"The happiest place on earth"

Get email updates of new posts:        (Delivered by FeedBurner)

Friday, November 26, 2021

Links - 26th November 2021 (2 - General Wokeness)

Sera-Jade (WARNING: this unit has low bio-quality) on Twitter - "If you equate both titles “Supreme Leader” and “Prime Minister” with the descriptor “head-of-state” but think one sounds more ‘totalitarian’ than the other as if “Supreme” is not simply just a synonym for “Prime” and “Leader” a synonym for “Minister” - then you might be a racist!"
"New Zealand / Prime minister: Jacinda Ardern
North Korea / Supreme leader:  Kim Jong-un"

Autopsies can uphold white supremacy - The Washington Post
Naturally, liberals are against attempts at objectivity, since that prevents them from imposing their narrative

Gina Bontempo on Twitter - "You’re telling me that a piece of rope hanging in Bubba Wallace’s NASCAR garage was more worthy of national coverage for WEEKS than 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant being executed in cold blood in front of his sisters?"

ZUBY: on Twitter - "'Woke' white liberals need to stop projecting their racism and guilt onto everybody else. They assume that because they are racist and obsessed with skin colour, that everybody else must be. Nah fam. That's just you. "

Leonydus Johnson (leave/me/alone) on Twitter - "I learned today that the world used to be full of carebears and butterflies and all the Native Americans, Africans, Arab Muslims and anyone who was brown pranced in meadows and sang songs of peace and love while riding on unicorns until white people showed up and killed them all."

Human Nature and IQ, SAT, GRE, ASVAB - "Every so often there is some talk about eliminating requirements for the SAT or the GRE.   A headline from the NYT: “Go Ahead, California, Get Rid of the SAT”   The writer claims standardized tests penalize poor kids who get good grades. He calls it a “barrier.”   I rarely see discussions about the reverse situations. There are poor kids who get bad grades but find a path upward because of standardized testing...  My senior year of high school I took the required test to join the military — the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)... these tests are thinly veiled IQ tests. The SAT and ASVAB both correlate with IQ at r = .8.   A study on Army recruits found that scores on an intelligence test, along with 2-mile run time, were the best predictors of success in infantry training.   Research on tank gunners found that replacing a gunner who scores around the 20th percentile with one who scores around the 55th percentile improves the likelihood of hitting a target by 34 percent.   To qualify, potential military recruits must score higher than roughly one-third of all who take the ASVAB. The lowest acceptable percentile score to join is 36 for the Air Force, 35 for the Navy, 32 for the Marine Corps, and 31 for the Army.   By definition, the worst test taker who makes it into the military still scores higher than one-third of his or her peers. The military slices off the bottom third of standardized test-takers, not allowing them to join.    The psychology professor Linda Gottfredson has written: “IQ 85…the U.S. military sets its minimum enlistment standards at about this level…The U.S. military has twice experimented with recruiting men of IQ 80-85 (the first time on purpose and the second time by accident), but both times it found that such men could not master soldiering well enough to justify their costs.”   In the 1960s, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara initiated Project 100,000 which lowered the testing requirement. This allowed people at the 10th percentile (70~ IQ)—a standard deviation lower than the previous standard—to join.   Supposedly, the aim was to alleviate poverty. LBJ had recently begun his War on Poverty program.   The story was that getting more recruits into the military would help them move into the middle class.   And they needed more recruits for the Vietnam War. Lowering recruitment standards was an easy way to get them.   Recruits of Project 100,000 were 9 times more likely to require remedial training and training took up to 4 times longer to complete compared to their peers who had entered under the higher score requirement.   In Vietnam, men recruited under the lower testing threshold were 2.5 times more likely to die in combat.   Did the veterans who made it home achieve upward mobility? No.   Compared to civilians with similar attributes who were not recruited, McNamara’s Morons (as they were later termed) were less likely to be employed, less likely to own a business, and obtained less education.   Later, the policy changed to improve the talent pool of the armed forces. Higher ASVAB score thresholds were reinstated. Along with additional rigid requirements.   Today, 71% of Americans between 17 and 24 are ineligible for military service.   Over 24 million of the 34 million of young Americans cannot join the armed forces—even if they wanted to...    The SAT is a “barrier” according to that NYT op-ed. But it’s also a gateway. Most poor kids don’t take the SAT. Or any other standardized test. Maybe more should.   The chattering class is using poor kids as pawns to eliminate standardized testing. Which helps their own kids. Rich kids who “don’t test well.”   But they know how to strategically boost their GPAs, get recommendation letters from important people, and stack their resumes with extracurriculars. They have “polish.”   Interestingly, despite the chatter about getting rid of the SAT and the GRE, there is no talk of eliminating the ASVAB military test. No one says that it’s biased, unreliable, or discriminatory.  There are two reasons for this.
1. In the military, actions have real consequences. People want service members to be held to a high standard. For military recruits, a pencil and paper test is a reasonable requirement. But for those interested in studying at a place of higher learning, it’s a bridge too far.
2. The military is viewed as a lower middle-class organization. Influential members of society know their kids won’t be joining. So they don’t care about military entry standards the way they do for college and grad school."
McNamara "knew" that IQ was a "myth". Apparently the "low IQ" soldiers weren't socialised enough, which was why they failed to perform. Damn self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotype threat!
Given how woke the US military is becoming, it's only a matter of time before they forget the lessons they learnt and abolish ability testing due to "racism"

60% of U.S. Colleges Nix Testing Requirement for Admission - "Approximately 60 percent of U.S. colleges have nixed testing for student admission amid claims the tests give an advantage to applicants who are white and wealthier than other potential students because they have access to test preparation.  The debate about the claim’s accuracy has not been settled, some saying testing can help disadvantaged students"

To demonstrate why standardized testing is wrong, aNti-rAciSm proponents are actually, seriously comparing different racial groups to ANIMALS.

Why Elites Dislike Standardized Testing - "federal prosecutors exposed a crooked college admissions consulting operation that bribed SAT administrators and college athletic coaches in order to get wealthy, underqualified applicants into elite universities. Also charged were 33 wealthy parents who had paid for admissions bribes, including actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, Gordon Caplan, a co-chair of the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and Douglas Hodge, the former chief executive of Pimco... People are going to say that this scandal is proof that the meritocracy is broken and corrupt. And it’s likely that many commentators will use this event as an opportunity to attack the SAT and the ACT. Progressives view test-based admissions as inequitable because some marginalized groups are significantly underrepresented among the pool of top-scoring college applicants. But millionaires and elites also hate standardized admissions tests, because their children’s admission to top colleges is contingent upon test scores.  Under pressure from both the academic left and wealthy parents, hundreds of colleges have become “test optional,” allowing students to submit applications without test scores. Some elite schools, including Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr and the University of Chicago have adopted these policies.  It is absolutely true that the SAT is the reason this scandal occurred. But for standardized testing requirements, the millionaires and celebrities charged in this scheme would not have needed to search for “side doors” to get their children into elite colleges; they could have walked right in through the front...   Opponents of tests like to argue that tests primarily measure socioeconomic status and parental resources, but it’s not true that rich parents unfairly distort the college admissions process by outspending other people on test prep. There’s not a clear causal relationship between income and test scores, and there’s no evidence that expensive test prep gets better results than cheap or free alternatives.  According to data released by The College Board, the median SAT test taker in 2013 scored a 496 on the SAT’s critical reading section and a 514 on the math. The median student whose family earns less than $20,000 will score a 435 on the critical reading section and a 462 on math, considerably below average. Students from families earing $60,000-80,000 perform similarly to the overall distribution, and median scores continue to rise about 10 points for every marginal $20,000 of family income. The median student from a family earning more than $200,000 per year scores a 565 on critical reading and a 586 on math. The richest students perform a little more than half a standard deviation above average, while the poorest perform a bit more than half a standard deviation below.  But while it’s true that higher-income students get better scores on average and lower-income students do worse, it doesn’t necessarily follow that money raises test scores. This is a mere correlation, and, as anyone who did well on the SAT knows, correlation doesn’t imply causation.  SAT scores correlate strongly enough with IQ that the SAT is interchangeable with IQ as a test of general cognitive ability. Cognitive ability is highly heritable; the single strongest predictor of a child’s IQ is the IQ of the child’s parents. There is also a correlation between income and IQ. That means smarter than average parents are likely to have smarter than average kids and higher than average incomes. The educational attainment of an SAT taker’s parents is about as strongly correlated with higher scores as high income is... it has never been true that poorer students lack access to test prep; most students prepare for the SAT, and high quality materials and practice questions drawn from old tests have been available in inexpensive test-prep books for decades. In 2015 the College Board partnered with Kahn Academy to provide free online test prep resources, and about 60% of test takers now utilize the free official test-prep resources.  Despite what commercial test prep companies might claim in their marketing materials, there is no evidence that expensive commercial prep materials or private tutoring yield better results than test prep with inexpensive practice materials or the free official online resources.   It’s worth noting that the scores most rich kids and most children of highly educated parents earn are still far too low to get into elite colleges. The median child from a family earning $200,000 scores an 1151, which puts you in the bottom half of the admitted class at a school like Ole Miss or University of Alabama, and is far short of the 1500 earned by the median student who enrols at Yale.  If rich people could just spend their way to high test scores, then they wouldn’t be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to bribe their way into elite schools...   You can tell an objective, meritocratic system is working when it pushes out people that the establishment would prefer to admit (people like Zoe Kazan), and it admits the people that the establishment would prefer to reject (Jews and Asians). It is phenomenal that CEOs and power brokers and celebrities are getting indicted for desperately trying to bribe someone to get their mediocre kids into good schools, because that means meritocratic systems are throwing barriers in front of the children of elites when they can’t compete on an objective test.   There’s a reason Zoe is attacking the SAT rather other controversial aspects of the college admissions process like the preferential treatment of legacies: Testing impedes the success of people like her.  If Yale goes test-optional, what else is there in the admissions portfolio that could possibly scuttle the application of somebody like Zoe Kazan? When millionaires and celebrities attack the testing establishment, they pretend to do so on behalf of the marginalized and disadvantaged, but they really want to destroy the SAT because it is the only mechanism by which your kid can get into an elite college ahead of their kid."
Since liberals don't want to believe that IQ is genetically influenced - or even that IQ is real - they hate standardised tests

NYC schools chancellor calls for end to elite school test - "Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross-Porter called for an end to the specialized high school entrance exam Thursday while fuming about new admissions data that showed Asians dominating the controversial test once again... Test backers assert that it’s a colorblind measure that has forged some of the most academically renowned schools in the country. Others also note that many of the immigrant Asian groups that predominate at the eight schools come from low-income backgrounds rather than privilege."

Meme - Lil Nas X ‘Satan Shoes’: "If you don't like it, just don't buy it."
*Aunt Jemima*: *Triggered*

La comunidad afro celebró el cambio de logo de Blancaflor
Comment: "The Aunt Jemima from Argentina?
Well, the woke ridiculousness did it again, my friends. After 65 years, this famous brand of flour called "Blancaflor" removed its famous drawing of a black lady from the packaging, because it is, of course, associated with sLaVEry and rACisM. But the best part is that her image was replaced with the image of two arms cooking something. Some people simply assumed that these two arms belong to a woman, which caused outrage, because "of courrrse, these narrow minded bigots are implying that women belong in the kitchen". On the other hand, some people perceived that these arms belong to a man, and it also caused controversy because "this HORRIBLE man stole the spotlight from some poor black lady". Once again, there's no way to win with these idiots.
Well, I, for one, used to love the black lady and I am going to miss her Good bye, black lady!
Edit: Just to make it clear for the cry-babies. Whether the packaging is actually racist or not, that's debatable. The point is that, even after removing the black lady, people still found two completely different reasons to be offended."

ryan cooper on Twitter - "sales of mega-pickups, which have basically been deliberately designed to intimidate and kill pedestrians, are booming"
Maybe it's projection
A blue check mark, of course

Black man's jaywalking ticket in N.S. was racial discrimination, says rights board - "A human rights board of inquiry has found that a Black man was discriminated against by Halifax police when he was ticketed for jaywalking... the officers first stopped Symonds as he headed for the Nook Espresso Bar across from his office without using a crosswalk at the corner. They warned him about jaywalking and told him he was free to go. Perryman said that first encounter was “brief and cordial.”  The decision says the facts of what happened next were disputed, with Symonds telling the board he crossed at the intersection when he returned to his office and the two police officers saying they observed him again crossing in the middle of the block and that he didn’t yield to a bus. The officers followed him into his office building and gave him a ticket.  Under the province’s Motor Vehicle Act, it’s an offence if someone crosses a road at a place where there’s not a regular crossing for pedestrians and doesn’t “yield the right of way to vehicles on the roadway.”  However, Perryman found in his ruling that it was “more likely than not” that Symonds didn’t jaywalk on his return trip and concluded the officers’ decision to wait and observe the man was based in part on race. Perryman has ordered the Halifax Regional Police to pay Symonds $15,232 and give him a written apology. He also suggests all new hires complete training in policing without bias... Perryman noted that he was concerned about the decision of the officers to remain and observe Symonds after the first encounter, as the man exited the coffee shop to return to work.  His decision says the officers told the board of inquiry they kept watching Symonds because they had some time available and that it was a so-called “de-escalating tactic,” where they believed police presence would deter law-breaking.  Perryman said he found those explanations inadequate."
Minorities should be allowed to do whatever they want

Avoiding marginalised people in the street : socialjustice101 - "I am a white, cis hetero presenting male. For the last 3 years, I have been actively crossing the street to avoid women, especially at night. I do this to try and reduce their anxiety that I may be an attacker. After the tragic events last summer, I started doing the same when I encountered BIPOC. I just felt like the last thing BIPOC needed was to have to face white people. With this in mind though, I've also seen a lot of black people in the UK, describe how white people always cross the road to avoid them and how this is a microagression. so Im really torn here and would like sokr advice about what the best thing to do is? Should I actively try and interact with minorities and try and be a good ally? or should i step to one side and give them the space they need yo breathe, whilst silmultaniously trying to be an ally?"

The Independent - Posts | Facebook - "Exclusive: Born and raised in London, Ace Ruele Aristotles has three children in UK"
"UK-born actor Ace Ruele faces deportation to Jamaica"
So many people in the comments are unwilling and/or unable to understand that the UK (and indeed, most of the world) does not practise jus solis. They need to decolonise their thinking from the hegemony of American liberalism

Meme - "The party that tells us DACA kids shouldn't have to suffer for the crimes of their parents also tell us that Americans should suffer for the crimes of slavery centuries ago."
Basically only white people inherit Original Sin

#UsToo: Why haven't more black women been sexually harassed? - "No one wants to be sexually harassed in the workplace, but everyone would like to think that they’re worthy of being sexually harassed in the workplace. When I was sexually harassed at White Castle, back in the mid ‘00s, causing me to walk off the line mid-shift, it was one of the most difficult times in my life, but it was nice to know that someone wanted to take advantage of me. My concern is that not enough black women are being sexually harassed in the media. In the past few weeks, literally hundreds of women have come forward to allege sexual harassment—and worse—against Harvey Weinstein, James Toback, Brett Ratner et alia, and few, if any of them, have been black."

Cathy Reisenwitz 🥑 on Twitter - "I’m watching the Boondocks for the first time and I have feelings. I understand the viewer is supposed to laugh at some of these characters. But I must say it feels gross, as an exceedingly melanin-deficient person, to laugh at Black characters."
Having real, believable black characters who are treated the same way as white people is racist
The poisonous obsession with "punching down" strikes again

Anyone who has no slave is his own slave
A slave who looks on while a fellow slave is tied up and thrown into the grave with his master should realise that the same thing could be done to him someday
It is when the son is being given advice that the slave learns...
"We think this trade must go on," one local king in Bonny infamously said in the 19th Century.  "That is the verdict of our oracle and our priests. They say that your country, however great, can never stop a trade ordained by God."... Acclaimed Igbo historian Adiele Afigbo described the slave trade in south-eastern Nigeria which lasted until the late 1940s and early 1950s as one of the best kept secrets of the British colonial administration.  While the international trade ended, the local trade continued... Records from the UK's National Archives at Kew Gardens show how desperately the British struggled to end the internal trade in slaves for almost the entire duration of the colonial period"
Only white people get judged for their ancestors' sins, while black people who have been involved in the slave trade in living memory are innocent

An African country reckons with its history of selling slaves - The Washington Post - "Less than a mile from what was once West Africa's biggest slave port, the departure point for more than a million people in chains, stands a statue of Francisco Félix de Souza, a man regarded as the father of this city.  There's a museum devoted to his family and a plaza in his name. Every few decades, his descendants proudly bestow his nickname — "Chacha" — on a de Souza who is appointed the clan's new patriarch.  But there's one part of de Souza's legacy that is seldom addressed. After arriving here in the late 1700s from Brazil, then a Portuguese colony, he became one of the biggest slave merchants in the history of the transatlantic slave trade... The trade largely stopped by the end of the 19th century, but Benin never fully confronted what had happened. The kingdoms that captured and sold slaves still exist today as tribal networks, and so do the groups that were raided. The descendants of slave merchants, like the de Souza family, remain among the nation's most influential people, with a large degree of control over how Benin's history is portrayed... Many members of the de Souza family are aghast at the idea.  "He was a man who helped modernize our nation," said Judicael de Souza, 43, noting his ancestor's role in expanding agricultural trade with Europe... Late last year, the family appointed its new patriarch, or Chacha. He is a construction engineer named Moise de Souza who lives in a concrete apartment building with a poster-size picture of himself on the wall. He has light brown skin, a point of pride for a family that often boasts about its ties to colonialists... he worried that members of his family would be livid if he shared that sentiment publicly in Benin. He vehemently opposes any mention of de Souza as a slave merchant in the new Ouidah museum.  "It's the reputation of our family," he said. "We don't want to be known for this dirty thing.""

Introducing Woke: Detect Insensitive Language in Your Source Code | by Caitlin Elfring | Better Programming

Escape The Echo Chamber - Posts | Facebook - "A University of Minnesota student posted on Instagram about a late night encounter with police that left him “mentally and emotionally tormented”.  In response the police released video and audio of the encounter that told a very different story."
The most useful part of body cameras

S.F. high school students get a lesson in subtle white privilege - "Three weeks ago I processed the Capitol insurrection with my high school students. Rallying our inquiry skills, we analyzed the images of that historic day, images of white men storming through the Capitol, fearless and with no forces to stop them. “This,” I said, “is white supremacy, this is white privilege. It can be hard to pinpoint, but when we see, it, we know it.”  Across our Zoom screen, they affirmed, with nods, thumbs-ups, and emojis of anger and frustration. Fast-forward two weeks as we analyzed images from the inauguration... They saw a white man in a puffy jacket and huge mittens, distant not only in his social distancing, but in his demeanor and attire... Sen. Sanders is no white supremacist insurrectionist. But he manifests privilege, white privilege, male privilege and class privilege, in ways that my students could see and feel.   “When you see privilege, you know it,” I’d told them weeks before. Yet, when they saw Sen. Bernie Sanders manifesting privilege, when seemingly no one else did, I struggled to explain that disparity. I am beyond puzzled as to why so many are loving the images of Bernie and his gloves. Sweet, yes, the gloves, knit by an educator. So “Bernie.”  Not so sweet? The blindness I see, of so many (Bernie included), to the privileges Bernie represents. I don’t know many poor, or working class, or female, or struggling-to-be-taken-seriously folk who would show up at the inauguration of our 46th president dressed like Bernie. Unless those same folk had privilege. Which they don’t. Ingrid Seyer-Ochi is a public school teacher."
I thought Jews weren't white
Of course teachers aren't trying to indoctrinate their students

Woman Behind Bernie's Mittens Quit Making Them Because Taxes Killed Her Business - "The Vermont school teacher who made Bernie Sanders’ mittens, featured in the most recent viral meme, said she had to stop making them after the federal government taxed her too much.  “People have been contacting me thinking that they can get mittens, and actually they can’t. I don’t have any more, and I don’t have much of a mitten business anymore because it really wasn’t worth it,” Jen Ellis explained... Even though Sanders admitted in 2019 that he would raise taxes on the middle class to support his Medicare for All plan, Ellis has shown support for the senator, sending him the repurposed sweater mittens in 2016 because she was “heartbroken” that he lost the Democratic nomination and “probably wouldn’t run again.”"
Only those who vote Republican are mocked for voting against their interests

Bernie Sanders meme: Viral image of senator at inauguration sparks a debate about sexism - "Some people posted on Twitter and suggested that the reaction to the picture and the popularity of the meme is a sign of wider misogyny in society. The crux of the argument seems to be that if a woman had turned up to an event like this wearing similar clothing, supposedly looking disgruntled and unenthusiastic, then people wouldn’t have had the same jubilant and positive reaction... 'I’ll admit the Bernie memes are funny BUT his openly grumpy disposition during a very historic moment for women and particularly women of color speaks volumes to me.'...  to be fair on Bernie, it was freezing cold and he is almost 80 years old, so it seems understandable why he might be wrapped up warm and not look so smiley. Also, Michelle Obama was seen looking less than happy at Trump’s inauguration (and later spoke about how she “stopped trying” smile during the event) and it became a meme way back in 2017. Some people think we should just let people enjoy things without having to create edgy discourse about every meme or online trend."
This is why in Communist countries they clap for their leaders for so long

Zoning, Housing and Liberals

Divergence in Land Use Regulations and Property Rights / Christopher Serkin, in Southern California Law Review

"Zoning has long been seen as a kind of ex ante nuisance prevention. It separated incompatible uses of land before they arose, keeping factories out of residential neighborhoods during the urbanization and industrialization of the early twentieth century. And it protected single–family homes from more intensive uses, in effect stratifying much of the country into single-use zones. This had a pernicious underbelly, reinforcing divisions based on class and on race, keeping apartment buildings and other forms of multifamily housing out of more affluent single-family zones. Indeed, this is zoning’s original sin. But this is also the fundamental justification that the Supreme Court endorsed in Euclid.

Few people objected to the idea of using regulations to separate genuinely incompatible land uses. Indeed, the regulatory goal of minimizing externalities was consonant with both liberal and conservative convictions. But zoning’s contours have been contested now for a long time. By and large, conservatives objected to regulatory restrictions on property rights and so have advocated for limited zoning that separates only the most conflicting uses. Others on the right have advocated for even more extreme regulatory minimalism, relying on private land use controls instead of zoning and invoking covenants and homeowners’ associations as remedies for regulatory overreach. Liberals, on the other hand, embraced zoning. They were willing to take a more capacious view of the harms of neighboring uses and so promoted increasingly fine-grained land use regulations... Today, the underlying goals of many land use regulations have nothing to do with ex ante nuisance controls...

Although not always noticed, even by local officials and developers let alone by courts and scholars, the presumptive conservative opposition to land use regulations and liberal support has, in many cases, flipped...

Advocates for sustainable development clash with NIMBYs (“Not in My Backyard”) and BANANAs (“Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything”) and are joined by California’s new YIMBYs (“Yes in My Backyard”)...

People concerned with preserving the existing in-place community will usually object to development that changes the character of a place...

Just as some people seek growth for the amenities it brings, others may object because of increasing congestion or changes in municipal character that can accompany substantial new development. It can also come simply from status quo bias.

Again, whatever the specific motivation, the anti-growth agenda embraces zoning and land use regulations of all kinds. The clearest regulatory strategy to preserve the status quo is to erect as many regulatory hurdles as possible to prevent new development. Strict zoning requirements, including designating large areas of a municipality as effectively off-limits for development, are the most obvious techniques. But adding new layers of regulation can be equally if not more effective. One study has demonstrated that every new regulation reduces building permits for multifamily units by 6%. Historic preservation rules, strict subdivision ordinances, development impact fees, and so forth can also create an atmosphere hostile to development that drives growth elsewhere...

While normatively controversial, local governments often seek to exclude affordable housing because low-income households generate relatively little revenue and yet place significant burdens on municipal budgets through impacts on schools and other municipal services. On the flip side, local governments seek land uses that generate substantial tax revenue while creating few costs. Depending on the nature of the tax base, this often means seeking to attract high-valued homes for people with few if any school-aged children...

Simply increasing the supply of any form of new housing can also put downward pressure on price... The most extreme example is the YIMBY movement in California, which pushed for a change in 2018 that would have all but eliminated density limits on residential development anywhere near mass transit. This would have unlocked an enormous amount of development potential throughout California’s cities. The measure failed, but there can be no doubt that affordability is motivating increasing political pressure...

In 2019, Professor Vicki Been et al. surveyed the economic literature and concluded that unlocking supply, even without explicit inclusionary zoning requirements, helps make housing more affordable, whereas supply restrictions drive prices up...

Zoning can be used to exclude disfavored groups or businesses. This is most obvious and familiar in the context of racially motivated zoning. Although explicitly race-based zoning is clearly unconstitutional and illegal, exclusionary zoning often has a racially discriminatory impact, if not motivation. Because this can be so difficult to detect and to prove, it remains widespread. For example, opposition to affordable housing or simply to less expensive multifamily housing may well be motivated for some people by racial animus...

Multiplicity in land use regulations can allow people to better satisfy their individual preferences by choosing to live in a place that pursues their particular regulatory priorities. And they will not always choose to live in the place where their property rights are the most expansive. Indeed, it is quite to the contrary. While no one likes to be told what they can and cannot do on their own property, almost everyone likes being able to tell neighbors what they can do on theirs. Many people will willingly trade greater restrictions on their own land for equivalent restrictions on their neighbors. The proliferation of common interest communities, many of which are subject to much more burdensome property restrictions than any local zoning ordinance would ever impose, is proof that many people prefer this trade–off. Just as people can choose to live in a place with good public schools, or low taxes, or mass transit, or lots of open space, regulatory priorities can be important selection criteria for homeowners...

[For Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee] the City also sees a substantial fiscal upside. Not only does new development generate more property tax revenue, but also its net fiscal impact is even more positive. Where dense urban infill has occurred nearby, the net tax revenue per square foot is dramatically higher than anywhere else in the metro area because of the relatively low cost of building out infrastructure and the high property values...

Consider, first, the effect on traffic: a central source of opposition. This is a perplexing reason to oppose redevelopment. Music Row is adjacent to Vanderbilt and in the heart of the City. Yes, new residential buildings will increase local traffic to some extent, but it should marginally reduce traffic in the City more broadly. It is not exactly transit-oriented development since there is no meaningful transit in Nashville. But it is development that is closer to the places people work and play and so will result in fewer vehicle miles traveled. Traffic has a lot of political valence, and it makes tactical sense for opponents to use it as a reason to push back against development, but it seems misguided as a basis for objecting new buildings on Music Row. For this same reason, those concerned with sustainable development should favor dense infill in places like Music Row over suburban sprawl. This also reduces development’s total carbon footprint.

Increased housing costs citywide are also a poor reason to oppose the redevelopment of Music Row. While new housing may well precipitate a change in the character of the particular neighborhood and increase prices there, the best evidence demonstrates that adding supply will decrease median property values in the City and increase affordability. This is true even if the new housing stock is exclusively market rate and expensive. Such is the power of supply and demand"

Related:

San Francisco's Housing Activists Are Making the City More Expensive - The Atlantic (also headlined: "San Francisco's Self-Defeating Housing Activists")

Why Middle-Class Americans Can't Afford to Live in Liberal Cities - The Atlantic
Addendum: "according to Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko... “Even after adjusting for differences of income, liberal markets tend to have higher income inequality and worse affordability”... There is a deep literature tying liberal residents to illiberal housing policies that create affordability crunches for the middle class. In 2010, UCLA economist Matthew Kahn published a study of California cities, which found that liberal metros issued fewer new housing permits. The correlation held over time: As California cities became more liberal, he said, they built fewer homes."

""Democratic, high-tax metropolitan areas... tend to constrain new development more," Saiz concluded, and "historic areas seem to be more regulated." He also found that cities with high home values tend to have more restrictive development policies."

Do liberal cities limit new housing development? Evidence from California

"Traditional explanations for why some communities block new housing construction focus on incumbent home owner incentives to block entry. Local resident political ideology may also influence community permitting decisions. This paper uses city level panel data across California metropolitan areas from 2000 to 2008 to document that liberal cities grant fewer new housing permits than observationally similar cities located within the same metropolitan area. Cities experiencing a growth in their liberal voter share have a lower new housing permit growth rate."

Liberals and Housing: A Study in Ambivalence

"Do political liberals support or oppose zoning changes that allow more market-rate development? I use survey data from California and show that liberals are ambivalent. The ambivalence is explained in part by homeownership, which is associated with opposition to new housing of all kinds, even as it has little influence on attitudes about other policies. Even controlling for ownership, however, I find that self-identified liberals remain ambivalent about new development, never supporting it as much as they support more stereotypically liberal policies, and opposing it outright when reminded that enabling new housing might require less regulation, particularly environmental regulation. In contrast, liberals strongly and consistently support spending on subsidized affordable housing. The results together suggest that in supply-constrained cities with liberal electorates, the political calculus is unfavorable to new housing. Ownership injects some conservatism into development politics; liberal ideology could provide a counterweight to that conservatism, but that counterweight might be blunted if development also requires deregulation."

From what I see, liberals still support zoning (to prevent both densification and new development) - they just blame foreigners, speculators, landlords and big business for unaffordable housing, and pretend that supply isn't a factor.

Yet, higher density results in more tax revenue, which can be used for the public services that liberals love.

For sure, the environmentalist opposition to new development is coming from liberals.

Ironically, environmentalists and the NIMBY anti development lobby are literally conservative - they don't want things to change or even look back to a prelapsarian ideal.

The same people who want low density housing everywhere also oppose new development, block everything due to supposed environmental impacts, demand good public transport/public transit - and then complain about high housing prices. And they are for rent control too. And they will call anyone who points out that immigration boosts housing prices racist.

Addendum: Refined to: The same people who only want low density housing everywhere because they hate condos and oppose any intensification also oppose opening new land to development, blocking everything due to supposed environmental impacts (despite intensification leading to a lower average environmental impact) or because we can't afford to lose farmland (as if we must grow as much food as possible nearby), while blocking housing renewal because that will displace existing residents, as well as demanding good public transport/public transit (even as they refuse to allow lines to run under their homes or have maintenance and storage facilities in their neighbourhoods) - and then complain about high housing prices. And they are for rent control too even though that reduces the incentive to build new housing. And they will call anyone who points out that immigration boosts housing prices racist - even as they call for foreign buyers to be kicked out, even though foreign buyers make up a small portion of the market.
Keywords: the same people who demand public transit

I've also seen comments by some people that others don't have to live in their communities (i.e. the ones they oppose development in). I've asked where people should live instead, but haven't gotten an answer.

Links - 26th November 2021 (1)

Elman España - Posts | Facebook - "I’m sorry, but if a married, 44-year-old Will Smith gradually developed a sexual relationship with one of Willow’s 23-year-old friends under the guise of “helping her heal,” every single female on my thread would be dragging him through the mud as a sick man who manipulated and exploited a young girl who was half his age.  He would have been labeled as a predator and all sorts of conversations about the problem with prominent men in positions of power who use their status to take advantage of helpless young girls would ensue.   But with Jada, it’s all jokes and support for her finding her happiness.  "

Meme - "A girl with an "eat the rich" sweater just boarded in first class"

Oliver Jia (オリバー・ジア) on Twitter - "you were told communism is bad by people who said slavery was good"
"I was told that communism is bad by my Chinese family who survived the Cultural Revolution which killed 20 million people."

John Ivison: Preposterous NDP policy resolutions suggest the inmates are taking over - "In this modern socialist utopia, the rich are taxed into insolvency, the military is disbanded and capitalism abolished.   That is an exaggeration – but barely. This year’s bumper crop of bad ideas includes: taxing all wealth over $1 billion at 100 per cent (“every billionaire is a policy failure”); compelling the Bank of Canada to buy all future Government of Canada bond issues; nationalizing “Big Oil”; expressing solidarity with Cuba and Venezuela; removing statues of John A. Macdonald, an “architect of a policy of genocide”, and, phasing out the Canadian Armed Forces (and subsequently retraining its members to work in community services, public transit and parks). There is the usual toxic brew of anti-Semitism – Israel should be boycotted and sanctioned until it ends its “apartheid practices” – and foreign policy delusion – Canada should withdraw from NATO, NORAD and all major trade deals.  It’s no surprise that Modern Monetary Theory has its disciples among New Democrats, who see it as a way to finance their air castles. Under an NDP government, debt would be simply a record of the money spent and not taxed, with no need to worry about paying it back...   The NDP has a well-deserved reputation for getting it wrong on the big things. J.S. Woodsworth, the leader of its progenitor party CCF, opposed Canada’s entry into the Second World War, even as German jackboots marched into Poland."

Adam Zivo: Unserious NDP faction wants to abolish the military and pull out of NATO - "When Jack Layton was the NDP’s leader a decade ago, he focused on instituting reforms that could give the party a credible chance at governing. Real power has to deal with real problems in the real world, and so he squelched delusional voices that believed, for example, that conflict can be avoided by simply asking nicely. Among improvements in other policy areas, Layton affirmed his support for NATO and for the conscientious use of military force. His reward was a crescendo of support, carrying the NDP to historic levels of influence. His successor, Thomas Mulcair, followed in his steps, with mixed results.  The NDP’s current leader, Jagmeet Singh, has been less interested in building upon the lessons of the Layton days. Instead, he seems preoccupied with cosplaying as Bernie Sanders, copying trendy leftist positions from the United States in an attempt to bolster enthusiasm within his base... Canada’s “peace” movement is driven not by the love for peace, but rather by a kind of civilizational self-loathing that is as juvenile as it is obsessive. Operated by a small but dedicated cadre of academics and social miscellanea, it produces and disseminates propaganda that serves, more than anything else, to justify the atrocities committed by autocrats abroad...  any crime can be apologized for so long as it scores points against Canada and the West more broadly. To them, China is a benign power that is not engaging in cultural genocide against Uyghurs (as a China scholar, let me assure you that this is wrong). Venezuela’s brutalities towards its own people are excusable and criticism of it is an act of imperialism. In Libya, Moammar Gadhafi should have been given the freedom to massacre the popular uprising against his dictatorship. Preventing Serbia’s ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians was a tragedy. In Syria, Bashar Assad is not a bad guy because, as one faction of the Syrian freedom movement is jihadist, the entire freedom movement is illegitimate. Furthermore, according to these activists, Russia’s destabilizing shadow-war on Ukraine is actually NATO’s fault, because the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, which ousted the corrupt and Russophilic Viktor Yanukovych, was obviously orchestrated by the CIA, provoking a blameless Russia. Eastern Europeans support NATO not because of legitimate grievances against Russian imperialism but because, unable to think for themselves, they have simply been duped by the CIA and vaguely-defined “corporate interests.” These are the beliefs of the Canadian peace movement. So long as you can vilify the West, war is peace, and genocide, repression and war crimes are acceptable, even desirable. Intellectually and morally bankrupt, these activists shield themselves from introspection by maintaining a tightly controlled echo chamber, where even the NDP, their greatest political ally, is considered compromised."

At NDP convention, a new wealth tax on millionaires and a $20 minimum wage gain favour - "Other resolutions that passed over the weekend included... a resolution in favour of solidarity with protesting farmers in India."

the void on Twitter - "10 years from now, expect OnlyFans women to complain about how they were “groomed” or “forced” to twerk on OnlyFans. They’ll blame men for their bad choices. No accountability whatsoever..."

Matt Walsh on Twitter - "Okay, I’ll punch you in the face and then accuse you of violent assault when you punch me back. You can’t bring up my punch in your response because that would be what aboutism. You’re clearly just not comfortable discussing your own behavior."

This DAD can't even bond with his daughter- wife accuses him of assault unbelievable - "I [36f] just ruined my whole family by asking one single question. So for some context, my husband and daughter both play video games. I do not. They usually play them by themselves but since the whole Corona virus thing has happened they've started playing them together. So they've been spending a lot of time together, yeah yeah I feel left out and I've been lonely.
So my husband [39m] and daughter [13f] stay in a room by themselves for long periods at a time. I'm talking hours a day. They'll just sit in there playing video games all the fucking time. I just thought "weird, they usually never spend time together, but they've been with each other for hours a day in a room by themselves." They will occasionally leave the house and go to the grocery store together or a McDonald's or something, but they'll come back and play some video games.
I don't know why I asked, but after them staying in a room together for 6 hours my husband came out, went to the living room and gave me a kiss. I felt super suspicious of him and I straight up asked him, "Have you been sexually assaulting our daughter?" I thought he did, I mean they never really were ever together, but all of a sudden they suspiciously started spending tons of time together. He immediately gave me a "What the fuck" look and pushed me off him onto the couch. I screamed at him "What the hell is wrong with you" I thought I caught him, I thought I figured out that my husband was doing stuff to our daughter. He straight up left the house, didn't tell me bye or anything. He didn't even say anything to our daughter. 30 minutes pass, he hasn't answered the phone or responded to any of my texts. I decide I'm going to get to the bottom of this and find out what the hell is going on. I go to my daughters room and she's sitting there on her phone. I sit on her bed, she had a nervous look on her face, but I got the courage to ask her, "Has your dad been sexually assaulting you?" She seemed to put two and two together at this point and figured that's why he left the house, but to my demise she said something along the lines of "What the fuck mom? No!" I felt my heart drop. She is a good kid, she has never cursed before, most certainly not at me. So I could tell this really bothered her. All I said was, "I'm sorry" I then walked outside and started crying. My husband pulls in the drive way around an hour later. He walks in the living room, sees me, and says "Me and Kate are going to be spending some time at my parents house. And don't get any fucking ideas, because she asked me to come get her" He said this in the meanest tone he possible could, I just wanted to die in that moment. They pack up for 10ish minutes, then leave. I just ruined my whole fucking family just like that. I now know he hasn't done anything to our daughter, just their reactions proved that. I'm so fucked up for just ruining everything.
What do I do? They left me? I just wanted my daughter to be safe and I just fucked up everything. They probably hate me now. I don't blame them, I just accused my husband of the worse thing possible. Please just someone help me"

Quantifying the presumption of innocence - "Across all 3 types of crimes and all 3 categories of appearance, median participants’ prior odds of guilt were close to 0.50, indicating that prospective jurors generally believed the defendants were just as likely to be guilty as innocent prior to the introduction of any evidence. A main effect for appearance was detected. ‘Bad’ and ‘mediocre’ defendants were perceived to be more likely to be guilty than ‘good’ defendants. There were no differences between the various alleged crimes"

The Problem | RepresentUs - "Professors Martin Gilens (Princeton University) and Benjamin I. Page (Northwestern University) looked at more than 20 years worth of data to answer a simple question: Does the government represent the people?  Their study took data from nearly 2000 public opinion surveys and compared it to the policies that ended up becoming law. In other words, they compared what the public wanted to what the government actually did. What they found was extremely unsettling: The opinions of 90% of Americans have essentially no impact at all."

How the New York Times A/B tests their headlines - "The New York Times is a big deal. As they tell their advertisers, the NYT is the #1 news source for young, rich thought leaders... Frequent NYT readers will end up thinking the world is scarier and more shocking than it really is."
Only fascists criticise the (liberal) media!

Media exposure and dimensions of anxiety sensitivity: differential associations with PTSD symptom clusters - "media exposure and trait anxiety predicted hyperarousal and re-experiencing symptoms"
So if the media cause mental illness...

Kiwi fat ban ruins couple’s new life Down Under - "A ROLY-POLY Welsh woman has been told she can’t emigrate to New Zealand – because she is too fat.  Rowan Trezise, 33, had been hoping to move to the nation – which prides itself on its mammoth All Blacks rugby players – to be with her husband Richie, who has started a new job there.  Kiwi officials at first refused entry to them BOTH because they were too big.  After making a calculation using the body mass index they feared the cuddly couple would be a burden on the nation’s health service.  Richie, 35, lost the pounds, passed a second test and got a visa.  But Rowan, an airport worker from Cardiff, is still too big and is now hoping to shed the pounds before Christmas so she can join her telecommunications engineer husband. If she fails, Richie will come back... Mark Watts, spokesman for Telecom New Zealand, was sympathetic but declined to criticise the rules. He said the strict visa scheme “enables us to get skilled workers from around the world.”"
Too bad they're white, so they can't blame "racism"

Facebook - "In July 2018, three friends set up a Twitter account with the handle "sharonliew86". One of them was Zainal Abidin Shaiful Bahari, while the other 2 were not mentioned in the media reports. By early 2019, the account was run by Zainal alone... One rule some people have for satire is to target those who are in positions of power (“punching up”) and to spare those who are not (“punching down”). “Punching” is a form of “disparagement humour”—referring to “jokes in which one party is victimised, belittled, or suffers some misfortunes or acts of aggression”."
Of course, Alfian would have choice words if a Chinese person had been behind it being "ironically racist"

James Lindsay - Posts | Facebook - "Jan 8 I recently read Isaac Asimov's review of "1984" (written in the year 1984). It actually convinced me that it's not a very good book and it's very appealing to conservatives because it's specifically about Stalin"
"How soon until Orwell's 1984 gets cancelled by the Woke because it shows how totalitarian they are? It was about if the Fabian Socialists got Stalin's power (hello, 2021). Notice how they don't like being identified for what they are in that regard."

Restaurants are cooking your steak wrong on purpose - "chefs are under bottom-line pressure to reduce throwaways that occur when customers say a steak is too well-done. An under-cooked steak, on the other hand, can always be salvaged with a touch more fire as my friend’s was. Most chefs regard beef cooked to medium-rare — with an internal temperature of 130 degrees off the grill and 135 degrees after resting — as the best way to bring out flavor and retain moisture in tender cuts such as rib-eye and top loin. Unlike rare, medium-rare allows time for the outside to caramelize and develop a sear... Adding to the issue is the fact that many chefs have dispensed with using meat thermometers and just go by feel, says Fortuna, who keeps a close eye on his steaks’ outer char as well as on their inner moisture.  “[Using a thermometer] creates a hole, juice comes out and the meat gets dry”...   Then there’s the fad factor. Some chefs are swayed to undercook because rawness and near-rawness is seen as somehow superior.  “Overcooking steak is regarded [by some] as a greater moral and aesthetic sin than undercooking it,” Mark Schatzker, author of “Steak: One Man’s Search for the World’s Tastiest Piece of Beef,” tells The Post. “A rare steak is edgy … [but] an overcooked steak, on the other hand, is a criminal act, like putting ketchup on foie gras.”"

Anger Increases Susceptibility to Misinformation - "The effect of anger on acceptance of false details was examined using a three-phase misinformation paradigm. Participants viewed an event, were presented with schema-consistent and schema-irrelevant misinformation about it, and were given a surprise source monitoring test to examine the acceptance of the suggested material. Between each phase of the experiment, they performed a task that either induced anger or maintained a neutral mood. Participants showed greater susceptibility to schema-consistent than schema-irrelevant misinformation. Anger did not affect either recognition or source accuracy for true details about the initial event, but suggestibility for false details increased with anger. In spite of this increase in source errors (i.e., misinformation acceptance), both confidence in the accuracy of source attributions and decision speed for incorrect judgments also increased with anger. Implications are discussed with respect to both the general effects of anger and real-world applications such as eyewitness memory."

Japan's Macho Cafe Is Like Hooters in Reverse - "Food and drink are on the expensive side, but if you order a can of beer, your macho waiter will pour it and then crush the can."

James Lindsay - Posts | Facebook - "I keep trying to explain the "Hegelian religion" thing. It's so important. You have to hear it. You have to see. It's why this is happening. Hegel's ideas have been boiled down to a belief that true freedom is only possible through the State, which must be perfected. The people who are taking over and their wide base of support religiously believe that by empowering the State and making sure it only has the right politics, you get to true freedom. Everything else is oppression. Everything else. Liberalism, freedom, reason, everything. For Hegel, this was an evolution of the "ideas of the world," toward the self-realization and actualization of the Absolute Spirit. This got turned material and political by Marx and then the neo-Marxists, who made it cultural. Identity was the weakest spot, so it's used now. Most of the people who believe this faith don't know Hegel (or Marx, or Gramsci, or Horkheimer, or Marcuse (or Fanon), or Crenshaw, etc.). They believe religiously that the State and the fight for State Power is what provides freedom (liberation) from oppression. It's the ideas. Not the people. The spirit, the method. They don't have to have read a damn one of those people to have adopted the fundamental belief structure, just like most Christians have never read more than a page or two of the Bible. The chief tenets of this faith are (1) that the Utopia will exist when the State controls everything and (2) when the state becomes perfected (by means of the "dialectical process" of pointing out all of its contradictions and shortcomings, relentlessly and purging wrongpolitik). That is, these people (broadly, the zealous left and those captured by it) believe religiously that they must "transform society" through a process of empowering and "perfecting" the state, and that anyone in their way is a "fascist" who creates oppression and must be stamped out."

Big breasts prove model's innocence - "A Japanese bikini model-turned-actress has been acquitted on trespass charges because a recreation of the alleged crime showed she couldn't possibly have fit through a hole because of her ample bust.  The model, who goes by her professional name of Serena Kozakura, had been sentenced to 14 months in prison for willful destruction of property after a Nov. 6 incident in which she allegedly kicked a hole the door and re-entered her boyfriend's apartment following an argument with another woman she had discovered there...   During the appeal hearing, the man and another witness both testified that Kozakura had kicked a hole in the door and then squeezed through to re-enter the apartment.  But the hole in the door measured 28.3 inches by 8.7 inches - and that was way too small for Kozakura to fit her famous 40 inch bust through.  "I lost work after being charged, but justice prevailed in the end," said a delighted Kozakura after the ruling. "I was always worried about being a bit fat, but this time I was glad.""

Apple consumption is related to better sexual quality of life in young women - "Even if some evidence exists of a positive correlation between regular intake of phytoestrogens, polyphenols, antioxidants and women’s sexual health, there is not a study addressing the potential correlation between daily apple consumption and women’s sexual function. We aim to assess whether there is a tie between daily apple intake and sexual function in a sample of healthy young sexually active Italian women, not complaining of any sexual disorders... This study suggests a potential relationship between regular daily apple consumption and better sexuality in our young women population."

Meme - "The day my husband asks me to pay halves on rent is the day I pack my bags"
"and go where? You can't even afford half rent mate"

‘Do not come to Amsterdam’: Residents join campaign against the city's nuisance visitors - "the city council is investigating a potential ban on laughing gas, restricting alcohol sales and prohibiting outdoor drinking in the Red Light District.   In the longer term, meanwhile, the council is trying to shift the prostitution industry elsewhere, and is considering the impact of banning foreign tourists from coffeeshops, where cannabis is sold. This is, in fact, already a Dutch law but Amsterdam has simply not enforced it – something the mayor and a wide alliance of businesses and residents want to change (with a particular eye on British tourists, a third of whom say it’s their main reason for travel)... “The first visitors who came back were the drugs tourists. They go to the supermarket, eat and drink on the street, sleep in their cars… and they finance their little holiday with the extra amounts they buy here, to sell in their home country.”  He argues that these low-spending groups contribute very little and leave behind litter and even human waste. “The message should be, for [badly-behaved] people who come, from England, for example, that there’s a big chance that you’ll be spoken to or fined,” he added. “Amsterdam will not accept it any more.”"
This isn't xenophobia because "white" countries are involved

Scientists develop new drug that can regenerate lost TEETH in mice and ferrets - "Suppression of the gene USAG-1 with an antibody treatment was found to allow teeth to grow back."

Reports predicting job loss via automation are overstating the case. - "there’s a huge difference between “robots” and “automation.” Once, many elevators were operated by people. An office building in D.C. still had elevator operators in the 2010s. They weren’t replaced by humanoid robots that listen to rider requests and manipulate a lever with mechanical fingers. They were replaced by a row of buttons riders press themselves. A lot of automation works this way.  The distinction matters because automation happens all the time. Over the past 150 years, we’ve gone from a nation of farmers to a nation of factory workers to a nation of white collar and service employees, with much of that momentous change driven by automation. But while regional economies have been disrupted and recessions have created periodic unemployment crises, there has never been a chronic, structural shortage of jobs nationwide. New inventions create new markets and jobs to go with them.  The robot job apocalypse scenario is based on the assumption that the next wave of automation technology will be fundamentally different. Artificial intelligence in particular is thought to be advancing so quickly that replacement jobs won’t keep pace. People wonder whether our fragile, imperfect species will be necessary much longer. But that’s not what the forecasters are saying...   “At risk” of automation does not, in that analysis, mean “likely to be automated.” It means, “could theoretically be automated if someone had unlimited time, money, and access to the latest A.I.” That’s an enormous difference. Perhaps the engineers at Boston Dynamics, which makes those viral videos of disturbingly humanoid robots, could spend millions of dollars building a robot version of the guy who stands on the street corner twirling the big pointy sign that says “Going Out of Business Sale!!!” But they won’t, because nobody would buy that robot, because they can just hire the guy for $10 an hour. The recent McKinsey report takes this into account, estimating the cost of developing new automation technology, the price of the labor it would be replacing, and the time it would take for widespread adoption. That’s why its estimate is 27 percent of jobs, not 47 percent. But here, too, definitions matter.  McKinsey predicts that of the 49.1 million who will have their jobs displaced by automation, 32 million will stay in the same occupation, and another 2.2 million will stay in the same occupational category. The number of people who will lose their jobs in the “have to find a new line of work” sense is only 14.9 million. Not 27 percent, but 9 percent.   That’s because automation is more likely to change jobs than destroy them. Machines will perform an increasing share of boring, rote tasks, and people will move to more human work. When hundreds of thousands of ATMs were deployed in the 1980s and 1990s, the number of bank tellers went up, not down, because reduced labor costs allowed banks to open more branches. Now machines count the money, and people sell you auto loans. Automation works especially well when workers are partners in designing their new relationships to machines. Nine percent of jobs is still a lot. But the optimal number isn’t zero. The White House automation report notes that about 6 percent of jobs in the American economy are eliminated every three months through the normal process of some businesses shrinking or shutting down as others start up and expand...   The wilder robot dystopia scenarios often proceed from failures of metaphor. Many powerful new A.I. systems use methods called “neural networks,” which people assume means, “like a human brain.” They are not like human brains. A.I. is pattern recognition. Alexa knows that certain spoken sounds correspond to the sequence of letters “peanut butter,” which is remarkable. But Alexa has no idea what “peanut butter” means or why it tastes good with jelly. The soberest predictions of automation job loss still rely on a lattice of interlocking predictions that may not come true. Five years ago, it seemed like we were on the cusp of robot taxis and freight trucks becoming widespread. Today, we’re stuck on the cusp. The last mile between “almost good enough” and “good enough” can be very long.  Even the simple, routine tasks that are the heart of most job loss scenarios can be fiendishly difficult to automate. Amazon uses hundreds of thousands of cutting-edge robots in its warehouses. But they’re not androids that pick items off of shelves. The robots are the shelves, which move to humans, who still do the picking.   Those simple, deft movements of eye and hand, recognizing and grasping myriad shapes in three dimensions, are the products of millions of years of evolution. Scientists and engineers are working hard to catch up. But they’re not going to fully solve those problems all at once, or in the next nine years, or for a long time after that"

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Links - 25th November 2021 (George Floyd Unrest)

NBC's 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' Claims Police Kill 'Young Black Men with Impunity'

Cori Bush praises BLM activist who 'prayed' for death of police officers in speech comparing Black Americans to Palestinians - "Bassem Masri was a Palestinian-American activist who, according to the New York Post, "received national attention for streaming heated exchanges with cops during protests outside the Ferguson Police Department."  In one such exchange, Masri reportedly said, "I’m praying for your death and your death and your death and your death", referring to police officers. "Pigs In a Blanket Fry Em Like Baconnnn", he also said in a 2014 tweet.  Masri, who passed away in 2018, came up in Cori Bush's speech on Thursday when she compared the events that took place in Ferguson in 2014 to the Palestinian experience of today"

New York radio host says 'f*ck the police' on live stream while drinking booze; kills officer hours later in hit-and-run - "Just hours after downing shots and filming herself on Facebook Live saying "f*ck the police," Jessica Beauvais struck and killed an NYPD officer.... Beauvais also equated herself to the DC comic book character Harley Quinn, and stated that she thinks guns are pretty, and carries a knife everywhere."

Facebook - "As I've mentioned here before, when I was 14 I got caught  joyriding my dad's car. After I was arrested, cuffed, and completely detained, a cop pulled me away from the rest of crowd. While his partner stood watch, he put his gun to my head and said "Do you want me to end it, I can do it right now?" If I had known that white people would be lecturing me about this 30 years later, I would have said "yes.""

Eric on Twitter/a> - "A large amount of black people are turning against social justice efforts because they’re tired of being told they’re too dumb to have ID to vote, too black to not get shot by police, too naive to make good decisions, and too oppressed to be successful."

BREAKING: Project Veritas busts CNN director admitting coverage of black-on-Asian hate crimes would 'set back' BLM movement - "CNN technical director Charles Chester was caught on camera by Project Veritas stating that CNN tailors its reporting to support the Black Lives Matter movement. "I was trying to do some research on like the Asian hate, like the people are getting attacked and whatnot. A bunch of black men that have been attacking Asians," Chester said. "I'm like 'what are you doing?' Like we're trying to like help like with the BLM."  Chester stated that reporting on crimes against Asians committed by black people is not good for optics, as it would upset people on the far-left... According to Chester, "little things like that are enough to set back" the BLM movement "because the far-[right] will start to latch on and create a story of like criminalizing an entire people."  CNN has published multiple news stories over the past few months suggesting that white supremacy is the reason why Asians are being increasingly targeted for hate crimes... Chester further said that the story was that it was "white guys" initially, but that he "hasn't seen anything about focusing on the color of people's skin that aren't white," admitting that CNN contributors and pundits "just aren't saying anything," and the "story loses a little steam" as a result. The footage comes one day after other footage of Chester was leaked by Project Veritas, in which he admitted that CNN intentionally hyped fears of coronavirus to boost the network's ratings."

CNN Twists the Facts on Race, Shootings, and BLM - "Chester later explains that he meant to say “the far Right” when he said “the far Left.”  The CNN director admits that his network focuses on the skin color of a shooter only if that person is white. “I haven’t seen anything about focusing on the color of people’s skin that aren’t white. They [CNN] just aren’t saying anything. You know what I mean?”  Chester also describes CNN’s influence in journalism as akin to “propaganda.”  “You can shape an entire people’s perception about anything [depending] on how you do it,” he says."

Meme - "I support BLM Belt Loops Matter ! Pull up your paints we dont want to see your shit tained underware!!"
"Just say you don't like black people or their culture. Honesty is better."

It's racist to tell people to pull their pants up

BREAKING: Antifa assaults Trump-supporting couple in DC - "Footage depicts the husband punched in the back of the head, maced and tackled to the ground... Similarly to the previous Million MAGA March, attendees are assaulted as the day comes to an end and people begging dispersing. In most cases, this is reported to happen as people begin walking about to their respective hotels and accommodations."

BLM turns on Biden after exclusion from high-profile civil rights meeting - "For those of us who have studied the tides of history, the depravity of mankind, and the tendency to abuse power – things our Founding Fathers were very concerned with – the reality of an executive leader using a group to sow mayhem in order to gain more power is nothing new. It's one of the oldest games in the book.
Apparently, that's a lesson BLM is learning the hard way.
As if that wasn't enough, BLM is apparently learning another lesson from history: that movements based on vindictiveness and covetousness inevitably implode with infighting. BLM has started centralizing money and resources away from local chapters toward national leadership, causing the movement to splinter.
"Ten local chapters are severing ties with the Black Lives Matter Global Network, as the national leadership is known," writes Politico. "They are furious that Patrisse Cullors, its remaining co-founder, assumed the role of executive director of the group and made these decisionswithout their input.""

VIDEO: Bystanders Livestream, Mock Officer As He's Being Beaten, Needs Airlift - "The violent attack occurred in the area of Benton Court at approximately 1 a.m. on Oct. 17, as Rowland Police Office Michael Sales, 27, was responding to a report of a disturbance"

Police shootings database 2015-2021 - Washington Post - "An overwhelming majority of people shot and killed by police are male — over 95 percent. More than half the victims are between 20 and 40 years old."
Clear proof of sexim and ageism!

Peter Schiff on Twitter - "So far in 2020 97% of the people shot to death by police were men. This gender disparity has persisted for years. Are the police racist AND sexist? Perhaps the nearly exclusive depiction of males as criminals in movies and TV has created an unconscious systemic bias against men."

Meme - "97% of people shot to death by police are MALE. MEN are CLEARLY being HUNTED by cops. WOMEN are over 50% of the population. SEXISM has NO PLACE in our society! We cannot rest until these numbers are EQUALIZED!!!"

Stephen Knight 🔊 on Twitter - "Twitter is full of people that can barely regulate their emotions when faced with a different opinion, who also think they'd do better than the average cop in an armed confrontation."

BBC News (UK) on Twitter - "27 police officers injured during largely peaceful anti-racism protests in London"
BBC News (UK) on Twitter - "London protests: More than 100 arrests after violent clashes with police" - 6 police officers suffered minor injuries, and the London Ambulance Service treated 15 patients. But this was a right wing protest"

Facebook - "How dare companies like Zara and H&M claim to support #BlackLivesMatter while using Uyghur Muslim slave labour in Chinese concentration camps"

Katy Faust - Posts | Facebook - "Here’s the problem that I, and many other conservatives have today.  The Black Lives Matter *organization* has taken some thing that conservatives care deeply about, the intrinsic value of all humans (especially those who have suffered injustice) and used it to frost a cake baked with some of the most pernicious ideas humanity has ever known. The Black Lives Matter organization is unabashedly Marxist, which divides a population by groups, usually race or class. The viewing of people as groups rather than individuals is responsible for every mass human evil that we have seen throughout history and especially in the 20th century. Whether it be your standard-issue genocide, ethnic cleansing, Jews depicted as victimizers and everyday Germans the victims, the “bourgeoisie” as the victimizers and the proletariat as the victims, or seeing blacks as subhuman/property based their race- no good comes when everyone in one group is considered virtuous and everybody the other group is wicked.   The founding principles of America were novel and distinct because we built a system based on *individual* liberty and individual rights, not religious or racial or class groups. While it took far too long for us to fully realize that legal equality, the principles themselves have resulted in the freest and most prosperous nation in the world. Collectivism can never accomplish that.  In addition, the black lives matter organization “seeks to disrupt the western prescribed nuclear family.” (As if marriage is an invention of the west when in fact the five major religions of the world disagree about everything *except* marriage.) The destabilization of the family unit is a classic tactic of totalitarian regimes. Chinese youth were taught to believe that they should feel closer to chairman Mao than their own parents. If children cannot trust their parents, see their parents as the enemy, or if their bonds to parents have been “disrupted” their dependence and allegiance must go to the state. Destabilize the family = increase the power of government. Transgenderism is a central aspect of the black lives matter organization. Gender dysphoria is on the rise, especially among autistic girls. Children who don’t fit traditional gender stereotypes are led to believe that somehow that means they were born in the wrong body. Waves and waves of “detransitioners” are now speaking up about the harm gender theorists and complicit physicians have wrecked on their bodies.  No child should be told that to be their true selves they must become a lifelong consumer of pharmaceuticals and cosmetic surgery. Despite all that, Americans are told if they don’t put up a black profile picture or if they refuse to protest, that somehow means they don’t think black lives matter. Black Lives Matter has taken something that every American I know believes in- the intrinsic worth of black lives- and used it to smuggle in radical and destructive ideas. They then claim anyone who doesn’t agree with Black Lives Matter is a racist.  What a clever, manipulative, tactic.  So for anyone who’s chosen to read this far this is where I stand.  BLACK LIVES MATTER. For my friends who are people of color, I want to be the first one to bear your burdens and hear your heart. If you would give me the honor.  But I will never *ever* support the Black Lives Matter organization because it violates the core conservative principles of *individual* rights and dignity, of family as an irreplaceable institution for social thriving, and that physical bodies (especially those of children) are sacred and deserve protection."

Facebook - "Rayshard Brooks of Atlanta, USA
The facts:
- Was drunk in his car
- Asleep at wheel and blocked drive through of a Wendy's
- Resisted arrest
- Grabbed officer's Taser
- Pointed Taser at officer (and may have fired it) while running away
- Shot, died at hospital
What NYT says
- Black man shot by white cops for sleeping in car
Consequence
- Officer fired, under investigation
- police chief resigned
- Wendy's burnt down by mob
Yay. Justice."

‘Pandering didn't save you’: BLM-supporting Wendy's gets Twitter-roasted after mob torches Atlanta restaurant - "Social media users have unleashed a torrent of mockery upon Wendy's and its support for Black Lives Matter, after one of its restaurants in Atlanta was burnt to the ground following the fatal police shooting of Rayshard Brooks... This isn't the first time that Wendy's has felt the wrath of anti-racist demonstrators. Riots that broke out in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police left a local Wendy's restaurant charred and gutted after blazes spread across the city"

Atlanta Police Walk Out After District Attorney Charges Former Officer With Murder - "Cops are fighting back after a district attorney charged former officer Garrett Rolfe and officer Devin Brosnan over the shooting of Rayshard Brooks... Officers have reportedly stopped answering 911 calls, turned in their keys and failed to show up to their shifts."

Facebook - "Those angry people who film the dismantlement of those statues with smartphones made by slaves or people working like slaves, do they realise slavery is not over and they film these events thanks to the Congolese slaves and Chinese slaves who worked to extract gold or assemble those phones ? Would those people dismantle Apple', LG', Microsoft's (...) buildings ? Those alternative people (punks, emos, hc, etc.) who are supposed to be aware of the situation, who demonstrate to show their support but wear Converse (aka Nike) shoes, also made by slaves, do they not think this is problematic ? Will those people fight to free their African, Filipino, Indonesia, Indian, Pakistani brothers and sisters and other siblings who are enslaved, raped, beaten, killed in Mauritania, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE by the police, by the army, by the people ? Those BLM supporters, are they ok to wear clothes (Adidas, Nike, etc.) made by people working like slaves in Romania, Indonesia, Bangladesh and so on ?... The West is not and has never been the only coloniser, I think the main difference between countries like France, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Russia (yes, yes, Russia colonised and still occupies a lot of territories but I rarely see anyone raising this topic) and the other colonisers is that Europeans were the last ones (somehow) but don't tell me that the Ottomans, the Mongols, the Chinese (the Han dynasty that occupied parts of Vietnam, Korea, etc.), the Arabs (in North Africa) and so many more didn't colonise and repress people. Nevertheless, the West was not entirely the last ones. China,  Indonesia, Myanmar, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Thailand, India, Morocco, all of them still occupy territories and repress those who live there or those who support them. It seems some of your brown siblings don't behave better than the white devils, isn't it ? Colonialism or neocolonialism expresses itself in different ways, even if some European countries are still deeply involved in it, there are Middle Eastern, East Asian and African ones who exploit and colonise other people and territories (Rwanda is doing so much shit in RDC, Kenya treats the Turkana people like animals, and they are not the only ones...). In the end this also leads me to think a lot about this list of "black musicians and labels own by black people" that is circulating these days and its unspeakable lack of... African and Latin American artists. One more proof that the problem is not only coming from the so-called white people."

Outrage at posters in Dundee calling for police, MPs and white people to be killed - "Among the messages on the posters were “kill a white on sight”, “if they don’t stop kill a cop”, and “all white MPs should hang from trees”... The art student, who plans to organise a BLM march in Dundee soon, believes that “white supremacists” are using false posters to encourage violence... The Dundee Anarchist Bookfair, who supported the Antifa movement in the past, also believed the posters to be the work of people looking to discredit BLM... “A genuine BLM activist would not single out someone’s skin colour to talk about police violence and they certainly wouldn’t claim to be Antifa."
Sure, must be the British branch of the Proud Boys, of course.

This is what we really mean when we say that ‘ACAB’ - "last week, when the Scottish Labour Students account tweeted “To be clear: ACAB” in response to news that the Met police in London had moved to disperse a trans pride rally early"
This must be the fault of the "far right"

Teen who makes teddy bears for children of fallen officers receiving death threats for supporting law enforcement - "  You’ve probably heard of Megan.  Her non-profit is called Blue Line Bears.  She, with the help of her family, takes the uniforms of fallen police officers and turns them into teddy bears for the surviving family members...   “People who I saw as friends blocked me and called me toxic. I watched the increase in police injuries in New York and wondered if those were officers I’ve given a patch to. I scrolled through social media posts to be met with nothing but anti-police rants."

Son charged in Quebec mother's death after she asked in vain for police help with him - " The 32-year-old son of a Drummondville, Que. mother who was killed is now facing second-degree murder charges.  Suzanne Desjardins, 57, was fatally injured at home after seeking help from provincial police with a psychiatrically troubled son and not receiving it... Desjardins went to the provincial police station in Drummondville to ask for help, said the agency.  She wanted "the assistance of the police in order to force her son, who has been living with her for the past few weeks, to undergo a psychiatric assessment," said the release.  Police couldn't assist her in her request "immediately," said the BEI, so she went back to work."
Too bad they didn't send a social worker
Of course, if the police HAD gone in, he'd likely have gotten physical for them, and if the police had hurt him, everyone would have been upset at the police

Khamenei.ir on Twitter - "Regarding current, ongoing events in the US and the movement against racial discrimination, our firm stance is support of the people and condemnation of the brutal behavior of the racist US government. #BlackLivesMatter #PortlandProtests"
Modern slavery is nothing compared to US racism

Erielle Davidson on Twitter - "“Mostly peaceful” has become a euphemism for large-scale violence and burning of federal buildings. And we all know it. Congrats, we have our own Soviet double-speak now."

Police retirements have soared 45 PERCENT since BLM protests erupted after George Floyd's death - "Police retirements have risen by 45 percent in the past year, with officers opting out of forces across the country amid Black Lives Matter demonstrations that fueled anti-cop rhetoric.   The alarming statistic was revealed by the Police Executive Research Forum on Sunday, with the organization also revealing that resignations rose by 18 percent during the same twelve month period... That negative portrayal also stopped many aspiring cops from signing up to the force"

Looting, Riots Break Out in Minneapolis After Police Return Fire, Kill Wanted Felon - "Police officials in Minnesota say the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force attempted to arrest 32-year-old Winston Boogie Smith on June 3 for a warrant for being a felon in possession of a firearm... he reportedly refused to comply with orders and pulled a handgun. Officials confirmed Smith fired at least one shot from inside his car"
When you protest, riot and loot on behalf of thugs and felons...

VIDEO: Felon Suddenly Shoots 2 Chicago Cops In Close Quarters - "Bodycam footage showed officers as they responded to the scene and tried to make contact with a suspect later identified as 45-year-old Bruce Lua... “Hey buddy, just drop it, man!” one officer yelled to him. “Hey! Stop right there! Show me your hands!”  Lua ignored them and continued walking down the street and into an alleyway, the video showed.  Police followed him for several blocks on foot... Two officers got out and ordered Lua to show his hands as he continued heading straight for them, the video showed. “Why?” the suspect retorted, as he drew out a handgun and fired at them from just feet away, hitting them both.  A barrage of gunfire ensued as multiple officers fired back at the suspect, who collapsed to the ground.  “They shoot me!” Lua yelled out.  “You shot at us,” a backup officer told him.""
Of course the ACAB contingent are sad the police didn't die

Meme - "If being shot is "a risk officers take" with the job then isn't being shot al risk criminals take when breaking the law?"

Black Lives Matter and Biden Bros smash windows, toss flare, reportedly set fire to Louisville Library - "Louisville: protesters just lit the main library on fire. Theyre burning books now. Any books. All books. Knowledge is White supremacy or something"
Liberals used to be against book burning

Ian Miles Cheong on Twitter - "Black Lives Matter protesters harass elderly restaurant patrons in St. Pete and threaten to “knock your old ass out.” Disgusting. Absolutely f’ing disgusting."

Escape The Echo Chamber - Posts | Facebook - "In the middle of a moral panic the desire to censor the heretics is viewed as essential. Because some police officers are bad, then no stories of positive police behavior should be shared.  That’s bullshit.  Change does not happen quicker when only the stick is used and the carrot is ignored. To effect change you criticize the bad and acknowledge the good. The problem is not solved by reinforcing us vs them tribalism.  Yes, some officers and law enforcement agencies protect the bad in an attempt to protect the tribe. That’s wrong and the reality of that behavior should not be ignored. But if you follow police discipline cases, there are plenty of officers what will report unprofessional behavior and testify against who they believe to be “bad cops”. This happens every day in America.  So, yes, I will point out the positives stories involving heroism and kindness among the men and women in blue. I will also point out the abuses as well.  If you want to end the practice of judging a broad group of people based on the actions of a few, then you stop judging broad groups of people by the actions of the few."

Katy Faust - Posts | Facebook - "Here’s the problem that I, and many other conservatives have today.  The Black Lives Matter *organization* has taken some thing that conservatives care deeply about, the intrinsic value of all humans (especially those who have suffered injustice) and used it to frost a cake baked with some of the most pernicious ideas humanity has ever known. The Black Lives Matter organization is unabashedly Marxist, which divides a population by groups, usually race or class. The viewing of people as groups rather than individuals is responsible for every mass human evil that we have seen throughout history and especially in the 20th century. Whether it be your standard-issue genocide, ethnic cleansing, Jews depicted as victimizers and everyday Germans the victims, the “bourgeoisie” as the victimizers and the proletariat as the victims, or seeing blacks as subhuman/property based their race- no good comes when everyone in one group is considered virtuous and everybody the other group is wicked.   The founding principles of America were novel and distinct because we built a system based on *individual* liberty and individual rights, not religious or racial or class groups. While it took far too long for us to fully realize that legal equality, the principles themselves have resulted in the freest and most prosperous nation in the world. Collectivism can never accomplish that.  In addition, the black lives matter organization “seeks to disrupt the western prescribed nuclear family.” (As if marriage is an invention of the west when in fact the five major religions of the world disagree about everything *except* marriage.) The destabilization of the family unit is a classic tactic of totalitarian regimes. Chinese youth were taught to believe that they should feel closer to chairman Mao than their own parents. If children cannot trust their parents, see their parents as the enemy, or if their bonds to parents have been “disrupted” their dependence and allegiance must go to the state. Destabilize the family = increase the power of government. Transgenderism is a central aspect of the black lives matter organization... Despite all that, Americans are told if they don’t put up a black profile picture or if they refuse to protest, that somehow means they don’t think black lives matter. Black Lives Matter has taken something that every American I know believes in- the intrinsic worth of black lives- and used it to smuggle in radical and destructive ideas. They then claim anyone who doesn’t agree with Black Lives Matter is a racist.  What a clever, manipulative, tactic... I will never *ever* support the Black Lives Matter organization because it violates the core conservative principles of *individual* rights and dignity, of family as an irreplaceable institution for social thriving, and that physical bodies (especially those of children) are sacred and deserve protection."

Black-owned businesses struggling at George Floyd Square - "Black merchants near the once-thriving corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue said police have abandoned the blocked-off intersection, creating a dangerous autonomous zone that has seen crime spike and business evaporate.  “The city left me in danger,” the owner of Smoke In The Pit restaurant told The Post Thursday.  “They locked us up on here and left us behind,” said the merchant, who asked to be identified only as Alexander W. for fear of reprisals.  “They left me with no food, no water, nothing to eat,” he said. “The police, fire trucks, can’t come in here.”  On Thursday the intersection was essentially abandoned — save for the occasional gawker who posed for photos in front of a mural outside Cup Foods, the convenience store where Floyd allegedly passed a counterfeit $20 bill.  At least five stores along one block are shuttered. Owners and workers at most of the stores that do remain open were too afraid to comment to The Post.  “Look around, things are empty,” said Richard Roberts, who works at the nearby Worldwide Outreach for Christ church. “What can we do about it?”... The black-owned businesses say they have lost 75-percent of their business since the Floyd memorial sprouted up shortly after his death — and have even launched a GoFundMe fundraising page in a desperate bid to stay afloat.  The merchants “feel they have been the sacrificial lambs” in the city’s response to Floyd’s death, according to the fundraising page... The city barricaded the intersection to allow for the Floyd memorial to be erected.  Phil Khalar, a member of the group that oversees the memorial, said the merchants’ complaints are part of “a false narrative.”  “It’s not like we are telling delivery drivers or customers not to come in,” he said. “This area has always been violent.”  Khalar said Bloods gang members “keep us safe in their own way.” But residents and businesses complain that a new element of lawlessness has seeped into the area recently — with left-wing militants and gang members turning it into a “volatile” autonomous zone. Police said last month they would retake the intersection and restore safety, but gave no timeline... And it has yet to happen — even after a jury on Tuesday convicted ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter charges in Floyd’s death."
Lived experiences are a false narrative when liberals disapprove

Activists in George Floyd 'autonomous zone' in Minneapolis refuse to leave after Chauvin verdict - "The autonomous zone was established after the death of George Floyd in May. Gates and jury-rigged barriers set up by activists, enclose 'George Floyd Square,' a four block area from 37th to 39th Streets South and Columbus and Elliott Avenues East, that serves as a memorial in the neighborhood where Floyd died. Concrete barricades were set up by the city of Minneapolis last year to protect activists and serve as barriers for the zone. In September 2020, Minneapolis Police Chief john Elder denied the zone existed... Activists do not allow police inside the zone and have even banned white people from time to time. Neighbors told the Washington Times that they have tried working with protesters, and asked that traffic not be disrupted. Activists allegedly responded with threats. They added that safety concerns have caused people to move out of the neighborhood and pointed to multiple for-sale signs and empty houses nearby. The Twitter account which claims to post on behalf of the zone posted on Wednesday, "We don’t need the mayor’s permission to make decisions about our city. 38th & Chicago will be held until our demands are met." Minneapolis officials had previously claimed that they would reopen the autonomous zone after the murder trial of Chauvin. However activists in the zone have issued two dozen demands they say must be met before they will stand down. The demands include investing over $700,000 into the zone... Social justice-themed yard signs are common in the area with residents struggling to reconcile their beliefs with the rise in violence and decline in quality of life. Businesses have also left the area.  Police are banned from the zone and reporters have been threatened for filming to close to the barricades. The area has been the site of increasing violence and multiple shootings. Residents blame gang violence, BLM activists and protests as the primary cause of the unrest and crime in the area. According to News Nation, "Violent crime at the intersection and the blocks immediately surrounding it rose dramatically in 2020, though crime also increased citywide. There were 19 nonfatal and fatal shootings in the area in 2020, including 14 shootings from May 1 through Aug. 31. That’s compared with three shootings in all of 2019 and none during the summer months." Earlier this month, the city of Minneapolis passed a $1 million bailout plan for businesses suffering from inside of the autonomous zone... a sign at the entrance of the zone "includes a special set of instructions for white people." white people are asked to "contribute to the energy of the space, rather than drain it." Any "processing" must be brought to "other white folks" so that "BIPOC" community members are not harmed. white visitors who see other white folks doing "problematic things" are told to "speak up with compassion to take the burden (off of) Black folks and our siblings or color whenever appropriate," and "engage rather than escalate, so that it can be a learning moment rather than a disruption.""
Weird how liberals mock the Confederacy as traitors but support all these secessionists

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Latest posts (which you might not see on this page)

powered by Blogger | WordPress by Newwpthemes