Destiny ive been expecting your call

In 1980 an ecologist and an economist chose a refreshingly unacademic way to resolve their differences. They bet $1,000. Specifically, the bet was over the future price of five metals, but at stake was much more -- a view of the planet's ultimate limits, a vision of humanity's destiny. It was a bet between the Cassandra and the Dr. Pangloss of our era. They lead two intellectual schools -- sometimes called the Malthusians and the Cornucopians, sometimes simply the doomsters and the boomsters -- that use the latest in computer-generated graphs and foundation-generated funds to debate whether the world is getting better or going to the dogs. The argument has generally been as fruitless as it is old, since the two sides never seem to be looking at the same part of the world at the same time. Dr. Pangloss sees farm silos brimming with record harvests; Cassandra sees topsoil eroding and pesticide seeping into ground water. Dr. Pangloss sees people living longer; Cassandra sees rain … [Read more...] about Betting on the Planet

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Apple ’s subscription music streaming service , Apple Music, now has a new sibling, dedicated to classical music. Apple Music Classical has just gone live and is available to most Apple Music subscribers at no extra cost. If you have an individual, family or student subscription, then Classical is included. The only exception is Apple Music Voice Plan, which is the lower-priced version for users of the HomePod, for instance, which is entirely controlled by the user’s voice. Oliver Schusser, Apple’s VP of Apple Music and Beats, talked to The Independent earlier this month about the new venture. He told me, “At Apple, we love music. When we launched Apple Music, in the first few years, we were trying to really wrap our heads around how streaming works and what we should do with the product. But as it went along, we … [Read more...] about Apple Music Classical: iPhone maker launches new streaming service focused on orchestral music

Former President Donald Trump is facing a possible indictment in connection with his involvement in an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. Close attention is on the Manhattan grand jury's schedule in the case, with speculation growing that an indictment could come this week. However, in Florida the Palm Beach County state attorney said that people are reading too much into the grand jury's schedule. A Manhattan grand jury considering evidence related to Donald Trump 's alleged hush money payment to an adult film star won't meet Wednesday , which has generated online speculation about when a possible indictment could be issued. The former president has been investigated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in the case, which concerns a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels of $130,000 during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has denied all the allegations, including Daniels' claim that they had an … [Read more...] about Grand jury schedule sparks new speculation about Trump indictment

The caliber of the decisions leaders make is often the result of the quality of the information they have available to consider at the time. The value of this information is nearly entirely driven by the power of the questions they ask. Yet all too often what leaders actually ask people for, and what leaders think they ask people for are two different things. It is easy for leaders to let the pressure of time, the power of their position, or perception of their expertise negatively impact the effectiveness of their questions without ever realizing it. Anytime leaders ask a question based on what they want to say, they increase the risk of embarrassing their counterparts, asking questions with implied expected answers, destroying their own credibility, and exposing the fact that they haven't been listening. Which in turn causes their counterparts to protect themselves, question their leaders' motives, and withhold information. Great questions are predicated on what their … [Read more...] about Five Questions Leaders Typically Ask Incorrectly and How To Improve Them

Tech & Science Environmental Health Your skin is teeming with microbes. Millions of them. From the perspective of these tiny organisms, the surface of your body is their living, breathing habitat. This living layer is part of what's called the human microbiome—the collective genomes of all the "foreign" microorganisms that live in the human body—and research on it has exploded in recent years. But within microbiome research is a brand-new field that is just beginning to understand a stunning fact: Your microbiome extends beyond yourself, into the air around you. It hovers in a cloud around your body and leaves bits of itself on surfaces wherever you go. In short, you have an aura, except it isn't made of purplish light; it's your personal cloud of dead skin cells, fungus and many, many microbes. And researchers are learning to be able to identify you by it. "You know the dirty kid from Peanuts? Pig-Pen? It turns out we all look like that," says James Meadow, a data … [Read more...] about Auras Are Real, and Yours Looks Like Pig-Pen’s

Sports Video games NBA Gamers The cramped room in Midtown Manhattan was packed wall-to-wall with YouTubers—a relentlessly cheery bunch—the lot of them excitedly live-streaming, likes and comments bobbing across their screens. It was August, and the crowd was previewing the latest product from the NBA 2K video game series—NBA 2K18, which was released Friday to those who pre-ordered—and the event was crowded with elite gamers, social media stars, 2K staffers and, pocked about the room, honest-to-God, in-the-flesh NBA players. Security stood at the front door. Booze flowed from a bar in the back. TVs pinstriped the length of the room, cutting it into even rows. That was the main attraction, with the gamers lining up, jostling through the morass of people to get their turn on the joysticks (all of this, of course, beamed over the internet to 2K devotees). In a room full of presumed NBA fans it was somewhat disorienting to see these NBA players—Brooklyn Nets guard … [Read more...] about Virtual Meets Reality: Inside NBA 2K and Pro Basketball

Kia's new flagship three-row electric SUV has been fully revealed, bringing fresh styling and innovative technology to the company's electric vehicle (EV) lineup. It's a combination of what is expected from a family-friendly sport utility vehicle (SUV), and a new show of what Kia is capable of, from luxe appointments and an energy-efficient powertrain to sustainable materials and spaciousness. "The Kia EV9 transcends all aspects of traditional SUV thinking and represents the pinnacle of Kia's design and engineering capabilities," Ho Sung Song, Kia's president and CEO, said. "Created to meet the needs of all family members, the EV9 also spearheads Kia's rapid transition to a sustainable mobility solutions provider, not just by its advanced EV architecture, but also through the numerous recycled and sustainable materials used in its creation." As the market stands now, the EV9 has few direct competitors in the American market. However, that is expected to change drastically over … [Read more...] about New Kia EV9 electric SUV is a funky, fresh take on family hauling

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have to "face the reality" that if they attend the coronation of King Charles in May that they will only do so as "fringe players" with no official ceremonial roles, a prominent royal biographer has told a new episode of Newsweek 's The Royal Report podcast. Sally Bedell Smith, a royal expert and author of the soon-to-be-released George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Shaped the Monarchy , gave her thoughts on the hotly debated topic of Harry and Meghan's potential appearance at the king's coronation in a discussion with chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston. Speculation over whether the couple would attend, or be invited, after the release of their bombshell media projects in recent months was increased in January when Harry swerved the question when asked about it in an interview with ITV's Tom Bradby. Asked whether he would attend the May 6 ceremony or not, the prince said: "There's a lot that can happen between now and … [Read more...] about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be “fringe players” at the coronation

Before he met and married Meghan Markle , Prince Harry embarked on a number of high-profile relationships with women within the orbit of the royal family and British high society. Of his relationships, the most prominent was with Zimbabwe-born Chelsy Davy, whose family ran a big game farm in South Africa. Within months of their relationship becoming public, Davy was a figure of intense public interest—something Harry has since spoken of his, and her, discomfort over. In court filings, made as part of his ongoing lawsuit against the publishers of the British tabloid Daily Mail over historic phone-hacking and privacy invasion allegations, the prince said that Davy was the victim of unlawful information-gathering techniques such as wiretapping and bugging. The media intrusion, the prince said, made Davy feel as if she was being "hunted." In the end, he said, she questioned whether she wanted a "lifetime of being stalked?" Here, Newsweek looks at who Chelsy Davy is and … [Read more...] about Who is Chelsy Davy—Prince Harry’s ex he feared would be “harassed to death”

Health officials sit at an empty government-run Covid-19 screening clinic in Jung District, central Seoul, on Wednesday. [YONHAP] Anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 will have to quarantine for five days, not seven, from early May. The mandate could be entirely lifted in July, meaning that people won't have to isolate even if they come down with the virus. Under the current system, patients must report their infection to local health authorities and quarantine for a week. If they refuse to isolate, they face up to a year in prison or 10 million won ($7,700) in fines. The mask mandate for high-risk facilities could also be lifted in July. Since March 20, the Korean government has allowed people to unmask on public transportation, but masks are still required at hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes, welfare centers for the disabled and mental health centers. Visitors to pharmacies in large supermarkets or subway stations, however, do not have to wear masks. If the … [Read more...] about Mandatory quarantine to be cut to five days from May