abqtommy
abqtommy's JournalFrom The Guardian: The Iconoclast unmasked: the man behind far-right YouTube channel
Former media student Daniel Atkinson used video-sharing platform to influence new generation of rightwing activists(...)
by Mark Townsend, Sun 21 Jun 2020 03.15 EDT
He is the anonymous architect behind one of the most successful and toxic British far-right YouTube channels, responsible for disseminating racist, Islamophobic and antisemitic material. For years the individual known as The Iconoclast has managed to protect his identity despite amassing nearly 21m views and more than 218,000 subscribers.
However the Observer can reveal that the figure behind one of the biggest far-right content producers in the UK – and the movement’s most prominent anonymous account – is a former media student called Daniel Atkinson.
Campaigners said the unmasking of Atkinson was important because he is emblematic of the latest manifestation of the far right.
(YouTube accused of being 'organ of radicalisation'
Read more)
They said it is highly likely his widely disseminated racist views influenced some far-right supporters who clashed with police in central London last weekend.
much more at link:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/21/the-iconoclast-unmasked-the-man-behind-far-right-youtube-channel
I think this article provides some good perspective on social media and right-wing influence. At least
I find it informing...
Microsoft fail for WIN 10 version 2004 update: Every day I check my son's WIN 10 machine for
updates. On 6-16- 20 I received notice that the update to version 2004 was available. Went through the process. It took about 3 hours and the update failed. On 6-18-20 the version 2004 update was again presented. Went through the process and it took about two and a half hours. The update failed.
Interestingly enough, during the last bit of operation in the final installation today there was text on the computer monitor that read "undoing changes to your computer". DUH!
On a side note, I'm still getting regular updates to my WIN 7 machine, you know, the one Microsoft said it stopped supporting back in January of this year? My WIN 7 unit is looking better and better to me every day!
Here's a link to a search I ran on the version 2004 update, if anyone can make sense of the data:
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=status+of+microsoft+win+10+version+2004+update&ia=news
Lotta frustration and head-scratching going on here...
Now for the Song In My MInd for today: Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin' 1964...
link to song info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Let_the_Sun_Catch_You_Crying
link to lyrics:
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gerryandthepacemakers/dontletthesuncatchyoucrying.html
Gerry And The Pacemakers Lyrics
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying"
Don't let the sun catch you cryin'
The night's the time for all your tears
Your heart may be broken tonight
But tomorrow in the morning light
Don't let the sun catch you cryin'
The night-time shadows disappear
And with them go all your tears
For the morning will bring joy
For every girl and boy
So don't let the sun catch you cryin'
We know that cryin's not a bad thing
But stop your cryin' when the birds sing
It may be hard to discover
That you've been left for another
But don't forget that love's a game
And it can always come again
Oh don't let the sun catch you cryin'
Don't let the sun catch you cryin', oh no
link to performance:
Ah, The British Invasion and how pleasant it was!
And the Song Of The Day in my head this morning is You Ain't Goin' Nowhere by Bob Dylan
Artist: Bob Dylan
Album: Music & Words 1998 to 1963
lyrics:
Clouds so swift
Rain won't lift
Gate won't close
Railings froze
Get your mind off wintertime
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!
I don't care
How many letters they sent
Morning came and morning went
Pick up your money
And pack up your tent
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!
Buy me a flute
And a gun that shoots
Tailgates and substitutes
Strap yourself
To the tree with roots
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!
Genghis Khan
He could not keep
All his kings
Supplied with sleep
We'll climb that hill no matter how steep
When we get up to it
Whoo-ee! Ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair!
link to lyrics: http://www.songlyrics.com/bob-dylan-the-band/you-ain-t-goin-nowhere-lyrics/
link to performance:
From The Guardian 6-3-20 Political Cartoons: After seeing some of the U.S. cartoons of
tRUMP's religious experience I thought that all that was needed was to portray him wrapped in a
U.S. flag. Now this morning I see that Steve Bell has succeeded admirably in portraying just what I had in mind...
Steve Bell on Trump's church photo op amid George Floyd protests — cartoon
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2020/jun/02/steve-bell-on-trumps-church-photo-op-amid-george-floyd-protests-cartoon
I recommend The Guardian Political news just for the cartoons... enjoy!
Out And About Yesterday And Today*... and I made a funny or two...
Yesterday: 6-1-20
I finished up our absentee ballots and got them ready for mailing tomorrow. But then I found out
that to be valid they had to be received by our County Clerk by 7 pm tomorrow. So I hotfooted it down to the post office and dropped the ballots off in the drive-thru mail drop in the early afternoon. Whew!
That was almost a disaster!
Today: 6-2-20
I had a large envelope of family pics ready to send to Canada so I headed to my local UPS store to
avoid the long lines at the Post Office. (UPS can also provide USPS service.) When I got there there was a small line so I eased into a little bit of shade and explained to some people waiting for the
hair stylist next door that I didn't want to get too tan since I might get shot. I'm not used to getting
compliments but one of the guys said Hey, That's Funny! Being encouraged I then said to another person in the UPS line You Know What They Say About Mad Dogs And Englishmen** and the answer was No, What? So I said They Go Out In the Noonday Sun. Don't people read anymore?
Short answer:UPS took my money but couldn't print out the stamp I needed so they gave me a
refund and I headed for the Post Office.
The Post Office was great, no line, quick service and much cheaper than UPS. I'd like to thank my vee-hickel for having air conditioning that works even in city traffic. That really helps me keep from
developing an attitude...
Went to WalMart. Just normal stuff, did my shopping. Didn't see any Muslims. Oh well. Got home.
Wiped down groceries and put them away. Checked our absentee ballot tracking info and the
County Clerk already has our ballots. It doesn't get much better than that!
*Yesterday And Today is also a studio album by The Beatles. See information at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yesterday_and_Today And I bet YouTube has a page where you can listen...
**Mad Dogs And Englishmen is also the name of Joe Cocker's tour plus being a song written by
Noel Coward with plenty of reference to both here:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=is+there+a+song+or+album+titled+mad+dogs+and+englishmen&t=ffnt&ia=web Again, YouTube will be willing to support your listening needs...
So it looks like Noel Coward is the definitive source for the quote "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out
in the midday sun." I apologize for misquoting "noonday" for "midday" but then that's more of an
apology than anyone will ever get out of tRUMP. Right? Stay tuned for my next exciting adventure...
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=source+of+saying+that+mad+dogs+and+englishmen+go+out+in+the+noonday+sun&ia=web
From The CBC/Canada: some good news... Meet Some Of The First Nations' Health Workers...
This is encouraging to see during so much other bad news.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/first-nations-health-care-worker-1.5590863
And the song in my head this morning is from Neil Young in the 1970s: Don't Let It Bring You
Down:
Neil Young Lyrics
"Don't Let It Bring You Down"
Old man lying
By the side of the road
With the lorries rolling by
Blue moon sinking
From the weight of the load
And the buildings scrape the sky
Cold wind ripping
Down the alley at dawn
And the morning paper flies
Dead man lying
By the side of the road
With the daylight in his eyes
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around
Blind man running
Through the light
Of the night
With an answer in his hand
Come on down
To the river of sight
And you can really understand
Red lights flashing
Through the window
In the rain
Can you hear the sirens moan?
White cane lying
In a gutter in the lane
If you're walking home alone
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around
Out and about 5-30-20: The credit union, the post office and WalMart plus a family dynamic
bonus... and some pain relief .
The credit union: We got our second stimulus direct deposit this last week so I went to do the transfer
that puts my son's share into his savings account (we share it but he's the primary). I can take care of
my end online since the money comes into my account. As usual, my son has more money than I do
but I am an honest guy, after all...
The post office: WooHoo! We got our absentee ballots in our PO Box today! YAY!
WalMart: Lotta masks being worn by my/our family members today. I saw some interesting people as
usual. I was patient in waiting for 3 ladies who were ahead of me in one aisle. One of the ladies
walked back closer to me and I said I had to wait since they were taking up the space that I wanted to be in. No problem.
I decided to do some impulse buying and picked up some ice cream and chocolate cake. Hey, we've
been good and deserve a reward! Over in the cake section there were a young man and woman frisking about. He was picking her up then they were embracing and kissing passionately. Wow! They weren't masked but at least they kept their clothes on! It was better than pay-for-view...
My oldest son turned 50 last week so I sent him fond birthday wishes. Since then we've been emailing daily and that's good since like many families our relationship has suffered some strain over the years.
My back has been really bothering me this last week. Nothing I've tried before was working, then I remembered that I'm using Tylenol now since that's recommended with this virus. But I always used
to use aspirin and since my back pain isn't virus-related I took some aspiring at 10 this morning.
Within an hour my pain was gone so take a lesson from me to stick with what you know works!
Out and about 5-26-20: Highlights of my day...
The Post Office: I dropped off our requests for absentee ballots in the drive-through mail drop at my
local post office. YAY!
Checking my bank account online: I've been looking for our second government stimulus direct deposit.
Yesterday it showed up as a pending transaction. It'll be deposited on Thursday this week. YAY!
Shopping:
Most people masked. I bought a new pair of reading glasses since the ones I've been using are at least 10 years old. I found out they weren't working anymore when I tried to read the fine print
on the latest/new brand of hydrogen peroxide I bought. So with my new 3X specs no problem
seeing that all is well.
Gave a guy in the parking lot 5 bucks when he asked for change. That came out of my personal philanthropic fund. That's the way I do it to keep things personal and remember when I panhandled some years ago.
Saw two lovely young obviously Muslim women in the produce section so as I was passing by I spoke
the greeting "Salaam Aleichem". They were from the black part of our family and gave a reply that I didn't understand but I didn't stop and hope they appreciated the words of welcome and acceptance that I gave them. Many a time throughout the world people have been kind to me when I was a stranger in their town/city/country and I try to pay that forward.
YAY! It was a good day, like many others I experience...
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