Messages

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I will think about it. It would have to only be like a couple a week and on the weekends.

aw nuts

https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-make-hillary-clinton-president-on-december-19?recruiter=626987480&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

@ochoaj For you and anyone else who may be interested. I signed it. It's worth a shot.

I woke up today the same way I expect to wake up for the next four years: with tears.

This is a bad day for the LGBTQ+, people of color, and disabled communities as well as women, Muslims, and anyone who isn't an Anglo-Saxon, white male.

The kid on the playground who pushed you down and called you fat is now the president and leader of the free world. We have a right to be upset.

As a woman, it just proved to me once again that a man with absolutely no experience can get the job before the woman with 40+ years experience. As a woman, I have cried for Hillary. She deserved this more than anyone and I hope she gets it in her lifetime. She has devoted her entire life to politics and helping people out. I'm still so happy and proud that she made it this far. It hits me on a personal level because I used to want to be a politician, but as soon as I got to college, people kept saying it will be hard because the media will judge me based on my past, how I look, how I speak, etc and it will be a lot harder as a woman, so I changed my career path. That's why I am proud of Hillary. For proving to me that you can make it. She's so strong for going through all that she has gone through.

Also, unless you're directly affected by this election, you can't possibly feel what we are feeling. Feel the fear and the uncertainty that has come with President-elect Trump. He promised some very scary things during his campaign and it's not something I want to see. It's such a privilege if you have the opportunity to look past the bigotry because it won't affect you.

I'm scared for my friends. I'm scared that one day they will revoke the gay marriage ruling and they won't be able to marry the person they love. I'm scared for my African American colleagues, friends and family who already have it tough. I'm fearful of what's to come. Yeah, you can say "you don't know if he will undo everything". Of course we don't know. That's why it's scary. It's scary to think that one day, the country will reset. Republicans holding majority of the House, Senate and Supreme Court is not a good thing to come for some of us. A lot of the republicans already hated what Obama has done for equality and we are afraid that's going to turn back.

So, let us mourn. We are already afraid of losing so much, just let us lose our faith for the day and evaluate our options.

prison?

@djkirsh can say that, from what I know, she's had some family matters and was not able to work on it.

My next two weekends are filled with traveling across the country, but I'll be able to do stuff during the week possibly and just send it to you (Towelie) to add stuff on the weekend.

[Amanda Knox Says 'Coercive' Police Interrogation Led Her to Change Her Story]

Amanda Knox Says 'Coercive' Police Interrogation Led Her to Change Her Story
from TIME Magazine

Amanda Knox said in a new interview that she lied to Italian police about where she was at the time of her roommate's 2007 killing because of their severe interrogation tactics.

"I was hit on the back of the head, I was yelled at. Police were coming in and out of the room telling me that I was a liar," Knox said in a Nightline interview that aired Friday, saying police used "coercive interrogation techniques."

"It was utter chaos," she said.

Knox was twice convicted and acquitted in the November 2007 death of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, who was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in their apartment in Perugia, Italy. She was exonerated last year by Italy's top criminal court. The case, which drew global attention, is the subject of a Netflix documentary that premiered on Friday.

During a 53-hour interrogation, Knox said she told police she had been in the apartment when Kercher was killed, changing her story after telling them she had spent the night with her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

"The police told me that I had amnesia, and that I better remember the truth," Knox said on Nightline. "And so what they were forcing me to consider was that my memories that I had—that I had spent the night with Raffaele—were wrong and that I needed to re-scramble my brain around in order to bring out the truth."

[Volkswagen agrees to $1.2B settlement with dealers]

Volkswagen agrees to $1.2B settlement with dealers
from USA Today

Volkswagen Group agreed to pay its 652 U.S. dealerships up to $1.21 billion to settle claims stemming from the company's emissions scandal.

The German automaker revealed the settlement late Friday in a federal court filing, reflecting an average payout of $1.85 million. Many dealers suffered steep losses over the last year as VW's U.S. sales slumped in the wake of the scandal.

The deal would resolve one of the episode's lingering questions: whether franchised dealers would be compensated after the manufacturer admitted to rigging nearly 600,000 U.S. diesel vehicles with illegal software to cheat emissions standards.

The accord, which must still be approved by a judge in San Francisco, is separate from a sweeping settlement between VW, the U.S. government, California regulators and consumers that will cost the company up to $14.7 billion.

Attorneys representing consumers said Friday that less than 1% of the consumers included in the settlement had opted out before a September deadline. Owners of the affected cars will get buybacks or a payment and a free repair. If VW can't come up with a fix, vehicle owners will be given a second chance to opt out.

For their part, dealers have been prohibited from selling the affected diesel vehicles until that fix is ready. Now, they'll get payments for their financial injury — with 50% upfront after a federal judge approves the settlement and the rest in equal installments over 18 months, according to the court filing.

Volkswagen also agreed to buy back the affected diesel cars still owned by dealers at the same terms consumers are receiving.

"Dealers had and still have thousands of new and used (diesel) cars on their lots that became immediately unsalable when Volkswagen issued its broad stop-sale orders," VW dealers said in a separate court filing. "When consumers learned of the emissions scandal, the entire market for Volkswagen's diesel cars immediately disappeared and the tarnished brand name also caused precipitous decreases in sales of all Volkswagen cars.

"This factor weighs in favor of approval of the settlement because there is clear and meaningful relationship between the strength of the case and the benefits provided in the settlement."

Dealers who don't sign up for the settlement negotiated by a class-action group of attorneys can opt out and take their changes in a legal battle against VW in the courts.

The $1.21 billion figure represents the amount of the settlement if all dealers accept the offer, which would resolve their legal claims against the company.

[Adele, Beyoncé, Bowie lead Grammy contenders]

Adele, Beyoncé, Bowie lead Grammy contenders
from The Detroit News

Friday marked the cutoff for eligibility for this year's Grammy Awards, meaning anything released between now and February's ceremony won't be considered until the following year's show.

Putting aside the inanity of the Grammy timeline — who else counts years as starting in October and ending in September? — here are the albums that will figure heavily into the mix in the Album of the Year field when nominations are announced in December:

Shoo-ins

Adele, "25" — A no-brainer nominee for the Album of the Year contention. Adele's third album was a record-smashing blockbuster, selling 3.38 million copies its first week in stores, shattering the previous record for one-week sales by nearly a million copies, and was recently certified as 10-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Those types of numbers don't go unnoticed, and you can bet the farm Adele will be in the mix for the night's top prize come Grammy night.

Beyoncé, "Lemonade" — Another slam dunk contender. Queen Bey's sixth album, surprise-released in April, lit up the internet upon its release with fans theorizing about the album's origins and its subject matter, which delves deeply into rumored extramarital affairs in the Beyoncé-Jay Z partnership. There are alternate theories (it's all fiction, it's about Beyoncé's father), but whichever narrative you choose, the album is a stunning, cohesive work of art which could become her first album to be crowned Album of the Year, a category she's been nominated in twice before (for "I Am ... Sasha Fierce," which didn't deserve to win, and "Beyoncé," which did).

David Bowie, "Blackstar" — The biggest roadblock in Beyoncé's path to Album of the Year supremacy is Bowie, whose 25th and final album was released just two days before his shocking death in January. The album became his first to reach the No. 1 spot in the U.S., and a big win on Grammy night could help shore up the Grammys' oversights with regard to Bowie while he was alive (he won just one Grammy statue, for Best Short Form Music Video). The last artist to win a posthumous Album of the Year Grammy was Ray Charles for 2004's duets set "Genius Loves Company," which was released two months after his death. That win was strictly an honorarium; in Bowie's case, the stark, heavily jazz-based "Blackstar" actually deserves its recognition.

Safe bets

Chance the Rapper, "Coloring Book" — The Grammys revised their eligibility rules to allow streaming-only projects to be nominated specifically for this set, which could make for a great Grammy underdog story.

Sia, "This is Acting" — The Aussie singer-songwriter has written a lot of hits for a lot of artists — from Kelly Clarkson to Rihanna to Beyoncé — which counts for a lot among voters.

Wild cards

Bon Iver, "22, A Million" — The 2012 Best New Artist winner's first album in five years — released Friday, just under the Grammy deadline — is a knotty, experimental, deeply rewarding listen.

Frank Ocean, "Blonde" — His second album is more challenging than his previous set, 2012's Album of the Year-nominated "Channel Orange," but it's a deep, progressive work by a boundary-breaking artist, which carries weight in Grammy circles.

Drake, "Views" — The Canadian rapper has garnered just one win in 27 nominations at the Grammys. He could find himself in the running this year, but "Views" isn't strong enough to net him the big prize.

Kanye West, "The Life of Pablo" — The 21-time Grammy winner has never won in the Album of the Year category; a "Pablo" nod would be his first in the category since 2008's "Graduation."

Rihanna, "Anti" — The superstar has only been nominated for Album of the Year once before, for 2010's "Loud," but her stirring "Anti" could put her back in the mix.

Radiohead, "A Moon Shaped Pool"; Coldplay, "A Head Full of Dreams" — Need a British rock band in the mix? Either of these will do.

Justin Bieber, "Purpose" — The Canadian pop superstar has earned just three Grammy nominations to date and is still seen as an outsider by Grammy voters. "Purpose" could change that.

Paul Simon, "Stranger to Stranger" — Simon has been nominated for Album of the Year five times, and is one of just five artists to win more than one trophy in the category. Never count him out.

[If Trump thinks debate prep is for chumps, his advisers can't save him from himself]

If Trump thinks debate prep is for chumps, his advisers can't save him from himself
from The Washington Post

Donald Trump has one week to prepare for his next debate with Hillary Clinton. It is a critical event for him. Yet everything he's done before and after the first debate sends a loud, clear message: He seems to think debate prep is for chumps.

A candidate charged with lacking discipline just spent the week providing evidence for the prosecution. His Friday morning tweet storm — beginning at 3:20 a.m. with a rant about unnamed sources and resuming just after 5 a.m., with a series of tweets that expanded his sexist attacks on a Latina former Miss Universe — punctuated a days-long spiral that has put at greater risk his hopes of winning the election.

To see some of his allies in the hours after Monday's debate at Hofstra University was to recognize how let down they were with his performance. They could see the missed opportunities and knew that his problem wasn't whether his advisers had tried to prepare him. It was his inability to follow the advice. They saw him fall into traps set for him by a Clinton campaign that has been studying his weaknesses for months.

No matter what his advisers try to do ahead of next Sunday's town-hall debate at Washington University in St. Louis, his performance is utterly unpredictable. Those advisers can run him through mock debates and put him through murder-board, rapid-fire exercises. They can give him a dozen good ways to try to attack Clinton. They can prepare binders of background information, game out answers and give him as many flashcards to study as they can.

In other words, they can give him the best information and game plan in the world. But based on the first debate, they cannot trust him to execute. Trump's weakness is his capacity to forget in the heat of battle the advice he's been given. Clinton seemingly can knock him off stride with the flick of a phrase.

After the 90-plus minutes at Hofstra, a wiser candidate and a smarter campaign would have shrugged and admitted the obvious, that he had a bad night. A more experienced candidate, one with some humility, would have promised to do better and moved on. He might even have made a joke about it. Rick Perry at least had the wherewithal to own up to his embarrassing "oops" moment — forgetting the name of a federal agency he wanted to eliminate — with a wisecrack.

When President Obama lost the first debate of 2012 to Mitt Romney, he didn't immediately realize how badly he had done — or how harsh the judgments were about his performance. In the hours afterward, one after another of his advisers told him that it wasn't that his critics were bashing him unfairly, it was that his performance had fallen short.

His advisers began with gentle descriptions, which became more blunt. Obama didn't fully understand what had gone wrong until he watched a video of the debate a few days later. "I get it," he told campaign manager David Plouffe. He vowed to win the final two debates.

Trump has done the opposite, rejecting post-debate polls and the assessment even of many Republicans that he lost the debate during the final 60 minutes. Instead, he's grasped onto unscientific Internet surveys that portray him the winner. When Jason Miller, the campaign's senior communications adviser, appeared Thursday on MSNBC's "MTP Daily" and cited several online polls that are subjected to no statistical rigor, an exasperated Chuck Todd, the host, said the campaign was "creating a reality that does not exist."

This is an alternative reality created by Trump for Trump. My Post colleagues Phil Rucker and Bob Costa and I got an insight into this personality trait when we interviewed him almost a year ago at his office in Trump Tower overlooking New York's Central Park. Trump was riding high at the time, leading the polls for the Republican nomination and feeling buoyant.

The discussion turned to the debates. He had done well in the first Republican debate in Cleveland but less well in the debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.

At one point, he reached across his big desk, which was piled with magazines featuring him on the cover, and handed us several sheets of paper with the results of several online polls, all of which declared him the winner of both debates. It was immediately clear to him that we found his evidence unconvincing.

"Why don't people trust online polls?" he asked. We told him that online polls are "not scientific." For a quick second, he seemed to accept that criticism as valid. "Okay," he said. But then he pivoted back to his own view of things. He wanted to believe, and so he would. "It must mean something, right?" he said of the online polls.

For Republicans who have bought into his candidacy, this is the candidate they must live with as they plot out strategy for two more Clinton-Trump debates, plus Tuesday's vice-presidential debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., and then the last weeks before Election Day.

Vice-presidential debates are sometimes memorable but rarely consequential. Tuesday's encounter between Republican Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana and Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia might end as unmemorable and inconsequential. Perhaps.

The two principals in the presidential campaign so overwhelm everything else that it's hard to imagine Kaine and Pence breaking through. In another way, however, their encounter could be a helpful distillation of the choice for voters, absent the theatrics and outsize personalities of the two presidential nominees.

The debate will provide Pence an opportunity to prosecute the case against Clinton that Trump failed to do consistently at Hofstra. Kaine can use it to reinforce Clinton's argument that Trump is unfit, while trying to force Pence to embrace everything the GOP nominee has said and done, which could squeeze Pence between loyalty and future ambition.

These must be trying days for those in Trump's campaign. They can craft a broad message about change vs. status quo and about the Clintons as the embodiment of the kind of cozy insider environment of Washington that so many Americans dislike.

Republicans can try to build a superstructure around the candidate. His advisers can give him scripts and a teleprompter. They can pump emails raising questions about Clinton's emails, the Clinton Foundation and its benefactors, and Clinton's foreign policy record. The Republican National Committee can organize an effective ground operation.

In the end, they are all hostage to a candidate who can undo all their good work with one middle-of-the-night tweet, a candidate who has the capacity to turn a brief sideshow into a debilitating, days-long story, who cannot resist dwelling on petty grievances and who, when it mattered most, did not rise to the moment.

Is there a size limitation?

[Pokemon GO v0.39 Brings Capture Location Back]

Pokemon GO v0.39 Brings Capture Location Back
from Android Headlines

Pokemon GO has been a hit since launching in July. However, it has seen a pretty big drop in the number of players that are still playing the game. In fact, it isn't even number one in the Google Play Store (or the Apple App Store) anymore. But that hasn't kept Niantic from giving up on the game. The company just pushed out a new update to the game, bringing it to v0.39. The update is fairly small, actually, but does bring in a few fixes as well as tweaks for the Pokemon GO Plus wearable that is finally available for purchase. The biggest tweak for Pokemon GO Plus is the fact that players can now attempt to capture Pokemon that appear when they are using incense. This is all done from the Pokemon GO Plus wearable, without needing to open the game on your smartphone.

The changelog that Niantic published with this update include bringing back the capture location. So now you'll be able to see where a Pokemon was captured. This was available in the initial launch of the game, but in updates that came out afterwards, it was removed. Other than that, Niantic only lists minor bug fixes for the game. While bug fixes are always nice to see available for any app or game, it definitely isn't the big update that Pokemon GO players were truly hoping for.

Pokemon GO is still hugely popular, just not at the levels it was about a month ago. The game broke all sorts of records when it came to downloads, active users and revenue coming in from the game. This was all done without the game being officially available globally. While it is available in most countries, there are still a handful of countries that have yet to see Pokemon GO be officially available. Niantic is working hard to change that, however.

If you are wanting to have the latest version of Pokemon GO on your smartphone, then head to the download link below. It will take you to version 0.39. Simply download the APK linked below, to your smartphone. Make sure that "Unknown Sources" is checked (Settings > Security, for most phones), and you'll be all set to install the update. Remember that it will replace your current version of Pokemon GO.

[Apple Said to Be Planning Amazon Echo Alternative]

Apple Said to Be Planning Amazon Echo Alternative
from Fortune Magazine

Apple may get into the smart home market with a rival device to Amazon's Echo, according to a report on Friday.

Apple is testing a prototype for a smart home hub that would control home appliances, lights, and other devices, as well as use Apple's virtual personal assistant Siri for voice control, Bloomberg is reporting, citing people with knowledge of the product. The device would be Apple's answer to Amazon's Echo, which in addition to controlling home electronics, doubles as a music speaker and a virtual personal assistant that can order Uber rides, put meetings on online calendars, and search online.

To top Amazon's Echo, Apple's product would come with a better microphone and speaker technology, and could even include facial-recognition tools, the Bloomberg sources say. By incorporating Siri, the device could be used to read e-mails and send text messages, according to Bloomberg's sources.

The Amazon Echo, which premiered in 2014, is among Amazon's most popular products, according to the e-retailer's listing of most popular products. The wireless device has a built-in microphone that can recognize voice commands from across the room. Over the last two years, Amazon has added new features to the Echo including the ability to read audio books and provide real-time traffic information.

The Echo's momentum with shoppers has prompted Amazon to expand its smart home hardware line to include the Echo Dot and Amazon Tap, which have some, but not all of the Echo's features.

Apple has been dipping its toes in the smart home market for the last few years. The company arguably made its biggest move yet into the market this year by bundling a newly developed app called Home in its iOS 10 mobile operating system. The app connects with several smart home products, including the Philips Hue line of smart light bulbs. At its press event earlier this month, Apple said hundreds of devices coming into the market in the next several months will also connect to Home.

Until now, Apple has been content to keep its smart home focus on software. But with iPad sales tumbling and long-term uncertainty across its Mac and iPhone lines, shareholders and analysts have called on Apple to expand its reach in hardware.

However, while Echo appears to have caught on with consumers, and Amazon has said as much, the company hasn't revealed exact sales figures. Apple, a company that makes massive profits on each product it sells, will likely only debut an Echo alternative if it believes there is sufficient demand and profits. Apple also has a history of creating experimental products, but never releasing them.

According to Bloomberg's sources, Apple started developing its Echo alternative in 2014 and it has since tested a prototype, suggesting Apple is at least somewhat serious about it. That said, Apple is exceedingly selective in the products it eventually launches, and it's possible the device, which hasn't yet been named, will be killed before it even reaches store shelves.

[Will Jeremy Corbyn cling on? U.K. opposition decides]

Will Jeremy Corbyn cling on? U.K. opposition decides
from USA Today

Amid the fallout from Britain's decision to leave the European Union, a political storm is brewing over who will take charge of the opposition Labour Party.

Jeremy Corbyn, the embattled, far-left renegade who was elected leader in September 2015, is likely to triumph over rival Owen Smith when the vote is announced at the party's conference in Liverpool on Saturday.

The leadership election was sparked by party members unhappy with Corbyn's leadership and his handling of the campaign this past spring to remain in the EU.

Although Corbyn is bookmakers' favorite to win the party race, his chances of leading Labour to oust the ruling Conservatives from power in a general election in four years appear slim.

Corbyn "has almost no chance whatsoever" of triumphing in 2020, said Matthew Goodwin, professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent. "He is the most unpopular opposition leader in postwar history and is lagging well behind Prime Minister Theresa May in public ratings of their leadership qualities and economic competence."

A poll by market research form Ipsos MORI last month said 58% of respondents were dissatisfied with Corbyn as Labour leader.

Adrian Pabst, another Kent academic, said one of Corbyn's first moves if re-elected will be to try and put together a shadow cabinet — an alternative to that of the Conservatives — but most Labour members of Parliament won't serve under him.

Pabst predicted that Corbyn will try to amend the party's leadership election rules so that a far-left candidate will always be on the ballot, and "will try to recruit even more militants to entrench his position."

"What all this signifies is that Corbyn will stick to his politics of protest," Pabst said. "Far from reaching out to the whole country and positioning himself as a credible alternative PM to Theresa May, he will further alienate the electorate."

Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair called Corbyn "the guy with the placard" after he opposed U.K. airstrikes in Syria and attended nuclear disarmament rallies after becoming party leader.

[Pound slumps after Boris Johnson hints at Brexit timing]

Pound slumps after Boris Johnson hints at Brexit timing
from Market Watch

The pound resumed its slide on Friday, heading sharply lower after U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he expects his country will start formal Brexit negotiations early next year.

Sterling  traded at $1.2944, down from $1.3078 Thursday in New York. Against the euro, the pound  dropped to €1.1546 from €1.1668.

Speaking with Sky News in New York late Thursday, Johnson said the U.K. government is in talks with its European partners in the "expectation that by the early part of next year, you will see an Article 50 letter." Triggering Article 50 is the action that officially would kick off the U.K.'s exit from the European Union.

"The comments suggest that Britain could be on a somewhat faster track to an EU divorce, and the market has the perception that if there's a shorter time frame for Britain to negotiate a favorable deal, that would increase the risk of a 'hard' Brexit," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.

Manimbo added that the pound could fall as low as $1.29, a level it hasn't seen in months.

The pound, along with other major currencies, had risen firmly against the dollar earlier in the week when the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged near a record low.

The greenback was modestly higher on Friday, with the ICE Dollar Index  up 0.2% to 95.60. The WSJ Dollar Index , a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, rose 0.3% to 86.49.

While the euro  was little changed against the dollar, trading at $1.1208 from $1.1209, there was more action in the Canadian dollar . Following an unexpectedly weak read on retail sales, the U.S. unit fetched C$1.3138, compared with C$1.3045.

"This continues Canada's worrisome trend of economic weakness, which adds weight to the notion that the next move to rates could be down, rather than up," Manimbo said.

The yen  fell slightly, with the dollar trading at ¥100.91 from ¥100.75 late Thursday in New York. Earlier, the dollar moved as high as ¥101.24.

Japan's currency has been volatile this week, after the country's central bank on Wednesday said it would start targeting 10-year interest rates, committing to keep them around zero as part of a new policy framework aimed at steepening the yield curve as it continues its longstanding effort to bolster inflation.

[Syria conflict: Aleppo remains thorn in government's side]

Syria conflict: Aleppo remains thorn in government's side
from BBC News



With Syrian government forces insisting that the air and artillery bombardment of eastern Aleppo is the preliminary for "a comprehensive" ground assault, it would be easy to see the current upsurge in fighting as marking perhaps the start of the final battle for this key city.

Indeed, the intensity of the bombardment certainly suggests that a significant push is under way.

Aleppo matters. It is one of the few major urban areas to be held - in this case partially - by the rebels. Before the war the city was Syria's great commercial centre, and it thus represents a key strategic and psychological prize.

As long as parts of the city are held by the rebels, it is a thorn in the government's side.

But if captured by government forces it would be an important step in ensuring Russia's main strategic goal: the survival of a pro-Assad statelet with effective strategic depth, making the President Assad a factor that would have to be dealt with in any future peace arrangements.

Of course we have been here before. During the earlier part of this year Syrian government forces, along with various pro-Iranian militias, launched a major offensive that resulted in the siege of the rebel-controlled eastern part of the city.

This siege was consolidated in early July, but just a few weeks later the rebels launched an offensive of their own.



This resulted in the cutting of a key communications link to the south-west of Aleppo, effectively bringing the government-held area under siege.

Bitter taste

Each side can thus hold the others' territory at risk. Russian and Syrian commanders - always sceptical about the merits of the latest ceasefire - now appear to have been given a green light to sort out the Aleppo problem once and for all.

Imagery of the shattered city presents a gaunt vista in which thousands of innocent people remain trapped on both sides. Targeted attacks by government forces against medical and civil defence facilities add another element of horror to the situation.

The fact that this new onslaught is taking place against a backdrop of the total failure in the US and Russian brokered efforts to implement a ceasefire in Syria is also significant.

In the wake of this failure there is a good degree of bitterness on all sides. This provides space for the stepping up of military action on the ground.

Indeed the pause may well have enabled government forces to consolidate their positions, reposition in key areas, and to improve their intelligence gathering.

The military picture though is complex. In the past, despite support from Russian air power, Syrian government forces and their allies have run out of steam.

Rebel groups have been able to draw in fighters from around the city, holding back localised offensives and ultimately going on to the attack themselves. There is no way of knowing if this pattern will be repeated this time.

Outside actors

Aleppo, now the epicentre of the Syrian crisis, will draw in forces from many outside players.

The Russian are already engaged - certainly from the air - and one can only speculate about other potential niche areas where they may be involved on the ground.

Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian fighters may also take a role. And Turkey may encourage rebel groups that it backs to reinforce the eastern part of the city.

And the failure of the ceasefire may well serve to drive rebel groups into the arms of more extreme Islamist elements linked to al-Qaeda.

So the scene is set for a battle that could mark a significant turning point for rebels and government forces alike.

The weakness though of the Assad regime's forces may mean that it simply doesn't have the muscle to impose a definitive outcome on Aleppo.

The result then would be a stalemate with an even greater level of destruction and loss of life.

US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that in the absence of a ceasefire deal things in Syria could get a lot worse. In Aleppo that seems already to be happening.

[Adele: 'Quitting smoking has made my voice worse!']

Adele: 'Quitting smoking has made my voice worse!'
from Music News

Adele is convinced her voice is weaker because she has quit smoking.

The 28-year-old singer made the decision to stop inhaling nicotine sticks five years ago, as she embarked on a healthy lifestyle change after a vocal cord haemorrhage in 2011 led to her having surgery.

While Adele looks noticeably better for calling time on her habit, she has revealed in a new interview that she believes kicking the cigarettes had actually adversely affected her vocal skills.

"The people with the best voices, they always smoke. I've given up smoking and I'm convinced that's made my voice weaker," she is quoted as telling Canada's etalk.

At the height of her addiction, Adele smoked up to 25 cigarettes a day. But after quitting the habit, the Hello singer told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper she had given up because she was afraid smoking would eventually kill her.

"If I'd carried on smoking, I'd probably have died from a smoking-related illness, and I think that's really bad," she said. "If I was dying from lung cancer I would have potentially given it to myself and that wouldn't be something I'd be proud of."

Adele hit headlines earlier this week when she dedicated her concert at New York's Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night (20Sep16) to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, after it was revealed the actress had filed for divorce from her husband.

However, as she took to the stage at the venue again on Thursday night (22Sep16), Adele set the record straight and told the audience she had been joking about saying that the Brangelina split represented the "end of an era".

"I don't care if they've broken up. I couldn't give a f****ing s**t," she said. "I don't care, I don't know them. It's ridiculous, what's going on in the world, and that's front-page news."

[Rocket League will go under the sea in October with new arena and cars]

Rocket League will go under the sea in October with new arena and cars
from Windows Central

Developer Psyonix has announced it will add a new free arena, the undersea-based AquaDome, to its hit eSports game Rocket League as part of an update in October for the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platforms. Two more cars for the game will also be released for purchase.

The trailer that shows off AquaDome shows that players will be able to view sharks, fish, wrecked ships and more sea life while they are trying to score goals in their vehicles. It adds:

In addition to the new Arena, we'll also be launching two new Battle-Cars in the AquaDome update. Triton (a slick, futuristic ocean sub) and Proteus (a more science-minded research vessel) are both made to cruise below the waves and sail over the pitch. Both cars will be individually priced at USD $1.99 (or regional equivalent) per car.

More info on the Rocket League October update will be released in the coming weeks.

[Samsung: Galaxy Note 7 Available Across Europe Late November]

Samsung: Galaxy Note 7 Available Across Europe Late November
from Android Headlines

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is currently in an unprecedented state of recall where Samsung is looking to round up all the Galaxy Note 7s that were sold prior to September 15 and replace them with newer ones. The reason being is that those earlier batch devices are thought to be prone to an issue with the battery. While the general recall is still ongoing, Samsung has also been working hard to make sure that the Galaxy Note 7 can get back to an 'on sale' state as soon as is humanly possible. However, when that time is, depends and differs for different regions. For instance, Samsung is expected to begin sales of the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea from as early as September 28. Likewise, Canada and the US is expecting to see its general availability commence in October. In Europe though, while the wait will be a little longer Samsung seems very keen to make sure the Galaxy Note 7's full European availability is back up and running before the year is out and presumably, before that crucial Holiday season is missed.

In particular, it seems Samsung's European goal is to have the Galaxy Note 7 widely available across the region before the end of November. At least, according to a report today from Reuters and comments made by Samsung's European Chief Marketing Officer, David Lowes. While Lowes was unable to provide exact dates on when availability in Europe will commence, Lowes was noted stating that Samsung "will be looking at the shape of our business and the forecast for that over the coming weeks". Although, Lowes does expect the Note 7 to make a full appearance in Europe "well before the end of the fourth quarter" and likely "by the end of November".

While it stands to reason that Samsung would want the Note 7 available as soon as possible for sales alone, the end of 2016 goal seems much more than simply getting the Note 7 back in shops. In fact, the comments by Lowes, in many ways suggest this is as much about the mental aspect for Samsung as anything else. With Lowes noting that Samsung wants to "get that momentum back" and further adding, that the hope is to "set ourselves up for a strong 2017". So while sales will be of a high importance in the period leading up to Christmas, Samsung does seem equally as keen on making sure they can put this chapter to bed long before this year closes out, with a view to starting 2017 under much better circumstances. Presumably, so the company can move forward and start to get the market interested in the next upcoming Samsung flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8. Interestingly, Lowes also did make it clear that in spite of the company wanting to get back on track by 2017, they are not looking to push the Galaxy Note 7 under the carpet and move on. In fact, if anything, the comments by Lowes seem to suggest the opposite as Lowes notes that Samsung intends to "give Note7 all the support we were going to give it in the first place", while further adding that Samsung is hoping to fulfill the demand that "we created" as quickly as they can.

[Yahoo hit in worst hack ever, 500 million accounts swiped]

Yahoo hit in worst hack ever, 500 million accounts swiped
from CNET

Hackers swiped personal information associated with at least a half billion Yahoo accounts, the internet giant said Thursday, marking the biggest data breach in history.

The hack, which took place in 2014, revealed names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and, in some cases, security questions and answers, Yahoo said in a press release. Encrypted passwords, which are jumbled so only a person with the right passcode can read them, were also taken.

The internet pioneer, which is in the process of selling itself to Verizon, said it's "working closely" with law enforcement. It called the hackers a "state-sponsored actor," though it didn't identify a country behind the breach.

Yahoo urged users to change their passwords if they haven't since 2014. The company has 1 billion monthly active users for all its internet services, which span finance, online shopping and fantasy football. Its mail service alone has about 225 million monthly active users, Yahoo told CNET in June.

The hack serves as a reminder of how widespread hacking is and highlights the vulnerability of passwords. Cybersecurity specialists recommend using a different password for each account you have on the internet. Other experts are working on alternatives to passwords, such as biometrics like your fingerprint or retina.

"Cybercriminals know that consumers use the same passwords across websites and applications, which is why these millions of leaked password credentials are so useful for perpetuating fraud," said Brett McDowell, executive director of the FIDO Alliance, an organization that vets the security of password alternatives. "We need to take that ability away from criminals, and the only way to do that is to stop relying on passwords altogether."

Verizon, which is paying $4.83 billion for Yahoo, said it was notified of the massive breach within the last two days. The telecommunications giant had "limited information and understanding of the impact," according to a statement.

"We will evaluate, as the investigation continues, through the lens of overall Verizon interests, including consumers, customers, shareholders and related communities," Verizon said.

B. Riley & Co. analyst Sameet Sinha told The Wall Street Journal the breach was unlikely to affect the sale to Verizon.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a member of the newly formed Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, criticized Yahoo for not discovering the breach when it originally happened in 2014.

"While we have seen more and more data breaches in the private sector in recent years, many of them affecting millions of consumers, the seriousness of this breach at Yahoo is huge," Warner said.

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit organization that tracks cybersecurity breaches, said the hack was the largest-ever publicly disclosed breach.

Yahoo has taken steps to protect its users, including invalidating security questions and answers, but the real risk lies in hackers using the passwords on other websites.

"We typically see a 0.1 percent to 2 percent log-in success rate from credential stuffing attacks, meaning that a cybercriminal using 500 million passwords to attempt to take over accounts on another website would be able to take over tens of thousands of accounts on most websites," said Shuman Ghosemajumder, Google's former click-fraud czar and CTO of Shape Security.

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter account was hacked using a similar method after the passwords of more than 100 million LinkedIn members were leaked.

It will take Yahoo at least several months before it starts regaining users' trust, according to research from Alertsec. The encryption provider did a study that found about 97 percent of Americans lose trust in companies like Yahoo after massive data breaches.

"When a company has allowed their customers' data to fall into the hands of criminals, the resulting lack of trust is difficult to repair," CEO Ebba Blitz said in a statement.

On August 1, a hacker named "Peace" claimed to have breached 200 million Yahoo usernames and passwords from a hack in 2012, and offered to sell them on the dark web after trying to do the same with MySpace and LinkedIn accounts.

A person familiar with the situation said Peace's assertion prompted Yahoo to initiate an internal investigation. That investigation found no evidence that substantiated Peace's claim, but the investigating team found indications that a state-sponsored actor had stolen data in 2014.


Former Yahoo information security officer Jeremiah Grossman, now chief of security strategy at SentinelOne, said that internet companies, especially giants like Yahoo, face challenges protecting enormous computer networks because the networks offer so many points of entry to attackers.

"It's unsurprising when breaches, even of this magnitude, take place," Grossman said. "Yahoo certainly isn't the first. And they won't be the last."

[White Tulsa officer charged with manslaughter in death of unarmed black man]

White Tulsa officer charged with manslaughter in death of unarmed black man
from The Washington Post

A white police officer in Tulsa, Okla., who was shown on video fatally shooting an unarmed black man has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said on Thursday.

Tulsa District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler filed a first-degree manslaughter charge against Officer Betty Shelby, nearly a week after multiple cameras filmed her shooting 40-year-old Terence Crutcher as he stood beside his stalled sport utility vehicle.

Moments earlier, the video showed Crutcher walking toward his car with his hands above his head while several officers follow closely behind him with weapons raised. He lingers at his vehicle's driver's side window, his body facing the SUV, before slumping to the ground a second later.

"Shots fired!" a female voice can be heard yelling.

Tulsa police say Crutcher did not have a gun on him or in his vehicle.

The footage does not offer a clear view of when Shelby fired the single shot that killed Crutcher. Her attorney, Scott Wood, has said Crutcher was not following police commands and that Shelby opened fire when the man began to reach into his SUV window.

Wood told the Tulsa World that Shelby opened fire and another officer used a stun gun when Crutcher's "left hand goes through the car window."

In a statement, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) said she hopes the decision "provides some peace" to the Crutcher family and urged people to be patient as the case unfolds.

"No matter how you feel about the prosecutors' decision in this case, I hope Oklahomans will respect the views of your friends and neighbors because we still have to live peacefully together as we try to make sense of the circumstances that led to Mr. Crutcher's death," Fallin said.

Shelby thought Crutcher was behaving like someone under the possible influence of the drug Phencyclidine (PCP), Wood told the World, noting that Crutcher ignored the officer's commands to stop reaching into his pockets. Shelby feared Crutcher might have a gun in his pocket, he said. A police official told The World that PCP was found in Crutcher's vehicle; an attorney for Crutcher's family has said reports linking Crutcher to drugs were attempts to "intellectually justify" his death.

"Make no mistake, it was clear from the beginning that charges were necessary in this case. The officer responsible for the death of Terence Crutcher had to be brought to justice to be held accountable for her actions," Crutcher family attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement Thursday. "We remain optimistic that the State Attorney will now do his job, and vigorously prosecute the officer to the fullest extent of the law, bringing some form of justice to the Crutcher family."

Shelby is a five-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department. Wood, who did not return a request for comment, told The World that Shelby is "very distraught" over the shooting and that she has received death threats.

Shelby is one of at least three female officer to be charged in a fatal shooting in the past decade.

According to reports, Shelby is married to fellow officer David Shelby, who was in a helicopter that recorded the fatal shooting and was recorded talking with a fellow officer about how they believe Crutcher should be shot with a Taser. One of them said he looked "like a bad dude."

Betty Shelby worked at the Tulsa Sheriff's Department from June 2007 to November 2011, according to Deputy Justin Green, a department spokesman. Shelby was involved in a use of force incident at the department for "firearms presentation," Green said. Shelby and other officers entered a home with their firearms drawn as they were trying to serve warrants.

According to her 2007 application to the sheriff's office, Shelby said she had been married twice before and was on track to receive a biology degree from Northeastern State University in Broken Arrow, Okla. She had previously worked as a convenience store manager, teacher assistant and trainee in the Oklahoma Air National Guard. Shelby wrote that she sprained her knee during basic training and the guard did not want to "take car of my rehabilitation," so she was discharged.

On the application, which was obtained by KJRH television, Shelby answered "yes" to questions about whether she had used drugs and whether she had a victim protection order filed against her. Shelby said she had used marijuana twice as an 18-year-old.

In an expanded answer, Shelby wrote in 1993 she and a boyfriend had an argument where they ended their relationship. She said the boyfriend hit her car with a shovel and she did the same to his vehicle. The two filed orders against one another and asked a judge to dismiss them, she wrote.

In 2000, Shelby and an ex-husband were in a custody battle that was appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In 2002, she wrote that her ex-husband's wife filed a protective order against Shelby, alleging she made harassing phone calls. Shelby wrote the order was denied.

In 2004, Shelby spoke at a rally attended by about 6,000 people, including members of Congress and Tulsa's mayor that showed support for U.S. troops deployed overseas. David Shelby was stationed overseas with the Army; according to The World he was a reservist who volunteered for duty.

"I knew there was always a possibility he was going to be deployed sometime," Betty Shelby said at the rally. "He knows this is his duty and he's proud to serve his country."

In a Facebook posting from Aug. 28, Shelby is pictured standing with a couple and holding a bouquet of flowers. The couple, identified as the Joneses, were robbed, and Shelby found their property and returned it to them.

"Well done, Officer Shelby and thanks to the Joneses for making her day," the post read.

Vanilla Frostys > Chocolate Frostys

Just got the iPhone 7 plus. No headphone jack means no charging and watching while laying in bed. This means I hate it. Not a big fan. But I am still getting used to it so we will see.

Did you get the wireless ear pods they were offering?

[No-headphone-jack trend continues with rumored HTC Bolt]

No-headphone-jack trend continues with rumored HTC Bolt
from CNET

Hold on to your headphones, ladies and gents. An early rendering of what is said to be the upcoming HTC Bolt depicts another phone that loses its dedicated headphone jack.

The render posted to Twitter from Evan Blass, a frequent tipster known for leaking early information on consumer tech.

After HTC's revenue took a big hit this year, the company is hoping to get back up to speed. Perhaps more phone releases and the Samsung recall controversy is exactly what the company needs to slow its decline. HTC has just unveiled its HTC Desire 10 Pro, and a video of a rumored HTC Ocean recently surfaced on the internet.

The alleged image shows a silver device that looks very similar to the HTC 10. On the front of the handset we can see a camera and home button. On the back we see a camera, flash, and HTC logo.



What we don't see, however, is a headphone jack. Even though we don't have a clear view of the top or the bottom of the phone, it looks like there is some sort of USB charging-port at the bottom, while evidence of a headphone jack is nowhere to be found. Blass' Twitter followers, as well as Android Authority, were quick to point out the missing headphone jack. One such tweet was later retweeted by Blass himself.

Motorola's Moto Z and Apple's just-released iPhone 7 have both quit the headphone jack this year. While the trend is still new, a move to dongles, USB-C headphones and wireless hearphones might easily make this design the new normal.

HTC hasn't officially announced the Bolt, so for now, this is still no more than a rumor. HTC did not respond to CNET's request for comment.

[Chan Zuckerberg Initiative commits to investing $3 billion to cure diseases]

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative commits to investing $3 billion to cure diseases
from The Verge

The philanthropic initiative founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, will spend $3 billion over the next decade in an effort to cure and manage all human diseases. The Chan Zuckerberg's latest effort will begin with a $600 million investment in a project called Biohub, an independent research center located at the University of California at San Francisco that will work on developing new tools to measure and treat disease.

"Mark and I spent the past two years talking to scientists ranging form Novel Prize laureates to graduate students," Chan said during an emotional talk at UCSF. "We believe that the future we all want for our children is possible. We set a goal: can we cure all diseases in our children's lifetime? That does't mean that no one will ever get sick. But it does mean that our children and their children should get sick a lot less. And that we should be able to detect and treat or at least manage it as an ongoing condition. Mark and I believe this is possible within our children's lifetime."

Zuckerberg, who took the stage after his wife's remarks, laid out a plan for eliminating most disease over the next century. He noted that heart disease, infectious disease, cancer, and neurological diseases are the leading causes of death. No one breakthrough will eliminate any of those, he said. But an investment in basic science research and building new tools will advance progress in fighting them more quickly, he said.

"WE HAVE TO BE PATIENT"

Zuckerberg said that the existing scientific grant progress, which typically awards a few hundred thousand dollars to individuals, is inefficient at creating large breakthroughs. He said the Biohub would bring together scientists with software engineers, and provide funding for long-term initiatives, in an effort to accelerate scientific discoveries.

The initiative will also push others to invest in scientific research, he said. "It's going to take years before the first tools are built, and years after that before the first diseases are treated," Zuckerberg said. "We have to be patient."

Zuckerberg called for investments in artificial intelligence to better understand the brain, machine learning to analyze cancer genomes, chips that could diagnose any infectious diseases, and bloodstream monitors that could catch diseases at an earlier state. "These are the kinds of tools we want to develop at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative," he said.

BUILDING A CELL ATLAS

The initiative's scientific efforts will be led by Dr. Cori Bargmann, a neurologist who was most recently at Rockefeller University in New York. The Biohub will be led by Joe DeRisi, a professor at the UCSF School of Medicine, and Stephen Quake, a Stanford biophysicist and bioengineer. It represents a rare collaboration between three schools: UCSF, Stanford, and the University of California at Berkeley.

One of the Biohub's first projects will be in attempting to develop a "cell atlas" — a comprehensive accounting of every location and molecular property of all the cells in the human body, Bargmann said. That tool and others will be made available to the entire scientific community free of charge, she said.

The initiative was founded in December with the stated goal to "advance human potential and promote equality in areas such as health, education, scientific research and energy." For its first investment, it put $24 million into Andela, which trains developers in Africa. Zuckerberg has said he plans to contribute $1 billion a year of his Facebook stock to the initiative, a limited liability company.