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GOP Platform Doesn’t Mention the Word “Climate” Once — Even After Hottest Year on Record
Tue, 09 Jul 2024 21:20:15 +0000
The Trump-led 2024 Republican platform instead calls for an American Iron Dome and the largest deportation operation ever.
The post GOP Platform Doesn’t Mention the Word “Climate” Once — Even After Hottest Year on Record appeared first on The Intercept.
Electric vehicles are ‘batteries on wheels’ that can put energy back into the National Grid when solar panels and windfarms do not provide much power
Electric cars make some people afraid of the dark. While the batteries produce much less carbon, they require much more electricity to run. This has prompted ominous warnings that Great Britain and other wealthy countries set on banning new petrol and diesel cars risk plunging their populations into darkness.
In recent months British net zero-sceptical newspapers have warned that the shift to EVs would “risk overwhelming the grid, and threaten catastrophic blackouts” when intermittent sun and wind fail to provide the necessary power. Another article claimed: “It won’t take an enemy power to put us all in the dark – just energy customers doing normal things on a normal winter’s evening.”
Continue reading...Campaigners welcome ‘seismic shift’ and urge museum bosses to review links with other fossil fuel sponsors
The Science Museum has been forced to cut ties with oil giant Equinor over its sponsor’s environmental record, the Observer can reveal.
Equinor has sponsored the museum’s interactive “WonderLab” since 2016, but the relationship is now coming to close, a move that will be seen as a major victory for climate change campaigners.
Continue reading...“There’s a very good chance that they will fire me,” said Katherine Franke, a tenured professor who has defended students protesting for Gaza.
The post Columbia Law Professor Smeared by Israel Supporters Could Lose Her Job appeared first on The Intercept.
The hacker collective SiegedSec says it infiltrated the conservative think tank to oppose its campaign against trans rights.
The post “Gay Furry Hackers” Claim Credit for Hacking Heritage Foundation Files Over Project 2025 appeared first on The Intercept.
SEMrush and Ahrefs are among
the most popular tools in the SEO industry. Both companies have been in
business for years and have thousands of customers per month.
If you're a professional SEO or trying to do digital
marketing on your own, at some point you'll likely consider using a tool to
help with your efforts. Ahrefs and SEMrush are two names that will likely
appear on your shortlist.
In this guide, I'm going to help you learn more about these SEO tools and how to choose the one that's best for your purposes.
What is SEMrush?
SEMrush is a popular SEO tool with a wide range of
features—it's the leading competitor research service for online marketers.
SEMrush's SEO Keyword Magic tool offers over 20 billion Google-approved
keywords, which are constantly updated and it's the largest keyword database.
The program was developed in 2007 as SeoQuake is a
small Firefox extension
Features
Ahrefs is a leading SEO platform that offers a set of
tools to grow your search traffic, research your competitors, and monitor your
niche. The company was founded in 2010, and it has become a popular choice
among SEO tools. Ahrefs has a keyword index of over 10.3 billion keywords and
offers accurate and extensive backlink data updated every 15-30 minutes and it
is the world's most extensive backlink index database.
Features
Direct Comparisons: Ahrefs vs SEMrush
Now that you know a little more about each tool, let's
take a look at how they compare. I'll analyze each tool to see how they differ
in interfaces, keyword research resources, rank tracking, and competitor
analysis.
User Interface
Ahrefs and SEMrush both offer comprehensive information
and quick metrics regarding your website's SEO performance. However, Ahrefs
takes a bit more of a hands-on approach to getting your account fully set up,
whereas SEMrush's simpler dashboard can give you access to the data you need
quickly.
In this section, we provide a brief overview of the elements
found on each dashboard and highlight the ease with which you can complete
tasks.
AHREFS
The Ahrefs dashboard is less cluttered than that of
SEMrush, and its primary menu is at the very top of the page, with a search bar
designed only for entering URLs.
Additional features of the Ahrefs platform include:
SEMRUSH
When you log into the SEMrush Tool, you will find four
main modules. These include information about your domains, organic keyword
analysis, ad keyword, and site traffic.
You'll also find some other options like
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush have user-friendly dashboards,
but Ahrefs is less cluttered and easier to navigate. On the other hand, SEMrush
offers dozens of extra tools, including access to customer support resources.
When deciding on which dashboard to use, consider what
you value in the user interface, and test out both.
If you're looking to track your website's search engine
ranking, rank tracking features can help. You can also use them to monitor your
competitors.
Let's take a look at Ahrefs vs. SEMrush to see which
tool does a better job.
The Ahrefs Rank Tracker is simpler to use. Just type in
the domain name and keywords you want to analyze, and it spits out a report
showing you the search engine results page (SERP) ranking for each keyword you
enter.
Rank Tracker looks at the ranking performance of
keywords and compares them with the top rankings for those keywords. Ahrefs
also offers:
You'll see metrics that help you understand your
visibility, traffic, average position, and keyword difficulty.
It gives you an idea of whether a keyword would be
profitable to target or not.
SEMRush offers a tool called Position Tracking. This
tool is a project tool—you must set it up as a new project. Below are a few of
the most popular features of the SEMrush Position Tracking tool:
All subscribers are given regular data updates and
mobile search rankings upon subscribing
The platform provides opportunities to track several
SERP features, including Local tracking.
Intuitive reports allow you to track statistics for the
pages on your website, as well as the keywords used in those pages.
Identify pages that may be competing with each other
using the Cannibalization report.
Ahrefs is a more user-friendly option. It takes seconds
to enter a domain name and keywords. From there, you can quickly decide whether
to proceed with that keyword or figure out how to rank better for other
keywords.
SEMrush allows you to check your mobile rankings and
ranking updates daily, which is something Ahrefs does not offer. SEMrush also
offers social media rankings, a tool you won't find within the Ahrefs platform.
Both are good which one do you like let me know in the comment.
Keyword research is closely related to rank tracking,
but it's used for deciding which keywords you plan on using for future content
rather than those you use now.
When it comes to SEO, keyword research is the most
important thing to consider when comparing the two platforms.
The Ahrefs Keyword Explorer provides you with thousands
of keyword ideas and filters search results based on the chosen search engine.
Ahrefs supports several features, including:
SEMrush's Keyword Magic Tool has over 20 billion
keywords for Google. You can type in any keyword you want, and a list of
suggested keywords will appear.
The Keyword Magic Tool also lets you to:
Both of these tools offer keyword research features and
allow users to break down complicated tasks into something that can be
understood by beginners and advanced users alike.
If you're interested in keyword suggestions, SEMrush
appears to have more keyword suggestions than Ahrefs does. It also continues to
add new features, like the Keyword Gap tool and SERP Questions recommendations.
Both platforms offer competitor analysis tools,
eliminating the need to come up with keywords off the top of your head. Each
tool is useful for finding keywords that will be useful for your competition so
you know they will be valuable to you.
Ahrefs' domain comparison tool lets you compare up to five websites (your website and four competitors) side-by-side.it also shows you how your site is ranked against others with metrics such as backlinks, domain ratings, and more.
Use the Competing Domains section to see a list of your
most direct competitors, and explore how many keywords matches your competitors
have.
To find more information about your competitor, you can
look at the Site Explorer and Content Explorer tools and type in their URL
instead of yours.
SEMrush provides a variety of insights into your
competitors' marketing tactics. The platform enables you to research your
competitors effectively. It also offers several resources for competitor
analysis including:
Traffic Analytics helps you identify where your
audience comes from, how they engage with your site, what devices visitors use
to view your site, and how your audiences overlap with other websites.
SEMrush's Organic Research examines your website's
major competitors and shows their organic search rankings, keywords they are
ranking for, and even if they are ranking for any (SERP) features and more.
The Market Explorer search field allows you to type in
a domain and lists websites or articles similar to what you entered. Market
Explorer also allows users to perform in-depth data analytics on These
companies and markets.
SEMrush wins here because it has more tools dedicated to
competitor analysis than Ahrefs. However, Ahrefs offers a lot of functionality
in this area, too. It takes a combination of both tools to gain an advantage
over your competition.
When it comes to keyword data research, you will become
confused about which one to choose.
Consider choosing Ahrefs if you
Consider SEMrush if you:
Both tools are great. Choose the one which meets your
requirements and if you have any experience using either Ahrefs or SEMrush let
me know in the comment section which works well for you.
Writer-director-mogul has a multi-million dollar empire, yet his latest film is another poorly made disappointment
It was a plot twist that could only come from Tyler Perry: Four years after announcing an $800m expansion of his 330-acre (328-hectare) film and TV studio, Perry put those plans on hold after being wowed by a new OpenAI tool that generates videos from text prompts.
“If I wanted to be in the snow in Colorado, it’s text,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in February. “If I wanted to write a scene on the moon, it’s text, and this AI can generate it like it’s nothing. If I wanted to have two people in the living room in the mountains, I don’t have to build a set in the mountains. I don’t have to put a set on my lot. I can sit in an office and do this with a computer, which is shocking to me.” Those who have long been frustrated by Perry hackery surely must be feeling unsettled, too.
Continue reading...Can Ryan Reynolds and the director Shawn Levy integrate our favourite antihero into the MCU? Or will they just send the whole thing up instead?
What exactly do we want from a Deadpool movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? The integration of Ryan Reynolds’s potty-mouthed mutant into the rather more wholesome universe populated by the likes of Spider-Man, Thor and the Hulk? Or a freaky, bloodthirsty, meta-fuelled superhero buddy movie that gives Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine one last hurrah on the big stage? Thirty-seven minutes of footage screened for fans from Shawn Levy’s film (at a super-snazzy London fan event featuring live bands, Spandau Ballet’s Martin Kemp DJing 80s hits and Jackman and Reynolds themselves) suggested we may well need to settle on one or the other, at least for a while longer.
Much has been made of Deadpool & Wolverine’s potential to integrate X-Men – once the property of 20th Century Fox, now owned (like Marvel) by Disney in terms of big-screen rights – into the MCU. And yet what was most striking about this early glimpse was the prospect that Levy and Reynolds may not spend much time worrying about making the chimichanga-munching antihero “work” in this new universe at all.
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/habichuelacondulce [link] [comments] |
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
Real estate firms are touring North American cities marketing homes in Israel — and in illegal West Bank settlements.
The post The Companies Making It Easy to Buy in a West Bank Settlement appeared first on The Intercept.
More than 154 people were initially reported trapped under the rubble but police say 132 have been rescued and treated for injuries
A school in north-central Nigeria collapsed during morning classes on Friday, initially trapping about 154 students and setting off a frantic search for those in the rubble. Authorities say 22 died.
The two-storey Saints Academy college in Plateau state’s Busa Buji community caved in shortly after students, many of whom were 15 or younger, arrived for classes.
Continue reading...“There’s a very good chance that they will fire me,” said Katherine Franke, a tenured professor who has defended students protesting for Gaza.
The post Columbia Law Professor Smeared by Israel Supporters Could Lose Her Job appeared first on The Intercept.
Author Nathan Thrall’s recent book tells the story of one Palestinian family living under Israel occupation.
The post Understanding Israel’s “System of Domination” appeared first on The Intercept.
“There’s a very good chance that they will fire me,” said Katherine Franke, a tenured professor who has defended students protesting for Gaza.
The post Columbia Law Professor Smeared by Israel Supporters Could Lose Her Job appeared first on The Intercept.
While the court refused to review the 1985 case of Charles McCrory, Sotomayor urged states to pass laws to help exonerate people imprisoned on debunked forensic evidence.
The post There’s a Junk Science Crisis in Criminal Convictions. Sonia Sotomayor Calls It Out in Alabama Bite-Mark Case. appeared first on The Intercept.
Donald Trump tells Fox News he will announce running mate today; judge cites unlawful appointment of Jack Smith as she dismisses classified documents case
President Joe Biden has postponed a planned trip to Texas today, where he was to speak on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B Johnson presidential library.
An NBC News interview between Biden and anchor Lester Holt will now occur at the White House, instead of in Texas, as initially planned, Associated Press reports.
There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence for that matter.
An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Everything. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen.
Continue reading...Judge cites unlawful appointment of special counsel Jack Smith as she dismisses Trump’s classified documents case hours aheads of Republican national convention
President Joe Biden has postponed a planned trip to Texas today, where he was to speak on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B Johnson presidential library.
An NBC News interview between Biden and anchor Lester Holt will now occur at the White House, instead of in Texas, as initially planned, Associated Press reports.
There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence for that matter.
An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Everything. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen.
Continue reading...Party says it will table an amendment to the king’s speech
More in Common, the group that campaigns to reduce polarisation in politics, published a good slideshow presentation last week, based on polling it carried out, giving an analysis of the general election results. It has followed that up today with the publication of a 129-page report on the election, based on the same polling and on what it learned from focus groups.
One of the main interesting points it makes is that the government will be judged, above all, on whether it can bring down NHS waiting lists and the cost of living, polling suggests. The report says:
How does the public plan to judge the government on its delivery of change and what benchmarks will they use to evaluate progress?
First and foremost, the public will look to NHS waiting lists and the cost of living to judge Labour’s success or failure. These are top performance indicators for every segment, with the elderly tending to be more concerned than average about waiting lists and younger generations more so about the cost of living. As inflation falls and interest rates seem set for a summer cut, waiting lists are arguably the new government’s key challenge in maintaining public support.
Continue reading...Supporters of former Pakistan PM, who is serving seven years in prison, hope acquittal paves way for release
A court in Pakistan has acquitted the former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife on charges of unlawful marriage, just a day after his party won the majority of reserved seats in the supreme court.
Syed Zulfi Bukhari, an adviser to Imran Khan on international affairs and media, said: “The court has not only thrown out the case but the judge has ordered for the immediate release of Imran Khan and his wife.”
Continue reading...The Trump-led 2024 Republican platform instead calls for an American Iron Dome and the largest deportation operation ever.
The post GOP Platform Doesn’t Mention the Word “Climate” Once — Even After Hottest Year on Record appeared first on The Intercept.
Five arrested in investigation of claims Abin monitored and harassed top public figures and politicians
Brazil’s intelligence agency was illegally weaponised during Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right administration to monitor and harass some of the country’s most important politicians, journalists, judges and environmental officials, federal police have alleged.
Five people were arrested on Thursday as part of a long-running investigation into suspicions that during Bolsonaro’s 2019-22 government the Agência Brasileira de Inteligência (Abin) was used to spy on the president’s political foes.
Continue reading...Several Squad members who were vocal critics of Biden’s handling of Israel’s war on Gaza have voiced support for the president.
The post Even Centrists Are Questioning Biden. But the Squad Is Divided. appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump administration officials and campaign staff helped draft the controversial playbook and appear in its videos.
The post Trump’s Camp Says It Has Nothing to Do With Project 2025 Manifesto — Aside From Writing It appeared first on The Intercept.
Activists who protested Biden’s handling of the war during Democratic primaries say they will maintain pressure no matter the nominee.
The post Whether It’s Biden or Someone Else, Gaza Remains Top Priority for “Uncommitted” Voters appeared first on The Intercept.
As voters look for another option, alternative Democratic leaders poll similarly or even better than Biden — even without name recognition.
The post Every Democrat Other Than Joe Biden Is Unburdened by What Has Been appeared first on The Intercept.
Author Nathan Thrall’s recent book tells the story of one Palestinian family living under Israel occupation.
The post Understanding Israel’s “System of Domination” appeared first on The Intercept.
Vessels have been rammed, punctured with knives, damaged by water cannon and targeted by military-grade lasers. Now the Philippines’ US ambassador has warned the aggression must be reduced to avoid conflict
Reports of aggressive and dangerous conduct by Chinese vessels in the fiercely contested South China Sea have surged over the past 17 months, as tensions mount in one of Asia’s biggest flashpoints.
Since February 2023, the Philippines has accused China of unsafe behaviour on at least 12 occasions, often within the water of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), according to Philippine government data compiled by the thinktank the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which tracks incidents as part of its regional Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment.
Continue reading...Vaccine misinformation has added to crisis of collapsed healthcare and poor nutrition, Unicef and WHO report
Conflicts have hampered efforts to vaccinate children across the world, health leaders have warned, as new figures showed about 14.5 million children had not received a single immunisation dose.
More than half of the children live in countries where armed conflicts or other humanitarian crises had created fragile and vulnerable situations, according to data from the UN children’s agency, Unicef, and the World Health Organization.
Continue reading...Four Chinese vessels were ‘transiting in international waters but still inside the US exclusive economic zone’
Multiple Chinese military warships were spotted off the coast of Alaska over the weekend, the US Coast Guard announced.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the US Coast Guard said that it detected three vessels approximately 124 miles (200km) north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands, as well as another vessel approximately 84 miles (135km) north of the Amukta Pass, a strait between the Bering Sea and the north Pacific Ocean.
Continue reading...Live, rolling coverage of business economics and financial markets as share price of Trump Media & Technology Group and cryptocurrency price rise as traders position for Trump election victory
The UK government’s stake in NatWest has fallen below 20% for the first time since the bank was bailed out during the financial crisis.
NatWest, formerly Royal Bank of Scotland, said that the government now owns 19.97% of its shares, after selling off 81m. The government had owned 38% in May, before a programme of share sales.
Returning NatWest Group to full private ownership remains a key ambition and we believe it is in the best interests of both the bank and all our shareholders.
Continue reading...Retail sales growth is the weakest since the country emerged from Covid-19 lockdowns
Pressure on Beijing to take steps to improve Chinese consumer confidence has intensified after news that weak retail spending dragged down the growth rate of the world’s second biggest economy.
With falling house prices still acting as a drag on activity, official figures showed the Chinese economy expanding at an annual rate of 4.7% in the second quarter – much weaker than the 5.1% expected by the financial markets.
Continue reading...ICO calls on companies to be as transparent as possible with customers about waste release into rivers
Water companies must be transparent with the public about sewage spill data, the UK’s information commissioner has warned.
John Edwards has written to the water companies calling on them to be as transparent as possible with their customers, and has asked them to disclose information related to sewage discharges every month.
Continue reading...Bitcoin also rises as odds improve of Trump victory in November presidential election
Shares in Donald Trump’s media company have surged by 50% in pre-market trading after the attempted assassination of the former US president, potentially adding nearly $3bn (£2.3bn) to the valuation of the business behind the X rival Truth Social.
Trump Media and Technology Group, which uses Trump’s initials DJT as its ticker, has been a volatile stock since its debut on 26 March this year.
Continue reading...Steve Borthwick’s side are re-engaging with previously jaundiced fans despite Test series loss in New Zealand
You know it has been a long rugby union season when it feels like it kicked off in a parallel universe. Was Fin Baxter even born when Steve Borthwick’s squad assembled for their first pre‑World Cup training camp on 12 June last year? Were those faraway August warm-up Tests some kind of tortured fever dream? No one can accuse England of not having squeezed a huge amount into the past 13 months.
It has been some slog. Sometimes, we can all be guilty of sitting in the stands or on a sofa 12,000 miles away and forgetting sport is played by human beings not robots (not for another couple of years anyway). We only see the most recent snapshot rather than the whole of the moon. So if England did flag slightly in the final quarter against New Zealand, whose actual fault is that? The weary players, the coaches who keep selecting them regardless or, above all, the ludicrous quart-into-a-pint-pot demands of the global rugby calendar?
Continue reading...Unable to marry legally in Japan, LGBTQ+ couples are celebrating their bond in traditional kimonos, suits and gowns for elaborate photoshoots
LGBTQ+ couples in Japan, unable to marry legally, are celebrating their relationships by donning traditional kimonos and formal suits and gowns for elaborate “photo weddings”. Their romantic poses are artfully shot by professional photographers in studios and natural beauty spots.
These wedding photoshoots become stand-ins for a legal ceremony and for the couple hold all the significance of marriage, a moment to display a love that often must be kept secret. The carefully choreographed images are mostly kept hidden in this conservative society where many LGBTQ+ people say they face prejudice and stigma, even from their own families.
A lesbian couple pose for a photoshoot at Onestyle studio in Tokyo
Continue reading...The world’s second-largest economy is grappling with a real estate debt crisis, weakening consumption, an ageing population and geopolitical tensions
China’s economy slowed more than expected in the June quarter, increasing the likelihood that a gathering of top officials in Beijing this week will unveil efforts to rekindle growth.
The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 4.7% in the April-June period from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. That result was down from 5.3% growth in the March quarter and the 5.1% rate economists had predicted.
Continue reading...Assassination attempts targeting populist leaders have had a track record of boosting their popularity.
The post Will This Make Trump More Popular? appeared first on The Intercept.
App reportedly received a surge in queries this week after newspaper exposed food safety scandal
An app that allows users to track trucks across China has been disabled after a scandal in which reporters discovered that tankers used to transport fuel were also being used to transport cooking oil, without proper cleaning in between.
On Thursday, Chinese media reported that the tracking function on Shipping Help, an app used to track cargos, had been disabled. The app displayed a message saying the service was being “upgraded” and was therefore “temporarily unavailable”.
Continue reading...The $99bn figure comes as data shows exports growing at fastest rate in 15 months while imports fell
China posted a record $99bn (£76.4bn) trade surplus last month amid signs of importers bringing forward orders to beat higher tariffs on goods from the world’s second biggest economy.
The latest official figures from Beijing showed exports growing at their fastest rate in 15 months, while the weakness of China’s domestic economy resulted in falling imports.
Continue reading...Heavy rainfall flooded streets and triggered landslides in China’s south-western municipality of Chongqing, the state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday. In Kaizhou district, more than 450 people were displaced as water levels from the Nan and Puli rivers, tributaries of the Yangtze, reached 4 metres. In Badong county in Hubei province, rescuers evacuated residents from buildings and removed vehicles partly submerged in flood water
Continue reading...The KL International Photoawards 2024 celebrates artists of all levels and genres. This year’s theme, Make It Real: Staged Narrative in Portraiture, focuses on alternative realities and make-believe. Winning entries are on show in Malaysia until August
Continue reading...From Mexico to the Mediterranean, rich countries would rather see refugees die than recognize their legal asylum rights.
The post The World War on Asylum appeared first on The Intercept.
Indian prime minister travelled to Moscow for two-day summit and ‘chit-chat’ amid diplomatic complexities
As India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, landed in Moscow on Monday, it was straight into the warm embrace of Vladimir Putin. Modi said the visit – his first since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – was to cement the “bonds of friendship” between the two countries, and later effusively described Russia as India’s “all-weather friend and trusted ally”.
The India-Russia relationship runs deep, dating back to the cold war, and Russia has long been the largest supplier of arms to India. Since he was elected in 2014, Modi has built up a much-publicised rapport with Putin, the two leaders having had more than 20 meetings.
Continue reading...Sydney man David Fisk, his Philippine-born partner Lucita Cortez and her relative discovered with hands and feet tied at Lake Hotel in Tagaytay
The family of two Australians found dead at a luxury hotel in the Philippines alongside a Filipina relative say they are praying “for answers and the truth in this horrific matter”.
The bodies were discovered with their hands and feet tied in a room at the Lake Hotel in Tagaytay, a resort city south of the nation’s capital.
Continue reading...A new vampire squid species was discovered in the South China Sea.
If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ve noticed that I have written a lot about AI and democracy, mostly with my co-author Nathan Sanders. I am pleased to announce that we’re writing a book on the topic.
This isn’t a book about deep fakes, or misinformation. This is a book about what happens when AI writes laws, adjudicates disputes, audits bureaucratic actions, assists in political strategy, and advises citizens on what candidates and issues to support. It’s a book that tries to look into what an AI-assisted democratic system might look like, and then at how to best ensure that we make use of the good parts while avoiding the bad parts...
Government opens hundreds of shelters for displaced people as heavy rains cause rivers to burst their banks
The death toll from floods in Bangladesh this week has risen to eight, leaving more than two million affected after heavy rains caused major rivers to burst their banks, officials have confirmed.
The south Asian country of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has experienced more frequent floods in recent decades.
Continue reading...A cheesy pasta dish inspired by a restaurant on the Amalfi coast
While they never really went away, courgettes are back in abundance at Testaccio market. Also in Margate, according to my friend and ingredient-synchronicity checker, Adriana. This morning, Marco, who grows vegetables in a green belt of Rome called Casaletto, had crates of dark green and bulbous nero di Milano, as well as pale green and fluted romanesco, each topped with a flower that made them look like a flaming candle or a Troll Doll with upcombed hair. I bought six, with spaghetti in mind.
According to the magazine La Cucina Italiana, spaghetti alla Nerano dates back to the early 1950s and was the result of happenstance at Ristorante Maria Grazia, which is situated metres from the sea in the Marina del Cantone, on the edge of Nerano on the Sorrento coast. The story is familiar: a regular customer (a prince) arrived (maybe) at an unusual hour and was made a meal with what was available in the kitchen, namely, thin slices of courgette that had been fried that morning and the leftovers of three local cheeses, which at the time did not include provolone del Monaco or parmesan. The dish was a hit, so it was made again and again until it was perfected and became a fixture on the menu, soon rippling out like a wave to other menus in other restaurants, and so on and so on. Exactly how it was perfected at Ristorante Maria Grazia remains a secret, of course. The ingredients might be common knowledge – courgettes, basil, olive oil, pepper, spaghetti, three cheeses – but the procedure and quantities are known only to the family, meaning their spaghetti alla Nerano can only be eaten at their tables with a sea view for €24. Meanwhile, we home cooks can be inspired by the spirit of the dish to make something a bit like spaghetti alla Nerano, by frying rounds of courgette in olive oil and mixing them with basil, garlic, spaghetti and three sorts of cheese.
Discover Rachel’s recipes and many more from your favourite cooks in the new Guardian Feast app, with smart features to make everyday cooking easier and more fun. Start your free trial today.
Continue reading...App reportedly received a surge in queries this week after newspaper exposed food safety scandal
An app that allows users to track trucks across China has been disabled after a scandal in which reporters discovered that tankers used to transport fuel were also being used to transport cooking oil, without proper cleaning in between.
On Thursday, Chinese media reported that the tracking function on Shipping Help, an app used to track cargos, had been disabled. The app displayed a message saying the service was being “upgraded” and was therefore “temporarily unavailable”.
Continue reading...Real estate firms are touring North American cities marketing homes in Israel — and in illegal West Bank settlements.
The post The Companies Making It Easy to Buy in a West Bank Settlement appeared first on The Intercept.
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
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Continue reading...Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
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Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
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Impress your new housemates by quickly knocking up some meatballs and spaghetti, a comforting khichdi, or a bowl of roasted sweet potato and hummus
If you’re heading off to university, you might want to give some thought to what you’ll be eating. Student cooking might bring to mind instant noodles and tinned spaghetti, but while you’re likely to be on a tighter budget, it’s still possible to make tasty, nutritious meals.
Learning to cook when you start university is less daunting than you may think, and can turn into a valuable life skill. Once you get going you’ll be able to turn your hand to a number of recipes, from comforting pastas to a hearty khichdi. Try one of these three recipes to get started.
Continue reading...In 1968, in one of the top five Olympic moments of the last century, the long jumper made a leap so jaw-dropping it inspired the superlative Beamonesque. He discusses pride, pressure and the politics of that momentous Summer Games
Lot number 11 in Christie’s “Exceptional Sale” earlier this year lived up to its billing. This was the holy grail for the well-heeled sports fan or history buff – Olympic glory in the palm of your hand.
In an auction that included a Louis XIV tapestry and what was believed to be the only painting by all four of the Beatles, the long-jump gold medal from the 1968 Summer Olympics fetched £351,000. What made its owner give it up? “I had just gotten past the idea of storing it in a bank vault,” says Bob Beamon. “I also thought, with the flags all over the world about to go up for the Paris Games, it was time to cash in on my reputation and inspire the public again.”
Continue reading...Officials in Mendoza say players met the victim at a nightclub and violently assaulted her in a hotel room
Prosecutors in Argentina have charged two French rugby players with aggravated rape, in the grisly case of a woman who said she was repeatedly assaulted by the athletes after they took her back to their hotel room and prevented her from leaving.
The prosecutor’s office in the western city of Mendoza – where the alleged assault took place last Sunday following the French team’s test match against the Argentinian Pumas – ordered the two players, Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou, to remain in detention until trial.
After being arrested in Buenos Aires, Jegou, 21, and Auradou, 20, were transferred 1,000km (620 miles) to Mendoza on Thursday for their first court appearance. They chose not to testify in Friday’s hearing.
The French Rugby Federation had previously said that the players admitted to having consensual sex with the alleged victim and denied any acts of violence.
The prosecutors said the court would soon decide whether to grant the defendants’ request for house arrest.
The account of the assault – provided by Natacha Romano, the lawyer of the victim – has drawn outrage in France and caused a stir in Argentina, where recent scandals involving professional athletes have prompted questions within the greater sports community about misogyny and sexual violence.
The woman says that after meeting the players at a nightclub, she was taken to their hotel room and subjected to violent, non-consensual sexual acts and prevented from leaving. After escaping the hotel room, Romano said the victim filed a police complaint and underwent physical examinations.
The charges of aggravated sexual assault in Argentina carry the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The mandatory minimum is eight years.
Authorities said that they would move the defendants to another jail later on Friday.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
Continue reading...As voters look for another option, alternative Democratic leaders poll similarly or even better than Biden — even without name recognition.
The post Every Democrat Other Than Joe Biden Is Unburdened by What Has Been appeared first on The Intercept.
The artist, who has died aged 73, used his medium to explore survival, reason, life, death and the soul. In a world of oversaturation, his art gave stillness
My most intense memory of Bill Viola’s art is watching his video of a man sinking passively underwater, before rising slowly again, with the cold North Sea actually below me. I’d travelled from London to Orkney to see a small retrospective of his works, including this piece, Ascension, at a gallery on a pier at Stromness. It was completely worth the journey. Ascension especially, with its hypnotic soundtrack of bubbling water, was an uncompromising embrace of a near-death experience.
I hope his death, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, was as peaceful as he makes near-drowning look. Viola traced his interest in watery graves to his own experience of submersion in a lake as a child. Water however isn’t the only way of dying in his art. In his series Martyrs, installed in St Paul’s Cathedral in London in 2014, a man sits impassively as flames rise around him. You can certainly describe this as a religious work.
Continue reading...Travel disruption threatened to ruin the chance to watch Euro 2024 decider but nothing would stand in the way
Lightning does strike twice. In February, a combination of a Sydney storm and Wellington airport’s curfew delayed our arrival in New Zealand by 24 hours, complicating a holiday of a lifetime. On Friday night, similar weather, with the airport affected this time being Munich’s, threatened to ruin the journey of a lifetime – or at least one that had been going on for well over 30 years.
My first England game: March 1985, a friendly win at Wembley over the Republic of Ireland, with Leicester’s Gary Lineker scoring his first international goal. My first away game: November 1991 in Poland, Tottenham’s Gary Lineker scoring his last competitive goal. Now, at my 12th tournament following the men’s team, I had a ticket to watch them play in their first final on foreign soil.
Continue reading...You must be smart to find the best prices, and vigilant for extra charges. But how your name appears on the booking can spell the end of the road
Eric Hartley was looking forward to starting a 10-day holiday and ready to hand over €309 (£260) for his rental car at Milan Bergamo airport last month, only to be told his booking could not be processed.
The reason? The name on his booking – Eric Hartley – did not match the name on his passport and driving licence: Eric James Hartley. Even though he had not been asked for his middle name when booking through aggregator website stressfreecarrental.com, and his credit card had the same name as his booking, staff from rental firm OK Mobility said they could not proceed.
Continue reading...Electric vehicles are ‘batteries on wheels’ that can put energy back into the National Grid when solar panels and windfarms do not provide much power
Electric cars make some people afraid of the dark. While the batteries produce much less carbon, they require much more electricity to run. This has prompted ominous warnings that Great Britain and other wealthy countries set on banning new petrol and diesel cars risk plunging their populations into darkness.
In recent months British net zero-sceptical newspapers have warned that the shift to EVs would “risk overwhelming the grid, and threaten catastrophic blackouts” when intermittent sun and wind fail to provide the necessary power. Another article claimed: “It won’t take an enemy power to put us all in the dark – just energy customers doing normal things on a normal winter’s evening.”
Continue reading...My pre-booked assistance did not arrive when my plane landed in London, but its staff did not help me
I am disabled and was left stranded on the jet bridge floor at Heathrow by American Airlines when pre-booked special assistance did not arrive. Instead of helping, a crew member filmed me in distress. Due to my various health conditions I need a wheelchair to board and disembark. There was no issue at the John F Kennedy airport in New York. But when the plane landed at Heathrow no one came to get me. I eventually inquired. I was told a wheelchair had arrived and shooed me on to the jet bridge. I could see it was not there, so I turned around to sit back down to wait.
However, crew members blocked the door and told me it was illegal to re-enter the cabin and ordered me to wait in the jet bridge. I was no longer able to stand, so was forced to sit on the floor. The cabin crew watched my distress from the door and one filmed me on his phone. The remaining passengers, and even the pilots, had to step over me with their luggage. In the three months since, I’ve complained several times to the airline but it blames me for the incident, and refuses to investigate the filming because it was on a personal phone. I have been disabled most of my life, but have never felt so dehumanised.
AC, London
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Campaigners welcome ‘seismic shift’ and urge museum bosses to review links with other fossil fuel sponsors
The Science Museum has been forced to cut ties with oil giant Equinor over its sponsor’s environmental record, the Observer can reveal.
Equinor has sponsored the museum’s interactive “WonderLab” since 2016, but the relationship is now coming to close, a move that will be seen as a major victory for climate change campaigners.
Continue reading...Indian prime minister travelled to Moscow for two-day summit and ‘chit-chat’ amid diplomatic complexities
As India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, landed in Moscow on Monday, it was straight into the warm embrace of Vladimir Putin. Modi said the visit – his first since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – was to cement the “bonds of friendship” between the two countries, and later effusively described Russia as India’s “all-weather friend and trusted ally”.
The India-Russia relationship runs deep, dating back to the cold war, and Russia has long been the largest supplier of arms to India. Since he was elected in 2014, Modi has built up a much-publicised rapport with Putin, the two leaders having had more than 20 meetings.
Continue reading...From Mexico to the Mediterranean, rich countries would rather see refugees die than recognize their legal asylum rights.
The post The World War on Asylum appeared first on The Intercept.
Author Nathan Thrall’s recent book tells the story of one Palestinian family living under Israel occupation.
The post Understanding Israel’s “System of Domination” appeared first on The Intercept.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
Continue reading...
![Hint: If you ever encounter this puzzle in a crossword app, just [term for someone with a competitive and high-achieving personality].](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a_crossword_puzzle.png "Hint: If you ever encounter this puzzle in a crossword app, just [term for someone with a competitive and high-achieving personality].")
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the rally shooting – but it will almost certainly boost his campaign
You’ve almost certainly seen the pictures by now. You’ve probably seen them a hundred times. A fist in the air, blood dripping from his ear, an American flag above him, a defiant expression on his face. Trump quickly jumping up from an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally and appearing to mouth the words: “Fight! Fight! Fight!” If you fed “all-American tough guy president” into an AI image generator, it wouldn’t spit out anything half as powerful. Obviously, there’s nothing remotely positive about a terrible act of political violence that left an innocent bystander and the shooter dead. But in terms of optics for Trump’s presidential campaign? Well, as Trump himself told the New York Post on Sunday: “A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen.” He added: “They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.”
There’s still a lot we don’t know about what happened on Saturday. We know who the suspected shooter is – the FBI has identified him as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks – but we don’t know why he did it. Crooks was a registered Republican but records show that when he was 17 he made a $15 donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises money for Democratic politicians. With the information we have right now, it’s hard to paint Crook as an extreme leftwinger.
Continue reading...Victories by the left in France and Britain offer powerful examples for U.S. progressives.
The post Supporting Palestine Helped the Left Win in France and Britain. Will Democrats Learn From It? appeared first on The Intercept.
Comments made by unnamed senior Democrat after Trump shooting draw stinging rebuke from progressive
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a simple message for an unnamed senior Democrat who reportedly said the party had “resigned ourselves” to a second Trump presidency: “Retire.”
The anonymous Democrat was quoted by Axios on Sunday, the day after Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Continue reading...Bitcoin also rises as odds improve of Trump victory in November presidential election
Shares in Donald Trump’s media company have surged by 50% in pre-market trading after the attempted assassination of the former US president, potentially adding nearly $3bn (£2.3bn) to the valuation of the business behind the X rival Truth Social.
Trump Media and Technology Group, which uses Trump’s initials DJT as its ticker, has been a volatile stock since its debut on 26 March this year.
Continue reading...The calls for Joe Biden to step aside have been met with furious accusations of treason, disloyalty, and betrayal. This is bad for the entire country
Is the Democratic party, the self-proclaimed party of liberal values and scientific data, morphing into a Maga-like cult in front of our eyes?
Over the past few weeks, the calls for Joe Biden to step aside have been met not with thoughtful critiques or reasoned counter-arguments but with furious accusations of treason, disloyalty, and betrayal.
Continue reading...Trump says he has plan to immediately lower inflation. Economists predict high tariffs and tax cuts would raise it
As Donald Trump prepares to make his economic pitch to the nation, economists have warned that key parts of his policy platform – including steep tariffs and sweeping tax cuts – would probably increase inflation and strain the US’s finances.
The Trump campaign will set out plans to “make America wealthy again” as Republicans gather in Milwaukee on Monday for the first day of the party’s convention.
Continue reading...Next public appearance is tentatively set for Tuesday at the convention but sources caution that could still change
Donald Trump huddled with his senior advisers at his Bedminster club in New Jersey a day after surviving what federal investigators called an assassination attempt, preparing for the Republican national convention, which kicks off on Monday.
Trump was keeping the same schedule as originally planned, according to sources familiar with the situation. His next public appearance is tentatively set for Tuesday at the convention though the sources cautioned that could change.
Continue reading...Attack is likely to fortify sense of grievance his supporters already feel toward political elites as campaign seizes on opportunity to fuel narrative of persecution
It will be the new must-have for every Donald Trump acolyte. The indelible image of the former US president, ear bloodied and fist raised as Secret Service agents try to rush him away from a would-be assassin’s bullets, has already been turned into a $35 T-shirt with a simple legend: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
The words are taken from Trump’s entreaty as he was bundled off stage in the aftermath of the shooting which left one man dead at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. His supporters responded with chants of “USA! USA!” and by angrily turning on the media, pointing fingers of blame at journalists.
Continue reading...On Saturday night in London, word came through that Donald Trump had been injured during one of his rallies in Pennsylvania. A shooter, who killed another person and seriously injured others, was killed by Secret Service agents.
As the US comes to grips with what just happened, Jonathan Freedland and Sidney Blumenthal discuss what this tragedy means for the former president’s image with less than five months until the election
Archive: CNN, Fox News, WTOL11, News Nation, ABC News, NBC News, Sky News
Continue reading...Several Squad members who were vocal critics of Biden’s handling of Israel’s war on Gaza have voiced support for the president.
The post Even Centrists Are Questioning Biden. But the Squad Is Divided. appeared first on The Intercept.
Donald Trump tells Fox News he will announce running mate today; judge cites unlawful appointment of Jack Smith as she dismisses classified documents case
President Joe Biden has postponed a planned trip to Texas today, where he was to speak on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B Johnson presidential library.
An NBC News interview between Biden and anchor Lester Holt will now occur at the White House, instead of in Texas, as initially planned, Associated Press reports.
There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence for that matter.
An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Everything. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen.
Continue reading...Judge cites unlawful appointment of special counsel Jack Smith as she dismisses Trump’s classified documents case hours aheads of Republican national convention
President Joe Biden has postponed a planned trip to Texas today, where he was to speak on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B Johnson presidential library.
An NBC News interview between Biden and anchor Lester Holt will now occur at the White House, instead of in Texas, as initially planned, Associated Press reports.
There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence for that matter.
An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Everything. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen.
Continue reading...The Trump rally shooting reveals a bipartisan consensus about what constitutes political violence — and who should wield it.
The post The Only Kind of “Political Violence” All U.S. Politicians Oppose appeared first on The Intercept.
The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey discuss the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the implications for UK politics. Plus, a preview of the king’s speech
Continue reading...Life in the political wilderness is grim, but you have the luxury of time. Use it to offer a constructive alternative to Labour
Dear Conservative colleagues,
After the 1997 general election it took the Tory party 13 years and five opposition leaders to get back into government. I began the 1997 parliament as private secretary to William Hague when he became leader, and did a succession of frontbench roles under him and his successors. I still remember the shock of losing so many colleagues to Tony Blair’s landslide and the grinding frustration of the years that followed. What you decide and what you say now will help determine whether we have to wait that long again.
David Lidington was the Conservative MP for Aylesbury from 1992 to 2019
Continue reading...Davey, Jo Swinson and Vince Cable all held coalition posts at the time of the Post Office scandal, but Tory ex-ministers will be subject to hardest questions
Ed Davey hit the headlines for falling off a paddleboard, bungee jumping and Zumba dancing as part of his unconventional election campaign. But the Liberal Democrat leader’s attention-grabbing stunts paid off when his newly resurgent party won 72 seats, its highest total since 1923.
Fresh from his triumph, Davey will be in the spotlight for a more sombre reason on Thursday, as he testifies to the public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.
Continue reading...Marina Hyde advises the US president: ‘Walk to podium, smile, wave goodbye’; ‘I’m a failure, in debt and my partner is pregnant’ – Philippa Perry helps one man open up; Superman, Frodo and Star Wars: the stunning life and career of Kiran Shah; actor Katy Wix confronts a painful memory when she gets a message out of the blue
Continue reading...Reform UK leader and former Tory PM part of British right’s bid to deepen ties with American counterparts
Nigel Farage and Liz Truss are among the UK politicians set to attend the US Republican national convention this week as the British right seeks to deepen ties with its American counterparts before a predicted victory for Donald Trump in the presidential race.
An assassination attempt on Trump on Saturday had prompted Farage, the Reform UK party leader, to make plans to fly to the US, he said, adding that he was doing it “not just as a friend but because we have to stand up for democracy”.
Continue reading...Party says it will table an amendment to the king’s speech
More in Common, the group that campaigns to reduce polarisation in politics, published a good slideshow presentation last week, based on polling it carried out, giving an analysis of the general election results. It has followed that up today with the publication of a 129-page report on the election, based on the same polling and on what it learned from focus groups.
One of the main interesting points it makes is that the government will be judged, above all, on whether it can bring down NHS waiting lists and the cost of living, polling suggests. The report says:
How does the public plan to judge the government on its delivery of change and what benchmarks will they use to evaluate progress?
First and foremost, the public will look to NHS waiting lists and the cost of living to judge Labour’s success or failure. These are top performance indicators for every segment, with the elderly tending to be more concerned than average about waiting lists and younger generations more so about the cost of living. As inflation falls and interest rates seem set for a summer cut, waiting lists are arguably the new government’s key challenge in maintaining public support.
Continue reading...On Saturday night in London, word came through that Donald Trump had been injured during one of his rallies in Pennsylvania. A shooter, who killed another person and seriously injured others, was killed by Secret Service agents.
As the US comes to grips with what just happened, Jonathan Freedland presents as special edition of Politics Weekly America. He hears from former Bill Clinton advisor, Sidney Blumenthal on what this tragedy means for Donald Trump with less than five months until the election
Continue reading...The attempted assassination of the former and would-be president at a rally comes amid growing discord. Violence must be condemned
The attempted assassination of Donald Trump, which injured the former president at a rally for his re-election campaign and killed a spectator, marks a shocking and frightening moment. Political violence is neither a new development nor an aberration for the US. Though thankfully Mr Trump survived, four American presidents have been murdered, along with candidates and holders of lower offices. Many more have faced serious threats to their lives.
Sometimes such attempts are the work of an individual, such as John Hinckley Jr, who shot and injured Ronald Reagan while mentally ill, or of a small group bent on a particular aim. Sometimes, as with Abraham Lincoln’s murder, they speak to the roiling currents within American politics.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Politicians from across spectrum who lost seats reflect on work they are proudest of from time in Commons
After last week’s general election, which returned Keir Starmer as prime minister in a Labour landslide, parliament looks like a very different place.
The country returned more new MPs than existing ones on Thursday, with 335 successful candidates taking seats in the House of Commons for the first time. And some of the most familiar faces from the previous parliament lost their seats, with a record number of cabinet members defeated.
Continue reading...Assassination attempts targeting populist leaders have had a track record of boosting their popularity.
The post Will This Make Trump More Popular? appeared first on The Intercept.
As the Conservatives lick their wounds, a new generation of activists fear an extended period in the political wilderness
When Jayde Tanisha Edwards saw the exit poll on 4 July, she was shocked. “I think everybody came to the conclusion that the Conservatives were going to lose, but I don’t think we realised how badly we were going to lose,” she says.
Edwards is an unlikely Tory activist. She is 25 years old, and when she got involved with the party some years ago – standing as a councillor in 2019 – she was a teenage mother living in temporary accommodation. Although everyone in her family and community supported Labour, she was attracted by the Conservative message of aspiration. “It was that fundamental belief in prosperity and being able to build yourself up, and just do whatever you want to do,” she says. Most people in her age group do not share this view: just 8% of people under 25 voted Conservative on 4 July. In 2019, it was 21%. With so few in their age group supporting the party, young Conservative members are a vanishingly small number. Even Edwards, a committed activist who is out knocking on doors in every local and general election, is uncertain. “During this campaign, that fire and that passion for young voters just wasn’t there,” she says. “So how can I convince people on the doorstep?”
Continue reading...“There’s a very good chance that they will fire me,” said Katherine Franke, a tenured professor who has defended students protesting for Gaza.
The post Columbia Law Professor Smeared by Israel Supporters Could Lose Her Job appeared first on The Intercept.
The Trump-led 2024 Republican platform instead calls for an American Iron Dome and the largest deportation operation ever.
The post GOP Platform Doesn’t Mention the Word “Climate” Once — Even After Hottest Year on Record appeared first on The Intercept.
Classmates say 20-year-old was smart and shy, with no particular interest in politics or history of violence
In Bethel Park, where the man who is suspected of opening fire at a Donald Trump campaign rally on Saturday lived with his mother and sister, the houses are small and built of brick, Walmart and Target form central social hubs, and moms watch over their children at a junior league baseball park next to a tributary of the Allegheny River.
The attempted assassination of the Republican former president just 45 miles north has put a focus on Bethel Park, as investigators attempt to establish the motivations of the 20-year-old shooter.
Continue reading...One law enforcement official attributes assassination attempt on former president to ‘fundamental security failure’
Former US Secret Service agents spent the early aftermath of what authorities say was an attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at a political rally on Saturday speaking out about what might have prevented their previous employer from failing to halt the shooter before he opened fire.
Evy Poumpouras, who served in the Secret Service’s presidential protective division during Barack Obama’s time in the White House, told NBC’s Today show that rallies like the one this weekend – in a relatively exposed rural tract of Butler county, Pennsylvania – “are the most anxious you’re ever going to be as an agent because you’re trying to secure all of it”.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned about what he calls the “normalisation of extremism” in politics in the wake of the attempted assassination of former United States president Donald Trump at the weekend.
In a round of television and radio interviews this morning to spruik the tax cuts now being delivered in Australians’ tax returns, Chalmers also spoke about the Trump rally in Pennsylvania that injured the former president and left one attendee dead and two others critically injured before the alleged shooter was shot and killed.
We need to be able to disagree in a peaceful way.
We can’t let extremism and polarisation and violence be the norm in our politics. Democracies are supposed to help mend and moderate our differences, not magnify and horrify them. And unfortunately, what we’re seeing with what feels like increasing regularity, is the ugliness and the polarisation and extremism in politics.
There is a role obviously for peaceful protests and looking for consensus in our country doesn’t always mean looking for unanimity – there will always be a range of views. But I think if you look around the world and you look around the democratic world, then you can see that politics is getting uglier, more violent, more polarised in extreme ways, and these are very troubling developments.
We’ve got a big choice to make as democratic societies, we’ve got an opportunity here to step back from the normalisation of that violence, to make sure that we disagree in civil ways and not in violent ways, and that we settle our difference with votes not violence.
Continue reading...Photographer Evan Vucci has been covering Trump for eight years. When he heard gunshots at a Pennsylvania rally he ran towards the stage
It is a photograph that seems almost impossible: moments after a bullet grazes his ear, a former US president stands with his fist raised defiantly. The sky behind him is clear blue and an American flag flies overhead, fully in frame. The expressions on the faces of each secret service agents are clear and a smear of blood runs from Donald Trump’s ear to his cheek.
The photograph was taken by Evan Vucci, chief Washington photographer for the Associated Press. Vucci has been covering Trump since his candidacy eight years ago and in 2020 won a Pulitzer for a photograph of protests after George Floyd’s death.
Continue reading...The former research manager of Stanford Internet Observatory talks about her new book exploring propaganda in the digital age – and how she came to be known as ‘CIA Renée’…
Renée DiResta is a writer and researcher into online manipulation. In 2018, she led a US Senate investigation into the activities of the Russian Internet Research Agency and in 2019 she joined the Stanford Internet Observatory – a non-partisan project to analyse online disinformation. In June this year, after a Republican-led investigation, her contract, along with those of many other staffers, was not renewed, prompting some observers to claim the group was being dismantled due to political pressure.
What inspired you to write about what you call the “propaganda machine”?
I started to feel that propaganda had fundamentally changed. The types of actors who could create it and spread it had shifted, and the impact it was having on our society was quite significant, but we weren’t using the word. We were using words like “misinformation” or “disinformation”, which seemed to be misdiagnoses of the problem. And so I wanted to write a book that asked, in this media ecosystem, what does propaganda look like?
Team working through documents including more than 56,000 pages of information Australian federal police downloaded from Higgins’ phone
Lawyers for Liberal senator Linda Reynolds are poring over tens of thousands of pages of potential evidence taken from Brittany Higgins’ phone.
The former defence minister, who plans to retire from politics at the next election, is suing her former political staffer over a series of social media posts she says damaged her reputation.
Continue reading...Edmundo González Urrutia, who never before ran for office, hopes for a more ‘democratic and peaceful country’
The soft-spoken septuagenarian who could be on the brink of leading Venezuela into a new political era has promised to build a country of prosperity, democracy and peace if he is elected president, and vowed to govern for all citizens – including supporters of his authoritarian rival Nicolás Maduro.
Retired diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia is leading the polls ahead of the South American country’s 28 July presidential election, despite never having sought elected office and, until recently, being unknown to voters.
Continue reading...Protest over delays in processing claims and conditions comes amid one of highest rates of occupancy on vessel
Dozens of asylum seekers living on the Bibby Stockholm barge are staging a sit-down protest over delays in processing their asylum claims, overcrowding conditions and trouble accessing medical treatment.
A man this week described the boat in Dorset as the “hell barge”. There are about 400 asylum seekers onboard, one of the highest rates of occupancy since it opened in 2022.
Continue reading...Organisations including the3million write to PM calling for action to avoid a repeat of Windrush scandal
Keir Starmer must take quick steps to fix the “broken” Home Office settlement scheme for EU citizens who were in the country before Brexit to avoid a repeat of the Windrush scandal, campaigners have said.
The grassroots organisation the3million and 75 other organisations including immigration law firms, civil rights groups and NGOs have written to the prime minister seeking a wholesale review of the Home Office’s implementation of the Brexit withdrawal agreement (WA).
Continue reading...Policies popular even among Tory and Reform voters as unions say pledges must be honoured in king’s speech
Labour’s plans for boosting workers’ rights are backed by voters across the political spectrum, including a majority of Conservative and Reform supporters, new polling commissioned by the TUC shows.
As the new government prepares to set out its programme in the king’s speech on Wednesday, the TUC is urging ministers to press ahead with implementing their manifesto pledges on workers’ rights in full.
Continue reading...Having created a watchdog for the environment, the government took its teeth out and muzzled it. Can public outrage rouse the Environment Agency to action? By Hettie O’Brien
Continue reading...Incumbent since 2000 is seeking fourth term after winning more than 90% of votes in last three ballots
People in Rwanda have gone to the polls for elections in which Paul Kagame is widely expected to extend his rule of the central African country.
This is the fourth presidential ballot since more than 800,000 people, mostly members of the Tutsi ethnic minority, were killed in a genocide in the country 30 years ago.
Continue reading...Live, rolling coverage of business economics and financial markets as share price of Trump Media & Technology Group and cryptocurrency price rise as traders position for Trump election victory
The UK government’s stake in NatWest has fallen below 20% for the first time since the bank was bailed out during the financial crisis.
NatWest, formerly Royal Bank of Scotland, said that the government now owns 19.97% of its shares, after selling off 81m. The government had owned 38% in May, before a programme of share sales.
Returning NatWest Group to full private ownership remains a key ambition and we believe it is in the best interests of both the bank and all our shareholders.
Continue reading...As the repressive government turns towards Moscow, elections in October may be the last chance to secure a path to the EU
Polarisation is growing across Europe and the west. Nowhere is this clearer than in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The “Russian law”, a copycat piece of legislation imported from Moscow, which forces Georgian civil society groups to register as foreign agents if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad, was recently passed – despite massive protests and widespread police violence. The law is set to be implemented later this summer, just in time to cripple civil society and squeeze the opposition parties ahead of the country’s crucial parliamentary election on 26 October.
Against the backdrop of the protests, the governing party, Georgian Dream, lowered its mask. In a hyperbolic speech in April, the billionaire tycoon and behind-the-scenes leader of the party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, launched an all-out attack against the liberal west, rife with conspiracy theories about a putative “global war party” driven by Freemasons, traitors, foreign agents and more. Georgian Dream does not claim it wants to abandon the path to the EU and Nato. On the contrary, it boasts that under its watch, Georgia was recognised as an EU candidate. For its part, the EU took too long to distance itself from the government in Tbilisi, which brazenly dusted off the Russian law – postponed after the first protests last year – only weeks after Georgia was granted candidacy in December.
Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist
Continue reading...Former Trump administration official: “Closeted Furries will be presented to the world for the degenerate perverts they are.”
The post “Gay Furry Hackers” Feud With Heritage Foundation Exec appeared first on The Intercept.
Latest high court battle gets under way over approval of road tunnel under the world heritage site
Ministers were “inadequately briefed” by officials on alternative schemes before approving a road tunnel under Stonehenge for a second time, lawyers for campaigners have argued in the high court, in the latest legal attempt to stop the scheme.
Campaigners argue that the proposed two-mile (3.3km) road tunnel, part of a new eight-mile dual carriageway for the A303 road costing at least £2.5bn, would destroy a large area of the heritage site around Stonehenge – including ancient monuments and listed buildings – and increase emissions.
Continue reading...Culture secretary, who watched England lose to Spain with PM, says manager assembled ‘incredible’ team that reflects national story
The Labour government will be “more Gareth Southgate, less Michael Gove” than its predecessor in seeking to end culture war divisions and telling an inclusive story about Britain, the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has promised.
Speaking from Berlin, where she watched England lose the Euros final to Spain alongside Keir Starmer, Nandy said that whether or not Southgate decided to stay on as the men’s manager, he had made a hugely significant contribution both in terms of football and more widely.
Continue reading...Some asylum seekers told to cut up residence permits after believing they had been granted leave to remain
The Home Office has apologised to asylum seekers granted leave to remain in the UK who then had their decisions retracted.
In some cases applicants were sent residence permits before being told by officials to cut them up.
Continue reading...The justice secretary’s plan may free places, but funding is desperately needed for probation and community care
“Please don’t let them send me away. All my life I’ve been passed around like a parcel.” Luke, 19, was sitting in front of me, his arm bandaged and crisscrossed with old razor cuts. I’d been told by staff that his repeated self-harming meant he wasn’t really “suitable” for the opportunities in their training prison, so he’d be sent back to the old, overcrowded one he’d come from.
“Hello – it’s me again!” The last time I’d seen Donna, she was about to be released, clean of drugs for the first time in years. She was back just over a year later – homeless and unemployed, she had gone back to using drugs, and then deliberately committed enough petty crime to get back into prison and get clean again.
Anne Owers was chief inspector of prisons from 2001 to 2010
Continue reading...PM can seize moment and show how European Political Community can help shift dial away from authoritarianism
Keir Starmer’s chance to introduce himself to nearly 50 European leaders in the historic surroundings of Blenheim Palace this week very nearly did not happen, according to some diplomatic sources.
Rishi Sunak, unlike Liz Truss, his predecessor as prime minister, who took Britain into the European Political Community (EPC), was not a great enthusiast for this still nascent addition to the crowded field of world summitry.
Continue reading...Senior climate figures welcome move after Conservative government largely left the role to junior ministers
Ed Miliband is to take personal control of the UK’s negotiations at vital international climate talks, in stark contrast to his Tory predecessors.
The energy security and net zero secretary will attend Cop29, this year’s UN climate summit, in Azerbaijan this November to head the UK’s delegation and meet political leaders from around the world.
Continue reading...Vaccine misinformation has added to crisis of collapsed healthcare and poor nutrition, Unicef and WHO report
Conflicts have hampered efforts to vaccinate children across the world, health leaders have warned, as new figures showed about 14.5 million children had not received a single immunisation dose.
More than half of the children live in countries where armed conflicts or other humanitarian crises had created fragile and vulnerable situations, according to data from the UN children’s agency, Unicef, and the World Health Organization.
Continue reading...Lack of action on plan to tackle prejudice towards officers and public partly blamed on last government’s uninterest
A plan to combat police racism has made limited progress and will not lead to meaningful change unless it has the full support of the new home secretary, a report has warned.
The police race action plan was announced by police chiefs in 2020 to tackle prejudice in forces, whether directed at officers or the public, but the Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board (ISOB), which monitors progress, says the new government must take responsibility for it to succeed.
Continue reading...In 1968, in one of the top five Olympic moments of the last century, the long jumper made a leap so jaw-dropping it inspired the superlative Beamonesque. He discusses pride, pressure and the politics of that momentous Summer Games
Lot number 11 in Christie’s “Exceptional Sale” earlier this year lived up to its billing. This was the holy grail for the well-heeled sports fan or history buff – Olympic glory in the palm of your hand.
In an auction that included a Louis XIV tapestry and what was believed to be the only painting by all four of the Beatles, the long-jump gold medal from the 1968 Summer Olympics fetched £351,000. What made its owner give it up? “I had just gotten past the idea of storing it in a bank vault,” says Bob Beamon. “I also thought, with the flags all over the world about to go up for the Paris Games, it was time to cash in on my reputation and inspire the public again.”
Continue reading...‘The worst social security policy ever’ impoverishes children, humiliates women and penalises ethnic minorities. Keir Starmer must abolish the two-child cap on benefits
Sir Keir Starmer wants to end child poverty. One of his defining five missions is to “break down barriers to opportunity … to make sure there is no class ceiling on the ambitions of young people in Britain”. And last year he pledged his government would be “laser-focused on poverty”.
Fine words, and this week gives the chance to prove them. Amid the proposed laws in this government’s first king’s speech should be one that scraps the two-child cap on benefits. It impoverishes children, penalises ethnic minorities and humiliates women who have been raped. Unfair and morally repugnant, it is “the worst social security policy ever”, say academic experts. And government ministers know this.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Steve Leach and Colin Copus disagree with the former Conservative minister’s suggestion that more than 200 local authorities should be abolished
Michael Heseltine’s attitude to local government, in office and since, was a welcome contrast to his ministerial colleagues who succeeded him. He valued the contribution of local authorities to economic regeneration and was committed to a form of devolution.
In his article offering advice to Angela Rayner, there is much worthy of consideration (I’ve spent a lifetime working to level up Britain. Angela Rayner, here is my advice, 9 July). But there is one proposal she should certainly not follow: the abolition of over 200 councils to address his claim that the current structure is “incompatible with a coherent, properly led, local partnership with [central] government”. In other words, local government must be reorganised to suit the centre, not local communities.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary will also push for release of hostages and increase in aid during visit to Israel and West Bank
David Lammy is to call for an immediate ceasefire during talks with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on his first visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as foreign secretary.
Lammy said he would push for the release of all hostages as well as an increase in aid into Gaza, announcing a new £5.5m humanitarian and medical assistance package.
Continue reading...While the court refused to review the 1985 case of Charles McCrory, Sotomayor urged states to pass laws to help exonerate people imprisoned on debunked forensic evidence.
The post There’s a Junk Science Crisis in Criminal Convictions. Sonia Sotomayor Calls It Out in Alabama Bite-Mark Case. appeared first on The Intercept.
The U.S. undermines its criticism of Russia’s abuses in Ukraine by making excuses for Israel’s assault on Gaza.
The post Russia Attacks Hospitals in Ukraine. Israel Does the Same in Gaza. The U.S. Response Couldn’t Be More Different. appeared first on The Intercept.
From Mexico to the Mediterranean, rich countries would rather see refugees die than recognize their legal asylum rights.
The post The World War on Asylum appeared first on The Intercept.
The president called for the nation to come together, as the RNC kicks off in Milwaukee. Plus, a DNA discovery that could help cure pancreatic cancer
Good morning.
President Joe Biden said on Sunday there was “no place in America” for political violence and called on the nation to reject “extremism and fury” after the failed attempt on Donald Trump’s life.
What impact will the violence have on the race? US columnist Arwa Mahdawi argues it will almost certainly boost Trump’s campaign, while the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, writes that Trump’s response – shouting “Fight!” to his supporters – clinched his “status as both messiah and martyr”.
What do security experts think about the assassination attempt? It warrants “an intensive review” of Trump’s security and “a massive realignment”, according to an ex-Secret Service agent.
How widespread is this economic view? A Wall Street Journal survey of economists found the majority believe inflation, deficits and interest rates would be higher under Trump than Biden.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Bank launches project by selling Pudsey site as CEO says Labour’s commitment to sector is ‘clearer’ than last government’s
Lloyds Banking Group will start converting its disused office sites into social housing, as the UK’s largest mortgage provider lays the groundwork for a fresh housebuilding boom after Labour’s election win.
The bank, which started reviewing its property portfolio during the Covid lockdown in 2020, is launching the programme with a decommissioned data and office space in Pudsey, West Yorkshire.
Continue reading...As voters look for another option, alternative Democratic leaders poll similarly or even better than Biden — even without name recognition.
The post Every Democrat Other Than Joe Biden Is Unburdened by What Has Been appeared first on The Intercept.
Hugh Bayley says NGOs would also benefit as he releases report on impact of UK programme in Afghanistan
The UK should consider restoring its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan to support Afghan women and to help monitor the impact of British aid, a commissioner for the official UK aid watchdog has suggested.
Hugh Bayley, who visited Kabul in May, said he believed Afghan women and NGOs would welcome more western diplomats to represent the opinions of women to the Taliban as he released a report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) on the effectiveness of the UK programme, which is the second largest operated by Britain.
Continue reading...A top defender makes the case for Biden staying in.
The post Why Biden’s Still In: Insights From Democratic Insider Dmitri Mehlhorn appeared first on The Intercept.
The right-wing court is engaged in a radical revolution to upend U.S. democracy.
The post The Supreme Court Wants a Dictator appeared first on The Intercept.
Author Nathan Thrall’s recent book tells the story of one Palestinian family living under Israel occupation.
The post Understanding Israel’s “System of Domination” appeared first on The Intercept.
There was stunned silence at the far-right National Rally (RN) party headquarters as the results of France’s legislative elections came in. In stark opposition, ecstatic jubilation rocked Place de La République where leftwing New Popular Front (NFP) supporters had gathered. The leftist alliance unexpectedly took the top spot in the elections, ahead of the far right in a major upset that bars Marine Le Pen's National Rally from getting enough seats to form a government
Continue reading...Wall Street firm says it spent $4.2bn on compensation and benefits for its 45,300 staff in the three months to June
Goldman Sachs has increased banker pay including bonuses by 17% after profits more than doubled in the second quarter, following a rebound in dealmaking.
The Wall Street firm said it spent $4.2bn (£3.2bn) on compensation and benefits for its 45,300 staff in the three months to June, up almost a fifth from the same period last year. That figure accounts for salaries and pensions, as well as the amount being put aside for individual bonuses that are distributed at the end of the financial year.
Continue reading...New CEO needs to join dots between avant garde catwalk looks and what customers want from British group
Burberry has blessings that other brands would kill for. Everyone knows what a Burberry trenchcoat is, and pretty much everyone would be thrilled to have one. Burberry is a household name at a time when shoppers buying luxuries prize a prestige brand more than anything else. It is one of the elite labels that have meaning in the world of power and status, not only fashion.
In the trenchcoat – a perennial wardrobe classic – it owns prized real estate on the Monopoly board of luxury. (Consider how much mileage Gucci makes out of owning the loafer.) It has 168 years of heritage, and a bone-deep authenticity as the outfitter of Scott and Shackleton. It makes coats that last a lifetime, which chimes with modern values of sustainability. It stands for Britishness and quality. Success should, surely, be an open goal.
Continue reading...The chief executive of the R&A has warned golf must take steps to halt a potentially unsustainable rise in prize funds at elite events. Martin Slumbers’s comments came as it was revealed this year’s Open Championship at Troon will pay $3.1m (£2.38m) to the winner from a purse of $17m.
Those figures are the highest in Open history, after $16.5m was distributed at Royal Liverpool in 2023. Even professionals who miss the cut at the oldest major receive a cheque.
Continue reading...Retail sales growth is the weakest since the country emerged from Covid-19 lockdowns
Pressure on Beijing to take steps to improve Chinese consumer confidence has intensified after news that weak retail spending dragged down the growth rate of the world’s second biggest economy.
With falling house prices still acting as a drag on activity, official figures showed the Chinese economy expanding at an annual rate of 4.7% in the second quarter – much weaker than the 5.1% expected by the financial markets.
Continue reading...ICO calls on companies to be as transparent as possible with customers about waste release into rivers
Water companies must be transparent with the public about sewage spill data, the UK’s information commissioner has warned.
John Edwards has written to the water companies calling on them to be as transparent as possible with their customers, and has asked them to disclose information related to sewage discharges every month.
Continue reading...Orlando Whitfield, the author of All That Glitters, on his years of friendship with the art fraudster Inigo Philbrick
Orlando Whitfield, the author of All That Glitters, tells Michael Safi about his former friendship with Inigo Philbrick, who was sentenced to seven years in 2022 for wire fraud and ordered to forfeit $86m (£68m).
As students at Goldsmiths University in London, Whitfield and Philbrick decided to start dealing in art together. They sold their first piece for €15,000 (£12,600).
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson, Troy Townsend and John Brewin as England lose another Euros final
Follow Football Weekly wherever you get your podcasts and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today: it’s happened again, England have lost in the final of a major tournament. Spain deserved the win on the night but England were a Dani Olmo clearance from forcing extra time – instead, those familiar feelings are flooding back.
Continue reading...Trump administration officials and campaign staff helped draft the controversial playbook and appear in its videos.
The post Trump’s Camp Says It Has Nothing to Do With Project 2025 Manifesto — Aside From Writing It appeared first on The Intercept.
Activists who protested Biden’s handling of the war during Democratic primaries say they will maintain pressure no matter the nominee.
The post Whether It’s Biden or Someone Else, Gaza Remains Top Priority for “Uncommitted” Voters appeared first on The Intercept.
The conservative megadonor’s network is plowing money into the Republican primary to support Will Scharf, Trump’s personal attorney.
The post Missouri’s Attorney General Isn’t MAGA Enough for Leonard Leo appeared first on The Intercept.
If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ve noticed that I have written a lot about AI and democracy, mostly with my co-author Nathan Sanders. I am pleased to announce that we’re writing a book on the topic.
This isn’t a book about deep fakes, or misinformation. This is a book about what happens when AI writes laws, adjudicates disputes, audits bureaucratic actions, assists in political strategy, and advises citizens on what candidates and issues to support. It’s a book that tries to look into what an AI-assisted democratic system might look like, and then at how to best ensure that we make use of the good parts while avoiding the bad parts...
Real estate firms are touring North American cities marketing homes in Israel — and in illegal West Bank settlements.
The post The Companies Making It Easy to Buy in a West Bank Settlement appeared first on The Intercept.
In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.
As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.
Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.
This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.
Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.
LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique asset—ownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.
The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.
As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.
The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.
Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.
What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.
The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.
Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.
Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.
Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.
After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.
If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.
Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.
When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.
This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.
The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWire’s own cryptocurrency.
Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.
You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.
You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.
For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2 ,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share
For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share
For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2 2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.
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In conclusion, LimeWire emerges as a democratizing force in the creative landscape, providing an inclusive platform where anyone can unleash their artistic potential and effortlessly share their work. With the integration of AI, LimeWire eliminates traditional barriers, empowering designers, musicians, and artists to publish their creations and earn revenue with just a few clicks.
The ongoing commitment of LimeWire to innovation is evident in its plans to enhance generative AI tools with new features and models. The upcoming expansion to include music and video generation tools holds the promise of unlocking even more possibilities for creators. It sparks anticipation about the diverse and innovative ways in which artists will leverage these tools to produce and publish their own unique creations.
For those eager to explore, LimeWire's AI tools are readily accessible for free, providing an opportunity to experiment and delve into the world of generative art. As LimeWire continues to evolve, creators are encouraged to stay tuned for the launch of its forthcoming AI music and video generation tools, promising a future brimming with creative potential and endless artistic exploration
Are you looking for a new graphic design tool? Would you like to read a detailed review of Canva? As it's one of the tools I love using. I am also writing my first ebook using canva and publish it soon on my site you can download it is free. Let's start the review.
Canva has a web version and also a mobile app
Canva is a free graphic design web application that allows you to create invitations, business cards, flyers, lesson plans, banners, and more using professionally designed templates. You can upload your own photos from your computer or from Google Drive, and add them to Canva's templates using a simple drag-and-drop interface. It's like having a basic version of Photoshop that doesn't require Graphic designing knowledge to use. It’s best for nongraphic designers.
Canva is a great tool for small business owners, online entrepreneurs, and marketers who don’t have the time and want to edit quickly.
To create sophisticated graphics, a tool such as Photoshop can is ideal. To use it, you’ll need to learn its hundreds of features, get familiar with the software, and it’s best to have a good background in design, too.
Also running the latest version of Photoshop you need a high-end computer.
So here Canva takes place, with Canva you can do all that with drag-and-drop feature. It’s also easier to use and free. Also an even-more-affordable paid version is available for $12.95 per month.
The product is available in three plans: Free, Pro ($12.99/month per user or $119.99/year for up to 5 people), and Enterprise ($30 per user per month, minimum 25 people).
To get started on Canva, you will need to create an account by providing your email address, Google, Facebook or Apple credentials. You will then choose your account type between student, teacher, small business, large company, non-profit, or personal. Based on your choice of account type, templates will be recommended to you.
You can sign up for a free trial of Canva Pro, or you can start with the free version to get a sense of whether it’s the right graphic design tool for your needs.
When you sign up for an account, Canva will suggest different post types to choose from. Based on the type of account you set up you'll be able to see templates categorized by the following categories: social media posts, documents, presentations, marketing, events, ads, launch your business, build your online brand, etc.
Start by choosing a template for your post or searching for something more specific. Search by social network name to see a list of post types on each network.
Next, you can choose a template. Choose from hundreds of templates that are ready to go, with customizable photos, text, and other elements.
You can start your design by choosing from a variety of ready-made templates, searching for a template matching your needs, or working with a blank template.
Inside the Canva designer, the Elements tab gives you access to lines and shapes, graphics, photos, videos, audio, charts, photo frames, and photo grids.The search box on the Elements tab lets you search everything on Canva.
To begin with, Canva has a large library of elements to choose from. To find them, be specific in your search query. You may also want to search in the following tabs to see various elements separately:
The Photos tab lets you search for and choose from millions of professional stock photos for your templates.
You can replace the photos in our templates to create a new look. This can also make the template more suited to your industry.
You can find photos on other stock photography sites like pexel, pixabay and many more or simply upload your own photos.
When you choose an image, Canva’s photo editing features let you adjust the photo’s settings (brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.), crop, or animate it.
When you subscribe to Canva Pro, you get access to a number of premium features, including the Background Remover. This feature allows you to remove the background from any stock photo in library or any image you upload.
The Text tab lets you add headings, normal text, and graphical text to your design.
When you click on text, you'll see options to adjust the font, font size, color, format, spacing, and text effects (like shadows).
Canva Pro subscribers can choose from a large library of fonts on the Brand Kit or the Styles tab. Enterprise-level controls ensure that visual content remains on-brand, no matter how many people are working on it.
Create an animated image or video by adding audio to capture user’s attention in social news feeds.
If you want to use audio from another stock site or your own audio tracks, you can upload them in the Uploads tab or from the more option.
Want to create your own videos? Choose from thousands of stock video clips. You’ll find videos that range upto 2 minutes
You can upload your own videos as well as videos from other stock sites in the Uploads tab.
Once you have chosen a video, you can use the editing features in Canva to trim the video, flip it, and adjust its transparency.
On the Background tab, you’ll find free stock photos to serve as backgrounds on your designs. Change out the background on a template to give it a more personal touch.
The Styles tab lets you quickly change the look and feel of your template with just a click. And if you have a Canva Pro subscription, you can upload your brand’s custom colors and fonts to ensure designs stay on brand.
If you have a Canva Pro subscription, you’ll have a Logos tab. Here, you can upload variations of your brand logo to use throughout your designs.
With Canva, you can also create your own logos. Note that you cannot trademark a logo with stock content in it.
With Canva, free users can download and share designs to multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack and Tumblr.
Canva Pro subscribers can create multiple post formats from one design. For example, you can start by designing an Instagram post, and Canva's Magic Resizer can resize it for other networks, Stories, Reels, and other formats.
Canva Pro subscribers can also use Canva’s Content Planner to post content on eight different accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack, and Tumblr.
Canva Pro allows you to work with your team on visual content. Designs can be created inside Canva, and then sent to your team members for approval. Everyone can make comments, edits, revisions, and keep track via the version history.
When it comes to printing your designs, Canva has you covered. With an extensive selection of printing options, they can turn your designs into anything from banners and wall art to mugs and t-shirts.
Canva Print is perfect for any business seeking to make a lasting impression. Create inspiring designs people will want to wear, keep, and share. Hand out custom business cards that leave a lasting impression on customers' minds.
The Canva app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The Canva app has earned a 4.9 out of five star rating from over 946.3K Apple users and a 4.5 out of five star rating from over 6,996,708 Google users.
In addition to mobile apps, you can use Canva’s integration with other Internet services to add images and text from sources like Google Maps, Emojis, photos from Google Drive and Dropbox, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, Bitmojis, and other popular visual content elements.
In general, Canva is an excellent tool for those who need simple images for projects. If you are a graphic designer with experience, you will find Canva’s platform lacking in customization and advanced features – particularly vectors. But if you have little design experience, you will find Canva easier to use than advanced graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator for most projects. If you have any queries let me know in the comments section.
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