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The Crypto Daily – The Movers and Shakers – July 6th, 2020 – FX Empire

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Bitcoin fell by 0.68% on Sunday. Reversing a 0.57% gain from Saturday, Bitcoin ended the week down by 0.45% to $9,084.3.

It was a mixed start to the day for Bitcoin. Bitcoin rose to an early morning intraday high $9,152.3 before hitting reverse.

Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $9,214.47, Bitcoin slid to a late intraday low $8,918.0.

Bitcoin fell through the first major support level at $9,070.47 and the second major support level at $8,993.23.

Steering clear of the 23.6% FIB of $8,900, Bitcoin broke back through the support levels to wrap up the day at $9,080 levels.

The near-term bullish trend remained intact in spite of the recent pullback to sub-$9,000 levels. For the bears, Bitcoin would need to slide through the 62% FIB of $6,400 to form a near-term bearish trend.

Across the rest of the majors, it was a bearish day on Sunday.

Cardanos ADA and EOS led the way down, sliding by 2.76% and by 2.10% respectively.

Bitcoin Cash SV (-1.53%), Litecoin (-1.31%), Moneros XMR (-1.22%), and Tezos (-1.77%) werent far behind.

Binance Coin (-0.51%), Bitcoin Cash ABC (-0.90%), Ethereum (-0.73%), Ripples XRP (-0.49%), Stellars Lumen (-0.95%), and Trons TRX (-0.79%) saw relatively modest losses.

For the week, it was a mixed bag for the majors.

Cardanos ADA surged by 22.38% to lead the way.

Stellars Lumen (+4.40%) and Trons TRX (+7.56%) also found strong support.

Binance Coin (+0.72%), Bitcoin Cash ABC (+0.16%), EOS (+1.82%), Ethereum (+1.21%), Litecoin (+0.60%), Moneros XMR (+0.14%), and Ripples XRP (+0.17%) saw modest gains.

Bitcoin Cash SV (-3.81%) and Tezos (-3.33%) bucked the trend for the week.

Through the week, the crypto total market cap rose to a Wednesday high $260.82bn before falling to a Thursday low $249.45bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $255.26bn.

Bitcoins dominance rose to a Monday high 66.29% before falling to a Sunday low 65.25%. At the time of writing, Bitcoins dominance stood at 65.44%.

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The Crypto Daily - The Movers and Shakers - July 6th, 2020 - FX Empire

Forget Bitcoin and Cash ISAs! I’d buy cheap FTSE 100 shares now to beat the State Pension – Yahoo Finance UK

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Investors seeking to build a retirement nest egg to overcome a low State Pension may naturally seek assets other than the FTSE 100 after its recent market crash. The index has rebounded, but still trades significantly below its 2020 starting price.

However, the stock market could offer strong recovery potential over the coming years. Therefore, it may prove to be a superior means of building a retirement nest egg compared to buying Bitcoin or holding your capital in a Cash ISA.

The FTSE 100s track record shows that it has been an effective means of obtaining a retirement fund that can provide a passive income in older age. The index has gained around 8% per annum including dividends since its inception in 1984. Therefore, investing even modest amounts in a diverse range of large-cap shares has been a highly profitable strategy for anyone who has a long time horizon.

With the State Pension age set to rise and its payments currently amounting to around a third of the UKs average annual salary, large-cap shares offer the chance to reduce your reliance on the State Pension. Although in the short run events such as a market crash can cause the index to fall, it has always recovered from its various downturns over the years to post new record highs.

Other assets such as Bitcoin and Cash ISAs may hold greater appeal at the present time due to the FTSE 100 market crash. However, they may fail to provide a reliable means of generating a nest egg from which to draw an income in retirement.

Cash ISAs face what could be a considerable period of time with low returns. Interest rates could stay at low levels for many years due to the economic challenges faced following the coronavirus pandemic. This may even mean that Cash ISAs produce a negative return when inflation is factored-in. This could lower your spending power and make it more difficult to obtain a retirement portfolio that reduces your reliance on the State Pension when compared to buying FTSE 100 shares.

By contrast, Bitcoin has the capacity to make strong gains. Its price doubled following a decline in the earlier part of the year. However, its risks are also relatively high. Challenges such as regulatory concerns, competition from other virtual currencies and its lack of fundamentals could derail Bitcoins progress in the coming years. This may mean that it fails to produce a reliable return as per the 36-year track record of the FTSE 100.

Clearly, buying FTSE 100 shares today may not seem to be an attractive prospect due to the indexs recent decline. However, it is likely to recover, while its past performance suggests that it is set to remain an effective means of obtaining a passive income in retirement that reduces your dependence on the State Pension.

The post Forget Bitcoin and Cash ISAs! Id buy cheap FTSE 100 shares now to beat the State Pension appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

Malaysia: Stop Treating Criticism as a Crime – Human Rights Watch

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

(Bangkok) Malaysian authorities are increasingly responding to criticism of the government by initiating criminal investigations, Human Rights Watch said today. Journalists, civil society activists, and ordinary people have all recently faced police questioning for peaceful speech underbroadly worded laws that violate the right to freedom of expression.

Malaysias Perikatan Nasional government is increasingly responding to public criticism by carrying out abusive investigations on specious charges, saidPhil Robertson, deputy Asia director. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin should recognize that everyone has a right to criticize their government without fear of investigation or prosecution.

The most recent target of the governments ire is Al Jazeera, which produced a video segment discussing Malaysias treatment of migrant workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. After denouncing the documentary as deceptive and unethical, Defense Minister Ismail Saabri said that Al Jazeera should apologize to all Malaysians. The police subsequently announced that they were investigating Al Jazeera for sedition, defamation, and violation of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA).

In an apparent case of retaliation, the Immigration Department announced that it was looking for one of the migrants interviewed in the report, and the departments director general warned that foreigners who make inaccurate statements aimed at sullying the country would face potential revocation of their visas or work passes. In the documentary, Al Jazeera reported that it had reached out to the government and sought interviews with senior officials, but those interview requests had been denied.

On June 6, 2020, Boo Su-Lyn, editor of the health news portal CodeBlue, announced that she was being investigated under the Official Secrets Act and the penal code for a series of articles about the findings of an independent investigation into an October 2016 hospital fire that killed six patients. Boo Su-Lyn stated that the findings on which she based her articles had been declassified.

In another case targeting the media, the attorney-general filed contempt proceedings against the online news portal Malaysiakini and its editor, Steven Gan, based on comments posted by the outlets readers. On July 3, the Federal Court rejected an application to set aside the decision permitting the attorney general to initiate contempt proceedings, holding that the government had made a prima facie case that Malaysiakini had published the comments and that the comments impugned the judiciary. The court will hear arguments in the case on July 13. The defense argued that media should not be held responsible for comments made by readers, noting that Malaysiakini had removed the comments as soon as it was alerted about them. The Committee for Independent Journalism and the Malaysian Bar Council are among those who have expressed concern about the implications of the case for media freedom.

Activists and ordinary people are also facing criminal investigation for speech critical of the government. On July 7, the police questioned the director of the nongovernmental organization Refuge for the Refugees about a social media post alleging mistreatment of refugees at immigration detention centers. The activist, Heidy Quah, is being investigated for defamation and violation of section 233 of the CMA and was required to surrender her phone to the police.

On July 3, a retiree was fined RM2,000 (US$470) for posting insulting comments about the health minister on social media, even though the court noted that the criticism was not overboard or malicious in nature. He will have to serve a month in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

Other recent investigations include:

While none of those investigations have yet resulted in criminal charges, others have been prosecuted for peaceful speech, including:

All ofthe laws cited in these investigations areoverly broad and subject to abuse, and have been used by prior administrations against critical voices.Under international human rights standards, governments may only impose restrictions on freedom of expression if they are provided by law and are necessary for the respect of the rights or reputations of others, or for the protection of national security, public order, public health, or morals.Restrictions must be narrowly drawn to limit speech as little as possible, and sufficiently precise that an individual can understand what is made unlawful.None of the laws at issue meet these standards.

Since the new government took office, freedom of speech and the press have faced renewed threats in Malaysia, Robertson said.The government needs to stop treating criticism as a crime and take immediate steps to amend or repeal the abusive laws being used against critical speech.

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Malaysia: Stop Treating Criticism as a Crime - Human Rights Watch

Online Speech Has Harmful Effects on Both Individuals and Society, According to Mary Anne Franks – BroadbandBreakfast.com

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

July 10, 2020 A letter signed by over 150 prominent intellectuals and artists was published by Harpers Magazine on Tuesday, warning against an intolerant culture engulfing American values.

As writers, we need a culture that leaves us room for experimentation, risk taking, and even mistakes, the letter read.

The letter immediately drew criticism, with many arguing that mistakes causing measurable harm to minority populations deserve to result in consequences.

In a Thursday virtual conversation with Sam Knight, senior vice president and chief program officer of the Knight Foundation, Mary Anne Franks, a University of Miami law professor and president of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, shared her insights as one of the leading thinkers on the harmful effects of certain online speech.

In her recent book, The Cult of the Constitution, Franks attempted to unpack how the First Amendment is understood in America, finding that many interpret the text to advance their personal political views.

People understand when this happens in the religious context, Franks said, adding that people can comprehend when an individuals attachment to their own self-interest affects the interpretation of a text.

Its important to ask who is speaking all the time, Franks said. It is politicians, capitalists and the same people running a monolithic culture of the freedom of speech.

Primarily white wealthy mens views are there, she continued. Theres no way to ignore the presidents speech on Twitter.

Yet these prominent voices often belong to the same individuals saying that their speech is being stifled or not fully heard.

Do we actually think women and minorities have the same freedom of speech that everyone else has? Is their speech really free? Franks asked.

Women and minorities are the primary targets of death threats and doxing online, things that no individual deserves, she pointed out.

Franks honored contributors to the #MeToo movement, an ongoing online movement against sexual harassment and sexual abuse where people publicize their allegations online, saying all of these individuals were putting themselves at risk.

Women and minorities often choose to be anonymous online to protect themselves, while white males are often anonymous online in order to harass others without consequences, she claimed.

Franks suggested individuals should ask themselves, Does your speech impose risk? If so, who is experiencing the burden of the risk of your speech?

It doesnt matter how much you feel, it matters how much measurable harm your speech is causing, she said.

Franks pointed to crucial lessons she learned from Michelle Vocaulx, who distinguished between fearless speech and reckless speech.

Fearless speech has to involve taking a risk to ones self, she said. Reckless speech is the provocative.

Franks argued that the internet has fundamentally altered speech, increasing the amount of reckless speech.

It makes us all impulsive and makes us judgmental of other peoples impulses, she said.

To draw out this point, she compared the speech norms of the internet to the speech norms of the university.

When in conversation in the university, you cant just send the student away your job is to continue to have a conversation, Franks said. We dont have to make a judgement about that person. We can make a judgement about society.

Yet the norms of the internet encourage bad faith speech that is less generous, less compassionate, less interesting, less informative and less thoughtful, she said.

Franks also questioned whether the plethora of online reckless speech is really speech at all.

The First Amendment has real contested boundaries between speech and conduct, she said. If I punch you in the face, thats conduct, not speech.

One of the problems of the internet, which is contributed to by Section 230 but also the tech industry, is that it promotes the idea that everything online is speech, when its really not, Franks argued.

You buy things online, you socialize online the Internet has become intertwined with all of our daily activities, she continued.

Categorizing all of these digital interactions as speech, especially when they would not be considered speech in the offline world, is wrong, Franks said.

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Online Speech Has Harmful Effects on Both Individuals and Society, According to Mary Anne Franks - BroadbandBreakfast.com

Boise Police Identify Suspects in Batteries Committed During July 2 Black Lives Matter/Defund the Police Protest – Idaho Press-Tribune

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

The Boise Police Department has identified several suspects in connection with batteries and other misdemeanor crimes committed during a Black Lives Matter/Defund the Police protest in late June, and forwarded those cases to prosecutors, the department announced July 10.

On June 30, members of the Black Lives Matter movement gathered at Boise City Hall to call on Mayor Lauren McLean and the Boise City Council to replace the city's armed police force with an unarmed alternative. Scarcely had that protest begun, however, when a large group of counter-demonstrators, including a contingent of white supremacists, arrived to show their support of the police.

Though many of the counter-demonstrators remained peaceful, others attempted to disrupt the BLM protest and instigated several fights that resulted in minor injuries. Though Boise Police arrived on the scene in riot gear, no arrests were made on the scene.

Following the events of June 30, BPD began investigating possible misdemeanor crimes in relation to the protest. The identities of the suspects have not been released to the public, though BPD did say that some victims came forward, assisting in the investigations.

The next BLM/Defund the Police demonstration will take place on Tuesday, July 21, at Boise City Hall. Looking ahead to that event and the likely presence of counter-demonstrators, BPD issued the following statement:

"Boise police remind those going to future protests that officers will work to stop violence of any kind, as well as property damage. We will also work to hold those responsible for any violent act or vandalism accountable under the laws of the State of Idaho and City of Boise. We strive to protect everyones right to peacefully assemble and exercise their first amendment rights.This includes working with any and all protest organizers to facilitate these rights, while remaining neutral on the various political issues. Our biggest priority is to create a safe place for all who intend to peacefully exercise their rights and we do not condone violence by any party in these demonstrations."

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Boise Police Identify Suspects in Batteries Committed During July 2 Black Lives Matter/Defund the Police Protest - Idaho Press-Tribune

Lockdown-focused Facebook groups pivot to attacks on Black Lives Matter – CNBC

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

A loose network of Facebook groups that took root across the country in April to organize protests over coronavirus stay-at-home orders has become a hub of misinformation and conspiracy theories that have pivoted to a variety of new targets. Their latest: Black Lives Matter and the nationwide protests of racial injustice.

These groups, which now boast a collective audience of more than 1 million members, are still thriving after most states started lifting virus restrictions.

And many have expanded their focus.

One group transformed itself last month from "Reopen California" to "California Patriots Pro Law & Order," with recent posts mocking Black Lives Matter or changing the slogan to "White Lives Matter." Members have used profane slurs to refer to Black people and protesters, calling them "animals," "racist" and "thugs" a direct violation of Facebook's hate speech standards.

Others have become gathering grounds for promoting conspiracy theories about the protests, suggesting protesters were paid to go to demonstrations and that even the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police, was staged.

An Associated Press review of the most recent posts in 40 of these Facebook groups most of which were launched by conservative groups or pro-gun activists found the conversations largely shifted last month to attacking the nationwide protests over the killing of Black men and women after Floyd's death.

Facebook users in some of these groups post hundreds of times a day in threads often seen by members only and shielded from public view.

"Unless Facebook is actively looking for disinformation in those spaces, they will go unnoticed for a long time and they will grow," said Joan Donovan, the research director at the Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. "Over time, people will drag other people into them and they will continue to organize."

Facebook said it is aware of the collection of reopen groups, and is using technology as well as relying on users to identify problematic posts. The company has vowed in the past to look for material that violates its rules in private groups as well as in public places on its site. But the platform has not always been able to deliver on that promise.

Shortly after the groups were formed, they were rife with coronavirus misinformation and conspiracy theories, including assertions that masks are "useless," the U.S. government intends to forcibly vaccinate people and that Covid-19 is a hoax intended to hurt President Donald Trump's re-election chances this fall.

Posts in these private groups are less likely to be scrutinized by Facebook or its independent fact-checkers, said Donovan. Facebook enlists media outlets around the world, including The Associated Press, to fact check claims on its site. Members in these private groups have created an echo chamber and tend to agree with the posts, so are therefore less likely to flag them for Facebook or fact-checkers to review, Donovan added.

At least one Facebook group, ReOpen PA, asked its 105,000 members to keep the conversation focused on reopening businesses and schools in Pennsylvania, and implemented rules to forbid posts about the racial justice protests as well as conspiracy theories about the efficacy of masks.

But most others have not moderated their pages as closely.

For example, some groups in New Jersey, Texas and Ohio have labeled systemic racism a hoax. A member of the California Facebook group posted a widely debunked flyer that says "White men, women and children, you are the enemy," which was falsely attributed to Black Lives Matter. Anotherfalsely claimedthat a Black man was brandishing a gun outside the St. Louis mansion where a white couple confronted protesters with firearms. Dozens of users in several of the groups have pushed anunsubstantiated theorythat liberal billionaire George Soros is paying crowds to attend racial justice protests.

Facebook members in two groups Wisconsinites Against Excessive Quarantine and Ohioans Against Excessive Quarantine also regularly refer to protesters as "animals," "thugs," or "paid" looters.

In the Ohio group, one user wrote on May 31: "The focus is shifted from the voice of free people rising up against tyranny ... to lawless thugs from a well known racist group causing violence and upheaval of lives."

Those two pages are part of a network of groups in Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania created by conservative activist Ben Dorr, who has for years raised money to lobby on hot-button conservative issues like abortion or gun rights. Their latest cause pushing for governors to reopen their states has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers in the private Facebook groups they launched.

Private groups that balloon to that size, with little oversight, are like "creepy basements" where extremist views and misinformation can lurk, said disinformation researcher Nina Jankowicz, a fellow at the nonpartisan Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

"It's sort of a way that the platforms are enabling some of the worst actors to stay on it," said Jankowicz. "Rather than being de-platformed they can organize."

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Lockdown-focused Facebook groups pivot to attacks on Black Lives Matter - CNBC

AI In Human Resources To AI or not to AI? – Analytics Insight

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Every department in a company has its own challenges.

In the case of Human Resources, recruitment and onboarding processes, employee orientations, process paperwork, and background checks is a handful and many a time painstaking mostly because of the repetitive and manual nature of the work. The most challenging of all is engaging with employees on human grounds to understand their needs.

As leaders today are observing the AI revolution across every process, Human resources is no exception: there has been a visible wave of AI disruption across HR functions. According to an IBMs survey from 2017, among 6000 executives, 66% of CEOs believe that cognitive computing can drive compelling value in HR while half of the HR personnel believe this may affect roles in the HR organization. The study clearly exhibits the apprehension of HR executives caused by the AI disruption in their field.

While one aspect of AI is creating uneasiness: the other is promising convenience. AI aims to empower the HR department with the right knowledge to optimize processes with less manual power and guarantees to mitigate errors.

TheCOVID-19 pandemic has highlighted thepower of AIin real-time< Backlink-https://us.sganalytics.com/blog/ai-can-detect-infections-with-96-percent-accuracy-can-ai-predict-the-next-pandemic/>, including its shortcomings. At the crux of the AI evolution is the minimization of human labored processes. Sophisticated AI algorithms can analyze large amounts of data in no time and self-educate themselves to recognize and map patterns, which can come in handy for HR staffs to plan and operate strategically.

While a human can be biased, get bored and make unintended mistakes provoking inadequacy in productivity and efficiency, AI programs are unbiased and diligent, enabling more productivity and efficiency.

HR executives who perform tasks like applicant tracking, payroll, training, and job postings manually without automation, state that they spend 14 hours a week on an average on these tasks. Leveraging AI to automate these HR processes can be extremely pertinent for meeting the following key business requirements: First, save time and increase efficiency; Second, provide real-time responses and solutions that meet employee expectations.

As per a Mckinseys study AI will drastically change business regardless of the industry. AI could potentially deliver an additional economic output of around $13 trillion by 2030, boosting global GDP by about 1.2 percent a year.

Lets dive deeper to understand how AI can help sophisticate HR processes while not necessarily replacing human resource personnel.

1. Improved Employee Experience

Employees are the first customers for any organization. Hence employee experience is as important as customer experience.

As employee experience is becoming the next competitive edge for businesses, the coming days will be focused on providing personalized engagement and improving employee experience for human resources.

According to a Deloitte survey, 80% HR executives rate employee experience as important, while only 22% believe their organization excels at providing a differentiated employee experience.

Additionally, the advent of smart workplace has raised the bars of employees expectations for work-space experience and engagement factors.

Jennifer Stroud, HR Evangelist & Transformation Leader atServiceNow, says,We have seen the need for chatbots, AI and machine learning in the workplace to drive more productivity as well as modern, consumerized employee experiences. These consumer technology solutions are exactly what employees want in the workplace.

Engaging AI can help the HR department provide personalized employee engagement experiences across the entire employee lifecycle, right from recruitment and onboarding to career pathing.

2. Empowering HRs to make Data-Driven decisions

In common, the data-to-decision workflow looks like the below figure for many people.

Source: jobsoffice

Many HR technologies still follow the above workflow and depend on manual methods to glean insights from data. This task grows tedious and creates a bottleneck for end-users (data analysts) to draw insights within the stipulated time leading to decision making on outdated data.

While frontier technologies like data analytics are advancing to provide real-time data to make fast and fact-based decisions, AI can assist Human Resource professionals in harnessing this real-time data and making quick, consistent, and data-driven decisions. After all, the bottom line of HR agility is decision making.

3. Intelligent Automation

Intelligent automation fuses automation with AI. This will enable machines to make human-like decisions by self-educating themselves. Apart from augmenting productivity and efficiency for repetitive manual processes, this can help remove human interventions deployed for automated process completely.

1.More work in less time!

Crafting job descriptions for a particular role, filtering resumes and analyzing skillsets to find the apt talent is not only tiring and tedious, but also tricky for human resource professionals as a simple overlooked aspect can lead to a significant mistake, which may cost the company dearly in the long run. Well, AI can help HR staff overcome such scenarios by crafting bespoken job descriptions automatically and assist them in reading through thousands of resumes within a short time, thus effectively reducing the time and manual hard work put in by recruiters.

2. Identify the right talent without bias

HR personnel are humans and are likely to exhibit bias subconsciously. AI, on the other hand, is immune to human emotions which makes it the perfect fit to process candidate profiles based on required skillset without any disregard for candidates age, race, gender, geographic areas or organizational relationship. An unbiased recruitment is a win-win for both HR staff and organization. Furthermore, AI can be instrumental in increasing retention rates and establishing cultural diversity.

Consider programs like Texito, they help recognize gender bias in ads enabling recruiters to embrace a neutral language.

3. Streamline employee onboarding

The first day of an employee in an organization is like the first day of a transferred student in a new school. Although employees are grown-ups and possess the cognitive intelligence to adapt easily to an environment, deep down they look for a guidance to help them settle down in a new environment. Fortunately, organizations have HR staff to do this job. Employees generally have numerous queries on their first day regarding company policies, leaves, compensations, notice period, insurance claims, etc. As intriguing as the questions may be for an employee, these queries may turn repetitive and exhausting for an HR personnel over the time. Engaging AI chatbots makes it simple to answer such repetitive questions and make more time for the HR staff to concentrate on other essential tasks.

4. Optimize employee engagement to build better relationships

Apart from recruitment and onboarding, AI can be used to streamline processes like scheduling meetings, training employees and other such business processes. AIs capabilities to recognize personas will help Human resources professionals understand the human aspect of every single employee in-depth and enable them to shape a friendly and exciting company culture to provide unique and personalized employee engagement experiences.

5. Manage employee churn

Understanding factors that cause and arrest employee churn is the toughest part of an HRs job. People change jobs for various reasons like financial growth, career growth, shift in profiles, unsatisfied work environment, etc. Leveraging AI capabilities can help the HR department in continuously monitoring and evaluating employees thoughts about the organization, work culture, the degree of satisfaction with their job, etc. Knowing what offends or drives an employee can help in underlining the employee churn factors precisely. AI can help HR executives in performing this task more precisely.

All said and done, even though AIs capabilities would help reduce manual work and boost efficiency and productivity, artificial intelligence doesnt possess the emotional intelligence of humans. AI also cannot compensate for the humane connection that HR personnel form with employees and leverage to drive engagement and responsiveness.

Therefore, to answer the critical question that haunts HR executives Will AI be the reason why I might lose my job? No. Not really. The whole idea of AI in HR is the integration of technology to automate the more monotonous HR related tasks and optimize processes to add value to human work in less time. In the AI era, new jobs will evolve that will have new skills requirements unleashing the evolution of the HR function in an AI-first world.

Author Detail:

Jency is a technology content writer with SG Analytics. She contributes to the companys advancements by writing creative and engaging for their website and blogs. Her hobbies include music, reading, and trekking.

Company designation: Content Writer, SG Analytics

Location: Pune

Links to my blogs: https://us.sganalytics.com/blog/75-percent-consumers-anticipate-financial-impact-effects-of-covid-on-consumer-behaviour/, https://us.sganalytics.com/blog/social-media-analytics-is-truly-a-game-changer-heres-why/

Social media profile: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jency-durairaj-21225aa9

AI In Human Resources To AI or not to AI? - Analytics Insight

‘Make in India’: Artificial Intelligence Company, AiBridge ML, Adds Handwriting and Image Recognition Capabilities to AiMunshi, the Popular Financial…

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

HYDERABAD, India, July 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Founder & Chief Data Scientist of AiBridge ML, Mr. Prajnajit Mohanty, announced addition of Handwriting & Image Recognition capabilities to their Financial Document Automation tool, AIMunshi. It is notable that AIMunshi is a 'Make in India' Deep Learning based Intelligent Financial Documents Automation tool from AiBridge ML.

"Addition of deep learning based Handwriting & Image recognition capabilities to AiMunshi will enable us to offer augmented features to diversified industries. It will help them to operate in contactless manner and automate their routine work during current COVID-19 pandemic. Industries like education, healthcare, retail, manufacturing etc. will be benefitted immensely and we are committed to help Indian industries to use AI & Machine learning," said Mr. Mohanty.

Many USAand Australian healthcare, pharma and retail companies have already realized considerable financialand operational benefits using AiMunshi and yielding real, tangible ROI faster.

AiMunshi processes ordersand invoices automatically, reducing accounts payable costs while improving both the accuracy and the speed of data extraction from various sources or emails directly. It is capable of automatically interpreting the relevant information and fields within a PDF or image-based invoicesand order, or in emails in real-time.

Intelligent features of AiMunshi:

About AiBridge Ml Pvt Ltd

Founded in Feb, 2019 by Senior Technology Leaders with combined experience of 84 years in IT, AiBridge ML Pvt Ltd develops innovative Enterprise Solutions in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Augment Reality and Robotic Process Automation. Aibridge ML released AI powered deep learning based tool for Financial Document Processing Automation, AiMunshi in Sep 2019. They currently have 30+ Senior Data Scientists with combined experience of more than 70 years. Currently, Aibridge ML is offering their solutions in USA, Australia, Canada & India.

Company website: http://www.aibridgeml.ai AiMunshi Product website: http://www.aimunshi.ai

Media Contact: Ajay Ray[emailprotected]+91-9849743823Director, Aibridge ML Pvt Ltd

SOURCE AiBridge ML Pvt Ltd

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'Make in India': Artificial Intelligence Company, AiBridge ML, Adds Handwriting and Image Recognition Capabilities to AiMunshi, the Popular Financial...

Ardigen Enters Into Research Collaboration With CVC to Apply Artificial Intelligence for Identification of T-cell Targets – PRNewswire

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

KRAKW, Poland and AUCKLAND, New Zealand, July 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Ardigenand CVC announced that they entered a research collaboration aimed at the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Ardigen's neoantigen prediction platform called "ArdImmune Vax" employs state of the art bioinformatics and Artificial Intelligence to identify an optimal set of neoantigens as targets for cancer vaccines or adoptive cell therapies. This technology is also very well suited for the design of vaccines for infectious diseases. The core of the platform is a proprietary algorithm capable of predicting neoantigens' probability to elicit an immune response.

This joint research enables CVC to benefit from Ardigen's vaccine design technology by selecting which viral epitopes are the most suitable to boost cellular immune response. Complementing humoral and cellular response in the vaccine design is expected to result in 2 strong lines of defense against the coronavirus. The approach is likely to be more effective than vaccines designed to create antibodies alone.

"We are thrilled to help global efforts to mitigate COVID-19 applying our breakthrough technology powered by Artificial Intelligence, reducing the vaccine design phase to a few weeks," comments Janusz Homa, CEO of Ardigen.

Robert Feldman, CEO and Co-founder of CVC, adds: "CVC is excited to be working with Ardigen who are at the forefront of T-cell epitope design. The collaboration gives us the best chance of our product inducing an effective T-cell response against SARS-Cov-2."

About Ardigen

Ardigenis harnessing advanced Artificial Intelligence methods for novel precision medicine. The company accelerates therapy development by decoding microbiome, designing immunity and providing digital drug discovery services. Ardigen's team is rooted in biology and holds deep expertise in bioinformatics, machine learning, and software engineering. The company's in-house datasets together with platforms for immunology, biomarker, and microbiome research can empower effective pharmaceuticals development.

About CVC

New Zealand based CVC (COVID-19 Vaccine Corporation) is focused on creating an effective vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 virus which has caused the recent pandemic. The highly scalable biobead technology that will be used in the vaccine production was developed by Polybatics, a company spun off from Massey University in 2009 in New Zealand. The CVC founders bring to the table 30 years of experience in the biotechnology industry and in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Read more at cvc.nz.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/969153/Ardigen_SA_Logo.jpg

Contact:Barbara Wyroba| Ardigen S.A.+48-539-730-118[emailprotected]

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Ardigen Enters Into Research Collaboration With CVC to Apply Artificial Intelligence for Identification of T-cell Targets - PRNewswire

CORRECTION – OMNIQs Artificial Intelligence-Based Quest Shield Solution Selected by the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore – Financialbuzz.com

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

SALT LAKE CITY, July 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) In a release issued under the same headline on June 1, 2020 by OMNIQ, Inc. (OTCQB:OMQS), please be advised that the second paragraph as originally issued contained certain inaccuracies, not related to financial results or projections, which have been corrected below.

OMNIQ, Inc. (OTCQB:OMQS) (OMNIQ or the Company), announces that it has been selected to deploy its Quest Shield campus safety solution at the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore in Maryland.

The Quest Shield security package uses the Companys AI-based SeeCube technology platform, a ground-breaking cloud-based/on-premise security solution for Safe Campus/School applications. The platform provides unique AI-based computer vision technology and software to gather real-time vehicle data, enabling the Quest Shield to identify and record images of approaching vehicles including color, make and license plate information. The license plate is then compared against the schools internal watch list to provide immediate notifications of unauthorized vehicles to security and administrative personnel. In addition to providing a vehicle identification and recognition solution to the Talmudical Academy, the Quest Shield comprehensive security platform addresses other security concerns including controlling access to the buildings and visitor management as well as the ability to pre-register guests for school activities.

Additionally, as part of COVID-19 mitigation, parents in Maryland will be asked to take and record their childs temperature each day before they leave for school. Quest Shield will automate this process, by providing parents an online form where they may record the temperature. All Talmud Academy students will be equipped with an ID tag that will have a QR code that can be read with a barcode scanner. As students enter campus, faculty equipped with Quest handheld scanners will read the barcode to confirm that the students temperature has been taken that day; if the form has not been filled in, faculty will check temperatures before allowing students inside.

Shai Lustgarten, CEO of OMNIQ, commented: It is our privilege to work with the Talmudical Academy to provide our solution to enhance safety at their Baltimore campus. Quest Shield is an extension of the homeland security solution we designed for the Israeli authorities to fight terrorism and save lives.

Rabbi Yaacov Cohen, Executive Director, Talmudical Academy of Baltimore, commented:Concern about campus safety and the safety of our students and faculty drove the Talmudical Academy to seek ways to implement new strategies aimed at preventing crimes and violence that may be committed on the school grounds. The unfortunate reality today is that situations we could never imagine just a few years ago are happening now with increasing regularity. Most security systems that are currently being deployed on other campuses are good at recording events subsequent to crimes being committed. With Quest Shield, we have an opportunity to alert personnel and Law Enforcement ahead of any sign of violence.

Mr. Lustgarten added: The Quest Shield has been tailored to provide a proactive solution to improve security and safety in schools and on campuses as well as community centers and places of worship in the U.S. that have unfortunately become a target for ruthless attacks. Were pleased to work with a forward-thinking organization like the Talmudical Academy, it is gratifying that the Academy selected the Quest Shield platform to strengthen its security precautions.

Additionally, many schools and communities are expressing concern around children returning to school in the fall due to COVID-19. With that in mind, Talmudical Academy will also employ the Quest Shield to provide an automated screening process to confirm that students have had their temperatures checked, per Maryland regulation, upon their arrival on campus and prior to them entering the school facilities.

Mr. Lustgarten concluded, We are proud to be able to improve student safety in the U.S., as well as in other vulnerable communities. Quest Shield has previously been implemented by a pre-K through Grade 12 school in Florida and at a Jewish Community Center in Salt Lake City. We look forward to working closely with the Academy and other institutions to promote the health and safety of students, faculty and support personnel.

About OMNIQ, Corp.OMNIQ Corp. (OMQS) provides computerized and machine vision image processing solutions that use patented and proprietary AI technology to deliver data collection, real time surveillance and monitoring for supply chain management, homeland security, public safety, traffic & parking management and access control applications. The technology and services provided by the Company help clients move people, assets and data safely and securely through airports, warehouses, schools, national borders, and many other applications and environments.

OMNIQs customers include government agencies and leading Fortune 500 companies from several sectors, including manufacturing, retail, distribution, food and beverage, transportation and logistics, healthcare, and oil, gas, and chemicals. Since 2014, annual revenues have grown to more than $50 million from clients in the USA and abroad.

The Company currently addresses several billion-dollar markets, including the Global Safe City market, forecast to grow to $29 billion by 2022, and the Ticketless Safe Parking market, forecast to grow to $5.2 billion by 2023.

Information about Forward-Looking StatementsSafe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release relating to plans, strategies, economic performance and trends, projections of results of specific activities or investments, and other statements that are not descriptions of historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

This release contains forward-looking statements that include information relating to future events and future financial and operating performance. The words anticipate, may, would, will, expect, estimate, can, believe, potential and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or managements good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in demand for the Companys products particularly during the current health crisis, the introduction of new products, the Companys ability to maintain customer and strategic business relationships, the impact of competitive products and pricing, growth in targeted markets, the adequacy of the Companys liquidity and financial strength to support its growth, the Companys ability to manage credit and debt structures from vendors, debt holders and secured lenders, the Companys ability to successfully integrate its acquisitions, and other information that may be detailed from time-to-time in OMNIQ Corp.s filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Examples of such forward looking statements in this release include, among others, statements regarding revenue growth, driving sales, operational and financial initiatives, cost reduction and profitability, and simplification of operations. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting OMNIQ Corp., please refer to the Companys recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. OMNIQ Corp. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless otherwise required by law.

Investor Contact: John Nesbett/Jen BelodeauIMS Investor Relations203.972.9200jnesbett@institutionalms.com

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CORRECTION - OMNIQs Artificial Intelligence-Based Quest Shield Solution Selected by the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore - Financialbuzz.com

European Parliament names MEPs on artificial intelligence, cancer plan and foreign interference committees – Science Business

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

The European Parliament announced the MEPs who will sit on its new special committees on artificial intelligence (AI), cancer and foreign interference in democratic processes.

The new committee on beating cancer will identify areas for action, legislation and other measures to help prevent and fight cancer, and look into the best ways to support research.

It has been set up following European Commission president Ursula von der Leyens announcement in April of a nine-month consultation among member states for her cancer plan.

The wide-ranging push focuses mainly on prevention, but it will also promote better data sharing, and there will be a research component, in the form of the cancer mission set to begin next year as part of Horizon Europe.

Joining the new 33 member cancer committee is Petra de Sutter, a former senator in Belgiums parliament, and a physician who ran the department for reproductive medicine at Ghent University. She currently chairs the parliament committee on the internal market and consumer protection.

The committee on AI meanwhile will study the impact and challenges of rolling out the technology, and propose a roadmap detailing what the objectives of the legislation should be.

The commission is pushing to be one of the first places in the world to regulate AI, aiming to devise rules and limits that parallel those set out in the general data protection regulation, promoting adoption of the technology, whilst also providing a proportionate regulatory framework. As of now, the EU executive has only released a white paper, spelling out preferred options for laws.

The committees ranks will include Romanias Dan Nica, Portugals Maria da Graa Carvalho and Spains Pilar del Castillo Vera, three members who also sit on ITRE, the committee on industry, research and energy.

Also joining the AI committee is Andrus Ansip, former European Commission vice president, and former holder of the digital single market portfolio.

The third new committee, focused on foreign interference, will review alleged breaches of democratic processes in the EU, including misinformation, and will identify areas where greater control over social media platforms may be required.

Each of the special committees is set up for one year only, with each having 33 members. The chairs and vice-chairs will be decided in September.

Parties agree on the allocation of committees between them, to make sure the chairs are a fair representation of the make-up of parliament. Each political group is allocated a number of seats on the new committees based on the number of MEPs they have in the chamber.

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European Parliament names MEPs on artificial intelligence, cancer plan and foreign interference committees - Science Business

How Artificial Intelligence Could Lead to Better Investment Decisions – Barron’s

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

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The decision to invest in a company can rely on a lot of guesswork, but Kim Polese, co-founder and chairman of CrowdSmart, is using artificial intelligence to turn qualitative information into quantitative dataand reduce bias along the way.

When were talking about using collective intelligence, augmented collective intelligence, what were really talking about is using a combination of human and machine intelligence to improve the way that diligence is done, Polese said this past Wednesday at a BarronsInvesting in Tech panel. The founder of an artificial-intelligence platform designed to predict a companys potential for success, Polese detailed how the CrowdSmart platform works, and how it could help remove bias from the diligence process.

The system draws on the insights of a group of 25 or more people, selected for their different levels of expertise, to evaluate prospective investments, explained Polese, who said her career in Silicon Valley began 30 years ago at the first artificial-intelligence company to go public.

Those people are able to access all of the full diligence materials, so that might be videos, live Q&As with the teams, all of the financials, and, ultimately, a brainstorming process is kicked off, Polese said. Participants are given prompts, like do you find this a compelling investment opportunity? and what are your top concerns? to assist in evaluating the companies.

By ranking the anonymous responses that come in, investors can start to drill down into those specific elements within this investment opportunity, Polese said.

Using natural language processing, the insights gathered are transformed into a quantitative score, which can determine the investment risk or opportunity.

While the platforms primary goal was to accurately predict investment success, one side effect has been the reduction of bias, she said. Traditionally, venture-capital funding has been very much a relationship-driven, network-driven business that can leave behind underrepresented founders without connections in the industry, Polese said.

When Polese first used the platform to pick investments about four years ago, she said 42% of the highest-scoring companies were founded or led by women. That result was not something we set out to achieve as a goal, [but] a side effect of reducing ingrained bias, which is an important element of this approach, she said.

The diligence process takes place over the course of a couple of weeks and is designed from the ground up to be virtual, remote, said Polese. It can be applied to companies in different stages, from start-ups to public offerings.

By scaling diligence this way, you dont have this tiny little funnel that only a few deals can get through, Polese said. Youd have a much wider funnel that then you can evaluate with more predictive accuracy.

Email: editors@barrons.com

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How Artificial Intelligence Could Lead to Better Investment Decisions - Barron's

Artificial Intelligence: worth the hype? – BusinessCloud

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Yasmina Darveniza, an investor at leading PropTech VC Round Hill Ventures, says AI can have a major impact in real estateThe amount of venture capital money flowing into UK artificial intelligence start-ups hit a record-breaking $3.2 billion in 2019, making it one of the hottest sectors to be in.

This financial boost, along with bolder algorithms, Big Data and better infrastructure, is bringing founders andfunders to the AI equation. Yet according to a recent report, 40 per cent of European firms classified as AI start-ups do not actually use artificial intelligence.

Is AI then just a fad or is it worth the hype?

AI makes it possible for human capabilities to be undertaken by technology at scale. While rules-based programs have existed since the 1950s, AI nowadays usually relates to machine learning providing systems withthe ability to automatically learn from data and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed.

This can be applied to a wide variety of prediction and optimisation challenges, from predicting when patients will get sick to teaching self-driving cars to understand their surroundings.

To utilise this technology, start-up founders need access to talent around applied AI, access to large and proprietary data training sets, and domain knowledge to provide deep insights into the opportunities within an industry. Founders need to identify a sizeable target market and understand the problem theyre trying to solve.

I see no better target market for AI applications than real estate. Not only is it the worlds largest and most important asset class, but also one of the last industries to adopt technological change.

A great example is Israeli start-upSkyline AI,which takes the guesswork out of investmentdecisions by training its technology on the mostcomprehensive data set for US multi-family assets.

Mining data from over 130 sources and analysing10,000-plus data points on each property forthe last 50 years, its tech estimates asset value,predicts future performance and discoversinvestment opportunities.

AI can also optimise both property developmenttime and cost. Nordic start-upSpacemakerAIisa development tool used to maximise the potentialof building sites. Property professionals canuse it to generate and assess billions of possiblesolutions to multi-building developments inhours analysing designs for a range of differentparameters such as sun exposure, noise pollutionand apartment size.

The company has partneredwith leading developers in Europe includingSkanska, OBOS, AF Gruppen and Bouygues tohelp them reduce critical planning time whileincreasing sellable space by up to double digits.

Using Big Data and machine learning algorithms,Iberian start-upCASAFARIenables a higherlevel of efficiency and transparency in assetmanagement. The software provides users withdownloadable historical and descriptive datasets for all property cases and is working tobuild the cleanest, most complete database in itsgeographies. Asset managers can use it to setdatadrivenrental prices and identify the best time tosell assets.

AI has almost unlimited potential across multipleindustries and especially real estate. Not everysolution requires it, but knowing how, when andwhere to effectively use the technology can be akey lever for start-ups and businesses alike.

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Artificial Intelligence: worth the hype? - BusinessCloud

The Amalgamation of Human Brain and Artificial Intelligence – Analytics Insight

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

The human brain has advanced over time in countering survival instincts, harnessing intellectual curiosity, and managing authoritative ordinances of nature. When humans got an idea about the dynamics of the environment, we started with our quest to replicate nature.

While the human brain discovers ways to go beyond our physical capabilities, the combination of mathematics, algorithms, computational methods, and statistical models accumulated momentum after Alan Mathison Turing built a mathematical model for biological morphogenesis, and published a seminal paper on computing intelligence.

Today, AI has developed from data models for problem-solving to artificial neural networks, a computational model predicated on the structure and functions of human biological neural networks.

The brain, customarily perceived as an organ of the human body, should be understood as a biologically predicated form of artificial intelligence (AI). This proposition was surmised by the progenitors of AI in the 1950s, though it has been generally side-lined over the course of AIs history. However, developments in both neuroscience and more conventional AI make it fascinating to consider the issue anew.

The history of neuroscience has shown both tendencies from its inception, not least in terms of the alternative functions performed by the characteristic technologies of the AI field.

Understanding the complete impacts of this distinction needs eluding from the reductionist problematic that perpetuates to haunt philosophical discussions of neurosciences aspirations as a mode of inquiry

The early prospect, which will help to build machines possessing intelligence of humans, found inspiritment in three main directions.

Firstly, proof that the functioning of the human brain and nervous system, while astonishingly perplexed from a biological perspective, is predicated on elementary all-or-nothing procedures of the type that can facilely be copied by digital electronic circuits.

Secondly, the growth of symbolic logic and formal languages that are able to communicate immense components of higher mathematics, recommending that all human reasoning might be ultimately abbreviated to similar manipulating strings of symbols according to sets of rules. Such formal operations can probably easily be imitated by a digital computer.

Thirdly, the outlook of creating faster electronic calculating devices. With regard to this, developments since the 1950s have rarely been saddening. The density of switching elements of todays microchips surpasses that of neurons in the brain.

Artificial intelligence makes industrial machines and equipment precise, credible and self-healing, making strides calibrated performance imitating human action. AI incorporates robotic controls, vision-based sensing, and geospatial systems in order to automate advanced frameworks. It improves disease detection and prevention along with its treatment, amplifies engineering systems and handles self-organizing supply chains.

We, humans, are dependent on machines for decision-making for various processes like underwriting, recruitment, fraud detection, maintenance, etc. Real Core Energy deploys machine learning that assesses production as well as performance factors to better conduct oil drilling operations and investment decisions.

Though artificial intelligence has become indispensable in almost all fields today, the presiding approaches to artificial intelligence are based in false conceptions about the nature of the mind and of the brain as a biological organ.

Sadly, the superficial models of the brain and mind, which were the initial Kickstarter of artificial intelligence, have now become the paradigm for everything called cognitive science, as well as a huge part of neurobiology. It has become a standard protocol to levy methods, concepts, models and vocabulary from the domain of artificial intelligence, computer science onto the research of the brain and the mind. It is difficult to discover a scientific paper on these subjects which does not contain terms like computing, processing, circuits, storage and retrieval of information, encoding decoding etc.

Computational neuroscience connects human intelligence and artificial intelligence by developing theoretical models of the human brain for multiple studies on its functions, including vision, motion, sensory control, and learning.

Studies in human cognition are uncovering a deeper comprehension of our nervous system and its compound processing abilities. Models that provide high-level insights into memory, data processing, and speech/object recognition are simultaneously reshaping AI.

The integration of human intelligence with artificial intelligence will evolve computers into superhumans or humanoids that go far beyond human abilities. However, it needs computing models that combine visual and natural language processing, just how the brain functions, for comprehensive communication.

Neuroscience has made significant contributions to strengthen AI research and gain its increasingly important relevance. In planning for the future amalgamation of the two fields, it is essential to value that the past contributions of neuroscience to AI have hardly consisted of a simple shift of complete solutions which can be simply re-implemented in machines. Rather, neuroscience has often been useful in a precise way, facilitating algorithmic-level questions about qualities of animal learning and intelligence of interest to AI researchers and offering initial drives toward applicable mechanisms.

The Amalgamation of Human Brain and Artificial Intelligence - Analytics Insight

NATO Deputy Secretary General meets the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross at NATO Headquarters – NATO HQ

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana met with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Ambassador Peter Maurer at NATO Headquarters on Wednesday (8 July 2020) for an exchange of views on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and on the activities of both organisations. Mr. Geoana noted that during the COVID-19 crisis there have been regular contacts between NATO and the ICRC at multiple levels.

He said that NATO Allies are preparing for a possible second wave of COVID-19 and highlighted that in June NATO defence ministers approved an Operation Plan to assist, if necessary, Allies and partners in the distribution of critical medical items and equipment. He said that NATO defence ministers also agreed to establish a stockpile of medical items and a pandemic response trust fund to enable NATO Allies to acquire medical supplies and services.

The Deputy Secretary General also stressed that NATO appreciates the ICRCs support on the implementation of NATOs Policy on the Protection of Civilians and that this is an essential topic for NATO operations and missions.

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NATO Deputy Secretary General meets the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross at NATO Headquarters - NATO HQ

Latvia wants to begin talks with US on possible deployment of a military contingent in the country, with Latvia covering the costs – Pabriks | News -…

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

RIGA, July 11 (LETA) - Latvia wants to start negotiations with the United States on the possible deployment of a military contingent in Latvia and to cover the related costs, Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks (For Development) told the Latvian defense portal Sargs.lv.

Latvia wants to start negotiations with the United States on the possible deployment of a contingent of forces in Latvia after US President Donald Trump announced the partial withdrawal of troops from Germany. As Pabriks emphasizes, it is important to maintain a significant presence of US forces near NATO's eastern border, so Latvia is ready to host a part of the US contingent's troops, and also cover the related costs.

He says that in view of changes within global politics and ensuring that the Baltic region and the rest of Europe remains secure, it is important to strengthen the transatlantic link within both NATO and the European Union.

"The White House's announcement of a certain reduction in US troops in Germany is not very positive from my personal point of view. If we, as a NATO border country, look to the Northern European region, we understand that an even greater US presence is needed in Europe," he said.

However, the minister acknowledges that the US line of thought is understandable, because it wants each country to strengthen its own national defense capabilities, rather than just relying on allied support. For several years now, Latvia has been among the countries mentioned as a good example with 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) being spent on the defense budget.

If a part of the US troops is withdrawn from Germany, it is in Latvia's interest that this transfer takes place in accordance with the current security challenges, ie US soldiers are deployed closer to the eastern border - in Poland and the Baltic States.

"Poland has already received the green light, it will see an increase in the presence of the US troops, so it is important that the US public and politicians understand that the Baltic States and Latvia are ready to host US troops as well, as it will provide additional security for the region and the alliance as a whole. We are also prepared to pay for this, firstly by showing that we are devoting at least 2 percent of GDP to defense, and secondly, by developing the necessary infrastructure as a host country. In addition, about 1,500 soldiers from nine different NATO countries are already stationed in Latvia as party of the the NATO battle groups," Pabriks points out.

By transferring a part of the US troops in Germany to Latvia, it would also demonstrate the US support for those countries that are seriously thinking about strengthening their national defense capabilities, Pabriks points out.

Asked what kind of US presence Latvia would be ready for, Pabriks said that it is open to various models - both rotational of for a permanent presence of US military forces in the country.

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Latvia wants to begin talks with US on possible deployment of a military contingent in the country, with Latvia covering the costs - Pabriks | News -...

From Iceland Russian Long-Range Bombers Spotted Within NATO Airspace Near Iceland – Reykjavk Grapevine

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Photo by

Icelandic Coast Guard

Unauthorised Russian aircraft entered NATO airspace near Iceland, according to a statement from the Icelandic Coast Guard. Italian aircraft stationed in Iceland flew from Keflavk Airport on July 3rd to meet the Russian planes.

Russian long-range bombers were were first spotted South of Stokksnes. The aircraft entered NATO airspace but did not report to the Air Traffic Authority and were not using radar equipment.

The bombers were outside of Icelandic airspace, but within NATO airspace prompting a rapid response from Italian aircrew stationed in Iceland. There are currently six Italian F-35 fighter jets in the country, according to the statement.

This is by no means the first time unauthorised Russian jets have entered NATO airspace near Iceland; an almost identical incident occurred in March 2019. Notably, a Russian bomber also flew close to an Icelandic passenger plane in 2016.

Iceland is part of NATO and as it does not have its own military, the country regularly hosts international NATO training exercises. Most recently, British ships, HMS Westminster and HMS Kent operation sailed to Iceland to take part in Operation Dynamic Mongoose. It is unclear if the recent Russian aircraft activity has any connection with the NATO exercise, but such incidents have coincided with NATO exercises in the past.

r accompanies British ships as part of Operation Dynamic MongoosePhoto by Icelandic Coast Guard

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From Iceland Russian Long-Range Bombers Spotted Within NATO Airspace Near Iceland - Reykjavk Grapevine

Ex-CIA Chief Says U.S. May Need To Respond With Bold Action If Russian Bounties Prove True – Gandhara

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

WASHINGTON -- The former head of the CIA said the United States may need to respond with bold action against Russia, including imposing harder-hitting sanctions, should a report prove true that Moscow offered Taliban-linked militants money to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan.

Leon Panetta, who served as CIA director and secretary of defense during the administration of President Barack Obama, told a congressional hearing on July 10 that such an action by Russia would cross a line and require a response that could include diplomatic isolation, sanctions, and, if necessary, military force.

Panetta said Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to carry out aggressive actions around the world because the United States has failed to take a tough stance against him and his nation in the past.

I think we may have to do something bold in order to get Putins attention. I think, right now, Putin does not really believe that the United States is going to respond in a way that is going to really undermine Russia and undermine him, he told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The hearing was at least the third this week in the Democratic-controlled House on the topic of whether Russia paid Taliban militants to target U.S. soldiers and how the United States should respond.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on July 9 with four military and foreign policy experts on how to respond to Russia, while the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the same day with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley.

The issue has become a hot, partisan topic since The New York Times first reported at the end of June that President Donald Trump was briefed on the bounty but did nothing in response.

The White House has said Trump, a Republican who is seeking reelection in November, was not briefed on the intelligence because it was unverified.

Should the intelligence report prove accurate, Panetta said the Trump administration should consider imposing the type of hard-hitting sanctions on Russia that it imposed on Iran.

Those punishing sanctions have cut into Irans economy, including its oil industry, as it seeks to stop its suspected nuclear-weapons program. Irans oil production has tumbled, starving the government of cash.

Russia is among the worlds top three oil producers and sanctions on its energy industry could potentially impact global supply and prices.

If we did [that to Russia], it would send a clear signal to Putin that we are serious about making sure they stop the aggression that they have been involved in, he told the hearing.

Panetta pointed out that Russia has forcibly annexed Crimea, carried out suspected assassinations in Europe, and interfered in U.S. elections, among other aggressive actions.

Panetta said the United States needs to strengthen NATO and build new alliances, including in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America to promote stability and counter the influence of Russia and China.

Moscow and Beijing cant form alliances. They fear alliances. So our ability to develop and maintain alliances is one of our best weapons against those adversaries, he said.

Panetta criticized Trumps plans to withdraw nearly 10,000 U.S. military personnel from Germany, saying it would send a message of weakness to Russia.

This is the wrong time to be moving forces out of Europe, he told the hearing.

Panetta, who served in the House of Representatives from 1977 until 1993, said he is concerned about the growing divide between Republicans and Democrats in Congress on such issues, saying it plays into Putins hands.

We have got to restore a sense of bipartisanship when it comes to our national security interests. Right now, Putin looks at the United States and looks at the polarization and the partisanship and the divide that has taken place in our country and has seen that as weakness, he said.

Panetta's son, Jimmy Panetta, is a Democratic member of the House, representing California.

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Ex-CIA Chief Says U.S. May Need To Respond With Bold Action If Russian Bounties Prove True - Gandhara

Florence resident and Amherst teacher building anti-racism curriculum – GazetteNET

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Published: 7/7/2020 6:30:00 PM

NORTHAMPTON As the Black Lives Matter movement continues and discussions about systemic racism take place across the country, a Florence resident who teaches in the Amherst public schools is creating a curriculum that explores race and racism in the United States.

Self-Evident Media, an organization launched by Executive Director Michael Lawrence-Riddell, is putting together narrative-based multimedia resources about the creation and weaponization of race throughout American history.

By knowing and understanding the history of race in America, students will more fully understand who we are as a country and how to imagine and build a just future, reads a statement in a fact sheet the organization is distributing.

Lawrence-Riddell, a teacher in Amherst for 14 years, began the project last August as a collaboration with artists and educators, including Bayet Ross Smith, a member of the organizations advisory board and an artist who also grew up in Amherst.

Though there has been extensive discussion about race in recent weeks following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police, Self-Evident Medias creation came in response to what Lawrence-Riddell said was an urgent need for honestly and rigorously engaging in work to understand the histories and legacies of race and institutional racism.

The project will create a curriculum by working with local schools and will align with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and the National Council for Social Studies C3 Frameworks.

As part of Self-Evident Medias launch Sunday at 7:30 p.m., there will be an interactive screening of One Minutes Freedom. The film focuses on Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman and the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts that took place in the late 18th century when, after listening to a reading of the Declaration of Independence, Freeman sought a lawyer to argue for her freedom.

A Zoom virtual conference will allow participants to discuss what they are viewing.

For more information about the event, visit eventbrite.com/e/self-evident-media-one-minutes-freedom-screening-tickets-111555930792

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Florence resident and Amherst teacher building anti-racism curriculum - GazetteNET

Editorial: Getting historical on YouTube – News – The Review – The-review

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

For readers looking for an educational and fun way to beat both the heat and the coronavirus blues this summer, the Alliance Historical Society may just have an answer.

The society has launched "Marking Time in Alliance," a series of videos on its YouTube channel, called Alliance History. The videos are the brainchild of Karen and Jim Perone, who long have been affiliated with the group.

Karen, a past president and current board member of the historical society, and Jim, a former board member, told The Review they have been uploading entries in the series for the past six months. They were inspired by similar videos in other communities.

Now, thanks to their industriousness, residents can learn of the Stark County connection to the Sultana tragedy, when a steamboat exploded near Memphis in 1865. Other videos include lively, entertaining lessons on the Main Street Caboose, the intriguingly named Goat Hill, and the Lexington Quaker Cemetery.

Having watched several, we can attest that they make viewers see familiar landmarks with fresh eyes and an increased awareness of the role they have played in local history.

We look forward to future installments, especially if one includes an abbreviated history of Alliances most visible landmark, Glamorgan Castle, and the citys connection to the scarlet carnation. And, while were in a requesting frame of mind, weve always wanted to know more about the infamous olive poisoning of 1919.

With no Greater Alliance Carnation Festival this summer or its informational tours at various historical sites, these videos are the best way to increase our knowledge of local history.

Applause all around to the Perones for their willingness to research, write and record these video nuggets and extend the Alliance Historical Societys reach online.

Color us ready for coronavirus relief

Gov. Mike DeWines release of a color-coded system for virus threats provides necessary clarity to Ohioans during the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the system, counties are assigned the color yellow if they are at level one (active exposure and spread), orange for level two (increased exposure and spread), red for level three (very high exposure and spread) or purple for level four (severe exposure and spread).

Stark and Mahoning counties, and thus much of The Reviews readership, are both orange at the time of this writing. This means, according to the state, that residents should "exercise [a] high degree of caution."

DeWine has issued orders for mandatory face coverings in public for counties designated red or above. (No county is yet purple, although Franklin County is close.)

Readers are reminded that, in the considered medical opinions of many experts, masks are one of the best ways to limit the spread of the virus. They may not be mandated in public for Alliance residents, but this doesnt mean they arent highly recommended.

Based solely on anecdotal evidence, recent days have seen an uptick in the number of local folks who are wearing masks in public. This is terrific, as the more people who do so, the better the chances of putting this virus in our rearview mirrors.

And despite strong differences of opinion about coronavirus, one thing everybody can agree on is that we cant put it behind us soon enough.

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Editorial: Getting historical on YouTube - News - The Review - The-review

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