Daily Archives: May 9, 2017

New materials bring quantum computing closer to reality – Phys.org – Phys.Org

Posted: May 9, 2017 at 4:05 pm

May 9, 2017 by Tom Abate Researchers are developing quantum computers based on light rather than electricity. At Stanford, new materials could be the key to progress in this field. Credit: iStock/Pobytov

For 60 years computers have become smaller, faster and cheaper. But engineers are approaching the limits of how small they can make silicon transistors and how quickly they can push electricity through devices to create digital ones and zeros.

That limitation is why Stanford electrical engineering Professor Jelena Vuckovic is looking to quantum computing, which is based on light rather than electricity. Quantum computers work by isolating spinning electrons inside a new type of semiconductor material. When a laser strikes the electron, it reveals which way it is spinning by emitting one or more quanta, or particles, of light. Those spin states replace the ones and zeros of traditional computing.

Vuckovic, who is one of the world's leading researchers in the field, said quantum computing is ideal for studying biological systems, doing cryptography or data mining in fact, solving any problem with many variables.

"When people talk about finding a needle in a haystack, that's where quantum computing comes in," she said.

Marina Radulaski, a postdoctoral fellow in Vuckovic's lab, said the problem-solving potential of quantum computers stems from the complexity of the laser-electron interactions at the core of the concept.

"With electronics you have zeros and ones," Radulaski said. "But when the laser hits the electron in a quantum system, it creates many possible spin states, and that greater range of possibilities forms the basis for more complex computing."

Capturing electrons

Harnessing information based on the interactions of light and electrons is easier said than done. Some of the world's leading technology companies are trying to build massive quantum computers that rely on materials super-cooled to near absolute zero, the theoretical temperature at which atoms would cease to move.

In her own studies of nearly 20 years, Vuckovic has focused on one aspect of the challenge: creating new types of quantum computer chips that would become the building blocks of future systems.

"To fully realize the promise of quantum computing we will have to develop technologies that can operate in normal environments," she said. "The materials we are exploring bring us closer toward finding tomorrow's quantum processor."

The challenge for Vuckovic's team is developing materials that can trap a single, isolated electron. Working with collaborators worldwide, they have recently tested three different approaches to the problem, one of which can operate at room temperature a critical step if quantum computing is going to become a practical tool.

In all three cases the group started with semiconductor crystals, material with a regular atomic lattice like the girders of a skyscraper. By slightly altering this lattice, they sought to create a structure in which the atomic forces exerted by the material could confine a spinning electron.

"We are trying to develop the basic working unit of a quantum chip, the equivalent of the transistor on a silicon chip," Vuckovic said.

Quantum dots

One way to create this laser-electron interaction chamber is through a structure known as a quantum dot. Physically, the quantum dot is a small amount of indium arsenide inside a crystal of gallium arsenide. The atomic properties of the two materials are known to trap a spinning electron.

In a recent paper in Nature Physics, Kevin Fischer, a graduate student in the Vuckovic lab, describes how the laser-electron processes can be exploited within such a quantum dot to control the input and output of light. By sending more laser power to the quantum dot, the researchers could force it to emit exactly two photons rather than one. They say the quantum dot has practical advantages over other leading quantum computing platforms but still requires cryogenic cooling, so it may not be useful for general-purpose computing. However, it could have applications in creating tamper-proof communications networks.

Color centers

In two other papers Vuckovic took a different approach to electron capture, by modifying a single crystal to trap light in what is called a color center.

In a recent paper published in Nano Letters, her team focused on color centers in diamond. In nature the crystalline lattice of a diamond consists of carbon atoms. Jingyuan Linda Zhang, a graduate student in Vuckovic's lab, described how a 16-member research team replaced some of those carbon atoms with silicon atoms. This one alteration created color centers that effectively trapped spinning electrons in the diamond lattice.

But like the quantum dot, most diamond color center experiments require cryogenic cooling. Though that is an improvement over other approaches that required even more elaborate cooling, Vuckovic wanted to do better.

So she worked with another global team to experiment with a third material, silicon carbide. Commonly known as carborundum, silicon carbide is a hard, transparent crystal used to make clutch plates, brake pads and bulletproof vests. Prior research had shown that silicon carbide could be modified to create color centers at room temperature. But this potential had not yet been made efficient enough to yield a quantum chip.

Vuckovic's team knocked certain silicon atoms out of the silicon carbide lattice in a way that created highly efficient color centers. They also fabricated nanowire structures around the color centers to improve the extraction of photons. Radulaski was the first author on that experiment, which is described in another NanoLetters paper. She said the net results an efficient color center, operating at room temperature, in a material familiar to industry were huge pluses.

"We think we've demonstrated a practical approach to making a quantum chip," Radulaski said.

But the field is still in its early days and electron tapping is no simple feat. Even the researchers aren't sure which method or methods will win out.

"We don't know yet which approach is best, so we continue to experiment," Vuckovic said.

Explore further: Simultaneous detection of multiple spin states in a single quantum dot

More information: Marina Radulaski et al. Scalable Quantum Photonics with Single Color Centers in Silicon Carbide, Nano Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b05102

Journal reference: Nano Letters

Provided by: Stanford University

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New materials bring quantum computing closer to reality - Phys.org - Phys.Org

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Quantum Computing Demands a Whole New Kind of Programmer – Singularity Hub

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Quantum computers finally seem to be coming of age with promises of quantum supremacy by the end of the year. But theres a problemvery few people know how to work them.

The bold claim ofachieving "quantum supremacy"came on the back of Google unveiling a new quantum chip design. The hyperbolic phrase essentially means building a quantum device that can perform a calculation impossible for any conventional computer.

In theory, quantum computers can crush conventional ones at important tasks like factoring large numbers. Thats because unlike normal computers, whose bits can either be represented as 0 or 1, a quantum bitor qubitcan be simultaneously 0 and 1 thanks to a phenomenon known as superposition.

Demonstrating this would require thousands of qubits, though, which is well beyond current capabilities. So instead Google plans to compare the computers ability to simulate the behavior of a random arrangement of quantum circuits. They predict it should take 50 qubits to outdo the most powerful supercomputers, a goal they feel they can reach this year.

Clearly the nature of the experiment tips the balance in favor of their chip, but the result would be impressive nonetheless, and could act as a catalyst to spur commercialization of the technology.

This year should also see the first commercial universal quantum computing service go live, with IBM giving customers access to one of its quantum computers over the cloud for a fee. Canadian company D-Wave already provides cloud access to one of its machines, but its quantum computers are not universal, as they can only solve certain optimization problems.

But despite this apparent impetus, the technology has a major challenge to overcome. Programming these devices is much harder than programming conventional computers.

For a start, building algorithms for these machines requires a certain level of understanding about the quantum physics that gives qubits their special properties. While you dont need an advanced physics degree to get your head around it, it is a big departure from traditional computer programming.

Writing in ReadWrite, Dan Rowinski points out, Writing apps that can be translated into some form of qubit-relatable code may require some very different approaches, since among other things, the underlying logic for digital programs may not translate precisely (or at all) to the quantum-computing realm.

And while there are a number of quantum simulators that can run on a laptop for those who want to dip their toes in the water, real quantum computers are likely to behave quite differently. The real challenge is whether you can make your algorithm work on real hardware that has imperfections, Isaac Chuang, an MIT physicist, told Nature.

Convincing programmers to invest the time necessary to learn these skills is going to be tricky until commercial systems are delivering tangible benefits and securing customers, but thats going to be tough if theres no software to run on them.

The companies building these machines recognize this chicken and egg problem, and it is why there is an increasing drive to broaden access to these machines. Before the announcement of the commercial IBMQ service, the company had already released the free Quantum Experience service last year.

Earlier this year, D-Wave open sourced their Qbsolv and Qmasm tools to allow people to start getting to grips with programming its devices, while a pair of Google engineers built a Quantum Computing Playground for people to start investigating the basics of the technology. The company plans to provide access to its devices over the cloud just like IBM.

We dont just want to build these machines, Jerry Chow, the manager of IBMs Experimental Quantum Computing team told Wired. We want to build a framework that allows people to use them.

How easy it will be to translate the skills learned in one of these companies proprietary quantum computing ecosystems to another also remains to be seen, not least because the technology at the heart of them can be dramatically different. This could be a further stumbling block to developing a solid pool of quantum programmers.

Ultimately, the kinds of large-scale quantum computers powerful enough to be usefully put to work on real-world problems are still some years away, so theres no need to panic yet. But as the researchers behind Googles quantum effort note in an article in Nature, this scarcity of programming talent also presents an opportunity for those who move quickly.

If early quantum-computing devices can offer even a modest increase in computing speed or power, early adopters will reap the rewards, they write. Rival companies would face high entry barriers to match the same quality of services and products, because few experts can write quantum algorithms, and businesses need time to tailor new algorithms.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Trump made one of his own tweets into a Twitter header. Cue the Twitter shade. – CNN

Posted: at 4:04 pm

Trump briefly topped @realDonaldTrump with a note he sent at 6:41 p.m. ET after former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing and said he was not aware of evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

"Director Clapper reiterated what everybody, including the fake media already knows- there is 'no evidence' of collusion w/ Russia and Trump," Trump tweeted.

The Twitter header was removed sometime early Tuesday and replaced with a photo of Trump and House Republicans at the White House. But some of the President's nearly 29 million followers had ample time to respond.

"'Getting a staffer to Photoshop your tweet denying collusion with Russia into your banner image' is untold levels of Not Mad," tweeted Patrick Monahan.

"This is the header of the president of the United States' political/personal Twitter account," Bloomberg White House reporter Jennifer Epstein tweeted.

"Never really believed there was collusion between Trump & Russia.. until he just put that twitter header up," tweeted writer Stephen Miller.

"trump's new Twitter page header is basically the equivalent of 'But they said I din't do nothin'.' Double negative intended," tweeted another.

"Trump's done a lot of embarrassing things in the < 4 months he's been POTUS, but that new header image takes the cake," Upworthy writer Parker Molloy tweeted.

"Pretty weird of Trump to photoshop an old AIM away message into his twitter header," another user tweeted.

"Is it just me who is kind of amazed Donald Trump knows how to change his Twitter profile header pic?" another tweeted remarked.

"trump changed his twitter header to push back on the russia story, showing he's not concerned about it and its NOT A BIG DEAL AT ALL," another writer tweeted with a GIF of "House of Cards" character Frank Underwood.

CNN has reached out to the White House but requests for comment were not immediately returned.

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Pipelines and Donald Trump: British Columbia Goes to the Polls – New York Times

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New York Times
Pipelines and Donald Trump: British Columbia Goes to the Polls
New York Times
President Trump. These are the issues voters are talking about as British Columbia holds its election for the provincial legislative assembly on Tuesday. Bordered by the United States on two sides, British Columbia is home to Canada's fastest-growing ...

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Pipelines and Donald Trump: British Columbia Goes to the Polls - New York Times

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Donald Trump Can’t Stop His Team from Undermining Him – GQ Magazine

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(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

What does it say when the man cant even get his staff in order?

The call (to Justin Trudeau, asking him to talk Donald Trump out of destroying NAFTA) was coming from inside the (White) house. Confused? Let me clear it up for you. As Donald Trump has been parading around the West Wing in his bathrobe and terrorizing aides and the international community with mood swings, erratic tweets, and a seemingly endless list of things he didn't realize were so complicated until he became president, there has been a contingent of his staff who have been attempting to manipulate the president in some pretty unusual ways. For instance, if you turned on cable news at all during the campaign, then you probably caught one of the millions of Trump rallies that they aired unedited and therefore probably heard Trump rail against NAFTA. That may make for good election-year politics, but the truth is NAFTA has become an important part of not just our economy, but also Mexico's and Canada's, and if we were to suddenly withdraw from the agreement, the economic fallout could be massive and painful and cause the price of everything to potentially skyrocket.

So what do you do if an issue requires nuance and careful consideration, but you work for Donald Trump? Well, apparently you do a little freelancing and reach out to the Canadian government to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to implore Trump to reconsider. This story comes from The National Post.

The President was said to be persuaded by the argument to kill what he has repeatedly called the worst trade deal ever, despite concerns about the economic disruption that might result.

According to Canadian government sources, White House advisers pushing a more cautious approach then called Ottawa to ask for Trudeaus assistance.

You never know how much of it is theatre, but it didnt feel that way, said one senior Canadian diplomatic source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Maybe theyre just learning how to be a government. At least they were open to the conversation, and that stopped them doing something rash and destructive.

Just what you want to hear from a foreign government official: "Maybe they're just learning how to be a government." I mean, damn. That is vicious. And though, in the case of Canada, Trump didn't seem mad about anything that went down, instead going out of his way to praise Trudeau and Mexico's President Enrique Pea Nieto, that doesn't mean he likes being undermined. Which, according to Bloomberg, is exactly what National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster learned recently after he let South Korea know that President Trump wouldn't make them pay for defense.

Other White House officials however tell me this is not the sentiment the president has expressed recently in private. Trump was livid, according to three White House officials, after reading in the Wall Street Journal that McMaster had called his South Korean counterpart to assure him that the president's threat to make that country pay for a new missile defense system was not official policy. These officials say Trump screamed at McMaster on a phone call, accusing him of undercutting efforts to get South Korea to pay its fair share.

One thing becomes clear when you hear these stories. As terrifying as Donald Trump is (and his level falls somewhere between the little girl from The Ring and "WebMD worst-case scenario"), it's somewhat comforting to know that there are some people working for the president who are doing their best to stop him from destroying the country. I mean, not as comforting as literally anyone else being in charge, but still somewhat comforting.

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Donald Trump’s New Website Features Military Personnel, Tweets, Merchandise – Newsweek

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President Donald Trump's campaign website underwent an overhaul that debuted Tuesday. Now featured prominently: a picture of the president saluting a member of the military.

"Together, we are rebuilding our nation," reads the front page of the website. The background of the page is a photo of Trump saluting a military member as he exits Marine One on the White House's South Lawn.

As the Washington Examiner's David Drucker pointed out on Twitter, right next to that military imagery was a button for contributing to Trump's campaign.

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The military has rules about the military appearing in campaign ads. Trump seemingly ran into trouble with these rules previouslywhen his ad promoting the achievements of his first 100 days in office featuredNational Security AdviserH.R. McMaster in uniform, the Washington Post reported. The ad was changed to show the president shaking the hand of a factory worker instead of featuringMcMaster.

It's not clear if the Trump website violated any rules, but it does certainly play up his brief tenureas commander in chief, during which he's ordered an airstrike in Syria while ramping up the possibility of war with North Korea.

The Trump team said the site also will be aimed at promoting"facts the mainstream media is hiding about policy positions and actions by President Trump," according to Politico. "President Trump believes in speaking directly with the American people," the campaign tweeted.

Perhaps with that in mind, the website also now prominently displays the latest tweets fired off from the president's famous@realDonaldTrump Twitter account. Tuesday it showed the president's thoughts on the ongoing investigations into his campaign's potential collusion with Russianefforts to sway the president election (it's a "total hoax") as well as his thoughts on the testimony from former acting Attorney General Sally Yates ("she said nothing but old news!").

And if you're in the mood to buy something, the websitealso has, of course, a section for Trump merchandise.

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Republicans abandon their virtues to stand behind Donald Trump and clap – Chicago Tribune

Posted: at 4:04 pm

For all the fireworks of the French election, please note that Marine Le Pen gave a simple elegant concession speech, congratulating the winner and thanking her supporters and campaign workers. She did not claim voter fraud or a media conspiracy or accuse the government of tapping her phone. She is, after all, French. Liberty, equality, dignity.

And so our country, the land of the pilgrims' pride where our fathers died, remains No. 1 in blithering tastelessness, naked self-promotion and delusional hypocrisy, thanks to Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and James Comey. North Korea is a close No. 2, followed by Sudan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, the Ku Klux Klan, the Fall of Man and the Republican health care plan.

That was a remarkable photo, Republicans on the White House lawn celebrating the House passage of a bucket of horsefeathers. It looked like the Kappa Delts gathered at the country club for the Eight-Ball Roll-'Em and Martini Scramble. Actually it was the D-minus students collecting a pile of partial term papers regurgitated by dogs and sending them to the Senate to be made into something coherent and perhaps defensible. As the man said, nobody knew health care could be so complicated. Good luck, Senator McConnell! Take your time! Read the whole thing!

Senate approval is an archaic legal requirement so much easier to simply write an executive order stating that everyone gets the care they need, pre-existing conditions or not, a beautiful deal for less money, and let's move on to something else. Sign another order that cancer has been cured that would pay for everything.

This guy is in love with the executive order. It's his idea of a selfie. He sits at his bare desk, grinning, holding up the two-page large-print document with his big bold signature, in a nice leather binding like an Award for Meritorious Achievement from the Federation of Organizations, his smiley vice-president looking over his shoulder, a select group of happy citizens clapping. Last week, he signed one assuring ministers of freedom of speech in the pulpit. Next week maybe he'll order ladybugs to fly away home, their house is on fire, their children are gone.

What is so remarkable this spring, as we all wait for the next shoe to drop, is how completely the Republican virtues we grew up admiring caution, respect for history, attention to the fine print have been thrown to the winds and the party has united behind an aging New York playboy with no fixed principles except an insatiable urge to be on the front page every single day including weekends and holidays. It would be like the Democratic Party electing Big Bird and applauding whatever comes out of his big beak.

Big Bird is a costume. There is a person inside it. He says what is in the script. But if he says whatever is going through his mind and starts ranting about conspiracies and TV ratings and the Civil War (how come?), you have a Big Turkey for a leader. Some people might think it edgy and cool to have an eight-foot president covered with yellow feathers, but I believe that most Democrats would not go along with this, even those who feel the party has gone elitist and needs to regain the common touch.

The American people do not wish their president to be on the front page every single day, especially not for saying stupid stuff. They would prefer government to be effective, functional, honest, rational in other words, boring. Think of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. You want it to operate quietly without drawing attention to itself. You don't want to read in the paper that when you hold a $20 bill up to ultraviolet light now, it says "Invest Kushner" with a blinking 800 number.

Same with the National Park Service. We don't need to sell ad space on the foreheads at Mount Rushmore. The U.S. Coast Guard is a fine operation, if you ask me. Ditto the F.A.A., and so is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration imagine the complexity of it, administering the oceans and the atmosphere and yet it goes about its mission without fuss. The White House could write up an executive order "Let the waves be still, let the tides not encroach upon Mar-a-Lago" but NOAA would simply build an ark for the president and life would go on as before. And that is the whole point.

Washington Post

Garrison Keillor is an author and radio personality.

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Republicans abandon their virtues to stand behind Donald Trump and clap - Chicago Tribune

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Donald Trump says Congress has too much power. He’s wrong. – USA TODAY

Posted: at 4:04 pm

Christian Schneider, Opinion columnist 6:00 a.m. ET May 9, 2017

Woodrow Wilson(Photo: AP)

Throughout his life, progressive paragon Woodrow Wilson sneered at a system of government that vested so much power withCongress. Wilson, who enjoyed pointing out that the president was the only person elected by all the people of America, was frustrated by this disequilibrium."The Senate always has the last word," he complained.

A century later, Wilson's enthusiasm for consolidation of power within the presidency has a powerful new fan. Last week, President Trump offered a Wilsonesque critique of the U.S. Senate, arguing he should be given more authority because he's "a closer."

"You look at the rules of the Senate, even the rules of the House, but the rule of the Senate and some of the things you have to go through, it's really a bad thing for the country in my opinion," Trump told Fox News on April 28.

Trump further argued for "tak[ing] those rules on" such as the Senate filibuster "because for the good of the nation things are going to have to be different." He added, "You can't go through a process like this. It's not fair, it forces you to make bad decisions."

Naturally, in the Trump vernacular, any decision he gets to make unilaterally is necessarily a "good" one, and every proposal slowed by a deliberative body is, by definition, "bad." In this way, the current Republican shares the Progressive Era's lack of constitutional humility.

But while Wilson's antipathy for the separation of powers was derived from years of scholarship (as an undergraduate he proposed allowing the president to choose his cabinet from among members of Congress, British Parliament-style),Trump's latest position seems to be crafted only upon visiting Washington, D.C. on the days he can get away from Mar-a-Lago.

Republican health bill moves us forward: Christian Schneider

Donald Trump's malignant narcissism is toxic: Psychologist

Ironically, Trump's lack of knowledge of how Congress works actually makes the case of why Congress is now more important than ever. As he learns history on the job (sample tidbit about Abraham Lincoln from a March speech: "Great president. Most people dont even know he was a Republican, right?"), the legislative branch can provide him a valuable constitutional lesson by asserting its rightful authority.

Clearly in Trump's years in the private sector, his view of politicians took on a cartoonish bent, most likely informed by cable news and television dramas. During Republican presidential debates, the eventual GOP winner openly bragged about buying off politicians (mostly Democrats), arguing incredibly that his own corrupt practices were proof that only he could fix such a "broken system." (This recalls the time on Cheers when Norm derided the sad, pathetic people who sat next to him at the bar hour after hour, day after day.)

No doubt in Trump's New York City politicians were simply a procedural hurdle to be overcome when a building needed to be builtsalt the city with a few dollars here and there and city council members would one day earn a ride in one of his golden elevators.

POLICING THE USA:Alook atrace, justice, media

World history according to Trump: Gabriel Schoenfeld

But Congress can now prove that it's not simply a beagle eager to have its belly scratched. For instance, Congress should take the advice of TV star Trump when he asserted that Congress should approve military operations in Syria, even if President Trump disagrees. The House and Senate should craft responsible infrastructure and health care plans independent of Trump's capricious Twitter meanderings. Trump wants billions in taxpayer funding for a southern border wall? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should send over a copy of The Federalist 51, a golden shovel, and tell the president to start digging.

It's not as if presidents haven't always felt dyspepsia about the role of Congress. When President Andrew Johnson faced impeachment in 1868, one of the articles against him charged that he had plotted to "excite the odium and resentment of all good people of the United States against Congress" and that he had used, "with a loud voice, certain intemperate, inflammatory and scandalous harangues, and therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces." These are phrases that should be emblazoned on the china in the Trump White House dining room.

"The office (of president)," Woodrow Wilson once observed, "is so much greater than any man could honestly imagine himself tobe that the most he can do is to look grave enough and self-possessed enough to seem to fill it." Last week, Wilson's philosophical descendant, Donald Trump, similarly noted that he thought being president "would be easier" than it has been during his first 100 days.

Undoubtedly, the two presidents could learn much from each other. Perhaps one of these days Trump will pick up the phone and invite Wilson and Frederick Douglass to dinner.

Christian Schneideris a member ofUSA TODAY's Board of Contributors and a columnist for theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, where this piece wasfirst published. Follow him on Twitter@Schneider_CM

You can readdiverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers ontheOpinion front page,on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter.To submit a letter, comment or column, check oursubmission guidelines.

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Donald Trump says Congress has too much power. He's wrong. - USA TODAY

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Trevor Noah: Donald Trump Is ‘Comedy Cocaine’ – Variety

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Late night comics have feasted on President Donald Trump, poking fun at his factually challenged proclamations, tortured syntax, and elaborate combover.

But The Daily Show host Trevor Noah admits that there are risks involved with getting too addicted to Trump jokes.

Youve got to look at Donald Trump as comedy cocaine, Noah said at VarietysEntertainment and Technology Summit in New York on Wednesday. A bump now and again will get you to a nice place, but you dont want to overdose.

Noah said that Trump and his ability to swallow up the news cycle provides a seemingly inexhaustible amount of material for comics. Still, he and his writers frequently find themselves asking, How much is enough?

Because the presidency comes with so much power, anything Trump says or does reverberates across the globe.

Theres almost no news in the world that in some way is not being touched or influenced by Donald Trump, said Noah.

On his Comedy Central program, Noah and his writers arent just focusing on Trumps more outrageous tweets or political feuds. Theyre trying to tell a larger story about what his rise signals about larger geo-political shifts.

What you do is youve got to cut it, said Noah, explaining that he kept returning to drug analogies, because I watch a lot of Narcos.'

Trumps rise has helped Noah find his own stride. Ratings at The Daily Show have improved as have critical reviews. Noah believes last summers political conventions marked a turning point for a show that satirizes the television news landscape. Noah was born in South Africa and said that his experience growing up in the country gave him a unique perspective.

The nextfour years will be the story of the American people and how they responded to the force known as Donald Trump, said Noah.

He saw parallels with the history of the program. He noted that Jon Stewart, his predecessor as Daily Show anchor, first connected with audiences during the contentious 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

History, like fashion, repeats itself, said Noah, adding As Donald Trump sinks deeper and deeper into the swamp he once thought he would drain, the show is going deeper and deeper into politics.

Noah said he stays in touch with Stewart, but doesnt ask him for advice on overseeing The Daily Show.

I promised Jon that I would let him retire, said Noah.

When Stewart stepped down, he told his successor that he wanted to concentrate on his family. Noah says he mostly asks Stewart for insight into balancing work and life.

We talk jokes, said Noah. We talk about life. We connect as human beings.

The Daily Show was created to send up the 24/7 cable news world of talking heads and prime time bloviation. In the wake of the Trump election, fake news has become a buzzword. The president often uses the term to deride media groups or articles that he finds objectionable.

We still see ourselves as fake news,' said Noah. We wont relinquish that title even though it was stolen from us by the president.

The term might have been appropriated, but Noah said the mission of the program remains the same to lampoon the powerful and the pompous alike.

Our version of fake means no holds barred news now, said Noah.

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Donald Trump wants to ramp up America’s presence in Afghanistan – Salon

Posted: at 4:04 pm

Less than one month after President Donald Trump dropped the mother of all bombs in Afghanistan, the president is now contemplating a military expansion that would be the equivalent of putting America on a war footing against the Taliban in that country.

The new plan would allowthe Pentagon to establish troop levels in Afghanistan instead of requiring them to gothrough the White House, expandthe militarys authority to use airstrikes against members of the Taliban, eliminate restrictions imposed by President Barack Obama on the battlefield mobility of American military advisers and add at least 3,000 new troops to the 8,400 troops already there, according to a report by The New York Times.

This plan is being heavily pushed by Trumps national security adviser H. R. McMaster, prompting White House advisers who oppose it to dub the proposed strategy McMasters War. Because the war in Afghanistan already costs $23 billion each year, some of Trumps advisers are pointing out that McMasters plan would increase the cost of an already very expensive military operation. If nothing else, any increase in American troops and support for the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani would be contingent upon Ghani reducing corruption and military incompetence, both of which are factors that have strengthened the Talibans cause in that country.

Nevertheless, one official told The Times that Trump is determined to start winning again. Because the Taliban has been making headway in the Afghanistan war, they have been less inclined to negotiate with the United States. The hope is that increasing Americas military presence in that country will compel them to returnto the bargain table, although even the plans advocates admit that incremental progress is the best-case scenario that theyre looking at in the region.

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Donald Trump wants to ramp up America's presence in Afghanistan - Salon

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