World News - July 18, 2018

Mmmm...yum What could possibly go wrong? Lab-grown meat. CBS News:

A Dutch company that presented the world's first lab-grown beef burger five years ago said Tuesday it has received funding to pursue its plans to make and sell artificially grown meat to restaurants from 2021.
[.]
Environmentalists have warned that the world's growing appetite for meat [isn't sustainable].

Another hyperbolic, environmentalist "alarm." See the entry "Carnivore Free Menu" on yesterday's post.
- - -
Dr Bumbum is on the run.  BBC: 

A celebrity Brazilian plastic surgeon known as Dr Bumbum has gone on the run after a woman died following injections he gave her to enlarge her bottom.
[.]
Lilian Calixto [fell ill during the procedure] to undergo buttock enhancement by Dr [Denis] Furtado (aka Bumbum) on Saturday evening, reports said. 

- - -
Euro News - Our ancestors liked carbs:

Plaque preserved on the teeth of people dead for centuries can be used to reveal what their favorite foods were, an international team of researchers found. This dental calculus shows a diet heavy on carbohydrates[.]

Wouldn't this study, then, also reflect our ancestors didn't brush and floss as often as they should have?
- - -
The New Zealand Herald - Last words of an executed man:

As the lethal injection of the sedative pentobarbital began to take effect, Christopher Young swore twice, he said he could taste it, and it was burning, ABC Eyewitness news reports.

"I taste it in my throat," he said[.]

- - -
The New Zealand Herald: Lottery win brings division within family:

During the cheque presentation, [lottery winner Ms Barbara Reddick] unleashed a shocking attack on her nephew, telling reporters he "didn't deserve" the cash.

"See you in court," the CBC network reported the woman as saying at the event.
[.]
 "I put his name on the ticket for good luck because he's like a son to me — he was. He was lucky, but not for half a million dollars."

Ms Reddick said she was "heartbroken" by the feud.

"He's dead to me," she said.

- - -
New snake species discovered immediately declared in danger of extinction.  The Independent:

Scientists have stumbled upon a previously undiscovered species of venomous snake, but warned it could already be at risk of extinction.

The new subspecies of bandy-bandy, a family of burrowing snakes endemic to Australia, was found by chance by biologists from the University of Queensland, who have quickly applied for it to be given protected status.

When the Zombie Apocalypse occurs, and it will, keep in mind that all snakes are edible. Survival Mastery (including directions how to clean and cook snake. Hey, you'll be thanking me for this during the ZApocalypse): 

The health benefits provided from snake meat far outweighs those of red meats and the good news is that they’re nearly all edible.
[.]
Even after decapitation, the head is able to see and sense you and will lash out and bite if you get too close. It can take well over an hour for the snake to die fully.

Some people report being bitten by a decapitated head several hours after killing the snake. They’re still every bit as deadly as well. 

The Zombie Apocalypse. Eat snakes.

 - - -

Bearing Arms - Guns beat Pepper Spray every time. (As well as beating rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock):

Just how do people think a blast of pepper spray would take out armed attackers?

- - -
Trend News: Oil prices rebound.
- - -
The Independent: Facebook 'leaves graphic content online in order to make money.'

An undercover investigation found that while nudity is almost always removed, violent videos involving assaults on children, racially charged hate speech and images of self-harm by children all remained on Facebook after being reported by users and reviewed by moderators.

- - -
Gulf News - #Talk to a Muslim stirring up a storm:

Hashtag #TalkToAMuslim is kicking up a storm in India[.]

Thousands of Indian tweeps have taken to the social media platform to highlight the seemingly growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the country.

The trend seems to have kicked off after writer Zainab Sikander (@zainabsikander) tweeted: “I’m An Indian Muslim. I’m Human too. You can talk to me. #TalkToAMuslim.”
[.]
Non-Muslims also joined the tirade against communal violence in India and in support of the minority Muslim community.

@ektaa_malik posted: I’m a Hindu. I talk to Muslims... they are humans.

Image: Twitter

- - -
The Independent - Virgin Media apologizes for letters addressed to "pants-wearer."

Virgin Media has apologised "to anyone offended" by an ad campaign which saw letters addressed to the "pants wearer" rather than householder.

It doesn't take much to offend people these days.
- - -
The picture Cluck Schumer DOESN'T want you to see! Horn News: 

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is leading the media’s angry attacks on President Donald Trump over his comments Monday in Helsinki.

But there’s one photo circulating the internet that Schumer doesn’t want getting out.
[.]
The image shows Schumer cozy and smiling with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in 2009 over coffee and donuts[.]

Cluck and Vlad, donuts and coffee.

See - it's different because it's Schumer and Putin.

Portland "Art" Gallery Removes Illustration of Trump with knife held to throat.

Oh those Portland Liberals...and their widdle bookstores art galleries.

From: The Washington Times

An art gallery in Portland, Oregon, has removed a graphic window illustration of President Trump being threatened with a bloody knife at his throat after an angry outcry.
[.]
The One Grand Gallery took down the image entitled “F*** Trump” Tuesday in response to complaints, threats and a request from the landlord, as reported by Fox12.

“The same people offended over a ‘death threat’ are the same people upholding death threats & violence. Irony,” said the gallery in a Tuesday post on Facebook.
[.]
Although the window drawing was removed, the original artwork is still on display inside the studio, which held an open house Friday called “F*** You Mr. President.”

The sketch was displayed in a store window, facing outward. What reaction did the "art" gallery expect?

"...an open house Friday called “F*** You Mr. President.”... - how mature, from the political party of the "enlightened".

And "the gallery" sees "irony" in receiving death threats from people who object to death threats? The irony is the irony of the irony.

If "you're" going to display anything incendiary - and I'm not saying "you" shouldn't - just be prepared to deal with the consequences. Although, Libs don't feel consequences apply to them. Too bad they're wrong.

The now-removed Illustration of the "Art" Gallery

Lesbian Batwoman coming to The CW

Television network The CW is developing a new series with a Lesbian Batwoman. BBC:

A TV adaptation of Batwoman is to become the first live-action superhero series with an openly gay lead character.

The show is being developed for the US channel, the CW, adding to the network's collection of shows based on DC comics characters.

Well, there's only one actor that comes to (my) mind who is talented and skilled enough to really make this character work, and that - you're probably thinking the very same - is the one, the only - Kevin Costner.

A-Lister on tap to play role of Lesbian Batwoman?

World News - July 17, 2018

He appears to have a lot of practice sucking co... eating snow-cones.

Awwwwwww...The Kenyan returns home. SMH:

Former US president Barack Obama has arrived in Kenya for a lower-profile visit than the ones he made to the country as senator and president, still he is making headlines and meeting leaders.

- - -
GlobalNews.ca - Thai cave rescuer called ‘pedo-guy’ by Elon Musk suggests he might take legal action. 

The British cave diver publicly called a “pedo” by tech billionaire Elon Musk is considering taking legal action against the Tesla CEO.
[.]
Musk gave no evidence for alleging [rescuer] Unsworth was a pedophile. Unsworth said he would consider taking legal action against Musk over the remarks[.]

I like, and have a lot of respect for, Musk, and I think we need to listen to what he says about AI and its potential to be used for harm. But his pedo comment is his ego leaping ahead of his intellect. C'mon Elon, you know better.
- - -
Dying RINO John McCain still bitter he's not the president and that he still hates President Donald Trump.  AZ Central:

McCain's issued statement was among a number of Republican lawmakers who were condemning Trump's appearance in Helsinki, Finland.
[.]
McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a frequent Trump critic, said in a statement that "no prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant."

Yeah, well, fuck you John. I'll take "Word Phrases That We'll Never Hear For $500:" The Answer is: President John McCain. "What are words that John McCain will go to his death never hearing?" I am correct.
- - -
GNewt GNingrich (who, IMO has never been able to decide what side of an issue he is on or for what length of time) and Lindsay Grahamcrackhead had apoplectical hissy-fits over Trump's words at the Trump-Putin Summit. BBC:

President Trump must clarify his statements in Helsinki on our intelligence system and Putin. It is the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected—-immediately.
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) July 16, 2018
[.]
Senator Lindsey Graham...called the summit a "missed opportunity", a "bad day for the US" that will be sign of weakness to Russia."

Yeah, fuck these two dinosaurs. Both are irrelevant and long ago obsolete. And Lindsay...well, when one thinks of a "Strong America", the first person that pops into my mind is Lindsay. He's got that Bruce Willis/Charles Bronson/Clint Eastwood aura working for him. Am I wrong?
- - -
France24 - The EU continues enabling Iran:

... the (European) Council has endorsed the update of the blocking statute annex on the nuclear deal with Iran[.]
[.]
The "blocking statute" forbids EU firms from complying with US sanctions, allowing them to recover damages from such penalties and nullifying any foreign court rulings against them.

And when Iran chomps the ass of any part of the EU...gee, I wonder who the EU will go whining to for protection and assistance?
- - -
Google engineer was beaten to death . Deutsche Welle:

A 32-year-old Google engineer was beaten to death and three others were severely injured... on Friday in the latest incident of mob violence fueled by fake social media messages.
[.]
Since May, at least 25 people have become victims of vigilante justice triggered by fake warnings of kidnappers or organ harvesters circulated on the Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp.

Maybe Elon Musk has a plan to solve this problem.
- - -
The ever-competent IMF says trade tensions could pose risks to global economic growth. Italy News Net:

'But the risk that current trade tensions escalate further - with adverse effects on confidence, asset prices, and investment - is the greatest near-term threat to global growth,' IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld said.

And then again, maybe not. I love it when organizations like the IMF, or the World Bank, or the UN put out generalized statements that have as much value as saying, "you know, gambling in Las Vegas could harm you financially." Wow, would anyone think of this shit if it weren't for the IMF, WB or UN? And of course...the EU.
- - -
New Zealand Herald - Vaping airline pilot causes plane to plunge 10,000 feet:

Air China Boeing 737 aircraft was flying to the Chinese city of Dalian from Hong Kong when it went down to 10,000 feet (3048m), with oxygen masks deployed.
[.]
"In the preliminary investigation, the co-pilot was found to be smoking an e-cigarette," state-owned China News said[.] 

See, in the U.S. we go and pay good money at amusement parks in order to experience the same kind of thing. With Air China you get two-for-one; one from Corrumn A and one from Corrumn B. It's a Win-Win!

Image: CBC

- - -

VOA News: Greenhouse gases making food less nutritious.

- - -  
China cozies up to, and wants to be BFF with EU. Xinhua Net:

Chinese President Xi Jinping said], "China stands ready to work with the EU on the basis of mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, to make still further progress in the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and promote bilateral economic and social development and people's welfare.

No doubt China and the EU will get along...fabulously.
- - -
Coming soon - Carnivore Free Menu? The Politicalization of Food. Globe and Mail:

Plant-based choices will be strongly encouraged and eating more animal proteins will be frowned upon. Switzerland just released a new food guide that encourages consumers to reduce their meat consumption by 70 per cent. It’s happening everywhere.

"When they take the bacon from my cold, dead hands."

- - -
All the little critters living in your house. CBC:

... a team of entomologists spends a week delving into the dark crevices of a typical Toronto house, finding a whopping 112 distinct species. But they say that's no cause for concern; an insect census taken in homes all over the United States revealed that number is about average.

Well, there are worse things, I guess, that could be living in our homes.  (Fast-forward to the 2:30 time mark).
- - -
NDTV -  Striking workers put dent in Amazon's Prime Day Shopping Bonanza: 

Nearly 1,800 Amazon workers in Spain went on strike Monday during Prime Day, the company's biggest sales day of the year, according to labor activitists [sic]. Thousands more Amazon employees in Germany are expected to walk off the job Tuesday, the second day of the 36-hour sale, for similar reasons. 

CNBC: Amazon's Jeff Bezos wealthiest man in modern history.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos’ fortune just crossed the $150 billion mark. That’s $55 billion richer than Bill Gates, at number two.

- - -
Hmmmm...interesting.

Property owned by Pervez Musharraf seized. News Internationalist Pakistan:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to seize [five luxury properties held] by General (retd) Pervez Musharraf after he failed to appear before the anti-corruption watchdog over allegations of Rs1,000 billion corruption and owning assets beyond means.

- - -
TesFa News - it's a love fest now: Eritrean Embassy in Ethiopia Reopened:

“I feel boundless joy as I convey to you the message of peace, love and good wishes of the people of Eritrea. And, I congratulate you warmly for the successful and historic changes that you have brought about,” President Isaias said at a concert celebrating the peace process at the Millenial Hall in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

One. More. Time.
- - - 
The Week - Donald Trump's Weird Eating Habits:

The president’s diet has been ridiculed as childish and unhealthy. Here is what he eats and some of the weird ways he does it. He normally doesn’t eat breakfast.

OMG - what a heathen. He skips breakfast. (GAAAAASSSSP!) He must be the only one.  Why, I bet Trump wasn't even born in the United States.

Tech News

The police pull you over, go on a fishing expedition, allegedly find some controlled substance and, later, because you can't remember the passwords to your recently purchased cell phones the judge sentences you for contempt of court.  (WTF?) TechDirt:

The police have a warrant and claim that's all they need to demand access to the phones' contents. But that's predicated on a string of events that seem constitutionally-dubious, to say the least.
[.]
As it stands now, [suspect William] Montanez is going to spend six months in jail for preventing police from rooting around in seized cellphones for evidence they don't need and which would likely be highly irrelevant to these criminal proceedings. The police can't show probable cause for this search because none exists. And yet, the judge trying the case demanded Montanez unlock the phones in court and when he failed to do so (Montanez claimed he could not remember the passcodes), the judge tossed him in jail to, I guess, jog his memory.

This case stinks all over.

- - -
Is your DVR a Dahua? If so, your password and/or security may have been compromised. Bleeping Computer:

Login passwords for tens of thousands of Dahua devices have been cached inside search results returned by ZoomEye [...] these passwords are for Dahua DVRs running very old firmware that is vulnerable to a five-year-old vulnerability

- - -
Wonderful article: Why Politicians always get tech wrong.  ZD Net:

...technology is one of the biggest drivers of change in society, because it underpins almost everything we do. It's one of the biggest sources both of threats and opportunities.

We need to vote tech-challenged politicians out of office. The future depends on it.
- - -
A lot of businesses failing to detect malware, phishing domains and rogue imitation sites. Info Security:

Of the Alexa top 10,000 domains, 3390 were running one potentially vulnerable web component; 1,036,657 potentially vulnerable web components were found overall.
[.]
“Some of the cryptomining scripts we found have been active for over 160 days, suggesting that organizations are failing to detect them”[.]

- - -
Motherboard -  AI-assisted fake...adult entertainment:

...this new type of fake [adult entertainment] shows that we're on the verge of living in a world where it's trivially easy to fabricate believable videos of people doing and saying things they never did.

- - -
The Drive - Nissan's GT-R will be the fastest sports car in the world.

The Nissa GT-R, fastest ever.

- - -
Tech XPlore - You're movie preferences analyzed so to better market to you.  In other words, tech enables Hollywood with a new tool designed to get more of your money. 
- - -
BGR - New, 50-inch 4k TV for $399.99.
- - -
Gadgets Now - The world should fear sex-bots and not AI.

Today, it seems impossible that even the most high-tech AI can create a robotic substitute for human relationships. Yet robots could play a supplementary role.

- - -
France, an up-and-coming tech giant.  TechCrunch:

France has now graduated from “asteroid” to “planet,” and is well on its way to “gas giant.”

- - -
Ars Technia: Chrome. Redesigned. (Yes...again.)
- - -
Technocracy: "Anonymous" can be ID'ed on Twitter with over 97% accuracy.  (I bet it was a tech-savvy politician, U.S. no doubt, who discovered this.)

- - -

Wccftech - Gamer or not...this chair looks really comfortable.

Sunday's Word

Tech News

Three members of You Tube Channel High on Life die in tragic accident. C|Net:

[Megan Scraper] ...  slipped and fell from the top of the falls into the water below[.]
[.]
[Ryker Gamble and Alexey Lyakh] jumped in after her in an attempt to save her, but no one survived.

- - -
Will your financial institution survive a tech meltdown? BBC Tech:

UK banks have been told to explain how they would cope with a technology failure or cyber-attack.

The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority have given financial firms three months to detail how they would respond if their systems failed.

Does this really matter since...The Illuminati controls everything?!?!?!
- - -
Gadgets Now: Over 50% of smartphones not password protected.

[A Kaspersky Lab survey] showed that less than 48 per cent of people password-protect their mobile devices and just 14 per cent of people encrypt their files and folders to avoid unauthorized access.

- - -
Do we have a say in this? Amazon wants Alexa EVERYWHERE.  PC Mag:

[We caught up with Zain Gulamali who manages the $100 million Alexa Fund] and [posed]  a few questions about the personal digital assistant and its future.

- - -  
Extreme Tech: Self-driving Acura steers driver into oncoming traffic:

...the camera that peers ahead through the windshield needs to be re-aligned when the windshield is replaced.

- - -
eWeek: WordPress had some security vulnerabilities:

A new version of open-source content management system WordPress, 4.9.7, was released on July 5 that patches a pair of security vulnerabilities that could expose WordPress sites to risk.

- - -
Mobile Syrup - Canada is having a tough time retaining cyber talent:

...Canadian demand for cyber talent is increasing by seven percent annually.
[.]
Deloitte says addressing cybersecurity risks is critical because they could slow the pace of global technological innovation by as much as $3 trillion USD in lost economic value in 2020.

- - -
Having issues with Win 10? ZD Net: Some free tech and trouble shooting tips:

Windows 10 upgrade: Survey finds half of users experience problems[.] (Win users...experiencing...problems? Really?-DD)

Dump Win; Covert to Linux.
- - -
Beta News: The NSA is deleting millions of files.

The NSA...has announced that it is deleting hundreds of millions of call and text records because of "technical irregularities".
[.] While full details of the reasons for the deletion are not given, the NSA notes that it collected data it was not authorized to collect.

..."because of technical irregularities." Anyone buying this? It's reassuring that the NSA collects info they're not authorized to collect, isn't it?
- - -
Tech Explore - Bandages go high-tech.

[Engineers] led by Tufts University developed a prototype bandage designed to actively monitor the condition of chronic wounds and deliver appropriate drug treatments to improve the chances of healing.

Credit: Tufts University

- - -

Engadget - Pot In a Blender:

The Rosinbomb Rocket is a $600, 13-pound tabletop rosin extractor designed to squeeze and melt the THC crystals present on the surface of the flower into a solventless dabbable hash similar to shatter. Think of it as a panini press for weed.

[.]...tokers can get stonier than a rock garden.

I don't know what any of it means. Is this about rock gardens...comments,  anyone?
- - -
File Hippo - Free data recovery software for Windows that boasts a 96% recovery rate.

Recoverit retrieves your data from all data loss scenarios including emptied recycle bin, accidental deletion, disk formatting, partition loss, external device corruption, virus attack, system crashes...[.]

- - -
Have you ever wondered why cruise ships and yachts are painted white? Technology.Org:

Container ships and all other kinds of cargo and fishing ships are all kinds of colours...[while] cruise ships and luxury yachts are usually white. Why?

- - -
And because I know you've been waiting on this news: Pokémon Quest downloaded 7.5 million times.  Mobile Syrup:

The game launched on May 30th for the Nintendo Switch and was followed on June 27th with a mobile release across iOS and Android. Pokémon Quest has been climbing the charts[.]

- - -

The Rosinbomb Rocket-Image: Marijuana Retail Report.com

Friday Morning Music Video

"Love Stinks" from the album Love Stinks by The J. Geils Band

Did you notice what drummer Steven Bladd is using as drum sticks?

EU Thumbs Down on Copyright Reform

So far, so good, on news with the EU Copyright Reform (EU CR).

The Globe Post - Parliament rejected the bill in a 318 to 278 vote. 31 lawmakers abstained.

The European Parliament voted against a proposed controversial legislation that would require internet companies and users to take more extensive measures to prevent copyright infringement, a bill that was denounced as a threat to internet freedom.

As is "the devil is in the details", the EU copyright reform is overflowing with the devil, especially with Article 11 and Article 13.

Why is this legislation important? Had it been approved, I don't think it would have crushed news aggregators, blogs, social media and others that reproduce copyrighted material. It would have made what now is a relatively simple and fair concept into a deeply tangled mess.

While there is the component of this being a U.S./EU copyright issue, the much bigger elephant to tackle - and really, it can't be - are electronic file formats.

Had the proposed EU Copyright Reform passed, it would have created a mountain of problems, the least severe being reproducing copyrighted text. Text is text. Far more unmanageable is regulating a myriad of electronic file formats.

One example from the failed EU CR is its lack of definition in licensing copyrighted material. ArsTechnia:

...the [EU CR] proposed law does not explain how [licensing] could be done for fragmented markets where there is no single licensing body. Alternatively, online services must "prevent the availability on their services of works or other subject-matter identified by rightsholders."

Image: CDev

This is nothing new, though. Ask the music industry about their track record regarding licensing and copyright. They've been trying to define and figure it out for decades.

Th EU CR is not a dead issue. The EU Parliament will revive this copyright reform in a few months. CDRinfo: 

Parliament's position will now be up for debate, amendment, and a vote during the next plenary session, in September.

Technology consistently out-paces attempts of its regulation and law. This will never change.

The EU cannot define what it wants to define. I'm not sure any type of government, coalition or organization can do what the EU is attempting. At least it isn't the UN sticking its finger in this pie. The EU CR was thankfully voted down. I don't think they're going to figure it out come September either.

Ed Schultz, former Air America personality dead at 64

January 27, 1954 – July 5, 2018

I was surprised to read that radio and television personality Ed Schultz died. Twin Cities.com:

Sources in Fargo, N.D., say that Schultz died of natural causes in Washington, D.C. He was 64.
[.]
 He [dominated] local airwaves as a conservative firebrand in the 1990s.

However, he later said his views changed and he became a Democrat.

In 2004, Schultz took his radio show nationwide. Then in 2009, he moved to national television, becoming a prime-time progressive voice on MSNBC.

What are "natural causes" at age 64? Yes, 64 isn't 35 or 48...but 64 due to natural causes?

He later moved on working for RT News.

To say that I didn't think all that much of Ed Schultz is an understatement. Ed could get rather nasty at times, and, blogging at my old site, yeah...I took some sharp jabs at many things he said. I thought he was rather buffoon-ish and, I wrote it in the past so I can't deny it (nor would I) - I referred to him as, "Big, Fat and Dumb."

Maybe he spoke outlandish, beyond-the-point-of-pushing-the-envelope statements in order for ratings/attention/more gigs/enduring himself to the Fringe Left? I don't know. I do know I think it is very...very NOT nice...to refer to anyone as " a dead whore. " Well...I guess Ed had his demons, as do we all. And, not judging here, only noting that some of us deal with, and process, our demons better - or worse - than do others.

Back then, Air America was trying to build a successful, Liberal-oriented talk network that would compete with conservative talk radio. To make it successful, (which it was not),  it's entirely possible their on-air hosts spoke outrageous and pretty darn venomous  statements pandering to, what then was, a very agitated Liberal Fringe, the same agitated Liberal Fringe we have currently.

Some of the things he said on his radio program provided me fun material to play with.

No gloating here, though, on the news of his passing. I wish his family, friends and colleagues my condolences and sympathy.

As (the character) Doc (played by Russell Hodgkinson ) says in the (fantastic) series Z Nation, "...all is forgiven in the end."

RIP "Big Eddy".

World News - July 5, 2018

Some fun Independence day facts. Voice of America - Crunching Numbers of the 4th of July. 
- - -
Sky News:  Meet the British divers who found the Thai football team trapped in the cave.

Rick Stanton and John Volanthen were the first rescuers to reach the group of young footballers and their coach[.]

- - -
(At publishing time) British couple critically ill, exposed to Novichok nerve agent. Xinhua Net:

A British couple critically ill in hospital have been poisoned by the same nerve agent used in the recent attack on a former Russian agent and his daughter[.]
[.]
Britain's most senior counter-terrorism cop [confirmed] that a couple from Wiltshire have been exposed to the nerve agent Novichok, and are both critically ill in hospital.

More: Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45 fighting for their lives. The Express:

It is not thought the couple had links to Russia.

More: The Express: Timeline of key events in the Novichok poisonings.

More: RT News: Twitter awash in conspiracy theories:

What is claimed to be a new case of Novichok poisoning of an unsuspecting British couple has made Twitter explode, with users finding links between the incident and the World Cup, Brexit, and even alleging it was an inside job.

- - -
The EU Copyright Issue:

(At publishing time) Here comes the vote on the EU's controversial copyright law. BBC:

The two most controversial parts of it are Article 11 and Article 13.
[.]
The first of these is...called the "link tax."
[.]
Article 13 puts more onus on websites to enforce copyright laws and could mean that any online platform that allows users to post text, images, sounds or code will need a way to assess and filter content.

More: The Register: Privacy group raises eyebrows at EU copyright reform.

... the idea of getting web giants to proactively stop copyrighted material from appearing online is a good one in theory, but in practice is fraught with danger.

More: CityAM: Will the EU copyright reform break the internet?  (Internet inventor Albert Gore, Jr. will be able to fix it!)

More: CityAM: Paul McCartney pro EU copyright reform.

More: Billboard: Is this the expected outcome of the vote?

More: Crooked Timber: When copyright goes wrong.

More: Japan Times: Wikipedia protests EU copyright by going dark.

- - -

Houston Chronicle: Angel Merkel warns of worldwide financial crisis.

(Is she setting the stage for the "big world event" to crash the global economy? Is she the Illuminati's messenger of bad news?)
- - -
Jaguar Land Rover have Brexit fears. Daily Mail:

A hard Brexit would cost Jaguar Land Rover £1.2billion a year curtailing its future operations in the UK, the British carmaker's chief executive warned yesterday.

- - -
The Epoch Times - Stress tests for Canadian mortgages:

The new rules mandate that borrowers must qualify for interest rates 2 percent higher than the rate of the mortgage they apply for.

- - -
BBC:  Kim Dotcom loses appeal against extradition:

New Zealand's Court of Appeal upheld the decision that Mr Dotcom and three others can be extradited to stand trial for copyright infringement and fraud.

The charges are related to Mr Dotcom's now defunct fire-sharing website Megaupload, which allowed millions of people to download digital content.
[.]
It is now up to New Zealand's Justice Minister Andrew Little to decide whether extradition should take place.

- - -
SMH: Sydney, a 24 hour city.

Round-the-clock public transport, less red tape for businesses, and a shift in the popular narrative that the city shuts down at night, are among the priorities identified by the City of Sydney's nightlife and creative sector advisory panel.

- - -
The Express - China asks EU to join-up against the U.S. on trade and tariffs:

A European diplomat said: “China wants the European Union to stand with Beijing against Washington, to take sides.

“We won’t do it and we have told them that.”

- - -
Trade War "D-Day" for Trump. The New Zealand Herald:

The first round of US tariffs - on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods - comes into effect on Friday night (NZT) and with it fears that we'll see the start of a full blown trade war.

- - -
Is the Answer buying commodities? Live Mint:

...Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has poured cold water on the notion that a trade war between the US and China represents a serious threat to raw materials, saying most of them aren’t likely to be significantly impacted[.]
[.]
[The] trade war impact on commodity markets will be very small, with exception of soybeans[.]

- - -

Dealers arrested; had two tons of gold coins.  Trend News:

Iranian police arrested two gold coin dealers in Tehran, saying that the arrested people were responsible for gold coin price stagnation in the market.
[.]
...police have seized 20 kilograms of gold coin and gold from [them].

- - -
I hope this doesn't increase bacon prices. From The Hill - Tariffs will devastate US pork producers:

...some major U.S. pork producers fear they will lose a significant amount of money once China and Mexico implement the tariffs, forcing some to move their investments overseas.

Image: Pinterest

Happy 4th of July - Independence Day!

Flag via: http://bestanimations.com/Flags/USA/USA.html

A Happy and Safe Independence Day / 4th of July to All.

And let us never forget the significance of this day.  Military.com:

On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies claimed their independence from England, an event which eventually led to the formation of the United States.
[.]
In a June 7 session in the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall), Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a resolution with the famous words: "Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."

And to those who served or currently serve in any branch of the U.S. Military, who served to protect our freedoms and who put their lives on the line for our freedoms, this day would not exist if not for you. God Bless you.

 Image via: Gify

Minneapolis 4th of July Fireworks to be held Indoors

Due the possibility of inclement weather conditions, the Minneapolis City 4th of July fireworks display has been rescheduled and will be held indoors.

From The Eritas County Ledger:

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey  announced that due to expected rainstorms tonight, the July 4th fireworks display will take place indoors at the Minneapolis City Armory at 10PM. Liberals and Democrats and Antifa planning to attend are requested to wear non-flame-retardant clothing.

A Public Service Announcement to The Anti-Smoking Nazis: Stay away from fireworks!

First, this post pertains to the obnoxious, Anti-Smoking Nazi Little Eichmanns. Not the conscientious, polite non-smokers who nicely request no smoking in their home, car or around them. I have no problem with those folks. And yeah, I smoke. Not much. A pack of cigs lasts me about a week. I had quit, but not having a cig with morning coffee is blasphemy, so I started again. And one or two in the evening. That's the extent of my smoking.

This post is directed at the virulent, jack-booted, goose-stepping Anti-Smoking thugs.

And you know what? For once, I am in full agreement with the Anti-Smoking Nazis. Yep. I've gone fully "Left" on this issue. And I apologize, and deeply regret referring, to this wonderful group of concerned citizens as Anti-Smoking Nazi Little Eichmanns. They only care about us. I didn't realize it at the time. May the ASNLE's forgive me and how I treated them in the past. You were and are right. I was wrong. Way, way wrong. Wronger than wrong can be.

I agree wholly, fully and completely with the Anti-Smoking Nazis that there is simply no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. None. Not one single mini-micro-particle of any type of second-hand smoke can ever be considered acceptable or safe.

So please, my newly found comrades, for the sake of your health and for the  lives of the children, DO NOT attend any 4th of July fireworks displays.

Actually, we must end all fireworks displays. For you see, fireworks are toxic. Moffitt.org:

[Firework display smoke] combustibles can produce toxic fallout that poses serious human health and environmental dangers.
[.]
...fireworks are made up of gun powder, accelerant, heavy metals and numerous contaminants, such as ozone, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide and sulfur dioxide. The toxic smoke and dust produced during firework displays can be inhaled directly into the lungs. The negative health effects of fireworks go far beyond temporary lung inflammation and respiratory problems, however.

Carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals released by fireworks can later invade the body through contaminated water or soil. That’s because firework displays often take place over oceans, rivers and lakes, and the resulting toxic fallout can directly contaminate water sources. In addition to posing a direct health risk to humans, these pollutants can affect fish and other aquatic life, and eventually move up the food chain.

The dangerous chemicals released during firework displays can wreak havoc on the human body, affecting the endocrine system, immune system, gastrointestinal system and metabolism, as well as the neurotransmitters in the brain.

Basic, common knowledge tells us we know that if we smell something, anything, we are actually inhaling micro-particles of the substance that we smell. And since there is absolutely no safe level of smoke, or second-hand smoke, we cannot and must not allow fireworks displays to continue.

And all that particulate matter from the fireworks smoke finds its way into the earth and water supply. The only logical conclusion is that if you are adamantly opposed to any level of second-hand cigarette smoke, you must hold and apply the same standard to the smoke and pollution caused by fireworks displays.

You don't want to poison the air and the water with toxic fallout from fireworks displays, do you?

In fact, if you oppose eliminating fireworks displays, you can only be an environment-hating, alt-Right-Hate-mongering Racist Republican who doesn't care at all about dirty air and filthy water.

Need more evidence? Well, check out Medical Xpress:

...[fireworks] displays are achieved by adding metals to the gunpowder. When a pyrotechnic display takes place it releases a lot of smoke, liberating minute metallic particles (of a few microns in size, or even less), which are small enough to be inhaled deeply into the lungs.
[.]
[Studies] confirm that the levels of lead, copper, strontium, potassium and magnesium skyrocketed after the fireworks were launched.
[.]
...researchers analysed [sic] the levels of more than 30 chemical elements and compounds [and found high concentrations of] lead, copper, strontium, potassium and magnesium skyrocketed after the fireworks were launched. [In addition], fireworks smoke includes high concentrations of] aluminium [sic], titanium, barium and antimony, and also concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) and sulphur dioxide (SO2).
[.]
The researcher compares the problem with that of tobacco.

For your health, and for all that is sacred and holy, my dear, newly-found kindred Anti-Smoking Nazis, stay indoors during all fireworks displays. Close all the windows and doors. Shut the shades. Tie a bandanna, or better yet a surgical breathing mask - and wear it for at least a full 24 hours after any fireworks display.

And take an added step of caution that I plan on doing, not to watch fireworks displays through a window. Who knows, it could be very hazardous.

And the children, oh - oh - oh, the children. You must keep them far, far away and indoors from any type of fireworks display. It would be nothing short of child endangerment, abuse and neglect if we allowed them to attend a fireworks display.

Even "smoke bombs" and "snakes" release toxins. You wouldn't give your child a lit cigarette, would you? It goes to reason, then, you don't want your child near any type of small-scale firework that emits metallic toxins and poisonous smoke.

Yes, I was against this group of goose-stepping Anti-Smoking Eichmann Kill-joys.  But no more. I am one with you. We are one. I am you. I am Negan. You are Negan. We are all Negan.

You can't possibly oppose all second-hand cigarette smoke and not oppose the toxic pollutants from fireworks. If there's one thing I now know, it's that Uber Liberal Anti-Cigarette Nazis are not hypocrites. No, they care. They really do. And that's what I overlooked for so long. Again, I'm sorry...Mea Culpa.

It's time to end this hazardous, polluting and toxic tradition of fireworks.

Lard Lad Fat Bastard Michael Moore Needs Ten People

The Fat Bastard, Michael Moore, says he will join a million other people in surrounding the U.S. Capitol in protesting President Donald Trump's Supreme Court selection. The Washington Examiner: 

...Moore said on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO Friday, “I'll join a million other people surrounding the United States Capitol."  Moore was on the show to promote his upcoming anti-Trump movie, Fahrenheit 11/9.

Well, since Tubby is grotesquely obese enough to represent 999,990 individuals, there only need be ten more people joining him to total one million people.

And oh - gee - he appeared on "Real Time" to promote his upcoming movie "Fahrenheit 11/9".

Is this giant, lard filled Rubber so bereft of creativity he has to continually rip-off the partial title of the classic 1953 Ray Bradbury novel and the iconic 1966 film of the same name?

Can this Fat Fcuk do one, single act of altruism...maybe paying $ 2,251 on behalf of an orphan who is being sued by the Social Security Admin?

$2, 251 must be one-tenth of what The Fat Bastard spends daily on M&M's.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I'm sure the Fat Bastard's colossal obesity is glaaaaaaandular and not metabolic syndrome.

Tech News

The Revered Cone of Silence

And I thought the Cone of Silence was awesome...well it is, but check out...

...Science Daily - Spectral Cloaking:

Most current cloaking devices can fully conceal the object of interest only when the object is illuminated with just one color of light. However, sunlight and most other light sources are broadband, meaning that they contain many colors. The new device, called a spectral invisibility cloak, is designed to completely hide arbitrary objects under broadband illumination.

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Ars Technia - 1990 Technology For 2018:

I decided to enroll the Macintosh IIsi as my main computing system for a while. A 1990 bit of gear would now go through the 2018 paces. Just how far can 20MHz of raw processing power take you in the 21st century?

So how does 20MHz fare in 2018? You'll have to read the story.
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You've seen it, you've perhaps interfaced with it without even knowing. So, WTF is Dark Pattern Design? TechCrunch:

Manipulative timing is a key element of dark pattern design. In other words when you see a notification can determine how you respond to it. Or if you even notice it. Interruptions generally pile on the cognitive overload — and deceptive design deploys them to make it harder for a web user to be fully in control of their faculties during a key moment of decision.

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Remember this story when the U.S. - some day - thinks that this is the panacea to everything. ZD Net: India's digital Universal ID program is deeply flawed[.]

When the Indian government embarked on the plan to issue a compulsory nationwide universal identification (UIDAI) and accompanying digital payment system, the idea was that technology would act as an efficient tool for service delivery as well as a panacea for rampant corruption.

Well..how do you think it worked out?

A: Just as planned
B: It tanked, sucked and made things worse
C: It caused Pennywise  to appear

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Computer World: Win 10 1803 needs...

.

.

.

...wait for it...

.

.

.

...wait for it...

.

.

.
... Security patches. MS is stuck in 1992.

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ATTN GAMERS - Geek: Hitman 2 and an interview with Sven Liebold.
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All ECommerce: Study shows online retail experience embarrassingly slow.

* The Average Score This Year Was 45% - Retailers did not do well in this evaluation. In fact, the highest score this year was only a 63% - down from a D+ last year.
[.]
* Mobile Performance Is “Embarrassingly Slow”
* Third Party Requests Are Slowing Down Sites

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Is this fake news? Splinter News: White house want to enact FART Act.

...the White House wants Congress to pass a bill that “provides Trump a license to raise U.S. tariffs at will.” The bill is called the United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act.

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Extreme Tech: Facebook Files Patent For Exactly the Kind of Spying It Claims It Doesn’t Do.

In a patent application filed on June 14 and first discovered by the UK publication Metro, Facebook requested a patent on exactly the kind of system it has sworn that it never uses. 

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Technocracy: It's okay to hate Hungary because they don't kowtow to EU values. 

Hungary Refuses To Bow To the EU’s Imperial Technocracy[.]
[.]
The Hungarian government and in particular the prime minister, Viktor Orban, are continually denounced for their alleged violations of EU values. The mainstream Western media have picked up the message that it is okay to hate Hungary.

"What are EU Values?", has to be the answer/question to a Jeopardy Daily Double under the category "Extreme and Laughable Oxymorons."
- - -
BGR: Consumer Reports investigates Comcast's hidden fees.

With the proliferation of add-on fees, it’s nearly impossible for consumers to find out the full cost of a cable package before they get locked into a contract[.]

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TechDirt: Some of their Comments of the Week. Kinda hard to give you a preview or snippet, ya just gotta go there and read it.
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NextGov: There is no White House Cyber Coordinator.

White House National Security Adviser John Bolton eliminated the cybersecurity coordinator position soon after taking office in May.

The elimination was greeted with consternation by many cyber analysts who believed [...] U.S. cyber policy, was too complex to be subsumed into broader White House operations.

This is a very valid concern.
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Security Week: Facebook app exposes data of 120 million: 

...privacy bug on Nametests.com resulted in the data of over 120 million users who took personality quizzes on Facebook to be publicly exposed.

Patched as part of Facebook’s Data Abuse Bounty Program, the vulnerability resided in Nametests.com serving users’ data to any third-party that requested it, something that shouldn’t normally happen.

I have such a hard time believing that the numerous data breaches of Facebook are "accidental."
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UberGizmo: Camera explodes on the foot of a man trying to take videos up women's skirts.

...a 32-year old man from Wisconsin, [attempting to take] upskirt photos and videos [using] a camera he had attached to his shoe blew up on him. Thankfully this happened before he managed to get any actual footage because according to the reports, he was testing out the camera at home when the battery exploded.
[.]
He had to be taken to the hospital for his burns[.]
The action of upskirting is considered a felony under Wisconsin state law[.]

World News - July 1, 2018

Times of India: Angela Merkel attempts to calm her conservative critics.

Merkel's government has been pushed to the brink over the migration issue after allowing more than one million asylum-seekers into Germany since 2015.

The policy has provoked a backlash from Merkel's conservative CSU coalition[.]

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Lucify: An asylum seeking map of immigration into Europe.  Scroll down to the map, hover your icon on various places on the map for detail.
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Italy will not accept migrants from NGO orgs. BBC:

[Italy's Interior Minister] has often accused the NGOs of encouraging the trafficking of migrants.

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The New Zealand Herald: North Korea fully expected to conceal the number of weapons it has and secret production facilities, according to U.S. officials.
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Uber's gender pay gap. The Sydney Morning Herald:

A study of more than a million American Uber rideshare drivers has found male drivers get roughly 7 per cent more an hour, on average, than female drivers.

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Metro: Four young men die in car accident with an Uber:

[They] crashed head-on with the Uber travelling [sic] from the opposite direction at around 2.40am on Saturday.

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The Final Battle for Brexit. Political Betting: 

The Government has done nothing to prepare the public for any form of major concessions.
[.]
When the choice confronting Britain finally becomes apparent (probably in October), the public mood is likely to become sulphurous [sic].

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Hindustan Times: Eleven members of a family were found hanging blindfolded in their home in north Delhi’s Sant Nagar near Burari on Sunday morning, said police.

...a neighbour with whom the businessman used to go for morning walks went to call him and found door open and found the family, including the businessman, hanging.
[.]
“The neighbour told us that the door usually remained closed. But on Sunday, it was open," [said police].

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Restaurant manager fired for refusing to serve customer in MAGA Hat. The Epoch Times:

“... our manager went up to the gentleman and asked him to take off his hat, that he wouldn’t serve him with that hat on,”, [said Eva Gates, vice president of Human Resources for the Sequoia Group of Restaurants that owns the Teahouse].
[.]
In another statement, the company said they had fired [the manager] for violating the company’s “philosophy of tolerance.”

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Is recycling rigged against us?  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Americans were not set up for success in recycling plastics.
[.]
Why such terrible rates? Partly because some changes that were supposed to make recycling simpler ended up making it almost impossible.

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First Post: Boko Haram kills four civilians in an attack.

The gunmen entered the camp in the town of Banki near the border with Cameroon on bicycles and on foot Friday night and opened fire.

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Trump's "Space Force" is for real. Washington Examiner: 

...the idea of a Space Force has captured the imagination of Internet memesters and Trump supporters alike.
[.]
“We're going to win at space,” Trump said to thunderous applause at a recent rally. “Space Force. People love that.”

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The Telegraph: U.S. teachers receive training on using hand guns.

The curriculum includes handgun basics, range shooting, casualty care tactics and roleplaying with an active shooter and simulated fire.

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Social Security Admin sues 6-year old orphan boy. Forbes:

It was Social Security’s mistake in every way, shape and form. Yet Social Security has a rule – if it pays us benefits due to their mistake, it’s our mistake and we have to repay.

Dylan is in absolutely no financial position to repay the $2,251.

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The Mirror: DNA proves innocent for a man who spent 23 years on death row. 

"... it took them 15 years to give me a DNA test for Mrs Craig’s murder – I watched other men walk free while I waited."

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Kelo Land: Family creates their own ice cream truck.

One central Iowa family didn't have an ice cream truck in their neighborhood so they decided to take matters into their own hands and launch a family-owned business too.