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Quantum Computing Market 2020 | Outlook, Growth By Top Companies, Regions, Types, Applications, Drivers, Trends & Forecasts by 2025 – PRnews…

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

Market Study Report, LLC, has added a research study on Quantum Computing market which delivers a concise outline of the market share, market size, revenue estimation, geographical outlook and SWOT analysis of the business. The report further offers key insights based on growth opportunities and challenges as experienced by leaders of this industry, while evaluating their present standing in the market and growth strategies.

The new Quantum Computing market research report presents a granular analysis of the business outlook and also covers the world market overview. It throws lights on various market segmentations based on product type, application spectrum, well-established companies, and regions.

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Additionally, the document analyses the impact of COVID-19 on the market growth.

Key features of Quantum Computing market report:

Regional Analysis of Quantum Computing market:

Quantum Computing Market Segmentation: Americas, APAC, Europe, Middle East & Africa

Overview of the regional terrain of Quantum Computing market:

Product types and application scope of Quantum Computing market:

Product landscape:

Product types: Hardware, Software and Cloud Service

Key factors enclosed in the report:

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Application Landscape:

Application segmentation: Medical, Chemistry, Transportation, Manufacturing and Others

Details stated in the report:

Other details specified in the report:

Competitive spectrum of the Quantum Computing market:

Competitive landscape of Quantum Computing market: D-Wave Solutions, IBM, Microsoft, Rigetti Computing, Google, Anyon Systems Inc., Intel, Cambridge Quantum Computing Limited and Origin Quantum Computing Technology

Major features as per the report:

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Quantum Computing Market 2020 | Outlook, Growth By Top Companies, Regions, Types, Applications, Drivers, Trends & Forecasts by 2025 - PRnews...

Forum Teratec 2020 Gathered Experts in Simulation, HPC, Big Data and AI – HPCwire

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

Oct. 19, 2020 Held in digital format on October 13 and 14, 2020, given the circumstances of COVID-19, Forum Teratec gathered over 1200 experts in Simulation, HPC, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. It brought together industrialists, users, suppliers and political decision-makers around the essential issue of digital. As President of Teratec Daniel Verwaerde said in his introduction: This crisis demonstrates the fundamental importance of digital, and especially HPC and HPDA in our lives and in our economy.

The Forum Teratec 2020 was up to the challenge of previous years editions, welcoming more than 1,200 participants. It brought together major European decision-makers virtually, including Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner, Florence Parly, the French Minister of the Armed Forces and many industrialists. More than sixty companies and innovative projects presented their latest results with the ability for participants to share experiences during business meetings. In addition, six thematic workshops attended by national and international experts provided an opportunity to review the latest technological advances, in the fields of digital-twin in medicine, quantum computing, satellite data and the environment, AI and scientific computing, Cloud computing and HPC or Exascale.

One strategic stake, both political and economical

In all economic fields, these technologies will be essential and companies able to master them will be the leaders of tomorrow. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market clearly stated: High-Performance Computing represents a major strategic challenge for Europe as much industrial, technological and, of course, scientific. It is also one of the pillars of our digital autonomy.

Digital autonomy for European States will require the implementation of a network of supercomputers on their territory for all users in industry, research and the public sector.

The European Commission has identified HPC as one of key pillars of the digital decade and decided to invest, together with Member States and industry, more than 8 billion in new-generation supercomputers under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking.

Beyond supercomputers, European sovereignty is also conditioned by Europes ability to produce processors at best global scope, in order to reduce its dependence in this strategic area. It is also in the process of bringing together all the players involved (research organizations, small and large enterprises, public authorities) within digital ecosystems capable of mastering those technologies that will guarantee Europes competitiveness in the global economy.

Key technologies for all economic sectors

For Florence Parly, French Minister of the Armed Forces: Artificial Intelligence, High-Performance Computing, Quantum computing and, more generally, breakthrough innovations linked to data are subjects of prime importance for the Ministry of the Armed Forces. They are therefore at the heart of innovation and investment strategies, with the aim of devoting them 1 billion a year from 2022.

HPC in the COVID-19 era

During the roundtable discussion How can digital technology serve health in the age of COVID-19?, major sponsors of the Forum Teratec discussed the contribution of HPC and HPDA to the health sector, with obvious particular focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. They were thus able to demonstrate the value of these technologies in the management of the pandemic and in research for treatments and vaccines.

Innovation is core for the 6th Trophies for Simulation and AI 2020

The 6th Simulation and AI 2020 Trophies, organized with LUsine Digitale in partnership with Ansys, the CEA, Inria and Smart 4D, rewarded innovative projects or companies that have carried out an outstanding operation in the field of digital simulation, high-performance computing, Big Data or AI, or their application to healthcare. For each category, the winners are:

Closing the Forum Teratec, Daniel Verwaerde concluded: The Forum Teratec 2020 has shown the major importance of HPC and HPDA for the management of the health crisis and for industrial recovery. I would like to thank over than 1,200 participants who made it a remarkable success, and I look forward to seeing them again at the Forum Teratec 2021 next June, 22 and 23.

https://teratec.eu/forum

Source: Teratec

Link:

Forum Teratec 2020 Gathered Experts in Simulation, HPC, Big Data and AI - HPCwire

Quantum Computing Market To Witness Astonishing Growth 2026 Honeywell International, Inc., Accenture, Fujitsu, Rigetti & Co, Inc., 1Qb…

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

DBMR has added a new report titledQuantum Computing Marketwith data Tables for historical and forecast years represented with Chats & Graphs spread through Pages with easy to understand detailed analysis. Quantum Computing Market research report provides key analysis on the market status of the Quantum Computing manufacturers with market size, growth, share, trends as well as industry cost structure. The market type, organization size, availability on-premises, end-users organization type, and the availability in areas such as North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa are kept into focus while creating this global Quantum Computing market report. The growth of the Quantum Computing market was mainly driven by the increasing R&D spending across the world, howeverlatest COVID scenarioand economic slowdown have changed complete market dynamics.

Access insightful study with over 100+ pages, list of tables & figures, profiling 10+ companies. Ask for Free Sample Copy @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-quantum-computing-market

Market Key Players: Quantum Computing Market

Some Of The Major Players Operating In This Market Are Honeywell International, Inc., Accenture, Fujitsu, Rigetti & Co, Inc., 1Qb Information Technologies, Inc., Ionq, Atom Computing, Id Quantique, Quintessencelabs, Toshiba Research Europe Ltd, Google,Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Xanadu, Magiq Technologies, Inc., Qx Branch, Nec Corporation, Anyon System,Inc. Cambridge Quantum Computing Limited, Qc Ware Corp, Intel Corporation And Others.

Market Analysis: Quantum Computing Market

Global Quantum Computing Market Is Projected To Register A Healthy Cagr Of 29.5% In The Forecast Period Of 2019 To 2026.

Market Segmentation: Quantum Computing Market

Global Quantum Computing Market By System (Single Qubit Quantum System and Multiple Qubit System), Qubits (Trapped Ion Qubits, Semiconductor Qubits and Super Conducting), Deployment Model (On-Premises and Cloud), Component (Hardware, Software and Services), Application (Cryptography, Simulation, Parallelism, Machine Learning, Algorithms, Others), Logic Gates (Toffoli Gate, Hadamard Gate, Pauli Logic Gates and Others), Verticals (Banking And Finance, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Defence, Automotive, Chemical, Utilities, Others) and Geography (North America, South America, Europe, Asia- Pacific, Middle East and Africa) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2026

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Decoding Regional Overview of the Quantum Computing Market:

Further in its subsequent sections of the report, this mindful presentation of the Quantum Computing market lends vital details on regional scope and development sprees highlighting potential growth spots.

These details are indicated in the report to allow market players undertake a systematic analytical review of the Quantum Computing market to arrive at logical conclusions governing the growth trajectory of the Quantum Computing market and their subsequent implications on the growth of the aforementioned market.

Table of Content: Quantum Computing Market

Market Overview:The report begins with this section where product overview and highlights of product and application segments of the global Quantum Computing Market are provided. Highlights of the segmentation study include price, revenue, sales, sales growth rate, and market share by product.

Competition by Company:Here, the competition in the Worldwide Quantum Computing Market is analysed, By price, revenue, sales, and market share by company, market rate, competitive situations Landscape, and latest trends, merger, expansion, acquisition, and market shares of top companies.

Company Profiles and Sales Data:As the name suggests, this section gives the sales data of key players of the global Quantum Computing Market as well as some useful information on their business. It talks about the gross margin, price, revenue, products, and their specifications, type, applications, competitors, manufacturing base, and the main business of key players operating in the global Quantum Computing Market.

Market Status and Outlook by Region:In this section, the report discusses about gross margin, sales, revenue, production, market share, CAGR, and market size by region. Here, the global Quantum Computing Market is deeply analysed on the basis of regions and countries such as North America, Europe, China, India, Japan, and the MEA.

Application or End User:This section of the research study shows how different end-user/application segments contribute to the global Quantum Computing Market.

Market Forecast:Here, the report offers a complete forecast of the global Quantum Computing Market by product, application, and region. It also offers global sales and revenue forecast for all years of the forecast period.

Research Findings and Conclusion:This is one of the last sections of the report where the findings of the analysts and the conclusion of the research study are provided.

Get Detailed TOC with Tables and Figures @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-quantum-computing-market

Recent Developments: Quantum Computing Market

Geographic Coverage: Quantum Computing Market

The Overall Unravelling Of the Quantum Computing Market Is as Per the Following Determinants:

Key Questions Answered in Quantum Computing Report:

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Quantum Computing Market To Witness Astonishing Growth 2026 Honeywell International, Inc., Accenture, Fujitsu, Rigetti & Co, Inc., 1Qb...

The Week of October 19, 2020 – FYI: Science Policy News

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

DOE Selects Reactor Projects for New Demonstration Program

On Oct. 13, the Department of Energy announced awards of $80 million each for two nuclear reactor development projects, funding the first year of new cost-sharing partnerships that aim to demonstrate working prototypes. One of the recipients is TerraPower, a venture backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates that is developing a reactor design known as Natrium, which uses molten salt as a coolant and aims to be more economical than traditional nuclear power plants. The other recipient is X-energy, which is developing a reactor called Xe-100 that is cooled by helium gas and fueled by TRISO (TRi-structural ISOtropic) fuel pellets that are designed to make meltdowns impossible and enable refueling without a plant shutdown. Congress created the demonstration program through last years appropriations legislation and, while the Trump administration has proposed discontinuing the awards, DOE anticipates it will spend a total of $3.2 billion on them over the next seven years if the funding is made available. The department also expects to make smaller awards in December to between two and five reactor development projects for reducing technical risks, and to at least two early-stage reactor concept development projects. Through its Project Pele, the Defense Department is also funding the development of three TRISO-based designs for mobile nuclear reactors, including one proposed by X-energy, and may eventually support one of the projects through to a prototype demonstration.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 17 that Chinese government representatives have privately warned U.S. officials that Americans in China may be detained in response to recent arrests of scientists with ties to Chinas military. This summer, the Department of Justice charged three visiting researchers and one graduate student with visa fraud, alleging they lied about their connections to the Chinese military on visa applications. It also charged a visiting researcher for destroying a hard drive, arguing the act interfered with an investigation into possible transfer of sensitive software to Chinas National University of Defense Technology. The department did not confirm the threats to the Journal, but stated, We are aware that the Chinese government has, in other instances, detained American, Canadian, and other individuals without legal basis to retaliate against lawful prosecutions and to exert pressure on their governments, with a callous disregard of the individuals involved. In 2018, China arrested two Canadian citizens shortly after Canada detained the chief financial officer of the telecommunications company Huawei, whom the U.S. had charged with evading sanctions against Iran.

The American Physical Society announced last week it has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the State Department seeking details on therecent revocation of more than 1,000 visas held by Chinese students and researchers. A May 2020 proclamation by President Trump empowered the department to cancel visas for certain Chinese graduate students and researchers deemed to have current or past ties to an unnamed set of institutions affiliated with the Chinese military. APS states that no administration officials they met with could or were willing to provide any details, such as: an example of a case of student espionage involving university basic research; the number of students the administration claims have engaged in or are charged with espionage; or, an estimate of the impact to the U.S. of the alleged espionage that would form the basis for the proclamation. The FOIA request seeks all internal policy documents related to the proclamation, the names of institutions it applies to, and the names of the U.S. institutions the visa holders were planning to attend, among other details. The request argues, Lacking any public explanation, the denial of visas will only contribute to the growing view that the United States is unwelcoming to foreigners and thereby diminish the ability of the United States to attract top talent, as the APS has seen in its annual survey of international students. (APS is an AIP Member Society.)

The White House published a National Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technologies last week that outlines general steps the U.S. is taking to bolster the National Security Innovation Base and protect technology advantage, such as fostering public-private partnerships and expanding export controls. The strategy also lists 20 broad types of critical and emerging technologies that are identified as priorities across the government. The list overlaps with the White Houses Industries of the Future framework and includes additional items such as energy technologies and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear mitigation technologies. In a statement on the strategy, the Commerce Department highlighted its implementation of multilateral export controls on certain emerging technologies pursuant to the Export Control Reform Act of 2018. The latest set, published this month, applies to hybrid additive manufacturing/computer numerically controlled tools; computational lithography software designed for the fabrication of extreme ultraviolet masks; technology for finishing wafers for five nanometer integrated circuit production; digital forensics tools that circumvent authentication or authorization controls on a computer and extract raw data; software for monitoring and analysis of communications and metadata acquired from a telecommunications service provider via a handover interface; and sub-orbital spacecraft.

On Oct. 15, the National Academies announced that its newly established National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable will be led by MIT Vice President for Research Maria Zuber, former National Intelligence Council Chair John Gannon, and former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Richard Meserve. The roundtable will serve as a forum for representatives of the scientific community, federal science agencies, the intelligence community, and law enforcement officials to discuss concerns and activities related to securing research against exploitation by foreign governments. Congress mandated its creation through the Securing American Science and Technology Act, enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. The National Academies has long played a role in advising the government on research security matters, such as through the 1982 Corson report and the 2009 report Beyond Fortress America.

In its quarterly tranche of recommendations released last week, the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence proposes a set of broad STEM workforce development initiatives as well as more targeted efforts in microelectronics, quantum computing, and biotechnology. Among its 66 recommendations are for Congress to provide the National Science Foundation with $8 billion over five years to fund 25,000 STEM undergraduate scholarships, 5,000 STEM graduate fellowships, and 500 postdoctoral positions. It also proposes creating a National Microelectronics Scholar Program modeled on the Department of Defenses SMART scholarship-for-service program. For quantum computing, the commission recommends providing researchers with access to quantum computers through a national cloud computing infrastructure and incentivizing domestic manufacturing of component materials through tax credits and loan guarantees. The commission also calls for the White House to create a Technology Competitiveness Council chaired by the vice president to focus government attention on technological innovation.

Among the 97 recommendations released last week by the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress is a proposal to reconstitute the long-defunct Office of Technology Assessment as a Congressional Technology and Innovation Lab. The committee explains the new entity would go beyond the mandate of the original OTA by proactively studying and testing new technologies rather than waiting for directives to study technologies. It adds that the lab would employ nonpartisan experts, visiting professors, and graduate students to provide fresh perspectives to members of Congress and their staff. In recent years, there has been a renewed push within Congress to revive OTA, though House appropriators backed away from the idea this year, instead favoring continued expansion of the Government Accountability Offices Science, Technology, Assessment, and Analytics team.

The United Kingdom-based scientific journal Nature officially endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Oct. 14.Having previously published a news article reviewing ways that President Trump has damaged science, the journal's editorsfurther evaluateTrumps record on issues connected to science and criticizes his divisive approach to politics more generally. TheyargueBiden would chart a starkly different course on matters such as the pandemic, climate change, environmental regulation, and immigration, and urge, Joe Biden must be given an opportunity to restore trust in truth, in evidence, in science and in other institutions of democracy, heal a divided nation, and begin the urgent task of rebuilding the United States reputation in the world. While some scientific publications have broken longstanding positions of neutrality to weigh in on this years election, Nature previously backed Hillary Clinton in 2016, when it referred to Trump as a demagogue not fit for high office, and in 2008 it issued a more measured endorsement of Barack Obama.

More than 1,000 current and former officers of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Epidemiology Intelligence Service fellowship programsigned a letter published this month that proteststhe ominous politicization and silencing of the agency. Representing more than a quarter of the people who have participated in the program throughout its nearly 70 year history, the letter adds to the mounting criticism of how the Trump administration has sought control over CDCs pandemic-response efforts. This past week, the Associated Press reported that in June the Trump administration assigned two appointees to the agencys headquarters tasked with keeping an eye on CDC Director Robert Redfield, according to a half-dozen CDC and administration officials. The assignment was made during the same period that the chief spokesperson and a science adviser at the agencys parent department sought to exert control over CDC messaging and scientific products. Both those individuals departed the department last month under a cloud of scandal.

During her nomination hearing last week to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Amy Coney Barrett declined to explain her personal views on climate change when pressed by Democratic senators. In one exchange, vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) asked Barrett if she believes smoking causes cancer and whether coronavirus is infectious before then asking if she believes climate change is occurring. Barrett agreed that the coronavirus is infectious and smoking causes cancer, but declined to provide a direct response on climate change, stating, I will not express a view on a matter of public policy, especially one that is politically controversial because thats inconsistent with the judicial role. Harris observed that Barretts appointment to the court could have implications for climate policy, noting Justice Ginsberg voted in favor of the landmark 5-to-4 Massachusetts v. EPA case, which enabled the government to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

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The Week of October 19, 2020 - FYI: Science Policy News

Molecular computing: DNA-inspired advanced computers – The Hindu

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

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Researchers at Yale University have developed a single-molecule switch, a device that could be key to the future of molecular or small computers.

Single-molecule-electret, the switching device could serve as a platform for small non-volatile storage devices such as Read-only-memory (ROM). These small electronics are crucial to developing more advanced computers by replacing silicon chips with molecules.

Most electrets are made of materials that produce the sound in speakers and the pairs of opposite electric charges line up in the same direction. By applying an electric field, their directions can be reversed. The attempt has always been to make these electrets as small as possible.

Mark Reed, the Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics at Yale University demonstrated a single-molecule electret with a functional memory. His work, along with colleagues at Nanjing University, Renmin University, Xiamen University, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, were published in Nature Nanotechnology.

What is Molecular Computing?

Molecular computing is the science of using DNA, biochemistry and molecular biology hardware to build a computer. Instead of using silicon, scientists attempt running software with liquids, test tubes and living cells to reduce the size of circuits as much as possible.

Why replace Silicon?

Silicon microprocessors have been around in the computing world for more than four decades. But to build smaller computers, circuits need to be miniaturized. So, while reducing the size of the circuits, current flowing through the transistor starts leaking into other components, thereby, faulting the circuit and making it useless.

So, researchers are highlighting the idea of molecular computing due to its potential to pack more circuitry at cheaper cost onto a microchip than silicon. Few nanometres in size, molecules make it possible to manufacture chip sets that can hold trillions of switches and components in them.

What can replace Silicon?

Scientists are working on different possibilities, including DNA to replace silicon for molecular computing. It could be a breakthrough technology since a single copy of DNA sequence is large enough to print an entire encyclopaedia out of it.

DNA computing came into light in 1994 when American computer scientist Loenard Adleman used tools of molecular biology to solve a difficult computational problem. It was said that the method had the potential to outperform electronic computers.

DNA enables scientists to manipulate its solutions and work on millions of strands together in the laboratory. Just as computer stores information in the form of bits, DNA molecules are nothing but strings of Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Thymine. These four bits together can hold large amount of data.

It could be interpreted as a software that builds a human being from a single cell. DNA holds no limit to power since more the number of molecules, greater is its strength. Unlike traditional computers, DNA computing can carry out million of operations at the same time.

For instance, a single cubic centimetre with 10 trillion DNA molecules could perform 10 trillion calculations at once while holding 10 terabytes of data. It is also viewed as a complement of quantum computing.

However, the number of possible solutions grow exponentially with the size of problems so even small problems would require large volumes of DNA to represent all possible answers.

Theres a long way to go before it could be achieved but the degree of miniaturization offered by DNA could be key to the future of molecular computing.

Along with DNA computing, others biological computing methods include membrane calculation, evolutionary calculation and virus calculation.

Where will it be used?

The early DNA computers are unlikely to replace silicon soon, but it will be used for advanced calculations and powerful computing by national governments. In addition to this, it could also lead to better understanding of other biological processes.

What is an algorithm? How computers know what to do with data – The Conversation US

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

The world of computing is full of buzzwords: AI, supercomputers, machine learning, the cloud, quantum computing and more. One word in particular is used throughout computing algorithm.

In the most general sense, an algorithm is a series of instructions telling a computer how to transform a set of facts about the world into useful information. The facts are data, and the useful information is knowledge for people, instructions for machines or input for yet another algorithm. There are many common examples of algorithms, from sorting sets of numbers to finding routes through maps to displaying information on a screen.

To get a feel for the concept of algorithms, think about getting dressed in the morning. Few people give it a second thought. But how would you write down your process or tell a 5-year-old your approach? Answering these questions in a detailed way yields an algorithm.

To a computer, input is the information needed to make decisions.

When you get dressed in the morning, what information do you need? First and foremost, you need to know what clothes are available to you in your closet. Then you might consider what the temperature is, what the weather forecast is for the day, what season it is and maybe some personal preferences.

All of this can be represented in data, which is essentially simple collections of numbers or words. For example, temperature is a number, and a weather forecast might be rainy or sunshine.

Next comes the heart of an algorithm computation. Computations involve arithmetic, decision-making and repetition.

So, how does this apply to getting dressed? You make decisions by doing some math on those input quantities. Whether you put on a jacket might depend on the temperature, and which jacket you choose might depend on the forecast. To a computer, part of our getting-dressed algorithm would look like if it is below 50 degrees and it is raining, then pick the rain jacket and a long-sleeved shirt to wear underneath it.

After picking your clothes, you then need to put them on. This is a key part of our algorithm. To a computer a repetition can be expressed like for each piece of clothing, put it on.

Finally, the last step of an algorithm is output expressing the answer. To a computer, output is usually more data, just like input. It allows computers to string algorithms together in complex fashions to produce more algorithms. However, output can also involve presenting information, for example putting words on a screen, producing auditory cues or some other form of communication.

So after getting dressed you step out into the world, ready for the elements and the gazes of the people around you. Maybe you even take a selfie and put it on Instagram to strut your stuff.

Sometimes its too complicated to spell out a decision-making process. A special category of algorithms, machine learning algorithms, try to learn based on a set of past decision-making examples. Machine learning is commonplace for things like recommendations, predictions and looking up information.

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For our getting-dressed example, a machine learning algorithm would be the equivalent of your remembering past decisions about what to wear, knowing how comfortable you feel wearing each item, and maybe which selfies got the most likes, and using that information to make better choices.

So, an algorithm is the process a computer uses to transform input data into output data. A simple concept, and yet every piece of technology that you touch involves many algorithms. Maybe the next time you grab your phone, see a Hollywood movie or check your email, you can ponder what sort of complex set of algorithms is behind the scenes.

Continued here:

What is an algorithm? How computers know what to do with data - The Conversation US

Physicists Propose New Field of Study Related to Coherent Ising Machine – Business Wire

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NTT Research, Inc., a division of NTT (TYO:9432), today announced that Dr. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, the Director of its Physics and Informatics (PHI) Lab, along with colleagues at several academic institutions, has proposed an interdisciplinary research agenda that amounts to a new field of academic study. Their proposal, which arises in the course of addressing a fundamental research problem, appears in an article titled Coherent Ising Machines: Quantum optics and neural network perspectives, published as a Perspectives cover article in Applied Physics Letters (APL) (117 (16) (2020)). The collaborating authors from Stanford University are Drs. Surya Ganguli and Hideo Mabuchi, associate professor and professor, respectively, of applied physics in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University.

A Coherent Ising Machine (CIM) is a special-purpose processor designed to address particularly difficult types of problems that can be mapped to an Ising model, such as combinatorial optimization problems. The Ising model, named after the physicist Ernst Ising, consists of variables that represent interacting spins, i.e. forms of a fundamental particles angular momentum. A CIM is actually a network of optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) and solves problems by finding the spin configuration that minimizes a problems Ising energy function. (Here is a visualization from MITs Lincoln Laboratory of how a CIM resolves the textbook combinatorial optimization problem of the traveling salesperson; potential current applications range from logistics to medicine to machine learning and beyond.) One condition for the optimal spin state is that it occur well above the lasing threshold, the point at which optical gain of the laser is balanced against its losses. A basic problem of the CIM, however, is that when the laser pump rate is increased from below to above threshold, the machine may be prevented from relaxing to true ground state, for reasons related to the behavior of eigenvectors with minimum values. This article explores two approaches to that problem. The first involves coherent spreading over local minima via quantum noise correlation; the second, implementing real-time error correction feedback. In their discussion of these approaches, the authors offer various perspectives based on a range of interdisciplinary viewpoints that span quantum optics, neural networks and message passing.

Along the way, write the co-authors in the article, we will touch upon connections between the CIM and foundational concepts spanning the fields of statistical physics, mathematics and computer science, including dynamical systems theory, bifurcation theory, chaos, spin glasses, belief propagation and survey propagation.

One reason for engaging in a cross-pollination of ideas across classical, quantum and neural approaches to combinatorial optimization is that, to date, CIM studies could be characterized as primarily experimentally-driven. Large-scale measurement feedback coupling coherent Ising machine (MFB-CIM) prototypes constructed by NTT Basic Research Laboratories are reaching levels of computational performance that, in a fundamental sense, we do not really understand, write the authors. That situation stands in marked contrast to that of mainstream quantum computing, in which laboratory efforts have lagged behind theoretical analyses.

We look forward to accelerated advancement of learning in both the theoretical and experimental studies of CIMs, said Dr. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, director of the PHI Lab at NTT Research, and one of the articles co-authors. Although there is no well-defined method for launching a new academic field of study, we see many rich possibilities for future interdisciplinary research, focused around a multifaceted theoretical and experimental approach to combinatorial optimization that unites perspectives from statistics, computer science, statistical physics and quantum optics, and we are grateful to the editors of APL for providing a forum from which to launch this proposal.

A publication of AIP Publishing, a wholly owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of the American Institute of Physics (AIP), APL features concise, up-to-date reports on significant new findings in applied physics. Perspectives are a new invitation-only article type for the journal, seeking personal views and scientific directions from experts in the field, said APL Editor-in-Chief Lesley F. Cohen. We are absolutely delighted that Dr. Yamamoto and his colleagues accepted our invitation to produce their fascinating and timely Perspective article on this emerging and important topic.

The NTT Research PHI Lab has itself already cast a wide net, as part of its long-range goal to radically redesign artificial computers, both classical and quantum. It has established joint research agreements with seven universities, one government agency and quantum computing software company, covering a wide range of topics. Those universities are California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Notre Dame University, Stanford University, Swinburne University of Technology and the University of Michigan. The government entity is NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, and the private company is 1QBit.

About NTT Research

NTT Research opened its Palo Alto offices in July 2019 as a new Silicon Valley startup to conduct basic research and advance technologies that promote positive change for humankind. Currently, three labs are housed at NTT Research: the Physics and Informatics (PHI) Lab, the Cryptography and Information Security (CIS) Lab, and the Medical and Health Informatics (MEI) Lab. The organization aims to upgrade reality in three areas: 1) quantum information, neuro-science and photonics; 2) cryptographic and information security; and 3) medical and health informatics. NTT Research is part of NTT, a global technology and business solutions provider with an annual R&D budget of $3.6 billion.

NTT and the NTT logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION and/or its affiliates. All other referenced product names are trademarks of their respective owners. 2020 NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION

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Physicists Propose New Field of Study Related to Coherent Ising Machine - Business Wire

Put Employees at the Center of Your Post-Pandemic Digital Strategy – Harvard Business Review

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

Executive Summary

Its time to rethink your digital strategy in the context of people. Its not just about adding new technologies like quantum computing, IoT, or AI, but how that tech will make your employees connect more effectively with their work. Its also time to shift from the here-and-now and look further out, revisiting your long-term strategies. To get the most out of your technology investments, you need to hit the pause button and think more about how you can connect your people to the goals you hope to achieve with that technology.

When the pandemic hit in March, many companies long-term plans and strategies were thrown out the window, as everyone from the frontlines to the C-suite shifted into fire-fighting mode. Many worked around the clock by leveraging remote technology. Its often been exhausting, as each day seems to bring new challenges and obstacles to overcome. As a result, the past six months have felt more like six years to a lot of us.

This pace isnt sustainable. While you may have needed your organization to run at 200 miles-per-hour as you learned to adjust to the new realities of the pandemic, youre now risking serious burnout among your team. Research shows that employees are reporting alarming levels of stress and fatigue, and the risk for depression among U.S. workers has risen by 102% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is becoming a serious threat to organizations, including those who have already been forced to lay off staff or downsize. The paradox is that while many organizations have gained new efficiencies from embracing digital transformation using technologies such as Zoom to keep their workforce functioning remotely they may now risk losing their best employees, many of whom feel disconnected and disengaged in this new digital workplace. A recent survey from the consultancy KPMG found that losing talent is now the number one risk organizations face.

Thats why its time to rethink your digital strategy in the context of people. Its not just about adding new technologies like quantum computing, IoT, or AI, but how that tech will make your employees connect more effectively with their work. Its also time to shift from the here-and-now and look further out, revisiting your long-term strategies. To get the most out of your technology investments, you need to hit the pause button and think more about how you can connect your people to the goals you hope to achieve with that technology.

Over the course of my career, Ive studied more than 1,000 organizations and have coached more than 100 organizations that have undergone significant transformations. Over the past five years, Ive been particularly interested in the impact of DT and how organizations can leverage technology for growth. What Ive learned is that most digital transformation efforts fail often spectacularly which leads to hundreds of billions of dollars in wasted investment and the deterioration of employee engagement.

My mission has been to help coach organizations to achieve more positive outcomes through their digital transformation efforts. More recently, Ive been researching how the model I developed last year a transformation framework in partnership with the Project Management Institute (PMI), called The Brightline Transformation Framework can be applied to Covid-19 and its impact on organizational efforts to embrace digital transformation.

Specifically, this approach aligns the inside-out which means aligning every employees most important personal aspiration with the outside-in, where employees understand and embrace the companys strategic vision, so that everyone is working toward the same objectives.

Outside-In Approach. Employees must first understand and embrace the companys north star, including customer insights and megatrends, so everyone is working toward the same objectives.

Inside-Out Approach. Aligning every employees purpose or personal north star with those of the company includes:

Taking this approach is more relevant than ever in the wake of the pandemic, as it emphasizes that employees personal goals and engagement are the critical factors underpinning every successful transformation much more so than other elements like technology or business processes.

For organizations to thrive in a post-Covid world, while simultaneously tackling the challenges of burnout and the threat to employee retention, there is an urgent need to rethink these two key areas:

1. Bring the Outside In

The pandemic has changed the landscape of many industries ecosystems leading to an existential crisis for many organizations. Consider Airbnb, whose business suffered a loss of a billion dollars due to guest cancellations all while paying out some $250 million to compensate their hosts for their losses. The company now recognizes that nothing will ever be the same again. To help engage their team in adjusting to the new realities of the marketplace, the leadership team embarked on an outside-in transformation exercise that helped them identify their new north star; the transformational goal they wanted to achieve that could help propel the company forward for the long run.

As CEO Brian Chesky framed it, the companys new goal was to get back to our roots, back to the basics, back to what is truly special about Airbnb everyday people who host their homes and offer experiences. One of the trends Chesky and his team identified was that, as a result of the pandemic, there is a growing acceptance that people can now work from anywhere which could open up new opportunities to service customers interested in traveling and experiencing unique communities and cultures for an extended time. At the same time, the company has begun winding down activities that werent core to the business such as scaling back on investments in transports, hotels, and luxury properties.

2. Align Your Inside-Out with the Outside-In

Once Airbnb had established where it wanted to go, the company embarked on an inside-out journey with its employees helping them connect to the companys new north star by creating personal/team vision statements that aligned with the greater goal to help create the human connections that so many people miss these days. The idea was to enlist employees help in rebuilding the business, and to enlist their feedback on how they could directly impact the companys efforts to scale and prosper again.

Another Outside-In/Inside-Out transformation effort has been occurring at Kasikornbank (KBank), one of the largest banks in Thailand. [Disclosure: they are a client of mine.] The companys north star was not only to save jobs they kept all their workers during the pandemic but also to save their customers: small and medium-sized businesses. KBank and its employees worked closely with thousands of their clients to help them weather the storm by offering to delay their loan payments, as long as those businesses also avoided layoffs the kind of program usually only initiated by governments. Its estimated that KBanks efforts saved some 41,000 jobs, which gave their employees a sense of purpose, confidence, and loyalty as a result of their organization making such a positive difference to their country.

Covid-19 has taught us how connected and integrated we all are with each other and with the communities in which we operate. Its now time to give your employees the opportunity to understand how your organizations north star aligns with their desire to contribute to a meaningful cause. Thats how you get them to re-engage while recharging their emotional energy stores. The longer you wait to make these connections, the more your organization is at risk of losing the human capital it requires to thrive into the future, regardless of how much you spend on technology.

Put Employees at the Center of Your Post-Pandemic Digital Strategy - Harvard Business Review

Public library experiments with seeds that have been to space station – Roswell Daily Record

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

Tomato and chileplants are not unusual sights in Roswell, but the ones now growing at the Roswell Public Library have a purpose beyond adding some flavor to food.

The three groups of plants could lead to one day providing fresh, flavorful meals to astronauts on long-term missions on the International Space Station or even to Mars, Peggy Bohlin, science, technology, engineering and mathinstructor at the library, said.

The idea behind this is because we want to send astronauts to Mars, and it takes about a two-year journey, a year and a half, Bohlin said.

Theyre on Mars for about two years. Because of that timeframe, they cant put all that food on board, so they have to learn to grow plants so they can survive, she said.

Bohlin, who taught in Roswell Independent School District for 28 years, signed up for NASAs Tomatosphere project. The project provides two sets of tomato seeds: a control group of normal seeds and an experimental group of seeds that have been to the International Space Station. The experiment is a blind study, so Bohlin wont know which seeds were on the space station until it is over.

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Since the childrens department at the library is closed, Bohlin is growing the tomatoes in the window of the department, where the public can walk by and view the plants.

NASA is most interested in how many plants from each group germinate and on how many days from planting they begin to sprout, but Bohlin can also record other variables such as plant height, the rate of growth, number of flowers per plant and how many fruits each plant produces. Bohlin will also use different types of soil to grow the plants in. She will transfer them to pots after the seeds germinate.

Its going to be a really fun experiment, she said.

The other component of her space-oriented project is the Space Chile Grow a Pepper Plant Challenge, started by Jacob Torres, a NASA research scientist working with the University of New Mexico. Volunteers grow Martinez Chimayo Peppers in a controlled environment and vie to grow the hottest pepper.

In the ISS, when youre in space, your taste buds are not working. Food tastes bland up there, Bohlin said.

According to a NASA educational publication, that is because on Earth, gravity pulls fluids in the body to the legs. In the reduced gravity of Earths orbit, fluids are distributed equally through the body and can block the nasal passages and the ability to smell, which affects the ability to taste.

To compensate, NASA provides astronauts with condiments such as hot sauce and tortillas with extra spices mixed in.

The Martinez Chimayo Pepper is one candidate for a crop at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to the Space Chile challenge Facebook page.

Each grower will submit one sample pepper to UNM, where the capsaicin content will be analyzed. Capsaicin is the chemical compound in chile peppers that give them their heat.

Im excited to get some green chiles, Bohlin said with a laugh.

A new feature at the library will help people keep an eye on the International Space Station. ISS Above is a computer program that calculates where the space station is. A monitor near the periodicals shows information on the space station, including when and how to watch for it passing over Roswell.

Bohlin received the equipment through the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the nonprofit organization that manages the space station, and donated it to the library.

Young patrons of the library will soon have the opportunity to conduct their own scientific experiments and observations through another project Bohlin has been putting together. Through the STEM at Home program, children will be able to take home kits that correspond to the topics of STEM-themed books from the childrens department. The books will have stickers on them letting patrons know there is a STEM at Home kit available.

Youve got them from biodiversity and humans to energy, youve got forces in motion, solar system, structure and function design, engineering problems and design solutions, Bohlin said.

The kits were developed based on the book Picture-Perfect Science Lessons by Emily Morgan and Karen Roerich Ansberry. Each kit has materials and worksheets children and their parents can use to conduct the experiments.

You want the parents to collaborate with the kids, you want them to have some good quality time together, Bohlin said.

The kits are designed for elementary school age students, but Bohlin said they could be used by older children as well.

City/RISD reporter Juno Ogle can be reached at 575-622-7710, ext. 205, or reporter04@rdrnews.com.

Public library experiments with seeds that have been to space station - Roswell Daily Record

Space station astronaut dons mask in prep for return to Earth – Digital Trends

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

After six months on the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy has donned a face mask in readiness for his return to a planet that is still very much grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

Masked up on @Space_Station! Cassidy wrote in a post on Twitter on Monday. Training myself for my new reality when I get home on Wednesday.

Masked up on @Space_Station! Training myself for my new reality when I get home on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/vOyFe9UBj1

— Chris Cassidy (@Astro_SEAL) October 19, 2020

While the Covid-19 outbreak was already sweeping across the world when Cassidy and his two fellow space travelers departed for the ISS in April 2020, the situation was nowhere near as bad as it is now, with John Hopkins University data suggesting a global death toll of around 150,000 and 2.1 million recorded infections. As of this week, the pandemic has now claimed the lives of some 1.1 million people, with more than 40 million recorded infections.

Cassidy will return to Earth alongside Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner the same two Russian cosmonauts with whom he traveled to the orbiting outpost six months ago.

Visitors to the ISS always have to go into quarantine for a period of time before a launch to ensure that they dont take any conditions with them that could develop after arriving at the space station, putting themselves and other crew members in potential danger. With COVID-19 already spreading rapidly around the world last spring, these precautions were tightened, with Cassidy and his colleagues, for example, placed in quarantine for an entire month before lift-off, instead of a couple of weeks.

Cassidy has spent a busy time aboard the space station, carrying out various scientific experiments as well as performing essential maintenance during a total of four spacewalks. He also monitored some powerful storms from 250 miles up, started work to find an air leak on the station, and captured a cool shot of SpaceXs Crew Dragon spacecraft shortly after the capsule docked carrying its first-ever astronauts. And, importantly, Cassidy also installed a brand new toilet for future ISS visitors.

The return journey of the three Expedition 63 crew members will be livestreamed on NASA TV, from the undocking at around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21, to the landing back in Kazakhstan shortly before 11 p.m. ET.

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Space station astronaut dons mask in prep for return to Earth - Digital Trends

THIS WEEK @NASA: New Crew Arrives International Space Station, International Agreement on Artemis – SpaceCoastDaily.com

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

Latest Happenings around NASA

ABOVE VIDEO: New crew safely aboard the space station, a launch update on another space station mission, and an international agreement on Artemis a few of the stories to tell you about This Week at NASA!

New Crew Safely Aboard Space Station

NASAs Kate Rubins is safely aboard the International Space Station. She and Expedition 64 crewmates Sergey Ryzhikov, and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, both of Roscosmos, were greeted by our Chris Cassidy and others aboard the orbital outpost on Oct. 14, just hours after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

NASA, SpaceX Crew-1 Launch Update

NASAs SpaceX Crew-1 mission to theInternational Space Stationis now targeted for no sooner than early-to-mid November. This will give SpaceX more time to evaluate some issues observed during a recent non-NASA launch of its Falcon 9 rocket. The mission will be the first commercial crew rotational flight to the station with the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

NASA and International Partners Sign Artemis Accords

During a virtual meeting of the International Astronautical Congress on Oct.13, NASA and 7 partner countries signed the Artemis Accords agreement for international participation in our Artemis program, which includes sending the first woman and next man to the Moon in 2024.

Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator:The principles described in the Artemis Accords are what will create a bright and prosperous future that we all want for ourselves and for generations to come. These principles are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty.

The founding members of the Artemis Accords are Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

OSIRIS-RExs Touch-And-Go Date with Asteroid Bennu

The OSIRIS-REx teams first Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection attempt with asteroid Bennu is targeted for Oct. 20. O-REx is attempting to be the first-ever NASA spacecraft to collect a sample of an asteroid and send it back to Earth for study.

NASA Announces New Space Tech Public-Private Partnerships

On Oct. 14, NASA announced the latest partnerships with space tech companies through a Tipping Point solicitation to develop commercial space capabilities, and to benefit future NASA missions. The agency also provided an update on space tech efforts to enable human and robotic exploration on the Moon and future operations on Mars. Learn more atnasa.gov/moontomars.

NASA Partner Blue Origins Launch Tests Precision Lunar Landing Technologies

A NASA-developedsensor suitethat could help robotic and crewed missions make precise, soft landings on the Moon was launched aboard a Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital rocket on Oct. 13. The rockets flight path provided a unique opportunity to further develop the sensors and algorithms for potential use onArtemismissions.

Thats whats up this week @NASA

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THIS WEEK @NASA: New Crew Arrives International Space Station, International Agreement on Artemis - SpaceCoastDaily.com

UCSD Grad One Of Three Astronauts Who Arrived At International Space Station – KPBS

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

Photo by Nicholas McVicker

Above: NASA astronaut Kate Rubins gives a talk at the 2017 BIO International Convention, June 21, 2017.

NASA astronaut and UC San Diego graduate Kate Rubins arrived aboard the International Space Station Wednesday, where she and two Russian cosmonauts will conduct research over the next six months.

Rubins, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov launched from Kazakhstan in the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft and arrived at the station's Rassvet module at 1:48 a.m. PST following a two-orbit, three-hour flight, according to NASA.

The trio joined Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, who have been aboard the complex since April. Ryzhikov will become the commander when Expedition 64 begins Oct. 21 and Cassidy, Vagner and Ivanishin will depart for Earth.

The spaceflight marks the second for Rubins and Ryzhikov and the first for Kud-Sverchkov, who will live and work aboard the outpost for six months, conducting research in technology development, Earth science, biology, human research and more. NASA says research conducted in microgravity will help prepare for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, in addition to improvements for life on Earth.

According to NASA, Rubins became the first person to sequence DNA in space during her first spaceflight in 2016.

She earned her bachelor's degree in molecular biology from UCSD in 1999, and a doctorate in cancer biology from Stanford University's Medical School Biochemistry Department and Microbiology and Immunology Department in 2005.

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UCSD Grad One Of Three Astronauts Who Arrived At International Space Station - KPBS

Hatches Open! New Arrivals Expand Space Station’s Crew to Six – SciTechDaily

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

(Front row from left) Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov join Expedition 63 crew members (back row from left) Ivan Vagner, Anatoly Ivanishin and Chris Cassidy inside the space stations Zvezda service module.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos joined Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner aboard the International Space Station when the hatches between the Soyuz spacecraft and the orbiting laboratory officially opened at 7:07 a.m. EDT.

The arrival temporarily restores the stations crew complement to six for the remainder of Expedition 63.

Expedition 64 begins Wednesday, October 21, with the departure of Cassidy, Vagner, and Ivanishin in the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft that brought them to the station on April 9. Cassidy will hand command of the station to Ryzhikov during a ceremony with all crew members that is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, October 20 and will air live on NASA Television and the agencys website.

The Expedition 64 crew will conduct research in technology development, Earth science, biology, human research and more. During Rubins first spaceflight in 2016, she became the first person to sequence DNA in space. Research conducted in microgravity helps NASA prepare for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, and contributes to improvements for life on Earth. Follow Rubins during her space mission on Facebook and Instagram.

This is the second spaceflight for Rubins and Ryzhikov. Kud-Sverchkov becomes the 241st person to visit the unique microgravity laboratory, and the trio will be aboard to celebrate the 20th anniversary of uninterrupted human presence since the Expedition 1 crew arrived Nov. 2, 2000. Humanitys home in space has hosted more than 3,000 research and educational investigations from people in 108 countries and areas.

During Expedition 64, the arrival of Crew-1 aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon on the first operational commercial mission to the space station will bring four more crew members, expanding a long-duration Expedition crew to seven people for the first time. Crew-1 is currently targeted for launch in November.

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Hatches Open! New Arrivals Expand Space Station's Crew to Six - SciTechDaily

The importance of how voters perceive the political orientation of colleges and universities (opinion) – Inside Higher Ed

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

Allegations that colleges are bastions of liberalism are not new. The reality is its always been impossible to peg higher education writ large across the United States into any one ideological corner, when it comes to individual faculty members or institutions. Still, during the Depression, Republicans used to ask each other How do you get to Washington, D.C.? to which the answer was, You go to Harvard and turn left.

Max Yergan, an African American professor at City College of New York, was hired in 1937 only to be fired in 1941 after complaints that he expressed liberal and progressive views. He was among those ensnared when the New York State Legislature in 1940 launched an investigation into the political beliefs of professors in New York City, and more than 50 faculty and staff members at the City College of New York resigned or were terminated as a result. Historian Carol Smith called this purge of people based on their personal beliefs a "dress rehearsal for McCarthyism."

During the Cold War, conservatives routinely saw colleges and universities as hotbeds of Communism. Many faculty members were required to sign loyalty oaths to the United States, and some 100 faculty were terminated due to their alleged sympathy towards Communism. The concepts of academic freedom and free speech turned out to be such a poor defense for professors who were caught in the crosshairs of investigators that Yeshiva University professor Ellen Schrecker titled her study of the McCarthy era No Ivory Tower.

In the 1960s, public concerns over civil rights, student conduct rules, Vietnam and Watergate led to regular campus protests that included demonstrations, building takeovers, strikes and the destruction of property. They also led to renewed charges of a liberal bias. Ronald Reagan launched his political career by using colleges as a political foil, particularly the Free Speech movement at the University of California, Berkeley. While running for his first term as governor of California, he criticized both the students and professors at Berkeley and vowed to crack down on protests. And a Gallup poll in the wake of the shootings at Kent State University in 1970 found that 58percent of Americans blamed the students for the deaths and injuries, while only 11percent blamed the National Guard.

What are the popular perceptions -- and the actual facts -- today? Extensive research has concluded that individual faculty members may be liberal but that the recent allegations of an institutional liberal bias are overstated at best or, more likely, just flat wrong. In 2017, a Princeton University Ph.D. candidate, David Austin Walsh, addressed those misperceptions directly in a Washington Post op-ed, concluding, Higher education actually skews conservative. While it is true that large numbers of professors -- particularly in the arts and humanities -- identify politically as liberal or radical, it is emphatically not the case that institutions of higher education themselves are radical or even necessarily especially liberal. In fact, thanks to the power of regents, trustees, alumni, donors and -- at public institutions -- state governments, some of the most powerful voices in campus politics are politically conservative.

But unfortunately, in todays extremely polarized environment where facts, evidence and analysis are devalued or simply ignored, perceptions matter. So what voters think or believe matters a great deal.

That is why the question of how voters perceive the political orientation of colleges and universities is important. Do they see higher ed institutions as ideological or nonpartisan -- as left-leaning organizations, middle of the road or conservative?

Rating Higher Eds Ideological Orientation

To answer this question, pollster David Winston inserted, at the request of the American Council on Education, a question into a regular survey he conducts of 1,000 registered voters asking them to rate the ideological orientation of colleges and universities. Specifically, respondents were asked to rate colleges on a scale of one to nine, where one meant very liberal and nine meant very conservative. If voters thought the ideology of colleges and universities was in the middle of the road or moderate, they would rate colleges as a five.

Over all, the average rating of colleges and universities from all voters was somewhat left of center, at 4.48. But the complete picture is more complex and nuanced. Voters are not monolithic, and different subgroups of voters have different impressions.

Younger voters (those aged 18 to 34) gave colleges an average rating of 5.5 and are the subgroup that think colleges the most conservative. This group includes, of course, people who have had the most recent personal experience with higher education institutions. Other groups that think colleges and universities lean to the right include Hispanics (5.28) and African Americans (5.25). Voters with a high school degree or less (4.96), Democrats (4.91) and liberals (4.88) view colleges and universities as closer to the center.

By contrast, other subgroups of voters think colleges are very liberal places. Seniors (age 65 and above) rated colleges as 3.60 and see them as more liberal than any other subgroup. Other voters who believe colleges tilt in a liberal direction include conservatives (3.85), voters with some college (4.07), high-income households (4.20), whites (4.24), independents (4.25) and those with bachelors degrees (4.35).

At one level, this is not surprising. Groups that historically lean to the left politically see colleges and universities as institutions that are more conservative than they are. Indeed, during the 1960s student protests, one of the most common critiques people leveled at colleges was that they were impersonal, conservative institutions that did not care about individuals. Meanwhile, the subgroups of voters that tend to be on the conservative side of the political spectrum have long believed colleges are very liberal.

Again, its not that simple. On that same one-to-nine scale, voters over all rate their own political views as 5.53 -- significantly more conservative than where voters locate higher education institutions. In short, American voters over all, when asked to rate their own political views, choose a distinctly center-right position. When they look at colleges and universities, they rate them as center-left institutions. In short, a majority of American voters see higher education institutions as being significantly more liberal than they are.

When voters are asked to rate their own views relative to political actors, the very liberal senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont gets a 3.69 rating, congressional Democrats in general are at 4.18 and congressional Republicans score a 6.50.

Put another way: average voters (at 5.53) believe that their own political views are ideologically closer to congressional Republicans (6.50) than they are to colleges and universities (4.48). Similarly, voters believe that the ideological orientation of colleges and universities is closer to Bernie Sanders (3.69) than it is to voters themselves.

Interestingly, voters gave an ideological rating of 5.46 to corporations -- almost exactly where they place their own political views.

A Reinforcing Feedback Loop

In this hyperpoliticized era, voters will interpret events in ways that reinforce their world view. Especially given the rise of social media, with its tendency to reinforce messages for like-minded individuals, its hard to convince anyone to consider a different interpretation to a sincerely held belief.

Political polarization plays into this, as well. Those with a college degree are to a growing extent likely to vote for Democrats. Those without a college degree are favoring Republicans more and more, a sea change from the era when Democrats were more a part of the working class and Republicans more the party of business owners. But in a world where one set of voters watches MSNBC and another set sticks to Fox News, the public perception of all industries and organizations increasingly includes a reinforcing feedback loop.

Conservatives attacks on the alleged liberal bias of colleges, and mandates like the Trump administrations Free Speech Executive Order giving the U.S. Department of Education the authority to investigate alleged suppression of speech on campuses, are, sadly, some of the results. This is bad public policy, but good politics.

This is a particular problem for colleges and universities because their core values -- academic freedom and institutional autonomy -- depend on widely shared respect for what colleges do and how they do it. Higher education needs -- and deserves -- broad support from across the political and partisan spectrum.

Higher education has been viewed as liberal or unpatriotic in the past. But that didnt stop our institutions from becoming this nations greatest engines of economic and social mobility, not to mention the envy of the world and places that the globes most talented students and scholars have wanted to be. But as Americans increasingly divide individuals and institutions into on my side and not on my side categories -- and simply tune out those with whom they dont agree -- we need to redouble our efforts to show all Americans that colleges and universities are a public good, not an ideological weapon.

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The importance of how voters perceive the political orientation of colleges and universities (opinion) - Inside Higher Ed

In B.C.s pandemic election, the Liberals and NDP have reversed roles – The Globe and Mail

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

British Columbia came into 2020 in good shape. Its economy was forecast to lead the country in growth, the provincial budget was in surplus, and the debt was small. Its no wonder there were already rumours of the New Democratic Party government calling an early election, aiming to turn its minority into a majority.

Then the pandemic hit. The first COVID-19 death in Canada was in North Vancouver, but the government took steps that contained outbreaks. The province, with a third of the population of Ontario, has recorded one-12th the number of virus deaths. And unlike many other provincial and federal politicians, B.C. Premier John Horgan never commandeered the microphone. He stepped back and let the experts do the talking. Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry has been the voice of B.C.'s pandemic response, supported, rather than upstaged, by Health Minister Adrian Dix.

Riding a wave of popularity, Mr. Horgan seized the moment in September and called an early vote, a year ahead of schedule. Oct. 24 is the official election day, but seven days of advance voting are already under way.

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The script of this pandemic election features an interesting role reversal: The incumbent NDP are running as the provinces prudent stewards of the status quo, while the BC Liberals are trying to get noticed with immodest promises.

Mr. Horgan is running above all on his governments record. The centre-left NDP platform mostly promises a steady hand on the wheel. The centre-right BC Liberals, who have long billed themselves as fiscally conservative and the NDP as spendthrifts, have as their signature platform promise a plan to gut provincial revenues by temporarily axing the provincial sales tax.

Its an irresponsible proposal, and badly targeted to boot. The PST is budgeted to bring in $6.8-billion in 2020-21 12 per cent of the provinces total revenue. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson, desperate to gain traction with voters, has promised to scrap the PST for a year, and then peg at 3 per cent the following year rather than the current 7 per cent. The pitch definitely got attention. That doesnt change the fact its the wrong idea at the wrong time.

Mr. Wilkinson bills it as pandemic economic recovery medicine, but too many beneficiaries will be people who dont need government help. A targeted plan to support low-income or jobless British Columbians makes sense; borrowing more than $10-billion to finance a tax cut, whose benefits will flow to anyone and everyone regardless of income, makes no sense at all.

The political appeal of this deficit-boosting tax cut is obvious. Who doesnt want a tax cut? But in the face of a pandemic recession that has caused government spending to rise and revenues to fall, its hard to see the economic or fiscal logic.

The NDPs competing proposal, worth $1.5-billion, is a one-time grant of $1,000 to lower- and middle-income households, or $500 to individuals. It should also raise eyebrows, but at least its far less costly and more targeted than the Liberal scheme, and it fits in the NDPs overall plan of only modest increases in spending over the next few years. Beyond that, the NDPs main spending plan is for continued investments in child care, building on their $10 a day program. The Liberals, seeing the success of the policy, have copied it.

One stark divide between the parties is B.C.'s other epidemic, the opioids overdose crisis. The NDP promise more work on harm reduction, policies this page endorses, while the Liberals instead promise to focus on addiction treatment. There is no perfect plan to address this tragedy, but the NDPs is better and more complete.

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The biggest immediate issue that faces the winner, outside the pandemic, is in neither main partys platform: the cash bonfire at the Site C hydroelectric dam. The Liberals recklessly pushed the megaproject ahead in the mid-2010s and the NDP reluctantly kept it going. The unfinished dam abuts a geotechnical morass and is in danger of becoming an ever more expensive liability.

On the unusually quiet pandemic campaign trail, Mr. Wilkinsons leadership has at times been unsteady, from ill-conceived promises to poor handling of issues with some candidates. Incumbency can sometimes be a disadvantage in politics, but not this time around for the NDP. On the whole, they have governed well and in particular during the pandemic. Thats why Mr. Horgans main pitch to voters is a promise of more of the same.

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In B.C.s pandemic election, the Liberals and NDP have reversed roles - The Globe and Mail

What happened when Trump backers and Black Lives Matters protesters met in Liberal – The Journal at the Kansas Leadership Center

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

A large Trump rally faced a group of Black Lives Matter counter protesters in a diverse southwest Kansas community last month. The raucous but peaceful confrontations that followed shed a light on the hopes and fears driving competing visions for Americas future in the November general election.

A cool breeze blew through Light Park, situated prominently along the main drag in Liberal on a late summer Saturday evening.

The wind was a welcome respite from a warm, sunny day in Seward County but offered no relief from heated conversations as opposing groups faced off in the normally quiet park.

Lucy Myers stood back from the two crowds there were more than 500 supporters joining in a Pop Up 4 Trump parade and rally and about 25 supporters of the local Black Lives Matter movement protesting the show of support for the president.

It was a window into the anxieties and loyalties gripping the nation as Novembers presidential election between Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden nears.

Myers placed her arm around her elementary-aged daughter Jordyn as she leaned in close to explain what was happening.

There are other people who dont believe the same way, and thats fine, she said.

When asked if she supports one political side or the other, Myers said thats not why shes here.

Those are my beliefs; those arent her beliefs, she said, looking down at her daughter. Im just here to facilitate and show her everything.

As a Trump defender and BLM supporter squared off, the young girl said the arguing made her nervous.

After reassuring her daughter, Myers said she feels its important for her to see both sides.

I just wanted her to see the atmosphere, she explained.

She looked down and said, Letting you see it through neutral eyes lets you decide.

The Pop Up 4 Trump event held in Liberal began with a parade that started at the Rock Island Depot and proceeded to Light Park. Onlookers Ashleigh Hall and her daughter, Kyleigh, watched the hundreds of President Donald Trumps supporters who were on hand, in addition to about two dozen Black Lives Matter activists.

Laura Tawater a huge smile on her face held up her phone to record Seward County Commissioner C.J. Wettstein giving a stump speech from the bed of a red pickup truck.

As the event organizer and Kansas GOP vice-chairwoman for the 1st Congressional District, shes pleased the Pop Up 4 Trump campaign has made its way across the state, east to west.

Liberal was the first community, though, where it has faced an organized protest, Tawater said.

Usually what we do is just pop up, and its a magnet, she said.

The demographics of Liberal stand in contrast to the state as a whole. Non-Hispanic white people make up only 28% of the communitys population but 75% of the people statewide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 62% of the citys population is Hispanic or Latino, while 6% is Black.

Yet its also a place where identities span multiple categories. About 55% of Liberals residents identified as white in a 2019 survey.

While Biden leads in polls among Hispanics nationally, Trump is winning at least a third of them, and some political observers say their votes could be pivotal in a close election. So, it wasnt surprising to see an SUV sporting a Latinos for Trump sign cruising down Kansas Avenue in the parade alongside four-wheelers and massive flags.

While Tawaters group sells Republican T-shirts, hats and signs, she said the movement is about more than the merchandise.

Were really trying to get out the vote, she said. We have voter registrations. Were talking about President Trump and his accomplishments, and also were highlighting the state and local candidates too. Its the connections were making with people.

Tawater sees her mission as more crucial than ever.

This is a do-or-die election, she said. Freedom versus communism. We feel like its life or death. We feel like were on the verge of losing our country.

She said Republicans fear the Democratic Party is moving toward communism as it links itself to social and racial justice groups.

We have to get Trump reelected, because well keep our liberty, our constitution, she said.

Ashleigh Hall watched Wettstein intently while she wrapped her arms around her daughter Kyleigh. She shares Tawaters fears.

I feel if Trump loses, its going to turn into a communist country, she said. You get a certain amount of food, you cant do this and you cant do that. Its supposed to be a free country.

Another Trump supporter, Joseph Gentry who stretched out on his motorcycle while he watched the BLM group and occasionally revved its engine to drown out protesters chants said his support for Trump is largely based on economics.

Trump has done so much, he said. Hes helped me stay working. When Obama was in office, the oil fields shut down. Trump got the oil fields back up and running, and I needed it.

Gentry said he worries a Biden win will lead to a recession.

Then well become communist, he said. Yet pointing to the protesters, Gentry said the right to protest is an important one. But it only underscored the importance of a Trump win in November.

Im glad they are out here and they are protesting what they feel, he said. Were out here protesting what we feel. Its our right. And with communism, we will not have that.

Hundreds of President Donald Trumps supporters were on hand for the Pop Up 4 Trump event, along with about two dozen Black Lives Matter activists. Having Trump partisans in close contact with backers of racial equality has proved explosive in some cities across America, but this event was constrained.

Earlier in the evening, a group of friends gathered on a sidewalk as the Trump train vehicles bedecked with flags and Trump signs made its way north from the old depot.

They laughed and waved, eager to show their support for the president.

We love Trump, Karen Seibel said. Look at what hes done for this country. He loves America.

She was quick to voice disdain for other politicians, questioning their truthfulness compared with Trumps.

He lies less, Seibel said. And, I think he only lies to us when he needs to.

Her sister Donna Moody chimed in.

No, he doesnt lie, she said with a chuckle. He just doesnt tell it all.

Chris Wells jumped in and said she likes Trump because hes got guts and has an ornery streak.

But her husband, Greg Wells, said the upcoming election is about more than just admiration for Trump. Like Tawater, he fears what a Democratic president would mean for the nation.

You know what the Democrats are wanting to do? Greg Wells said. The Democrats want to get rid of everything. We need government. We need policemen. Trumps been good for the United States, and he had to fight everybody to get here, and hes still fighting.

Chris Wells said Americans will lose their rights if Trump isnt reelected.

In that sense, Seibel said the election is about securing rights for future generations.

Im old, she said. It wont matter to me, but it will matter to my grandchildren.

The most unfortunate part about the state of the U.S. government, Greg Wells said, is the politicians seeming inability to cross the aisle for the good of the people. He suggested term limits as a solution.

We have too much civil unrest because of the parties, Greg Wells said. Theyre not playing together. Its not the way its supposed to be. We put them up there, those people up there, to take care of us.

Seibel added, You forget who youre doing it for.

BLM supporter Abi Rivas said shes ready for her government to remember her.

Wearing a feather headpiece and a Mexican flag wrapped around her shoulders, she chanted Black Lives Matter with her fist in the air.

Just like the Trump supporters, Rivas said the upcoming election is important to her, too, as a visible brown person in this country.

I live in fear every day that some person is going to attack me because of my skin color, she said.

Or some person is going to attack my dad because of his skin color, because of his status in this country. Its important for me to be here because it represents not only me, but Black people, Mexican, Asians, South Asians. Im here to speak for people who cant physically be here, Rivas said.

Listing off the names Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, 18-year-old Jernell Martinez said the BLM movement goes beyond skin color.

When I was standing and going back and forth with a man, I said we were standing with white kids, white people who are dying at the hands of the police, she said. Its not just Black lives.

Its for all of our lives. But they kept thinking were just saying Black lives. We talk about all lives.

Martinez said she also speaks out for her loved ones, including her grandfather, who she said was killed after being deported to Mexico. Its all for equality, Shatarrika Ross added. Ross said it was worrisome to see children joining in the Trump rally.

I feel like thats wrong, to take the innocence of a child away, to just tell them to be a certain way instead of giving them that option to choose, she said. These babies dont know whats going on. There are some who are just taught like that, and its sad.

For Rivas, her concerns go beyond race.

Its about how the futures going to be for all of us, she said. I just turned 18. This is my future.

Although she couldnt vote in 2016, Rivas said she was devastated when Trump was elected.

I was very heartbroken, and I was in fear every day, she said. If Trump gets elected again, I feel like society is going to feel white people have more power.

While she said Biden isnt exactly who shed envisioned as a Democratic nominee, his election would be the first step toward change.

Its going to push a lot of minorities, especially a lot of young minorities, to be like, I need to voice my opinion. I need to change this country to be something even better, Rivas said.

And while Republicans worry about the spread of communism, Rivas said its not on her agenda.

A lot of us are fighting communists, she said. None of us want a communist country. Theres a variety of people who are Democrats. No one wants a country where people have to share everything.

Despite her worries about a Biden presidency, Tawater said she wants people to stay optimistic.

If we can keep people gathering up like this, people are happy, she said. People are excited. They love their country.

But at the same time, Tawater said she sees whats possible on the horizon.

I think in a fair election, Trump will win by a landslide, she said. Were just bracing. I think the left wing of America just wont accept a second term. And I think all hells gonna break loose.

And if Biden wins?

Its just going to get really bad, Tawater said.

Martinez said her fight for justice likely wont end with either Trump or Biden in office.

Ill fight till the day I die, like my ancestors, she said. Ill always sit there and fight for people. Its not going to stop me. Whoever wins, it dont matter. If things are still the same, then Im still fighting.

And even if the election doesnt go the way she wants, Martinez said shell still hope for change.

Thats all you can do hope, Ross replied.

A version of this article appears in the Fall 2020 issue of The Journal, a publication of the Kansas Leadership Center. To learn more about KLC, visit http://kansasleadershipcenter.org. Order your copy of the magazine at the KLC Store or subscribe to the print edition.

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What happened when Trump backers and Black Lives Matters protesters met in Liberal - The Journal at the Kansas Leadership Center

Liberals, WE make disclosures as chance of confidence vote heats up on the Hill – CTV News

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

OTTAWA -- The federal government appears to be drawing a line in the sand with the opposition parties ongoing attempts to revive the WE Charity controversy, by stating that passage of a Conservative motion to create a new anti-corruption committee would raise serious questions about whether the House of Commons still has confidence in the government.

While the government has yet to confirm outright if they are viewing this proposal and the vote on it as a matter of confidence, in a letter to his opposition counterparts Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez said that if opposition MPs agree on the need for a new probe, it would have implications for the confidence in the Liberal minority government.

The Conservative proposal is blatantly partisan. It is designed to paralyze the government. If passed, the proposal will raise serious questions about whether the House of Commons continues to have confidence in the government, Rodriguez wrote.

Rodriguez later told reporters that the motion is clearly an indication that the Conservatives have no confidence in what the government is doing, and further, would result in governments focus and time taken away from the ongoing fight against COVID-19 if the demands within the motion are to be met, such as having Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testify.

We think that its extremely irresponsible on behalf of the Conservatives, he said, but when asked outright if the Liberals would be willing to trigger an election, his response was well see.

Rodriguez is hopeful that ongoing talks with the Bloc Quebecois and NDP will result in common ground being found. Maybe we can agree on something.

Conservative House Leader Gerard Deltell is calling this claim simply ridiculous.

That you are even entertaining such speculation demonstrates to meas it would to all Canadiansthe desperate ends to which the Liberal government will go to further its coverup of a very troubling scandal which reeks of corruption, Deltell continued in a rebuttal letter send Monday afternoon.

Your government must acknowledge that it no longer enjoys a majority in the House of Commons and that it will, accordingly, begin to accept the legitimate and necessary exercise of parliamentary scrutiny without resorting to election threats, obfuscation and misdirection whenever you face the prospect of not getting your own way, Deltell said.

Meanwhile, in new disclosures both the Liberals and WE Charity are looking to satisfy opposition demands for more documentation in relation to the now months-long controversy surrounding a cancelled student summer grant program.

Tuesday will be the Conservatives first opposition day of the session, and Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole and his caucus have given notice they may be looking to force a vote on a proposal to create a new larger-than-usual parliamentary anti-corruption committee. The committee would take over investigating the WE Charity controversy as well as other lines of inquiry into alleged Liberal scandals and potential conflicts of interest.

This proposal includes a request for the same trove of documents the Liberals, WE Charity, and the public service are being asked to disclose at the House of Commons ethics and finance committees, where Liberal filibusters are underway to delay the votes on those motions.

The proposal is one of three motions the Conservatives could advance on Tuesday and OToole is set to reveal the direction theyve decided to head during a 9 a.m. press conference Tuesday morning.

A confidence vote on this motion means that, if it is defeated, the government could fall and Canadians could be thrust into a snap election in the middle of a pandemic.

The backing of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois is needed in order to give the Conservatives the majority of votes needed over the minority Liberal government to pass this proposal.

Asked about the prospect of making the vote a confidence matter, NDP MP Charlie Angus told reporters Monday that it would be completely irresponsible to call an election right now, not only because of COVID-19, but because as a result Parliament will not be able to reconvene for months.

I can't see the prime minister being that reckless so our message to the Liberals is just calm down. We have work to do, work with us, Angus said.

Also speaking with reporters on Monday, Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre said that the Conservatives will not relent, and questioned why the Liberals appear willing to make this vote a confidence matter.

Setting up a committee is not a matter of confidence, no government in Canadian history has been brought down because an opposition motion passed to set up a committee, he said.

The Conservatives will take any steps necessary within our parliamentary system to get at the truth, he said, adding that the government needs to get out of the way and let committees do their work.

On this point, the government agrees.

Rodriguez is doubling down on his proposal that there be a new special committee focused solely on COVID-19 spending, where its possible tangents of these Conservative-alleged scandals could be evaluated, but other committees could be freed up to do other studies.

He has shared with the opposition House leaders a proposal for this new committee, which could dig deeper into all aspects of the billions of dollars the Liberals have spent over the last seven months in an effort to keep Canadians, businesses and the health care system afloat amid the ongoing global health crisis.

The Conservative anti-corruption proposal would see the committee be chaired by the Conservatives, whereas the Liberals are proposing one of their MPs would have the top seat at the suggested committee.

Deltell called the counterproposal to establish this Liberal-chaired COVID-19 spending committee simply not acceptable, stating that its mandate is overly broad and would overlap with work underway at existing committees. His letter also went on to take issue with the way the Liberals are characterizing the oppositions handling of the entire affair, and accused the government of gaslighting Parliament.

Further, the Liberals have also disclosed a pre-existing list of 125 paid speaking engagements Trudeau had conducted between 2006 and 2013, before he became Liberal leader, that were organized through Speaker Spotlight, the organization that also co-ordinated Trudeau family speaking engagements with WE.

According to the documents, Trudeau made more than $1.3 million for speaking at these events, which range from appearances at association and corporate events, to speeches at universities.

Speaker Spotlight has confirmed the accuracy of the events and fees listed, Rodriguez said in his letter. While this list was presented as a proactive disclosure, the information has been available for years after the Liberals released it years ago. Alongside the speaking information, the government has issued new letters relating to the complaints of inappropriate redactions and information from who at the Privy Council Office knew what and when, in relation to the WE deal.

Since House of Commons committees got back up and running following Augusts prorogation, the opposition parties have put forward motions summoning troves of new documents related to the WE Charity controversy, and have balked at redactions made by government departments to the thousands of pages of documents already disclosed.

Among the additional information the opposition is asking for: more details on the speaking fee arrangements Trudeau, his wife, brother and mother had with WE Charity; and a series of emails, documents, notes and other records from the Prime Ministers Office and the Privy Council Office regarding prorogation.

The Liberals have offered up the public servants to explain the redactions theyve made, but have stated that the House ethics committee asking private citizensthe family members of the prime minister to provide personal financial information would be severely abusing its authority by doing so.

Rodriguez said that in normal times its a heavy lift for governments to produce the amount of documents the opposition have requested, but now with so many public servants working from home due to the pandemic, such sweeping document production motions with extremely tight timelines would be impossible to complete.

In an effort to compromise, Angus said hed be willing to remove some of the document requests that would double up or re-confirm aspects of the story related to Trudeaus family.

We have to finish this study, said Angus.

On Monday morning, WE Charity also released a new series of documents and information that was requested by MPs during testimony given by the organization at the House Finance Committee during its hearings on the controversy prior to prorogation.

Reacting to the new disclosure, prior to having studied its contents, Poilievre said he wont be thrown off his pursuit for transparency and answers from the government and the embattled charity.

Make no mistake, this old tactic of releasing a bunch of irrelevant documents that don't answer the questions while covering up the documents that matter will not suffice, he said. They can release five million irrelevant documents that will not distract us.

The documents detail more information about Sophie Gregoire Trudeaus eight speaking engagements at WE Day events between February 2012 and March 2020. She was paid a one-time speaking fee of $1,500 in 2012, which was disclosed by the organization back in July. At the time, WE said she was paid $1,400 but the Prime Ministers Office later clarified the exact amount.

Total expenses reimbursed for these events, including hotel stays, car services, and flights, add up to $23,940.76. Gregoire Trudeau also received $240 in gifts from the organization during this time. The prime ministers Chief of Staff Katie Telford, during her testimony to the finance committee in July, stated that the ethics commissioner approved Gregoire Trudeaus work with the organization, including the wellness podcast she hosts under its banner, and the reimbursement of expenses.

The documents also highlight that former finance minister Bill Morneau was not given a physical invoice for the $41,000 paid back to WE Charity for travel expenses incurred by him and his family in 2017. The documents also indicate that the $41,000 figure would be on the high end of the estimated costs incurred. Morneau resigned from cabinet after revealing this payment during testimony at the House finance committee this summer.

As well, the new documents show that WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger had conversations with several cabinet ministers over the last two years on a range of topics, but in terms of the student grant program between April 17 and July 7, one or both of the brothers engaged in 65 conference calls with top public servants related to the contract.

After having been fed one story, then another when caught out, and now yet another one in WEs latest disclosure, parliamentarians need to ensure that the truth does not, actually, constitute a fourth version of events, Deltell said in his letter.

Over the course of the controversy the Liberals and WE Charity have argued that the suggestion to outsource the $912-million student grant program came from the non-partisan public service, though Trudeau has conceded that he should have recused himself from the decision-making table given he and his familys past ties to the charity.

The federal conflict of interest and ethics commissioner is still investigating Trudeaus involvement in the affair.

With files from CTV News Sarah Turnbull

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Liberals, WE make disclosures as chance of confidence vote heats up on the Hill - CTV News

After 20 years, the ACT election was the Liberals’ to lose what went so wrong? – ABC News

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

Labor and the Greens cannot quite believe it.

The Canberra Liberals are struggling to comprehend it.

The ACT election result is a striking rejection of the conservative pitch to govern Canberra.

The Liberals knew the task of winning government in the ACT was massive they had failed in their last five attempts, and had plenty of time to digest those results.

None expected this attempt would fail quite like it did.

It was hoped the result would at least be close. 2016 was close, and this time they hoped it would be even closer.

But from the minute the first dump of votes dropped in the reliably Liberal-leaning seat of Brindabella, it was clear something had gone terribly wrong.

The Liberals were going backwards. And it didn't get much better from there.

Before the result was even conceded, the Liberals were spinning the outcome.

"We know that a number of swing voters were concerned about changing the government during a pandemic despite having strong concerns about the direction of Labor and the Greens," read an early statement sent to reporters.

The pandemic was to blame. How could they compete, when Andrew Barr dominated the airwaves for most of the year, guiding the ACT through rolling disasters?

And with the economy slipping into recession, who would vote to change the government?

There is absolutely a level of truth to that theory. Labor agrees Barr's pitch has largely revolved around that very message.

But the Liberal leader must also take some responsibility.

The Liberal campaign was simultaneously simple, and somewhat confused.

Alistair Coe wanted the election to be a referendum on the cost of living. He wanted voters to think of their wallets, and little else.

His policies were shamelessly populist a rates freeze and a big slice off the cost of car rego would save the average family about $1,800, he promised.

And it wouldn't come at any cost. He would make up the revenue through population growth, and deliver better government services in areas like health and education.

It seems the voters did not buy it.

He deliberately left questions unanswered. How would his "growing the pie" theory actually work, particularly amidst a national recession?

How would he seemingly do more with less?

And instead of delivering detail, he opted for stunts. Boris Johnson-style gimmicks for the cameras, like literally freezing a rates bill, and smashing a cardboard wall reading 'cost of living'.

Some Liberals are already wondering if perhaps, at a time of such uncertainty, voters wanted strong and sensible leadership not a hardhat and a Liberal-branded mallet.

Coe will have to answer some tough questions from colleagues if he wants his grip on the Liberal leadership to hold.

This is undoubtedly a good result for Labor, but the party should not get too carried away.

As of late last night, their primary vote across the ACT had actually slipped just slightly down 0.1% on the 2016 result.

Their success came through the fall in the Liberal vote, and the surging Green vote.

Perhaps the centre is shifting while Labor gained from the Liberals, it lost in equal measure to the Greens.

And while the Labor vote has soared in the southern electorate of Brindabella, it fell even further in the north in Yerrabi.

The results are much less nuanced for the Greens. It is nothing but success.

Despite running a remarkably low profile campaign, the party has delivered one of its best results.

Opting to do away with roadside corflutes, and forever struggling to be heard in the media over the noise of the two major parties, the Greens silently succeeded.

It will leave many Labor strategists scratching their heads, wondering where it came from.

With at least three seats in the next assembly, and the possibility of five or six, the next ACT Government will have a much Greener tinge.

Amidst the celebrations, there should be at least some reflection.

The time will come when the ACT wants to change its government. The sentiment will only build.

The voters simply decided that even if change is needed, this Canberra Liberals team was not the change they wanted.

The steady Labor vote says while the electorate is satisfied with its government, it is not handing out a roaring endorsement.

While the cost of living campaign run by the Liberals did not deliver the success they expected, many voters did respond to the message.

There is plenty of room for improvement in areas like health and education.

The electorate expects to see an expanded Canberra Hospital, and trams running to Woden.

And it will want support, as the economy recovers from a heavy blow.

In 2024, the bar will be higher. Labor will be asking for nearly three decades in office.

The new ACT Government has quite a task ahead.

Originally posted here:

After 20 years, the ACT election was the Liberals' to lose what went so wrong? - ABC News

What The Babylon Bee Thinks Is So Funny About Liberals – The New York Times

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

For many, that frustration with liberal culture is a more powerful unifying force than any problems with Mr. Trump. There are a lot of conservative people who are put off by the outrage that Trump spews, but also by the reaction against Trump, Mr. Nadler continued. Theres an audience to assemble there.

The idea for the Babylon Bee was born of a frustration with the anemic realm of conservative comedy. Mr. Dillon, an entrepreneur who bought the site in 2018, was a fan of The Onion, and was gratified to see a similar wry tone applied by the religious right. He felt that conservatives often took themselves too seriously, and with satire they could take a closer look at their own hypocrisies and double standards. The site positioned itself as a cultural outsider from the start Babylon refers to the idea of exile, feeling politically homeless. The site was launched without outside funding by its founder Adam Ford and now runs primarily on advertising, though it also sells branded merchandise.

To the Babylon Bees leadership, there has never been a more important moment for satire. Political humor, the editors said, can often reveal the truths that get lost amid the spin and bias of so-called real news sites. One of Mr. Manns guiding principles, which he shares often with staff, is a quote from the critic G.K. Chesterton: Humor can get in under the door while seriousness is still fumbling at the handle.

We wanted to communicate to a culture that it feels like no longer believes in truth, Mr. Mann said.

Their devotion to truth, Mr. Mann explained, means the Bee will continue to swipe at both political parties. We are one hundred percent committed to making fun of Trump, he said, but he does not buy into the idea that Mr. Trump is exceptionally bad.

If we make a joke about Trump being bad, its already been done a million times by the late night shows, he said. When people find the Babylon Bee they go, Hey this comedy makes fun of everybody, but its a little harder on the left, and when it makes fun of the right its not hateful. People can tell its loving humor.

Some media researchers believe that this willingness to mock both parties rarer in a climate where many mainstream comedic voices see the president as a disastrous leader, not a situation where jibes should be evenly distributed might be an important element to comedic success.

What The Babylon Bee Thinks Is So Funny About Liberals - The New York Times

Facebook, bias and the battle over conservative and liberal content on social media – East Idaho News

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Danzig

Photo Illustration by Alex Cochran

SALT LAKE CITY (Deseret News) When Facebook on Wednesday said it would temporarily reduce distribution of an article that could potentially damage Joe Bidens campaign, conservatives who have long sought to prove that the company is biased against them thought theyd found not just a smoking gun, but a five-alarm blaze.

Facebook said that a New York Post article about the Democratic presidential nominee and son Hunter Bidens dealings with Ukraine required fact-checking in accordance with new policies designed to stop the spread of misinformation.

But Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, among other Facebook critics, said the restriction was blatant censorship.

This is BigTech control of news and speech, nationwide, in real time all in an attempt to control an election, Hawley tweeted.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson also recently accused Facebook of bias after the company flagged a video about the origins of COVID-19 as misinformation.

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Facebook, bias and the battle over conservative and liberal content on social media - East Idaho News

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