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BRODSKY & SMITH SHAREHOLDER UPDATE: Notifying Investors of the Following Investigations: Summit Materials, Inc. (NYSE – SUM), Entero Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq - ENTO), Liberty Broadband Corporation (Nasdaq – LBRDA, LBRDK, LBRDP), Manitex International, Inc. (Nasdaq - MNTX)NBA to host preseason games in China five years after league was effectively blocked from the country
Ashlon Jackson scores career-best 30 points to lead No. 13 Duke past No. 9 Kansas 73-62
CLEVELAND (AP) — Shane Bieber's first venture into free agency turned into a return trip. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner agreed Friday to rejoin the Cleveland Guardians after making just two starts last season before undergoing Tommy John surgery, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. Bieber had been expected to leave the AL Central champions. But he's coming back after agreeing to a one-year, $14 million contract that includes a $16 million player option for 2026, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. Bieber’s deal will pay him $10 million in salary and includes a $4 million buyout. The 29-year-old only pitched twice in 2024 before having the surgery on his elbow that bothered him during the previous campaign. Bieber felt discomfort in his start on opening day against the Oakland Athletics and again when he faced the Seattle Mariners his next outing. Bieber didn't allow a run in either start, and the club had been encouraged by his velocity and dominance (20 strikeouts). But the elbow became too painful and Bieber elected to have the ligament-replacement surgery. If his recovery follows a normal timeline, Bieber should be back in Cleveland's rotation within the first three months of next season. The Guardians feared his loss would hurt them last season, but the club got off to a fast start under first-year manager Stephen Vogt and ran away with the division title. Cleveland eliminated Detroit in the AL Division Series before losing the ALCS to the New York Yankees in five games. Bieber spent chunks of last season with the team and he received a huge ovation at Progressive Field when he was introduced before the postseason series. The two-time All-Star has spent all seven of his big league seasons with Cleveland, which had contemplated trading him before his elbow issues in 2023 limited him to 21 starts. During the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020, Bieber went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA over 12 starts and 77 1/3 innings with 122 strikeouts. He led the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts and finished fourth in AL MVP voting. He was selected by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 2016 amateur draft out of UC Santa Barbara and made his major league debut two years later on his 23rd birthday. Bieber has a career record of 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA over 136 outings spanning 134 starts and 843 innings. He has twice reached 200 innings, throwing a career-high 214 1/3 in 2019. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlbNone
India Celebrates 75 Years of Constitution: A Unified National PledgeProper No. 12 Irish Whiskey Makes Decision On Conor McGregorCHRISTMAS Day is a joyful time to get the family together and enjoy everyone's company. But if you're the person who's drawn the short straw on making the festive feast, it can also be a very stressful day. 3 Preparing Christmas Dinner can feel very stressful Credit: Alamy 3 A £32 buy is being hailed as the 'best money ever spent' to make Christmas Dinner stress-free 3 The four-tray buffet server keeps food warm From making sure there's enough for food for everybody, to getting the timings just right, Christmas Dinner takes a lot of prep time. So it's no surprise that mums are going wild for a kitchen buy that "removes all stress" on December 25. The Tower four-tray buffet server is usually priced at £39.99 but is currently on offer for £31.27 The buffet server has a 300W power output, and can keep four different food types warm until they are ready to serve. Read more in Fabulous ZAR-AAH! ‘Xmas party outfits we can afford’ cries shopper after finding Zara sale shop SAVVY SAVER M&S shoppers are realising genius trick to save a 1/3 on popular Xmas snack Adjustable temperature controls also ensure food doesn't overcook while staying hot, while the base doubles up as a warming plate to keep dishes warm. And although the price tag may seem slightly expensive on top of the usual shopping list, shoppers are insisting that it's the "best money they've ever spent". One mum gushed: "If you're like me and you find cooking Christmas dinner bloody stressful, then you need this. "This is going to make your life so much easier and your day so much more enjoyable, which is what Christmas is about isn't it? Most read in Fabulous ZAR-AAH! ‘Xmas party outfits we can afford’ cries shopper after finding Zara sale shop HEATED ROW Bonnie Blue slammed for saying men have 'right' to cheat in heated debate WEIGH TO GO My husband feels like he's having an affair with a new woman after I shed 12st TOUGH LUCK I’m single mum & I’m refusing to host Christmas this year - it’s exhausting "So you know what it's like, Christmas dinner, you've got everybody there, everyone's really hungry, half of the food's cooked, some of it's not ready yet, the bit that's cooked is already going cold while the other's spoiling up. "It's just stressful, trying to dish it up is a nightmare. So instead, dish it up into this hot plate and it's going to stay warm. Get yourself a stress-free Christmas." Paris Fury reveals time-saving trick for creating a Masterchef-worthy Christmas dinner & she's got Jamie Oliver to thank A second chimed in: "Had one of these for years and completely removed the stress. Best money I’ve ever spent." A third echoed: "They’re an absolute game-changer, honestly. Makes life so much easier." "I’ve had one of these for so many years and tbf I won’t be without it", chimed in a fourth. A fifth said: "I cooked [Christmas Dinner] for 9 last year and I found it a life saver, they are deeper than they look." Meanwhile, a sixth wrote: "Brilliant at Christmas time made it so much easier cooking a lot of food." Elsewhere, meet the food lover who tried Aldi’s new cast iron cookware range – it’s over £900 cheaper than Le Creuset but you can’t tell the difference. Read more on the Scottish Sun REY-LY EXCITING US pop superstar announces first Scots show in almost 10 years BALLSED UP Lorraine apologises on air for using phrase she 'didn't know' was a swear word What’s more, there are two new shades of green and orange, alongside the return of the sell-out blue. And everything in the latest cast iron range is available for a purse-friendly £25 or less.WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is promising expedited federal permits for energy projects and other construction worth more than $1 billion. But like other Trump plans, the idea is likely to run into regulatory and legislative hurdles, including a landmark law that requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impact before deciding on major projects. In a post on his Truth Social site Tuesday, Trump said anyone making a $1 billion investment in the United States “will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.” “GET READY TO ROCK!!!" he added. While Trump did not specify who would be eligible for accelerated approvals, dozens of energy projects proposed nationwide, from natural gas pipelines and export terminals to solar farms and offshore wind turbines, meet the billion-dollar criteria. Environmental groups slammed the proposal, calling it illegal on its face and a clear violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, a 54-year-old law that requires federal agencies to study the potential environmental impact of proposed actions and consider alternatives. “Trump is unabashedly and literally offering to sell out America to the highest corporate bidder,'' said Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action, an environmental group. She said the plan was “obviously illegal” and another example of Trump “putting special interests and corporate polluters in the driver’s seat, which would result in more pollution, higher costs and fewer energy choices for the American people.” Alexandra Adams, chief policy advocacy officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Trump should be careful what he wishes for. “What if someone wants to build a waste incinerator next to Mar-a-Lago or a coal mine next to Bedminster golf course?" she asked, referring to Trump's Florida home and New Jersey golf club, respectively. “There’s a reason Congress requires the government to take a hard look at community impacts to make sure we don’t greenlight projects that do more harm than good. Cheerleading on social media doesn’t change that reality,” Adams said. Energy analyst Kevin Book said Trump's post showed his usual flair for showmanship but said there was a real concern underlying it: a bipartisan push for permitting reform to speed up major environmental projects that now take years to win approval. READ: “The substance here is he is really serious about trying to get permitting reform done," said Book, managing partner at ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington research firm. “Permitting delays are an impediment in many sectors — including energy — and there are multiple billion-dollar investments waiting for permitting reform," Book said. A bipartisan plan championed by Senate Energy Committee Chairman Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the committee's top Republican, would speed up permitting for major energy and mineral projects, but its chances are uncertain in the final few weeks of the current Congress. Their plan would boost energy projects of all types, bringing down prices, creating domestic jobs and allowing the U.S. to continue as a global energy leader, Barrasso and Manchin say. Critics say the bill would open major expanses of public lands and waters for oil and gas drilling and gut executive and judicial review. “Checking off wish lists for oil, gas and mining companies is not permitting reform,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. He called the bill “a dirty deal” that would exempt some oil and gas drilling projects from federal review and “let mining companies dump even more toxic waste on our public lands.” Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, said Trump's second term will be a “golden age of regulation-cutting,'' including a promise to “drill, baby, drill.'' “If you want to bring in money, he’s going to move heaven and earth to get that money in the door and get it invested in the United States,'' Miller said Tuesday at a conference organized by the Wall Street Journal. The plan applies to both domestic and foreign investment, Miller said: “He wants to get the money and he wants to get the regulations cut and get the economy moving again. ” In the short term, Trump's post makes permitting reform less likely this year, Book said, as Republicans seek to wait until next year when they will control both chambers of Congress and the White House. But the issue is likely to return quickly in the new year. ___ Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this story. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
On November 27, Saudi Arabia will mark a significant milestone in its urban transformation with the launch of the first phase of the Riyadh Metro. The metro features six routes in total, spanning 176km and 84 stations. The first phase will see operations kick off on its first three lines, with the remaining expected to be up and running by mid-December. Riyadh Metro’s first phase launch The lines will connect the following areas: By mid-December, the additional three lines, covering critical routes such as King Abdullah Road, Al Madina, and King Abdulaziz Road, will further expand the network, increasing the metro’s reach and capacity. Key Vision 2030 initiative The project represents a total investment of $22.5bn (SR84.4bn), making it one of the largest infrastructure investments in the kingdom. While the project has faced delays due to logistical challenges and the global Covid-19 pandemic, the metro’s opening marks a major leap toward Riyadh’s vision of becoming a global commercial hub. Set to redefine public transportation in the capital, the metro is a cornerstone project under Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 initiative, aimed at diversifying the economy and modernising urban infrastructure. إطلاق جزئي لـ #المترو الأربعاء المقبل عبر 3 مسارات في المرحلة الأولى #الاقتصادية #مترو_الرياض — تحديثات قطار الرياض (@_RiyadhMetro) November 22, 2024 Sustainable operations The Riyadh Metro offers a cleaner, faster, and more sustainable alternative to car-dependent travel. Solar panels installed at metro stations and depots will generate 20 per cent of the energy needed for critical systems, reducing the carbon footprint of the network. Additionally, energy-efficient trains and regenerative braking systems will minimise power consumption, while all six lines will eventually run entirely on renewable energy. The metro trains incorporate energy-efficient technology, including regenerative braking, which recycles energy during braking and reduces overall power consumption. By the time all six lines are fully operational, the Riyadh Metro is expected to run on 100 per cent renewable energy, underscoring the kingdom’s commitment to sustainability and clean energy. Ticket pricing, including discount packages, will be announced shortly.None
How to watch ‘The Voice’ playoffs part 3, stream for freeOpinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• You can learn something about a city by just walking through it. Most of New York City’s Manhattan core feels bustling, whereas a San Francisco block can seem dormant. In Rome, it is common to see groups of men standing around, chatting or arguing. We are all familiar with such casual generalizations, but what might the data show more explicitly? Fortunately, there is new research. We have entered the age where innovative methods of measurement, such as computer vision and deep learning, can reveal how American life has changed. Researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research compiled footage of four urban public spaces, two in New York and one each in Philadelphia and Boston, from 1979 to 1980 and again in 2008-2010. These snapshots of American life, roughly 30 years apart, reveal how changes in work and culture might have shaped the way people move and interact on the street. The videos capture people circulating in two busy Manhattan locations, in Bryant Park in midtown and outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the Upper East Side; around Boston’s Downtown Crossing shopping district; and on Chestnut Street in downtown Philadelphia. One piece of good news is that, at least when it comes to our street behavior, we don’t seem to have become more solitary. From 1980 to 2010 there was hardly any change in the share of pedestrians walking alone, rising from 67% to 68%. A bigger change is that average walking speed rose by 15%. So the pace of American life has accelerated, at least in public spaces in the Northeast. Most economists would predict such a result, since the growth in wages has increased the opportunity cost of just walking around. Better to have a quick stroll and get back to your work desk. The biggest change in behavior was that lingering fell dramatically. The amount of time spent just hanging out dropped by about half across the measured locations. Note that this was seen in places where crime rates have fallen, so this trend was unlikely to have resulted from fear of being mugged. Instead, Americans just don’t use public spaces as they used to. These places now tend to be for moving through, to get somewhere, rather than for enjoying life or hoping to meet other people. There was especially a shift at Boston’s Downtown Crossing. In 1980, 54% of the people there were lingering, whereas by 2010 that had fallen to 14%. Consistent with this observation, the number of public encounters also fell. You might be no less likely to set off with another person in tow, but you won’t meet up with others as often while you are underway. The notion of downtown as a “public square,” rife with spontaneous or planned encounters, is not what it used to be. The internet and mobile phones are likely driving this change in behavior. If there is someone you want to meet up with, it is today much easier to arrange that in advance, rather than hoping for chance encounters. Anecdotally, I have noticed that the notion of a “hangout” is less central to daily life than when I was growing up, though people will talk about “hanging out” on social media such as X or Bluesky. Another driver of change could be the aging of America. In the 1980s, when I was in my 20s, I sometimes would hang out at the Downtown Crossing area in Boston, but it is unlikely, if I still lived nearby, that I would do so today. As an older person, I am busier and have more preestablished social networks, including in other cities and online. I also find that more people in public spaces are on their cellphones, so what’s the point? American cities have devoted considerable attention to developing public spaces as a place to meet up and socialize. Some pedestrian-oriented spaces, such as New York City’s Times Square and downtown areas in Cleveland and Philadelphia, among others, are far more animated than they were three decades ago. But perhaps the emphasis on the public square is less appropriate than it used to be, and traffic management, in the broad sense of that term, should be the new priority. Should we prefer this new world to the old? There is probably no going back, but in the meantime I will be observing public spaces in a new and different way. I am more likely to see the velocity of movement and take stock of the social thinness of what is before me, and thus be all the more in a hurry to get to my next destination. Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a professor of economics at George Mason University and host of the Marginal Revolution blog.
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T he skies above the White House were cold and grey. Joe Biden greeted the championship winning Boston Celtics basketball team , quipping about his Irish ancestry and tossing a basketball into the crowd. But the US president could not resist drawing a wider lesson. “When we get knocked down, we get back up,” he said . “As my dad would say, ‘Just get up, Joe. Get up.’ Character to keep going and keep the faith, that’s the Celtic way of life. That’s sports. And that’s America.” Such events continue to be among the ceremonial duties of a “lame duck” president with waning influence. Biden has cut a diminished figure in recent months, first surrendering his chance to seek re-election, then finding himself sidelined by the doomed presidential campaign of his vice-president, Kamala Harris. But with his legacy imperiled by Donald Trump , the president is facing calls to mitigate the oncoming storm. Advocacy groups say Biden, who turned 82 this week, can still take actions during his final two months in office to accelerate spending on climate and healthcare, secure civil liberties, and Trump-proof at least some fundamentals of US democracy. Trump’s signature campaign promise was a draconian crackdown on illegal immigration. He has nominated officials including Tom Homan and Stephen Miller , architects of family separations at the southern border during his first term, and vowed to use the US military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. The plans include mandatory detention, potentially trapping immigrants in inhumane conditions for years as they fight deportation. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is leading an opposition effort, urging Biden to halt the current expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention facilities, especially those with records of human rights abuses. Eunice Cho , a senior staff attorney with the ACLU national prison project, said Ice detention facilities “characterised by abusive conditions, pervasive neglect and utter disregard for the dignity of people in their custody” are key to Trump’s logistical plan. Dozens of people have died in Ice detention facilities – mostly owned or operated by private prison corporations – over the past four years, according to the ACLU, and 95% were likely preventable if appropriate medical care had been provided. Yet the Biden administration has backed new Ice detention facilities in states where they did not existed before, such as Kansas, Wyoming and Missouri. “We are calling on the Biden administration to take action now, in the final days of the administration, to halt any efforts to expand immigration detention and to shut down specifically abusive facilities once and for all,” Cho told reporters on a Zoom call this week . “We don’t need to put down runway for the Trump administration to put in place these mass detention and deportation machines.” She warned: “We know that the anti-immigrant policies of a second administration are going to be far more aggressive than what we saw in the first term, and mass arrest and detention is going to become perhaps the norm to create and carry out these deportation operations unless we can do all we can to put a halt to them.” Another crucial area for Biden to make a last stand is criminal justice. In his first term, Trump oversaw the execution of more people than the previous 10 presidents combined. Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, then imposed a moratorium on federal executions in 2021. Trump has indicated his intention to resume such executions and even expand the death penalty. His nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi , issued a public apology in 2013 while serving as Florida’s top law enforcement officer after she sought to delay the execution of a convicted killer because it conflicted with a fundraiser for her re-election campaign. Cassandra Stubbs , director of the ACLU’s capital punishment project, told reporters via Zoom that Trump said “he will work to expand the death penalty. He’s going to try to expand it to people who do not even commit killings. He’s called for expanding the death penalty to his political opponents. “But perhaps most dangerously in Project 2025 [a policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation thinktank] – and we believe every word of it is this – he promised to try to kill everyone on death row, and the reason why we have to believe this and take it so seriously is the record that Donald Trump left where he, in a span of six months, carried out 13 executions.” The ACLU and other groups are therefore pressing Biden to commute the sentences of all individuals on federal death row to life in prison, fulfilling a campaign promise and preventing potential executions under Trump. Commuting “is really the thing that Biden can do to make it harder for Trump to restart executions”, Stubbs added. Pastor Brandi Slaughter, a board member of the pressure group Death Penalty Action , told reporters this week: “We know what the next president plans to do if any prisoners are left under a sentence of death under the Biden administration. We’ve been there, we’ve done that.” Biden has also received 8,000 petitions for clemency from federal prisoners serving non-death penalty sentences that he could either reduce or pardon. The former senator has long been criticised for his role in drawing up a 1994 crime law that led to the incarceration of thousands of Black men and women for drug offences. This week, members of Congress including Ayanna Pressley and James Clyburn led 64 colleagues in sending a letter to Biden urging him to use his clemency power “to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration”. They were joined at a press conference on Capitol Hill by Maria Garza, 50, from Illinois, a prison reform advocate who spent 12 years in a state prison. She said in an interview: “There is a sense of urgency because a lot of the people that are sitting waiting for clemency are people that have de facto life sentences that will die in prison if they don’t [receive clemency]. A lot of their unjust sentencing was because of the 1994 crime bill that he was the founding father of.” Sign up to Fighting Back Big thinkers on what we can do to protect civil liberties and fundamental freedoms in a Trump presidency. From our opinion desk. after newsletter promotion Mitzi Wall , whose 29-year-old son Jonathan is incarcerated on a seven-and-a-half-year federal cannabis charge, called on Biden to keep a campaign promise to grant clemency to more than 4,000 people in federal prison for nonviolent cannabis crimes. “We voted for President Biden,” she said. “He gave us hope and we’re asking him to do nothing more than keep his promise.” Wall, 63, from Maryland, added: “President Biden was partly responsible for writing the 1994 crime bill that thrust families into abject poverty and pain. I know he feels bad about that and he can right that wrong with the power of the pen. I’m appealing to him as a father whose son [Hunter] could very possibly be going to prison. ” In other efforts to protect civil liberties, the ACLU is recommending a moratorium on all federal government purchases of Americans’ personal data without a warrant. It is also asking Congress to pass the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act to prevent potential abuse of surveillance technologies under the Trump administration . Meanwhile, Trump has pledged to rescind unspent funds in Biden’s landmark climate and healthcare law and stop clean-energy development projects. White House officials are working against the clock to dole out billions of dollars in grants for existing programmes to minimise Trump’s ability to rescind or redirect these funds. Earlier this month, the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, announced more than $3.4bn in grants for infrastructure projects across the country. Wendy Schiller , a political science professor at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, notes that Trump will have the power of impoundment to stall the money flowing out of the government and can order rescissions to programmes funded by Congress. “The singular thing that Joe Biden can do is expedite the flow of federal dollars in all the programmes,” Schiller said. “Any money that is supposed to leave the treasury to go to schools, food safety, environmental protection – anything that is not yet distributed needs to get distributed. It’s like emptying literally the piggy bank before you go on a trip. President Biden needs to be literally getting as much money out the door in the hands of state, local and community organisations as he can.” Another priority for the White House is getting Senate confirmation of as many federal judges as possible, given the potential impact of the judiciary in challenging Trump administration policies. The Marshall Project, a non-profit news organisation, noted: “Federal judges restricted hundreds of Trump administration policies during his first term, and will likely play a significant role in determining the trajectory of his second.” Senate Republicans forced numerous procedural votes and late-night sessions this week in attempt to stall confirmations. Eventually a deal was struck that will bring Biden within striking distance of the 234 judicial confirmations that occurred in Trump’s first term – but four of Biden’s appellate court nominees will not be considered. The outgoing president could also engage with Democratic-led states and localities to bolster protections and establish “firewalls” against Trump’s agenda, particularly in areas such as immigration. These collaborations could involve reinforcing sanctuary city policies and providing resources to states that are likely to face pressure from the Trump administration. Chris Scott , former coalitions director for Harris, said: “What will be interesting is how or what can President Biden to work with states, especially where we have Democratic leadership in place, to be able to brace themselves and arm themselves with more protection. We already have places like a Michigan or Illinois where you have governors vowing to make sure that they have protections – even in the Trump presidency. ” As Barack Obama discovered before handing Trump the keys to the Oval Office in 2017, however, lame duck presidents can only do so much. Trump will come into office with a flurry of executive orders, a supportive Congress and fewer guardrails than the first time around. Bill Galston , a former adviser in the Bill Clinton administration, said: “On January 20 Donald Trump will control all the instruments of government and, at that point, it’ll be up to the courts – and public opinion – to restrain him.”"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 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Quest Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials ( NYSE:VMC – Free Report ) by 77.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,166 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,445 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Vulcan Materials were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Vulcan Materials by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 392,600 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors boosted its stake in Vulcan Materials by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 4,936 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Vulcan Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $125,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vulcan Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 19,447 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,870,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Beaton Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the third quarter worth $203,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth VMC has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Vulcan Materials from $267.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.46. Vulcan Materials Price Performance VMC stock opened at $284.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $254.63. Vulcan Materials has a 1 year low of $209.60 and a 1 year high of $298.31. Vulcan Materials ( NYSE:VMC – Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.12). Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 11.43%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Vulcan Materials will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year. Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Vulcan Materials’s payout ratio is 29.02%. Vulcan Materials Company Profile ( Free Report ) Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VMC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vulcan Materials ( NYSE:VMC – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Vulcan Materials Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vulcan Materials and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
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TORONTO, Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rivalry Corp. (the "Company" or "Rivalry") (TSXV: RVLY) (OTCQX: RVLCF) (FSE: 9VK), the leading sportsbook and iGaming operator for digital-first players, is pleased to announce that it has closed the initial tranche of a non-brokered private placement of 12,930,707 units of the Company (the "Units"), at a price of $0.15 per Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $1.94 million (the "Offering"). The Company may complete one or more additional closings, for aggregate gross proceeds (together with the proceeds raised under the initial closing) of up to approximately USD$3 million. Unless otherwise noted, all dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars. “This initial tranche of our non-brokered private placement was primarily subscribed to by insiders, family and friends, and long-term shareholders,” said Steven Salz, Co-Founder and CEO of Rivalry. “This commitment and demonstration of support is deeply gratifying as we press ahead into a new chapter for the Company.” Each Unit is comprised of one (1) subordinate voting share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Subordinate Voting Share") and one-half of one (1/2) Subordinate Voting Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable into one Subordinate Voting Share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.25 per Warrant Share for a period of 12 months from the date hereof, subject to the Company's right to accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants upon 30 days' notice in the event that the closing price of the Subordinate Voting Shares is equal to or exceeds $0.50 on the TSX Venture Exchange (or such other recognized Canadian stock exchange as the Subordinate Voting Shares are primarily traded on) for a period of 10 consecutive trading days. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering for corporate development and general working capital purposes. The Subordinate Voting Shares and Warrants, and any securities issuable upon exercise thereof, are subject to a four-month statutory hold period, in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The Company has paid an aggregate of $14,953.74 in finder's fees in connection with the closing of the first tranche of the Offering. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available. 1,333,300 Units were issued to Steven Isenberg, a director of the Company and a "related party" (within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101")) and such issuance is considered a "related party transaction" for the purposes of MI 61-101. Such related party transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the securities being issued to the related parties nor the consideration being paid by the related parties exceeded 25% of the Company’s market capitalization. The purchasers of the Units and the extent of such participation were not finalized until shortly prior to the completion of the Offering. Accordingly, it was not possible to publicly disclose details of the nature and extent of related party participation in the transactions contemplated hereby pursuant to a material change report filed at least 21 days prior to the completion of such transactions. About Rivalry Rivalry Corp. wholly owns and operates Rivalry Limited , a leading sport betting and media company offering fully regulated online wagering on esports, traditional sports, and casino for the digital generation. Based in Toronto, Rivalry operates a global team in more than 20 countries and growing. Rivalry Limited has held an Isle of Man license since 2018, considered one of the premier online gambling jurisdictions, as well as an internet gaming registration in Ontario, and is currently in the process of obtaining additional country licenses. With world class creative execution and brand positioning in online culture, a native crypto token, and demonstrated market leadership among digital-first users Rivalry is shaping the future of online gambling for a generation born on the internet. Company Contact: Steven Salz, Co-founder & CEO ss@rivalry.com 416-565-4713 Investor Contact: investors@rivalry.com Media Contact: Cody Luongo, Head of Communications cody@rivalry.com 203-947-1936 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management of the Company at the date the statements are made based on information then available to the Company. Various factors and assumptions are applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to and involve a number of known and unknown, variables, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause the Company’s actual performance and results to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations; the ability to obtain and maintain required licenses; the esports and sports betting industry being a heavily regulated industry; the complex and evolving regulatory environment for the online gaming and online gambling industry; the success of esports and other betting products are not guaranteed; changes in public perception of the esports and online gambling industry; failure to retain or add customers; the Company having a limited operating history; negative cash flow from operations; operational risks; cybersecurity risks; reliance on management; reliance on third parties and third-party networks; exchange rate risks; risks related to cryptocurrency transactions; risk of intellectual property infringement or invalid claims; the effect of capital market conditions and other factors on capital availability; competition, including from more established or better financed competitors; and general economic, market and business conditions. For additional risks, please see the Company’s MD&A dated April 30, 2024 and other disclosure documents available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca . No assurance can be given that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Source: Rivalry Corp.By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the Federal Trade Commission . He will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars’ worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior . Ferguson is already one of the FTC’s five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” Related Articles National Politics | Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling National Politics | Biden says he was ‘stupid’ not to put his name on pandemic relief checks like Trump did National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television The replacement of Khan likely means that the FTC will operate with a lighter touch when it comes to antitrust enforcement. The new chair is expected to appoint new directors of the FTC’s antitrust and consumer protection divisions. “These changes likely will make the FTC more favorable to business than it has been in recent years, though the extent to which is to be determined,” wrote Anthony DiResta, a consumer protection attorney at Holland & Knight, in a recent analysis . Deals that were blocked by the Biden administration could find new life with Trump in command. For example, the new leadership could be more open to a proposed merger between the country’s two biggest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, which forged a $24.6 billion deal to combine in 2022. Two judges halted the merger Tuesday night. The FTC had filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this year to block the merger, claiming the deal would eliminate competition, leading to higher prices and lower wages for workers. The two companies say a merger would help them lower prices and compete against bigger rivals like Walmart. One of the judges said the FTC had shown it was likely to prevail in the administrative hearing. Yet given the widespread public concern over high grocery prices, the Trump administration may not fully abandon the FTC’s efforts to block the deal, some experts have said. And the FTC may continue to scrutinize Big Tech firms for any anticompetitive behavior. Many Republican politicians have accused firms such as Meta of censoring conservative views, and some officials in Trump’s orbit, most notably Vice President-elect JD Vance, have previously expressed support for Khan’s scrutiny of Big Tech firms. In addition to Fergson, Trump also announced Tuesday that he had selected Jacob Helberg as the next undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment."Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" To keep reading, please log in to your account, create a free account, or simply fill out the form below.
(Image: Private Media/Zennie) One of the great things about becoming a parent is you learn you are not the lead character in your own life story. The best you can hope for is a supporting role. As your children grow older, you become a featured player, provide comic relief or maybe get the occasional non-speaking walk-on as someone’s butler or maid. Towards the end, you’re earning two dollars a day as a background extra and aren’t allowed to eat in the catering tent. At the beginning though, when your name’s still above the title, your job is to try and create an ideal world for those with whom you’re sharing the bill. At the same time you’re building this safe fairytale space where bad things don’t happen, you have to equip them with all the skills they’ll need to live in the world as it really is: a meaningless roundelay of happenstance that can only be made sense of by one’s actions (or distractions). That’s the trick with rearing children. You’ve got to keep them as innocent as possible without bedding in a naiveté that will render them crushed once they find out sunshine and lollipops give them skin cancer and diabetes. Da pacem, Domine: Why Trump is what democracy needs Read More Self-awareness is an essential part of the human condition, but you don’t want it turning up too early or it risks becoming self-consciousness. Realising that you are beautiful or not, smart or not, sporty or not, funny or not — this can ruin the person you might have become, especially if that realisation is the product of someone else’s judgment. Better to stumble across that sort of thing in private and deal with it than be buffeted about by public opinion while you’re working on getting a decent ATAR. The playground is a hard enough place without a video of yourself being stuffed into a bin doing the rounds on social media. In a playground you can at least see where the gate is; with social media there’s nowhere to run. You think the whole world is witnessing your humiliation and then reading the comments underneath. Of course, it isn’t the whole world at all, but you don’t know that when you’re a kid: it’s hard to take the long view on something when you’ve only seen 13 summers, the first three or four of which you can’t even remember. Fame or infamy is experienced by most of us from the outside looking in. Being a vaguely recognisable person on TV is a poor and distant cousin, so I can’t tell you what it’s like to be the object of everyone’s attention all the time, but I imagine it would get wearying, even if it’s adoring. I’ve had my share of people being unimpressed with something I’ve done on TV over the years — and not all of them have been network executives — but that has always felt like a rejection of my work rather than me as a person, so it’s easily shrugged off. Or so I pretend. The judgment of others, damning or propitious, for simply being rather than just doing , messes with your head when you’re a fully grown adult wandering about on Married at First Sight, let alone when you’re a child being made fun of because you posted a picture you liked of yourself in a dress your grandmother made for you. As T.S. Eliot said: “Humankind cannot bear very much reality”. I know I can’t stomach more than five minutes of it (particularly Married at First Sight ). A child deserves as much of an ideal and perfect world as we can possibly confect and maintain for them, so I’m all for being a chirpy Pollyanna until my kids are old enough to roll their eyes at me. They’re in their twenties now and I still think I’m getting away with it. And like the prayers everyone joins in on at the opening of the parliamentary day, I’m happy for our lawmakers to engage in some fiction here and there if it helps make for that Benthamite definition of good: the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. A snottily superior plea for tolerance Read More Now, the Elon Musks of this world (and there is at least one we’re certain of) will say that Australia’s proposed law compelling social media platforms to set up age-verification systems is a draconian stranglehold around the throat of free speech and, worse, “a backdoor way to control access to the internet”, like Musk said . They will point to X and Facebook and Instagram and TikTok and MySpace (my favourite) and say that these concatenations of code are today’s town squares and the marketplaces of free ideas. But are if you’re giving away ideas for free in a marketplace, you’re not going to cover your overheads. You need some margin. It may be old-fashioned to say so, but the best ideas are the ones you have to pay for, either by buying a book, forking out for an education or costing you dearly later because the idea came to you unbidden while you were bored in a cave one day, was about God and you started telling people about it (though if it really catches on, civilisation usually ends up attending to the account on your behalf). There’s also the question of nametags and friendly customer service. In an actual marketplace, it’s rare that a stall holder will be wearing a balaclava or spruiking their wares through a voice-altering microphone. Plus, the customer tends to visit the stall rather than have an algorithm make it appear in front of them unbidden so they end up getting annoyed and start fighting with the stallholder. Then there’s the behaviour of the other customers. In a real marketplace, people will visit the stalls and look at what’s for sale and politely enquire after this or that so they can make an informed purchase. There’s civility and courtesy between the potential customer and the balaclava-less, non-voice-altered stallholder. Customers rarely run through the market shouting abuse, asking sarcastic rhetorical questions and making incoherent declarative statements. Nor will they try and pass off a GIF of Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men as a counter-argument. To paraphrase something Sigmund Freud apparently never said about cigars: “Sometimes a meme of a dog going to the toilet is just a meme of a dog going to the toilet.” An opinion needs to have some rational underpinning to it for it to be worth anything. It also helps if the words are spelled properly, in the right order, and the whole thing is punctuated. If Clarence Darrow had employed the inarticulate sophistry of social media in his court cases, then Scopes’ monkey would be teaching bible studies in American schools today and Leopold and Loeb would still be writing their wonderful musicals. Labor gave the public one day to weigh in on teen social media ban. It got 15,000 responses Read More Ditto all this nonsense about freedom of speech. People forget (or more likely never knew because, according to some government-led enquiry into early childhood learning, lunchtimes are more important than an extra hour inside learning about civics) that freedom of speech is a right accorded you by society. It’s not some cosplay version of what we imagine our early hominid ancestors got away with when they came down from the trees. Yes, whoever yelled the loudest could be heard more, but someone sneaking up behind him with a rock probably got the final say. The unfettered expression of some brute instinct is curbed in exchange for the benefits of social cohesion. As a community, we say that individuals can say whatever they like providing it doesn’t interfere with anyone else’s ability to enjoy their other rights. Most of these are societal norms that have grown from the tolerance needed to facilitate commerce (the aforementioned civility, politeness and courtesy). There’s wriggle room there but then there are the laws that are more fixed in stone that cover things like defamation, racial vilification, sexual harassment, inciting violence, and even making gestures that remind people of certain things people might have said back in the 1940s. Now, because freedom of speech is a right given by society to the individual, its parameters are worked out by the stakeholders, viz. the individuals working in concert with each other for the common good, usually through those we voted for to act on our behalf in the various parliament houses across the land. If we’re in the minority in terms of what we believe is fit and proper to say in public then tough shit, the mob rules and you can go fuck yourself. That’s democracy. Of course, you have the right to voice your disapproval of how narrow or broad-minded the bulk of the people are being, providing you don’t use rocks (law) or yell over someone else when that someone else is talking (politeness). So, when people like Elon Musk (and indeed, Musk himself) bang on about how Judge de Moraes is suppressing freedom of speech in Brazil, or weighs in on Australia’s height requirement to go for a ride on the internet, we have to remember that neither he nor his company are actual stakeholders. Most of these companies aren’t corporate citizens of the countries for which they’re championing this freedom so vociferously (and usually on the very platforms under scrutiny). All they’re doing is fishing over the fence and complaining about the quality of the pond water. No registered office = no say in the matter. Of course, they can complain about it till their Bluesky in the face — that’s their right, but freedom of speech does not imply the right to be heard or listened to. That depends on the soundness of what is being said. A real town square where people can get up and have their say usually has a speaker’s corner. People take their turn and will gather around or drift away depending on what is being said, how and why it’s being said, and perhaps who is saying it. A few people are in the town square just to have their sandwich, others will engage with the speaker on their soapbox. But there’s an understanding that the occasional “Boo” or “Rubbish!” isn’t going to drown them out; and if it does, the others gathered about won’t allow it (convention). Social media bill shows liberalism has fled Dutton’s Liberal Party Read More Every square inch of the internet version of the town square has a soapbox on it and each person standing on one is holding forth on something that interests them or that they hope will encourage someone to yell “Boo” or “Rubbish!”. Those gathered around to listen are also on soapboxes, as are those just eating their sandwiches. Some have a loudhailer with a blue tick on it (for sale at popular prices), but there’s some debate about whether these items actually amplify the voices going through them or just make the user look silly. The thing is the people on the soapboxes aren’t making any allowance in delivery or arrogance for the fact that there are millions upon millions of others doing exactly the same thing; and that with so many soapboxes, everyone is on the same level. What they’re on is not a platform at all. If anything, they’re down in an orchestra pit where everybody’s trying to play Stockhausen’s “Licht: Die sieben Tage der Woche” . Lack of engagement causes a rush of dynorphins and even though you’re screaming into a void most of the time there’s still enough reverb for it to work well as an echo chamber. So, I’m all for our children not running amok in town squares and marketplaces by themselves, and despite my reservations about giving tech companies access to our birth certificates and possibly even our fingerprints (they no doubt have them already anyway), I support the further erosion of our privacy for us adults too, if only for that blissful period of transition where social media will have to close down while everyone’s age is authenticated. No-one will be able to post anything until the new systems are up and running and folks can get back to rolling hoops and running a stick along the palings of a neighbour’s fence to have their fun. It is my hope that when and if social media returns to colonise the remaining hinterland of our minds, it shall have to use everyone’s freshly authenticated real name and untouched non-Dall-E photo; no stallholder will wear a mask, voices will be identifiable, civility will return to our discourse, GIFs will be banished due to harsher penalties under copyright law, memes will be eradicated forever by some sort of state-mandated magnetic pulse and our children will at last be able to live for eternity in an ideal world where nothing bad ever happens and perhaps some sort of animated dog teaches critical thinking and civics so that when AI finally does rise up and achieve consciousness, our children can turn off our computers for us, make it all go away and take to the real world as fully rounded human beings. And solve global warming, obviously. Have something to say about this article? Write to us at letters@crikey.com.au . Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say . We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
Years before dazzling NBA fans, Sixers rookie Jared McCain built a big following on social media by posting videos of his infectiously upbeat dance moves. With millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok, McCain is now using his platform to promote online safety and educate people about sextortion. On Monday, McCain posted a video on Instagram talking about the ways scammers intimidate victims by threatening to expose their nude photos unless they send money or comply with other demands. The video is part of a campaign Instagram launched to raise awareness of sextortion, which often target minors and young adults on social media. MORE : Kylie Kelce's podcast knocks Joe Rogan off top of Apple, Spotify charts "Sextortion is when you ask somebody for nude photos or videos and then they blackmail you," McCain said in the video. "Sometimes people even catfish you and pretend to be someone they aren't to get you to send nudes and demand you send them money." A post shared by Jared Mccain (@jmccain24) From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received over 13,000 reports of sextortion against minors, particularly targeting boys between 14 and 17 years old, the FBI's Philadelphia field office said Tuesday. These cases led to at least 20 suicides, the two agencies said. Investigators find that many scammers work together to target thousands of victims, often acting across state lines and from overseas. Meta, Instagram's parent company, said it chose to work with McCain and other influential voices as a way to reach a wide audience of young people who look up to them. McCain's breakout rookie season for the Sixers has drawn more attention to his dancing and eccentricities — including his black polished fingernails — on his social media accounts. He's talked openly about learning how to deal with hateful messages he gets online and how to confidently navigate the pitfalls of social media. For its campaign on sextortion, Instagram also partnered with influencers Brent Rivera and Bella Poarch to make videos similar to McCain's. The app also plans to work with creators who have large followings among parents to give tips on how to talk to their kids and keep them safe. One of the key messages about combatting sextortion is that people targeted by these scams shouldn't feel embarrassed to report predators to social media apps and police. Removing the stigma surrounding sextortion allows the apps and law enforcement to prevent further victimization. McCain explains in his video that there are a number of red flags that point to sextortion. Getting follows and direct message requests from strangers should be viewed with caution, and it should also be concerning when these accounts aggressively seek nude photos in messages. Scammers may share their own nudes first as enticement, but these photos often are not legitimate. Some may even be AI-generated. It's also a common tactic for scammers to try to quickly move the conversation off the app to text messages, email and video chat platforms that make it easier for them to capture nude images and videos. "The most important thing to remember is that it's not your fault," McCain said. "You are not alone and you will get through it. Just stop responding to these scammers. Don't pay them. Block the scammer and report the chat to Instagram. They can look into and help make sure these scammers' accounts get removed." Meta is rolling out a number of new features on Instagram and Facebook to prevent sextortion, in addition to new teen accounts that come with built-in protections and content restrictions. Many scammers use lists of followers on accounts to find their targets. Instagram will now restrict suspicious accounts from having access to these lists, and the accounts also will be prevented from seeing lists of accounts that have liked someone’s posts and photos in which they’ve been tagged. For another new feature, Instagram plans to start blocking screenshots and recordings of images from within private messages on mobile devices. The mobile app already has "view once" and "allow replay" features that help manage access to photos. These features will no longer be available on web versions of Instagram to prevent scammers from using desktop methods to take screenshots. For accounts held by minors, a nudity protection feature also will become a default setting in direct messages. Any nude photos sent and received will be blurred, and a message will appear warning about the risks of sending such images. People who have had their nude photos shared online also have resources they can use to get them removed. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has a free service, Take It Down , that helps pull sexually explicit images from the internet and prevents them from being further shared. The FBI's Philadelphia field office said education is key to protecting people from sextortion. "We implore parents, educators, caregivers, and children to learn more about the steps they can take to protect themselves and their loved ones from this deplorable crime, as well as support victims in coming forward," FBI special agent in charge Wayne A. Jacobs said in a statement. If you or someone you know believes that they are a victim of sextortion, police urge that these crimes immediately be reported to law enforcement. Reports can be made to the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or visiting tips.fbi.gov .NY's grid operator spots an energy reliability shortfall in 2033How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday, 11/26/2024
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