Some wise words from Jon Stewart — as per usual — talking about "progressophobia" where Gen Z (and others) are unaware there was actually a world before they were born, yet they are unable or unwilling to contextualize their grievances.
One example he gave was Kevin Hart who said: "You're witnessing white power and privilege at an all-time high".
Stewart's reply to Hart was — "This is the problem with wokeness; it doesn't have to make sense or jive with the facts or ever be challenged lest the challenge itself be conflated with racism."
Stewart starts with some video of Joe Biden:
Jon Stewart?
That's not Jon Stewart, FaRT.
Yea ... Bil Maher, like it states in the title.
Biden concludes first G-7 as president declaring 'America is back at the table'
President Biden on Sunday sounded a triumphant note at the conclusion of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in the United Kingdom, declaring "America is back at the table" while making thinly veiled swipes at the foreign policy of former President Trump.
"The lack of participation in the past and full engagement was noticed significantly, not only by the leaders of those countries but by the people in the G-7 countries. America is back in the business of leading the world alongside nations who share our most deeply held values," Biden said in opening remarks at a press conference before departing for London to meet with Queen Elizabeth II.
Biden pointed to U.S. commitments to fight the coronavirus pandemic and climate change and its loyalty to NATO allies and others in implicit and at times explicit rebukes of Trump's foreign policy.
The president had made clear throughout the lead-up to the weekend's summit that his goal was to reassure allies the U.S. was returning to center stage and could be counted on to tackle global problems, and he was adamant during Sunday's press conference that he was successful.
"I felt a genuine sense of enthusiasm that America was back at the table and fully, fully engaged," Biden said.
"Bottom line is I think we’ve made some progress in reestablishing American credibility among our closest friends and our values," he added.
Biden knocked Trump when he said the U.S. does not view NATO "as a sort of protection racket," but as critical for domestic security. Trump repeatedly chastised NATO allies for failing to pay more to the alliance and reportedly wanted to leave the alliance, questioning its usefulness.
The president also swiped at his predecessor on the issue of climate change, which Trump repeatedly questioned and downplayed in favor of boosting the economy. Trump skipped the climate session at the 2019 G-7, the most recent one to be held in person.
"One of the things some of my colleagues said to me while I was there is 'Well, United States leadership recognizes there is global warming,'" Biden said. "I know that sounds silly, but we had a president last who basically said it's not a problem, global warming."
- President Biden and Jill Biden meet with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle
In other news………
Fox News - Caitlyn Jenner calls out Jimmy Kimmel after he mocked her candidacy for California governor
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
To me it seemed a rather laboured and obvious point, about one stupid comment from a guy (Hart) who, let's face it, doesn't seem very bright.
Maher tends to choose sitting ducks.
Oh, and a green to anyone who can spot the mistake in the phonetic script.
He's one of the few with the balls to call out America for not making any effort on obesity, especially when it's been a factor in 70% of Covid deaths.
He's also a staunch free speech advocate and despite being on the left side of the spectrum frequently criticises his own party for putting off voters with all their woke nonsense.
He's spot on that they provide the right with ample evidence to support their "radical socialist" nonsense.
I like him.
And a picture is worth a thousand words.
^ and La Conta" we have this guy sitting down for over an hour with a foreign media, WTF.
White House to host July 4 'independence from virus' bash
Cue the fireworks.
President Joe Biden wants to imbue Independence Day with new meaning this year by encouraging nationwide celebrations to mark the country’s effective return to normalcy after 16 months of coronavirus pandemic disruption.
Even as the U.S. is set to cross the grim milestone of 600,000 deaths from the virus on Tuesday, the White House is expressing growing certainty that July Fourth will serve as a breakthrough moment in the nation’s recovery. That's even though the U.S. is not expected to quite reach its goal of having 70% of adults vaccinated by the holiday.
As COVID-19 case rates and deaths drop to levels not seen since the first days of the outbreak, travel picks up and schools and businesses reopen, Biden is proclaiming “a summer of freedom” to celebrate Americans resuming their pre-pandemic lives.
The holiday will see the largest event yet of Biden’s presidency: He plans to host first responders, essential workers and military servicemembers and their families on the South Lawn for a cookout and to watch the fireworks over the National Mall. Well more than 1,000 guests are expected, officials said, with final arrangements still to be sorted out.
The plan shows the dramatic shift in thinking since Biden just three months ago cautiously held out hope that people might be able to hold small cookouts by the Fourth, an idea that seems quaint now given the swift pace of reopening.
“By July the 4th, there’s a good chance you, your families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout and a barbeque and celebrate Independence Day,” Biden had said as he marked the one-year anniversary of the pandemic on March 11. “That doesn’t mean large events with lots of people together, but it does mean small groups will be able to get together.”
For most Americans, that reopening target was hit last month, by Memorial Day weekend, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people and the accompanying relaxation in state and local virus restrictions.
Now, officials say July Fourth will serve as an unofficial kickoff to a new phase in the U.S. pandemic response. The federal government is looking to turn the page on the domestic public health crisis and focus on an economic and civic revival at home and marshaling support for vaccinations around the globe.
Across the country, the White House is hoping to see the similar Independence Day activities, after last year saw the mass cancellation of July Fourth festivities, according to two White House officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to outline the administration’s thinking.: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/0...us-bash-494638
Will it be mask free? or only for the vaxxed?
Five takeaways from the Biden-Putin summit
The last time President Biden met Russian President Vladimir Putin, he says he told the Russian leader he didn’t believe he had a soul.
That exchange was just one of the reasons the meeting between the two men in Geneva on Wednesday was so highly anticipated.
The summit — the final engagement on Biden’s weeklong trip to Europe — came amid tensions around Ukraine, the treatment of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, recent cyberattacks and allegations of election meddling.
Here are the five main takeaways. (Some editing on my part)
A return to pragmatism
Biden made clear he and Putin weren’t miraculously going to fall into lockstep. Rather, he held out the possibility that the Russian leader could burnish his country’s reputation over time by staying within international norms.
“This is not a ‘Kumbaya’ moment … but it’s clearly not in anybody’s interest — your country or mine — for us to be in a situation where we’re in a new cold war,” Biden added.
Such statements aren’t exactly exciting. But they show Biden trying to walk a fine line.
He knows his political and media opponents at home are eager to brand him as weak in his dealings with Putin, so some tonal toughness is required. At the same time, if Biden had contrived a dramatic blowup, it would have raised new questions about why the U.S. had issued the invite to the summit in the first place.
In the end, the event met modest expectations.
Putin, for his part, struck a similar tone.
Capitol riot rears its head
The most contentious subject from the two leaders’ dueling news conferences was an unexpected one — the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Putin raised the issue in response to a question about human rights in Russia. It’s a hot topic in general, particularly amid criticism of the Kremlin’s treatment of Navalny.
Putin reacted in characteristic fashion, drawing attention to U.S. abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the continued existence of the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay.
But he then drew the insurrection into the same broad argument, saying mildly that “people came to the U.S. Capitol with political demands.” The law enforcement response, he suggested, had been too harsh.
This view — which replicates the talking points of the most fervent supporters of former President Trump — irked Biden when it was put to him at his news conference.
The president said any comparison of Jan. 6 with legitimate protest was “ridiculous.”
The Jan. 6 rioters, he added, were “literally criminals” who had broken through a security cordon to assail the Capitol.
Biden praised as 'not Trump'
Biden had one big advantage going into Wednesday’s summit — the low bar set by his predecessor.
When Trump met Putin in Helsinki in 2018, the U.S. president was widely criticized for a craven performance. Trump infamously appeared to take Putin’s word over the testimony of U.S. intelligence agencies about whether Russia had meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
The late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) branded Trump’s behavior at that meeting “disgraceful.”
Biden has sought to reassure U.S. allies over the past week that “America is back” — a clear allusion to the disruption and frequent chaos of the Trump years.
Much of the commentary that initially followed Wednesday’s summit measured Biden’s performance against that of his predecessor.
For the most part, Biden earned positive reviews simply by staying within the standard parameters. In doing so, he offered a contrast to Trump’s seeming delight in trampling on every line.
Putin relishes occasion
The Russian president certainly seemed to relish the spotlight. His lengthy press conference was mostly relaxed and even, on occasion, jocular. While he complained about American double-standards on issues like human rights, he was at pains to point out that the atmosphere at his meeting with Biden had been constructive.
“There was no hostility, quite the contrary,” he said. On several occasions, he praised Biden’s experience.
Putin’s clear enjoyment of the event irked some observers. One critic, the former chess champion Garry Kasparov, complained on MSNBC that Putin had “got what he wanted” simply by virtue of the summit taking place.
Questions linger about details
The summit provided some positive mood music for Biden and Putin, but it is unclear whether it presages any real change.
An extension of the New START arms reduction treaty had already been agreed in advance of the summit. Putin said the two nations had agreed that their ambassadors, who had been recalled to their home countries this spring, would return to their posts soon.
Afterward, the White House issued a statement noting that the two nations “will embark together on an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue in the near future that will be deliberate and robust.”
The proposal is nebulous, and it could be undone at a moment’s notice by anything that raises frictions, such as new cyberattacks.
This, in turn, explains Biden’s positive but cautious tone.
Asked at his news conference whether he trusted Putin, the president pushed back against the terms of the question.
“This is not about trust. This is about self-interest and verification of self-interest,” he said. “Let’s see what happens.”
I never quite got how some of the same people who praised Trump as a 'tough guy' gave him a pass on that.When Trump met Putin in Helsinki in 2018, the U.S. president was widely criticized for a craven performance. Trump infamously appeared to take Putin’s word over the testimony of U.S. intelligence agencies about whether Russia had meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
The orange buffoon was such an arse-licker towards Putin . . . both amazing and disgusting. His fellow neo-cons simply swallowed it
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