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The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence – HuffPost

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Danzig

Many experts believe that artificial intelligence (AI) might lead to the end of the worldjust not in the way that Hollywood films would have us believe. Movie plots, for example, feature robots increasing in intelligence until they take over the human race. The reality is far less dramatic, but may cause some incredible cultural shiftsnonetheless.

Last year, industry leaders like Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates wrote a letter to the International Joint Conference in Argentina stating that the successful adoption of AI might be one of humankinds biggest achievementsand maybe its last. They noted that AI poses unique ethical dilemmas, whichif not considered carefullycould prove more dangerous than nuclear capabilities.

How can we implement AI technology while remaining faithful to our ethical obligations? The solution requires systematic effort.

Transparency is the key to integrating AI effectively. Companies may mistakenly assume that ethics is merely a practice in risk mitigation. This mindset only serves to deadlock innovation.

Create a company ethics committee that works with your shareholders to determine whats ethical and whats not from the outset. Align this moral code with your business cultural values to create innovative products while increasing public trust. An ethics committee member should participate in the design and development stages of all new products, including anything that incorporates AI. Integrity is essential to the foundation of an organization. Your ethical mindset must therefore be proactive, not reactive.

A solid ethical foundation leads to good business decisions. It wouldnt make sense, for example, to build a product that you later determine will affect the industry negatively. By applying your ethical code from the start, you create a positive impact while wisely allocating resources.

An ethics committee, however, doesnt tell a design and development team what it can and cant do. Instead, the committee encourages the team to pursue innovation without infringing on the companys cultural values. Think of it as an important system of checks and balances; one department may be so focused on the potential of a new innovation that members of the department never pause to consider the larger ramifications. An ethics committee can preserve your business integrity in light of exciting new developments that have the potential to completely reshape your organization.

AI is still a relatively new concept, so its possible to do something legal, yet unethical. Ethical conversations are more than just a checklist for team members to follow. They require hard questions and introspection about new products and the companys intentions. This Socratic method takes time and may create tension between team membersbut its worth the effort.

Dont know where to begin with your ethical code? Start by reading the One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence from Stanford. This report reviews the impact of AI on culture in five-year timespans, outlines societys opportunities and challenges in light of AI innovation, and envisions future changes. Its intended to guide decision-making and policy-making to ensure AI benefits humankind as a whole.

Use this report as an informed framework for your AI initiatives. Other ethical framework essentials include:

One tech industry concern is that failure to self-police will only lead to external regulation. The Stanford report maintains it will be impossible to adequately regulate AI. Risks and opportunities vary in scope and domain. While the tech industry balks at the idea of oversight, the Stanford report suggests that all levels of government should be more aware of AIs potential.

A committee of tech leaders plans to convene this month to discuss the ethics of AI intelligence, and the possibility of creating a large-scale best practices guide for companies to follow. The hope? That discussion will breed introspection, leading all AI companies to make ethical decisions benefitting society. The process will take time, and tech companies are notoriously competitive. But in this we universally agree: its worth the effort.

Article first seen on Futurum here. Photo Credit: HoursDeOuvre via Compfight cc

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Artificial intelligence takes aim at online fraud – Idaho Statesman (blog)

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Danzig

Idaho Statesman (blog)

Artificial intelligence takes aim at online fraud
Idaho Statesman (blog)
There was a time, not long ago, when consumers cast a wary eye the product quality, uncertain customer service and, most of all, the security of online transactions. Today, we shop online for everything from cars to medications to movie tickets to ...

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Artificial intelligence takes aim at online fraud - Idaho Statesman (blog)

Boeing Talks 3D Printing for Aerospace – ENGINEERING.com

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Danzig

On the ground floor of 3D printing technology for years, aerospace manufacturers first began adopting the various additive manufacturing (AM) processes for use in prototyping. With each advance in the technology, they have been there as AM was used for the creation of tooling to, most recently, the mass manufacturing of end parts.

GE increased its role in the industry dramatically when it acquired two metal 3D printer manufacturers and formed GE Additive. GE, however, isnt the only aerospace company thats taken AM to the skies. Also ahead of the pack is Boeing, which has been flying 3D-printed parts since 2003.

A part 3Dprinted by Norsk Titanium for Boeing. (Image courtesy of Norsk.)

As a manufacturer with a leading role in the 3D printing space, Boeing may be able to offer key insight into the various platforms that make up AM and how they are currently being used in aerospace, as well as how they can and will be used in the industry in the future. To gain some of this insight, ENGINEERING.com spoke to Leo Christodoulou, director of Structures and Materials, Enterprise Operations and Technology at Boeing.

As the number two federal contractor, behind Lockheed Martin, Boeing was awarded over $16 billion in taxpayer funds in 2015. Being so closely tied to the federal government has historically given the aerospace manufacturer access to some of the Department of Defenses leading projects.

In 2003, for instance, Boeing was a part of a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory effort to qualify and fly a metal 3D-printed part on the F-15 fighter jet. The project arose when a replacement part was needed, but the lead time for tooling would be too long. Additionally, the part was going to be made from titanium, rather than with aluminum forging, as had been the case in the past. This would reduce corrosion fatigue associated with the aluminum part.

To produce the titanium pylon rib, a laser powder feed deposition process, a form of directed energy deposition (DED), was used. The part became the first 3D-printed metal part to qualify and fly on a military aircraft. Almost 14 years later, Boeing now has over 50,000 3D-printed components of various types flying on aircraft today.

As if reliving the past, Boeing is turning to DED once again to produce structural components for its 787 Dreamliner. Working with Norsk Titanium and its rapid plasma deposition technology, the company will 3D print what could be the first titanium structural components for an aircraft.

Boeing and Norsk have been working together since 2016 to first see if the parts produced by Norsk could meet Boeings requirements, and then whether they could meet those of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) program. The companies are anticipating that additional FAA approval for the material properties and manufacturing process will be obtained this year.

DED processes do not offer the same geometric complexity as selective laser melting, but, by 3D printing near-net-shape parts and then machining them to their final shape, its possible to speed up turnaround time, reduce material waste and reduce costs.

Christodoulou explained, Some technologies offer better complexity than others, but even though some [like DED] dont offer as much complexity, they still provide value in terms of buy-to-fly ratio. If you have an expensive material like titanium, for example, you can reduce the cost of how much you have to machine away and the buy-to-fly ratio tends to be very high. Even with a technique where the processes do not give you the buy-to fly ratio, you can gain a lot of value by not having to buy all the material that you machine away.

This may be clearly demonstrated with the 787 Dreamliner. By leveraging plasma deposition from Norsk, Boeing aims to cut costs by $2 to $3 million.

Although DED may have been one of the first technologies that Boeing leveraged for the production of an end part, it has become just one of many within the companys repertoire, according to Christodoulou.

AM for us is a toolbox in a toolbox. AM is not really one single technology. Its a range of technologies. These technologies are applied differently in polymeric systems, composites, metals, and potentially ceramics. Different classes of material employ different processes, and each material class has multiple processes that one might consider, Christodoulou said.

The largest toolbox is the whole manufacturing or production system, Christodoulou continued. That production system has all of the traditional processes that we currently use, whether its fiber placement machines or machining of aluminum, whether its casting, forging, rolling, resin infusionAM is one part of an entire manufacturing system. Its never going to replace them all. It might not replace any of them.

Among the other AM tools in Boeings toolbox is fused deposition modeling from Stratasys. The company has been working with Stratasys to develop its Infinite Build technology, which has a hypothetically infinite build direction on the horizontal axis.

If you talk about AM, people think of a 3D printer somewhere ina box. What we did when we worked with Stratasys was we worked to take AM out of the box, creating a system by which we could remove parts and, in a sense, make them infinitely long, Christodoulou said.Were not constrained by the volume now of a box, but our ability to have a stable process that will work for maybe three weeks, 24/7,nonstop. Its all about that stability of the process.

The aim for using a technology that is capable of producing such large components may not be for 3D printing end parts necessarily, but also manufacturing aids. Last year, Boeing and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) won a Guinness World Record for producing the largest solid 3D-printed item. It wasnt an aircraft wing that the partners printed, but a large piece of tooling used to secure the 777X composite wing skin for drilling and machining.

Christodoulou said,That part doesnt have any mechanical requirements for flight, but it has very strict requirements in terms of dimensional control because its the tool on which we build parts that do fly.

The machine used to produce the part was the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system from Cincinnati Inc. Although the BAAM is relatively new, Boeing doesnt just use any new 3D printer to make parts for the sheer novelty and marketability of it. According to Christodoulou, every technology and part goes through a rigorous quality control process.

The adoption of a given technology is commensurate with its maturity. Some technology is more mature than others, so its more likely to meet our requirements than others, Christodoulou explained. We have full intention to capture the benefits of new technologies as they come along, but our implementation is based on using technologies and processes that are stable so that they are reproducible.

One of the key elements in Boeings development and adoption programs is the ability to demonstrate reproducibility. This holds true not just for AM, but for all of its manufacturing tools. Christodoulou said that Boeing has very stringent process specifications for how to build a given part and the settings on the machines. Once stability has been demonstrated across processes on multiple machines and in multiple installations across the globe, the company develops a database compiling the properties of parts. This enables Boeing to have data that supports the use of a particular process to manufacture a specific component.

This is true not just for processes, but for materials as well. Among the most recent materials Boeing is experimenting withOXPEKK, a form of laser sintered polyetherketoneketone developed by Oxford Performance Materials (OPM). OPM will be supplying over 600 parts for the Boeing Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft, which is meant to carry up to seven passengersor a combination of crew and cargoto low-Earth orbit destinations like the International Space Station.

An OXFAB Complex Structural Component 3Dprinted by OPM for the Boeing CST-100 Starliner. (Image courtesy of OPM.)

And while Boeing is qualifying processes on the production front, one of the biggest challenges according to Christodoulou is in the culture of manufacturing and design. This is because industry has become accustomed to designing for existing production technologies. 3D printing, however, opens up the ability to produce parts that were impossible to make with traditional techniques, such as complex geometries with internal structures.

Unlike other aerospace companies adopting AM technology, Boeing doesnt rely entirely on in-house production, Christodouloupointed out. Instead, Boeing tries to strike a balance between in-house work and leveraging its supply chain.

65 percent of our work is done outside of Boeing by our suppliers, Christodoulou said. We have 20 sites within our walls that perform some form of AMfrom Puget Sound to St Louis to Mesa to overseas, in the UK and Germanybut we have to balance between our internal activities and our supply chain. In many cases, the value proposition for us is to work collaboratively with our supply base and exploit their expertise and their capital investment. For example, Norsk has made a lot of capital investments in its technology that we dont necessarily want to duplicate. I would rather work collaboratively with them. We value and appreciate the contributions of our suppliers.

Additionally, Boeing is not a machine manufacturer, like GE. So, while it may make sense for GE to acquire 3D printer manufacturers like Arcam and Concept Laser, Boeing does not plan to build and sell AM machines.

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Boeing Talks 3D Printing for Aerospace - ENGINEERING.com

Aerospace industry showcased at business after-hours event – WDTV

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Danzig

BRIDGEPORT. W. Va. (WDTV) -- Members of the aerospace industry got together Thursday to show the community just what they have to offer in North Central West Virginia.

The Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center was the site for the Harrison and Marion Chambers of Commerce joint business after hours event.

It was meant to showcase the growth of the aviation industry in North Central West Virginia.

"The aviation industry is something that's just going to grow. There's going to be more and more people, whether it be for pilots, or mechanics or aviation specialists of any kind, so it just creates a lot of opportunity, close to home," said Rick Rock, director of the North Central West Virginia Airport.

"We have a marvelous training program that takes the citizens of West Virginia, provides them with the high technology training they need, to get jobs in this career field," said Thomas Stose, Director of the National Aerospace Education Center.

Major General Jim Hoyer was also at the event. He said this industry shows the true potential of the Mountain State. Hear him compare the tale of two cities and how this industry can mean big things for the state in the attached interview.

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Aerospace industry showcased at business after-hours event - WDTV

South Dakota Civil Air Patrol to hold Aerospace Extravaganza Aug. 17-20 – Watertown Public Opinion

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Danzig

SIOUX FALLS Aerospace education is one of the three congressionally mandated missions of the Civil Air Patrol. This weekend, aircraft and vehicles will bring officers and cadets from across the state to Sioux Falls to participate in the South Dakota Wings Aerospace Extravaganza for 2017.

The mission base will be at the headquarters of the Sioux Falls Composite Squadron at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport.

Cadets will have the opportunity to fly on powered aircraft orientation flights in and around Sioux Falls area. In addition, cadets will be ferried in groups to Worthington, Minn. where they will participate in glider orientation flights.

Cadets at mission base will also take part in a plethora of activities including building and testing flying model gliders, launching model rockets, flying radio-controlled model powered aircraft and gliders, flying computer flight simulators and receiving instruction in how control surfaces affect flight dynamics.

Also included in the weekends activity is a guided tour of the South Dakota Air National Guards 114th Fighter Wing facility at Joe Foss Field.

Project Officers for the Aerospace extravaganza are Lt. Col. Todd Epp, commander of the Sioux Falls Composite squadron, and Lt. Col. Buck DeWeese, vice commander of the South Dakota Wing of the Civil Air patrol. Epp can be contacted at 605-351-5021 and DeWeese at 605-641-2362.

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South Dakota Civil Air Patrol to hold Aerospace Extravaganza Aug. 17-20 - Watertown Public Opinion

Aerospace Arizona Association attends tour of Falcon Field Airport – Sierra Vista Herald

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Danzig

MESA Approximately 20 members and guests of the Aerospace Arizona Association attended a tour on Aug. 3 of Falcon Field Airport in Mesa. The group learned of the airports history, its current uses, and toured several of the businesses operating on and adjacent to the airport campus.

The tour of Falcon Field Airport was beneficial both as an educational opportunity and a networking tool for our members, said Mignonne Hollis, executive director of Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation (AREDF) who serves on the advisory board for Aerospace Arizona Association. This is just one of the many ways the Association is helping to advance the unmanned and aerospace industries as whole for our state.

The aerospace and unmanned industry sectors are vital economic drivers for the economy for the state, Hollis said. Arizona is ranked second in the nation for aerospace and defense systems manufacturing jobs, employing more than 11,700 people. In 2016, Arizona was ranked first in the nation by Price Waterhouse Cooper for aerospace manufacturing attractiveness. In response, AREDF formed the Aerospace Arizona Association to promote growth and innovation within these industries throughout the state of Arizona.

Falcon Field Airport was established in 1941 as a military airport during World War II to train British Royal Air Force and American pilots. Following the war, it was deeded to the city of Mesa as a municipal airport. Although the city still maintains the contract for airport operations, it is self-sufficient and all airport revenue is used for capital improvement and airport expenses. More than 90 businesses are located at Falcon Field and it provides over 1,300 jobs.

The first stop on the airport tour was a visit to the CAE Flight Training Academy. CAE provides simulator-based training for several national and international airlines, including American Airlines and JetBlue. The Aerospace Arizona tour group got to see first-hand both the training simulators and classrooms that are used to train future pilots from all over the world.

The group then toured the production lines for Boeings Apache and Unmanned A160T Hummingbird systems in their facility adjacent to Falcon Field. The Mesa site has produced Apache helicopters since 1984 and the manufacturing technicians in the facility both assemble and paint aircraft onsite.

The efficiency, precision, and highly trained workers in the Boeing production line were evident throughout the tour. The group learned that a continual effort to reduce production times while keeping quality at the highest levels is essential to Boeings contract with the U.S. Army for production of these rotorcraft. Employee efforts to improve manufacturing processes and reduce the sites environmental footprint were also significant and many improvements have been made on the campus over the years toward becoming a more sustainable facility.

Finally, the group visited the DEAGA Helicopter offices where they are the exclusive U.S. distributor of Cicar helicopters and trainers. Attendees learned of the history of DEAGA USA, the subsidiary of Chinese public company DEA General Aviation Holding Company. At the Mesa location, they specialize in the sales, support, training and assembly of the Cicar range of products.

The Cicar training system is a unique helicopter training platform that that uses eight self-directional wheels which allow a helicopter operator in training to easily and safely move in all directions. It also has air tank that has pneumatic cylinders allowing the helicopter pilot to rise and descend adjusting the level of difficulty during the training session. Additionally, the entire system is co-operated by a teacher who can automatically disable it remotely in case of any emergency. This system of training has helped to eliminate accident risk for students and instructors during early flight training as well as created a reduction of between 60 and 90 percent of the hourly cost of flight training for beginning pilots.

Submitted by Laura Jones Martinez, communications/marketing specialist, Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation

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Aerospace Arizona Association attends tour of Falcon Field Airport - Sierra Vista Herald

Ripple Price Forecast and Analysis – August 17, 2017

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Danzig

As expected, XRP prices took a cautiously bullish step yesterday, rising 1.03% on Ripple news about an expansion to China, the world’s largest market.

Volatility in Ripple prices appeared to ease during the early morning hours, although that might be because fewer tokens exchanged hands this morning than they did last night.

While that lower volatility reduces the chance for spectacular one-day gains, it likely gave Ripple investors some confidence after a week of hard losses. Bitcoin has been sucking up all the air in crypto markets lately, having successfully.

The post Ripple Price Forecast and Analysis – August 17, 2017 appeared first on Profit Confidential.

siRNA Treatment for Brain Cancer Stops Tumor Growth in Mouse Model – Technology Networks

Posted on August 17, 2017 by ev1

Early phase Northwestern Medicine research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has demonstrated a potential new therapeutic strategy for treating deadly glioblastoma brain tumors.

The strategy involves using lipid polymer-based nanoparticles to deliver molecules to the tumors, where the molecules shut down key cancer drivers called brain tumor-initiating cells (BTICs).

BTICs are malignant brain tumor populations that underlie the therapy resistance, recurrence and unstoppable invasion commonly encountered by glioblastoma patients after the standard treatment regimen of surgical resection, radiation and chemotherapy, explained the studys first author, Dou Yu, MD, PhD, research assistant professor of Neurological Surgery.

Using mouse models of brain tumors implanted with BTICs derived from human patients, the scientists injected nanoparticles containing small interfering RNA (siRNA) short sequences of RNA molecules that reduce the expression of specific cancer-promoting proteins directly into the tumor. In the new study, the strategy stopped tumor growth and extended survival when the therapy was administered continuously through an implanted drug infusion pump.

This major progress, although still at a conceptual stage, underscores a new direction in the pursuit of a cure for one of the most devastating medical conditions known to mankind, said Yu, who collaborated on the research with principal investigator Maciej Lesniak, MD, Michael J. Marchese Professor of Neurosurgery and chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery.

Glioblastoma is particularly difficult to treat because its genetic makeup varies from patient to patient. This new therapeutic approach would make it possible to deliver siRNAs to target multiple cancer-causing gene products simultaneously in a particular patients tumor.

In this study, the scientists tested siRNAs that target four transcription factors highly expressed in many glioblastoma tissues but not all. The therapy worked against classes of glioblastoma BTICs with high levels of those transcription factors, while other classes of the cancer did not respond.

This paints a picture for personalized glioblastoma therapy regimens based on tumor profiling, Yu said. Customized nanomedicine could target the unique genetic signatures in any specific patient and potentially lead to greater therapeutic benefits.

The strategy could also apply to other medical conditions related to the central nervous system not just brain tumors.

Degenerative neurological diseases or even psychiatric conditions could potentially be the therapeutic candidates for this multiplexed delivery platform, Yu said.

Before scientists can translate this proof-of-concept research to humans, they will need to continue refining the nanomedicine platform and evaluating its long-term safety. Still, the findings from this new research provide insight for further investigation.

Nanomedicine provides a unique opportunity to advance a therapeutic strategy for a disease without a cure. By effectively targeting brain tumor-initiating stem cells responsible for cancer recurrence, this approach opens up novel translational approaches to malignant brain cancer, Lesniak summed up.

This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided by Northwestern University. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

Reference

Dou Yu, Omar F. Khan, Mario L. Suv, Biqin Dong, Wojciech K. Panek, Ting Xiao, Meijing Wu, Yu Han, Atique U. Ahmed, Irina V. Balyasnikova, Hao F. Zhang, Cheng Sun, Robert Langer, Daniel G. Anderson, Maciej S. Lesniak. Multiplexed RNAi therapy against brain tumor-initiating cells via lipopolymeric nanoparticle infusion delays glioblastoma progression. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017; 201701911 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1701911114

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siRNA Treatment for Brain Cancer Stops Tumor Growth in Mouse Model - Technology Networks

This Instagram Nutrition Blogger Is Busting Myths About Healthy and Unhealthy Foods – Men's Health

Posted on August 17, 2017 by ev1

"Although Im fully aware that a handful of almonds contains lots of wonderful nutrients that would keep me fuller for longer, some days (no matter whether Im looking to gain, maintain or lose weight) Ill choose to eat sweets or a chocolate bar as a snack," she writes in the caption. "Why? Because when the majority of my diet has consisted of well-balanced food thats full of micronutrients, I have no issue eating something that's less so just because I love the taste of it."

Certainly, there's nothing wrong with having the occasional "unhealthy" snack, so long as you avoid eating it in excess, and your diet is balanced out with everyday foods like vegetables, fruit, lean protein, fish, and whole grains. Moderation is key, and it comes from diligently monitoring your intake of those occasional guilty pleasures.

The 12-Minute Kettlebell Calorie Burner:

But even when you're eating what you feel is a healthy meal, calories can still arrive from unexpected sources. Here's one comparison from Mountain that may surprise you.

The two plates look exactly the same, don't they? That's because they nearly are.

"The only differences are the percentage of fat in the meat and the oil used to cook it," says Mountain. And yet, it accounts for almost 200 extra calories. (Need help understanding the ins and outs of cooking oil? Here are some essential tips to upgrade your diet.)

So, while Mountain's advice shouldn't necessarily be taken as a recommendation for you to sneak in an extra snack, it can help you think more critically about your caloric consumption and its sources. And once you're ready to chow down, outfit your home with these 20 items that will turn your kitchen into a muscle factory.

Skin care specialist school – Does cialis require a prescription in usa – Bournville Village

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

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Walt Disney Was NOT Frozen – MousePlanet

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

I recently did a presentation at the Museum of Military History in Kissimmee, Florida, about Disney and World War II. During the question-and-answer session, I was asked if I actually believed Walt was cremated and his ashes interred at Forest Lawn Glendale, because they had heard from a reliable source "that worked at Disney" that it was obvious he was frozen.

I was even asked about this during a question-and-answer session after a presentation I did at the Walt Disney Family Museum a few years ago about Disney and outer space.

It is a question I keep getting asked not out of idle curiosity, but because the person often wants to prove that they know this "secret fact" and if I am simply a Disney apologist who only promotes the official Disney line.

First, it is always challenging to try to prove a negative to the satisfaction of all people.

Second, just the mere mention of these falsehoods about Walt continues to give them additional life, with people claiming they saw this assertion in a book or heard it somewhere, like from a Disney cast member, so it must be true.

Finally, there will be people who despite common sense and all the evidence to the contrary will condescendingly assume that where there is smoke, there must be fire, or that someone is trying to cover-up the real story.

The one image that sticks in my mind when someone asks me if Walt were frozen is the memory of his oldest daughter Diane Disney Miller. I remember her telling me with a mixture of sadness and anger in her face and voice about how upsetting it was to the Disney family over the years for this question to even be asked in the first place.

She told me that one of the reasons she was so adamant about creating the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco was "Other little kids would say to my kids, 'Your grandfather is frozen, isn't he?' And I just couldn't let that stand. What if someone said that about their parent? How would they feel?"

When I lived in California, some California Institute of the Arts students as an art project raised some money by producing a limited amount of "Waltsickles" that featured a full-figured model of Walt Disney in a suit inside of a popsickle. That never happened again although gags about "Disney on Ice" with Walt frozen in a block of ice and skaters performing on top of him abound.

An editorial cartoon jokingly referred to Disney on Ice as being Walt frozen in ice.

Walt Disney was not cryogenically frozen, but was cremated on December 17, 1966. Rumors still persist that Walt was put into cryogenic suspension and buried somewhere underneath Disneyland, in particular under the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, since it was still under construction when he died.

However, I have had people tell me, he was put under the dedication plaque on Main Street or directly in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Interestingly, I haven't yet had anyone tell me Walt's supposed frozen body is somewhere in the Haunted Mansion. I guess that is because the Mansion is supposed to be for dead people and in theory, if he were frozen, Walt would still be alive.

Articles and books about the preservation of animal tissue through freezing appeared in medical and scientific journals and occasionally the general press starting in the late 1950s. Perhaps the most prominent book during Walt's lifetime, The Prospect of Immortality by Robert C.W. Ettinger, was published in 1964.

However, this book still discussed cryonics as merely theoretical although eventually possible. Just as it was possible Walt "might" have heard about this topic, but there is no documentation that he ever did. Neither his family nor his closest associates ever heard him talk about the topicand Walt talked about everything he was interested in at the moment.

Certainly, there are several untrustworthy and unreliable sources that have proposed that he did but there is no evidence, including interviews with those who actually knew and worked with Walt.

Again, this is one of those Walt Disney Urban Legends that "everyone knows" but nobody seems to know where the information originated.

Waking Walt was a novel published in 2002 by former Disneyland and Walt Disney World Vice-President Larry Pontius about Walt Disney supposedly being defrosted by a very small group of former confidants to save the Disney Company from the machinations of Michael Eisner.

It is no surprise that Walt's disgust about what has happened to his dream, especially Epcot, is clearly apparent in the novel. Pontinus never knew Walt, but worked as a Disney marketing executive from 1976-1982.

Diane Disney Miller asserted in 1972: "There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that my father, Walt Disney, wished to be frozen. I doubt that my father had ever heard of cryonics."

Walt's official death certificate clearly shows that his body was cremated at Forest Lawn Glendale on December 17, 1966. The name, license number and signature of the embalmer, Dean Fluss, are those of a real embalmer who worked at the mortuary at the time. Court papers show that the Disney family paid $40,000 to Forest Lawn for the interment location of his ashes.

Certainly, Walt did not like attending funerals and even avoided the ones for his own father and brother.

"He never goes to a funeral if he can help it," wrote Diane in 1956. "If he had to go to one it plunges him into a reverie which lasts for hours after he's home. At such times he says, 'When I'm dead I don't want a funeral. I want people to remember me alive'."

Walt did not want people to see him in the hospital, and so only the immediate family was allowed into his room. Very few people, even those close to him, knew how really sick Walt actually was. The story told to the public was that he was undergoing surgery for an old neck injury from playing polo that most people knew had troubled him for decades and then re-entered the hospital days later for a routine post operative checkup.

Walt's death was not immediately announced to the press until several hours after it occurred at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 15, 1966. Walt lay in his hospital bed for a few hours while his family arrived and said their farewells. If Walt was to be put into cryonic suspension, it would have had to be done immediately to preserve him or even just moments before his death. That did not happen.

He lay there as his daughter Diane tried to get her mother to hurry up to get to the hospital but Lillian kept delaying the inevitable. His older brother Roy sat at the edge of the bed rubbing one of Walt's feet that was sticking out from the under the sheets. Walt had always complained his feet were cold in the hospital.

The cause of Disney's death was initially announced as being "acute circulatory collapse" and, on the death certificate, "cardiac arrest," which meant simply that his heart had stopped beating. It was a standard medical phrase giving no indication of what caused the heart to stop beating, which, in this case, was cancer. The cause was considered of secondary importance and to the general public the actual cause was unimportant. Walt Disney was gone.

Walt's funeral was quietly held at the Little Church of the Flowers in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale at 5 p.m. on Friday, December 16, the day after his death. No funeral announcement was made until after it had taken place. Only immediate family members attended, no friends, people who worked at the studio or business associates.

The Disney characters and cast members mourn Walt Disney in this cartoon.

His widow Lillian; daughters Diane and Sharon, with their husbands (Ron Miller and Robert Brown); his brother Roy and his wife Edna; and their son, Walt's nephew Roy E. Disney, with his wife Patty, were the only ones there. His sister Ruth was told not to fly down from Portland, Oregon, where she lived for fear the press would follow her to the service.

The Los Angeles Times reported, "Secret rites were conducted at the Little Church of the Flowers at Forest Lawn. The services were a closely-guarded secret. Family services were announced only after they had been concluded. Studio and cemetery officials refused to reveal details."

Forest Lawn officials refused to disclose any details of the funeral or disposition of the body, stating only that "Mr. Disney's wishes were very specific and had been spelled out in great detail."

The situation that people were not fully aware how ill Walt was, never saw him in the hospital and how badly he had deteriorated, nor attended his funeral to see him lying in state sparked the speculation that like other popular celebrities who died somewhat suddenly, including Elvis Presley, Walt was not really dead.

While the Disney family were a private family and felt this was a private matter, others saw it as a mystery.

The origin of the rumor of Walt being frozen has often been credited to Disney Studios animators who "had a bizarre sense of humor" and perhaps the earliest known printed version appeared in the French magazine Ici Paris in 1969.

In 1985, I asked animator Ward Kimball if he was the source for the rumor since he was well known for his pranks. "When Disney fans ask me if it's true that Walt's body is kept frozen for future resurrection, I answer that question by pointing out that Walt was always intensely interested in things scientific and he, more than any person I knew, just might have been curious enough to agree to such an experiment."

A decade earlier, Kimball had told another interviewer, "The smoking may have set the stage for his death. It probably weakened his physical condition. But I'm convinced it was the emotional stress he was under that killed him. It's such a dull world. So when I am asked if Walt's body was frozen and if he believed he could come back someday, just to stir things up I tell everybody he is frozen. Actually, he was cremated."

in 1972, Bob Nelson, who was then the president of the Cryonics Society of California, gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times. He specifically stated that Walt was not cryogenically frozen and reaffirmed that he had been cremated. However, he continued that he felt that Walt wanted to be frozen and based it on the fact that he had been contacted by someone at the studios prior to Disney death that asked elaborate questions about the process, the facilities, the staff, and their history.

That someone may have been writer Charles Show, who had worked on the Tomorrowland episodes for the Disney television series and has admitted doing research on the topic before Walt's death.

Nelson pointed out that the first cryonic suspension took place just a month after Disney's death. Dr. James Bedford, a 73-year-old psychologist from Glendale, was suspended by Nelson and his team on January 12, 1967. Bedford has yet to be revived from his comfortable rest in Arizona.

"If Disney had been the first it would have made headlines around the world and been a real shot in the arm for cryonics," said Nelson who had hoped to put Walt in a nitrogen filled capsule chilled to minus 371 degrees Fahrenheit. Interestingly, Nelson's organization had its incorporation papers approved by the state of California on December 15, 1966, the same day Walt passed away.

Nelson was later asked if some other facility than his own might have been involved.

"There was no other facility at that time. The only other group was the Cryonics Society of New York and they had nothing no mortician, no doctor, no nothing," Nelson said.

Author Ray Bradbury said later, "There was a rumor that (Walt) had been frozen in a cryogenic mortuary to be revived in later years. Nonsense! He's alive now! People at the studio speak of him as if he were present! That's immortality for you. Who needs cryonics?"

In the 1970s, the National Enquirer revealed the grave site of Walt Disney.

For nearly a year after the cremation, Walt Disney's ashes remained un-interred. When Sharon's husband, Bob Brown, died less than a year later, in September 1967, Sharon made the arrangements for her father and her husband to be interred together so that neither would be alone. She and her older sister, Diane, chose a remote plot outside the Freedom Mausoleum.

A modest bronze rectangular tablet on a wall lists the name of Walter Elias Disney; his wife, Lillian; his son-in-law, Robert Brown; and a mention that daughter Sharon's ashes were "scattered in paradise."

To locate the site, drive through the entrance to a road called Cathedral Drive. Stay on the road to the eastern edge of the park where Cathedral Drive intersects with Freedom Way. At that intersection, turn right onto Freedom Way. On your left will be trees, fountains, and statues. This area is called Freedom Court.

At the far end of Freedom Court is a large mausoleum. Pull over and park on the right-hand side of the street. There should be a "33" painted on the curb opposite your car, indicating 33 Freedom Way. Standing at the base of the steps leading to the main entrance of the Freedom Mausoleum, turn to your left and walk to the far edge of the steps.

There is a small, private, low-gated courtyard garden near the brick wall. Inside this area guarded by a hedge of orange olivias, red azaleas, and a holly tree there is a small statue of Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid sitting on a rock.

In recent years, another huge falsehood has circulated in regards to Walt Disney's death and I have no clue where this could have originated.

According to the myth, in Walt Disney's Last Will and Testament dated March 1966, he stipulated that the first man to get pregnant or give birth would receive millions of dollars, all of Walt Disney World or even the entire Disney Company. The vagueness of the reward should be the first clue that this is bogus.

Walt Disney's will is a public document and easily accessible so it is easy to see that no such statement exists or anything else like it relating to bizarre statement.

In addition, Walt was a highly conservative Midwest Christian and such a decree would certainly be out of character even for a man interested in innovation and the latest technology. In any case, this would not be something the traditional Walt would likely want to encourage at all nor did he ever discuss anything like it.

In any case, The Walt Disney Company was a publicly held corporation so Walt wouldn't have been able to give away the company or Walt Disney World. He didn't own them. In his will, Disney clearly left 45 percent of his estate to his wife and daughters and another 45 percent to be distributed primarily to California Institute of the Arts and the remaining 10 percent to be divided among his sister, nieces, and nephews.

So there were no extra millions of dollars to be distributed to any other bequest.

While there have been stories of eccentric wealthy people making unusual bequests in their wills, Walt never did.

However, even Walt knew that a good story is hard to extinguish and will often take on a life of its own. You might think that the information in this column is enough to put the story to rest but I can tell you that I shared this with an avid and somewhat knowledgeable Disney fan before publication and her immediate reaction was, "documents can be forged!"

I just sighed.

So the falsehoods will probably continue while the facts are forgotten. I just keep remembering how sad it made Diane Disney Miller and I wish there were more I could do.

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Walt Disney Was NOT Frozen - MousePlanet

Alternative Medicine – The New York Times

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

Alternative medicine has its own benefits – The Straits Times

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

I was terribly disturbed by the report (More harm than good; Aug 15) which gave the impression that nearly all complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are harmful.

This will potentially deprive patients of an avenue to seek better outcomes for their health conditions.

The report mentions studies that were carried out, but as we know studies can be biased, depending on who funds them. It is nice to give a textbook answer but what is more important is to find out whether CAM benefited the patient, and if so, in what way.

The news report cites studies on arthritis and how patients had suffered from delayed treatment because they had first sought CAM.

However, I have also seen patients recover solely from diet change and herbs.

I agree that herbs may interact with medications. This is why patients should seek qualified CAM professionals for advice, who are also trained in herb-drug interactions.

In contrast, most medical doctors are not trained professionally in herbs and diet.

I am not trying to defend CAM. All kinds of medicines, whether is conventional or natural has value and we should not drive a wedge between the two groups.

Sebastian Liew

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Alternative medicine has its own benefits - The Straits Times

Alternative medicine doubles risk of cancer death – Australian Journal of Pharmacy (registration) (blog)

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

Researchers from the Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center studied 840 patients with breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancer in the National Cancer Database (NCDB) a joint project of the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society.

The NCDB represents about 70% of newly diagnosed cancers across the United States.

The researchers compared 280 patients who chose alternative medicine to 560 patients who had received conventional cancer treatment. The patients were diagnosed from 2004 to 2013.

Conventional treatment was defined as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and/or hormone therapy. Use of alternative therapies was undertaken alone, rather than in conjunction with conventional treatment.

The patients who used alternative therapies alone were two and a half times more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis: 54.7% compared to 78.3% of those who used conventional therapies were still alive at the end of five years.

The risk of death spiked to 5.68 times more likely for those with breast cancer who used only alternative treatments.

The growth of interest in pursuing alternative medicine instead of conventional cancer treatment has created a difficult situation, the researchers say; there is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of alternative medicine.

We became interested in this topic after seeing too many patients present in our clinics with advanced cancers that were treated with ineffective and unproven alternative therapies alone, said the studys senior author, Dr.James B. Yu, associate professor of therapeutic radiology at Yale Cancer Center.

Lead author Dr Skyler Johnson said that the research provides evidence that using alternative medicine in place of proven cancer therapies results in worse survival.

It is our hope that this information can be used by patients and physicians when discussing the impact of cancer treatment decisions on survival.

Dr. Cary Gross, co-author of the study, called for further research, adding, Its important to note that when it comes to alternative cancer therapies, there is just so little known patients are making decisions in the dark.

We need to understand more about which treatments are effective whether were talking about a new type of immunotherapy or a high-dose vitamin and which ones arent, so that patients can make informed decisions.

The research was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

25-yr-old mom with rare disorder dies eating high-protein diet – myfox8.com

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

MANDURAH, Australia Meegan Hefford, a 25-year-old bodybuilder, was found unconscious on June 19 in her Mandurah, Western Australia, apartment, according toAustralia News 7.

Days later, Hefford was pronounced dead. Only after her death did her family learn that Hefford, the mother of a 7-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, had a rare genetic disorder that prevented her body from properly metabolizing her high-protein diet.

Urea cycle disorder, which causes a deficiency of one enzyme in the urea cycle, stops the body from breaking down protein, according to the nonprofit National Urea Cycle Disorders Foundation.

Normally, the body can remove nitrogen, a waste product of protein metabolism, from the blood. However, a urea cycle disorder would prohibit this.

Therefore, nitrogen, in the form of toxic ammonia, would accumulate in the blood and eventually reach the brain, where it can cause irreversible damage, coma, and death.

The enzyme deficiency can be mild enough so that the person is able to detoxify ammonia adequately until theres a trigger, said Cynthia Le Mons, executive director of the foundation. The trigger could be a viral illness, stress or a high-protein diet, she added.

There was just no way of knowing she had it because they dont routinely test for it, said Michelle White, Heffords mother. She started to feel unwell, and she collapsed.

White blames protein shakes for her daughters death.

Since 2014, Hefford, who worked at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and studied paramedicine, had been competing as a bodybuilder.

It was only after Heffords death that White discovered containers of protein supplements in her daughters kitchen, along with a strict food plan. White understood then that her daughter, who had been preparing for another bodybuilding competition, had also been consuming an unbalanced diet.

Hefford was eating way too much protein, said White, which triggered her daughters unknown urea cycle condition. (For most healthy people, ahigh-protein diet, when followed for a short time, generally isnt harmful, according to the Mayo Clinic.)

Heffords diet included protein-rich foods, such as lean meat and egg white, in addition to protein shakes and supplements, her mother said.

Theres medical advice on the back of all the supplements to seek out a doctor, but how many young people actually do? White asked.

Le Mons said, typically, there are nuanced symptoms that just go unrecognized with mild cases of urea cycle disorder. Symptoms include episodes of a lack of concentration, being very tired and vomiting.

Sometimes, people think its the flu and might even go to the ER thinking they have a really bad flu, Le Mons said, adding that a simple serum ammonia level test, which can detect the condition, is not routinely done in ERs.

Its unclear whether Hefford suffered symptoms of her condition. White, who hopes her daughters story will serve as a warning to help save lives, believes protein supplements need more regulation.

The Australian Medical Association says theres no real health benefit to such supplements. And, while they may not be necessary for most people, theyre not dangerous to most, either.

The estimated incidence of urea cycle disorders is 1 in 8,500 births. Since many cases remain undiagnosed, the exact incidence is unknown and believed to be underestimated.

Theres a myth that this disorder only affects children, Le Mons said, noting that one patient reached age 85 before diagnosis.

Regarding Hefford, Le Mons said that this is not the first time this has happened. Other athletes, who like Hefford were unaware of their condition, have died when a high-protein diet triggered their condition.

Though there is no cure for urea cycle disorder, abalanced dietis all that is needed for some patients, according to the National Urea Cycle Disorders Foundation.

Treatment may include supplementation with special amino acid formulas, while in some more severe cases, one of two forms of an FDA-approved drug may be prescribed. When these therapies fail, a liver transplant may become necessary.

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25-yr-old mom with rare disorder dies eating high-protein diet - myfox8.com

First pass for Minehunter Service Life Extension – Australian Defence – Australian Defence Magazine

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

The Commonwealth has granted First Pass approval to extend the service life for Navys Huon Class Minehunter Coastal vessels, and Thales Australia is to deliver and support new deployable mine countermeasures (MCM) over the next 15 years.

The Head of Navy Capability, Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, said the project forecast in the Defence White Paper 2016 will ensure Defence is able to provide an effective maritime mine countermeasure capability out to the 2030s.

Minehunters play a vital role in protecting Australias ships, harbours and infrastructure from the threat of sea mines, RADM Mead said.

First Pass approval is a major milestone for this project that will see the life of the Minehunters extended to ensure there is no gap in mine warfare capability as we determine the replacement vessels.

The Huon Class have proven highly capable, supporting Defences international engagement strategy through participation in exercises and operations to secure our sea lanes and disposing of WWII explosive remnants, and they will continue to serve Australia for years to come.

In addition to its mine warfare role, the Huon Class vessels play a unique role in Defence assistance to the civil community and in 2011 provided support in response to severe flooding in Queensland, including the disposal of debris that posed a navigational hazard, RADM Mead said.

The Australian Defence industry will be heavily involved in the future of the platforms. Negotiations are underway with Thales Australia to engage them as the Prime Systems Integrator to deliver the project. Under Thales lead there will be opportunities for other Australian companies to support the Minehunters through their service life.

The Huon class were built by Thales Australia, formerly ADI, and were introduced into service in the early 2000s.

With regard to deployable MCM, RADM Mead said the prevalence and increasing sophistication of sea mines means the RAN must continue to improve the way it finds and disposes of these mines.

New autonomous and remote-controlled technologies deployed from within the maritime task force provides the opportunity to find and dispose of sea mines more safely and efficiently, RADM Mead said.

In the 2030s, Defence will seek to replace its specialised mine hunting and environmental survey vessels with a single fleet of multi-role vessels embarking advanced autonomous and uninhabited systems.

RADM Mead said these newly introduced systems are the first step in realising a future capability which would allow the Royal Australian Navy to clear sea mines with minimal risk to its people and assets.

Thales Australia Ltd will deliver and support the new equipment over the next 15 years, RADM Mead said.

The new capability will primarily be based and sustained at HMASWaterhenin Sydney, NSW.

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First pass for Minehunter Service Life Extension - Australian Defence - Australian Defence Magazine

US cities rush to take down Confederate monuments after Charlottesville – The Independent

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

In the fallout from the violent rally in Charlottesville last weekend, a renewed sense of urgency to remove Confederate monuments has taken hold in towns and municipalities across the country.

Under the cover of darkness, workers in Baltimore removed four statues memorialising Confederate figures, after the city council voted unanimously to make moves immediately. Statues in Lexington, Kentucky, are set to be taken down as well, pending approval from a state historical board. A woman in Durham, North Carolina was recently arrested for allegedly tearing down a statue there.

We cannot continue to glorify a war against the United States of America fought in the defence of slavery, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper later wrote in a post on Medium in what was a light condemnation of the events in Durham, and a call for official action. These monuments should come down.

The movement to take down the statues which some argue represent a violent and racist history, while others say are simply a tribute to Southern heritage echoes the zeitgeist seen in 2015, after nine black churchgoers were murdered in cold blood by a white supremacist hoping to start a race war. Photographs of the killer showed him posing with the Confederate flag, sparking outrage that led to efforts across the South to remove that flag from public grounds. The recent rally in support of keeping a Confederate monument also drew blood, and now the rush to remove the monuments is the topic of discussion in manycommunities with similar statues or plaques.

The debate over Confederate monuments isnt exactly new, however. Public displays honouring Confederate figures and ideas can be seen all across the United States, and many localities have been considering removal for a long time.

There were some victories for the anti-Confederate monument camp in the absence of national tragedy, too: New Orleans removed four statues earlier this year, for example. Activists in Hollywood, Florida, tell The Independent that their years-long effort to rename streets honouring Confederate figures is on the verge of succeeding.

But, the very fact that this is being debated after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville ostensibly to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee turned terribly wrong, shows how polarising the issue can be. Tensions were so high in Charlottesville that the planned rally needed to be disbursed almost immediately after its scheduled starting time, but clashes continued between demonstrators and counter protesters. That violence culminated in the death of a woman after a white supremacist allegedly drove his car through a crowd.

There are more than 1,500 Confederate monuments or symbols on public grounds around the country, according to the Southern Poverty Law Centre. That includes more than 700 monuments, and more than 100 public schools named after Confederate generals.

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US cities rush to take down Confederate monuments after Charlottesville - The Independent

Personal and Politically Charged, the Press Release for Kara Walker’s New Show Is a Work of Art All by Itself – artnet News

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

The title of Kara Walkers upcoming solo exhibition at New Yorks Sikkema Jenkins & Co., even by Walkers baroque standards, is ostentatious: Sikkema Jenkins and Co. is Compelled to present The most Astounding and Important Painting show of the fall Art Show viewing season! But its the extraordinary press release for the show that has already caused a stir on social media.

The first half of the release is written in the style of an old-timey advertisement for a sideshow attraction. It reads, in part, as acritique of the blockbuster status of Walkers previous exhibitions, such as her 2014 Creative Time installation, A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby.

That35-by-75 sculpture, of a conspicuously naked black women rendered in tons and tons of white sugar, seemed to capture the cultural zeitgeist, attracting crowds and becoming an Instagram sensation during its run at an abandoned Brooklyn sugar factory.

Earlier this year, Walker toldNew Yorkmagazine that she was surprised to find that visitors to the exhibition were just as quick to gawk at her, when she stopped by, as at the mammoth sculpture.

That interview also hinted at Walkers struggles with her fame.Were in too much of a celebrity culture, she said, but at least that means I can be a disappointment to others.

Kara Walker, A Subtlety (2014). Courtesy Creative Time/photographer Jason Wyche.

Walker catapulted to fame in 1994, at the age of just 25, with her show at New Yorks Drawing Center, Gone:An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred btween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart. The exhibition introduced her signature, paper cut-outs in the style of vintage silhouettes, depictingcartoonish scenes of horror and debauchery from the Antebellum South.

Famously, that work attracted protest from artists including Betye Saar, a veteran of the Black Arts Movement whose letter condemning Walkers work askedAre African Americans being betrayed under the guise of art?.

Kara Walker, Gone, An Historical Romance of Civil War As it Occurred Between the Dusky Thighs of Young Negress and Her Heart (1994). Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.

The new press release preemptively anticipates (or courts) more contemporary criticism, with a tone at once defiant and ironic:

Students of Color will eye her work suspiciously and exercise their free right to Culturally Annihilate her on social media. Parents will cover the eyes of innocent children. School Teachers will reexamine their art history curricula. Prestigious Academic Societies will withdraw their support, former husbands and former lovers will recoil in abject terror. Critics will shake their heads in bemused silence. Gallery Directors will wring their hands at the sight of throngs of the gallery-curious flooding the pavement outside. The Final President of the United States will visibly wince. Empires will fall, although which ones, only time will tell.

Kara Walker, U.S.A. Idioms(2017), detail. Courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

But the textthen shifts into a more personal and world-weary register in a second section, in which Walker begins by addressing the motivation for the unusual press release itself:

I dont really feel the need to write a statement about a painting show. I know what you all expect from me and I have complied up to a point. But frankly I am tired, tired of standing up, being counted, tired of having a voice or worse being a role model.

Read the full exhibition press release here:

Kara Walker: Sikkema Jenkins and Co. is Compelled to present The most Astounding and Important Painting show of the fall Art Show viewing season! is on view at Sikkema Jenkins & Co., 530 West 22nd Street, New York, September 7October 14, 2017.

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Personal and Politically Charged, the Press Release for Kara Walker's New Show Is a Work of Art All by Itself - artnet News

Government is keen on establishing a digital economy – Minister – Ghana News Agency

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

By Amadu Kamil Sanah, GNA

Accra, Aug. 16, GNA - Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Communications, said Government was keen on establishing a digital economy which would improve efficiency of government business.

She said the Ministry of Communications was currently implementing a number of projects under the e-Transform initiative namely e-Immigration, e-Parliament, e-Procurement, Tertiary Institutions Connectivity Programme and e-Justice to achieve that goal.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful who said at the inauguration of the Board of Directors of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) in Accra, urged the Board to be proactive and efficient in its operations to ensure success in their endeavour.

The Board, which is chaired by Dr Mohammed-Sani Abdulai, include, Mr Jeffrey Konadu Addo, NITA Acting Director-General, Mr Gerard Nana Kwakwa Osei-Tutu, Dr Gezer Osei Yeboah-Boateng and Mr Emmanuel Mensah-Bonsu.

Other members are Mr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, Ms Ama Daaku, Mr Kwasi Agyei Tabi, and Mr. Ernest Andam Brown.

Section 9(1)(a) of the NITA Act, Act 771, 2008, enjoins members of the Board to submit to the Agency a written declaration that includes details of their shareholdings, debentures or other interests in a company whether directly or indirectly owned, public or charitable appointments as well as directorships held by the member.

The Act also enjoins members to inform the Agency of any change in respect of that members shareholdings, debentures or other interests in the company whether directly or indirectly owned by the member, and not knowingly make a false declaration.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the successful implementation of the e-Transform initiative depended on the efficient management of NITAs infrastructure and call on Board and management to work to ensure high service level attainments.

She said the Ministry of Communication have set a target to enforce the usage of Government Domain name across all Government Agencies and Department for the transaction of official business and NITA is expected to facilitate the achievement of the target.

The Communications Minister said to be able achieve all these targets, NITA needed to operationalise its regulatory mandate which has not been done since the law was passed in 2008.

She said Governments intended to scale up the use of technology at all levels to facilitate the implementation of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-led socio-economic agenda for which reason, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has constituted the Board to deliver on this mandate guided by the principles in the NITA Act of 2008 (Act 771 and Act 778).

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the President, in constituting this Board, considered the diverse expertise and experience of members and have no doubt that members would implement innovative strategies to resolve the challenges of the Agency and transform it into an effective organization capable of leading the implementation of the Digital Ghana Agenda.

She said Government has made significant investment in building an extensive ICT infrastructure that has been placed in the care of NITA and expected that this will be managed efficiently and profitably.

The Public Services Commission has approved the administrative structure and scheme of Service to enable NITA engage qualified professionals into the Agency. I entreat the Board to support the management in its effort to build the requisite capacity for the agency.

In view of the urgency of attracting and retaining requisite skilled manpower to manage government IT assets, I urge the Board to reengage the Public Service Commission to improve upon the conditions of service of your staff, she said.

The Minister said, her outfit have informed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to seek NITAs input before acquiring any IT solution, application, platform or device to ensure the interoperability of the government IT architecture to end the culture of working in silos.

She urged the board to expedite work to ensure effective discharge of its mandate by Setting the standards for all IT applications, systems, devices procured by MMDAS, Enhance your regulatory functions as soon as possible by passing and implementing the requisite LIs and Establish Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to ensure secure online transactions, enhance delivery of online services and enhance e-government implementation, mindful of the ongoing work in this regard.

They are also to Establish an effective customer complaints unit to address complaints from the public and MDAs on the quality of its service, develop an effective marketing strategy for use of the National Data Centre as a secure and safe infrastructure for data storage, Manage Governments broadband infrastructure effectively to provide efficient services to its client and Recover subscription fees and charges for the supply of Bandwidth to MDAs.

Dr Abdulai assured the Minister of the Boards commitment to re-position NITA by building its human resource based to promote the government digital economy agenda.

He said the Board recognised the importance of ICT in a growing economy and that the responsibility of building a quality service delivery would be achieved through revisiting NITAs business strategy and leverage the Community Information Centres to become learning centres of its various locations.

NITA was set up under the National Information Technology Act (Act 771) of 2008 and mandated to regulate the deployment of ICT, Promote standards in technology applications and ensure high quality of technology service among government agencies at the national, regional and local levels in a harmonized manner.

It is also to Promote private sector partnership in ICT deployment, ensure security of networks at all times, advise the Ministry on policy review in the ICT sector and Investigate, resolve disputes between license holders under the Electronic Transactions Act referred to the Agency by license holders and to certify all agencies established under the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772).

GNA

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Government is keen on establishing a digital economy - Minister - Ghana News Agency

After lifting minimum wage, NDP government prepares to consult public about reducing poverty – Straight.com

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Danzig

The B.C. NDP government hopes to have a poverty-reduction strategy in place by next year.

Thats according to Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister Shane Simpson.

At this month's Vancouver Pride parade, Simpson told the Straightthat the province has had "flat wage growth" for well over a decade.

He also said that about 500,000 British Columbians are living in povertyand theyre not all on income assistance or disability benefits.

Half of those people are the working poor, Simpson stated. Theyve got a full-time paycheque coming into the house.

The government plans to address this by increasing the minimum wage in the hope that it will encourage employers to raise their workers pay.

Others have taken the trickle-down approach to economic benefits being distributed, Simpson noted, referring to the Gordon Campbell governments decision to cut everyones income tax by 25 percent when it took power in 2001. Were going to push it from the bottom up.

On August 15, Premier John Horgan announced that the minimum wage would increase by 50 cents an hour next month to $11.35 per hour.

He's also promised to boost it to $15 per hour by the end of the NDP government's first term in office.

One of the Horgan governments earliest moves was increasing income-assistance rates by $100 per month.

Meanwhile, Simpson said there will soon be a public-consultation process in advance of introducing legislation on a poverty-reduction strategy.

The objective, according to Simpson, is to involve all ministries that can play a role, including those that oversee housing, childcare, income assistance, and education.

Well bring them all together and, hopefully, be able to develop some strategies working with people in the community to start to break the cycle of poverty that captures people and captures families, he said. Its incredibly hard for them to break that. It tends to go on for generations.

Simpson stressed the importance of providing meaningful opportunities for poor people to participate in government consultations.

Were going to craft a way to do that, Simpson promised.

He also said that the NDP government is committed to creating and measuring the results of a basic-income pilot project in B.C.

The minister suggested it might take three years to generate sufficient data for the government to draw conclusions.

Theres a similar pilot under way in Ontario. But one of the challenges is how to deal with public pensions, which fall under federal jurisdiction.

Advocates of a basic-income guarantee say it will provide everyone with sufficient money to meet basic needs and live in dignity, regardless of their employment status.

Some people are quite supportive of it, others are a little more skeptical about whether it can work, Simpson said. Im not certain one way or the other, but I think its worth a look.

When he was an opposition MLA, Simpson often made the case for a provincial poverty-reduction plan.

His private member's bill on this issue in 2011 called for a minister responsible for poverty reduction to publish an annual report detailing the state of poverty in B.C.

In addition, the bill called for independent comment from an advisory committee, and reporting on the progress toward implementing a strategy, the attainment of goals and specific objectives and performance measures, and recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the strategy.

It also included a section requiring consultation with B.C. residents living in poverty, as well as with other levels of government, First Nations, nonprofit groups, the business community, academics, and the trade-union community.

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After lifting minimum wage, NDP government prepares to consult public about reducing poverty - Straight.com

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