End of Show Mixes: - UKPMX - Gx2 -Oh My Bosh - Danny Loos-Secret Agent Paul-Stepford Wives-PlaceBoing- Dave Courbanou - Able Kirby - Jungle Jones - Chris Wilson - Tom Starkweather - Conan Salada - Future Trash - Phantomville Billy Bon3s
Wikipedia editors have had Breitbart News formally listed as an unreliable source, meaning it can not be cited for factual claims. Editors have responded by purging citations to Breitbart News throughout the online encyclopedia, a move no doubt designed in part to hurt Breitbart's search engine results ranking. Discussion of the blacklisting saw overwhelming numbers of left-wing politically-motivated editors supporting the ban, citing the example of a similar ban on the Daily Mail imposed early last year.Similar calls for blacklisting Breitbart News on Wikipedia have been made in the past year in response to Breitbart's critical reporting about the online encyclopedia's rampant left-wing bias. Breitbart's reporting on Wikipedia's many failings have aroused consternation among its editors with left-wing Israeli outlet Haaretz once claiming Breitbart had ''declared war'' on the site after its report lambasting Facebook for using Wikipedia's shoddy article on Breitbart News. Following a Breitbart News report last year on editors downplaying violence by Antifa, an administrator and then-member of the site's powerful Arbitration Committee, the site's ''supreme court,'' removed links to the report from a place on the article's discussion page used to note press coverage, claiming Breitbart News is not part of the press.
Breitbart editor-in-chief Alex Marlow slammed Wikipedia for its decision, stating ''Wikipedia has been and always will be fake news, and they know it. They believe facts are subject to a democratic process, and the only people with a vote are the bubbled leftists who edit Wikipedia. There is no mob rule when it comes to ''true or false.'' Even academia knows this, which is why Wikipedia is not considered valid in most classrooms.''
The consequences go far beyond Wikipedia itself, as Wikipedia is now being relied upon by Big Tech as a supposed arbiter of what is fact.
Faced with pressure from left-wing media and members of Congress over ''fake news'' concerns, Big Tech has been turning to Wikipedia as a supposed fact-checker. For example, Google-owned YouTube uses Wikipedia to fact-check ''conspiracy theories.'' Google itself uses Wikipedia for its ''knowledge panels'' next to search results, something that got them in trouble after a rogue Wikipedia edit led to Google search describing the California Republican Party as a ''Nazi'' party.
And earlier this year, Facebook even began linking to the heavily-slanted and factually inaccurate Wikipedia article about Breitbart News on all Breitbart Facebook posts. For example, that Wikipedia article says, among other things: ''Its journalists are widely considered to be ideologically driven, and some of its content has been called misogynistic, xenophobic, and racist by liberals and many traditional conservatives alike. The site has published a number of falsehoods, conspiracy theories, and intentionally misleading stories.'' One look at Breitbart's Wikipedia page as opposed to say, CNN's, and there is but one conclusion: Wikipedia's treatment of Breitbart News is in many cases demonstrably false and very often, to put it mildly, and to borrow their accusation about Breitbart News, ''ideologically driven.''
Wikipedia also plays an important role in search engine optimization (SEO), the art of improving the search engine results ranking for websites. In a nutshell, the better the SEO, the higher a page is listed in the results for a Google search. According to SEO service provider watchdog seoWorks, ''The anecdotal evidence consistently reports that SEO rank improves with links from Wikipedia. We've found that links in Wikipedia do enhance SERP [Search Engine Results Pages] position.'' SEO service providers have posted guides specifically on how to place links on Wikipedia to benefit search engine traffic. Wikipedia editors are actively removing links to Breitbart News '-- in fact, they have already removed nearly all links to Breitbart across the entire site '-- which could hurt Breitbart's SEO based on the importance Google and others place on Wikipedia's information.
Defenders of Wikipedia cite its crowd-sourced model as key to its supposed reliability as volunteer editors can discuss content and sourcing, often in a voting-style format, to ostensibly arrive at the most accurate and neutral conclusion, usually as determined by a site administrator based off the ''consensus'' of the discussion. However, many of these editors and administrators work in anonymity '-- using non-personally identifying ''user names'' such that there is no way to research their backgrounds. Moreover, there are no assurances that these editors and administrators have any training whatsoever (some editors have misrepresented themselves as experts in the past), much less that they are objective, or that they are representative. They could be political operatives for all anyone knows. What is clear is that the community's undeniably long-standing left-wing bias means this process often lacks neutrality. Remember for example a report on President Trump being added to a Wikipedia list of ''white genocide conspiracy theory'' advocates.
Portions of the conclusory discussion about Breitbart can be seen in the following two screenshots:
Wikipedia's move to blacklist Breitbart News is not entirely surprising considering that early last year, another conservative news outlet was under fire from Wikipedia's community. A community discussion formally declared the British newspaper the Daily Mail an ''unreliable source,'' meaning it could not be cited for factual claims and would be removed anywhere it was cited. Moreover, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and Foundation head Katherine Maher, who have both openly expressed hostility to Trump's administration, touted the decision as demonstrating Wikipedia's reliability. The ban on the Daily Mail, one of Britain's oldest and most widely-read newspapers was cited as precedent for the discussion started earlier this month on banning Breitbart as a reliable source.
The Breitbart ban discussion was opened by Wikipedia administrator Guy Chapman, who stated without statistical evidence and in a conclusory fashion that fact-checkers ''find large numbers of Breitbart stories to be misleading, false or both.'' An administrator with more site powers than typical editors for over twelve years, Chapman openly displays hostility towards supporters of President Trump on his user page claiming anyone believing Trump is a good President probably doesn't have the competence required to edit Wikipedia.
After a piece in June about Wikipedia editors adding ICE detention facilities to a list of concentration camps, administrator and former Arbitration Committee member, Robert Fernandez (known as Gamaliel on Wikipedia) called for Breitbart to be banned claiming it was an ''anti-semitic'' website, despite the fact that Breitbart News was founded by a Jew, run and partly owned by a Jew, and is the staunchest supporter of Israel in the media. Fernandez reiterated this stance at the ban discussion and incredibly called for banning anyone trying to cite Breitbart News as a source.
A public Wikipedia Facebook group shared my piece on ICE facilities being put in Wikipedia's concentration camps list. One administrator and former member of the site's Arbitration Committee posted this response (one like is from a Haaretz journalist who writes about Wikipedia) pic.twitter.com/oCoqhVfMdP
'-- T. D. Adler (@tdadler) June 30, 2018
Wikipedia is coming after conservative media. Efforts were made earlier this year to ban Fox News as a source. Though unsuccessful, those supporting a ban indicated they would eventually try again. One comment supporting the Breitbart News ban reiterated this intent stating, ''Breitbart is a fringe propaganda organization which lets its extreme partisan bias get in the way of how it reports things, and whether it does so, just at Fox News does. It too should be deprecated, but let's start with Breitbart (and Infowars).''
(Disclosure: The author has been involved in disputes with several of the parties mentioned in the article)
T. D. Adler edited Wikipedia as The Devil's Advocate. He was banned after privately reporting conflict of interest editing by one of the site's administrators. Due to previous witch-hunts led by mainstream Wikipedians against their critics, Adler writes under an alias.
SCOTUS
Kavanaugh worth more alive than dead
Electoral College
Edison research
"For the
upcoming 2018 General Election, Edison Research will provide exit polls and will tabulate the national vote across
every county in the United States for ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NBC News."
this 0.5 degree Celsius difference is going to cost at least $ 37,000 Billion
dollars.
Magical formula that allows governments to calculate how much to spend to stay under 1.5 degrees of global warming is 2.5% of GDP
Adderall
1.75x speed when on amphetamine
Any Collusion?
Judicial Watch: New FBI Records Reveal Strzok Authored Initial Draft of Comey Letter to Congress about Clinton Emails on Weiner Laptop - Judicial Watch
(Washington, DC) '' Judicial Watch today released 424 pages of FBI records, including an email revealing that recently fired FBI official Peter Strzok created the initial draft of the October 2016 letter then-FBI director James Comey sent to Congress notifying lawmakers of the discovery of Hillary Clinton emails on the laptop of disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner.
Another email suggests that the FBI had not yet completed its review of Clinton's emails by the time Comey sent a second letter to Congress on November 6, 2016, reconfirming his belief that Hillary Clinton shouldn't be charged with a crime.
The records were produced as a result of a June 2018 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed after the DOJ failed to respond to a September 1, 2017, request (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:18-cv-01448)). Judicial Watch is seeking:
All drafts of James Comey's statement closing the Clinton email investigation, from his original draft in April or May 2016 to the final version.All records of communications between or among FBI officials regarding Comey's draft statement closing the Clinton email investigation, including all memoranda and/or analyses of the factual and/or legal justification for his July 5, 2016 announcement regarding his decision not to seek Mrs. Clinton's prosecution.All records previously provided to the Office of Special Counsel in the course of its now-closed Hatch Act investigation of Mr. Comey.The documents reveal that on October 27, 2016, Peter Strzok emailed other senior FBI officials a draft notice letter from Comey to Congress about the Weiner laptop discovery and the reopening of the Clinton investigation. The emails indicated that Strzok and another official Jon (Last Name Unknown) authored the notification to Congress. The notification, according the DOJ IG, came a full month after the emails were discovered by the FBI on the Weiner laptop.
According to the documents, at 11:04 p.m. on Saturday, November 5, 2016, FBI Chief of Staff James Rybicki sent Comey an email containing a redacted draft document which he referred to as a ''New Proposal'' saying: ''Folks, Per our 1000pm conversation, below is a revised straw man for discussion. Again, we could use this if the review when completed supports our conclusions. My comments again in ALL CAPS and bold italics.''
Rybicki's ''New Proposal '... straw man'' apparently refers to a draft of Comey's letter to Congress concerning the FBI's review of the 650,000 Clinton emails found Weiner's laptop. At the time of the Rybicki email, Comey was preparing his letter informing Congress of the FBI's findings, and according to page 390 of the June 2018 report from the DOJ Office of the Inspector General, the deliberations regarding the letter began on the afternoon of November 3 and concluded ''very early on November 6.''
Despite Rybicki's email suggesting late on November 5 that the review of the new emails had not been completed, Comey's November 6 letter to Congress stated, ''[W]e reviewed all of the communications that were to or from Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State. Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton.''
Comey's ''conclusions'' in July were that no charges should be filed against Clinton, despite her repeatedly having sent classified information over her unsecured, non-state-department server. Comey later admitted that he had drafted his July exoneration more than a month earlier.
RealClear Investigations' reporter Paul Sperry recently reported that ''only 3,077 of the 694,000 emails [found on the Weiner laptop] were directly reviewed for classified or incriminating information. Three FBI officials completed that work in a single 12-hour spurt the day before Comey again cleared Clinton of criminal charges.''
''These new documents provide more details of the corrupt and dishonest FBI investigation of the incredible revelations that Clinton's classified and other emails were present on Anthony Weiner's laptop,'' said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. ''When will the Sessions DOJ and Wray FBI finally begin an honest investigation of Hillary Clinton's national security crimes?''
In a related Judicial Watch lawsuit, the State Department told the court in October 2017: ''The State Department identified approximately 2,800 work-related documents among the documents provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.''
In January 2018, in accordance with a court order, the State Department began turning Weiner emails over to Judicial Watch. Initially, 18 classified emails were found in the 798 documents produced by the State Department.
Judicial Watch is fighting for a full production of records. the State Department claims that only 3,000 of those ''hundreds of thousands'' are agency records and 147 total emails were unique agency records. Judicial Watch argues that the State Department has not released information on the total number of emails that they reviewed, how they reviewed them, how many emails were personal and not agency records and how the agency would have made those determinations.
Further examples of Judicial Watch's work in this case can be found here.
###
STORIES
MAKERphone - an educational DIY mobile phone by Albert GajÅak '-- Kickstarter
MAKERphone is an educational mobile phone that you assemble and code yourself.
It's a kit, it's fun, it's simple'... and we need your help to make it happen.
What can I do with it?MAKE...
A fully functional mobile phone that you can code yourself Games such as space invaders, pong, or snake Apps such as a custom media player that only plays cat videos Programs in Arduino Lines of code in Python Your first working piece of code in Scratch A custom case LEARN...
What a resistor does The basics of electronics How to solder How your smartphone works How to code Physical computing Scratch Python Arduino (which is based on C/C++)Turning consumers into creatorsMobile phones are revolutionary. They've changed and shaped the life of a modern man like nothing else.
Everybody has one and daily activities without this tiny black ''brick'' are unthinkable for most of us.
Despite their presence little does an average person know what's inside this magical device.
With MAKERphone we're trying to show people that every machine you see was designed by a human being not different nor smarter than themselves.
MAKERphone is actually an educational device disguised in the shape of a mobile phone.
Our main goal is turning consumers into creators.
MAKERphone steps up the gameWe've learned A LOT from manufacturing and shipping over 6000 MAKERbuino kits in the past year and here's a short list of most notable changes and improvements that we've implemented in MAKERphone:
A color screen Better microcontroller with our custom software Python programming language compatibility Scratch programming language compatibility Dedicated DAC and electronic volume controller for sound regulation and mp3 playback 8 individually programmable RGB LEDs for a lightshow in your palms Better PCB architecture for easier soldering New prettier box with a black touchy cut-out sponge (IMPORTANT!) The thing can now make calls, has a SIM card, and built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth RTC (real time clock) - MAKERphone now keeps time and wakes you up! MAKERphone teaches you about wires and chips (a.k.a. ''hardware'')MAKERphone is hardware. MAKERphone is wires. MAKERphone is chips. MAKERphone is education. MAKERphone runs on electricity and has the same components like your smartphone.
It comes in a kit form (not assembled) - you get a box with all the electronic components necessary for building your own fully working mobile phone.
You'll need two things to build your MAKERphone:1) some basic tools2) passion and interest in technology
MAKERphone is FUNWe're living in the 21st century when kids are not only playing Fortnite. They are building their own electronic devices in their garages #badass #supersmart
There's internet, open-source code and wires you can buy on the internet. All knowledge is a few clicks away and you just need the willpower to start learning and doing something new!
Try building your own mobile phone, you'll see how much fun it is!
MAKERphone needs toolsMAKERphone teaches you REAL electronics, it's not like those wanna-be Lego-like electronics kits.
Thus, you'll need some REAL tools and equipment for assembling your MAKERphone:
A regular soldering iron (nothing super expensive) Some solder Diagonal cutter pliers A regular screwdriver A piece of insulating tapeIf you're a maker, you probably already have these tools.
If you're a maker-to-be and still don't have these tools, don't worry as we've got you covered.
We've prepped a special version of the MAKERphone kit that already comes with the required tools.
Check out the rewards section (at the bottom of the listing) for more info about the available kit versions.
Who is this kit for?Based on our experience, an 11-year-old kid should be able to assemble their own MAKERphone with a tiny bit of help from an adult.
Therefore, the estimated age group is 11+.
Estimated hardware build time: 7 hours.
Build time varies and depends on the skills of the person and if the person has ever soldered before.
Estimated play time: unlimited
Estimated software development and learning time: unlimited
Building the MAKERphone is just the beginning. After that you'll spend numerous hours creating your own games, apps, learning about software, and experimenting with hardware.
What's in the kit?1) MAKERphone circuit board - the main board that connects all the components in a uniform device that can work as a mobile phone
2) MAKERphone casing - multiple sheets of acrylic cut with the power of lasers. They protect the innards and give MAKERphone this sleek look
3) 128*160 full color TFT LCD - for playing games, displaying phone numbers and everything in between
4) GSM module - a tiny module responsible for everything related to calling and texting other people
5) Main microcomputer module - a dual core processor with built-in Wi-Fi, BLE, and a charging circuit
6) Sound module - a board with a DAC (digital to analog converter) chip and a headphone jack for music playback (responsible for ringtones, alarms, game sound effects)
7) Amplifier module - makes loud buzzes, bleeps and bloops
8) Stick-on antenna - for superb phone signal (a.k.a. send text messages while in the bathroom)
9) A bag with other tiny electronic components such as pushbuttons and colored button caps with a 128MB SD card preloaded with games and apps included
What's in the tools pack?If you choose a perk with a tools pack included, you'll get this neat wooden box filled with all the essential tools needed for MAKERphone assembly:
1) USB soldering iron (lightweight and portable, solder on the go!)
2) Metal soldering iron stand
3) USB cable for the soldering iron
4) Screwdriver
5) USB power brick for powering your soldering iron
6) Some solder
7) Needle nose pliers
8) Diagonal cutter pliers
MAKERphone teaches you PythonPython Is Everywhere
Python is and has been for a while one of the world's most popular programming languages.
Every day, without realizing it, you probably use software that is written in Python and big companies use it to write all sorts of useful applications.
Python is easy to learn, intuitive, pleasing to the eye and comes with a plethora of libraries.
In fact, Python's creator Guido van Rossum said that he wants to make computer programming accessible to everybody.
The best thing - you can code your own apps and games for MAKERphone using Python!
MAKERphone runs a special version of python called MicroPython - which has all the basic functions with some specific ones that we've defined in order to help you control your MAKERphone's hardware.
Python is a type of programming language that's not compiled but instead interpreted by the device in real time.
Despite that, we've designed special code snippets that will ''freeze'' your Python code and generate an executable file that can be placed on your MAEKRphone's SD card!
MAKERphone teaches you ScratchScratch is a revolutionary program that makes it easy for kids as young as 5 to learn how to code with a simple drag-and-drop system of programming.
It already is one of the most popular programming tools for schools.
An awesome project called Whitecat IDE made it possible to control MAKERphone's hardware with ease! It's an open-source online tool that allows you to create code in a Scratch-like environment.
If you've never coded before, this is the way to go.
Scratch's intuitive design will let you code your first MAKERphone app in mere minutes!
MAKERphone loves ArduinoYES, we love Arduino!
Oh, Arduino, you've taught us to code and we've delved into the word of electronics thanks to your board.
This product and our company was made possible thanks to Arduino's open-sourcefulness and community.
Albert: ''If Arduino was a lady, I'd take her to a fine dinner'... with my GF's permission, of course!''
Therefore, MAKERphone is based on Arduino-compatible ESP32 microcontroller and can be programmed in Arduino IDE (based on C/C++) - the most popular programming environment for makers and hardware enthusiasts.
MAKERphone is compatible with numerous Arduino related examples of manipulating various hardware and software components.
In fact, it's compatible with most Arduino software libraries available online and will work with many Arduino shields and modules with minimal or no library code modifications.
MAKERphone takes you from Padawan to Jedi MasterYou've never coded before?
You also don't know a thing about hardware?
Absolutely no problemo as MAKERphone will take you from learning how to wield a soldering iron through assembling your very own fully functional mobile phone all the way to coding your very own app or game for your very own DIY mobile phone.
We've segmented the learning process into levels (like in a video game):
MAKERphone comes with a 128MB SD card preinstalled with dozens of useful applications, tools and games.
It comes with all the basic mobile phone-ish apps such as contacts, SMS, phone dialer, music player, as well as a collection of neat GameBoy-inspired games.
MAKERphone is MAKERbuino-compatibleMAKERbuino games can be played on MAKERphone and they're in full color this time!
MAKE your own apps and games!YES!
MAKERphone is DIY in its every aspect.
Assemble the bits and pieces together in order to create a fully functional phone and get down to coding your own games and apps.
Our comprehensive tutorials will lead you through every step of your creative process.
There are three main ways to create a game/app for your MAKERphone:
Scratch! A.k.a. colorful blocks that you drag and drop together in order to make your first app.
Python! Use one of the most popular programming languages used in almost every educational institution or school that teaches people coding.
Arduino (C/C++)The most popular programming platform for makers and DIY-ers is MAKERphone-compatible and we like it a lot.
After coding your app, you can compile it to an ''executable'' binary file and put it on your MAKERphone's SD card.
Apps located on the SD card are accessed through MAKERphone's main menu via the ''Apps'' icon.
We've coded a programming library with sets of commands that let you easily:
develop in-app menus and other GUI-related content play and develop sound FX and background music draw, display and animate bitmaps control MAKERphone's hardware (i.e. make calls, read files from SD card, flash LEDs)CircuitMess worldCircuitMess world is a place for MAKERphone users to share their creations, exchange knowledge, and download programs made by others as well as a collection of tutorials, guides and MAKERphone-related documentation.
Every game or app in CircuitMess world is open-source and available with a downloadable source code along with a compiled binary file that you can load directly on your device's SD card.
To put it simply, you can take a look at the code of every MAKERphone compatible game or app, learn something new, change the code and implement parts of the code in your own project.
Our tutorials collection consists of two main parts:
1) Official tutorials and guides written by the MAKERphone team
2) User-created tutorials that everyone can write and share a bit of knowledge with other creators
Customize your MAKERphone's UI MAKERphone is customizable.
Express yourself by customizing your phone's UI.
This can be done through MAKERphone's settings or editing a setup file on MAKERphone's SD card.
MAKERphone plays music, shows photos and runs videos.
MAKERphone does multimedia!
It supports mp3 files and you can set your favorite song as a ringtone by simply dragging and dropping it on MAKERphone's SD card and selecting it in the menu.
MAKERphone GLOWS!8 individually controllable RGB LEDs with 60FPS refresh rate make your MAKERphone glow (it's literally glowing).
Control LEDs for neat in-game or in-app effects.
Make your MAKERphone turn red when you're low on health or shooting projectiles in your mobile game.
Use RGB LEDs as a giant flashlight or just as a giant notification light.
MAKERphone has (wicked) specsOh, so you're that smarty pants that talks about teraflops and other imaginary words?
Well, here you go. Here's a detailed explanation of MAKERhone's hardware:
Microcontroller (the chip that does smart stuff): ESP32 with Xtensa dual-core 32-bit LX6 microprocessor, operating at 160MHz and performing at up to 600 DMIPS.
4MB of built-in flash memory + 520kB of SRAM.
I2c interface, i2s interface, UARTs, PWM, ultra low power consumption and what not.
Display: 1.8", 160*128px full color (RGB 16bit) 25FPS refresh rate by default, up to 50FPS.
Digitally controllable backlight level.
Battery: LiPo 3.7V 600mAh, charged through micro USB B port. Sufficient for approximately 3 days of normal use.
Back lights: 8 independently addressable and controllable RGB LEDs for light effects in your palms! Buttons: 4-way mechanical joystick, 12-button numeric keypad, A (confirm), B (back), 4 multi-purpose addressable buttons (C, D, E, F) Micro SD card socket: FAT and FAT32 compatible. Every console comes with an 128MB SD card with dozens of MAKERphone-compatible games and apps preloaded!
Change between games and apps on the go, no computer required!
RTC (real time clock): DS3231 Extremely Accurate I²C-Integrated RTC with temperature compensation - this thing keeps time and takes care of alarms Force feedback: eccentric rotating mass vibration motor (ERM) a.k.a. tiny motor that vibrates the phone *disclaimer: lizard not included in the basic version of the kit Network: Built in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth v4.2 BR/EDR and BLE SIM800L GSM chipset (the thing that calls other people) with built in Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz.
Micro SIM card slot.
Get your name on a custom MAKERphone!Help us turn consumers into creators and spread the word about MAKERphone among your family and friends.
We will randomly choose 100 (!) of you that shared our campaign on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and thank you with a free personalisation of your new MAKERphone
*EXCITED & BREATHING HEAVILY* The shared post needs to be set to public so that we can see it too! You'll also be asked to submit a link to your shared post in the survey at the end of the Kickstarter campaign.
Personalisation is made by using a laser cutter.
MAKERphone <3 open-sourceWe love open-source. We've learned how to code and design electronic devices thanks to internet and open-source technology.
Thus, we want to push our work back into the community.
MAKERphone's software is fully open-source and available for you to download.
MAKERphone's hardware's schematics along with the bill of materials are also open-source and available online.
That means that you can use our documentation to experiment with our hardware design using the provided documentation and schematics and create your own MAKERphone compatible boards and modules.
Oh, and implement our code in your other projects too!
MAKERphone has colorsHOLY COW! TUTTI FRUTTI!
MAEKRphone's aesthetic design comes in many color options:
Elegant black I'M BATMAN, pick this one if you're a tough guy/girl
Hipsterish woodGenuine wood'... even smells like wood
Plain whiteWhite'... just that
Yucky yellow YUCK! Looks like cheese, though...
Adriatic blue Blue as the Croatian sea
Radioactive orange Made out of freshly squeezed radioactive oranges
Cherry redNo cherries were harmed in making of this case
You'll be able to pick your desired style in a survey sent after the campaign ends (that's how Kickstarter works, DUH!)
MAKERphone has stretch goalsMAKERphone has rewardsMAKERphone has a timelineFollow us on social media We've got all of them:
TWITTERFACEBOOKINSTAGRAM even YOUTUBE
The story of MAKERphone (and CircuitMess)Albert here! Let me tell you a story of CircuitMess and MAKERbuino.
CircuitMess is a technology startup founded a year and a half ago after a successful Kickstarter campaign for MAKERbuino (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/albertgajsak/makerbuino-a-diy-game-console/updates).
The name of our startup stems from two words:
Circuit (we make electronic circuits) + Mess (our company is a mess)
After successfully delivering MAKERbuino, we were collecting feedback from thousands of users and have started thinking about our next big step. An idea of a DIY mobile phone came in and we had so much fun brainstorming, developing and goofing around whilst preparing this amazing product and this exciting campaign :)
Thank you!Our company was founded over a year ago thanks to generous Kickstarter supporters just like you.
As a result of your help, our lives have changed and our hobbies turned into full time jobs.
This wonderful experience allowed us to spread positive influence, open jobs and learn A LOT.
This shaped and defined us as people that we are today.
If you ever come to Karlovac - Croatia, we're buying you a drink!MAKERphone has a ''gang''This whole story was started by Albert, his brother and a few friends back when he was in high school.
They were all working on it after school/work as much as they could.
Since then, a lot has changed.
We've rented a real workplace and started employing people (job interviews yay!).
CircuitMess has grown to 7 full time employees and a few part-timers and we've successfully converted this small hype-driven business to a self-sustainable startup.
Oh, and we have a microwave oven now too!
Amazon built AI to hire people, but it discriminated against women - Business Insider
Amazon tried building an artificial-intelligence tool to help with recruiting, but it showed a bias against women, Reuters reports.Engineers reportedly found the AI was unfavorable toward female candidates because it had combed through male-dominated r(C)sum(C)s to accrue its data.Amazon reportedly abandoned the project at the beginning of 2017. Amazon worked on building an artificial-intelligence tool to help with hiring, but the plans backfired when the company discovered the system discriminated against women, Reuters reports.
Citing five sources, Reuters said Amazon set up an engineering team in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2014 to find a way to automate its recruitment.
The company created 500 computer models to trawl through past candidates' r(C)sum(C)s and pick up on about 50,000 key terms. The system would crawl the web to recommend candidates.
"They literally wanted it to be an engine where I'm going to give you 100 r(C)sum(C)s, it will spit out the top five, and we'll hire those," one source told Reuters.
A year later, however, the engineers reportedly noticed something troubling about their engine '-- it didn't like women. This was apparently because the AI combed through predominantly male r(C)sum(C)s submitted to Amazon over a 10-year period to accrue data about whom to hire.
Consequently, the AI concluded that men were preferable. It reportedly downgraded r(C)sum(C)s containing the words "women's" and filtered out candidates who had attended two women-only colleges.
Amazon's engineers apparently tweaked the system to remedy these particular forms of bias but couldn't be sure the AI wouldn't find new ways to unfairly discriminate against candidates.
Gender bias was not the only problem, Reuters' sources said. The computer programs also spat out candidates who were unqualified for the position.
Remedying algorithmic bias is a thorny issue, as algorithms can pick up on subconscious human bias. In 2016, ProPublica found that risk-assessment software used to forecast which criminals were most likely to reoffend exhibited racial bias against black people. Overreliance on AI for things like recruitment, credit-scoring, and parole judgments have also created issues in the past.
Amazon reportedly abandoned the AI recruitment project by the beginning of last year after executives lost faith in it. Reuters' sources said Amazon recruiters looked at recommendations generated by the AI but never relied solely on its judgment.
Amazon told Business Insider it was committed to workplace diversity and equality but declined to comment further.
By Maggie Gordon Houston ChronicleWednesday Oct 10, 2018 at 5:19 PM Oct 10, 2018 at 5:26 PM
HOUSTON '-- When Megan and Steve Long tell friends and customers about their newest venture, Good Boy Dog Beer, more often than not, they're met with the same three questions.
One: Is it really for dogs? (Yes.)
Two: Is it alcoholic? (No.)
Three: Can I drink it? (Um, sure?)
The beer doesn't exactly dance on a human palate, thanks to a complete lack of sodium. But that was never the intention. The Longs, who own Henderson Heights bar in the Sixth Ward and Reserve 101 downtown, wanted to create a new product that mixed two of their favorite things on the planet '-- beer and dogs, the Houston Chronicle reported .
They're not pretending to be the first people with the idea. There's been a scatterplot of breweries offering pints for pups for more than a decade now. But they do seem to be the first in Houston, a city that has become increasingly dog-friendly in recent years, thanks to a growing number of patio bars willing to let four-legged friends tag along for Sunday funday. And that Fido-forward culture has helped the Longs find immediate success.
Within weeks of their launch, all three flavors of their beer '-- IPA Lot in the Yard, Mailman Malt Licker and Session.squirrel! '-- are available in 15 bars throughout the city, including Front Porch Pub and FM Kitchen and Bar, for a recommended price of about $5 a can. And they're getting requests to ship cans across the country.
"Everyone likes the idea of having a beer with their dog, you know?" says Steve, who is 41. Still, while the Longs saw the potential in their brew from the very beginning, they had no idea it would take off so quickly. The entire idea began as a way to fix a problem in their own home.
"It all started with our oldest dog, our Rottweiler, Rocky," says Megan, who is 30.
Rocky, who is 9, started having digestive issues as he progressed from middle age to his current status as a senior dog.
"We had to change up his food. He was having allergic reactions, and his body was just kind of changing into an old man's, so we had to adjust to it," she says. "We talked to our vet, and our vet said the best, easiest thing to do was to just start making his own food and treats."
It was a time-consuming process, but the Longs began cooking food at home for Rocky, and their 5-year-old German Shepherd mix, Chloe. They'd start with a bone-in chicken, so they'd get all the good stuff from the bone marrow, then add vegetables and other natural ingredients.
"We were just shocked at how many things dogs can eat, and the good side effects of it, like what enhances their metabolism or their fur," says Megan. "So for the last few years, while we've been making this for him, filled notebooks with good and bad things for dogs, and the purposes. Like, turmeric helps their digestion. Ginger is good for their fur, and coat shininess."
It didn't take long for them to start joking that they should brew the broth into a beer. But it was a couple years before those jokes turned serious. In January, the Longs began setting up a brewery in a friend's warehouse. They created recipes, found a canning company in Austin, and by this August, they were ready to brew three recipes, including an adaption of that original concoction for Rocky, which became the Mailman Malt Licker, and includes chicken, turmeric, ginger, oranges, carrots, basil, cilantro and fennel.
"We brewed one night, and we brewed, I don't know, 500 cans or so. And we went out to sell it, and we were like 'Let's see if bars like it!' And we sold to like five bars, in the next day. So we were like, 'Let's not sell any more. Let's go home and brew,'" Megan says, laughing. "We thought people were going to be like 'Yeah, sure, maybe. Let me think about it.' Because when reps come and talk to us, sometimes we don't always have a space."
But the bars made space. And that makes sense.
The American Pet Products Association estimates that pets in the U.S. are a $72 billion business in 2018, up 29 percent, from $56 billion five years ago. Millennials '-- like Megan '-- are a huge part of this increase.
Leslie May, founder of Pawsible Marketing, and expert on the pet market says pet products are a no-brainer as the industry continues expanding without a ceiling in sight.
"Millennials don't really know of pets any different than as part of their family. They grew up that way, and that's the way the pet industry is going to go," May said.
Trump Administration Seeks Public Comments On Marijuana Reclassification
The federal government wants your input on whether marijuana should be reclassified under global drug treaties to which the U.S. is a party.
Marijuana leaf in front of a globe against blue background
Specifically, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking for public comments about the "abuse potential, actual abuse, medical usefulness, trafficking, and impact of scheduling changes on availability for medical use" of cannabis and several other substances now under international review.
Under current U.S. federal law as well as global drug policy agreements, marijuana is classified in the most restrictive category of Schedule I. At home, that means it is considered illegal and not available for prescription, while research on its potential benefits is heavily restricted. Cannabis's international status means that nations who are signatories of drug control treaties are not supposed to legalize it, though that hasn't stopped Canada and Uruguay from doing so.
Public comments on marijuana's effects and legal status "will be considered in preparing a response from the United States to the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the abuse liability and diversion of these drugs," Leslie Kux, FDA's associate commissioner for policy, wrote in a Federal Register filing published on Wednesday. "WHO will use this information to consider whether to recommend that certain international restrictions be placed on these drugs."
WHO's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) is meeting in Geneva next month to consider the classification of marijuana and other substances, and is now seeking to "gather information on the legitimate use, harmful use, status of national control and potential impact of international control," the United Nations body said in a notice excerpted in the FDA filing.
Earlier this year, ECDD determined that cannabidiol (CBD), a component of marijuana shown to have medical benefits without intoxicating properties like other cannabinoids such as THC, should not be scheduled under international drug control conventions.
''CBD has been found to be generally well tolerated with a good safety profile,'' the UN body found in its critical review. "There is no evidence that CBD as a substance is liable to similar abuse and similar ill-effects as substances...such as cannabis or THC, respectively. The Committee recommended that preparations considered to be pure CBD should not be scheduled.''
The body also agreed to undergo an in-depth critical review of the marijuana plant and its resins and extracts, as well as THC itself. That new review is what triggered the FDA's request for public comment on Wednesday.
The Trump administration sought public comments from interested parties in advance of an earlier UN pre-review on marijuana as well.
"Any comments received will be considered by [the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] when it prepares a scientific and medical evaluation for drug substances that is responsive to the WHO Questionnaire for these drug substances," the new FDA notice says. "HHS will forward such evaluation of these drug substances to WHO, for WHO's consideration in deciding whether to recommend international control/decontrol of any of these drug substances."
Legalization advocates are hopeful that a hard look at the data on marijuana's effects will inevitably lead to a pro-reform conclusion.
''A careful review of the relevant science does not now, nor has it ever, supported a hard-line approach to cannabis scheduling. Cannabis's abuse potential relative to other substances, including legal substances like alcohol, tobacco and prescription medications, does not warrant its continued criminalization under either U.S. or international law," Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, said in an email. "By any rational assessment, cannabis prohibition is a disproportionate public policy response to behavior that is, at worst, a public health concern. But it should not be a criminal justice matter and international laws should no longer classify it as such."
Mason Tvert, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, agreed.
"The time has come for marijuana to be removed from the federal drug schedules. There is no longer any doubt that it has significant medical value, and the science is clear that it is less harmful than many legal medical products," he said. "While marijuana is not harmless '-- few, if any, products are '-- it poses less harm than alcohol to consumers and to society. The U.S. led the world into the quagmire of cannabis prohibition, so it should lead the world out of it by descheduling cannabis and implementing a more evidence-based policy."
That said, the feds aren't planning to make any cannabis recommendations to the UN panel ahead of its review meetings next month.
"Instead, HHS will defer such consideration until WHO has made official recommendations to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which are expected to be made in mid-2018," the Federal Register notice says. "Any HHS position regarding international control of these drug substances will be preceded by another Federal Register notice soliciting public comments."
In addition to marijuana and its components, the WHO committee is also reviewing several synthetic cannabinoids, fentanyls and other substances.
FDA has hinted that international rescheduling of marijuana and its components could influence changes to its legal status here at home.
This month, FDA publicly released a letter it sent to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) earlier this year suggesting that CBD should be completely removed from federal control.
Cannabidiol has a ''negligible potential for abuse'' and has a ''currently accepted medical use in treatment,'' the agency found.
But, because of international drug treaty obligations, FDA conceded that the substance needs to be scheduled, concluding that it should be placed under the least-restrictive category of Schedule V.
''If treaty obligations do not require control of CBD, or if the international controls on CBD change in the future, this recommendation will need to be promptly revisited,'' FDA wrote in its analysis to DEA.
That document, dated in May, preceded the WHO's determination that CBD should not be globally scheduled, and was part of the federal government's approval and rescheduling last month of CBD-based drug Epidiolex, which is used for severe epilepsy disorders. It is not clear why the U.S. government subsequently decided to place FDA-approved CBD medications in the federal Schedule V, with an appeal to global treaties that the UN now says shouldn't schedule the substance.
For now, FDA is accepting public comments on marijuana and the other substances currently under UN review via the web until October 31. Interested parties can also submit written comments via mail.
Ultimately, WHO will make a scheduling recommendation for marijuana to UN Secretary-General Ant"nio Guterres, who oversaw the enactment of drug decriminalization as Portugal's prime minister, a policy he has touted in his current capacity.
Roberts refers judicial misconduct complaints against Kavanaugh to federal appeals court in Colorado
(C) Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Brett Kavanaugh is sworn-in as Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court by Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy on October 8 at the White House. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Wednesday referred more than a dozen judicial misconduct complaints filed recently against Brett M. Kavanaugh to a federal appeals court in Colorado.
The 15 complaints, related to statements Kavanaugh made during his Senate confirmation hearings, were initially filed with the federal appeals court in Washington, where Kavanaugh served for the last 12 years before his confirmation Saturday to the Supreme Court.
The allegations center on whether Kavanaugh was dishonest and lacked judicial temperament during his Senate testimony, according to people familiar with the matter.
Last month, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit asked Roberts to refer the complaints to another appeals court for review after determining that they should not be handled by judges who served with Kavanaugh on the D.C. appellate court.
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In a letter Wednesday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Roberts said he selected the court in Colorado to ''accept the transfer and to exercise the powers of a judicial council with respect to the identified complaints and any pending or new complaints relating to the same subject matter.''
The Denver-based appeals court is led by Chief Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich, the former solicitor general of Colorado who was nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush. The 10th Circuit handled another recent judicial misconduct case from Washington involving the former chief judge of the District Court.
It is unclear what will come of the review by the 10th Circuit. The judiciary's rules on misconduct do not apply to Supreme Court justices, and the 10th Circuit could decide to dismiss the complaints as moot now that Kavanaugh has joined the high court.
''There is nothing that a judicial council could do at this point,'' said Arthur D. Hellman, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh and expert on the operation of federal courts.
He said it was unprecedented for a new justice to face such a situation. Hellman predicted that the 10th Circuit will likely close the case ''because it is no longer within their jurisdiction,'' now that Kavanaugh has been elevated to the Supreme Court.
The letter from Roberts does not mention Kavanaugh by name. On Saturday, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the D.C. Circuit, who originally requested the transfer, said in a statement that the court had received complaints about Kavanaugh since the start of his confirmation hearings.
''The complaints do not pertain to any conduct in which Judge Kavanaugh engaged as a judge. The complaints seek investigations only of the public statements he has made as a nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States,'' said Henderson, a Bush nominee.
Complaints made against judges are usually handled by the chief judge. Henderson took over from Chief Judge Merrick Garland, who recused himself from the matter.
When complaints were filed in late September and early October, Henderson dismissed some but concluded that others were substantive enough to refer to another judicial panel for investigation.
Roberts received the first transfer request on Sept. 20, followed by four additional requests on Sept. 26, Sept. 28, Oct. 3 and Oct. 5, according to his letter. He did not immediately move to refer the filings to another appeals court.
People familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity say the allegations had already been widely discussed in the Senate and in the public realm. Roberts did not see an urgent need for them to be resolved by the judicial branch while he continued to review the incoming complaints, they said.
The complaints landed with Roberts because of his role as chief justice of the United States, not because Kavanaugh is now a member of the Supreme Court.
Such complaints are usually confidential unless the judicial council investigating issues a public report about its findings.
The existence of misconduct complaints and the procedure can be disclosed, according to the rules, ''when necessary or appropriate to maintain public confidence in the judiciary's ability to redress misconduct or disability.''
The public nature of a case last year involving former 9th Circuit judge Alex Kozinski, who was accused of sexual misconduct, was unusual. The chief judge of the 9th Circuit asked Roberts to transfer the case for review after The Washington Post reported allegations against Kozinski.
Roberts referred the case to the appeals court in New York City. The judicial council of that court publicly announced it was closing its investigation because Kozinski had retired, saying that because he ''can no longer perform any judicial duties, he does not fall within the scope of persons who can be investigated.''
ann.marimow@washpost.com
tom.hamburger@washpost.com
Robert Barnes and Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.
Michael Bloomberg Registers as Democrat, Weighing 2020 Bid - Bloomberg
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A History of Industry LeadershipUS Ecology, Inc. is a leading North American provider of environmental services to commercial and government entities. The Company addresses the complex waste management needs of its customers, offering treatment, disposal and recycling of hazardous and radioactive waste, as well as a wide range of complementary field and industrial services. US Ecology's focus on safety, environmental compliance, and customer service, enables us to effectively meet the needs of our customers and to build long-lasting relationships. Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the Company has been protecting the environment since 1952.
US Ecology is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer fully committed to the concept and practice of equal opportunity and affirmative action in all aspects of employment. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status, among other factors.
What's behind the concerted Tsunami of climate fear-headlines? '' The Slog.
The media orchestration of climate anxiety is there for all to see across all continents. The Slog analyses the likely motivations behind this downpour of dire prophecies. ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
I may be more aware of this than most (I've been travelling for the last week) but the last month has seen an unprecedented number of ''climate crisis'' stories featured by the old media. Since October 7th, The New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, Figaro, Le Monde, Straits Times, Dallas News, Irish Times, Chicago Tribune, The Australian, BBC news, ABC (Australia) News, Sky News and all the major US channels have led (as in front page/main item) at least once on what they describe as a ''climate change emergency''. Several of them have made the subject a major feature at least four times.
The alleged catalyst for all this is a UN Climate update by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published on October 8th last. The IPCC tome is extremely specific in some areas, warning that there we have ''only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5°C'' and ''urgent and unprecedented changes are needed to reach the target'' if we are to avoid a fate of ''drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.'' Such action will, say the authors, mean climate agreements at the top end or greater than those agreed at the Paris Summit a few years back.
In ploughing through these endless articles (over 95% of which focus purely on the 1.5°C statistic, without actually understanding it) the robotic use of the words ''experts'', ''last chance'', ''carbon taxes'', ''disaster'', ''man-made'' and ''catastrophe'' give me cause for concern on several bases.
'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--
The first is that the IPCC is pretty unanimously of the ''settled science'' view when it comes to the ''reasons'' for climate change. That's fine if they want to be that way, but the role of carbon and ''greenhouse gas'' emissions has been challenged in the past by equally impressive scientific groups (including NASA). Climate change remains a subject with a great deal of doubt on all sides.
The second is that the IPCC has a long history of unsubstantiated bias against the nuclear power sector. The latest report from these ''experts'' condemns nuclear power as 'dirty and dangerous', which is quite untrue on both dimensions: not a single human being has ever died from nuclear energy waste disposal, and the two serious accidents (at Chernobyl and Fukushima) were caused in both cases by incompetently corrupt manufacturing processes. Fukushima in particular has had a massive ecological effect that is as yet difficult to assess, but the event has had a good salutary effect in quite rightly scaring the pants off construction specialists and sovereign safety regulators alike.
The third is that the alternatives to nuclear are, on the whole, a bit of a joke '' and entail cost/disposability challenges that far outstrip toxic waste. Yet the IPCC blithely asserts that nuclear 'cannot compete against natural gas' (a falsehood involving pollutant technology far from renewable) and continues to encourage solar and wind'...which produce electricity uneconomically, have enormous maintenance issues, and are made unreliable by, um, changing climates around the world.
For myself, I remain convinced that the best solution by far is likely to be the next generation of fusion techniques to harness the inestimable power our nearest star churns out: I would ban fracking, increase oilco taxes and use the money for urgent research into that Ra possibility.
You see the thing is, I am neither a climate change denier or acceptor. We simply don't have the breadth of vision or length of trends yet to mouth off with faux certainty about CO², sea levels, coal, oil, timescales, toxicity, greenhouse gas rates of atmospheric escape or a thousand other factors. Our knowledge of the planet's balancing mechanisms, for example, is roughly equivalent to that of a rodent trying to grasp the offside rule.
I accept that ozone holes are a problem needing urgent attention. I plant trees all the time (but only the right kind) and I think potable water shortage is a much bigger threat to human survival than climate change. But I'm not convinced by much as yet; rather, I'm happy to make a difference where the maths seem to me irrefutable. When it comes to trees, for example, there are more trees in the UK today than there were in 1000 AD. The threat to humanity from broken food chains is, I sense, enormous '' as bad as that from resistant bacteria. In 2018, more Earthlings now die from obesity than from starvation. And so it goes '' on and on: the bewildering factual overload of knowing far too little about far too much.
However, the most important doubt I harbour about this media tidal wave of climatic fear is double-headed. First, it feels coordinated to me '' I'm left asking cui bono? And second, I'm wondering why now all of a sudden '' is there a distraction motive involved in all this?
As the teenage years of the 21st century draw to a close, it requires an extraordinary level of naivety to view the United Nations as an entity engaged in furthering the good of humanity without fear or favour. Like all other entities with high-sounding names and avowed charters, it is a weapon of various Alt States. Its condemnations of chemical warfare, for example, are hard much of the time to separate from mainstream US neoconservative foreign policy. I have been surprised myself in recent years by the number of times 'following the money' from UN reports, panels and actions leads inexorably back to places like Texas, Washington, Brussels, Westminster, Google, Twitter and Facebook. The UN is '' to use one obvious example '' somewhat soft on the oil business, natural gas as n energy form, and fracking. Monied interests lobby the UN, and the more powerful UN members lobby the smaller fish.
This is especially true in the field of climate change '' which is today an industry in its own right. There are more than a few quants in Wall Street, the City and Frankfurt with a lot to gain from all the carbon footprint and other nonsense promoted with a more neoliberal than ecological motive.
In the three months prior to the UN's IPCC report, BlackRock increased its stake in shares of US Ecology Inc (NASDAQ:ECOL) by 8.3%. During the five days prior to the report, however, shares in US Ecology stock traded down $1.16'.....allowing the directionalisers to get in at an exceptionally cheap price. US Ecology's price per share has gone from $48 to $68 since February. A worrying aspect of this share is that it has a PE ratio of nearly 43. That is to say, a very high rating compared to actual potential: it has 'fix' overvaluation written all over it.
At another level entirely, it does no harm to look more closely at both US Party politics and Alt State geopolitics in the IPCC context. Track the former issue since early October, and you will note that American (and UK) establishment media have been beating Donald Trump's climate change scepticism around the head without cessation during that period. As for the geopolitics of it all, if you are out to damn nuclear power, coal-generated electricity, and broadscale air or water pollution, what better bogeymen than Russia and China'....the two key threats to US global hegemony?
Distraction from financial collapse
For many years now, I have maintained that the three key weapons employed by the unelected Giga-Rich are deception, distortion and distraction . It is hard to avoid the conclusion that more and more mainstream business opinion leaders, analysts and journalists are (at last) singing from a hymn sheet entitled For those in peril on the Sea.
We have been deceived about unemployment and inflation, while looking on incredulous as most stock valuations around the world have been distorted to suggest an unwarranted valuation. Now perhaps, the time has come to distract from what is being prepared.
During the exact same period '' October 9th to the present day '' there seems to me to have been a joint IMF/World Bank media strategy to get their warnings in a row while most people were fretting about imminent climate dangers.
On October 8th, the IMF cut its global growth forecasts. On October 10th, the World Bank and the IMF announced extended loan packages with stringent repayment conditions for Developing World borrowers. Since then, both organisations have variously talked about the need to change WTO rules and ''storm clouds on the horizon''. Over the last 48 hours, they have in turn issued a guide to helping sovereigns around the world in their dealings with ''financial technology'' or fintech'....along with warnings about ''increasing trade tensions'' that might hamper growth.
But all of these virtue signals have been out-shouted by climate change hysteria.
Nobody can draw firm or final conclusions from the machinations of the many (C)lites on the citizen's back. The sole intention of this post is to remind everyone that belief based on trust will no longer do '' only quod secundum opinionem will do: opinion based on evidence.
Climate change: IPCC report warns rapid changes needed to stem catastrophic global warming
(C) Mario Tama/Getty Images IN FLIGHT, GREENLAND - MARCH 30: Sea ice is seen from NASA's Operation IceBridge research aircraft off the northwest coast on March 30, 2017 above Greenland. NASA's Operation IceBridge has been studying how polar ice has evolved over the past nine years and is currently flying a set of eight-hour research flights over ice sheets and the Arctic Ocean to monitor Arctic ice loss aboard a retrofitted 1966 Lockheed P-3 aircraft. According to NASA scientists and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), sea ice in the Arctic appears to have reached its lowest maximum wintertime extent ever recorded on March 7. Scientists have said the Arctic has been one of the regions hardest hit by climate change. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Governments around the world must take "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" to avoid disastrous levels of global warming, says a stark new report from the global scientific authority on climate change.
The report issued Monday by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says the planet will reach the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by as early as 2030, precipitating the risk of extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions of people.
The date, which falls well within the lifetime of many people alive today, is based on current levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
(C) Mario Tama/Getty Images Sea ice is seen from NASA's Operation IceBridge research aircraft off the northwest coast of Greenland. Scientists say the Arctic has been one of the regions hardest hit by climate change. The planet is already two-thirds of the way there, with global temperatures having warmed about 1 degree C. Avoiding going even higher will require significant action in the next few years.
"This is concerning because we know there are so many more problems if we exceed 1.5 degrees C global warming, including more heatwaves and hot summers, greater sea level rise, and, for many parts of the world, worse droughts and rainfall extremes," Andrew King, a lecturer in climate science at the University of Melbourne, said in a statement.
Global net emissions of carbon dioxide would need to fall by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach "net zero" around 2050 in order to keep the warming around 1.5 degrees C.
Lowering emissions to this degree, while technically possible, would require widespread changes in energy, industry, buildings, transportation and cities, the report says.
"The window on keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees C is closing rapidly and the current emissions pledges made by signatories to the Paris Agreement do not add up to us achieving that goal," added King.
Consequences of past inaction (C) CNN This chart from the IPCC shows how global temperatures would respond to a sudden and drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Even with immediate action, global temps will still overshoot the goal, but could reduce back to the target over time. The report makes it clear that climate change is already happening -- and what comes next could be even worse, unless urgent international political action is taken.
"One of the key messages that comes out very strongly from this report is that we are already seeing the consequences of 1 degree C of global warming through more extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, among other changes," said Panmao Zhai, co-chair of IPCC Working Group I.
Even if warming is kept at or just below 1.5 degrees C, the impacts will be widespread and significant.
Temperatures during summer heatwaves, such as those just experienced across Europe this summer, can be expected to increase by 3 degrees C says the report.
More frequent or intense droughts, such as the one that nearly ran the taps dry in Cape Town, South Africa, as well as more frequent extreme rainfall events such as hurricanes Harvey and Florence in the United States, are also pointed to as expectations as we reach the warming threshold.
Coral reefs will also be drastically affected, with between 70 and 90% expected to die off, including Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Countries in the southern hemisphere will be among the worse off, the report said, "projected to experience the largest impacts on economic growth due to climate change should global warming increase."
The report underlines how even the smallest increase in the base target would worsen the impact of recent natural disasters.
"Every extra bit of warming matters, especially since warming of 1.5 degrees C or higher increases the risk associated with long-lasting or irreversible changes, such as the loss of some ecosystems," said Hans-Otto P¶rtner, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II.
The report cites specific examples of how impacts of global warming would be lessened with the 1.5 degrees C increase, compared to the 2 degrees C increase:
Global sea levels would rise 10 cm lower by 2100.The likelihood of an Arctic Ocean free of sea ice in summer would be once per century, instead of at least once per decade.Coral reefs would decline by 70% to 90% instead of being almost completely wiped out.Special Report: What it's like at the ground zero of climate change
'Possible with the laws of chemistry and physics' Monday's report is three years in the making and is a direct result of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. In the Paris accord, 197 countries agreed to the goal of holding global temperatures "well below" 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C.
The United States was initially in the agreement, but President Donald Trump pulled the country out a year and half later, claiming it was unfair to the country.
To limit global warming to 1.5 degree C is "possible within the laws of chemistry and physics," said Jim Skea, co-chair of IPCC Working Group III. "But doing so would require unprecedented changes."
"International cooperation is absolutely imperative to limit emissions and therefore global warming and its impacts, as well as coordinating effective and widespread adaptation and mitigation," said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a fellow at the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New South Wales. "The next few years will be critical in the evolution of these efforts."
One key issue will be negative emissions, large scale carbon-scrubbing technologies that can reduce the amount in the atmosphere and act to counter continued pollution.
According to the report, there are two main ways of removing carbon from the atmosphere: increasing natural processes that already do this, and experimental carbon storage or removal technologies.
However, all methods "are at different stages of development and some are more conceptual than others, as they have not been tested at scale," the report warned.
They will also require considerable political engagement globally, as will reducing the amount of carbon being emitted. Despite the report's dire warnings, there is no indication such cooperation will be doable, particularly given the Trump administration's stance on this issue.
"Today the world's leading scientific experts collectively reinforced what mother nature has made clear -- that we need to undergo an urgent and rapid transformation to a global clean energy economy," former US Vice President Al Gore said.
"Unfortunately, the Trump administration has become a rogue outlier in its shortsighted attempt to prop up the dirty fossil fuel industries of the past. The administration is in direct conflict with American businesses, states, cities and citizens leading the transformation."
Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (Arabic: ج٠ا٠خاشÙج٠' jamÄl ḵÄÅugji, born 13 October 1958) is a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist,[2] author and the former general manager and editor-in-chief of Al Arab News Channel.[3] He also served as editor for Saudi newspaper Al Watan, turning it into a platform for Saudi progressives.[4]
Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia in September 2017,[5] and has since written newspaper articles critical of his home country. Khashoggi is a high-profile critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and the nation's de facto ruler Mohammad bin Salman.[2] He has also criticised Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[6] He is currently missing and allegations have been made that he was murdered and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey sometime after 2 October 2018.
Early life and education [ edit ] Khashoggi was born in Madinah in 1958.[3] He received elementary and secondary education in Saudi Arabia. He obtained a bachelor's degree in business administration from Indiana State University in 1982.[3][7][8]
Career [ edit ] Jamal Khashoggi began his career as a regional manager for Tihama Bookstores from 1983 to 1984.[9] Later, Khashoggi worked as a correspondent for the Saudi Gazette and an assistant manager for Okaz from 1985 to 1987.[9] He continued his career as a reporter for various daily and weekly Arab newspapers from 1987 to 1990, including Al Sharq Al Awsat, Al Majalla and Al Muslimoon.[3][9] He became managing editor and acting editor-in-chief of Al Madina in 1991 and his term lasted until 1999.[9]
From 1991 to 1999, he was a foreign correspondent in such countries as Afghanistan, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and in the Middle East.[3] It is also claimed that he served with both Saudi Intelligence Agency and possibly the United States in Afghanistan during this period.[10] He then was appointed a deputy editor-in-chief of Arab News, the leading English newspaper of Saudi Arabia and served in the post from 1999 to 2003.[11]
Khashoggi became the editor-in-chief of Al Watan for a short period, less than two months, in 2003.[3][12] In fact, his tenure as editor-in-chief lasted just for 52 days.[13][11] He was fired in May 2003 by the Saudi ministry of information after several commentaries published in the paper about the potent influence of the religious establishment in Saudi Arabia.[14]
After this event, he went to London in voluntary exile. There he joined the Al Faisal's team as an adviser.[15] Then, he served as a media aide to Prince Turki Al Faisal, while the latter was Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.[16]
In April 2007, Khashoggi began to work as editor-in-chief in Al Watan for a second time.[11] A column by poet Ibrahim al-Almaee challenging the basic Salafi premises was published in Al Watan in May 2010. Then, Khashoggi had to resign again on 17 May 2010.[17]Al Watan announced that Khashoggi resigned as editor-in-chief "to focus on his personal projects". However, it is thought that he was forced to resign due to official displeasure with articles published in the paper that were critical of the Kingdom's harsh Islamic rules.[17]
After his second resignation from Al Watan in 2010, Khashoggi was appointed by Al-Waleed bin Talal as director of the Al Arab News Channel in Bahrain.[18] He is also a political commentator for Saudi and international channels, including MBC, BBC, Al Jazeera and Dubai TV.[9]
Speaking to the BBC's Newshour, Khashoggi criticized Israel's settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying: "There was no international pressure on the Israelis and therefore the Israelis got away with building settlements, demolishing homes."[19]
In December 2016, The Independent, citing a report from Middle East Eye, said Khashoggi had been banned by Saudi Arabian authorities from publishing or appearing on television "for criticising US President-elect Donald Trump".[20]
Interviews with Osama bin Laden [ edit ] Khashoggi had followed Osama bin Laden's career since the 1980s and had interviewed him several times. Khashoggi knew bin Laden during his formative years as a radical Islamist and interviewed him in Afghanistan in 1987 during the fight against Soviet troops and pro-Soviet regime.[4] He also met bin Laden in Tora Bora and lastly in Sudan in 1995.[21] It is reported that Khashoggi once tried to persuade bin Laden to quit violence.[22]
Disappearance [ edit ] Khashoggi entered Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul on 2 October to obtain a document he needed to get married but never came out.[23] On 3 October, the Saudi government said he had left the consulate,[24][25][26] the Turkish government said he was still inside, and his fianc(C)e and friends said he was still missing.[27]
According to numerous anonymous police sources, the Turkish police believe that Khashoggi was brutally tortured and later killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul[28][29] by a 15-member team brought in from Saudi Arabia for the operation.[30][31] One anonymous police source claimed that the dead body was chopped to pieces and quietly moved out of the consulate and all of this was "videotaped to prove the mission had been accomplished and the tape was taken out of the country".[29]
Turkish authorities have claimed that security camera footage was removed from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and that Turkish staff were abruptly told to take a holiday on the day Khashoggi disappeared while inside the building.[32]
While Turkish officials pledged to release evidence on October 7 to support claims that the journalist was killed,[31] they did not deliver, and officials who had offered glimpses into the investigation for the past week were no longer prepared to talk.[32] Similarly while Yasin Aktay, an adviser to the Turkish president, initially said he believed Khashoggi had been killed in the consulate,[29] on Oct 10 he claimed ''the Saudi state is not blamed here'', something the Guardian journalist sees as Turkey trying not to harm lucrative trade ties and a delicate regional relationship with Saudi Arabia.[32]
On October 10, al-Waqt news quoted informed sources as saying that Mohammad bin Salman had assigned Ahmad Asiri, the deputy head of the Al-Mukhabarat Al-A'amah[33] and the former spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, with the mission to execute Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Another military officer with lots of experience in dealing with dissidents was the second candidate for the mission.[34]
[ edit ] Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman claimed Khashoggi left the consulate shortly after the visit.[35] The English language Arab News on 10 October 2018 reported that the Saudi Ambassador to the US "condemns 'malicious leaks and grim rumors' surrounding Khashoggi disappearance" and that "the reports that suggest that Jamal Khashoggi went missing in the Consulate in Istanbul or that the Kingdom's authorities have detained him or killed him are absolutely false, and baseless".[36]
Turkish president ErdoÄan demanded that Saudi government provide proof for their claims that Khashoggi left the consulate alive, something that Turkish police CCTV didn't capture.[37]
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Saudi Arabia "to support a thorough investigation of Mr. Khashoggi's disappearance and to be transparent about the results of that investigation."[38] President Trump expressed concern about the fate of Khashoggi.[39] US Senator Chris Murphy wrote that if the reports of Khashoggi's murder are true, "it should represent a fundamental break" in Saudi Arabia''United States relations.[40]
See also [ edit ] Human rights in Saudi ArabiaFreedom of the pressReferences [ edit ] ^ "Chris Murphy on Twitter". Twitter . Retrieved 2018-10-08 . ^ a b "Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey says journalist was murdered in Saudi consulate". BBC News. 7 October 2018. ^ a b c d e f "Speakers". International Public Relations Association - Gulf Chapter (IPRA-GC). 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012 . Retrieved 10 May 2012 . ^ a b Hendley, Paul (17 May 2010). "Saudi newspaper head resigns after run-in with conservatives". Al Hdhod . Retrieved 11 October 2018 . ^ "Opinion - Saudi Arabia wasn't always this repressive. Now it's unbearable". Washington Post . Retrieved 7 October 2018 . ^ "Turkey says journalist Khashoggi 'killed at Saudi consulate ' ". France 24. 7 October 2018. ^ "Khashoggi, Jamal". JRank Organization . Retrieved 16 May 2012 . ^ "Jamal Khashoggi". SO.ME . Retrieved 31 May 2012 . ^ a b c d e "Jamal Khashoggi". World Economic Forum . Retrieved 21 July 2012 . ^ "Saudi Al Watan Editor Sacked for the Second Time". Saudi Information Agency. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012 . Retrieved 31 May 2012 . ^ a b c "Q & A with Al Watan's Jamal Khashoggi". Asharq Alawsat. Jeddah. 25 April 2007 . Retrieved 5 April 2013 . ^ "Saudi editor-in-chief fired following criticism of Ibn Taymiyya, spiritual father of Wahhabism". MEMRI. 9 July 2003 . Retrieved 19 May 2012 . ^ Murphy, Caryle (11 January 2011). "Tactical Delivery". The Majalla . Retrieved 25 June 2012 . ^ Blanford, Nicholas (5 June 2003). "Reformist impulse in Saudi Arabia suffers setback". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved 1 March 2013 . ^ Soubra Barrage, Rada (2007). "The domestic challenges facing Saudi Arabia" (PDF) . Ecommons. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2013 . Retrieved 8 May 2012 . ^ Wright, Lawrence (11 September 2006). "The master plan" (PDF) . The New Yorker . Retrieved 8 April 2012 . ^ a b "Saudi editor Jamal Khashoggi resigns from AlWatan". BBC. 17 May 2010 . Retrieved 1 March 2013 . ^ "Jamal Khashoggi, director of the Al Arab News Channel in Bahrain". France24. 20 April 2012 . Retrieved 10 May 2012 . ^ "Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi tells BBC: 'The Oslo Accords are dead ' ". Middle East Monitor. 1 October 2018. ^ Osborne, Samuel. "Saudi Arabia bans journalist for criticising Donald Trump". The Independent . Retrieved 16 February 2017 . ^ Susanne Koelbl (14 June 2011). "Last Bastion: Saudi Arabia's Silent Battle to Halt History". Der Spiegel. Riyadh . Retrieved 26 August 2013 . ^ "Head of Saudi's most daring newspaper resigns". Al Arabiya. 16 May 2010. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017 . Retrieved 30 April 2012 . ^ "Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears after entering Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Reuters. 7 October 2018. ^ "News snippet". Saudi Press Agency. 4 October 2018. ^ "Jamal Khashoggi: Washington Post blanks out missing Saudi writer's column". BBC. 5 October 2018. ^ Ingber, Sasha (4 October 2018). "Saudi Critic Vanishes After Visiting Consulate, Prompting Fear And Confusion". NPR. ^ Gall, Carlotta (3 October 2018). "What Happened to Jamal Khashoggi? Conflicting Reports Deepen a Mystery". The New York Times. ^ Coskun, Orhan (6 October 2018). "Exclusive: Turkish police believe Saudi journalist Khashoggi was killed in consulate - sources". Reuters. ^ a b c "Turkish police suspect Saudi journalist Khashoggi was killed at consulate". Middle East Eye. 6 October 2018. ^ Fahim, Kareem (6 October 2018). "Turkey concludes Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed by 'murder' team, sources say". The Washington Post. ^ a b "Saudi journalist 'killed inside consulate' '' Turkish sources". The Guardian. 6 October 2018. ^ a b c theguardian.com 9. October 2018: Khashoggi case: CCTV disappears from Saudi consulate in Turkey ^ "Gen. Asiri named deputy head of General Intelligence; Ibrahim Al-Omar is new SAGIA chairman". Saudi Gazette. 26 April 2017 . Retrieved 13 October 2017 . ^ "Arab Source: Khashoggi Murdered by Ex-Spokesman of Saudi-Led Coalition in War on Yemen". Fars News Agency . Retrieved 2018-10-10 . ^ "Saudi Crown Prince Discusses Trump, Aramco, Arrests: Transcript". www.bloomberg.com . Retrieved 10 October 2018 . ^ "Saudi Arabia's US ambassador condemns 'malicious leaks and grim rumors' surrounding Khashoggi disappearance". Arab News . Retrieved 10 October 2018 . ^ Gul Tuysuz; Sheena McKenzie (9 October 2018). "Turkey's President: Saudis should prove missing journalist left consulate". CNN. ^ Borger, Julian (9 October 2018). "Jamal Khashoggi: US calls on Saudi Arabia to be 'transparent' about missing journalist". The Guardian. ^ politico.com 9 October 2018: 'I know nothing': Trump's stance toward missing Saudi journalist sparks concern ^ "After Six Days, Trump 'Concerned' Over Saudi Journalist Disappearance in Turkey". Haaretz. 9 October 2018. External links [ edit ] Jamal Khashoggi on Twitter
Press Release | Press Releases | Press | U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont
10.10.18In a letter to President Donald Trump, U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Wednesday triggered an investigation and Global Magnitsky sanctions determination regarding the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post. Khashoggi has not been heard from since he entered a Saudi consulate in Istanbul last Tuesday afternoon.
The letter was also signed by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Tom Udall (D-N.M).
Text of the letter is included below.
Dear Mr. President:
The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act requires the President, upon receipt of a request from the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, to determine whether a foreign person is responsible for an extrajudicial killing, torture, or other gross violation of internationally recognized human rights against an individual exercising freedom of expression, and report to the Committee within 120 days with a determination and a decision on the imposition of sanctions on that foreign person or persons.
The recent disappearance of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi suggests that he could be a victim of a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights, which includes ''torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges and trial, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, and other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person.'' Therefore, we request that you make a determination on the imposition of sanctions pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act with respect to any foreign person responsible for such a violation related to Mr. Khashoggi. Our expectation is that in making your determination you will consider any relevant information, including with respect to the highest ranking officials in the Government of Saudi Arabia.
BACKGROUND
Under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the president, upon receipt of a letter from the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, must make a determination and is authorized to impose sanctions with respect to a foreign person responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights violations against individuals who seek to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote human rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression.
Press ContactDavid Carle: 202-224-3693
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Google Pixel 3 'Call Screen' feature is an attempt to end telemarketer calls - Business Insider
Google is trying to end telemarketer calls on smartphones through a new Android feature named "Call Screen." The feature lets you use Google Assistant to answer phone calls; it instantly transcribes the phone call and lets you choose if you want to pick up. If it's a telemarketer, the call can be instantly marked as spam.The feature is rolling out to Pixel 3 smartphones first, but "comes to the entire Pixel family next month." "You'll never have to talk to another telemarketer," Google product manager Liza Ma said Tuesday morning to raucous applause.
Ma had just introduced Call Screen, a new feature built into Android on Google's Pixel line of smartphones. The service is Google's latest attempt to curb telemarketing calls on smartphones.
The service enables Pixel phone users to screen phone calls in a more active way than simply looking at the number and ignoring it or declining.
By using Call Screen, Google's software answers the phone call for you and transcribes the caller's response in real time. Like this:
Google
In this way, Call Screen is an extension of how Google's Pixel phones already operate.
As it is, Google's Pixel phones warn users about suspected spam numbers '-- telemarketers '-- and allow for outright filtration of all such calls. With Call Screen, that function is taken one step further.
Whether it will work is another question. That's due to the way that telemarketing services catalog their phone number databases. These services track whether numbers they call answer attempted outreach. Numbers that receive a pick-up are subsequently marked as answered phone numbers, and those numbers are targeted.
Given that telemarketing services often use number-spoofing services, which enable them to hide their identity as another phone number, it can be hard to mark numbers as spam.
Worse, if Call Screen is flagged as a "pickup" by telemarketers, it could result in more calls. We'll have to wait and see how it works in real life to know for sure.
In the meantime, check out a video of the new Call Screen feature in action right here:
Now tell us what you think!
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EpiPens used by millions of allergy sufferers have flaws, says coroner | Daily Mail Online
EpiPens routinely doled out by the NHS and used by millions of allergy sufferers across the world have potentially fatal flaws and are not fit for purpose, a coroner has said.
Dr Sean Cummings, who presided over the inquest of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who died of an allergic reaction after eating a Pret a Manger sandwich, has slammed the pens as 'inherently unsafe' because they are too short to reach muscle and don't contain enough adrenaline.
The 15-year-old passed away in a French hospital in 2016 despite being given two EpiPen injections from her father on a flight to Nice after eating a Pret sandwich that failed to fully list ingredients.
In a damning report written after Natasha's inquest, Dr Cummings has demanded answers from Epipen manufacturer Pfizer over the inadequate length of the needle and the dosage in the device.
Around 250,000 people in the UK rely on auto-injectors, of which the most popular is EpiPen, manufactured by Pfizer. Figures show around 3.6 million prescriptions for EpiPens are dished out in the US each year.
They are available on prescription in the UK and are thought to cost the NHS around £50 for a twin-pack - but the same product costs up to $700 (£531) in the US.
Dr Sean Cummings presided over Natasha Ednan-Laperouse's inquest, who died of an allergic reaction after eating a Pret a Manger sandwich
Dr Sean Cummings slammed the pens as being 'inherently unsafe' because they are too short to reach muscle and don't contain enough adrenaline (stock EpiPen)
Patients with allergies to foods such as peanuts are told to carry with them at all times in case they suffer a reaction.
In a damning report published after Natasha's inquest, Dr Cummings warned: 'The use of needles which access only subcutaneous tissue and not muscle is in my view inherently unsafe.'
The UK Resuscitation Council, a professional body established in 1983, states adrenaline injection needles should be at least 25mm, to ensure they reach muscle to allow it to work quicker. Patients often have to stab through thick clothing to administer the shot of adrenaline in an emergency.
But for some adults, mainly those who are obese, the body recommends the needle of an auto-injector should be around 38mm. For toddlers, it should be at least 16mm.
HOW DO EPIPENS WORK? For countless allergy sufferers, an 'auto-injector' is a potential lifesaver.
These are spring-loaded syringes that give a shot of adrenaline to stop a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylactic shock.
This can cause a catastrophic drop in blood pressure and trigger a cardiac arrest, or the airways swell so much it can become hard to breathe.
About 20 people in the UK die as a result each year.
Adrenaline is thought to halt this process - how is not quite clear - and those with severe allergies are prescribed an autoinjector such as an EpiPen (there is a variety of brands), loaded with epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, to carry at all times.
In order to work quickly enough, the needle needs to get the adrenaline into the muscle below the fat layer directly under the skin.
Once it's in the muscle, the adrenaline gets into the bloodstream, taking effect within five minutes.
EpiPens, which are distributed around the world by Pennsylvania-based firm Mylan, who own the rights to the product, have a 16mm-long needle.
The UK Resuscitation Council, a professional body established in 1983, states adrenaline injection needles should be at least 25mm, to ensure they reach muscle to allow it to work quicker.
The body, headed by Professor Jonathan Wylie, also recommends that auto-injectors provide a dose of around 500 micrograms of adrenaline. But EpiPens contain only 300mcg.
EpiPens, which are distributed around the world by Pennsylvania-based firm Mylan, who own the rights to the product, have a 16mm-long needle.
The Resuscitation Council, headed by Professor Jonathan Wylie, also recommends that auto-injectors provide a dose of around 500 micrograms of adrenaline.
But Dr Cummings, in his report of Natasha's death, highlighted that an EpiPen contains only 300mcg - compared to the 500mcg found in an Emerade auto-injector.
He added the combination of 'an inadequate dose of adrenaline and an inadequate length needle raises serious safety concerns', The Times reports.
Because of a global shortage of EpiPens, some patients in the UK have been given an EpiPen Junior - the child's version of the life-saving gadget. But they contain only 0.15mg of adrenaline - half the adult dose - and have a 13mm needle.
The issues were previously raised in the inquest but now Dr Cummings has demanded answers from officials over his concerns about EpiPens.
Dr Cummings sent his report to Clive Schlee, chief executive of Pret-a-Manger, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the chief executive of Pfizer, and Michael Gove, secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He gave them 56 days to respond.
An MHRA spokesperson said: 'Natasha's death was a tragedy and our heart goes out to her family at this difficult time. Epipens have a good safety record and situations like this are incredibly rare.
'Patient safety is our highest priority and our role, as regulator, is to make sure the medicines you and your family take are safe and effective.
'As with all medicines, the safety of Epipens is carefully monitored and we will consider any recommendations we receive from the coroner, as well as other sources of information about Epipens, and act as needed to protect public health.'
A spokesperson for The Anaphylaxis Campaign said: 'It is important to note that The European Medicines Agency (EMA) completed a review of all adrenaline auto-injectors approved in the EU in 2017 and concluded that manufactures should carry out studies in humans to fully understand when and how much adrenaline reaches the blood stream, and how quickly and effectively it acts on body tissues when given through an auto-injector.
'These studies have started and will help to inform future recommendations for adrenaline auto-injectors.'
Natasha begged her father to help her before collapsing on a British Airways flight to Nice. She fell ill within three minutes of consuming the baguette she bought at Pret's Heathrow Terminal 5 branch.
She believed the sandwich, which contained artichoke, olive and tapenade, was safe to eat because sesame was not listed on the packaging.
But Natasha started complaining of an itchy throat before hives broke out on her neck and midriff 20 minutes after take-off. Her father then gave her two EpiPens in the plane's toilet.
Natasha, who was flying with BA to Nice with her father and a friend, later suffered a cardiac arrest on board and died in a French hospital.
Dr Cumming's claims come amid a global shortage of EpiPens, which are prescribed by doctors in the UK but can be purchased by online pharmacies for around £45.
There are no official figures on how many EpiPens remain in the UK '' but many pharmacies have reported that they do not have any of the auto-injectors left.
The two other brands available in the UK, Jext and Emerade, are now also hard to find. Emerade's adult version has a 24mm long needle and contains 500mcg of adrenaline. Jext's adult version contains 300mcg and has a 16mm long needle - similar to an EpiPen.
Regulators last month certified the use of some out-of-date EpiPens in the UK.
Dr Cummings sent his report to Clive Schlee, chief executive of Pret-a-Manger, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the chief executive of Pfizer, and Michael Gove, secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
EpiPen and EpiPen Junior devices, supplied by Pennsylvania-based firm Mylan, have faced shortages in the UK, US and other countries for months
Children with severe allergies are not allowed to go to school without $700 EpiPen amid nationwide shortage of the life-saving drug Children with severe allergies across the US are being forced to stay home from school due to a nationwide EpiPen shortage.
Chiquita Morris said her five-year-old son Eden was sent home on his first day of kindergarten at Spanaway Elementary School in Spanaway, Washington.
She told KIRO 7 school officials told her that, due to her son's severe allergies, he wouldn't be able to attend class until he had an EpiPen on him.
For more than a year, Morris says she's been trying to get her hands on the $700 injector, but with no luck.
But the school district argues there's nothing it can do because state law requires children with 'life-threatening condition' to have the medication on file prior to attending school.
With as many as two students affected by this in every classroom in the US, parents are calling on schools to have back-up EpiPens - or generic versions - on hand until their pharmacies can fill prescriptions for them.
Chiquita Morris said her five-year-old son Eden was sent home on his first day of kindergarten at Spanaway Elementary School in Spanaway, Washington, because he didn't have an EpiPen on him for his severe allergies
The MHRA said the shelf-life of some batches of adult-use EpiPens can be extended by four months. But it did not apply to EpiPen Junior versions.
ALKAbell", the Danish company that manufactures rival device Jext, said it was 'doing all we can to meet the increased demand' when asked about the shortage earlier this year.
Cases of anaphylaxis have increased and so there is great demand for auto-injectors. According to NHS figures, 325,785 auto-injectors were prescribed in 2016, the most recent period for which figures are available.
The first indications of the global shortage came in April when Mylan warned of supply problems. The crucial devices are used by allergy patients during a deadly anaphylactic shock - which can kill in minutes.
Patients jab the needle into their thigh, giving them an immediate dose of adrenaline to temporarily stop symptoms and allow them enough time to reach hospital.
EpiPens, which are distributed around the world by Pennsylvania-based firm Mylan, who own the rights to the product, have a 16mm-long needle. Emerade, an alternative auto-injector, has a 24mm long needle
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU CAN'T GET HOLD OF AN EPIPEN? ADVICE FROM EXPERTS IN THE UK Do not dispose of expired devices before receiving a new one. Remember, the four-month extension on expiry dates is advice from the Department of Health and Social Care/MHRAKeep trying. Anyone who doesn't have an auto-injector and can't get one should call all the pharmacies in their area until they find one that still has stock. Getting one may involve travelling. Be quick '' due to high demand, pharmacists won't reserve auto-injectors.One auto-injector is enough for most people, though those with more severe problems who carry two doses should continue to do so.Take extra care to avoid allergens. Dr Pamela Ewan, consultant allergist at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, says: 'Most allergic reactions can be treated with antihistamines.'Small studies show that EpiPens can remain potent for years. Researchers in California found EpiPens that were 50 months out of date contained at least 90 per cent of the stated amount of the adrenaline. The drug does not become toxic.Ask your child's school to go nut-free. Dr Adrian Morris, an allergy doctor at the Surrey Allergy Clinic, says: 'Otherwise, make sure your school knows about your child's triggers and takes steps to minimise any contact during the school day.'Schools may have a stock of EpiPens as they can buy them without prescription. If you can't get one, write to your child's teacher to see if there is one on site. If your child has severe allergies, and you cannot get an auto-injector then you could be justified in keeping them away from school. Dr Morris said: 'Children may have to be kept at home and out of harm's way.'In extreme cases, Dr Morris suggests asking your doctor for ampoules of adrenaline and syringes. 'The GP may need to prescribe the age- appropriate amounts and instruct the parent how to inject this into the child in a situation of anaphylaxis.'Never try to make your own EpiPen, as some people are advocating online, says Dr Morris. 'They can fail and it's really not a safe and reliable option.'If you're travelling by air, the Anaphylaxis Campaign advises: 'Stick to plain foods without sauces and dressings and take safe, non-perishable snacks with you. If you don't know what's in the food, don't eat it.' Some airlines have removed peanut snacks from flights, but you should carry wipes to clean surfaces on the aircraft to minimise the risk of skin contact with traces on seat-back trays and armrests.In an emergency '' whether or not you have an auto-injector '' call 999 or go to your nearest accident & emergency department, says Dr Ewan.Children with severe allergies across the US are being forced to stay home from school due to a nationwide EpiPen shortage, DailyMail.com reported yesterday.
Chiquita Morris said her five-year-old son Eden was sent home on his first day of kindergarten at Spanaway Elementary School in Spanaway, Washington.
School officials reportedly told her that, due to her son's severe allergies, he wouldn't be able to attend class until he had an EpiPen on him.
Figures state there were around 3.6 million Americans who were prescribed an EpiPen in 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In the US, EpiPens cost around $700 (£531). Mylan faced an outpouring of criticism after it raised the price of a pack of two in 2016. The same package cost $100 in 2008.
Martin Shkreli - the 'Pharma Bro' who hiked the price of HIV medication Daraprim by 5,000 per cent - defended the firm two years ago.
Officials at the US Food and Drug Administration have previously blasted the firm for deaths and illnesses reported after using faulty products.
The agency said last September these deaths would have been preventable had the firm tested its products or investigated malfunctioning reports more thoroughly.
The FDA granted approval to the first generic alternative for the EpiPen in August. It allowed Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals to market its auto-injector.
Australia has been struck repeatedly by the global supply issues over EpiPens, which are the only approved adrenaline jab in the country.
Health officials in Australia were forced to keep extending warnings of a nationwide shortage as patients were left fearing for their lives, it was reported in April.
New USMS Child Recovery Unit Recovers 123 Children During 1-Day Operation
Detroit, MI '¬'' The U.S. Marshals Service - Detroit Missing Child Recovery Unit, U.S. Marshals Service Sex Offender Investigations Branch, Michigan State Police and law enforcement officers from Wayne County agencies participated in Operation MISafeKid, a missing juvenile sweep to identify and recover missing children from the area with an emphasis on locating victims of sex trafficking.The one-day initiative took place Sept. 26 throughout Wayne County. The USMS DMCRU coordinated with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, HUD-OIG, Detroit Police Department and the Michigan State Police and investigated missing child case files prior to the operation. Participating officers were given the case files and began investigating their whereabouts by visiting last known addresses, friend'¬'s homes and schools in hopes of finding them in a safe place.
Out of 301 files of missing children, 123 were identified and recovered safely during the operation. All 123 children were physically located and interviewed -- standard protocol for the Michigan State Police. All of the children located were interviewed about potentially being sexually victimized or used in a sex trafficking ring during their period of time that they were deemed missing. Three cases were identified as being possible sex trafficking cases, and one homeless teen was transported back to the command post after it was discovered that he had not had anything to eat in three days. He was then debriefed and turned over to Child Protective Services for aftercare.
This is the first time an operation of this kind has been conducted in Wayne County. USMS DMCRU was requested to assist on 30 missing child cases two weeks prior to the sweep. These cases were adopted by the U.S. Marshals Service and assigned to deputy U.S. marshals. DMCRU located and recovered nine children prior to the sweep and an additional seven during the operation. The Michigan State Police Clearing House has asked for continued assistance on the remaining 14 cases. Additionally, information was obtained by DMCRU on two missing children in Texas and one in Minnesota. DMCRU has been requested to assist on these recoveries and is actively investigating them at this time.
The Eastern District of Michigan is fully committed to assisting state and local agencies with locating and recovering missing children and the prevention of their falling victim to sex trafficking. The Detroit Missing Child Recovery Unit is tasked with investigating and recovering missing children upon request by a law enforcement agency currently attempting to locate a missing child. The message to the missing children and their families that we wish to convey is that we will never stop looking for you.
Agencies involved in the operation included the USMS Detroit DMCRU (SOIB), Michigan State Police, Allen Park Police Department, Canton Police Department, Dearborn Heights Police Department, Detroit Police Department, Detroit Public Schools Police Department, FBI, Flat Rock Police Department, Inkster Police Department, Northville Township Police Department, Plymouth Police Department, Redford Township Police Department, Riverview Police Department, Romulus Police Department, Trenton Police Department, Van Buren Township Police Department, Wayne Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff'¬'s Department as well as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and its Children'¬'s Protective Services (CPS) and Vista Maria Juvenile Detention Center.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
####America'¬'s Oldest Federal Law Enforcement Agency
Making the world's first blockchain phone call '' Pundi X '' Medium
A new path to decentralization: Function XDear Pundians,
At Pundi X, we believe in harnessing blockchain technology and find ways to integrate it into people's everyday life and make it better.
To this end we never stop looking for ways to find and create new applications for blockchain. It's this spirit that has driven us to create the world's first working blockchain-powered point of sales device.
And today it's this that has led us to bring blockchain to the world of telephony, data transmission and storage; a world far beyond financial transactions and transfers.
This morning during day 2 of the XBlockchain Summit at the Inaya Putri Bali, we had a public demonstration and made the world's first blockchain phone call on our latest device: the XPhone.
Unlike traditional phones which require a centralized mobile carrier, XPhone runs independently without the need for that.
And it runs on another Pundi X invention, one which holds even more potential: the Function X blockchain. We've developed our own chain which we believe will answer many of the challenges facing the many blockchain platforms today by increasing its scale, ability to publish DApps and achieve true decentralization. It will also revolutionize the way we transmit data of all kinds: giving rise to a truly decentralized internet.
Function X is not just a public chain. It is a total decentralized solution. It consists of five essential components: Function X OS, Function X Blockchain, Function X IPFS, FXTP Protocol, and the Function X Docker. All five have one sole purpose which is to decentralize all apps, website, communications and data.
The Function X OS is based off the Android OS 9.0, so there is a backward compatibility with the Android apps. For developers and users transitioning to the Function X platform, it would be relatively easy as the knowledge and experience from developing and using Android will be transferable.
We also believe it will be easier than ever to create and publish new decentralized applications using the protocol.
In the Function X ecosystem, we use a different system to the internet's http protocol, consisting of F(X) OS, F(X) Chain F(X) FXTP, F(X) Docker and F(X) IPFS to serve the decentralized web requests.
Every device in the Function X ecosystem will be a node and each will have its own address and private key, uniquely linked to their node names, not unlike traditional URL and IP addresses.
Once registered, if someone wants to access my public data or content, they can just enter FXTP://xxx.pitt. This is similar to what we do for the traditional https:// protocol.
Whether you are sharing photos, data, files or a website, they can be accessed through this path.
And if my friends would like to contact me, they can call, text or email my XPhone by entering 'call.pitt', 'message.pitt', or 'mail.pitt'.
The transmission of data runs on a complex exchange of public and private key data and encryption but it can guarantee communication without interception and gives users direct access to the data shared by others. Any info that is sent or transacted over the Function X Blockchain will also be recorded on the chain.
And that is how a decentralized system for communication works.
We'll have more to say about the availability of the XPhone and the further applications of Function X in the near future.
But today we've delivered proof of a working concept; one that upends centralized communications and adds new dimensions to blockchain technology.
The XPhone OS is currently available to phone manufacturers for testing. The detailed information of Function X will be available on functionx.io on October 15th. The Function X blockchain, FXTP, IPFS, and XPhone will be officially launched in Q2 2019.
We look forward to having you to join the world of Function X.
Pitt HuangCTO and Co-founderPundi X
Like It Or Not, Police Drones Are Coming! | Yanko Design
I'm not sure whether to feel excited or terrified of this concept! It's called Audi Patrone and it aims to provide police officers with the advantage of virtual visibility via drone from the comfort of the department.
The stealthy design features a 4-rotor system and jet propulsion for flying through town to investigate sudden emergencies or hovering over areas to provide urban reconnaissance. Equipped with powerful lights, cameras, and a VR system that puts officers in the action without actually putting them in action. Do I see everyday citizens being okay with this? NO! Is it in the direction of tech we might expect from law enforcement in the near future anyway? YES.
Designer: Jin-jung Young
Why America's Lead in High-Tech Startups Is Eroding - CityLab
Shen Haiyin, the co-founder and CEO of electric-vehicle startup Singulato, attends the launch ceremony of an electric SUV in Beijing in April 2017. Jason Lee/ReutersIt used to be that 95 percent of global startup and venture-capital activity happened in the U.S. Today, it's just over one-half.
Lately, there's been talk of a shift in innovation and high-tech startups from expensive, increasingly unaffordable hubs like Silicon Valley to more affordable, up-and-coming locales such as Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cincinnati, and Nashville. I'm all for it: Having spent nearly two decades in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon University, I have long been a fan of the incredible innovation capacity and entrepreneurial potential of that great city.
But according to new data I analyzed with my colleague and collaborator Ian Hathaway (a leading expert in entrepreneurship and venture capital), the more troubling reality for the United States is that an even bigger ''rise of the rest'' is occurring in cities in Asia, Europe, and elsewhere in the world. Our report released on Friday compiles the most detailed data yet on global startup cities, tracking venture-capital investment in nations and cities around the world. Using data from PitchBook, a leading source of information on venture-capital investment, it tracks that investment in more than 100,000 startup companies in 300-plus global cities over the period 2005 to 2017.
Up until very recently, the U.S. was far and away the dominant player in high technology backed by venture capital. Game-changing companies like Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Genentech, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Uber, Airbnb, and WeWork are just a few well-known examples of venture-backed companies that have introduced new technologies and spurred the rise of whole new industries.
But America's long-standing lead in VC-backed high tech is now in jeopardy, according to our analysis. About two-and-a-half decades ago, the U.S. was home to more than 95 percent of global startup and venture-capital activity. Today, that share has been cut to a little more than one-half. And the pace of that decline is accelerating, with more than half of the fall occurring in just the past five years.
Analysis of PitchBook and VentureSource data. (Richard Florida and Ian Hathaway)Analysis of PitchBook data. Note: Values are the country share of global activity spanning each of the three-year periods. (Richard Florida and Ian Hathaway)While it is true that venture-capital investment in the U.S. continues to rise, having reached more than $90 billion in 2017, such investment is growing even faster in other parts of the world, expanding by nearly 375 percent'--more than twice the 160-percent increase here. China saw the largest jump, its share expanding from 4 percent of global venture investment in 2005 to a nearly a quarter of it by 2017. But it's more than China. Nations including India, Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Israel, and Canada have all seen substantial increases in venture-capital investment in their startup companies.
Analysis of PitchBook data. Note: Values are the levels of activity (in $ millions) spanning the three-year period 2015-17. (Richard Florida and Ian Hathaway)Analysis of PitchBook data. Note: Values are the percentage contribution to global change between the three-year periods 2010-12 and 2015-17. (Richard Florida and Ian Hathaway)When it comes to high-tech innovation and startups, the real action happens in tight clusters of activity within cities and urban centers. And here, the relative decline of the U.S. and the rise of the global rest is, if anything, even more palpable. The San Francisco Bay Area remains the world's leading startup city, with roughly 20 percent of global VC investment. But a growing number of global cities are gaining ground, and quickly.
Analysis of PitchBook data. Note: Values are the percentage change between the three-year periods 2010-12 and 2015-17. (Richard Florida and Ian Hathaway)Beijing and London have joined the Bay Area, New York, and Los Angeles in the club of what Hathaway and I term Superstar startup cities. In our second tier, Elite hubs, Shanghai, Singapore, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Berlin, Paris, and Stockholm join Austin, Seattle, San Diego, and Chicago. And in the third tier, Advanced global startup cities, Toronto, Sydney, Dublin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong join Raleigh-Durham, Miami, Denver, and D.C.
Of America's rise-of-the-rest cities, only two or three'--Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Minneapolis'--make the list of the world's 60 or so established startup cities. The majority of them, such as Nashville, Detroit, Indianapolis, Columbus, and Cincinnati, are part of a separate group of 40 or so emerging tech hubs, alongside smaller U.S. college towns like Ann Arbor, Madison, and Bozeman, and rapidly growing Asian hubs like Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Calcutta, and Manila.
Ultimately, the global geography of startup cities remains incredibly clustered, concentrated, and spiky. Just the top six'--San Francisco and nearby Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, Beijing, and Shanghai'--attract more than half of all venture-capital investment, despite being home to only 1 percent of the global population. And just four of those cities'--San Francisco, New York, Beijing, and Shanghai'--accounted for half of the global increase in VC investment in the past half-decade.
The globalization of startup cities and venture capital is geographically uneven. Just 24 cities account for three-quarters of global venture-capital investment, despite housing just 4 percent of the world's population. (Richard Florida and Ian Hathaway)The pattern is clear: The rise of the rest is occurring, and it is mainly occurring in cities outside the United States. Across the world, innovators and entrepreneurs are increasingly realizing that they no longer have to come to Silicon Valley or elsewhere in the U.S. to launch their startup, and they are more often starting their new companies at home.
As Hathaway and I outlined in the Wall Street Journal this past weekend, part of the reason is that other nations and global cities have gotten wise to America's long-term advantage and increased their investments in universities and R&D; made their cities denser and more attractive; and worked hard to retain their talent at home and opened their borders to global talent. The eroding advantage of the U.S. is partly self-inflicted, because it has clamped down on immigration and become far less open to foreign entrepreneurs and innovators.
The U.S. still accounts for roughly half of all venture-capital investment in high-tech startups. But if the trend continues as it has, it is more likely than ever that the next game-changing innovation will be launched not in Silicon Valley, Boston, Seattle, or New York, but in Shanghai, Bangalore, London, Berlin, or Tel Aviv.
CityLab editorial fellow Nicole Javorsky provided editorial assistance with this article.
About the Author Richard FloridaRichard Florida is a co-founder and editor at large of CityLab and a senior editor at The Atlantic. He is a university professor in the University of Toronto's School of Cities and Rotman School of Management, and a distinguished fellow at New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate.
Today, fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks, the explosion of a bomb remains a very big deal in this country. Detonating even the simplest pipe bomb, whether the work of some fringe militant group or a Unabomber-like kook, can draw the attentions of literally hundreds of journalists, photographers and law-enforcement personnel, not to mention rivet the rest of the country, as has been the case with the weekend's casualty-free bombings in New York and New Jersey.
It may be hard to recall now, but there was a time when most Americans were decidedly more blas(C) about bombing attacks. This was during the 1970s, when protest bombings in America were commonplace, especially in hard-hit cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Nearly a dozen radical underground groups, dimly remembered outfits such as the Weather Underground, the New World Liberation Front and the Symbionese Liberation Army, set off hundreds of bombs during that tumultuous decade'--so many, in fact, that many people all but accepted them as a part of daily life. As one woman sniffed to a New York Post reporter after an attack by a Puerto Rican independence group in 1977: ''Oh, another bombing? Who is it this time?'''
The underground groups of the 1970s were a kind of grungy, bell-bottomed coda to the protests of the 1960s; their members were mostly onetime student leftists who refused to give up the utopian dreams of 1968. While little remembered today, there was a time during the early 1970s when the U.S. government'--the Nixon Administration'--considered these groups a genuine threat to national security. Alarmed by a series of Weatherman attacks, Nixon told J. Edgar Hoover during a June 1970 Oval Office meeting that ''revolutionary terror'' represented the single greatest threat to American society. Hoover promised to do what he could, which wasn't much.
As paranoid as Nixon could be, it was hard to argue with his line of thinking: Bombing attacks were growing by the day. They had begun as crude, simple things, mostly Molotov cocktails college radicals hurled toward ROTC buildings during the late 1960s. The first actual bombing campaign, the work of a group of New York City radicals led by a militant named Sam Melville, featured attacks on a dozen buildings around Manhattan between August and November 1969, when Melville and most of his pals were arrested.
Weather's attacks began three months later, and by 1971 protest bombings had spread across the country. In a single eighteen-month period during 1971 and 1972 the FBI counted an amazing 2,500 bombings on American soil, almost five a day. Because they were typically detonated late at night, few caused serious injury, leading to a kind of grudging public acceptance. The deadliest underground attack of the decade, in fact, killed all of four people, in the January 1975 bombing of a Wall Street restaurant. News accounts rarely carried any expression or indication of public outrage.
Consider what happened when another Puerto Rican group detonated a small bomb in a Bronx cinema while a rapt crowd watched a movie called The Liberation of L.B. Jones. When police ordered everyone to leave, an NYPD spokesman complained, the audience angry refused, demanding to see the rest of the movie. When police insisted, ''They about tore the place apart.''
The epidemic of bombings eased as the decade wore on, though this wasn't readily apparent in San Francisco, where explosions remained so prevalent that, after an especially nasty series of attacks in 1976, an FBI spokesman termed the city ''the Belfast of North America.''' And the violence actually grew more deadly as the number of underground groups dwindled and grew more desperate; the deadliest year for underground violence was 1981, when eleven people were killed in bombings and bank robberies gone bad.
Why do we recall so little of this? It's a good question. Conservatives say it's because the liberal media wanted to let the radicals off easy. It's also possible that, as a people, we only remember the events we want to. Yet another possibility is that the violence of the 1970s was forgotten in large part because none of the participants'--both the leftists facing prison, and the authorities who chased them in vain all those years'--had much incentive to make us remember. With no one telling the story, the story melted away.
Bryan Burrough is the author of Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence.
The Good Censor - GOOGLE LEAK | Facebook | Censorship
From elections and political propaganda, trolls and gendered bigotry, to hate speech and religious extremism,
debates about who can and should be heard on the internet rage like never before.
As governments struggle to apply existing legislation to the Wild West online,
users are asking if the openness of the internet should be celebrated after all.
Bots and troll farms lash out at free thought and controversial opinion, while faceless users attack each other without empathy.
Free speech becomes a social, economic and political weapon.
Automated technologies lack the sophistication to adjudicate effectively. In response, people think twice before airing their thoughts aloud, while critique is buried under avalanches of automated rebuttals, vitriolic attacks and nonsensical rhetoric.
As the tech firms struggle to deal with the issues, the public and governments grow increasingly impatient.
Yet, amongst all this negativity, seeds of political harmony, gender and racial equality, and tolerance are sown on the internet.
Is it possible to have an open and inclusive internet
while simultaneously limiting political oppression and despotism, hate, violence and harassment?
Who should be responsible for censoring 'unwanted' conversation, anyway? Governments? Users? Google?
'THE GOOD CENSOR': Leaked Google Briefing Admits Abandonment of Free Speech for 'Safety And Civility' | Breitbart
An internal company briefing produced by Google and leaked exclusively to Breitbart News argues that due to a variety of factors, including the election of President Trump, the ''American tradition'' of free speech on the internet is no longer viable.Despite leaked video footage showing top executives declaring their intention to ensure that the rise of Trump and the populist movement is just a ''blip'' in history, Google has repeatedly denied that the political bias of its employees filter into its products.
But the 85-page briefing, titled ''The Good Censor,'' admits that Google and other tech platforms now ''control the majority of online conversations'' and have undertaken a ''shift towards censorship'' in response to unwelcome political events around the world.
Examples cited in the document include the 2016 election and the rise of Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) in Germany.
Responding to the leak, an official Google source said the document should be considered internal research, and not an official company position.
The briefing labels the ideal of unfettered free speech on the internet a ''utopian narrative'' that has been ''undermined'' by recent global events as well as ''bad behavior'' on the part of users. It can be read in full below.
It acknowledges that major tech platforms, including Google, Facebook and Twitter initially promised free speech to consumers. ''This free speech ideal was instilled in the DNA of the Silicon Valley startups that now control the majority of our online conversations,'' says the document.
The briefing argues that Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are caught between two incompatible positions, the ''unmediated marketplace of ideas'' vs. ''well-ordered spaces for safety and civility.''
The first approach is described as a product of the ''American tradition'' which ''prioritizes free speech for democracy, not civility.'' The second is described as a product of the ''European tradition,'' which ''favors dignity over liberty and civility over freedom.'' The briefing claims that all tech platforms are now moving toward the European tradition.
The briefing associates Google's new role as the guarantor of ''civility'' with the categories of ''editor'' and ''publisher.'' This is significant, given that Google, YouTube, and other tech giants publicly claim they are not publishers but rather neutral platforms '-- a categorization that grants them special legal immunities under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Elsewhere in the document, Google admits that Section 230 was designed to ensure they can remain neutral platforms for free expression.
Trump, Conspiracy Theorist
One of the reasons Google identifies for allegedly widespread public disillusionment with internet free speech is that it ''breeds conspiracy theories.'' The example Google uses? A 2016 tweet from then-candidate Donald Trump, alleging that Google search suppressed negative results about Hillary Clinton.
At the time, Google said that it suppressed negative autocomplete suggestions about everybody, not just Clinton. But it was comparatively easy to find such autocomplete results when searching for Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. Independent research from psychologist Dr. Robert Epstein also shows that Google search results (if not autocomplete results) did indeed favor Clinton in 2016.
Twice in the document, Google juxtaposes a factoid about ''Russian interference'' in American elections with pictures of Donald Trump. At one point, the document admits that tech platforms are changing their policies to pre-empt congressional action on foreign interference.
The document did not address the fact that, according to leading psychologists, the impact of foreign ''bots'' and propaganda on social media has a negligible impact on voters.
From Suggestions to Company Policy
It is unclear for whom the ''Good Censor'' was intended. What is clear, however, is that Google spent (or paid someone to spend) significant time and effort to produce it.
According to the briefing itself, it was the product of an extensive process involving ''several layers of research,'' including expert interviews with MIT Tech Review editor-in-chief Jason Pontin, Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer, and academic Kalev Leetaru. 35 cultural observers and 7 cultural leaders from seven countries on five continents were also consulted to produce it.
What is also clear is that many of the briefing's recommendations are now reflected in the policy of Google and its sibling companies.
For example, the briefing argues that tech companies will have to censor their platforms if they want to ''expand globally.'' Google is now constructing a censored search engine to gain access to the Chinese market.
The document also bemoans that the internet allows ''have a go commenters'' (in other words, ordinary people) to compete on a level playing field with ''authoritative sources'' like the New York Times. Google-owned YouTube now promotes so-called ''authoritative sources'' in its algorithm. The company did not specifically name which sources it would promote.
Key points in the briefing can be found at the following page numbers:
P2 '' The briefing states that ''users are asking if the openness of the internet should be celebrated after all'' and that ''free speech has become a social, economic, and political weapon.''P11 '' The briefing identifies Breitbart News as the media publication most interested in the topic of free speech.P12 '' The briefing says the early free-speech ideals of the internet were ''utopian.''P14 '' The briefing admits that Google, along with Twitter and Facebook, now ''control the majority of online conversations.''P15 '' Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is linked to Google's position as a platform for free expression. Elsewhere in the document (p68), Google and other platforms' move towards moderation and censorship is associated with the role of ''publisher'' '' which would not be subject to Section 230's legal protections.PP19-21 '' The briefing identifies several factors that allegedly eroded faith in free speech. The election of Donald Trump and alleged Russian involvement is identified as one such factor. The rise of the populist Alternative fur Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) party in Germany '' which the briefing falsely smears as ''alt-right'' '' is another.PP26-34 '' The briefing explains how ''users behaving badly'' undermines free speech on the internet and allows ''crummy politicians to expand their influence.'' The briefing bemoans that ''racists, misogynists, and oppressors'' are allowed a voice alongside ''revolutionaries, whistleblowers, and campaigners.'' It warns that users are ''keener to transgress moral norms'' behind the protection of anonymity.P37 '' The briefing acknowledges that China '' for which Google has developed a censored search engine '' has the worst track record on internet freedom.P45 '' After warning about the rise of online hate speech, the briefing approvingly cites Sarah Jeong, infamous for her hate speech against white males (Google is currently facing a lawsuit alleging it discriminates against white males, among other categories).P45 '' The briefing bemoans the fact that the internet has until recently been a level playing field, warning that ''rational debate is damaged when authoritative voices and 'have a go' commentators receive equal weighting.''P49 '' The document accuses President Trump of spreading the ''conspiracy theory'' that Google autocomplete suggestions unfairly favored Hillary Clinton in 2016. (Trump's suspicions were actually correct '' independent research has shown that Google did favor Clinton in 2016).P53 '' Free speech platform Gab is identified as a major destination for users who are dissatisfied with censorship on other platforms.P54 '' After warning about ''harassment'' earlier in the document, the briefing approvingly describes a 27,000-strong left-wing social media campaign as a ''digital flash mob'' engaged in ''friendly counter-commenting.''P57 '' The document juxtaposes a factoid about Russian election interference with a picture of Donald Trump.P63 '' The briefing admits that when Google, GoDaddy and CloudFlare simultaneously withdrew service from website The Daily Stormer, they were ''effectively booting it off the internet,'' a point also made by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the FCC in their subsequent warnings about online censorship.P66-68 '' The briefing argues that Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are caught between two incompatible positions, the ''unmediated marketplace of ideas'' vs. ''well-ordered spaces for safety and civility.'' The first is described as a product of the ''American tradition'' which ''prioritizes free speech for democracy, not civility.'' The second is described as a product of the ''European tradition,'' which ''favors dignity over liberty and civility over freedom.'' The briefing claims that all tech platforms are now moving toward the European tradition.P70 '' The briefing sums up the reasons for big tech's ''shift towards censorship,'' including the need to respond to regulatory demands and ''expand globally,'' to ''monetize content through its organization,'' and to ''protect advertisers from controversial content, [and] increase revenues.''P74-76 '' The briefing warns that concerns about censorship from major tech platforms have spread beyond the right-wing media into the mainstream.Read The Good Censor in full below:
The Good Censor '' GOOGLE LEAK by on Scribd
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter, Gab.ai and add him on Facebook. Email tips and suggestions to allumbokhari@protonmail.com.
Buy Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 - Digital Deluxe - Microsoft Store
Overview Compare editions Reviews Description Digital Deluxe Edition includes:- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 game- 2,400 Call of Duty Points**- Digital Edition Bonus Items- Digital Deluxe Bonus Items- Black Ops Pass*, which includes:--- "Classified," a Zombies Experience available at Launch--- 4 Additional All-New Zombies Experiences--- 12 Multiplayer Maps--- 4 Exclusive Blackout CharactersBlack Ops is back! Featuring gritty, grounded, fluid Multiplayer combat, the biggest Zombies offering ever with three full undead adventures at launch, and Blackout, where the universe of Black Ops comes to life in one massive battle royale experience.Multiplayer raises the bar, delivering the most thrilling grounded combat experience yet with a focus on tactical gameplay and player choice.Black Ops 4 delivers the biggest Day 1 Zombies offering ever with three full experiences at launch: IX, Voyage of Despair, and Blood of the Dead.In Blackout, Black Ops comes to life in one massive battle royale experience, combining Black Ops signature combat and the biggest map in Call of Duty® history.Black Ops Pass delivers the ultimate Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 experience. Whether you're a Multiplayer fan or part of the Zombies community, the Black Ops Pass is packed with new, epic content for every game mode, enhancing your Call of Duty experience.*Black Ops Pass (BOP) content is not final, is subject to change, and may not include all downloadable content available for the game. BOP content may not be available in all countries, and pricing and release dates may vary by platform. BOP content should be downloaded from the in-game store only; do not purchase separately, or you will be charged again. BOP content may be sold separately.**Call of Duty®: Points (CP) will be accessible in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 once CP are made available in game.(C) 2018 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS, and the shield logo are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are property of their respective owners.
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Russian Who Offered Hillary Clinton 'Dirt', Murdered in Helicopter Crash | Neon Nettle
Investigators confirm 'two bullets found in pilot's body' after Putin prosecutor killed
on 8th October 2018 @ 3.20pm
(C) press Russian Deputy Prosecutor-General Saak Karapetyan was killed when his helicopter crashedInvestigators have confirmed that the pilot who was flying the helicopter that crashed in Russia, killing everyone on board, including a high-ranking prosecutor who offered "dirt" on Hillary Clinton to the Trump Campaign, was shot twice before crashing the rotorcraft.
Deputy Prosecutor-General Saak Karapetyan was killed when his AS-350 helicopter crashed in Kostroma region northeast of Moscow last Wednesday.
All four occupants died during the crash, which was originally blamed on the helicopter being "overloaded," but now two bullets have been found in the pilot's body following an autopsy.
Russia's investigating authorities are now accused of attempting to cover-up the pilot's gunshot wounds along with evidence of gunshot damage to the helicopter.
Karapetyan, a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was connected to Moscow's alleged offers of "dirt" on Clinton to Donald Trump's election campaign.
The mysterious "dirt" was offered to Trump officials during the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting via the glamorous lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, in 2016.
The information Russia claimed to have on then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was reportedly provided by Prosecutor Karapetyan's office.
(C) press Natalia Veselnitskaya met with Trump official in 2016 to offer 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton provided by Karapetyan's officeAccording to the Daily Mail, 43-year-old lawyer Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner in Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign.
Veselnitskaya led a pro-Moscow campaign to overturn anti-corruption laws imposing sanctions on key senior Russian officials and organizations.
The US Magnitsky Act, signed into law by then-President Barack Obama in 2012, authorizes the government to sanction Russian human rights offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the US.
(C) press Karapetyan's helicopter crashed near Moscow, killing everyone on boardWhile overturning the law would have been Veselnitskaya's main aim, leaked emails saw her claim that she had dirt on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, allegedly given to her by Karapetyan's Prosecutor-General's Office.
Before his death this week, Karapetyan had been in charge of the Russian criminal investigations into the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.
He also led the investigation into the deaths of Putin's foe Boris Berezovsky, and dissident Alexander Litvinenko - which both took place on UK soil.
There are also extraordinary claims he was a channel of leaks to British, US and Swiss secret services.
(C) press Officials first claimed the helicopter was 'overloaded' causing it to crashRussian critics have claimed that all three of Karapetyan's criminal probes into the Skripal, Berezovsky and Litvinenko cases were aimed at masking Moscow's involvement in each case.
The shooting allegation is expected to increase speculation that the leading prosecutor was assassinated.
The official version is that the "overloaded" helicopter crashed after clipping trees in Kostroma region, killing Karapetyan, his nephew Areg Arutyunyan, 47, pilot Stanislav Mikhnov, and another passenger Viktor Kopteev, 54.
But respected Moscow journalist Sergei Dorenko has bluntly accused the investigating authorities of a cover-up in seeking to hide two bullet wounds to highly experienced 54-year-old pilot - and gunshot damage to the copter's blade.
(C) press Investigators found two bullets in the body of the pilot who was flying the helicopterThe claim that Mikhnov was shot immediately before the helicopter crash was made by Dorenko's Govorit Moskva radio station and promptly denied by the Investigative Committee (IC) - in charge of probing serious crime.
Dorenko retorted: "We have the official version that the pilot mistakenly touched the trees and the helicopter fell to the ground.
"But in fact, I suppose that the pilot was good and did not touch any trees.
"He did not take off at all.
"He was shot with two bullets in the back before this."
This leaves the possibility that someone else was at the controls when the helicopter took off and crashed - or that it was destroyed on the ground, killing all on board.
Dorenko said: "The IC decided that there were no gunshots'...
"So two 5.45 caliber bullets one of which broke through the pilot's blade are not to be considered. Why?"
He insisted: "There are two 5.45 bullets in the pilot'.... the blade is also pierced."
(C) press Saak Karapetyan, 58, had been in charge of the Russian criminal investigation into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, UKInvestigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko had insisted: "The information is not true.
"None of those killed in the crash has any gunshot wounds."
Reports say Karapetyan and his nephew Arutyunyan, 47, a senior customs official, were using the helicopter for a hunting trip.
The pilot landed near village Vonyshevo due to atrocious weather and the pair ordered a car to come and collect them.
Then they randomly met a villager Kopteev, who offered to show them the route to take a short flight to meet the car.
This is when the accident allegedly happened.
(C) press Veselnitskaya offered dirt on Hillary Clinton that was provided by the late Deputy Prosecutor-General Saak KarapetyanKopteev's relative heard the cracking of branches and the sound of the impact.
In the wake of the crash, there were anonymous claims from respected to "Kremlin insider" blogger nicknamed Nezygar suggesting that Karapetyan's death will "resolve a number of very painful issues" in the Russian government.
Among these, "it will stop leaks of highly confidential information to the West."
In particular, Karapetyan's death would prevent any future passing of information to the secret services of Britain, the, US and Switzerland, it was claimed.
Infamous St. Petersburg 'Troll Factory' Set on Fire
The office of Russia's infamous troll factory believed to be at the vanguard of Russia's information war has been set on fire in St. Petersburg overnight.
An investigation revealed last year that the secretive troll factory had rebranded itself as a media conglomerate with 16 news websites generating more than 30 million pageviews every month. Its operational hub, a website called FAN (Federal News Agency), is based a stone's throw from the troll farm's original location in northern St. Petersburg.
The Fontanka.ru news website cited police as saying that an unknown suspect broke the agency's ground-floor window and threw a Molotov cocktail inside at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
Surveillance footage published by FAN showed flames erupting at one of the empty workstations and a female staffer stationed on the opposite end quickly exiting the office.
''I believe this is tied to FAN's activities,'' its chief editor Yevgeny Zubarev said. ''We're most often attacked online, but these types of attacks have already taken place offline.''
FAN said its office came under another arson attack on the eve of the 2018 presidential elections in March.
The troll farm is believed to be run by billionaire restaurateur Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as President Vladimir Putin's ''cook.'' A U.S. special counsel indicted Prigozhin and 12 other Russians this year on charges of defrauding the U.S. government by interfering with its political process.
St. Petersburg police told the RBC news website that they were looking for the culprit and planned to launch criminal proceedings.
Errata Security: In which I have to debunk a second time
doubling-down on their discredited story of a secret Trump server. Tip for journalists: if you are going to argue against an expert debunking your story, try to contact that expert first, so they don't have to do what I'm going to do here, showing obvious flaws. Also, pay attention to the data.
The experts didn't find anythingThe story claims:
"I spoke with many DNS experts. They found the evidence strongly suggestive of a relationship between the Trump Organization and the bank".No, he didn't. He gave experts limited information and asked them whether it's consistent with a conspiracy theory. He didn't ask if it was "suggestive" of the conspiracy theory, or that this was the best theory that fit the data.
This is why "experts" quoted in the press need to go through "media training", to avoid getting your reputation harmed by bad journalists who try their best to put words in your mouth. You'll be trained to recognize bad journalists like this, and how not to get sucked into their fabrications.
Jean Camp isn't an expertOn the other hand, Jean Camp isn't an expert. I've never heard of her before. She gets details wrong. Take for example in this blogpost where she discusses lookups for the domain mail.trump-email.com.moscow.alfaintra.net. She says:
This query is unusual in that is merges two hostnames into one. It makes the most sense as a human error in inserting a new hostname in some dialog window, but neglected to hit the backspace to delete the old hostname.Uh, no. It's normal DNS behavior with non-FQDNs. If the lookup for a name fails, computers will try again, pasting the local domain on the end. In other words, when Twitter's DNS was taken offline by the DDoS attack a couple weeks ago, those monitoring DNS saw a zillion lookups for names like "
www.twitter.com.example.com".
I've reproduced this on my desktop by configuring the suffix moscow.alfaintra.net.
I then pinged "mail1.trump-email.com" and captured the packets. As you can see, after the initial lookups fail, Windows tried appending the suffix.
I don't know what Jean Camp is an expert of, but this is sorta a basic DNS concept. It's surprising she'd get it wrong. Of course, she may be an expert in DNS who simply had a brain fart (this happens to all of us), but looking across her posts and tweets, she doesn't seem to be somebody who has a lot of experience with DNS. Sorry for impugning her credibility, but that's the way the story is written. It demands that we trust the quoted "experts".
Call up your own IT department at Slate. Ask your IT nerds if this is how DNS operates. Note: I'm saying your average, unremarkable IT nerds can debunk an "expert" you quote in your story.
Understanding "spam" and "blacklists"The new article has a paragraph noting that the IP address doesn't appear on spam blocklists:
Was the server sending spam'--unsolicited mail'--as opposed to legitimate commercial marketing? There are databases that assiduously and comprehensively catalog spam. I entered the internet protocal address for mail1.trump-email.com to check if it ever showed up in Spamhaus and DNSBL.info. There were no traces of the IP address ever delivering spam.This is a profound misunderstanding of how these things work.
Colloquially, we call those sending mass marketing emails, like Cendyn, "spammers". But those running blocklists have a narrower definition. If emails contain an option to "opt-out" of future emails, then it's technically not "spam".
Cendyn is constantly getting added to blocklists when people complain. They spend considerable effort contacting the many organizations maintaining blocklists, proving they do "opt-outs", and getting "white-listed" instead of "black-listed". Indeed, the entire spam-blacklisting industry is a bit of scam -- getting white-listed often involves a bit of cash.
Those maintaining blacklists only go back a few months. The article is in error saying there's no record ever of Cendyn sending spam. Instead, if an address comes up clean, it means there's no record for the past few months. And, if Cendyn is in the white-lists, there would be no record of "spam" at all, anyway.
As somebody who frequently scans the entire Internet, I'm constantly getting on/off blacklists. It's a real pain. At the moment, my scanner address "209.126.230.71" doesn't appear to be on any blacklists. Next time a scan kicks off, it'll probably get added -- but only by a few, because most have white-listed it.
There is no IP address limitation
The story repeats the theory, which I already debunked, that the server has a weird configuration that limits who can talk to it:
The scientists theorized that the Trump and Alfa Bank servers had a secretive relationship after testing the behavior of mail1.trump-email.com using sites like Pingability. When they attempted to ping the site, they received the message ''521 lvpmta14.lstrk.net does not accept mail from you.''No, that's how Listrake (who is the one who actually controls the server) configures all their marketing servers. Anybody can confirm this themselves by ping all the servers in this range:
In case you don't want to do scans yourself, you can
look up on Shodan and see that there's at least 4000 servers around the Internet who give the same error message.
Again, go back to Chris Davis in your original story ask him about this. He'll confirm that there's nothing nefarious or weird going on here, that it's just how Listrak has decided to configure all it's spam-sending engines.
Either this conspiracy goes much deeper, with hundreds of servers involved, or this is a meaningless datapoint.
Where did the DNS logs come from?
Tea Leaves and Jean Camp are showing logs of private communications. Where did these logs come from? This information isn't public. It means somebody has done something like hack into Alfa Bank. Or it means researchers who monitor DNS (for maintaing DNS, and for doing malware research) have broken their NDAs and possibly the law.
The data is incomplete and inconsistent. Those who work for other companies, like Dyn, claim it doesn't match their own data. We have good reason to doubt these logs. There's a good chance that the source doesn't have as comprehensive a view as "Tea Leaves" claim. There's also a good chance the data has been manipulated.
Specifically, I have as source who claims records for trump-email.com were changed in June, meaning either my source or Tea Leaves is lying.
Until we know more about the source of the data, it's impossible to believe the conclusions that
only Alfa Bank was doing DNS lookups.
By the way, if you are a company like Alfa Bank, and you don't want the "research" community from seeing leaked intranet DNS requests, then you should probably reconfigure your DNS resolvers. You'll want to look into RFC7816 "query minimization", supported by the Unbound and Knot resolvers.
Do the graphs show interesting things?
The original "Tea Leaves" researchers are clearly acting in bad faith. They are trying to twist the data to match their conclusions. For example, in the original article, they claim that peaks in the DNS activity match campaign events. But looking at the graph, it's clear these are unrelated. It display the common cognitive bias of seeing patterns that aren't there.
Likewise, they claim that the timing throughout the day matches what you'd expect from humans interacting back and forth between Moscow and New York. No. This is what the activity looks like, graphing the number of queries by hour:
As you can see, there's no pattern. When workers go home at 5pm in New York City, it's midnight in Moscow. If humans were involved, you'd expect an eight hour lull during that time. Likewise, when workers arrive at 9am in New York City, you expect a spike in traffic for about an hour until workers in Moscow go home. You see none of that here. What you instead see is a random distribution throughout the day -- the sort of distribution you'd expect if this were DNS lookups from incoming spam.
The point is that we know the original "Tea Leaves" researchers aren't trustworthy, that they've convinced themselves of things that just aren't there.
Does Trump control the server in question?
OMG, this post asks the question, after I've debunked the original story, and still gotten the answer wrong.
The answer is that Listrak controls the server. Not even Cendyn controls it, really, they just contract services from Listrak. In other words, not only does Trump not control it, the next level company (Cendyn) also doesn't control it.
Does Trump control the domain in question?
OMG, this new story continues to make the claim the Trump Organization controls the domain trump-email.com, despite my debunking that Cendyn controls the domain.
Look at the
WHOIS info yourself. All the contact info goes to Cendyn. It fits the pattern Cendyn chooses for their campaigns.
trump-email.commjh-email.comdenihan-email.comhyatt-email.comCendyn even spells "Trump Orgainzation" wrong.
There's a difference between a "server" and a "name"
The article continues to make trivial technical errors, like confusing what a server is with what a domain name is. For example:
One of the intriguing facts in my original piece was that the Trump server was shut down on Sept. 23, two days after the New York Times made inquiries to Alfa BankThe server has never been shutdown. Instead, the name "mail1.trump-email.com" was removed from Cendyn's DNS servers.
It's impossible to debunk everything in these stories because they garble the technical details so much that it's impossible to know what the heck they are claiming.
Why did Cendyn change things after Alfa Bank was notified?
It's a curious coincidence that Cendyn changed their DNS records a couple days after the NYTimes contacted Alfa Bank.
But "coincidence" is all it is. I have years of experience with investigating data breaches. I know that such coincidences abound. There's always weird coincidence that you are certain are meaningful, but which by the end of the investigation just aren't.
The biggest source of coincidences is that IT is always changing things and always messing things up. It's the nature of IT. Thus, you'll always see a change in IT that matches some other event. Those looking for conspiracies ignore the changes that don't match, and focus on the one that does, so it looms suspiciously.
As I've mentioned before, I have source that says Cendyn changed things around in June. This makes me believe that "Tea Leaves" is editing changes to highlight the one in September.
In any event, many people have noticed that the registrar email "Emily McMullin" has the same last name as Evan McMullin running against Trump in Utah. This supports my point: when you do hacking investigations, you find irrelevant connections all over the freakin' place.
"Experts stand by their analysis"
This new article states:
I've checked back with eight of the nine computer scientists and engineers I consulted for my original story, and they all stood by their fundamental analysisWell, of course, they don't want to look like idiots. But notice the subtle rephrasing of the question: the experts stand by their analysis. It doesn't mean the same thing as standing behind the reporters analysis. The experts made narrow judgements, which even I stand behind as mostly correct, given the data they were given at the time. None of them were asked whether the entire conspiracy theory holds up.
What you should ask is people like Chris Davis or Paul Vixie whether they stand behind my analysis in the past two posts. Or really, ask any expert. I've documented things in sufficient clarity. For example, go back to Chris Davis and ask him again about the "limited IP address" theory, and whether it holds up against my scan of that data center above.
Conclusion
Other major news outlets all passed on the story, because even non experts know it's flawed. The data means nothing. The Slate journalist nonetheless went forward with the story, tricking experts, and finding some non-experts.
But as I've shown, given a complete technical analysis, the story falls apart. Most of what's strange is perfectly normal. The data itself (the DNS logs) are untrustworthy. It builds upon unknown things (like how the mail server rejects IP address) as "unknowable" things that confirm the conspiracy, when they are in fact simply things unknown at the current time, which can become knowable with a little research.
What I show in my first post, and this post, is more data. This data shows context. This data explains the unknowns that Slate present. Moreover, you don't have to trust me -- anybody can replicate my work and see for themselves.
Seneca Valley defends its actions in 'Mean Girls' case | TribLIVE
The Seneca Valley School District on Monday defended its handling of two sexual assault complaints brought against a male student by five ''mean girls'' that later reportedly turned out to be false.
The boy's parents filed a civil lawsuit against the girls and school district in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh last week.
In a four-paragraph statement released by the Butler County district, school officials defended their actions and said they believe ''the lawsuit is without merit.''
''We have followed all applicable laws, and we will vigorously defend ourselves throughout the process,'' the district said in response to repeated requests by the Tribune-Review to respond to the lawsuit.
The parents, Michael J. and Alecia Flood of Zelienople, claim their son, only identified as T.F., ''was forced to endure multiple court appearances, detention in a juvenile facility, detention at home, the loss of his liberty and other damages until several of the girls reluctantly admitted that their accusations were false'' last summer.
The boy is being home-schooled due to the bullying he suffered by classmates following the allegations, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit alleges the boy was further damaged from ''gender bias'' by school officials and Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger's office, which even after learning the girls' accusations were false ''did not take any action against the females involved,'' said attorney Craig Fishman of Pittsburgh, who represents the Floods.
The phrase ''Mean Girls,'' used in the lawsuit by Fishman, references the 2004 movie of the same name.
The movie details the buds and thorns of the high school experience '-- deep friendships and happy memories along with painful bullying and gossip that could have a lasting impact.
In the prepared statement released by the district's media support specialist, Katherine Huttinger, the school district maintained ''safety'' is its priority.
''The number-one priority of the Seneca Valley School District is the safety and well-being of our students, staff, parents and volunteers who enter our buildings. We have policies and procedures in place to protect individuals, and we communicate to all employees on these policies and work hard every day to provide a safe and caring learning environment for all,'' the statement said.
The school district noted it still has not been served with the lawsuit.
''Because this situation involves a lawsuit and ongoing litigation, and also because of federal privacy laws protecting student information, the school district cannot comment further on the details of the lawsuit or the situation,'' the statement concluded.
The Floods seek unspecified civil damages against the girls' parents, the school district and Goldinger's office.
Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.
Turkey's Inflation Police Guards What's Left of Price Stability - Bloomberg
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Netherlands ordered to increase emissions cuts in historic ruling that puts 'all world governments on notice'
Campaigners celebrate at the Hague after the court of appeal upheld the historic climate ruling on the Dutch Government.Photograph: Chantal Bekker Chantal Bekker/GraphicAlert/Urgenda FoundationA court in The Hague has upheld a historic legal order on the Dutch government to accelerate carbon emissions cuts, a day after the world's climate scientists warned that time was running out to avoid dangerous warming.
Appeal court judges ruled that the severity and scope of the climate crisis demanded greenhouse gas reductions of at least 25% by 2020 '' measured against 1990 levels '' higher than the 17% drop planned by Mark Rutte's liberal administration.
The ruling '' which was greeted with whoops and cheers in the courtroom '' will put wind in the sails of a raft of similar cases being planned around the world, from Norway to New Zealand and from the UK to Uganda.
Marjan Minnesma, the director of the Urgenda campaign which brought the case, called on political leaders to start fighting climate change rather than court actions.
What is it?
Climate litigation is a 'new weapon for environmentalists who are turning to the courts in an attempt to hold governments and corporations to account for the environmental damage they cause. Advocates aim to use the law to force stronger government action to cut carbon emissions, and win damages from the companies responsible to cover the costs of dealing with the impacts of warming.
Who is involved?
There are hundreds of cases in the pipeline around the globe from India to Uganda; Ireland to Norway, where campaigners are seeking to block oil drilling in the Arctic. The UK government is facing its first major brought by 12 citizens through a legal group called Plan B and which already has the support of the government's former chief scientific adviser, Prof Sir David King. But it is in the US, the world's most litigious nation, that the greatest number of cases have been brought, with Arnold Schwarzenegger the latest to confirm he was preparing a lawsuit.
Could it save the planet?
To date victories are rare', but campaigners say wins are more likely in future, as public opinion '' and the attitudes of judges '' shift with the times. A flurry of billion-dollar cases against fossil fuel companies brought by New York city and communities in California over the rising seas has already pushed climate litigation into the limelight. But big oil is fighting back hard, with allegations of a politically motivated conspiracy against them.
She said: ''The special report of the IPCC emphasises that we need to reduce emissions with much greater urgency. The Dutch government knows that as a low-lying country, we are on the frontline of climate change. Our own government agencies recently concluded that in the worst case scenario sea levels might rise by 2.5 to 3 metres by the end of the century. The court of appeal's decision puts all governments on notice. They must act now, or they will be held to account.''
Jesse Klaver, the leader of the Dutch Greens welcomed the decision as ''historic news''. He told the Guardian: ''Governments can no longer make promises they don't fulfil. Countries have an obligation to protect their citizens against climate change. That makes this trial relevant for all other countries.''
The Dutch government must now decide whether to appeal to the Netherlands' supreme court, or explain how it will nearly double the entire amount of greenhouse gas emission cuts it has made since 1990 within one year.
One of two newly opened coal plants would have to be shut down to comply with the original court ruling, according to a report by CE Delft in 2016.
Government sources did not immediately respond to requests for comment but an appeal is thought likely. However, legal sources cautioned that its success was far from assured, given the conservative nature of two courts in The Hague which had now ruled for the Urgenda campaign, and its 886 citizen co-litigants.
State lawyers had argued that the judges were ''sidelining democracy'' by trying to force a policy change but the court found government proposals ''unacceptable'' in a stinging and wide-ranging judgement that leaned heavily on the European Convention of Human Rights.
''Climate change is a grave danger,'' ruled Judge Tan de Sonnaville. ''Any postponement of emissions reductions exacerbates the risks of climate change. The Dutch government cannot hide behind other countries' emissions. It has an independent duty to reduce emissions from its own territory.''
Rutte's administration has pledged to reduce emissions by 49% by 2030, but in nearly three decades, the country has so far only cut its emissions by 13%. Since 2012, that figure has barely changed, despite a court ruling for the 25% cut three years ago.
Dennis van Berkel, the legal counsel for Urgenda, which brought the case, told the Guardian that the ruling ''has consequences for all governments. They should look at this closely and realise that they are not acting in the interests of their own people. By delaying [climate] actions and not increasing them to the highest possible level '' they are violating the rights of their people.''
Whole Foods Forced To Get A Restraining Order Against Berkeley Vegans | Daily Wire
A Berkeley, California, Whole Foods Market was forced to apply for a blanket restraining order after becoming the target of a radical vegan group hell-bent on "exposing" the natural foods chain's animal welfare violations.
The Guardian reports that Whole Foods filed for the order after a group called Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, threatened to "Occupy Whole Foods" for the entire month of September, subjecting the store and its shoppers to in-person protests, demonstrations of "animal slaughter," and, perhaps most horrifying, a drum circle.
DxE, which reportedly advocates for "total animal liberation," began the month by unfurling a giant black "Occupy Whole Foods" banner above a group of chanting protesters, but since the order went into effect, DxE has been relegated to handing out pre-printed leaflets from a set of tables just beyond the Whole Foods parking lot.
The group says that they're merely looking for "greater transparency in both Whole Foods and Amazon's supply chain," and accuses Whole Foods of running a "conspiracy" to hide their animal welfare practices from anti-meat activists (though DxE's evidence of such a cover up appears scant).
Whole Foods, in turn, says that they take pride in their commitment to animal welfare and that they require farms that produce the meat, milk, cheese, and eggs that end up on Whole Foods' shelves ascribe to a set of regulations set forth by the Global Animal Partnership. Those regulations are much stricter than the USDA's and FDA's, and farms must be inspected every 15 months to ensure ongoing compliance.
DxE says Whole Foods just doesn't want to have a conversation, but perhaps its DxE and not Whole Foods. Their "Occupy Whole Foods" protest is an annual event, and in the past, it has featured antics that "range from chanting and singing about animal rights to more extreme tactics: splattering eggs with fake blood, acting out scenes of animal slaughter (with members representing the animals) and displaying graphic photos and videos in meat and dairy aisles."
They aren't without options, though. Once turned away from Whole Foods, DxE activists "descended" on McCoy Poultry Services, which supplies Perdue, a company protesters claimed in turn supplied Whole Foods. There, DxE held flowers and operated a "volunteer veterinary clinic" for "injured chickens." Police eventually arrested 67 protesters.
A representative from Perdue told the Guardian that McCoy does not, in fact, supply Whole Foods.
IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C
HomeOrganizationProceduresWorking Groups / Task ForceActivitiesCalendarMeeting DocumentationNews and OutreachPublications and DataPresentations and SpeechesIPCC Scholarship ProgrammeLinksContact Global Warming of 1.5 °Can IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate povertyQuick LinksPress Release- عربÙ- ä¸æ- fr- ru- esFAQs(mirror)AuthorsOutlineBackgroundDocumentsSubject to correction, copy-editing and layout
Summary for Policymakers(mirror)Headline Statements(mirror)Subject to correction, copy-editing, layout and "trickleback" -- adjustments in Decision IPCC-XLVIII/Doc.6 to the text of the report to conform with the approved Summary for Policymakers
All ChaptersChapter 1(mirror)Chapter 1 Annex(mirror)Chapter 2(mirror)Chapter 2 Annex(mirror)Chapter 3(mirror)Chapter 3 Annex(mirror)Chapter 4(mirror)Chapter 4 Supplementary Materials(mirror)Chapter 5(mirror)Chapter 5 Table 5.3(mirror)Glossary(mirror)Changes to the Underlying Scientific-Technical Assessment to ensure consistency with the approved Summary for Policymakers(mirror)FiguresSubject to correction, copy-editing and layout
Figure 1(mirror)Figure 2(mirror)Figure 3a(mirror)Figure 3b(mirror)Figure 4(mirror)The first Special Report, on Global Warming of 1.5 °C was considered by thePanel on 1 - 5 October 2018 in Incheon, Republic of Korea. It will belaunched at a press conference on 8 October at 10:00 KST. The embargo onthe material listed above will be lifted at the same time.
Netflix, Amazon Would Be Forced to Maintain 30% European Content Quotas Under Proposed EU Law '' Variety
April 26, 2018 10:45AM PTStreaming-video providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be required to dedicate at least 30% of their on-demand catalogs to European content, under a proposed European Union law announced Thursday.
Under the revised rules, internet-streaming services also will be required to fund TV series and films produced in Europe, either through direct commissions or by paying into national film funds.
The mandates, aimed at providing an economic stimulus for Euro entertainment productions, is part of a broader revision of rules applying to audiovisual media across the region, under a preliminary agreement reached by the European Parliament, Council and Commission. The negotiations will officially conclude in June, when lawmakers and regulators finalize remaining technical details of the proposal. After that, it will need to be approved by the European Parliament and EU member states.
In addition to the 30% European content quota and funding mandate, which are also aimed at leveling the playing field for the already-regulated broadcast media sector, the EU agreement also will require internet video operators to put measures in place ''to protect minors.''
The revised EU rules would also extend to user-generated videos on platforms like Facebook and YouTube, in the event that ''providing audiovisual content is an essential functionality of the service.'' The proposed law would include stronger rules forcing video-sharing platforms to block ''hate speech and public provocation to commit terrorist offences'' and provide ''transparent'' mechanisms for users to report such content.
''These new rules reflect digital progress and recognize that people now watch videos in different ways than before,'' Andrus Ansip, the European Commission's VP for the Digital Single Market, said in a statement. They encourage innovative services and promote European films '-- but also protect children and tackle hate speech in a better way.''
Reps for Netflix and Amazon didn't respond to requests for comment on the EU proposal.
Europe's move to bring internet-video under its content-quota rules has been brewing for several years. Previously the EU had floated a requirement that 20% of subscription VOD services comprise European-produced content.
In its international markets, Netflix generally has been targeting around 20% of its originals to be local, in-language productions. Earlier this month, Netflix said it has more than 100 different European projects launching in 2018. The company announced 10 new European projects including feature film ''Rimetti a Noi i Nostri Debiti'' (Italy) and original series ''Mortel'' (France), ''The Wave'' (Germany), ''Luna Nera'' (Italy), ''La Casa de Papel'' part 3 (Spain), ''The English Game'' (U.K.), and ''Turn Up Charlie'' (U.K.).
''[W]e are committed to being a voice for European entertainment, giving passionate local content creators a worldwide platform to share their vision, and offering consumers around the world unique and diverse stories they can discover and enjoy, anywhere, anytime and at the same time, no matter their place or language of origin,'' chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement.
Sarandos, in discussing Netflix's first-quarter 2018 results, cited the global appeal of supernatural series ''Dark'' from Germany and period drama ''Las Chicas del Cable'' from Spain.
Another piece of the EU's proposal is designed to provide more flexibility in TV advertising. The revised rules give broadcasters more flexibility as to when ads can be shown. Under current regulations, broadcasters are limited to a maximum of 12 minutes of ads per hour; the revised rules would let TV networks choose more freely when to show ads throughout the day with an overall cap of 20% of air time between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Pictured above: Benoit Magimel (l.) and G(C)rard Depardieu in Netflix's original French series ''Marseille'' season 2, produced by Paris-based Federation Entertainment
Streaming-video providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be required to dedicate at least 30% of their on-demand catalogs to European content, under a proposed European Union law announced Thursday. Under the revised rules, internet-streaming services also will be required to fund TV series and films produced in Europe, either through direct commissions or ['...]
Streaming-video providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be required to dedicate at least 30% of their on-demand catalogs to European content, under a proposed European Union law announced Thursday. Under the revised rules, internet-streaming services also will be required to fund TV series and films produced in Europe, either through direct commissions or ['...]
Streaming-video providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be required to dedicate at least 30% of their on-demand catalogs to European content, under a proposed European Union law announced Thursday. Under the revised rules, internet-streaming services also will be required to fund TV series and films produced in Europe, either through direct commissions or ['...]
Streaming-video providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be required to dedicate at least 30% of their on-demand catalogs to European content, under a proposed European Union law announced Thursday. Under the revised rules, internet-streaming services also will be required to fund TV series and films produced in Europe, either through direct commissions or ['...]
Streaming-video providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be required to dedicate at least 30% of their on-demand catalogs to European content, under a proposed European Union law announced Thursday. Under the revised rules, internet-streaming services also will be required to fund TV series and films produced in Europe, either through direct commissions or ['...]
Streaming-video providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be required to dedicate at least 30% of their on-demand catalogs to European content, under a proposed European Union law announced Thursday. Under the revised rules, internet-streaming services also will be required to fund TV series and films produced in Europe, either through direct commissions or ['...]
Streaming-video providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be required to dedicate at least 30% of their on-demand catalogs to European content, under a proposed European Union law announced Thursday. Under the revised rules, internet-streaming services also will be required to fund TV series and films produced in Europe, either through direct commissions or ['...]
With Chrome 70, hundreds of popular websites are about to break | TechCrunch
A lot of secure sites are set to grind to a halt with security error messages in the next version of Google Chrome, after the browser will drop trust for a major HTTPS certificate provider following a series of security incidents.
Chrome 70 is expected to be released on or around October 16, when the browser will start blocking sites that run older Symantec certificates issued before June 2016, including legacy branded Thawte, VeriSign, Equifax, GeoTrust and RapidSSL certificates.
Yet despite more than a year to prepare, many popular sites are not ready.
Security researcher Scott Helme found 1,139 sites in the top one million sites ranked by Alexa, including Citrus, SSRN, the Federal Bank of India, Pantone, the Tel-Aviv city government, Squatty Potty and Penn State Federal to name just a few.
Ferrari, One Identity and Solidworks were named on the list but recently switched to new certificates, escaping any future outages.
You can check any website by pulling up the console in Chrome on any website. (Image: TechCrunch)
HTTPS certificates encrypt the data between your computer and the website or app you're using, making it near-impossible for anyone '-- even on your public Wi-Fi hotspot '-- to intercept your data. Not only that, HTTPS certificates prove the integrity of the the site you're visiting by ensuring the pages haven't been modified in some way by an attacker.
Most websites obtain their HTTPS certificates from a certificate authority, which abide by certain rules and procedures that over time become trusted by web browsers.
If you screw that up and lose their trust, the browsers can pull the plug on all of the certificates from that authority.
That's exactly why Google called it quits on Symantec certificates last year. The search giant, and others, accused Symantec of issuing misleading and wrong certificates '-- and later, it was discovered that Symantec allowed non-trusted organizations to issue certificates without the required rigorous oversight. That has forced thousands of sites to trash their paid-for certificates and replace them with new ones to prevent their site from flagging up with error messages once the Chrome 70 deadline hits.
But, just as much as browsers can lose trust in a certificate authority, it can also gain the trust of new ones.
Let's Encrypt, a provider of free HTTPS certificates, gained trust from all the major browser makers '-- including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla '-- earlier this year. To date, the non-profit has issued more than 380 million certificates.
Equal Pay, the Violence Against Women Act, and LGBT Issues
On Sunday night, pop singer Taylor Swift announced her opposition to Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), citing mostly LGBT issues. In these attacks, she misrepresented Blackburn's positions, painting the Republican candidate for Senate as a bigot and a "hater."
"I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love," Swift wrote. The singer added that Blackburn's "voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me."
Then Taylor Swift launched into a summary of talking points published by the LGBT activist group GLAAD.
"She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples," Swift declared.
Each of these claims misrepresented Blackburn's positions.
1. Equal pay.Indeed, Blackburn voted against the 2009 Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a bill that would have made it easier for women to file wage discrimination lawsuits against employers. This does not mean she "voted against equal pay," however. The congresswoman has vocally defended the concept of equal pay, she just does not want Washington, D.C., to decide what that means.
"You know, I've always said that I didn't want to be given a job because I was a female, I wanted it because I was the most well-qualified for the job," the congresswoman said in 2013. "And making certain that companies are going to move forward in that vein, that is what women want."
"They don't want the decisions made in Washington. They want to be able to have the power and the control and the ability to make those decisions for themselves," Blackburn declared.
Whatever you think about the gender pay gap, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a bad idea, because it would eliminate the limitations period on legal claims. Limitations periods block lawsuits where defensive evidence is likely to be stale or expired and prevent a gaming of the system, the Heritage Foundation's Andrew Grossman explained.
"Perversely, it could actually put women, minorities, and workers who are vocal about their rights at a disadvantage if employers attempt to reduce risk by hiring fewer individuals likely to file suit against them," he noted.
The Wall Street Journal's Kimberley Strassel denounced it as "a trial lawyer pay-out."
Blackburn emphatically wants equal pay for equal work, but she sees through the rhetoric and refuses to support a bad bill.
2. "Discrimination against gay couples."Taylor Swift declared, "I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender [identity] is WRONG." She ten claimed that Blackburn would "not be willing to fight for dignity" for LGBT Americans.
The owner of the limousine involved in a crash that killed 20 people in upstate New York over the weekend was a wire-wearing informant in two FBI terrorism stings, Fox News has learned.
The government credited Shahed Hussain with rooting out radical Muslims at mosques in the New York cities of Newburgh and Albany while he was working as a well-paid FBI snitch.
Hussain is listed as the owner of Prestige Limousine, which operated the 2001 Ford Excursion stretch limo that crashed Saturday in Schoharie, N.Y., according to federal records, which showed that four vehicles had been taken out of circulation by the company due to inspection failures in the past 24 months.
Shahed Hussain, the owner of the limo company involved in the crash that killed 20 people, had served as an FBI informant in two terror stings, Fox News has learned.
The records list an address that Hussain used when he filed for bankruptcy in Albany in 2003.
The limousine was carrying 18 people when it blew a stop sign and crashed into a parked vehicle and two people at a county store. Everyone in the limo was killed.
NEW YORK CRASH VICTIM TEXT MESSAGED THAT LIMO WAS IN 'TERRIBLE CONDITION' BEFORE ACCIDENT KILLED 20
Valerie Abeling told The Washington Post that before the crash her daughter received a text message from her cousin Erin Vertucci, one of the victims, saying that limousine ''appeared in terrible condition.'' Vertucci's new husband Shane McGowan was also killed.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that the limousine driver didn't have an appropriate license to operate the vehicle.
He also told reporters that the limo also failed an inspection last month conducted by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicle.
"The owner of the company had no business putting a failed vehicle on the road," Cuomo said. "Prestige has a lot of questions to answer."
Prestige was also slapped with a cease-and-desist order Monday to stop the company from operating as authorities continue to investigate the crash, the governor said.
The person behind the wheel has been identified in reports as 53-year-old upstate New Yorker Scott Lisinicchia.
One of the "Newburgh Four" David Williams after his arrest in 2009 (Associated Press)
Hussain became an FBI informant after being convicted of federal fraud charges in 2002 in Albany, according to the Albany Times Union. He was taking payments from immigrants, some of whom could not read English, in a scheme to cheat on state exams to obtain driver's licenses.
As part of one of the FBI stings, Albany imam Yassin Aref and an acquaintance who owned a pizza shop were accused of laundering money for Hussain in connection with a fictitious terror plot, the paper reported.
They were convicted in 2006 and both sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
Hussain reemerged as an FBI informant in 2009, when four Newburgh men were charged with conspiring to plant explosives outside two Bronx synagogues. Hussain befriended one of the men at a Newburgh mosque while posing as a wealthy businessman and then met the other three before implicating all of them them in the terror plot.
The foiled terror plot was trumpeted as a ''textbook example of how a major investigation should be conducted'' by then-Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, the New York Post reported.
However, during the trial Hussain's truthfulness became a big issue.
NEW YORK LIMO IN FATAL CRASH FAILED INSPECTION, DRIVER DID NOT HAVE APPROPRIATE LICENSE, GOVERNOR SAYS
In one instance, he testified about receiving substantial sums of money from a family trust in Pakistan during the pendency of the New York bankruptcy case.
He admitted under questioning that he had not disclosed the existence of the trust or the income he received to the Bankruptcy Court or his creditors.
The ''Newburgh Four'' were convicted and each was sentenced to 25 years in prison but New York federal court judge Colleen McMahon questioned Hussain's honesty and the FBI's tactics.
''I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that there would have been no crime here except the government instigated it, planned it and brought it to fruition,'' she said. ''That does not mean there was no crime.''
Messages left by Fox News for Hussain at a phone listed in his name were not returned.
Opinion | White Women, Come Get Your People - The New York Times
Ms. Grenell has written on gender and politics for The New York Daily News, The Washington Post and other outlets.
Oct. 6, 2018 Image Senator Susan Collins of Maine walking to the Senate floor on Friday. Her support of Brett Kavanaugh helped elevate him to the Supreme Court. Credit Drew Angerer/Getty Images Image Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska on Friday. She broke with her fellow Republicans and did not support the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh. Credit J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press After a confirmation process where women all but slit their wrists, letting their stories of sexual trauma run like rivers of blood through the Capitol, the Senate still voted to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. With the exception of Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, all the women in the Republican conference caved, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who held out until the bitter end.
These women are gender traitors, to borrow a term from the dystopian TV series ''The Handmaid's Tale.'' They've made standing by the patriarchy a full-time job. The women who support them show up at the Capitol wearing ''Women for Kavanaugh'' T-shirts, but also probably tell their daughters to put on less revealing clothes when they go out.
They're more sympathetic to Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who actually shooed away a crowd of women and told them to ''grow up.'' Or Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, whose response to a woman telling him she was raped was: ''I'm sorry. Call the cops.''
These are the kind of women who think that being falsely accused of rape is almost as bad as being raped. The kind of women who agree with President Trump that ''it's a very scary time for young men in America,'' which he said during a news conference on Tuesday.
But the people who scare me the most are the mothers, sisters and wives of those young men, because my stupid uterus still holds out some insane hope of solidarity.
We're talking about white women. The same 53 percent who put their racial privilege ahead of their second-class gender status in 2016 by voting to uphold a system that values only their whiteness, just as they have for decades. Since 1952, white women have broken for Democratic presidential candidates only twice: in the 1964 and 1996 elections, according to an analysis by Jane Junn, a political scientist at the University of Southern California.
Women of color, and specifically black women, make the margin of difference for Democrats. The voting patterns of white women and white men mirror each other much more closely, and they tend to cast their ballots for Republicans. The gender gap in politics is really a color line.
That's because white women benefit from patriarchy by trading on their whiteness to monopolize resources for mutual gain. In return they're placed on a pedestal to be ''cherished and revered,'' as Speaker Paul D. Ryan has said about women, but all the while denied basic rights.
This elevated position over women of color comes at a cost, though. Consider what Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to the president, said at a dinner last year for New York's Conservative Party. She suggested that higher birthrates are ''how I think we fight these demographic wars moving forward.'' The war, of course, is with non-white people. So it seems that white women are expected to support the patriarchy by marrying within their racial group, reproducing whiteness and even minimizing violence against their own bodies.
Recently, Ms. Conway even weaponized her own alleged sexual assault in service to her boss by discouraging women from feeling empathy with Christine Blasey Ford or anger at Judge Kavanaugh.
Ms. Conway knows that a woman who steps out of line may be ridiculed by the president himself. President Trump mocked Dr. Blasey in front of a cheering crowd on Tuesday evening. Betray the patriarchy and your whiteness won't save you.
The pedestal is a superior, if precarious, place. For white women, it's apparently better than being ''stronger together,'' with the 94 percent of black women and 86 percent of Latinas who voted for Hillary Clinton.
During the 2016 presidential election, did white women really vote with their whiteness in mind? Lorrie Frasure-Yokley, a political scientist at U.C.L.A., recently measured the effect of racial identity on white women's willingness to support Trump in 2016 and found a positive and statistically significant relationship. So white women who voted for him did so to prop up their whiteness.
In the study, white women who agreed that ''many women interpret innocent remarks or acts as sexist'' were 17 percent more likely to vote for a Republican candidate. They were also likely to agree that ''blacks should work their way up without special favors.'' To be sure, women of color aren't inherently less sexist or even without their own racial biases. But unlike white women, they can't use race privilege to their advantage.
This blood pact between white men and white women is at issue in the November midterms. President Trump knows it, and at that Tuesday news conference, he signaled to white women to hold the line: ''The people that have complained to me about it the most about what's happening are women. Women are very angry,'' he said. ''I have men that don't like it, but I have women that are incensed at what's going on.''
I'm sure he does ''have'' them; game girls will defend their privilege to the death.
But apparently that doesn't include Ms. Murkowski anymore. Maybe it's because she comes from a state with the nation's highest rate of sexual violence, with a sexual assault rate three times the national average, where prosecutors just let a man evade jail time after he kidnapped a native Alaskan woman and strangled her unconscious, then masturbated over her body. Maybe.
Meanwhile, Senator Collins subjected us to a slow funeral dirge about due process and some other nonsense I couldn't even hear through my rage headache as she announced on Friday she would vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh. Her mostly male colleagues applauded her.
The question for white women in November is: Which one of these two women are you?
I fear we already know the answer.
RELATED
More views on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court
Alexis Grenell (@agrenell) is a co-founder of Pythia Public, a political and public affairs firm.
Correction:An earlier version of this Opinion essay misspelled the given name of a senator from South Carolina. He is Lindsey Graham, not Lindsay.
Surge In New York City Taxi Driver Suicides Has The City Talking
With taxicab drivers in New York City, the story has been the same for the last couple of years:
many are dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts after Uber and Lyft have decimated their industry, rendered their medallions relatively worthless and made it difficult for them to pay bills. It's a story that we have been
following in depth over the last couple of years, reporting on an increasing number of drivers who have committed suicide as a result of their livelihood being pulled out from underneath them.
The New York Times followed up on this epidemic recently, profiling cabdrivers like Nicanor Ochisor, who had to be dragged to the doctor by his wife due to his depression in March of this year. But this wasn't enough - he turned out to be one of six cabdrivers who committed suicide over the course of the last year. These men feel overwhelmed and often watch their prospects for retirement dissolve right in front of them. Undoubtedly, it can be difficult and lonely behind the wheel of a taxi, especially with the industry under fire.
But now, New York City is trying to step in, placing a cap on Uber and Lyft drivers, as well as urging taxi drivers to seek out help when necessary. New York City is now considering a set of bills that would establish a health fund for taxi drivers, also creating "driver assistance centers" for counseling and financial advice.
One of the bills is set to offer relief to medallion owners who have a significant amount of debt. A council speaker stated that the city was considering a partial bailout or hardship fund for medallion owners who drive their own taxis.
Corey Johnson, the Council speaker, told the NY Times: "For the smaller individual medallion owners, what can we do to help them get out from under this crushing debt? We're trying to figure out a way to do that."
The rise in suicides and the publicity that they have gotten have forced drivers to speak out about the stresses of their industry with their families. The Times caught up with one driver, Lal Singh, who said that after three years of driving a taxi, he had considered suicide.
He told the Times: "When I hear that somebody did suicide, I was thinking about me. I'm going to be one of them one day.'' Singh owes about $6200 per month on the medallion he bought in 2000 and spends his day driving the length of Manhattan, top to bottom, looking for passengers.
"When you have nothing to do, we are suffering. What are you living for?" he continued.
Another driver, Muhammad Anil, who owes more than $500,000 on his medallion, had to have a talk with his children and reassure them that he was OK after they saw the headlines about the suicides.
The drivers that are most vulnerable are people between the ages of 45 and 64, according to Barbara Stanley, psychology professor at Columbia University. She noted that people with past depression issues may be more vulnerable to this stressful environment than others.
Some drivers, like 70 year old Harbans Singh, say they don't want help from the taxi and limousine commission. He works 12 hour shifts to help pay off his medallion debt. ''I don't trust the T.L.C.,'' he said.
Financial assistance is the number one type of assistance sought out by drivers. The city says they find themselves in a difficult position because a buyout of medallion owners could cost billions. The alternative ridesharing apps like Lyft have considered putting together a $100 million hardship fund for drivers. The catch? They want the city to drop the cap on the number of drivers they can have.
Unsurprisingly, cab drivers would rather see Uber and Lyft restricted.
Nicolae Hent, a friend of Nicanor Ochisor's, went to the doctor back in 2005 after he battled with his own anxiety issues. He now takes two anti-depressants and plays tennis regularly to cope. Hent is 62, owes about $130,000 on his medallion and is leading the charge to get the city to assist cab drivers.
He told the Times, "I'm not going to kill myself. I won't kill nobody. But I'll fight until I die."
BOMBSHELL: audit of global warming data finds it riddled with errors | Watts Up With That?
Just ahead of a new report from the IPCC, dubbed SR#15 about to be released today, we have this bombshell- a detailed audit shows the surface temperature data is unfit for purpose. The first ever audit of the world's most important temperature data set (HadCRUT4) has found it to be so riddled with errors and ''freakishly improbable data'' that it is effectively useless.
From the IPCC:
Global Warming of 1.5 °C, an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty.
This is what consensus science brings you '' groupthink with no quality control.
HadCRUT4 is the primary global temperature dataset used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to make its dramatic claims about ''man-made global warming''. It's also the dataset at the center of ''ClimateGate'' from 2009, managed by the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at East Anglia University.
The audit finds more than 70 areas of concern about data quality and accuracy.
But according to an analysis by Australian researcher John McLean it's far too sloppy to be taken seriously even by climate scientists, let alone a body as influential as the IPCC or by the governments of the world.
'...
Main points:The Hadley data is one of the most cited, most important databases for climate modeling, and thus for policies involving billions of dollars.McLean found freakishly improbable data, and systematic adjustment errors , large gaps where there is no data, location errors, Fahrenheit temperatures reported as Celsius, and spelling errors.Almost no quality control checks have been done: outliers that are obvious mistakes have not been corrected '' one town in Columbia spent three months in 1978 at an average daily temperature of over 80 degrees C. One town in Romania stepped out from summer in 1953 straight into a month of Spring at minus 46°C. These are supposedly ''average'' temperatures for a full month at a time. St Kitts, a Caribbean island, was recorded at 0°C for a whole month, and twice!Temperatures for the entire Southern Hemisphere in 1850 and for the next three years are calculated from just one site in Indonesia and some random ships.Sea surface temperatures represent 70% of the Earth's surface, but some measurements come from ships which are logged at locations 100km inland. Others are in harbors which are hardly representative of the open ocean.When a thermometer is relocated to a new site, the adjustment assumes that the old site was always built up and ''heated'' by concrete and buildings. In reality, the artificial warming probably crept in slowly. By correcting for buildings that likely didn't exist in 1880, old records are artificially cooled. Adjustments for a few site changes can create a whole century of artificial warming trends.Details of the worst outliersFor April, June and July of 1978 Apto Uto (Colombia, ID:800890) had an average monthly temperature of 81.5°C, 83.4°C and 83.4°C respectively.The monthly mean temperature in September 1953 at Paltinis, Romania is reported as -46.4 °C (in other years the September average was about 11.5°C).At Golden Rock Airport, on the island of St Kitts in the Caribbean, mean monthly temperatures for December in 1981 and 1984 are reported as 0.0°C. But from 1971 to 1990 the average in all the other years was 26.0°C.More at Jo Nova
The report:
Unfortunately, the report is paywalled. The good news is that it's a mere $8.
The researcher, John McLean, did all the work on his own, so it is a way to get compensated for all the time and effort put into it. He writes:
This report is based on a thesis for my PhD, which was awarded in December 2017 by James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. The thesis1 was based on the HadCRUT4 dataset and associated files as they were in late January 2016. The thesis identified 27 issues of concern about the dataset.
The January 2018 versions of the files contained not just updates for the intervening 24 months, but also additional observation stations and consequent changes in the monthly global average temperature anomaly right back to the start of data in 1850.The report uses January 2018 data and revises and extends the analysis performed in the original thesis, sometimes omitting minor issues, sometimes splitting major issues and sometimes analysing new areas and reporting on those findings.
The thesis was examined by experts external to the university, revised in accordance with their comments and then accepted by the university. This process was at least equivalent to ''peer review'' as conducted by scientific journals.
I've purchased a copy, and I've reproduced the executive summary below. I urge readers to buy a copy and support this work.
Get it here:
Audit of the HadCRUT4 Global Temperature Dataset
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As far as can be ascertained, this is the first audit of the HadCRUT4 dataset, the main temperature dataset used in climate assessment reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Governments and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) rely heavily on the IPCC reports so ultimately the temperature data needs to be accurate and reliable.
This audit shows that it is neither of those things.
More than 70 issues are identified, covering the entire process from the measurement of temperatures to the dataset's creation, to data derived from it (such as averages) and to its eventual publication. The findings (shown in consolidated form Appendix 6) even include simple issues of obviously erroneous data, glossed-over sparsity of data, significant but questionable assumptions and temperature data that has been incorrectly adjusted in a way that exaggerates warming.
It finds, for example, an observation station reporting average monthly temperatures above 80°C, two instances of a station in the Caribbean reporting December average temperatures of 0°C and a Romanian station reporting a September average temperature of -45°C when the typical average in that month is 10°C. On top of that, some ships that measured sea temperatures reported their locations as more than 80km inland.
It appears that the suppliers of the land and sea temperature data failed to check for basic errors and the people who create the HadCRUT dataset didn't find them and raise questions either.
The processing that creates the dataset does remove some errors but it uses a threshold set from two values calculated from part of the data but errors weren't removed from that part before the two values were calculated.
Data sparsity is a real problem. The dataset starts in 1850 but for just over two years at the start of the record the only land-based data for the entire Southern Hemisphere came from a single observation station in Indonesia. At the end of five years just three stations reported data in that hemisphere. Global averages are calculated from the averages for each of the two hemispheres, so these few stations have a large influence on what's supposedly ''global''. Related to the amount of data is the percentage of the world (or hemisphere) that the data covers. According to the method of calculating coverage for the dataset, 50% global coverage wasn't reached until 1906 and 50% of the Southern Hemisphere wasn't reached until about1950.
In May 1861 global coverage was a mere 12% '' that's less than one-eighth. In much of the 1860s and 1870s most of the supposedly global coverage was from Europe and its trade sea routes and ports, covering only about 13% of the Earth's surface. To calculate averages from this data and refer to them as ''global averages'' is stretching credulity.
Another important finding of this audit is that many temperatures have been incorrectly adjusted. The adjustment of data aims to create a temperature record that would have resulted if the current observation stations and equipment had always measured the local temperature. Adjustments are typically made when station is relocated or its instruments or their housing replaced.
The typical method of adjusting data is to alter all previous values by the same amount. Applying this to situations that changed gradually (such as a growing city increasingly distorting the true temperature) is very wrong and it leaves the earlier data adjusted by more than it should have been. Observation stations might be relocated multiple times and with all previous data adjusted each time the very earliest data might be far below its correct value and the complete data record show an exaggerated warming trend.
The overall conclusion (see chapter 10) is that the data is not fit for global studies. Data prior to 1950 suffers from poor coverage and very likely multiple incorrect adjustments of station data. Data since that year has better coverage but still has the problem of data adjustments and a host of other issues mentioned in the audit.
Calculating the correct temperatures would require a huge amount of detailed data, time and effort, which is beyond the scope of this audit and perhaps even impossible. The primary conclusion of the audit is however that the dataset shows exaggerated warming and that global averages are far less certain than have been claimed.
One implication of the audit is that climate models have been tuned to match incorrect data, which would render incorrect their predictions of future temperatures and estimates of the human influence of temperatures.
Another implication is that the proposal that the Paris Climate Agreement adopt 1850-1899 averages as ''indicative'' of pre-industrial temperatures is fatally flawed. During that period global coverage is low '' it averages 30% across that time '' and many land-based temperatures are very likely to be excessively adjusted and therefore incorrect.
A third implication is that even if the IPCC's claim that mankind has caused the majority of warming since 1950 is correct then the amount of such warming over what is almost 70 years could well be negligible. The question then arises as to whether the effort and cost of addressing it make any sense.
Ultimately it is the opinion of this author that the HadCRUT4 data, and any reports or claims based on it, do not form a credible basis for government policy on climate or for international agreements about supposed causes of climate change.
Full report here
EU chief Juncker says 'press freedom has limits', in attack on British media | The Independent
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has insisted there must be limits to the freedom of the press, accusing British media of breaching politicians' human rights.
He went on to claim the EU could have swung the Brexit referendum in favour of Remain if David Cameron had not prevented it from intervening in the 2016 campaign over membership.
Mr Juncker, whose enjoyment of alcohol has often been referred to in the media, was scathing about UK press coverage of him, suggesting it violated his rights.
''They do not respect the human rights of political actors at all. I will not miss it,'' he told Austrian journalists.
''Press freedom also has its limits '... One should not bring people in privacy in distress.''
He made the criticism as he said the chances of a Brexit breakthrough had risen, suggesting a deal could be reached within two weeks.
Asked how he felt about being the first Commission president to see a member leave the bloc, he said: ''If the Commission had intervened, perhaps the right questions would have entered the debate.
''Now you discover new problems almost daily, on both sides. At that time, it was already clear to us what trials and tribulations this pitiful vote of the British would lead to.
''I am always amazed about what I am always blamed for.''
Mr Juncker made clear he believed Brussels could have delivered a Remain vote if then prime minister Mr Cameron had not told the EU to stay out of the campaign.
He also expressed concern at ''confusion'' in Theresa May's Cabinet over the UK's withdrawal stance.
Asked whether a Brexit U-turn was still possible, he replied: ''That is in the discretion of the British Parliament and the government. I do not interfere in inner cabinet debates in the UK. There is enough confusion.''
The remarks drew derision from Brexiteer MPs.
Former minister Frank Field said: ''There is no delusion that does not have an attraction for that man.
''I'm sure it would have been a more decisive Leave vote if he had intervened.''
Tory MP Sir Bill Cash said: ''He's completely off the wall. It would have contravened electoral law.
''Quite frankly, he's talking through his hat.''
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Greek former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis tweeted: ''The one clever thing Cameron did was to ban Juncker from campaigning for Remain. (Had he campaigned, Brexit would have won 80% of the vote.)''
More about Jean-Claude Juncker Brussels Press Media Press freedom David Cameron Cabinet Brexit Yanis Varoufakis
Voorzitter Europese Commissie Juncker vindt dat Britse pers te veel vrijheid geniet | De Volkskrant
Jean-Claude Juncker. Foto AP De Britse pers, zo beweerde de 63-jarige Luxemburger, 'heeft totaal geen respect voor de mensenrechten van politici. De persvrijheid kent haar grenzen'. Juncker spreekt uit eigen ervaring. Britse kranten en magazines hebben in de afgelopen jaren veel geschreven over zijn vader, die tijdens de oorlog in de Duitse Wehrmacht moest dienen, en over de dubieuze belastingdeals voor multinationals die in zijn tijd als premier van Luxemburg zijn afgesloten.
Ook ging het vaak over het drankgebruik van Juncker. Dat leidde enkele malen tot opmerkelijke optredens tijdens topontmoetingen. Juncker heeft altijd volgehouden dat zijn wankele tred te maken heeft met rugklachten. Het imago van Juncker op het eiland is, mede door toedoen van de pers, zo beroerd dat David Cameron hem indertijd heeft gevraagd zich niet te bemoeien met de referendumcampagne.
Juncker is niet de enige commissievoorzitter die te maken heeft met de spotzucht van kranten als The Sun en The Daily Mail. In de jaren negentig diende de Fransman Jacques Delors als een geliefde kop van jut voor Fleet Street. De Britse kranten hebben een invloedrijke rol gespeeld bij de Brexit. Na de recente Sun-kop 'EU Dirty Rats' pleitte de Tsjechische justitiecommissaris Vera Jourova voor een 'Europese media-aanpak die gebaseerd is op kwaliteit en intelligente regulering'.
Juncker is tegen persregulering door overheden. In het Verenigd Koninkrijk is de Labourpartij van Jeremy Corbyn wel voor het aan banden leggen van de persvrijheid, die teruggaat tot het eind van de 17de eeuw. De socialist heeft het vooral voorzien op de rijke eigenaren van rechtse kranten , onder wie Rupert Murdoch. Tevens wil hij de BBC 'democratiseren'. In haar congrestoespraak merkte Theresa May afgelopen week op dat de oppositieleider ondertussen geen moeite heeft met werkzaamheden voor de Iraanse staatstelevisie.
De premier zei dat aanvallen van de pers niet leuk zijn, maar dat een politicus ermee moet leven.
Gemengde reacties op klimaatrapport VN | Binnenland | Telegraaf.nl
Vooral dat de opwarming van de aarde beperkt kan worden tot 1,5 graden Celsius in plaats van 2 graden, was goed nieuws volgens Greenpeace. 'Dit is een monumentaal rapport. En een allerlaatste waarschuwing (C)n kans om de desastreuze opwarming van de aarde te beperken'', aldus Joris Thijssen, directeur van Greenpeace.
Het Wereld Natuur Fonds (WNF) is minder optimistisch. 'De ondubbelzinnige boodschap, gebaseerd op bijna zesduizend onafhankelijke wetenschappelijke studies, is dat alle zeilen bijgezet moeten worden om de gevolgen van klimaatverandering binnen de perken te houden'', staat in een verklaring van de natuurorganisatie.
Directeur Kirsten Schuijt van het WNF wil wel dat alle landen gaan proberen om de stijging op maximaal 1,5 graden te houden. 'Het verlies aan natuur, smeltende ijskappen en stijgende zeespiegel zal bij een stijging van 2 graden zo veel meer impact hebben op onze gezondheid, veiligheid en economische welvaart.''
Shell heeft laten weten het rapport ook als laatste waarschuwing te zien. 'Met deze kennis kunnen bedrijven zoals Shell niet langer ontkennen dat nieuwe investeringen in olie, gas en kolen zeer onverantwoordelijk zijn'', zegt Freek Bersch, medewerker van Milieudefensie.
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Brett Kavanaugh Will Be Confirmed, and Liberals Should Blame Michael Avenatti - Hit & Run : Reason.com
Brett Kavanaugh Will Be Confirmed, and Liberals Should Blame Michael Avenatti Sen. Susan Collins called the Swetnick story "outlandish." It might have given her cover to confirm the judge.Robby Soave | Oct. 5, 2018 5:31 pm
ANDREW CULLEN/REUTERS/Newscom Sens. Susan Collins (R''Maine) and Joe Manchin (D''W.Va.) announced on Friday they would vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, which effectively means the judge will be joining the Supreme Court despite multiple allegations of sexual assault.
Democrats, the left, and various other anti-Kavanaugh persons can thank attorney Michael Avenatti for this outcome, at least in part.
The spotlight-stealing lawyer, who also represented Stormy Daniels, is responsible for drawing the media's attention to Julie Swetnick, an alleged victim of Kavanaugh who told an inconsistent and unpersuasive story. Swetnick's wild accusation provided cover for fence-sitting senators to overlook the more plausible allegation leveled by psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford, and to declare that Kavanaugh was being subjected to false smears.
Indeed, in her speech announcing her decision to vote for Kavanaugh, Collins explicitly made note of Swetnick's allegation, which she described as "outlandish."
"That such an allegation can find its way into the Supreme Court confirmation process is a stark reminder about why the presumption of innocence is so ingrained in our American consciousness," Collins said.
Sen. John Kennedy (R''La.) echoed Collins, telling MSNBC's Chuck Todd, "I think this process changed dramatically when Mr. Avenatti entered the picture. I think a lot of people, including many of my Democratic colleagues, felt like we had gotten into the foothills of preposterous."
Even on the Republican side, many people seemed to the think the testimony offered by Ford was credible. But it's much easier to take the position that the allegations against Kavanaugh are all lies if you have reason to believe at least one of the allegations is untrue. This is yet another problem with the automatically-believe-all-women philosophy embraced by fourth-wave feminism: When a woman is shown to have (probably) lied about her experience'--something that does happen from time to time'--the entire philosophy looks silly, because it rests on the idea that the consequences for coming forward are so awful that no one would ever lie. Swetnick undermined the believe-all-women position with her story, and Avenatti helped her by pushing it to the forefront of the news cycle.
Avenatti'--and to a lesser extent, Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow, who ran with a story so thin The New York Times wouldn't print it'--took the narrow question of whether Kavanaugh or Ford were more believable, and raised the stakes by asserting he was a serial sexual abuser, rather than an inconsiderate, sexually aggressive teenage drunk. It was always going to be easier to poke holes in the grander narrative. This very well may have been a gift to those who were looking for cover to vote for Kavanaugh.
It's unfortunate for the anti-Trump resistance, and for Ford, that Avenatti couldn't help but make the story about him.
Photo Credit: ANDREW CULLEN/REUTERS/Newscom
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Harvey, Florence, and the climate change connection - CSMonitor.com
Earlier this month, as hurricane Florence approached the Carolina coast, a team of researchers put out a forecast in advance of landfall '' a first '' using models to quantify the likely impact of climate change on the storm's rainfall, size, and intensity. Among other things, it concluded that the rainfall forecasts were increased by more than 50 percent due to global warming. It will take months for researchers to conduct a postmortem of the forecasts made ahead of Florence to confirm or refute their validity. But subsequent analysis of real-time attribution efforts during the 2017 hurricane season, including a study released Thursday in the journal Science, suggests that these models are on the right track. ''Increasingly, these questions '' did climate change impact this event '' are what the public and the media are asking,'' says Kevin Reed, an atmospheric scientist at Stony Brook University in New York and a coauthor of a Florence forecast. Researchers hope that a sharper understanding of the role global warming is playing in the intensity and impact of storms like these could improve forecasting and inform mitigation and preparedness planning.
Boulder, Colo.
With floodwaters continuing to rise nearly two weeks after hurricane Florence thrashed North and South Carolina, many are wondering how much of the deluge can be attributed to climate change.
That's a frequent question, and one without an easy answer. Unlike some other extreme weather events, like heat waves or unusually heavy rainfall, hurricanes have been particularly difficult to pin solidly on global warming.
They're relatively rare, for one thing, and they're caused by complex meteorological conditions. And some skeptics note that there hasn't been a consistent detectable long-term trend.
But as extreme-event attribution matures, climate scientists are increasingly willing to connect the dots between certain aspects of hurricanes and climate change. Researchers hope that a sharper understanding of the role global warming is playing in the intensity and impact of storms like these could inform mitigation and preparedness while answering some of the most common questions people have.
''There's been an explosion of research over the last decade,'' says Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate scientist at Stanford University who is an expert on extreme-event attribution. Among the innovations in the past few years, he says, are efforts to use real-time conditions and data as events take place. Complementary research doing longer-term studies, on the other hand, can help quantify the odds of such events occurring and the odds of the physical conditions that create those events. The two types of research ''answer different sets of questions, and are both important,'' says Professor Diffenbaugh.
In just the past few weeks, analysis of real-time conditions have started to connect the dots linking still-active storm systems to climate change.
Earlier this month, as hurricane Florence approached the Carolina coast, a team of researchers put out a forecast in advance of landfall '' a first '' using models to quantify the likely impact of climate change on the storm's rainfall, size, and intensity. Among other things, they concluded that the rainfall forecasts were more than 50 percent higher than they would have been in a world without climate change.
The numbers are preliminary, and it will take months for researchers to conduct a postmortem of the forecasts made ahead of Florence to confirm '' or refute '' their validity.
Subsequent analysis of real-time attribution efforts during the 2017 hurricane season has also been finding strong links between those storms and climate change.
This Thursday, a study published in the journal Science concluded that warm sea-surface conditions in the tropical North Atlantic were a driving force in the unusually active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, which included Harvey, Irma, Maria, and three other major hurricanes in the North Atlantic.
Hiroyuki Murakami, an atmospheric scientist at Princeton University and the lead author of the study, says they looked at La Ni±a as one possible contributor, but their simulations found that it wasn't a major factor. Instead, the unusual warming of the tropical Atlantic relative to global ocean temperatures was the primary driver.
''Climate models consistently project a warmer tropical Atlantic in the future,'' says Dr. Murakami. If it continues to warm faster than other oceans, that could increase the average number of major hurricanes each year from three to five, or even more, by the end of this century, he says.
''It's still very challenging to attribute extreme hurricane events,'' adds Murakami.
Real-time attribution?This fall, we got the first taste of more immediate attribution when scientists from Stony Brook University, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research released a forecast, and maps, just before Florence was scheduled to make landfall.
One of the biggest factors they attributed to human-caused climate change: the extreme rainfall which, in the end, was responsible for the devastating flooding '' similar to Harvey last year in Houston.
Indeed, one preliminary report put Florence just behind Harvey as the second-wettest storm in 70 years. An average of 17.5 inches fell over a region of 14,000 square miles. In Harvey, 25.6 inches fell over that same area.
Several peer-reviewed studies in the past year, using a range of methods, all found that climate change significantly increased the amount of rain that flooded Houston.
While the advance attribution for Florence was unusual, since it was looking at predicted forecasts rather than the actual event, it seems to fit in that same context.
The forecast was part of an effort to answer the questions that people most want to know, says Kevin Reed, an atmospheric scientist at Stony Brook University in New York and a coauthor of the report.
''Increasingly, these questions '' did climate change impact this event '' are what the public and the media are asking,'' says Dr. Reed. ''Scientists have devolved into probabilities and trends, and aren't always answering the questions the public is asking.''
Reed and his colleagues used peer-reviewed models and detailed data about conditions to compare present-day forecasts with forecasts that removed the climate-change elements, or ''signals,'' from conditions like sea-surface temperatures and atmospheric moisture.
''We're not just decreasing the temperature by one degree everywhere,'' says Reed, explaining the complexity of the models used.
Now, he says, the challenge is to work on an in-depth analysis that's peer-reviewed and see how well their initial conclusions hold up. ''We can let the community decide if these kinds of things are useful or scientifically validated,'' he says.
No crystal ballDespite all the advances in attribution science, there are still limitations, and it remains hard to tease out the role climate change plays in complex weather events like tornadoes, wildfire, and hurricanes.
Some of the elements from an event like Florence or Harvey have a lot of consensus: Storm-surge flooding is higher with higher sea levels. The increased water vapor in the atmosphere as the atmosphere has warmed is ''a robust long-term trend,'' says Diffenbaugh. ''For a given land-falling tropical cyclone '... it's likely to produce a higher amount of precipitation.''
Other aspects of hurricanes '' like their frequency and intensity '' are more controversial. ''We can't say a hurricane is due to global warming,'' says Adam Sobel, a professor of applied physics and applied mathematics at Columbia University, and a leader in event attribution. ''We have a lot of confidence they should produce more rain, and that they should produce more wind. The controversy is over whether those changes are already evident.''
But Dr. Sobel also thinks that the standard climate scientists use '' trying to disprove the hypothesis that there's no climate-change signal with very high certainty '' is arguably too conservative.
Imagine a credible terrorist attack in a crowded room, he says, and CIA agents trying to hear what the suspects are saying, but the noise of the room drowning out much of their conversation. ''Would you say, 'Can we disprove what they're saying?' You'd say, no, we can't make out exactly what these guys are saying, but that's not a reason to be complacent.''
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Separating out the climate-change influence on hurricanes from the natural variability and limitations of the observational record is analogous to distinguishing those quiet voices from all the background noise, says Sobel.
In other domains where the outcome is important, ''you don't apply this extreme standard, he says. ''It's not the rational standard to use for a public-policy debate about risk.''
Tech Workers Now Want to Know: What Are We Building This For? - The New York Times
Image Laura Nolan, a software engineer in Ireland, left Google in June over the company's involvement in Project Maven, an effort to build artificial intelligence for the Department of Defense. Credit Credit Paulo Nunes dos Santos for The New York Times SAN FRANCISCO '-- Jack Poulson, a Google research scientist, recently became alarmed by reports that the company was developing a search engine for China that would censor content on behalf of the government.
While Dr. Poulson works on search technologies, he had no knowledge of the product, which was code-named Dragonfly. So in a meeting last month with Jeff Dean, the company's head of artificial intelligence, Dr. Poulson asked if Google planned to move ahead with the product and if his work would contribute to censorship and surveillance in China.
According to Dr. Poulson, Mr. Dean said that Google complied with surveillance requests from the federal government and asked rhetorically if the company should leave the United States market in protest. Mr. Dean also shared a draft of a company email that read, ''We won't and shouldn't provide 100 percent transparency to every Googler, to respect our commitments to customer confidentiality and giving our product teams the freedom to innovate.''
The next day, Dr. Poulson quit the company. Mr. Dean did not respond to a request for comment, and Google declined to comment.
Across the technology industry, rank-and-file employees are demanding greater insight into how their companies are deploying the technology that they built. At Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Salesforce, as well as at tech start-ups, engineers and technologists are increasingly asking whether the products they are working on are being used for surveillance in places like China or for military projects in the United States or elsewhere.
That's a change from the past, when Silicon Valley workers typically developed products with little questioning about the social costs. It is also a sign of how some tech companies, which grew by serving consumers and businesses, are expanding more into government work. And the shift coincides with concerns in Silicon Valley about the Trump administration's policies and the larger role of technology in government.
''You can think you're building technology for one purpose, and then you find out it's really twisted,'' said Laura Nolan, 38, a senior software engineer who resigned from Google in June over the company's involvement in Project Maven, an effort to build artificial intelligence for the Department of Defense that could be used to target drone strikes.
All of this has led to growing tensions between tech employees and managers. In recent months, workers at Google, Microsoft and Amazon have signed petitions and protested to executives over how some of the technology they helped create is being used. At smaller companies, engineers have begun asking more questions about ethics.
Image Jack Poulson, a Google research scientist, quit the company when he found out his work would contribute to censorship and surveillance in China. Credit Mark Sommerfeld for The New York Times And the change is likely to last: Some engineering students have said they are demanding more answers and are asking similar questions, even before they move into the work force.
''What people are looking for '-- not just employees '-- they are looking for some clarity,'' said Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman. ''Are there principles that get applied? Even if you don't agree with the decision that gets made, if you understand the thinking behind it, it helps a lot.''
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
The lack of information about what tech employees are working on was recently evident at Clarifai, an artificial intelligence start-up in New York City.
Last year, a small team of Clarifai engineers began working on a project inside a private room at its downtown New York office, said three people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition that they not be identified for fear of retaliation. Paper covered the windows, and employees called the room ''The Chamber of Secrets,'' in a sly reference to the second Harry Potter novel. Even the eight engineers and researchers working inside the room did not entirely realize the nature of the project, the people said.
When employees asked about the project in meetings, Clarifai's chief executive, Matt Zeiler, said it was a government project related to ''analytics'' or ''surveillance'' and would ''save lives,'' according to the people.
After employees read documents posted to Clarifai's internal systems, it became clear that the company had won a contract for Project Maven and that workers were creating something for the Defense Department, the people said. One engineer quit the project immediately after a meeting with the Defense Department where killing was discussed in frank terms, they said.
A Clarifai spokesman said that at the very beginning of the project, the company sat down with those chosen for it to brief them on the nature of the work, and one employee quit the project then. ''Every member of Clarifai's Project Maven team agreed to work on the project, and the two people who chose not to participate were assigned to different efforts across the company,'' the spokesman said.
Dr. Poulson, whose work involved incorporating a variety of languages into Google search, said he did not initially think his research could be involved in Dragonfly '-- until he noticed Chinese had been added to a list of languages for his project.
''Most people don't know the holistic scope of what they're building,'' said Dr. Poulson, 32, who worked at Google for over two years. ''You don't have knowledge of where it's going unless you're sufficiently senior.''
Image ''You can think you're building technology for one purpose, and then you find out it's really twisted,'' Ms. Nolan said. Credit Paulo Nunes dos Santos for The New York Times The difficulties of knowing what companies are doing with technologies is compounded because engineers at large tech companies often build infrastructure '-- like algorithms, databases and even hardware '-- that underpins almost every product a company offers. At Google, for example, a storage system called Colossus is used by Google search, Google Maps and Gmail.
''It would be very difficult for most engineers in Google to be sure that their work wouldn't contribute to these projects in some way,'' said Ms. Nolan, who helped to keep Google's systems running online smoothly. ''My personal feeling was that if the organization is doing something I find ethically unacceptable, then I was contributing to it.''
Yet executives at tech companies have claimed that complete transparency is not possible.
''We've always had confidential projects as a company. I think what happened when the company was smaller, you had a higher chance of knowing about it,'' Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive, said at a staff meeting in August, according to a transcript provided to The New York Times. ''I think there are a lot of times when people are in exploratory stages where teams are debating and doing things, so sometimes being fully transparent at that stage can cause issues.''
Such policies have rippled beyond tech companies. In June, more than 100 students at Stanford, M.I.T. and other top colleges signed a pledge saying they would turn down job interviews with Google unless the company dropped its Project Maven contract. (Google said that month that it would not renew the contract once it expired.)
''We are students opposed to the weaponization of technology by companies like Google and Microsoft,'' the pledge stated. ''Our dream is to be a positive force in the world. We refuse to be complicit in this gross misuse of power.''
Alex Ahmed, a doctoral candidate in computer science at Northeastern University in Boston, said she organized a student discussion on campus this month to debate whether they should work for tech companies that made decisions they believed to be unethical.
''We're not given an ethics course. We're not given a political education,'' Ms. Ahmed, 29, said. ''It's impossible for us to do this unless we create the conversations for ourselves.''
Over the summer, she said, students at Northeastern also protested the school's multimillion-dollar research contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under which it would provide research on technology exports to the agency. A Northeastern spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
Bridget Frey, the chief technology officer at the online real estate company Redfin, said job candidates had increasingly raised ethical questions in interviews. This summer, interns questioned Redfin's chief executive, Glenn Kelman, about whether the way the site displays school information and test scores could contribute to socio-economic divides in neighborhoods. In response, the company added more context about the test score information.
Employees are now frequently asking, ''If you don't share the information with me, how can I make sure this isn't happening here?'' Ms. Frey said.
Follow Kate Conger and Cade Metz on Twitter: @kateconger and @CadeMetz.
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A version of this article appears in print on
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of the New York edition
with the headline:
Tech Workers Take a Stand Over the Uses Of Their Work
