Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 12:12 a.m. No.5636922   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6938 >>7356 >>7463 >>7475 >>7624 >>7647

Zuckerberg Wants Facebook to Build a Mind-Reading Machine

 

For those of us who worry that Facebook may have serious boundary issues when it comes to the personal information of its users, Mark Zuckerberg’s recent comments at Harvard should get the heart racing. Zuckerberg dropped by the university last month ostensibly as part of a year of conversations with experts about the role of technology in society, “the opportunities, the challenges, the hopes, and the anxieties.” His nearly two-hour interview with Harvard law school professor Jonathan Zittrain in front of Facebook cameras and a classroom of students centered on the company’s unprecedented position as a town square for perhaps 2 billion people. To hear the young CEO tell it, Facebook was taking shots from all sides—either it was indifferent to the ethnic hatred festering on its platforms or it was a heavy-handed censor deciding whether an idea was allowed to be expressed. Zuckerberg confessed that he hadn’t sought out such an awesome responsibility. No one should, he said. “If I was a different person, what would I want the CEO of the company to be able to do?” he asked himself. “I would not want so many decisions about content to be concentrated with any individual.”

 

Instead, Facebook will establish its own Supreme Court, he told Zittrain, an outside panel entrusted to settle thorny questions about what appears on the platform. “I will not be able to make a decision that overturns what they say,” he promised, “which I think is good.” All was going to plan. Zuckerberg had displayed a welcome humility about himself and his company. And then he described what really excited him about the future—and the familiar Silicon Valley hubris had returned. There was this promising new technology, he explained, a brain-computer interface, which Facebook has been researching. The idea is to allow people to use their thoughts to navigate intuitively through augmented reality—the neuro-driven version of the world recently described by Kevin Kelly in these pages. No typing—no speaking, even—to distract you or slow you down as you interact with digital additions to the landscape: driving instructions superimposed over the freeway, short biographies floating next to attendees of a conference, 3D models of furniture you can move around your apartment.

 

The Harvard audience was a little taken aback by the conversation’s turn, and Zittrain made a law-professor joke about the constitutional right to remain silent in light of a technology that allows eavesdropping on thoughts. “Fifth amendment implications are staggering,” he said to laughter. Even this gentle pushback was met with the tried-and-true defense of big tech companies when criticized for trampling users’ privacy—users’ consent. “Presumably,” Zuckerberg said, “this would be something that someone would choose to use as a product.”

 

https://www.wired.com/story/zuckerberg-wants-facebook-to-build-mind-reading-machine/

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 12:21 a.m. No.5636969   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6996 >>7007 >>7155 >>7356 >>7463 >>7624

Are AirPods dangerous? 250 scientists sign petition warning against cancer from wireless tech including the trendy in-ear headphones

 

In 2018, Apple sold 29 million pairs of AirPods

The tiny wireless Bluetooth headphones fit into the ear canal

250 scientists from over 40 countries have signed a petition to the WHO and UN to warn against radiowave radiation from WiFi, Bluetooth and cell data

The close proximity of AirPods to the brain and inner ear may raise cancer risks

 

Apple's popular wireless AirPods headphones may pose cancer risks to wearers, according to a United Nations and World Health Organization petition. Some 250 have signed the petition, which warns against numerous devices that emit radiofrequency radiation, which is used in WiFi, cellular data and Bluetooth. AirPodsin particular are concerning because they sit deeply enough within the ear canal to emit expose these fragile parts of the ear to dangerous among of radiation, some experts warn. The scientific jury is still out on the whether or not the particular devices an cause cancer, but animal studies on the kind of radiofrequency radiation that they emit has suggested a link to cancer. And, in some cases, the levels of radiation found to be carcinogenic were significantly lower than the maximum allowed by federal and international guidelines. Last year, Apple sold 28 million pairs of its tiny, white wireless earbuds. The year before, they sold 16 million pairs. With a new design reportedly on the way, the technology company is set to profit even more on sound. But the devices could be pumping more than beats into wearers' heads. The AirPods wirelessly connect with a phone via Bluetooth, the popular short distance radio communication technology. Essentially, anything that communicates wirelessly using electromagnetic energy waves of varying types. Bluetooth operates on one form involving low-power radiowaves.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6796679/Are-AirPods-dangerous-250-scientists-warn-be.html

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 12:24 a.m. No.5636982   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>5636938

I know, seems more like an egar attempt at being the center of attention, or competition. Free is never free, a price is paid one way or another.

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 12:34 a.m. No.5637035   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7052

>>5636996

I think if people viewed these things as more of a tool that you take out when only when needed, it would go a long way to end the nonsense that surrounds them. These companies have brainwashed people into believing this shiny object must always be in there hands.

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 12:58 a.m. No.5637173   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7356 >>7463 >>7624

Foxconn rejects Microsoft patent lawsuit, says never had to pay royalties

 

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan’s Foxconn (2317.TW) on Tuesday responded to a patent infringement lawsuit filed against it by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), saying as a contract manufacturer, it has never needed to pay royalties for the U.S. giant’s software. Microsoft filed the complaint against Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile Ltd (2038.HK) in the Northern District of California on Friday. It is claiming unpaid royalties for patents used in devices for clients including a top Chinese smartphone vendor. Foxconn founder and Chief Executive Terry Gou told an impromptu news conference in Taipei that “patent infringement” is not an issue for his group, which “will suffer almost no any loss” as a result of the lawsuit. Foxconn “has never paid any patent fees to Microsoft,” Gou said. Neither Microsoft nor FIH could be immediately reached for comment.

 

Foxconn, formally Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, rose to global prominence as assembler of Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iPhone. It received notice of the lawsuit on Tuesday, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who was not authorized to speak with media and so declined to be identified. Guo was “furious” and will fight back, the person said. In a Facebook post earlier on Tuesday, Guo questioned why a software firm would not earn patent royalties from vendors that made use of software. “They should not pick on manufacturers,” Guo said at the news conference. Shares of both Hon Hai and FIH were up around 1 percent in afternoon trade, roughly in line with the benchmark share price index .TWII.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-foxconn-microsoft/foxconn-rejects-microsoft-patent-lawsuit-says-never-had-to-pay-royalties-idUSKBN1QT0D9?il=0

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 1:06 a.m. No.5637211   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7356 >>7463 >>7624

Two U.S. citizens deported from Russia, two others in custody

 

MOSCOW (Reuters) - (This March 7 story has been refiled to change spelling of family name of one of the deportees in paragraph two.)

 

Russia said on Thursday two U.S. citizens volunteering for the Mormon church had been deported for violations of immigration laws and that two others, described by a church official as “in good spirits,” were in custody. Russia’s Interfax news agency named the two deportees as Kole Brodowski and David Udo Gaag and said they had been ordered to leave Russia by a court in the southern port of Novorossiysk on Thursday. It described them as volunteers with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons. “I can confirm reports of the detention of U.S. citizens for breach of migration laws,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. “Four were detained, two were deported by the decision of the court.”

 

A church spokesman confirmed that two of its volunteers were still in custody. “They remain in custody while their deportation is being processed,” spokesman Eric Hawkins said in an email. “The young men are in good spirits, are being treated well, and are in regular contact with their mission president and their families.”

 

There have been several high profile arrests of U.S. citizens in Russia in recent months. Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine accused of spying, saw his detention extended last month for a further three months as authorities continue to investigate the case. A prominent U.S. investor, Michael Calvey, was detained last month on allegations of stealing 2.5 billion roubles ($37.79 million). He denies the allegation.

 

More than 100 criminal cases have also been opened in Russia against Jehovah’s Witnesses, another Christian denomination, with a Danish adherent of the faith recently jailed for six years. KSL TV in the American state of Utah, where the Mormon church is based, quoted the father of one of the two detained men as saying they had been held on Friday on suspicion of teaching without a licence. Interfax quoted a lawyer for one of the men as saying it had not been established by the court that they had been paid for their work or used any educational textbooks. The lawyer, Sergey Gliznutsa, was quoted as saying that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was registered by the Russian Justice Ministry under a charter that envisaged various cultural and educational events, including debates with foreigners in a foreign language.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-politics-religion/two-u-s-citizens-deported-from-russia-two-others-in-custody-idUSKCN1QO2FH?il=0

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 1:09 a.m. No.5637226   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Hardline Iranian cleric Raisi gets second powerful job in a week: IRNA

 

GENEVA (Reuters) - Hardline Iranian cleric Ebrahim Raisi was elected on Tuesday as deputy chief of the Assembly of Experts, an influential clerical body which chooses the Supreme Leader, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. He got the job less than a week after he was appointed head of the judiciary - making the protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a key player in Iran’s politics.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-politics-raisi/hardline-iranian-cleric-raisi-gets-second-powerful-job-in-a-week-irna-idUSKBN1QT0RZ?il=0

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 1:12 a.m. No.5637236   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7356 >>7463 >>7624

U.S. to withdraw all remaining diplomatic personnel from Venezuela

 

(Reuters) - The United States will withdraw all remaining diplomatic personnel from Venezuela this week, the U.S. State Department said late on Monday, citing the deteriorating situation in the country after months of political unrest.

 

It followed Washington’s Jan. 24 decision to withdraw all dependents and reduce embassy staff to a minimum in the South American country hit by unrest over a contested presidential election. “This decision reflects the deteriorating situation in Venezuela as well as the conclusion that the presence of U.S. diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on U.S. policy,” the State Department said in a statement. It did not give more details or set a day for when personnel would be withdrawn from the embassy in Caracas.

 

Venezuela’s congress on Monday declared a “state of alarm” over a five-day power blackout that has crippled the OPEC nation’s oil exports and left millions of citizens scrambling to find food and water. Venezuela also suspended school and business activities on Tuesday due to the power blackout, Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said in a televised broadcast on Monday, the third such cancellation since power went out last week. The outage has added to discontent in a country already suffering from hyperinflation and a political crisis after opposition leader Juan Guaido assumed the interim presidency in January after declaring President Nicolas Maduro’s 2018 re-election a fraud.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-usa-embassy/u-s-to-withdraw-all-remaining-diplomatic-personnel-from-venezuela-idUSKBN1QT0CL?il=0

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 1:29 a.m. No.5637302   🗄️.is 🔗kun

New York attorney general is investigating Trump projects: NY Times

 

(Reuters) - The New York attorney general’s office is looking into ties between Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank and several Trump Organization projects, the New York Times reported late Monday. The attorney general’s office issued subpoenas late Monday to the banks, which opens an additional line of inquiry into Deutsche Bank’s dealings with Trump, the newspaper reported, citing one unnamed source. The Democratic-controlled Intelligence Committee and Financial Services Committee in Congress have been exploring the finances of the Republican president and his businesses including his ties to Deutsche, one of the world’s largest financial institutions.

 

Deutsche Bank has lent Trump Organization hundreds of millions of dollars for real estate ventures and is one of the few major lenders that has given large amounts of credit to Trump after a string of bankruptcies at his hotel and casino businesses during the 1990s. The newspaper said the new civil investigation into Deutsche was prompted by congressional testimony last month of Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen. Cohen testified that Trump inflated the stated worth of his assets in financial statements. The former attorney submitted copies of statements he said had been provided to Deutsche. Investors Bank was subpoenaed for records relating to Trump Park Avenue, a project it had backed, the Times reported. Neither the New York attorney general’s office nor Trump representatives were available for comment early Tuesday. Neither Deutsche Bank nor Investors Bank representatives could be immediately reached.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-deutsche-bank/new-york-attorney-general-is-investigating-trump-projects-ny-times-idUSKBN1QT0NU?il=0

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 1:36 a.m. No.5637334   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7356 >>7360 >>7463 >>7624 >>7631

Election commission fines Jeb Bush Super PAC, Chinese company

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal election oversight agency has levied a record fine against the Super PAC that backed former presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, who ran as a Republican in 2016, and a Chinese-owned corporation, according to a watchdog group that filed the initial complaint. The Campaign Legal Center had asked the Federal Election Commission to impose sanctions in 2016, after The Intercept reported that American Pacific International Capital, Inc (APIC) had made $1.3 million in contribution to the Right to Rise PAC. APIC released a statement saying it is a U.S company and voluntarily agreed to the settlement with the FEC. “The Commission expressly acknowledged that the company did not knowingly or willfully violate any U.S. campaign finance laws,” APIC said in a statement provided to Reuters. “American Pacific International Capital remains committed to compliance with all campaign finance laws and regulations.”

 

An attorney representing the PAC said the political group also agreed to comply with the election commission. “Right to Rise conciliated this matter to avoid costly litigation and appreciates the commission’s recognition of its extensive compliance efforts,” Charlie Spies, counsel to Right to Rise, said in a statement. The Campaign Legal Center called it a victory for transparency. “Today’s action is a rare and remarkable step by the FEC, and a reminder that safeguarding our elections against foreign interference is in America’s vital national security interests,” said Campaign Legal Center President Trevor Potter.

 

The FEC alleges that two Chinese citizens, Gordon Tang and Huaidan Chen, who are prohibited from making campaign donations, funneled their contributions through APIC to avoid detection. APIC was fined $550,000 for making the contributions and Right to Rise was fined $390,000 for soliciting a foreign national contribution. Federal law prohibits foreign nationals or foreign companies from contributing to U.S. political campaigns or candidates. The documents released by the Campaign Legal Center do not implicate Bush, who spent months before formally launching his campaign fundraising for the Right to Rise PAC. Right to Rise spent millions trying to help elect Bush president. He ultimately lost the Republican nominating contest to Donald Trump.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-china/election-commission-fines-jeb-bush-super-pac-chinese-company-idUSKBN1QS2LM?il=0

Anonymous ID: 3741b9 March 12, 2019, 1:59 a.m. No.5637414   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Two ISIS Brides Seek to Return to Belgium, Claiming Renunciation of Terror Group

 

Two women who left Belgium to join the ISIS terrorist group in Syria are now claiming that they’ve renounced the group. Tatiana Wielandt and Bouchra Abouallal, both 26, are among the dozens of so-called ISIS brides who are seeking to return to the countries they left to join the so-called caliphate. The women were part of the radical Islamist terror group, which has claimed responsibility for beheadings, rapes, and murder across the world, before landing in refugee camps following the successful campaign against ISIS spearheaded by the United States. Now, many are saying they no longer believe in the caliphate and want to return to the countries they left to join the terror group.

 

Austria, the United States, and the United Kingdom are among the countries grappling with how to deal with these women. Wielandt and Abouallal, who are sisters-in-law, won a court order in 2018 from a judge in Belgium, who ordered officials to allow the women to return to the country, along with the children they had with jihadists. But the state declined to do so while fighting the case and won an appeal in February. In the first interview since they lost their case for return, the allegedly former terror supporters claimed that they turned against ISIS when they saw militants brutally murder people. Unlike other women embroiled in potential repatriation cases, the pair left ISIS in late 2017 after the jihadists lost their base in Raqqa, Syria. They said they were imprisoned for two months before being sent to a refugee camp.

 

Wielandt originally converted to Islam to marry Abouallal’s brother when they were still teenagers. The pair left with their husbands for Syria, each with a baby, soon after. Both their husbands died within a year while fighting for the terror group, and in 2014 both women, each pregnant with a second child, returned to Belgium. But the women fled the country again just a few months later to return to Syria. Abouallal, in a new interview—the first since Belgium won the right to refuse them re-entry for a second time—tried to blame the country’s police for questioning them when they returned and Europeans for blaming them for ISIS attacks in Europe. “I was thinking I’m going to live my whole life like this,” she said. “And we still had a little bit this ideology.”

 

The women went back to ISIS and married two more ISIS terrorists. Wielandt married a Dutch fighter who was later killed in battle while Abouallal married a fighter from Trinidad who surrendered with the women in 2017. The women acknowledge they made mistakes but think they and their families should be allowed to re-enter Belgium. “I don’t even fight this. I made a mistake and I need to get punished for it,” Abouallal said. “If I ever go back to Belgium, I hope they give me an injection or whatever to forget this whole part of our lives.” “I understand people are afraid … They are judging us but they don’t know us,” she added. Wielandt said that she’d be open to sending her children to Belgium without her if that was an option. “These children can’t live. They have no education. They have nothing,” she said. The grandmother of Abouallal’s six children has tried bringing them into Belgium for over a year. Belgium said it will stick by a 2017 decision to allow back all children under 10 years old from Iraq and Syria, but it is no longer under pressure from its judiciary to act in the case of these six specific children.

 

https://www.theepochtimes.com/two-isis-brides-seek-to-return-to-belgium-claiming-renunciation-of-terror-group_2834121.html