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In Conversation with the Singularity

In an article about the DNC in Chicago by David Sirota, I was intrigued to learn of a "wall of private suites" behind the cameras (so hidden from viewers at home) "filled with lobbyists and corporate executives, all hoping to get a seat in a new Harris administration." This gave me questions, and I turned to chatGPT for answers ... How many corporate suites were "behind the cameras" at the DNC, how many people do those suites accommodate, and what percentage of attendees to the DNC did the attendees in those suites comprise? To answer your questions accurately, I would need to know which Democratic National Convention (DNC) you're referring to, as the details can vary depending on the year and venue. Could you specify the year of the DNC, or provide more context about the event? Oh for chrissake, THIS YEAR'S DNC in CHICAGO (Illinois), C'MON!! If I'd wanted figures on the 1928 DNC in Lansing, I would've ASKED for that. At the 2024 D
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People of Gaza, We Hear You

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I 'd been thinking vaguely about writing some kind of account of what I've been up to lately, a bout what's been going on for the past six weeks in Israel / Palestine, and not just in Gaza but in the West Bank, too. Then this afternoon, this video popped up first in t oday's TikTok feed. I'm so glad it did , because it re-lighted the fire that's been burning under my ass for weeks now . Before reading on , please watch it . No dead bodies (visible), no screaming injured children ; j ust a guy talking about what happened Nov. 18, 2023, in his home-town of Khan Younis, Gaza, Occupied Palestine. Watch it here . About five or six times in the past couple of weeks (a fter clocking out from work, and retrievi ng from my truck a sign that I made), I 've walked around downtow n Austin for an hour or so, holding the sign above my head . I'd walk up and down Congress Ave., from around 7th St. down to Cesar Chavez St. and back, before d riving back home to
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My Life After Peace Corps

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NM, NK: QAF! That's the abridged version of my life after Peace Corps service. For those with the time and the stamina, what follows is the official, unabridged version of MLAPC. While it's not the whole nine yards, there's definitely enough here to set sail with, lol After two years teaching English in Bossangoa, sharing a 3-bedroom house with Karen McKay, Mike Boennighausen, and hundreds of bats ... and after traveling all over the country with Mark Lynd, Mary Jeannot, Joe McCright, Tom Akin, and two Central African teachers of English (Bernard M'Beguida and Benjamin Kpaina) while writing a textbook for teachers of English in the Central African Republic ( no way we could've written it while sitting in one place) ... and after paddling a dugout canoe that someone christened the Cadillac of the Oubangui from Mobaye to Bangui with Messrs Trager, Zuniga and Akin (with thanks, James and Tom, for hiring one of your students, Georges Pompidou Ko'O
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