Groupe Renault working on ~20 blockchain projects – Green Car Congress

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Groupe Renault has identified some 20 projects to deploy blockchain technology. These projects concern, in particular, the traceability of financial transactions and communication with equipment manufacturers and the sales network. Some of these will be deployed soon.

For Groupe Renault, blockchain has to be used as a collaborative, multi-company digital tool within the automotive sector, thereby becoming a source of increased productivity and collective intelligence. For the customer, for example, it makes it possible to certify the repair and maintenance information on a vehicle when it is resold.

Groupe Renault also consider blockchain as a vector for the transformation of the automotive industry.

Groupe Renault has been working on blockchain technology since 2015. First appearing in finance, while respecting the ownership of the data items, it allowed real-time networked transactions that are secure since there is no risk of falsification.

In the blockchain, any new item of information will not overwrite an existing item. Rather, it is written to a new digital record known as a block. This block is verified by the networks machines via algorithms that check, especially, the legitimacy of the issuer and the quality of the data. Once validated, the block joins the chain of unalterable blocks, hence the name, blockchain.

A car manufacturer, its suppliers, its parts manufacturers and its customers are all ecosystems in which the need for fast, transparent, joined-up information is crucial. Blockchain technology is an opportunity to move from the traditional customer-supplier relationship to a more sustainable partnership relationship.

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Groupe Renault working on ~20 blockchain projects - Green Car Congress

Guidehouse Insights: blockchain-based EV charging & grid integration market to show 78% CAGR from 2020-2029 – Green Car Congress

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A new report from Guidehouse Insights provides forecasts for blockchain-enabled charging hardware deployment, electricity demand from blockchain-based platforms, and revenue from electric vehicle (EV) charging and integration applications through 2029.

Traditional energy stakeholders increasingly are experimenting with blockchain technology. Whether in house or in partnership with an industry consortium or energy blockchain startup, EV charging and integration use cases have emerged as technologically sound and feasible within the regulatory and technical constraints of the energy system.

According to the new report, the combined market for blockchain-based EV charging and grid integration is expected to exceed $1 billion by 2029 at a 77.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

The potential for blockchain technology as a positive force in EV charging and integration, and in mobility and transportation overall, should not be underestimated. Beyond contributing efficiencies to the information management layer of EV charging and integration solutions, blockchain technology can enable owners of EVs to take advantage of new revenue streams in the form of peer-to-peer charging applications and grid services.

Johnathon de Villier, research analyst with Guidehouse Insights

According to the report, EV charging and integration use cases for blockchain technology benefit from clear technological objectives and a straightforward development roadmap. This roadmap begins with one-way charging services and grows in complexity toward the full integration of EVs into the grid as distributed assets capable of responding to grid signals and providing auxiliary services such as frequency regulation and demand response.

The report, Market Data: Blockchain-Enabled EV Charging and Integration, provides forecasts for blockchain-enabled charging hardware deployment, electricity demand from blockchain-based platforms, and revenue from EV charging and integration applications between 2020 and 2029. Forecasts cover five global regions and three industry segments: home charging (including a separate subsegment for peer-to-peer charging), public charging, and fleet charging. It concludes with recommendations for actions that vendors and service providers can take to accelerate the development and deployment of blockchain-based EV solutions.

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Guidehouse Insights: blockchain-based EV charging & grid integration market to show 78% CAGR from 2020-2029 - Green Car Congress

The Nikola Tesla inventions that should have made … – CNN

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Tesla was a scientist and visionary who developed the basis for AC electric power that most of the planet uses today and pioneered numerous technologies that improve our everyday lives. A Serbian-American who emigrated to New York City in 1884, Tesla held approximately 300 patents.

"There's not a lot of modern conveniences that we currently enjoy that weren't touched by Nikola Tesla in some way," said Marc Alessi, executive director of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe in New York, where teams are refurbishing Tesla's lab into a museum and innovation hub.

"If Tesla didn't accelerate the AC current system, we would be 50 years behind technologically than where we are today."

But it's not just AC power that Tesla worked on. Motors, radios, X-rays, neon signs and other technology was advanced by his extraordinary mind. We take a look at the most famous and important inventions that Nikola Tesla contributed to.

Alternating current

This is the Tesla technology that sparked a war with Edison, the developer of direct current, and it's the subject of the new film.

Back in 1884, Tesla left Europe to work for Edison, who supposedly promised him $50,000 to fix the problems with DC power. Meanwhile, Tesla's alternating current had fewer issues. With AC power, the current is reversed numerous times per second, making it easy to convert to higher and lower voltages.

"He was working 20 hour days, and the whole time he was saying 'let's switch to AC current, it will work better,' " Alessi told CNN. But Edison never paid him the money, and claimed the promise was a joke. "Tesla quit and he ended up in a battle with Edison," Alessi said.

But Tesla had the last laugh, because today, alternating current is predominantly used to power most of the world's electricity.

AC motors are also used in refrigerators, power tools and fans. Meanwhile, DC motors are still used for some industrial machines and conveyors, but often require more maintenance.

Radio

History often touts Italian entrepreneur Guglielmo Marconi as the inventor of radio. But sometimes history is wrong.

Marconi is credited with sending the first transatlantic radio transmission, using technology from 17 of Tesla's patents.

The two inventors became embroiled in a patent war. In fact, the United States Supreme Court revoked Marconi's radio patents in 1943 in favor of Tesla and two other scientists, Oliver Lodge and John Stone. Unfortunately, Tesla and Marconi had already passed away by the time the court handed down their decision.

"His patents and innovative ideas were milestones of wireless technologies," said Ivana Zoric, curator at Serbia's Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade.

For this and his other work, Zoric said, "Tesla is often referred as 'The man who invented 20th century."

Remote control

You can also thank Tesla for the ability to change the channel without having to get off the couch.

According to the Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Tesla knew how important the invention could be, so he patented it in 11 countries as well.

X-ray technology

Tesla was also a pioneer of X-ray technology. He experimented with radiation and managed to take some of the first X-ray images of the human body, which he called "shadowgraphs." Tesla was also one of the first scientists to hypothesize that X-rays could be harmful.

But this is another area of research where he rarely gets credit.

Tesla contributed to medicine in other ways as well. The unit of energy named after Tesla is used to measure the strength of the magnets in MRI systems.

Hydroelectric power

Tesla was also a pioneer of renewable energy. Nine out of the 12 patents used to build one of the world's first hydroelectric stations, erected at Niagara Falls, New York belonged to Tesla.

"As a child, when his uncle read him a book about Niagara Falls, the first thing he thought was about energy. "That water falling is energy," explained Alessi. "At the dawn of our using fossil fuels for the industrial revolution, Tesla was already saying 'That's not the way we should go. That's dirty and finite.' "

According to the Tesla Science Center, Tesla helped pave the way toward clean energy because he understood the physics behind energy and what might be possible in the future.

Zoric added, "Even back then, he proposed the use of renewable energy sources: water, wind and sun."

Tesla's legacy

Tesla was involved in many more discoveries and creations, including the rotating magnetic field, the speedometer, and the Tesla Coil, which is a transformer that produces sparks by creating high voltage at a low current.

"His work on Tesla coils, which use inductance to generate large voltages (e.g. lightning in the air) are the basis of the circuits used for the first radios ... cathode ray tubes, and more," explained Larry Pileggi, department head of electrical and computer engineering and professor at Carnegie Mellon University. "But the transmission of those large voltages over long distances that could be captured to provide power remotely was never successful."

Tesla even reportedly invented a "death ray" that could be used as a weapon of war.

When he died in 1943, there was so much interest in what he was working on that the FBI raided his hotel room within hours of his death, Alessi said.

Mostly, Tesla envisioned his inventions, especially AC power, improving people's lives. Experts say he wanted to bring safe electric power to the masses -- to make factory worker's lives easier at work, and light up worker's homes so they study in the evenings to improve themselves.

"He loved the technology and what it could do," said Alessi. "Tesla would be willing to lose money if it would help people."

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The Nikola Tesla inventions that should have made ... - CNN

What Is Tesla’s ‘Million Mile’ Battery and When Will It Be Revealed? – Newsweek

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Elon Musk has teased fresh news about Tesla's Battery Day event after suggesting it will be "one of the most exciting days" in the company's history.

On Twitter, the billionaire boss of the electric car company said the revealexpected to include confirmation of a "million mile battery"could take place in two parts, with an initial webcast next month followed by an in-person event later in the year.

Musk suggested that under current conditions the previously suggested timeframe of May would have to be pushed back or attendance would be low, but agreed with one commenter who complained that streamed webcasts are "lame."

"People have forgotten how much in-person events matter! Also, there's a lot to see. It's not just a presentation," Musk tweeted, fueling anticipation about the new battery that is poised to offer a million miles of total use (not range on a single charge).

For months, speculation has swirled about Tesla's next steps in terms of energy tech, which should not only boost battery lifespan but lower vehicle cost.

Last November, Musk confirmed the company's electric pickup, the Cybertruck, would be the last product revealed "for a while," noting that Tesla would be focusing on some "mostly unexpected" announcements in 2020. Last month, he said the next event could be solely based around batteries, noting there was a "lot to talk about."

Reuters revealed last week that Tesla is currently planning to introduce a low-cost, long-life battery in its Model 3 sedan in China later this year or early in 2021.

According to the newswire, the move will bring the cost of the electric vehicles closer to its gasoline rivals and the batteries will have "cobalt-free" chemistries.

Musk said in 2018 the next-gen batteries should use zero cobalt, which is expensive and often mined in conditions that violate human rights.

During a Tesla event last year that focused on the cars' self-driving capabilities, Musk referenced next-gen batteries, stating that new packs are "probably going to production next year" and will be "designed explicitly for one million miles of operation."

Reuters reported the battery tech was developed by China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., and a team of "academic experts" recruited by Musk.

They included Jeff Dahn of Dalhousie University, who previously led research indicating that a one-million mile battery was feasible, backing up Musk's claims.

The latest breakthrough, sources told Reuters, is due to "chemical additives, materials and coatings" that help batteries store more energy for longer periods of time. The exact specifications of the Tesla "million mile" battery remain unknownfor now.

Reuters reported it is expected versions of the battery will eventually be introduced into more markets, including North America, but timescales are also a mystery.

According to Tesla's website, the Model 3 offers a full-charge range of 348 miles, with battery modules Musk says can last between 300,000 to 500,000 miles.

When the CEO was asked about the Battery Day event during the Q1 2020 earnings call he decidedly kept his cards close to his chestbut promised big.

"We don't want to pre-empt Battery Day," Musk said on the call. "We want to leave the exciting news for that day, but there will be a lot of exciting news to tell."

"And I think it would be one of the most exciting days in Tesla's history and we're just trying to figure out the right timing for that," the CEO continued.

He added: "We think probably the right timing will be theprobably the third week of May. Not giving a firm date, but we think that probably that's the right timing. And depending upon what we're allowed to do, it will either be in California or Texas."

Tesla has been contacted for comment by Newsweek.

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What Is Tesla's 'Million Mile' Battery and When Will It Be Revealed? - Newsweek

Tesla’s Return to Work Playbook: Guidance in the Face of Law Violation – Occupational Health and Safety

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Teslas Return to Work Playbook: Guidance in the Face of Law Violation

Despite reports of Tesla CEO Elon Musk disobeying government orders to reopen his car factories, the famous vehicle manufacturer has released a Return to Work Playbook.

Elon Musk, CEO of famous vehicle manufacturer Tesla, has gotten some media coverage as of late, and not necessarily for supportive reasons. Musk has reopened a Tesla factory despite local laws and regulations. Nonetheless, Tesla has published its own Return to Work Playbook.

The Playbook outlines how the company will safely and carefully reopen in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It cites larger health organizations and their recommendations, including the CDC and EHS.

It claims that Tesla strives to provide each employee with a safe and healthy work environment. However, many are not sure the factorys reopening is truly in the best interest of its employees healthespecially given that it disobeys federal guidelines.

The Playbook lists the following steps it is taking to ensure the safety of its employees:

It includes a readiness checklist and other COVID-response tips for the facilities. Still, it asks employees to take responsibility for their own risks, including reporting symptoms and minimizing close contact with others.

With as many as 50 percent of those with the virus suspected of being asymptomatic, some worry these measures just wont cut it, and that its too early to reopen.

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Elon Musk says Tesla’s full self-driving price to increase July 1 – Business Insider – Business Insider

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Tesla's autonomous driving package still isn't completely functional, but the price will continue to go up as features launch, CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday.

In a tweet that echoes the same warning sent in April, Musk said the price of "full self-driving," an add-on option to most Tesla vehicles that allows for assisted driving on the highway and limited other situations, will increase in price by $1,000 on July 1 to $8,000.

An increasing value of Tesla cars as the functionality of self-driving features improves has been a major selling point for Musk in the past, despite criticism that he's overhyped the technology's abilities. In April, he hinted the technology could soon move to a subscription pricing model.

"It's financially insane to buy any car other than a Tesla," Musk said at an investor event about autonomy in 2019. "They will be like owning a horse in three years if you buy a car that does not have the hardware necessary for full self-driving, it's like buying a horse. The only car that has the hardware for full self-driving is Tesla."

Bullish comments like those, critics say, have helped fuel a proliferation of unsafe practices with Tesla's technology. In some cases, it's viral videos of drivers removing their hands from the wheel, or even shooting a pornographic film while the car drives. And in others, drivers falling asleep with the technology engaged have died in crashes.

To be sure, Tesla's own documentation instructs drivers to keep their hands on the wheel at all times.

"As with all Autopilot features, you must be in control of your vehicle, pay attention to its surroundings and be ready to take immediate action including braking," its website says.

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Elon Musk says Tesla's full self-driving price to increase July 1 - Business Insider - Business Insider

Panasonic and Tesla talking battery spend again | Automotive Industry News – just-auto.com

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Tesla aims to sell 1m vehicles globally next yearwhich will require an ample supply of lithium ion batteries.

"There is very strong demand from Tesla," Panasonic chief financial officer Hirokazu Umeda said.

The Nevada plant, known as Gigafactory 1, fielded an annual battery making capacity of 32 gigawatt hours at the end of March, Umeda said.

The partners had sought an expansion to 54GWh during the fiscal year ended 31 March 2019but ultimately decided to freeze spending on the factory, citing tepid sales of electric vehicles.

Without the proposed expansion, capacity at the Gigafactory instead would inch up to 35 GWh by March 2022 due to improved materials and technology, Umeda said. That output would supply 500,000 electric vehicles.

Nikkei noted Tesla and Panasonic had invested US$4.5bn in the plant as of April 2019.

Panasonic, one of the world's biggest producers of EV batteries, manufactures the cells, and Tesla combines them into battery packs before assembling the cars at a California plant.

Panasonic's Tesla business suffered a loss for the fiscal year ended in March 2020, Nikkei said.

The USbattery factory alone became profitable in the second half of the financial yearbut it had lagged in contributing to earnings. Yet that result apparently had the Japanese company cautiously considering new investment in the Gigafactory.

Nikkei noted Tesla had suspended production at its assembly plant in California due to the state's shelter in place order.

The novel coronavirus outbreak had also idled most operations at the Nevada Gigafactory.

But Tesla had since resumed production at the California plant.

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Panasonic and Tesla talking battery spend again | Automotive Industry News - just-auto.com

Check out Teslas impressive chart of pandemics impact on Supercharger use – Electrek

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Elon Musk released an impressive chart of the impact of the pandemic on Tesla Supercharger use over the last few months.

With stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions being put in place in many markets, gasoline sales are way down.

Unsurprisingly, electric car charging station usage is also way down.

Musk decided to release an interesting chart of the usage of Teslas Supercharger network in different regions over the pandemic.

The chart shows that Teslas Supercharger network in China saw a massive reduction in use in late January through February:

Interestingly, the chart shows a V shape recovery in Supercharger usage in China and a second wave of slower use in April.

In comparison, restrictions in Europe and North America happened about a month later, resulting in a similar rapid drop in Tesla Supercharger usage, but the recovery has been different.

It is a much slower recovery as restrictions are slowly being lifted in some North American and European markets.

Most interestingly, the Asia Pacific, which in this case excludes China, saw only a small drop in February, and it was not only back to normal but kept hitting new highs.

Its important to note that for most Tesla owners, Superchargers are not the main way for them to charge their cars.

Most owners charge their vehicles at home and only periodically charge at Supercharger stations mainly to travel longer distances, like road trips.

This is really interesting.

Of course, this pandemic is a much more complex issue than anything that can be explained by a Supercharger usage chart, but its still interesting data.

Its insane how quickly Supercharger usage recovered in China compared to what is happening in Europe and in North America.

But thats not as impressive as APAC though without China, I assume that it mainly consists of Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, and those have been smaller markets for Tesla.

Nonetheless, the small slowdown in usage seems to indicate a significantly different impact than in the other markets.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.

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Tesla Model 3 thief thwarted, locked inside the car by the owner’s phone – NZME

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Home / News / Tesla Model 3 thief thwarted, locked inside the car by the owner's phone

We've talked a lot on this website about the amazing capabilities of Tesla's 'Sentry Mode' feature. Is it scary to know your car is coated in cameras? Perhaps. Is it satisfying as hell to watch vandals get repeatedly caught on camera in exceptionally high defintion? Absolutely.

But, Sentry Mode isn't the only added safety measure a Tesla owner has in their arsenal. The manufacturer's app and remote controlling abilities can also be a huge asset; as highlighted by a recent case in America.

On May 8, Barstow Police Department in California that a would-be thief car-jacked a Tesla Model 3 owner while they were sitting in their car. The owner got about of the thief's way and allowed them to hop in and drive away, only to then open the Tesla app on their phone.

Phone in hand, the owner was able to turn off their car and lock the thief inside in a scene that sounds like something from a more tech-laden future than our current world of conventional immobilizers.

The thief, unable to find the subtle door unlock buttons in the Model 3, was forced to sit captive in the car until local authorities showed up.

"When officers placed Smith [the claimed thief] under arrest, they observed that he was sweating profusely and was twitching and blinking his eyes rapidly. Smiths behavior was also erratic and combative," reported police.

"Smith was placed under arrest for carjacking and being under the influence of a controlled substance."

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Tesla Model 3 thief thwarted, locked inside the car by the owner's phone - NZME

John McAfee Privacy Focused Ghost Coin To Go Live On May 25 – CryptoTicker.io

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The privacy focused Ghost coin backed by famous crypto personality and security researcher John McAfee will go live on May 25. The consensus algorithm is Proof of Stake (POS) and the project supports masternodes. It will be powered by zero knowledge proofs and use escrow pool to shield/erase the history of transactions. Initially, 25% of the supply will be distributed to ESH token holders on the launch day, the rest will be generated by staking and running masternodes.

The whitepaper for GHOST is live! To claim your GHOST at launch, you must hold $ESH token on May 25th during the snap shot. Token swap instructions, roadmap, and more coming May 24th!https://t.co/cApgNt56oZ. pic.twitter.com/B6mYqKoC6W John McAfee (@officialmcafee) May 16, 2020

The released whitepaper notes that privacy is an important right and its vital to preserve it. It defines the mission as provide users entirely private, secure, affordable and reliable means to transact over the network. Ghost coin is being pioneered as an amalgamation of best features of different crypto-assets. For instance, it uses the distributed ledger technology from Bitcoin, InstantSend and Masternodes from Dash, plus custom zk-SNARKs from Zcash and general staking function. It also features a dynamically calibrated coin supply, that will operate by burning transaction fees, to adjust supply elastically in response to economic pressure.

Block Size: 2 MB

Block Time: 60 seconds (re-targeting every block)

Coin Emission Rate: 6 GHOST maximum per block

Maximum Coin Supply: 13,573,415 GHOST (May 25, 2020) / 15,087,292 GHOST (June, 2020) / 30,226,069 GHOST (June, 2040)

Total Coin Supply: 55,000,000 GHOST (elastic supply, controlled by burning of transaction fees)

Minimum GHOST Required To Run Masternode: 20,000 GHOST

Accumulator Modulus: RSA-2048

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The Bitcoin Halving week is over. The event took place last week and the Bitcoin price has improved splendidly over

The crypto community is finally starting to understand, how to value crypto-assets employing the same techniques and methods used in

Enjin announced the launch of a major Software Development Kit (SDK) for the famed Godot game engine on May 06.

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John McAfee Privacy Focused Ghost Coin To Go Live On May 25 - CryptoTicker.io

Bitcoin Claimant Craig Wright Warns Opponents: The Axe Is In My Hand, And About To Fall Hard – CryptoPotato

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The self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright, took the opportunity to publish a blog post on May 11, the day of the third Bitcoin halving, to warn his opponents in the Bitcoin space and beyond that, the axe is now in his hand and its about to fall hard.

Thats according to Wrights latest rant titled, How the World Works; or, A Discourse on Fake News, in which he takes swings at Bitcoin, crypto YouTubers, John McAfee, Ira Kleiman, the fake news media, and much more.

In one section of the 14,000-word opus, Wright said documents about the ongoing legal battle with Ira Kleiman were forged by a former employer of his, whom he named as Mr. Jamie Wilson.

Wright claimed his team performed handwriting analysis on the supposedly forged signatures. He wrote:

Unfortunately for him, Ira Kleiman, and a few other people who have worked for me in the past, we have had the signatures and handwriting analysed, and the contracts were not changed or created or signed by me.

According to Wright, this sudden reversal will result in a swing of the pendulum in his favor or, instead, a swing of the axe in the Kleiman trial, where over one million Bitcoins is potentially at stake.

For now, I will leave you hanging on whom the result will fall upon. But I will say that the axe is about to fall hard, and right now, the axe is in my hand.

In Wrights mind, for Bitcoin to work, it has to scale towards the level of millions of transactions a second. For that reason, he doesnt see the current version of BTC succeeding, claiming it is without utility. Wright wrote:

BTC, on the other hand, is a speculative good. It has no use; it has merely a false narrative that appeals to dumb criminals who do not understand that Bitcoin is easily traced and, as government starts to understand it, easily taxed.

In the sprawling blog post, Dr. Wright also goes after popular crypto personality John McAfee, whom he refers to as a con-man.

Long-term conmen and criminals such as John McAfee are long-term promoters of pump-and-dump schemes.

Wright also celebrated the recent Google crackdown on crypto-related videos and expressed his disappointment that Google didnt act sooner.

In between slinging dirt at anyone and everyone, Wright presents various pieces of evidence which he claims to verify his status as Satoshi Nakamoto. As has always been the case in the search for Satoshi, Wrights evidence remains typically inconclusive.

Wright regularly proclaims that he has Aspergers. His massive screed makes interesting reading for obsessive types, and those interested in reading the man behind the text.

But for everyone else, its just more of the same.

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Bitcoin Claimant Craig Wright Warns Opponents: The Axe Is In My Hand, And About To Fall Hard - CryptoPotato

Project management tools could be a sign of your company’s true health. – The Next Web

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TLDR: The training in The Accredited Agile Project Management Bundle by SPOCE explains the mindset and actual process for leading any organizations projects to ultimate success.

A company that isnt using some type of project management tool or framework might want to start asking some tough questions about why. Because believe it or not, that omission may already be telling you something critically important about your business.

In a recent survey of marketers, companies using a project or workflow management system were nearly 30 percent less likely to identify staff realignments and changing priorities among their business biggest challenges. The bottom line: companies who ran major initiatives from a structured, organized playbook appear to be better organized themselves.

For companies in need of that structure or for workers looking to break into the field, The Accredited Agile Project Management Bundle by SPOCE ($99, over 90 percent off from TNW Deals) offers an in-depth look at how top professionals ensure their key projects happen on time and on budget while meeting everyones expectations.

The training is assembled by SPOCE, who have spent the past decade perfecting their methods for turning any motivated student into a seasoned, accredited project manager.

This package of courses including over 350 lectures and more than 100 hours of content can help even a novice project leader build the mindset for success and follow a battle-ready gameplan for making sure project goals always stay paramount and processes are followed.

The Agile way of thinking is at the center of the AgilePM Project Management Foundation and Practitioner Course, which gives students a look at the Agile approach for fostering a highly collaborative team environment thats constantly heading toward short-term guideposts while making sure everyone is engaged and constantly analyzing the final work.

Meanwhile, PRINCE2 Project Management Foundation and Practitioner Course puts the theories of Agile into a formal practical structure. Through interactive exercises and exam simulations, students get hands-on experience using the firm guidelines, predictive goals and close monitoring of the PRINCE2 methodology so they can be applied to your own projects.

Finally, PRINCE2 Agile Project Management Foundation and Practitioner Course explains how to best integrate the two together so team members know their roles, timelines get met, risks are appropriately handled, change is incorporated and everyone heads toward a successful end goal.

The Accredited Agile Project Management Bundle by SPOCE is usually $1,632, but with the current offer, its now over 90 percent off that price at just $99 while this deal lasts.

Prices are subject to change.

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SOME ALABAMA BUSINESSES HAVE ALREADY WEATHERED MORE THAN A CENTURY OF HARSHIPS – wvua23.com

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A couple of businesses that began back in the 1800s have seen wars and depression and pandemics.Now, theyre going to survive the COVID-19 pandemic too.

WVUA23s Mike Royer visited the two Friday as they and their employees are ready to get back to work.

It doesnt take Mike Booker long to chop up three pounds of meat to fill an order at Golden Rule BBQ in Irondale. Hes worked here for 45 years. After weeks of to-go orders only, Golden Rule opened its doors to customers Friday morning, and theyre glad about that

We hear both ways, some people are very excited to come in, some are not so, they dont even want to leave their homes, Sammy Derzis with Golden Rule said. But, well see what happens here and were looking for good things.

After deep cleaning the whole restaurant, they put up a new sign inside golden rule today as sort of a were open for business announcement. The sign out front says theyve been turning out BBQ since 1891. Its been a challenging couple of months.

The volume is down, weve lost some employees, its a whole radical change. But, it looks like theres light at the end of the tunnel, Derzis said.

Just across town in nearby Mountain Brook, things are quieter at Brombergs and Company, the oldest business in the state. Only the University of Alabama has been around longer. Ricky Brombergs great, great, great grandfather started the jewelry company in 183

You know we have been around long enough to be able to weather storms, but if youre just starting off, gosh you werent counting on this, or remotely anything likes this and you know Ihave a heart for those people, Bromberg said.

And even during a worldwide pandemic, important life events go on. People still fall in love and love family.

Weve been blessed to be a part of a lot of a lot lifes happy occasions, be it a wedding or anniversary or birthdays or christening or whatever, whatever it might be and so thats kind of our extra paycheck to be part of those things, Bromberg said.

Because of their longevity, business success and hard work, these two businesses have been able to fight through this challenging time and now have employees back in the business doing what theyve done for years.

Well see what happens now that were opening full blast well see what happens, Derzis said.

All storms run out of rain, right? So, this too will pass, we just dont know exactly when, but you know weve been able to work through challenges as well and i know we will this one as well, Bromberg said.

As Alabama begins to find the light at the end of the tunnel, the hope is that old business and the newest ones will survive these challenges and welcome customers back to their store.

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How to Avoid Making an Invalid Will During the Coronavirus Pandemic – Lexology

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The spike in Will-making since coronavirus (COVID-19) took the world in its grip was inevitable. Making a Will has never have been more important for many. But with home-made Wills, it's easy to take one wrong step in the way it is witnessed, or signed.

The outcome at best, can be to make your intentions hard to follow when the Will comes into effect and at worst, to invalidate the Will entirely.

Some countries, including Australia and the USA, have passed emergency legislation to make it easier for Wills to be made during coronavirus. However, in England and Wales, there are no such changes. We still have legislation, dating from the 19th century (the Wills Act 1837) governing Will-making, when facilities like Skype and Zoom had not been contemplated.

So, signing your Will on a Zoom call, with your witnesses watching from another location does not sit comfortably within the Wills Act 1837, as a legal requirement is that your witnesses should be with you (ie present) when they watch you sign.

Can Someone 'Witness' a Will Through a Window or over a Fence?

It is possible, as long as you fulfil the legal requirements to the letter. These include that your witnesses should maintain an uninterrupted line of sight with you the whole time that you sign the Will. Signing and passing the document over the fence to your neighbour to record they have witnessed your signature, if they have not actually seen you sign the document, does not count and would leave you with an invalid Will. For these reasons, we generally advise that you avoid witnessing your Will like this, if at all possible, to avoid the risk that the validity of the Will may be challenged. The best option, if you can achieve it, is to witness your Will in an outside space with clear visibility whilst observing social distancing.

Another frequent error we see with home-made Wills is choosing the wrong type of witness. How is that possible? The Wills Act prohibits your witnesses from being beneficiaries of your Will. So the people you will be isolating with now are unlikely to be appropriate choices, if you intend to leave them something in your Will. But your neighbours and friends may be anxious about coming close enough to you to act as witnesses. It's a tough conundrum and very important to be clear on what you can and can't do.

Why Hasn't the Wills Act Been Updated?

Outdated as the Wills Act 1837 may be, Wills are strictly legislated to guard against various risks. These include a person making a Will without due consideration to its contents, or at the worst end of the spectrum because a person may be under duress, subtle or strong, to make a Will they would not necessarily otherwise choose to.

Many Will disputes arise when vulnerable or elderly people have been persuaded by an unscrupulous person to make a new Will which favours them over family members or another more natural choice of beneficiary. At the moment, with so many elderly or vulnerable people being unable to see their close ones, the opportunities for people to prey on them has potential only to increase. There are numerous cases setting out the tests which must be passed for a Will to be upheld as valid in such cases.

Lord Templeman's Contested Will

A recent highlight was the fabulously-named Goss-Custard v Templeman case, which was heard in the High Court earlier this year. In a bizarre twist of fate, the late Lord Templeman, who had heard many contested probate cases whilst sitting as a judge and who had established a key legal principle, called the golden rule, (more of that in a moment), made a Will, at the age of 88, which was challenged after his death. One of his sons alleged that Lord Templeman, who had exhibited signs of short-term memory loss towards the end of his life, lacked sufficient mental capacity to make a valid Will.

Ironically, Lord Templeman had given his Will instructions to his solicitors, but they had failed to follow his own golden rule, which recommends that solicitors seek a contemporaneous assessment from a medically qualified professional before making a Will for an elderly person, or one suffering from a serious health complaint. Lord Templeman arguably could be said to have fallen into both camps. Plus more red-flags should probably have waved when Lord Templeman proposed to leave a substantial chunk of his estate (a property called Mellowstone) to his two step-daughters, from his second marriage, rather than to his two sons from his first marriage. Although, on examination by the court, there were reasons why Lord Templeman may well have deliberately chosen to do so, not least that Mellowstone was his second wife's property before they married.

At trial, the parties were forced to rely on post-event evidence obtained from experts who relied upon medical records, rather than the more desirable contemporaneous medical examination of Lord Templeman whilst he was still alive, to decide whether Lord Templeman had capacity to make his Will at that specific time or not.

As in all cases like these, many factors are taken into account in assessing such challenges, aside from whether the golden rule has been followed or not, and the Judge in conclusion, ruled that Lord Templeman did in fact have capacity to make his Will. However, in a final ironic twist, it is notable that significant costs for both parties may well have been saved if the golden rule had been followed, which Lord Templeman would no doubt have desired whatever his own preferred outcome of the case may have been.

How Can I Reduce the Risks of Challenged or Invalid Wills?

Will challenges can be brought on several grounds, particularly where different branches of the family tree may have differences of opinion about who should inherit from their parent or relative, and non-disputed Wills can be invalidated unintentionally by the simplest of errors.

So there is great value in reviewing Will provisions carefully, even where they may seem simple and in taking care to follow the strict rules for signing Wills and seeking professional advice on this.

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How to Avoid Making an Invalid Will During the Coronavirus Pandemic - Lexology

Everyone Chooses to Ignore the Golden Rule From Time to Time – The Good Men Project

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Thinking beyond ourselves is one of our greatest challenges. Ask anyone about the Golden Rule and they will tell you they support it, but in practice we often ignore it.

It is easy to accept thatdoing onto others as you would like them to do onto youis the right course of action in any situation. We might even feel a little smug about holding this belief, as though this differentiates us from the monsters we hear about in the nightly news. But the truth is that we often ignore the Golden Rule because to do what is required can be quite difficult.

When we harm others, we harm ourselves

There are times I struggle to be kind and generous towards others. This is particularly true when it comes to someone who has hurt or betrayed me. I am more likely to do onto to them and then split before they find out what I did.

We find a similar attitude in our American society today. It is easy to apply the golden rule to those who think like us, but when they believe differently, we judge them to be ignorant, heartless and evil.

What we cannot see is that the damage we do to others is damage we do to ourselves. This is not clear when we strike at those we dislike, because doing so can feel goodeven satisfyingin the short term. But our bad actions can come back to us in unexpected ways.

The Golden Rule and the Law of Attraction

Here is that pesky Law of Attraction at work again. When we lash out at others with hatred, violence and revenge, the Universe/God will return the same energy back. You might not recognize this when it happens, but it does.

If you must believe it is justifiable to strike with hatred towards others because of what they do or believe in, then the Universe/God will send plenty of them you can abhor to your hearts desire. The Universewill do so until you realize hating others accomplishes nothing. Only then will you be open to consider other options, like the Golden Rule.

Conclusion

It is easy to be kind towards the people we love; it is another matter to show the faces of love to those whom we would rather shun. This is exactly when the Golden Rule is most applicable.

The overwhelming majority of us dont have the influence to change the world. If we truly want to make a difference, treating all in the way we would like them to treat us is the way to go. When we incorporate the Golden Rule into our lives, we change everything for the better.

Remember, paying gratitude for your life forward will reward you with much joy and contentment.

Previously published here and reprinted with the authors permission.

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Fitness Coach Reveals ‘Golden Rule’ That Tells You Whether You Should Do Cardio Or Weights First – DMARGE

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Now that you have your head wrapped around when and how to work out, all you need now is to know: in what order should you do it? Should you be doing cardio or weight training first?

Regardless of whether you have your gym workout ready to go in the comfort of your own home, many trainers and gym-goers alike can be confused as to whether they should be doing cardio or weights to begin their gruelling workout regime.

Some use a gentle jog as a warm-up, some incorporate treadmill sprints into their weights session to boost their heart rate. But what are the consequences of when you do cardio? Lets turn to the experts to find out.

To weigh in on the argument, online body transformation coach, @jameskewfitness took to Instagram to put when to do cardio debate to bed.

As James suggests, The general rule I give to people is to prioritise your main goal. Because after all, if you plan on building muscle, you arent necessarily going to focus on running as the main source of your workout.

If your goal is to improve your cardiovascular endurance, then do cardio first if your goal is to change your body shape by having more muscle and less fat, then strength training should come first.

While weight training can generally be more apparent than cardio, and tends to take longer to recover from, James claims that no amount of cardio will result in fat loss if youre eating too many calories.

If you want to lose fat, then your main focus should be on creating a calorie deficit through your diet, James added.

The stuff we want to lose! If you prioritise cardio, your strength training will be less effective, meaning you put yourself at a greater risk of losing muscle instead of fat.

If youre careful (and if they work for you, personally), the Keto or The Carnivore Diet can help with this.

Combine that with a smart workout plan and you are sure to get ripped like the Stenmark Twins or Quade Cooper.

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Fitness Coach Reveals 'Golden Rule' That Tells You Whether You Should Do Cardio Or Weights First - DMARGE

Recovering from COVID-19: these are the risks to anticipate now before its too late – The European Sting

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(John Cameron, Unsplash)

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration ofThe European Stingwith theWorld Economic Forum.

Author: Emilio Granados Franco, Head of Global Risks and Geopolitical Agenda., World Economic Forum

A golden rule of politics is that the timing of a decision is almost as important as the decision itself. Timing is everything, but it is also the element that is hardest to get right.

The world has long been overdue a systemic reform of its economic, social and technological structures, but apparently the timing has never been quite right. Growth has been slow, political divisiveness on the rise and geopolitical relationships ever more fragile. All of this, while inequality has increased and has magnified a multitude of social problems.

What is the World Economic Forum doing about the coronavirus outbreak?

A new strain of Coronavirus, COVID 19, is spreading around the world, causing deaths and major disruption to the global economy.

Responding to this crisis requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forums mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

The Forum has created the COVID Action Platform, a global platform to convene the business community for collective action, protect peoples livelihoods and facilitate business continuity, and mobilize support for the COVID-19 response. The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

The global COVID-19 crisis has exposed these gaps with graphic honesty. It makes for uncomfortable reflection as we see the woefully unequal access to healthcare, digital means and social protection as the pandemic spreads across cities, countries and continents.

A virus has taken away the luxury of planning. We can no longer wait for the right moment to time such reforms, but we can still make sure they are the right ones.

There are critical decisions that we can make today that will have long-term implications. As governments relax containment measures and economies begin to reopen, it is vital that recovery efforts consider the second-tier risks resulting from COVID-19.

Following the Great Lockdown will come the Great Reset, a series of profound changes to what is already being described as the old normal. If we remain passive to emerging risks, we may lose a historical opportunity to shape the new normal that we want, rather than the one we would be left with.

The Forum asked 350 of the worlds top risk experts to assess the most likely and most concerning fallout risks from COVID-19 over the next 18 months, for the world and for companies. The results of this survey are published today in the World Economic Forums COVID-19 Risks Outlook.

Economic risks dominate perceptions. Two out of three experts identified a prolonged global recession as a top concern. Half identified bankruptcies, industry consolidation, failure of industries to recover and a disruption of supply chains as crucial worries.

Critical non-economic risks are also concerning. 50% of respondents are particularly worried about an increase in cyberattacks against their companies and expect restrictions on the cross-border movement of people and goods to remain up to 2021, while 40% believe another outbreak of an infectious disease is a major risk for the world.

Rightfully so, the state of the economy is critical, but the implications from the crisis are far more complex.

What do business leaders think are the greatest risks to the world due to coronavirus?

Image: World Economic Forum

What do business leaders think are the most worrisome risks to companies due to coronavirus?

Image: World Economic Forum

On the environmental front, even with an expected 8% drop in global emissions for this year, the world would still miss the 1.5C target to avoid a planetary catastrophe. Climate degradation will worsen if countries fail to embed sustainability criteria into their recovery plans, and if COVID-19 eclipses sustainability on the public agenda.

Social anxieties are another concern. Widespread anxiety could worsen as a result of entrenched unemployment, inter-generational friction and the pressure that fear and isolation have put on mental health.

One recent study in the United States, for example, found that social distancing risks increasing suicide rates. Another found that 70% of American adults feel this period has been the most stressful of their careers. Moreover, todays youth is facing a much bleaker economic outlook than following the 2008 financial crisis. Generation Great Lockdown or the class of 2020 is indeed at risk of becoming the next lost generation.

The relationship between societies and technology is also likely to change fundamentally. Technology has been critical to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, maintain communication with families and enable working from home. But a hasty adoption of digital solutions from video-conferencing to tracing apps also risks a mass increase in cybercrime, civil-liberty violations and deeper digital inequality.

This is an outlook of emerging risks; it is not a forecast. In this respect, it serves as a warning of how things could turn out if handled poorly, but more importantly it offers a means to change direction before it is too late.

The crisis has exposed weaknesses, but it has also illuminated strengths. There is a new-found understanding and appreciation for essential public services, most notably health. Consumption and mobility habits have changed dramatically a sign of adaptability towards a more sustainable model while technology has potentially revolutionized learning, working, producing and caring. We must draw on these strengths to build back a better world.

Today the Forum has also published a collection of essays from its diverse Global Risks Advisory Board, on the opportunities in the post-COVID-19 world. These include a renewed support for the multilateral system and its organizations, regional integration to respond to global trade disruptions, opening spaces for cities to participate in shaping the global agenda, creating public-private insurance schemes that are accessible to the most vulnerable groups, and embedding mental health awareness into public education programmes.

The novel coronavirus spread so wide and so fast that this crisis seems to have been one step ahead of us. Its time to take the lead.

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Letter: Everyday heroes took place of those in comic books – The Columbus Dispatch

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MondayMay18,2020at4:11AM

No one would dispute that our front-line responders, medical personnel and a host of other folks who take care of our basic needs food supply, including grocery stores and food banks, trash collectors, mail carriers and the list goes on are all heroes as they do their jobs day in and day out.

For that we are indeed grateful.

When I was growing up in the 1940s, Superman and Wonder Woman were portrayed as heroes. Now it has become evident that there are other kinds of heroes: people who follow the stay at home order, practice social distancing, wash their hands and abide by the dont-touch-your face guidelines.

They are true heroes, too, because they protect others in their home and communities, unlike those who blatantly continue to have lawn/beach parties or demonstrations/protests without following social distancing or treating others as they would want to be treated. When I was growing up that was called the Golden Rule.

Another type of hero who seems to have been receiving attention recently is what I call personal heroes: those who do grocery shopping for a neighbor who is unable, due to age or a health condition, to do it themselves.

Nancy Heber, Upper Arlington

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Letter: Everyday heroes took place of those in comic books - The Columbus Dispatch

Facebook buying Giphy means more to tech rivals than it does advertisers – The Drum

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The surprise move by tech giant Facebook to buy Giphy and bring with it its 700 million users in a deal valued at $400m seems like a shrewd move on paper. James Whatley, strategy partner at Digitas UK offers his take on what advertisers, and rival tech companies, should make of it.

Facebook bought Giphy but what does that mean for brands?

Honestly?

Not much.

If you are a brand working with Giphy today either by having your own branded channel or paid promotion of your branded gifs, I really can't imagine much changing for you in the short term.

In the mid-term, you can probably expect a tighter integration with the rest of your Facebook paid advertising. For some of you, you might even have a meeting with your Facebook client partner (end of Q3 at the earliest) where Giphy will be brought to the table as an exciting new proposition that you should like totally consider investing in.

In the long term, you can almost certainly bank on Facebook Ad Manager having a Publish ad to Stories with Instagram, Facebook, and Giphy all being an option.

Hell, knowing Facebook, give it 18 months and itll be running best practice gif immersion sessions for clients, with a seventeen slide AI-driven deck on how IT knows which part of your 30 second ad would make a good gif (and not the agency that developed it).

Thats the easy money.

But what if youre not a client or an agency. What if, instead, you would describe yourself as a platform specifically a platform not owned by Facebook? Well then, for you, things might get a little bit trickier.

Giphy powers I would argue almost 100% of the gifs across the western social web.

Reminder: Facebook owns that now.

If you are Microsoft, or Slack, or Twitter, or (Facebooks biggest worry bead right now) TikTok then suddenly your crisis teams are no longer about updating the WFH policy. The new question is: how quickly can we get our own gif platform up and running?

Lets be fair here, Facebook said in its announcement:

Were looking forward to investing further in Giphys technology and relationships with content and API partners. People will still be able to upload GIFs; developers and API partners will continue to have the same access to GIPHYs APIs, and GIPHYs creative community will still be able to create great content. [sic]

Its worth pointing out that way back in April 2012 Facebook also said:

We think the fact that it is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience.

When it dropped a billion dollars for Instagram. When was the last time you saw an IG preview on Twitter?

Thatd be December 2012.

You know the golden rule here: trust in what Facebook does, not what Facebook says.

So look, bottom line: you dont need me to tell you that gifs and memes are the modern and universal language of the social web. For a mere $400m USD, Facebook just took a chunk out of the platforms named above and then some. From iMessage to Google Keyboard almost everything that has a gif button on it now has a FB-branded gif button on it.

For brands, nothing much will change. If anything, things will get easier (although I must say, every interaction Ive ever had with Giphy has been absolutely dreamy look at this lovely (Digitas client) brand page verified in a heartbeat, thanks Giphy).

The wider web and for general humans? It might turn out to be a bit of a pain. Yknow, like when Facebook rolled out its own video proposition and relegated YouTube embeds to links that you have to click on in-feed?

That kinda stuff.

For now: trebles all round for Giphy.

Lets see what 2021 brings.

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Protecting youth online – Arlington Catholic Herald

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Captains log: Day 53 of the 2020 spring COVID-19 quarantine.Forty-two states still have active stay-at-home orders. The run on cleaningsupplies and toilet tissue continues. Schools are teaching through e-learning;youth ministries are conducting their outreach via Zoom, Instagram Live andFacebook Live; and families and friends are keeping up on their relationshipsby way of various apps. Social media for the win.

Shortly after Virginias stay-at-home order was enacted, Ireceived a few phone calls and emails from concerned parents and directors of religiouseducation. Many of their concerns revolved around predators gaining access toour youths and questionable apps. And the concerns are not unwarranted.

"We are seeing a big uptick in the amount of predatorsonline, you know, talking to children said Ariana Fajardo-Orshan, the U.S. attorneyfor the Southern District of Florida. Parents are preoccupied, getting theirwork done, and kids are being left off to kind of fend for themselves and thisis a predator's dream to have these kids home on the computer all day."

Lest we think that Northern Virginia is immune, news outletsreported April 21 that Fairfax County police arrested 30 Northern Virginia menand charged them with 68 felonies relating to soliciting minors online. Thearrests were part of Operation COVID Crackdown. These men, whose ages rangedfrom 20 to 74, were exploiting youths who were spending significantly more timeonline due to the current pandemic. Thats the bad news: There is an increasedpresence of predators looking for the opportunity to gain access to our youths.But as Romans 5:20 proclaims, Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.

The good news is that the hedge of protection that every parentwants for their child is accessible and within reach. There are five easy stepsparents can use to protect their children online: educate, communicate, investigate,collaborate and motivate.

Educate

First yourself, then your family. A good start would be todiscover what programs and applications your children use, not just for schoolbut with friends as well. Once you have a list, learn about the applicationsand then implement the strategies shared by the experts to protect them andhelp them flourish. My subject matter expert is Josh Ochs at SmartSocial.com.His parent/teacher app review includes a parental rating with a two- tofive-minute YouTube video explaining the good, bad and ugly for popular apps.It is updated weekly and gives customized practical advice on how to protectour youths with each app.

Communicate

Speak with your kids and let them know about the dangers andpotential impacts of poor online decisions on their relationships, collegechoices and potential job opportunities always, of course, in anage-appropriate manner. Discuss and determine family rules that can be writtendown. Make sure that each rule has a specific consequence if not followed.

Investigate

You know the old saying, Trust but verify. Children are proneto push boundaries and test limits. Ensuring the safety of our homes requiresus to not only lock and close all the physical doors and windows but thevirtual ones, too. Need some tools to assist? Again, check out SmartSocial.com.It has a great parental control software guide. Im also a fan of OurPact,which many parents use here in Northern Virginia.

Collaborate

Its true, they are required to use social media to completetheir schoolwork and there are very few other options to stay in touch withtheir friends but you are still the parents. Collaboration is not anegotiation. Work with your youths to develop healthy habits that ensure theirsafety while increasing trust in your proper relationship as the parent.

We all want our children to live by the Golden Rule: Do untoothers as you would have them do unto you. They should also live by the lesser-knownsecond Golden Rule: Whoever holds the gold makes the rules. Work with them toestablish fixed areas where the family may use their computers during specificslots of time. Once those boundaries are established and clearly communicated,stick to the plan.

Motivate

The best motivation is inspiration. Model the same healthypractices and habits you want your children to develop. When there is no needto be on social media, follow my daughters advice, Hang up and hang out.

During this pandemic, social media has allowed us to Go boldlywhere we have never gone before in the area of education. It has kept usconnected with family and friends while we shelter in place. But its just atool. Go make some memories outside of cyberspace and lets all be careful itsa jungle out there.

Deacon Silva is director of the diocesan Office of ChildProtection.

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Protecting youth online - Arlington Catholic Herald