The latest Playstation, PS5 launches today, November 12. If you were among the gamers that managed to snag a preorder on Sept 17 for the console, consider yourself very lucky. But rest assured, if you were not able to get in on the pre-order there are still many opportunities to get your hands on it.
For the launch, both the PS5 and PS5 Digital Editions will only available online through a handful of retailers including Amazon and Walmart. The PS5 retails for $499.99 and Digital Edition for $399.99 Some retailers also give buyers finance options, for those that prefer to pay in monthly installments.
It’s unclear when the console will be readily available and in-stock in stores for purchase, yet more than likely customer will be able to go to their local retail locations for the PS5 by Black Friday, November 27.
Click to see Where to Buy PS5 on Launch Day
Check out the latest Playstation 5. Available available on Amazon and Walmart.
Along with the Playstation 5 console, the Dual Sense charging station, PULSE 3D wireless headset, Media remote and HD camera are available for purchase, click here to see all the available PS5 accessories, both available on Amazon and Walmart.
If you are able to purchase your PS5 we highly recommend the the upcoming Call of Duty game, ‘Black Ops Cold War’ which will highlight one of the key features of the PS5 DualSense controller, its unique haptic feedback. When you pull the trigger, your controller will shake, and givers gamer a pretty awesome feeling that has never before been available.
As Elite operatives, you will Follow the trail of a shadowy Figure named perseus who is on a mission to destabilize the global balance of power and change the course of history.
Descend into the dark center of this global conspiracy alongside iconic characters woods, Mason and hudson and a new cast of operatives attempting to stop a plot decades in the making.
Beyond the campaign, players will bring a cold war arsenal of weapons and equipment into the next generation of multiplayer and Zombies experiences.
PS4 physical disc playable on PS5 system (will not include higher framerates, Hardware based rays-tracking and faster load times available on PS5 Edition). PS5 disc is not playable on PS4 system.
PS4 physical version upgradable to PS5 digital version via $10 upgrade through PS store. PS4 disc required in PS5 system to access and play digital PS5 upgrade.
Click here to see “Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon and Walmart.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
Melania Trump has been an unconventional and controversial first lady. Melania, 50, born in Slovenia is the first foreign-born FLOTUS in nearly 200 years, also the first for whom English was not her first language, and the first to be a president’s third wife.
Since her husband lost the election, social media, and Twitter in particular, has been abuzz with speculation and thoughts on her possible divorce and future, almost certainly, sans DJT. There were even tweets showing a moving van parked in Front of the White House with captions alluding to her wanting to leave the premises asap.
I’m taking this live shot of the White House, with a moving truck outside, as a good omen. pic.twitter.com/Uz4SuoU94N
With her stoic facial expressions and sometimes questionable fashion choices (the infamous “I Really Don’t Care Do U” jacket), the first lady has largely been out of view and is known for being aloof, preferring to avoid being in the public eye.
Click to See “Melania and Me” and help Lynxotic and Independent Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon.
Previously unknown personal information has recently been revealed about the soon to be ex-FLOTUS, with the September 2020 release of the tell-all book Melania and Me by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff. The former senior advisor to the first lady gave readers a first hand account of personal and quoted phone, email and text conversations between the two.
There was said to be audio recordings, dubbed Melania Tapes that the author kept to ensure she could back up all details in her book 100%. The book included salacious and juicy details about her relationship (often tumultuous) with Trump’s daughter, detailing the “Operation Block Ivanka” plan to keep cameras out of frame from Ivanka during the inauguration.
Wolkoff even alleges that the Trumps had separate bedrooms within the White House and was a “transactional marriage”. Another former White House official, Omarosa Manigault told Daily Mail “Melania is counting every minute until he is out of office and she can divorce,” she continued “If Melania were to try to pull the ultimate humiliation and leave while he’s in office, he would find a way to punish her.”
Moving on, while hubby stares down potential prosecutions?
With Joe Biden declared President-elect on Saturday, November 7th, Donald Trump, as he promised he would do, is not accepting that he lost the election and refuses to concede. He continues to toss-out allegations of “illegal votes” (even though there have been no indications or evidence of voter irregularities or fraud).
Trump has begun his attempt to fight his election loss through legal battles and more than likely will drag out any and all legal actions until he will be forced to leave the White House at the end of his term. A coup, though unlikely, is also being discussed in the media.
Soon, Melania will also have to start the process of vacating the White House and look to what her future will be after January 20th, 2021. Whether she continues alongside Donald Trump or not, the American People (at least 2/3 of them) are more than ready to say… Bye Bye!
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
President-Elect Joe Biden and President Donald Trump disagreed on many points during their respective 2020 campaigns, but their most divisive opposition might have been on climate change. While Trump is an open climate denier who rolled back environmental regulations and posed no plan to combat the issue, Joe Biden vows to make it a central focus of his presidency.
Biden ambitiously promises to work towards 100% clean electricity in America by 2035. He also aims for carbon neutrality by 2050, which will keep global temperatures within 1.5 degrees Celsius of pre-Industrial averages.
Further, he has vowed to reenter the Paris Climate Accords, likely immediately following his inauguration. Getting back into Paris will rekindle America’s clean energy aspirations on the international scale, reopening conversations with other carbon emitting powerhouses like China and the European Union as we strive for a healthier planet.
First thing I will do as president is rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and rally the world to push our progress further and faster. #LJ19pic.twitter.com/oo1jgDBk0M
On that same international note, Biden also plans to follow up on (and perhaps inflate) an Obama Administration pledge of $3 million to the Green Climate Fund— a U.N. project helping developing nations create clean energy infrastructure. The first billion was already paid while Obama was in office, but since Trump came to power in 2017, the U.S. has not contributed a single penny.
This demonstrates that many of Biden’s environmental plans are contingent upon political cooperation now and in the future. Surely, he can set the seeds for fifteen or thirty year plans, but in order for them to have longevity, he will need consensus with his colleagues and successors, many of whom reside across the aisle.
Restoring environmental safeguards Trump abolished is Job 1 but may prove an uphill battle
Click to see “Humans” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Similar to the Obama Administration, Biden will have to work with and through a Republican Senate to pass environmental laws. While the President-Elect can enter international agreements and revoke many of Trump’s deregulation policies from a solely Executive standpoint, his overall plan involves creating green jobs, decreasing dependency on fossil fuels, and investing in sustainable clean energy. The whole lot will cost $1.7 trillion and need approval from Congress.
Luckily, for all of its turmoil, the 2020 election taught America that climate change is no longer a superfluous issue in the minds of voters. According to the Sierra Club, tangible heat waves linked to global warming may have swayed Arizona to go blue this year.
Meanwhile, even capitalistic institutions are seeing the economic viability in green energy, as several automakers have backed California’s push for electric vehicles. Independents, Republicans, and Democrats alike are all starting to notice the unavoidable scientific evidence. For politicians to remain relevant, they can no longer ignore or deny such a bipartisan topic.
Of course, this is an optimistic viewpoint. After all, it was just four years ago when America elected Donald Trump. Since then, he’s managed to retract over a hundred environmental regulations.
Evidently, Biden’s election does not mean that America immediately becomes a nation united in conservation efforts. However, it’s a clear step in the right direction. Unlike many other presidents before him, Biden has a plan for climate change, and his election suggests that prioritizing the environment will be a political priority for many campaigns to come.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
Can you miss something bad because it became familiar?
Are we going to miss DJT? He has predicted many times that we would, or at least that the media would miss the “ratings”. Now that, ever so slightly and with a surreal subtlety, his influence fades and begins to seem like a drunken nightmare from which we are awakening in a groggy stupor, bizarre thoughts appear.
Controlling the news cycle has been his thing from day 1. And, if this man has any real talent, it is for dominating the news with lies, nonsense and outrageous acts. Initially, like hostages with Stockholm Syndrome, we will struggle to adapt to a life with less drama from the White House, and, eventually, less doom-scrolling.
Click to see “Humans” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Was he a clown or a monster? Both, of course. It is hard to admit or even comprehend how we were all, even the anti-trump “libs”, on some level captivated by the show and the drama.
At times laughing at him, tragic and bittersweet, as we suffer from his brutal senseless acts and incompetence, we still felt some strange enjoyment in being appalled. Ultimately, that was never anything we could accept or live with.
If only he had been even more incompetent, perhaps his buffoonery would have been harmless enough and we could have somehow tried to just go about our lives without thought of politics. But that was never the case.
Anger and Rage belie the criminality that is at the core
It was, in the end and still today, the anger, as Bob Woodward put it, the “Rage” beneath it all that made it so dangerous, so intolerable that a culture war had to happen to oust this comical criminal.
Meanwhile, 70 million are still falling for his childish nonsense conspiracy theories and his mirroring and projection of all his own negative traits. He tried, in plain sight to “rig the vote” even as he screamed constantly that the Democrats were the ones doing exactly that (they weren’t).
Click here to see “The Truths We Hold” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
This tired playbook – a man lies constantly and at the same time shouts that the actual truth is “fake news”, which sycophants like Kellyanne Conway explain away his obvious garbage with terms like “alternative facts”.
In the end, as his toxic anger grew, the 75-150 million that are not Trump followers had to rise up and do something, no matter how entertaining his schtick might be, at times.
The remaining 70 million, those that were mesmerized or star-stuck (really?) or just shallow and dim-witted, will also have to adjust to a political landscape without the magic-clown they so love and adore.
Loving him as anti-communist Vietnamese and Cuban immigrants accepted the nonsense idea that Biden and all Democrats are communist loving socialists and that only DJT could save them from a return to the horrors they escaped under actual communism. Never mind that he is an obvious Putin lover and exchanged lovely letters with a certain North Korean dictator.
Or buying into his boasts about the economy virtually none of which were based on fact (other than the massive tax cuts for huge corporations, that the majority of his followers would not benefit from). In virtually every case there is a superficial nonsense reason that these individuals expanded into a justification for blind allegiance and even hero worship.
It’s unlikely that many of those people will be open to rethinking their views anytime soon, unfortunately.
All twerking aside, there a deeper story here
First, the imminent victories for Biden-Harris in Georgia and Arizona, after the huge win in Pennsylvania have a huge message to the GOP and all wannabe racist-tyrants.
The demographics of America do not favor populist leaders like Trump and the shift away from racism and all that Trump stood for will inevitably accelerate across the USA in the coming years.
Both Georgia and Arizona were lost to the GOP due to a demographic voting shift, one that is unlikely to reverse course.
The future is now embedded in the minds of the young after they witnessed the horrors of Trump
Tiktok recently exhibited a shift away from being a lip-syncing dance and entertainment platform to becoming a showcase for the thoughts, intelligence and gifted viewpoints of the young and politically aware.
Click to see “A Promised Land” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
While “Trump trolls” also posted plenty during this election season, it is the depth and quality of the discourse among the left or liberal leaning that is most impressive.
A generation of Americans, particularly those currently between the ages of 15-25 have come of age during a brutal, ugly time – the last 4 years, and many have come away with a new awareness of the real costs of political apathy.
And it is precisely the challenges that affect them most – like the possibility that the planet may not survive long enough for them to live out their lives, which inspires them to be vocal and active.
Apathy will not be an option in the future, or all is lost. The young see this most clearly of all, and are demonstrating, on platforms like TikTok and Twitter, how they are going to become a bigger factor in the future of our country. Amen to that, brother.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
One of the most shocking elements we witnessed during the dawning hours of the post-Trump era is how quickly the media is pouncing on the opportunity to restore truth and sanity, pivoting to reporting and observing what lies ahead.
Click here to see “The Truths We Hold” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
How disorienting it is to see reporters and opinion pundits speaking openly about the Trump induced horrors of the recent past, while simultaneously looking ahead to what the possibilities are, now that the constant terror-tweeting and chaos mongering has finally come to an end.
Seeing Joe Biden speak, uninterrupted by a raving madman, attacking his son and spouting made-up accusations is also a shocking experience. Many are likely seeing this for the first time.
And no “gaffs”, no stuttering just an eloquent “normal” victory speech, with special attention paid to the need to rise above the chaos of his predecessor.
After 4 years of Trump, amid massive and very real global threats, the path toward healing is not a simple one
Problems? Of course, possibly bigger and more than ever before – extinction-level threats from the climate crisis (not a hoax) amid a world-wide raging pandemic (also not a hoax) and, oh yes, the precarious financial recovery, all of these and more are looming and will not be easily or quickly solved, even without the madman-in chief harping in the wings.
But the strange custom of expecting attack-tweets and vile statements and actions round-the-clock, like some kind of cannibalistic-ritual murder-sacrifice of the ideals and norms of decent behavior, are GONE.
Trump can tweet but nothing he can say will be of any importance. The yanking off the air that took place on November 6th, as Trump was speaking in a prearranged press conference, while he veered deeper and deeper into irrelevant lies and insanity will be seen by history as the final moment of any mandatory coverage by the media.
The End is Neigh, but 73 Days of Trump’s antics remain
We may still see a Nixonian-peace-sign-wave goodbye-in-disgrace moment sometime before January 20th, and Trump may prove to be his own soothsayer and prognosticator, and “leave the country” sneaking away on his private jet to a country with a non-extradition treaty (my bet is Russia). However, it is already time that we must all live without his madness, and without using him to blame for all that’s wrong with our world.
Click to see “A Promised Land” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
As the feeling of relief recedes, the work on the first draft of history regarding the Trump era will begin. And, thankfully, it is taking the form, in these first fragile and dawning hours, of an immediate purge of the madness and the lies, finally without endless pushback from the liar and his minions. The propaganda machine has lost its all pervasive influence, at least for now.
Indeed, it was Fox News that famously projected Arizona as a win for Biden before nearly any other news outlet – rendering the madman furious and beside himself, and that fact is a harbinger of the enormous and necessary shift away from the psychotic empire of hate, and toward something at least slightly less toxic.
All the sycophants and hangers-on must look for other ways to get on. All the horrible useless “aids” and “advisors” that were only window-dressing for the plundering and inept “management” of a his self-serving agendas will soon be gone.
“Lies on a Loop” will recede but the truth takes time
Click to see “Humans” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
The post-mortem and dismantling of this massive historical mistake will be continuing round the clock for a very long time.
But let it come and let it flow. Stand up and Stand fast – let the voices that had once been drowned out by the sick-twisted machine-gun barrage of lies ring out loud and clear.
This is not only a time for us to repudiate the errors and intentional misrepresentations but , once and for all, to banish all the dangerous nonsense to the dustbin of history.
Windmills do not cause cancer, they do not kill millions of birds. Oil and coal are not the elements that will save mankind. The coronavirus, the climate crisis and his impeachment were not, and are not, hoaxes. Nobody who opposed him was ever “a terrible person” for doing so.
In an interview on the evening of November 8th, 2016, a famous political pundit was asked “after the results of tonight’s election are known, where do you predict Trump will end up?”. Without hesitation, the pundit calmly and confidently answered: “In the dustbin of history, where he belongs, of course”.
In the end he was absolutely correct, it only took 1459 days longer than he predicted.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
Just one of many that took their excitement to the streets – unable to contain the Joy
Jennifer Lawrence, an actress that otherwise is very private, excitedly shared her reaction with her followers, and the world on the announcement of Joe Biden as the projected winner of the presidential election.
Lawrence is just one of many celebrities that publicly showed their excitement and got emotional over the news of Biden winning. Lady Gaga and Lizzo were among the many other stars supporting the Biden-Harris ticket that posted reaction videos.
The video also marked the first image of Lawrence she has ever shared publicly on social media. Her comment along with her post read “Had no choice but to throw a party for 1 #comeonbosnnletsparty”.
— Jennifer Lawrence – Represent.Us (@JLawrence_RepUs) November 7, 2020
On her Twitter page, she posted a video of herself celebrating the moment by running up and down her block, whipping her hair back and forth, doing a head-banging dance and shouting out in glee. She could be seen in the streets of Boston in her animal-print face mask and pajamas.
Jennifer supports (@JLawrence_RepUS) the largest grassroots anti-corruption campaign called RepresentUS, where a dozens of other celebrities also serve as members of the initiative’s cultural council (including the likes of Michael Douglas, Kerry Washington, Jack Black and many more).
The actress is currently in Boston to star in an incoming Netflix film “Don’t Look Up”, a comedy about a pair of scientist trying to warn Earth about a meteorite that will destroy the planet. The movie is set to include other big name celebrities: Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Street, Cate Blanchett, Timothee Chalamet, Jonah Bill and Ariana Grande.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
Bannon calls for Dr. Fauci and FBI’s Wray to have “heads on a pike”
Steve Bannon, ex-White House advisor and former Breitbart executive chairman seems to have gotten himself into some more trouble. His Twitter account @WarRoomPandemic for his podcast show has been suspended for violating the rules against glorifying violence.
The video in question, has Bannon, along with his co-host Jack Maxey, discussing hypothetical scenarios they would recommend for Trump if he were re-elected for a a second term. Bannon can be heard saying he would fire FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Next, Bannon took the talk much further, by bringing up beheading the men, “I’d actually like to go back to the old times of Tudor England, I’d put the heads on pikes, right, I’d put them at the two corners of the White House as a warning to federal bureaucrats.”
Steve Bannon calls for Dr. Fauci and FBI Director Wray to be beheaded "as a warning to federal bureaucrats"@youtube prohibits "inciting others to commit violent acts against individuals"
In addition to Bannon’s Twitter account being suspended, one episode from “Steve Bannon’s War Room” has been removed by YouTube. Alex Joseph, a spokesperson for the platform, says “We’ve removed this video for violating our policy against inciting violence. We will continue to be vigilant as we enforce our policies in the post-election period.” Bannon’s channel received a strike due to the policy violation and will be restricted from uploading any new videos for at least a week. YouTube gives channel operators three strikes before an account becomes permanently terminated and they are banned from the platform for life.
Facebook is the latest platform to have removed the video, having left the video live for a total of 10 hours, while it racked up hundreds of thousands of views. It remains unreported at this time if any other platforms including iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play or Spotify, which also stream the podcast, have taken any action in the removal of the episode(s).
Bannon’s official website for his podcast “War Room: Pandemic”, up until November 5th, was powered by Mailchimp. The company took to Twitter to also confirm that the account has been closed and will no longer serve to host the War Room’s newsletter.
Back in August, Bannon was arrested and charged with fraud, he is currently out on bail as he awaits his trial which is set to take place around May 2021. Bannon did not take any precautions to self-sensor during his podcast, as one might think he would, given that he is currently on bail for federal charges. The latest podcast rant could easily be interpreted by the courts as threatening a federal official, which, if seen as such, could be grounds for revoking his bond and potentially result in his arrest on further charges.
Even actresses and comedian, Kathy Griffin weighed-in on Bannon’s violent ramblings. Griffin, back in 2017 shared the now infamous photo of herself carrying a decapitated head that resembled Trump. She received significant backlash for years after she posted the controversial image, which resulted in many lost career opportunities, along with receiving nasty messages and even death threats.
Well, well, well. Steve Bannon says regarding Dr Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray “I’d put the heads on pikes” https://t.co/hJrvZT2BPd
Apple will expose the worst of predatory surveillance by Facebook, Amazon and Google with new privacy features
While wrong is wrong regardless of the perpetrator, when it comes to gargantuan tech behemoths, a company with a clearly defined mission such as Apple or Tesla are in a different category than Amazon, Facebook and Google.
While Tesla’s stated mission is to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” and Apple’s original mission statement, written by Steve Jobs was “to make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind”, predatory vultures hide behind ridiculous slogans like “aim to be Earth’s most customer centric company” (while decimating partners and competitors by any means necessary) and “don’t be evil” (don’t get caught) and “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together” (…all while stealing data for profit from every person on earth).
Click to See “Steve Jobs“ and to help Lynxotic and Independent Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon.
It’s just not the same – particularly as Steve Jobs, while at Apple, pushed himself and his company to invent and build many powerful examples of “tools for the mind” and Elon Musk’s Tesla brought the electric car back from the dead (after it was nearly snuffed out by big oil) and is making incredible headway in revolutionizing battery and solar technology, all with a view to literally save the planet from a climate catastrophe.
Bezos? Became the richest living human via the destruction of millions of small business and jobs all while undercutting competitors by selling virtually anything he got his hands on at a significant loss; simply to cause the demise of any competitor or partner that might threaten his rise to idiotically massive personal wealth.
Zuckerberg? Pioneered ways to suck data from virtually every human with a view to monetizing every living soul exclusively for himself and his company. Illustration? Dividing Facebook’s market cap by the number of employees it has yields the sum of $14,906,500.00 per employee. Macy’s? That’d be $16,829. (Thanks to Scott Galloway for the numbers)
Google merely owns (91.75% as of June 2020) the search entryway to all web sites. It decides if you should or should not find them. If it can boost profits by hiding one and featuring another, either through “paid search” or by pointing you toward its own properties while hiding competitors from you, it will do exactly that. Ask the European Union’s anti-trust investigators. For them, this company is a convicted law breaker.
Announced at WWDC 2020, Apple is adding serious features to its various new operating systems. One big feature in Safari is the ability to track, and block as desired, all manner of data intrusions. These are not only identified, but shown and tracked and analyzed with a kind of professional dashboard, showing just how invasive and persistent these invisible spies are.
Apple is big, with more than 1.4 billion devices. Starting in around 2021 they will all be able to identify and block data surveillance by Amazon (the largest of all spies), Google and Facebook, among others. Thanks that’s not a big deal? Think again.
…the overall stance being taken regarding online tracking and surveillance should be seen for what it is: the first step to correcting the mistake of history that allowed the internet to be kidnapped and held hostage by a handful of companies that pretend to be “free” or “customer obsessed” while they are, in fact, Robber Barons that make the Standard Oil monopoly look like Santa Claus.
– D.L.
Tracking the Trackers will Change Your Life
Tracking the trackers is a clear and aggressive privacy stance, taken by the one company among the big four, that does not have a huge stake in you being the victim of online surveillance and tracking.
Not to say that Apple is blameless. Many are complaining about its fee structure for software sold by third parties via the app stores. While this issue is certainly a valid one, the overall stance being taken regarding online tracking and surveillance should be seen for what it is: the first step to correcting the mistake of history that allowed the internet to be kidnapped and held hostage by a handful of companies that pretend to be “free” or “customer obsessed” while they are, in fact, Robber Barons that make the Standard Oil monopoly look like Santa Claus.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
Trump’s attempt to enlist entertainers for taxpayer funded propaganda program fails spectacularly
Lately, the Trump Administration has been looking for a celebrity to be the face of its new COVID-19 PSA campaign. Well, kind of. While the $265 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign is supposed to raise coronavirus awareness, the White House has unsubtly been twisting it into an explicit Trump promotion.
According to U.S. Heath and Human Services Secretary Michael Caputo, the theoretically non-partisan campaign’s message is “Helping The President Will Help The Country.” Interestingly, this whole fiasco arrives just days before the 2020 Presidential Election, where Trump is behind in the polls.
Regardless of the hidden meaning behind the campaign—or perhaps directly because of it—the Administration has had trouble finding a suitable face for the ads. According to documents that Democratic lawmakers revealed to the Washington Post, the Administration went down a list of 247 celebs considered for the PSAs, but hardly any of them fit the bill.
Notes from the documents suggest a strict pro-Republican criteria for the job. Behavior that disqualified celebrities included if they had ever been critical of Trump, if they ever expressed support for Barak Obama, and if they ever supported gay marriage or LBGTQ+ rights. Unsurprisingly, these stipulations left options rather thin.
Names on the list included comedians Judd Apatow and George Lopez (both disqualified for expressing anti-Trump sentiments); singers Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Justin Timberlake (all ruled out for endorsing Obama and championing gay rights); actress Jennifer Lopez (eliminated for her so-called radical Super Bowl halftime show); and actors Johnny Depp and Jack Black (both excluded for simply aligning with the American left).
The name on the list that met the most scathing response was probably singer/songwriter Billie Eilish. Notes on the eighteen-year old celebrity recount that she “Made a political statement on gun control in 2019; will be a first time voter in 2020; not a Trump supporter, stated he ‘is destroying our country and everything we care about.'”
Of the 247 names initially listed, only ten survived the President’s elimination process— Dennis Quaid, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miranda Lambert, Garth Brooks, Dwyane Wade, Dr. Mehmet Oz, CeCe Winans, and Shulem Lemmer.
There are also a number of celebrities listed as “pending” or “declined.” Among the latter are Dwayne Johnson, Selena Gomez, and Sandra Oh.
Trump Train about to Derail or will Celebs like Lil Wayne & Kanye come to the Rescue
These slim pickings show that Trump does not garner the strongest support (or any) from American entertainers. In addition to all of the listed names considered and rejected for this campaign, there are many more celebrities who have publically denounced the POTUS, several of whom were formerly apolitical or even republicans (Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger) before the current term.
Not all celebrities are steadfastly anti-Trump, though. The President has actually found support in some unlikely places. Because of Trump’s recent Platinum Plan to assist black Americans, he has created seemingly positive relations with rappers such as Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, 50 Cent, and Lil Pump. It’s unclear if any of these recognizable names actually endorse Trump, but they’ve all shown degrees of support via social media.
Trump doesn’t have all rappers on board, though. Kanye West retracted his longstanding support for the President when he decided to run for the office himself this year. Meanwhile, when rapper Lil John was solicited to support Trump on Twitter, he responded bluntly:
Evidently, while there are some exceptions, few recognizable entertainers fully support the President. Ironically, Donald Trump himself has a strong background in entertainment— perhaps boasting the most show business-savvy resume of any President since Reagan.
However, while Reagan was an accomplished actor and later President of the Screen Actor’s Guild, Trump was more of a crude businessman slapped before the camera for a reality TV paycheck.
Entertainers carry a lot of influence. Unfortunately, Trump has struggled to win the hearts of such influencers. In fact, many of them are now using that very influence against him.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
Made in secrecy during the past 6 months with interviews from administration insiders
The election is exactly three days away. The United States, in the past week, has recorded 500,000 new covid cases, which is the worst week ever. Therefore, this would seem the perfect time to watch, for free, the documentary “Totally Under Control”, which details the failures of Trump and his administration to handle the crisis.
Currently streaming on Hulu, for those that have a subscription, it is also available in case you don’t have a Hulu subscription, for free until November 3rd. Click here to watch for free.
Just when it seemed like 2020 could not get any stranger, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter on October 2nd that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. In what some would see as a ‘karmic’ coincidence, within twenty-four hours of this breaking news, Neon media dropped a trailer for the new documentary “Totally Under Control,” which focuses on the President and his administration’s unsuccessful response to the coronavirus.
“Totally Under Control” is the second Trump-focused project from documentarian Alex Gibney. Earlier this year, the director released “Agents Of Chaos,” an HBO mini-series centered on Russian involvement in the 2016 election. Gibney is also responsible for the 2010 Oscar nominated doc, “Client 9: The Rise And Fall Of Eliot Spitzer” and the 2007 Oscar winner, “Taxi To The Dark Side.” Most of his films take on timely topics through an investigative lens. “Totally Under Control” will be no different.
Unsurprisingly, Gibney latest movie condemns the Trump administration, as it chronicles how the President handled the coronavirus across the first half of 2020. Its synopsis states:
“On January 20th, 2020 the US and South Korea both discovered their first cases of COVID-19. However, nine months later, the novel Coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 200,000 Americans and caused staggering economic damage, while in South Korea, there were no significant lockdowns and, in an urbanized population of 51 million, only 344 lives have been lost. Where did we go wrong?”
The film aims to answer this question and shed light on America’s complicated, corrupted, and fruitless reaction to the global pandemic. To do this, Gibney uses news footage from the past ten months— much of it showing Trump’s early, woefully dismissive thoughts on the coronavirus before it hit the United States.
He also interviews experts from doctors, to scientists, to government officials, all of whom agree that the current administration’s reaction to COVID was absolutely abhorrent from the start.
The trailer plays out like that of a disaster movie, beginning with former Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority leader, Rick Bright explaining, “The scientists knew what to do for the pandemic response. The plan was in front of us, but leadership would not do it.” Bright goes on to recall how he tired bringing this vital information to the public, but was consequentially fired from his federal position.
As the trailer unfolds, the music gets more and more intense. The interviewees retell the all-too-familiar 2020 story of how COVID got worse by the day and the United States government did nothing to combat it. Meanwhile, quasi-apocalyptic images of ubiquitous ambulances, omnipresent sirens, medial personnel in hazmat suits, restless political rallies, and so on flash across the screen.
All the while, Trump’s voice comes in and out with infamous phrases such as “It will disappear,” “It will be wonderful,” and most egregiously, “I don’t take responsibility at all.”
Art imitates life as covid disbeliever enters hospital after contracting virus that affects ‘almost nobody’
Today, these statements are more ironic than ever before, as Trump himself has been checked into the Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for COVID. The diagnosis occurred just two days after the first presidential debate, where Trump continued to downplay the coronavirus in favor of reopening the country.
“Totally Under Control” will be available On-Demand starting October 13th and will stream on Hulu starting October 20th. Although the film focuses on current (and ongoing) events, it is not the first piece of media to tackle the coronavirus, and it surely won’t be the last.
official trailer – “Totally under control” / youtube
2008 and it’s Aftermath was a Wake Up Call that was Heeded by Virtually No-one
There are many good films on the economic collapse of 2008 (The Big Short is a favorite), also known as “The Great Recession” for fear of using the “D” word. Books too have opined on the lessons learned and, in some cases, taken dubious credit for the “rescue” of the world economy.
Watched or read closely, these books, with the exclusion of the self-congratulatory ones mentioned above, all point to a sobering conclusion: the underlying issues that nearly led to a protracted worldwide economic collapse were not solved or fixed but “the can was simply kicked further down the road”.
Unfortunately, they also agree that “further down the road”, currently around 11 years later, translates to “soon”. Accordingly, we’d all be wise to revisit the 2008 crisis and read some of the conclusions, in detail, that have been drawn from a deeper study of the remaining and very serious issues faced as we go further forward into the 2020’s.
So much of our destinies are tied to economics, it is always a wise area to begin to look for solutions to all macro-dilemmas
Of course, now, in a crowded life-raft of a planet, we also have the rising threat of Climate Change, the ongoing and terrifying challenges associated with global pandemics and sociopolitical trends, that point towards anything but harmonious co-operation, within and between societies around the world.
All the more reason to embrace what at times appears to be the lone bright spot, in this saga of seemingly-endless doom and gloom: we have educational resources available and the modern marvel of human-networked-communication devices (a.k.a. the internet and the software and hardware we use to access it), is becoming a more powerful ally by the hour.
Here are books we highly recommend to start your journey towards your heroic contributions to finding solutions and hope, as we look to the future:
The Great Devaluation: How to Embrace, Prepare, and Profit from the Coming Global Monetary Reset
The Great Devaluation is the #1 bestselling book that explains why the real crisis facing the world today is not the Coronavirus. The real crisis facing the world is explosive government debt and deficits. Governments are now left with no choice but to spend more than they make, borrow more than they can ever repay, and devalue their currencies to cover it all up.
Former Hollywood storyteller Adam Baratta brings monetary policy to life in this follow-up to his national bestseller, Gold Is A Better Way. You’ll learn how and why Federal Reserve polices have facilitated an explosion in government debt and have systematically undermined the world financial system in the name of profit. The result? An out of control system where financial inequality has become a ticking time bomb set to blow up the global economy. Click here to see “The Great Devaluation” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World
Click here to see “Crashed” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
We live in a world where dramatic shifts in the domestic and global economy command the headlines, from rollbacks in US banking regulations to tariffs that may ignite international trade wars. But current events have deep roots, and the key to navigating today’s roiling policies lies in the events that started it all–the 2008 economic crisis and its aftermath.
Despite initial attempts to downplay the crisis as a local incident, what happened on Wall Street beginning in 2008 was, in fact, a dramatic caesura of global significance that spiraled around the world, from the financial markets of the UK and Europe to the factories and dockyards of Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, forcing a rearrangement of global governance. With a historian’s eye for detail, connection, and consequence, Adam Tooze brings the story right up to today’s negotiations, actions, and threats–a much-needed perspective on a global catastrophe and its long-term consequences. Click here to see “Crashed” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, Seventh Edition
This seventh edition of an investment classic has been thoroughly revised and expanded following the latest crises to hit international markets. Renowned economist Robert Z. Aliber introduces the concept that global financial crises in recent years are not independent events, but symptomatic of an inherent instability in the international system.
Covering such topics as the history and anatomy of crises, speculative manias, and the lender of last resort, this book puts the turbulence of the financial world in perspective. Click here to see “Manias, Panics, and Crashes” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
The Fed and Lehman Brothers: Setting the Record Straight on a Financial Disaster
The bankruptcy of the investment bank Lehman Brothers was the pivotal event of the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession that followed. Ever since the bankruptcy, there has been heated debate about why the Federal Reserve did not rescue Lehman in the same way it rescued other financial institutions, such as Bear Stearns and AIG. The Fed’s leaders from that time, especially former Chairman Ben Bernanke, have strongly asserted that they lacked the legal authority to save Lehman because it did not have adequate collateral for the loan it needed to survive.
Based on a meticulous four-year study of the Lehman case, The Fed and Lehman Brothers debunks the official narrative of the crisis. It shows that in reality, the Fed could have rescued Lehman but officials chose not to because of political pressures and because they underestimated the damage that the bankruptcy would do to the economy. The compelling story of the Lehman collapse will interest anyone who cares about what caused the financial crisis, whether the leaders of the Federal Reserve have given accurate accounts of their actions, and how the Fed can prevent future financial disasters. Click here to see “The Fed and Lehman Brothers” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System–And Themselves
Click here to see “Too Big to Fail” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Brand New for 2018: an updated edition featuring a new afterword to mark the 10th anniversary of the financial crisis. The brilliantly reported New York Times bestseller that goes behind the scenes of the financial crisis on Wall Street and in Washington to give the definitive account of the crisis, the basis for the HBO film.
In one of the most gripping financial narratives in decades, Andrew Ross Sorkin–a New York Times columnist and one of the country’s most respected financial reporters–delivers the first definitive blow-by-blow account of the epochal economic crisis that brought the world to the brink. Through unprecedented access to the players involved, he re-creates all the drama and turmoil of these turbulent days, revealing never-before-disclosed details and recounting how, motivated as often by ego and greed as by fear and self-preservation, the most powerful men and women in finance and politics decided the fate of the world’s economy. Click here to see “Too Big to Fail” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Crash of 2008 and What It Means: The New Paradigm for Financial Markets
Click here to see “The Crash of 2008“ and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
In the midst of one of the most serious financial upheavals since the Great Depression, George Soros, the legendary financier and philanthropist, writes about the origins of the crisis and proposes a set of policies that should be adopted to confront it.
Soros, whose breadth of experience in financial markets is unrivaled, places the crisis in the context of his decades of study of how individuals and institutions handle the boom and bust cycles that now dominate global economic activity. In a concise essay that combines practical insight with philosophical depth, Soros makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the great credit crisis and its implications for our nation and the world. Click here to see “The Crash of 2008 and What it Means” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
The problem of slow and expensive broadband access in the USA is not a technological one. The US lags behind due to the pseudo-geographical monopolies held by various ISPs and the ability they have enjoyed to be able to gouge customers with high priced bad service. Lack of competition often results in slow progress or no progress.
That is all about to change. You don’t need to have a technician to analyze the various 5G systems, or compare carriers chances of “winning” to realize that the very fact that speeds and options are increasing exponentially is going to re-write the map when it comes to who controls the cash-cow subscription gravy train. That system is about to collapse.
In steps Elon, and his little copy-cat-side-kick Jeffy Bezos, and now the landscape is about to become unrecognizable
First, 5G speeds rival or exceed the former fixed / desktop speeds which had commanded a premium for the geographically entrenched providers. 5G home systems will also be available in many areas that will be competitive in speed, price and convenience.
SpaceX’s Starlink is a serious project; with nearly 1000 satellites already in orbit out of an eventual 12,000 and launches continuing almost weekly with 60 each time. This ambitious plan will eventually completely encircle the earth with interconnected satellites that will link through intermediary “ground stations” with up to 1 million planned for USA alone. Each ground station is just under 19 inches (.48 m) across.
“It looks like a UFO on a stick,” according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk “It’s very important that you don’t need a specialist to install. The goal is for … just two instructions and they can be done in either order: Point at sky, plug in.”
Satellite Broadband, such as SpaceX’s Starlink will not only add ubiquitous 100mbps and higher, low latency coverage, it will also cover the same areas with high population density, major cities, where both current systems and 5G are also focusing.
Exact pricing is as yet unknown but it is extremely likely that there will be a high pitched battle over customers once the various systems go into the next phase of the rollout. And all of this is not factoring in additional players in 5G and satellite systems.
Longer term (2 years +) there will be major world-wide implications of this shift toward more and faster options in internet connectivity
The first shift, primarily driven by the geographical independence of satellite broadband such as Starlink, will be a decentralization of populations at massive scale. While we are looking at a world where, due to the current pandemic countermeasures, WFH a.k.a. work-from-home is becoming more than a temporary factor. As many as 20 major companies such as Google and Microsoft have announced extended or permanent work-from-home policies as of October 2020.
There are already plenty of very serious discussions about what will be done with all the skyscrapers and office buildings once there are no workers to fill the offices. This is not idle chit-chat. A migration has already begun away from the insanely overpriced rents and home prices in places like Silicon Valley, to take advantage of the work-from-home-anywhere approach.
Extrapolate based on increased speed and availability of connectivity to millions of locations not currently viable, each of which soon to have internet at minimum speeds rivaling the current world champion Liechtenstein (see above), and you will recognize the beginnings of an exodus of epic proportions.
Just in time, unfortunately, for an economic upheaval due to the aftermath of the still-ongoing global pandemic and, of yes, the issues of accelerated global warming, which will, coincidentally, affect costal “elite” cities like Miami, SanFrancisco, New York and others around the world to a disproportionally large degree.
“The reality is that a technological utopian vision, one where the world is able to shift to sustainable energy and regenerative farming, and create economies based on prosperous and equal distribution of the wealth generated by those systems, [along with AI and robot technology powered by sustainable clean energy], can only be realized by an acceleration of learning and positive social change. “
-DL
These changes, to be clear, are not all “bad” nor are they all the cause of negative side-effects such as the current covid-19 outbreak.
The reality is that a technological utopian vision, one where the world is able to shift to sustainable energy and regenerative farming, and create economies based on prosperous and equal distribution of the wealth generated by those systems, [along with AI androbot technology, powered by sustainable clean energy), can only be realized by an acceleration of learning and positive social change.
Change is urgently needed to build out the human networked communication system that will enable the learning and cooperation which is the only hope for the survival of our species. 5G, the iPhone 12 and SpaceX’s Starlink Satellite Broadband are going to be huge factors, in making the first baby-steps toward that change, possible..
Most articles on 5G since the Apple iPhone 12 launch event on October 13th have been looking in the rearview mirror to predict the future: 5G will “disappoint” due to the slow buildout, technical limitations of the format, and various issues with all the competing systems and carriers, and these arguments are casting doubt on the much touted potential.
This perspective misses the point on so many levels it’s difficult to know where to begin to unpack the myriad of misunderstandings.
Much of the technical discussion has been focused on the various flavors of 5G and the associated limitations and advantages of each. The fact that the fastest 5G, which goes by the sub-category moniker millimeter wave, is not instantly available everywhere for the 5G capable iPhones, and that they will not be in the hands of most consumers before next year, has been met with feigned shock and bewilderment.
And further, they highlight the confusion mounting over the various providers and the various flavors: 5G, 5G E, 5G UW or 5G+ as they are designated by “service indicators” on the iPhone 12 itself. Verizon Communications Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and AT&T Inc. each have their own systems they have developed and are building out – looking for a piece of the 5G market, expected to be around $1.15 trillion by 2025.
First and foremost – since Apple and iPhone are the leader of all innovations in the marketplace – not necessarily by the sheer number of handsets sold, but by the focus on increasing technical and aesthetic quality and appealing to the top demographic, not to mention the majority of early adopters, it is precisely the fact that, until now, the iPhone 5G handset did not yet exist, and for that reason the buildout is not further along.
The fact that in real-world tests it is already performing at up to 7 times the fastest previously available connections, was coupled inevitably with the caveat; physical locations where these speeds can be accomplished are currently hard to find.
Due to the technical issues with this ultra-high speed version of 5G, the inability to travel more than very short distances and the lack of ability to penetrate obstacles or walls, the possibility to get these amazing speeds are, at present, more likely to be found in outdoor locations.
This is, admittedly, an odd conundrum, but you can be sure, with the upcoming massive increase in competition for ISP customers, it is one that will find at least some viable solutions very soon. There are many billions at stake for those that can find ways to improve this issue.
“Standing in front of a camera store in South of Market, I got 5G speeds reaching 2,160 megabits a second, which was 2,900 percent faster than 4G. Even where it was a tad slower — behind the Safeway parking lot in the Marina district — the 5G iPhone drew speeds of 668 megabits a second, which was 1,052 percent faster than 4G.”
– Brian X. Chen for the New York Times
The carriers have not had the market to build for and needed to be pushed by a huge influx of iPhone 12 owners. Then, meaning now, they will begin to compete with one another for that extremely lucrative group of users. And that rising competitive battle is not the only one looming on the horizon.
Regardless of the ultimate time frame of the build-out, there is an obvious and very meaningful conclusion that we can reach here: 1 year from now things will look very different in the options available for those who want to work and play with the help of a faster internet connection (meaning, obviously, everybody).
As can be seen from the chart above (source: fastmetrics) in early 2020 the US ranked 13th in desktop download speed while mobile speeds ranked even worse coming in at #33 (various sources have US at #10 for fixed broadband). Liechtenstein is nearly 4x faster, on average, than the US. Also note that the highest average is one-tenth to one-twentieth of the eventual “ideal conditions” speeds of 5G.
The future of connectivity can only get better and faster from here. And with the power of Apple, the iPhone 12 and that huge affluent user base the improvements will begin soon and quickly accelerate to a fever-pitch by next year’s iPhone launch. (Will they call it the iPhone 13?)..
The Confusion around 5G goes far beyond the political-nonsense conspiracy theories
Most articles on 5G since the Apple iPhone 12 launch event on October 13th have been looking in the rearview mirror to predict the future: 5G will “disappoint” due to the slow buildout, technical limitations of the format, and various issues with all the competing systems and carriers, and these arguments are casting doubt on the much touted potential.
This perspective misses the point on so many levels, it’s difficult to know where to begin to unpack the myriad of misunderstandings.
Much of the technical discussion has been focused on the various flavors of 5G and the associated limitations and advantages of each. The fact that the fastest 5G, which goes by the sub-category moniker millimeter wave, is not instantly available everywhere for the 5G capable iPhones, and that they will not be in the hands of most consumers before next year, has been met with feigned shock and bewilderment.
And further, many highlight the confusion mounting over the various providers and the various flavors: 5G, 5G E, 5G UW or 5G+ as they are designated by “service indicators” on the iPhone 12 itself. Verizon Communications Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and AT&T Inc. each have their own systems they have developed and are building out – looking for a piece of the 5G market, expected to be around $1.15 trillion by 2025.
First and foremost – since Apple and iPhone are the leader of all innovations in the marketplace – not necessarily by the sheer number of handsets sold, but by the focus on increasing technical and aesthetic quality, and appealing to the top demographic, not to mention the majority of early adopters, it is precisely the fact that, until now, the iPhone 5G handset did not yet exist, that the buildout is not further along.
The fact that, in real-world tests, it is already performing at up to 7 times the fastest previously available connections, was coupled inevitably with the caveat; physical locations where these speeds can be accomplished are currently hard to find.
Due to the technical issues with this ultra-high speed version of 5G; the inability to travel more than very short distances and the lack of ability to penetrate obstacles or walls, the possibility to get these amazing speeds are, at present, more likely to be found at outdoor locations.
This is, admittedly, an odd conundrum, but you can be sure, with the upcoming massive increase in competition for ISP customers, it is one that will find at least some viable solutions very soon. There are many billions at stake for those that can find ways to improve this issue.
“Standing in front of a camera store in South of Market, I got 5G speeds reaching 2,160 megabits a second, which was 2,900 percent faster than 4G. Even where it was a tad slower — behind the Safeway parking lot in the Marina district — the 5G iPhone drew speeds of 668 megabits a second, which was 1,052 percent faster than 4G.”
– Brian X. Chen for the New York Times
The carriers have not had the market to build for, and needed to be pushed by a huge influx of iPhone 12 owners. Then, meaning now, they will begin to compete with one another for that extremely lucrative group of users. That rising competitive battle is not the only one looming on the horizon.
Regardless of the ultimate time frame of the build-out, there is an obvious and very meaningful conclusion that we can reach here: 1 year from now things will look very different in the options available for those who want to work and play with the help of a faster internet connection (meaning, obviously, everybody).
As can be seen from the chart above in early 2020 the US ranked 13th in desktop download speed while mobile speeds ranked even worse coming in at #33 (various sources have US at #10 for fixed broadband). Liechtenstein is nearly 4x faster, on average, than the US. Also note that the highest average is one-tenth to one-twentieth of the eventual “ideal conditions” speeds of 5G.
Failure of the US Broadband infrastructure and the coming shake-up in the ISP system grid-lock
The problem is not a technological one. The US lags behind due to the pseudo-geographical monopolies held by various ISPs and the ability they have enjoyed to be able to gouge customers with high priced, bad service. Lack of competition often results in slow progress, or no progress.
That is all about to change. You don’t need to have a technician to analyze the various 5G systems, or compare carriers chances of “winning” to realize that the very fact that speeds and options are increasing exponentially is going to re-write the map when it comes to who controls the cash-cow subscription gravy train. That system is about to collapse.
In steps Elon, and his little copy-cat-side-kick Jeffy Bezos, and the landscape is about to become unrecognizable
First, 5G speeds rival or exceed the former fixed / desktop speeds which had commanded a premium for the geographically entrenched providers. 5G home systems will be available in many areas that will be competitive in speed, price and convenience.
SpaceX’s Starlink, with nearly 1,000 satellites already in orbit out of an eventual 12,000, with launches continuing almost weekly with 60 in each launch, is a serious project. This ambitious plan will eventually encircle the Earth completely with interconnected satellites that will link through intermediary “ground stations” with up to 1 million planned for USA alone. Each ground station is just under 19 inches (.48 m) across.
“It looks like a UFO on a stick,” according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk “It’s very important that you don’t need a specialist to install. The goal is for … just two instructions and they can be done in either order: Point at sky, plug in.”
Satellite Broadband, such as SpaceX’s Starlink will not only add ubiquitous 100mbps and higher, low latency coverage, it will also cover the same areas with high population density, major cities, where both current systems and 5G are also focusing.
Exact pricing is as yet unknown, but it is very likely that there will be a high-pitched battle over customers, once the various systems go into the next phase of the rollout. And all of this is not factoring in additional players in 5G and satellite systems.
Longer term (2 years +) there will be major world-wide implications of this shift, toward more and faster options in internet connectivity
The first shift, primarily driven by the geographical independence of satellite broadband, such as Starlink, will be a decentralization of populations at massive scale. While we are looking at a world where, due to the current pandemic countermeasures, WFH a.k.a. work from home is becoming more than a temporary factor. As many as 20 major companies such as Google and Microsoft have announced extended or permanent work-from-home policies as of October 2020.
There are plenty of very serious discussions about what will be done with all the skyscrapers and office buildings once there are no workers to fill the offices. This is not idle chit-chat. A migration has already begun away from the insanely overpriced rents and home prices to take advantage of the work-from-home-anywhere approach.
Extrapolate, based on increased speed and availability of connectivity to millions of locations not currently viable, will soon have internet at minimum speeds rivaling the current world champion Liechtenstein (see above), and you see the beginnings of an exodus of epic proportions. Just in time for economic upheaval, due to the aftermath of the still ongoing global pandemic, and yes, the issues of accelerated global warming, which will, coincidentally, affect costal “elite” cities like Miami, San Francisco, New York and others around the world to a disproportionally large degree.
“The reality is that a technological utopian vision, one where the world is able to shift to sustainable energy and regenerative farming, and create economies based on prosperous and equal distribution of the wealth generated by those systems (along with AI plus robot technology (powered by sustainable clean energy), can only be realized by an acceleration of learning and positive social change. “
-DL
These changes, to be clear, are not all “bad” nor are they all the cause of negative side-effects such as the current covid-19 outbreak.
The reality is that a technological utopian vision, one where the world is able to shift to sustainable energy and regenerative farming, and create economies based on prosperous and equal distribution of the wealth generated by those systems, (along with AI, robot technology powered by sustainable clean energy), can only be realized by an acceleration of learning and positive social change.
Change is urgently needed to build out the human networked-communication-system that will enable the learning and cooperation which is the only hope for the survival of our species. 5G, the iPhone 12 and SpaceX’s Starlink Satellite Broadband are going to be huge factors, in making the first baby-steps toward that change, possible.
The unconventional streaming service is done – a flameout less than seven months after launching
On October 21st, The Wall Street Journal caught a whiff that a certain young video streaming service was about to bite the dust. Rumors turned out to be true, as the hardly six-month-old Quibi shut down that same day.
Quibi was an unconventional streaming service from its very beginning, a risky idea from Hollywood veterans Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. Conceptualized in August 2018, their idea was to create a streaming platform dedicated to short-term content on mobile screens. The founders figured that people might appreciate “quick bites” of entertainment on the go— hence the service’s name.
Although the idea was irregular, Katzenberg and Whitman were still able to work their magic and build up hype for the product. In the months leading up to its April 2020 launch, Quibi ads were everywhere, many of them featuring notable celebrities. The moguls behind the project also raised over $1.75 billion from high-profile investors and garnered an additional $150 million in ad revenue from the likes of Pepsi and Walmart. In the final hours before its release, Quibi was starting to look like a forthcoming underdog success story.
But when the launch happened, audiences quickly realized some issues with Quibi. It lacked particularly alluring content; the small-screen “Turnstyle” optimization was unusual; many questioned, “Why pay money for such a service when there are so many free mobile streaming destinations like YouTube or TikTok?”
Evidently, Quibi was off to a rough start, but the road only got rockier. In May, a lawsuit emerged as the video company Eko sued Quibi for infringing on a patent for the “Trurnstyle” technology.
Now with heavy criticism and a legal battle on their hands, Quibi’s viewership also started to dwindle. The number of subscribers was actually disappointing from the very beginning, but the figures really started declining around Quibi’s three-month birthday, when the service’s lengthy free trial was running out.
Why did it fail? And what does it means for streaming to come?
According to The Verge, one report estimated that Quibi lost ninety percent of its subscribers in July, just when they were all supposed to start paying the monthly fee: $4.99 with ads, $7.99 without ads.
Essentially, part of Quibi’s appeal was to attract a mobile audience— people who were riding trains or sitting in waiting rooms. Now that most people are working from home and avoiding public spaces, a short piece of visual narrative watched from a smartphone does not seem as appealing, even if the service did just launch its first TV app a few days ago.
The other part of Katzenberg and Whitman’s letter stressed how Quibi could not carry on as a stand-alone company. Allegedly, the partners tried getting Apple, WarnerMedia, Facebook, and NBCUniversal to acquire Quibi, but no one was buying. Thus, they had no choice but to close up shop.
Quibi stood as a big Hollywood experiment from the get go. Although both of its founders were well experienced in the entertainment industry, a small-screen subscription based streaming service would be considered a bold endeavor for anyone to sell.
We can blame Quibi’s failures on timing, pandemics, competition, or simple over-ambition, but in the end, the only hard truth is that the platform lasted a very short time. Perhaps the shortest time ever for a recognizable streaming service.
Sometimes, Hollywood rewards audacity, like when a young director breaks the rules or a studio chooses to invest in a chancy intellectual property. However, for every Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” or Disney’s acquisition of Marvel, there are a million projects that didn’t make it. Sadly, Quibi is one of them.
In the streaming war, an ongoing battle where Disney+ and Netflix seem to be winning while HBOMax, AppleTV+, and NBCUniversal’s Peacock hold their ground, Quibi will go down as the young, daring private, sent out by senior officers to storm the trenches, only to take one in the gut early on.
We will never know what it could have been, and there may be others like it to come. For now, though, Quibi may be a cautionary tale for entertainment executives, one that has alas met a hasty epilogue.
Snowden may indeed receive a pardon and shortly after a bunk-mate in the form of the same soon-to-be ex-President
Trump says so many crazy things on any given day, it is easy to let any one particular thing just float on by and get ready for whatever the next outrageous or just wacko thing that comes out of his mouth.
Ascribing some kind of motivation is often a fools errand of second convolution logic that leads to a parlor game of either elevating this mental-midget to a “very stable genius” or trying to follow clues as to his source for the “idea” (like what was aired on Fox News in the 12 hours prior to his tweet or crazy proclamation).
The idea he came up with of leaving the country, after he loses to “the worst candidate in the history of politics”, is not one of those run-of-the-mill , dime-a-dozen utterances. No. It is a very real concern that appears to be weighing heavily on his mind, and that he feels the need to discuss with thousands of his closest friends (the audiences at his super-spreader rallies).
If there is a genius to Trump, it is his ability to go so far beyond the pale that even those that know his predilection for bizarre suggestions and actions have not followed his twisted logic quite as far as he is about to take it.
Floating the idea of a Pardon for Snowden was Clue #1
The backward inverted idea of a pardon initiated by Trump for someone he once called a “traitor” is pure, simple Trump-ian thought at it’s most absurd. All Snowden needed to do to become Trump’s new friend was to hang out for a while with Trump’s other friend; Putin. So, as is so often the case with the most obtuse and simultaneously transparent maniac, one only has to connect the dots to reach a simple rock-solid conclusion: Trump is shopping for a post-election-loss safe-haven and joining Snowden in Moscow is his very first choice.
Now, never mind that Snowden is not a Trump supporter or sycophant, his proximity alone, to Putin, in Trump’s bent mind, makes him an ally of sorts. And if pushed, I am certain Trump would somehow use this thought process to link Wikileaks, which he “loves” when they leak Democratic dirt, and Assange, though strange bedfellows don’t begin to cover that trio of compatriots.
The phrase: “Banana republic” comes to mind
This prediction, written on this very parchment at 21:21 on October 21, 2020, is herby put forth – however, in fairness, it is actually at least 3 predictions.
First, that Trump will lose Bigly on or around November 3rd. Second, that he will opt for plan c, after his wannabe civil warriors fail to show up for any dubious would-be battles, and leave the USA forthwith. Third that he is already entertaining offers but has Moscow very high on his list, since the shit-hole countries, that he bad-mouthed on the way up the ladder of infamy, do not have an interest in harboring him.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
Rules that favor the sane are clearly unpopular with the chief of interruptions and accusations
The final Presidential debate, currently scheduled for Thursday October 22 will have 90 minutes divided into six fifteen-minute segments. Each segment will have 2 minutes of time for each candidate to speak, guaranteed without interruption, before the topic is “discussed” in open debate format.
Trump, whining to reporters last night disagreed with virtually everything about the debate: “I will participate but it’s very unfair that they changed the topics and it’s very unfair that again we have an anchor who’s totally biased.”
During an hour long interview with “Fox & Friends” he went further:
‘This was supposed to be a foreign policy debate, and new all of a sudden we’re talking about things that are not foreign policy. And, frankly, it was a change that they made that was far bigger than the mute button, I mean, frankly. But they made a change, and it shouldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have happened”
During Barack Obama’s two terms, Pete Souza was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else — and he photographed them all. Souza captured nearly two million photographs of President Obama, in moments highly classified and disarmingly candid. Obama: An Intimate Portrait reproduces more than 300 of Souza’s most iconic photographs with fine-art print quality in an oversize collectible format.
Some are already speculating that Trump will scream and yell and wave his arms during the time that his mic is muted. Alternatively, he could choose to cancel, which appears to be unlikely at this late juncture. Apparently, while the last debate was all about talking over, interrupting and generally trying to disrupt the proceedings, this time it will be about complaining outside the actual performance itself. I guess we’ll all have to tune in to see.
“We realize, after discussions with both campaigns, that neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today. We are comfortable that these actions strike the right balance and that they are in the interest of the American people, for whom these debates are held.”
– The Commission on Presidential Debates
In addition to the 2 minutes of time each is given to speak without interruption there will be an attempt made to calculate the time one candidate loses due to an interruption by the other candidate will be credited back to the candidate that was interrupted.
Since Trump interrupted three times as often as Biden in the first debate; 71 times vs. 22 by the former Vice President, it was always unlikely that these rules would be welcomed by the Trump campaign. The bizarre strategy of “winning by interruption” will have far less potential in the new format.
The groundwork has been laid to choose to blame and mock the commission and the moderator or simply refuse to attend
On Monday a complaint in advance was already sent to the commission by Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager:
“It is completely unacceptable for anyone to wield such power, and a decision to proceed with that change amounts to turning further editorial control of the debate over to the Commission which has already demonstrated its partiality to Biden,” said Stepien.
Additionally, the Trump campaign appears to be unhappy with the topics that were announced by the debate commission and in the same letter quoted above attempted to steer the debate topics away from the Covid-19 pandemic and into “foreign policy” and other issues.
All the grousing could be a set-up for a last minute cancelation by the Trump camp, as has been speculated.
That would likely only benefit Biden, and speed-up the need for Trump to find a country that would host him in exile.
However, as of last night this quote from Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien still stands: Trump “is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of last minute rule changes from the biased commission in their latest attempt to provide advantage to their favored candidate.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
Humans never seem to learn – but starting today our Phones do: Big-time
Seems like every year, and sometimes twice a year, we all go through the same song and dance. Apple -oriented publications and media tout all the “leaks” and how they predict that Apple will have a “lackluster” announcement based on those leaks.
Then reality hits and the leaks, while technically more or less correct, turn out to be meaningless or worse. The idea of “only” incremental improvements is blown away by an expanding and deepening ecosystem, so dominant and advanced, in and of itself, that the real world goes Gaga and Apple has yet another world-changing hit on its hands.
The iPhone 12, the HomePod mini and even the MagSafe system are each going to smash expectations and, ultimately, change the world we live in.
The innovative new MagSafe system enables seamless, high-powered wireless charging and easy-to-attach accessories. Photo / Apple
That’s a Strong Statement, Dude, what R you? A Fanboy?
Well, if we were looking at what’s been going on, particularly during the last several years, you would have noticed that the “incremental” improvements that so much of the media has been whining about are actually all part of a huge shift into areas, heretofore unimaginable, and all powered by an ecosystem that is unrivaled and unparalleled in any industry.
Apple has developed and advanced all its products and innovations using Hardware design, Software, machine learning and AI, as well as hardware and silicon development; and that has started the process of replacing and becoming the sequel to Moore’s Law – on a whole new level.
Computational Photography is Today’s biggest buzzword (not counting 5G)
5G and the 5G roll-out are the real secret to why all the nay-sayers are wrong. Apple does not need to adapt to the issues and problems of moving technology forward. Technology will move forward and adapt to Apple. That is the true legacy of Steve Jobs, and hallelujah!
Although there were many photography related bombshells in the presentation today – such as the 5x optical zoom rage / capability (iPhone 12 Pro Max) and the more powerful, larger sensors on the iPhone 12 Pro, it’s the payoff on the machine learning, and software based enhancements to the visual results and the shooting experience that is mind-bogglingly advanced and has only just begun.
Apple does not need to adapt to the issues and problems of moving technology forward. Technology will move forward and adapt to Apple. That is the true legacy of Steve Jobs, and hallelujah!
– D.L.
Without going into a list of the improvements and features related to Computation Photography upgrades (we will cover that in a series of articles and videos in the coming days, weeks and months) the ways that both the experience and results of shooting with an iPhone are improving is vast.
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Screen: 6.7-inch Retina display
Resolution: 2778 x 1284 at 458 ppi (pixel per inch)
Processor: Apple A14 Bionic
Rear camera: 12-megapixel wide camera with f/1.6 aperture + 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with f/2.4 aperture (120-degrees field of view and Sensor-shift optical image stabilization) + 12-megapixel telephoto camera with f/2.2 aperture +LiDAR scanner for depth mapping
Optical zoom: 2.5x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out (5x optical zoom range)
Front camera: 12-megapixel with f/2.2
Internal storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB
In the box: No earpods and charging brick; Lightning to USB-C cable included
Software: iOS 14
Starting price: $1099
The iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro will be available in the US from October 23. The iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max will be available in the US from November 13.
And the sub-head should be: “wow” because the iPhone 12, just as was the case with the iPhone 11, will be further refining and improving these capabilities 24/7 while we sleep. The importance of this can not be overestimated. Your iPhone will take better photos and perform better with, not only, “incremental” software improvements that you will download throughout the year, but also with “invisible” upgrades that will happen 24/7 slowly but surely as a result of AI and machine learning, well, learning.
I believe that this incredible fact is actually downplayed by Apple because they are worried that the general public might actually fear the power, based on some kind of Terminator-like dystopian scenario, thinking that the iPhone is a potentially dangerous pseudo-living being. The power is real. The fear is unfounded. Enjoy the upgraded experiences and performance now, and watch if improve day by day, week by week and move us all into a more beautiful future, at least for photos and screens and, oh yes, SPEED.
Now more than Ever Democracy needs an Informed Populace to Survive
After the recent alleged murder of a police officer by a “Boogaloo Boy, the indictments in a conspiracy plot to kidnap and murder the Governor of Michigan (Gretchen Whitmer) and with Trump “inciting the Proud Boys” during the Presidential debate saying, “Stand back and Stand By” (rather than condemning them and telling them to stand down), many of us are very wary of the possible dangers to Democracy swirling around the 2020 election.
These threats, although likely impotent, are still very real. So now would be the perfect time to consult history, and those who are experts on history, in order to know more about the potential dangers of fascism and wannabe dictators to democracy and the democratic rule of law.
Book burning is impossible Today but the Truth is still being Attacked from all sides
Just as Trump cries and whines daily about “fake news” a term originally coined to describe his penchant for constantly lying, Hitler wanted to banish history from the minds of his German subjects by exhorting them to set libraries ablaze in bonfires meant to banish all but his mandated “truth”. Those bonfires are, to this day, a symbol of absolute evil, no less so than concentration camps and mass murder.
Fortunately there are recent classic as well as new, important titles coming out at this critical time. While many in the masses might be easily fooled into admiring those that primp and preen and bluster like Mussolini once did, or attack a designated “other” group like Hitler (the Jews) and Trump (Mexican immigrants and other asylum seekers as well as the imaginary threat of ‘antifa’) anyone who has studied history, and in particular these books, will know that the path to freedom, justice and real democracy lies and the exact opposite direction. Always.
The Origins of Totalitarianism begins with the rise of anti-Semitism in central and western Europe in the 1800s and continues with an examination of European colonial imperialism from 1884 to the outbreak of World War I.
Arendt explores the institutions and operations of totalitarian movements, focusing on the two genuine forms of totalitarian government in our time–Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia–which she adroitly recognizes were two sides of the same coin, rather than opposing philosophies of Right and Left.
From this vantage point, she discusses the evolution of classes into masses, the role of propaganda in dealing with the nontotalitarian world, the use of terror, and the nature of isolation and loneliness as preconditions for total domination. Click here to see “Origins of Totalitarianism” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Click here to see “Rigged” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Russia’s interference in 2016 marked only the latest chapter of a hidden and revelatory history. In Rigged, David Shimer tells the sweeping story of covert electoral interference past and present. He exposes decades of secret operations–by the KGB, the CIA, and Vladimir Putin’s Russia–to shape electoral outcomes, melding deep historical research with groundbreaking interviews with more than 130 key players, from leading officials in both the Trump and Obama administrations, to CIA and NSA directors, to a former KGB general.
What Americans should make of Russia’s attack in 2016 is still hotly debated, even after the Mueller report and years of media coverage. Shimer shows that Putin’s operation was, in fact, a continuation of an ongoing struggle, using familiar weapons radically enhanced by new technology. Throughout history and in 2016, both Russian and American operations achieved their greatest success by influencing the way voters think, rather than tampering with actual vote tallies. Click here to see “Rigged” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
With the end of the Cold War, the victory of liberal democracy seemed final. Observers declared the end of history, confident in a peaceful, globalized future. This faith was misplaced. Authoritarianism returned to Russia, as Putin found fascist ideas that could be used to justify rule by the wealthy. In the 2010s, it has spread from east to west, aided by Russian warfare in Ukraine and cyberwar in Europe and the United States.
Russia found allies among nationalists, oligarchs, and radicals everywhere, and its drive to dissolve Western institutions, states, and values found resonance within the West itself. The rise of populism, the British vote against the EU, and the election of Donald Trump were all Russian goals, but their achievement reveals the vulnerability of Western societies. Click here to see “The Road to Unfreedom” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Click here to see “Fascism” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
A Fascist, observes Madeleine Albright, “is someone who claims to speak for a whole nation or group, is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others, and is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have.”
The twentieth century was defined by the clash between democracy and Fascism, a struggle that created uncertainty about the survival of human freedom and left millions dead. Given the horrors of that experience, one might expect the world to reject the spiritual successors to Hitler and Mussolini should they arise in our era. In Fascism: A Warning, Madeleine Albright draws on her experiences as a child in war-torn Europe and her distinguished career as a diplomat to question that assumption. Click here to see “Fascism” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
An explosive exposé of the right’s relentless campaign to eliminate unions, suppress voting, privatize public education, stop action on climate change, and alter the Constitution.
Behind today’s headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules, but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance.
But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did. Democracy in Chains names its true architect–the Nobel Prize-winning political economist James McGill Buchanan–and dissects the operation he and his colleagues designed over six decades to alter every branch of government to disempower the majority. Click here to see “Democracy in Chains” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Donald Trump’s presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we’d be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang–in a revolution or military coup–but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms. The good news is that there are several exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. The bad news is that, by electing Trump, we have already passed the first one.
Drawing on decades of research and a wide range of historical and global examples, from 1930s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela, to the American South during Jim Crow, Levitsky and Ziblatt show how democracies die–and how ours can be saved. Click here to see “How Democracies Die” and help independent bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.
Undercover FBI agent gathered detailed audio evidence on elaborate and deadly plot
The FBI released an affidavit on Thursday, October 8th, charging six members of a right-winged private militia for plotting to overthrow the government and kidnap Democrat Governor Gretchin Whitmer.
These six men were part of a group called “Wolverine Watchmen,” a private coalition that endorses (and often times enacts) violent actions to liberate itself from what they perceive to be a tyrannical government. Members typically hold libertarian views, rallying against tax hikes, gun control, and occasions where they think the government impedes on personal freedoms.
Their plot to kidnap Gretchin Whitmer comes after several months of strict rules regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor has exercised immense emergency powers in Michigan, rigorously enforcing certain restrictions in the name of health and safety. In April, many members of “Wolverine Watchmen” stormed the state capitol when Whitmer announced a stay-at-home order.
According to the FBI investigation, the six charged members are named Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta. They have been planning to kidnap Whitmer for months with recorded phone calls and rehearsal meetings to prove it. The evidence heavily suggests that they intended to execute the kidnapping at Whitmer’s vacation home in Michigan’s Western District. References to moving the captive governor to Wisconsin or even killing her also emerge in the recordings.
Following the report’s release, The Daily Beast performed thorough research on the militia’s vast members, using their social media and public records to reveal that many people tied to the “Wolverine Watchmen” also show support of alt-right, white supremacy groups.
Tellingly, all of this comes less than two weeks after the first presidential debate, when President Donald Trump struggled (and ultimately failed) to condemn white supremacists. Rebuking this Presidential statement was at the heart of Whitmer’s response to the situation.
Michigan has a long history as a hot bed for militia activity
In a news conference, Whitmer explained that white supremacists and private militias took the President’s fumbling response during the debate as a call-to-action, and blames the POTUS for reinvigorating such violent hate groups when he had a clear avenue for creating peace.
Whitmer naturally expressed shock and disgust at the situation, but she also had strong words of hope. Despite everything she’s been through, she addressed Michiganders with poise, praising those who have shown bravery throughout this troubling year and promising to continue protecting the state against the virus.
At last, she mentioned that unity is crucial for getting through this pandemic, and that becoming each other’s enemy will only tear this country apart further. She called for kindness, empathy, and grace, for protecting our neighbors and following the guidelines that will keep everyone safe.As of right now, the legal reprehensions for Fox, Croft, Garbin, Franks, Harris, and Caserta remain to-be-determined.
They are being charged in federal court while seven other members of the “Wolverine Watchmen” are going to state court for targeting police officers and the capitol in Michigan. Given the evidence against them—as well as the fact that the Second Amendment only allows militias when called upon by the government— it seems as if the law is not on their side.
728 Successfully deployed satellites is one step closer to global broadband coverage
From the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk launched his twelfth Starlink Mission on Tuesday morning. With this latest launch from the company, SpaceX is now just a few dozen satellites away from providing a significant portion of North America with broadband access.
SpaceX started the Starlink project in 2019 with the goal of creating a constellation of satellites that will eventually provide the entire world with broadband Internet. After this morning’s launch— which carried 60 satellites—there are a reported 728 total satellites in orbit, just under the 800 required to achieve the goal across a moderate section of America.
With the 728 alone, however, SpaceX has already hit a milestone. According to Musk in a Tweet, Starlink is now able to run a public beta test in the northern U.S. and parts of southern Canada.
Once these satellites reach their target position, we will be able to roll out a fairly wide public beta in northern US & hopefully southern Canada. Other countries to follow as soon as we receive regulatory approval.
Eventual wide-adoption could break cable monopolies, increase decentralization and freedom
Starlink has been running private beta tests since July, allowing a handful of SpaceX employees and emergency service personnel to try out the system. Already, it has done some good in the world, as first responders in rural Washington state reportedly used Starlink to efficiently communicate during this summer’s wildfires.
Optimistically, people in rural parts of the world are the ones who stand to benefit the most from Starlink. Rather than settle for slow or outmoded forms of internet connection, Starlink will provide fast broadband to even the most remote regions. For this reason, SpaceX has applied to the Federal Communications Commission’s $16-billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to bridge the country’s digital divide.
In modern America—especially since COVID-19 has rendered so much remote and online—quality Internet access is nothing short of a necessity. Sadly, not all Americans have broadband, leaving troves of people without the proper tools for effective communication, information, and even education. Starlink could be the answer to this crisis of disconnection.
The project still has a ways to go, but the public beta could be a big step towards a brighter future. Already hundreds of thousands are interested in Starlink, and the public beta will better reflect its performance and utility on a broader scale.
