridges and tunnels, and the BRI is open and inclusive, Le said.

"We hope that Western countries led by the US can earnestly carry out infrastructure plans, build more roads and bridges for developing countries, and bring them more jobs and benefits instead of eagerly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and arbitrarily exporting Western values," Le said.

When asked about origin tracing of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Le said the US should not "hold a flashlight to check out on others but not on itself".

"If the US does care about the truth and transparency, it should accept international investigation, and make clear the source of the pandemic in the US, the causes of the US failure to fight the pandemic and the problems existing in the US bio-labs," he said.

Read the original:
US urged to get back on right track in dialogue - Chinadaily USA

Ananya Panday paid tribute to her grandmother, Chunky Panday's mother Snehlata Panday, on Sunday. Ananya took to Instagram and shared numerous photos of her late grandmother, including a few from the actor's childhood, along with a note to her 'angel'.

Ananya Panday wrote, "rest in power, my angel (heart emoji) when she was born the doctors said she wouldnt live beyond a few years because of a defected heart valve, but my Dadi lived and how. She worked every day up until the age of 85, going to work at 7 am in her block heels and red streaked hair."

"She inspired me every single day to do what I love and Im so grateful to have grown up basking in her energy and light. She had the softest hands to hold, gave the best leg massages, she was a self proclaimed (and very politically incorrect) palm reader and never ever failed to make me laugh. The life of our family. Youre too loved to ever be forgotten Dadi - I love you so much," Ananya added.

The post received love from Ananya's friends and colleagues in the industry. Shanaya Kapoor, Ananya's best friend, commented, "(Heart emoji) Love you (heart emoji)." Shanaya's mother Maheep Kapoor, Ananya's mother Bhavana Pandey, Neelam Kothari Soni, Navya Naveli Nanda, Karisma Kapoor and Siddhant Chaturvedi were among those who dropped heart emojis in the comments section. Ananya's rumoured boyfriend Ishaan Khatter, too, commented with a heart emoji.

Snehlata died on Saturday. Numerous stars, including Bhavana and Chunky's friends, Seema Khan, Neelam and her husband Samir Soni attended the funeral and consoled the family members. Shabina Khan and politician Bhai Jagtap, Baba Siddique and others were also seen arriving for the last rites.

Also read: Anupam Kher recalls meeting Dilip Kumar at a party he gatecrashed, walking behind him like a clown

Earlier this year, Ananya had shared a picture with her grandmother and spoke about her influence on her life on the occasion of Women's Day. "The epitome of grace, beauty, perseverance, humour, badass energy and boss woman vibes. my Dadi and Nani - happy Womens day to my best. and happy Womens day to all the lovely ladies out there - you are so very special and everything you need is right inside of you I love you guys u rock," she wrote.

Read the original:
Ananya Panday remembers her late grandmother with childhood pics: 'Youre too loved to ever be forgotten' - Hindustan Times

Just before Samuel Luiz was brutally beaten to death on July 3, he and his friend Lina made a video call to Vanessa Gonzlez. The time was 2.45am and they were on the seaside promenade of A Corua, a city in Spains northwestern region of Galicia. The friends told Gonzlez that they were having a good time and that she had to join them the next time they went out. She was still on the line when Luiz was attacked, and listened as Lina described in disjointed snatches what was happening from the first punch to when he was brutally kicked to death by up to seven people.

I cant explain it, no one can explain it, Gonzlez told EL PAS on Thursday, the day after giving her statement to police. He was very thin, he didnt trouble anyone. He had never been assaulted by anyone. I only heard [him saying] please, please, but they kept going and going and going.

Police are still investigating the killing of the 24-year-old nurse three people have so far been sent to prison and another two are in a juvenile center. Officers believe the attack was triggered by a misunderstanding: one of Luizs assailants believed that he was recording him when he was on the video call. Gonzlez, however, is convinced that the murder was motivated by homophobia given Luiz was gay and LGBTQ+ groups across Spain agree.

Indeed, Luiz has become a symbol of the LGBTQ+ movements fight for basic rights such as the right to walk home safely without being assaulted, harassed or insulted. According to several leaders of these associations, his murder marks a before and after moment for the LGBTQ+ movement. It is a trigger in the same way the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in the United States sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, or the murder of Ana Orantes who was burned alive by her ex-husband just days after denouncing his abuse on a television program provoked a national reckoning about gender violence in Spain.

This has shaken something up, it has been a kind of collective wakeup call in which very young people are saying that they are not going to accept any more, that they are not going to tolerate another assault, says Jos Mara Nez, the president of the NGO Tringulo Foundation, which defends the rights of LGBTQ+ people. It has been a kind of catharsis for our world. There is no going back. This, as I see it, is the straw that broke the camels back.

Eugeni Rodrguez, the president of the Observatory against Homophobia in Catalonia, agrees: There are youngsters who go out in packs like in the case of Samuel. Thats why the case of this boy has meant a change in paradigm, a before and after.

LGBTQ+ groups in Galicia have been the first to feel the effect of this shockwave. Xandre Garrido, 29, the coordinator of AVANTE LGBTI+ in Galicia, says he knew at once that the brutal killing had changed something. Suddenly his Twitter feed was filled with messages from LGBTQ+ people denouncing the violence they had experienced.

One tweet read: I want to say sorry for not raising my voice at the time. I was a coward and I stayed quiet out of fear. Unfortunately, I was a victim of a homophobic assault. I was surrounded by five people, three guys and two girls. They came up behind me, they pushed me, surrounded me and the guys were encouraged by the girls to punch me twice in the face. They said: Mess up the face of that fag.

Another victim shared: When I was beaten up for holding the hand of my ex, the police told me that holding hands was being provocative. And in the ambulance (I was in shock, I couldnt even speak with my face covered in blood), the man told me that I should sign up for a personal-defense course because it was my fault.

Some of the messages were about assaults that happened in the past, others about more recent cases. But what is significant according to Garrido is that so many people have gone public. The murder of Samuel has been very traumatic for the whole collective. It has broken our sense of security. It doesnt necessarily mean a step backwards, but it could be. That depends on us, and when I say us, I mean all of society, he says.

The latest statistics from the Interior Ministry show that hate crimes and incidents recorded by the police and the Civil Guard increased 6.8% in 2019, with respect to the year before. A total of 1,707 cases were reported, and of these, 596 were for ideological reasons, 515 for xenophobia and 278 for homophobia, which was a similar percentage to that of 2018.

Tringulo Foundation has more recent data but it is no less clear. In 2018, 15 cases of homophobic assaults were processed. This number rose to 22 in 2019, 29 in 2020 and as of June 30 of this year, there have been 28. The problem is not only that assaults are rising, says Ral Gonzlez, the vice president of the association. Its that they are more serious. This minority sector which is against us, around 5% to 10% of society, has been emboldened by [far-right political group] Vox.

He explains: Before it was politically incorrect to insult us. It was embarrassing for them. Not any more. You are debating something, the problem in Catalonia [where an independence movement has deeply divided the region] for instance, on social media, and suddenly someone says shut up fag.

Silvia Tostada, 39, the president of the Tringulo Foundation in Extremadura, agrees that Vox is fueling homophobia in the country. Thanks to this far-right party, in every primary school, in every high school there is always a guy or a girl who has the Spanish flag on a bracelet, a certain attitude and who always questions you with a repeated discourse, learned from memory. That didnt happen before, she says.

Vox, for example, has sought to make it more difficult for students to receive extracurricular courses aimed at fighting discrimination against LGBTQ+ people education that activists say is key.

Its vital that education on diversity be part of the program of core subjects, and not at the discretion of teachers will, says Carmen Adn, a professor of philosophy in Vigo. It is very important that students become skilled in mathematics and languages. But it is more important that they acquire moral skills.

The Spanish Cabinet approved on June 29 a bill that seeks to extend and cement the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The bill would make it mandatory to discuss sexual diversity in class and fine people up to 2,000 for making homophobic insults. This would increase to 10,000 for insults that are not withdrawn from social media, Pilar lvarez reports. But there is still a long way to go before it becomes a law.

Arantxa Miranda is a municipal police officer in Madrid and a member of a unit specialized in tackling homophobic and racist attacks. She explains that while hate is considered an aggravating factor and can lead to longer prison sentences in the case of murder, when it comes to less-serious incidents, such as verbal harassment, the punishment varies from region to region. While in Madrid and Catalonia, culprits are fined, this is not the case in Galicia. It is important for these infractions to carry fines to eradicate the problem from the state, so that nothing is tolerated, says Miranda, who is also a spokesperson for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Federation (FELGBTB). The bill, if approved, would introduce a uniform system of fines for all of Spain.

With respect to Luizs killing, Miranda has no doubt that it was a hate crime. It is an evident case, she says. The cruelty shown to the victim is symptomatic of this criminal point of view. The argument is set off by something minor, a video recording, something that should not have gone any further. But Samuels killers, in my opinion, dont see Samuel as a person. They see someone gay. They objectify him and thats why they attack him.

In the meantime, Tringulo Foundation has been inundated with messages from people wanting to get involved with the fight to defend LGBTQ+ rights. One reads: Hello, after what happened to Samuel I want to do something to help the association. Another: I am moving to Salamanca and want to be an activist. Now more than ever. What can I do?

English version by Melissa Kitson.

Original post:
Murder of Samuel Luiz galvanizes Spains LGBTQ+ community: There is no going back - EL PAS in English

AP - Oregon-Northwest

BOISE, Idaho (AP) Republican state senators plan to meet this week to discuss the possibility of a special session after three large health care providers announced policies requiring employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations. Senate Pro Tempore Chuck Winder said Monday that Republican senators will meet online Friday amid growing calls for a special session. Also on Monday, six lawmakers in southwestern Idaho where the health care organizations have facilities announced theyd support legislation opposing employer-required COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Primary Health Group, Saint Alphonsus Health System and St. Lukes Health System last week announced the vaccine requirement ahead of the busy cold and flu season and as coronavirus variants spread in parts of the U.S.

BUHL, Idaho (AP) A far-right extremist group whose members took part in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol participated with a float in a July 3 parade in the south-central Idaho town of Buhl. The Times-News reports that Proud Boys members were among about 100 floats in the Sagebrush Days parade that went through the center of town. The Buhl Chamber of Commerce runs the parade but wouldnt comment specifically about the Proud Boys taking part. The chamber said it will not feed into any negative propaganda. Proud Boys members describe themselves as a politically incorrect mens club for Western chauvinists.

LOS ANGELES (AP) Dozens of wildfires are burning across the torrid U.S. West, but fire agencies report progress Monday in corralling the flames and forecasters predict a gradual decrease in extreme temperatures. The fires have forced evacuations in numerous areas. Some homes have burned, but total losses are still being tallied. The fires erupted amid a second bout of dangerously high temperatures in just a few weeks. And scientists say a climate change-fueled megadrought is making conditions that lead to fire even more dangerous. Forecasters say the heat wave appears to have peaked in many areas, and excessive-heat warnings are largely expected to expire Monday night or Tuesday.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) A wildfire near the resort town of Sisters, Oregon, doubled in size to 6.2 square miles (16 square kilometers) Monday, forcing evacuations in the area, while the states biggest fire continued to burn out of control, with containment not expected until November. That wildfire, dubbed the Bootleg Fire, has scorched over 240 square miles (622 square kilometers) in southern Oregon. Fire managers estimated the fire wont be contained until around Nov. 30. It started on July 6 from unknown causes.

More here:
Here is the latest Idaho news from The Associated Press at 9:40 pm MDT - KTVZ

One way to regain physical fitness lost due to the pandemic is with an immediate visit to the hottest new comedy club on Alameda Island. OK, so the new core-strengthening Alameda Comedy Club, founded and operated by owners Patrick Ford and Lori Theis, is honestly the islands only comedy club, but a seat at a table and permission to laugh courtesy of the lineups sizzling local and national headliner talent is still red hot. And lets get real; the 15-month lockdown caused, for many of us, a serious lack of deep belly laughter and an overabundance of fast-food mealsdeliveredthat didnt even require hunter-gatherer energy expenditure. Positive mindsets and transversus abdominis are therefore mushy, possibly even shadow-casting or ominously mountainous.

Ford and Theis bring multi-cylindered expertise to the venue, that after extensive renovations offers roughly 150 seats, quality sound delivered by four 1,000-watt speakers spaced around the middle-of-the-room stage and acoustics finessed with a 16-channel mixer from a newly added control room. The low-ceilinged, intimate space follows traditional, red-black color themes. Ford in an interview says, Just Google comedy club images and youll see a sea of red stages; its an energetic color. An outdoor patio easily holds 40 and, with limited food service and portable heating and lights, the patio kept the joint open and limping along during Covid. Ford says the club came close to not existing at all when he and Theis, after investing $200,000 in renovations and with more renovations to complete, considered not just hitting pause, but punching full-stop. In the end, they forged ahead, transforming the former sports bar into their long-imagined club.

On the tablesspaced six-feet apart when the indoor guidelines began to ease in mid-June and now slightly closer togetherthe usual mouth-waste comedy club farebad, generic beer and pizza/burgers not worthy of ingesting, according to Fordis replaced with dishes demonstrating the culinary keen-ness of Club Manager and Booker Theis. Well-known in the food industry, her resum includes managing top restaurants such as Boulevard and Farallon, among others. The menu developed by Theis, in collaboration with chef Arran Burns, offers shareable plates: charcuterie and cheese boards; Loaded Sweet Tots gastrique; Mac n Cheese Balls with truffle oil; Garlic Shrimp; Roasted Brisket Sliders; Hobbs Pepperoni Flatbread and more. Desserts include Banana Foster Fritters and fresh-baked cookies. Craft cocktails, sippable spirits, Bay Area beers, California wines and non-alcoholic options provide a well-rounded beverage list.

Ford is a software executive, and has performed on L.A. comedy club stages and produced stand-up comedy shows for approximately 14 years. Long a comedy aficionado, in the 1980s he lived within blocks of the original Cobbs Comedy Club on Chestnut Street. He recalls seeing Ellen DeGeneres, Bobcat Goldthwait, Paula Poundstone and others. But the pinnacle moment during his lifetime love affair with the art form happened during a rehearsal, not a performance. In 2008 I got to watch George Carlin rehearse for his final HBO show, he says. He did his memorized stuff, then went through rough, raw stuff written on paper. He said he was trying to get it down to 90 minutes. I realized he was doing what I had just done the day before. You know, the job of every comedian is the same, first day to last. Its one voice in front of one mic. It was great to see him onstage, getting the sausage made. You watch him and think it was all freeform, but it wasnt. He worked and worked and worked on the material.

Other top-name comedians he admires include Dave Chappelle and Sarah Silverman. Ford says they disprove the idea that some jokes are off limits due to being politically incorrect. I wouldnt recommend a beginner go into jokes about race or rape or violence against vulnerable people or other things that are a delicate dance, Ford says. But theres almost no limit to what you can say if its funny and you do it extremely well. Hes quick to add that any stand-up comedians without the chops who are currently being called out for punching down should be confronted, because if the only thing youre doing is being offensive, youre not being funny.

People trying to be funny on Zoomeven the best comics, he saysjust wasnt a happening thing for him during the pandemic. Zoom comedy shows just suck; theres no interaction with the audience. I made donations and supported my friends, but I dont think I laughed once. You need the interaction with the crowd, the immediate feedback. Bouncing raw material off a live audience, a comic finds subtleties of timing, reads facial reactions, identifies how changing even a single word or adding a microsecond pause can flip a joke from flat to fulsome.

While exercising comedy muscles, Ford remembers the punchline of a joke he wrote about a person suffering depression placing an order at a coffee shop. Testing it out, the joke originally fell flat when he ended it with, Ill have the prozak frappuccino and lorazepam scone. He realized audiences got stuck on lorazepam because they werent familiar with the lorazepam sedative. I changed it to valium scone. It was the same jokeand with one word changed, they heard the humor and it hit home.

Three upcoming shows hes excited to present include comedian/actress/singer/dancer and DGA Emmy-nominated director Alycia Cooper. I saw her in L.A., and shes always delivered great quality and owns the stage, he says. She commands your attention without being loud: youre just enraptured by her sharp wit and clever observations.

Jason Stuart, whose bio announces hes an openly gay stand-up comedian, has worked in film and television. His website offers this perspective: Im not just gay or queer, its just a part of who I am: Im also a Jew, a man of a certain age, a lover, a friend and a son. But its always a part of who I am. Ford says he had 500 comedians respond to a call he put out for headliners. He looked good, and he called me to talk personally. Over the phone, I loved his commitment to the craft. I liked his tone. I decided to take a chance with him, even though I didnt know him prior.

Ford booked Kabir Kabeezy Singh the day before the high energy comic earned a standing ovation and four Yeses on NBCs Americas Got Talent in June. We had met in Oakland prior to Covid, and he was high energy. We saw him rising, and liked him because hes a Bay Area talent and like other popular comics who get a lot of views, I wanted him as a headliner even before he got the nod on AGT.

The clubs Drag Yourself To Brunch, held each week on Sundays, often sells out, a positive note Ford attributes not only to the amazing drag performers, but to the $48 prix fixe menu that features a deluxe waffle platter with bacon, sausage, salmon and fresh fruit along with choice of a mimosa, Bloody Mary or non-alcoholic drink. A just-added Wednesday Night Variety Show alternates themes each week between drag, trivia, slam poetry, storytelling and music nights. Tuesdays in the future might open up classes and workshops that combined with open mic nights, will stock the pipeline for up-and-coming comedians he hopes to support. Due to new, top-grade video recording and editing equipment, all comedians selected for open mic nights have the option to have a 5-minute professional grade demo/audition/promo tape drawn from their act, for a $10 fee.

Asked the clich question about comedians he dreams of booking, Ford says, Dave Chappelle can have the stage at any time. And Bill Burr, I just love him. And Paula Poundstone would be good. And if he could raise a ghost of comedy? George Carlin, hands down, Ford says, providing the predictable, no-joke answer.

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One Voice, One Mic: West Alamedas only comedy club comes roaring back with laughter - East Bay Express