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Pete Hegseth’s Secret History

2024-12-02 /

Jane Mayer, writing in The New Yorker »

After the recent revelation that Pete Hegseth had secretly paid a financial settlement to a woman who had accused him of raping her in 2017, President-elect Donald Trump stood by his choice of Hegseth to become the next Secretary of Defense. Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, issued a statement noting that Hegseth, who has denied wrongdoing, has not been charged with any crime. “President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his administration,” Cheung maintained.

But Hegseth’s record before becoming a full-time Fox News TV host, in 2017, raises additional questions about his suitability to run the world’s largest and most lethal military force. A trail of documents, corroborated by the accounts of former colleagues, indicates that Hegseth was forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran—Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America—in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.

Read the whole article at The New Yorker »

Article also archived here »

“Brain Rot” is the Oxford Word of the Year 2024

2024-12-02 /

Brain Rot »

(n.) Supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.

After over 37,000 votes, worldwide public discussion, and analysis of language data, Oxford has named ‘brain rot’ as their Word of the Year for 2024.

Elsewhere » The Guardian / BBC / Euronews /

European Federation of Journalists, which represents some 295,000 journalists, to stop posting content on X

2024-12-02 /

The EFJ is the largest organization of journalists in Europe. They represents some 295,000 journalists in 74 journalists’ organizations across 44 countries.

European Federation of Journalists blog post (2024.11.26) »

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has decided it will no longer post content on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, from 20 January 2025, when Donald J. Trump will officially become the 47th President of the United States.

Like many European media outlets (The Guardian, Dagens Nyheter, La Vanguardia, Ouest-France, Sud-Ouest, etc.) and journalists’ organisations, such as the German Journalists’ Association (DJV), the EFJ considers that it can no longer ethically participate in a social network that its owner has transformed into a machine of disinformation and propaganda.
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Trump’s choice for FBI director — Kash Patel — speaks volumes about his real second-term agenda

2024-12-01 /

Tom Nichols, writing for The Atlantic »

Of course, this means the FBI would struggle to do the things it’s supposed to be doing, including fighting crime and conducting counter-intelligence work against America’s enemies. But it would become an excellent instrument of revenge against anyone Trump or Patel identifies as an internal enemy—which, in Trump’s world, is anyone who criticizes Donald Trump.

The Russians speak of the “power ministries,” the departments that have significant legal and coercive capacity. In the United States, those include the Justice Department, the Defense Department, the FBI, and the intelligence community. Trump has now named sycophants to lead each of these institutions, a move that eliminates important obstacles to his frequently-expressed desires to use the armed forces, federal law enforcement agents, intelligence professionals, and government lawyers as he chooses, unbounded by the law or the Constitution.

Whole article archived here »

Australia passes social media minimum age law

2024-11-29 /

Associated Press »

The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.

The Senate passed the bill on Thursday 34 votes to 19. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the legislation by 102 votes to 13.

The House on Friday endorsed opposition amendments made in the Senate, making the bill law.

Earlier » Australia a step closer to being the world’s first country to ban social media for people under 16 years old

Elsewhere » Reuters / CBC

Quebec is paying close attention » Globe and Mail

Predictable » Big tech says Australia “rushed” social media ban for youths under 16

Air Canada to start using facial recognition technology at Vancouver International Airport (YVR)

2024-11-29 /

Another blow to privacy.

Christopher Reynolds, writing for The Canadian Press »

Starting Tuesday, customers who board most domestic Air Canada flights at Vancouver International Airport will be able to walk onto the plane without presenting any physical pieces of identification, such as a passport or driver’s licence, the country’s largest airline said.

Participants in the program, which is voluntary, can upload a photo of their face and a scan of their passport to the airline’s app.

Launched as a pilot project in February 2023, the digital ID option is already available at Air Canada’s Maple Leaf lounges in Toronto, Calgary and San Francisco. The airline plans to unveil it at other Canadian airport gates “in the near future.”

More » Press Release / Air Canada

Canada’s 988 suicide helpline takes more than 300K calls and texts in its first year

2024-11-28 /

Nicole Ireland, writing for The Canadian Press »

Since 988 was launched a year ago by the Public Health Agency of Canada, responders have fielded more than 300,000 calls and texts, CAMH said. The helpline runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is staffed by more than 2,000 responders.

“We will not turn anybody away,” Bhatti said, noting that having “three simple digits” to remember is invaluable for someone who is struggling or if they’re worried about someone else.

Ya’ara Saks, federal minister of mental health and addictions, said “the numbers speak for themselves.”

“Three hundred thousand calls and texts over the last year, which meant that 300,000 times where a Canadian felt they needed help in a moment of crisis, there was someone on the other end to help them,” she said Wednesday.

Elsewhere » CBC

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