Podcasts about Response

When you experience difficult trials, it's easy to complain and be discouraged. But look to Paul, who viewed his imprisonment as an opportunity to advance the Gospel. Pray that your first response to hardships would not be to complain, but to consider how you can glorify God!

On this free episode of CAFE Insider, Preet and Joyce react to the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and break down the report on Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment issued by the Office of the New York State Attorney General. They also discuss reporting from the New Yorker's Ronan Farrow that details a previously-undisclosed 2014 phone call that Cuomo made to the Obama White House regarding Preet and SDNY's investigation into corruption in Albany. To listen to future episodes of CAFE Insider and get access to all exclusive CAFE Insider content, try the membership free for two weeks: www.cafe.com/insider Use special code JOYCE for 50% off on the annual membership price.  Sign up to receive the free weekly CAFE Brief newsletter: www.cafe.com/brief This podcast is brought to you by CAFE Studios and Vox Media Podcast Network.  Tamara Sepper – Executive Producer; Adam Waller – Senior Editorial Producer; Matthew Billy – Audio Producer; Jake Kaplan – Editorial Producer REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:  “Report of Investigation Into Allegations of Sexual Harassment by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo,” NY Attorney General report, 8/3/21 “Response to Special Investigators' Report,” Executive Chamber attorney Paul Fishman letter, 8/4/21 “Andrew Cuomo's War Against a Federal Prosecutor,” The New Yorker, 8/10/21 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1.    How do you feel about God having specific instructions and commands for us about worship? Good or bad? 2.    Do you sometimes struggle with compartmentalizing the spiritual and worship away from the rest of your life? 3.    What is some of the work and what are some of the tasks that you take pride and joy in doing well?  Do you see this as imaging God? 4.     Do you think God is in the specifics and particulars of your life, or more in the general and universals of humanity broadly? 5.    How often is your response to God grateful, habitual or begrudging?  What can you do to respond to God more out of gratitude? 6.     Do you live in a world of scarcity? 7.     Do you trust God to supply everything he asks of you?

The most common complaint we hear about beauty schools is how they don't prepare stylists for real life in the salon.  As the President/Owner of Salon Success Academy, operating 6 locations in Southern California, Robert Gross gives us the inside look at what it's like running a beauty school and the challenges that are constantly presented. He has long championed the need to raise the professionalism and image of the beauty industry in the state of California by co-founding, and participating as an active board member of the Professional Beauty Federation of California.  This Week's Topics: • The complications of beauty school and funding for students  • Accreditation issues when trying to modernize beauty school  • Trying to change and update state requirements  • SB 803 – the good and the bad  • Response to the complaint of beauty school not preparing them for life in the salon  • What he would change about the industry – the industry's image from the outside   Have you left a review for The Hair Game Podcast yet? We have a monthly drawing to win $500 cash! To enter, just leave a review on the Apple podcasts app or iTunes. ⁣⁣Don't forget to leave your Instagram handle so we can find you!⁠ FOLLOW US http://www.instagram.com/thehairgamepodcast http://www.instagram.com/salonrepublic http://www.instagram.com/loveerictaylor http://www.facebook.com/salonrepublic    

Enjoy another Whisperpedia episode featuring: *Theories about Stonehenge,  learn all about HOW it was built, WHY it was built, and WHO built it [starts @6m:45s]. Try the Sleep With Me podcast>https://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com/subscribe/ Links for Sleep Whispers: Be a Podcast Supporter and get 400+ episodes: http://bit.ly/sw241. Wireless SleepPhones (affiliate link)>http://bit.ly/sp212. Current Giveaway>https://bit.ly/sw236. Website>https://sleepwhispers.com/ Want the newest episodes sent right … Continue reading 266 Whisperpedia: Stonehenge – Purpose & Construction

In its 17th year, Crisis Response Journal is the global information resource covering all aspects of human-induced disasters or natural hazards, spanning response, disaster risk reduction, resilience, business continuity, and security.CRJ is about bringing agencies, disciplines, nations, and the private and public sectors together to understand their different roles and perspectives, thereby improving a unified response to large-scale crises or averting crises in the first place effective disaster risk reduction.The CRJ cover a range of threats, from CBRN and cybercrime to conventional terrorism, from pandemic protection and preparedness to flooding, from fires and chemical incidents to large scale natural emergencies such as earthquakes, from environmental degradation to climate issues, from critical infrastructure protection to business and national continuity, security, resilience, and sustainability.Emily HoughWeb - https://www.crisis-response.com/Groups/352125/Crisis_Response.aspxTwitter - https://twitter.com/editorialcrjLinkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/company/crisis-response-journal/Todd De VoeWebsite - https://toddtdevoe.com/Website- www.crisis-cafe.comSpeak N Spark-https://bit.ly/3sTVUfrLinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3sVHL1gEM WeeklyWebsite - https://bit.ly/3jj5ItlTwitter - https://bit.ly/31z8MeXFacebook - https://bit.ly/3dMlbRPLinkedIn - https://bit.ly/34mXyfzYouTube - https://bit.ly/2FQDhWdSister ShowsEM Student Web - https://bit.ly/2Hw0sFxTwitter - https://bit.ly/31z8MeXFacebook - https://bit.ly/3dMlbRPLinkedIn - https://bit.ly/34mXyfzYouTube - https://bit.ly/2FQDhWdThe Business Continuity ShowTwitter - https://bit.ly/3ojEIO2Facebook - https://bit.ly/2Tjqv5HLinkedIn - https://bit.ly/34mXyfzYouTube - https://bit.ly/3mePJyGSponsors Outer Limit Supply https://bit.ly/2FR26Bp Coupon Code “EMWEEKLY” Power Up- https://www.powerupconnect.com/If you would like to become a sponsor or advertiser Call Sitch Radio (714) 643-2500 X 1

APHL Food Safety ProgramAPHL on TwitterRisky or Not?Michelle (Maslov) Forman | LinkedInThe Partnership for Food Safety Education | Fight BAC!FoodSafety.govDon Schaffner

Please be sure to grab my free THYROID GUIDE to make sure your doctor is not missing your thyroid issue   The Question I work out and watch what I eat but every year, I gain weight. I can't get rid of it. Is there anything I can do?  Inna's Response  Yes. There is absolutely something that you can do! The first step is to get a clear picture of what's going on with your thyroid levels. Make sure you get the full thyroid panel including TSH (which is where most tests stop), T 3, free T4, Free T3, and reverse T3. I also recommend testing thyroid antibodies and T3 uptake. For more on these tests and how to understand your results, you can download my FREE THYROID GUIDE   This has to do with unexplained weight gain because your levels may not be optimal (even if your doctor doesn't note it). If you have Hashimoto's, you may experience thyroid destruction so you need to make sure your levels are optimal To improve weight loss, you will also want to balance inflammation and support your immune system. This could include eating anti-inflammatory foods and balancing blood sugar.  Resist the urge to skip meals and avoid carb-loading. If you eat regular, balanced meals and your blood sugar is balanced you will have much more success.    The Question Is it true that if you have Hashimoto's, you can easily develop other autoimmune diseases?  Inna's Response  Sadly, this is true. When we have an autoimmune disease like Hashimoto's, the immune system has become confused about what it should be fighting against. In the case of Hashimoto's the immune system is attacking the thyroid.  If the immune system stays confused and nothing is done to help balance and calm the system then it can attack other organs. And there's something called cross-reactivity where antibodies of the thyroid can cross-react with other tissues and potentially cause another autoimmune disease. This is all the more reason to balance inflammation and support the immune system, not just the thyroid with medication. I dive a little deeper into this in this episode but you can also find more information about solving the autoimmune mystery by listening to episode 32 of Health Mysteries Solved.    The Question Can I have thyroid symptoms if my TSH is just a little bit outside of the reference range?  Inna's Response  The answer is yes, especially if your other thyroid hormones (like T4 and T3) are low. This is why I always say that you have to look at the full thyroid panel because the TSH is not a clear enough indication of what's really going on with your thyroid. You need thyroid hormone for everything in your body so you can definitely have symptoms if your levels are outside of optimal.  If you have Hashimoto's, some symptoms could be due to the inflammation or your immune systems struggle to regulate.    The Question How do you know if Synthroid is working or if you need to switch?   Inna's Response  There are two key things you need to look at.  The first is to check your thyroid levels. If this is a new medication, you want to check all of your thyroid levels within the first 4-6 weeks to see how it is working. Synthroid isT4 so it does not give you any T3, the active hormone which your body needs so you want to check t3 to make sure you are able to convert it properly. For some people, this conversion is an issue. So, they may be taking Synthroid but the body is not converting it properly and they continue to have symptoms. This is why it's so important to not rely solely on the TSH levels.  The second key thing is how you actually feel. Sometimes the labs are picture perfect but the person still doesn't feel well.  This could be for a couple of different reasons. One is that medications have fillers, excipients or colorings which can cause a reaction. There are other options and brands that are slightly different. For example, one is called Tirosint which is easy to absorb (it's a gel cap) and it doesn't contain any excipients or desiccated thyroid which works a little differently in the body and some people feel a difference with those.     The Question Why does my thyroid medication stop working after several months?  Inna's Response  If you have Hashimoto's, you can experience flare-ups where the thyroid gland is under attack. Some people have more flare-ups than others. Over time, these flare-ups can destroy the gland itself so that it is less able to produce hormones requiring more medication. So, even if you've been on the same dose of medication for a long time, you may suddenly feel like it has stopped working but in actuality, you just need to adjust your dose.  There is a second possibility that has to do with absorption. Your body's ability to absorb the medication can fluctuate depending on inflammation in the body, exposure to toxins especially things like plastics or pesticides. These can block the receptors so that even though the medication is coming in, your cells can't absorb it.  In either of these cases, you will want to pay close attention to triggers. To help reduce triggers, focus on eating a clean diet (keeping it organic when you can), reducing stress, checking ingredients of personal care and clearing products.  This should help reduce some of the triggers and inflammation.     The Question Will I be on medication forever?  Inna's Response  This depends on whether you have hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's.  If it's hypothyroidism not caused by Hashimoto's, it could be due to some type of inflammation or it may have been triggered by toxin exposure or a virus in the thyroid. In those cases, it is possible for the thyroid function to return and for medication to be stopped.  In the case of Hashimoto's, the thyroid gets destroyed over time. The goal here is not so much to get off the medication as it is to stop further attack on the thyroid. It is possible for the thyroid to regenerate but it is unknown if it can regenerate enough to no longer require medication.  Let me address something here because I know that a lot of people think medication is bad and that Synthroid is bad because it's synthetic and unnatural. I try to get people to shift their thinking around this because thyroid is an essential hormone that you need for all of the cells in your body. So, this medication is replacing something that, for whatever reason, your body is not producing but absolutely needs. It's essential. It's much worse for your body to be deficient in thyroid hormone than to take the hormone.  I do get it. I struggled with this for a long time but was able to reframe my thinking around it because for me, it is something my body really needs. I think that especially with Hashimoto's, it's about keeping things balanced to prevent more attack and the need to increase the medication. If you can do that and keep your medication at the same dose without the need to increase each year, you are doing a great job!    The Question At my last check, my TSH was where we wanted it to be and I'm doing well and losing weight. However, I have hair loss. Why is that still the case?   Inna's Response  It's true that your thyroid plays an important role in your hair health but it's not solely responsible! There are a lot of other things at play when it comes to your hair.  The first thing you want to check are your iron levels (not just your hemoglobin - check iron saturation and ferritin) to make sure those are in range.  Note that ferritin will fluctuate a little with your menstrual cycle so if it's low but everything else looks good, you should be okay. If you are low in iron, you'll want to look into dietary changes and supplements.  The other big thing that people don't often realize affects hair health is blood sugar. If you're skipping means or your meals aren't balanced, you may be experiencing insulin spikes. That can influence polycystic ovarian syndrome and which can affect your estrogen and testosterone levels. This can directly affect the hair.    The Question I understand that gluten and dairy can be issues for those with Hashimoto's but what about coffee or tea, can those aggravate it? Inna's Response  Yes, they possibly can.  Some people who have thyroid issues also have sensitive adrenal glands. Coffee has caffeine which can overstimulate the adrenal glands. The thyroid and adrenals work closely together so if the adrenals are overstimulated, the thyroid can suffer.  Additionally, coffee can cross-react with gluten, so if you have an issue with gluten, there is a possibility that it could also be an issue with coffee. To be sure, you can do a food sensitivity test to see if coffee is an issue.  Finally, be aware that green tea, specifically, can overstimulate the immune system which can cause problems for those with Hashimoto's.       The Question I have double-vision from Hashimoto's. Should I see an eye specialist? Inna's Response  Yes. An eye specialist is always helpful but it's important that you address your immune system. There is definitely a relationship between autoimmunity and the inflammatory process. In the case of Hashimoto's, it attacks the thyroid but it can also attack other tissues like those in the eyes. So, yes, definitely see a specialist but also look at your Hashimoto triggers and anything that might be causing inflammation to try to reduce flare-ups.    The Question What are the chances of getting pregnant with Hashimoto's? Inna's Response  The chances are very, very good - I'm living proof with two kids. I have hundreds and hundreds of clients with Hashimoto's who have gotten pregnant. To increase your chances, make sure to support the immune system and that all of your thyroid levels are where they should be. If you don't have enough thyroid hormone, it can cause issues with conception and increase the chance of a miscarriage.    The Question Is it safe to take Levothyroxine or Synthroid while pregnant? Inna's Response  Yes, yes, yes! Not only is it safe, it's absolutely needed if your TSH is high and your hormones are low. For the first 8 weeks, the baby is actually relying on your thyroid hormone before their thyroid gland forms. So, yes it is extremely safe and extremely important for you to support your thyroid during pregnancy if you don't have enough naturally.    The Question What are the root causes of a goiter (aside from iodine deficiency)?  Inna's Response  This may surprise you but iodine deficiency is not actually that big of a cause of goiters in the USA. Most people are not that iodine deficient because your thyroid only needs a very small amount of iodine because it can store it.  Goiter is typically caused by an elevated TSH more so than a deficiency in iodine. There are chemicals that are considered goitrogens that can block the hormones and elevate TSH. When the TSH is elevated for an extended period of time, it creates a build up in the growth of the thyroid tissue resulting in a goiter. Goitrogens are found in things like pesticides and plastics.     The Question My naturopath said that I have Hashimoto's but my endocrinologist says that I don't. My antibodies are there but below the reference range. Do I have it or don't I? Inna's Response  I get this question a lot and unfortunately, it's a bit of a gray area. The way I look at it is that something is forming, but it may not be official because the antibodies are not above the reference range.  From a functional, holistic perspective, there shouldn't be any antibodies against the thyroid so we shouldn't ignore that they are there. Something is forming and it could take 5 or 50 years to develop. I would be mindful and look at triggers. I would do a food sensitivity test, check for Celiac genes, and consider removing gluten because it can be such a biggie. Also reduce your stress and exposure to toxins. Basically, do everything you can to help calm the body and immune system while also increasing your intake of anti-inflammatory foods.  Check your antibody level regularly to see if it's going up or down. You may not officially have Hashimoto's but I wouldn't ignore it either.  If you have Hashimoto's be sure to tune in to the 100th episode of Health Mysteries Solved. It's an entire show dedicated to navigating the symptoms of Hashimoto's.    Eliminating Health Mysteries The most powerful way for us to eliminate health mysteries is to investigate them and refuse to accept that there are no answers.  If you or someone you know has a health question or is dealing with an unexplained healthy concern - please send me an email. Let's find that missing clue! Connect with me on Instagram  or Click here to submit your question for the next edition of Ask Inna Anything.   Links: FREE THYROID GUIDE DOWNLOAD Related Podcast Episodes: Solving the Autoimmunity Mystery w/ Inna Topiler Are you Missing this Important Evaluation Method for Thyroid Assessment? [Ask Inna] Your Thyroid and Hashimoto's Questions Answered   Thanks for Listening If you like what you heard, please rate and review this podcast. Every piece of feedback not only helps me create better shows, it helps more people find this important information. Never miss an episode -  Subscribe NOW to Health Mysteries Solved with host, Inna Topiler on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts and remember to rate and review the show! Find out more at http://healthmysteriessolved.com   PLEASE NOTE All information, content, and material on this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Some of the links provided are affiliate links. This means we may make a very small amount of money should you choose to buy after clicking on them. This will in no way affect the price of the product but it helps us a tiny bit in covering our expenses.

308 – Cuomo won't resign – Dominion Does Not Comply with SubpoenaAugust 4, 20211.USA Olympian Puts Woke Athletes to Shame After Winning Gold Medal2.UK PM Johnson to Belarus opposition- We're on your side3.CUOMOa.Flashback- Trevor Noah and Ellen DeGeneres Come Out as 'Cuomosexual'b.FLASHBACK- Joe Biden Calls NY Gov. Cuomo The 'Gold Standard'c.NY AG- Creep Cuomo Inappropriately Touched and Harassed Female Staffersd.Gov. Cuomo Doubles Down in Response to Sexual Harassment Reporte.Gov. Cuomo- I'm the Real Victim Heref.Gov. Cuomo Defends Kissing Accuser at Partyg.Gov. Cuomo- Investigating Me for Sexual Harassment Hurts Real Victimsh.Gov. Cuomo Apologizes to Accuser While Denying Her Allegationsi.Gov. Cuomo Says He Was 'Bothered' by Charlotte Bennett's Allegationsj.Biden Calls for Gov. Cuomo to Resignk.Bill De Blasio he can't governl.Geraldo Rivera- Cuomo should stick it out4.Maricopa County, Dominion Refuse to comply with subpoena5.Pa state senator plans to issue subpoenas after 3 counties reject audit requests6.Please support independent broadcasting at https://www.patreon.com/RepublicKeeper7.Alternative Streams (in case the one you're on breaks)a.www.republickeeper.comb.https://rumble.com/c/RepublicKeeperc.https://dlive.tv/RepublicKeeperd.https://www.clouthub.com e.https://www.facebook.com/republickeeper/live

In this episode, we're at the mercy of a tyrannical, totalitarian, taskmaster ChatBites Apple Demands Leaker Reveals Sources Under Threat of Being Reported to Police - MacRumors The surprising reason Apple hates iPhone rumors | Cult of Mac EXCLUSIVE: Apple Making Employees Wear Police-Grade Body Cams in Response to Leaks - FrontPageTech.com Apple is making its employees wear “police-grade” body cam to prevent leaks | TechNave Apple allegedly requires employees to wear body cameras to stop leaks [Updated] The surprising reason Apple hates iPhone rumors | Cult of Mac A breathless glossary of terms for understanding Apple's earnings call | Cult of Mac Smashed records, short supplies and other takeaways from Apple's Q3 Here are the AAPL Q3 earnings in colorful chart form from Six Colors Apple Quarter 3 2021 Earnings Apple Saw Double Digit Growth in iPhone Upgraders and Switchers in Q3 2021 Apple warns supply constraints will impact iPhone and iPad this fall - 9to5Mac Tim Cook says Apple had strong growth of iPhone switchers and upgraders in Q3 2021 - 9to5Mac Elon Musk takes a couple of digs at Apple during Tesla earnings call | Cult of Mac Elon Musk criticizes Apple over ‘walled garden' App Store, use of cobalt in batteries - 9to5Mac Spotify profitability not a priority, says company, on Q2 results - 9to5Mac F**k you! How Tim Cook responded when Elon Musk demanded his job Apple closing down internal Slack channels where employees debate remote work | Cult of Mac Netflix US cast and crew must be vaccinated to work - BBC News Apple cracking down on internal Slack channels, employees divided over WFH pay cut proposal | iMore Apple ‘cracking down' on non-work Slack channels over staff remote work debate | AppleInsider Apple closing down internal Slack channels where employees debate remote work : apple Zoë Schiffer on Twitter Apple aims to lease massive production campus in LA for Apple TV+ | Cult of Mac Why remote working leaves us vulnerable to cyber-attacks - BBC News iOS 15 to cut some surprising Siri features that aren't made by Apple | TechRadar 22 Siri integrations going away in iOS 15 | Macworld Siri could lose some third-party functionality with iOS 15 In iOS 15, Siri is losing some of its most useful voice commands - News Update Siri to lose control over some third-party apps in iOS 15 - PhoneArena iOS 15 cuts amazing Siri features that Apple hasn't created - Autobala In iOS 15, Siri is losing some of its most useful voice commands - News Logics Siri Set To Lose Long List Of Features This Autumn - Macworld UK Developer re-creates Safari's Snow Leopard design with new browser for macOS Big Sur - 9to5Mac Release Safari

On Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla, "America's Newsroom" Co-Anchor Bill Hemmer, "Outnumbered" Co-Host Emily Compagno & Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) all react to the breaking news about the Gov. Andrew Cuomo being found to have sexually harassed various women.  [00:00:00] Cuomo Harassed Women [00:13:05] The Cuomo Findings [00:18:19] America's Newsroom Co-Anchor Bill Hemmer [00:33:16] Gov. Cuomo's Reaction Next [00:36:40] Cuomo's Response [00:51:46] Biden Once Criticized Cuomo [00:54:59] "Outnumbered" Co-Host & Attorney Emily Compagno [01:06:09] The Cuomo Story Is Not About Politics [01:13:21] Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) Repsonds To Cuomo [01:28:09] Biden Will Answer Cuomo Questions Later [01:31:43] Dan In Los Angeles [01:47:35] 2:55 pm - Fox Across America

Pastor Josh Hall continues his sermon series in the Gospel of John. Today, he examines the miracle of Jesus walking on the sea in John 6:16-21. Three things stand out: 1. The Setting - vv. 16 - 17 2. The Miracle - v. 18 The Miracles within the Miracle: 1) Jesus saw His disciples. 2) Jesus walked on water. 3) Jesus caused Peter to walk on water. (Matt. 14:28-31) 4) Jesus caused the wind to stop. 5) Jesus caused the boat to be immediately at the shore. 3. The Response - vv. 19 - 21 Three Responses: 1) The disciples were frightened 2) Jesus said, "It is I (egō eimi - I AM); do not be afraid." 3) The disciples were glad to have Him in the boat.

The Power & Privilege Dynamics of MicroaggressionsIn this episode, herdacious host Lorelei chats with Alejandra Mielke about the role power and privilege play in the ability to micro-aggress against others. Microaggressions are everyday verbal, behavioral, or environmental snubs that demean, diminish, or harm members of marginalized groups through belittlement. “Your English is great,” or, “As a woman, I know what you go through as a racial minority,” might not appear harmful, but Alejandra enlightens us as to why such comments incur feelings of invalidation. As a DEI coach who works with underrepresented minorities to overcome workplace biases, Alejandra teaches us that microaggressions are born out of inherent power and privilege differences, which often creates a suppressive atmosphere for marginalized individuals. However, Alejandra assures us that derogatory comments and behaviors can be avoided when those in power become self-aware, and those on the receiving end respond suitably to their own needs. From accepting feedback to acknowledging that experiences are not one-and-the-same, Alejandra underscores that microaggressions can be halted through better awareness. As Alejandra best explains, power is infinite; and empowered people empower people!Host: Lorelei GonzalezCo-host: Alejandra Mielke, PhD Dr. Alejandra Rodríguez Mielke is a Leadership Coach & Consultant with more than 20 years' experience in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. Mielke brings a strong expertise in social justice, equity, and adult learning after working at The University of Texas at Austin as an educational researcher and later as an independent consultant facilitating workshops and professional programs around Unconscious Bias, Power & Privilege, Inclusive Leadership, and Cultural Competency for local and global organizations. Things you will learn in this episode (chapter markers available):  Power and Privilege 2:30 Exclusion rears its ugly head 5:10To micro-aggress 10:40Decoding the hidden messages 17:00Rules of Response 18:20Feedback & self-awareness 21:55Femme fact: Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 26:20Resources mentioned in this episode:  Derald Wing Sue (author)Subtle Acts of Exclusion by Tiffany Jana (book)Episode sponsors:  HERdacity   Moonray  Looking for additional resources on this topic? Check out our podcast episode with Joy Wiggins “Queen of Support”Loved what you heard on herdacious and want to share with friends? Tag us and connect with HERdacity on social media:Twitter: @herdacityFacebook: @HERdacityInstagram: @herdacityLinkedIn: HERdacity Email: herdacious@herdacity.orgFor up to date information on HERdacity events, webinars, podcasts, and community activities, join our newsletter here.  Disclaimer: While we appreciate our sponsors' support in making this show possible, herdacious content is curated with integrity and honesty.Support the show (http://herdacity.org/donate/)

It is time to move away from a "reactive isolationist response" and lower the draw bridge to the outside world, according to one health expert. In an editorial for the Internal Medicine Journal Auckland University Professor of Medicine Des Gorman argues for a dedicated pandemic response agency as we move to next phase of our Covid-19 recovery. The agency would develop a pandemic plan, border and quarantine management, tracing and isolation capacity. Next week the Prime Minister will reveal her thinking around border restrictions and how the vaccination rollout could change that. Professor Gorman discusses the issue with Lisa Owen.  

Adam and Filip are joined by returning guest Connie Griffith to discuss the recently filed case against Blizzard Entertainment (and it's owner Activision Blizzard) and the rot at the root of the video game industry in general. As a former Blizzard employee and industry veteran she provides a vital and unique perspective to make sense of the case specifically and what it could mean for the future of the video game industry. The trio also discuss the walkout that Activision Blizzard employees staged on Wednesday, July 28, the 'Cosby' Suite story related to the case, and some of the awful responses from Blizzard Entertainment / Activision Blizzard executives. Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag CHECK OUT OUR LIVESTREAMS ON YOUTUBE (and subscribe!): www.youtube.com/channel/UCv1W1syiwY053urp-IH-OjQ Twitter: Connie (@gamedevconnie) Filip (@filipgwriting) Adam (@snbatman) REFERENCED RESOURCES: Connie's Twitter Thread in Response to Mike Morhaime: https://twitter.com/gamedevconnie/status/1418946551834157056?s=20 California sues Activision Blizzard over a culture of ‘constant sexual harassment': https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/22/22588215/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-sexual-harassment-discrimination-pay Activision Blizzard employees call leadership response to harassment suit ‘abhorrent and insulting': https://www.polygon.com/22594765/activision-blizzard-open-letter-harassment-lawsuit Blizzard is encouraging its own employees to attend Wednesday's walkout with paid time off: https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/27/22596957/blizzard-pto-sexual-harassment-walkout J. Allan Brack Response: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12uVBSRkbEP5tOHymCf0Lllpol4JMrjYh/view?usp=sharing Fran Townsend Response: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DW5m6xLgc3ulz6hu4x-DLqRnAYOMsr1l/view?usp=sharing Inside Blizzard Developers' Infamous Bill ‘Cosby Suite': https://kotaku.com/inside-blizzard-developers-infamous-bill-cosby-suite-1847378762 SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Untitled" by Ciel

Enjoy another Chat episode with updates (Giveaway winner, New podcast episodes) and listener feedback. Try episode 243 of The Essential Oil Revolution podcast Links for Sleep Whispers: Be a Podcast Supporter and get 400+ episodes: http://bit.ly/sw241. Wireless SleepPhones (affiliate link)>http://bit.ly/sp212. Current Giveaway>https://bit.ly/sw236. Website>https://sleepwhispers.com/ Want the newest episodes sent right to your podcast player?  Follow Sleep Whispers (it's … Continue reading 265 Chat: End of Summer Break

Response to Notary Board Complaint Presumably Filed by Bobbi Corona I would like some evidence that Bobbi Corona actually filed this complaint because it is not signed and the person responsible for the bulk of these kinds of frivolous attacks is Joe Schreibvogel who operates under a number of aliases.  I suspect that he is actually the one to have filed this complaint.  He has filed numerous other false complaints with the USDA, the Florida Wildlife Commission, the EPA and other state agencies.   It is a slanderous assertion by the complainant to suggest that my parents "have a record of IRS misdealings" or that "It has long been suspected that Carole Baskin has been frauding the public."  It is this last line that leads me to believe that this complaint was actually penned by Joe Schreibvogel because it is typical of his poor grasp of grammar and spelling and a phrase he often uses in his ranting.   It is also untrue to assert that real estate holdings are funneled through non profits.  The fact of the matter is that I had real estate that I donated to the non profit, Big Cat Rescue, so that it could provide the income needed in the early years of the sanctuary to feed and maintain 100+ big cats.  I put the land, rental properties and mortgages into trusts so that they would pass through my estate to the sanctuary.  I do not benefit from any of the properties that I have put in trust for the sanctuary and have not drawn a paycheck from the non profit.   The reason these attacks are being made is because I have been very successful in lobbying for laws to end the abuse and trade in big cats as pets, props and for their parts.  The largest contributing factor to the thousands of lions and tigers who are now being kept in basements, backyards and warehouses across America is from the exploitation of cubs who are trotted out to malls, flea markets and fairs for use as photo and petting props.  Our campaign to end this abuse has outraged those who make their living from such abuse.   Now, as to the specific complaints:  Perhaps I am misunderstanding the intent of the law, but I have understood this section to mean that  I could notarize a parent or child's signature in the course of business in which I was employed as long as doing so was not deriving a financial benefit to me.  I am self employed in the real estate business and employed by Big Cat Rescue as the CEO, although I take no pay or benefit from my role there.  I have been the CEO or President since its creation in 1995 and have never been paid by the non profit and never derived a financial benefit from the organization.  I donated my home and the 40 acres it was on to the non profit and moved off property so that it would be clear that I was not benefitting from the sanctuary.  I have arranged these in chronological order as it will make more sense to see the actual flow of transactions.   I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Pastor teaches on the mercies of God mentioned in Romans 12 giving special attention to the Hebrew word racham, commonly translated tender mercies, of which we are recipients.  God's tender mercies can take the appearance of many things but the sure bet is that as the One who birthed us into His kingdom, He will respond to our cry for mercy and our proper and only response is to present ourselves a living sacrifice. VF-1805 Romans 12:1 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Melissa Scott teaches from Faith Center in Glendale. Call 1-800-338-3030 24x7 to leave a message for Pastor Scott. You may make reservations to attend a live service, leave a prayer request or make a commitment. Pastor Scott appreciates messages and reads them often during live broadcasts. Follow @Pastor_Scott on Twitter and visit her official Facebook page @Pastor.M.Scott. Download Pastor Scott's "Understand the Bible" app for iPhone, iPad and iPod at the Apple App Store and for Android devices in the Google Store. Pastor Scott can also be seen 24x7 on Roku and Amazon Fire on the "Understand the Bible?" channel. ©2021 Pastor Melissa Scott, Ph.D., All Rights Reserved

The Witch Daily Show (https://www.witchdailyshow.com) is talking Dream Visitations   Our sponsor today Is A Curious Future (https://www.amazon.com/Curious-Future-Handbook-Divination-Techniques-dp-057885502X/dp/057885502X/ref=dp_ob_title_bk)   Our quote of the day Is: ― Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." —John Lubbock   Headlines: (https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/magical-baking-incorporate-bit-witchcraft-142011071.html) Other Sources: (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-proven-benefits-of-cinnamon)   Magic of the day – Response of the day - Question of the day -   Thank you so much for joining me this morning, if you have any witch tips, questions, witch fails, or you know of news I missed, visit https://www.witchdailyshow.com or email me at thewitchdailypodcast@gmail.com If you want to support The Witch Daily Show please visit our patreon page https://www.patreon.com/witchdailyshow   Mailing Address (must be addressed as shown below) Tonya Brown 3436 Magazine St #460 New Orleans, LA 70115

The rhetoric and political statements pertaining to COVID and the COVID shot are heightening and becoming more directed around the world. Just a week ago we aired an audio clip of Chris Hipkins, the Minister for Covid-19 Response in New Zealand, who spoke of chasing people down by the end of the year to get the jab. The President of the Philippines is now saying that Filipinos who've refused to get vaccinated should not be allowed to leave their homes and that the police should escort those back home who try to leave. He said people who are without the shot are walking spreaders. Here at home, President Biden just stated that we have a pandemic because of the unvaccinated and that they're sowing enormous confusion. Also speaking on MSNBC, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said -the voluntary phase is over.- All this while mask mandates are being re-instituted around the country. --Appearing on Crosstalk to bring her perspective on this issue was Dr. Jane Orient. Dr. Orient is a medical doctor and executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a non-partisan professional association of physicians in all types of practices and specialties across the country.

IHeart Radio National Correspondent Michael Bower talks about how the US could respond if cyberattacks continue.

The rhetoric and political statements pertaining to COVID and the COVID shot are heightening and becoming more directed around the world. Just a week ago we aired an audio clip of Chris Hipkins, the Minister for Covid-19 Response in New Zealand, who spoke of chasing people down by the end of the year to get the jab. The President of the Philippines is now saying that Filipinos who've refused to get vaccinated should not be allowed to leave their homes and that the police should escort those back home who try to leave. He said people who are without the shot are walking spreaders. Here at home, President Biden just stated that we have a pandemic because of the unvaccinated and that they're sowing enormous confusion. Also speaking on MSNBC, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said -the voluntary phase is over.- All this while mask mandates are being re-instituted around the country. --Appearing on Crosstalk to bring her perspective on this issue was Dr. Jane Orient. Dr. Orient is a medical doctor and executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a non-partisan professional association of physicians in all types of practices and specialties across the country.

Today our fabulous heroes of bravery and pretending to be brave go face to virtual face with their best nemesis Tim and his response to Concert Talk.Response to Tim's Response to Concert TalkOur old friend Julien (May he R.I.P.)Jay apologizes and remembers a Kiss concertShayne confirms Tim's assertion that the Julien Morgan and Fantasia show in New York was the only one there ever was in New York.An epic rock tour with one show.Should Tim take a rest?Does Tim know the difference between INXS and Pink Floyd?Michael Hutchins, gone too soon.Question: What's the best concert you ever forgot about?Let us know in the Beer Thursday Facebook group and on Instagram!For complete show notes, go to Shayne.Fun/bt89. Follow Beer Thursday on Instagram so you can join the convo next time we go live! Please support us on the Beer Thursday Patreon page! The first 20 Great Human Beings will get access to the Beer Thursday Facebook group at the $5 level.Never miss an episode and help us take you to the top with us be subscribing and leaving a 5-Star review on your favorite podcasting app:Apple PodcastsSpotifyStitcherGoogle PodcastsiHeartRadioSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/beerthursday)

[קישור לקובץ mp3] פרק 415 [!Unsupported Media Type] של רברס עם פלטפורמה - באמפרס מספר 75.אז זהו באמפרס: התוכנית החודשית - שלפעמים הופכת לדו-חודשית - שבה אנחנו נפגשים ומדברים על דברים מעניינים שראינו ברחבי האינטרנט, שקשורים לפיתוח תוכנה או לדברים אחרים שמעניינים אותנו: Repos מעניינים של GitHub, פרוייקטים מעניינים ב-Open Source, בלוגים, אתרים או כל דבר אחר טכנולוגי שמעניין אותנו, ונקווה שגם אתכם. אז אני אתחיל . . .רן - אספר על כלי שנתקלתי בו - וקוראים לו tuplex. קצת כמו Duplex, רק מתחיל ב-T . . .אז tuplex זה בעצם Framework חדש שלמעשה נועד לעבד מה שנקרא “Big Data”מה שמיוחד ומעניין בו זה שהוא מבחינת API דומה ל-Spark, אז כל מי שעבד עם Spark, נגיד ב-Python, מכיר את ה-API שלו - אבל המימוש, מתחת לפני השטח, למעשה הולכת ומקמפל (Compile) את הקוד ה-Python-י לקוד ב-C או ב-++C, באמצעות LLVM, וככה מריץ אותו.אז זה החלק המעניין - יש לו בעצם “Dual Mode” - הוא פעם אחת יכול להריץ את זה ב-Python, פעם אחת יכול להריץ את הקוד המקומפלוזה, לטענת המחברים, מייצר, יכולת Performance מאוד מעניינת ומרשימה.אני לא יודע מה יכולות ה-Parallelization שלו - זאת אומרת, החלק הגדול והמעניין ב-Spark זה באמת היכולת לעשות את הכל ב-Concurrency מאוד גבוהאז אני לא יודע מה היכולות של tuplex עצמואבל מה שכן - מהחינת Raw Performance, לכאורה, יש להם פה רווחים, כי הם למעשה מקמפלים את הכל ל-Native, זאת אומרת - ל-++C, באמצעות ה-LLVM.(אלון) רגע, יש לי יותר מדי שאלות לקהל . . .(רן) שאל . . .(אלון) אתה כותב ב-Python, ובסוף יוצא לך ++C?(רן) כן . . . אני חושב שגם זה, בסופו של דבר, מתקמפל מן הסתם לשפת מכונה - אבל כן.(אלון) אז השאלה, קודם כל אם . . . (דותן) לא . . . זה בנוי ב-++C - אתה כותב ב-Python, וזה פולט החוצה LLVM . . .(רן) אה, אוקיי . . . סבבה, LLVM.(אלון) אז LLVM, אוקיי - אז עכשיו, השאלה הבאה היא למה לא לכתוב - אם זה עובד, נניח - אז למה לא לכתוב Python רק בזה? בלי קשר למקביליות, בלי קשר לכלום . . . אם בסוף יצא לי LLVM? כאילו, מה עשו פה - Complier מ-Python ל-LLVM בעצם?(רן) נכון . . . אני חושב שהשאלה היא במקום, והשאלה היא . . . אני לא יודע, יכול להיות שהמרחק פה באמת מאוד קטן, אבל יכול להיות שהם התמקדו לא על כל מה ש-Python יודע לעשות, אלא על הדברים הספציפיים . . .על API שבין Python לבין Sparkאבל שאלה מעניינת . . . יש לך עוד שאלות?(אלון)כן!(דותן) זה מה שאני רואה - אני מטייל להם בקוד, ואני רואה שהם עשו בדיוק את זה . . .(אלון) כי אם זה עושה Complier, אז בעצם זה פתרון גנרי - אם זה היה עובד טוב. יש לי יותר מדי . . . אני חושש מהפרויקט הזה, כי זה מסוג הדברים שעובד לך ב-Python ואז אתה מקמפל ולא עובד כלום, אין לך מושג מה קורה, אתה מקבל LLVM, כי יש בעיה ב-Complier, אז אני חושש . . .ואם ה-Complier כן עובד - אז בעצם פתרנו את בעיות הביצועים של Python?! כאילו - משהו פה לא מסתדר . . . (דותן) יש פה . . . זה לא נראה לי יהיה ככה אי-פעם - אם היו מקמפלים את Python מחדש באופן גנרי לכל דבר שאתה יכול לכתוב ב-Python, נראה לי שזו הייתה הכרזה מסוג אחר . . . (רן) כן . . .אני חושב שזה הרבה-הרבה יותר צר - לצורך העניין, הם לא מטפלים, אני מנחש, ב-Threading או ב-Multi-Process או בהרבה דברים אחרים, פיצ'רים אחרים שיש ב-Python.הם התמקדו ספציפית בפיצ'רים של ה-API שיש ל-Python מעל Sparkאז זו איזושהי זוית מאוד צרה - אבל יכול להיות שמפה, לקחת את זה הלאה ולעשות את זה Python גנרי, יכול להיות שזה יותר קל . . .אבל הם לא עשו את זה.(דותן) אני יכול לנחש שנגיד - אם אתה כותב Java, אז ה-JIT, עם הזמן, יהפוך את הקוד שלך לקוד הכי טוב בעולם . . .פה הם אמרו: “טוב, אתה כותב ב-Python, אין JIT, זה לא ‘JI-thon' - בוא נעשה משהו דומה” . . נראה לי שזה מה שהם . . .לא קראתי לעומק, אבל נראה לי שזה מה שהם רצו לעשות.(אלון) טוב . . . מעניין. מפחיד אך מעניין . . . (רן) נסווג את זה תחת “מפחיד אך מעניין” [פיילוט לפינה חדשה?]אני, באופן אישי, לא ניסיתי, אני חייב להגיד . . . ראיתי את הפרויקט, קראתי, נראה לי מעניין - אז רציתי להביא את זה לפה, אבל לא השתמשתי בו עדיין.אני גם לא רואה את עצמי משתמש בו בקרוב, אני חייב להגיד . . .בכל אופן - חשבתי שזה יהיה מעניין.הנושא הבא - נתקלתי באתר שנקרא Gently Down The Streamאני מניח שרובינו זוכרים את השיר באנגלית מכיתה ג' - Row Row Row Your Boat, Gently Down The Stream [ברחוב סומסום היה את “בוא נשיט סירה על פני גיא והר” . . . ] - אז יש אתר שנקרא Gently Down The Stream והוא מאוד מאוד נחמד, אני ממליץ להיכנס אליו.מה שהוא בעצם עושה זה שהוא מלמד אותנו איך עובד Kafka - איך עובדת מערכת ה-Messaging שנקראית Kafkaאבל הוא עושה את זה בצורה מאוד מאוד ויזואלית ונחמדה, עם הרבה מאוד, ככה, ציורים מאוד מזמינים - רואים שם דגים וציפורים וחיות שונות שככה נמצאות ליד הנחל ומדברות ביניהן, ותוך כדי אתה גם סופג הסברים על איך פועלת Kafka - אז זה נחמד(אלון) זה סיפור ילדים שהוא קפקא . . . כאילו, זה ממש מגניב - זה בעצם ספר-לפני-השינה לילדים, שאם תקרא להם הם ידעו Kafka בסוף . . . (רן) לגמרי . . . אז אם רציתם ללמד את הילד שלכם טיפה תכנות - התחלתם ב-Logo? התחלתם ב-BASIC? טעיתם! צריך להתחיל ה-Kafka . . . משם הם יצאו מפתחים דגולים . . .אז זה ממש נחמד - באמת, מאוד ככה נחמד ויזואלית, כיף לטייל שם ולקרוא את הסיפור הזה...(דותן) מגניב . . .(רן) ואנחנו עוברים לאייטם הבא - ועל האייטם הבא אני חושב שכולם כבר שמעו: רציתי להגיד כמה מילים על Copilot של GitHub, אז . . (אלון) מה זה?!(רן) אז כן - לאלון, שעדיין לא שמע על זה - מה זה Copilot? אז Copilot זה בעצם יכולת שהוציאו GitHub - למעשה, בשיתוף עם Microsoft Research - שבעצם עוזרת לך, כמפתח, לכתוב קוד.זה בעצם “השלמה אוטומטית” - אבל לא סתם השלמה אוטומטית אלא על סטרואידים: Copilot “הולך ולומד” Code-bases, שקיימים אי-שם בעולם, בחוץ, Open-Sourceואם אתה, לצורך העניין, רוצה לכתוב . . הדוגמא הקלאסית היא שאתה רוצה לכתוב ב-Java פונקציה שפותחת וקוראת קובץ - אז נכון אף אחד לא זוכר איך עושים את זה, כי יש איזה שלושה-ארבעה Class-ים שצריך לעשות להם Instantiation ולטפל בהם כמו שצריך? אז הוא הולך “וכותב” לך את זה, לפי ה-Best Practices שהוא מצא “בעולם”.עכשיו, ראינו דוגמאות ב-Java, ב-Bash, ב-Python ובשפות אחרות, זאת אומרת - הוא יודע לעשות את זה, באופן יחסית כללי.וזה מעניין מאוד - ועולות פה הרבה הרבה שאלות . . . קודם כל - אני חושב שזה הישג מדעי מאוד יפה ומרשים. דבר נוסף מעניין . . .ואולי שווה להגיד שזה עדיין ב-Beta סגורה - אני עדיין . . . אני ביקשתי גישה ועדיין לא קיבלתי, לא יודע - אולי מישהו מכם כן קיבל ויכול לספר לנו איך זה באמת עובד, אבל אני עוד לא בפנים.בכל אופן, יש שם כמה דברים שאני חושב שהם מעניינים - באופן תמידי עולה השאלה “אוקיי, אז זהו - להתחיל לחפש מקצוע אחר? מישהו כבר יעשה את העבודה בשבילי?” אני חושב שהתשובה לזה היא די טריוויאלית כרגע - לא.זה אולי כלי-עזר - ואולי כלי-עזר טוב, יש אולי סימן שאלה לגבי עד כמה הוא טוב או לא, אבל בכל אופן זה כלי עזר - ואני חושב שהתשובה היא “לא”.שאלה נוספת היא לגבי הלגיטימיות של השימוש בכלל בכלי, או למעשה הלגיטימיות של שימוש של Microsoft או GitHub ב-Open-Source שבהם הם השתמשו - מכיון שעלתה הטענה שלמעשה הם השתמשו ב-Open Source שאסור היה להם להשתמש . . .למעשה, כאלה שיש להם מה שנקרא “רישיון וויראלי” [לרענון - 317 Zusammen with Zohar Sacks] - ואם אתם עכשיו הולכים להשתמש בהצעות שלהם, אז למעשה גם המוצר שלכם צריך להיות Open Source . . . בקיצור - יש פה כמה שאלות משפטיות לא פשוטות שעלו, ואולי בפן-הנקרא-לזה-הנדסי או מדעי, החלק המעניין ביותר, זה שלמעשה הפרויקט Copilot נכתב מעל מנוע שפה שנקרא GPT3 של OpenAI, שאני מאמין שכבר הזכרנו אותו פה בפודקאסט לפני זה [אכן, נגיד כאן - 397 Bumpers 69]אז זה למעשה מנוע שפה יחסית גנרי, שפיתחו ב-OpenAI, שדרך אגב - Microsoft היא אחד מה-Backer-ים הגדולים של OpenAI, ולכן יש להם גם גישה אליו . . . אז לא לכל אחד יש גישה ל-GPT3, אבל ל-Microsoft יש.אפשר לבקש גישה, ואני לא יודע על סמך איזה קריטריונים הם נותנים - אבל אפשר לבקש.ובכל אופן - החלק המעניין הוא ש-Microsoft פרסמו שעל הפרויקט הזה עבד בסך הכל Data Scientist אחד - אבל הרבה מהנדסים . . . מה הם רוצים להגיד? הם רוצים לבוא ולהגיד שהמנוע של GPT3 הוא כל-כך גנרי, ככה שנדרשת מעט מאוד עבודה “מדעית” כדי להתאים אותו, לצורך העניין, ל-Source code.מנוע GPT3 זה מנוע שפה יחסית גנרי, שיכול - אני מניח שראיתם בעולם דוגמאות של איך הוא כותב פרוזה, חמשירים ודברים כאלה, זה מנוע שפה מאוד-מאוד גנרי - ולבוא ולהתאים אותו ל-Source Code זה, יחסית, מעט עבודה.כן יש פה עבודה “הנדסית” של ללכת ולהנדס את ה-Pipeline של ה-Data, לאסוף את כל הדאטה וכו' - אבל מבחינה מדעית, רק Data Scientist אחד עבד על הפרויקט הזה, לפי הפרסומים שלהם.שזה בא לומר שהמנוע הוא כל כך גנרי, שמאוד קל להתאים אותו ל-Domain-ים שונים.(דותן) או . . . (רן) ולתיאוריה השנייה . . .(דותן) אני אתן את החלק השני של הסיפור הזה - וזה שהיה פיאסקו שלם, ששרף את האינטרנט: שבעצם אנשים הבינו שה-Copilot משלים להם דברים מסוכנים, גמו Secret-ים וכל מיני API keys של אנשים אחרים . . . בין היתר היה גם Copyrighted code ובעצם . . . התיאוריה האחרת היא שפשוט, כאילו, עשו את זה בצורה כזאת “עיוורת”, הפעילו את המנוע בצורה עיוורת ואז . . . (אלון) וסרקו Private Repos . . . . . . אנשים עשו Auto-completion מזעזע . . .(רן) כן - אז אני חושב שהסיפור הזה הוציא את הטוב ואת הרע באנושות, בהרבה מובנים - ולמעשה יכול להיות מאוד שהיה צריך לעשות פה עבודת הכנה וניקוי הרבה יותר משמעותית ממה שהם עשו.אני חושב שעל זה הרבה יכולים להסכיםאבל בכל אופן - אני חושב שזה, מבחינה טכנולוגית-מדעית - יש פה איזושהי קפיצת דרך [טריילר חדש!] מאוד מאוד מעניינת.דרך אגב - זה לא מפתיע שהם לא נתנו להרבה אנשים גישה . . . כנראה שלפחות מה שציינת, זה חלק מהסיבות שהם לא נתנו להרבה אנשים גישה . . . יכול להיות שהם החליטו לעצור את זה באיזשהו שלב.אבל בכל אופן - כן, זה כלי שאני חושב שעורר הרבה מאוד הדים והרבה מאוד עניין, ונתן איזושהי קריאת-כיוון לגבי היכולות של מנוע שפה באופן כלליואול גם - אני קצת סקפטי בעניין הזה - אבל אולי גם, ככה, “עתיד המקצוע שלנו”.מה שכן - צריך להזהיר שגם אם זה היה פתוח ועובד לכולם, אני חושב שזה יהיה חוסר . . . בוא נאמר בזהירות - “חוסר אחריות” מצידינו, כמפתחים, ללכת ופשוט לקבל את ההצעות שלו, As-is.אבל אם כל זה אני חייב להגיד שברגע שמקבלים הצעה כזו, וזה נראה בסדר - אז מאוד קל להשתכנע שזה כן בסדר, זאת אומרת - יש פה איזושהי סכנה, לטעמי, נקרא לזה, לאיכות הקוד שבסופו של דבר מפתחים יוציאו[ואלוהים ישמור כמה אנשי Security החסירו פעימה עכשיו לאור הביטוי “מאוד קל להשתכנע שזה כן בסדר” . . .]יש הבדל בין לבוא ולהבין את הבעיה לעומק ולפתור את זה בעצמך, לבין לקבל איזושהי הצעה ולהגיד “אוקיי, נראה לי טוב, נמשיך הלאה”.(אלון) יש פה כמה דברים . . . מעניין מתי יתחילו להיות לזה Hack-ים של Vulnerability בכוונה - לזרוק קוד ולשים אותו על Repos, עם ה-Vulnerabilities, בכוונה שישלים לאחרים וככה תיצור Vulnerabilities במקום אחר, שזה תמיד הכובע הרע . . .אני חושב שהשימוש הטוב שלו יהיה בסוף שהוא יחסוך לך זמן בלקרוא APIs וללמוד דוקומנטציות (Documentation) -כי כשאתה מסתכל על הדוגמא הזאת, אני אומר שאני רוצה לשלוף משהו מ-Database, אז אתה אומר “רגע, איך אני מתחבר ל-Database, איך אני עושה . . .” -ואז זה משלים לך, וכאילו חסך לך את כל הקטע הזה של “רגע, איך נראות הדוקומנטציות?” או לנסות להתחיל ולבדוק ב-Auto-complete מה מופיע לך על האובייקט . . .אז אני חושב שבקטע הזה זה מאוד חזק - שאתה פשוט אומר “זה ה-Database, הנה ה-Template, אני לא צריך ללכת לאיזה Stack Overflow כדי לקחת את ה-Template ואז להתחיל לסדר את זה אלי”זה חוסך, לדעתי, בקטע הזה, הרבה זמן יקר.(דותן) מצד שני - יש Database-ים שמאבדים דאטה [פעמיים ד”ש לזהר באותו אייטם?], אז מה זה משנה איך אתה שולף מהם?(אלון) כן . . . אתה יודע - עשיתי Select From Mongo, ויצא לי Return NULL . . .(רן) אני מתפלא שבאמת אין לנו אף אייטם על Mongo, אבל בוא נראה - אולי יהיה בהמשך[לכל המאוחר באפריל 2022](רן) בסדר, אז זה היה -Copilot - מיצינו . . . אני חושב שזה כנראה הולך להמשיך ולהיות איזשהו נושא שנוי במחלוקת . . . יש לי תחושה שעוד נשמע עליו בעתיד, אבל בואו נעבור הלאה לנושא הבא.הנושא הבא זה איזשהו ספר Online שנתקלתי בו, שנקרא Machine Learning Interviews Bookהספר הזה פורסם ע”י Data Scientist שנקראית Chip Huyen - השם ויאטנמי אז אני לא בטוח שאני הוגה אותו כמו שצריך [לפחות בטקסט זה נשמע בול אותו הדבר]בכל אופן - זהו ספר Online, שהתפרסם והוא פתוח לכולם ואפשר לקרוא - ולמרות שהכותרת שלו זה Machine Learning Interviews Book, הוא למעשה, אני חושב, ספר על רעיונות עבודה באופן כללי.מאוד מעניין ופותח עיניים.בגדול, הוא מחולק לשני חלקים - החלק הראשון זה איזשהו קטע גנרי על מה זה ראיונות עבודה, איך חברות מחפשות עובדים, איך נראה שוק העבודה וכו' - שאני חושב שזה קטע מאוד מעניין.החלק השני זה בעצם דוגמאות לשאלות-ראיון בתחום של Machine Learning - זה כבר באמת משהו מאוד מאוד ספציפי.אז אני ממליץ לקרוא את החלק הראשון, או לפחות את החלקים שמעניינים אתכם בחלק הראשוןקצת ללמוד על שוק העבודה - לפחות שוק העבודה האמריקאי, שוק הראיונותוכמובן שיש המון דימיון לדברים שקורים פה שישראל - הכל מאיך עושים Negotiation, איך להתכונן לראיון עבודה, על מה מראיינים בדר”כ מסתכלים, איך נראה Pipeline של ראיונות וכו'אני חושב שהספר עצמו, בסך הכל, די נגיש וכתוב בצורה יפה - אז אני ממליץ על הקריאה שלו.ולנושא הבא - אייטם קטנצ'יק: לאחרונה קניתי מוניטור חדש לבית, מסך מחשב חדש - ואני משתמש בוויש בו רמקולים, במסך הזה . . . אז למעשה, את השמע (Audio) שלי אני שומע מתוך המסך - וזה יותר נוח לי מאשר לשמוע מתוך ה-Mac, שבדר”כ המכסה שלו גם סגור, ככה שזה נשמע פחות טוב.העניין הוא שכדי לשלוט על הסאונד, לשלוט על עוצמת הסאונד - ה-Mac לא עושה את זה . . . As-is, ה-Mac לא מסוגל לשלוט על עצמת הסאונד של המוניטור החיצוני, של Dell במקרה הזה.אז אם משתמשים בכפתורים של ה-Volume, ה-Up וה-Down על המקלדת, הם לא עובדים . . .[הוסף בדיחת “מתאם Apple לבן - רק ב-$99!“ גנרית כאן . . . ]אז מצאתי איזשהו כלי שנקרא MonitorControl, שלמעשה ברגע שאתם מתקינים אותו - הוא נותן לכם את השליטה גם על ה-Control של מוניטורים חיצונייםאצלי הוא שולט למעשה על השמע ועל הבהירות של המסךאז זה נחמד . . . אפשר לעשות את זה מהמקלדת שלכם, או כמובן גם עם העכבר - ולא צריך ללכת לכפתורים של המוניטור ולעשות את זה, ששם זה קצת יותר מסורבל.אז זהו - אם יש לכם Mac ואתם רוצים לשלוט על המוניטור שלכם, והמוניטור שלכם כרגע לא מאפשר את זה - אתם מוזמנים לנסות את MonitorControl, יכול להיות שזה יעבוד לכם . . .אני כן ראיתי שזה לא תמיד תואם, זאת אומרת - זה לא תואם לכל המוניטורים, יכול להיות שזה גם לא תואם לכל הגרסאות של מערכת ההפעלה . . .אז לנסות את זה בזהירותזה כן משהו שהוא יחסית Low-Level וככה קצת שביר - מספיק שאיזשהו פרוטוקול קצת משתנה וזה יכול להישבר, אבל לפחות לי זה עובד, אז אני מרוצה ממנו (אלון) קודם כל - תתחדש על המסך . . . רוצו להתקין את זה . . .(דותן) לקנות מסכים של Dell . . .(אלון) כן . . . בחסות . . . “פרק זה בחסות Dell!”(רן) Alt + Ctrl + Dell . . . ואליך דותן . . .דותן - טוב, האמת שבוא נמשיך בתמה המסוכנת שלנו - למי ששמע השבוע על הסיפור עם NSO . . . אני קצת מפחד לדבר על זה כי אני רוצה שנמשיך לעשות פודקאסט, אז ננסה, ככה, להיות עדינים . . .(אלון) יש מאחוריך מישהו, דותן - אני רואה במצלמה . . .(דותן) אז פשוט ניקח את זה בפרספקטיבה אחרת לגמרי - לא נדבר על מה שהיה, כדי שניהיה עם הטובים . . . (אלון) תגיד מה היה, לפי פרסומים זרים, למי שלא מעודכן . . .(דותן) לא רוצה, אני מפחד . . .בקיצור - יש פה איזשהו Framework שמישהו בנה - קוראים לזה Mobile Verification Toolkit, ובעצם המטרה של הכלי הזה זה שלוקחים טלפון ובודקים אם יש בו איזושהי רוגלה של חברה שאנחנו ממש אוהבים, או לא יודע . . . לא רוצים להגיד את השם שלה [וולדמורט?]תכל'ס, מבחינה Engineer-ית, זה פשוט שם בומבסטי ל”הנה ערימה של סקריפטים שמחפשים String-ים בתוך המכשיר שלכם” . . .אותו בחור שבנה את ה-Toolkit הזה - אני חושב שהוא עובד באמנסטי, שהיא חלק מכל הפרסומים שהיו השבוע, או שהוא איזשהו פעיל זכויות אדםוהוא בכלל מתחזק איזושהי רשימה של מחקרים, או יותר נכון Investigations של אמנסטי - שזה עניין אותינכנסתי ל-Repo - וכל המידע פה הוא פומבי: נכנסים ל-Repo, ויש לפי תאריכים. . . הוא בעצם מתחזק, לרוב, רשימות של Domain-ים שקשורים לכל מיני חברות שעושות, לטענתו, ריגול.יש פה כל מיני מקרים - נגיד ב-2018, אותה חברה [Who must not be named], ואחרי זה במצריים משהו שקרה, ואחרי זה במרוקו, וכל מיני תקריות . . .בתקרית האחרונה, יש פה כל מיני Domain-ים ואימיילים שאותה תוכנה משתמשת בהם, שבעצם אם מוצאים את הדברים האלה על המכשיר, אז אפשר להגיד שמרגלים אחריכם, או שאפשר להגיד שאתם נגועים ברוגלה.ואיך שזה נראה, צריך בעצם לשלב בין שני הכלים - כאשר הוא מתחזק את שני הדברים האלה בנפרד . . .חייב לומר שחיטטתי קצת ברשימה של ה-Domain-ים והאימיילים - והרשימה היא משוגעת . . . יש פה משהו כמו 1400 Domain-ים שונים שנראים לגמרי, נקרא לזה, “תמימים”סתם לדוגמא - apigraphs.net או blogreseller.net וכל מיני דברים כאלה . . .וזהו - אז מי שמתעניין, מי שחושד, מי שהוא עיתונאי . . . יכול לקחת את הכלים האלה ולסרוק את המכשיר שלו.וזה מעניין לראות את הדבר הזה מכיוון של אותו ארגון זכויות אדם, איך הם רואים את זהויכול להיות גם שזה הכל שטויות, זה הכל לכאורה . . .(אלון) תראה, לכאורה הם כתבו פה שיש . . . שזה Developed בעקבות ה-”Pegasus Project”, לא יודע מה זה [Try to Google it . . . ], יש פה איזו חברה של שלוש אותיות, לא יודע(דותן) אני גם לא יודע מה זה . . .(אלון) מתחיל ב-”N” ונגמר ב-”O”, אבל לא יודע . . . (דותן) לא יודע, אף פעם לא שמעתי(אלון) . . . הכל לפי הפרסומים פהאז זהו . . . שמע - זה מעניין, אין ספק(דותן) כן . . . שוב - נדגיש שזה הכל “לכאורה”.ונמשיך לנושא אחר . . . האמת שנדבר קצת על Rust, ויש פה איזשהו מדען מחשב, שעשה דוקטורט - ובדוקטורט שלו הוא הוכיח את מה ש-Rust טוענת: Rust היא שפה שהיא Safeכמובן, “Safe” יכול להיות בכל מיני מובנים - במאמר הזה ספציפית הוא הוכיח שהיא Safe במובן הזה שזה בולם או מונע מחלקה שלמה של טעויות מפתחיםאני אזכיר קצת אילו טעויות מפתחים רודפות אותנו כל החיים . . .(אלון) רגע - מה החידוש בזה? כי בעצם . . .(דותן) אין חידוש - הוא פשוט הוכיח את זה “מדעית”, מתימטית.(אלון) אבל הייתי בטוח שזה כבר הוכח מדעית . . . זה לא הוכח מדעית עד עכשיו? כי הייתה את הטענה הזאת שזה הוכח, ש-Rust היא Safe Language . . .(דותן) לא חושב שמישהו עשה על זה איזשהו מחקר אקדמאי והוכיח את זה מהכיוון הזה(אלון) הייתי בטוח שכבר עשו . . .(דותן) אז זה מה שוא עשה - שזה מגניב, זה מראה ש . . . (רן) אז על איזה מחלקות - זיכרון? . . (דותן) הדברים הרגילים . . . אני חושב שאחד הדברים הכואבים ביותר, והשנויים במחלוקת ביותר, זה כל ה-NULL Safety . . .ואני אומר “השנויים במחלוקת” עד היום, כי יש שפות שאומרות “אין לנו NULL בשפה, יש משהו אחר” - וגם הן טועות . . . גם הן מובילות לאותו Class של טעויות בדיוק . . .אז ב-Rust באמת זה Safe - וזה עובד טוב.הוא קיבל גם איזשהו “צל”ש” על המאמר הזה, וכל מיני דברים טובים אחרים - ממש נחמד למי שרוצה לקבל קצת “הבטחה” עם “ה”, או לשלוח את זה למישהו שהוא רוצה לשכנע כדי שנתחיל לעבוד ב-Rust בחברה . . .אז עכשיו - אייטם משוגע: אתם מוכנים?(רן) כן! מוכנים, יושבים . . .(אלון) רגע! רק אם אני יכול, לפני האייטם הזה, כי אני מכיר אותו קצת - למי שנוהג: לעצור בצד! להקשיב לדותן, לא תצטערו . . . תמשיך.(דותן) טוב - אז האייטם הזה בא מ-Discourse, ואני חייב לומר שזו הפעם השניה שאני רואה אותם יוצאים מהמסך ונותנים לי סטירה, שזה די מדהים - ובעצם המאמר הזה הוא על איך לייצר Upload-ים יותר מהירים, Upload-ים של קבצים יותר מהירים ל-Discourse.וכשחושבים על זה, וקוראים את ה-Title, אז כתוב פה Rust ו- WebAssembly וכו' . . אז אומרים “טוב, אז הם מימשו משהו ב-Server” או, לא יודע . . . “זה Rust, אין לו VM, יש לו פיצויים מטורפים . . . בטח החליפו איזה Upload Server, כמו ש-Google עשו עם Go”.אבל מה שהם עשו זה שהם בנו WebAssembly, שיושב ב-Browser, וכשאדם פשוט כמונו רוצה להעלות קובץ תמונה - הדבר הזה, ב-Client-Side, על ה-Browser, בעצם מאפטם (Optimize) את התמונהבעצם, אם אני עכשיו, בא לי לעלות png. - למי שמכיר, אז יש כל מיני PNG Crushers ו-Utilities שמאפטמים png. - אז ה-png. שלי, מן הסתם, הוא לא Optimized - אני מעלה את זה ל-Discourse, מקבל Crunching של כל הקובץ שלי, לוקאלית - משתמש ב-CPU שלי, זה לא עולה להם כלום - ואז מאיזה 2Mb אני בעצם צריך להעלות 100Kb . . .וככה הם האיצו את כל ה-Uploads ב-Discourseחייב להגיד שזה אחד הטוויסטים בעלילה, המשוגעים, שלא חשבתי עליהם - וזה מדהים, זהו.אתם יכולים להמשיך לנהוג, למי ש . . .(רן) אפשר להתניע. . . (אלון) מי שלא התעלף לנו, ממה שהם עשו . . . (רן) אז יש לך איזו פינה חמה בלב ל-Rust, ככה אני מרגיש . . . אם אני קורא בין השורות . . .(דותן) ודאי - קודם כל: Rust ו- WebAssembly הם ממש קרובים . . .(אלון) אחוקים . . (דותן) נכון . . . אם אתה רוצה לעשות WebAssembly ולהרוויח את ה-Benefits שלו, אז Rust זה המקום.כמובן שהדורות הקודמים של זה היו עם סקריפטים וכל השיפוצים האלה, שכמובן היו חייבים לקרות כדי שהעולם יתקדם - אבל Rust נותן לך את כל ה . . . Ticks all the boxes בשביל לבנות WebAssembly שעובד יעיל וטובוגם - כל ה-Tooling שם: אם אתה רוצה לעשות את זה, אתה פשוט . . . יש לך המון כלים ש”מחבקים אותך” ונותנים לך להפיק, בסופו של דבר, WebAssembly.וזהו - אז אחרי הדבר הזה, אמרתי “בוא נבדוק מה ככה, ה-State of WebAssembly”, וגם לתת למי שרוצה לנסות כמה רעיונות - אז המאמר הבא מדבר על איך מריצים Rust ב-Electronתזכורת Electron זו התשתית שעליה רצים מלא . . איך נקרא לזה? “אפלקיציות מהסוג החדש”כל מיני עורכי טקסט למיניהם וכו'(אלון) בקיצור - Chrome . . . או “HTML-Renderers”, בוא נגיד את זה ככה . . (דותן) כן . . . בקיצור, אם אתה רוצה לבנות אפליקציה, ובא לך להשתמש ב-HTML או Java או מה שאתה רוצה, אז אתה משתמש ב-Electronאני רק מזכיר את זה - היום זה די ברור כבר לכולםואם אתם רוצים להריץ שם Rust מאיזושהי סיבה, אם באמת בונים Client-Side-Up, ולא רוצים לבנות את זה בדרך המסורתית - רוצים Performance, ואת הדברים הטובים שה-User-ים מצפים להם - אז אפשר להריץ Rust פחות או יותר, שוב באותו שיטה, עם WebAssemblyנגיד - תחשבו על עורך תמונות, או עורך אודיועוד דבר שחשבתי שיכול להיות מגניב, באותו קו, זה איך להריץ Wasm בקלות - שזה WebAssembly - על Raspberry Piאז מי שאוהב יותר לשחק עם חומרה, זה מאמר שככה, ניגש שלזה בצורה אחרת.אייטם הבא - את האמת ששמתי אותו רק כדי שיהיה לי, ככה, לצחוק, איך להלביש בדיחה: אז יש פה Windows11 ממומש ב-React . . . [האימוג'ים במקור, זורם . . . ]למי שמכיר את הסיפור של Windows 11 - זה סיפור בהמשכים, ונקרא לזה “הקונספט הרווח” היום שזה - סוג-של-Face-lift, וה-UI השתנה . . .אז מישהו פשוט מימש את ה-UI - וזהו: בנה את זה ב-React, כמו Mock-up כזה, שמתנהג ועובד אותו הדבר.נראה לי שזו הדרך היחידה שבה לא יהיה Blue-Screen בדבר הזה . . .לא?(רן) הפכו את זה לירוק, לא?[מה פתאום?! מיקרוסופט שלנו?! לא - הם צבעו אותו לשחור; בטח כי לא היה רפרנס ל-Rolling Stones מאז 1995…][וזה אחרי ש-Windows 10 is the last version of Windows . . . ](דותן) כן, אבל זה רץ על Chrome, אז הכל טוב . . .(רן) זה מבטיח שימוש ב-CPU, זה בטוח(דותן) לגמרי . . .(אלון) זה יכול להריץ Chrome, בפנים?(דותן) ניסיתי, את האמת - יש שם Edge, כאילו - יש שם אייקונים של Edge וכל מיני דברים כאלו . . ניסיתי ללחוץ לפחות, זה לא מגיב . . . לך תדע, אולי זה באמת ה-Windows 11 האמיתי - זה גם לא יגיב . . .(אלון) אתה יודע, יש את ההרצאה הזאת, של הבחור הזה שעושה על JavaScript ב-20-30, לא זוכר . . . (דותן) Wat, לא?(אלון) כן, הבחור של Wat - אבל יש את ההרצאה האגדית על JavaScript ושם בסוף, מריצים . . . Browser שמריץ Browser שמריץ Browser . . . רקורסיביתאז חשבתי - אולי התקדמנו לשם . . . אבל עוד לא.(דותן) עוד לא . . . לא נראה לי.האייטם הבא - האמת שפשוט אני אוהב Recommender systems . . . והדבר הזה קצת הפתיע אותי: זה היה נראה כמו עוד Recommender system שכתוב ב-Go, אבל זה נראה כמו Playground אחד שלם, שמשלב טכניקות מתקדמות[זה נקרא gorse]יש בפנים עוד כל מיני דברים מתקדמיםלא יודע עד כמה זה אתגר היום, הנושא הזה בתחום, אבל למי שמתעניין זה יכול להיות נחמד לנבור בקוד שם.אייטם הבא - קצת הזכרנו אותו פה: פעם אני חושב ששמנו איזשהו פרויקט AI שמשבט קול - עושה Cloning ל-Voice . . . [יאפ - Real-Time-Voice-Cloning, ב-381 Bumpers 63]אז יש פה עוד אחד כזה, ואת זה ניסיתי - והוא עבד ממש מגניב.[זה אותו אחד מאז - Real-Time-Voice-Cloning - וגם באזכור אז ההנחה הייתה שהשימוש העיקרי יהיה להטריל אנשים בעבודה . . . Who would've thought . . . ]אז בעצם אפשר, תוך חמש שניות, לשבט קול של מישהו ופשוט לייצר שיחה . . . אז לא יודע מה איתכם, אני מקליט אתכם . . . (רן) זהו, אני מניח שההערה הבאה של אלון היא לא באמת של אלון . . . (אלון) נכון, זה רן הקליט אותי, ועכשיו מייצר בוט שאומר מה אני עושה . . . זה די מטורף, אתה היום באת עם כלים של חברה מסויימת, ועכשיו הכלי הזה . . . די פסיכי, הדבר הזה.(דותן) לגמרי . . . שמע - תנסו את זה בבית, זה יכול להיות מצחיקואולי גם בעבודה - זה יכול להיות עוד יותר מצחיק . . .(אלון) כמה מסובך זה לעבוד עם זה? טוב, בוא נראה . . .(דותן) זה חמוד . . .(רן) טוב - אלון . . . האייטמים שלךאלון - יש איזו Repo ב-GitHub, שמדבר על . . . כמו כל ה-Awesome-ים שיש? אז Awesome Engineering Managementהוא בעצם - יש פה לינקים, כמו כל ה-Awesome-ים - מה זה כל דבר: Agile ו-Extreme programming ו-Rapid Prototyping ו-Waterfallבעצם, כל Buzzword שקשור ל-Software Management יש פה, החל מניהול ל-Process-ים לכלים, Learning . . . בקיצור, כמו כל ה-Awesome-ים, אז עשו Awesome של Engineering Management . . .(דותן) יש לי בעיה, אבל, עם המילה “Awesome” . . . (אלון) זו מילה שמורה כבר?(דותן) זה באמת Awesome? (אלון) אה, האם זה באמת “Awesome”? . . . לא יודע, אבל זה כמו כל ה-Awesome-ים(דותן) Awesome Waterfall?! . . . (אלון) האמת שלא בדקתי מה זה Awesome Waterfall . . .(דותן) יש פה . . .(אלון) כן . . .שתדע, אם כבר Waterfall, אז שיהיה ב-Awesome, אני אומר . . . כאילו, מה רע?ואגב - אם יש לך פרויקט, נגיד, של שלוש שעות - אני ממליץ לעשות אותו ב-Waterfall, זה בלי שום בעיה.זו יכולה להיות פרקטיקה די טובה - נגיד, לחלק לספרינטים של שבועיים פחות מוצלח . . . אז לפעמים זה מתאים.(רן) אז יש פה, אלון, יש פה איזו חמישים נושאים שונים - הזכרנו Waterfall, יש גם Agile, יש גם Project Charter ו-Project Management Plan וכו' . . . יש פה מלא-מלא תת-סעיפים, ולכל אחד מהם יש כלים או הסברים על איך לעשות אותם - אבל זה מלא חומר . . .קראת פה משהו? מצאת פה משהו ממש שימושי ומעניין?(אלון) אני חייב להגיד שלא מצאתי עדיין משהו מעניין - אבל יש פה הרבה חומר, אם מישהו כן מחפש משהו מעניין להתעמק בו . . .אז יש פה רשימה שלמה, על מלא נושאים - ויכול להיות שאפשר למצוא פה משהו נחמד.שמע - זה דברים די Basic, כן? . . . אבל יש פה גם Tool-ים לכל מיני דברים שמחפשים, לינקים וכאלה . . .אז למי שחסר לו משהו - יכול לחפש פה.(רן) אוקיי . . .(אלון) נראה לי מקום טוב להתחיל, האמת . . . יש פה הרבה נושאים והרבה Tool-ים, לפעמים מחפשים Tool-ים ואתה . . . נראה לי שזה מקום לא רע להתחיל בו.(רן) אוקיי . . . נקסט?(אלון) נקסט! דיברת על Rust מקודם, שהוכיחו אפילו שהיא שפה Safe . . . אז עכשיו - תמיד אנחנו מדברים על זה שזה מגניc לכתוב ב-Rust, אבל עד שאתה מסיים לקמפל (Compile), אתה כבר יכול לכתוב את זה מחדש ב-Go . . .אז עכשיו יש פה מאמר שמסביר ש-Compiling Rust is NP-hard, שזו בעיה NP קשה . . . . אז זה אכן קשה לקמפל את השפה - ובגלל זה לוקח לזה זמן . . .(דותן) שמע, אותי לימדו שבחיים, מה שבזול - ביוקר . . .(אלון) אותי לימדו “קשה יש רק בלחם, ו-NP קשה - אז גם את זה אוכלים”.אז יש פה מאמר, שהאמת הוא לא ארוך, הוא די קצר . . . לא רק שהוא לא ארוך, הוא אפילו די קצר, על ש- Compiling Rust - למה זה NP Hardעל החוקים, על ה-Safety, על ה-Boolean, כל מה שצריך לעשות - והוכחה שזה NP-קשה . . .אז אולי כשיהיו לנו מחשבים קוונטיים, או משהו כזה, או שמישהו אחר יוכיח ש P = NP, אז נוכל לקמפל Rust מהר . . . אבל עד אז, אנחנו בבעיה.(רן) יכול להיות ש-P = NP, זה במקרה ש N=1 או ש P=0 . . . (אלון) כן, אבל יש את המקרה הכללי, שעוד לא הוכיחו.(רן) בכללי אני לא מתחייב . . . אבל בשני המקרים האלה כן.(אלון) כן, גם באפס, באפס הכי טוב . . .(דותן) מה שמאכזב זה שה-Comment-ים לא תפסו . . . יש Comment-ים, אנשים מתחילים להגיד לו שהוא לא צודק וכאלה, אבל זה לא ממש . . .(אלון) הוא מתעלם . . . זה בסדר, דיקטטור טוב, ככה דיקטטור צריך לעבוד - אני לא מצליח להבין מה הבעיה . . . (רן) אבל בוא, בינינו - יש הרבה בעיות NP קשות שעובדים איתן ביום-יום, זה לא פוסל את הבעיה מלהיות פתירה.אולי אי אפשר לפתור אותה, עקרונית, בזמן יעיל כשיש הרבה מאוד דאטה, אבל תכל'ס - ביום-יום, אנחנו כולנו עוסקים ופותרים בעיות שגם הן מוגדרות כ-NP קשותאו שעושים את זה בצורה, אולי, לא יעילה, אבל עדיין פותריםאו שמוצאים כל מיני יוריסטיקות (Heuristics), ופותרים אותן בצורה מקורבת - אבל עושים את זה כל היום.(דותן) ובנימה רצינית - הוא בנה פה איזשהו Extrema case - מעיין Code base כזה, שהוא מכניס את ה-Compiler ל-Loop-ים - זה קיים, כי יש ב-Rust גם Macro-ים, וגם Proc-Macros, שזו אבולוציה, או “גרסא יותר נאורה” של Macro-ים, אין ספק שאפשר לעשות את זהאני יכול להגיד שבאמת, אם מישהו ברצינות רוצה לראות זמני קומפילציה (Compilation time), אז עוד מעידן ה-Blockchain התחילו לעבוד ב--Rust מ-Day Zero, ויש פרויקטים ענקיים, שהם Fully Open Source ואפשר לראות כמה זמן לוקח להם להתקמפל - והם בנויים ב-Rust.(אלון) בסדר . . . לא אמרנו שזה שמשהו קשה, אז בסדר . . . מתמודדים.מה שביוקר - ביוקר יותר.[כמאמר הפילוסוף הידוע א. פישוף - דברים זולים עולים פחות]בקיצור - יאללה, בואו נמשיך הלאה.אז הדבר הבא שרציתי זה איזשהו Framework שנקרא Fluvio - זה Programmable platform for data in” motion”בקיצור, זה Real-time Data Streaming Framework - כן, Yet another one - שכתוב ב-Rustהוא ב-Beta, או אפילו ב-Alpha - ממש בחיתולים.זה Open-Sourceאבל הוא . . . קודם כל, מזמן לא נתקלנו במשהו מודרני שהוא לא יוצא Apache, אני חושב, וזקן כזה, מעצבן . .לזכרוני, גם כולם כתובים בסוף ב-Java, או ב-JVM כלשהו - וזה כתוב ב-Rust, אז זה שינוי מרענן.פרויקט סופר-צעיר, לא יודע אם יצא ממנו משהו - אבל אהבתי שהתחילו עם זה עידן חדש . . . לא יודע אם הפרויקט שווה משהו.(רן) אז זה משהו בסגנון של, נגיד -Kafka Streams, או משהו כזה? לעשות חישובים על Stream-ים של דאטה?(אלון) כן - זה מה שאני מבין מהפרויקט הזה, שזה “A New Kafka” . . .(רן) אוקי, מעניין . . .(אלון) !Don't write in Production - אפילו הם בעצמם רושמים שזה אלפא או בטא או משהו כזהאבל כ-Concept זה מגניב, ולפרויקטי-צד וכאלה זה יכול להיות אחלה, במיוחד עם חיים ב-Ecosystem של Rustלמשהו עם מערכות קטנות, במקום להתחיל להתעסק עם איזה Kafkaאבל - Use it wisely . . . לא הייתי מעביר עכשיו את כל ה-Kafka שלי לשם, בוא נגיד את זה ככה.ורשום אלפא! בסדר, אנחנו אוהבים אלפא . . . אלפא זה טוב.טוב, הדבר הבא שרציתי - Dropbox פרסמו את ה-Dropbox Engineering Career Framework שלהםזה בעצם רישום מאוד מאוד מפורט של כל הדרגות של המתכנתים, SREs, Security Engineers . . . בקיצור - כל מה שקשור ל-R&D בצורה כלשהיכל הדרגות שלהם - מ-IC1 ועד IC7, נגיד ב-Software Engineerבעצם - פירוט של מה נדרש, ממש בפרטים מדוייקים, מכל דרגה - מה הוא צריך לעשות, מה ה-Impact שלו, מה ה-Ownership שלו, Decision Making, ה-Direction, ה-Talent, ו-Culture ו-Craft . . . .זה מפורט ברמות . . .(דותן) משוגע . . .(אלון) כן, ממש משוגע.עכשיו - קודם כל, זה חושף קצת איך . . . מה הולך בפנים ולמה הם מצפים מאנשים, אז אם מישהו הולך לחברות גדולות, אפשר להבין את הכיוון הכללי.למי שרוצה לבנות Framework לקידום, אז אפשר לקחת מפה חלקים ולבנות משהו - כי הוא ממש מפורטמן הסתם - זה Enterprise Level, אבל אני חושב שאפשר לגזור מפה הרבה דברים יפים.וגם - מי שבא לעבוד בחברה יכול להבין בערך איפה ה-Level שלו, אם הוא IC4 או IC5 או IC6 . . . (רן) אני חושב ששווה להגיד, למי שאף פעם לא עבד בחברה כזאת גדולה - מה המשמעות של ה-Level-ים האלה . . .אז (1) זה משהו שנפוץ בחברות גדולות, אז מן הסתם תראו את זה ב-Facebook וב-Microsoft וב-Google ובהרבה מאוד חברות גדולות אחרות.דרך אגב - אני ראיתי כאלה פנימיים של Google, וזה נראה די דומה, זאת אומרת, מבחינת הנפח - זה באמת ארוך ומתיש ומאוד מאוד מפורט - אבל בצדק, כי יש פה הרבה מאוד דברים שצריך להבהיר.עכשיו, המשמעות של “הדרגות" האלה - נקרא לזה ככה, כל חברה קוראת לזה קצת אחרת, אבל נקרא לזה “דרגות”, רק לצורך הפשטות - זה (1) הן באות ואומרות מה מצופה ממך לעשות ו-(2) הן קובעות את ה-Compensations שלך . . . בדרך כלל התשלום יתאים ליכולות שלך.ופה יש איזושהי דרך פורמלית לבוא ולהגיד כמה צריך לשלם לך, בגדול.עכשיו, נכון - יש משחקים, יש טווחים . . . גם בתוך כל דרגה - אבל סביר להניח שרוב ה-IC2, יהיה להם Compensations יותר גבוה מרוב ה-IC1, אוקיי?אז באופן כללי, כשאתם מתגייסים לחברה כזאת גדולה, אתם צריכים להבין לאיזה Slot אתם נכנסים . . . ואחר כך, לאורך החיים שלכם [בחברה], אתם כמובן יכולים להתקדם למעלה ולקבל Slot יותר גבוה, דרגה יותר גבוהה.(אלון) כן - ולכל דרגה כזאת יש, כמו שאמרת, “טווח מחירים” - מ-X ל-Y - אז כן, יכול להיות שמישהו בדרגה 2 ירוויח יותר ממישהו בדרגה 3, כי המינימום של 3 הוא קטן מהמקסימום של 2 - אבל הממוצע הוא הרבה יותר גבוה.לא יודע אם הרבה יותר גבוה, זה תלוי בדרגה - אבל הוא יותר גבוה.(רן) כן, ודרך אגב - זה קצת מתקשר לאחד מהאייטמים הראשונים ששלחתי, לגבי ה-Interview Book, ששלחתי רפרנס אליואז שם, למשל, (א) יש שם איזשהו פירוט של דרגות - נגיד, השוואה בין דרגות, ב-Phase של Data Scientists במקרה הזה, אבל של דרגות . . . ב-Facebook וב-Microsoft וב-Google - לכל אחת מהן יש שמות שונים לדברים האלה, תלוי . . . לא תמצאו חפיפה - אין איזשהו סטנדרט בתעשייה . . . אבל כן יש שם איזשהו ניסיון להשוות בין השמות, לצורך העניין ה-”Facebook-יים”, ה-”Microsoft-יים” וה-”Google-יים”, של הדרגות השונותו-(2) - הם מראים, באופן מאוד מובהק, שה-Compensation משתנה לא רק בסה”כ - אלא גם ההרכב של ה-Compensation משתנה לאורך הזמןלצורך העניין, אם אתם מתחילים יחסית צעירים בתוך חברה - רוב ה-Compensation שלכם זה משכורת, אוקיי? משכורת וקצת אופציותזה כמובן תלוי בסוג החברה, אבל באופן כללי זה ככה.וככל שהזמן עובר, וככל שאתם ניהיים יותר ותיקים, ה-Balance הזה משתנה, וזה מגיע למצב שבו חלק משמעותי מאוד מה-Compensation שלכם זה אופציות או מניות - וזה לפעמים גם יותר גדול מהמשכורת עצמה, אוקיי?וזה משהו שרואים בעיקר בחברות גדולות, אבל זה יכול . . . זאת אומרת, המידע העקבי נמצא בעיקר מהחברות הגדולות, זה כמובן יכול להיות בכל מקום, אבל מידע עקבי - יותר קל לאסוף אותו מחברות גדולותושם מאוד מאוד ברור שהרכב ה-Compensation משתנה ככל שהזמן עובר, וזה הופך להיות יותר ויותר “מנייתי” ופחות משכורת.זה על סמך מידע שיש לנו מארצות הברית . . . אני מנחש שבישראל זה משהו שהוא דומה, אבל קשה . . . זאת אומרת - אין לנו מספרים מדוייקים על ישראל, לפחות לא לי.(אלון) תודה על ההבהרה . . .(אלון) טוב, נראה לי שמיצינו . . . זה אמנם על Dropbox, אבל זה מייצג כנראה כל Corporate גדול - Google, Facebook, Microsoft וכו'.(דותן) רק הוספתי לך, ככה, אייטם Response לזה - זה הזכיר לי, השבוע . . יש לי חבר בשם אדיר, בחור מאוד מוכשר, שפרסם בעברית סוג-של-וידאו-כזה, על Hiring בהיי-טק - משהו מצחיק(רן) גדול . . . ראיתי את זה היום, באמת שכחתי לשים . . .(אלון) אבל זה צריך להיות במצחיקולים . . . אני הייתי רציני!(דותן) תראה . . . הייתי חייב, אחרי כל הסולמות והזה, הייתי חייב רגע . . .(אלון) רגע . . . אני חושב שאתה לא הבנת - המצחיקולים זה אחרי זה, ואם חשבת שאני צוחק עד עכשיו, אני נורא נעלבתי . . .(דותן) אה, הבנתי, זה לא היה, כאילו . . . (אלון) לא, זו לא הייתה בדיחה, זה היה רציני . . . אני עכשיו אשב בצד, אכבה את המיקרופון ואעבוד בחושך.(רן) שמתי גם במצחיקולים, מספיק עם ה . . . (דותן) סולמות ונחשים . . .(אלון) אני מבקש מהעורך להזיז את הקטע הזה למצחיקולים הדבר הבא - וידאו, על משהו שיכול להיות שאני היחיד בעולם שלא הכיר אותו - וזה הגיוני, למרות ששלחתי למישהו והוא גם לא הכיר אותו, אז לפחות שניים . . . זה נקרא Connected Sheetsוזה בעצם - למי שיש BigQuery בארגון, ואז רוצים להתחיל להוציא Queries ולהתחיל לתשאל ולהוציא דוחות, ואז אתה רוצה איזה Engineer או איזה איש BI שישב ויוציא דוחות . . אז מסתבר שיש דרך ממש פשוטה לחבר בין BigQuery ל-Spreadsheet . . . בצורה די מטורפת, שדי מפוצצת את המוח - ואתה לא צריך לתכנת כלום: הוא פשוט מעביר את המידע: אתה בוחר את ה-Data-set, הוא עושה את ה-Query - ואתה עושה את כל החיתוכים והכל ב-Spreadsheetזה הופך את זה שכל מי שיודע לעשות עם Excel או Spreadsheets, פתאום יודע לעשות את כל ה-Queries שלו ב-BigQuery - ולא צריך שום מהנדס . . .לדעתי, זה ממש פסיכי וחוסך . . . למי שיש להם בארגון מפתחים שמתעסקים, או לא יודע - BI, לא יודע איך לקרוא ל-Title הזה - שמתעסקים ב- Queries ולהוציא לכל מיני גורמים אחרים בארגון חיתוכים של BigQuery - שווה להסתכל על זה, כי יכול להיות שאפשר להזיז כוח אדם למשהו אחר . . .ויש גם ככה מצוקת כוח אדם . . .זהו, לי זה די פוצץ את המוח, אבל יכול להיות שכולם הכירו את זה.(דותן) זה נראה . . . פרסמו את זה באפריל 2020, אז זה יחסית חדש(אלון) כן . . . זה, כאילו, כל כך פשוט שאמרתי “בוא, זה בטח כולם . . . זה היה שם קודם”, אבל זה סרטון של שבע דקות שמראה מה אפשר לעשות שם - הם לקחו את Uber, לדעתי - Demand, ובערים וכל מיני כאלה, לא זוכר בדיוק - וזה מרשים, מרשים מאוד.אז מומלץ לכל מי שיש BigQuery(רן) זהו - וזה סולל את דרכנו היישר למצחיקולים . . . כמו שהבטחנו יש כמה להיום:אז האייטם הראשון - אני בטוח שלכל מי שכאן מאזין לפודקאסט, וכל מי שמשדר בפודקאסט, יש ניסיון של לפחות חמש שנים של שימוש בכלי שנקרא Infinidashזהו כלי מבית היוצר של AWS, שהתחיל כבדיחה - ובעצם המשיך כבדיחה . . . Infinidash זה כלי מומצא, לא קיים, דימיוני - שעוזר לך לעשות הכל יותר טוב, הכל יותר מקצוע, בגדול . . . הכל.זהו איזשהו Framework . . . (אלון)הם לא אמרו מה . . . הם אמרו פשוט שהכל יותר מקצועי ויותר טוב . . . (רן) אז בגלל זה אני לא זוכר . . .זה פורסם כבדיחה, אבל כמו שמפרסמים מדי פעם בדיחות של 1 באפריל, אז נותנים לזה כאילו מסכת רצינותולאט-לאט הקהילה תפסה, והתחילו לפתח Eco-system מסביב לזה . . .כלים שונים ו-Open-Source-ים שמשתמשים ב-Infinidash או עושים לו כל מיני תוספות . . . בקיצור, גדלה קהילה שלמה מסביב לזה.ובאיזשהו שלב זה היה נראה ממש כמו משהו מאוד מאוד רציני . . . היו Job Descriptions שמכילים ניסיון ב-Infinidash וכו'. . . אז קישרתי פה כמה דברים - יש לא מעט תוכן על הרשת, קישרתי פה לפוסט ב-ycombinator ואיזשהו Twitt נחמד של Corey Quinn - יש לא מעט תוכן על זה, על Infinidash, אז אני ממליץ.זה Framework מדהים - אני ממליץ ללכת ולהשתמש בו אתמול.(אלון) כן . . . אז Signal מחפשים מפתחי Infinidash . . . זה תפס תאוצה, מי שיש לו ניסיון ב-Infinidash מוזמן.אני רק רוצה לציין, באותה נקודה, שאני כבר מכיר פודקאסט בעברית, מפורסם, שפעם עשה 1 באפריל ואחרי זה אנשים חשבו שכל מיני דברים קרו בתעשייה, שלא קרו, ואז היו התכתבויות נאצה על חלק מהדוברים בפודקאסט . . . (רן) חכו לאפריל כקרוב . . . [וורנר עוד יעלה לארץ, אתם עוד תראו]והיום יש לנו איזשהו נושא חביב, שנקרא Correlation ו- Causation: מי לא מכיר את המתח שבין Correlation ו- Causation? אז האייטם הראשון - שלך, אלון:(אלון) יש! . . . ניסו להסביר כאן Correlation ו- Causation, אז לקחו את כל כוכבי הלכת במערכת השמש שלנו, ובדקו כמה מתו . . . כמה אנשים מתו בכל כוכבאז בכל כוכבי הלכת המספר הוא אפס - ובכדור הארץ זה בערך 120 מליארד איש עד היום . . . [לא חשדתי]ואז [ואז!] עשו עם זה הצלבה עם באיזה כוכב לכת משתמשים ב-JavaScript? ויצא שרק בכדור הארץ . . .[פה חשדתי!]ולכן - כנראה ש-JavaScript גרם למותם של 120 מליארד איש . . . (רן) כן, הקורלציה פה מובהקת, ולכן גם ה”קוזציה”, אם יש מילה כזאת בעברית . . . [סיבתיות]כן - כאן שמעתם את זה לראשונה: JavaScript אחאי למותם של כ-120 מיליארד אזרחי כדור הארץ . . . בהחלט, משכנע[ולמי שלא השתכנע - בטקסט יש גם תמונות, אז זה בטוח נכון:]אז נלך למשהו קצת יותר “מעונב” - xkcd, שבא ומראה שתי דמויות, אני אתמלל לכם, וגם תוכלו לראות את הציור כמובן בבלוג [בלוג!] שלנו [הטבה בלעדית, רק למי שקורא פודקאסטים . . .]:שני אנשים באים ומדבריםאחד מהם אומר: “פעם חשבתי שקורלציה . . . I used to think that correlation implied causation“ . . . שקורלציה הינה “קוזציה” [סיבתיות]“אבל אז לקחתי קורס בסטטיסטיקה - ועכשיו אני כבר לא חושב ככה”אז עונה לו החברה - “אז נשמע כאילו הקורס עזר . . .”אז הוא אומר “טוב, לא בטוח”סטאגאדיש!(אלון) תלחץ על האפקט של התופים . . . (רן) לגמרי . . . זהו - והאייטם האחרון של המצחיקולים זה האייטם שדותן רמז עליו מקודם: החבר שלך, אדיר, שהוציא וידאו נחמד, היתולי, על מגייסים או מגייסות בחברת היי-טק טיפוסיתממליץ ללכת ולראות, מצחיק, לגמרי.ראיתי את זה . . . דרך אגב, יש לו גם Facebook, גם LinkedIn . . . .פה ספציפית שמתי את הקישור ל-LinkedIn, אבל אפשר למצוא את זה בכל הפלטפורמות המרכזיות . . . (אלון) אתה רואה - זה התזמון! עכשיו שמים את המצחיקולים . . . אחרי שרן אומר “מצחיקולים!” ויש קטע של קטעים מצחיקולים - אז אתה שם את זה.נעשה אימון לפני הפעם הבאה . . .(רן) זה לא היה הקול של אלון - זה היה דותן שעשה אותו . . .יאללה, חברים - תודה רבה, נעמתם לנו מאוד, נתראה בפעם הבאה . . . האזנה נעימה ותודה רבה לעופר פורר על התמלול!

IHeart Radio National Correspondent Rory Oneill recaps the first day of testimony for the January 6th committee.

In this episode of Managing Cyber Risk, Mark Sangster, VP Industry Security Strategy at eSentire and Daniel Stiegman, Senior Insider Threat Intelligence Analyst at Equifax, join host Hillarie McClure to discuss how to identify insider threats and how to stop them. eSentire is the Authority in Managed Detection and Response services. eSentire's mission is to hunt, investigate and stop cyber threats before they become business disrupting events. To learn more about our sponsor, visit https://esentire.com

The acting Covid-19 Response Minister has conceded it was a political decision to let the Australian men's rugby team come to New Zealand despite the trans-Tasman bubble pause.  The Wallabies have been granted an economic exemption so they can play the All Blacks in Auckland in 10 days' time. The government has said a single rugby test is worth between $17 million and $20m dollars in spending for the host region. However, previous Bledisloe Cup hosts report takings of between $1m and $10m.  Ayesha Verrall granted the Australian team an economic exemption to travel to New Zealand for the Bledisloe Cup, despite the freeze on quarantine-free travel with Australia. The team, which has been operating in a bubble, will not have to isolate. They arrive in New Zealand by charter on Friday morning. The decision has frustrated some exporters who are struggling to get in and out of the country to do business because of border restrictions and the squeeze on MIQ. Acting Minister for Covid-19 Response, Ayesha Verrall, defended the government's figures on Checkpoint.

Early this month, in an unprecedented move, the Department of Justice pulled out of its proposed settlement with NAR. And soon thereafter, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. An executive order with a specific clause concerning ‘exclusionary practices in the brokerage or listing of real estate.' So, what's going to happen next? On this episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg discuss what Biden's executive order means for real estate, describing the kind of regulations the FTC might impose on the industry in 2022. They address the influx of institutional capital in real estate in the last two years, exploring what that could mean for buyer's agent commissions and why it actually might be good for NAR's renegotiation with the DOJ. Listen in for insight on the need for price discrepancy between a good and bad buyer's agent and get Rob and Greg's opposing predictions on how the government might change the rules around cooperation and compensation—or not.   What's Discussed:   How the DOJ reneged on its settlement with NAR and why it's a big deal What Biden's executive order on competition means for real estate The ideas re: concentration of power behind the Bradeis movement Why Rob thinks the real estate lobby is at its weakest right now Greg's prediction that mortgage banks will step in to keep buyer's agent commissions the same The influx of institutional capital in real estate in the last two years (and why that might be good for NAR's renegotiation) The number of new business models designed to help consumers buy, sell and finance homes Rob's view that institutional investors will support the elimination of buyer's agent commissions The lack of price discrepancy between a good and bad buyer's agent in real estate Rob's thought experiment re: whether the rich need buyer's agents Rob's prediction that the FTC will issue proposed regulations for real estate   Connect with Rob and Greg:  Rob's Website Greg's Website  Resources: Blockchain and Real Estate on Notorious POD EP022 Propy Justice Department Withdraws from Settlement with the National Association of Realtors Rob's Post on the DOJ Pulling Out of Its Settlement with NAR, Part 1 Rob's Post on the DOB Pulling Out of Its Settlement with NAR, Part 2 Biden's Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy ‘Amazon's Antitrust Paradox' by Lina M. Khan ‘BlackRock Is Not Ruining the US Housing Market' in The Atlantic Rob's Response to The Atlantic Article Knock Home Swap Orchard Tomo Rob's Post: Do the Rich Need Buyer's Agents?   Our Sponsors:  Cloud Agent Suite Notorious VIP

Response to free tuition program “astounding"; Twelve homeless Vermonters get housing extension; Climate council presents road map.

[00:30] Mandating Vaccines (9 minutes) Governors, doctors, journalists, news anchors and others are all suggesting the same thing: Mandate vaccines wherever possible. For the unvaccinated: no job, no shopping and maybe even no hospitalization. [09:00] The Fauci Flip-flop (7 minutes) Over the past two years, Dr. Anthony Fauci has repeatedly contradicted himself when advising how to react to COVID-19. Can we trust “science”? [16:30] Sweden's Response to COVID-19 (8 minutes) Sweden's response to the coronavirus was dramatically different from the rest of Europe. Today, it is freer and healthier than virtually any other country in Europe. [24:45] January 6 and the FBI (11 minutes) The FBI helped incite the so-called insurrection of January 6 with undercover agents like Ray Epps. Even the leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, is an inside informant for the FBI. [35:45] The Truth About November 3 (6 minutes) A new Rasmussen poll shows that 55 percent of U.S. voters support a forensic audit of the November 3 election. Those in favor of an audit continue to rise. [41:45] Bible Study: Keep Growing! (13 minutes) Like the leaders of ancient Israel—Samuel, Samson, David and others—we all have room for growth, and God intends that we fill it.

Cyber incident response. Cyber attacks. Unfortunately, we hear these terms daily nowadays. But what really goes on behind the scenes in a cyber incident? To answer that question, we asked Luke Green, a Breach Response Services Manager for cyber insurer Beazley Group and Josh Sudbury, Managing Principal of Forensic Investigations at Lodestone, a leading cyber defense and incident response company, to come on the show. They break down step by step what happens when an organization is hacked. From containment to remediation, Luke and Josh explain the stages of a cyber incident response plan. They also explain how cyber insurers and incident response teams work with companies to minimize cyber risk and damage. They also discuss cybersecurity and what companies can do ahead of time to prevent cyber attacks including education initiatives and implementing cyber incident policies.

On this three-part episode of SPS, Sophia and the Editor of the Platypus Review, Lou Sterrett, give a teaser of what's inside the latest issue. In the second segment, our European Correspondent Andreas Wintersperger catches up with Ian Cassidy. Originally from Ireland, Cassidy is a Berlin-based activist, working for the campaign 'Deutsche Wohnen & co enteignen' which aims to pressure Berlin's largest private housing companies to better serve their tenants. In the final segment, SPS co-host Pamela sits down with Victor and Sidsel, our members in Aarhus, to discuss the recent debates over academic freedom in Danish universities in response to the parliament in Denmark accusing researchers of “excessive activism”. LINKS: Platypus Review Issue 138, July 2021 https://platypus1917.org/platypus-review/ Platypus in Aarhus, Denmark https://www.facebook.com/groups/2026045940750202 Chris Cutrone, The end of the Gilded Age: Discontents of the Second Industrial Revolution today, December 2017, https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/end-gilded-age-discontents-second-industrial-revolution-today/ Chris Cutrone, On philosophy and Marxism: response to Suther and Velissaris, 2020, https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/on-philosophy-and-marxism-response-to-suther-and-velissaris/ Jensen Suther and Thodoris Velissaris, Response to Cutrone, November 2020, https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/response-to-cutrone/ Panel Discussion in German, “Die Wohnungsfrage und die Linke”, July 2021: https://tinyurl.com/6c48vje Deutsche Wohnen & co enteignen Campaign https://www.dwenteignen.de/ Petition In Solidarity with Danish Researches, June 2021, https://atgender.eu/academic-freedom-in-denmark-open-letter-2-june-2021/ Ludvig Goldschmidt Pedersen, The Academic Culture War Comes to Denmark, June 2021, https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/06/denmark-parliament-motion-research-fields-academic-freedom-feminism-postcolonial-migration-race-studies

Red and processed meat linked to increased risk of heart disease, study shows Oxford University, July 21, 2021 Globally, coronary heart diseases (caused by narrowed arteries that supply the heart with blood) claim nearly nine million lives each year1, the largest of any disease, and present a huge burden to health systems. Until now, it has been unclear whether eating meat increases the risk of heart disease, and if this varies for different kinds of meat. Researchers at the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Population Health have conducted the largest systematic review of the prospective evidence to date, including thirteen cohort studies involving over 1.4 million people. The study participants completed detailed dietary assessments, and their health was tracked for up to 30 years. The results are published today in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. Overall, the evidence from the analysis indicated that: Each 50 g/day higher intake of processed meat (e.g. bacon, ham, and sausages) increased the risk of coronary heart disease by 18%. Each 50 g/day higher intake of unprocessed red meat (such as beef, lamb and pork) increased the risk of coronary heart disease by 9%. There was no clear link between eating poultry (such as chicken and turkey) and an increased risk of coronary heart disease. The findings may be because of the high content of saturated fat in red meat, and of sodium (salt) in processed meat. High intakes of saturated fat increase levels of harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, whilst excess salt consumption raises blood pressure. Both LDL cholesterol and high blood pressure are well-established risk factors for coronary heart disease. Previous work from the same research team has also indicated that even moderate intakes of red and processed meat are associated with increased risk of bowel cancer2. Dr. Keren Papier (Nuffield Department of Population Health), co-lead author of the study, said: "Red and processed meat have been consistently linked with bowel cancer and our findings suggest an additional role in heart disease. Therefore, current recommendations to limit red and processed meat consumption may also assist with the prevention of coronary heart disease." Dr. Anika Knüppel, from the Nuffield Department of Population Health and the other co-lead author of the study, added: "We know that meat production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and we need to reduce meat production and thereby consumption to benefit the environment. Our study shows that a reduction in red and processed meat intake would bring personal health benefits too." Currently in the UK, about 10 in 100 people would be expected to eventually die from coronary heart disease. Based on the findings from the present study and current red and processed meat intakes in the UK,4 if all these 100 people reduced their unprocessed red meat intake by three-quarters (for example from four times a week to one time a week), or if they stopped consuming processed meat altogether, deaths from coronary heart disease would decrease from 10 in 100 down to 9 in 100. The studies involved in this analysis were mostly based on white adults living in Europe or the U.S.. The research team say more data are needed to examine these associations in other populations, including East Asia and Africa.   C is for Vitamin C -- a key ingredient for immune cell function Harnessing the combined power of Vitamin C and TET proteins may give scientists a leg up in treating autoimmune diseases   La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Emory University, July 22, 2021 You can't make a banana split without bananas. And you can't generate stable regulatory T cells without Vitamin C or enzymes called TET proteins, it appears.  Regulatory T cells (Tregs) help control inflammation and autoimmunity in the body. Tregs are so important, in fact, that scientists are working to generate stable induced Tregs (iTregs) in vitro for use as treatments for autoimmune diseases as well as rejection to transplanted organs. Unfortunately, it has proven difficult to find the right molecular ingredients to induce stable iTregs. Now scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Emory University School of Medicine report that Vitamin C and TET proteins can work together to give Tregs their life-saving power.  "Vitamin C can be used to stabilize iTregs generated in vitro," says LJI Instructor Xiaojing Yue, Ph.D., who served as co-first author for the EMBO Reports study. "We hope that these kinds of induced Tregs can be used in the future for treatment of autoimmune diseases and organ transplantation." The recent study, led by LJI Professor Anjana Rao, Ph.D., and Emory Instructor Benjamin G Barwick, Ph.D., builds on the previous discovery that Vitamin C can enhance the enzymatic activity of TET proteins and prompt the generation of stable iTregs under lab conditions. This finding was encouraging, but the scientists did not want to work toward new autoimmune therapies without first analyzing the gene expression patterns and other key epigenetic features of the induced Tregs.  "We wanted to study the entire system at a whole genome level using next generation sequencing technology to better understand the molecular features of these cells," says Yue. Study co-first author Daniela Samaniego-Castruita, a graduate student at LJI, spearheaded the analysis of gene expression and epigenetic changes in the iTregs. A major type of epigenetic modification involves the DNA itself through the addition or removal of molecules called methyl groups from cytosines, one of the four DNA bases. The methyl groups can be further oxidized by TET enzymes. All of these interactions can eventually change how cells "read" the DNA code.  Another type of epigenetic change involves the alteration of DNA accessibility: whether DNA is loosely or tightly coiled. As the DNA coils unwind, regulatory regions become exposed which subsequently influence gene expression. In their analysis, the researchers found TET proteins are absolutely required for maintaining the gene expression and epigenetic features that make Tregs as what they are; and adding Vitamin C led to iTregs with similar similar gene expression and epigenetic features as normal "wild type" Tregs found in the body. The study also reveals an intriguing connection between TET enzymatic activity, Vitamin C and IL-2/STAT5 signaling. "In mice that are deficient for components of IL-2/STAT5 signaling, such as IL-2, IL-2 receptors or STAT5, the Tregs cannot develop properly or they can have impaired function," Yue says. The researchers demonstrate that on one hand, TET-deficiency in Treg cells leads to impaired IL-2/STAT5 signaling; on the other hand, Vitamin C confers iTregs enhanced IL-2/STAT5 signaling by increasing the expression level of IL-2 receptor and the functional form of STAT5, and STAT5 binding to essential regions in the genome, rendering these cells survive better in tough environments with low IL-2 supplementation. "We are looking for more small molecules to stabilize TET activity and generate induced Tregs that are even more stable," says Yue. "These induced Tregs could eventually be used to treat patients." "This research gives us a new way to think about treating autoimmune diseases," says Samaniego-Castruita.       Resveratrol ameliorates high-fat-diet-induced abnormalities in liver glucose metabolism in mice via the AMPK pathway Hebei Medical Institute (China), July 19, 2021 A new study on high fat diet is now available. According to news originating from the Department of Internal Medicine by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Diabetes mellitus is highly prevalent worldwide.” Our news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Department of Internal Medicine: “High-fat-diet (HFD) consumption can lead to liver fat accumulation, impair hepatic glycometabolism, and cause insulin resistance and the development of diabetes. Resveratrol has been shown to improve the blood glucose concentration of diabetic mice, but its effect on the abnormal hepatic glycometabolism induced by HFD-feeding and the mechanism involved are unknown. In this study, we determined the effects of resveratrol on the insulin resistance of high-fat-diet-fed mice and a hepatocyte model by measuring serum biochemical indexes, key indicators of glycometabolism, glucose uptake, and glycogen synthesis in hepatocytes. We found that resveratrol treatment significantly ameliorated the HFD-induced abnormalities in glucose metabolism in mice, increased glucose absorption and glycogen synthesis, downregulated protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and activated Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase kinase b (CaMKKb), and increased the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In insulin-resistant HepG2 cells, the administration of a PP2A activator or CaMKKb inhibitor attenuated the effects of resveratrol, but the administration of an AMPK inhibitor abolished the effects of resveratrol. Resveratrol significantly ameliorates abnormalities in glycometabolism induced by HFD-feeding and increases glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis in hepatocytes.” According to the news editors, the research concluded: “These effects are mediated through the activation of AMPK by PP2A and CaMKKb.”     Hundreds of chemicals, many in consumer products, could increase breast cancer risk List includes potential carcinogens that act by stimulating production of hormones that fuel breast tumors Silent Spring Institute, July 22, 2021 Every day, people are exposed to a variety of synthetic chemicals through the products they use or the food they eat. For many of these chemicals, the health effects are unknown. Now a new study shows that several hundred common chemicals, including pesticides, ingredients in consumer products, food additives, and drinking water contaminants, could increase the risk of breast cancer by causing cells in breast tissue to produce more of the hormones estrogen or progesterone. "The connection between estrogen and progesterone and breast cancer is well established," says co-author Ruthann Rudel, a toxicologist and research director at Silent Spring Institute. "So, we should be extremely cautious about chemicals in products that increase levels of these hormones in the body." For instance, in 2002, when the Women's Health Initiative study found combination hormone replacement therapy to be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, women stopped taking the drugs and incidence rates went down. "Not surprisingly, one of the most common therapies for treating breast cancer is a class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors that lower levels of estrogen in the body, depriving breast cancer cells of the hormones they need to grow," adds Rudel. To identify these chemical risk factors, Rudel and Silent Spring scientist Bethsaida Cardona combed through data on more than 2000 chemicals generated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s ToxCast program. The goal of ToxCast is to improve the ability of scientists to predict whether a chemical will be harmful or not. The program uses automated chemical screening technologies to expose living cells to chemicals and then examine the different biological changes they cause. Reporting in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, Rudel and Cardona identified 296 chemicals that were found to increase estradiol (a form of estrogen) or progesterone in cells in the laboratory. Seventy-one chemicals were found to increase levels of both hormones. The chemicals included ingredients in personal care products such as hair dye, chemical flame retardants in building materials and furnishings, and a number of pesticides. The researchers don't yet know how these chemicals are causing cells to produce more hormones. It could be the chemicals are acting as aromatase activators, for instance, which would lead to higher levels of estrogen, says Cardona. "What we do know is that women are exposed to multiple chemicals from multiple sources on a daily basis, and that these exposures add up." The Silent Spring researchers hope this study will be a wakeup call for regulators and manufacturers in how they test chemicals for safety. For instance, current safety tests in animals fail to look at changes in hormone levels in the animal's mammary glands in response to a chemical exposure. And, although high throughput testing in cells has been used to identify chemicals that activate the estrogen receptor, mimicking estrogen, the testing has not been used to identify chemicals that increase estrogen or progesterone synthesis. "This study shows that a number of chemicals currently in use have the ability to manipulate hormones known to adversely affect breast cancer risk," says Dr. Sue Fenton, associate editor for the study and an expert in mammary gland development at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. "Especially concerning is the number of chemicals that alter progesterone, the potential bad actor in hormone replacement therapy. Chemicals that elevate progesterone levels in the breast should be minimized." The researchers outlined a number of recommendations in their study for improving chemical safety testing to help identify potential breast carcinogens before they end up in products, and suggest finding ways to reduce people's exposures, particularly during critical periods of development, such as during puberty or pregnancy when the breast undergoes important changes. The project is part of Silent Spring Institute's Safer Chemicals Program which is developing new cost-effective ways of screening chemicals for their effects on the breast. Knowledge generated by this effort will help government agencies regulate chemicals more effectively and assist companies in developing safer products.     Antioxidant activity of limonene counteracts neurotoxicity triggered by amyloid beta 1-42 oligomers in cortical neurons University of Naples (Italy), July 19, 2021 According to news reporting from Naples, Italy, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Many natural-derived compounds, including the essential oils from plants, are investigated to find new potential protective agents in several neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).” The news editors obtained a quote from the research from School of Medicine: “In the present study, we tested the neuroprotective effect of limonene, one of the main components of the genus * * Citrus* * , against the neurotoxicity elicited by Ab [ [1-42] ] oligomers, currently considered a triggering factor in AD. To this aim, we assessed the acetylcholinesterase activity by Ellman's colorimetric method, the mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity by MTT assay, the nuclear morphology by Hoechst 33258, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by DCFH-DA fluorescent dye, and the electrophysiological activity of K [ [V] ] 3.4 potassium channel subunits by patch-clamp electrophysiology. Interestingly, the monoterpene limonene showed a specific activity against acetylcholinesterase with an IC [ [50] ] almost comparable to that of galantamine, used as positive control. Moreover, at the concentration of 10 g/mL, limonene counteracted the increase of ROS production triggered by Ab [ [1-42] ] oligomers, thus preventing the upregulation of K [ [V] ] 3.4 activity. This, in turn, prevented cell death in primary cortical neurons, showing an interesting neuroprotective profile against Ab [ [1-42] ] -induced toxicity.” According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Collectively, the present results showed that the antioxidant properties of the main component of the genus * * Citrus* * , limonene, may be useful to prevent neuronal suffering induced by Ab [ [1-42] ] oligomers preventing the hyperactivity of K [ [V] ] 3.4.”     Meditation And Yoga Change Your DNA To Reverse Effects Of Stress, Study Shows Coventry University (UK), July 22, 2021 Many people participate in practices such as meditation and yoga because they help us relax. At least those are the immediate effects we feel. But much more is happening on a molecular level, reveal researchers out of Coventry University in England. Published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, this new research examined 18 studies on mind-body interventions (MBIs). These include practices such as mindfulness meditation and yoga. Comprehensively, these studies encompassed 846 participants over 11 years. The new analysis reveals that MBIs result in molecular changes in the human body. Furthermore, researchers claim that these changes are beneficial to our mental and physical health. Body's Response to Stress Causes Damage To elaborate, consider the effect that stress has on the body. When we are under stress, the body increases the production of proteins that cause cell inflammation. This is the natural effect of the body's fight-or-flight response. It is widely believed that inflammation in the body leads to numerous illnesses, including cancer. Moreover, scientists also deduct that a persistent inflammation is more likely to cause psychiatric problems. Unfortunately, many people suffer from persistent stress, therefore they suffer from pro-inflammatory gene expression. But there is good news! According to this new analysis out of Coventry, people that practice MBIs such as meditation and yoga can reverse pro-inflammatory gene expression. This results in a reduced risk of inflammation-related diseases and mental conditions. Lead investigator Ivana Buric from Coventry University's Centre for Psychology, Behaviour and Achievement stated: Millions of people around the world already enjoy the health benefits of mind-body interventions like yoga or meditation, but what they perhaps don't realise is that these benefits begin at a molecular level and can change the way our genetic code goes about its business. These activities are leaving what we call a molecular signature in our cells, which reverses the effect that stress or anxiety would have on the body by changing how our genes are expressed. Put simply, MBIs cause the brain to steer our DNA processes along a path which improves our wellbeing. More needs to be done to understand these effects in greater depth, for example how they compare with other healthy interventions like exercise or nutrition. But this is an important foundation to build on to help future researchers explore the benefits of increasingly popular mind-body activities.               Large-scale study finds greater sedentary hours increases risk of obstructive sleep apnea Study finds that maintaining an active lifestyle can reduce the risk of OSA, encourages physicians to recommend exercise-based interventions for those at risk Brigham and Women's Hospital, July 22, 2021 A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital examined the relationship between active lifestyles and the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The study followed around 130,000 men and women in the United States over a follow-up period of 10-to-18 years and found that higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of sedentary behavior were associated with a lower risk of OSA. Their results are published in the European Respiratory Journal.  "In our study, higher levels of physical activity and fewer hours of TV watching, and sitting either at work or away from home were associated with lower OSA incidence after accounting for potential confounders," said Tianyi Huang, MSc, ScD, an Associate Epidemiologist at the Brigham. "Our results suggest that promoting an active lifestyle may have substantial benefits for both prevention and treatment of OSA."  OSA is a type of sleep apnea in which some muscles relax during sleep, causing an airflow blockage. Severe OSA increases the risk of various heart issues, including abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure.  Using the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), Nurses' Health Study II (NHSII) and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS), the research team used statistical modeling to compare physical activity and sedentary hours with diagnoses of OSA. Both moderate and vigorous physical activity were examined separately and both were strongly correlated with lower risk of OSA, showing no appreciable differences in the intensity of activity. Moreover, stronger associations were found for women, adults over the age of 65 and those with a BMI greater than or equal to 25 kg/m2.  "Most prior observational studies on the associations of physical activity and sedentary behavior with OSA were cross-sectional, with incomplete exposure assessment and inadequate control for confounding," said Huang. "This is the first prospective study that simultaneously evaluates physical activity and sedentary behavior in relation to OSA risk."  This study also differs from others because of its large sample size and detailed assessment pf physical activity and sedentary behaviors. The research team was able to take many associated factors into account, making the findings more credible.  The authors note that all collected data, both of OSA diagnosis and physical activity or sedentary behavior, were self-reported. While all study participants were health professionals, mild OSA is often difficult to detect and can remain clinically unrecognized. Furthermore, only recreational physical activity was taken into consideration, leaving out any physical activity in occupational settings. Sedentary behavior was only counted as sitting while watching TV and sitting away from home or at work.  According to Huang, the next research steps would be to collect data using actigraphy, home sleep apnea tests and polysomnography, rather than self-reports.  In light of the findings, investigators encourage physicians to highlight the benefits of physical activity to lower OSA risk.  "We found that physical activity and sedentary behavior are independently associated with OSA risk," said Huang. "That is, for people who spend long hours sitting every day, increasing physical activity in their leisure time can equally lower OSA risk. Similarly, for those who are not able to participate in a lot of physical activity due to physical restrictions, reducing sedentary hours by standing or doing some mild activities could also lower OSA risk. However, those who can lower sedentary time and increase physical activity would have the lowest risk."

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Prepare your ears and hearts as Tim strikes back, I mean responds to our discussion of concerts.Tim's Response to Concert TalkThe concert that Shayne forgot!The concert that Jay forgot!How does Rob feel about being called “Little Rob?”Queens RichieMore Rush love from TimINXS in Texas Stadium!Motley CrueLocal bands don't count.Question: How much do you love Tim?Let us know in the Beer Thursday Facebook group and on Instagram!For complete show notes, go to Shayne.Fun/bt88. Follow Beer Thursday on Instagram so you can join the convo next time we go live! Please support us on the Beer Thursday Patreon page! The first 20 Great Human Beings will get access to the Beer Thursday Facebook group at the $5 level.Never miss an episode and help us take you to the top with us be subscribing and leaving a 5-Star review on your favorite podcasting app:Apple PodcastsSpotifyStitcherGoogle PodcastsiHeartRadioSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/beerthursday)

The Witch Daily Show (https://www.witchdailyshow.com) is talking Let's Talk About Tea Baby   Our sponsor today Is Tutty Learns About Witches (https://www.tuttytheseries.com/)   Our quote of the day Is: ― "Do what we can, summer will have its flies." —Ralph Waldo Emerson   Headlines: (https://bloody-disgusting.com/comics/3674985/occult-world-sabrina-comic-series-will-pick-netflixs-sabrina-series-left-off/?fbclid=IwAR3OIeMRl0ouZJc5mabBOubG72bE-vAeyKopNqHJeVc-bw64Q0DAfa4-v9c)   Deck: Witch Daily Oracle (https://www.witchdailyshow.com/oracle-project)   Other Sources: (https://www.healthline.com/health/lemon-balm-uses) (https://www.ohhowcivilized.com/how-to-make-tea-latte/) (https://www.thetwigandfeather.com/shopherbs)   Response of the day - Witch Win Question of the day - Tea Lattes   Thank you so much for joining me this morning, if you have any witch tips, questions, witch fails, or you know of news I missed, visit https://www.witchdailyshow.com or email me at thewitchdailypodcast@gmail.com If you want to support The Witch Daily Show please visit our patreon page https://www.patreon.com/witchdailyshow   Mailing Address (must be addressed as shown below) Tonya Brown 3436 Magazine St #460 New Orleans, LA 70115

What does it take to run a country? Kim Chakanetsa is joined by two international leaders who have championed women's health, equality and empowerment throughout their careers. They will discuss their personal journeys, the impact Covid-19 has had on the wellbeing of women around the world, and why more women should join the political arena. The guests will also be taking questions from two young female activists and leaders in women's rights, health and climate change. Michelle Bachelet became Chile's first female president in 2006 and served a second term in 2014. In 1973, her father was detained and tortured under General Pinochet's dictatorial rule. Two years later she was also imprisoned with her mother and then exiled for four years. When she returned to Chile, she became a doctor and worked with victims of torture. She is currently the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Helen Clark was the first woman to be elected as prime minister of New Zealand and the first woman to serve for three consecutive terms. After her premiership, Helen Clark became the first female head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and last year she co-chaired an Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response to explore the global response to Covid-19. She's also chairing the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH). Produced by Alice Gioia IMAGE DETAILS (L) Michelle Bachelet, credit Getty Images (R) Helen Clark, credit Getty Images

The July 25th, 2021 Morning Worship Service at Plainfield Christian Church in Comstock Park, MI Preacher: Bruce Wilson Youth Minister: Brady Jester Children's Minister: Wade Harrier Worship Leader: Katie Winstanley Learn more at https://www.pccmi.org/ Songs: CCLI #2228009 Sermon: The Chronological Life of Christ #98 Breaking Away From Galilee (3rd Year of Ministry) Belief That Failed The Test Scripture: John 8:31-36 2 Corinthians 13:5 John 2:23-25 John 6:60,66 Matthew 7:21 Romans 8:1-2 Notes: Introduction I. His Instruction – Verse 31 II. A promise Given – Verse 32 III. Their Boast – Verse 33 IV. Jesus' Response – Verses 34-36

Acorns for your squirrels to nibble on at any time of the day:  Alert: New Bonus Episodes>http://bit.ly/sw241 TV show: Hyperdrive>https://www.justwatch.com/ Movie: About Time>https://www.justwatch.com/ Game: Monument Valley>https://www.monumentvalleygame.com Giveaway: Win Wireless SleepPhones>https://bit.ly/sw236 Inspiration: We not only need to be willing to give, but also to be open to receiving from others. Other helpful links: Be a Podcast … Continue reading 264 Acorns: New Bonus Episode, TV Show, Movie, Fun Game, Giveaway, Quote

Higher Education's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic Marisol is joined by authors from the Council of Europe's publication, Higher Education's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Building a more Sustainable and Democratic Future. Listen in as they talk about the ways higher education needs to transform to create a better world post-pandemic that breaks the previous patterns that led to deep-rooted inequities and injustice. Plus, get the intel on some of what Campus Compact has to offer this summer and fall. Related Resources Campus Compact Impact Awards: compact.org/impact-awards Campus Compact Affinity Networks: compact.org/affinity-networks Higher education's response to the Covid-19 pandemic: Building a more sustainable and democratic future: https://book.coe.int/en/higher-education-and-research/9141-higher-education-s-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic-building-a-more-sustainable-and-democratic-future-council-of-europe-higher-education-series-no-25.html Music credit Andrew Savage andrewsavage.net

Luxury rail-tour company Rocky Mountaineer will launch their Denver to Moab passenger service in mid-August, yet questions still hang over their plans for unloading passengers. The Canadian-based company say they will disembark passengers on Union Pacific and Intrepid Potash- owned land near state highway 313. But Grand County has yet to see a site plan. That's because the company is arguing in US District Court that they are not subject to local rules like going through a county permitting process. Plus, the proposal for the creation of a Civilian Climate Corps is moving forward in both chambers of Congress. Show Notes: Photo: According to court documents, luxury rail company Rocky Mountaineer plans to disembark passengers in Moab near state highway 313 American Rocky Mountaineer 7/1/21 Complaint https://www.kzmu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ARM-Complaint.pdf Grand County 7/21/21 Response to ARM Complaint https://www.kzmu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GRAND-Answer-to-Verified-Complaint.EFILED.7.21.21pdf.pdf Rocky Mountaineer Info https://www.rockymountaineer.com Rocky Mountaineer: ‘Introducing our newest route – Rockies to the Red Rocks' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj8wSOBQXlM KGNU: Democratic Lawmakers Push for Creation of Civilian Climate Corps https://news.kgnu.org/2021/07/democrat-lawmakers-push-for-creation-of-civilian-climate-corp/

If it's free, it's for me — that's one of my mottos. And that's why I love free samples. But free samples are universally adored, and in recent years the customers getting the goods aren't the only ones who are benefiting. Ecommerce companies and retailers alike are using samples as a way to raise awareness, convert more sales, and drive traffic to a product or webpage, and it's working. On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, guest host Albert Chow talked to Doug Guyer, the Co-founder and Director of Strategic Development at Brandshare, the company that brings many of those free samples to your door. Doug explains that sampling is a tool that any brand can take advantage of, and if they do, they could see 97% of people who get the sample try it out, and 32% of those folks actually convert into buyers. It's a massive opportunity, but Doug also says that most brands out there don't know that this is possible. How has Doug and the team gotten the word out — including the story of how they landed their very first campaign with Tylenol — and what should brands be thinking about when they engage in the sampling strategy? Find out on this episode!Main Takeaways:It's Worth A Try: Very few marketing tactics are as effective as free samples. Reports from Brandshare indicate that well-run sampling campaigns see 97% try rates and as high as 32% conversion rates. Consumers are more willing to try something that is of no cost to them, and brands will be rewarded with both awareness and increased sales by making a relatively small investment in samples.Building Trust: When a brand gives a free sample, or includes a related free sample from another brand in a customer's order, the original brand is seen as going above and beyond. Customers view the sample as a sort of curated experience that was sent just for them, and it creates more brand loyalty.Not a Cureall: While sampling is effective, it can't solve all of a brand's problems. A struggling company or a business that simply doesn't have a good product will be negatively impacted by free sampling.For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we're ready for what's next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---Transcript:Albert:I'm sorry. You're going to cover Brandshare after my intro. Welcome everyone to another episode of Up Next In Commerce. And today, I have a special guest, Co-founder and Director of Strategic Development at Brandshare, Doug Guyer. Doug, welcome to the show.Doug:Thanks Albert. Honored to be here.Albert:Right out the gate Doug. What is Brandshare and what does it do?Doug:What is Brandshare is a great question. We have an E-commerce Media Network and we've built that over 37 years. And then people say, what is an E-commerce Media Network?Albert:That was my next question.Doug:And of course it's a consortium of 800 different Ecomm retailers that collectively ship out 75 to 80 million e-commerce order packages every month. What we do is we took those 800 Ecomm retailers, categorize them into 42 different lifestyles and then embed a product sample or brand experience insert into each outgoing FedEx package so that consumer, that online buyer gets a surprise and delight in their package when they receive it the next day, after order. I would say it's a delivery vehicle for the brands, for the CPT brands, OTC brands and a variety of brands to infiltrate the consumer's home with their product.Albert:Okay. Now is it done? I mean, back up a little bit because I to make sure everyone understands what we're doing here. You're not a shipping fulfillment network. You don't ship and fulfill orders for the brands. Is that accurate?Doug:That's correct.Albert:Okay. So it's not on the order level, it is like when I literally get samples in my mail from a brand, Brandshare might be part of that, is that accurate?Doug:That's not accurate. Only because our samples are our brand experience inserts right along with that FedEx order package. Give you an example, you order your bed linens and bath towels from www.bedbathandbeyond.com.Albert:Okay.Doug:You order today, tomorrow, there's a package on your front door. You come home from work, you open up that package. You know what you ordered, you just spend a 100 dollars and ready to go. You need these bath towels. And there in the package, there's a Tide PODS Downy fabric softener product sample in there. You didn't buy it. You didn't expect it. It's a surprise and delight to you the buyer because it makes synergistic sense to ride along with washables from Bed, Bath & Beyond. That's the customer experience we bring to the brands and to our Ecomm retailers and ultimately to the consumer in home.Albert:Talk a little bit about the value. I understand that... Later on in the conversation, I certainly want to dive in and understand like how these relationships are felt because I find that fascinating because it sounds like a retailer would then offer, it's like an end gap. They let little other brands bid based on their end gap. But talk a little bit about the power of sampling because this is something that I definitely can see working. Less people go into retail stores, especially the last year. Most people tend to buy things that they can touch, feel, look at. And so on. To be introduced to a new product digitally, kind of hard. And you're not as quick to consume a product digitally. I would assume.Albert:And then I was thinking, the other thing that's another value plus is I don't recall ever getting a sample and not trying it, literally every sample that's ever been sent to me, I tried it. Whether it was gum, whether it was whatever. I've tried literally every single sample, including, as you said, if it's a laundry detergent that I don't currently use, I'll do one load with it just to... Why not? It's a two-part question. I'd love to hear, understand a little bit about, why this has become so important in your perspective and then also give us an idea of what value does it really bring to the retailer from any case studies or results that you have?Doug:Yeah. Sampling is not a digital tactic. We made it an e-commerce digital tactic by partnering with Ecomm retailers back in the 70s, oh God. I'm sorry. The 90s, because we started in 84, we worked with catalogers, catalogers morphed into Ecomm retailers instead of Cabela's sending out 140 million catalogs a year, they're now send out 5 million. Why? Because they were very well-perceived or situated to have a fulfillment center and didn't have to build the postponement centers like the www.petsoftheworld.com did. And they were making money as catalogers and morphed beautifully into Ecomm retailer.Doug:And then so many of catalogers that we dealt with in the 80s and 90s are doing so well today because of the backend. What we did is pivoted from catalog to Ecomm retail and built that media network, Ecomm media network for the benefit of the brands. To instead of solo direct mailing a sample or instead of being in gyms where their sampling, instead of being in store with their sampling. In store sampling will always have a place with many brands but this is to supplement that not to replace that there's a place for in store and there's a place for in home.Doug:Where in home, via that FedEx Ecomm meets media package so that's a beautiful thing for a brand, because why? Because there's comfort, there's safety, there's privacy in your home. When you can try that sample, whether it's shampoo or detergent or makeup or something for your kids, whatever it may be. You don't have to stand in front of anybody else and do this. Awesome. But it's also good for the Ecomm retailer. Ecomm retailer gets a sample that aligns with them and obviously they have every right to say yes or no to that sample. And it's our job to vet out the properly aligned products and or brand experience inserts from Disney or HelloFresh or whatever it may be, that can sample but they can really put a beautiful educational booklet of their product or service into the packages as well.Doug:When that happens and it's properly aligned and executed flawlessly, the consumer is the one that wins. Because he or she is going to try that product. Like you said, every sample you've gotten, you've tried. Because why? Because it's no cost. It's a no cost experience for that consumer to try it, especially if it comes from the privacy and safety of their home. And then if the product does their job and it's a good product, hey, you're going to convert a certain amount of those. You're going to convert the 8%, 14%, 32%. We're in that top tier of conversion from a trial and conversion standpoint because of our targetability our scalability and our delivery vehicle.Albert:Wait. You're saying for some of these samples, they'll convert 32% of the packages. If I send a million, 320,000 people are going to live by this product that I just gave them a sample, is that accurate?Doug:Yeah. That's... The one step before that is how many tried. Is it 80% that tried and then you take 32%? or is it 97% that tried? And a good program will have 80% or so try it.Albert:Well, how do you know that if someone tries it? I mean, that's...Doug:I'll walk you through that.Albert:Yeah.Doug:It's 80% trial, 10% conversion, that's a nice sampling program. A very well done, flawless executed sample program should have 95, 97% trial. And it really should, based on the target ability of that same big program, whether it's grand shares or anyone else's, is the derivative of that 14 to 32% or 8% or 2%. We're driving as high as 32 but some at 14%, some at 18%, some at 21% got 95, 96. To answer your question, a million... Hey. 97% of that is 970,000. If it's a max conversion of 32%, yeah. It's close there 320, it's 316 or so. Between a 60,000 conversion, that's a beautiful thing.Albert:That's substantial. Those numbers are staggering. It's pretty darn impressive. I can totally see a 97% try rate because that's like I said, I've literally tried every single... Or my house has tried every single sample I've ever gotten. You know what I mean? You sent me a snack, I'm going to eat it. I mean, I guess the only time I don't try it, if it's damaged. I wouldn't try if it was damaged. Talk a little bit about how do brands get in to these sample packs, because there are a lot of brands and what's really fun about Up Next In Commerce is we get to interview companies that are small, we get to interview with companies that are just starting, we get to interview companies that have reached massive size and scale. Whether I'm consumable, I guess most people sell... I guess that's a great question to start. Are most of these product samples done by people who have consumables. Like coffees, soap, shampoos. I don't think YETIs sending tumblers. I mean...Doug:But there's an opportunity for that and that's a different world but the majority of our business is from, I'll use the term CPG, Consumer Packaged Goods and OTC Over The Counter goods. To a lay person, any brand, when you walk into a grocery store or you walk into a drug store, any brand that's on the shelf is basically a brand prospect of ours that we call on, we talk to, whether it's the Unilever or the Proctor & Gambles or the Campbell Soups or whoever they may be areour clients. And we educate them on the opportunity. Many brands have never heard of what we do and how we do it.Albert:Really?Doug:And when we describe that and they're like, 'I had no idea you could do that. Wow. That's really awesome." And it's not super expensive. We're not the low cost provider for sampling, we're not the high cost. We're super effective, we have clients that are been with us since the 90s because of that and it's not like a brand sample's every month, they advertise every month or market the same brand every month.Doug:But typically they'll sample when they have two things. They want to defend their legacy brand against come challenge innovative brands, look at the Tylenols of the world. You have those legacy brands that have a new formula, new shampoo and conditioner that's a little different than it was before or new flavor, a new texture for skin cream. Something that when the consumer tries it, it's going to make a difference. When they try it once, they give them enough cream skin cream, let's say to try for the week and it makes a difference and they see the difference. And then they have that trial conversion and the lifetime value of a new buyer who's going to buy from them once a month, once a quarter, twice a year, whatever it is for how many years.Albert:Let's say for example, let's walk our audience through an example, let's say I'm an energy... There's a lot of energy drinks out there. Let's say I'm an energy drink company. Been around for a little bit, hovering right around a couple million dollars in sales but I haven't broken through. I think I need to reach new markets, new people and I discover that gamers are an untapped market. They tend to drink energy drinks, they stay up late at night, but there's a downside in energy drinks.Albert:And they don't want to be twitchy. Let's say for example, because red bull makes me twitchy, they want to be... We have a smooth energy drink so we keep you smooth but focused because so you can game all night long. And they come to you and they knock on your door and they say Doug. I want to get this in the hands of gamers. Is that how it works? Do they already have a target audience in mind where they come to you and say, who could we possibly bundle with? Or are they even more specific and say, I want to get into retail box of X. How does this work?Doug:It's the former. And it's Hey. I hear you. If they're knocking on our door, they've heard from a podcast like this or some of them are marketing communications that we have an Ecomm media network that has 42 different lifestyles. They're like, "is one of those 42 lit lifestyles appropriate for my brand because my brand is gamers, my brand targets gardeners, my brand targets diabetics or pants conscious woman. We have a network, we'll pull the network down and say okay. For the want to be red bull that you described, who is... could be a DTC challenger. And they're not in Walmart or they're not in Kroger, they're not a shelf but they're just shipping direct to consumer. You can buy a four-pack APAC case, whatever it may be. We can arrange to put their sample in the outgoing FedEx packages of who? Newegg.com [inaudible].Albert:Name your computer [inaudible]. Yeah.Doug:Products, cables, you name it. In there with a cart open. That red bull, or I'm sorry. That energy drink will have a neck hanger on it and or sometimes cut a little piece with it that tells that consumer why this is good for you. It's not just chemicals. It's 12 different sets of vitamins or whatever the case may be and then what? And then what do you want them to do with direct result of training? You end up buying it and we'll make it easy and convenient. We'll put a QR code on there that directs them right to the site or right to, if there are in retail to Amazon, to Walmart.com to buy. And with one click, with click to cart technology so it's easy and convenient for that person to sit there, try it or like it, buy it right on the phone.Albert:That is sweet. Tell me a little bit about what are some of the success stories that you may have from this? Because I have a feeling some of the brands that you've worked with in the past they plateau or whatever and they just need more people to try it. And they hit the right demographic and it pops, I'd love to hear stories that you have of brands that once they got into the right partners, the right demographic, things just fundamentally transformed for them.Doug:Yeah. It becomes a not a promotion, it becomes part of their advertising. It does become a staple in our advertising because they could test. Much like could tests anything to see how it works, whether you're testing digital, you're testing DM, direct mail, you're testing outboard, there's some type of call to action that makes it accountable and responsible to the dollars and the resources you're investing in that marketing tactic. In this case, yeah. That want to be a red bull, that's two million but wants to be two billion plus with a 100,000 and have that clear call to action of how many cases did I sell with this QR code versus the QR or another type of call of action to use them with another vehicle and they can track accordingly. We've had a hundred thousand campaigns turning to 600,000 of carted value.Doug:We've had $250,000 campaigns turned into $1.9 million of carted through the cart technology. And why? Because we're delivering that single solo sample, not with a collection of samples. That single solo sample, to FedEx and UPS right into the person's home, where again, the trial rates are going to be at their highest because they're in the privacy and comfort and safety of their home. No one's around him. And that really came into play with COVID. I get it but those nuances of privacy safety and [inaudible].Albert:Okay.Doug:Fine. Are going to keep going throughout COVID. They were always part of our program before COVID and COVID just kind of made it more prevalent to the branch to say, I really want to be in there now.Albert:Do you have any brand stories that you're able to share?Doug:Well, the Tylenol story is a great one. We were one of the original testers or if not the original tester of Ecomm and back then, it was not even Ecomm. It was just little packages with the L.L.Bean, Eddie Bauer, Cabela's and Sportsman's Guide. We did 200,000 pieces, 50,000 each, coded each UPC code accordingly because back then was just coupons. And the redemption rate was so high that they thought there was an issue. There wasn't an issue and they rolled out to 4 million pieces immediately after that. They went from 200,000 to 4 million pieces why? Because your case, they saw it work and they wanted to be there before competitors, the Advil and Aleves of the world got into it. That was a springboard for them and they've been a client ever since J&J and McNeil pharmaceutical.Doug:There's many. We don't lose clients, which is a nice thing about what we do. It works. It works for two sets of clients right? We've got the brand client and the Ecomm retail client but it's got to work for both parties. Because this has got to be a surprise and delight for the Ecomm retailers customers that we're riding along with and it's got to work big time for the sampling customers. Because they don't just have what? They don't just have the cost of distribution, they have the cost of the goods too.Albert:Cost of goods sold. Yeah.Doug:Cost of goods sold. They're giving that away. 100,000, 500,000, 14 million pieces. And that's some costs of goods that has to be regained by additional sales.Albert:Yeah. And when it comes... I mean, for a CPG product, it makes total sense because we as people, we're creatures of habit. Once we buy a specific brand, when I buy a certain soap, I buy that soap every time. If I buy a shampoo, I buy that shampoo every time. I buy anything, even tape. [inaudible] scotch tape. We're like we're going to buy gorilla tape or whatever. Everything we buy, humans are creatures of habit. If you can get that habit to develop, the lifetime value's substantial.Doug:That's exactly it. The lifetime value is not about the one-off, one-time buy, it's hey. You took little buying cadence of toilet paper, of skin cream, of shampoo, of toothpaste, of whatever it may be is based on the product category it's going to be what it is. It's once a month or once every six months, a bottle of Tylenol, maybe once a year. If that, you don't get that many headaches. With 60 tablets in there, that might be once a year. That better be good. Because next year you with it and that medicine accounted for the next 12 years instead of one year.Albert:Yeah. And so talk to me a little bit about for the retailer. The retailer of course, they're going to want to know that QR code, that discount, whatever the buy add to cart, as you suggested is done through their cart, for sure. They're not going to want no... Let's just get serious. Nobody wants their customer to go shop at Amazon. That's a fact of life. Of course you, I would love if you had... Do you have any numbers as to like how many people will just continue buying from the retailer? Because it does make sense that they would, since they bought it from them to begin with. For example, like in your Bed, Bath & Beyond, if I ordered linens, clearly I'll shop there but then I get the soaps and shampoos or whatever I need maybe I add them to my basket the very next time I go back there, what percentage of people redeem directly at the store and then yeah. I'm curious for the retailer perspective, how does that look?Doug:The majority of the brands samples for products that we embed into the Ecomm packages are not driven back to that Ecomm retailer, because that Ecomm retailer like Zulily yet they sell merchandise, they sell apparel, shoes, accessories for moms and kids. They're not selling Tide PODS, they're not selling [inaudible].Albert:Okay.Doug:we're okay to them to a Walmart.com or Amazon.com to buy that product. It's a good CX for that customer because they're trying to buy the product being sampled. When you're dealing with a larger Ecomm retailer, like a walmart.com, they will allow a sample in their outgoing packages but that has to be bought at walmart on www.walmart.com. That's really the only one Ecomm retailer that it has that scenario that you just described where it's driven back only to that one Ecomm retailer.Albert:No. That makes total sense. And then from your perspective, I guess, I'd love to hear, what does the retailer gain? Is like the Zulily example?Doug:Yeah.Albert:I sell moms and kids products, I'm allowing sampled products to ride my, I call it riding rails but travel along my package. And like you said, there might not be a direct benefit immediately because I don't sell whatever product that is part of the package. How do you convince them to say yeah. You can do that to my customer base. Is it just solely on a guaranteed customer experience or yeah. How does that work?Doug:Yeah. There's two answers to that. One is there's a revenue standpoint from that. The brand pays us and we pay the majority of that fee to the Ecomm retailer.Albert:Got you.Doug:The Delta is our management fee for doing that. Yeah. Sometimes it's life-changing money, other times it's not based on the quantity of samples or our products that were running through an Ecomm retailer, but it's incremental revenue from an untapped resource for sure. The bigger part of that is the pleasurable customer experience that Zulily or Reulalaa is giving to their customers. It's other Ecomm retailers are not. They're able to give a Revlon eyeliner to a person at Ruelalaa to someone who's buying a dress for Saturday night or some L'Oreal shampoo and conditioner that they want to try and makes their hair look great for Saturday night. The customer doesn't typically think L'Oreal, they thank Ruelalaa. Ruelalaa gets organic post of thank yous of. Hey. You did a solid from me. Thanks for going above and beyond. The Art of Shaving starter kit, went into www.brooksbrothers.com packages and I got my $89 shirt but I also got this awesome starter kit from the Art of Shaving. Isn't that awesome? Thank you very much Brooks Brothers. They'll thank Brooks Brothers but they'll buy from the art of shaving.Albert:Interesting. It doesn't have any brand conflict because it actually creates even more brand loyalty. They almost view the retailer as like a personal buyer or something like that.Doug:That's it. And they do know, they being the customer of the Ecomm retailer that hey. That Ecomm retailer, one of my favorite retailers is vetting out products to give to me. Because they're not going to allow anything in there. It's got to have a perfect fit. And it's our job to make sure that when it's a perfect [inaudible], we send it over to our Ecomm retailer partners for review by marketing legal and fulfillment to make sure all three approve and are okay. Not just okay but want that in there.Albert:Yeah. I'd love to hear a little bit about how you guys built this business over the years because one of the things that's clearly evident talking to you is this is a business that requires scale. I mean, You need to be able to be in a lot of... Or a lot of homes as you said. If these packages aren't going a lot of homes that it defeats the purpose, talk about how these partnerships and stuff were built over time. I mean like you mentioned you'd been there since the beginning co-founder right? Was this the always the intent like hey. We're going to build this giant consortium of retailers and e-commerce brands or how did this business start? I'd love to hear how it evolved because I imagine it'd be extremely, almost impossible to knock on everyone's door and be like hey. I want to interconnect everybody in this network and then I want to let products and brands ride our packages into consumers homes. It'd be like, what are you talking about Doug? Who are you?Doug:And I'll tell you Albert, so many companies have tried over the years when they saw what we were doing and tried to build the same type of Ecomm media network and for a lot of reasons, it's so tough to do. You can have a couple of relationships with Ecomm retailers but to have 800 plus is really tough to do, manage and fulfill and make them all happy. We have a team, we've with two folks here. How we started is, me being the co-founder and another co-founder is my dad. And he's still with us, not in the business but my role was to talk to catalogers and say, hey. Would you accept in your upcoming packages an insert or sample that would make you extra money? It wasn't about the CX for them. That's when we recruited about 50 to do this and our very first campaign was with Tylenol like I told you with 200,000 pieces for a sample. Very first sampling campaign. Because before that it was American express application. Matching that up with high worth sharper images of the world. You were too young to remember Sharper .Albert:No. I remember Sharper Image, there's the catalog of gadgets and stuff. And we were going to storage, like all these gadgets and gizmos, like hey. This is a neon toaster. I'm like, I don't know why I need one but it looks cool.Doug:Exactly. With the success of Tylenol, it really opened us up to the CPG world of hey. Let's knock on Purina's door. Hey. Let's knock on Procter & Gamble's door. And started doing work with Cheer and Gain, and P&G and Olay and a Secret. And it just kept working for every brand. It really became a really nice situation for the brands, a really nice situation for the Ecomm retailers and me as one of the founders, it made me jump out of bed in the morning why? Because you're dealing with happy customers or happy clients who are on the Ecomm retailer side and on the brand side. We built the company around that and now put some digital... Not some but a digital stack with every campaign so that consumer knows that they can with a QR code, click the cart to order that product if they so desire. And a fair number of more are doing just that and that's what makes that ease and convenience for the consumer to go, wow. This is really nice. I'm doing it in my home and it takes just 30 seconds to do.Albert:No. That is pretty cool. I mean, but there's a little bit in that story that I can't quite comprehend, which is how did you guys convince Tylenol to take such a gamble on you guys? I mean, it seems like a gamble to me, right? What was that first conversation like?Doug:This is the story on that. Is, I'm at a conference and it's the largest marketing conference in the world. And back in the day, this is in the 90s. And it's a three-day conference. We're a young company. We can only afford to send one person out 10 by 10 booth. You've been there.Albert:Yeah.Doug:There's 1500 booths and there's 30,000 people walking in the house. Last day, last hour. All the other booths are, pull their booth down. And I'm like, I'm standing. This is in San Francisco. We're in Philadelphia. This is in San Fran. I'm standing here. I'm going to get the whole hour. The last 10 minutes, 10 to seven on a Thursday night, this gentleman walks up and he's suited up and I'm suited up and everyone else is pulling down and he goes, "what do you guys do?" And I tell him what we do. He goes, "have you ever done a sample?" I was like no. But I think we can do that.Doug:A sample in the package. Before that, it was brand inserts, the American Express inserts. We did that test and that's where it happened. That's where it started. With that gentlemen from J&J and McNeil said direct mail is not working for him anymore, this is not working for him anymore. Response is going down. Can I try something new? And we tried the catalog FedEx packages, which again, morphed into Ecomm packages and they went from 200,000 to 4 million. When Pepsi did their [inaudible] from RX to OTC, they went from zero to 14 million pieces because they knew that the tactic worked. The in-home tactic where again, privacy, safety and comfort is perfect in-home versus out-of-home and taking it when it's appropriate for them. It's a really cool success story that I can talk about for hours because again, because why? Because it works. It's not like it works a little bit and only works with these types of brands when it's properly aligned and logistically executed flawlessly, it works wonderfully.Albert:I mean, because now this business has been around since then you mentioned 30 plus years. I mean on the surface, just talk to you, makes total sense. You have a product, you haven't been able to get penetrate or convince enough people to sign up and buy it digitally, especially now, today digitally right? Because reality is how I got to I imagine it's really hard to convince somebody to try something they've never tried before, especially if they already have an incumbent CPG they use. I use Dr. Squatch for example, Dr. Squatch of course has made a huge splash with marketing and it's soaps. It's really expensive soaps but even as great as Dr. Squatch does, you and I know this, made and a drop in the market compared to like Dove, you know what I mean?Albert:There's so many people that use Dove and Dial and all that Lever 2000, all those soaps right? And so a company like Dr. Squatch, it makes total sense that they need more people to try it so that they know what it smells like, how it washes you, whatever the product we need, is just products that just have to get in the hands of people. I'm curious. What would you say the repeat rate is now, with the last five years of brands when they come to you or you go to brands whatever, when they do the sampling, how many of them repeat? Because I don't give a great indicator for our audience. Like how successful this is?Doug:I'll tell you exactly that. It's 93%.Albert:93%.Doug:93%. and there's 7% that don't come back. Hey, it worked well but our brand overall is failing. Just sampling alone is not going to save this particular brand. Dr. Squatch, which is already a successful brand by itself, DTC, innovator, challenger brands, to all the men's grooming brands. I love the brand and I've received the sample of it in a subscription box. That's how I found out about it and I went online and saw one of the videos and it's really well done. But if they did a subscription box that had 25,000, that I just happened to be one of the 25,000, that's nice. But how can they get to 250,000 or 2.5 million? That's where, in addition to what they're doing, they could do some things with a company like us or others. It could be around what we do but we have the scale and the target ability to do 2 million in a monthly basis or based on a certain target.Doug:Men's grooming or men's apparel or the www.fanatics.com. Let's say, they can do for a number and they don't have to do a huge number to test. Let's make sure it works for you. We're in no rush, we want to make sure it works for the brand. Let's do a small number, a hundred thousand. Hey, that's going to cost you roughly $50,000 and based on the size and the weight of the sample and make sure that their return on ad spend is there.Albert:That makes total sense. 7%. when you said that the brand was already struggling, I'm not going to say these were the brands that did it but that would be like, let's bring some scope for people. It'd be like back in the day when Kodak started to fail, had they sent film to people, probably still wouldn't have worked. That's one of the samples people wouldn't have tried. They're like, I don't know what to do with this.Doug:That's exactly it. They tried and that's where if you're going to sample, you better have a good product. Because that's going to expose your brand in awesome ways or if it's not a good product it's going to, oh my gosh, that tastes horrible or that gave me a rash. That skin cream gave me a rash. The trial and conversion rates will be high even if it's a great product. And if it's a not a good product, don't bother obviously.Albert:Yeah. Don't bother. Great point. Doug. It was awesome having you on the show today but before you go, we have to ask you a couple of questions from the lightning round. The lightning round is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. And what we do here is we ask you quick, rapid fire questions and you give us quick, rapid fire answers. Try not to spend more than a minute on each one. You ready? This is so our audience to get to know you a little better and know how you think.Doug:Cool.Albert:All right, what's the one thing that's going to have the biggest impact on e-commerce over the next year?Doug:New tech platforms that make it even easier and more convenient for the consumer to buy.Albert:Yeah. Anything that makes it easier to buy?Doug:Last three years. This is last three years, including COVID. The number one driving factor of consumers going into e-commerce and buying more and more e-commerce is I saved time, not I saved money, I saved time. If you're not making it easy and convenient for your customer, Mr. ER, Mr. Ecomm retailer, you better get Shopify or you get to get Shop Pay or you better get something from a tech platform that is one click and you're done.Albert:Makes total sense? What's the weirdest free sample you've ever sent out?Doug:Well, we've been asked to send out some weird, not so much weird ones but condoms of the world and which stands for Victoria Secret and [inaudible] Hollywood, et cetera but even they said no. Thank you. [inaudible] do that.Albert:Yeah. It's like, this is necessary in society. Like yeah. We just don't want to baggage it with our...Doug:No. They get one consumer complaint, that's too many.Albert:Yeah. That makes total sense. What's the one thing from 2020 you hope that sticks around in 2021?Doug:2020. Yeah. Well, I think a lot of the consumer buying behaviors will stick around in 21 and beyond. And that's from online grocery buying. Buying your groceries online, some people never heard of that. All of a sudden 2020, it went from what 16% to 42% of certain amount of your groceries were being bought online. Not all of them. How much of that will continue on. It is a celebrated online grocery by six or seven years. That's going to stick around. And I look at it much like the adoption, the slow adoption of E-ZPass back in the day. E-ZPass pass [inaudible].Albert:Yeah. Wait a second. That was picked up slowly?Doug:Slow adoption. Horrendously slowly. I mean, why? Because a lot of reasons from taking jobs away from the toll booth workers, but once someone got an easy pass and they looked at the lane on the right-hand side where people were still waiting in line to give the guy a dollar, they'll never do that again. When they saw... When consumers in 20 recognized how easy and convenient Ecomm and online grocery is to... Whether it's my beer, wine or spirits, I can get delivered by Drizly. Okay. Or I can get my dinner delivered by DoorDash. Okay. Then continue those buying behaviors in addition to not just in total replacement of going in store but in addition to, you'll see that you already saw the celebration of Ecomm by six or seven years.Albert:It's funny how you mentioned them at grocery because I think back to pre COVID, you go into a Whole Foods, it's of course slammed with the buyers. People shopping for their homes. Now you go to whole foods, it's still slammed but it's like with Packers. People that aren't... There packing orders for other people to be picked up by prime delivery or Instacart or even Curbside, it doesn't matter how someone's picking up. The point is there's people are literally people pushing those carts with tons of grocery bags. It's like the store is still packed, it's still full but they're all pickers and Packers, they're not actual people buying for themselves.Doug:Yeah. Would you rather spend an hour in a grocery store with your kids running around or an hour playing with him at the park? Kind of a no brainer.Albert:I'm curious for yourself, one of the things that's really cool about your story about getting started was meeting a person by chance. Great relationship was a spark, an igniter for your business. I'm curious if you could meet with anyone today and have a sit down conversation. Who would you want to meet?Doug:Nope. Mark Lore from Walmart.com previous with Diapers.com.Albert:jet.com.Doug:Jet of course. He is a guy that I have met a couple of times but real in passing and we had nice quick conversations. We did a lot of business with a lot of his direct reports. There's a guy want to have beer with or have a glass of wine with one day and really pick his brain about what he sees going in five years, because he is truly a visionary and just freaking smart.Albert:There you go. Doug, I appreciate you joining us today on Up Next In Commerce. We'll see what we can do about connecting you with Mark Lore. He has not joined us on the show so Hilary let's go invite him. Doug. Thanks for joining us on Up Next In Commerce.Doug:Awesome. Had a great time Albert. You were awesome. Thanks very much.

If you're using direct mail in your business now, you're going to love this show today. My guest is Justin Silverio from Open Letter Marketing. Today you're going to learn how you can increase your direct mail results by 400% or more by adding one simple (and very affordable) thing to your direct mail campaigns. Who doesn't want to do that, right? Show Notes Here are some of the things we talked about in this show. Why this seasoned real estate investor decided to start a direct mail company Response rates for direct mail marketing nationally Getting your mail pieces opened Ringless Voice Mail Why combining these 2 things makes such a dramatic difference in your response rates Google Street View Postcards and how to use them How to increase your direct mail results by 400% or more And so much more.   Be sure to stop by the Louisville Gal's Real Estate Blog for more great content.       .

During part one of our conversation with Shireen Mitchell, you heard what it was like for a young Black girl from the projects of New York to get into computers, gaming, and coding during the 1980s. Shireen recounted her time attending an HBCU and her career experiences in Washington D.C. that gave her eye-opening looks into the issues minority women were (and still are) facing within the tech realm.  If you missed part one,  please make sure to give that one a listen first. In part two with Shireen, she tells us about founding Stop Online Violence Against Women, and we have a candid talk about the constant slew of threats, harassment, and sexism women of color face in online spaces—and how social media platforms tend to have it backward in their approach to policing abuse directed at minorities.  Very fitting for right now, we also discuss what it really means when conversations about racism and sexism are labeled as “getting political”—and how this has led social media platforms to enact special protections for politicians that typically don't extend to ordinary citizens. Towards the end, you'll hear Shireen's thoughts on the problems with hiring practices regarding diversity and inclusivity and why so many still can't seem to find the right approach. You'll also hear her views on what true allyship looks like in practice and some closing thoughts on voter suppression and the weaponized disinformation. Don't miss this episode!  LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Stop Online Violence Against Women - A nonprofit that addresses inadequate laws and policies that lack protections for women, in particular women of color An explainer on Donglegate, widely viewed as the precursor to Gamergate Gamergate—An online harassment campaign that centered on issues of sexism and anti-progressivism in video game culture ​​Kansas Cop Fired After Threatening 5-Year-Old Girl On Facebook—Huffington Post Twitter Blocks 'Uncle Tim' From Trends After Racist Phrase Goes Viral in Response to Tim Scott's Speech—Newsweek The Central Park Five (referred to in the episode by Shireen as the “Exonerated Five”)—Five black and Latino youths wrongly convicted of assaulting a NY woman in 1989 Amadou Diallo—The unarmed 23-year-old Guinean immigrant killed by plainclothes NY policemen in 1999 after reaching for his ID Stop Digital Voter Suppression—Shireen's grassroots reporting movement that supplements existing data collection efforts with real-life experiences The First Amendment—(at Shireen's request—we could all use a brushing up from time to time) SOVAW Reports—Shireen's reports on Russian disinformation targeting black voters Russian Influence Operation - Targeted specifically Black users across social media in 2016

Fr. Roger J. Landry Visitation Mission of the Sisters of Life, Manhattan Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I Memorial of St. Lorenzo Brindisi, Doctor of the Church July 21, 2021 Ex 16:1-5.9-15, Ps 78, Mt 13:1-9   To listen to an audio recording of today's homily, please click below:  https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/7.21.21_Homily_1.mp3   The […] The post Good Soil in Response to God’s Implanting, 16th Wednesday (I), July 21, 2021 appeared first on Catholic Preaching.

British printmaker and painter ALISON SAUNDERS makes no bones about it—she doesn't like boring beige! While her bold use of color belies her initial career as an accountant, in Episode 21 of the ARTish Plunge podcast Alison generously offers her professional insight on how to track expenses for art shows, weekly business check-ins and an old-school index card system to manage inventory. Alison also shares personal stories about growing up in a family of artists and making art during times of emotional upheaval. Find Alison:Website: alisongsaunders.art  Instagram:  @alisonsaundersFacebook: facebook.com/AlisonGSaunders Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/agsaunders61Mentioned:Norm Ackroyd, printmaker (see) Alison's blog (read)Ginger Cactus Art, artist collective (explore)  Artwork Archives, artist inventory platform (learn)Bound: 15 Beautiful Bookbinding Projects, Rachel Hazell (read) Making Collagraph Prints, Suzie MacKenzie (read) Life Force: A Painter's Response to the Nature Poetry of Ted Hughes,  Louise Fletcher (pre-order)Art Juice , David Mankin podcast interview (listen)Remembering in Paint, David Mankin  (pre-order)Find Me, Kristy Darnell Battani:Website:    https://www.kristybattani.comInstagram:  kristybattaniartFacebook:  kristybattaniartDid you enjoy this episode? If so, please take a moment to leave a rating and a comment: https://lovethepodcast.com/artishplunge Music:"Surf Guitar Madness," Alexis Messier,Licensed by PremiumBeat.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/artishplunge)Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/artishplunge)

Acorns for your squirrels to nibble at any time of the day:  Alert: New Bonus Episodes>http://bit.ly/sw241 TV show: Black Mirror>https://www.justwatch.com/ Movie: Leave No Trace>https://www.justwatch.com/ Grocery Tip: Buy bananas of varying ripeness Giveaway: Win Wireless SleepPhones>https://bit.ly/sw236 Inspiration: Don’t view mistakes as crippling punishments, but rather as helpful lessons. Other helpful links: Be a Podcast Supporter and … Continue reading 263 Acorns: New Bonus Episode, TV Show, Movie, Grocery Tip, Giveaway, Quote

Enjoy another Tuck In & Fade Out episode featuring; A Guided Relaxation followed by A Meditation for Motivation and Success [starts @6m:42s]. Save 20% off CBN tincture with the code SLEEPBETTER at https://rightwellness.co/ Start a free 30-day trial of PlushCare at https://plushcare.com/whispers/ Links for Sleep Whispers: Giveaway>https://bit.ly/sw236. Website>https://sleepwhispers.com/ Be a Podcast Supporter and get 400+ episodes>http://bit.ly/sw241. Want the newest episodes sent right to … Continue reading 262 Fade Out: Meditation for Motivation and Success

Sanctions are weapons of economic war. In this episode, learn the troubling history of ever-expanding sanctions powers granted to the President designed to allow him to cut off people, companies, and governments from our financial system. You'll also hear fascinating testimony to Congress about how the targets of U.S. sanctions are getting around them. Their evasion techniques are probably not what you think. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Click here to contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD230: Pacific Deterrence Initiative CD190: A Coup for Capitalism CD187: Combating China CD176: Target Venezuela: Regime Change in Progress CD167: Combating Russia (NDAA 2018) LIVE CD156: Sanctions – Russia, North Korea & Iran CD102: The World Trade Organization: COOL? Articles/Documents Article: HSBC's Money Laundering Scandal by Marc L. Ross, Investopedia, June 13, 2021 Document: Impact of Sanctions in Africa by Eric B. Lorber, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights, May 25, 2021 Document: FinCEN Reissues Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders for 12 Metropolitan Areas by Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, April 29, 2021 Document: 2020 YEAR-END SANCTIONS AND EXPORT CONTROLS UPDATE by Gibson Dunn, February 5, 2021 Document: Economic Sanctions: Overview for the 117th Congress by Dianne E. Rennack and Rebecca M. Nelson, Congressional Research Service, January 15, 2021 Article: China's “Blocking Statute” – New Chinese Rules to Counter the Application of Extraterritorial Foreign Laws by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, January 13, 2021 Document: The International Emergency Economic Powers Act: Origins, Evolution, and Use by Dianne E. Rennack, Ian F. Fergusson, Jennifer K. Elsea, and Christopher A. Casey, Congressional Research Service, July 14, 2020 Document: International Criminal Court: U.S. Sanctions in Response to Investigation of War Crimes in Afghanistan by Dianne E. Rennack and Matthew C. Weed, Congressional Research Service, June 19, 2020 Article: US Treasury to Apply Bank Secrecy Act Rules to Crypto Wallets by Jeff Benson, Decrypt, December 18, 2020 Article: EU adopts a global human rights sanctions regime by Maria Daniela Lenzu, European Council, Council of the European Union, December 7, 2020 Article: The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act by Edward J. Collins-Chas and Michael A. Weber, Congressional Research Service, December 7, 2020 Article: War brings business to Feinstein spouse / Blum's firms win multimillion-dollar defense contracts in Iraq, Afghanistan by Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross, SFGATE, January 20, 2012 Article: Feinstein Violated Rules in Awarding Military Contracts by Tom Fitton, The Hill, May 15, 2007 Press Release: Feinstein Caught in Conflict of Interest on Military Contracts by Association of Alternative News Media, January 25, 2007 Document: Document by Financial Services, U.S. House Additional Resources EB-5 OVERVIEW EB5Capital List of national emergencies in the United States Wikipedia Office of Foreign Assets Control - Sanctions Programs and Information U.S. Department of the Treasury Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List (SDN) Human Readable Lists U.S. Department of the Treasury The American Presidency Project UC Santa Barbara Customer Due Diligence Requirements for Financial Institutions Federal Register, May 11, 2016 Sound Clip Sources Speeches & Remarks: Remarks by President Biden in Press Conference, White House Briefing Room, June 16, 2021 Watch on C-SPAN Transcript: 12:10 President Joe Biden: How would it be if the United States were viewed by the rest of the world as interfering with the elections directly of other countries, and everybody knew it? What would it be like if we engaged in activities that he is engaged in? It diminishes the standing of a country that is desperately trying to make sure it maintains its standing as a major world power. President Joe Biden: And, by the way, we talked about trade. I don't have any problem with doing business with Russia, as long as they do it based upon international norms. It's in our interest to see the Russian people do well economically. I don't have a problem with that. But if they do not act according to international norms, then guess what? That will not — that only won't it happen with us, it will not happen with other nations." Hearing: Schemes and Subversion: How Bad Actors and Foreign Governments Undermine and Evade Sanctions Regimes, House Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy, June 16, 2021 Watch on Youtube Witnesses Eric Lorber Senior Director at the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Managing Director at K2 Integrity Former Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Department of the Treasury Former corporate lawyer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Lakshmi Kumar Policy Director at Global Financial Integrity Jesse Spiro Global Head of Policy & Regulatory Affairs at Chainalysis Dr. Jeffrey Taliaferro Professor of Political Science at Tufts University Ivan Garces Principal and Chair of Risk Advisory Services at Kaufmann Rossin Transcript: 07:13 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): Sanctions are an important instrument in foreign policy designed to be both a carrot and a stick in persuading an entity, an individual, a group or a country to change its behavior. A step beyond traditional diplomacy. It also avoids the downsides of kinetic action. We've seen the success of our sanctions regimes in bringing the Iranians to the table and isolating human rights violators through the Global Magnitsky Act amongst others. Our sanctions programs can only be as impactful as they are effective. When designated entities evade our sanctions, we lose an important tool from our diplomatic toolbox, increasing the likelihood that military action would be necessary to maintain international order. 08:09 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): This committee has worked to address some of these issues through the passage of the Corporate Transparency Act authored by Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and the Anti Money Laundering Act sponsored by Chairman Emanuel Cleaver as part of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. These bills give law enforcement the resources and authority to better track money launderers, including sanction evaders, and their success will depend in large part on this body adequately funding their implementation. 11:20 Rep. Andy Barr (KY): The US employs a robust sanctions program to deny adversaries the funding, logistics and resources to conduct illicit behavior or to compel them to change misguided behaviors. 12:14 Rep. Andy Barr (KY): The US maintains four major sanctions programs against Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela. These sanctions are a result of actions by those nations that are in direct conflict with US national security and global economic stability. 17:09 Dr. Jeffrey Taliaferro: The primary aim of sanctions whether unilateral or multilateral, whether comprehensive or targeted, is to induce a change in the cost benefit calculations of the target and thus a change in the targets behavior. 18:13 Dr. Jeffrey Taliaferro: Having won the Cold War and pushed the crumbling Soviet Union out of the ranks of the great powers, the United States emerged as the unit pole, the only great power left standing in 1990 and 1991. And for better or worse for two decades, weak systemic that has international constraints and the availability of opportunities to further improve its strategic position before the United States wide latitude in the definition and in the pursuit of its foreign policy, and national security objectives. This extreme imbalance of international power, however, had several consequences which are relevant to the subject of today's subcommittee hearing. First, the United States impose sanctions and even waged wars against recalcitrant states such as Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Afghanistan and non state actors such as Al Qaeda and later the Islamic State with relative impunity. And even when confronting state adversaries against whom the use of kinetic force would have been prohibitively costly, such as North Korea and Iran, the imposition of sanctions became a preferred tool of statecraft for successive administrations and Congresses second US military command of the comments along with American Economic and Technological dominance gave various state and non state actors and incentive to pursue asymmetric strategies, for example, the clandestine employment of cyber criminal organizations and individual hackers by the foreign intelligence services of Russia, China, North Korea and other states. Third, this uni polar distribution of power gave targeted states and other disadvantaged actors and incentive to collaborate with one another to evade or subvert US sanctions. And finally, as the Biden administration's interim national security, strategic guidance acknowledges the distribution of power across the world is changing, creating new threats. 20:13 Dr. Jeffrey Taliaferro: The United States now faces two great power adversaries a rising China and a declining and revanchist Russia, along with two regional power adversaries, Iran and North Korea. All four including their irrespective and their respective clients and allies will seek to evade sanctions. 20:38 Dr. Jeffrey Taliaferro: Might behoove policymakers to perhaps lower their expectations about what coercive economic diplomacy alone can achieve. 25:39 Ivan Garces: We can benefit from increased cooperation between public and private sectors such as is contemplated with the proposed OFAC exchange and the Combating Illicit Finance Public Private Partnership Act, legislation noted for this hearing. Government should be in a position to be able to take, analyze and interpret information we see not only from financial institutions, but other industry stakeholders and connect the dots identifying trends and relationships across the financial system. 26:46 Lakshmi Kumar: US sanctions regime is expansive and currently includes more than 30 different sanctions programs. 27:00 Lakshmi Kumar: Despite the ever increasing reach of sanctions, with evidence showing that the number of sanction vessels imports rather than annual rate of 6%. oil exports by Iran and Venezuela and oil imports by North Korea keep increasing every year. 27:56 Lakshmi Kumar: It is unsurprising that a leading mechanism to evade sanctions involves the use of TBML techniques, I've learned after a year of the pandemic. TBML or trade based money laundering is the process of disguising the proceeds of crime and moving value to trade transactions. It includes tech in techniques like falsifying the origins of a commodity of good over invoicing under invoicing and Phantom invoicing where no goods really move for just money. 28:14 Lakshmi Kumar: TBML was particularly challenging because there are no international standards, even at the level of a financial Task Force and little regulation internationally. It is therefore the perfect ally for sanctions evaders. 28:35 Lakshmi Kumar: The Iranian government was able to pocket $100 billion by falsifying trade records. 28:42 Lakshmi Kumar: Similarly, the Venezuelan Government to get around US sanctions on its gold sector has flown its gold all over the world changing its origins. So the gold is now supposed to be from the Caribbean, from Colombia from Uganda from Dubai, barely anywhere but Venezuela. 29:08 Lakshmi Kumar: Erasing its history in this way means that the US has no way of knowing whether the gold it imports is the same goal that it is seeking to sanction. Sanctioned entities continues to look at the US as a safe haven to get around sanctions. 29:35 Lakshmi Kumar: Professionals that have helped Iran and North Korea evade sanctions invested their lucrative commissions in real estate through the EB five investor program and invest in commercial real estate and buying real estate in states like Alaska. Both commercial real estate in many of the jurisdictions where these investments take place are not part of the geographic targeting orders for real estate. Similarly, vehicles like private equity, hedge funds, venture capital funds that are exempt from carrying out customer due diligence obligations are also involved in sanctions evasion schemes. A recent FBI leak showed that London and New York hedge funds proposed using a scheme to sell prohibited items from sanctioned countries to the US. 30:12 Lakshmi Kumar: Finally, sanctions evasion does not just exploit the gaps in regulation. It exploits the lack of resources that enforcement agencies need to protect. The FinCEN files one problematic, revealed two different sanctions evasion schemes tied to Russia and Syria. It will file their source for financial institutions, but did not necessarily receive the treatment they should have given the resource constraints of the agency. The way forward therefore, is to prompt addressing regulatory gaps but also providing the requisite support to enforcement supervision and oversight agencies. 34:27 Jesse Spiro: Through blockchain analysis, we can confirm that adversarial nations terrorist organizations, malicious enabled cyber actors and transnational criminal organizations under US sanctions have used cryptocurrency in an attempt to weaken the impact or fully circumvent sanctions, just as they have done through traditional banks, trade based money laundering and cash. 40:10 Eric Lorber: The key to countering sanctions evasion is the ability to detect such activity. The Treasury Department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis along with other members of the intelligence community as well as FinCEN should be provided with the tools necessary to identify sanctions evasion. A legislative proposal under consideration by this can be the OFAC fusion center act could help achieve this. This legislation would create an interagency group designed to share data and allow for better detection and disruption of illicit networks, providing the private sector with the right tools. In recent years, Treasury has armed the private sector with information on sanctions, evasion tactics and red flags that can help companies spot such evasion through a series of advisories combined with clearly signaling to the private sector, their compliance obligations and pursuing aggressive enforcement actions against those who fail to comply. This additional information can help the private sector more effectively counter evasion. 43:33 Eric Lorber: The number of transactions which are elicit that use Bitcoin or blockchain technology is actually fairly low percentage wise it's in I believe, below 1% or somewhere around there. So it's fairly small. 49:40 Eric Lorber: There needs to be political pressure put on those who are supporting and continue to support North Korea. It's it's not a secret that for example, China has created at least a permissive environment for North Korean operators to to work in the country. That was detailed most recently, I believe in that in the UN DPRK panel of experts report from I believe is March 2021. As well as North Korea maintains a series of financial facilitators throughout the world, including in I believe in Russia and China and other jurisdictions that helps North Korea evade US and UN sanctions and these individuals need to be shut down, need to be targeted, and pressure to put on the governments that are hosting them to kick them out of the country. 51:35 Eric Lorber: That's something that we tried to do and I tried to do while we were at Treasury was that clarify very clear the sanctions targets if you change the behavior you're engaged in, these sanctions will be lifted. 1:04:29 Rep. Madeleine Dean (PA): Ms. Kumar, I'd like to start with you. In your testimony, I read with interest how you discussed the role that United States real estate, especially commercial real estate plays in sanction evasion regimes. You specifically mentioned the geographic targeting order GTO issued by FINcen, which I might note includes 12 metropolitan areas only to require us title insurance companies to identify natural persons behind shell companies used in all cash purchases of residential real estate. Given the limited Metropolitan list covered by GTO and the fact that commercial real estate is not covered, can you can you speak to both of those problems? Number one, the limited number of metropolitan areas my own suburban Philadelphia or Philadelphia count among them, and also the fact that it's residential, not commercial. Where does this fall short in terms of our regulating evasion? 1:05:42 Lakshmi Kumar: The sanctions program doesn't just target big actors like Iran, North Korea. The sanctions program also targets individuals involved in drug trafficking. And what we see is a lot of those individuals often to evade sanctions, including sort of former officials of the Venezuelan administration, all move or hide assets and move it into real estate and the US real estate market is a popular Avenue. Now, when we talk about commercial real estate, you're absolutely right. And that the sort of often cited example of the Iranians owning that massive skyscraper in New York was a purchase of commercial real estate, it continues to be unrecognized. The EB5 investor program is investments that ultimately go into commercial real estate. Now a lot of this is particularly complex because commercial real estate involves multiple investors, it is not as simple as a residential purchase by a homeowner. To that end, we have to what is necessary is to sort of rethink how we are going to apply the GTO. The title insurance agents may not be the most relevant actors, however, to sort of identify gatekeepers that do continue to play a critical role in sort of putting together these transactions because commercial real estate transaction always take place through legal structures, they are never in the names of an individual. So identifying actors like lawyers, who often play a critical role in this as sort of the the pressure point at which you can conduct due diligence to know who is behind these transactions is one way forward. You've also rightly said that it only covers 12 metropolitan areas, and a lot of the evasion schemes that we often see tied to individuals, but also generally more generally, the use of real estate, you often see an equal split between cases that occur in GTO areas versus cases that occur in non GTO areas. And I will say that we have a report forthcoming in the next month that will actually that shows evidence that when looks at a series of reported cases that actually shows that over the last five years, the number of cases that occur in non-GTO areas actually slightly significantly more than GTO areas. 1:43:57 Rep. Warren Davidson (OH): Currently the SDN list statistics as of yesterday the 15th we have 277 aircraft, 3668 entities, 4603 individuals and 406 vessels. 1:44:40 Eric Lorber: The end goal is is twofold one or one of two. It's either to prevent them from engaging in illicit activity, right? So you mentioned an aircraft prevent that aircraft from shuffling or sending illicit drugs to a destination. Or it's to get the targets to actually change their behavior. So to essentially impose restrictions on them, to get them to say, 'well, this is not worth it.' We are no longer going to engage in material support for terrorism. 1:51:12 Rep. Jake Auchincloss (MA): Blockchain offer you an advantage in authenticating your identity over a different type of currency. Jesse Spiro: No, I would actually posit the complete opposite Congressman, what I would say is that the only vulnerabilities that I would address in relation to KYC are the fact that people could circumvent them. But even if they were to, if they're engaged in illicit activity that can be seen in relation to illicit crypto activity. It is going to be very difficult for them to do anything within the ecosystem. 1:51:59 Rep. Jake Auchincloss (MA): If you are able to advise Congress to take any steps that would influence OFAC's measures, what would you advise that we do? Jesse Spiro: I would just imply to apply congressmen more resources to that agency specifically in relation to the risks associated with cryptocurrency and sanctions evasion, wherein they can produce more designations that include cryptocurrency wallets, because as identifiers for the private sector when they have access to that information, that is how they can potentially mitigate the illicit activity. And because of the activity with cryptocurrency, when a wallet is put on that designation list, any associated activity, or within a designation, excuse me, any associated activity and legacy activity in relation to that look back can also be visible. Hearing: Dollars Against Democracy: Domestic Terrorist Financing in the Aftermath of Insurrection, Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy, February 25, 2021 Watch on Youtube Witnesses Iman Boukadoum Senior Manager, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Lecia Brooks Executive Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center Daniel Glaser Global Head Jurisdictional Services and Head of Washington, DC Office at K2 Integrity Senior Advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Board member at the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority Former Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, U.S. Department of the Treasury Daniel Rogers Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer at Global Disinformation Index Daveed Gertenstein-Ross CEO of Valens Global Transcript: 03:02 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): As we heard from Merrick Garland during his confirmation hearing earlier this week, the country faces a 'more dangerous period in the wake of January 6th, than we did after the Oklahoma City bombing,' the single deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history. 03:28 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): In the wake of the attacks of September 11th, we recast the entire federal government and worked feverishly to defund terrorist streams. To effectively disrupt domestic extremist groups, we need to better understand their financing. 03:54 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): Unlike ISIS, for example, these organizations are not pyramid shaped where funding comes from a handful of easily disruptable areas. An online fundraising drive for a legitimate charity, and one that helps support an extremist group can look very similar. 04:57 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): We need to conscientiously be mindful of the civil liberties concerns at play here. Unlike international extremist groups, law enforcement is constrained by the Constitution when dealing with domestic extremists, balancing the desire to give law enforcement the tools necessary to disrupt these groups with the need to respect the rights of all Americans and the Constitution to which we have all pledged an oath is essential. 05:36 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): While we all live through a brutal event on January 6th, undertaken by right wing extremists, no location on the political spectrum has a monopoly on extremism or violence. 10:08 Rep. Maxine Waters (CA): We're here against the backdrop of the January 6th insurrection. A deplorable yet predictable display of white supremacists such as the Proud Boys, the oathkeepers QAnon and others and nationalist violence incited by President Trump against the members of this body and against democracy itself. 12:51 Iman Boukadoum: Last month violent insurrection heavily fueled by white supremacy and white nationalism shocked the world. 13:52 Iman Boukadoum: We know, however, that even well intentioned national security laws are invariably weaponized against black, brown and Muslim communities. And that white nationalist violence is not prioritized making that policy failure the fundamental reason for what transpired on January 6th, not lack of legal authority. For this reason we oppose any legislation that would create new charges for domestic terrorism or any enhanced or additional criminal penalties. The federal government, including the Treasury Department, has many tools at its disposal to investigate. And also the FBI and DOJ have 50 statutes, at least 50 statutes and over a dozen criminal statutes, 50 terrorism related statutes, excuse me and over a dozen criminal statutes that they can use. They just need to use them to target white nationalist violence. 19:33 Lecia Brooks: Today, some white nationalist groups and personalities are raising funds through the distribution of propaganda itself. In November SPLC researchers reported that dozens of extremist groups were earning 1000s of dollars per month on a popular live streaming platform called D-Live. 20:21 Lecia Brooks: Crowdfunding is also being exploited by hate groups to earn money in this new decentralized landscape. Crowdfunding sites played a critical role in the capital insurrection, providing monetary support that allowed people to travel to Washington DC. They've also played a crucial role in raising hundreds of 1000s of dollars in legal fees for extremists. 20:43 Lecia Brooks: The violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 should serve as a wake up call for Congress, the Biden administration, Internet companies, law enforcement and public officials at every level. 23:11 Daniel Glaser: Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to talk about how the US government can employ similar tools and strategies against white nationalists and other domestic terrorist groups as it has employed against global jihadist groups over the past two decades. 23:33 Daniel Glaser: During my time at the Treasury Department, I fought to cut off funding to terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, the Islamic State and Hezbollah, as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bush Administration, and eventually as the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing in the Obama Administration. My primary responsibility was to lead the design and implementation of strategies to attack the financial networks of these groups and other threats to our country's national security. And while we should never let down our guard with respect to those still potent terrorist organizations, it has become tragically clear that there are domestic extremist groups that in some ways present an even greater threat to our ideals and our democracy. We have the responsibility to target those groups with the same determination, creativity and sense of purpose that we displayed in the years following 9/11. 27:42 Daniel Glaser: Potential measures in Treasury's toolbox include the issuance of guidance to financial institutions on financial type policies, methodologies and red flags, the establishment of public private partnerships the use of information sharing authorities and the use of geographic targeting orders. Taken together these measures will strengthen the ability of financial institutions to identify, report and impede the financial activity of domestic extremist groups and will ensure that the US financial system is a hostile environment for these groups. 30:10 Daniel Rogers: These groups leverage the Internet as a primary means of disseminating their toxic ideologies and soliciting funds. One only needs to search Amazon or Etsy for the term q anon to uncover shirts, hats, mugs, books and other paraphernalia that both monetize and further popular popularized the domestic violent extremist threat. Images from that fateful day last month are rife with sweatshirts that say, Camp outfits that until recently were for sale on websites like Teespring and cafe press. As we speak at least 24 individuals indicted for their role in the January 6 insurrection, including eight members of the proud boys have used crowdfunding site gifts and go to raise nearly a quarter million dollars in donations. And it's not just about the money. This merchandise acts as a sort of team jersey that helps these groups recruit new members and form further hatred towards their targets. We analyze the digital footprints of 73 groups across 60 websites, and 225 social media accounts and their use of 54 different online fundraising mechanisms, including 47 payment platforms and five different cryptocurrencies, ultimately finding 191 instances of hate groups using online fundraising services to support their activities. The funding mechanisms including included both primary platforms like Amazon, intermediary platforms, such as Stripe or Shopify crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, payments facilitators like PayPal, monetized content streaming services, such as YouTube, super chats, and cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. All of these payment mechanisms were linked to websites or social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, telegram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, gab, picshoot and others. The sheer number of companies I just mentioned, is the first clue to the scale and the scope of the problem. 31:40 Daniel Rogers: We also found that a large fraction of the groups we studied have a tax exempt status with the IRS, a full 100% of anti muslim groups. 75% of anti-immigrant groups, and 70% of anti LGBTQ groups have 501-C-3 or 501-C-4 status. Over 1/3 of the militia groups that we identified, including the oathkeepers, whose leadership was recently indicted on charges related to January 6, have tax exempt status. This status gives them access to a whole spectrum of charity fundraising tools, from Facebook donations to amazon smile, to the point where most of the most common fundraising platform we identified across all of our data was Charity Navigator. 32:30 Daniel Glaser: I think it's important to remember that if you want to be able to use a cryptocurrency in the real economy, to any scale, it at some point doesn't need to be converted into actual fiat currency into dollars. That's the place where the Treasury Department does regulate cryptocurrencies. 42:10 Daniel Glaser: Cryptocurrency exchanges are regarded as money service businesses. They have full customer due diligence requirements. They have full money laundering program requirements, they have reporting requirements. The US Treasury Department just last month, issued a proposed rule relating to unhosted wallets of cryptocurrencies. And that's out for notice and comment. Right now. It addresses the particular issue of, of wallets that are not hosted on a particular exchange. And I think it's an important rule that's out there and I do encourage people to take a look at it, the comment period closes in May, and then hopefully, Treasury will be able to take regulatory action to close that particular vulnerability. 42:46 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): Mr. Glaser, you you, though suggested something new that I'd like to give you a maybe 30 seconds, 42 seconds I have left to elaborate on you said you were taught you were hopeful for sanctions like authorities against domestic actors. You did not to constitutional civil liberties concerns. But give us another 30 seconds on exactly what you mean. And perhaps most importantly, what sort of fourth amendment overlay should accompany such authority? Daniel Glaser: Well, thank you, thank you for the question. The fact is, the Treasury Department really does not have a lot of authority to go after purely domestic groups in the way that it goes after global terrorist organizations that simply doesn't have that authority. You could imagine an authority that does allow for the designation of domestic organizations, it would have to take into account that, the constitutional restrictions. When you look when you read the a lot of the court decisions, there's concerns could be addressed in the statute, there's concerns. A lot of the scrutiny is heightened because sanctions are usually accompanied with acid freezes. But you could imagine sanctions that don't involve asset freezes that involve transaction bounds that involve regulatory type of requirements that you see in Section 311 of the Patriot Act. So there's a variety of ways that both the due process standards could be raised from what we see in the global context. 44:37 Daniel Rogers: The days leading up to the insurrection, the oathkeepers founder Stuart Rhodes appeared on a podcast and solicited charitable donations to the oathkeepers Educational Fund. It can only be presumed that these funds which listeners were notably able to deduct from their federal taxes, went to transporting and lodging members of the group slated to participate in the ensuing riots. 46:06 Rep. French Hill (AZ): In looking at the draft legislation that the majority noticed with this hearing, one bill stuck out to me and I think it's a good follow up for your from your most recent exchange. It seeks to amend title 31 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to allow designated employees of financial institutions to access classified information related to terrorism, sedition, and insurrection. Now, over the past three congresses, we've talked about the concept of a fusion center, not unlike we do in monitoring cyber risk and cyber crimes for this terror finance arena. We've never been able to come ashore on it legislatively. So I found that interesting. However, I'm concerned that when you deputize bank employees without any oversight, as to how the information would be protected or if there's really even a need for that. 46:53 Rep. French Hill (AZ): Could you describe how banks share information with law enforcement today and how they provide feedback on how we might change these protocols or if they're if that protocol change is necessary. Daveed Gertenstein-Ross: Thank you ranking member, there are four primary ways that banks share information now. The first is suspicious activity reports or the SAR. Financial institutions have to file these documents with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN. When there's a suspected case of money laundering or fraud, the star is designed to monitor activity and finance related industries that are out of the ordinary are a precursor to illegal activity, or can threaten public safety. Second, there's law enforcement's 314 a power under the Patriot Act, in which obtains potential lead information from financial institutions via FinCEN. Third, law enforcement can use its subpoena power, if a court issues a subpoena pursuant to an investigation, or to an administrative proceeding and forth where there are blocked assets pursuant to OFAC authorities, sanctions or otherwise, banks are required to report block assets back to OFAC. The information sharing in my view is currently quite effective. Treasury in particular has a very strong relationship with the US financial institutions. 48:24 Rep. French Hill (AZ): On 314 in the Patriot Act, is that a place where we could, in a protected appropriate way make a change that relates to this domestic issue? Or is that, in your view, too challenging? Daveed Gertenstein-Ross: No, I think it's a place where you could definitely make a change. The 314-A process allows an investigator to canvass financial institutions for potential lead information that might otherwise never be uncovered. It's designed to allow disparate pieces of information to be identified, centralized and evaluated. So when law enforcement submits a request to Finicen, to get information from financial institutions, it has to submit a written certification that each individual or entity about which the information is sought is engaged in or reasonably suspected of engaging in terrorist activity or money laundering. I think that in some cases 314-A, may already be usable, but I think it's worth looking at the 314-A process to see if in this particular context, when you're looking at domestic violent extremism, as opposed to foreign terrorist organizations, there are some tweaks that would provide ability to get leads in this manner. 1:15:15 Iman Boukadoum: What we submit is that the material support for terrorism statute, as we know, there are two of them. There's one with an international Nexus that is required. And there's one that allows for investigating material support for terrorism, domestic terrorism, in particular, as defined in the patriot act with underlying statutes that allows for any crimes that take place within the United States that have no international nexus. And we believe that that second piece of material support for terrorism statute has been neglected and can be nicely used with the domestic terrorism definition as laid out in the Patriot Act. And we hope that statutory framework will be used to actually go after violent white nationalists and others. 1:50:25 Daniel Rogers: I think there are a number of regulatory fronts that all kind of go to the general problem of disinformation as a whole. And I don't know that we have the time to get into all of them here, but I think they, they certainly fall into three three big categories, with the one most relevant to today's discussion being this idea of platform government and platform liability, that, you know, our data is showing how what a key role, these sorts of platforms play in facilitating the activities of these groups. And the fact that the liability is so nebulous or non existent through things like Section 230 and whatnot, which what we found is that there's there's already policies in place against all of these hate and extremist groups, but they're just simply not enforced. And so updating that kind of platform liability to help drive enforcement I think is one of the key areas that that that we can focus on. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

Estimates now say 900,000 Americans died as a consequence of the COVID pandemic. But estimates suggest 40-90 percent of those deaths could have been avoided if the Trump Administration acted more swiftly, more effectively or more in concert with the advice of scientists. A new book dives deep into what happened behind the scenes in the administration and on this episode, we talk with one of the authors, Yasmeen Abutaleb. Join Ryan Goodman of NYU Law School, Dr. Kavita Patel of the Brookings Institution and host David Rothkopf for a discussion of this new best-seller, "Nightmare Scenario--Inside the Trump Administration's Response to the Pandemic that Changed History."Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.