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cyberbarf VOLUME 19 No 3 EXAMINE THE NET WAY OF LIFE OCTOBER, 2020
TRICK OR TREAT BARF BAGS iTOONS POLITICAL THEATER WHETHER REPORT
©2020 Ski Words, Cartoons & Illustrations All Rights Reserved Worldwide Distributed by pindermedia.com, inc
cyberculture, commentary, cartoons, essays
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A SIGN OF THE TIMES
One of the early cyberbarf cartoons. It seems that the more that changes, the more stays the same. Technology has advanced greatly in the past 17 years. But communication has not. It is not a question of blame. It is a question of collective intelligence. Can it expand or is it finite? It is hard to tell. The world seems to have turned upside down. Hopefully, it will not turn itself inside out.
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cyberbarf TRICK OR TREAT COMMENTARY Culture is defined by the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in the arts, letters, manners and scholarly pursuits. Civilizations built their society on the cultural accomplishments in the past and their creativity for the future. There were dark times when civilization and culture stopped; the age of the Black Death was one example. The next generations had to re-learn or re-invent things that prior scientists, craftsmen and inventors had created because their accomplishments were wiped out by a plague. A plague can be organic such as the current coronavirus pandemic. Or a plague can be intellectual apathy on a large scale. We are coming on almost a full year of on-line learning. The results are not promising for most. Most elementary and secondary education virtual learning experiences have been bad. Teachers merely assign daily homework in each subject. It is all dropped on the student early in the morning with an afternoon deadline for completion. There is little to no live classroom teaching. Colleges, if they have invested in enough technology, can video conference a large number of students into virtual video conferences. But most of the students are locked in their rooms having to complete their studies on their own. Many parental advocates are sounding an alarm. The current students are clearly falling behind their past peers. It is not just in America or Europe. In the heavily education-first industrial countries in Asia, parents are angry with the closure of primary schools and tutoring or cram academies. In Asia, the college entrance examination is the make-or-break test for a student's life. A good test score means a good university education with the prospect of having great opportunities. A bad test score means a lesser education, less connections and poor opportunities. It is a lot of pressure on an 18 year old student whose life literally depends on one test. In person classroom training has been known to help students better comprehend the subject matter. Students can ask questions mid-lecture instead of being muted on-line. They can engage in conversations with professors to find deeper meaning in complex subjects. Parents who pay high taxes, private school tuitions, and college expenses have begun to question the current system. They were tricked into thinking that health and safety measures required a total shut down of all schools and gathering places. Early data seemed to confirm that hypothesis but one country, Sweden, decided to go against the plan to keep as much of its society open and free (counting on the responsibility of its own citizens to look out for each other.) Sweden's model has been harshly criticized but recently has been re-examined in the light of massive spikes in other European countries who put in strict guidelines. Parents were tricked into thinking that their quality schools could provide quality education on-line. How hard could it be to move classroom materials to an on-line program? Apparently, it is hard. Many teachers did not have the basic skill set to run a Zoom meeting. So school districts paid for integrated teaching management programs to help improve the work flow of lesson plans to students. But it did not help. One school district went so far as to tell at-home parents not to be in their child's room during on-line classes (or eavesdrop). The reason was clear: most teachers were not teaching but directing students where to find the materials to complete their written homework assignments. Many teachers would just greet their students, then punch them into pods or meeting groups to discuss their assignments. In a 50 minute class, a teacher may interact with his or her students maybe 5 minutes. But parents got a treat. They got to spend more quality time with their struggling children trying to complete their homework assignments. Parents who were working from home got the double whammy of career and home schooling (at the same time). many parents were not up to speed or confused with much of the lessons (for example, the new math has changed into a newer new math.) Parents then struggle as much as their kids in trying to get the right answers. That is why so many parent groups are demanding local governments change their lock down policies to re-open schools. Of course, there are some parents who really do not care. They are being tricked into a false sense of encouraged entitlement. Many had their unemployment benefits exceed their actual wages. Many had their landlords frozen from evicting them for unpaid rent so they stopped paying it. They are under the belief that the federal government would continue stimulus plans which would give them a higher safety net than ever before. It is like eating in one night all your Halloween candy treats. Fall enrollment in colleges was down 2.5 percent. In some states, the enrollment drops exceeded ten percent. There is a growing resentment to the educational institutions and the value of a current education. It is both an important and dangerous examination. The quality of today's education will impact every person in our society in their pursuit of future excellence.
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cyberbarf BARF BAGS COMMENTARY
Oh In Hye was a South Korean actress. She recently died at the age of 27 due to cardiac arrest. Immediately, the netizens started to speculate with conspiracy theories as South Korea's leading cause of death among young people is suicide. There have been in recent years many high profile suicides but Oh had basically left the entertainment industry after bullying, trolling and derogatory comments about her appearance. It all started when she was invited to the 2011 Busan Film Festival. At the time, she had no agency or stylist so she had to alter a dress herself. She thought she had the confidence to wear it, a revealing orange red carpet dress. At the time, she suddenly became the most searched person because of her bold choice. It type cast her future roles to the point she left acting to become a florist. She had started a YouTube beauty vlog and was preparing for a comeback. But in her death, she was still remembered not for her work or talents, but for that red carpet dress.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg died. She was a Supreme Court justice. Many people respected and admired her as a jurist. But she died at the wrong time. With a month or so to the next Presidential election, her passing has put the political mudslinging machine into overdrive. The Republicans are pushing to confirm a conservative nominee before the November election. Democrats cry foul. But this is another reminder to all that elections have consequences.
The pandemic hits another new stage, the Second Wave. It seems the virus has continued to mutate. The most recent mutation seems to have made itself more infectious. The largest group to catch the virus is now young people, age 12 to 24. But it also seems that the newer virus is less deadly. But researchers are still concerned that young people think they are immortal. They do not follow CDC guidelines on masks and social distancing. They are social so they socialize like they used to. College campuses have become new cluster zones. But the Big Ten first admitted that it is keeping a Cardiac Registry because science has found that the virus can cause serious heart inflammations including in student athletes. This illness has the potential to have long term side effects that we will not know about until years later. iToons ..
cyberbarf POLITICAL THEATER OBSERVATIONS We give you a series of three political cartoons for a reason. With the cancellation of Halloween in many communities, the scariest thing left in October is the U.S. Presidential election. We live in demanding times being run by new autocratic elected officials who are demanding more and more from average citizens who have been ravaged by unemployment, property confiscation without due process, and increased crime with urban unrest. There are times when you turn on the evening news to think you are watching a Banana Republic satire. But it is not a comedy. It is a tragedy. It is not just that many citizens hate Trump's policies. More people hate him as a person. It is not just that many citizens hate Biden represents an old, tired and out-of-touch Democratic party. More people hate him because he is just another version of Trump. Third parties exist in the US but both Republicans and Democrats have suppressed their ballot access and ability to have a place on the main political stage. The reason is simple: if more people know about Libertarians, the Green Party and others, they would vote for their candidates who appeal for REAL change. Both major parties had their virtual nomination conventions. No one cared. No one watched. No one was engaged except the handful of power brokers betting on future favor contacts. The average Joe and Josephine has been since March: out of their office work place, not in their schools, not able to go out to eat in a sit-down restaurant, not able to go to a sports venue to see their team play, and unable to dream of a better future. Are you better off than you were four years ago? Of course not. Will you be better off with either of the two presidential choices? Of course not. Congress is a muddy tug-of-war of old geezer partisan politics in a supercharged politically correct world. The only thing that matters is an incumbent's re-election and their party taking back a house chamber. Despite what some experts say, America has blown past any functional debt stop limits. The federal government now owes more than an entire normal year's Gross Domestic Product. Add in bankrupt state and local governments, US citizens are on the hook for double that amount. Then add in personal consumer debt, the debtor nation can never get back to even. The only thing holding this frayed thread economic balance sheet together is the belief that the dollar symbol holds value. When enough people realize this is not the case, the whole system collapses like an exploding Jenga game. Just because it is the biggest economy does not mean it cannot have the biggest fall. South American countries routinely plunge into fiscal implosions, government upheaval and hard times (usually of their own creation.) No one talks about any major issues. It is an election cycle soundbite blame game. No one is accountable or responsible for the troubles we are in. It is someone else's fault. If it sounds like a grade school playground fight, you are right. Childish behavior seems to be rewarded in the context of being a leader. |
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cyberbarf THE WHETHER REPORT |
cyberbarf STATUS |
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Question: Whether the Republicans rush to seat another Supreme Court justice will backfire in the general election? |
* Educated Guess * Possible * Probable * Beyond a Reasonable Doubt * Doubtful * Vapor Dream |
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Question: Whether federal, state and local pandemic restrictions be fully lifted prior to Spring 2021? |
* Educated Guess * Possible * Probable * Beyond a Reasonable Doubt * Doubtful * Vapor Dream |
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Question: Whether a major fallout of the pandemic lock downs will be more mental health issues? |
* Educated Guess * Possible * Probable * Beyond a Reasonable Doubt * Doubtful * Vapor Dream |
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