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NEX Optimisation Rolls Out New Automation Settlement Service for OTC FX – Finance Magnates

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

NEX Optimisation has implementedout a new settlement service for over-the-counter (OTC) FX, helping better facilitate and streamline bilateral settlement netting processes for market participants. The launch will mark one of the industrys first instances of a fully automated Settlement Netting Service, initially targeting OTC FX as well as additional asset classes moving forward.

The London Summit 2017 is coming, get involved!

The new service will help address thelingering issue of settlement failure rates. While only estimated at nearly 3 percent, these do amount to nearly $1.5 billion on a daily basis. However, the deployment of an API to simultaneously communicate with clients, banks and custodians systems will help mitigate and ideally reconcile this issue.

NEX Optimisations service will abandon the manual process in favor of automated netting between clients and their dealers to date, manual methods have resulted in settlement fail rates and other unnecessary fragmentation that has had a disconnect with markets.

In its first iteration, NEXs Settlement Netting Service will target and automate the settlement netting of only OTC FX, though is also slated for an expansion into all asset classes in the near future. The service was developed utilizing Traianas technology infrastructure, yielding several new benefits for trading activities and settlement processing.

This includes heightened efficiency via the reduction of lead time between netting and settlement as well as a lower operational and funding costs, settlement fail breaks and costly claims. This has been one of the largest areas of emphasis through its Settlement Netting Service, which had been working to improve in this area.The service will also help provide a standardized process for netting participants. In addition to reduced risk exposure, the automated service is also in full compliance with regulatory regimes and the new FX Global Code of Conduct.

Joanna Davies, Managing Director at Traiana, commented on the launch: The Settlement Netting Service will allow traders to execute with any bank on any trading venue and enjoy optimised, efficient, automated and consistent post-trade processing from execution through settlement.

Settlement netting processes have traditionally been fragmented across organisations and asset classes, requiring extensive manual processing, which does not reflect the way in which the market is moving. By automating the entire netting process via a central hub, weve brought an essential tool to the market that will significantly reduce breaks and have a direct impact on costs for our clients, she added.

The release of the Settlement Netting Service comes just one month after NEX introduced a new infrastructure for NEX Infinity, which improved testing for FX and cash equities on the distributed ledger. The initiative has since helped clients benefit from less complexity and more optimized resources across the transaction lifecycle.

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NEX Optimisation Rolls Out New Automation Settlement Service for OTC FX - Finance Magnates

Automation helping business overcome cash-flow challenges – Information Age

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

'Eliminating the hefty amounts of paperwork that finance professionals have to deal with on a regular basis, will save businesses an incredible amount of time in the long run. For a business of any size, time management is essential'

Ten thousand businesses fail each year as a consequence of late payments, according to a study by the Federation of Small Businesses. The report also uncovered that of the 17 billion currently owed to small businesses, 6.8billion is expected to be paid late.

The fines imposed on businesses for late payments to their suppliers can also have a detrimental effect on their reputation as well as profit margins. The governance institute,ICSA, uncovered that nearlytwo thirdsof companies fear reputational damage more than fines. This increases the pressure on finance and accounting departments to ensure that they are resolving outstanding payments, whilst ensuring that they are paying their suppliers on time.

>See also:Automating the finance function to unlock the value of your accountants

Technology including cloud technology, artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and machine learning will have a major impact on the day-to-day lives of professional services workers,upendingmany traditional ways of doing business.

Bhupender Singh, CEO of global BPO Intelenet Global Services, commenting on the findings, said: Eliminating the hefty amounts of paperwork that finance professionals have to deal with on a regular basis, will save businesses an incredible amount of time in the long run. For a business of any size, time management is essential.

Within finance and accounting departments,paper basedprocesses will be impacted the most as automation will enable accountants to reduce or eliminate data-entry tasks, monitor cash flows and ensure payments are made on time.

>See also:Automating the finance department

Only one-third of all enterprises have any significant level of automation in place, continued Singh,as it can be a struggle for businesses to find the right fit for their needs. However, the implementation of quality assurance & transaction monitoring methods can result in lower invoice processing costs and also superior process and data visibility.

We see automation playing the biggest role in helping professional services in the areas of connectivity and information filtering and analysis, ultimately allowing accounting professionals to become more proactive rather than reactive in managing client relationships and driving company growth.

The UKs largest conference fortechleadership,TechLeadersSummit, returns on 14 September with 40+ top execs signed up to speak about the challenges and opportunities surrounding the most disruptive innovations facing the enterprise today.Secure your place at this prestigious summit byregisteringhere

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Automation helping business overcome cash-flow challenges - Information Age

How to Survive In the New World of Automation – Business.com

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

As technologies develop, change and become adopted throughout an industry, businesses hoping to remain competitive must keep up and adapt with them.

As technologies develop, change and become adopted throughout an industry, businesses hoping to remain competitive must keep up and adapt with them. However, the increasingly complex developments in the world of automation mean more tasks are carried out by machines now. This advancement is forcing companies to rethink how they do business, what they offer to customers and what people are paying for when they seek someone for business services.

Companies trying to survive in the new world of advanced automation must learn to adapt quickly, think creatively and reinvent itself from the inside out in order to maintain relevance in the current economy. Otherwise, they will become outdated and fall to the wayside. Its the Second Machine Age, and success requires adaptation.

In the world of automation, convenience trumps convention. This means that as soon as customers are introduced to an automated or improved version of the skills you offer, they're going to flock to companies that have done so. Automation makes services faster and cheaper, and more gets accomplished in less time. Customers can prefer this method, particularly as they desire less and less interaction with a business. If you fail to adopt standard automation while your peers do, your business will stand out for being slower and more expensive.

People are attracted to innovation, and they're particularly attracted to innovation that makes life easier. Companies won't succeed by appealing to a traditional way of life or old-time method anymore, unless you're in a hyper luxury market. If you want to grow your business and reach more customers, you have to switch to the automation available to increase efficiency and handle the new capacity.

As we become more dependent on technology, we increasingly connect more aspects of our lives together. For example, Google, which is currently a major international player in technological developments, now controls our email, smartphones, cars, glasses, video-sharing sites and even everyday objects. The result is that you can connect these features more easily. You use your Gmail account to connect your smart glasses and collect and maintain data, and your smartphone to read your email as well as access your social media.

You can use your phone to turn your car on, and you can buy a home smart system that allows you to control all your home equipment by voice. Increasingly, customers want everything to be connected, and the development of more advanced automation and artificial intelligence allows us to make that happen. Businesses have to get into this mindset in order to succeed, such as by developing a phone app customers can use to order from. In order to keep up, you must think about how to make your service more widely accessible.

When you're searching for solutions, be sure that your company is backing you up. That is, ensure that when you hire employees and select people for management positions, you select people who can work with technology, are comfortable with change and development, and who can be an innovative thinker that moves your business forward.

It also means that when an employee proposes a radically new idea, particularly a tech-based idea, you train executives to consider it as a legitimate possibility rather than dismiss it as difficult. In order to survive the era of automation, your business must be willing to innovate and to lead and promote change from within.

Don't wait for your competition to develop enhancements and use automation to their benefit. Begin examining the structures and processes of your company and evaluating places where you can make significant overhauls or introduce serious innovation.

Jeremiah Owyang

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How to Survive In the New World of Automation - Business.com

‘Borders on slavery’: Government’s internships welfare program criticised by unions, Labor – SBS

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

Up to 10,000 internships will be offered to unemployed youths over the next four years in a deal struck between the federal government and retail sector.

But not everybody is pleased with the scheme, with unions arguing if there are retail positions available, employers should instead be offering young welfare recipients ongoing work.

Jobless youths aged between 15 and 24 will undertake training before securing 12-week placements with major retailers under the government's PaTH internship program.

"They will get a start at a job and, you know what, they could go on to great heights," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Monday.

"They could go on to, like many others before them, running big businesses, owning big businesses and employing lots of other people, realising their dreams."

The PaTH scheme (Prepare, Trial, Hire) offers young jobseekers $200 a fortnight on top of their income support payments to undertake internships, and gives employers a $1000 upfront payment for taking them on.

Australian Retailers Association chief executive Russel Zimmerman says underprivileged youths will access the same opportunities as successful people before them who started out on the retail shop floor.

"We are hoping by this program, and being able to get people enthused about the retail industry and to get employers to take on more people, that we will get young people into retail, that they will see retail as a career, and work their way through," Mr Zimmerman said.

But Australian Council of Trade Unions president Ged Kearney said the program offered no path to qualification, employment or workforce protection.

"This is a government-sanctioned program that actually borders on slavery," she told reporters in Melbourne.

It's offering them as free labour: ACTU

"If this does create new jobs, then pay the kids for the jobs. Pay them a wage. They're going to be productive. They're going to be contributing to the bottom line of these businesses."

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says the partnership is aimed at getting young people job-ready, giving them a go and finding them work.

"When we say that the best form of welfare is a job, we mean it, and we will put both the resources and the programs behind it," she said.

Government vows new jobs will be created

Jobs created through the program will be new positions, rather than replacing current roles or filling existing gaps.

Labor and the Greens are opposed to the program, insisting it will allow young people to be exploited by employers.

"If the PaTH program becomes simply a supply of cheap labour for employers who would otherwise be paying people full time wages to do that work, then that's a bad thing," deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek said.

About 620 young people have been given internships through the PaTH scheme since it began on April 1, with 82 young people securing ongoing work.

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'Borders on slavery': Government's internships welfare program criticised by unions, Labor - SBS

Independence Day: A gift of long-view leadership – Washington Times

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Happy Independence Day a holiday we owe to the visionary signers of the Declaration of Independence back in 1776. From the youngest to the oldest - Edward Rutledge was only 26 years old at the time and Ben Franklin was 70 - the signers were people who took the long view. They thought in terms of the distant future; in terms of years and generations, not news cycles. Because of their long view, their leadership was transformative.

We would do well to learn from their example.

The remarkable 18th century individuals who gave America freedom were, like other great leaders who took the long view, people who never lost sight of their primary ideals and principles. Although they were never rigid compromise is always needed for effective democratic leadership they avoided distraction and petty entanglements. There would be no American democracy without them.

Models of people with long views are found in other times and places, as well. Perhaps the best known 20th century transformative leader is South Africas Nelson Mandela. His long view sustained him through 27 years of imprisonment until his vision for the country was actualized by the abolition of apartheid, and his election as president. Mandela stepped down from the presidency after one term, an act that led to praise from Americans on both the right and left sides of the political spectrum. President Obama and Charles Krauthammer both compared Mandela to George Washington for stepping away from power. Krauthammer wrote, Thats George Washington. That does not happen often in Africa or anywhere. He never took the power to his head. He never was intoxicated by it. And the example he set is extremely unusual and probably the most lasting to his country.

People who take the long view are not distracted by ego, power, or petty conflict. We need more leaders like that.

If you want to refresh yourself about the meaning of Independence Day and the value of long-view leadership, read Natan Sharanskys Fear No Evil and The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom To Overcome Tyranny and Terror. The first is a memoir of oppression in the Soviet Union, where Sharansky spent 9 years in prisons and gulag. The second book explains the beliefs that sustained him then, and which have motivated him since, in his work as an Israeli political leader.

Any discussion of contemporary leaders with a long view must include Aung San Suu Kyi, who became Myanmars leader in 2015, after 15 years of house arrest under her countrys military dictatorship.

None of these people is perfect. They were and are human, flawed individuals like the rest of us. What makes them extraordinary, and defines them as models of leadership is their ability to maintain focus on their values with patience and peacefulness.

Great leaders indeed, great human beings avoid distraction and petty conflict.

On this Independence Day holiday lets be thankful for Americas founders and their long view. Let us resolve to seek and support leaders like them.

Read the rest here:

Independence Day: A gift of long-view leadership - Washington Times

Bill McDonald: Technology is now about empowering humans – The Scotsman

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

09:43 Monday 03 July 2017

Putting customers in the driving seat will be increasing role of tech advances, writes Bill McDonald, MD for management consultancy Accenture in Scotland.

Just the way we watch the television shows how much empowerment of the individual has changed. And it speaks of the wider picture of how technology is no longer a take-it-or-leave-it template, but a bespoke service tailored to the individual.

Can you picture early television broadcasts? They were carefully scripted and delivered to present a highly curated programme, forcing us all to not only share the same worldview, but also to watch on the programme-makers terms.

Siskiyou native develops ‘Rivers for All’ program – Taft Midway Driller

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

During his high school years, Paul Gillingham participated in many outdoor programs and camps through the Siskiyou Family YMCA, including a raft guide course they offered. That course inspired Gillinghams love and respect for rivers and was a driving force behind his decision to develop the outdoor education program Rivers for All.

As a boy growing up in Siskiyou County, Paul Gillingham was surrounded by rivers. During his high school years, Gillingham participated in many outdoor programs and camps through the Siskiyou Family YMCA, including a raft guide course they offered. That course inspired Gillinghams love and respect for rivers and was a driving force behind his decision to develop the outdoor education program Rivers for All.

The mission of Rivers for All is to increase river access among local, under-served populations through low-cost, river-focused adventures that deepen connection to local watersheds and build leadership in our communities.

Having participated in cub scouts and boy scouts in his childhood for a combined ten years, Gillingham recalled that the skills he learned and fun he had with troop made him want to pursue more outdoor adventures. He also credits his father, Charlie Gillingham who volunteered countless hours to help with many boy scout troop activities with instilling a desire in him to help others.

After obtaining his raft guide certification through the Siskiyou Family YMCA, Gillingham worked at YMCA summer camps, taking campers on rafting adventures on Siskiyou rivers. Friends of his also worked as raft guides at the camps. After looking back on those times years later, Gillingham reflected, "Lots of youth groups came through the summer camp. Even though it was for them, we felt like we were the campers, and we learned a lot from them. We were super lucky."

Gillingham graduated from Yreka High School in 2008 and moved to Arcata, California, where he worked as a raft guide while obtaining his bachelors degree in environmental science from Humboldt State University. He was also co-director of a program through HSU called LEAP: Leadership Education Adventure Program. After earning his degree, Gillingham moved to White Salmon, Washington, and continued to work as a raft guide while honing other outdoor skills.

Though residents in Siskiyou County are accustomed to rivers - the Klamath, Salmon and Scott, just to name a few within the countys borders after Gillingham moved out of his hometown of Yreka, he witnessed firsthand that many youth lack easy access to rivers.He knew from countless hours spent enjoying rivers and all they have to offer, that those youth were missing out on the many lessons rivers can teach us.

Gillingham explained, Ive learned so much from rafting and being a guide: Humility, good judgment, decision making, personal empowerment, confidence ... the list goes on. The rush of navigating whitewater rapids helped Gillingham build upon other concepts that translate directly to the real world as well. I had to get comfortable with being scared, he said, and being OK with taking a risk and being OK with not taking a risk, too.

Out of his years of experience both learning and teaching in the outdoors, Gillingham said, "I wanted to create [Rivers for All] for other kids, as a way to give back."

With the help of his friend Heather and assistance from the nonprofit CultureSeed which helps passionate people raise money for projects and programs through seed funding Rivers for All was launched.

Rivers for All is currently working to raise $4,000 toward its goal for the 2017 summer season: To provide 60 local youth with a free rafting program on the White Salmon or Klickitat River in the Columbia River Gorge.

Three thousand dollars will go toward 60 youth rafting this 2017 summer, which equates to $65 per youth. As RFA acquires more gear and resources, the cost per youth will go down. The remaining $1,000 will go toward the printing cost of Rivers For All T-shirts which will be sold at rafting companies and RFA events which will generate more funds to help RFA expand its outreach.

Gillingham said he counts himself lucky to have grown up with so many opportunities for easy and free river access and that the more youth get to experience the joy and beauty of rivers firsthand, the better communities will come to understand the important role rivers play in our lives.

Rivers for Alls fundraising site notes, Local residents often dont have the same opportunities to connect with the rivers in their backyards yet they are the ones most connected to the health of our rivers. Youth that would benefit most from an "outdoor classroom often cant afford participating in recreation. We need your help to change that!

To donate to Rivers for All, visit generosity.com/education-fundraising/rivers-for-all-outdoor-education-program. More information can be found by visiting facebook.com/riversforall.

Siskiyou native develops 'Rivers for All' program - Taft Midway Driller

July’s astrological forecast: Claiming your own – Starts at 60

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

Empowerment. Weve all heard the term, used it and aspired to it, but may not fully understand what it represents for us personally. In a nutshell, it means building our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual strength and it all starts with self belief. This is the month to claim greater personal strength and develop further confidence in yourself and what you can accomplish!

Claiming your own means being aware of your feelings, needs, wishes and desires. Its knowing that you have unique and specific gifts, talents and insights to show and share and then standing, with confidence, in your own power to express them. It is realising that within you is a magical force, enabling you to make any dream come true. This is your time claim it as your own and achieve what you envision as yours.

July is the month to empower-up and claim your own to believe in yourself and move forward in manifesting your individual abilities, self expression and creativity! The Astrological energies for this month encourage us to embrace a stronger, more determined and confident part of ourselves putting into place building blocks for greater rewards! What can YOU look forward to in the weeks ahead? Heres your need-to-know Motivational Astrology forecast for July:

The month begins with Venus going into Gemini on the 5th. This emphasises heart-felt expression! As the planet ruling creativity, affection and enjoyment moves into the sign of communication, we are urged to express our thoughts and feelings with greater flair and wit! For the next three weeks well be focused on sharing similar feelings regarding values, artistry and attraction while connecting with new love interests and stimulating friendships!

On the 6th of July, Mercury goes into Leo, highlighting creative self expression. We are better able to share our thoughts, views of life, philosophies and individual knowledge with others! This begins a new cycle of utilising our creative knowledge, dramatic ideas and enthusiastic insights to advance our lives and celebrate our connections with others. Its a great time to get social, go with your gut and dare to be recognised for the sparkling spirit that YOU are!

Julys Full Moon occurs in Capricorn on 9 July. The focus at this time is on supportive structures. Build stronger foundations now by cutting out the cumulative clutter, time robbers and the money wasters. This starts an ideal Lunar cycle for sorting your stuff, getting back on track with budgets and details while empowering yourself with greater organisation and taking charge of your life.

Mars, the planet of action and energy, moves into Leo, the sign representing confidence and self love on the 21st. Were now given the opportunity to express our personal wants and needs in a more forthright fashion! Our self orientation is the focus now, helping us to show more outgoing expression, greater vitality and dramatic self assurance! For the weeks ahead were encouraged to step out of our safety nets in order to advance our dreams, embark on new creative endeavours and implement empowering projects.

By the 23rd, the Sun goes into Leo, heralding a new phase of greater self confidence, creativity, enjoyment and expression! This is a time to shine in who you are and what you do while adding some drama and excitement in how you do it! As you allow you to be YOU, greater courage and confidence will be rewarded. Respecting your talents, applauding your accomplishments and emphasizing your gifts now, brings you the appreciation, validation and recognition that you seek! Allow your inner Lion to roar in celebration of the marvelous individual that you are!

Also on the 23rd, Julys New Moon in Leo helps us to ignite our inner flame! A fortunate new cycle unfolds, helping us to feel emotionally stronger and more determined in creating the future we want! Leo inspires creativity, confidence and courage that emerge from the heart of ones Self. This is an ideal time to set intentions that re-energize your inner creative muse and that grow your personal power. Start implementing small actions today that signal to your beautiful self that you are committed to your goals.

Lastly, on the 26th of July, Mercury goes into the sign of Virgo. This assists us in having a keener eye for seeing more of the fine points and intricacies of our lives! Its an ideal time to organise, clean up and plan out our personal goals and improve ways of self expression. As the communication planet moves into the practical and methodical vibe of Virgo, we commence a new cycle of productivity with keener clarity of whats important in our world.

Jubilant July to all those at Starts at 60!

By GiGi Astro Sosnoski: Keep Looking Up! Ltd. / Positive Skies Ltd.

This article was written by GiGi Sosnoski

GiGi Sosnoski is a New York City Astrologer, Motivational Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, Planetary Intuitive, Workshop facilitator, International Radio and TV contributor and Motivational Astrology writer. As a Life Enthusiast, her passion is sharing upliftment and inspiration with others through the Stars! GiGi currently resides in Auckland, New Zealand but travels all over the world for her work.

July's astrological forecast: Claiming your own - Starts at 60

Review: All Eyez On Me (15) – Aberdeen Evening Express

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

In the Oscar-nominated 2015 musical biopic Straight Outta Compton, the fortunes of gangsta rap group N.W.A. briefly intersected with Tupac Shakur.

It was a tantalising glimpse at one of the defining artists of a generation, who took hip hop by the scruff of its bling-laden neck in the 1980s and 1990s.

Director Benny Boom throws the microphone solely to Shakur in All Eyez On Me and fashions two decades of political activism, gang warfare and strife into an overlong and dull montage of a life cut tragically short in a drive-by shooting on the brightly lit Las Vegas strip.

Three screenwriters choose a clunky framing device to bring the central figure into woozy focus.

A nameless interviewer (Hill Harper) visits Shakur (Demetrius Shipp Jr) in Clinton Correctional Facility in 1995, where he is serving time after being convicted of first-degree sexual abuse.

I have it on good authority that the FBI has a 4,000-page file on you, smirks the interviewer.

Only 4,000 pages?! cockily replies the rapper.

That cocksure swagger fails to translate to Booms pedestrian picture, which never clearly conveys why US authorities might be gathering so much information on Shakur, and how a boy from humble origins in East Harlem impacted greatly on popular culture.

The framing device fractures chronology for anyone, like me, who isnt au fait with Shakurs musical canon.

In a series of flashbacks, Shakur recalls his formative years in New York City, watching police victimise his mother Afeni (Danai Gurira), who is a defiant and active member of the Black Panther Party.

When he later ends up behind bars, she instructs him to remain strong.

Your bodys in prison, not your mind, she growls.

He forms a close friendship with Jada Pinkett (Kat Graham) and joins the group Digital Underground before striking out on his own.

Scenes from music videos are faithfully recreated.

Ultimately, Shakur joins Death Row Records and forges a pact with the labels devil, Suge Knight (Dominic L Santana), who answers complaints from his artists with violence.

Gradually, Shakurs friendship with fellow performer Biggie Smalls (Jamal Woolard) deteriorates, lighting the fuse on the infamous east and west coast rap war.

All Eyez On Me is littered with lyrical one-liners Dont let something you do for 50 seconds get you 50 years but a clear sense of what made Shakur tick is absent.

Rather than lionising the singer turned actor, Booms picture portrays him as deeply disagreeable: arrogant, selfish and tragically myopic in his pursuit of fame.

His seminal songs including Brendas Got A Baby and Keep Ya Head Up profess personal empowerment and courage in the face of adversity.

Alas, Booms disappointing sermon delivers a lesson about the corruptive power of celebrity that we have heard many times before, and from more charismatic preachers.

Original post:

Review: All Eyez On Me (15) - Aberdeen Evening Express

Ford’s Chief Technology Officer Touts Autonomous Tech Progress – Government Technology

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

(TNS) -- Ford is making "great progress" towards its goal of deploying its first fully autonomous car in 2021, says Ken Washington, Ford's vice president of research and advanced engineering and chief technology officer.

But Washington said Ford's development team, which is working alongside start-up artificial intelligence company Argo AI, isn't caught up in the race to be the first automaker.

"I think we are extremely well-positioned because weve got a technology company working with us that understands how to build the robot," Washington recently told the Free Press. "And weve got an automotive manufacturer underneath us ....with more than 100 years of experience of systems integration."

Ford is relying on Argo AI a company co-founded last year by Google car project veteran Bryan Salesky and Uber engineer Peter Rander to take the lead on the development of the brains of its self-driving car. Ford acquired a majority stake in Argo AI in February.

"We dont worry too much about where the competitors are. What we are worried about is how do we bring this technology to market in a way thats a fit (for customers). And thats what we are focused on," he said on the same day that Ford offered members of the media rides in the company's self-driving Ford Fusion test car.

Washington has been a top executive at Ford since joining the automaker in 2014 who now is taking on even more responsibility under Ford CEO Jim Hackett. At Ford, Washington oversees the automaker's advanced research and engineering efforts and gained the additional title of chief technology officer in May.

That essentially gives Washington oversight of all of Ford's autonomous vehicle efforts as well as oversight of the development of a wide range of other new technology.

Before joining Ford, Washington was vice president of the Advanced Technology Center at Lockheed Martin and was one of the most prominent African-Americans in aerospace. Now he is one of eight top executives at Ford who reports directly to Hackett.

The Free Press spoke with Washington about his new role and Ford's autonomous vehicle programs. The following is edited for clarity and brevity, and includes some additional comments from Washington's recent blog post on Medium, which included an announcement that Ford is creating a new artificial intelligence research team.

Question: So, tell us about your new role, and what you will now be doing at Ford?

Answer: I kind of wear two hats for the company. I am the vice president of research and advanced engineering ... and that didn't change. And with Jim Hackett coming to our company as CEO, he really wants to put an emphasis on technology and its promise for enabling us to be a great business. And so he invited me to be the chief technology officer to help drive that vision. ... And so thats a new role. And in that new role, I am really just looking to do what naturally comes to any executive who oversees a group that does that kind of technology work."

Q: How do the various pieces of Ford's autonomous vehicle program fit together? You have Ford's own development team, Ford Smart Mobility and Argo AI. How does it all work?

A: We recently welcomed Sherif Marakby back to Ford (from Uber). Sherif owns autonomous vehicles at Ford, and so his job is to define for us where we are going to play in the market, and how we are going to bring autonomous vehicle technology to bear and put it into the market.

But building the autonomous vehicle has three parts three big parts. There is the virtual driver, and thats Argos job. Thats the part that replaces the driver with a robot. And that includes software and sensors.

Ford product development is building the vehicle and the autonomous vehicle team is part of that and we are working on the integration of the virtual driver into the vehicle.

Washington elaborated on the role of Ford's internal autonomous vehicle team in his Thursday blog post on Medium:

We are announcing the creation of the robotics and artificial intelligence research team as part of Ford research and advanced engineering. This move aligns multiple disciplines under one team for a more concerted effort as we increasingly come to understand the potential for robotics and artificial intelligence. The move also serves to further advance projects weve already presented such as our autonomous vehicle development program, and those we arent quite ready to reveal.

Q: It's only been a few months since Ford publicly stated its goal to commercially launch a fully autonomous vehicle by 2021 but can you tell us how that effort is going and how fast you are making progress?

A: They are going great, they are absolutely going great.... They have some fabulous momentum. Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, the cofounders of Argo AI, have attracted a really great team already. Over 100 employees are already on board at Argo. So, I am excited about the path they are on. They are making great progress.

Q: It can be difficult from the outside to really know who is leading the race to develop driverless cars. Is Ford leading? Or have you fallen behind competitors like Waymo or even GM? And how much do you think it matters right now?

A: Well I would start by saying there is so much hype out there its hard to sort through it. And you said it well when you said it kind of doesnt matter. We dont worry too much about where the competitors are. What we are worried about is how do we bring this technology to market in a way thats fit. And thats what we are focused on.

2017 the Detroit Free Press Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Original post:

Ford's Chief Technology Officer Touts Autonomous Tech Progress - Government Technology

What to See at Campus Technology 2017 – Campus Technology

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

If you are traveling to Chicago this month to convene with other higher education IT leaders at CT2017, here are 8 sessions worth attending.

This month, the annual Campus Technology Conference kicks off in Chicago (July 1720), bringing together higher education IT leaders for an exploration of technology's role in campus administration, infrastructure, teaching and learning, and more. Here are eight highlights not to miss:

Faculty Development: Lessons Learned and Innovations Ahead (WS3) In a hands-on workshop, Virginia Commonwealth University's Gardner Campbell will offer tactics for faculty development and supporting sustainable and effective change on campus. (See our recent interview with Campbell: "Informing the Mission for Institutions of Higher Learning.")

A Framework for Getting Value From Your Institutional Data (ILP2) James Kulich, director of the Masters in Data Science Program at Elmhurst College (IL), will explain how the CRISP-DM data mining standard can help ensure predictive modeling efforts will yield effective change and institutional value. I saw Kulich speak about IT change a few years ago at Educause, and his session generated a lot of valuable takeaways this time around is sure to be equally interesting.

Planning for a Career in Higher Education Technology Leadership(CIO3) Those aspiring to C-level positions in IT won't want to miss these insights from Joy Hatch, vice president for technology at Fort Hays State University, who will cover shifting to a leadership mindset, building skills and experience, forging a career pathway and more.

Terraforming the Academic Terrain (TLD3) Experts from the University of Arizona's Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques Center will share apps and tools that help students with learning and attention challenges succeed. Topics will include audio note-taking, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, mind mapping and study/research apps.

Toward a Smart Campus: Implementing an Internet of Things Infrastructure and Applications (ITD5) Learn how Western Michigan University Libraries developed an Internet of Things environment to facilitate prototyping and implementation of IoT applications and services and the challenges faced along the way.

Making the Most of Multimedia (TLD5) Looking to incorporate video lectures, interactive modules, audio/video assignment feedback and other multimedia tools in your courses? A team from the University of Cincinnati will explain how to create more engaging course materials with audio, images and video.

Enterprise Mobile Apps: Buy or Build? We Chose Build (IMN3) A frequent speaker on mobile, makerspaces, ed tech trends and more, Kyle Parker, senior software engineer for developing technologies at Ball State University, will delve into his institution's experiences with mobile app development

Closing Keynote: The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life When Robots Rule the Earth Resist the urge to skip the final keynote: Robin Hanson, author of The Age of Em and associate professor of economics at George Mason University, will explore a future dominated by artificial intelligence technologies. His ideas run the gamut from virtual reality, wealth inequality, death and immortality to teleportation, religion, war and love. Plus, Gardner Campbell will join in to consider the takeaways for higher education.

About the Author

About the author: Rhea Kelly is executive editor for Campus Technology. She can be reached at rkelly@1105media.com.

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What to See at Campus Technology 2017 - Campus Technology

GOP voters blame Congress, not Trump, for lack of progress – ABC News

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

In firm control of the federal government, President Donald Trump and his Republican Party have so far failed to deliver on core campaign promises on health care, taxes and infrastructure. But in New York's Trump Tower cafe, the Gentry family blames Congress, not the president.

Like many Trump voters across America, the Alabama couple, vacationing last week with their three children, says they are deeply frustrated with the president's GOP allies, faulting them for derailing Trump's plans. As the family of five lunched in Trump Tower, Sheila Gentry offered a pointed message to those concerned with the GOP's ability to govern five months into the Trump presidency.

"Shut up. Get on board. And let's give President Trump the benefit of the doubt. It takes a while," said the 46-year-old nursing educator from Section, Alabama.

"They just need a good whoopin'," said her husband, Travis Gentry, a 48-year-old engineer, likening congressional infighting to unruly kids in the back seat of the car.

As Washington Republicans decry Trump's latest round of Twitter attacks, Republicans on the ground from New York to Louisiana to Iowa continue to stand by the president and his unorthodox leadership style. For now at least, rank-and-file Republicans are far more willing to blame the GOP-led Congress for their party's lack of progress, sending an early warning sign as the GOP looks to preserve its House and Senate majorities in next year's midterm elections.

Inside and outside the Beltway surrounding the nation's capital, Republicans worry their party could pay a steep political price unless they show significant progress on their years-long promise to repeal and replace Democrat Barack Obama's health care law. Even more disturbing, some say, is the Republican Party's nascent struggle to overhaul the nation's tax system, never mind Trump's unfulfilled vows to repair roads and bridges across America and build a massive border wall.

"It's a problem for Republicans, who were put in place to fix this stuff. If you can't fix it, I need someone who can," said Ernie Rudolph, a 72-year-old cybersecurity executive from suburban Des Moines, Iowa.

There is no easy path forward for the Republican Party.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that health care legislation backed by House and Senate Republican leaders and favored by Trump would ultimately leave more than 20 million additional Americans without health care, while enacting deep cuts to Medicaid and other programs that address the opioid epidemic. In some cases, the plans would most hurt Trump's most passionate supporters.

Just 17 percent of Americans support the Senate's health care plan, according to a poll released last week, making it one of the least popular major legislative proposals in history.

The president on Friday injected new uncertainty into the debate by urging congressional Republicans simply to repeal Obama's health care law "immediately" while crafting a replacement plan later, which would leave tens of millions of Americans without health care with no clear solution.

That shift came a day after several Republicans in Congress condemned Trump's personal Twitter attack against MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, which was viewed across Washington as an unwanted distraction in the midst of a sensitive policy debate.

Trump's nationwide approval rating hovered below 40 percent in Gallup's weekly tracking survey, even before the tweet. At the same time, just one in four voters approve of Republicans in Congress, Quinnipiac University found.

Democrats, meanwhile, report sustained energy on the ground in swing districts where Republicans face tough re-election challenges. Democrats need to flip 24 seats to win the House majority next fall, a goal that operatives in both parties see as increasingly possible as the GOP struggles to govern.

A former Obama administration national security aide, Andy Kim, is among a large class of fresh Democratic recruits.

"People are fired up," said Kim, who's challenging Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J. "It's not just about the health care bill. It's not just about Trump. ... They're concerned about the ability of this government to put together any credible legislation going forward."

Republicans are also concerned.

In Iowa's Adair County, GOP Chairman Ryan Frederick fears that Republican voters will begin to lose confidence in their party's plans for taxes, infrastructure and immigration should the health care overhaul fail.

"Everyone I know looks at trying to get Obamacare repealed and says, 'If we're making this much of a pig's breakfast out of that, what are we going to do with tax reform?'" Frederick said.

"We've dreamed of killing Obamacare for seven years. And we have the House, the Senate and the presidency, and we can't do it?" he continued. "What's the deal, guys?"

Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere bemoans "factionalism" in his party. Intraparty divisions are holding up health care, he says, which in turn keeps the GOP-led government from tackling other priorities.

He's looking to Trump for leadership.

"He's the ultimate negotiator," Villere said. "We'll see how good he is."

Back in Trump Tower, Sheila Gentry conceded that Trump's tweets sometimes make her cringe, but she still has confidence in her president. She can't say the same for congressional Republicans.

"The Republicans who are in there now that aren't being very supportive, they're going to find themselves without a job soon if they don't step it up," she said.

Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio contributed to this report.

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GOP voters blame Congress, not Trump, for lack of progress - ABC News

Progress reducing infant mortality uneven between whites and blacks – Reuters

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

(Reuters Health) - White and black children in the United States did not benefit equally from a recent reduction in infant mortality, according to new research.

From 2005 to 2015, if black infants had experienced the same mortality rate as white infants, thousands fewer babies would have died, the researchers estimate.

"The benefits to the black population have stalled and we have to pay attention to that," said Corinne Riddell, of McGill University in Montreal.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this year that infant mortality declined 15 percent over the past decade. To see if non-Hispanic black infants benefited as much from the falling infant mortality rates as non-Hispanic white infants, Riddell and colleagues analyzed U.S. data collected from 2005 through 2015.

Infant mortality rates are calculated as the number of deaths within the first year of life relative to the number of live births.

From 2005 to 2015, the mortality rate among white infants declined from 5.7 deaths per 1,000 births to 4.8 per 1,000 births, Riddell's team reports in JAMA Pediatrics.

Among black infants, the death rate declined from 14.3 per 1,000 births in 2005 to 11.6 per 1,000 in 2012, where it plateaued before going back up to 11.7 per 1,000 births in 2015.

For every thousand births, there were 8.6 more infant deaths among blacks than among whites in 2005. The difference fell to 6.6 extra deaths in black infants in 2012 but rose again to 6.9 extra deaths in 2015.

When the researchers looked at causes of death, they found that deaths due to preterm birth and low birthweight among black infants followed a similar pattern as the mortality rate - a decrease and plateau.

That might be where public health efforts should be directed, "to target the disparity," Riddell told Reuters Health.

Riddell's team hopes to examine infant mortality rates by region to see if some states are doing better than others in addressing the disparity. States with larger racial gaps in infant mortality rates could possibly learn from policies in states with smaller disparities, she said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/2tjz7LS JAMA Pediatrics, online July 3, 2017.

LONDON The British government sought to reassure drug companies and biotech firms on Monday by calling for continued co-operation with the European Union over drug regulation after Brexit.

(Reuters Health) - A study of men who graduated from Wisconsin high schools 60 years ago found those who played for their school's football team were no worse off neurologically than those who didn't play the sport.

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Progress reducing infant mortality uneven between whites and blacks - Reuters

NJ Lawmakers, Horizon CEO claim "progress," but shutdown continues – Burlington County Times

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

TRENTONSeveralof the key principles involved in New Jerseys' government shutdownmetMondayfor the first time since theshutdown began three daysago.

Afterward, officials said the meeting didn't produce a deal needed to end the shutdown, but they did say that someprogresswasmade through thetalks.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, and Senate Health Committee chair Joe Vitale metprivatelywith the chiefof New Jersey's largest insurer, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey,totry to negotiate a way out of the current legislativestalemateover the state budget and separate legislation to make changes to Horizon's board and operations.

Prieto said he instructed his staff to start writing a new bill based on some of the concepts that were discussed. "We're making progress," he said.

After the meeting, Horizon CEO Bob Marino described the hour-long discussion as "productive" and a "good conversation."

"Certainly we expressed our pointofview with respect tothe bill that has been drafted. The Speaker and the Senate President understood myperspectiveand my point of view,"Marinosaid. "I think we all realize that Horizon didn't ask to be in the middle of this situation but I doappreciatethe opportunity to have met with them and expressed my concerns with the bill. I think it was a good conversation. I think it was very productive. I think there was a lot of open minds in the room, and we'll see where it goes from here."

Prieto said he planned to meetwith Sweeney and Vitale again later, but did not specify when.

Vitale, D-19 of Woodbridge,said he believed some progress was made.

"I wouldn't say we're closer, but we're not further apart," he said. "It was progress. We'll find out later if it's substantial."

Marino agreed to meet with thethree lawmakers Monday afternoon after Sweeney publicly demanded a meeting Sunday, arguing that "like it or not, they are part of the conversation."

Horizon is at the center of the budget impasse because Christie has tied approval of Horizon bill to the approval of the Democrats' proposed $34.7 billion budget. If lawmakers send him the budget without Horizon legislation, he has said he'll use his line-item veto authority to eliminate some $350 million in spending that Democrats want, notably additional aid for underfunded schools.

The Senate has already approved a Horizon reform bill, but Prieto has refused to allow the Assembly to take it up. However, the speaker also hasn't succeeded in mustering enough votes to advance the budget from the Assembly, as a block of close to two dozen Democrats have refused to support passing a budget bill alone because of Christie's promise to use his line-item veto on it.

Meanwhile, Sweeney has held off allowing his chamber to vote on the proposed budget until the Assembly takes action on a Horizon bill.

During a morning news conference, Sweeney said he wasfighting for a deal so that crucial funding for schools and other programs, including nonpublic schools, services for domestic violence victims, nutrition assistance and pay raises for home health aides, would not be cut.

"There's two issues here. One is Horizon. The other is maintainingpriorities we have fought for years in the budget," Sweeney, D-3rdof West Deptford said, adding later that hewas encouraged the meetingwith Marino and Prietowashappening.

"I think it's very positive development that I called a meeting and they said 'yes'," Sweeneysaid.

But he also cautioned thatthe shutdown wouldn't likely end Monday, even if a deal is reachedbecause new legislation will likely need to be drafted, debated and approved.

"It couldn't end today if we wanted it to," Sweeney said.

Prior to the meeting, Prieto said he was looking for a way forward.

"This is about getting a skeleton of how we move forward and do something after we get a budget," he said. "I'm willing to compromise, butit has to be properly vetted."

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NJ Lawmakers, Horizon CEO claim "progress," but shutdown continues - Burlington County Times

Trump’s plan for rural broadband progress still unclear, but costs could reach $80B – 9to5Mac

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

During a trip to Iowa last month, President Trump pledged that bringing broadband internet to rural areas of the U.S. would be a part of his upcoming $1 trillion infrastructure proposal. While there is positivity around Trumps intentions, there is doubt about the difficulty and cost of such an endeavor

Bloomberg reports that only 55% of those in rural U.S. locations have download speeds above 25 mbps, which is what the government considers adequate service. When it comes to urban areas, 94% of residents have access to higher speeds.

While population density is low in rural areas, there are many businesses that could benefit greatly from high-speed internet service.

Advocates say high-speed internet is an increasing necessity for everyday residential and business activity, and for economic growth.

One particular way that broadband internet could improve businesses in the U.S. is how farmers troubleshoot and fix their tractors and other equipment.

For example, farm equipment now comes with the option of remotely troubleshooting a problem with a tractor or combine but only if youve got the bandwidth. Farmers who lack broadband must haul their equipment to a repair shop and potentially lose days of planting or harvesting. They also cant get real-time data on soil or moisture conditions, which can lead to over-applying seeds and fertilizers, raising costs, creating environmental damage and making their farms less profitable and efficient.

Only initial details have been proposed on Trumps plan with a full proposal being possibly pushed back into next year. However, the initial numbers suggest that much more funding would be necessary to achieve such a big broadband push.

It would take an estimated $80 billion to extend broadband to all U.S. areas that lack it, but the White House has initially proposed spending just $25 billion over 10 years on rural infrastructure needs. At the same time, policy experts disagree about how best to expand rural broadband and what responsibility government has to subsidize it.

Those rooting for the infrastructure progress have also shared their doubts:

Our suspicion is the presidents plan wont be sufficient, said Johnathan Hladik, policy director for the Center for Rural Affairs, a Nebraska-based non-profit that advocates for small farms. Were happy hes saying it. You also have to do it, and thats where it gets tough.

Sonny Perdue, the U.S. Agriculture Secretary confirmed that the Trump administration will look to build a collaboration between federal, state, and local governments along with the private sector, and that the White House hasnt nailed down exactly how much it plans to invest in broadband.

Its a big price tag, but who shares what part of that will probably differ from place to place, Perdue said. The goal is to make rural broadband as ubiquitous as we can.

High speed internet reaching 100% of rural residents and businesses is unlikely, mostly due to cost.Bloombergnotesthat dropping the broadband coverage just a few percentage points could greatly reduce the costs. Building infrastructure to cover 98% of rural areas could halve the cost to $40 billion, while 92% coverage could bring the total down to $10 billion.

At the end of last month Trump held a meeting with tech leaders, includingTim Cook with the purpose of looking for ways to use technology to cut costs and further modernize the United States government. Cook shared he believes that the Trump administration should focus on improving customer (citizen) satisfaction rates and giving the U.S. the most modern government in the world.

Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news

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Trump's plan for rural broadband progress still unclear, but costs could reach $80B - 9to5Mac

No vote Monday; Senate to take up budget bills on Tuesday – Chicago Sun-Times

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

SPRINGFIELD Illinois Senate President John Cullerton plans to call a spending and revenue package for a vote on Tuesday.

The Senate adjourned on Monday without taking votes on the revenue and spending measures, which had met with bipartisan support Sunday in the Illinois House.

Cullerton left a leaders meeting Monday afternoon sans Republican leaders saying hes working to get enough votes and wouldnt call the measures until hes confident they can pass. Soon after, Cullertons office confirmed there will be budget votes on Tuesday.

The revenue, spending and budget implementation bills need 36 votes for approval. The budget implementation bill cleared the Illinois House on Monday. There are 37 Democrats in the Senate, but not all are on board for a tax hike. There is also a Democratic senator who is ill and would have to be brought in should they need his vote.

Meanwhile, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan said he plans to override any of Gov. Bruce Rauners threatened vetoes of the budget bills that had passed the House over the weekend. Madigan said he planned to meet with leaders again on Tuesday. Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkins office said he wont attend, citing a breakdown in negotiations.

Earlier Monday, with a real threat of the states credit dropping to junk without an agreement soon, two of the major credit rating agencies issued statements expressing some optimism about the situation.

Fitch Ratings said Monday it is monitoring the developments. It issued a statement calling weekend developments concrete progress on reaching an agreement to break the two-year long budget impasse.

Standard & Poors, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that the increased likelihood that Illinois will soon have a budget in place is a development with significant credit implications.

On the other hand, Standard & Poors also noted a ruling last week by a federal judge, who ordered the state to begin Medicaid payments totaling more than $500 million a month.

The protracted failure of Illinois lawmakers to assert governing control over the states finances has, in effect, begun to directly undermine the states discretion over the allocation of its resources, the statement said. Enactment of a comprehensive budget with revenue and expenditure alignment could help put a halt to this erosion of the states sovereignty over its fiscal affairs.

The agency concluded that if a budget is approved, any change in the states credit rating will depend in part on the degree to which it closes the states structural deficit, provides a pathway for addressing the backlog of unpaid bills, and its impact on cash flows

Fitch also noted partial budgets would result in a downgrade of Illinois rating. Fitch downgraded Illinois rating to BBB on Feb. 1; the lowest investment-grade rating is BBB-minus; after that, the credit rating falls to junk status.

A third major ratings agencies, Moodys, had issued no statements on Illinois by early Monday afternoon.

On Sunday, 15 House Republicans joined with Democrats to approve the revenue package. Just two of those House Republicans areas are represented by Democratic senators.

Those House Republicans, with their senators, are as follows:

Originally posted here:

No vote Monday; Senate to take up budget bills on Tuesday - Chicago Sun-Times

Comic Legends: How Did 9/11 Change Strangers in Paradise’s Ending? – CBR (blog)

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

Welcome to Comic Book Legends Revealed! This is the six hundred and thirty-fourth week where we examine comic book legends and whether they are true or false.

Click here for Part 1 of this weeks legends. Click here for Part 2 of this weeks legends.

Terry Moore changed the ending to Strangers in Paradise following the tragic events of 9/11.

True

Strangers in Paradise was a delightful long-running comic book series by writer/artist Terry Moore, telling the story of high school best friends, Katina Katchoo Choovanski and Francine. Katchoo is in love with Francine, but Francine sees her as just her best friend. Later, they met artist David, who was in love with Katchoo. We also met (going from left to right) the ditsy but adorable Casey, her ex-husband (and Francines ex-boyfriend), Freddy and Davids sister (and Katchoos former lover), Darcy.

The characters went through a series of adventures over the 14 years (and 106 issues) of the series (which Moore produced at three different companies, finishing up with his creator-owned Abstract Studios), with Francine eventually coming to realize that she was actually in love with Katchoo, as well.

However, whats amazing is that the ending of the series came about due to a very strange reason. You see, Terry Moore had a whole other ending for the series in mind before the tragic terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

Moore explained why he made the change to CBRs Shaun Manning back in 2009:

The ending actually changed drastically. What happened was, I was thinking in terms of a traditional tragic love story all along. High prices are paid, and all that. But after 9/11, I felt like there was too much grief in the world, and I didnt want to add to it with another tragic love story. So I wanted to change the tone of the story back to one of hope and, yes, good things can happen. That actually came from the rebel in me, because Im always rebelling against whatever the predominant thing is. If the predominant thing is hedonism, then I want to go the other way with my work; if people are feeling that theres just no hope in the world, then I feel the need to draw a lighthearted cartoon. That was kind of what happened. After 9/11, I felt like it was the creative people who were responsible for re-instilling hope into the population. I started thinking about my story, that I could do it with SiP. It kind of changed my heart on the story and what I wanted to do with it.

When it came time to end it, I really feel like I made the right decision. The version we ended up with is so much better than what I had in mind before. Its funny how things turn out, and hopefully they always turn out the right way. I feel like SiP ultimately became the story it should be, so Im very happy with that.

Fascinating insights into a classic comic book series.

Thanks to Shaun Manning and Terry Moore for the information!

Check out my latest Movie Legends Revealed at CBR: Did Disney try to pretend that The Avengers was still being made by Paramount even after Disney bought Marvel?

OK, thats it for this week!

Thanks to the Grand Comics Database for this weeks covers! And thanks to Brandon Hanvey for the Comic Book Legends Revealed logo!

Feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future installments! My e-mail address is cronb01@aol.com. And my Twitter feed is http://twitter.com/brian_cronin, so you can ask me legends there, as well!

Heres my most recent book, Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? The cover is by Kevin Hopgood (the fellow who designed War Machines armor).

If you want to order a copy, ordering it here gives me a referral fee.

Follow Comics Should Be Good on Twitter and on Facebook (also, feel free to share Comic Book Legends Revealed on our Facebook page!). Not only will you get updates when new blog posts show up on both Twitter and Facebook, but youll get some original content from me, as well!

Heres my book of Comic Book Legends (130 legends. half of them are re-worked classic legends Ive featured on the blog and half of them are legends never published on the blog!).

The cover is by artist Mickey Duzyj. He did a great job on it

If youd like to order it, you can use the following code if youd like to send me a bit of a referral fee

Was Superman a Spy?: And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed

See you all next week!

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Comic Legends: How Did 9/11 Change Strangers in Paradise's Ending? - CBR (blog)

17th-century philosophy – Wikipedia

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

17th-century philosophy in the Western world is generally regarded as being the start of modern philosophy, and a departure from the medieval approach, especially Scholasticism.

Early 17th-century philosophy is often called the Age of Reason or Age of Rationalism and is considered to succeed the Renaissance philosophy era and precede the Age of Enlightenment.

In the West, 17th-century philosophy is usually taken to start with the work of Ren Descartes, who set much of the agenda as well as much of the methodology for those who came after him. The period is typified in Europe by the great system-builders philosophers who present unified systems of epistemology, metaphysics, logic, and ethics, and often politics and the physical sciences too. Immanuel Kant classified his predecessors into two schools: the rationalists and the empiricists,[1] and Early Modern Philosophy (as 17th- and 18th-century philosophy is known) is sometimes characterized in terms of a supposed conflict between these schools. The three main rationalists are normally taken to have been Ren Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, and Gottfried Leibniz. Building upon their English predecessor Francis Bacon, the two main empiricists of the 17th-century were Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. The former were distinguished by the belief that, in principle (though not in practice), all knowledge can be gained by the power of our reason alone; the latter rejected this, believing that all knowledge has to come through the senses, from experience. Thus the rationalists took mathematics as their model for knowledge, and the empiricists took the physical sciences. This emphasis on epistemology is at the root of Kant's distinction; looking at the various philosophers in terms of their metaphysical, moral, or linguistic theories, they divide up very differently. Even sticking to epistemology, though, the distinction is shaky: for example, most of the rationalists accepted that in practice we had to rely on the sciences for knowledge of the external world, and many of them were involved in scientific research; the empiricists, on the other hand, generally accepted that a priori knowledge was possible in the fields of mathematics and logic.

This period also saw the birth of some of the classics of political thought, especially Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, and John Locke's Two Treatises of Government.

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17th-century philosophy - Wikipedia

Nintendo’s alleged ‘censorship’ of games deemed too sexy or shocking for politically correct Western audiences revealed – The Sun

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

Japanese games developer discusses his own experience of being asked to remove 'boob slider' which made female characters' breasts get bigger

A JAPANESE game developer has spoken out to provide a rare insight into Nintendos alleged censorship of games deemed too raunchy or shocking for Western audiences.

Nintendo is famed for producing child-friendly video games, whilst publishers in Britain and the US focus on big, bloody affairs like Fallout and DOOM.

But some of the games it originally releases into the the Japanesemarket are very different from the ones which see the light of day in North America and the rest of the world.

Nintendo follows a strategy of localisation in which parts of games are re-written to make more sense to players outside of Japan.

Gamers are worried that this process could allow progressive and censorious social justice warriors (the name for a very vocal group of censorious activists) to dictate a games story and character designs, overriding its original creators intentions.

NowTetsuya Takahashi, CEO of the Japanese developer Monolith Soft, has revealed his own experience with Nintendos shadowy localisation division.

He was the executive director of Xenoblade Chronicles X, which originally featured a shocking depiction of a 13-year-old character Lin Lee wearing a bikini as well as a ridiculous boob slider that allowed players to choose the size of their characters breasts.

Both were removed from the game which was released in North America.

As a developer, I do feel like itd be ideal to be able to adjust the content so that its culturally acceptable, whether its in the US or in the EU, he told Kotaku.

For example, there was a discussion about the breast slider.

Jokingly, I said: well, would it help if we had a crotch slider for the male? Obviously it was a joke, but they responded obviously its not gonna work out. I do realise theres a cultural difference between what Japanese people think and what the rest of the world thinks.

In recent years, several of Nintendos products have come under heavy criticism from the gaming community for being badly localised for American audiences.

This process is led by a wing of Nintendo called Treehouse,which is alleged to have been involved in the censorship of popular video games like Fire Emblem: Fates, which saw significant chunks of the game alteredand in some casesremoved.

A petting minigame, where players could spend personal time with characters as they tap the screen with the stylus, was removed. But the romantic dialogue remained intact.

Another change involved the removal of a controversial scene social justice warriors claimed was support for gay conversion therapy.

It was intended as a lighthearted moment where a man-hating character perceives everyone around her as female after consuming a magic powder.

To nip potential controversies in the bud, Nintendo devised a new strategy to have its staff form professional relationships with Japanese developers to tell them how best to make their games and inform them of any content with cultural relevance.

Also speaking to Kotaku, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that the creators are always involved during localisation in this new strategy and explained how the process worked.

He said: In terms of what gets localised, theres a simple collection of words that we use to define how we think about this: its cultural relevance and understanding of the ratings and ratings implications.

Fils-Aime provided adding a few years onto a characters listed age as an example of such a change to avoid a mature rating, but didnt list any games in particular.

The significance of Nintendo of Americas localizers participating during development cant be overstated.

Gamers fear it means that progressive and censorious social justice warriors can now dictate a games story and character designs, overriding its original creators intentions.

Critics fear the rise of political correctness in the United States and especially among video game industry professionals mean such a collaboration will only lead to further censorship of Nintendos games.

And this time, gamers may not even know about it.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us attips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368

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Nintendo's alleged 'censorship' of games deemed too sexy or shocking for politically correct Western audiences revealed - The Sun

Watchdog likens May’s internet fines threat to Chinese censorship – The Guardian

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Danzig

Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference in Paris in June. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

The terrorism legislation watchdog has likened Theresa Mays proposals to punish companies such as Facebook and Google for failing to tackle extremist propaganda to Chinas strict regime of internet censorship.

Max Hill QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said internet companies should be brought firmly onside rather than threatened with fines.

In a speech delivered at the Terrorism and Social Media conference in Swansea, reported in the Times, he said: I struggle to see how it would help if our parliament were to criminalise tech company bosses who dont do enough. How do we measure enough? What is the appropriate sanction?

We do not live in China, where the internet simply goes dark for millions when government so decides. Our democratic society cannot be treated that way.

May outlined the idea of punishing companies such as Facebook, YouTube and Google if they fail to remove extremist propaganda and terrorist material from their platforms in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing.

After a meeting with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in June, May said they were both determined to ensure the internet could not be used as a safe space for terrorists and criminals.

The UK and France are to develop plans to create a new legal liability for tech companies that fail to take action against unacceptable content.

Speaking at the time, May said: The counter-terrorism cooperation between British and French intelligence agencies is already strong, but President Macron and I agree that more should be done to tackle the terrorist threat online.

In the UK we are already working with social media companies to halt the spread of extremist material and poisonous propaganda that is warping young minds. I can announce that the UK and France will work together to encourage corporations to do more and abide by their social responsibility to step up their efforts to remove harmful content from their networks, including exploring the possibility of creating a new legal liability for tech companies if they fail to remove unacceptable content.

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