Iran Has Pivoted to Video. The classic US stereotype of attempted Iranian ideological indoctrination via chants of “Death to America” and such has been old hat for quite some time. As noted by the New York Times on Saturday, in the past few years Iranian pro- government propaganda efforts have increasingly taken the form of rap videos glorifying the country’s military, spread on sites like local You. Tube equivalent Apparat and apps like Telegram. The Times rounded up some of the most high- profile attempts to appeal to the nation’s youth by pairing Iranian rappers with sweeping shots of military personnel and CGI- infused battle scenes, some of which are pretty over- the- top. Horse racing; Ice hockey; Karate; Olympics; Racing; Motorsport Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on an oval-shaped field.They’re fascinating to watch, especially at a time when the current presidential administration has gone full hawk on Iran. They’re also more than a little uncomfortable, both because they show an oppressive government’s approach to a digitized era of propaganda and, if we’re being honest, they do kind of resemble pro- military media produced in places like the US. One video highlighted by the paper features Amir Tataloo, a musician with a “hard- partying, gangster- style reputation,” who extolled “our absolute right / to have an armed Persian gulf” while singing alongside naval personnel on the frigate Damavand. The Simpsons fans may notice a strong “Yvan Eht Nioj” vibe.)Another video from last year, titled “We Will Resist,” cost $2. US fighter jets bombing a mosque by a sunny beach, flanked by newly constructed oil refineries. A battalion of Iranian youth carrying flags retaliate by charging towards the water, conjuring up a gigantic tidal wave which sinks the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Another released in 2. Seraj Cyberspace Organization, which is affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Basij volunteer militia, shows Iranian- backed fighters in Syria taking the fight to ISIS insurgents flying the terror group’s infamous black flag. The classic US stereotype of attempted Iranian ideological indoctrination via chants of “Death to America” and such has been old hat for quite some time. As noted. On Monday, the New York Times published a copy of the special science section of the draft 2018 National Climate Assessment, which federal climate researchers had. Peggy is something along the edge of Saturn’s ring, a glitch whose source we’ve never seen. Cassini took a last peek at Peggy during its Grand Finale destructive. The video features Hamid Zamani, who the Times noted was the mastermind behind the anti- imperialist song “USA.”“By Zaynab, we are the defenders of Damascus!” the singer croons as a sniper takes out an ISIS fighter in slow- motion. Husayn’s sister calls us to the Golden Shrine / How can the flames of death possibly set it ablaze?”Another Iranian propaganda effort highlighted by the Times was the 9. CGI action film Battle of the Persian Gulf II, which stars an animated version of Quds Force commander Gen. Qassem Suleimani annihilating US troops and naval forces.“The Americans threaten us, we want to say, ‘If you attack us, if you dare to do so, a rain of hot melted lead will be poured on you,” co- creator Farhad Azimi told the paper. The American aircraft carriers, vessels and warships will be sunk and converted into beautiful aquariums in the bed of the Persian Gulf.”So yeah, all this is unsettling. But again, lest Americans get too high on their horses about this, the US military- industrial complex, its marketing partners and Hollywood filmmakers have basically been doing higher- budget versions of the same thing for decades. One of the more obvious examples is the NFL, where flashy flyovers with high- tech military jets, troops marching with flags and even camouflage jersey sales have been a fixture for years, and the military has pumped tens of millions of dollars into patriotic displays at sports games. Others include the close relationship between the military and the video game industry, or its tight collaboration with the movie industry. Indications are strong President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking ways to back out of the US- Iran nuclear deal, per CNBC, which would set the stage for tensions to escalate rapidly—though with stakes a good bit realer than CGI tsunamis and bullet time. [New York Times]. New York Times Posts Major Federal Climate Change Report Before Trump and Pruitt Can Cook the Books [Updated]On Monday, the New York Times published a copy of the special science section of the draft 2. National Climate Assessment, which federal climate researchers had completed but feared Donald Trump’s administration and new Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt were plotting to smother in its crib. The draft report reflects federal scientists’ continued and unshaken belief human industrial activity is the primary driver of climate change, despite Trump’s belief that there is cold weather at all debunks the whole thing and Pruitt’s belief human CO2 emissions might not be related. It takes note of thousands of scientific studies, and particularly focuses on the rapid rise in US average temperatures since 1. It also emphasizes research indicating the past few decades have been the warmest in 1,5. Evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans,” the report’s executive summary informs readers. Thousands of studies conducted by tens of thousands of scientists around the world have documented changes in surface, atmospheric and oceanic temperatures; melting glaciers; disappearing snow cover; shrinking sea ice; rising sea level; and an increase in atmospheric water vapor. The last few years have also seen record- breaking, climate- related weather extremes, as well as the warmest years on record for the globe.”“There are no alternative explanations” to human industrial activity being the cause, it adds, and “no natural cycles are found in the observational record that can explain the observed changes in climate.”The report cites a documented rise in global annual average temperature from 1. Celsius (1. 6 Fahrenheit). It also warns that even if humans simply stopped pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere today, temperatures would rise another . Celsius (. 5 Fahrenheit) this century, but current projections put humanity on a path towards over 2 degrees Celsius rise, which would be disastrous. In another blow to Trump’s conviction the weather somehow disproves climate change, the report noted scientists are increasingly able to link extreme weather events like heat waves, storms and droughts to rising temperatures. Though the Times initially reported the paper was leaked, indicating it was sent to them by someone involved in the process of its creation, numerous scientists noted a draft version had been circulating online since the EPA first released it for public comment last year.The 2. 01. 8 National Climate Assessment is legally mandated, meaning the Trump administration could face lawsuits if (or more likely, when) it suppresses it. Adobe Pdf Excel Converter Free Download . The scientific section of the report posted by the Times requires sign- off from 1.EPA and others now headed by climate skeptics, and the White House.In early August, Nature received documents suggesting Pruitt was moving ahead with a shamelessly cynical plan to require future EPA research be vetted in a “red team, blue team” format, which would turn its review board into a war between actual scientists and industry flacks. Pruitt had already fired half the EPA board of scientific counselors, seemingly in preparation to hire red team panelists recommended by the fossil fuel industry- backed Heartland Institute. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which coordinates federal climate reports, also had no staff in its science division left as of July 1. The publicization of the report is a clear middle finger to Trump, Pruitt and their plan to derail federal climate research and policy, and it ensures the public has an opportunity to review it before they get their big, grubby mitts all over it. But given Trump’s penchant for launching into a self- destructive rage every time an act of rebellion embarrasses him, it could also inspire the White House into an ill- advised act of revenge.[New York Times]Update: While the original Times story insisted the report had not been made available to the public before it was published on their website, the paper has since corrected their account to show it was actually first spread online in December 2. EPA posted it to their website as part of a public commenting period. Whoops. Still, that someone took it to the Times reflected concern Trump, Pruitt or others in the administration would interfere with the final release draft of the report, or suppress it entirely. This article has been updated accordingly.
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