Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Sunday, November 27, 2016
The Kremlin Didn’t Sink Hillary—Obama Did
http://observer.com/2016/11/the-kremlin-didnt-sink-hillary-obama-did/
Yet again, President Obama’s unwillingness to confront Putin and his regime about anything—Syria, Ukraine, deploying nuclear missiles next to Poland—only encouraged the honey badger in the Kremlin to grow more adventurous and aggressive. By refusing to debunk noxious Russian lies, Obama encouraged Putin to tell more of them—including about Hillary Clinton. This culminated in the Russian intelligence operation which employed Wikileaks as a front to disseminate Democratic emails which had been intercepted by Moscow & which the National Security Agency has recently admitted.
Yet again, President Obama’s unwillingness to confront Putin and his regime about anything—Syria, Ukraine, deploying nuclear missiles next to Poland—only encouraged the honey badger in the Kremlin to grow more adventurous and aggressive. By refusing to debunk noxious Russian lies, Obama encouraged Putin to tell more of them—including about Hillary Clinton. This culminated in the Russian intelligence operation which employed Wikileaks as a front to disseminate Democratic emails which had been intercepted by Moscow & which the National Security Agency has recently admitted.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Blue Peter star beats top authors to Bad sex award nomination
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/17/bad-sex-awards-shortlist-blue-peter-janet-ellis
A spokesperson for the judges said that some of the nominated extracts “fall into the classic bad sex mistake of overwriting, with mixed metaphors, uncomfortable similes, or becoming so hyperbolic they strains credulity”.
A spokesperson for the judges said that some of the nominated extracts “fall into the classic bad sex mistake of overwriting, with mixed metaphors, uncomfortable similes, or becoming so hyperbolic they strains credulity”.
Bad sex award 2016: the contenders in quotes
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/17/bad-sex-award-2016-the-contenders-in-quotes
Games of tennis, muddy fields, knocking knees – it’s time to get intimate with the challengers for the Literary Review’s 2016 Bad sex in fiction prize
Games of tennis, muddy fields, knocking knees – it’s time to get intimate with the challengers for the Literary Review’s 2016 Bad sex in fiction prize
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Monday, November 7, 2016
Doctor Strange epitomizes the girlfriend problem in Hollywood superhero films
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/07/doctor-strange-female-characters-comic-book-films
It’s hard to criticize Morena Baccarin, who more than held her own with Ryan Reynolds’ scarred antihero for deadpan badinage and saucy bedroom oneupmanship. But once again a potentially intriguing female comic book player was downgraded to common or garden love-interest status. Perhaps Baccarin will get powered up in the sequel, as the film-makers have hinted, but don’t bet on it.
It’s hard to criticize Morena Baccarin, who more than held her own with Ryan Reynolds’ scarred antihero for deadpan badinage and saucy bedroom oneupmanship. But once again a potentially intriguing female comic book player was downgraded to common or garden love-interest status. Perhaps Baccarin will get powered up in the sequel, as the film-makers have hinted, but don’t bet on it.
The rise and rise of fake news
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-37846860?SThisFB
"Recently we did a story about Hillary Clinton being fed the answers prior to the debate. There was already some low level chatter about that having happened - it was all fake - but that sort of headline gets into the right wing bubble and they run with it."
"Recently we did a story about Hillary Clinton being fed the answers prior to the debate. There was already some low level chatter about that having happened - it was all fake - but that sort of headline gets into the right wing bubble and they run with it."
Friday, November 4, 2016
Tech firms shell out to hire and hoard talent
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21709574-tech-firms-battle-hire-and-hoard-talented-employees-huge-pay-packages-silicon-valley
To maintain their grip on top employees, the tech giants use several tactics in addition to handing out stock. Some provide generous signing-on bonuses that can be clawed back if an employee leaves within three years. Amazon heavily weights stock grants to an employee’s third and fourth year with the company, as an incentive for them to stay and continue to work hard. Another common practice is to offer a “retention” bonus to make employees who are considering going elsewhere reconsider. Apple, Google and Facebook are rumoured to keep a list of companies they do not want to lose talent to, and supervisors are empowered to offer large bonuses to prevent people moving in that direction. A famous example of this occurred in 2011, when Neal Mohan, a senior Google executive, was considering leaving for Twitter. Some say he was offered a bonus of $100m in stock to stay at Google.
To maintain their grip on top employees, the tech giants use several tactics in addition to handing out stock. Some provide generous signing-on bonuses that can be clawed back if an employee leaves within three years. Amazon heavily weights stock grants to an employee’s third and fourth year with the company, as an incentive for them to stay and continue to work hard. Another common practice is to offer a “retention” bonus to make employees who are considering going elsewhere reconsider. Apple, Google and Facebook are rumoured to keep a list of companies they do not want to lose talent to, and supervisors are empowered to offer large bonuses to prevent people moving in that direction. A famous example of this occurred in 2011, when Neal Mohan, a senior Google executive, was considering leaving for Twitter. Some say he was offered a bonus of $100m in stock to stay at Google.
Digital advertisers battle over online privacy
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21709584-escalating-fight-over-users-data-and-targeted-ads-digital-advertisers-battle-over-online
For advertisers, the result is an increasingly lopsided industry. Any new restrictions on companies, such as Verizon, which are vying to expand their digital ad businesses, will bestow more power to the already mighty Google and Facebook, points out Brian Wieser of Pivotal Research Group. For consumers, the result is a muddle: limits for gathering data depend on the identity of the gatherer. “Nothing in these rules will stop edge-providers from harvesting and monetising your data, whether it’s the websites you visit or the YouTube videos you watch or the e-mails you send,” declares Ajit Pai, an FCC commissioner who voted against the order.
For advertisers, the result is an increasingly lopsided industry. Any new restrictions on companies, such as Verizon, which are vying to expand their digital ad businesses, will bestow more power to the already mighty Google and Facebook, points out Brian Wieser of Pivotal Research Group. For consumers, the result is a muddle: limits for gathering data depend on the identity of the gatherer. “Nothing in these rules will stop edge-providers from harvesting and monetising your data, whether it’s the websites you visit or the YouTube videos you watch or the e-mails you send,” declares Ajit Pai, an FCC commissioner who voted against the order.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Russian media's love affair with Trump
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37837432?SThisFB
If you were to base your view of the US election solely on pro-Kremlin newspapers and state TV, you might easily conclude that the election is rigged, that the result almost certainly will be contested and that America faces a prolonged period of post-election chaos.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-10-31/why-bettors-take-a-flier-on-trump
There are good reasons to ignore each of these predictions. Big-data analysis is a young discipline, and the methods are still relatively untested. All the models based on economic performance and the previous administration’s performance could be unreliable in this year’s race because it is so intensely personalized and scandal-ridden. Besides, these models do not boast perfect historical accuracy.
If you were to base your view of the US election solely on pro-Kremlin newspapers and state TV, you might easily conclude that the election is rigged, that the result almost certainly will be contested and that America faces a prolonged period of post-election chaos.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-10-31/why-bettors-take-a-flier-on-trump
There are good reasons to ignore each of these predictions. Big-data analysis is a young discipline, and the methods are still relatively untested. All the models based on economic performance and the previous administration’s performance could be unreliable in this year’s race because it is so intensely personalized and scandal-ridden. Besides, these models do not boast perfect historical accuracy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)