Iraqi PM Survives Iranian Militia Drone Assassination Attempt

Freedomist Curator November 8, 2021

Drones are the present and future of war, be it ‘conventional’ or ‘unconventional.’ The recent attempt to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi using drones is the latest example of the growing reliance on drones to deliver lethalility.

After the assassination attempt, which left the Prime Minister with a minor injury on his hand, tensions are high as Iranian backed militias surround Baghdad’s still extant green zone, now run by the Iraqi government.

Tension Rises in Iraq After Failed Bid to Assassinate PM

From www.cbn.com
2021-11-08 08:44:18

Excerpt:

BAGHDAD (AP) — The failed assassination attempt against Iraq’s prime minister at his residence on Sunday has ratcheted up tensions following last month’s parliamentary elections, in which the Iran-backed militias were the biggest losers.

Helicopters circled in the Baghdad skies throughout the day, while troops and patrols deployed around Baghdad and near the capital’s fortified Green Zone, where the overnight attack occurred.

Supporters of the Iran-backed militias held their ground in a protest camp outside the Green Zone to demand a vote recount. Leaders of the Iran-backed factions converged for the second day on a funeral tent to mourn a protester killed Friday in clashes with security. Many of the faction leaders blame the prime minister for the violence.

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In Wake of Biden Energy Price Spike, Coal is Coming Back

Freedomist Curator October 15, 2021

Green Energy Reality: Coal Plants Are Coming Back Online As Enegy Prices Soar 95%

From www.science20.com
2021-10-14 18:49:50
Hank Campbell
Excerpt:

Like organic food, alternative energy such as solar and wind are fine placebos for wealthy people – as long as things are good. When there is a shortage, we find out how poorly such alternatives work, the same way that during the early stages of the pandemic the cleaning supply aisles in stores had plenty of green alternatives while the public bought up all the Clorox, Purell, and Lysol.In energy, California asked to be allowed to ignore legal limits on emissions it wanted in place so that natural gas plants can run without worry about pollution and England is firing up its coal plants again. The reason is simple demand. Germany asked the Biden administration to end Trump blocks on a Russian pipeline because their own green energy isn’t even close to enough since they shut down their nuclear plants. Emissions concerns go by the wayside when people are about to freeze in a German winter.

Russia is using its European green activism to gain geopolitical control over the continent…

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Pasadena GunFire Detection Monitor Plan Paused by Race Impact Report

Freedomist Curator October 1, 2021

Plans for the city of Pasadena to deploy gunfire detection monitors across the city were paused for one week when the city council paused the contract with contractor ShotSpotter. The plan to deploy was puased on the heels of a report that suggest ‘brown and black’ communities would be disproportionately affected, with police presence only increasing in these communities that are still calling for less of a police footprint, not more.

Contract For Controversial Gunfire Detection Technology Held For One Week – Pasadena Now

From www.pasadenanow.com
2021-09-28 20:08:12

Excerpt:

Courtesy of ShotSpotter Facebook page

The City Council on Monday announced that a proposed contract for technology that uses microphones and sensors to determine the location of gunshots and quickly alerts police will be held for one week.

According to Mayor Victor Gordo, city staff will bring to the council more information on Shotspotter, a system that records loud, impulsive sounds and alerts police in 60 seconds or less about the location of the gunshot. Advocates believe the system could save lives, deter shootings, and prevent the need to investigate non-gunfire-related incidents, such as fireworks…..

Pasadena police Lt. Bill Grisafe said that after analyzing police data, ShotSpotter proposed to cover about a three-square-mile area of Pasadena that is most impacted by gun-related violence.

There was no mention of the specific area being considered.

According to a report to the council’s Public Safety Committee, which passed the matter last week, the Pasadena police intend to deploy ShotSpotter sensors in areas its own analysis shows are “most impacted by gun-related crimes.”

The ACLU claims that reasoning will increase the police footprint in Black and brown communities.

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The Hottest NFT, Cryptopunks, Passes a Quarter Billion in Sales in One Week

Freedomist Curator September 2, 2021

CryptoPunks creators sign with top Hollywood agents, as sales top $305M in a week

From cointelegraph.com
2021-09-01 01:19:43
Cointelegraph By Brian Quarmby
Excerpt:

Larva Labs, the team behind the outrageously popular NFT project CryptoPunks, has penned a deal with Hollywood agents United Talent Agency (UTA).

According to an Aug. 31 article from the Hollywood Reporter, UTA will represent Larva Labs for intellectual property (IP) deals in TV, film, video games, licensing and publishing. Two other NFT projects from Larva Labs, Meebits and Autoglyphs, will also be represented by UTA.

CryptoPunks was launched back in 2017 and is one of the first NFT projects created on Ethereum. The IP-related deal with UTA marks a significant milestone for Larva Labs, as it is one of the first examples of content created in the blockchain sector that has entered the mainstream entertainment industry.

Lesley Silverman, head of UTA Digital Assets told the Hollywood Reporter:

“I would say that it is one of the first opportunities for an IP that fully originated in the crypto-world to enter a broader entertainment space, and they earned it.”

“They really have…

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Putin Tells American Social Media to #CancelNavalny

Freedomist Curator September 2, 2021

Russia urges Apple and Google to remove Navalny’s app | National/World

From www.thederrick.com
2021-09-02 13:58:08

Excerpt:

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s state communications watchdog warned Apple and Google Thursday that they could face fines if they fail to remove an app created by allies of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny from their stores.

The agency, Roskomnadzor, warned Apple and Google that their failure to remove Navalny’s app could be interpreted as interference in Russian elections.

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Jihadit Looking to Form Alliance with Turks, Assad in Northern Syria

Freedomist Curator September 2, 2021

Why this jihadist warlord is calling for a ‘united administration’ with Turkish-occupied northwest Syria

From globalcomment.com
2021-08-31 18:52:04

Excerpt:

Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of the powerful Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that controls large parts of Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, has called for the establishment of a “united administration” between his HTS-controlled territories and Syrian territories controlled by Turkey and its Syrian militia proxies.

Jolani was referring to the Turkish-occupied Kurdish region of Afrin that borders Idlib, which Turkey invaded in 2018, and the so-called Euphrates Shield Zone to its east, which Turkey seized from the Islamic State in Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016-17. Ankara used thousands of former Free Syrian Army (FSA) militiamen as proxies to invade and occupy these territories. These Turkish-backed FSA proxy groups call themselves the Syrian National Army (SNA).

“It is important that there is one authority, one set of institutions, and one authority to administer all the liberated areas controlled by the Syrian opposition,” Jolani said in…

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China’s March Against Big Tech Targets Ride Sharing Apps

Freedomist Curator September 2, 2021

Chinese regulators summon 11 ride-hailing firms over illegal behavior

From www.cnbc.com
2021-09-02 04:34:39

Excerpt:

GUANGZHOU, China — Chinese regulators have summoned and interviewed 11 ride-hailing firms asking them to rectify non-compliant behavior.

The Ministry of Transport, along with a number of other regulators including the Cyberspace Administration of China and State Administration of Market Supervision, jointly interviewed the companies including Didi, T3 and Meituan.

Chinese regulators alleged that the services are recruiting unapproved drivers and vehicles.

“It’s required that these platforms should check their own problems, rectify illegal behavior, safeguard market orders of fair competition, and create a sound environment for healthy development of the ride-hailing industry,” the Ministry of Transport said.

Regulators said that all platforms should make sure they have the necessary approvals for cars and drivers.

Ride-hailing platforms should not entice drivers to join through fake promotions or transfer any business risks to…

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Nanostructure Breakthrough Could Boost Solar Cell Efficiency While Lowering Cost

Freedomist Curator September 1, 2021

New nanostructure synthesis process set to boost solar cell efficiency

From www.nanowerk.com
2011-10-03 07:00:00

Excerpt:

In our present nanomanufacturing process known as Simultaneous Plasma-Enhanced Reactive Ion Synthesis and Etching (SPERISE), we have integrated both nanoscale bottom-up synthetic and top-down etching approach. This eliminates the expensive prepatterning steps and hence give rise to ultrahigh throughput, better reliability, high yield and above all, low cost. Since, this process does not need any prepatterning steps, it is now possible to combine nanostructures on any microstructures, which is the holy-grail of the nanomanufacturing process.

The findings have been reported in the September 21, 2011 online edition of ACS Nano (“Ultrahigh Throughput Silicon Nanomanufacturing by Simultaneous Reactive Ion Synthesis and Etching”).
Although it is known to researchers for a long time about how to make nanostructures over a large area, little was known about the mechanism of such synthesis. This was a barrier for controllable and deterministic nanofabrication process. In this paper, we have presented experimental evidence of the nanoscale synthesis process elucidating the mechanism of formation of nanostructures. The mechanism has been successfully applied to explain the nanostructure formation in variety of crystallographic silicon substrate such as single-crystal, poly-crystal and amorphous silicon as well as differently doped (p- or n-type) substrates. We believe, the proposed mechanism will provide a general guideline to design new SPERISE methods for other solid-state materials besides silicon.

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India Working to Become World Model for Regulating “Fake News” Online

Freedomist Curator September 1, 2021

New IT Rules prevent fake news, misuse of freedom of press: Centre tells HC

From www.outlookindia.com
2021-08-31 16:14:30

Excerpt:

The Centre has defended the legality of the new Information Technology (IT) Rules before the Delhi High Court, saying that the rules seek to “prevent the misuse of the freedom of press” and protect the citizens from fake news in digital media space which used to be largely unregulated.The Centre, in its counter affidavit filed on a challenge to the constitutional validity of the new IT Rules, has submitted that although the right to freedom of speech and expression, including the freedom of press, is critical for a vibrant democracy like India, citizens “cannot be treated as passive consumers.”

While submitting that there have been “past incidents of disinformation on digital media leading to disturbance of public order”, the Centre has asserted that digital media “allows sensational content being re-circulated in a different context leading to misinterpretation by the audience”, making it susceptible to being used as fake news.

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Warner Music IPO Nets $6.6 Billion Winfall for Len Blavatnik

Freedomist Curator September 1, 2021

Len Blavatnik Gets $6.6 Billion Richer on Warner Music IPO – Bloomberg

From www.bloomberg.com
2020-06-03 07:00:00

Excerpt:

Len Blavatnik bought Warner Music Group Corp. for $3.3 billion in 2011, as the global music industry was grappling with plummeting record sales and a transition to digital listening dominated by piracy.

He took the company public Wednesday with the stock pricing at $25. The shares surged 20% to close at $30.12, giving Warner Music a market value of $15.6 billion after its first day of trading.

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