Month: February 2019

Actor Dreams of Second Chance as Somalia Rebuilds its Theater

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Abdulle Abdi Mohamud stands outside Somalia’s National Theatre seven years after a suicide bomb attack shut it down, and dares to dream of an unlikely second act for the venue – and his own acting career.

Around him, builders heave loads of cement, saw at wooden scaffolding and shift piles of rubble as they prepare to reopen the building in May, even as the Islamist insurgency rages on.

Organisers say they will premiere a classic Somali musical extravaganza titled “Caretaker Government”, though precise details of the production are still under wraps.

Mohamud is hoping to get a role – a comic role.

“Although I grew old, I am still strong … I will act better than before,” says the greying 59-year-old, who performed in the theatre several times before its dramatic closure.

“In the past, we have been fleeing and thinking about survival. Now people want entertainment and plays … We have hope now.”

Hope is a precious commodity in Somalia, which has been mired in turmoil for decades – as has its national theatre.

The building opened in 1968, eight years after independence from Britain, and treated its first audience to a comedy called “Womanizer”.

Productions took on a more patriotic tone during war with neighbouring Ethiopia in the 1970s. Bellicose musical shows featured songs such as “Oh my land, if I do not wash your face with blood, I am not Somali,” says current director Osman Abdullahi Gure.

“Wisdom and entertainment”

After the overthrow of president Siad Barre in 1991, clan-based warlords blasted each other with anti-aircraft guns and fought over the theatre, which they used as a base. The building was hit so many times that the roof collapsed a year into the conflict.

Islamist militants who seized control in 2006 took over the building. They banned all forms of public entertainment – from concerts to football matches – that they considered sinful.

African Union peacekeeping troops clawed back control of the capital in 2011 and the new Western-backed Somali government reopened the venue the following year. But just three weeks after that, a suicide bomber from the Islamist al Shabaab insurgency struck during a ceremony, killing six people.

Today, Somali soldiers still use the theatre as a base, guarding the city and the nearby presidential palace from al Shabaab, which launches sporadic attacks.

But, if all goes well, the soldiers will be replaced by thespians in the next three months.

The government and local businesses have clubbed together to raise $3 million for the restoration. State workers have offered cash and their own labour, said livestock ministry official Mohamed Omar Nur, who is on site helping out.

“We hope that the theatre will … be a place that will provide wisdom and entertainment, and hopefully it will also regain its reputation,” says director Gure.

The soldiers will move out once the work is finished, but they will still be nearby to protect audiences and actors, he adds.

“Security at the theatre will be assured just like it is in any building in Mogadishu. God willing, we shall secure the theatre.”
…

more

Fewer Feel the Love This Valentine’s Day

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Fewer Americans appear to be celebrating Valentine’s Day now as opposed to a decade ago.

The National Retail Federation says that 10 years ago, more than 60 percent of adults planned to celebrate the day that’s dedicated to love, but that number has dropped to just over half in 2019.

Valentine’s Day, which is celebrated every Feb. 14, is a day when people show their affection for another person or people by gifting them with cards, flowers, sweets or some other expression of love or appreciation.

In 2009, 72 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 34 said they expected to celebrate Valentine’s Day, while 65 percent of people ages 35 to 54 planned to mark the day with their sweetheart.

Today, just over half of people in those age brackets — between 52 and 53 percent — plan to do something for Valentine’s.

The main reasons people don’t want to celebrate Valentine’s Day is because they think it’s over-commercialized, don’t have anyone to celebrate with, or have just lost interest, according to a 2017 poll conducted by NRF.

Some of those who expect to mark Valentine’s Day will give sweets to their sweetie. It’s a tradition to indulge in candy on Valentine’s, to give and receive it. Americans are expected to spend over $1.8 billion on Valentine’s Day candy in 2019.

Those who do celebrate Valentine’s Day will be spending more, according to the NRF, an average of $162 per person, more than $20.7 billion overall.

That could be because more younger people are increasingly interested in giving the gift of an “experience” rather than the traditional flowers, candy or jewelry.

Scroll over each state to see favorite candy

About one-fourth of people who plan to mark Valentine’s Day will say “I love you” with an experience such as concert tickets or a day at the spa. They’re interested in creating a special memory or simply want to be unique.

Memories can be expensive to make. The biggest Valentine’s Day spenders, people between the ages of 35 and 44, will spend an average of $279.14 each, while those ages 25 to 34 will spend about $239.07.

People who are often recognized by others on Valentine’s Day include spouses, significant others, children, parents, friends, co-workers and teachers.

And pets. Americans are expected to spend $886 million on their furry companions this Valentine’s Day.
…

more

Russian Lawmakers Back Bill on ‘Sovereign’ Internet

By Uponsil | | No Comments | Silicon Valley

Russian lawmakers backed tighter internet controls on Tuesday to defend against foreign meddling in draft legislation that critics warn could disrupt Russia’s internet and be used to stifle dissent.

The legislation, which some Russian media have likened to an online “iron curtain,” passed its first of three readings in the 450-seat lower chamber of parliament.

The bill seeks to route Russian web traffic and data through points controlled by state authorities and proposes building a national Domain Name System to allow the internet to continue functioning even if the country is cut off from foreign infrastructure.

The legislation was drafted in response to what its authors describe as an aggressive new U.S. national cybersecurity strategy passed last year.

The Agora human rights group said earlier this month that the legislation was one of several new bills drafted in December that “seriously threaten Internet freedom.”

The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs has said the bill poses more of a risk to the functioning of the Russian internet segment than the alleged threats from foreign countries that the bill seeks to counter.

The bill also proposes installing network equipment that would be able to identify the source of web traffic and also block banned content.

The legislation, which can still be amended, but which is expected to pass, is part of a drive by officials to increase Russian “sovereignty” over its internet segment.

Russia has introduced tougher internet laws in the last five years, requiring search engines to delete some search results, messaging services to share encryption keys with security services, and social networks to store Russian users’ personal data on servers within the country.

The bill faces two more votes in the lower chamber, before it is voted on in the upper house of parliament and then signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.
…

more

Reddit Value at $3B After $300M in Finance Led by Tencent

By Uponsil | | No Comments | Silicon Valley

Social media service Reddit Inc. says it has raised $300 million in a financing round led by Chinese internet giant Tencent.

Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, told CNBC on Monday that values the privately held company at $3 billion.

Half the new money came from Tencent, Asia’s most valuable tech company. Other investors included Sequoia, Fidelity, Andreessen Horowitz, Quiet Capital, VY and Snoop Dogg.

The announcement prompted criticism of Reddit for linking itself with a company from China, where the ruling Communist Party enforces extensive online censorship. Access to Reddit is blocked in China.

Tencent operates online games and popular WeChat social media service. It owns 40 percent of “Fortnite” creator Epic Games and 15 percent of photo service Snap.
…

more

Toys R US Plans Second Act Under New Name

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

Toys R Us fans in the U.S. should see the iconic brand re-emerge in some form by this holiday season.

 

Richard Barry, a former Toys R Us executive and now CEO of the new company called Tru Kids Brands, told The Associated Press he and his team are still working on the details, but they’re exploring various options including freestanding stores and shops within existing stores. He says that e-commerce will play a key role.

 

Toys R Us, buckling under competition from Amazon and several billions of dollars of debt, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in September 2017 and then liquidated its businesses last year in the U.S. as well as several other regions including the United Kingdom.

 

In October, a group of investors won an auction for Toys R Us assets, believing they would do better by potentially reviving the toy chain, rather than selling it off for parts. Starting Jan. 20, Barry and several other former Toys R Us executives founded Tru Kids and are now managing the Toys R Us, Babies R Us and Geoffrey brands. Toys R Us generated $3 billion in global retail sales in 2018. Tru Kids estimates that 40 percent to 50 percent of Toys R Us market share is still up for grabs despite many retailers like Walmart and Target expanding their toy aisles.

 

“These brands are beloved by customers,” said Barry. He noted that the company will focus on experiences in the physical stores, which could be about 10,000 square feet. The original Toys R Us stores were roughly about 40,000 square feet.

 

Barry said he and his team have been reaching out to toy makers and have received strong support. But he acknowledged that many had been burned by the Toys R Us liquidation.

 

Tru Kids, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, about a 20 minute drive from Wayne, New Jersey, where Toys R Us was based, will work with licensing partners to open 70 stores this year in Asia, India and Europe. Outside the U.S., Toys R Us continues to operate about 800 stores.

 
…

more

Iowa Democrats Propose ‘Virtual’ Caucuses in 2020

By Uponsil | | No Comments | Silicon Valley

The Iowa Democratic Party on Monday proposed the biggest changes to the state’s famed caucuses in nearly 50 years by recommending Iowans be able to participate virtually.

 

If approved, the measure would allow people to caucus using telephones or smart devices during the days leading up to the Feb. 3 caucus night.

 

It’s a dramatic shift from the current system in which caucus-goers have to physically show up at a site — often a school, church or community center — and show their support for presidential candidates by standing in groups. If the group doesn’t meet an established threshold, the participants have to select another candidate.

 

It’s an often chaotic process that plays out before banks of television cameras on an evening that formally ushers in the presidential primary season. But proponents say it will help address criticism that the caucuses are difficult to attend for single parents, people who work at night and the elderly.

“Through this additional process we’re going to be able to give more Iowans a chance to participate in this process,” Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price said. “Whether someone is a shift worker, a single parent, in the military, living overseas or experiencing mobility issues, this process will now give these individuals a voice in selecting the next president of the United States.”

 

And while Price says the proposed changes are the state party’s effort to open the process often described by critics as antiquated, it was also required by the Democratic National Committee. The results are Iowa Democrats’ attempt at threading the needle of complying while maintaining the essence of the caucuses, which are real-time meetings of fellow partisans.

 

Presidential candidates are already beginning to swarm the state — three were here this weekend. They’ll likely try to determine whether a virtual caucus would help them turn out more of their supporters.

 

“I suspect presidential campaigns who we’ve shared this information with are going to be trying to figure out how to get their members to participate in this,” Price added.

Party officials said they didn’t know how many people would take advantage of the new format or how campaigns might seek to capitalize on it.

 

A key element of the proposal, which now goes before Iowa Democrats to comment on for 30 days, is that, no matter how many Iowans participate virtually, their contribution will be factored as a flat 10 percent of the total turnout, apportioned by congressional district. Price said officials reached 10 percent as a starting point, uncertain of how many people might join virtually.

“This is a new system so we don’t have any data to tell if this number is too high or too low,” Price said. “And so we are starting the conversation at the 10 percent threshold, and if it goes gangbusters this year, then we will have conversations in subsequent years about if we need to make adjustments.”

 

Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee who narrowly beat Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Iowa that year, criticized the caucus process for deterring late-shift workers and others less able to steal away for an evening of political wrangling.

 

“Campaigns must decide how to organize for that 10 percent,” said veteran Iowa Democratic caucus operative Jeff Link, who did not work for Clinton in 2016 and is not affiliated with a candidate heading into 2020.

In another noteworthy development, the state party said it would release the raw data of preferences by caucus-goers, information that is typically kept confidential. The caucuses are a series of preference tests in which candidates without a certain level of support are rendered unviable. This data would give a first glimpse of the candidates’ support before caucus-goers abandon their first choices to side with more viable contenders.

 

The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for February 3, 2020. The proposal won’t be finalized until the spring.
…

more

Earth’s Earliest Mobile Organisms Lived 2.1 Billion Years Ago

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

Scientists have discovered in 2.1-billion-year-old black shale from a quarry in Gabon the earliest evidence of a revolutionary development in the history of life on Earth, the ability of organisms to move from one place to another on their own.

The researchers on Monday described exquisitely preserved fossils of small tubular structures created when unknown organisms moved through soft mud in search of food in a calm and shallow marine ecosystem. The fossils dated back to a time when Earth was oxygen-rich and boasted conditions conducive to simple cellular life evolving more complexity, they said.

Life emerged in Earth’s seas as single-celled bacterial organisms perhaps 4 billion years ago, but the earliest life forms lacked the ability to move independently, called motility.

The Gabon fossils are roughly 1.5 billion years older than the previous earliest evidence of motility and appearance of animal life.

The Gabonese shale deposits have been a treasure trove, also containing fossils of the oldest-known multicellular organisms.

“What matters here is their astonishing complexity and diversity in shape and size, and likely in terms of metabolic, developmental and behavioral patterns, including the just-discovered earliest evidence of motility, at least for certain among them,” said paleobiogeochemist and sedimentologist Abderrazak El Albani of the University of Poitiers in France.

The identity of these pioneering mobile organisms remains mysterious. The fossils did not include the organisms themselves.

The tubular structures, up to 6.7 inches (170 mm long), originally were made of organic matter, perhaps mucus strands left by organisms moving through mud. The researchers said the structures may have been created by a multicellular organism or an aggregation of single-celled organisms akin to the slug-like organism formed when certain amoebas cluster together in lean times to move collectively to find a more hospitable environment.

“Life during the so-called Paleoproterozoic Era, 2.5 to 1.6 billion years ago, was not only bacterial, but more complex organisms had emerged at some point, likely only during some phases and under certain environmental circumstances,” El Albani said.

In comparison, the first vertebrates appeared about 525 million years ago, dinosaurs about 230 million years ago and Homo sapiens about 300,000 years ago.

The evolutionary experimentation with motility may have encountered a setback relatively soon after the Gabon organisms lived because of a dramatic drop in atmospheric oxygen 2.08 billion years ago.

The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
…

more

Mexican Union Declares Victory in Strike at 48 Border Plants

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

A union declared total victory in a mass strike by about 25,000 workers at 48 assembly plants in a Mexican border city, but the movement spawned a storm of wildcat walkouts Monday at other businesses.

 

The Industrial Workers and Laborers’ Union won 20 percent wage increases at all 48 “maquiladora” factories in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas. It also won a one-time bonus of about 32,000 pesos, about $1,685 at current exchange rates.

 

Now workers at about a dozen non-union businesses as well as factories organized by other unions have started wildcat walkouts to demand the same increases, known colloquially as “20/32.”

 

The Tridonex auto parts company said in posts on its Facebook page Monday that pickets had prevented employees from entering its Matamoros plant and it cancelled some shifts. Video showed workers outside the plant chanting “20/32!”

The local maquiladora association, known as Index, said that all the plants in the association had signed labor contracts as of last week and that none of the businesses affected by the wildcat strikes are members.

 

Javier Guerrero, a Matamoros public relations specialist who has been active in strike support work, said the example set by the first round of strikes has spread to local businesses, many of which are not maquiladoras, which assemble products for export to the United States.

 

Supermarkets, bottlers and a milk company in Matamoros were reportedly hit by walkouts.

 

“In the past week, the strike wave has spread beyond the factories to supermarkets and other employers, with all the workers demanding ’20/32,'” said the AFL-CIO, which has sent a delegation to support the striking workers.

 

The mass strike erupted after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador decreed a doubling of the minimum wage in Mexico’s border zones, apparently unaware that some union contracts at the maquiladora plants are indexed to minimum wage increases.

 

While other Mexican cities don’t have the same contract clauses, for workers often making less than $1 an hour, the appeal of a pay raise and bonus has proved irresistible.

 

“Just as happened in Matamoros, it (the walkouts) spread to other companies and unions. It is very probable that it will spread to other cities, at least within the border area,” Guerrero said.

 

There has been a generalized upsurge in Mexico’s long-dormant labor movement since Lopez Obrador took office Dec. 1, something the president doesn’t appear to have planned on or encouraged. Lopez Obrador has simply promised to keep the government out of unions’ internal affairs and allow for free and fair union elections.

 

For a union movement kept in check for decades by pro-company union bosses allied with the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, the promise of union democracy has been enough to spark a revival.

 

But there has already been a backlash.

 

“In the past week, as many as 2,000 strike leaders have been fired and blacklisted, despite legal prohibitions and non-reprisal agreements signed by the employers,” said the U.S. union delegation, which included representatives from the AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers and United Steelworkers.

 

“The Mexican and U.S. governments must both demand that these U.S. companies honor their agreements and stop firing and blacklisting these courageous workers,” said Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Montserrat Garibay.

 

Meanwhile, Lopez Obrador has been struggling with the most radical and intractable union in Mexico, the CNTE teachers’ union, which has blocked railroad lines in the western state of Michoacan on and off for the last month.

 

The teachers lifted most blockades last week but on Monday they briefly re-established a protest camp on a line operated by Kansas City Southern de Mexico.

 

KCSM reported that by late Monday, the camp had been removed and the line re-opened. But the company said that during 28 days of blockages, 414 trains were prevented from running and 3.5 million tons of freight was stalled.

 

The teachers initially started the blockages to demand back pay, but they kept blocking rail lines even after they were paid.
…

more

George Clooney’s ‘Catch-22’ Reflects on ‘Insanity’ of War

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

George Clooney, who returns to TV for the first time in 20 years with an adaptation of the classic novel “Catch-22,” said on Monday the Hulu series set in World War II aims to tell a timeless story about the “insanity” of war.

At a preview for reporters, Clooney said he initially resisted the idea of taking on Joseph Heller’s 1961 book about member of a U.S. bomber squadron fighting the higher-ups in the military bureaucracy.

“It’s a beloved novel,” Clooney, who also served as executive producer and directed two episodes, said at a Television Critics Association event. “I didn’t want to get into the middle of that.”

He said he was drawn in because the writers “did an amazing job unspooling these characters” for the six-episode series that will be released on Hulu on May 17.

That allows the series to expand on Heller’s story, which Clooney said was meant “to make fun of all the red tape and bureaucracy of war and the ridiculousness of war.”

“I think it still plays,” he added. “All of us spend our days and nights worrying about those situations. This story is just reflecting on the insanity of it.”

“Catch-22” follows a U.S. bombardier named Yossarian who is infuriated that the army keeps raising the number of missions he must fly to be released from duty. Yossarian’s only way to avoid the missions is to declare insanity, but the only way to prove insanity is a willingness to embark on more of the highly dangerous bombing runs, thus creating the novel’s absurd ‘catch-22.’

It was made into a 1970 movie directed by Mike Nichols with Alan Arkin as Yossarian.

“I think we all wake up every morning these days in this kind of shared global anxiety condition, and this novel is a beautiful distillation, or a prophetic distillation of that,” said co-writer Luke Davies.

Christopher Abbott stars as Yossarian and Kyle Chandler plays his commander, Colonel Cathcart. Clooney originally planned to play Cathcart but instead took a supporting role as training commander Scheisskopf.

Clooney, 57, last appeared on television 20 years ago as Dr. Doug Ross in hit medical drama “ER.” He then built a successful film career with movies including “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Gravity” and “Up in the Air.”

The actor said he was happy to come back to television. “I don’t care about the medium,” Clooney said. “I just care about the quality of the work and what we’re able to do.”
…

more

Bezos Probe Concludes Mistress’ Brother was Enquirer Source

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Private investigators working for Jeff Bezos have concluded that the brother of the Amazon CEO’s mistress leaked the couple’s intimate text messages to the National Enquirer, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday.

The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

The findings add to the intrigue surrounding the clash between the pro-Trump tabloid and the world’s richest man. Bezos’ investigators have suggested the Enquirer’s coverage of his affair was driven by dirty politics. Trump has been highly critical of Bezos over his ownership of The Washington Post and Amazon, and the Post’s coverage of the White House.

The brother, Michael Sanchez, is a supporter of President Donald Trump and an acquaintance of Trump allies Roger Stone and Carter Page. He is also the manager of his sister, Lauren Sanchez, a former TV anchor. The investigators have not said how they believe Michael Sanchez came into possession of his sister’s intimate messages.

Michael Sanchez did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Monday. In a Jan. 31 tweet, he said without evidence that Bezos’ longtime security consultant, Gavin de Becker, who is leading the private investigation, “spreads fake, unhinged conservative conspiracy theories.”

An attorney for the tabloid’s parent company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

On Sunday, an attorney for the head of American Media, which owns the Enquirer, said that the information for the story had been provided by a “reliable source” well-known to Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. The source had provided information to the company for at least seven years, Elkan Abramowitz, an attorney for American Media Inc. chief executive David Pecker, said on ABC’s “This Week.”

He was asked if Sanchez was the source and he said: “I’m not permitted to tell you or confirm or deny who the source is.”

But the Daily Beast, citing people inside American Media, Inc., reported that Sanchez was the Enquirer’s source.

Bezos ordered the investigation after the Enquirer published a story about the affair last month. The investigators have since turned over the results of their probe to attorney Richard Ben-Veniste for review and possible referral to law enforcement. Ben-Veniste had served as special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal.

Bezos has said AMI threatened to publish explicit photos of him unless he stopped investigating how the Enquirer obtained his private exchanges, and publicly declared that the Enquirer’s coverage of him was not politically motivated.

Federal prosecutors are also looking into whether the Enquirer violated a cooperation and non-prosecution agreement that recently spared the tabloid and top executives from charges for paying hush money to a Playboy model who claimed she had an affair with Trump, two people familiar with the matter told the AP. The people weren’t authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
…

more

Report: Vale Knew Deadly Dam Had Heightened Risk of Collapse

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

Vale SA, the world’s largest iron ore miner, knew last year that the dam in Brazil that collapsed in January and killed at least 165 people had a heightened risk of rupturing, according to an internal document seen by Reuters on Monday.

The report, dated Oct. 3, 2018, shows that Vale classified Dam 1 at the Córrego do Feijão mine in Brumadinho as being two times more likely to fail than the maximum level of risk tolerated under the company’s own dam safety policy.

Vale did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It has previously cited an independent audit last year declaring the dam safe and said that equipment showed the structure was stable just weeks before the collapse.

First evidence of concern

The previously unreported document is the first evidence that Vale itself was concerned about the safety of the dam. It raises questions as to why the audit around the same time guaranteed the dam’s stability and why the miner did not take precautions, such as moving a company canteen that was just downhill from the structure.

U.S.-listed shares of Vale extended losses following the Reuters story, dropping as much as 2.6 percent to $11.10.

The company has lost a quarter of its market capitalization — or nearly $19 billion — since the Jan. 25 dam collapse, Brazil’s most deadly mining accident.

The disaster in the mineral-rich state of Minas Gerais was the second major collapse of a mining dam in the region in about three years.

‘Attention zone’

Entitled “Geotechnical Risk Management Results,” Vale’s internal October report placed the Brumadinho dam within an “attention zone,” saying that “all prevention and mitigation controls” should be applied.

A failure could cost the company $1.5 billion and had the potential to kill more than a hundred people, the report said.

The dam was marked for decommissioning.

Nine other dams in Brazil, out of 57 that were studied, were also placed in the “attention zone,” according to the report.

A separate Vale report dated Nov. 15, 2017, also seen by Reuters, states that any structure with an annual chance of failure above 1 in 10,000 should be brought to the attention of the chief executive and the board.

The dam’s annual chance of collapse was registered as 1 in 5,000, or twice the tolerable “maximum level of individual risk,” according to the report.

“That’s not good in my book, especially if you consider that these are meant to be long-term structures,” said David Chambers, a geophysicist at the Center for Science in Public Participation and a specialist in tailings dams.

Reuters was unable to confirm whether the board or CEO Fabio Schwartzman were made aware of the risk associated with the dam.

Vale has consistently said the collapsed dam was declared sound by an independent auditor in September.

The audit by Germany-based TÜV SÜD, which was seen by Reuters, said the dam adhered to the minimum legal requirements for stability but it raised a number of concerns, particularly about the dam’s drainage and monitoring systems.

The auditor made 17 recommendations to improve the dam’s safety.

Vale said the recommendations were routine and that the company attended to them all.

Its internal report identified static liquefaction and internal erosion as the most likely causes of a potential failure at the dam in Brumadinho.

‘Liquefaction’ to blame?

It is still not known what was behind the collapse, but a state environmental official told Reuters this month that all evidence pointed to liquefaction.

Liquefaction is a process whereby a solid material such as sand loses strength and stiffness and behaves more like a liquid. It was the cause of the 2015 dam collapse, at a nearby mine co-owned by Vale, which resulted in Brazil’s worst-ever environmental disaster.

“We used to say these kinds of mining incidents were acts of God, but now … we consider them failures in engineering,” said Dermot Ross-Brown, a mining industry engineer who teaches at the Colorado School of Mines.

Vale has said it will invest some $400 million from 2020 to reduce its reliance on tailings dams, which store muddy detritus from mining.
…

more

Huawei’s Presence in Hungary Complicates Partnership with US, Warns Pompeo

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is warning Hungary the presence of Chinese telecommunication manufacturer Huawei in the European country is complicating Budapest’s partnership with Washington. 

The chief American diplomat Monday arrived in Budapest on Monday, the first leg of his European trip. Huawei has established Hungary as a European hub, where it can develop its fifth-generation mobile networks.

“If that equipment is co-located in places where we have important American systems, it makes it more difficult for us to partner alongside them. We want to make sure we identify [to] them the opportunities and the risks associated with using that equipment,” said Pompeo.

While noting sovereign nations such as Hungary will “make their own decisions,” Pompeo said it’s imperative the United States shares potential risks from Huawei with its NATO allies.

American officials are increasingly troubled by Huawei’s expansion in Europe, especially in NATO member states where Washington believes the Chinese telecom manufacturer poses significant information security threats.

At a joint press conference with Hungarian Foreign minister Peter Szijjarto, Pompeo said he has raised with Szijjarto “the dangers of allowing China to gain a bridgehead in Hungary.”

But the U.S. pressure campaign against Huawei faces challenges. Hungary has said it has no plans to reconsider the decision to award the 5G networks contract to Huawei. 

Many in China believe that the U.S. government concerns over Huawei’s security are at least in part aimed at helping American companies better compete against foreign rivals. But U.S. officials reject that notion.

“That sounds like a lot of mirror imaging to me,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Christopher Ford in an interview with VOA, noting “the Chinese government has actually been extraordinarily grand in its ambitions to do just that sort of thing with Chinese companies.”

Ford pointed to numerous public reports in recent years that have blamed Chinese government-backed hackers with cyber campaigns stealing corporate secrets and financial data. 

“Cyber-facilitated theft of intellectual property, for example, has become notorious around the world. But the Chinese government has been doing that very systematically in order to advantage its own national champion industries in particular sectors,” Ford added.

Social media threats?

Weary of data collection and Chinese technology transfer for military purposes, the U.S. government is considering tighter restrictions on the use of social media apps that have geolocation features within diplomatic and military facilities.

While the State Department does not expressly prohibit the use of commercial geolocation applications on smartphones and other personal electronic devices by employees serving internationally, measures are taken to address the potential security risks.

The State Department has issued guidance requiring each post to develop a policy regarding the restrictions placed on using personal electronic devices.

“We obviously need to continue to be mindful of that, and to update and improve our understanding of best practices,” said Assistant Secretary of State Ford.

Last year, the Pentagon started prohibiting personnel from using geolocation features on electronic devices while in locations designated as operational areas.

Those restrictions could impact popular social media applications like TikTok, a Chinese-made app for sharing short videos that is popular among young adults.

All social media companies gather data on their users, but experts warn that Chinese companies in particular pose unique challenges because the Beijing government has absolute authority to request private user data. 

“The user in Western countries might not be aware that in China, the government has a far broader reach compared to over here, so they can request data out from a private company on national security grounds,” Claudia Biancotti, visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), told VOA in a recent interview.

Biancotti added in China, “they don’t really have independent courts to oversee the process.”

“If this information is sent to China, it can be easily accessed by the government and leveraged, say, to make Beijing’s surveillance software better at recognizing Western faces, or at extracting intelligence on Western military activities,” warned Biancotti in a recent report.

TikTok, launched as Douyin in China in 2016, is owned by Chinese internet technology company ByteDance who later acquired Musical.ly, a popular lip-sync app among American teenagers. ByteDance merged Musical.ly with TikTok in 2018 as a means of entering the U.S. market. 

Last October, TikTok surpassed Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat in monthly installations. 

TikTok recently updated its privacy policy for U.S. residents, removing all references about storing data in China. 

Last August, TikTok stated in the privacy policy: “We will also share your information with any member or affiliate of our group, in China,” but the latest update in January of 2019 deleted the word “China.”

The company wrote an email to VOA’s Mandarin service that they regularly update their privacy policies while noting that TikTok does not operate in China.

TikTok’s current privacy policy stated it automatically collects technically and behavioral information from users, including IP address, location-related data or other unique device identifiers. 

“We may also collect Global Positioning System (GPS) data and mobile device location information.” But users can switch off location information functionality on their mobile device if they do not wish to share such data.

“We will share your information with law enforcement agencies, public authorities or other organizations if legally required to do so,” TikTok stated. 

VOA’s Mandarin Service, Jeff Seldin and Mo Yu contributed to this report.
…

more

Oscar Nominees in Foreign Picture Category Tackle Political Oppression, War, Social Injustice

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Totalitarian regimes and their mark on the human psyche, nostalgic depictions of life in Mexico City riddled with socio-economic and racial divisions, and the toll of poverty and war on children and families are themes of this year’s Oscar nominees in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.

‘Never Look Away’

The epic drama Never Look Away focuses on the personal journey of Kurt, a young artist from East Germany who tries to find meaning through art after experiencing the murder of family members and the destruction of his country during the Nazi regime and political oppression under Communism.

Academy award-winning filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck says dictatorships first try to control art.

“Because it can truly change minds, it can change hearts. But the problem is, as soon as the dictatorship gets its hands on the art, it’s no longer art.”

The filmmaker says he also wanted to show how the Communist regime in East Germany harbored Nazis.

“Unfortunately, the very characteristics that allow you to rise to the top in a dictatorship like the Nazis will allow you to, in a way, hide your crimes in the next system and rise to the top again,” Donnersmarck said. “The sad truth is that a lot of the people who commit the terrible crimes throughout history will go unpunished.”

That’s why, he says, many survivors of war and political oppression find redemption through artistic expression. In his film, Donnersmarck says, Kurt is the hero who never looks away, who stares crimes in the face and struggles to find a way to express them on canvas.

The filmmaker, who tapped into his personal experiences and his family history for the story, shows how the main character’s self-exile to the capitalist West also shaped him.

“The sudden freedom is something very scary. It’s very messy. You feel like at least there was a certain solidarity or someone who was supposed to look after you. But I’ll take the chaos and the despair of freedom any day over just the death that is slavery,” Donnersmarck said.

‘Cold War’

Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War echoes Donnersmarck’s message about how totalitarianism imprisons the human psyche. It takes place in Communist Poland, and like Kurt in Never Look Away, the main characters in the Cold War — musicians Zula and Wiktor — are stifled by the communist regime. They, too, flee to Western Europe in the 1960s. Cold War also shows the alienation and identity crisis Eastern European exiles often felt in the West.

‘Roma’

Critics consider Roma the front-runner of the group, with 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Roma also won the Bafta award for Best Picture. Bafta, the British film awards and the equivalent of the American Oscars, often forecasts the Oscar winners.

Director Alfonso Cuaron’s film is a nostalgic depiction of 1970s life in Mexico City, inspired by personal memories of middle-class life and racial and class divisions. In order to make the story as authentic as possible, Cuaron used people who had never acted before, including Yalitza Aparicio, who plays the lead character, Cleo, a tireless and caring domestic worker.

Aparicio, an indigenous woman, has received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. In an interview with VOA, she credited Cuaron for throwing a light on the indigenous domestic workers in Mexico.

“Domestic workers play a very important role at households and are not being recognized,” she said. “He showed the world that they are human beings, that they have rights. They need to be respected.”

‘Capernaum’, ‘Shoplifters’

The other Oscar contenders in this category are Capernaum and Shoplifters. Set in Lebanon, the main character in Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum is a child suing his parents for bringing him into a chaotic war-torn world.

In Shoplifters, director Hirokazu Kore-eda shows the heartbreak of a Japanese family in extreme poverty.

Regardless of which film wins the coveted award, all of them depict love, freedom and personal honesty as the antidote to political brutality and injustice.

Donnersmarck told VOA that film, like other forms of art, can help wide audiences learn history in a visceral way.

“You are telling the story through the plot,” he said. “You are telling the story through the dialogue. You are telling it through the costumes, the production design. It’s such a multilayered simultaneous experience. I love movies.”
…

more

US Sees Growing Threats to ‘Freedom of Action’ in Space

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

Russia and China are racing to advance their space-based military capabilities and could soon prevent the United States and its allies from using outer space freely.

The warning, in a new report Monday from the Defense Intelligence Agency, builds on a series of warnings issued by the defense and intelligence communities over the past several years.

But unlike many previous assessments, which focused on Russian and Chinese efforts to match or counter U.S. capabilities, the new DIA report suggests both countries are pursuing a far more aggressive agenda.

“They are developing systems that pose a threat to freedom of action in space,” the report warned, citing current Russian and Chinese military doctrine that sees the ability to control outer space as “integral to winning modern wars.”

U.S. defense intelligence officials believe Russia and China have spent the past four years increasingly aligning their militaries around the importance of space operations.

Already, those efforts have resulted in what officials describe as “robust and capable” space services for both countries, with improvements constantly in the works.

Additionally, Russia and China now have “enhanced situational awareness, enabling them to monitor, track and target U.S. and allied forces,” the report said.

Both countries have also made gains in tracking U.S. space assets.

“Chinese and Russian space surveillance networks are capable of searching, tracking, and characterizing satellites in all Earth orbits,” the report added.

Such capabilities are critical in order for Russia and China to successfully use a variety of systems that could eliminate or incapacitate U.S. satellites, from directed energy weapons to anti-satellite missiles.

While the DIA report warns Russia and China pose the greatest threats to the U.S. in space, other countries are also taking aim at U.S. dominance in space, including Iran and North Korea.

Both Tehran and Pyongyang have shown the ability to jam space-based communications and “maintain independent space launch capabilities.”

In January, the U.S. issued a new National Intelligence Strategy, which warned of growing competition in space.

The strategy, by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said both Russia and China are pursuing “a full range of anti-satellite weapons, which could degrade U.S. intelligence gathering abilities.”

The U.S. Worldwide Threat Assessment issued late last month also said China already has an anti-satellite missile capable of hitting satellites in low-Earth orbits, while Russia has been field testing ground-based laser weapons.
…

more

From L.A. to London, Veganism On the Menu

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

From Los Angeles to London to Cape Town, veganism and vegan products are gaining popularity. The Economist and Forbes have dubbed 2019 as the Year of the Vegan. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports on a diet that is entirely plant based.
…

more

Trump Administration Unveils Order to Prioritize, Promote AI

By Uponsil | | No Comments | Silicon Valley

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order asking federal government agencies to dedicate more resources and investment into research, promotion and training on artificial intelligence, known as AI.

Under the American AI Initiative, the administration is directing agencies to prioritize AI investments in research and development, increase access to federal data and models for that research and prepare workers to adapt to the era of AI.

There was no specific funding announced for the initiative, but the White House wants better reporting and tracking of spending on AI-related research and development.

The White House said investment in AI is “critical to creating the industries of the future, like autonomous cars, industrial robots, algorithms for disease diagnosis, and more.”

The initiative aims to make sure the United States maintains its advantage in AI development and related areas, such as advanced manufacturing and quantum computing.

Trump, in his State of the Union speech last week, said he was willing to work with lawmakers to deliver new and important infrastructure investment, including investments in the cutting-edge industries of the future, calling it a “necessity.”

Michael Kratsios, a White House science adviser, said in an essay in Wired magazine on Monday that “with proper leadership, AI can empower American workers by liberating them from mundane tasks.”

“AI is something that touches every aspect of people’s lives,” a senior administration official told reporters on Sunday. “What this initiative attempts to do is to bring all those together under one umbrella and show the promise of this technology for the American people,” the official said.

AI and deep machine learning raise ethical concerns about control, privacy, cybersecurity, and is set to trigger job displacements across industries, companies and experts say.

A 2018 study from PwC said 30 percent of jobs are at potential risk of automation by the mid-2030s, including 44 percent of workers with low education. At the same time, the study found automation could boost global gross domestic product by $15 trillion by 2030.

The White House held a meeting on AI in May with more than 30 major companies from a variety of industries, including Ford, Boeing, Amazon.com and Microsoft, vowing not to stand in the way of its development.
…

more

US Youth Smoking Decline Stalls, And Vaping May Be to Blame

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

Cigarette smoking rates have stopped falling among U.S. kids, and health officials believe youth vaping is responsible.

For decades, the percentage of high school and middle school students who smoked cigarettes had been declining. For the past three years, it has flattened, according to new numbers released Monday.

There may be several reasons, but a recent boom in vaping is the most likely explanation, said Brian King of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We were making progress, and now you have the introduction of a product that is heavily popular among youth that has completely erased that progress,” King said.

The CDC findings come from a national survey conducted last spring of more than 20,000 middle and high school students. It asked if they had used any tobacco products in the previous month. Some of the findings had been released before, including the boom in vaping.

Experts attribute the vaping increase to the exploding popularity of newer versions of e-cigarettes, like those by Juul Labs Inc. of San Francisco. The products resemble computer flash drives, can be recharged in USB ports and can be used discreetly — including in school bathrooms and even in classrooms.

According to the new CDC data, about 8 percent of high schoolers said they had recently smoked cigarettes in 2018, and about 2 percent of middle schoolers did. Those findings were about the same seen in similar surveys in 2016 and 2017.

It also found that about 2 in 5 high school students who used a vaping or tobacco product used more than one kind, and that the most common combination was e-cigarettes and cigarettes. Also, about 28 percent of high school e-cigarette users said they vaped 20 or more days in the previous month — nearly a 40 percent jump from the previous year.

Smoking, the nation’s leading cause of preventable illness, is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths each year. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration bans the sale of e-cigarettes and tobacco products to those under 18.

Gateway to regular cigarettes?

E-cigarettes are generally considered better than cigarettes for adults who are already addicted to nicotine. But health officials have worried for years that electronic cigarettes could lead kids to switch to smoking traditional cigarettes.

“I think the writing is on the wall,” with research increasingly suggesting e-cigarettes are becoming a gateway to regular cigarettes, said Megan Roberts, an Ohio State University researcher.

There is, however, some split of opinion among health researchers. Some had linked e-cigarettes to an unusually large drop in teen smoking a few years ago, and they say it’s not clear to what extent the decline in smoking has stalled or to what degree vaping is to blame.

Cigarette smoking is still declining in some states. And another large survey found that smoking has continued to drop among 12th graders, though not in younger school kids.

“It’s not clear yet what’s going on and it’s best to not jump to any conclusions,” said David Levy, a Georgetown University researcher.

In a statement, a Juul spokeswoman said the company has taken steps to prevent children from using its products and supports prohibiting sales of e-cigarettes to anyone under 21.
…

more

Hulu Making Howard the Duck, 4 More Marvel Animated Shows

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Hulu is teaming with Marvel to make four separate animated series based on comic book characters like Howard the Duck.

Director Kevin Smith and comics Chelsea Handler and Patton Oswalt are among the people who have signed deals with the streaming service to help produce the cartoons. Smith will work on the Howard the Duck series.

Other shows revolve around M.O.D.O.K., a villain with an enormous head; Hit-Monkey, about a Japanese snow monkey turned assassin; and Tigra and Dazzler, two superheroes who work in Los Angeles.

Hulu senior vice president Craig Erwich said Monday animation is a particular favorite for its users. Since the deal was just signed, there’s no estimate on when the series will be ready.
…

more