Afternoon Tea 2.4.2021 - Hydra Ideology

"You just don't realize how much until they're gone. The idea was to be a symbol..."

February 04, 2021

The Pentagon might be taking extremism seriously, anti-conservative bias on social networks remain not a thing, a Missouri lawmaker was selling fake stem cell treatments for COVID-19, Israel & Lebanon argue over drones, and has anyone seen Kim Jong-Un’s wife? It’s Thursday, February 4th 2021, and this is the Tea.

Pentagon, stumped by extremism in ranks, orders stand-down in next 60 days (Reuters) While I don’t have overwhelming hope this will be successful, the military recognizing this is a problem is powerful. That they need to may not try to replace this particular wheel while the car is in motion, could be absolutely transformative.

Claims of anti-conservative bias by social media firms is baseless, report finds (The Guardian) For the umpteenth time, conservative view suppression on social media is a talking point. NYU found that not only is there no evidence of anti-conservative bias, social media engagement-focused algorithms frequently benefit conservatives much more than progressives. Any leftist shitposter on his 3rd account can remind you, Ben Shapiro gets away with, daily, what would earn a lifetime ban, for any one of us.

The Deplatforming of Father Coughlin (Slate) An anti-Semitic priest used radio and free speech laws during the Great Depression to push fucked up shit almost a century ago. Given he built something you could liken to OANN radio after he was deplatformed, this seemed relevant now that Trump is trying to get aides to tweet insults at people for him:

But at its peak, in the middle of the Great Depression, it’s estimated that Coughlin’s audience was in the neighborhood of 20 million listeners. It is also hard to gauge how many of them were true believers who hung onto Coughlin’s every word, how many tuned in for the entertainment, and how many followed to keep tabs on the opposition. In 1939, well past the height of his popularity, a Gallup survey estimated that during a typical month 15 million listeners tuned in to some part of a Coughlin program, with 3.5 million describing themselves as regular listeners. Only 4 out of 10 listeners were Catholics, with fully one-third of the total of all listeners disapproving of what he said. Of those who didn’t listen to Coughlin at all, 75 percent disapproved of him.

Missouri lawmaker indicted for allegedly selling fake stem cell treatments for COVID-19 (NBC News) Patients at the Ozark Valley Medical Clinic were sold faux treatments peddled as containing stem cells. Missouri state rep hit with a 20 count indictment, after the Feds started investigating when she made claims that stems cells could treat the ‘rona back in April on Springfield, Missouri local TV. The layers here make me want to lie down.

Parler CEO Says He Was Fired as Platform Neared Restoring Service (WSJ) News items like this do not help my tin foil hat conspiracy theory that the entirety of Parler was just a honeypot by the Mercers to lift info wholesale from right-of-center rubes.

Op-Ed: Has Biden forgotten he’s commander in chief? Here’s America’s national security to-do list (LA Times) Andrew Bacevich reminds us that Biden can do a bunch of stuff, from terminating the Bush Doctrine and evaluating the effects of an all-volunteer armed force, to suspending needless modernization of our first strike nuclear force. I’d say they could look at AUMF, but dreams aren’t helpful here.

A Second SolarWinds Hack Deepens Third-Party Software Fears (Wired) China hit SolarWinds as well, which reinforces the argument that digital weapons of mass destruction shouldn’t be in the hands of non-governmental bodies.

Israel & Lebanon’s Hezbollah argue about whether drones were shot down over S. Lebanon (Reuters) & Israeli Jewish Antifa hacks KKK website, doxxes members (Jerusalem Post) First, Israeli Jewish Antifa is a fantastic phrase that gives me hope for the world, and that’s even before I read about what they did. Second, for the second time this week, Israel & Lebanon argued about whether one of Israel’s drones was shot down over Lebanese airspace. Not two arguments about the same drone, two different incidents, the second of which might have included civilians and local news hearing and seeing a drone blow up. No one has produced the baseball that went over the wall from the Sandlot yet, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

King Jong Un’s wife has been missing from the public eye for over a year (NK News) Anyone seen Kim Jong Un’s wife? This is semi-troubling but clearly won’t really be a priority for most of the world, given the state of things. I hope she and Melania’s body doubles are safe somewhere.

Phoenix woman shoots at shoplifter, hits store employee instead (National Post) Because the NRA magazine only arrived at my house for a couple of years, I’m not sure I have a comprehensive understanding of the subject. But I think there must be something in the Gun Safety books about not trying to be a good guy with a gun while walking one’s dog.

Huawei’s HarmonyOS: “Fake it till you make it” meets OS development (Ars Technica) The famed Android killer is just a crappier version of Android. Round of applause for Huawei, they’ll figure it out one of these years.

The only haven you can trust (Dead Channel) This is a gorgeous, and tear-jerking account of the goth clubs that became a hub of connection and counter-culture in the wider DC area. Nation holds a special place in my heart not just for the alt-culture nights, but for some of the best dancing I’ve ever had with people who meant the world to me. A wonderful read for a Thursday, when an age ago, so many of us would be getting ready for 72hrs of cardiovascular and chemical abuse we called the weekend.

Song of the Tea: VillaNaranjos is one of my favorite artists that basically no one has heard of. Their single “Lugano,” is such a perfect Balearic vibe, I built a playlist around it for people who ask for it correctly. So glad he’s getting picked up by FSOE.

It takes focus to both execute and restrain, act and contemplate. Account for your exhaustion accordingly.

Yours,t