buzzfeed--2020-02-27--Trump's Biggest Supporters Think The Coronavirus Is A Deep State Plot

The World Health Organization is still declining to call the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic , but the number of infections and deaths continue to climb as the disease spreads .
Public health authorities are split about whether containing or mitigating the virus is the best option — but both depend on whether President Donald Trump and his most conspiracy-addled followers can be convinced to go along with it .
At a press conference on Wednesday night , Trump praised his administration ’ s decision to restrict travel of people from countries where infections have been diagnosed , claimed House Speaker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ panic for political purposes , and announced that Vice President Mike Pence would lead the official coronavirus response .
“ Because of all we 've done , the risk to the American people remains very low , ” Trump said .
“ The level that we 've had in our country is very low and those people are getting very better.
” Trump at the press conference said he agreed with claims that Rush Limbaugh ( upon whom he bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the State of the Union speech ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that the deep state had created the coronavirus as a political weapon to “ to bring down Trump.
” When a reporter asked Wednesday night if he was minimizing the deadly potential of the outbreak , Trump laughed and joked that it was no different than the flu .
`` You do n't have to necessarily grab any handrail if you do n't have to , ” he said .
It ’ s true that the number of cases in the United States is still low , with 14 cases diagnosed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ repatriated from high-risk settings — a current total of 53 cases .
Still , preparations are being made for things to worsen .
There are currently 81,000 cases worldwide , 2,700 deaths , the majority in China .
But with outbreaks in Iran , Italy , and South Korea , the CDC ’ s director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases , Nancy Messonnier , suggested on Friday it might be only a matter of weeks before US officials start talking about school and business closings .
As authorities get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials , and allies are either baselessly bragging about how prepared we are to contain the disease or spreading conspiracy theories about it — and there ’ s a ready audience for those fevered narratives .
On Monday , while in India on his first state visit , Trump tweeted , “ the Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA .
We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries.
” Two days later , the president doubled down , railing against the media for spreading hysteria .
“ Low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Comcast ) & @ CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus [ sic ] look as bad as possible , including panicking markets , if possible , ” he wrote .
Echoing the message , hyperpartisan news sites , conspiracy theorists , and scammers have sown panic .
In the last two weeks , a narrative has solidified among his base : The virus is a deep state plot , possibly created by the Chinese government , to hurt Trump ’ s reelection chances .
Infowars ran a video claiming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up emergency food provisions ; the site 's sidebar advertised food rations on its online store .
Jordan Sather , a YouTuber aligned with the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory , has told followers that coronavirus is a “ new fad disease , ” the release of which was “ planned.
” Sather has also promoted the idea that QAnon followers can protect themselves from COVID-19 , the illness caused by the new coronavirus , by drinking chlorine dioxide — otherwise known as bleach .
Limbaugh and other pro-Trump media sites have also attacked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — a longtime Trump punching bag and former deputy attorney general .
Meanwhile , on Tuesday , White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow claimed the US had an “ airtight containment ” of the virus .
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross , during an interview last month with Fox Business , said the coronavirus ’ s toll on mainland China could boost US employment .
Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro claimed that vaccine development will be on `` Trump time '' and said to expect a faster release to the public .
Anthony Fauci @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Allergy and Infectious Diseases , told BuzzFeed News that a vaccine will only be safe and available for limited distribution to doctors and the most vulnerable patients , those who are elderly or have a compromised immune system , within two years .
Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton , while speaking on Fox News last week , claimed the virus could be a lab-made bioweapon , a hoax popular among QAnon followers .
The only part of the pro-Trump ecosystem that has been quiet about the outbreak has been Trump ’ s 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manager , Brad Parscale , nor the Trump War Room Twitter account have tweeted about the coronavirus .
BuzzFeed News has reached out to the campaign for comment .
Brandon J .
Brown , an epidemiologist at the University of California , Riverside , told BuzzFeed News there are many examples of the real-world effect of spreading medical misinformation during an outbreak , including the measles outbreak in Disneyland , which was due to anti-vaxxers , and the polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan , where misinformation was spread that claimed the vaccine would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lots of people congregated in one location , there is a higher risk of transmission , ” Brown said .
“ So , large gatherings such as presidential rallies with hundreds or thousands of people without too much personal space always can exacerbate the spread of any infection , such as flu or COVID-19.
” In addition , the surge of pro-Trump digital chaos shows exactly how unprepared American tech platforms are for an outbreak , regardless of the safeguards they ’ ve scrambled to put in place .
Last month , Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with false claims or conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organizations and local health authorities that could cause harm to people who believe them.
” And the platform told Business Insider this week that it would ban ads that `` create a sense of urgency '' around the virus or promise to cure it .
Other platforms have also put up safety rails .
Twitter is prompting users who search for the coronavirus to visit official channels like the CDC for more information .
Searching “ coronavirus ” on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live blog about the outbreak from a trusted news source , and hundreds of videos from verified channels .
And Amazon has removed listings for products that made false claims about the virus and cracked down on price gouging on face masks .
But Facebook and Twitter are still full of hoaxes and rumors about COVID-19 .
Travis View , a QAnon researcher and cohost of the QAnon Anonymous podcast , told BuzzFeed News he believes many pro-Trump conspiracy theorists believe they ’ re safe from the outbreak : “ Many QAnon followers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disasters , including global pandemics , because ‘ patriots are in control.
’ This stems from their belief that serious disasters are engineered by the evil ‘ cabal , ’ rather than being natural and unpredictable.
” “ It ’ s not so much of a question of if [ an outbreak in the US ] will happen anymore , but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen , ” Messonnier said at a briefing Wednesday .
As a consequence , it could be a battle between ideology and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as was demonstrated in South Korea recently , nature wins .
More than 450 followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus , a religious organization described by the South China Morning Post as a “ doomsday cult , ” contracted the coronavirus .
On Monday , the head of the Infection Preventive Medicine Department in the city of Daegu tested positive for the virus and subsequently identified himself as a member of the church .
At least 681 of the 833 infections confirmed in South Korea have been in Daegu , the majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The outbreak within the Shincheonji community started on Feb. 7 , when a 61-year-old woman known as “ Patient No .
31 ” checked into a Daegu hospital following a traffic accident and complained of a sore throat .
She left the hospital twice to attend church services , exposing thousands of others to the virus in the process .
Members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus believe the 88-year-old founder Lee Man-hee to be the second coming of Christ .
In comments not dissimilar to what Trump tweeted about the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the “ devil ’ s deed ” to stop the church ’ s growth .
In the US , similar claims could be found in QAnon circles .
On Tuesday , @ Inevitable_ET went viral with a tweet in which they claimed to have found a post from Q from two years ago that proved that Q knew about the coronavirus years before — and that if everyone trusted Trump , they would be fine .
“ We have assurance of safety and no justification to panic , ” another user responded @

The World Health Organization is still declining to call the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, but the number of infections and deaths continue to climb as the disease spreads. Public health authorities are split about whether containing or mitigating the virus is the best option — but both depend on whether President Donald Trump and his most conspiracy-addled followers can be convinced to go along with it.
At a press conference on Wednesday night, Trump praised his administration’s decision to restrict travel of people from countries where infections have been diagnosed, claimed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was trying to create a panic for political purposes, and announced that Vice President Mike Pence would lead the official coronavirus response. “Because of all we've done, the risk to the American people remains very low,” Trump said. “The level that we've had in our country is very low and those people are getting very better.”
Trump at the press conference said he agreed with claims that Rush Limbaugh (upon whom he bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the State of the Union speech) made during his radio show this week, that the deep state had created the coronavirus as a political weapon to “to bring down Trump.”
When a reporter asked Wednesday night if he was minimizing the deadly potential of the outbreak, Trump laughed and joked that it was no different than the flu. "You don't have to necessarily grab any handrail if you don't have to,” he said.
It’s true that the number of cases in the United States is still low, with 14 cases diagnosed. This is in addition to 39 cases repatriated from high-risk settings — a current total of 53 cases. Still, preparations are being made for things to worsen.


buzzfeed--2020-02-26--Here’s What Teens From Across The Country Thought Of The South Carolina Mess

`` It is frankly absurd that the issues that will be the biggest threats to our way of life in the 21st century weren ’ t debated . ''
The pundits and spin doctors and cable TV hosts have all given you their takes on that particularly messy Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina last night .
But what about the teens ?
Young people are going to be the ones living with the consequences of what happens in the 2020 election .
Many of them do n't have the right to vote , but they should be heard — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country to watch the debate last night and let us know what they thought .
Here 's what they had to say , edited for length and clarity .
Overall : The debate put us in the surreal position of watching seven white candidates grapple , collide , and dance around the issue of race .
While the Democratic victor is guaranteed to be white , the losers of this debate were undeniably people of color .
It was amusing at best , and maddening at worst , to see white men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vying to raise their hands and point fingers at one another about past policies that harmed people of color .
Tom Steyer , in one of his few relevant utterances of the night , announced that everything operated under the “ giant subtext of race , ” and he was right .
I liked : Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar were refreshingly cogent debaters .
Perhaps both women were at an inherent disadvantage in a debate that required candidates to yell , interrupt , and take up space — despite their convincing performances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything stick .
The candidates I was least impressed by : Nobody seemed to break through the white noise or offer anything new .
Bernie Sanders , perhaps comfortable in his frontrunner status , made characteristically little effort to appeal to new voters outside of his usual discourse .
Meanwhile , Buttigieg , Biden , and Bloomberg felt like progressively more out-of-touch versions of one another , like a series of those Snapchat filters that show you how you ’ ll age .
What was missing : Neither the environment nor climate change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once .
It got a few mentions from Sanders , Steyer , and Buttigieg , and the issue has been briefly discussed in previous debates , but it is frankly absurd that the issues that will be the biggest threats to our way of life in the 21st century weren ’ t debated .
I ’ m still waiting for the pointed question to the candidates who oppose nuclear power , or a question to all candidates about how they will fight the powerful fossil fuel lobbies or convince world leaders to come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about one of the myriad of environmental issues other than climate change , such as mountaintop removal , access to drinkable water , or the pollution of waterways , land , and air .
The moment I ’ ll remember : Biden ’ s certitude that “ I will win South Carolina.
” He said he ’ d win .
Then the moderators asked him what would happen if he didn ’ t .
He said he would win .
Asked again in the spin room , he said he would win South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roll in and Biden doesn ’ t win , it will be clear that he ’ s done .
What I didn ’ t like : It is frustrating that at each debate candidates come with studies or articles that factually contradict each other but the moderators and news media can ’ t tell us who is correct .
Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden bickered about who wrote a particular bill .
Was it Klobuchar or Biden ?
I don ’ t know !
They both claimed to have written it , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact .
But the moderators didn ’ t say .
The “ How much will Medicare for All cost ?
” debate happens at every single debate .
Yet we still haven ’ t clarified if it would save money or if Sanders ’ plans would annually cost three times as much as the American GDP .
I just want one good article from an unbiased , credible source showing what the different studies the candidates are citing actually show about the facts behind the claims .
What was missing : Children are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but immigration reform was not even touched upon .
Climate change was only mentioned when foreign affairs was brought into question , though it was not of the utmost importance .
As a young Latinx person , both of these issues are of top priority considering my community in Phoenix is especially impacted when it comes to immigration and the future of this planet is at stake .
Bernie and Warren ’ s campaigns are committed to inspiring people who do not normally participate in democracy to show up at the polls this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all worth if these new or reintegrated voters are being targeted by voter suppression tactics in states across the nation ?
Democrats should be talking about the relevance and presence of voter suppression .
I was least impressed by : Bloomberg .
He is a billionaire with an obvious personal agenda .
His stop-and-frisk policy in New York was a form of racial profiling and an evidently racist tactic that was intended to oppress people of color .
This reminded me of SB1070 in Arizona , an anti-immigration bill that allowed law enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and immigrant communities .
I liked : Bernie Sanders — he had answers prepared and , considering the fire he was faced with , responded relatively well .
Linking his comments to Obama ’ s was smart .
He also pointed out that 47 out of 50 polls have shown him beating Donald Trump , debunking claims he would be unable to do so .
Joe Biden also had a surprisingly solid night , and his choice to be polite and avoid butting in made him look more levelheaded than his counterparts .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Buttigieg looked desperate to get speaking time , and he interrupted Sanders and other candidates at every possible moment he could .
He came off as arrogant and rude .
How did the moderators allow him to sing praises about black voters without asking about his nonexistent minority support ?
I was also unsettled by Michael Bloomberg ’ s comment that he “ bought ” Democrats their seats in Congress .
My favorite moment : Elizabeth Warren taking on Michael Bloomberg , talking about how he poured money into her Republican opponent !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ demonstrate how recently he has changed his positions — including his view on stop-and-frisk — to become a “ Democrat.
” What was missing : The fact that Bloomberg was asked about his choice to ban trans fats in New York City but there was no time to ask about climate change is deeply concerning and appalling .
And why were candidates asked about North Korea and China but not India ?
!
They should have discussed Trump ’ s support of Modi , despite the Indian leader ’ s persecution of Muslims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me the most .
While her ( mostly male ) opponents shouted and interrupted each other , she remained calm and collected .
It ’ s important to note that the candidates around her who blew up were male because I believe that had she acted the same way as a woman , people would view her as unfit , unhinged , and emotional .
A moment I ’ ll remember : When the candidates discussed gun safety .
It ’ s an issue that I am very passionate about , along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ young people .
The topic got a substantial amount of time and each of the candidates made strong points .
Even Pete Buttigieg made a poignant statement , saying older politicians ’ inaction on gun safety legislation helped usher in a new “ school shooting ” generation .
His point that he was a high schooler during Columbine resonated with me , as a high schooler who sees the impact of gun violence .
The fact that someone from the Columbine generation is now old enough to run for president puts the gravity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was missing : I wish the candidates had spent more time discussing climate change .
Tom Steyer tried to inject a comment or two concerning the topic , but there was no serious examination .
Overall : I will be honest : No one impressed me .
It was a very hostile , unsecure space in which personal jabs stood in for the answering of serious questions .
I feel as though this debate really showed me the state of the Democratic Party in terms of individualism .
The only two candidates that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders .
It was a very disappointing night .
What was missing : Reparations .
Although much of the debate was mostly spent on tackling the Black vote , I feel like the candidates should have spent more time on this topic due to the variances of platforms and ways in which this could be implemented .
As of now , Elizabeth Warren is the only candidate actively trying to incentivize HBCUs — why aren ’ t we talking more about this ?
!
She ’ s not a perfect candidate by any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eager to see her plan of execution on this matter .
Everyone is trying to secure the Black vote , but who is trying to actually assist blackness ?
Final thoughts : This debate was PURE chaos .
Literally a HOT-ASS mess , and it solved nothing nor gave me any insight about the platforms or issues these candidates are trying to address .
My favorite moment : Pete Buttigieg ’ s attack on Bernie Sanders ’ ability to beat President Trump among moderate voters and how people in swing districts would flee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Buttigieg ’ s allusion to President Trump being reelected and the House being lost due to divisions in the Democratic Party spoke to what really is the center issue of this debate and election in my mind : Just how progressive is the future of the party ?
I was also impressed with former vice president Joe Biden ’ s performance compared to previous debates .
He was able to steer the conversation in his favor several times .
His comparison between Sanders ’ voting record and the Big Pharma and tobacco @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missing : I wish the topic of student loans was addressed more in tonight 's debate .
While it was brought up by individual candidates during the discussion of education , I wish I could have heard more of their opinions on the issue and more solutions to it .
I also wish that the conversation about education went into student mental health , which is something that affects many people across the nation and was only mentioned once during the whole night .
These two issues are a serious concern to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major cause of many of the systemic issues we see with poverty , depression , anxiety , and suicide in the US .
What I liked : I was surprised by Tom Steyer ’ s call for reparations .
It is important to mention the fact that there are no people of color remaining in the race .
Because of this , in many of the racial justice–focused conversations that would perhaps center reparations for Black people , the topic is often left out of the discourse .
If I had to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bring that up , I am not sure that Steyer would have been my guess .
What I didn ’ t like : I am continually confused about why Pete Buttigieg remains on the stage and in the race .
He sometimes has insightful points , but overall he does not appear to have much of a real vision or blueprint for the future of the country .
I am also very unimpressed by Amy Klobuchar .
Again , not completely sure why she is still in the race .
And I really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claimed to have a grasp on the Black vote in South Carolina .
I think his relevance and association with this idea of electability is bound up in the proximity he has to Obama — and the nostalgia/memory of the Obama presidency among southern Black voters .
Biden continues to sell himself as Obama 2.0 and I am hopeful that voters in South Carolina see through it .
What was missing : I think that this debate was very messy .
There was quite a focus on shade and reads between candidates , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump , I do think that we are going to need to hear more policy .
This is a good time to showcase platform pieces in a strategic way and reach the audience who may be on the fence .
I need to see more of that .
Overall : The moderating of this debate made it difficult to differentiate winners from losers .
A combination of poor rules enforcement , frequent interjections , and cross-talk created messy conversations with messier implications for viewers .
My favorite moment : Bernie Sanders ’ answer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response to concerns among parts of the Jewish electorate , exhibited a lot of political courage .
Calling Benjamin Netanyahu a “ reactionary racist ” is easily the most radical position adopted by the candidates on the stage , and one that could pay off for Sanders among pro-Palestine supporters .
His answer — coupled with his critiques of the interventions in Iran , Guatemala , and Chile — indicate the ways in which a Sanders presidency could be incredibly consequential in terms of foreign policy and drastically reshape the face of American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : I hoped that the candidates would spend more time addressing the # MeToo movement , particularly in light of Harvey Weinstein ’ s recent guilty verdict .
South Carolina has some of the most regressive sexual education policies in the US , a key indicator of the likeliness of sexual assault , making the state a unique stakeholder in the fight against sexual violence .
This could have easily been incorporated into conversations about education or Bloomberg ’ s NDAs .
While some candidates were close to discussing the issue , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liked : It was tough to discern who was actually making a good point and who was just shouting louder than the other people on the stage .
However , Elizabeth Warren showed some restraint .
Throughout the debate , there were many interruptions during designated speaking times , but Warren held her tongue more than everyone else .
Her responses and attacks , while charged , were backed by evidence and statistics .
It ’ s always good to see a politician use facts .
What was missing : The debate didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Many candidates on the stage have conflicting public stances on college tuition , but once again it wasn ’ t clear how they plan to pull off their different proposals .
It ’ s customary for a presidential candidate to promise a slew of things on the campaign trail , but as seen from previous years and past presidents , only so much can be done once in office , even with a clear path .
Without a clearly articulated plan , it ’ s difficult to know what to expect .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on how they want to achieve lower tuition ; I just want to understand them .

What was missing: Neither the environment nor climate change was mentioned by the moderators. Not once. It got a few mentions from Sanders, Steyer, and Buttigieg, and the issue has been briefly discussed in previous debates, but it is frankly absurd that the issues that will be the biggest threats to our way of life in the 21st century weren’t debated. I’m still waiting for the pointed question to the candidates who oppose nuclear power, or a question to all candidates about how they will fight the powerful fossil fuel lobbies or convince world leaders to come along with them, or any question about one of the myriad of environmental issues other than climate change, such as mountaintop removal, access to drinkable water, or the pollution of waterways, land, and air.
The moment I’ll remember: Biden’s certitude that “I will win South Carolina.” He said he’d win. Then the moderators asked him what would happen if he didn’t. He said he would win. Asked again in the spin room, he said he would win South Carolina. If Saturday’s results roll in and Biden doesn’t win, it will be clear that he’s done.
What I didn’t like: It is frustrating that at each debate candidates come with studies or articles that factually contradict each other but the moderators and news media can’t tell us who is correct. Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden bickered about who wrote a particular bill. Was it Klobuchar or Biden? I don’t know! They both claimed to have written it, and it’s a simple and knowable fact. But the moderators didn’t say. The “How much will Medicare for All cost?” debate happens at every single debate. Yet we still haven’t clarified if it would save money or if Sanders’ plans would annually cost three times as much as the American GDP. I just want one good article from an unbiased, credible source showing what the different studies the candidates are citing actually show about the facts behind the claims.


buzzfeed--2020-02-26--Jeff Sessions Wants His Senate Seat Back. He’ll Have To Deal With Roy Moore, Two Major Opponents, An

Jeff Sessions Wants His Senate Seat Back. He’ll Have To Deal With Roy Moore, Two Major Opponents, And Trump To Get It.

WASHINGTON — Former US attorney general Jeff Sessions wants his Alabama Senate seat back , but first he ’ ll face a former college football coach , a member of Congress , and Roy Moore , an ex-judge accused of sexual misconduct , in a Republican primary next week .
While Sessions appears poised to place first in the primary , likely going into a runoff with another Republican in late March , he ’ s running without the approval of his former boss , President Donald Trump .
Instead , the president has been giving shoutouts to a member @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he constantly criticized .
Trump forced Sessions to resign in 2018 , a year after he recused himself from the Russia investigations that led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel .
His resignation preceded a barrage of insults from Trump , including the time the president mocked Sessions ’ Southern accent , when he called Sessions “ disgraceful ” in a tweet , and when Trump tweeted that he wished he had chosen a different attorney general .
The seven-person race for the Alabama Senate seat is shaping up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Sessions , former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville , and Rep. Bradley Byrne .
Moore trails at a distant fourth place .
All seven candidates hope to bolster the Senate majority in November by flipping the seat currently held by Sen. Doug Jones , a Democrat .
The primary will take place on March 3 , Super Tuesday .
Democrats took the seat by a slim margin during a 2017 special election after Jones edged out Moore to become the first Democrat elected to an Alabama Senate seat since 1992 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ women accused him of sexual misconduct , including pursuing teenage girls and child molestation .
Several Republicans called on Moore to drop out of the race at the time , though Trump continued supporting the former judge .
Moore has denied the allegations and last year blamed Democratic operatives in Washington DC and Republicans for hijacking his 2017 bid .
Despite public opposition from Trump and other Republicans to him running again , Moore announced his Senate bid last June .
With a week before the election , he trails in fundraising and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the three front runners ahead of the primary .
Sessions leads the group in most polls with Tuberville close behind .
Sessions served as Alabama ’ s senator for two decades before Trump picked him to serve as US attorney general .
The day Sessions announced his candidacy to retake the seat , he addressed the one-sided feud with Trump in a stunning display of loyalty .
“ When I left president Trump ’ s cabinet , did I write a tell-all book ?
No , ” Sessions said in a 30-second campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on CNN and attack the president ?
Nope .
Have I said a cross word about our president ?
Not one time , ” he said , later adding , “ I was his strongest advocate .
I still am . ''
But his Republican rivals have latched onto the controversy .
Tuberville and Byrne have released attack videos targeting Sessions .
Tuberville , a self-proclaimed “ conservative outsider , ” opened his video with a clip of Trump saying he regrets appointing Sessions as attorney general .
Byrne ’ s video attacks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with comments like “ he let the president down and got fired ” and `` Hillary still ain ’ t in jail.
” Sessions shot back in his own video , calling Tuberville and Byrne “ desperate.
” He attacked Tuberville ’ s Florida state residency and went after Byrne for a statement he released in 2016 calling then-candidate Trump “ unfit to be president ” and requesting he step aside as the Republican nominee after the Access Hollywood video of Trump talking about grabbing women “ by the pussy ” was made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ haven ’ t stopped him from campaigning as a Trump ally .
And the final outcome of the primary could hinge on an endorsement from the president .
Trump hasn ’ t backed a candidate , but Byrne was seen in the president ’ s viewer ’ s box at the big LSU–Alabama football game last year .
The president also called Byrne an “ unbelievable friend ” during his parade of acknowledgments at a press conference a day after the Senate acquitted him in his impeachment trial .
The race remains tight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Sessions and the popular football coach Tuberville close behind at 29 % , according to a Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy poll published earlier this month .
Byrne trails with 17 % and Moore , far behind the group at 5 % .
Alabama law requires a primary candidate to win with 50 % in order to advance to the general election .
Recent polling suggests the top two candidates will continue on to a March 31 runoff .
Businessperson Stanley Adair , Alabama state Rep. Arnold Mooney , and local activist Ruth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday primary .

WASHINGTON — Former US attorney general Jeff Sessions wants his Alabama Senate seat back, but first he’ll face a former college football coach, a member of Congress, and Roy Moore, an ex-judge accused of sexual misconduct, in a Republican primary next week.
While Sessions appears poised to place first in the primary, likely going into a runoff with another Republican in late March, he’s running without the approval of his former boss, President Donald Trump. Instead, the president has been giving shoutouts to a member of Congress over the former attorney general he constantly criticized.
Trump forced Sessions to resign in 2018, a year after he recused himself from the Russia investigations that led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel. His resignation preceded a barrage of insults from Trump, including the time the president mocked Sessions’ Southern accent, when he called Sessions “disgraceful” in a tweet, and when Trump tweeted that he wished he had chosen a different attorney general.
The seven-person race for the Alabama Senate seat is shaping up to be a fight among three top contenders: Sessions, former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, and Rep. Bradley Byrne. Moore trails at a distant fourth place. All seven candidates hope to bolster the Senate majority in November by flipping the seat currently held by Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat. The primary will take place on March 3, Super Tuesday.
Democrats took the seat by a slim margin during a 2017 special election after Jones edged out Moore to become the first Democrat elected to an Alabama Senate seat since 1992. Moore’s campaign floundered after several women accused him of sexual misconduct, including pursuing teenage girls and child molestation. Several Republicans called on Moore to drop out of the race at the time, though Trump continued supporting the former judge. Moore has denied the allegations and last year blamed Democratic operatives in Washington DC and Republicans for hijacking his 2017 bid.
Despite public opposition from Trump and other Republicans to him running again, Moore announced his Senate bid last June. With a week before the election, he trails in fundraising and local polling, clearing the path for the three front runners ahead of the primary. Sessions leads the group in most polls with Tuberville close behind.
Sessions served as Alabama’s senator for two decades before Trump picked him to serve as US attorney general. The day Sessions announced his candidacy to retake the seat, he addressed the one-sided feud with Trump in a stunning display of loyalty.
“When I left president Trump’s cabinet, did I write a tell-all book? No,” Sessions said in a 30-second campaign launch video. “Did I go on CNN and attack the president? Nope. Have I said a cross word about our president? Not one time,” he said, later adding, “I was his strongest advocate. I still am."
But his Republican rivals have latched onto the controversy. Tuberville and Byrne have released attack videos targeting Sessions.
Tuberville, a self-proclaimed “conservative outsider,” opened his video with a clip of Trump saying he regrets appointing Sessions as attorney general. Byrne’s video attacks Sessions’ tenure at the White House with comments like “he let the president down and got fired” and "Hillary still ain’t in jail.”
Sessions shot back in his own video, calling Tuberville and Byrne “desperate.” He attacked Tuberville’s Florida state residency and went after Byrne for a statement he released in 2016 calling then-candidate Trump “unfit to be president” and requesting he step aside as the Republican nominee after the Access Hollywood video of Trump talking about grabbing women “by the pussy” was made public.
Byrne’s earlier views haven’t stopped him from campaigning as a Trump ally. And the final outcome of the primary could hinge on an endorsement from the president.
Trump hasn’t backed a candidate, but Byrne was seen in the president’s viewer’s box at the big LSU–Alabama football game last year. The president also called Byrne an “unbelievable friend” during his parade of acknowledgments at a press conference a day after the Senate acquitted him in his impeachment trial.
The race remains tight with 31% of Alabamians in favor of Sessions and the popular football coach Tuberville close behind at 29%, according to a Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy poll published earlier this month. Byrne trails with 17% and Moore, far behind the group at 5%.
Alabama law requires a primary candidate to win with 50% in order to advance to the general election. Recent polling suggests the top two candidates will continue on to a March 31 runoff.
Businessperson Stanley Adair, Alabama state Rep. Arnold Mooney, and local activist Ruth Page-Nelson are also running in the Super Tuesday primary.


buzzfeed--2020-02-27--With Her Campaign On The Brink, Elizabeth Warren Is Suddenly Fighting Back

Warren is attacking Bloomberg , accepting help from a super PAC , and having more fun .
But she ’ s running out of time to reignite her campaign .
She went after a colleague so forcefully that she was silenced by Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor .
She thoroughly embarrassed top regulators and dressed down not one but two Wells Fargo CEOs .
“ You should resign , ” she told the first in 2016 .
“ At best you were incompetent , at worst you were complicit — and either way you should be fired , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Even now , they remain the most-watched videos of her on YouTube : otherwise-dry hearings and Senate procedures turned into a display of her fierce and uncompromising brand of intellect .
This Elizabeth Warren , largely absent from her 14-month-old presidential campaign , has come out in full force over the last week .
Voters have seen Warren tear into her opponents on the debate stage , politely but a little ruthlessly , with laser-like precision .
They watched her dispense with her usual folksy introduction before a crowd of 7,000 in Seattle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you a little bit about myself ” — to launch instead into a new condemnation of the “ big threat ” posed by Michael Bloomberg “ Not a tall one , but a big one , ” she said .
And on Tuesday night , they heard Warren voice something she has long believed — but never before laid out explicitly or publicly : “ I think I would make a better president than Bernie.
” The arrival of a more aggressive and uninhibited Warren comes as the 70-year-old Massachusetts senator faces an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a politician known for her consistency and discipline in matters of strategy and message , will have to dramatically change the dynamics of the race if she hopes to compete on and beyond Super Tuesday next week , when a third of delegates will be awarded in 14 states .
She has yet to place higher than third in a state and is not expected to do so in South Carolina this weekend .
In critical Super Tuesday states such as California and Texas , she is still polling behind Sanders , Bloomberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unanswerable questions about what went wrong with her once-ascendant campaign , Warren has returned to the fights that made many Democratic voters fall in love with her in the first place .
But she has also compromised some of her long-unwavering positions .
In the last week , voters saw her openly embrace a new super PAC supporting her campaign , the kind of big-money political organization she has railed against repeatedly since entering the race .
They saw her allies begin sending out invitations for high-dollar fundraisers .
And they have seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ally , after telling reporters dozens of times over the last year , “ I ’ m not here to attack other Democrats.
” At a debate on Tuesday in South Carolina , after a week of more tentative comparisons , Warren launched the direct attack on Sanders that some of her allies had been agitating for .
“ Bernie and I both wanted to help rein in Wall Street .
In 2008 , we both got our chance .
But I dug in .
I fought the big banks .
I built @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Warren said in Charleston .
`` There is no treading water at this point in the race .
You either sink or swim , ” said Adam Green , a progressive strategist who cofounded a group , the Progressive Change Campaign Committee , that supports Warren and says it coordinates with her campaign on strategy .
Green , who has been pushing the case that Warren is a better and more reliable implementer of progressive policy than Sanders , said her more combative debates over the last week have given voters the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who challenges power — the Elizabeth Warren America loves.
” In recent days on the campaign trail , Warren has looked , quite simply , to be having fun — something that had not quite seemed true for weeks , as she slogged through Iowa and New Hampshire with trips back and forth to DC for President Trump ’ s impeachment trial .
The morning after last week ’ s debate , Warren was almost giddy as she lit into Bloomberg again in front of a group of loyal volunteers packed into a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she could only get through the words “ Since Wednesday night— ” before the crowd interrupted her with a roar , and when she raised her fists above her head , as she often does , she turned it into a dance .
Inside the campaign , aides are reticent to talk about Warren ’ s thinking , and bristle at the suggestion that she ’ s made any fundamental changes : She knows genuinely why she is running , they say , and that can take you far .
If anything has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s the threat of Bloomberg , the former mayor and billionaire whose self-funded campaign embodies much of what Warren believes is broken in government and politics , that has unleashed her attacks .
People who have spoken to her since the debate last week said Warren has remarked on how many women have come up to her , in public and in private , to say how glad they were to see a woman hold a man accountable like she did .
“ Women can be tough , ” she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ event in Denver .
After getting in the race at the start of last year , Warren rose to the top of the Democratic field that summer by releasing a steady stream of plans and keeping her focus trained unshakably on a message aimed at moderates and progressives alike .
Then she fell back in the polls by doing much the same thing .
Even at her lowest point , as a disappointing third-place finish in Iowa turned into an even worse performance in New Hampshire , there was little consensus among her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and what — if anything — Warren should be doing differently .
Some cited the influence of sexism as a factor in her struggle to lock down support as voter anxieties about “ electability ” mounted ; others say they wish she spent money on polling , put more surrogates on television , or invested in advertising to cement her lead last summer .
People involved in fundraising for Persist PAC , the new group supporting Warren , say they will aim to do what the campaign was only able to in small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TV with the financial support of the national donor network Warren developed in her 2012 and 2018 Senate bids but set aside last year when she decided to abstain from high-dollar fundraising .
“ She probably should have had it from the beginning , ” Sean McElwee , whose think tank Data for Progress has advised the Sanders and Warren campaigns on policy , said of a super PAC .
Warren ’ s campaign tried to appeal , in part , to the Democratic establishment , at least compared to Sanders ’ firebrand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” that could win the support of both moderates and progressives .
But without a super PAC , McElwee argued , there was no mechanism for big donors to back Warren over Sanders .
“ A super PAC allows the establishment to fund the campaign , ” McElwee said .
Persist PAC , which is run by four women veteran operatives in Democratic politics , will have its own pollster , a basic function of campaigns that Warren has also sworn off this cycle , to determine what about her pitch is working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
( Election laws prohibit the super PAC from coordinating with the campaign .
A spokesman for the group said there are no former Warren staffers working on the PAC . )
On Monday , Persist PAC announced its latest round of spending , placing more than $ 3 million worth of pro-Warren ads in more than half of the Super Tuesday states across broadcast , cable , and digital platforms .
The ad buy spans 13 media markets in eight states , but in places like California , where paid media campaigns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up a fraction of what other candidates , in particular Bloomberg , have spent and will spend before March 3 .
There is some evidence that voters like what they ’ ve seen in the last week .
Warren raised $ 9 million in the three days after the Las Vegas debate and saw a bump in some of her polling numbers .
And in an immediate post-debate poll , 40 % of people who watched Tuesday night said they were impressed by Warren ’ s performance , putting her near the top @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't like to second guess the campaign , but I do think many people needed to see her killer instinct to believe she could win , ” said Evan Sutton , a progressive operative and organizer who is supporting Warren .
`` I do n't know whether or how it could have been done earlier .
Until Michael Bloomberg stepped onto the stage , there was no one she could go after with that kind of ferocity without risking major blowback , ” he said , citing Sen. Kamala Harris ’ s attack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice issues in the first Democratic debate , a move that raised millions of dollars but that later many dismissed as a manufactured product of debate prep .
Warren ’ s fiercest supporters are sensitive to the idea that the approach represents a change at all .
“ I don ’ t think we have seen some kind of new Warren , ” said Murshed Zaheed , a Democratic strategist who is among her most forceful boosters in online progressive communities .
“ That 's the Warren I have known dating back to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leader Harry ] Reid ’ s leadership office .
That 's who she is.
” Zaheed , like many of Warren ’ s supporters online , uses the turtle emoji as a talisman for the campaign ’ s approach and sensibility .
“ Slow and steady 🐢 , ” he said in an email .
Warren ’ s window to move ahead in the field , however , is rapidly closing .
Sanders ’ s decisive victory in the Nevada caucuses , where he won 40 % of the vote , set up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nominating process : In less than a week , unless the field of eight remaining Democrats begins to shrink , Sanders could emerge from Super Tuesday with a delegate advantage that makes it increasingly difficult for a single other candidate to retake the lead .
Sanders , who became the target of a new wave of attacks on Tuesday night in South Carolina , is making a play to win Warren ’ s home state of Massachusetts , with two rallies scheduled there this week .
Sanders and Warren , two progressive icons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before they were colleagues in the Senate , have been careful in the way they interact during the primary .
In January , they clashed for the first time over their conflicting accounts of what was said in a private meeting where Warren asked Sanders whether he believed a woman could win against Donald Trump in 2020 .
Shortly after Warren issued her own statement about the meeting , sparking a new wave of discussion about the conflict online , one of her campaign officials moved to calm her supporters .
“ Our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shared goals , ” the staffer wrote to a large group of prominent Warren supporters in a shared private direct message channel on Twitter .
In the DM group , which is still active , supporters have grown increasingly negative on Sanders , one member said , but Warren campaign officials in the group have mostly stayed out of those discussions when they arise .
For those on the left , the difference between Warren and Sanders has less to do with policy or ideology than with questions of progressive power and theories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a political revolution , then she has honed a more tactical and methodical approach to government regulation and oversight , coupled with the public displays and confrontations in the Senate that would generate dozens of headlines and millions of views on YouTube .
“ She began to do what no other candidate can do — make the effectiveness contrast with Sanders from a progressive perspective , ” Green said of the debates in Nevada and South Carolina .
But on Tuesday in South Carolina , Warren ’ s sharpest attacks were still aimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the debate , Bloomberg declared , “ I have the experience .
I have the resources .
And I have the record .
And all those sideshows that the senator wants to bring up have nothing to do with that.
” Warren jumped in , talking over Biden until she won the chance to speak .
She turned to a familiar story , one that she has been repeating almost daily on the campaign trail for 14 months : “ When I was 21 years old , I got my first job as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that job .
And by the end of the first year , I was visibly pregnant .
The principal wished me luck and gave my job to someone else.
” This time , though , her voice rising with emotion , Warren added a different ending , one borrowed from a lawsuit against Bloomberg by a woman employee .
“ At least I did n't have a boss who said to me , ‘ Kill it , ’ the way that Mayor Bloomberg is alleged to have said to one of his pregnant @ @ @

Green, who has been pushing the case that Warren is a better and more reliable implementer of progressive policy than Sanders, said her more combative debates over the last week have given voters the chance to see “the strong fighter who challenges power — the Elizabeth Warren America loves.”
In recent days on the campaign trail, Warren has looked, quite simply, to be having fun — something that had not quite seemed true for weeks, as she slogged through Iowa and New Hampshire with trips back and forth to DC for President Trump’s impeachment trial. The morning after last week’s debate, Warren was almost giddy as she lit into Bloomberg again in front of a group of loyal volunteers packed into a Las Vegas storefront. In Seattle, she could only get through the words “Since Wednesday night—” before the crowd interrupted her with a roar, and when she raised her fists above her head, as she often does, she turned it into a dance.
Inside the campaign, aides are reticent to talk about Warren’s thinking, and bristle at the suggestion that she’s made any fundamental changes: She knows genuinely why she is running, they say, and that can take you far. If anything has changed in the last two weeks, it’s the threat of Bloomberg, the former mayor and billionaire whose self-funded campaign embodies much of what Warren believes is broken in government and politics, that has unleashed her attacks.
People who have spoken to her since the debate last week said Warren has remarked on how many women have come up to her, in public and in private, to say how glad they were to see a woman hold a man accountable like she did.
“Women can be tough,” she said after a woman thanked her at an event in Denver.
After getting in the race at the start of last year, Warren rose to the top of the Democratic field that summer by releasing a steady stream of plans and keeping her focus trained unshakably on a message aimed at moderates and progressives alike. Then she fell back in the polls by doing much the same thing.
Even at her lowest point, as a disappointing third-place finish in Iowa turned into an even worse performance in New Hampshire, there was little consensus among her allies about what had gone wrong, and what — if anything — Warren should be doing differently.
Some cited the influence of sexism as a factor in her struggle to lock down support as voter anxieties about “electability” mounted; others say they wish she spent money on polling, put more surrogates on television, or invested in advertising to cement her lead last summer.
People involved in fundraising for Persist PAC, the new group supporting Warren, say they will aim to do what the campaign was only able to in small measure: amplify her basic message on TV with the financial support of the national donor network Warren developed in her 2012 and 2018 Senate bids but set aside last year when she decided to abstain from high-dollar fundraising.
“She probably should have had it from the beginning,” Sean McElwee, whose think tank Data for Progress has advised the Sanders and Warren campaigns on policy, said of a super PAC.
Warren’s campaign tried to appeal, in part, to the Democratic establishment, at least compared to Sanders’ firebrand policies — offering a “unity candidate” that could win the support of both moderates and progressives. But without a super PAC, McElwee argued, there was no mechanism for big donors to back Warren over Sanders.
“A super PAC allows the establishment to fund the campaign,” McElwee said.
Persist PAC, which is run by four women veteran operatives in Democratic politics, will have its own pollster, a basic function of campaigns that Warren has also sworn off this cycle, to determine what about her pitch is working best with voters, the people said. (Election laws prohibit the super PAC from coordinating with the campaign. A spokesman for the group said there are no former Warren staffers working on the PAC.)
On Monday, Persist PAC announced its latest round of spending, placing more than $3 million worth of pro-Warren ads in more than half of the Super Tuesday states across broadcast, cable, and digital platforms. The ad buy spans 13 media markets in eight states, but in places like California, where paid media campaigns are expensive, $3 million makes up a fraction of what other candidates, in particular Bloomberg, have spent and will spend before March 3.


buzzfeed--2020-02-27--No Email. No WhatsApp. No Internet. This Is Now Normal Life In Kashmir.

Normal life has ground to a halt in the region as businesses lay off workers , hospitals struggle to care for patients , and ordinary people despair .
Like the snowcapped mountains and grassy meadows , men with guns are part of the landscape in Kashmir .
Some are cops , some are from the Indian army , and some belong to a counterinsurgency force .
Only locals , who have grown up with these men patrolling their streets for generations , can tell who is who .
On a cold winter morning in late January , a dozen of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a one-story restaurant in Srinagar , Kashmir ’ s largest city and the region ’ s summer capital , and gazed down at the traffic below .
I watched them watching my car , their bodies silhouetted against a steel sky .
Blocks of snow lined the road , and as my car trundled into the heart of the city , my breath came out in misty puffs .
When I instinctively pulled out my phone to check the weather , however , it was useless : Since August 5 , Indian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a digital blackout , restricting most internet access .
At 205 days and counting , it ’ s the longest-running internet shutdown in any democracy so far , seven months in March .
That means no email .
No WhatsApp .
No maps .
And no weather .
On August 5 , India ’ s government , led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi , revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution , which granted the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir a measure of autonomy .
The government split the state , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , into two territories .
Supporters of Modi ’ s Bharatiya Janata Party hailed the move , while Kashmiris , many of whom want to see Kashmir join Pakistan or become independent , were angered .
To prevent public opposition from turning into open rebellion , India ’ s government detained Kashmiri politicians , arrested thousands of activists and academics , and imposed a complete communications blackout .
Overnight , mobile phones and landlines stopped working , broadband lines were frozen , and text messaging stopped .
Over the last six months , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions : Landline phones came back after five weeks , and in October , people who had postpaid mobile connections found they could make calls again .
Last month , texting was allowed again , and eventually large swathes of Kashmir were able to access , at glacial speeds , a few hundred government-approved websites — which excluded social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter , and messaging apps like WhatsApp .
The lockdown continues despite India ’ s Supreme Court in January deeming “ indefinite ” suspension of internet services illegal .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights violation , ” said Irfan Mehraj , a researcher at the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society , a federation of human rights organizations in Kashmir that releases an annual report of Kashmir ’ s human rights situation each year .
“ It ’ s to break the will of the Kashmiri people.
” So , I went to see what the shutdown has done — the business people begging the police to restore access , the students clandestinely sharing videos , the doctors unable to do their jobs , and everywhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every week since August , Isma Salaria has made the six-mile journey from her home in Srinagar to the Jammu and Kashmir police headquarters .
The heavily guarded police department operates out of a sprawling , modern building fronted by panes of shiny blue glass and a sloping blue roof .
During each visit , men frisk her half a dozen times .
She endures for a simple reason : Without internet access , her business , a center where students across the valley take online exams like the TOEFL , has nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she ’ s had to lay off 20 of her 23 employees .
One of the few women who owns a technology firm in the region , she ’ s grown desperate .
“ I ’ ve pleaded so many times before [ the authorities ] , ” she says behind a wooden desk in a cramped room that has been her office for the last eight years .
“ I told them to give it to us on just one laptop .
I told them , ‘ Track the usage on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no .
They haven ’ t budged .
This is the worst thing that could have happened to my business.
” Internet access in Kashmir shows where you stand in the social hierarchy : If you ’ re powerful , you have it ; if you ’ re not , you don ’ t .
When I interviewed a senior police officer in Kupwara , he paused our conversation midway to talk to his dad in another part of the country on a WhatsApp video call — because law enforcement officials are among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Jammu and Kashmir government order , the government has 844 “ e-terminals ” and 69 special counters for tourists — relatively high in the pecking order — across the region to book train and flight tickets .
But nobody seemed to know where to find one ; when I finally do , it ’ s unstaffed and unusable .
Salaria 's office is located in Rangreth , an area on the outskirts of Srinagar that locals refer to as Kashmir ’ s Silicon Valley .
It ’ s a stretch of land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hillside that is home to more than 30 software companies — everything from internet service providers to consulting firms that make bespoke software for international clients — which collectively employ around 1,200 people and bring in tens of millions of dollars yearly .
In December , a report released by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the lockdown had cost Kashmir ’ s economy more than $ 2.4 billion — and many of its leaders are frightened to speak out , facing economic losses , layoffs , and uncertainty .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” says the CEO of a large Kashmiri IT company and internet service provider who declined to be identified because he was scared of police retaliation .
“ They ’ ve set us back 15 years.
” In August , immediately after the internet was shut down , Kashmiri law enforcement detained a senior official of his company for eight days in a cell 6 feet long and 6 feet wide for keeping communication lines open for an hour after an official shutdown was ordered .
“ I can ’ t tell you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the CEO says .
Another CEO says his company received limited access after he petitioned the police more than 20 times to restore access .
The agreement that he had to sign with the police before he got it states that his employees would not use social media or VPN software , send or receive encrypted files , and would use the internet strictly for business reasons .
“ It was necessary , ” he says .
“ I was flying to New Delhi from Srinagar twice a week just to check my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions of dollars in revenue from international clients and had to lay off nearly two-thirds of its 370 employees .
Dozens of IT companies in Srinagar have been signing these agreements with the police , but only a few of them have been allowed back online .
Salaria is one of those who has yet to receive access , which has put her business on the brink of insolvency .
In a November letter to the inspector general of the police in Kashmir , she pleaded with them to reactivate her connection .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she wrote .
When she spoke to me , she was a lot more blunt .
“ Shutting down leased lines that are used by businesses is the stupidest thing you can do !
” she says .
“ It ’ s a blot on democracy.
” Salaria has been to the police headquarters so often that officers there are now familiar with her .
They scoff when they see her .
“ Oh look , these internet people are back , ” she says .
“ They treat us like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ religion and politics have been intertwined in Kashmir .
In 1339 , the first Muslim ruler conquered the region , beginning a period of Islamic rule that lasted for some five centuries .
By the time the area came under British rule in 1846 , the vast majority of the inhabitants practiced Islam — though not its titular Hindu rulers .
At the time of partition in 1947 , Maharaja Hari Singh dithered between joining Pakistan or India or remaining independent — until the issue was forced by an invasion by tribal forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for troops , and the country agreed on the condition that he join his territories to theirs .
He did , setting off the first Pakistan–India war , which lasted until the following year .
Although the United Nations called in for a plebiscite to determine which country Kashmir should join , no vote has ever taken place .
Armed conflicts broke out again in 1965 , 1971 , and 1999 .
In the ’ 90s , when the insurgency in Kashmir was at its peak , the Kupwara district , which lies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and which was one of the first two districts of Kashmir where access to government-approved websites over 2G speeds was approved in the middle of January , had some of the highest numbers of violent incidents in the region .
Just over a hundred thousand people live in Kupwara .
Most Indians would n't be able to find it on a map .
The heavily militarized border between India and Pakistan known as the Line of Control , which US president Bill Clinton called `` the most dangerous place in the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Kupwara has calmed down in the last two decades , but as recently as 2018 , Indian security forces killed 52 militants trying to infiltrate into Kupwara from across the border .
It ’ s here that Mir Hanan is waiting , desperate to speak .
The 17-year-old Kashmiri medical student had been texting with me all day , but the inexpensive mobile plan that he used caps at 100 texts a day .
“ Can you call me ?
” he texts .
“ My SMS pack is almost exhausted.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ’ 90s , but he ’ s grown up hearing stories of the insurgency .
Right now , he ’ s worried about the future .
“ I don ’ t know what my future is , ” he says .
When the current communications shutdown started in August , Hanan didn ’ t think much of it .
Most Kashmiris , he says , are used to internet bans .
“ We are numbed to them , ” he says .
Young Kashmiris like Hanan grew up believing the internet would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peers around the world , regular shutdowns meant they learned to never take it for granted .
Since 2012 , Indian authorities have shut down the internet in Kashmir 180 times , according to the Software Freedom Law Centre , a legal services organization in New Delhi that keeps a track of internet shutdowns .
In 2017 , for instance , the Kashmiri government abruptly blocked 22 social media platforms for a month to prevent them from “ being misused by anti-national and anti-social elements.
” At the time , Mohammed Faysal , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Kashmiris , told me how important social media was to Kashmiris .
“ Social media has allowed Kashmiris to humanize their struggles through photos and videos , ” he said .
“ In a region torn by violence , platforms like WhatsApp , Facebook , and Twitter are 90 % of our social lives .
That ’ s what you ’ re taking away when you block them.
” The blackout has also spawned a medical emergency that could use the skills of someone like Hanan , as pharmacies run out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Last September , a month into the blackout , Javid Parsa , a restaurateur in New Delhi , told me about a bootleg network he had created to ship medicine into the region after communications were cut , using his popular Instagram page as a hub .
“ Each day , I get three or four people traveling to Kashmir messaging me and offering to carry and deliver medicines and other essentials to people 's families who are stuck there unable to ask anyone for help .
Just yesterday , we found five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blood pressure medication , ” he said in September .
People outside of Kashmir use his page as a place to organize shipments of medicine to family members in the region , creating a logistical network that spans some 550 kilometers by road .
“ Thanks to my Instagram , we were able to find a guy driving there from Delhi who was able to carry the medicines and deliver them , ” he said .
“ Unfortunately , thanks to the blackout , the people who do receive these medicines have no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In September , Al Jazeera reported from Srinagar on patients running out of money and doctors improvising surgeries .
The following month , the New York Times reported that at least a dozen patients had died as a consequence .
The British Medical Journal ran an editorial with the headline “ Kashmir Communications Blackout Is Putting Patients at Risk , Doctors Warn.
” On a freezing Friday morning , I head to Kupwara to meet Hanan and his friends .
Vast paddy fields smothered by snow and sprawling orchards dotted with trees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flash by on either side of the winding road .
Halfway through the journey , outside the town of Sopore , two men in Indian Army fatigues and rifles slung across their chests flag us down and ask us to open our trunk .
“ They ’ re looking for guns , ” says my traveling companion .
But it ’ s not just guns that the authorities are searching for .
To enforce an internet blackout , the government has to ferret out all the ways people try to circumvent it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after a video went viral of an ailing , 90-year-old separatist leader named Syed Ali Geelani stating where he wished to be buried after his death , authorities filed complaints against people using VPN software to access social media under a law that lets the government imprison anyone it suspects belongs to “ unlawful associations , terrorist gangs or terrorist organizations ” for up to seven years .
A 32-year-old government contractor , who asked to remain anonymous to protect his safety , told me how members of the Indian Army stopped his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as he was driving home .
“ They made me get down from the car and unlock my phone , ” he says .
“ Then they asked me if I had any VPN apps installed on my device .
“ They stood there and watched over my shoulder to make sure I deleted those apps , ” he says .
“ Refusing to show them your phone is never an option , ” he added .
“ When they question you in Kashmir , refusing is never an option.
” Hanan and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Grand Resort , a small restaurant tucked away on a snow-covered lane in downtown Kupwara .
We sit at a large table near a window at the back , trying to be inconspicuous , and order coffees and warm buttered toast , a popular snack in Kashmir .
Nobody looks at their phones — there ’ s nothing to see on them .
The most obvious effects of the blackout are economic .
Sofi Musaib , a high school senior who was preparing for the med school entrance exam when the shutdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to sit out a year because he ’ s simply not prepared .
“ Academic books and study material are expensive .
But a mobile data plan is 149 rupees ( $ 2 ) a month , so I used to rely on YouTube for watching lectures related to my course , ” he says .
“ I don ’ t have Wi-Fi at home and I am not rich enough to move out of Kashmir to study somewhere else in the country.
” Zahid Ul-Aslam , a 17-year-old high school senior , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black time.
” Most of what we do on our phones is low stakes , and it ’ s no different for him .
Ul-Aslam spent hours with friends , family , and college professors in a dozen WhatsApp groups , playing PUBG , an online multiplayer game , tracking cricket updates , catching up on news , and swiping through TikTok videos .
“ I don ’ t know what ’ s going on in the world anymore , ” he says .
“ I feel like there ’ s an iron @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and us , ” says Khushgufter Afimed Shah-Pirzada , a 20-year-old linguistics undergrad .
“ We can move around , but we can ’ t see , feel , or breathe.
” “ I thought it was bad enough when Burhan was martyred , ” says Hanan , “ but this is worse.
” In 2016 , Indian security forces gunned down Burhan Wani , the leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen , Kashmir ’ s largest insurgent group , which wants the territory to become part of Pakistan .
A handsome young man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from many militants because his claim to fame was social media .
Pictures and videos of Wani and his cohort wearing combat fatigues and cradling automatic weapons went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp across the valley .
Wani not only threatened Indian security forces , but called upon young Kashmiris to revolt .
To the Indians who killed him , Wani was a terrorist , but for the young Kashmiris sitting at the table with me , he was a symbol of resistance .
After Wani ’ s death , thousands of Kashmiris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tral , where he was born .
One attendee called it a “ carnival of martyrdom.
” In the wake of violent protests following his death , in which more than 40 people died , authorities shut down the internet and mobile services for nearly six months .
Long before internet-enabled smartphones emerged as tools of dissent in India , and long before Wani , Kashmiris have used them to resist the Indian government .
As a journalist based in Srinagar who didn ’ t want to be named for fear of retaliation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Spring in Kashmir long before the Arab Spring.
” Since Kashmir ’ s internet blackouts have made streaming services practically impossible to access , Kashmir has become a thriving black market for content .
The current favorite is a Turkish historical epic called Resurrection : Ertugrul , which locals describe as a “ Muslim Game of Thrones.
” Kashmiris swap content over ShareIt , an app that zaps video and audio files , documents , and apps from phone to phone at high speeds without internet access , like AirDrop , but for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it shows that he has traded nearly a terabyte of content — as much as 15 full days of streaming Netflix would use — in the last six months .
His phone ’ s home screen is littered with VPN apps , which he ’ s gotten through ShareIt after the 2G network was restored in Kupwara .
VPN software typically hides a user ’ s real location and encrypts data , which means that someone based in Kashmir could use a VPN to make it seem like they were located somewhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions .
The government bans people from using VPN during the shutdown , but enforcement is spotty .
When 2G-speed services were restored to Kupwara , Ul-Aslam fired them up one by one to see if he could bypass the restrictions and access the full internet , but nothing worked .
“ Now I just keep them on my phone , ” he says with a rueful smile , “ for hope.
” The shutdown has also hampered the work of some members of Indian law enforcement .
At the end of January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 10 million in narcotics from two people in Kupwara .
According to reports , the drugs were brought in through a network of smugglers from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir .
“ The narco trade fuels a lot of the valley ’ s militancy because it brings in money , ” a senior intelligence officer , who requested anonymity to speak freely , tells me at an Indian army camp near Kupwara .
“ Once the channel to bring in the drugs is set , they switch to bringing in weapons and , eventually , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bust these operations , intelligence officials rely on tracking the cellphones of the people involved in them and intercepting calls and messages .
But the shutdown put an end to that .
“ The quality of intelligence has gone down drastically since the shutdown started , ” the officer says .
“ Sure , it ’ s impacted militant networks too , but they don ’ t just rely on phones .
Their physical networks and infrastructure are well established as well.
” The lack of mobile internet , especially , has made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Indian intelligence officials , he says .
“ Whistleblowers would rarely call or text us , ” he says , “ because those things aren ’ t encrypted .
They would either message or call over an encrypted app like WhatsApp or come and meet us in person.
” Since August , this officer says , he ’ s been unable to connect with any of his sources over WhatsApp .
He now meets them only in person and has had to reestablish most of his network .
“ The official reasons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to prevent anti-national activities are true , ” he says .
“ But shutting down the internet also impacts your ability to track the bad guys.
” Just off Residency Road , a wide , sycamore-lined street in the heart of Srinagar , sits a series of low-slung buildings with sloping green tin roofs inside a barbed wire fence .
Inside , two bored-looking security guards wave me through a metal detector .
One of them has an automatic rifle casually slung across his chest .
Directly across me is a thick , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to enter a space about the size of a small hotel room .
The air is stuffy , and it ’ s tough to move around without bumping into someone .
Against a wall is a row of cubicles where groups of hassled men stare into flatscreen monitors .
Some people sit on wooden chairs and tap on laptops connected to snaking ethernet cables .
Someone trips across one , grabs my shoulder to steady themselves , and mutters an apology .
This is Kashmir ’ s Media Facilitation Center , a makeshift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journalists , and one of the few places in Kashmir with unrestricted internet access .
The center is segregated by gender — the space for women journalists is down a long corridor that leads to filthy restrooms — and has become the nerve center for local , national , and international media .
There are nine desktop computers and a handful of ethernet cables to serve the approximately 300 journalists who work in Srinagar — though I doubt they could all fit in here at once .
There ’ s no Wi-Fi , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ software that lets you turn a laptop attached to an ethernet cable into a Wi-Fi hotspot that other devices around it can connect to , is all the rage .
“ It ’ s not allowed , it ’ s restricted by the government , ” a reporter tells me with a wink as he punches in the password .
“ But we do it anyway.
” When I check the laptop I ’ m mooching off , I discover there are 26 other people connected .
“ It can ’ t handle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” laughs the owner .
In the corner , someone is downloading nursery rhymes from ChuChu TV , India ’ s largest YouTube channel for kids , on an iPad .
Few professions in Kashmir have been hit as badly by the internet shutdown as the region ’ s press .
Newspapers and websites , unable to get in touch with their reporters , stopped publishing for weeks .
Since August 5 , the day the blackout was imposed , the government has detained dozens , withdrawn all-important government advertising from local newspapers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as they moved around the region .
Official information comes in a trickle via anodyne press briefings .
“ We ’ re not doing journalism anymore , ” says Sajjad Haider , editor-in-chief of the Kashmir Observer , one of the region ’ s largest publications and the first to launch an online edition in 1997 .
“ We ’ re putting out trash .
We ’ re afraid of our readers .
If they had a choice , they would stop reading Kashmiri newspapers.
” Like most other publications in the region @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s revenue source was ads in his newspaper taken out by the government .
But since the shutdown , government advertising has dropped by half , he says .
Private advertising from local businesses such as handicrafts and tourism , which have already been hit due to the shutdown , has disappeared almost completely .
Nearly a dozen Kashmir Observer staffers lost their jobs because the paper couldn ’ t afford their salaries .
Haider has approached authorities multiple times since the shutdown but says that they have “ absolutely not ” been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Every time , they just feign ignorance .
You have to go higher and higher , and ultimately , we are told that the buck stops at New Delhi.
” Greater Kashmir , the region ’ s oldest and the largest newspaper , put more than half its newsroom on “ standby ” — leave without pay — according to executive editor Arif Wani .
It last updated its website in December , for which a staff member had to travel outside the region to upload stories .
That proved to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so it now sits frozen .
When I ask Haider , a grizzled news veteran , how he manages to keep up with the news , his eyes bulge and his hands fly up into the air .
“ I don ’ t !
” he shouts .
“ I read old books !
Old books on my bookshelves !
” Later that evening , I catch an auto rickshaw from Haider ’ s office to the center of the city , to attend a press conference by Ravi Shankar Prasad , India @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minister , who is in town to inaugurate a post office staffed exclusively by women .
A throng of journalists waits for nearly 45 minutes watching dozens of heavily armed Indian Army personnel standing outside the gates .
Finally , Prasad draws up in an enormous black car , bulletproof windows shielded with dark film , followed by a convoy .
We try to follow him , but the way is blocked : Only a few media outlets have been handpicked to attend the press conference .
The rest of us trudge home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s largest news agency publishes two paragraphs about Shankar ’ s visit to Srinagar .
“ Ravi Shankar Prasad interacts with locals , ” reads the headline .
It doesn ’ t mention the shutdown .
“ You have to understand that the internet here is not just a utility , ” a journalist who works for a national news website and who wished to remain unnamed tells me .
“ It ’ s now a tool for a new social hierarchy .
At the top is the ruling class , the politicians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rest of the people , below the boat owners , below the auto rickshaw drivers — are the journalists .
We are at the bottom , the wretched of the earth.
” On Republic Day , India marks the adoption of its constitution , which states that the country is a “ sovereign socialist secular democratic republic ” .
Across the nation , people hoist the tricolor in public places .
Patriotic songs blare from speakers , and members of the Indian Armed Forces showcase their might while marching down Rajpath , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the official residence of the Indian president .
In Kashmir — which the constitution had , up until August , granted a degree of autonomy — Republic Day means lockdown .
Mobile phones are shut off entirely .
Roads are barricaded and concertina wire strung everywhere .
Men clasping automatic rifles and bulletproof vests patrol every few feet .
Stores and businesses close down , and most people stay indoors .
On my last day in Kashmir , hours before boarding my flight back to Delhi , I am finally plunged into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through for weeks in August .
On the TV , every news channel is tuned in live to the Republic Day parade in New Delhi .
On the screen , Prime Minister Narendra Modi wears a bright saffron turban and gives a firm handshake to India ’ s official Republic Day guest , Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro .
I crack my window open and gaze down at the empty street below .
Nothing moves .
Five minutes later , a dozen army men wearing metal helmets and carrying ballistic shields walk past .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ group and positions himself directly across the street .
Once in a while , he looks up and stares at me staring down at him and our eyes meet in an unblinking gaze that he doesn ’ t break for a long time .
I shut the window and draw the curtain .
Shortly after 10 a.m. , I step out of the front door of the hotel and walk out into the empty streets of Srinagar .
“ Don ’ t go out if you don ’ t have to , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , noting that I might be stopped and frisked and asked for ID .
Lal Chowk , Srinagar ’ s main city square , is a site of historical significance .
In 1948 , Jawaharlal Nehru , India ’ s first prime minister , unfurled the Indian flag and promised Kashmiris a referendum to choose their political future .
Four decades later , members of the Hindu nationalist BJP hoisted the tricolor a short distance away .
On this Republic Day , dozens of gun-toting men in army uniforms surround the tower .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ rabbit-shaped ear muffs holds her mother 's hand and skips past the men .
When I pass them again , I see a lanky young man with a camera clicking freely .
He says he ’ s a photographer with an international wire service .
“ Don ’ t they get bothered when you do that ?
” I ask .
“ They do , ” he shrugs .
“ Sometimes , they trash you.
” Shortly after lunchtime , I set off for the airport .
My flight back home isn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but security is tight around the city on Republic Day and I don ’ t want to take any chances .
In the eight-mile drive to the airport , army personnel stop my car twice , make me and the driver get off , and demand ID .
When I tell them I have a flight to catch , they ask me to show my ticket .
Half a mile before we reach the airport , I am stopped again , and this time , one of the men with guns pats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my bag .
As the cab pulls into the airport , a huge billboard with Modi ’ s face on it looms large beneath half a dozen tall sycamores .
“ Digital India , Developed India , ” it says , name-checking one of the prime minister 's flagship campaigns .
Moments before I board the flight , the Republic Day mobile ban is lifted , and backed up text messages start streaming in .
It reminds of something Hanan told me in Kupwara .
“ They ’ ve made their point , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if they give us the internet back , they can take it away any time again whenever they want , and as long as they want.
” ●

For hundreds of years, religion and politics have been intertwined in Kashmir.
In 1339, the first Muslim ruler conquered the region, beginning a period of Islamic rule that lasted for some five centuries. By the time the area came under British rule in 1846, the vast majority of the inhabitants practiced Islam — though not its titular Hindu rulers. At the time of partition in 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh dithered between joining Pakistan or India or remaining independent — until the issue was forced by an invasion by tribal forces from Pakistan. Singh appealed to India for troops, and the country agreed on the condition that he join his territories to theirs. He did, setting off the first Pakistan–India war, which lasted until the following year.
Although the United Nations called in for a plebiscite to determine which country Kashmir should join, no vote has ever taken place. Armed conflicts broke out again in 1965, 1971, and 1999.
In the ’90s, when the insurgency in Kashmir was at its peak, the Kupwara district, which lies on the border between the two countries, and which was one of the first two districts of Kashmir where access to government-approved websites over 2G speeds was approved in the middle of January, had some of the highest numbers of violent incidents in the region. Just over a hundred thousand people live in Kupwara. Most Indians wouldn't be able to find it on a map. The heavily militarized border between India and Pakistan known as the Line of Control, which US president Bill Clinton called "the most dangerous place in the world" lies on its west. Insurgency in Kupwara has calmed down in the last two decades, but as recently as 2018, Indian security forces killed 52 militants trying to infiltrate into Kupwara from across the border.
It’s here that Mir Hanan is waiting, desperate to speak. The 17-year-old Kashmiri medical student had been texting with me all day, but the inexpensive mobile plan that he used caps at 100 texts a day. “Can you call me?” he texts. “My SMS pack is almost exhausted.”
Hanan wasn’t yet born in the ’90s, but he’s grown up hearing stories of the insurgency. Right now, he’s worried about the future. “I don’t know what my future is,” he says.
When the current communications shutdown started in August, Hanan didn’t think much of it. Most Kashmiris, he says, are used to internet bans. “We are numbed to them,” he says. Young Kashmiris like Hanan grew up believing the internet would set them free. But unlike their peers around the world, regular shutdowns meant they learned to never take it for granted.
Since 2012, Indian authorities have shut down the internet in Kashmir 180 times, according to the Software Freedom Law Centre, a legal services organization in New Delhi that keeps a track of internet shutdowns. In 2017, for instance, the Kashmiri government abruptly blocked 22 social media platforms for a month to prevent them from “being misused by anti-national and anti-social elements.” At the time, Mohammed Faysal, founder of WithKashmir.org, a blogging platform for Kashmiris, told me how important social media was to Kashmiris. “Social media has allowed Kashmiris to humanize their struggles through photos and videos,” he said. “In a region torn by violence, platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter are 90% of our social lives. That’s what you’re taking away when you block them.”
The blackout has also spawned a medical emergency that could use the skills of someone like Hanan, as pharmacies run out of medicine and hospitals struggle to function. Last September, a month into the blackout, Javid Parsa, a restaurateur in New Delhi, told me about a bootleg network he had created to ship medicine into the region after communications were cut, using his popular Instagram page as a hub.
“Each day, I get three or four people traveling to Kashmir messaging me and offering to carry and deliver medicines and other essentials to people's families who are stuck there unable to ask anyone for help. Just yesterday, we found five patients in Southern Kashmir who urgently needed blood pressure medication,” he said in September.
People outside of Kashmir use his page as a place to organize shipments of medicine to family members in the region, creating a logistical network that spans some 550 kilometers by road.
“Thanks to my Instagram, we were able to find a guy driving there from Delhi who was able to carry the medicines and deliver them,” he said. “Unfortunately, thanks to the blackout, the people who do receive these medicines have no way of letting me know right now.”
In September, Al Jazeera reported from Srinagar on patients running out of money and doctors improvising surgeries. The following month, the New York Times reported that at least a dozen patients had died as a consequence. The British Medical Journal ran an editorial with the headline “Kashmir Communications Blackout Is Putting Patients at Risk, Doctors Warn.”
On a freezing Friday morning, I head to Kupwara to meet Hanan and his friends. Vast paddy fields smothered by snow and sprawling orchards dotted with trees, their branches bare and bony, flash by on either side of the winding road.
Halfway through the journey, outside the town of Sopore, two men in Indian Army fatigues and rifles slung across their chests flag us down and ask us to open our trunk. “They’re looking for guns,” says my traveling companion.
But it’s not just guns that the authorities are searching for. To enforce an internet blackout, the government has to ferret out all the ways people try to circumvent it, and stop them.


buzzfeed--2020-02-26--Everyone Who Watched The Democratic Debate Now Looks Like An Aged Zombie

Occasionally , in life , you can reach a point where you can no longer tolerate the sound of human voices .
That point often coincides with presidential primary debates in late February — when days seem both 68 hours long and disappear , and most people in , around , or observing campaigns develop a radiant , ambient stress that never leaves .
Technically , Tuesday ’ s debate probably should have clarified something about the future of the Democratic Party , between Bernie Sanders ’ blowout win in Nevada last week , and South Carolina and Super Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the whole enterprise slid into woozy exhaustion and dragged everyone watching in too .
Only 144 hours separated last week ’ s debate and this one , but even the loose anger from last week ’ s debate seemed diminished into a burnt-out “ end of the tour ” feel .
Midway through an answer about what he 'd do about the humanitarian crisis in Idlib , Pete Buttigieg turned and said , `` I want to come back to something — and I promise it relates to international affairs . ''
Bernie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , about whether guaranteeing health care was radical .
It is n't , Buttigieg said .
`` What is a radical idea is completely eliminating all private insurance , '' he went on .
`` And part of how you know it is is that no industrialized country has gone that far .
He and I both like to talk about Denmark , for example .
But even in Denmark , they have not abolished the possibility of private insurance .
`` So this is an idea that goes further than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , let alone imagining how that ’ s going to fly in Denmark , South Carolina . ''
After this health care–Denmark line — in response to a question about Syria — when Margaret Brennan turned to Elizabeth Warren , Warren appeared to have forgotten what the original question was .
But the whole debate had that kind of irked , “ alley-oop to someone who isn ’ t there ” vibe .
Every time they cut away from one person , the entire stage seemed frozen in the same stances : at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point , Gayle King told Joe Biden he was a gentleman , to which he responded , `` Yeah , gentlemen don ’ t get very well treated up here . ''
It ’ s a surreal time , where Sanders is probably headed toward the Democratic nomination and six competitors don ’ t quite know how to win themselves .
Even the debate did n't know how to end .
To quote the transcript : O'DONNELL : Well , thank you .
That concludes our debate .
KING : No , no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ break , Norah , one more break .
Time flies when you 're having fun .
You 're watching the Democratic debate right here on CBS .
O'DONNELL : Thank you .
That concludes our debate .
We want to thank the candidates , the moderators , and to you watching at home tonight .

Occasionally, in life, you can reach a point where you can no longer tolerate the sound of human voices.
That point often coincides with presidential primary debates in late February — when days seem both 68 hours long and disappear, and most people in, around, or observing campaigns develop a radiant, ambient stress that never leaves. Technically, Tuesday’s debate probably should have clarified something about the future of the Democratic Party, between Bernie Sanders’ blowout win in Nevada last week, and South Carolina and Super Tuesday in the next week.
Instead, the whole enterprise slid into woozy exhaustion and dragged everyone watching in too. Only 144 hours separated last week’s debate and this one, but even the loose anger from last week’s debate seemed diminished into a burnt-out “end of the tour” feel.
Midway through an answer about what he'd do about the humanitarian crisis in Idlib, Pete Buttigieg turned and said, "I want to come back to something — and I promise it relates to international affairs."
Bernie Sanders had asked him a question, he said, about whether guaranteeing health care was radical. It isn't, Buttigieg said.
"What is a radical idea is completely eliminating all private insurance," he went on. "And part of how you know it is is that no industrialized country has gone that far. He and I both like to talk about Denmark, for example. But even in Denmark, they have not abolished the possibility of private insurance.
"So this is an idea that goes further than what is acceptable in Denmark the country, let alone imagining how that’s going to fly in Denmark, South Carolina."
After this health care–Denmark line — in response to a question about Syria — when Margaret Brennan turned to Elizabeth Warren, Warren appeared to have forgotten what the original question was.
But the whole debate had that kind of irked, “alley-oop to someone who isn’t there” vibe. Every time they cut away from one person, the entire stage seemed frozen in the same stances: at podium, hand raised. At one point, Gayle King told Joe Biden he was a gentleman, to which he responded, "Yeah, gentlemen don’t get very well treated up here."
It’s a surreal time, where Sanders is probably headed toward the Democratic nomination and six competitors don’t quite know how to win themselves.
Even the debate didn't know how to end. To quote the transcript:
O'DONNELL: Well, thank you. That concludes our debate.
KING: No, no, we have time for one more break, Norah, one more break. Time flies when you're having fun. You're watching the Democratic debate right here on CBS.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(APPLAUSE)
O'DONNELL: Thank you. That concludes our debate. We want to thank the candidates, the moderators, and to you watching at home tonight.