Liberal thinktank submission on class actions labelled ‘an undergraduate essay that would fail’ – The Guardian

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

A government-ordered inquiry into the funding of legal class actions descended into acrimony on its first day of hearings when the first witness from a Liberal party thinktank was accused of misquoting a federal judge and citing unreliable figures.

James Mathias, the chief of staff at the Menzies Research Centre (MRC) and a former Liberal candidate for federal parliament, sought to defend his submission during tense exchanges with the Labor senator, Deborah ONeill, who described it as an undergraduate essay that would fail on multiple grounds.

Mathias appeared on Monday before a parliamentary committee investigating whether Australias class action industry needs tighter regulation to ensure fair and equitable outcomes for plaintiffs with the government raising concerns about the role of large companies that sometimes fund class actions.

Labor has claimed the inquiry is a sham set up by the Liberals to deny hardworking Australians any chance of defending their rights against large companies and governments with virtually limitless resources.

The first line of the submission from the MRC the Liberal party thinktank quoted the federal court justice Michael Lee as saying in a judgment on 5 June: The phrase access to justice is often misused by litigation funders to justify what at bottom is a commercial endeavour to make money out of the conduct of litigation.

It was purportedly from a judgment on class actions stemming from allegations that the Australian defence department negligently allowed toxic chemicals known as Pfas to escape from defence bases and contaminate local environments.

But Mathias, who was just 21 when he ran as a federal candidate for the Victorian seat of Holt in 2016, confirmed under questioning he had not read the full judgment cited in the submission as judgments are very long some hundreds of pages.

ONeill said the judgment was actually 37 pages long and the words you quote in the very first line of your submission are nowhere, nowhere to be found in his honours judgment.

The NSW senator said the only place that quote could be found was in an article in the legal journal Lawyerly on 9 June, titled A significant inequality of arms: Funding led to better outcomes in PFAS class action, judge says.

Mathias took that question on notice. But when ONeill accused him of misquoting and taking Justice Lee completely out of context in an attempt to convey the false impression that Justice Lee is opposed to litigation funding, Mathias said: I fundamentally reject the premise of that, senator.

In Lees judgment of 5 June, the judge made a more qualified statement that the term access to justice is commonly misused, most often by some funders who fasten upon it as an inapt rhetorical device.

He then cautioned against generalisations. While noting litigation funding is about putting in place a joint commercial enterprise aimed at making money, Lee went on to say that recognising that reality does not diminish the importance of litigation funding in allowing these class members to vindicate their claims against the commonwealth.

Referring to the alleged victims in the Pfas class actions, Lee continued: Without litigation funding, the claims of these group members would not have been litigated in an adversarial way but, rather, they would likely have been placed in the position of being supplicants requesting compensation, in circumstances where they would have been the subject of a significant inequality of arms.

ONeill also challenged Mathias over the claim in his submission that by 2019, the average amount paid to plaintiffs had fallen to just 39% of the settlement proceeds a figure that has since been quoted in several news reports..

He said it was based on a presentation contained within a PowerPoint of analysis by the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.

In later proceedings, Andrew Saker, the managing director of litigation funder Omni Bridgeway, said he believed the 39% figure was based on incomplete data.

Saker said Herbert Smith Freehills had informed his company that the figure had been included in a PowerPoint slide for continuing legal education, it related only to settlement approvals determined by the courts, and it was not authorised for outside use.

Earlier, Mathias said he was not arguing against class actions, but for reform to ensure they remained a vehicle for justice.

We find ourselves in an environment where damages awarded to plaintiffs who have been most wronged is declining, and if you care about access to justice then you would care about the percentages that have been paid out to these people, he said during a hearing conducted via videolink.

James Paterson, the Liberal chair of the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services, repeatedly asked ONeill not to interrupt or reflect on witnesses with the protection of parliamentary privilege.

ONeill told the chair she was happy to discuss the issue offline but I dont want to be berated as a senator of the Australian public by you in front of the media.

Weve got an undergraduate essay that would fail on plagiarism and [is] incorrect, put to us by the Menzies Research Centre - its just not up to standard, she said.

When Mathias attempted to ask his own question of ONeill, she shot back: When you become another young senator for the Liberal party you might be able ask me questions, but at the moment you dont have that opportunity.

When contacted for a response to the criticism of his submission, Mathias said it was astonishing that the Guardian would be siding with foreign backed, super-profitable litigation funders just because it does not like the politics of the MRC

But the shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said the Liberal party had been humiliated at the first day of its class actions inquiry.

When setting up the inquiry in May, the attorney general, Christian Porter, cited growing concern that the lack of regulation governing the booming litigation funding industry is leading to poor justice outcomes for those who join class actions, expecting to get fair compensation for an injury or loss.

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Liberal thinktank submission on class actions labelled 'an undergraduate essay that would fail' - The Guardian

Edited Transcript of EVOG.ST earnings conference call or presentation 17-Jul-20 7:00am GMT – Yahoo Finance

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Stockholm Jul 17, 2020 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Evolution Gaming Group AB (publ) earnings conference call or presentation Friday, July 17, 2020 at 7:00:00am GMT

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Evolution Gaming Group Q2 Report 2020. Today, I am pleased to present CEO Martin Carlesund and CFO Jacob Kaplan. (Operator Instructions)

Speakers, please begin.

Thank you, operator. Welcome, everyone, to the presentation of Evolution's interim report for the second quarter 2020. My name is Martin Carlesund, and I'm the CEO of Evolution Gaming. With me, I also have our CFO, Jacob Kaplan.

I will start off the presentation with the quarterly highlights and achievements and give some comments on our new fantastic titles that we have released. Jacob will then go through the financials, and I will conclude to provide some thoughts on the future, followed by Q&A session.

Next slide, please. I'm proud to present the second quarter 2020 for Evolution. It's been another quarter with high operational activity given the situation in the world and almost exceptional financial performance by Evolution.

I already now also want to tell you how exceptionally well all employees of Evolution have handled the COVID-19 situation. It is different and challenging times right now, and to be able to continue to deliver under those circumstances shows how fantastic they are.

We have a revenue growth of 50% in the quarter. There are multiple factors combined that created this very strong growth.

COVID-19 creates a higher degree of activity and an overall positive impact, but we also need to remember that there are negative effects of COVID-19 as we operate on a lower level and also have, for example, Georgia Studio Park closed during the quarter. At the same time, I've launched new nothing but fantastic games during the quarter, with, for example, Mega Ball, which supports the growth. On top of that, the global demand for our products continue, and we see continued increase of share of Live and underlying market growth.

The combination of high volumes and the global demand for our products, together with our constant pursuit of cost efficiency, has resulted in a fantastic result this quarter. Altogether, we reached an EBITDA over EUR 81 million and EBITDA margin in the quarter over 63%. Fantastic numbers, and I'm very pleased with our financial performance in this quarter.

Other significant events in the quarter include offer to the shareholders of NetEnt and also several new game launches. I'll come back to both these items later in the presentation.

Next slide, please. We spoke at length about COVID-19 situation when we presented the Q1 report in April. It has, as we all know, continued to be a factor all through the second quarter. We'll continue to focus on measures to create a safe workplace for employees in our studios and to maintain operation for our operators. At the same time, a significant part of our workforce has continued to working from home.

Overall, we have managed operations well with few disturbances during the quarter. We have been operating fewer tables due to COVID-19, and we expect that it will be several months before we are back to pre-COVID levels in terms of number of operated tables. Right now, we gradually restart across our studios, but we do it with caution to maintain social distancing and all other measures needed.

At the end of March, we saw a positive effect on demand with many new players entering the Live segment as an effect that persisted during Q2. In June, we can see some effect from the fact that several sport leagues have resumed play as well as lockdown being lifted in many countries. As I pointed out, there are also negative effects of COVID as number of operated tables are lower, which lowers the revenue. It's also reasonable to believe that there are some long-term positive effects on demand as many new players have been introduced to our Live Casino during the last quarter.

The first 6 months of this year have been truly challenging. Through very hard work and a bit of luck, we have come through this extremely difficult situation in a good way. The pandemic is not fully behind us, yes. And naturally, we monitor the situation closely, but it's encouraging to see that we are starting to return to more -- a more normal situation in most [cases].

Next slide, please. On June 24, we presented an offer to acquire NetEnt, the same day where the press conference where we stated what we see as the rationale of combining the 2 companies, and I will repeat some of that here.

If you heard me present Evolution in the past, you know that innovation and products are important to me. I simply believe that we, as a product company, constantly need to develop. We need to make Evolution a little bit better every single day and constantly increase gap to competition. Every day creates a little better user experience for our end users. Everyone in Evolution is on a mission to find one thing making us better every day. I would like to start on this point as I see a great potential in what we can do, combining Evolution's and NetEnt's capabilities in Live and slots.

For the past years, you have seen Evolution inventing and creating Game Show -- the Game Show segment in online casino, combining core Live products with RNG element. For us, now to also add slots and explore what can be done with the combining elements from both sides makes me very excited to think about what can be created in putting the great minds of Evolution and NetEnt in the same room. We would definitely see more products that form a combination between Live and slots. We need to build the product for the future. We need to constantly develop as our world does.

Another focus over the past year has been the U.S. market, where Evolution has a leading position in Live, and NetEnt has a leading position in slots. By targeting the market with a broad portfolio comprising best of each vertical, we will even then be in a stronger position, capitalize on the opportunities and growth on the U.S. market. We think that U.S.A. and the potential to become the largest in the market in long term. And in addition to U.S.A., the new reinforced offering will support further growth and expansion in other markets as well.

As stated in the press release is cost synergies of about EUR 30 million to be released during 2021. We see great potential in creating a cost-efficient, hungry and lean company, and naturally, that work and ambition will continue also after 2021.

The upside on revenue side is bigger than the cost synergies, where cross-selling and distribution will be major drivers. There's a global demand for our product. And as online casino continues to grow as a portion of the total casino revenues, we will see a long growth runway ahead.

All in all, the combination will also provide great upside to customers, and they can feel confident that we'll continue to serve them with the best product innovation and operational excellence.

Next slide, please. This slide show bet spots, which is a good indicator of activity in our network. In the second quarter, number of bet spots from end users amounted to 11.9 billion compared to 5.6 billion same period last year. That is growth by 113%.

Also, compared to Q1, there's a good increase of 37%. The high activity in the second quarter is partly an effect of new players that have found their way to online casino with the absence of sports event to bet on and closed land-based casinos.

Also, it is an effect of our increasing range of game show-style games that generate high volume of smaller bets. In Q2, the launch of Mega Ball and prelaunch of Crazy Time are both games in the Game Show category. We do expect that some of the extra volume in Q2 will level off as sports activities come back, and we saw some of that already happening in June. However, we do believe that many of those new players that have been introduced to Live Casino in recent months will help accelerate the growth in the long term.

We can clearly see the audience for Live games increase not only by existing players in the online gaming sector, but also with completely new player groups attracted by our game shows. This is success of our strategy to widen Live into softer players, which was initiated over 3 years ago.

Next slide, please. The staff and the recruitment of staff is absolutely crucial to our success. Much of the greatness of Evolution is that we have managed to recruit the best talent in all our markets. But due to the current situation with our -- with us operating fewer tables, the full-time equivalent, FTEs, are lower in the quarter. We have also had to reduce headcount in Georgia operations at the beginning of April as we had significant fewer tables running. As I mentioned, we are scaling back up in all locations, and I expect FTEs and headcount numbers to increase through the rest of the year.

The reason for not coming back to full operation faster is the demand for social distancing and other COVID safety measures.

We still see a very high demand for tables, and we will continue to grow with our clients, which means a higher recruitment base as soon as the situation with corona is more stable in the world again.

Next slide, please. This slide shows the breakdown of our revenue by geographic region. The Nordics is stable, but -- our smallest market, contributing with about 5% of total revenue. Growth has been moderate since the same quarter last year amounting to 12%. U.K. shows a decrease in the year-on-year growth for the second quarter with 16%, but an increase of 7% in revenue from the first quarter 2020. Compared to 2019, U.K. is negatively affected by lower fixed fees as U.K. companies have moved their billing address to other countries in Europe. However, playing volumes are up significantly compared to Q1. So the market development in U.K. is more positive than the figures show.

Rest of Europe continues to develop well and constitutes about 50% of revenues. The growth rate year-on-year amounts to 42%.

Both Asia and North America is growing quickly, with 181% and 81%, respectively. We see good potential in both these markets and expect a continued high growth rate the rest of the year. We're especially happy to see the recent regulatory movement in U.S.A., which increased the potential, and I will get back on that on the coming slide.

Other, including South Africa -- South America and Africa and the remaining part of the world, shows good growth of 42%.

Revenues from regulated markets shows growth of 14% and constituted 3% of revenue. It's a lot lower than previously mainly due to lower fees from dedicated tables in the quarter.

A large part of our table fees are in the regulated markets. And due to fewer tables in operation, those fees are lower in Q2, and it also reduces the percentage share of revenue from regulated markets in this quarter.

Next slide, please. We continue to widen the gap to competitors. No one else has a product portfolio close to ours, and no one adds many new games. We have added 6 new games this quarter, and also Baccarat -- it's -- and also Baccarat Multiplay, it's nothing less than extremely good.

This year, we are launching 12 new games in all areas: new features, twists on traditional table game, new RNG games and new game shows like Mega Ball and Crazy Time.

Mega Ball, our first game in the lottery vertical, was a great launch during the second quarter. And on 1st of July, we officially launched Crazy Time as well. It has taken about a year to develop Crazy Time, and it has been the most advanced game we made so far, with a cost around double of a normal game show. Pre-launch with a limited number of operators indicated that Crazy Time would be the most successful launch Evolution has ever made. And yes, our expectations so far have been fulfilled. Crazy Time is some of the best work Evolution has ever done, and I honestly believe that it's the most fun casino game in the world. It highlights the paradigm shift for Evolution. This game will appeal to others as far and wide, from slot players to sports bet players and everyone in between. There is truly nothing like it.

Looking ahead, coming up later this summer is the Instant Roulette and during the fall of Craps games -- and during the fall, our Craps game. The Craps game, which is the first ever done online, is a real gambler's game, and that, of course, focus on the North American audience. The environment for the game is [prevision] time in U.S. during 1920s and early '30s. It just looks fantastic. The studio is magnificent.

It is important to point out that we continue to innovate, substantially enhance and refine the playing experience in table games in our core. Our ambition, to pave the way for the entire industry by launching new groundbreaking products and, of course, continue to increase the distance to our competitors, which we'll do if we continue to start delivering value to our operators and fantastic playing experience to our players.

The table games are still our core. But the game shows are aimed at a new audience that might not have found live games before, a way for operators to cross-sell and introduce live games to a wider audience.

As I mentioned earlier, the combination with NetEnt will create a great opportunity for game development in RNG as well as Live and in the combination of the 2. Really looking forward to what that -- what we could do together.

Next slide, please. In addition to product development, we are continuing to invest in the future in form of new studios. We continue to stay focused on further strengthening our North American footprint. We have expanded the capacity in New Jersey to meet the growing demand and to be able to serve more customers with new games. The construction of a new studio in Pennsylvania continues but will be postponed -- postponed timetable due to COVID-19. Michigan would be the third regulated market in U.S. for online casino. This is a positive development. And we expect more U.S. states to allow online gaming in the upcoming years, and we are well positioned to capitalize opportunities that will open.

It's also worth noting in this context that New Jersey has outperformed our expectations in terms of the market size, which shows a good total potential for the U.S. market as a whole.

In order to answer up to the high demand of our studios in primarily Europe and Asia, we are planning to build 2 new English-speaking studios: one in Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania, the construction already started; and one more in Europe, which is currently in the planning phase.

I will now hand over to Jacob, who will guide you through the financials. Next slide, please.

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Jacob Kaplan, Evolution Gaming Group AB (publ) - CFO [3]

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Thank you, Martin, and good morning to all of you listening. I will take you through a closer look at our financial performance during the quarter.

I'm on Slide #10 titled Financial Development. This slide shows our revenue and EBITDA per quarter. We've seen a very strong increase in volumes during the quarter. Top line growth is up 50% year-on-year and up 11% compared to the first quarter of this year.

As Martin pointed out earlier, there are both positive and negative effects on our revenue from the COVID pandemic in this quarter. And several factors, not all related to the pandemic, are behind the good revenue number.

As we mentioned when we spoke in early April, we saw an increase in volume on our games as sporting events were canceled and players opted for casino games to a larger extent. However, we also had a very good underlying growth coming into the quarter as we saw in the growth in the first quarter, which was not very much affected by COVID, and also as we've seen also last year.

Also, we've had several successful new game launches during the quarter, as Martin just covered, Mega Ball, Power Blackjack, Baccarat Multiplay. And the official launch of Crazy Time was 1st of July, but the beta phase ran through June.

So there are several factors supporting the revenue development. But yes, there is also a part related to canceled sporting events, and that part will now level off as sports start to come back.

The negative effect on revenues from the pandemic comes from the fact that we have reduced the number of tables that are operating. This means that the number of tables in dedicated environments for operators have also been reduced, and thereby, we have not fully charged the fixed fees for those environments.

Also, fewer tables means that some players do not find their favorite tables or find a seat for Blackjack and, therefore, don't play. Some of this is compensated as players have gone for other games, game of Blackjack games or RNG first person Blackjack game. So some of that volume comes back. As you hear, there are several effects, both positive and negative, and I can't exactly quantify each one individually.

All in all, the net effect of COVID is positive in the second quarter, which is also reflected in the extra high growth rate.

Moving on to EBITDA, also very strong in the quarter at EUR 81 million for an EBITDA margin of 63%, with the reduced number of tables leading to a lower cost level, and at the same time, the revenue effects I just spoke of, the margin is boosted in the quarter. Part of this is a short-term effect. But as we have stated during last year, we have worked hard to establish an efficient setup in our operations. And that means that when revenue comes through, we also get a good effect on margin. Our guidance at the start of the year that we would increase margin in 2020 compared to 2019 shows that. And as you see in the chart, also Q1 had a strong margin. So the short-term effect of the pandemic gives a boost to a trend that we were already in earlier.

We will not change guidance regarding margin for the year at this time. There's a good distance to the 50% margin of 2019 after the first 6 months of this year. I would not extrapolate from the Q2 level going forward. We do come into the second half of the year when we will pick up activity in studio construction, increased travel and also increased activity in other areas.

That said, long term, we still see that we can increase margin when we increase revenue.

Operator, let's go to the next slide, please. Let's take a closer -- take a look at a more detailed P&L for the period. Revenues for the 3-month period April to June amounted to EUR 128.3 million. As mentioned, that's an increase of 50% compared to the same period 2019. And for the first 6 months of 2020, revenue is about EUR 243 million, which is a 47% increase from the corresponding period last year.

Moving down, personnel expenses totaled EUR 30.3 million. It's in line with the same period previous year, but actually EUR 3 million lower than the first quarter of this year. The reason for the lower personnel cost is that the number of tables have been reduced, as we've mentioned a few times, meaning that we have fewer hours offered. It has led to a reduction in staff in some locations and, generally, fewer hours worked in our studios.

Most of our employment contracts are a mix of fixed monthly salary and variable pay, so we do not have the same percentage reduction in personnel costs as the number of tables.

As we said earlier, we are now increasing the number of tables gradually, step by step. And there is also pent-up demand for new tables once the pandemic allows new construction. So we will continue to recruit and increase staff in the quarters to come.

Further down, depreciation is just under EUR 7 million in the quarter. That's up 18% compared to the same period last year. Other expenses, next item, include, among other items, consumable equipment, communication costs, consultant and royalty fees. The line amounts to EUR 16.8 million. That's up 34% from the same period last year. And for the 6-month period, the increase is 29%. Part of that increase is in royalties, which increased as we grow revenues. So those will move together. But compared to last year, we also had higher costs this year for some extraordinary measures in the studios: extra cleaning, transport, sanitizer, et cetera.

So summing up, total operating expenses increased by EUR 5 million or 10% year-on-year in the second quarter, which is a slightly lower increase than what we normally have and mainly due to lower personnel expenses.

Tax is at EUR 3.6 million in the quarter for a tax rate of 5%. And all this sums up to a profit for the 3-month period of EUR 70.4 million and for the 6-month -- first 6 months of the year, just over EUR 124 million.

Profit for the period is up 104% compared to the first half of 2019. This equals an EPS of EUR 0.38 per share for the second quarter and for the rolling 12-month period, EUR 1.14 per share.

Operator, we can go to the next slide. Before I hand back to Martin, we'll also take a closer look at the cash flow. Starting to the left in the slide, the chart shows development of capital expenditure. The gray part of the bars show investments in tangible assets. This is mainly our studio construction. It is almost EUR 5 million in the quarter. The main projects for the second half of the year is to finalize the studio in Pennsylvania, as mentioned earlier, and also start construction in Michigan.

We also said last quarter that we are planning for 1 to 2 new midsize studios in Europe, and we have settled on Lithuania in the city of Kaunas for 1 of those sites. We continue to evaluate sites for a second studio. And I would say, likely, we'll come back to that later this year.

As we said earlier, right now, we are mainly reopening tables that have been closed due to COVID. But these new studios that we are planning will be important to support growth from 2021 and forward.

The blue part of the bar represents investments in intangible assets, and it's related to development of new games and features to the platform. It is EUR 3.4 million in the quarter, slightly up from Q1, but more or less in line with the pace from the full year 2019.

Altogether, CapEx for the first half of the year is just over EUR 15 million, which means we are in line with our guidance. That CapEx for the year will be slightly up from the EUR 30 million invested during 2019. So a bit higher CapEx than we expected during the second half of the year.

In the middle of the slide, we show operating cash flow. It is very high in the quarter as we have a bit of a catch-up effect from Q1 when cash flow was lower. We had a good improvement in accounts receivable in the quarter. I mentioned accounts receivable the last time we spoke, and it has been a focus for us during the quarter. It will continue to be so. We will work to keep at this level. But we've also seen in the past that the payments and payment cycles can be lumpy at times. But good development in this quarter.

Cash conversion for the 12-month period is up to 83%, which is a good level.

Finally, to the right in the slide, a look at the balance sheet. No major changes show up here between the quarters as it's a snapshot at the end of each period.

During the quarter, we have paid dividend of EUR 76 million, but the strong result brings us back to EUR 212 million in cash. So we are in a continued strong financial position.

That was the end of my prepared comments. I'll hand back to Martin for some closing words, and we'll take questions after that. Over to you, Martin.

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Martin Carlesund, Evolution Gaming Group AB (publ) - Group CEO [4]

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Thank you, Jacob.

A few words to conclude this report presentation. Everything we do is about one thing, to extend the gap to competition and strengthen our market leadership. The perpetual mission is a common thread in our studio expansion as well as in product development, operational excellence and recruitment. I see fantastic opportunity in the U.S. market, with states becoming more and more positive on regulating online casino. Time will tell that what pay states will speed up online casino regulation, but when they do, Evolution will be there. The top priority for me now is to make sure we can open up in Pennsylvania.

Of course, one of the top priorities as well is to close the deal with NetEnt. This is a landmark deal, which will accelerate Evolution's move towards becoming the world leader on the online casino market. The combined product portfolio will include some of the world's most popular Live Casino and online slot games and generate revenue upside through cross-selling and improve distribution with both companies' customer bases.

We're coming towards the end of this presentation. It's a fantastic quarter with revenue growth of 50%, EBITDA margin above 63%, launch of 6 new games, where one is the best launch ever. But this is not the time to celebrate. This is not the time to relax. Everyone in Evolution did great work. And with that and some luck, we so far got through the pandemic in a great way. But now we have a lot to do, more than ever, actually. We have a lot of studios to build, customers to deliver to, games to build and other demands to fulfill. We need to work very hard through the remaining part of this year. We need to increase speed, deliver more and try to find ways to expand faster. We need to make Evolution better every single day.

2020 has started well, and I look forward to see the rest of the year.

Thank you. Let's move to questions.

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Questions and Answers

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Operator [1]

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(Operator Instructions) You have first question from [Evian] from Morgan Stanley.

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Martin Carlesund, Evolution Gaming Group AB (publ) - Group CEO [2]

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We can't hear you.

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Operator [3]

Excerpt from:

Edited Transcript of EVOG.ST earnings conference call or presentation 17-Jul-20 7:00am GMT - Yahoo Finance

20 What are the favorite hobbies worldwide? – Explica

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

We all have an activity that makes us recreate, have fun and even stay in shape. But have you asked yourself what are the most popular hobbies in the world? Those that unite us with other cultures. And they make us share the same passion with people from other countries, who probably have completely different lives and customs from ours. This time we wanted to delve into the subject and we bring you two of the favorite hobbies around the world.

Source: Pixabay

The past few years have been a great success for podcasts in many countries. More and more people subscribe to platforms like Spotify to enjoy them. Now what has made them so famous? One of the most powerful reasons is that this audio format is perfectly suited to everyones busy lifestyle. You can listen to it wherever and whenever you want: in the car, cleaning, exercising, or just at home. Also, the best thing about podcasts is that the topics are very varied and there is something for everyone. Life stories, fiction, entertainment and humor.

However, you may be wondering what are some of the most listened to worldwide. The answer is that the themes of love and humor seem to predominate. The Modern Love podcast is one of the best known and favorite, this is in the English language. It is stories of love, loss and redemption as seen in its description. These are from real people and are narrated by famous actors like Kristen Bell, Michelle Rodrguez and Giancarlo Esposito. As for the comedy part, one of the most popular is Nobody Knows Nothing. It is in Spanish and is led by Andreu Buenafuente and Berto Romero. Their show is about them improvising with input from the audience. Listeners send songs for both to talk about, even if they have no idea of the topic. So the two comedians start improvising in a hilarious way.

Source: Pixabay

It is not a secret that one of the most entertaining hobbies is online gaming. The most incredible thing about them is that you can play them from the comfort of your home. But at the same time you can compete with participants who are on the other side of the planet. The fact that they are online brings people from different parts of the world together and makes them share the same hobby. Also, as with podcasts, the fact that there is a great variety of games has been essential to reach so many people.

They can be found from eSports better known as. The Last of Us II that can be obtained on the PlayStation page, as well as the popular games of chance such as slots, roulette, and blackjack, which can be played on platforms such as NetBet blackjack, even entertaining sports games like FIFA, which is one of the most played in the world thanks to the great fanatic of soccer.

Our passions can bring us together in unique ways. You might enjoy your favorite podcasts because you can listen to it at any time of the day. And anywhere, enjoying a great variety to choose from. Likewise, your favorite hobby may be sharing an online game in your living room with people from all over the world. No matter what your favorite hobby is, it brings you closer to hundreds of other fans around the world who have your same passion.

North America Aerospace & Defense Power Connector Market is expected to reach US$ 603.95 Million by 2027 with CAGR of 7.8% – 3rd Watch News

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

The aerospace &defense power connector market in North America is expected to grow from US$ 425.36Mn in 2019 to US$ 603.95Mn by 2027; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% from 2020 to 2027.

The Aerospace and Defense industry is all companies involved in the processing, packaging and distribution of raw food ingredients. This includes fresh cooked and packaged foods, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Power connectors are increasingly being used in the aerospace & defense industry. Boeing 747, 767, and 777; and Airbus A350 XWB are the major aircraft that generate massive demand for power connectors.

The North America Aerospace & Defense Power Connectormarketis growing along with the Food and Beverages industry, but the market is likely to slow down its growth due to the shortage of skilled professionals, suggests the Business Market Insights report.

The Business Market Insights subscription helps clients understand theongoingmarket trends,identifyopportunities, and make informed decisions through the reports in the Subscription Platform. The Industry reports available in the subscriptionprovidean in-depth analysis on various market topics and enable clients to line up remunerative opportunities. The reportsprovidethe market size & forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

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These factorsare expectedto offer broad growth opportunities in the Food and Beverages industry and this is expected to cause the demand forAerospace & Defense Power Connector assays in the market.

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North America Aerospace & Defense Power Connector Market is expected to reach US$ 603.95 Million by 2027 with CAGR of 7.8% - 3rd Watch News

5000 jobs on line in aerospace and aviation, says Fraser of Allander report – Insider.co.uk

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Around 5,000 jobs are at risk in the aerospace engineering and civil aviation industries, according to a report by the Fraser of Allander Institute.

The University of Strathclyde-based research team warned that could inflict a 325 million blow to the Scottish economy.

The report, commissioned by the Unite Scotland trade union, estimated 1,500 direct job losses are in civil aviation, from companies including Menzies Aviation and Swissport - with a knock-on effect for another 830 jobs.

Following aerospace engineering redundancy consultations and voluntary severance schemes for 1,225 roles at Rolls-Royce, GE Caledonian, Spirit Aerosystems and Wyman Gordon, the report also forecasts the ultimate loss of 2,530 jobs across Scotland.

Scotland's Gross Value Added (GVA) could suffer an overall loss of approximately 140 million because of the impact on the civil aviation industry, in addition to a 185 million decrease from the aerospace engineering sector, the FAI estimates.

Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute, Graeme Roy, said: "The full effects of the economic crisis from the Covid-19 shutdown are sadly only beginning to crystalise.

"The job losses announced already in key parts of our economy - including aviation and engineering - have the potential to be a damaging blow to Scotland's long-term economic prospects."

Unite Scotland is now warning the Scottish and UK Governments that both sectors "could be on the brink of terminal decline" and is calling for additional support packages for the industries.

Describing the report's findings as "eye-watering", Unite's Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said: "Over the course of several months there is an estimated loss to the Scottish economy of 320 million and nearly 5,000 direct and indirect jobs are on the brink of being lost forever.

"This is the gravity of the situation facing both sectors and - make no mistake about this - both are on the cusp of terminal decline without immediate intervention from both the UK and Scottish Governments.

"It's essential that the Governments get all the key stakeholders in these sectors around the table immediately so that we can protect and save as many highly-skilled jobs as possible."

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5000 jobs on line in aerospace and aviation, says Fraser of Allander report - Insider.co.uk

Aerospace & Defense Sector Market forecast 2020-2027 interpreted by a new report: Thales Group, Defence Research & Development Organization,…

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

The recent research report on theGlobal Aerospace & Defense Sector Marketpresents the latest industry data and future trends, allowing you to recognize the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability of the market.The report offers an extensive analysis of key drivers, leading market players, key segments, and regions. Besides this, the experts have deeply studied different geographical areas and presented a competitive scenario to assist new entrants, leading market players, and investors determine emerging economies. These insights offered in the report would benefit market players to formulate strategies for the future and gain a strong position in the global market.

Our analysis involves the study of the market taking into consideration the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please get in touch with us to get your hands on an exhaustive coverage of the impact of the current situation on the market. Our expert team of analysts will provide as per report customized to your requirement. For more connect with us at [emailprotected] or call toll free: +1-800-910-6452

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The report begins with a brief introduction and market overview of the Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market industry followed by its market scope and size. Next, the report provides an overview of market segmentation such as type, application, and region. The drivers, limitations, and opportunities for the market are also listed, along with current trends and policies in the industry.The report provides a detailed study of the growth rate of every segment with the help of charts and tables. Furthermore, various regions related to the growth of the market are analyzed in the report. These regions include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa. Besides this, the research demonstrates the growth trends and upcoming opportunities in every region.Analysts have revealed that the Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market market has shown several significant developments over the past few years. The report offers sound predictions on market value and volume that can be beneficial for the market players, investors, stakeholders, and new entrants to gain detailed insights and obtain a leading position in the market.Additionally, the report offers an in-depth analysis of key market players functioning in the global Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market industry.

Major market players are:Thales GroupDefence Research & Development OrganizationBoeingBharat Dynamics LimitedLockheed MartiTata Advanced Systems LimitedBAE Systemsand Mahindra GroupHindustan Aeronautics LimitedBharat Earthmovers LimitedReliance DefenceISRO

The research presents the performance of each player active in the global Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market market. It also offers a summary and highlights the current advancements of each player in the market. This piece of data is a great source of study material for the investors and stakeholders interested in the market. In addition, the report offers insights on suppliers, buyers, and merchants in the market. Along with this, a comprehensive analysis of consumption, market share, and growth rate of each application is offered for the historic period.

The end users/applications listed in the report are:LandAirSea

The key product type of Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market market are:Cyber securityBorder securityHomeland security

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The report clearly shows that the Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market industry has achieved remarkable progress since 2027 with numerous significant developments boosting the growth of the market. This report is prepared based on a detailed assessment of the industry by experts. To conclude, stakeholders, investors, product managers, marketing executives, and other experts in search of factual data on supply, demand, and future predictions would find the report valuable.

The report constitutes:Chapter 1 provides an overview of Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market market, containing global revenue, global production, sales, and CAGR. The forecast and analysis of Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market market by type, application, and region are also presented in this chapter.Chapter 2 is about the market landscape and major players. It provides competitive situation and market concentration status along with the basic information of these players.Chapter 3 provides a full-scale analysis of major players in Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market industry. The basic information, as well as the profiles, applications and specifications of products market performance along with Business Overview are offered.Chapter 4 gives a worldwide view of Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market market. It includes production, market share revenue, price, and the growth rate by type.Chapter 5 focuses on the application of Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market, by analyzing the consumption and its growth rate of each application.Chapter 6 is about production, consumption, export, and import of Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market in each region.Chapter 7 pays attention to the production, revenue, price and gross margin of Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market in markets of different regions. The analysis on production, revenue, price and gross margin of the global market is covered in this part.Chapter 8 concentrates on manufacturing analysis, including key raw material analysis, cost structure analysis and process analysis, making up a comprehensive analysis of manufacturing cost.Chapter 9 introduces the industrial chain of Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market. Industrial chain analysis, raw material sources and downstream buyers are analyzed in this chapter.Chapter 10 provides clear insights into market dynamics.Chapter 11 prospects the whole Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market market, including the global production and revenue forecast, regional forecast. It also foresees the Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Market market by type and application.Chapter 12 concludes the research findings and refines all the highlights of the study.Chapter 13 introduces the research methodology and sources of research data for your understanding.

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Aerospace & Defense Sector Market forecast 2020-2027 interpreted by a new report: Thales Group, Defence Research & Development Organization,...

Innovation in flight test instrumentation and data networks – Aerospace Testing International

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

The data that flight testing provides to the aerospace industry is a valuable commodity. It is used to develop better and more efficient aircraft and to ensure that once developed, aircraft can be used in a safe and effective manner.

The tools used to acquire, store and transmit flight test data flight test instrumentation (FTI), data acquisition networks and telemetry are therefore a vital part of the aerospace sector. These tools require a high level of maturity because they must be reliable and accurate. In addition, flight test engineers face commercial pressures to reduce the certification cycle of aircraft and optimize resources for cost reduction. Innovation in flight therefore often aims to make FTI and data acquisition networks more flexible, easier to install and use and more accurate.

Within FTI and data acquisition, the use of wireless networks is one of the strongest areas for innovation.

Ghislain Guerrero, business development and innovation director at Safran Data Systems says, The flight test community has been asking for wireless for at least 10 years. In the beginning it was mainly the big airframers, because of the size of their FTI, but there is now a real call for it across the industry.

FTI systems are often too heavy, complex in terms of cabling and expensive, contradicting the trend in flight testing and certification to minimize time to market. During the last decade aircraft and rotorcraft manufacturers have strived to reduce the flight test and certification period of development with the use of multiple test aircraft and other techniques.

Guerrero says, This means FTI has to measure more things in less time. Wireless can help address this challenge because it has flexibility, you can add and remove measurements more easily.

The community wants to be able to land in the evening after a flight and then the next day take off with a modified FTI because the test engineer wants to see something else. We have to design and develop the tools for the instrumentation engineer to make that possible and wireless is part of the answer.

Paul Hart, chief technology officer at Curtiss-Wright sees demand for wireless from the flight test community being met already. There is take up of wireless because it can solve lots of problems, he says. For example, wiring a strain gage on a wing tip takes a lot of invasive work. The use of wireless for this type of application is tried and tested, almost routine.

Curtiss-Wright has done some work with wireless sensors, particularly using ZigBee, which is one of the more widely-used protocols used for wireless FTI. ZigBee has proved useful with rotating machinery like helicopter rotor blades, where circular data acquisition units, essentially accelerometers have been developed and installed on a rotor blade to measure dynamics. You could use slip rings and commutators for a wired installation, but youd have to modify the aircraft itself, so wireless is useful for rotors. says Hart. You also have to get power to the electronics and that can be fulfilled now by piezoelectric energy harvesting technology.

One of the challenges for applications that use accelerometers such as rotor blades is the high data rate required, around 32 kilosamples per second, he explains. However, Zigbee has a short range and a relatively small bandwidth and so is only useful where data acquisition is required at lower rates. Another potential downside is timing.

A lot of the networks are Ethernet-based and the data acquisition has to be put into lock step using a switch with a grandmaster clock. Otherwise you can get a skew to the data, he says.

As a way around this problem, Curtiss-Wrights latest generation of FTI, the Axon family uses plug-in modules that can be put on extender cables up to 20m long to create what the company calls an Axonite. The modules have around a 2in footprint, can be placed in an environmentally sealed enclosure and mounted close to sensors such as accelerometers. The acquisition of data on to an Ethernet bus close to the source minimizes the amount of noise from sources such as electrical cables and switches. You distribute the data acquisition around the aircraft to overcome the problems of the wiring and electrical noise that is a concern when acquiring an analog signal, Hart says.

Curtiss-Wrights Axons use smaller Axonite module to place the DAQ close to the sensors (Image: Curtiss-Wright)

Guerrero agrees that there are some constraints to the application of current wireless technology in flight test data acquisition networks, such as the relatively poor performance and EMC. Every aircraft is designed to be a large Faraday cage, because electronics need to be protected. We are asked to make radio communications work within this environment its a big challenge, but we are working with airframers and manufacturers, testing in the field to understand what is possible and not possible, to find the right frequencies and antennas, he says.

Today wireless systems bring with them too much compromise, usually in terms of accuracy. We want to eliminate that and deliver fully transparent data, the same as they would get with a wired system.

MA future micro-modular acquisition unit, which is natively wireless and low power (Photo: Safran Data Systems)

Safran Data Systems aims to facilitate the widespread use of wireless networks in flight testing via three main steps. The first step is the current situation, where most FTI is wired. Step two is the development and the deployment of wireless networks that are capable of replacing any wired connection without any compromise in performance. But, at this stage there are still some drawbacks with wireless networks that mean most FTI is wired the largest being timing synchronisation. Although as an aside, there may still be situations where a more direct link is possible with wireless than a wired connection and the use of wireless gives better results than wired at this time.

We can synchronize a remote device to an accuracy of 30 to 50 nanoseconds, better than you can achieve with a wired connection that uses multiple Ethernet links with switches, where you are within 50 to 100 nanoseconds, says Guerrero.

An example is the acquisition of a high-speed vibration signal from an engine to the aircraft cabin. With a wired system the link has to go from the engine to the pylon then along the wing and into the cabin, with multiple switches and steps causing complexity and cost. If you establish a direct link a virtual wire between the cabin and the engine can be directly and more easily established.

The third step is currently being developed in the laboratory. Guerrero says, We are working towards the goal of a massively wireless FTI architecture. In this step, the backbone of the network would be wireless with the use of wires as the exception, perhaps only where two devices are very close to each other.

MA prototype mounted in the nose cone of a Vulcanair P68 (Photo: Safran Data Systems)

According to Guerrero, the technology to enable this is similar to consumer LTE 5G networks, but adapted to be private without any exterior network operator. LTE networks can manage hundreds of devices on a network with high bandwidth and transfer speeds. He says it is possible to reach step three within five years. It will be possible in the future to have a massively wireless FTI.

We want to exploit this technology on frequencies that are available and compliant with the aircraft. The first and most important requirement is to ensure we do not interfere and jam any important systems on the aircraft.

The new materials and systems being used throughout modern aircraft are also a spur for innovation in FTI and data acquisition networks. A corollary of the use of composites in fuselages is an increased interest in the use of fiber-optic sensors, such as the use of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) for strain gages, especially in high EMC environments. FBG strain sensors are more reliable, but the signal conditioning is completely different. They use a technology called interrogators and a different protocol, says Hart.

There is also an increasing use of electronics and electrical systems in modern aircraft, particularly in areas such as flight controls and hydraulics. FTI is also having to evolve to measure and check electronics and flight control computers. Engines are associated with this, such as the move towards geared turbofans (GTF), which are designed to output electrical power more efficiently and at variable frequencies.

GTF engines are more efficient but create the need for engineers to test the performance of systems at variable frequencies, says Hart.

The MDR-GT very high speed and capacity recorder will offer native wireless interfaces (Photo: Safran Data Systems)

Guerrero agrees that the move to more electric aircraft will have an impact on the instrumentation that is used to monitor aerodynamic and structural aspects of aircraft and that it will become more difficult to accurately monitor the aircrafts electrical network. However, he doesnt believe that the higher voltages and currents will cause complications for wireless data acquisition networks the frequencies are different enough to not affect the network. More electric aircraft will impact the kind of acquisition that happens more, he says.

In the coming months and years the wireless revolution will continue. New solutions will become available to address the pain points in current data acquisition networks and to unleash the capabilities of instrumentation systems, achieving the goals of engineers.

Flight test datas main use in modern aerospace may be to validate computer modelling of tweaked iterative aircraft designs, new aeronautical ideas and concepts, but in this role it is no less important than it ever has been.

The medical data of patients during an emergency flight is of the utmost importance. Transmitting patient data accurately, reliably and as early as possible to a hospital so it can be analyzed can be the difference between life and death for a patient in critical condition.

Flight data and communications technology company Skytrac and medical transport organization STAT MedEvac earlier this year successfully transferred patient data via inflight cellular and satellite connections on an emergency flight for the first time.

Engineers from Skytrac configured a Zoll X patient monitor / defibrillator with an onboard wifi network enabled by the companysDAL-200 wireless data link, enabling theZoll X to connect to its own servers to relay the data on to the destination hospital. When cellular connectivity was unavailable, as is the case for most remote emergency medical missions, the DAL-200 redirected the medical data to an ISAT-200A avionics system that encrypted it and sent it through the Iridium satellite network to Skytrac, where it was then forwarded to Zolls secure medical servers. This enabled healthcare practitioners to access 12-lead reports before patients arrived in the emergency room.

Dr Leonard Weiss, assistant medical director at STAT MedEvac sees immediate real-world applications. He says, Transfer of care of critically ill patients is one of the riskiest phases of care, where up to 20% of patients in the USA may experience a harmful event. Current emergency and 911 communication systems are limited, using archaic technology.

Our work is critical to developing future systems that allow early and robust coordination of care and alert waiting medical and surgical teams of inbound patients.

Jan van der Heul, vice president of sales at Skytrac Systems said, Weve proven that AI and big data arent the only ways to revolutionize the healthcare industry andare excited to introduce this technology to the market.

This article was originally published in the June print edition of Aerospace Testing International. Read the article in its original format here and register to receive future print and digital issues before everyone else for free here.

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Innovation in flight test instrumentation and data networks - Aerospace Testing International

Solvay and Lockheed Martin to organise selection of university projects to boost Belgiums aerospace industry – Aviation24.be

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Today, Solvay and Lockheed Martin announced their collaboration on a newly-signed agreement for the selection of the most innovative projects in the aerospace sector from Belgian universities.

On July 1 and 2, Solvay and Lockheed Martin, together with seven Belgian aerospace companies (Asco, Coexpair, Feronyl, SABCA, Safran Aeroboosters, Sonaca and Thales Belgium) participated in the selection of projects for the Innovative Growth University Challenge. Supported by the Belgian government, this initiative is part of a strategy to reinforce Belgiums defence, industrial and technological base.

More than 20 projects were presented by seven Belgian universities, recognised for their high-level expertise in advanced materials, to showcase the next generation of composite designs that will advance the aerospace industry in Belgium.

Solvay, Lockheed Martin and the seven other companies intend to make their selection of the final projects by the end of August. The projects relate to five common areas:

These projects will also include the participation of one or more members from the nine companies involved to help the teams develop high technology products for the aerospace industry.

Last year, Solvay, Lockheed Martin and the seven other companies agreed to an umbrella agreement to develop the University Challenge and its R&D projects related to another agreement between the U.S. and Belgian governments to replace its ageing F-16 aircraft with new generation air combat capability on F-35. The University Challenge projects serve as a unique and cutting-edge opportunity to support specific aerospace research and innovation in Belgium.

Brussels, July 17, 2020

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Solvay and Lockheed Martin to organise selection of university projects to boost Belgiums aerospace industry - Aviation24.be

High Altitude Platforms Market Ongoing Trends and Recent Developments | Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.; TCOM, LP; ILC Dover; Lindstrand Technologies…

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Data Bridge Market Research introduced the report on theHigh Altitude Platforms Market, with complete overview of the market, covering various aspects of product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, and the prevailing vendor landscape. It compiles in-depth information and research methodologies. It is also combined with relevant charts and tables to enable readers to get a better perspective of this global market.

Global high altitude platforms market is expected to rise to an estimated value of USD 6.87 billion by 2026, registering a substantial CAGR in the forecast period to 2026. This rise in market value can be attributed to the growing levels of terrorism globally and a rise in the levels of illegal trafficking.

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Top Key Players in the High Altitude Platforms Market are as Follows atIsrael Aerospace Industries Ltd.; TCOM, L.P.; ILC Dover; Lindstrand Technologies Limited; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Raytheon Company; Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.; Northrop Grumman Corporation; AeroVironment, Inc.; Thales Group; Airbus S.A.S. and Aeros.

Global High Altitude Platforms Market By Product (Airships, UAV, Tethered Aerostat Systems), Payload (Communication Systems, Navigation Systems, Surveillance Systems, EO/IR Systems), Application (Commercial, Government & Defense, Others) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2026

Market Drivers:

Market Restraints:

Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Automated Material Handling Systems in these regions, covering

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Regional Growth Analysis:

All major regions and countries have been covered in the report. The regional analysis will help market players to tap into unexplored regional markets, prepare specific strategies for target regions, and compare the growth of all regional markets.

The study objectives of this report are:

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High Altitude Platforms Market Ongoing Trends and Recent Developments | Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.; TCOM, LP; ILC Dover; Lindstrand Technologies...

Bitcoin (BTC) Adoption is Crawling Walking Running or Rocking Based on Opportunity – The Cryptocurrency Analytics

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

There were days when investors put their money in to Bitcoin and the money simply doubled in just a couple weeks. However, those times are now over. The Market has matured. Investors are looking in to the why of the price movement. Prices tend to move sideways for too long than day traders would like to see it be that way.

The Bitcoin mining difficulty has its part to play. Several bitcoin miners very clearly display what is under their hoods and this gives an insight into what those who are mining Bitcoin are up to.

The logic behind cryptocurrency per some propaganda is that everyone will be able to be their own bank. However, that need not be the actual case. Bitcoin is all about freedom of choice. Those who do not like it need not use it. Those who think they can improve Bitcoin can contribute to it. If those in the network are not able to convince the rest in the network about a particular technological upgrade, they simply fork off.

Several thought leaders are popping up in social media channels. Cryptocurrency influencers as named by Bitcoin.com in terms of their follower count on Twitter for instance Justin Sun (2M), John McAfee (1M), Vitalik Buterin (892.7K) and Charlie Lee (831.3K).

This just means the cryptocurrency influencers have a method of creating an impression in the minds of the people about the Bitcoin. Named above, are just a few from a big bunch of them doing the spreading the news about crypto capabilities in one way or the other.

Sydney Ifergan, the crypto expert tweeted: Bitcoin (BTC) does not wait for anyone to come or go. It is here and those who are smart make use of it. Those who naysay continue to do it while others make hay while the sun shines.

There is a golden period for every token. The days of hype of Bitcoin are over. Though several other cryptos are coming to win their share of investors, Bitcoin continues to be the king.

The most recent news is that it is becoming possible to buy Bitcoin in India and the demo videos are available in several Indian languages through Wazirx. Though the regulatory scene is not clear, adoption is either crawling, walking, running, or rocketing based on opportunity.

Bitcoin is getting a multi-linguistic exposure in a country like India where the population is super high. The results are yet to unfold. When the adoption happens, it is sure going to be dramatic.

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Bitcoin (BTC) Adoption is Crawling Walking Running or Rocking Based on Opportunity - The Cryptocurrency Analytics

The fundamental clock of the Universe is much faster than we imagined – InTallaght

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

As a metronome keeps the tempo for a musician, a fundamental clock which holds the time of the entire Universe. Typically time is seen as a dimension, similar to spatial ones, but according to some theorists it could derive from a physical process, like a clock.

If the Universe possessed a fundamental clock this should tick more than one million billion billion times per second.

Second particle physics, the latter can obtain properties by interacting with fields: the particles acquire a mass by interacting with the Higgs field, carried by the homonymous boson. In the same way bodies could feel the passage of time in a similar way, interacting with an oscillating field, each oscillation would correspond to a tick of the clock.

Time is a difficult concept to handle in physics: for quantum mechanics, it is a background, an entity external to the particles we want to describe; for General Relativity it is a dimension comparable to the 3 spatial ones and whose flow can be altered by the presence of a gravitational field.

The problem of time is quite important, says Flaminia Giacomini, of the Perimeter Institute of Waterloo in Canada, about the possibility of unifying General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Studying the different mechanisms that can reproduce time, including the fundamental clock, can help the creation of new theories (for now, no time travel, however).

Theories are very important but need to be proven experimentally; scientists, therefore, speculated the effects of the fundamental clock on atomic clocks.

If the fundamental metronome is too slow, atomic clocks would quickly go out of sync and tick at irregular intervals. This does not happen, in fact, atomic clocks are the most precise method to measure the passage of time and, evidently, the eventual fundamental stopwatch must oscillate very quickly. How much?

Physicists suspect that there is a limit on the parts into which a second can be divided. Quantum mechanics prohibits divisions smaller than 10 to minus 43, the Planck scale. An interval equal to Plancks time seems reasonable for a possible fundamental clock.

To test their idea, researchers need to increase the oscillation frequency of current atomic clocks about 20 billion times. A considerable but not impossible increase, at least according to some scientists, and perhaps the Large Hadron Collider, the closest instrument to the Planck scale currently available, could help.

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The fundamental clock of the Universe is much faster than we imagined - InTallaght

Newsom, Cosmetology Board should open minds, heads, and doors to the great outdoors – OCRegister

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

On March 19, 2020, Gov. Newsom issued a stay-at-home and shutdown order, dramatically changing our way of life. The shutdown order was catastrophic for many businesses and their employees, and even worse for the personal services industry, as salons, barbershops, nail salons, and other personal care providers were among the last allowed to reopen.

Just as these businesses were beginning to get back on their feet, the governor announced this week that in response to the increasing rate of COVID-19 infections, personal care services in 30 at-risk counties would be required to stop offering a variety ofindoorservices. This was devastating news for personal care providers who had already endured an extensive shutdown.

But there appeared to be a small silver lining. Based on Gov. Newsoms announcement and a subsequentorderby the Director of Public Health, many businesses understood that they would be allowed to offer their servicesoutdoorsso long as they could do so cleanly and hygienically and in harmony with public healthguidanceissued by the Department of Public Health and local authorities. For instance, a barber could set up a tent and offer haircuts outside to maintain some income while indoor services remained off limits.

The providers themselves were not the only ones who understood the governors announcement as allowing outdoor services. The city of Long Beach, for example, put out apress releasethat noted that personal care providers may conduct outdoor operations.

Unfortunately, the California State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology did not interpret Gov. Newsoms announcement or the public healthorder as requiring, or even authorizing, the Board to allow outdoor services. Instead, it issued a statement which interpreted the Business and Professions Code narrowly and stated that since licenses were issued for a particular establishment, no outdoor services were permitted. Any personal care provider who offered outdoor haircuts or styling could face a fine, the loss of a license, or even a criminal misdemeanor conviction.

The practical impact of the boards interpretation will be devastating. Personal care providers will once again be required to close. Many technicians and stylists will lose their jobs. Some establishments will never open again.

There is simply no need for this unduly narrow interpretation and its cruel consequences for the industry, and those in charge should do what they can to avoid it.An outdoor tent or canopy placed right outside of the place of business could reasonably be considered to be part of the licensed establishment. And as a policy matter, if the purpose of the Business and Professions Code is to protect the public, then restricting the use of this outdoor space makes no sense where hygiene and safety requirements can be met outdoors.

Fortunately, there is hope that this irrational decision will be changed or that the Governor can step in and overrule it. The governor has the authority in light of the pandemic tosuspend . . . the orders, rules, or regulations of any state agency, where he determines that strict compliance would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the emergency.The governor should do so here, and our public interest law firm, the Pacific Legal Foundation,has askedthe Governor to do just that. Denying personal services providers the opportunity to operate outdoors would hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of COVID-19 by forcing providers to completely shut down and lose any means of earning income rather than simply finding new ways of staying afloat.

The governor and other state agencies have already provided similar relief to other businesses in California who are allowed to offer their services outdoors. The governor and Alcoholic Beverage Control have previouslyauthorized,for instance, restaurants and bars to serve food and alcohol in adjacent outdoor areas like parking lots or sidewalks. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has even spearheaded a program to allow restaurants to apply for apermitto operate outdoors in public spaces, and Pasadena soonfollowed suit. Gyms have alsomoved outdoors. Hair salons, barbershops, and personal care services are merely asking for the same kind of relief that has been extended to others.

During the pandemic, public bodies should interpret regulations in a way that allows businesses to operate in innovative ways, so long as they are safe. The board doesnt need to cling to its narrow interpretation of what constitutes an establishment. But if it does, this exactly the type of situation where the governor should intercede to get the unnecessary red tape out of the way of continued suffering.

Anastasia Boden and Daniel Ortner are attorneys at Pacific Legal Foundation, where they represent individuals pro bono in constitutional challenges to irrational and anti-competitive barriers to earning a living.

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Newsom, Cosmetology Board should open minds, heads, and doors to the great outdoors - OCRegister

Manchester United Transfer News Roundup: Inter offer crucial Alexis Sanchez update, Red Devils preparing mass clearout and more – 17th July 2020 -…

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

It is expected to be a busy transfer window for Manchester United, as Ole Gunnar Solskjr looks to overhaul his current squad to challenge the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City next season.

Here are the rumours and quotes regarding player transfers from 17th July 2020.

Alexis Sanchez, who seems to have rekindled his form after yet another injury-laden season in the Serie A, is finally turning heads.

Inter Milan director Beppe Marotta confirmed after the game against SPAL that the Italian giants will look to sign him on a permanent deal this summer.

The former Arsenal man has been restricted to 17 league appearances due to a knee injury, contributing three goals and eight assists. However, the Chilean seems to be getting back to his best and has been in good form since the restart.

Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte described him as an 'extra weapon,' as they aim to sign him permanently in the coming months.

The Chilean is on loan at the Serie A side till the end of the league season. However, arecent report in the Mirrorsuggests that the Nerazzurri are looking to extend the deal till the end of the Europa League campaign.

According to the Telegraph, Manchester United are looking to sell as many as six first-team players in the upcoming transfer window.

Ole Gunnar Solskjr will reportedly look to part ways with Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard, Marcos Rojo and Diego Dalot - all of whom have either been on loan or in the fringes of the squad since he arrived at the club.

Smalling and Sanchez might be snapped up Roma and Inter respectively, but it remains to be seen if the Red Devils get significant offers for the rest of the players.

Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs thinks that his old side are close to challenging Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title. However, the Welshman believes the Red Devils are 2-3 players short.

Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin has been warned off a move to Manchester United by club legend Chris Waddle.

Manchester United are in the market for a right-sided winger, with Jadon Sancho being touted as the first choice target in the upcoming transfer window.

However, the Frenchman's form could make the Red Devils consider him if they are unable to agree a deal with Dortmund.

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Manchester United Transfer News Roundup: Inter offer crucial Alexis Sanchez update, Red Devils preparing mass clearout and more - 17th July 2020 -...

Donald Trumps Niece Dishes the Dirt – The Nation

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Mary Trump's new book about President Donald Trump on display at a book store in Brooklyn. Although President Trump litigated to stop the release of his niece's book, a New York Supreme Court ruled it could be published. (Stephanie Keith/ Getty)

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The title of Mary Trumps tell-all book about her family, Too Much and Never Enough, expresses my feelings perfectly. Ive read way too much about her uncle Donald and his awful relatives, to say nothing of his wives and girlfriends, but somehow its never enough. I keep thinking Im finally going to understand him as a thinking, feeling human being, but I never do. Or is it that I only pretend to want understanding, when what I really want is just more dirt?Ad Policy

Theres plenty of both in this well-written tell-all by Mary Trump, daughter of Donalds older brother, Fred. A psychologist with a PhD, she offers a portrait of family dysfunction that rings grimly true: Fred, the cruel, egotistical, tyrannical father, aided by his wife, the distant, sometimes sickly, and probably very miserable Mary Anne, destroyed in his five children much (or in Donalds case, all) of their capacity for empathy, curiosity, kindness, or independent action. Winning paternal approval was all that mattered, but only Donald managed to get a smattering of it. He managed it by becoming a flashier version of his Dad, whose depredations as a builder and landlord in Brooklyn and Queens were so notorious that one of his tenants, Woody Guthrie, wrote a song about him.

Mary Trump may be out for revenge, but who wouldnt be? She blames the sociopathy of Fred Sr. for destroying her father, Fred Jr. The oldest son was a happy-go-lucky guy who wasnt cut out for the family business and made a bid for freedom by trying to become an airline pilot, before being claimed by the alcoholism that killed him at only 42. Young Freds downward slide is chilling: He was all but ignored by his parents, who had grudgingly taken him inat one point they made him sleep on a cot in the attic of their enormous mansionbut failed to get him the high-quality medical care to which they had ready access as major hospital donors. His siblings abandoned him as well, and he died alone, while Donald and his sister Elizabeth went to the movies.

Years before, Fred Sr. essentially arranged for Marys mother to be massively cheated in her divorce settlement, leaving her and her childrenFreds grandchildren!trapped in a drafty, rundown apartment in one of his Queens developments. To cap it off, Fred Sr. cut Mary and her brother out of his will, and her aunts and uncles eventually forced her and her brother to accept a comparatively modest settlement. (You may remember a stray news item or two about the family cutting off their health insurance when her brothers baby son was desperately sick.) Years later, Mary took many boxes of legal paper to The New York Times, which in 2018finally!published a long, damning investigation of the Trump familys fraudulent tax dodging.ill-gotten gains

Theres a lot of psychiatric talk here about emotional child abuse and family dysfunction. In Mary Trumps view, Donald is still a terrified little boy. There are lessons, too: For example, if the only reason you want kids is to perpetuate your empire, do the world a favor and stay childless. Probably some version of Marys diagnosis is correctsomething, after all, makes monsters out of sweet little babies. But if you just want to hate the president, theres no shortage of fresh material. His older sister, Maryanne, did his homework for him, and he paid someone to take his SATs. He and Ivana were cheapskatesthey gave Mary and her mother regifted items for Christmas, including a handbag with a used Kleenex inside and a food basket with a missing tin (could it have been caviar?). He reportedly helped Maryanne, a now-retired federal judge, get a position on the federal bench by summoning help from Roy Cohn. Fred Sr. floated one of Donalds failing Atlantic City casinos by buying millions of dollars worth of chips and not gambling with them. There has to be some kind of Nobel Prize in hypocrisy, though, for Donalds treatment of his sister-in-law. The book recounts his saying that it might have been better to cut Marys mother Linda off from the relatively modest family support she got after the divorce and make her stand on her own two feet. This is from a man whose family fortune was based on funding from government housing programs, plus millions in tax finagling, and whose entire career was bankrolled by his father.

Over the course of the book, Mary Trump has many ways of describing her uncle. He is completely unqualified, crass, irresponsible, despicable. He is a narcissist, afflicted with what might be antisocial personality disorder or dependent personality disorder. He is perpetually lying, spinning, and obfuscating, telling the lies, misrepresentations, and fabrications that are the sum total of who my uncle is. He acts with both cruelty and possibly criminal negligence. He understands nothing about history, constitutional principles, geopolitics, diplomacy (or anything else, really). And thats just the first 15 pages.

His rise to the highest office in the land she blames on the media, which bought the myth of him as a brash, can-do self-made man and sexual dynamo; the banks, which funded his dubious ventures; and his siblings, none of whom warned the public what a disaster he would be as president. Maryanne, who as a respected public figure Mary Trump thinks might have made a difference had she spoken up during the campaign, not only remained silent (she had her own secrets to keep) but voted for him out of family loyalty.

Mary Trump, who supported Hillary in 2016, worries about the upcoming election. A large minority of people still confuse his arrogance for strength, his false bravado for accomplishment, and his superficial interest in them for charisma. This is true. Amazingly, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic Trump has botched so completely, with unemployment reaching highs not seen since the Great Depression, and the specter of mass evictions on the horizon, Trumps support hovers around 40 percent. That may not be enough to win the election, even with the disenfranchisement of many likely Biden supporters and the wild card that is our disastrous Electoral College system. But when the election is over, we will still have to face the fact that four in 10 Americans took his side.

Will Mary Trump succeed in changing minds where so many others have failed? I wish.

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Donald Trumps Niece Dishes the Dirt - The Nation

China vows retaliation after Trump slaps sanctions on it for interference in Hong Kong – CNBC

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he signed legislation to impose sanctions on China in response to its interference with Hong Kong's autonomy.

Trump also said that he signed an executive order ending the preferential treatment that Hong Kong has long enjoyed.

"Hong Kong will now be treated the same as mainland China," Trump said during a lengthy speech in the White House Rose Garden that quickly drifted away from that legislation to touch on a variety of campaign issues.

"No special privileges, no special economic treatment and no export of sensitive technologies. In addition to that, as you know, we are placing massive tariffs and have placed very large tariffs on China."

China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday Beijing will impose retaliatory sanctions against U.S. individuals and entities in response to the law targeting banks, though the statement released through state media did not reference the executive order.

"Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs and no foreign country has the right to interfere," the ministry said.

The law, dubbed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, would slap mandatory sanctions on Chinese officials and companies that helped back Beijing's imposition of a security law that clamps down on dissent in Hong Kong. The sanctions bill passed both houses of Congress earlier this month.

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 14, 2020.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

The Trump administration has been openly critical of Beijing'ssweeping national security law aimed at limiting Hong Kong's autonomy and banning literature critical of the Chinese Communist Party.

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the new law as an "Orwellian move" and an assault "on the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong."

The security law is the latest issue to ratchet up tensions relations between Washington and Beijing. The Trump administration has previously blamed China for the unfolding health crisis caused by the coronavirus, and it has criticized Beijing for its illegal territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The world's two largest economies are also struggling to mend trade relations, with intellectual property theft proving to be a major sticking point.

Trump began his speech in the Rose Garden focused on targeting China's actions, but quickly pivoted to lash out at an array of his political opponents especially presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Biden's "entire career has been a gift to the Chinese Communist Party," Trump said, adding that "it's been devastating for the American worker."

"Biden expressed more fawning praise about China on an ordinary day than about America," Trump claimed. He quoted Biden saying recently that the U.S. has "never lived up to" its founding ideals.

Trump also spent a significant chunk of the speech railing against what seemed to be the bulk of Biden's campaign platform. The president attacked Biden on issues including immigration, energy policy, school choice and military funding, among others.

"There's never been a time when the two candidates were so different," Trump said.Trump also said he will be signing a "very powerful" merit-based immigration act, without providing specific details. The Supreme Court recently ruled against Trump over his effort to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, known as DACA, which shielded hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation and allowed them to receive work permits.

Biden's campaign did not immediately provide a response to the president's attacks.

The Trump administration for months has hinted that the U.S. would take steps to punish China for failing to prevent the virus, which was first observed in the Chinese city of Wuhan, from spreading throughout the globe.

The pandemic has killed more than half a million people worldwide and wrought havoc on the global economy, with leaders at every level of government imposing extreme measures to try to slow the spread of the disease. The United States has reported more deaths and infections from Covid-19 than any other nation, and a recent surge of new cases in numerous states suggests the crisis is far from over.

Trump has placed the blame for the devastation squarely with China, and has frequently referred to the coronavirus in terms that associate it with the country such as the "Chinese Virus" over the objections of critics who call those names xenophobic.

"China's secrecy, deceptions and cover-up allowed it to spread all over the world ... and China must be held fully accountable," Trump said in anIndependence Day speech at the White House.

The pandemic has thrown into question the status of Trump's long-sought trade deal with Beijing, the first phase of which was signed by both nations earlier this year. Trump said last week that America's relationship with China has been "severely damaged" and that he isn't even thinking about the next stage in possible trade negotiations.

In a CBS News interview earlier Tuesday, Trump doubled down: "Look, we made a great trade deal but as soon as the deal was done, the ink wasn't even dry and they hit us with the plague. So right now I'm not interested in talking to China about another deal. I'm interested in doing other things with China."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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China vows retaliation after Trump slaps sanctions on it for interference in Hong Kong - CNBC

Donald Trump, In CBS News Interview, Defends His Retweet Of Chuck Woolerys Claim That CDC Officials Are Lying About COVID-19 – Deadline

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Donald Trump defended his retweet this week of Chuck Woolerys claim that Centers for Disease Control officials and others are lying about the coronavirus.

CBS News Catherine Herridge asked Trump, You reposted a tweet yesterday saying that CDC and health officials are lying. You understand this is confusing for the public. So who do they believe? You, or the medical professionals like Dr. Fauci?

I didnt make a comment, Trump told Herridge. I did. I reposted a tweet that a lot of people feel. But all I am doing is making a comment. Im just putting somebodys voice out there. There are many voices. There are many people that think we shouldnt do this kind of testing, because all we do, its a trap.

Portions of the interview aired on CBS This Morning on Wednesday and CBS Evening News with Norah ODonnell on Tuesday.

In a tweet on Sunday, Woolery wrote, The most outrageous lies are the ones about Covid 19. Everyone is lying. The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust. I think its all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. Im sick of it.

Trump retweeted the comment, which triggered questions from White House reporters on whether Trump was attacking his own health officials about the coronavirus.

On Wednesday, USA Today published an op ed from Trumps trade adviser, Peter Navarro, in which he attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who is a member of the White Houses coronavirus task force.

Navarro wrote that Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public, but he has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on.

So when you ask me whether I listen to Dr. Faucis advice, my answer is: only with skepticism and caution, he wrote.

Alyssa Farah, the White House director of strategic communications, wrote on Twitter that Navarro op-ed didnt go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone. @realDonaldTrump values the expertise of the medical professionals advising his Administration.

In her interview, Herridge also asked Trump why he thought African Americans were still dying while in law enforcement custody.

So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people. More white people by the way. More white people, Trump said. He said that the killing of George Floyd was terrible, but also said, what a terrible question to ask.

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Donald Trump, In CBS News Interview, Defends His Retweet Of Chuck Woolerys Claim That CDC Officials Are Lying About COVID-19 - Deadline

Donald Trump is destroying the Post Office – The Week

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

The United States Postal Service has long been the most popular government agency. The last Gallup poll on the question found 74 percent of Americans rated it as excellent or good as compared to 60 percent for NASA or 50 percent for the IRS. Despite years of cash trouble (mainly the fault of Congress), most people like their good old mail carrier. Indeed, as I have written, this country could not function without the USPS.

So it should come as no surprise that President Trump is taking the agency apart. Jacob Bogage reports at The Washington Post that the USPS is facing huge problems under Louis DeJoy, a big Trump donor who was recently appointed postmaster general. DeJoy supposedly wants it to run more like a business, and has implemented structural changes that have fouled up deliveries. It's yet another example of how Trump's authoritarian rot is dissolving the American state and raising the possibility of interference with the 2020 election.

Let me start with some background. As noted, the USPS has struggled since 2006, when Congress and President Bush imposed absurd retirement benefit funding requirements in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. As my colleague Jeff Spross writes, this required the agency to pre-fund its retiree health benefits over the next 75 years, and immediately knocked its budget into the red. As I have argued before, fully pre-funding even normal pensions is absurd for a permanent government agency, but this is even worse requiring the USPS to sock money away for future employees who aren't even born yet.

As a result, the collapse in ordinary mail volume thanks to the coronavirus pandemic landed on an agency that was already struggling to keep its head above water. More than half of its mail trucks are outdated Grumman Long Life Vehicle models, kept in service long past their planned retirement dates, and have an alarming habit of catching on fire. They also have no air conditioning as a result, hundreds of mail carriers have suffered heat exhaustion over the last few years, and some have even died of heatstroke.

Now, as the Post reports, the USPS has also seen a huge spike in demand for package delivery as people shop more online under quarantine, which has cushioned the blow somewhat. But the agency is still reeling, and now the Trump administration is making the problems worse. Congress authorized USPS to borrow $10 billion as part of a coronavirus relief package, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is refusing to hand over the money until it turns over much of its operations to him. (This was not remotely stipulated in the law and is probably illegal.)

Meanwhile, DeJoy is pushing a lot of business consultant mumbo-jumbo on the agency. He has limited overtime, instructed mail carriers to leave mail behind that will slow down their delivery routes, and required that they park no more than four times along their delivery routes. Trump, meanwhile, has demanded the USPS quadruple its rates on packages.

This betrays an alarming lack of understanding about what makes the USPS work. Its primary advantage is daily, inexpensive service to almost every house and business in the country. Efficiency is important, but reliability is even more so. People will not turn to it if their mail is randomly delayed or lost, which is liable to happen if it is left behind, much less if it costs four times what it currently does. Indeed, several cities are reporting severe problems with mail service of late. And limiting parking along the delivery route is simply bizarre it could easily make the route take longer by forcing mail carriers to walk longer distances. (It sounds very much like the plutocrat knee-jerk belief that the way to improve efficiency is to abuse one's employees.)

It is hard to explain what is going on here. Part of it is surely the Republican hatred of public services of any kind. GOP dogma holds that government is bad by definition, and if there is a popular and successful agency, by God they will ruin it out of spite. Part of it is just the general malicious incompetence that saturates every part of the Trump administration. Part of it probably has to do with Trump's feud with Jeff Bezos he seems to think that by punishing the USPS he can hurt Amazon.

But it's also impossible not to notice that Trump has been screeching paranoid lies about voting by mail for the last few months, falsely portraying it as some kind of Democratic conspiracy to commit voter fraud. The pandemic will surely still be raging come November, and people will therefore want to vote by mail if they can. Indeed, the USPS is already warning people to submit their ballots early. Trump or his toadies may be calculating that Democrats are more likely to vote by mail, therefore ruining mail delivery might mean enough ballots are lost or unable to be delivered in time to tip the election to Trump.

If that were to happen, it would be straight-up election theft. However, it might actually boomerang on Trump and other Republican candidates, which have historically relied on mail-in ballots to drive turnout among their elderly voters. Trump's own campaign has a large absentee ballot operation, but Trump's howling has apparently made his crackpot base leery of mail-in voting themselves missing the intended message that mail-in voting is fraud only when Democrats do it. And if the pandemic is bad enough, many older Republicans may not vote at all for fear of catching COVID-19.

Whatever the reason, it's just one more potential accelerating catastrophe to add to the pile caused by Trump's disastrous misrule. The U.S. could not possibly have become a rich country without the connective social tissue of efficient mail service. But it seems the president is determined to cause as much destruction on his way down as he can.

Editor's note: This piece originally mischaracterized the nature of the 2006 USPS reform law. It has been corrected. The Week regrets the error.

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Donald Trump is destroying the Post Office - The Week

Russian hackers have given Donald Trump his chance to refight the last election – Telegraph.co.uk

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Meanwhile, the foreign hackers havent been in hibernation. The APT acronym stands for Advanced Persistent Threat. The Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear groups are persistent ursine offenders. Theyre doing this the entire time, a Washington, DC cyber-security expert familiar with political campaigns tells me. But the media are interested now because theres an election coming.

Nor were the American media much interested in Russian hacking before the Trump campaign of 2016. There are grounds to believe that Russian hackers were inside American servers during Obamas first term. During his second term, the evidence could no longer be denied. In 2014, Dutch intelligence infiltrated the Fancy Bear group and concluded that it had hacked the Obama White House, the State Department and the Democratic Party. In August 2015, the Cozy Bear group was linked to a spear-phishing attack on the Pentagons email system which caused the temporary shutdown of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs communications.

The Obama administration knew this, but the Democrats didnt declare Russian hacking to be a national security crisis until Donald Trump won the 2016 election. In American politics, truth is a partisan commodity. So Robert Muellers failure to implicate Trump in the 2016 leaks hasnt stopped the Democrats and most of the American media from claiming that Trump is dubiously accommodating to Vladimir Putin.

Its the height of responsible statecraft for Hillary Clinton to have committed Obamas first-term State Department to a reset with Russia, but its treason for Trump to try the same. Its statesmanlike of Obama to have looked the other way in 2014 and 2015, when Russian hackers were inside the servers of the White House and the Pentagon. But its somehow irrelevant that Trump defended the integrity of the 2018 midterms by directing the US military to block the Internet Research Agency, the St Petersburg-based troll farm that had spread misinformation during the 2016 campaign.

No wonder that Trumps base will look for the hands of the deep state in the timing of this latest expos of Russian hacking. Americas intelligence agencies seem to have shaped much of the Russian hacking narrative. They might be doing it again now.

If a Covid-19 vaccine is found, the recipe will be shared quickly. The opportunity the Cozy Bear hackers see in the Covid-19 honeypot might not be strategic, but commercial: the chance to get ahead in the manufacture and sale of vaccines. This looks more like a criminal enterprise than a political one, but if the Democrats use it to attack Trump, they will make a political error.

Donald Trump Jr to self-publish book about Biden will he fix the typo first? – The Guardian

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Donald Trump Jr has announced plans to self-publish a book about Joe Biden. Unfortunately, the cover image he released contained a grammatical mistake.

The presidents oldest son announced Liberal Privilege: Joe Biden and the Democrats Defense of the Indefensible by tweet, writing: Blown away by what Biden has gotten away with, more details next week! Libs already triggered!

He expanded, a little, in an interview with the news site Axios, promising to provide a picture of his fathers challenger for the presidency that the press ignores, in time for the party conventions in August.

He was self-publishing, he said, in order to fire a shot across the bow of the traditional publishing industry, confident he can reach more than 5m followers on Twitter and more than 3m on Instagram without outside help.

The internet, alas, was quick to notice that such help often includes basic editing.

The released cover for Trump Jrs book included a misplaced apostrophe, Democrats instead of Democrats.

Sharp-eyed users also contended that a reference to the authors first book, Triggered, failed to hyphenate best-selling although whether that is an error is up for debate. The Guardian style guide, for instance, counsels the use of bestselling as one word.

Trump Jrs first book, subtitled How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us, did indeed reach No 1 on the relevant New York Times bestseller list, although the same paper revealed that the Republican National Committee helped get it there by buying copies in bulk.

Reviewing Triggered, the Guardian offered a taste of what might be to come in Liberal Privilege and its likely reception: As for the Bidens, Don Jr had this to say on Fox News: I wish my name was Hunter Biden. I could go abroad, make millions off of my fathers presidency Id be a really rich guy! It would be incredible!

Where to start? Moscow?

But the review also noted Trump Jrs effective work as a surrogate for his father, saying his book was best viewed as the opening salvo of the Trump child with real political chops. Trump Jr features prominently on lists of possible Republican presidential candidates for 2024.

Trump Jr, 42, told Axios his girlfriend, Fox News host turned Trump campaign official Kimberley Guilfoyle, would narrate the audio version of his new book.

Guilfoyle recently tested positive for Covid-19.

While his father attempts to govern during the pandemic, Trump Jr has been in quarantine, using the time to write.

Thats how we came up with the idea for her to do the audio book, he said. We would take turns reading the chapters out loud for flow Love in a time of Covid.

In a statement, Bidens press secretary, TJ Ducklo, said Trump Jrs book would be filled with disgusting lies and smears the latest in a series of desperate and pathetic attempts to distract from the presidents historic bungling of the coronavirus response.

Donald Trump Jr to self-publish book about Biden will he fix the typo first? - The Guardian

Scoop: Coming Up on a Rebroadcast of MATCH GAME on ABC – Sunday, July 26, 2020 – Broadway World

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

"Sam Richardson, Jane Krakowski, Ben Schwartz, Caroline Rhea, James Van Der Beek, Vivica A. Fox" - There is something for everyone on this week's "Match Game." We've got singing, a world record-holding strongman and host Alec Baldwin battling celebrity panelist Caroline Rhea for the title of "America's Sweetheart," airing SUNDAY, JULY 26 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (TV-14, DL) Produced by Fremantle, "Match Game" features four contestants each week vying for the chance to win $25,000, as they attempt to match the answers of six celebrities in a game of fill-in-the-blank. Episodes can also be viewed on demand and Hulu. (Rebroadcast. OAD: 6/7/20)Celebrity panelists include the following:Sam Richardson ("The Tomorrow War"; "Superintelligence")Jane Krakowski (Tony winner; "30 Rock"; "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"; "Dickinson")Ben Schwartz ("Space Force"; "Middleditch & Schwartz")Caroline Rhea("Women of a Certain Age"; "The COMEDY CENTRAL ROAST of Alec Baldwin")James Van Der Beek ("Varsity Blues"; "What Would Diplo Do")Vivica A. FOX ("Empire"; "Arkansas"; podcast "Hustling with Vivica A. Fox")Joining the celebrity panelists are contestants Marisa Aull (hometown: Lexington, Kentucky), Adam Burnes (hometown: Sacramento, California), Shirene Warner (hometown: Stafford, Virginia) and Vincent Panico (hometown: Whitehouse Station, New Jersey)."Match Game" isexecutive produced by Scott St. John, Alec Baldwin, Mallory Schwartz and Fremantle's Jennifer Mullin.From This AuthorTV Scoop

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Scoop: Coming Up on a Rebroadcast of MATCH GAME on ABC - Sunday, July 26, 2020 - Broadway World

Futurist Transhuman News Blog

Author Archives: Danzig

Liberal thinktank submission on class actions labelled ‘an undergraduate essay that would fail’ – The Guardian

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Newsom, Cosmetology Board should open minds, heads, and doors to the great outdoors – OCRegister

Manchester United Transfer News Roundup: Inter offer crucial Alexis Sanchez update, Red Devils preparing mass clearout and more – 17th July 2020 -…

Donald Trumps Niece Dishes the Dirt – The Nation

China vows retaliation after Trump slaps sanctions on it for interference in Hong Kong – CNBC

Donald Trump, In CBS News Interview, Defends His Retweet Of Chuck Woolerys Claim That CDC Officials Are Lying About COVID-19 – Deadline

Donald Trump is destroying the Post Office – The Week

Russian hackers have given Donald Trump his chance to refight the last election – Telegraph.co.uk

Donald Trump Jr to self-publish book about Biden will he fix the typo first? – The Guardian

Scoop: Coming Up on a Rebroadcast of MATCH GAME on ABC – Sunday, July 26, 2020 – Broadway World