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Confessions of an 82-year-old hitchhiker
Sat, 27 Apr 2024 06:00:29 GMT
The founder of the Bradt travel guides and author of a new memoir has been thumbing lifts all over the world since her teens – and has no intention of stopping now
‘‘No one hitchhikes any more, do they?” I often hear people saying this and am proud to reply that I’ve hitchhiked every decade of my life, except the first. And I don’t intend to stop just because I’m now in my 80s.
So there I was, standing beside the road in southern Bavaria last year at the age of 82, with a sheepish smile on my face and thumb extended, while car after car swept past looking at me curiously. I could have taken the bus; indeed, that was the plan when I firmly told my companions that a seven-mile walk was enough for me, and they could complete the final five miles to Egloffstein, where we were staying, on their own.
Continue reading...Two-year-old calf one step closer to reuniting with family group after tragic accident that left her stranded in remote lagoon
An orca calf, trapped for weeks in a remote lagoon in western Canada, has freed herself and is travelling towards open waters, hailed as “incredible news” by a growing body of human supporters.
The move puts her one step closer to reuniting with her family one month after a tragic accident left her stranded.
Continue reading...The sexual wanderings of a partner don’t always spell the end. Readers share their experiences of how their relationship came out the other side
What counts as infidelity varies from couple to couple and how they choose to handle it is also unique. A drunken kiss on the dancefloor might be innocuous to some; for others, a relationship-ending catastrophe.
How readers chose to approach their straying partners varied dramatically depending on the length and nature of their relationship and what shape the outside encounter took. If families and mutual assets were involved – and other relationship factors were stable – readers tended to double down on commitments, opting to frame such transgressions as an opportunity for growth and refreshment. And the further down the road couples had travelled together, the more likely they would stay together post-infidelity.
Continue reading...EV sales have plateaued across the world but the newfound glut of vehicles may just be temporary
Elon Musk became the world’s richest man by evangelising about electric cars – and delivering them by the million. Yet in recent months his company, Tesla, has struggled to maintain its momentum: sales have dropped this year, and so has its share price.
Those struggles have become emblematic of a broader reckoning facing the electric vehicle (EV) industry. After the soaring demand and valuations of the coronavirus pandemic years, the pace of sales growth has slowed. The industry has entered a new phase, with questions over whether the switch from petrol and diesel to cleaner electric is facing a troublesome stall or a temporary speed bump.
Continue reading...Top chefs say the Games will rebrand French gastronomy as a showcase for plant-based food
It will boast the world’s biggest salad bar, offer fans vegetarian hotdogs and bring in up to half a million bananas by boat to meet athletes’ insatiable demand for the fruit while avoiding the carbon footprint of air travel.
As part of its efforts to cut carbon emissions, the Paris Olympics will make history by offering more vegetarian cuisine than in any Games.
Continue reading...Fujikawaguchiko town official says choice to erect huge barrier is ‘regrettable’ and last resort
A huge barrier to block views of Mount Fuji will be installed at a popular photo spot by Japanese authorities exasperated by crowds of badly behaved foreign tourists.
Construction of the mesh net – 2.5 metres (8ft) high and the length of a cricket pitch at 20 metres – will begin as early as next week, an official from Fujikawaguchiko town said on Friday.
Continue reading...A measure passed by the House seeks to block Americans from traveling to Iran on U.S. passports.
The post House Responds to Israeli-Iranian Missile Exchange by Taking Rights Away from Americans appeared first on The Intercept.
The web has become so interwoven with everyday life that it is easy to forget what an extraordinary accomplishment and treasure it is. In just a few decades, much of human knowledge has been collectively written up and made available to anyone with an internet connection.
But all of this is coming to an end. The advent of AI threatens to destroy the complex online ecosystem that allows writers, artists, and other creators to reach human audiences.
To understand why, you must understand publishing. Its core task is to connect writers to an audience. Publishers work as gatekeepers, filtering candidates and then amplifying the chosen ones. Hoping to be selected, writers shape their work in various ways. This article might be written very differently in an academic publication, for example, and publishing it here entailed pitching an editor, revising multiple drafts for style and focus, and so on...
We would like to hear about your favourite, most useful everyday utensil
What’s your favourite, most useful everyday gadget? It could be a much-used kitchen gizmo, a tool for your daily beauty routine that you can’t live without, or a piece of kit that makes your day-to-day life easier: anything small, genuinely useful, and inexpensive to buy (nothing over £20).
Continue reading...The White House brushes off accusations of hypocrisy, courting TikTok while seeking to ban it.
The post As Biden Cheers TikTok Ban, White House Embraces TikTok Influencers appeared first on The Intercept.
The state says EMTALA, a law barring discrimination in emergency medical care, interferes with its abortion ban.
The post Idaho Goes to the Supreme Court to Argue That Pregnant People Are Second-Class Citizens appeared first on The Intercept.
With stunning sunsets, one of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean and must-see medieval cities, Croatia’s coast and islands are nothing short of spectacular
Once seen, never forgotten. Croatia’s fabulously beautiful coast and islands (1,246 to be precise) – with their rocky coves, iconic beaches, historic towns and gorgeous sunsets, all surrounded by some of the most breathtakingly blue waters imaginable – are places that stay in the mind, and they have a habit of luring you back.
Rovinj in Istria is one of the most instantly recognisable towns on the Croatian coast, its narrow streets and colourful facades climbing upwards to a soaring bell tower, modelled on that of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Travel north just a little and you’ll reach Poreč, home to Unesco-listed Byzantine mosaics to rival those in Ravenna or Istanbul – or south to Pula, with its magnificently preserved Roman amphitheatre. For a peaceful oasis set among some of the country’s finest vineyards, head just five miles inland from the sea walls of Novigrad to Brtonigla.
Continue reading...Do you enjoy exploring the cobbled streets of historic towns, or is spending long days stretched out on the beach more your thing? Answer these questions to find out your Croatian holiday persona
Find out more by visiting croatia.hr
Continue reading...Cruising is booming – 2023 ticket sales have surpassed historic levels and 2024 has seen the launch of the largest cruise ship ever built. But as cruise tourism's popularity has increased, so have the pollution problems it brings. To customers, it may not be evident that any problems exist, since some cruise line companies claim to be becoming more climate-friendly. But the truth can be quite different. Josh Toussaint-Strauss interrogates what impact the world's biggest ships are having on the planet
‘Biggest, baddest’ – but is it the cleanest? World’s largest cruise ship sets sail
‘A good cruise is one that doesn’t come’: Europe’s ports bear brunt of ship pollution
Shipping’s dirty secret: how ‘scrubbers’ clean the air – while contaminating the sea
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...As mayor aims to win third term, what has he achieved so far on air pollution, the climate crisis and nature?
When Sadiq Khan launched his campaign for a third term as Labour mayor of London, he put his green policies front and centre, highlighting his work on air pollution, the climate crisis and nature.
For seasoned Khan watchers, this came as little surprise. The mayor, who last year published a book called Breathe: Seven Ways to Win a Greener World, has been widely praised for his work tackling air pollution, as well as his efforts on nature restoration and getting London to net zero by 2030.
The introduction and expansion of the ultra-low emission zone, which excludes the most polluting vehicles from the capital and has contributed to roadside N02 emissions dropping by 50%.
The introduction of thousands of new electric buses and taxis, and the continued expansion of the cycle network and promotion of walking.
A rewilding programme that has reintroduced a range of species, including beavers, expanded green spaces, and included a mass tree-planting programme.
Continue reading...Vocal swimmers are the tip of a wave as the sport grapples with trust issues over anti-doping in the run-up to Paris 2024
It has been a week since the New York Times and the German TV channel ARD broke the news that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for trace amounts of the banned performance-enhancing drug trimetazidine (TMZ) in the run-up to the last Olympic Games, and public ripples we have seen since are only the visible tip of a wave of feeling running through the sport.
The larger part is below the surface, where there is widespread anger, exasperation and disillusionment at the way the 23 were allowed to compete at the Games anyway after an investigation by their national doping agency, Chinada, found the results were caused by kitchen contamination.
Continue reading...Former talkshow host discussed her controversial exit from daytime TV after reports of a toxic workplace in new standup set
Ellen DeGeneres has addressed the controversial end of her eponymous daytime talkshow after allegations that it was a toxic workplace.
While performing the opening night of her new Ellen’s Last Stand … Up Tour at the Largo in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, the former daytime host joked about getting “kicked out of show business” for being “mean”.
Continue reading...EV sales have plateaued across the world but the newfound glut of vehicles may just be temporary
Elon Musk became the world’s richest man by evangelising about electric cars – and delivering them by the million. Yet in recent months his company, Tesla, has struggled to maintain its momentum: sales have dropped this year, and so has its share price.
Those struggles have become emblematic of a broader reckoning facing the electric vehicle (EV) industry. After the soaring demand and valuations of the coronavirus pandemic years, the pace of sales growth has slowed. The industry has entered a new phase, with questions over whether the switch from petrol and diesel to cleaner electric is facing a troublesome stall or a temporary speed bump.
Continue reading...Top chefs say the Games will rebrand French gastronomy as a showcase for plant-based food
It will boast the world’s biggest salad bar, offer fans vegetarian hotdogs and bring in up to half a million bananas by boat to meet athletes’ insatiable demand for the fruit while avoiding the carbon footprint of air travel.
As part of its efforts to cut carbon emissions, the Paris Olympics will make history by offering more vegetarian cuisine than in any Games.
Continue reading...The actor’s feminist credentials, a wholehearted embrace of comedy and being one of the most memed actors on social media has seen Gosling’s auto-satirising alpha male become white-hot box office in 2024
In Hollywood, there are no accidents. Ryan Gosling’s role in stuntman pic The Fall Guy, hard on the heels of his show-stopping Oscars rendition of I’m Just Ken, is perfectly timed to confirm his ascension to the very top tier of stardom. Not only is it a four-quadrant entertainment turbo boost – covering all audience bases with action, romance, a legacy franchise for the oldies, John Wick-slick for the kids – it is shrink-wrapped to his public persona. His role as stunt veteran Colt Seavers, saving the skin of the idiot megastar he doubles for, caps off the stance Gosling has upheld on talkshows and memes over the last decade: stardom and celebrity as a delectable facade, an in-joke between star and audience to be played with the lightest of ironic touches.
But of course Gosling is a bona fide star, one of Hollywood’s most important. His confused, toxic himbo Ken stole the Barbie limelight from Margot Robbie. Tunnelling into classic archetypes of masculinity with modern self-awareness is the on-screen niche he has made his own – giving us a new, uniquely supple male star for the post-#MeToo era. His mainstream roles – getaway drivers, daredevil motorcyclists, venal bankers – have often been ultra-macho, but the actor himself comes with rounded metrosexual edges. Men want to be him, with his debonair cool and inexhaustible supply of swanky jackets (the leather Miami Vice stunt-team number in The Fall Guy being the latest). As far back as 2017, Morwenna Ferrier noted that Gosling clones, sporting a certain “turbo cleanliness”, were now on the loose in cities everywhere.
Continue reading...The web has become so interwoven with everyday life that it is easy to forget what an extraordinary accomplishment and treasure it is. In just a few decades, much of human knowledge has been collectively written up and made available to anyone with an internet connection.
But all of this is coming to an end. The advent of AI threatens to destroy the complex online ecosystem that allows writers, artists, and other creators to reach human audiences.
To understand why, you must understand publishing. Its core task is to connect writers to an audience. Publishers work as gatekeepers, filtering candidates and then amplifying the chosen ones. Hoping to be selected, writers shape their work in various ways. This article might be written very differently in an academic publication, for example, and publishing it here entailed pitching an editor, revising multiple drafts for style and focus, and so on...
Few economic and social benefits will come to Africans if processing is all done overseas, says Wanjira Mathai
Africa must take greater control in the industries it supplies with raw materials to lift its people from poverty and seize its own destiny in a low-carbon world, one of the continent’s leading environmentalists has urged.
Wanjira Mathai, the managing director for Africa and global partnerships at the World Resources Institute thinktank, said much more of what the continent produced must be processed and made use of close to where it is produced, if the world is to shift to a low-carbon footing.
Continue reading...Like countless other hostilities, the stealthy Israeli missile and drone strike on Iran doesn’t risk war. It is war.
The post Israel Attack on Iran Is What World War III Looks Like appeared first on The Intercept.
The university suspended three students out of hundreds participating in an on-campus encampment to protest the Israeli government.
The post Columbia Suspends Ilhan Omar’s Daughter One Day After Omar Grilled School Administrators appeared first on The Intercept.
In congressional testimony, school administrators also said they are investigating pro-Israel and pro-Palestine professors.
The post Columbia Suspended Two Students for Assault on Gaza Rally, School Says in Antisemitism Hearing appeared first on The Intercept.
Cruising is booming – 2023 ticket sales have surpassed historic levels and 2024 has seen the launch of the largest cruise ship ever built. But as cruise tourism's popularity has increased, so have the pollution problems it brings. To customers, it may not be evident that any problems exist, since some cruise line companies claim to be becoming more climate-friendly. But the truth can be quite different. Josh Toussaint-Strauss interrogates what impact the world's biggest ships are having on the planet
‘Biggest, baddest’ – but is it the cleanest? World’s largest cruise ship sets sail
‘A good cruise is one that doesn’t come’: Europe’s ports bear brunt of ship pollution
Shipping’s dirty secret: how ‘scrubbers’ clean the air – while contaminating the sea
SEMrush and Ahrefs are among
the most popular tools in the SEO industry. Both companies have been in
business for years and have thousands of customers per month.
If you're a professional SEO or trying to do digital
marketing on your own, at some point you'll likely consider using a tool to
help with your efforts. Ahrefs and SEMrush are two names that will likely
appear on your shortlist.
In this guide, I'm going to help you learn more about these SEO tools and how to choose the one that's best for your purposes.
What is SEMrush?
SEMrush is a popular SEO tool with a wide range of
features—it's the leading competitor research service for online marketers.
SEMrush's SEO Keyword Magic tool offers over 20 billion Google-approved
keywords, which are constantly updated and it's the largest keyword database.
The program was developed in 2007 as SeoQuake is a
small Firefox extension
Features
Ahrefs is a leading SEO platform that offers a set of
tools to grow your search traffic, research your competitors, and monitor your
niche. The company was founded in 2010, and it has become a popular choice
among SEO tools. Ahrefs has a keyword index of over 10.3 billion keywords and
offers accurate and extensive backlink data updated every 15-30 minutes and it
is the world's most extensive backlink index database.
Features
Direct Comparisons: Ahrefs vs SEMrush
Now that you know a little more about each tool, let's
take a look at how they compare. I'll analyze each tool to see how they differ
in interfaces, keyword research resources, rank tracking, and competitor
analysis.
User Interface
Ahrefs and SEMrush both offer comprehensive information
and quick metrics regarding your website's SEO performance. However, Ahrefs
takes a bit more of a hands-on approach to getting your account fully set up,
whereas SEMrush's simpler dashboard can give you access to the data you need
quickly.
In this section, we provide a brief overview of the elements
found on each dashboard and highlight the ease with which you can complete
tasks.
AHREFS
The Ahrefs dashboard is less cluttered than that of
SEMrush, and its primary menu is at the very top of the page, with a search bar
designed only for entering URLs.
Additional features of the Ahrefs platform include:
SEMRUSH
When you log into the SEMrush Tool, you will find four
main modules. These include information about your domains, organic keyword
analysis, ad keyword, and site traffic.
You'll also find some other options like
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush have user-friendly dashboards,
but Ahrefs is less cluttered and easier to navigate. On the other hand, SEMrush
offers dozens of extra tools, including access to customer support resources.
When deciding on which dashboard to use, consider what
you value in the user interface, and test out both.
If you're looking to track your website's search engine
ranking, rank tracking features can help. You can also use them to monitor your
competitors.
Let's take a look at Ahrefs vs. SEMrush to see which
tool does a better job.
The Ahrefs Rank Tracker is simpler to use. Just type in
the domain name and keywords you want to analyze, and it spits out a report
showing you the search engine results page (SERP) ranking for each keyword you
enter.
Rank Tracker looks at the ranking performance of
keywords and compares them with the top rankings for those keywords. Ahrefs
also offers:
You'll see metrics that help you understand your
visibility, traffic, average position, and keyword difficulty.
It gives you an idea of whether a keyword would be
profitable to target or not.
SEMRush offers a tool called Position Tracking. This
tool is a project tool—you must set it up as a new project. Below are a few of
the most popular features of the SEMrush Position Tracking tool:
All subscribers are given regular data updates and
mobile search rankings upon subscribing
The platform provides opportunities to track several
SERP features, including Local tracking.
Intuitive reports allow you to track statistics for the
pages on your website, as well as the keywords used in those pages.
Identify pages that may be competing with each other
using the Cannibalization report.
Ahrefs is a more user-friendly option. It takes seconds
to enter a domain name and keywords. From there, you can quickly decide whether
to proceed with that keyword or figure out how to rank better for other
keywords.
SEMrush allows you to check your mobile rankings and
ranking updates daily, which is something Ahrefs does not offer. SEMrush also
offers social media rankings, a tool you won't find within the Ahrefs platform.
Both are good which one do you like let me know in the comment.
Keyword research is closely related to rank tracking,
but it's used for deciding which keywords you plan on using for future content
rather than those you use now.
When it comes to SEO, keyword research is the most
important thing to consider when comparing the two platforms.
The Ahrefs Keyword Explorer provides you with thousands
of keyword ideas and filters search results based on the chosen search engine.
Ahrefs supports several features, including:
SEMrush's Keyword Magic Tool has over 20 billion
keywords for Google. You can type in any keyword you want, and a list of
suggested keywords will appear.
The Keyword Magic Tool also lets you to:
Both of these tools offer keyword research features and
allow users to break down complicated tasks into something that can be
understood by beginners and advanced users alike.
If you're interested in keyword suggestions, SEMrush
appears to have more keyword suggestions than Ahrefs does. It also continues to
add new features, like the Keyword Gap tool and SERP Questions recommendations.
Both platforms offer competitor analysis tools,
eliminating the need to come up with keywords off the top of your head. Each
tool is useful for finding keywords that will be useful for your competition so
you know they will be valuable to you.
Ahrefs' domain comparison tool lets you compare up to five websites (your website and four competitors) side-by-side.it also shows you how your site is ranked against others with metrics such as backlinks, domain ratings, and more.
Use the Competing Domains section to see a list of your
most direct competitors, and explore how many keywords matches your competitors
have.
To find more information about your competitor, you can
look at the Site Explorer and Content Explorer tools and type in their URL
instead of yours.
SEMrush provides a variety of insights into your
competitors' marketing tactics. The platform enables you to research your
competitors effectively. It also offers several resources for competitor
analysis including:
Traffic Analytics helps you identify where your
audience comes from, how they engage with your site, what devices visitors use
to view your site, and how your audiences overlap with other websites.
SEMrush's Organic Research examines your website's
major competitors and shows their organic search rankings, keywords they are
ranking for, and even if they are ranking for any (SERP) features and more.
The Market Explorer search field allows you to type in
a domain and lists websites or articles similar to what you entered. Market
Explorer also allows users to perform in-depth data analytics on These
companies and markets.
SEMrush wins here because it has more tools dedicated to
competitor analysis than Ahrefs. However, Ahrefs offers a lot of functionality
in this area, too. It takes a combination of both tools to gain an advantage
over your competition.
When it comes to keyword data research, you will become
confused about which one to choose.
Consider choosing Ahrefs if you
Consider SEMrush if you:
Both tools are great. Choose the one which meets your
requirements and if you have any experience using either Ahrefs or SEMrush let
me know in the comment section which works well for you.
The answer, surprisingly, is not just to use more garlic (but you can go to town with the basil)
How can we get a pleasingly strong garlic taste in our tomato sauce for pasta? Is the secret the amount of garlic, or how you cut it, or the length of cooking? Our sauces tend to be bland rather than zingy. The same goes for basil, in the same simple sauce – how to highlight its flavour?
Nancy, New York
I trust that’s pleasingly strong as opposed to harshly strong? If so, slow-roasting would be my initial go-to. Don’t turn on the oven just for this, though, but next time you have it on, cut the very top off a head of garlic, just to expose the cloves, drizzle over a little olive oil, then wrap in tin foil and pop it in the bottom of the oven for about 45 minutes. Remove and, once cool enough to handle, squeeze out the now amazingly soft and sweet garlic flesh, and stir it into your tomato sauce. The chains of fructose in the garlic will have broken down during roasting and given rise to something called glutamic acid, which brings with it that bold umami taste and depth we all look for in a sauce. In short, you’ll have created the most mellow but bold, sweet and pleasingly strong burst of garlicky flavour.
If you’ve not had time to roast it, it’s also fine to start with raw garlic. The more you mince it, the more the flavour compounds are released and the stronger the flavour will be, so crush or finely mince it, rather than slice it, if you want that garlic flavour really to penetrate the sauce.
Continue reading...Top chefs say the Games will rebrand French gastronomy as a showcase for plant-based food
It will boast the world’s biggest salad bar, offer fans vegetarian hotdogs and bring in up to half a million bananas by boat to meet athletes’ insatiable demand for the fruit while avoiding the carbon footprint of air travel.
As part of its efforts to cut carbon emissions, the Paris Olympics will make history by offering more vegetarian cuisine than in any Games.
Continue reading...Like countless other hostilities, the stealthy Israeli missile and drone strike on Iran doesn’t risk war. It is war.
The post Israel Attack on Iran Is What World War III Looks Like appeared first on The Intercept.
The state says EMTALA, a law barring discrimination in emergency medical care, interferes with its abortion ban.
The post Idaho Goes to the Supreme Court to Argue That Pregnant People Are Second-Class Citizens appeared first on The Intercept.
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...U.S. military service members interviewed for a congressional inquiry said intelligence reports about how bad the situation is were being suppressed.
The post U.S. Troops in Niger Say They’re “Stranded” and Can’t Get Mail, Medicine appeared first on The Intercept.
From baroque music events to medieval architecture and delicious Adriatic cuisine, Croatia has something for everyone
Croatia’s fabulous mishmash of cultures – from ancient Greeks to Romans, Venetians, Austrians, Hungarians and Italians – has left a rich legacy all around the country. You’ll see it in the Venetian architecture of Rovinj, Korčula, Dubrovnik and Hvar, the Habsburg townhouses of Zagreb and Opatija, and the ancient Roman ruins of Istria and Dalmatia. You’ll taste it in the delicious cuisine where the Adriatic and central Europe meet and mingle.
You’ll hear it when top-flight performers bring their magic to the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the Split Summer Festival and the baroque music festivals of Korčula and Varaždin. Sultry Dalmatian summer nights echo to the sound of polyphonic klapa singers whose a cappella music makes the skin tingle. The klapa festival in the beautiful Dalmatian coastal town of Omiš every July is one of the summer’s unmissable events.
Continue reading...Do you enjoy exploring the cobbled streets of historic towns, or is spending long days stretched out on the beach more your thing? Answer these questions to find out your Croatian holiday persona
Find out more by visiting croatia.hr
Continue reading...
Video:
00:07:30
On the last day of his Huginn mission, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen takes us on a tour of the place he called home for 6 months: the International Space Station. From the beautiful views of Cupola to the kitchen in Node 1 filled with food and friends and all the way to the science of Columbus, the Space Station is the work and living place for astronauts as they help push science forward.
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
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Supporters worry Khan’s life is in danger and with good reason: The military has a long history of killing deposed leaders.
The post Chuck Schumer Privately Warns Pakistan: Don’t Kill Imran Khan in Prison appeared first on The Intercept.
The White House brushes off accusations of hypocrisy, courting TikTok while seeking to ban it.
The post As Biden Cheers TikTok Ban, White House Embraces TikTok Influencers appeared first on The Intercept.
Evidence points to Absolute Standards as the source of a lethal drug the Trump administration used to restart federal executions after 17 years.
The post “Little Home Market”: The Connecticut Company Accused of Fueling an Execution Spree appeared first on The Intercept.
Even grandees are bracing for the very worst. But remember, such apocalyptic language around the party is nothing new
There is a morose mood in the Conservative party. It isn’t just that the Tories expect to lose the next election – they fear that the coming defeat might be definitive, a result from which they never recover. One recent multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP) poll forecasts that the Tories could be reduced to fewer than 100 seats – their lowest ever haul – with Labour predicted to secure an unprecedented 250-plus seat majority. Tory grandees are consequently gloomy. The former Brexit negotiator David Frost has called it a “desperate situation”. Charles Moore, the former Telegraph editor and Thatcher biographer, tells me the party’s condition is “probably worse than I’ve ever seen it”. Some are billing the next election as an “extinction-level event”. Rishi Sunak’s single-minded obsession on forcing through the Rwanda scheme appears, in this light, like a desperate attempt to distract himself and his party from the approaching abyss.
Some Tories may feel the party has reached its nadir as an electoral force, but such apocalyptic language is nothing new. In fact, fear of extinction is part of a long Conservative tradition. “It will be interesting to be the last of the Conservatives,” Lord Salisbury, one of the party’s longest-serving leaders, wrote glumly in 1882, as the age of mass suffrage loomed. “I foresee that will be our fate.” (Almost a century and a half later, he’d be relieved to learn that his great-great-grandson is leader of the House of Lords.) In 1945, on the brink of an unprecedented landslide victory, Labour candidates spoke openly about wanting “the complete extinction of the Tory party”. Then, six years later, the Tories returned to power and stayed there for the next 13. In 1974, amid the broadly progressive contours of the postwar consensus, the political scientist Andrew Gamble foresaw a future in which the Conservatives could be condemned to “the museum of Fantastic Zoology”. And here we are. “People often talk about the death of the Tory party, and it doesn’t happen,” Lord Moore told me.
Samuel Earle is a writer based in London and the author of Tory Nation: How One Party Took Over
Continue reading...Speculation PM could call election to forestall possible leadership challenge has its own momentum despite No 10 dismissals
In a sign of how febrile the atmosphere in Westminster is just now, there were wild rumours flying around on Friday that Rishi Sunak was planning to finally call an election straight after the weekend.
The fact that this particular theory appears to have begun with Labour party speculation that the prime minister could announce a date to put an end to questions over his own leadership does not appear to have slowed down its spread.
Continue reading...President says legislation is ‘going to make the world safer’ after months of congressional gridlock threatened support for Kyiv
Joe Biden has signed into law a bill that rushes $95bn in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, a bipartisan legislative victory he hailed as a “good day for world peace” after months of congressional gridlock threatened Washington’s support for Kyiv in its fight to repel Russia’s invasion.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure in a 79 -18 vote late on Tuesday night, after the package won similarly lopsided approval in the Republican controlled House, despite months of resistance from an isolationist bloc of hardline conservatives opposed to helping Ukraine.
Continue reading...A new report reveals details of the massacres by a longtime U.S. ally and counterterrorism partner.
The post U.S.-Trained Burkina Faso Military Executed 220 Civilians appeared first on The Intercept.
If the courts agree to vacate the conviction, Lucio will have spent 16 years on death row for a crime that never happened.
The post A Prosecutor Asked Texas to Kill Melissa Lucio. Now He Says She Should Be Freed. appeared first on The Intercept.
Keane Duncan is trying to win the mayorship of North Yorks with policies such as nationalising a hotel. But is there substance behind the headline-grabbing stunts?
Keane Duncan’s highest profile success, prior to being chosen as the Conservative candidate aiming to be the first elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire, was as the journalist who broke the news that Morrisons would not sell meat pies to people in Middlesbrough before 9am.
“That went off the charts, with millions and millions of views,” recalls the 29-year-old, who worked for a number of local news outlets in the north of England before quitting to focus on politics.
Continue reading...As mayor aims to win third term, what has he achieved so far on air pollution, the climate crisis and nature?
When Sadiq Khan launched his campaign for a third term as Labour mayor of London, he put his green policies front and centre, highlighting his work on air pollution, the climate crisis and nature.
For seasoned Khan watchers, this came as little surprise. The mayor, who last year published a book called Breathe: Seven Ways to Win a Greener World, has been widely praised for his work tackling air pollution, as well as his efforts on nature restoration and getting London to net zero by 2030.
The introduction and expansion of the ultra-low emission zone, which excludes the most polluting vehicles from the capital and has contributed to roadside N02 emissions dropping by 50%.
The introduction of thousands of new electric buses and taxis, and the continued expansion of the cycle network and promotion of walking.
A rewilding programme that has reintroduced a range of species, including beavers, expanded green spaces, and included a mass tree-planting programme.
Continue reading...A bill passed by Congress and signed by Biden requires owner ByteDance to sell or face a US ban – it’s its biggest threat yet
The House of Representatives passed a bill that would require TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the social media platform or face a total ban in the United States. The Senate passed it less than a week later. Joe Biden signed it a day after the Senate voted yes.
TikTok is facing its biggest existential threat yet in the US. The app was banned in Montana last year, but courts found that prohibition unconstitutional, and it never went into effect.
Continue reading...The first minister’s latest misstep will worsen his party’s split along culture war lines. It’s a mess, but a boon for Scottish Labour
The Bute House agreement (BHA) was supposed to stabilise the SNP. Brokered by Nicola Sturgeon in August 2021, the coalition with the Greens at first appeared a masterstroke, allowing the party to burnish its environmental credentials and bolster its “progressive” image, while presenting a united front and pro-independence majority in Holyrood that it believed would strengthen the case for a second referendum. But, in a shock move, Humza Yousaf ripped up the agreement on Thursday morning and fired the Green co-leaders as ministers from his government. The SNP leader now faces a no-confidence motion, which he could well lose. He has promised to fight on and contest the motion, but what was supposed to be a show of strength has ended up exposing his weakness.
Since the deal was first brokered, the culture war has moved on apace. Without Sturgeon at the helm, the party – always a fragile alliance of right and left, progressives and conservatives, fundamentalists and gradualists – has become bitterly divided over the ill-fated gender recognition reform bill and the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act. Many believe its leaders’ fixation with “identity politics” has distracted from more urgent issues such as education, the NHS and child poverty, which they say used to be at the heart of the SNP government’s mission.
Continue reading...Both were pilloried, but that was then. Today, one has beaten a rape conviction, the other may return as president
According to his representatives, former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein is still digesting the overturning of his rape conviction by a New York court, but they did come out to say he was “cautiously excited”. Cautiously excited? I’m not sure these are the words I’d alight on to paint a word-picture of a rapist. You might as well say “tentatively aroused”. Then again, as we’re about to discuss, quite a lot of guys don’t particularly have to worry about what they say or do, or how they say or do it. It’s only natural that Harvey should very much want to be one of them again.
Speaking of word-pictures, though, how’s this for a vignette of our times? When they heard the news that Weinstein’s conviction had been overturned on Thursday, a whole host of reporters happened to be looking at the exact spot in the exact New York courtroom that he’d sat in when that original judgment had been handed down. This was because they were waiting for Donald Trump to sit in it for Thursday’s proceedings in his hush money trial. Mr Trump, you might recall, is in such a lot of trouble that he is the presumptive Republican nominee and current bookies’ favourite to win the US presidency again, though admittedly he lags behind Weinstein on the sexual assault and misconduct front, given that only 26 women have accused him of it. Ultimately, though, I guess the question is: if #MeToo “went too far”, what would “going just far enough” have looked like?
Continue reading...More rallies to be held across the country on Sunday with attorney general claiming state and federal governments need to cooperate on plan of action
Thousands of people have rallied in Sydney calling for an end to violence against women amid growing anger at the number of those being killed in violent attacks across the country.
No More: National rallies against gender based violence were held in Sydney, Hobart and Adelaide on Saturday, with more due to be held across the country on Sunday, calling for greater action, including calls for a royal commission, to address the epidemic of women killed in violent attacks.
Continue reading...“Yes I’m a Republican and I exclusively supported John through the Jewish community for his principled actions supporting Israel.”
The post Since October, Sen. John Fetterman Has Been Building a Roster of Republican Donors appeared first on The Intercept.
Revelation in new book that possible Trump running mate killed ‘untrainable’ hunting dog prompts widespread revulsion
Conservative pundits have condemned the South Dakota governor and possible Trump running mate Kristi Noem, amid widespread horror over her admission in a new book that she killed both an “untrainable” dog and an unruly goat during a single day in hunting season.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, a Trump White House staffer turned critic, said: “I’m a dog lover and I am honestly horrified by the Kristi Noem excerpt. I wish I hadn’t even read it. A 14-month-old dog is still a puppy and can be trained. A large part of bad behaviour in dogs is not having proper training from humans.
Continue reading...Beware of ‘Tetchy Rishi’ – the prime minister struggles to control his anger during the Rwanda bill press briefing (1m24s); David Harewood on acting, racism and mental health (9m08s); Phil Daoust’s surprisingly simple solution to insomnia hell (24m33s); and Stuart Heritage examines the dangerous fallout from Netflix’s Baby Reindeer (42m29s)
Continue reading...Former PM’s first-week sales compare with 21,000 for David Cameron’s memoir and 92,000 for Tony Blair book
Liz Truss’s book about her 49-day stint as prime minister sold 2,228 copies in the UK during its first week on sale, after a wall-to-wall promotional media blitz.
Ten Years to Save the West: Lessons from the Only Conservative in the Room, combines an account of Truss’s time in office with a call to arms for the political right.
Continue reading...The annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner returns this Saturday for a night of comedy ‘roasting’ – where the great and the good are ruthlessly mocked in celebration of the freedom of the press.
In recent years, however, the night has taken on a different tone, with the atmosphere of warm self-deprecation and bipartisan bonhomie replaced by something more scathing and serious.
This week Jonathan Freedland is joined by Jeff Nussbaum, a former senior speech writer to Joe Biden, to discuss the art of writing gags for presidents and whether there is still space for humour in US politics.
Continue reading...Organising is a kind of alchemy: it turns alienation into connection, despair into dedication, and oppression into strength. By Astra Taylor and Leah Hunt-Hendrix
Continue reading...Parties clash over communal issues in increasingly charged campaign amid concerns unseasonably hot weather affecting voter numbers
India has held the second phase of the world’s biggest election, with prime minister Narendra Modi and his rivals hurling accusations of religious discrimination and threats to democracy amid flagging voter turnout.
Almost 1 billion people are eligible to vote in the seven-phase general election that began on 19 April and concludes on 1 June, with votes set to be counted on 4 June.
Continue reading...Secretary of state met Xi Jinping in Beijing and warned of sanctions over China’s support for Russian arms industry
Washington has seen evidence of attempts by Beijing to “influence and arguably interfere” in this year’s US elections, the secretary of state has said during a trip to China, also warning that Chinese companies face new sanctions if they do not stop supplying material and equipment to the Russian arms industry.
Antony Blinken told CNN that he had reiterated Joe Biden’s message to Xi Jinping not to interfere in November’s vote – a warning that reportedly received assurances from the Chinese president that he would not do so. Asked whether China was keeping to its promise, Blinken said: “We have seen, generally speaking, evidence of attempts to influence, and arguably interfere, and we want to make sure that that’s cut off as quickly as possible.
Continue reading...A measure passed by the House seeks to block Americans from traveling to Iran on U.S. passports.
The post House Responds to Israeli-Iranian Missile Exchange by Taking Rights Away from Americans appeared first on The Intercept.
Rivals had said February election won by former general was undermined by state interference and unfair rule changes
Indonesia’s electoral commission has formally declared Prabowo Subianto president-elect in a ceremony, after the country’s highest court rejected challenges to his win by rival candidates.
Prabowo, 72, a former general dogged by allegations of human rights abuses, won a landslide victory in February’s elections, but his two opponents claimed that the vote had been undermined by state interference and unfair rule changes.
Continue reading...From manicured, exclusive retreats built on slave money to common ground in which to seed utopian dreams, gardens occupy a fertile space in our lives and imaginations
I have a dream sometimes. I dream I’m in a house, and discover a door I didn’t know was there. It opens into an unexpected garden, and for a weightless moment I find myself inhabiting new territory, flush with potential. Maybe there are steps down to a pond, or a statue surrounded by fallen leaves. It is never tidy, always beguilingly overgrown. What might grow here, what rare peonies, irises, roses will I find? I wake with the sense that a too-tight joint has loosened, and that everything runs fluent with new life.
For most of the years that I have had this dream, I didn’t have a garden of my own. I rented until I was 40, and only rarely in flats with outdoor space. The first of these temporary gardens was in Brighton. I planted calendula there, which according to the 16th-century herbalist Gerard would “strengthen and comfort the heart very much”. I was training to be a herbalist and my head was full of plants, an entanglement of natural forms.
Continue reading...Vocal swimmers are the tip of a wave as the sport grapples with trust issues over anti-doping in the run-up to Paris 2024
It has been a week since the New York Times and the German TV channel ARD broke the news that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for trace amounts of the banned performance-enhancing drug trimetazidine (TMZ) in the run-up to the last Olympic Games, and public ripples we have seen since are only the visible tip of a wave of feeling running through the sport.
The larger part is below the surface, where there is widespread anger, exasperation and disillusionment at the way the 23 were allowed to compete at the Games anyway after an investigation by their national doping agency, Chinada, found the results were caused by kitchen contamination.
Continue reading...Stephen Timms says DWP letting unpaid carers incur ‘enormous accidental overpayments’
Ministers have been told to “immediately” fix the issues causing tens of thousands of unpaid carers to incur “enormous accidental overpayments” amid growing anger over the carer’s allowance scandal.
Stephen Timms, the chair of an influential parliamentary committee, said he was “very troubled” that scores of carers were being forced into financial distress as a result of the government’s mistakes.
Continue reading...Simon Hattenstone was sent letters demanding tax he didn’t owe. Then he found other people were in the same situation
The letter, dated 18 January 2024, came from a company called Advantis.
“Dear Mr Simon Hattenstone,” it said, “Contact us about your unpaid HM Revenue and Customs balance of £1,778.31.”
Continue reading...We helped bring Dominik Feri to justice. His trail should have rattled a complacent political establishment
He was spoken of as an extraordinary talent. A rising star with a million followers on Instagram, who made politics relevant for younger generations. As recently as 2018, Politico ranked him among 28 people who would shape Europe in the years ahead.
But earlier this week, Dominik Feri was sentenced to three years in prison for rape. A man once feted as the great hope of the Czech Republic, and the youngest member of parliament in the country’s history is now its first politician to be jailed for sexual violence.
Continue reading...Amid the threat of big tech, Greens senator says News titles are ‘trusted news providers’ and a royal commission should look at the whole industry
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has watered down her demand for a royal commission examining the role of the Murdoch media in Australia, now describing it as a “trusted” news provider compared with unregulated social media platforms.
Hanson-Young says she still wants a royal commission but that she is no longer advocating for it to focus specifically on media outlets owned by News Corp.
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/WideVoice8854 [link] [comments] |
Enzo Maresca’s side kept their heads to secure promotion but financial worries loom large as club prepare for the top flight
A campaign that began with Enzo Maresca insisting his Leicester City players sleep overnight at their sprawling, 185-acre Seagrave training base for the first week of pre-season in the name of team building has ended with their primary mission accomplished, promotion boxed off, the Championship crown likely to follow. Leicester’s most memorable and marvellous moment came when they confounded expectations; this time, it was a case of simply meeting them by getting back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that surely the most expensively assembled squad in the division – their wage bill was the biggest outside the Premier League top six 12 months ago – has sealed that return after Leeds lost at QPR on Friday night but it turned into a slog after they ceded a 17-point lead. In the last couple of months, their 51-game season has flitted between a sense of collapse and catharsis. “It has been a very long season,” Maresca said with a wry smile this week.
Continue reading...Imprisonment for public protection sentences were flawed and unjust. Labour should commit to finish them off
The harmful effects of imprisonment for public protection sentences (IPPs) are well documented. For Tommy Nicol and Francis Williams, whose sisters have both spoken to the Guardian about the impact of punishments with no end-date, the pressure was unbearable. Nicol, who was originally jailed for a violent robbery, took his own life during a mental health crisis at the Mount prison in 2015. Williams, also convicted of robbery, died of an overdose in Bognor Regis last year – hours after telling a probation officer that he was suicidal.
These tragedies are far from unique. At least 90 prisoners on IPPs have died by suicide in custody. Others, including Williams, died while on licence (Williams was on the verge of being recalled). One study found rates of self-harm to be 2.5 times higher among IPP prisoners. Evidence to the justice select committee from a forensic psychiatrist compared the clinical presentation of these inmates, almost all of whom are men, to “those who have been wrongfully convicted”. Such is the stress of being given this kind of sentence, which resembles a life sentence but was in many cases handed down for far less serious crimes.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Readers respond to a letter which said that MDMA is not helpful in mental health care
Rachel McNulty (Letters, 19 April) is right to emphasise the need for proper funding of integrated mental health care and social support, but wrong to dismiss MDMA based on a single anecdotal case. I can provide a number of counter-anecdotes showing the value of MDMA to mental health, including a friend of mine who has said that it saved him from taking his life in his youth.
However, science-based healthcare is not about anecdotes, but systematically gathered evidence and controlled trials. Such trials are already under way and are showing strong promise for both MDMA and psychedelics as effective psychiatric medicines when used appropriately. They are absolutely necessary to provide a clear evidence base that cuts through both “war on drugs” scare stories and psychedelic hype.
Continue reading...Micheál Martin says UK asylum seekers fearful of being removed to Rwanda are seeking sanctuary in Ireland
The UK government’s Rwanda policy has been described as a “kneejerk reaction” to migration by Ireland’s deputy prime minister, who said an influx of asylum seekers could arrive in Ireland as a result.
Micheál Martin, Ireland’s Tánaiste, reportedly said asylum seekers fearful of being removed from the UK to Rwanda were seeking sanctuary in Ireland.
Continue reading...Coalition agreement has frustrated many in the SNP who fear the party is losing support by prioritising the wrong issues
In August 2021, Nicola Sturgeon, then the dominant figure of Scottish politics, announced a “groundbreaking” alliance with the Scottish Greens at Bute House, the elegant Edinburgh residence of Scotland’s first ministers.
Continue reading...Police made arrests after clashing with demonstrators participating in student-led protests against Israel's war in Gaza. The arrests came amid a wave of demonstrations at campuses across the US, which began last week after students at New York’s Columbia University set up encampments calling for the university to divest from weapons manufacturers with ties to Israel. The House speaker, Mike Johnson, jumped into the fray on Wednesday with a visit to Columbia’s campus, where he faced jeers from the pro-Palestinian protesters
Continue reading...Home secretary visits Lampedusa in Italy as National Audit Office says scheme could surpass £580m by 2030
Several flights a month will deport asylum seekers to Rwanda “indefinitely”, the home secretary has said, as he argued that the £1.8m a person cost of the scheme was justified.
James Cleverly, in his first interview since the government’s plan was approved by parliament on Monday, said he had booked a succession of initial flights and was preparing to order the detention of people seeking refuge in the UK so they could be sent to east Africa.
Continue reading...The Department of Education is probing claims that the school discriminated against Palestinian and Arab students amid Israel’s war on Gaza.
The post “Kill All Arabs”: The Feds Are Investigating UMass Amherst for Anti-Palestinian Bias appeared first on The Intercept.
Opposition says prime minister targeting Muslim minority with ‘hate speech’ and violating election rules
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been accused of hate speech during a campaign rally where he called Muslims “infiltrators” who had “many children” and claimed they would take people’s hard-earned money.
The opposition accused Modi of “blatantly targeting” India’s 200 million Muslim minority with comments made while addressing voters at a speech in Rajasthan on Sunday.
Continue reading...The blanket suspension of student protesters casts “serious doubt on the University’s respect for the rule-of-law values that we teach,” 54 law professors wrote.
The post Columbia Law School Faculty Condemn Administration for Mass Arrests and Suspensions appeared first on The Intercept.
The smears spurred Austrian police to raid Islamophobia scholar Farid Hafez’s family home. Then the terrorism charges fell apart.
The post Lawsuit Links Wild UAE-Financed Smear Campaign to George Washington University appeared first on The Intercept.
Like countless other hostilities, the stealthy Israeli missile and drone strike on Iran doesn’t risk war. It is war.
The post Israel Attack on Iran Is What World War III Looks Like appeared first on The Intercept.
Following David Pecker’s testimony, Rhona Graff was called to the witness stand, to comment on Trump and the adult film actor
The former tabloid publisher David Pecker’s testimony in Donald Trump’s criminal trial on Friday presented a granular look into a hush-money scheme which prosecutors allege was meant to sway the 2016 election in the real estate mogul’s favor.
But when Trump’s longtime assistant, Rhona Graff, was called to the witness stand, her testimony humanized the trial, reminding the courtroom that at its core, these proceedings center on an adult film actor named Stormy Daniels – as well as a man who is either flawed or fraudulent.
Continue reading...War in Gaza, the election in India, clouds of dust in Athens and the London Marathon: the last seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists
Warning: this gallery contains images that some readers may find distressing
Continue reading...The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world
Continue reading...A selection of highlights from the ninth instalment of Photofairs Shanghai, the contemporary art fair for photography
The web has become so interwoven with everyday life that it is easy to forget what an extraordinary accomplishment and treasure it is. In just a few decades, much of human knowledge has been collectively written up and made available to anyone with an internet connection.
But all of this is coming to an end. The advent of AI threatens to destroy the complex online ecosystem that allows writers, artists, and other creators to reach human audiences.
To understand why, you must understand publishing. Its core task is to connect writers to an audience. Publishers work as gatekeepers, filtering candidates and then amplifying the chosen ones. Hoping to be selected, writers shape their work in various ways. This article might be written very differently in an academic publication, for example, and publishing it here entailed pitching an editor, revising multiple drafts for style and focus, and so on...
Parties appearing before the Supreme Court can fund the groups that file briefs supporting their arguments — and almost never have to disclose it.
The post The Gaping Hole in Supreme Court Rules for Tracking Links Between Litigants and Influence Groups appeared first on The Intercept.
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In the Wes Anderson-produced documentary Uncropped, the acclaimed culture photographer discusses his career and a changing landscape
The former Village Voice and New York Observer photographer James Hamilton lives in a small Manhattan apartment on University Place that also doubles as his studio. There’s a dark room in the corner, where Hamilton develops his images, using chemical ingredients plucked from a wine cooler. His walls are lined with books and stacks of photos, a treasure trove of portraits and reportage he’s shot over the decades, among them BB King in concert, Liza Minelli at home and Muhammad Ali out in the streets.
“This is James Stewart in Rear Window,” says director Wes Anderson, when recalling his first impression of Hamilton, and his apartment, in Uncropped, the documentary he executive-produces. Hamilton wouldn’t argue against the comparison. Rear Window – Hitchcock’s classic about an adventurous newspaper photographer taken off the job by a broken leg, abandoned to spy on his neighbours – is a formative film for the cinephile cameraman.
Continue reading...Police have arrested dozens of students across US universities this week after a crackdown on pro-Palestine protests on campuses. Erum Salam and Margaret Sullivan report from New York
As the Israel-Gaza war grinds on amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, the world’s attention this week was captured by a battle on the campuses of elite US universities. Pro-Palestine student protesters were arrested en masse by New York City police at the prestigious Columbia University, prompting outrage that spread across other college sites.
Guardian US reporter Erum Salam tells Michael Safi that the scene on Columbia’s campus was one of orderly drum circles and organised anti-war demonstrations, not the all-out violent chaos that might have been imagined.
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Robyn Cowen as Liverpool lose the Merseyside derby … and maybe more
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today: Everton sink Liverpool in a Merseyside derby that could be the end of the Reds’ title hopes, and which may well be enough to secure the Toffees’ Premier League status.
Continue reading...As bird flu is confirmed in 33 cattle herds across eight US states, Ian Sample talks to virologist Dr Ed Hutchinson of Glasgow University about why this development has taken scientists by surprise, and how prepared we are for the possibility it might start spreading among humans
Read more Guardian reporting on this topic
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Ben Fisher, Sanny Rudravajhala and George Elek as Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-0 and to run through the EFL as those divisions reach a conclusion in the coming weeks
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today; Arsenal keep pace at the top of the Premier League – were they brilliant or are Chelsea inexcusably bad? It’s probably a touch of both.
Continue reading...In congressional testimony, school administrators also said they are investigating pro-Israel and pro-Palestine professors.
The post Columbia Suspended Two Students for Assault on Gaza Rally, School Says in Antisemitism Hearing appeared first on The Intercept.
The state says EMTALA, a law barring discrimination in emergency medical care, interferes with its abortion ban.
The post Idaho Goes to the Supreme Court to Argue That Pregnant People Are Second-Class Citizens appeared first on The Intercept.
Experts say Indian PM is hoping to be ‘bigger than Gandhi’ as he aims to win a third term in office
As the distant rumble of a helicopter drew closer, cheers erupted from the gathered crowds in anticipation. By the time India’s prime minister finally stepped on to the stage, bowing deeply while immaculately dressed in a white kurta and peach waistcoat and with a neatly trimmed beard, the chants had reached a deafening pitch: “Modi, Modi, Modi.”
These scenes, at a campaign rally on the outskirts of the Uttar Pradesh city of Meerut, have been replicated across the country in recent weeks as Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) seek to win a third term in India’s election, which begins on 19 April and goes on for six weeks.
Continue reading...The university suspended three students out of hundreds participating in an on-campus encampment to protest the Israeli government.
The post Columbia Suspends Ilhan Omar’s Daughter One Day After Omar Grilled School Administrators appeared first on The Intercept.
Canadian legislators proposed 19,600 amendments—almost certainly AI-generated—to a bill in an attempt to delay its adoption.
I wrote about many different legislative delaying tactics in A Hacker’s Mind, but this is a new one.
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
U.S. military service members interviewed for a congressional inquiry said intelligence reports about how bad the situation is were being suppressed.
The post U.S. Troops in Niger Say They’re “Stranded” and Can’t Get Mail, Medicine appeared first on The Intercept.
Are you looking for a new graphic design tool? Would you like to read a detailed review of Canva? As it's one of the tools I love using. I am also writing my first ebook using canva and publish it soon on my site you can download it is free. Let's start the review.
Canva has a web version and also a mobile app
Canva is a free graphic design web application that allows you to create invitations, business cards, flyers, lesson plans, banners, and more using professionally designed templates. You can upload your own photos from your computer or from Google Drive, and add them to Canva's templates using a simple drag-and-drop interface. It's like having a basic version of Photoshop that doesn't require Graphic designing knowledge to use. It’s best for nongraphic designers.
Canva is a great tool for small business owners, online entrepreneurs, and marketers who don’t have the time and want to edit quickly.
To create sophisticated graphics, a tool such as Photoshop can is ideal. To use it, you’ll need to learn its hundreds of features, get familiar with the software, and it’s best to have a good background in design, too.
Also running the latest version of Photoshop you need a high-end computer.
So here Canva takes place, with Canva you can do all that with drag-and-drop feature. It’s also easier to use and free. Also an even-more-affordable paid version is available for $12.95 per month.
The product is available in three plans: Free, Pro ($12.99/month per user or $119.99/year for up to 5 people), and Enterprise ($30 per user per month, minimum 25 people).
To get started on Canva, you will need to create an account by providing your email address, Google, Facebook or Apple credentials. You will then choose your account type between student, teacher, small business, large company, non-profit, or personal. Based on your choice of account type, templates will be recommended to you.
You can sign up for a free trial of Canva Pro, or you can start with the free version to get a sense of whether it’s the right graphic design tool for your needs.
When you sign up for an account, Canva will suggest different post types to choose from. Based on the type of account you set up you'll be able to see templates categorized by the following categories: social media posts, documents, presentations, marketing, events, ads, launch your business, build your online brand, etc.
Start by choosing a template for your post or searching for something more specific. Search by social network name to see a list of post types on each network.
Next, you can choose a template. Choose from hundreds of templates that are ready to go, with customizable photos, text, and other elements.
You can start your design by choosing from a variety of ready-made templates, searching for a template matching your needs, or working with a blank template.
Inside the Canva designer, the Elements tab gives you access to lines and shapes, graphics, photos, videos, audio, charts, photo frames, and photo grids.The search box on the Elements tab lets you search everything on Canva.
To begin with, Canva has a large library of elements to choose from. To find them, be specific in your search query. You may also want to search in the following tabs to see various elements separately:
The Photos tab lets you search for and choose from millions of professional stock photos for your templates.
You can replace the photos in our templates to create a new look. This can also make the template more suited to your industry.
You can find photos on other stock photography sites like pexel, pixabay and many more or simply upload your own photos.
When you choose an image, Canva’s photo editing features let you adjust the photo’s settings (brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.), crop, or animate it.
When you subscribe to Canva Pro, you get access to a number of premium features, including the Background Remover. This feature allows you to remove the background from any stock photo in library or any image you upload.
The Text tab lets you add headings, normal text, and graphical text to your design.
When you click on text, you'll see options to adjust the font, font size, color, format, spacing, and text effects (like shadows).
Canva Pro subscribers can choose from a large library of fonts on the Brand Kit or the Styles tab. Enterprise-level controls ensure that visual content remains on-brand, no matter how many people are working on it.
Create an animated image or video by adding audio to capture user’s attention in social news feeds.
If you want to use audio from another stock site or your own audio tracks, you can upload them in the Uploads tab or from the more option.
Want to create your own videos? Choose from thousands of stock video clips. You’ll find videos that range upto 2 minutes
You can upload your own videos as well as videos from other stock sites in the Uploads tab.
Once you have chosen a video, you can use the editing features in Canva to trim the video, flip it, and adjust its transparency.
On the Background tab, you’ll find free stock photos to serve as backgrounds on your designs. Change out the background on a template to give it a more personal touch.
The Styles tab lets you quickly change the look and feel of your template with just a click. And if you have a Canva Pro subscription, you can upload your brand’s custom colors and fonts to ensure designs stay on brand.
If you have a Canva Pro subscription, you’ll have a Logos tab. Here, you can upload variations of your brand logo to use throughout your designs.
With Canva, you can also create your own logos. Note that you cannot trademark a logo with stock content in it.
With Canva, free users can download and share designs to multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack and Tumblr.
Canva Pro subscribers can create multiple post formats from one design. For example, you can start by designing an Instagram post, and Canva's Magic Resizer can resize it for other networks, Stories, Reels, and other formats.
Canva Pro subscribers can also use Canva’s Content Planner to post content on eight different accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack, and Tumblr.
Canva Pro allows you to work with your team on visual content. Designs can be created inside Canva, and then sent to your team members for approval. Everyone can make comments, edits, revisions, and keep track via the version history.
When it comes to printing your designs, Canva has you covered. With an extensive selection of printing options, they can turn your designs into anything from banners and wall art to mugs and t-shirts.
Canva Print is perfect for any business seeking to make a lasting impression. Create inspiring designs people will want to wear, keep, and share. Hand out custom business cards that leave a lasting impression on customers' minds.
The Canva app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The Canva app has earned a 4.9 out of five star rating from over 946.3K Apple users and a 4.5 out of five star rating from over 6,996,708 Google users.
In addition to mobile apps, you can use Canva’s integration with other Internet services to add images and text from sources like Google Maps, Emojis, photos from Google Drive and Dropbox, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, Bitmojis, and other popular visual content elements.
In general, Canva is an excellent tool for those who need simple images for projects. If you are a graphic designer with experience, you will find Canva’s platform lacking in customization and advanced features – particularly vectors. But if you have little design experience, you will find Canva easier to use than advanced graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator for most projects. If you have any queries let me know in the comments section.
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Continue reading...An internal leak investigation ended without a “definitive conclusion,” as the Times cuts ties with a controversial Israeli freelancer.
The post New York Times Brass Moves to Stanch Leaks Over Gaza Coverage appeared first on The Intercept.
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