1683: Rainbow of Rockets

Nvidia is in a bubble and the AI theme is “overhyped” - Elliott Management (NASDAQ:NVDA) | Seeking Alpha

Elliott Management said that the technology mega-caps, such as Nidia, are in a “bubble land” and that the hedge fund is skeptical that these companies will continue to purchase Nvidia’s ([NVDA](https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NVDA?source=section%253Amain_content%257Cbutton%253Abody_link%257Cfirst_level_url%253Anews#hasComeFromMpArticle=false "NVIDIA Corporation")) graphic processing units in such huge volumes, according to a second quarter letter viewed by The Financial Times.

Elliot said that many AI applications are not ready for “prime time” and that many of the expected uses are “never going to be cost-efficient; are never going to actually work right” and that they “will take up too much energy or will prove to be untrustworthy.”

The chipmaker stocks have suffered some losses due to concerns about heavy -- tens of billions of dollars -- AI spending for infrastructure.

Link

AI Censorship Bill Raises Free Speech Concerns

An updated version of what critics refer to as the AI censorship bill, Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act (NO FAKES Act) has been introduced by senators Chris Coons, a Democrat, and Republican Marsha Blackburn.

The goal of the bill – that first saw the light of day last October as a discussion draft – is to ban what it calls unauthorized digital replicas while providing exemptions for parody, satire, use in documentaries, and other forms of generated content that should fall under the fair use rule.

The entertainment industry is happy with the legislative proposal, with support pouring in from Disney, the Motion Picture Association, Recording Industry Association of America, SAG-AFTRA, agencies, and more.

SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild), which wants a likeness act at the federal instead of the state level as is the case now, backed the bill, mentioning the need to protect intellectual property and performers’ likenesses and brands.

Link

Turbo Cancers Boots On The Ground

Good Morning,

I wanted to give you a boots on the ground in healthcare right now. I’ve been a nurse for 10+ years as a float nurse and administration. The level of turbo cancers we are seeing is just mind blowing. So many patients with new diagnosis of cancer and it’s stage 4 non curable some of them given weeks to live. The common thing I am noticing is they are all have at least had 3 jabs. So vaccinated plus a booster if not more. Just this week we had a patient diagnosed with 3 new cancers, 2 different metastatic cancers plus leukemia. This person just happened to be up to date on vaccine status. I've seen overdue for dose 9 so I’m assuming they had all 9. I’ve never seen anyone even diagnosed with 2 different cancers at the same time let alone 3. The correlation is so clear to me. It’s heartbreaking to know these people have been poisoned and have no idea.

Thanks for all you do!

Jamie

Dude named Mohammed Iranian safe house BOTG

ITM Gents!

Is it me or it seems that every single powerful Iranian or Iranian proxy figure vanishes unexpectedly.

It seems like someone is systematically getting rid of them.

After each assassination, there will be a couple of days or colorful

rhetoric, followed by coordination for a very clean response that

doesn't hurt anyone, and bright lit missiles or drones that are

intercepted by the iron dome, so both parties can claim some

victory, and have some good visuals for their sides social media

accounts.

The iron dome showcase is an extra ad break that all parties appreciate.

Killing the guy in an Iranian safe house is a little bit too much.

BTW, just like Adam's Iranian friends, a lot of people in this region

think the Iranian regime is coordinating every step with the US and

Israel.

TYFYC,

Dude Named Mohammed

Mega zoom calls BOTG

Attached are a few screen shots of the backstage setup for a Tony Robbins event I was involved in back in 2020 during Covid. Tony wanted to beta test the concept of doing his training as a virtual event. This is what was developed.

The double row of iMacs, 30 of them, are each running 2 instances of Zoom. I believe each instance was capable of 50 participants. That gave us 3000 participants that could interact with Tony. There were an additional 20,000 participants that were “view only”. The iMacs all fed into a proprietary system called Canvas from a Canadian company named Immersive Design Studios where the individual video signals were mixed and blended to fill the 360 degree screens. Note these are not LED walls. The system used 6 projectors (8K, I think) overhead, edge-blended for a seamless image around the space onto the perforated screens. My role was audio tuning. If you look closely you can see that we had speakers behind the screens firing in toward Tony and the rest of the presenters.

Getting enough bandwidth required (I think) 4 different providers pulling fiber to the studio just for this event.

The puff piece video of the event that these screenshots came from is here:

[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qdptdd6yqf2so0xyy0bl5/UPW_SHOW_RECAP-STEREO.mov?rlkey=iiw9ynhtck6zuwalvz4w6ve4t&st=4mxj78dq&dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qdptdd6yqf2so0xyy0bl5/UPW_SHOW_RECAP-STEREO.mov?rlkey=iiw9ynhtck6zuwalvz4w6ve4t&st=4mxj78dq&dl=0)

IMD Canvas: [https://immersivedesignstudios.com/en/technology/](https://immersivedesignstudios.com/en/technology/)

All in all, this is/was way cooler than anything Kamala and her Kamunists can pull off.

Matt

Toyota Cyber Attack BOTG

I just wanted to give you a boots on the ground update about another

possible cyber attack during the Crowd strike windows outage. Toyota

America had some type of possible cyber attack that shutdown Toyota

suppliers across the US. I am a "Dude named Ben" that works at a MSP

(managed service provider (IT)) that manages some tier 2 suppliers for

Toyota.

The Saturday after the

CrowdStrike issue we got word from our client that we needed to shut

down everything on site and not to open emails from Toyota America. We

turned everything back on that Monday but it took a few days for the

Toyota stuff to come back.

I just wanted you to know there was more weird things going on with the Counter strike debacle.

Maduro steals election BOTG

My dad is a Venezuelan PhD in Political Science, Professor, expert on Political Campaigns and Political commentator.

The situation in Venezuela is dire, The National Electoral Council has announced Maduro won 52% against 44% of the top Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia (he is a proxy candidate of the politically “disqualified” opposition leader Maria Corina Machado).

Machado’s team, was able to secure over 24500 voting machine receipts each verified, certified and signed by six different citizens: a President, a secretary, a member, 2 witnesses and the operator of the polling machine. These polling machines receipts were scanned and uploaded to this website:

Link attach one receipt downloaded from that site for your reference, and a picture of Gonzalez Urrutia and Machado holding receipts (so you get the idea). Each receipt is read out loud once it is printed on election day with the tally of the votes of that one machine.

Machado secured 81% of all polling machine receipts with the help of many citizens/witnesses. The receipts show Gonzalez Urrutia more than doubles Maduro in votes, and even if you give Maduro all the remaining votes he doesn’t have enough to claim a victory.

As a Producer of the best podcast of the universe (time, talent and treasure as my alter ego @guitarofthrones, 45k followers on IG) I offer my Dad to write any report you may be interested on the topic of Venezuelan Elections or Venezuela in general (just say the word). I know he would be happy to. I sent him No Agenda Show as an example of a good podcast many months ago and he found you guys hilarious (shat himself with laughter were his actual words). I know John had a Venezuela clip that didn’t get played, so I know this is probably not the most interesting topic for your listeners, but it is dear to our hearts.

4 more years! (and beyond if you guys have it in you!)

PS: as a fellow bitcoin enthusiast, I thought you would appreciate the decentralized nature of securing all these polling machine receipts as a proof of victory and that the Electoral Council is corrupt. I’m baffled how this flew over Bobby the Op’s head. I had him in good regard.

Don’t ever hesitate to reach out.

My warmest regards,

José Carrasquero

Boots on the Ground Secret Service Insight

As Knight of the Thin Blue Line, I have many insights in the ways of American law enforcement. I have some first hand insight as to how local LEO and the USSS coordinate VIP visits.

I have worked several presidential visits to my city. The most recent event was when Trump visited my city for the state convention in 2023.

Prior to the event, all personnel were advised of mandatory overtime. All days off were canceled. All hands on deck for the 300’ish sworn personnel.

Prior to start of the day, we (local cops) attended a detailed briefing to go over the written operational plan that included assignments and postings, security zones, etc. EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE SIGNED THE OPERATIONAL PLAN. (Where is PA operational plan? That would put rest who was responsible for which areas!)

Most importantly, it included how to communicate any security issues up the chain of command so that the USSS agent imbedded with our commanders could relay information to Secret Service personnel on the VIP detail.

My post was the highest rooftop directly across the street from the event venue. It was a black roof 8 stories up in June in the southeast. It was hot!!

We didn’t just decide to be more comfortable and sit in an air conditioned room on the 8th floor of the building.

Our department’s motorcycle squad did the escort from the airport to the venue. When Trump was about 3 miles out. We were ordered to land all sUAV assets. No drones were able to fly even police drones.

Finally, when Trump left his motorcade to go inside there were no fumbling and bumbling DEI hires who couldn’t find their holster. The detail was mostly men who all looked like bad ass operators in nice suits who could handle business!

J6 Court decision as Predicted by Rob BOTG

And now WaPo sees things my way on J6! Here’s an article in today’s edition saying that the J6 case is basically dead in the water, at least until the election, and that “some of the urgency that once drove the election obstruction case has dissipated.”

The article also offers an interesting twist, albeit one that I think is a dud:

But it may be that Trump’s attorneys demand such a showdown, or Chutkan needs to hear evidence to reach a decision. “The court needs to decide not only whether an allegation is protected by immunity, but whether the evidence to prove it is protected by immunity,” or is otherwise admissible, McQuade said.

While Trump could definitely cry “speedy trial” and force the government to try its case on a slapdash record, I just don’t see him doing that. I say the entire case is a waste of time unless Trump loses. At that point, who knows. (I can see DOJ giving up since an electoral defeat would have given their puppet masters what they wanted.) Either way, this comports with my earlier comments (in the classified-case thread) asking why the heck Jack Smith is in such a hurry to appeal the dismissal. Seems like a waste of time to me.

Link

White House reveals what Biden was really doing when he went back onto the plane and left Kamala Harris on the tarmac after welcoming back freed Americans | Daily Mail Online

The interlude for Biden lasted two minutes long after Biden left his VP behind. The president was out of view for about a minute and forty seconds while on board the plane.

'President Biden wanted to personally thank the flight crew who brought these brave individuals home to their families,' White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told DailyMail.com when asked about what the president was doing on board the aircraft.

Harris, who has been shadowing Biden during key moments, remained below and did not step on board.

Link

Elon Musk PAC data backs Trump over Harris in election

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 17:03

Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X speaks during the Milken Conference 2024 Global Conference Sessions at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 6, 2024.

David Swanson | Reuters

If a voter in Michigan performs a search on Google , a somewhat shocking ad might pop up.

The ad shows a young man lying in bed late at night when someone else texts him, "Hey you need to vote," and then sends the man a video of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The man can hear the gunshots and people screaming in the background.

As Trump is rushed off stage with blood pouring down his face, the man watching the video types in response, "This is out of control. How do I start?"

The ad then displays a website for a group called America PAC.

The website says it will help the viewer register to vote. But once a user clicks "Register to Vote," the experience he or she will have can be very different, depending on where they live.

If a user lives in a state that is not considered competitive in the presidential election, like California or Wyoming for example, they'll be prompted to enter their email addresses and ZIP code and then directed quickly to a voter registration page for their state, or back to the original sign-up section.

But for users who enter a ZIP code that indicates they live in a battleground state, like Pennsylvania or Georgia, the process is very different.

Rather than be directed to their state's voter registration page, they instead are directed to a highly detailed personal information form, prompted to enter their address, cellphone number and age.

If they agree to submit all that, the system still does not steer them to a voter registration page. Instead, it shows them a "thank you" page.

So that person who wanted help registering to vote? In the end, they got no help at all registering. But they did hand over priceless personal data to a political operation.

Specifically, a political action committee created by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one aimed at giving the Republican presidential nominee Trump an advantage in his campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee.

"I have created a PAC, or a super PAC ... the America PAC," Musk said in a recent interview.

Musk also owns the social media platform X, and has a net worth of more than $235 billion, according to Forbes.

The combination of owning a social media company that gives him an enormous platform to push his political views, and creating a PAC with effectively unlimited resources, has made Musk, for the first time, a major force in an American presidential election.

Musk PAC uses 'register to vote' dataThe America PAC has spent more than $800,000 since early July on digital ads that target voters in the key battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to AdImpact.

The ads appeared on Facebook, Instagram and Google through YouTube, and many encouraged people to register to vote at America PAC's website.

The PAC's effort to collect information from people using the idea of "voter registration" is a critical piece to its plan to make personal contact with these voters.

"America PAC is focusing on door-to-door canvassing in support of Trump," said Brendan Fischer, a deputy executive director at campaign finance watchdog Documented.

"I think it is safe to assume that the voter data gathered through these digital appeals are going to inform America PAC's canvassing and other political activities," he added.

Fischer pointed to the group's privacy policy which says it can use the data they've collected on "other activities and/or fundraising campaigns."

Since June, America PAC has spent more than $21 million on canvassing, digital media, text message services and phone calls, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The PAC's website offers no indication one way or another what the group's political leaning is. But in its federal filings, the group discloses that all of its work is designed to either help Trump or hurt his opponent.

Fischer said he has seen some other PACs try to use a "register to vote" message to gather people's data.

But what is unique about America PAC's project is who is backing it and the timing of its creation.

In most cases, super PACs are not allowed to directly coordinate the ads they pay for with the campaign. But this spring, regulators ruled that door-to-door canvassing falls outside the scope of the ban because, unlike an ad, it is a person-to-person exchange.

"What makes America PAC more unique: it is a billionaire-backed super PAC focused on door-to-door canvassing, which it can conduct in coordination with a presidential campaign," Fischer said. "Thanks to a recent FEC advisory opinion, America PAC may legally coordinate its canvassing activities with the Trump campaign '-- meaning, among other things, that the Trump campaign may provide America PAC with the literature and scripts to make sure their efforts are consistent."

"Coordination is incredibly important: it ensures that the PAC's activities are maximally beneficial to the campaign, and frees up the campaign's own funds for other uses," he said. "I suspect that the PAC's ability to coordinate its data-driven canvassing activities with the Trump campaign made it very appealing for donors."

Longtime Republican strategists Phil Cox, Generra Peck and Dave Rexrode are among those now guiding the PAC after a shake-up in mid-July, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. This person was granted anonymity to speak freely about a private matter.

The change suggests there could be a shift in tactics by the PAC come November. The New York Times first reported on the moves.

Read more CNBC politics coverageMusk is not the only tech executive backing this effort.

The America PAC raised more than $8 million between April 1 and June 30, according to FEC records. It has received donations from veteran investor Doug Leone, cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and a company run by longtime venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, according to FEC records.

Lonsdale, a co-founder of the software company Palantir, is also a leader of the PAC, and "serves as a political confidant to" Musk, according to the Times.

The records do not yet list Musk as a donor. He recently said on X that he is "making some donations to America PAC," but did not say how much. The PAC is not required to file a third-quarter report until Oct. 15, the first time that Musk's name could be listed as a donor.

A spokesman for America PAC declined to comment. Musk did not return emails seeking comment.

Musk on X mirrors Musk PACThe PAC's ads that have aired on social media platforms also mirror a larger message that Musk pushes out to his 191 million followers on X several times a day: the notion that America is in chaos and voting for Trump over Harris is the only way out.

"These PACs have often functioned as the alter ego of whatever billionaire is behind them," said Daniel Weiner, a director of the Brennan Center's elections and government program.

Experts say Musk's ownership of X and the lack of any real guardrails around how he uses it, are a sign the platform could be used by the Tesla boss as a political weapon to take on Harris and Democrats at large with fewer than 100 days left until Election Day.

"I'd say that it is somewhat concerning that the owner of one of the most important social media platforms is openly partisan (rooting for one of the candidates) and is using his platform ... as a vehicle for pursuing his openly partisan ends," said Matthew Baum, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, whose research includes studying misinformation.

Baum said such ownership of a social media company like X leaves open the possibility of "capture of a major platform by a partisan actor, who would then be largely free to use the platform as they see fit, regardless of the potential negative social or political consequences."

"There is a concern that Musk is weaponizing that platform to help his preferred candidate" in Trump, said Weiner.

Don't miss these insights from CNBC PRO

Harris blames Trump for latest dreadful jobs report nearly a full term after he left office | Fox News

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Archived Version

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 17:02

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is blaming former President Trump for the latest negative jobs report '-- nearly a full term after he left office.

"Donald Trump failed Americans as president, costing our economy millions of jobs, and bringing us to the brink of recession," Harris for President spokesperson James Singer said in a statement.

"Now, he's promising even more damage with a Project 2025 agenda that will decimate the middle class and increase taxes on working families, while ripping away health care, raising prescription drug costs, and cutting Social Security and Medicare '-- all while making his billionaire donors richer."

Singer added: "We've made significant progress, but Vice President Harris knows there's more work to do to lower costs for families."

US JOB GROWTH SLOWS TO 114K IN JULY WHILE UNEMPLOYMENT UNEXPECTEDLY JUMPS

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 18, 2024. (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)

Singer said Harris "will make building up the middle class the defining goal of her presidency, taking on greedy corporations that are price gouging consumers, banning hidden fees, and capping unfair rent increases and drug costs."

The Harris campaign's comments come as U.S. job growth cooled sharply in July while the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to the highest level in nearly three years.

The Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 114,000 jobs in July, missing the 175,000 gain forecast by LSEG economists. The unemployment rate also unexpectedly inched higher to 4.3% against expectations that it would hold steady at 4.1%.

US President Joe Biden, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris on the Truman Balcony of the White House in Washington, DC, on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross)

It marked the highest level for the jobless rate since October 2021.

Friday's report adds to mounting evidence that the economy is weakening in the face of ongoing inflation and high interest rates. Stock futures plunged as the report reignited fears of an impending recession, with Dow futures shedding more than 500 points.

The weaker-than-expected data also raises questions about whether the Federal Reserve has waited too long to cut interest rates. Policymakers voted at the conclusion of their two-day meeting on Wednesday to hold rates steady at a 23-year high but signaled that they could start loosening policy as soon as September.

1 OF THESE 5 DEMOCRATS COULD BE HARRIS' RUNNING MATE

Health care continued to lead the way in job creation, onboarding 55,000 new workers in July. Other sectors showing notable growth included construction (25,000), the government (17,000) and transportation and warehousing (14,000).

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks as U.S. President Joe Biden looks on in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 26, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

However, there were some notable job losses last month. Information employment declined by 20,000, while financial activities shed 4,000 employees.

The report also showed modest revisions. Job gains for June were revised down by a total of 27,000 jobs to 179,000, the government said, while May's gain also came in slightly lower at 216,000 jobs.

The Trump campaign blamed the Biden-Harris administration.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Kamala Harris has proudly and repeatedly celebrated her role as Joe Biden's co-pilot on 'Bidenomics,'" Karoline Leavitt, Trump Campaign National Press Secretary, said in a statement. "She cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate for spending that put inflation on steroids, and despite the evidence that America's working families are hurting she tells us these failed plans are working."

She added: "The basic necessities of food, gas and housing are less affordable, unemployment is rising, and Kamala doesn't seem to care."

Fox Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.

'Really chilling': Five countries to test European vaccination card - LifeSite

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 16:56

Wed Jul 31, 2024 - 12:17 pm EDTThu Aug 1, 2024 - 6:46 am EDT

U.S. citizens: Demand Congress investigate soaring excess death rates

This article was originally published by The Defender '-- Children's Health Defense's News & Views Website.

(Children's Health Defense) '-- Five European Union (EU) countries in September will pilot the newly developed European Vaccination Card (EVC), which ''aims to empower individuals by consolidating all their vaccination data in one easily accessible location.

The pilot program marks a step toward the continent-wide rollout of the card, according to Vaccines Today.

Belgium, Germany, Greece, Latvia and Portugal will test the new card in a variety of formats, including printed cards, mailed copies and digital versions for smartphones.

The program aims to ''pave the way for other countries by harmonising vaccine terminology, developing a common syntax, ensuring adaptability across different healthcare settings, and refining EVC implementation plans,'' Vaccines Today reported.

The plans will be made public in 2026, ''extending the EVC system beyond the pilot phases and enabling broad adoption across all EU Member States.''

The European Vaccination Card(to make life easier propaganda)

September 2024 in 5 pilot countries: Latvia, Greece, Belgium, Germany, and Portugal. The card aims to empower individuals by consolidating all their vaccination data in one easily accessible location. pic.twitter.com/GQmE1JcWh8

'-- Dr. Kat Lindley (@KLVeritas) July 29, 2024

READ: US Army finally approves back pay for 24-year-old veteran injured by mandatory COVID shot

According to Vaccines Today, the EVC program seeks to leverage ''the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic'' and foster ''innovation in vaccination management,'' with the goal of ''taking crucial steps toward a more resilient and health-secure future.''

The EVC is based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN). The EU and WHO co-launched the GDHCN in June 2023 to promote a global interoperable digital vaccine passport, based on the EU's digital health certificate launched during the pandemic.

Vaccines Today described the GDHCN as a ''citizen-centered method of storing and sharing data,'' rather than a system that relies ''solely on public health systems.''

Greece was the first European country to propose the implementation of a vaccination passport, which was eventually adopted as the EU's ''Green Pass.'' Greece later became the first EU member state to adopt a digital ''Covid passport.''

Greece's University of Crete is coordinating the EVC project alongside 14 partners from nine countries '-- and with 6.75 million euros ($7.3 million) in funding from the European Commission's (EC) EU4Health program. The EC is the EU's executive branch.

'Direct threat to our freedom'Experts who spoke with The Defender said that plans for the EVC pose a direct threat to personal and health freedom and national sovereignty.

Dr. David Bell, a public health physician, biotech consultant and former director of Global Health Technologies at Intellectual Ventures Global Good Fund, said:

The proposed vaccination card reflects an increasing effort to utilize public health tools as a means to concentrate wealth and provide a means to control populations. It is very reminiscent of approaches in parts of Europe pre-World War II, and essentially serves a similar purpose: to exclude individuals who do not follow government instructions from society.

The trial in Europe is an obvious next step after the recent widening of surveillance under the IHR [International Health Regulation] amendments, which greatly increase the likelihood of recurrent lockdowns to enable mandated vaccination as a way to force mass use, and profit-making, from vaccines.

Dutch attorney Meike Terhorst also criticized the pilot program, calling a digital vaccination passport a ''direct threat to our freedom and also the sovereignty of any state.''

''All our powers are handed over to the globalists, the group of bankers and investors,'' Terhorst said.

Catherine Austin Fitts, founder and publisher of the Solari Report and former U.S. assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said plans for the EVC represent ''another step toward asserting control of labor and travel, with a goal to controlling resources and assets.''

Fitts said:

The goal is financial control. There is no legitimate public health purpose. The central bankers are hiding behind a health narrative '-- policies like lockdown are a way to manage inflation and resource demand when monetary policy is highly inflationary.

READ: Pro-freedom legal group wants to help Canadians still facing COVID-related fines

Experts also tied the rollout of the EVC to warnings from government and health officials about the ''next pandemic,'' potentially caused by the bird flu or a still-unknown ''Disease X.''

According to Fitts:

Many steps are underway to prepare for a bird flu pandemic. Chicken is the most significant source of meat protein.

So far in response to the current bird flu claims, I am told by experts who follow bird flu claims that 99 million birds have been killed in the U.S. and 500 million worldwide. Bird flu vaccines have been shipped to Europe. A vaccine card can be used to try to pressure or force people to take another unnecessary injection.

French science journalist and author Xavier Bazin told The Defender, ''For the time being, a vaccination card in Europe is meant to ensure that most children get their vaccination.'' However, he said he believes the next step is to try to mandate the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine across Europe.

''Even if they do not succeed with MMR, this kind of card will be perfect when the next 'pandemic' hits and they want to mandate an emergency vaccine, like they did with COVID,'' Bazin said.

Similarly, Bell said:

WHO and other agencies are clear in their intent to link compliance with centralized health dictates with the ability of people to go about their daily life.

Whilst directly against post-WWII conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the spirit of the Nuremberg Declaration, they have the backing of major international agencies and the corporate interests that have become enmeshed with them over the past two decades.

Experts also pointed out that plans for the EVC have been in the works even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

''The digital vaccination passport is a technical means to override personal freedoms, such as the right to say no to a vaccination,'' Terhorst said. ''It is a means to turn free human beings into 'slaves.' This digital vaccination passport has been planned many years in advance by the globalists.''

Plans for EU vaccination card began in 2018Development of the EVC began in 2018, according to official EU documents.

That year, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance announced at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), that it would become the first international nonprofit to partner with the WEF's Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

''In my opinion, [the EVC] is linked to Gavi's project of mixing digital ID and vaccination proof,'' Bazin said.

In 2019, the ID2020 Alliance, along with Gavi and the Government of Bangladesh, announced a new digital ID program, for which it was later announced that it aimed ''to provide biometric-linked digital IDs to infants when they receive routine immunisations.''

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a partner of Gavi, which, in turn, closely collaborates with the ID2020 Alliance, which has promoted the development of digital ID.

According to Vaccines Today, the EVC is necessary because zoonotic diseases '-- those transmitted from animals to humans '-- ''continue to pose a significant threat to global health.''

''As Europe transitions from emergency measures to long-term COVID-19 management, there is a critical opportunity to strengthen resilience and increase preparedness for future health threats,'' Vaccines Today reported, citing the EVC as one such project.

Other EU-level projects in the works, according to Vaccines Today, include ''a clinical decision system that provides vaccination recommendations, a screening tool to identify and invite vulnerable populations, an electronic Product Information Leaflet (e-PIL) to enable the transfer of vaccines across countries without having to repackage them, and a modeling and forecasting tool to assess the impact of public health interventions.''

READ: British Columbia finally drops COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers

But for Bazin, such efforts have little to do with protecting public health.

''For those who think vaccination is a medical procedure that should always remain a free choice, the European Vaccination Card is really chilling and should be opposed,'' he said.

This article was originally published by The Defender '' Children's Health Defense's News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children's Health Defense.

U.S. citizens: Demand Congress investigate soaring excess death rates

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Who Was Freed in the Prisoner Swap Between Russia and the West? - The New York Times

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 16:25

Here's a list of the 24 prisoners who were exchanged on Thursday and their backgrounds.

Published Aug. 1, 2024 Updated Aug. 2, 2024 Twenty-four prisoners were freed on Thursday in a multicountry exchange in Turkey, marking one of the broadest exchanges between Russia and the West in years.

Here's what to know about all of the prisoners who were exchanged in the swap.

Released by Russia:

Three American citizens: Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan

Six other Western prisoners

Four political prisoners and human rights advocates

Three Russians with ties to Aleksei Navalny

Released by the West:

Eight prisoners, including Vadim Krasikov, who assassinated a Chechen separatist in Berlin

The Released American Citizens Evan Gershkovich Image Evan Gershkovich in a court hearing in June. Credit... Natalia Kolesnikova/Agence France-Presse '-- Getty Images A reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, 32, was detained by masked security service agents in March 2023 during a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, a major Russian industrial hub about 850 miles east of Moscow. Shortly after, he was charged with espionage, the first such case against a Western reporter since 1986.

In their indictment, Russian prosecutors accused Mr. Gershkovich of using ''painstaking conspiratorial methods'' to obtain ''secret information'' about a Russian military industrial facility that produces tanks and other weapons. Mr. Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government have denied the charges and called them politically motivated.

On July 19, a Russian court in Yekaterinburg sentenced Mr. Gershkovich to 16 years in a high-security penal colony in a swift trial that only took three hearings to complete.

Alsu Kurmasheva Image Alsu Kurmasheva at a court hearing in Kazan, Russia, in May. Credit... Alexey Nasyrov/Reuters Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American editor working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a broadcaster funded by the U.S. government, was sentenced to six and a half years in a Russian penal colony for ''spreading false information'' about the Russian Army. The charge is broadly used by the Kremlin to stifle criticism of the war in Ukraine.

Ms. Kurmasheva, 47, lived in Prague for more than two decades with her husband and two daughters. She was arrested during her trip to Kazan, her hometown about 500 miles east of Moscow. She was first fined for failing to report her American citizenship and then accused of failing to register as a ''foreign agent'' and put in pretrial detention.

In December, she was also charged with spreading false information about the Russian Army. The charges were related to a book Ms. Kurmasheva edited which featured 40 Russians who opposed the invasion of Ukraine.

Paul Whelan Image Paul Whelan being escorted to a hearing in Moscow, in 2019. Credit... Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse '-- Getty Images Paul Whelan, 54, a former U.S. Marine who had served in Iraq, was attending a friend's wedding in Moscow at the Metropol Hotel when he was arrested on Dec. 28, 2018.

Mr. Whelan had made several previous trips to Russia, so he readily accepted a flash drive that a Russian friend said contained pictures of his travels. Russian agents then swooped down, claiming the drive held classified Russian military information.

Mr. Whelan is a citizen of the United States, Canada, Britain and Ireland. He was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, where he was forced to sew industrial garments and suffered at least one assault by another inmate. He spoke out repeatedly about being left behind while other Americans were exchanged.

Other Western Prisoners Vladimir Kara-Murza

Image Vladimir Kara-Murza in a courtroom during the announcement of an appeal of his verdict in Moscow, Russia, in 2023. Credit... Associated Press A veteran Russian activist, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason, the longest sentence given to an opposition politician in modern Russia. Mr. Kara-Murza, 42, drew the Kremlin's ire when he lobbied in Washington for the use of sanctions to punish Russian government officials engaged in human rights abuses. In 2024, Mr. Kara-Murza, a Russian-British national and permanent resident of the United States, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in commentary for columns he had written in his prison cell and published in The Washington Post.

Mr. Kara-Murza twice survived what he characterized as government attempts to poison him '-- both times he was hospitalized in critical condition with organ failure.

Kevin Lick Kevin Lick, a German-born Russian high school student, was sentenced to four years in a penal colony in 2023 on charges of state treason. According to Russian prosecutors, Mr. Lick, 19, was sending photographs of Russian troop dislocations to a foreign state representative. At the time of his crime, Mr. Lick was still a teenager in a school in the Russian southern town of Maikop.

Image A still image of Rico Krieger from a video released by Belarusian state TV. Credit... Belteleradio Company, via Reuters Rico Krieger is a German citizen who in June was sentenced to death by a court in Belarus on terrorism and other charges. In a murky case, Mr. Krieger, who formerly worked for the German Red Cross, was accused of planting explosives that blew up railway tracks in Belarus, according to Russian media outlets. Mr. Krieger told Belarusian state media that he was acting under instructions from Ukrainian special services.

On Tuesday, Mr. Krieger was pardoned by President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, one of the Kremlin's closest allies.

Dieter (Demuri) Voronin In March 2023, Moscow City Court sentenced Demuri Voronin, a political scientist, to more than 13 years in a high-security penal colony on charges of state treason. A Russian-German national, Mr. Voronin, was detained in February 2021 and charged with being implicated in the case of Ivan Safronov, a Russian journalist who was accused of state treason for passing classified information to foreign nationals and sentenced to 22 years in a high-security penal colony. Mr. Safronov's lawyers said he was only using publicly available information in his work.

Patrick Sch¶bel Image Russian police officers escort Patrick Sch¶bel during a court hearing in St. Petersburg, Russia, in May. Credit... Anatoly Maltsev/EPA, via Shutterstock A citizen of Germany, Patrick Sch¶bel was detained upon arrival from Hamburg via Istanbul in the St. Petersburg airport and accused of smuggling drugs. When searched, a pack of ''Fink Green Goldbears'' with six gummies containing cannabis was found in his luggage, according to Tass, a Russian state news agency. He had not yet been convicted when he was released.

German Moyzhes A Russian-German national, German Moyzhes is a lawyer who was helping Russians obtain residence permits in Germany and other E.U. countries. At the end of May, Mr. Moyzhes, who is also a leading cycling activist in St. Petersburg, was arrested and accused of committing state treason. His trial was still pending at the time of his exchange.

Russian political prisoners and human rights advocates Ilya Yashin Image Ilya Yashin was sentenced in December 2022 to eight and a half years in prison. Credit... Pool photo by Yury Kochetkov A longtime fixture of Russian opposition politics, Ilya Yashin was sentenced in December 2022 to eight and a half years in prison after a court found him guilty on charges of ''spreading false information'' about atrocities committed by Russian troops in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, near Kyiv.

Previously, he served as the chairman of a municipal council in one of Moscow's districts and took part in many anti-Kremlin protests. After the death of Aleksei Navalny, Mr. Yashin, 41, is considered to be one of the most popular Russian opposition leaders.

Andrei Pivovarov Image Andrei Pivovarov in Krasnodar, Russia, in 2021. Credit... Associated Press Andrei Pivovarov is a Russian opposition politician who had been particularly active in St. Petersburg. In July 2022, Mr. Pivovarov, 42, was sentenced to four years in a penal colony for being involved with an undesirable organization, a legal term that has been introduced in Russia to outlaw unwanted groups.

Oleg Orlov Image Oleg Orlov in Moscow in 2023. Credit... Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times A veteran activist and human rights defender, Oleg Orlov, 71, served as a leading member of Memorial, one of the oldest human rights organizations in Russia.

Over years, the Russian state grew increasingly wary of Memorial and its members. In 2021, a Russian court ordered it to be dissolved for failure to fulfill its duties as a ''foreign agent'' after the government designated the group as such. In February, a Moscow court sentenced Mr. Orlov to two and a half years in prison for repeatedly discrediting Russia's military by voicing his opposition to the war in Ukraine.

Aleksandra Y. Skochilenko Image Aleksandra Skochilenko in a court in St. Petersburg, Russia. Credit... Dmitri Lovetsky/Associated Press Aleksandra Y. Skochilenko, 33, is a Russian pacifist artist, who in November 2023 was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony for leaving price tags with small antiwar messages in a supermarket. Ms. Skochilenko was arrested in April 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Her arrest has become one of the most prominent examples of the Kremlin's determination to stifle all antiwar dissent in the country.

Russians with ties to Aleksei Navalny Lilia Chanysheva Image Lilia Chanysheva at a courtroom in Ufa, Russia, in 2023. Credit... Associated Press Lilia Chanysheva, 42, was the head of Aleksei A. Navalny's office in the Russian city of Ufa. She was arrested in November 2021 and accused of taking part in an extremist organization. In June 2023, a court sentenced Ms. Chanysheva to seven and a half years in prison. In April, a court revised her sentence to nine and a half years.

Ksenia V. Fadeyeva Image Ksenia Fadeyeva in a portrait in a local campaign office in Tomsk, Russia, in 2020. Credit... Maxim Shemetov/Reuters Ksenia Fadeyeva, 32, was the head of Mr. Navalny's office in Tomsk, a major university town in Siberia. In 2020, Ms. Fadeyeva defeated pro-Kremlin candidates to get elected to Tomsk's city legislature. In December 2023, a Russian court sentenced her to nine years in a penal colony for her affiliation with Mr. Navalny's political organization, which was outlawed as extremist in Russia.

Vadim Ostanin Vadim Ostanin was the head of Mr. Navalny's office in the city of Barnaul, in Siberia. In July 2023, he was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony after being accused of being involved in an extremist group after a Russian court outlawed Mr. Navalny's political network across Russia.

Prisoners Released by the West Vadim Krasikov Image An undated picture shows Vadim Krasikov. Credit... Reuters Vadim N. Krasikov, 58, is a Russian citizen who was sentenced to life in prison in Germany in 2021 for the brazen assassination of a Chechen separatist fighter in broad daylight in a park in central Berlin in 2019. German prosecutors indicated in their case that Mr. Krasikov worked for the Russian Federal Security Service, the most powerful security agency in Russia. The German judge suggested that the killing was ordered by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia; the Kremlin denied involvement.

In a televised interview in February, Mr. Putin spoke glowingly of Mr. Krasikov, saying that he was a person who, ''due to patriotic sentiments, eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals.''

Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva are believed to be part of Russia's ''illegals'' program, a Soviet-era scheme in which Russian spies pose as ordinary citizens of another country.

Legally married, the pair pleaded guilty before a Slovenian court on Wednesday to charges of spying and falsifying documents. They had posed as an Argentine couple, reportedly even speaking to their two children in Spanish. The pair's two children were taken into foster care after their arrest, as they continued to attend their private school, the Guardian reported. There are two minors reportedly involved in the exchange believed to be their children.

Mikhail Mikushin In 2022, Norwegian law enforcement arrested and identified Mikhail Mikushin, a researcher at the University of Tromso, as a Russian spy. According to Norwegian news outlets, when detained by the local law enforcement in 2022, Mr. Mikushin pretended to be a Brazilian citizen. He later admitted in court that he was a Russian citizen.

Pavel Rubtsov Image Supporters of Pavel Rubtsov, who also went by the name Pablo Gonzlez during a rally calling for his release in northwestern Spain, in 2023. Credit... Kiko Delgado/EPA, via Shutterstock Pavel Rubtsov was arrested in February 2022 in Poland. He was born in Moscow in 1982, but moved to Spain nine years later. Upon arrest, he was known as a Spanish journalist called Pablo Gonzlez, a descendant of Spaniards who moved to Russia during a civil war in Spain. Mr. Rubtsov, 42, was accused of spying for Russia, a charge he denied, saying he was just a freelance journalist.

Roman Seleznev Image Roman Seleznev in an undated photograph attached to a U.S. Department of Justice filing. Credit... U.S. Justice Department Roman Seleznev is a Russian hacker arrested in the United States and sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to playing a key role in a $50 million cyberfraud ring and defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme.

Vladislav Klyushin Image Vladislav Klyushin in an undated photograph attached to a U.S. Department of Justice filing. Credit... U.S. Department of Justice Vladislav Klyushin is a Russian hacker who gained access to private corporate earnings records as part of what the U.S. Department of Justice labeled a ''$93 million hack-to-trade scheme.'' Arrested in Switzerland in 2021 and extradited to the United States later that year, he was sentenced in federal court last September to nine years in prison. Mr. Klyushin denied involvement in the scheme.

Vadim Konoshchenok Vadim Konoshchenok was among five Russians accused in 2023 of conspiring to obtain military-grade technologies from U.S. companies for Russia's defense sector. He is accused of being an operative of Russia's Federal Security Service, the successor agency to the K.G.B. He was arrested in Estonia in December 2022 and extradited to the United States.

Neil MacFarquhar contributed reporting.

A correction was made onAug. 1, 2024

:

An earlier version of this article misstated the total amount of money affected in the hack-to-trade scheme that Vladislav Klyushin was a part of. It was $93 million, not billion.

How we handle corrections

Ivan Nechepurenko covers Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the countries of the Caucasus, and Central Asia. He is based in Moscow. More about Ivan Nechepurenko

Valerie Hopkins covers the war in Ukraine and how the conflict is changing Russia, Ukraine, Europe and the United States. She is based in Moscow. More about Valerie Hopkins

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Venezuela vote on Nicolas Maduro's constituent assembly to rewrite constitution inflated says Smartmatic voting machine CEO - CBS News

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Sun, 04 Aug 2024 15:53

CARACAS, Venezuela -- The CEO of the voting technology company Smartmatic said Wednesday that results of Venezuela's election for an all-powerful constituent assembly were off by at least 1 million votes.

Antonio Mugica said results recorded by his systems and those reported by Venezuela's National Electoral Council indicate "without any doubt" that official turnout figures were inflated.

U.S. slams "Maduro dictatorship" as Venezuelan dissidents arrested Smartmatic was created by Venezuelans and began providing electronic voting machines in 2004 during the presidency of the late Hugo Chavez.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro casts his vote at a polling station during the Constituent Assembly election in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sun., July 30, 2017. Reuters "Even in moments of deep political conflict and division we have been satisfied with the voting process and the count has been completely accurate," Mugica told reporters in London. "It is, therefore, with the deepest regret that we have to report that the turnout figures on Sunday, 30 July, for the Constituent Assembly in Venezuela were tampered with."

President Nicolas Maduro's government announced late Sunday that more than 8 million Venezuelans had participated in the election for constituent assembly that will be granted virtually unlimited powers. His count was put into question by at least one independent exit poll, showing turnout was less than half that number.

White House slaps sanctions on Venezuela's president 02:07 The claim is certain to fuel further discord over the assembly, which Maduro has vowed to utilize to target his foes. Opposition leaders boycotted the election, arguing voting terms were rigged to favor the ruling socialist party. Nearly 7.6 million people voted in a symbolic referendum rejecting the assembly two weeks before the vote.

The assembly is expected to be sworn into office Thursday and the opposition is calling on Venezuelans to protest.

On Monday, two prominent opposition leaders were dragged from their homes by heavily armed security agents and thrown in a military prison Tuesday, drawing condemnation from the United States and some Latin American countries. But many other nations and international organizations were silent or limited themselves to expressions of concern.

Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were accused by the government-allied Supreme Court of violating the terms of their house arrest by plotting to escape and releasing video statements criticizing Maduro.

Both men's supporters denied the charges and vowed to continue to try to push the ruling socialist party from power. However, they gave little indication of how they planned to do that, and the capital was unusually quiet after months of sometimes violent protests.

Lopez's supporters released a video that he taped last week saying he expected to be imprisoned again soon, and calling on Venezuelans to be firm in resisting Maduro.

"If you are looking at this video now, it's precisely because that occurred, because they came and they illegally imprisoned me again unjustly, a prisoner of consciousness, a prisoner for my ideas, a prisoner for wanting a better Venezuela," the 46-year-old Lopez said.

He also said that his wife, Lilian Tintori, is pregnant, touching her belly and saying he has "one more reason to fight for Venezuela." He called the pregnancy "the best news I've received in the last 3 1/2 years" - the time he spent behind bars before being released to house arrest last month. The couple had been allowed some conjugal visits.

Maduro appeared undeterred in his plans to seat a special assembly this week with powers to rewrite the constitution and override any other branch of the Venezuelan government. He has threatened to use those powers to go after his opponents and the arrests Tuesday appeared to show he is willing to proceed with full force.

Maduro appeared to have the full support of the country's most important institutions.

Maduro called the vote for the constitutional assembly in May after weeks of protests fed by anger at his government over food shortages, triple-digit inflation and high crime. Many people accuse the ruling party of corruption and mismanagement.

The Trump administration quickly moved against Maduro on Monday, adding him to a growing list of high-ranking Venezuelan officials targeted by financial sanctions. But the U.S. held off on sanctioning Venezuela's oil industry, which could undermine Maduro's government but also deepen the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

Maduro scoffed at the sanctions and said he had no intention of deviating from his plans to rewrite the constitution and go after a string of enemies. He has said he would use the assembly's powers to bar opposition candidates from running in gubernatorial elections in December unless they negotiate an end to protests that have resulted in at least 120 deaths and nearly 2,000 injuries over the past four months.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that the Trump administration was "evaluating all of our policy options as to what can we do to create a change of conditions where either Maduro decides he doesn't have a future, and wants to leave of his own accord, or we can return the government processes back to their constitution."

Later, the White House issued a statement condemning "the Maduro dictatorship" over the arrests and saying Lopez and Ledezma are political prisoners.

"The United States holds Maduro - who publicly announced just hours earlier that he would move against his political opposition - personally responsible for the health and safety of Mr. Lopez, Mr. Ledezma, and any others seized," the White House said.

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Swifties for Kamala: Inside the Movement to Elect Kamala Harris

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Sun, 04 Aug 2024 11:25

Swifties for Kamala has grown into an online community of thousands strong. Their mission: to help elect Harris as the 47th U.S. president

The future of America is young, hopeful, and swift. On the day President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and fully endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, Emerald Medrano, a 22-year-old college student in Texas, ran to Twitter and posted: ''I feel like us U.S swifties should mass organize and help campaign for Kamala Harris and spread how horrendous project 2025 would be to help get people's butts down to the polls in November ðŸ­.''

He added, ''Like if we don't want democracy to end we really need to move and push blue votes.'' The response was immediate. Medrano received a flood of replies and messages as fellow Swifties from across the world galvanized around the fight to protect reproductive health care, civil and LGBTQ+ rights, and the climate.

Less than four hours later, Swifties for Kamala was born. The coalition, sparked by Medrano's tweet and brought to action through a community of 300 volunteers on Discord, soon declared their mission statement: to help elect Harris as the 47th president of the United States. The group currently has more than 165,000 followers across its social media platforms, with 82,000 on TikTok alone and a newly launched Substack called ''Paint the Town Blue.'' On Linktree, Swifties are directed to a voter-registration and ActBlue page where people can donate to Harris' campaign. While thousands have applied to join the Discord server, memberships have been paused while it revamps its infrastructure to accommodate the wave of incoming Swifties eager to join the cause.

Medrano says that Harris' campaign has ''rocket-boosted'' the movement, and he sees the vice president as a trailblazer who has opened doors for others from marginalized communities. ''That kind of mindset in a person is something that is really inspiring, and that's someone I want to stand behind. Change is when you open a door and you leave it open,'' says Medrano, comparing Harris to Taylor Swift's own impact in the music industry and how she ''does that for women in her field.''Editor's picks

While the 14-time Grammy winner has yet to endorse the group, she publicly supported Biden and Harris in 2020. ''The change we need most is to elect a president who recognizes that people of color deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be acknowledged and included,'' Swift told V Magazine at the time. ''Under their leadership, I believe America has a chance to start the healing process it so desperately needs.'' The singer even marked the occasion by baking blue Biden-Harris cookies.

The coalition itself echoes the very fandom around the global star and embraces its enthusiasm, tight-knit sense of community, and propensity for good karma. ''We're incorporating existing parts of our fandom culture to share resources and create volunteer initiatives,'' says Irene Kim, the group's co-founder and senior communications director. From incorporating friendship bracelets into future events to weaving lyrics in social media posts, Kim says, ''You come for the Swiftiness, but you're going to stay for the politics. We want it to be fun, because it's important to show that politics and voting don't have to be scary or boring. In terms of encouraging first time voters, we're really prioritizing getting out the right resources and education.''

Harris' team is excited to give Swifties the tools to mobilize communities that they have a unique connection to, says Kim, and has met with the growing coalition on Zoom and Google Meet, while also communicating via email '-- helping the group facilitate and track signups.

Paralleling the movement to the Eras Tour, Kim says, ''The same way we organize around a concert pre-sale, we're organizing around [showing] how you can phone bank, text bank, or how you can go vote, or how you can help other people make sure they're able to vote. '... If there's one thing Swifties are going to do, it's make something big and fun.'' Related

Medrano adds, ''The Swiftie blueprint is that we will always go the extra mile, but with all the glitter '-- that fun energy, family energy, loving energy.''

On Discord, Swifties for Kamala channels are a complex network of the whimsical and lighthearted to direct, action-oriented spaces. When showing me a sneak peek before launching the virtual community's new infrastructure, Kim reveals a dizzying array of both open and private channels organized by social media platforms, leadership planning, committees, Eras Tours and other in-person events, and more. Among the formidable list of existing committees, which consist of self-directed initiatives, there's a channel for DACA Dreamers, state information, and Project 2025 research where volunteers provide digestible information for both the social team and others to share. Kim says a big part of the group's social efforts is to both educate and combat misinformation, noting that in their Substack's first newsletter, a priority was to show Trump's affiliations with the Heritage Foundation's 887-page Project 2025 policy proposal (which the ex-president has vehemently, ridiculously denied.)

The co-founders credit the movement's massive success to the diversity of the Swifties' fandom. ''As much as everyone thinks we're all '-- depending on the day '-- 12-year-old girls, or we're all a childless cat women or whatever, at the end, we're literally every age range, every possible demographic,'' says Kim.

Pointing to the various channels, she explains, ''You have someone pitching a great idea for an initiative, then you have a lawyer step in to help navigate the legal side of it, and then you'll have someone with a graphics background come in. And then we'll have so many wonderful people work on social media to be like, 'OK, and here's how we're gonna roll this out.'''

When I ask what era best reflects Swifties for Kamala's mission and the moment Swifties are in right now, Medrano and Kim consider the question for a beat.

Finally, Medrano replies, ''We are in our Lover era. We are fighting for our rights. 'You Need to Calm Down,' you know? 'Miss Americana,' just very much going forward with the full rainbow spectrum of Swifties '-- our diversity, everything we care about and marching into battle. '... Behind the scenes, Tortured Poets Department, we're a little bit losing our minds, but in a very good and reflective way on how Swifties navigate the world.''Trending

Kim agrees, ''Lover is accurate, especially, because I think there is an undercurrent, there's some anxiety '... but there is so much hope, and I think the hope is what's driving us. '... Leaning into the feeling of being like, 'It's gonna work out, and we're just gonna go for it, and we're just gonna keep going.'''

When reflecting on the organized chaos that goes into steering a global movement, Medrano smiles and says, ''I'm '22.' I really feel the vibe of 'We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time.' It's miserable, magical. Taylor was right. It is truly an experience being 22.''

Deadheads Are Rallying for Kamala Harris for President

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Sun, 04 Aug 2024 11:24

Fans of one of the most enduring of classic-rock bands '-- along with Mandy Patinkin '-- will rally on Zoom in support of the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate

One group after another, they've been congregating over Zoom in support of Kamala Harris' presidential run: Women, men, Swifties, ''White Dudes,'' Bob Dylan fans. So why not ''Deadheads for Kamala''?

Although it sounds like a conservative talk-radio wisecrack, such a confab will take place on Aug. 13, in the hopes of bringing together new and vintage Dead fans as another potential voting bloc for Harris. The meeting was the brainchild of broadcaster Steven Leventhal, who owns the streaming radio station Acid Flashback Radio and has been a Deadhead since 1985. After hearing about the previous Zoom rallies for Harris, he says, ''I jokingly said to my wife, 'Gosh, we should do Deadheads for Kamala.' She sort of smiled and I said, 'You know, that's not a bad idea.'''

After Leventhal reached out to contacts in the Democratic National Committee, an invite link was posted, and fans avidly began registering for what was billed as an unofficial fan event not affiliated with the Dead itself. Among those who noted it on social media was consultant George Conway.

Then came some head-scratching. When it was announced on July 31, a graphic for the event listed the date as the following day, Aug. 1, while the invite link itself put the date at Aug. 13. ''I jumped the gun a little bit,'' Leventhal admits. ''All of a sudden there were too many conflicts with other people.'' The firmed-up date now won't conflict with any celebrations of Jerry Garcia's birthday (Aug. 1) or Dead & Company's final six shows at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

For the Zoom gathering, Leventhal is promising ''some huge people in the Grateful Dead community and even people performing.'' Among those who have signed on are David Gans, a Dead historian, musician, and ''Grateful Dead Hour'' radio host; promoter and Deadhead Peter Shapiro; Laina Cohn from Golden Road Productions; and Nancy Rotering, mayor of Highland Park, Illinois (and the get-together's liaison to the DNC).

Also on the call will be someone not ordinarily associated with the Deadhead world '-- actor and singer Mandy Patinkin, who admits to RS that he's never attended a Dead show and is only familiar with one song of theirs that he had to learn for ''a film or something.'' But after seeing Leventhal's initial X post, Patinkin not only retweeted it but signed up. Editor's picks

''It's basically an excuse to find a large group of people to bring together,'' he says. ''I'm on a quest to hear different voices and hear wheat they have to say. So my expectations for Deadheads for Kamala is one hell of a fun phone call or Zoom.

''I bet there will be people of different ages,'' he continues, adding with a laugh, ''and older ones still trying to look young, and you'll say, 'Put a hat on!' But most important it's about gathering together and trying to change the fabric of negativity into positivity. This is an existential moment for all of us and for democracy.''Trending

Patinkin also dismisses the criticism from the other side of the spectrum that such gatherings are intentionally discriminating. ''It's what they call the spin room, in politics and entertainment,'' he says. ''I'm for all of humanity. It's laughable to say [the organizers] are advocating for a segregated society. It's just bullshit.''

As for the last-minute switch in the date, Patinkin admits it was ''a bit confusing,'' and Leventhal doesn't disagree. ''Well, that would be in keeping with the gestalt of the Grateful Dead,'' he says, but feels the change in the schedule will ultimately be a positive. ''I hope everyone understands that we'd rather go for the 10,000 or 20,000,'' he says, ''and give the 'White Dudes for Kamala' a run for their money.''

AI Censorship Bill Raises Free Speech Concerns

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Sun, 04 Aug 2024 11:20

An updated version of what critics refer to as the AI censorship bill, Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act (NO FAKES Act) has been introduced by senators Chris Coons, a Democrat, and Republican Marsha Blackburn.

The goal of the bill '' that first saw the light of day last October as a discussion draft '' is to ban what it calls unauthorized digital replicas while providing exemptions for parody, satire, use in documentaries, and other forms of generated content that should fall under the fair use rule.

The entertainment industry is happy with the legislative proposal, with support pouring in from Disney, the Motion Picture Association, Recording Industry Association of America, SAG-AFTRA, agencies, and more.

SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild), which wants a likeness act at the federal instead of the state level as is the case now, backed the bill, mentioning the need to protect intellectual property and performers' likenesses and brands.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

But prominent digital rights group, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), is unconvinced that these exemptions will work in real life, and fears that the bill, if passed, will result in limiting free speech.

The EFF noted that the House has its own version of the bill, called NO AI FRAUD, whereas Senate's proposal '' which explicitly refers to property rights (not protected by Section 230, and removed from the House bill) '' would allow anyone to sue anybody else for creating their ''digital replica'' '' i.e., a new, computer-generated image, voice or visual likeness.

The EFF doesn't like this definition, calling it ''broad,'' while the right is given to people (that would be, celebrities), other holders of rights to their likeness, heirs 70 years after their death, but also retroactively, to those who have already died.

That the bill ultimately has to do with money (hence such enthusiasm in the entertainment industry) is one thing '' but its potential to at the same time provide another avenue for undermining speech is another.

The EFF sums up one of its misgivings, over the bill's exemptions, as not being overly meaningful '' ''if you have to pay a lawyer to figure out if they apply to you, and then try to persuade a rightsholder to agree.''

Aviation's Future is Safer, More Efficient and More Autonomous

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Sun, 04 Aug 2024 10:58

We are moving ever closer to the day when you will hail an automated air taxi to take you to the airport or have a package dropped off at your doorstep by a delivery drone. Uncrewed military aircraft will carry critical supplies to the front lines without putting pilots in harm's way. And new technologies will guide large cargo aircraft safely to their destination with minimal pilot supervision or intervention.

Welcome to the age of autonomous flight.

Aviation is going to be entirely autonomous or highly automated by the 2040s. It unlocks new ways to operate and new business models that will make flying even safer and more accessible than it is today. And we need to enable and accelerate that future.

Autonomy will reduce costs, improve operations and aircraft utilization, and enable better use of our airspace. Greater autonomy also will ease a massive pilot shortage, which will become more severe as new advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles, like air taxis and electrical regional aircraft, begin to come online in the next several years. Industry estimates highlight our need to train more than 600,000 pilots over the next two decades.

Flight Autonomy is a Logical Next Step

Technical innovations that improve safety and reduce pilot workload are really nothing new '' in fact, they're part of aviation's DNA. Using automation to enhance safety dates back almost to the dawn of powered flight when Honeywell legacy company Sperry Gyroscope demonstrated the world's first autopilot in 1914. Since then, constant advancements in technology have made modern aircraft safer, more efficient, more mission-effective and more automated than ever before.

At Honeywell, we believe the pathway to autonomous flight is clear, direct, and ready today. Smart aircraft systems are being engineered, tested, and certified to give aircraft increased ability to sense, decide, and act with greater autonomy through all phases of flight. We're using our unique expertise in high-performance avionics, assured flight controls, advanced sensors, detect and avoid (DAA) technology, remote operations, contingency management, pilot monitoring, and other technologies to realize safe autonomous flight at scale.

Autonomous and highly automated aircraft are already moving cargo. The military has used remotely piloted UAS platforms to carry supplies for more than a decade and in January the Navy delivered cargo to a moving ship for the first time. In the commercial world, delivery drones routinely move cargo of all kinds safely and seamlessly from Point A to Point B. It's only a matter of time until autonomous drones provide routine home delivery of prescriptions, groceries and other essential items.

Ready-Now Technologies Drive Autonomous Flight

Honeywell has ready-now avionics and sensor capabilities to enable autonomous flight for military and civil cargo aircraft. A great example is the uncrewed Textron Pipistrel Nuuva 300 aircraft, which will carry up to 1,000 pounds of cargo to distances of more than 180 miles. The Nuuva 300 will be remotely operated by someone on the ground, thanks to an advanced Honeywell satellite communications system, compact fly-by-wire flight control and autonomous navigation software.

We also predict that before long, technology will enable one person to monitor multiple UAS aircraft in flight, which will open the door to even greater levels of flight automation and autonomy. Cargo-carrying UAS aircraft of all shapes and sizes '' from small drones to large, unmanned cargo aircraft '' will be more common by 2025. Success in the cargo space will establish the safety and efficiency of autonomous flight and drive acceptance for new applications in passenger aircraft, including UAM platforms.

UAM Will Demand Higher Levels of Autonomy

Ever greater levels of flight automation and autonomy are essential to establish and grow a safe and efficient UAM ecosystem in large cities and their suburbs. UAM will reduce commute times, unclog highways and city streets, quiet traffic noise and improve air quality. This new air transportation infrastructure will rely on fleets of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that are small, electric-powered and fully certified. They will also be highly automated and, eventually, autonomous and commanded by remote operators.

The first UAM vehicles will enter service in the next couple of years and experts predict that as many as 438,000 will be operational by 2040. At Honeywell, we're working to simplify, streamline and add automation to flight operations and make UAM aircraft easier to fly. We see the opportunity to dramatically reduce pilot training time and enable simplified vehicle operations (SVO) in the next five years.

With SVO, you have a pilot onboard who supervises flight operations and intervenes only as needed. Once the flying public becomes comfortable with automation, it will be possible to take the pilot offboard and put them in an operations center to supervise the aircraft remotely. One operator could supervise multiple aircraft.

More Flight Deck Automation is in the Cards

Flight deck automation began with the first autopilot more than a century ago and today's cockpits are highly automated. Sophisticated flight management, navigation, communications, hazard avoidance, auto-land and other innovative systems improve situational awareness and optimize performance. They also manage operations in every stage of flight and reduce pilot workload so flight crews can concentrate on other priorities like safety, passenger comfort and on-time performance.

Automation is also a key enabler of the evolution toward single pilot operations (SPO), which will help airlines, cargo services and business jet operators reduce operating costs and cope with the growing pilot shortage.

Over the decades, automation has enabled operators to shift to a two-person flight crew, consisting of a captain and first officer. We're rapidly moving toward a time in the next 10 years when, with regulatory approval, a single pilot will fly commercial and large business aircraft supported by advanced onboard automation technology and support services on the ground. Fully autonomous large cargo flights should be possible by the 2030s.

Next-generation cockpits '' led by the groundbreaking Honeywell Anthem flight deck '' take things to a whole new level. Honeywell Anthem offers features like the ability to seamlessly host third-party applications that empower operator innovation and the Connected Mission Manager, which automatically generates checklists and tells pilots what they should do next. Honeywell Anthem is available today for all kinds of aircraft and will fly first on eVTOL platforms from industry leaders Lilium, Vertical Aerospace, and Supernal.

Safety is paramount in the autonomy equation. Greater levels of autonomy, implemented in a smart way, can make flying '' which is already incredibly safe '' even safer. It can augment human capabilities, optimize the human-machine interface and reduce the chance of errors. At Honeywell, we're committed to applying our unparalleled experience in core enabling technologies to enhance safety in a more autonomous world.

Ready to learn more about the latest in technology for many of the primary systems found on these new aircraft? Let us know using the form below.

"Now is the Time": Sen. Lindsey Graham Introduces Bills to Go to War With Iran for Threatening Israel

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After introducing multiple bills over the past week aimed at launching a war with Iran for threatening Israel's security, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) declared Thursday on Twitter that "now is the time" to "go on offense." From The Jerusalem Post, "US Senator Graham calls for military force against Iran over Hezbollah threats":Any escalation by Hezbollah against Israel that leads to a major confrontation should be viewed as an attack carried out and executed by Iran, according to a resolution South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham introduced on Wednesday.According to the resolution, the Senate ''asserts that efforts to deter Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran are most credible when the President keeps all options on the table, including military force.''The resolution holds Iran and Hezbollah responsible for ''any adverse impacts on the people of Lebanon that result from an attack on the State of Israel by Hezbollah'' and also urges Congress and the President to use ''all diplomatic tools and power projection capabilities'' to hold both Iran and Hezbollah accountable.Graham also introduced an Authorization for Use of Military Force which would permit the use of US Armed Forces against Iran for threatening the national security of the US through the development of nuclear weapons.According to Graham, the resolution would be triggered if the president determines that Iran possesses uranium enriched to the weapons grade level of a nuclear warhead and possesses a delivery vehicle capable of delivering a nuclear device against Israel, other allies or the United States.''Iran will keep going until somebody tells them to stop,'' Graham told reporters during a news conference he called on Wednesday afternoon. ''It is time to put red lines on their nuclear program.''Here's the bills:He introduced another on Thursday with the same aims: Graham on Thursday also called for the US to go to war with Iran in a post on Twitter."It is always good for any American administration to reassure Israel that we have their back against Iran and their proxies and will provide the necessary defensive capability," Graham said. "However, it is long past time to start talking about offense when it comes to Iranian threats against Israel, the United States, and the world."It is always good for any American administration to reassure Israel that we have their back against Iran and their proxies and will provide the necessary defensive capability.However, it is long past time to start talking about offense when it comes to Iranian threats against'... pic.twitter.com/CeB6wSJOmQ

'-- Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 1, 2024 "Iran is running wild throughout the region. As my recent legislation indicates, an attack by Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Houthis against Israel should be considered an attack by Iran," he continued. "All of these proxies are provided weapons and funds by the Iranian regime to spread their terror.""Israel should have every right to not only defend its territory from Iranian attacks, but also hit the regime hard. The ayatollah and his henchmen have one source of revenue: oil and gas sales," Graham added. "You put their refineries at risk and their behavior changes. The best way to prevent escalation is to show a willingness to go on offense. Now is the time."Follow InformationLiberation on Twitter, Facebook, Gab, Minds and Telegram.

Nvidia is in a bubble and the AI theme is ''overhyped'' - Elliott Management (NASDAQ:NVDA) | Seeking Alpha

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Sun, 04 Aug 2024 01:10

David Becker/Getty Images News

Hedge fund Elliott Management said that Nvidia ( NASDAQ:NVDA ) is in a bubble as the artificial intelligence theme pushing its share price is overhyped.

Elliott Management said that the technology mega-caps, such as Nidia, are in a ''bubble land'' and that the hedge fund is skeptical that these companies will continue to purchase Nvidia's ( NVDA ) graphic processing units in such huge volumes, according to a second quarter letter viewed by The Financial Times.

Elliot said that many AI applications are not ready for ''prime time'' and that many of the expected uses are ''never going to be cost-efficient; are never going to actually work right'' and that they ''will take up too much energy or will prove to be untrustworthy.''

The chipmaker stocks have suffered some losses due to concerns about heavy -- tens of billions of dollars -- AI spending for infrastructure.

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) is down 6.67% today so far, after a 120% year-to-date gain. The stock is also down 9.23% from a month ago. Nvidia briefly became the world's largest company with a market cap of more than $3.3T.

Intel Corp. (INTC) fell 20% after the U.S. market close yesterday after it announced plans to cut about 15,000 jobs. It is currently down 5.5% from yesterday, also down 5.15% from a month ago, and down 42.19% year-to-date.

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) is down 8.5% from yesterday, and down 8% since a month ago.

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) is down 9.37% from yesterday, and down 17.28% from a month ago.

ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) is down 5.66% from yesterday, and down 14.65% from a month ago.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) is down 8.26% from yesterday, and down 14.69% from a month ago.

Elliott Management said that the hedge fund has stayed away from ''bubble stocks,'' mentioning the ''Magnificent Seven'' -- (GOOGL), (AAPL), (AMZN), (META), (MSFT), (NVDA), and (TSLA).

EXCLUSIVE: Google CEO 'committed' to help Trudeau achieve political goals - Rebel News

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E-transfer (Canada):[email protected] - password RebelNews if required

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After one complaint and 15 months of ongoing delays, the Trudeau Liberals have finally released some documents relating to communications between the prime minister's chief bureaucrats and Google on censorship requests.

Today's report was made possible through your generous crowdfunded donations to our special access to information filing website, RebelInvestigates.com. Thanks to everyone who donates there to offset our costs and hold governments accountable for what they say and do behind closed doors.

Now, nearly a year and a half ago, Rebel News filed for access to documents. We asked the Privy Council Office to provide communications sent to or received from Google or its representative regarding any discussions or requests to censor, suspend, ban, promote, throttle, shadow ban an account or a particular post.

As you can see, the response from the government indicated that some information was withheld from us, and it remains withheld from us. On appeal, Trudeau's minders released pages of documents.

One of those documents is a September 22, 2021, congratulatory letter from Sunder Pinchal, the CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his successful re-election.

Let's read it together:

We are grateful for the constructive relationship that we have enjoyed with your government working together to resolve high-priority issues.

When we first spoke in May 2019 '-- and I don't have those documents '-- it was in the context of a difficult but important conversation about countering violent extremism online.

I am pleased to tell you that we have made significant advancements in keeping our users safe and our platforms free of illegal content. Although it remains challenging work, it is a high priority for our company.

And here comes the promise to work closely with Trudeau to censor Canadians and to spread government disinformation on behalf of Trudeau:

In recent months, our teams have worked closely to ensure Canadians have access to high quality and reputable information around COVID-19 while promoting the safe and effective use of vaccines.

You have set out an ambitious, wide-ranging agenda to examine issues relevant to the internet and its users in Canada. We look forward to continuing our conversations on these issues over the coming months.

The next part is chilling:

Your ambitious goals for Canada are also our goals, from the fundamental challenge of tackling climate change to ensuring that the internet is a safe and helpful resource for all.

We will continue to work with your government to achieve global tax fairness through the OECD and we share your goal of a swift, equitable and green economic recovery.

To conclude, we are committed to Canada. We have been here for 20 years, and we look to grow in partnership with you and your government in the years to come. Please never hesitate to reach out if I can be of assistance.

Another document is a September 6, 2022, formal request from Google's president of global affairs and chief legal officer Kent Walker for a meeting with Dominic LeBlanc, at the time Trudeau's minister of intergovernmental affairs.

The meeting was to discuss, ''how Google can work collaboratively with the government to address some of the regulatory challenges including the Online News Act (c18) and the online streaming act (c11).''

Walker said in the meeting that he would speak to ''ways in which Google is promoting safety online and combating disinformation by maintaining information, quality and encouraging civic engagement.''

That's a long way to say censorship.

Seven pages of documents are all the documents the federal government has released on its communications with the single largest search engine in the world (and the parent company of the second largest search engine in the world: YouTube). On the Western world's single largest censorship agenda.

After repeated promises to work closely with the government to censor users and push the government agenda on COVID-19, vaccines and climate change? I don't believe it.

How many pages are they withholding? I'll keep asking as long as you keep helping me at RebelInvestigates.com.

See the documents for yourself:

Logitech's new mouse summons AI with a button push | PCWorld

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Sat, 03 Aug 2024 22:17

Image: Logitech

On the heels of keyboards with a Cortana key'...comes a mouse with a ChatGPT key? Well, mostly. Meet the Logitech Signature AI Edition M750 Mouse.

Logitech plans to launch the Signature AI Edition Mouse in April in the United States and the United Kingdom for $49.99. Though it has a dedicated AI key '-- you do need a dedicated AI key on your mouse, right? '-- the button actually launches an app called the Logi AI Prompt Builder, powered by ChatGPT.

That app is part of Logi Options+, the connective software that ties many of Logitech's MX, or ''Master,'' series peripherals (plus its Studio Series, Ergo, and others) such as keyboards and mice. When a user presses the AI prompt button on the top of the AI Edition Mouse, they're actually launching the Prompt Builder within the Options+ app. Existing Logitech peripherals that lack a dedicated ChatGPT key can remap another key to trigger the same function.

Prompt Builder is designed to highlight, copy, and/or edit a portion of the text you're working on. It looks like a more sophisticated version of the suggested actions Microsoft has tested within Copilot, where users can highlight a block of text, right-click it, and ask for a summary '-- Copilot key or not.

Logitech's AI Prompt Builder with ChatGPT.Logitech's AI Prompt Builder with ChatGPT.Logitech

Logitech's AI Prompt Builder with ChatGPT.Logitech

Logitech

In this case, Logitech is using ChatGPT to rephrase, summarize, reply, or author an email. A separate box allows drop-down stylistic options including ''funny'' and ''professional.''

Many people still don't use AI for one reason or another. Logitech hopes to make it as easy as a click of the mouse.

Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorldMark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology. He has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science and Electronic Buyers' News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room.

City Eye: Facts on a plate: our population is at least 77 million | The Independent | The Independent

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Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.

It is the statistic that dare not speak its name, though eventually it must. It has huge ramifications for the civil and political life of this country, the health of the equity markets and, most immediately, the residential property market. So don't forget you read it here first: the population of the UK is presently somewhere between 77 and 80 million.

The 2001 census, already hopelessly out of date and easy to avoid for those who find filling in forms a trifle inelegant, numbered us at a little under 59 million. But as statistics go, that one's most definitely a damned lie.

My sources for the above statement are good, but scared of admitting the truth for fear of incurring the wrath of Whitehall. It's like the best way of monitoring illegal drug consumption: forget the pious statements from ministers '' the foolproof method is to sample our water and the effluent in it. That's easily the best way of monitoring what the nation has been consuming.

Consumption '' that's the thing. Based on what we eat, one big supermarket chain reckons there are 80 million people living in the UK. The demand for food is a reliable indicator; as Sir Richard Branson says, you can have all the money in the world but you can only eat onelunch and one dinner.

The supermarket in question was privately lobbying the Competition Commission to let it grow its market share. The argu- ment, reasonably enough, was that the market was far bigger than the regulator realised, so expanding the network was fair.

I have a second, respectable, source. A major, non-commercial agricultural institution reckons there are 77 million of us in the UK. Again, its reckoning is based on what we eat.

That faint background noise you're hearing as you read this is the sound of everyone slithering off the record. Why? In political terms, standing behind these figures would be to toss a hand grenade into a vat of gasoline. People would be hounded out of a job for scaremongering.

The Office for National Statistics' figures, published last week, predict a population of 75 million by 2051. It's an honest estimate but horribly wide of the mark because number counting doesn't work effectively. If you want to know how many there are of us, ask a food firm.

If the true numbers were revealed, the Little Englanders and xenophobes would come out in force about the evils of immigration. But that's what made America great in the 19th century, and it's a driving force of our economy right now. It's also anti-inflationary.

David Buik, a money manager with broker BGC Partners, was talking of "one million Eastern Europeans unaccounted for in London" on television last week. I suspect he's right if somewhat conservative in his estimate. How many do you see working in the construction industry and waiting at tables?

And when I say "anti-inflationary", I mean they are getting rotten wages. Dignified by the term "cheap labour", the hidden hordes will do well for the services sector, among others. People are assets '' to maintain and to be maintained '' so we are wealthier as a nation.

All of which is reflected in strong economic demand and markets see-sawing between optimism over what we all see on the streets (that 77 million figure feels right to me) and the possibility of something nasty if the Bank of England credit-crunch prognosis is correct (to echo last week, I think next spring will be unpleasant).

As for housing, property magnates and chief executives of housing associations alike say the expanding population means serious demand for the foreseeable future, credit crunch or no. Next week, I'll look at the detail of this argument.

martin@martinfdbaker.com

CrowdStrike issues go beyond Windows: company's security software has reportedly been causing Linux kernel panics since at least April | Tom's Hardware

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Sat, 03 Aug 2024 22:02

(Image credit: Shutterstock)Last Friday, the world experienced the biggest global outage of key Windows PC infrastructure in history '-- this issue, caused by a botched CrowdStrike update to its kernel-level Falcon Sensor software, made modern Windows systems so fundamentally non-functional that flights around the world were delayed. Southwest Airlines managed to avoid the issue, because the company was using Windows 3.1 instead of any remotely modern version of the OS. But as it turns out, the problem isn't just isolated to modern Windows operating systems. Linux users have been reporting kernel panics and crashes related to the same software since as early as April of this year, per a report from The Register.

So, how is this issue cross-platform? Chances are the specific issue that caused chaos over the last few days is not'-- after all, we would've seen it cripple Windows machines much sooner if that were the case. However, what this does demonstrate is that CrowdStrike has apparently been lax with its Falcon Sensor Security software for quite a while now.

For those unfamiliar, the "kernel" of an operating system refers to the layer outside of user interaction (typically called the "shell"), and most directly connected to the hardware beneath. The thing is, very little computer software actually needs kernel access to get its work done. And while security software can certainly be an exception because threats often may attempt to infiltrate the kernel, it's still very important to ensure that the software isn't also causing kernel instability and crashes for any target platform.

An interesting sidenote pointed out by The Register is that CrowdStrike's current CEO, George Kurtz, was also CEO of McAFee during an infamous 2010 update that caused several PCs to be stuck in an endless boot loop. This likely makes George Kurtz the first CEO in history to preside over two major global PC outages caused by bad security software updates.

Linux users who have been impacted reportedly include those using Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Debian Linux (and Debian is the basis for the more-widespread Ubuntu), and Rocky Linux. All of the issues in question are impacting the underlying Linux kernel (universal across Linux distributions), though, seemingly crashing any Linux distributions using kernel versions 5.14.0-42713.1 and newer.

Linux users do seem to have more recourse for issues like this'-- including switching to an eBPF "User Mode"'-- but it speaks to the severity of CrowdStrike's kernel software development issues if the company is managing to cripple Linux and Windows operating systems.

It also shows that there were warning signs for this past global outage, and that systems should have been in place at CrowdStrike some time ago to test these enterprise and government-targeted updates vigorously enough to prevent these kernel-level crashes. After all, most impacted users in these strictly-controlled environments likely don't have the administrative access or knowledge required to fix these problems once they occur. In other words, much-improved QA testing would seem to be mandatory for CrowdStrike's continued long-term success.

Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

FDA Leader Backed 'Puberty Blockers' Despite Suicide Risk

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Sat, 03 Aug 2024 21:47

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL'--A team leader at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended approving ''puberty blockers'' for teens who identify as transgender even while noting that a recent study showed these drugs are associated with an ''increased risk in depression and suicidality.''

Many activists claim that children struggling with gender dysphoria (the persistent condition of identifying with the gender opposite their biological sex) must receive experimental drugs to make their bodies resemble bodies of the opposite sex to stop them from committing suicide, yet the FDA study suggested these drugs actually increase the risk of suicide.

In one email on Jan. 25, 2022, Shannon Sullivan, clinical team leader at the FDA's Division of General Endocrinology, noted that the agency's Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products performed a ''safety review of the GnRH agonist class in pediatric patients in 2016/2017.'' GnRH stands for ''Gonadatropin-releasing hormone,'' and GnRH agonists prevent the natural release of testosterone and estrogen that initiate puberty.

The conservative nonprofit America First Legal obtained the email in the discovery process of a lawsuit and made it available to The Daily Signal.

''Our review focused on suicidal ideation/depression, seizures, and bone health,'' Sullivan wrote in the email. Although most of the minors in the study suffered from central precocious puberty (in which puberty starts too early), ''a handful were transgender kids using the drugs off-label.''

''We found no effect on bone (after factoring in catch-up growth), including no increase in fracture risk,'' she noted. ''We did find increased risk of depression and suicidality, as well as increased seizure risk and we issued [safety-related labeling changes].''

Yet Sullivan went on to recommend approving GnRH agonists for minors.

The FDA's Division of Urology, Obstetrics, and Gynecology, she wrote, ''has done a patient listening session with trans kids and separately with trans adults, which I participated in, and there is definitely a need for these drugs to be approved for gender transition, as they are typically not covered by insurance and are expensive out of pocket.''

Sullivan also said that ''no company has come in'' to provide ''GnRH agonists in the transgender population'' yet, but ''it was my understanding'' that the FDA division ''would take these applications if and when they do come in.''

Screenshot of FDA official Shannon Sullivan's email.''It is shocking and unacceptable that the FDA would admit that puberty blockers cause suicidal ideation and depression, yet in the same breath recommend their approval for transgender 'medical' procedures for children,'' Ian Prior, senior adviser at America First Legal, told The Daily Signal.

''The advocates of these brutal practices on children claim that they are necessary to prevent suicide and depression, but in reality, the treatments themselves cause the very thing they claim they are trying to prevent,'' Pryor added. ''This barbarism has no place in a civilized society and it's time for the federal government to follow the lead of Europe in banning these experiments on children.''

America First Legal sued the Food and Drug Administration for illegally concealing records related to the off-label use of ''puberty blockers'' and cross-sex hormones on children. The organization also filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all FDA records regarding the off-label use of ''puberty blockers'' and other drugs on children to provide ''gender-affirming care,'' a euphemistic term for experimental interventions to make young men appear female and vice versa.

''Puberty blockers'' and cross-sex hormones can cause sterilization and other serious side effects including depression, blood clots, high blood pressure, and weight gain.

Internal documents from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which presents itself as the premier source on ''gender-affirming care,'' reveal that medical doctors who support experimental ''treatments'' for children have acknowledged that side effects include liver cancer in teens and reduced sexual function. They have also expressed concern about the lack of informed consent for procedures with lifelong impacts.

Some doctors prescribe Lupron, a drug also used to chemically castrate sex offenders, to make young boys appear female.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved GnRH agonists for central precocious puberty but not for gender dysphoria.

The FDA didn't turn over requested documents in the timely manner required by law, so America First Legal sued. Sullivan's email is among the documents the nonprofit obtained.

Sullivan originally sent the email as FDA staff discussed how to respond to a media request from Reuters reporter Chad Terhune. Terhune had asked about ''puberty blocking drugs,'' noting that such drugs have been ''approved for central precocious puberty but [are] also used off-label for transgender children.''

White House reveals what Biden was really doing when he went back onto the plane and left Kamala Harris on the tarmac after welcoming back freed Americans | Daily Mail Online

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Sat, 03 Aug 2024 21:13

Biden was out of view for nearly two minutes after boarding the planeHe was greeting the crew who brought 'brave individuals' home By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Published: 13:53 EDT, 2 August 2024 | Updated: 17:59 EDT, 2 August 2024

President Joe Biden had welcomed home Americans freed from Russian prisons Thursday, and spoken and to the media about the dramatic swap - but he still had one more thing to attend to.

The president, 81, slowly climbed the steps of the jet that had ferried the group of prisoners from captivity, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris waiting behind on the tarmac at the night-time event.

The moment came after both Biden and Harris gave an emotional welcome to Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whalen, and Alsu Kurmasheva after their dramatic return from captivity. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, hugged each of them upon his return.

The interlude for Biden lasted two minutes long after Biden left his VP behind. The president was out of view for about a minute and forty seconds while on board the plane.

'President Biden wanted to personally thank the flight crew who brought these brave individuals home to their families,' White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told DailyMail.com when asked about what the president was doing on board the aircraft.

Harris, who has been shadowing Biden during key moments, remained below and did not step on board.

President Joe Biden boarded the aircraft that brought home Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan to Joint Base Andrews late Thursday

Biden had earlier posted an image of the freed prisoners aboard the aircraft as they made their way home. When he was done, he slowly walked down the jetway, with one hand on each railing, to rejoin Harris, then walked over toward Whelan.

Biden and Harris were on hand for the emotional nighttime arrival at Joint Base Andrews following their transatlantic flight, after Biden addressed reporters at the White House on the historic prisoner swap that freed them.

'It feels wonderful. A long time in coming, but I was absolutely convinced we would get it done,' Biden told reporters at the base, which he also uses when traveling aboard Air Force One.

After exchanging some words with Harris, Biden, 81, slowly climbed the jetway that had brought the prisoners to U.S. soil.

Harris, whose own role in the effort was being highlighted by White House officials, spoke to Biden's role in her own comments.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as she meets Evan Gershkovich, who was released from detention in Russia

Harris and Biden each hugged Gershkovich upon his arrival

'And I'm very thankful for our president and what he has done over his entire career but, in particular, as it relates to these families and these individuals; what he has been able to do to bring the allies together on many issues but, in particular, this one.

Online users who watched Biden's trip to the aircraft online had their own theories, after Biden has been seen being guided by figures including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and former President Barack Obama at public events.

'No one is talking about how Biden climbed onto the jet after the Americans already got off. Did he think he was getting on Air Force One?' asked one user.

'Maybe he was using the bathroom!' wrote another.

Biden took the successful negotiations as a vindication for his belief in the diplomatic value of personal relationships.

'You've heard me kid with Barack -- he'd kid me -- all politics is personal. It matters. Other leaders trust you, you trust them, you get things done. And that's how this got done: with a lot of -- a lot of help.'

The RNC Research X account also posted the video of Biden and Harris. 'Kamala watches Biden shuffle aimlessly across the tarmac and nearly trip up the stairs of the plane (from which the passengers had long disembarked). This is the obvious decline Kamala covered up in her thirst for power '-- the scandal of the century,' went the tweet.

That prompted another 'weird' attack from Bates at the White House. '.@POTUS was personally thanking the flight crew who brought these brave individuals home to their families. Most Americans are putting partisanship aside to welcome this outstanding news for our country. Y'all should join them. Don't be weird,' he wrote.

Who was freed in major prisoner swap between Russia and the West? | CNN

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Sat, 03 Aug 2024 21:06

CNN '--

American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan were among the 24 detainees released as part of a complex prisoner swap between Russia, the US and other Western nations.

A host of Russian dissidents were also freed while in return Moscow got a former FSB colonel convicted of murder as well as several individuals accused of spying or cybercrime.

Here is what we know about who was freed.

Vadim Krasikov, 58

Krasikov, a former high-ranking FSB colonel serving a life sentence in a German prison, was on the top of Moscow's list of Russian prisoners it wanted to exchange.

Krasikov was convicted of the 2019 murder of the former Chechen fighter Zelimkhan ''Tornike'' Khangoshvili in Berlin's Kleiner Tiergarten.

The German court that convicted Krasikov in 2021 said he acted on behalf of the Russian state, shooting Khangoshvili ''execution style'' in broad daylight. Khangoshvili fought against Russian forces during the Chechen wars and later relocated to Georgia, where he survived several assassination attempts. Wanted in Russia on terror charges, he was a particular thorn in the side of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and close ally of Putin.

The Kremlin has made no secret of its desire to get Krasikov back to Russia, asking for him to be released in 2022 alongside Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US, in exchange for Whelan and the WNBA star Brittney Griner.

When the US couldn't get Krasikov released, Moscow refused to let Whelan go, even though the Biden administration offered several other people instead.

Earlier this year, a top aide to Alexey Navalny said the Russian opposition leader was just days away from being exchanged for Krasikov before he died mysteriously in a Russian penal colony. CNN was unable to independently confirm the plans.

Vadim Konoshchenok, 48

Extradited to the US from Estonia in July 2023, Konoshchenok was facing charges of conspiracy over his role in a global procurement and money laundering network on behalf of the Russian government, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

The US Attorney's Office said in a statement that Konoshchenok is a Russian citizen with alleged ties to the FSB, the Russian intelligence agency. He is accused of being part of a scheme to provide sensitive, American-made electronics and ammunition to Russia, violating US export controls, economic sanctions and other criminal statutes.

Vladislav Klyushin, 43

A Russian businessman, Klyushin was sentenced in Boston last year to nine years in prison for his role in what the US authorities called ''an elaborate hack-to-trade scheme that netted approximately $93 million through securities trades based on confidential corporate information stolen from US computer networks.''

Klyushin was arrested in Sion, Switzerland, in March 2021 and extradited to the United States in December 2021. On top of his prison sentence, he was also ordered to forfeit more than $34 million and pay restitutions.

Roman Seleznev, 40

Roman Seleznev is a convicted hacker and credit card fraudster who was serving a 27-year sentence in the US. Russian officials had previously asked for Seleznev '' known as Track2, Bulba and Ncux 3 '' to be part of the Griner and Bout exchange in 2022. The US agreed to that, but the deal fell apart when it was unable to offer Krasikov as well.

Seleznev was arrested in the Maldives in 2014. He was extradited to the US and sentenced in April 2017 for hacking into point-of-sale computers to steal and sell credit card numbers to the criminal underworld.

In November that year, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in a $50 million cyberfraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme. The two sentences were running concurrently.

Artem Dultsev (age unknown)

Artem Dultsev is a Russian spy who was living undercover in Slovenia, posing as an IT businessman named Ludwig Gisch.

He pleaded guilty to espionage at a court in Ljubljana on Wednesday and was sentenced to more than a year and half in prison, which the court said was equivalent to time spent. According to a statement from the court, he was set to be deported to Russia and was banned from entering Slovenia for five years.

Anna Dultseva (age unknown)

Anna Dultseva, pleaded guilty to espionage alongside Dultsev on Wednesday. Also a Russian spy, she posed as an art dealer and gallery owner and is thought to be married to Dultsev. She went by the name Maria Rosa Mayer Munos. Like Dultsev, she was sentenced to time served and deportation.

Mikhail Mikushin (age unknown)

Mikushin is a Russian spy arrested in Norway in 2022. He was working at the University of Troms¸ in the Arctic Circle, pretending to be a Brazilian researcher.

Pavel Rubtsov (age unknown)

A Russian spy who was living in Poland under the false pretence of being a Spanish journalist called Pablo Gonzales. He was arrested in February 2022, according to the Polish state news agency PAP.

American citizens and residents released Evan Gershkovich, 32

The Wall Street Journal reporter was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage in July, the first American journalist to be arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War.

The US government, Gershkovich's newspaper and his supporters have denounced the trial as a sham.

Paul Whelan, 54

Former US Marine Whelan has spent almost six years in Russian prisons after his arrest in Moscow in December 2018.

He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison on espionage charges that he and the US government vehemently deny. He said he was in the country for a friend's wedding.

Like Gershkovich, Whelan has been designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department. He is also an Irish, British and Canadian citizen.

Alsu Kurmasheva, 47

The Russian-American journalist was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of spreading false information about the Russian army.

Kurmasheva was sentenced on the same day that a court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg convicted Gershkovich.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42

A prominent Russian opposition politician and human rights defender, Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason after publicly condemning Moscow's war in Ukraine.

He is a permanent resident of the US and a dual citizen of Russia and the United Kingdom.

He was initially detained in 2022, hours after an interview with CNN in which he criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin's ''regime of murderers.''

''I was certain I was going to die in Putin's prison,'' Kara-Murza said on Friday at a press conference. I did not believe I'd ever see my wife again. I did not believe I'd ever see my family again. This feels really surreal.''

''None of us knew [that we would be released] until the last moment. I only realized'... yesterday morning,'' he said.

Kara-Murza was moved a number of times in recent months and was transferred to a prison hospital earlier this month. His lawyers have been repeatedly denied access to him.

''Since arriving to Germany yesterday, we were all held in a quarantine'... for medical testing evaluations,'' he said. ''This is our first venture into the outside world.''

Rico Krieger, 30 or 31

The German citizen was sentenced to death in Belarus in June after being charged with terrorism and mercenary activities.

Little is known about Krieger. The group Human Rights Center ''Viasna'' said Krieger is a German Red Cross employee. The Belarusian authorities said he was a German citizen born in 1993.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as an emergency medical technician for the German Red Cross and as an armed security officer for the US Embassy in Berlin.

Krieger was pardoned by the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on July 30, according to Lukashenko's office.

Kevin Lik, 18

Kevin Lik, a dual citizen of Russia and Germany, was convicted of high treason in December 2023, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.

TASS said Lik was accused of photographing and filming military equipment and personnel at the Maikop garrison in Russia. According to the court, he intended to provide the information to German intelligence.

Demuri (Dieter) Voronin (age unknown)

Voronin was accused of helping Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and adviser to the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos accused of treason, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

According to the indictment, quoted by Russian state media, Demuri Voronin, a German citizen, facilitated Safronov's cooperation with the German Federal Intelligence Service.

Safronov was sentenced to 22 years in prison and Voronin to 13 years and 3 months according to the Russian state news agency RIA.

Herman Moyzhes (age unknown)

A lawyer a>>nd cycling activist, Moyzhes was charged earlier this month with treason for helping Russian citizens obtain residence permits in Europe, according to TASS.

His arrest was criticised as politically motivated by the German Jewish community.

Patrick Schoebel (38 or 39)

Schoebel was detained at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg in January for carrying a bag containing cannabis gummy bears, according to the press service of St. Petersburg courts.

Ilya Yashin, 41

Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin was sentenced to eight years and six months for spreading ''false information'' about the Russian army in December 2022.

Yashin, a close ally of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, was convicted of spreading ''false'' statements about the circumstances of the killings of Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops in Bucha, a town north of Kyiv.

Yashin understood his imprisonment not only as a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine but as a struggle to ''defend my right to say what I wanted.''

Russia criminalized criticism of the military following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. The court said he would serve his sentence ''in a strict regime correctional colony.''

Yashin recounted on Friday how he was asked to request a presidential pardon, days before his exchange: ''I could not bring myself to acknowledge Putin as President. Putin, whom I considered to be a war criminal, a tyrant and a murderer. I will not petition for mercy from such a man,'' he told a journalists in Bonn, Germany.

Alexandra Skochilenko, 33

The Russian artist was sentenced to seven years in jail in 2023 after replacing price tags with anti-war messages in a St. Petersburg grocery store as an act of protest.

In her final statement in court before the verdict, Skochilenko questioned the perceived threat posed by her actions, stating, ''How little faith does our prosecutor have in our state and society if he believes that our statehood and public safety can be destroyed by five small pieces of paper?''

Oleg Orlov, 71

The human rights defender and the former head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization ''Memorial'' was sentenced to two and half years in prison for speaking up against Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Lilia Chanysheva, 42

A former staffer in the Navalny's organization, Chanysheva was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison in June 2023, after being found guilty of ''organizing an extremist community.''

In April, the Supreme Court of Bashkortostan increased her sentence to nine and half years.

Ksenia Fadeeva, 32

Another former associate of Navalny, Fadeeva was sentenced to nine years in prison in December 2023. She was convicted of organizing the activities of an extremist group using her official position and participating in a non-profit organization that violated citizens' rights.

Vadim Ostanin (age unknown)

Another former staffer in Alexei Navalny's foundation, Ostanin was sentenced to nine years in prison on extremism charges.

Andrei Pivovarov, 42

An opposition activist and human rights defender, Pivovarov served as the head of the since banned Open Russia movement. He was sentenced to four years in a penal colony in July 2022, according to Amnesty International.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the year when Vadim Konoshchenok was extradited.

CNN's Duarte Mendon§a, Caitlin Danaher, and Avery Schmitz contributed to this report.

Google pulls AI ad for Olympics following backlash

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Fri, 02 Aug 2024 23:13

Google pulled an ad it showed during the Olympics that touted its AI chatbot Gemini writing a fan letter to an athlete.

Google has pulled an Olympics ad for its chatbot Gemini from airwaves following backlash for the way it depicts a little girl using artificial intelligence to write a fan letter.

The ad, titled "Dear Sydney," showed a girl's dad prompting the AI chatbot to help write a letter to her favorite athlete, U.S. hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Google launched Gemini, formerly known as Bard, last year following the surge in popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT.

"Gemini, help my daughter write a letter telling Sydney how inspiring she is," the father said in the ad, prompting Gemini. The commercial then briefly shows the draft Gemini produced and closes with footage of the little girl running on the track with a text overlay that says, "A little help from Gemini."

The ad is still viewable on YouTube but has been taken off the airwaves, where it was repeatedly shown in the first week of the Games.

A Google spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC that, "While the ad tested well before airing, given the feedback, we have decided to phase the ad out of our Olympics rotation."

Google said it still sees the Gemini app as helping to provide a "starting point" for writing ideas.

"We believe that AI can be a great tool for enhancing human creativity, but can never replace it," the statement said. "Our goal was to create an authentic story celebrating Team USA."

Google previously defended the ad. However, backlash continued to gain steam as people accused the company of encouraging the use of automation instead of authenticity, particularly with children.

"I flatly reject the future that Google is advertising," Shelly Palmer, professor of advanced media at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, wrote in a widely circulated blog post. The technology presents a "monocultural future where we see fewer and fewer examples of original human thoughts," she wrote.

Google is not the only company facing criticism for ads that promote replacing creative tasks with AI.

In a recent commercial, Apple showed a hydraulic press machine crushing music instruments and paint cans to reveal its new iPad Pro. The company ended up apologizing and pulled the ad from television.

Despite training AI models on original creative work, OpenAI technology chief Mira Murati said recently that AI will cause some creative jobs to go away, but that some of them should not have existed in the first place. Hollywood actors and unions vocally pushed back after Scarlett Johansson said OpenAI ripped off her voice for the new ChatGPT AI voice named "Sky."

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

Don't miss these insights from CNBC PROWATCH: Long-term AI will 'eat a lot of software'

Microsoft Azure Outage Due to DDoS Attack PCMag

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Fri, 02 Aug 2024 22:13

Tuesday's Microsoft outage has been traced to a DDoS attack that temporarily took down the company's Azure cloud service.

The attack sent a flood of internet traffic that disrupted global access to Microsoft's 365 and Azure services for about eight hours. During the outage, the company hinted that a DDoS attack might have been involved with Microsoft's status reports noting an ''unexpected usage spike.''

Redmond has since confirmed that a DDoS attack was the ''initial trigger event'' behind Tuesday's outage. To stop the attack, the company's DDoS protection mechanisms automatically kicked in. But ironically, Microsoft says: ''initial investigations suggest that an error in the implementation of our defenses amplified the impact of the attack rather than mitigating it.''

The outage, which began at around 7:45 a.m. EST, prompted Microsoft to make several network configuration changes. By 10:10 a.m., the initial network changes ''successfully mitigated [the] majority of the impact,'' although some customers still reported trouble accessing Microsoft services. It wasn't until 2 p.m. that Microsoft addressed the rest of the problem.

This comes as DDoS attacks have been growing in intensity. Earlier this month, France-based OVHCloud fended off a record-breaking DDoS assault that reached 840 million packets per second. Such attacks can be launched when a hacker uses an army of computers'--such as PCs, servers, or IoT devices'--to bombard an internet service or website with traffic, overwhelming the IT systems and forcing them offline.

Recommended by Our EditorsIt's unclear who attacked Microsoft, although two hacktivist groups have claimed responsibility. The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but promised in its status report to publish a preliminary review of the incident in the next 72 hours.

''After our internal retrospective is completed, generally within 14 days, we will publish a Final Post Incident Review with any additional details and learnings,'' the company added.

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VIDEO - UK police warn far-right fueled street violence affects resources needed to investigate other crimes - YouTube

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Sun, 04 Aug 2024 16:47

VIDEO - Protestors gather in Chicago to demand justice for Sonya Massey - YouTube

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VIDEO - Haniyeh killed by 'short-range projectile' fired from outside home: IRGC - YouTube

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VIDEO - BOILING POINT - YouTube

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VIDEO - Riots LOCKDOWN? Starmer advisor says Brits open to 'UNUSUAL measures' to CRUSH Southport riots - YouTube

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VIDEO - South Pasadena unveils first ever all-electric police fleet

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By CNS Staff

Published July 29, 2024 12:30pm PDT

All electric vehicle police fleet comes to South PasadenaIt's a first in the nation, South Pasadena police now have an all electric police fleet...20 brand new Teslas.

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. - South Pasadena unveiled the city's all-electric police fleet and charging infrastructure, becoming the nation's first law enforcement agency to completely replace its gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles.

The city's zero-emission police fleet of 20 new Teslas will rely on a bank of new electric vehicle chargers installed at South Pasadena City Hall.

A news conference was held Monday at South Pasadena City Hall to display the fleet vehicles.

"This transition reflects the city's vision of a sustainable future based on both sound fiscal management and environmental stewardship," South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer said. "We will have a 21st Century police force that is safe, clean and saves taxpayer dollars."

According to city officials, the transition is expected to save about $4,000 a year per vehicle on energy costs.

"Switching to these vehicles offers the Police Department the opportunity to acquire a cutting-edge vehicle fleet," South Pasadena Police Chief Brian Solinsky said. "This initiative not only ensures the safest vehicles for officers and staff but also leads to substantial reductions in both fuel and maintenance costs."

To make the switch, Enterprise Fleet Management assisted the city in acquiring 10 Tesla Model Ys as patrol vehicles and 10 Tesla Model 3s for detective and administrative duties.

Regional air quality officials applauded the switch.

"Finishing the job of cleaning up the region's unhealthy smog and protecting our atmosphere will require wholesale adoption of vehicles that produce no emissions while driving," said South Pasadena Councilmember and South Coast Air Quality Management District vice chair Michael Cacciotti.

"We have been working on this for over a decade. We finally got it right and the future for municipalities across the country is clear. Partnering is the way to get big ideas done. Our city is helping to make that a reality today."

A key component of the project was the construction of 34 chargers at South Pasadena City Hall. Southern California Edison upgraded its local distribution system to supply the higher level of power needed to energize the vehicles, according to city officials.

"Southern California Edison is committed to enabling California's efforts to achieve a clean energy future and improve air quality in the communities we serve," said Jill C. Anderson, executive vice president and COO for SCE.

More information is available at standardfleet.com.

VIDEO - IOC leader says 'hate speech' directed at Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting is unacceptable - YouTube

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VIDEO - Iran says a short-range projectile killed Hamas' Haniyeh and reiterates vows of retaliation - YouTube

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VIDEO - US and Russia tout prisoner swap as a victory, but perceptions of the deal show stark differences - YouTube

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VIDEO - Macy Gray suffers Ozempic emergency ON-AIR after speaking out about 'painful' side effects of the weight loss drug | Daily Mail Online

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Macy Gray was rushed to the hospital in a wheelchair after her shot of Ozempic caused her to become short of breath and left her unable to walk in the latest episode of MTV's The Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets.

After previously revealing that the weight-loss drug had left her with a painful bout of constipation, the 56-year-old I Try singer was met with further complications that caused so much concern that the production raced her to the emergency room.

Initially opening up about her symptoms, Macy explained that she was having shortness of breath and finding it hard to move around.

She said: 'It's really hard to catch my breath. This sucks because I'm here all the way in Colombia and I really just want to give it my all, but I just feel awful and I just want it to go away.'

'This is not going well,' she continued. 'I can't even walk very much without losing my breath.'

Macy Gray was rushed to the hospital after her shot of Ozempic caused her complications

The 56-year-old singer was pushed into the emergency room in a wheelchair as she complained of shortness of breath

Macy was immediately checked over by the show's medic and security personnel.

'Last time I felt like this, I had to go to the hospital,' she said. 'I'm just tired.'

After assessing Macy, the medic shared: 'You are taking some medicine that can affect your pancreas. Your pancreas can't fight.'

After the medic advised Macy to go to the hospital to get checked out, she was pushed into the emergency room in a wheelchair.

Meanwhile, at the villa, Chet Hanks revealed Macy's hospital trip to the rest of the celebrities.

'She went to the hospital,' he said. 'She hasn't been eating.'

'I know why,' X Factor alum Ally Brooke said. 'It's the shot. That's what happens, that's literally what happened to my friends.'

Speaking in her confessional, Ally continued: 'I'm familiar with the Ozempic craze and I've definitely heard of the side effects that Macy is having... so I feel for her.'

Sharing her symptoms, Macy said: 'I can't even walk very much without losing my breath'

Speaking in her confessional, Macy explained that she sought out Ozempic to shift some weight ahead of her tour across the country. Pictured in 2022

Macy divulged her Ozempic use in last week's episode of The Surreal Life, where she also shared her issues with side effects.

Speaking to costars Kim Zolciak and Johnny Weir about her uncomfortable ordeal, she said: 'Oh boy, my stomach hurts. I've just been really constipated.

'I took Ozempic. I can't go to the bathroom, and I was up all night.'

Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim, 46 then quipped: 'Ozempic does that.'

'Last night it hurt,' Macy shared, prompting Kim to warn, 'You have to be careful, you know.'

Macy added: 'I go on tour after this, so I was trying to lose weight really fast.'

Speaking in her confessional, Macy explained that she sought out Ozempic to shift some weight ahead of her tour across the country.

She said: 'Quietly, I'm kind of a vain person. I've gained a lot of weight over the past couple years, and this is right about the time when everybody starts talking about this Ozempic.

'So, I thought, okay, I'm not taking it off the right way, let me see if I can get one of these Ozempic.

'I was actually trying to take it off [the weight] before the show because I didn't want to be super fat on TV, but here we are.'

Ozempic contains the active ingredient semaglutide, and while classed as a diabetes medication, has been used by some people to lose weight.

The drug works by mimicking a hormone the body uses to tell us the stomach is full, and we should stop eating, helping suppress appetite and slowing overall digestion.

However, this can also trigger what is known medically as the gastrocolic reflex.

This essentially means the stomach sends a signal to the brain that because a large amount of food has been consumed room needs to be made further down the line.

As a consequence, the colon and the rectum are instructed to empty their contents.

But if the digestive process hasn't been completed fully, which is more likely when the signal is artificial in the case of drugs like semaglutide, this can lead to explosive diarrhea.

VIDEO - Intel is laying off 15,000 employees - YouTube

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Sat, 03 Aug 2024 22:21

VIDEO - The wearable AI friend - YouTube

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VIDEO - In full: Starmer addresses far-Right rioting after Southport stabbing - YouTube

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VIDEO - 'Ironic and DREADFUL' violence purges Sunderland with 'simmering tensions' ignited by Southport - YouTube

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VIDEO - Most Powerful Body Language Hacks To Be Confident | Mel Robbins - YouTube

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VIDEO - England, urban guerrilla warfare and chaos in several cities. Islamic groups also on the streets shouting Allahu akbar

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Sat, 03 Aug 2024 21:29

A day of high tension in the UK with protests organised by right-wing groups caused riots in several cities across the UK, including Liverpool, Manchester, Sunderland, Hull, Belfast and Leeds.

BREAKING:New video shows the start of the hammer and axe attack by a group of migrants against anti mass-immigration protesters in Stoke

The video shows that the police did very little to keep the armed group away & made no arrests after the attack

2 men are seriously wounded pic.twitter.com/ugP504BGYm

'-- Visegrd 24 (@visegrad24) August 3, 2024The trigger for the demonstrations was a stabbing in Southport, which resulted in the death of three girls. The tensions, fuelled by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments, quickly spread via social media, resulting in violent clashes between protesters and police.

Masked gangs of Muslims roam the streets of Blackburn screaming "allahu akbar" looking for the concerned British public who they've been told are "far right thugs" all week by @Keir_Starmer and the media.Blood on the hands of the government and media for stoking this. pic.twitter.com/H5phBWfNqe

'-- Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) August 3, 2024One thing that immediately jumps out is that on X one of these protests in the city of Stoke is documented and attributed to Muslim citizens, a circumstance that is not confirmed in the official media.

A mob of visibly heavily armed Muslims in Stoke roam the streets with police making no efforts to stop them.This is exactly why patriots are protesting as we have all had enough.

End two-tier policing. pic.twitter.com/GdQmW2Gb2f

'-- Turning Point UK 🇬🇧 (@TPointUK) August 3, 2024 DetailsIn Liverpool, protesters hurled bricks, bottles and rockets at police in riot gear, causing significant injuries and damage, including a broken windscreen of a police van. One officer was hit by a chair and there were numerous incidents of shoving and assaults among the demonstrators.

In Sunderland, violence reached its peak last night, with demonstrators setting fire to a police station, attacking officers with bricks and looting local shops. Police were forced to form a protective ring around a mosque to prevent further attacks. The Chief Superintendent of Northumbria Police, Mark Hall, strongly condemned the acts of violence, calling them 'inexcusable'. In Manchester, a dispersal notice has been issued to control the riots, while in Liverpool, limits have been imposed on drone flights. Prosecutors are working extraordinarily hard over the weekend to deal with the increase in incidents, as reported by the Mirror news agency.

In Leeds and Nottingham, counter-protesters also clashed with far-right demonstrators, denouncing racism and xenophobia. The ongoing tensions highlight deep divisions in the UK, with growing tensions over issues of race and religion. The authorities are trying to restore order and security will remain high throughout the weekend as the situation continues to develop.

VIDEO - How a historic prisoner swap was orchestrated despite strained US-Russia relations | DW News - YouTube

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VIDEO - US to boost military presence in the Middle East, sending fighter jet squadron ' FRANCE 24 English - YouTube

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VIDEO - Behind the scenes of US-Russia prisonner swap deal ' FRANCE 24 English - YouTube

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VIDEO - United-States: Kamala Harris secures nomination as Democratic candidate for White House - YouTube

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VIDEO - Gender row in women's boxing threatens to overshadow Olympics | DW News - YouTube

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VIDEO - Biden Boards the WRONG PLANE! Kamala Just Watches the Show | #blux - YouTube

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VIDEO - Unruly passenger allegedly ate 10 edibles before midair meltdown: Feds - YouTube

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VIDEO - Pa. Gov. Shapiro to meet with Kamala Harris in DC ahead of Philly rally next week - YouTube

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VIDEO - White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan talks about prisoner swap - YouTube

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VIDEO - Lloyd Austin revokes plea deal for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and 2 others - YouTube

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VIDEO - Secret Service answers questions about assassination attempt of Former President Donald Trump - YouTube

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VIDEO - COVID levels in Southern California continue surging - YouTube

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VIDEO - Chevron leaving California for Texas - YouTube

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VIDEO - US, Russia complete biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, freeing Gershkovich and Whelan - YouTube

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Starmer advisor says Brits open to 'UNUSUAL measures' to CRUSH Southport riots.mp3

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