POPULARITY
2 episodes with worryingly
2 episodes with worryingly
2 episodes with worryingly
2 episodes with worryingly
2 episodes with worryingly
2 episodes with worryingly
2 episodes with worryingly
4 episodes with worryingly
3 episodes with worryingly
As both the sophistication and accessibility of AI is on the up, the ease in which someone can create and share realistic deepfakes involving ‘non-consensual intimate images' increases also. Worryingly, schools and education settings aren't exempt from this trend.To add to this, UCL's Institute of Education found that – of young people who have experienced this sort of image-based sexual harassment – only 2% reported it to their school.Kristin Woelfel is policy counsel at the Centre for Democracy and Technology. She's also co-author of a 2024 report which, through a large-scale poll of students, teachers and parents investigated non-consensual image sharing and deepfakes. In this episode, she joins Vicki to discuss the report's findings and to unpack this issue further.Talking points:As emerging tech facilitates new possible harms, are schools actually equipped to deal with evolving forms of harassment and abuse?How should we respond when children and young people themselves are perpetrators of sexual harassment?As a first line of defence when it comes to these risks and harms, do parents have the information they need, or are they not yet part of the conversation?Tech Shock is a Parent Zone production. Follow Parent Zone on social media for all the latest on our work on helping families to thrive in the digital age. Presented by Vicki Shotbolt. Tech Shock is produced and edited by Tim Malster.wwwTwitterFacebookInstagram
This discussion is about a recent article in the Forge magazine. It is not about imposing rules but it is about protecting ourselves and all those involved (including the equine) at farriery competitions and forging best practice for future generations.What is Social License to Operate (SLO) Social license is increasingly important in horse sport and leisure. This is the general public's interpretation of equine welfare and professionalism. We must be seen to be always putting equine welfare FIRST. When a social license is lost, this is when the general public's opinion decides that the activity we are doing falls below their expectations of animal welfare and/ or professionalism. This means that the welfare of the horse must be put first, and be seen to be put first, all the time. It is the responsibility of everyone involved with equines to demonstrate this. Sometimes, mistakes will be made. However, if all of those involved in horse sport and leisure can learn from these mistakes and demonstrate that they are always striving to do right by their horses, wider society is more likely to trust that equine welfare is genuinely being put first and it is more likely that equestrianism's social license will be maintained. We have all seen the potential damage one video can make to a sport. During the build up to the 2024 Olympics, one video of one person connected to a sport, made headline news leading to a large swing in public opinion. This in turn reignited the question - should equestrianism be included as an Olympic sport? Worryingly, one public vote resulted in 49% of the voters being against. This is concerning and is evidence of what damage one viral video can do. The equestrian world needs to maintain and strengthen its social license for it to have a future. Horseshoeing Competitions As a competition, we must treat this activity as a sport utilizing the equine, and where live equines are used, their welfare MUST be the primary concern. Most horseshoeing competitions held within the UK are organised in conjunction with a bigger event, such as a county show. These are very public facing events and due to the nature of the spectacle provided, they are a huge crowd pulling part of the event. We are exposed to many members of the public that may have little or no knowledge of what they are watching. Some of these spectators may also be members of organisations or have opinions opposed to the use of horses in sport and may be looking to publicly evidence this. To this end, we as organisers and competitors need to utilise this industry spotlight to educate, communicate, and actively promote best practice and professionalism. The competition environment can be stressful for both equines and competitors due to several different factors, but with proper organisation, contingency planning and common sense, this can be kept to a minimum From the Pasture with Hired HandExpert advice on breeding, marketing & technology for livestock breeders & ranchers.Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Kia ora,Welcome to Monday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news about the start of a tariff trade war, a reprise of a 1930s effort, also started by the US, and one that ended badly for everyone.The week ahead was supposed to be basically about jobs, both here and in the US with our HLFS data for December out on Thursday, and the US non-farm payrolls report out for January on Saturday. But Trump's imposition of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on China will no doubt dominate the news with its consequences.However there will be other economic data news coming, including key Wall Street earnings reports, January PMIs, central bank decisions from India and the UK, and China's financial markets will return to work after their CNY break on Wednesday. Also, Chinese buyers may be back at Wednesday's GDT dairy auction on Wednesday, which will be an important event after last week's sharp run-up in the WMP price at the Pulse event.And don't forget, this will be an interrupted week with a public holiday in New Zealand on Thursday, Waitangi Day. So Friday is likely to be a day many people also take off to get a four-day weekend. (But not us, of course.)The big news over the weekend was the US imposing 25% tariffs on its neighbours Canada and Mexico. Worryingly, these mean the US has unilaterally broken its (Trump-imposed) CUSMA (or NAFTA 2.0) trade treaty obligations. And more of an issue for any country contemplating making a treaty with the new US Administration is that the basis for these new tariffs are essentially jingoistic and trumped-up, that pretend anecdotes are "common sense" when they are just raw self-servicing prejudice.Mexico and Canada hit back immediately. Canada also imposed a 10% tariff on their oil exports to the US. China is going through the WTO dispute process.An easy way to keep an eye on US inflation is to watch the daily US petrol price. As at today it is US$3.10/gal. We will check back regularly to watch how tariffs impact that. Of course demand will impact that too.How will this affect New Zealand? Here are some early thoughts.Earlier the alternate US inflation measure, "the one the Fed watches", their personal consumption expenditures price index, rose +0.3% in December from November, the highest gain in eight months, but it was the rise expected. That means their year-on-year PCE inflation came in at 2.6% and it's highest in seven months by this measure. The new tariffs are likely to mean higher inflation, something Trump acknowledged in a Fox interview.There were no surprises in any of the income, consumption, or savings data in the PCE release. This may turn out to be the low point in their inflation cycle.The January Chicago PMI recovered from the weak December result on the back of better new order inflows and higher production levels. But it remains in deep contraction territory. The outlook responses in this regional survey weren't very bright.In Canada, apart from the new tariffs from the US, they are wrestling with what the 25 year 'extreme' difference means between their policy interest rate, 3.00% and the US Fed's "4.25% to 4.50%". In market terms that is a 140 bps discount the Canadians carry. It has been thought that +/-100 bps is in the comfort zone for financial markets, so we may start to see reactions and implications. There could be lessons for other economies, although Canada may be facing extra pressures from the tariffs.Japanese industrial production rose in December from November and that limited the year-on-year decrease to less than expected.Japanese retail sales rose +3.7% in December from the same month in 2023, up from a +2.8% gain in November, and better than market expectations of a +3.2% rise. This is the 33rd straight month of expansion in retail sales and the fastest growth since June 2024. Rising pay levels are getting the credit for the expansion.In India, a new Union (national) Budget has cut income taxes (see pages 28 and 29), in the hope it will arrest the cooling of their economic activity by enhancing domestic demand. Those earning about NZ$24,000 pa will pay no tax, and the tax bands above that have been indexed higher. They will still run a deficit of -4.4% of GDP if they can maintain a +6.8% growth rate. They will pay for the tax cuts by restraining their spend on updating their infrastructure. India also cut tariffs.In Argentina, their central bank cut its policy interest rate by -300 bps to 29% on Friday NZT, as inflation eased again. But annual inflation in Argentina was still at 118% in December, the softest increase since July 2023, down from 166% in November.EU inflation expectations rose to 2.8% in the ECB's December survey, taking it back to early 2024 levels. In the ECB MPS, they noted there is still more work to do to quash these expectations. Actual EU inflation ended 2024 at 2.7% and it too is rising.Aussie producer prices rose +3.7% in December from a year ago, but even if that is high, it was their slowest rise since early 2021.The UST 10yr yield is at 4.54%, up +3 bps from Saturday at this time. The price of gold will start today at US$2799/oz and down -US$10 from Saturday and off its all-time high.Oil prices are virtually unchanged at just on US$72.50/bbl in the US and the international Brent price is now US$75.50/bbl and holding the Saturday retreat.The Kiwi dollar is now at 56.4 USc and down -40 bps from this time Saturday. Against the Aussie we are down -10 bps at 90.7 AUc. Against the euro we are little-changed at just under 54.4 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today just on 67.1, and down -10 bps from Saturday.The bitcoin price starts today at US$98,142 and down a sharp -6.5% from this time Saturday. Apparently isolationism and tariffs are not good for crypto. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at +/- 2.1%.You can find links to the articles mentioned today in our show notes.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.
* Fake Stars Inflate Popularity of Malicious GitHub Repositories* Cybercriminals Exploit Chrome Web Store to Infect Millions of Users* Malicious Packages Found on Python Package Index and VSCode Marketplace* One Third of Adults Don't Know How to Erase Their Data from an Old Device* New Clickjacking Technique "DoubleClickjacking" Bypasses Security MeasuresFake Stars Inflate Popularity of Malicious GitHub Repositorieshttps://arxiv.org/pdf/2412.13459A new study reveals a significant problem with inauthentic "stars" being used to artificially inflate the popularity of scam and malware distribution repositories on GitHub. These fake stars mislead users into trusting malicious projects and potentially downloading malware.How Fake Stars Work* GitHub users can "star" repositories similar to liking them on social media platforms.* The number of stars is a key factor in how GitHub ranks repositories and recommends them to users.* Malicious actors create fake accounts or compromise existing ones to star malicious repositories, making them appear more popular and trustworthy.Impact of Fake Stars* Increased Reach for Malicious Projects: Fake stars help malicious repositories reach more unsuspecting users who may be tricked into downloading malware.* Eroded Trust in GitHub: The widespread use of fake stars undermines the overall trust and credibility of the GitHub platform.Researchers developed a tool called StarScout to analyze user activity and identify patterns indicative of fake stars. StarScout looks for signs of low user activity, bot-like behavior, and coordinated starring activity across multiple accounts.The study identified 4.5 million suspected fake stars across GitHub. These fake stars were associated with over 15,800 repositories and 278,000 user accounts. Recommendations for Users* Don't rely solely on the number of stars to judge a repository's legitimacy.* Carefully evaluate the repository's activity, documentation, code quality, and user contributions.* Be cautious when downloading software from GitHub, especially from repositories with few contributions or suspicious activity.This study highlights the importance of staying vigilant when using GitHub. By being aware of fake stars and other deceptive tactics, users can help protect themselves from malware and other online threats.Cybercriminals Exploit Chrome Web Store to Infect Millions of Usershttps://www.cyberhaven.com/blog/cyberhavens-chrome-extension-security-incident-and-what-were-doing-about-itA sophisticated cyberattack has compromised at least 35 Chrome browser extensions, potentially exposing over 2.6 million users to data theft and credential stealing.The campaign began with a phishing attack targeting a Cyberhaven employee, granting attackers access to their Chrome Web Store account. This allowed them to inject malicious code into the Cyberhaven extension, which was subsequently downloaded by numerous users.Further investigation revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Multiple other extensions, including popular tools for AI assistance, VPNs, and video recording, were also compromised, likely through similar phishing attacks.These malicious extensions collected user data, including cookies, access tokens, and potentially even sensitive financial information. Some extensions even contained code designed to steal Facebook login credentials.Attack like these highlights the growing threat of compromised browser extensions. As these extensions often have broad access to user data and browsing activity, they can be a significant entry point for cybercriminals.Users are advised to exercise caution when installing browser extensions, carefully vetting their source and checking for any suspicious activity. Developers are also urged to implement strong security measures to protect their accounts and prevent unauthorised access.This ongoing campaign underscores the importance of vigilant security practices in the ever-evolving threat landscape of online activity.Malicious Packages Found on Python Package Index and VSCode Marketplacehttps://www.fortinet.com/blog/threat-research/analyzing-malicious-intent-in-python-codeCybersecurity researchers have discovered malicious packages uploaded to the Python Package Index (PyPI) and the Visual Studio Code Marketplace. These packages, disguised as legitimate tools for cryptocurrency development and productivity, were designed to steal sensitive information from developers' systems.The malicious PyPI packages, named "zebo" and "cometlogger," were downloaded hundreds of times before being removed. These packages contained code to steal keystrokes, capture screenshots, and exfiltrate sensitive data, including credentials from popular platforms like Discord, Steam, and Instagram.Similarly, researchers identified malicious VSCode extensions that targeted cryptocurrency developers and Zoom users. These extensions, often with names resembling legitimate tools, downloaded and executed malicious payloads.Typosquatting and Fake ReviewsAttackers employed typosquatting techniques, creating packages with names that closely resembled legitimate ones, such as "@typescript_eslinter/eslint" instead of "typescript-eslint." They also inflated download numbers and used fake reviews to make these malicious packages appear more trustworthy.Impact and Recommendations:This incident highlights the growing threat of supply chain attacks targeting software development ecosystems. Developers are urged to exercise extreme caution when downloading and installing packages from online repositories.Key recommendations include:* Thoroughly vetting all packages before installation.* Checking the source and reputation of the developer.* Regularly auditing development environments for potential threats.This incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of maintaining a strong security posture throughout the entire software development lifecycle.One Third of Adults Don't Know How to Erase Their Data from an Old Devicehttps://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2024/12/14-million-people-don-t-know-how-to-erase-their-data-from-an-old-device/A new survey from the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) reveals that nearly a third of adults in the UK don't know how to properly wipe their old electronic devices before discarding them. This lack of awareness poses a significant risk to personal data security.The survey found that while 71% of respondents agree that wiping data from old devices is important, 24% find the process too difficult. Worryingly, 21% of young people (aged 18-34) believe wiping data is unnecessary, compared to just 4% of those over 55. This suggests a concerning lack of awareness among younger generations about the importance of data security.The ICO emphasizes the importance of securely erasing personal information before disposing of old devices to prevent data breaches and fraud. Simple methods like factory resets can effectively erase most personal data from mobile phones.With the holiday season approaching and many people expected to purchase new devices, the ICO urges individuals to prioritize data security and properly dispose of their old electronics.New Clickjacking Technique "DoubleClickjacking" Bypasses Security Measureshttps://www.paulosyibelo.com/2024/12/doubleclickjacking-what.htmlA new cyberattack technique dubbed "DoubleClickjacking" has been discovered, exploiting the timing between double-clicks to bypass existing clickjacking protections. This allows attackers to trick users into unknowingly granting permissions or performing actions on websites, potentially leading to account takeovers and data theft.DoubleClickjacking leverages the brief window between two mouse clicks to seamlessly redirect users to malicious pages while they interact with seemingly innocuous elements. This method can bypass common security measures like X-Frame-Options and SameSite cookies, which are designed to prevent clickjacking attacks.While this technique builds upon existing clickjacking methods, it introduces a new layer of complexity that requires a re-evaluation of current security measures. Researchers suggest that browser vendors should consider implementing new standards to specifically address this vulnerability.This disclosure follows the discovery of another clickjacking variant earlier this year, highlighting the ongoing evolution of cyberattack techniques and the need for continuous vigilance in online security. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edwinkwan.substack.com
Food inflation has fallen slightly but it remains way too high for comfort. This was mainly why the RBI did not lower interest rates despite pressure from the government. High food inflation affects the lower-income group more because it has less money and so a larger proportion of its earnings are spent on basics like food and fuel. High food inflation also lowers consumption across many sectors, which is bad news for the economy. Why are food prices so high and what can be done about it? Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A striking chart that we've included in November's newsletter shows how the FSU has surged from just under 14,000 members at the beginning of July, to 20,100 members at the end of October – a percentage increase of 43%. As our graph highlights, it won't be long before we're bigger than Aslef and the National Union of Journalists. There's good news to pass on in relation to the Judicial Review of Bridget Phillipson's decision to pause the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act. It was reported by the Telegraph over the weekend that the FSU has now been granted permission to appeal the move, with a judicial hearing set to take place in the High Court on January 23rd. In a legal document confirming permission to appeal the move, a High Court judge said it was in the “public interest” for the issue to be resolved promptly. Worryingly, though, Sir Keir Starmer has now resurrected the Football Governance Bill, which fell by the wayside during the last Parliament. Among the reams of red tape it will impose on football clubs is a requirement that they submit a “corporate governance statement” to the newly created Independent Football Regulator saying what action they're taking on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). Our concern is that this requirement will normalise what happened to our member, Linzi Smith, with tens of thousands of fans banned from attending games simply because their political views put them at odds with their club's EDI policy. Finally, we briefly discuss our response to the latest consultation issued by the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries on the inclusion of EDI requirements in the Actuaries Code before deciding definitively not to speculate on who might win the imminent presidential election in the USA. ‘That's Debatable!' is edited by Jason Clift.
Stephen Grootes talks to Johann Kirsten, Professor of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University, about South Africa's alarming underinvestment in agricultural research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A recent survey by Capital Credit Union reveals that one in ten Irish adults have no savings, while 65% have less than €5,000 set aside for emergencies. Worryingly, over three in ten people in their 30s have less than €500 put away.But, how much should we really be saving at different stages of life? In your 20s, 30s, or even planning for retirement: what's the right target? And, if you're thinking of starting a family, how much extra should you be saving?Joining Seán to discuss this is John Lowe from MoneyDoctors.ie.
A recent survey by Capital Credit Union reveals that one in ten Irish adults have no savings, while 65% have less than €5,000 set aside for emergencies. Worryingly, over three in ten people in their 30s have less than €500 put away.But, how much should we really be saving at different stages of life? In your 20s, 30s, or even planning for retirement: what's the right target? And, if you're thinking of starting a family, how much extra should you be saving?Joining Seán to discuss this is John Lowe from MoneyDoctors.ie.
Management and technology consultancy BearingPoint, has launched an in-depth study on artificial intelligence (AI), emphasising the critical need for organisations to transition into augmented organisations to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving market landscape. The research reveals a notable scepticism towards AI among executives in Ireland and the UK, potentially delaying the necessary transformation. An augmented organisation leverages AI and other emerging technologies to enhance capabilities and operational efficiency, reinventing customer and employee experiences and, ultimately, disrupting its value chain to stay relevant in the market. The study, titled 'AI-driven transformation: Becoming an augmented organisation,' underscores AI adoption as a strategic imperative for long-term success. The research, which surveyed 700 C-suite executives across Europe (including 170 from Ireland and the UK), the US, and Asia, revealed key strategies and challenges in AI adoption. Notably, there is scepticism towards AI among executives in Ireland and the UK, with 43% adopting a 'wait and see' approach. The study also found that only 38% of respondents in Ireland and the UK are directly involved in AI-related decision-making, but a significant portion is well-informed about AI initiatives. Governance remains a focus area for Ireland and UK respondents, with 46% still contemplating the best approach to AI governance. 82% of these respondents believe that establishing an effective AI cross-functional task force is crucial for becoming an augmented organisation. Worryingly, the study highlights that only 19% of C-suite executives in Ireland and the UK are actively adopting AI technologies with almost one in three organisations either having no AI implementations or have not started considering AI technologies. This is despite that fact that data readiness among UK&I respondents is relatively high, with only 1% unsure about their data readiness, 42% mostly ready, and 24% fully ready. "AI is a present-day necessity, and the pace of AI innovation and its adoption by competitors and consumers is accelerating," said Stephen Redmond, director, head of data analytics & AI at BearingPoint. "Our study indicates that organisations that fail to integrate AI effectively are at significant risk of falling behind competitors already leveraging AI to enhance productivity, drive innovation, and deliver superior market experiences. AI should be seen not just as a tool, but as a strategic asset that drives new value propositions and market differentiation." Despite prioritising training, findings from the BearingPoint study indicate that only 38% of organisations in Ireland and the UK have a strategy for adopting Al and managing the changes it brings. Four pillars for transitioning to an augmented organisation The study serves as a comprehensive guide for C-suite executives, detailing how to strategically organise and equip their organisations to harness the full potential of emerging technologies. It underscores the importance of acquiring new skills and implementing innovative processes to adopt AI at a competitive market pace. Four key pillars are central to transitioning to an augmented organisation. 1. Establishing effective AI governance: For C-suite executives, establishing AI governance is vital for becoming an augmented organisation, and nearly half of the organisations surveyed are still thinking about the best approach to governance and decision-making for AI. According to the study, cross-functional governance framework is essential to align AI initiatives with business objectives and ensure ethical use. It involves setting up a dedicated AI oversight committee to monitor and guide AI deployments across various departments. It also includes establishing clear policies and protocols to manage data privacy, security, and compliance, ensuring that AI applications are not only effective but also responsible and transparent. 1. Optimising A...
In this episode, Nick and Carol help an Australian who is bored of Australia, assist with a wedding anniversary and with a first time buyer.
In episode 99, The Occupational Philosophers, as an antidote to the worrying rise of 'play at work'. ponder the idea of "Is it time for a National Serious Day? Sure, play is good for many things (that the show talks about a lot), but what about the forgotten folk? Those who like to start blankly at a wall, never smile and love doing spreadsheets? What about the person who hasn't smiled since 1997? Who is thinking of them? They should be celebrated! Possible activities could be: Mandatory silence for the first three hours of the day (with fines for facial expressions and any type of talking) A meeting about meetings (Mandatory of course) Mandatory team activity of going through all HR handbooks or any ISO 9001 Quality Manual It's almost like a corporate liver cleanse diet to flush out any frivolity and fun. Worryingly, John started to realise that he actually likes the sound of this and realised that he just wants to get on with looking at his screen. Numerous studies also back up what's possible when teams, families and even couples embrace a more serious outlook. It's like a modern-day version of stoicism that is about to take off. They hope you enjoy the show. FYI: The Inbetweeners episodes are just that - smaller episodes 'in between' the longer format episodes designed to give a fruity burst of energy to enable you to be the most curious, creative and imaginative cat you can be - and have some fun in the process. Is your company innovative? Take the Scorecard for an instant report https://empoweringinnovation.scoreapp.com/ Say Hello www.occupationalphilosophers.com Their day jobs JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com/ SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg
How Not to Diet uses Dr. Greger's years of experience and thousands of studies to encourage you to move away from fad diets and towards evidence-based diet practices. Backed up by almost 5,000 references, How Not to Diet offers a diet that's both sustainable and healthful. Show notes Free audiobook Read and grow with 300,000 bestselling books on your terms. Start a free trial of StoryShots: https://www.getstoryshots.com to get the extended ad-free audiobook, PDF, infographic and animated version of this summary of How Not to Diet and more exclusive content. Help us grow to create more amazing content for you! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review the StoryShots podcast now. What should our next book be? Suggest and vote it up on the StoryShots app. Obesity is a greater epidemic than it has ever been. Greger explains we are currently ten times fatter than we were 100 years ago. Additionally, this growth in obesity has not been linear. Instead, obesity in developed nations has grown exponentially in the last fifty years. Worryingly, this increase in obesity is showing no signs of slowing down. Some diets claim the issue is your willpower. Greger challenges this claim and instead explains our bodies simply react to the food we eat in the way it has been designed. The human body evolved within environments where food was scarce. Due to this scarcity, we have evolved to store excess calories as fat to survive the winter months. Additionally, we tend to crave high-calorie foods more for this same reason. The reason for the obesity epidemic is that these high-calorie foods are now readily available. The 70s brought with it deep-freezing and ready meals. Plus, an introduction of treat foods as an everyday option. The issue with the increased processing characterized by the 80s is these food items lack fiber and nutritional value. Plus, they are filled with added sugars and oils. Greger calls these foods CRAP (calorie-rich and processed). Dr. Michael Greger is a physician, New York Times bestselling author of How Not to Die, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health issues. A founding member and Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Dr. Greger is licensed as a general practitioner specializing in clinical nutrition. He is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine. In 2017, Dr. Greger was honored with the ACLM Lifestyle Medicine Trailblazer Award and became a diplomat of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. (00:00) Introduction and Overview (00:48) Book Introduction: How Not To Diet (02:18) About the Author: Dr. Michael Greger (03:27) Storyshot 1: Obesity Is an Epidemic (05:02) Storyshot 2: The Ideal Weight-Loss Diet Is Plant-Based (06:41) Storyshot 3: The Importance of Fiber-Rich Foods (08:49) Storyshot 4: Choosing Foods with a Low Glycemic Load (10:30) Storyshot 5: Avoiding Added Sugar, Fat, and Meat (11:29) Conclusion and Next Steps Go deeper with other books related to How Not to Diet: How Not to Die by Michael Greger The Plant Paradox by Steven Gundry Fast Like A Girl by Mindy Petz The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss Thinner Leaner Stronger by Michael Matthews The Obesity Code by Jason Fung Lifespan by David Sinclair Bigger Learner Stronger by Michael Matthews Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker Outlive by Dr Peter Attia Not A Diet Book by James Smith Fast This Way by Dave Asprey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Health-related benefit spending is rising – particularly among children and younger adults – and this increase is forecast to accelerate in the years ahead. With record numbers of people claiming disability benefits, incapacity benefits or both, there are serious questions to answer about what lies behind this trend and its impact on the health of those affected, the public finances and the wider economy. Worryingly, too often the understanding of this change is poor, posing a major challenge for whoever governs after the election. What is driving the rise in health-related benefit spending? Is it the inevitable consequence of an ageing society, a sign that we are a sicker Britain than we used to be or have changes to the benefit system over the last 14 years played a role? How big an issue could this be over the next parliament, and how are the main political parties planning to address it? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest General Election 24 briefing on health-related benefits, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we will hear from leading experts on what's driving the rise in claims and spending, previous efforts to tackle the issues, and what might lie ahead. Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/under-strain/ View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-cost-of-poor-health/
Hachioji, Japan. After finishing work at a convenience store, a woman was due to meet her friend. But she failed to show up. Worryingly, the supermarket was unlocked, but all the lights were off. The scene that would soon be uncovered would shock Japan and leave police officers searching for a dangerous criminal. This episode was researched and written by Stephen J. Golds: https://twitter.com/stevegone58?s=11&t=GM-gVxeYRGwHHMy-BlCU_w Patreon
Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn understands the incredulity abroad regarding the political survival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his grip on power despite the failures of October 7, terrible poll numbers, thousands of Israelis in the streets protesting weekly and his policies creating unprecedented tensions with the United States. In the second in a series of special podcast episodes in which subscribers from around the world were given the opportunity to ask questions, Benn emphasized in his responses Netanyahu isn't going away anytime soon. "Netanyahu did lose a lot of his popularity after October 7 - and rightly so. But he has been able to hold on to his coalition. And there is no sign of any imminent collapse of this coalition, or any cracks within it that might bring him down." Benn noted while answering a range of questions on security and political issues. "We have to bear in mind that while his government is unpopular, it's leading a very popular policy. There is very strong support in the Israeli Jewish society to continue the war until the defeat of Hamas and hopefully also of Hezbollah, the return of Israelis to live along the borders in the south and the north, and a more quiet future." Worryingly, Benn points out that the only clear-cut vision for post-war Gaza without Hamas rule is a long-term occupation of Gaza, coming from the the government's far right flank, with tacit cooperation from Netanyahu.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Two virgin shipwreck survivors share a lifeboat and a few more discoveries in the Victorian-eraBy Big galute. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories. "Man the lifeboats! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"We had been at sea for ten days when the storm hit, our splendid vessel battered and broken into no more than firewood, all the passengers and crew seemingly lost.I came to, my legs dangling in the water and my arms and upper body atop some flotsam timbers. The sea around me was calm, with small pieces of wreckage everywhere. I tried to look around, the throbbing pain in my head and the low morning sun making it hard to focus; no one to be seen, just me.I pulled myself up onto the driftwood, too tired to think, my mind too blurred to do anything other than curl up and sleep.Davy, Davy Arthur that's me, eighteen years old and on my first ship. I'd grown up by the Thames, my father worked on the tugs but died when I was young. It was in my blood and I'd always dreamt of being at sea, then my mother died and I got a job as a stoker on the SS Cadwallader, sailing to the new world. In other words, I assisted in tending the boiler furnace for this steam ship named for a Welsh king from centuries ago.The several months I spent shoveling coal into the furnace, reduced my once-stocky six foot frame by more than 2 inches around my waistline."Hello, Hello. Are you okay there, are you alive?"I tried to follow the voice, a ladies voice, young and a bit wispy & screechy as she shouted out to me, "Hello, I'm over here, can you see me?" I slowly turned my head and body to the left, maybe 3 rods away from me was a small wooden life boat, a damsel frantically waving her arms at me. I managed to raise one arm to let her know I was alive and she started to paddle with one oar, the boat turning sideways rather than towards me, then I think I passed out again."Hello, are you alright, can you move?" The voice was much closer now, kind and posh, like the ladies I had sometimes overheard in coming out of tearooms in London. The boat was now less than a fathom from me but I felt hardly able to move, all my strength needed to perch up on one elbow."I'll hold out the oar, see if you can grab it." The wispy voice directed.I used my free arm to grab it, then held on for dear life and found myself getting right up to the starboard, till a soft hand grasped my wrist. "You'll have to help me, I can't pull you in by myself. Can you get onto your knees?"I did as she said, and rolled up over the rail, then plonked myself onto the small lifeboat, almost tipping us as I did so. "Oh you poor thing, you're all cuts and bruises." As she said this she supported my head and offered water to my lips, "Drink slowly in case you get sick." Consciousness was a fleeting state, and I could not decipher reality from delirious dreams.I looked up at her pale lips and beautiful green eyes and wondered if she were an angel and I was dead; my thoughts slipping as my eyes closed; the ripping of material and my angel saying "We must cover you from the sun." being the last sounds I heard.I felt a wet cloth on my forehead and heard soothing words being spoken, the smiling face of my ‘angel' looking down at me as I opened my eyes."Hello again." Came her pleasant greeting. I think I smiled back and then tried to sit up"Take it easy, let me help you." She offered. I felt the wonderful softness of her body against mine as she set me upright.The spinning in my head slowed as I tried to focus and clear the fog in my brain; shipwreck, lifeboat, angel. "Do you remember going overboard and the ship sinking?" My angel asked.I shook my head, in the affirmative. "I think you must have banged your head pretty badly'” she assessed. “You have a nasty bruise on the side of it."I put my hand up and felt the tender area above my ear. "I think you have what Professor Gower refers to as a concussion, are you familiar with Professor Gower's work." I again shook my head in the negative."He's the eminent neurologist of our time. I think you should be okay in a day or two."I nodded, then asked; "What's your name, and are you an angel?"She looked taken-aback and then burst out laughing. "Oh my dear thing, no I'm not an angel and you are very much alive. My name's Jemima Fairweather but you may call me Jemi, all my friends do. What's your name?""Davy Arthur.""Nice to meet you Davy Arthur; & may I call you Davy?" I nodded to her. At that point I could care less what the skipper of the only lifeboat decided to call me."Now, how do we get out of this pickle." She asked, expecting me to be a seafaring expert.I followed her gaze as she looked around, nothing but water and us in a small wooden boat, no more than fifteen feet long. I looked around our boat; there were three small wooden boxes, only one rowing oar and Jemi, her elaborate bustle dress torn with several parts missing, and what looked like some of the dress material tied around her head.Seeing me stare, Jemi blushed slightly before explaining, "I lost my hat as I got into the boat and needed to cover my head from the sun, I used the rest of it to cover you."I became aware that I was wearing a sort of cloak over my shoulders, my vest nowhere to be seen and my already threadbare britches now even more tattered as they clung to my legs. Another small square of the dress was by my side and I guessed that that had covered my head."Thank you for rescuing me.""No need to thank me. Now tell me Davy, what did you do on board, do you know how to navigate?""I was a junior stoker, I don't know how to read charts and such but I know the tides on the Thames like the back of my hand."Jemi smiled sweetly. If she wasn't an angel then she was the most beautiful lady I had ever seen, her cheeks reddening as she caught my stare. "Well I've read a few books on navigation and if we can work out which way we need to go then maybe we can make a sail. Do you want something to eat?"I didn't know there was any food and must have looked confused, "I was put into the lifeboat first and then they handed down some boxes of provisions. As the other ladies went to get into the boat the ship listed badly and I broke away, soon after it sank." She looked as if she would cry."I'm very sorry for you if your husband or family were on board."She smiled, "No husband and my family are all in England. Actually if you promise not to tell anyone." She smiled wider as she looked around at the vast, empty sea, "that's why I'm here. My father wanted me to marry the horrid Marcus but I wanted to continue my education and become a scientist. My grandfather had left me an endowment for when I was twenty one, so I bought a ticket and ran away. I plan to attend university when I reach America." The sad look returned as she said this.Not wanting her to be sad I started telling her about myself, how I'd never been to school but enjoyed working on the tug and now wanted to see the world. How I'd courted Mary Deacy but when it had gotten serious I decided on the sea, before I settle down to marriage.She smiled, "So we're both running away." I nodded and smiled back"I think we have another few hours of sun before it gets dark. Cover your head and we'll eat something, then we'll see if we can make a sail." I hadn't a clue about how she planned on making a sail and was still a bit shook from the bang on the head. I knotted the dress material around my head and waited to see what food we had."If we ration ourselves I think we have enough food and water for three or four days, maybe more. It's mainly bread and some cured meat, also a little cheese which we should eat first." She opened one of the boxes and passed me some bread and cheese, trying to remember my manners I waited for her to start."Bon appétit." She declared, then took her first bite.Gently smiling at my puzzled look, Jemi said, "It means enjoy your meal, in French.""Bon appétit." I tried back.Jemi spoke rapidly as she ate "Where do you think our closest land is? I think we might be closer to the West Indies than we are to America. We should head north westerly; also I think there'll be more trading vessels in that direction, more chance of being rescued."I smiled at her enthusiasm and at her knowledge, "How are we going to make a sail?" I asked.She pointed at one of the benches in the boat, "That one has a hole in it, we can stand the oar up in it and use your belt to lash it tightly, if that works we'll use some of my dress to make a sail. As the sun goes down we'll know which way is west."She must have seen the worried look on my face, "Don't you think it'll work?" she asked."It's not that." I clarified."What then?" She said in a puzzled state.I went bright red, "My britches will fall down without my belt."Jemi tried but couldn't stop herself from laughing, "Oh Davy that's so funny, you'll still have your underpants on."I went even redder and Jemi realized, her own cheeks flushing. "You haven't got any underpants on, have you?"I shook my head, struggling to look at Jemi's smiling face, "Well we really need that belt, and I'll be down to my undergarments also."We finished the food in silence, Jemi smiling the whole time and I beginning to see the funny side of it and realizing that in the grand scheme of being stranded at sea, me losing my britches didn't matter. Worryingly, I found my penis beginning to twitch at the thought of it."How shall we do this,” Jemi implored; “Do you think we should fix the mast first or try and fashion a sail first?" As Jemi asked this she stood up and moved forward, the small boat instantly becoming unstable and beginning to rock "Well these ruddy boots will have to go for a start, I struggle to walk in them at the best of times, not alone balance on a small boat."She sat down and hiked her garments to her knees, giving me a delectable view of her stocking covered calf as she went about unfastening her boots. I quickly looked away as she caught me staring "Oh Davy you are funny, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of each other before we get off this boat." There was a slight mocking tone in her voice that I didn't like.Sensing my unease and embarrassment, Jemi continued in a softer tone "Davy, I want you to look at me." lifting my head I saw that her dress was still at her knees and Jemi was smiling at me, her beautiful face and eyes alive with merriment and mischief. She lifted her hem higher, parting her legs slightly as her fingers searched inside her chemise for the top of her stocking. I knew I should look away but couldn't, Jemi's fingers slowly rolling down her stocking and that first view of her gloriously soft, pale thighs. I think I may have stopped breathing, only Jemi's sigh bringing me back to life. Her cheeks had a high flush to them and her eyes appeared glazed as another deep breath escaped her soft lips, her legs parting once more as she felt for the other stocking.As she removed her stocking and lowered her dress Jemi looked straight at me, "Did you enjoy that?"I was in awe of her confidence and brazenness but found myself shocked, confused and upset at her forthrightness. "Miss, I may only be a stoker but please don't treat me as a fool."She moved closer and sat down in front of me, taking both my hands Jemi said, "Oh Davy I'm not treating you as a fool. I'm sorry if I shocked you but I've always wanted to feel a man's eyes on me the way yours were, their desire almost burning my skin. We may die on this boat and there's so many things I want to experience before I die." She paused as if thinking, "Have you ever kissed a girl?" before I could answer or even shake my head she leant in closer and kissed me, the sea saltiness of her lips soon replaced by the warmth and softness of her probing tongue.I kissed her back and went to hold her tighter but Jemi broke the embrace, smiling and then blushing as she looked down at the bulge in my britches "Later, we haven't got much time before nightfall, sail or mast first?" I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head."I think it would be difficult to attach any sort of sail standing up, we'd probably fall overboard. We should attach it first, then pull it out when the mast is secured." Jemi agreed with my suggestion and retrieved a knife from the provisions box. She turned around and sat down between my legs, "Help me undo this dress."Sensing my hesitancy Jemi spoke again, "Come on Davy, we need this dress if we're going to make a sail and beside I'll still have my chemise on."Her voice faltered as she said this, as if suddenly remembering something, "What?" I asked.
Two virgin shipwreck survivors share a lifeboat and a few more discoveries in the Victorian-eraBy Big galute. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories. "Man the lifeboats! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"We had been at sea for ten days when the storm hit, our splendid vessel battered and broken into no more than firewood, all the passengers and crew seemingly lost.I came to, my legs dangling in the water and my arms and upper body atop some flotsam timbers. The sea around me was calm, with small pieces of wreckage everywhere. I tried to look around, the throbbing pain in my head and the low morning sun making it hard to focus; no one to be seen, just me.I pulled myself up onto the driftwood, too tired to think, my mind too blurred to do anything other than curl up and sleep.Davy, Davy Arthur that's me, eighteen years old and on my first ship. I'd grown up by the Thames, my father worked on the tugs but died when I was young. It was in my blood and I'd always dreamt of being at sea, then my mother died and I got a job as a stoker on the SS Cadwallader, sailing to the new world. In other words, I assisted in tending the boiler furnace for this steam ship named for a Welsh king from centuries ago.The several months I spent shoveling coal into the furnace, reduced my once-stocky six foot frame by more than 2 inches around my waistline."Hello, Hello. Are you okay there, are you alive?"I tried to follow the voice, a ladies voice, young and a bit wispy & screechy as she shouted out to me, "Hello, I'm over here, can you see me?" I slowly turned my head and body to the left, maybe 3 rods away from me was a small wooden life boat, a damsel frantically waving her arms at me. I managed to raise one arm to let her know I was alive and she started to paddle with one oar, the boat turning sideways rather than towards me, then I think I passed out again."Hello, are you alright, can you move?" The voice was much closer now, kind and posh, like the ladies I had sometimes overheard in coming out of tearooms in London. The boat was now less than a fathom from me but I felt hardly able to move, all my strength needed to perch up on one elbow."I'll hold out the oar, see if you can grab it." The wispy voice directed.I used my free arm to grab it, then held on for dear life and found myself getting right up to the starboard, till a soft hand grasped my wrist. "You'll have to help me, I can't pull you in by myself. Can you get onto your knees?"I did as she said, and rolled up over the rail, then plonked myself onto the small lifeboat, almost tipping us as I did so. "Oh you poor thing, you're all cuts and bruises." As she said this she supported my head and offered water to my lips, "Drink slowly in case you get sick." Consciousness was a fleeting state, and I could not decipher reality from delirious dreams.I looked up at her pale lips and beautiful green eyes and wondered if she were an angel and I was dead; my thoughts slipping as my eyes closed; the ripping of material and my angel saying "We must cover you from the sun." being the last sounds I heard.I felt a wet cloth on my forehead and heard soothing words being spoken, the smiling face of my ‘angel' looking down at me as I opened my eyes."Hello again." Came her pleasant greeting. I think I smiled back and then tried to sit up"Take it easy, let me help you." She offered. I felt the wonderful softness of her body against mine as she set me upright.The spinning in my head slowed as I tried to focus and clear the fog in my brain; shipwreck, lifeboat, angel. "Do you remember going overboard and the ship sinking?" My angel asked.I shook my head, in the affirmative. "I think you must have banged your head pretty badly'” she assessed. “You have a nasty bruise on the side of it."I put my hand up and felt the tender area above my ear. "I think you have what Professor Gower refers to as a concussion, are you familiar with Professor Gower's work." I again shook my head in the negative."He's the eminent neurologist of our time. I think you should be okay in a day or two."I nodded, then asked; "What's your name, and are you an angel?"She looked taken-aback and then burst out laughing. "Oh my dear thing, no I'm not an angel and you are very much alive. My name's Jemima Fairweather but you may call me Jemi, all my friends do. What's your name?""Davy Arthur.""Nice to meet you Davy Arthur; & may I call you Davy?" I nodded to her. At that point I could care less what the skipper of the only lifeboat decided to call me."Now, how do we get out of this pickle." She asked, expecting me to be a seafaring expert.I followed her gaze as she looked around, nothing but water and us in a small wooden boat, no more than fifteen feet long. I looked around our boat; there were three small wooden boxes, only one rowing oar and Jemi, her elaborate bustle dress torn with several parts missing, and what looked like some of the dress material tied around her head.Seeing me stare, Jemi blushed slightly before explaining, "I lost my hat as I got into the boat and needed to cover my head from the sun, I used the rest of it to cover you."I became aware that I was wearing a sort of cloak over my shoulders, my vest nowhere to be seen and my already threadbare britches now even more tattered as they clung to my legs. Another small square of the dress was by my side and I guessed that that had covered my head."Thank you for rescuing me.""No need to thank me. Now tell me Davy, what did you do on board, do you know how to navigate?""I was a junior stoker, I don't know how to read charts and such but I know the tides on the Thames like the back of my hand."Jemi smiled sweetly. If she wasn't an angel then she was the most beautiful lady I had ever seen, her cheeks reddening as she caught my stare. "Well I've read a few books on navigation and if we can work out which way we need to go then maybe we can make a sail. Do you want something to eat?"I didn't know there was any food and must have looked confused, "I was put into the lifeboat first and then they handed down some boxes of provisions. As the other ladies went to get into the boat the ship listed badly and I broke away, soon after it sank." She looked as if she would cry."I'm very sorry for you if your husband or family were on board."She smiled, "No husband and my family are all in England. Actually if you promise not to tell anyone." She smiled wider as she looked around at the vast, empty sea, "that's why I'm here. My father wanted me to marry the horrid Marcus but I wanted to continue my education and become a scientist. My grandfather had left me an endowment for when I was twenty one, so I bought a ticket and ran away. I plan to attend university when I reach America." The sad look returned as she said this.Not wanting her to be sad I started telling her about myself, how I'd never been to school but enjoyed working on the tug and now wanted to see the world. How I'd courted Mary Deacy but when it had gotten serious I decided on the sea, before I settle down to marriage.She smiled, "So we're both running away." I nodded and smiled back"I think we have another few hours of sun before it gets dark. Cover your head and we'll eat something, then we'll see if we can make a sail." I hadn't a clue about how she planned on making a sail and was still a bit shook from the bang on the head. I knotted the dress material around my head and waited to see what food we had."If we ration ourselves I think we have enough food and water for three or four days, maybe more. It's mainly bread and some cured meat, also a little cheese which we should eat first." She opened one of the boxes and passed me some bread and cheese, trying to remember my manners I waited for her to start."Bon appétit." She declared, then took her first bite.Gently smiling at my puzzled look, Jemi said, "It means enjoy your meal, in French.""Bon appétit." I tried back.Jemi spoke rapidly as she ate "Where do you think our closest land is? I think we might be closer to the West Indies than we are to America. We should head north westerly; also I think there'll be more trading vessels in that direction, more chance of being rescued."I smiled at her enthusiasm and at her knowledge, "How are we going to make a sail?" I asked.She pointed at one of the benches in the boat, "That one has a hole in it, we can stand the oar up in it and use your belt to lash it tightly, if that works we'll use some of my dress to make a sail. As the sun goes down we'll know which way is west."She must have seen the worried look on my face, "Don't you think it'll work?" she asked."It's not that." I clarified."What then?" She said in a puzzled state.I went bright red, "My britches will fall down without my belt."Jemi tried but couldn't stop herself from laughing, "Oh Davy that's so funny, you'll still have your underpants on."I went even redder and Jemi realized, her own cheeks flushing. "You haven't got any underpants on, have you?"I shook my head, struggling to look at Jemi's smiling face, "Well we really need that belt, and I'll be down to my undergarments also."We finished the food in silence, Jemi smiling the whole time and I beginning to see the funny side of it and realizing that in the grand scheme of being stranded at sea, me losing my britches didn't matter. Worryingly, I found my penis beginning to twitch at the thought of it."How shall we do this,” Jemi implored; “Do you think we should fix the mast first or try and fashion a sail first?" As Jemi asked this she stood up and moved forward, the small boat instantly becoming unstable and beginning to rock "Well these ruddy boots will have to go for a start, I struggle to walk in them at the best of times, not alone balance on a small boat."She sat down and hiked her garments to her knees, giving me a delectable view of her stocking covered calf as she went about unfastening her boots. I quickly looked away as she caught me staring "Oh Davy you are funny, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of each other before we get off this boat." There was a slight mocking tone in her voice that I didn't like.Sensing my unease and embarrassment, Jemi continued in a softer tone "Davy, I want you to look at me." lifting my head I saw that her dress was still at her knees and Jemi was smiling at me, her beautiful face and eyes alive with merriment and mischief. She lifted her hem higher, parting her legs slightly as her fingers searched inside her chemise for the top of her stocking. I knew I should look away but couldn't, Jemi's fingers slowly rolling down her stocking and that first view of her gloriously soft, pale thighs. I think I may have stopped breathing, only Jemi's sigh bringing me back to life. Her cheeks had a high flush to them and her eyes appeared glazed as another deep breath escaped her soft lips, her legs parting once more as she felt for the other stocking.As she removed her stocking and lowered her dress Jemi looked straight at me, "Did you enjoy that?"I was in awe of her confidence and brazenness but found myself shocked, confused and upset at her forthrightness. "Miss, I may only be a stoker but please don't treat me as a fool."She moved closer and sat down in front of me, taking both my hands Jemi said, "Oh Davy I'm not treating you as a fool. I'm sorry if I shocked you but I've always wanted to feel a man's eyes on me the way yours were, their desire almost burning my skin. We may die on this boat and there's so many things I want to experience before I die." She paused as if thinking, "Have you ever kissed a girl?" before I could answer or even shake my head she leant in closer and kissed me, the sea saltiness of her lips soon replaced by the warmth and softness of her probing tongue.I kissed her back and went to hold her tighter but Jemi broke the embrace, smiling and then blushing as she looked down at the bulge in my britches "Later, we haven't got much time before nightfall, sail or mast first?" I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head."I think it would be difficult to attach any sort of sail standing up, we'd probably fall overboard. We should attach it first, then pull it out when the mast is secured." Jemi agreed with my suggestion and retrieved a knife from the provisions box. She turned around and sat down between my legs, "Help me undo this dress."Sensing my hesitancy Jemi spoke again, "Come on Davy, we need this dress if we're going to make a sail and beside I'll still have my chemise on."Her voice faltered as she said this, as if suddenly remembering something, "What?" I asked.
Two virgin shipwreck survivors share a lifeboat and a few more discoveries in the Victorian-eraBy Big galute. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories. "Man the lifeboats! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"We had been at sea for ten days when the storm hit, our splendid vessel battered and broken into no more than firewood, all the passengers and crew seemingly lost.I came to, my legs dangling in the water and my arms and upper body atop some flotsam timbers. The sea around me was calm, with small pieces of wreckage everywhere. I tried to look around, the throbbing pain in my head and the low morning sun making it hard to focus; no one to be seen, just me.I pulled myself up onto the driftwood, too tired to think, my mind too blurred to do anything other than curl up and sleep.Davy, Davy Arthur that's me, eighteen years old and on my first ship. I'd grown up by the Thames, my father worked on the tugs but died when I was young. It was in my blood and I'd always dreamt of being at sea, then my mother died and I got a job as a stoker on the SS Cadwallader, sailing to the new world. In other words, I assisted in tending the boiler furnace for this steam ship named for a Welsh king from centuries ago.The several months I spent shoveling coal into the furnace, reduced my once-stocky six foot frame by more than 2 inches around my waistline."Hello, Hello. Are you okay there, are you alive?"I tried to follow the voice, a ladies voice, young and a bit wispy & screechy as she shouted out to me, "Hello, I'm over here, can you see me?" I slowly turned my head and body to the left, maybe 3 rods away from me was a small wooden life boat, a damsel frantically waving her arms at me. I managed to raise one arm to let her know I was alive and she started to paddle with one oar, the boat turning sideways rather than towards me, then I think I passed out again."Hello, are you alright, can you move?" The voice was much closer now, kind and posh, like the ladies I had sometimes overheard in coming out of tearooms in London. The boat was now less than a fathom from me but I felt hardly able to move, all my strength needed to perch up on one elbow."I'll hold out the oar, see if you can grab it." The wispy voice directed.I used my free arm to grab it, then held on for dear life and found myself getting right up to the starboard, till a soft hand grasped my wrist. "You'll have to help me, I can't pull you in by myself. Can you get onto your knees?"I did as she said, and rolled up over the rail, then plonked myself onto the small lifeboat, almost tipping us as I did so. "Oh you poor thing, you're all cuts and bruises." As she said this she supported my head and offered water to my lips, "Drink slowly in case you get sick." Consciousness was a fleeting state, and I could not decipher reality from delirious dreams.I looked up at her pale lips and beautiful green eyes and wondered if she were an angel and I was dead; my thoughts slipping as my eyes closed; the ripping of material and my angel saying "We must cover you from the sun." being the last sounds I heard.I felt a wet cloth on my forehead and heard soothing words being spoken, the smiling face of my ‘angel' looking down at me as I opened my eyes."Hello again." Came her pleasant greeting. I think I smiled back and then tried to sit up"Take it easy, let me help you." She offered. I felt the wonderful softness of her body against mine as she set me upright.The spinning in my head slowed as I tried to focus and clear the fog in my brain; shipwreck, lifeboat, angel. "Do you remember going overboard and the ship sinking?" My angel asked.I shook my head, in the affirmative. "I think you must have banged your head pretty badly'” she assessed. “You have a nasty bruise on the side of it."I put my hand up and felt the tender area above my ear. "I think you have what Professor Gower refers to as a concussion, are you familiar with Professor Gower's work." I again shook my head in the negative."He's the eminent neurologist of our time. I think you should be okay in a day or two."I nodded, then asked; "What's your name, and are you an angel?"She looked taken-aback and then burst out laughing. "Oh my dear thing, no I'm not an angel and you are very much alive. My name's Jemima Fairweather but you may call me Jemi, all my friends do. What's your name?""Davy Arthur.""Nice to meet you Davy Arthur; & may I call you Davy?" I nodded to her. At that point I could care less what the skipper of the only lifeboat decided to call me."Now, how do we get out of this pickle." She asked, expecting me to be a seafaring expert.I followed her gaze as she looked around, nothing but water and us in a small wooden boat, no more than fifteen feet long. I looked around our boat; there were three small wooden boxes, only one rowing oar and Jemi, her elaborate bustle dress torn with several parts missing, and what looked like some of the dress material tied around her head.Seeing me stare, Jemi blushed slightly before explaining, "I lost my hat as I got into the boat and needed to cover my head from the sun, I used the rest of it to cover you."I became aware that I was wearing a sort of cloak over my shoulders, my vest nowhere to be seen and my already threadbare britches now even more tattered as they clung to my legs. Another small square of the dress was by my side and I guessed that that had covered my head."Thank you for rescuing me.""No need to thank me. Now tell me Davy, what did you do on board, do you know how to navigate?""I was a junior stoker, I don't know how to read charts and such but I know the tides on the Thames like the back of my hand."Jemi smiled sweetly. If she wasn't an angel then she was the most beautiful lady I had ever seen, her cheeks reddening as she caught my stare. "Well I've read a few books on navigation and if we can work out which way we need to go then maybe we can make a sail. Do you want something to eat?"I didn't know there was any food and must have looked confused, "I was put into the lifeboat first and then they handed down some boxes of provisions. As the other ladies went to get into the boat the ship listed badly and I broke away, soon after it sank." She looked as if she would cry."I'm very sorry for you if your husband or family were on board."She smiled, "No husband and my family are all in England. Actually if you promise not to tell anyone." She smiled wider as she looked around at the vast, empty sea, "that's why I'm here. My father wanted me to marry the horrid Marcus but I wanted to continue my education and become a scientist. My grandfather had left me an endowment for when I was twenty one, so I bought a ticket and ran away. I plan to attend university when I reach America." The sad look returned as she said this.Not wanting her to be sad I started telling her about myself, how I'd never been to school but enjoyed working on the tug and now wanted to see the world. How I'd courted Mary Deacy but when it had gotten serious I decided on the sea, before I settle down to marriage.She smiled, "So we're both running away." I nodded and smiled back"I think we have another few hours of sun before it gets dark. Cover your head and we'll eat something, then we'll see if we can make a sail." I hadn't a clue about how she planned on making a sail and was still a bit shook from the bang on the head. I knotted the dress material around my head and waited to see what food we had."If we ration ourselves I think we have enough food and water for three or four days, maybe more. It's mainly bread and some cured meat, also a little cheese which we should eat first." She opened one of the boxes and passed me some bread and cheese, trying to remember my manners I waited for her to start."Bon appétit." She declared, then took her first bite.Gently smiling at my puzzled look, Jemi said, "It means enjoy your meal, in French.""Bon appétit." I tried back.Jemi spoke rapidly as she ate "Where do you think our closest land is? I think we might be closer to the West Indies than we are to America. We should head north westerly; also I think there'll be more trading vessels in that direction, more chance of being rescued."I smiled at her enthusiasm and at her knowledge, "How are we going to make a sail?" I asked.She pointed at one of the benches in the boat, "That one has a hole in it, we can stand the oar up in it and use your belt to lash it tightly, if that works we'll use some of my dress to make a sail. As the sun goes down we'll know which way is west."She must have seen the worried look on my face, "Don't you think it'll work?" she asked."It's not that." I clarified."What then?" She said in a puzzled state.I went bright red, "My britches will fall down without my belt."Jemi tried but couldn't stop herself from laughing, "Oh Davy that's so funny, you'll still have your underpants on."I went even redder and Jemi realized, her own cheeks flushing. "You haven't got any underpants on, have you?"I shook my head, struggling to look at Jemi's smiling face, "Well we really need that belt, and I'll be down to my undergarments also."We finished the food in silence, Jemi smiling the whole time and I beginning to see the funny side of it and realizing that in the grand scheme of being stranded at sea, me losing my britches didn't matter. Worryingly, I found my penis beginning to twitch at the thought of it."How shall we do this,” Jemi implored; “Do you think we should fix the mast first or try and fashion a sail first?" As Jemi asked this she stood up and moved forward, the small boat instantly becoming unstable and beginning to rock "Well these ruddy boots will have to go for a start, I struggle to walk in them at the best of times, not alone balance on a small boat."She sat down and hiked her garments to her knees, giving me a delectable view of her stocking covered calf as she went about unfastening her boots. I quickly looked away as she caught me staring "Oh Davy you are funny, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of each other before we get off this boat." There was a slight mocking tone in her voice that I didn't like.Sensing my unease and embarrassment, Jemi continued in a softer tone "Davy, I want you to look at me." lifting my head I saw that her dress was still at her knees and Jemi was smiling at me, her beautiful face and eyes alive with merriment and mischief. She lifted her hem higher, parting her legs slightly as her fingers searched inside her chemise for the top of her stocking. I knew I should look away but couldn't, Jemi's fingers slowly rolling down her stocking and that first view of her gloriously soft, pale thighs. I think I may have stopped breathing, only Jemi's sigh bringing me back to life. Her cheeks had a high flush to them and her eyes appeared glazed as another deep breath escaped her soft lips, her legs parting once more as she felt for the other stocking.As she removed her stocking and lowered her dress Jemi looked straight at me, "Did you enjoy that?"I was in awe of her confidence and brazenness but found myself shocked, confused and upset at her forthrightness. "Miss, I may only be a stoker but please don't treat me as a fool."She moved closer and sat down in front of me, taking both my hands Jemi said, "Oh Davy I'm not treating you as a fool. I'm sorry if I shocked you but I've always wanted to feel a man's eyes on me the way yours were, their desire almost burning my skin. We may die on this boat and there's so many things I want to experience before I die." She paused as if thinking, "Have you ever kissed a girl?" before I could answer or even shake my head she leant in closer and kissed me, the sea saltiness of her lips soon replaced by the warmth and softness of her probing tongue.I kissed her back and went to hold her tighter but Jemi broke the embrace, smiling and then blushing as she looked down at the bulge in my britches "Later, we haven't got much time before nightfall, sail or mast first?" I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head."I think it would be difficult to attach any sort of sail standing up, we'd probably fall overboard. We should attach it first, then pull it out when the mast is secured." Jemi agreed with my suggestion and retrieved a knife from the provisions box. She turned around and sat down between my legs, "Help me undo this dress."Sensing my hesitancy Jemi spoke again, "Come on Davy, we need this dress if we're going to make a sail and beside I'll still have my chemise on."Her voice faltered as she said this, as if suddenly remembering something, "What?" I asked.
We welcome comic writer and illustrator Sam Beck to hang out and talk about her transition from graphic design to comics, some of the many comics she's worked on, an upcoming comic that takes place in Ohio, and her fantasy trilogy, VERSE! VERSE is the story of a shared journey. Fife's plans to become an expert swordsmith are interrupted when he meets Neitya, an extraordinary girl unlike any he's ever met before...primarily because of her horns and amnesia. Worryingly, she seems akin to the monstrous Vel who roam the countryside. but when Fife is attacked by the Vel, Neitya saves him by using a skill thought to be forever lost to everyone: Magic. Fife and Neitya decide to journey together, seeking the guidance they need to unravel the mystery of her origin. Find out more and grab your physical copies of VERSE online at VerseComic.com! @SamBeckDraws SamBeck.ca CannedAirPodcast.com Twitter: @CannedAirPod Instagram: @Canned_Air If you'd like to show your support, you can either visit our Patreon page at Patreon.com/CannedAirPod or you can leave us a review on iTunes! Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's the first birthday of ‘That's Debatable!'. We hope listeners will indulge us as we take a moment at the beginning of today's episode to look back over one or two of the segments from the last twelve months that have particularly resonated. First up on today's main menu, however, is the ‘Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act', which will now be activated on April Fool's Day, nearly three years after it first received Royal Assent. The law creates new stirring up of hatred offences for protected characteristics including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity. As Dr Stuart Waiton of Abertay University has reported in the Scottish Mail on Sunday, “From Section 4 of the Act itself, we find that saying something a ‘reasonable person' would consider ‘insulting' could be enough to see the long arm of the law reach into your living room”. He goes on to say, “What we are witnessing is a new type of authoritarianism – one that is clothed in the language of care and protection”. We continue with a discussion of Labour's proposed Hate Crime Action Plan announced by Yvette Cooper. Worryingly, the proposal risks bringing back far more frequent recording of Non-Crime Hate Incidents (‘NCHI'), this after all the effort we have expended in getting these expunged from the records of people who have simply expressed a controversial view in the public square. We finish with a brief discussion of the latest report from Hope Not Hate, which focuses on what it calls the new ‘Radical Right'. This phenomenon allegedly “differs from the traditional far right in that it advocates an illiberal democracy rather than overthrow of the system itself”. Rather ludicrously, this leads to a document that lists senior Tories such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, John Redwood and Iain Duncan Smith in Section 3, its ‘Radical Right Feature'. That's Debatable!' is edited by Jason Clift.
As reported in the Telegraph and in detail on our website, University College London (UCL) has now launched an investigation into its decision to ban academic and FSU member Michelle Shipworth from teaching a “provocative” course involving China in order to protect its commercial interests. The twists and turns in the story are quite breathtaking and include the startling moment when a UCL professor admits, “I have no idea who J.S. Mill is”. The whole drama is recounted today by Ben who has been involved in the case since Michelle first contacted the FSU for help. We also discuss a new report by Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens that blows the whistle on so-called anti-blasphemy extremism in the UK. The Times explains that the report was first commissioned by the government's counterextremism chief and exposes links between activists at the forefront of recent protests in the UK and an extremist Islamist political party in Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). TLP was temporarily banned in Pakistan because of violent rallies and its support for mob execution of perceived blasphemers. Worryingly, the report reveals the emergence of a UK wing of TLP. As we discuss, it feels very late in the day for us to be waking up to this threat. Anti-blasphemy extremism is an affront to British values and is bad news for us all, but perhaps especially for our most vulnerable Muslim groups, such as the Ahmadis. ‘That's Debatable!' is edited by Jason Clift.
As the famous quote from Sun Tzu's Art of War goes, "rapidity is the essence of war" (兵之情主速), and while the original context behind this adage was more tactical in nature, advocating the use of rapid manoeuvres to dislocate the enemy, it is also reflective of one of the most desired outcomes in war - a swift and decisive victory. In the same military treatise, Sun Tzu strongly admonished against carelessly resorting to war, highlighting the great strain it places on the state. By extension, if there must be war, it should be kept as brief as possible. Of course, defining an ideal duration is subjective, but the point is that the benefits to be gained through war diminish with time. This is especially true for small states, which have relatively humbler means compared to their larger counterparts. Indeed, this practical reality is reflected in the mission statement of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) which articulates clearly its intent to achieve a swift and decisive victory in the event of war. Yet, recent conflicts such as the ongoing Russian-Ukraine War and the latest Israel-Hamas war highlight significant challenges toward attaining this strategic ideal. The former will soon enter its third year with no clear end in sight while the latter continues to witness fierce fighting in the Gaza strip more than two months since the commencement of Operation Iron Swords, Israel's military response to Hamas' 7 October surprise attack. To put this in context, the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War, two of Israel's most significant military campaigns since independence, did not last more than a month combined. Is the notion of a swift and decisive victory then still feasible in the context of modern warfare, or is it an unattainable ideal? Keeping Wars Short The appeal for states to resolve military conflicts expediently is understandable given the costly nature of war today in terms of both men and material. For example, the latest estimated military losses suffered by Ukraine since February 2022 in its ongoing war with Russia range from between 25,000 to 70,000 dead - a staggering number for a military that by the best estimates started out with only about 196,000 active personnel and 900,000 in reserve. This does not even factor in the number of wounded and war material lost. Then there is the collateral damage, with many Ukrainian cities destroyed in the fighting and millions of citizens displaced. Ukraine's economy has likewise suffered because of the war, with its gross domestic product (GDP) falling by 29.1% in just the first year. For smaller states, such costs would be simply unsustainable and there is thus even greater impetus to attain a conclusive military outcome in the shortest period possible. With relatively scarcer resources and a lack of strategic depth inherent to having a smaller physical size, entanglements in prolonged campaigns or costly wars of attrition are far from ideal. Victories in such conflicts are pyrrhic at best while defeat can be fatal to the state's long-term vitality, leaving it vulnerable to the predations of opportunistic aggressors. Furthermore, the political nature of modern warfare means that the longer a war lasts, the more difficult it is to sustain public and international support, forcing policy makers to settle for a compromised and possibly disadvantageous peace. Already, there are calls for Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war, bearing in mind that it would likely mean surrendering much of the territory it has thus far lost. Worryingly, such calls have been accompanied by a dangerous faltering of the external military aid that is so essential to Ukraine's war effort. Similarly, the calls for Israel to rein it its ongoing offensive in Gaza are becoming increasingly vociferous despite its desire to seek a more decisive outcome in the field. This is why Israel's strategic doctrine has historically favoured speedy operations and short wars, noting the possibility of intervention by both reg...
Zach is joined by Sam Beck, the author and artist of the fantasy graphic novel trilogy, Verse, from Vault Comics!Together Sam and Zach talk the story and characters of Verse, what it's like to create your own world and the stories within it, and also Sam's tale of leaving her job as a graphic designer to make comics. And so much more!Like...a lot more! So many nerdy topics!The story of Verse: "VERSE is the story of a shared journey. What draws us back to stories like these isn't the promise of adventure or the fantastical things you unearth. It's getting to see how each character grows and develops. How their bonds are formed and tested over and over again. And when paths diverge, as they often do, seeing how they manage to find a way back to each other.Fife's plans to become an expert swordsmith are interrupted when he meets Neitya, an extraordinary girl unlike any he's ever met before...primarily because of her horns and amnesia. Worryingly, she seems akin to the monstrous Vel who roam the countryside. but when Fife is attacked by the Vel, Neitya saves him by using a skill thought to be forever lost to everyone: Magic. Fife and Neitya decide to journey together, seeking the guidance they need to unravel the mystery of her origin."---------------------------------------------------Get into all of Sam Beck's work!Instagram and Twitter!Visit Sam's personal website!Read and buy Verse here!---------------------------------------------------Check out Dreampass and all their killer tracks on Spotify!---------------------------------------------------Join the Patreon to help us keep the lights on, and internet connected! https://www.patreon.com/tctwl---------------------------------------------------Listen to my other podcast!TFD: NerdcastAnd I am also part of the team over at...I Read Comic Books!---------------------------------------------------Want to try out all the sweet gigs over on Fiverr.com? Click on the link below and sign up!https://go.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=323533&brand=fiverrcpa---------------------------------------------------Follow on Instagram!The Comics That We LoveFollow on Tiktok!The Comics that We LoveFollow on Twitter!@Z_Irish_Red
News
FOLLOW UP: PARIS VOTES TO CHARGE EXTRA FOR HEAVY CARSJust under six percent of eligible Parisians voted on charging extra for non resident parking permitted heavier vehicles, with 54.6% voting for this. Therefore, internal combustion engined cars (ICE) weighing over 1.6 tonnes and electric vehicles weighing over 2 tonnes, will be charged extra. Click here to read a misleadingly headlined article from The Guardian that is an example of some of the pathetic reporting on this matter. FOLLOW UP: LITHIA TAKEOVER PENDRAGONLithia, the US based firm, has finally taken over the motor retail group, Pendragon. This makes Lithia the second biggest retailer in the UK, ahead of Arnold Clark but behind Sytner. You can read more by clicking this AMOnline article link here. JANUARY 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESSMMT has released the January 2024 new car registration figures. They are up on 2023, but still down on the Before Times. Fleet is doing a lot of the heavy lifting, with Private down once again. Worryingly, in the first month of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, the battery electric vehicle (BEV) share is only 14.7%, well below the 22% required from each manufacturer. Click here to read an interesting article from Tristan Young in Broker News, which hints that the figures could have been even worse. For the SMMT article and detail, click this link here. RENAULT CANCELS IPO FOR EV DIVISION AMPERERenault has confirmed that they will not separate their electric vehicle division, Ampere, and list it on the stock exchange. The reasoning is that the market is “sluggish”, which has also been compounded with a slow down in EV uptake across Europe at the end of the year. The company is adamant that they are cash rich and their ambitions are not dependent on an IPO. If you wish to learn more, click this article link from Reuters here. VW PAUSES IPO OF BATTERY DIVISIONVolkswagen has paused proceeding with listing their battery division, PowerCo, with the EV market slowing in Europe. On top of that, they have not yet decided where their fourth battery factory will be located in Europe. Click this electrive article link to read more on the IPO situation. For the battery factory story, click this InsideEVs article link here. For the Autocar article on the subject of the stock market and EV companies, click this link here. VOLVO TO STOP FUNDING POLESTARAmongst the detail of Volvo's 2023 financial results, they announced that they will be ceasing to continue to fund Polestar and be focusing solely on their own projects. This could lead to Volvo selling their shares or Geely just buying more. They will continue to partner up over...
Earth Overshoot Day - the date when humanity exhausts nature's budget each year – fell on August 2 in 2023. Worryingly, that date is getting earlier every year. So, how do economies keep growing without draining the earth of its natural resources? One answer is the circular economy. For investors, it's a huge opportunity. In this show, analyst Joe Fernandes explores the circular economy as an investment theme with fund manager Jack Dempsey. RUNNING ORDER: 01:52 - Part one: what is the circular economy? 10:48 - Part two: how do economies grow and consume less? 25:44 - Part three: the $25 trillion opportunity NEW EPISODES: The Investor Download is available every Thursday and will be released at 1700 UK time. You can subscribe via Podbean or use this feed URL (https://schroders.podbean.com/feed.xml) in Apple Podcasts and other podcast players. GET IN TOUCH: mailto: Schroderspodcasts@schroders.com find us on Facebook send us a tweet: @Schroders using #investordownload READ MORE: Schroders.com/insights LISTEN TO MORE: schroders.com/theinvestordownload Important information. This information is not an offer, solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or to adopt any investment strategy. Any reference to sectors/countries/stocks/securities are for illustrative purposes only and not a recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument/securities or adopt any investment strategy. Any data has been sourced by us and is provided without any warranties of any kind. It should be independently verified before further publication or use. Third party data is owned or licenced by the data provider and may not be reproduced, extracted or used for any other purpose without the data provider's consent. Neither we, nor the data provider, will have any liability in connection with the third party data. Reliance should not be placed on any views or information in the material when taking individual investment and/or strategic decisions. The views and opinions contained herein are those of individual to whom they are attributed, and may not necessarily represent views expressed or reflected in other communications, strategies or funds. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amounts originally invested. Exchange rate changes may cause the value of any overseas investments to rise or fall. Past Performance is not a guide to future performance and may not be repeated. The forecasts included should not be relied upon, are not guaranteed and are provided only as at the date of issue. Our forecasts are based on our own assumptions which may change. Issued by Schroder Investment Management Limited, 1 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU. Registered No. 1893220 England. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Dubbed the superbug pandemic, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been recognised by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 public health threats facing humanity. Effective antibiotics underpin modern medicine and yet, it takes just two to three years for new antimicrobial medicines to become ineffective against superbugs. Worryingly, the innovation pipeline for new antibiotics is stagnating. An estimated 10 million people globally will die each year by 2050 from infections that can be readily treated today. To mark this year's World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, MTPConnect and its Australian Antimicrobial Resistance Network (AAMRNet), has launched the second of its Fighting Superbugs reports, Fighting Superbugs: Ensuring Australia is Ready to Combat the Rise of Drug Resistant Infections, prepared in response to the Australian Parliament's report, The New Frontier – Delivering better health for all Australians. The independent report developed by Evohealth presents nine recommendations, urging immediate action to enhance the availability of new antibiotics and equip the Australian healthcare system to fight the superbug pandemic. Hosts Caroline Duell and MTPConnect's Andrew Bowskill co-chair of the AAMRNet discuss AMR with two of the reports' authors - Former Chair of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee Emeritus Professor Lloyd Sansom, a renowned pharmacy academic, policy advisor and researcher and Renae Beardmore, Founder and Managing Director of specialist health advisory firm Evohealth and former Chief Pharmacist for the ACT. You can find the report on MTPConnect's website.
A new report by Buglife has found that half of the UK's most special species are at risk of global extinction. The report brings together knowledge on twenty invertebrate species which are endemic to Great Britain. Endemic species are those which are only found in Britain, and nowhere else in the world - they are the crown jewels of our biodiversity. They are species that we have an international responsibility to look after, to ensure that future generations can enjoy them. The twenty special species include the Celtic Woodlouse (Metatrichoniscoides celticus) which is only found in Wales and the West of England, the Lundy Cabbage Flea Beetle (Psylliodes luridipennis) particular to Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, and the Manx Shearwater Flea (Ceratophyllus fionnus) - which lives in the burrows of Manx Shearwater on the Island of Rum in Scotland. Worryingly, the review has found that over half of Britain's endemics are threatened with global extinction, and some may have already been lost forever. The Ivell's Sea Anemone (Edwardsia ivell) - an animal that inhabits coastal lagoons - has not been seen since 1983 and so may already be extinct. Across the country, planning developments threaten to destroy some of the last known habitats for species such as Fonseca's Seed Fly (Botanophila fonsecai), threatened by a golf course development in Scotland, or the Horrid Ground-weaver Spider (Nothophantes horridus), threatened by a housing development in Plymouth. Urgent action is required to prevent our endemic species from being lost forever. Further research and monitoring is needed to determine how and where these species survive. Many are so poorly known that we don't even have a photo of them. It is also vital that the important places for our threatened endemics are properly protected. The current protected area network doesn't sufficiently cover our most threatened species and many protected areas aren't managed with these special species in mind. Craig Macadam, Conservation Director at Buglife, and author of the report, said "Our report highlights some of Britain's lesser known wildlife. The high proportion of these special species at risk of extinction is really shocking. Extinction is forever, there is no turning back. The UK has an international responsibility to prevent the extinction of our endemic species. See more breaking stories here.
The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2: Dr. EJ Antoni—Economist & Research Fellow in The Heritage Foundation's Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to react to news that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.9% in the third quarter. What fueled economic growth, and is it sustainable? Worryingly, The Wall Street Journal notes that GDP growth was accompanied by a massive decline in savings rates. Plus, is $8.99 for cereal the latest symptom of inflation? You can read Dr. Antoni's latest editorial here: https://www.heritage.org/markets-and-finance/commentary/never-ending-inflation-thats-bidenomics-action Dr. Victoria Coates— Former Deputy National Security Advisor & the Vice President of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss reports that Israel Defense Forces have begun expanding their ground operations in Gaza. She also reacts to news that in response to drone attacks against U.S. troops, American F-16 fighter jets conducted two airstrikes against Iranian-backed military groups in Syria. Are things escalating between the U.S. and Iran? Dr. Coates is the author of “David's Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art.” You can find her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Davids-Sling-History-Democracy-Works/dp/1594037213 While appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) responded to Democrats referring to him as a “MAGA extremist”—explaining that they don't know him, politely asking them to give him a “chance to lead.”
The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (10/27/2023): 3:05pm- The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes: “The Justice Department's Crossfire Hurricane investigation is the fiasco that keeps on giving, and look no further than this week's revelations of abuse of power. The latest news is that Justice snooped on the Congressional investigators who dared to conduct oversight of its snooping on the 2016 Trump campaign. Numerous current and former congressional staffers have learned that Justice subpoenaed their personal phone and email records in 2017, likely under the pretext of a leak investigation. The targets included Republican and Democratic staffers in the Senate and House. They join staffers and Members of the House Intelligence Committee, who over the past two years said they were notified by Google or Apple that Justice seized their data. By our count, executive-branch prosecutors have now been caught fishing through the records of more than a dozen employees of the congressional branch.” You can read the full editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/department-of-justice-congress-spying-jason-foster-empower-oversight-f2d6235e?mod=opinion_lead_pos1 3:15pm- Brooke Singman of Fox News reports: “The FBI maintained more than 40 confidential human sources on various criminal matters related to the Biden family, including Joe Biden, dating back to his time as vice president, according to information obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley…Grassley learned that an FBI task force within the Washington Field Office sought to, and in some cases, successfully, shut down reporting and information from those sources by falsely discrediting the information as foreign disinformation. That effort ‘caused investigative activity to cease.'” You can read the full report here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-received-criminal-information-40-confidential-sources-joe-biden-hunter-jim-grassley 3:30pm- On Thursday, in response to drone attacks against U.S. troops, American F-16 fighter jets conducted two airstrikes against Iranian-backed military groups in Syria. While appearing on MSNBC, Defense Department Spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said of the strikes against Iranian proxies: “Hopefully they get the message loud and clear and will cease these attacks against our forces in Iraq and Syria.” 3:40pm- While appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) vowed to separate funding packages for Ukraine and Israel—explaining that House Republicans will find $14 billion in budgetary cuts and use that savings to provide Israel with the aid they've requested. 3:50pm- While walking to her Congressional office, far-left Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) was asked to condemn the actions of Hamas. Instead, Tlaib bizarrely accused the reporter of “dehumanizing Palestinians.” 4:05pm- Dr. EJ Antoni—Economist & Research Fellow in The Heritage Foundation's Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to react to news that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.9% in the third quarter. What fueled economic growth, and is it sustainable? Worryingly, The Wall Street Journal notes that GDP growth was accompanied by a massive decline in savings rates. Plus, is $8.99 for cereal the latest symptom of inflation? You can read Dr. Antoni's latest editorial here: https://www.heritage.org/markets-and-finance/commentary/never-ending-inflation-thats-bidenomics-action 4:30pm- Dr. Victoria Coates— Former Deputy National Security Advisor & the Vice President of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss reports that Israel Defense Forces have begun expanding their ground operations in Gaza. She also reacts to news that in response to drone attacks against U.S. troops, American F-16 fighter jets conducted two airstrikes against Iranian-backed military groups in Syria. Are things escalating between the U.S. and Iran? Dr. Coates is the author of “David's Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art.” You can find her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Davids-Sling-History-Democracy-Works/dp/1594037213 4:55pm- While appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) responded to Democrats referring to him as a “MAGA extremist”—explaining that they don't know him, politely asking them to give him a “chance to lead.” 5:00pm- Dr. Wilfred Reilly—Professor of Political Science at Kentucky State University & Author of “Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss South Park making fun of Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Disney for pandering to the far-left by making movies with “woke” narratives. Will Disney continue to frustrate audiences with bad remakes featuring forced political messaging? Plus, Princeton University students chant for the murdering of Israelis. When will prestigious universities finally stand up to the outlandish, anti-Semitic comments being made by their students and professors? You can pre-order Dr. Reilly's upcoming book here: https://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Liberal-Teacher-Told/dp/0063265974 5:40pm- Steven Shepard of Politico writes: “Democrats are about to find out how worried they need to be about Black voter support…President Joe Biden's approval rating with Black voters has dropped disproportionately compared with white voters, polls show, driving down his overall numbers. Last week's election of a Republican governor in Louisiana, the first in eight years, suggested diminished voter enthusiasm in the areas with the largest Black populations.” Could Black voters begin to align with the Republican party? You can read the full article here: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/21/democrats-black-voters-2024-00122846 6:05pm- Daniel Turner—Founder & Executive Director of Power the Future—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss how Biden Administration energy policies have had a negative impact on gas prices in America. If war in the Middle East escalates due to Iranian involvement, how high could oil prices climb? You can learn more about Power the Future here: https://powerthefuture.com/about-us/ 6:30pm- Matt defends his decision to forgo wine and instead drink Coca-Cola with pizza while in Italy. Rich continues to demand that he be fired immediately. 6:40pm- The U.N. General Assembly voted against a resolution that would have unequivocally condemned Hamas for the October 7th terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. It failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority.
“In war, truth is the first casualty” is perhaps one of the best known aphorisms about armed conflict. Information operations have long been conducted to influence or mislead military adversaries or civilian populations during war. However, the instantaneous transmission of information from any distance – through social media platforms and messaging apps – has changed the scale, speed, and reach of information operations. Today, generative artificial intelligence provides seemingly infinite possibilities to create misleading or dangerous content. In light of these developments, states (para. 33 and 57), humanitarians and human rights advocates have voiced concern that spreading harmful information risks inciting violence, causing distress, increasing vulnerabilities, denying access to essential services, and may also undermine or disrupt humanitarian operations. Worryingly, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Expression has found that in today's armed conflicts, disinformation and hate speech are “increasing[ly] focus[ed] on civilian populations rather than military personnel”. In light of this reality, we must recall that there is a red line between an information operation that complies with international humanitarian law and one that violates it. In this post, ICRC Legal Advisers Tilman Rodenhäuser and Samit D'Cunha explain some of the legal boundaries of information operations under international humanitarian law (IHL) through four examples. Limits on information operations under public international law as applicable outside armed conflict, or under human rights law during armed conflict, are not examined in this post. Read the full blog post here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/
Am I the Genius? on
Am I the Genius? on
FNB's Chantal Marx on Adcock Ingram results as we all get flu again. Economist Elize Kruger talks BankservAfrica's July take-home pay which shows some relief to consumers. Dr Stuart Theobald from Krutham talks the changing trends in research.
How We're Wired season 1's final episode will be with you next week, but in the meantime, why not check out our sister podcast Ocean Matters? Our ocean is the earth's defining feature. But the blue of our blue planet is so much more than just a colour. It is rich with life and plays an important role in keeping our planet stable and healthy. Worryingly, we are seeing our ocean change, for the worse. In Ocean Matters, you can join oceanographer and physicist Dr Helen Czerski as she meets the scientists who are working to save our ocean and marine life in one of the most remote parts of our planet. Here you can listen to a clip as she takes us on a journey to the deep sea… How We're Wired and Ocean Matters are Fresh Air productions for The Bertarelli Foundation. Follow now so you never miss an episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, we dive into the tricky waters of loneliness while away at uni and young teenagers and alcohol through a parent's lens. Drawing on our own, sometimes messy, past experiences with alcohol and parenting, we share some real life experiences that have helped shape our parenting style.Want your question featured in a future episode? Submit it now at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScAPpuVkZ955adVXxu1jTPE7lWhko24wf4n-ByCIkjZkaLvnA/viewform Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There's nothing more frustrating than wanting to lose weight and not being able to, which is why today, I'm going to teach you about the real cause of weight loss resistance and HOW TO FIX IT! Being able to LOSE 15 LBS IN 21 DAYS without having to count a single calorie may sound too good to be true but it's possible! Today's video isn't about changing how much you eat or about learning how to exercise, or exercising more. It's about your hormones and understanding how your metabolism works on a cellular level. There's a lot of things in our diets that have been marketed as being “good” for you that really aren't. I'll expose those things today and present you with dietary exchanges; what you can eat and cook with instead of what you've been using. You'll be surprised at how simple it really is to switch out one thing for another and.. you'll see that you even feel better! Perhaps not your goal at first but these dietary swaps will help you reduce inflammation and optimize your hormones and WEIGHT LOSS will be the natural side effect of those changes. You're about to make your cells very happy. Are you up for the 21 day challenge?
The 2022 Security and Exchange Commission's cyber security proposals are expected to kick in the next few weeks. However, are the boardrooms ready? Worryingly, some reports suggest that the majority should be having last minute panic attacks. In this edition of Reimagining Cyber Extra, Rob Aragao and Stan will be addressing discussing what corporate boards and CISOs need to be doingSome key quotes:"There's this vernacular that gets thrown around from a technology perspective that doesn't always jive to what the business or a board member for that matter is understanding""The rule is designed to compel boards that haven't been taking cybersecurity seriously to do so. But I do think it's also created some trepidation or some concern between the board of directors and those that are in the front lines, the CISOs or the directors of information security. I think it puts some tension on those relationships. And some uncertainties as far as who's going to actually do that reporting effectively""The role of the CISO is going to change even further than what we've seen. As an example, the CISO reports to the CIO in some cases, and in other cases it reports to other parts of the business. This is going to push it really, I would think, for most organizations to completely rethink where the CISO reporting structure is." "I hope [it brings] a greater understanding on the stresses and the pressures on the CISO and the information security organization and what they have to deal with every day. Hopefully the board will give them the resources they need. I'm not saying that they aren't funding security. Many times they are, but they need to take the actions to help build in that resilience into the organization. And hopefully they get enough awareness of the topic area and the understanding of the vocabulary to be able to have true conversations about where to best fill in those gaps."Rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts.Share the show with others in the cybersecurity world.Get in touch via reimaginingcyber@gmail.com
Events are picking up pace rapidly on the world stage and I've asked my frequent guest Brandon Weichert to join me to help explain what's happening. Brandon, geopolitical analyst and publisher of The Weichert Report, is among the best at connecting the dots globally with his bold and unnerving forecasts. Among the many issues brewing that we get into: Russia is amassing up to 400 thousand troops on Ukraine's borders for a winter offensive, objectives unknown. Nuclear escalation looms. The Chinese sent a satellite balloon hovering ominously across the entire United States as it presumably took surveillance photos. Strangely, the Biden Administration, which is all in to defend the borders of Ukraine, refused to protect America's own airspace. Why wasn't it shot down sooner? Our southern border with Mexico has been left wide open for over two years. The United States' enemies - and its friends - have watched us admit almost five million undocumented aliens, whose purposes and destinations are unknown. South Korea's president is having a public meltdown about no longer having reliable American nuclear protection. He has reason to be concerned. Joe Biden, just two weeks ago, declared that “global warming is the single most existential threat to humanity we have ever faced, including nuclear weapons.” Did the way Biden fail to confront the Chinese balloon sooner than he did reflect this priority? Brandon conjectures: “A political decision in the White House was made to let it just pass by quietly because the Biden administration didn't want to rock the boat going into their global warming negotiations with China. They worried that if they shot it down, that the Chinese would freak out and leave the meeting before anything could get done”. “If it wasn't for a local Montana newspaper, we wouldn't have known about any of this. This would have been just another conspiracy theory on the internet.” With Ukraine, United States strategic objectives could have been the preservation of the Ukrainian core in the western portion of the country and a speedy end to the fighting. Instead, the Biden administration continues to insist that Ukraine drive the Russians completely out. If this means sending in U.S. combat jets and long range missiles, the massive risk is that this widens the war, triggering our NATO agreements, leading to a general - and possibly nuclear - war in Europe. The German general von Clausewitz told us that “war is an extension of politics through other means.” Well, politics and our politicians seem to have gone mad. Worryingly, the United States is playing a weaker and weaker hand. Brandon warns that “America's political and cultural system is collapsing here at home. The rest of the world sees that. Especially in China, they talk about this all the time. China believes the Americans are declining.” There's a lot to unpack in this episode. Please listen in.
Tyler Tachman joins IU Insider Zach Osterman to discuss what's ailing Indiana, which restarted league play with a pair of defense-optional defeats that leave the Hoosiers' conference-title ambitions dwindling already.
The government is being urged to support a campaign that hopes to tackle the £1.5bn engineering skills shortage by placing greater emphasis on how engineering can be taught in primary and secondary schools.Tonight, Kevin Burke education consultant, ex-Department of Education and author of the IET's new report Engineering Kids' Futures will head to a Parliamentary event at Westminster to remind MPs of the vital importance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects play in supporting the UK economy.It follows an open letter to the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson from Professor Danielle George last year that argued the key to delivering on the Government's ambitions and reinforcing the UK's position as a science and technology superpower relied on future generations of engineers.The engineering economy accounts for 26% of all UK employment and adds an estimated £645bn to the UK's annual economy (source: Royal Academy of Engineering November 2022). It is estimated there is a shortfall of over 173,000 workers in the STEM sector: an average of 10 unfilled roles per business in the UK. What is more, 49% of engineering businesses are experiencing difficulties in the skills available to them when trying to recruit (source: IET Skills Survey 2021).David Lakin, Head of Education at The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) believes the engineering skills shortage can only be filled if the UK generates an estimated 59,000 engineers annually. Lakin argues a simple solution to the problem is to “grow your own” workforce with an emphasis on the development of engineering and skills starting at the primary school level, feeding through into secondary education and beyond.It comes as new research from the IET has found just how important the school system is to finding the next generation of engineers with 59% of Dads and 53% of Mums relying solely on the school curriculum for teaching their children about engineering and technology with a further 61% saying they would struggle to explain to their children which careers require engineering and technology qualifications.Furthermore, 64% of parents admit it's been more than ten years since they learnt about engineering or technology so don't feel they are qualified to pass their knowledge on and 38% also don't think that the current school curriculum is adequately preparing their children for all available career options.In fact, 69% feel the curriculum doesn't teach real-life skills with engineering and technology (39%) topping the list of subjects that leaves their children least prepared for a career. 69% of parents say it's essential that primary school children are exposed to engineering and technology to spark interest from a young age with a quarter (24%) of parents saying there's not enough emphasis on Science, Maths and English.Worryingly, 60% of parents also believe schools don't do enough to encourage young girls to consider engineering and technology career options.The IET is now offering the Government some key recommendations to make sure potential scientists, engineers and technicians are not lost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sunday Church attendance across Australia is down, but decline has slowed.The Australian National Church Life Survey results are out. Worryingly the key newcomer indicator has dropped to 5.7%.While evangelism is down, engagement in church based service groups is up. Mid week small groups are up. We take a hard look under the bonnet of the top level results.Ruth Powell is National Director for the National Church Life Survey. Peter Mayrick is with Partners in Ministry and the Center for Ministry Development at Sydney's Moore Theological College and is a board member of the National Church Life Survey.http://www.the pastorsheart.net/podcast/national-church-life-survey***As The Pastor's Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.To support The Pastor's Heart - http://patreon.com/thepastorsheart Support the show
With many of us eager to make our homes and gardens Summer ready, people need to keep vigilant on the signs of a dodgy deal, especially with crooked invoices and rogue scammers on the loose.The two crimes - one old and one new – form the two sides of the same coin when conning people out of their hard-earned money for work that is either done shoddily or in many cases not at all.Although many of us do our research when it comes to looking for tradespeople – 65% take recommendations from family and friends, women are more like to do so than men (75%), 46% use websites like check-a-trade and 43% look at reviews, just under one in ten (9%) would choose a tradesperson based on the lowest price and nearly half (44%) know someone or have had someone do work on their home that was such as poor standard they had to get it fixed. More than half of people (54%) have had someone knock on their door offering to do work on their home according to new research from the Nationwide Building Society.Of those that did have to fix some unacceptable work, it cost, on average, £4,514 for kitchens, £3,300 for bathrooms and £2,861 for electrical work. Surprisingly, 15% of people thought did nothing about it.Worryingly, there is a lack of knowledge when it comes to spotting these fraudsters with 35% not knowing they could intercept genuine emails or texts, and 21% of people authorising payments even when the bank has flagged it looks suspicious – rising to 36% of 16-24s, with 34% admitting to having been left out of pocket.Rogue Trader catcher, Dominic Littlewood, has joined forces with Nationwide Building Society to explore people's lack of knowledge and awareness around Rogue Trade scammers and point out how to look out for those dodgy deals to stop more people from being tricked in the future. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
Most of us think of polio as a disease consigned to the past, or isolated outbreaks in developing countries. But now New York has a confirmed adult case of polio, along with virus fragments detected in sewage outside the nations largest city. In London about 900,000 children in London are to be offered a booster dose of a polio vaccine after virus fragments were found in sewage, however, no active cases have been reported. Worryingly, routine childhood immunisations dropped dramatically globally during the Covid-19 pandemic. Immunisation coverage at six months of age has fallen in New Zealand from a high of around 80 percent in early 2020 to 67 percent by June 2022, and as low as 45 percent for Māori. World Health Organistion spokesperson for polio eradication Oliver Rosenbauer spoke to Guyon Espiner.
In this episode Alyas Karmani (Imam, Therapist, Activist) and I discuss the oft misunderstood psychological phenomenon of addiction. Many of us are unaware of what addiction actually is, why it happens and how its impacting our communities. Worryingly society's attitude to addiction is leading to already traumatised vulnerable people being ostracised, neglected and plunged further into despair. In our conversation we cover a host of issues starting with what addiction is, how and why it manifests, who's susceptible to it, whether or not addicts are responsible for their behaviour, how addiction presents in the Mulsim community, its long term implications and what the solution might be. If you've ever found yourself mindlessly scrolling through your social media feeds this ones for you. (So thats everyone then :) Please get in touch with any comments/feedback/suggestions or if you simply have a story you'd like to share: E: divorcedmuslimdad@gmail.com Tw/In: @moiazam All messages are handled with care :)
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Resources I send to AI researchers about AI safety, published by Vael Gates on June 14, 2022 on LessWrong. This is my masterlist of resources I send AI researchers who are mildly interested in learning more about AI safety. I pick and choose which resources to send based on the researcher's interests. The resources at the top of the email draft are the ones I usually send, and I add in later sections as seems useful. I'll also sometimes send The Alignment Problem, Human-Compatible, or The Precipice.I've also included a list of resources that I had students read through for the course Stanford first-year course "Preventing Human Extinction", though I'd most recommend sufficiently motivated students read AGISF Technical Agenda. These reading choices are drawn from the various other reading lists; this is not original in any way, just something to draw from if you're trying to send someone some of the more accessible resources. There's a decent chance that I'll continue updating this post as time goes on, since my current use case is copy-pasting sections of this email to interested parties. Note that "I" and "Vael" are mentioned a few times, so you'll need to edit a bit if you're copy-pasting. Happy to make any edits and take suggestions. [Crossposted to the EA Forum] List for AI researchers Hello X, Very nice to speak to you! As promised, some resources on AI alignment. I tried to include a bunch of stuff so you could look at whatever you found interesting. Happy to chat more about anything, and thanks again. Introduction to the ideas "The case for taking AI seriously as a threat to humanity" by Kelsey Piper (Vox) The Most Important Century and specifically "Forecasting Transformative AI" by Holden Karnofsky, blog series and podcast. Most recommended for timelines. A short interview from Prof. Stuart Russell (UC Berkeley) about his book, Human-Compatible (the other main book in the space is The Alignment Problem, by Brian Christian, which is written in a style I particularly enjoyed) Technical work on AI alignment Empirical work by DeepMind's Safety team on alignment Empirical work by Anthropic on alignment Talk (and transcript) by Paul Christiano describing the AI alignment landscape in 2020 Podcast (and transcript) by Rohin Shah, describing the state of AI value alignment in 2021 Alignment Newsletter and ML Safety Newsletter Unsolved Problems in ML Safety by Hendrycks et al. (2022) Alignment Research Center Interpretability work aimed at alignment: Elhage et al. (2021) and Olah et al. (2020) AI Safety Resources by Victoria Krakovna (DeepMind) and Technical Alignment Curriculum Introduction to large-scale risks from humanity, including "existential risks" that could lead to the extinction of humanity The first third of this book summary (copied below) of the book "The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity" by Toby Ord Chapter 3 is on natural risks, including risks of asteroid and comet impacts, supervolcanic eruptions, and stellar explosions. Ord argues that we can appeal to the fact that we have already survived for 2,000 centuries as evidence that the total existential risk posed by these threats from nature is relatively low (less than one in 2,000 per century). Chapter 4 is on anthropogenic risks, including risks from nuclear war, climate change, and environmental damage. Ord estimates these risks as significantly higher, each posing about a one in 1,000 chance of existential catastrophe within the next 100 years. However, the odds are much higher that climate change will result in non-existential catastrophes, which could in turn make us more vulnerable to other existential risks. Chapter 5 is on future risks, including engineered pandemics and artificial intelligence. Worryingly, Ord puts the risk of engineered pandemics causing an existential ...
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Resources I send to AI researchers about AI safety, published by Vael Gates on June 14, 2022 on The Effective Altruism Forum. This is my masterlist of resources I send AI researchers who are mildly interested in learning more about AI safety. I pick and choose which resources to send based on the researcher's interests. The resources at the top of the email draft are the ones I usually send, and I add in later sections as seems useful. I'll also sometimes send The Alignment Problem, Human-Compatible, or The Precipice.I've also included a list of resources that I had students read through for the course Stanford first-year course "Preventing Human Extinction", though I'd most recommend sufficiently motivated students read AGISF Technical Agenda. These reading choices are drawn from the various other reading lists; this is not original in any way, just something to draw from if you're trying to send someone some of the more accessible resources. There's a decent chance that I'll continue updating this post as time goes on, since my current use case is copy-pasting sections of this email to interested parties. Note that "I" and "Vael" are mentioned a few times, so you'll need to edit a bit if you're copy-pasting. Happy to make any edits and take suggestions. [Crossposted to LessWrong] List for AI researchers Hello X, Very nice to speak to you! As promised, some resources on AI alignment. I tried to include a bunch of stuff so you could look at whatever you found interesting. Happy to chat more about anything, and thanks again. Introduction to the ideas "The case for taking AI seriously as a threat to humanity" by Kelsey Piper (Vox) The Most Important Century and specifically "Forecasting Transformative AI" by Holden Karnofsky, blog series and podcast. Most recommended for timelines. A short interview from Prof. Stuart Russell (UC Berkeley) about his book, Human-Compatible (the other main book in the space is The Alignment Problem, by Brian Christian, which is written in a style I particularly enjoyed) Technical work on AI alignment Empirical work by DeepMind's Safety team on alignment Empirical work by Anthropic on alignment Talk (and transcript) by Paul Christiano describing the AI alignment landscape in 2020 Podcast (and transcript) by Rohin Shah, describing the state of AI value alignment in 2021 Alignment Newsletter and ML Safety Newsletter Unsolved Problems in ML Safety by Hendrycks et al. (2022) Alignment Research Center Interpretability work aimed at alignment: Elhage et al. (2021) and Olah et al. (2020) AI Safety Resources by Victoria Krakovna (DeepMind) and Technical Alignment Curriculum Introduction to large-scale risks from humanity, including "existential risks" that could lead to the extinction of humanity The first third of this book summary (copied below) of the book "The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity" by Toby Ord Chapter 3 is on natural risks, including risks of asteroid and comet impacts, supervolcanic eruptions, and stellar explosions. Ord argues that we can appeal to the fact that we have already survived for 2,000 centuries as evidence that the total existential risk posed by these threats from nature is relatively low (less than one in 2,000 per century). Chapter 4 is on anthropogenic risks, including risks from nuclear war, climate change, and environmental damage. Ord estimates these risks as significantly higher, each posing about a one in 1,000 chance of existential catastrophe within the next 100 years. However, the odds are much higher that climate change will result in non-existential catastrophes, which could in turn make us more vulnerable to other existential risks. Chapter 5 is on future risks, including engineered pandemics and artificial intelligence. Worryingly, Ord puts the risk of engineered pandemics causing...
Tony continues with his series on inheritance and safeguarding your estate for your family with this episode on why wills and power of attorney agreements can be vital. KEY TAKEAWAYS If you don’t create a will in readiness for your passing your estate could be inherited by someone you had not envisioned taking over your wealth and assets. The Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to appoint an attorney to make decisions about matters such as your medical care, where you live, your daily routine such as what you eat and what you wear, whom you have contact with and whether you have life sustaining treatment only if you have given express permission. The Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney gives your attorney the power to do things such as buy and sell your property, pay your bills, collect your pension or benefits, and manage your bank accounts. Only 13% of adults have written a living will which is used to provide advanced decisions on refusing medical treatments if you become terminally ill or lose the ability to make decisions for yourself. BEST MOMENTS ‘Worryingly 3 in 5 UK adults have not written a will and that’s research carried out by Canada Life.’ ‘What we need to remember is that a will can provide peace of mind that not only will the correct beneficiaries benefit from an estate distribution, but also that it is done as efficiently as possible at such a difficult time.’ ‘A will can help reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax that might be payable on the value of a property and monies that you leave behind.’ VALUABLE RESOURCES Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Trust and Estate Planning Specialists - Kinherit Tony Talks Wealth - https://omny.fm/shows/tony-talks-wealth Sign Up Now For Exclusive Tony Talks Wealth Content at https://www.patreon.com/TTWealth ABOUT THE HOST Tony Thomas is a published author, one of the top financial advisers in the UK voted for by his clients, the first Chartered Financial Planner in the UK, Independent Financial Adviser, Mentor, Trainer. Life Planner and Money Coach. He is also a pension and investment specialist as well as the regional Chartered Champion for South Wales. “Live For Today, Invest For Tomorrow” CONTACT Tony’s official website: https://ttwealth.co.uk/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TonyThomas.IFA/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonythomas2/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Thirty years ago, the United States, Europe, and Japan manufactured 90 percent of the global supply of the key ingredients for the world's medicines and vitamins. No more. China is now the largest global supplier. Millions of Americans are taking prescription and over-the-counter drugs made in, or with critical ingredients from China and they don't know it and neither do many of their doctors. This is becoming a grave concern. As we've seen, first with the global pandemic driven lockdowns and now, with the Russia/Ukraine war, the world's economy has acute supply chain interdependencies. And for America, among the top of our concerns, has to be our dependence on an increasingly hostile China for our pharmaceutical drugs. Sharing my concern and joining me on this episode are my returning guests: Rosemary Gibson, author of “China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America's Dependence on China for Medicine” And Frank Gaffney, founder of the Center for Security Policy, Vice Chairman of the Committee for the Present Danger: China and who hosts Securing America with Frank Gaffney on the Real America's Voice Network Some highlights: The FDA not only approves new drugs, but also inspects drug manufacturing plants. Worryingly, that's happening less and less with our drugs made in China. In the spring of 2020, the US was just weeks away from not having the most basic medicines. Why? Our dependence on India, and in turn China. Is Congressional leadership so compromised by its ties to China that it is not willing to address our growing supply chain vulnerabilities? We're told we pay more for prescription drugs to cover pharma's huge domestic R&D costs. Pharma's solution? Move its R&D to “low cost” China, a move that makes America ever more vulnerable to the whims of the CCP. These are complicated and important issues. Worth a listen as we work to dig into what's at stake.
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
