Monthly Archives: August 2022

Is Texas losing ground in terms of online entertainment? – Irving Weekly

Posted: August 23, 2022 at 12:23 am

Texas is a big state. It is the second largest in the country, in fact in regard to its size and total population.

But when it comes to online entertainment options, the Lone Star State may be starting to fall behind many of the others in the exceptionally large country, and this could become a potentially huge problem for the US and the region itself in the present day and in the future.

In this blog post, we will take a look at some of the reasons why Texas may be losing ground and what can be done to turn things around.

Why is Texas losing ground to other states?

One of the biggest factors in Texas' decline when it comes to online entertainment is the state's lack of legal online gambling options. While more and more states are legalizing and regulating online gambling, Texas has yet to take this step. This means that Texans who want to gamble online have few options available to them and those options may not be entirely safe or legal.

Another issue facing Texas is the state's lack of legal online sports betting options. Again, while other states are moving forward with legalizing and regulating sports betting, Texas has yet to do so. This leaves Texans who want to bet on sports at a disadvantage compared to residents of other states.

As mentioned, the Lone Star State is only second behind Alaska in regard to its geographical land mass, while it is only second to California in regard to total population, with the state accounting for approximately 30 million of the US 329.5 million (~10%).

Given the fact that they are able to boast such a huge number of people, it is surprising that they have not been able to make more significant steps when it comes to online entertainment. We have seen smaller states - those that are vastly smaller in regard to population and size - including Delaware (just over 1 million residents) have huge amounts of success within the online entertainment industry.

Since legalizing iGaming and sports betting, the state has been able to continue to create new milestones and break previous records that have been in place, thus showing how much potential the industry can provide regardless of the size of the market. For instance, Delawares online gambling scene recently managed to record revenues of over $1 million for three straight months for the first time ever, while also surpassing $30 million in wagers in three consecutive months, too.

Clearly, given the results that a state with just a fraction of the number of people living there compared to what Texas boasts, as well as only being a fraction of the size, is showing just how much the Lone Star State is currently missing out and how they are losing ground to those in the US in regard to the onlineentertainment industry.

What should Texas be looking to do in order to rectify the loss of ground?

So what can be done? Thankfully, not all is lost as there is plenty that can be done, although there will be some catchup being required to be played.

Well, first and foremost, Texas lawmakers need to start taking the issue of online gambling and sports betting seriously.

We have already been able to see how legal online casinos in the US have been able to benefit each state financially, with many having been able to generate millions of dollars in an entirely new way that was once previously unavailable to them. For instance, we know that Michigan has been able to generate over $1.77 billion in lifetime revenues since legalizing the activity!

The state is losing revenue and tax dollars to other states that have legalized these activities money that could be used to fund schools, roads, and other vital services including those that will benefit the community further.

Secondly, Texas needs to take steps to make sure that any legal online gambling or sports betting options that are available are safe and secure. This means working with reputable operators who can provide a fair and safe experience for users. By doing this, the state is likely to be able to attract as many players as possible, as they will be more willing to spend their money at these sites knowing that they are protected, rather than at sites that may not be legal.

Finally, Texas needs to start promoting itself as a destination for online entertainment. There are plenty of people in the state who enjoy gambling and betting on sports but they may not know that there are legal options available to them. By raising awareness of what's available, Texas can start to attract more business and tax dollars.

Why hasnt Texas joined other states in legalizing online sports betting or iGaming yet?

Some might be asking why this has not already happened, and this is a question that lawmakers in Texas and those within the industry have been asking for some time now, especially given how much money other states are making from the activity.

There are many potential reasons why this may be the case. Perhaps lawmakers feel that there are more important issues to focus on right now. Maybe they believe that online gambling and sports betting should only be available in brick-and-mortar casinos. Or it could simply be down to a lack of understanding of how the industry works and what benefits it can bring.

Some may cite the attitudes and beliefs of some of the influential people in Texas as being a reason why the state has not yet taken this step, as they are concerned that a decision on this topic could potentially impact their influence on the people of the state, thus possibly cost them their seat in the administration.

Texas needs to take action

So there you have it a look at why Texas may be losing ground in terms of online entertainment, and what can be done to turn things around. It is time for the state to take action and start promoting itself as a destination for legal online gambling and sports betting. With the right steps, Texas can once again become a leader in this growing industry.

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Norway’s Online Casino Gaming Situation – THEGAMEROOF

Posted: at 12:23 am

There is a common perception that Scandinavian people, including Norwegians, have a cold and quiet temperament. However, this is only a stereotype. They are active gamblers. Scandinavian mythology often describes scenes of the ancient Vikings playing dice, and one legend tells a remarkable story about the island of Hissinger coming under Norwegian rule. However, despite such legends, the country has not offered a land-based casino. Therefore, this article will focus on online Norsk casinos and their features.

In Norway, gambling is regulated by three legislative acts: the Gaming Scheme Act, the Lottery Act, and the Totalizator Act. Since the 1990s, there are only two licensed websites in Norway legally allowed to offer gambling:

The first Norway casino, established by Norsk Tipping, appeared in 2014 and is called Kong Kasino. The purpose of its creation was motivated by the authorities attempt to stop the mass outflow of users to illegal casinos, which regulators could not manage to block. The advantage of Kong Kasino is that there is no tax on winnings. The online casino Norwegian offers players 157 gambling activities, including betting on sporting events. The rules for gambling activities in Norway vary from their foreign counterparts. There is a restriction on the opening hours of the site.

There are restrictions on how much you can spend:

the maximum monthly limit is 20,000NOK;

for instant lotteries online, the restriction is 10,000NOK per month or 400NOK per day;

the monthly limit for Multix games is 2,700NOK, and for Bingoria games 4,400NOK.

However, we would like to point out that there are now more than a hundred international sites that accept players from Norway. They have a Norwegian interface and take Norwegian kroner as currency for payment. These casinos offer attractive terms and conditions as well as special bonuses. You can check their reliability by consulting expert reviews.

New companies operating in an honest manner have a long-term online focus, so they do their best to meet customers needs. For many international companies, Norway represents a promising market. Therefore, frequently the best new casino will target this segment of players. For this reason, all the privileges available to newcomers should be used to get the maximum enjoyment out of the game.

In 2019, operators from the EU and the European Economic Community established the Norwegian Industry Association for Online Gambling (NBO) to lobby for their own interests in the Norwegian gambling market. The members included Betsson, ComeOnband, Cherry AB, Gaming Innovation Group (GiG), and Kindred Group. Carl Fredrik Stenstrm, former commercial director of Rikstoto, headed the organization. Rolf Sims, Kindreds public relations manager, has also joined the NBO leadership. He is an ex-member of the Ministry of Culture and participated in the creation of Norways gambling policy.

The Norwegian gambling market has been drawing a lot of attention from the European and global community over the last two years. And not surprisingly, with tensions running high between the local regulator, the European Gambling Association, international operators, and other industry players.

Although there are some gambling restrictions in Norway, online casinos based in other countries have access to the Norwegian market and admit players from this Scandinavian state. It is essential that the Norwegian Gambling Commission states that Norwegian players are not prohibited from playing on sites operated by foreign operators. The advantage of playing at a private online casino is that it is not restricted by Norwegian taxes and other gambling laws.

At a time when the national government is justifying its strict legislation by fighting gambling addiction, players are finding new ways to bypass it, with foreign online casinos acting as the main method. There may be amendments to Norwegian regulations, but as with the adoption of different laws, this could take quite a long time.

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Blowing on Dice in Craps – Lucky or Just a Waste of Time? – Gambling Sites

Posted: at 12:23 am

Of all the crazy gambling superstitions, one of the most popular is the blowing on dice in crapsand the relatively recent addendum to that practice: Having a woman blow on your dice at the craps table just before you roll them.

So, does blowing on dice give you good luck? In the craps game, I mean. Probably not. But the woman blowing on the dice is flattered (sometimes), and the roller is heartened (sometimes), so in reality, whos to say?

Of course, if youd rather not concern yourself with the very subjective importance of blowing on dice, you start exploring online gambling in the US right now, but since youre still here, Im going to guess that youd like to learn more about what blowing on dice in craps might mean.

Its a charming gesture, indeed, but whether the dice themselves are thereby charmed is an entirely different story.

And just for clarification, its blow on the dice, not blow up the dice.

Has Anyone Done Anything to Help Blowing on Dice be Lucky?

You mean, has anyone done something to dice to force a specific result? Something thatright after you blow on dice in crapswould somehow make the dice roll snake eyes, for example?

There are plenty of ways to fix dice (although break would seem to be the more appropriate word), from hollowing them out (floated dice) to weighting them (loaded dice) and even slicing fragile layers of plastic off various sides of the die (shaved dice).

One odd version of fixing dice (and almost certainly apocryphal) is the painting of dice with a sticky substance activated by the moisture in human exhalation. Literally, blowing on dice makes them sticky.

First, ewww. Also, nah.

Frankly, this use of painted dice sounds far-fetched in the extreme, whatever the era in which it was supposedly used. Glue wont stick to dirt or rough stone (almost all of the world in Roman times).

And for most of the past hundred years or so, craps tables have been covered with felt, and the throw of the dice isnt legal (in most casinos) if the dice do not bounce off the farthest wall surrounding the table.

Even Superglue would be hard-pressed to stick properly under those circumstancesand Superglue isnt activated by blowing on it.

Want the TL; DR version? No, its unlikely anyone has ever successfully used breath-activated glue to fix dice.

There are quite a few ways to roll dice in a casino incorrectly. For example, New Hampshire has a fairly representative set of rules and procedures for craps.

Who Did It First?

The lots cast by Roman soldiers over two thousand years ago were most likely dice. As it happens, dice were quite common in ancient times, used in various games as well as in cleromancy (divining the gods intentions).

And for once, it appears Western culture influenced Chinese culture because most accounts say the Chinese got the idea for dominoes from dice.

So When was it done? is probably an unanswerable question, but its safe to say that the act of blowing on dice arose simultaneouslysimply as a method for removing the dust they collected each time they were tossed.

Incidentally, dont take all the mentions of casting lots in the Old Testament, meaning the ancients were too busy playing craps to notice Noah over there building that big boat. Also known as cleromancy, casting lots actually means any method of using objects to obtain a random answer. Flipping a coin and drawing straws are both examples of casting lots.

From casting lots in B.C. days right up through the heyday of the back-street craps game, blowing on dice was necessary to keep it clean.

By the way, even if youre an old hand at craps, you might still pick up a few good pointers reading our post on craps bets to avoid.

What do the worst crap bets and wearing socks and sandals have in common? I will tell you! Theyll get you home much earlier than anticipated. Its nice to be able to joke about bad craps bets. But losing money is no laughing matter. Thats...

A Watershed Moment in Dice-Blowing History

The 1950 Broadway musical Guys and Dolls was based on several Damon Runyan short stories and featured an entire cast for whom the adjective runyanesque was invented.

Set in the New York City underworld of the 1930s, the musical featured down-on-their-luck gamblers, molls and frails, gangsters, and of course, gambling. Among the tunes was the song Luck Be a Lady, sung by the character (and degenerate gambler) Sky Masterson.

Fun fact Marlon Brando sang Luck be a Lady in the 1955 film version of Guys and Dolls.

The cover of that song Frank Sinatra recorded a few years later is very likely the version you currently have running through your head. And if not, why not? Its a great song.

The verse that makes this song a classic (and pertinent to our discussion here) is:

A lady doesnt leave her escort: It isnt fair, it isnt nice. A lady doesnt wander all over the room And blow on some other guys dice.

I doubt that the songor even the Guys and Dolls from which it camewere instrumental in creating the blow-on-your-boyfriends-dice gesture but they both served to popularize it on a grand scale.

Since then, you will find nary a craps table without plenty of couples, each of whom is doing their best to keep the gesture alive.

If you are new to the world of craps, be sure to get help to the jive with our basics of playing craps.

A New Mating Ritual Is Born

So, does blowing on dice give you you good luck? While blowing on dice in craps isnt likely to inculcate them with anything worthwhile, the gesture itself has become a traditional part of the call and response of human courtship and mating.

In much the same way the girlfriends or wives sing Happy Birthday like Marilyn Monroe, or men bring roses and chocolates to their significant other for on Valentines Day.

Do you think Im exaggerating here?

Stand at any busy craps table in any casino and watch the action for a while. Over time, youll see shooters who consistently blow on their dice before rolling and others who never blow on the dice.

And, of course, youll see one or two with a female companion there to blow on their dice before each roll. Count the number of times the female side of the couple does NOT blow on their dice before they shoot.

Times up. Whats the count? Zero, you say? Whod a thunk it?

Incidentally, if youre finding this all a bit sexist, note that women have their men blow on their dice, too. Additionally, both sides of the gesture often find it insulting if the service is not requested (or worse, not provided).

Blowing on dice may not make them lucky, but failure to perform the ritual properly can certainly anger some lesser gods or goddesses in your life.

Be that as it may, for most shooters playing alone at the craps table, the act of blowing on the dice before rolling them is a habit.

But allowing or inviting ones female companion to blow on the dice is very much part of the modern call-and-response of modern courtship. And frankly, its about as laden with sexual undertones as virtually anything else you can do in public without embarrassment or censure.

Incidentally, while they havent figured out a way to blow on virtual dice, but you can experience all the other thrills of craps with one of our recommended craps apps.

Should You Blow On Dice in Craps?

Baseball pros are encouraged to pursue their various superstitions, particularly during a winning streak. If not changing your underwear makes you feel lucky enough to pitch another no-hitter, then, by all means, dont change your underwear. The rest of the team will stay at the hotel the next block.

But craps is not baseball. While a pitchers confidence level can and will influence his performance in the game, a craps shooters confidence does not influence their performance as a shooter.

In craps, rolling the dice results in a random number between two and twelve (random, that is, provided the dice themselves are not fixed in some way).

Why do people blow on dice? Since confidence or skill has nothing to do with that result, believing the companions blowing on your dice will make them lucky for you is harmless.

Still, if its taken in the manner it is givena wish that you would enjoy good luck on your next dice toss (rather than a guarantee of it), youre on solid ground.

So, blowing on dice in craps is harmless, charming, silly, or all threedepending on your perspective. But one thing it can never be is lucky.

No. If you want to guarantee luck, you should either trust your daily horoscopes predictions in the paper or bet on the numbers shown on the fortune cookie you got with your take-out last Saturday.

On that, the science is settled.

Oh, one last thing: One place you never have to worry about whether blowing on dice or not is lucky or unlucky (or just silly) is to go where you can play live craps online.

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Top 7 Golf-themed slot games you should not miss – National Club Golfer

Posted: at 12:23 am

Several of the top casino games software developers have put their hand to slot games with a golf theme. Across the UK, there are several excellent online casinos available where you can play these slot machines, and you can choose to either play for free or bet with real money. We think most golf fans are going to enjoy these slot games, which, lets face it, are a little less challenging than playing the real thing out on the course! Check out the following slots, and youll be ready to head out and play golf-themed slot games online.

This Playtech golf-themed slot game is easy to play. The first things youll notice when you open it up for the first time are the basic visuals and the straightforward control layout. It may seem straightforward, but dont underestimate it. It has great bonus features, and the gameplay is pure golf entertainment. The games progressive jackpot is also a big selling point since it offers the chance for huge payouts!

Microgaming is one of the biggest names in the online gambling business. As it goes, Lucky Shot is one of their slot machines that is all about the golf theme. It depicts a variety of golfing symbol icons, including players, a golf cart, clubs, a trophy for the winner of a competition, and a classic ball washer. There is also a free spins bonus round where bigger payouts are often found.

Okay, here we have another golf game from the talented folks at Microgaming. You may quickly recognise the Argyle branding that inspired the name of this slot. Various special features like free spins and jackpots can be activated by landing the many wild or scatter icons. To play, all you need to do is set your wager for each spin and spin the reels simple!

Realtime Gaming has provided us with this imaginative take on a golf-based slot game. Two golfers, one male and one female, with human bodies and bird-like heads are the games central leading roles. Its an eagle for the female and a duck for the guy whacky, but kinda fun too. It doesnt stop there; the caddy is a gopher! This vividly coloured cartoon slot is enjoyable and intriguing, and one you shouldnt miss out on.

With this five-reel slot machine from Play n Go, youll feel like youve strolled onto a lush, grassy golf course. Golfing symbols such as a golf cart, a golf ball, and the reliable (or not so reliable) golf club are sure to be fan favourites. The slot machines namesake, a golden trophy, is the symbol with the biggest payout potential.

This slot, developed by Rival Gaming, has a five-reel layout, and comes across as both vivid and unusual. An eagle with a golf club and a confused golfer looking for his ball are just two of the entertaining figures. It contains a skill-based bonus round in which players may test their luck on a nine-hole course with the goal of achieving a hole in one. Its a refreshingly new and entertaining take on the golf-themed slot machine.

Rival Gaming has created yet another first-rate golf-themed slot game. Based on the back nine of a classic golf course, this game challenges golfers to sink their putts with the fewest number of strokes possible. With a rotation of the wheel, the hidden golf course underneath the symbol icons is revealed. Basically, you should try to rack up as few strokes as possible so that you can pick up the bonuses, free spins, and prizes. A bit like real golf, but perhaps a bit more straightforward!

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Kim Kardashians Break Up Becomes Gambling Ground for Online Casinos but Where Does Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Stand in the Long List of Potential…

Posted: at 12:23 am

Kim Kardashian is always in the news for all the reasons. Recently, Kim broke up with her boyfriend of 9-months, Pete Davidson, and it is making a whirlwind in the entertainment industry. As the Skims owner is single again, casinos have started betting on the odds of who her next boyfriend might be. Surprisingly, the Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott finds himself on the mix as well.

The betting list features some of the biggest superstars in the sporting world and Hollywood. Additionally, the wild list also pens down the odds and implied chance percentage of Kims new beau. This hilarious casino gimmick has taken Instagram by storm and people cant stop laughing at how wild these betting platforms have become.

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Moreover, Dak Prescott gets featured on the list with the strangest of odds. No one would have thought that the Dallas Cowboys QB would be a potential match for the social media influencer and businesswoman.

Prescott gets the odds of +2500 and an implied chance percentage of 3.8%. These odds were amongst the highest on the list that was being bet on by the casino.

After the Broncos handed the Cowboys the worst ever defeat in the first week of the preseason; The team realizes Dak Prescotts importance and skills. Even though Prescott will be there in the regular season games, it shows how much the Cowboys rely on him.

DIVE DEEPER

Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Expands On QB Dak Prescott After AnotherUnproductive Offseason During Press Conference

26 days ago

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The QBs recovery and desire to improve his performance led to intense training in the offseason. Prescott would hope to make major inroads and repeat the NFC East championship win this season.

All in all, Kim Kardashian and her odds of dating Dak Prescott look thick if the casino bets are taken seriously. In reality, anything can transpire in the entertainment industry, but the two have never been linked together. Therefore, time will tell if the insane odds become a reality.

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Watch This Story: Dallas Cowboys star Dak Prescott makes tall promises of legacy ultimate goal for Americas team

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Big tech crashes big sports – axios.com

Posted: at 12:22 am

After years of watching traditional media dominate live sports, tech giants have decided it's time to get in the game by paying up for live sports rights.

Why it matters: The value of sports rights has been in the stratosphere and the inclusion of trillion-dollar tech giants will only lift those numbers higher.

State of play: Disney, Comcast, Paramount, and Fox will pay a combined $24.2 billion for sports rights in 2024 alone, according to data from MoffettNathanson.

Yes, and: Apple and Amazon are battling for the NFL's Sunday Ticket package a deal that is expected to include a stake in the league's media business with Apple seen as the heavy favorite.

Yes, but: Most of the sports rights still reside with the established media giants that now have their own streaming services.

Between the lines: Traditional media companies love sports for their ability to drive huge viewership that turns into big ad dollars. Big tech has a different goal.

What's next: The NBA's upcoming rights renewal will be closely watched next year.

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Congress’ push to regulate Big Tech is fizzling out – Axios

Posted: at 12:22 am

Hopes for a congressional vote this summer on a major tech antitrust bill have all but fizzled out as the August recess quickly approaches.

The big picture: It's more likely than ever that this Congress will push efforts to pass Big Tech competition rules into the fall, where they will face slim chances with lawmakers distracted by midterm elections.

Catch up quick: The American Innovation and Competition Online Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would ban Big Tech companies from favoring their own services in an anticompetitive way.

Driving the news: The American Innovation and Competition Online Act has bipartisan support. But floor time is dwindling as a list of Democratic priorities, including budget reconciliation and protecting same-sex marriage, take precedence.

What they're saying: Supporters are grappling with the idea that their bill may not see floor time until after the August recess, per conversations with sources from advocacy groups and companies pushing for a vote.

Yes, but: Advocates tell Axios that if the bill hits the floor at any point before a new Congress is sworn in, it will pass with at least 60 yes votes.

Flashback: The House began this current antitrust legislative push in 2020, with a sweeping report charging the biggest U.S. tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Apple and Google, with putting their own products and services ahead of competitors'.

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Big Tech Is Under Pressure To Turn Its Back On Big Oil – OilPrice.com

Posted: at 12:22 am

Businesses these days need to be extra-careful in their dealings with other industries - especially the oil industry. Guilt by association is instantaneous for anyone that does business with the pariahs of the corporate world. And now Big Tech is in the spotlight.

Microsoft, Amazon, and their peers have been working with the oil industry for years - ever since the oil industry realized that entering the digital age might not be such a bad idea.

Big Techs software has been essential for optimizing oil and gas exploration and production, making the industry crucial for Big Oils recent financial success, along with oil prices.

Bloomberg recently noted in an article on Big Oil and Big Tech how Big Tech had been making transition commitments, but in the meantime, it has been helping Big Oil increase production, which has prompted criticism.

According to the article, Big Tech is justifying its continued work with the oil industry by arguing that its work is actually helping to bring about the transition to a lower-carbon energy future. Some critics, however, are not convinced. The report cited a former Microsoft engineer who noted, if you do anything more efficiently, it gets done more.

This appears to be a problem for those who advocate for oil staying in the ground.

Indeed, efficiency enhances output. But judging by the oil market balance forecast, Big Oil has not exactly been in an all-out production growth mode recently. Big Oil has been itself in a transition mode, very much like Big Tech, advertising its acquisitions in the wind and solar space, promoting its emission-cutting efforts, and in Shells case, urgently selling assets to comply with a court ruling that ordered it to slash emissions by 45 percent from 2019 levels by 2030.

The critic cited by Bloomberg above quit Microsoft because of its continued work with oil supermajors. Employee activism is a well-documented phenomenon in the Big Tech sphere: employees from Amazon and Google, for example, staged protests and pressured management to stop its dealings with Big Oil because of the climate before the pandemic.

At Microsoft, some workers challenged the companys continued business dealings with Big Oil at a meeting in 2019, suggesting it was unethical. According to a USA Today report about that meeting, chief executive Satya Nadella defended Big Oil, saying these companies were investing heavily in sustainable production research and development.

Theres no fossil fuel CEO who sits there and says, You know, Im just gonna deny climate change, Nadella said, according to a transcript provided by Microsoft workers who were at the meeting. If anything, theyre all saying, Let us have, in fact, the regulation, the pricing mechanisms that get us to this future.

Critics insist that Big Techs affair with Big Oil contributes to more emissions. Yet the truth of the matter is that the increased efficiency that this affair actually saves energy - because it saves effort.

A big part of what Big Tech does for Big Oil is crunching massive amounts of data generated during exploration activities. This data analysis helps the oil company pick the optimal drilling spot, reducing the danger of a well coming up dry. The fewer wells you need to drill, the less energy you use. This will not be enough for critics who want all oil production to stop, but this is not happening anytime soon.

Thats not all, either. Technology is helping the oil industry become safer. Smart tech for oil field workers and site inspectors and drone deployment for pipeline monitoring are but a couple of the ways in which technology can be good not just for the oil industry but for the environment.

Those exclusively focused on carbon emissions, however, are not happy. Big Techs cloud computing services are boosting Big Oils output. This is bad for Big Techs own emission-cutting targets. But blaming it all on Big Oil would be taking it too far.

Amazon, for instance, reported an 18-percent annual increase in its emissions for 2021 because of its booming business during the pandemic. Compared to 2019, when the company first reported emissions, its footprint was 40 percent higher. This had nothing to do with its doing business with Big Oil. It had to do with the need for more planes and trucks to deliver products to customers amid a pandemic that kept millions at home for months on end.

In 2019, Big Oils investments in cloud computing were estimated at some $20 billion. While Google is out of this market after employees won the pressure game they played against the companys management, the world still needs more oil than it is getting right now. The world desperately needs cheap energy, and Big Tech is helping Big Oil to provide it.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Big Tech Is Fully Cooperating With China’s Censorship Regime. It’s Got to Stop | Opinion – Newsweek

Posted: at 12:21 am

Elon Musk is back in the headlines this week. The founder and CEO of Tesla contributed a piece to China Cyberspace, the official publication of the Cyberspace Administration of China, which is the government's cyber censorship arm. It's a big deal, and proof of how deeply entangled Musk is with a regime hostile to free speech, and to the human rights of its people more broadly.

Worse, Musk's closeness with the Cyberspace Administration of China raises important questions about whether Musk, who has a Giga factory in China and has taken over $1 billion in loans from the country, has fallen prey to China's Military Civil Fusion disclosure laws. And the stakes are high: Is Musk supplying China with classified information he gains by working with the U.S. space program and other national security-sensitive projects?

Not only does the Cyberspace Administration of China control and often choke the flow of information into and out of the country, but it also provides data security for Tencent, a giant logistics conglomerate controlled by the Communist Party of China that owns 5 percent of Tesla.

The scale of Musk's operations in China makes him vulnerable to intimidation by its communist leadership, and should make us wary of his pending deal to buy Twitter. Do we really want Twitter's owner to be someone entangled substantially with one of the most repressive governments on earth, one with a long history of forcing private companies to serve its interests?

Twitter is banned in China, along with many other media companies that don't toe the party line. But some Chinese dissidents do manage to use the platform inside the country, as do many outside the country to coordinate resistance. While Musk initially claimed to be a free speech absolutist, on April 27, he clarified that he would comply with the government laws that restrict free speech.

Of course, Musk is far from the only tech magnate who has raised concerns. Amazon has catered even more directly to the censorship needs of the Communist Party of China, like when it partnered with a propaganda arm of the government to market a collection of President Xi Jinping's speeches and writings published on a Chinese website in 2020. When Amazon customers began to publish unflattering reviews of the collection, the Chinese government ordered the reviews removed and the comment feature disabled for not just this but all products sold in China.

Moreover, the CCP has partnered with Amazon on a project known as China Books, which offers 90,000 Chinese books for sale but generates little revenue. The project is widely seen as a sop to keep the government happy so Amazon can function. The company stated in an internal document back in 2018 that "ideological control and propaganda is the core of the toolkit for the Communist Party to achieve and maintain its success. We are not making judgment on whether it is right or wrong."

Meanwhile, Google is working on a China-only search engine that will black out websites and search terms the government considers threateninglike those pertaining to human rights, democracy and religion.

And Twitter has worked with the Chinese Communist Party to whitewash the abuse of the Uyghurs at the hands of the Chinese government. According to reports, Twitter promoted more than 50 tweets from the Global Times, a Chinese state-run media outfit, that deliberately mislead users on how the Uyghurs are treated in the detention camps in which they're forced to live.

Every day, we see stories of corporations making the choice to participate in everything from censorship to masking drastic human rights violations, in order to retain access to China's lucrative market of 1.3 billion people.

Fortunately, the days of this problem being ignored are ending. Already Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) and Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) are working to learn more and perhaps develop legislation to guide these exchanges.

Stewart wants hearings to determine exactly what confidential information may fall into China's hands as a result of Big Tech's cowardly capitulation, and Rubio is interested in reforming contracting procedures to make sure we're not going into business with Chinese Communist Party-aligned businesses.

A variety of approaches are possible. But one thing is clear: It is past time we learn more about what it means for an American corporation to do business in sensitive industries in China. We may be shocked at what we find.

Jianli Yang is founder and president ofCitizen Power Initiatives for China and the author of For Us, the Living: A Journey to Shine the Light on Truth.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

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Big Tech Is Fully Cooperating With China's Censorship Regime. It's Got to Stop | Opinion - Newsweek

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The false messiahs of Big Tech – Spiked

Posted: at 12:21 am

The recent rehabilitation of Adam Neumann, the entrepreneur behind WeWork, has been met with widespread astonishment.

WeWork, which leases office space and coworking space, is arguably the most infamous failure of the so-called tech unicorns. Its rapid overnight expansion was fuelled by vast amounts of easy capital. But this was quickly followed by an almighty crash.

So spectacular was the story that Apple TV even adapted it into a show called WeCrashed (based on a podcast series of the same name), which stars method actor Jared Leto as Neumann. WeWorks troubled finances and Neumanns personal indulgences were revealed by regulators in August 2019. WeWork had tried to go public, expecting to be valued at around $65 billion. But instead the exposure dealt a huge blow to the company. Neumann was bounced out just weeks later, $1.7 billion richer.

Now Neumann the messiah is back with a new venture, called Flow. Flow promises to do for residential accommodation what WeWork failed to do for office workspace, spicing up renting for millennials.

Neumann has the backing of venture-capital giant Andreessen Horowitz Capital Management. Adam is a visionary leader who revolutionised the second-largest asset class in the world commercial real estate by bringing community and brand to an industry in which neither existed before, said co-director Marc Andreessen earlier this month, explaining why he had written Neumann a $350million cheque. The decision by A16Z, as Andreessen Horowitz Capital Management is known in the tech world, gave Flow an overnight valuation of $1 billion.

But Neumann is no visionary. There was nothing even particularly original about WeWorks proposition. It was Mark Dixon an Essex boy whose first business was a burger van on Londons North Circular who really proved there was a viable market for leased workspaces. Today, Dixons Regus leases more space than WeWork ever did at its height. And, unlike WeWork, it has been profitable for years (although only after several near-death experiences and plenty of contractual battles with property owners). WeWork simply packs tenants in more tightly than Regus. And foolishly, it takes on longer leases. Its main USP is that it offers free beer and workspaces surrounded by vapid New Age slogans. This is a curious combination, as frat boys dont really do mindfulness and holistic aesthetes dont drink.

Nevertheless, the charismatic Neumann persuaded the big investors to back him. He played on their desire to believe that if they bet big, they could win big. He got lucky when Vision Fund, the largest ever VC investment vehicle, was created in 2017. And this fund was eager to indulge him where others wouldnt.

Vision Fund was an almost $100 billion venture, backed by $45 billion from Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund. The remainder came from Japanese conglomerate Softbank, whose eccentric chairman and CEO, Masayoshi Masa Son, was entrusted to spend the money wisely. The mere presence of such large sums created a distortion in the tech market.

Reality was already catching up with Neumann by the time Son arrived on the scene. But Son indulged the founders megalomania. Son had, by then, already created a brief bubble of astronomical tech valuations, including Uber and a variety of courier services, such as Deliveroo. None of this was sustainable. This month, the Vision Fund posted a $23 billion loss for the quarter, and investors returns from 2017 are lagging far behind the market average. Low interest rates created a decade in which too much money had been chasing too few good ideas.

So why is Neumann being indulged again? Narcissism explains a great deal. In the world of venture capital, decisions are largely fashion-driven and firms are gripped by FOMO the Fear of Missing Out.

More importantly, the superstar VC investors see themselves as vanguardistas, or as prophets and visionaries in their own right. Thats certainly how Son saw himself. And visionaries need promotion. One of A16Zs partners, Benedict Evans, rather gave the game away in 2015 when he described the VC firm as a media company that monetises through venture capital.

This is a cynical formulation, but its correct in one important way: it acknowledges the postmodern nature of the market, in which a deal is essentially a consensual hallucination between two parties. WeWork is worth whatever a buyer is prepared to pay. Neumanns new idea must be worth $1 billion, because Andreessen Horowitz has decreed it so, simply by writing a large cheque.

Andreessen is in the position of a media tycoon who can cast himself in the storyline of any drama that his network broadcasts. And A16Z badly needs a hit, and for the narrative around A16Z to change.

After all, A16Z was one of the most prominent promoters of crypto-finance instruments like blockchain. Indeed, it heralded blockchain as the basis of future technology infrastructure, which it branded Web3. That proposition recently took a huge hit. After the crypto crash in April, Andreessen himself disappeared from Twitter for weeks.

At the end of the day, VCs are free to indulge in wildly irrational investments, since they are spending other peoples money. And those people are happy to take these risks as they are greedy for returns. But with rising interest rates and other economic clouds on the horizon, this excitable appetite for risk is likely to cool. Perhaps well also see a dent in investors quasi-religious faith in the shamanistic insights of CEOs and VCs. But as the return of Neumann the messiah shows, this will never go away completely.

Andrew Orlowski is a weekly columnist at the Telegraph. Visit his website here. Follow him on Twitter: @AndrewOrlowski.

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The false messiahs of Big Tech - Spiked

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