'Significantly impacting the United States'

'Americans who are engaged in this kind of propaganda'

Rest in peace

'Trump has been inciting violence against his enemies for years'

‘'Flowers’ would not exist without ‘When I Was Your Man'’

Books Back to Barsoom: Thuvia, Maid of Mars and The Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs Is this where the John Carter series finally jumps the shark? By Alan Brown | Published on September 17, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share In this bi-weekly series reviewing classic science fiction and fantasy books, Alan Brown looks at the front lines and frontiers of the field; books about soldiers and spacers, scientists and engineers, explorers and adventurers. Stories full of what Shakespeare used to refer to as “alarums and excursions”: battles, chases, clashes, and the stuff of excitement. Even though the days are waning and the first chill of autumn is in the air, I decided there is still time for a little more pulpy summer adventure reading. I recently reviewed books two and three of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series, featuring the famous John Carter of Mars, and had so much fun that I decided to push on and read books four and five of the series, Thuvia, Maid of Mars and The Chessmen of Mars. These books bring Carter’s son and daughter to center stage, but still offer the same entertaining mix of exciting pulp adventures and strange aliens that made the preceding novels so enjoyable. When I picked up the first three books of the Barsoom series, I found that during my youth, despite thinking I had read the entire series, I had only read the first two of the three. And looking at these next two books, I realized that I had not read the fourth book, but had read the fifth. (Books were harder to come by in my youth, and my brothers and I read what we could put our hands on, regardless of series order.) Despite the voluminous collection hiding in my basement, I could find neither of these two books. So I went to the internet and purchased a used copy of an omnibus edition from the Science Fiction Book Club that collected both books, packaged them in a gorgeous wrap-around dust jacket illustrated by Frank Frazetta, and featured interior pen and ink illustrations also by Frazetta. The book does not contain a publication date, but the illustrations were copyrighted in 1972, so I imagine the volume was printed around that time. Although Burroughs finished Thuvia, Maid of Mars in 1914, due to personnel changes at his publisher, the story did not appear until 1916, when it was serialized in All-Story Weekly in three parts. The Chessmen of Mars was originally serialized in six issues of Argosy All-Story Weekly in 1922. About the Author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was one of the most popular authors of the early 20th century, making an indelible mark on both science fiction and adventure fiction. I’ve looked at his work in this column before, including A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars and The Warlord of Mars, the book Pirates of Venus and the rest of the Venus series, and also Tarzan at the Earth’s Core and the other Pellucidar books. All those articles contain more biographical information on the author, and my review of the first Barsoom book also includes a discussion of John Carter’s adventures in other media, including movies and comic books. You can find much of Burroughs’ work available to read for free at Project Gutenberg, including most of the Barsoom series. Jumping the Shark It can be difficult to keep a long series going, and readers engaged, whether the media be the written word, television, or movies. There are tried and true strategies—you can bring in new characters, new situations, new twists, new monsters, new technology, and new powers and abilities. In planetary romance stories, such as the Barsoom series, there are always new lost cities to be discovered, although even that can sometimes feel like more of the same. In a recent review of E.E. “Doc” Smith’s Skylark of Valeron, I pointed out his tendency to go overboard as he added new books to both the Skylark and Lensman series. He had a tendency to expand the size of his ships, the power of his weapons, and the mental abilities of his characters to the point where the narrative was transformed beyond recognition. With the infinite possibilities of science fiction, there are no real guardrails to keep an author in check…but when you drastically change the scope and feel of a story, it is easy to lose the interest of the readers who enjoyed earlier installments. The classic example of a series that left its audience behind is the TV series Happy Days, which ran over eleven seasons from 1974 to 1984, a humorous sitcom that featured a family centered around a teenager played by Ron Howard, who was friendly with local motorcycle-riding “tough guy” Fonzie, played by Henry Winkler. As viewership waned over time, the show featured Fonzie more and more, losing its family-oriented charm, until (as many of you may know) there was an episode in which Fonzie went waterskiing, and jumped over an enclosure containing a shark. The emphasis on Fonzie and that infamously over-the-top episode might have briefly renewed interest in the show, but Happy Days was never the same, and the stunt gave rise to the pop culture term “jumping the shark.” Edgar Rice Burroughs faced similar challenges in his various series over the years. In the fourth and fifth installments of the Barsoom series, which I’m looking at today, he switched things up by featuring the son and daughter of John Carter, star of the original trilogy of books. He also sent them to strange new cities on Mars in an effort to spice things up. But he also populated one city with people in possession of mental powers so potent that they could conjure images of bowmen so convincing that their arrows can slay opponents. Another city is inhabited by heads and bodies that evolved separately, but which could join together to produce a hideous imitation of a human being. Those certainly bring some eye-opening new ideas to the tales of Barsoom, but to me feel as if Burroughs, years before the term was coined, might just have jumped the shark himself. Thuvia, Maid of Mars This book shifts the story to a new generation of adventurers who had been introduced in prior novels. First is Carthoris, the son of Warlord of Mars John Carter, who has inherited the strength and fighting prowess of his father (apparently Burroughs subscribed to the now-debunked theory that acquired traits could be inherited). And the second is the beautiful Thuvia of Ptarth, who has the handy ability to commune with the fierce banth, the Martian equivalent of lions. Thuvia has been kidnapped by the evil minions of Prince Astok of Dusar, who had made crude advances toward Thuvia, only to be rebuffed. But many in Ptarth have seen that Carthoris is also smitten by Thuvia, and he is immediately a suspect. The honor of princesses is highly valued on Barsoom, and their mistreatment can bring nations to war. So, John Carter orders Carthoris to find Thuvia, a task the young man gladly takes on. Carthoris rescues Thuvia from Green Martian warriors, who had stolen her from her original captors. She is suspicious, as she suspects those men were working for Carthoris. But their freedom is short-lived, because both fall into the hands of people from the lost city of Lothar. The Lotharians are telepaths whose favorite trick, as noted above, is to create phantom armies of bowmen, phantoms so convincing they can kill with power of suggestion. The Lotharians also use banths, but Thuvia’s powers over these creatures keep her and Carthoris safe. At one point in the narrative, stretching the idea of telepathic powers past the point of credulity, Carthoris is joined by Lotharian bowman Kar Komak, who was originally created by mind powers, but then became a real person, and eventually developed the ability to create imaginary bowmen himself. During their adventures, Carthoris and Thuvia encounter their share of difficulties (her father had intended her to marry another) and misunderstandings that get in the way of their happiness. Eventually, she falls back into the hands of the Dusar and Prince Astok. Carthoris passes as a panthan, or hired mercenary, and infiltrates the Dusar forces so he can rejoin Thuvia. There is an exciting air battle, an escape, and then a daring rescue, where Thuvia pilots the airship so the men can fire the weapons (she is pluckier than most pulp princesses). But in the end, love conquers all, albeit in quite an abrupt manner (sometimes you get the impression that Burroughs has discovered he’s hit his required word count and suddenly shifts into summary mode to wrap things up). The Chessmen of Mars In a new framing device, John Carter pays a personal, physical visit to Burroughs to recount a tale, having learned something about teleportation from the Lotharians. Fortunately, though, these mental powers do not play any further role in the book. This book also follows the adventures of a child of John Carter, in this case Princess Tara of Helium, who starts the story as a rather unlikable spoiled brat. She impetuously takes her one-person flier out for a ride into the teeth of a gigantic storm, and is soon swept away to unknown lands. Fortunately, she had recently met Prince Gahan of Gathol, and while she is initially dismissive of him, he is smitten, and is brave enough to set out by flier into the same storm. Since storm-generated fires are soon sweeping across Helium, his is the only flier launched in her pursuit. This story is longer than most, and is really almost two separate tales that share the same protagonists. Tara finds herself in the strange land of Bantoom, inhabited by the strange creatures who combine in symbiotic partnership to become a single entity. The brains are provided by the Kaldanes, a kind of ugly head with spidery legs and pincers, who ride on the headless bodies of the human-like Rykors. I first read this book at too young an age, and was so horrified by these images that (until much later in life) I stopped reading the Barsoom books. One of Tara’s captors, Ghek, is attracted by her habit of singing, which offers him a kind of pleasure that his intellectual life had always discounted. Gahan is also captured, and it looks like both he and Tara are destined to be devoured by the Kaldanes, who view the Rykors, and normal humans, as cattle that are not only beasts of burden, but quite tasty. But after many twists and turns, Ghek turns on his people, helping Tara and Gahan to flee in her damaged airship, which can fly, but whose course cannot be controlled. Gahan, still hurt by Tara’s rejection back in Helium, tells her he is an ordinary panthan, or mercenary. The three fly aimlessly until they reach a strange city, Manator, which is filled with unmoving people. They are brought before the Jeddak, O-Tar, who turns out to be a bully and coward. The people of Manator play Jetan, a Martian version of chess (Burroughs describes the game in such detail that some readers have created pieces and played the game themselves). But in Manator, instead of game pieces, they use real people, and when those people end up on the same square, they must fight to the death. Tara becomes a prisoner of O-Tar, who is attracted to her. Gahan and Ghek are imprisoned in the dungeons. They are both chained to the floor in a cell where the key to their shackles is put just out of reach, in order to torment them. But this turns out to be an opportunity for Ghek, who simply disconnects from his body, walks over to the key, and frees himself. They meet an ancient taxidermist, I-Gos, who turns the dead into trophies that are displayed on balconies and in the palace, and placed creepily in the secret passages of the city. While this practice makes for some powerful and horrific images, its purpose is never really clear. Tara insults O-Tar, who gives her over to be a prize in a game of Jetan. Gahan, freed by Ghek, imitates a Manatorian warrior and plays the game for Tara, where he soundly and bravely defeats O-Tar’s minion. There is political turmoil, and soon the people turn against O-Tar, and the slaves, many of whom are from Gathol, join a revolt. During their adventures, Tara has become quite fond of her loyal panthan, and is pleasantly surprised in the end to discover that he is of noble birth. Final Thoughts These two stories lack some of the freshness and energy of the original three Barsoom books, but do have some enjoyable moments. In the end, though, I felt that some of the twists and turns, and especially the telepathic powers, undermined my suspension of disbelief. I’ll leave it to you to decide for yourself whether Burroughs jumped the shark with his innovations… And now I turn the floor over to you: What are your thoughts on Thuvia, Maid of Mars and The Chessmen of Mars? Are they worthy additions to the series, or lesser entries in the saga?[end-mark] The post Back to Barsoom: <i>Thuvia, Maid of Mars</i> and <i>The Chessmen of Mars</i> by Edgar Rice Burroughs appeared first on Reactor.

DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—The New York Times ran a column Monday applauding China’s green energy transition without mentioning that slave labor has played a massive role in the country’s progress on that front. The column—written by David Wallace-Wells under the headline “What Happens if China Stops Trying to Save the World?”—gives China great credit for scaling up green energy manufacturing and installation while asserting that the American transition to less carbon-intensive energy is lagging by comparison. However, Wallace-Wells failed to mention in his piece that China’s green industry is powered with slave labor from Uyghur Muslims and other persecuted minorities. “Consider solar power, which is presently dominating the global green transition and giving the world its feel-good story. In 2023, the world including China installed 425 gigawatts of new solar power; the world without China installed only 162 gigawatts,” Wallace-Wells writes. “China accounted for 263 gigawatts; the United States accounted for just 33. As recently as 2019, China was installing about one-quarter of global solar capacity additions; last year, it managed 62 percent more than the rest of the world combined. Over those same five years, China grew its amount of new added capacity more than eight times over; the world without China didn’t even double its rate.” Dems’ Massive Green Energy Agenda Is Walking America Right Into China’s Hands, Analysis Claimshttps://t.co/YHH5A3e0fy— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 27, 2024 The Chinese solar industry, which dominates the global solar market, has been accused by the U.S. government and third-party analysts of taking advantage of slave labor. The State Department also published a July 2022 report that strongly suggests Chinese solar manufacturers are taking advantage of forced labor, and the Department of Labor put out its own 2022 report concluding that various solar products manufactured in China are produced with child or forced labor inputs. Forced-Labor-and-the-Clean-Energy-Transition-Finding-A-Responsible-Way-ForwardDownload 2022-TVPRA-List-of-Goods-v3Download The New York Times also published its own report on the Chinese green energy industry’s connections to slave labor in January 2021, suggesting that several major Chinese solar companies appear to be connected to the practice. One October 2023 assessment from The Heritage Foundation found that approximately 80% of all solar components made in China are produced using slave labor, and American customs officials have blocked solar shipments coming in from China for potential violations of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, according to Reuters. “There is progress being made around the world, but the gap between China and everybody else is much larger and more intimidating than is widely acknowledged, and the global story looks much less optimistic once you set China aside—which is, in some ways, precisely what America is trying to do by engaging in a green-tech trade war,” Wallace-Wells states in his column. China Downplays International Hopes Of Beating Carbon Emissions Targets Ahead Of Meeting With Biden Climate Czarhttps://t.co/sfm60vybNd— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 31, 2024 Using regulation and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, the Biden-Harris administration has made a huge effort to stand up a domestic green energy industry and reduce America’s reliance on fossil fuels, but cheaper Chinese products and dominance of green energy supply chains has complicated those goals. In addition to problems with slave labor’s role in green supply chains, American companies have also voiced concern that China’s price advantages and unfair trade practices threaten to wipe them out in the absence of protections just as they are starting to find their footing. Chinese solar products are low-cost because of a combination of cheap coal to power manufacturing, extensive government subsidies, and forced labor, according to Forbes and The Heritage Foundation’s October 2023 analysis. In his column, Wallace-Wells concedes that China is the world’s top emitter of carbon dioxide, but he points to China’s “avoided emissions” as evidence that the country is displacing coal power for low-emissions renewables. Notably, China permitted two coal plants per week on average in 2022, according to research conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. “Much of the argument for those tariffs has concerned the challenge of Chinese subsidy and “overcapacity”—and what the United States and its allies might do, if anything, to enable us to properly compete with a green economy producing today twice as many solar panels as the world has demand for, as well as an [electric vehicle] company taking over the world while mostly posting losses,” Wallace-Wells continues. “But another aspect of the imbalance is perhaps more worrying, at least for those of us concerned about the pace of decarbonization: that China might back off, reducing its support for green industry in much the way that it purposefully deflated its own real estate bubble, somewhat idling the engine of the global green transition and leaving the rest of us in the lurch.” The New York Times did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation The post NY Times Columnist Gushes Over China’s ‘Green Transition’—Without Noting It’s Fueled by Slave Labor appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. It will take serious research and serious access to information ever to figure out which came first, the WEF chicken, or the WEF egg. But this unelected, informal group of highly influential global elites has often been able to either seemingly predict, or seemingly help make happen – some major trends and events that affect the whole world. After all, one of the first places where careful observers could see a clear shift toward making not only “mis/disinformation” a thing – but presenting it as a powerfully harmful one, in need of all sorts of new rules, policies, and laws – have been the World Economic Forum (WEF) gatherings. WEF founder Klaus Schwab keeps beating the same drum – and why wouldn’t he? The narrative has clearly taken root and is being parroted the world over. Now we have the 2023-2024 WEF report, and in there Schwab continues to lament about “the rise” of what the group and its “executive arms” (be they in governments, or legacy media) choose to consider as “mis/disinformation.” “Global collaboration” on this and other select topics (such as “transition to a green economy”) is what Schwab inevitably wants more of – but also, what he calls collaboration between governments, businesses, and civil society. If you read “business” as Big Tech, and “civil society” as various censorship, fact-checking outfits formally masquerading as benevolent non-profits – you have what is, at least in the US, officially investigated and strongly suspected to be unlawful collusion to suppress free speech. Regardless of what interpretation of this “collaboration” may be true, Schwab just wants more of it. He makes it clear in the annual report that provides an overview of “the 10 centers and the Forum’s initiatives, coalitions and flagship reports, as well as the latest progress from the Forum’s core functions, leadership, and governance.” Yet another “cusp of a profound systemic transformation” is ahead of us, if the WEF founder is to be believed. Schwab talks about “transformative shifts,” lists five of those, and one is “Societal polarization and rise of misinformation.” Here, Schwab says polarization is happening because of the need for people to “reaffirm” their identities. That, in and of itself, is a very interesting observation – but Schwab interprets it as a force-feeding “cultural, political, ideological and social divides and the rise of mis and disinformation.” Pacifying people in need of reaffirming, as he put it, their identities, seems to be the proposed solution, as this part of the “essay” suggests: “Inclusive dialogues, promoting mutual understanding and creating environments where diverse views and identities can coexist harmoniously.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Klaus Schwab Calls for “Global Collaboration” To Combat “Misinformation” appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Canada is about to start grappling with yet another piece of divisive and controversial proposed legislation, this one coming from the opposition Conservatives, and heavily touching on online age verification. The bill that is set to be presented when the parliament resumes work this month, according to its proponents, deals with protecting Canadians on the internet while also managing to protect their civil liberties. However, despite what those promoting the bill are saying, the situation is not as clear-cut as all that: the consequences of the plan could also see some online anonymity tools swept away. The idea revolves around giving online harassment victims a chance to go to a judge and ask that the person behind the bullying be unmasked. Furthermore, the bill’s ambition is to bring clarity to various scenarios and criminal thresholds for these events – specifically, those under which “online operators (like social media platforms) must disclose the identity of an alleged abuser.” Still under the real or hyped-up notion of “clarity” that the opposition says the present government has been unable to provide with its legislation, is the idea to make repeated criminally harassing material sent anonymously “an aggravating factor.” This last bit refers to the so-called burner accounts, and here, although the bill does not clarify (pun intended) the real-world person behind such an account must be identified. Meanwhile, the only way to know if the same perpetrator had sent material from multiple anonymous accounts would be to identify them. The implication is clearly there when the draft mentions that online operators “must disclose the identity of an alleged abuser.” All this brings up the question – identify them how? And that road inevitably leads to a method involving age verification. Despite the authors of the bill taking pains to assure both the parliament and the public that this will be done with proper privacy-preserving measures in place, the concept of online age verification remains one inherently restrictive and exclusionary. But the bill’s authors seem keen to cover all the talking points: at once promising “privacy-preserving trustworthy age verification,” legal protection for online harassment victims, and, separately, inevitably, they’re also “thinking of the children” (“the new Conservative legislation will provide mechanisms specifically designed to protect minors who are online,” as one commentator said), plus – platforms who don’t comply will face “penalties and consequences.” The upcoming bill is being pitted against the government’s much-criticized Bill C-63, and the hope is to place this new legislative effort in a positive light in comparison. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Canadian Conservatives Propose Bill for Online Digital ID Verification and Anonymity Restrictions appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Elon Musk: National Security Risk