Wednesday, December 25, 2024

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Macron targets Le Pen as France run-off campaign commences

France President Emmanuel Macron is firing up his campaign for re-election, directly taking on far-right rival Marine Le Pen in France's presidential run-off. He made his first trip to a Le Pen stronghold at Denain, one of France's poorest towns in the industrial north. Macron won the first round of the election, but opinion polls suggest the second round will be a close race on April 24. "Make no mistake: nothing is decided," he told supporters after the...

Magic mushroom compound found to increase brain connectivity in people with depression

Psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, helps to "open up" depressed people's brains, even after use, enabling brain regions to talk more freely to one another. These are the findings of a new analysis of brain scans from close to 60 people receiving treatment for depression, led by Imperial College London's Centre for Psychedelic Research. The team behind the study believes it may have untangled how psilocybin exerts its therapeutic effects on the brain. Psilocybin is one of a number...

Telegram criticized for lack of action on sharing of unauthorized intimate images

A BBC investigation has found that women's intimate pictures are being shared to harass, shame, and blackmail them on a massive scale, on the social media app Telegram, the BBC reports. In the split second Sara found out a nude photo of her had been leaked and shared on Telegram, her life changed. Her Instagram and Facebook profiles had been added, and her phone number included. Suddenly she was being contacted by unknown men asking...

Relax, parents – study indicates Siri and Alexa are not ruining your kids

Children are often delighted to find that they can ask Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa to play their favourite songs or call Grandma. But does hanging out with Alexa or Siri affect the way children communicate with fellow humans? Probably not, according to a recent study led by the University of Washington that found that children are sensitive to context when it comes to these conversations. The team had a conversational agent teach 22 children...

Undaunted by dousing of 2020 Burning Man, organizers ignite ambitious project

The weirdness that is Burning Man in Nevada's Black Rock Desert was not to be in 2020 and possibly 2021, but the organizers, Burning Man Project (BMP), say they plan to create something even more immense called Fly Ranch. On 3,800 acres just north of the Burning Man site, BMP proposes build infrastructure for global  sustainable solutions. Projects within Fly Ranch are to include Solar Mountain, SEE symbiotic coevolution and the Ripple bioceramic dome....

Bitcoin tsunami surges to $1 trillion 

  At least one financial expert feels that FOMO -- fear of missing out - is at the heart of Bitcoin's mind-boggling climb to $1 trillion in market value this week. Bitcoin has increased in value by $415 billion in 2021 alone, says Bloomberg. Market analysts note that major investments by companies such as Tesla and MicroStrategy could soon produce bubble market conditions.     https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/bitcoin-hits-us-1-trillion-value-as-crypto-jump-tops-other-assets-1.1565700

Amazon’s manufacturing arm enters Indian market

The lure of the colossal Indian consumer market has convinced Amazon.com Inc. to launch its first manufacturing facility in that country. The company is teaming up with a Foxconn subsidiary based in India to manufacture Fire TV streaming devices for the Indian market. The partnership allows Amazon to align with India's Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or "self-reliant India" policy.    https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/16/22286059/amazon-fire-tv-india-manufacturing-line-partner-foxconn

Election was stolen from me. Obviously.

I know exactly how it feels to be the victim of a stolen election. Just three short decades ago, I was a shoe-in for president of the students’ union at the University of Calgary. I did everything by the book: my nomination was submitted on the deadline day with several minutes to spare I campaigned in good faith, sticking to my deeply principled platform of airing Christmas carols in the cafeteria building 365 days a year ...