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☆ Opinion: Is the US on the brink of another civil war?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Opinion Bruce Hoffman | Jacob Ware | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The most dismal assessment, though, is that of Canadian journalist Stephen Marche who, in his 2022 book, The Next Civil War: Dispatches form the American Future, contends that a new American civil war is inevitable. Remember that the United States leads the world — by far — in the number of firearms in private hands. There are an estimated 393 million privately held firearms in the United States — more than one gun per person. In fact, there are more civilian-held guns in the United States than the other top 25 countries in the world combined. Indeed, more guns were purchased in the United States in 2020 — nearly 23 million — than any other year on record.

Persons: Bruce Hoffman, Jacob Ware, Donald Trump, Biden, … ” Bruce Hoffman Michael Lionstar, Barbara F, Walter, ” Jacob Ware Jacob Ware Accelerationism, Barack Obama, Steven Simon, Jonathan Stevenson, “, ”, Stephen Marche, —, Simon, Stevenson, Bois —, Timothy McVeigh, Richard Haass, ” Haass, ” Robert Miles Organizations: of Foreign Relations, Georgetown University, DeSales University, . Press, CNN, Department of Homeland Security, Oklahoma City, National Security, University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy, Washington Post, University of Maryland, “, Capitol, ”, Survey, Foreign, Irish Republican Army, IRA Locations: America ”, Columbia, Texas, Western, America, Northern Ireland, United States, Switzerland, Northern, Ireland

The credible data that exists on crimes motivated by conspiracy theories shows a disturbing increase. Many of those charged said they had bought into Trump’s conspiracy theories about a stolen election. “Lies, lies lies: They're lying to you over and over and over again,” said Steve Girard, a Pennsylvania man who has protested the incarceration of Jan. 6 defendants. While they may have taken on a bigger role in our politics, surveys show that belief in conspiracy theories hasn't changed much over the years, according to Joe Uscinski, a University of Miami professor and an expert on the history of conspiracy theories. Russia has amplified numerous anti-U.S. conspiracy theories, including ones claiming the U.S. runs secret germ warfare labs and created HIV as a bioweapon, as well as conspiracy theories accusing Ukraine of being a Nazi state.

Persons: ”, Nash, Melissa Sell, Sell, Elon Musk, There's, Evan Hansen, Wired.com, Musk, It’s, ” Hansen, Donald Trump, Trump, Mark Milley, Milley, Laws, Vince Lynch, Lynch, Danielle Citron, Sandy, —, Alex Jones, Sandy Hook, Hillary Clinton, chemtrails, “, hospitalizations, Robert Palmer, they're, Steve Girard, Jan, hasn't, Joe Uscinski, ” Uscinski, “ Jan, Tom Fishman Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S ., United, Big Tech, Meta, Facebook, titans, Army, University of Maryland’s National Consortium, University of Virginia School of Law, Sandy Hook Elementary, CNN, FBI, Capitol, The Associated Press, Trump, University of Miami, Twitter, United States, U.S, . Locations: Maui, Chile, America, United States, Pennsylvania, U.S, Israel, Newtown , Connecticut, Florida, California, Wisconsin, Washington, Russia, China, Iran, Ukraine, Nazi

The extension of Black Friday sales and growing strength of other shopping events (hello Cyber Monday ) is also changing what holiday spending looks like today. The term “Black Friday” is several generations old, but it wasn't always associated with the holiday retail frenzy that we know today. In 2003, e-commerce accounted for just 1.7% of total retail sales in the fourth quarter, per the U.S. Commerce Department. BLACK FRIDAY 'MONTH’ AND THE RISE OF CYBER MONDAYIt's no secret that Black Friday sales don't last 24 hours anymore. Offering early deals for holiday sales helps extend that window.

Persons: wasn't, Jie Zhang, Harvey Sanders, University of Maryland’s Robert H, Jay Zagorsky, Zagorsky, I’m, Zhang, it’s, ” Organizations: National Retail Federation, Army, Navy, Associated Press, Retail Management, University of Maryland’s, Smith School of Business, COVID, Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, U.S . Commerce Department, Commerce Department, Small, National Retail, Adobe Analytics Locations: Philadelphia, York

☆ IBM to pause ad spending on X after its ads ran on pro-Nazi accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Liam Reilly | Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —IBM on Thursday announced it had suspended advertising on Elon Musk’s X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after an ad for the computing giant appeared alongside pro-Nazi content. The accounts remained active on X Thursday afternoon, hours after the report was published. No brands had specifically targeted the pro-Nazi accounts identified in Thursday’s report for their advertisements, nor did the company intentionally place their ads there, the spokesperson said. Full stop.”IBM is not the first company to part ways with X after its ad appeared next to hateful content. Musk’s X has also come under fire for reinstating the accounts of users who were previously banned on the social media platform, including far-right and neo-Nazi figures.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, ”, NBCUniversal’s Bravo, Adolf Hitler, Linda Yaccarino, NCTA, Yaccarino, Musk, Jonathan Greenblatt, ” Greenblatt, Musk’s, –, Brian Fung Organizations: New, New York CNN, IBM, Elon, Media, IBM —, Apple, Oracle, Comcast, NBCU, CNN, and Television Association, Gilead Sciences, Adobe, Adobe , New York University Langone Hospital, University of Maryland’s, Whites, Defamation League Locations: New York, Nazi, Adobe ,, America

☆ U.S. political violence driven by new breed of ‘grab-bag’ extremists
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +25 min

The incidents involve violence emanating from across the political spectrum, including dozens of cases of substantial property damage by leftists at political demonstrations. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, didn’t respond to questions from Reuters about the former president’s remarks and the impact of his rhetoric. But those who study extremism say psychiatric problems alone rarely induce political violence. “How could I take care of a brother in arms if I couldn’t even take care of myself?” Aldrich told the court. In the summer of 2022, Aldrich told the group he wanted to build a website to “promote freedom of speech,” Arroyo said.

Persons: Anderson Lee Aldrich, ” Gilbert Arroyo, Aldrich, Arroyo, ” Arroyo, “, ” Aldrich, Ted Kaczynski, ”, Brian Hughes, Donald Trump, Michael Jensen, Trump, Mark Milley, Steven Cheung, Milley, Rory Banks, Banks, Jacob Ware, Jensen, Stephanie Clark, Ashley Paugh, Barack Obama wasn’t, Republican Sen, Ted Cruz, John F, Kennedy, Matt Kriner, Troy Burke, Elwell, Burke, Jessica, Joe Biden, Sarah Huyser, John D, Cohen, Nathan Allen, Allen, Terence Delehanty, Audrey Mazzola, Allen texted Mazzola, Mazzola, Ramona Cooper, David Green, Green, “ Saint Nathan Allen, Aaron Brink, Brink, Aldrich’s, Laura Voepel, Carrie Thompson, Voepel, John Redgrave, Discord’s, ” Redgrave, “ Andy, ” Luke Simpson, Jonathan, Pamela Pullen, didn’t, Nick Brooks, Brooks, Pepe, Blacks, Simpson, ” Simpson, Michael Bowman, Joseph Archambault, Aldrich texted, Ned Parker, Peter Eisler, Joseph Tanfani, John Emerson, Paulo Prada Organizations: Reuters, Q, American University, Washington , D.C, ” Reuters, U.S, Capitol, Jan, Trump, University of Maryland’s, U.S . Joint Chiefs of Staff, ., Council, Foreign Relations, Republican, Middlebury College’s Center, Terrorism, Counterterrorism, Public Religion Research Institute, REUTERS, Central Intelligence Agency, U.S . Constitution, Department of Homeland Security, Facebook, ” Winthrop Police, Smith, Wesson, Air Force, SWAT, Prosecutors Locations: Colorado, Colorado Springs, Washington ,, United States, Nevada, Wheaton , California, Washington, Maryland, Vietnam, Mexico, mainstreaming, Monterey , California, Michigan, Gratiot County, U.S ., Winthrop , Massachusetts, California, Texas, San Diego, Ohio, Illinois, Australia, Florida, Buffalo , New York

New York CNN —At least two brands have said they will suspend advertising on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after their ads and those of other companies were run on an account promoting fascism. Spokespeople for NCTA and pharmaceutical company Gilead said that they immediately paused their ad spending on X after CNN flagged their ads on the pro-Nazi account. Hours after the Media Matters report was published Wednesday morning and CNN observed additional brands’ ads running on the account, the account appeared to be suspended. “Media Matters and other observers have documented how X has remained a dangerous cesspool of content, especially for advertisers,” Wednesday’s report states. Media Matters says it has also documented instances of brands’ ads being placed next to content from Holocaust denial and white nationalist accounts.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino, Hitler, Gilead, ”, Brian Dietz, ” “, ” Dietz, X, Jason Yellin, NYU Langone, “, Elon, Musk, Yaccarino —, X —, ” Yaccarino, Yaccarino Organizations: New, New York CNN, Media, America, Nazi Party, Adobe, Gilead Sciences, University of Maryland’s, New York University Langone Hospital, Television Association, CNN, ” “ Brand, University of, Maryland Football, NYU, Twitter, CNBC, “ Media, X Locations: New York, Elon Musk’s

☆ Why the US ‘does not get to assume that it lasts forever’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

“We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government,” Greene said in a tweet on President’s Day this year. Blue state governors, legislatures and mayors might respond to such an offensive in forceful ways difficult to predict today. The Republican-appointed majority on the US Supreme Court has encouraged the red state social offensive with decisions that stripped away national rights – most prominently on abortion and voting. “Given the make-up of the courts, it’s difficult for blue states to be hopeful about this,” says Kettl. “The United States does not get to assume that it lasts forever.”

Persons: we’ve, ”, Donald Kettl, Donald Trump, I’ve, ’ “, Trump, Daniel Cox, Alan Wolfe, Wolfe, ” Wolfe, “, Joe Biden, Trump –, Abraham Lincoln, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kevin McCarthy, ” Greene, Susan Stokes, Stokes, he’s, Biden, Jim Crow, Cox, Michael Podhorzer, what’s, MAGA, Eric Liu, Liu, Richard Nixon’s, Liu’s, ” Liu Organizations: CNN, America, University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, Republican “, American Enterprise Institute, Boston University, Republican, Democratic, Chicago Center, Democracy, University of Chicago, CBS, Trump, National Guard, Fugitive, “, US, GOP, White House, AFL, Citizen University Locations: United States, States, America, Black, Confederate States, Georgia, Midwest, Heartland, Great, New York, Memphis, Austin, Blue, Michigan , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona

☆ Pentagon leak spotlights surprising interplay between gaming and military secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The recent leak of classified US documents on social media platform Discord seemingly caught many at the Pentagon by surprise. The recent leaks on Discord exposed a shortcoming in how the US government alerts platforms that they are hosting sensitive or classified information, according to Discord’s top lawyer. The episodes point to vexing challenges for social media platforms like Discord – where 21-year Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira allegedly began posting classified information in December – and the US military, which has used Discord for recruiting. The Pentagon is trying to tap into online youth culture without it backfiring spectacularly, as it allegedly did with Teixeira. Classified or sensitive documents are also a unique problem for content moderators on social media sites.

☆ How Elon Musk’s Twitter Faces Mountain of Debt, Falling Revenue and Surging Costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

Elon Musk says his $44 billion Twitter takeover might result in a bankruptcy filing. To make the deal work, Mr. Musk has been trying to add subscription revenue and reassure advertisers about the platform’s future. What’s more, the company’s debt stack now includes floating-rate debt, meaning that interest costs are set to rise as the Federal Reserve continues to increase interest rates. Twitter’s credit ratings, which were below investment grade before the transaction with Mr. Musk, have deteriorated further. For that, Mr. Musk would need to persuade potential investors that he has a viable long-term business plan, he said.

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