Inquiry into telecom sales practices told only tip of iceberg is visible
GATINEAU, Qc – Government-ordered hearings into complaints about Canada’s largest telecommunications providers got underway Monday with an industry-funded ombudsman saying his group has limited insight into problem sales practices.The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services — a private-sector body — has found the biggest problem is a “mismatch” between what customers expect and what they actually get, CCTS commissioner Howard Maker said.But the data collected by the CCTS reveals just the “tip of the iceberg without revealing what may be happening more broadly,” Maker told a federal regulatory inquiry into allegations of misleading and aggressive sales practices.“We know there’s a lot that’s under the water line that we don’t have access to — to see and to comment on.”Maker’s comments were to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, the industry’s regulator, which has been ordered by the federal government to look into allegations of misbehaviour by sales representatives.“If, at the end of this proceeding, the record were to show that the misleading and aggressive practices are common, it would be a serious concern for us,” CRTC chairman Ian Scott said in opening the first of five days of public hearings.The CRTC has been ordered to provide a report to cabinet by the end of February.Maker said that it’s often difficult for the CCTS to deal with complaints — particularly with door-to-door sales and transactions at some retail stores — because of a lack of documentation about what was promised or agreed upon.“We’re left to put the pieces back together when the customer says this is not what (was) bargained for,” Maker said.He suggested the providers be required to determine if a product or service is “suitable” — as financial services companies are required to check and document by “know your client” legislation and regulations.In telecommunications, suitability could be determined by asking what a customer wants to do with the product or service as part of the sale process and providing documentation, he said.“I think the exchange of information like that is absolutely critical to making sure people get what they want at the price point they’re looking for. So, certainly, that would be an exercise that would be required as part of a suitability analysis.”The minister responsible for telecommunications, Navdeep Bains, ordered the hearings in June after a series of investigative reports by the CBC, complaints by consumers and calls for an inquiry by consumer advocacy groups.In the run-up to the hearings, the CRTC collected more than 1,000 comments from individual Canadians through a variety of methods and received scores of documents from companies that defended their policies and overall record.— by David Paddon in Toronto
Extract Resources has announced that it has completed its definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the Husab uranium project in Namibia. Extract has defined a base case mine plan and process plant design, including plans for delivery of the infrastructure necessary to support the project. The company states that the DFS has demonstrated the technical and economic viability of developing Husab, the world’s fifth-largest uranium-only deposit.The operation will involve open pit mining by truck and shovel from two separate pits to maintain a sustained rate of 15 Mt/y over the life of mine with an average strip ratio of 7:1 (waste:ore); a waste and plant tailings storage facility (the mine residue facility); ore crushing and overland conveying to a new processing facility employing milling, leaching, ion exchange, solvent extraction and precipitation. The mine will produce approximately 15 Mlb/y of U3O8 equivalent. Capital costs for the Project are estimated at $1,480 million, including the initial mine fleet, process plant and supporting infrastructure. Inclusive of pre-strip and other pre-production operating costs of $179 million, the project cost is estimated at $1,659 million.Extract has engaged with potential customers to assess demand for production from the Husab uranium project, and has identified several possible strategic contracting opportunities. Extract said it is “confident that it will become an attractive supplier to end-users, as a result of the Husab uranium project’s ability to offer geographic diversification and long term security of supply.”
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, has signed an agreement with Gulf Cement Co to supply a byproduct from aluminium smelting over the next three years for use in cement manufacturing.Although EGA has been supplying spent pot lining to the cement industry since 2010, the agreement is the first directly between EGA and a cement company rather than via specialist third party pre-processors.EGA is building facilities at its Al Taweelah site to process spent pot lining so it is delivered ready to be used by cement companies as an alternative fuel and raw material.Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and CEO of EGA, said: “This direct agreement with Gulf Cement is a milestone in our drive to turn our byproducts into value by using them as feedstock for other industries. Finding economic uses for waste contributes to the achievement of ‘UAE Vision 2021’ environmental and economic goals and will benefit both our companies. We are glad to be working with Gulf Cement Company on this important project for the industrial sector in the UAE.”His Highness Sheikh Kayed Bin Omar Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of Gulf Cement, said: “Gulf Cement is a global player adopting the latest technology and we are indeed pleased to promote the utilisation of waste materials in order to preserve natural resources and protect the environment we all live in. As a market leader providing sustainable, high quality products meeting international standards, Gulf Cement looks forward to successfully implementing this agreement with EGA over the years ahead.”Spent pot lining is the used inner lining of aluminium smelting pots, which is worn out and replaced every four to five years. It contains both carbon, which is an alternative fuel, and refractory materials that survive the firing process and become part of the finished cement.Last year EGA supplied more spent pot lining to the UAE’s cement industry than it produced. EGA has been supplying Gulf Cement with spent pot lining via third parties for testing since 2015.Globally, the aluminium industry produces more than 1 Mt/y of spent pot lining according to industry experts, and much is stored indefinitely. EGA has stockpiles of spent pot lining from previous years which will be gradually supplied to the cement industry.Under the new agreement, EGA will deliver 2,000 t of spent pot lining to Gulf Cement in 2018. In 2019, the volumes will increase to 10,000 t, followed by 15,000 t in 2020.
Open source projects are strange creatures. When it’s just one person, it’s not a major issue if the project lives or dies but when you have a large open source project, teamwork is everything. They live and die by the cooperation of the entire group. The CyanogenMod project is comprised entirely of members who contribute in their spare time. It is their passion, but often times it can be incredibly demanding in order to keep up with the breakneck speed of the Android release cycle. For reasons still not entirely clear, one member of the CyanogenMod team has taken the project’s domain hostage, as well as being responsible for several under-the-table payment deals that wound up going straight into someone’s pocket instead of supporting the project.As it stands right now, the CyanogenMod team has effectively halted progress on their project to deal with this internal matter. The CM team warns that any @cyanogenmod.com email address is no longer valid since the rogue member controls the Google Apps account, and all of the content from the CM website has been ported to Cyanogenmod.org until the team can get the domain back. ICANN has been contacted regarding this matter, but since the rogue member has had no problems posing as Steve Kondik in the past, the process is rather complicated.Until the team is able to regain complete control of the project, the CyanogenMod team is advising to simply ignore anything that comes from their lost .com.The CyanogenMod ROM has been referred to on several occasions as a fork of Android, much in the same way SenseUI and TouchWiz are. It’s easy to look at the project and see a group of people trying to have some fun with an open source project, but now it is important that the team be seen as members of a legal entity that must now engage in what will more than likely be legal action to regain control of their domain name.Update: The CyanogenMod team have announced that the rogue member, Ahmet Deveci, has transferred ownership of the domain to the CyanogeMod team.
Le jus de betterave serait bénéfique pour le cerveau de l’hommeSi l’on en croit une récente étude sur le sujet, absorber quotidiennement du jus de betterave aurait des effets bénéfiques sur le cerveau et notamment sur la mémoire.L’étude en question a été menée par l’université de Wake Forest aux Etats-Unis et a été publiée dans le Nitric Oxide : Biology and Chemistry. Elle montre que l’absorption quotidienne de jus de betterave améliorerait l’afflux sanguin vers le cerveau de l’homme, et aurait des effets bénéfiques sur la conservation de la mémoire. L’étude explique même que, du fait de la forte concentration de nitrate dans ce jus, ce dernier pourrait également aider à la prévention de la démence.Mais la betterave n’est pas le seul aliment bénéfique grâce à sa concentration de nitrate puisque le céleri et le chou disposent de la même composition. Le nitrate transformé en nitrite par l’organisme, explique Relaxnews, aurait pour conséquence de dilater les vaisseaux sanguins et fluidifier le sang, alors qu’au contraire avec le temps, certaines zones du cerveau manquent de sang et d’oxygène. Il ne vous reste plus qu’à inclure ces aliments riches en nitrate dans votre régime alimentaire. Le 13 novembre 2010 à 15:47 • Emmanuel Perrin
Un casque antique exposé après 9 longues années de restaurationÀ partir du 28 janvier, les visiteurs du musée d’Harborough, dans le Leicestershire, pourront admirer, parmi d’autres trouvailles faites sur le site archéologique d’Hallaton, un casque datant de la conquête romaine d’il y a presque 2.000 ans, patiemment restauré par les experts du British Museum. Pas moins de 9 longues années d’un patient travail de restauration : c’est ce qu’il a fallu pour reconstituer ce casque romain, trouvé sur le site archéologique de Hallaton (Leicestershire), découvert en 2000 par des archéologues amateurs. À lire aussiLe pharaon Toutânkhamon n’était sans doute pas celui que l’on croit”Vous ne pouvez pas imaginer le choc et la surprise que cela a été quand il a été trouvé : Hallaton transforme réellement notre compréhension de la conquête romaine de la Grande-Bretagne”, a déclaré le Dr Jeremy Hill, du Musée d’Harborough, où seront exposés divers vestiges, dont le fameux casque.Fait de fer recouvert de feuilles d’argent, orné par endroits de feuilles d’or, l’objet, vraisemblablement un casque de cérémonie de la cavalerie romaine, est somptueusement décoré d’un buste de femme, d’une couronne de laurier et d’une silhouette d’empereur (probablement). Datant des alentours de 43 après J.-C. et découvert en fragments, il a été ramassé précautionneusement avec sa gangue de terre avant d’être ‘remis à neuf’, petit à petit, par l’équipe de Marilyn Hockey, du British Museum, qui a déclaré : “cela a été un long travail, et j’ai appris à connaître cet objet intimement… “. Le 11 janvier 2012 à 19:40 • Maxime Lambert
Why: Main Street Melts opened in July. The food truck provides gooey, grilled gourmet sandwiches, some of which are classic oriented and some are adventurous.What I tried: I had the Meltdown, and my dining companions had the Main Melt and the McBride. All the sandwiches were served with kettle chips.The Meltdown is made with beer-infused caramelized onions and fontina and gruyere cheese on parmesan crusted sourdough bread. The flavor of this sandwich reminded me somewhat of French onion soup. I especially liked how the grated parmesan gave a rich, crisp coating on the bread. The sandwich’s fillings were complex and deliciously appetizing together.Both of my dining companions thoroughly enjoyed their sandwich selections. The McBride is a creative sandwich — combining beef brisket, bacon, fontina cheese, chimichurri and crispy onions on a ciabatta roll. The Main Melt is made on sourdough bread and filled with bacon, American and cheddar cheese, tomato, avocado and thousand island dressing.We all agreed that the sandwiches did not have any shortcomings, and we will definitely return to try more.Atmosphere: Dining is accommodated either outside, picnic-table-style on a gravel surface, or inside Doomsday Brewing Safe House Taproom where an artistic, post-apocalyptic decor combines murals and simple elements to create a clubhouse feel. The ceiling is covered with wood pallets and the floor is speckled with paint. Tables are paired with lightweight aluminum chairs, and there are a few tall bistro tables and chairs in the bar area in addition to bar-side seating. Large screen TVs provide entertainment and are used in conjunction with group activities, such as trivia night.
Battle Ground Public Schools responded Tuesday to a student who made a threat at Laurin Middle School. The threat was deemed to be not credible, a district spokeswoman said.Principal Travis Drake told parents in an email that other students overheard the student making a threat against the school, located at 13601 N.E. 97th Ave., Vancouver. They reported it to administrators, who contacted the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The district and law enforcement determined in their investigation that the threat was “not credible,” district spokeswoman Rita Sanders said.“The purpose of communicating this information is to reassure you that school safety is of the utmost importance to Laurin and Battle Ground Public Schools,” Drake wrote to parents. “We take all threats seriously and work with law enforcement to investigate them thoroughly.”Sanders could not comment on what happened to the student due to federal privacy laws. She did not describe the specific nature of the threat.
The United States assumes chairmanship of the Arctic Council next week, kicking off a two-year window to assert American priorities in the region. The U.S. and other member nations have committed to making the Arctic a “zone of peace.” But now, some Arctic watchers wonder if the U.S. needs to add an item to its Arctic priority list: get tough with Russia.Download AudioRussia has been flexing its military might in northern skies and waters, and Swedish authorities last year reported a near miss with a Russian spy plane. Nordic ministers this week described Russia as the greatest threat to northern Europe’s security. Yet the U.S. says it still wants Russia to be its partner in the Arctic. Heather Conley, an Arctic expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says she’s unsure what to make of it.“I am struggling with the concept of ‘partner,’ yet I’m seeing extraordinary aggressive actions, missing civilian airliners, a lot of military exercises in the Arctic,” Conley said.Speaking at a forum in Washington, Conley says she’s increasingly concerned the U.S. government isn’t focusing enough attention on Russia’s behavior.Sen. Lisa Murkowski, at the same forum, said she’s committed to the Arctic “zone of peace” concept, but it requires that countries respect each other and Russia hasn’t been living up to that standard.“And it causes me to wonder if they are not taking advantage of the fact that we have said, we want to be your friend. We want to be your partner in all of this. Well, if you want to be a partner, then you behave like one,” she said.The senator says the U.S. government needs to send an equally strong message to Russia to let it know its actions are unacceptable.“And as much as we want to be working together, we want to collaborate on scientific opportunities, we want to collaborate in areas of the environment, let’s not say one thing on the one hand and then our actions take us in a different direction,” she said. “We need to call Russia out when Russia needs to be called out.”Murkowski was the keynote speaker at the Arctic forum, sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Her main message was that the Obama Administration should place a higher priority on the well-being of Arctic people, rather than giving climate change top billing. Murkowski, though, says she agrees climate change, and how to adapt to it, is a valid Arctic issue.“But it cannot be our sole and singular focus. And it cannot be held over or held against the people of the Arctic,” she said. “It should not be used as an excuse to prevent those who live in the Arctic from developing the resources available to them in order to create a better standard of living.”Murkowski also addressed what other senators have called the irony of the Arctic: that rapid Arctic warming gives access to more petroleum, which, when burned, will bring on more warming. At a hearing last month on Arctic issues, a Democratic senator and a liberal independent asked why Arctic Slope witnesses favored oil development when their communities are the most vulnerable to climate change. Murkowski says the question ignores what resource development has brought to the North Slope, from medicine to search-and-rescue, and home heating.“There is no irony in the people in the Arctic benefiting from the economic opportunities that are available in their region,” she said. “But there is an irony in deliberately limiting their economic future while claiming that somehow it is for their own good and somehow in their best interest.”The Arctic Council meeting is next week in Canada. Russia’s foreign minister has declined to attend.
Approximately 50 feet of land that eroded from Mike Williams’ backyard. (Photo courtesy of Mike Williams)Download AudioJust as it was getting dark Saturday evening, Akiak resident and dog musher Mike Williams Sr. stepped outside to see his dog lot falling into the Kuskokwim River and seven of his sled dogs being pulled into the water.“They were beginning to choke,” Williams said, “but they’re alive, they’re okay now. They got them just in time,” Williams said.Williams says the dogs were hanging by their chains, with their bodies dangling over the eroding banks.“We had to pull them out, they were in they’re chains and they pulled them out,” Williams said.Williams’ son-in-law went outside to check on Williams’ 60 sled dogs when he realized something wasn’t right— the lot was eroding into the riverbank, and quickly.“This is about the most I’ve seen in recent times in Akiak,” Williams said.Williams was able to rescue and relocate all of his sled dogs, but he lost a refrigerator that stored dog food.What Williams experienced is called mass erosion.“These are tough times for all of us, and hopefully a lot of erosion projects will be funded to help fix all of this stuff,” Williams said.Areas along the Kuskokwim are no strangers to erosion, especially in the era of Alaska’s climate change. But in Akiak, erosion commonly occurs during breakup season, when the river flows faster, not in late September.Chris Maio, an Assistant Professor of Geology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, studies coastal geography and says Saturday’s erosion is abnormal.“I certainly think that is what I’d categorize as an extreme erosional event,” Maio said.Maio says that high rate is a result of three elements: the river’s natural composition, warmer weather, and high rainfall.“Forty-five, 55 feet in the matter of a couple of hours is certainty a really dramatic rate of erosion,” Maio.The sediment in communities along the Kuskokwim is composed primarily of silt, a fine gradient, and it’s held together by permafrost.When the temperatures rise, the permafrost melts, weakening the riverbanks. When a heavy rain comes, it can tear the land away.Williams says it had been raining a lot before the mass erosion, raising the river, but he says the weather Saturday night wasn’t particularly windy or intense.In 2009, the U.S. Corps of Engineers conducted an erosion assessment of almost 200 Alaskan communities.According to the assessment, Akiak is losing about an acre of land a year, and the village’s communications hub will be lost within 30 years to erosion.Researchers conclude that the potential damages could cost more than $18 million.Akiak City Administrator Ivan Ivan, says the city has developed a mitigation plan, and recently applied for a disaster relief grant through FEMA. If awarded, the grant will help relocate about nine homes that are close to the river.Ivan says they’re still waiting to hear back.
Kochi: Flight operations from the Kochi international airport here will resume at 12 noon on Sunday, an airport official said. “Airport is ready. Flight operations will resume at 12 noon tomorrow. That is ahead of the deadline. Airlines are instructed to facilitate services accordingly,” a Cochin International Airport Limited Spokesperson told reporters here Saturday. Also Read – Congress MLA Shivakumar moves High Court seeking protection from arrest Advertise With Us Earlier, the official said water level in apron areas of the airport was receding and cleaning operations have begun. “Ferry operation was successfully carried out. Six out of eight stranded aircraft departed, while the remaining two will fly to their destinations tomorrow as scheduled services,” he said. The Kochi International airport had on Friday suspended all operations till Sunday as the runway area in the airport was waterlogged due to floods. Also Read – Enforcement Directorate summons Karnataka Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar Advertise With Us The operations were suspended as there was a rise in water level in the Periyar river and a canal adjacent to the airport due to heavy rains. Heavy rains have been battering Kerala for the past few days and claiming 42 lives, bringing back the memories of the worst floods in August last year. The airport was rendered non-functional for a fortnight in August 2018 due to inundation. It had suffered damage to infrastructure, including a 2.6 km long wall that collapsed after the Periyar river overflowed. The estimated loss was then put between Rs 220-250 crore.
Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) finally pulled the wraps off its much-awaited Activa 125 , with a price tag of 56,607.Activa 125, Honda’s newest offering in the Activa lineup, has been in the headlines since its debut at the Delhi Auto Expo 2014. The bookings for Activa 125 had commenced earlier this month, and the company is likely to start the delivery soon.On the mechanical front, the new avatar of the latest Activa packs a 125cc, single cylinder, four-stroke engine, which can churn out a power of 8.6bhp at 6500 rpm and a peak torque of 10.12 Nm at 5500 rpm and comes mated to a V-Matic CVT transmission. It measures 1,814 mm in length, 704 mm in width and 1,151 mm in height and has a wheelbase of 1,260 mm. Promising a fuel efficiency of 60-65 kmpl, Activa 125 is the first Honda scooter in the 125cc segment to come with Honda Efficiency Technology (HET).Activa 125 will be pitted against the current leaders in the segment – Piaggio’s Vespa, Suzuki’s Access and Swish and Mahindra’s Duro and Rodeo and will be offered in four colour variants in the sub-continent market – midnight blue, black, pearl white and sword silver. Lookswise, the new Activa 125 is not much different from its siblings but houses some attractive features.It features telescopic fork suspension at the front, hydraulic type at the rear and accommodates features like optional disc brake, tubeless tires, digital meter and metal body. The scooter is offered in two variants – Standard (with drum brakes) and Deluxe (disc brakes & alloys).Activa 125 Standard carries a price tag of 56,607(ex-showroom, Mumbai) and the Deluxe Variant is priced at 62,588(ex-showroom, Mumbai).(Ed: VP)Technical Specifications of Honda Activa 125ENGINE Engine Type 4Stroke, Air Cooled, SI EngineDisplacement 124.9ccMax Power 6.38 Kw (8.6 Bhp)@6500 rpmMax Torque 10.12 Nm@5500 rpmTransmission V-MaticStarting Self & KickSUSPENSION Front Telescopic SuspensionRear Spring Loaded Hydraulic TypeCHASSIS Frame Underbone TypeDimension 1814mmX704mmX1151mmWheel Base 1260mmGround Clearance 155mmSeat Height 765mmTYRE SIZE Front 90/90-12Rear 90/100-10TYRE TYPE Front Tubeless TyresRear Tubeless Tyres
Former Pirate Bay admin Frederik Neij hoped to combat the prison blues by playing some games on his Nintendo. Unfortunately for him, prison officials won’t let him have it because they don’t own a $2 screwdriver.According to officials, “the console is sealed in such a way that it can not be opened without the machine being destroyed.” They added that “it is therefore impossible to ensure that this does not contain prohibited items.” To be fair, they’re not the first people to complain about Nintendo’s choice of screws.Without that $2 screwdriver to crack it open, there’s just no way they’ll allow Neij to get his hands on the console. It could stuffed full of contraband for all they know… And although a decades-old Nintendo can’t connect to the Internet, who knows? Maybe someone’s cleverly hidden a Raspberry Pi and a cellular modem inside it. The prison couldn’t possibly allow a prisoner as prominent as Neij to somehow sneak online while he’s under their watch.It’s not game over yet for Neij. He’s appealed the prison’s ruling and may yet be allowed to fire up his classic NES while behind bars. However things play out, at least he’s not in the same situation as co-admin Gottfrid Svartholm was.Svartholm — who was convicted on hacking charges in Denmark in addition to the copyright charges brought against all three Pirate Bay admins (Neij, Svartholm, and Peter Sunde) — wasn’t even allowed access to a single piece of reading material. That finally changed in December following a petition signed by more than 100,000 supporters. He’s now allowed to take books, magazines, and newspapers from the prison library.
The second-in-command of the dreaded Islamic State militant group has been killed in a US 
January 8, 2014 This hands-on workshop will give you the tools to authentically connect with an increasingly skeptical online audience. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. As tablets and smartphones become increasingly integrated into our daily work and personal lives, cybercriminals are ramping up their efforts to attack mobile devices. And for small businesses, protecting mobile data is more important than ever.McAfee Labs 2014 Predictions Report forecasts a rise in ransomware, in particular, as virtual currencies like Bitcoin gain popularity. The report also predicts that hackers and other online miscreants will continue to aggressively mine social networks for personal information in order to commit ID fraud or steal intellectual property.Related: Your Password is 123456? Wow, Seriously?Unlike big banks and corporations with armies of engineers dedicated to thwarting cyberattacks, small business’ security is usually much easier to crack. And, according to McAfee’s global SMB leader, Bill Rielly, cyberthieves know this, often making the small guy a more attractive target.Email is one of the main starting points for many cyberattacks, Rielly says. And now that almost everyone has email and a VPN connection on their phone if a device is stolen it can become a companywide disaster. If a phone falls into the wrong hands, they could easily wreak havoc with access to emails, the company’s secure network and apps linked to personal, corporate financial accounts and social media accounts. Protecting those devices with a passcode in order to keep private information private is of the upmost importance.Related: On Hack, Snapchat Founder Says ‘We Thought We Had Done Enough’Obviously, it’s also important to keep devices from being compromised by malicious content that comes from an email or the web.”Cyber criminals know that when people get emails that look interesting or have provocative titles or subject lines, they’ll click on them,” Rielly says. “Make sure you have a solution in place to prevent malicious emails from getting to your employees’ phones, tablets and computers … If you take out the malicious apps through web or email protection your eliminating a big part of the problem.”If your company does fall victim to a cyberattack, the odds aren’t great. Rielly says that six out of 10 small businesses that take a hit as a result of a cyberattack end up going out of business.In order to avoid that Rielly says there are several things business owners need to do quickly and almost simultaneously.Related: Judge Says NSA Surveillance Is Constitutional Free Workshop | August 28: Get Better Engagement and Build Trust With Customers Now 2 min read Enroll Now for Free
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Elon Musk visited the Pentagon yesterday, and he wasn’t there to join a super secret boy band. Yeah, we’re bummed, too.Turns out, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX might’ve been at the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense for a top-secret tête-à-tête about flying metal suits. Or not. Depends on what level of security clearance the futurist dude has, and whether we’re really living in The Matrix, like he suspects we might be. Kidding aside, Musk really did swing by the Pentagon Wednesday and everyone’s scratching their heads trying to nail down exactly why, CNN reporter Ryan Browne included. Browne published this story on the mysterious pitstop, in which he spills what little is known about closed-door meeting about “innovation” between Musk and the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. Related: 5 Things You Don’t Know About Elon MuskThe government remains mum about the meeting, apart from Department of Defense spokesperson Peter Cook acknowledging that Carter “has been reaching out to a number of members of the technology community to get their ideas, their feedback, find out what’s going on in the world of innovation.”Being that we’re talking Mr. Musk here, innovation could refer to anything from artificial intelligence to vacuum-tube transportation to electric jets to colonizing mars. Who knows? He might’ve met with Uncle Sam to discuss the landmark $82.7 million SpaceX contract he recently inked to blast a U.S. Air Force GPS satellite into orbit by 2018. All that, after suing the military entity.It’s anyone’s guess. Or is it? The man, the myth, the legend himself tweeted out a hint about the Pentagon meeting, just to keep us guessing:Something about a flying metal suit…https://t.co/6Z1D9iZ1fV— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2016Related: Elon Musk Says We’re Likely Living In a Video Game. Are We?Don’t strain your brain thinking too hard about it. There’s a “one in billions” chance we’re not living in a fake world anyway. Just for fun, check out these reply tweets to Tony Stark’s, er, we mean Musk’s tease-tweet about his hush-hush trip to the Pentagon:@elonmusk First leaked photos!!! pic.twitter.com/mbqKVECfoz— João Pacheco (@JoaoPacheco91) June 9, 2016@elonmusk I hope you don’t help with the “weapons”. Don’t get lost in the defense industrial complex. SpaceX is for the people.— Jerel Damon (@JerelDamon) June 9, 2016@elonmusk Funny thing is there’s no way to tell if you’re actually joking or not.— cubfan135 (@cubfan135) June 9, 2016@elonmusk pic.twitter.com/oGgZcQiUjI— Juanchi Roca-Paisley (@MinionSharkBait) June 9, 2016@elonmusk I mean you’re getting pretty good with those 3d printers right?!— Andy (@stylishandy) June 9, 2016 Growing a business sometimes requires thinking outside the box.
Related posts:Costa Rica court convicts owner of illegal puppy mill Rescuers free dogs, birds in another puppy mill raid Signature collection for animal welfare bill referendum set for July President Solís signs new Animal Welfare Law With just over two weeks left of the year, reports of animal abuse have already surpassed by 15 percent those recorded last year, the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) reported Friday.The agency so far has received 3,924 reports of animal abuse, the vast majority of them from the Greater Metropolitan Area, which includes San José and parts of Alajuela and Cartago.SENASA inspectors were mostly alerted to situations where animals were being kept in unsanitary or unhealthy conditions, or were malnourished. They also attended cases where animals were being bred indiscriminately and used for clandestine fights, the agency reported.Among their successes, SENASA inspectors were able to rescue 510 dogs who were mistreated, neglected and poorly fed. Most were pit bulls and American Staffordshire terriers that were being bred and trained using extreme methods specifically designed to make them aggressive for fighting.SENASA’s General Director Bernardo Jaén said officials are very pleased to have been able to rescue and give a second chance to so many dogs, most of which were rehabilitated, neutered, dewormed and put up for adoption.“Currently 423 of them have successfully found new homes,” he said.Jaén noted that they were able to increase the number of rescued animals thanks to collaboration from the Health Ministry, National Police and from organizations such as the Humane Society International and the National Association for the Protection of Animals.“With their help we have been able to solve several cases of puppy mills and animal hoarders who cause animals serious health problems but also affect public health,” he said.Animal Welfare Bill still pendingDespite SENASA’s animal rescue successes, animal rights advocates are still impatiently awaiting approval of the country’s first Animal Welfare Bill, which seeks harsher penalties for animal abuse.In November 2014, President Luis Guillermo Solís promised animal rights advocates who protested in front of Casa Presidencial that the bill’s approval “would be a priority of his administration.” But over a year later, the bill has yet to be taken up for a vote by the Legislative Assembly.Solís included the bill in his list of priority bills to be discussed by lawmakers during the extraordinary period of legislative sessions — where the president defines the agenda — that runs December to April. Last week the bill was relatively near the top of the Assembly’s agenda, however it still does not have a date to be brought before the full Assembly.The president included the bill in last year’s agenda, also, but then tabled it in February in exchange for a bill to build a new highway between San José and the Alajuela canton of San Ramón. Facebook Comments
by Leanne Italie, The Associated Press Posted May 1, 2018 10:12 am PDT Last Updated May 1, 2018 at 11:00 am PDT AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to RedditRedditShare to 電子郵件Email NEW YORK, N.Y. – When it comes to parenting advice, you’ve got your homegrown experts, your celebrities, the granola crunchy crowd and your “bad moms” who write funny books about drinking and cursing their way through rearing children.Sometimes, though, there’s a mom who writes a book that revs on a great many of those cylinders. Count the real Rainbow “Bow” Johnson in that camp, only her name is Dr. Rania Edwards-Barris.Edwards-Barris, wife of “black-ish” creator Kenya Barris, is the inspiration for Tracee Ellis Ross’s character on the popular ABC series. On the show, she’s a busy anesthesiologist and mom of five struggling to provide a sense of cultural identity for their kids as the only black family on their upper middle-class Los Angeles block.In real life, Edwards-Barris is in fact an anesthesiologist and the couple has six — count ’em — six kids, ranging from 2 to 19. A parent doesn’t live that way without racking up some sound advice and support for others, especially moms. That’s part of the motivation behind “Keeping Up with the Johnsons: Bow’s Guide to Black-ish Parenting,” out in May from the Disney imprint Kingswell and written tongue-in-check by Edwards-Barris in the voice of TV Bow.With Mother’s Day approaching, The Associated Press asked the real “Bow” for some pearls from her parenting adventures:MISSION: IMPOSSIBLEEdwards-Barris opens the book with a touch of harsh reality from years ago, beginning with, “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.” She was wrangling two of her kids in a department store fitting room when she had a very real bathroom emergency of her very own. She had a toddler running in circles while breastfeeding her newborn when she realized she was definitely not going to make it to a bathroom.So she went MacGyver, doing her No. 2 business into a diaper on a stool. She wrapped it all up, made it through checkout when the clerk complimented her almost 3-year-old on the doll she had chosen, wondering if it was her birthday, and her toddler overshared: “No, Mommy said she would buy it for me if I didn’t tell anyone that she pooped in a diaper in the changing room.”Edwards-Barris laughed: “It hit me and it was not like I could wait. I was like, oh my God, what am I going to do right now? I did what would allow me to walk out and still buy my items. I forgot I had this kid who was really smart and could talk.”THE GREAT OUTDOORSEdwards-Barris had been camping a few times growing up, which isn’t to say she was an expert. Nor was her husband, but they wanted that experience for their kids. The first time they tried they had three little kids. They went the recreational vehicle route, as opposed to tenting it, for the trip to the mountains, but all did not go entirely well.They couldn’t get the stove to light, then matters of the toilet reared once again in her life. They didn’t make it through the night.“I guess one of the girls put too much toilet tissue in the potty and it got stopped up,” Edwards-Barris said. “I told Kenya, I guess you should take it out and he was, like, I don’t know, you should call your dad or something. I’m, like, ‘You are the dad now.’”The lesson: “Never go camping. Always go glamping,” Edwards-Barris chuckled. “Why do that to yourself?”LIAR LIARHer best parenting hack for catching a kid in a fib also has to do with the bathroom. Specifically, kids who don’t wash their hands after using one. Edwards-Barris used to do the “smell your hands” test when she suspected foul play.“Then they started spraying perfume and other stuff on their hands and I was like, wow,” she said. “I mean, if you’re going to bother with that just wash them. I was, like, this does not even make sense. They act like they’re allergic to the water.”Her secret weapon: Guilt.“Always make them feel as guilty as you can if you know that they’re lying,” she said. “I ask, is that the truth and they say, yeah, you want to go check and I’ll be, like: “Absolutely not. You know why? Because I trust you and because we have a relationship built on trust I know I don’t have to go and check. And then they cave.”UP IN THE AIRTravelling by plane with kids can mean high drama. Try it with a spouse who’s a nervous flyer and you’ve got the life of Edward-Barris.“Always take a wife with you. Your mother, your nanny, any other woman in your life who gets it. And make sure that you tell the flight attendant the Benadryl was Tylenol,” she laughed again.On a trip to Hawaii, when her youngest lucky No. 6 was still a baby, he was on antibiotics and he threw up all over her and the flight attendant as well.“Kenya didn’t even know. I mean he was clueless and talking about what a great flight that was and I was, like, oh my God. He was down the row and he slept through it,” Edwards-Barris said.LICENSE TO KILLTeaching a teen to drive, Edwards-Barris wrote, “is a little bit like teaching a drunken toddler how to remove your appendix.” Just as Junior on “black-ish” failed his driver’s test for failing to yield, so did one of real Bow’s kids.Edwards-Barris has two drivers now. It’s a team effort between she and Barris but mom took them out the most to practice and went for the driving tests. The show’s Junior role is based on one of her daughters, who wanted her license on the day she turned 16.“And she failed. For the same reason, failure to yield, and I was like you’ve got to be kidding me,” Edwards-Barris said. “When we’d be out driving she didn’t want me to tell her anything so I was, like, I can’t believe you’re thinking you know how to drive and you can’t do the simplest things.”Her best tip: “Pay someone to teach them how to drive. Just remove yourself. It’s so much better. I’m telling you.” FILE – In this Jan. 8, 2017 file photo, Kenya Barris, left, and Dr. Rainbow Edwards-Barris arrive at the HBO Golden Globes afterparty in Beverly Hills, Calif. Edwards-Barris is the author of “Keeping Up With the Johnsons: Bow’s Guide to Black-ish Parenting.” (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File) 
Pearls of parenting wisdom from the real Bow Johnson