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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Disney Doubles Down on Woketarianz Mission with “Reimagine Tomorrow” Campaign

Parker Davis September 2, 2021

The Walt Disney Company Announces Reimagine Tomorrow Diversity Initiative

From wdwnt.com
2021-09-02 01:15:02

Excerpt:

As part of its ongoing commitment to broader diversity, The Walt Disney Company has announced the “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative.

The initiative highlights Disney’s current efforts to showcase stories and talent from underrepresented communities, as well as its intentions for the near future. As Disney states on the Reimagine Tomorrow website:

At Disney, inclusion is for everyone. Reimagine Tomorrow is our way of amplifying underrepresented voices and untold stories as well as championing the importance of accurate representation in media and entertainment. Because we are all greater than a single story and we all deserve to feel seen, heard, and understood.

Some of the bold actions being planned include having 50% of characters from scripted offerings across Disney General Entertainment come from underrepresented groups as well as adopting inclusion standards across all content. Beyond storytelling, Disney is also planning to have over half of its annual charitable giving…

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Greece and US Reaffirm Defensive Alliance

Mark Clouse September 2, 2021

Greece-US defense cooperation | eKathimerini.com

From www.ekathimerini.com
2021-08-31 18:17:05

Excerpt:

The prospect of a renewed Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement between Greece and the United States – possibly extended over five years – is an extremely important development, given the challenging geopolitical setting where events both in the immediate vicinity but also in more distant lands that may nevertheless affect us, are creating a growing sense of insecurity.

The US-Greece relationship has acquired its own momentum and, more importantly, is able to progress under different administrations in Washington (and majorities in Congress) and Athens.

Up until a few years ago, American decision makers regarded Greece with some skepticism (the approach was similar in Israel too) because of successive Greek governments’ efforts not to appear too pro-American in the eyes of a public known for decades for its knee-jerk, anti-American reaction and, at best, for marked suspicion of the US. This was due to specific American interventions in Greek domestic affairs in the past, but…

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Chinese Troops Training Up to do World “Peace Mission 2021”

Mark Clouse September 2, 2021

Chinese troops set out for SCO joint exercise “Peace Mission 2021”

From eng.chinamil.com.cn
2021-08-30 09:00:38

Excerpt:

BAICHENG, Aug. 30 — The first echelon of the Chinese troops to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) “Peace Mission 2021” joint anti-terrorism military exercise left Baicheng, northeast China’s Jilin Province, for the exercise venue in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, by railway on the evening of August 26.

The drill will be held at the Donguz training ground in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, from September 11 to 25. Eight SCO member states including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan will dispatch a total force of about 4000 to participate in the exercise, among which China will send over 550 troops and 130 vehicles (equipment).

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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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A Human-Made Molecule Could Be a Super Immunity Booster

Parker Davis September 1, 2021

Scientists Discover a Powerful Natural Immune-Regulating Molecule | Newsroom

From news.weill.cornell.edu
2021-07-30 07:00:00

Excerpt:

A powerful immune-suppressing molecule produced by the body may hold the key to better treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, as well as for some cancers, according to a study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of Perugia.

In the study, published July 21 in Nature Communications, the researchers described the properties of the newly discovered molecule, called 3-HKA. They showed that in immune cells called dendritic cells 3-HKA is produced from the amino acid tryptophan and can protect against inflammation in animal models of the skin disorder psoriasis and a degenerative kidney condition called nephrotoxic nephritis.

“Right now, there is an acute need for new ways to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and we are very excited by the possibilities opened up by the discovery of this potent molecule,” said study co-senior author Dr. Laura Santambrogio, who is professor of radiation oncology and of physiology and biophysics and associate director for precision immunology at the Caryl and Israel Englander Institute for Precision Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.

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Myanmar Junta Economic Plan Putting Country at Critical Risk

Mark Clouse September 1, 2021

Myanmar Junta Chief’s Wild Economic Plans at Odds With Reality

From www.irrawaddy.com
2021-09-01 11:01:02

Excerpt:

Recently, the senior general said that the Tatmadaw, as Myanmar’s military is known, had been growing tissue-culture bananas. Bananas are nutrient-dense and good for health, he explained, as he offered to provide banana saplings at reasonable prices to departments at the regional, state, district and township levels that wished to grow the crop. The move reminded Myanmar people of Min Aung Hlaing’s predecessor as dictator, Senior General Than Shwe, and his fruitless state project of growing castor oil trees across the country—including at schools—to produce biofuel for energy security. The ambitious scheme never came close to producing biofuel, and succeeded only in wasting time and money.

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Did the EPA Just Ban a Pesticide that is Essential to Virginia Farmers Now?

Parker Davis September 1, 2021

EPA revokes use of pesticide many Virginia farmers use on food crops –

From www.cbs19news.com
2021-09-01 05:46:38

Excerpt:

“Nothing is more important to farmers than producing safe, nutritious food, and relying on sound science to guide decision making, which is why farmers are concerned to see the EPA decision on chlorpyrifos straying from that commitment to science,” he said. “Yet today we see the EPA looking more to courtrooms for guidance, rather than labs. The integrity of the registration review process and commitment to using sound science must be prioritized in a decision of such far-reaching consequences.”

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After Corroption Exposed in Civil Asset Forfeiture Programs, Massachusetts Wants Answers

Freedomist Editor September 1, 2021

Lawmakers Call For Reforms To Civil Forfeiture After WBUR And ProPublica Investigation

From www.wbur.org
2021-08-30 10:00:45

Excerpt:

WBUR’s investigations team is uncovering stories of abuse, fraud and wrongdoing across Boston, Massachusetts and New England……

Lawmakers and criminal justice advocates in Massachusetts are calling for changes to the laws that govern how law enforcement seizes, and keeps, cash and property confiscated in suspected drug crimes. The push follows a WBUR and ProPublica investigation that found a top prosecutor stockpiling people’s money for years, even when they weren’t charged with a drug offense or their cases were dismissed.

The system, known as civil asset forfeiture, was designed to disrupt criminal drug operations, but in Massachusetts, it’s easier for prosecutors to hold onto cash indefinitely once it’s seized. That’s because, under state laws, district attorneys need only meet the lowest legal burden of proof, probable cause, to support suspicions that the money was involved in a drug crime; DAs also face no deadline to notify a person that they intend to keep the cash.

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Smart Home Technology is Increasingly Clashing with Privacy Laws

Freedomist Editor September 1, 2021

Evolving privacy laws present challenges for smart buildings – Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

From masslawyersweekly.com
2021-08-31 15:06:17

Excerpt:

Smart buildings offer individuals, businesses and even cities better and more efficient ambient experiences. However, the connected technologies that make buildings “smart” tend to require processing massive amounts of data inputs, often including personal information.

The collection and use of personal information requires consideration of the data privacy and security risks to individuals, as well as the possible associated legal and compliance obligations of developers, managers and operators of smart buildings.

Smart technologies enable interoperability across networked devices to produce a desired or defined output. For smart buildings, these outputs span a broad range of capabilities, such as automatically adjusting the temperature of a room based on the number of occupants detected, or even designating individual work spaces based on daily calendars or ambient conditions. Generation of an output requires an input, and in the case of smart buildings the inputs tend to be data collected from sensors placed in and around the buildings, as well as from connected systems and devices.

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