04/05/2018 | UPONSOFT

Bollywood in Shock Over Superstar’s Jail Term

By Uponent | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

Hundreds of disbelieving fans flocked to the home of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan on Thursday in protest against the five-year jail term given on the action hero for poaching endangered antelopes.

Khan’s army of devotees took selfies outside the Galaxy apartment complex in the Indian film capital Mumbai as their hero was taken off to spend the night in jail in Rajasthan.

Police set up barricades outside the building overlooking the Arabian Sea where actors and tycoons are the main residents.

The Bollywood elite also rallied behind the 52-year-old star of blockbusters such as Sultan and one of the world’s most highly paid actors.

Many fans were angry and stunned at the jail term imposed by a court in the Rajasthan city of Jodhpur over the killing of two rare black bucks 20 years ago.

Mohammad Arif Khan, 26, traveled from his home in Uttar Pradesh vowing to spend three days in Mumbai in the hope that his hero will be released.

“Khan’s absence will have a big impact and mistakes do happen. But he has paid for his crimes and shouldn’t be made to go to jail. The decision is extremely appalling and not a good one,” he said.

“Salman Khan is a good man and a humanitarian who runs his own charity helping people.”

‘A great star’

He added: “The court and the government should take note of all his good deeds as his absence will affect not just Bollywood but also those in need of help and who get assistance from his charity.”

Many fans wore “Being Human” T-shirts named after his charity.

Seventeen-year-old student Abdul Rashid said Khan’s “loyal fans” will stand by him.

“I am not sure where our justice system is headed as the … punishment doesn’t feel justified for killing an animal. I was at the airport last night and met Salman. He waved at us. He is such a great star and impacts all our lives by helping needy people. He should not be punished.”

Sagar Raza Khan, a 50-year-old writer, said the verdict had come out of the blue as the case has been going on so long.

“He’s already suffered enough and should not have to go through it again. His family will again face a lot of suffering if he is incarcerated. Plus, his impact on Bollywood is too huge to be ignored.”

Sheikh Alimuddin, 43, traveled from rural Maharashtra to get to Khan’s home.

“Khan is an epitome of kindness and has helped cancer patients and children requiring medical assistance. There are numerous ongoing cases where the guilty have not been punished.”

Alimuddin called the guilty verdict and punishment “sensationalized.”

Financial losses

Jaya Bachchan, a veteran Bollywood actor and lawmaker, said so much money was invested in Khan’s films that “there will be losses.”

“After 20 years, they have realized he is guilty. But law takes its own course, what can one say. He does a lot of charity. I am worried for the producers,” Bachchan told reporters.

Leading Bollywood director Subhash Gai said he was “extremely shocked” at the jail term.

Gai called Khan “a most loved person” in the film industry, but also said he had “full trust” in India’s appeal procedure.

Actor Arjun Rampal said on Twitter he felt “helpless” over the action taken against Khan.

“The last thing @BeingSalmanKhan is, is a criminal. I feel this is too harsh. I do hope he gets the relief he deserves.”
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Amid Trade Spats, Trump to Push US as ‘Partner of Choice’ for Latin America

By Uponbiz | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Business

President Donald Trump will make the case that the United States – and not China – should be the trade “partner of choice” for Latin America when he speaks at a regional summit next week, a senior administration official said on Thursday.

Trump is due to make his first visit to the region late next week to attend the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru. The trip comes as his government is waging a trade battle with China and pushing to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“President Trump has been very clear … in terms of his economic policies that the Chinese economic aggression in the region has not been productive for the hemisphere and that the United States should remain the partner of choice for them,” the official told reporters on a conference call.

Substantive discussions on NAFTA are not expected at the summit, the official said.

Trump will deliver an address to the summit where he will talk about “shared values” in the hemisphere and the need to reduce drug trafficking, the official said.

It was unclear how much emphasis Trump would place on stopping illegal immigration from the region into the United States – one of his main promises in his presidential run for office.

Leading up to the summit, Trump announced this week he wants to post National Guard troops along the southern border with Mexico, and has also ramped up tough rhetoric against illegal immigrants from Honduras and other parts of Central America.

“I think the president is a very straight speaker. He speaks what’s on his mind,” the official said.

Trump also plans to address the crisis in Venezuela with regional leaders, the official said. But the U.S. government is still examining its next steps for sanctions on Venezuela with new announcements not expected for several months, the official said.

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High-Tech Treadmill Uses Virtual Reality to Encourage Cardiovascular Fitness

By Uponsci | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Science

Virtual reality, or VR, is finding more applications as the technology matures. It is no longer only used for gaming or entertainment. One Austin-based company, Blue Goji, is using VR to improve health by making cardiovascular workouts more fun.

The company featured its prototype Infinity treadmill at Austin’s South By Southwest.

The treadmill is paired with a virtual reality headset worn by the user. Before starting the treadmill, the user is hooked up to a belt to prevent falls while running on the treadmill and playing a VR game.

The fully immersive experience transports the user into a virtual world where he or she can be racing against virtual people.

“You have much more motivation to actually get running and do something that pushes your limits. It was pretty cool,” said Leonardo Mattiazzi, who tested the Infinity treadmill. He said it took the boredom out of running inside without actually going anywhere.

Motion sickness less likely

In addition to encouraging better cardiovascular health, the active use of virtual reality also helps solve a common problem while wearing a VR headset said Blue Goji’s marketing associate, Kyra Constam.

“A lot of VR experiences cause motion sickness because there’s a disconnect in the brain, just psychologically. You’re moving in the game, but you’re not moving in real life, and we have come up with the solution. When you’re moving on the treadmill and you’re moving in the game, it mitigates that motion sickness, and you really get full immersion without all of the negative side effects.”

Constam added that any disorientation usually goes away quickly.

However, users who tested the Infinity treadmill wearing the VR headset each had a different experience.

“Pretty quickly you adjust to it,” said Mattiazzi, who took 10 seconds to adjust to running in the virtual world.

VR learning curve

“All I could think of when I was doing it was if my wife was doing this, she would have been barfing all over that because it’s interesting how the brain works. Going downhill, it felt like I was on a roller coaster,” said first time user Mark Sackler, who added, “I don’t get motion sickness easily, but I got a little, felt a little queasy at one point when I was out of control. So it’s surprisingly realistic.”

“There’s a bit of a learning curve for VR in general. I believe that the first time you do it is definitely going to be the most disorienting time, and the more you do it, the more you get used to it,” Constam said.

The cost for the hardware and software is fairly steep at $12,000. However, Constam said the virtual reality treadmill is ideal for high-end gyms, rehabilitation centers and physical therapy clinics. Blue Goji plans to make the Infinity treadmill ready for the public in 2019.
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Opioid Addiction Costs Employers $2.6B a Year for Care

By Uponbiz | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Business

A new report shows large employers spent $2.6 billion to treat opioid addiction and overdoses in 2016, an eightfold increase since 2004. More than half went to treat employees’ children.

The analysis released Thursday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation finds such spending cost companies and workers about $26 per enrollee in 2016.

Employers have been limiting insurance coverage of opioids because of concerns about addiction. The report finds spending on opioid prescriptions falling 27 percent from a peak in 2009.

Researchers analyzed insurance claims from employers with more than 1,000 workers. Most are self-insured, meaning they assume the financial risk.

Workers share the costs. Steve Wojcik of the National Business Group on Health says for every $5 increase, employers typically cover $4 and pass $1 to workers.
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Chinese Viewpoints on US-China Trade Dispute

By Uponbiz | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Business

The trade dispute rumbling between China and the U.S. has raised the possibility consumers in Beijing may end up paying higher prices for American beef, liquor and tobacco if Beijing goes ahead with hikes on tariffs for such products.

Below are thoughts shared with The Associated Press by a few Beijing residents.

The investor

Yang Shumei, 29, a freelance worker from southwestern China’s Guangxi province: “I think this [the threat of a trade war] does influence my life and other areas to a certain extent. I invest in stock markets, and shares have fallen sharply as the risk is high.”

The optimist

Feng Weifeng, 36, a salesman from Beijing: “I believe imposing extra tariffs from both sides is just a temporary measure and a win-win situation is the trend.”

The price-sensitive buyer

Wang Xiaoyu, 20, student from Beijing, Higher prices “Will definitely influence my decisions. For daily necessities, mobile phones or electrical products, I am more likely to choose domestic brands or choose products with prices the same as those of U.S.-made products before the price hike.”

The anti-tariffs student

Liu Boshu, 18, a student from central China’s Zhengzhou, in Henan province: “Actually I’m against the measures from either side. Because trade barriers like this will harm both countries in the long term.”

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YouTube Shooter’s Bizarre Videos Key to Suspected Motive

By Uponent | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

The woman who police say shot three people at YouTube’s headquarters was prolific at producing videos and posting them online, many of them bizarre, such as a clip in which she removes a revealing purple dress to expose fake breasts with the message, “Don’t Trust Your Eyes.”

In others, Nasim Aghdam exercises, promotes animal rights and explains the vegan diet, often in elaborate costumes or carrying a rabbit.

The videos have become central to the motive authorities have settled on for the shooting: Aghdam’s anger with the policies of YouTube – the world’s biggest online video website.

Nasim Aghdam, who was in her late 30s, posted the videos under the online name Nasime Sabz, and a website in that name decried YouTube’s policies, saying the company was trying to “suppress” content creators.

“Youtube filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!” one of the messages said. “There is no equal growth opportunity on YOUTUBE or any other video sharing site, your channel will grow if they want to!!!!!”

People who post on YouTube can receive money from advertisements that accompany their videos, but the company “de-monetizes” some channels for reasons including inappropriate material or having fewer than 1,000 subscribers.

YouTube had no comment about any actions related to Aghdam’s videos.

Nasim Aghdam also ran a Farsi-language public channel on the messaging app Telegram, which had 6,000 followers. Telegram reportedly has some 40 million users in Iran. In one post she says, “Internet crackdown and filtering is increasing in the West.”

Police who found Nasim Aghdam sleeping in her car early Tuesday in the city of Mountain View about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from YouTube headquarters said she was calm and said nothing about being angry with YouTube or having any plans to harm others or herself.

“It was a very normal conversation. There was nothing in her behavior that suggested anything unusual,” said Mountain View Police Chief Max Bosel.

Later that day, Aghdam went to a gun range before walking through a parking garage into a courtyard at YouTube’s campus south of San Francisco, where she opened fire with a handgun and wounded three people, police said. She then killed herself.

Two women wounded in the shooting were released Wednesday from a San Francisco hospital. The third victim, a 36-year-old man, was upgraded from critical to serious condition.

The suspect’s father, Ismail Aghdam, told the Bay Area News Group he warned police the day before the attack that his daughter was upset with how YouTube handled her videos and might be planning to go to its offices.

Police in Mountain View said they spoke to Ismail Aghdam twice after contacting the family to report finding his daughter and that he never told them she could become violent or pose a threat to YouTube employees. During her 20-minute interview with officers, Nasim Aghdam said she was having family problems and had left her home, police said.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Wednesday searched two homes where Nasim Aghdam had lived – one in Menifee, which is southeast of Los Angeles, and another in 4S Ranch, north of San Diego.

Nasim Aghdam referenced a since-deactivated website, PeaceThunder, in a 2014 interview promoting veganism. The state attorney general’s website shows a charity group named PeaceThunder affiliated with Nasim Aghdan was dissolved at her request in 2011. She gave no reason but said she was its only member and the group had no assets.

John Rundell, who lives next door to the family in Menifee, said the parents, son and daughter moved from San Diego about five years ago, but he hadn’t seen Nasim Aghdam in months.

The entire family was “very, very friendly,” according to Rundell, who spoke most often with the father, an electrical contractor. Topics of conversations included Persian cooking.

“They were just perfect neighbors,” Rundell said. “If I had to pick neighbors, I’d have them all around.”

Nasim Aghdam painted the house after the family moved in and Rundell said he gave her his own paint to finish the job. She once told Rundell that her pet rabbit was unhappy and asked where he got his.

The family turned away reporters outside the family home in Menifee Wednesday. A woman named Leila who identified herself as an aunt said Nasim Aghdam was a “really good person” and had no history of mental illness. She did not give her last name.

The family later distributed a statement saying they were “in absolute shock and can’t make sense of what has happened.”

“Although no words can describe our deep pain for this tragedy, our family would like to express their utmost regret, sorrow for what has happened to innocent victims,” the statement read.

Nasim Aghdam walked onto the YouTube property through a parking garage and it’s not clear whether she encountered any security.

The company said Wednesday it will increase security at its headquarters and offices around the world.
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Kim Kardashian West Shares First Photo of Her Family

By Uponent | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

Kim Kardashian West has shared the first photo of her family.

The reality star posed with husband Kanye West, daughters North and Chicago, and son Saint in the photo, which was taken on Easter.

Kardashian wrote on Facebook : “I don’t think you really understand how hard it is to take a good family pic.” She said it was all they got before “all three kids started crying.”

The 37-year-old said she thought she also cried.

She also tweeted that while she was holding her baby, Chicago, in one hand, her other hand had ahold of Saint, who kept running away.
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Shock, Pity for Iranian-American YouTube Shooter in Tehran

By Uponent | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

Tehran residents have expressed pity and shock that an Iranian-American woman, relatively known in Iran’s social media circles, was the shooter at YouTube headquarters in California who wounded three people before killing herself.

Many said on Thursday they don’t understand what could have prompted Nasim Aghdam – who posted videos under the online name of Nasime Sabz – to resort to shooting.

Hossein Naderi, a 23-year-old art student, questioned why Aghdam chose to “live in the U.S. though she didn’t like it there.” He says: “I wish I was there to use YouTube freely.”

Aghdam also ran a Farsi-language public channel on the messaging app Telegram, which had 6,000 followers. Telegram reportedly has some 40 million users in Iran.

Hamideh Heidari, a 35-year-old veiled teacher, says Aghdam needed “psychiatric help.”
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Bollywood Star Salman Khan Convicted in Poaching Case

By Uponent | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Entertainment

Bollywood star Salman Khan was convicted Thursday of poaching rare deer in a wildlife preserve two decades ago and sentenced to five years in prison.

The busy actor contends he did not shoot the two blackbuck deer in the western India preserve in 1998 and was acquitted in related cases.

He was in court for the ruling in the western city of Jodhpur on Thursday. He is expected to be taken to a local prison while his attorneys appeal the conviction and seek bail, which could take days.

Four other stars also accused in the case, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam, were acquitted by Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri. They were in the jeep that Salman Khan was believed to be driving during the hunt. Tabu and Neelam both use just one name.

Khan had been sentenced to prison terms of between one and five years in related cases before being acquitted by appeals courts for lack of evidence.

The blackbuck is an endangered species protected under the Indian Wildlife Act.

Khan has had other brushes with the law.

In 2014, the Mumbai High Court acquitted him in a drunken-driving, hit-and-run case.

The judges found that prosecutors had failed to prove charges of culpable homicide, in which they accused Khan of driving while intoxicated in 2002 and running over five men sleeping on a sidewalk, killing one of them.

The government of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, has challenged his acquittal in the Supreme Court.
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Australia Begins Privacy Investigation into Facebook

By Uponsil | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Silicon Valley

Australia’s Privacy Commissioner said on Thursday she had opened a formal investigation into social media giant Facebook Inc after the company confirmed data from 300,000 Australian users may have been used without authorization.

The investigation will consider whether Facebook has breached Australia’s privacy laws, Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said in a statement.

Facebook said on Wednesday that the personal information of up to 87 million users, mostly in the United States, may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, up from a previous news media estimate of more than 50 million.
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Trump Administration Seeks to Temper China Trade War Fears

By Uponbiz | 04/05/2018 | No Comments | Business

President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States is not in a trade war with China, after Beijing announced plans to impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of U.S. goods in response to a similar package announced by the United States.

In a Twitter post Wednesday, Trump contended, “We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S.” He added, “Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!”

On the same day, White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg News, “None of the tariffs have been put in place yet, and these are all proposals.”

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC, “Even shooting wars end with negotiations. … So it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the net outcome of all this is some sort of negotiation.”

Tit-for-tat trade spat

Since the start of this week, the United States and China have been engaging in a tit-for-tat trade spat. On Monday, in response to earlier tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed by the Trump administration, China started tariffs of up to 25 percent on 128 U.S. products, including fruits, nuts, pork, wine, steel and aluminum.

Later the same day, the U.S. Trade Representatives (USTR) proposed to increase tariffs on 1,300 imported goods from China, mostly aerospace, medical and information technology products.

Less than 12 hours later, China announced it plans to impose retaliatory duties of 25 percent on 106 politically sensitive American goods, including soybeans, automobiles and aircraft.

The proposed list is now entering a “public notice and comment process, including a hearing,” the USTR said. After this process is completed, the USTR will issue a final determination on the products subject to the additional duties.

China’s commerce ministry said the question of when the measures will go into effect will depend on when the U.S. tariffs become active.

China’s Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai told reporters on Wednesday, “Negotiation would still be our preference, but it takes two to tango. We will see what the U.S. will do.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders reiterated at Wednesday’s press briefing that this measure is now going through the review process, and “it will be a couple of months before tariffs on either side would go into effect and be implemented.”

“We’re hopeful China will do the right thing. Look, China created the problem, not President Trump. We’re finally having a president who’s willing to stand up and say enough is enough, we’re going to stop the unfair trade practices,” Sanders said.

She also warned if China doesn’t stop the unfair trade practices, the administration will move forward to the next step.

Already in a trade war

Scott Kennedy, deputy director of the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he believes that the U.S. and China are already in a trade war.

“It started several weeks ago when the United States instituted penalties on Chinese steel and aluminum, and then the Chinese responded with penalties that also went into effect, so we haven’t just put our guns on the table, we’ve actually pulled the trigger. In the last few days, we’ve announced additional tariffs that will come into effect in the coming weeks. If this isn’t a trade war, I don’t know what one is,” Kennedy told VOA.

Farming first to be hit

At the frontline of this war is America’s farming industry.

China, which buys nearly $20 billion in U.S. agricultural products annually, has become one of the most important export markets for U.S. farmers, but many agricultural products, including soybeans, cotton, frozen beef and sorghum, will be subject to tariffs if it goes into effect.

American Farm Bureau Federation Policy Communications Director Will Rodger told VOA, “Right now, we export about 20 percent of what we produce. We are very, very dependent on exports. We are looking at 25 percent being placed on soybeans into China.

“The actual economic impact will not be good, it will certainly be bad, the question is how large it’s going to be, we don’t know exactly,” Rodger said.

He said farm income is already at a 16-year low, resulting in many farmers in economic distress.

“While we haven’t reached the crisis point, we have one or two more years of declining income, we will be there pretty quickly,” he noted.

Rodger said the current trade dispute is obviously not a good thing.

“We need it to stop, we need China and the United States to sit down and come up with a reasonable agreement in a reasonable fashion,” he added.

Losses in the short term

If the tariffs go into effect, China trade expert Kennedy pointed out, there will be potential job losses by the reduced export opportunities, but the most important impact in the short term will be on the financial markets.

Kennedy said the trade dispute between the U.S. and China is not about how fast this is resolved, but the way it is resolved.

“The issues the Trump administration has raised are issues American presidents have raised with China for almost two decades now, and not made the progress that they want. We shouldn’t be looking for a quick deal and put this behind us, we should be ready for a sustained level of tension until China relents,” he said.

Kennedy said China won’t do that easily.

“China has an economic governance system which is distinctive and critical to the way the Communist Party runs the country, so it’s going to take a lot for them to move fundamentally,” he said.

“The two sides may make some type of short term deal to address superficially the challenges, but this is not something that will go away in the next few weeks,” Kennedy added.

State Department correspondent Nike Ching contributed to this report.

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Day: April 5, 2018