Emma Stone, Steve Carell face off in ‘Battle of the Sexes’ (VIDEO) – Malay Mail Online

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LOS ANGELES, June 23 Check out this new trailer for Battle of the Sexes that serves up the ultimate showdown between men and women in the form of a tennis match.

Emma Stone and Steve Carrell star in this film about the famous 1973 clash between tennis greats Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.

The synopsis of the film reads: The electrifying 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King (Stone) and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Carell) was billed as the Battle of the Sexes and became the most watched televised sports event of all time. The match caught the zeitgeist and sparked a global conversation on gender equality, spurring on the feminist movement. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposites sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With a supportive husband urging her to fight the Establishment for equal pay, the fiercely private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past. Together, Billie and Bobby served up a cultural spectacle that resonated far beyond the tennis courts and animated the discussions between men and women in bedrooms and boardrooms around the world.

The film also stars Sarah Silverman, Andrea Riseborough, Elisabeth Shue, Bill Pullman and Alan Cumming.

Battle of the Sexes is set for release on October 20.

A screengrab from Battle of the Sexes that stars Emma Stone and Steve Carrell among others.

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Emma Stone, Steve Carell face off in 'Battle of the Sexes' (VIDEO) - Malay Mail Online

Edit DeAk, a Champion of Outsider Artists, Dies at 68 – New York Times

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Attuned to the emerging alternative galleries and performance spaces in downtown Manhattan, the journal, published out of Ms. DeAks SoHo loft, turned the spotlight on art at the margins: performance art, video art, conceptual art and outsider art. She had a special affection for street art, which she once called information from the middle of the night.

Ms. DeAks critical style was personal, quirky and inventive, with adjectives like nuancical popping up unexpectedly.

You couldnt tell if it was a Joycean toying with the language or a problem of translation, Mr. Robinson said in an interview. She was a poet.

The prose was a calculated affront to the rarefied theorizing that surrounded minimalism and dominated the slick art journals.

Theres something rotten about a structure that produces terminological pollution and calls it theory, like a mob-controlled waste disposal company, Ms. DeAk once wrote. The goal was to destroy the criticship of critics, she was quoted as saying in an unpublished article for Artforum magazine in 1974.

It was also to get there first, even if that meant writing about art still in the studio. As a part-time assistant at the alternative gallery Artists Space, Ms. DeAk organized a series in 1974 devoted to video, performance art and readings that included Laurie Anderson, Kathy Acker, Adrian Piper and Jack Smith. She was later among the first critics to notice Jean-Michel Basquiat, before he began showing in galleries.

She continued to beat the bushes in the early 1980s as a contributing writer for Artforum, where she and her fellow critic Rene Ricard covered the downtown scene like a zeitgeist tag team. Ms. DeAk later wrote an occasional column for Interview magazine. Called The New According to Edit DeAk, the column was based on her Polaroid pictures of gallery openings and parties.

The critic William Zimmer, in The SoHo Weekly News, summed her up succinctly: DeAk has been everywhere before anybody.

Edit Deak was born on Sept. 16, 1948, in Budapest, to Bela Deak and the former Vira Csatkai, a teacher. Little is known about her early life.

At 18 she married Peter Grosz, an artist, who later changed his surname to Grass. Soon after, the couple, traveling separately in the trunks of two cars, crossed the border from Hungary into Yugoslavia and, after a stay in Italy, made a beeline for Manhattan, determined to plunge into the New York art world.

Ms. DeAk also changed how she rendered her last name; capitalizing the a, she seemed to think, made it seem more American. She used a lowercase d at the beginning of her career and an uppercase d later.

Her marriage to Mr. Grass ended in divorce. Her survivors include a sister, Eva.

Ms. DeAk earned an art history degree from Columbia in 1972. In her senior year, she took a seminar on art criticism given by Brian ODoherty, the editor in chief of Art in America. Also in attendance were Mr. Robinson and Mr. Cohn, who became her fellow conspirators in the creation of Art-Rite.

The magazine, published irregularly until expiring in 1978, envisioned the alternative art scene as a social collective and itself as an enabler. It invited Dorothea Rockburne, Pat Steir, William Wegman and others to design its covers, and made space in its pages for artists to write or show their work.

In 1976, Ms. DeAk, with Mr. Robinson, Sol LeWitt and Lucy Lippard, helped found Printed Matter, a publisher and distributor of artists books.

When Ingrid Sischy, the director of Printed Matter, took over as editor of Artforum in 1979, she saw a kindred spirit in Ms. DeAk, who had contributed gallery reviews to the magazine for several years someone who blurred the boundaries between art, fashion and night life and practiced art criticism as theater.

Ms. DeAk, in return, delivered prescient articles on the Italian Neo-Expressionist painters and the post-Conceptual artist Joseph Nechvatal.

Poor health and heavy drug use sidelined Ms. deAk for the last two decades of her life. The scene she covered so vividly retreated into distant memory, but traces of her presence lingered.

In 2007, as developers converted a loft at 151 Wooster Street in SoHo into a luxury condo, they uncovered a wall decorated with graffiti by Mr. Basquiat (then using the tag SAMO), Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000, seminal figures in the graffiti art movement.

It turned out to be Ms. DeAks old apartment.

A version of this article appears in print on June 23, 2017, on Page B15 of the New York edition with the headline: Edit DeAk, a Champion of Artists Outside the Mainstream, Dies at 68.

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Edit DeAk, a Champion of Outsider Artists, Dies at 68 - New York Times

The politicization of the colour pink – Livemint

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The signs appeared quietly. In isolated blips at first, and then with increasing frequency, till they could no longer be ignored. In 2014, it was the single visual identifier of Wes Andersons The Grand Budapest Hotel. In 2015, Drake championed it in his Hotline Bling video, inspired by legendary light-and-space artist James Turrell. In 2016, the ubiquity of a particular dusty blush hue led to its christening as millennial pink by New York magazine, and with that, its takeover of the cultural zeitgeist was complete.

But pinks road to reinvention hasnt been easy. Though it only came to be associated with femininity fairly recently (after the end of World War II, canny advertisers began directing pastel pink appliances and upholstery towards women largely as an antidote to the military-inspired fashions and textile rationing of wartime, according to Bloomberg), the tag has proven to be nearly impossible to shake off. Thanks, however, to an uptick in dialogue about gender fluidity, spurred by television shows such as Transparent and Orange Is The New Black, and a more vocal, visible fight for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) rights, the global lexicon began to slowly stretch beyond reductive gender-binary terms. And pink has emerged as the surprising symbol of this blurring of lines. To be specific, it is the aforementioned millennial pink, a colour that was everywhere you looked last summeron sneakers, sofas, social media feeds.

According to the New York magazine feature: Its been reported that at least 50 percent of millennials believe that gender runs on a spectrumthis pink is their genderless mascot. And somewhere along the way in its journey to post-gender, pink also became post-pretty. Heck, pink became cool. Free of its gender-normative shackles, it finally had the leeway to have personality, layers, subjectivity.

Reading the global tea leaves, Pantone, a company that sets industry standards for colour, picked, in an unprecedented move, the blending of two shades for its 2016 Colour of the Year: Rose Quartz (a warm rose) and Serenity (a cool blue). In many parts of the world, we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has impacted colour trends throughout all other areas of design, explained Pantone Color Institute executive director Leatrice Eiseman in a press release.

This year, although it was a yellowish shade of green that got top billing, Pantone included two shades of pink at opposite ends of the spectrum in its Spring 2017 colour report: Pale Dogwood, a soft blush, and Pink Yarrow, a deep fuchsia. But why should Pantones choices matter to us?

Because Every December for the last 26 years, Pantone predictsand consequently helps influencethe single hue that the design world will go nuts about for the next year, according to business magazine Fast Companys design offshoot Co. Design.

And go nuts it does. In 2017, pink has gone rogue, proclaimed a recent piece in The Guardian. Spring/Summer 2017 runways saw pink displaying its full potential: from powdery at Sanchita, Huemn (both from India) and Givenchy to bright at Cline and Balenciaga, to bold at Haider Ackermann and Valentino. The SS17 menswear shows, too, got their dose of pink, courtesy Gucci, Topshop and Ackermann (again). Raf Simons sold-out collaboration with adidas includes a pastel-pink version of the iconic Stan Smith shoe, and Nikes newest Air Force 1 Jewel Swoosh sneaker for men comes in Pearl Pink.

Guccis Alessandro Michele, whose love for the colour is well-documented, told The New York Times at his Resort 2018 show in Florence last month: Pink is very powerful. It makes you feel sweet and sexy, also if you are a man. A recent piece for Esquire answered the question, Should you wear pink?, with a resounding, Hell yes, you should. Vogue.com ran a piece last year titled Why Pink Is The Most Radical Colour In The Rainbow Right Now, with the writer stating: Its tough to think of a single hue with which to fly your freak flag and subvert gender norms better than pink.

In other words, pink now sends out a message loaded with a subtext. Its impossible to discuss the politicization of this colour, and indeed its projection as a signifier of strength rather than frailty, without mentioning the Gulabi Gang, Indias fuchsia sari-wearing group of female vigilantes. The groups leader, Sampat Pal Devi, explained this sartorial choice to Vice magazine back in 2008. In rallies and protests outside our villages, especially in crowded cities, our members used to get lost in the rush. We decided to dress in a single colour, which would be easy to identify. We didnt want to be associated with other colours as they had associations with political or religious groups. We settled on pink, the colour of life. Its good. It makes the administration wary of us.

A movement that harnessed the power of pink early on was the 2009 Pink Chaddi Campaign, in response to right-wing group Sri Ram Senes attack on young women at a bar in Mangaluru. Nisha Susan, one of the organizers, wrote in an op-ed for The Guardian: It amused us to send pretty packages of intimate garments to men who say they hate us.

Then, in a blend of attempted feminism and right-wing nationalism, the RSS womens wing, Rashtra Sevika Samiti, recently held a summer training camp for young girlsoutfitted in pink-border salwar kameezesto teach them how to protect themselves and also guard (their) country, its traditions, its sanskriti and its languages, as the Samitis Chandrakantha, chief guest at the camp event, put it.

Pink may have started rubbing shoulders with politics, but sports is an arena its long been shut out of. Serena Williams pink-pleated tennis outfits at last years US Open, which the athlete described to the US Vogue with obvious delight, made headlines because it embraced the eye-catching colour. The candy-colour shade has been Williams favourite since girlhood, and regularly creeps into her beauty routine, tooa petal lip here or cotton candy nail polish there, reports the piece. I always try to wear it, Williams said. Yesterday, I had a rose-colour eyelid, which was fun. Closer home, in a surprising move not likely influenced by the global trend, Force Indias new Formula One cars for the 2017 season were unveiled in an arresting Pepto-Bismol hue.

But nothing made as loud and as globally resonant a statement as the Womens March in January, when pink-knit pussy hats flooded the streets of Washington, Berlin, Paris, Melbourne and beyond in support of womens rights, LGBTQ rights and racial equality, as well as, of course, in staunch defiance of then freshly inaugurated US President Donald Trumps blatant misogyny and sexism. The pink pussy hat later found its way on to the head of every model at Missonis autumn/winter show in Milan this spring, and temporarily atop the Fearless Girl statue in New Yorks financial district, boldly facing down the Wall Street bull.

Los Angeles-based screenwriter Krista Suh, whose brainchild, The Pussyhat Project, led to the viral sartorial movement, told The Atlantic: Femininity, whether its in a man or a woman, is really disrespected in our society. What were trying to do with this project is embrace pink, embrace the name pussyhat, and not run away from that.

And so it was that pink came to be a symbol of power, of resistance, of revolution, while still holding on to its notions of womanhood. It is everything all at onceboth a reclaiming of femininity and a disavowal of it.

First Published: Fri, Jun 23 2017. 11 47 AM IST

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The politicization of the colour pink - Livemint

How will Asia fare in the next market adjustment? – South China Morning Post

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April is the cruellest month, so said the poet TS Eliot. But one wit remarked that June marks the end of May. Who would have expected that British Prime Minister Theresa May would lose her majority in Parliament in the June election, which was supposed to strengthen her hand in negotiating Brexit with the European Union?

In sharp contrast, unlike earlier in the year when everyone was worried about France falling to populist rule under Marine le Pen, a fresh centrist candidate named Emmanuel Macron won, and was rewarded by a handsome legislative majority to carry out his promise to reform France.

In Bangkok this week to refresh memories of July 2, 1997, I was struck by how history seemed to rhyme in 10-year cycles. Next month marks not only the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule, but also the 20th anniversary of the Asian financial crisis, when the baht was devalued. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the US subprime crisis, which, together with the European debt crisis, caused a decade of low growth for the advanced economies.

On July 19, 2007, the Dow Jones touched a record high of 14,000. It fell below 11,000 on September 15, 2008, following the failure of Lehman Brothers, then fell to a 12-year low of 6,547 on March 9, 2009, recording a 53.2 per cent drop over the period.

Similarly, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose to an all-time peak of 31,958 on October 18, 2007. A year later, it lost 66.6 per cent and fell to a low of 10,676 on October 27, 2008.

Ten years later, both indices have once again touched record highs, with the Hang Seng recovering past the 26,000 mark this month, while the Dow hit a record peak of 21,528 this week.

These market gyrations suggest that another consolidation may be reached sometime soon, except we do not know the exact timing or trigger. All we know is that there are many risks out there, including policy uncertainties from whether the Fed will continue to raise interest rates, the sudden reappearance of inflation and possible geopolitical or natural disasters.

The stark reality is that no one knows for sure whether we are in overpriced territory or a bubble zone. The US economy appears to be trundling along in reasonable shape, with unemployment figures reaching new lows. All we do know is that asset prices are at record highs, financed by historically high debt and abnormally low interest rates.

In this zone of radical uncertainty, we are no longer sure that GDP reflects the true state of the economy. Gross domestic product measures the old resource-based economy well, but does not capture growth in a data-driven digital economy. No economy reflects this contradiction more than China, which has shifted from being the largest assembler of the global supply chain towards a consumption and service-driven economy. Both consumption and services crossed the 50 per cent of GDP level, moving the country closer towards an advanced-country pattern where consumption and services account for roughly 60-70 per cent or more of GDP.

If China succeeds in this historic transition, it could break through its middle-income trap. But one recalls that South Korea achieved OECD status in December 1996, only to be hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98.

Given these radical uncertainties, history is replete with the rise and fall of nations, as well as the rise and fall of companies

All countries go through growing pains, especially what Joseph Schumpeter called creative destruction. This transition creates massive winners and also losers. We see this pattern being reflected in the mixture of top Dow Jones index component companies, whereby the leading tech stocks are being priced to win, whereas the old energy, manufacturing and distribution companies are struggling to maintain their market share.

Given these radical uncertainties, history is replete with the rise and fall of nations, as well as the rise and fall of companies. It teaches humility in forcing us to think holistically about the broader trends, whilst sorting out the signals from the noise.

Emerging markets in Asia today are facing the middle-income trap, whereby they need to break through a pain barrier to rise to advanced-income status. Advanced and ageing economies like Britain and Japan face the opposite, a high-income trap where a major policy mistake could cause it to slide into stagnation and possible lower income levels.

Ultimately, demographics and geography determine destiny. Asia may face many growing pains and a complex operating environment from disruptive technology and excessive competition, including geopolitical rivalry. Western analysts disdainful of Asian demagogues are now being haunted by their own demagogues.

Despite all the noise, we would do well to remind ourselves that Asia is still where there is demographic and technological growth. Lets see whether the next market adjustment will stall or disrupt that growth trajectory.

Happy 10th and 20th anniversaries!

Andrew Sheng is a distinguished fellow at the Asia Global Institute, University of Hong Kong

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How will Asia fare in the next market adjustment? - South China Morning Post

Column: Automation is dangerous and sad for American workers … – Chicago Tribune

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It's a misanthrope's dream.

You can go through an entire day working, commuting, shopping, dining, recreating without encountering another human being.

OK, you can't do that now. But, it's coming.

Thanks to automation.

I was reading that cashiers in stores and restaurants and retail workers are the next group with a bull's eye and sign painted on their backs: Replace with robot.

A report by the McKinsey Global Institute states that half the tasks done by cashiers and salespeople can be automated using technology available today. And two-thirds of tasks done by grocery store workers can be automated.

Proponents of automation say it will replace only routine jobs, routine tasks.

Routine? What's routine? A 90 mph fastball is routine to Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, but not to the rest of us.

It takes skill and ability to do the routine. Does anyone claim robots do these routine jobs better than people? No, what's behind automation is money. Robots are cheaper and less trouble than human beings.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8 million people (six percent of American workers) are cashiers or in retail sales. What will happen to them?

Again, automation enthusiasts say these workers will be freed to do other tasks. Or, they will be trained to do jobs that aren't replaceable (yet) by robots.

Do you honesty believe honestly that this will happen? Isn't it much more likely businesses will fire the former routine task workers, that millions of people without the skills and perhaps the aptitude to learn these new jobs will be out on the street? Will there even be enough of these brave-new-world jobs to go around?

And who is thinking about us the customers, the consumers? When I shop or dine I like to deal with people.

I like chatting with the cashier at the grocery store.

I like to explain my needs to a sales clerk.

And most of all, I like to be a regular at a restaurant where the servers know me and make me feel welcome. Yet, horribly, waitresses and waiters are on the automated hit list.

We are creating a society of isolated individuals, of people who don't have don't want to have interaction with other humans.

And that is unhealthy, dangerous and very sad.

But I don't see any way to stop it.

Paul Sassone is a freelance columnist.

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Column: Automation is dangerous and sad for American workers ... - Chicago Tribune

Industrial Automation Market to Reach $15.5 Billion by 2023 – Propelled by IoT & Need for Optimum and Effective … – PR Newswire (press release)

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The industrial automation market for oil & gas is expected to reach USD 15.52 Billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 3.2% between 2017 and 2023. The growth of this market is propelled by the Internet of Things, adding value to the industrial automation for oil & gas and the need for optimum and effective exploration of aging reservoirs.

Distributed control systems (DCSs) are expected to hold the largest share of the overall industrial automation market for oil & gas in 2017. DCS is connected to sensors, actuators, controllers, and control valves to control set point and complete the processing at oil & gas plants efficiently. The set point helps control the flow of material through the plant. Deep sea exploration and extraction along with shale gas further drive the demand for the implementation of DCS. The market for manufacturing execution systems (MESs) is expected to grow at the highest rate between 2017 and 2023. MES is an online tool used for prioritizing and scheduling the processes of manufacturing according to the requirements. It prioritizes and manages the processes in oil & gas plants to carry out the process in an optimum manner.

Field instruments held the largest share of the industrial automation market for oil & gas. The industrial automation is carried out with the help of field instruments for measuring, transmitting, and controlling the processes. The instruments can be controlled and automated from a control room, making them a vital part of the industrial automation. The market for leakage detection system is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period. The industrial automation system is applied across various processes in the oil & gas industry, which include a huge number of pipelines and transportation of oil & gas over long distances. The leakage detection system helps the operator to detect, analyze, and take the correct steps of action required to curb the leakage of these precious and hazardous petroleum liquids and gases.

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2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights

5 Market Overview

6 Industry Trends

7 Market, By Process

8 Market, By Solution

9 Market, By Instruments

10 Market, By Geography

11 Competitive Landscape

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8shs23/industrial

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Industrial Automation Market to Reach $15.5 Billion by 2023 - Propelled by IoT & Need for Optimum and Effective ... - PR Newswire (press release)

Robotic Process Automation Market to Reach $6247.1 Million by 2023: P&S Market Research – EconoTimes

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Robotic Process Automation Market to Reach $6,247.1 Million by 2023: P&S Market Research

NEW YORK, June 23, 2017 -- According to a new research report, Global Robotic Process Automation Market Size, Share, Development, Growth and Demand Forecast to 2023 - Industry Insights by Process (Automated Solution, Decision Support & Management, and Interaction Solution), by Operation (Rule Based and Knowledge Based), by Service (Professional and Training), by Enterprise Size (Small and Medium Enterprise, and Large Enterprise), and by Industry (BFSI, Telecom & IT, Retail and Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, and Others) published by P&S Market Research, the global robotic process automation market is projected to reach $6,247.1 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 33.8% during 2017 - 2023.

Browse Report Description with Detailed TOC at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/robotic-process-automation-market

Due to significant growth in technologies such as artificial intelligence and cognitive learning, adoption of business automation technologies by enterprises has also increased. This has led to a rapid increase in demand for virtual workforce to eliminate repetitive human efforts, on the back of which, the global robotic process automation market is gaining traction.

As per the findings of the research, rule based operations have been the largest revenue generators in the global robotic process automation market, as compared to knowledge based operations. Further, among various processes, the automation solutions segment is expected to continue its highest revenue contribution to the market, during the forecast period. Among various industries, retail and consumer goods witnessed the highest growth in demand of robotic process automation, during 2014 - 2016. However, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) is expected to hold the largest market during the forecast period.

Geographically, North America has been the largest market for robotic process automation, whereas Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth among all regions, during the forecast period. The anticipated growth in the market can be attributed to factors such as advancement in new technologies, growing digitalization, growth in automation software industry, and increasing adoption of business process automation solutions by small and medium scale enterprises in the region.

Rule based robotic process automation operations has been the largest contributor to the global robotic process automation market. This operation uses sophisticated computer software that automates rule-based processes, which are statements pre-defined in a software system, without the need for constant supervision of human workforce.

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Factors driving the growth of the global robotic process automation market include significant increases in ease of doing business through installation of robotic process automation, surge in demand for a virtual workforce to eliminate repetitive human tasks, decreasing costs of automation software and services, and increased adoption of new automation technologies for business transformations.

The research states that the global robotic process automation market is moderately competitive, with players developing new robotic process automation applications. Some of the key players operating in the robotic process automation ecosystem are Nice Systems Ltd., Pegasystems Inc., Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism PLC, Ipsoft, Inc., Celaton Ltd., Redwood Software, Uipath SRL, Verint System Inc., Xerox Corporation, and IBM Corporation.

Most of the major vendors in the global robotic process automation market are actively focused on enhancing their offerings to meet the ongoing demand for advanced business automation solutions. This includes software integrated with artificial intelligence, and cognitive learning.

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Connected Logistics Market

Smart Cities Market

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P&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research based consulting services across a range of industries.

With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.

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Robotic Process Automation Market to Reach $6247.1 Million by 2023: P&S Market Research - EconoTimes

Automation Will Impact Small Metros More Than Big Cities – PayScale Career News (blog)

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Technology has affected the job market since the time of the Industrial Revolution. In the long run, technological progress has been good for the economy and the job market so far. However, Oxford University researchers predict that up to 47 percent of American jobs are vulnerable to automation in the next 20 years. Jobs that involve repetitive tasks and dont require a great deal of creativity or social intelligence will be most at risk.

So, what you do will be important, when it comes to surviving the automation wave. But new research suggests that where you live will also matter. The study, which was discussed in a recent article in New Scientist, found that workers living in smaller cities and towns should expect a bigger impact from automation than those living in larger cities. Specifically, cities with fewer than 100,000 people were found to be especially vulnerable to job loss.

Iyad Rahwan and his team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab discovered that smaller metro areas (cities with fewer than 100,000 residents) are more at risk. This is because jobs in these areas tend to be the types that are more vulnerable to automation. Cities with larger populations are more often able to support a higher percentage of specialist jobs, which are often safe.

Researchers believe that these findings will likely apply to Europe as well as the U.S. This further supports the notion that megacities will grow, and that theyll become increasingly important in the years to come.

Larger cities attract resources, skills, and expertise, Lesley Giles of the Work Foundation in London told New Scientist, and this creates a virtuous cycle of improvement and growth.

Larger cities in other parts of the world may not experience quite the same effect though, according to the study. The impact could be quite different in China, for example, where cities often focus on just one product. These cities would be especially vulnerable to automation even though they have large populations.

Not all U.S. cities are expected to follow the trend. There will be exceptions in areas where the job market operates a little differently. For example, Las Vegas, Nevada is a relatively large city with a population of around 600,000. But, because so much of their economy is dependent on the gambling industry, which is vulnerable to automation, this city is more at risk that its size might suggest.

Researchers also noted that Boulder, Colorado may be another exception to the rule. Although it is a small city with just around 100,000 residents, its also a center of innovation and therefore likely to fare pretty well.

Knowledge really is power. Being able to anticipate these shifts should help workers be a little more prepared. It might make sense to consider training to work in a less vulnerable industry, given these trends. Some workers might also consider relocating to an area where the job market is expected to thrive most likely a large city.

For us to survive the tidal wave of automation we need to be able to do more creative work and combine our skills with others in a creative way, Rahwan told New Scientist. Maybe the metropolis is the answer to our fears.

How do you expect automation to impact the job market in your area? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.

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Automation Will Impact Small Metros More Than Big Cities - PayScale Career News (blog)

These Jobs Are Safer From Automation Than We Thought – Fortune

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Good news for health care workers and truck drivers : Your jobs are unlikely to go to a robot any time soon, according to new research.

If true, that's good news, especially for truck drivers, which other researchers have pegged as an endangered species due to advances in self-driving technology.

Both truck drivers and health care workers like nurses and aides, are subject to constantly changing conditions, which are harder for robots to handle on the fly than more static, repetitive tasks, according to the new State of Automation report from research firm CB Insights.

Related: The Bright Side of Job-Killing Automation

Health care jobs, require "a high degree of emotional awareness and are highly dynamic," CB Insights analyst Deepashri Varadharajan, tells Fortune .

Similarly, the nearly two million truck drivers in the U.S., are probably in better shape than many thought for the next five to ten years, in part due to regulations, which will require humans to be on board trucks going forwardeven if they're not driving.

"Although a lot of companies are investing in driverless trucks, we are still very early in this field," Varadharajan says. "Even if you see the technology taking off, you'll still need a person in the cab."

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And you will need a human operator both at the front- and back-end of each trip. Highway driving is more easily automated than for city driving, which is more fraught with challenges, she says.

Some 4.62 million retail jobs, including cashiers, are at "medium risk" of automation, according to the report. Some stores are testing the use of robots for inventory management and some customer interactions, but the larger risk to retail personnel is that more people shop online rather than in brick-and-mortar stores.

For this research, which looks at the prospect of automation over the next five- to ten years, CB Insights used government data to pick several categories of occupations at risk of automation and then examined related factorsincluding how much automation exists in that field now, investment and patent activity in related areas, tech development challenges, and the ease or difficulty of gaining regulatory approval.

Related: It's Time to Take AI Seriously

In some cases, including health care, technology will help human workers do their jobs more efficiently. Robots, for example, will be used more to move hospital supplies and gear around, so human health aides can focus on the patient instead of logistics. Virtual personal assistants, like Amazon Alexa or Apple Siri, could ask patients follow-up questions at home.

The 2.5 million Americans working in warehouses or moving companies have more to worry about in the short-term, according to the research firm, because advanced computer vision algorithms have already enabled robots to do a lot of this work.

Endowing software with better vision, natural language, and motor skills together are leading to an ever-more agile class of robots. And there is no shortage of investment in this area with companiesincluding Amazon ( amzn ) , Microsoft ( msft ) , Google ( goog ) , and Facebook ( fb ) all pouring billions into artificial intelligence research.

Related: Automation-Related Job Loss Could Make Universal Income a Reality

And tech advances that help robots better handle fragile items means more will be deployed going forward. Generally speaking, jobs that are highly repetitive are most at risk of being automated.

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These Jobs Are Safer From Automation Than We Thought - Fortune

UNAC Brings Power To The People OpEd – Eurasia Review

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By Margaret Kimberley

The United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) recently convened its fourth national conference in Richmond, Virginia. The organizations that comprise this coalition are unwavering in their determination to fight for peace and justice. Opposing the wars at home and abroad is their standard for action.

Virginia is an ironic location for a group whose goal was to unite anti-war, anti-imperialist, anti-neoliberalism and anti-racist forces. If the United States is the belly of the beast, Virginia must be the inner lining. It is the place where the settler colonial project began. Romanticized tales of Pocahantas hide an ugly story of genocide committed against the indigenous population. Virginia was the place where the first enslaved Africans arrived in 1619. In time it became known as the slave breeding state and Richmond was the capital of the confederacy. Yet in 2017 three hundred people gathered there to fight against this legacy that brings so much suffering to humanity.

Black Agenda Report is a UNAC member organization and this columnist is an Administrative Committee member. The connection between the two groups is a natural one. While other so-called peace groups are tied to the Democrats and ebb and flow with that partys fortunes, UNAC is independent of the duopoly. It does not change its organizing principles based on who controls Congress or who sits in the White House Oval Office. Those distinctions are artificial and the system is no less rapacious if there is a change in Republican or Democratic party control.

The nature of the American capitalist system requires that every country become either a vassal or an enemy. It gives us the rule of billionaires. The U.S created a mass incarceration system for the sole purpose of crushing the black liberation movement while also creating a profit center in the process.

All of the oppressions are intertwined. Millions of Americans toil under wage slavery or prison slavery and make fortunes for other people. But the contradictions of capitalism are growing more acute, and imperialist war is the outcome of a system trying to maintain itself. The fight for a living minimum wage and the fight against interventions abroad must therefore be addressed together because they are in fact part of a whole.

The UNAC conference also presented an opportunity to renew the African American-centered peace movement. The newly formed Black Alliance for Peace was very much present with leadership such as Black Agenda Report editor Ajamu Baraka playing key roles. Charo Mina-Rojas spoke about the struggle waged by black Colombians in the Buenaventura region of that country. Lawrence Hamm of the Peoples Organization for Progress linked the history of mass rebellion with the fight against police violence.

Barack Obamas presidency created a rupture in the black American radical tradition. The end of his administration creates an opportunity to rekindle that proud legacy, and to reject the politics of intervention and mass death that emanates from every American presidential administration.

UNAC organizations know that the imperialist project is bipartisan. Barack Obama began the war for regime change in Syria and Donald Trump, despite making claims to the contrary, continues it. The need to expose the American effort to dominate the world continued even as UNAC members met. While speakers pointed to the dangers that America inflicts upon the world, the United States government shot down a Syrian jet and increased the risk of conflict with Russia.

Attendees came from 29 states and from Hungary, Colombia, Ukraine, the Philippines, Serbia, Syria, Palestine and Canada. Every region of the world has been impacted by the drive for American hegemony. The fight against aggression must therefore be waged internationally. Foreign policy is not some rarified realm that can only be addressed by the self-appointed experts who have brought the world to the brink. The people who fight for a living wage or against police murder in this country must also speak to this governments assaults on human rights and sovereignty around the world.

The unity of all these struggles was made clear on the last morning of the conference. Ana Edwards led a march to Shockoe Bottom, the location of a cemetery for enslaved people and the site of one of the largest slave markets in the country. She and other activists from the Virginia Defenders for Peace, Justice and Equality have struggled to preserve the site as a memorial park and protect it from commercial so-called development.

The trip to Shockoe Bottom brought the conference full circle. Racism, supremacist war and predatory capitalism were perfected in Virginia and the people who want to change it paid homage to the first victims. We say, Power to the people but if we mean it we must say clearly who our enemies are and confront them at every opportunity.

The time is ripe for change. Some of that change will be forced upon us, but some of it must be created. That is why UNAC is so important. It is committed to creating the conditions which may make the beast and its belly a thing of the past.

Did you find this article informative? Please consider contributing to Eurasia Review, as we are truly independent and do not receive financial support from any institution, corporation or organization.

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Ex-detainees charge borderline slavery in lawsuit – The Philadelphia Tribune

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DENVER Every day, immigrants are told to clean their living areas in a privately run Colorado detention center or risk being put in solitary confinement. Some also volunteer to do jobs as varied as landscaping, more cleaning and cutting other inmates hair, but the pay is always the same $1 a day.

A group of former detainees says the system borders on modern-day slavery. They are challenging it in federal court and have won the right to sue the Denver-area detention centers operator on behalf of an estimated 60,000 people held there over a decade.

The former detainees allege the GEO Group is exploiting people in the 1,500-bed center to keep it operating with just one full-time janitor. The company reported $2.2 billion in revenue and had nearly $163 million in adjusted net income last year.

The case could have broad consequences for the private prison industry, which hopes to cash in on demand for more detention space as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration.

Immigration detention centers are roughly the equivalent of jails in the criminal justice system places where people accused of civil violations of immigration law wait until their cases are resolved. While people convicted of crimes and serving time in prison are often required to work, those held in the nations jails generally cannot be forced to work because they have not been convicted, according to the U.S. Justice Departments National Institute of Corrections.

Courts view immigration detention not as punishment but as a way to keep people from fleeing, said Kathleen Kim, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who specializes in immigration law. Forcing detainees to work violates the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery and bars involuntary servitude except for punishment of a crime, she said.

Financially, this model of operating these facilities very much depends on the labor of the people detained there, said an attorney for the Colorado detainees, Andrew Free, of Nashville, Tenn.

GEO says it is only following government policies and wants an appeals court to block the case from proceeding on behalf of everyone held from 2004 and 2014, noting class-action status could lead to additional claims against similar companies.

Thats already started. Another lawsuit filed in May against CoreCivic, the nations largest private prison operator, challenges similar labor practices at its San Diego immigration detention center.

Jonathan Burns, spokesman for the Nashville-based company, said all of its detainee work programs are voluntary and comply with the standards of the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency.

The agency has come to rely heavily on private companies to house its detainee population, which has tended to fluctuate with surges and drops in immigration.

In December, an Obama administration task force recommended continuing the use of private contractors for immigration detainees even though the administration announced it was phasing them out as operators of federal prisons. At a time when about 65 percent of immigration detainees were in private facilities, the group concluded it would take billions of dollars for the government to take over.

Now, President Donald Trump has asked Congress for a $1.5 billion budget increase for ICE to arrest, detain and deport immigrants in the country illegally. ICE acting director Thomas Homan recently told lawmakers it expects to house about 51,000 immigrant detainees on a given day, up from nearly 40,000.

In April, GEO, ICEs second-largest detention contractor, won a $110 million contract to build the first new immigrant detention center under Trump.

In its appeal, GEO said the former detainees and their attorneys dislike ICEs rules, but instead of asking Congress to change them they are pursuing a class-action lawsuit for monetary relief. Now, the company said, it faces massive financial risk for carrying out federal directives.

GEO noted company officials can remember only once when someone awaiting a hearing was put in solitary confinement for refusing to clean.

The former detainees at the Denver Contract Detention Facility say $1 a day is the minimum they must receive for work and that GEO lied in telling them it could not pay more. But the company says the amount is set in its contract with the government, which reimburses GEO for what it pays detainees.

While government rules require detainees to keep their personal living areas clean without pay, the plaintiffs claim GEO forces detainees to also clean and maintain common areas for free.

Following a November inspection, the U.S. Homeland Security Departments Office of Inspector General found another immigration facility, the publicly run Theo Lacy detention center in California, violated that rule by requiring detainees to clean common-area showers.

One of the former Colorado detainees who filed the lawsuit, Grisel Xahuentitla, of the central Mexico state of Tlaxcala, said as part of her mandatory daily cleaning, she was responsible for her pods floors and tables, along with basketball courts and a small library. But after some other women were deported, she volunteered to clean sinks, toilets and showers three times a day for $1 a day, partly because she felt bad for the lone woman left doing the job.

Xahuentitla also was looking for something to do, having lost interest in the crocheting workshops intended to keep women occupied.

I felt like I was getting a little depressed being there. Thats why I wanted the job, just to kill time, said Xahuentitla, now 33, who spent four months in the center in 2014 and now lives in the mountain town of Durango. She would not discuss how she was released or her current immigration status.

Xahuentitlas family sent her money, so she didnt need the daily wage to make phone calls or buys things like ramen noodles at the canteen. But she said others worked for the money.

The lawsuit estimates about 2,000 people held at the center agreed to work for $1 a day over three years. They are among the estimated 60,000 who were allegedly compelled to clean their living areas for no pay over a decade. (AP)

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Ex-detainees charge borderline slavery in lawsuit - The Philadelphia Tribune

Lebanon: ‘Consultative Meeting’ Approves Government’s Plan Of … – Asharq Al-awsat English

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Consultative meeting of Lebanese political powers held at the presidential palace in Baabda on June 22. (NNA)

Beirut A consultative meeting chaired by Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Thursday at the presidential palace in Baabda gathered heads of the political parties participating in the current government and was capable to adopt the plan of action for the cabinets economic and reformist items.

Most importantly, in the statement prepared earlier by Aoun and later approved at the meeting, is the item which stressed that Lebanon requires us to agree on the National Charter document and maintain our pluralistic system for a full transition to the comprehensive civil state, in what it includes of parity (), up to the formation of a national commission for the abolition of sectarianism.

Participants in the meeting also stressed the need for administrative decentralization, and announced the rejection or resettlement and naturalization of any group, according to the statement.

However, head of the Lebanese Forces party Samir Geagea noted his reservation on the first item related to the establishment of a national commission for the abolition of sectarianism.

During his remarks at the meeting, Geagea said the timing for suggesting such a commission was not suitable. There is a need to protect Lebanons current unique and diverse structure and spare the country the woes of wars that surround us, sources from his party told the Markzia news agency.

The sources said a dispute emerged between Geagea and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Kanso when the latter suggested that Lebanon and Syrias government should work together on the issue of Syrian refugees and their return home. Geagea stressed there will be no cooperation between the two governments.

At the economic level, the consultative meeting said that Lebanon, which is economically sound, needs to implement a comprehensive economic plan, which will generate the State budget, secure economic growth, create jobs and promote balanced development. It also called for the revival of the Economic and Social Council as soon as possible.

Conferees also urged the government to implement the economic plan to invest in the offshore petroleum wealth and complete its legal frameworks, speed up the provision of fast communications at the lowest prices and adopt transparency as the first criterion of work in our institutions.

Asharq Al-Awsat is the worlds premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.

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Cellist On The Rise – New Haven Independent

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Cafe Nine celebrated the start of summer with an evening of rebirths, as Virginian cellist and composer Wes Swing returned for his second performance this year flush with new music, a novel appreciation for synthesizers, and an album fizzing with a message of revival.

Swing is a splatter-painter in the music industry, concocting musical palettes that mix classical with pop, indie with folk, as part of an emerging trend in the field of strings. His stylings infuse classical instruments with the splendors of modernity.

Its kind of like indie-classical meets dream pop, Swing said of his music, though cautioning, weve struggled a lot with genre.

At Cafe Nine Wednesday night, Swing showcased hits off his new album, And The Heart, released earlier this month on June 2. It brimmed with lyrical and melodic confidence. He offered a form of musiccello indie folk popthat you wont find many other places.

He began the concert bathed in shadows and dim red and green spotlights, resting his cello companion across his body as he plucked a tune of tranquility and called out soothing lyrics from the first single off his new album, Mirrors. Eyes closed, rocking gently from side-to-side, Swing transformed the space around him as he invited the audience to enter a musical dreamscape.

Tinges of sadness and hope, optimism and resilience, spanned the evenings set list, as Swing presented songs like And the Heart, The Next Life, and Missing Winter off his freshly released album. Accompanied by a bass and a violin, he paired the new set with a favorite from his first album, Instrumental 1 and a clever cover of Bjorks Unravel.

The new album comes six long years after the release of his first album, Through a Fogged Glass, in 2011, and tells a fierce tale of personal empowerment and loss of identity.

The formation of Swings second album occurred after the artist struggled with a hiatus from music. Combating a wrist injury that conflicted with his cello playing and a weighty spell of depression, Wes Swing at one time found himself disengaged with his musical calling.

I had a lot of difficulty before I wrote the music, Swing said. I was living in San Francisco, quit music basically, and was dealing with depression I just wasnt productive at all. It was when I started to feel better, that the music came out.

Swing crafted And the Heart in 2014 and 2015. He conjured up Mirrors while flying on a plane, a peculiar setting that inspired Swing with the emotions it brought out in him.

I was feeling like myself, he revealed. I was feeling confident and happy, and it had been a long time since I had those feelings so deeply.

As his friendliness with music reformed, another partnership opened up in Swings life. Swing teamed up with old friend and guitar champion Paul Curreri, who led production for And the Heart. Curreri had suffered a recent wrist and throat injury that halted his performing career, forcing him to consider production instead.

It was kind of an interesting thing, Swing recalls. He and I had the same wrist and throat injury at the same time. He cant play anymore. This album for both us was coming back to music. In a way, redefining who we are as musicians.

Swing is gearing up to release a music video for Mirrors with a dance he choreographed himself, and continues to compose songs hes hoping to record early next year.

I feel more comfortable in my own skin, he said, and I know what I want more in recording and life.

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Cellist On The Rise - New Haven Independent

PARENT RAP: 8 ways to teach your child empowerment – The Salem News

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Summer can be fun play time and also a time of great development and growth for children and teens. Children grow naturally in the summer, but as parents, we want our children to grow in the most positive ways. With a little orchestration, your child can move from feeling and acting passive and dependent to being active and feeling empowered.

Here are eight strategies to help you steer your child into a place of self-reliance, inner strength and empowerment this summer.

1. Assess your child. Is your child overbearing in his inflated self-image? Or is your child more laid-back to the point that others walk on him? Or maybe he is passive-aggressive. None of these approaches to life are healthy. Reflect on what your child needs to change in order to be more balanced and able to express his needs and wants without hurting other peoples feelings. Help him to behave in a way that reflects a feeling of empowerment.

2. Role model empowerment. Allow your child to see and hear you tell it like it is in a nice, positive and healthy way. If you can demonstrate how to communicate with empowerment, your children will benefit tremendously.

3. Dont do things for them that they can do for themselves. Ask your children to do the things that they can do for themselves. Highlight their specific strengths when they do act independently to build their confidence and self-esteem. I really liked the way you asked that cashier for the correct change, or Thats a pretty impressive lunch you made, hitting all the food groups, for example.

4. Teach problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills are the foundation for empowerment, because if you believe you can solve any problem then you have nothing holding you back. Kids can learn problem-solving if theyre taught to think in these terms:

What decision and actions do I need to make?

Evaluate options using pros and cons for each choice.

Make a decision.

Evaluate my choice by asking, Did my choice work and, if so, how?

5. Understand others. Teach your child that speaking up once or twice is all that is required to communicate his needs. If others are non-responsive, your child must accept that and move on to a place where he can get a response. Empowerment means cutting losses instead of hanging on in a negative situation.

6. Practice in real time. Practice empowerment with your children. If they were given the wrong meal at a restaurant or their hamburger wasnt cooked right, teach them to politely ask for it to be corrected.

7. Dont accept I dont know. I dont know seems to be the go-to phrase for many children and teens today. I cant think of a more disempowering response to a personal question or a question asked in the context of what someone thinks about a matter related to their own well-being. Its a cop-out phrase that dismisses the importance of ones own thoughts and feelings. Take the time to force the issue and get a response that matters.

8. Teach self-acceptance. When someone truly accepts themselves, that translates into empowered actions. True self-acceptance means there is little to fear, and the absence of fear is empowerment.

nnn

Dr. Kate Roberts is a licensed child and school psychologist and family therapist on the North Shore. Ask a question or make a comment at kate@drkateroberts.com.

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PARENT RAP: 8 ways to teach your child empowerment - The Salem News

Don’t leave baby boomers behind when designing wearable technology – Phys.Org

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June 23, 2017

Wearable devices have been heralded as one of the next great technological frontiers. They can provide all users, including older ones, with constantly updated medical information by tracking cardiac health, identifying potential illnesses, and serving as emergency alert systems, among other benefits. That is, if you can get older users to adopt wearable technology. In their article in the July 2017 issue of Ergonomics in Design, "Designing Wearable Technology for an Aging Population," human factors/ergonomics researchers lay out a framework for improving the usability of wearable technology for older adults.

According to Joanna Lewis, a doctoral student of applied experimental and human factors psychology at the University of Central Florida, "The proportion of the population over the age of 65 is growing and will continue to do so. Technological developments are exponentially growing and inundating our lives, and we don't want a demographic that is scaling up in size not to have access to devices that are becoming prolific in everyday society."

Although wearable devices can serve as important tools for older adults, Lewis and coauthor Mark Neider found that poor design decisions that fail to address the aging population's needs can undermine the technology's value. Older adults also tend to experience feelings of mistrust and frustration when using new devices, with the result that they often abandon otherwise worthwhile technology.

Taking into account the role of age-linked declines in cognitive, physical, and sensory abilities, the authors identified several critical areas for improvement. These include reducing the steps required for users to complete a given action, minimizing the need for multitasking, eliminating time constraints for completing a task, and increasing the size of buttons, icons, and text. Lewis and Neider also caution designers to avoid clunky or outdated exteriors that may result in age-related stereotypes or cause users to feel stigmatized by their peers.

"A device's usability should consider all ages," Lewis adds. "Potential issues with wearable devices for older adults can be avoided by acknowledging limitations, and development teams can create effective and safe platforms that appeal to a variety of end users."

Explore further: Why aren't product designers considering activity trackers for older adults?

More information: Joanna E. Lewis et al. Designing Wearable Technology for an Aging Population, Ergonomics in Design (2017). DOI: 10.1177/1064804616645488

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Researchers at the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a novel design approach for exoskeletons and prosthetic limbs that incorporates direct feedback from the human body. The findings were ...

In a proof-of-concept study, North Carolina State University engineers have designed a flexible thermoelectric energy harvester that has the potential to rival the effectiveness of existing power wearable electronic devices ...

The Central Intelligence Agency admitted this week that it had been compromised for months in 2013 by a network of high-tech snack thieves.

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Want an insanely fast ride with zero emissions? Startup NIO has the car: An electric two-seater with muscular European lines and a top speed of 195 miles per hour (313 kilometers per hour).

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Technology Council, NVCC ink agreement for workforce-development – Inside NoVA

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The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) has signed an agreement with Northern Virginia Community College to become the first NVTC Academic Partner.

The partnership is designed to better align training and workforce-development needs within the Northern Virginia region, allowing businesses to remain economically competitive, and better prepare students to enter the 21st-century workforce.

The regions universities and community colleges have been active participants and leaders in the NVTC community, said NVTC president and CEO Bobbie Kilberg. With this new partnership, Northern Virginia Community College is affirming its willingness to support the workforce needs of the regions technology community.

Northern Virginia Community College president Scott Ralls said his institution is committed to creating a workforce pipeline that meets both the capacity and the competency requirements that are driving our regional economy.

Partnering more closely with NVTC and its members will allow us to develop programs, curriculum and content that align with the needs of the regions technology employers, Ralls said.

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Technology Council, NVCC ink agreement for workforce-development - Inside NoVA

Facebook launches drive in UK to tackle online extremist material – The Guardian

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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said: We all have a part to play in stopping violent extremism. Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

Facebook is to step up its attempts to tackle extremist material on the internet by educating charities and other non-government organisations about how to counter hate speech.

The technology company will launch the Online Civil Courage Initiative in the UK on Friday, which includes training organisations about how to monitor and respond to extremist content and the creation of a dedicated support desk at Facebook where concerns can be flagged up.

The launch of the initiative comes after growing criticism of Facebook, Google, Twitter and other technology companies about the proliferation of extremist material online.

Earlier this month, Theresa May called on technology companies to do more to curb the poisonous propaganda that fuels terror attacks such as the recent atrocities in Manchester and London. May made the comments after talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, where they agreed to explore creating a new legal liability for technology companies if they failed to remove extremist content.

Facebook is working on the initiative alongside the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a counter-extremism campaign group. Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, will reveal the details of the plan in London alongside Brendan Cox, the husband of the murdered MP Jo Cox.

Sandberg said the attacks in London and Manchester were absolutely heartbreaking and that we all have a part to play in stopping violent extremism from spreading.

She added: There is no place for hate or violence on Facebook. We use technology like AI to find and remove terrorist propaganda, and we have teams of counter-terrorism experts and reviewers around the world working to keep extremist content off our platform. Partnerships with others including tech companies, civil society, researchers and governments are also a crucial piece of the puzzle.

Some of our most important partnerships are focused on counter-speech, which means encouraging people to speak out against violence and extremism. The UK Online Civil Courage Initiative will support NGOs and community groups who work across the UK to challenge the extremist narratives that cause such harm. We know we have more to do but through our platform, our partners and our community we will continue to learn to keep violence and extremism off Facebook.

As well as providing training and a dedicated support desk, Facebook will offer organisations the opportunity to promote campaigns against extremism through its own platforms and provide financial support for academic research into online and offline patterns of extremism and how to respond to it.

Facebook has already launched the initiative in Germany and France. The company declined to say how much funding it was committing to the initiative.

The Jo Cox Foundation is a founding member of the initiative in the UK, as are other anti-hate groups from the Jewish and Muslim communities.

Brendan Cox said: This is a valuable and much needed initiative from Facebook in helping to tackle extremism. Anything that helps push the extremists even further to the margins is greatly welcome. Social media platforms have a particular responsibility to address hate speech that has too often been allowed to flourish online.

It is critical that efforts are taken by all online service providers and social networks to bring our communities closer together and to further crack down on those that spread violence and hatred online.

Last month the Guardian reported that Facebook moderators had identified more than 1,300 posts on the site as credible terrorist threats in a single month. One source familiar with Facebooks counter-terrorism policies warned it faced a mission impossible to control the amount of content proliferated by extremists.

A Home Office spokesman said the nature of the terrorist threat faced by the country was constantly evolving.

He added that theywelcomed Facebooks initiativeto help tackle terrorist and extremist material.

Technology companies still need to go further and faster in moving towards preventing this type of toxic output being disseminated in the first place, the Home Office said.

We look forward to seeing how the industry-led forum, which will combat terrorist use of the internet, will build on this collective response to the threat.

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Investigators hope new technology will help solve 20-year-old murder – KIRO Seattle

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by: Nefertiti Jaquez, WSBTV.com Updated: Jun 23, 2017 - 6:24 AM

SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Investigators are working to solve the 20-year-old murder of a woman killed in her home.

Lorrie Smith, 28, was found dead of a gunshot wound at her home on Stonewall Tell Road on May 25, 1997.

Her father said he found her body when he went to wake her up for church.

I opened the door and there she was in her blood on the floor. I thought that was the end of me right there, James Smith said.

WSBTVs Nefertiti Jaquez walked through the room with investigators Thursday night.

Jaquez also got an exclusive look at the case files and evidence photos taken the day Lorrie Smith was found shot to death.

>> Read more trending news

The Fulton County police departments forensic specialist says its clear the victim fought for her life.

We know based on the crime scene itself and the struggle. We know the offender was injured. We know there was evidence that was left that gave us a DNA profile, Helen Weathers said.

Using new technology, investigators developed an image of the suspect in the case.

They have photos of what they believe he looked like at the time of the murder as well as what they believe he looks like now.

Police said despite the DNA and photos, they still arent sure who they are seeking.

He was in prison and released before CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) was mandated for convicted felons. He never committed another crime or he could be dead, Lt. Roger Peace said.

Lorrie Smiths father just wants closure.

Theres not a day that goes by that I dont think about her, James Smith said.

The family has put up an $11,000 reward.

If you know something that could help solve this crime, callCrimeStoppers at 404-577-8477. You can remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward.

2017 Cox Media Group.

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Remarks by President Trump at American Leadership in Emerging Technology Event – The White House (blog)

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East Room

11:04 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. Very nice to have you here. It's a great honor. So many of you I recognize, and others I do from reading business magazines and other magazines. You've done very well. You're very representative of your group.

And, Jeff, congratulations on a great career.

MR. IMMELT: Thank you very much.

THE PRESIDENT: A great career. I was sad to hear it in one way, and in another way I said, boy, what a good job.

MR. IMMELT: Thank you very much.

THE PRESIDENT: So I know whatever you're going to be doing -- that's a long time over there. I've known you a long time in that company. I've done deals with that company, and you were there, right? A lot of good friends like Dale Frey and John Myers. We had a good time at GE.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here and for giving us a chance to see some of the really exciting new technology that you've pioneered that will help improve so many millions of lives.

I want to thank my Office of Science and Technology -- and this has been a great office; they have done such incredible work -- for organizing today's event and for bringing these wonderful business leaders -- and they are at the top -- together to talk about the importance of emerging technologies.

I want to thank Secretary Ross for joining us today. Wilbur, thank you very much. And we just got back from Iowa last night. A big speech in Iowa. That was an amazing group of people. Those people were excited. I guess most people saw it, but they were excited. Wilbur has done a fantastic job, and I want to thank you very much for it, Wilbur. Everybody understands it. Wilbur, as Jeff -- as you know -- Wilbur is known as just "Wilbur" on Wall Street. They dont even call him Wilbur Ross. They just say, oh, Wilbur is involved -- right? He's done a great job. Thank you.

And, Mr. Vice President, thank you very much for being here. We've had some busy schedules, and we have a thing called healthcare that you may hear is percolating in the outside, as we've discussed. And I think it's going to come out. Obamacare is a disaster; it's dead. Totally dead. And we're putting in a plan today that's going to be negotiated. We'd love to have some Democrat support, but they're obstructionists. They'll never support. We won't get one, no matter how good it is. But we will hopefully get something done, and it will be something with heart and very meaningful.

And, Steve, it's great to have you here, by the way. Really good. You've done a great job. I always say you got a hell of a lot of money for that sale. I dont think you've been given enough -- I mean, I dont think you were ever given enough credit for the deal you did for your shareholders. What a deal that was.

Too many years of excessive government regulation. We have had regulation that's been so bad, so out of line that it's really hurt our country. And as you see, on a daily basis we're getting rid of regulation. In fact, Dodd-Frank is now being cut and cut very substantially. We'll have tremendous safeguards, but we're going to have banks that are going to be able to loan money to people so they can open businesses and do what they used to be able to do in this country.

My administration has been laser-focused on removing the government barriers to job growth and prosperity. We formed a deregulation taskforce inside every agency to find and eliminate wasteful, intrusive, and job-killing regulations, of which we've had many.

We want our innovators to dream big, like the folks around me and surrounding me in this room. And we want them to create new companies and to create lots of jobs. Your industry has been incredible. Your representation of your companies -- is the reason you're here -- has been something that has created so many millions of new American jobs, and probably jobs in many other countries, also. But we're interested right now in America first.

We're on the verge of new technological revolutions that could improve, virtually, every aspect of our lives, create vast new wealth for American workers and families, and open up bold, new frontiers in science, medicine, and communication.

Today's conversation will move America one step closer to that bright future that we're all talking about and all longing for in your world. I would love to hear about the discussions you've had this morning with our team, the White House, and get your thoughts on ways government can help unleash the next generation of technological breakthroughs that will transform our lives and transform our country, and make us number one in this field. This is a very, very competitive field. You see what's going on in China and so many other countries. And we want to remain number one. We want to go to number one in certain areas where we're not number one. And we're going to give you the competitive advantage that you need.

So thank you all very much for being here. On behalf of myself and my great Vice President, it's been a meeting that we actually both looked very much forward to attending.

END 11:10 A.M. EDT

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Remarks by President Trump at American Leadership in Emerging Technology Event - The White House (blog)

Technology Impact Awards: Stemcell Technologies named company of the year – Business in Vancouver

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A Vancouver company developing stem cells for researchers across the globe was honoured Thursday as company of the year at the B.C. Tech Associations annual Technology Impact Awards (TIA).

The B.C. Tech Association spent the evening recognizing technology firms across the province in fields ranging from life sciences to cleantech.

Originally launched as a small University of B.C. spinoff in 1993, the company of the year winner, Stemcell Technologies Inc., now employs close to 1,000 people worldwide and saw its revenue grow 20% in 2016.

Meanwhile, the TIAs also recognized Semios Technologies Inc. as the most promising startup in B.C. The early stage company specializes in predictive analytics to manage pests that can damage agriculture.

Full list of winners:

Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology - ARTMS Products Inc.

Excellence in Product Innovation - Corvus Energy

Adoption of Technology - Copperleaf Technologies Inc.

Most Promising Startup - Semios Technologies Inc.

Emerging Company of the Year - Trulioo

Company of the Year - STEMCELL Technologies Inc.

Team of the Year - Clio

Community Engagement - Allocadia Software Inc.

Person of the Year - Shafin Tejani, founder, Victory Square Labs

Bill Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award - Dr. Alan Winter

Peoples Choice Award - Traction on Demand

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Technology Impact Awards: Stemcell Technologies named company of the year - Business in Vancouver