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Seoul summit showcases UK’s progress on trying to make advanced AI safe
Wed, 22 May 2024 22:49:10 GMT
Britain’s AI Safety Institute has been matched by other countries as gathering works on setting up protocol to reduce harms and risks
The UK is leading an international effort to test the most advanced AI models for safety risks before they hit the public, as regulators race to create a workable safety regime before the Paris summit in six months.
Britain’s AI Safety Institute, the first of its kind, is now matched by counterparts from around the world, including South Korea, the US, Singapore, Japan and France.
Continue reading...Taiwan’s military said its forces were on alert and it was confident it could protect the island in response to the actions of the PLA
China has announced the immediate start of two days of military drills surrounding Taiwan, as “punishment” for what it called the “separatist acts” of holding an election and inaugurating a new president.
In response, Taiwan said sea, air and ground forces had been put on alert, and accused China of “irrational provocation and disruption of regional peace and stability”.
Continue reading...Cannes film festival
Miguel Gomes’s beguiling and bewildering story follows a jittery fiance fleeing his intended across the British empire, and her hot pursuit
Once again, Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes delivers a film in which the most complex sophistication coexists with innocence and charm. It is at once very worldly and yet unworldly – in fact almost childlike at times. It is elegant, eccentric and needs some time to be indulged. The British characters are played by Portuguese actors speaking Portuguese, except for a few rousing choruses of the Eton Boating Song, which is in English. (There is more literal casting for other nationalities.) And yes, it is six parts beguiling to one part exasperating. But quite unlike any other film in the Cannes competition, it leaves you with a gentle, bemused smile on your face.
The story, co-written by Gomes, could be adapted from something by Somerset Maugham, but is in fact an original screenplay. (I was also reminded of Jane Gardam’s colonial novels or Evelyn Waugh.) In colonial Burma during the first world war, Edward (Gonçalo Waddington) is a minor British functionary in Rangoon, unhappily waiting for the arrival of the London boat, on which is the woman to whom he has for seven years been engaged: Molly (Crista Alfaiate). But Edward gets cold feet and before Molly arrives, he flees to Singapore, where he runs into his fiance’s rackety cousin in the bar of the Raffles hotel, and allows this seedy and excitable man to believe that his own extraordinary, furtive behaviour has something to do with spying.
Living like a hobo, Edward goes on to Bangkok, Saigon, Manila and Osaka, from where he is expelled by Japanese authorities for his suspected connection with US naval intelligence. Then he goes to Shanghai, Chongqing and Tibet where he sees pandas in the trees and meets an opium-addicted British consul who tells him the empire is finished and that westerners will never understand the oriental mind. But the formidable Molly is hot on his trail and not to be deterred.
Continue reading...Lai Ching-te’s inauguration speech has been panned by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which labelled the new president a “dangerous separatist”.
Beijing has warned of undefined reprisals against Taiwan after the inauguration speech of new president Lai Ching-te in which he maintained his government’s position on sovereignty, and did not concede to Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is a province of China.
In a statement late Tuesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) called Lai’s speech “a downright confession of Taiwan independence”, and again labeled Lai a “dangerous separatist”.
Continue reading...Labor environment minister overheard saying ‘Don’t say anything horrible about James Paterson’ during Liberal senator’s interview
Ed Husic details government’s new battery strategy
The industry and science minister, Ed Husic, has been speaking to ABC RN about the government’s newly unveiled national battery strategy. As Karen Middleton reports, the strategy is aimed at turning Australia from a “dig-and-ship” economy that sells off its critical minerals into a powerhouse manufacturer of better and safer renewable energy storage.
China is obviously the biggest producer [and] a lot of countries are recognising that their dependency on that concentrated supply chain isn’t in [their] national interest longer-term. If there are disruptions to that supply, either accidental or otherwise, we’re left vulnerable and these are in terms of the batteries themselves – they’re complex in nature. It’s also driven by software, so we need to have safe and secure batteries, energy storage systems, longer term.
Continue reading...Australians are among 20 passengers from flight SQ321 being treated in ICU at Samitivej Srinakarin hospital in Bangkok
Three Australians remain in intensive care in a Bangkok hospital after their Singapore Airlines flight violently dropped when encountering severe turbulence earlier this week.
The three Australians are among 20 passengers from the flight who are being treated in intensive care at the Samitivej Srinakarin hospital in Bangkok, after flight SQ321 from London to Singapore on Tuesday hit turbulence, leaving a 73-year-old British man dead and prompting an emergency diversion to the Thai capital.
Continue reading...Grant Shapps cites US and British intelligence as basis for claim, but US national security adviser says there has been no sign yet of direct transfer of weapons
China is sending “lethal aid” to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, Britain’s defence secretary, Grant Shapps, has said, in comments that were challenged by Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
Shapps used a speech at the London Defence Conference on Wednesday to say: “Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine.
Continue reading...China sending Russia lethal aid, says British defence secretary; Zelenskiy stresses need for defence against glide bombs. What we know on day 820
Continue reading...Joe Biden and Donald Trump agree on tariffs against China. The world has lost its biggest cheerleader for globalisation
The biggest shift in American politics has nothing to do with Stormy Daniels or Michael Cohen, Fox News or golf courses. Indeed, its author is not Donald J Trump. Yet the implications stretch far beyond this year’s presidential elections, and affect countries across the world. The era of free trade is dying, and the man bringing down the guillotine represents the party that in the past three decades has been evangelically pro-globalisation: the Democrats.
Last week, Joe Biden imposed tariffs on a range of Chinese-made goods. Electric cars produced in China will now be hit with import tax of 100%, chips and solar cells 50% and lithium-ion batteries 25%. These and other tariffs on goods worth an estimated $18bn a year amount to a rounding error in the giant US economy. And in an election year, Mr Biden, who hails from Scranton, Pennsylvania, is fretting about support not only in his home state but across the country’s industrial heartland, gutted by decades of free trade.
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...Has architecture taken over the bloom bonanza? Our critic finds an elfin treehouse, a pixie grotto, a Roman villa and a £160,000 shepherd’s hut (with spa) now competing with the delphiniums
A gigantic Chinese dragon made of gnarled chunks of driftwood towers over a display of bog plants, puffing steam from its nostrils and clutching a ceramic pearl that gushes with water. Nearby, men dressed in togas patrol the courtyard of a pretend Roman villa, where simulated rain pours into the garden from a pantiled roof. Around the corner, a waterfall cascades down an artificial rock face, creating an arresting backdrop to a display of luxury outdoor sofa cushions.
Welcome to the RHS Chelsea flower show, a surreal phenomenon that has gone from an annual fair of prized blooms to a multimillion-pound Disneyfied spectacular, where the flowers now struggle to hold their own against ever more elaborate pieces of set design.
Every year, in the space of just three weeks, the grounds of Christopher Wren’s Royal hospital in London are transformed into an unrecognisable wonderland of horticultural fantasies. It is a place where elfin treehouses compete for attention with pixie grottos, and sculpted clay stupas loom above moss-encrusted ruins. It feels like wandering around a themed food court, with Moroccan tiled courtyards jostling with Japanese bridges, thatched Burmese stilt houses vying with Welsh dry-stone walls. The cuisine on offer might not be as international, but you can wash down the global garden safari with a £15 Pimm’s.
Begun in 1913, in a modest marquee, the Chelsea flower show has mushroomed into a town-sized endeavour. It has become a festival of terraforming as much as flowers, seeing more than 2,000 tonnes of soil moved around the 11-acre site each year, and hundreds more tonnes of rocks, concrete, trees and scenery trucked in from miles around – all for just five days of floricultural theatre. Now, for the first time, this year there is a “green medal” for the garden with the lowest carbon footprint, which feels a bit like holding an exhibition of bonfires, then awarding a prize to the one that produces the least smoke.
Continue reading...Lawrence Wong offers condolences to family of Geoffrey Kitchen, who died during flight that left others critically injured
Singapore’s prime minister has promised a “thorough investigation” after a British passenger died and 20 required intensive care after severe turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight from London.
Confirming that 131 passengers and 12 crew had arrived in Singapore on a different plane, Lawrence Wong offered his condolences to the family of 73-year-old Geoffrey Kitchen, who died. According to authorities in Thailand, where the Singapore Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing, Kitchen had a heart condition and probably had a heart attack.
Continue reading...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.
‘I am not a typo’ campaign is calling for technology companies to make autocorrect less ‘western- and white-focused’
People whose names get mangled by autocorrect have urged technology companies to fix the problem faster, with one person whose name gets switched to “Satan” saying: “I am tired of it.”
People with Irish, Indian and Welsh names are among those calling for improvements to the systems that operate on phones and computers as part of the “I am not a typo” campaign.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/AtroScolo [link] [comments] |
With heatwaves becoming more frequent in Bengaluru and other cities across the country, climate planning must look to people on the margins, experts say
Venkatachala starts his day early, neatly arranging jasmine, roses, chrysanthemums and crossandras on his pushcart. He then heads out on to the streets of Bengaluru, calling out to customers who use fresh flowers for religious rituals and daily prayers at home.
His goal this summer has been to sell most of his stock before 10am. Venkatachala knows that with each hour after that, his flowers will wilt, and the odds of selling them and the income he can expect will fall significantly.
Continue reading...She hadn’t lived in India for 50 years, but her last request was to be returned to the place of her birth. On the banks of the Ganges there were tears – but also all the chaos, hustle and humour of life
In October 2019, I was in India, standing by the dusty banks of the Ganges on a quest to spread my grandmother’s ashes. She hadn’t lived in the country for the last 50 years and hadn’t even set foot in it for a decade at least. My parents had never lived there and neither had my brother and I. This wasn’t a homecoming. It was a chore borne from her final request: to perform her last rites in the place she had barely clung on to. It was a strange holiday.
At 25, I had already experienced my fair share of goodbyes. The deceased were second cousins, granduncles, grandparents, even school classmates, and the ritual was always the same. We would visit their home to see the coffin and hear the wails of the surrounding mourners before heading to the local crematorium in Hounslow, west London. Regardless of the weather outside, the lofty chapel always felt grey and chilly. Close family members would weep through the eulogies while I looked on and blinked. The curtains would then close dramatically in front of the coffin, marking a symbolic departure to another world.
Continue reading...Authorities cut short school term as weather bureau warns of severe heatwave conditions this week
Authorities in the Indian capital, have ordered schools to shut early for the summer holiday, after temperatures in Delhi hit 47.4C (117F).
City officials told schools to shut with “immediate effect” due to the blistering heat, according to a government order quoted by the Hindustan Times on Tuesday, cutting the term by a few days.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Ads containing AI-manipulated images were submitted to Facebook by civil and corporate accountability groups
The Facebook and Instagram owner Meta approved a series of AI-manipulated political adverts during India’s election that spread disinformation and incited religious violence, according to a report shared exclusively with the Guardian.
Facebook approved adverts containing known slurs towards Muslims in India, such as “let’s burn this vermin” and “Hindu blood is spilling, these invaders must be burned”, as well as Hindu supremacist language and disinformation about political leaders.
Continue reading...The rich and aromatic Jamaican coconut and fish stew in just a few easy steps
Such is the mystery surrounding this curiously named breakfast favourite that Caribbean chef Riaz Phillips claims that, were he visited by a culinary genie offering to grant three foodie wishes, he’d use one to “ask the lineage and origin of Caribbean rundown”. Citing a dictionary of Jamaican English that describes it as “a kind of sauce made by boiling coconut down til it becomes like custard”, Phillips’ book West Winds suggests an intriguing link with the similarly rich and coconut-based Indonesian rendang, while food writer Melissa Thompson notes parallels with the pepper pots made by Jamaica’s indigenous population.
Whatever the truth, rundown, of Jamaican origins but popular on other islands and in parts of Latin America, too, is beloved – “a rich and textured meal that is most often enjoyed on Sundays, when there is ample time to prepare it, as well as time to leisurely imbibe and digest,” as chefs Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau explain, while for Levi Roots it’s simply a classic. And if all that feels like too much of an effort first thing in the morning, be reassured by Phillips that, when it comes to rundown, “many people (including myself) have decided that being limited to the morning just isn’t long enough”.
Continue reading...While the number of Indian billionaires soars, growing unemployment has become a big problem for the BJP as it campaigns for a third term
It wasn’t even the real wedding, just the pre-wedding party. But that didn’t stop India’s richest billionaire, Mukesh Ambani, whose son is set to marry the daughter of a millionaire, from throwing an affair so ostentatious that no one could question just how wealthy they are.
The pop star Rihanna was paid about $8m to perform. The catering alone cost $25m and the final bill for the glittering soiree, held in March, reportedly came in at about $150m.
Continue reading...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.
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.
Ban Khun Samut Chin, a coastal village in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, has been slowly swallowed by the sea over the past few decades. This has led to the relocation of the school and many homes, resulting in a dwindling population. Currently, there are only four students attending the school, often leaving just one in each classroom. The village has experienced severe coastal erosion, causing 1.1-2km (0.5-1.2 miles) of shoreline to disappear since the mid-1950s
Continue reading...“We’re continuing to work around the clock with the government of Israel and with the government of Egypt to work on this issue,” the State Department said.
The post American Medical Missions Trapped in Gaza, Facing Death by Dehydration as Population Clings to Life 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.
Australians are among 20 passengers from flight SQ321 being treated in ICU at Samitivej Srinakarin hospital in Bangkok
Three Australians remain in intensive care in a Bangkok hospital after their Singapore Airlines flight violently dropped when encountering severe turbulence earlier this week.
The three Australians are among 20 passengers from the flight who are being treated in intensive care at the Samitivej Srinakarin hospital in Bangkok, after flight SQ321 from London to Singapore on Tuesday hit turbulence, leaving a 73-year-old British man dead and prompting an emergency diversion to the Thai capital.
Continue reading...People urged to check they are fully immunised after NSW and Victorian health authorities alert to three separate cases of virus in May
Australians are being urged to check they are fully immunised against measles after a number of outbreaks of the highly contagious virus.
Health authorities in New South Wales and Victoria alerted the public in May to three separate cases, all in travellers returning from overseas. There have been 35 confirmed measles cases across Australia so far in 2024, more than in all of 2023.
Continue reading...Giving up booze doesn’t have to mean missing out, especially if you get creative with fruit, herbs and infusions. Here is how to enjoy all your favourite drinks without the hangover
There is nothing better on a summer’s evening than sipping a cocktail as the sun goes down. And, as the variety of non-alcoholic options increases, there is no need to miss out if you are teetotal or moderating your drinking. So, what are the best booze-free varieties going? Bartenders share their favourite recipes.
Continue reading...After years working for backcountry trail crews, Benjamin Alva Polley had a healthy respect for the whims of the wilderness. But when he and his wife headed to Alaska’s Brooks Range – the most remote frontier – fear crept in
Silence washed over me as the float plane buzzed away, leaving us alone. I turned around and saw fresh grizzly and moose tracks the size of dinner plates imprinted in the mud. Panic tiptoed in, but it didn’t reign. I tried not to dwell on it, taking a deep breath and sinking into the beauty rioting everywhere. I didn’t want my wife to know I was intimidated.
We were about to hike and packraft on our honeymoon in a remote Alaska wilderness. The bush pilot had just dropped the two of us off in the Brooks Range, a 700-mile mountain range arcing the width of northern Alaska. We had packrafts (lightweight, inflatable kayaks), all-weather gear and food – a load of about 70lb each, nearly half our body weight. We had rented a satellite phone, the only way to contact the rest of the world for emergencies, and I’d jotted a list of Alaskan contacts on paper if we needed rescuing. The consequences if something went wrong were mind-boggling.
Continue reading...Photographer Steve Fitch has captured motel signs across the US, showing a range of styles during different decades, displayed at a new exhibition at the Joseph Bellows Gallery in La Jolla, California. ‘What does matter is the idea of theme and variation, how a collection can be interesting because of the variety of specimens,’ Fitch said. ‘A collection of butterflies illustrates this idea, for example, and photography is such a great medium for collecting and comparing, which is what my motel sign project is ultimately all about’
Continue reading...In the US, millennials and gen Z often don’t take their annual leave for fear of looking like slackers. But they are still booking some time on the beach …
Name: Quiet vacationing.
Age: The phrase is a new one, the thing it describes less so.
Continue reading...Alongside rare birds, reptiles and insects, this corner of Dorset, poignantly depicted in Mike Leigh’s Nuts in May, serves up brilliant heathland walks, sea views and pints of local ale
Mike Leigh’s brilliant 1976 Dorset-based comedy Nuts in May begins with Keith and Candice-Marie taking the chain ferry from Sandbanks across the mouth of Poole harbour to the Isle of Purbeck, where they camp, visit Corfe Castle, walk along the mighty Jurassic coastline and end up in an altercation with a young Brummie couple called Finger and Honky. For me, watching Nuts in May is an annual tradition, as is visiting the peninsula where it was filmed. Most of us have places for which we feel a particularly strong pull; one of mine is Purbeck. And since this peninsula’s recent status as England’s first “super” nature reserve, I’m beginning to understand why.
Being a relatively remote peninsula, Purbeck has seen little major development over the past 70 years, despite its south coast location. On a human scale, the landscape is relatively unchanged since Keith and Candice-Marie’s ill-fated camping trip half a century ago. Behind the scenes, however, years of conservation work from seven organisations – including the National Trust, RSPB, Dorset Wildlife Trust and Natural England – has led to the creation of a near-continuous jigsaw of restored habitats, making it the UK’s first designated super nature reserve, running clockwise from Brownsea Island and the Studland peninsula to Arne, further west on Poole harbour.
Continue reading...Winter downpours also made 20% wetter and will occur every three years without urgent carbon cuts, experts warn
The seemingly “never-ending” rain last autumn and winter in the UK and Ireland was made 10 times more likely and 20% wetter by human-caused global heating, a study has found.
More than a dozen storms battered the region in quick succession between October and March, which was the second-wettest such period in nearly two centuries of records. The downpour led to severe floods, at least 20 deaths, severe damage to homes and infrastructure, power blackouts, travel cancellations, and heavy losses of crops and livestock.
Continue reading...Photographer Gideon Mendel has filmed and photographed floods around the world extensively. He travelled by boat through the historic town centre of Port Alegre, documenting the reflections across a city that had become a liquid landscape
Continue reading...French leader to leave for archipelago on Tuesday night with intention of restoring ‘calm and order’
The French president will travel to the Pacific island of New Caledonia on Tuesday, just over a week after riots erupted in the French overseas territory leaving six dead and hundreds injured.
The unrest over plans for an electoral overhaul has resulted in dozens of shops and businesses being looted and burned, with cars torched and road barricades set up. A state of emergency and curfew remain in place, with army reinforcements.
Continue reading...We would like to hear from Taylor Swift fans about their preparations for the Eras tour
We would like to hear from Taylor Swift fans about their preparations for the UK Eras tour. How far will you be travelling? Will you be wearing or making anything special for the occasion? How much will you be spending? Tell us all about it below.
Continue reading...ICC warrants against Israeli officials would mean they can’t travel — and their patrons in the U.S. would be pressured over continued arms sales.
The post Can a U.S. Ally Actually Be Held Accountable for War Crimes in the ICC? appeared first on The Intercept.
When asked what makes this an “emotional support squid” and not just another stuffed animal, its creator says:
They’re emotional support squid because they’re large, and cuddly, but also cheerfully bright and derpy. They make great neck pillows (and you can fidget with the arms and tentacles) for travelling, and, on a more personal note, when my mum was sick in the hospital I gave her one and she said it brought her “great comfort” to have her squid tucked up beside her and not be a nuisance while she was sleeping.
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered...
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.
The 22-year-old woman and her child were civilian casualties of a U.S. drone strike, but the Pentagon won't return the family's messages.
The post Pentagon Compensated Zero Civilian Victims in 2022 — Despite Evidence That the U.S. Killed a Mom and Child in Somalia appeared first on The Intercept.
“We’re continuing to work around the clock with the government of Israel and with the government of Egypt to work on this issue,” the State Department said.
The post American Medical Missions Trapped in Gaza, Facing Death by Dehydration as Population Clings to Life 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...Exclusive: Potentially thousands of signed works from Currency series were mass-produced by artist’s team after 2016, sources say
At least 1,000 paintings that the artist Damien Hirst said were “made in 2016” were created several years later, the Guardian can reveal.
Hirst produced 10,000 of the paintings, each comprising colourful hand-painted dots on A4 paper, as part of a project called The Currency that was born from the idea of creating a form of money from art.
Continue reading...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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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
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
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.
Rishi Sunak has announced a general election for Thursday 4 July. The Guardian’s John Harris is joined by political editor Pippa Crerar and political correspondent Kiran Stacey to ask why now. And, what happens next …
Continue reading...U-turn by ex-president’s most enduring rival during Republican primaries provokes swift backlash
Nikki Haley, who emerged as Donald Trump’s most enduring rival and trenchant critic during the Republican primary elections, has said she intends to vote for the former US president in November.
Haley was speaking at the Hudson Institute thinktank in Washington on Wednesday, her first public appearance since dropping out of the race in March. She was asked whether Joe Biden or Trump would do a better job on national security issues.
Continue reading...The prime minister has ended months of speculation by calling an election for 4 July. But why so soon? Jonathan Freedland reports
Over the past few months the rumours about the next general election have ebbed and flowed. But finally, at 5pm on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak stood at a lectern in front of 10 Downing Street and named the date – the election will be held on 4 July.
Despite the fevered speculation, it caught many by surprise – most political experts were expecting an autumn date. And the announcement itself was far from the slickest. Sunak had to battle against not just a downpour but also a sound system blaring out the Labour election campaign classic Things Can Only Get Better.
Continue reading...Joe Biden and Donald Trump agree on tariffs against China. The world has lost its biggest cheerleader for globalisation
The biggest shift in American politics has nothing to do with Stormy Daniels or Michael Cohen, Fox News or golf courses. Indeed, its author is not Donald J Trump. Yet the implications stretch far beyond this year’s presidential elections, and affect countries across the world. The era of free trade is dying, and the man bringing down the guillotine represents the party that in the past three decades has been evangelically pro-globalisation: the Democrats.
Last week, Joe Biden imposed tariffs on a range of Chinese-made goods. Electric cars produced in China will now be hit with import tax of 100%, chips and solar cells 50% and lithium-ion batteries 25%. These and other tariffs on goods worth an estimated $18bn a year amount to a rounding error in the giant US economy. And in an election year, Mr Biden, who hails from Scranton, Pennsylvania, is fretting about support not only in his home state but across the country’s industrial heartland, gutted by decades of free trade.
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...PM announces date with Tories trailing Labour by 20 points in polls, saying it is ‘the moment for Britain to choose its future’
Rishi Sunak has called a surprise general election for 4 July in a high stakes gamble that will see Keir Starmer try to win power for Labour after 14 years of Conservative-led government.
Addressing the nation outside Downing Street, Sunak said it was “the moment for Britain to choose its future” as he claimed the Tories could be trusted to lead the country during a time of global instability.
Continue reading...‘My plan is working,’ mumbled the PM, his suit drenched, his speech in rags, as Steve Bray cranked up the D:Ream
Things can only get wetter. The humiliation. Even when Rishi Sunak is totally down on his luck, he can’t buy an even break. This was meant to be his last hurrah. The prime minister’s final act of pomp and circumstance. The lectern outside Downing Street to inform an ungrateful nation that he was calling a general election for 4 July.
Only it wasn’t just raining. It was chucking it down. Soak the Rich. Soak the Rish!. Sunak was determined to front it out. To not give in and miss out on his photo op. But he looked fed up even as he appeared from the front door. Five minutes later he looked thoroughly miserable. Borderline catatonic. His suit drenched, his speech in rags. And all the while Steve Bray played Labour’s 1997 election theme song, D:Ream’s Things Can Only Get Better, at full volume.
Continue reading...The prime minister has run out of road and is left defending a thin legacy against the prospect of regime change
When Britain last held a general election, the country was still a member of the European Union, there had been no pandemic and the Conservatives had already been in power for nearly a decade. That now feels like a long time ago, but not because of any sense of progress or accomplishments by the government. Quite the opposite.
Fear of taking punishment for years of accumulated disappointment is the reason why Rishi Sunak has postponed the dissolution of parliament until now. The prime minister’s decision to set a date – the election will be on 4 July – is driven not by confidence in a record to celebrate, but by a recognition that procrastination had become untenable. The Conservative party, exhausted and riven by factional feuding, has become ungovernable, leaving the country feeling ungoverned.
Continue reading...Trump’s Truth Social account reposted a video about a second term showing a fake newspaper that referred to a ‘unified reich’
Welcome back to the Stakes, our weekly US politics newsletter. I cover democracy issues, and I’m filling in for Adam Gabbatt this week as Donald Trump flirted with a third term in office (yes, that’s illegal) and posted a video promising a “unified reich” (yes, that’s Nazi-adjacent language). Weird how these anti-democratic “gaffes” keep happening! We’ll get into why that might be, after a look at what else is happening in US politics.
Trump rests, but doesn’t get any rest
On the 20th day of the hush-money trial in New York, Trump declined to take the stand and the defense rested. Trump had falsely claimed he wasn’t allowed to take the stand: he was, and he chose not to. Outside the courtroom, he said although the defense would rest quickly, he himself would not be resting. “I don’t rest. I’d like to rest sometimes, but I don’t get to rest.”
Biden’s Israel problem
The international criminal court’s prosecutor applied for arrest warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas, and Joe Biden is not pleased. He called the warrant application “outrageous” and said: “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.” His strong backing of Israel comes as the progressive left continues to pressure him to end US support for the Israel-Gaza war.
That’s not the way the flag goes
An upside-down US flag – a symbol of those who believed the 2020 election was stolen – flew outside the home of the supreme court justice Samuel Alito’s home shortly after the January 6 insurrection in 2021. Alito blamed his wife, saying she did it as part of a dispute with a neighbor, but many observers saw it as the latest example of the politicization of the high court.
Continue reading...Invitation-only meeting comes on heels of controversial dinner at Mar-a-Lago where Trump reportedly offered $1bn quid pro quo
Donald Trump was continuing to ask fossil-fuel executives to fund his presidential campaign on Wednesday, despite scrutiny of his relationship with the industry.
The former president attended a fundraising luncheon at Houston’s Post Oak hotel hosted by three big oil executives.
Continue reading...Images of the prime minister outside No 10 Downing St dominate the UK front pages, as he announces a general election for 4 July
Rishi Sunak’s decision to call a surprise general election for 4 July dominates newspaper front pages on Thursday, with the image of the rain soaked prime minister making his announcement outside No 10 proving to be a wellspring for headline writers.
The Guardian characterises the move as “Sunak’s big gamble”, and notes that his words were met with alarm by senior Tories who are concerned that the party – trailing 20 percentage points behind Labour in the polls – could face electoral wipeout.
Continue reading...Prime minister announces early summer election with date putting parties on campaign trail for six weeks
In an interview with Sky News this morning, Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, was asked if the UK would follow Ireland, Spain and Norway in formally recognising a Palestinian state. No, he replied. He told Sky:
We have a long-standing position on this that we will be prepared to recognise the state of Palestine at the time that it most helps the peace process, and we will continue to keep that under review.
We will continue to keep that under review. But our position is that this is not the right time to do it at the moment.
Dubbed “Sue’s shit list” by one senior Labour official, it has been drawn up by the former civil servant to identify the most immediate problems Labour would face in office if it wins the election expected this year.
Senior Labour officials said that any one of the areas on Gray’s “government risk register” could puncture a honeymoon period for a new administration led by Sir Keir Starmer.
Continue reading...The polls show no sign of narrowing and insiders believe an IMF warning of a £30bn hole in the finances was weighing heavy
Rishi Sunak took the final decision to call a summer election on two key statistics – a drop in inflation and falling net migration – but Conservative insiders also hope that the surprise July poll will put new scrutiny on Labour’s plans.
Sunak and his closest advisers believe their best chances of success lies in setting a clear distinction between a long-term plan that is beginning to bear fruit and Labour’s ideas – which they want to put under the election spotlight at a moment where the opposition could be caught off guard.
Continue reading...The PM has gone for the bad choice because he knows things will get even worse. It’s an admission his leadership has failed
The circumstances were excruciating. One of the great rituals in any prime minister’s career – the one when they put it all on the line by calling an election – was instead drenched in rain and almost drowned out by horrible, hostile noise from Whitehall protesters. Rishi Sunak battled on, just about retaining his dignity, and one felt for him in his torment. Yet it was a nasty, low moment in British politics.
Never forget this, however. There is only one reason why a British prime minister would call a general election earlier than they have to, as Sunak did today. That is because they know better than anyone else that things are going to get worse later.
Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Economies decide elections but with growth tentative, inflation sticky, and tax cuts unlikely, why would the PM wait
When you are 20 or so points behind in the opinion polls calling an election before you need to do so is a high-risk strategy. Yet Rishi Sunak has decided that holding on until the autumn is an even bigger gamble. The economy decides elections, and as far as the prime minister is concerned, this could be as good as it gets.
Sunak has only come to this view recently. After sliding into a shallow recession at the end of 2023, the economy has only just returned to growth. Living standards – which took a hammering during the cost of living crisis – have been picking up. Inflation has fallen from a high of 11.1% in October 2022 to 2.3%, only just above its target.
Continue reading...Readers respond to an article by Martin Kettle on Britain’s democracy and governance
Martin Kettle’s opinion piece (Our democracy desperately needs a reset – and, behind the scenes, that’s the plan, 16 May) gave an almost palpable sense of the change starting to happen in the country’s movers and shakers. It was particularly pleasing to see his reference to the Institute for Government. Its recent report, Power With purpose, sets out why the centre of government has failed successive prime ministers and provides insights on how it could be much more effective.
It included two key recommendations that would surely be of interest to an incoming administration. The first is for the government to agree its priorities and announce them as part of a modernised king’s speech. The second is for these priorities to be reflected in a shared strategy, budget and performance management process owned collectively at the centre.
Continue reading...The transformation of John Woodcock exposes the authoritarian potential that can lurk in Britain’s centre left
During the final, beleaguered stages of the last Labour government, one of the stern young party functionaries who used to cluster protectively around the prime minister, Gordon Brown, on his visits to public places was John Woodcock, then one of Brown’s special advisers. Despite the government’s disintegrating poll ratings, Woodcock still had that New Labour cockiness, giving journalists disdainful glances as he strode past in a close-fitting suit.
At the 2010 election, despite Brown’s defeat, Woodcock became MP for the relatively safe Labour seat of Barrow and Furness. Three years later I interviewed him there for an article about the defence industry, of which he was a strong supporter, partly because Barrow is where Britain’s nuclear submarines are built. He was surprisingly affable company – perhaps seeking election had softened him – but his unyielding, militaristic politics were clear nonetheless. Talking about the local submarine business, he said: “This is a sort of shark. It’s got to keep going forward.”
Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...The economy is doing well – far better than under Trump – but Democrats must ask voters if they want a sociopathic infant with fascist tendencies
The new Harris poll, conducted for the Guardian is troubling, not only because it shows Americans are still pessimistic about the economy but also because – with election day just five and a half months away – so many Americans believe the economy is bad when in fact it’s damn good.
In the Harris poll, 55% think the economy is shrinking and 56% believe the US is in a recession. In fact, the economy is growing.
Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com
Continue reading...Exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian shows the majority of Americans think the country’s in recession – but it isn’t. Test your own knowledge here
The United States is less than six months away from sending either Joe Biden or Donald Trump back to the White House.
For many voters mulling this decision, the economy is front of mind. But how it’s doing, and how it’s feeling, are not one and the same.
Continue reading...We’ve been working with community reporting teams to tell the story of modern Britain. With a momentous election on the horizon, do you have a story to tell about your local area?
As the UK faces a momentous general election, which polls suggest could see the end of 14 years of Conservative party rule, the video team wants to hear from people who have a story to tell about their community.
As video producers, we have spent the past four years working with community-based reporters across the UK to highlight the reality of what is happening in their areas, unearthing unique perspectives from people who are often overlooked in the story of modern Britain.
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.
Ex-president’s jail sentence precludes him from standing for new MK party in decision that could affect general election results
South Africa’s highest court has ruled that former president Jacob Zuma cannot run for parliament in national elections on 29 May, the latest twist in the most competitive polls since the country’s first post-apartheid vote 30 years ago.
The constitutional court found that Zuma was ineligible to stand for election due to a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court in 2021, after he failed to appear before a corruption inquiry.
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.
PM makes announcement to sound of song synonymous with Labour’s 1997 election landslide
Rishi Sunak has finally ripped the plaster off and called a general election. He must have thought things could only get better. Sadly for him, it appeared they could only get wetter.
The prime minister announced his decision to call a general election on 4 July in the driving rain and with the sound of the song Things Can Only Get Better, synonymous with Labour’s 1997 election landslide, blaring from a boombox in the background.
Continue reading...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.
Fifa must be prepared to deny Saudi Arabia the right to host the 2034 men’s World Cup if the kingdom fails to comply with human rights obligations, according to a new legal submission filed with the governing body.
Written by a team of legal experts that includes the British barrister Rodney Dixon KC, who represents the widow of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and Professor Mark Pieth, who previously advised Fifa on governance reforms, the document is a warning over the gap between commitments the organisation has made regarding human rights and the reality of life in Saudi Arabia.
Continue reading...There are real benefits to a society where people feel safe enough to leave their babies and bikes on the street. How have the Danes achieved this level of faith in their fellow citizens?
Over the years, Denmark has emerged as the good faith capital of the world. Nearly 74% of Danes believe “most people can be trusted” – more than any other nationality. On wider metrics, such as social trust (trusting a stranger) and civic trust (trusting authority), Denmark also scores highest in the world, with the other Nordic countries close behind.
The political scientist Gert Tinggaard Svendsen argues that trust accounts for 25% of Denmark’s otherwise inexplicable wealth. By his reckoning, a quarter of that wealth comes from physical capital (means of production and infrastructure), half comes from human capital (the population’s level of education and innovation), and the unexplained final quarter is trust: they don’t sue one another, they don’t waste money on burglar alarms, businesses often make binding verbal agreements without sweating the contract. People who hold power in Danish institutions – the government, police, judiciary, health services – are trusted to be acting in society’s best interests, and there is very little corruption.
Continue reading...We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.
This week, from 2021: Early in Trump’s presidency, emboldened neo-Nazi and fascist groups came out into the open but were met with widespread revulsion. So the tactics of the far right changed, becoming more insidious – and much more successful. By Brendan O’Connor
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.
Greens accuse Alternative for Germany of being ‘Putin’s extended arm’ after AfD’s lead candidate in European parliamentary elections says he will step down
Terry Reintke, a Green lead candidate in the European elections, has argued that despite Maximilian Krah’s move to step down from the AfD’s leadership board, Alternative for Germany is still extremist.
“One thing does not change: the AfD and its right-wing extremist friends are Putin’s extended arm in the EP,” she said.
Continue reading...Maximilian Krah’s SS remark highlights growing divisions within European far-right and nationalist groups
The lead candidate for Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the European parliamentary election has resigned from the German far-right party’s leadership, as growing divisions between Europe’s nationalist parties threaten to undermine their expected gains in next month’s ballot.
Maximilian Krah, who last weekend told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that the SS, the Nazis’ main paramilitary force, were “not all criminals”, said in a statement on Wednesday that his comments were “being misused as a pretext to damage our party”.
Continue reading...Extraordinary measures turn Maricopa county elections office into fortress ahead of 2024 vote to protect staff and ballots
Maricopa county, Arizona – a campaign battleground where election workers have faced violent threats – has taken extraordinary measures to protect its staff and the counting of ballots.
The Guardian obtained a document from the county listing security changes it has made since the 2020 election. Those include stationing a Swat team on-site at the main building where votes are tabulated and deploying the sheriff on horseback.
Continue reading...Republicans seek help from secretary of state after prosecutor Karim Khan requests arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu
The Biden administration is willing to work with Congress to potentially impose sanctions against international criminal court officials over the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the Gaza war, Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, said on Tuesday.
At a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing, Republican Lindsey Graham told Blinken he wanted to see renewed US sanctions on the court in response to the move announced by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday.
Continue reading...Argentina’s far-right president Javier Milei sparks diplomatic row with remarks about Spanish prime minister’s wife
Spain has said it is permanently withdrawing its ambassador from Argentina as a result of a growing diplomatic feud with the South American country’s radical rightwing president, Javier Milei.
Milei – a notoriously pugnacious ally of the fellow populists Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro – sparked the row last weekend by insinuating that Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, was “corrupt”.
Continue reading...Spain recalls its Buenos Aires ambassador and demands apology from Argentina’s populist president
The Spanish government has recalled its ambassador from Buenos Aires and repeated its calls for Argentina’s populist president, Javier Milei, to apologise after he reopened a festering diplomatic row by suggesting that the wife of Spain’s prime minister was “corrupt”.
Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” and sworn enemy of socialism, infuriated Spain’s centre-left government when he used a speech at a summit of international far-right leaders in Madrid on Sunday to revive allegations that Pedro Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, had engaged in corruption and influence-peddling.
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.
Labor environment minister overheard saying ‘Don’t say anything horrible about James Paterson’ during Liberal senator’s interview
Ed Husic details government’s new battery strategy
The industry and science minister, Ed Husic, has been speaking to ABC RN about the government’s newly unveiled national battery strategy. As Karen Middleton reports, the strategy is aimed at turning Australia from a “dig-and-ship” economy that sells off its critical minerals into a powerhouse manufacturer of better and safer renewable energy storage.
China is obviously the biggest producer [and] a lot of countries are recognising that their dependency on that concentrated supply chain isn’t in [their] national interest longer-term. If there are disruptions to that supply, either accidental or otherwise, we’re left vulnerable and these are in terms of the batteries themselves – they’re complex in nature. It’s also driven by software, so we need to have safe and secure batteries, energy storage systems, longer term.
Continue reading...Australians are among 20 passengers from flight SQ321 being treated in ICU at Samitivej Srinakarin hospital in Bangkok
Three Australians remain in intensive care in a Bangkok hospital after their Singapore Airlines flight violently dropped when encountering severe turbulence earlier this week.
The three Australians are among 20 passengers from the flight who are being treated in intensive care at the Samitivej Srinakarin hospital in Bangkok, after flight SQ321 from London to Singapore on Tuesday hit turbulence, leaving a 73-year-old British man dead and prompting an emergency diversion to the Thai capital.
Continue reading...Agreement to keep Eraring plant open for two more years to 2027 leaves environmental groups ‘deeply disappointed’
Environmental groups say they are “deeply disappointed” by the New South Wales government’s decision to extend the life of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station for at least two more years, saying it would have “far-reaching consequences” for investments in renewable energy.
The agreement, announced with Origin Energy on Thursday, involves NSW taxpayers potentially underwriting the 2.88-gigawatt Eraring plant to keep generating power beyond the scheduled closure date of August 2025 Origin set two years ago.
Continue reading...People urged to check they are fully immunised after NSW and Victorian health authorities alert to three separate cases of virus in May
Australians are being urged to check they are fully immunised against measles after a number of outbreaks of the highly contagious virus.
Health authorities in New South Wales and Victoria alerted the public in May to three separate cases, all in travellers returning from overseas. There have been 35 confirmed measles cases across Australia so far in 2024, more than in all of 2023.
Continue reading...Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Jamie Raskin highlight decades-long efforts to sow doubts about climate crisis
Democrats from two powerful committees are urging Joe Biden’s justice department to investigate the fossil fuel industry over its decades-long attempts to sow doubt about the climate crisis.
“We believe that there is adequate evidence that fossil fuel industry companies and trade associations may have violated one or more federal statutes,” the Senate budget committee chair, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, wrote in a Wednesday letter to the attorney general, Merrick Garland.
Continue reading...Christine Maxwell on Mike Harris’s alternative suggestion to Labour’s plan for VAT on private schools
Mike Harris (Scrap the plan for VAT on private schools, Labour. Just let low-income kids attend instead, 20 May) suggests that independent schools should give free places to low-income children to avoid paying VAT and that independent schools are saving the state £8,000 a year per pupil. This is wrong for the following reasons:
1. State schools will still need to exist, albeit with fewer pupils. This would result in budget cuts for them as their income is directly linked to the number of pupils on their rolls. In order to run effectively, they would have to cut staff, or the state would have to increase the amount paid per pupil.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/AtroScolo [link] [comments] |
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads prayers in capital city days after death of Ebrahim Raisi and seven others in helicopter crash
Tens of thousands of Iranians attended the Tehran funeral of the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, whose death in a helicopter crash on a fog-shrouded mountain on Sunday has opened up a potentially volatile moment in Iranian politics.
He died with seven others, including the foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who was hailed by Hamas on Wednesday as the minister for the resistance.
Continue reading...Asking friends of all persuasions to define what a populist is brought up a surprising sense of unity
I was on the radio discussing the attempt on the life of the Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico. Mr Fico, we kept saying, was a populist. This much we knew. But I thought it prudent to check the definition of populism. The Chambers dictionary has a populist as: “A person who believes in the right and ability of the common people to play a major part in government.” This feels disappointingly broad to me, if only insomuch as you can’t imagine a politician saying the opposite – that they didn’t believe in the right and ability of the common people to govern themselves. Google, its dictionary provided by Oxford Languages which is responsible for the Oxford English Dictionary, isn’t much more help. “A political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.” This too is surely standard stuff from politicians of all stripes.
There must be something better than this, surely? It’s too important to be a case of knowing it when you see it or, as one of my daughters might put it, “just a vibe”. I thought I better check if my confusion is – as is generally the case – down to my considerable intellectual limitations. I asked a third year politics student of my acquaintance what her definition would be. “How should I know?” she said. I pressed on, contacting the most left-wing intellectual I know, and also the most right-wing. And a couple of avowed centrists too. They’re all well-known, but I’ll not name them because I really don’t want to be in the middle of any public spat that may arise.
Continue reading...Victims say they have been subjected to constant phone calls, harassment of friends and family members – and even misleading and false threats
The debt collector’s calls had driven Zach Fakhri to the edge.
It had only been six weeks since the personal trainer received the bill for an ambulance trip, taken after he sustained significant injuries while intervening in a fight between his two dogs.
Continue reading...Queensland minister says donor-conceived people’s right to know genetic history outweighs a donor’s competing right to privacy
For decades Kerri Favarato has been blocked from accessing her earliest medical records.
They’re either stored at the back of the Queensland Fertility Group, where she was born in 1982, or in the garage of her treating doctor. But, legally, they are not hers. She was a product of the fertility clinic, not a patient of it.
Continue reading...As Tory MP Craig Mackinlay reveals the amputation of his hands and feet after a sepsis diagnosis, we look at prevention and treatments
The Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay has revealed that his hands and feet have been amputated after a sepsis diagnosis.
Last September, the MP was admitted to hospital with septic shock, which resulted in kidney and liver failure, as well as blood clots that made his limbs turn black.
Continue reading...University informs Home Office and withdraws sponsorship from those struggling with fees after drop in value of naira
Nigerian students at a UK university say they are devastated after some were thrown off their course and ordered to leave the UK when they got behind on their fees because of a currency crash.
Teesside University withdrew students who missed their fee instalments and informed the Home Office, after some students’ savings were wiped out when the value of Nigeria’s naira crashed.
Continue reading...Drop in April is smaller than forecast but level is still lowest in almost three years
UK inflation fell to 2.3% in April – its lowest level for almost three years – but the decline was smaller than expected, denting hopes of an early interest rate cut.
City analysts had forecast the annual increase in the cost of goods and services would fall to 2.1%, close to the Bank of England’s 2% target.
Continue reading...The acting sports minister of Ukraine, Matviy Bidnyi, has told his country’s athletes to keep a “cold head” and pay no attention to any provocation from their Russian counterparts at the Olympic Games this summer.
Speaking to the Guardian at the ministry of youth and sports in Kyiv, Bidnyi predicted that Russia will use its representatives in Paris as part of its propaganda operation and explained that recommendations have been drawn up to help the Ukraine team to avoid becoming embroiled in controversy.
Continue reading...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.
The powerful lobbying group is going against a Capitol Police officer who fended off January 6 insurrectionists.
The post Neither Candidate Has Much to Say About Israel. So Why Is AIPAC Pouring Money Into This Race? appeared first on The Intercept.
Coup leader killed and 50 people, including Americans, arrested after men reportedly attacked presidency in capital Kinshasa
The leader of an attempted coup on Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been killed and about 50 people including three American citizens arrested, a spokesperson for the central African country’s army told Reuters.
Gunfire rang out around 4am in the capital Kinshasa, a Reuters reporter said. Armed men attacked the presidency in the city centre, according to spokesperson Sylvain Ekenge.
Continue reading...Taiwan’s military said its forces were on alert and it was confident it could protect the island in response to the actions of the PLA
China has announced the immediate start of two days of military drills surrounding Taiwan, as “punishment” for what it called the “separatist acts” of holding an election and inaugurating a new president.
In response, Taiwan said sea, air and ground forces had been put on alert, and accused China of “irrational provocation and disruption of regional peace and stability”.
Continue reading...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.
Exclusive: Ads containing AI-manipulated images were submitted to Facebook by civil and corporate accountability groups
The Facebook and Instagram owner Meta approved a series of AI-manipulated political adverts during India’s election that spread disinformation and incited religious violence, according to a report shared exclusively with the Guardian.
Facebook approved adverts containing known slurs towards Muslims in India, such as “let’s burn this vermin” and “Hindu blood is spilling, these invaders must be burned”, as well as Hindu supremacist language and disinformation about political leaders.
Continue reading...While the number of Indian billionaires soars, growing unemployment has become a big problem for the BJP as it campaigns for a third term
It wasn’t even the real wedding, just the pre-wedding party. But that didn’t stop India’s richest billionaire, Mukesh Ambani, whose son is set to marry the daughter of a millionaire, from throwing an affair so ostentatious that no one could question just how wealthy they are.
The pop star Rihanna was paid about $8m to perform. The catering alone cost $25m and the final bill for the glittering soiree, held in March, reportedly came in at about $150m.
Continue reading...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.
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.
Visit by president intended to quell serious unrest over plans in Paris to expand voting eligibility to include more French nationals
French security forces will remain in New Caledonia as long as necessary, president Emmanuel Macron has said, hours after he arrived in the French Pacific territory in an urgent attempt to calm tensions after more than a week of riots, which have left six dead.
Macron is holding a day of talks which will aim to turn the page on deadly riots, sparked by anger among Indigenous Kanak people over constitutional changes backed by Paris that would give voting rights to tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents. Local leaders fear the change will dilute the Kanak vote and undermine longstanding efforts to secure independence.
Continue reading...Plaintiffs claim $38.7bn gas export project, which would triple state’s greenhouse gas emissions, infringes constitutional rights
Eight young people are suing the government of Alaska – the nation’s fastest-warming state – claiming a major new fossil fuel project violates their state constitutional rights.
The state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation has proposed a $38.7bn gas export project that would roughly triple the state’s greenhouse gas emissions for decades, the lawsuit says. Scientists have long warned that fossil fuel extraction must be swiftly curbed to secure a livable future.
Continue reading...Ex-chief executive tells inquiry into Horizon scandal she had been unaware people were being wrongly prosecuted
The former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells repeatedly broke down in tears as she told a public inquiry that she had been misled by her staff about the safety of the prosecutions of branch operators.
Under questioning from Jason Beer KC, the inquiry’s lead counsel, about her knowledge of the faults in the Horizon IT system, which led to hundreds of people being wrongly persecuted over missing funds, Vennells claimed: “I was too trusting.”
Continue reading...Shaun Walker reports on Russia’s recent offensive in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine
“We were taking a stroll in Shevchenko Park, which is in the centre of Kharkiv. It was a really nice warm, sunny day. People were sitting outside chatting and drinking coffees.”
Shaun Walker, the Guardian’s central and eastern Europe correspondent, was walking around a park in Kharkiv, Ukraine, when he heard an explosion in the distance.
Continue reading...Faye Carruthers and Suzanne Wrack are joined by Marva Kreel and Rachel Brown-Finnis to discuss how Chelsea pipped Manchester City to the title after their rout of Manchester United
In today’s episode, the panel pay a fond farewell to the 2023-24 season as Emma Hayes’ Chelsea side secure another WSL trophy on her final game in charge of the club. Faye Carruthers and Suzy Wrack are joined by guests Marva Kreel and Rachel Brown-Finnis to discuss Chelea’s rout of Manchester United at Old Trafford, along with Manchester City’s anti-climactic victory over Aston Villa.
The panel also discuss Vivienne Miedema and Fran Kirby’s fairytale endings, hand out some of their end-of-season awards as well as waxing lyrical about the Lionesses’ under-17s side.
To sign up for our bi-weekly women’s football newsletter – all you need to do is search ‘Moving the Goalposts sign up’ or follow that link.Here’s an extract from the latest edition.
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, George Elek, and Ali Maxwell as Leeds and Southampton gear up for the Championship playoff final
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: Leeds blitzed Norwich in the first half of the second leg at Elland Road. It was too much for Delia Smith, who promptly sacked David Wagner straight after the match. All the talk is about Leeds, but the Saints did the double over them this season, and saw off West Brom to make it to the final. Who’s likely to come out on top?
Continue reading...Right now, across much of the midwestern and eastern US, trillions of cicadas are crawling out from the soil. And this year is extra special, because two broods are erupting from the ground at once. The first brood hasn’t been seen for 13 years, the other for 17 years and the last time they emerged together Thomas Jefferson was president. Ian Sample speaks to entomologist Dr Gene Kritsky to find out what’s going on, why periodical cicadas emerge in cycles of prime numbers and how they keep time underground
Clips: CBN News
Everything you need to know about the US cicada-geddon
Continue reading...Ahead of the byelection in Blackpool South, the Guardian takes the temperature in the once prosperous northern coastal town, with many voters expressing complete apathy and disdain for the state of politics.
The area is going to the polls because the former Tory MP Scott Benton resigned after being found guilty of breaching standards rules in a lobbying scandal. Labour is hopeful of taking back the seat, which Benton won with a majority of 3,690 in 2019
Polls open in England’s local elections with Tories braced for heavy losse
Analysis: Will Tories dump Rishi Sunak if election results worse than expected?
Jake Sullivan appears critical of decision by Spain, Ireland and Norway to formally recognise Palestinian state next week
The US is concerned about Israel’s growing diplomatic isolation among countries that have traditionally supported it, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Wednesday.
Sullivan’s remarks, at a White House briefing, followed the announcement by Ireland, Spain and Norway that they will next week formally recognise a Palestinian state. They also came amid efforts by the Biden administration and Congress to coordinate a response to a decision by the international criminal court (ICC) to seek an arrest warrant for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over Israeli actions in Gaza.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/vriska1 [link] [comments] |
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...Hundreds of protesters prevented an attempt to collect asylum seekers from a south London hotel and transfer them to the Bibby Stockholm barge. The Guardian witnessed crowds blocking the bus and the road outside the Best Western hotel in Peckham before police were able to move in and break up the protest. The bus eventually left the area after seven hours, with no asylum seekers onboard
London protesters block transfer of asylum seekers to Bibby Stockholm
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.
The 22-year-old woman and her child were civilian casualties of a U.S. drone strike, but the Pentagon won't return the family's messages.
The post Pentagon Compensated Zero Civilian Victims in 2022 — Despite Evidence That the U.S. Killed a Mom and Child in Somalia appeared first on The Intercept.
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