Google space invaders

Corporate media juggernaut Bloomberg is finally waking up to the dangers of surveillance capitalism, the prevalent business model the Masters of the Universe, but practiced more aggressively and successfully by Google than any other player on today’s web. Writing in a Bloomberg article titled : “Google Is Sharing Our Data at a Startling Scale” which was also published by the Washington Post, Parmy Olsen the troubling deluge of advertising enabled by Google’s real-time bidding business practice exposes us to the ad market an astonishing 747 times each day. And that is only from Google — it doesn’t include advertising powerhouse Facebook or up and comer Amazon. Sabo mocks Google CEO Sundar Pichai (unsavoryagents.com) It is hard for humans to conceptualize such numbers, even if machines calculate them comfortably everyday — but if the exhaust of our personal data could be seen in the same way pollution can, we’d be surrounded by an almost impenetrable haze that gets … [Read more...] about About Time!: Bloomberg Wakes Up to the Dangers of Google’s Surveillance Capitalism

A frustrated homeowner uses her wheelie bins to reserve parking outside her house. Helen Barrell said the parking situation on her road is a "nightmare", in part due to parents and teachers from a nearby school using it as an overspill. The 43-year-old also said despite the heavily congested road, many motorists still opt to drive at dangerous speeds and she fears there will be fatality, reports BirminghamLive. When the author and librarian, from Smethwick, West Midlands, had contractors coming to replace a window, she decided to try the trick to ensure they had somewhere to park. "I couldn't leave the contractors to carry it all the way up the road otherwise it risked being broken," said Helen, whose lived in Gladys Road, in the Bearwood area, for 12 years. "And they needed access to their tools while working." Outlining the congestion issue, she said: "The road I live in is right by a primary school which doesn't have any parking for staff, so they all park on my road … [Read more...] about Homeowner forced to use wheelie bins to save parking space on ‘nightmare’ road

Scotland’s Health Secretary was left "disturbed" when a nursery told his wife there was no space for their daughter - just 24 hours before a non-ethnic applicant was told they could attend, it has been reported. Humza Yousaf lodged a complaint with the Care Inspectorate calling for it to establish whether the Little Scholars Nursery in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, had discriminated against applicants with an ethnic name after his two-year-old was refused. During a probe by his wife Nadia El-Nakla, the nursery said it had no space available for three applicants who had ethnic, Muslim-sounding names, including the couple’s daughter Amal, the Daily Record reports. But, responding to fake inquiries from three mothers with non-ethnic names, the Dundee nursery said spaces were available. The nursery denies the allegations, despite email records of the contrasting responses to the families sent by the nursery’s manager, and seen by the news outlet. What are your thoughts on this? … [Read more...] about Nursery ‘had no space for kids with ethnic names’ including health secretary’s child

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly said Monday that Ukraine is the only country that encourages "Nazism" at the state level, and some Russians are now accusing NATO hopeful Sweden of having a similar position. "But nowhere at the state level are the Nazis glorified. Nowhere," Putin said during a Moscow summit, according to Russian-state-owned news agency Ria Novosti. "And nowhere in civilized countries are thousands of neo-Nazi torchlight processions with neo-Nazi symbols encouraged by the authorities. This is not done anywhere. Unfortunately, this is happening in Ukraine." Putin has repeatedly declared that one of Russia's goals in invading Ukraine is the "denazification" of its neighbor , but Ukraine, whose president is Jewish, has strongly refuted the allegations that its government is led by Nazis. Meanwhile, as Putin has focused on purported Nazis in Ukraine, posters have reportedly emerged on Moscow's streets accusing some famous Swedish figures of supporting … [Read more...] about Putin keeps “Nazism” focus on Ukraine as Russians point to NATO hopeful

Russian President Vladimir Putin 's reliance on oligarchs could prevent him from reviving the Soviet Union, experts said. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, some raised concerns that Putin could be seeking to revive the Soviet Union. But a return to Soviet-style economics could threaten the wealth of his allies in Russia's oligarchical class, so it's unlikely he would seize their assets, Bryon Moraski, a professor of Russian politics at the University of Florida explained to Newsweek . Putin relies on both popular and elite support for legitimacy, Moraski explained. This means that any efforts to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs could cause him to lose the support of his closest allies, potentially leaving him in a difficult position as the president. "There wouldn't be an ideological reason for Putin to go through some kind of process for the redistribution of property," Moraski said. Brian Taylor, a professor of Russian politics at Syracuse University, offered … [Read more...] about Putin allies’ wealth will keep him from reviving USSR

A Ukrainian mountain unit called "The Transcarpathian Beavers" says it seized a Russian commander's secret notebook and other trophies after beating back invading troops. The Transcarpathian Legion of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, shared footage of well-camouflaged soldiers on May 10 with the message: "Hairy Devils!" On May 15, the Legion posted images of a burning Russian battery in a field after being attacked by "The Transcarpathian Beavers." The Legion said: "The mortar section of the Russian Army burns after the accurate work of the engineering and sapper unit of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade." In a statement the same day, the Ukrainian legion said: "BMP-3 tank, weapons, ammunition and personal belongings – the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade captured trophies from the Russians of North Ossetia. "The 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, in cooperation with other units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, continues to beat back … [Read more...] about Ukrainian forces say they seized Russian commander’s secret notebook

Video released by Ukrainian military officials shows explosions breaking out in fields in Ukraine at sunset as Russian military equipment is purportedly blown to shreds. A second video claims to show Russian military vehicles unconvincingly hiding among trees moments before they are turned into fiery wrecks by Ukrainian forces. Zenger News obtained the first piece of footage from the 59th Motorized Brigade — a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces — on Sunday. The brigade said (in Ukrainian): "Artillerymen of the 59th Brigade defeated a column of orcs. "Again, the racist equipment did not reach its destination. Again, they littered our fertile fields with their scrap metal. "Well, they can't find their way home. So our people show them the only right direction - following the ship. "Because there is nothing sown..." Zenger News obtained the second piece of footage from the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces (DShV) — the airborne forces of Ukraine — on Sunday. The DShV said … [Read more...] about Russian backup military equipment reduced to scrap in video released by Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning Finland and Sweden about joining NATO , saying an expansion in membership could bring a heightened response from his own Russia-led military alliance. On Monday, Putin spoke alongside leaders from Russia's allies in Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan at a Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Moscow. He called on the countries to streamline their operations and ensure that various law enforcement agencies and security services are working in coordination, adding that his administration will equip forces with the latest weaponry. "I'm positive that these measures will help to improve the level of coordination, combat readiness of our forces, and generally speaking, the peacekeeping potential of forces," Putin said, according to a translation from Russian state media RT. His remarks come after Finland confirmed last week that it will apply to join NATO after decades of military nonalignment. Sweden's … [Read more...] about Putin’s trying to ramp up allies’ military capabilities to counter NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a vocal critic of Finland and Sweden since reports emerged that they were seeking to join NATO in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24, both Finland and Sweden have been considering ending decades of military neutrality to join the 30-nation alliance, contradicting Putin's war aims while doing so. Putin has repeatedly said that the eastward expansion of NATO was the reason why his country invaded Ukraine. The war has killed thousands of people on both sides and displaced millions more. Sweden followed Finland on Monday and confirmed it will apply to join NATO. Finland has an over 800-mile border with Russia and has fought two wars against the country in the past, and it has become increasingly concerned about its security following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly warned that there will be "retaliatory steps" to the two countries' move to join the … [Read more...] about What Vladimir Putin has said about Finland and Sweden joining NATO

The gruesome video filmed by a gunman during a mass shooting at a supermarket that left 10 people dead could still be found on social media two days after the attack. The shooter's footage was still being shared on Twitter on Monday, 48 hours after he filmed the violent deaths of his victims at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday. Facebook 's moderators have also been battling to remove links to the violent footage on their platform. Police described the mass shooting as "racially motivated violent extremism," after 11 of the 13 victims were revealed to be Black. Officers arrested 18-year-old Payton Gendron of Conklin, New York, outside the store on suspicion of murder. Facebook and Twitter have been criticized for not making sure that the footage hasn't been fully removed from their sites. Newsweek was easily able to find and view the footage via the two sites; it has reported the posts to moderators. A Meta spokesperson for Facebook told Newsweek … [Read more...] about Facebook, Twitter Battling Buffalo Shooting Video 48 Hours On