Legal, settled American Hispanics don't like illegal Hispanic immigration

One reason, it is said, why Kamala Harris lost the presidential election to Donald Trump is because she lost the Hispanic vote and she lost the Hispanic vote because Donald Trump focused very heavily on curbing illegal immigration and sending back illegal immigrants to where they came from. He said that no expense will be spared to deport illegal immigrants.

Kamala Harris didn't really tackle the topic of illegal immigration. And so she lost a significant percentage of the Hispanic vote which contributed to her failing in her attempt to become the next president.

I think it is a point worth making that illegal immigrants who become legal and settled, sometimes and perhaps a lot of the time, don't like further illegal immigration because they are competition for settled immigrants.

And, I suspect, once illegal immigrants become settled in their new country they start of think like the native race of people in that country who historically don't like illegal immigration for obvious reasons such as cultural conflict.

That's the point I want to make: illegal and uncontrolled immigration is disliked by both native citizens and newly arrived illegal immigrants and those that have attained citizenship.

Headline in The Times: "Hispanics ditched Democrats in droves over illegal immigration."

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

People wearing headphones in public places are telling others to 'F off'

I have always felt that it is rude for people to wear headphones in public places as it is their signal to all and sundry to in effect 'F off'. They don't want to engage with the world. They are rejecting others. This implied rejection is rude even if they are strangers. 

There is a implied societal rule which states that people need to be willing to engage with each other when required in the interests of a stronger society and ultimately improve our prospects of survival.

And Greggs in Croydon (a well-known food outlet with 2,400 shops in the UK) agree with me at least to a certain extent as they have stopped serving customers who enter their store wearing headphones and with their head down looking at a phone (another example of rudeness for me).

A sign has appeared at a Croydon branch of the popular high street bakery chain, warning staff may “refuse service” if they do not adhere to the new rules.

“When in queue, remove your headphone/AirPods and come off phones or we may have to refuse service,” the sign reads.

“We get more and more customers coming in who seem to be lost in another world,” a member of staff at the Croydon branch told The Sun.

“We try to be helpful and get everyone served quickly during busy times, but it’s impossible if customers can’t hear a word you’re saying.

“The sign is pretty blunt but we have no option.”

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Disappearance of 25 tigers from India’s Ranthambore National Park

Times of India states that the reported disappearance of 25 tigers from India’s Ranthambore National Park has raised significant concern and prompted an official investigation. Ranthambore, known for its vibrant tiger population, estimated at around 75, has struggled with issues such as overcrowding, territorial fights, and potential poaching. The Rajasthan government has formed a three-member committee to probe the situation, aiming to address potential mismanagement and protect the remaining tiger population. This inquiry will assess whether these tigers have migrated, faced harm, or are unaccounted for due to record-keeping lapses.

Comment: The Indian government is proud of its tiger conservation programme. The problem is that it is an uphill struggle to protect the tiger in the wild in India because of the continuing increase in the human population of India. Here are some facts on that. Also the Indian authorities are not known for their efficiency. The disappearance of tigers in a main tiger reserve indicates poor management.

India's population has experienced substantial growth over the past decade, adding over 100 million people. In 2011, the Indian Census reported a population of approximately 1.21 billion, while recent 2023 estimates indicate it now stands around 1.428 billion, surpassing China's population to make India the most populous country globally.

As India’s demographic profile evolves, its relatively youthful population also stands out, with over 40% under the age of 25, which has significant implications for the country’s workforce and economic potential in coming decades.

Sources: Pew Research Center, World Data, and Our World in Data.

More people equates to more pressures on wildlife. Tigers need huge areas in which to live. The typical home range of a Bengal tiger varies significantly based on factors such as habitat type, prey availability, and population density.

1. Range by Gender:

   • Male Bengal Tigers: Males generally have much larger ranges than females, often between 60 to 100 square kilometers (around 23 to 39 square miles). In some cases, depending on prey density and competition, a male's territory can exceed 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) in more open or resource-scarce areas.
   • Female Bengal Tigers: Females have smaller ranges, typically between 20 to 60 square kilometers (about 8 to 23 square miles). Their ranges often overlap with those of their cubs and sometimes with the territories of related females, allowing for social cohesion among relatives.

2. Influence of Habitat and Prey Density:

   • In prey-rich environments, like certain parts of India's Kanha or Kaziranga reserves, Bengal tigers can sustain themselves in smaller ranges since prey is abundant. Here, a male might have a range of around 20 to 60 square kilometers, and females even less.
   • In less prey-dense or fragmented habitats, Bengal tigers require larger territories to access sufficient food, leading to ranges extending beyond 100 square kilometers.

3. Human Encroachment and Conservation Areas:

   • In protected areas such as Ranthambore and Sundarbans, conservation efforts help to maintain tiger habitats, but human encroachment and resource competition may lead to changes in their range. For instance, in the mangrove-rich Sundarbans, Bengal tigers are reported to have more constrained ranges due to the unique terrain and availability of prey, typically around 20-30 square kilometres.

Bengal tiger home ranges are dynamic, influenced by ecological factors and conservation measures aimed at preserving their natural habitats.

Sources:

• National Geographic and Panthera reports on tiger range and behavior
• Research studies from Wildlife Institute of India and WWF

Ranthambore National Park, located in Rajasthan, India, covers an area of approximately 392 square kilometers (about 151 square miles). The park is part of a larger conservation area, the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, which spans around 1,334 square kilometers (515 square miles), including surrounding sanctuaries such as the Sawai Mansingh and Keladevi Sanctuaries.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Read this if you are skeptical about China using their products to spy on us

There has been a lot of talk about China deviously installing spy software in their consumer goods sold in the West, including in cars to allow the authorities in that dictatorship to collect data about what is happening in the West at a micro-scale which they can use in the future to increase their dominance of the world order. 

It sounds fanciful but Which? magazine has said that some Chinese-made airfriers collect personal data and send it back to servers in China using a smartphone app. Smartphones are often paired wirelessly with these sorts of devices to operate them which gives China a way in to monitor people.

The report in The Times states that: "The consumer group [Which?] tested four types of smart gadgets to see how invasive they were of users' privacy. Air fryers made by Xiaomi, Aigostar and Cosori...all wanted to record audio on users' phones with no specified reason, as well as know the customer's precise location, Which? said. The Aigostar and Xiaomi fryers both sent people's personal data to servers in China and the Xiaomi app connected to trackers from Facebook and TikTok."

In addition, "the Huawei Ultimate smartwatch was classed as giving invasive access to parts of someone's phone, including precise location, the ability to record audio, access to stored files and the ability to see all the other apps installed."

Samsung's TV app requested eight "risky" phone permissions including being able to see all the other apps on iPhone.

Trackers in apps are software that monitor data about your activity including how you use your app, your location and the device that you are using.

The information is often sent to big businesses such as Facebook and Google which use the information to target users in respect of advertisements.

In response to the finding, for example, Xiaomi said that it adhered to all UK data protection laws and did "not sell any personal information to 3rd parties".

Can you trust China? Personally the answer to that question is a big NO.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Putin behaved like an SS Nazi when he deported 20,000 Ukrainian kids to Russia for indoctrination

Putin lies so much (like Trump!) that he can call 'black' white and believe it. And he has a habit of describing Ukrainians who want to be part of Europe 'Nazis' when he has behaved just like the SS Nazis who 'stole' and deported tens of thousands of Polish children from Poland to Germany in 1940 and selected the blond-haired, blue-eyed ones to turn them into Germans through extensive indoctrination.

Putin learned to commit this huge crime from Hitler for which he has been charged by the International Criminal Court for this mass, war crime. In March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for both Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights. These charges are based on substantial evidence that Russian authorities orchestrated the deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied areas to Russia, where many have reportedly been placed in Russian families, given Russian citizenship, and subjected to forced assimilation into Russian culture​.

The ICC’s charges are rooted in the Rome Statute, which defines the forcible transfer of children from one national group to another as a war crime and, in certain cases, as an act of genocide. By focusing on these forced transfers, the ICC underscores the severity of the situation and the long-term harm such policies inflict on the children, their families, and Ukraine as a whole. This marked the first time the ICC has issued a warrant for a sitting leader of a major world power, highlighting the international community’s condemnation of these actions as serious violations of human rights and international law​.

However, as Russia is not a party to the ICC, enforcing the warrant is challenging. Although the ICC does not have direct jurisdiction in Russia, any travel by Putin to countries that recognize the ICC could potentially lead to his arrest. This unprecedented move has intensified global discussions on accountability for war crimes and the protection of children in conflict zones.

Question: In 1940 after Germany invaded Poland, they deported 20,000 Polish children and selected the blond-haired, blue-eyed ones to turn them into Germans. Correct?

Answer from AI: Yes, that’s largely correct. After Germany invaded Poland in 1939, the Nazis implemented a policy known as Lebensborn, which aimed to "Germanize" children deemed to have "Aryan" features—primarily blond hair and blue eyes. This initiative was part of a broader racial policy to create what the Nazis saw as a "pure" Germanic race. Children who met these physical criteria were often forcibly taken from their families and sent to Germany to be raised as Germans, with their Polish identities erased.

As part of the Lebensraum (living space) policy, which sought to expand German territory, the Nazis displaced hundreds of thousands of Polish civilians, often separating families. While exact numbers vary, it is estimated that up to 200,000 Polish children were taken during the occupation, and many were never reunited with their biological families after the war. Those who didn't meet the physical criteria, or who resisted, often faced harsh treatment, including internment in concentration camps.

This abduction and forced Germanization of Polish children remains one of the tragic examples of Nazi racial ideology in action.

How many Ukrainian children has Putin taken from Ukraine in the current war after Russia's invasion, and forced them to live in Russia to become Russians through indoctrination?

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainian officials estimate that approximately 20,000 to 27,000 children have been taken from Ukraine into Russia or Russian-occupied areas. Many of these children were reportedly subjected to Russian "filtration" processes, which involved screening them and often placing them in Russian-controlled territories or with Russian adoptive families, sometimes under false claims that they were orphans. For example, in occupied areas like Mariupol and Kherson, Russian authorities searched orphanages, removed children, and relocated them to regions within Russia​.

The forced transfers have been widely condemned, and Russia’s policies regarding Ukrainian children appear to include issuing Russian citizenship to these children and enrolling them in schools or foster care within Russia. Many reports indicate that they are pressured to adopt Russian culture and language, effectively erasing their Ukrainian identities through systematic indoctrination, similar to the Nazi Lebensborn program. Russian authorities have defended the relocations as "evacuations" or “humanitarian measures,” but international bodies, including the UN, view them as human rights violations and potential war crimes due to the forced assimilation and denial of the children's Ukrainian heritage.

Efforts to return these children are underway, with Ukrainian organizations, international coalitions, and human rights advocates calling for their safe return and for accountability for those involved in their forced displacement.

Do you see the very close similarities between these two crimes?

Yes, the parallels between Nazi Germany’s abduction of Polish children and Russia’s forced transfer of Ukrainian children are striking. Both cases involve the large-scale removal of children from their families and their forced assimilation into the occupying power's culture, with the intent of erasing their original identities and replacing them with those of the dominant ideology.

Key Similarities

1. Ideological Justification and Forced Assimilation: Both Nazi Germany and Russia justified these removals under the guise of "saving" or "helping" children from areas of conflict. Nazi policy targeted Polish children with “Aryan” features for assimilation into German society, viewing them as racially valuable. Similarly, Russia claims it is evacuating Ukrainian children for their safety, but it systematically places them with Russian families, grants them Russian citizenship, and instills Russian culture, language, and identity—often explicitly prohibiting Ukrainian heritage​.

2. Legal and Bureaucratic Systems for Identity Erasure: Both regimes developed legal frameworks to alter the children’s identities. Under the Nazis, children’s names were changed, and they were often unaware of their true origins. In Russia, streamlined adoption and citizenship processes allow Russian families to change the names, birth dates, and even places of origin of Ukrainian children, who are then raised to view themselves as Russian​.

3. Objective of Cultural and National Erasure: In both scenarios, the intent appears to be not just the physical displacement of children but a strategic attempt to dilute or erase the cultural identity of the children’s nation. For Nazi Germany, this was part of a broader goal to create a racially "pure" Germanic Europe. In Russia’s case, the absorption of Ukrainian children serves to weaken Ukrainian cultural continuity and legitimize Russia's occupation by "Russifying" future generations​.

4. Violation of International Law: Both policies are in violation of international laws designed to protect children, particularly during conflicts. The UN and human rights organizations have condemned both actions as forms of genocide. Under international law, the forced transfer of children with the intent to assimilate them into another national group is recognized as a war crime and an act of genocide​.

These similarities underscore a disturbing pattern: the use of children as instruments in a broader strategy of occupation and cultural erasure. Both Nazi Germany and modern Russia used this tactic to destabilize and absorb territories by attempting to eliminate the cultural foundations of their occupied populations. The long-term psychological and cultural impacts on the children and their communities are profound, leading to deep-seated trauma and loss of cultural identity that lasts well beyond the conflict itself.

And it is interesting that Putin calls Ukrainians 'Nazis' when he is behaving like an SS Nazi in deporting the Ukrainian children.

Yes, it’s deeply ironic and contradictory that President Putin justifies his invasion of Ukraine by branding Ukrainians as “Nazis,” while some of his policies resemble Nazi-era strategies, particularly in the forced deportation and "re-education" of Ukrainian children. His accusations tap into powerful historical narratives, but the documented actions involving Ukrainian children reflect tactics historically associated with Nazi occupation policies.

Propaganda and the “De-Nazification” Claim

Putin has frequently framed his invasion as a “de-Nazification” mission, a claim that many historians and international experts view as baseless. While there are far-right elements in many countries, including Ukraine, this framing ignores the fact that Ukraine is a democratic nation with a Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose family suffered during the Holocaust. Putin’s rhetoric has been widely criticized as propaganda intended to galvanize Russian public support by invoking memories of World War II and framing Russia as a liberator once again​.

Deportation and Forced Assimilation: An Echo of Nazi Tactics

Putin's government has implemented policies strikingly similar to the Nazi SS’s forced assimilation of Polish children. By deporting Ukrainian children and placing them in Russian families, where they are subjected to forced cultural assimilation, Russia's actions align closely with Nazi Germany’s efforts to “Germanize” select groups of Polish and Eastern European children. Both instances involve altering children's identities and erasing their connections to their heritage. International organizations, including the United Nations, have condemned this forced displacement as a possible war crime or even genocide, based on the intent to destroy a part of a national group by erasing its future generation's identity​.

International Response and Historical Accountability

The deportations of Ukrainian children have garnered significant international backlash. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has even issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, charging them with war crimes related to these forced deportations. Such legal actions highlight the global community’s recognition that these practices are part of a disturbing strategy with historic precedents, particularly those that evoke the Nazi SS’s approach to occupied territories​.

In essence, Putin's portrayal of Ukrainians as "Nazis" is not only misleading but also hypocritical, given that some of his policies mirror the very atrocities he claims to oppose. This has sparked widespread condemnation, especially from those familiar with World War II history, as Russia's policies seem to revive the oppressive tactics it once vowed to prevent.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.