Scientists warn your brain isn’t built for late-night wakefulness. Harvard-led research explains why negative thoughts, cravings, and poor judgment spike after midnight a risk fueled by our natural body clock. Watch to learn the science, the dangers, and why sleep is your best defence.


Find out what really happens to your mind after midnight

Scientists reveal that after midnight, darkness can distort thought processes, disrupt sleep, and make the mind more prone to risk and irrational thinking.


Scientists say darkness distorts thought process, mind isn't built for night

A 64-year-old man, who was suffering from degenerative disease, was able to direct Amazon's Alexa digital assistant with his thoughts, announced the company which was behind the technological innovation on Monday (September 16).&nbsp;

The technology helped the man control devices and stream shows with just his thoughts.&nbsp;

Brain-computer interface company Synchron stated that the implant was made in the blood vessel of the brain of the man with the help of which he was able to mentally "tap" icons on an Amazon Fire tablet.&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/elon-musks-neuralink-successfully-implants-brain-chip-in-second-patient-747164">Elon Musk's Neuralink successfully implants brain chip in second patient</a>

The man, who has been surviving with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), made video calls, played music, streamed shows, controlled smart home devices like lights, read books and shopped online as his mind directed Alexa, stated the New York-based company.

ALS is a kind of degenerative nerve disease in which one suffers from paralysis and there is weakness in the muscle.&nbsp;

<h2>Here's how the man reacted after managing Alexa with thoughts&nbsp;</h2>

"To be able to manage important aspects of my environment and control access to entertainment gives me back the independence that I'm losing," said the patient, named Mark, in the press release.&nbsp;

The test was carried out to show how customers just with their minds can control smart homes which have Alexa-compatible devices like door cameras, plugs, and thermostats, as per the company.

"While many smart home systems rely on voice or touch, we are sending control signals directly from the brain," said Synchron founder and chief executive Tom Oxley, in the press release.

Watch:&nbsp;Mind-controlled Chess move makes history at Paris Championship

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"Patients can interact with devices in their home hands and voice-free, using only their thoughts," he added.&nbsp;

Various companies, which include Elon Musk's Neuralink, have been working to connect brains with computers.

In January, Neuralink implanted&nbsp;in a paralysed man's brain and it was seen as a success.

(With inputs from agencies)

A 64-year-old man, who was suffering from degenerative disease, was able to direct Amazon's Alexa digital assistant with his thoughts, announced the company which was behind the technological innovation on Monday (September 16).

A 64-year-old man, who was suffering from degenerative disease, was able to direct Amazon's Alexa digital assistant with his thoughts, announced the company which was behind the technological innovation on Monday (September 16). The technology helped the man control devices and stream shows with just his thoughts. Brain-computer interface company Synchron stated that the implant was made in the blood vessel of the brain of the man with the help of which he was able to mentally "tap" icons on an Amazon Fire tablet. Also Read: Elon Musk's Neuralink successfully implants brain chip in second patient The man, who has been surviving with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), made video calls, played music, streamed shows, controlled smart home devices like lights, read books and shopped online as his mind directed Alexa, stated the New York-based company. ALS is a kind of degenerative nerve disease in which one suffers from paralysis and there is weakness in the muscle. Here's how the man reacted after managing Alexa with thoughts "To be able to manage important aspects of my environment and control access to entertainment gives me back the independence that I'm losing," said the patient, named Mark, in the press release. The test was carried out to show how customers just with their minds can control smart homes which have Alexa-compatible devices like door cameras, plugs, and thermostats, as per the company. "While many smart home systems rely on voice or touch, we are sending control signals directly from the brain," said Synchron founder and chief executive Tom Oxley, in the press release. Watch: Mind-controlled Chess move makes history at Paris Championship "Patients can interact with devices in their home hands and voice-free, using only their thoughts," he added. Various companies, which include Elon Musk's Neuralink, have been working to connect brains with computers. In January, Neuralink implanted in a paralysed man's brain and it was seen as a success. (With inputs from agencies)

Man manages to control Amazon's Alexa with help of his thoughts. Here's how

A recent research conducted at the University of Iowa has identified the brain region associated with how people manage their thoughts and focus amid distractions. This discovery is important&nbsp;as it throws&nbsp;light on the cognitive and behavioural side effects of a treatment used&nbsp;for Parkinson's disease patients.

Published on March 4 in the journal Brain, the study titled "The human subthalamic nucleus transiently inhibits active attentional processes" highlights the role of the subthalamic nucleus, a small brain region responsible for regulating movements.

The study suggests that in Parkinson's patients, this brain area, which typically restrains sudden movements, might be overly active, contributing to tremors and other motor impairments associated with the disease.

In recent times, doctors have been using deep-brain stimulation to treat patients with Parkinson's disease. This involves implanting electrodes in the subthalamic nucleus, a brain area that regulates movement, to generate electrical signals and loosen its control, allowing for better movement. Similar to a pacemaker for the heart, once implanted, the deep brain stimulation system runs continuously.

Jan Wessel, an associate professor at the University of Iowa, described the technique as "truly miraculous." It often results in immediate relief from tremors, enabling patients to carry out tasks like playing golf steadily.

However, some patients treated with deep brain stimulation experience challenges with attention and impulse control, leading to risky behaviours like gambling and substance abuse. Researchers began to wonder if the subthalamic nucleus, involved in movement, also influences thoughts and impulse control.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientists-develop-worlds-first-3d-printed-brain-tissue-that-functions-like-human-brain-686891">Also read |&nbsp;Scientists develop world’s first 3D-printed brain tissue that functions like human brain</a>

To explore this, Wessel's team conducted experiments on Parkinson's patients with and without deep brain stimulation. Participants were asked to focus on a computer screen while their brain waves were monitored. When they heard a chirping sound, meant to distract their attention, their brain waves in the visual cortex dropped, indicating a diversion of attention.

In a 2021 study, Wessel's team found that distractions caused a drop in attention in the visual cortex. In this recent study, they observed similar results in Parkinson's patients, suggesting that the subthalamic nucleus plays a role in regulating attention and impulse control

However, when the chirp was presented to Parkinson's patients with deep brain stimulation active, they did not shift their visual attention.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/sleep-triggers-built-in-garbage-disposal-system-in-our-brains-startling-study-shows-711608">Also read |&nbsp;Sleep triggers built-in garbage disposal system in our brains, startling study shows</a>

The team observed that they were unable to redirect or suppress their focus of attention as they did before. Despite the unexpected sound, they remained fully engaged with their visual system without diverting their attention.

This finding highlights the role of the subthalamic nucleus in not only coordinating movement, as previously understood, but also in regulating thoughts and attention.

(With inputs from agencies)

A recent research conducted at the University of Iowa has identified the brain region associated with how people manage their thoughts and focus amid distractions.

A recent research conducted at the University of Iowa has identified the brain region associated with how people manage their thoughts and focus amid distractions. This discovery is important as it throws light on the cognitive and behavioural side effects of a treatment used for Parkinson's disease patients. Published on March 4 in the journal Brain, the study titled "The human subthalamic nucleus transiently inhibits active attentional processes" highlights the role of the subthalamic nucleus, a small brain region responsible for regulating movements. The study suggests that in Parkinson's patients, this brain area, which typically restrains sudden movements, might be overly active, contributing to tremors and other motor impairments associated with the disease. In recent times, doctors have been using deep-brain stimulation to treat patients with Parkinson's disease. This involves implanting electrodes in the subthalamic nucleus, a brain area that regulates movement, to generate electrical signals and loosen its control, allowing for better movement. Similar to a pacemaker for the heart, once implanted, the deep brain stimulation system runs continuously. Jan Wessel, an associate professor at the University of Iowa, described the technique as "truly miraculous." It often results in immediate relief from tremors, enabling patients to carry out tasks like playing golf steadily. However, some patients treated with deep brain stimulation experience challenges with attention and impulse control, leading to risky behaviours like gambling and substance abuse. Researchers began to wonder if the subthalamic nucleus, involved in movement, also influences thoughts and impulse control. Also read | Scientists develop world’s first 3D-printed brain tissue that functions like human brain To explore this, Wessel's team conducted experiments on Parkinson's patients with and without deep brain stimulation. Participants were asked to focus on a computer screen while their brain waves were monitored. When they heard a chirping sound, meant to distract their attention, their brain waves in the visual cortex dropped, indicating a diversion of attention. In a 2021 study, Wessel's team found that distractions caused a drop in attention in the visual cortex. In this recent study, they observed similar results in Parkinson's patients, suggesting that the subthalamic nucleus plays a role in regulating attention and impulse control However, when the chirp was presented to Parkinson's patients with deep brain stimulation active, they did not shift their visual attention. Also read | Sleep triggers built-in garbage disposal system in our brains, startling study shows The team observed that they were unable to redirect or suppress their focus of attention as they did before. Despite the unexpected sound, they remained fully engaged with their visual system without diverting their attention. This finding highlights the role of the subthalamic nucleus in not only coordinating movement, as previously understood, but also in regulating thoughts and attention. (With inputs from agencies)

Researchers identify brain region crucial for attention control

Arctic. Atlantic. Long ago, the two oceans existed in harmony, with warm and salty Atlantic waters gently flowing into the Arctic. The layered nature of the Arctic — sea ice on top, cool freshwater in the middle, and warm, salty water at the bottom — helped hold the boundary between the polar ocean and the warmer Atlantic.

But everything changed when the larger ocean began flowing faster than the polar ocean could accommodate, weakening the distinction between the layers and transforming Arctic waters into something closer to the Atlantic. This process, called Atlantification, is part of the reason the Arctic is warming faster than any other ocean.

“It’s not a new invasion of the Arctic,” said Yueng-Djern Lenn, a physical oceanographer at Bangor University in Wales. “What’s new is that the properties of the Arctic are changing.”

Satellites offer some of the clearest measurements of changes in the Arctic Ocean and sea ice. But their records only go back around 40 years, obscuring how the climate of the ocean may have changed in prior decades.

“To go back, we need a sort of time machine,” said Tommaso Tesi, a researcher at the Institute of Polar Sciences-CNR, Italy.

In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, Tesi and colleagues were able to turn back time with yardlong sediment cores taken from the seafloor, which archived 800 years of historical changes in Arctic waters. Their analysis found Atlantification started at the beginning of the 20th century — decades before the process had been documented by satellite imagery. The Arctic has warmed by around 2 degrees Celsius since 1900. But this early Atlantification did not appear in existing historical climate models, a discrepancy the authors say may reveal gaps in those estimates.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/new-zealand-mp-julie-anne-genter-pedals-to-hospital-in-labour-gives-birth-after-an-hour-432526">Also read |&nbsp;New Zealand MP, Julie Anne Genter, pedals to hospital in labour; gives birth after an hour</a>

“It’s a bit unsettling because we rely on these models for future climate predictions,” Tesi said.

Mohamed Ezat, a researcher at the Tromso campus of the Arctic University of Norway and who was not involved with the research, called the findings “remarkable.”

“Information on long-term past changes in Arctic Ocean hydrography are needed, and long overdue,” Ezat wrote in an email.

In 2017, the researchers extracted a sediment core from the seafloor of Kongsfjorden, a glacial fjord in the east end of the Fram Strait, a gateway between the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard and Greenland, where Arctic and Atlantic waters mingle.

The researchers sliced up the core at regular intervals and dried those layers. Then came the painstaking process of sifting out and identifying the samples’ foraminifera — single-celled organisms that build intricate shells around themselves using minerals in the ocean.

When foraminifera die, their shells drift to the seafloor and accumulate in layers of sediment. The creatures are crucial clues in sediment samples; by identifying which foraminifera are present in a sample and analyzing the chemistry of their shells, scientists can glean the properties of past oceans.

The team’s original idea was to reconstruct the oceanographic conditions of a region that contained both Arctic and Atlantic waters, going back 1,000 to 2,000 years. But, in the slices of the core dating back to the early 20th century, the researchers noticed a sudden, massive increase in the concentration of foraminifera that prefer salty environments — a sign of Atlantification, far earlier than anyone had documented.

“It was quite a lot of surprises in one study,” said Francesco Muschitiello, an oceanographer at the University of Cambridge and an author on the paper.

The sheer amount of sediment was so high that the researchers could assemble a chronology of past climate down to five- or 10-year increments. Additionally, a molecular biomarker could pinpoint a specific year, 1916, when coal mining began in Kongsfjorden. Since the foraminiferal shift occurred just before this marker, the researchers estimate Atlantification began around 1907, give or take a decade.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/scottish-schoolgirls-boycott-gender-neutral-toilets-due-to-misbehaviour-by-boys-432493">Also read |&nbsp;Scottish schoolgirls boycott gender-neutral toilets due to misbehaviour by boys</a>

When the researchers compared the data from their paleoclimate model with others to see if they overlapped, they found existing climate models had no sign of this early Atlantification. The researchers suggest a number of possible reasons behind this absence, such as an underestimation of the role of freshwater mixing in the Arctic or the region’s sensitivity to warming.

Lenn, who was not involved with the research, sees a difference between this early Atlantification and the present, rapid Atlantification, which is largely driven by melting Arctic sea ice. “It’s too soon after the start of the Industrial Revolution for us to have accumulated excess heat in the planetary system for it to be anthropogenic at that point,” Lenn said.

The authors are not sure of the precise reasons behind the early Atlantification. If human influences are the cause, then “the whole system is much more sensitive to greenhouse gases than we previously thought,” Muschitiello said.

In another possibility, earlier natural warming may have made the Arctic Ocean much more sensitive to the accelerated Atlantification of recent decades. “Could it be that we destabilised a system that was already shifting?” Tesi said.

This is the maddening mystery of any paleoclimate model. “None of us were there,” Lenn said, laughing.

Although this is true of humans, it is not true of corals in the Fram Strait. The long-lived animals record changes in climate and other parameters, making them excellent sentinels of climate history. Tesi hopes to study the strait’s cold-living corals next, to see what insight they may offer into the Atlantic’s usurpation of the Arctic.

Arctic. Atlantic. Long ago, the two oceans existed in harmony, with warm and salty Atlantic waters gently flowing into the Arctic. The layered nature of the Arctic — sea ice on top, cool freshwater in the middle, and warm, salty water at the bottom — helped hold the boundary between the polar ocean and the warmer Atlantic.

Arctic. Atlantic. Long ago, the two oceans existed in harmony, with warm and salty Atlantic waters gently flowing into the Arctic. The layered nature of the Arctic — sea ice on top, cool freshwater in the middle, and warm, salty water at the bottom — helped hold the boundary between the polar ocean and the warmer Atlantic. But everything changed when the larger ocean began flowing faster than the polar ocean could accommodate, weakening the distinction between the layers and transforming Arctic waters into something closer to the Atlantic. This process, called Atlantification, is part of the reason the Arctic is warming faster than any other ocean. “It’s not a new invasion of the Arctic,” said Yueng-Djern Lenn, a physical oceanographer at Bangor University in Wales. “What’s new is that the properties of the Arctic are changing.” Satellites offer some of the clearest measurements of changes in the Arctic Ocean and sea ice. But their records only go back around 40 years, obscuring how the climate of the ocean may have changed in prior decades. “To go back, we need a sort of time machine,” said Tommaso Tesi, a researcher at the Institute of Polar Sciences-CNR, Italy. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, Tesi and colleagues were able to turn back time with yardlong sediment cores taken from the seafloor, which archived 800 years of historical changes in Arctic waters. Their analysis found Atlantification started at the beginning of the 20th century — decades before the process had been documented by satellite imagery. The Arctic has warmed by around 2 degrees Celsius since 1900. But this early Atlantification did not appear in existing historical climate models, a discrepancy the authors say may reveal gaps in those estimates. Also read | New Zealand MP, Julie Anne Genter, pedals to hospital in labour; gives birth after an hour “It’s a bit unsettling because we rely on these models for future climate predictions,” Tesi said. Mohamed Ezat, a researcher at the Tromso campus of the Arctic University of Norway and who was not involved with the research, called the findings “remarkable.” “Information on long-term past changes in Arctic Ocean hydrography are needed, and long overdue,” Ezat wrote in an email. In 2017, the researchers extracted a sediment core from the seafloor of Kongsfjorden, a glacial fjord in the east end of the Fram Strait, a gateway between the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard and Greenland, where Arctic and Atlantic waters mingle. The researchers sliced up the core at regular intervals and dried those layers. Then came the painstaking process of sifting out and identifying the samples’ foraminifera — single-celled organisms that build intricate shells around themselves using minerals in the ocean. When foraminifera die, their shells drift to the seafloor and accumulate in layers of sediment. The creatures are crucial clues in sediment samples; by identifying which foraminifera are present in a sample and analyzing the chemistry of their shells, scientists can glean the properties of past oceans. The team’s original idea was to reconstruct the oceanographic conditions of a region that contained both Arctic and Atlantic waters, going back 1,000 to 2,000 years. But, in the slices of the core dating back to the early 20th century, the researchers noticed a sudden, massive increase in the concentration of foraminifera that prefer salty environments — a sign of Atlantification, far earlier than anyone had documented. “It was quite a lot of surprises in one study,” said Francesco Muschitiello, an oceanographer at the University of Cambridge and an author on the paper. The sheer amount of sediment was so high that the researchers could assemble a chronology of past climate down to five- or 10-year increments. Additionally, a molecular biomarker could pinpoint a specific year, 1916, when coal mining began in Kongsfjorden. Since the foraminiferal shift occurred just before this marker, the researchers estimate Atlantification began around 1907, give or take a decade. Also read | Scottish schoolgirls boycott gender-neutral toilets due to misbehaviour by boys When the researchers compared the data from their paleoclimate model with others to see if they overlapped, they found existing climate models had no sign of this early Atlantification. The researchers suggest a number of possible reasons behind this absence, such as an underestimation of the role of freshwater mixing in the Arctic or the region’s sensitivity to warming. Lenn, who was not involved with the research, sees a difference between this early Atlantification and the present, rapid Atlantification, which is largely driven by melting Arctic sea ice. “It’s too soon after the start of the Industrial Revolution for us to have accumulated excess heat in the planetary system for it to be anthropogenic at that point,” Lenn said. The authors are not sure of the precise reasons behind the early Atlantification. If human influences are the cause, then “the whole system is much more sensitive to greenhouse gases than we previously thought,” Muschitiello said. In another possibility, earlier natural warming may have made the Arctic Ocean much more sensitive to the accelerated Atlantification of recent decades. “Could it be that we destabilised a system that was already shifting?” Tesi said. This is the maddening mystery of any paleoclimate model. “None of us were there,” Lenn said, laughing. Although this is true of humans, it is not true of corals in the Fram Strait. The long-lived animals record changes in climate and other parameters, making them excellent sentinels of climate history. Tesi hopes to study the strait’s cold-living corals next, to see what insight they may offer into the Atlantic’s usurpation of the Arctic.

This ocean invaded its neighbour earlier than anyone thought

A novel brain implant system has allowed a man completely paralysed from the neck down to communicate his thoughts in an exciting new study conducted by a team from a collaboration called BrainGate, by translating the handwriting imagined in his mind directly into visible ones you can see on a screen.

The gadget, dubbed a Brain Computer Interface (BCI), is said to employ artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret brain activity detected during the handwriting process.&nbsp;

The individual, who was paralysed from the neck down after suffering a spinal cord injury in 2007, has demonstrated that he can convey his ideas with this technology.

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In this example, the guy – known as T5 in the study and 65 years old at the time of the research – wasn't writing since his hand, along with all of his limbs, had been paralysed for several years.

However, during the experiment, which was published in Nature earlier this year, the guy concentrated as if he were writing – effectively, seeing himself penning the letters with an imagined pen and paper. &nbsp;

As he did so, electrodes implanted in his motor cortex captured brain activity data, which was subsequently translated by algorithms operating on a remote computer, decoding T5's imaginary pen trajectories, which mentally drew the 26 letters of the alphabet and some rudimentary punctuation marks.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

A novel brain implant system has allowed a man completely paralysed from the neck down to communicate his thoughts in an exciting new study conducted by a team from a collaboration called BrainGate, by translating the handwriting imagined in his mind directly into visible ones you can see on a screen.

A novel brain implant system has allowed a man completely paralysed from the neck down to communicate his thoughts in an exciting new study conducted by a team from a collaboration called BrainGate, by translating the handwriting imagined in his mind directly into visible ones you can see on a screen. The gadget, dubbed a Brain Computer Interface (BCI), is said to employ artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret brain activity detected during the handwriting process. The individual, who was paralysed from the neck down after suffering a spinal cord injury in 2007, has demonstrated that he can convey his ideas with this technology. × In this example, the guy – known as T5 in the study and 65 years old at the time of the research – wasn't writing since his hand, along with all of his limbs, had been paralysed for several years. However, during the experiment, which was published in Nature earlier this year, the guy concentrated as if he were writing – effectively, seeing himself penning the letters with an imagined pen and paper. As he did so, electrodes implanted in his motor cortex captured brain activity data, which was subsequently translated by algorithms operating on a remote computer, decoding T5's imaginary pen trajectories, which mentally drew the 26 letters of the alphabet and some rudimentary punctuation marks. (With inputs from agencies)

Watch | This device translates the thoughts of paralysed people into text with 94% accuracy

China will incorporate "Xi Jinping Thought" into its national curriculum to help "establish Marxist belief" in the country's youth, the education ministry said in new guidelines published on Tuesday. 
 
The Ministry of Education said Chinese President Xi Jinping's "thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era" would be taught from primary school level all the way to university.

Watch:&nbsp;Russia, China, US ready to serve as mediators in Afghanistan says Sergey Lavrov

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The move is aimed at strengthening "resolve to listen to and follow the Party" and new teaching materials must "cultivate patriotic feelings", the guidelines said. 
 
Since coming to power in 2012, the Chinese President has sought to strengthen the ruling Chinese Communist Party's role in all areas of society, including its businesses, schools and cultural institutions.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/brazil-governors-concerned-over-bolsonaro-support-among-military-police-408175" hreflang="en">Brazil governors concerned over Bolsonaro support among military police</a> 
 
"Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism With Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" was formally enshrined in the country`s constitution in 2018. Xi's personal power has also been strengthened by the abolition of presidential term limits. 
 
In a speech to mark the centenary of the Communist Party celebrated in July, Xi vowed to "enhance" the Party's leadership, uphold his own "core" leadership and strengthen the unity of the Chinese people.

China will incorporate "Xi Jinping Thought" into its national curriculum to help "establish Marxist belief" in the country's youth, the education ministry said in new guidelines published on Tuesday.

China will incorporate "Xi Jinping Thought" into its national curriculum to help "establish Marxist belief" in the country's youth, the education ministry said in new guidelines published on Tuesday. The Ministry of Education said Chinese President Xi Jinping's "thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era" would be taught from primary school level all the way to university. Watch: Russia, China, US ready to serve as mediators in Afghanistan says Sergey Lavrov × The move is aimed at strengthening "resolve to listen to and follow the Party" and new teaching materials must "cultivate patriotic feelings", the guidelines said. Since coming to power in 2012, the Chinese President has sought to strengthen the ruling Chinese Communist Party's role in all areas of society, including its businesses, schools and cultural institutions. Also Read: Brazil governors concerned over Bolsonaro support among military police "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism With Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" was formally enshrined in the country`s constitution in 2018. Xi's personal power has also been strengthened by the abolition of presidential term limits. In a speech to mark the centenary of the Communist Party celebrated in July, Xi vowed to "enhance" the Party's leadership, uphold his own "core" leadership and strengthen the unity of the Chinese people.

China to add 'Xi Jinping Thought' to national curriculum

Donald Trump gave an interview with The New York Times Wednesday night, the same evening he received the Republican nomination for President of the United States. The Times&nbsp;didn&#39;t publish a full transcript of the 45 minute discussion, but summarised the thrust of Trump&#39;s responses, supplemented when necessary with quotations. 
 
The interview covers a range of topics. 
 
Moral standing 
 
Trump said he would not condemn authoritarian allies like Turkey, who critics fear is in the midst of a widespread purge of the regime&#39;s domestic enemies. President Erdogan has reportedly arrested or fired 50,000 people, from high-ranking figures in the military, justice system and police to university professors. In a move that rings of anything but democracy, he is currently trying to reinstate the death penalty. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t think we have a right to lecture,&quot; Trump said. &quot;How are we going to lecture people when people are shooting policemen in cold blood?&quot; He was responding to the two recent fatal attacks against policemen by two ex-military African-American men, who appeared to be responding, in an appalling and unforgivable way, to numerous incidents of police brutality against African-Americans happening in cities across America. 
 
It failed to dawn on Trump that he&#39;s comparing a rogue military faction and a sitting President&#39;s authoritarian response to the actions of two non-state actors. About the preponderance of videos emerging showing American policemen shooting unarmed civilians Trump was quiet, but that would have made his comparison closer to sensible. 
 
Ironically, corroborating Trump&#39;s claim that the US shouldn&#39;t preach is Trump&#39;s own behaviour, as he has incited violence at his rallies. Unsurprisingly he has failed to criticize himself for this. 
 
Foreign policy 
 
Trump sees the world, and every single thing in it, through a money lens.&nbsp; 
 
When asked if under his presidency he would defend the 28 members of Nato,&nbsp;he laid a new condition; he would, but only after assessing their contributions to the alliance. Allies would receive protection if their relationship was economically advantageous, or would leave them to the wolves if they proved a net loss. 
 
Many before have criticised the military-industrial complex, but the notion of the American military being nothing more than a money-making enterprise has never been laid out so nakely by someone so close to the White House.&nbsp;More, this response presupposes that signed international treaties&nbsp;are in no way legally binding, undermining not just Nato but the very idea of entering into agreements with other countries. 
 
In terms of international trade he urged to put &quot;America first&quot;, as if any other American politician has ever campaigned on &quot;America second&quot;. He is by definition above rules, laws and agreements.&nbsp;&quot;He was prepared to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement if he could not negotiate radically better terms.&quot; 
 
The Coup 
 
&quot;I give credit to him for being able to turn that around&quot;, Trump said, as if talking about a dramatic come-from-behind victory in game 7. It doesn&#39;t take much reverence for morals or law to be concerned over the tens of thousands people imprisoned since the failed military coup, who can&#39;t all be guilty. Many world leaders urged Erdogan to be lawful in the wake of &nbsp;the failed coup.&nbsp;This is as basic as it is important, so it&#39;s worth quoting the&nbsp;Times&nbsp;piece here in full: 
 
&quot;Asked if Mr Erdogan was exploiting the coup attempt to purge his political enemies, Mr Trump did not call for the Turkish leader to observe the rule of law, or Western standards of justice. &#39;When the world sees how bad the United States is and we start talking about civil liberties, I don&#39;t think we are a very good messenger,&#39; he said.&quot; 
 
The article points out that this places him in the same camp as Russia, North Korea and China, &quot;and other autocratic nations (who) frequently cite violence and disorder on American streets to justify their own practises, and to make the case that the United States has no standing to criticise them&quot;. 
 
But this obscures an important point: those countries have in mind footage of American police killing citizens, mostly poor or African-American ones, something Trump has never denounced and if anything supports. When he talks about the apparent erosion of civil liberties,&nbsp;it&#39;s unclear what he means. If he has in mind the two men who recently killed police officers, he&#39;s making a categorical mistake: by definition only agents of the state, not private citizens, can take away civil liberties.&nbsp; 
 
Islamic State 
 
Obama&#39;s administration is in a bind: both its ally Turkey and the Kurds are fighting IS effectively, but Turkey is also fighting the Kurds out of fear they will break away and form their own state. Trump claims he will break this impasse by...hosting meetings. Knowing no middle ground, the way to defeat IS is either to &quot;bomb the shit out of them&quot; or to converse.&nbsp; 
 
Regarding the leader of Syria Trump was uncharacteristically perspicacious, saying, &quot;Assad is a bad man&quot;. Trump claimed to have been briefed by two former Republican secretaries of state, who gave him &quot;a lot of knowledge&quot;, but shed no light on this knowledge. 
 
Nuclear weapons 
 
The Obama administration has begun the process of modernising its nuclear arsenal, but the next president will decide whether or not to launch the reboot in earnest, with all the purchasing of submarines and bombers that entails, for an estimated cost&nbsp;of $500-billion. &quot;He talked of funding a major military buildup, starting with a modernisation of America&#39;s nuclear arsenal,&quot; the article says.&nbsp; 
 
To put it lightly, nothing in the Times&nbsp;interview, or anything he has ever said bolsters confidence that Trump can be trusted around nuclear weapons. &quot;We have a lot of obsolete weapons. We have nuclear that we don&#39;t even know if it works.&quot; 
 
Just how he plans to learn whether or not these nuclear weapons work should be a terriyfing thought to everybody. 
 
(WION) 
&nbsp;

Wide-ranging media interview comes as close as possible to revealing what may be called his thoughts

Donald Trump gave an interview with The New York Times Wednesday night, the same evening he received the Republican nomination for President of the United States. The Times didn't publish a full transcript of the 45 minute discussion, but summarised the thrust of Trump's responses, supplemented when necessary with quotations. The interview covers a range of topics. Moral standing Trump said he would not condemn authoritarian allies like Turkey, who critics fear is in the midst of a widespread purge of the regime's domestic enemies. President Erdogan has reportedly arrested or fired 50,000 people, from high-ranking figures in the military, justice system and police to university professors. In a move that rings of anything but democracy, he is currently trying to reinstate the death penalty. "I don't think we have a right to lecture," Trump said. "How are we going to lecture people when people are shooting policemen in cold blood?" He was responding to the two recent fatal attacks against policemen by two ex-military African-American men, who appeared to be responding, in an appalling and unforgivable way, to numerous incidents of police brutality against African-Americans happening in cities across America. It failed to dawn on Trump that he's comparing a rogue military faction and a sitting President's authoritarian response to the actions of two non-state actors. About the preponderance of videos emerging showing American policemen shooting unarmed civilians Trump was quiet, but that would have made his comparison closer to sensible. Ironically, corroborating Trump's claim that the US shouldn't preach is Trump's own behaviour, as he has incited violence at his rallies. Unsurprisingly he has failed to criticize himself for this. Foreign policy Trump sees the world, and every single thing in it, through a money lens. When asked if under his presidency he would defend the 28 members of Nato, he laid a new condition; he would, but only after assessing their contributions to the alliance. Allies would receive protection if their relationship was economically advantageous, or would leave them to the wolves if they proved a net loss. Many before have criticised the military-industrial complex, but the notion of the American military being nothing more than a money-making enterprise has never been laid out so nakely by someone so close to the White House. More, this response presupposes that signed international treaties are in no way legally binding, undermining not just Nato but the very idea of entering into agreements with other countries. In terms of international trade he urged to put "America first", as if any other American politician has ever campaigned on "America second". He is by definition above rules, laws and agreements. "He was prepared to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement if he could not negotiate radically better terms." The Coup "I give credit to him for being able to turn that around", Trump said, as if talking about a dramatic come-from-behind victory in game 7. It doesn't take much reverence for morals or law to be concerned over the tens of thousands people imprisoned since the failed military coup, who can't all be guilty. Many world leaders urged Erdogan to be lawful in the wake of the failed coup. This is as basic as it is important, so it's worth quoting the Times piece here in full: "Asked if Mr Erdogan was exploiting the coup attempt to purge his political enemies, Mr Trump did not call for the Turkish leader to observe the rule of law, or Western standards of justice. 'When the world sees how bad the United States is and we start talking about civil liberties, I don't think we are a very good messenger,' he said." The article points out that this places him in the same camp as Russia, North Korea and China, "and other autocratic nations (who) frequently cite violence and disorder on American streets to justify their own practises, and to make the case that the United States has no standing to criticise them". But this obscures an important point: those countries have in mind footage of American police killing citizens, mostly poor or African-American ones, something Trump has never denounced and if anything supports. When he talks about the apparent erosion of civil liberties, it's unclear what he means. If he has in mind the two men who recently killed police officers, he's making a categorical mistake: by definition only agents of the state, not private citizens, can take away civil liberties. Islamic State Obama's administration is in a bind: both its ally Turkey and the Kurds are fighting IS effectively, but Turkey is also fighting the Kurds out of fear they will break away and form their own state. Trump claims he will break this impasse by...hosting meetings. Knowing no middle ground, the way to defeat IS is either to "bomb the shit out of them" or to converse. Regarding the leader of Syria Trump was uncharacteristically perspicacious, saying, "Assad is a bad man". Trump claimed to have been briefed by two former Republican secretaries of state, who gave him "a lot of knowledge", but shed no light on this knowledge. Nuclear weapons The Obama administration has begun the process of modernising its nuclear arsenal, but the next president will decide whether or not to launch the reboot in earnest, with all the purchasing of submarines and bombers that entails, for an estimated cost of $500-billion. "He talked of funding a major military buildup, starting with a modernisation of America's nuclear arsenal," the article says. To put it lightly, nothing in the Times interview, or anything he has ever said bolsters confidence that Trump can be trusted around nuclear weapons. "We have a lot of obsolete weapons. We have nuclear that we don't even know if it works." Just how he plans to learn whether or not these nuclear weapons work should be a terriyfing thought to everybody. (WION)

Trump joins China and Russia in denouncing US civil liberties, without pointing to an example

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