The Daily Populous

Sunday May 24th, 2020 day edition

image for Army denies soldier’s request to grow beard in observance of Flying Spaghetti Monster religion

“In observance of your Heathen; Norse Pagan faith, you may wear a beard, in accordance with Army uniform and grooming standards for soldiers with approved religious accommodations.”.

Sign up for the Army Times Daily News Roundup to receive the top Army stories every afternoon.

John Hoskins applied for a beard exemption as part of his strict devotion to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster — a faith also known as “Pastafarianism.”.

“This request is based on my deeply and sincerely held belief in the Pastafarian faith,” Hoskins wrote in his request to the Army.

Hoskins' request to grow a beard in observance of his believe in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

What was it about the sincerity of a Flying Spaghetti Monster devotee that aroused suspicion among Army policy makers?.

"The name that I — and others like me — have chosen to call the great maybe in the sky is the Flying Spaghetti Monster. »

We Need to Speak Honestly About the GOP’s Evolution Into a Conspiracy Cult

Authored by washingtonmonthly.com

One of the challenges in analyzing modern American politics is accurately describing the Republican Party without seeming unserious and hyperbolic.

But there comes a tipping point at which it becomes too dangerous to keep up the pretense.

It is deeply dangerous in a democracy whose constitution functionally guarantees a two-party system, for one of those two parties to become a conspiracy cult. »

Roughly half the Twitter accounts pushing to 'reopen America' are bots, researchers found

Authored by businessinsider.com

The researchers analyzed over 200 million tweets discussing COVID-19 and found that roughly half the accounts were likely bots.

It's unclear who's behind the surge in bot activity or whether they're originating from the US or abroad.

The researchers identified bots using artificial-intelligence systems that analyze accounts' frequency of tweets, number of followers, and apparent location. »

Brutal beating in Iowa should be investigated as hate crime, NAACP says

Authored by nbcnews.com

Authorities in Iowa are investigating the alleged beating of a black man who local civil rights activists say appears to be the victim of a hate crime.

"Why did it have to go this far, to where my life was almost taken?"

The men caught up with Jones, Middlebrooks said, dragging him to a creek and shoving his head underwater. »

Somehow This Wild Hoax Bill Gates Anti-Vaxx Video Doesn't Violate YouTube's Policies

Authored by vice.com

The video claims to show Gates briefing the CIA in 2005 about a vaccine to immunize religious fanatics.

The pixelated video shows a man who looks vaguely like Gates (but sounds nothing like him) giving a presentation to an audience of about six people.

While the Gates video isn’t specifically about coronavirus, it’s being shared to bolster unscientific claims about the origin of the virus. »