Unpacking Soft Power Dynamics
84 Arrested as Russian Ransomware Laundering Networks Disrupted
Northwestern Lehigh football’s Zimmerman has record night to send team back to state finalArsenal: New theory behind Gabriel goal celebration emerges after Viktor Gyokeres revenge claimsBy AJ Vicens (Reuters) – U.S. officials have added a ninth telecommunications company to the list of entities compromised by a sweeping Chinese-linked cyberespionage operation known as Salt Typhoon, a top White House official said Friday. Anne Neuberger, the U.S. deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, told reporters on a call that the unnamed telecom was added to the list after the U.S. government shared guidance on how to detect and defend against the operation. Officials have previously alleged that the attackers targeted Verizon, AT&T, Lumen and others. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Dec. 18 urged senior government and political figures to move mobile communications to end-to-end encrypted apps as a result of the Salt Typhoon campaign, which has targeted officials associated with the campaign of former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, according to reports. Officials have said “a large number of Americans’ metadata was taken” as part of the campaign. Chinese officials have previously described the allegations as disinformation and said Beijing “firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms.” Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat from New Mexico, called Salt Typhoon the “largest telecommunications hack in our nation’s history” during a Dec. 11 hearing, while Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said the U.S. “must plug any vulnerabilities in communications networks.” Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Dec. 5 her agency was proposing rules requiring telecommunications carriers to secure their networks in light of the Salt Typhoon revelations. Neuberger said Friday that the “Chinese gained access to networks and essentially had broad and full access,” giving them the capability to “geolocate millions of individuals, to record phone calls at will,” and that updated FCC rules could help limit the scope and impact of future intrusions. (Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );
Herbert tosses 3 TD passes and Chargers secure a playoff spot with a 40-7 rout of Patriots
The designer who created the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Lissajous” logo – inspired by broadcast vibrations – seems to have had some insight into the cycle of birth, death and recrimination through which the ABC is doomed to cycle. The logo is reminiscent of an ouroboros – a snake-like creature with its tail in its mouth, representing birth, death and renewal – but twisted into tortuous knots. Or perhaps an infinity symbol with an extra loop of infinity tacked on. We must be on the third arc of infinity this year, a time of especial drama before the swooping logo enters another valley of lassitude. An unusually high number of producers and journalists are retiring or being retired. The process is supposed to set the scene for renewal. But the question, as always, is how to introduce renewal into a closed system. Kim Williams (right) might do well to find journalists who are curious enough to tune into Joe Rogan. Credit: Digitally altered image. Artwork: Marija Ercegovac. Conservatives like to call for the ABC to be defunded. That’s a defeatist approach. The ABC is a powerful tool of social cohesion and new migrant integration. It’s given generations a shared cultural point of reference. From Playschool to Bluey , the ABC gives Australian children something in common regardless of their cultural backgrounds. Flagship current affairs shows once drove national conversations. When the majority of the population consumes the same entertainment and news, it creates a sense of nationhood. The worst sin of the ABC is, therefore, not that it is biased. It is that it has become so dull it is no longer worth tuning into. Chairman Kim Williams is focused on the need for objectivity, but emphasising journalistic dispassion is only part of the solution. With the exception of a small number of programs, most relegated to minor time slots and barely promoted, the ABC has become incurious. Topics covered by the ABC’s flagship shows have been narrowing and perspectives on the remaining topics are predictable. Politicians deliver their talking points. A narrow range of experts delivers a narrow range of perspectives (somehow the ethnic and gender diversity emphasised by the ABC never seems to equate to a wider range of ideas). Advocates call for more government funding. The presenters sigh sympathetically. I sigh in frustration. The formula is tiresome. Australians, including this long-time loyal listener and viewer, switch off. Predictability is not a failing unique to the ABC. A range of other media outlets specialise in serving their audiences a diaphanous sliver of current affairs, carefully selected to support existing prejudices. If you’ve ever seen a journalist’s byline and the title of an article and felt the thrill of anticipation for a take with which you know you’ll thoroughly agree, you’ve been paddling in the warm yellow waters of subscriber self-satisfaction. That’s the subscribers’ prerogative, should they choose to seek it out. It’s simply a commercial reality that many people only want to pay for media that tells them what they already believe. No particular political tribe is more prone to this than another; indeed, it’s just another manifestation of the many ways in which the left-right political paradigm has become obsolete. Open-mindedness and close-mindedness are now better descriptors of behaviours and traits than conservative or progressive. Leave subscribers to make their own choices; the ABC has no business contributing to the closing of the Australian mind. Its mission is not commercial but patriotic, as Kim Williams styled it. Australians have a “sense of ownership” over the broadcaster, as Laura Tingle said in introducing the chairman’s National Press Club address. Too right. We do actually own it, and we pay for its upkeep and operations. As such, it is the responsibility of the ABC to reject the narrowness into which a subscription model can stray. There is reason to believe that opening the ABC’s ideas horizon would also reverse the audience decline. At the same time our national broadcaster is losing its audience, some international journalists and podcasters are gaining huge followings. They have, as they say, “one neat trick” in common. One is the wildly popular Welsh-American journalist Jon Ronson , who came to Australia at the end of November. His show focused on his famous book The Psychopath Test , first published in 2011. Ronson spoke to full auditoriums about this piece of exceptional long-form journalism. He would no doubt also have filled halls if he’d been talking about his book Them: Adventures with Extremists , a fascinating exploration of conspiracy theories and theorists, first published in 2001. Ronson’s trademark is an obsession with finding out about interesting things and asking open-ended questions – virtues once highly valued in journalists. He strikes a flint of curiosity in his audiences as he seeks to satisfy his own. If Kim Williams were to become audience member “three-billion-and-one” of The Joe Rogan Experience – as he resolutely declared he would not do at the National Press Club – he would discover that curiosity is also Rogan’s model. Rogan, who enjoys the world’s biggest podcast audience, is widely trashed and dismissed by those who have never taken the three hours it requires to listen to a full episode. But Rogan interviews interesting and powerful figures, asking them for their thoughts on topics, then exploring the logical contradictions in a way that allows them to further elaborate on their thinking. If he has a fascination with conspiracy theories, he is no more dogmatic about them than Ronson was in Them . The ABC does have one show that follows a similar model to Ronson and Rogan – Annabel Crabb’s Kitchen Cabinet . Crabb doesn’t seek to outsmart her subjects or to put words in their mouths. She has a knack for asking questions that encourage them to reveal themselves and – refreshingly for politicians – they do. The magic is not just objectivity but openness. This is what the ABC needs more of. The ouroboros has an unfortunate habit of swallowing its own output. If Williams wants the broadcaster to regain audiences, he’s going to need to look for journalists who break the cycle. Perhaps those who, whether or not they personally agree with Joe Rogan and his guests, have listened to The Joe Rogan Experience . Just because they are curious. Parnell Palme McGuinness is managing director at campaigns firm Agenda C. She has done work for the Liberal Party and the German Greens.JEOPARDY! champion Laura Faddah has made show history after becoming the first contestant to score less than $100,000 during a 7-day winning streak. Fans will have to wait several weeks to see if Laura is able to break through the six-figure mark as this is the last regular game until February as the Jeopardy! postseason takes over. The research group manager from Memphis, Tennessee had already secured $79,400 over her six-day winning streak. Many fans had hoped she’d take home a big prize on Friday’s game - pushing her over the $100,000 figure. However, Laura has continued to bet low on Final Jeopardy! and Daily Doubles - making her the only person to be under $100,000 after seven wins. Previously, the record was held by contestant Tim Aten, who won seven games in 2016 before getting beaten out on his 8th episode. READ MORE ON JEOPARDY! After playing his 7th game, Tim had a prize pot of $107,499 - over $20,000 more than Laura’s 7-day total of $87,400. On Friday’s game, Laura went up against Megan Riddell, a human resources data analyst from Linthicum, Maryland and Herb Jeong, a retired pension administrator from San Francisco, California. Laura had a quick, albeit a smaller, lead early on in the game which only increased after Megan dropped $2,000 when getting the first Daily Double wrong. Going into Double Jeopardy!, Laura was ahead with $3,400 while Megan secured $1,800 and Herb garnered $400. Most read in Game shows The returning champ ended up finding the second Daily Double however, she got it wrong - dropping her $1,800. Herb rounded out the trio of missed Daily Doubles, losing $2,000 when he incorrectly guessed the third advantage. Heading into Final Jeopardy!, Laura had $10,000 while Herb was far behind with $3,200 and Megan had $1,400. Host Ken Jennings , 50, then introduced the last category as “Fictional Characters” as the three contestants placed their wagers. “In his very first appearance by name, this character comes downstairs ‘bump-bump-bump on the back of his head’,” the host read of the Final Jeopardy! clue. “Who is Winnie-the-Pooh?” was the correct answer however, only Megan was successful in writing it down. However, she wagered small - ending her game with just $1,452. Herb ended the game with $2,900 while Laura dropped $2,000 - ending her 7th winning game with a total of $8,000. LUCKY NUMBER 7 Laura’s seventh win puts her winning streak total at $87,400 - far behind what most of her counterparts have at the same point. For example, season 41 champion and Survivor alum Drew Basile had scored $129,601 by his seventh win. While Isaac Hirsch secured a whopping $215,390 with nine wins. Ryan Manton had earned a similar figure to Laura, $83,179, within just four wins. Jeopardy!'s next Tournament of Champions will take place this winter, midway through Season 41 (exact airdate TBA) and it's shaping up to be another showstopper. Here's who is officially eligible so far: Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins and $349,600 total) Isaac Hirsch (nine wins and $215,390) Greg Jolin (five wins and $135,002) Survivor alum Drew Basile (seven wins and $129,601) Alison Betts (5 wins and $121,500) Mark Fitzpatrick (five wins and $107,201) Dr. Amy Hummel (5 wins and $100,994) Ryan Manton (four wins and $83,179) Grant DeYoung (four wins and $81,203) Will Wallace (four wins and $79,998) Amar Kakirde (four wins and $55,899) Lisa Ann Walter (winner of Celebrity Jeopardy! 2024) The prize for winning the ToC is $250,000 and a coveted slot in Jeopardy! Masters. Jeopardy.com notes: "All 4-time and over winning players starting from 04/10/24 will be eligible for a future Tournament of Champions." "Presence on this list does NOT guarantee an invitation to compete. Other eligibility rules apply and final selection is up to the producers' sole discretion." Fans took notice of Laura’s history-making game, with one writing: “Laura having such a small amount by game 7 is so unfortunate.” “Laura needs to change her wagering strategy. She could have SO much more money. Either way congrats on another win it’s impressive,” a viewer wrote. Fans will need to wait to see if Laura can continue to build her Jeopardy! resume as today was the last regular game for many weeks. Beginning on Monday, the Jeopardy! Second Chance Tournament will begin - giving non-winners who still made impressive moves another chance to win big. Read More on The US Sun Following the Second Chancers will be the Wildcards Tournament - which includes four contestants with the highest scores in the quarterfinals who didn't win their respective games. The postseason will conclude with the highly coveted Tournament of Champions - where the winner will score $250,000.