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☆ Chinese blockade of Taiwan would likely fail, Pentagon official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would likely fail and a direct military invasion of the self-ruled island would be extremely difficult for Beijing to carry out successfully, senior Pentagon officials told Congress on Tuesday. China's military in recent years has stepped up activity around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory. However, whether Xi would order taking Taiwan by force, either through military options like a blockade or an invasion is unclear. "I think it is an option but probably not a highly likely option, when you start looking at the military options - much easier to talk about a blockade than actually do a blockade," McGee told lawmakers. He added flatly: "There is absolutely nothing easy about a PLA invasion of Taiwan."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, William Burns, Xi Jinping, Xi, Ely Ratner, Ratner, General Joseph McGee, McGee, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Michael Martina, Patricia Zengerle, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Pentagon, CIA, Affairs, House Armed Services, People's Republic of China . Army, Pentagon's Joint Staff, People's Liberation Army, PLA, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, Beijing, U.S, People's Republic of China, China

☆ Adobe rolls out AI features, plans for price hikes and payouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Adobe makes Photoshop and other editing tools that form the core of its Creative Cloud subscription software business. For the past six months, the company has been steadily adding new AI features to those programs, such as the ability to generate images from text. Adobe customers will get a certain number of "credits" toward using generative AI features. Adobe also said it will pay the contributors to its stock imagery databases that are used to train its AI systems. After that, Adobe will start paying out the bonus each year for the training work done with its AI systems.

Persons: Ely Greenfield, Stephen Nellis, Richard Chang Organizations: Wednesday, Adobe, Reuters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco

☆ Pentagon expects to release its annual China report in mid-October
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 8, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The Pentagon expects to release its closely-watched annual report on China's military modernization and defense strategy in mid-October, although the timing could shift, a senior U.S. defense official said on Wednesday. The annual report offers a snapshot of everything from China's nuclear forces to its pressure on Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing sees as its own, and which receives sharp criticism from Beijing. Last year, the Pentagon report predicted China would likely have a stockpile of 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035 if it continues with the current pace of its nuclear buildup. China's defence ministry responded by saying the U.S. was "gesticulating and absurdly guessing about the modernisation of China's nuclear forces."

Persons: Erin Scott, Ely Ratner, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Pentagon, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Arlington , Virginia, U.S, Taiwan, Beijing, China

☆ A federal court forbids Alabama from moving forward with its Supreme Court-defying congressional map
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A slate of federal judges just forbade Alabama from using its current congressional map in 2024. They ruled that state legislators defied a district court and the Supreme Court's previous orders. Now, an independent special master and cartographer will draw a map with 2 majority-Black districts. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. AdvertisementAdvertisement"We have no reason to believe that allowing the Legislature still another opportunity to draw yet another map will yield a map that includes an additional opportunity district," the judges wrote.

Persons: —, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump —, Richard Allen, David Ely, Wes Allen Organizations: Service, Democratic, State, Alabama, New York Times Locations: Alabama, Wall, Silicon, Black, reconvene

☆ Ambitious plans for US-India technology sharing face hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Standing in the way are strict U.S. rules governing export of defense technology, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific affairs, has stressed the need to break down barriers to technology sharing with allies and partners, including India. But one congressional aide said efforts to speed technology sharing with India would face "an uphill battle" both in the U.S. Congress and at the U.S. State Department, where officials have a specific obligation to protect U.S. technology. "There are concerns about (technology sharing) in the Australia context and there would be more concerns in the India context," he said. Rick Rossow, an India expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said approval processes for advanced defense technology transfer were "onerous but not impossible."

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Elizabeth Frantz WASHINGTON, Biden, Ely Ratner, Democrat Mark Warner, Republican John Cornyn, Bill Greenwalt, Greenwalt, ITAR, Rick Rossow, David Brunnstrom, Mike Stone, Patricia Zengerle, Don Durfee, Deepa Babington Organizations: India's, White, REUTERS, United, Indian, General Electric Co, Center, New, New American Security, TECH, U.S . Senate India Caucus, Democrat, Republican, U.S . Congress, U.S . State Department, Pentagon, GE, State Department, U.S . Missile Technology Control, Washington's Center, Strategic, International Studies, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, United States, India, New Delhi, Asia, U.S, Britain, Australia, New American, Russia, Ukraine, Delhi

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden meets with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 24, 2021. Washington also wants to wean India away from its traditional defence partner Russia. Though Modi has made several previous visits to the United States, this will be his first with the full diplomatic status of an official state visit, just the third of Biden's presidency and third by any Indian leader. "It’s a milestone in our relationship...It is a very significant visit, very important visit," India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters on Monday. Modi will also meet American CEOs and lead an International Yoga Day event at the UN headquarters.

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Evelyn Hockstein, Modi, Vinay Kwatra, Kwatra, General, Ely Ratner, Biden, Kamala Harris, Antony Blinken, Raja Mohan, Krishn Kaushik, Sarita Chaganti Singh, David Brunnstrom Organizations: India's, White, REUTERS, Indian, . Congress, JET, General Electric, U.S ., Defense, Pacific Affairs, UN, Asia Society Policy, Rajesh, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, India, DELHI, WASHINGTON, United States, Washington, Washington and New Delhi, Pacific . Washington, Russia, New Delhi, Moscow, Ukraine, West, China, Cooperation, New York, U.S, Asia, NEW DELHI

Relations between the superpowers are increasingly acrimonious, with friction over issues from Taiwan and China's military activity in the South China Sea to U.S. efforts to hold back China's semiconductor industry. China's leaders, by contrast, have been slow to establish military contacts and quick to shut them down during periods of diplomatic tension. This has frustrated the United States. Then there is China's view of how military talks fit into the broader U.S.-China relationship. From that perspective, military talks are something to bargain with.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, China's, ", Ely Ratner, National Defense Li Shangfu, Li, Zhu Feng, Zhu, Jacob Stokes, Yun Sun, ”, Daniel Russel, William Burns, it’s, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, David Brunnstrom, Michael Martina, Yew Lun Tian, Martina Pollard, Laurie Chen, Don Durfee, Alistair Bell Organizations: Pentagon . U.S . Defense, U.S . Army, U.S, National Defense, School of International Studies, Nanjing University, Center, New, New American Security, Stimson, East Asia, Obama, Asia Society Policy Institute, CIA, Washington, Pentagon, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, BEIJING, Singapore, Beijing, United States, China, Taiwan, South, U.S, Austin, New American, East Asia, Washington, Ukraine, States, East, Hainan

☆ Biden Interior advances renewable energy transmission projects in Nevada
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management this week said it has advanced two transmission projects proposed by public utility NV Energy that would facilitate more renewable energy development and delivery in Nevada. Once completed, the projects will connect eight gigawatts of clean energy to the Western power grid. The plans would bolster the Biden administration's goal to deploy 25 gigawatts of renewable energy on public lands and waters by 2025 and achieve a carbon-free power sector by 2035. The announcement comes as Congress debates federal energy permitting overhauls, with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., introducing a measure earlier this month to speed permitting of both fossil fuel and renewable energy projects. Transmission projects involve expanding high-voltage lines that transport renewable energy to populated areas and will play a critical role in accelerating the clean energy transition while meeting growing power demand.

☆ Disney's lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis has teeth, legal experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Disney's lawsuit accused Florida officials of infringing on its constitutional rights. Ron DeSantis culminated in a stunning lawsuit on Wednesday, where the entertainment giant said state officials retaliated against it, citing a lawmaker who said "You kick the hornet's nest, things come up." Schultz said Disney could even seek in the lawsuit to depose DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for president. It targets The Walt Disney Company." The position articulated by state officials — including that the bill's focus extends beyond Disney — shows Disney will likely keep drawing on more pointed material to support its retaliation claims, said Schutz.

☆ Generative AI Tools Use Custom Data to Power More Business Functions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Adobe’s Amit Ahuja, left, Anjul Bhambhri, center, and Ely Greenfield discuss generative AI at the Adobe Summit last week. Business software makers in financial management, design and other areas are rolling out generative artificial intelligence tools that pack troves of industry-specific data into customized applications, aiming for an edge in an already crowded market. By leveraging data gathered from specific business functions—in some cases stockpiled from decades of commercial use—software firms can offer AI tools fine-tuned for distinct applications, industry analysts said. They can also keep underlying algorithms free of extraneous data scraped online from unknown sources, which can produce unreliable results, they said.

Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) unveiled its own service, known as "Picasso," that uses AI to generate images, videos and 3D applications from text descriptions. Nvidia trained the technology on images licensed from Getty Images, Shutterstock Inc (SSTK.N), and Adobe, and plans to pay royalties. Image-generation technology is "trained" on billions of images, but whether that use is legally permitted is not always clear. Because the AI has been trained on Adobe Stock images, openly licensed content and older content where copyright has expired, the resulting creations are safe for commercial use, it said. "We're very interested in making this creator friendly," Ely Greenfield, chief technology officer for digital media at Adobe, told Reuters.

☆ Brazil looks to regulate monetized content on Internet -official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Victor Pereira | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, March 17 (Reuters) - The Brazilian government is studying whether to regulate Internet platforms with content that earns revenue such as advertising, its secretary for digital policies, Joao Brant, said on Friday. The idea would be for a regulator to hold such platforms, not consumers, accountable for monetized content, Brant told Reuters. Platforms would not be held responsible for content individually, but for how diligent they are in protecting the "digital environment," he said in an interview. Brant did not detail what the regulatory body would look like, but said the government wants to regulate monetized content and prevent the platforms from spreading misinformation. Meta questioned its responsibility for removing content without a court decision in a case involving a fake Facebook profile.

[1/2] Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends the APEC Leader's Dialogue with APEC Business Advisory Council during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. Sakchai Lalit/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSYDNEY/WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday he will visit the United States to meet President Joe Biden after a trip to India this week. "I look forward to the continuing engagement that I have with the U.S. administration," Albanese told reporters before leaving for India, without giving a date for his U.S. trip. Ashley Townshend, an Australian Defense expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank, said a new information-sharing agreement would be needed for the submarine program's implementation stage. Albanese will reach India later on Wednesday and will stay until Saturday in the first visit by an Australian prime minister since 2017.

Elected last June, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has struggled to fulfil campaign promises to bring down inflation, which hit 8.7% in January, driven by an 11.2% jump in food prices, the biggest since 2009. Imported onions, bought mostly from India and China, require sanitary and phytosanitary permits for quarantine and biosecurity purposes. Steep price rises for eggs and sugar have also whacked up the cost of putting food on the table. Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics'UNSOLVED' SUPPLY PROBLEMSOfficials say the high inflation was transitory and should ease once supply issues are addressed. Philippines' onion demand and supply($1 = 54.52 Philippine pesos)Additional reporting by Karen Lema and Eloisa Lopez; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A Chinese fighter jet flew within 20 feet of a US military plane over the contested South China Sea, forcing it to take evasive action
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Chinese J-11 fighter jet flew within 20 feet of a US military aircraft over the South China Sea. US Indo-Pacific Command said the Chinese "flew an unsafe maneuver" during the December 21 encounter. The US plane, an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, had to take evasive action, the command said. A video of the incident released by the US military shows the Chinese J-11 jet flying alongside the RC-135. "We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law," the command added.

☆ The US military is planning for a 'transformative' year in Asia as tensions with China continue to rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Amid rising tensions with China, the US military has sought to bolster its presence in Asia. US forces there may see the "most transformative year" in a generation in 2023, a US official said. Major changes to the US military presence in Asia face logistical and political hurdles, however. Other countries have sought more training with the US military or, in the case of Palau, to host US forces. There are opportunities for the US "to expand its access and deepen relationships" in both Northeast and Southeast Asia, said Thompson, a former US Defense Department official, but US leaders will have to reckon with the limits of those partnerships, especially in Southeast Asia.

☆ No food in 9 days for 19 Nevada prisoners on hunger strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

About a dozen people had gathered to show support for the Ely prisoners on the ninth day of their hunger strike. According to the Department of Corrections, two dozen people were participating in the hunger strike as of Friday morning. Marcus Kelley hugs Nina Fernandez, mother of one of the prisoners participating in the Ely State Prison hunger strike, during a rally in Las Vegas, on Dec. 9, 2022. In a statement released hours after the Las Vegas protest, William Gittere, acting director of the Nevada prison system, announced a policy change to “administrative sanctions” in light of the hunger strike. Prior to the hunger strike, prisoners could be punished with “concurrent” sanctions, meaning multiple privileges might be taken from a prisoner at the same time, the statement said.

☆ After leading $20 billion Figma deal, Adobe's David Wadhwani is in prime spot to be next CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

The business Wadhwani oversees is roughly three times the size as Chakravarthy's in terms of revenue. For Wadhwani, Figma represents a risky bet on growth at a time when Wall Street is telling tech companies to tighten their belts and preserve cash. The make-or-break betIn his 15-year tenure as CEO, Narayen hasn't been shy about dealmaking, just at a smaller size. And it might be Wadhwani's make-or-break opportunity to prove he should be CEO of the fourth-biggest U.S. business software company by market cap. Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe Mark Neuling | CNBCThe revenue became more predictable and less closely associated with product releases.

☆ AI tech like Dall-E 2 will eventually kill smartphone apps, A16z VC Peter Levine says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The A16z venture capitalist Peter Levine told Insider that apps were heading for obsolescence. Tech like Dall-E 2 and Stable Diffusion that generates AI artwork will have more uses, he said. Peter Levine is best known as a general partner at the venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. This, instead, would be a series of AI agents that generate what you ask for when you ask for it. The Andreessen Horowitz general partner Peter Levine.

☆ Microsoft and Alphabet earnings are signaling one thing: A lot of bad news has been priced in
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-27 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That's the point: A lot of bad news is already priced into Microsoft. Same with Alphabet, also an EPS and revenue miss, with the slowest revenue growth in two years. Collectively, those stocks comprise more than 30% of the market cap of the S & P, and yet the S & P is only down 17%. How is it possible the S & P 500 is down only 17% when 7 of the biggest stocks are down 31%? Of course, just because tech has been in a bear market doesn't mean it can't go deeper in a hole.

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