Time Magazine reported that “by the technical definition of the word “decimate”—to reduce to 1/10th of the original” in a fact-check of President Joe Biden. Literally decimated, folks. Not a joke. pic.twitter.com/aTUelBzj2n — Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) June 4, 2024 Verdict: False The definition means to reduce by 10%, not to reduce to 10%. Time issued a […]

But DeSantis will get to kick back with Sydney Sweeney as a neighbor, so who's really laughing at the end?

Calling all Patriots!

'Collapsed within 48 hours'

News The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins Is Returning to Panem for Another Hunger Games Prequel Novel Looks like it’s Haymitch’s year By Molly Templeton | Published on June 6, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share There are always, it seems, more terrible stories to uncover in Panem, the fictional world Suzanne Collins created in the bestselling series that began with 2008’s The Hunger Games. The series seemed over when Mockingjay came out in 2010, but then Collins surprised readers with the announcement of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which arrived in 2020. And she’s going back to the arena again. The Associated Press has the announcement that Sunrise on the Reaping is due next year. This book falls between the two known parts of the series’ timeline, 40 years after Songbirds and 24 years before The Hunger Games. It’s set as the reaping begins for the 50th Games, which is also the second Quarter Quell. If you remember Catching Fire, yes, that means it’s like Katniss’s second trip to the arena, and had a super-fun special twist. (The Quells celebrate the way the Capitol crushed the Districts’ rebellion.) For this go-round, there were twice as many tributes. And a familiar name was the victor of this particular set of Games: Haymitch Abernathy, who was played by Woody Harrelson in the films. In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta watch a tape of Haymitch’s year, and it’s not pretty. But it does act as a pretty solid outline for what to expect from the new book. Sunrise on the Reaping draws on a new, somewhat surprising source: the work of Scottish philosopher David Hume. In a statement, Collins said, “I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.’ The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.” It feels inevitable that this novel will also become a movie, but no film rights have been announced. Sunrise on the Reaping will be on shelves March 18, 2025.[end-mark] The post Suzanne Collins Is Returning to Panem for Another <i>Hunger Games</i> Prequel Novel appeared first on Reactor.

News Bookworm Elijah Wood Treks Across New Zealand Again in Bookworm We will not be taking the adorable child to Isengard. By Molly Templeton | Published on June 6, 2024 Image: Rialto Distribution Comment 0 Share New Share Image: Rialto Distribution There are, to be clear, no wizards or elves in the trailer for Bookworm. But there is a hobbit. Elijah Wood is once again stomping across beautiful New Zealand landscapes in this film, which has one of the most charming trailers I’ve seen in a minute. Mildred (Nell Fisher) is an alarmingly precocious child who enjoys books, hunting, fishing, and the other things that go into adventures. School is heaven, or so she says. She is assertive and clever, and not at all impressed when her absent father (Wood) reappears in her life. At least not until he says he’ll take her on an adventure to find proof of a mythical panther’s existence. Wood’s character is an illusionist, a wearer of all black and goofy hats, and whoever costumed this character has absolutely nailed the look of a certain kind of man-child who is desperately trying to hold on to his youthful edge (if he ever had such a thing). But it’s Elijah Wood, so you still want the best for him, even as he is entirely outmatched by his own child. Bookworm is directed and co-written by Ant Timpson, who worked with Toby Harvard on the screenplay. Timpson, Harvard, and Wood all worked together on Come to Daddy, which also features a father/child reunion but looks about as tonally different from Bookworm as it’s possible for two films to be. Bookworm is out in New Zealand in August, but doesn’t yet have a U.S. release date.[end-mark] The post Elijah Wood Treks Across New Zealand Again in <i>Bookworm</i> appeared first on Reactor.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Vera Jourova may not fully comprehend the unease many Europeans feel at having (paying for, really) nothing less than a commissioner “for values and transparency” – yet, that is her current high-ranked job with the European Commission. And, she is not shy to chastise major social media and their owners as effectively ignorant – if not plain uneducated – about anything from language to law. That is, if and when they try to push back against censorship, or – because Jourova would not call censorship what it is – “Europe’s limit of freedom of speech.” So much for transparency, not to mention, values. The latest attack is, above all, aimed at X, and the platform’s owner, Elon Musk. Judging by her statements, Jourova wouldn’t mind the EU bureaucracy having a hand in the company’s HR decisions. Like so: “Words have meaning (- not yours! critics might argue) and that is why we would like them (X) to hire the professionals who can do this job.” The job Jourova has in mind is to somehow “reconcile” the very concept of free speech with what she says are history and laws, and for some reason, languages themselves in use in EU member countries, that apparently dictate their stances on an issue so fundamental as free speech. The job that X at this time lacks, according to the commissioner, is “professionals” to properly, turns out, do “professional fact-checking.” One of those imaginary at this time people’s tasks would be truly Herculean: basically, make it all make sense. For one, the EU is a democracy, not to mention one that has a whole commissioner to promote values and transparency – and yet, it looks hot and bothered to limit free expression. To justify this shenanigans, Jourova goes to the EU bureaucrats’ “safe place” – which happens to be  fear-mongering about “disinformation,” and the supposedly catastrophic harm it can do if information is not – “limited.” Jourova – who is, like the rest of her ilk, currently campaigning ahead of the European Parliament elections this June – wasn’t above bringing up “bloody lessons from our history” to bolster her case of Musk’s supposed insufficient understanding of Europeans’ supposed extraordinary sensitivity to free speech. “This world has been broken, damaged somehow,” Jourova said, and then went on to pretend to reveal why: “My generation has spoiled a lot of things.” But it’s not generational. It’s squarely ideological and political. Yet Jourova is sure it’s now up to younger generations – and more censorship – to clean up what her clique considers “a mess.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Pro-Censorship EU Official: X Must Comply With Europe’s “Limit of Freedom of Speech” appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Starship Launch: Mostly Successful

Clinical trials of a new form of long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, commonly known as PrEP, have launched in the US. As well as hopefully leading to a new option for HIV prevention, the trials are aiming to address an unmet need in HIV research by focusing on two populations that have often been passed over: cisgender women and people who use injectable drugs.The introduction of PrEP represented a great step forward in the continuing fight against HIV. When taken as prescribed, it reduces the risk of catching HIV through sex by 99 percent, and through injecting drugs by 74 percent.PrEP generally takes the form of a pill that you need to take every day to be sure of maximum protection. In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an injectable form of PrEP that is only administered every two months, but that’s not available everywhere yet.  The new type of PrEP that’s currently under clinical trials has been developed with the aim that the injection will only have to be given every six months, which could make it more convenient and accessible for some people. It uses a drug called lenacapavir, which is already FDA approved for use in treatment-resistant HIV.The trials, based out of the University of California San Diego Antiviral Research Center, are currently recruiting participants from two populations that have historically been underrepresented in HIV studies: cisgender women (those whose biological sex is female and whose gender identity aligns with this), with a particular focus on Black and Latina participants; and people who currently inject drugs, including opioids and cocaine.These populations account for 18 percent and 7 percent of new HIV diagnoses in the US respectively, according to a statement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While much of the research up to now has focused on men who have sex with men – who accounted for 70 percent of new HIV infections in 2021 according to HIV.gov – there have been calls in recent years for trials and investigations to be more representative of the diverse groups that are affected by this virus.The studies will take place at sites across the US, enrolling people who meet the inclusion criteria and who could benefit from taking PrEP. Participants will randomly be assigned to receive the new lenacapavir injections or an oral PrEP formulation that’s already approved for use. The researchers will focus on safety, how the drug works in the body, and whether the participants experience side effects.The outlook for people newly diagnosed with HIV has come a very long way in the last 50 years. Awareness of safe sexual practices has helped unknowable numbers of people avoid infection, and advances in antiretroviral treatments have meant that reducing someone’s viral load to undetectable – which also means they can no longer pass the infection on – is a realistic goal for many. The more recent introduction of PrEP gave at-risk people another way to protect themselves from becoming infected.It will be some time before we see any results from these trials; but, if they’re successful, it could herald an even more accessible means of preventing HIV infection, as well as bolstering scientific knowledge about groups of people who are all too often left out of the conversation.