Category: Business

  • Fawad Chaudhry appointed as head of COMSATS advisory board | The Express Tribune

    Fawad Chaudhry appointed as head of COMSATS advisory board | The Express Tribune

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry. PHOTO: APP/FILE

    ISLAMABAD: Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday was appointed as the chairman of Comsats (Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South) advisory committee.

    The federal minister was previously serving as a member of the commission’s advisory board before being made its head.

    Chaudhry will replace Nasim Nawaz, the secretary Ministry of Science and Technology.

    Earlier in the day, the science and technology minister paid a visit to the Comsats university’s main campus in Islamabad, where he reiterated how the commission’s work was paving the way for sustainable development in the country.

    According to the ministry, Chaudhry’s appointment would further enhance the vision of Comsats.

    Pakistan’s Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam conceived the idea of the Comsats. The university is collaborating with 27 countries in the field of science and technology.

    Comsats aims to reduce the gap between the developed and developing world through useful applications of science and technology.

    This content was originally published here.

  • Woman who tripped on collapsed ‘wet floor’ sign at Jack Casino awarded $3 million by jury

    Woman who tripped on collapsed ‘wet floor’ sign at Jack Casino awarded $3 million by jury

    A woman who fell by a collapsed “wet floor” sign at Jack Casino was awarded $3 million this past week by a Hamilton County jury.

    Lynda Sadowski walked toward the sign, which lay flat on the floor, in September 2016. Customers had knocked it over, and a Jack employee walked around it but failed to pick it up moments before Sadowski tripped over it, according to her attorney Matt Nakajima.

    Sadowski suffered a broken knee cap and metal hardware was placed in her knee. Her mobility has since worsened and she has arthritis at the fracture site, Nakajima said by email. A second surgery may be necessary.

    “The casino had no safety policies in place for floor inspection or fall prevention and had no criticism of the employee’s failure to pick up the trip hazard even though its own internal documents found her at fault,” Nakajima wrote. “The Casino’s callous disregard for their customers’ safety was on full display throughout the trial.”

    source

  • Taco Bell’s pop-up hotel reservations sell out in 2 minutes

    Taco Bell’s pop-up hotel reservations sell out in 2 minutes

    Apparently, people were excited about the prospect of sleeping in a taco-themed room.

    So excited that reservations for the Taco Bell pop-up hotel in Palm Springs, California, sold out in just 2 minutes after opening at 10 a.m. Pacific time Thursday, reports The Desert Sun, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.

    “Taco Bell fans are truly one of a kind, and today was one of the best expressions of that fandom yet,” Taco Bell Global Chief Brand Officer Marisa Thalberg said in an email. “The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort officially sold out in just 2 minutes. We would like to extend a big ‘thank you’ for those who have come along on this journey with us and even though The Bell is sold out, we’ll have more to share on exclusive merchandise, food and more in the coming weeks so those unable to score a room can still experience the fun from home.”

    source

  • China imports first Iranian oil since US ended sanction waivers — RT Business News

    China imports first Iranian oil since US ended sanction waivers — RT Business News

    According to TankerTrackers, a medium-sized Suezmax vessel, named SALINA and owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), loaded around 1 million barrels of crude oil from Iran and departed on May 28. The tanker arrived on June 20 at Jinxi Refining and Chemical Complex in China in a first independent tanker-tracking confirmation that China is defying the U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil exports.

    The arrival of an Iranian crude cargo at the Jinxi complex, which is ultimately owned and operated by state giant China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), suggests that China is resuming Iranian crude oil imports as part of a government policy, according to Bourse & Bazaar.

    Last month, TankerTrackers said on May 16 that it had sighted what was the first confirmed export of crude oil out of Iran since the end of all US waivers on May 2.

    Iran’s oil exports will greatly depend on how China will proceed with its crude oil imports from the Islamic Republic, if at all, after the US removed the sanction waivers, IHS Markit said in an analysis earlier this month.

    Despite the US push to drive Iranian oil exports to zero, China is not expected to totally cut off its crude imports from Iran, according to Fotios Katsoulas, Liquid Bulk Principal Analyst, Maritime & Trade at IHS Markit.

    Still, Chinese oil imports from Iran will likely be very low for a long period of time going forward, Katsoulas said.

    China has criticized the US decision to end the sanction waivers and some Chinese refiners may continue to buy Iranian oil amid the US-China trade war and Beijing could simply brush off the US sanctions on Iranian oil.

    China’s total crude oil imports dropped in May from a monthly record in April, as Chinese refiners drastically reduced Iranian oil imports after the end of the US waivers and as some state refineries were offline for planned maintenance.

    This article was originally published on Oilprice.com

    This content was originally published here.

  • Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates have now fallen to a 3-year low | 2019-06-27 | HousingWire

    Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates have now fallen to a 3-year low | 2019-06-27 | HousingWire

    This week, the average U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to a three-year low, according to the latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

    According to the company’s data, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.73% for the week ending June 27 2019, down from last week’s rate of 3.84%. That’s significantly lower than 2018 levels, when the rate averaged a whopping 4.55%.

     “While the industrial and trade related economic data continues to dominate the news, the drop in mortgage rates over the last two months is already being felt in the housing market,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said. “Through late June, home purchase applications improved by five percentage points compared to the previous month. In the near-term, we expect the housing market to continue to improve from both a sales and price perspective.”

    The 15-year FRM averaged 3.16% this week, dropping from last week’s 3.25%. This time last year, the 15-year FRM came in at 4.04%.

    Lastly, the five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.39%, falling from last week’s rate of 3.48%. Unsurprisingly, this rate is much lower than the same time period in 2018 when it averaged 3.87%.

    The image below highlights this week’s changes:

    This content was originally published here.

  • Robot dog for companionship

    Robot dog for companionship

    The robo-dogs and robo-cats are made by Ageless Innovation and marketed to seniors with the motto, “No vet bills, just love.” The animals are available for purchase for $99.99 to $119.99. They have built-in sensors that respond to touch and motion, and the cats take a “nap” after repeated petting. The dogs respond to sounds and even have a heartbeat. “They bark, they nuzzle,” says Cortés-Vázquez. They’re “a wonderful way to replace that same gratification and tenderness and joy that you once had with your pets.”

    Buddy reminds Minggia of her beloved cocker spaniel, Honey, whom she had to give to her sister when she moved to NYC to care for her aunt. Minggia hopes to get a real dog again at some point, but, given that she has numerous ailments of her own, including a rare autoimmune disease and a recent lung cancer diagnosis, Buddy is a great, low-maintenance substitute. “You know there’s mechanics in the center of him, so he’s not squishy,” she says. But “I don’t have to clean up after him, I don’t have to walk him. He brings me joy.”

    source

  • “God, Guns and Freedom”

    “God, Guns and Freedom”

    car dealership in a rural Alabama town is tapping into some of the locals’ passions for a special Fourth of July promotion.

    Chatom Ford, a dealership in Chatom, Alabama, is running a “God, Guns and Freedom” promotion that promises a Bible, a 12-gauge shotgun and an American flag to anyone who buys a car between the start of the promotion and July 31.

    The dealership released a Facebook video that features Koby Palmer, a general sales manager, talking about the promotion. It’s been viewed nearly 14,000 times as of Tuesday night.

    “I guess it went viral, as the kids say,” Palmer, 29, told USA TODAY.

    He added, “We live in a small town of 1,200 people. It’s a very small, rural area. They lean on their religious beliefs, their pride in America and they love to hunt.”

    With a laugh, Palmer was quick to mention that the dealership wasn’t just “handing out shotguns in Alabama.” When you purchase a car, you get the Bible and the flag. You’re also given a certificate that can be taken to a certified firearms dealer in town or to one in Mississippi that has partnered with the dealership.

    source

  • Surprising Survey Shows 45% Of Americans Doubt Safety Of Vaccines

    Surprising Survey Shows 45% Of Americans Doubt Safety Of Vaccines

    The latest measles outbreak that’s gripped communities across the country in recent months pushed the topic of vaccinations (and those who choose to forgo them) right back onto centerstage for many Americans. Now a new survey delving into feelings over immunizations finds the country may be more split on the issue than believed, with 45% of adults admitting to harboring some doubt about the safety of vaccines.

    That said, the vast majority — more than eight in 10 surveyed — still view vaccines as effective and continue to support them, despite their concerns.

    The survey, funded by the American Osteopathic Association, questioned 2,000 adults and asked doubters the source of their suspicions of the science-supported, long-established safety and importance of vaccinations. Of the nearly half who listed at least one source of doubt over vaccine safety, researchers found the most common sources came from online articles (16%), distrust of the pharmaceutical industry (16%), and information from medical experts (12%).

    According to lead researcher Rachel Shmuts, a perinatal psychiatrist, widespread negative attitudes towards vaccines has become a phenomenon caused by human psychology and amplified by social media.

    source

  • FACEBOOK LIVE AIRED VIDEO of St. Louis Police Officer Langsdorf Lying on the Floor After Execution — WHILE HE WAS DYING! (VIDEO)

    FACEBOOK LIVE AIRED VIDEO of St. Louis Police Officer Langsdorf Lying on the Floor After Execution — WHILE HE WAS DYING! (VIDEO)

    St. Louis County Police Officer Mike Langsdorf was killed in duty Sunday afternoon in North St. Louis County on Page Avenue.

    Officer Langsdorf had been with the North County St. Louis Police Department for 3 months.

    The suspect struggled with Officer Langsdorf and then shot him at point blank range in the back of the neck.
    The bullet traveled through his neck and out his chest.

    Video surveillance inside the store captured the entire incident.

    Witnesses later posted video of the downed officer on YouTube.

    Officer Langsdorf was executed as he lay face down on the floor.

    Suspect Bonette Kymbrelle Meeks stood over Officer Langsdorf and shot him in the back of the neck.

    In 2003 Mike rescued a little girl from a fire in her home in St. Louis city.

    The video of Officer Langsdorf dying on the floor of the store was on FACEBOOK LIVE!

    The video of Officer Langsdorf on the floor bleeding is still playing on YouTube.

    Google-YouTube bans conservative content on their platform but allows this?

    source

  • Insider Blows Whistle & Exec Reveals Google Plan to Prevent “Trump situation” in 2020 on Hidden Ca

    Insider Blows Whistle & Exec Reveals Google Plan to Prevent “Trump situation” in 2020 on Hidden Ca

    BIG UPDATE: YouTube has REMOVED the video from their platform. The video is still available on this website page.
    UPDATE 1: Congressman Louie Gohmert issued a statement, saying “Google should not be deciding whether content is important or trivial and they most assuredly should not be meddling in our election process. They need their immunity stripped…”
    UPDATE 2: Google executive Jen Gennai RESPONDED to the video, saying, “I was having a casual chat with someone at a restaurant and used some imprecise language. Project Veritas got me. Well done.” 
     Insider: Google “is bent on never letting somebody like Donald Trump come to power again.”
     Google Head of Responsible Innovation Says Elizabeth Warren “misguided” on “breaking up Google”
     Google Exec Says Don’t Break Us Up: “smaller companies don’t have the resources” to “prevent next Trump situation”
     Insider Says PragerU And Dave Rubin Content Suppressed, Targeted As “Right-Wing”
     LEAKED Documents Highlight “Machine Learning Fairness” and Google’s Practices to Make Search Results “fair and equitable”
     Documents Appear to Show “Editorial” Policies That Determine How Google Publishes News
     Insider: Google Violates “letter of the law” and “spirit of the law” on Section 230


    (New York City) — Project Veritas has released a new report on Google which includes undercover video of a Senior Google Executive, leaked documents, and testimony from a Google insider.  The report appears to show Google’s plans to affect the outcome of the 2020 elections and “prevent” the next “Trump situation.”

    The report includes undercover footage of longtime Google employee and Head of Responsible Innovation, Jen Gennai saying:

    “Elizabeth Warren is saying we should break up Google. And like, I love her but she’s very misguided, like that will not make it better it will make it worse, because all these smaller companies who don’t have the same resources that we do will be charged with preventing the next Trump situation, it’s like a small company cannot do that.”

    Jen Gennai

    Said Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe:

    “This is the third tech insider who has bravely stepped forward to expose the secrets of Silicon Valley.  These new documents, supported by undercover video, raise questions of Google’s neutrality and the role they see themselves fulfilling in the 2020 elections.”

    Jen Gennai is the head of “Responsible Innovation” for Google, a sector that monitors and evaluates the responsible implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.  In the video, Gennai says Google has been working diligently to “prevent” the results of the 2016 election from repeating in 2020:

    “We all got screwed over in 2016, again it wasn’t just us, it was, the people got screwed over, the news media got screwed over, like, everybody got screwed over so we’re rapidly been like, what happened there and how do we prevent it from happening again.”

    “We’re also training our algorithms, like, if 2016 happened again, would we have, would the outcome be different?”

    Google: Artificial Intelligence Is For A “fair and equitable” State

    According to the insider, Machine Learning Fairness is one of the many tools Google uses to promote a political agenda.  Documents leaked by a Google informant elaborate on Machine Learning Fairness and the “algorithmic unfairness” that AI product intervention aims to solve:

    Google Exposed

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    Google Exposed

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    The insider showed Google search examples that show Machine Learning Fairness in action.

    Google Machine Learning Fairness

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    “The reason we launched our A.I. principles is because people were not putting that line in the sand, that they were not saying what’s fair and what’s equitable so we’re like, well we are a big company, we’re going to say it.” – Jen Gennai, Head Of Responsible Innovation, Google

    The Google insider explained the impact of artificial intelligence and Machine Learning Fairness:

    “They’re going to redefine a reality based on what they think is fair and based upon what they want, and what and is part of their agenda.”

    Determining credible news and an editorial agenda. . .

    Additional leaked documents detail how Google defines and prioritizes content from different news publishers and how its products feature that content.  One document, called the “Fake News-letter” explains Google’s goal to have a “single point of truth” across their products.

     

    Google Exposed

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    Another document received by Project Veritas explains the “News Ecosystem” which mentions “editorial guidelines” that appear to be determined and administered internally by Google.  These guidelines control how content is distributed and displayed on their site.

    Google Exposed

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    The leaked documents appear to show that Google makes news decisions about what news they promote and distribute on their site.

    Comments made by Gennai raise similar questions.  In a conversation with Veritas journalists, Gennai explains that “conservative sources” and “credible sources” don’t always coincide according to Google’s editorial practices.

    “We have gotten accusations of around fairness is that we’re unfair to conservatives because we’re choosing what we find as credible news sources and those sources don’t necessarily overlap with conservative sources …” 

    The insider shed additional light on how YouTube demotes content from influencers like Dave Rubin and Tim Pool:

    “What YouTube did is they changed the results of the recommendation engine. And so what the recommendation engine is it tries to do, is it tries to say, well, if you like A, then you’re probably going to like B. So content that is similar to Dave Rubin or Tim Pool, instead of listing Dave Rubin or Tim Pool as people that you might like, what they’re doing is that they’re trying to suggest different, different news outlets, for example, like CNN, or MSNBC, or these left leaning political outlets.”

     

    Internal Google Document: “People Like Us Are Programmed” 

    An additional document Project Veritas obtained, titled “Fair is Not the Default” says “People (like us) are programmed” after the results of machine learning fairness.  The document describes how “unconscious bias” and algorithms interact.

    Click to enlarge

    Veritas is the “Only Way”

    Said the insider:

    “The reason why I came to Project Veritas is that you’re the only one I trust to be able to be a real investigative journalist.  Investigative journalist is a dead career option, but somehow, you’ve been able to make it work.  And because of that I came to Project Veritas because I knew that this was the only way that this story would be able to get out to the public.”

    “I mean, this is a behemoth, this is a Goliath, I am but a David trying to say that the emperor has no clothes. And, um, being a small little ant I can be crushed, and I am aware of that. But, this is something that is bigger than me, this is something that needs to be said to the American public.”

    Project Veritas intends to continue investigating abuses in big tech companies and encourages more Silicon Valley insiders to share their stories through their Be Brave campaign.

    As of publishing, Google did not respond to Project Veritas’ request for comment.  Additional leaked Google documents can be viewed HERE.

    Other insider investigations can be viewed here:

     (Big tech insiders can reach out to Project Veritas here to help expose similar newsworthy wrongdoing.)

    Reporter: Christian Hartsock