Monthly Archives: November 2019
China Begins Work on 6G Technology
As telecommunications companies roll out 5G, China and the US are already urging companies to begin working of 6G.
The race to faster wireless connections are needed for the innovations in driverless cars and augmented reality. Especially as current bandwidths are clogged by the shear volume of data we are sending.
These technologies are already a point of tension between the US and China. The US have banned Huawei from using their equipment in the US 5G infrastructure after it was found that Huawei rerouted data through Chinese government servers.
Read More: Channel News Asia
AI “Too Dangerous to Release” Comes Out into Wold
A new AI technology known as “GPT-2” has been released. The technology is able to be fed a piece of text and accurately predict what would come next. The text would be indistinguishable from human text.
The technology is so powerful, its creators have only released a limited version to researchers. In the wrong hands the technology could be used for malicious purposes by scammers; and political and terror organisations to generate propaganda.
GPT-2 could become the text equivalent of “deep fakes” in the image field. The consequences for internet users would be individuals would not know if content were genuine or not. Requiring the public to be more skeptical of online content as well as better educated.
Read More: The Independent
LGBTQ+ Characters of TV at All Time High
Media advocacy group GLAAD has issued a report analysing LGBTQ representation in prime time TV shows. They are delighted to report that LGBTQ representation is at an all time high. With10.2% of regular characters LGBTQ. GLAAD had challenged the industry to aim for a representation of 10% in this past year.
However GLAAD says there is still work to be done, particular in the representation of bisexuals and LGBTQ characters with disabilities.
Read More: NBC News
Anti-police violence surges in the tough suburbs of Paris
PARIS (AP) — A resurgence of anti-police violence has emerged in the long-troubled towns around Paris, signs that lawlessness still simmers in French urban hotspots that exploded in three weeks of rioting in 2005.
Violence on Saturday night in Chanteloup-les-Vignes and recent flare-ups in other tough neighborhoods west of Paris have not matched the intensity or destructiveness of the unrest that spread to hundreds of towns in 2005. But French authorities are alarmed because the violence appears pre-planned, with ambushes deliberately set to target police.
Police union officials suspect that rival gangs from different tough neighborhoods are competing for bragging rights in their attacks and are reveling in the media coverage they’re generating, even egging each other on in social media.
US Citizens Killed in Mexico Ambush; Trump Calls for “War” on Cartels
Nine Mormon women and children were shot in the lawless region of the Mexican border region. Gunmen attacked the members of the LeBaron family – a large clan of Mormons who emigrated to Mexico in the late 19th century. Three women and six children including a set of baby twins were killed and another six children were left injured.
President Trump has contacted the Mexican President to offer support to tackle the drug cartels who operate in the region.
“If Mexico needs or requests help in cleaning out these monsters, the United States stands ready, willing & able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively,” Trump wrote in a tweet.
However the leftist populist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declared the war on drugs over, and he does not want to reignite it. However the region is seeing mounting violence with drug cartels in the region.
Read More: France 24
Kanye West- Jesus is King
Thousands of people gathered for Kanye West’s “Sunday Service” in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after a last-minute announcement Friday.
Curvine Brewington, a pastor at Crossroads Church in Lafayette, Louisiana, attended the event and shared his experience on Instagram, saying there was an “altar call” and “over 1,000” people gave their lives to Christ:
Tonight, worship was lifted, the name of Christ was exalted, the Word of God was preached, a multitude prayed together, the Gospel was clearly proclaimed, and an opportunity to respond was given. In a crowd of 6,000 people from all walks of life, all ages, and all races, I witnessed over 1,000 people respond to The Gospel by raising their hands to accept Jesus as their Lord & Savior!
Televangelist Paula White Named Newest White House Aide
Paula White has a longstanding relationship with President Trump. The President has called her his personal pastor. She has now been given an official role within the administration: to advise the President’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative. The initiative aims to give religious groups a greater say in government programs, especially in relation to religious liberty.
However Paula White is a devise figure within evangelical Christians. The three time married televangelist from Florida preaches a prosperity gospel message, and lives in a mansion.
Trump first met Ms White in 2002. He later asked her to pray for the cast and crew of The Apprentice before the live filming of the first season finale.
Read More: The New York Times
Trump- New Yorker- No More…
He came of age in Queens, built Trump Tower, starred in “The Apprentice,” bankrupted his businesses six times, and drew cheering crowds and angry protesters to Fifth Avenue after his election. Through it all, President Trump — rich, bombastic and to many Americans the epitome of a New Yorker — was intertwined with the city he called his lifelong home.
No longer.
In late September, Mr. Trump changed his primary residence from Manhattan to Palm Beach, Fla., according to documents filed with the Palm Beach County Circuit Court. Melania Trump, the first lady, also changed her residence to Palm Beach in an identical document.
Each of the Trumps filed a “declaration of domicile” saying that the Mar-a-Lago Club, Mr. Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, will be their permanent residence.
The president confirmed the decision on Twitter after The New York Times reported on the move, saying that he would “be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence.”
“I cherish New York, and the people of New York,” he added, “and always will.”
But he didn’t have much nice to say about the public officials of New York.
“I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state. Few have been treated worse,” he said, describing his decision as the “best for all concerned.”
Some New York leaders shared the sentiment. “Good riddance,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo tweeted. “It’s not like Mr. Trump paid taxes here anyway. He’s all yours, Florida.”
In the documents, Mr. Trump said he “formerly resided at 721 Fifth Avenue,” referring to Trump Tower. That has been his primary residence since he moved into the skyscraper off 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan in 1983.
An attachment lists his “other places of abode” as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address for the White House, and his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J., where he spends warm-weather weekends and a few weeks every summer.
Since becoming president, Mr. Trump has spent 99 days at Mar-a-Lago compared with 20 days at Trump Tower, according to NBC News. Although Mr. Trump ran his presidential transition from Trump Tower and some aides had expected him to spend many weekends there in his Louis XIV-style triplex on the 58th floor, his presence created traffic headaches for New Yorkers and logistical and security challenges for the Secret Service.
White House officials declined to say why Mr. Trump changed his primary residence, but a person close to the president said the reasons were primarily for tax purposes.
In his Twitter posts on Thursday night, the president claimed that he paid “millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year.” There is no way to fact-check his assertion; he has never released his tax returns.
Mr. Trump, who is deeply unpopular in New York, was infuriated by a subpoena filed by Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, seeking the tax returns, the person close to the president said. Changing his residence to Florida is not expected to have any effect on Mr. Vance’s case, which Mr. Trump has sought to thwart with a federal lawsuit.
It was unclear how much time he would spend in New York in the future or if he would keep his triplex at the top of Trump Tower. Under New York law, if he spends more than 184 days a year there, he will have to pay state income taxes.
Florida, which does not have a state income tax or inheritance tax, has long been a place for the wealthy to escape the higher taxes of the Northeast.
Changing his primary residence could carry significant tax implications for Mr. Trump, although how much is unclear without seeing his returns. But in changing his residence to Florida, he would most likely be avoiding New York State’s top tax rate of nearly 9 percent and New York City’s top rate of nearly 4 percent.
Leaving New York could also save money for Mr. Trump’s heirs at the time of his death. New York imposes a top estate tax rate of 16 percent for estates larger than $10.1 million.
In an article in the Florida Bar Journal in January 2019, three lawyers with Proskauer Rose wrote about the recent wave of people moving from New York to Florida in “large part” because of the repeal of the state and local tax deduction that was a byproduct of the tax bill that Mr. Trump signed into law in 2017.
“While it may be easy enough for an individual to buy a home in Florida and move, the act of physically moving to Florida is only part of the battle,” the three wrote.
“The real challenge is proving by clear and convincing evidence that the individual is no longer a New York domiciliary and does not qualify as a New York statutory resident for New York State income tax purposes,” they said.
Beyond taxes, Mr. Trump has repeatedly signaled the importance of Florida to his 2020 re-election effort and kicked off his campaign with a rally in Orlando. And he has often mentioned Mar-a-Lago when promoting his ties to the state.
In the longer term, the change could speak to Mr. Trump’s plans after his presidency ends. It has been an open question whether he would ever return full time to New York City.
In addition, Secret Service protection for Mr. Trump after his presidency ends would continue to snarl traffic in Midtown Manhattan — as would tourists and potential protests in front of Trump Tower — particularly if Mr. Trump chose to live there full time.
David Pratt, a partner at Proskauer Rose and one of the authors of the Florida Bar Journal piece, said Mr. Trump had probably changed his primary residence for the same reason other people have left New York.
“What he’s doing is not any different than what a lot of individuals from New York are doing, and they’re becoming Florida residents,” Mr. Pratt said.
Mr. Trump is due to travel to New York City this weekend for an event at Madison Square Garden, the rare instance of him visiting when he has no fund-raiser or official event scheduled. He is due to spend Saturday night at Trump Tower.
Since he became president, Mar-a-Lago remains Mr. Trump’s favored retreat. He has a residence on the grounds, enjoys easy access to one of his nearby golf clubs, entertains foreign visitors like Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and also plays host to a regular cast of visitors and members.
Still, Manhattan has been like Oz to him.
“I believed, perhaps to an irrational degree, that Manhattan was always going to be the best place to live — the center of the world,” Mr. Trump wrote in his book “The Art of the Deal.”
Jim Tankersley contributed reporting. Kitty Bennett contributed research.