DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Four takeaways from the first 2024 Republican presidential debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy debate each other across Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at the first Republican candidates' debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. August 23. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Eight contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination jockeyed for voters’ attention on Wednesday at the party’s first debate, while the front-runner Donald Trump, the former president, bypassed the event. Here are four takeaways from the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin:NEW KID IN TOWNIn his first political debate, Vivek Ramaswamy, 38, was widely expected to be a wild card. “Can't we all agree that we're not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?” said Haley, the only woman on the debate stage. For the candidates on the debate stage, it was by talking about on how regular Americans are struggling with the cost of items such as groceries, fuel and cars.

Persons: Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Brian Snyder, Donald Trump, Ramaswamy, howls, Ron DeSantis, ” DeSantis, Pence, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, I've, ” Christie, Christie, Barack Obama, ”, Tucker Carlson, Bret Baier, Trump’s, Trump, Nikki Haley, Haley, we're, DeSantis, ” Pence, “ It’s, ” Haley, “ Don’t, Biden, it’s, Joe Biden’s, Hunter Biden, James Oliphant, Colleen Jenkins, Howard Goller Organizations: U.S, Florida Governor, Republican, REUTERS, Rights, Trump, Twitter, Fox News, Congress, Ukraine, Former South Carolina, Biden, Democratic, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Florida, Milwaukee , Wisconsin, U.S, New Jersey, Russia, America

☆ Mark Zuckerberg rocked up to a Taylor Swift concert looking like a 'Fearless,' beaded-bracelet-wearing fanboy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Zuck showed up looking bejeweled at the Eras Tour in California. Mark Zuckerberg is a busy man, but he still has time to get his Swiftie on. "Life of a girl dad," Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram, showing off his concert glam — which included little gemstones bejeweling his face. On top of that, off-duty Zuck also sported an impressive stack of beaded bracelets for what one might guess are his favorite Swift eras. It's unclear how long Zuck has been a Swift fan, or how much of her music he listens to on the reg.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuck, Taylor, Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg, Barbie, humanize, Elon Musk Organizations: Elon Locations: California, Santa Clara, Cali

☆ For Filipino Audiences, ‘Here Lies Love’ Offers Emotional Rip Currents
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Melena Ryzik | More About Melena Ryzik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For him, even after so many years with the show, the addition of Filipino producers was deeply meaningful. “It made me feel safe,” he said, “knowing that the Filipinos were in charge, that we could just do our jobs” as artists. Like Salonga, he has played a variety of ethnicities, just about none of them Filipino. “I feel like I owe all of those ethnicities an apology — like, I’m sorry I got cast,” Salonga said. “I want to see other communities of color be able to look at ‘Here Lies Love’ and go, ‘We can do that.

Persons: Aquino, “, Ferdinand, ”, “ kuya, Salonga, ” Salonga Organizations: Broadway

☆ Felipe Romero Beltrán’s photographs document Spain’s ‘Kafka-esque’ migration system
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Felipe Romero Beltrán/Courtesy Loose Joints Beltrán's subjects recreate the moment one of them landed on Spain's coast. Felipe Romero Beltrán/Courtesy Loose Joints "The system is built to avoid you, or to deny you access to (it)," Beltrán said. Felipe Romero Beltrán/Courtesy Loose Joints The men are pictured working out and giving one another hair cuts. Felipe Romero Beltrán/Courtesy Loose Joints Beltrán often turned his lens on conditions inside the facility in which the nine migrants lived. Felipe Romero Beltrán/Courtesy Loose Joints "Dialect," published by Loose Joints, is available now.

Persons: Felipe Romero Beltrán’s, Beltrán, ” Beltrán, Felipe Romero Beltrán, Youssef Elhafidi, ” Elhafidi, “, —, ”, “ Authorizations, ‘, Elhafidi Organizations: CNN, “, Spanish, Beltrán, UNHCR Locations: Spain, Seville, Andalucía, Madrid, “, Spanish, Spain's, Morocco, Strait, Gibraltar, Colombia, ”

☆ Face of seventh-century teen buried with rare cross revealed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

She was ceremoniously laid to rest with a gold and garnet-encrusted cross, and her burial site was uncovered more than a decade ago. The remains of the teen, who died around the age of 16, according to researchers, presented striking questions: Where did she come from? The Trumpington Cross was found during an excavation of the grave in 2012. And her ornately decorated cross, often referred to as the Trumpington Cross, indicates she was likely an aristocrat, if not royalty, and one of the era’s earliest Christian converts. The Trumpington Cross that was found at the burial site, believed to have been unearthed for the first time since the seventh century.

Persons: —, you’ve, ”, Sam Leggett, Leggett, ” Leggett, University of Cambridge Leggett, bioarchaeologists, Hew Morrison, Morrison, ” Morrison, It’s, Sam Lucy, ” Lucy, she’s, “ Organizations: CNN, University of Edinburgh, University of Cambridge, Christian Church, University of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology Locations: Great Britain, Cambridge, Trumpington, Scotland, England, Germany, what’s, United Kingdom, Cambridge Region, ”

☆ Black Experience, Past and Present, Made Haunting and Surreal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Randy Boyagoda | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Uncanny disquiet governs the stories in this collection. In “Heads,” Jimi Hendrix, who has appeared elsewhere in Allen’s fiction, spends late nights with the painter Francis Bacon, the two talking about art-making and life while Jimi occasionally strums his guitar. In the collection’s title story, Allen sends the boxer Jack Johnson to Australia for a high-profile fight, where his celebrity and Blackness lead to singular experiences at racialized extremes of local life. On description alone, you might think this is merely weird and wise comedy, but I think Allen has more in common with Donald Glover than George Saunders. These are difficult, inventive stories that, at their best, occupy a range of frequencies and otherworldly places with — to borrow Allen’s brilliant three-word description of Jimi Hendrix’s way with music — a “fierce itching dazzle.”

Persons: disquiet, Allen, Allen —, ” Miles Davis loathes, Jimi Hendrix, Francis Bacon, Jimi, Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Ali, Larry Holmes, Donald Glover, George Saunders, ”, Jimi Hendrix’s Organizations: Chicago, Champ Locations: Australia, “ Atlanta

☆ Opinion: How to respond to anti-LGBTQ hate this Pride month
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Opinion Allison Hope | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

I promise there are some simple and immensely helpful ways in which LGBTQ people and allies can take action in June and every month. Don Arnold/Getty ImagesIf you don’t know where to begin with lobbying, look to an LGBTQ or civil rights group doing the hard work on the ground. Commit to learning and teaching: Even members and strong allies of the LGBTQ community can benefit from fresh learning. After all, the LGBTQ community is anything but a monolith — there are so many diverse forms of representation and a landscape that is quickly evolving. It’s also not a bad time to support brands that are supportive of the LGBTQ community.

Persons: Allison Hope, Read, Allison, ”, isn’t, ” Melanie Willingham, “, they’re, Octavio Jones, allyship, —, Don Arnold, Virginia Woolf’s, Orlando ”, Dorian Gray ”, Oscar Wilde, Janet Mock’s, ” Young, Maia Kobabe’s, Juno Dawson, Jessica Love, Wilhelmina ”, Joseph Belisle, It’s, Ron DeSantis, intersectionality, let’s Organizations: New Yorker, The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Slate, Allison Hope, Tampa Pride, Getty, Progress, Florida Capitol, Sydney Opera House, Volunteer, Reading, Florida Gov, Twitter, Facebook Locations: New, Florida, Tampa, Tallahassee, Australia, Virginia, Paisley, America

☆ We all need 'Sushi Tuesdays': Finding a way forward after suicide
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Jodie Sadowsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —When Sam Maya, a beloved husband, father, friend, stockbroker and coach, died by suicide 16 years ago, he left a note. Maya spent nearly a decade writing "Sushi Tuesdays," which aims to humanize the face of suicide. Post Hill PressShe spent nearly a decade writing “Sushi Tuesdays,” beginning with a blog by the same name, an homage to the weekly ritual she created after her husband’s death. When Sam Maya died, Tasheff was a single mother living on a budget in Brooklyn and couldn’t travel to California to visit. Maya continues to honor her Tuesdays with therapy and yoga, a hike with a friend, and sometimes a sushi lunch.

Persons: Sam Maya, Charlotte, Charlotte Maya, Maya, Ashwini, Nadkarni, ”, “, Sam, ” Maya, Gregory Stratz, Tim Stratz, Jason Maya, Parker, Danny Maya, Daniel Stratz, Karen Ray, they’d, The, Jane Doe, Jane, she’s, Jane ”, Bess ”, Katherine Tasheff, Tasheff, swiftness, Daniel, Daniels, —, Lauren Kerwin, Kerwin Organizations: CNN, Post, Press, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Research, Brigham, Women’s Hospital, Psychological, Karen Ray Photography, Rice University, American Foundation for Suicide Locations: Boston, Maya’s, Brooklyn, California

CNN —Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and 2024 Republican presidential contender, sharply criticized the party’s top-polling candidates in a CNN town hall in Iowa on Sunday. “This is bigger than Ukraine,” Haley said during the CNN town hall, “this is a war about freedom and it’s one we have to win. “I don’t trust the government to deal with red flag laws. Red flag laws or “extreme risk protection orders,” as Michigan Gov. On the trail, Haley has called for raising the retirement age for people currently in their 20s and limiting Social Security and Medicare benefits for wealthier Americans.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, ” Haley, Haley, “, DeSantis, Vladimir Putin –, that’s, Trump, Kim Jong, don’t, ”, Biden, “ We’ve, CNN Haley, you’ve, Gretchen Whitmer, we’re, ’ Haley, I’ll, DeSantis ’, –, we’ve, China Haley, Joe Biden’s, Michael’s, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, South, Sunday, United Nations, Capitol, Florida Gov, Disney, United, Trump, Ukraine, Russia, North, Health, WHO, Putin, Democratic, Republicans, Michigan Gov, Social Security, GOP, Medicare, Congress, Democratic National, Republican, Florida Republicans, South Carolina Army National Guard Locations: South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, United States, Russia, Haley’s, Ukraine, Afghanistan, ”, China, Taiwan

☆ Casey and Ron DeSantis have such a close partnership they've morphed into a singular entity people call 'The DeSanti:' Politico
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

People close to Ron DeSantis say he and his wife Casey are like a singular entity: "The DeSanti." They told Politico Casey DeSantis has the most sway over her husband and is "more paranoid than he is." "She is both his biggest asset and his biggest liability," a DeSantis donor told Politico. Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey are so inseparable they've morphed into one collective being that people close to them dub "The DeSanti." She's the scorekeeper, " a high-ranking DeSantis staffer told Politico.

☆ Opinion | In Defense of Nostalgia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The Columbia University professor Mark Lilla, a perspicacious liberal critic of the contemporary right and left, has an essay in the latest issue of Liberties Journal analyzing the appeal and perils of nostalgia. Lilla illustrates this peril with a long discussion of the role that nostalgia and imagined pasts played in the rise and shape and savagery of National Socialism in Germany. The fascists were heirs to Augustan Rome not because of an affinity between their worldviews, but because Augustan Rome had a lot of would-be heirs. And it had all those heirs and imitators because the phenomenon Lilla describes, the redirection of nostalgia for past greatness toward a vision of the future, is an essential part of human civilization-building. Or alternatively, nostalgic rediscoveries are often necessary to humanize and tame the excesses of progress, to maintain continuities that might otherwise be shattered by social or technological shifts.

☆ Defendant Lashes Out From Witness Stand During Proud Boys Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Alan Feuer | Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A defendant in the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy case lashed out at prosecutors from the witness stand on Thursday, attacking them for conducting what he described as a “corrupt trial” marred by “fake charges.”The outburst by the defendant, Dominic Pezzola, came during testimony that was meant to humanize him for the jury but seemed instead to expose his combative nature. In a tense back-and-forth with a prosecutor, Mr. Pezzola — who was among the first rioters to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — also sought to play down the violence of that day, saying that the crowd that forced its way into the building was not “an invading force,” but merely “trespassing protesters.”The angry testimony emerged as the trial — now in its fourth month in Federal District Court in Washington — was finally winding down. Each of the defendants rested as the day came to an end on Thursday. Closing arguments could begin as early as Friday. A former Marine and a veteran boxer, Mr. Pezzola first took the witness stand on Tuesday, telling the jury that he wanted to testify — always a risky gamble — “to take responsibility for my actions on Jan. 6.”

☆ A Psychedelics Pioneer Takes the Ultimate Trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times Talk A Psychedelics Pioneer Takes the Ultimate TripAs the founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Dr. Roland Griffiths has been a pioneer in investigating the ways in which psychedelics can help treat depression, addiction and, in patients with a life-threatening cancer diagnosis, psychological distress. He has also looked at how the use of psychedelics can produce transformative and long-lasting feelings of human interconnectedness and unity. “So I believe that in principle we shouldn’t need this Stage 4 cancer diagnosis to awaken. Is your perspective maybe one that a 40-year-old, say, with a terminal cancer diagnosis would be able to inhabit so profoundly? If I had a regret, it’s that I didn’t wake up as much as I have without a cancer diagnosis.

☆ How podcasters use ChatGPT and other AI tools in their workflows — and what listeners think the rules should be
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Podcasters have been testing ChatGPT and a variety of other AI tools to support their workflow. 5 podcasters shared how they use AI tools and how they approach ChatGPT. Insider spoke with five podcasters about their use of ChatGPT and other AI tools in their everyday workflow. They also said they'd successfully experimented with other AI tools that cut down the editing and marketing portion of the process. Osborne and Motiversity founder Joel Huculak have used ChatGPT to write scripts for these videos.

☆ A New York Times book critic says Ron DeSantis' memoir reads like it was 'churned out by ChatGPT'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The New York Times' nonfiction book critic Jennifer Szalai tore into Ron DeSantis' book on Monday. Szalai wrote that DeSantis' new book "reads like a politician's memoir churned out by ChatGPT." Szalai is a full-time book critic and writes weekly book reviews for The Times. The new DeSantis book gives readers a closer look at his life"The Courage to Be Free," a deeper look into DeSantis' life, was released on February 28. I didn't want Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck in our wedding photos," DeSantis wrote.

☆ A man was given the death penalty after footage of him being roasted in jail by Comedy Central's Jeff Ross was used in his sentencing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Comedy Central roast is at the heart of a death row appeal heading to the US Supreme Court. 2015 footage of Jeff Ross roasting Texas jail inmates was used at a murder convict's sentencing. The inmate's lawyers say the footage shouldn't have been used and impacted the sentence. Comedian Jeff Ross talks to Conan O'Brien in 2015 about his Comedy Central roast of jail inmates. But Hall's lawyers say this still contravened his "no contact" order and was done without prior legal advice, ultimately arguing it violates Hall's Sixth Amendment rights.

☆ Why three robot sisters could be the friendly face of AI
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Nadia Leigh-Hewitson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The key to winning over a skeptical public could be a family of robot “sisters.”Sophia, Grace and Desdemona are humanoid robots, each programmed with sophisticated AI. However, their AI “brains” were engineered by Ben Goertzel, former chief scientist at the company, and now CEO of blockchain-based AI company SingularityNET. The robot will never get bored with it.”Are we already living in a robot future? Giving people the opportunity to interact with relatable robots could help humanize AI, and go some way to improving its image. This is one of the reasons that people respond so well to humanoid robots.”

☆ This 29-year-old makes $22,000 a month from her art side hustle: 'I work less than 2 hours a day on it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Domonique Brown | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards "Black Hair is Dope": I created this portrait to challenge stereotypes about Black people wearing durags. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards I created this piece for Bath & Body Works to commemorate Juneteenth. Artwork: Domonique BrownI never limit myself when it comes to experimenting with ideas. After I log off from my day job, I switch gears and create artwork. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards "Reflection" is one of my highest-selling pieces.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's defense that he 'didn't know exactly what was going on' isn't a defense for leaders
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The FTX founder said he "didn't know exactly what was going on." His defense isn't acceptable for leaders who should know the inner workings of their companies. "I didn't know exactly what was going on," Bankman-Fried, 30, told the Times on November 30. Bankman-Fried's defense isn't acceptable for business leaders who should know the inner workings of their companies. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images'I didn't know' was his only defenseSorkin started his interview by noting there are two views of what occurred at FTX.

On Sunday the globe’s gaze will turn to the controversial hosts of this year’s soccer World Cup, Qatar. (The Qatar body responsible for putting on the 2022 World Cup has strongly denied these claims.) According to official Qatari figures, 38 migrant workers have died while working on official World Cup projects. An investigation by The Guardian, however, estimates up to 6,500 migrant worker deaths since the World Cup was awarded to the Gulf country, though it’s not clear what their exact relation to World Cup infrastructure was. But the people of the Middle East shouldn’t be punished by having the World Cup tournament withdrawn for the failures of their governments.

☆ Elon Musk has just given this little-known Twitter exec the toughest job in advertising right now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Twitter executive Robin Wheeler is leading the company's global ad sales teams. But she is now de facto Twitter ad sales chief, and those who know her say she's used to navigating complex problems. Advertisers describe a sales team hampered by an information vaccuum as Musk unleashes chaos through his tweetsOne of Wheeler's biggest tasks is getting a depleted ad sales team organized and running. From AOL to Twitter, Wheeler has managed sales teams in crisis beforeWheeler has operated successfully in chaotic environments before. In 2020, she become the commercial lead for MoPub, Twitter's ad network that helped publishers and app developers sell mobile ads.

☆ 'Spector' review: A Showtime docuseries examines Phil Spector's legacy while giving Lana Clarkson near-equal time
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Perhaps most notably, this Showtime docuseries gives near-equal time to victim Lana Clarkson, including how the media posthumously denigrated her. “Phil Spector very much saw himself as a victim of all kinds of things,” says Vikram Jayanti, who interviewed the producer for a BBC documentary. Spector’s attorneys fueled that by playing a reel of her appearances in movies like “Barbarian Queen” in court, which, some observers noted, merely served to humanize her. “What a horrible fate for a legend,” says Paul Shaffer, David Letterman’s band leader and one of Spector’s friends. “Spector” premieres November 4 on Showtime’s streaming service and November 6 at 9 p.m.

☆ Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz spared death penalty. Victims' families might be better off.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Emilia Benton | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Though many were shocked he didn’t receive the death penalty, and many victims’ family members were visibly upset by the decision, it’s wrong to assume this would have automatically brought them solace. The lengthy proceedings stirred up decades-old memories of waiting to find out whether my own mother’s murderer would receive the death penalty. It’s the prime example people use when they’re surprised to learn I’m not fervently in favor of the death penalty. Sometimes family members of victims do have clear-cut feelings that the death penalty is needed. It’s time for everyone in this country, from lawmakers to the general public, to prioritize the effect of the death penalty on a victim’s survivors over their own political ideologies.

☆ I give Salem witch trial tours at Halloween. It's definitely 18+ content, but I try to humanize the victims.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Ann Matica | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She gives historically accurate Salem Witch Trial walking tours that are two hours long. I first got a job doing tours at the Witch House, which is the only remaining structure you can visit in Salem with any ties to the Salem witch trials. I've been studying the Salem witch trials on my own since I was 15, and I came to Salem for the first time at that age. I picked up a book by Marilynne K. Roach, which is like the definitive book on the Salem witch trials, and I got into learning about it from there. I have 12 stops on my tour, including the Salem Witch Trial Memorial, which is where we end our tours.

☆ Ana de Armas’ fearless performance deserves a better movie than ‘Blonde’
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

It’s not a fresh take or a wrong one, but the tone is so self-conscious and surreal as to blunt those insights. Dominik also distastefully deals with Monroe’s lost pregnancies by peeking at the fetus inside her, which becomes symbolic of just how overdone much of the movie is. Still, “Blonde” is almost wholly de Armas’ show, and to the extent it’s worth sitting through at all give her every ounce of credit. Indeed, once you get past admiring de Armas’ immersion into the role, that’s the only itch that “Blonde” seems to know how to scratch. “Blonde” premieres September 16 in select US theaters and September 28 on Netflix.

Search resuls for: "humanize"

25 mentions found