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Room Code
Match ID: 0 Score: 1000.00 source: xkcd.com
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Ocean Loop
Match ID: 1 Score: 1000.00 source: xkcd.com
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Local Group
Match ID: 2 Score: 1000.00 source: xkcd.com
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Exponential Growth
Match ID: 3 Score: 1000.00 source: xkcd.com
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Filter efficiency 99.511 (4 matches/818 results)
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Leonard Leo Built the Conservative Court. Now He’s Funneling Dark Money Into Law Schools.
Wed, 29 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000
The megadonor’s plan for a $25 million research center at Cornell fell apart. So he took his money to Texas A&M.
The post Leonard Leo Built the Conservative Court. Now He’s Funneling Dark Money Into Law Schools. appeared first on The Intercept.
Is this what the “pro-life” movement wanted?
The post Sterilization, Murders, Suicides: Bans Haven’t Slowed Abortions, and They’re Costing Lives appeared first on The Intercept.
As brutal police repression sweeps campus encampments, schools have been cutting ties with pro-Palestine faculty members without tenure.
The post University Professors Are Losing Their Jobs Over “New McCarthyism” on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
A fun-filled terror yarn featuring a flesh-eating alien secretly reared by a 12-year-old that delights in cutting its teeth on the apartment block’s pets
This killer-spider-from-outer-space movie feels like a cross between Alien and TV’s Only Murders in the Building. It’s a mostly fun throwback horror comedy set in a Brooklyn apartment block where 12-year-old Charlotte (Alyla Browne) finds a spider, puts it in a jar and calls it Sting. “Awesome,” she marvels when Sting doubles in size in two hours, hungrily tapping the glass for more cockroaches to chomp on. What Charlotte doesn’t know is that her new pet is a flesh-eater recently hatched out of an asteroid that crash landed on Earth.
At the screening I attended, someone a few rows behind couldn’t hack it and walked out after a few minutes. Which is a credit to first-time feature director Kiah Roache-Turner, who pulls off a couple of moments that will make you jump out of your skin using simple shadow tricks and oh-there-it-is! shocks. But really, the film’s mood is larky, with some big laughs as Sting cuts its teeth on the building’s pets. There’s a majestic fluffy white Persian cat, and a parakeet that steals the show acting-wise with its worried face as Sting scuttles out of an air vent.
Continue reading...Is it a religious organisation? A management company for dancers? A brainwashing sect? This fascinating, unusually sensitive Netflix documentary looks at a dark, sad tale
Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult has plenty of components that are lurid, brash and sensational. It’s about a loosely affiliated group of TikTok dancers in Los Angeles, who sign up to 7M, a management company that is also a private, invite-only church led by a pastor named Robert Shinn. Many of the dancers’ friends and family members now believe that they have joined a cult, and certainly the testimonies of ex-members suggest that they have strong reason to suspect that. But this takes its many stranger-than-fiction components and turns them into a story that is unusually sensitive, for Netflix at least, and also desperately sad.
The director Derek Doneen uses the Wilking sisters as his point of entry into what begins as a tale about the spectacle of social media and ambitious young people. Miranda and Melanie Wilking grew up in a working-class home in Detroit, and dreamed of becoming professional dancers. There are home movies of them as small children, dancing in front of the TV; later, as they pursue careers in the dance world, they realise that social media could help them to gain exposure. Eventually, together, they built up over 3.3m followers on TikTok.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak is so palpably convinced he can’t win he’s promising any old mad thing. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems are falling off kayaks
People say manufacturing has declined under the Conservatives, but the sheer volume of outrage manufactured by Rishi Sunak’s national service wingnuttery at the weekend was last night compounded by his decision to unveil a quadruple lock to the state pension. Truly the seven-blade razor of advanced pensions technology. It’s so innovative it might even spin off and manufacture another deranged Loose Women segment. I am still howling at the moment on the show a couple of weeks ago when Janet Street-Porter demanded of Sunak: “Why do you hate pensioners? WHY DO YOU HATE PENSIONERS? That is the only conclusion I can come to.” State of the art lunacy, made end-to-end in the UK. Let’s face it: this is what you call a joined-up manufacturing industry.
But look, for whatever reason, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves preferred to spend their afternoon at a facility where they manufacture something other than abstract nouns: Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage. A lot of election campaign visits are to places connected with jobs the politician probably wanted to do when they were little. Digger driver. Train driver. Biscuit factory worker. Today’s broadly fell into the category “spaceman”. Airbus are serious manufacturers in aerospace and defence, and recently won a new contract to maintain the Skynet military satellite system (although, I obviously massively misunderstood the movies because I hadn’t realised we were supposed to think calling things Skynet was cool?).
Continue reading...
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
From badly behaved travellers to horrendous carbon emissions, summer holidays aren’t always an unmitigated good. Here is how to travel responsibly and still have a great time
Tourism is almost back to pre-pandemic levels – which is good news and bad news. However much holiday destinations rely on them, no one wants badly behaved tourists blocking views, partying wildly in the streets or pricing local people out of their own cities. Overtourism, carbon emissions, nature depletion and plastic pollution are all huge concerns. But that doesn’t mean you have to cancel your holiday. Here are 28 ways to be a better tourist this summer.
Continue reading...Larry Connor announces intention to prove safety of industry less than a year after five people killed in OceanGate implosion
A real estate tycoon from Dayton, Ohio, wants to visit the wreckage of the Titanic in the depths of the north Atlantic Ocean to prove that the personal submersible industry is safe, announcing his plans less than a year after a similar trip killed five people.
Larry Connor, 74, recently told the Wall Street Journal that he intends to team up with the deep-sea explorer Patrick Lahey to take a submersible to a depth of about 12,467ft (3,800 metres) to research and explore the Titanic’s remains as well as prove that proper engineering can make it possible to safely visit the wreckage site.
Continue reading...Catalan authorities ask relatives to provide DNA to help identify 522 members of International Brigades from US, Canada, Britain and Ireland
Researchers in Catalonia have identified 522 members of the International Brigades, including 286 American and 86 British volunteers, who died or disappeared in the region during the Spanish civil war, raising hopes their remains could be found and buried with dignity nine decades after they perished.
About 35,000 people from 50 countries travelled to Spain between 1936 and 1938 to join the brigades to help defend Spain’s democratically elected government against Gen Francisco Franco’s military coup.
Continue reading...Brian Krebs reports on research into geolocating routers:
Apple and the satellite-based broadband service Starlink each recently took steps to address new research into the potential security and privacy implications of how their services geolocate devices. Researchers from the University of Maryland say they relied on publicly available data from Apple to track the location of billions of devices globally—including non-Apple devices like Starlink systems—and found they could use this data to monitor the destruction of Gaza, as well as the movements and in many cases identities of Russian and Ukrainian troops...
Politicians capable of international leadership on Gaza can also defeat the dishonesty that says Ireland is full
The poet Patrick Kavanagh was inspired to write sonnets about the “leafy-with-love” banks of the Grand Canal near Baggot Street bridge in south-central Dublin. There was not much poetry or love on the same stretch of the canal the other day, as rain whipped a row of brightly coloured tents neatly lining the towpath, side by side.
The occupants I met were mostly keeping hidden from the rain and, perhaps, from those who kick the tents and attack volunteer helpers, or the self-styled “patriots” who travel the country burning down designated refugee accommodation sites, chanting that Ireland is full.
Katherine Butler is the Guardian’s associate editor for Europe
Continue reading...Avoid the tourist hotspots of the Lake District and you’ll discover a more authentic side to the area with artists, microbreweries and community pubs
You’d be forgiven, as a visitor to the Lake District, for imagining that the governing attractions are daffodils, Grasmere gingerbread, Herdy (the bleating fell-side variety and the brand), mountain watercolours and lake steamers. So fixed have these associations become with the region that it’s now the victim of its own twee, commercial image.
Millions of tourists tromp the same routes each year, seeking out waterside and lookout points, and bagging famous peaks. Queues at Sarah Nelson’s Grasmere Gingerbread stretch round the cottage bakery and past Wordsworth’s grave. Wainwright’s ridges become polished with footfall; the roads into the national park jam with holiday traffic. There’s even speculation that the now horribly polluted Windermere will be shut this summer.
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A report by cross-party MPs offers a damning verdict, six years after a ‘root and branch’ review called for wide-ranging reform
The vertiginous pace of events since Boris Johnson’s 2019 election victory has been such that pledges made only a few years ago seem almost to belong to another era. “I am a great believer in rail,” said Mr Johnson in 2021, announcing a major programme of reforms to the country’s network, “but for too long passengers have not had the level of service they deserve.”
Travellers habituated to late-running, overcrowded and over-expensive trains knew how right he was. But to reprise the famous assertion of Mr Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, three years on “nothing has changed”. This week, the last word on successive Conservative governments’ incompetent handling of the railways was delivered by the House of Commons public accounts committee. The MPs’ damning report concluded that since the “root and branch” Williams review was commissioned in 2018, following timetabling mayhem in the north of England, “very little” has been achieved, and that “no one is putting the needs of passengers and taxpayers first”.
Continue reading...Is this what the “pro-life” movement wanted?
The post Sterilization, Murders, Suicides: Bans Haven’t Slowed Abortions, and They’re Costing Lives appeared first on The Intercept.
ICC warrants against Israeli officials would mean they can’t travel — and their patrons in the U.S. would be pressured over continued arms sales.
The post Can a U.S. Ally Actually Be Held Accountable for War Crimes in the ICC? appeared first on The Intercept.
When asked what makes this an “emotional support squid” and not just another stuffed animal, its creator says:
They’re emotional support squid because they’re large, and cuddly, but also cheerfully bright and derpy. They make great neck pillows (and you can fidget with the arms and tentacles) for travelling, and, on a more personal note, when my mum was sick in the hospital I gave her one and she said it brought her “great comfort” to have her squid tucked up beside her and not be a nuisance while she was sleeping.
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered...
The 71-year-old veteran peace activist discusses the war on Gaza, the Biden administration, and shaking up Congress.
The post Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin on Disrupting the U.S. War Machine appeared first on The Intercept.
Thinking about visiting Denmark? From saying hello, to talking about owls in the bog, here’s how learning a little local lingo can enhance your trip and leave you feeling like an egg yolk …
OK, we’ll admit it. Danish isn’t the easiest language to learn – pronouncing certain words involves some invigorating tongue gymnastics and a talent for gulping down glottal stops. With just 6 million native speakers, Danish hardly matches widely spoken Mandarin (941 million speakers) or Spanish (486 million speakers) either.
But mastering a few basics – how to order a coffee or commenting on the weather by talking about windswept pelicans (seriously, read on) – can deeply enrich your experience when visiting Denmark. The Danes are a convivial bunch and will truly appreciate your efforts getting to grips with their Old Norse-descended syntax (no matter how foolish you may feel). Try to speak Danish in a snug cafe or pub and it could lead to some illuminating conversations and lifelong friendships. Heck, you might even be able to watch an episode of The Killing/Borgen with the subtitles off when you get back home too …
Continue reading...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...The megadonor’s plan for a $25 million research center at Cornell fell apart. So he took his money to Texas A&M.
The post Leonard Leo Built the Conservative Court. Now He’s Funneling Dark Money Into Law Schools. appeared first on The Intercept.
Suspected North Korean balloons carrying faeces are latest example of dung or human waste being used in conflict
South Koreans faced a different type of retaliation this week when more than 150 white balloons were allegedly floated across the border by North Korea attached to bags of rubbish and faeces.
It came after the North Korean defence vice-minister, Kim Kang-il, warned that Pyongyang would retaliate in response to anti-North Korean leaflets flown across the border in the opposite direction.
Continue reading...He tells the world he intends to be an authoritarian. So why won’t journalists repeat it?
The post The Media Still Doesn’t Grasp the Danger of Trump appeared first on The Intercept.
A parliamentary employee’s home and offices raided amid accusations they were ‘paid to promote Russian propaganda’
Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office has said that police carried out searches at the residence of an employee of the European parliament and at his office in the parliament’s building in Brussels over possible Russian interference. Prosecutors said in statement that the suspect’s office in Strasbourg, where the EU parliament’s headquarters are located in France, was also searched, AP reported.
The Swedish government has said it will donate military aid to Ukraine worth 13 billion kronor (£962 million) in the largest help package Sweden has so far donated. “It consists of equipment that is at the top of Ukraine’s priority list,” deputy prime minister Ebba Busch said. It includes air defence, artillery ammunition and armoured vehicles, AP reported.
Russia’s human rights commissioner said on Wednesday that prisoner of war exchanges between Russia and Ukraine had been suspended for several months, the state TASS news agency said on Wednesday. TASS cited Tatyana Moskalova as blaming what she called Kyiv’s “false demands.” There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Antony Blinken, is set to arrive in the Moldovan capital Chisinau on Wednesday. It the first stop of a brief Europe tour during which he will aim to solidify the western support for Ukraine across Nato allies and neighbouring countries. The US top diplomat’s trip comes as Ukraine is trying to fend off intensifying Russian attacks in the east and as President Vladimir Putin warns that allowing Kyiv use western weapons to hit inside Russia would trigger a global conflict.
Western countries should let Ukraine strike military bases inside Russia with the sophisticated long-range weapons they are providing to Kyiv, French president Emmanuel Macron said, pressuring his allies in the most recent sign of a potentially significant policy shift that could help change the complexion of the war. The question of whether to allow Ukraine to hit targets on Russian soil with Western-supplied weaponry has been a delicate issue since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022, AP reported.
Ukrainian military shot down 13 drones out of 14 launched by Russia in an overnight attack on three regions, the country’s air force said on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday. Drone debris fell on energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s northwestern region of Rivne, governor Oleksandr Koval said on Telegram. The attack triggered a defence mechanism that cut power to some localities, although it has since been restored, Reuters reported.
The Russian capital Moscow has been successfully protected from Ukrainian drones, a high-ranking Russian air force official said on Wednesday, according to the TASS state news agency. The official was quoted as saying that Ukrainian drones could cover a distance of up to 2,500 kilometres (1,553 miles).
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has said its forces will further fortify the border with Belarus and can use “all available means” to defend the Nato nation’s frontier, after a soldier was seriously wounded with a knife by a migrant. Tusk said that a buffer zone some 200 metres (660ft) wide would be set up along the border, which is also the European Union’s eastern frontier, in addition to a 190-kilometre (118-mile) long metal barrier already in place to prevent an influx of migrants crossing from Belarus.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that planes from its Black Sea Fleet had destroyed two Ukrainian Crimea-bound sea drones in the north-western part of the Black Sea.
Western countries should let Ukraine strike military bases inside Russia with the sophisticated long-range weapons they are providing to Kyiv, French president Emmanuel Macron said, pressuring his allies in the most recent sign of a potentially significant policy shift that could help change the complexion of the war.
Continue reading...Judge Juan Merchan instructs jurors on the law today before they start weighing the case
Donald Trump entered the courtroom just before 10 am. He’s wearing a marigold tie and white shirt.
Unlike most mornings before court proceedings, Trump did not speak to the press and instead walked directly into the courtroom.
Continue reading...US president and vice-president to hold joint rally aimed at reengaging with group that was crucial to 2020 election victory – and expected to be so again
In an interview with CNN today, Democratic senator Chris Coons was asked why an Israeli airstrike on a tent camp for displaced people in Rafah did not cross the red lines set down by the White House over how American weapons could be deployed in the conflict.
“I think that’s a determination President Biden must make, and apparently according to spokespeople has made, that this most recent incident did not cross the generally shared view that a large-scale invasion of Rafah without allowing for civilians to relocate is an unacceptable use of American weaponry against a legitimate target, Hamas and Hamas fighters,” said Coons, who represents Biden’s home state of Delaware and serves on the Senate foreign relations committee.
Continue reading...Judge Juan Merchan tells jury ‘you are the judgers of facts’ as he gives instructions ahead of deliberations
Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York inched towards its conclusion Wednesday with jury deliberations expected to start in a matter of hours.
Judge Juan Merchan began instructing jurors after 10am local time; when he concludes, the jury will start deliberating. Merchan’s directives on the law, which he said would last about one hour, are intended on guiding jurors about how they are supposed to weigh the case.
Continue reading...Benjamin Netanyahu and his associates are already doubling down against these allegations. They must be made to answer them
Israel’s international isolation, triggered by revulsion over the large-scale illegal killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, will only deepen following new, detailed and credible allegations that leading politicians and intelligence agencies conspired – with help from Donald Trump’s administration – to spy on, undermine, “improperly influence” and threaten the work and officials of the international criminal court (ICC).
Those allegedly targeted include the court’s former chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and the present incumbent, Karim Khan, possibly still the subject of covert operations. If so, this must cease immediately. Once again, the world is confronted by dismaying evidence that the state of Israel under the destructive leadership of its rightwing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has gone rogue.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: a Guardian investigation details a ‘war’ on the international criminal court by the country – here’s what we know so far
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition
Good morning. “You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.”
That is a terrifying message for anyone to hear from the head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency. Even more astonishing is that this was a message to the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC).
Israel-Gaza war | The Biden administration has said recent Israeli operations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah do not constitute a major ground operation that crosses any US red lines, and that it is closely monitoring a probe into Sunday’s deadly strike on a tent camp it called “tragic”. The comments came as Israeli tanks were seen in central Rafah.
General election 2024 | Angela Rayner has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Greater Manchester police, with the deputy Labour leader attacking the “desperate tactics” of Tory MPs that led to the investigation. Elsewhere, it has been reported that Diane Abbott has had the party whip restored – but will not be allowed to stand again for Labour at the next election.
Trump trial | Donald Trump’s secret plot to bury negative press ahead of the 2016 election deprived Americans of their right to choose a candidate at the ballot box, the prosecution said in closing arguments at the former president’s New York hush-money trial. Read the key takeaways as the jury begins its deliberations on Wednesday.
Georgia | Georgia’s parliament has voted to override a presidential veto on the controversial “foreign influence” law, a move that is poised to derail the EU aspirations of many Georgians in favour of closer ties with Moscow. The bill is now likely to become law in the coming days.
Ticket prices | Some of the most powerful ticket touts in the UK have discussed a secret plan to try to scupper a Labour crackdown on the industry via a lobbying campaign, footage filmed by the Guardian reveals. At a private event this month, one of the UK’s biggest ticket touts warned that “we are fucked” if Labour’s clampdown went ahead.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/braden_2006 [link] [comments] |
Exclusive: Investigation reveals how intelligence agencies tried to derail war crimes prosecution, with Netanyahu ‘obsessed’ with intercepts
When the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) announced he was seeking arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders, he issued a cryptic warning: “I insist that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this court must cease immediately.”
Karim Khan did not provide specific details of attempts to interfere in the ICC’s work, but he noted a clause in the court’s foundational treaty that made any such interference a criminal offence. If the conduct continued, he added, “my office will not hesitate to act”.
Continue reading...Mossad director Yossi Cohen personally involved in secret plot to pressure Fatou Bensouda to drop Palestine investigation, sources say
The former head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation, the Guardian can reveal.
Yossi Cohen’s covert contacts with the ICC’s then prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, took place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories.
Continue reading...Is this what the “pro-life” movement wanted?
The post Sterilization, Murders, Suicides: Bans Haven’t Slowed Abortions, and They’re Costing Lives appeared first on The Intercept.
Parliamentary staffer may have played ‘significant role’ in alleged payments to MEPs to promote propaganda on Voice of Europe website
Belgian police have searched the European parliament office and Brussels home of a parliamentary staffer who is believed to have played “a significant role” in a Russian interference operation, the national prosecutor has said.
French authorities also carried out a search of the employee’s European parliament office in Strasbourg at the request of the Belgian examining magistrate overseeing the inquiry into corruption and Russian interference.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/chrisdh79 [link] [comments] |
Moscow is spending millions to try to mould a new generation willing to give their lives in military service
Shortly after turning 18 in February, Daniil Yermolenko fulfilled a long-held wish and signed a contract with Russia’s armed forces. A month later, he voted for the first time, casting a ballot in the presidential election for Vladimir Putin, who had already been in power for six years when Yermolenko was born in 2006.
By late March Yermolenko had completed a basic two-week military training, and he was sent to Berdychi in eastern Ukraine where Russian forces were engaged in a devastating assault as part of its spring offensive.
Continue reading...Brian Krebs reports on research into geolocating routers:
Apple and the satellite-based broadband service Starlink each recently took steps to address new research into the potential security and privacy implications of how their services geolocate devices. Researchers from the University of Maryland say they relied on publicly available data from Apple to track the location of billions of devices globally—including non-Apple devices like Starlink systems—and found they could use this data to monitor the destruction of Gaza, as well as the movements and in many cases identities of Russian and Ukrainian troops...
South Korea has warned residents to be alert after the military released photos showing inflated balloons with plastic bags tethered to them
South Korea has warned residents living near the border with North Korea to be on alert, after accusing the regime of sending balloons containing what appeared to be rubbish and faeces into its neighbour’s territory.
Photographs released by the South Korean military on Wednesday showed inflated balloons with plastic bags tethered to them. Other images appeared to show trash strewn around collapsed balloons, with the word “excrement” written on a bag in one photograph.
Continue reading...Faye Carruthers and Suzanne Wrack are joined by Sophie Downey and Ceylon Andi Hickman to review Barcelona’s 2-0 over Lyon in Bilbao
In today’s episode, the panel discuss the impact of Jonatan Giráldez as the Barça manager bows out on a high, beating Lyon in a fantastic display in Spain at the weekend and Ceylon Andi Hickman talks about how it felt to clinch promotion with her Dulwich Hamlet side last week.
Despite the club season only just ending, the panel look ahead to the Lionesses’ European qualifiers against France and the Republic of Ireland ahead of next summer’s tournament. And finally, away from European football, it is the start of a new era as Emma Hayes takes charge of the USA for the first time against the Korea Republic. The panel try and foresee how she will get on.
Continue reading...Small group of creatives are choosing to stay working in Ukrainian city despite continuous threat from war
Behind a gate presided over by a taciturn doorman, on the shore of the Black Sea in Odesa, is a tumbledown ship repair yard. It is one of many industrial sites in Ukraine that fell into disuse after the fall of the Soviet Union, but in 2016 a community of young artists started cleaning up debris, renovating the old workshops and making studios.
Now, in 2024, when the city is regularly pounded by Russian missiles, its city streets empty of the tourists who once flocked to its historic centre, there are just a handful of artists willing to withstand the continuous threat to life.
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Sid Lowe for the final Europod of the season
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the Europod today: we start in Germany by asking if Champions League finalists Dortmund are ready for Wembley, and whether Bayern Munich are ready for Vincent Kompany. Also, what’s next for Bayer Leverkusen after their undefeated league and Cup double?
Continue reading...Cause of accident was ‘operational reliability of engine’, says Pyongyang, after two failed attempts last year
North Korea’s latest attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit ended in a mid-air explosion, Pyongyang said late Monday, hours after its announcement of a planned launch was criticised by Seoul and Tokyo.
Japanese broadcaster NHK ran footage of what appeared to be a flaming projectile in the night sky, which then exploded into a fireball. NHK said the footage was taken from northeast China at the same time as the attempted launch.
Continue reading...New paper: “Zero Progress on Zero Days: How the Last Ten Years Created the Modern Spyware Market“:
Abstract: Spyware makes surveillance simple. The last ten years have seen a global market emerge for ready-made software that lets governments surveil their citizens and foreign adversaries alike and to do so more easily than when such work required tradecraft. The last ten years have also been marked by stark failures to control spyware and its precursors and components. This Article accounts for and critiques these failures, providing a socio-technical history since 2014, particularly focusing on the conversation about trade in zero-day vulnerabilities and exploits. Second, this Article applies lessons from these failures to guide regulatory efforts going forward. While recognizing that controlling this trade is difficult, I argue countries should focus on building and strengthening multilateral coalitions of the willing, rather than on strong-arming existing multilateral institutions into working on the problem. Individually, countries should focus on export controls and other sanctions that target specific bad actors, rather than focusing on restricting particular technologies. Last, I continue to call for transparency as a key part of oversight of domestic governments’ use of spyware and related components...
Shalev Hulio is remaking his image but is still involved in a web of cybersecurity ventures with his old colleagues from NSO Group.
The post After Pegasus Was Blacklisted, Its CEO Swore Off Spyware. Now He’s the King of Israeli AI. appeared first on The Intercept.
Takeover is latest by a US conglomerate gambling on fossil fuel production as profits surge on rising energy prices
ConocoPhillips is to buy Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal valued at about $17.1bn as profits at big oil giants surge on rising energy prices.
It is the latest American energy conglomerate to place a vast bet on fossil fuel production. Oil giant ExxonMobil completed its $59.5bn acquisition of the shale group Pioneer Natural Resources earlier this month, and Chevron is vying to get its $53bn deal for the oil producer Hess Corporation across the line.
Continue reading...Much has been made of the struggles musicians face when they become mothers – but what about the inspiration? Bat for Lashes, Logic1000 and others discuss the radical energy unleashed by the ultimate collaboration
The year my son was born, I spent a lot of time walking laps of my small ground-floor flat in a milky, slightly hysterical state of sleep deprivation, listening to a set of instrumental albums by Raymond Scott from 1962 called Soothing Sounds for Baby. YouTube helpfully let me put them on repeat, between scratchy loops of synthetically produced white noise.
“Yes! I listened to Soothing Sounds for Baby too!” says Natasha Khan, AKA Bat for Lashes, whose daughter, Delphi, is now three. “Delphi grew up on instrumental and ambient music – a lot of synthy 80s stuff and Japanese composers.” Khan’s new album, The Dream of Delphi, is her own sonic celebration of those sleepless days in early motherhood, with tracks such as The Midwives Have Left, Her First Morning and Letter to My Daughter. “It’s such a hallucinatory, liminal experience that documenting seems to be the only thing you can do,” she says as we video-call on our sofas, talking about the psychedelic transformation that is motherhood.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
WA shooter’s daughter says police ‘ignored’ warnings
Social services minister Amanda Rishworth has been asked about the powerful statement Ariel Bombara released yesterday, claiming Western Australian police had “ignored” warnings from her and her mother that their lives were under threat.
By that point we felt completely helpless and I had to focus on getting mum to safety. I did everything I could to protect my mother, and when my father couldn’t find us he murdered her best friend and her best friend’s daughter.
Rents have surged in Australia’s capital cities, with only 5.9% of city overall rentals now costing less than $400 a week.
At the start of the pandemic, one in five house rentals in Sydney cost less than $400 a week – that figure is now one in 50.
In Melbourne, one in 25 house rentals now costs less than $400.
The national share of rentals available under $400 dropped by one third annually to just 10.4%.
ACT had the smallest share of properties listed to rent under $400 at 2.1%, followed by Sydney (3.8%) and Perth (5.6%).
Melbourne saw the largest annual decline in the share of houses listed for less than $400 a week, followed by Adelaide and Sydney.
In regional markets, only 16.3% per cent of houses were advertised for under $400 a week in April.
Regional WA (14.8%) had the smallest portion of homes listed to rent below $400 of the regions, followed by regional Queensland (15.8%) and regional NSW (21.5%).
Continue reading...Widening government-run scheme would counter mistrust among householders, says consumer group
The next government should force all tradespeople who install home heat pumps, solar panels and insulation to sign up to a mandatory accreditation scheme to counter mistrust in the industry, a leading consumer group is demanding.
A report from Which? found that households face “significant anxiety” in choosing tradespeople to fit low-carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps, and insulation after “press stories about poor work and rogue traders”.
Continue reading...And almost half of respondents back the filing of criminal charges against oil companies that have contributed to the climate crisis
As US communities take big oil to court for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate crisis, polling shared with the Guardian shows that a majority of voters support the litigation, while almost half would back an even more aggressive legal strategy of filing criminal charges.
The poll, which comes as the world’s first-ever criminal climate lawsuit was brought in France last week, could shed light on how, if filed, similar US cases might be viewed by a jury.
Continue reading...The battalion has a dedicated U.S. nonprofit to support its operations — whose president is supporting AIPAC’s political agenda.
The post This AIPAC Donor Funnels Millions to an IDF Unit Accused of Violating Human Rights appeared first on The Intercept.
Engineers warned Meta that nations can monitor chats; staff fear Israel is using this trick to pick assassination targets in Gaza.
The post This Undisclosed WhatsApp Vulnerability Lets Governments See Who You Message appeared first on The Intercept.
ICC warrants against Israeli officials would mean they can’t travel — and their patrons in the U.S. would be pressured over continued arms sales.
The post Can a U.S. Ally Actually Be Held Accountable for War Crimes in the ICC? appeared first on The Intercept.
And for some reason Justice Samuel Alito can’t stop talking about this witch trial judge.
The post The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Is Constitutional, After All appeared first on The Intercept.
In the survey of Democrats and independents in five battleground states, 2 in 5 voters said a ceasefire and conditioning aid would make them more likely to vote for Biden.
The post Conditioning Aid to Israel Would Boost Support for Biden in Key States, New Poll Finds appeared first on The Intercept.
With Bowman’s challenger handpicked by AIPAC, the Israel lobby is cementing its status as the biggest player in Democratic primary politics.
The post Outside Groups Spent $285,000 Backing Jamaal Bowman. AIPAC Alone Just Dropped Nearly $2 Million to Attack Him. appeared first on The Intercept.
Since Dobbs, state-level Republicans have sought to strip power from DAs elected in Democratic cities who won’t prosecute abortion care.
The post Republicans Can’t Decide: Do They Hate Prosecutors Because of Bail Reform or Abortion? appeared first on The Intercept.
As brutal police repression sweeps campus encampments, schools have been cutting ties with pro-Palestine faculty members without tenure.
The post University Professors Are Losing Their Jobs Over “New McCarthyism” on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
The megadonor’s plan for a $25 million research center at Cornell fell apart. So he took his money to Texas A&M.
The post Leonard Leo Built the Conservative Court. Now He’s Funneling Dark Money Into Law Schools. appeared first on The Intercept.
Judge Juan Merchan instructs jurors on the law today before they start weighing the case
Donald Trump entered the courtroom just before 10 am. He’s wearing a marigold tie and white shirt.
Unlike most mornings before court proceedings, Trump did not speak to the press and instead walked directly into the courtroom.
Continue reading...Judge Juan Merchan tells jury ‘you are the judgers of facts’ as he gives instructions ahead of deliberations
Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York inched towards its conclusion Wednesday with jury deliberations expected to start in a matter of hours.
Judge Juan Merchan began instructing jurors after 10am local time; when he concludes, the jury will start deliberating. Merchan’s directives on the law, which he said would last about one hour, are intended on guiding jurors about how they are supposed to weigh the case.
Continue reading...Judge says inquiry will examine matters of ‘profound importance’ but rejects calls for it to be livestreamed
The Lucy Letby inquiry will examine matters of “profound importance” and should be heard in public, a senior judge has ruled.
Lady Justice Thirlwall said “the fundamental principle” was in favour of open justice and that public hearings would help inform understanding.
Continue reading...The Intercept’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft shows how digital outlets are uniquely vulnerable.
The post Scarlett Johansson Isn’t Alone. The Intercept Is Getting Ripped Off by OpenAI Too. appeared first on The Intercept.
He tells the world he intends to be an authoritarian. So why won’t journalists repeat it?
The post The Media Still Doesn’t Grasp the Danger of Trump appeared first on The Intercept.
Ruling African National Congress party could lose majority for first time since apartheid ended 30 years ago
Explainer: what are the issues and will the ANC lose its majority?
South Africans are voting in what are expected to be the most competitive elections since the end of apartheid, which could result in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party losing its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power 30 years ago.
The national mood is grim owing to some of the world’s highest rates of unemployment and inequality, power cuts, water shortages and violent crime. Younger generations do not feel the same gratitude and loyalty to the ANC as many of their parents and grandparents do, for leading the successful fight for multi-racial democracy.
Continue reading...And for some reason Justice Samuel Alito can’t stop talking about this witch trial judge.
The post The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Is Constitutional, After All appeared first on The Intercept.
The battalion has a dedicated U.S. nonprofit to support its operations — whose president is supporting AIPAC’s political agenda.
The post This AIPAC Donor Funnels Millions to an IDF Unit Accused of Violating Human Rights appeared first on The Intercept.
The U.S. held Saeed Bakhouch at Guantánamo Bay for 20 years without charge, then sent him to have his rights violated in Algeria.
The post After Torturing Him, U.S. Breaks Guarantees of Safety to Former Guantánamo Detainee appeared first on The Intercept.
ICC warrants against Israeli officials would mean they can’t travel — and their patrons in the U.S. would be pressured over continued arms sales.
The post Can a U.S. Ally Actually Be Held Accountable for War Crimes in the ICC? appeared first on The Intercept.
Since Dobbs, state-level Republicans have sought to strip power from DAs elected in Democratic cities who won’t prosecute abortion care.
The post Republicans Can’t Decide: Do They Hate Prosecutors Because of Bail Reform or Abortion? appeared first on The Intercept.
In the survey of Democrats and independents in five battleground states, 2 in 5 voters said a ceasefire and conditioning aid would make them more likely to vote for Biden.
The post Conditioning Aid to Israel Would Boost Support for Biden in Key States, New Poll Finds appeared first on The Intercept.
With FDA approval on the horizon, an internal document lays out measures to treat PTSD and stanch the suicide crisis.
The post The VA Is Quietly Fast-Tracking MDMA Therapy for Veterans appeared first on The Intercept.
From targeting humanitarian vehicles to standing by as mobs attack trucks, Israel is blocking aid from reaching Gaza.
The post The State Department Says Israel Isn’t Blocking Aid. Videos Show the Opposite. appeared first on The Intercept.
With Bowman’s challenger handpicked by AIPAC, the Israel lobby is cementing its status as the biggest player in Democratic primary politics.
The post Outside Groups Spent $285,000 Backing Jamaal Bowman. AIPAC Alone Just Dropped Nearly $2 Million to Attack Him. appeared first on The Intercept.
As brutal police repression sweeps campus encampments, schools have been cutting ties with pro-Palestine faculty members without tenure.
The post University Professors Are Losing Their Jobs Over “New McCarthyism” on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
The 71-year-old veteran peace activist discusses the war on Gaza, the Biden administration, and shaking up Congress.
The post Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin on Disrupting the U.S. War Machine appeared first on The Intercept.
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