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33 Best REI Anniversary Sale Deals (2024): Fitness Trackers, Tents, Sleeping Bags, Headphones, Electric Bikes
Mon, 27 May 2024 14:22:34 +0000
It’s the best time of the year to pick up all the tents, stoves, sleeping bags, and gear you’ll need for summer fun. Just remember these deals end tonight.
Match ID: 0 Score: 35.00 source: www.wired.com age: 0 days
qualifiers: 35.00 fitness
Your Bike Tires Are Too Skinny. Riding on Fat, Supple Tires Is Just Better
Sat, 25 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000
I used to ride thin, high-pressure tires everywhere. But adhering to “the supple life” and cycling on wider, lower-pressure tires boosted my comfort and stability without slowing me down.
Match ID: 1 Score: 35.00 source: www.wired.com age: 2 days
qualifiers: 35.00 fitness
8 Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers (2024): Budget, Luxe, Tested by Experts
Fri, 24 May 2024 13:30:00 +0000
The stats say most people prefer to snooze on their sides. If that’s you, then you might want to check out these WIRED-tested beds.
Match ID: 2 Score: 30.00 source: www.wired.com age: 3 days
qualifiers: 30.00 fitness
Top 10 Best PLR(Private Label Rights) Websites | Which One You Should Join in 2022?
Sat, 26 Feb 2022 13:36:00 +0000
From badly behaved travellers to horrendous carbon emissions, summer holidays aren’t always an unmitigated good. Here is how to travel responsibly and still have a great time
Tourism is almost back to pre-pandemic levels – which is good news and bad news. However much holiday destinations rely on them, no one wants badly behaved tourists blocking views, partying wildly in the streets or pricing local people out of their own cities. Overtourism, carbon emissions, nature depletion and plastic pollution are all huge concerns. But that doesn’t mean you have to cancel your holiday. Here are 28 ways to be a better tourist this summer.
Continue reading...Concrete is strong and durable – which is why it’s the basis for so much of our infrastructure. It’s also terrible for the planet, due to one key ingredient: cement, which is responsible for almost 90% of concrete emissions. Researchers have now found a way to recover old cement while also reducing the environmental impact of recycling steel. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Julian Allwood, professor of engineering and the environment at the University Of Cambridge, to find out how the process works, and what it could mean for the emissions generated by the construction industry
Find more on concrete here in a special series from the Guardian
Continue reading...Vulnerable economies must be supported with finance and practical aid to find long term solutions, says Jorge Moreira da Silva of Unops
The world has a “moral responsibility” to support the fight for survival being faced by small island states, according to a leading UN agency chief.
Ahead of the fourth annual conference of small island developing states (Sids) being held in Antigua and Barbuda this week, Jorge Moreira da Silva, the executive director of the (Unops), called for recognition of the problems faced by what he called “some of the most vulnerable economies in the world” who contributed less than 1% to global carbon emissions.
Continue reading...Buying refurbished tech might feel risky if you’ve never done it before – but we’re here to tell you, it’s the future. Here’s what you need to know ...
Whether it’s eating less meat, swapping your car for a bike or saying no to single-use plastic, many of us are making lifestyle switches to live more ethically. However, fewer of us are aware of the huge environmental impact of something we use every day – our smartphone – and what we can all do to reduce it. Keen to know more? Here are five reasons why your next smartphone should be refurbished …
Keep your carbon footprint in check
The metal extraction, shipping and production that take place before a smartphone ends up in your hands create carbon emissions – and carbon emissions are the number one cause of the climate crisis. Metal mining and the manufacturing of smartphones, which predominantly take place in the global south, are also very polluting and therefore damaging to delicate ecosystems. Extending the lifespan of a smartphone can help to reduce this impact – the longer a smartphone is in use, the less damage is done to the planet. Obviously it’s not always possible to avoid needing a new phone, so this is why buying a refurbished one – and selling or recycling your old phones – is a more sustainable choice.
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.
The battalion has a dedicated U.S. nonprofit to support its operations — whose president is supporting AIPAC’s political agenda.
The post This AIPAC Donor Funnels Millions to an IDF Unit Accused of Violating Human Rights appeared first on The Intercept.
Labour and Liberal Democrats dominated list of MPs who were rated as very good in backing environmental policies
No elected Tory MPs have been rated as voting positively on climate issues, under a survey of parliamentary voting patterns since the Conservatives took power in 2010.
Only a single sitting Conservative was rated as “good” on climate votes in the ranking, but that was Lisa Cameron, the MP for East Kilbride, who defected from the Scottish National Party in October.
Continue reading...Douglas Ross barely mentions Westminster or Conservative policies and does not say PM’s name in speech kicking off campaign
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Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, is giving a speech on the economy in Derby.
She says her proposition is that Labour is “the natural party of British business”.
Yes, I would describe myself as a Christian socialist in the best traditions of that [term] because that’s about putting people first and to do that, you’ve got to have a set of policies that will deliver for people.
I think it’s the best tradition of the things that have been delivered in the UK, whether it’s the national parks or the NHS, have come from people with a similar background to mine.
Continue reading...Trial enters final stages as prosecutors allege former president falsified business records relating to payment to adult film star
Donald Trump’s hush-money trial enters its final stages on Tuesday as closing arguments begin in court.
For weeks, testimony has gripped America and the world amid the prospect that the former US president could be found guilty of the criminal charges. Trump, who is almost certain to secure the Republican presidential nomination, is charged with falsifying business records related to paying the adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her silence about an alleged sexual liaison.
Continue reading...Find out who’s up and who’s down in the latest polls – and how many seats each party is likely to win in the next general election
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called the next UK general election for 4 July 2024.
After 14 years of Conservative rule, Keir Starmer’s Labour has been consistently ahead in the polls since the start of 2022.
Continue reading...Mel Stride says pensioners will pay more income tax under Labour as critics say plan is merely reversal of previous Tory policy
The work and pensions secretary has said Labour will drag millions of older people into paying income tax while the Conservatives can “comfortably” raise the money for their proposed cuts for pensioners by clamping down on tax avoidance.
Under the Conservatives’ “triple lock plus” proposal , “millions of pensioners will get tax cuts worth hundreds of pounds over the next parliament”, Mel Stride told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Robert Hayward, who identified ‘shy Tories’ in 1992, suggests the party is winning support from undecided voters
Some of the polls before the general election may be overstating Labour’s huge lead over the Conservatives, a Tory election expert has said.
According to Robert Hayward, a peer and former MP who first identified the phenomenon of “shy Tories” before the 1992 election, his analysis of local election results suggests that the Conservatives are getting more support from voters who say they are undecided than is showing up in the polls.
Continue reading...Readers respond to the Conservatives’ idea of bringing back a form of mandatory national service if they are re-elected
Bringing back national service is not a policy, it is a meme (Rishi Sunak’s national service pledge is ‘bonkers’, says ex-military chief, 26 May). The Conservatives might as well have announced a fully funded project to “string ’em up”.
James Cleverly has suggested recalcitrant teenagers could be working weekends as emergency health responders and special constables. How will the ambulance service deal with someone they must spend resources on training, who is unable or unwilling to contribute? Perhaps refuseniks can be press-ganged into building a wall along the Kent coast so we may make Britain great again.
Continue reading...With BBC news app alerts reaching as many as 7m Britons, parties are desperately trying to influence what gets pushed out
The most powerful person in British media during this election, in terms of having the most direct access to voters, is no longer the editor of BBC’s News at Six or the person who chooses the headlines on Radio 2. Nor are they a newspaper editor, a TikTok influencer, or a podcaster. Instead, they’re the anonymous on-shift editor of the BBC News app, making snap judgments on whether to make the phones of millions of Britons buzz with a breaking news push alert.
The BBC does not publish user numbers, but external research suggests about 12.6 million Britons have its news app installed. BBC newsroom sources say the actual number is higher and the assumption is that about 60% of users have notifications enabled. This means that on a conservative estimate, a typical push alert is reaching the phones of 7 million Britons – more than any other broadcast news bulletin in the UK.
Continue reading...He tells the world he intends to be an authoritarian. So why won’t journalists repeat it?
The post The Media Still Doesn’t Grasp the Danger of Trump appeared first on The Intercept.
Is this what the “pro-life” movement wanted?
The post Sterilization, Murders, Suicides: Bans Haven’t Slowed Abortions, and They’re Costing Lives appeared first on The Intercept.
Boundary changes mean the 2024 British general election will be fought in altered seats. Enter your postcode to see a map of your constituency and how these seats would have voted in 2019
The general election on 4 July will be fought across 650 new constituencies after boundary changes were approved by parliament.
While no election has taken place along these boundaries yet, research by psephologists Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, academics at the University of Plymouth, has estimated how, based on 2019 results, these new seats would have notionally voted in that election.
Continue reading...Candidacy applications open for safe seats after six MPs announce retirements with more expected
Labour has opened applications for a string of safe seats after six MPs announced last-minute retirements, with key allies of Keir Starmer expected to be lined up to take their places.
Those standing down include the former shadow minister Barbara Keeley and the chair of the parliamentary Labour party, John Cryer, as well as John Spellar, Virendra Sharma and Kevin Brennan.
Continue reading...In divergent messages, president pays tribute to fallen heroes, while Trump fulminates on social media against opponents
Joe Biden and Donald Trump marked the Memorial Day national holiday honoring America’s war dead with jarringly divergent messages that promised to foretell the forthcoming US presidential election campaign as a contest of sharply contrasting characters.
In a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Biden paid tribute to the fallen as heroes who sacrificed themselves in the service of American democracy and ideals. Meanwhile, Trump, taking to his Truth Social site, took a very different tack – bestowing holiday wishes on those he branded “human scum” and accused them of trying to destroy the country.
Continue reading...MP for Telford, who is standing down at general election, tweeted support for Alan Adams in further blow to Rishi Sunak
The Conservative MP Lucy Allan has been suspended from the party after saying she will back Reform UK at the general election, in a further blow to Rishi Sunak and his faltering campaign.
The MP for Telford, who announced last year that she was standing down, was suspended from the Conservatives after posting a tweet saying she would support her local Reform candidate in the coming contest.
Continue reading...Steve Baker says advisers came up with policy to bring back mandatory national service without agreeing it with ministers
The Conservative campaign pledge to introduce mandatory national service was dreamed up by advisers and sprung on candidates, a government minister has said.
Criticism of the headline-grabbing policy has centred on claims it was not fully thought through before being announced, while ministers said just two days before the announcement that a return of national service was not on the cards.
Continue reading...In the survey of Democrats and independents in five battleground states, 2 in 5 voters said a ceasefire and conditioning aid would make them more likely to vote for Biden.
The post Conditioning Aid to Israel Would Boost Support for Biden in Key States, New Poll Finds appeared first on The Intercept.
The hopes raised by the ANC coming to power in 1994 have, 30 years on, been dashed for millions still without a decent roof over their heads
A picture of Nelson Mandela watches over the dimly lit room where Maggie Mothemba has lived for six years. “He’s like my father,” says the 57-year-old, who remembers the day in April 1994 that she voted for Mandela’s African National Congress in South Africa’s first democratic election.
She was then “full of hope” to be on the list for a government-subsidised house to raise her two children – a key ANC’ election promise. But Mothemba is still waiting, along with 2.5 million households languishing in a housing crisis. In 2017, facing eviction from a private rental , she moved into a derelict hospital in Woodstock, a Cape Town neighbourhood, squatted by people protesting the slow pace of affordable housing development.
Continue reading...The Guardian is reporting from the constituency of Waveney Valley to find out what issues people there care about most – and we want your help
The Guardian will be reporting from Waveney Valley – a new, predominately rural constituency which crosses the border between Norfolk and Suffolk – ahead of the general election. This will be part of a series of pieces from across the country focused on finding out what matters most to the people who live there.
The area has traditionally voted Conservative, but this could change amid concerns around sewage and pollution, as well as issues affecting farmers and growers.
Continue reading...The Guardian is reporting from the constituency of Birmingham Ladywood to find out what issues people there care about most – and we want your help
The Guardian will be reporting from Birmingham Ladywood – considered one of the safest Labour seats in the country – ahead of the general election. This will be part of a series of pieces from across the country focused on finding out what matters most to the people who live there.
If you live in Birmingham Ladywood, can you tell us what will decide your vote? We’d like to understand the big issues facing you and your family and which policies matter to you. How happy are you with the state of housing, work, community relations, policing and health services? What local issues should we be looking at?
Continue reading...The Guardian is reporting from the constituency of Chingford and Woodford Green to find out what issues people there care about most – and we want your help
The Guardian will be reporting from Chingford and Woodford Green – where Labour’s Faiza Shaheen hopes to unseat Iain Duncan Smith – ahead of the general election. This will be part of a series of pieces from across the country focused on finding out what matters most to the people who live there.
If you live in Chingford and Woodford Green, can you tell us what will decide your vote? We’d like to understand the big issues facing you and your family and which policies matter to you. How happy are you with the state of housing, work, community relations, policing and health services? What local issues should we be looking at?
Continue reading...Michelle Roach bought a used ice-cream van in order to bring cheap, affordable food to Liverpool's struggling communities. She wanted a vehicle with freezers built in for frozen food, and also something cheerful that was able to break down stigmas around food poverty. Using a '10 items for £5' model, Michelle sources discount food from supermarket surplus and donations.
The Guardian's Christopher Cherry follows Michelle and the van on its rounds, with the service struggling to meet overwhelming demand as the cost of living crisis deepens, and the UK's general election fast approaches.
Continue reading...Forget the military, but working under supervision in the NHS, care sector or for a charity could be hugely beneficial for many
Rishi Sunak’s reinvention of national service is a desperate, last-minute election gimmick. But that does not make it a bad idea. If there is one phase in education across Britain that is way off course, it is the higher teens. Sixth-form, higher and further education are deeply reactionary, more plagued than ever by introverted academic syllabuses and obsessive testing. For decades it has eluded progressive reform.
Sunak’s idea of a year’s military training would be a costly waste. The army has said it does not want amateur conscripts. The defence of Britain against improbable attack requires highly skilled operatives, not trench-war cannon fodder. By all means recruit more of them, but polls show that barely 10% of young people would volunteer for war service and a third would resist formal conscription. Under Sunak’s plan, an overwhelming majority would choose the civilian alternative of spending one weekend a month for a year in a public or charitable service. Germany’s non-military alternative to national service – both it and military conscription were abolished in 2011 – was hugely popular.
Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Labour is throwing everything at growth and running away from thorny issues such as Brexit, tax rises and our ageing population
It wasn’t quite John Major’s vision of old maids cycling through the mist to church. But the sepia-tinted memories Keir Starmer recounted in his first big campaign speech of growing up in Oxted, the Surrey town he called “about as English as you can get”, weren’t a million miles away. He talked about growing up in a house where the phone was sometimes cut off because his parents couldn’t afford to pay the bill; about how he identifies now with young couples realising they can’t afford a longed-for second child because of rocketing mortgages.
But he also talked nostalgically about the ramshackle football pitch he played on, and shared with grazing cows, and what he called the British air of “quiet uncomplaining resilience” in an era when there was sadly a lot to be resilient about. Shades of those “do you remember … ?” pages on Facebook, where the middle aged reminisce about pork scratchings and playing on a ZX Spectrum.
Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Officials hope for strong youth turnout but experts say this does not translate into support for EU as far right makes inroads
The town has a farm, a university and a factory, but nobody agrees on where to put the police station. Around a large table in a stuffy room in a museum basement next to the Royal Palace of Brussels, a group of teenagers are haggling over the construction of a fictional town that has run out of budget.
The group of 21 sixth formers from the south Belgian city of Mons have already divided into four political parties and fixed their priorities. Health, jobs and equality were high on everyone’s list. Now they have to find consensus on building a town, trading views over where to place brightly coloured blocks – standing for amenities – on the gleaming white table.
Continue reading...Small campaign pledges risk inhibiting Labour’s ability, if elected, to improve people’s lives
Sir Keir Starmer was asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last Friday whether, if he achieved his goal for the UK to attain the highest sustained growth in the G7, he would readopt plans to scrap university tuition fees. He had committed to their abolition when running to be Labour leader in 2020, but dropped the policy last year because he said money was tight. Mishal Husain’s question exposed a contradiction in Sir Keir’s plans: the argument that he ditched his tuition-fee pledge to prioritise the NHS melted away if higher public spending could be financed by faster economic growth. Sir Keir parried, leaving the issue unresolved.
On Monday, Labour’s leader sought to further deflect from his rowback by leaving the door open to raising fees. Polling suggests that would be unpopular. Many voters might not want English university education to be free, but most want to see the cost reduced. Last year, Public First suggested that cutting fees to between £6,000 and £7,500 was the most popular option. Sir Keir was first elected to the Commons in 2015 on a Labour manifesto pledge to trim fees to such levels, with universities’ income made up through increased state support. But it would not be lost on him that even though his party had won the argument, Labour lost that election.
Continue reading...For 40 years, Amit Shah has been at Narendra Modi’s side – his confidant, consigliere and enforcer. Today he is India’s second-most powerful man, and he is reshaping the country in radical ways. By Atul Dev
Continue reading...Missouri state representative Ben Baker’s daughter and her husband were reportedly ambushed when leaving a church
The daughter and son-in-law of a US Republican politician are among three Christian missionaries who have been killed by gang members in Haiti as it emerged that the long-awaited deployment of an multinational security force tasked with rescuing the Caribbean country from months of bloodshed had been delayed.
Ben Baker, a Republican state representative from Missouri, announced the news of the couple’s murder on Facebook late on Thursday, writing: “My heart is broken in a thousand pieces. I’ve never felt this kind of pain.”
Continue reading...The company behind the weight-loss drug has made millions, but without health insurance it is unaffordable for many. George Chidi reports
George Chidi, a politics and democracy reporter for Guardian US, recently came to Europe on holiday. He had been looking forward to eating his way around Paris and London, and was especially looking forward to the cheese. But when he got here, something surprised him. He enjoyed the food but found he wasn’t overeating.
For the past few months, he explains to Hannah Moore, he has been taking the weight-loss drug Ozempic. Almost 2% of the population in the US is taking it and the company behind it is worth billions. But while it’s been a big year for semaglutide weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, the changes they are making to US society are only just beginning.
Continue reading...EU institutions have already let people of colour down. Now the rise of the far right poses an even greater threat
My inbox is inundated with messages telling me to use my vote in the European elections because if I don’t “others will decide for you”. My head agrees with the messages from EU politicians that I should do my bit for democracy. But for the first time, my heart isn’t in it.
As a European who is also brown and Muslim – and who has long wanted the EU “project” to work – I am terrified at the extent of power and influence wielded, inside and outside government, by politicians who are unashamedly racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic and whose vision of Europe – whatever they may say in public – is also inherently hostile to women, Jews and gay people. And I am worried that it is going to get even worse.
Continue reading...French far right leader suggests alliance of ID and ECR groups, including Italian PM’s Brothers of Italy
The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has suggested the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, join forces with her in a new alliance, as the EU’s resurgent but divided nationalist parties gear up for European parliamentary elections next month.
The move came as European centre-left parties reiterated a warning to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, that they would not support her bid for a second term if it entailed the backing of hard-right parties – including Meloni’s.
Continue reading...Indian leader tells interviewer God ‘just keeps making me do things’ but that he ‘cannot dial him directly’
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has said he believes he has been chosen by God, as the multi-stage Indian election nears its completion.
“I am convinced that ‘Parmatma’ (God) sent me for a purpose. Once the purpose is achieved, my work will be one done. This is why I have completely dedicated myself to God,” he told NDTV news channel on Sunday.
Continue reading...Party’s leaders are more nervous than ever that it will lose its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to victory
It was supposed to be a show of strength, a packed crowd of 83,000 ANC supporters showing South Africa that despite the country’s myriad problems, the ruling party was still confident of victory in Wednesday’s pivotal elections.
Instead, as people streamed out of the three-quarters-full venue before President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech had even begun, the Siyanqoba (“To conquer”) rally will have left ANC leaders more nervous than ever that the party that liberated South Africa will lose its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to victory in 1994.
Continue reading...We’d like to hear from people under 30 in the UK about the things that will matter to them most when they go to the polls this July
We’re interested to hear from young people in the UK what matters to them the most when they think about voting in the 2024 general election.
If you are under 30 and live in the UK, tell us which issues are most important to you regarding the election, and whether you’re planning to vote on 4 July.
Continue reading...Victims of the contaminated blood scandal finally got some of the justice they have been seeking this week when Sir Brian Langstaff published the final report of his inquiry. The Guardian’s John Harris speaks to the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, who has campaigned for those affected by the disaster and was the health secretary from 2009-10
Continue reading...A study says that most beer served in pubs and bars is short-measured. Here’s why I think drinkers should suck it up
I have frequently felt robbed at the pub. You know the feeling. Tapping your card on the reader and seeing £6.70 drain from your bank account in exchange for the most average glass of IPA in the world; doing it again, a third, maybe even a fourth time, shuddering internally. News last week, however, confirmed the worst: actually, you really have been getting robbed at the pub.
Last week, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute published a study of drinks served at 77 pubs and bars around the UK. They found that, out of 137 orders of pints, half pints and 175ml glasses of wine, about 70% contained less drink than they were supposed to; 29% of these short measures were under by 5% or more. Beer was where there were the most discrepancies: 86% of orders were short-measured. For the average beer drinker, these losses add up to £88.40 a year of beer paid for and never actually served.
Imogen West-Knights is a journalist and writer. Her novel Deep Down is out now
Continue reading...Asylum seekers from Sudan, Eritrea and Afghanistan detained in government’s Operation Vector share their stories
When Helen arrived at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre, she was taken to her cell and handed some cleaning spray and wipes and told to use them before making up her bed. She had no idea why she had been arrested when she went to report.
“They told me I had been detained for Rwanda and tried to convince us to go voluntarily saying it is now the law and we have already been selected. But they didn’t explain to me why I had been chosen.”
Continue reading...One day and six (very long) agreements later, can we call the meeting to hammer out the future of AI regulation a success?
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What does success look like for the second global AI summit? As the great and good of the industry (and me) gathered last week at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, a sprawling hilltop campus in eastern Seoul, that was the question I kept asking myself.
If we’re ranking the event by the quantity of announcements generated, then it’s a roaring success. In less than 24 hours – starting with a virtual “leader’s summit” at 8pm and ending with a joint press conference with the South Korean and British science and technology ministers – I counted no fewer than six agreements, pacts, pledges and statements, all demonstrating the success of the event in getting people around the table to hammer out a deal.
The first 16 companies have signed up to voluntary artificial intelligence safety standards introduced at the Bletchley Park summit, Rishi Sunak has said on the eve of the follow-up event in Seoul.
“These commitments ensure the world’s leading AI companies will provide transparency and accountability on their plans to develop safe AI,” Sunak said. “It sets a precedent for global standards on AI safety that will unlock the benefits of this transformative technology.”
Those institutes will begin sharing information about models, their limitations, capabilities and risks, as well as monitoring specific “AI harms and safety incidents” where they occur and sharing resources to advance global understanding of the science of AI safety.
At the first “full house” meeting of those countries on Wednesday, [Michelle Donelan, the UK technology secretary] warned the creation of the network was only a first step. “We must not rest on our laurels. As the pace of AI development accelerates, we must match that speed with our own efforts if we are to grip the risks and seize the limitless opportunities for our public.”
Twenty-seven nations, including the United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, France, United States, United Arab Emirates, as well as the European Union, have signed up to developing proposals for assessing AI risks over the coming months, in a set of agreements that bring the AI Seoul summit to an end. The Seoul Ministerial Statement sees countries agreeing for the first time to develop shared risk thresholds for frontier AI development and deployment, including agreeing when model capabilities could pose “severe risks” without appropriate mitigations. This could include helping malicious actors to acquire or use chemical or biological weapons, and AI’s ability to evade human oversight, for example by manipulation and deception or autonomous replication and adaptation.
Continue reading...Rob Stefanic tells Senate he declared a conflict of interest over ‘close friendship’ with subordinate due to ‘gossip’
The Department of Parliamentary Services boss, Rob Stefanic, has denied having a romantic relationship with his then subordinate, telling Senate estimates he formally declared a conflict of interest only due to “gossip” and “rumour”.
Senate estimates heard on Tuesday that Stefanic declared a conflict due to his personal relationship with Cate Saunders, a former deputy secretary in the department, in August 2022. The hearing was told Stefanic remained her boss for eight months until she was seconded to another agency.
Continue reading...Kallista Mutten breaks down in the witness stand as she rejects suggestions she shot her daughter dead behind a chicken shed
Kallista Mutten became distraught when confronted with details of her daughter Charlise’s shooting and tearfully rejected a suggestion she was the one who pulled the trigger.
Justin Stein, 33, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the nine-year-old, instead claiming he witnessed Mutten shoot the schoolgirl.
Continue reading...Tingle says Australia is a ‘racist country’ in response to question at Sydney writers’ festival about Peter Dutton’s immigration policy
The ABC has flatly denied the board held emergency talks after News Corp lambasted Laura Tingle for criticising Peter Dutton’s immigration policy at the Sydney writers’ festival.
On Sunday, while discussing the Coalition’s plans to cut immigration, Tingle said: “We are a racist country, let’s face it. We always have been, and it’s very depressing.”
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
‘Last 24 hours only reinforces need’ for immediate humanitarian ceasefire, return of hostages and aid access, Conroy says
Pat Conroy was also asked about Israel’s assault on a refugee camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah.
Well, we’re incredibly concerned by what we saw in Rafah. And that’s why we’ve been continuing to call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. We’ve also called for an immediate return of all hostages that Hamas have taken. And the immediate opening of access so we can get massive amounts of humanitarian support into the Gaza. So immediate humanitarian ceasefire, release of hostages and immediate flow of aid is critical. That’s the Australian government’s position and you’re absolutely right, what we’ve seen overnight or over the last 24 hours only reinforces the need for those three things.
No, to be quite frank, we don’t. The Papua New Guinean government has asked the UN agencies to coordinate partner countries and those assessments are going on right now. But this is an incredibly inaccessible part of Papua New Guinea. And it’s a really challenging process for everyone.
Continue reading...After the Post Office, infected blood, Grenfell Tower, Windrush and more, what could fall on the next prime minister’s watch?
Reckonings with shocking national scandals have lately become a defining feature of British public life.
Some, like the Post Office and infected blood scandals, have erupted from cases of wrongdoing hidden in plain sight. Again and again, whistleblowers are shown to have been sidelined, ignored and dismissed.
Continue reading...Super-rich have left country to avoid being subjected to UK taxes on overseas income, conference hears
A London-based billionaire non-dom left the UK for good on the day that the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced the scrapping of the 225-year-old tax scheme in the spring budget, his tax adviser has revealed.
“We did have one billionaire client who literally on the day of the budget, 6 March, got on his private jet with his wife, with his children, with the private tutor, and flew to one of his other 17 houses in the world – and said ‘I’m not coming back’,” said John Barnett, a partner at the law firm Burges Salmon, which specialises in advising the super-rich on how to legally reduce their tax bills.
Continue reading...Regulator drops investigation four years after claims of political partisanship were raised
The Charity Commission has dropped its investigation into the Campaign Against Antisemitism – four years after the regulator was asked to look into allegations of political partisanship against the organisation.
The leftwing Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), which has faced criticism from the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), including being called a “sham Jewish representative organisation”, made a complaint against the CAA to the commission in 2020.
Continue reading...From railways to nurseries and children’s homes, investors are taking advantage of chances to siphon taxpayer funds offshore
Sector by sector, private equity is making deep inroads into UK public services. More than a decade ago, the collapse of Southern Cross, the private-equity-owned care home operator, revealed the havoc that can be wreaked when essential public services are run by heavily indebted businesses with complex financial structures. Typically, such owners maximise profits by using low-tax jurisdictions, loans, and sale-and-leaseback arrangements that split holding companies from property assets.
Present trends show that this cautionary tale is being ignored. A forthcoming report from the Common Wealth thinktank uses the example of the companies that lease trains to railway operators, to demonstrate that private equity companies are pressing their advantage from financial engineering. Britain’s transport network has joined health and social care, children’s homes and some areas of education in offering rich pickings to private-equity investors.
Continue reading...Performance across network still poor as delays and cancellations continue, says public accounts committee
The government has “achieved very little” in reforms to Great Britain’s railways six years after identifying the need for big changes to improve the situation for passengers and taxpayers, according to an influential parliamentary committee.
MPs on the cross-party public accounts committee said the Department for Transport has not paid enough attention to the needs of passengers or taxpayers, six years after a botched introduction of new timetables led to chaos on the rail network and a widespread consensus that deep changes were needed.
Continue reading...Labor senator the first government member to publicly voice outrage over strike in southern Gaza that killed 35 people
Labor senator Fatima Payman has labelled Israel’s strike on a displaced person’s camp in Rafah “deplorable”, calling on her own government to stop trade with Israel and recognise a Palestinian state.
Payman is the first government member to publicly voice outrage over the strike on Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood, in southern Gaza. At least 35 people were killed, according to Palestinian medics.
Continue reading...Appeal allowed Sudharsan Ithayachandran to return to UK to be with his family, but he died in Sri Lanka while awaiting visa
The family of a man who died abroad after being wrongly deported by the UK Home Office have blamed the department for causing delays that stopped him being reunited with his children.
Sudharsan Ithayachandran, 41, was deported from the UK to Sri Lanka on 24 December 2019 – his wedding anniversary – after admitting to working illegally at Tesco and using false documents.
Continue reading...Cypriot-born Sia Kasparis, who speaks limited English, was not told about disability premium overpayment for several years
Eighty-five-year-old Sia Kasparis was in her hospital bed in the living room of her small north London flat when there was a knock at the door.
The grandmother-of-five has been bedbound for the last two years, the result of a collapsed vertebra and a range of other health problems, including vascular dementia, heart failure and kidney disease.
Continue reading...Federal government to amend Citizenship Act, removing ‘second-generation cut-off’ introduced by Conservative government
Canada plans to restore the right of citizens born abroad to pass their citizenship to children also born outside the country, following a court ruling that a “first-generation limit” in the law was unconstitutional.
The federal government announced legislation to amend the Citizenship Act, removing a “second-generation cut-off” introduced by the previous Conservative government, after an Ontario court ruled in December that the limit was unconstitutional.
Continue reading...The BBC’s comedy chief thinks the format needs ‘saving’. But it’s the stereotypes that are dead: the sitcom itself is thriving
Just as we could most do with a laugh in the painful run-up to the election, last week the BBC’s director of comedy commissioning, Jon Petrie, told a festival audience that the mainstream UK comedy scene needs “a couple of Berocca and a black americano”. At the BBC Comedy festival in Glasgow, he appealed for programme-makers to “save” sitcoms. Mournful reports of “the death of the sitcom” followed. What are we Britons supposed to laugh at now? Surely not content by … the Americans? Or – even worse – “comedy drama”?
But how on earth can sitcom be dead when we live in an age of constant new content, endless streaming and easily accessible reruns of old and new material? And what does it matter what we call comedy, as long as we are getting a laugh? My kids – in their teens and early 20s – watch Derry Girls, Ghosts, Outnumbered and Friday Night Dinner on a loop, all nominally sitcoms and hardly ancient.
Viv Groskop is a comedian and author of Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident
Continue reading...Water watchdog decision on bills in England and Wales delayed until after election, as Thames crisis looms
Ofwat is poised to refuse most water companies’ requests to ratchet up consumer bills, with some getting as little as half of what they have asked for, the Guardian has learned.
The decision from the water watchdog for England and Wales, Ofwat, has been formally delayed until 11 July because of the general election. Its verdict, known as a draft determination, comes amid a growing crisis in the water sector.
Southern Water – 91% to £915
Thames Water – 59% to £749
Hafren Dyfrdwy – 56% to £676
Severn Trent – 50% to £657
Wessex Water – 50% to £822
Yorkshire Water – 46% to £682
Dŵr Cymru – 43% to £702
United Utilities – 38% to £666
South East Water – 35% £330
Pennon – 33% to £644
Portsmouth Water – 31% to £157
SES – 30% to £315
Anglian Water – 29% to £682
Northumbrian Water and Essex & Suffolk Water – 26% to £530
Affinity Water – 25% to £294
South Staffs & Cambridge Water – 24% to £221
Source: Consumer Council for Water
Data note: The figures are estimates which include forecasts for inflation of 2% a year up to 2030 to requests from water companies submitted to Ofwat.
submitted by /u/Wagamaga [link] [comments] |
As official mourning for Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi ends, here are some of the names of his potential successors
The end of official mourning for Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi has unleashed a battle for succession in which as many as 20 credible names have been proposed.
All candidates have to be cleared by the 12-strong elite body known as the Guardian Council, and the regime is torn between ensuring continuity on the one hand and on the other, allowing an open competition that stimulates turnout and gives the victor legitimacy.
Continue reading...With Bowman’s challenger handpicked by AIPAC, the Israel lobby is cementing its status as the biggest player in Democratic primary politics.
The post Outside Groups Spent $285,000 Backing Jamaal Bowman. AIPAC Alone Just Dropped Nearly $2 Million to Attack Him. appeared first on The Intercept.
US urges Israel to take ‘precaution’ to protect civilians after strike that killed at least 45 people as EU calls for Israel to explain offensive
Lisa O’Carroll is the Guardian’s Brussels correspondent
Germany’s foreign minister has said Germany supports the revival of a former EU security border security mission for border protection in Rafah.
We are all experiencing how terrible the situation is. This suffering cannot go on for another day. This has once again prompted the international court of justice to make urgent decisions, to initiate provisional measures to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire. For this humanitarian ceasefire is what we as Europeans, the German federal government [are calling for].
We will do everything we can to achieve this, however difficult the situation is at the moment. That also means thinking again about how humanitarian aid and the worsening situation in Gaza can come in. We now have the situation where Rafah is closed again.
Continue reading...Since Dobbs, state-level Republicans have sought to strip power from DAs elected in Democratic cities who won’t prosecute abortion care.
The post Republicans Can’t Decide: Do They Hate Prosecutors Because of Bail Reform or Abortion? appeared first on The Intercept.
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Sid Lowe for the final Europod of the season
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the Europod today: we start in Germany by asking if Champions League finalists Dortmund are ready for Wembley, and whether Bayern Munich are ready for Vincent Kompany. Also, what’s next for Bayer Leverkusen after their undefeated league and Cup double?
Continue reading...Concrete is strong and durable – which is why it’s the basis for so much of our infrastructure. It’s also terrible for the planet, due to one key ingredient: cement, which is responsible for almost 90% of concrete emissions. Researchers have now found a way to recover old cement while also reducing the environmental impact of recycling steel. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Julian Allwood, professor of engineering and the environment at the University Of Cambridge, to find out how the process works, and what it could mean for the emissions generated by the construction industry
Find more on concrete here in a special series from the Guardian
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nooruddean Choudry, John Brewin and Ben Fisher for a Wembley special
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today; the underdogs did it - Manchester United won the FA Cup after beating rivals Manchester City. It was an excellent performance but what does it mean for Erik ten Hag?
Continue reading...Vulnerable economies must be supported with finance and practical aid to find long term solutions, says Jorge Moreira da Silva of Unops
The world has a “moral responsibility” to support the fight for survival being faced by small island states, according to a leading UN agency chief.
Ahead of the fourth annual conference of small island developing states (Sids) being held in Antigua and Barbuda this week, Jorge Moreira da Silva, the executive director of the (Unops), called for recognition of the problems faced by what he called “some of the most vulnerable economies in the world” who contributed less than 1% to global carbon emissions.
Continue reading...Guardian investigations correspondent Maeve McClenaghan discusses her investigation into some of the work of the artist Damien Hirst that has been dated to the 1990s, years before it was actually made. Art critic Jonathan Jones discusses the impact Hirst’s work has had on him
The Guardian investigative reporter Maeve McClenaghan tells Today in Focus host Michael Safi about four Damien Hirst sculptures that were made by preserving animals in formaldehyde that appear to have been dated by his company to the 1990s even though they were made in 2017.
Hirst also produced 10,000 paintings for a series called The Currency, each comprising colourful hand-painted dots on A4 paper. It was born from the idea of creating a form of money from art. At least 1,000 paintings that Hirst said were “made in 2016” were created several years later, McClenaghan has also found.
Continue reading...With FDA approval on the horizon, an internal document lays out measures to treat PTSD and stanch the suicide crisis.
The post The VA Is Quietly Fast-Tracking MDMA Therapy for Veterans appeared first on The Intercept.
Comedian, writer and actor Stephen Merchant on standup, fame and the pressures of cancel culture; testing the ‘world-leading science’ claims behind the Zoe nutrition app; and the point when writer Harriet Tyce realised she didn’t want to be remembered only as a drinker
Continue reading...And for some reason Justice Samuel Alito can’t stop talking about this witch trial judge.
The post The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Is Constitutional, After All appeared first on The Intercept.
The Intercept’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft shows how digital outlets are uniquely vulnerable.
The post Scarlett Johansson Isn’t Alone. The Intercept Is Getting Ripped Off by OpenAI Too. appeared first on The Intercept.
From targeting humanitarian vehicles to standing by as mobs attack trucks, Israel is blocking aid from reaching Gaza.
The post The State Department Says Israel Isn’t Blocking Aid. Videos Show the Opposite. appeared first on The Intercept.
As brutal police repression sweeps campus encampments, schools have been cutting ties with pro-Palestine faculty members without tenure.
The post University Professors Are Losing Their Jobs Over “New McCarthyism” on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
This isn’t “politics by other means,” it’s never-ending conflict.
The post Israel Wants Endless War Without the Politics. Biden’s Going Along for the Doomed Ride. appeared first on The Intercept.
Remaining health care workers won’t go until Israel stops blocking entry of new medical personnel.
The post Medical Workers Evacuated From Gaza, but 3 Americans Refuse to Leave appeared first on The Intercept.
A Louisiana sheriff’s department has been testing the drone system, which is already used by the Israeli police and many settlements.
The post An Israeli Company Is Hawking Its Self-Launching Drone System to U.S. Police Departments appeared first on The Intercept.
Keir Starmer appeared in Dover and Deal alongside the Labour party’s newest MP, the former Tory Natalie Elphicke, to announce the scrapping of the Rwanda deportation scheme if Labour is elected. The Guardian spoke to people in Dover to get their reaction
Continue reading...
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.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
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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Continue reading...The 71-year-old veteran peace activist discusses the war on Gaza, the Biden administration, and shaking up Congress.
The post Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin on Disrupting the U.S. War Machine appeared first on The Intercept.
Obsessively detailed clash between two rival high school teams has done massive box office in Japan, but it won’t make much sense to the uninitiated
This is the second highest-grossing movie of the year in Japan, but unless you’re a teenager, an anime junkie or really, really care about volleyball, you’re unlikely to get much out of it. Storywise, it feels a little like walking into a play halfway through – which in effect you are, unless you’ve followed Haruichi Furudate’s huge-selling, long-running manga, from which this is adapted, and the 85 episodes of TV anime it’s already spawned. Even the title will be indecipherable to newcomers: “haikyuu” is Japanese for volleyball; the “dumpster battle” refers to our two rival high school teams and their urban-wildlife mascots, a crow and a cat.
With very little preamble we’re thrown straight into a high-stakes match between these teams – a third-round playoff in Spring National tournament – and that’s where we stay for the duration. There are occasional flashbacks illuminating relationships between some of the players, not least our central rivals: hyperactive Shôyô Hinata, who’s super-fanatical about the sport and overcomes his short stature with his powerful jumping abilities; and cool, angsty Kenma Kozume, who appears to be existentially indifferent to everything, including volleyball, despite being a master tactician at it.
Continue reading...US box office revenue is down 36% on last year’s Memorial Day weekend, as the two leading films take only around $30m each
Neither a fat cat nor a ravening pack of post-apocalyptic Australian warlords could save US cinemas from their worst performance over the Memorial Day weekend in nearly three decades.
George Miller’s origins tale Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga just pipped pizza-loving feline Garfield to the top spot, taking $32m (£25m) over the four days, compared with Garfield’s $31.1m (£24m). Ghostly animation Casper took $22m (£17m) over the same period in 1995, but ever since then receipts have been up – excluding in 2020, when cinemas were entirely closed due to Covid.
Continue reading...From the love/hate setup and the must-dump boyfriend to the kooky mate and frantic finale this well-crafted love story hits all the classic romcom beats, just don’t expect fireworks
Based on Sophie Cousens’ novel of the same name, and adapted for the screen by the author, this opens with a twinkly tourism-office-style visit-London-for-the-festive-season montage that lets us know from the off that the film will be playing by 1990s romcom rules. You know the sort of thing: a declaration of love delivered against a pressing deadline ideally involving a change of location. As This Time Next year progresses, it quickly becomes apparent that said rules have been thoroughly studied, to mostly satisfying effect, as from the get-go the story hits the expected beats. You’ve got heroine Minnie’s initial antagonism towards her love-match Quinn, a loser boyfriend who must first be seen through and ditched, and of course heartwarming subplots involving careers and family. And getting to see the comforting formula followed faithfully is exactly why you would want to watch the movie, so it’s a job well done.
The actors have been taking notes from the same playbook as the script. Lead Sophie Cookson gives us a very plausible blend of Renée Zellweger and Keira Knightley mannerisms circa the early 2000s. Lucien Laviscount smoulders effectively as the almost-too-perfect leading man. Will Hislop continues the consistently fun work he’s been doing in a small role as the dickhead boyfriend (no British actor is embodying millennial bell-end quite as skilfully right now). One real highlight, who will hopefully see more work off the back of their turn here, is a relative unknown: Charlie Oscar, who knocks it out of the park in a small role as a bakery assistant who somehow sits in the precise middle of a Venn diagram between Bubble from Absolutely Fabulous and the Emily Blunt character in The Devil Wears Prada.
Continue reading...In 2007, a big-screen version of the hit video game was announced, but it languished in development limbo. What happened, and what does it mean for Margot Robbie’s new adaptation?
When the news came out that Margot Robbie is set to produce a movie based on the iconic life-simulation video game, The Sims, many people’s first response was: “How the heck do you make a movie out of The Sims?” It may be one of the bestselling game series of all time but, crucially, it doesn’t really have any plot to work with. The entire point is that it’s a sandbox life sim, and players can do whatever they want.
This has all happened before. In 2007, it was announced that a movie based on The Sims was coming to the big screen, with what was then 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) acquiring the rights. It was written by Brian Lynch, who has become the Hollywood screenwriter of choice for some of the past decade’s biggest and most critically acclaimed family animations, including Puss in Boots (2011), Minions (2015) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), and The Secret Life of Pets movies.
Continue reading...
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
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