intense

19Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Ketanji Brown Jackson – Black Women Have Faced Intense Scrutiny During Confirmations

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation process, watched this month by many Americans, particularly stung for Black women who identified her treatment, despite her credentials, as demeaning and disrespectful. But before Jackson, there were Marcia Fudge and Lisa Cook, sitting in Senate committee hearings, impeccably dressed, eminently qualified, and facing questions about their capability to serve in the roles for which they were nominated as their loved ones looked on. Far fewer people watched as similar scenes that were less high profile but no less painful played out for other Black women nominees over the course of President Joe Biden’s administration. Among the record number of Black women Biden has nominated to serve in the last two years, some, such as Ambassador...

In The US Intense Scrutiny Of Chinese-Born Researchers Threatens Innovation

The arrest of MIT engineering professor Gang Chen on Jan. 14 has drawn attention to the role of China in U.S. science and technology system. It’s not the first time suspicions have fallen on a Chinese-born scientist – Chen is a naturalized U.S. citizen – for work they conduct openly in the United States. The charges against Gang Chen – wire fraud, failing to report a foreign bank account and a false statement on a tax return – stem from failing to disclose Chinese funding for his research. MIT called the allegations “distressing,” and the school’s president and 100 faculty members are defending a Chinese university’s investment in MIT research. No evidence of spying has been made public, but a Department of Justice criminal complaint expressed suspicions that Chen’s loyalty may not be ali...

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is so intense, it just ran out of storm names

Here’s how active this year’s Atlantic hurricane season has been: When Tropical Storm Wilfred formed on Sept. 18, the National Hurricane Center ran out of names for only the second time since naming began in 1950. Even more surprising is that we reached the 21st tropical storm of the year more than two weeks earlier than the only other time this happened, in 2005. The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is far from over. When the next tropical storm forms, forecasters will shift from the alphabetical list of people’s names to letters of the Greek alphabet – Alpha, Beta and so on. The 2005 season had six Greek-letter storms, ending with Zeta. So, why is the Atlantic so active this year? Meteorologists like myself have been following a few important differences, including many tropical storms ...