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Concerns Over Security Bring Cybersecurity Investment Boom

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Major cyber attacks against the U.S. government and large businesses this year mean that another big player has emerged on the cybersecurity market.

HACK, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of companies involved in providing services for cybersecurity, has seen a $1-billion increase in assets in just seven months.

The portfolio manager of HACK, Andrew Chanin, said recent well publicized data had made enhanced cybersecurity technology a must buy for companies dealing with finances.

“Cyberattacks on celebrity photos didn’t seem like a situation that many people could identify with but the Sony attack was the first time that it really clicked with individuals that everyone is potentially vulnerable,” he said.

Concerns about cybersecurity, has seen cyber stocks become a hot item with increased scrutiny on companies offering cybersecurity services and products – cyberactivity monitoring systems, authentication software providers, firewall manufacturers etc .

“When we launched the cybersecurity ETF we knew we were onto something big, but the rate at which people have taken notice really exceeded what we could’ve hoped for. We really thought there would need to be a bit more education, but the increase in number of cyberattacks has really brought the issue to the front page,” said Chanin.

Year to date the fund is up 27 percent thanks to core holdings of FireEye Inc., Qualys Inc., Fortinet Inc., Cyberark Software Ltd. and Splunk Inc.

An annual expense ratio of 0.75 percent makes it attractive to investors looking to avoid more expensive managed products while still having exposure to a variety of companies within a growing sector.

Car Windscreen Display Technology Not What It’s Cracked Up to Be Says University Study

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Although appearing to be a great idea, having the speedometer displayed on a car’s windscreen is just plain dangerous, according to a University of Toronto study.

The windscreen technology is known Heads Up Displays (HUD). It was designed to prevent the need for drivers to divert their attention from the road to look down at a speedometer, but the Toronto study says it is dangerous because it actually divides attention between the HUD and the road.

Participants in the study headed by Ian Spence, a psychology professor, were given different windscreens to look through in a driving simulator. The results showed drivers with the HUD technology had too much information to absorb and “as a primary task becomes more demanding … both tasks compete with and interfere with each other”.

Spence said another problem which was discovered during the study was that if other information other than the speedometer was added and displayed, it interfered with the drivers decision making processes and ability to respond because of immediate information overload.

The study said “competing warnings may be more dangerous than no warning at all”.

Although more sophisticated versions of HUDs are being developed for use in jet fighters, pilots receive intense training on how to use the technology and are also taught when to ignore the view outside and concentrate on HUD and vice versa.

Europe Votes To Abolish Cell Phone Roaming Charges

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There’s good news for European travelers this morning thanks to an EU decision that all data, text and cell phone roaming surcharges in European Union (EU) countries will be abolished from 2017.

The decision was made by EU negotiators at a meeting that went on to the early hours of this morning. To arrive at an agreement banning roaming charges, the negotiators had to weaken plans for net neutrality rules.

Britain’s Liberal Democrat representative on the EU, Catherine Bearder said “Finally the end of rip-off roaming charges in Europe is firmly in sight. From Riga to Rome, two years from now holidaymakers will be free to use their phones freely wherever they are in the EU. This shows how being in the EU means we can deliver a fairer, cheaper deal for British consumers.”

The Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) an association made up of world wide cell phone operators, although welcoming the vote as it would help stabilize industry regulation also warned more had to be done.

GSMA European vice president Afke Schaart said “the EU should aim to quickly modernize and, wherever possible, reduce regulation in the sector, taking into full account the increasing competition that is emerging from non-traditional sources.”

A official EU press release said the roaming charge agreement also guarantees “strong net neutrality rules protecting the right of every European to access Internet content, without discrimination.” However net neutrality activists are not convinced.

Estelle Massé of Access, a European based at digital rights group said “The EU institutions have agreed on a text that authorizes the establishment of slow lanes and fast lanes through exclusive and restrictive commercial deals between internet access providers and service providers. With rules protecting access to the internet and others handing over the future of the internet to telcos, it will be up to courts to decide whose interests prevail.”

Canada Enacts Tough New Sanctions On Russia For Invasion Of Ukraine

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After being chided by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for “doing whatever the Americans do,” Canada and its polarizing prime minister Stephen Harper ratcheted up the pressure on Russia with more sanctions against organizations in Russia that include a pro-Putin biker gang known as the Night Wolves.

Harper said in a statement that there must be ongoing consequences for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2014.

The latest round of sanctions will also target four Russian energy companies, along with three leaders of the Eurasian Youth Union. Senior leaders of the targeted organizations will not be able to travel to Canada as a result of the sanctions.

The new round of economic penalties will also ban the import of any goods or services produced in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

While the sanctions appear to be unilateral and could easily be construed as a direct response to Putin’s sharp criticism of Canada, Harper insists the new sanctions were taken in co-ordination with international governments.

Canada is engaged in something of a trade war with Russia as last August the Kremlin announced a year long temporary ban on certain agricultural imports from Canada and other countries that imposed sanctions.

It is likely that the new sanctions may trigger an extension of the supposedly temporary measure, though this has not been confirmed.

Greece Confirms It Will Default On IMF Loan

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The Greek Government has told the International Monetary Fund (IMF) it will not be making any loan repayments by imposed repayment deadlines. The news was confirmed in a statement released from the office of Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.

This makes Greece the first “developed” country ever to not honor IMF loan obligations.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took to TV late last night to attack offers from the IMF and EC for “cash-for-reform” . He said agreeing to the reforms would “enslave” his people, although there will be a buck passing nation wide referendum on Sunday as to whether Greece should accept the offer. The referendum basically dissolves Tsipras and his Government of all responsibility for Greece’s financial future.

In his TV address, the Prime Minister hinted he would resign if Sunday’s vote was in favor of the reforms.

The EC offer expires on Tuesday and if it is rejected Greece will be left to fend for itself financially and more than likely lose its EC membership.

A last ditch olive branch was expended to Greece yesterday by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who said “the door is open for dialogue”.

Banks in Greece remain closed today and limits of ATM withdrawals also continued as the country attempts to prevent total financial collapse till the results of Sunday’s vote are known.

There has been a run on Greece’s banks which have lost billions of euros over the last few months as people seek to place their money in what they believe are safer options.

Trial Evidence Shows CIA Planted Nuclear Blueprints On Iranian Scientists

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The CIA has adopted a no tell stance to questions being asked about its doctoring of nuclear weapon blueprints it handed over to Iran in an attempt to introduce bugs into that country’s nuclear weapons development program..

If the allegations which came to light in CIA documents used as evidence in the trial earlier this year of Jeffrey Sterling, who was found guilty of leaking classified information about CIA operations against Iran, it could lead to a United Nations reassessment of its stance on international sanctions imposed on Iran because of its “known” nuclear weapons plans.

The United Nations used the alleged doctored plans as evidence to impose the sanctions.

One document which was submitted in Sterling’s trial read “The goal is to plant this substantial piece of deception information on the Iranian nuclear-weapons program, sending them down blind alleys, wasting their time and money” .

Sterling had worked on a CIA backed sting project designed to mislead Iranian scientist by giving that country’s representatives on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEC) doctored designs for components used in nuclear weapons.

Former IAEC envoy Peter Jenkins said “This story suggests a possibility that hostile intelligence agencies could decide to plant a ‘smoking gun’ in Iran for the IAEA to find. That looks like a big problem.”

Although the Iranian Government has always accused the IAEC and the United Nations for basing their decisions on forged documents, the IAEC has never admitted to receiving doctored evidence. An IAEA spokesman said all information it receives is thoroughly assessed.

The CIA has not replied to media requests for comment.

Argentina Triggers Fear Of War As It Approves Controversial Asset Seizures

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British and U.S. oil companies  searching in waters near the Falkland Islands had $156 million and more assets taken Saturday as part of a controversial order by an Argentine judge. The asset seizures trigger fresh memories of the Falklands war of 1982, which British and Argentine forces clash over island territories.

The war for the territory ended after 74 days, and almost 1,000 people died. It only ceased after a British force pushed the Argentine troops out.

Judge Lilian Herraez, from the Tierra del Fuego region of southern Argentina,  ordered all exploration operations  to be ceased.

Recent years have seen a sharp rise in animosity between Britain and Argentina because of the islands and the discovery of oil potential offshore.

According to Herraez, the groups are searching in their territorial waters, but it is not known how Argentina will enforce the seizure of money and equipment which includes ships and other elements.

Argentina continues to claim to the lands, called the Malvinas, yet the British refuse to comply.

The companies involved are mostly British–Rockhopper Exploration plc, Premier Oil plc, Falkland Oil and Gas Limited, with the U.S. firms listed as Noble Energy Inc., and Edison International SpA.

Argentina’s judge will still seek to enforce the ruling and have both British and U.S. oil companies moved out of the waters near the Falkland Islands, as well as seize their assets.

Video Games Shown To Be Promising Treatment For Alcohol Addiction

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Video games and simulated environments have been a source of recreation and entertainment for decades. Now they may also provide a solution to treat alcohol addiction. A preliminary study out of South Korea, involving ten patients with alcohol dependence, used virtual reality experiences to test patients’ reactions to certain situations.

Chung-Ang University Hospital senior researcher Dr. Doug Hyun and his colleagues believe the approach has promise because it puts patients in situations similar to real life and requires their active participation even though the situations aren’t “real” and pose no actual threat to the patients’ lives.

Participants detoxed for a week prior to going through virtual reality sessions using a three-dimensional (3-D) television screen twice a week for five weeks. During each session, the participants cycled through three virtual realities patterned after experiences they would have in real life. By mimicking these experiences, the virtual realities test patients’ reactions.

One reality was intended to relax them. The second was meant to test them by triggering alcohol cravings in a situation where patients were with other people who were drinking. The last reality’s goal was to make drinking seem unpleasant by putting the patients in a room with other people who were actively getting sick from alcohol. Participants also drank a liquid designed to taste like vomit during the last reality scenario.

While their realities were unreal and virtual, the patients’ brains showed actual physical changes according to researchers. Prior to the start of the therapy, researchers compared participants’ brain metabolism to that of people without a dependence on alcohol. The alcohol-dependent group showed higher metabolic activity in their brains’ limbic systems, which are tied to emotion and behavior.

Metabolic activity decreased in this area after five weeks of therapy, according to a report in the July issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Alcohol cravings also decreased after the aversive scene, according to Dr. Han, but he speculated that there will need to be more research into the long-term results of virtual reality therapy as well as testing whether this method may work for other kinds of addiction.

Dr. Bernard Le Foll, head of the Alcohol Research and Treatment Clinic at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, was not involved with the new study but seemed equally optimistic and realistic, saying that the “pilot seems to indicate that virtual reality may produce some changes in brain metabolism” but it “is not yet studied as a treatment approach.”

“Much more research needs to be done to be able to determine if ‘virtual reality’ treatment will have a place in the treatment of alcohol use disorder” in Western countries, he said. According to Dr. Le Foll, behavioral therapy combined with pharmaceuticals such as naltrexone, acamprosate or topiramate is the recommended treatment for alcohol use disorder. As more studies are done, we will be able to determine if virtual reality treatment will be an effective treatment in alcohol and possibly other addictions.

Washington National Cathedral Considers Removing Flag Depicting Stained Glass Windows

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The war on the confederate flag is reaching all parts of the nation as there has now been an internal call for Washington’s National Cathedral to remove two Confederate battle flag depicting stained glass windows. The historic church has hosted the funerals of three American presidents along with many notable public servants.

Rev. Gary Hall, the Cathedral’s dean said for many African-Americans, the windows at the famous Episcopal church serve as a painful reminder of the USA’s legacy of slavery.

A Cathedral spokesman said its board of directors and fine arts committee would start considering Rev Hall’s request immediately. A final decision may take many months.

The Confederate flag has become the focal point of soul-searching nationally following last week’s shooting murders of nine African-Americans in a Charleston church.

Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old white man charged with the murders had posed with a Confederate flag in on-line photos he had posted with a racist manifesto.

The windows in question include images of two prominent Confederate generals from the Civil War of 1860-65, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, along with the confederate flag.

“It is time to take those windows out,” Hall said in a statement. “Here, in 2015, we know that celebrating the lives of these two men, and the flag under which they fought, promotes neither healing nor reconciliation, especially for our African-American sisters and brothers.”

Hall said he plans to give a sermon about the windows this coming Sunday and that he has asked the church to replace them with images better representative of the history of slavery, race and division in the U.S.

The windows, installed in 1953 and measuring 53 inches by 101 inches (135 cm by 257 cm), were designed by artist Wilbur H. Burnham. They were meant to represent the post Civil War healing of the nation.

The cathedral has been used for the state funerals of three presidents, several presidential prayer services, and services for noted dignitaries and diplomats.

Lawmakers in South Carolina will discuss requests to remove the confederate flag from the grounds of State House. State law prohibits the removal of the flag from the State House grounds unless a bill supported by three quarters of lawmakers is passed.

Retailers including Walmart, eBay and Amazon.com have said they will stop selling confederate flags, The National Park Service is removing it from its gift shops and bookstores, and most of the leading flag manufacturers in the US have stopped making the flags.

Southerners Pushing Back On Anti-Confederate Flag Movement Highlight Complex Issue

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Some southerners, who see the confederate flag as an important part of American history, are refusing to take down the controversial image in the wake of recent decisions by many organizations and businesses across the nation to remove all things confederate flag related.

The flag at the Confederate Memorial Park in Florida is the nation’s largest at 50 by 30 feet, and flies on a 139-foot-tall pole.

Sixty-four year old Greg Wilson, a flag retailer who was visiting Florida, said, “I don’t know how it just happened overnight,” about the debate over the flag’s place on national and historical landmarks. He said he will keep selling flags: “I’m not going to let them control me.”

That was the overall feeling at the park’s memorial, which includes granite plaques with episodes and figures from the Confederacy. The Sons of Confederate Veterans formed the park six years ago after raising $150,000.

Marion Lambert, who helped build the park, said “Why does it resonate so strongly with us? Because we know the history.”

The public has spoken widely against the flag after the deaths of nine black church members in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17th by a young white supremacist who wore the symbol with pride. Major retailers, such as Wal-Mart, have ceased selling the flag and related items. Officials are calling for the flag to be removed from memorials and monuments all over the U.S.

For Lambert and others, the flag is still a part of significant history.

“It’s the emotional, guttural affinity one has, what’s coursing through your veins, the sweet hills of Alabama or Virginia: your lineage” Lambert said.

The flag was taken down in Tallahassee by Governor Jeb Bush in 2001. The symbol was taken from official seals later in Hillsborough County.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, wants to remove I-75’s flag, too, saying, “It just flies in the face of the values we hold dear.”

Natasha Goodley, vice president of the Hillsborough County NAACP, said of the flag she saw every day on her way to work, “To see that every day, as big as it is: What is the purpose? Is it just to honor the soldiers? Because there’s other ways to honor them,” she said. “My heart says the purpose was to get a rise out of people like me.”

The struggle in the south over whether the Confederate flag will be removed completely continues on both sides of the issue.

Russia Conducts Successful Test Of Yu-71 Hypersonic Nuclear Missile

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According to military research, Russia is developing a new hypersonic missile which can pass missile defense systems and hold nuclear warheads. This weapon is presumably part of Russia’s intent to update the country’s missile capabilities.

Russia, like the U.S. and China, has spent years working on the “Yu-71” missile. The project is codenamed “Project 4202,” and the missile is said to reach a maximum speed of 7,000 miles per hour, or Mach 10. It is also meant to be very maneuverable.

So far it has undergone four tests, the most recent on Feb. 26th, according to Sputnik News of Russia.

A Jane’s Intelligence Review report found that “This would give Russia the ability to deliver a guaranteed small-scale strike against a target of choice; if coupled with an ability to penetrate missile defenses, Moscow would also retain the option of launching a successful single-missile attack.” The report also said that Russia could launch up to 24 nuclear payloads from 2020 to 2025. They are also planning to create the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile by then, which, according to Sputnik, would carry the hypersonic device.

The U.S. and China are working on this technology, too, and worries about an upcoming arms race are become more and more founded.

China is said to have tested its hypersonic creation, “Wu-14,” more than four times since January of 2014. Their weapon can hold nuclear warheads while travelling 7,000 miles per hour, and can supposedly pass the U.S.’s anti missile shields.

The Inquisitr claimed the U.S. attempts is said to travel at Mach 5, or 3,806 miles per hour.

Concerns grow as Russia develops their hypersonic missile system in their attempts to surpass other countries’ defenses.

Google Found To Pose A Significant Threat To The Open Internet

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Google Found To Pose A Significant Threat To The Open Internet

An influential recent study of internet openness found that Google favors its own results in the search engine, limiting users’ reach and reducing the quality of their searches overall.

Tim Wu, who created the phrase, “net neutrality,” co-authored the study, the data for which was supplied by Yelp. Wu concluded that “By leveraging dominance in search to promote its internal content, Google is reducing social welfare – leaving consumers with lower quality results and worse matches.”

Google’s position as the top search engine costs too much, the study says: “Google is – in some instances – actually making its overall product worse for users in order to provide favorable treatment to Google content.”

Random trials were conducted, with users seeing Google results that promoted its own products, like its local search. Others saw third-party results from Yelp and others, which scored higher than Google rankings.

This was done with a Googe Chrome plugin and an added string: “site:yelp.com OR site:zocdoc.com OR site:tripadvisor.com OR …”.

There were 45% more users who clicked on third-party results.

Researchers said consumers are harmed when this happens. Yet it is much more profitable when Google shows simple results.

However, researchers also said Google was altering consumer access to its competitors, which customers seem to dislike overall. This supports testing Google did secretly a few years ago, the results of which were revealed by accident in response to a request from the Wall Street Journal, and went to the Federal Trade Commission.

Those tests also proved that users preferred third-party content to Google’s. Some of Google’s services resemble third-party sites, but are just paid placements, like Google shopping.

This is ironic, since Google promised not to promote its own content.

Larry Page once famously told Playboy that, “Most portals show their own content above content elsewhere on the web. We feel that’s a conflict of interest, analogous to taking money for search results … a search engine doesn’t necessarily provide the best results; it provides the portal’s results. Google conscientiously tries to stay away from that. We want to get you out of Google and to the right place as fast as possible. It’s a very different model.”

The new study isn’t the only one to conclude that Google is cheating consumers, other search engines and publishers by promoting its own content within search results. As we’ve covered previously the EU is set to level a massive fine at Google for these very practices.

American Students Cut Education Costs By Attending German Universities

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American university tuition is the most expensive in the world and students are increasingly taking measures that show they’re acutely aware of this. According to Ulrich Grothus, the deputy secretary general of the German Academic Exchange Service, around 4,300 are now studying at German schools. “We’ve seen an overall increase in international students in this country over the last 10 years, but the increase for Americans has been much faster” he said.

From 2003 to 2013 there has been a 56 % increase, making Germany one of the most popular destinations for overseas education.

Many of the schools’ programs are in english, and tuition is usually free. This has made Germany the third most popular place for American students to study overseas. The UK and Canada take the lead.

Germany has high education quality, which is also a plus. London’s Times Higher Education ranked three German schools in the top 50 of about 20,000 higher education institutions throughout the world.

Casey Detrow, a student at Humboldt University in Berlin, one of the top rated schools, is seeking a master’s degree in American Studies at the German school.  “[It] offers me every bit of the academic challenge and intellectual stimulation that any top university in the U.S. would offer,” she said. She chose Humboldt instead of six other American schools that accepted her, including Columbia and Berkeley.

She said, “I just have time and space in Berlin that I really think I wouldn’t have access to if I were living in the Bay Area, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago. I have an affordable lifestyle and, you know, I have a room of my own. I have time and space to sit in my little apartment and kind of exhale and read and study.”

Detrow rents a small apartment in a bohemian area of Friedrichshain. She pays for this and most of her living expenses with a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service, something not possible for many in the U.S.

She pays nothing for tuition.

“I really cannot even compare that to what I would be getting in the United States. When you are talking free versus $50,000, I feel like there is no contest. I can’t justify going back,” she explained.

Germany opposes education fees, seeing them as unjust, and there is a market for young, skilled people, which is why many students choose to study abroad and experience education in ways that the U.S. does not offer.

Burger Company Bugs Its Milk Shakes

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Fast food company Wayback Burgers has plans to bug its milk shakes – not with the listening variety but actual creepy crawly bugs.

On July 1 the company will launch an Oreo mud pie cricket protein milkshake which contains Peruvian chocolate-flavored cricket powder.

It also has plans for a jerky milkshake complete with hickory spice flavors, maple syrup and barbecue , served with Slim Jim sticks—depending on the size of the milkshake.

The bug-infused shake started off as a PR April’s Fool’s joke but the response was so positive when it went on sale on Long Island, NY, that it was decided to add the item to the menu for a limited time.

Wayback Burgers president John Eucalitto said “We had it for two hours. There were people lined up to try it — the powder itself is not strong tasting”.

Crickets have been the attention of trendy health food news over recent years with claims it is a high-protein alternative to animal protein sources. The dried insects are nutritious, cost much less than beef or chicken and are sustainably raised.

Both beef and chicken have come under fire for being raised in ways that use too much land, water and energy. The oft cited benchmark is that there would be no land left in the world if everyone on the planet ate beef and chicken in quantities similar to Americans.

Eucalitto said the biggest obstacle the company faces before the bug shakes become fully accepted in perception.

“People think maybe we’re grinding up crickets in the back room,” he said when in fact the insects are all farm raised in the USA.

New York Payphones to Become Wi-Fi Hotspots

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New Yorkers may soon have access to $200 million worth of free Wi-Fi hotspots, thanks to a Google supported startup called Sidewalk Labs. The company hopes to improve city life through technology and said it plans to make Wi-Fi hotspots out of the city’s existing payphones.

Sidewalk is one of several investor groups purchasing two New York companies that are leading the charge to turn 11,000 existing and disused payphone sites into information kiosks and Wi-Fi hotspots which would supply Wi-Fi connections within a 150 ft circumference. The kiosks would also provide free phone call ability nationwide and have interactive screen access to local services and information.

The free service would be paid for by advertisements displayed on the interactive screens with part of the projected $500 million advertising revenue going to the City.

Dan Doctoroff,CEO of Sidewalk Labs said former deputy mayor of New York said “by integrating new technologies into existing infrastructure, cities can reinvent these assets – providing not just more modern, free services to citizens but even more revenue to cities.”

Google CEO Larry Page whose company is helping bankroll the project said Sidewalk Labs was similar to Google X, the lab within Google that was concentrating on “moonshot” projects like self driving cars and a network of internet-connected balloons to provide communication access networks to remote areas.

It is expected the New York Sidewalk Labs project will take 12 years to complete. The company has plans to roll out similar projects in other cities.

Physically Healthy Young Belgian Gets Court Permission To Die

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A 24 year old physically healthy Belgian has been given permission to legally commit suicide because she claims to have had suicidal thoughts right from childhood.

She has no life threatening diseases but has been told she qualifies for euthanasia after she told doctors, “life, that’s not for me.”

Assisted suicide has been legal in Belgium since 2003 and it is estimated that each day five people die with the help of medics. The number of Belgians who have chosen to commit suicide has risen 27 per cent over the past year .

The woman identified only as ‘Laura’ has told reporter she has wanted to die since she was a child. She said she was from an unplanned pregnancy and because of a troubled home life with an alcoholic father, had been raised by her grandparents who were the only people who had ever given her ‘security, peace, and structure,’ .

Laura said she has enjoyed the process of planning her funeral and has enjoyed the process even though she knows her grandparents and her mother will be distressed by her death.

She has been in a psychiatric institution since aged 21 where she had been befriended by a suicidal girl who had committed assisted suicide 18 months ago.

“Even though my childhood certainly contributed to my suffering, I am convinced that I had this death wish even though I grew up with a quiet, stable family,” said Laura.

“Death feels to me not as a choice. If I had a choice, I would choose a bearable life, but I have done everything and that was unsuccessful. I played all my life with these thoughts of suicide, I have also done a few attempts. But then there is someone who needs me, and I don’t want to hurt anyone. That has always stopped me.”.

New Nintendo Video Game Will Feature Same Sex Marriage

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Nintendo is catching up and allowing same-sex relationships in at least one of its games, the 3DS game Fire Emblem Fates, due to be released in 2016.

The Nintendo 3DS game Tomodachi Life arrived last year, and many players criticized the lack of same-sex relationships permitted in the roleplay (life simulations). Nintendo claimed it “never intended to make any form of social commentary,” though many saw the exclusion has far more than neutral.

The company said in a statement:

“We believe that our gameplay experiences should reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate and, at the same time, we will always design the game specifications of each title by considering a variety of factors, such as the game’s scenario and the nature of the game play. In the end of course, the game should be fun to play. We feel that Fire Emblem Fates is indeed enjoyable to play and we hope fans like the game.”

Nintendo has not said whether or not this inclusiveness will occur in other games, but many recognize it as a step forward, much like the variation in skin tone in Animal Crossing.

The announcement that Nintendo would permit same-sex relationships in its game arrive just prior to the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize gay marriage all over the U.S.

Sneak Attack On Net Neutrality Picks Up Steam In The House

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The house voted on Friday against two amendments removing anti-Net Neutrality from an important government funding proposal. One amendment was by Rep. Jose Serrano, the other Rep. Nita Lowey.

Rep. Jose Serrano said, “Maybe every so often we can be on the side of the American people and not corporations.” However, the House majority does not appear to be in agreement when it comes to Net Neutrality.

The 158-page bill has anti-Net Neutrailty built in, and would take money from the FCC, which it needs to keep up internet protections. These would also stop regulations from being in effect until after the courts have made a decisions, which would stretch on for years.

A federal court has rejected attempts by cable, phone, and wireless lobbies to delay the rules, and Serrano said,  “You’re not supposed to legislate in an appropriations bill.”

Despite the widespread demand for open internet in the U.S. and both political parties, some members of Congress are pushing to eliminate FCC protections for which millions called, mostly due to large campaign contributions by telecom providers.

“Blocking Net Neutrality means blocking the open Internet. My colleagues are trying to give corporations more freedom … while putting more restrictions on individual citizens,” said Serrano.

Members of Congress are involved with major internet service providers and are not heeding the public. Instead, they are pressing to stop open internet and open fast and slow lanes to specific websites, despite the FCC’s appropriate actions to call on the public.

More than 60 groups for social rights and justice urged the chairman of the House appropriations to eliminate anti-Net Neutrality language. Only Rep. Lowey paid attention.

The Free Press Action Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Media Justice, ColorOfChange.org, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, and Writers Guild of America West are just a few of the groups who signed petitions.

People are calling for citizens to contact their Congress before the vote on funding, and tell them to get rid of the anti-Net Neutrality language completely.

Study Shows Consumers Confused About E-cigarette Health Risks

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A small study says Electronic cigarette consumers are finding themselves confused; most purchase the devices to quit, but find themselves simply beginning a new habit.

In Scotland, 64 smokers were interviewed about the benefits of e-cigarettes, and no agreement could be found about the harm or help the devices provide. This may signify some division in the medical realm about how helpful e-cigarettes are, the authors said in Tobacco Control.

Amanda Amos, a researcher at the Center for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh’s Medical School, and author of the study, said “Because e-cigarettes are relatively new products we are only beginning to learn about the health risks.”

E-cigarettes imitate real cigarettes with a lighted tip and a cloud of vapor. They contain a batter and heating, and a cartridge that contains nicotine and flavor.

The fact that e-cigarettes don’t burn tobacco may be a health benefit, however, the nicotine inside is still addictive.

Amos and other researchers held 12 focus groups and 11 interviews with individuals. All had quit smoking in the last year.

Almost all of them had used e-cigarettes, and most of them agreed that smoking is an addiction that requires strength of will to overcome.

Most of them thought e-cigarettes were like patches and gum–replacements designed to help them quit. Many also consider them medical resources because general practitioners recommend them to quit.

However, users were less sure about what the precise use was, and e-cigarettes were viewed as less likely to help people quit than the other methods.

A professor of medicine at the University of Catania in Italy, Dr. Ricardo Polosa, said, “This paper shows that the public’s view of e-cigarettes is far from being clear, with a great deal of ambiguity around the product and its intended use.” Though the doctor wasn’t part of the study, he said, “Really, it’s not complicated at all. E-cigs are a much safer alternative to smoking and are intended for smokers who are unable to quit using other methods.”

The study is not large enough to reach real conclusions, but it does suggest that the health benefits of e-cigarettes are not clear for anyone.

Greek Contagion Spreads As Italian Banks Fail To Start Trading On Monday

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Just a few hundred miles west of Greece lies Italy, where banks have aggressively courted Greek business over the years. This may now make them among the first to feel any effects of a Greek default. This reality sunk in Monday morning as several Italian banks failed to start trading due to fears over a Greek debt default. Investors, wary of Greek contagion, shed peripheral stocks and it appears Italian companies, and particularly banks, were of greatest concern.

At the start of trading sell orders were so numerous that the computer controlled trading system couldn’t process them all, a rare event that only happens when specific news causes a sell-off of a particular stock.

UniCredit SpA and Intesa Sanpaolo managed to start trading before accumulating losses of around 6% from Friday’s closing prices.

The panic came just after comments by Italy’s banking lobby head Antonio Patuelli on Sunday, in which he dismissed fears of contagion on Italian lenders, saying the country’s banks’ direct exposure to Greece was under $1 billion.

Italian financial stocks saw losses of six to eight percent, showing very clearly that the market does not share Mr Patuelli’s confidence.

World’s Largest Private Piece Of Land Is Now For Sale

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The world’s largest private piece of real estate, which is down-under in Australia, is up for grabs.

The land, which is made up of 10 working cattle ranches, takes up 11 million hectares and has a price tag of $325 million. It is listed as the “largest private, non-monarchical, non-state landholding on earth.”

Potential buyers wanting to inspect the combined territory, which also includes a stud farm and a feedlot, will have to spend several days flying across four Australian States: Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.

One of the stations, Anna Creek, is the largest cattle station/ranch in the world. It is larger than Ireland taking up over 30,000 square miles.

Selling agent Don Manifold of Ernst & Young South Australia, which is the official selling agent for the land, said offers would start to be taken next week and would be open for a month. From the offers a serious bidders list of six to 12 will be drawn up.

“There has been a lot of interest, and we’ve been quite overwhelmed,” said Manifold.
“Over half of the interest has come from Australia and there’s also a number of other bidders from Asia, North America and Europe.

It is a large tract of land and it’s certainly quite rare that an opportunity like this would come on the market, having been under family ownership for 100-something years.”

The land comes with approximately 170,000 head of cattle and is on the market as a debt-free concern.

Texas To Allow State Workers to Deny Marriage Licenses to Gay Couples

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Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas says lawyers are on standby, ready to defend any Texas State worker, free of charge, who refuses to grant a marriage license to same sex couples.

Patrick’s comments come after he had reviewed a legal opinion on last week’s Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage prepared by his conservative Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton

Paxton labeled the Supreme Court decision a “lawless ruling” saying it meant that any state administrator, justice of the peace or clerk who refuses to issue a marriage license to same sex couples could be prosecuted. He also said the ruling does not eliminate rights of religious liberty.

“This newly minted federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage can and should peaceably coexist with longstanding constitutional and statutory rights, including the rights to free exercise of religion and freedom of speech,” he wrote.

Paxton said the Supreme court “weakened the rule of law” and “fabricated a new constitutional right.”

Governor Abbott said Texans would not be forced to act against their religious beliefs.

“Despite the Supreme Court’s rulings, Texans’ fundamental right to religious liberty remains protected,” he said ordering that no one in the Government take “adverse action” against State workers acting on their religious beliefs in the grating of marriage licenses.

However a federal district court in Texas over the weekend prohibited Texas from enforcing state laws that define marriage as exclusively a union between one man and one woman.

Two Uber Managers Detained In France Over Illegal Ride Sharing Service

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According to a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, two French executives of taxi-hailing app Uber have been arrested and are being questioned about “illicit activity” linked to the ride sharing company’s service.

Spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre would not identify the two Uber managers detained on Monday.

The notoriously scofflaw company has sparred with the French government over its lowest-cost service, one of the many available options it offers in France.

After last Thursday violent riots in Paris Uber continued to maintain it would keep operating the service until a ruling was handed down by the country’s top court.

French officials are upset that Uber pays lower wage rates and social taxes than traditional taxi services.

Uber, as it does in so many markets, argues that the existing taxi system is outdated and is in need of modernization.

It was not clear as of late Monday morning whether the executives would be held overnight or were actually under arrest.

Puerto Rico Entering Financial Death Spiral

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While the world’s attention has been focused on Greece’s financial crisis, Puerto Rico’s is entering what its Governor has called a financial “death spiral”. The news comes almost exactly around the time we predicted back in April.

Over the weekend, Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said his state can no longer make loan payments on the $73 billion it owes.

“The debt is not payable … there is no other option. This is not politics, this is math,” he said. “But we have to make the economy grow. If not, we will be in a death spiral.”

Padilla is expected to today release a report prepared by World Bank International Monetary Fund former officials outlining Puerto Rico’s grim financial picture brought about by years of debt dependence, high energy costs and overspending by the Government.

Like Greece the Government is asking for creditor concessions which include extending repayment periods and deferring payment of debts.

One of the largest debts, $400 million, which has a July 1 payback deadline is owed by PREPA, the government owned and run electricity provider. Experts say it is highly unlikely PREPA which has been given the lowest possible ranking by Moody’s can pay the loan which is only part of the $9 billion debt it carries.

Puerto Rico’s dismal financial situation has seen a mass exodus of people. Immigration figures show that from 1980 to 2000, on average 12,00 Puerto Ricans left for mainland USA annually. That figure between 2010 and 2013, when the economy began to tank, has risen to 48,000 annually.

Every time a Puerto Rican jumps ship by immigrating, it adds to the problem because the island’s tax base shrinks, meaning less money for the Government to repays its debt.

Hundreds Of ISIS Terrorists Now Living In Great Britain

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ISIS isn’t just a problem affecting the middle east as according to British Police there are now over 350 known battle hardened ISIS terrorists living in Great Britain.

All have traveled and returned from Syria or Iraq where they either fought or offered support for jihadist terror groups, mainly ISIS.

Police said the terrorist were part of at least 700 British residents known to have gone to the middle east to engage in terrorist actions. Fifty are known to have been killed and 20 have been arrested and convicted of terrorism.

The majority of the British terrorists hale from England, mainly from areas around London, with the remainder from Wales and Scotland. Security expert say they are only a part of the thousands of young Muslims from around the western world who are fighting with various jihadist groups battling for supremacy in Syria and Iraq.

Western and Turkish security forces have faced much criticism for not doing enough to stop people entering Syria from neighboring Turkey, while the Obama administration has admitted that it has no proper strategy to deal with the problem, though it continues to conduct air strikes on high value targets from time to time.

Despite International Ban, Iceland Will Slaughter 150 Rare Fin Whales For Meat

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While the civilized world maintains strict bans on hunting rare and endangered wildlife, the tiny nation of Iceland stubbornly refuses to halt the centuries-old practice of killing endangered whales for food.

The practice continued on Sunday as two Icelandic whaling ships headed for the open seas to slaughter 150 finback whales.

The ships, Hvalur 8 and Hvalur 9, belong to the legally licensed Icelandic whaling company Hvalur and have permits to kill 150 finback whales this year. Last year’s quota was 154, but poor weather conditions resulted in ‘just’ 137 whales being caught. 2015’s quota is up from the 134 authorized in 2013.

The hunted whales will be brought to the western Icelandic region of Hvalfjörður where approximately 150 people are employed in hunting, processing and freezing the valuable meat.

In 1982 the International Whaling Commission, the world-wide body that had managed whale stocks, agreed to a moratorium on killing whales due to their extremely low numbers.

Russia, Japan and Iceland refuse to honor the ban and instead push the endangered marine mammals closer to extinction each year through large-scale commercial whale hunts.

SpaceX Rocket Explodes On Trip To International Space Station

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An unmanned rocket by American rocket startup SpaceX, on a mission to resupply the International Space Station, exploded Sunday just minutes after liftoff.

It is unclear what, precisely, caused the rocket to fail and SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration will now conduct an investigation into the disaster in order to determine the cause.

The launch is the third resupply mission to fail since last October, meaning the three astronauts living aboard the space station now have four months worth of supplies, according to NASA.

Sunday’s launch would have brought 1,500 pounds of food and provisions to the orbiting crew, along with a new docking device and a water filtration system.

The next resupply missions are scheduled to be Russian flights on July 3rd and July 22nd while a Japanese rocket will launch on August 16th. SpaceX will then try again in early September.

NASA’s Scott Kelly, current aboard the space station along with two Russian cosmonauts posted a tweet from space Sunday afternoon, saying that “Space is hard.”

SpaceX, headed by serial entrepreneur Elon Musk, has made seven successful trips to the ISS under a NASA contract, including one mission completed on May 21st. It is the first private company to complete a return trip to the space station.

Government Closes Greek Banks As Country Nears Default

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Greek officials scrambled over the weekend to prevent the country’s financial system from collapsing in panic, with banks in the eurozone nation staying shut on Monday.

The capital controls, designed to prevent badly needed currency from leaving the country, means account holders are only able to withdraw small amount of money from ATMs and trading on the Greek stock market was also suspended.

The new measures mean nobody in Greece can withdraw more than 60 euros, or $67 from bank machines.

U.S. listed Greek exchange traded fund ‘GREK’, a proxy for the Greek markets, was down a stunning 17 percent, indicating that when markets do open in the country it will be nothing short of sheer panic.

The Greek crisis is the biggest test ever face by the European Union and its leaders. In a phone call on Sunday, President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to take all steps to try to resolve the crisis without Greece leaving the trading bloc.

Monday’s capital controls, effectively paralyzing the Greek financial system, come as a result of the government’s decision late Friday to pull its negotiators from bailout talks.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras categorically rejected a draft proposal from Europe and the International Monetary Fund, yet said he would put it to a vote of the Greek people on July 5th.

Greek officials said late Sunday that both the banks and the stock markets will stay shut until July 6th, the day after the referendum.

Endangered Lions To Return To Rwanda After More Than Twenty Years

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After more than two decades lions will return to conflict ridden Rwanda, wildlife officials have said. Indigenous, and highly endangered, lions were wiped out in the country after Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.

Two males and five females, seven lions in total, are being moved from South Africa and will arrive by air in Rwanda on Monday after their 36 hour trek. They will be released into the eastern Akagera National Park after two week quarantine.

Park officials in Akagera, a 27,6800 acre park on the border with Tanzania, called the reintroduction “a ground-breaking conservation effort for both the park and the country of Rwanda.”

Lions in Rwanda were stamped out after the 1994 genocide, because fleeing refugees and displaced people occupied part of the park, which saw indigenous lions being driven out or killed to protect their precious livestock.

“It is a breakthrough in the rehabilitation of the park,” said the head of tourism at the Rwanda Development Board, Yamina Karitanyi. “Their return will encourage the natural balance of the ecosystem.”

The South African lions are from parks in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, from “relatively small, confined reserves where it is necessary to occasionally remove surplus lions,” the conservation authority added.

Globally the lion remains listed as a vulnerable species and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said Thursday that it continues to be on the so-called “Red List” of threatened animals.

Eastern Africa, historically a stronghold for lions, has seen rapid declines the IUCN said, due to illegal trade in bones and other body parts for quack medicine in Africa and in Asia.

This pressure has caused the western African lion sub-population to become “critically endangered” as a result of over-hunting and lack of prey.

“The return of lions to Akagera is a conservation milestone for the park and the country,” said Peter Fearnhead, head of African Parks, a group helping conservation efforts in Rwanda.

Russia Masses 54,000 More Troops On Ukrainian Border

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According to Ukraine’s military spokesman, Russia is massing more troops on border with Ukraine as well as in the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk areas.

Roughly 54,000 troops now sit on its border with Ukraine, according to the deputy head of anti-terrorist operation, Colonel Sergiy Galushko. Ukraine’s press office reported the new movements on its Facebook page late Friday.

“Currently, Russia continues to deploy a group of troops in close vicinity to border and in the occupied territory of Ukraine, consisting of 45 battalion tactical groups, 17 company tactical groups, with a total number of servicemen exceeding 54,000 people, with all weapons and equipment” the post said.

In addition to 50,000 or more troops sitting outside Ukraine’s borders another 15 battalion tactical groups and six company tactical groups are actively operating within Ukraine.

Russia invaded Ukraine on March 4th 2014 using thinly disguised Russian troops equipped with the latest Russian military technology. The troops were quickly exposed as being Russian yet the Kremlin has continued to deny involvement.

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