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☆ Microsoft took down a string of embarrassing travel articles created with 'algorithmic techniques.' But it says AI isn't the problem.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nathan Mcalone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Microsoft took down a string of embarrassing and offensive travel articles last week. The company said the articles were not published by "unsupervised AI" and blamed "human error." Last week, Microsoft took down a string of articles published by "Microsoft Travel" that included a bizarre recommendation for visitors to Ottawa to visit the Ottawa Food Bank and to "consider going into it on an empty stomach." "This article has been removed and we have identified that the issue was due to human error," a Microsoft spokesperson said. Based on the examples I found, whatever human controls Microsoft had in place were so minimal as to be functionally useless.

Persons: Paris Marx, isn't, Lucia Moses, Kai Xiang Teo Organizations: Microsoft, Morning, Ottawa Food Bank, MSN, CNET Locations: Ottawa, Montreal, Canada, Anchorage, Tokyo

☆ Microsoft has pulled an AI-written travel guide, which told tourists to visit the Ottawa Food Bank if they are hungry
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft has pulled an AI-written travel article that recommended the Ottawa Food Bank as a tourist attraction for the city. "Consider going into it on an empty stomach," wrote the article on the food bank. that recommended the city's food bank as a top tourist attraction. The now-deleted article — which was previously published on Microsoft Start — suggested attractions like "The Winterlude Festival, National War Memorial, and Ottawa Food Bank, and many more." The Ottawa Food Bank was the third attraction on the list and included a caption that said, "Life is already difficult enough.

Persons: Jeff Jones, Microsoft's, Paris Marx Organizations: Microsoft, Ottawa Food Bank, Morning, MSN, Tech, CNET, Gizmodo Locations: Ottawa

☆ Russian troops still build battlefield defenses like they did in World War II, and it's one of their rare successes in Ukraine, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russian troops have spent the past several months constructing intricate fortifications in Ukraine. Ukrainian troops now have the tough task of fighting their way through those trenches and barriers. Current Russian fortification doctrine has seen "little methodological change" since the Cold War, according to the RUSI report. BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty ImagesClearing minefields is difficult because Russian mines have multiple triggers and anti-tampering devices. In addition, Russia did not sign the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, which has allowed its forces to "freely utilize victim-initiated" anti-personnel mines, RUSI said.

Persons: —, Doce, BEN STANSALL, Ukraine isn't, Dominika Zarzycka, RUSI, Obama, Trump, Biden, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Red Army, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Technologies, Russian, REUTERS, Bradley, Getty, US, Pentagon, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Stalingrad, Velyka Blahovischenka, Kherson Oblast, Russia, Luhansk, Crimea, Posad, Kherson, Ukrainian, England, AFP, Russian, Finland, Nemishaieve, Bucha, Ottawa, North, South Korea, Forbes

CNN —When the Toronto Maple Leafs last won a playoff series, George W. Bush was the US President, Lance Armstrong was winning Tour de France titles and The Facebook had just been launched. A lot has happened since 2004, and it has been quite the wait for the Maple Leafs. Before Saturday, the Maple Leafs had lost six straight first-round series, in addition to a qualifying-round loss in 2020 during the NHL bubble. In 2004, the Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators in seven games to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Maple Leafs will face the winner of Game 7 between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers Sunday.

NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) - Fast Retailing's (9983.T) Uniqlo plans to expand its existing stores in North America by 10%, according to one of its executives. Fast Retailing reported a 16.4% rise to 220 billion yen ($1.65 billion) in first-half operating profit earlier this month. The company also raised its full-year profit forecast to 360 billion yen ($2.7 billion) from 350 billion yen ($2.63 billion). Daisuke Tsukagoshi, Uniqlo North America chief executive, said in an email to Reuters that the chain chose to launch the Ottawa and Calgary stores after seeing a "strong online presence" there. Sweden's fast fashion giant H&M has more than 738 stores in North and South America as of February 2023, according to the retailer's website.

[1/2] Picketers gather and march downtown as approximately 155,000 public sector union workers with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) continue to strike, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 24, 2023. For the 155,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) on strike, the main sticking point is wages. "If they do get the remote work language in the collective agreement, then others will be inspired to do the same." PSAC, which names remote work as its second priority after wages, said on its website that it is time to look to the future "by enshrining remote work protections" into collective agreements. On Tuesday the Treasury Board said remote work remained a sticking point.

☆ Take a look back at 24 Sussex Drive, the iconic residency of the Canadian PM now abandoned and overrun with rodents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Canadian prime minister, is in total disrepair. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien meets with Premiers and Territorial leaders Chretien's residence in Ottawa, February 4, 2003. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin (L) holds a First Ministers' meeting at his official residence in Ottawa, January 30, 2004. Conservative leader and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper reacts in between songs while practicing with his band "Herringbone" at 24 Sussex Drive, Harper's official residence, in Ottawa April 22, 2011. Since taking his post as head of state, prime minister Trudeau has opted to live in Rideau Cottage, just less than a mile away from 24 Sussex Drive.

☆ Canadian Olympians among 333 banned from entering Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Some of Canada's best known athletes, including Olympic gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Hayley Wickenheiser, have been included on a list of 333 Canadians banned from entering Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Most of the athletes on the list are retired Canadian Olympians who signed a letter last month urging the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to support a ban of Russia and Belarus from taking part at the 2024 Paris Summer Games unless Russia withdraws from Ukraine. The sanctions are mostly symbolic, with Russia banned from hosting major sporting events and Canadian athletes having no reason to travel to the country. Others on the list barred from entering Russia include the Governor General of Canada Mary Simon and members of the Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia provincial legislatures. Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NHL roundup: Claude Giroux reaches 1,000 points in Senators' win
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Giroux entered the game with 998 points but reached the milestone before the first intermission. Giroux followed up with a backhand shot at the 9:37 mark for his 34th goal of the season, his 1,001st career point and his 52nd career game-winning goal. Jets 6, Sharks 2Defenseman Erik Karlsson reached 100 points this season but couldn't spark his team to victory as host Winnipeg beat San Jose. Stars 6, Red Wings 1Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists to help Dallas earn a road win over Detroit. Wild 4, Blackhawks 2Marcus Johansson scored two of Minnesota's three goals over the final six minutes in its win over host Chicago.

☆ Factbox: What can Finland's armed forces and arsenal offer NATO?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HELSINKI, April 4 (Reuters) - Finland joined NATO on Tuesday, bringing the Western defence alliance significant military capabilities developed over the years. Finland's ground, naval and air forces are all trained and equipped with one primary aim - to repel any Russian invasion. Its most important anti-aircraft system is the NATO-compatible Norwegian-American NASAMS 2. AIR FORCEThe Finnish Air Force has a fleet of 61 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, which are being replaced by 64 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II jets, the delivery of which will begin in 2026. In addition to the jet fleet, the Air Force has dozens of training aircraft and surveillance radars, including ones that have a range of almost 500 km (300 miles).

☆ NHL roundup: Bruins top Blues, reach historic 60-win mark
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] Apr 2, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Bruins center Trent Frederic (11) takes the face-off against St. Louis Blues right wing Kasperi Kapanen (42) during the first period at Enterprise Center. St. Louis (35-35-7, 77 points) was eliminated from playoff contention with the result. The Blues received two goals from Jordan Kyrou, the second of which made it a 3-3 game with 25 seconds remaining in regulation. Brayden Schenn assisted on all three St. Louis goals. St. Louis native Trent Frederic collected two assists and Linus Ullmark recorded 35 saves.

☆ NHL roundup: Ryan O’Reilly's hat trick leads Leafs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

O'Reilly's goals -- his first since joining Toronto in a trade with St. Louis last Friday -- marked his fourth career hat trick. John Tavares added a goal and three assists, William Nylander had a goal and an assist, and Michael Bunting also scored for Toronto. 700, has collected nine points (five goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak. The Canucks scored goals just 51 seconds apart late in the third period to tie it 4-4. Tampa Bay stretched its franchise-record home point streak to 15 games (14-0-1).

☆ NHL roundup: Tim Stutzle helps Senators rally past Flames
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

February 14 - Tim Stutzle scored 1:55 into overtime to cap off a four-point night and give the Ottawa Senators a 4-3 comeback win over the visiting Calgary Flames on Monday. Stutzle had assists on all three of the Senators' earlier goals, and the forward matched a personal best with four points in a game. The Flames are 12-9-11 in one-goal games this season, with the 20 combined one-goal losses leading the NHL. Roman Josi and Colton Sissons scored goals for the Predators, who lost for the second time in their last three games. Sheldon Dries replied for the Canucks, who have just one win in their past five games (1-3-1).

☆ NHL roundup: Wings escape 4-goal hole, top Pens in OT
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dylan Larkin, Joe Veleno, Jonatan Berggren and David Perron also scored and Lucas Raymond had two assists for the Red Wings, who won their second straight game. In Tampa Bay's fifth straight home victory, Alex Killorn and Brandon Hagel tallied while Victor Hedman had two assists. Flames 3, Kraken 2Jonathan Huberdeau scored the tiebreaking goal with eight minutes remaining as Calgary won at Seattle. Adam Henrique scored two goals for Anaheim, the 25th multi-goal game of his career, while Terry and Zegras each assisted on both goals. Mark Stone and Ben Hutton scored for the Golden Knights, who lost consecutive road games for the first time this season.

☆ NHL roundup: Connor McDavid extends point streak to 16 in Oilers' win
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

December 28 - Connor McDavid scored the winning goal in the third period to run his point-scoring streak to 16 games and lead the visiting Edmonton Oilers to an entertaining 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves as the Islanders won their second straight -- their first winning streak since a four-game run Nov. 21-26. Los Angeles goalie Pheonix Copley made 23 saves to extend his personal win streak to five games. New York lost for the second time in three games following a seven-game winning streak. Evan Rodrigues and Mikko Rantanen also scored while Alexandar Georgiev made 27 saves for the Avalanche, whose four-game winning streak ended.

☆ Canada’s Justin Trudeau Defends Use of Emergency Powers Against ‘Freedom Convoy’ Protesters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Paul Vieira | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Parliament Thursday, said he had grown impatient with local police’s inability to end the Ottawa protests. OTTAWA—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a judicial inquiry Friday that he invoked extraordinary powers to end a weekslong protest earlier this year over Covid-19 mandates because local police lost control of the demonstration and key U.S.-Canada trade routes needed to remain open. The prime minister testified at the end of a 31-day inquiry that seeks to determine whether the Canadian leader was justified in invoking emergency powers last February to end the demonstrations. Canada’s emergency-power legislation automatically triggers an independent inquiry following the use of such powers.

The analysis by Canadian researchers, published Tuesday in Radiology, compared the chest scans of marijuana smokers and tobacco-only smokers who were matched according to age. Unlike cigarettes, joints aren’t filtered, and marijuana smokers inhale more deeply and longer than cigarette smokers do. The marijuana smokers were identified by a search through the Ottawa Hospital records, using the terms “marijuana” and “cannabis.” Then Revah and her colleagues determined which of the marijuana smokers had had the chest scan. They then searched for nonsmokers and the cigarette smokers who had received chest scans to compare to the marijuana smokers. The marijuana smokers were ages 20 to 73, the nonsmokers were ages 19 to 75, and the tobacco-only smokers were ages 50 to 71.

☆ Ryan Reynolds interested in buying NHL's Ottawa Senators
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Wayne Sterling | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds is interested in buying the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). “I am trying to (buy the Senators),” Reynolds told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. “This was a necessary and prudent step to connect with those deeply interested parties who can show us what their vision is for the future of the team,” Senators chairman and governor Sheldon Plener said in the Friday statement. Reynolds was born in Vancouver but spent time in Ottawa. “I grew up in Vancouver which has my heart always, but I also grew up in Ottawa, Canada, as I spent a long time in Vanier, which is a little town right inside Ottawa,” Reynolds said.

☆ NHL roundup: Tage Thompson's 6 points help Sabres blast Wings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Oct 31, 2022; Buffalo, New York, USA; Hats are thrown on the ice to celebrate Buffalo Sabres right wing Tage Thompson (72) third goal of the game during the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center. The franchise record is seven points, set by Gilbert Perreault on Feb. 1, 1976. However, the Sabres' defense clamped down and Dahlin, Dylan Cozens, Thompson and Rasmus Asplund each followed with goals. The Red Wings won all four games against the Sabres during the 2021-22 season. Hurricanes 3, Capitals 2 (SO)Andrei Svechnikov scored the decisive goal in a shootout as host Carolina beat Washington.

[1/5] Volunteers fill boxes with donated food at the Ottawa Food Bank warehouse in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 27, 2022. Demand has surged 33% at the Ottawa Food Bank from pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, with visits up as spiraling grocery, gas and rent prices, along with fast-rising borrowing costs, leave more Canadians struggling to make ends meet. "That's because the cost of food has risen ... but also because of the number of people that are turning to a food bank right now," said Wilson. "Our wholesalers are definitely more tentative about spending money," said Farnell. "Everyone's nervous ... Will people be spending money?

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