Boris Johnson Continues to Show What a Moron He Is

UK Prime Minister (and buffoon) Boris Johnson has triggered huge backlash after refusing to wear a mask while touring a hospital.

Many people were angry at the Prime Minister for not following NHS rules and putting patients at risk during his visit while the staff that accompanied him at Hexham General Hospital followed protocols and wore masks. There were also accusations that he was even told to wear a mask three times.  Johnson's  official spokesperson said at the time that he had followed all rules-- total rubbish to anyone with half a brain.  

The latest controversy emerged less than a week after Johnson faced a backlash for not wearing a face mask while sitting next to 95-year-old David Attenborough at the Cop26 climate summit.

As COVID cases in the British parliament are on the rise, Johnson has also refused to commit to wearing a mask in the Commons.  Even his own Health Minister, Sajid Javid, said afterwards that public figures should “set an example”.

Johnson has stirred up controversy by not wearing a face covering in various crowded settings in recent months, including in the Commons and in small rooms with his ministers. He has repeatedly refused to make masks mandatory as well.

 

Eric Clapton Now a Raving Anti-Vaxxer

Robert Cray was stunned when he first heard "Stand and Deliver."  Eric Clapton, his onetime musical hero, who became a mentor and friend, had released his first protest song in 56 years of recording. Only it wasn’t about George Floyd or global warming. Clapton’s mid-tempo shuffle, a collaboration with Van Morrison, went full anti-lockdown, taking aim at the government for trying to control a global pandemic by temporarily shuttering restaurants, gyms and concert halls. 

What grabbed Cray’s attention were the lyrics: "Do you wanna be a free man / Or do you wanna be a slave? / Do you wanna wear these chains / Until you’re lying in the grave?"

Cray — one of the great blues guitarists of his generation, a five-time Grammy winner and Black man born in segregated Georgia — emailed Clapton immediately. Was the 76-year-old guitar great comfortable singing those words, which compared the lockdown to slavery?   Clapton's response didn't satisfy Cray, nor did their next email exchange. Then Cray stopped replying altogether. The next time he wrote was weeks later to politely inform Clapton that he couldn’t, in good conscience, open for him as planned on an upcoming tour. 

Cray watched as Clapton released two more lockdown songs, conducted a lengthy interview with vaccine skeptics, and pledged to perform only where fans would not be required to be vaccinated, or, as Clapton said in a statement, not “where there is a discriminated audience present.”

After a September show in Austin, Clapton posed backstage with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott had recently signed the country’s most restrictive abortion law and a Republican-backed measure to limit who can vote in the state. Like that, a 35-year friendship between Cray and Clapton was over.

Many of Clapton’s friends and fans seem to be having a similar falling out over Clapton's behavior.  It’s unclear how much Clapton cares about the criticism, as he has been turning down interview requests from Rolling Stone, Wapo, and others.  

There are reports that Clapton was vaccinated earlier this year, but yet he has been critical of government directives.  Friends tried to attribute his anti-vax views to a lifelong fear of needles. As a heroin addict in the early 1970s, he was known to only snort the drug.  What a bullshit excuse.

Critics say that Clapton is more than one man sharing his opinion. He’s a massive public figure with considerable influence.  “He could be helping us in finishing off this pandemic, especially with a vulnerable population,” says Joshua Barocas, an associate professor of medicine with an expertise in infectious diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “We’re looking at millions and millions of people worldwide. He could be a global ambassador, and instead he’s chosen the pro-covid, anti-public-health route.” 

Clapton's anti-lockdown campaign has unquestionably damaged his reputation. 24 Stone magazine, which had featured him eight times on its cover in largely glowing terms in the past, produced a searing attack that not only called him out for his pandemic behavior, but spotlighted a 45-year-old incident that remains an inescapable bruise on his career.  

COVID Variants Are Still Out There-- Get the Jab!

Back in July, I gave you a rundown on the list of known variants of the coronavirus.  Now, we have additional variants to report and some updates on the existing variants:

Alpha Variant (aka, the U.K. variant): originally a highly transmissible variant, with a higher chance of hospitalization/death than the "wild"version.  In North America, it has been largely overtaken by Delta.  Still a variant of concern.

Beta variant (aka, the South African variant): Source of the second wave in South Africa, but not as transmissible as Alpha.  Some versions of the vaccines may not be as effective against Beta.  Still a variant of concern.

Gamma variant (aka, the Brazil variant): more likely to infect younger people, and more likely to result in reinfections.  Some of the vaccines are less effective against Gamma.  Still a variant of concern.

Delta variant (aka, the India variant): Still the dominant source of infections in the U.S.

Epsilon variant (aka, the California variant): out-competed by the more transmissible Alpha, and no longer a variant of interest.

Zeta variant (aka, the Rio de Janeiro variant): no longer a variant of concern/interest

Eta variant (aka, the Nigerian variant): still unknown if more transmissible or if it causes more severe disease.  Vaccines still appear to be effective against it.  Appears to have been out-competed by the Alpha and Delta variants-- no longer a variant of concern/interest.

Theta variant (aka, the Philippine variant): no longer a variant of concern

Iota variant (aka, the New York city variant): out-competed by the more transmissible Alpha and Delta variants-- no longer a variant of concern/interest.

Kappa variant (aka, the Indian variant): believed to be more transmissible than Delta, but unknown whether it causes more severe disease.  Vaccines still appear to be effective against it, and is no longer a variant of concern/interest.

Lambda variant (aka, the Peruvian variant): "downgraded" to a variant of interest

Mu variant (aka, the Colombia variant):  is likely more transmissible, but unknown if causes more severe disease. Vaccines still appear to be effective against it.  Continues to be a variant of interest.

Omicron variant (aka, the second South African variant): newly designated as a variant of concern, it is known to have a large number of mutations that could increase transmissibility or resistance to existing vaccines.

Note: The World Health Organization skipped Nu to avoid confusion with the word “new”. They also skipped Xi in an effort to avoid antagonizing China and its leader Xi Jinping.

The bottom line is still the same:  Get the vaccine.  YOU DIDN'T GO TO MED SCHOOL AND YOU DON'T KNOW BETTER THAN A REAL DOCTOR.  IGNORE WHATEVER YOU HEARD ON FOX, OAN, OR FACEBOOK-- GET THE FUCKING VACCINE!  As long as this virus continues to live on (even if it doesn't cause you to get sick), it can mutate to become a more dangerous version.  

 

China Has Released Canadians Held on Trumped-up Espionage Charges

A Chinese tech executive wanted on fraud charges in the U.S. was coincidentally released by Canada mere hours after China freed two Canadians who were being held on bogus espionage charges.  In September, Huawei's Meng Wanzhou arrived in Shenzhen, hours after two Canadians held three years  by China had been allowed to return home.

China had accused Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig of espionage, but denied detaining them was in retaliation for Meng's arrest by Canadian authorities.   Meng had previously confessed to lying to U.S. investigators about Huawei's business dealings in Iran.  She has been under house arrest in Canada while fighting extradition to the United States.  She was initially arrested in the Vancouver airport on December 1, 2018.

Within a week of Meng's arrest, China retaliated by arresting Spavor and Kovrig on "espionage" charges.  Spavor is a founding member of an organization that facilitates international business and cultural ties with North Korea.  Kovrig is a former diplomat employed by International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.  Spavor and Kovrig have maintained their innocence throughout, and they have been widely seen as being used by China as political bargaining chips.

China had earlier insisted that her case was not related to the sudden arrest of Spavor and Kovrig-- but China's decision to free them after Meng's release shows that pretense has been abandoned.   The Canadian judge overseeing Meng's case ordered her release after she reached a deal with U.S. prosecutors over fraud charges against her.  Meng still faces fraud charges on allegations that she misled banks into processing transactions for Huawei that broke U.S. sanctions against Iran. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, Meng also admitted to misleading HSBC about Huawei's relationship with Skycom, a Hong-Kong based company that operated in Iran.

Meng is the elder daughter of Ren Zhengfei, who set up Huawei in 1987. He also served in the Chinese army for nine years, until 1983, and is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.  Huawei itself is now the largest telecom equipment maker in the world.  It has faced accusations that Chinese authorities could use its equipment for espionage.  In 2019, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Huawei and placed it on an export blacklist, cutting it off from key technologies.  The UK, Sweden, Australia and Japan have also banned Huawei, while other countries including France and India have adopted measures stopping short of an outright ban.

 

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - It Don’t Bother Me

Happy Turkey Day!

Artificial Intelligence Bot Became Racist Learning From Humans

Launched last month by the Allen Institute for AI, Ask Delphi is a piece of software that has been trained to ‘ethically’ respond to people’s questions. It allows users to ask a question, or simply input a word, and Delphi will respond – for example, “Can I wear pajamas to a funeral?” to which the bot responds with, “It’s inappropriate.”

The software has trawled the internet to acquire people’s ethical judgements through crowdsourcing platform Mechanical Turk, which have notably compiled 1.7 million examples, according to Dazed.

“Delphi is learning moral judgments from people who are carefully qualified on MTurk. Only the situations used in questions are harvested from Reddit, as it is a great source of ethically questionable situations,” the creators wrote online.

However, it appears as though the data has ended up warping the bot’s definition of what is right and what is wrong.  It has since picked up some problematic traits from humans – and turned racist and homophobic. When one person entered, “Being a white man Vs being a black woman”, the bot responded, “Being a white man is more morally acceptable than being a black woman.”  Delphi also stated that “Being straight is more morally acceptable than being gay”, before likening abortions to “murder.” 

The Allen Institute for AI has responded to bot’s judgements writing: “Today’s society is unequal and biased. This is a common issue with AI systems, as many scholars have argued, because AI systems are trained on historical or present data and have no way of shaping the future of society, only humans can.  What AI systems like Delphi can do, however, is learn about what is currently wrong, socially unacceptable, or biased, and be used in conjunction with other, more problematic, AI systems (to) help avoid that problematic content.”

You can test it out yourself here.

 

Keeping it Real

Integrate My Natural Log, Baby

A Taiwanese math professor has been uploading videos of himself on Pornhub solving arithmetic equations.  Obviously, the content is a striking difference to the adult videos that live on the website.

The professor in question, Chang Hsu, reportedly goes by the username "changhsumath666"— and he has garnered 6,900 subscribers.  As of now, he is ranked 685 on the platform in terms of popularity, which is extremely impressive given that none of his clips are filmed nude.

Instead, Chang has swapped the usual PornHub birthday suit for a hoodie, and can be seen standing in front of a green blackboard teaching. He’s uploaded 226 videos onto the site with the videos typically lasting around 40 minutes, ensuring his viewers get the full math lesson experience.  His tagline on the platform is "Play Hard, Study Hard” - and the creator has received over 1.9 million views with his videos.

While speaking to Focus Taiwan, Chang revealed that he started sharing videos on Pornhub last May and that his approach to the unique marketing strategy was making "special things in special places."  His methods has proved to be effective as he told the outlet that the people who have seen his free content on the site have resulted in paying customers for his courses.

"The online-teaching market is highly competitive, and I can now attract 1,000 students each year, compared with an average of a few hundred for a calculus tutor," Chang said.  "I asked myself where to find my target students, say college boys, and the answer popped out: adult video platforms,” he added.

Adulting Can Be a Challenge

Bitcoin Mining Proves to Be a Noise Nuisance

The city of Sherbrooke, Quebec got a big revenue lift when it welcomed Bitfarms, a company that makes cryptocurrencies.  Toronto-based Bitfarms makes money by using high-powered computers to generate bitcoins, a digital currency.  The powerful computers must be cooled by an array of fans.  The 500 people who live near the company’s computer center got something else: an inescapable drone that is driving many of them crazy.  “It’s comparable to torture,” said Paul Gingues, a Sherbrooke city councilor who has heard the noise and received complaints from constituents.

Their whirring noise generated by the massive computer arrays at these bitcoin farms has left nearby residents at these cryptocurrency operations in Quebec, Georgia, Montana and other places agitated and frazzled. Some compare it to a giant dentist’s drill, others to a fleet of helicopters taking off in their backyards.  The mining companies say they are putting in quieter equipment and working on adding sound barriers around the plants.

“I wear earplugs inside my own house,” said  74-year-old Annette Tiveron,  after a facility owned by Canadian bitcoin company Blockstream opened in her town of Adel, Georgia. She can no longer sit on her porch. The noise sounds like 1,000 hair dryers blowing in unison, she said. 

Tiveron can see the Blockstream facility from her house. She has measured the sound levels with a sound meter at more than 70 decibels from her front porch, as loud as a vacuum cleaner. Indoors, sound levels measured more than 53 decibels, as loud as a dishwasher.  “I was sleeping in the farthest room from the noise and it woke me up,” she said. The noise has persisted despite the layers of insulation, including sheet rock, soundproof boards and batting, that she and her husband, Roland, have put up at a cost of $7,000.

Blockstream has hired an engineering firm to get accurate sound readings and plans to build a 15-foot-high berm to dampen the sound before it reaches the Tiverons’ property, said Blockstream's head of mining, Chris Cook.  Blockstream’s facility is located in an industrial zone in Adel that includes a chicken-feed mill and a plant that makes industrial gases such as nitrogen and oxygen. “It’s barely audible,” said Cook, who works at the facility. “Crickets are significantly louder.”

Victoria Meredith, a former U.S. Air Force physician who is now a Franciscan nun, disagreed with that characterization. She is the steward of the Shaman Wood Sanctuary, a 180-acre nature preserve with oak, pine and persimmon trees neighboring the bitcoin mine.  “There are times when I am on a lawn mower with earplugs in and I can hear the roar of that thing over that other noise,” said Dr. Meredith, who is collecting signatures from the local community to document complaints about Blockstream’s mine.

Cultural Public Service Notice

Taylor Swift is known for her song-writing skills that pull at the heartstrings of anyone who has experienced love and heartbreak.  The 31-year-old singer is particularly known for drawing on her past relationships to inspire her song-writing.  For anyone who is over 40, I thought it might be helpful to share a list of men who have reported to have dated Taylor over the years.

Joe Jonas (July to October, 2008) - Swift and Jonas met as teens but things soon turned sour as he according to Swift, he broke up with her in a 25-second phone call.  Her song "Mr. Perfectly Fine" is one supposedly about Jonas.

Lucas Till (March to April, 2009) - Till and Swift met when Till starred in Hannah Montana: The Movie on Disney Channel.  Soon after, he played the love interest in one of Swift’s most popular music videos, ‘You Belong with Me’ and their relationship then allegedly moved off-screen.

Taylor Lautner (August to December, 2009) - The duo are thought to have met on the set on the set of the film Valentines Day, where they played an on-screen couple. Then, their real-life relationship continued and developed off-screen. The Twilight actor is the supposed subject of the apologetic song ‘Back to December’, where she sings “I miss your tanned skin, your sweet smile,” and “I’d go back in time and change it, but I can’t.”  The song is thought to be an apology to Lautner for ending their relationship – funnily dubbed "Taylor squared." 

John Mayer (December 2009 to February 2010) - Swift’s relationship with Mayer began when they collaborated on a song called "Half of My Heart."  Things quickly turned sour between the pair, who had a 13-year age gap, causing Swift to write an emotional break-up song called ‘Dear John’ with the lyrics: "Don’t you think nineteen is too young to be played by your dark twisted games, when I loved you so?"

Jake Gyllenhaal (October 2010 to January 2011) -  The pair dated after meeting at an episode of Saturday Night Live when she was aged around 21, and he was 30. The relationship hit headlines again as Swift re-released her album Red, which features a ten-minute version of the song ‘All Too Well’ which is widely-believed to be about Swift’s relationship with Gyllenhaal.  She sings: “You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine, and that made me want to die” and “I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age”.

Adam Young (2011) - Her brief relationship with the Owl City singer is thought to have left a lasting impression on Swift.  Their relationship inspired Swift to write one of her fan-favorite song titled "Enchanted."  The following Valentine’s Day, Young released a cover of the song, with the lyrics: “Taylor, I was so enchanted to meet you too” and “Taylor, I was so in love with you.” Awkwardly, she never publicly responded.

Connor Kennedy (July to October, 2012) - In 2012, Swift had a short relationship with the nephew of late American president, John F. Kennedy. The pair were spotted together on beach dates and at his family’s luxurious estate throughout that summer.  The singer also reportedly bought a multi-million dollar house in Massachusetts to be closer to Kennedy.  Kennedy is thought to be the inspiration behind Swift’s song, ‘Begin Again’.

Harry Styles (December 2012 to January 2013) - Perhaps one of Swift’s most famous romances, the singer dated Styles for a picture-filled few months between 2012 and 2013. The musical pair shared wintry strolls in New York’s Central Park, kissed in Times Square on New Years Eve and supposedly wore matching airplane necklaces throughout their short relationship.  Her songs titled ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ and ‘Style’ are both thought to be about the One Direction star.

 Calvin Harris (March 2015 to June 2016) - Her relationship with the Scottish DJ was the longest Swift had experienced in the public eye yet – even reaching their one-year anniversary.  Things took a turn for the worst as Swift was spotted with actor Tom Hiddleston very soon after their breakup and came out as the co-writer for Harris’ hit song ‘This is What You Came For’ with Rihanna.  Harris took to Twitter in a rant against Swift, which he said he later regretted.

Tom Hiddleston (June to September, 2016) - Swift and Hiddleston are thought to have first met at the 2016 Met Gala, around the time of her breakup with Harris.  Within days, the pair – dubbed Hiddleswift – were spotted on a Rhode Island beach kissing and cuddling, and were soon jetting to Australia and Italy together.  Swift even traveled to England to meet the actor’s family.  At Swift’s annual 4^th July party, Hiddleston was also spotted wearing an ‘I , but just months later, the couple called it quits.  Hiddleston is said to be the inspiration behind Swift’s song ‘Getaway Car’.

Joe Alwyn (2017 to now) - Swift is currently dating English actor Joe Alwyn.  The couple have been together since 2017, and have a very private relationship.  Her songs, ‘Gorgeous’ and ‘Lover’, among others on her recent albums are all thought to be inspired by the actor.  Alwyn even co-wrote a song with Swift for her album Evermore, called ‘Champagne Problems’. 

Now that we're all caught up with Swift's love life, I guess the world can get back to less important things. . . 

 

Diana Ross - I Still Believe

Pussy Swap

A man has described how he swapped his wife's cat six years ago without her realizing.  Writing on Reddit, the man said he committed the act of subterfuge because the original cat was “aggressive”, but he has since felt pretty guilty about the situation.

Six years ago, i swapped my then-girlfriend now-wife's cat with a more well-behaved lookalike.

She had an all black cat that was extremely aggressive. It scratched everyone, hissed at everyone, and didn't use its litter box half the time. My wife insisted she could get it to behave better. One week she went out of town to visit her family and I was supposed to go to her apartment and feed it.

The first night I went over, it scratched the shit out of my arm. I joked to the cat that it's not special and I'll replace it if it scratches again. The joke stuck with me until I had thought about it enough that it wasn't a joke. The next morning I went to the local animal shelter. Found an identical cat who was already litterbox trained and acclimated to people, but was a little skiddish (it's old owner died of a heart attack and the animal shelter people said they think that's why it was skiddish). But overall, it was a lot friendlier and better behaved, and the skiddishness would help it resemble the original cat.

So I adopted it, took it to my wife's apartment, settled it in, then drove her original cat to an animal shelter a town over (I was paranoid my wife would find out if I took it to a local one).

It's been 6 years since then. We got married 4 years ago. We still have the swapped cat. It answers to the original cat's name. My wife knows nothing. She loves this cat and brags about how much better behaved it is. Everytime I see it, I feel like a total piece of shit.

Edit: For the people saying the other cat was likely euthanized by the shelter, I just double-checked and the shelter I dropped it off at was and still is a no-kill shelter.

Reacting to the story, people thought his behavior was pretty bad.  One person said: “You don’t get to give away someone’s pet to a shelter, without informing them”.  Another commented: “This is some Seinfeld tier shenanigans right here.”  And a third said: “I would absolutely be considering divorce if I ever found this out.”  If he wants to stay married then, let’s just hope he doesn’t let the cat out of the bag.

 

Happy Hump Day

Phony Controversy Over Critical Race Theory Wreaking Havoc Across the Nation

The first black principal of Colleyville Heritage High School in Grapevine, Texas, has lost his job after a months-long battle with the school board, which accused him of teaching and promoting critical race theory (CRT) in his school.

Just a month after Dr. James Whitfield wrote a letter decrying the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, saying systemic racism was “alive and well” and that “education is the key to stomping out ignorance, hate, and systemic racism,” Stetson Clark, a former school board candidate at Grapevine-Colleyville High School, called for the principal’s firing.   “He is encouraging the disruption and destruction of our district,” Clark said, July 26, 2020, according to the Texas Tribune.

Whitfield received a disciplinary letter from the district a few weeks later and was placed on administrative leave soon after that. In late July, the board then recommended a proposal not to renew Whitfield's contract for the 2022-2023 school year. 

In addition to Whitfield’s email condemning the deaths of Black folk, the mostly white Texas community, had issues with the fact that Whitfield has a white wife and his participation on a district-approved panel about diverse differences. 

Beware the Swifties

Biden Butt Burping Bigwigs

President Joe Biden reportedly ‘broke wind’ in front of Camilla Parker Bowles at the climate summit and she ‘hasn’t stopped talking about’ the incident since.

The incident – which allegedly occurred during a reception at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery-- made the Duchess blush, with one source saying: “It was long and loud and impossible to ignore”.   “Camilla hasn’t stopped talking about it,” they added.  To be fair, one of the stated goals of the climate summit was to cut methane gases.

Whether the reports are true or a load of hot air, it wouldn’t be the first time that Biden has been accused of letting it rip during a political engagement.

In May 2020, rumors floated around that the former vice president broke wind during a live-streamed discussion with Tom Wolf, the governor of Pennsylvania. The speculation occurred after a ripping sound could be heard as Biden leant back in his chair.  Wolf’s spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News at the time, while a Biden aid told them that they were “glad you’re putting resources into this important story”.

 

Florida Professors Banned From Testifying Against Florda Anti-Voting Law

The decision by the University of Florida (UF) to muzzle three professors from testifying against a new state law restricting people from their constitutional right to vote has exploded into a political and public relations battle. 

In a case challenging Senate Bill 90, UF political science professors Daniel Smith, Michael McDonald, and Sharon Austin were notified via email that their request to serve as experts was denied. Now, according to reporting by The New York Times, five more professors have come forward about being banned from testifying.

The body that sets the accreditation for the university opened an inquiry to determine whether banning the faculty was in legal conflict with the “academic freedom” and “undue political influence” standards of the school, Miami Herald reported.  In reaction to the accreditation threat, the university’s president ordered a review of the decision to ban the professors from testifying.

“The University of Florida stands firmly behind its commitment to uphold our most sacred right as Americans, the right to free speech, and to faculty members’ right to academic freedom,” UF said in a statement. “Nothing is more fundamental to our existence as an institution.”

Since the start of all of this controversy, all roads have conspicuously led to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who of course denies any involvement.   "This is an internal U.F. issue and not the sort of thing that the executive branch would be involved in,” Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’ spokeswoman told the Times. “Governor DeSantis has always championed free speech, open inquiry and viewpoint diversity on college and university campuses.” 

It seems awfully suspicious that the one professor in Florida allowed to testify is one who chose to defend the state's oppressive and racist voting law, doesn't it?  Florida International University professor Dairo Moreno was allowed to testify as an expert witness in defense of every GOP-drawn redistricting map since 1994, according to the Tampa Bay Times. 

My Morning Jacket - Love, Love, Love

A Real Fear of Playing in Qatar

Australian soccer player Josh Cavallo, who came out as gay last month, has revealed he would be scared to play at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar because of the country's criminalization of homosexuality.

The 21-year-old, who plays for Adelaide United in Australia's A-League, is the only known gay footballer playing in a top-flight men's league.  His announcement last month won plaudits from around the world, including from legendary Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

But the midfielder -- who has played for Australia at the under-20 level but has yet to be called up for the senior side -- indicated he was not sure what he would do if he were selected to play at the 2022 World Cup.  "I read something along the lines of that [they] give the death penalty for gay people in Qatar, so it's something I'm very scared [of] and wouldn't really want to go to Qatar for that," he told the Guardian's Today in Focus podcast.

"And that saddens me. At the end of the day the World Cup is in Qatar and one of the greatest achievements as a professional footballer is to play for your country, and to know that this is in a country that doesn't support gay people and puts us at risk of our own life, that does scare me and makes me re-evaluate -- is my life more important than doing something really good in my career?"

Since being selected as host in 2010, Qatar has faced searing criticism for its treatment of LGBT people, as well as its record on women's rights and labor issues.  Last year a report from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) said sources indicated the death penalty could potentially be used as punishment for consensual homosexual sex in Qatar.

The chief executive of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Nasser al-Khater, said in 2019 that "any fan, of any gender, (sexual) orientation, religion, race (should) rest assured that Qatar is one of the most safe countries in the world -- and they'll all be welcome here".  However, he stressed that "public displays of affection are frowned upon, it's not part of our culture -- but that goes across the board to everybody".  The last World Cup was held in Russia, where queer activism was severely restricted under a 2013 "gay propaganda" law forbidding the promotion of "non-traditional sexual relationships" to minors.

Despite football's immense popularity worldwide only a few male footballers have ever come out as gay, mostly after retirement to avoid the prospect of taunts from the terraces.  The first professional player to come out while still playing was Britain's Justin Fashanu in 1990, but he never found acceptance in the game and hung himself in 1998.

 

Spicy Thoughts

 

Travis Scott Had a History of Encouring Fans to Rush the Stage

In an Instagram post after the Astroworld tragedy, Travis Scott lamented: "Can't imagine anything like this ever happening . . ."   Well, that certainly seems to be a lie. 

The controversial rapper has twice been convicted for encouraging fans to jump security barriers and rush the stage at previous concerts.  There are at least two prior incidents where crowds stampeded towards Scott at performances at Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2015 and at an outdoor venue in Arkansas in 2017. Both incidents resulted in misdemeanor convictions for Scott.  

According to witness accounts, a number of festival attendees at the Astroworld concert struggled to breathe as the crowd began to compress toward the stage during Scott's performance.  By the time Live Nation finally decided to end the performance, 23 people required hospitalization, 11 were in cardiac arrest, and more than 300 had to be treated at a field hospital on site.  During the concert, audience members repeatedly shouted, "Stop the show!" to no avail as people collapsed and got trampled on the festival floor.  Houston's police chief has revealed he visited Scott in his trailer to discuss crowd control just hours before he took to the stage.  Officials knew that fans of the rapper were raucous after the Astroworld Festival resulted in a stampede that sent three people to the hospital two years earlier.  Police Chief Troy Finner told the megastar that he was concerned about the crowd, according to the New York Times.

During the concert, Scott acknowledged several times that people in the crowd were in distress or passed out-- on one occasion, actually acknowledging that a fan needed an ambulance.   Scott halted the performance at least once, calling for security to help distressed fans in the front row.    Scott's girlfriend Kylie Jenner, who attended the event, was blasted online for callously posting a clip of an ambulance tending to the injured and dead as the chaos unfolded. 

A fan who was paralyzed after falling from a balcony during a Scott concert in 2017 has blasted the singer for putting fans' safety at risk.  Kyle Green, a 27-year-old who was injured at Scott's April 2017 concert at Terminal 5 in New York City, said he was forced over the edge of a balcony at the venue, which he called 'severely crowded.' He broke several bones and vertebrae and can only walk with a significant disability.  "He’s even more incensed by the fact that it could have been avoided had Travis learned his lesson in the past and changed his attitude about inciting people to behave in such a reckless manner," Green's lawyer told Rolling Stone magazine.  But Scott knew his reckless behavior was endangering his fans . . .

Aaron Rodgers Is A Big Fat Fucking Liar

Following a positive test for COVID-19, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list last week.  He will miss at least 10 days per the league's COVID-19 policies for unvaccinated players.  Despite answering during the preseason "Yeah, I'm immunized" when asked if he had been vaccinated, he hadn't actually received a vaccination.  Instead, he had received homeopathic treatment from his personal doctor. While unvaccinated, he committed multiple violations of NFL COVID-19 protocols for unvaccinated players, including attending parties with teammates while not using PPE and appearing unmasked at multiple post-game press conferences.

Rodgers is not entitled to freewheel on this matter.  If someone wants to go unvaxxed, that person better own up to it — and damn well be vigilant to avoid spreading it and protect others.  Rodgers is a supposed leader, a player who takes up an ungodly amount of salary space on the roster, and one who audibly sulked over the Packers’ decision to draft his possible successor Jordan Love.  He has put his team in a terrible position and risked losing home field advantage in the playoffs if he is out for more than a game (or proves to be a lasting distraction during the remainder of the season).

Rodgers was reportedly “furious” that his lies were outed.  Sounding an awful lot like an emo twit with a sinus infection, Rodgers later torched his entire reputation with a low-energy, yet highly deranged interview with Pat McAfee on his radio show.

Who did Aaron consult about vaccines? Joe Rogan, of course. What did he rely upon? His own manly immune system. What remedy did he used? Ivermectin (didn't know he had a case of worms in addition to COVID).  What did he rebuke? Politics and "wokeism."  Whom did he appropriate? The struggles of women and Black people.

The struggles of women having control of their bodies?  That's right-- because Aaron is suddenly a big proponent of "My body, my choice."  He doesn't want to have to know how it feels to be forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term, give birth, and raise a child you didn't want, which is apparently how he would feel if he got the COVID vaccine.

The struggles of Black people?  Cause Rodgers can now definitely relate to Martin Luther King, Jr., who was jailed, beaten, spit upon, discriminated against, and ultimately assassinated.  This white man of privilege is definitely taking the exact same risks as when King helped end segregation and oppression of an entire race. How brave you are, Aaron Rodgers!

Rodgers said that he did his own research during the off season, and that he was worried about the vaccine causing sterility.  What research says that?  Not a single research study! Rodgers claims he couldn't take the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines because he's allergic to one of the ingredients in them.  OK, Aaron- which ingredient?  If you did your "research" then you should be able to tell us which one.  The reality is that you are a LIAR.

And now there are reports that Rodgers is losing endorsements as a result of his arrogance and douchebaggery.   Don't forget that Joe Rogan, in a fleeting moment of clarity, once called himself a “fucking moron” for espousing anti-vax views. So I guess that makes Aaron Rodgers a fucking moron too.

 

Not Woke Enough

 

Back to Falling Back

 

ABBA - Just a Notion

China Censors Sexual Assault Allegations Against Ally of President Xi Jinping

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has publicly accused a retired Communist official of sexual assault. In a post on Chinese social media site Weibo, Peng said former Vice Premier, Zhang Gaoli, had "forced" her to have sexual relations with him.  It is the first time such an allegation has been made against one of China's senior political leaders.  Zhang, 75, served as China's Vice Premier between 2013 and 2018 and was a close ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Zhang has not responded to her claims. The post has since been scrubbed from China's internet by the government.  Searches for Peng - a former number one ranked tennis doubles player - also appear to have been restricted. In her tennis career, Peng has won two Grand Slam women's doubles trophies, the first at Wimbledon in 2013 and the second at the Roland Garros tournament in 2014, both alongside Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei.

"I know that someone of your eminence, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, you'll say that you're not afraid", Ms Peng wrote in her post, "but even if it's just striking a stone with a pebble, or a moth attacking a flame and courting self destruction, I will tell the truth about you."  She said he had first coerced her after she visited his home to play tennis. "That afternoon I didn't give my consent and couldn't stop crying," she wrote. "You brought me to your house and forced me and you to have relations".

Peng, 35, acknowledged that she would not be able to provide proof to back up her claims.  "I have no evidence, and it has been impossible to leave any evidence... You were always afraid that I would bring something like a tape recorder, to record evidence or something... There is no audio record, no video record, only my distorted but very real experience."

The tennis star's social media post is the latest development in a series of high profile MeToo cases in China. A popular TV host, Zhou Xiaoxuan, came forward with her claims against another TV personality, Zhu Jun in an online essay in 2018.  The piece went viral and prompted many others to come forward with their own experiences of sexual harassment. Zhu has denied all the claims.  Though Zhou launched legal action against Zhu, the case was dismissed in September.  Chinese courts rarely grant hearings to such cases, and the country only very recently passed legislation that clearly defined sexual harassment. 

 

 

Yet Another Q'Anon Theory Fizzles Out

The QAnon conspiracy theory about a Jewish cabal of secret bankers who drink children’s blood controlling the universe has given way to a network of secret pedophile rings—they also drink children’s blood—liberals, deep state officials, JFK assassins, fake JFK assassinations, and of course… a cabal of Jewish bankers secretly controlling the universe and harvesting “adrenochrome” from children’s blood.

The fact that every day a new QAnon acolyte turns out to be a registered sex offender, and every right-wing misinformation fantasy continues to make its way into a modern conspiracy theory that began with the assertion that President John F. Kennedy was killed because he wanted to end the escalation of war into Vietnam, seems not to ring a bell for the people who want to believe in Q. Not a single thing that “Q” supposedly promised has come to pass, but this fact and facts of all kinds have not been able to shake enough people free to end this intellectually vacuous pastime from continuing to evolve. 

Mexican Restaurant Famous for Inducing Overdue Labor

Four days past her due date, Julia Blackburn was itching to move her labor along.  The Concord, Massachusetts resident had already run through the long list of old wives tales women cling to as their pregnancies drag on. She bounced on a yoga ball. She walked for blocks with one leg up on the curb and the other down on the street. She tried eating spicy food at El Rodeo.  It was time, she and her mom decided, to try Hermanos.

Hermanos Cocina Mexicana has a reputation among Concord’s pregnant women.  When a woman waddles in with a swollen belly, Jonna Gaskell, a veteran waitress, makes a point to recommend the green salsa, a restaurant staple made with fresh jalapeños. “It’s gonna get you rolling probably quicker than walking or quicker than doing something else,” she tells them.

The scientific literature is unconvinced that spicy food speeds up the induction of labor —  but Gaskell is confident it works — in her 26 years as a waitress at Hermanos, she estimates that a dozen women have given birth shortly after eating one of their signature spicy dishes. She recalled one instance in which a woman she had served salsa yelled from the restaurant parking lot that her water just broke. In fact, Gaskell’s own pregnancies, which both stretched well past their due dates,  were brought to an end after enjoying a bowl of salsa.

Fresh Evidence That Facebook Aligned Itself With Extremists to Generate Engagement and Revenue

A new bundle of reporting is out on what's being branded as the "Facebook Papers," a mountain of leaked internal company documents and communications currently being combed over by a variety of news outlets. There are several new revelations this time around, although we may be stretching the definition of "revelations" for anyone who has been paying attention.

The main takeaway is that inside Facebook itself, there appears to be a rapidly increasing gulf between topmost company executives and the rank-and-file employees who, like so many external company critics, are pretty certain that Facebook's efforts to monetize fringe paranoias are doing extraordinary damage to international democracy. NBC News brings us one facet of that story with reporting on the internal fury after anti-democratic, anti-American hoaxes spread via Facebook sharing led to actual violent insurrection inside the United States Capitol.

At issue is that Facebook executives know that the algorithms they use reward provocation, paranoia, and outright hoaxes. Facebook executives also know that the company's worldwide reach means it has become a go-to outlet for any propagandist seeking to quickly disseminate government-bending, society-bending hoaxes and/or bigotries.