The End of CNN Plus

 

CNN Plus only lasted a month. The business model the 24 hour cable news media companies are using are dated. The ability to compete is limited due to social media. Cable news fails to capture viewers as it once did in the 20th century. The contemporary period allows for more access to various sources of information. Viewers would not pay for a streaming service which they could watch on TV. The mainstream media has lost trust and the ability to report interesting stories. Bias and  partisan narratives are the common attributes of various 24 hour cable news networks. News should not resemble propaganda or a political party public relations firm. The American media has become as divided as the population itself. This explains why viewers are turning to alternative media. The traditional broadcasting networks demonize alternative media as conspiracy theory or spreading disinformation. There was a time in which TV news was criticized by newspapers. Overtime, it gained acceptance. Cable news networks that failed to adopt change will not survive. The experiment in video streaming should a warning to media companies. CNN has been around since 1980 and new technology will impact the media industry. Only by making quality content, questioning the status quo, and doing investigative journalism can media companies survive. 

Twitter Has New Ownership

 

Elon Musk the CEO of  Tesla is set to purchase Twitter. This will be one of his many business ventures. Musk has also stated that he wants to change the popular social media platform. One promise was the relaxing of content restrictions. Musk claims he wants to promote free speech on Twitter and  wants to include an edit button for posts. There also has been discussion about having an open source algorithm. Elon Musk also wants to target cryptocurrency scams on the platform. While it appears that Musk has some ideological motivation for buying Twitter, the real reason is business. Buying Twitter makes it easier for Musk to promote his other companies. The business elite do not support free speech or free expression when it interferers with profit. Twitter was bought by Elon Musk for a total of  $43 billion. An investment of that type is not done for political reasons. Twitter still has a large amount of users and it could be expanded in various ways. The growing concern is the rise of the giant tech monopolies. New competitors can rise, but are at a disadvantage compared to Twitter and Facebook. Having a small business elite control social media platforms is a threat to press freedom and free speech. Large tech monopolies also reduce competition in a free market. This can cause economic complications, which reduce consumer choice . Another concern is related to employment. If the tech giants collapse the job loss will be immense. Elon Musk will certainly add more wealth to his net worth. 

The French Presidential Election Results

 

Emmanuel Macron won re-election as France's president. The results showed Marcon  getting 58.5 % of the vote and Marine Le Pen gained 41.5 %. The polling numbers suggests the country remains divided. One section favors the European Union and political centrism. Marine Le Pen and  the National Rally Party are advocates ethnocentric nationalism and far-right politics. France has been questioning the nature of the NATO alliance and grappling with the Russia-Ukraine conflict. No candidate won a majority in the first round, which was the reason for the run-off election. The French are experiencing major discord, which its leaders are not addressing. Economic challenges and concerns surrounding immigration are issues that are part of the French political consciousness. Now that President Macron has a second term questions remain about La Republique En Marche ! ability to reach out to the citizens frustrated with current conditions. Macron's party is supportive of  economic liberalism, globalization, and a pan-European political vision. Certain policies related to these beliefs do not benefit the population as a whole. When Emmanuel Macron won the 2017 election he got 66.10% of the vote. Marine Le Pen received 33.90% of the vote. Le Pen improved while Macron saw a decrease. The far-right is gaining momentum, due to the inadequacies of political centrism. Having a genuine leftist political party can counter the rise xenophobic nativist nationalism. La Republique En Marche! must change tactics to remain relevant and attract voters. Otherwise, voters will gravitate to more extreme political movements.   

Iran Continues To Ban Women From Stadiums

 

The female Iranian football fan cannot enjoy sports like her male counterpart. Women have been for at least 40 years banned from entering stadiums in Iran. Recently, there have been challenges to the ban and overtime protests could cause its end. From a political perspective, prevent certain types of entertainment can harm the regime. Sports can provide a distraction to the abuses of government. World leaders often use sport competition as a means of instilling patriotism. The ban itself is not written into law or mentioned in a specific regulation. The Quran or Islam states nothing about football matches or stadiums. Religion is being used as a means of authoritarian control in the Islamic Republic. The ban cannot even be completely enforced. Women were present in Azadi Stadium for the World Cup qualifier in 2019. Some women might be able to sneak into matches circumventing the authorities. One exception to the stadium ban is when there are political gatherings. Women are allowed at these pro-government rallies. The ban has gotten the attention of FIFA. The ban violates FIFA statutes articles three and four. These stipulate the support for human rights and non-discrimination. 

The Shangahi Lockdown

 

China continues to enforce its zero Covid-19  policy. Shanghai is back in lockdown with new infection rates. This does not seem like a rational public health policy. Considering that vaccines are now available and there is more knowledge about the virus the measure would be ineffective. Lockdowns are not effective at stopping the spread of Covid-19. Vaccines, social distancing, wearing masks, and quarantines are better options. Lockdowns only caused learning loss for children, decline in mental health, increases in domestic violence, and economic difficulties. The lockdown of Shanghai is precarious, because it is a threat to food security and income of its residents. Migrant workers are caught in a difficult situation and people could face evictions. Citizens are not allowed to freely go out in public. China is not the only country to have extreme lockdown policies. EU countries have done the same. At some point, this is not about public health or safety. The lockdowns are being used to either enforce some form of control of the population. Promoting public health should not come at the price of human rights or basic freedoms. Lockdowns should not even be an option now that there are various methods of fighting Covid-19. The virus will at a certain stage become more infectious and less lethal . Mass vaccination will not cause it to disappear, but make it manageable. The economic and social damage of lockdowns will last long than the actual pandemic. A zero Covid-19 policy is not possible or useful  biomedical science policy. The only result of lockdowns are protests and general discord from the population. Future public health policy should focus on prevent as much mental and physical harm to people. Shanghai is an example of a poor method of dealing with a pandemic related outbreak of disease.  

Global Inflation Increases

 

The pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war has caused an increase in global inflation. Consumer goods are rising in price due to these events. The other factor is that certain corporations are taking advantage of the situation. Intentional price hikes are being done and are not being challenged. World leaders will face the ire of citizens who cannot afford food or fuel. Food prices were previous increasing prior to the war in Ukraine. Global inflation will not effect all nations equally. The developing nations will struggle combined with debts owed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The developed nations might do better, but the class structure means people in poverty are more vulnerable. It is possible that more people could fall into poverty. Inflation does happen in an economic system. The concern is about the rate of inflation, Since January prices have gone up. If this is not controlled, it is possible the world could see another economic crisis. The world have not recovered from the 2008 economic crash. The EU will see higher gas and oil prices due to the sanctions directed at Russia. Although the US is not dependent on Russian energy, the sanctions imposed will still effect American energy prices. This explains why Asian and African nations are not willing to impose sanctions on Russia. China doing lockdowns harms economic activity. A slowdown in economic growth has created fears of possible recession. While the future cannot be predicted, the condition of the global economy is weakening.  

The Progress With Women In Combat Integration

Since 2013, combat jobs have been open to women. The sex integration in the US military has had some successes. Challenges remain with developing  gender neutral fitness standards. Women have higher failure rates compare to their male counterparts. The US Army was previously developing an update to the 1983 fitness standards. The updated version is known as the Army Combat Fitness Test. Gender normed scoring was retained. The concern is that standards are being lowered to increase the number of women. What appears to be happening is that this is more about assessing a soldier's physical condition as a general assessment. Specific occupational  training would require another set of standards. The Navy, Army, Infantry, Air Force, and Marine Corps have different fitness standards. Women have entered combat jobs, but their numbers remain low. Another view is that women entry into combat jobs will weaken the US military. This is not true, because it only expands America's  armed force. What will weaken the US is economic instability and wars for regime change. Women's entry into combat jobs is one of the few positive developments for the US military. The devastating  wars in Iraq and Afghanistan  has lowered morale. Women should not just seek to be soldiers, rather rise in rank to influence military policy.