The collapse of a plea deal and the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden mean the president could face political fallout for months to come.
Popular devices known as “switches” are turning ordinary pistols into fully automatic weapons, making them deadlier and a growing threat to bystanders.
The Iowa State Fair Saw Many G.O.P. Candidates but Only One Trump
Donald J. Trump asserted his dominance in Iowa on Saturday as he squared off against his closest rival, Ron DeSantis, in the Super Bowl of retail politics.
How Climate Change Turned Lush Hawaii Into a Tinderbox
Declining rainfall, rising temperatures and invasive species have left the islands more susceptible to wildfires.
World Economic Forum (August 12, 2023) – This week’s top stories of the week include:
0:15Scientists discover self healing metals – They have the ability to weld tiny cracks back together again without human intervention. Scientists were studying how microscopic cracks spread through platinum using a machine that repeatedly pulled on the ends of the metal. But after 40 minutes, the damage began to heal itself. The scientists said it was ‘absolutely stunning’ to watch first-hand. The finding revises some of our basic theories about metals.
1:42Who owns a song written by AI – Music made with artificial intelligence has made headlines this year. In April, an AI-generated track cloned the voices of Drake and The Weeknd. Heart on My Sleeve racked up 20 million streams on Spotify, Tiktok and Twitter before copyright claims by Universal Music Group saw it pulled from platforms. The pop star Grimes has taken a different route, offering to split royalties with anyone who uses her voice on an AI track. The limits of creative copyright were once clear but AI has introduced uncertainty.
4:50These special microbes kill harmful bacteria – The food industry struggles with persistent pathogens, such as Salmonella which causes fever, diarrhoea and stomach pain. In 2021, 96,000 cases of salmonellosis were reported in the EU. The illness costs up to €3 billion a year in health bills and lost productivity. These phage food safety solutions have been created by Phageguard. Phages are the most abundant organisms in nature and a natural solution to bacteria which they infect and dissipate. As well as being natural and safe, phages are specific to each target pathogen and unlike antibiotics, they don’t lead to side-effects or antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
6:24 Prescribing fruit and veg could save millions of lives – In the US, fruit and veg prescriptions would prevent almost 300,000 heart attacks and strokes and give people an extra 260,000 years of good health if they were offered to people with diabetes aged 40-79.
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The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.
Monocle on Saturday, August 12, 2023: A look at the week’s news and culture with Georgina Godwin. She is joined by the columnist, author and ‘Insult my Intelligence’ podcast host, Tim Dowling, for a lively discussion of the morning’s stories from across the globe.
Plus: the volunteer group who made women’s uniforms for Ukrainian soldiers.
touropia (August 11, 2023) – A travel guide to the top 16 places to visit in Norway including:
Geirangerfjord
Lofoten Islands
Bergen
Jotunheimen National Park
Svalbard
Stavanger
Sognefjord
Oslo
Trondheim
Tromso
Norway is a Scandinavian country encompassing mountains, glaciers and deep coastal fjords. Oslo, the capital, is a city of green spaces and museums. Preserved 9th-century Viking ships are displayed at Oslo’s Viking Ship Museum. Bergen, with colorful wooden houses, is the starting point for cruises to the dramatic Sognefjord. Norway is also known for fishing, hiking and skiing, notably at Lillehammer’s Olympic resort.
Comcast’s broadband network is crucial to the future of technology. Even so, its stock is cheap compared with buzzier names like Netflix, Nvidia, and Meta Platforms.
The attorney general said he decided to elevate David C. Weiss after the prosecutor informed him that the powers of a special counsel were necessary to continue the investigation.
A historic Hawaiian town that was once home to 13,000 people is now a desolate ruin. With the death toll rising, the true scope of the tragedy is still unfolding.
Judge Limits Trump’s Ability to Share Jan. 6 Evidence
During a 90-minute hearing in Washington, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan also warned the former president against any attempt to intimidate witnesses or prejudice potential jurors.
Judge Limits Trump’s Ability to Share Jan. 6 Evidence
During a 90-minute hearing in Washington, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan also warned the former president against any attempt to intimidate witnesses or prejudice potential jurors.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE – The 8.13.23 Issue: In this special issue, Wesley Morris on hip-hop’s 50th anniversary; Niela Orr on the ascendance of female rappers; Miles Marshall Lewis on how hip-hop changed the English language forever; Daniel Levin Becker on the history of bling; Tom Breihan on Too Short’s long career; and Danyel Smith on the rappers we lost.
As their male counterparts turn depressive and paranoid, it’s the women who are having all the fun.
By Niela Orr
Like American men in general, our top male rappers appear to be in crisis: overwhelmed, confused, struggling to embody so many contradictory ideals. As a result, the art is suffering, too. If the music were any more existentially morose, or stylistically comatose, mainstream hip-hop made by men might be headed the way of hair metal or disco. The narcotized indolence is everywhere; the recounting of opioid abuse is so blasé (the Percs, Xans and Oxys) that these pillbox litanies leave you wondering if the Sackler family sponsored a wing in the rap museum. And then there’s the sense of foreshortened future that’s baked into the genre but has been amplified as gangsta rap branched off into trap, drill and other grittier subgenres. Many of the male rappers are documenting social strife and commenting on the violence that comes with being young, Black, famous men. This thread can be moving and also heartbreaking. When listening to these songs, it is impossible to not ache for their makers, to be afraid right along with them. But the music bears the weight of all that anxiety and grief. Even the occasional Drake smash is not enough to disturb the disquiet.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW – August 13, 2023: The annual thrillers issue features – a tense murder mystery set aboard a cruise ship; a heist novel involving rough diamonds, crooked lawyers and masters of the double cross; and an especially creepy serial-killer novel, to name just a few.
In “Flirting With Danger,” Janet Wallach tells the story of Marguerite Harrison, who traded a life of privilege to become America’s first international female spy.
By Chloe Malle
FLIRTING WITH DANGER: The Mysterious Life of Marguerite Harrison, Socialite Spy, by Janet Wallach
Anyone complaining about a canceled Delta flight would do well to channel Marguerite Harrison. The United States’ first international female spy, Harrison crisscrossed the globe by rickshaw, propeller plane, camel, inflated goatskin raft and rail freight car and once brightly described a trans-Siberian voyage, in which she was wedged between sacks of tea and oats on the back of a troika in a blizzard, as “a rare and delightful experience.”
From left: John Fairfax; Tom McCleanCredit…From left: Daily Mail/Shutterstock; Tom McClean
In “Completely Mad,” James Hansen tells the stories of two men who in 1969 vied to be the first to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
COMPLETELY MAD: Tom McClean, John Fairfax, and the Epic Race to Row Solo Across the Atlantic, by James R. Hansen
The day before the Apollo mission landed two men on the moon, a British man named John Fairfax waded into Hollywood Beach, Fla., greeted by masses of cheering fans, having been the first person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Eight days later, another Briton, Tom McClean, pulled his dory up a deserted beach in Blacksod Bay, Ireland, having rowed solo across the Atlantic in the opposite direction. While Fairfax was acclaimed and feted, McClean walked to the closest pub, alone.
DW Documentary (August 11, 2023) – Taiwan is a place of incredible variety. The tiny island’s natural beauty is a concentration of some of Asia’s most spectacular features. To the east, there are sheer cliffs with mountain peaks, plateaus and hot springs. To the south, you’ll find sandy beaches, coral reefs and lagoons.
Although the Taiwanese live in a high-tech world, they are still firmly anchored by ancient traditions. During the course of his life, Lin Liang-tai has created many elaborately adorned wooden boats. But they’re not built to last, as they’re destined for Taiwan’s legendary Wang Ye Festival. As part of the temple ceremony to honor the goddess of the sea, a 10-meter boat is blessed, loaded with offerings and pulled through the village down to the beach.
There, it’s set alight, burning any evil spirits that might be lurking about the place. Shrimps are all the rage in Taiwan. In large halls across the entire island, shrimps can be fished out of huge tanks and put straight on the barbecue. Zhan Jia-ming runs one of these popular shrimp halls, and tips bucketloads of fresh shrimps into the tanks every hour. Oysters are a mainstay of Taiwanese cuisine, whether boiled, fried or made into oyster sauce. On the west coast, oyster farms sustain entire village communities.
In Fangyuan, we see one oyster farmer still using traditional methods to harvest his oysters. He drives ox-drawn carts onto the tidal flats, just as it has been done for generations. In the fishing village of Dongshi, several tons of oysters are harvested, opened and processed every day. Taiwan’s relations with the mainland have often been strained since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Beijing regards the island as part of its territory. Tensions have been on the rise in recent times.
Tsai Jin-lu is a committed birdwatcher. For years, he’s documented his rare bird sightings in the Aogu Wetlands Forest Park on the western coast of Taiwan. But these days, his binoculars are frequently trained on something much bigger, up in the skies above. That’s because this is where the Taiwan carries out fighter jet exercises almost every day.
Wendover Productions (August 11, 2023) – The history, planning, budgeting, environmental studying, engineering and construction of the I-70 from Denver to Grand Junction in Colorado, which totals 243 miles.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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