Posts - Americans

Hoverboard Safety Concerns Rise As One ‘Explodes Into Flames’

News

The hoverboard sensation seemed to spread across the United States and Europe during the holiday season. Unfortunately, the innovative and futuristic mode of transportation is not all that it is cracked up to be and the hoverboard industry is literally under fire for producing defective products. In fact, as quickly as the hoverboards sold, many of them were recalled. Amazon went so far as to remove them from its site and to offer full refunds to those who purchased various models.

Now, a British YouTube “vlogger” has produced video evidence of just how dangerous the self-balancing scooters can be. He actually captured on video a hoverboard exploding into fire on the device’s first run. (Note: hoverboards are in no way synonymous with the brand Segway and are not manufactured by Segway.)

Stephen Leenott (who posts videos under the name of BuleBritish) recently purchased a new hoverboard from eBay. Upon receipt, he charged the battery overnight, planning to take it on its first run the following morning. When he initially stepped on the board and tried to start it, nothing happened and it appeared dead.

Leenott began to tilt the hoverboard to try and get it going. However, the hoverboard started to make a hissing sound which was then followed by smoke and finally a burst of fire.

Following the burst of flames, the video shows Leenott attempting to pour water on the board to extinguish the fire. But, he is quick to point out that doing so was not the smartest move: “Don’t use water on electrical fires. This was not planned. My first thought was to run and fill the kettle to pour cold water on it. Why? I don’t know, it’s a fire. Put water on it was my first reaction.”

Luckily, Leenott conducted his test run outside and the fire did not cause any damage. Some people have not been so lucky. Hoverboards caused several house fires recently when the scooters went bezerk.

While it is not exactly known what caused this specific fire, there are a few possibilities. First, the boards run on lithium batteries, which have a tendency to explode if configured incorrectly. Also, many of these boards have poorly constructed and assembled motors and electrical wiring, which also could have caused the fire. And, these are just a few of the possible defects.

Properly constructed hoverboards from reputable companies do not necessarily pose a fire risk. However, many Chinese factories pump out shoddy counterfeits and cheap alternatives that are simply accidents waiting to happen. The safety fears of these knockoffs have caused governments to take notice, including the issuance of warnings and the impounding of all hoverboards at some ports of call.

Currently, they are illegal to ride on public roads and sidewalks within the United Kingdom and some parts of the United States, including New York.

Incandescent Bulbs Won’t Go Into The Dark Just Yet

Business

In 2007, the United States Congress determined that most incandescent light bulbs should be a thing of the past, and it actually passed a law requiring the country to phase out most of those light bulbs by 2014. The phaseout was part of a global effort to eliminate incandescent bulbs so as to switch to more energy-efficient light bulbs. But, new research now indicates that old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs may be tweaked to be more efficient than in the past.

Researchers at MIT have found a way – using nanotechnology – to reuse the wasted energy created by incandescent bulbs. The scientists published their findings in the journal, Nature Nanotechnology. In their paper, the team explains how they have converted the major downfall of the incandescent bulb – which is the fact that it creates a waste of more than 95% of the energy it generates – into a good thing.

In order to recycle the wasted energy, the team developed a secondary structure around the bulb’s filament. The structure is made from a photonic crystal which captures infrared energy and allows light to pass.

The team reports how they used nanotechnology to create the crystal describing their theory and techniques as follows:

The desired visible wavelengths pass right through the material and on out of the bulb, but the infrared wavelengths get reflected as if from a mirror. They then travel back to the filament, adding more heat that then gets converted to more light. Since only the visible ever gets out, the heat just keeps bouncing back in toward the filament until it finally ends up as visible light.

The team further writes that the new bulb has three times greater efficiency than a standard bulb. Moreover, the team thinks they can increase the bulb’s efficiency up to 40% of the efficiency. If they do that, the bulbs could beat the efficiency of both LED bulbs and CFL bulbs.

This could lead to the re-emergence of incandescent light bulbs in our homes.

European Court Rules That Companies Can Monitor Workers’ Private Chats

Entertainment News

The European court of human rights (ECHR) ruled this week that European employers can legally monitor the online communications of their employees. This means that employers can monitor employees’ use of the Internet to send both work-related and private messages during office hours.

The ECHR’s ruling came at the conclusion of a lawsuit brought by a Romanian engineer against his employer. The engineer’s employer discovered that he had used and was continuing to use the Yahoo Messenger system to chat with his professional colleagues and contacts as well as personal contacts, such as his brother and fiancee. He was fired in 2007 as a result of these actions as the company’s policy clearly prohibited the use of Yahoo Messenger for personal communications.

The employee challenged the legality of the termination of his employment and argued that his employer should not have been monitoring his Internet usage.

The ECHR, located in Strasbourg, ruled in favor of the employer and dismissed the engineer’s argument that his right to “confidential correspondence” was violated when the company monitored his personal online messaging.

In rendering its decision, the court held that it was not “unreasonable that an employer would want to verify that employees were completing their professional tasks during working hours.” The court further added that the company had accessed the engineer’s messages because it believed that the messages only contained professional communications – as per the company policy.

The ECHR also upheld the Romanian court’s decision to admit as evidence the transcripts of the actual communications of the engineer. The court reasoned that allowing the transcripts as evidence at trial to be used against the engineer “proved that he had used the company’s computer for his own private purposes during working hours.”

The ECHR further held that because the employer’s attorneys redacted the identities of the individuals with whom the engineer communicated, Romania’s courts had struck a “fair balance” between respect for those individuals’ privacy and the defendant-employer’s interests.

The judgments of the ECHR set precedence and are binding on those European countries that have ratified and signed the European Convention on Human Rights.

Islamic State Targets Indonesia For First Time

Entertainment News

The Islamic State has attacked Indonesia, marking the first time that the terrorist group has targeted the world’s most populous Muslim nation. The attack was conducted on Thursday by gunmen and suicide bombers in the center of the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. A total of seven people were killed in the attack, though five of the casualties were of the attackers themselves.

The attack, which went on for nearly three hours, took place nearby a Starbucks and the Sarinah’s department store. In the attack, the team of extremists traded gunfire with the police before eventually blowing themselves up. The incident took the lives of one Indonesian and one Canadian. At least twenty other people were wounded in the process.

The chief of the Jakarta Police Department, who said that a man named Bahrun Naim was responsible for plotting the attack stated, “ISIS is behind this attack definitely.”

It is currently believed that Bahrun Naim is hiding out in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

The terrorist attack featured at least six explosions and a gunfight in a movie theater. However, the weapons used by the terrorists were particularly weak. This explains why they were only able to kill two people in the end.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has since informed his country that people should be scared or defeated by unfortunate acts of terrorism.

It was reported during the attack that the windows of the Starbucks were shot out and that at least one attacker took to the building’s roof. Police forces had responded to the attack within mere minutes, as black armored vehicles and sniper teams were deployed to the scene. Meanwhile, helicopters flew overhead to monitor the situation from above.

One terrorist entered the Starbucks and blew himself up, injuring several people inside. As people fled the Starbucks, two waiting gunmen opened fire on them. Meanwhile, two additional militants attacked a nearby police traffic post using grenade-like bombs. The attacks caused the city center’s infamously jammed roads to become almost entirely deserted.

The coordination and orchestration of the attacks has reminded many people of the deadly terrorist attacks that took place in Paris last November. While Indonesia has been attacked by non-ISIS militants in the past, the country has never seen such a coordinated assault by a team of gunmen and suicide bombers.

In July of 2009, the JW Marriot and the Ritz Carlton hotels in Jakarta were attacked in a bombing. In 2002, a bombing at a nightclub on the holiday island of Bali killed 202 people.

Drone Ambulance Just Made Its Maiden Voyage

Entertainment News

Drones are already being used in military operations and the delivery of packages, and pretty soon that might be used to save lives in emergency medical situations. A drone ambulance that is designed to airlift two individuals has been autonomously flown for the first time.

The rescue drone is called the AirMule, and it is able to take off and land vertically. The drone is specifically designed to be used in conditions in which landing a manned helicopter would be particularly unfeasible. Such situations include an active battlefield or on unfavorable terrain.

The drone was developed by Israeli technology company Tactical Robotics. While there have been some setbacks in its development, Tactical Robotics finally managed to complete an initial test flight. The drone is able to carry nearly 1,000 pounds and it can fly more than 30 miles in a single trip.

The AirMule makes use of a single engine and internal rotor. It made its initial flight from a temporary testing facility that was set up at the Megiddo Airfield in Israel after receiving permission from the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority. By the end of the year, Tactical Robotics is hoping to demonstrate the cargo carrying abilities of the drone. Beyond-line-of-sight testing has also been scheduled.

Although the primary purpose of the drone is to conduct evacuations from active battle sites, the AirMule has other purposes as well. The compact drone system is able to fly in close proximity to buildings and other obstructions thanks to its internal rotor system. This gives it a major advantage over other air ambulances.

Tactical Robotics is not the only company working to develop drones designed to carry people. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Chinese Ehang 184 drone was revealed to the public. This single-passenger drone is able to fly for up to 23 minutes at speeds in excess of 63 mph.

Student Loans Account For $1.3 Trillion In Debt

News

With the pressure to stay competitive in the United States job market, many Americans will often do whatever it takes to obtain a college degree, even if it means racking up a heavy amount of debt in the form of student loans. Now, the total amount of student loan debt in the country is more than $1.3 trillion. Many Americans maintain student loans in excess of $100,000.

The issue has become so severe that lawmakers are starting to step in. Last September, the Obama administration took action by making changes to the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is the form filled out by college students seeking financial aid.

Then in December, the administration revealed the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) plan. This policy allows certain federal student loan borrowers to limit their total monthly student loan payments at 10% of their discretionary income.

Such measures have made the burden of student loans somewhat more manageable, but they won’t make the problem go away entirely. According to a recent study, Americans between the ages of 35 to 50 owe nearly as much money on their student loans as new graduates even after years of making payments. It has recently been discovered that student loan payments are even passing groceries as the largest monthly expense for many households.

According to leading student financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz, more than 25% of people with student loans are graduating with excessive amounts of debt. Kantrowitz says that this extreme debt load has a major influence on how borrowers live their lives.

Kantrowitz wrote, “I also found that students who graduate with excessive debt are about 10% more likely to say that it caused delays in major life events, such a buying a home, getting married, or having children. They are also about 20% more likely to say that their debt influenced their employment plans, causing them to take a job outside their field, to work more than they desired, or to work more than one job.”

It is estimated that the total amount of student loan debt in the United States grows by more than $2,000 every second. While the government might be working hard to control the issue, this just might be a problem that is too big to contain.

Hacker Group Anonymous Shuts Down Nissan’s Website As Protest

News

The activist hacking group Anonymous is continuing its efforts to put a stop to whaling practices in Japan, this time targeting the website of Japanese automaker Nissan. Both Nissan.co.jp and Nissan-global.com were taken offline thanks DDos attacks that were conducted by Anonymous.

Anonymous maintains thousands of hackers across the world, and they are known for their largely political hacking campaigns. The group has worked most notably combat the influence of the Islamic State on social media. Recently, Anonymous took down the website of the Trump Towers, expressing their displeasure with outspoken presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The group’s current campaign against Japanese whaling is called #OpSeaWorld, and it was started last month. The campaign is in protest of Japan’s plans to continue hunting 333 minke whales every year through 2026. Japanese officials have stated that the whaling is strictly for scientific research purposes, and the only reason that the whale meat will be sold commercially afterwards is so that it does not go to waste.

A hacker from Anonymous has since taken responsibility for the attack on Nissan. The hacker claimed that he only targeted the Japanese Nissan site and that the company must have taken down the international site on its own. The hacker went on to state that the attack did not threaten their information systems and that no important data was stolen.

Nissan spokesperson Dion Corbett stated that Nissan has no connection whatsoever to Japanese whale hunting. Corbett stated that the company voluntarily took down the affected websites in order to prevent any further damage from hackers.

Corbett said, “Because of a potential DDoS attack, we are temporarily suspending service on our websites to prevent further risks. Nissan continuously monitors and takes aggressive steps to ensure the protection of our information systems and all of our data.”

Since launching its anti-whaling campaign in December, Anonymous has targeted several Japanese websites. Most notably, the group took down the official website of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on December 10th. Later on December 20th, the group took down a total 97 websites concerning Japanese government officials, news organizations, airports and various groups associated with the hunting of marine animals.

In March of 2014, the International Court of Justice in The Hague made the ruling that the Japanese must cease their whale hunting practices. While Japan did initially stop hunting whales, the country later resumed the practice.

Twitter Under Fire For Letting Known Terrorist On Website

Entertainment News

Twitter is being sued by a Florida defense contractor who claims that the social media website has knowingly allowed terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State to make use of its services in order to spread their violent messages. The family of the Florida defense contractor was killed in a terrorist attack in November.

On Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. The lawsuit focuses on the death of Lloyd “Carl” Fields Jr., who died at the hands of a Jordanian police captain who he was training at the International Police Training Center in Amman. Additionally, another unnamed American contractor was also killed in the attack.

This training center is operated and funded in part by the United States Department of State. The Islamic State later took credit for the attack. The lawsuit accuses Twitter of allowing the attack to take place. It claims that Twitter permits terrorists to recruit and spread extremist ideology on its messaging platform. It is believed that ISIS maintains about 70,000 Twitter accounts, and at least 79 of these are “official”. In all, the terrorist group posts about 90 tweets every minute.

The lawsuit reads, “For years, Twitter has knowingly permitted the terrorist group ISIS to use its social network as a tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits. Without Twitter, the explosive growth of ISIS over the last few years into the most feared terrorist group in the world would not have been possible.”

A spokesperson for Twitter responded to the allegations saying that while such incidents are tragic, it cannot be held responsible for the acts of terrorist groups.

The spokesperson said, “While we believe the lawsuit is without merit, we are deeply saddened to hear of this family’s terrible loss. Like people around the world, we are horrified by the atrocities perpetrated by extremist groups and their ripple effects on the Internet. Violent threats and the promotion of terrorism deserve no place on Twitter and, like other social networks, our rules make that clear. We have teams around the world actively investigating reports of rule violations, identifying violating conduct, partnering with organizations countering extremist content online, and working with law enforcement entities when appropriate.”

Twitter has been at the center of similar accusations in the past. Last month, Twitter was fined by the Turkish government for refusing to remove content that was determined to be “terrorist propaganda”. In response, Twitter filed a lawsuit claiming that the fine was illegal.

Apple Eyeing Time Warner Spinoff Purchase

Finance

Time Warner could soon be up for sale, and Apple is reportedly keeping a very close eye on the situation. Apple is one of a handful of companies that are said to be interested in purchasing the major entertainment company. In recent times, Time Warner has received heavy pressure from investors to sell itself or spin off its assets.

A year and a half ago, 21st Century Fox attempted to purchase Time Warner at $85 per share, which is greater than its current trading price of around $71. Many view Time Warner as a sitting duck among media companies because of its lack of a dual-class shareholder structure.

Reports indicate that Fox is still interested in making the purchase. Another company that could possibly strike a deal is AT&T, which recently purchased DirecTV as well. However, perhaps the most intriguing suitor is Apple, which is known for its lucrative corporate takeovers.

If Apple does indeed become the buyer, the company would most likely use Time Warner’s assets to help launch its heavily anticipated stand-alone TV streaming service. So far, Apple has struggled to create a programming and content bundle from its existing partners.

Purchasing Time Warner would give Apple access to CNN, Turner Sports and massively popular shows such as “Game of Thrones” and “Sesame Street”. There is also the huge selection Warner Bros. movies and TV shows tucked away in the archives.

Last May, Apple joined forces with HBO in launching HBO Now, which functions as an internet-delivered TV service on Apple TV. The Apple TV device connects television sets to online programming.

One possible outcome outside of selling the entire company involves Time Warner possibly spinning off its holdings in HBO. However, CEO of Time Warner Jeff Bewkes is reportedly against the idea of cutting ties with HBO. Bewkes believes that splitting up the company would destroy its value.

Both Apple and Time Warner have declined to comment on the rumors.

Fallen Russia Oligarch Sends Warning To Putin Insiders

News

A former key figure in Russia is reminding those close to Russian President Vladimir Putin that their positions of power are unlikely to last forever. Vladimir Yakunin, who was once one of the most powerful men in the country, wants officials within Putin’s “inner circle” to know that their roles are merely on a temporary basis.

Unlike Russian regimes of the past, Putin has not formed a stable ruling class. And if Yakunin is right, this will continue in the future. Yakunin has stated that Putin’s circle will “continue to rotate”.

During his time in power, Yakunin was a good friend of the president, oversaw a major rail network covering 11 time zones and spent time as an intelligence officer at the United Nations in New York City during the Cold War.

According to Yakunin, the concepts of wealth and influence are both extremely fragile in Putin’s seemingly ironclad system. Now, this system is under heavy pressure from rapidly falling oil prices and international sanctions.

Yakunin says that Putin will do whatever it takes to maintain power, even if it means cutting ties to some of his closest allies. Yakunin has also cited the cases of Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky, two post-Soviet oligarchs who lost their power trying to influence Putin and the Russian state.

Last August, Yakunin dramatically left his position at Russian Railways, representing a major shakeup in the country’s leadership. Russia’s state railway company carries more than one billion passengers every year. Such rough resignations are said to be rather unusual for those close to Putin, but they are not unprecedented.

In March of 2014, the United States blacklisted Yakunin in its initial round of sanctions during the conflict in Ukraine. American officials stated that Yakunin was a “close confidant of Putin” who had major influence over the Russian government.

It is still unknown what exactly led to the fallout between Putin and Yakunin. Some believe that President Putin felt betrayed when Yakunin’s eldest son obtained citizenship in the United Kingdom. Others believe that simple mismanagement at Russian Railways may have led to Yakunin’s downfall.

Russia’s next election cycle will occur in 2018, and if Putin wins reelection, his rule is likely to extend to a quarter century. Russian officials will undoubtedly have to work hard to stay on Putin’s good side. Otherwise, they could very well end up like Yakunin.

Albert Edwards Declares Stock Market Will Fall 75%

Finance

In a shocking prediction, Societe Generale economist Albert Edwards has said that he believes in the near future the United States stock market will decline by a massive 75% from its peak. Edwards made the prediction, saying that the economy will fall into a recession caused by a weak output of manufacturing. After the major fall off, stocks would only be worth a quarter of what they were at their peak. Edwards believes that the stock market would dip even further below than the values during the 2008 financial crisis.

The idea is built around the belief that central bankers worked to inflate asset prices following the 2008 crisis and that they did not allow the stocks to hit their proper lows. Additionally, central banks created a massive debt bubble to expand in emerging markets. Now, there is pressure on emerging markets to devalue their currencies, which could result in a deflationary spiral and a major recession in the United States.

In the event that the predicted recession does hit, central banks would be largely unable to inflate stock prices. This would cause asset prices to fall tremendously. Edwards points to the weak manufacturing sector as a sign that this is about to occur. In the lead up to most recessions, the manufacturing sector typically brings down the less volatile services sector into a recession as well.

Edwards acknowledges that his prediction might seem overly extreme to most market analysts. However, he cites the fact that these same market analysts were adamant that major investment banks were “too big to fail” in the 2008 financial crisis. Very few people predicted the scope of the crash that would occur in 2008. If Edwards is correct, an even worse situation could be coming very soon. Time will tell if Edwards correctly saw the storm before it hit or if he’s just some crazed economist spewing doomsday theories.

Apple’s Tim Cook Goes Head To Head With Government Over Encryption

News

Apple CEO Tim Cook is strongly pushing for the American government to put a “no backdoors” policy in place with regards to encryption. Like many prominent technology executives, Cook is fighting to protect the privacy of millions of Americans when they use personal electronic devices.

Cook stated his opinion at a recent meeting between government officials and technology companies. Besides Apple, other companies that were also represented at the meeting included Google, Facebook, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Twitter, Dropbox and Cloudflare.

Reports indicate that Cook was extremely displeased when the government officials suggested that the technology companies put “backdoors” into their encryption technologies. According to United States officials, these backdoors would be used in crime investigation and to combat terrorism. However, privacy advocates have been strongly fighting the move.

Most notably, a fiery exchange was said to have taken place between Cook and United States attorney general Loretta Lynch. During the exchange, Lynch stressed the need to find a proper balance between privacy and national security.

This isn’t the first time that Apple has clashed with American agencies over encryption practices. In September of last year, Apple told United States officials that it could not hand over texts in court order because of its strong encryption technology. And in 2014, FBI director James Comey criticized the company for its usage of end-to-end encryption in its phones.

Comey said at the time, “The notion that someone would market a closet that could never be opened, even if it involves a case involving a child kidnapper and a court order, to me does not make any sense.”

However, Cook has warned of the serious consequences that would come about through sacrificing the right to privacy through encryption. According to Cook, opening the door to government officials would also allow access by criminal hackers as well.

Cook said in June of 2015, “Some in Washington are hoping to undermine the ability of ordinary citizens to encrypt their data. We think this is incredibly dangerous. If you put a key under the mat for the cops, a burglar can find it, too. Criminals are using every technology tool at their disposal to hack into people’s accounts. If they know there’s a key hidden somewhere, they won’t stop until they find it. Removing encryption tools from our products altogether, as some in Washington would like us to do, would only hurt law-abiding citizens who rely on us to protect their data.”

Following the terrorist attacks in Paris late last year, Apple joined forces with several other technology companies to reject demands to weaken encryption.

Amazon Just Added Penn State To Campuses Invaded

News

Amazon is having a big impact on college campuses. On Tuesday, Amazon announced a partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, in which a new central clearing facility on the campus will be opened. The partnership is being called Amazon@Penn.

Students at the college will be able to go to the facility to pick up and return their orders from Amazon. Many have described it as one giant Amazon locker for college students. Representatives from the University of Pennsylvania have stated that more than half of the packages that arrive at the college mailrooms are sent from Amazon.

The online retailer has already established similar locations at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Cincinnati. In the near future, the company will also open locations at the University of California Davis and the University of California Berkeley sometime this year.

Amazon is also known for its initiative of offering the popular Amazon Prime program to college students at a reduced rate. College students are charged only $49 per year for Amazon Prime, which is less than half the usual rate of $99 per year. Amazon Prime offers subscribers free two day shipping, music and video streaming options and more.

However, such programs and initiatives have brought about some challenges for college campuses. It has been reported that many college mailrooms have been overwhelmed by the vast amount of packages that are shipped from Amazon. Many of these college mailrooms are only designed to accommodate letters from home, and they are running out of places to put packages. With the Amazon Prime Program, many students eschew brick and mortar shopping for online shopping from Amazon.

But while college mailrooms are being overburdened, Amazon has to be strongly enjoying its success. The company has found perfect match in the college crowd, where young students want to order goods conveniently, quickly and with little effort. Expect the trend of students using Amazon to only grow larger over time.

VW Apology Tour Off To A Rocky Start

Finance

The Volkswagen apology tour in the aftermath of the company’s embarrassing emissions scandal is off to a poor start. Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller has flubbed initial interviews, as he has struggled with the pressure of pleasing lawmakers and environmental regulators.

Mueller participated in an interview with National Public Radio at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. During the interview, Mueller said that Volkswagen “didn’t lie” to regulators when they were initially asked about discrepancies between emissions levels during testing and emissions produced when actually on the road.

Mueller claimed that the discrepancies were caused by a technical problem that was the result of a misinterpretation of American law. It seemed that Mueller was trying to downplay the company’s role in deceiving regulators. He went on to question the reasoning behind the ethical issues that have plagued the company.

Mueller has since made another media appearance, in which he apologized for this initial interview. He said that the company fully accepts the violation and that they are doing everything they can to solve the problem.

Mueller has been largely criticized for waiting almost four months to meet with American regulators. This has given many people the impression that the serious crisis is not one of his top priorities. Shortly after taking over as the CEO of Volkswagen, Mueller was photographed holding a bottle of champagne at the Leipzig Opera Ball. A few weeks later, he was pictured in Bahrain enjoying a car race. The CEO also cut short his appearance during the company’s third quarter earnings conference to accompany German Chancellor Angela Merkel to China on a trade trip.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen spokesperson Claus-Peter Tiemann defended the actions of the CEO, saying, “This was a very extreme situation in which this interview took place. Mueller was standing in a crowd of journalists with questions being shouted at him in different languages. One question obviously was misinterpreted, taken out of context maybe, so the interview was redone.”

Mueller is set to meet with lawmakers and representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington DC on Wednesday. He will certainly face questions as to whether or not he is taking the situation seriously.

Staggering Number Of Women Receive Sexual Harassment In Silicon Valley Industries

News

A recent survey has shown that more than 60% of the women who work in Silicon Valley are the victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. About two-thirds of these instances of harassment have come from people higher up in the company than the female victims. The Survey was titled “The Elephant in the Valley”, and it was conducted by seven women.

The survey authors wrote, “The inspiration for this survey came out of the incredible conversation from the Ellen Pao and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers trial. What we realized is that while many women shared similar workplace stories, most men were simply shocked and unaware of the issues facing women in the workplace.”

Some of the women responsible for producing the survey include former general partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Trae Vassallo, angel investor Ellen Levy and media and marketing research consultant Michele Madansky.

Last year, Vassallo received a court subpoena to testify against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in the Ellen Pao trial, which concerned gender discrimination and retaliation. During her testimony, Vassallo recounted unwanted advances from a male colleague named Ajit Nazre. It was this testimony that made Vassallo realize just how widespread such instances were in the industry.

Vassallo stated, “The surprising thing for me was that in talking about it, I had an overwhelming number of women come back to me after that experience and say: ‘Thank you for talking about it. By the way, that is what I lived through.’ And what was shocking to me was that I was not the only one and what really got me was the fact that just anecdotally, it seemed like more than half of all the women I talked to had some horrific set of experiences.”

The survey interviewed 220 women working in Silicon Valley, and 90% of those interviewed said that they had previously witnessed sexist behavior at either company off-sites or at industry conferences. Meanwhile, 87% said that they have heard sexist comments from their colleagues at one point or another. More than three-quarters of the women who were surveyed were over the age of 40. Companies that were represented in the survey included Apple and Google.

Meanwhile, it was also discovered that many instances of sexual harassment went unreported. This was largely because the victims did not want it to have a negative impact on their careers. Others said they just wanted to move forward and forget about the troubling incidents. And when action was taken, 60% of the victims said they were dissatisfied with the final outcome.

Additionally, the survey found that gender discrimination also occurred in other forms. During company interviews, 75% of the women said that they were asked questions regarding their family life, marital status and children. Roughly 40% of the survey participants said that they avoid discussing their families at work in order to be taken more seriously. One respondent said that she has stopped keeping photographs of her children at work for this very reason.

Judge Slaps Down Nestle’s Bid To Throw Out Child Slavery Suit

Finance

The lawsuit against Nestle regarding its support of child slavery in Ivory Coast will move forward as planned. On Monday, the United States Supreme Court rejected a proposal by Nestle, along with two other companies, to discard a lawsuit that will hold them accountable for their unethical practices. Nestle is being sued for supporting child labor by purchasing cocoa that is harvested in Ivory Coast where slaves were used.

The Supreme Court upheld a ruling from December of 2014 that was made by the 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. With the decision, Nestle, Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. and Cargill Inc. will have to defend themselves in court.

The plaintiffs are originally from Mali, and they are accusing the three companies of human rights violations by actively purchasing cocoa from Ivory Coast. According to the plaintiffs, the companies were aware of the child slavery issue, and they offered both financial and technical assistance to local Ivory Coast farmers in order to secure the cheapest source of cocoa possible.

In their decision to move forward with the lawsuit, the Supreme Court Justices focused on a 2013 SCOTUS ruling that made it more difficult for plaintiffs to sue American corporations for abuses that occurred overseas. In 2013, the High Court ruled in the Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum case that the lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell would be thrown out. Royal Dutch Shell had been accused of supporting state-sponsored torture and murder in Nigeria. The lawsuit was thrown out because it was determined to not concern United States territory.

Since then, American companies facing similar lawsuits have largely been able to get themselves out of trouble by citing the ruling from 2013. However, judges have interpreted in the ruling in different ways. This time, the tactic did not work for Nestle.

The appeals court in the Nestle case ruled that the plaintiffs could revise their lawsuit in order to see if they meet the requirements under the Supreme Court ruling. The United States Chamber of Commerce and several business groups have urged the court to take on the case.

First Genome Project Gives Hope To Two Little Girls

Health & Wellness

Two four year old girls with developmental disorders are the first people to benefit from the 100,000 Genomes Project in the United Kingdom. The project was launched in 2014 for the purpose of improving the diagnosis and treatment of rare genetic disorders. Thanks to the project, these two young girls have finally received proper diagnoses to their mystifying medical conditions.

The two girls both received diagnoses last month, putting an end to the years of uncertainty for them and their families. Without the 100,000 Genomes Project, this would not have been possible. The project cost more than $432 million, and it was launched by British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2014. Now, more people with unknown conditions are hopeful that the project can be used to identify more puzzling genetic disorders.

In the two groundbreaking cases, researchers working on the project to compare the DNA from the two girls and their parents in order to discover that they both had a fault in a single gene. By identifying the genetic defects in question, doctors will now be able to conduct tests in other children who display similar traits.

Clinical geneticist at Great Ormond Street Maria Bitner-Glindzicz said, “We’ve got a long way to go before we really understand rare diseases and cancer, but we feel very hopeful that this is the beginning of something powerful and helpful.”

She continued, “People often are concerned about research, they are hesitant about getting involved. But the aim of research is to move forwards and be able to offer better diagnoses and better treatments. We don’t want to be where we are now in 20 years’ time. We want to be further on.”

Thanks to the firm diagnoses, the families affected will be able to receive much needed support through health insurance and special education services. The parents are also now certain that the genetic defects in question were not inherited, but rather developed through a rare mutation. This will give the parents confidence should they decide to try to produce more children.

With the two diagnoses, it is likely that other children with the same mutations will be able to be identified in the near future. For now, the 100,000 Genomes Project will continue to collect blood samples so that it can identify more genetic disorders in the future. It is clear that this project will further work to offer some much-needed answers to many distressed families.

Governor Cuomo Eyes Penn Station Revamp

News

The largely outdated Penn Station in New York City might soon receive a much needed update. If the plan goes through, the much-hated train station would be transformed into a modern complex that would be pleasing to the eye and offer more room for commuters. However, such a transformation will be easier said than done.

The updated station would be named the Empire Station Complex, and the renovation project consists of three parts. The first part would be to redevelop the main shell of Penn Station, including removing the theater at Madison Square Garden and constructing a grand entrance along 8th Avenue. The second part would involve finishing the conversion of the adjacent Farley Post Office into a spacious new Amtrak center called Moynihan Station. The final step would be linking Penn and Moynihan through underground concourses.

Planners are hoping to move fast. It is said that officials expect private developers to pitch their plans within the next 90 days and that overall construction will be completed within three years. The winning bidder to move forward with the plans would be responsible for virtually all of the cost, which is estimated to be about $3 billion. In exchange, the developer would receive retail revenue generated from the commercial options of the new station.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said of the plan, “It’s going to have this state moving toward mass transit in a way it hasn’t been for decades. Transportation is what made this state 100 years ago. It’s what’s going to make this state for the next 100 years.”

However, with Cuomo’s reluctance to put city funds into the massive project, it is unknown if any developers will want to pony up such a large amount of private cash. This could put the project on halt before it even gets started. So far, the project looks like a good idea, but there isn’t a whole lot of substance.

Additionally, there’s more to the project than initially meets the eye. The station platforms desperately need to be widened so that travelers can board trains more quickly. This could lead to fewer train tracks, which could be a serious detriment to logistics. These are problems that won’t be solved by merely constructing expensive new passenger halls and tunnels.

For now, the project looks like nothing more than a pipe dream. Still, New Yorkers who desperately want an update to their dinosaur train station can dream big.

ISIS Most Likely Behind Deadly Blast In Turkey

Entertainment News

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that a Syrian suicide bomber is likely responsible for an explosion near one of the largest tourist spots in Istanbul which killed 10 people. Most of those killed were German. In addressing the tragedy, Erdogan said, “I condemn the terror incident in Istanbul, assessed to be an attack by a suicide bomber with Syrian origin. Unfortunately we have 10 dead, including foreigners and Turkish nationals . . . There are also 15 wounded.”

Erdogan’s comments strongly imply that ISIS was the perpetrator of Tuesday morning’s attack. As of this moment, no individual or group has claimed responsibility. However, senior Turkish security officials told the press that there was a “high probability” ISIS was the culprit. An investigation is underway.

The blast occurred in the Sultanahmet district, which is often full of tourists visiting local monuments. A citizen named Ramadan, a jewelry shop owner in the immediate area of the blast said that, “This is really bad – the situation was already bad, but this will only make things worse for tourism. I didn’t lose any friends, but all of the people of Istanbul are our friends and it is very sad to see this happening.”

Metin Gürcan, a security analyst, believe that all signs point to ISIS: “The choice of the location, the targeted nationalities, the way the attack was carried out and the government’s immediate effort to stop the dissemination of any information all point to Isis as the primary suspect. One of the tough questions for Turkey in the coming days is how to allocate security and intelligence capacities to fight more efficiently against ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks.”

Gürcan criticised Turkish intelligence agencies for failing to destroy the ISIS networks believed responsible for recent suicide attacks in Turkey despite the government’s knowledge of the existence of said networks.

He also noted that it was imperative that ISIS members and networks in Turkey were properly labeled as terrorists and terrorist organizations. He opined that, “The definition [of ISIS] needs to be very clear, and security forces need to be able to conduct more stringent operations against such cells, the tracking and hunting down of sleeper cells needs to be dramatically improved.”

President Erdogan verbally attacked foreign writers and academics for criticizing the Turkish government. He defiantly told them to, “Pick a side. You are either on the side of the Turkish government, or you’re on the side of the terrorists.”

Turkey borders Syria and is presently the home of more than 2 million Syrian refugees. Turkey was also recently a transit “station” for ISIS militants.

Alcohol Guidelines Updated For First Time Since 1995

Health & Wellness

The United States government has updated its recommendations on alcohol consumption for the first time since 1995. These updated recommendations advise drinking less per sitting and drinking alcohol fewer times per week.

Since the last update more than 20 years ago, the harms of alcohol consumption have become better understood. According to the latest research, previous alcohol guidelines both underestimated the harms and overestimated the benefits of drinking.

Newer studies have shown that alcohol increases the risk of developing certain cancers. It has also been discovered that alcohol’s benefit on heart health is not as strong as it had once been perceived. The new guidelines suggest that there is no real safe level of alcohol consumption. Basically, alcohol is just another routine risk that many Americans are going to continue to take.

Exceeding the new recommended limit of 14 drinks per week can lead to an increased risk of both bowel and breast cancers. Scientists determined the recommended 14 drinks per week limit because it reportedly represents just under a 1% lifetime risk of death due to alcohol consumption.

Prior studies have shown that small amounts of alcohol consumption can reduce one’s risk of developing certain heart conditions. However, it is now believed that this was a misconception caused by other factors. In particular, those who can afford to drink small amounts of alcohol are likely to have healthier hearts than those who cannot afford to drink at all. If there is any sort of health benefit from alcohol consumption, it only occurs at very small amounts of about one drink per day.

It’s important to remember that these are just mere guidelines and that they should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s not like slightly exceeding the advised 14 drinks per week limit will suddenly lead to serious health conditions or anything. That being said, drinkers should monitor their consumption and understand the risks involved. More drinks mean a greater risk, and it is as simple as that.

Uber Upping Public Transportation With New App

Finance

Uber has formed a partnership with transportation company TransLoc. The partnership marks a significant advancement in Uber’s efforts to align itself with public transit services.

TransLoc is best known for building products for public transit companies. The company will integrate Uber into the TransLoc Rider app, which offers real-time bus tracking and route planning.

By integrating Uber into the app, passengers will be able to plan their trips using both public transportation and Uber. The idea is that riders will be able to use Uber to get to their needed transit stop and possibly to their ultimate destinations.

President and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association Michael Melaniphy said of the deal, “Such partnerships will enhance the attractiveness of public transportation.”

Uber, along with its competitor Lyft, have been working hard to find allies in the public transportation industry. The ride-requesting companies recognize that public transportation is cheaper than their services. In order to make Uber a viable cheaper alternative to car ownership, public transportation must be incorporated into their offerings.

According to a transportation study, completing 85% of trips on public transit services and 15% on Uber is about equal to the cost of maintaining a personal vehicle.

Both Uber and Lyft have been making progress in joining forces with public transit companies. Uber has already formed partnerships with public transit services in Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. Lyft is also working with the service in Dallas, and the company has recently launched its “Friends with Transit” campaign to further push the concept.

According to the director of transportation policy at Lyft Emily Castor, the company is currently in discussions with multiple transportation agencies about forming partnerships. Most notably, Lyft is talking with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in hopes of forming a paratransit service.

However, both Uber and Lyft have received criticism for not providing their data to cities and for not offering transportation companies with critical information that would assist officials in gauging the impact on transportation from their services.

The integration between TransLoc and Uber is set to debut as a pilot program in February. The service will be tested in Memphis, TN and Raleigh-Durham, NC.

Savills Is Predicting A Global Market Slowdown

Finance

In a trading update that was released on Monday, global property company Savills stated that while business is good right now, things could be murkier in the near future. Savills conducts various property services, such as valuation, planning and consultancy.

The company finished 2015 on a strong note, thanks to a significant property sale in Berlin that occurred earlier than expected. Despite the questionable future, Savills says that its 2015 results should be ahead of its earlier forecasts. But things might not be so good for 2016.

With heightened uncertainty regarding the global economy and rising interest rates, the company is expecting a disturbance in the strong recent transaction volumes. The predicted slowdown should affect some markets more than others. However, the company has not yet changed its expectations for 2016.

Over the past few years, the global property market has been booming. Property prices have been steadily increasing, and there have been a large amount of market activity. This has been particularly true in Great Britain, where housing prices have been very high as of late and sales have been flourishing. Newly-built skyscrapers in London have certainly helped matters. That being said, Savills thinks this boom is about to conclude.

With the meltdown in Chinese markets, there will certainly be global repercussions. There is widespread fear that the growth in the property industry is not sustainable. It is questioned whether or not new markets can emerge under these conditions. Additionally, the price of oil is continuing to decline rapidly, suggesting more market downturns.

The decisions from central banks aren’t expected to help matters for Savills. In December, the Federal Reserve in the United States increased the American interest rate for the first time in nine years. Other central banks throughout the world are expected to take similar actions in the near future. This will make it harder for people to invest in new properties.

However, Savills also says that market fundamentals are still solid. Ultimately, Savills does not believe there will be a total market crash, but a slowdown is very possible.

El Chapo Likely To Be Extradited To United States Sooner Than Later

Entertainment News

Following the highly publicized recapture of escaped drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman over the weekend, Mexico is formally commencing extradition proceedings – a major sign that the country plans to ship him off to the United States.

After a months-long manhunt, Guzman, the notorious leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel and the most prominent drug trafficker on the planet, was arrested in the northwestern region of Mexico on Friday.

On Sunday, the Interpol agency served two extradition warrants to the Mexican attorney general. This move triggered the latest efforts to force Guzman to face the United States justice system for the hundreds of tons of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine that he brought into the country over the years.

While Mexico typically extradites leading drug traffickers to the United States, Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto resisted turning over Guzman after his February 2014 arrest as a matter of national pride.

However, his position quickly changed after Guzman escaped from one of Mexico’s maximum security prison this summer – for the second time – by scurrying away through a mile-long tunnel that popped up in his prison cell.

Interestingly, Guzman was transported to the same facility over the weekend but, so as to avoid any further humiliation, Mexico plans to turn Guzman over to the United States as soon as practically possible. Not surprisingly, Guzman’s attorneys are trying to block the extradition.

The U.S. government wants to try Guzman – who is suspected to be 58 years old – on many charges, including drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping and murder. He faces federal indictments in seven U.S. federal jurisdictions.

Chicago, IL and Brooklyn, NY are the most likely jurisdictions to conduct one of most high profile criminal trials in years.

In 2013, Chicago called Guzman its “first Public Enemy No.1 since Al Capone,” and has had multiple indictments against him.

Former United States Drug Enforcement Administration agent Robert Mazur noted that, “It will be a fight between each jurisdiction but logic would say that Chicago is the way to go.” Mazur spent five years undercover infiltrating Colombia’s drug cartels.

Mexico could extradite Guzman by mid-2016 but depending on what Guzman’s attorneys file, a United States trial may not take place for a year or even longer.

In a strange twist to the already incredible story, Guzman actually met with American actor Sean Penn late in 2015. Apparently the Mexican government was aware of the meeting and tracked Penn so that they could locate Guzman. Penn’s interview with Guzman was published in Rolling Stone magazine over the weekend.

Swedish Police Covered Up Sexual Assault By Refugees At Music Festival

Entertainment News

Reports indicate that police in Sweden have been covering up a series of sexual assaults that were committed at a music festival by refugees. According to the claims, the refugees in question were mostly youths from Afghanistan, and they allegedly molested girls as young as 11 years old at the annual “We Are Stockholm” Festival.

A leaked police report read, “The problem of young men rubbing themselves up against young girls returned as in previous years. These are so-called refugee youths mostly from Afghanistan. The group was also responsible for several fights during the evening.”

Stockholm police eventually made a public statement on the matter, saying that there were “relatively few crimes”. Now, many are saying that the police covered up the incidents. Some people believe that the police didn’t want to expose the incident because it would provide fuel for Swedish politicians who are against Sweden’s open border policy.

Officer Peter Argen said, “We sometimes dare not to say how it is because we think it might play into the hands of the Sweden Democrats.”

However, other law enforcement officials are displeased that such serious incidents were not properly reported.

The head of communications for the Stockholm Police Varg Gyllander stated, “As the person responsible for communications in Stockholm, I am self-critical, we should have communicated that. I actually do not know why it did not happen. I actually do not know why it did not happen. The problem is probably not the police work as such, but that we have failed to communicate what has been done and what has happened.”

Sweden Democrats Parliament Member Bjorn Soder said, “It is a scandal without equal. This must be investigated immediately. Could this be something that happened at several locations in the country that they do not bother to tell you certain things because it could play into the hands of a particular party?”

According to some of the young victims, groups of boys reportedly encircled and molested them on multiple occasions at the event. In most cases, the guards at the festival merely spoke with the offenders, and they would try to relocate them to a different area of the crowed. However, this did not stop the offenders from returning to the same spot. The girls reported that they were touched “everywhere”.

So far, no offenders have been charged for any crimes. However, National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson has stated that the actions of the officers will be reviewed following the incident. An investigation has also been demanded by Police Union President Även Lena Nitz.

Similar incidents have occurred at the same festival in prior years. Guards, volunteers and police officers supervising the event were told to be very alert and intervene as soon as they saw any signs of trouble.

The “We Are Stockholm” Music Festival takes place every year, usually attracting around 200,000 visitors. Most of the attendees are between the ages of 13 and 19.

Largest Manmade Fracking Earthquake Just Felt In BC

Entertainment News

After an investigation lasting three months, it has been confirmed that a new world record was set for the largest and most intense earthquake ever to happen triggered by “fracking.” The August 2015 magnitude 4.6 earthquake hit near the Progress Energy facility in British Columbia.

After the “manmade” disaster, Progress Energy temporarily halted its hydraulic fracturing operations – otherwise known as fracking. The thorough investigation conducted by British Columbia’s energy commission confirmed the belief that the company caused the quake.

Following the earthquake, seismologists and scientists with Natural Resources Canada and Geoscience BC joined forces with the Oil and Gas Commission to examine and analyze all of the relevant data. Scientists noted that the epicenter of the earthquake was just about two miles from Progress Energy’s fracking operations site.

Fracking is the process that energy companies use to extract natural gas from rock deep underground. According to Progress Energy’s website, the seismic activity that may happen as a result of the operations occur deep below the earth’s surface, and is very rarely felt above ground and does not pose any risk to the environment or to the public’s safety.

But according to the local media, many residents felt the quake, which was described by seismologists as “significant.”

Officials first believed that the earthquake measured magnitude 4.4, but after reviewing the latest data analysis, determined it was 4.6 in magnitude.

This man-made phenomenon is called “induced seismicity.” And according to various studies, fracking has caused earthquakes in Oklahoma, British Columbia and in the U.K.

Alan Clay, spokesman for the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission, said the earthquake was “likely induced by hydraulic fracturing.” However, he later said that the commission had yet to fully determine the cause of the quake and is conducting more research. That investigation is now finished.

Between late summer 2013 and the fall of 2014, almost 230 seismic “events” in the Montney area were connected to gas and oil activity. Out of those, eleven were felt at the surface.

White House Seeking To Enlist Facebook And Rest Of Silicon Valley To ‘Disrupt Radicalization’

News

The Obama administration is seeking some help in trying to fight against online recruiting techniques that are used by terrorist groups. Government officials are reaching out to receive assistance from the major technology firms of Silicon Valley in order to better combat extremism. Reports indicate that White House officials will meet with representatives from Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Microsoft, YouTube and other companies.

The meeting will be attended by Chief of Staff for the Obama Administration Denis McDonough, Chairman of the National Security Agency Admiral Mike Rogers, leading spy James Clapper and FBI director James Comey. The discussion is set to take place in a government building in San Jose, CA.

A message sent to the companies from the White House read, “In what ways can we use technology to help disrupt paths to radicalization to violence, identify recruitment patterns, and provide metrics to help measure our efforts to counter radicalization to violence? How can we make it harder for terrorists to use the internet to mobilize, facilitate, and operationalize attacks, and make it easier for law enforcement and the intelligence community to identify terrorist operatives and prevent attacks?”

Many American officials have criticized the technology companies for not doing enough to stop communication between terrorists and potential recruits. Although some technology companies have expressed willingness to assist in the efforts, they are largely nervous about being viewed as too eager to provide the government with access to personal user information. As such, technology companies have been working to increase the security of encryption, much to the displeasure of the government.

Last month, President Barack Obama stated that one of his goals for his final year in office is to work more closely with technology firms to ensure national security.

The President said, “We’re going to have to continue to balance our needs for security with people’s legitimate concerns about privacy.”

The issue is extremely delicate for the technology firms, as free speech is protected by the United States Constitution. It’s only when a concise and present threat is involved that they can get involved. Indeed, the line between protected free speech and the instigation of violence is still very unclear.

FBI Used Hacking Techniques To Bust 1,500 Pedophiles

News

The FBI recently made a major child pornography bust on the dark net. By using a hacking method to trace IP addresses, the bureau was able to shut down Playpen, which was the largest known hidden child pornography service in the world. Playpen was originally launched in August of 2014, and it functioned as a message bulletin board for pedophiles. The dark net website attracted about 11,000 unique visitors on a weekly basis, and it had more than 215,000 individual accounts.

The process undertaken by the FBI was actually quite unique. The server running Playpen was first seized by the FBI in February of 2015. However, the FBI waited to shutdown the server. From February 20 until March 4, the FBI ran the child pornography website using its own servers. During this time, the FBI used a hacking tool known as a network investigative technique (NIT). By using this tool, the FBI was able to identify more than 1,300 IP addresses that belonged to visitors of Playpen.

A public defender representing one of the defendants accused of frequenting the notorious message board stated, “Basically, if you visited the homepage and started to sign up for a membership, or started to log in, the warrant authorized deployment of the NIT.”

The public defender went on to say that it is expected that more than 1,500 court cases will stem from the investigation.

He continued, “It’s an extraordinary expansion of government surveillance and its use of illegal search methods on a massive scale.”

The FBI is well known for using hacking techniques. The bureau has been known to exploit zero-day security holes, and it is heavily interested in making busts over the dark net. It is unknown as to whether or not the Playpen NIT targeted a zero-day flaw or some other sort of exploit. Either way, it’s fair to expect the FBI to use its powers to make other busts over the dark net in the future.

Apple Just Made Surprisingly Emotional Company Purchase

Finance

Technology firm Apple has just made an interesting purchase with technology company Emotient. An intriguing startup company, Emotient is known for creating technology that is able to analyze the facial expressions of people in order to gauge their reactions to an event or situation. The technology from Emotient is able to be applied to both single individuals and large groups of people.

At the present time, Apple has not stated their reasoning behind acquiring Emotient. That being said, Emotient maintains a diverse patent portfolio that allows its unique technology to mine several various media situations and content relating to human emotions. Needless to say, Apple could very well use the technology of Emotient to have its products better correspond to the current emotions of its users.

For instance, there are obvious applications in commercial situations that are particularly dependent on human reactions, such as Hollywood test screenings. Furthermore, the technology could easily be used in medical applications, in which expressions can determine a person’s response to any given diagnosis or treatment.

The motto of Emotient is in line with this vision, reading, “Attention, engagement, emotion. This is the currency of revenue growth and customer satisfaction, because emotions drive spending. These quantities have been measured only as guesses and indirect inferences. Until now.”

Emotient offers the promise that it can use direct emotional responses in order to provide customer insights. This is the primary selling-point of Emotient.

Recently, Apple has also made two other artificial intelligence acquisitions. These include Perceptio, which Apple will use to increase its search for talented hires and VocallQ, which will be used to improve the function of Apple’s interactive personal assistant tool Siri.

Apple is well-known for purchasing smaller technology companies and then incorporating their technologies into their own. Apple generally refrains from initially revealing their purposes or plans for such acquisitions. However, Apple’s purchase of Emotient should become more clear over time.

Goldman Sachs Rethinks Market Valuation Over Event That Hasn’t Happened In 48 Years

Finance

Goldman Sachs has lowered its stock market estimates for 2016, as oil prices have still not shown any signs of recovery from their long-running slump. The continuing poor performance of oil and other commodities is causing many market analysts to hit the panic button.

Goldman Sachs representative David Kostin said, “We lowered our S&P 500 earnings per share forecast by $3 to $106, $117, and $126 for 2015, 2016, and 2017, reflecting annual growth of -7%, +11% and +8%, respectively. Energy is the leading driver of our reduced profit outlook.”

Goldman Sachs isn’t the first investment bank to issue such an alert. Representatives from Deutsche Bank and RBC Capital have already provided such warnings to their clients.

Representative of Deutsche Bank David Bianco originally believed that oil prices would recover in 2016, but now he isn’t so sure. At one point, Bianco predicted that oil prices would average $55 per barrel in 2016.

“This seemed reasonable several weeks ago. But now it doesn’t,” he said.

The warnings issued by the major banks highlight the challenges associated with forecasting markets, particularly in the energy sector. Analysts have said that they haven’t seen such a downturn in oil markets in at least five decades.

Kostin stated, “We expect Energy will post a $2 per share loss in 2015 EPS, the first time that the last-twelve month Energy EPS has been negative since our data series began in 1967. The write-down in Energy company assets has exacerbated the earnings hit from the 35% fall in Brent crude oil prices in 2015 following a 48% plunge in the commodity price in 2014.”

Just one month ago, oil was valued at about $40 per barrel. As a result many market analysts had a positive outlook regarding 2016. Now, a barrel of oil is trading in the low $30s. This downturns suggests that 2016 could be an even worse year for energy stocks than the lackluster 2015.