The Backlash Continues

As the world recovers from the horrendous scenes which played out on Capitol Hill, the anger against Trump and his family is growing. The backlash has started and as the lawmakers in Washington gear up with their impeachment articles, people and organizations once affiliated with Trump & Co. are distancing themselves from the family quickly.

The fallout effects of the verbal nuclear bomb deployed by the madman has been significant and every measure is being taken to ensure Trump never commands attention through the use and abuse of prominent social platforms in the near future. At best, he may be regaled to using non-influential boards such as Gab or other smaller platforms which have no influence over the general public. 

Parler, a sounding board for extremists and die-hard republicans has been advised by Amazon that it would be shutting off its access to its services given the content published on the platform. In similar fashion, Parler was given 24 hours by Apple to come up with a genuine strategy to address the graphic and extremist content. Parler responded with a weak and ineffective option in the hopes it would placate Apple - it did not and the Parler app was banned from the App Store. Google was less diplomatic and simply remove the app from the premier Google Play Store immediately.

It is apparent that the digital community is responding to the attacks against America's democracy and the key players, i.e. the owners of Twitter, Facebook and Amazon, are taking a very hardline with the recent events and the message is clear: Trump needs to be silenced. Permanently. Or at least muffled to the maximum degree possible. Noting the fact that wiping Trump's account from Twitter cost 80 million followers and probably a number of users leaving Twitter permanently for smaller, less regulated platforms, the decision to sanction Trump in the digital world was not taken lightly.

In the coming days leading up to the inauguration of Jo Biden, Trump's followers have gone all out on the smaller extremist platforms with threats to bring a siege into Washington along with all the weaponry they can muster to plans to physically harm Pence and other key people in power. These threats are not being taken lightly by the FBI or other lawmakers and measures are being implemented to ensure nothing happens on the day Joe Biden is sworn in as president. Arrests have been made to militia group leaders such as Proud Boys and further arrests are expected in the coming days as law enforcement authorities move quickly to quell any trouble.

Another area of control that will come into play in the coming days is the impeachment of Trump. Having given Mike Pence 24 hours to act on a request by the lawmakers to remove Trump from office, the next step will be to impeach Trump to ensure he is unable to stand in the 2024 elections. The impeachment also seeks to strip him off a number of perks given to ex-presidents. Given the damage done by this person, it is not an extreme action, given the damage and ruin brought by Trump on so many hard-working Americans.

“Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers. Or you can grow weeds.” - Anonymous

The Day After the Fall of America

image source: Fox News, 06 January 2021

It is a new day and while most of us go about our daily business and sip our coffee, America awoke to a grey day. It has been just over 12 hours when insurgents attempted to usurp the role of the lawmakers of America by attempting to enter the Capitol and illegally overturn the vote of the people. Four people are dead and more then 50 police officers injured. All this simply because one selfish, corrupt and deranged individual refuses to listen to the will of the people.

World leaders condemned yesterdays actions and specifically took aim at Trump as it became clear that he was the direct cause of the horrors. Boris Johnson along with other leaders who had previously stood by Trump roundly and directly condemned him.

"Insofar as encouraging people to storm the Capitol and insofar as the president has consistently cast doubt on the outcome of a free and fair election, I believe that was completely wrong. I think what President Trump has been saying about that is completely wrong..." Boris Johnson, 06 January 2021

While the coming days will no doubt reveal a plethora of analysis on why what happened and the options the parliamentarians have to hold Trump & Co. accountable for the atrocities committed against the people of America on 06 January 2020, what has become clear is the digital world, particularly those who control the reigns at Facebook and Twitter, have a key role in shaping what people do in the real world.

For a long time, society has discussed the effects of these two social media giants and their effect on our children's behavior as well as its influence on what we do in the real world. And this is exactly what came to pass yesterday. The tweets and Facebook posts of Donald Trump broke the camels back, resulting in a large group of people making a full scale assault on the Capitol.

As a result of this gross abuse of social media for an attempted terrorist attack on the people of America, Mark Zuckerberg approved the blocking of Trumps Facebook account which will not be lifted until Joe Biden has been sworn into office. In a brief yet concise post, Facebook confirmed that the abuse of the freedom of speech given to Facebook users by Donald Trump would not be condoned. The resulting ban may extend indefinitely based on assessments made later. 

"...the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor... we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete..." Mark Zuckerberg - 06 January 2021

Twitters Jack Dorsey also confirmed that Twitter has suspended Trumps account for 12 hours and would be applied again if necessary.

"This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked." Twitter Safety, January 7, 2021

It is apparent the social media leaders have realized their services are now being used by an extremely stupid yet powerful person to get people hyped up into a state of frenzy where they took the law into their own hands, resulting in four people losing their lives. The actions followed a torrent of criticism aimed at social media companies for their role in spreading misinformation and being a sounding platform for people such as Trump. Calls have been made to demand Trumps accounts not only be suspended, but disabled completely as it has become apparent he has no scruples using social media to wreak havoc onto the very people he took an oath to serve protect.

As this post is being written, Nancy Pelosi has advised that she will pursue impeachment if Trump’s cabinet does not strip him of powers through the invocation of the 25th Amendment. Mike Pence has signaled he is not in favor of undertaking this. The decision by Mr. Pence is said to be supported by several Trump cabinet officials. Only the coming days will truly show what options lawmakers have to hold Trump accountable for his actions of January 06 as either paths not only require significant support from key policy makers but also takes a lot of time to formulate and formalize.

Nonetheless, the people of America should look ahead and into the future when, in a few days, they will be rewarded with a new president who does not seek to abuse the power entrusted to him for personal gain. It is also an opportunity to reflect and determine how much influence these social media platforms have on our lives or more importantly, how much we're allowing these platforms to control our lives? It is definitely a time to reflect and review. We need to change as a society and realize that the digital world has enveloped us to the point where we live our life based on what others post. It is this danger we must recognize now and stop it from consuming us.

American Democracy Under Attack Analysis & Views

image source: 07 January 2021, U.S.News & World Report:  https://www.usnews.com/cartoons/donald-trump

Today was a dark day for a country which lives and breathes democracy. It will go down in history as a day when a group of people attempted to usurp the power of the people and carry out a coup. This was an attempt to enact mob rule and turn America into a lawless country.

The actions of those who joined the rabble are not heroic. It is shameful. The actions of those who tried to engage in this illegal takeover today are not democratic. They are those we see in a dictatorship. The actions today have resulted in the death of army veteran Ashli Babbit and her death is the direct result of the shameful actions of a deluded outgoing president and his lackey son.

The words used by these two individuals through social media and other outlets directly led to this occurrence and as a result, Ashli Babbit lost her life after she was lied to by Trump into believing her actions would be fighting for democracy. As an accessory to this murder, Ashli Babbit's family, who are tonight no doubt in mourning, must hold Trump accountable. 

Ashli was a 14-year veteran, who served numerous tours with the US Air Force, and was a ranking official throughout her time in service. Ashli's husband stated she was a patriot and an ardent supporter of President Trump.

Having been through coups a number of times in my life, I speak from experience when I say that a coup or even an attempted illegal civilian takeover never bodes well for anyone. The military and other law enforcement agencies are trained to uphold the laws of the country and its constitution. They will act swiftly to protect the articles and they will act ruthlessly.

For Trump and his ilk, todays events should be seen as their doing. They should be arrested for their actions which border on treason and sedition. It is clearly apparent to the world that America is being run by a mentally incompetent person who will not stop at anything to keep his power, even if it means killing civilians through the use of hate speeches.

The attempts today to stop the process of formalizing Joe Biden as the DEMOCRATICALLY elected PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA have failed miserably. The process will continue from 8PM and Joe Biden will be confirmed. Yet, the impact of todays actions on the Capitol which has resulted in extensive infrastructural damages as well as a clear sign that some have no respect for this august institution. They are willing to listen to the ramblings and ravings of the madman and his rabid dog of a son who are hellbent on keeping their grip on power to ensure their corrupt activities never come out into the public.

Trump is well aware there are various litigations pending once he leaves office, some relating to sexual harassment charges and many relating to financial matters which include tax evasion. Trump is aware his family will be spurned everywhere and it is unlikely that people who were once associated with them will want to be anywhere near them because of the fallout effects. Various articles have already hinted that Ivanka Trump will not have any friends left to lean on for support and Trumps own wife, Melania is rumored to be looking at filing for divorce once she is out of the White House. However, what really happens to Trump and his family in the future is something only time will tell.

The world waited anxiously for the incumbent and incapable Trump to immediately call national press conferences to denounce the actions of the rioters and ask them to go back home. The world waited in vain. Instead, tweets from Trumps account did exactly the opposite by encouraging the actions and in fact, stoking the fire to become an inferno which eventually got out of control. The incoming DEMOCRATICALLY elected PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA Joe Biden went on to national television before Trump and denounced the actions, pleading for those involved in the attempted coup to stop and go back to their homes. He asked Trump take this stand with him and was rewarded with silence from the Trump circus. 

This is truly a reflection of the two men; one pleading with his people to stop the senseless actions which would (and did) lead to violence and death while the other used social media to egg on his conspirators to attack the very foundations of democracy that America was founded on. This resulted in Twitter deleting a number of inflammatory posts citing violations of the Twitter Rules. As I write this article, Trumps account has been blocked from further tweets for the next 12 hours. No doubt Donald is probably sitting somewhere with a pen and paper writing down all the tweets he will be posting once the block is lifted. The role of social media and ensuring their platforms are not used for encouraging illegal actions, violence and bloodshed is a critical role and Twitter has done an amazing job by policing seditious accounts such as Trumps.

So what happens next for the people of America? At 8PM Washington time, the confirmation will continue as Nancy Pelosi has made is abundantly clear that the people should not give in to violence and intimidation by a bunch of thugs led by a mafioso styled boss currently hiding out in the White House. To add salt to the wounds of the conspirators, Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, both Democrats, will reshape the balance of power in Congress as the Democrats now have control of both houses with this recent victory. 

The win has shown that the people of Georgia have truly looked deep within their hearts and want change for the better. They want to be a progressive state and by appointing an African American to the august house, they have shown their willingness to change. The first Senate wins for Democrats in Georgia this century deliver an emphatic, final rebuke to President Trump in his last days in office and the message is clear: the people of Georgia are done listening to the lies peddled by Trump and want to take control of their destiny. Their choice to swing towards the Democratic party is is a clear indication the triumphant days of the Republican party in Georgia are over.

We now wait for the 8PM mark when the process continues and in the meantime, wonder what Trump and his band of thugs are working on next to try and wrestle democracy and freedom away from the people by engaging in shanty, shady and disgraceful tactics. Verbally chucking this imposter down the stairs of the White House come inauguration day cannot come soon and we all look towards that day which is fast approaching us with hope.

American Democracy Under Attack - Update

 

image source: New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com, 07 January 2021

Update 07 January 2020

Capitol deemed secure, hours after a mob stormed building and halted Congress’s electoral count.

Democracy restored.

American Democracy Under Attack

image source: New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com, 07 January 2021

If this is not a clearer picture of Trump's legacy of his time running America, nothing else can possibly explain it. 

This was Trump's doing. The deaths of any American people today will be directly attributed to him. Their blood is on his hands. This man is no better then a mob boss, a thug who uses others to do his killings and his bidding.

"The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law..." Caroline Kennedy

These acts of violence are fueled by a madman holding a democratic nation hostage simply to feed his own ego. It is a shocking state of affairs the country is being run by a terrorist.

"Let me be very clear: the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect the true America and do not reflect who we are. What we are seeing is a small number of extremists. This is not dissent. It is disorder. It borders on sedition and it must end now." Joe Biden (democratically elected president of the United States of America  - 07 January 2021

My COVID Views

It has become the planet's most deadly disease and has claimed 1,842,455 lives and affected over 85,083,468 people.

The speed at which the disease moves can break entire families and plays an active role in shaping not just our political landscape, but also the way we humans have existed since the dawn of our evolution.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. The virus that causes COVID-19 is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales. These droplets are too heavy to hang in the air, and quickly fall on floors or surfaces.

Each day, humans learn a little more about this invisible army and we have come to realize that this virus is not one we can simply eradicate as we have done with other diseases. COVID-19 (C19) is an evolutionary virus and its mutation in recent days shows that the virus is adept at building its resilience to ensure its survival.

By mutating, C19 has developed the ability to quickly spread from host to host in less time then its original form and the mutated variant has shown the current vaccines developed to combat it are only 75% effective. For people who are old, obese or sickly, the effectiveness of the vaccine reduces further.

Life as we know it has changed drastically for the human race when C19 surfaced at the end of 2019. Yet, 2021 has brought about the opportunity to reflect and review 2020. As a species, what have we done to our planet during our time here and is C19 going to be our Achilles heel?

Mother Nature has built in controls for everything on this planet. When one species grows too large in numbers and affects everything around it, Nature will step in and control the population levels. Humans have long tried to replicate this process. We have killed life on this planet indiscriminately for food and for sport without any regard for the consequences. We have single handedly caused the extinction of species and destroyed entire continents of forests to feed our needs. We have caused damages to the environment which are so severe that the very weather patterns early humans experienced are no more and each major weather occurrence results in further destruction to a planet which is already hanging on the edge of oblivion. 

This is not a fight for survival. It is sheer greed. We have tried to control Nature and take over the role of natural order. And we have failed. Miserably.

So, is C19 really the work of Nature? Perhaps as a species we have finally outgrown our planet and the deaths of 1 million people is really Natures way of stepping in and taking control. If it is, we certainly are deserving of this backlash from the planet we live on and have done everything to destroy.

While sympathies are with the families of those who have lost their loved ones, it is apparent that as a species, we need to make drastic changes to the way we treat our planet and the way we gorge on natural resources without any thought for other organisms we share this planet with. Change is needed and we need to reduce our leeching of natural resources and stop trying to replace Mother Nature.

We need to wake up and realize this disease will be our controlling mechanism because as a species, we have become too large and out of control. As someone who thinks a lot about things, I suspect C19 will continue to wreak havoc throughout the world until the human population drops to a more acceptable and tolerable level.

The result of C19 has also had a marked effect on our environment. With factories forced to close and vehicles no longer running as people work from home, the environment has finally had a chance to do something it hasn't been able to do for a few centuries: Breathe.

Countries such as China and India where particle levels are so toxic that they can cause cancer if inhaled frequently are seeing a massive change in the smoke particle levels. Factories are no longer spewing their poisonous waste fumes into the environment and humans have realized the world offers a lot more things apart from Facebook on their mobiles and started exercising a lot more.

It is as if Mother Nature has put together the most ingenious plan of reducing our numbers on this planet and getting other benefits out of the deal at the same time.

As a species, we need to wake up and realize our planet is no longer speaking to us. It is shouting. At the top of its voice and we need to listen and act accordingly.

“These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.” - Rumi, The Essential Rumi