QPORIT

Here is a list of a few of the actions of the Trump administration (#2) in the first hundred days and their likely consequences.  It should be noted that all these actions are quite public, and appear to be actions that the administration is proud of:

Cast doubt on vaccines

• Measles cases and deaths are growing

Provided frequently changes in plans for tariffs, while sharply raising them

• Volatile stock market and rising prices
• Anger among former(?) trading partners
• Loss of a stable supply chain
• Possible contribution to loss of US world economic leadership

Lots of lies and blaming Biden

• Impossible to trust anything the White House says

Attacks on our allies

• Possible contribution to loss of US world economic and military leadership

Snatching people off the streets without due process

• Danger to the rule of law
• Danger to the security of every citizen, and every tourist or visitor to the US

Deference to Russia:  No tariffs; pre-negotiation concessions to Russia for Ukraine war talks

• Russia continues to bombard Ukraine, despite “agreement” of Easter cease-fire, and despite Trump's promise to end the war by day one
• The US loses credibility
• Europe is in more danger and so is Taiwan

No progress in Gaza

• Despite Trump's promise to end the war by day one
• the fighting continues, 
• hostages are still being held, 
• and some hostages have died in captivity

Indiscriminate firing of government employees in many areas

                Loss of expertise

                Loss of services in

                                Social security

                                Veterans’ services

                                Emergency assistance (FEMA)

                                Weather reporting

                                Protecting Civil Rights

                                Detecting and prosecuting fraud

                                Detecting and prosecuting foreign interference

                                IRS

                                Maintaining the nuclear arsenal

 Sudden dismantling of USAID services 

• Loss of International good will 
• Illness and death for some people who had been sustained by USAID

Cancelling research contracts in Universities and research groups in government

• Possible destruction of US leadership in science and technology
• In particular, a boost to possible future Chinese world leadership

CONCLUSION: THE US HAS BECOME LESS PROSPEROUS, LESS SAFE, LESS HEALTHY, LESS IMPORTANT, AND LESS HAPPY in just 100 days.

Labels: 100 days, Trump administration

# posted by QPORIT @ 6:36 PM 0 comments

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE is believed to have been born on this day in 1564. He is known to have died on this day in 1616. 

(There's an actual record of his death. There's no record of his birth, but there is a record of his baptism, from which the date of his birth is assumed.)

He lived through a tumultuous period, writing some of the greatest plays and poetry ever written in English, (and probably just... ever written).  

Some (just a few!) of his most revered plays are:

Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, Romeo & Juliet (tragedies); a series of historical plays leading up to the reign of Queen Elizabeth; A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest (fantasies), and Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night (comedies).

This summer, the Public Theater will be presenting Twelfth Night free in NYC's Central Park Delacorte Theater (just renovated!).

THE PUBLIC THEATER: TWELFTH NIGHT - FREE IN CENTRAL PARK, NYC

https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2425/fsitp/twelfth-night/

Another great venue (also great workshops!) for Shakespeare in New York is 

THE RED BULL THEATER

https://www.redbulltheater.com/

Here's a list from Google (AI) and other sources, of some of the many venues around the US and the world that produce Shakespeare's plays:

• Shakespeare's Globe (London, UK): This is a modern reconstruction of the original Globe, built in 1599, near the site of the original theater. It's an open-air theatre in the round, similar to the original and still hosts performances and tours. 
• Allen Elizabethan Theatre (Ashland, OR): This theater, part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, offers a replica of an Elizabethan-era theater. 
• The Old Globe (San Diego, CA): The Old Globe is a well-known theater company and venue that performs Shakespearean plays and offers educational programs, says Wikipedia. 
• Curtain Theatre (Austin, TX): This theater company focuses on classical plays, including Shakespeare, according to Wikipedia. 
• Globe of the Great Southwest (Odessa, TX): A dedicated Shakespearean theater in Odessa, TX. 
• Adams Shakespearean Theatre (Cedar City, UT): This theater is part of the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, UT. 
• Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Williamsburg, VA): This theme park features a Globe Theatre replica for Shakespearean performances. 
• The Rose Playhouse (Twin Lake, MI): Part of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, The Rose Playhouse hosts Shakespearean plays and other theatrical productions. 
• Pop-Up Globe (Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY): A traveling pop-up Globe structure that performs Shakespearean plays. 

The American Shakespeare Center in VA. (They also produce the Blackfriars' Shakespeare Conference every few years.) https://americanshakespearecenter.com/

Here is one of his sonnets. (notice that the imagery is interpretive of the deeper meanings of the poem). 

SONNET 65 "SINCE BRASS..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4FRae1XRkI/

A performance of sonnet 65 with visual commentary.

Labels: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo & Juliet, SONNET 65, Sonnet as drama, The Tempest, William Shakespeare

# posted by QPORIT @ 4:29 PM 0 comments

Open AI has released several new products and reports in the last few days.

NEWS 

https://openai.com/news/

OPEN AI o3 & OPEN AI o4-mini ("Thinking!") -- 2025-04-16

https://openai.com/index/introducing-o3-and-o4-mini/

THE o3 & o4-mini SYSTEM CARD (EXPLANATION) -- 2025-04-16

https://openai.com/index/o3-o4-mini-system-card/

THE SYSTEM CARD -- 2025-04-16

https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/2221c875-02dc-4789-800b-e7758f3722c1/o3-and-o4-mini-system-card.pdf

OPEN AI NON-PROFIT INSIGHT COMMISSION ADVISORS   (with audio) -- 2025-04-15

https://openai.com/index/nonprofit-commission-advisors/

UPDATED PREPAREDNESS FRAMEWORK -- 2025-04-15

https://openai.com/index/updating-our-preparedness-framework/

FULL DOCUMENT

https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/18a02b5d-6b67-4cec-ab64-68cdfbddebcd/preparedness-framework-v2.pdf

INTRODUCING GPT 4.1 IN THE API (with audio) -- 2025-04-14 

https://openai.com/index/gpt-4-1/

OPEN AI PIONEERS PROGRAM  -- 2025-04-09

https://openai.com/index/openai-pioneers-program/

NEW INSIGHT COMMISSION  -- 2025-04-02

https://openai.com/index/nonprofit-commission-guidance/

Labels: AI, AI Pioneers, API, GPT, GPT-4.1, Insight Commission, O3 O4-MINI, Open AI

# posted by QPORIT @ 9:40 PM 0 comments

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey has, over the last 24 and more hours, delivered the longest speech in the history of the US Senate, elegantly and passionately calling attention to the great promise and reality of the US in history, and the dangers the US faces in the actions of the current Trump administration.

Attention drawing events are the most important tools of Democratic resistance to the GOP's attempts to concentrate power in the Executive Branch of government, and with that power to cut vital services, to eliminate equality and diversity in both the government and private sectors, to alter the priorities of the Department of Justice, and to dramatically alter the system of taxation from an income tax (which can and should be progressive) to a tariff based "external" tax, which is basically regressive. (Tariffs are paid by importers, who pass along the cost to consumers, resulting in inflation, with the greatest burden falling on the poorest consumers.)

SENATOR CORY BOOKER'S OFFICE

https://www.booker.senate.gov/

Labels: Cory Booker, Democrats, Senate, Senator, speech

# posted by QPORIT @ 10:47 PM 0 comments