Friday, November 17, 2017
Robot Apocalypse: With artificial intelligence we are summoning the Demon...
Have you noticed all of the news lately about artificial intelligence and robotics, including some things that sound like absolutely terrible ideas? It’s like scientists are deliberately trying to bring on a robot apocalypse. They clearly don’t watch the same movies that I do.
People are getting more and more onboard with this type of technology. From Alexa to Siri, humans are interacting with artificial intelligence on a regular basis. Siri makes jokes, making the voice from your phone seem more human. It all seems so non-threatening until you look a little deeper.
With robotic exoskeletons, scientists are handing over superior strength, agility, and endurance to human beings.
For example, Ford has been rolling out robotic exoskeletons for their workers in an attempt to battle human weakness. The wearable technology is called the EksoVest and it increases upper body strength, supports the arms, decreases fatigue, and reduces the chance of injury.
It’s related to technology created by DARPA, which has been trying to create supersoldiers with robotic technology for decades. More + videos...
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People are getting more and more onboard with this type of technology. From Alexa to Siri, humans are interacting with artificial intelligence on a regular basis. Siri makes jokes, making the voice from your phone seem more human. It all seems so non-threatening until you look a little deeper.
With robotic exoskeletons, scientists are handing over superior strength, agility, and endurance to human beings.
For example, Ford has been rolling out robotic exoskeletons for their workers in an attempt to battle human weakness. The wearable technology is called the EksoVest and it increases upper body strength, supports the arms, decreases fatigue, and reduces the chance of injury.
It’s related to technology created by DARPA, which has been trying to create supersoldiers with robotic technology for decades. More + videos...
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Scientists accused of scaremongering, 'overheated claims' with warning to humanity...
A recent warning to humanity endorsed by thousands of scientists around the world includes "scaremongering" and "overheated" claims while ignoring much of the progress made in recent decades, some experts say.
"It concerns me that the message from science is this doom-and-gloom scenario that just turns off about 75 per cent of people," said Erle Ellis, an associate professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
"There's a small percentage that loves the crisis narrative, and they just repeat it over and over to each other."
Ellis said he's "somewhat embarrassed" for his scientific colleagues who have rallied behind this warning, arguing that it mostly talks about negative trends and ignores the increasing wealth, health and well-being of human populations globally. Full story...
"It concerns me that the message from science is this doom-and-gloom scenario that just turns off about 75 per cent of people," said Erle Ellis, an associate professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
"There's a small percentage that loves the crisis narrative, and they just repeat it over and over to each other."
Ellis said he's "somewhat embarrassed" for his scientific colleagues who have rallied behind this warning, arguing that it mostly talks about negative trends and ignores the increasing wealth, health and well-being of human populations globally. Full story...
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
'Butter makes us happy': Shortage reveals French lust for beurre...
There can arguably be no greater threat to the French way of life than a lack of butter.
For months France has been gripped by a slow burning panic that it is running out of the golden ambrosia, which is the base of croissants and pains au chocolat as well as the whole mouth-watering panoply of French patisseries.
Supermarket shelves have been emptied of butter as shoppers worry they will have nothing to put on their breakfast tartines of toasted baguette, while worried bakers fear a "croissant crisis" as prices spiral.
"We always loved butter, but we never knew how much," sociologist Remy Lucas, who specialises in people's relationship with food, told AFP.
"Now we realise how important it is in our daily lives. Obviously we can replace it nutritionally but the idea that we might be without it is really unbearable," he added. Full story...
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For months France has been gripped by a slow burning panic that it is running out of the golden ambrosia, which is the base of croissants and pains au chocolat as well as the whole mouth-watering panoply of French patisseries.
Supermarket shelves have been emptied of butter as shoppers worry they will have nothing to put on their breakfast tartines of toasted baguette, while worried bakers fear a "croissant crisis" as prices spiral.
"We always loved butter, but we never knew how much," sociologist Remy Lucas, who specialises in people's relationship with food, told AFP.
"Now we realise how important it is in our daily lives. Obviously we can replace it nutritionally but the idea that we might be without it is really unbearable," he added. Full story...
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Assisted suicide increasingly popular in Switzerland...
More people in Switzerland than ever before are turning to assisted suicide to end their lives, according to the latest statistics.
In 2015, 965 Swiss residents used assisted suicide services in Switzerland, according to the latest figures from the Swiss statistics office.
That’s up from 742 the year before and a remarkable rise on the year 2000 when only 86 people resorted to assisted suicide, said the Tages Anzeiger.
Women are more likely than men to seek assistance to die (539 against 426 in 2015). In contrast, far fewer women commit unassisted suicide (279 against 792 men in 2015).
The figures do not include people who come from abroad to commit suicide in Switzerland. Full story...
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In 2015, 965 Swiss residents used assisted suicide services in Switzerland, according to the latest figures from the Swiss statistics office.
That’s up from 742 the year before and a remarkable rise on the year 2000 when only 86 people resorted to assisted suicide, said the Tages Anzeiger.
Women are more likely than men to seek assistance to die (539 against 426 in 2015). In contrast, far fewer women commit unassisted suicide (279 against 792 men in 2015).
The figures do not include people who come from abroad to commit suicide in Switzerland. Full story...
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Dystopian fiction: How reading transforms your mind...
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Reining in the rogue royal of Arabia...
If the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has in mind a war with Iran, President Trump should disabuse his royal highness of any notion that America would be doing his fighting for him.
Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, the 32-year-old son of the aging and ailing King Salman, is making too many enemies for his own good, or for ours.
Pledging to Westernize Saudi Arabia, he has antagonized the clerical establishment. Among the 200 Saudis he just had arrested for criminal corruption are 11 princes, the head of the National Guard, the governor of Riyadh, and the famed investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
The Saudi tradition of consensus collective rule is being trashed.
MBS is said to be pushing for an abdication by his father and his early assumption of the throne. He has begun to exhibit the familiar traits of an ambitious 21st-century autocrat in the mold of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.
Yet his foreign adventures are all proving to be debacles. Full story...
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Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, the 32-year-old son of the aging and ailing King Salman, is making too many enemies for his own good, or for ours.
Pledging to Westernize Saudi Arabia, he has antagonized the clerical establishment. Among the 200 Saudis he just had arrested for criminal corruption are 11 princes, the head of the National Guard, the governor of Riyadh, and the famed investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
The Saudi tradition of consensus collective rule is being trashed.
MBS is said to be pushing for an abdication by his father and his early assumption of the throne. He has begun to exhibit the familiar traits of an ambitious 21st-century autocrat in the mold of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.
Yet his foreign adventures are all proving to be debacles. Full story...
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From streets to smartphones: India grapples with online rape...
On a busy afternoon in the southern Indian city of Visakhapatnam last month, a young man raped a destitute woman on a pavement. Many pedestrians walked by as he forced himself on the woman, but a few paused - to record the rape on their smartphones.
The police seized one cellphone - of the person who alerted them to the crime - but found he had already shared the video on social media, officers in Visakhapatnam told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Women’s rights campaigners in India said countless rape videos circulate online with few of them reported to the police.
“I receive a dozen rape videos a day from people who are afraid of reporting the crime themselves,” said Sunitha Krishnan, a rape survivor and founder of the charity Prajwala. Full story...
Zimbabwe’s military, in apparent takeover, says it has custody of Mugabe...
Zimbabwe’s military said early Wednesday that it had taken custody of President Robert Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state and one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, in what increasingly appeared to be a military takeover in the southern African nation.
After apparently seizing the state broadcaster, ZBC, two uniformed officers said in a short predawn announcement that “the situation in our country has moved to another level.” While denying that the military had seized power, they said that Mr. Mugabe and his family “are safe and sound, and their security is guaranteed.”
“We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice,” said the main speaker, who was identified as Maj. Gen. S. B. Moyo, the army’s chief of staff.
General Moyo — who was not widely known to the public but who was considered close to the commander of the Zimbabwe Defense Forces, Gen. Constantine Chiwenga — warned that “any provocation will be met with an appropriate response.” Full story...
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After apparently seizing the state broadcaster, ZBC, two uniformed officers said in a short predawn announcement that “the situation in our country has moved to another level.” While denying that the military had seized power, they said that Mr. Mugabe and his family “are safe and sound, and their security is guaranteed.”
“We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice,” said the main speaker, who was identified as Maj. Gen. S. B. Moyo, the army’s chief of staff.
General Moyo — who was not widely known to the public but who was considered close to the commander of the Zimbabwe Defense Forces, Gen. Constantine Chiwenga — warned that “any provocation will be met with an appropriate response.” Full story...
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Tuesday, November 14, 2017
'Way too little, way too late': Facebook's "fake news" factcheckers say effort is failing...
Journalists working for Facebook say the social media site’s fact-checking tools have largely failed and that the company has exploited their labor for a PR campaign.
Several fact checkers who work for independent news organizations and partner with Facebook told the Guardian that they feared their relationships with the technology corporation, some of which are paid, have created a conflict of interest, making it harder for the news outlets to scrutinize and criticize Facebook’s role in spreading misinformation.
The reporters also lamented that Facebook had refused to disclose data on its efforts to stop the dissemination of fake news. The journalists are speaking out one year after the company launched the collaboration in response to outrage over revelations that social media platforms had widely promoted fake news and propaganda during the US presidential election.
Facebook has since revealed that it facilitated Russia’s efforts to interfere with US politics, allowing divisive political ads and propaganda that reached 126 million Americans.
“I don’t feel like it’s working at all. The fake information is still going viral and spreading rapidly,” said one journalist who does fact-checks for Facebook and, like others interviewed for this piece, was not authorized to speak publicly due to the continuing partnership with the company. “It’s really difficult to hold [Facebook] accountable. They think of us as doing their work for them. They have a big problem, and they are leaning on other organizations to clean up after them.” Full story...
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Several fact checkers who work for independent news organizations and partner with Facebook told the Guardian that they feared their relationships with the technology corporation, some of which are paid, have created a conflict of interest, making it harder for the news outlets to scrutinize and criticize Facebook’s role in spreading misinformation.
The reporters also lamented that Facebook had refused to disclose data on its efforts to stop the dissemination of fake news. The journalists are speaking out one year after the company launched the collaboration in response to outrage over revelations that social media platforms had widely promoted fake news and propaganda during the US presidential election.
Facebook has since revealed that it facilitated Russia’s efforts to interfere with US politics, allowing divisive political ads and propaganda that reached 126 million Americans.
“I don’t feel like it’s working at all. The fake information is still going viral and spreading rapidly,” said one journalist who does fact-checks for Facebook and, like others interviewed for this piece, was not authorized to speak publicly due to the continuing partnership with the company. “It’s really difficult to hold [Facebook] accountable. They think of us as doing their work for them. They have a big problem, and they are leaning on other organizations to clean up after them.” Full story...
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Monday, November 13, 2017
Outrage in Paradise...
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Mother Teresa’s secret billions and a Vatican seminary rampant with sex abuse...
By now nothing should surprise us about what goes on behind the protective walls of the not-so Holy See. But the latest book by Italian investigative journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, titled Original Sin delves far beyond the sleazy rumors and alleges blatant criminal activity in Vatican City.
Two of Nuzzi’s last books, Merchants in the Temple published in 2015 and His Holiness published in 2012, landed the best-selling author in a Vatican courtroom for the so-called Vatileaks trials. This time, Nuzzi tells The Daily Beast he had his new book hand-delivered to the Vatican’s chief prosecutor. “There is proof of crimes committed by clerics against children,” he says. “Let’s see what they do with it.”
The book is filled with salacious scoops, backed up by copies of documents printed in an exhaustive index. He shines a light on the disappearance of 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican employee who went missing 30 years ago after a music lesson and whose body has never been found. Conspiracy theorists waffle between theories that she was kept as a sex slave for priests for years or that she was murdered by a local Roman gang of criminals as a threat to her father, who may have witnessed a crime.
Nuzzi provides interview transcripts, sealed court documents and secret video from when police opened a mobster’s tomb in Rome to search for her body to support the theory that she was murdered by an “international group” that Pope Francis has been made aware of. He asks if justice has or will ever be served in the case. Full story...
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Two of Nuzzi’s last books, Merchants in the Temple published in 2015 and His Holiness published in 2012, landed the best-selling author in a Vatican courtroom for the so-called Vatileaks trials. This time, Nuzzi tells The Daily Beast he had his new book hand-delivered to the Vatican’s chief prosecutor. “There is proof of crimes committed by clerics against children,” he says. “Let’s see what they do with it.”
The book is filled with salacious scoops, backed up by copies of documents printed in an exhaustive index. He shines a light on the disappearance of 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican employee who went missing 30 years ago after a music lesson and whose body has never been found. Conspiracy theorists waffle between theories that she was kept as a sex slave for priests for years or that she was murdered by a local Roman gang of criminals as a threat to her father, who may have witnessed a crime.
Nuzzi provides interview transcripts, sealed court documents and secret video from when police opened a mobster’s tomb in Rome to search for her body to support the theory that she was murdered by an “international group” that Pope Francis has been made aware of. He asks if justice has or will ever be served in the case. Full story...
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How Sicily became ungovernable...
This land, a place where lemon trees bloom four times a year, is blessed with abundance -- of sunshine, world cultural heritage sites, Greek temples, Byzantine frescoes, Arab art, sandy beaches and Michelin stars.
Sicily, a slice of paradise.
But then come the statistics. More than one in five members of the working-age population is unemployed, and almost half of all island residents are either poor or at risk of poverty. Sicily seems wealthy, and yet is falling further and further behind, not just in comparison with industrialized northern Italy, but with the rest of the Mezzogiorno. The partially autonomous island, which was part of the "Magna Grecia" in ancient times, is now viewed as "Italy's Greece," the nation's problem child.
Sicilians voted for a new regional government on Sunday Nov. 5, handing the victory to center-right candidate Nello Musumeci, who was backed by a coalition of three parties, including former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia. The anti-establishment Five-Star Movement came second, while the center-left Democratic Party, the party of former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, came in third - a bad omen for its results in next spring's national elections. Full story...
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Sicily, a slice of paradise.
But then come the statistics. More than one in five members of the working-age population is unemployed, and almost half of all island residents are either poor or at risk of poverty. Sicily seems wealthy, and yet is falling further and further behind, not just in comparison with industrialized northern Italy, but with the rest of the Mezzogiorno. The partially autonomous island, which was part of the "Magna Grecia" in ancient times, is now viewed as "Italy's Greece," the nation's problem child.
Sicilians voted for a new regional government on Sunday Nov. 5, handing the victory to center-right candidate Nello Musumeci, who was backed by a coalition of three parties, including former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia. The anti-establishment Five-Star Movement came second, while the center-left Democratic Party, the party of former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, came in third - a bad omen for its results in next spring's national elections. Full story...
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Sunday, November 12, 2017
Evidence mounts that PLAGUE outbreak in Africa is an engineered depopulation bioweapon...
Thousands of people have been infected and over 143 are now reported dead from the plague outbreak that’s now threatening Africa, reports the UK Daily Mail. “Health officials are unsure how this year’s outbreak began,” reports the paper. “Experts warn the disease spreads quicker in heavily populated areas.”
Isn’t it interesting that just as Prince William is calling for “urgent depopulation efforts” in Africa, we suddenly have the rapid spread of the plague from unknown origins? As Natural News previously reported, Prince William appears to be pushing for depopulation efforts across Africa in the name of environmentalism:
“Africa’s rapidly growing human population is predicted to more than double by 2050 – a staggering increase of three and a half million people per month,” Prince William explained during a recent event hosted by the Tusk Trust, a charity that is committed to protecting African wildlife.
According to The Telegraph, Prince William continued, “Urbanization, infrastructure development, cultivation – all good things in themselves, but they will have a terrible impact unless we begin to plan and to take measures now.” Full story...
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Isn’t it interesting that just as Prince William is calling for “urgent depopulation efforts” in Africa, we suddenly have the rapid spread of the plague from unknown origins? As Natural News previously reported, Prince William appears to be pushing for depopulation efforts across Africa in the name of environmentalism:
“Africa’s rapidly growing human population is predicted to more than double by 2050 – a staggering increase of three and a half million people per month,” Prince William explained during a recent event hosted by the Tusk Trust, a charity that is committed to protecting African wildlife.
According to The Telegraph, Prince William continued, “Urbanization, infrastructure development, cultivation – all good things in themselves, but they will have a terrible impact unless we begin to plan and to take measures now.” Full story...
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The disturbing history of the suburbs...
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America breaks down...
(...)
That sense of unease is growing.
How do you keep a nation safe when not even seemingly “safe places” like churches and rock concerts and shopping malls are immune from violence?
The government’s answer, as always, will lead us further down the road we’ve travelled since 9/11 towards totalitarianism and away from freedom.
Those who want safety at all costs will clamor for more gun control measures (if not at an outright ban on weapons for non-military, non-police personnel), widespread mental health screening of the general population and greater scrutiny of military veterans, more threat assessments and behavioral sensing warnings, more CCTV cameras with facial recognition capabilities, more “See Something, Say Something” programs aimed at turning Americans into snitches and spies, more metal detectors and whole-body imaging devices at soft targets, more roaming squads of militarized police empowered to do random bag searches, more fusion centers to centralize and disseminate information to law enforcement agencies, and more surveillance of what Americans say and do, where they go, what they buy and how they spend their time.
All of these measures play into the government’s hands. Full story...
That sense of unease is growing.
How do you keep a nation safe when not even seemingly “safe places” like churches and rock concerts and shopping malls are immune from violence?
The government’s answer, as always, will lead us further down the road we’ve travelled since 9/11 towards totalitarianism and away from freedom.
Those who want safety at all costs will clamor for more gun control measures (if not at an outright ban on weapons for non-military, non-police personnel), widespread mental health screening of the general population and greater scrutiny of military veterans, more threat assessments and behavioral sensing warnings, more CCTV cameras with facial recognition capabilities, more “See Something, Say Something” programs aimed at turning Americans into snitches and spies, more metal detectors and whole-body imaging devices at soft targets, more roaming squads of militarized police empowered to do random bag searches, more fusion centers to centralize and disseminate information to law enforcement agencies, and more surveillance of what Americans say and do, where they go, what they buy and how they spend their time.
All of these measures play into the government’s hands. Full story...
Saturday, November 11, 2017
These stories are true: Louis C.K. admits to sexual misconduct...
After years of rumours, five women came forward, claiming that Louis C.K., whose jokes have often centered on his sexual misfortunes, pressured them to watch or listen to him masturbate.
Now, the 50-year-old US comedian has confirmed the allegations in a lengthy statement and expressed "remorse" for taking advantage of his status as a "widely admired" comic, Entertainment Weekly reported.
"I want to address the stories told to The New York Times by five women named Abby, Rebecca, Dana, Julia who felt able to name themselves and one who did not," the 'Louie' star, adding, "These stories are true."
"At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true. But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn't a question. It's a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly," he added. Full story...
Read also: Sepp Blatter: Hope Solo accuses ex-Fifa president of sexual harassment
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Now, the 50-year-old US comedian has confirmed the allegations in a lengthy statement and expressed "remorse" for taking advantage of his status as a "widely admired" comic, Entertainment Weekly reported.
"I want to address the stories told to The New York Times by five women named Abby, Rebecca, Dana, Julia who felt able to name themselves and one who did not," the 'Louie' star, adding, "These stories are true."
"At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true. But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn't a question. It's a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly," he added. Full story...
Read also: Sepp Blatter: Hope Solo accuses ex-Fifa president of sexual harassment
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Qatar World Cup bosses offer no explanation for British worker's death...
A 10-month effort to find out how a Briton was killed while building Qatar’s Khalifa stadium for the World Cup has been met with a wall of silence from the Qatari authorities and multinational building contractors, leaving his relatives distraught and angry.
Zac Cox died in January after he fell 40 metres when his safety equipment failed. His family have been told that a report containing vital information about the circumstances of his death exists, but it has not been passed on to them or the British coroner investigating his death.
This week, the coroner lambasted the family’s treatment, which raises questions about how much the Foreign Office has done to force Qatari authorities to explain the reasons for Cox’s death.
The body overseeing the World Cup, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, has never communicated with the family about the accident. The German construction multinational Pfeifer – which was contracted to build the stadium roof walkways on which Cox was working – has also failed to pass on information and respond to family emails setting out their concerns.
The British police have been unable to extract information from an opaque Qatari justice system, or the array of firms involved in the work. Full story...
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Zac Cox died in January after he fell 40 metres when his safety equipment failed. His family have been told that a report containing vital information about the circumstances of his death exists, but it has not been passed on to them or the British coroner investigating his death.
This week, the coroner lambasted the family’s treatment, which raises questions about how much the Foreign Office has done to force Qatari authorities to explain the reasons for Cox’s death.
The body overseeing the World Cup, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, has never communicated with the family about the accident. The German construction multinational Pfeifer – which was contracted to build the stadium roof walkways on which Cox was working – has also failed to pass on information and respond to family emails setting out their concerns.
The British police have been unable to extract information from an opaque Qatari justice system, or the array of firms involved in the work. Full story...
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The new Saudi Crown Prince, the Iranian threat – and the drumbeats of war...
Inside Saudi Arabia, the agenda set out by Mohammed bin Salman, the young Crown Prince, is in motion. After last weekend's sensational purge of princes and government officials, his power seems unchallenged, bolstering his credentials as the man who would modernize a patriarchal society and a sclerotic economy overly dependent on oil.
Outside Saudi Arabia, it's a different story. Saudi Arabia and its arch-nemesis, Iran, are engaged in proxy battles that are marking parts of the Middle East map with bloodstains. In the past week, the tension between the two countries, which had been intensifying for years, turned potentially explosive. The trigger came when the Saudis shot down a ballistic missile they said had been fired by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran was behind the "act of war," the Saudis declared.
Prince Mohammed seems especially eager to restore his country's influence in the Middle East. His war in Yemen, his blockade of Qatar and the surprise resignation a week ago of Lebanon's prime minister and Saudi ally, Saad al-Hariri, indicate that the Prince is prepared to become highly aggressive in his offensive against burgeoning Iranian power. It is believed the Saudis forced Mr. Hariri's resignation, which was made in Riyadh, not Beirut, because his coalition government has provided cover for the Iranian-backed Shia political party and militant group Hezbollah, which is part of his coalition. Full story...
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Outside Saudi Arabia, it's a different story. Saudi Arabia and its arch-nemesis, Iran, are engaged in proxy battles that are marking parts of the Middle East map with bloodstains. In the past week, the tension between the two countries, which had been intensifying for years, turned potentially explosive. The trigger came when the Saudis shot down a ballistic missile they said had been fired by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran was behind the "act of war," the Saudis declared.
Prince Mohammed seems especially eager to restore his country's influence in the Middle East. His war in Yemen, his blockade of Qatar and the surprise resignation a week ago of Lebanon's prime minister and Saudi ally, Saad al-Hariri, indicate that the Prince is prepared to become highly aggressive in his offensive against burgeoning Iranian power. It is believed the Saudis forced Mr. Hariri's resignation, which was made in Riyadh, not Beirut, because his coalition government has provided cover for the Iranian-backed Shia political party and militant group Hezbollah, which is part of his coalition. Full story...
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Friday, November 10, 2017
A Michelin-starred meal for $1.50...
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12 ways airports are actually manipulating you...
Over the years, airports have evolved from bare-bones transportation hubs for select travelers to bustling retail centers for millions. They’re being designed to both complement and influence human behavior. Everything from the architecture and lighting to the trinkets on sale in the gift shops is strategic. Here are a few tricks airports use to help travelers relax, get to their gates safely and on time, and hopefully spend some money along the way.
One key to a successful airport is easy navigation. Travelers should be able to get from security to their gate without getting lost, with help from subtle design cues nudging them in the right direction. In design lingo, this process is called wayfinding. “I tell my staff that signage is an admission of failure,” says Stanis Smith, executive vice president and leader of the airports sector at consulting firm Stantec. “Obviously one needs signs, but the best thing for designers to do is look for ways you can assist with wayfinding that are subtle.”
For example, in many new airports, passengers can seen through to the tarmac immediately after they leave security, or sooner. “More important than anything is a view directly out to airside and you see the tails of all the aircraft,” says Robert Chicas, Director of Aviation and Transportation at HOK, the architectural firm that helped redesign the Indianapolis International Airport. “Does it matter whether it’s your aircraft? Probably not. It gives you an orientation so you know generally that’s the direction you need to head in.” Full story...
Saudi Arabia. Arrest the usual princes!
What’s going on in Saudi Arabia? Over 200 bigwigs detained and billions of ‘illegal profits’ of some $800 billion confiscated.
The kingdom is in an uproar. The Saudi regime of King Salman and his ambitious 32-year old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, claim it was all part of an ‘anti-corruption’ drive that has Washington’s full backing.
Utter nonsense. I’ve done business in Saudi Arabia since 1976 and can attest that the entire kingdom with its thousands of pampered princes and princesses is one vast swamp of corruption. In Saudi, the entire nation and its vast oil revenues are considered property of the extended Saudi royal family and its hangers-on. A giant piggy bank. Full story...
The kingdom is in an uproar. The Saudi regime of King Salman and his ambitious 32-year old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, claim it was all part of an ‘anti-corruption’ drive that has Washington’s full backing.
Utter nonsense. I’ve done business in Saudi Arabia since 1976 and can attest that the entire kingdom with its thousands of pampered princes and princesses is one vast swamp of corruption. In Saudi, the entire nation and its vast oil revenues are considered property of the extended Saudi royal family and its hangers-on. A giant piggy bank. Full story...
'Half my lung cancer patients are non-smokers': toxic air crisis chokes Delhi...
As the air quality fell, first to severe, then to emergency levels this week, doctors at Sir Ganga Ram hospital knew they needed to start fast-tracking patients.
“They come in, they get a nebuliser, and they go,” says Arvind Kumar, a lung surgeon at the medical facility in north Delhi.
Doctors have declared a public health crisis in the city. Dust, industrial emissions and vehical fumes have been sealed in by cool temperature and still winds.
At the same time, mass burning of crop waste across the north Indian hinterland has sent dense smoke billowing across one of the world’s most populated regions. Full story...
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“They come in, they get a nebuliser, and they go,” says Arvind Kumar, a lung surgeon at the medical facility in north Delhi.
Doctors have declared a public health crisis in the city. Dust, industrial emissions and vehical fumes have been sealed in by cool temperature and still winds.
At the same time, mass burning of crop waste across the north Indian hinterland has sent dense smoke billowing across one of the world’s most populated regions. Full story...
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'Any taboo has gone': Netherlands sees rise in demand for euthanasia...
The number of people euthanised in the Netherlands this year is set to exceed 7,000 – a 67% rise from five years ago – in what has been described by the director of the country’s only specialist clinic as the end of “a taboo” on killing patients who want to die.
In 2012, 4,188 people were euthanised by doctors in the country, all of whom met the criteria laid down under the 2002 law that made it legal: a voluntary and well considered request in the context of unbearable suffering from which there is no prospect of improvement, or alternative remedy.
This year, 18,000 requests for help to die have been made, including 2,500 – up from 1,234 in 2015 – to the Levenseindekliniek – the only medical facility in the Netherlands that specialises in euthanasia.
The clinic is a charity whose costs are covered by a standard Dutch health insurance policy.
Steven Pleiter, director at the clinic, said that in response to growing demand he was now on a recruitment drive aimed at doubling the number of doctors and nurses on his books willing to go into people’s homes to administer lethal injections to patients with conditions ranging from terminal illnesses to crippling psychiatric disorders. Full story...
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In 2012, 4,188 people were euthanised by doctors in the country, all of whom met the criteria laid down under the 2002 law that made it legal: a voluntary and well considered request in the context of unbearable suffering from which there is no prospect of improvement, or alternative remedy.
This year, 18,000 requests for help to die have been made, including 2,500 – up from 1,234 in 2015 – to the Levenseindekliniek – the only medical facility in the Netherlands that specialises in euthanasia.
The clinic is a charity whose costs are covered by a standard Dutch health insurance policy.
Steven Pleiter, director at the clinic, said that in response to growing demand he was now on a recruitment drive aimed at doubling the number of doctors and nurses on his books willing to go into people’s homes to administer lethal injections to patients with conditions ranging from terminal illnesses to crippling psychiatric disorders. Full story...
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Thursday, November 09, 2017
Former Pussycat Doll Kaya Jones: The industry used me...
Former Pussycat Doll Kaya Jones is getting closer and closer to the inexorable truth about the music and entertainment industry: They don’t give a damn about musicians. People industry, Jones says, are primarily concerned about making money and getting rich. Pussycat Doll was essentially a front for what Jones herself called “a prostitution ring” because that was exactly what the executives wanted. Jones tweeted:
“I wasn’t in a girl group. I was in a prostitution ring. Oh & we happened to sing & be famous. While everyone who owned us made the $. How bad was it? People ask — bad enough that I walked away from my dreams, bandmates & a 13 million dollar record deal. We knew we were going to #1.
“To be a part of the team you must be a team player. Meaning sleep with whoever they say. If you don’t they have nothing on you to leverage.
“Why don’t we report it? Because we are all abused! I personally have been warned if I tell I will … you know end up dead or no more career. I hope more women & men come out & share their abuse & pain. We must shine a light on this issue in the entertainment business.” Full story...
Cannabis right to your door...
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The Saudi purge: the Middle East on the verge of a new war...
A missile gets fired on the Saudi capital. A missile, which was allegedly built in Iran and smuggled to Yemen, just to be fired at Saudi Arabia.
According to initial reports, two Saudi princes died back to back in 24 hours: one in an “accidental” helicopter crash, the other during a firefight that broke out while security forces were trying to arrest him. On November 7, Saudi Arabia’s information ministry spokesman said that “Prince Abdulaziz is alive and well”. However, the prince could not be independently reached for comment by the media.
Other high-ranking members of the establishment and the royal family - the two tend to be one and the same in Saudi Arabia - get arrested on charges of corruption, with their bank accounts frozen.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri unexpectedly resigns after he was summoned to Riyadh by his Saudi-backers.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia accused Iran of conducting acts of “direct military aggression” and accused Lebanon of “declaring war” on Riyadh by allowing Hezbollah “aggression” against the kingdom. Full story...
See also: While everyone was being distracted by Texas...
According to initial reports, two Saudi princes died back to back in 24 hours: one in an “accidental” helicopter crash, the other during a firefight that broke out while security forces were trying to arrest him. On November 7, Saudi Arabia’s information ministry spokesman said that “Prince Abdulaziz is alive and well”. However, the prince could not be independently reached for comment by the media.
Other high-ranking members of the establishment and the royal family - the two tend to be one and the same in Saudi Arabia - get arrested on charges of corruption, with their bank accounts frozen.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri unexpectedly resigns after he was summoned to Riyadh by his Saudi-backers.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia accused Iran of conducting acts of “direct military aggression” and accused Lebanon of “declaring war” on Riyadh by allowing Hezbollah “aggression” against the kingdom. Full story...
See also: While everyone was being distracted by Texas...
The woman who can’t forget...
“When I was about a week old I remember being in this pink cotton blanket,” Rebecca Sharrock recalls. “I’d always know when it was Mum holding me, for some reason. I just instinctively always knew and she was my favourite person.”
Considering most people’s earliest memories don’t start until around the age of four, it would be easy to assume that Sharrock’s description was a nostalgic daydream, rather than a real memory. But then again, the 27-year-old from Brisbane, Australia doesn’t have a memory like most people – she has been diagnosed with a rare syndrome called ‘Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory’, or HSAM, also known as hyperthymesia. This unique neurological condition means that Sharrock can recall every single thing she did on any given date.
People with HSAM can instantly, effortlessly and immediately recall what they did, what they wore, or where they were at any time. They can remember public news and personal events all in photographic detail and with an accuracy that matches that of a tape or video recorder.
Growing up, Sharrock thought that everybody remembered like she did. Until one day: her parents called her to watch a news segment on TV about people with HSAM. “It was 23 January 2011,” she remembers. “When those people were going through their recollections, the reporters were saying ‘It’s amazing, incredible.’ I said to my parents, ‘Why are they calling this amazing, isn’t it normal?’” Sharrock’s parents explained that it wasn’t normal and they thought she might share the same condition. Full story...
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Considering most people’s earliest memories don’t start until around the age of four, it would be easy to assume that Sharrock’s description was a nostalgic daydream, rather than a real memory. But then again, the 27-year-old from Brisbane, Australia doesn’t have a memory like most people – she has been diagnosed with a rare syndrome called ‘Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory’, or HSAM, also known as hyperthymesia. This unique neurological condition means that Sharrock can recall every single thing she did on any given date.
People with HSAM can instantly, effortlessly and immediately recall what they did, what they wore, or where they were at any time. They can remember public news and personal events all in photographic detail and with an accuracy that matches that of a tape or video recorder.
Growing up, Sharrock thought that everybody remembered like she did. Until one day: her parents called her to watch a news segment on TV about people with HSAM. “It was 23 January 2011,” she remembers. “When those people were going through their recollections, the reporters were saying ‘It’s amazing, incredible.’ I said to my parents, ‘Why are they calling this amazing, isn’t it normal?’” Sharrock’s parents explained that it wasn’t normal and they thought she might share the same condition. Full story...
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Cash is back in Maharashtra’s first ‘cashless village’
About 100 km from Mumbai, three men walked into a small shop, Nagneshi Metal General Stores, Wednesday afternoon, asking for plastic glasses in bulk. One of them took out a fat wad of currency notes. Hesitating a moment before handing over the cash to the shopkeeper, the man feebly asked, “You don’t have a swipe machine, do you?”
Mukund Singh, sitting at the till, shook his head. “The card machine has gone for repairs. It has been almost two months,” he said.
The conversation took place in Dhasai, which the Maharashtra government recognised as the state’s first ‘cashless village’ in December last year in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a cashless economy after demonetisation. State finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar declared the village cashless at a grand function, praising it for taking the huge step despite there being no specific government regulation imposing a cashless economy. He also set out a vision of taking steps towards making the entire state cashless.
Singh, the shopkeeper at Nagneshi Metal, said, “The enthusiasm lasted for a maximum of two or three months. Now, out of a hundred customers only about 10 ask for a card machine. Earlier, immediately after declaring the village cashless, nearly 80 per cent of our transactions used to be through cards. Our machine broke down and it has been two months since we sent it for repairing. We aren’t really bothering about it because anyway it is hardly used now.” Full story...
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
Sri Lankan men and teens share horrendous stories of rape, torture and kidnap...
(...)
But an investigation by the Associated Press (AP) found that more than 50 Tamil men claim they were raped, branded and tortured under the current government.
AP reviewed 32 medical and psychological evaluations and conducted interviews with 20 men in its investigation, published today.
The men said they were accused of trying to revive the Tamil Tiger rebel group and were tortured between early 2016 to as recently as July of this year.
Many have tried to kill themselves since arriving in Europe to claim asylum.
One man, known as Witness #197 (pictured above) said his captors burned him with cigarettes, kicked his chest, tried to suffocate him with a bag filled with petrol and raped him.
‘Everyone thinks of Sri Lanka as such a beautiful place, but now my head is just filled with negativity. I want to make sure that nothing like this happens to anyone else,’ he said. Full story...
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But an investigation by the Associated Press (AP) found that more than 50 Tamil men claim they were raped, branded and tortured under the current government.
AP reviewed 32 medical and psychological evaluations and conducted interviews with 20 men in its investigation, published today.
The men said they were accused of trying to revive the Tamil Tiger rebel group and were tortured between early 2016 to as recently as July of this year.
Many have tried to kill themselves since arriving in Europe to claim asylum.
One man, known as Witness #197 (pictured above) said his captors burned him with cigarettes, kicked his chest, tried to suffocate him with a bag filled with petrol and raped him.
‘Everyone thinks of Sri Lanka as such a beautiful place, but now my head is just filled with negativity. I want to make sure that nothing like this happens to anyone else,’ he said. Full story...
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Bono says he is 'extremely distressed' after leaked Paradise Papers reveal how the ...
(...)
The mall revelations contained in the Paradise papers are deeply embarrassing for Bono.
Especially as his own anti-poverty lobby group, One, even launched a blistering public attack on secretive foreign tax havens that allow very rich people to squirrel away their wealth.
But it appears he has been doing the same - although he claims he was unaware of it.
Paradise Paper documents show the shopping centre was bought and then later transferred to a company in low-tax Guernsey, Nude Estates 1. Full story...
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The mall revelations contained in the Paradise papers are deeply embarrassing for Bono.
Especially as his own anti-poverty lobby group, One, even launched a blistering public attack on secretive foreign tax havens that allow very rich people to squirrel away their wealth.
But it appears he has been doing the same - although he claims he was unaware of it.
Paradise Paper documents show the shopping centre was bought and then later transferred to a company in low-tax Guernsey, Nude Estates 1. Full story...
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How 'Asian Tiger cubs' are driving online shopping...
In Admiralty Primary School, in Singapore's Woodlands neighbourhood, a group of students has just joined the e-commerce world.
"Now I don't need to think about losing my wallet," says Bosco Wong, a 10-year-old student, sporting a new wristband for making digital purchases while at school.
The wearable band, called "Smart Buddy", is sponsored by the Post Office of Singapore Bank, and everyone at Admiralty has just received one.
It is all part of Singapore's drive to go cashless, and the country's Education Minister Ong Ye Kung was at his school to launch them.
Parents can track and manage their children's purchases online. Full story...
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"Now I don't need to think about losing my wallet," says Bosco Wong, a 10-year-old student, sporting a new wristband for making digital purchases while at school.
The wearable band, called "Smart Buddy", is sponsored by the Post Office of Singapore Bank, and everyone at Admiralty has just received one.
It is all part of Singapore's drive to go cashless, and the country's Education Minister Ong Ye Kung was at his school to launch them.
Parents can track and manage their children's purchases online. Full story...
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Tuesday, November 07, 2017
Manmohan Singh on note ban: ‘It was an organised loot, legalised plunder...
Slamming the Narendra Modi-led central government’s ‘twin blow’ to the economy delivered through demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), former prime minister Manmohan Singh said both the initiatives are a complete disaster for our economy and broke the back of small businesses. Referring to demonetisation in his address to a gathering of businessmen in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Singh was quoted by ANI as saying: “Tomorrow we mark one year since the disastrous policy was thrust on the people of our country.” He added that the government has not made a fresh assessment of costs and benefits, if any, of the move.
The former prime minister termed November 8 as a ‘black day’ for the Indian economy and democracy. “I repeat what I said in the parliament, this was organised loot and legalised plunder,” he said.
He also said it was due to demonetisation that Indians had to go for Chinese imports. Comparing the escalating rise in India’s imports from China, Singh said the country’s import in first half of 2016-17 stood at Rs 1.96 lakh crore, whereas in 2017-18 it increased to Rs 2.41 lakh crore. The Congress leader also cited both demonetisation and GST as the main cause behind the unprecedented growth of imports, which rose by 23 per cent in a year.
Singh also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile bullet train project. “Bullet train, launched with much fanfare, is an exercise in vanity. Did PM consider the alternative of the high-speed train by upgrading broad gauge railway?” he questioned.
The former PM wondered if raising questions about bullet trains made one anti-development, or questioning GST or demonetisation made one a tax evader. “This attitude of suspecting everyone to be a thief or anti-national, low-level rhetoric is damaging to democratic discourse. While denigrating the past the Prime Minister is also exaggerating what he will do in future,” said Singh. Source...
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The former prime minister termed November 8 as a ‘black day’ for the Indian economy and democracy. “I repeat what I said in the parliament, this was organised loot and legalised plunder,” he said.
He also said it was due to demonetisation that Indians had to go for Chinese imports. Comparing the escalating rise in India’s imports from China, Singh said the country’s import in first half of 2016-17 stood at Rs 1.96 lakh crore, whereas in 2017-18 it increased to Rs 2.41 lakh crore. The Congress leader also cited both demonetisation and GST as the main cause behind the unprecedented growth of imports, which rose by 23 per cent in a year.
Singh also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile bullet train project. “Bullet train, launched with much fanfare, is an exercise in vanity. Did PM consider the alternative of the high-speed train by upgrading broad gauge railway?” he questioned.
The former PM wondered if raising questions about bullet trains made one anti-development, or questioning GST or demonetisation made one a tax evader. “This attitude of suspecting everyone to be a thief or anti-national, low-level rhetoric is damaging to democratic discourse. While denigrating the past the Prime Minister is also exaggerating what he will do in future,” said Singh. Source...
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Harvey Weinstein 'hired former spies to counter sex abuse accusers'
Harvey Weinstein reportedly hired journalists and highly trained ex-spies and military personnel who used fake identities to try to stop accusers from going public with sexual misconduct claims against him.
The news came as the Television Academy, which hands out Emmy Awards, was said to have expelled Weinstein "for life," following a similar move by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Oscars.
Among the private security agencies hired by Weinstein starting around autumn 2016, The New Yorker reported, was Black Cube, which is largely run by former officers of Israeli intelligence agencies, including Mossad. Another was corporate intelligence giant Kroll.
Two Black Cube private eyes met with actress Rose McGowan – before she publicly accused Weinstein of raping her – to obtain information.
One of the investigators secretly recorded at least four meetings with McGowan while pretending to be a women’s rights advocates, said the magazine, citing dozens of pages of documents and seven people directly involved in Weinstein’s efforts. Full story...
Related posts:
The news came as the Television Academy, which hands out Emmy Awards, was said to have expelled Weinstein "for life," following a similar move by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Oscars.
Among the private security agencies hired by Weinstein starting around autumn 2016, The New Yorker reported, was Black Cube, which is largely run by former officers of Israeli intelligence agencies, including Mossad. Another was corporate intelligence giant Kroll.
Two Black Cube private eyes met with actress Rose McGowan – before she publicly accused Weinstein of raping her – to obtain information.
One of the investigators secretly recorded at least four meetings with McGowan while pretending to be a women’s rights advocates, said the magazine, citing dozens of pages of documents and seven people directly involved in Weinstein’s efforts. Full story...
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Paradise Papers: New offshore leaks mention Queen Elizabeth, Trump govt & Putin’s ‘inner circle’
The organisation behind the Panama Papers investigation, has published its latest series of offshore leaks. Among those mentioned are Queen Elizabeth, members of Donald Trump’s government and Vladimir Putin’s “son-in-law”.
The files dubbed the Paradise Papers reveal “offshore interests and activities of more than 120 politicians and world leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II, whose private estate indirectly invested in a rent-to-own loan company accused of predatory tactics”.
Thirteen allies, major donors and Cabinet members of US President Donald J. Trump appear in the documents, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Among these are "Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s interests in a shipping company that makes millions from an energy firm whose owners include Russian President Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law and a sanctioned Russian tycoon," the ICIJ said, promising more related stories in the coming days.
The files also include tax planning details by nearly 100 multinational corporations, including Apple, Nike and Uber. Full story...
Related posts:
The files dubbed the Paradise Papers reveal “offshore interests and activities of more than 120 politicians and world leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II, whose private estate indirectly invested in a rent-to-own loan company accused of predatory tactics”.
Thirteen allies, major donors and Cabinet members of US President Donald J. Trump appear in the documents, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Among these are "Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s interests in a shipping company that makes millions from an energy firm whose owners include Russian President Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law and a sanctioned Russian tycoon," the ICIJ said, promising more related stories in the coming days.
The files also include tax planning details by nearly 100 multinational corporations, including Apple, Nike and Uber. Full story...
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Emboldened by Modi's ascent, India's cow vigilantes deny Muslims their livelihood...
The beating that ended Pehlu Khan’s life was televised nationwide. Cell phone video captured a group of men punching and slinging Khan around the middle of a road in north India, stomping on him and then slamming the 55-year-old farmer down on concrete as he begged for mercy.
Khan had been stopped by the lynch mob of right-wing Hindus as he rode home from a market in April with two cows and two calves in the back of a truck. The crowd was furious at the sight of a Muslim transporting animals held sacred by Hindus, according to the accounts of his sons and two fellow villagers who were also attacked. Before the men beat Khan so badly that he later died, breaking his ribs in multiple places, they screamed that he was planning to slaughter the cattle for beef.
Outside the frame of the video, something else was happening: Pehlu Khan’s cows were seized. They were hauled off to a nearby Hindu-run shelter that takes in cattle snatched from Muslims and sells them.
Assaults meted out in broad daylight against India’s Muslim population, some 14 percent of the country’s 1.3 billion people, have sparked concern about the direction the country is taking under Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There has been another, less noted dimension to the violence: The theft from Muslims and redistribution to Hindus of cows that provide crucial income in the Indian countryside. Full story...
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Khan had been stopped by the lynch mob of right-wing Hindus as he rode home from a market in April with two cows and two calves in the back of a truck. The crowd was furious at the sight of a Muslim transporting animals held sacred by Hindus, according to the accounts of his sons and two fellow villagers who were also attacked. Before the men beat Khan so badly that he later died, breaking his ribs in multiple places, they screamed that he was planning to slaughter the cattle for beef.
Outside the frame of the video, something else was happening: Pehlu Khan’s cows were seized. They were hauled off to a nearby Hindu-run shelter that takes in cattle snatched from Muslims and sells them.
Assaults meted out in broad daylight against India’s Muslim population, some 14 percent of the country’s 1.3 billion people, have sparked concern about the direction the country is taking under Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There has been another, less noted dimension to the violence: The theft from Muslims and redistribution to Hindus of cows that provide crucial income in the Indian countryside. Full story...
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Paradise Papers: Apple's secret tax bolthole revealed...
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Up until 2014, the tech company had been exploiting a loophole in tax laws in the US and the Republic of Ireland known as the "double Irish".
This allowed Apple to funnel all its sales outside of the Americas - currently about 55% of its revenue - through Irish subsidiaries that were effectively stateless for taxation purposes, and so incurred hardly any tax.
Instead of paying Irish corporation tax of 12.5%, or the US rate of 35%, Apple's avoidance structure helped it reduce its tax rate on profits outside of the US to the extent that its foreign tax payments rarely amounted to more than 5% of its foreign profits, and in some years dipped below 2%.
The European Commission calculated the rate of tax for one of Apple's Irish companies for one year had been just 0.005%. Full story...
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Up until 2014, the tech company had been exploiting a loophole in tax laws in the US and the Republic of Ireland known as the "double Irish".
This allowed Apple to funnel all its sales outside of the Americas - currently about 55% of its revenue - through Irish subsidiaries that were effectively stateless for taxation purposes, and so incurred hardly any tax.
Instead of paying Irish corporation tax of 12.5%, or the US rate of 35%, Apple's avoidance structure helped it reduce its tax rate on profits outside of the US to the extent that its foreign tax payments rarely amounted to more than 5% of its foreign profits, and in some years dipped below 2%.
The European Commission calculated the rate of tax for one of Apple's Irish companies for one year had been just 0.005%. Full story...
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- Apple dodges all taxes in the UK ... again!
- Apple sold $4.2 billion of product in New Zealand, paid $0 local taxes...
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