Funny how Trump and Putin blame the war on Zelenskyy! As if he started it! 🙄
And I love how they’re demanding that Ukraine “cede Crimea to Russia.” Russia seized THAT area 11 years ago, and even THEY realize it’s not theirs! They took it, they’ve claimed it, and now they want Ukraine to give it to them.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-peace-talks-london-4f35dc70f521e2363218f4c40748caba
In a series of executive actions signed Wednesday, Trump targeted universities that he views as liberal adversaries to his political agenda.
“Trump also ordered the Education Department to root out efforts to ensure equity in discipline in the nation’s K-12 schools. Previous guidance from Democratic administrations directed schools not to disproportionately punish underrepresented minorities such as Black and Native American students. The administration says equity efforts amount to racial discrimination.”
Source: https://apnews.com/article/trump-executive-orders-education-9fb7e1f707f0df93e3b28d4eff984d04
Trump’s administration demanded that Harvard change its admissions policies and make major reforms to its university governance and leadership. They’re trying to force change at universities that Republicans say have become “hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.”
They want Harvard to eliminate everything to do with Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) and actually report to the government students who are “hostile to American values”, which seems to include protesting what Israel is doing in Gaza. They also want the school to stop recognizing and funding any student groups who promote activities or ideas that the Trump administration calls wrong, immoral, or illegal.
The U.S. Dept. of Education is freezing $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in multi-year contracts which have already been granted. This is clearly unlawful and punitive.
“The University will not surrender its independence or its constitutional rights,” said Harvard President Alan M. Garber. He added: “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
“‘It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner,’ he wrote. ‘Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”
“On Monday, Barack Obama posted in support of the university: ‘Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.'”
“Ultimately, the conflict could be settled in federal court. A faculty group has already brought a legal challenge against the demands, and many in academia expect Harvard to bring its own lawsuit.”
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz01y9gkdm3o
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/15/us/universities-responses-investigations-funding-freeze/index.html
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/14/trump-harvard-funding-freeze
Dr. David Clarke, Associate Professor in the Department of Media Arts and Communication at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, is preparing to launch a National Folklore Survey in the U.K.
“The National Folklore Survey, funded by UKRI Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Catalyst award, addresses the lack of robust research evidence into the cultural value of folklore in post-Brexit, post-pandemic, multicultural England. It aims to create new data to answer two research questions:”
More details are available here:
Source: https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2024/10/09/the-national-folklore-survey/
Source: https://folklore-society.com/blog-post/announcing-the-national-folklore-survey/
Source: https://www.positive.news/society/for-the-love-of-folklore/
It’s the next step in this ridiculous and immoral attack on non-white people.
Marco Rubio has directed the State Department to spy on the social media activity of immigrant students.
It’s an ideological purge of foreign students that was revealed in a new directive that was leaked.
“The Trump administration is requiring that foreign students studying in, or seeking to study in the United States, pass an ideological test in order to obtain a visa.”
This is a continuation of the anti-immigrant stance of the Trump administration. They so strongly want to make America white that they are now inventing reasons to remove even students, using ideological guidelines are that are so vague they can apply them to anyone they choose.
And includes justifying kidnapping students off the streets and sending them to internment camps without due process or even an explanation! Like Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk.
Source: https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/exclusive-trump-admin-spies-on-social
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/27/judge-explanation-tufts-student-rumeysa-ozturk-ice
He is continuing his push to remove from our history anything that might be perceived as negative or critical of U.S. history. He calls it “improper ideology”. 🙄
“It marks the Republican president’s latest salvo against cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump recently had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming, including the annual Kennedy Center Honors awards show. The administration also recently forced Columbia University to make a series of policy changes by threatening the Ivy League school with the loss of several hundred million dollars in federal funding.”
“Under Trump’s order, Vance will also work with the White House budget office to make sure future funding for the Smithsonian Institution isn’t spent on programs that ‘degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy.'”
Sounds like another another fascist regime from 80 years ago. Seriously? Federal law and policy is controlling ideologies?? How long before he starts referring to his administration as a “Reich” and using adjectives like “glorious” and “ever-victorious”?
I am continuing my journey AWAY from Meta and Google.
My Facebook account is deleted and I have no other Meta apps that I use. I’m using Bluesky and Mastodon now.
I’ve been using Gmail since 2004, the year it came out. Over 20 years! Wow! But now I’m on GMX which is secure, free, has more storage space for emails than Google, and even has an Online Office that can handle files from Microsoft and Open Office.
To replace Google Drive, I’m using Mega, which has 20GB of storage for free. And it’s very secure.
My new browser and search engine of choice is Brave, one of the most private and independent search engines, and which is completely open source. The browsers blocks ads and trackers.
The two hardest to give up are YouTube and Google Maps. I’ve found that HERE WeGo is a good alternative to Google Maps, and they have both a web and mobile version. I’ve had a premium account on YouTube for a while because it eliminates the ads, both on videos and music. I’m going back to Spotify for my music, which handles playlists and normal customization MUCH better. But I’ve gotten really used to YouTube for pulling up movie trailers and other videos for sharing on social media, and for following some of the influencers I follow. I’m finding that Dailymotion is a good option that has nice variety, including news, entertainment, and user content, and it’s searchable, but it doesn’t have the same content as YouTube. I’ll have to find other options, depending on the kind of video I want.
For more history, rationale, and alternatives:
“I will lower grocery prices on DAY ONE” has turned into “Bear with me.”
The new tariffs and the retaliatory action from those countries will hurt the bottom lines of farmers and meat producers “by billions of dollars if they stay in place a while, and consumers could quickly see higher prices for produce and ground beef.”
Source and Details: https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-farms-farmers-mexico-canada-china-prices-3a460f004633c10a6da6c4f97627dd13
We all know how anti-vaccine RFK Jr. is, and he was downplaying the measles outbreak in Texas just last week.
Now he is calling the measles outbreak a “call to action” and telling people they need to get the MMR vaccine! This was in an opinion-editorial piece on FoxNews.com over the weekend.
“Kennedy, who has previously promoted widely circulated theories linking vaccines to autism, struck a different tone in his Fox News piece, writing: ‘Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons.'”
His op-ed: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/robert-f-kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-call-action-all-us
Source: https://www.mediaite.com/news/rfk-jr-urges-measles-vaccination-amid-deadly-texas-outbreak/
Basically, Trump is saying that if Ukraine gives us half of their rare earth minerals, they will “earn the right to keep fighting.”
What the hell?? An independent nation is invaded by a neighboring country that wants their land, and they have to “EARN” the right to fight against that?? Our president is completely delusional and has no understanding at all of what really goes into international relations. He’s already alienating all of our allies while he bows down to Putin. But giving permission for another country to defend themselves when attacked?? That’s a whole other level of stupidity and egotism!
But is anyone really surprised?
It’s the mindset of a bully: “Give us your valuables and we’ll let you live.” 🙄🤬
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cvg1402yyvet
Source: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-trump-economic-deal-faf1ff881802c923370053e539ec26e4