Tag Archives: United States

17Aug/22

Caste in California: Tech giants confront ancient Indian hierarchy

OAKLAND, Calif, Aug 15 (Reuters) – America’s tech giants are taking a modern-day crash course in India’s ancient caste system, with Apple (AAPL.O) emerging as an early leader in policies to rid Silicon Valley of a rigid hierarchy that’s segregated Indians for generations.

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15Aug/22

OPINION: Besides AI, regulation key to fight mis/disinformation

By Anya Schiffrin, director of the Technology, Media and Communications specialization at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

When worries about online mis/disinformation became widespread after the 2016 U.S. election, there was hope that the tech giants would use artificial intelligence (AI) to fix the mess they created. The hope was that platforms could use AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automatically block or downrank false. illegal or inflammatory content online without governments having to regulate.
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13Aug/22

MasterClass Launches Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice’s Class on Diplomacy

MasterClass, the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world’s best across a wide range of subjects, today announced the launch of a class on diplomacy with two former U.S. secretaries of state—Condoleezza Rice and the late Madeleine Albright. In their class, Albright and Rice provide members with lessons they learned as secretaries of state, including how to build trusted teams, reconcile differences, overcome failed decisions and apply diplomacy in everyday life. Albright and Rice’s class is part of the “MasterClass Presents the White House” series and now available exclusively on MasterClass, where subscribers get unlimited access to all 150+ instructors with an annual membership. Continue reading

11Aug/22

Why searching an ex-president’s estate is not easily done – 4 important things to know about the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago

Clark D. Cunningham, Georgia State University

The FBI’s raid of former President Donald Trump’s estate on Aug. 8, 2022, caught Trump by surprise – and prompted immediate speculation about exactly why and how the law enforcement agency secured a search warrant.

“My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents. … They even broke into my safe!” Trump said in a statement released through his political action committee, Save America.

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05Aug/22

Beyoncé has helped usher in a renaissance for African artists

James Chikomborero Paradza, University of Pretoria

Beyoncé has released her seventh solo studio album, titled Renaissance (2022). The album, an event in global popular culture, is the first of a three-part project by the US artist. Her previous outing, the visual album Black is King (2020), collaborated with a host of African artists. Renaissance pays tribute to black dance music and again features African artists, including Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, who is having a global moment of her own.

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03Aug/22

The story behind ‘Star Trek’ actress Nichelle Nichols’ iconic interracial kiss

Matthew Delmont, Dartmouth College

On a 1968 episode of “Star Trek,” Nichelle Nichols, playing Lt. Uhura, locked lips with William Shatner’s Capt. Kirk in what’s widely thought to be first kiss between a Black woman and white man on American television.

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29Jul/22

James Lovelock: the scientist-inventor who transformed our view of life on Earth

Mark Maslin, UCL

James Lovelock, the maverick scientist and inventor, died surrounded by his family on July 27 2022 – his 103rd birthday. Jim led an extraordinary life. He is best known for his Gaia hypothesis, developed with the brilliant US biologist Lynn Margulis in the 1970s, which transformed the way we think of life on Earth.

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29Jul/22

Cheap copies of GSK’s HIV prevention drug could be ready in 2026

LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) – British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L) has struck a deal to allow low-cost generic versions of its long-acting HIV preventive medicine to be used in the developing world, including sub-Saharan Africa where the virus remains a leading cause of death.

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28Jul/22

Revealed: untold story of the CIA/Stasi double agent abandoned after 22 years of service

Eleni Braat, Utrecht University and Ben de Jong, Leiden University

I was naked, tied to a hard chair with handcuffs. Three or four burly fellows in uniform are standing around me, one of them behind me with a truncheon… ‘Sie sind ein Verräter! [You are a traitor!],’ they snap.

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25Jul/22

Almost 30 million UK 4G smartphone owners automatically included in Which? £480 million legal action against Qualcomm

The consumer champion believes Qualcomm, a multi-billion-dollar US tech company, has been abusing its dominant market position in breach of competition laws, resulting in smartphone manufacturers Apple and Samsung overpaying Qualcomm, with these extra costs passed on to consumers. Continue reading