Robot bears and eagles join the brand new machine ecosystem – The A.V. Club

In a sign of things to come, early 2020 brought us the robot spy gorilla, a mechanical creature used by the BBCs Spy In The Wild to record human-free nature footage. Months later, the world consumed with problems so immediate that the impending collapse of our environment has managed to feel like next years problem, the BBC has gone on creating more robot animals. Ostensibly, all of this is work is done to observe animals more closely, but to the trained eye its obviously meant as an attempt to replace our dying worlds fauna with a more perfect machine ecosystem.

A clip from Spy In The Wild shows two new robot spy speciesa bear cub and an eagleas theyre sent out to interact with their increasingly obsolete, living and breathing counterparts. The robo-cub joins a bunch of grizzlies as they hunt salmon and mostly just sits in the grass or behind logs to watch them like a teddy bear peeping tom. The robo-eagle flies overhead for a better view of the action. Both machines do not hunger for these fish because, the BBC knows, they can survive long after the rivers have turned to acid lakes and the changing of the seasons is replaced by a never-ending heat wave. The new lifeforms, born from engineering labs, will continue to document the landscape through their camera eyes long after all organic life has disappeared around them.

Other series highlights show us that the BBC has successfully created robot seals, robot meerkats, robot warthogs, and many other robonimals. It wont be long until every species on Earth has been replaced with a mechanical version and the broadcasters mission will have been fulfilled: A clockwork world, freed from the burdens of the flesh, where the robot animals wander a decimated planet to form terrifyingly logical new ecosystems.

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What’s up with the Kubernetes ecosystem Blocks and Files – Blocks and Files

This weeks acquisition of Rancher Labs by the veteran enterprise Linux firm SUSE neatly illustrates the growing momentum of container-based application deployment. It also underlines the importance of Kubernetes as the orchestration tool of choice for managing all those containers.

So, what does this latest move mean for the broader Kubernetes ecosystem? When containers first garnered corporate attention six or seven years ago, Docker and its tools were the centre of attention. But the focus soon shifted to management frameworks capable of automating the deployment and scaling of containers, and Kubernetes, developed by Google from technology used in its cloud platform, quickly won out.

Like many open source tools, Kubernetes has its share of rough edges and does not necessarily provide all the capabilities that users need to build a functioning container-based infrastructure. Companies such as Rancher sprang forth to provide a complete software stack built around Kubernetes for those who didnt want to build it all themselves.

Today, pretty much all the major platform providers have incorporated Kubernetes as the heart of their container strategies:

Then there are numerous other companies which round out Kubernetes with capabilities such as enterprise-grade persistent storage. These include Portworx, whose platform runs on commodity servers and aggregates their storage into a virtual SAN with a global namespace for containerised applications to access. Another is StorageOS, which similarly aggregates storage from a cluster of servers into pools, served up to containers as virtual volumes.

But although Portworx claims 136 per cent growth in revenue year over year in Q1 2020, such companies account for a relatively small part of the Kubernetes market, since the major players typically feature storage support as part of their overall platform.

SUSEs acquisition of Rancher Labs (for a reported $600m) can be compared with Red Hat or Canonical which likewise have an enterprise Linux platform and a Kubernetes platform. But the three propositions are all different: Red Hat OpenShift is a developer PaaS that hides the complexity of Kubernetes and containers from users, perhaps at the cost of some flexibility. And there has been no suggestion from SUSE that it would tie Rancher to its version of Linux, as Red Hat does.

Canonical does not tie its Kubernetes distribution to Ubuntu, but it is basically barebones Kubernetes, whereas Rancher is a Kubernetes software stack that provides a single suite of tools for managing clusters and simplifies complex Kubernetes operations.

However, the Kubernetes landscape can be viewed another way. Sacha Labourery, CEO of Cloudbees, a DevOps platform provider, points out that the enterprise software companies such as Red Hat and VMware are lined up on one side of a divide, with the cloud service providers such as Google and AWS on the other.

The first group delivers on-premises infrastructure, but at a price, while some are also able to manage cloud-based Kubernetes clusters. The cloud service providers offer Kubernetes as a service at little extra cost on top of the infrastructure customers pay for, with no need to worry about managing or maintaining Kubernetes.

As Labourery says, this is going to be a very interesting situation to watch, especially as the cloud providers are introducing services such as Google Anthos that can manage Kubernetes clusters on the customers premises as well as in the cloud.

But it is much to early to determine if the cloud giants will take all the spoils. And lets not forget that many industry watchers predicted the demise of VMware once cloud-based virtual machines became widely available.

Yet the company retains its enterprise stronghold, partly because customers run legacy workloads on VMware, but also the company continues to update highly regarded management suites to bring cloud services and cloud-native technologies under the same umbrella.

To conclude, Kubernetes holds the promise of allowing enterprises to deploy workloads anywhere, on-premises or in more than one public cloud, but management tools that make it easier for customers to handle all the complexity are vital to success.

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What's up with the Kubernetes ecosystem Blocks and Files - Blocks and Files

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON Legal Tech in Ecosystem RESEARCH, GROWTH TRENDS AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 2020-2026 – Jewish Life News

It is our aim to provide our readers with report for Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market, which examines the industry during the period 2020 2026. One goal is to present deeper insight into this line of business in this document. The first part of the report focuses on providing the industry definition for the product or service under focus in the Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market report. Next, the document will study the factors responsible for hindering and enhancing growth in the industry. After covering various areas of interest in the industry, the report aims to provide how the Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market will grow during the forecast period.

The final report will add the analysis of the Impact of Covid-19 on Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market.

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The Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market report between the years 2020 2026 will highlight the current value of the industry. At the same time, there is also an estimate of how much this line of business will be worth at the end of the forecast period. As it is our goal to maintain high levels of accuracy at all times, we will take a look at the CAGR of the Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market. We make sure that all the information available in this report has excellent levels of readability. One way we achieve this target is by Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market segmentation. Going through the report for 2020 2026 will bring our readers up-to-date regarding this industry.

While examining the information from this document, one thing becomes clear, the elements which contribute to increase in demand for the product or service. At the same time, there will be a focus on what drives the popularity of these types of products or services. This report is for those who want to learn about Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market, along with its forecast for 2020 2026. Information regarding market revenue, competitive partners, and key players will also be available.

Segmentation

As discussed earlier, there is segmentation in the Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market report, to improve the accuracy and make it easier to collect data. The categories which are the dividing factors in the industry are distribution channels, application, and product or service type. With this level of segmentation, it becomes easier to analyze and understand the Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market. At the same time, there is emphasis on which type of consumers become the customers in this industry. When it comes to distribution channels, the Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market report looks at the different techniques of circulation of the product or service.

Regional Overview

In this part of the Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market report, we will be taking a look at the geographical areas and the role they play in contributing to the growth of this line of business. The areas of interest in this document are as follows Middle East and Africa, South and North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. From the Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market report, it becomes clear which region is the largest contributor.

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From this Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market report, the reader will also get to learn about the latest developments in the industry. The reason is that these products or services have the potential to disrupt this line of business. If there is information about company acquisitions or mergers, this information will also be available in this portion of the Legal Tech in Ecosystem Market report.

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IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON Legal Tech in Ecosystem RESEARCH, GROWTH TRENDS AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 2020-2026 - Jewish Life News

Logging as an Ecosystem Service – Part 2 – AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST – AGInfo Ag Information Network Of The West

This is California Ag Today brought to you in part by Surround. Apply Surround Crop Protectant now to keep your high value crops 4-to-6 degrees cooler, while reducing damage from sunburn, heat stress and insects. Visit NovaSource.com for more information.

On Friday, we introduced you to Zane Peterson, a young logging entrepreneur who got his break in offering ecosystem services. We mentioned Zanes company focuses on smaller trees. He explains why.

Peterson The thinning market and forest fire prevention that requires chipping, which is basically just working down all the small trees in the forest. We don't cut down any big trees. And just spacing the trees out. And the only product that you can make out of that is a biomass chip, which is a chip that goes to the power plants.

Senate Bill 901 gave wood chip burning power plants a market, and a reason to go out and source product. Peterson saw an opportunity and began thinning trees from high hazard areas to meet this demand.

Peterson Loggers are an ecological service as well. I just am doing the stuff that they don't want to do. They want to deal with trees, 10 inches and up, and I don't want to deal with trees 10 inches and down.

Peterson has built a thriving business of 30 employees which is providing an ecological service of creating a healthier forest while providing a renewable source of energy for the state.

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Logging as an Ecosystem Service - Part 2 - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST - AGInfo Ag Information Network Of The West

Safeguarding Animal, Human and Ecosystem Health: One Health at the World Bank – World – ReliefWeb

Overview

Increasing interactions between humans and animals, the erosion of biodiversity, alteration of ecosystems, and climate change are increasingly driving the emergence of infectious diseases. Meanwhile, the over-reliance on antimicrobials to prevent and combat infectious diseases, protect plants, preserve food, and promote animal growth is giving rise to anti-microbial resistance (AMR), causing superbugs that withstand the drugs designed to kill them, inactivate or slow their growth. In low and middle-income countries, these public health challenges disproportionately affect the poorest households, increase poverty and hinder development. Agriculture and food play a major role in the emergence and spread of diseases and AMR, due to the way food is produced, traded and consumed. Often seen as health issues, diseases can also disrupt food systems, undermine food security and destroy peoples livelihoods.

Zoonotic diseases, which are transmitted between animals and humans, affect more than two billion people and cause over two million deaths every year. These diseases which include COVID-19, Ebola and SARS as well as rabies and tuberculosis--have resulted in outbreaks with significant public health, social and economic impacts. Six major outbreaks of highly fatal zoonoses between 1997 and 2009 cost the global economy at least USD$80 billion, half of which is attributed to SARS and the resulting lost economic activity in 2004. The Korea 2015 MERS outbreak had an economic cost estimated to be around $8.2 billion, as travel and shopping declined sharply due to avoidance behaviors. The West African Ebola outbreak resulted in a loss of 12% combined GDP growth and US$ 53 billion in economic and social costs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Foodborne diseaseswhich can be caused by poor hygiene and animal husbandry mis-practices on farms-- and AMR also take a toll on economies. The Safe Food Imperative estimated the cost of foodborne diseases (FBD) at USD$110 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses in low- and middle-income countries each year. The World Bank report on Drug-Resistant Infections: A Threat to our Economic Future found that the cost of AMR could be as high as US$ 3.4 trillion by 2030. Tackling drug-resistant infections is now one of the highest-yield investments countries can make: Containing AMR in low- and middle-income countries costs an estimated USD$9 billion annually but has an annual rate of return of 88 percent per year.

Besides strong public health systems, integrated, multidisciplinary solutions are needed to prevent, detect, and manage risks from infectious diseases in humans and animals, curb AMR, reduce food losses and ensure food safety.

The One Health approach proactively engages different disciplines, such as human medicine, veterinary medicine, and environmental health sciences, to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment.

One Health can help achieve progress on national and global priorities. Strengthening public health systems at the human-animal-environment interface protects health, agricultural production, and ecosystem servicesincluding food and nutrition security to disaster resilience and ecotourism--all of which contribute to economic development .

The One Health approach promotes synergies at national and global levels. The One Health approach is endorsed by international agencies.

One Health strategies are highly cost-effective. One Health improves effectiveness of core public health systems, substantially reducing morbidity, mortality, and economic costs of outbreaks.

What the World Bank is doing

The World Bank has worked for over a decade to promote and operationalize One Health approaches supported by country partners, technical institutions, international organizations, and donors. The World Banks knowledge base on the topic includes People, Pathogens, and Our Planet; the Investing in Climate Change and Health series; the One Health Operational Framework; From panic and neglect to investing in health security: Financing pandemic preparedness at a national level; and Pulling Together to Beat Superbugs: Knowledge and Implementation Gaps in Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance, among other publications.

The World Bank estimates that an annual investment of approximately US$1.93.4 billion is required to build and operate systems for effective disease prevention and control in low- and middle-income countries. Success in preventing the onset of pandemics comes with an expected 86 percent annual rate of return. The Global Program for Avian Influenza Control and Human Pandemic Preparedness and Response, approved in 2006, was active in 62 countries and contributed to averting a costly pandemic through biosecurity, surveillance, improved capacity in diagnosis, information, and communications, and response. Because the program focused on prevention and preparedness for control of contagion at the animal source, the response to the avian influenza was highly cost-effective. The lessons learned from the Global Program for Avian Influenza and Human Pandemic Preparedness and Response (GPAI) have underpinned investments such as the post-Ebola Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement program (REDISSE) that supports surveillance and epidemic preparedness in West Africa.

One Health responses are a key feature of the World Banks multi-phased Strategic Preparedness and Response Program to COVID-19. The response is both fast and flexible and focused on helping developing countries strengthen their pandemic response and health care systems in the longer term. Current COVID-19 response projects that feature One Health responses include:

India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project (P173836) aims to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen national health systems for prevention and preparedness in India. One Health is integrated across all components of the project, through activities that aim to strengthen coordination and capacity at state level for disease surveillance and control, epidemiology, stronger laboratories and integrated information and communication management. Project activities will also strengthen pandemic research and multi-sector, national institutions and platforms to prevent, detect and respond to infectious diseases outbreaks in animals and humans, with a particular focus on zoonotic diseases at the animal-human interface.

Emerging Infectious Diseases Prevention, Preparedness and Response Project in China(P173746) seeks to strengthen selected national and provincial systems to pilot a multi-sectoral approach for reducing the risk of zoonotic and other emerging health threats. The project has a strong One Health focus and aims to improve risk-based surveillance systems for zoonotic and other emerging health threats, strengthen the capacity for risk assessment and diagnosis and monitoring networks for human, animal and wildlife diseases, and improve protocols for information sharing between relevant agencies.

Related blogs

Its time we invest in healthy food systems for a safer world, Martien van Nieuwkoop, March 9, 2020.

One Health Approach is Critical to De-risk Human, Animal and Environmental Health, Juergen Voegele & Karin Erika Kemper, February 12, 2018

Coronavirus and the Pangolin Effect, Daniel Mira-Salama, March 17, 2020

Small steps can have a big impact in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, Franck Berthe, November 18, 2019

Beyond nutrition, investing in livestock can also deliver on health, Franck Berthe, August 17, 2017

One health economics for healthy people, agriculture and environment, Franck Berthe, February 06, 2017

One Health: lets not have pandemics get in the way, Franck Berthe, November 03, 2016

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Safeguarding Animal, Human and Ecosystem Health: One Health at the World Bank - World - ReliefWeb

Tourist activity threatens the beauty and biodiversity of Bacalar’s lake ecosystem – The Yucatan Times

Bacalar Lagoon at Quintana Roo Mexico (Photo: Google, Trip Advisor)

The change in color at Mexicos Lake Bacalar, known for its seven different shades of blue, is due to the accelerated growth of plankton, which has caused a deterioration in the life of the microbialites, a reef of bacterias that live in these waters: It has been recovering during the pandemic.

The 7-colors lake, as it is usually known, has this effect thanks to the different depths of its white sands. Nevertheless, factors such as the social establishment, feces, and urine from humans and animals, dumpsters, and the use of fertilizers has caused an opaque and greenish appearance to the water.

Luisa Falcn lvarez, from the Institute of Ecology (IE) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), who has studied the phenomenon, regretted the loss of the splendor of this natural area located in Quintana Roo. It is one of the planets treasures we have not taken care of; people are hurting the worlds largest freshwater bacterial reef, she warned.

The scientist said that tourist activity in the rea has risen in the last three years with a hotel occupancy of 85%, a situation that has damaged the wter quality, as informed the UNAM in a release.

#BoletnUNAM Actividades tursticas y desechos de la agricultura provocan que la Laguna de Bacalar, en Quintana Roo, pierda su esplendor: #ExpertaUNAM > https://t.co/Ao70uk5DF2#SigueCuidndote pic.twitter.com/gtgnbfyGhC

For over a decade, the researcher and a group of UNAM researchers have detected that Bacalar went from receiving tens of visitors every year to over 140,000 tourists.

This rise was caused by the apparition of sargassum in the Mexican Caribbean, which made travelers look for new spaces. One of the spots that became popular among tourists was Lake Bacalar, so hotels and tourism businesses were created without having any kind of regulation or proper conditions, which has harmed the water in the area.

However, the water is not the only characteristic affected at Lake Bacalar, for living microorganisms that live there have also been harmed for Bacalar is one of the largest water bodies of the Yucatn Peninsula since it is home to bacterial reefs, such as the case of microbialites, which have lived in the area for over 9,000 years and which are currently sick.

The UNAM researcher said that these places are extremely fragile, although the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed them to recover. Nevertheless, this will not be enough since this kind of community requires decades to regenerate completely.

Several places in Mexico have experienced a similar recovery during the COVID-19 lockdown. Several animal species, including jaguars, crocodiles, dolphins, giant manta rays, flamingos, herons, pheasants, coyotes, bears, and whales, have been able to return to their natural habitats and have been spotted throughout the country. Moreover, bioluminescence has been registered at different beaches and popular tourist places like Acapulco have witnessed how the water has acquired turquoise colors that had not been seen in several years.

Falcn lvarez explained that the problem worsens because this lake is part of the hydrological basin that constitutes a cross-sectional coastal corridor of surface and underground water flow that connects the Caribbean with other water bodies, and now, there are great amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous that promote the growth of plankton, which has stemmed in the change in color.

The expert mentioned that the economic processes related to tourism and social matters are not against the conservation of the environment, moreover, people must be aware of the advantages brought by the ecosystems, such as Walter filtering, oxygen production, biodiversity, and carbon capture.

She said that if the environment gets sick, people will be in contact with an unmeasurable amount of viruses and bacteria, most of which are harmless, but some will not be and an example of that is the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that is linked to the illegal trafficking of wild fauna. We must learn that we are not apart from the health in communities and ecosystems and that the best vaccine is the conservation and sustainable development.

Source: https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/

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Tourist activity threatens the beauty and biodiversity of Bacalar's lake ecosystem - The Yucatan Times

A Technology Enabled Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Can Be A Driving Force In Realising Indias Potential To Be A Global Superpower – Express Computer

By Deepak Singhal,

Enterprise Architect Director for DEMS Business, Capgemini

Over the past few years, Indian businesses have taken massive strides in adopting new age technology innovations across sectors. Further, supported by progressive government initiatives like Start-up India, digital India, Make-In-India, and the recent Vocal for Local, and supportive financial framework, the Indian start-up and entrepreneurial ecosystem has boomed. This is partly also due to the ease of doing business, supported by technology. All one requires now is a disruptive idea, the vision to take it ahead, access to the internet and a few supporting service providers, also available over the internet, and a start-up may be ready to flourish! One no longer needs to put big initial investment in office space, furniture, or machinery to start a company. Take examples of Google which was started in a garage; or Facebook which was started in college; or even Flipkart which was started in an apartment of Bansals!

Speaking of ancillary services, a start-up in the e-commerce space can now have access to third party service providers like logistics and warehousing companies which can offer to take care of their inventory. Or even social and digital media platforms that offer design your own campaign at home, with the click of the mouse, mapping geographic, demographic, and social-economic class of your target audience! Or even social and digital media platforms that offer design your own campaign at home, with the click of the mouse, mapping geographic, demographic, and social-economic class of your target audience! Same goes for cloud and data hosting service providers, where one can skip the massive 5-year hosting retainers and get a spot on a cloud server on hourly basis. Best part is that you can get hundreds of servers on the click of a button, use them for a few hours (perhaps to run a machine learning model) and you pay only for those hours.These are from my prior experiences with various start-ups where I could just host the product on cloud, do advertising on social media, and my start-up was up and running!

However, despite these technology enablers, the Indian SME/MSME and start-up sector still remains one of the slowest adopter of technology. As a sector that contributes 24% to the national GDP and is one of the largest employers in the country, it also continues to battle challenges like inadequate credit and financial facilities, lack of skilled labour and access to affordable and effective technology solutions, while facing tough competition from domestic and international players.

While the recent pandemic and the resultant slowdown have impacted business, it has also forced the sector to recognise the urgent need of having an effective technology enabled business infrastructure that could help them survive. As per a survey by Nasscom, only a little over 18% of all Indian start-ups are leveraging deep technology, as of November 2019*. This is a 40% CAGR from 2014 when it was only 8% of all start-ups. The Indian SME/ MSME sector, on the other hand, also offers a market opportunity from technology adoption that is set to grow at a CAGR of 25%, from US $ 30 billion in 2019, to US $ 85 billion by 2024**. From efficient cloud computing infrastructure that can allow secure work environments for work-from-home settings to data privacy and cyber security have all become major priorities for businesses to sustain during this period of crisis.

While supportive policies, tax holidays, and financial relief packages are all in the pipeline to help salvage the sector which is the backbone of the Indian economy, the governments vision of enabling it to raise its GDP share from 29% to 50% in 5 years, seems like an uphill task and will depend on a number of factors, including fastrack digital adoption. Key factors that need to be addressed in order to drive digital adoption among SME/MSME, can be listed as under:

One of the key reasons for poor adoption of technology is a lack of knowledge about the potential of a solution and poor understanding of technology processes. This often leads to miscalculated decisions which prevent them from adopting new technology. This is true especially in Tier 2 or rural enterprises, which also face a challenge with English language communication and thus often find technology to intimidating. Structured digital literacy programs coupled with solutions that are accessible to non-English language natives, can go a long way in breaking the barrier and making technology more user friendly and understandable.

Apart from gaining an understanding about technology solutions, making them affordable is another key factor that largely impacts the decision making process. While most players in the sector are already battling economic slowdown, moving from a conventional to digital format of business can be viewed as an additional investment which may not appear as a top of the list priority. Creating solutions that are affordable, add more value and help generate better ROI for SME/MSMEs, would help drive faster technology adoption.

While making technology accessible and affordable is an important step to drive technology adoption, customisation of these solutions is a vital aspect that is often a major road block for SME/MSMEs. Creating solutions that offer tailor made solutions to address the specific needs of small businesses can go a long way in encouraging wider and faster technology adoption. From solutions for operations, CRM, HR to more complex solutions for data analysis and management and integration AI and ML for business, technology as a solution needs to be effective, efficient, and impactful, even when dealing on a smaller scale.

Apart from affordability, accessibility, and customisation, technology solutions for small businesses are also restricted due to lack of skilled workforce. Even after adopting the best solutions, setting up a workforce that can operate and leverage the same effectively on a daily basis, can be a challenge. Unlike MNCs and larger corporate businesses, SME/MSMEs employ limited labour and may not have the bandwidth to recruit candidates with specialised expertise to access the technology solutions. A technology infrastructure that is in line with the ROI and business solutions needs to be supported with a trainable workforce that can access the same effortlessly.

While all of the above factors impact individual entrepreneurs, the presence of a robust digital infrastructure across the business ecosystem is imperative to not only drive initial adoption but to ensure sustained practices and eventually lead to permanent migration of businesses to digital platforms. From a strong fintech infrastructure to seamless integration of new age technology innovations across communications, HR, CRM and Data management, are the new foundation stones for a digitally empowered economy.

Even as India gears up to become an economic superpower by harnessing the people, technology, and global business opportunities across sectors, its SME/MSME and start-up sectors continue to grow as the key driving force of the economy. The entrepreneurial spirit, when supported by financial policies and focussed technology solutions, can go a long way in building India as an economic superpower.

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A Technology Enabled Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Can Be A Driving Force In Realising Indias Potential To Be A Global Superpower - Express Computer

AI in BFSI Ecosystem Market Size By Product Analysis, Application, End-Users, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies And Forecast Up To 2026 – 3rd…

New Jersey, United States,- Latest update on AI in BFSI Ecosystem Market Analysis report published with extensive market research, AI in BFSI Ecosystem Market growth analysis, and forecast by 2026. this report is highly predictive as it holds the overall market analysis of topmost companies into the AI in BFSI Ecosystem industry. With the classified AI in BFSI Ecosystem market research based on various growing regions, this report provides leading players portfolio along with sales, growth, market share, and so on.

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HID Global Launches Compact OMNIKEY 5127CK Reader Core to Further Accelerate and Broaden the Partner Ecosystem – Business Wire

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HID Global, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, today announced the launch of its smallest embedded reader module, the OMNIKEY 5127CK Reader Core. The latest addition to the proven OMNIKEY family makes it possible for systems integrators, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and other partners to embed RFID into devices with limited physical space to accurately authenticate people, reduce fraud and protect sensitive data in a contactless way.

The new reader core uses standard interfaces that make it ideal for embedding into constrained spaces and battery-powered devices. It enables everything from handheld devices, tablets, PCs and notebooks to keyboards, displays, monitors, and kiosks to be used across a range of applications in numerous vertical markets.

The OMNIKEY 5127CK Reader Core opens new market opportunities for partners seeking to incorporate a host of new physical and digital use cases that were previously difficult to add due to space restrictions on the devices, said Steve Currie, VP and Managing Director, Extended Access Technologies with HID Global. At the same time, we are also making it possible to further simplify development and integration of readers with our comprehensive reader core software development kit (SDK).

The reader core accelerates time-to-market with numerous features for ease of integration, streamlined configuration and flexible connectivity. It includes modular approval certification for wireless devices, efficient power management (USB suspend/resume and remote wake up modes) and external off-board HF/LF and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) antennas or the option to design custom antennas that meet specific embedded requirements.

For ultimate interoperability, the OMNIKEY 5127CK Reader Core supports multiple low and high frequency credential technologies within a single device and includes Apples Enhanced Contactless Polling (ECP) application to support credentials in Apple Wallet. It also supports the latest mobile access solutions via NFC or BLE, as well as iCLASS Seos, iCLASS SE, HID Prox, MIFARE Classic and MIFARE DESFire EV1/EV2 credential technologies.

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Trending 2020: Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Market Research | Huge Growth and Demand Forecast to 2025 Mt.Gox, Butterfly labs, Coinbase, Coinsetter,…

In its recently published report, Ample Market Research has provided unique insights about the Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem market for the given period. One of the main objectives of this report is to categorize the various dynamics of the market and to offer latest updates such as mergers and acquisitions, various technological developments, new entrants in the market, which make an impact on different segments of the Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem market .

The report represents the statistical data in the form of tables, charts, and info-graphics to assess the market, its growth and development, and market trends of the Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem market during the projected period.

The report also takes into account the impact of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on the Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem market and offers a clear assessment of the projected market fluctuations during the forecast period.

Our new sample is updated which corresponds in a new report showing the impact of COVID-19 on Industry. Request Sample Report and Full Report TOC: https://www.amplemarketreports.com/sample-request/global-bitcoin-payments-ecosystem-market-1634634.html

The following manufacturers are covered:

Segmentation by Type Of Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Are:

Segmentation by Region Of Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Are:

The scope of the Report:

The research report on Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem includes segmentation of the market. The Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem market is segmented on the basis of application, services, end-users, and region. Each segment includes a detailed explanation of the factors that are likely to drive and restrain it. In addition, the research report also provides an assessment of the emerging trends in the global market that will benefit each segment during the forecast years.

Analysts have also studied the competitive landscape present in the Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem market. The chapter on company profiles includes an analysis of the key players operating in the Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem market. It provides vital information about the strategic initiatives about the companies in the market and their outlook for the forecast years.

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Table of Contents

Report Overview: It includes the objectives and scope of the study and gives highlights of key market segments and players covered. It also includes years considered for the research study.

Executive Summary: It covers Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem industry trends with a high focus on market use cases and top market trends, the market size by regions, and global market size. It also covers market share and growth rates by regions.

Key Players: Here, the report concentrates on mergers and acquisitions, expansions, analysis of key players, establishment date of companies, and areas served, manufacturing base, and revenue of key players.

Breakdown by Product and Application: This section provides details about market size by product and application.

Regional Analysis: All of the regions and countries analyzed in the report are studied on the basis of market size by product and application, key players, and Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem market forecast.

Profiles of International Players: Here, players are evaluated on the basis of their gross margin, price, sales, revenue, business, products, and other company details.

Market Dynamics: It includes supply chain analysis, analysis of regional marketing, challenges, opportunities, and drivers analyzed in the report.

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Trending 2020: Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Market Research | Huge Growth and Demand Forecast to 2025 Mt.Gox, Butterfly labs, Coinbase, Coinsetter,...

Flux and Contemplation: portrait of an artist in isolation – Boing Boing

This year, the merry-go-round of summer music festivals is not happening, all the major events have been canceled. And that's a bummer. But luckily, the pandemic didn't stop artists' creativity. Here comes a musical consolation, Flux & Contemplation Portrait of an Artist in Isolation courtesy of Simon Posford.

Simon Posford (a.k.a. Hallucinogen) is an internationally acclaimed figure of the psychedelic trance scene, with groundbreaking productions under his belt, among which the boundary-defying collaboration called Shpongle.

Reflecting on his own experience of being in lockdown, Posford has crafted a refined psychedelic chillout/downtempo piece of work. Flux & Contemplation is an elegant gallery of sonic portraits, each track a signpost of an inner journeyranging from minimal, trance-like, haunting vibes, to more uplifting melodies and groovy rhythms. The overall result is a very satisfying and intense listening experience.

In a culture "where music has become more and more a commodity barely heard in the background, Posford's inspired and involved creative process transforms his handiwork into foreground music, his experience breaking free while in isolation providing a parallel experience for listeners".

Looking forward to seeing Simon Postford live again on stage, surrounded by a crowd of happy revelers, Flux & Contemplation is a ray of hope while imagining brighter futures.

This bit of grainy film footage with bad audio wouldnt be notable except that it depicts Easy Cure playing a 1977 show in Crawley, UK. The following year, Easy Cure dropped Easy from their name, recorded the demos below, signed to Polydor Records Fiction label, and released their first single, Killing An Arab. The rest []

Aedans EP Microclimat includes the single Evolution, the video for which is a breathtaking series of extreme closeups of colorful insects and plants. Via the band: This new clip by Aedan takes us into the world of the infinitely small and highlights another vision of evolution. Directed by Thomas Blanchard, who had already directed Aedans []

Geoff Edgers has written a wonderful little op-ed for the Washington Post about using his quarantine time to re-discover the 12-for-a-penny tapes he got through the Columbia Record & Tape Club in the 80s: As my world has shrunk and my social interactions have lately become defined by social distancing protocol, Ive been employing my []

Now that were past July 4th, were truly turning smack into the sharpened teeth of the summer heatwave season. As temperatures and humidity spike, it just makes all the rest of the nations current problems that just tiniest bit more irritating, doesnt it? Hey, were all in this together. So if we can help chill []

While we obviously dont ever want to lose sight of exactly why were all wearing face coverings now in the first place, its also impossible to ignore that masks have already started to evolve in the public consciousness. The mask started as simply a means of combating infection. Then, it became an avenue of free []

With all the website builders on the market, it can feel overwhelming to choose the best one for your needs. The most important things to look for are usability, flexibility and a professional look and feel. Thats why over 180 million people use Wix to create the website of their dreams. Here are the top []

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Flux and Contemplation: portrait of an artist in isolation - Boing Boing

Above & Beyond stock streaming queues with another single, ‘Jam’ – Dancing Astronaut

by: Rachel NarozniakJul 15, 2020

The time leading up to the arrival of Anjunabeats Volume 15, mixed by Above & Beyond, has been punctuated by new material from the three-piece electronic outfit. After granting their sought-after ID, Reverie, a formal release in June, the trance team has returned to the release ring with another one-off in hand, Jam.

Dressed in the emotive melodies customary to Above & Beyonds sound, Jam is a satiating prelude to the flush of fresh music that will debut under the Anjunabeats Volume 15 titular umbrella. The 34-track collection commemorates the 20th anniversary of Anjunabeats with exclusive and unheard selections from not only Above & Beyond but also the broader Anjunabeats family. Anjunabeats Volume 15 lands on July 31.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCqsBTegH1O/

Featured image: Rukes

Tags: Above & Beyond, Anjunabeats, Anjunabeats Volume 15, jam, reverie

Categories: Music

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Above & Beyond stock streaming queues with another single, 'Jam' - Dancing Astronaut

Bing & Ruth’s ‘Species’ Is as Monotonous as the Desert Dunes That Inspired It – Exclaim!

Published Jul 15, 2020

6

At the centre of that overhaul is the Farfisa combo organ. By ditching the piano in favor of an organ, Moore has drastically changed the tonal complexion of Bing & Ruth's music. Capable of much more sustain and saturation than the piano, the Farfisa has forced Moore away from his usual plaintive or percussive roles within the ensemble. Fully appreciating the Farfisa on Species, though, requires consideration of two other essential elements in the album's composition: the desert and the long-distance run.

Much of Species is a reflection on Moore's time spent living near Point Dume in Malibu, CA. Situated between the desert dunes and the ocean waves, Moore found himself entranced by this environment and took to running as a means of exploring the landscape. The Farfisa is well-positioned to capture this dynamic, with its sustain and pitch warbles invoking desert and ocean waves. The choice of ensemble cast also serves to reinforce the physicality of Moore's location. Rounded out by clarinetist Jeremy Viner and double bassist Jeff Ratner, Bing & Ruth sound surprisingly lithe and more able to approximate the motion of human feet. The music no longer sounds like it's about vast expanses, as it had in the past, but about how a human body navigates its way through such spaces.

If there is anything that puts a damper on Moore's successful musical approximation of those Point Dume experiences, it is his inability to transfer what made previous Bing & Ruth albums compelling into this new sound. With less tonal options at his disposal, Moore can't rely on the introduction of newer sonic elements to propel a piece forward or surprise a listener. In this sense, Moore really does achieve the album equivalent of running through the desert. Every step is like the last, every dune made up of the same inconspicuous pebbles. Species can make for an exceptionally trance-inducing listen if you have it in you to push past the monotony.(4AD)

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Bing & Ruth's 'Species' Is as Monotonous as the Desert Dunes That Inspired It - Exclaim!

Porter Robinson shares Anamanaguchi remix of "Get Your Wish," second album Nurture forthcoming – scenester.tv

PORTER ROBINSON UNVEILS ANAMANAGUCHI REMIX OFGET YOUR WISHSECOND ALBUM NURTUREFORTHCOMING

July 15, 2020Acclaimed producer and songwriter Porter Robinson shares the Anamanaguchi remix of his track Get Your Wish todaylisten here. The original track is taken from his forthcoming second album Nurture.

New York four-piece Anamanaguchi are regarded as pioneers in the homemade, video game world of chiptune. With a prolific discography and an array of unlikely collaborators including computer-generated Japanese popstar Hatsune Miku, Anamanguchi have created videogame soundtracks and leveraged their music to parody corporate gaming culture, relying on a combination of a loud and fast live band and squarewaves from hacked Nintendo hardware to create their specific sound. Earlier this year, Anamanaguchi coordinated a recorded-from-home live performance for Robinsons Secret Sky festival.

Robinson has officially shared two tracks from Nurture so farSomething Comforting, which finds Robinson in a moment of melancholic introspection swaying between heavily layered production and subdued instrumentation according to UPROXX, and Get Your Wish, praised by The FADER as a skittish glimmer of a track that climbs its way up to total euphoria. Robinson debuted a third track from Nurture, the unreleased Look at the Sky during an exclusive performance at his Secret Sky festival earlier this year.

In May, Robinson put on the Secret Sky streaming festival, marking his first performance of 2020. The 14-hour livestream event, which Robinson created as a way to introduce his vast audience to new artists and give his favorite musicians a platform to perform, featured sets by G Jones, Jai Wolf, Kizuna AI, Madeon, San Holo, A. G. Cook, Anamanaguchi and several others. The livestream was broadcasted via a digital auditorium built with state-of-the-art technology and attracted more than 4 million viewers, with the Youtube chat peaking at 8,813 chats per second during Robinsons performance of the previously unheard Look at the Sky.

At age 18, the North Carolina-based producer and songwriter burst onto the scene in 2010 with a specifically magnetic brand of electro-house beats. His debut album Worlds was released four years later in 2014 to widespread critical and commercial success, establishing Robinson as a mainstay of electronic pop and a deft crafter of gorgeous textures, contemplative storytelling and remarkably sharp melodies, as The New York Times remarked. The albums success eventually gave Robinson the chance to create his own music festival, Oaklands Second Sky, a sell-out two-day event that launched last year.

Following the major success of his debut album, Robinson released the acclaimed single Shelter with Madeon in 2016, followed by a Shelter Live Tour spanning 43 dates and five continents. The following year, in an attempt to display his growing interest in interdisciplinary art and Y2K trance, Robinson began releasing music under a new alias, Virtual Self, which lead to his first Grammy nomination for the hit single Ghost Voices.

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Porter Robinson shares Anamanaguchi remix of "Get Your Wish," second album Nurture forthcoming - scenester.tv

No, we’re not all antifa now. But we should be. – The Montgomery Herald

Ive occasionally encountered mass hysteria in other countries, Nicholas Kristof writes at the New York Times. In rural Indonesia, I once reported on a mob that was beheading people believed to be sorcerers, then carrying their heads on pikes. But I never imagined that the United States could plunge into such delirium.

Kristofs writing about panic over suspected antifa activity in the Pacific northwest, but I think hes selling America short. Were a nation built on mass hysteria. From the Know-Nothingism of the 1850s, to the Palmer Raids of a century ago, to the McCarthyism of the 1950s, to the New Red Scare (Russiagate) of the last four years, mass hysteria has been the perennial bread and butter of mainstream American politics.

I personally find the current freak-out over antifa short for anti-fascist revealing.

With respect to fascism, there are three possible orientations: Fascist, anti-fascist, and politically neutral. If the whole idea of antifa has you up in arms, youre clearly neither of the last two. Kind of narrows things down, doesnt it?

Fascism isnt an historical echo or a distant danger. Its the default position of all wings of the existing American political establishment, from the nationalist right to the progressive left.

Those warring political camps are increasingly identity-based rather than ideological. Theyre more interested in seizing the levers of power for the correct groupings racial, sex/gender/orientation, economic, partisan, etc. than they are in the nature of, and inherent dangers in, that power.

Its that kind of vacuum of ideas that Lord Acton probably had in mind when he warned us that power tends to corrupt. And its certainly that kind of vacuum of ideas which the ideology pioneered, named, and described all within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state by Italys Benito Mussolini most easily fills.

Yes, many of those advertising themselves as antifa are just as much authoritarian statists in a word, fascists as their most bitter opponents.

And yes, both wings of the American political mainstream are actively attempting to co-opt the term for their own uses at the moment the left as a term of fake resistance to be channeled into business as usual voting, the right as an object of fear to be likewise channeled.

But false advertising, panic-mongering, and hostile takeoverism dont negate the existence of the genuine article. If youre not antifa, youre fa or fugue. Pick a side.

Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.

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No, we're not all antifa now. But we should be. - The Montgomery Herald

Letters to the editor – News – Leavenworth Times

Who is the villain?

When I listened to President Trump speak at Mt. Rushmore over the July 4th weekend, he once again made comments that I found not only highly offensive, but also not true.

His comment that "children are taught in school to hate their own country and to believe the men and women who built it were not heroes but villains" is the one that most struck at my heartstrings.

As a retired teacher and administrator who spent 45 years working with students, I can guarantee that while I was teaching in the classroom and while I was principal, students were taught to love and appreciate not only our country and its history, but also the peoples of all races, colors, and creeds who are part of that history. I have no doubt that that is the case in most all classrooms in Kansas and throughout the country. When looking at the Kansas Department of Education standards for History, Government, and Social Studies there is no mention of hating ones country nor is there a list of individuals considered to be villains.

Makes one wonder what the basis for such a comment is! I am proud to have been a lifelong educator working to instill a foundation of knowledge and values into students that undoubtedly has given them the opportunity to be informed, knowledgeable, and contributing citizens in our communities, states, and country which, by the way, fits in with the standards they are being taught.

Delon Martens

Haven

Religious privilege

Under the Constitution's Establishment Clause, government cannot favor the religious beliefs of some at the expense of the rights, beliefs and health of others. Yet, 50 years after access to contraception was recognized as a constitutional right, the Catholic Church continues exploiting authority over sexuality.

The Supreme Court recently affirmed the Trump administration's rules which create a religious or moral exemption from the Affordable Care Act's contraception coverage guarantee for any employer or university that wants it. And the new rules don't require any third-party accommodation to provide workers or students with coverage for this critical care, as does the ACA.

Houses of worship are exempted from complying with the ACA's contraception benefit. And the government offers other religiously affiliated employers with religious objections to contraception an accommodation: simply sign a written notice of the objection and government would work with a third-party provider to ensure access to reproductive coverage without involving the employer. But the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious organizations said even signing the opt-out form was a burden and sued the government.

The hypocrisy of the Little Sisters and others claiming to be the injured parties in this legal battle over access to reproductive health care is that they already have the type of "church plan" insurance that allows them to exclude contraceptive care for their workers, hundreds of people who are not nuns or Catholics, and for many, who don't share their religious views on contraception.

What's at issue in this case is the difference between religious freedom and religious privilege.

Janean Lanier

Hutchinson

Voters Beware!

By now we have all had postcards in the mail or door hangers left on our doors, some filled with lies paid for by Topeka special interest groups. These big-money, special interests want politicians beholden to them, not to us the constituents.

There is more to the story being told on those postcards. Call the candidates here at their homes. Ask them for the truth. Like every election, these big-money special interest groups want us to believe half-baked truths and outright lies: whatever it takes to make us believe their lies so they can buy the election and buy our politicians.

I recently ran into a young man dropping literature for them-he was being paid by a Topeka special interest group and was from Johnson County. He had no vested interest in our communities. If these far-away Topeka special interest groups are supporting one candidate or lying about another, they are doing it so that we might elect a pawn for them.

We need to elect candidates that stand up for us. As my husband, Greg Lewis, said when he resigned from the Kansas House of Representatives due to illness, "This is not the house of special interest. This is the Peoples House; long may it serve the People and the Great State of Kansas."

In August make your vote count. Dont buy the lies. Elect candidates who will work for us and are NOT beholden to Topeka special interest groups.

Susan Lewis

St. John

Antifa Is NOT Imaginary

What do Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy all have in common? They are not real; they are imaginary.

On June 25, Democrat Senator Jerry Nadler from New York made one of the most asinine statements I have ever heard. Mr. Nadler intimated that antifa was "imaginary". In other words, Mr. Nadler would have you believe that antifa (that "peaceful", anti-Fascist mob which vandalized, looted, pillaged, and set fires to many businesses in cities throughout the United States) did NOT actually do any of these dastardly deeds.

Nadler would like to think that what American citizens saw with their own eyes on TV was a "figment of their imagination""--that they are actually dumb enough to "buy into" this outrageous statement. Really, Senator Nadler, do you honestly think that the Antifa mob threw "imaginary" bricks through storeowners' windows? Tell the store owners these bricks were "imaginary".

Do you really think that the lootings and fires that were set by antifa rioters were "imaginary". Tell the store owners (many who had invested years of sweat and labor into making their businesses successful, only to have their livelihoods destroyed in one night) that the lootings and fires were "imaginary". Senator Nadler, you are insulting the intelligence of the American people if you think they are "buying" any of this nonsense.

If there is one thing that I wish was "imaginary", Senator Nadler, it is you! Unfortunately, Senator Nadler is "real", as is the radical left-wing drivel spewing out of his mouth.

Ron Etchison

Ellsworth

Vote Berger

In his role as President of Hutchinson Community College, I was always impressed with how Dr. Ed Berger leveraged limited resources to achieve great results. When he decided to run for the Kansas Senate four years ago, I was pleased because the Brownback administration had clearly gone off the rails and we needed elected officials like Ed Berger to step up and clean up the mess. Ed and his colleagues have had to make some tough votes to bring Kansas back to financial soundness. They have done that.

Now Eds opponent, who has not bothered to vote in many previous elections, seems to want to take us back to the "Brownback Years." Apparently, he doesnt know that experiment failed and Kansas is still digging its way out of the economic hole it created.

I hope you will join me in voting for a man of real integrity, Ed Berger.

Patty Kerr

Hutchinson

Presidential Election Could Be a Game Changer

The upcoming presidential election on November 3rd is the most important election in American history since 1860 and 1864. This is because our very existence as a constitutional republic created by our U.S. Constitution in 1789 is at stake.

The progressive (actually regressive) left-wing Democrat Party wants the United States government to change to a socialist/Marxist government. They attack our very U. S. Constitution as out-dated and old-fashioned created by 56 white men, some who owned slaves. Thus, they say it is a racist document. This is nonsense!

The history of the Democrat Party reveals that it has always been racist. They were supporters of slavery before and during the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865). After the Civil War they established the Ku Klux Klan and segregation to keep newly freed former slaves from voting. This is in our history books that the Democrat Party wishes to hide. They want to destroy our history by rewriting it. Part of this destruction of our nations history is seen by the rioters who have destroyed statues of past Americans.

The Democrats resort to intimidation of people through violent groups such as antifa (which get lots of financial support from anti-American government multi-billionaire George Soros) as well as Black Lives Matter, an organization whose background is heavily pro-Marxist in its ideology. As a matter of fact, its three co-founders are extremely pro-Marxist in their comments. Thus, weve got to save our country and its freedoms by defeating the Democrats in November.

Don Etchison

Haven

Vote Dower

Please join us in voting for Tad Dower for District Court Judge. Tads time spent as Municipal Court Judge in Hutchinson has given him the experience to be a fair and thoughtful judge. And Tads many years as a local attorney in private practice has given him a keen understanding of all facets of legal issues involved in the type of cases he would contemplate in District Court. Integrity, honest, fair, and thoughtful are all words that describe Tad.

Anne and Tom Sellers

Hutchinson

Berger is for education

When Ed Berger ran for our State Senate 4 years ago I didnt know him personally. I knew of him from his days as Hutchinson Community College President. After spending 10 plus years in Kansas classrooms I saw Ed as the best choice to help get Education back on track in Kansas. Ive been more than pleased with the job Ed has done for Kansas. Ive got to know Ed personally as he visits our town cafe regularly and we had him address our Lions Club. I want to encourage all voters to vote to re-elect Ed Berger to the Kansas Senate.

Alan Albers

Cunningham

Critical to re-elect

The most important resource in Kansas is our children; they are our future. As a public school teacher, I have spent years advocating for students. It is critical that we re-elect Dr. Ed Berger to the state legislature.

Following my year of service as the Kansas Teacher of the Year, I have learned just how important it is to have representatives in Topeka that understand the unique needs of our schools and the communities they serve. Ed Berger does that. He listens to my experiences and concerns as an educator. He always responds quickly to my questions about how new bills and policies will affect local schools.

Dr. Berger shows balance and fairness in his voting record towards public schools which is needed to sustain our local communities. Please support Dr. Berger with your vote; District 34 will continue to benefit from his leadership and experience.

Samantha Neill

Buhler

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Letters to the editor - News - Leavenworth Times

Chaotic protests prompt soul-searching in Portland, Oregon – The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Nearly two months of nightly protests that have devolved into violent clashes with police have prompted soul-searching in Portland, Oregon, a city that prides itself on its progressive reputation but is increasingly polarized over how to handle the unrest.

President Donald Trump recently deployed federal agents to quell the demonstrations in Portland that began after George Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis police, shining an unwelcome spotlight as the city struggles to find a way forward. The national attention comes as divisions deepen among elected officials about the legitimacy of the more violent protests striking at the heart of Portlands identity as an ultraliberal haven where protest is seen as a badge of honor.

I was born and raised here, and Im a graduate of the local public school system. I chose to make my livelihood here, I chose to raise my daughter here, said Mayor Ted Wheeler, who has faced criticism from all sides. And in all the years that I have lived here, I have never seen the community more divided. Nor have I seen it look worse.

Small groups of protesters have set fires, launched fireworks and sprayed graffiti on public buildings, including police precincts and the federal courthouse, leading to nearly nightly clashes with police who have used force thats caused injuries. Similar unrest engulfed many U.S. cities when Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck on May 25. But in Portland, which is familiar ground for the loosely organized, far-left activists known as antifa, or anti-fascists, the protests never stopped.

Lost in the debate are the downtown businesses racking up millions in property damage and lost sales and the voices of the hundreds of thousands of Portland residents who have stayed off the streets.

The impact is terrible because what people have seen on the TV ... has scared people who live outside the downtown. They feel its that way 24 hours a day, said David Margulis, who said the protests have caused sales at his jewelry store to drop more than 50%. I talk to people, on the phone, who tell me: I dont know if Ill ever come downtown again.

Soon after Floyds death, diverse crowds of thousands took to the streets every night for peaceful marches and rallies, filling a bridge that spans the Willamette River on several nights. Smaller groups, however, quickly turned to vandalism.

Police have arrested dozens of people, dispersing protesters with tear gas on multiple occasions. Federal law enforcement officers sent in two weeks ago by Trump to stop the unrest have further inflamed tensions, particularly after one protester was critically injured when a federal agent fired a non-lethal round at his head.

Federal officers used tear gas again Tuesday night, the same day four of Oregons federal lawmakers all Democrats sent a letter to the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security demanding answers.

The mayor and police have repeatedly decried the clashes as a destructive distraction from the Black Lives Matter movement and make a sharp distinction between peaceful demonstrators and those bent on engaging with authorities, whom the police call agitators. Other officials, including several city commissioners, Democratic Gov. Kate Brown and Oregons House speaker, have criticized the police for being too aggressive.

Its become a cycle of unrest, police response and further outrage.

Each nights protest is now turning into a protest of the night befores police activity. And so when people say we want this to stop, it cant stop because todays protest will be about what the feds or the Portland Police Bureau did yesterday, said Gregory McKelvey, an activist and critic of the police response.

Theres really this battle that were having right now a communications war over whos a good protester and whos a bad protester. And what the police and the mayor are trying to do is turn the city against the people that are out protesting, he said.

Some members of the Black community, which makes up less than 6% of Portlands population, say the continual clashes with police including in a historically Black part of the city are distracting from the message of racial justice.

Its very clear to me that this is not about accomplishing goals. This is about anarchy, and people are taking advantage of the demonstrations for their own reasons that have nothing to do with social justice, said Ron Herndon, a prominent civil rights activist. Any support you think you could get, you probably have lost from a lot of people because you have negatively impacted their lives.

Jo Ann Hardesty, the first Black woman on Portlands City Council, said protesters dont need to destroy property to effect change but believes the violence is a reaction to a newfound understanding, particularly among white people, about how abusive the police can be.

Nevertheless, Hardesty, who has dedicated her career to police reform, is confident Portland will come out of this stronger. Shes working to get a measure before voters circumventing the powerful police union to create an independent police review board. She also led a push last month to cut $27 million from the police budget.

We have to all figure out, how do we move the city forward? What we know is that we cant protest forever and ever. And what we know is that people want real change, Hardesty said. I think the more we invite people in, the less disruption well see on our streets.

___

Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus.

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Chaotic protests prompt soul-searching in Portland, Oregon - The Associated Press

Letter to the editor: ‘Left-wing’ labels misused – TribLIVE

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Letter to the editor: 'Left-wing' labels misused - TribLIVE

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week – Minneapolis Star Tribune

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:

___

CLAIM: The nasal swab test commonly used for to diagnose COVID-19 involves obtaining a sample from a protective layer of cells known as the blood-brain barrier, which can result in inflammation of the brain.

THE FACTS: The swab used to diagnose COVID-19 goes so far back into the nose that it can be uncomfortable, even causing some people's eyes to water. But it doesn't touch the area known as the blood-brain barrier, where blood vessels and the brain exchange important nutrients, despite social media posts that claim it does. This week, Facebook posts viewed more than a million times shared a diagram of the nasopharyngeal swab test next to an anatomical picture of the brain, suggesting the swab disrupts the blood-brain barrier. "The blood-brain barrier is exactly where the swab has to be placed," the image read, with a raised eyebrow emoji. "Coincidence??? I don't think so." However, Dr. Morgan Katz, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, said these posts fundamentally misunderstand what's happening when the test is conducted. The swab "would have to go through layers of muscle and fascia, as well as the base of the skull, which is a thick bone, in order to get anywhere near the blood-brain barrier, and I would say that it is not possible," Katz told The Associated Press. Instead of the brain, the test collects a sample from the nasopharynx, an area between the back of the nose and the back of the throat where respiratory viruses often live. "That's just a place where we expect to see the highest yield of respiratory viruses," she said.

___

CLAIM: Wearing a face mask for extended periods of time can cause pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining around the lung.

THE FACTS: Multiple experts told The Associated Press there is no medical evidence that wearing a face mask could lead to this condition, despite Facebook posts claiming it could. "Be careful healthy people, shared from a friend," read one Facebook post, which described a story of a healthy 19-year-old frontline grocery store worker who started feeling sick and was diagnosed with pleurisy. "They basically tell her.. It's because she's been wearing a mask for over 8 hours a day 5-6 days a week. Breathing in her own bacteria. Carbon dioxide.. Caused an infection." Another Facebook post featured a diagram of a lung with an inflamed lining. "Result of wearing mask for 8 hours a day," the caption read. "Why are they not reporting the number of people being hospitalized for this?? YOU NEED FRESH AIR." But doctors who study the respiratory system say a face mask doesn't pose this risk. "There is absolutely no truth in that claim," said Humberto Choi, a pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic, in an email. "There are thousands of health care workers wearing face masks everyday including masks that are much tighter than simple surgical masks. Nobody is getting pleurisy because of that." "I don't see a medically plausible mechanism for mask wearing to cause pleurisy," said Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer at the American Lung Association. Claims that mask-wearing leads to harmful conditions, including bacterial and fungal infections, pneumonia, hypercapnia and other ailments are also false, according to AP reporting.

___

CLAIM: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out COVID-19 tests "seeded" with the virus.

THE FACTS: Social media users shared an illustration of a COVID-19 nasal swab test where a six inch long swab is placed into the cavity between the nose and mouth with false information that the CDC sent out tests that contained the live virus. The post asserts that COVID-19 tests are tainted and could expose people to the virus. According to one Instagram post that shared the illustration with false information: "COVID-19 test has the virus ... the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent states tainted lab tests in early February that were themselves seeded with the virus, federal officials have confirmed." The Instagram caption further states: "... if one person in the family could have gotten tested with one of those tainted 'Planted' COVID-19 tests that would potentially expose the entire family to the virus" In February, the CDC distributed a batch of faulty COVID-19 test kits to laboratories, but the kit did not contain the live virus. The contaminated tests were not sent out to patients. The CDC produced two types of test kits in January. There was no evidence that the first batch had any issues. The second type of test kit, which was developed to be manufactured by the CDC, was contaminated. The Department of Health & Human Services published an investigation of the failed rollout on June 19. The report states: "After receiving these tests from CDC in early February, public health laboratories attempted to validate the test kits before using them on real specimens. They could not validate the test a negative control gave a positive result and thus, the test kits were not used and no patient received an inaccurate test result." According to the review, "One of the three reagents in this initial batch of manufactured test kits was likely contaminated. These tests are so sensitive that this contamination could have been caused by a single person walking through an area with positive control material and then later entering an area where tests reagents were being manipulated," the report states. Positive control material is the synthetic, non-infectious part of the virus. Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, professor of pediatric infectious diseases and of health research and policy at Stanford University School of Medicine, told the AP that this is not the live virus. The false post implies that nasal swab tests are tainted with the virus. "We only use sterile swabs," Maldonado explained. "That's actually the problem with getting the swab is that we have to make sure that they've been sterilized. We can't just take Q-tips from a box."

___

CLAIM: "Teachers are the number one occupation of the antifa terrorist organization according to the FBI."

THE FACTS: False. There is no evidence that teachers make up an outsized portion of antifa, a shorthand term for "anti-fascists." The FBI told The Associated Press it "has not made any such statements about the occupations of people who are attracted to particular ideologies." This false claim has gone viral online recently, both as part of longer blog posts promoting conspiracy theories around COVID-19 and the death of George Floyd, and independently on Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook alone, posts connecting teachers with antifa have been viewed more than a million times in the past week. But the posts don't reflect the way the FBI actually investigates criminal activity or people who identify as antifa, which has become an umbrella term for left-leaning militant groups that oppose neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations. While FBI director Christopher Wray recently told Fox News the agency is investigating various "violent anarchist extremists, some of whom self-identify or otherwise link to the antifa movement," the agency does not initiate investigations solely based on an individual's identity. "Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security," the FBI told the AP in a statement. Accordingly, the FBI said it has not made any statements about the occupations of people who are drawn to particular ideologies, such as anti-fascism. Though President Donald Trump has tweeted that the United States will designate antifa as a terrorist organization, it does not qualify for inclusion on the State Department's foreign terror organizations list because antifa is a domestic movement.

___

CLAIM: Dr. Anthony Fauci is married to Ghislaine Maxwell's sister.

THE FACTS: Fauci is married to Christine Grady, chief of the bioethics department at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Dr. Fauci's role as the nation's top infectious disease expert has made him a target of false information. Social media users are now attempting to link Fauci to conspiracy theories tied to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in jail after being charged with sex trafficking underage girls. Posts online say that Fauci's wife is related to Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was arrested last week and charged with helping recruit girls for Epstein. Maxwell is one of seven siblings, including twin sisters Christine and Isabel. Their father Robert Maxwell was a billionaire publishing magnate whose nude body was recovered from waters off the Canary Islands in November 1991. He had disappeared from his yacht named Lady Ghislaine. The Associated Press reported at the time that Robert Maxwell had four daughters and three sons. Two of Maxwell's children died: Michael, who died in 1968 at age 21, and Karine, who died in 1957 at age 3, of leukemia. His daughter Christine is not Christine Grady. The National Institutes of Health interviewed Grady in 1997 about her life where she said she grew up in New Jersey as one of five children. "But when I was fairly young, I thought I wanted to be a nurse, and my mother encouraged it the most, even though she was not one herself. She thought nursing was a noble profession and a good thing for me to do. So she encouraged that," Grady says in the oral history interview. Grady served on the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues from 2010 to 2017 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and biology as well as a doctorate in philosophy from Georgetown University. Former GOP candidate DeAnna Lorraine tweeted the photo of Fauci and Grady Sunday, saying Grady was Maxwell's sister. Lorraine later corrected the tweet. "Looks like the connection may not be accurate w Fauci' wife/Maxwell. When ppl sent me this I researched it & it checked out at first, I'm sorry for getting excited about the connection & jumping gun," she later tweeted. Posts making the false claim online shared a 2016 photo, which can be found in the Getty Images archive, of Fauci with Grady at the White House state dinner held by then-President Barack Obama for the prime minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi. "No coincidences," one post with 1,429 likes on Instagram said sharing the photo of the two.

___

CLAIM: The dress Melania Trump wore during Fourth of July celebrations featured drawings by various victims of child sex trafficking.

THE FACTS: The sketches on the dress were made by art students in a class, not by victims of sex trafficking. On July 3, during a visit to Mount Rushmore to commemorate the Fourth of July, First Lady Melania Trump wore a white dress with black lines, black shoes and a black belt. Social media users criticized both the appearance and the price of the garment, which cost $3,840. Others claimed the dress featured drawings from sex trafficking victims. "The media mocked First Lady Melania's dress," read one Facebook post with more than 8 million views. "They said it looked like childish scribbles. Little did they know, they were the drawings of several young victims of sex trafficking who tried to explain their pain through pictures." But posts like this are not correct the dress actually shows sketches of "dancing girls" made by design students from the British art school Central Saint Martins. The students worked with Julie Verhoeven, a fashion illustrator, during a class at the Alexander McQueen flagship store in London. In early May, Paper magazine published a story explaining that the sketches of dancers were first made on sheets. "Afterwards, Creative Director Sarah Burton enlisted the entire McQueen staff to hand-embroider and stitch over the sketches of a single ivory linen dress," the story reads.

___ Reporter Abril Mulato contributed to this item from Mexico City.

___

CLAIM: Kansas City Chiefs CEO and owner Clark Hunt told NFL players, coaches and staff that they are all "simply paid performers on a stage" and he will "immediately fire" anyone who does not stand, with their hand over their heart, during the playing of the national anthem.

THE FACTS: Hunt did not hold such a meeting, although he has publicly expressed support for Chiefs players standing during the national anthem. Facebook users for years have circulated a false letter that claims to reveal the Kansas City Chiefs owner called a dramatic meeting to tell NFL players they need to stand during the anthem or face immediate dismissal from the team. The hoax is gaining traction, again, on Facebook before the football season resumes and after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized last month for the way the league has handled peaceful protests over racial injustice. They included players taking a knee in 2016 during the national anthem an effort led by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Goodell made the comments this year, the day after Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes urged the league to condemn racism. The letter first began circulating on Facebook in 2016, as debate over football players' decision to kneel during the anthem raged. At the time, Hunt told the Kansas City Star the posts were a hoax. "I have heard about it," Hunt told the Kansas City Star in 2016. "It was an Internet hoax." Brad Gee, the director of football communications for the Kansas City Chiefs, also confirmed to The Associated Press that the contents of the viral letter are inaccurate. Hunt has publicly stated in years past that he prefers players to stand during the national anthem but several Chiefs players have sat or taken a knee during the national anthem, without being fired, including star tight end Travis Kelce. In 2017, after President Donald Trump called on NFL owners to fire players who didn't stand during the national anthem, Hunt responded with a formal statement, saying he believes in "honoring the American flag" but encouraged everyone to "work together to solve these difficult issues."

___

This is part of The Associated Press' ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.

See more here:

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Fact-checking the weeks lies, misinformation – Echo Pilot

The swab used to diagnose COVID-19 goes so far back into the nose that it can be uncomfortable, but it doesn't touch the area known as the blood-brain barrier.

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legitimate, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:

Claim: The nasal swab test commonly used for to diagnose COVID-19 involves obtaining a sample from a protective layer of cells known as the blood-brain barrier, which can result in inflammation of the brain.

The facts: The swab used to diagnose COVID-19 goes so far back into the nose that it can be uncomfortable, even causing some people's eyes to water. But it doesn't touch the area known as the blood-brain barrier, where blood vessels and the brain exchange important nutrients, despite social media posts that claim it does. This week, Facebook posts viewed more than a million times shared a diagram of the nasopharyngeal swab test next to an anatomical picture of the brain, suggesting the swab disrupts the blood-brain barrier. "The blood-brain barrier is exactly where the swab has to be placed," the image read, with a raised eyebrow emoji. "Coincidence??? I don't think so." However, Morgan Katz, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, said these posts fundamentally misunderstand what's happening when the test is conducted. The swab "would have to go through layers of muscle and fascia, as well as the base of the skull, which is a thick bone, in order to get anywhere near the blood-brain barrier, and I would say that it is not possible," Katz told the Associated Press. Instead of the brain, the test collects a sample from the nasopharynx, an area between the back of the nose and the back of the throat where respiratory viruses often live. "That's just a place where we expect to see the highest yield of respiratory viruses," she said.

Claim: Wearing a face mask for extended periods of time can cause pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining around the lung.

The facts: Multiple experts told the Associated Press there is no medical evidence that wearing a face mask could lead to this condition, despite Facebook posts claiming it could. "Be careful healthy people, shared from a friend," read one Facebook post, which described a story of a healthy 19-year-old frontline grocery store worker who started feeling sick and was diagnosed with pleurisy. "They basically tell her.. It's because she's been wearing a mask for over 8 hours a day 5-6 days a week. Breathing in her own bacteria. Carbon dioxide.. Caused an infection." Another Facebook post featured a diagram of a lung with an inflamed lining. "Result of wearing mask for 8 hours a day," the caption read. "Why are they not reporting the number of people being hospitalized for this?? YOU NEED FRESH AIR." But doctors who study the respiratory system say a face mask doesn't pose this risk. "There is absolutely no truth in that claim," said Humberto Choi, a pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic, in an email. "There are thousands of health care workers wearing face masks everyday including masks that are much tighter than simple surgical masks. Nobody is getting pleurisy because of that." "I don't see a medically plausible mechanism for mask wearing to cause pleurisy," said Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer at the American Lung Association. Claims that mask-wearing leads to harmful conditions, including bacterial and fungal infections, pneumonia, hypercapnia and other ailments are also false, according to AP reporting.

Claim: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out COVID-19 tests "seeded" with the virus.

The facts: Social media users shared an illustration of a COVID-19 nasal swab test where a 6-inch-long swab is placed into the cavity between the nose and mouth with false information that the CDC sent out tests that contained the live virus. The post asserts that COVID-19 tests are tainted and could expose people to the virus. According to one Instagram post that shared the illustration with false information: "COVID-19 test has the virus ... the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent states tainted lab tests in early February that were themselves seeded with the virus, federal officials have confirmed." The Instagram caption further states: "... if one person in the family could have gotten tested with one of those tainted 'Planted' COVID-19 tests that would potentially expose the entire family to the virus" In February, the CDC distributed a batch of faulty COVID-19 test kits to laboratories, but the kit did not contain the live virus. The contaminated tests were not sent out to patients. The CDC produced two types of test kits in January. There was no evidence that the first batch had any issues. The second type of test kit, which was developed to be manufactured by the CDC, was contaminated. The Department of Health & Human Services published an investigation of the failed rollout on June 19. The report states: "After receiving these tests from CDC in early February, public health laboratories attempted to validate the test kits before using them on real specimens. They could not validate the test a negative control gave a positive result and thus, the test kits were not used and no patient received an inaccurate test result." According to the review, "One of the three reagents in this initial batch of manufactured test kits was likely contaminated. These tests are so sensitive that this contamination could have been caused by a single person walking through an area with positive control material and then later entering an area where tests reagents were being manipulated," the report states. Positive control material is the synthetic, non-infectious part of the virus. Yvonne Maldonado, M.D., professor of pediatric infectious diseases and of health research and policy at Stanford University School of Medicine, told the AP this is not the live virus. The false post implies that nasal swab tests are tainted with the virus. "We only use sterile swabs," Maldonado explained. "That's actually the problem with getting the swab is that we have to make sure that they've been sterilized. We can't just take Q-tips from a box."

Claim: "Teachers are the number one occupation of the antifa terrorist organization according to the FBI."

The facts: False. There is no evidence that teachers make up an outsized portion of antifa, a shorthand term for "anti-fascists." The FBI told the Associated Press it "has not made any such statements about the occupations of people who are attracted to particular ideologies." This false claim has gone viral online recently, both as part of longer blog posts promoting conspiracy theories around COVID-19 and the death of George Floyd, and independently on Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook alone, posts connecting teachers with antifa have been viewed more than a million times in the past week. But the posts don't reflect the way the FBI actually investigates criminal activity or people who identify as antifa, which has become an umbrella term for left-leaning militant groups that oppose neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations. While FBI director Christopher Wray recently told Fox News the agency is investigating various "violent anarchist extremists, some of whom self-identify or otherwise link to the antifa movement," the agency does not initiate investigations solely based on an individual's identity. "Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security," the FBI told the AP in a statement. Accordingly, the FBI said it has not made any statements about the occupations of people who are drawn to particular ideologies, such as anti-fascism. Though President Donald Trump has tweeted that the United States will designate antifa as a terrorist organization, it does not qualify for inclusion on the State Department's foreign terror organizations list because antifa is a domestic movement.

Claim: Anthony Fauci, M.D., is married to Ghislaine Maxwell's sister.

The facts: Fauci is married to Christine Grady, chief of the bioethics department at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Fauci's role as the nation's top infectious disease expert has made him a target of false information. Social media users are now attempting to link Fauci to conspiracy theories tied to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in jail after being charged with sex trafficking underage girls. Posts online say that Fauci's wife is related to Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was arrested last week and charged with helping recruit girls for Epstein. Maxwell is one of seven siblings, including twin sisters Christine and Isabel. Their father Robert Maxwell was a billionaire publishing magnate whose nude body was recovered from waters off the Canary Islands in November 1991. He had disappeared from his yacht named Lady Ghislaine. The Associated Press reported at the time that Robert Maxwell had four daughters and three sons. Two of Maxwell's children died: Michael, who died in 1968 at age 21, and Karine, who died in 1957 at age 3, of leukemia. His daughter Christine is not Christine Grady. The National Institutes of Health interviewed Grady in 1997 about her life where she said she grew up in New Jersey as one of five children. "But when I was fairly young, I thought I wanted to be a nurse, and my mother encouraged it the most, even though she was not one herself. She thought nursing was a noble profession and a good thing for me to do. So she encouraged that," Grady says in the oral history interview. Grady served on the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues from 2010 to 2017 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and biology as well as a doctorate in philosophy from Georgetown University. Former GOP candidate DeAnna Lorraine tweeted the photo of Fauci and Grady Sunday, saying Grady was Maxwell's sister. Lorraine later corrected the tweet. "Looks like the connection may not be accurate w Fauci' wife/Maxwell. When ppl sent me this I researched it & it checked out at first, I'm sorry for getting excited about the connection & jumping gun," she later tweeted. Posts making the false claim online shared a 2016 photo, which can be found in the Getty Images archive, of Fauci with Grady at the White House state dinner held by then-President Barack Obama for the prime minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi. "No coincidences," one post with 1,429 likes on Instagram said sharing the photo of the two.

Claim: The dress Melania Trump wore during Fourth of July celebrations featured drawings by various victims of child sex trafficking.

The facts: The sketches on the dress were made by art students in a class, not by victims of sex trafficking. On July 3, during a visit to Mount Rushmore to commemorate the Fourth of July, First Lady Melania Trump wore a white dress with black lines, black shoes and a black belt. Social media users criticized both the appearance and the price of the garment, which cost $3,840. Others claimed the dress featured drawings from sex trafficking victims. "The media mocked First Lady Melania's dress," read one Facebook post with more than 8 million views. "They said it looked like childish scribbles. Little did they know, they were the drawings of several young victims of sex trafficking who tried to explain their pain through pictures." But posts like this are not correct the dress actually shows sketches of "dancing girls" made by design students from the British art school Central Saint Martins. The students worked with Julie Verhoeven, a fashion illustrator, during a class at the Alexander McQueen flagship store in London. In early May, Paper magazine published a story explaining that the sketches of dancers were first made on sheets. "Afterwards, Creative Director Sarah Burton enlisted the entire McQueen staff to hand-embroider and stitch over the sketches of a single ivory linen dress," the story reads.

Claim: Kansas City Chiefs CEO and owner Clark Hunt told NFL players, coaches and staff that they are all "simply paid performers on a stage" and he will "immediately fire" anyone who does not stand, with their hand over their heart, during the playing of the national anthem.

The facts: Hunt did not hold such a meeting, although he has publicly expressed support for Chiefs players standing during the national anthem. Facebook users for years have circulated a false letter that claims to reveal the Kansas City Chiefs owner called a dramatic meeting to tell NFL players they need to stand during the anthem or face immediate dismissal from the team. The hoax is gaining traction, again, on Facebook before the football season resumes and after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized last month for the way the league has handled peaceful protests over racial injustice. They included players taking a knee in 2016 during the national anthem an effort led by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Goodell made the comments this year, the day after Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes urged the league to condemn racism. The letter first began circulating on Facebook in 2016, as debate over football players' decision to kneel during the anthem raged. At the time, Hunt told the Kansas City Star the posts were a hoax. "I have heard about it," Hunt told the Kansas City Star in 2016. "It was an Internet hoax." Brad Gee, the director of football communications for the Kansas City Chiefs, also confirmed to the Associated Press that the contents of the viral letter are inaccurate. Hunt has publicly stated in years past that he prefers players to stand during the national anthem but several Chiefs players have sat or taken a knee during the national anthem, without being fired, including star tight end Travis Kelce. In 2017, after Trump called on NFL owners to fire players who didn't stand during the national anthem, Hunt responded with a formal statement, saying he believes in "honoring the American flag" but encouraged everyone to "work together to solve these difficult issues."

This is part of the Associated Press' ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform. Find all AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

See original here:

Fact-checking the weeks lies, misinformation - Echo Pilot