Category Archives: New Utopia

At the end of January, almost half a million Irish workers were on the pandemic unemployment payment. The rollout of vaccination programmes has shifted mindsets to asking if people when, if ever, will return to offices and workplaces?

And while the pandemic has brought some (long overdue) appreciation for frontline and essential workers, it is uncertain how much will really change post-Covid.

Nonetheless, there are forces afoot that may encourage progressive change. The European Commission is proposing a new minimum wage floor and ways to tackle in-work poverty. The Irish Government (with others across Europe) have objected to it. They argue that a recommendation would be preferable to a legally binding directive.

The opposition is an important signal. It appears to look for something more palatable while inferring support for the general overall idea. Yet this is where political rhetoric comes into play. The questions or alternatives never seem to translate to anything specific or actionable.

The general thrust from Ireland stands in stark contrast to developments elsewhere; for example, policies to embed fair-work principles by the Scottish and Welsh governments. Indeed, while the UK supreme court issued a new and potentially landmark decision to end sham and bogus self-employment in the gig economy ruling that Uber driver should be entitled to minimum rights worries about the safety of gig workers in Ireland have reached public concern.

Ireland seems to lag behind in other trends advocating sustainable decent work from groups such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and United Nations.

Fairer work arrangements can contribute to improved long-term inclusive growth and to tackling persistently low productivity. The EUs proposed directive aims to boost workers rights by embedding standards such as minimum wages and the right to bargain, if so desired.

We suggest four policy goals to open up dialogue about a fairer work agenda, especially as government, corporations, managers and families consider long-term pathways beyond lockdown: the future of digitalisation work; minimum floor of standards; voice opportunity; and pay.

Covid-19 has accelerated the growth of remote working at an unprecedented pace. But while many of us enjoy the lack of commute or working from home comforts that digitalisation brings, for others digitalisation has been starkly different.

Work in the gig economy, at the behest of digital labour platforms, is not a new utopia. Take as an example Deliveroo, which has made significant gains since Covid, increasing its number of restaurant partners in Ireland by 50 per cent. These workers face many risks, including health safety hazards along with unstable earnings.

In Dublin workers have been protesting to highlight insecurity and violence encountered in the course of their work. They also argue that reductions in rates of pay mean they now have to pedal more, to earn less. Deliveroo has steadfastly rejected the view that its riders are employees, which means they are denied access to the same rights as other citizens.

The gig economy model that is often believed to be the new utopia of opportunity is not so enlightening. The system requires workers to invest in the capital necessary to gain a job, such as transportation and a smart phone. It is thus the individual who encounters new financial risks, without the floor of minimum standards that other citizens take for granted, such as a minimum wage, maternity leave, or protection against excessive hours.

In emerging sectors of the economy, a consequence is the normalisation of zero-hours type work. Gig workers, labelled as independent contractors for instance, may spend hours of unpaid time waiting around for the next job.

The business model is riddled with loopholes that deny basic standards of treatment in such jobs, many of them young and migrants.

To contribute to a fairer future people need a voice. Many corporations now brand their own form of communication as dialogue but, as union membership has declined, many people lack the opportunity to have a real say about their own future.

Technology has changed the agenda considerably. Take, for example, Amazon, which used its monitoring capabilities to identify workers who were union supporters and exclude them from work. Amazon recently withdrew a recruitment advert for an analyst to research labour organising threats against the company only because of public scrutiny.

It is perhaps no coincidence that a lack of voice and low pay link to working conditions associated with Covid outbreaks; for example in garment manufacturing and meat processing sectors.

The introduction of mandatory publishing of gender pay gaps is itself a reporting exercise, rather than a policy goal to correct known pay inequalities. There also remains a lack of transparency between average worker pay and executive remuneration in most organisations.

According to the Economic Policy Institute in the US, chief executive compensation has grown 940 per cent since 1978, while average worker compensation has risen only 12 per cent during that time.

In Ireland, the Low Pay Commission recently recommended a 1 per cent increase in the minimum wage. Union representatives withdrew from the commission and criticised the decision not to recommend a 2 per cent pay increase for those on the minimum wage.

Is it now time for a new fair-work agenda in Ireland? Covid-19 has amplified the differences between good jobs and bad jobs. Government regulation in Ireland to limit this expanding divide remains painfully slow. It certainly lags other progressive initiatives witnessed elsewhere in competitive open markets.

If we use Covid as a dividing line, will be able to see differences in the before and after when it comes to decent work standards for future generations in Ireland?

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Now is the time for Ireland to consider a fair-work agenda - The Irish Times

The 130th anniversary of the shipwreck of the SS Utopia in the Bay of Gibraltar will be marked today with an online seminar that seeks to ensure the memory of this tragic incident is kept alive.

The seminar will bring together public authorities, academics, journalists, researchers and students in Italy and Gibraltar to mark the anniversary and remember those who were lost in the disaster.

It will also reflect on the efforts of rescuers who plucked survivors from the sea, and of a community that offered them shelter and warmth during the aftermath.

The SS Utopia, a 2,371-tonne transatlantic steamship, sank in the Bay of Gibraltar after colliding with the Royal Navy warship HMS Anson during a south westerly gale at around 7pm on March 17, 1891.

The steamship was sailing from Naples to New York carrying 880 people, most of them Italians who were emigrating to the US.

Out of those passengers, there were just 318 survivors. The remaining 562 passengers and crew of the Utopia were dead or missing.

The tragic story of the sinking of the Utopia will forever be tied to our own story, said Patrick Canessa, the Honorary Consul of Italy in Gibraltar.

Not just because it sank in our waters but also because it was our people, our fathers and our grandfathers, who went out into the bay that treacherous evening, putting their own lives at risk, to help save lives.

On that tragic night 130 years ago, the Utopia sailed into the bay in rough weather and was unable to avoid a collision with the Royal Navy warship, which was anchored off the port.

An investigation later put the collision down to a grave error of judgement by the Utopias captain, John McKeague, exacerbated by the strong wind and rough seas.

The collision pierced the Utopias hull, tearing a five-metre hole below the waterline.

As the vessel sank in the bay, efforts were focused on rescuing those on board and boats were deployed from ships in the bay and from shore.

But weather conditions were bad and the stern of the Utopia rapidly filled with water.

Within 30 minutes, the ships bow was also beneath the waves, sweeping men, women and children into the sea.

A vivid account of the disaster was carried in the Gibraltar Chronicle the following day and filled almost an entire page of text.

During this half hour all those on board who had succeeded in reaching the deck crowded into the bows, where they could be plainly seen from the Rock clinging to the bulwarks, the sides of the ship, the rigging, anywhere and everywhere, until at last this portion of the vessel also sank, carrying with it many who had there taken a last refuge, the report in the Chronicle said.

The scene was truly appalling.

Even from the Line Wall, where the cries of distress from the panic stricken passengers could be distinctly heard, the horrors of the situation could in some measure be realised.

The electric lights of Her Majestys ships Anson and Rodney cast a vivid light on the sinking vessel and on the numerous launches and boats on her lee side which were plainly visible.

The passengers, &c., were huddled together in hundreds, and in many places entirely hid from view portions of the bows upon which they crowded; they were all in motion, striving every man to save himself or his family, and it was evident that the most intense excitement and awful struggle for life prevailed.

The report in the newspaper praised the efforts of rescuers both from the Royal Navy fleet, from other ships in the bay and from the Port of Gibraltar, whose personnel braved the stormy conditions to save life. Two of them lost their lives.

They seem one and all to have vied with each other in the work of rescue, and if today we deplore and mourn the fearful loss of life which last night occurred in our bay, we have at any rate the satisfaction of knowing that all that could be done by our fleet and by those on shore was done to minimise this fearful catastrophe, the report said.

The tragedy scarred Gibraltars community.

The proximity of the vessel to shore meant many people watched it unfold, an indelible image on this communitys collective memory.

In the days that followed, one eyewitness told this newspaper: The shrieks and cries were heartrending and the awful sight of eight or nine hundred panic stricken people struggling for their lives was one which can never be forgotten by those who had the misfortune to witness it.

The shipwreck also brought the community together in a spirit of charity that remains immediately recognisable today.The very next day after the Utopia sank, the Chronicle carried an appeal for clothing for the survivors.

It was the start of a community-wide response that would continue in the days and weeks following the collision, including a special fund that was set up to collect donations for the survivors.

There were charitable events too, the proceeds of which were also donated to the fund.

On March 24, the Chronicle carried a report on a well-attended performance in the Benatar Theatre by the Caracciolo Company held for the benefit of survivors of the Utopia.

The report notes that the disaster had cast a gloom over Gibraltar and that no one was in the mood for the opera. But the community rallied round in a collective show of support.

The reports in this newspaper almost daily through to August of that year reflected that shared grief at this terrible disaster and Gibraltars desire to help in whatever way possible.

Later, the Italian Government awarded decorations for bravery to servicemen and civilians who were involved in the rescue operations.

In Gibraltar this week, the 130th anniversary of the loss of the Utopia has been marked by buglers of the Gibraltar Band and Drums Association, who played Il Silenzio at the memorial in North Front cemetery.

Members of the association have also volunteered to refurbish the memorial in the months to come.

The online seminar today has been organised by Pina Mafodda, an Italian researcher and author of historical texts, who will present her research: March 17, 1891, the shipwreck of Utopia between news and stories. Giving voice and dignity to those who have left their roots, their land to seek a better life in search of a dream.

The research will be published by Volturnia Edizioni in the Molisani Studies Series, starting from summer 2021.

The seminar starts at 1.30pm and can be viewed on Zona Rossa WebTVs YouTube channel.

See the original post:

130 years on, the Utopia tragedy remembered - Gibraltar Chronicle

LUXEMBOURG (PRWEB) March 16, 2021

STOKR, the EUs pioneering digital marketplace for alternative assets, today announced the conclusion of its pre-series A funding round with strategic investments from Borderless Capital, Utopia Genesis Foundation, and G1 Ventures. With over 3.9 million (over US$4.6 million) raised in total, STOKR plans to scale up its investment platform to meet the surging demand for EU-compliant security token offerings (STOs).

Despite the pandemic, STOKR received massive interest from ventures throughout 2020 as a turn-key solution to efficient fundraising in Europe.

We bootstrapped STOKR in 2017, when we founders pooled together over 1 million of our own funds, STOKR co-founder Tobias Seidl shared, it has been great to see the company grow as we have been able to welcome more ventures and investors to our platform, and the support from our own early investors will help scale up our operations even further.

The successful pre-series A round follows a seed round In 2018, in which STOKR received a strategic investment from iFinex Inc. doing business as Bitfinex.

The strategic investments will add to STOKRs suite of tools for ventures looking to raise funds: by integrating with Borderless Capital, STOKR now offers Algorand as an issuance platform for security tokens, in addition to its already available issuance options on Ethereum and the Liquid Network. G1 Ventures, a venture capital firm with a primary focus on blockchain innovation on the European market, brings its valuable network from the blockchain space for STOKR to better service its venture partners.

The tokenization of securities enables a whole new wave of surrounding financial services such as fractional ownership of securities, integrated dividends payments with stablecoins such as Tether (USDt), lending, and capital markets, to name just a few, said David Garcia, CEO and Managing Partner of Borderless Capital. The innovation that STOKR platform has developed, combined with the power of the Algorand blockchain, will allow these new financial instruments to grow at an exponential level; we are very excited and proud to back the plans and vision of the STOKR team.

STOKR hosts investment opportunities from a diverse range of industries, including sci-fi strategy MMO title Infinite Fleet, Italian luxury car manufacturer Mazzanti, and an upcoming partnership with the Utopia Genesis Foundation to issue tokenized music rights.

In the first quarter of 2021, STOKR will facilitate the tokenization of over 100 million (US$ 120 million) worth of assets.

About STOKR

STOKR is the EUs pioneering digital investment marketplace for alternative assets, where smart investors connect with and fund innovative businesses.

STOKR is the all-in-one solution for young and growing ventures looking to raise capital in the EU. Operating out of Luxembourg, STOKR provides founders with the full suite of technical deployment, investment structuring, and compliance support for the issuance of EU-compliant security token offerings (STOs).

Through carefully selected high-profile offerings, STOKR fosters a risk-reduced environment, liberates investment opportunities from traditional venture capital, and directly connects visionary ventures to a network of professional and retail investors. STOKR allows investors to participate in the future success of a diverse range of ventures through profit- or revenue-sharing rights, without middlemen such as custodians or brokers.

About Borderless Capital

Borderless Capital is a modern financial institution investing capital and co-building financial products that accelerate access, bootstrap adoption, and create value globally through the Algorand Borderless Economy. We do not stop with just investment. We also provide guidance and mentorship to grow our portfolio companies into successful and category leading businesses. As a thought leader in blockchain with deep expertise in the Algorand ecosystem, we advise our portfolio companies on go-to-market strategies to effectively build their network effect. In short, we leverage the synergy of our portfolio, partners network, and domain expertise to create value for everyone.

For more info: http://www.borderlesscapital.io

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STOKR Raises 3.9 Million in Total Investments from iFinex Inc., Borderless Capital, Utopia Genesis Foundation, and G1 Ventures to Meet Surging...

The Oscar race, like much of Hollywood and the entertainment industry and the political Left of this country are caught up in an existential crisis that is causing mass firings, abject fear, forced statements, institutional disruptions all designed to dismantle the greatest fear that has been named: systemic racism. Whatever your feelings are about that term, what you think it means there is no doubt that it has become not unlike a fundamentalist religion. You must be on board or youll be ejected.

The richer and whiter you are the more likely you are to see it as giving you a sense of purpose, like Born Again Christians felt back in the 1970s their faces awash in bliss now that theyve discovered lifes true meaning. And you dont get richer and whiter than the people in power in the film industry. Nothing matters quite as much as maintaining their image through this ongoing storm. That means theyll dump anyone to salvage their brand.

Most people in the press on the Left wont talk about what is plainly obvious to everyone who covers it. They cant, really. They have to write in support of all of it. They have to be good white allies because they cant risk their reputation on Twitter, or in some cases, their livelihood. The fear is real. Its so real that there isnt anything any kind of opinion, any kind of feeling that can override it.

We arent living through a time where voters are going to decide on the best. It isnt going to be about the best. The truth is that it never has been. It has always been about what resonates emotionally with the greatest number of people.

How do we usually measure that? Prior to COVID shutting down theaters, we had the free market that decided. When you look at films put out by movie studios that are clearly aimed at the international market to make those insane billions theyre making now you can see how the last thing they need to worry about is how woke the movies are. In general, audience, especially International ones, dont care. Theyll pretty much watch anything and they arent as caught up in this sense of purity that Americans perpetually are. There is a reason we had a witch hunt in Salem in 1692. And a reason we had another one in Hollywood in the 1940s. We are a new country trying to build mini utopias. Older countries kind of been there, done that like centuries ago.

The wave of the born again wokeness religion isnt limited to the US it has spilled over to France and England, much to their own horror. Yes, theyre trying to dismantle the memory of Charles Darwin and Winston Churchill for offensive things they believed back when, you know, everyone believed those offensive things? But the wokeness religion isnt really about forgiveness. Hey, at least Christianity is down with forgiveness, ideally. But America learned back in 1692 that an event like the Salem hysteria was easier at a time when the only education was the Bible and no one had any lawyers, or due process. Spectral evidence was good enough. If an 11-year-old girl thought the woman who delivered her milk every Sunday was a witch because she came to her in a dream? Who was anyone to say differently. She would have to hang. Oh, she could confess to being a witch and be allowed to live as a witch but you must swap your life, one way or the other. To George Orwell, in 1984, his greatest novel ever written, he makes the statement that if you take away free thought, love, art, books, music, history you might as well be dead.

Oscar voters, and industry voters overall, still want to be seen as good in our newest rendition of an American utopia (which is destined to collapse like a house of cards because they all do eventually). They will be voting that way. Maybe one or two wins will be based on what they REALLY think but overall they will want to be sending a message that they are aware and on board with upending systemic racism in the Academy and Hollywood.

Here is the statement put out by publicists to the HFPA to make sure they make necessary changes to their membership, etc.

In the last decade our industry has faced a seismic reckoning and begun to address its failure to reflect and honor the diversity of our community, yet we have witnessed no acceptance of responsibility, accountability or action from the HFPA, even as systemic inequity and egregious behavior are allowed to continue. We collectively and unequivocally agree that transformative change in your organization and its historical practices is essential and entirely achievable. We want to be part of the solution.

To reflect how urgent and necessary we feel this work is, we cannot advocate for our clients to participate in HFPA events or interviews as we await your explicit plans and timeline for transformational change.

I thought about how the HFPA nominated Ava DuVernay for Best Director for Selma and how they nominated Regina King for Best Director for One Night in Miami and how neither the DGA nor the Oscars has ever nominated a black female director and I find all of this a little ironic, but okay. In response, the HFPA has committed because everyone knows how badly the HFPA needs access to clients as opposed to, you know, the clients needing access to them and their votes to inviting enough members so that black voters comprise 13% of their membership. Theyre going to have find new members who can be down with the unorthodox practices of the group and that is going to be no easy task.

What they are hoping for, however, out of this is really just good press they, like the publicists, like the industry just want to be seen as good.

Without the free market box office doesnt talk. This has made almost everyone who covers film on Twitter giddy with delight, as Neil Minnow said, because, Were seeing a lot more diversity partly because the normative white male blockbusters had to step aside last year.

Box still drives power in Hollywood both in front of and behind the camera. Everyone knows that releasing a film that made $100 million is a pretty decent calling card, at least it always has been in the past. Before the Oscars became an extremely insular bubble, box office used to drive Best Picture contenders. But my readers know because I have been writing about the evolution for the last 20 years, two things have happened at once: film studios gave themselves over to franchises and tentpoles, and the Oscar race pinched itself off from that and evolved into its own species where films are made and catered to a mostly elite group of critics and bloggers and people who live in New York and LA. The public no longer mattered and so box office no longer mattered.

What Big Corporate has now realized is that what the Left cares about isnt the class differences. They know that if they virtue signal that they are woke they can sell anything. They can destroy any rain forest. They can torture any animal. They can put out any junk. They can put out junk food but as long as they put a woke message on it as it sails through American culture, they will be mostly left alone. This is true in all aspects of American life where money is involved. Big money. Fuck you money. Some might call this pandering but you can call it whatever you want. The bottom line is that this is what defines the Oscars now. They are still part of the massive money making of Hollywood but they are still dressed up to signify what Hollywood stands for. And what that will stand for this year, without exception, will be how on board they are with firsts.

First female of color to win Best Director and Best PictureFirst Asian male nominated for Best ActorFirst time since the 1970s two Black Actresses were nominated for Best Actress (and both times one of the two nominees played Billie Holiday.)First time two women are up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay.

And on it will go. That is about as good of branding as Hollywood could hope for. They can still do whatever they want, make whatever movies they want to make and the market wont determine the success or failure of their movies. They do not care about the market where the Oscars are concerned. They used to, of course, but they dont.

That makes the Oscars, then, really not a process that is about a competition to find the best. First off, you have to define best and you cant. It is a matter of what people feel about what they are watching.

The surreal part of it, along with so much that has happened in the past year, the Oscars and the industries that feed into them are singularly aimed at the American Left. They simply do not even consider anyone else out there exists nor would they care if they did. Thus, they are inviting millions of Americans not to watch their show already, even before you get to the kinds of movies on offer or the virtual ceremony. We are going into this knowing there is a good chance they will see their worst ratings ever. But it does not appear that the Academy cares about ratings, just as they dont appear to care about movies that would appeal to a wider array of tastes.

Im not going to tell you its going to be a fun next few weeks. Or that whatever changes made this year arent going to be cosmetic and self-serving maybe they will be, maybe they wont be. If the job of the Oscars and the film awards community is going to be righting the wrongs of society or political activism I think they can say theyve succeeded there. This year will show what an Oscars without free market considerations looks like. Maybe that is what they ultimately want from these awards as they edge ever so closely to their centennial.

I can say that the films and contenders nominated are all really good and really deserving. There isnt a weak film in the bunch. Will there be mounting controversies? Maybe. Im preparing my shit storm raincoat just in case.

Originally posted here:

The State of the Race: How the Winners Will Be Decided - Awards Daily

Theres a lot of noise around autonomous security. For years, analysts and security operations teams have been promised a utopia where they leave monotonous tasks behind, and yet the burnout rate for these professions continues to be high. Clearly there is much work to be done, but it helps to understand where we are today and theres no better place to look than the automobile industry.

The auto industry may not always be considered the most innovative, but its put a lot of thought into what it means to create self-driving cars. This includes a standardized framework that provides a good roadmap to whats ahead for cybersecurity.

Lessons from the Road

Automobiles are more fuel-efficient, fancier and safer than they have ever been. But one thing has arguably gotten worse: the driver. An analysis by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations (NHTSA) shows that human error is responsible for 94% of serious automobile crashes.

To improve safety and driver experience automakers are introducing innovations such as rain sensing wipers, automated headlights and blind-spot detection systems that allow drivers to focus more of their attention on the road. But thats not always the result.

Cruise control, for instance, was designed to eliminate the cumbersome act of keeping your foot on the accelerator. The problem is, it reduces cognition in other areas. Putting your foot on the accelerator forces you to pay more attention; without it, going too fast into a curve is just one of the many potential consequences. Now, adaptive cruise control (ACC) is becoming standard because it solves some of the challenges in Cruise Control 1.0.

This is a great example of something that evolved from being automated to being autonomous. In fact, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) developed a standard for describing the level of automation in cars thats been adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the United Nations. On this scale, traditional cruise control is a Level 0 and ACC a Level 1. Teslas Autopilot or Cadillac Super Cruise are considered Level 2.

If this standard was adapted to cybersecurity, heres what it might look like:

The Self-Driving Security Journey Has Just Begun

In cybersecurity, one basic form of automation considered to be standard today is the correlation performed by SIEMs and network security tools. For example, collating all the alerts associated with an IP address together onto one screen or identifying an attack campaign by grouping alerts that share a source or a destination. Some tools are smarter and use additional sources of context such as active directory (AD) or threat intelligence, or filter out the known good. But much like cruise control, there are a lot of unintended consequences that manifest in the security world primarily through false positives and negatives. For instance, as devices become more mobile, they tend to roam inside and outside of corporate networks. With a new IP address at each location, the same device could have several addresses over a short period. The average IP address could have several devices associated with it too, making any analysis based on an IP address flawed from the get-go.

If cruise control is considered Level 0 on SAEs scale of automation, its safe to say IP correlation would be the same on the security scale. Looking more broadly at cybersecurity automation, most of the industry is probably only at a Level 1.

The Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) category could have the best claim to Level 2 Partial Automation. These technologies automate several low impact response and remediation tasks like creating support tickets for the IT helpdesk, automatically correlating between multiple security tools, or grabbing evidence into an incident data store.

Getting to Level 4 and 5 will require the entire cybersecurity industry to substantially raise its game. For now, the focus should be on getting to Level 3 Conditional Automation.

To bring back the automobile analogy, Tesla Autopilot understands the vehicle (speed, travel lanes, braking, acceleration, etc.) in the context of other vehicles sharing the road and surfaces data the driver needs to make a decision.

We need similar levels of automation to bring cybersecurity to Level 3, and based on what weve learned from cars, there are three basic requirements to get there. We need to reduce the cognitive load on humans so security teams can focus on whats important, eliminate stressors like monotonous tasks, and focus on user experience in a way that documents decision paths so humans can dig deeper if and when they want to.

Human analysts continue to play a significant role in the security operations process and likely will for years to come. With that said, human skills can be elevated to a higher level by eliminating both the tribal knowledge and the rigor needed to surface the information they need to make optimal security decisions. That is what will put organizations firmly on the path towards autonomous security.

See more here:

The Road to Autonomous Security - Infosecurity Magazine

When the concept of the internet first began making its way into public conversation, it felt as if it would change the world in an instant, creating a technology-driven utopia on the way. And while, thanks to exponential growth, the internet drastically changed things, the initial torture of having to use dial-up internet on, what now appear to be a comically sized, desktop computers did remove some of the magic.

However, since the time of clunky desktop computers and dial-up connections, we have come a long way. The vast majority of us now have broadband in our homes and smartphones in our pockets as we make our way through the world. There were 5.11 billion unique mobile users worldwide in 2019, and 2.71 billion of them use smartphones.

Despite living in a time in which we all carry super computers with us almost everywhere we go, many of us still feel as if we could be getting more from the modern age. There are a multitude of reasons why you may not be using the internet to its full potential. It could be that you are unaware of some of the possibilities or, it could be because that after reaching a certain level of tech-savviness, i.e. being able to do all that you think you need to do, you simply stopped exploring. Here are a few tips for everyday internet usage in a productive way.

Free Wi-Fi networks

You are probably fully aware of the fact that a large number of cities around the world are home to what are referred to as Wi-Fi hotspots, mainly aimed at visitors and tourists. You have probably even used one of these if you need to quickly google the opening hours for a museum or get some basic directions. But if you want to do anything more than quickly find the location of something, these so-called hot-spots can be infuriatingly slow.

A number of cities, including the city of Helsinki, actually offers free, unrestricted, high-speed Wi-Fi that is fast enough to allow you to video call and stream HD videos on the go. It is so good that it might be your high-speed broadband at home that starts to infuriate you. There is often no need to sign up or log in, just simply access the city network and start surfing. WLAN services are available around the clock. You can see their locations on the map here.

Online comparison and review sites

Again, this is likely something that you are aware of, yet so many people fail to see just how useful online comparison and review sites can prove to be. While we can all read the description of a product on its official website, it is difficult to gain an understanding of how people who actually use the product feel about it. There are a number of websites that do just this for specific products and/or services. Some sites and apps that were built specifically for reviews, such as Yelp, did not make it in the long run, while peer reviews in sites such as Reddit and Facebook are often taken into account by users.While a site like Suomenkielisetnettikasinot tests and reviews online gaming sites from the perspective of an ordinary Finnish player, in order to ease the stress of social distancing and staying at home, the city of Tualatin in Oregon has compiled a list of best board game review sites.

At its core, the internet is supposed to bring people and information together by sharing resources in one easily accessible place. In reality, the internet has become much bigger than the sum of its users. It has changed the human society forever and in ways we never thought it would. Here is what David Bowie said in 1999: I dont think we have even seen the tip of the iceberg. I think the potential of what the internet is going to do to society, both good and bad, is unimaginable, Bowie told BBC Newsnight at the time. I think were actually on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying. Its an alien life-form! The clip went viral in 2016 after Bowie died at the age of 69, and has received new attention recently on mediums such as Tik Tok.

HT

Continued here:

The internet and what it has become - Helsinki Times

Travis Scott has continued to tease his fourth album Utopia, ahead of its anticipated release later this year.

The rapper, who seemingly revealed the album title last summer, opened up in a new interview with pioneering film director Robert Rodriguez for i-D Magazine.

I never tell people this, and Im probably going to keep it a secret still, but Im working with some new people and Im just trying to expand the sound, Scott said about his new album.

Ive been making beats again, rapping on my own beats, just putting everything together and trying to grow it really. Thats been one of the most fun things about working on this album. Im evolving, collaborating with new people, delivering a whole new sound, a whole new range.

When asked if he feels pressure to create something as ambitious as 2018s Astroworld, which spawned its own music festival, he replied: Its never about repeating myself, Im just trying to make the next saga each album is like a saga.

I dont feel no pressure, except to keep the fans alive. Theres so much more ground I can cover, and I want to cover it, and I love the challenge of it. I want to make a f*cking new sound. I might spend days banging my head against a wall trying to figure it out, but once I do it, its like ultimate ecstasy.

Reflecting on the last year, Scott also explained how the pandemic has allowed him to spend more time creating the record.

It made me way more productive, he said.

You know, youre not doing any shows. You not really doing too much traveling. You in the crib, and I got the studio at home and I have the peace to record all day, you know? Obviously like, you lose a little bit by not being able to travel and, you know, just see the earth.

Scott added that the album is coming soon, although a release date is yet to be confirmed.

His most recent release came in The Plan, a 2020 collaboration with Ludwig Gransson for Christopher Nolans Tenet.

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Travis Scott teases new album Utopia: Im trying to expand the sound - NME.com

A news release arrived in my inbox capturing my attention with the subject line of New York City Mayor's Office of Animal Welfare promotes meat reduction. I wish I could show up at their office to investigate myself. Instead, I read the email, read more online and wrote this opinion column. The email and context of it reminded me of The Fleecing of America news segments from Tom Brokaw which captured my attention as a child and teen, examining wasteful government spending.

For me, wasteful spending is trying to "reduce" one sector of agriculture in the most food-rich country in the world rather than addressing true food issues, like feeding hungry people in our communities.

To read more of Katie Pinke's The Pinke Post, click here.

An animal protection group, that I leave unnamed to not give it any undeserved attention, went on in the email to say meat reduction should not just be for New Yorkers but for all Americans. And evidently for all Americans, that includes the publisher of an agriculture media brand, me, to receive the email.

By reducing demand for meat, dairy, and eggs, we can create a shift towards farming practices that are more sustainable and kinder to animals, said the email.

Agriculture cannot stop standing up for all types of food production, in all states and countries says Katie Pinke. (Erin Brown / Grand Vale Creative)

According to Food Bank of New York City research:

I am not a city dweller, but this isn't a city-only problem. If you do your own research, youll find food insecurity dwells in your own backyard, no matter how rural or urban your home is.

We have meal gaps in our rural counties, towns and cities. We have neighbors, unable to put on enough food on the table to feed themselves and their families.

Show empathy. We're proudly a bountiful agricultural nation, yet this email from a city with a "meat reduction" effort shows me our food system remains disconnected and in some areas, broken.

Our food-rich systems cannot be fixed without collaboration and change between the entire food system from the fields and pastures where food is grown and raised to distribution, including through government-funded food programs.

Where is the disconnect, some ask? Rather than attack a specific farming practice or sector of agriculture, why not put our time and resources, including government spending, toward addressing food insecurity, including all types of protein reaching all types of people?

No one in an animal activist or commonly labeled protection group trying to take down a sector of agriculture, this being animal ag, should be given a platform within city government when they have hungry people they aren't feeding. Before "reducing" any food choice, find methods to address food insecurity in your own backyards.

Is it too much to dream and then set out to achieve an agriculture diverse utopia? We need meat, dairy, eggs, fruits and vegetables to reach a variety of eaters and locations.

While my initial reaction to the New York City email was that I hope and pray I never have any reason to live in New York City, or any city for that matter, where a "meat reduction" crusade is funded, I realize I need to do better as an agriculturist. The email serves as a reminder.

Agriculture cannot stop standing up for all types of food production, in all states and countries.

Stand up for the fleecing of America against our farmers and food systems. Use your voice and ability to connect with lawmakers and policymakers and utilize Americas ability to bountifully grow a variety of food rather than stay silent against those trying to take out and remove sectors of agriculture.

Pinke is the publisher and general manager of Agweek. She can be reached at kpinke@agweek.com, or connect with her on Twitter @katpinke.

Original post:

Food security, not eating meat, is the real problem in New York City - Duluth News Tribune

The rumblings and murmurs pertaining to Travis Scott'sUtopia album calmed a bit recently, but in a new interview, La Flame has revealed that he's currently working on the effort, which will have a sound unlike anything he's done before.

During a conversation with film director Robert Rodriguez for the Spring 2021 issue of i-Dmagazine, Travis explained, "I never tell people this, and Im probably going to keep it a secret still, but Im working with some new people and Im just trying to expand the sound. Ive been making beats again, rapping on my own beats, just putting everything together and trying to grow it really. Thats been one of the most fun things about working on this album. Im evolving, collaborating with new people, delivering a whole new sound, a whole new range."

When Rodriguez asked about Travis Scott's approach to following up the success of his 2018album,Astroworld, the "Sicko Mode" rapper remained confident. "Its never about repeating myself, Im just trying to make the next saga each album is like a saga. You know, youre one of my favorite directors. Everything you fucking do man," he said.

The acclaimof Astroworld goes without saying, but the former 2013XXL Freshman doesn't feel any pressure to deliver an album that will be just as good, if not better.

"I dont feel no pressure, except to keep the fans alive," he told the publication. "Theres so much more ground I can cover, and I want to cover it, and I love the challenge of it. I want to make a fucking new sound. I might spend days banging my head against a wall trying to figure it out, but once I do it, its like ultimate ecstasy."

Scott also revealed that he's still hoping to make his extravagant Houston-basedAstroworld Festival happen later this year. Despite the current state of the pandemic, he remained optimistic, saying, "Hopefully we can bring it back at the end of this year. Around November."

While a release date for the album hasn't been shared yet, it's good to know that more music from Travis is on the way.

See the Ways Not to Fumble the Bag According to Travis Scott

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Travis Scott Reveals New Details About Utopia Album, Still Wants to Make Astroworld Festival Happen This Year - XXLMAG.COM

Travis Scott offered fans some details about his next album Utopia during a recent interview for i-D Magazine. Speaking with From Dusk Till Dawn and The Mandalorian director Robert Rodriguez, La Flame revealed hes experimenting with a whole new sound for his Astroworld follow-up.

I never tell people this and Im probably going to keep it a secret still, but Im working with some new people and Im just trying to expand the sound, Scott said in the interview. Ive been making beats again, rapping on my own beats [and] just putting everything together and trying to grow it really.

Thats been one of the most fun things about working on this album, he added. Im evolving, collaborating with new people [and] delivering a whole new sound [and] a whole new range.

In terms of the pressure for commercial success following Astroworlds massive 2018 takeover, Scott said he only feels pressured to deliver the very best quality music to his fans.

Theres so much more ground I can cover and I want to cover it, he said. ... I love the challenge of it. I want to make a fucking new sound. I might spend days banging my head against a wall trying to figure it out, but once I do it, its like ultimate ecstasy.

Scott also revealed how raising his 3-year-old-daughter Stormi has changed his process.

Fatherhood influences my job. It has a huge impact. Its a major inspiration, he told i-D. Especially Stormi. Shes always interested; she catches on and learns things so fast.

As far as when fans can expect Utopia, Scott promised the highly anticipated record is coming soon.

The Houston native also spoke to his recent lucrative partnerships and how they connect to his past.

... With Nike those are the shoes I wear; the shoes Ive been wearing since I was a kid, he said. Playstation when it was rough when I was a kid, gaming was an escape. When I was younger and in the studio, sometimes we couldnt really afford to eat, you know? So McDonalds held it down.

... But its about being able to create an experience, even if these are small things, he continued. These collaborations are tools in a way, pieces of everyday life; big brands that allowed us to generate ideas. In 2021 we want to keep evolving, keep generating.

Read his full interview here.

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Travis Scott reveals his next album will have a whole new sound - REVOLT TV