********** USA POLITICS **********
return to top
DOGE’s Lawyer Once Warned That Ignoring Court Orders Would Destroy the Country
Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:33:18 +0000
With DOGE initiatives getting hung up in court, Elon Musk and Donald Trump attacked judges and flirted with defying their rulings.
The post DOGE’s Lawyer Once Warned That Ignoring Court Orders Would Destroy the Country appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump's crusade against "wokeness" is co-opting the language of the civil rights movement to undo its legacy.
The post How Trump Twisted DEI to Only Benefit White Christians appeared first on The Intercept.
US president’s 75-minute tirade of repeated false claims ranges from voter fraud and stolen-election lies to foreign wars. This blog is now closed.
Donald Trump launched into his speech by assailing “the fraudsters, liars … globalists and deep-state bureaucrats” that he said “are being sent back”.
“We’re draining the swamp and restoring government by the people for the people,” he said before going on to his oft-repeated claims of Washington DC being controlled by a “sinister group of radical-left Marxist warmongers”.
Continue reading...A former campaign staffer said Sen. John Fetterman’s single-minded focus came at the exclusion of the progressive positions he ran on.
The post Fetterman Staff Quit Amid Frustration Over “Just Working on Israel All the Time” appeared first on The Intercept.
Senate Democrats have the power to block federal contracts to Tesla and SpaceX. It’s the path to pushing Musk out of politics.
The post This Is the Way to Stop Elon Musk appeared first on The Intercept.
The video might bring pleasure to their supporters, but for us it is a call to shut down their fascist deportation machine.
The post Trump and Musk Delight in the Sounds of Human Suffering With Sick “ASMR” Immigrant Video appeared first on The Intercept.
The cut, an anti-trans attack, was the latest example of confusion sown by bold claims that wither under scrutiny.
The post DOGE Said It Cut $232 Million From Social Security Budget. It Was Only About Half a Million. appeared first on The Intercept.
From adding the president’s face to Mount Rushmore to pushing for him to serve a third term, party members are getting inventive in their brown-nosing
If proof were needed that Donald Trump’s cult of personality has never been stronger, it comes in the inventive ways Republican members of Congress have spent his first month in office trying to lionise him. Welcome to the sycophancy stakes.
On 23 January the congressman Addison McDowell of North Carolina introduced legislation to rename Washington Dulles international airport as Donald J Trump international airport.
Continue reading...This week on The Intercept Briefing, politics reporters Jessica Washington and Akela Lacy assess the full scope of Trump's first month in office.
The post One Month Under Trump: Are You Keeping Up? appeared first on The Intercept.
Emboldened and exultant, speakers put less emphasis on baiting liberals and more on spreading the Maga gospel
What do you give the man who has everything? A ballroom full of cheering conservative activists found out this week when Elon Musk was presented with a chainsaw by Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, who has used the power tool as a symbol of his push to impose fiscal discipline.
Wearing sunglasses, a black Maga baseball cap and a gold necklace, Musk giddily wielded the chainsaw up and down the stage. “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy!” he declared. Members of the audience shouted: “We love you!” Musk replied: “I love you guys, too!” And he quipped: “I am become meme.”
Continue reading...The UK leader has been advised to choose his words carefully at this week’s crucial White House meeting
• Keir Starmer lays down Ukraine peace demand ahead of Trump talks
When Keir Starmer is advised on how to handle his crucial meeting with Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, he will be told by advisers from Downing Street and the Foreign Office to be very clear on his main points and, above all, to be brief.
“Trump gets bored very easily,” said one well-placed Whitehall source with knowledge of the president’s attention span. “When he loses interest and thinks someone is being boring, he just tunes out. He doesn’t like [the French president, Emmanuel] Macron partly because Macron talks too much and tries to lecture him.”
Continue reading...Bucket-loads of political capital and cash will be used to reconfigure English councils’ two-tier set-up, but the benefits could be huge
Across England a quiet rebellion is brewing. In Rutland, locals have started a campaign to save the tiny county from abolition. Villagers in High Peak, rural Derbyshire, worry they could be bundled in with Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester. Nottingham is expanding, Medway wants to become a city, and Surrey will have a mayor.
Flick through your local newspaper (if one still exists), or fight past the online pop-ups and chances are there will be a story about Labour’s plans for the biggest shake-up of local government since the 1970s.
Continue reading...The tiny former Soviet republic’s determination not to be cowed by the Kremlin could provide a template for the west on how to hold back the tide of subversion and corruption
How can a democracy defend itself from an attacker who does not respect any democratic rules?
When your assailant uses corruption, blackmail, economic war, cyber attacks, covert campaigns and street violence – while all you have are inefficient courts and even slower international institutions. Can you lose your sovereignty by being too soft? If you respond with censorship or even cancelling elections, don’t you lose your values?
Continue reading...Democrat Jasmine Crockett calls it ‘really wild’ that it is foreign leaders who are speaking truth to power
The congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has revealed she is “rooting” for Canada and Mexico over Donald Trump in their attempts to stand up to him, saying it is “really wild” to find herself in that position given he is the president of the US.
“They are really the ones that are speaking truth to power right now,” the Democratic representative from Texas said on Friday on the popular Breakfast Club podcast, alluding to the political feuds Trump has engaged in with the US’s two North American neighbors during the first month of his second presidency. “They can see what it is and they were like, ‘We are not messing with this crazy regime.’”
Continue reading...This weekend’s vote will show how far xenophobia has been driving even some traditionally progressive parties
When I think of German democracy, I think of the Larsen B ice shelf: a vast Antarctic structure that remained stable for 10,000 years until – in just over a month, to the horror of shocked onlookers – it collapsed catastrophically.
This weekend, Germany is going to the polls. The coalition led by the centre-left Social Democratic party (SPD), born in hope, has fallen apart, thanks in no small measure to the continual attempts at sabotage by the Free Democratic party (FDP), its most junior member. That last successful effort resulted in the dissolution of the government.
Continue reading...The stakes couldn’t be higher and the risks couldn’t be greater when the prime minister visits Washington this week
For British prime ministers, with their ideas about the world shaped by the histories of Churchill and Roosevelt, Maggie and Ronnie, and the rest of the folklore about the transatlantic alliance, the prospect of a visit to the White House usually causes tingles of excitement. One of our senior diplomats once offered me an explanation of the allure: “The red carpet is laid out, the national anthems are played, all that stuff is very seductive.” This will be customarily accompanied by ritualistic words about the importance and invincibility of the “special relationship”.
Number 10 lobbied hard to get Sir Keir Starmer across the Atlantic early in the second term of Donald Trump and, until recently, Downing Street people were telling themselves that an encounter between the two men needn’t be a disaster and might even turn out to be a success. In the weeks since Trump’s re-election as US president, UK policy might be summarised by the phrase “Don’t poke the beast”. Keep the temperature cool. Ignore provocations. Attempt to trade on British heritage – golf, the royal family – with which this US president has an affinity. Put David Lammy out there to suggest that there is lots to respect about the man whom the foreign secretary used to call a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”. Softly-softly was the doctrine and they thought it was bearing fruit.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Greens want Labor’s new Medicare plan implemented before election
The federal Greens have welcomed the Albanese government’s plan to significantly boost bulk-billing rates, as part of an $8.5bn policy, but claimed its campaigning influenced the decision.
Greens pressure works. In a wealthy country like ours everyone should be able to see a GP, psychologist, dentist or nurse with their Medicare card.
It’s good Labor has adopted part of our plan to help people see the GP for free. Now let’s make it law before the election.
Trade and tariffs will be part of the conversation, but not the whole conversation. That is an ongoing discussion that we’re having with our American counterparts. I don’t expect he will conclude those discussions on steel and aluminium while I’m in DC.
I am not going to pre-empt the outcome of those conversations, nor do I expect those discussions will necessarily be concluded this week, to be upfront with you.
Continue reading...Less than half of Australians were always bulk billed when they saw a GP in 2023-24, government data says
The Coalition says it will match “dollar for dollar” Labor’s landmark $8.5bn proposal to dramatically increase Medicare bulk-billing rates for GP visits, pledging to meet Anthony Albanese’s commitment to make nearly all doctors’ appointments free.
Doctor’s groups have welcomed Labor’s pledge to fund 18m extra bulk-billed GP visits annually, but have warned some patients will still miss out because government rebates are sometimes still too low to cover the cost of all appointments. The health minister, Mark Butler, says nine out of 10 GP visits will be covered by 2030 under Labor’s plan, and has accused the Coalition of “cooking the books” on bulk-billing statistics during their time in office.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...US president hits familiar notes about election victories, ending the war in Ukraine and border militarization
In a campaign-style performance, Donald Trump delivered the more-than-hour-long finale at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, hitting familiar notes about his election victories, ending the war in Ukraine, US border militarization and what he characterized as the liberation of Washington from “deep-state bureaucrats”.
Speaking to an auditorium filled to the brim at National Harbor in Maryland, Trump went all-in on his deployment of active-duty troops to the southern border, which he characterized as responding to an “invasion”. He also boasted that his administration had terminated temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants and attempted to ban birthright citizenship for children of non-legal permanent residents.
Continue reading...Today in Focus presenter Helen Pidd hits the road in Germany before Sunday’s federal elections, talking to voters across the country about the rise of the far right
This Sunday, millions of Germans will head to the polls to vote in the country’s federal elections – historic not only because they will determine who will be the next chancellor, but because they come at a time when the far right in Germany is polling better than in any other period since the second world war.
Regardless of the result, it is a remarkable development for a country so haunted by its Nazi past.
Continue reading...We’re keen to hear how Ukrainians feel about the Trump administration-led peace negotiations with Russia, as well as the prospect of elections in Ukraine
US and Russian officials have agreed to explore the “economic and investment opportunities” that could arise for their countries from an end to the war in Ukraine after talks in Saudi Arabia that amounted to a tectonic shift in the United States’ approach to Moscow.
US president Donald Trump pushed back against president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s objections to being excluded from talks between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia aimed at ending the war. He also seemed to suggest that Ukraine was to blame for a war that began only after Russia invaded.
Continue reading...Trump is leaving Ukraine with impossible choices: fight a losing war without U.S. support, or submit to economic vassalage.
The post Trump Doesn’t Care About Ukraine or Russia — Just Money appeared first on The Intercept.
In speech at Arc conference, podcaster argues ‘identity politics and multiculturalism … are two failed experiments’
Konstantin Kisin has until this week been best known as a libertarian, pro-free speech independent podcaster, and for a viral appearance at the Oxford Union arguing that “woke culture has gone too far”.
His profile has suddenly risen, however, after hosting the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, on his podcast, and arguing in an episode with Fraser Nelson, the former editor of the Spectator, that Rishi Sunak was not English owing to his “brown Hindu” background – triggering criticism on social media.
Continue reading...In a matter of days, Donald Trump completed the most radical shift in US foreign policy in decades, bringing Putin back into the fold while sidelining Europe. He claims to have brought the end of the war in Ukraine in sight, but with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the rest of Europe excluded from the US-Russia talks, are we really any closer to peace? And, at what price?
Jonathan Freedland speaks to veteran US diplomat Kurt Volker, who served as Trump’s special representative for Ukraine during his first term, and the Guardian’s US live news editor Chris Michael
Send your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.com
Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus
And that’s how he wants to keep it, his executive orders and memos from Attorney General Pam Bondi show.
The post Trump Is Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud: Federal Prisons Are Purposely Inhumane appeared first on The Intercept.
A reader’s mum is won over by a box from Audrey’s
Last year a reader called Olivia got in touch to ask if I could recommend some chocolates to replace those her mum loved – Terry’s Spartan.
These were a box of chocolates with a black and orange mountain scene on the front, that majored on the fact that all the centres were hard (and, as is the way with a lot of now discontinued chocolates, empty boxes of them go for ££ on eBay). Memorial Device on X once said of them: ‘not uncommon to find a box of Spartans with teeth marks in every single one – the unaware searching for the nonexistent soft centre,’ which made me guffaw.
I gave Olivia some suggestions but she came back to say she’d ‘found the winner in Audrey’s Chocolates. I gave her a selection for Christmas and she loved them.’ I’d never heard of them, which delighted me as I love new recommendations.
Audrey’s Chocolates date back to 1948 – and they are still handmade in the same factory – and is apparently a very quaint little shop in Hove, which I intend to visit soon. But they do a roaring online service. Their boxes are super cute, old-fashioned (this is a compliment) and would make excellent presents. You can order exactly the centres you want: hard, soft, nuts etc (though a minimum of three of each). Prices start at £29 for the pack-your-own. There are also pre-selected boxes: selections, rose and violet creams, caramel and truffles, nuts and fruits. I also tried and loved the dark chocolate peppermints, £25, which were beautifully dark and refreshing.
Germany is experiencing a political shift that is alarming many citizens. The photographer Fabian Ritter has spent years documenting the rise of the far-right AfD party and more extreme groups. Recent events illustrate the growing tension
In the run-up to Sunday’s election in Germany the political climate has become more heated. There have been attacks on politicians and campaign workers, and election posters have been destroyed. Many felt unsettled or even threatened after Friedrich Merz, the leader of the centre-right CDU, proposed a bill to tighten immigration control that had the backing of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.
Björn Höcke, the AfD’s leader in Thuringia and head of its nationalist wing, speaks at the Domplatz in Erfurt during the party’s final campaign event before state elections, 31 August 2024.
Continue reading...Bridget Phillipson calls 2.5% target ‘ambitious’ days before PM meets with Donald Trump in Washington
Keir Starmer is unlikely to set out a plan this week for when the UK will increase its defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, a cabinet minister has indicated.
The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the target was ambitious, despite Labour previously claiming it would set out a path to meeting the spending goal after the strategic defence review in the spring.
Continue reading...Official sent email to charity that suggested Home Office had data on ‘hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting Britons’
The Home Office has been accused of collecting data on “hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting British citizens” while conducting financial checks on migrants.
A report by a private contractor for a routine immigration application was mistakenly sent to a charity by a government official, and contained information on more than 260 people including their names, dates of birth and electoral roll data.
Continue reading...For the US president’s cheerleaders, the whitewashing of the deaths of ten of thousands of Ukrainians is a small price to pay for sticking it to the wokerati
Was it really only a month ago that the pole-dancer patron, fridge explorer, Brexit get-doer, model bus maker, sofa-strainer, wall-spaffer, current Daily Mail columnist and former British prime minister Boris Johnson eulogised the inauguration of Donald Trump in the Mail, recounting how, as the “invisible pulse of power surged” from the battered bible into the hand of Trump: “I saw the moment the world’s wokerati had worked so hard to prevent.”
I hope Johnson is pleased with the way things have worked out. Because now the foolish wokerati have been schooled beyond Johnson’s wettest dreams. It’s the Trump-Putin-bin Salman party! An adjudicated sex offender and convicted fraudster, and a man who sanctioned a chemical warfare hit, killing a British citizen on British soil, have met at the luxury Saudia Arabian hotel of another man, who, according to the US, reportedly approved the murder and subsequent dismemberment of a journalist, to discuss the similarly brutal dismemberment of Ukraine, without consulting either Ukraine itself or the countries most directly affected by the legitimisation of Putin’s territorial anxieties. Don’t worry, Poland! Stable genius Trump has got this covered, so break out the bone saws, pop the cork on the novichok and grab the girls by the pussy! There are 1970s Italian slasher films with less gruesome plotlines. Well said, Boris Johnson! That’s certainly stuck it to the wokerati!
Stewart Lee tours Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf this year, with a Royal Festival Hall run in July. He appears in a benefit show for Just Stop Oil at Walthamstow Trades Hall, London, on 8 April
Continue reading...‘Cruel and disrespectful’ request to employees sparks confusion across key government agencies
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been given little more than 48 hours to explain what they accomplished over the past week, sparking confusion across key agencies as the tech billionaire Elon Musk expands his crusade to slash the size of government.
Musk, who serves as President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting chief, telegraphed the extraordinary request on his social media network on Saturday.
Continue reading...An argument about Rishi Sunak’s identity reveals how ideas of ethnicity and race have become conflated
‘They think they’re English because they’re born here. That means if a dog’s born in a stable it’s a horse.” That was a staple of the comedian Bernard Manning’s routine back in the 1970s. Enoch Powell had, a decade earlier, expressed the same sentiment in more refined language: “The West Indian or Asian does not, by being born in England, become an Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom citizen by birth; in fact he is a West Indian or an Asian still.”
Few today would laugh along with Manning or take seriously the claim that only white people can be English. Britain has transformed over the past half-century and most English people now embrace Ian Wright and Idris Elba as being as English as David Beckham or Joanna Lumley.
Continue reading...A tax overhaul would enable Labour to raise cash to boost security. But it must act swiftly
It was a week that shook the world. The spilled Ukrainian blood counted for nothing as Donald Trump openly sided with Russia to achieve a peace that can only reward it for its unilateral aggression. As profoundly, the US president has launched a new era in which might is right, “strong” men carve up the globe, and international law and multilateral institutions are eviscerated. Nor, as the former head of MI6 Alex Younger told BBC’s Newsnight, is there any going back.
Britain may be only a middle-ranking power but, given the politics and defence capacity of the rest of Europe, it now has a special responsibility – in its own interests as much as Europe’s – to take a lead in creating a functioning order to replace the old. Andto do its very best to secure a just peace in Ukraine. For all its modest standing, Britain still retains important political and strategic assets. They must be deployed.
Continue reading...As the education secretary announces the first primary schools to offer free breakfasts, Labour MPs question the commitment to fighting poverty
The government is trumpeting its policy of introducing free breakfast clubs into all primary schools in England as key to its efforts to cut child poverty, as ministers appear to have ruled out meeting the estimated cost of £3bn a year to end the two-child cap on benefits.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, announced the first 750 schools that will become “early adopters” of breakfast clubs, saying that 67,000 of the 180,000 pupils set to benefit come from the most disadvantaged areas of England.
Continue reading...There is political agreement that Britain and Europe need to increase military spending. But in straitened times, how can it be done?
Can Britain increase defence spending without cuts elsewhere?
Rachel Reeves is constrained by fiscal rules that govern the extent of the UK’s debts and the annual spending deficit by the end of the parliament. Following lower than expected tax receipts and higher borrowing costs in the current financial year, it looks likely that the chancellor will need to make budget cuts when she makes her next financial statement on 26 March. Last week she said a rise in defence spending would mean making “difficult decisions across the board”.
Reeves fears a backlash from financial markets in response to higher, unfunded spending, pushing the cost of borrowing up in a repeat of the Liz Truss mini-budget debacle. Most analysts believe a rise in borrowing is expected by international lenders.
Continue reading...Ex-leader of far-right Proud Boys trails group through lobby of Washington hotel, engaging officer Michael Fanone
Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group who was convicted and then pardoned for his role in the January 6 insurrection, confronted a group of police officers who defended the Capitol during the attack, accusing one of them of being a “coward”.
A video shared by Tarrio on social media on Saturday showed him following the officers, Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell, through the lobby of a Washington hotel that was hosting the Principles First summit, a conference where one of the officers received a “profile in courage” award.
Continue reading...Thanks to Donald Trump, a new era of great power imperialism fuelled by authoritarianism and hyper-nationalism is unfolding
A torrent of abrupt US policy reversals, resets and revisions since Donald Trump returned to the White House last month has left America’s friends and enemies struggling to keep up. Trump’s desire both to upend and dominate the established international order, and in particular his undermining of the postwar transatlantic alliance, is feeding talk of a watershed moment akin to 1989, when the fall of the Berlin Wall signalled an end to the cold war.
His behaviour has strengthened a consensus, current among western politicians, diplomats and analysts, that the world is reaching a turning point, that the UN-led, rules-based, multilateralist system is crumbling, and that a new era of great power imperialism fuelled by authoritarianism, hyper-nationalism and left- and rightwing populism is unfolding.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk
Continue reading...Home Office moved to cancel Menatalla Elwan’s leave to remain over posts on Hamas’s 7 October attack
An Egyptian NHS doctor who “glorified terrorist violence” by mocking Israeli civilians fleeing the Hamas attacks in October 2023 has won a legal challenge against deportation.
In one of three social media posts hours after the attacks began, Dr Menatalla Elwan, 34, who worked at an NHS trust in Liverpool, reposted footage of music festivalgoers running from Hamas terrorists and wrote “if it was your home, you would stay and fight”, accompanied by a smiling face emoji.
Continue reading...Report from New Zealand navy personnel comes a day after similar drill forced multiple airlines to change flight paths between Australia and New Zealand
China’s navy has reportedly conducted a second live-fire exercise in international waters, a day after a similar drill forced multiple airlines to change flight paths between Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand navy personnel advised live rounds were fired from a Chinese warship in international waters near the island nation on Saturday.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...US government stripping funds from domestic and overseas research amid warnings for health and public safety
The Trump administration is stripping away support for scientific research in the US and overseas that contains a word it finds particularly inconvenient: “climate.”
The US government is withdrawing grants and other support for research that even references the climate crisis, academics have said, amid Donald Trump’s blitzkrieg upon environmental regulations and clean-energy development.
Continue reading...Democratic party chair Lo Kin-hei would not comment on whether Beijing put pressure on members
Hong Kong’s oldest pro-democracy party, which became an influential voice of opposition before Beijing cracked down on dissent, will start preparations to shut down, its leader has said.
Lo Kin-hei, the chair of Hong Kong’s Democratic party, said on Thursday: “We are going to proceed and study on the process and procedure that is needed for the disbanding.”
Continue reading...Oracle, which has secret partnerships with Israel, has told employees to love the country or work elsewhere.
The post Poised to Take Over TikTok, Oracle Is Accused of Clamping Down on Pro-Palestine Dissent appeared first on The Intercept.
As administration cuts off resources from African countries to contain outbreak, workers say ‘everybody’s lost’
As the Trump administration dismantles the US Agency for International Development (USAid) and retreats from funding global public health efforts, mpox – formerly known as monkeypox – is at greater risk of becoming a wider global emergency, according to aid workers and global health experts.
“It’s a real mistake not to be doing everything we can to control this while we’re still able to,” said Stephen Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University focusing on risk assessment of infectious diseases. “Taking huge steps backwards is only going to make everything worse.”
Continue reading...Conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz could unseat chancellor Olaf Scholz but threat of gains by far-right AfD looms large
Guten Tag, and good day from Berlin.
Sixty million Germans choose their next government today, which will lead Europe’s largest economy through what will most likely be the most tumultuous era in decades.
Continue reading...He has a prolific career and extensive portfolio, with his images of British life especially iconic. At 72, he tells Miranda Sawyer, he’s still thinking about what to shoot next
About 20 years ago, I was on a judging panel for a photography competition, and one of the other judges was Martin Parr. He was charming and affable, almost teddy bear-ish. He was also utterly ruthless. When it came to deciding which photographs were worthy of a prize, he went through the selection swiftly – no, no, yes, no – without hesitation or doubt. His eye was impeccable.
Has he always known what makes a good photograph? “Oh yes,” says Parr. “Right from the beginning. Total conviction. I knew I would be a photographer from the age of 13, 14, and I knew what was good even then. I was obsessive about photography. All artists are obsessive, I think.”
We are in his agent’s office, a small upstairs flat on a market street in east London. Parr owns the building, and this room used to be packed with his work as well as Parr-type things: his collections of Saddam Hussein watches, Soviet-space-dog ephemera, Spice Girls merch. He was obsessed with gathering all sorts of daft stuff, but he’s stopped now to concentrate solely on his work. Though as he says, “photography is a form of collecting.”
His obsession now is the Martin Parr Foundation, headquartered in Bristol, which he established in 2017 and which is where all of his photos have been moved to (along with the watches, space dogs and Spiceys). The foundation is a collection of documentary photography of the British Isles, his own and other people’s. Alongside maintaining Parr’s huge archive, it buys work by lesser-known photographers, gives bursaries to those who are just starting out, has a library and gallery, curates shows, and is Parr’s legacy, what he’s most proud of. He’s 72, is in cancer recovery and is conscious of his age. “Hopefully it will be of some benefit,” he says. “I’m not going to say I’m saving the world. I never expect photography to change anything.” Perhaps not, but the Foundation is clearly a good thing: the website is great and the current show, featuring Siân Davey’s photos of family life, is excellent.
“Have you been to visit it?” he asks. I haven’t. He looks a bit miffed. He’s quick to pick up on things he thinks I’ve missed about what he does. When we go for a coffee after the interview, he says, almost triumphantly, “You just missed me taking a photo with my phone, of that wall!”
In my defence, there is so much of Parr’s work to see that you could spend your whole life looking at his photographs. He’s been working since the 1980s, has had well over 80 exhibitions all over the world, has published more than 145 photography books. He is madly prolific, with an archive that’s endlessly recategorisable. “If you want me to do a book on dogs, no problem,” he says. “I can come up with 100 pictures straight away. Or cigarettes. I’ve just done a book called No Smoking, using my archive, edited by my gallery here in London.”
Is he constantly thinking about work?
“More or less, yes. I’m either thinking about things I haven’t shot, or things I’ve done. What’s got to be done. What can I do next? Where can I go?”
 | submitted by /u/Wagamaga [link] [comments] |
 | submitted by /u/indig0sixalpha [link] [comments] |
Three Chinese vessels currently in international waters notified Australia’s defence department before the drill
Chinese warships have undertaken an apparent live-fire drill in the seas between Australia and New Zealand, diverting commercial flights in the skies above.
The Chinese navy notified the Australian defence department shortly before the drill on Friday.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Civil servant Josie Stewart found to have been unlawfully dismissed in 2022 after she told BBC about failures
A civil servant who blew the whistle about the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and Boris Johnson’s involvement in a decision to evacuate a pet charity from Kabul has won her case for unfair dismissal against the government in a legal first.
An employment panel of three judges unanimously found the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) unfairly dismissed Josie Stewart in 2021 after she leaked information in the public interest.
Continue reading...Musk has emerged as Trump’s far-right-hand man, creating some awkwardness for the president’s Democratic foes.
The post Democrats Swear They’ll Fight Elon Musk. But What About the Cash They Took From SpaceX? appeared first on The Intercept.
“What he’s done is testing the limits of his power in a way we have never seen in this country,” says retired federal Judge Nancy Gertner.
The post Constitutional Crisis Looms appeared first on The Intercept.
A GP surgery in one of the most deprived areas in the north-east of England is struggling to provide care for its patients as the health system crumbles around them. In the depths of the winter flu season, the Guardian video producers Maeve Shearlaw and Adam Sich went to Bridges medical practice to shadow the lead GP, Paul Evans, as he worked all hours keep his surgery afloat. Juggling technical challenges, long waiting lists and the profound impact austerity has had on the health of the population, Evans says: 'We are seeing the system fail'
Continue reading...Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s chaotic approach to reform is upending government operations. Critical functions have been halted, tens of thousands of federal staffers are being encouraged to resign, and congressional mandates are being disregarded. The next phase: The Department of Government Efficiency reportedly wants to use AI to cut costs. According to The Washington Post, Musk’s group has started to run sensitive data from government systems through AI programs to analyze spending and determine what could be pruned. This may lead to the elimination of human jobs in favor of automation. As one government official who has been tracking Musk’s DOGE team told the...
CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger could barely contain his excitement about the Laken Riley Act and Trump’s anti-immigration executive orders.
The post Private Prison CEO on Trump Deportation Surge: “One of the Most Exciting Periods in My Career” appeared first on The Intercept.
Open letter from some of the country’s most distinguished artists ‘strongly protests’ at the removal of Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino
Living artists who have represented Australia at the Venice Biennale over the past five decades – and the estates of a number of now deceased artists who have done the same – have signed an open letter to the board and chief executive of Creative Australia to reinstate sacked artist Khaled Sabsabi and his curator Michael Dagostino.
Some of Australia’s most distinguished living artists, including Imants Tillers, Mike Parr, Susan Norrie, Fiona Hall, Judy Watson, Patricia Piccinini and Tracey Moffat have signed the petition, as has the estate of Howard Arkley who represented Australia in Venice more than a quarter of a century ago.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Two years ago, transgender teenager Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death by two 15-year-olds. The killers had been radicalised on the dark web, while the victim was trapped in an online world of her own. Now her mother has become friends with the parent of one of the murderers. On the second anniversary of Brianna’s death, Esther sits down with Simon Hattenstone to discuss her daughter’s murder and her own extraordinary response.
Victor Pelevin made his name in 90s Russia with scathing satires of authoritarianism. But while his literary peers have faced censorship and fled the country, he still sells millions. Has he become a Kremlin apologist? By Sophie Pinkham. Read by Olga Koch
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and Mark Langdon look back on Manchester City’s limp Champions League exit in Madrid and the rest of the playoffs
Rate, review, and share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher; join the conversation on Facebook and email.
On the podcast today: Kylian Mbappé hat-trick ripped apart an abject Manchester City and left Pep Guardiola reflecting on an early Champions League exit. His side went into the second leg against Real Madrid knowing that an early goal would level the tie – but instead Mbappé’s fourth-minute strike all but killed them off.
Continue reading...Sale of the miner, which is now valued at $4bn, may be delayed following ‘really, really difficult’ market
The world’s biggest diamond miner, De Beers, cost its parent company almost $3bn last year as the growth in lab-grown stones continues to take the shine off the industry.
Anglo American was forced to write down the value of the renowned gem producer for a second consecutive year as its chief executive admitted the diamond markets had proved “really, really difficult for the company”.
Continue reading...Oversight laws about foreign influence were already limited. Now the Trump administration is shredding them.
The post How Many Trump Officials Have Taken Money From Qatar? appeared first on The Intercept.
How exactly the IRS will use the SuperPod AI hardware is unclear. But it comes amid a push for automation in government.
The post The IRS Is Buying an AI Supercomputer From Nvidia appeared first on The Intercept.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is trying to eliminate all Defense Department DEI efforts. It hasn’t been entirely successful.
The post Pentagon Official: Hegseth’s Campaign to Scrub DEI History Is a “Dumb” Distraction appeared first on The Intercept.
Authorities blame crypto exchange, already facing four counts of tax evasion in the country, for currency woes
Nigeria has filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Binance to pay $79.5bn for economic losses the country’s government says were caused by the cryptocurrency exchange’s operations there and $2bn in back taxes, court documents showed on Wednesday.
Authorities blame Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, for Nigeria’s currency woes and detained two of its executives in 2024 after crypto websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading the local naira currency.
Continue reading...In a tweet announcing his attack on the Climate Justice Alliance, EPA head Lee Zeldin linked it to the group’s protected speech about Palestine.
The post Trump’s EPA Kills Grant to Climate Nonprofit Over Its Support for Palestine appeared first on The Intercept.
In the span of just weeks, the US government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history—not through a sophisticated cyberattack or an act of foreign espionage, but through official orders by a billionaire with a poorly defined government role. And the implications for national security are profound.
First, it was reported that people associated with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had accessed the US Treasury computer system, giving them the ability to collect data on and potentially control the department’s roughly ...
For some members of the WhatsApp group, speaking out for Palestine and criticizing Israel are tantamount to supporting Hamas.
The post The Columbia Network Pushing Behind the Scenes to Deport and Arrest Student Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
Even with Jordan and Egypt refusing to take in expelled Palestinians, Trump is charging on with his real estate development plan.
The post Trump Is Bullying Jordan and Egypt to Help in Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza. It Isn’t Working. appeared first on The Intercept.
ICE wants to hire contractors to monitor social media for threats. Those who criticize the agency could be pulled into the dragnet.
The post ICE Wants to Know If You’re Posting Negative Things About It Online appeared first on The Intercept.
In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.
As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.
Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.
This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.
Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.
LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique asset—ownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.
The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.
As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.
The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.
Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.
What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.
The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.
Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.
Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.
Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.
After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.
If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.
Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.
When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.
This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.
The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWire’s own cryptocurrency.
Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.
You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.
You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.
For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2 ,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share
For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share
For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2 2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.
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.
Be the first to see our latest thought-provoking films, bringing you bold and original storytelling from around the world
Discover the stories behind our latest short films, learn more about our international film-makers, and join us for exclusive documentary events. We’ll also share a selection of our favourite films, from our archives and from further afield, for you to enjoy. Sign up below.
Can’t wait for the next newsletter? Start exploring our archive now.
Continue reading...From a taste of Brazil in Manchester to the rise of the choc ice
***
Continue reading...Soon we can all read the late author’s private notes about her therapy. But should we?
In 1998, the late journalist Joan Didion wrote a scathing essay about the posthumous publication of True at First Light, a travel journal and fictional memoir by Ernest Hemingway, 38 years after the author killed himself. “This is a man to whom words mattered. He worked at them, he understood them, he got inside them,” Didion wrote. “His wish to be survived by only the words he determined fit for publication would have seemed clear enough.”
Just over a year later, in December 1999, Didion began writing her own journal about her sessions with a psychiatrist. She addressed these notes – detailing her struggles with alcoholism, anxiety, guilt and depression, a sometimes fraught relationship with her adopted daughter Quintana and reflections on her childhood and legacy – to her husband, John Gregory Dunne.
Continue reading...The crowds have left and the elements reign supreme on an off-season escape to Newquay
Surfers are bobbing in the whitewater shallows off Newquay’s Fistral Beach, poised for that ecstatic moment when a barrelling Atlantic roller will propel them to their feet. Then it arrives – the Big One. Despite the biting cold the surfers rise in unison, carving into the wave’s lip with effortless balletic grace.
There’s something quite magical about Cornwall off-season. Gone are the crowds; this is the time when the elements reign supreme. Storm Éowyn recently made that very clear, hammering the coast with brutal winds and booming surf. But even in calmer periods, the landscape feels untamed, an unpredictable theatre of darkened skies, crashing waves and howling gusts.
Continue reading...We’re here for a ‘culinary journey’ apparently, but where on earth to?
Gilgamesh, 4a Upper St Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9NY. Small plates £7-£19, large plates £9-£42, desserts £9, wines from £38
A Monday lunchtime, and my phone pings. There’s a text. “Gilgamesh London. It’s our Birthday! ONE milestone gift to you,” it says, with a dizzyingly random use of capital letters. “50% OFF A la Carte Menu. Online bookings.” Which is all very nice. Except I’m already booked to go to Gilgamesh. The next day I’m served up a trio of their ads across this paper’s homepage online, offering “3 courses for £20”. It could be described as pathologically needy were that not an insult to needy people.
Continue reading...French family behind project visited Kremlin in 2014 to discuss building ‘Tsarland’ in annexed Crimea
With its spectacular shows featuring Viking longboats, Roman charioteers and sword-wielding knights who perform death-defying stunts, Puy du Fou in France is consistently ranked among the world’s best theme parks. Each performance of its centrepiece Cinéscénie show, which depicts 700 years of French history, features more than 1,000 actors, hundreds of horses and about 800 fireworks.
Now the company has set its sights on bringing its brand of immersive history to the UK via a £600m investment to build its mock medieval castles, hotels and restaurants on farmland just off the M40 in Oxfordshire. It has asked the upmarket property firm Savills to help with its planning applications and is expected to look for British co-investors for a project that it says will create thousands of jobs.
Continue reading...Whether it was a city break or wildflower-strewn hiking trip, tell us about your favourite spring break – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays break
As Europe starts to shake off the dark days of winter, it’s time to start planning a spring break. We’d love to hear about your favourite European trip (excluding the UK) – perhaps you discovered a less-known city that’s warming up nicely in spring, or a landscape that’s at its most magical between winter and summer. Tell us why you loved it for a chance to win a £200 holiday voucher.
If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your words that will be judged for the competition.
Continue reading...Some 400 million devotees will attend this year’s Kumbh Mela festival. Pilgrims and politicians explain why it’s bigger than ever
They sat quietly together on the banks of the Ganges river, heads bowed in sombre prayer. Some men were naked, their bodies smeared grey with ash. Others had a simple saffron cloth tied around their waist. Nearby, barbers balanced on their haunches, shaving the head of each man clean with a flick of their knives, save for a small strand at the back.
This sacred ceremony, committing to a renunciation of earthly pleasures , has been taking place at the Kumbh Mela festival for centuries. The meditation, followed by immersion in the river, is a mandatory initiation ritual for sadhus – Hindu holy men who live an austere life of strict spiritual discipline. Among the most sacred events in the Hindu calendar, the festival occurs every 12 years across four sacred locations in India where it is believed the Hindu god Vishnu once spilled drops of the nectar of immortality.
Continue reading...Rush broke out as travellers scrambled to board trains in India’s capital to go to world’s largest religious gathering
At least 18 people have died in a crush at a railway station in India’s capital when surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to the world’s largest religious gathering, officials have said.
The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj, and has a history of crowd-related disasters – including one last month, when at least 30 people died in another crush at the holy confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
Continue reading...In a tweet announcing his attack on the Climate Justice Alliance, EPA head Lee Zeldin linked it to the group’s protected speech about Palestine.
The post Trump’s EPA Kills Grant to Climate Nonprofit Over Its Support for Palestine appeared first on The Intercept.
Video:
00:06:40
A group of volunteers is spending two months lying in bed—with their feet up and one shoulder always touching the mattress—even while eating, showering, and using the toilet. But why? This extreme bedrest study is helping scientists understand how space travel affects the human body and how to keep astronauts healthy on long missions.
Microgravity causes muscle and bone loss, fluid shifts, and other physiological changes similar to those experienced by bedridden patients on Earth. By studying volunteers here on Earth, researchers can develop better countermeasures for astronauts and even improve treatments for medical conditions like osteoporosis.
In this study, participants are divided into three groups: one stays in bed with no exercise, another cycles in bed to mimic astronaut workouts, and a third cycles while being spun in a centrifuge to simulate artificial gravity. Scientists hope artificial gravity could become a key tool in protecting astronauts during deep-space missions.
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...With DOGE initiatives getting hung up in court, Elon Musk and Donald Trump attacked judges and flirted with defying their rulings.
The post DOGE’s Lawyer Once Warned That Ignoring Court Orders Would Destroy the Country appeared first on The Intercept.
Authorities blame crypto exchange, already facing four counts of tax evasion in the country, for currency woes
Nigeria has filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Binance to pay $79.5bn for economic losses the country’s government says were caused by the cryptocurrency exchange’s operations there and $2bn in back taxes, court documents showed on Wednesday.
Authorities blame Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, for Nigeria’s currency woes and detained two of its executives in 2024 after crypto websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading the local naira currency.
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
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
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
The prospects of peace and the return of Russian gas looks likely to serve the interests of Donald Trump
The Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago has reverberated through the global energy industry; unravelling Europe’s decades-long reliance on gas imported via pipelines from Russia, and triggering a global squeeze on gas markets that unleashed a cost of living crisis still felt today.
The prospect of a peace deal has many wondering whether the energy industry could be upended once again; this time giving way to a market serving the interests of the US president hoping to broker the deal.
Continue reading...Subtle but beautiful wines from Savoie and Japan
Domaine Belema Imago, IGP Vin des Allobroges, Savoie, France 2023 (from £34.75, terrawines.co.uk (lescaves.co.uk) The story behind the delicately delightful Alpine dry white wine that is Domaine Belema Imago is unusually moving. It’s a tale that begins in the hillside vines of Domaine Belluard in the village of Ayse in the Haute-Savoie region of the French Alps, where Domaine Belema’s Yann Pernuit, originally from Normandy, learned his trade as a vigneron alongside his friend and mentor, Dominique Belluard. A believer in biodynamic viticulture and the immense potential of the extremely rare local white grape gringet, Belluard’s refined and evocative wines had become cult favourites in the global sommelier community by the time of his tragic death, by suicide, in 2021. Imago is Pernuit’s tribute to the memory of the much-missed Belluard, a pristine representation of the gringet variety that meant so much to Belluard and which Pernuit is committed to preserving, and a wine in which a swell of fresh apple combines with graceful surging mineral acidity.
Domaine Dupraz En Route Pour L’Apero, Apremeont, Savoie, France 2023 (from £19.50, gnarlyvines.co.uk; lescaves.co.uk; highburylibrary.co.uk) Pernuit was very far from being the only winemaker moved by the death of Belluard. Indeed, some of the biggest names in natural wine (including Jean-Claude Lapalu from Beaujolais, Théo Dancer in Burgundy, and Franck Balthazar in the Rhône) made a series of tribute bottles in their own styles from grapes sent to them by the Belluard family harvested in the vintage after he died. Those fascinating (and very hard to find) wines, each of which show a subtly different side to gringet, were among various fine Savoyard wines on show at a tasting hosted by UK importer Les Caves de Pyrene earlier this month. Other highlights at the tasting included the wines made from Belluard’s vines – in a beguilingly bright but resonant style not dissimilar to “the master of ginget” – by a young winemaker, Vincent Ruiz, at Domaine du Gringet; and Domaine Dupraz’s effortlessly pear-scented, Alpine stream-racy En Route Pour L’Apero dry white, made from another local hero Savoie variety, jacquère.
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/tommos [link] [comments] |
Report from New Zealand navy personnel comes a day after similar drill forced multiple airlines to change flight paths between Australia and New Zealand
China’s navy has reportedly conducted a second live-fire exercise in international waters, a day after a similar drill forced multiple airlines to change flight paths between Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand navy personnel advised live rounds were fired from a Chinese warship in international waters near the island nation on Saturday.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Democratic party chair Lo Kin-hei would not comment on whether Beijing put pressure on members
Hong Kong’s oldest pro-democracy party, which became an influential voice of opposition before Beijing cracked down on dissent, will start preparations to shut down, its leader has said.
Lo Kin-hei, the chair of Hong Kong’s Democratic party, said on Thursday: “We are going to proceed and study on the process and procedure that is needed for the disbanding.”
Continue reading...Three Chinese vessels currently in international waters notified Australia’s defence department before the drill
Chinese warships have undertaken an apparent live-fire drill in the seas between Australia and New Zealand, diverting commercial flights in the skies above.
The Chinese navy notified the Australian defence department shortly before the drill on Friday.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Go off without incident. Cute children in white T-shirts look absolutely thrilled to be mascots. India huddle, and Babar and Imam stroll out.
“Morning Tanya.” Good morning Krishnamoorthy v!
Continue reading...An argument about Rishi Sunak’s identity reveals how ideas of ethnicity and race have become conflated
‘They think they’re English because they’re born here. That means if a dog’s born in a stable it’s a horse.” That was a staple of the comedian Bernard Manning’s routine back in the 1970s. Enoch Powell had, a decade earlier, expressed the same sentiment in more refined language: “The West Indian or Asian does not, by being born in England, become an Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom citizen by birth; in fact he is a West Indian or an Asian still.”
Few today would laugh along with Manning or take seriously the claim that only white people can be English. Britain has transformed over the past half-century and most English people now embrace Ian Wright and Idris Elba as being as English as David Beckham or Joanna Lumley.
Continue reading...In oceans and on land, from the north to the south pole, records were smashed for the monthly average temperature
Two-thirds of the world’s surface was scorched by a month or more of record-breaking heat, Guardian analysis of satellite data can reveal.
In oceans and on land, from Colombia to China, and from the north to south pole, records for the monthly average temperature were smashed time and time again last year – in some cases, by as much as 5C (9F) hotter than the previous record.
Continue reading...Trump is leaving Ukraine with impossible choices: fight a losing war without U.S. support, or submit to economic vassalage.
The post Trump Doesn’t Care About Ukraine or Russia — Just Money appeared first on The Intercept.
Data shows aircraft parts from more than 100 western companies reached Russian aviation industry via India
British firms are among more than 100 western companies, including the aerospace giant Boeing, which have exported aircraft parts to India that reached Russia, according to customs data.
Analysis suggests products worth more than $50m have passed through intermediaries in India to Russian airlines and other entities over a 21-month period up to September 2024.
Continue reading...Man was trekking with another Briton in Dhauladhar range on trail from Dharamkot to Triund in northern India
A British tourist has died after seriously injuring himself while trekking in the Himalayas.
The man, who had gone on a short hike to the foot of the Dhauladhar mountain range in northern India with another British tourist, fell during his descent on Sunday evening and was taken down the mountain on a stretcher.
Continue reading...Oracle, which has secret partnerships with Israel, has told employees to love the country or work elsewhere.
The post Poised to Take Over TikTok, Oracle Is Accused of Clamping Down on Pro-Palestine Dissent appeared first on The Intercept.
Accident happened in Siem Reap province that saw heavy fighting in 1980s between government soldiers and Khmer Rouge
A grenade believed to be more than 25 years old killed two toddlers when it blew up near their homes in rural Cambodia, officials said.
The accident happened on Saturday in Siem Reap province’s Svay Leu district, where there had been heavy fighting in the 1980s and 90s between Cambodian government soldiers and rebel guerrillas from the communist Khmer Rouge. The group had been ousted from power in 1979.
Continue reading...Head of anti-trafficking agency says dozens of Chinese criminal gangs were running the centres
Tens of thousands of people could be living inside illegal scam compounds in Myanmar that have proliferated near Thailand’s border, according to the head of Thailand’s anti-trafficking agency, who warned it could take months before all foreign nationals are repatriated.
Thailand has launched a major crackdown on scam compounds over recent weeks, cutting off cross-border electricity and fuel supplies.
Continue reading...Some 400 million devotees will attend this year’s Kumbh Mela festival. Pilgrims and politicians explain why it’s bigger than ever
They sat quietly together on the banks of the Ganges river, heads bowed in sombre prayer. Some men were naked, their bodies smeared grey with ash. Others had a simple saffron cloth tied around their waist. Nearby, barbers balanced on their haunches, shaving the head of each man clean with a flick of their knives, save for a small strand at the back.
This sacred ceremony, committing to a renunciation of earthly pleasures , has been taking place at the Kumbh Mela festival for centuries. The meditation, followed by immersion in the river, is a mandatory initiation ritual for sadhus – Hindu holy men who live an austere life of strict spiritual discipline. Among the most sacred events in the Hindu calendar, the festival occurs every 12 years across four sacred locations in India where it is believed the Hindu god Vishnu once spilled drops of the nectar of immortality.
Continue reading...Rush broke out as travellers scrambled to board trains in India’s capital to go to world’s largest religious gathering
At least 18 people have died in a crush at a railway station in India’s capital when surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to the world’s largest religious gathering, officials have said.
The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj, and has a history of crowd-related disasters – including one last month, when at least 30 people died in another crush at the holy confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
Continue reading...Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s chaotic approach to reform is upending government operations. Critical functions have been halted, tens of thousands of federal staffers are being encouraged to resign, and congressional mandates are being disregarded. The next phase: The Department of Government Efficiency reportedly wants to use AI to cut costs. According to The Washington Post, Musk’s group has started to run sensitive data from government systems through AI programs to analyze spending and determine what could be pruned. This may lead to the elimination of human jobs in favor of automation. As one government official who has been tracking Musk’s DOGE team told the...
In the span of just weeks, the US government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history—not through a sophisticated cyberattack or an act of foreign espionage, but through official orders by a billionaire with a poorly defined government role. And the implications for national security are profound.
First, it was reported that people associated with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had accessed the US Treasury computer system, giving them the ability to collect data on and potentially control the department’s roughly ...
With DOGE initiatives getting hung up in court, Elon Musk and Donald Trump attacked judges and flirted with defying their rulings.
The post DOGE’s Lawyer Once Warned That Ignoring Court Orders Would Destroy the Country appeared first on The Intercept.
 | submitted by /u/AmethystOrator [link] [comments] |
The star of Baywatch and The Last Showgirl answers questions from Observer readers and famous fans including Stella McCartney, Liam Neeson, Ruby Wax and Naomi Klein
Pamela Anderson, makeup-free and beautiful in a floral Westwood suit, is making a fuss of my dog. My dog likes her. I’m not a particular believer in the idea that animals are great character judges but, in this case, me and the dog are aligned. I like Anderson too. She combines openness with a kind of vulnerability, and you warm to her immediately.
Settled on a sofa in a small dressing room off a photography studio, she asks for a coffee and promptly spills it everywhere. “I strive for imperfection,” she jokes. “I strive for it, and I just hit it every time.” Cortado mopped, she takes a breath, before talking excitedly of a new phase in her eventful life. “A door opened, and I walked through,” she says. “It’s hard to believe.”
Continue reading...He has a prolific career and extensive portfolio, with his images of British life especially iconic. At 72, he tells Miranda Sawyer, he’s still thinking about what to shoot next
About 20 years ago, I was on a judging panel for a photography competition, and one of the other judges was Martin Parr. He was charming and affable, almost teddy bear-ish. He was also utterly ruthless. When it came to deciding which photographs were worthy of a prize, he went through the selection swiftly – no, no, yes, no – without hesitation or doubt. His eye was impeccable.
Has he always known what makes a good photograph? “Oh yes,” says Parr. “Right from the beginning. Total conviction. I knew I would be a photographer from the age of 13, 14, and I knew what was good even then. I was obsessive about photography. All artists are obsessive, I think.”
We are in his agent’s office, a small upstairs flat on a market street in east London. Parr owns the building, and this room used to be packed with his work as well as Parr-type things: his collections of Saddam Hussein watches, Soviet-space-dog ephemera, Spice Girls merch. He was obsessed with gathering all sorts of daft stuff, but he’s stopped now to concentrate solely on his work. Though as he says, “photography is a form of collecting.”
His obsession now is the Martin Parr Foundation, headquartered in Bristol, which he established in 2017 and which is where all of his photos have been moved to (along with the watches, space dogs and Spiceys). The foundation is a collection of documentary photography of the British Isles, his own and other people’s. Alongside maintaining Parr’s huge archive, it buys work by lesser-known photographers, gives bursaries to those who are just starting out, has a library and gallery, curates shows, and is Parr’s legacy, what he’s most proud of. He’s 72, is in cancer recovery and is conscious of his age. “Hopefully it will be of some benefit,” he says. “I’m not going to say I’m saving the world. I never expect photography to change anything.” Perhaps not, but the Foundation is clearly a good thing: the website is great and the current show, featuring Siân Davey’s photos of family life, is excellent.
“Have you been to visit it?” he asks. I haven’t. He looks a bit miffed. He’s quick to pick up on things he thinks I’ve missed about what he does. When we go for a coffee after the interview, he says, almost triumphantly, “You just missed me taking a photo with my phone, of that wall!”
In my defence, there is so much of Parr’s work to see that you could spend your whole life looking at his photographs. He’s been working since the 1980s, has had well over 80 exhibitions all over the world, has published more than 145 photography books. He is madly prolific, with an archive that’s endlessly recategorisable. “If you want me to do a book on dogs, no problem,” he says. “I can come up with 100 pictures straight away. Or cigarettes. I’ve just done a book called No Smoking, using my archive, edited by my gallery here in London.”
Is he constantly thinking about work?
“More or less, yes. I’m either thinking about things I haven’t shot, or things I’ve done. What’s got to be done. What can I do next? Where can I go?”
Campaigners urge overhaul of system for prioritising hearings as less serious crimes move ahead in queue
Changes must be made to the way court cases are prioritised, barristers and victims’ advocates have said, with some trials already being scheduled into 2028.
The existing system means judges must schedule trials for defendants who are held in custody within six months of arrest unless a legal application is made, regardless of the severity of their alleged offence, while those on bail have no set time limit. This means victims of serious crimes including rape face years-long waits for trials, while less serious crimes are bumped ahead in the queue.
Continue reading...Creating more hoops will mean some people will be kept alive in agony
I am 81 and in good health, but it is statistically likely that I could find out that I am suffering from a disease from which I will die. If I find that I am going to lose my greatly valued independence and suffer increasingly intolerable pain, I wish the option to end it. I would like that option without having to go to a soulless clinic in Switzerland, causing any relative who in any way assists me to possibly be subject to criminal investigation.
But Sonia Sodha is concerned about the possibility of what she calls “wrongful” deaths; of people who have chosen to die, but might have been influenced to do so (“Voices that oppose the assisted dying bill aren’t ‘noise’. They are vital scrutiny”, Comment). To remove that risk, she proposes creating more hoops than those already in the bill through which someone has to pass before being allowed by the state to die when they choose. And if they don’t satisfy the judge, they will be kept alive and in agony despite their clear wishes. If such a law is an improvement on what we have now, I don’t see how.
RBL Owen
Chetnole, Dorset
Dmitry Bivol became the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world after he outpointed Artur Beterbiev in another absorbing and magnificent contest of great technical skill and profound courage. Bivol, who narrowly lost a majority decision to the 40-year-old former champion just over four months ago, won the rematch and the sweetest redemption in the early hours of Sunday morning in Riyadh.
The scores were exactly the same as they had been in October – with one judge ruling it a 114-114 draw and the two other officials reaching verdicts of 116-112 and 115-113 – but the key difference was that the winning margins were announced in favour of the deserving Bivol.
Continue reading...Civil servant Josie Stewart found to have been unlawfully dismissed in 2022 after she told BBC about failures
A civil servant who blew the whistle about the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and Boris Johnson’s involvement in a decision to evacuate a pet charity from Kabul has won her case for unfair dismissal against the government in a legal first.
An employment panel of three judges unanimously found the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) unfairly dismissed Josie Stewart in 2021 after she leaked information in the public interest.
Continue reading...Democrat Jasmine Crockett calls it ‘really wild’ that it is foreign leaders who are speaking truth to power
The congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has revealed she is “rooting” for Canada and Mexico over Donald Trump in their attempts to stand up to him, saying it is “really wild” to find herself in that position given he is the president of the US.
“They are really the ones that are speaking truth to power right now,” the Democratic representative from Texas said on Friday on the popular Breakfast Club podcast, alluding to the political feuds Trump has engaged in with the US’s two North American neighbors during the first month of his second presidency. “They can see what it is and they were like, ‘We are not messing with this crazy regime.’”
Continue reading...From adding the president’s face to Mount Rushmore to pushing for him to serve a third term, party members are getting inventive in their brown-nosing
If proof were needed that Donald Trump’s cult of personality has never been stronger, it comes in the inventive ways Republican members of Congress have spent his first month in office trying to lionise him. Welcome to the sycophancy stakes.
On 23 January the congressman Addison McDowell of North Carolina introduced legislation to rename Washington Dulles international airport as Donald J Trump international airport.
Continue reading...The cut, an anti-trans attack, was the latest example of confusion sown by bold claims that wither under scrutiny.
The post DOGE Said It Cut $232 Million From Social Security Budget. It Was Only About Half a Million. appeared first on The Intercept.
A former campaign staffer said Sen. John Fetterman’s single-minded focus came at the exclusion of the progressive positions he ran on.
The post Fetterman Staff Quit Amid Frustration Over “Just Working on Israel All the Time” appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump is leaving Ukraine with impossible choices: fight a losing war without U.S. support, or submit to economic vassalage.
The post Trump Doesn’t Care About Ukraine or Russia — Just Money appeared first on The Intercept.
The video might bring pleasure to their supporters, but for us it is a call to shut down their fascist deportation machine.
The post Trump and Musk Delight in the Sounds of Human Suffering With Sick “ASMR” Immigrant Video appeared first on The Intercept.
Whether it was a city break or wildflower-strewn hiking trip, tell us about your favourite spring break – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays break
As Europe starts to shake off the dark days of winter, it’s time to start planning a spring break. We’d love to hear about your favourite European trip (excluding the UK) – perhaps you discovered a less-known city that’s warming up nicely in spring, or a landscape that’s at its most magical between winter and summer. Tell us why you loved it for a chance to win a £200 holiday voucher.
If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your words that will be judged for the competition.
Continue reading...“What he’s done is testing the limits of his power in a way we have never seen in this country,” says retired federal Judge Nancy Gertner.
The post Constitutional Crisis Looms appeared first on The Intercept.
CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger could barely contain his excitement about the Laken Riley Act and Trump’s anti-immigration executive orders.
The post Private Prison CEO on Trump Deportation Surge: “One of the Most Exciting Periods in My Career” appeared first on The Intercept.
Senate Democrats have the power to block federal contracts to Tesla and SpaceX. It’s the path to pushing Musk out of politics.
The post This Is the Way to Stop Elon Musk appeared first on The Intercept.
In the span of just weeks, the US government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history—not through a sophisticated cyberattack or an act of foreign espionage, but through official orders by a billionaire with a poorly defined government role. And the implications for national security are profound.
First, it was reported that people associated with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had accessed the US Treasury computer system, giving them the ability to collect data on and potentially control the department’s roughly ...
And that’s how he wants to keep it, his executive orders and memos from Attorney General Pam Bondi show.
The post Trump Is Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud: Federal Prisons Are Purposely Inhumane appeared first on The Intercept.
ICE wants to hire contractors to monitor social media for threats. Those who criticize the agency could be pulled into the dragnet.
The post ICE Wants to Know If You’re Posting Negative Things About It Online appeared first on The Intercept.
For some members of the WhatsApp group, speaking out for Palestine and criticizing Israel are tantamount to supporting Hamas.
The post The Columbia Network Pushing Behind the Scenes to Deport and Arrest Student Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s chaotic approach to reform is upending government operations. Critical functions have been halted, tens of thousands of federal staffers are being encouraged to resign, and congressional mandates are being disregarded. The next phase: The Department of Government Efficiency reportedly wants to use AI to cut costs. According to The Washington Post, Musk’s group has started to run sensitive data from government systems through AI programs to analyze spending and determine what could be pruned. This may lead to the elimination of human jobs in favor of automation. As one government official who has been tracking Musk’s DOGE team told the...
Musk has emerged as Trump’s far-right-hand man, creating some awkwardness for the president’s Democratic foes.
The post Democrats Swear They’ll Fight Elon Musk. But What About the Cash They Took From SpaceX? appeared first on The Intercept.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is trying to eliminate all Defense Department DEI efforts. It hasn’t been entirely successful.
The post Pentagon Official: Hegseth’s Campaign to Scrub DEI History Is a “Dumb” Distraction appeared first on The Intercept.
Even with Jordan and Egypt refusing to take in expelled Palestinians, Trump is charging on with his real estate development plan.
The post Trump Is Bullying Jordan and Egypt to Help in Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza. It Isn’t Working. appeared first on The Intercept.
Hearty warming dishes which make the most of the best seasonal veg
They were hidden between bouquets of parsley and coriander on the green grocer’s display. Fat bunches of true spinach so fresh they stood up by themselves, their leaves as sharp as a Stone Age arrow, tied up with rubber bands. The sort of crisp-stemmed spinach that would laugh in the face of those flabby, round-ended leaves incarcerated in cellophane at the supermarket. I bought four bunches.
It was a sausage-and-beans kind of night. Fat sausages from a traditional butcher, coarse-textured and freckled with thyme and black pepper.
Continue reading...From a taste of Brazil in Manchester to the rise of the choc ice
***
Continue reading...A reader’s mum is won over by a box from Audrey’s
Last year a reader called Olivia got in touch to ask if I could recommend some chocolates to replace those her mum loved – Terry’s Spartan.
These were a box of chocolates with a black and orange mountain scene on the front, that majored on the fact that all the centres were hard (and, as is the way with a lot of now discontinued chocolates, empty boxes of them go for ££ on eBay). Memorial Device on X once said of them: ‘not uncommon to find a box of Spartans with teeth marks in every single one – the unaware searching for the nonexistent soft centre,’ which made me guffaw.
I gave Olivia some suggestions but she came back to say she’d ‘found the winner in Audrey’s Chocolates. I gave her a selection for Christmas and she loved them.’ I’d never heard of them, which delighted me as I love new recommendations.
Audrey’s Chocolates date back to 1948 – and they are still handmade in the same factory – and is apparently a very quaint little shop in Hove, which I intend to visit soon. But they do a roaring online service. Their boxes are super cute, old-fashioned (this is a compliment) and would make excellent presents. You can order exactly the centres you want: hard, soft, nuts etc (though a minimum of three of each). Prices start at £29 for the pack-your-own. There are also pre-selected boxes: selections, rose and violet creams, caramel and truffles, nuts and fruits. I also tried and loved the dark chocolate peppermints, £25, which were beautifully dark and refreshing.
Nottingham Contemporary
Drawing on his stint as a food delivery driver in Rio during Covid, Allan Weber riffs on life in the favela where he was born, lives and works. In a separate show, Puerto Rico’s Daniel Lind-Ramos speaks to colonialism and the climate crisis
Multidisciplinary Brazilian artist Allan Weber was born in 1992 in the 5 Bocas favela in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro. His practice fuses assemblage, installation, sculpture and photography, all of which collide at Nottingham Contemporary in ways that feel electric.
In his first major UK exhibition, Weber uses his everyday life as source material. Favelas are the self-built shantytowns on the impoverished outskirts of Brazil’s large cities. 5 Bocas, where Weber still lives and works, informs his art in a mythical and literal sense. An assemblage of geometrically aligned razor blades are emblazoned with the word “Lord”, inspired by the razor fade haircut popular in Rio. Machine guns fashioned from old cameras allude to the crime and drug dealing all too often associated with the city.
Continue reading...Subtle but beautiful wines from Savoie and Japan
Domaine Belema Imago, IGP Vin des Allobroges, Savoie, France 2023 (from £34.75, terrawines.co.uk (lescaves.co.uk) The story behind the delicately delightful Alpine dry white wine that is Domaine Belema Imago is unusually moving. It’s a tale that begins in the hillside vines of Domaine Belluard in the village of Ayse in the Haute-Savoie region of the French Alps, where Domaine Belema’s Yann Pernuit, originally from Normandy, learned his trade as a vigneron alongside his friend and mentor, Dominique Belluard. A believer in biodynamic viticulture and the immense potential of the extremely rare local white grape gringet, Belluard’s refined and evocative wines had become cult favourites in the global sommelier community by the time of his tragic death, by suicide, in 2021. Imago is Pernuit’s tribute to the memory of the much-missed Belluard, a pristine representation of the gringet variety that meant so much to Belluard and which Pernuit is committed to preserving, and a wine in which a swell of fresh apple combines with graceful surging mineral acidity.
Domaine Dupraz En Route Pour L’Apero, Apremeont, Savoie, France 2023 (from £19.50, gnarlyvines.co.uk; lescaves.co.uk; highburylibrary.co.uk) Pernuit was very far from being the only winemaker moved by the death of Belluard. Indeed, some of the biggest names in natural wine (including Jean-Claude Lapalu from Beaujolais, Théo Dancer in Burgundy, and Franck Balthazar in the Rhône) made a series of tribute bottles in their own styles from grapes sent to them by the Belluard family harvested in the vintage after he died. Those fascinating (and very hard to find) wines, each of which show a subtly different side to gringet, were among various fine Savoyard wines on show at a tasting hosted by UK importer Les Caves de Pyrene earlier this month. Other highlights at the tasting included the wines made from Belluard’s vines – in a beguilingly bright but resonant style not dissimilar to “the master of ginget” – by a young winemaker, Vincent Ruiz, at Domaine du Gringet; and Domaine Dupraz’s effortlessly pear-scented, Alpine stream-racy En Route Pour L’Apero dry white, made from another local hero Savoie variety, jacquère.
Continue reading...We’re here for a ‘culinary journey’ apparently, but where on earth to?
Gilgamesh, 4a Upper St Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9NY. Small plates £7-£19, large plates £9-£42, desserts £9, wines from £38
A Monday lunchtime, and my phone pings. There’s a text. “Gilgamesh London. It’s our Birthday! ONE milestone gift to you,” it says, with a dizzyingly random use of capital letters. “50% OFF A la Carte Menu. Online bookings.” Which is all very nice. Except I’m already booked to go to Gilgamesh. The next day I’m served up a trio of their ads across this paper’s homepage online, offering “3 courses for £20”. It could be described as pathologically needy were that not an insult to needy people.
Continue reading...Research group says discovery could lead to new type of environmentally friendly farming
A biological mechanism that makes plant roots more attractive to soil microbes has been discovered by scientists in the UK. The breakthrough – by researchers at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, Norfolk – opens the door to the creation of crops requiring reduced amounts of nitrate and phosphate fertilisers, they say.
“We can now think of developing a new type of environmentally friendly farming with crops that require less artificial fertiliser,” said Dr Myriam Charpentier, whose group carried out the research.
Continue reading...Whose soup is a chunky triumph? And whose is a sludgy mess? Felicity Cloake tries out supermarket takes on chilled, ready-made chicken and vegetable soup
• The best blenders to blitz like a pro, tried and tested
As a small child, my dream was to open an underwater restaurant (no, me neither), and the short menu I painstakingly wrote out for said venture started with chicken and vegetable soup. Which is to say, I have history with this dish. It feels familiar, comforting and overwhelmingly wholesome, yet I don’t often eat it these days, not least because I’ve never found one commercially that makes any welfare claims for the chicken concerned (and I’m generally too cheap to make it myself).
So I was quite excited about this particular taste test – and perhaps inevitably disappointed that even the most expensive samples gave so little information about the provenance of their meat. That said, with a handful of exceptions, the standard was pretty high flavour-wise, and Aldi, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s all at least note that they use British chicken, which is a start.
Continue reading...Fast fashion and drinks cans among technological-age matter most likely to endure as fossils, say scientists
As an eternal testament of humanity, plastic bags, cheap clothes and chicken bones are not a glorious legacy. But two scientists exploring which items from our technological civilisation are most likely to survive for many millions of years as fossils have reached an ironic but instructive conclusion: fast food and fast fashion will be our everlasting geological signature.
“Plastic will definitely be a signature ‘technofossil’, because it is incredibly durable, we are making massive amounts of it, and it gets around the entire globe,” says the palaeontologist Prof Sarah Gabbott, a University of Leicester expert on the way that fossils form. “So wherever those future civilisations dig, they are going to find plastic. There will be a plastic signal that will wrap around the globe.”
Continue reading...A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
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
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
RSS Rabbit links users to publicly available RSS entries.
Vet every link before clicking! The creators accept no responsibility for the contents of these entries.
Relevant
Fresh
Convenient
Agile
We're not prepared to take user feedback yet. Check back soon!
