DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Some Israeli army reservists rule out call-up if judiciary weakened
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Emily Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"I've told the army that if the judicial reform passes (in parliament) I won't continue to come," Colonel N told Reuters, asking not to be further identified. Most Israelis are conscripted into the military for 2-3 years, and some continue as reservists into middle age. While reservists have helped Israel prevail in a string of wars, the army has relied recently on standing forces. 'HUGE DAMAGE'Experts warn the Israeli military could be weakened by reservists rejecting call-ups. "This definitely inflicts huge damage on the capability and capacity of the Israeli forces," Israel Ziv, a former head of army operations, told Reuters.

☆ Move over Ben Franklin: Laser lightning rod electrifies scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] The Laser Lightning Rod, an experimental lighting protection device that diverts the path of lightning bolts using a high-power laser, is seen in action at the top of Mount Santis in Switzerland in this undated photograph. Scientists now are moving to improve on that 18th century innovation with 21st century technology - a system employing a high-powered laser that may revolutionize lightning protection. With further development, this Laser Lightning Rod could safeguard critical infrastructure including power stations, airports, wind farms and launchpads. In experiments during two months in 2021, intense laser pulses - 1,000 times per second - were emitted to redirect lightning strikes. Houard anticipated that 10 to 15 years more work would be needed before the Laser Lightning Rod can enter common use.

Millions of football fans held their breath for close to 20 long minutes Monday night when Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin had a cardiac arrest after making a routine tackle. In the largest study conducted on the subject, 99% of former NFL players showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a devastating neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma. Another key study showed that 40% of retired NFL players have traumatic brain injury, with no correlation between the number of concussions and the severity of the injury. Seau’s death brought the issue of traumatic brain injury to a boiling point, and yet the league’s steps to address the issue appear to be little more than Band-Aids. He raised his hands in an unnatural movement that can be a sign of traumatic brain injury.

☆ Indiana is suing TikTok over claims it misled users about child safety and data security
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The lawsuits center on the safety of user data and the treatment of younger users. One of the lawsuits alleges that TikTok promotes content to young users that isn't age-appropriate. One of the lawsuits alleges that TikTok promotes content to young users that isn't age-appropriate, per court documents. The other lawsuit alleged that users' data can be accessed by Chinese authorities. A spokesperson for TikTok told Insider: "The safety, privacy and security of our community is our top priority.

☆ Indiana Attorney General files lawsuits against TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN Business —Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita on Wednesday announced he has filed two separate lawsuits against TikTok, which accuse the company of making false claims about the safety of user data, and age-appropriate content. “The TikTok app is a malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well the harms it inflicts on users,” Rokita said in a statement. “With this pair of lawsuits, we hope to force TikTok to stop its false, deceptive, and misleading practices, which violate Indiana law.”The lawsuits mark the most serious action taken yet by a state against TikTok, amid increasing attention to and concern about TikTok from state and federal officials in recent months. TikTok does not comment on pending litigation, but said, “the safety, privacy and security of our community is our top priority,” according to a statement from a company spokesperson. And there has been renewed criticism of TikTok this year, stemming from a Buzzfeed News report in June that said some US user data has been repeatedly accessed from China.

She died in hospital three days after being arrested by the country's morality police for allegedly breaking its strict dress-code laws. However, Iran's main state media agencies haven’t covered the remarks, potentially signaling they were not sanctioned by the political establishment. The morality police have not been prominent on the streets of Tehran and other cities for roughly two months. The United States was similarly skeptical that Iran is loosening its hijab laws, according to a senior Biden administration official. They said that it was possible the announcement was made to diminish attendance participation in the three days of strikes this week.

☆ Saudi Arabia inflicts seismic World Cup shock on Argentina
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Saleh Al-Shehri of Saudi Arabia celebrates with his team mates after scoring a goal to make it 1-1 during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group C match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on November 22, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. Saudi Arabia produced one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history as Salem Al-Dawsari's stunning solo effort secured a 2-1 victory over Argentina in Group C at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. Time stood still as Al-Dawsari plucked the ball out from the sky and turned inside two Argentina defenders before curling his finish beyond the reach of Aston Villa defender Emiliano Martinez, producing one of the biggest moments of any World Cup finals. The result ended Argentina's 36-game unbeaten run, stretching back to defeat against Brazil three years ago but this was the greatest day in Saudi Arabian football history. La Albiceleste last lost their opening World Cup group game in 1990 - against Cameroon - but they went on to reach the final where they lost to Germany but that will be of little consolation to the South Americans right now following defeat to the nation ranked 51st in world football.

Yet, in “Till,” filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu offers viewers a different window into Emmett’s life through the perspective of his poised and graceful mother, Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler). But for Black mothers like Mamie, this is a different sort of anxiety. Through Deadwyler’s powerful performance, viewers will feel the palpable fear of Black mothers knowing they can never fully protect their Black children in white America. It is a manic fury that destroys Black lives and inflicts irreparable harm on our community, especially on the psyches of Black mothers. But for Black mothers like Mamie, this is a different sort of anxiety.

The annual adjustment is forecast to be the largest one-time increase since 1981, and the largest experienced by beneficiaries alive today. The nonprofit Senior Citizens League predicts an adjustment coming in at 8.7%, implying that Social Security recipients could see an increase of about $144 starting Jan. 1, 2023. The Federal Reserve has acknowledged the pain inflation inflicts upon on individuals who receive Social Security benefits. Thanks to an unusual quirk, Social Security beneficiaries can expect to realize the full COLA increase. "The lifeboat is leaking and taking on water, leaving older Americans at risk of financial drowning," Johnson wrote.

☆ In a Time of Crisis, Public Discourse Has Descended Into Nonsense
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Gerard Baker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

If I had to pick the most worrying characteristic of our current dystopia, I would choose the unsettling disconnect between the seriousness of the challenges we face and the public discourse that is supposed to be addressing them. A perilous war rages in Europe, as a failing tyrant with nuclear weapons launches desperate new waves of cannon fodder against a nation whose defense we are financing and reinforcing. In Asia, the emerging Chinese superpower is in the throes of a significant economic and social upheaval that may propel it toward the full-scale confrontation it increasingly threatens with Taiwan, an island whose people we are pledged to defend. At home we are caught in the worst of economic traps—as the Federal Reserve inflicts unavoidable monetary pain to kill the surging inflation incurred by its avoidable mistake. Meanwhile the global economy seems to be sliding into a potentially serious recession, and financial markets are eroding our wealth at a dizzying pace.

☆ These are all the federal crimes Trump extremists could be charged with after their attack on the US Capitol
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-08 | by ( Dave Levinthal | Tina Sfondeles | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Federal authorities and other law enforcement will likely make more arrests within days, if not hours. "These fools made it easy for law enforcement to find them because they were posing for pictures. An Insider analysis of the United States Code, coupled with interviews with several leading experts on federal law, identified more than a dozen different federal crimes that could apply to Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol. Assaulting, resisting, or impeding government officialsVideos both inside and outside the Capitol showed numerous pro-Trump extremists physically fighting with and otherwise interfering with federal law enforcement and other government officials. Anyone who "willfully injures or commits any depredation against any property of the United States" commits a federal crime.

Search resuls for: "inflicts"

11 mentions found