Trump’s vaguely worded executive order targeting Tencent cratered the company’s stock – Business Insider – Business Insider

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The Chinese tech giant Tencent's stock fell by as much as 10% in the hours after it was named in a vaguely worded executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Thursday.

The order, scheduled to take effect September 20, prohibits US citizens and companies from carrying out any "transaction" with the Tencent-owned chat app WeChat, though the order was not precise about what counted as a "transaction."

A second, similar order issued earlier Thursday targeted ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns the wildly popular short-form video app TikTok.

The Tencent order stipulated that it applied to: "Any transaction that is related to WeChat by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with Tencent Holdings Ltd [...] or any subsidiary of that entity."

The vague wording implied that Tencent's entire business could be affected, which the potential for serious ramifications in the US gaming industry.

As well as owning WeChat, which is used widely in mainland China, Tencent is also the largest gaming company in the world with stakes in Epic Games, Activision/Blizzard, and Ubisoft and outright ownership of the Los Angeles-based games studio Riot Games.

A White House official confirmed to Business Insider late Thursday that the order applied only to transactions relating to WeChat and not to Tencent's wider business.

Nonetheless, it hammered the company's market value. Tencent's stock plummeted as much as 10% after the order was first issued. The stock recovered to about half that at the time of writing.

Tencent's market cap was $687 billion at market close on Thursday. At the time of writing, Tencent's market cap stood at $639 billion.

Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ByteDance has threatened to sue the Trump administration over the order, which it says was issued without due process.

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Trump's vaguely worded executive order targeting Tencent cratered the company's stock - Business Insider - Business Insider

Donald Trumps Donors Receive Ominous Warning About Becoming ‘Don’s Next Con’ – HuffPost

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Donald Trumps donors are cautioned against becoming the presidents next con in a new attack ad from the progressive PAC MeidasTouch.

The narrator of the spot released Wednesday notes how Trumps 2020 campaign is repeatedly begging you for money despite times being tough amid the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting cratering economy.

The voice-over then explains where some of the money raised for Trumps reelection bid has allegedly been spent from the $40 million reportedly paid to companies belonging to ousted campaign manager Brad Parscale to thereported payments to the partners of Trumps sons Don Jr. and Eric.

Attorney Ben Meiselas set up the progressive PAC with his two brothers, video editor Brett and marketing supervisor Jordan, earlier this year in a bid to motivate Democrats and influence swing voters ahead of the 2020 election, per Deadline.

Anti-Trump spots released by the siblings and Republican groups such as The Lincoln Project, Republicans for the Rule of Law and Republican Voters Against Trump have in recent months racked up millions of combined views on social media. Some have even prompted a response and drawn ire from Trump.

But its unknown how effective the spots areat convincing people to vote one way or another. Its also unclear if this latest ad will air on television.

Previous MeidasTouch ads have exposed the hypocrisy of the presidents daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump, hammered Trumps son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner over his shortcomings, and turned Donald Trump Jr.s attack on presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden back on the presidents son.

The groups most viewed video on YouTube to date is this attack on Trump and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. As of Thursday morning, it had been seen more than 2 million times:

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Donald Trumps Donors Receive Ominous Warning About Becoming 'Don's Next Con' - HuffPost

T-Mobile Is The First Carrier Globally To Launch Nationwide Standalone (SA) 5G – Forbes

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T-Mobile Nationwide 5G

Many carriers around the world raced last year to be the first to launch 5G; those networks were built upon the foundation of 4G networks in a type of 5G mode called non-standalone (NSA). This means that the device needs to have both 4G and 5G signals to work because to save time and money, it leverages 4G core infrastructure. NSA 5G is what I like to call the half-step to full 5G because it is absolutely 5G, but it cannot deliver on the low latency, and improved throughput promises that 5G offers without going standalone or SA 5G. Standalone 5G basically means that the 5G network from end to end is independent of 4G and has its core, which is designed to meet the 3GPPs set requirements for 5G New Radio (NR) Release 15.Lets examine SA 5G further.

Why is standalone (SA) 5G so important?

Many, if not most carriers around the world today, have NSA 5G networks, but they are racing to put the infrastructure in place to be able to launch SA 5G networks. The reason for this is multi-faceted and explains why T-Mobile and other carriers are in a race to deploy it for more than just chest-thumping. Moving to Standalone (SA) 5G first and foremost is designed to reduce network latency because if you build a 5G network with a proper 5G core and Radio Access Network (RAN), you significantly reduce latency. By substantially decreasing latency, you enable new use cases outside of regular smartphones and tablets. Lowering latency improves reliability and responsiveness so that you can start to allow more use cases like XR or autonomous driving, which are both very latency-sensitive.

In addition to lower latency, SA 5G also offers network slicing, which the carriers like T-Mobile are incredibly excited about given the monetization opportunity. Network slicing allows the carriers to virtually allocate certain pieces of their network to be optimized for specific use cases to deliver the best possible experience for that use case using the least amount of the network. This means that carriers can make the most of their networks while also offering new services for new use cases, maximizing the value of their investment in spectrum and new infrastructure. Last but certainly not least, 5G SA allows carriers to avoid needing to have a 4G signal and thus rely on 5G network coverage. This doesnt seem like a big deal at first until you realize that carriers like T-Mobile are deploying 5G at 600MHz, which means that T-Mobile can send the signal exceptionally far, as far as 60 miles. However, if T-Mobile is dependent on a 2100, 1900 MHz or 1700 MHz 4G signal for 5G with NSA, then the coverage is limited to the range of the higher frequency signal, which may only travel a few miles far shorter distance than 600 MHz. By dropping the requirement to have a 4G signal to deliver 5G, coverage can improve by quite a significant margin.

T-Mobiles Global First Standalone Nationwide 5G Network

While I am not aware of ANY standalone networks available today in any capacity, T-Mobiles is the first and only one with nationwide coverage, regardless of the size of the country. That said, the United States of America is quite a vast country, and to do so in the USA is impressive on its own, let alone having it be the first in the world. T-Mobiles SA 5G network is built upon the foundation of the companys 600 MHz 5G rollout which started last year with NSA but also leverages the companys 2.5 GHz mid-band and 28 GHz mmWave signal. T-Mobile gained the 2.5 GHz mid-band frequency with the acquisition of Sprint, which has roughly 160-200 MHz of that spectrum nationwide, which is more than most of its competitors, in all bands below 6GHz. T-Mobile calls the combination of high-band (mmWave), mid-band (2.5 GHz), and low-band (600 MHz) spectrum its spectrum layer cake. This strategy allows T-Mobile to have the best possible 5G coverage while also having the best possible speeds in the areas where it is needed most. Fellow analyst Will Townsend and I wrote about this in a previous article, and if interested, you can find it here. I believe that long term, all carriers will deploy this strategy, but it really depends on spectrum availability and capital expenditure capabilities. AT&T and Verizon started with mmWave and are struggling to catch up with T-Mobile on coverage due to the company starting with 600 MHz, which inherently has much better coverage but lower speeds.

How T-Mobile built an SA 5G network

To build its 5G SA network, T-Mobile partnered with Cisco and Nokia for the network core and Ericsson and Nokia for the 5G radio. This is a common thing that carriers do for supply chain leverage, with different markets having different infrastructure but following the same standards, so there are no concerns around compatibility. To help test and validate this standalone 5G network, T-Mobile worked with OnePlus, Qualcomm, and Samsung. Most consumers will not have to do anything to use T-Mobiles SA 5G network. All the 5G devices that T-Mobile currently sells today and has ever sold are compatible with the new 5G network. This is because to support 5G in 600 MHz, T-Mobiles devices had to use a Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 modem, which also happens to have SA 5G support already. In theory, other alternative chip vendors support SA 5G like Huawei and MediaTek, but neither have any devices on T-Mobile.

T-Mobile 5G and Verizon 5G

T-Mobiles impressive SA 5G results

While I have not had a chance to thoroughly test this network yet since it just launched today thoroughly, T-Mobile has provided us with some details about what kind of improvements the company is seeing. One example was presented during an Analyst call last week where T-Mobile showed a map of North Dakota illustrating how much more 5G coverage the state had purely by turning on NSA 5G. T-Mobile is claiming that by simply switching to NSA 5G, the company is improving 5G coverage by an additional 30% while already having by far and away from the best 5G coverage in the country. As a result, T-Mobile is claiming that its 5G network coverage area is more than two times bigger than AT&Ts and more than 10,000 times bigger than Verizons. According to Open Signal, Verizons 5G network has only 0.4% coverage, so it makes sense that T-Mobile can claim such a ridiculously high comparison number. This additional coverage means that T-Mobiles 5G network is adding 2,000 new cities and now covers 250 million potential customers in 7,500 cities across 1.3 million miles. However, T-Mobile has not stopped there; the company has also stated that by going to SA 5G, the all-important latency figure has dropped by 40%, which should put T-Mobiles latency in the teens or lower.

Breaking it down

T-Mobile started out of the gates quickly with 5G, and with this new standalone (SA) 5G network, we believe the company is broadening its 5G lead. Verizon and AT&T are scrambling to keep up with T-Mobiles coverage and lack the mid-band spectrum to compete with it there as well. Our firm analyzed the leaders in 5G spanning silicon, infrastructure, carriers, and more in a six part Forbes series last summer and concluded that T-Mobile was a leader in North America. This announcement further cements that leadership. If interested, you can find that article here.

I expect that as T-Mobile rolls out its mid-band 2.5 GHz network, which the company is currently doing at a blazing 1,000 sites per month (1,000 sites per month on 600 MHz as well), it will really start to pull away from the rest of the pack in average download speeds. T-Mobile is already reporting an average of about 300 Mbps on 2.5 GHz and expects that to reach 400 Mbps by the end of the year as more spectrum frees up.

Sure, it will take time for T-Mobile to roll out 2.5 GHz nationwide, but nobody expected T-Mobile to roll out 600 MHz this quickly either. AT&T already has nationwide 5G coverage, but it will probably take it quite some time to catch up to T-Mobile. Verizon has a plan to deploy Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) to enable 5G coverage, but that shares spectrum with 4G. That said, all three carriers are expected to deploy DSS to shore up coverage holes by the end of the year.

Nevertheless, T-Mobile have shown that it is not only the undisputed leader in 5G coverage, but that it also has the most advanced 5G network with standalone 5G, and the company is not letting off the gas pedal. T-Mobile has taken multiple leadership positions in 5G and it does not look like it will be surrendering them anytime soon.

Note: This blog includes contributions from Moor Insights & Strategy founder and President, Patrick Moorhead and Will Townsend, carrier services and carrier equipment.

Discloser: Moor Insights & Strategy, like all research and analyst firms, provides or has provided paid research, analysis, advising, or consulting to many high-tech companies in the industry, including Amazon.com, Advanced Micro Devices,Apstra,ARM Holdings, Aruba Networks, AWS, A-10 Strategies,Bitfusion,Cisco Systems, Dell, DellEMC, Dell Technologies, Diablo Technologies, Digital Optics,Dreamchain, Echelon, Ericsson, Foxconn, Frame, Fujitsu,GenZ Consortium, Glue Networks, GlobalFoundries,Google,HPInc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HuaweiTechnologies,IBM, Intel, Interdigital, Jabil Circuit, Konica Minolta, Lattice Semiconductor, Lenovo, Linux Foundation, MACOM (Applied Micro),MapBox,Mavenir, Mesosphere,Microsoft,National Instruments, NetApp, NOKIA, Nortek,NVIDIA, ON Semiconductor, ONUG, OpenStack Foundation, Panasas,Peraso, Pixelworks, Plume Design,Portworx, Pure Storage,Qualcomm, Rackspace, Rambus,RayvoltE-Bikes, Red Hat, Samsung Electronics, Silver Peak, SONY,Springpath, Sprint, Stratus Technologies, Symantec, Synaptics,Syniverse,TensTorrent,TobiiTechnology, Twitter, Unity Technologies, Verizon Communications,Vidyo, Wave Computing,Wellsmith, Xilinx, Zebra, which may be cited in this article.

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T-Mobile Is The First Carrier Globally To Launch Nationwide Standalone (SA) 5G - Forbes

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SpaceX’s Starship SN5 prototype soars on 1st test flight! ‘Mars is looking real,’ Elon Musk says – Space.com

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SpaceX just flew a full-size prototype of its Starship Mars-colonizing spacecraft for the first time ever.

The Starship SN5 test vehicle took to the skies for about 40 seconds this afternoon (Aug. 4) at SpaceX's facilities near the South Texas village of Boca Chica, performing a small hop that could end up being a big step toward human exploration of the Red Planet.

"Mars is looking real," Musk tweeted shortly after today's test flight.

Related: SpaceX's Starship and Super Heavy Mars rocket in pictures

The stainless-steel SN5 rose into the air at 7:57 p.m. EDT (2357 GMT; 6:57 p.m. local Texas time). It traveled sideways a bit during the brief, uncrewed flight, which Musk had previously said would target a maximum altitude of about 500 feet (150 meters). The spacecraft deployed its landing legs as planned and stuck the landing.

The SN5 is just the second Starship prototype to get off the ground, and the first to do so in nearly a year. A squat and stubby vehicle called Starhopper took a few brief flights in the summer of 2019, retiring after acing its own 500-foot-high hop that August.

Ending this flight lull fell to the SN5 after several of its predecessors were destroyed during pressurization or engine-firing tests.

Starhopper and the SN5 both feature a single Raptor, SpaceX's powerful next-generation engine. The final Starship vehicle will sport six Raptors, stand about 165 feet (50 m) tall and be capable of carrying up to 100 people, Musk has said.

The operational Starship will launch from Earth atop a gigantic rocket called Super Heavy, which will have 31 Raptors of its own. Both vehicles will be fully and rapidly reusable, potentially slashing the cost of spaceflight enough to make crewed trips to and from the moon, Mars and other deep-space destinations economically feasible, Musk has said.

Super Heavy will land back on Earth after each liftoff; Starship will be powerful enough on its own to get itself off Mars and the moon, both of which have much weaker gravitational pulls than our planet does.

Musk is particularly keen on the Red Planet, stressing repeatedly over the years that he founded SpaceX back in 2002 primarily to help humanity colonize Mars. If all goes well with the development of Starship and Super Heavy, the spaceflight system could enable our species to get a million-person city up and running on the Red Planet in the next 50 to 100 years, the billionaire entrepreneur has said.

A lot of development still needs to get done, of course. SpaceX will iterate repeatedly before arriving at the final Starship design, which will then need to be tested. And then there's Super Heavy, no version of which has yet been built, let alone gotten off the ground.

But if all goes well, we could see Starship and Super Heavy flying together soon, on exciting and important missions. The SpaceX system is a contender to land NASA astronauts on the moon in the mid-2020s and beyond, for example. And Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has booked a crewed Starship trip around the moon, with a targeted launch date of 2023.

In the much nearer term, however the coming days and weeks we should expect a few more short test hops like the one we saw today.

"Well do several short hops to smooth out launch process, then go high altitude with body flaps," Musk said in another tweet today. ("High altitude" could be around 12 miles, or 20 kilometers, up, if previous Musk tweets are any guide.)

Today's Starship milestone comes just two days after another big moment for SpaceX. On Sunday (Aug. 2), the company's Crew Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast, bringing an end to Demo-2, SpaceX's first crewed mission. Demo-2, a key test flight for the system, sent NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station for two months.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

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SpaceX's Starship SN5 prototype soars on 1st test flight! 'Mars is looking real,' Elon Musk says - Space.com

In the Pandemic, Students Free Speech Rights Are More Important Than Ever – Slate Magazine

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Students still have (some) First Amendment rights.Lisa McIntyre/Unsplash This article is part of the Free Speech Project, a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech.

Images of maskless students packing the hallways between classes at North Paulding High Schoolin Georgia became the viral symbols this week of a nationwide battle over whether and how to reopen schools in the midst of a pandemic that is still really not under control. It was widely reported on Monday and Tuesday that the schoollocated about an hour outside of Atlantahad reopened with a masks-optional policy, despite an outbreak among football players who had worked out in a crowded indoor gym, and despite multiple positive tests among players and school staff. The district has taken the position, despite recommendations fromCenters for Disease Control and Prevention health officials, that mask-wearing was a personal choice and that social distancing will not be possible to enforce in most cases. Virtual enrollment for the school had filled up rapidly, so most students had no other choice but to attend class in person or risk suspension.

The public health story was itself soon eclipsed by Thursdays news that two North Paulding students had been suspended for taking and posting other photos and a video. One of the teens, 15-year-old Hannah Watters, told BuzzFeed News she had received a five-day, out-of-school suspension for posting a photo and a video on Twitter. Watters announced Friday that her suspension had been rescinded. Meanwhile, the school went to remote learning on Thursday and Friday in order to assess and refine its health policies.

While the matter of Watters suspension seems to have been resolved, the larger question of student speech rights, especially on social media, and especially during a public health disaster, is far from settled. What Watters was doing was journalism. In addition to her viral photos, she had also been posting tallies of the proportions of students wearing masks in her classes. The viral photo she posted was captioned, Day two at North Paulding High School. It is just as bad. We were stopped because it was jammed. We are close enough to the point where I got pushed multiple go to second block. This is not ok. Not to mention the 10% mask rate.

School superintendent Brian Otott, who confirmed the North Paulding student suspension in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday, initially would not say whether the discipline was connected with the photos. (He would not comment, he said, out of regard for the students privacy.)Otott told the media that the photo was taken out of context. But he also told parents and guardiansin a letterthat there is no question that the photo does not look good. Wearing a mask is a personal choice, and there is no practical way to enforce a mandate to wear them. BuzzFeed further reported that on Wednesday, school principal Gabe Carmona threatened any student found criticizing the school on social media. Anything thats going on social media thats negative or alike without permission, photography, thats video or anything, there will be consequences, Carmona told students over the intercom.

Put to one side that I have heard this week from numerous parents in Georgia about daughters who have been sent home from school for wearing spaghetti straps, miniskirts, or shorts deemed too short for public viewing. (How is science-based public health a matter of personal choice whereas girls dressing demurely is an enforceable mandate?) Lets focus instead on why a school district thought it could suspend a student for posting newsworthy images.

Watters said she was called into the schools office Wednesday and told she had violated three policies from the school districts student code of conduct: She had used her phone during class time; she had used her phone during school hours for social media; and she had posted photos of minors without consent on a social media platform. But as Watters told CNN, high school students are exempt from the district policy on phones (its targeted toward younger students), and she didnt post the photo until after school was over. She admitted to violating the policy on posting images of students to social media, but, of course, students violate that rule every day.

Everyone loves to mouth the platitude that students dont shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate, as set forth in the landmark 1969 Tinker case, when the Supreme Court ruled that a high school student had the right to wear a black armband to protest the Vietnam War. But Tinkers holding has been eroded over the decades since, such that student speech can be regulated in schools to ensure that substantial disruptions do not occur on school grounds. Anxiety over new media, bullying, sexting, and porn have only added to the tensions felt by school administrators who try to regulate online conduct by putting blanket policies in place.

At least in theory, student speech, say, archly advocating drug useas in the 2007 Bong Hits 4 Jesus casecan still be banned by authorities. (Posting the same sentiment from home outside of school hours is safer.) But a student raising life and death questions about matters of life and death in school hallways should be protected even under the more constrained free speech rights in public schools. Hadar Harris, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, which just filed a letter of complaint to the school in this matter, suggests as much: We are very concerned that this is the first of many such instances that we are going to see as schools reopen and administrators try to manage the narrative of opening during a pandemic to their benefit.

Harris also notes, Only 14 states have legislation that protects student journalists from censorship by school officials. In the rest of the country, school officials in public schools have the ability to censor student journalists due to the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier decision, which carved out an exception to Tinker for student journalists. In that 1988 case, the Supreme Court held that schools did not violate students First Amendment rights in killing news items about pregnancy and divorce. In an email, Harris colleague Mike Hiestand, the Student Press Law Centers senior legal counsel, was more blunt: Tinker is very much alive. (Both the [Supreme Court] decisionand the plaintiffs, who I took a free speech bus tour with a few years back.) I think its the school districts legal officeif they truly think they can stop students from peacefully sharing lawful, accurate information in the way students do in 2020 about their going back to school during a global pandemicthat may be dead. Give me a break.

Prof. RonNell Andersen Jones, who teaches First Amendment law at the University of Utah says in an email that punishing students for speechespecially speech on pressing matters of public concernisnt just harmful to individual students, although it certainly is that. Its harmful to the vibrancy of our conversations about school safety policies, because those students are some of the most important contributors to those conversations. And its harmful to our democracy, because we are inappropriately modeling to the next generation that government can simply stifle free speech to shelter itself from criticism.

Professor Sonja West, who teaches First Amendment law at the University of Georgia adds that it appears that the school punished Hannah not for legitimatepedagogical reasons but becauseher photos were bad PR. This is exactly the kind of move the First Amendment is meant to prohibit. Censoring speech because its embarrassing may be very much in vogue these days, but that doesnt make it constitutional. And the state of Georgia, one would be remiss not to note, ranked fifth in the country for the number of total COVID-19 cases, eighth for cases per capita, and fourth in new cases in this past week.

In aninterviewwith CNN, Hannah Watters explained that she had posted the images early in the week because she was worried about the safety of everyone in the school building. My biggest concern is not only about me being safe, its about everyone being safe, because behind every teacher, student and staff member there is a family, there are friends, and I would just want to keep everyone safe. Americas schools are now ground zero for both ill-conceived pandemic planning and student endangerment, all dressed up under the guise of unfettered student choice and freedom. It is frankly astounding that those same same students who are free to die from a lethal virus are being singled out to be punished for chronicling it.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.

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In the Pandemic, Students Free Speech Rights Are More Important Than Ever - Slate Magazine

It’s time for tech platforms to stop tolerating the intolerable – Fast Company

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The internet is not what it was supposed to be. Early tech pioneers and the tech entrepreneurs who came after them imagined a world without borders that would bring us together, where all human knowledge would be available at our fingertips and everybody would have a voice. If there had been a motto for what the internet was supposed to stand for, it would have been collaboration, openness, freedom. But while we got some of that, we also got polarization, falsehoods, rising extremism that destabilizes societies, autocratic powers that undermine democracies, and giant tech companies that are eliminating privacy. We got a system that not only permits, but amplifies hate, bullying, and divisiveness.

Big Tech has started to timidly manage the content available on its platforms, and the debate over whether the internet should be a place where anyone can say anything is raging. Facebook took down Trump ads with a Nazi sign and a campaign video with COVID misinformation. Reddit banned 2,000 subreddits, including The_Donald, a forum with nearly 800,000 users, because of repeated violation of the platforms rules against hate speech, harassment, and content manipulation. Twitter started adding fact-check notices on tweets and even briefly suspended the Trump campaigns account for spreading false information. Molyneux, a Canadian white supremacist, was banned from YouTube. Trump was suspended on Twitch for hateful conduct.

Some people lambast these moves as putting tech giants on a slippery slope that leads straight to censorship. Others are more quietly concerned about what they mean for the future of free speech. But these arguments seem to overlook that the internet today is a driver of division and chaos because we have lost sight of a simple truth: To be truly inclusive, the internet needs to get comfortable with exclusion.

If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them, Austrian philosopher Karl Popper warned 75 years ago in laying out the Paradox of Tolerance. He raised the idea that a line needs to be drawn when the preservation of society is at stake. In other words, if we truly value democracy and the free-speech environment that have allowed Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and many other sites to flourish as places that showcase a multiplicity of voices, we need to urgently stop broadcasting the voices that threaten this environment. As UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson declared during the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: Racist hate speech [] threatens to silence the free speech of its victims.

To be tolerated, an opinion has to respect the right of all humans to exist equally. As African American novelist and activist Robert Jones Jr. wrote: We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist. When someone is calling for a group of people to be discriminated against, for someone to be bullied, raped, or murdered, for a specific race or gender to be considered inferior, they are by definition making it impossible for the space they are occupying to be inclusive.

And while beliefs, truth, and interpretation of facts can be debated, it is incredibly dangerous to extend intellectual relativism to facts. Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored, Aldous Huxley noted in the 1920s. A common understanding of facts is required to enable any kind of discussion, collaboration, and ultimately trust between human beings. When the frontier between reality and fiction is constantly undermined, the foundations of human society start to irremediably crumble.

Tech platforms laissez-faire approach to content moderationdraped in the flag of free speech and amplified by algorithms that are optimized to incite extreme emotionshas created a swamp where the strongest, loudest, and most outrageous voices triumph. By trying to be inclusive without setting boundaries and protections, weve allowed people who crave division and violence to have more reach than ever: Theyre undermining the fabric of the society that allows them to exist in the first place.

There are those who argue that imposing any kind of limitations on content will inevitably lead to governments muzzling dissidents and suppressing criticism. They seem to forget the continent where Im from. Europe has been doing this for a few decades, and while mistakes have been made, free speech is alive and well in most quarters. Following World War II, Western European democracies have implemented a series of measures that, while protecting free speech, ensure that it isnt absolute and takes into account other values and rights, such as human dignity and safety. In Germany, Austria, and France, for example, Holocaust denial is punishable by law. Germany has banned parties with Nazi ideologies.

This approach also works well in the business world. Across the globe, companies that want to be inclusive and ensure equal opportunities for all employees tend to have zero-tolerance policies toward hate speech, racism, discrimination, and fabrication of facts. In other words, to remain tolerant and competitive, they dont tolerate intolerance and misinformation.

When it comes to the internet, some of the largest platforms recognize the need to restrict speech. Wikipedia puts content through a fairly intensive vetting process focused on ensuring accuracy of facts. Social networks have spent considerable time defining comprehensive guidelines around whats acceptable and whats not and have hired moderators to enforce them. Facebook released community standards in 2018 outlining six different types of content that would be restricted, and it employs more than 15.000 moderators in the U.S. to enforce (at least some of) these restrictions. YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, and others have rules that explicitly ban certain types of content. Unfortunately, judging by the results, these efforts have been inadequate. The rules have been a moving target and sanctions variable.

So, before we talk about whether we need new rules and guidelines for content on the internet, we need tech platforms to start implementing their own guidelines with strong conviction and the full force of their formidable resources. Tech used to be the place that attracted people who wanted to disrupt the status quo and were not afraid to go to war with the powerful, the rich, the established. Early tech pioneers were fearless in their conviction that they were building a better, more inclusive world. We need todays tech leaders to be equally fearless, for the world and for our democracies. Only by being intolerant of the intolerants will we realize the original dream of building an inclusive internet.

Maelle Gavet has worked in technology for 15 years. She served as CEO of Ozon, an executive vice president at Priceline Group, and chief operating officer of Compass. She is the author of a forthcoming book,Trampled by Unicorns: Big Techs Empathy Problem and How to Fix It.

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It's time for tech platforms to stop tolerating the intolerable - Fast Company

Is Trump Behind $60 Billion Utility Bribe? – Free Speech TV

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Sixty billion dollar bribe. Energy corruption in Ohio. And, it all leads back to Donald Trump. Are you surprised that Donald Trump is behind the latest energy corruption? Professor Leah Stokes joins Thom Hartmann, to discus how the Trump administration lobbied for the bailout at the heart of the scandal! Stokes investigates the politics of energy and environmental policy in the United States. She is the author of "Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States."

The Thom Hartmann Program covers diverse topics including immigration reform, government intrusion, privacy, foreign policy, and domestic issues. More people listen to or watch the TH program than any other progressive talk show in the world! Join them.

The Thom Hartmann Program is on Free Speech TV every weekday from 12-3 pm EST.

Missed an episode? Check out TH on FSTV VOD anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change.

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV, AppleTV, Roku, Sling and online at freespeech.org

AEP Bribe coal Donald Trump Energy First Energy Fossil Fuels Leah Stokes Natural Gas Pollution The Thom Hartmann Program Thom Hartmann

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Is Trump Behind $60 Billion Utility Bribe? - Free Speech TV

No retirement savings at 50? Save, invest and establish new streams of income – AZCentral.com

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Catherine Brock, The Motley Fool Published 3:00 a.m. MT Aug. 7, 2020

Several studies in recent years confirm that most U.S. workers haven't saved enough for retirement. TD Ameritrade's 2020 Road to Retirement report indicates that only 8% of savers between the ages of 50 and 59 have $1 million saved. A much larger percentage in that same age group, 37% to be exact, have saved less than $50,000.

If you're in that under-50k club, you'll have to make tough choices at some point. You can make them now by buckling down and committing to an aggressive financial plan, or make them later by downgrading your lifestyle to near-poverty levels. Sadly, that's what it takes to survive on Social Security alone.

Take action now while you're still working, and you'll have some flexibility to choose a better life later. If you wait and do nothing, you're locked into a meager lifestyle for the rest of your days.

Options: Does a 401(k) plan still make sense for you? It might, or might not

Your 401(k): Three withdrawal rules to make your retirement last

Presumably, you're not considering the do-nothing approach. Instead, you're ready to borrow two tactics from the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement to get your retirement outlookback on track, and quickly. FIRE principles have helped workers gain enough financial independence to leave the workforce decades before the traditional retirement age.

It's possible to accumulate a large nest egg in a short period of time, but it won't happen with $100 monthly contributions. The table below estimates how much you can save in 12 years if you contribute 30% to 50% of your salary to your retirement accounts. The figures assume you're investing those contributions and earning an average annual growth rate of 7% which is in line with the stock market's long-term performance.

Salary

Savings Potential With 30% Contribution

Savings Potential With 40% Contribution

Savings Potential With 50% Contribution

$50,000

$282,507

$376,525

$470,769

$60,000

$339,008

$452,011

$565,014

$70,000

$395,510

$527,271

$659,032

$80,000

$452,011

$602,531

$753,277

$90,000

$508,512

$678,017

$847,521

$100,000

$565,014

$753,277

$941,539

$110,000

$621,515

$828,536

$1,035,785

$120,000

$678,017

$904,022

$1,130,028

Table data source: Author calculations.

These values don't incorporate tax implications, which would come into play if you exceed allowable contributions in your 401k plan and IRA accounts. At 50 or older, you can contribute up to $26,000 in a 401k, not including your employer matching contributions. You can additionally contribute up to $7,000 in a traditional IRA, though this amount may not be tax-deductible.

After you max out your 401k and IRA contributions, put additional savings into a taxable brokerage account. You'll have to pay taxes each year on dividends, interest, and realized gains, but you'll have no withdrawal restrictions on those funds. To maximize your returns, invest your contributions in diversified funds that include large, established companies. An S&P 500 index fund is a reliable choice and a favorite of legendary investor Warren Buffett.

Successful FIRE retirees also seek out other streams of income to reduce reliance on their savings. Before COVID-19, rental properties were a popular choice. Savers with good credit could finance properties and rent them out for enough to cover expenses and turn a profit. Today, that model is temporarily problematic, since many tenants who've lost their jobs in the pandemic recession might be having trouble paying rent.

(Photo: Getty Images)

There are other options, though. You could start a blog, launch a drop-ship e-commerce business, or take photos and earn royalties on websites like Shutterstock. You could also go the passive route and build up your portfolio of dividend-paying positions. Choose reliable dividend payers and reinvest the income to increase your share count and produce more dividends. Let that cycle continue for long enough, and you can build a nice stream of cash flow.

You're not doomed to living out your senior years in your daughter's basement or a tiny apartment. As long you have 10 years on your side, you can make big strides in creating the retirement that you want.

Start by saving aggressively now and looking for supplemental sources of income. In a decade, you'll look back and be thrilled that you decided to fire up your retirement savings.

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The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Celebrating ABLE to Save Month with our partners – Myhorrynews

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Because our citizens living with disabilities deserve the same chance to achieve financial independence and stability as all South Carolinians do, Im proud to serve as administrator of the Palmetto ABLE Savings Program.

Palmetto ABLE provides eligible South Carolinians living with disabilities and their loved ones the opportunity to save, invest and build the financial future they desire, all without losing important benefits like Supplemental Security Income or Medicaid. The spotlight shines on this program throughout August as we observe ABLE to Save Month, celebrating and highlighting the benefits of ABLE accounts.

While promoting awareness of Palmetto ABLE is something we do year-round at the State Treasurers Office, its not something we do alone.

Since opening for enrollment in 2017, a variety of partners in the states disability community, legal community and financial services community have joined us to educate residents across the state about the benefits of owning a Palmetto ABLE account. Thanks in large part to their willingness to promote its value among those they serve, we now have more than 1,400 active account owners who have been empowered to take control of their own money and save for the future.

So, during this ABLE to Save Month, I would like to turn the spotlight on them our many partners across the state and give thanks for their support. From our statewide partners like the SC Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Family Connection of South Carolina, and the SC Developmental Disabilities Council to numerous local organizations throughout the state, we appreciate all they have done individually and collectively to support Palmetto ABLE.

The State Treasurers Office is grateful to be a part of this network of organizations that serves South Carolinas disability community. Through events such as community gatherings, benefits fairs, speaking engagements, and the webinars that have become so important during this time of remote work, our collaboration with community partners and advocates has allowed us the opportunity to share how the Palmetto ABLE Savings Program can provide a pathway to financial independence and security. Our partners have truly become champions of the program and have helped grow it to better serve the disability community.

While, together, we have made significant strides, there is still much work to be done. My office remains committed to making financial independence an accessible opportunity for all and will continue to spread this message. With the help of dedicated individuals and organizations in communities across the state, we can continue to share this valuable resource with those who will benefit the most.

If you are interested in becoming a program partner or advocate, please contact Programs@sto.sc.gov.

To find out if you or a loved one is eligible to open a Palmetto ABLE account, visitPalmettoABLE.com.

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Celebrating ABLE to Save Month with our partners - Myhorrynews

All you need to know about Saakashvilis judicial reform – 112 International

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When preparing to become the head of the executive committee of the National Council of Reforms under the President of Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili, among other technical obligations, was also tasked to reform the judicial system of Ukraine. The courts are permanently subjected to the reformation in our country and each government takes up the perturbations in this area. The Georgian innovator presented his concept of a reformed justice. Its main leitmotif is the reduction of instances of all possible levels: both, in fact, the courts themselves, and those structures that exercise control over them.

The incumbent Head of Executive Committee for Reforms of Ukraine

First innovation: 200 courts instead of 764

Saakashvili proposes to liquidate administrative, economic, and general courts, and create a district center of justice. In total, 200 should remain out of 764 courts, "it will be easier to access them, and the procedure will be much faster and more transparent." "In addition, there will be a Supreme Administrative Court, to which citizens will apply regarding decisions of state bodies, a Supreme Anti-Corruption Court, a Supreme Court on Intellectual Property," Saakashvili said.

This idea is not new. Ukraine began to liquidate the courts at the midterm of the presidency of Petro Poroshenko. According to the then reform, the Supreme Court of Ukraine was recognized as a single cassation instance. This meant that all existing high courts at that time were liquidated, and the cassation cases that were considered in them were redirected to the desks of the newly elected judges of the Supreme Court.

Poroshenko was warned: it was about 50-70,000 cassations. Even if 100% of the composition of the court is formed, more than 580 cassation complaints will be distributed to each judge. And if the court is only half full, the number of cases will exceed a thousand.

And that's not counting new cases that come on a regular basis. With such a load, the work of the highest court might be blocked for a long time - and a wide field for abuse will open up due to the arbitrary determination of the order of consideration of "frozen" cases.

But the layman always likes it when someone cuts off the bureaucratic apparatus. Since the latter, by the general belief, only parasitizes on "ordinary citizens". Therefore, in principle, many people may like Saakashvili's idea. Because few people are able to understand a simple thing: fewer courts do not mean fewer cases. Having fewer courts means more workload per judge. And long lines for justice.

Second innovation: less control

The next point that Saakashvili speaks about is the need to eliminate the "plurality" of the court control system: to liquidate the High Council of Justice, the High Qualification Commission of Judges and the State Judicial Administration, instead, to create a single judicial control body. This body will perform the following functions: 1) selection and recertification of judges, 2) consideration of disciplinary cases on complaints against judges, 3) monitoring the integrity of judges, 4) ensuring the financial independence of courts.

However, there is an interesting point: President Zelensky is now being harshly criticized by activists for having decided to remove one single element from this matrix. According to the bill No. 3711, which was introduced by the president to the Verkhovna Rada, the mention of the Commission on Integrity and Ethics, which was supposed to oversee the High Council of Justice, is removed from the concept of judicial reform.

It is not known whether such nuances are of interest to Saakashvili, but he himself goes much further and defends the idea of eliminating the entire controlling superstructure. Although, on the other hand, he mentioned a single body of judicial control, designed to replace the old institutions.

Innovation three: alternative justice

Another innovation from Saakashvili is "alternative justice" - the creation of institutions of the arbitration court and the use of mediation. It is not clear how jury trials will fit into this scheme, perhaps they will be left to consider charges of especially serious crimes. The Constitution of Ukraine, adopted in 1996, spelled out the institution of the jury, which, however, still has not really started working.

Because, since 1996, the provision on jury trials has been carefully recorded in each new edition of the Law "On the Judicial System." However, until recently it was not even clearly regulated which cases were to be tried by a jury and which by a court with the participation of people's assessors. For example, the version of the law, voted by the parliament in February 2002, referred to both the first and the second institution, without specifying the criteria for differentiating criminal cases.

And already in the new Criminal Procedure Code, adopted in 2012, there was a provision according to which the jury would consider only serious crimes, in particular those for which life imprisonment is provided. In addition to this, Saakashvili proposes implementing the idea of "mediators," that is, mediators, as another additional judicial link or instance.

Fourth innovation: case law

In one of the interviews that Mikheil Saakashvili gave to Ksenia Sobchak, he spoke with great reverence about British and American justice. And he even stated that it would be nice to send professionals from London or Washington to Ukraine. Not surprisingly, in introducing his reform, he borrowed something from the British - namely, their system of case law.

The essence of English common law is that it is created by the courts. That is, judges, apply legal precedents to the facts and circumstances of each specific trial. Simply put, if a certain case has already been considered before, the judge must conduct the consideration of the case in accordance with how the previous decision was taken. This system excludes the option that two courts make diametrically opposite decisions on the same issue.

Fifth innovation: judgment in a smartphone

Saakashvili pays tribute to the latest trends, namely, the course of digitalization proclaimed by the president. He wants to implement a "trial in a smartphone". It is expected that such a program will deal with the automatic distribution of cases, will allow you to file a claim online, as well as pay online court fees, transfer evidence or receive copies of court decisions. However, Saakashvili does not explain how exactly this should work in practice.

It is not surprising. Because it won't work in any way. The section dealing with the transition of justice to electronic format evokes especially heated criticism, even outright ridicule. Sources in power circles note that if the judicial reform as a whole was "blessed" by President Zelensky, some of its provisions are exclusively Saakashvili's personal initiative, an initiative with which it would be better not to rush.

The "Electronic Court" system was launched even under Poroshenko. It works, although, not perfectly, not fully coping with the tasks assigned to it. But it gives an opportunity to submit an application, however, the study of evidence, interrogation of witnesses, and the like need an offline presence only. There are a lot of things that cannot be replaced by a conference in Zoom, and, in fact, you don't need to do this. In addition, the Internet connection in Ukraine is not as perfect as Saakashvili thinks it is.

Not everyone is impressed by the idea of case law, and indeed the Anglo-Saxon legal system, to which Saakashvili refers. The fact is that Britain has no constitution in the form we are used to. There is a set of laws, recorded precedents, and customs that the state has accumulated, improved and adapted to new realities over the centuries. But in Ukraine, in its short history, they have not formed such a precedent base, we have a Constitution that replaces the British bill of rights. Saakashvili does not explain how to combine these two legal systems.

That is why many critics of Saakashvili note that he has a rather approximate idea or even does not have any about the system he is going to reform. But case law and e-justice do not generate the same amount of angry comments as Saakashvili's desire to reduce the number of courts. The fact that one of the possible consequences might be an unrealistic load on one judge has already been mentioned above. Experts also note that with the reduction of courts, the servants of Themis will have to retrain from narrow-profile specialists to wide-profile ones and immerse themselves in those areas of law that they have not previously dealt with. And this, of course, will also negatively affect the quality of their work.

But what do the authorities think about Saakashvili's activity? Perhaps it does not forbid the Georgian reformer to generate these unacceptable ideas. First, no one is going to embody them. Secondly, it is a kind of distraction from more significant problems. And, thirdly, it is likely that Saakashvilis main task is not in the legal plane, but strengthening the Ukrainian-American ties.

Having barely arrived in Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili held one of his first meetings at the American embassy. There he spoke with diplomats about an office, which had been vacant for a year now (the post of the United States Ambassador to Ukraine - after the resignation of Marie Yovanovitch, this office remained vacant).

After Yovanovitch stepped down, she was temporarily replaced by William Taylor, and later by Christina Kvien. Saakashvili also talked to her, and soon after that, American President Donald Trump decided on the candidature of the ambassador Keith Dayton, an experienced executive with experience in the military, intelligence, and diplomacy. Dayton's appointment surprisingly coincided with the beginning of Saakashvili's work. It is unlikely that this can be a coincidence, and this, as already noted, is one of the probable reasons for the condescending attitude towards "Saakashvili's reforms."

"The return of Saakashvili is an attempt to improve the image of Zelensky and the authorities in the West since problems arose in communication with Western partners after the resignation of PM Honcharuk and prosecutor general Ryaboshapka. Representatives of the European Solidarity, National Front, Batkivshchyna have become communicators with the West, and Zelensky has very weak positions here, and he is forced to rely on the "outside" negotiators. Saakashvili must fix this, especially since he himself can boast of good connections on the other side of the border," says Ruslan Bortnyk, director of the Ukrainian Institute for Policy Analysis and Management.

But Saakashvili plays other roles as well. For example, the role of the "red rag", which is waved in front of Petro Poroshenko. The appearance of Saakashvili in Ukraine "might be a slap in the face for Poroshenko. He is in opposition, and his opponent is coming to power... But the fact is that Poroshenko plays the role of an antipode under Zelensky. At the same time, Poroshenko's own rating is rather low, and his anti-rating is high. And this saves Zelensky from unwanted comparisons with Poroshenko. Now Saakashvili can become such an antipode," said Bohdan Petrenko, deputy director of the Ukrainian Institute for the Study of Extremism.

"Zelensky's aim is to create various counterbalances. For example, the parliament as a whole and the mono-majority in particular serves as one of such counterbalances. The same works with Saakashvili. Despite the fact that he is a downed pilot, he is a rather striking character who would also pull back negativity from the Office of the President," Petrenko is convinced.

Therefore, if something happens, the failure of the judicial reform can be attributed to the insufficient diligence or incompetence of Saakashvili. The system of Ukrainian justice will definitely not improve from such games, but the government will gain some time.

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All you need to know about Saakashvilis judicial reform - 112 International

2gether hacked: 1.2m in cryptocurrency stolen, native tokens offered in exchange – ZDNet

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2gether has revealed a cyberattack in which roughly 1.2 million in cryptocurrency has been stolen from cryptocurrency investment accounts.

Founded in 2017, 2gether offers a cryptocurrency trading platform within the Eurozone for buying and selling without additional fees. The organization's native coin is the 2GT token, which is -- or, at least, was -- due to be issued during 2020 following a pre-sale in Spain.

However, on July 31 at 6.00 pm CEST, the trading platform suffered a cyberattack on its servers.

The unknown threat actors reportedly behind the attack made off with 1.183 million in cryptocurrency in investment accounts, which equates to 26.79% of overall funds.

See also:Cybersecurity 101: Protect your privacy from hackers, spies, and the government

In a stream of Twitter updates posted by 2together CEO Ramn Ferraz Estrada, the executive was keen to emphasize that general wallets and Euro accounts were not impacted, nor were the financial details of payment cards used to deposit funds.

However, user passwords were also compromised in the security breach, and it is recommended that users change them.

2together has not revealed how the security incident took place. An investigation is underway to find out how the cyberattackers managed to obtain access to the company's servers, as well as the full extent of the damage caused.

The cryptocurrency platform added that information is being "gathered" to give to local authorities.

In an update posted August 1, Ferraz, Chairman Salvador Casquero, and Director Luis Estrada said the "extremely difficult situation has brought us all a lot of uncertainty," branding the hackers responsible as "soulless individuals."

The executives said that following the theft, the platform does not have enough funds to cover all of its bases and so an emergency discussion took place with an unnamed "investment firm" to try and secure a cash injection.

However, an agreement was not reached -- and so the only alternative is to offer users the equivalent of their stolen cryptocurrency in the native 2GT token.

CNET:The best home security camera of 2020

"We want to compensate the amount of stolen cryptocurrency (26.79% of your position before the attack) with a volume in 2GT equivalent to the issuance price of 5 cents," the team said. "On top of that, we commit to keep looking, at top capacity and as soon as possible, for additional funds to make up for every single one of your cryptocurrencies."

The executives said that if it was possible to use other funds, they would, but in the meantime, the technical team is working on reestablishing the trading app to reopen access "as soon as possible and with all the security measures available."

A Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) will take place in the next few days to answer investor questions, according to 2gether.

TechRepublic:Security analysts: Industry has not solved the talent gap or provided clear career paths

"We hope you can see these hard times and adverse events compensated soon, whether you decide to give us the vote of confidence we're asking you for or not," the team added.

In other cryptocurrency news, last week, China arrested 109 individuals in a massive sting connected to the PlusToken Ponzi scheme.

The South Korean exchange was touted as a high-yield investment for those with little experience in cryptocurrency, while also offering a commission for members who sign up new traders. When the team performed what is thought to be an exit scam, an estimated $3 - $6 billion in deposits was taken, and many of the PlusToken management team fled abroad.

Have a tip? Get in touch securely via WhatsApp | Signal at +447713 025 499, or over at Keybase: charlie0

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2gether hacked: 1.2m in cryptocurrency stolen, native tokens offered in exchange - ZDNet

What Really Is Cryptocurrency? – TheStreet

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Courtesy of Matt Sauer, MWSWNB Investments:

Is it a derivative, an asset or a currency? Look at its effect on the efficient frontier. Confidence is the key in any currency.

The advent of crypto assets and specifically cryptocurrency has garnered a significant amount of attention from investors. Is this the dawning of a new asset class or tulip bulbs? While there is diverse opinion on the subject, we observe cryptocurrency from three vantage points:

Asset Allocation

Modern Portfolio Theory constitutes the prevailing wisdom on selecting assets based on forecasted returns of each asset together with the correlation to the others to determine the mix of the allocation. The risk measurement is introduced through the volatility of the returns and is utilized to determine the weights of the assets in the portfolio. The introduction of uncorrelated assets has been labeled a free lunch because of the potential of return not being solely driven by correlated risk. Investors have observed the traditional asset classes of bonds, stocks and cash increase in correlation especially since the correction that occurred in the early 2000s.

The goal of asset allocation is to generate a return pattern for different risk profiles that minimize the drawdown. The more correlated the assets, the increase in difficulty of achieving the goal. The factor that MPT left out is how path dependent asset returns are. Additionally, because financial asset prices are lognormally distributed rather than normally distributed, the tails are fatter than occurs in normal distributions.

One of the fallacies that occurs in asset allocation is the belief that the investors are arbitraging time so short-term volatility is not a concern. This ignores the path dependency of the returns because geometric averages are non-ergodic. The result of the differences in return pattern is labeled the volatility tax which is simply the difference between arithmetic and geometric averages. While the arithmetic averages are simply the average of the returns the geometric returns are the average of the logarithms of the average price changes. A logarithm is a concave function so the bigger the loss the steeper the curve and the greater the penalty paid by the portfolio.

So how does an investor mitigate the volatility tax? We will explore the costs of hedging versus the introduction of non-traditional assets in the portfolio to obtain the objective of maximizing the compounded annual growth rate.

Crisis Proofing

In a recent academic study (Harvey et al. 2019), the goal of crisis proofing portfolios was analyzed. Purchasing rolling S&P 500 puts was costly at 7.4% annualized cost (thus wiping out the expected performance) while also finding the strategy of utilizing 10-year US Treasuries as unreliable. The best solution found was a long/short strategy of quality minus junk utilizing Fama and Frenchs work. This leaves a long only portfolio manager with few options to avoid the impact on the geometric averages of swift downturns.

Introducing crypto assets as a low cost non-correlated asset will provide a different return pattern. After the original transaction costs, the carrying cost of 50-100 basis points per year of the asset only accrue 10-20 basis points overall to the cost of the portfolio for a 2% position. As a diversifying asset it is the cheapest form of owning the largest sigma of returns. This strategy does not require dynamic hedging by either rolling puts or simply buying the dip. These strategies both increase the size of drawdowns while rolling options becomes more expensive as implied volatility increases during swift downturns.

Research has established that the risk-return tradeoff is distinct from stocks, currencies and macroeconomic factors (Liu and Tsyvinski 2018). Additionally, factors specific to cryptocurrency markets (momentum and investor attention) drove returns.

The cost of dynamically hedging a portfolio is too expensive so the best alternative for the portfolio manager is to introduce assets that exhibit anti-fragility. Investments that benefit from chaos are extremely valuable to a portfolio manager and as cryptocurrency exhibits these characteristics once, no portfolio manager will sit on the sidelines the second time.

Portfolio managers must acknowledge that cryptocurrency does not act as a traditional hedge, but it does raise the efficient frontier. This becomes more important if bond prices become more correlated with stock prices and flatten the efficient frontier.

We suggest a new version of MPT that has a z axis that is defined by purchasing power of the portfolio in a basket of currencies. The efficient frontier becomes a plane that is advantaged by owning diversified currencies. This is another building block in crisis proofing portfolios as the debasement of a currency held as the primary currency can be a much greater tax than the volatility.

Asset Class

Critics of cryptocurrency have stated that the growth is not based on investment factors but derivative factors such as money laundering. These attempts to undermine an emerging asset class are not new and have always been part of the growth.

The recent volatility of prices may suggest to some pundits that cryptocurrency is not an asset class but a speculative game. This is the expected reaction to volatility as common stocks were treated with the same apprehension following the 1929-32 price movement. Lawrence Chamberlains 1931 quote in Investment and Speculation was that only bonds could be bought for investment. Obviously, this quote was a result of market movements at that time rather than an attempt to protect wealth against inflation in the long run but that is the point. Todays fears over volatility are tomorrows missed returns.

High yield bonds have long been known by their pejorative title of junk bonds. Investors were lambasted in 1990 for being so foolhardy as to have invested in an asset class that was down 8.46% when high grade bonds were up 8.96%. There was a media frenzy over the death of junk bonds as an asset class. However, 1991 was a rebound year as junk was up 43.23% versus 16% for the high-grade bonds. Back to back 18% years in 1992-93 put junk back to asset class status and it has been high yield ever since.

Speculators are deemed to trade strictly on greed and fear. Invoking Keynes beauty contest analogy, they are evaluating what the other speculators will do and attempt to do it first. The coordination game they are playing involves looking for the Schelling point for the path of least resistance in the short run. Therefore, momentum and investor attention has driven the price, investors are trading short term momentum from the media coverage and have been utilizing investor attention to create liquidity both up and down. As the asset class matures, the Schelling point is not media opinion but focal point investors. This allows institutional investors to coordinate without communication. As the allocations of the new asset class are made independently, the coordination game played by market participants is utilizing their own Schelling point.

Asset classes become relevant because of recent superior performance whether it is quality stocks, gold or high-grade bonds. Institutionalization occurs after the speculator fallout as investors slowly migrate to the investment.

Currency

Currencies are the domain of countries because of taxing capability, regulation and the ability to affect supply. The idea that cryptocurrency is a true currency has been a question. The growth in government debts and obligations globally has not been perceived by the financial markets as an issue yet the risks are mounting. The dollar is no longer backed by gold or any liquid asset other than taxing ability. Bretton Woods is only a memory.

There is no risk that an investor in United States Treasury bonds will not be repaid principal. The question is what the purchasing power of that principal in terms of a basket of other currencies, oil and gold will be.

What are the experts thinking and writing about government policies and the effects on purchasing power?

International Monetary Fund viewpoint

A recent IMF working paper espoused the following thoughts on debt:Sovereign debt is a Janus-faced asset class. In the best of times it relaxes the domestic constraint on savings, smooths consumption, and finances investment. Investors see it as a safe haven, as delivering alpha, and as a means of portfolio diversification. In the worst of times it is associated with debt overhangs, banking collapses, exchange-rate crises and inflationary explosions. Investors see it unenforceable, illiquid and prone to messy debt workouts.

Currently global debt is about $244 trillion and about 318% of GDP. In January 2019, the International Monetary Fund warned governments to reign in debt and build buffers against risks. If a government can borrow at very low rates or in some cases negative rates, the path of least resistance is to increase the money supply and borrow more to keep the world economy rolling.

United States Congress viewpoint

Congressman Brad Sherman has proposed cryptocurrency be banned because it poses a threat to the dollars role as a reserve currency and the fact that the international settlement of oil is in dollars. As unworkable a policy that he suggests, there is a hint of fear among those responsible in the United States for debasing the dollar.

Our viewpoint

Developing countries have gold and currency reserves to underpin their currency. Developed countries utilize sovereign stability to create demand for their currency and then exploit the demand by increasing the amount of currency to maximize domestic asset values. As governments find it more difficult to sustain asset values necessary for tax receipts the debasement will continue. The global lack of the velocity of money supply has had governments pushing on a string since the last asset crisis of 2009. The next crisis will be led by asset price downturns but will morph into a crisis of currency value as governments try to flood the market with paper money to support asset prices. In this case the assets that rise in value will not be tied to a currency, be portable and not debasing.

What exactly is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrencys strength is that it can solve several fundamental problems in the global marketplace. Like having the transient properties of being a solid, liquid and gas; crypto assets can function in as a derivative, an asset and a currency. The investment holding that reconstitutes Modern Portfolio Theory and adds a z axis of currency risk also allows for a solution that is the new efficient frontier as it progresses into an asset class that is anti-fragile. Inflation protection is the tangible outcome of rethinking risk as defined by purchasing power across all currencies rather than the loss of it in one.

--Matt Sauer, MWSWNB Investments. Originally published here.

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What Really Is Cryptocurrency? - TheStreet

What Paxful has learned over five years in the cryptocurrency space – htxt.africa

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This year marks Paxfuls fifth year in operation and its taking some time to reflect on its journey thus far.

Thats not to say the firm has anything to regret, quite the opposite.

Paxful now boasts 4.5 million registered wallets and recently reached a trading volume of $4.6 billion. On top of that, each year has seen one million new users signing up to the platform with an additional two million expected to join Paxful by years end.

On its journey, the firm has learned a few lessons and one of those lessons is that while there might be a few big players in the cryptocurrency sector, there is still room for newcomers.

We welcome seeing more players enter the space, as it raises awareness and educates the public on the crypto-economy and P2P finance. It contributes to the growth of economic opportunity and financial inclusivity for people around the world as more individuals are using bitcoin in their everyday lives, says co-founder and chief executive officer at Paxful, Ray Youssef.

So with opportunity seemingly available, what can Paxful share with others looking to get into the space.

It should be obvious that the safety of users should be paramount but above and beyond implementing safety measures, its about constantly investing in new safety measures, keeping up with compliance and managing risk.

Over and above that, many users are still very confused by cryptocurrency and incidents such as Silk Road and Dread Pirate Roberts, and robberies of cryptocurrency exchanges dont help the cause.

Its for this reason we see firms like Paxful and Luno embarking on education campaigns to inform users about what cryptocurrency is and why its rather safe.

Cryptocurrency is popular all over the world, but Paxful says that in emerging markets there is a growing appetite for financial tools.

Bitcoin continues to change the way people manage their finances. Our customers in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia are getting around the limitations of their financial systems by realizing the full potential of the Bitcoin-economy, using it for both personal finance needs and entrepreneurial ventures including paying bills, purchasing goods and services, and building businesses, says Youssef.

But beyond just appetite from users, there is growing demand for professionals versed in blockchain.

Mindful of this, Paxful highlights how important investing in the next generation of talent is. We saw this last week with the announcement of several free webinars that the public can attend to learn about cryptocurrency, and blockchain.

In addition to nurturing talent, Youssef also says that partnerships in this industry are vital.

We are witnessing more industry collaborations that successfully play to each others strengths, adding value, increasing functionality and unlocking more trading options for customers. We are always excited to partner with businesses who share our passion and vision of economic freedom, a world where everyone has equal access to finance, no matter who they are, or where they are from, the co-founder says.

Partnerships of note include Paxful and OKEx, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

Locally, weve also seen partnerships between Luno and several firms which have made the platform more accessible or even earn interest on cryptocurrency holdings.

Its clear that rather than going at it alone, sometimes, especially when it comes to managing digital currency, a trusted partner may be a better avenue to pursue.

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What Paxful has learned over five years in the cryptocurrency space - htxt.africa

Cryptocurrency Market News: $1.2 billion in Bitcoin was withdrawn out of exchanges in the past week – FXStreet

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BTC/USD continues trading below $12,000 although bulls are getting closer to the crucial resistance level.

ETH/USD has stabilized around $400 which is the most important resistance point in the short-term.

XRP/USD has been able to stay above $0.30 in the past 24 hours while the daily 100-EMA and the 200-EMA are getting closer to a bull cross not seen since two years ago.

According to Genesis, a digital currency broker, and DeFi leader, Q2 marked around $2.2 billion in originations which is a 324% increase over the last year.

German police have seized around $30 million in crypto from movie2k.to, a streaming service that used to hold illegal movies. It seems that the revenue of the website was used to buy Bitcoin worth around $30 million today. The report alleges that the sites programmer has acquired more than 22,000 Bitcoin in total.

A new crypto derivatives exchange called Alpha5 has raised more than $1.5 million in their initial seed funding round. Announced around December 2019, Alpha intends to become an all-in crypto exchange with many unique features like a late liquidity pool and credit proxy futures.

What cant kill Bitcoin, makes it stronger.

Mark Wittkowski

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Cryptocurrency Market News: $1.2 billion in Bitcoin was withdrawn out of exchanges in the past week - FXStreet

How a world of fake profiles exploited Facebook to tout Roger Stone and Donald Trump – Yahoo News

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Roger Stone spent a half-century honing his skills as a political operator and building a reputation as a stop-at-nothing dirty trickster, in support of a range of big-name politicians and causes, including Donald Trump and Richard Nixon.

Now, a report from the cybersecurity firm Graphika suggests that Stone who in recent years has become one of Fort Lauderdales best-known residents was able to translate his real-world approach to the online world, exploiting the social media platform Facebook as he pursued goals that included promoting Trump and himself.

A closer look at the document shows how the Sunshine State emerged as an epicenter for the disinformation network, which set out to meddle in Florida politics and beyond.

Last month, the social media giant took down a network of 54 Facebook accounts, 50 pages and four from Instagram, another social media site it owns. A map showed 15 locations of the accounts were in Florida, mostly along the coast from Vero Beach to Miami; a handful were elsewhere.

The disinformation network jumped into Florida politics, posting from an inauthentic account named Rob Kanter against Senate Bill 10, Graphika said. That legislation, which created a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee, was fiercely opposed by Big Sugar. The bill passed in 2017, despite efforts on social media to defeat it.

Another example cited by Graphika: When a judge issued an order blocking Trumps order barring citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States in 2017, a Stone Cold Truth post accused the judge of letting terrorists in the U.S. to kill your family. It published his work address and phone numbers and invited people to call or email him.

Some pages associated with Stone promoted Stone, and often his books. Some attempted to influence legislation and criticized enemies including Hillary Clinton sometimes with negative messages. Some used fake names and were illustrated with faces found on the internet.

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Our investigation linked this network to Roger Stone and his associates, Facebook said. Some had links to the far-right group Proud Boys, Facebook said.

The report tied one example of online harassment by the network to a Sarah Jameson Facebook account, which purported to be a woman living in Plantation.

Roger Shuler, who writes an online blog called Legal Schnauzer, said he received a barrage of profanity-laden emails from some claiming to be a Sarah Jameson in 2015 and 2016. The person emailing was upset over Shuler critical posts about then-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions and federal Judge Bill Pryor.

Shuler said he looked up Jamesons Facebook page and found a Roger Stone shrine. It seemed bizarre enough for him to write on his blog about the account with only 18 friends and posts promoting Stone.

I definitely had suspicions that it was a fake account or a false identity, Shuler said. It was kind of like a fan-girl page. Not much in-depth information. Whoever it was seemed to like Roger Stone for some reason.

It made me wonder: Roger Stone is known for dirty tricks. Was he involved in some of this? Shuler added.

Graphika, which says it uses artificial intelligence to analyze social media, said Facebook provided it with information to analyze before the takedown. The Graphika report was entitled Facebooks Roger Stone Takedown: Facebook Removes Inauthentic Network Attributed to Political Operative.

The accounts that were taken down, which included Stones Facebook and Instagram accounts, were most active from 2015 to 2017, especially around the time of the presidential election. Some were active as recently as this spring and advocated for a presidential pardon for Stone.

Graphika said many of the accounts carried discernible markers of inauthenticity, such as using profile pictures of other individuals.

For example, the accounts called Luciana Ramos (ostensibly based in Florida), Adrienne Leeann (no location given), and Jake Charles (ostensibly in Kahului, Hawaii), had profile pictures taken from, respectively, actress Christian Serratos in the Walking Dead series, a teenager whose story featured in the Des Moines Register in July 2016 (the account uploaded its profile picture five days after the story was published), and a Getty Images stock shot of surfing, Graphika wrote.

For people whove watched Stone over the years, the reports findings seem par for the course. For those who arent familiar with his long and colorful some would say sordid history, its a startling compilation.

Most werent major online presences, Graphika reported. Most pages had fewer than 5,000 followers and fewer than 200, although Stone had 60,000 followers each on Facebook and Instagram and 141,000 followers for his Stone Cold Truth page, Graphika said.

Stones social media activity had been limited.

In July 2019, while he was awaiting trial, a federal judge cut off Stone from social media sites Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who presided over the case against Stone in Washington, D.C., acted after Stone posted a picture of her on Instagram with an image that to many looked like the crosshairs of a gun next to her head.

Stone couldnt be reached for comment Thursday.

Stone told the Miami Herald that he planned to take action, saying Graphika are the con men I will be suing. Because he earns a substantial amount of income from the promotion of my books and my other products on Facebook I have damages and will be bringing appropriate legal action. He said it was completely totally and categorically false that he associated with inauthentic accounts.

A Graphika spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

For decades, Stone was known mainly to people in the political and media worlds.

He burst into broader public consciousness when his support for Trumps presidential campaign involved him in the special counsels investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, his eventual indictment and conviction on federal charges, and finally Trumps commuting the prison sentence of his longtime associate.

On July 10, Trump commuted Stones sentence, just days before he was supposed to begin serving a 40-month prison term for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the U.S. House investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, which meddled in the 2016 election.

Stone has consistently denied wrongdoing and said the prosecution was motivated by politics.

Trumps decision, which was criticized by many in the legal and political worlds, rewarded a longtime loyalist, who had promised that I will never roll on Donald Trump, regardless of any pressure applied to him.

2020 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at http://www.sun-sentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Sandy Backs the Blue invites all to wave flags in support – Pamplin Media Group

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With National Night Out postponed, group hosts activities for people of all ages

Driving down Highway 26 the last few Monday evenings, you've likely seen a display of American flags. This weekly flag wave, as organizer Dixie Bailey is calling it, is an effort by Sandy Backs the Blue, a group organized to show support for local law enforcement.

From 6-8 p.m. today, Aug. 4, the group plans to host a special flag wave to honor the evening that would have been National Night Out.

"Because of mandates, we can't have a gathering (for National Night Out)," Bailey explained.

So, instead, Sandy Backs the Blue is encouraging everyone to come out and wave a flag along Highway 26 near Mt. Hood Cigar Co.

"Right now, the police department needs all the love and encouragement they can get," Bailey said. "They're getting a lot of mixed messages right now not necessarily our law enforcement but in other places."

There will also be a coloring contest going on through Saturday, Aug. 22. Children interested in participating are asked to print out a coloring sheet from the National Night Out website and turn it in at one of four local locations to be considered for a prize.

Those locations include Mt. Hood Cigar Co., 37333 Highway 26, Sandy; Geren's Farm Supply, 33680 S.E. Kelso Road, Boring; the Sandy Police Station, 39850 Pleasant St., Sandy; or Rapid Fire Arms, 39110 Proctor Blvd., Sandy.

Votes will be garnered via social media and the winner will be announced by Aug. 31.

Those interested in showing support from home can also do so by placing a blue bulb in their porch light for the evening.

Bailey added that the flag wave is meant to be "non-political," but that anyone can bring any flag they desire. In recent flag waves, people have flown the American flag, Trump flags and Proud Boys flags, but Bailey says flags celebrating other causes and political candidates are welcome. She said she also invited the Sandy STAND UP Movement leadership to attend. STAND UP leaders have made attending the flag wave a decision for their individual members given current public health concerns.

"It's about community unity, and we want the Sandy Police Department to see that we have that here," Bailey said.

The police department hopes to have an actual event for National Night Out at a later date yet to be determined.

For more information about tonight's event, visit the Facebook page.

You count on us to stay informed and we depend on you to fund our efforts.Quality local journalism takes time and money. Please support us to protect the future of community journalism.

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Hong Kong government to offer universal, voluntary coronavirus tests – Macau News

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced on Friday that the government will introduce a universal, voluntary coronavirus testing scheme that could cover millions of Hong Kong people.

Lam said the tests conducted with the support of the central government, can start in two weeks time.

The top officials said its time to further increase the number of coronavirus tests as she warns there could be 1,500 silent carriers of the coronavirus in Hong Kong.

From mid-July, authorities had tested 130,000 people from high-risk groups such as minibus and taxi drivers, those who work in the markets, elderly care homes and restaurants, she said. One out of 2,500 of them tested positive for the virus.

Lam said although in the past few days the number of new cases were less than 100 a day, the situation remains critical.

She said after recording 1,206 cases in the first half of this year, over the last five weeks it has jumped to 3,850 while the number of deaths rose to 46.

She said all walks of life have been affected and around 20 clusters have been identified including places like elderly home, wet markets and groups of taxi drivers.

The CE said the central government attaches great importance to the situation in Hong Kong and pledges to offer all necessary support anytime.

She said she wants to clarify the plan early as there are a lot of rumours and smearing concerning the mainland going on. She urged the public not to be affected by the misleading remarks.

The top officials dismissed privacy concerns, saying testing staff would not know the identities of those who provided the samples.

Lam criticised those who attempted to damage the relationship between the mainland and Hong Kong using conspiracy theories.

(RTHK/Macau News)PHOTO RTHK

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Paws for thought on International Cat Day – Macau Business

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Videos of frolicking felines and gifs of purring pussies will be how most animal enthusiasts mark International Cat Day on Saturday.

But for owners who believe their pets are scratchy, aggressive and mean, the problem is probably you, according to a Hong Kong-based cat consultant who has owned 50 in her lifetime.

Feline behaviourist Briganne Carter mostly helps cat owners deal with problems like their pets scratching furniture and urinating outside the litter box, and said a lot of the time it has more to do with the pet owners than the cats.

Most people are really resistant to change in their environment to accommodate the cats, Carter said. And they just dont know a lot about it.

Thats where Carter comes in.

I see often a very immaculate place with nice leather furniture, and the cat has nothing. So whats the cat going to do? The cat needs to scratch, she said.

Sometimes the solution to destructive behaviour can be as simple as buying a cat tree.

Other times, however, the problem is harder as it may stem from trauma in the animals past.

Cats are super sensitive to emotion, she said.

Lauren England, 43, pulled a feral kitten from a flooded drain pipe during a typhoon.

The rescue cat bonded with another feral kitten in foster care, so she took home both, naming one Sir Ian McKellen and the other Brian Blessed.

But it was not smooth sailing.

They were just going crazy when I was in bed at night, and I could just hear things in here smashing and being torn, England said, describing the kittens first week at home.

It was just like a whirlwind had come through, noting that she had several plants before the kittens, but was now left with just one.

The kitten she rescued from the drainpipe had started hissing and spitting, and thats when she sought help from Carter.

Ive never really had that level of aggression from a cat, she admitted, despite growing up with them all her life.

Slowly the cats have come to trust her more, allowing themselves to be stroked with a toothbrush and sit at a distance on the couch.

Were not there yet but were making steady progress, she said.

For Carter, the job is often as much about helping the pet owners as it is the cats. I feel like a lot of what I do is counselling people.

Ive got a bit of a life coach as well as a kitten coach at the moment, England agreed.

What troubles Carter most is that some pet owners often give up on their cats because of bad behaviour, instead of seeking behavioural solutions.

There are thousands and thousands of cats that are needlessly abandoned, given to shelters, she lamented, because people dont realise that the cats troubled behaviour is actually very normal.

Cats are just being cats, she says. Theyre doing exactly what theyre supposed to.

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Russia wants to return to Venus, build reusable rocket – Macau Business

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The head of Russias space agency said Friday that Roscosmos wants to return to Venus and bring back soil samples and build spacecraft that will surpass Elon Musks rockets.

Last week Americas first crewed spaceship to fly to the International Space Station in nearly a decade returned safely to Earth, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico.

The mission was carried out jointly by NASA and Musks SpaceX. Its Falcon 9 rocket is semi-reusable.

We are making a methane rocket to replace the Soyuz-2, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with state news agency RIA Novosti.

He said it will be a reusable space complex, noting that it will be possible to use its first stage at least 100 times.

Of course we are looking at what our American colleagues are doing, said Rogozin. But our engineers are trying to take a shortcut not to repeat what our SpaceX colleagues are doing but surpass them.

Rogozin said he was not impressed with the SpaceX spacecraft, saying its landing was rather rough.

Its not designed for ground landing thats exactly why American colleagues chose to land on the water the way it was done 45 years ago, Rogozin said.

Russia had for many years enjoyed a monopoly as the only country able to ferry astronauts, and the SpaceX launch meant the loss of a sizeable income. A seat in the Soyuz costs NASA around $80 million.

Rogozin said he also wanted Russia to return to Venus.

It was always a Russian planet,' he said.

The Soviet Union was the only nation to have landed probes on the surface of Venus.

I believe that Venus is more interesting than Mars, Rogozin said, adding that studying Venus could help scientists understand how to deal with climate change on Earth.

Venus, whose atmosphere is made up nearly completely of carbon dioxide, is considered to be the hottest planet in the solar system.

If we dont study what is happening on Venus then we wont understand how to prevent a similar scenario from happening on our planet.

He said he wanted Russians in cooperation with Americans or by themselves to bring back the surface materials of Venus.

It would indeed a breakthrough, Rogozin said.

We know how to do it, he added, saying Russian scientists were currently studying relevant Soviet-era documents.

But Roscosmos lamented that repeated budget cuts risked threatening many of the programmes.

I dont quite understand how to work in these conditions, he said. We are seeing that leading foreign space agencies are increasing their budgets.

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Russia wants to return to Venus, build reusable rocket - Macau Business

Chow It Up This Weekend – Caribbean and Latin America Daily News – News Americas

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News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Aug. 7, 2020: As we get into the hot month of August, heres a simple recipe you can make that is sure to refresh and titillate the taste buds this weekend. Its a chow that you can make using mango, pineapple or cucumbers and its a Trini delicacy. Heres how to make a mango chow.

INGREDIENTS

1-2 green mangos

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Sprinkle of black pepper

1 tablespoon of shado beni or 1/4 cup of cilantro (Optional)

1 lime OR 1 lemon OR a few tablespoons of vinegar to taste

1-2 of your favorite pepper (optional)

1 shallot (optional)

2 cloves of garlic (optional)

METHOD

In a bowl, add sliced pepper of your choice, garlic and shallots. These ingredients are optional based on the level of spice youre trying to achieve in your mango chow.

Wash and peel the mango, slice mango into wedges and place in a bowl

Add salt and pepper

Add your shado beni or cilantro

Squeeze the juice of the lemon or lime, this can also be substituted with vinegar.

Toss the mixture with a spoon, do not use hands if peppers are present in the mixture

Bon Appetite

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Chow It Up This Weekend - Caribbean and Latin America Daily News - News Americas