Belgium Sues Google

From the BBC:

"Google to be sued by Belgium for not blurring military sites"

Google is facing legal action from Belgium for not blurring images of military sites. The Belgian defence ministry had requested that the company obscure air bases in its satellite imagery. A spokesman for Google said it has been working closely with the Belgian government for two years. "The Ministry of Defence will sue Google," a spokeswoman for the ministry told Reuters. Further details about the legal action were not given, although the ministry is said to have requested sites such as nuclear power plants and air bases be blurred on the search giant's satellite imagery. "It's a shame the Belgium Department of Defence have decided to take this decision," Michiel Sallaets, spokesman for Google in Belgium, said in a statement.  "We have been working closely with them for more than two years, making changes to our maps where asked to make them legal under Belgian law.  "We plan to continue working with them in that spirit of cooperation." The company has previously been asked to obscure sensitive military sites in countries including France, Germany and the Netherlands.  Google Street View is currently unapproved in India. In 2016 the defence ministry there cited concerns over the security of sensitive military installations as a reason for not letting the company map street-level images. Earlier this year, security concerns were raised over the fitness tracking firm Strava. The company's "heatmaps", generated by its users as they run or cycle, were shown to expose the exercise routines of military personnel in secret bases around the world. 

^ This is pretty important. No site (Google or anyone else) should show military or other sensitive sites online. It only helps people plan attacks on them and puts people in danger. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45681213

School Closed

From the MT:

"Anglo-American School in St. Petersburg Closes After 40 Years"

The Anglo-American School in St. Petersburg (AASSP) has shut its doors after 43 years in operation — the latest casualty of diplomatic tensions between Russia and the West. Earlier this year, Moscow ordered the U.S. and U.K consulates in St. Petersburg to close after Washington and London expelled dozens of Russian diplomats over the suspected poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in England. The British Council was also forced to shut down in the aftermath of the expulsions.  “The AAS Board of Directors learned on Sept. 20 of the Russian government’s regrettable decision to close the Anglo-American School in St. Petersburg, by not renewing its existing lease,” the school said in a statement on its website Thursday. The school “has no legal grounds to function” following the March 31 closure of the U.S. consulate, the St. Petersburg administration told the state-run TASS news agency on Thursday. Russia warned the U.S. in October 2017 – after Russia’s consulate in San Francisco closed in tit-for-tat measures over a U.S. Congress vote to tighten sanctions – that the AASSP does not enjoy immunity, the Fontanka.ru news website reported.  The warning was reportedly reiterated on Aug. 22, 2018 when the Russian Foreign Ministry told the U.S. ambassador it sees no reason for the school to continue its work. The St. Petersburg-based outlet said the school’s alleged lack of a Russian education license made it prone to inspections for building code violations and non-renewal of its lease. Founded in 1975, the school taught 140 students of 30 nationalities between the ages of 5 and 12 this academic year.

^ This is sad. The school survived 16 years of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, but couldn't survive Putin's Russia. ^

https://themoscowtimes.com/news/anglo-american-school-in-st-petersburg-closes-after-40-years-63020

America Passes

From the National Park Service Website:

"America the Beautiful Passes"

A pass is your ticket to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites. Each pass covers entrance fees at national parks and national wildlife refuges as well as standard amenity fees (day use fees) at national forests and grasslands, and at lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A pass covers entrance, standard amenity fees and day use fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at per vehicle fee areas (or up to four adults at sites that charge per person). Children age 15 or under are admitted free. 

1.) Annual Pass: 

Cost: $80 annual pass

Available for: Everyone

2.) Annual Pass for US Military:

Cost: Free annual pass

Available for: Current US Military members and dependents in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard as well as Reserve and National Guard members.

3.) 4th Grade Pass

Cost: Free

Available For: Valid for the duration of the 4th grade school year through the following summer (September-August)

4.) Senior Pass

Cost: $80 Lifetime Senior Pass or $20 Annual Senior Pass

Available for: US citizens and permanent residents aged 62 or over

5.) Access Pass: 

Cost: Free ($10 to get by mail)

Available for: US citizens and permanent residents with permanent disabilities

6.) Volunteer Pass:

Cost: Free

Available for: Volunteers with 250 service hours with federal agencies that participate in the Interagency Pass Program

^  This is a great program that gives free access to 4th graders, volunteers, the disabled and the military. For a list of where the card is accepted check out the following websites. 

https://store.usgs.gov/s3fs-public/PassIssuanceList.pdf ^

https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

77: Babi Yar

77 years ago today (September 29, 1941) the Germans and their collaborators murdered 33,771 men, women and children at Babi Yar (Бабин Яр in Ukrainian) in Kyiv, Ukraine. The name Babi Yar refers to an old woman (Baba) selling the ravine (Yar) to a Monastery in 1401. 

A notice (in German, Ukrainian and Russian) was posted in the local newspapers telling all Jews in Kyiv to meet at a certain time and place – with all their documents and luggage -  so they could be resettled following a series of explosions throughout the city (caused by undercover Soviet NKVD secret police.) The notice also said that any Jews left in Kyiv afterwards would be shot on sight.

 The Germans expected around 6,000 people to show up, but instead over 33,700 came to the meeting point. The men, women and children were walked several miles to the Babi Yar ravine (then outside the city), made to undress and run naked through a column of Ukrainian para-military collaborators to an open pit where the Germans shot them – children under 3 and babies were simply thrown in alive to be buried by the other bodies. 

 Only 29 people are known to have survived the massacre (by being shot and wounded then falling into the pit and hiding under the thousands of dead bodies until they could climb out in the darkness.) 

Babi Yar is the single largest massacre of the Holocaust. 33,771 men, women and children were murdered on September 29-30, 1941 with a total of 150,000 people (Jews, Gypsies, Communists, Soviet Prisoners of War, Catholic and Orthodox Priests, Partisans, etc.) murdered at the same spot until Kyiv was liberated in November 1943.

 The picture is one I took at Babi Yar in Kyiv, Ukraine at the exact location of the ravine (now a city park.) This memorial is to all the children murdered at Babi Yar and was built after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 – before that the Soviets refused to allow mention that Jews were killed in this massacre or in any Holocaust crime. 

FB Hacked

From the BBC:

"Facebook security breach: Up to 50m accounts attacked"

Facebook says almost 50 million of its users were left exposed by a security flaw.  The company said attackers were able to exploit a vulnerability in a feature known as “View As” to gain control of people's accounts.  The breach was discovered on Tuesday, Facebook said, and it has informed police.  Users that had potentially been affected were prompted to re-log-in on Friday. The flaw has been fixed, wrote the firm’s vice-president of product management, Guy Rosen, adding all affected accounts had been reset, as well as another 40 million "as a precautionary step". Facebook - which saw its share price drop more than 3% on Friday - has more than two billion active monthly users. The company has confirmed to reporters that the breach would allow hackers to log in to other accounts that use Facebook's system, of which there are many.  This means other major sites, such as AirBnB and Tinder, may also be affected. The firm would not say where in the world the 50 million users are, but it has informed Irish data regulators, where Facebook's European subsidiary is based. The company said the users prompted to log-in again did not have to change their passwords. "Since we’ve only just started our investigation, we have yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed. We also don’t know who’s behind these attacks or where they’re based. “  He added: "People’s privacy and security is incredibly important, and we’re sorry this happened."  The company has confirmed that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and its chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg were among the 50 million accounts affected.  Facebook's "View As" function is a privacy feature that allows people to see what their own profile looks to other users, making it clear what information is viewable to their friends, friends of friends, or the public. Attackers found multiple bugs in this feature that "allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens, which they could then use to take over people's accounts", Mr Rosen explained. "Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook so they don't need to re-enter their password every time they use the app," he added. The breach comes at a time when the firm is struggling to convince lawmakers in the US and beyond, that it is capable of protecting user data.  Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said on a conference call on Friday that the firm took security seriously, in the face of what he said were constant attacks by bad actors. But Jeff Pollard, vice-president and principal analyst at Forrester, said the fact Facebook held so much data meant it should be prepared for such attacks. "Attackers go where the data is, and that has made Facebook an obvious target," he said. "The main concern here is that one feature of the platform allowed attackers to harvest the data of tens of millions of users.  "This indicates that Facebook needs to make limiting access to data a priority for users, APIs, and features." When asked by the BBC, Facebook was unable to say if the investigation would look into why the bugs were missed, or if anyone at the company would be held accountable for the breach.

^ This has not been Facebook's year. They really need to start getting their act together. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45686890

Different J Towns

To those that watched the documentary on TV tonight:  There is a difference between Jonestown and Jamestown.

-Jonestown was the site in Guyana (in South America) where 40 years ago (1978) 918 Americans (including 304 children) drank poisoned Kool-Aid and killed themselves because their cult leader told them to (it's where the phrase: "They drank the Kool-Aid" came from.

- Jamestown is the site of the first permanent English colony in the Americas. Located in Virginia and founded in 1607 (the fort) and 1619 (the town.) Today it is a living history town. It is also the name of a 2017 British TV show about the colony that is on it's third season.

Closed Consulate

From the BBC:
"Basra protests: US closes consulate after weeks of deadly protests"

The US has said it will close its consulate in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, blaming increasing threats from Iran and Iranian-backed forces. In a statement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said all but emergency staff would be relocated to Baghdad. He repeated earlier warnings that the US would hold Iran responsible for any harm to its citizens or facilities. Basra is home to more than two million people and has witnessed violent protests in recent weeks. Mr Pompeo, who accused Iran of failing to prevent recent rocket attacks he said were directed at the consulate, said there were "increasing and specific" threats against Americans and US facilities in Iraq. The US decision comes amid growing tensions with Iran, after President Donald Trump re-instated economic sanctions on Tehran following the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. At the UN this week, the two sides taunted each other, with Mr Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, warning Iran there would be "Hell to pay" if it crosses the US. Iran, the region's main Shia power, has fostered ties with Iraq's Shia majority since the downfall of long-term leader Saddam Hussein. Earlier this month, protesters in Basra set alight government and political buildings, including the Iranian consulate and the headquarters of an Iran-backed paramilitary force, after a number of people were killed in clashes with police. The protests in the city have been fuelled by growing public anger over poor infrastructure, contaminated water and a lack of jobs in a region that generates much of Iraq's oil wealth.  They have also denounced what they perceive as Iran's control of local affairs.

^ This is not good. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45688253

Hit/Fail

New season of "Last Man Standing" = Hit!

Reboot of "Murphy Brown"  = Fail!

They are both political, but I thought one was funny and told both sides ("Last Man Standing") and one only focused on one side and wasn't funny ("Murphy Brown.)"  I wanted to like the reboot because I watched the original show when I was younger, but it seemed like it was trying a little too hard.

Disabled Train App

From the BBC:

"Disabled train users to get new 'life-changing' app"

A "life-changing" app that can track disabled rail users in real-time will be rolled out nationwide. The app will update station staff on where a passenger is at any point, useful in the event of a delay, change of platform or missed train. Four rail companies are using an early version, with the full one to be available across Britain next autumn. Paralympian Anne Wafula-Strike said the app would "empower disabled people to travel without any fear". Currently when passengers with mobility problems book assistance, a print-out is given to station staff in the morning. But when a change occurs there is no way to update the paper list, which can lead to staff being in the wrong place and causing some passengers requiring help to go without assistance at all. The app, developed by Transreport for the railway industry, will allow users to create a profile, amend and cancel bookings and give staff live information to accommodate short-notice changes. Mrs Wafula-Strike, from Essex, who won compensation after wetting herself on a train when the disabled toilet was not working, called the app "true inclusion".  She said: "Although passenger assistance usually works, I've had awful experiences when it has failed so it's great to see the rail industry addressing this and planning to change and improve for the benefit of disabled people."  Disabled comedian Tanyalee Davis, from Norfolk, previously said she was "harassed and humiliated" for using a disabled space for her mobility scooter and called for an app of a similar type to be implemented. She said: "We'll have more flexibility and spontaneity, but most importantly it'll help ease our anxiety because we can keep in contact in real-time with the people who are assisting us. "If it works well it will be life-changing."  Sarah Ward, from Shrewsbury, has been using a trial of the app since May and said it allowed her to be "much more flexible" with her travel. West Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Greater Anglia, and South Western Railway are currently trialling different parts of the app before the full roll-out across England, Wales and Scotland.

^ I have travelled domestically and internationally with a person in a wheelchair and there have had delays and issues with getting assistance when it was needed. It sounds like this new program will help fix the issues. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-45656560

Canadian Nazi Revoked

From the DW:

"Canadian court revokes man's citizenship over Nazi SS ties, again"

Helmut Oberlander had his citizenship revoked for lying about his involvement with a Nazi SS killing squad. It is the fourth time Canada has revoked his citizenship in a battle that has been ongoing since 1995.  Canada's Federal Court on Thursday declined to review a decision to revoke the citizenship of a Ukrainian immigrant accused of having links to a Nazi SS killing squad during World War II. In a statement, the court said the Canadian government's finding that Helmut Oberlander, now aged 94, had lied about his wartime activities when he arrived in Canada with his wife in 1954 was "justifiable," paving the way to his deportation. Canadian court documents allege Oberlander was a member of Einsatzkommando 10a (Ek10a), a Nazi mobile killing squad that systematically executed thousands of people in the former Soviet Union after the German invasion.  When Oberlander landed in Canada, he made no mention of his membership in Ek10a, where he served as an interpreter and an auxiliary, the court said. The judgment said if Oberlander had revealed this information there is "no doubt" it "would have resulted in the rejection of his citizenship application."  The court's decision upholds the government's conclusion that Oberlander "voluntarily made a knowing and significant contribution to the crimes and criminal purpose of this SS killing squad."  Judge Michael Phelan found that while no evidence "indicated the applicant directly participated in the atrocities committed by Ek10a … he was aware that these atrocities were being committed." An estimated 6 million Jews were killed during the Nazi Holocaust carried out under Hitler. Oberlander, who was born to a family of German ethnicity in Ukraine, became a Canadian citizen in 1960, has maintained that he was forced to join the unit because he spoke both Russian and German and that he only acted as an interpreter. The court's ruling said that during his time in Canada, Oberlander "is reputed to have made a significant contribution to the local community." "Oberlander's life since arriving in Canada has been beyond reproach," the ruling said. "He is in his 90s with significant health issues." It is the fourth time Canada has revoked Oberlander's citizenship, in a saga that has been ongoing since Oberlander's first notice of revocation in 1995. There is a possibility he will appeal the latest ruling.

^ It is good that Canada has revoked Oberlander's citizenship for his Holocaust crimes. ^

https://www.dw.com/en/canadian-court-revokes-mans-citizenship-over-nazi-ss-ties-again/a-45665727

4 Star Stores

From the BBC:

"Amazon to open 'four-star' store in New York"

Online retailing giant Amazon is opening a store in New York that will only sell products that receive a high rating on its website. The store will sell toys, household goods and other items that have a rating of four stars or more online. Customers who visit the store will pay less if they have bought into Amazon's Prime service. Physical shops are becoming a key expansion area for Amazon as it seeks to take on more traditional retailers. The company currently operates 17 bookshops and is experimenting with its Go outlets that do away with cashiers. Last year it paid $13.7bn (£10.4bn) for the Whole Foods chain to fuel its push into fresh food and to help bolster its grocery delivery service. The four-star store will also sell books, games and kitchen utensils as well as Amazon's own Echo speakers and its Kindle e-readers. It will also have sections dedicated to items that are "trending" and proving popular with online customers. Amazon has made attempts recently to improve the accuracy of its reviews by attempting to weed out fakes and those left by people who have been given, rather than bought, items on which they comment. Analyst Michael Pachter, from Wedbush Securities, was sceptical about the store's prospects, given that it would only be able to hold a certain number of physical items. "If I'm looking for a television and the store is full of kitchen appliances, it doesn't help me very much," he told Reuters.

^ This is a good idea for those that live in cities, but won't help those of us that live on mountains or in rural areas. I am curious to see if the physical stores will last since most malls and stores around the country are closing rather than opening. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45666282

Celtic Thunder

I recently went to see “Celtic Thunder” in concert. I have liked them since they first started 10 years ago and saw them in concert about 6 years ago. Last March I ordered my ticket thinking I would have to go alone, but found out a few weeks that my Dad’s leave home was changed and he could go with me. I was able to buy another ticket  - the seat right next to mine – even though several months had passed. We ate dinner out and then drove to the concert. The performing arts center where the concert was being held doesn’t have it’s own parking so we had to park several blocks away. We got into the lobby of the performing arts center and had to wait a few minutes until they opened the doors to the theater.  Our seats were probably the best in the whole theater. The concert was pretty good. All the main singers were there (Emmet Cahill, Neil Byrne, Ryan Kelly and Damian McGinty.)  Only Michael O'Dwyer wasn’t because of some health issues – no announcement was made – I learned about it from the Internet. The on-stage band included: David Munro (the director), Nicole Hudson (on violin), Seana Davey (on harp), Charles Foley (on bass), Conal Early (on guitar), Guy Rickarby (on drums), Peter Sheridan (on keyboard) and Conal Duffy (on pipes and whistles).

I really like it when “Celtic Thunder” plays the traditional Irish folksongs – even when they modernize them, but they tend to sing pop songs from the past and present and while the singing may be good it is a bit corny. I wish they would have a concert where all they sing is the Irish folksongs (and they can have a concert where all they sing are pop songs for those that like that.) All-in-all the concert was good. I have family and friends around the US who are also going to see “Celtic Thunder” in concert when they preform near them and I’m sure they will enjoy it.

Allies In Space

From the BBC:

"World War II bombs 'felt in space'"

The bombs used by Allied forces during World War II were so large, they weakened the Earth's upper atmosphere. The air raids turned towns to rubble and ash, but now new research shows shockwaves could be felt up to 1,000 km above the UK. Chris Scott, from the University of Reading said: "I was absolutely astonished [when I found out].  "Each raid released the energy of at least 300 lightning strikes."  It's now hoped the research will give us a better understanding of how natural forces such as lightning, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes can affect Earth's upper atmosphere. Researchers studied daily records kept at the Radio Research Centre in Slough, UK.  They looked at how the concentration of electrons changed in the upper atmosphere around the time of 152 Allied air raids in Europe - including raids on Berlin and those in support of the Normandy landings. The data showed the concentration of electrons fell significantly when a bomb was detonated, which in turn heated the upper atmosphere. This caused a small but significant depletion in the ionosphere above Slough, even though the bombs were deployed hundreds of miles away. But Chris Scott admits "these were very temporary effects which heated the atmosphere very slightly." "The effects on the ionosphere would only have lasted until the heat dissipated." It is a layer of the Earth's atmosphere which can affect radio communications, GPS systems, radio telescopes and even some understanding of weather systems. Chris Scott said: "This [research] is really important if we're going to understand the ionosphere as a whole. "We know the ionosphere is controlled by solar activity but it varies much more than can currently be explained."  The results are published in the European Geosciences Union journal, Annales Geophysicae.

^ This was interesting to hear. Of course the Allies had to bomb the Axis to help win the war faster - not to mention Germany not only started World War 2, but was also the one who started air raids targeting innocent civilians (in Poland, Amsterdam, London, etc.) The Allies simply got better at it. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45655149

Ekaterina

A while back I saw the Russian TV series «Екатерина» (“Ekaterina”) about Catherine the Great  (portrayed by Marina Aleksandrova) coming to Russia and having to deal with the Russian Court under Empress Yelizabeta Petrovna and then marrying and having to deal with her husband, Pyotr III Fyodorovich. I thought that season was really well written and had everything (romance, corruption, greed, battles, scandals, etc.) that you expect from a period-piece like this. 

I just recently finished watching the second season of this series called «Екатерина: Взлёт» (Ekaterina: The Rise) which deals with Catherine the Great’s early reign. It has the same aspects as the first season, but there are a lot more battles – with other countries as well as inside the palace. Her husband is dead and Catherine the Great takes on several lovers (like Count Grigory Orlov and Prince Grigory Potemkin.) Catherine the Great also wants to modernize Russia (expanding its borders, creating new institutions, etc.) while also trying to hold on to power since she is not part of the Romanov Dynasty by blood (only through marriage) and at the same time prepare her son (who will become Emperor Pavel I) for when he will rule. The series does an excellent job of showing how far from reality the Russian nobility was from the common Russian as well as showing how much influence both the Emperor/Empress and the Russian Orthodox Church had throughout the Russian Empire – for better or for worse. 

I am very surprised at how much time, money and research went into creating these two seasons  - especially since they were for made for TV and not a film a movie theater. I know they are making a third season that will air in 2019 and can’t wait to see it. I also know that it can be seen with English subtitles on Amazon. I had to buy the DVDs and they are only in Russian.  

Walking Implant

From the BBC:

"Electrical implant helps paralysed people to walk again"

Three patients, all paralysed from the waist down, have been able to walk again after having an electrical patch fitted to their spinal cords. Experts say the device, which is placed below the injury, helps lost signals from the brain reach the leg muscles. US research teams at the University of Louisville and the Mayo Clinic, report the success in Nature Medicine and the New England Journal of Medicine.  One of the recipients says her life has been transformed by the technology. Kelly Thomas, 23, from Florida, is one of two patients at the University of Louisville who has been helped by the development, which has been combined with months of intense rehabilitation therapy.  She said: "Being a participant in this study truly changed my life, as it has provided me with a hope that I didn't think was possible after my car accident. "The first day I took steps on my own was an emotional milestone in my recovery that I'll never forget, as one minute I was walking with the trainer's assistance and while they stopped, I continued walking on my own. It's amazing what the human body can accomplish with help from research and technology." Jeff Marquis, who was injured in a mountain-biking accident, has also benefited.  The 35-year-old is now able to walk for himself with support either from a frame or from people on either side of him holding his hands. A third patient, 29-year-old Jered Chinnock, was treated at the Mayo Clinic in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles.  He injured his spine in 2013 in a snowmobile accident. Since having the patch fitted he has been able to walk more than 100m with the support of a frame.  The patch does not repair the damage but circumvents it by stimulating nerves lower down in the spinal cord.  This appears to allow signals from the brain to reach the target muscles so the person can voluntarily control their own movements again.  When the stimulation was switched off again the conscious movement didn't happen.  Neurosurgeon Dr Kendall Lee, who co-led the team from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said: "It's very exciting, but still very early in the research stage."  Although there are many unanswered questions, including precisely how it works and who it might help, Dr Lee said: "It gives hope to people faced with paralysis." Other scientists have had success in the past with mending spinal damage using cells.

^ This is really good news. Hopefully, it can be used to help more paralyzed people. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45628498

Suspicious Silence

Short Army

From Military.com:

"Army Misses Recruiting Goal for First Time Since 2005"

For the first time since 2005, the U.S. Army missed its recruiting goal this year, falling short by about 6,500 soldiers, despite pouring an extra $200 million into bonuses and approving some additional waivers for bad conduct or health issues. Army leaders said they signed up about 70,000 new active duty recruits in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 — well short of the 76,500 they needed. The Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps all met their recruiting goals for 2018. The Army's shortfall, said Maj. Gen. Joe Calloway, was fueled by the strong American economy and increased competition from private sector employers who can pay more. But the failure has triggered an overhaul in Army recruiting, including an increase in recruiters, expanded marketing and a new effort to reach out to young, potential recruits through popular online gaming. "We obviously thought we would do better than that," said Calloway, director of military personnel management for the Army, when asked about the recruiting gap in an Associated Press interview. He said there were several thousand permanent legal residents seeking to enlist, but they did not get through the screening process in time. And, he said that in the last three years Army recruiters have brought in 3,000-5,000 more enlistees than planned during the last three months of the fiscal year. "There was hope that they would be able to do the same thing this year," he said. "That did not pan out." The recruiting struggles come at the end of a tumultuous year for the Army, which faced questions from Congress over its expanded use of waivers for recruits with previous marijuana use, bad conduct and some health problems. The debate prompted the Army to cut back on some waivers and require higher level officers to approve ones involving drug use and some health and conduct issues. Top Army leaders have repeatedly said they are not lowering standards to meet higher recruiting goals. But they have faced skepticism from Congress, amid concerns the service would repeat mistakes made during the peak of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars more than a decade ago when it rushed to add soldiers to the ranks to meet deployment needs. At that time, the Army brought in more recruits with misconduct waivers, triggering discipline and other problems. The Army is on track to grow to 483,000, triggering increased recruiting goals. Initially the Army was supposed to recruit 80,000 this year, but that was cut to 76,500 in April, as more serving soldiers re-enlisted. Military recruiters have struggled to compete in a growing U.S. economy, with low unemployment rates and private companies paying more to graduating seniors. Only about 30 percent of 17- to 24-year-olds meet the physical, mental and moral requirements for the military, and only one in eight are interested in serving. Finding those few is a challenge. Calloway and Maj. Gen. Frank Muth, head of Army Recruiting Command, said fewer potential recruits or their families answer the phone in these digital days. When recruiters call a parent or other adult, "nobody wants to talk to us," Muth said. "If we do get ahold of a potential recruit, they actually don't want to talk to you on the phone, what they want to do is meet you online first in some type of digital format and then, if they agree to meet with you, you can get the phone call." So, Muth said Army recruiting is moving deeper into the online world. That will include sending teams of recruiters into CrossFit sports competitions and popular gaming contests such as Ultimate Fighter, Madden Football or the addictive Fortnite: Battle Royale, an online survival game. Muth said an Army recruiter from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who has a high ranking on Ultimate Fighter, served as an emcee at a recent tournament. He said the soldier was in uniform and was able to talk about his Army job while on air. "We reached 2.4 million people over one hour, and he was able to get the message out," said Muth. The goal, he said, is to have recruiters in uniform playing the games in tournaments, reaching out to their target audience. The soldiers will be restricted on the games they will be able to play, and there will be oversight by senior officers. In addition, he said the Army's Golden Knights parachute demonstration team, the Marksmanship Unit and other similar teams that travel the country will now be used mainly as recruiting tools. "When these games or these events occur, the focus and the number one priority is recruitment and prospecting and getting leads," said Muth. The immersion into gaming is reflective of a larger online presence that recruiters will use to find and reach recruits. Muth said they will now use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitch on their government phones to speak online with young people. He said if a recruiter visits a high school and a student "likes" the local recruiting Facebook page, the soldier can follow up and message the student to see if they are interested in the Army. It's too soon to tell if any of the new online maneuvers are working. Muth said the first quarter of the year will be critical. "I don't have benchmarks yet," he said. "But history will tell you if you talk to any recruiter, you've got to come out strong. And it's the momentum you build that carries you through the year.

^ This was interesting. I am curious to know why the other branches met their goals and the Army did not. ^

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/09/21/army-misses-recruiting-goal-first-time-2005.html

BBT

Code Recreation

From the BBC:

"Code-cracking WW2 Bombe operation recreated at Bletchley"

Computer historians have staged a re-enactment of World War Two code-cracking at Bletchley Park. A replica code-breaking computer called a Bombe was used to decipher a message scrambled by an Enigma machine. Held at the National Museum of Computing (TNMOC), the event honoured Polish help with wartime code-cracking. Ruth Bourne, a former wartime code-cracker who worked at Bletchley and used the original Bombes, oversaw the modern effort. Enigma machines were used extensively by the German army and navy during World War Two. This prompted a massive effort by the Allies to crack the complex method they employed to scramble messages. That effort was co-ordinated via Bletchley Park and resulted in the creation of the Bombe, said Paul Kellar who helps to keep a replica machine running at the museum. Renowned mathematician Alan Turing was instrumental in the creation of the original Bombe. "During the war, they had about 200 Bombes," said Mr Kellar. "It was a real code-breaking factory." For its re-enactment, TNMOC recruited a team of 12 and used a replica Bombe that, until recently, had been on display at the Bletchley Park museum next door. The electro-mechanical Bombe was designed to discover which settings the German Enigma operators used to scramble their messages. As with World War Two messages, the TNMOC team began with a hint or educated guess about the content of the message, known as a "crib", which was used to set up the Bombe.  The machine then cranked through the millions of possible combinations until it came to a "good stop", said Mr Kellar. This indicated that the Bombe had found key portions of the settings used to turn readable German into gobbledygook. After that, said Mr Kellar, it was just a matter of time before the 12-strong team cracked the message.  Ms Bourne, who worked at Bletchley, said authentic methods had been used by the modern code-breakers but the effort lacked the over-riding stress and tension that accompanied the wartime work. "During the war, there was a feeling of great pressure because the Enigma [encryption] keys changed at midnight so everyone was pushing to get enough information before it went out of date," she told the BBC. "The only high spot was when your machine happened to find the 'good stop' and you felt pleased about that," she said. Work on cracking the Engima machine was greatly aided by Polish cryptographers, said Mr Kellar. Friday's event commemorated 80 years since that information was shared with the Allies. In addition, he said, the early stages of the code-cracking re-enactment were broadcast live to a Polish supercomputer conference in Poznan.  

 ^ I am really interested to seeing this recreation of the code-breaking machine. I have seen many movies and read many books about what happened at Bletchley during the war. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45600275

Seeing Breath

I went outside just now and saw my breath. Nothing good can come of this. 

Dau Blocked

From the DW:

"Berlin blocks controversial Wall project"

A widely criticized project called "Dau" by Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky was to allow visitors to "experience a totalitarian system" behind a replica of the Berlin Wall. It was not approved for security reasons.  Berlin authorities refused to approve the ambitious and controversial Dau project, which was to set up a replica of the Berlin Wall from October 12 to November 9 that would have blocked an area surrounding Berlin's central boulevard Unter den Linden, well known to tourists for its numerous historical landmarks. At a press conference on Friday, Berlin Senator for Transport Regine Günther and District Councilor Sabine Weissler, explained that the organizers' security concept was not fully developed, pointing out that application for the project only came in six weeks before the event was to take place; such a process usually takes an entire year. Following tragic events such as Duisburg's Loveparade catastrophe and the terrorist attack on the square of Berlin's Memorial Church, security has the highest priority, the politicians said. Little had been revealed of the project known as Dau: Freedom, in which extreme performance artist Marina Abramovic and 'Babylon Berlin' director Tom Tykwer  were involved. Among the few details provided in August by the organizers of the event, Berliner Festspiele, visitors would have been required to register for a "visa" to gain access to the fake Berlin Wall site and the installation, which was to allow them to experience the loss of freedom in a totalitarian system. While different politicians and artists supported the project, other prominent voices, including civil rights activists from the former German Democratic Republic, religious communities and historians signed an open letter against it.   The most intriguing aspect of the project was that it would have showcased an already legendary experiment by Russian filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky. A decade ago, the director recreated a closed Stalinist society in Kharkov, a city of 1.4 million in the east of Ukraine. Participants interrupted their own lives to spend two years living in the 12,000-square-meter fake city. They were to dress and behave according to the strict rules of the community where a Soviet-era totalitarian regime was recreated. Some 700 hours of footage were collected through the experiment; 13 feature films as well as several series were reportedly made out of the material. The Berlin event would apparently have provided one of the first opportunities for the general public to discover the material. In a long-form article for GQ magazine in 2011, journalist Michael Idov wrote about the project, which was rumored to be "the most expansive, complicated, all-consuming film project ever attempted." Idov depicted the director as "a mix of the lofty and the louche." The Telegraph described his project as "the most insane film shoot of all time." Khrzhanovsky based his original project Dau on the story of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Lev Landau, whose life was filled with stories of sexual experiments, periods of psychiatric hospitalization and a dramatic car crash. Adding to the mystery of the project, Khrzhanovsky never showed up personally to promote his concept in Berlin. According to newspaper Tagesspiegel, a main backer of Dau is multimillionaire businessman and philanthropist Sergey Adoniev, reportedly close to Putin's circle, which also added to the controversy of rebuilding the Berlin Wall in the German capital. The costs of the Berlin project were estimated at €6.6 million ($7.7 million). Following Dau: Freedom in Berlin, the original plan was to set up similar events in Paris and London, for cycles titled Fraternity and Equality.

^ This is pretty weird, but it sounds more like a "living history" place than anything else - like going to Colonial Williamsburg to see how Colonial America looked. This would have given people a glimpse into living under a Communist dictatorship. ^

https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-blocks-controversial-wall-project/a-45588565

Protecting Flag

From USA Today:

"Boy protects American flag by lying on the ground in viral photo"

A photo showing an Idaho schoolboy lying on the ground to ensure that no part of an American flag touched the ground has gained international attention. Facebook user Amanda Reallan snapped the patriotic picture on Wednesday as she waited for her children at Hayden Meadows Elementary School in Hayden, Idaho. She noticed two boys taking down the school's flag. They were struggling to fold it, she told USA TODAY, and the flag nearly scraped the the ground. That's when another boy jumped into action. He laid himself down underneath the flag, allowing the other two to fold it without the flag dragging on the earth. Reallan took a photo and posted it to social media: "I just watched the most amazing act of Patriotism!" she wrote. "This needs to go viral!" And since then, it has — the image has been shared thousands of times, and several national and international publications have written about it. Jack LeBreck, the fifth grader who laid down in the image, spoke to local news reporters this week. "This is our nation's flag," he told KHQ-TV. "If you let it touch the ground, it means you disrespect your country. LeBreck credits custodian Mac McCarty for the special moment. McCarty helped select the kids to put up and take down the elementary school's flag. “What they did yesterday was obviously all them … laying on the ground and all that,” McCarty said. “And I’m very proud.” Since Reallan's photo gained widespread attention, she said, some have questioned whether it's authentic. It most certainly is, she said. “These boys had no idea I was taking the photo," she said. "They took it upon themselves to protect the flag." She said she hopes to impart that kind of respect for country to her own children. 

 ^ These are the kind of Americans that out-weigh all the bad ones that seem to be around lately. ^

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/09/22/idaho-boy-lies-ground-protect-american-flag-viral-photo/1394433002/

Scanning Delta

From Tech Crunch:

"Delta to start scanning faces at airport check-in"

Delta will later this year roll out facial recognition at its terminal at Atlanta International Airport for anyone traveling on an international flight. The airline said the biometric facial scanning is optional — a move that will shave off a few minutes off each flight — but will help border and pre-flight security authorities before jetting out of the US. It’s the latest roll-out of facial recognition trials at Detroit Metropolitan and New York John F. Kennedy airports. What might be convenient to some, to others it’s a privacy violation — and some argue that without approval from Congress, it could be illegal. Facial recognition at airports is a controversial move, one that’s been decried over the past year since it first rolled out last year. Six major US airports completed trials as part of a wider rollout — aimed to be completed by today. CBP relies on airlines to collect facial recognition data, something Delta doesn’t shy away from. The airline said facial recognition “is a natural next step following CBP and Delta’s optional facial recognition boarding tests” at Atlanta. Customs and Border Protection has previously said that the move was to crack down on those who overstay their visas, but privacy advocates said that it steps on privacy rights. Delta said that travelers who don’t want their faces will be given several opportunities to opt-out, Delta spokesperson Kathryn Steele told TechCrunch, and can continue to “proceed normally” through security. CBP spokesperson Jennifer Gabris said that only US citizens can opt out, and will have their documents checked manually. Homeland Security, which oversees border security, struck a different tone when last year it said that anyone who wanted to opt out of having their faces scanned should “refrain from traveling.” Biometric data collected by Delta is stored by the government for two weeks, but exit records on citizens and green card holders are held for 15 years, and 75 years for non-immigrant visitors. If that makes you uneasy, don’t expect the rollout to slow any time soon. Homeland Security continues to expand the program and is expected to roll out to land borders. Airport biometric scanners last month caught a traveler with a fake passport after using the facial scanners at Washington Dulles airport. Even with one success story in the bag, it’s a tough sell to convince the government to pull back now.

^ I personally don't have an issue with facial scans at airports or at any border (for citizens or foreigners.) I had my picture taken several times when I travelled through British airports. I can see how some people may be worried about how the information collected is used (or abused) and so think there needs to be Federal (ie. Congressional) oversight in that respect. ^

https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/20/delta-to-start-scanning-faces-at-airport-check-in/?yptr=yahoo

Baltics Remember

From the AFP:

"Lithuanian Soviet, Nazi victims await pope's 'never again'"

Thirty-five years ago, Father Sigitas Tamkevicius was detained and repeatedly interrogated at a KGB prison for protesting Soviet religious discrimination. On Sunday, Pope Francis will visit the Lithuanian Catholic priest's cell in what is now a museum in central Vilnius to pay tribute to those who challenged the Soviet regime. "When I was sitting in that cell deep underground, if someone had told me the pope would come here... that would have been incredible," Tamkevicius, now 79, told AFP. "The pope's visit to this place and tribute to the sacrifice for freedom cannot be overestimated," he added. After Lithuania regained independence in the 1990s, Tamkevicius was appointed an archbishop. Back in the 1980s however, he was accused of spreading anti-Soviet propaganda for having founded and edited the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. Founded in 1972, the underground periodical covered the repression of Catholics. In classic samizdat fashion, it was smuggled across to the West, where it was picked up by sources including Vatican Radio and Voice of America. Arrested and imprisoned in 1983, Tamkevicius served time in Soviet labour camps, including a spell in Siberia, before his release. "We thought that if we got more freedom for the church, it would also bring more freedom to Lithuania," he said. "Everybody knew that the church was fighting not only for its own rights but also for the nation's rights." Tamkevicius said he was heavily motivated by the then pope -- later saint -- John Paul II's public solidarity with the "silent Church" in countries where faith was discouraged at the time. Dissidents in Lithuania and fellow Baltic states Estonia and Latvia were also encouraged by the fact that the Vatican had refused to recognise the Soviet occupation of the trio. The Soviets had handed Tamkevicius a 10-year jail sentence. In the end he was freed after six, in 1989, during the so-called perestroika reforms instituted by Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. But many of those detained decades earlier never left the Vilnius prison alive. Carved into its stony walls are the names of dissidents killed there under Soviet rule. Vilnius estimates that more than 50,000 Lithuanians died in camps, prisons, and during deportations between 1944 and 1953. Another 20,000 partisans and supporters were killed in anti-Soviet guerilla warfare. The pope will also pay tribute to Holocaust victims at the Vilnius ghetto memorial. Nazi Germany all but obliterated the once-vibrant Jewish community of the capital, known as the "Jerusalem of the North". "We feel honoured by the pope's visit -- no matter that we have different religions -- and appreciate that he will honour the victims exactly 75 years after the ghetto was liquidated," community leader Faina Kukliansky told AFP. "I believe his thoughts will also be with the Christians who saved Jews, including those who saved my family." Around 200,000 Lithuanian Jews died at the hands of the Nazis and local collaborators under the 1941-44 German occupation -- nearly the entire Jewish population. Today there are only around 3,000 Jews left in the EU and NATO member state of 2.9 million people. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said church support for dissenting voices helped it preserve a strong moral position in the country. "The church was one of our pillars of resistance, alongside our language, culture and songs," she told AFP. "We see the difficulties and challenges that the church faces in other countries but we are glad it preserved moral authority here."

^ It is very important for spiritual and governmental officials to remember the men and women that were imprisoned and/or murdered under the brutal dictatorships of the Nazis and the Communists. 27 years may have passed since Communism in Eastern Europe fell and 73 years since the Nazis were defeated throughout Europe, but there are many victims still alive today and their stories need to be told before it is too late to record them for history. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/lithuanian-soviet-nazi-victims-await-popes-never-again-031537531.html

No Straws For You

From AFP:

"California to limit use of plastic straws in restaurants"

California restaurants will soon stop providing plastic straws unless customers explicitly ask for them, under a new law signed on Thursday by the state's environment-friendly governor. Governor Jerry Brown said he hoped the measure -- which goes into effect next year and is the first of its kind nationwide -- would spur people to "pause and think" about an alternative before requesting a straw. "It is a very small step to make a customer who wants a plastic straw ask for it," Brown said in a statement. "But one thing is clear -- we must find ways to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use plastic products," added the governor, a fierce environmentalist who has been a leading US voice in the battle to fight climate change. Under the new law, restaurants that don't comply will get two warnings before being fined a maximum of $300 a year. Brown warned that plastics in all forms were "choking our planet" and pointed to the huge amount of plastic products dumped into the oceans every year, killing off marine life. "Plastic has helped advance innovation in our society, but our infatuation with single-use convenience has led to disastrous consequences," he said. The new law comes amid increased awareness worldwide about the global plastic waste crisis. The European Union in May proposed a bloc-wide ban on single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery and cotton buds while urging the collection of most plastic drink bottles by 2025. France plans to introduce a penalty system next year that would increase the costs of consumer goods made of plastic, including plates, cups and utensils.

^ This new law is beyond stupid. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-limit-plastic-straws-restaurants-003649083.html