Daily Archives: February 1, 2020

Graphics by Ella Koeze

When Angelica Rubio was a little girl growing up near the border between New Mexico and Mexico, she had a dream that was both grand and circumscribed: She wanted to be governor of her state. I grew up thinking about political power and what it meant every year my family would watch the presidents State of the Union address and I would translate it for my parents, Rubio said. Most kids were probably dreaming about being president but for some reason, being governor of New Mexico seemed like the right amount of power for me.

Rubio, who identifies as Chicanx, hasnt made it to the governors mansion yet. She was elected to the state legislature in 2016, and said shell be running for a third term this year. But Rubios childhood goal, as lofty as it seems, might be more achievable for a woman of color from New Mexico than any other state in the union. According to Rutgers Universitys Center for American Women and Politics, two of the three women of color who have ever been elected governor are from New Mexico, including the current governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham. (You can hear more about Lujan Grishams thoughts about what its like to run for office as a woman in FiveThirtyEights When Women Run project.)

Likewise, nearly one-third of the women of color who have served in any statewide executive office a category that includes lieutenant governor, secretary of state and other posts that frequently serve as stepping stones to the governorship are from New Mexico. It also has a relatively high percentage of women of color in the state legislature, compared to other states: 16 percent of statehouse seats are held by non-white women, a share topped by only five other states.

These disparities might seem like a fluke a strange political accident that made New Mexico into an especially friendly place for women of color who want to run the state. But experts and New Mexico politicians alike told me that theres no secret recipe. Instead, there are four main factors that built on each other to help boost the electoral prospects of women of color:

There are 20 states including some of the nations biggest, like California and New York that have never been led by a female governor. Twenty-seven states, meanwhile, have never had a woman of color serve in any statewide office, and New Mexico is one of only 11 states in which women of color have held multiple statewide offices.

But when it comes to political leadership by women of color, New Mexico has pretty much always been a pioneer. Women of color have been serving in elected office in New Mexico for almost as long as the state has existed, starting with Soledad Chvez Chacn, who was elected secretary of state in 1922 only a decade after New Mexico was admitted as the countrys 47th state. Before Chacons election, New Mexico had been among the more politically conservative states in the West when it came to womens suffrage, refusing to extend women the right to vote until after the passage of the 19th Amendment. But after Chacn was elected, New Mexican women including women of color continued to ascend into political leadership. The position of secretary of state was held by a Latina throughout the 1930s, and 17 women were elected to the state legislature between 1922 and 1934.

That kind of long history can help women in several different ways: It provides political role models for women thinking about running for office, and makes the idea of women holding positions that are traditionally associated with masculine characteristics feel more normal. Studies have shown that voters more readily elect women to serve in roles that are inherently collaborative, like legislator, perhaps because it fits more neatly with gendered stereotypes about womens strengths and weaknesses. The traits that tend to be prized in executive leadership roles like governor like assertiveness or decisiveness run directly counter to gendered expectations about women, which can make it even harder for women to be taken seriously as candidates when they run for those positions. Its powerful if you can just get voters used to seeing womens names on the ballot for statewide leadership roles, said Jason Windett, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who studies gender and state politics.

For many years, though, women of color were elected only to one statewide role in New Mexico secretary of state. That didnt change until more than 70 years after Chacn was elected. Christine Sierra, a professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico who studies gender, race and politics, doesnt think its an accident that for decades the de facto position for female leaders was a role that includes the word secretary in the title. We might have had women in leadership for a long time, but there was one specific place that was clearly acceptable for them, she said.

But in recent years there has been a breakthrough, Sierra and others told me, fueled by the fact that New Mexico is a state dominated by racial minorities in particular, Latinos and Native Americans. According to the Census Bureau, nearly half of New Mexicos population is Latino or Hispanic and an additional 11 percent is American Indian or Alaska Native, making it one of the few states in which a majority of its residents are non-white. The Latino population in particular has grown over the past few decades, meaning a Chicanx or Latina candidate like Rubio or Stephanie Garcia Richard, who was elected as the first female state land commissioner in 2018, share a similar ethnic background as a decent chunk of the state. In her 2018 campaign, Garcia Richard said, she deliberately emphasized her family history as a way of showing her connections to different local communities. Im half Hispanic, half Anglo, from a ranching family with ties to southwestern and eastern parts of the state, she said. I wanted voters to understand all of the ways my candidacy reflects New Mexico as a place.

New Mexico politics has also become increasingly dominated by Democrats, which may have helped some women of color, as women of color are disproportionately likely to run and win on the Democratic side of the ticket. But recruiting women of color has also become a higher priority for groups that aim to propel more women into elected office, like Emerge, a national Democratic organization that opened an office in New Mexico in 2005. Ashley Sanderson, Emerge New Mexicos executive director, says that over the past 14 years, 350 women including Rubio and Garcia Richard have gone through their six-month training program. Of those, over half have run for office. And according to Sanderson, over half of the program members are also women of color.

And according to research by Sierra and others, simply getting women of color to throw their hat in the ring is a crucial step, because when they do run, they win at higher rates than either white women or minority men. It was something of a surprising finding because women and people of color are both at the margins in politics, she said. So you might expect women of color to have two strikes against them. Instead, we found that in many cases, that dual identity is actually an advantage.

Windett said that he wouldnt be surprised if the trend toward electing more women of color in New Mexico accelerates in 2020 and beyond particularly now that two Latina women have served back-to-back as governor. Unlike a member of Congress, the governor is an extremely visible and powerful figure who is also in the state seven days a week, Windett said. That means if the governor is a woman who wants to encourage more women to participate, she can have an outsize influence on candidate recruitment, fundraising, building networks of women in politics.

None of this means that New Mexico is a political utopia for women of color. Im reminded of my gender every time I walk past a wall of pictures of people who have held my office, because its just one long row of men, Garcia Richard said. When she started her job last year, Garcia Richard said that she took pains to fill her leadership team with women, but added, Our expertise is constantly questioned mine and theirs.

But she thinks that despite these challenges, voters in her state and others want more leaders like her which means she hopes that New Mexico will continue to elect more women of color, but also eventually cease to be an outlier. Voters really want to see people who look like them, who share their experiences, in positions of power, she said. We may be ahead of the curve here in New Mexico, but we dont have a monopoly on that hunger.

Want more coverage of women in politics? Explore our oral history project, When Women Run.

Here is the original post:

Why New Mexico Elects More Women Of Color Than The Rest Of The Country - FiveThirtyEight

[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]

Lesquin, France, January 31, 2020 In a new gameplay video with commentary, Zordix Racing Development Director Joakim Eriksson introduces all the gameplay features of OverpassTM.

Watch OverpassTM commented gameplay trailer here:

From 23 officially licensed vehicles in the game, Joakim chose the Wildcat Sport LTD from Arctic Cat to demonstrate the different ways to play the game. Each track has been created to present players with a unique and tough challenge. There are challenges all along the course: artificial obstacles, mud, rocks, etc. All these must be tackled to get to the finish line.

When starting a race for the first time, players need to explore the track to familiarise themselves with the terrain and the traps ahead. They can then complete it as fast as possible to get on the leaderboard or challenge the community in multiplayer in real time. Forcing through at full throttle is a sure way to send your wheels spinning and get stuck, losing precious seconds. But driving with finesse, with precise acceleration and wise use of the differential, will ensure you navigate the hardest sections successfully.

In this off-road simulation, challenge yourself on extreme tracks at the controls of buggies and quads from major manufacturers. In a variety of local and online game modes, master the terrain physics, overcome obstacles and cope with damage to your vehicle to triumph in this demanding off-road challenge.

To pre-order or know more about the game, visit the official website:

https://play-overpass.com/

Find us on Twitter and YouTube.

About Bigben

Bigben, a leading publisher of video games on PC and consoles, is known for its creativity and innovation. After its acquisition of four development studios (Cyanide, Eko, KT Racing and Spiders), which are all internationally recognised for their expertise in different genres, Bigben is strengthening its position as a developer and publisher of premium games and is aiming to become the world's leading AA publisher. http://www.bigben.fr

About Zordix Racing

Zordix AB (publ) is a fast growing game company in Ume, Sweden. The Zordix Racing label, introduced in 2019 , encapsule the company's line up of terrain vehicle racing games.Games developed by Zordix includes Aqua Moto Racing Utopia, Snow Moto Racing Freedom, Valet Parking 1989, 1950s Lawn Mower Kids, Real Heroes Firefighter 3D, Snow Moto Racing 3D, and Aqua Moto Racing 3D. Zordix is a licensed developer for major game consoles like Playstation4, Wii U, 3DS, Switch and Xbox One. http://www.zordix.com

MEDIA CONTACT

HomeRun PR

Chris Rosario

[emailprotected]

undefined

1405 Hancock Street, # 4B, Brooklyn, NY, 11237

Read the rest here:

OVERPASS: ZORDIX SHOWS OFF THE GAMEPLAY IN A NEW VIDEO - Gamasutra

LANSING, MI -- Michigan recently denied recreational marijuana licenses to at least five Detroit businesses, their attorney says.

Now those businesses intend to fight, according to Denise Pollicella of Howell-based Cannabis Attorneys of Michigan.

Brightmoore Gardens, 420 Factory, HCM Provisioning, Utopia Gardens and Plan B Wellness Center, all licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Detroit, met nearly all of the criteria for recreational marijuana licenses and applied at a time when Detroit didnt have a ban on recreational marijuana in place.

There was one problem: the Detroit City Clerk wouldnt sign off on a required form stating the city didnt have an ordinance in place forbidding recreational marijuana business.

Thats because Detroit has a temporary recreational marijuana ban in place -- but it didnt when the companies applied.

The state Marijuana Regulatory Agency began accepting applications Nov. 1, at which time Detroits elected officials hadnt passed a ban on the new industry. The Detroit businesses submitted their applications.

In the meantime, Detroit City Council took action and passed a temporary ban on recreational marijuana that took effect on Nov. 12.

The law says the state licensing agency shall approve a state license if the city doesnt notify the department that the proposed marijuana establishment is not in compliance with an ordinance ... at the time of application.

Pollicella said those five key words, at the time of application, mean her clients are due licenses.

Marijuana Regulatory Agency Director Andrew Brisbo foresaw situations like this one in Detroit and publicly asked every city, town and village in Michigan to move on opt-out laws prior to Nov. 1, if they intended to block recreational businesses from operating within their borders.

Brisbo even warned local governments that litigation was likely to arise if businesses applied when a ban wasnt in place and the municipality subsequently enacted one, such as happened in Detroit.

Instead of issuing licenses, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency took another route, Pollicella said.

They created in the rules a situation to make it so they could deny applicants in this circumstance, she said.

After the voter-passed recreational marijuana law took effect, the state Marijuana Regulatory Agency created a list of emergency rules to guide the licensing process. In those rules, applicants are required to obtain signed approval from their local clerk to operate.

This was not supposed to be a mass of bureaucratic red tape, Pollicella said. These businesses "followed the exact simple language of the statute and unfortunately there were rules created after the statute, not by the people of Michigan and not by the Legislature.

Lets remember, a ballot initiative referendum can only be amended by three-quarter vote of both houses. This was created by an administrative agency to basically undo that part of the statute.

While the licenses were pending response from the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, Pollicella sued the state in an effort to force them to respond to the applicants and issues the licenses.

Pollicella said the lawsuits became moot and were withdrawn when the state responded with denials. The businesses are now appealing their application rejections, which could result in what is referred to in the rules as a public investigative hearing," which is essentially an under-oath trial with witnesses and evidence that is conducted before an administrative law judge.

The rules allow an applicant 21 days to appeal but dont state how long the Marijuana Regulatory Agency has to schedule a hearing.

Marijuana Regulatory Agency spokesman David Harns declined comment for this story, citing pending litigation and a policy not to discuss pending applications.

While that process unfolds, Detroit City Council this week extended its ban on recreational marijuana until at least March 31.

Detroit Councilman James Tate Jr., whos spearheading the citys recreational marijuana legislation efforts, said hes not going to put forth a law for a vote until there are mechanisms in place to ensure Detroit residents benefit from and are sustainable in the new marijuana market.

Currently, Detroits market is dominated by outsiders, he said.

There are some people saying Detroit is behind on this green rush ... Tate said. " ... But we have over 1,400 municipalities that have opted out. Many have said that theyre not trying to opt in, period.

What were saying is, we need some additional time to address these very pertinent issues that we, as the city of Detroit, have to deal with that others do not.

-- Gus Burns is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact him with questions, tips or comments at fburns@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, @GusBurns. Read more from MLive about medical and recreational marijuana.

More on MLive:

Confusion over marijuana business in Detroit leads to lawsuits

Michigan recreational marijuana sales near $6.5 million

Recreational market poised to boom in 2020

Michigan wants Weedmaps to stop advertising for unlicensed marijuana businesses

Michigan not collecting personal information on customers

Industry insider critiques recreational marijuana rollout

Continue reading here:

Detroit dispensaries to battle state over rejected recreational marijuana applications - MLive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. This is the world that the radical left wants for us.

No policing.

Vandalism.

Chaos.

New York City saw it in all its ugliness on Friday. That was the day that protest group Decolonize This Place sparked protests in the city subway system.

The main target of their animus? The NYPD, of course. They want the cops out of the subway. So that the subway can become even more lawless than its already becoming.

The group also wants the $2.75 transit fare eliminated. Not a bad goal. Once you figure out how to pay to keep the subways and buses running. How you pay for increased service. How you pay the workers. Free transit isnt much good if it doesnt actually work.

Were heard a lot of talk about anti-Semitic violence lately. And white supremacists who put fliers up. Racist groups with possible foreign ties. And rightly so. The world doesnt belong to them or their twisted, backward ideologies either.

Lets see the same level of outrage over the havoc that Decolonize and their fellow travelers wreaked in the subway on Friday.

Emergency exits were jammed open. OMNY and swipe fare-collection devices were damaged with superglue (they call that creative sabotage). Graffiti was sprayed on subway walls, including F**k The Police and NYPD KKK and Racist MTA. A large protest banner was unfurled at the Oculus transit hub in Lower Manhattan.

The groups message, seen in a video thats all over Twitter, was simple: The streets are ours. The trains are ours. The walls are ours. They pledged to f**k s**t up.

Social media was full of scenes of disorder and destruction. And hate.

Its like the early 1970s again, when radical groups protested against the government, the military and big business. Even the language sounds the same. Calling police piggies. Dubbing the protest a day of action and a mobilization. Talking about law enforcement repression.

All those old Weather Underground terrorists still with us must be jumping out of their chairs cheering. Whats next? Bombs in post offices?

And who suffers? The commuters. Who have enough trouble dealing with mass transit as it is. Who face hours of delays because a bed bug is found in a subway control tower. These are the very people that these protest groups claim to champion. This is how they treat them?

Protest is their right. Bravo. But dont expect me to applaud, particularly when they link their fare protest to hatred of cops. Or when they damage infrastructure that all of us rely on.

The radical left is coming into its own after more than a decade of momentum. We saw big protests against the Iraq War. We saw Occupy Wall Street in 2011. The Black Lives Matter movement added fuel to fire. The election of Donald Trump turned the flame way up.

And its had an impact. Just look at whos at the top of the field for the Democratic presidential nomination: Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a democratic socialist who calls for nothing less than revolution. Hes says hes against the establishment. Hes against the banks and the health insurance companies. The drug makers. The rich. All the robber barons. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a top Sanders supporter, is even more radical.

Will ordinary Americans embrace the chaos? Do they really want to overthrow the status quo that much? Thats whats on the agenda in this presidential election year.

The protests can also be laid right at the feet of Mayor Bill de Blasio, a onetime supporter of the repressive Sandinistas, and lawmakers who have basically made it a crime for police to arrest offenders, particularly those of color.

Theyve eliminated enforcement of quality-of-life offenses. Theyve closed Rikers Island. Theyve sympathized with anti-police protestors. Theyve done away with bail, putting dangerous criminals back on the streets. Anybody arrested during these transit protests will likely face zero consequences for their actions.

Now were seeing the utopia that the left would build for us, one full of chaos, division and hate. Replacing the old boss with a just-as-repressive new boss.

Not my America.

View original post here:

Chaos and hate at the heart of anti-cop subway protests (opinion) - SILive.com

February is the month of love (or so we hear), which means there are dozens of opportunities to fall for a new show, from the latest adaptation of a classic sci-fi novel to the story of big city strivers to the handsome new visage of Altered Carbon. The A.V. Club has made a bouquet of Februarys premieres to go with your valentines and conversation hearts.

The story of the McDonalds Monopoly game fraud of the 1990swhich saw nearly a decades worth of million-dollar-winning game pieces for the fast food giants annual board game promotion stolen by an inside man, then sold off to a network of accomplicesis one of the strangest in the annals of fast food lore. Now HBO is telling the story of the bizarre scandal that touched pretty much every American who ever held a carton of french fries up to the light, hoping for a bit of divine intervention from Ronald himself. Directed by James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, and produced by Mark Wahlberg, the six-part docuseries lays out the whole strange tale, from the FBI agents who suddenly found themselves investigating multi-million-dollar fast food crime to the participants who accepted the offer of the mysterious Uncle Jerry for a quick and easy path to wealth. [William Hughes]

Theyve Gotta Have Us, the ambitious three-part docuseries from creator, producer, and director Simon Frederick, is as much a retrospective on Black cinema as it is a testament to the latest renaissance in Black art. The series is made up of extensive interviews with multiple generations of Black actors, directors, and creatorslegends like Harry Belafonte and Diahann Carroll, luminaries like John Singleton and Barry Jenkins, and bright new stars like John Boyega and Nathalie Emmanuel. Veteran actors and directors like Debbie Allen and Kasi Lemmons share their setbacks and dreams, while also looking back at big developments in Black cinema, including the rise of Blaxploitation films. Theyve Gotta Have Us combines stories of personal struggle with filmmaking victories years in the making, like Allens road to Amistad. Ava DuVernays Array Releasing is releasing the docuseries, as if it needed any more star power. [Danette Chavez]

The CW continues churning out frothy young adult dramas: On the heels of Nancy Drew and Riverdale comes Katy Keene, Lucy Hales latest attempt at a post-Pretty Little Liars comeback. Fortunately for Hale, Katy Keene is pretty charming, as Katy and her friends pursue their various aspirations in New York: Katys a wannabe designer; her roommate, Jorge, dreams of Broadway; journalist Pepper wants to own a club; and Riverdale vet Josie is still trying for that music career. Also familiar: Archie Comics twin siblings Alexandra and Alexander Cabot as moguls who somehow weave into the lives of Katy and her pals. Yes, the outfits and adorably cluttered apartment belie the incomes these urban twentysomethings would likely have. But when Katy has another work setback, Jorge blows another audition, and Pepper winds up living in her unheated, pre-renovation club loft, theres something stirring about the way these strivers just keep pushing forward. [Gwen Ihnat]

With Indebted, Dan Levy (no, not that one) attempts to spin comedic gold from the healthcare crisis and the sandwich generation. The erstwhile Goldbergs writer gets some help from a great cast, including Adam Pally and Abby Elliott, who play a married couple who find themselves raising their children while also looking after Daves (Pally) suddenly penniless parents, Stew (Steven Weber) and Linda (Fran Drescher). That premise practically demands jokes about the generation gap and cramped-quarters living, which, well note, Grace And Frankie has managed to find in abundant supply. Indebted looks like it owes a lot to other intergenerational comedies like the One Day At A Time reboot and, obviously, The Goldbergs. But Levy recruited Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm alum Andy Ackerman along with an old co-worker, Doug Robinson, to co-produce the sitcom, so Indebted could very well wade into more (intentionally) wince-inducing comedy territory. [Danette Chavez]

Fans of Ross Thompsons 1984 Edgar-winning crime novel, Briarpatch, may want to brace themselvesa lot has changed in its move to the small screen. For starters, the lead character is now a woman: Allegra Dill (Rosario Dawson), to be specific, and while the tough-talking professional is still following the basic contours of the original story (coming back to her odd little hometown of Saint Disgrace, Texas to investigate the murder of her sister), the pulpy crime yarn has received some clever updates thanks to creator Andy Greenwald and executive producer Sam Esmail. Its the first time for Greenwald developing and running a series; he spent most of his career as a pop culture and TV journalist before logging time as a producer on Legion. But the show looks goodthanks both to a talented cast (joining Dawson are reliable presences like Edi Gathegi, Brian Geraghty, and Kim Dickens) and a deliciously over-the-top aesthetic shaped by pilot director Ana Lily Amirpour. [Alex McLevy]

Edie Falco and Paul Attanasio try to put a different, more compassionate face on law enforcement with Tommy. In the CBS drama, Falco stars as the eponymous Tommy (short for Abigail Thomas, because thats how some nicknames work?), a New York expat whos asked to give up good pizza and serviceable public transportation to head up the Los Angeles Police Department. Tommy is the first woman to serve as chief of police, a fact she (and the audience) are regularly reminded ofshe even laments to a subordinate that if she fails at the gig, itll be another 20 years before a woman is given the opportunity. Whats left unsaid in this trailer, except for a vaguely flirtatious glance on an elevator, is the fact that Tommy is also the first queer woman to lead the LAPD. Falco and Tommy showrunner Tom Szentgyorgyi highlighted the importance of LGBTQ+ representation, including hiring queer writers, at the 2020 Television Critics Association winter tour, so theres hope that Tommys queerness will be handled thoughtfully. [Danette Chavez]

After a long, serpentine road to productionincluding a change in medium, from film to TVits finally time to unlock the mysteries of Locke & Key. The series, from Carlton Cuse and Meredith Averill, is based on Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguezs time-leaping, Eisner-winning comic book series. Adaptations were previously in development at Fox and then Hulu before Netflix finally locked in on Cuse and Averills vision. A pilot was even shot for Fox in 2011, but the network decided not to pick it up. In the show, the Locke kidsolder siblings Tyler (Connor Jessup) and Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and moppet Bode (Jackson Robert Scott)move into their ancestral home after their fathers murder, but the healing process is held up by assorted enigmas, including a bunch of keys they both are and arent supposed to use. Like the source material, the series will grapple with grief, the concept of home, and oh yes, lots of demons and spirits. If Cuse and Averill dig into intergenerational trauma, it could be the key to another Haunting Of Hill House-level hit for Netflix. [Danette Chavez]

Much like how Silicon Valley satirized the tech industry by (just barely) ratcheting up the absurdity of what happens behind the scenes of companies like Google and Facebook, Apple TV+s Mythic Quest: Ravens Banquet looks to do the same for video gameseven if it seems a little less ripped from the headlines than the literal blood-sucking CEOs and vicious backstabbing of the HBO show. Executive-produced by Its Always Sunny In Philadelphias Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, the series stars McElhenney as an extremely self-obsessed game designer who doesnt care how many of his employees he steps on if it means creating the ultimate expression of interactive media. Said employees include Danny Pudi, Imani Hakim, Charlotte Nicdao, and David Hornsby. The series is also produced by some executives from real-life game development studio Ubisoft, which adds a bit of authenticity to the wackiness. [Sam Barsanti]

To answer the question thats already formed in your mind, Revry is an app with a focus on LGBTQ+ programming. Its also the home of originals like The Category Is..., an anthology series that documents ballroom culture all over the world. The first season of the series is set in Mexico City, where we get an inside look at the House of Mamis, just one of the houses/found families helping the ballroom scene flourish in CDMX. House mother Mendoza is a trans activist, who spends part of her time looking after her students/children, eager disciples like Negraconda and Ponyboy. This international docuseries, already renewed for season two, will explore discrimination, gender identity, culture, dance, and of course, drag. The charming young cast of The Category Is... Mexico City makes this the perfect complement to FXs Pose, which will be back for a third season in (we hope) 2020. [Danette Chavez]

After Destin Daniel Crettons Just Mercy showed moviegoers the resilience of people unfairly caught up in the criminal justice system, ABCs For Life aims to give the wrongfully convicted a voice once more. The drama, from Hank Steinberg (The Last Ship), is co-executive-produced by Curtis 50 Cent Jackson, and stars Top Boys Nicholas Pinnock as Aaron, a man railroaded by a district attorney and sentenced to life in prison. For Life is also inspired by a real-life story, that of Isaac Wright Jr., who was wrongfully accused and convicted of drug crimes in 1991. Like Wright Jr., Aaron earns his law degree and gets to work trying to free other innocent men, despite (or perhaps because of) his own bleak plight. The series also stars Joy Bryant as Marie, Aarons wife whos left to pick up the pieces after his trial, and Indira Varma, whos traded the kookiness of Carnival Row for more austere surroundings. [Danette Chavez]

Hulus High Fidelity takes the 2000 movie starring John Cusack (based on Nick Hornbys 1995 novel) and shifts the locale from Chicago to Brooklyn, the protagonist from male to female. Zo Kravitzwhose mom, Lisa Bonet, appeared in the originalsteps into the role of the unlucky in love record store owner, who mainly hangs out with her two employees (the appealing David H. Holmes and DaVine Joy Randolph). Send-ups of original scenes, just with the genders reversed or a new song inserted, blur the line between reboot and remake, but when High Fidelity veers from the original, it kicks into high gear. Kravitz, so woefully underused in Big Little Lies, makes for a compelling, flawed heroine (just like Cusack, actually). [Gwen Ihnat]

Hoping to do for television what The Celluloid Closet did for film, Visible uses its five-part docuseries to study the history of LGBTQ+ representation on TV, tracing the arc of historical depictions through the decades up to the present. But whereas Closet couldnt help but end up a little facile given its brief runtime, this deeper dive into the small screen should reward viewers with a more robust and penetrating look at what TV did (and all too often didnt) do to represent the full scope of sexuality in American life. Featuring interviews with everyone from Rob Reiner to Lena Waithe, Visible looks to do justice to the breadth and depth of its subject matter, from All In The Familys famous portrayal of a gay man, to the cultural earthquake generated by Ellen DeGeneres coming out, to modern-day depictions of trans characters like Supergirls Nia Nal. Its a searching portrait of progress madeand the roadblocks yet to be overcome. [Alex McLevy]

Welcome to New Babyl, the last remaining bastion of the society we know. Utopia Falls drops audiences hundreds of years into the future, where 24 teenage contestants compete in an annual music competition, The Exemplar. While others may see this as a chance to be jettisoned into certain fame, Aliyah (Robyn Alomar) will discover a long lost culture called hip-hop, which will guide her through unmatched lessons of freedom and cause her to question and rightfully challenge the world shes always known. With music from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Notorious B.I.G., The Roots, and the voice of Snoop Dogg, this Afro-futuristic Hulu original aims to center the enduring legacy of a genre that was founded on activism, politics, and a communitys demand to have their voices heard. Like the spirit of the music it canonizes, Utopia Falls aims to spark change and speak truth to unequivocal power. [Shannon Miller]

Were not sure any adaptation of H.G. Wells The War Of The Worlds can top Orson Welles radio broadcast in terms of sheer notoriety, but this Fox/Canal+ production wants to give other iterations, including Steven Spielbergs 2005 film, a run for their money. Starring Gabriel Byrne and Elizabeth McGovern, War Of The Worlds takes place in the aftermath of first contact with an extraterrestrial species, which proves disastrous for humanitythe population is decimated, and survivors are left to figure out why these alien spaceships didnt come in peace. The series premiered in France last fall, and Epix is bringing it Stateside. This trailer for the eight-episode series features the kind of ravaged landscape and ragtag bands of people that are all over post-apocalyptic shows like The Walking Dead. Itll be interesting to see if this War Of The Worlds picks up on the Victorian novels critique of imperialism or if itll bungle the invasion metaphor. [Danette Chavez]

Expectations are high for any new animated series on Fox: For every new hit like Bobs Burgers, theres a dozen Allen Gregorys or Son Of Zorns that just didnt make it. Duncanville has a few things those shows didnt have, though, specifically Amy Poehler and Mike and Julie Scully, who all have years and years of good TV comedy under their belts thanks to their respective work on Parks And Recreation and The Simpsons. The series stars Poehler as a teenager named Duncan who is always getting into wacky trouble, as well as his cheery mother, Annie, and though it looks like itll hit a lot of the familiar sitcom beats as some other shows in Foxs Animation Domination canon, the gag in this trailer of there being an actual murderer hiding in the backseat of a car is a nicely dark and playful joke that hints at something a little more clever. [Sam Barsanti]

Few actors on the planet have a better grasp on playing bull-headed, semi-psychotic buffoons than Matt Berry, who transplants his tried-and-true tendency to shout, FuuuUUuuck! and then hit a guyso familiar to fans of shows like Toast Of London and What We Do In The Shadowsto Victorian England for this IFC import. Created by former Veep writers Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil, the series (which originally aired last year on the U.K.s Channel 4) co-stars Freddie Fox and Susan Wokoma as junior detectives to Berrys drunken, seen-it-all superior officer, who cheerfully blunders his way from crime scene to crime scene while imparting such wisdom as Dont call the bodies of murder victims beautiful; it comes off as kind of weird. [William Hughes]

Amazon gets into the Nazi-busting business with the Jordan Peele-produced action thriller Hunters. Hunters follows a motley crew of Nazi hunters in 1970s New York who have discovered that hundreds of Nazis are living in the U.S. and conspiring to create a Fourth Reich. Led by Al Pacino, fresh off of his first Oscar nomination in 27 years, and Logan Lerman, whose Jonah serves as our entry point into this world, the Hunters have made it their bloody mission to track down those remaining Nazis. The trailer, set to Talking Heads Psycho Killer, forecasts familiar thematic beats from stories involving vigilantism, namely the morality of revenge and taking justice into ones own handsJerrika Hintons Agent Morris, in particular, seems to contrast the chaotic-good energy of the Hunters with lawful-good energy of her own. But its also sure to make clear where the show stands: Revenge. Is. Righteous. [Baraka Kaseko]

Like Starzs Vida, Netflixs Gentefied will take a closer look at the flip side of aspirations, uncovering the costs to individuals and communities in pursuit of the American dream. This single-cam dramedy comes from Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chvez, who have adapted their 2017 webseries of the same name. Executive-produced by America Ferrera, Gentefied follows three Mexican American cousins trying to keep their families together and businesses afloat in Boyle Heights, a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in Los Angeles. The twist? The displaced and the displacers share the same culture and multiple languages, adding another layer to the usual tales of gentrification. Gentefied is poised to serve up biting comedy and heartwarming moments in equal measure (sometimes cabrona is a term of endearment), while also offering up some important historical context in these fact-lite timesas a character reminds us in the trailer, Mexicans and Mexican Americans have been here, fool. [Danette Chavez]

Netflix adds yet another coming of age story to its growing catalogthis time from The End Of The F***ing World director Jonathan Entwistle and the producers of Stranger Things. Based on Charles Forsmans graphic novel series, I Am Not Okay With This follows Sydney (portrayed by Its Sophia Lillis), a teenager navigating the ups and downs of high school while dealing with her budding sexuality, grieving family, and newly discovered superpower. The seven-episode series will also feature Lillis It co-star Wyatt Oleff, Sofia Bryant, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Aidan Wojtak-Hissong, and Richard Ellis. The origin story appears to combine the charm and awkwardness of Sex Education with the supernatural flair of Stranger Things. [Angelica Cataldo]

It may seem odd to find Netflixs cyberpunk murder mystery on this list, what with season one having aired over two years ago, making it a strange return indeed. But creator Laeta Kalogridis show is getting a facelift: The lead role of reborn mercenary turned revolutionary turned private eye Takeshi Kovacs has passed from Joel Kinnaman to Anthony Mackie. For those who skipped the uneven but visually hypnotizing first season (reportedly the most expensive first season of TV ever made), the basic premise is both simple and dizzyingly complicated: Hundreds of years in the future, humanity has the ability to upload our consciousnesses into new bodies called sleeves, creating the potential for eternal life of sortsbut as is nearly always the case, the rich control most everything. Netflix hasnt released any footage yet, but given the long delay between seasons, theres a good chance viewers will be able to tune in as though it were a new series altogethernew Kovacs, new show. [Alex McLevy]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine,season seven; The Sinner, season three (2/6); High Maintenance, season four (2/7); Homeland, season eight (2/9); Survivor, season 40 (2/12); Outlander, season five (2/16); Star Wars: The Clone Wars,season seven (2/21); Better Call Saul, season five (2/23); RuPauls Drag Race, season 12 (2/28)

See the rest here:

Locke & Key, High Fidelity, and 18 other new shows to watch this February - The A.V. Club

M Huncho is a masked enigma.

Since his first tape, Get Out, in 2017, he has been carving his self-named trap wave lane in the scene.

But where he really put his stamp down, was with his 48 Hours project, where he locked himself away in the studio for 48 hours and came up with pure magic.

This led to him signing his deal with Island Records and his label debut, Utopia, where he aimed to create his own perfect world of trap music and this was achieved with mercurial ease.

Last week Friday saw him introduce us to Huncholini the 1st with the release of his fourth mixtape of the same name; ushering in a new alias and a new era in British music.

I was lucky enough to catch up with the masked one at the Island house this week to discuss his early music memories, what his own utopia would be and his hopes for his latest project read all about it below!

48 Hours is one of my favourite projects in general what is your favourite memory from creating that tape?

My favourite memory from that time was being in the studio for those two days, seeing everyone slumped and people coming in, leaving the studio, it was just a mad couple of days, those 48 hours were crazy. I even managed to go to my house, take a shower and come back again to record more music, the whole experience was memorable.

Utopia was the next mixtape that one banged as well so if you could create your own utopia what three things would need to be included?

Firstly, you need people that are driven around you. Second thing is fairness, because a lot of things are unfair in our current society and the last one would be for fathers to be in the lives of their children.

The latest project Huncholini the 1st just came out, what are your hopes for it?

I want to go on tour and perform the songs; I want to go outside of Europe and do some shows out in North America. In terms of the tape, chart position and all of that, I dont really care about, if it happens naturally it happens, but Im not really too fussed. Im just happy to release music at a period where the UK scene is booming and everyone is releasing quality music.

Quick Fire Five

M Huncho or Huncholini the 1st?

Huncholini the 1st or just Huncholini, I prefer that word, it just rolls off the tongue better. No one has a similar name to it. Its as unique as a name can be.

Masked or Unmasked?

Both ways. Im comfortable with the mask on or off. Im just a comfortable guy. No one knows who I am and I take it off anyway, so I have to be comfortable!

48 Hours or Utopia?

I cant tell you. I actually cant answer that one. Music is the type of thing where you attach memories to every tape and song; so I cant really choose one. Plus Huncholini the 1st is fresh to the publics ears right now, so I would not be able to answer that, maybe ask me this again at the end of my career.

Between two superpowers: constant positive growth or being able to see peoples true colours?

Thats a good one; Ill go for positive growth because everyones got something in their personality that theyve hidden away, so Id rather face that challenge myself and positive growth doesnt happen with everyone, so Id choose that, 100%.

Feature on your next project: Beyonc or Snoh Aalegra?

Beyonc, Obviously. Our Drunk in Love remix would be a madness. I also feel that there are a lot of things I could learn from her, thats the main thing;Beyonc has experience and that experience can be shared with me!

Follow the artists journey:M Huncho

Interview byDenzil Bell

Read this article:

Exclusive Interview: M Huncho Beyonc, Obviously. Our 'Drunk in Love' remix would be a madness - RWD Online

Marie BrownhillGame Industry News is running the best blog posts from people writing about the game industry. Articles here may originally appear on Marie's blog, Fan Collective Unimatrix 47.

With the second episode of Picard airing tonight, after this column goes live, I want to take the opportunity to explore one of the main themes with which the new show seems to want to wrestle. In the world of Picard, the utopian ideal of the Federation has begun to fracture. We know this from both Children of Mars and Remembrance. From the visual cues in Children of Mars that suggest the beginnings of class differences to Picards deeply held conviction that Starfleet has lost its sense of honor in the wake of the attack by the so-called synthetics, the Federation in Picard feels very different from the Federation we came to know through The Next Generation. However, looking a bit deeper into the representation of the Federation, we can see the very beginnings of these fractures.

Section 31, of course, serves as the easiest example of how the vision of the Federation differs from the actual practice. In Deep Space Nine, Section 31 holds itself out as an organization that exists so that Starfleet will not have to sully itself with some of the darker things that allegedly must happen. After all, Section 31 developed a morphogenic virus specifically tailored to destroying the Changelings and infected Odo with same three years before hostilities actually broke out between the Dominion and the Federation. Section 31 developed Control, which wreaked such havoc in Discoverys second season, and the organization also emerges as a plot driver in both Enterprise and Star Trek: Into Darkness, always serving as an antagonist to the honor of Starfleet, Ash Tylers belief in the organization notwithstanding. Again and again, the organization justifies its existence by pleading necessity. Section 31 does those things which the Federation cannot overtly acknowledge. The episodes in question imply heavily that Section 31 will continue, and indeed, the operatives seem to be just as dedicated to their cause as their Starfleet brethren. The continued existence of the organization after its repeated discovery heavily implies that the Federations utopian ideal is not enough. Simply living by the principles it espouses, is not enough to ensure the Federations interests are best served. Ira Steven Behr deliberately created Section 31 for precisely this reason, and I sometimes think we overlook just how radically that idea changes the concept of the Federation. Unfortunately, I would argue that Deep Space Nine fails to go far enough in exploring this idea because the episode resolutions tie up certain loose ends but leave others floundering.

Beyond Section 31, however, we see some cracks in the utopia already manifesting in The Next Generation. In The High Ground, Finn argues to Picard that the Federation has become involved with the planets civil upheaval by doing business with and supporting the majority government. He contends that kidnapping Dr. Crusher is merely a way of forcing the Federation to acknowledge that involvement, and for better or worse, he is correct. His observation that the Federation simply doesnt want to get its hands dirty is spot on. In Homeward, Picards adherence to the Prime Directive nearly results in the destruction of an entire species, which in light of the general spirit of Starfleet, comes across as unnecessarily cruel. Even beyond these examples, the existence of the Maquis is an indictment of the Federation as utopia as are the episodes in which the Federation wishes to strip Data of person-hood for its own scientific gain.

Going back even earlier in franchise history, the TOS episode A Private Little War reflects a proxy war between the Federation and the Klingon empire, in which both groups provide weapons to opposing pre-industrial tribes. Certainly, neither Kirk nor McCoy want to engage in this activity, but as representatives of the Federation, they do so, resulting in what could be a never-ending escalation conflict between the Hill Tribe and their enemies. In A Piece of the Action, a chance loss of a work of gangster fiction creates a society based on violence and avarice. Upon discovering the issue, Kirk establishes Sigma Iotia II as a client state for the Federation, and while he believes the Federation will guide the Iotians toward a more ethical society, Spock remains skeptical. In Patterns of Force, Federation involvement results in near-catastrophic violence and a literal fascist regime. The episodes message is that absolute power corrupts absolutely and plays the issue off as John Gills solitary decision to disobey the Prime Directive. However, Gill, so deeply inculcated in Federation ideals that he taught James Kirk, seizes on efficiency as the highest societal virtue. Therein lies a hint of some of the themes that we see in Section 31.

Lastly, Voyager brings up some fantastic and highly relevant points with respect to the Doctors person-hood and by extension the use of certain types of holographic entities. Author, Author starts off as a riff on the Doctors novel and a discussion of the Doctor as a sentient being, but the episode concludes with a look at a Federation mining colony in which the EMH Mark Is are being used as slave labor. The implication in the episodes last minutes is that the Doctors holonovel could encourage these holographic laborers to protest their treatment. After having extended the definition of artist to include the Doctor, one wonders how the Federation can justify relegating similar programs to servitude. I truly wish Voyager had been able to build on this concept, and I still hope to see the definition of synth in Picard to expand to include these programs.

When examined closely, the Federation is an ideal, but the reality is often quite different. I am so excited for Picard in part because I would like to see this new iteration of Star Trek grapple with the failure of the Federation to live up to its espoused ideals. A franchise installment largely concerned with the Federations dark side is frankly well overdue, and while I realize that there will be an entire series devoted to Section 31, Picard is best situated to contend with these failures because through Picards bitterness and frustration, we as the audience get a chance to see not an organization justifying its necessity or struggling to determine how best to move in the grey areas of life but rather a real indictment of the Federations failure. I dont see this as a betrayal of Roddenberrys vision because I do think we will see the overall Federation ideals cooperation, morality, collective action, and scientific endeavor represented. I just hope to see a bit of the struggle. As Picard observes in The Drumhead, maintaining an ideal society requires constant vigilance and effort, and I hope that going forward, well see that effort manifested.

Stray Thoughts From the Couch:

Original post:

Section 31, Servitude, and Control: The Dark Side of the Federation's Utopia - GameIndustry.com

It can be annoying to run out of smartphone battery power and even more irritating to find someone with a charging cable in the nick of time, only to discoverit's not compatible with your device.

A solution may be coming from an unlikely source: the European Union.

EU lawmakers agreed this week to forge ahead with a plan to pushdevice manufacturers namelyApple to all use the same, standard chargerfor their devices.

In Europe, it could spell the end of the iPhone's signature Lightning cable. And despite protests from Apple, the decision may force the tech giant to adopt a universal charging cable for users around the world.

Aiming to cut down on electronic waste, European officials have been asking cellphone makers to agree on a common charging cable for more than a decade. In 2011, they even put out a video showing several people eating from the same spoon to illustrate how "life is easy when one solution satisfies all."

WATCH| The European adpromoting a standardized charger for all smartphones.

While most new devices now use the same type of USB connector, Apple products remain the major outliers, with iPhones and most iPads still charging and transferring data through the company's proprietary Lightning port.

As early as 2009, major cellphone manufacturers agreed to harmonizetheir chargers and adopt the Micro-USB standard. Apple found a workaround, though: it sold adapters and ultimately kept its own, separate type of connector.

On Thursday, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted overwhelmingly (582-40) to finally get a handle on this problem, and soon. They ordered the EU Commission, the executive branch, to take action by July and "introduce the common charger without any further delay."

Polish MEP Roza Thun said they expect a proposal to establish a standard common charger for smartphones, digital cameras, e-book readers and tablets and similar devices within the next six months.

The resolution doesn't mention what type of charger should be adopted, but the USB-C standard is now the most common among newer devices.

The European legislators say it will make a big difference in reducing electronic waste. Their resolution notes "around 50 million metric tons of e-waste is generated globally per year, with an average of more than 6 kg per person."

It says a growing number of people own more than one device and that the electronics tend not to last for very long.

"These trends lead to the production of additional e-waste, including chargers," the resolution reads.

The MEPs' goal is to cut down on the number of different chargers that users need to buy and which ultimately end up in a landfill.

"We are drowning in an ocean of plastics, cables, chargers and other electronic waste," Thun said.

Apple, though, says making users throw out their Lightning cables will actually create additional garbage and irk customers.

If Apple is forced to comply with European standards by installing a universal connector eliminating its Lightning port it's unlikely the Silicon Valley behemoth would create Europe-specific iPhone and iPad models. In other words, such a major redesign would probably be rolled out across new Apple devices around the world.

Jean Philippe Bouchard, a vice-president at the communications and technologyanalysis firm IDC Canada, said Apple is "not the type of hardware manufacturer that will design a specific device just for a market." He noted several slight variations of the iPhone exist for different countries, but mainly to adjust for locally used frequency bands.

German MEP Andreas Schwab suggested European lawmakers were to thank for reducingthe number chargers "from 30 to only 3" since 2009.

USB-C is nowthe most commontype of charger for new smartphones. Recent Samsung, Google, Motorola, Huawei, HTC and LG models all have it. USB-C generally ensures faster charging and data transfers than older types of USB connectors. It's also reversible, meaning a user isless likely to damage a device by trying to jam in the connector the wrong way.

Micro-USB connectors may be older and slower, but they're still used in lower-end models on the market.

Apple's proprietaryLightning cable remains highly popular due to the sheer volume of iPhones on the market. Apple no longer publicly discloses how many it sells, butin 2018 the company said it had shipped some twobillion mobile devices to date.

Apple has pushed back against standardizing connectors, saying the change would create more waste and that eliminating the Lightning cable isn't necessary.

"We believe regulation that forces conformity across the type of connector built into all smartphones stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, and would harm consumers in Europe and the economy as a whole," Apple said in a statement earlier in January.

The company commissioned a study by the Copenhagen Economics research firm, which showed "consumer harm" the cost to consumers from a regulatory-mandated move to a common charger would cost at least 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion), and that environmental benefits would total less than 10 per cent of that amount.

Stuart Robinson, the U.K.-based director of the handset component technologies service at Strategy Analytics, said Apple's resistance to change is likely due to the profit it makes from producing and selling its own accessories.

"They add a huge markup for chargers that can only be used for their devices," he said.

But, for the sake of the environment, he said, they really ought to get on boardwith a standard connector.

Wireless charging may yet prove to be a longer-term solution, but only if all smartphone makers can get behind a single standard, meaning one kind of charger could be used for various phones.

Manufacturers are already moving in that direction. Unlike charging cables, some wireless chargers can handle newer Apple, Samsung and LG phones, among others.

Some chargers even come with a bonus feature: the ability to charge a phone, wireless earbuds and smartwatch, all at the same time.

The newer type of chargers remains less common, though, and Robinson noted they still aren't widely available in cafes and airports.

"Wireless charging," he said, "still is not utopia."

Read the original:

A charger that works in all new smartphones? EU pushes Apple to use same technology as rivals - CBC.ca

No one can claim that US president Donald Trump lacks empathy for at least some of the downtrodden.Interviewedby CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump responded to a question about Elon Musk. Given all that Musk has been through in recent times, Trump acknowledges that the poor fellow deserves the pity his fellow billionaires. After all, Musk has been denigrated by multiple critics in the past 18 months, even, on occasion,excoriatedin the Daily Devils Dictionary. As Teslas CEO, he has been under regulatory scrutiny after the Security Exchange Commission accused him of fraud for attempting to manipulate share prices.

Conscience of the injustice done to Musk due simply to his sometimes unorthodox business practices, Trump praised the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, the Boring Company andNeuralinkbecause he likes rockets and he does good at rockets too. Trump then added this pertinent comment: I was worried about him, because hes one of our great geniuses, and we have to protect our genius. You know, we have to protect Thomas Edison, and we have to protect all of these people that came up with, originally, the lightbulb, and the wheel and all of these things.

Here is todays 3D definition:

Protect:

Enshrine the already successful and extremely wealthy, granting them the status of unassailable icons to ensure their limitless prosperity and deflect any criticism of their methods or actions.

Describing Trumps CNBC interview, The New York Times dryly and indulgentlyexplainsthat President Trump reflected the enthusiasm that many investors have for Mr. Musk, comparing him to Thomas Edison and describing him as one of our great geniuses. In the same article, The Times provides an evaluation of Musks fortune. We learn that Forbes and Bloomberg estimate Mr. Musks current net worth at about $32 billion before being reminded that, according to the exceptional compensation deal recently voted by the Tesla board of directions, Mr. Musk could receive up to $55 billion in compensation.

As Trump insists, Musk is in dire need of the governments and societys protection. He fears that people like Musk are may be left by the wayside. We want to cherish those people, he told his CNBC interviewer. Musk and others like him need to be encouraged in their noble quest to add to the billions they already possess. Otherwise, unloved and insufficiently pampered, they might choose to crawl back into their shells and deprive humanity of the searing light of their genius.

From Trumps Davos interview, most commentators have highlighted the presidents apparent belief that the wheel is an American invention. Some, like the Huffington Post, have taken the trouble to point out that the wheel wasinventedsome 5,500 years ago in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. Two hypotheses may account for Trumps attribution. The first is that, as the US continues to occupy Iraq against the Iraqi governments own wishes, Trump may consider it licit to claim the industrial property rights on Iraqs inventions as repayment for the burdensome cost of sending an army in to massacre its people and spread chaos throughout the region.

The second seems more credible. Trump, like any 10-year-old schoolboy, knows that the invention of the wheel was a prehistoric accomplishment and couldnt have been invented in America. But the wheel Trump was referencing isnt the one you find on vehicles. Its the Wheel of Fortune, the popularTV showoften simply called Wheel. It has been running since 1975 and is now a fixture of US consumer culture. It was invented by another billionaire, TV game show creator and host, Merv Griffin.

This reference to television should have been obvious since in the same interview Trump revealed his understanding of what he sees essentially as a two-class system in the US. At the top, we find the billionaires, like Trump and Musk,stable geniuseswho are abused not only by villainous critics jealous of their success but also the media. They are crying out for protection. At the bottom subsists a vast class called consumers, represented, in Trumps mind, by an individual he refers to as the consumer. In the interview Trump made this clear when he announced this basic truth: The consumer has never been so rich We have a consumer that has never done so well.

This vision of society is extremely coherent. Listening to the full 19-minute interview makes Trumps vision extremely clear. On one side, you have the billionaires who serve three essential purposes in society, besides earning excessive fortunes for themselves. They create jobs for the hapless but rich consumers; through the products they invent and control, they secure valuable industrial property rights that should not be stolen by other nations; and they create a vast array of goods the consumer class will buy to affirm its status as citizen consumers of the capitalist republic.

As Trump tells it, the consumer is now basking in the glory afforded by the wealth shared by the entire consumer class. Consumers are so well-off these days that an impressive proportion of them can now afford to consume luxury products such as the opioids they are increasingly addicted to. Diabetics find it a bit more difficult to procureinsulin, but Trump intends to address that problem in his second term.

In the meantime, billionaires add billions to their already impressive fortunes, protected by the government and its bloated military, whose essentially purpose is to guarantee their unfettered access to the worlds resources. And thanks to their fortunes, they also provide jobs and a growing catalogue of shiny, well-packaged products to consume in an increasingly deregulated economy that Trump promises will be even more prosperous as soon asthe Fed gets around to implementing negative interest rates.

Such is Trumps vision of the US economy and society three years after taking office. On the same day as the interview, Trumps Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin grappled with 17-year-old Greta Thunberg at Davos, informing her that he will listen to her musings only after she goes and studies economics in college. He might have said, more fittingly, the same thing to Trump after listening to Trumps Davos interview. But of course Trump did study economics at Wharton.

Some think that when Thunberg graduates high school, she might be better off studying a subject less prone to pure hyperreal fantasy thaneconomics.

Half of humanity or rather half of the human oligarchy that runs the economy believes in the hyperreal success story of Elon Musk. Apparently, another half sees it in a different light, as a manifestation of hyperreality, a bit of inflated fiction that seduces the media who, in turn, use it to trigger the adulation of broad swathes of the public.

A recentarticle in Forbessums up the dispute about believing in Musk and cherishing his contribution. Its author, Amiyatosh Purnanandam, writes: Elon Musk thinks Tesla will change the world. Short-seller Jim Chanos believes it is a worthless enterprise. One of them has to be wrong, and the wrong one will lose a fortune. On the subject of Musks eventual astronomic payout of $50 billion, The New York Times quotes Bob Sloan, the founder of financial services firm S3 Partners: The amount is just telling you that the soap opera continues.

The story of Musks rise to the level of cultural icon over the past 10 years brings together all the ingredients required for the production of unadulterated hyperreality: his flogging of futuristic technology, the mountains of venture capital, Musks provocative personality, his unbounded appetite for practically any wild idea derived from science fiction that he can convince other people to fund and, concerning Tesla alone, the entire myth built around a largely unsubstantial promise by which the company claims to be about improving the world and saving humanity from the recognized threat of global warming.

This is what we are asked to believe: Rich people driving expensive cars will usher in a new utopia thanks to electric vehicles destined to solve the climate crisis by demonstrating that humanity (starting at a certain level of income or net worth) no longer depend on fossil fuel.

And if all those future self-driving electric cars dont end up solving the climate crisis, Musk will provide the rockets that will enable humanity to move to Mars. He is already blanketing the Earths atmosphere with tens of thousands of satellitesastronomerson earth are complaining will hamper their ability to observe the universe. But, as Trump says, Musk is good at rockets and wants to use the satellites to position himself as the worlds number one internet access provider. This may incite the astronomers to be the first to book passage on a SpaceX rocket, if only to set up business on Mars, where they will be able to observe the universe unencumbered.

All this illustrates a deeper problem in society as a whole. As with climate change, human civilization finds itself at a historical turning point, in which the stakes have become survival or extinction. In this context, the success or failure of Tesla and SpaceX will serve as a metaphor for the fate of the planet and its inhabitants. Some think the planet and its economy will thrive, others see it coursing toward extinction. Both of Musks favorite solutions the electric car and rockets that will permit the colonization of Mars skirt the real questions humanity is dealing with.

Tesla and SpaceX are modern enterprises focused not on achieving some generous goal, but on establishing a monopolistic position through the uniqueness of their offer with the goal of gaining a captive market that will translate into maximum profit. In other words, the future of humanity when things are left in the hands of people like Trump and Musk turns out to be an exaggeration of the worst trends of the recent past. Its about a small group of people controlling simultaneously the worlds resources and the principle levers of the human economy or whats left of that economy before those who can afford it will need to book their SpaceX rocket ticket to Mars.

Peter Isackson

This article was originally published in Fair Observer

Stay updated with all the insights.Navigate news, 1 email day.Subscribe to Qrius

See the rest here:

Trump, Musk and Reinventing the Wheel - Qrius