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Tagged Sharks Are Becoming Social Media’s New Stars

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July 23, 2015

Tagged Sharks Are Becoming Social Media’s New Stars

By now, most people have seen Youtube video of the amazing shark attack on Australian surfer, Mick Fanning, that took place last weekend during the J-Bay Open surfing competition off the coast of South Africa. What is also truly amazing is how many people took to social media to offer their opinion on the incident and to see whether the shark was one of the tagged sharks having their own social media profile. Using OCEARCH’s shark tracker, it was easy to see that there was only one tagged shark in the area of Jefferey’s Bay (J-Bay). The work of OCEARCH has led the public to learn about sharks and ultimately to respect them and their atmosphere.

Lydia, a 14-foot, 2,000 pound great white, was traveling around the Bahamas during the attack. She has nearly 20,000 Twitter followers. Mary Lee, a great white that was tagged off Cape Cod, MA in 2012 has more than 80,000 Twitter followers. Katharine, a 14-foot, 2,300 pound great white, caused a social media explosion last year and crashed OCEARCH’s website because there was evidence to suggest she was pregnant. She instantly became a social media star as approximately 100,000 shark enthusiasts and scientists tracked her every movement. OCEARCH’s Facebook page also received approximately 5 million visits per week during the time.

OCEARCH, founded by Chris Fischer, is a nonprofit global project that attempts to personify sharks through social media, by way of tracking devices. OCEARCH’s Shark Tracker offers a near real-time view of approximately 130 sharks around the planet. The tagged sharks include great whites and hammerheads to makos and tigers. The ultimate goal of OSEARCH is to develop successful conservation strategies by studying shark habits.

Users of OCEARCH’s mobile app tweet about their favorite shark’s whereabouts and movements. The site’s website traffic has exploded over the past year. The iPhone version of OCEARCH’s app has amassed over 200,000 users and the Android version has attracted 50,000 active users. Also of importance is that OCEARCH open-sources all of its data, allowing shark enthusiasts and scientists alike to see tracking information at the same time.

OCEARCH’s online traffic has increased 10 times than what it was last year and is expected to grow 20 times by the end of 2015. The social media activity surrounding OCEARCH’s shark tracking project has created opportunities for the company to grow its partnerships with media and product companies that want to assist and be associated with the study of sharks.

It is clear that sharks and shark conservation is big business. This is illustrated by OCEARCH’s success and, of course, the popularity of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, airing once a year. The public’s attitude has changed dramatically since the movie Jaws scared the death out of ocean goers everywhere. Just last week, a great white beached itself on one of Cape Cod’s beaches. Instead of euthanizing the shark, beachgoers and wildlife officials rushed to successfully save the shark. As people further educate themselves about sharks and their habits, they are learning how to live with and respect their watery environment.

Air Strikes Preempt Obama State Visit To Kenya Amid High Security

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July 23, 2015

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President Barack Obama’s trip to Kenya is raising security concerns, as while the country itself is relatively stable the surrounding region is a hostile environment.

Ahead of the President’s visit around half a dozen air strikes have been conducted by the U.S. military in Somalia against Al-Shabaab, a militant group in East Africa that is an al-Qaeda affiliate.

The strikes come after U.S. intelligence suggested that an attack on Kenyan troops in the area was imminent.

Although the Pentagon is remaining silent on the matter, the strikes may be ushering in the President’s visit to the area.

A Rand Corporation analyst, Seth Jones states, “This sends a very clear message to Al-Shabaab not to try to attempt anything against the President.”

U.S. officials don’t expect Al-Shabaab to get anywhere close to the President, but there are other causes for concern.

In order to draw attention away from Obama’s visit and to show the weakness of the Kenyan government, Jones believes Al-Shabaab will attack more vulnerable targets.

Jones states, “What’s most likely is not an attack against a U.S. government official like the President, but an attack that happens while the President is there”. Because the security around Obama will be so strong, Al-Shabaab will most likely target a soft spot as they have in the past.

Schools and shopping malls could be included in the list of possible locations, as the group has targeted them in the past.

U.S. officials acknowledge growing chatter via social media and Internet between the Somali extremist group about the visit. It seems they are all very aware of the event.

A Kenyan flight bulletin that outlines details of Obama’s trip has been released. This information includes when airspace in Nairobi will be closed for the arrival and departure of the President’s plane.

Although details such as these are kept private and withheld from the public, administration officials are saying there are no public details that would put the President at risk on his trip. U.S. forces are expected to stay highly engaged throughout the President’s visit, which could mean further air strikes.

Boozy Root Beer Is About To Take Off

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July 23, 2015

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There is a new competitor around amongst the craft brewery crowd and it’s called hard root beer. Described as root beer with alcohol, this simple yet tasty brew is gaining popularity amongst microbreweries looking to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Small Town Brewery is one of the leaders in this new flavor of beer with their Not Your Father’s Root Beer. On Beer Advocate, an online beer review site, the brew earned a rating of 94 out of 100. This is a sizeable rating as other, more popular brands, such as New Belgium’s Fat Tire, have ratings in the mid 80’s.

According to Matt Simpson, a consultant who works with the Beer Sommelier, “I would venture to say everyone I know who drinks alcohol has had [hard root beer] by this point”. Simpson explains that the popularity of the brew is due to its unique flavor. He describes it as root beer, but with subtle tastes of alcohol.

Since the first batch was created in 2013, Not Your Father’s Root Beer has since been purchased directly by a few investors including Eugene Kashper, Pabst Chief Executive Officer. This purchase came after a distribution agreement was made with Pabst Brewing earlier in the year.

It seems finding a bottle of this brew is still hard to come by, despite the nationwide push and load of resources. Tim Kovac, Small Town founder said in an email, ““We really made this for ourselves and local consumers more than anything…[I] had no idea it would take off this way”.

As cocktails are becoming sweeter, this root beer being set up for success as it reaches taps. The flavor of the brew is described as strong, herby and sweet, with an old timey flavor similar to root beer. Many users are choosing to mix bourbon with the new hard root beer as the flavors seem to compliment one another.

As the craft brewery market is being flooded with new flavors and styles, this new hard root beer provides a brew that gives beer enthusiasts a familiar taste. Unlike other brews, such as oyster stout and onion, Not Your Father’s have nothing to prove in terms of flavor, it is already familiar. This puts them in a strategic position in such a competitive market.

Hoping to improve upon their success, Pabst and Kovac have been working on two more root beers, which are 11 and 20 percent alcohol. Don’t let the scarcity of Not Your Father’s scare you, as it seems other breweries are catching onto the trend and producing their own hard-root beers.

New Study Finds Robotic Surgery Is Seriously Hurting People

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July 23, 2015

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New Study Finds Robotic Surgery Is Seriously Hurting People

Many people have suggested that using robots for surgery is a safer route than traditional use of humans. The results are now in to decide if they are right.

A study conducted by researchers from Rush University Medical Center, the University of Illinois and MIT, counted numbers from 2000 to 2013 that were reported to the US Food and Drug Administration. They found that 144 deaths, 1,391 injuries and 8,061 counts of malfunctioning devices were to be blamed for robot-assisted surgery.

If those numbers seem high, consider that between 2007 and 2013, 1.7 million robo-operations were conducted. Despite the seemingly small percentage, experts are calling for safer mechanisms.

The study concludes, “Despite widespread adoption of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery, a non-negligible number of technical difficulties and complications are still being experienced during procedures”.

Incidents when the robot surgeon shut down mid operation or made a mistake were cause for 52 injuries and two deaths. Electrical sparks burned patients in 10.5 percent of the malfunctions, which resulted in 193 injuries.

Unfortunately, 119 injuries and one death were a result of parts of the robot falling into the patient mid surgery, requiring humans to extract the pieces in a separate surgery. 18 injuries are attributed to the malfunctioning of the video systems of human surgeon’s console.

Head and neck as well as cardiothoracic surgeries pose to be the most dangerous robot surgeries as each has 19.7 and 6.4 percent adverse results respectively. This is in comparison to 1.9 and 1.4 percent for urology and gynecology operations.

The study attempts to explain this lack of success by the complexity of the surgery and the lack of robotic expertise in the areas of cardiothoracic, and head and neck surgeries. Although the robot surgeons have made strides in other urological and gynecological areas, they still lack the necessary requirements to perform well in the cardiothoracic as well as and neck operations.

Although the rates of robot surgeries have increased, the rates of “malfunctions” have remained relatively the same, suggesting there are some consistent problems that need attention.

The study states in conclusions, “Despite widespread adoption of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery, a non-negligible number of technical difficulties and complications are still being experienced during procedures.”

Teen Sex Rates Plummet To 25 Year Lows

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July 23, 2015

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The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has released a report stating that sex among teenagers is at its lowest point in the last 25 years. Also, the number of teens using condoms grew slightly over the last 11 years.

Other highly reliable methods of contraception, such as intrauterine devices have yet to see increased use by teenagers. Withdrawal is still popular among teenage sex and is not very effective for preventing pregnancy.

According to a statistician at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, Gladys M. Martinez, “One of the goals in this report is to look at factors that influence teen childbearing.” Martinez was an author of the report that was released Wednesday.

The researchers studied factors of pregnancy such as contraceptive use and sexual activity. Although other factors are in play, such as living conditions, researchers didn’t focus on these.
The study found that between 2011 and 2013, 47% of males and 44% of females, ages 15 to 19, reported being sexually active. Since the previous survey period from 2006 to 2010, these numbers haven’t changed. However, the number of sexually active teens has drastically decreased since 1988.

The rate of contraceptive sue among teens hasn’t changed much either between the 2006 and 20011 surveys. Researchers also surveyed the use of other forms of contraception and found that since 2002; about 55% to 60% of teens have been using the pill or withdrawal. The use of intrauterine devices has stayed around 3%.

This report did not reveal how consistently these forms of contraception are used among teens, only how often. Consistency is the most important factor when preventing pregnancy, according to Laura Lindberg, a scientist at Guttmacher Institute.

Lindberg suggest that the decrease in sexual activity in teens is a result of the increase in sex education that arose from such high rates of HIV between 1988 and 1995. We want the rate of regular contraceptive use to be as high as possible, and we want healthy relationships,” Lindberg said.

The study suggests that individuals, who wait until their late teens to be sexually active, are more likely to use contraception. Also, women who didn’t use contraception their first time, were two to five times more likely to get pregnant as a teenager.

Chinese Consumer Confidence Plunges As Dark Clouds Hang Over Economy

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July 23, 2015

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Chinese Consumer Confidence Plunges As Dark Clouds Hang Over Economy

Negative indicators for the Chinese economy are mounting, as the country’s leadership attempts to mitigate the damage in the aftermath of a huge stock selloff that began in June of this year.

With business confidence dropping, the MNI China Business Sentiment measure sank to 48.8, its lowest level since January of 2009. The MNI gauge is based off a monthly pool to business executives on the mainland and show that the drop in the stock market of $3.9 trillion is clearly having an effect. Should the trend continue in the face of drastic efforts by the Chinese government, the impacts could be great for China and its trading partners.

The future productions expectations indicator dropped to its lowest level since 2009, despite the fact that credit availability for businesses is at a five-year high. In an effort to spurt investment, the reserve ratio requirement for banks has been dropped, in addition to a move by the China Securities Regulatory Commission of a six-month ban on selling by shareholders who hold more than 5% of a company.

It doesn’t seem to be all bad news, as China continues to grow at seven percent year on year for the second quarter, beating economists’ forecasts of 6.8 percent. Some have questioned the official data, saying that growth has been supported only by consumption. With median price to earnings ratios currently sitting at 63, (well above all the world’s top ten markets), and a real estate crisis with double the number of vacant homes as the U.S. had during the peak of its housing crisis, the situation looks dire. Purchases of stock are being backstopped by the People’s Bank of China and there is currently a suspension on IPO’s. Alongside all the hand wringing over the possibility of a “Grexit,” the decline of China, the second largest economy in the world, will have much larger effects than Greece’s implosion.

As the Chinese stock market continues its somewhat eerie reenactment of the Wall Street crash of 1929, what will happen when these government measures are ceased, and how long will it be until that happens?

California Law Would Allow First Responders To Shoot Down Interfering Drones

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July 22, 2015

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California Law Would Allow First Responders To Shoot Down Interfering Drones

Following repeated scuffles between disaster-voyeur drone operators and California firefighters, California lawmakers are proposing legislation that would allow emergency services personnel to destroy interfering drones without fear of reprisal. Last week saw airborne firefighters impeded by a handful of drone operators who were blocking the flight paths necessary for them to drop water onto the flames. Although the legislation is yet to be penned, fears may exist that civilian recording of police actions may be curtailed in instances involving drones. Currently, filming of police in public space is permitted in all 50 states.

Mike Gatto of the California State Assembly and coauthor of the proposed legislation said, “Drone operators are risking lives when they fly over an emergency situation. Just because you have access to an expensive toy that can fly in a dangerous area doesn’t mean you should do it.” The legislation is expected to give broad authority for emergency services to take down or disable drones in a rescue situation.

Last Friday’s incident near Interstate 15 was not the first time that drone operators interfered with firefighters, with drones having grounded firefighting aircraft six times in the last three weeks. Currently the US Forest Service issues commands to air tankers to stop its activities until it can be confirmed that the drone has left the area.

According to 911.gov, an emergency is defined as follows: “A fire, a crime, a car crash, or a medical emergency, etc.” Potential destruction of firefighting aircraft and crew injury are clearly possible when they are used above wildfires and the like, but with such a broad definition of emergency, would regular police then be immune from prosecution for the destruction of a private operator’s drone during a traffic stop. With police resistant to the use of body cameras as well as other public, though legal, filming by citizens, skepticism regarding the broad powers that are being pursued may be warranted.

AT&T’s Acquisition Of DirecTV Given OK From Department Of Justice

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July 22, 2015

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AT&T’s Acquisition Of DirecTV Given OK From Department Of Justice

AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV is almost a done deal with The US Department of Justice (DoJ) today giving it its blessing. The proposed $48.5 billion merger has also been given the thumbs up by the head of The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The news that The DoJ would not be challenging the acquisition removed the largest possible merger obstacle as it had been feared it may oppose the deal as it did recently with a proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger.

The DoJ’s antitrust division’s Attorney General Bill Baer said “After an extensive investigation, we concluded that the combination of AT&T’s land-based internet and video business with DirecTV’s satellite-based video business does not pose a significant risk to competition.”

Tom Wheeler, FCC chairman, said today he would be recommending the commission give the acquistion a yes vote.

Wheeler circulated a memo to fellow commissioners requesting them to sign off on the acquisition if AT&T agreed to some conditions, including the expansion of its residential fiber network, and stricter adherence to net neutrality provisions.

He estimated the deal should grow AT&T’s current fiber network tenfold and increase by 40 percent U.S. residential fiber access.

Another of Wheelers requirements would mean AT&T eliminating any wired service data cap exemptions to affiliated video services, forcing it to treat all video streaming traffic equally in user access terms.

“Importantly, we will require an independent officer to help ensure compliance with these and other proposed conditions,” Wheeler said. “These strong measures will protect consumers, expand high-speed broadband availability, and increase competition.”

With the sign off on the merger, AT&T will have to submit regular reports to the FCC on “network performance”, and the FCC will appoint an “independent officer” to “help ensure compliance with these and other proposed conditions.”

Ecommerce Giant Alibaba Launches Sperm Donor Program To Help Chinese Birth Rate

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July 22, 2015

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In an attempt to contend with their shortage of sperm donors in some provinces, Chinese sperm banks are looking to popular e-commerce site Alibaba, which has been offering a promotion from interested sperm banks of up to 5000 yuan (US $805) to donors. With the number of infertile couples in China currently numbering around 50 million and growing, the new measure has helped potential donors who may have been otherwise too timid to act.

Within three days of the offer, more than 22,000 men had signed up to participate and as part of the process, donors are required to show up within three months in order to pass a physical checkup. According to Alibaba, the provinces producing the most donors in descending order were Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong, also saying that the most prized features were good features and high intelligence.

In a related move, China’s infertility problem has led some to search for surrogate mothers among working-class women in the U.S. According to a February 2014 report, since 2012, the number of Chinese inquiries made to agencies matching couples from around the world has risen 10 times, and was expected to double again by 2016. Surrogacy is currently illegal in China, which is a big factor in the large number of Chinese inquiries and prices are considerable, ranging from $75,000 to $113,000 for the services of the surrogate mother. With the current infertility rate of 12.5% among all Chinese adults of child-bearing age, interested couples are clearly willing to go to great lengths to produce a family.

In March, China News reported that part of the reason for infertility among couples is rising work pressure in addition to social and environmental changes. Stringent qualifications for sperm donors also limit the potential field of sperm bank candidates. For example, in Shanxi province only 136 people out of 1,213 volunteers qualified, about 10%.

A Good Night’s Sleep Shown To Cut Risk Of Alzheimer’s Disease

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July 22, 2015

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Most people know that getting enough sleep is good for their general health. Scientific research now shows that getting enough quality sleep may be an important factor in preventing the feared degenerative Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, researchers reported Monday that levels of the protein, beta-amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, are linked with a person’s memory performance and sleep. The research comes at a time when researchers are desperately racing to find a cure and/or effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease as the baby boomer generation begins turning 70 next year.

Presently, greater than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s and that number is expected to more than double by 2050. As changes that lead to the development of Alzheimer’s can begin more than 20 years before noticeable memory lapses, scientists are studying drugs in individuals at high risk of the disease with the hope of finding preventive treatment.

Researchers have indicated that sleep disruption is a new area of study relative to Alzheimer’s and that it clearly increases the risk of developing the disease. The new research indicates that sleep problems interact with Alzheimer’s disease processes. Toxic proteins, in turn, affect the deep sleep that is very important in memory formation. It is a vicious cycle.

Dr. Matthew Walker of the University of California, Berkeley and his team gave PET scans to 26 healthy volunteers in their 70s with no signs of cognitive impairment. The scans measured the buildup of amyloid that occurred while the patients slept in a controlled atmosphere overnight. During the study, the patients were given words to memorize and, as they slept overnight, scientists measured the patients’ brain waves. The findings showed that the more amyloid people stored in a particular region of the brain, the less quality, deep sleep they got, and the more they forgot overnight. According to Walker, the memories of those individuals who got poor sleep were not transferred adequately from their brains’ short-term memory bank into long-term memory storage.

Another study followed approximately 6,000 individuals over a five-year period and results showed that those who had poor sleep quality (consisting of frequent tossing and turning and a general hard time falling asleep) were more likely to develop mild early cognitive impairment that sometimes leads to Alzheimer’s.

Researchers also found that the condition known as sleep apnea (in which people suffer brief interruptions of breathing that awaken them repeatedly without them knowing) caused a twofold increase in the risk of a person developing Alzheimer’s.

Ultimately, this groundbreaking research shows that people at risk of Alzheimer’s should be screened by their doctors for sleep disorders, especially sleep apnea, which can be treated effectively. Maria Carrillo, the chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, stated that “[t]here are lots of risk factors that we might be able to change. Sleep is one.”

Despite Heavy Backlash, Trump Leading Bush In GOP Polls

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July 22, 2015

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Despite Heavy Backlash, Trump Leading Bush In GOP Polls

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trumps’ continues to dominate the GOP Presidential race and a new poll depicts him with his most convincing lead yet. Billionaire Donald Trump has been receiving a lot of airplay lately over his recent attacks on President Barrack Obama, his scathing comments on Latinos and his dismissal of Sen. John McCain’s war record. Though his rash and abrasive nature has not augered well with many candidates, it seems the Republicans are falling for it hook, line and sinker.

A recent ABC News/ Washington Post poll that was released on Monday shows Donald Trump with an impressive 24 per cent support from the Republicans polled. The figure was almost double that of his closest competitor Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who had 13 per cent. Third was Former Gov. Jeb Bush with 12 per cent. Other Republican candidates including Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla), Ben Carson and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky) received between 8 to 3 per cent in approval ratings.

Even though the lead is Trump’s widest in recent days, it may have been wider as the poll came a day after Trump in his trademark dismissive gab, sensationally rubbished McCain’s war record, even though the senator is a former prisoner of war.

Trump’s remarks took majority of the GOP supporters by surprise and immediately led to a drop in his approval ratings. Following the drop, the real estate mogul quickly reversed his position, repeatedly acknowledging McCain as a war hero.

That was not the first time the billionaire investor’s loose tongue cast him in negative light. Earlier on he had stated that Mexicans crossing the border into the U.S. were rejects and called upon the Washington administration to place higher security on the U.S. –Mexico border. The comments infuriated Latinos across North America and even led to Univision’s cancelling of broadcast rights to his Miss Universe competition.

The question on many people’s minds is whether Trump can maintain his lead against an ever growing field of GOP candidates or will his ratings plummet as have those of his opponents. Jeb Bush had 21 per cent four months ago, now he only commands 12 per cent. Cruz garnered 12 per cent in approval ratings when he announced his run, he now stands at four per cent. Paul’s 11 per cent has been eroded to six per cent.

Will Trump’s approval ratings continue to soar or will his sharp tongue bring him down? Only time will tell.

NASA Data Shows Polar Ice Caps Are Thickest Since 1970s

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July 22, 2015

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NASA Data Shows Polar Ice Caps Are Thickest Since 1970s

Good news for conservationists around the world, the earth’s ice caps are not melting. In fact, according to data collected by NASA satellites, the ice caps are growing. The new revelation rings a bell of hope to the world after the doomsday naysayers have had their way with years of predicting an apocalypse that would engulf the whole word in water. Concern has been shifted from whether the ice caps are indeed melting to by how much are they growing and for how long?

Ice cap levels have grown by a complete one third in 2013, in comparison to a base year level set in 1979. A new study revealed the totally remarkable rally of the Arctic ice over the last couple of years to levels far above the base level.

Rachel Tilling, an ice scientist, said, “It would suggest that sea ice is more resilient perhaps. If you get one year of cooler temperatures, we’ve almost wound the clock back a few years on this gradual decline that’s been happening over decades.”

Arctic ice is indicated to have grown in thickness in Greenland and Canada. The report also indicated that the ice was stabilizing, after years of fluctuating reductions.

The reduction in northern ice levels have been the cause of much panic among environmentalists with Al Gore even predicting the Arctic will have completely melted by 2014. News of the resurgent levels is a welcome relief and a sign of hope for the planet.

The northern ice caps aren’t alone in growth. The southern ice around Antarctica is spreading out over longer distances, much to the shock of scientists. In fact, in 2014, Antarctic ice hit an all new record, a fact scientists have been struggling to explain. This effectively means the earth’s ice level is not receding, unlike what multiple doomsday reports indicate.

However, certain climatology departments have expressed pessimism that he trend would continue. Tilling said, the long-term trend of the ice volume is downwards and the long-term trend of the temperatures in the Arctic is upwards and this finding doesn’t give us any reason to disbelieve that – as far as we can tell it’s just one anomalous year.”

The earth’s ice caps are not melting, in fact they are growing. Life on earth had previously been threatened by an increasing water level. The reduction in ice level changes goes to show just how much can be achieved by an all inclusive conservation campaign.

New iPad App Lets Men Analyze Their Sperm Health At Home

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July 22, 2015

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New iPad App Lets Men Analyze Their Sperm Health At Home

Men may soon be using their iPads to test their fertility if a gadget produced by Taiwanese start-up Aidmics gets U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

The gadget, called iSperm, is an in-home tester consisting of a minute microscope and backlight that attaches to an ipad camera. It works by placing a sperm sample in the device with an associated app containing a logarithm which analyzes sperm motility and count. The whole process, not counting the time needed to collected the sperm sample, takes 17 seconds.

There is also provision for an HD quality video recording of the sperm which can be sent via the web to fertility experts for analysis, or used in “home movies” of a person’s life from near conception to whenever and whatever an occasion such a video is deemed suitable for.

The device has already been used for livestock sperm analysis with 200 Taiwanese farmers taking part in field tests.

If iSperm receives FDA approval, Aidmics hopes to sell the device at a price point between $100 and $200.

According to the Aidmics website, what sets iSperm apart from other at-home sperm-measuring kits is the ease of the whole process.

“Morphological assessment of sperm head and tail has never been this easy,” reads the website.

Aidmics founder Agean Lin said iSperm would be a useful first step for couples seeking to conceive, He said near instant, in-home sperm analysis could quickly tell a couple if there could be problems with sperm motility, allowing them to prepare for this.

The iSperm isn’t the only medical testing device that uses a mobile camera. Researchers at UC Berkeley researchers have been testing a device called the Cellscope which uses smartphone cameras to detect parasitic worms in blood samples.

Citigroup To Pay Yet Another Multi-Million Dollar Fine Over Illegal Conduct

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July 22, 2015

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Citigroup to refund $700 million to customers and slapped the institution with $70 million in fines for “illegal and deceptive credit card practices”.

The penalties are the latest in a series of multimillion dollar settlement actions against credit card issuers in the U.S. for selling “add-on” products like “rush” processing and credit score monitoring. Bank of America was fined and ordered to repay customers last year as was JP Morgan Chase in 2013.

Citigroup will give refunds to 8.8 million customers who paid for add-ons and will pay two $35 million fines to federal bank regulators and the CFPB which was created five years ago by the passing of the Dodd-Frank law that made huge changes to the financial industry in the wake of the 2008 financial meltdown.

News of the penalties did not affect Citigroup shares today which rose 27 cents in midday trading on an overall broad market decline.

Richard Cordray, CFPB Director said “We continue to uncover illegal credit card add-on practices that are costing unknowing consumers millions of dollars. This is the tenth action we’ve taken against companies in this space for deceiving consumers.”

Some of Citigroup’s illegal activities dates back to 2000.

CFPB records show that in one case Citigroup telemarketers sold consumers identity theft protection services using a 30 day free trial which did not even exist, and signed up customers for add-ons when it was unclear if the customers had even agreed to the purchase. The organization even sold non existent credit monitoring services and misrepresented consumers by charging an $14.95 “expedited” payment fee when no-fee options were available.

Nick Bourke of Pew Charitable Trusts said “Add-on services, for the most part, provide no benefit to consumers and people should be very careful to sign up for them.”

He said although credit card providers have mostly ended the practice, some high-cost installment loan providers or payday lenders still sell the add ons.

Obama To Be Greeted By 5000 Naked Protesters As He Arrives in Kenya

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July 22, 2015

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Obama To Be Greeted By 5000 Naked Protesters As He Arrives in Kenya

Up to 5000 naked protesters are set to welcome President Barrack Obama when he visits Kenya this week. The protesters will be protesting against plans by the U.S. President to talk on gay rights in a fiercely conservative Christian nation. Homophobia is the order of the day in the East African nation. Members of the LGBT community face rampant discrimination, abuse and even rape to “cure them.” President Obama’s visit may just offer a new way of thinking about the sidelined and oppressed community in Kenya.

President Obama is set to jet into Kenya on Friday and as reports indicate, he will be greeted by 5000 “completely naked” protesters. The protesters will line the streets of Nairobi, the nation’s capital, publicly opposing Obama’s “open and aggressive support for homosexuality.”

The naked protests will be organized by the Republican Liberty Party, a largely ardent conservative party known for its crude tactics of getting its points across. Their main objective for the march will be to make Obama “see and understand the difference between a man and woman.”

Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya and is punishable by up to 14 years in prison. A report by Pew Global Attitudes Project reported that up to 96 per cent of the nation’s people were against homosexuality. So bad is the stigma associated with being gay that members of the community hide their habits for fear of victimization or even rape to “cure them”, as reports indicate.

The decision to protest against the perceived pro gay stand by Obama comes hot on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that allowed marriage between gay persons in the U.S. Following POTUS’ open support of the decision, anti gay crusaders have warned Obama not to delve into the sensitive topic, one that the White House has shown no sign of shying away from.

So eager are the protesters to display their pompous bravado that they held a warning demonstration on Monday. According to a local news outlet, the enraged members shouted, “We do not want Obama and Obama, we do not want Michelle and Michelle. We want Obama and Michelle and we want a child!” while carrying anti gay placards.

The country’s leadership seemed to be in support of the protest. Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto, who is on trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, recently told worshippers that homosexuality was an act “against the plan of God.” He added, “Those who want to engage in those things can go to those countries and not ours.”

The visit by POTUS to his father’s native country has sparked a huge frenzy in the East African country. After the SCOTUS ruling, focus has been drawn to Obama’s agenda, which has caused the largely anti gay population to predict he may delve into the controversial topic. It remains to be seen whether POTUS will heed their warnings or will stand his ground in a country where being gay can earn you 14 years in prison or an even worse fate at the hands of an enraged public.

Thousands Of Chrysler Vehicles Are Now Vulnerable To Hack Attack

MOOLAH

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July 22, 2015

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Is your car cyber secure? If it uses the standard Uconnect system, used by thousands of Chrysler vehicles, it’s not. Two hackers have developed a method to hack into a car’s system and take absolute control of it, wherever it is, from anywhere in the U.S. The new system has exposed a fundamental flaw in the configuring of car systems that could potentially render thousands of cars across North America susceptible to cyber attacks from unknown faceless hackers. Questions have been raised, chief among them, are automakers doing everything to secure the end users?

The two hackers who have developed the system to randomly hack into vehicle systems are Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek. In a recent test, through a laptop connected to the internet and stationed 10 miles away, the two managed to easily take control of a Jeep Cherokee, rendering the driver powerless against an anonymous force. The two started by taking control of the Jeep’s vents, letting out a stream of hot air that sent the driver sweating bullets. They then took control of the radio, switching channels wirelessly, before sending the car wipers into overdrive. All this happened as the driver was inside, panicking. The big play came when they completely overrun the car systems, paralyzing the accelerator, killing the brakes and steering the Jeep into a ditch. The test driver was left dumbfounded.

The new study revealed just how much hacking had grown and just how little automakers are doing to secure the end users. According to Miller, their full arsenal includes controls that kill the engine, lower speed, unhook seat belts and even engage or disengage car brakes. The driver is absolutely powerless every time. According to the hackers, the security breach is possible only because the Jeep, like almost all cars today, are fitted with Uconnect operators, an internet connecting feature that controls the vehicle operations including navigation, entertainment and even WiFi connections. According to the two, the system allows them to easily figure out a car’s IP address, locate it from anywhere in America and take control of it effortlessly. Miller quipped, “From an attacker’s perspective, it’s a super nice vulnerability.”

The potential harm the system holds is enormous, inconceivable to drivers all over, unsettling for automakers and nerve wracking for U.S. authorities. Up to 41,000 vehicles can be located and seamlessly broken into wirelessly. The security threat posed is stupendous.

Thankfully the two hackers have revealed that they would share their knowledge with the world at the Black Hat conference on security to be held in Las Vegas next month. The two have even been sharing their research with Chrysler to help develop a new system that will ensure vehicles in the U.S. are attack proof.

Miller and Valasek have exposed a fundamental weakness in vehicle manufacturing. Through sharing their research with automakers, the two will surely play a huge role in making car systems hijack proof. In the end, it is the everyday American who will be more secure.

Controversial Prize Winning Video Game Sees Users Try To Kill Poachers

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July 22, 2015

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Controversial Prize Winning Video Game Sees Users Try To Kill Poachers

A group of teen students from Nepal, called Team Octavian, have created a somewhat controversial video-game depicting the killing of poachers. While some people strongly feel that the act of poaching is heinous and that poachers should be shot, or at least harshly punished, others feel that poaching is a way of life necessary to support and provide for very poor families. However one feels about poaching, it is undisputed that the act of poaching threatens the future existence of certain species of animals. It is this aspect of poaching that the video-game’s creators hope players recognize. The game, entitled Defend Your Territory, is a first-person shooter game where cyborgs from the future go back in time and hunt down and kill poachers. .

The students will compete next week in Seattle, WA in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup. The tournament is a student technology competition and the students are competing in the video-game category. If the student group wins the video-game category, Team Octavian will compete for the overall winner prize of $50,000, which will be handed out by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Defend Your Territory co-creator Alex Rumba told Geek Wired that he and his fellow developers want to educate players of the game that poaching is very serious and that if continued, the world could be in real danger. In an effort to avoid people-on-people killing, the game’s developers chose a cyborg to go back in time to find and shoot poachers. The cyborg comes from the future in a world where the effects of poaching have left the Earth’s ecosystem in a muck. In fact, in the game, Earth is covered by a vast, dusty desert. Rumba stated that he and his friends wanted to “[l]et people know about the rarity and value of wildlife and what may result if the system of nature gets disturbed for selfishness. Every life counts is the logic.”

According to gamers, the game is fun and visually inspiring. The use of high tech graphics allows users the opportunity to experience the game as lifelike as possible. The game is played with one or more users online, and objectives and quests must be met in order for players to move to the next level.

Defend Your Territory has already won three competitions in order to make it to the next level of the Imagine Cup.

SpaceX Delays Heavy Rocket Until 2016 In Wake Of Launch Failure

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July 22, 2015

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SpaceX Delays Heavy Rocket Until 2016 In Wake Of Launch Failure

Elon Musk, SpaceX chief, announced that the company will delay the launch of their new rocket that is supposed to be the most powerful in the world. The news came during a briefing given by company executives and Musk after the explosion of their smaller Falcon 9 rocket last month. The new rocket, Falcon Heavy, was originally set to be launched in 2013 but is now delayed until spring of next year.

The Falcon Heavy is projected to be able to lift 53 tons into orbit. That is twice what the biggest operational rocket can lift. This rocket boasts 27 Merlin rocket engines with one atop the central core. It is essentially three first stage Falcon 9 rockets put together side by side.

If SpaceX delays the launch of their rocket for much longer, NASA’s Space Launch System will overshadow their project. The SLS can lift 70 tons into orbit and is scheduled for a first unmanned launch in 2018. Soon, enhanced versions of the SLS are projected to be able to lift 130 tons and perhaps launch a manned mission to Mars in the future.

Theoretically, the decision to use a heavy rocket for the deep-space program was a decision for the U.S. government. However, it seems NASA, along with their political allies, have made that decision on their own.

SpaceX and Musk have been considered for the SLS using their new methane or kerosene-powered technology which is more efficient and powerful than the old hydrogen technology used by the Shuttle.

And while the SpaceX technology could prove to be groundbreaking it will also result in a large number of lost jobs at aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed, which operated the space shuttle for NASA under a partnered monopoly called United Launch Alliance. Many people, notably politicians under intense lobbying pressure, seem unwilling to put faith in the new projects at SpaceX and maintain the same attitude during the 70’s with NASA at the helm of space exploration and innovation.

This may not have been the case if Falcon 9 hadn’t exploded upon launch or if Falcon Heavy had been released on time. Regardless, Space X and Musk are making excellent strides in development of new rockets. They are close to recovering a Falcon after a launch for reuse. Once these things are accomplished, it will be hard to not look at the SLS as outdated equipment.

Ashley Madison Offers Free Profile Deletion As Hackers Continue Releasing User Info Of Adulterers

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July 21, 2015

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Extramarital fling seeking members of the dating site Ashley Madison who were hoping their adulterous ways would be kept secret are very nervous after the website was recently hacked.

Although the owners of the U.S and UK “members only” extramarital dating site have apologized for the hack and are offering users the opportunity to fully delete their accounts free of charge, the hackers have said this was not being done and because of this they will continue releasing information about members and their activities. Ashley Madison usually offers a “paid delete” ability, costing $19, but after the hack was discovered, offered this service free of charge.

The hackers calling themselves “The Impact Team” claimed through social media, that Ashley Madison had not fully deleted all information about users who had asked for this, and had never done so in the past even when members had paid for this “service”. They said if the site owners had been deleting information on paid request, they would not have hacked into the site in the first place.

Ashley Madison in a statement said The Impact Teams claims were false. “Contrary to current media reports, and based on accusations posted online by a cyber criminal, the ‘paid-delete’ option offered by AshleyMadison.com does in fact remove all information related to a member’s profile and communications activity,” read the statement. “ The process involves a hard-delete of a requesting user’s profile, including the removal of posted pictures and all messages sent to other system users’ email boxes. This option was developed due to specific member requests for just such a service, and designed based on their feedback.”

Cyber crime experts said they are not clear whether Ashley Madison has made the free of charge information removal offer to appease the hackers demands or simply as an PR exercise to lock the barn door after the horse had already bolted.

In its statement, Ashley Madison called the hack an “act of cyber-terrorism”, and said it had managed to remove all leaked member information on the internet . It said “using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), our team has now successfully removed the posts related to this incident as well as all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) about our users published online.”

The security engineering manager at Rapid7, a cybersecurity firm, Tod Beardsley, said what made the hack interesting was the fact that the majority of site members would not be willing to confess to suffering a breach.

He said “Dating sites also host millions of intensely private scraps of user data. Users of these services may routinely share risqué photos, checklists of sexual preferences, and patterns of romantic activity that they consider deeply personal. Because of this, any breach involving a dating site comes with a built-in ‘ickiness’ factor,”

“Dating site users are likely to feel more violated after a breach than those caught up in a retail or government website breach, and they are less likely to reach out for help and advice on how to manage their identity information after a breach. For Ashley Madison users in particular, this tendency to suffer silently is all but guaranteed.”

Noel Biderman. Ashley Madison’s CEO and founder, said he believed the hack was an inside job.

“I’ve got their profile right in front of me, all their work credentials. It was definitely a person here that was not an employee but certainly had touched our technical services,” he said.

Millennial Renters Still Feeling Effects Of Financial Crisis Eight Years Later

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July 21, 2015

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Renters, especially Millennials, will continue to shoulder the brunt of the aftershocks from the worst economic slowdown in the United States since the Great Depression according to economists. They predict rents will continue to rise for the next two years, with rent increases outpacing the rate of inflation.

Capitalizing on this trend are multi-family housing developers who have increased their building activities to the highest level since 1988.

Devin O’Brien, strategic head of marketing for Zumper’s said the housing market overall was becoming “much more landlord-focused.”

“Real estate development should catch up to demand 2-3 years from now given the cyclical nature of the market,” he said.

Housing experts said this situation could not be worse for Millennials (those aged 22 to 34 years of age) who on average already spend 30 percent of their income on rent. In 1979 this figure for the same age group was 23 percent. This group was also experiencing problems finding suitable rental properties with the experts citing Miami as an example where only eight percent of rentals be able to be classified as ” affordable”. In Los Angeles this was 12.7 percent and in New York City 20.4 percent.

Data released in a statement by New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy show the supply of affordable rentals has not kept pace with demand in the U.S.’s 11 largest cities.

“With the exception of Dallas and Houston, the average renter in each metropolitan area could not afford the majority of recently available rental units in their city,” according to the statement. “The cities were even less affordable to low-income renters, who could afford no more than 11 percent of recently available units in the most affordable cities.”

Rents in San Francisco have skyrocketed 12.9 percent over the last year with the medium for a one bedroom rental unit being $3,500 per month The demand for rentals properties there is attributed to its proximity to Silicon Valley.

But at the other end of the scale, one-bedroom apartments in Detroit fetch on average $500 per month, a decrease of 11.5 percent over the past year.

The experts said rents were rising for several reasons including difficulties Millennials were experiencing securing mortgages and their preference to rent instead of buy.

Rising rents are also seeing many aged between 18-34 staying at home or moving back in with parents. In 2007 28 percent of this age group lived at home while last year that figure had risen to 31 percent.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in attempts to revive home buying amongst Millennials was offering mortgages with just a 3 percent down payment but experts said this was not having much effect as yet.

U.S. Navy Submarine Successfully Launches and Recovers First Underwater Drone

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July 21, 2015

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U.S. Navy Submarine Successfully Launches and Recovers First Underwater Drone

In a first for the United States Navy, a member of its submarine fleet has successfully launched and recovered an underwater drone during an underwater mission in the Mediterranean. The USS North Dakota, an attack submarine, returned to its base in Groton, CT on July 20th after a nearly two-month mission in the Mediterranean. Navy officials declined to comment on the mission but did state that the drone was launched from a dry deck shelter attached to the top of the submarine, normally utilized for launching mini-submarines and divers. The Navy sees these drones, or unmanned undersea vehicles known as UUVs, as a cost-effective method to extend the capabilities of its submarine fleet, which slowly has been shrinking in size since the end of the Cold War.

Specifically, a submarine commanding officer and his crew can have eyes in two places at the same time. The drones can be launched in order to complete both mundane and dangerous missions. They can detect mines, map the ocean floor and conduct intelligence gathering. Illustrating the Navy’s commitment to integrating unmanned vehicles into its fleet, the military has been researching how to use the drones in anti-submarine warfare.

The drone deployed by the North Dakota was the Remus 600, developed by the Hydroid company with funding from the United States Office of Naval Research. The drone is 500 pounds and 10-feet-long that is apparently from a class that is readily available on the public market. The UUV is advertised as fully modular that runs on a lithium ion battery which can last up to 70 hours, subject to various configurations. It is further advertised as having a maximum operating depth of 656 yards, although Hydroid claims it can be configured to have an operating depth of 3,280 yards. It can be equipped with GPS devices, sonar technology and video cameras.

War Hero Comments Lead GOP To Push For Trump Disqualification

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July 21, 2015

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War Hero Comments Lead GOP To Push For Trump Disqualification

Donald Trump has once again placed himself in the middle of a raging publicity storm, this time by making incredibly controversial statements regarding the war hero status of Arizona Senator John McCain. In his latest brush with controversy, Trump stated that McCain, who remained a prisoner of the Vietnam War in the Hanoi Hilton prison for more than five years, was only a “war hero because he was captured,” and that “[he] like[d] people that weren’t captured, OK?” In fairness, Trump did follow his comments with the statement that McCain was a war hero. GOP leadership hopes that Trump’s latest antics will turn voters against him and narrow the Republican presidential candidate field.

As one might expect, Trump’s comments drew numerous critical responses from both the Republican and Democratic parties. The Republican National Committee (“RNC”), which generally remains neutral during the GOP primary and very rarely comments on political debates, publicly condemned Trump’s remarks. RNC spokesman Sean Spicer tweeted that “[t]here is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably.”

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican presidential candidate, commented that Trump’s “shot” against a man who refused early release from a war prison because his comrades could not also be released “disqualified” the New York billionaire as potential President of the United States. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, another Republican presidential hopeful who is not doing very well in the polls and desperately needs publicity, called for Trump to “immediately withdraw” from the 2016 presidential race. Left Wing Senator Elizabeth Warren called Trump a “blowhard.”

Texas Senator Ted Cruz took a more neutral approach, stating that he “recognize[s] that folks in the press love to see Republican-on-Republican violence, and so [the press] want[s] [him] to say something bad about Donald Trump, or bad about John McCain or bad about anyone else. [He] isn’t going to do it.”

The quick and nearly unanimous criticism of Trump by the GOP was in stark contrast to its response to Trump’s earlier controversial comments regarding immigration. In that firestorm, Trump stated that some people illegally entering the United States from Mexico are “drug dealers,” “rapists,” and “criminals.” These comments seemed likely to alienate the increasingly influential Hispanic demographic which are crucial in general election swing states like Colorado, Florida and Nevada. However, GOP candidates did not take a clear stand against Trump’s immigration statements.

True to Trump form, rather than apologize or walk away, he doubled down by intensifying the controversy. He wrote an opinion piece in USA Today that admonished the media, McCain and the “establishment.” Trump wrote that “[t]he reality is that John McCain the politician has made America less safe, sent our brave soldiers into wrong-headed foreign adventures, covered up for President Obama with the VA scandal and has spent most of his time in the Senate pushing amnesty. He would rather protect the Iraqi border than Arizona’s.”

On Monday, a new Washington Post/ABC national poll reported that Trump continued to lead the Republican field by 24%. While many analysts believe that Trump does not have a chance to win the GOP presidential nomination, he most likely will not exit the race early.

New Study Confirms Men Who Harass Women Online Are, Literally, Losers

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July 21, 2015

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A recent study proves that men who harass women online are in fact losers. The journal PLOS published the study led by researchers Jeffrey Kuznekoff of Miami University and Michael Kasumovic of University of New South Wales. The study took place during 163 plays of Halo 3 and tracked how men treated women online.

The researchers studied the gameplay and tracked the comments made between players. They observed that men acted relatively cordially to one another regardless of their skill level or gameplay. The research also showed that men who were skillful at the game typically paid compliments to both other men and women. Male players that were less skillful at the game frequently made nasty comments to other female players. The results suggest that sexist men are losers.

Recent polls prove this research’s validity as 40% of users on the Internet have experienced some form of harassment. While these users consist of both men and women, it seems that women receive the heaviest and most consistent harassment compared to their male peers.

Kasumovic suggests that studies of video games like these make good proxies for real-life behavior. In the game, players are anonymous and will most likely never see each other face to face. Also, the male players far outweigh the female. According to gender rations, the Halo sub Reddit is overwhelmingly 95% male. These ratios are similar to other sites known for harassment, 4Chan, Reddit and Twitter.

The lead researchers suggest that this harassment is due to a socially triggered reaction that has been around since Neanderthals. A social hierarchy is threatened as more women are brought into the gaming realm. While men at the top are comfortable, less skilled males are threatened by the new players. This results in opposition which comes out in harassment.

Kasumovic says,“As men often rely on aggression to maintain their dominant social status, increase in hostility towards a woman by lower-status males may be an attempt to disregard a female’s performance and suppress her disturbance on the hierarchy to retain their social rank.”

Although this research cannot provide any suggestions for dealing with this kind of harassment, it does shed some light on the cause for this phenomenon. Kasumovic and Kuznekoff expect only more interesting findings from this research.

Israel Launches Major U.S. Lobbying Effort To Thwart Iran Nuclear Deal

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July 21, 2015

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Israel Launches Major U.S. Lobbying Effort To Thwart Iran Nuclear Deal

Israeli officials are running a major lobbying effort to put an end to the nuclear deal that the Obama administration has struck with Iran. Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders fear for the future of their country as they see Iran only getting more powerful from the deal.

It is a difficult position for Israel as congressional Democrats and the Obama administration are in support of the deal, seeing it as part of their legacy. Vice President Biden has set aside two separate trips to speak with congressional Democrats at Capitol Hill about the increased lobbying efforts by Israel.

According to White House spokesperson Eric Schultz, President Obama has been having his own conversations with lawmakers to push the deal forward. Israel puts Democrats in a tough position to choose between supporting this deal and making America’s most important Middle Eastern ally happy.

The deadline is September for lawmakers to discuss the bill’s implications and approve or disapprove. It seems a majority of Republicans want to disapprove the deal. Congress seems out of options as President Obama has made it clear that he will veto any attempt to stop the deal from going through.

If the veto is made, Congress is unlikely to come up with the two-thirds majority vote to overrule the veto. Dylan Williams, a left-leaning Israeli says, “I think the government of Israel will continue and even ramp up its efforts to kill the agreement”. Netanyahu warns that this deal would threaten the security of the United States as well as Israel.

Last year alone, Israel spent $2.5 million on a team of lobbyists to push their ideas. Netanyahu, a proven bi-partisan, must be careful not to isolate himself or the Israeli government further from congressional Democrats during this process.

Republicans are said to be supporting the Israeli efforts while President Obama said he is listening to arguments opposing the deal but says he has yet to hear a compelling argument.

Israel Offered Massive New Arms Deal For Iran Nuclear OK

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July 20, 2015

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The United States is expected to give Israel “an unprecedented package” in exchange for its agreement to last week’s Iran nuclear deal, according to U.S and Israeli officials.

Sources said the package under consideration had been in the $3.7 billion range, but Israel expected this to be much higher.

They say Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon expects significant “compensation” from the U.S. and that U.S State Department officials have confirmed they were considering upping the package if Israel gives its OK to the agreement, under which Iran’s nuclear program will be curbed for a decade in exchange for relief from international sanctions which are expected to be worth billions of dollars.

Many key sanctions such as those pertaining to financial and energy sectors, could be removed by the end of this year.

Sources in Israel said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been complaining about the initial package saying the fact that the US was willing to “pay him off “shows the Iran deal was “bad” for Israel and that they would increase what was on offer.

Foreign Affairs experts said that Israeli holding off on giving the deal the green light was a gamble for the Israeli leadership. They said that if it looks like Israeli lobby’s efforts won’t secure a veto-proof congress majority to kill the deal, the administration may decide Israel should not be bought off, or that the package should not be as much as Israel thought was fair.

Today the Iran deal, took one step closer to being made official with the U.N. Security Council unanimously endorsing it.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will be in Israel this week but is not expected to present an offer – a direct response to Netanyahu’s refusal to even discuss the subject in talks with President Obama last week.

NASA Tries Crowdfunding To Save Neil Armstrong’s Space Suit

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July 20, 2015

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NASA Tries Crowdfunding To Save Neil Armstrong’s Space Suit

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has launched a campaign to raise funds in order to conserve and restore the spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong on the first-ever moonwalk in 1969. The campaign is aptly entitled “Reboot the Suit.” Beginning the restoration project now will hopefully allow the suit to be made available to the public by July 2019, the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

NASA has partnered with the organization Kickstarter, a program that allows individuals to donate to a particular cause, in order to raise the necessary funds. The conservation project is necessary to both protect the spacesuit and to make it available to the public as the suit is deteriorating and has not been displayed to the public since 2006.

NASA is a federally funded program and federal appropriations provide the majority of the Smithsonian’s operating budget. However, projects like Reboot the Suit do not receive federal funding, so the only way to conduct this restoration project is through private funding. Utilizing a program like Kickstarter allows countless people the opportunity to become part of this historic project and all those who donate on Kickstarter will receive regular updates on the project and can follow the process each step of the way.

Like most of the spacesuits in the Air and Space Museum’s collection, Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit is presently stored in a climate-controlled storage area not accessible to the public. Interestingly, these spacesuits that protected astronauts while they travelled to the moon and back, are extremely fragile. Conservation efforts are required in order to stop the current deterioration of the spacesuit and to ready the suit for public display and access.

As scientists complete the restoration process, they will utilize state-of-the-art technology and techniques in 3D scanning, chemical analysis, photogrammetry and CT scanning that will create a detailed map of the spacesuit in order to documents its condition. This research will aid scientists in creating the perfect environment to protect the suit for public display while preserving the suit in its present condition.

As of 4:27 P.M. EST on July 20, 2015, the Kickstarter campaign has raised $79,466 of the requested $500,000 by 1,040 donors. The campaign will run until August 19, 2015.

Curious UK Driverless Car Law Still Requires A Non-Driving Driver

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July 20, 2015

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The United Kingdom took steps Monday to join in the global adoption of driverless vehicles, enacted legislation that makes driverless cars street legal though curiously not so driverless. If the new laws are in place long term the future of driverless road transportation in England and possibly other parts of the world hardly looks like the stuff of dreams.

The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has laid down the law regarding driverless technology. The advent of driverless vehicles was seen by many as the end of traffic legislation because machines have rules engraved into their systems. Unlike humans, they are infallible. They neither break the law nor make mistakes. However, UK lawmakers are not taking any chances. Through a new set of rules to be released by the DfT, road users keen on acquiring driverless vehicles will have a lengthy set of guidelines to follow.

Some of the rules have not changed. Car owners, for example, will still have to get insurance cover and a roadworthiness certificate. However, beyond that, everything else is different.
Perhaps the most peculiar rule is that owners must “maintain the regular appearance of someone driving a car – like looking in the correct direction when at junctions… to not confuse other motorists.” This effectively means that operators must look like they are in control of the vehicle, even though they are not, which effectively takes away the whole purpose of having a driverless vehicles.

Other regulations prohibit the consumption of alcoholic beverages or drugs before going into their cars and consequently on the road. Also, use of mobile phones inside the vehicles is strictly outlawed.

Additional features are expected to be fitted inside the vehicles before they can be deemed roadworthy. They include a “black box” similar to those found on aircrafts. The black boxes would be responsible for “capturing data from the sensor and control systems associated with the automated features as well as other information concerning the vehicle’s movement.” The feature will improve the operators’ experience by ensuring their safety on the road.

With driverless technology already being rolled out in multiple states across the globe, legislative backing is required. Yet while the UK has set the pace for other countries lagging behind in adoption due to no proper legal framework it appears it may have jumped the gun and crafted rules that severely handicap the bright future of a promising technology yet to be fully developed or understood by lawmakers.

After all, who wants to pretend to drive a driverless vehicle.

After 50 Years United States And Cuba Reopen Embassies

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July 20, 2015

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At 12:01 a.m. this morning, the United States and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations when they reopened embassies in each other’s countries. This historic move took more than two years to coordinate and is greater than 50 years in the making. Specifically, both nations had to overcome years of enmity and animosity in order to make this work. The Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, will travel to the Cuban Embassy in Washington D.C. to raise the Cuban flag, while the raising of the United States flag in Cuba will take place in August, when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Havana. Kerry’s visit to Cuba is the highest-level trip by an American official to Cuba since 1959.

The reopening of embassies is the first step in what is expected to be a years-long process of diminishing Cubans’ anti-American sentiment. Cuban President Raul Castro stated last week that “a new stage will begin, long and complex, on the road toward normalization.” This stage “will require the will to find solutions to the problems that have accumulated over more than five decades and hurt ties between our nations and peoples.”

Ties between Washington and Havana finally snapped in 1961 when Cuban leader Fidel Castro threatened to expel American diplomats for meddling in Cuban affairs. The Cuban government had seized American property and executed American officials from the Fulgencio Batista regime, which was overthrown by Fidel Castro. The years that followed included the failed U.S. led invasion of the Bay of Pigs, the declaration by Fidel Castro that his revolution was socialist, repeated CIA attempts to assassinate Castro, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. These events further poisoned relationships between the countries for decades.

Despite these events, in 1977, a brief period of improved relations between Cuba and the United States occurred and both countries opened Interests Sections in the buildings of their former embassies. These Interests Sections were a step below embassies and allowed the sparring countries to maintain diplomatic dealings without officially restoring relations.

Despite the reopening of the embassies, many questions remain, such as if/when the American trade embargo of Cuba will be lifted; whether Cuba will improve the human rights of its citizens; and whether the lives of Cubans will improve. Presently, the average income of a Cuban citizen is $20 monthly.

The Obama administration recently eased travel restrictions between the countries and expanded the amount of goods that Americans visiting Cuba could take home, such as Cuban cigars and rum. Earlier this spring, Obama also removed Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. All of these measures will hopefully, in time, improve everyday relationships between the countries and will encourage citizens of both countries to accept each other rather than further instill negative feelings about each other.

Chinese Government Caught Censoring Nearly 5 Per Cent Of All Social Media Posts

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July 20, 2015

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In China’s growing online community, comments on corrupt administration officials, ‘unwarranted’ mention of Chinese politics and even anti administration rumors are strictly prohibited. So much do the Chinese rulers wish to suppress such information that they are censored and even deleted such comments from Chinese social media without the users’ knowledge.

Research on China’s online community indicated glaring intrusions by the Chinese government into people’s lives. Conducted by Citizen Lab, from the University of Toronto, the researchers indicated that censorship on China’s online community occurred on a massive scale that included the mainland’s most popular texting app WeChat.

Censorship of mobile texts in the country is an open secret. What the report brought to light was the shocking extent to which it occurred. Out of 36,000 posts covered by the study between the months of June 2014 and March 2015, 4% had been censored. In addition, 100 public accounts on WeChat had been shut down for “spreading distorted historical information.”

The report’s author, Jason Ng, reported that keywords relating to corruption were five of the 50 most sensitive keywords. Chinese president Xi Jinping’s has been widely criticized for not doing enough to stem the country’s rampant corruption that is already threatening to bring down decades of economic progress. Rather than encouraging citizens to speak openly about the vice and even report suspicious transactions to authorities, the president prefers censorship of such “rumors”. According to him, such “sensitive” information needs to be kept off public forums, especially if it involves his own strong men such as Bo Xilai, who has been charged with multiple counts of corruption.

What is even more puzzling is how these censorships are carried out. According to Ng, it was impossible for an algorithm to pick up all keywords arithmetically, some needed human intervention to pick up. Ng said, “WeChat appears to tread in ambiguous waters [regarding censorship], forcing us to ask questions like: are those who object to a given post regular users, or are they employees of WeChat or the government?” If government agencies are involved, that would be the greatest act of intrusion into its citizens’ privacy and breach of their inherent rights to unrestricted interaction and unlimited expression.

In 2013, Beijing launched an “anti rumor campaign” that threatened all rumormongers with unprecedented gaol time. The administration then cracked down on religious movements such as the Falun Gong. By the time reports of social media censorship erupted, the citizens had had enough. Pro democracy protests escalated in the country’s capital all through the end of last year, threatening to tear apart one the world’s largest economies. President Xi Jinping’s administration’s intolerance to opposition is a far much greater threat to the country’s stability than are a handful of comments on mobile chat forums.