Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

A Non-American and the Un-American at the US Capitol

Unique and interesting view – must read.

Nengkoy

If it would be inevitable to change my citizenship, one of the nationalities I would prefer would be to be an American.  Sad, crazy and outrageous as it may sound but who would not want to be part of the populace who has the strongest economy, the richest opportunities, a very hip civilization, beautiful people and a super power status as a nation?

It is therefore not surprising that setting my foot on USA soil (at least being a tourist) was on top of my bucket list.  Luckily by some grace and blessings from the heavens, this entry on my long and arduous bucket list has long been done and accomplished.

majestic yet a tranquil visit

I, a non-American have been to USA a couple of times already.  And in my last visit, I found myself at the capital state of Washington DC touring the insides of the US Capitol. …

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The far right’s circus of memes

Via aleksey godin Remembering when I got caught in a Jerry Rubin play when they threw cow’s blood on the doors of the Justice Department thus causing the DC Police to gas and beat thousands who were just going home from work at their government jobs – Jerry timed it right, notified TV and police bit – Could not go home for hours as the tear gas filled my basement apartment not far from the scene caused by just ten Yippies.

So much of Wednesday’s assault on the Capitol looked readymade for memes because, for many of today’s far-right digital natives, that is the point.

What happened: The outlandishly costumed rioters — among them, shirtless, horned “Q Shaman” Jake Angeli and fur-clad Brooklynite Aaron Mostofsky — had no wish to fade into the crowd.


  • Others livestreamed their own vandalism, mugging for their phone cameras as they, for instance, picked up House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office phone and pretended to make a call, egged on by amused commenters.

Yes, but: The unseriousness is intentional — a core feature of modern far-right extremism.

Between the lines: “The left can’t meme” is itself a meme among the online right. In this milieu, liberals and leftists are mocked as self-serious and censorious and nihilist irony is the norm.

  • Graphic footage of Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse gunning down protesters this summer got recut and remixed into videos passed around as a joke by far-right users even on mainstream platforms like Twitter.
  • Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people at a 2019 mass shooting in a New Zealand mosque, filled a racist manifesto with inside jokes aimed at far-right users of forums like 8chan (now 8kun).

The jokes can’t be separated from actual malicious intent.

  • White supremacist Tim “Baked Alaska” Gionet — the livestreamer toying with Pelosi’s phone — might give you the impression he’s just in it for the meme potential.
  • Another rioter photographed in a congressional gallery with body armor, holsters and zip ties looks like he might be up to darker things.
  • There’s no way to know for sure — and when they’re all part of the same mob, it doesn’t much matter who’s just in it to amuse their online friends and who actually aims to overthrow the government.

The far-right circus offers camouflage for plainer hate speech — like sweatshirts at Wednesday’s event reading “Camp Auschwitz” or T-shirts sporting an acronym meaning “6 million wasn’t enough.”

Be smart: History is full of groups of disaffected extremists getting enjoyment out of bucking norms and flouting authority.

  • Fifty years ago, they were found on the left, as Yippies performed their radicalism for TV cameras.
  • Today, the transgressive thrill of not taking institutions or rules seriously is a huge part of the allure of the far right to its participants.
  • Whatever the politics, it rarely ends well.

Go deeper: How QAnon works like a video game to hook people

Russia’s SolarWinds Attack and Software Security – Schneier on Security

The fundamental problem is one of economic incentives. The market rewards quick development of products. It rewards new features. It rewards spying on customers and users: collecting and selling individual data. The market does not reward security, safety or transparency. It doesn’t reward reliability past a bare minimum, and it doesn’t reward resilience at all. Source: Russia’s SolarWinds Attack and Software Security – Schneier on Security

Kamishibai: The magical art of Japanese “paper play”

Nicholas Andriani:

Kamishibai: how the magical art of Japanese storytelling is being revived and promoting bilingualism

Kamishibai Performer In Japan.

Géraldine D Enjelvin, University of York

In a world where technological advancement seems to be at the forefront of almost everything, it can sometimes feel like if it doesn’t have a screen or a keyboard, it isn’t worth engaging with.

Yet despite this backdrop of ongoing high tech developments, a centuries-old Japanese storytelling tradition is being revived for modern audiences. Meet kamishibai – from kami, meaning paper and shibai, meaning play or theatre – the ancient Japanese storytelling tool that many librarians, nursing-homes and schools use in several countries around the world.

Pronounced ka-mee-shee-bye, kamishibai is such a powerful medium that Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) adopted it in 2011 as part of its AIDS campaign: “Befriend Malik”.

And more recently a French organisation promoting multilingualism, DULALA…

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Almost 1 year

A Tyro's Notes

It’s been a long time. I have not written anything in my blog for 10 months, more or less. I still write in my personal journal though. I don’t know why I can’t find the time to write here. Even the content. That’s probably the problem. I always think what I write in here didn’t matter(it didn’t really honestly). However, my aim is to improve my writing skill. So I guess I back to the game.  I don’t know hots content, my writing is not cohesive and my use of vocabulary is sometimes wrong. My content is not interesting, so be it. I did it for myself, and I want to learn more also from other bloggers. How to write a good blog.

10 months, there are lots of events that already passed. Not to mention corona, COVID-19 has screwed lots of people. It has taken hundreds of thousands of…

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Our Condolences, Sriwijaya SJ182

Rest in Peace all

A Tyro's Notes

I was awake from my nap. It was almost 5 P.M, Saturday 9th of January 2021. After washing my face, I check on my handphone. There were hundreds of chat in my WhatsApp. In one of my group I read news about Sriwijaya Airlines. Sriwijaya flight, SJ182, depart from Jakarta to Pontianak can’t be contacted. The tower lost contact with SJ182 near Thousands Island Region (Kepulauan Seribu).

It was a shocking news, but we still prayed that the plane would be ok. However, after waiting for sometimes, we got a confirmation. It was such a heartbreaking news to learn that the plane crashed. There are 56 passengers, 2 pilots and 4 cabin crews boarded this flight.

It shocked our entire nation. Now they are on the process to find the remnant of the plane. In one news media, they report that they found some cables and clothes, supposedly from the…

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« Se interpusieron en nuestro camino. Si no hubiéramos invadido su bosque, no habríamos tenido oro. »

They got in our way. If we hadn’t invaded his forest, we wouldn’t have had gold. »

Barbara Crane Navarro

Fotografía: Hombre Yanomami con una flecha en el shabono, la casa comunal

Como dice el portavoz Yanomami Davi Kopenawa en su libro La caída del cielo:  “Toda la tierra de Brasil ya estaba ocupada por personas como nosotros. Hoy está casi vacío y es igual en todas partes. Casi todos los primeros habitantes del bosque desaparecieron. Los que aún existen aquí y allá son lo que queda de la gran cantidad que los blancos mataron hace tiempo para conquistar sus tierras. Entonces … estos mismos blancos no tenían miedo de amar los objetos De cuyos dueños devoraron como enemigos.

Desde entonces, han guardado estos bienes encerrados en los cristales de sus museos para mostrarles a sus hijos lo que queda de los que mataron sus mayores. Pero cuando crezcan, estos niños no terminarán preguntando: ‘¡Hou! Estas cosas son realmente hermosas, pero ¿por qué destruiste a quienes las…

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Toronto nurses upset over COVID-19 vaccine access, allege frontline medical staff not being prioritized – Toronto | Globalnews.ca

As many children remain symptomless despite contracting the virus, many have underestimated their role in spreading the virus. Annette-Gabriele Ziegler says kindergartens and schools must therefore adopt much stricter preventive measures to help contain the pandemic. These include social distancing, ventilating classrooms, and teaching small groups of pupils. She says that in addition, schoolchildren should be screened more rigorously for the virus even if they are symptomless. Source: Toronto nurses upset over COVID-19 vaccine access, allege frontline medical staff not being prioritized – Toronto | Globalnews.ca