https://www.npr.org/2018/10/08/655151751/vaticans-meeting-of-bishops-is-overshadowed-by-abuse-allegations

Pope Francis leaves the Paul VI hall at the end of his meeting with youths attending the synod at the Vatican on Saturday. The three-week meeting will likely be dominated by what many analysts call Catholicism's worst crisis since reformation.

Gregorio Borgia/AP

As clerical sex abuse scandals buffet the Catholic Church, a three-week assembly of bishops is under way in Rome on how to make the Church relevant for young people. But the assembly, known as a synod, will likely be dominated by what many analysts call Catholicism's worst crisis since the reformation.

Roughly 250 priests, bishops, cardinals and some younger laypersons are participating in the synod.

In the opening mass, pope Francis urged them "to dream and to hope."

And he prayed for God's help to ensure the Church does not let itself "be extinguished or crushed by the prophets of doom and misfortune, by our own shortcomings, mistakes and sins."

Spiraling sex abuse scandals have hurt the pope. A new Pew Research Center poll found Francis' favorability rating in the United States is 51 percent — down 19 points since January 2017.

As the synod opened, one block from St. Peter's Square, some 20 abuse survivors — members of the international group Ending Clergy Abuse — voiced their anger at the church.

"We victims must unite," a protestor shouted, "that's the only way we can bring this evil to an end."

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/08/654893289/why-the-tech-industry-wants-federal-control-over-data-privacy-laws

New laws in Europe and California are forcing tech companies to protect users' privacy or risk big fines.

Now, the industry is fearing that more states will enact tough restrictions. So it's moving to craft federal legislation that would pre-empt state laws and might put the Federal Trade Commission in charge of enforcement.

Europe enacted a tough law in May which requires, among other things, that companies make data breaches public within 72 hours of discovering them.

That's why Facebook had to promptly announce last month that its systems had been hacked and at least 50 million user accounts were compromised.

From yesterday, but a big SV and China tie..

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/07/654339389/china-makes-a-big-play-in-silicon-valley

A year ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping stood before the 19th Communist Party Congress and laid out his ambitious plan for China to become a world leader by 2025 in advanced technologies such as robotics, biotechnology and artificial intelligence.

It was seen as a direct challenge to U.S. leadership in advanced technology. James Lewis, a specialist in China and technology at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says China recognizes that technological superiority helps give the United States an edge in national security and wants in on it.

"The Chinese figured out that technology is the key to wealth and power, and the source of technology is still the West for China," says Lewis. The question is: "How do they get their hands on that Western technology?"

The Chinese government has been forming global partnerships with Western think tanks, recruiting key talent at networking events sponsored by the Chinese government and working with U.S. universities, says Michael Brown, managing director of the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit in Mountain View, Calif. The unit was set up in 2015 to help the U.S. military capitalize on emerging commercial technologies.

"I'd say they're very systematic, very long term in their approach and very well-funded," Brown says.

And, he notes, there is serious concern in Washington that China could acquire too much sensitive U.S. technology and transfer it back home.

"They don't play by the same rules that we do. So cybertheft is on the table; industrial espionage is on the table," Brown says.

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