Princeton University is offering a Black Lives Matter course, which will teach students about the “historical roots and growth of the Black Lives Matter social movement.” Starting this fall semester, Princeton University students can enroll in the “#BlackLivesMatter” course, which will feature readings from a former Black Panther member and avowed Marxist, as reported by The College Fix.
The course description reads:
This seminar traces the historical roots and growth of the Black Lives Matter social movement in the United States and comparative global contexts. The movement and course are committed to resisting, unveiling, and undoing histories of state sanctioned violence against Black and Brown bodies. The course seeks to document the forms of dispossession that Black Americans face, and offers a critical examination of the prison industrial complex, police brutality, urban poverty, and white supremacy in the US.
The course includes readings from Angela Davis’ book “Freedom is a Constant Struggle.” Davis is an avowed Marxist, former Black Panther member, two-time vice-presidential candidate of the Communist Party USA, and was awarded the International Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union.
The class at Princeton, which has a tuition of $56,010, will be taught by professor Hanna Garth, who is a sociocultural and medical anthropologist.
I am most broadly interested in the ways in which people struggle to overcome structural violence. My recent work is focused on the connections between food systems, structural inequalities, health, and wellbeing. This work has looked at the ways in which macro-level changes and shifts in local food distribution systems impact communities, families, and individuals. I have studied how food scarcity and reduced access to affordable food influence individual distress, and household and community dynamics. I have also studied the ways in which food justice organizations attempt to improve access to healthy food for low income communities.
The professor adds, “All of my research, teaching, and mentoring is designed around my commitment to feminist methodologies and critical race theory.”
Garth has taught other classes, such as “Race and Racisms,” “Postcolonial and Decolonial Theory,” and “Theories of Social Justice.”
Garth wrote a book titled “Black Food Matters: Racial Justice in the Wake of Food Justice,” which “analyzes how Blackness is contested through food, differing ideas of what makes our sustenance ‘healthy,’ and Black individuals’ own beliefs about what their cuisine should be.”
“This comprehensive look at Black food culture and the various forms of violence that threaten the future of this cuisine centers Blackness in a field that has too often framed Black issues through a white-centric lens, offering new ways to think about access, privilege, equity, and justice,” the overview of the book states.
Garth and Princeton administrators did not respond to requests for comments about the Black Lives Matter course from The College Fix.
“Students will learn to study systematically how human groups interact with one another and how social networks and a variety of institutions help shape those interactions and outcomes,” the course description reads. “How are these interactions and outcomes categorized and understood? Where do different people fit into the social categories we use to make sense of our societies, and why? And how are different actors able to transform those spaces in which to fit?”
In March, Princeton University welcomed Black Lives Matter Global Network co-founder Alicia Garza to hold a lecture titled: “The Purpose of Power.”
In a 2015 interview, Black Lives Matter Global Network co-founder Patrisse Cullors said that she and Garza are “trained Marxists.”
“Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers. We are trained Marxists,” Cullors said in the interview. “We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories.”
The Black Lives Matter Global Network website previously declared that the organization was against the nuclear family.
“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable,” the BLM organization stated in its “About” section before deleting it last September.
The founding pastor of Hillsong Church in Australia, Brian Houston, has been charged with allegedly covering up information about his father’s child sexual abuse offenses.
Officers with the New South Wales Police Force announced the charges against the 67-year-old Houston on Thursday as part of an investigation that has been ongoing since 2019, according to The Guardian.
“Police will allege in court the man knew information relating to the sexual abuse of a young male in the 1970s and failed to bring that information to the attention of police,” the department stated.
BREAKING: Hillsong founder Brian Houston has been charged by NSW Police over concealing child sex offences in the 1970s. @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/gi1kNVMDAy
Houston, who has been living in the U.S. in recent months, said the charges against him came “as a shock … given how transparent I’ve always been about this matter.”
“I vehemently profess my innocence and will defend these charges and I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight,” he said.
The church, for its part, explained in a post it is “disappointed that Pastor Brian has been charged,” asking that he “be afforded the presumption of innocence and due process, as is his right.”
Hillsong’s statement went on to explain Houston has informed the church “he will defend this and looks forward to clearing his name.”
“We thank all who are part of our church for their support and prayers at this time,” the church leadership stated.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Houston is required to appear at Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Oct. 5.
The Pentecostal pastor’s father, Frank, who was also a minister, has been accused of abusing nine underage boys while he was a pastor. The elder Houston, it should be noted, passed away in 2004.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse concluded the Hillsong founder failed to report his father’s abuse after he confessed to it in 1999.
Brett Sengstock has said he was abused by the elder Houston for more than five years in the 1960s and ’70s. Sengstock has condemned Brian Houston’s handling of the issue and accused him of covering up his dad’s sins.
In a blog post published July 23, Hillsong stated Brian Houston didn’t know about his father’s criminal action against Sengstock until he was 45 and the alleged victim was 37. The church alleged “numerous other pastors and individuals had knowledge of this matter prior to Brian Houston learning about it.”
“Upon being told of his father’s actions, Brian Houston confronted his father, reported the matter to the National Executive Assemblies of God in Australia, relayed the matter to the governing board of Sydney Christian Life Centre, and subsequently made a public announcement to the church,” the church stated. “Brian sought to honor the victim’s multiple requests not to inform the police.”
Virtual idols are the future of false religion. With 3 billion users and zero sense of sacred boundaries, Facebook is poised to lead this revolution.
The Church of Facebook is set to capture the human soul in silicon. On July 25, the New York Times reported that since 2017 the social media giant has quietly cultivated exclusive partnerships with select religious communities. As always, money is involved.
While Facebook’s ultimate goals remain sealed behind non-disclosure agreements, the Times article does hint at things to come: “The company aims to become the virtual home for religious community, and wants churches, mosques, synagogues and others to embed their religious life into its platform, from hosting worship services and socializing more casually to soliciting money.”
“The partnerships reveal how Big Tech and religion are converging,” the Times continues. “Facebook is shaping the future of religious experience itself, as it has done for political and social life.”
In other words, ultra-mod spiritual centers will be blessed by mass data extraction, algorithmic polarization, and censorship of theological “misinformation.”
If Facebook’s history is any guide, every digital prayer will be scooped up and turned into a data point. Livestreamed preachers who deny the sanctity of LGBT lifestyles will be flagged and punished as “extremists.” Best of all, smartphone-addicted congregants can donate their last widow’s mite with the touch of a virtual button. Sounds like a little slice of heaven, doesn’t it?
Getting Saved in the Metaverse
The Church of Facebook is just one part of a much broader vision. Three days before the Times article appeared, The Verge published an in-depth interview with founder Mark Zuckerberg about his ambition to “bring the metaverse to life.” The term refers to the evolution of 24/7 screentime into a warped synthesis of physical reality, mixed reality, augmented reality, and virtual reality.
The Metaverse was first coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 dystopian novel “Snow Crash.” The author imagined the decadent virtual realm as an escape from a dismal society run by mega-corporations. Now that the Metaverse is being funded by Silicon Valley oligarchs and Wall Street traders, we’re supposed to believe it’ll be a fine place to live.
In his Verge interview, Zuckerberg describes the Metaverse as an “embodied internet” — “the holy grail of social interactions” — where we can work, play, and enjoy a “sense of presence” alongside teleporting holograms. He predicts that within the next five years — around the same time Elon Musk hopes to achieve digital telepathy through brain chips — Facebook will “transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company.”
According to Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, it will also be a spiritual endeavor. “Faith organizations and social media are a natural fit because fundamentally both are about connection,” she told the Times. “Our hope is that one day people will host religious services in virtual reality spaces as well, or use augmented reality as an educational tool to teach their children the story of their faith.”
Imagine a synagogue where a holographic burning bush recites the Decalogue, or a cathedral where saint icons speak to you directly, or maybe animated deities waving their many arms in Hindu temples. Immersive idolatry is the future of false religion. With 3 billion users worldwide — and zero sense of sacred boundaries — Facebook is poised to lead this spiritual revolution.
From the New Atlantis to Techno-Occultism
It’s true that with enough hyperbole, anything can be described as a “religion.” People often say things like “Art is my religion” or “Nature is my religion.” Critics also use this to scold their opponents, perhaps accurately, saying “Science is their religion” or even “Video gaming is their religion.” But this is not hyperbole: Technology has become a religion.
If you look at the personalities behind techno-fetishism, they frequently describe digital culture in spiritual terms. Smart devices produce all the miracles promised by religion, and for an affordable price. It’s a dream world with a long history.
In Francis Bacon’s unfinished 1626 novel “The New Atlantis,” he describes a technocratic utopia with “perspective-houses, where we make demonstrations of all lights and radiations. … We procure means [to] represent things near as afar off; and things afar off as near.” The pioneering scientist warns of vivid mechanical “illusions” that could be presented as “miracles.” As far back as the 17th century, Bacon was imagining holograms. In a sense, his New Atlantis has already arrived on your laptop display.
Striking a dissonant note, in 1976 the first Apple computer went on sale for $666.66. Despite the cuddly Steve Wozniak’s insistence that it was just a fluke, the numeric symbolism has dark resonance in the Christian imagination. You don’t have to be superstitious to appreciate the mythical implications. When I visited the famous Apple Museum in Prague, Czech Republic, a large decal on the front window read: “Three apples changed the world. The first tempted Eve, the second inspired Newton, and the third was offered to the world half-eaten by Steve Jobs.”
Many observers are thrilled by these infernal archetypes. In 1988, Timothy Leary published his classic essay “Digital Polytheism: Load and Run High-tech Paganism.” The High Priest of LSD explicitly describes the personal computer in terms of ritual magic: “Today, digital alchemists have at their command tools of a precision and power unimagined by their predecessors.”
“Computer screens ARE magical mirrors, presenting alternate realities at varying degrees of abstraction on command (invocation). Aleister Crowley defined magick as ‘the art and science of causing change to occur in conformity with our will,’” Leary wrote.
It’s a curious fact that, like many techno-fetishists, Leary was as obsessed with Crowleyan “magick” as he was with psychedelics and cybernetics. In fact, his essay opens with Crowley’s catchy little ditty:
We place no reliance
On virgin or pigeon;
Our Method is Science,
Our Aim is Religion.
In the smartphone age, even a “midwit” wizard can summon transportation, Sichuan noodles, or casual sex with a few swipes of the touchscreen. But that’s just a cheap parlor trick. Big Tech titans can observe our inner worlds in the aggregate, or each of us one by one. They can use that information to sell targeted ads, manipulate public consciousness, or sway national elections. It’s just like magic, except it works (almost) every time.
Building Back Better with Corporate Religion
This mystical connection is not some secret conspiracy. For instance, on Good Friday of 2020 — while religious communities were forbidden to gather in-person and forced to worship online — Microsoft launched a controversial ad for their HoloLens 2 mixed-reality glasses. The advertisement featured an art exhibit called “The Life” by Marina Abramović. In it, we see goggled hipsters standing around a bougie gallery, looking pleased with themselves. Suddenly, the “Spirit Cooking” sorceress materializes in a red dress.
“I believe the art of the future is art without objects,” Abramović narrates. “There is always this great ideal of immortality. Once you die, the work of art will never die. … Here, I am kept forever.”
The ad may be as tacky as it is sinister, but you don’t have to be a crazed dot-connector to see the profound symbolism. It’s merely one expression of an increasingly influential worldview.
Incidentally, both Microsoft and Facebook are among the many partners at the XR Association who’ve joined forces to manifest the Metaverse in our daily lives — from basic infrastructure to spirituality. Google, Sony, and HTC are also leaders in the effort. “Immersive technology will play a vital role in America’s drive to Build Back Better,” the XRA website promises. “Over the course of the next decade, the physical and digital worlds will merge at an unprecedented scale.”
While citizens bicker over vaccine mandates and debt ceilings, Big Tech is crafting a parallel universe for a new breed of humans to inhabit. Right now, the “magic mirrors” used to enter that world are touchscreens in our palms. In the coming years, we’ll be wearing them on our foreheads. Each of us will be free to spiral off into our own inconsequential reality, playing make-believe in the shadow of a homogenizing corporate umbrella. It will be heaven on earth.
Maybe you don’t buy that story, and that’s fine. Don’t worry about it! If Zuckerberg’s proposed universal basic income is sufficiently generous, the powers that be will just buy it for you.
A leaked presidential briefing document reported on by NBC News revealed that 20 percent of unaccompanied migrant children who illegally crossed the border are testing positive for COVID-19 after being released into communities by Border Patrol. The report covers the last two to three weeks of data prepared for President Joe Biden, NBC says.
A presidential briefing document reported by NBC News also states that 18 percent of migrant families are testing positive for the pandemic virus after they are released by Border Patrol officials into border communities. President Biden is expected to receive the briefing on Thursday.
The report also says that the infection rate of migrant families is impacting the Biden administration’s efforts to deport migrant families under recently reenacted expedited removal processes. Some of the ICE deportation flights had a 25 percent COVID-positive rate among the migrant families scheduled for removal, NBC stated. Those families were removed from the flights for quarantine.
“Migrants are not tested for Covid in Border Patrol custody unless they show symptoms, but all are tested when they leave Border Patrol custody, according to DHS officials,” NBC reported. “Immigrants who are allowed to stay in the U.S. to claim asylum are given tests when they are transferred to ICE, Health and Human Services or non-governmental organizations.”
On Saturday, Breitbart Texas’ Randy Clark reported images from McAllen, Texas, hotels and motels that are serving as shelter overflows for Catholic Charities operations in that region of the Texas border with Mexico. The photos show healthcare workers going room to room to check the health status of migrants recently released from Border Patrol’s custody.
“The migrants could be seen being led by health care workers in smocks escorting them into the hotel lobbies and going door to door with clipboards to speak to those staying in the rooms,” Clark observed.
NBC states that healthcare support in Border Patrol shelters is nearly non-existent with only three EMTs on hand to take care of 3,000 migrants.
A White House spokesperson issued a statement that reads:
DHS and CBP takes its responsibility to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and other diseases very seriously. CBP provides migrants who can’t be expelled…or are awaiting processing with PPE from the moment they are taken into custody, and migrants are required to keep masks on at all times, including when they are transferred or in the process of being released. If anyone exhibits signs of illness in CBP custody, they are referred to local health systems for appropriate testing, diagnosis, isolation and treatment.
NBC reports that Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 200,000 migrants in July. The official numbers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection are expected to be released later this week.
The Hollywood star Rose McGowan of Scream fame took to social media this week to give her thoughts on the sexual harassment scandal involving New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
McGowan fired back in her statement by torching President Joe Biden, her former “Charmed” costar Alyssa Milano, and others for what she feels is their role in the scandal.
She also called out Time’s Up CEO and President Tina Tchen over reports that she allegedly gave Cuomo’s advisors advice on drafting a letter responding to his accusers’ allegations against him.
McGowan Sounds Off
“Remember when Hollywood actresses & paid off activists wore stupid black dresses at the Oscars? That was sponsored by Times Up who were meant to help abuse victims I told the world they are a lie 3+ years ago,” McGowan wrote.
“I was mocked & harassed by so many who want to believe the illusion. Wake up,” she added. “Hard truths are inconvenient & uncomfortable. So what, suck it up.”
McGowan was referring to the red carpet at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, where some of the biggest stars wore black outfits to highlight sexual harassment and assault scandals in Hollywood, according to Fox News.
“Milano, TimesUp, fake performatives and profiteers,” McGowan continued. “Alyssa’s statement at the time was gaslighting in full effect. She said of my truth telling ‘Hurt people hurt people.’ No, Alyssa, it’s lizard people like you, SDK Knickerbocker, Gov Cuomo, the Pres, Tina Chen who hurt people. Your time is up. Exit stage left.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James had said in her report that Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, testified that the governor had told her to ask for advice from attorney Roberta Kaplan, who co-founded the Time’s Up legal defense fund with Tchen.
“According to Ms. DeRosa, Ms. Kaplan read the letter to the head of the advocacy group Times Up [Tchen], and both of them allegedly suggested that, without the statements about Ms. Boylan’s interactions with male colleagues, the letter was fine,” James said.
Tchen has denied this, however, saying, “I have never given advice to the Governor or his team.”
“I had a phone call with Robbie Kaplan about a letter she said was being sent by his staffers during which I gave the same advice I give to everyone else: No survivor should be attacked and the truth should be told,” Tchen added.
“I’m furious that the Governor’s office used me and TIME’S UP as a justification for their defense,” she continued. “TIME’S UP is an organization that has always centered survivors while holding those committing harm accountable. Any characterization of us to the contrary is simply not true.”
Authorities in Albany County have opened an investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.), which stemmed from a criminal complaint filed from a former aid. On Saturday, Sheriff Craig Apple announced the ongoing investigation into the embattled governor after the staffer complained Cuomo groped her at his state residence last year.
“I cannot get into the nature of her specific allegations at this time obviously. We are in the very infant stages of this investigation,” Apple explained. “We have a lot of fact-finding to do, we have interviews to conduct and it would be totally premature to comment on any of that.”
08/07/2021 I will hold a brief press conference regarding the ACSO taking a compliant containing allegations against the Governor. No reports will be released and details will be limited. Please understand this is an active investigation. Location 16 Eagle st. Albany 12pm.
According to authorities, the Democrat governor could be arrested and face misdemeanor charges if it was determined a crime has been committed. The sheriff said his office has requested investigative material from the state attorney general’s office as well as Cuomo’s lawyers.
Following multiple investigations, which have stemmed from several allegations, the governor has denied any wrongdoing.
Cuomo went on to say, “I want you to know directly from me that I never touched anyone inappropriately or made any inappropriate sexual advances.”
If there was ever a time for a politician to resign as they have become a “distraction from the people’s work,” then this is it. I can’t even gas up my car without multiple people asking me when we’re going to be holding @NYGovCuomo accountable! New Yorkers want action & justice!
This comes as Cuomo has come under fire by his fellow Democrat lawmakers, who have called for him to resign or for his impeachment. However, Cuomo and his lawyer have both maintained the allegations to be false.
“At this point, I’m very comfortable and safe saying that she is, in fact, a victim,” Apple stated. “Again, I commend all of them for coming forward. This is a very tough time.”
Albany County authorities have yet to provide an estimate on how long the investigation could take. Meanwhile, the state’s Assembly’s Judiciary committee is expected to meet regarding impeachment proceedings in nearly two thirds of the legislative body said they will favor if the governor does not resign.
Cousins returned to practice on Thursday after having to enter COVID safety protocols.
A Michigan hospital has cut ties with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins after he doubled down on his stance of not getting vaccinated this week.
Holland Hospital issued a statement to WHTC radio on Friday confirming that it has ended its relationship with Cousins after he told reporters a day earlier that he was “at peace” with his decision to go unvaccinated this season.
“While we acknowledge that each person is entitled to their own viewpoints, those who speak on our behalf must support messages that align with the hospital’s position on matters of vital importance to individual and community health,” the statement read.
“For this reason, Holland Hospital will discontinue using Kirk Cousins as our spokesperson for now. We are proud of our association with Kirk. He embodies many values we respect and share as part of our work culture. However, we must be certain that our communications about COVID vaccination are consistent and unequivocal.”
“It is important that Holland Hospital maintain the trusted reputation we have earned for providing consistent, truthful information and evidence-based health care guidance.”
Cousins returned to practice on Thursday after having to enter COVID safety protocols after being deemed a close contact to a positive case.
“I’m at peace with where I’m at, and I’ll follow the protocols vigilantly,” he said. “I do believe that as a leader of the team it’s very important to follow the protocols to avoid this close contact, because that is what it’s going to come down to,”
Cousins said that the size of the quarterback room would allow him to still follow the NFL’s safety protocols and still go unvaccinated, suggesting surrounding himself in plexiglass or even “meeting outside under a goal post in January.”
“I worked on my own, did all the virtual meetings, was able to do the best I could with the situation we had. I do believe the protocols work, and that’s why I believe I didn’t have COVID after being in a meeting room like that, because the mask and the social distancing works.”
The Vikings, as of Tuesday, had the lowest percentage (70) of vaccinated players in the NFL.
“I’m done talking about vaccinations. I’m out of that business,” coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday.
President Donald Trump released a statement paying respect to “our Wounded Warriors and Fallen Heroes.”
QUICK FACTS:
August 7 is ‘Purple Heart Day.’
Trump celebrated the occasion by releasing a statement from his website to “pay solemn tribute” to our country’s “immortal patriots” who “shed their blood, and many gave their lives.”
TRUMP’S FULL STATEMENT:
On Purple Heart Day we pay solemn tribute to our Wounded Warriors and Fallen Heroes. These immortal patriots shed their blood, and many gave their lives, to defend our flag, families, and freedom. May we honor their sacred memory by protecting all that they sacrificed to secure. God bless our men and women in uniform, the greatest heroes in all the world.
Princeton offering Black Lives Matter course with readings from avowed Marxist
Princeton University is offering a Black Lives Matter course, which will teach students about the “historical roots and growth of the Black Lives Matter social movement.” Starting this fall semester, Princeton University students can enroll in the “#BlackLivesMatter” course, which will feature readings from a former Black Panther member and avowed Marxist, as reported by The College Fix.
The course description reads:
The course includes readings from Angela Davis’ book “Freedom is a Constant Struggle.” Davis is an avowed Marxist, former Black Panther member, two-time vice-presidential candidate of the Communist Party USA, and was awarded the International Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union.
The class at Princeton, which has a tuition of $56,010, will be taught by professor Hanna Garth, who is a sociocultural and medical anthropologist.
From Garth’s website:
The professor adds, “All of my research, teaching, and mentoring is designed around my commitment to feminist methodologies and critical race theory.”
Garth has taught other classes, such as “Race and Racisms,” “Postcolonial and Decolonial Theory,” and “Theories of Social Justice.”
Garth wrote a book titled “Black Food Matters: Racial Justice in the Wake of Food Justice,” which “analyzes how Blackness is contested through food, differing ideas of what makes our sustenance ‘healthy,’ and Black individuals’ own beliefs about what their cuisine should be.”
“This comprehensive look at Black food culture and the various forms of violence that threaten the future of this cuisine centers Blackness in a field that has too often framed Black issues through a white-centric lens, offering new ways to think about access, privilege, equity, and justice,” the overview of the book states.
Garth and Princeton administrators did not respond to requests for comments about the Black Lives Matter course from The College Fix.
In 2020, Princeton University offered a course titled: “Sociology 102: Police Violence, #BlackLivesMatter and the Covid-19 Pandemic.” The course will “introduce students to the concept of race and discipline of sociology.”
“Students will learn to study systematically how human groups interact with one another and how social networks and a variety of institutions help shape those interactions and outcomes,” the course description reads. “How are these interactions and outcomes categorized and understood? Where do different people fit into the social categories we use to make sense of our societies, and why? And how are different actors able to transform those spaces in which to fit?”
In March, Princeton University welcomed Black Lives Matter Global Network co-founder Alicia Garza to hold a lecture titled: “The Purpose of Power.”
In a 2015 interview, Black Lives Matter Global Network co-founder Patrisse Cullors said that she and Garza are “trained Marxists.”
“Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers. We are trained Marxists,” Cullors said in the interview. “We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories.”
The Black Lives Matter Global Network website previously declared that the organization was against the nuclear family.
“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable,” the BLM organization stated in its “About” section before deleting it last September.