xiao yun
Your worst still friendly friend
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2·15 days agoSwiss reject compulsory civic duty, climate tax for super-rich: projections
Geneva (AFP) – Swiss voters looked set Sunday to reject a proposal to replace the current men-only military conscription with a compulsory civic duty for all and another on taxing the super-rich to fund the climate fight.
Early projections after polls closed at noon (1100 GMT) indicated that voters had overwhelmingly rejected the two initiatives, which had generated significant discussion in the wealthy Alpine nation.
The so-called Civic Duty initiative, which called for requiring every Swiss citizen, regardless of gender, to do national service in the army or in a civilian capacity, was projected by public broadcaster SSR to be snubbed by a whopping 84 percent of voters.
The ‘no’ vote on the second item on Sunday’s ballot, the “initiative for a future” calling for a new climate tax on big inheritances, was meanwhile projected to tick in at 79 percent, SSR said.
The projections were not surprising, with recent opinion polls suggesting the proposals had little chance of passing.
The Swiss government and parliament had also come out against both items, arguing that they would entail huge costs and could threaten the economy.
111·22 days agoQualcomm has quietly made some massive changes to Arduino’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, marking a clear departure from the platform’s founding principles.
According to Adafruit, the new policies introduce sweeping user-license provisions, broaden data collection (particularly around AI usage), and embed long-term account data retention, all while integrating user information into Qualcomm’s broader data ecosystem.
Section 7.1 grants Arduino a perpetual, irrevocable license over anything you upload. Your code, projects, forum posts, and comments all fall under this. This remains in effect even after you delete your account. Arduino retains rights to your content indefinitely.
The license is also royalty-free and sublicensable. Arduino can use your content however they want, distribute it, modify it, and even sublicense it to others.
The terms further state that users are not allowed to reverse engineer or attempt to understand how the platform works unless Arduino gives permission. Adafruit argues that this contradicts the values that made Arduino attractive to educators, researchers, and hobbyists.
The Privacy Policy states Arduino is wholly owned by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. User data, including from minors, flows to other Qualcomm Group companies.
6·1 month agoTotally
2·1 month agoYes, originally, but the words are also used in their extended meaning.
I think the term “Chinese diaspora” is more appropriate.
edit : What I mean is that this word (overseas) no longer necessarily reflects today’s reality; it should be obsolete, like many other words nowadays. Languages are alive.
A nice biographical film directed by Adam McKay
George W. Bush picks Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co., to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election. No stranger to politics, Cheney’s impressive résumé includes stints as White House chief of staff, House Minority Whip and defense secretary. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world.
I’ve always hated that guy.
3·2 months agoFmovies.llc
3·2 months agoVulnerable deep-sea habitats will be mapped with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) in a study made possible by a £2m investment.
The Deep Vision project - run by Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the University of Plymouth - will study ecosystems such as cold-water coral reefs and sponge fields in the Atlantic.
The aim is to build the largest-ever dataset of these habitats and help shape legal protections.
Leader of the project, Kerry Howell, said: “As the deep-sea becomes more accessible for exploitation, there is an urgent need to map its ecosystems to enable the conservation of biodiversity in this, the last wild frontier on Earth.”
She said AI could quickly and accurately tag thousands of deep-sea images.
The project will be funded by the Bezos Earth Fund as part of its AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge.
Interesting
21·2 months agoShameful
3·2 months agoA lost story written and signed by legendary San Francisco writer Jack Kerouac has been found among the belongings of an infamous mafia boss who was gunned down in 1985. The two-page story, titled “The Holy, Beat, and Crazy Next Thing,” was written shortly before the publication of Kerouac’s 1957 masterpiece “On the Road.”
The story’s existence was unknown to the public until recently, as it spent many years among the belongings of the former head of the Gambino New York crime family Paul Castellano. After succeeding Carlo Gambino to become don in 1976, Castellano was shot dead in front of Sparks Steak House in Manhattan in 1985.
(⓿_⓿)
Only when I am confined to bed. But even in this case, washing your face in the morning is a must…
True
Walking is the most basic form of mobility but walkable infrastructure is non-existent in Indian cities. Unsafe and poor state of footpaths are pushing people to switch to motorised vehicles. While pedestrians still are the biggest share of commuters, our cities give disproportionate importance to vehicles. So, why do Indian cities ignore pedestrians?
In this documentary, we go around different cities, speak to experts, look at data, and try to unpack the issue that invariably affects every urban Indian.
The Flash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r51cYVZWKdY