Category Archives: Business

Economy and business news. Business is the practice of making one’s living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also “any activity or enterprise entered into for profit.” A business entity is not necessarily separate from the owner and the creditors can hold the owner liable for debts the business has acquired

Ukropy.com домен і сайт продаються зараз

Ukropy.com є складовою частиною Мережі Купуй!, яка працює за технологією MassReaders, та об’єднує понад 500 популярних сайтів різноманітної інформаційної тематики, які щодня публікують свіжі, цікаві і актуальні статті різними мовами.

Величезна щоденна аудиторія Мережі дозволяє бути ефективним каналом поширення інформації, впливати на громадську думку читачів і фантастично підвищувати Індекс цитуваня підприємців, політиків та їх пропозицій і програм.

Усі сайти мають мобільні версії і представництва в соціальних мережах. А також читачі мають можливість підписатися на отримання актуальної інформації і привабливих пропозицій за допомогою електронної пошти.

Для виробників та комерсантів пропонуємо публікацію рекламних повідомлень, які можуть містити:

– інформацію про нові продукти або акції вашої компанії;
– нагадування про ваші продукти чи послуги (анонси, огляди, статті, в т.ч. відеоматеріали);
– інформацію для зміцнення репутації вашої компанії і торгової марки;
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US states sue TikTok, saying it harms young users

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON — TikTok faces new lawsuits filed by 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, accusing the popular social media platform of harming and failing to protect young people.

The lawsuits, filed separately in New York, California, the District of Columbia and 11 other states, expand Chinese-owned TikTok’s legal fight with U.S. regulators and seek new financial penalties against the company.

Washington is located in the District of Columbia.

The states accuse TikTok of using intentionally addictive software designed to keep children watching as long and often as possible and misrepresenting its content moderation effectiveness.

“TikTok cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “TikTok intentionally targets children because they know kids do not yet have the defenses or capacity to create healthy boundaries around addictive content.”

TikTok seeks to maximize the amount of time users spend on the app in order to target them with ads, the states said.

“Young people are struggling with their mental health because of addictive social media platforms like TikTok,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

TikTok said on Tuesday that it strongly disagreed with the claims, “many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading,” and that it was disappointed the states chose to sue “rather than work with us on constructive solutions to industrywide challenges.”

TikTok provides safety features that include default screentime limits and privacy defaults for minors under 16, the company said.

Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb alleged that TikTok operates an unlicensed money transmission business through its livestreaming and virtual currency features.

“TikTok’s platform is dangerous by design. It’s an intentionally addictive product that is designed to get young people addicted to their screens,” Schwalb said in an interview.

Washington’s lawsuit accused TikTok of facilitating sexual exploitation of underage users, saying TikTok’s livestreaming and virtual currency “operate like a virtual strip club with no age restrictions.”

Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington state also sued on Tuesday.

In March 2022, eight states, including California and Massachusetts, said they launched a nationwide probe of TikTok impacts on young people.

The U.S. Justice Department sued TikTok in August for allegedly failing to protect children’s privacy on the app. Other states, including Utah and Texas, previously sued TikTok for failing to protect children from harm. TikTok on Monday rejected the allegations in a court filing.

TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is battling a U.S. law that could ban the app in the United States.

LidlUa.com домен продається зараз

Lidl Stiftung & Co. – німецька міжнародна мережа супермаркетів, що присутня у всіх країнах Європейського Союзу, а також розвивається на ринках Австралії, Китаю і США. Належить Lidl Stiftung & Co.

Мережа Lidl включає понад 12,000 магазинів по всьому світу. Штат компанії складається майже з 80 тис. співробітників. Управління філіалами відбувається централізовано з головного офісу.

Датою заснування вважається 1930 рік, коли Йозеф Шварц став партнером у фруктового оптовика Südfrüchte Großhandel Lidl & Co. Після того, як у 1944 році під час Другої світової війни компанія Lidl & Schwarz була повністю зруйнована, вона була успішно відновлена протягом десяти років. У 1954 році було створено новий головний офіс у м. Хайльбронн. У 1968 році компанія Lidl & Schwarz відкрила свій перший супермаркет під назвою «Handelshof» у швабському містечку Бакнанг, а з 1984 року магазини «Handelshof» були перейменовані на супермаркети «Kaufland».

У жовтні 2021 року стало відомо, що Lidl може скласти величезну конкуренцію діючим українським мережам або навіть витиснути їх з ринку. Мережа супермаркетів дуже популярна як і в самій Німеччині, так і по всій Європі, але на українському ринку є свій аналог магазину-дискаунтера. В одному з німецьких видань було зазначено, що популярний бренд магазинів Lidl дуже активно веде переговори для того, щоб дістати частину ринку і в Україні. Для цього вже поставлена і відповідна людина — керівник в представництві компанії в Україні. Людина, яка займає цю посаду раніше була топ-менеджером представництва корпорації в Польщі.

У 2022 фінансовому році Lidl отримав прибуток у розмірі 1,64 млрд €, що на 500 млн € менше, ніж у попередньому році.

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Pinoboy.com domain and website for sale now!

Pinoboy.com is an integral part of SeLLines Network.

SeLLines Network works using MassReaders technology.

It unifies more than 500 popular sites with various informational topics that publish fresh, interesting and relevant articles daily.

A significant day-to-day devoted audience of the Network allows you to be an effective channel for spreading information and to influence the public opinion of the readers.

All sites have mobile versions and social network presence. Readers also have the opportunity to subscribe and receive relevant information and attractive business offers by e-mail.

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information about new products or stocks of your company;
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CarsUa.com є складовою частиною Мережі Купуй!

Мережа Купуй! працює за технологією MassReaders, та об’єднує понад 500 популярних сайтів різноманітної інформаційної тематики, які щодня публікують свіжі, цікаві і актуальні статті різними мовами.

Величезна щоденна аудиторія Мережі дозволяє бути ефективним каналом поширення інформації, впливати на громадську думку читачів і фантастично підвищувати Індекс Цитуваня політиків і їх програм, публічних особистостей, а також товарів і послуг.

Усі сайти мають мобільні версії і представництва в соціальних мережах. А також читачі мають можливість підписатися на отримання актуальної інформації і привабливих пропозицій за допомогою електронної пошти.

Для виробників та комерсантів пропонуємо публікацію рекламних повідомлень, які можуть містити:

– інформацію про нові продукти або акції вашої компанії;
– нагадування про ваші продукти чи послуги (анонси, огляди, статті, в т.ч. відеоматеріали);
– інформацію для зміцнення репутації вашої компанії і торгової марки;
– інформацію для збільшення впізнаваності вашого бренда;
– інформацію для підвищення лояльності до вашої компанії і торгової марки;
– інформацію, що викликає додаткову стимуляцію цільової аудиторії для здійснення покупки.

Пропонуємо регулярне (можливе і щоденне) поширення ваших прес-релізів, новин, анонсів, youtube відео, акаунтів у соціальних мережах та інших інформаційних матеріалів за допомогою Мережі Купуй!

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CarsMB.com is an integral part of SeLLines Network.

SeLLines Network works using MassReaders technology.

It unifies more than 500 popular sites with various informational topics that publish fresh, interesting and relevant articles daily.

A significant day-to-day devoted audience of the Network allows you to be an effective channel for spreading information and to influence the public opinion of the readers.

All sites have mobile versions and social network presence. Readers also have the opportunity to subscribe and receive relevant information and attractive business offers by e-mail.

We have an excellent offer for entrepreneurs, manufacturers and traders, which includes publication of promotional messages that may include:

information about new products or stocks of your company;
reminders about your products or services (announcements, reviews, articles, including video materials);
information that will have a tremendous positive impact that will strengthen the reputation of your company and trademark;
information that will help you increase recognition of your brand;
information that will provide useful guide on how to increase loyalty to your company and brand;
information that causes additional stimulation of the target audience for the purchase that will attract large number of long term clients.
We offer regular (including daily) distribution of your press releases, news, announcements and other informational materials through the SeLLines Network.

More information here

Your advertisement on the SeLLines Network

China-connected spamouflage networks spread antisemitic disinformation

washington — Spamouflage networks with connections to China are posting antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, casting doubt on Washington’s independence from alleged Jewish influence and the integrity of the two U.S. presidential candidates, a joint investigation by VOA Mandarin and Taiwan’s Doublethink Lab, a social media analytics firm, has found.

The investigation has so far uncovered more than 30 such X posts, many of which claim or suggest that core American political institutions, including the White House and Congress, have pledged loyalty to or are controlled by Jewish elites and the Israeli government.

One post shows a graphic of 18 U.S. officials of Jewish descent, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and the head of the Homeland Security Department, Alejandro Mayorkas, and asks: “Jews only make up 2% of the U.S. population, so why do they have so many representatives in important government departments?!”

Another post shows a cartoon depicting Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, and her opponent, Donald Trump, having their tongues tangled together and wrapped around an Israeli flagpole. The post proclaims that “no matter who of them comes to power, they will not change their stance on Judaism.”

Most of the 32 posts analyzed by VOA Mandarin and Doublethink Lab were posted during July and August. The posts came from three spamouflage accounts, two of which were previously reported by VOA.

Each of the three accounts leads its own spamouflage network. The three networks consist of 140 accounts, which amplify content from the three main accounts, or seeders.

A spamouflage network is a state-sponsored operation disguised as the work of authentic social media users to spread pro-government narratives and disinformation while discrediting criticism from adversaries.

Jasper Hewitt, a digital intelligence analyst at Doublethink Lab, told VOA Mandarin that the impact of these antisemitic posts has been limited, as most of them failed to reach real users, despite having garnered over 160,000 views.

U.S. officials have cast China as one of the major threats looking to disrupt this year’s election. Beijing, however, has repeatedly denied these allegations and urged Washington to “not make an issue of China in the election.”

Tuvia Gering, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, has closely followed antisemitic disinformation coming from China. He told VOA Mandarin that Beijing isn’t necessarily hostile toward Jews, but anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have historically been a handy tool to be used against Western countries.

“You can trace its origins back to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories all over the world just to instigate in Western societies,” Gering said, “because it divides them from within and it casts the West in a bad light in a strategic competition. [It’s] the same thing you see here [with China].”

Anti-Semitic speech floods Chinese internet

Similar antisemitic narratives about U.S. politics posted by the spamouflage accounts have long been flourishing on the Chinese internet.

An article that received thousands of likes and reposts on Chinese social media app WeChat claims that “Jewish capital” has completed its control of the American political sphere “through infiltration, marriages, campaign funds and lobbying.”

The article also brings up the Jewish heritage of many current and former U.S. officials and their families as evidence of the alleged Jewish takeover of America.

“The wife of the U.S. president is Jewish, the son-in-law of the former U.S. president is Jewish, the mother of the previous former U.S. president was Jewish, the U.S. Secretary of State is Jewish, the U.S. Secretary of Treasury is Jewish, the Deputy Secretary of State, the Attorney General … are all Jewish,” it wrote.

In fact, first lady Jill Biden is Roman Catholic, and the mother of former President Barack Obama was raised as a Christian. The others named are Jewish.

Conspiracy theories and misinformation abounded on the Chinese internet after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in May that would empower the Department of Education to adopt a new set of standards when investigating antisemitism in educational programs.

Articles and videos assert that the bill marks the death of America because it “definitively solidifies the superior and unquestionable position of the Jews in America,” claiming falsely that anyone who’s labeled an antisemite will be arrested.

One video with more than 1 million views claimed that the New Testament of the Bible would be deemed illegal under the bill. And since all U.S. presidents took their inaugural oath with the Bible, the bill allegedly invalidates the legitimacy of the commander in chief. None of that is true.

The Chinese public hasn’t historically been hostile toward Jews. A 2014 survey published by the Anti-Defamation League, a U.S.-based group against antisemitism, found that only 20% of the participants from China harbored an antisemitic attitude.

But when the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out a year ago, the otherwise heavily censored Chinese social media was flooded with antisemitic comments and praise for Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler.

The Chinese government has dismissed criticism of antisemitism on its internet. When asked about it at a news conference last year, Wang Wenbin, then the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, said that “China’s laws unequivocally prohibit disseminating information on extremism, ethnic hatred, discrimination and violence via the internet.”

But online hate speech against Jews has hardly disappeared. Eric Liu, a former censor for Chinese social media Weibo who now monitors online censorship, told VOA Mandarin that whenever Israel is in the news, there would be a surge in online antisemitism.

Just last month, after dozens of members of the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah were killed by explosions of their pagers, Chinese online commentators acidly condemned Israel and Jews.

The attack “proves that Jews are the most terrifying and cowardly people,” one Weibo user wrote. “They are self-centered and believe themselves to be superior, when in fact they are considered the most indecent and shameless. When the time comes, it’s going to be blood for blood.”

Australia’s online dating industry agrees to code of conduct to protect users

MELBOURNE, Australia — A code of conduct will be enforced on the online dating industry to better protect Australian users after research found that three-in-four people suffer some form of sexual violence through the platforms, Australia’s government said on Tuesday.

Bumble, Grindr and Match Group Inc., a Texas-based company that owns platforms including Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid and Plenty of Fish, have agreed to the code that took effect on Tuesday, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said.

The platforms, which account for 75% of the industry in Australia, have until April 1 to implement the changes before they are strictly enforced, Rowland said.

The code requires the platforms’ systems to detect potential incidents of online-enabled harm and demands that the accounts of some offenders are terminated.

Complaint and reporting mechanisms are to be made prominent and transparent. A new rating system will show users how well platforms are meeting their obligations under the code.

The government called for a code of conduct last year after the Australian Institute of Criminology research found that three-in-four users of dating apps or websites had experienced some form of sexual violence through these platforms in the five years through 2021.

“There needs to be a complaint-handling process. This is a pretty basic feature that Australians would have expected in the first place,” Rowland said on Tuesday.

“If there are grounds to ban a particular individual from utilizing one of those platforms, if they’re banned on one platform, they’re blocked on all platforms,” she added.

Match Group said it had already introduced new safety features on Tinder, including photo and identification verification to prevent bad actors from accessing the platform while giving users more confidence in the authenticity of their connections.

The platform used artificial intelligence to issue real-time warnings about potentially offensive language in an opening line and advising users to pause before sending.

“This is a pervasive issue, and we take our responsibility to help keep users safe on our platform very seriously,” Match Group said in a statement on Wednesday.

Match Group said it would continue to collaborate with the government and the industry to “help make dating safer for all Australians.”

Bumble said it shared the government’s hope of eliminating gender-based violence and was grateful for the opportunity to work with the government and industry on what the platform described as a “world-first dating code of practice.”

“We know that domestic and sexual violence is an enormous problem in Australia, and that women, members of LGBTQ+ communities, and First Nations are the most at risk,” a Bumble statement said.

“Bumble puts women’s experiences at the center of our mission to create a world where all relationships are healthy and equitable, and safety has been central to our mission from day one,” Bumble added.

Grindr said in a statement it was “honored to participate in the development of the code and shares the Australian government’s commitment to online safety.”

All the platforms helped design the code.

Platforms that have not signed up include Happn, Coffee Meets Bagel and Feeld.

The government expects the code will enable Australians to make better informed choices about which dating apps are best equipped to provide a safe dating experience.

The government has also warned the online dating industry that it will legislate if the operators fail to keep Australians safe on their platforms.

FutureUa.com домен і сайт продаються зараз

FutureUa.com є складовою частиною Мережі Купуй!, яка працює за технологією MassReaders, та об’єднує понад 500 популярних сайтів різноманітної інформаційної тематики, які щодня публікують свіжі, цікаві і актуальні статті різними мовами.

Величезна щоденна аудиторія Мережі дозволяє бути ефективним каналом поширення інформації, впливати на громадську думку читачів і фантастично підвищувати Індекс цитуваня підприємців, політиків та їх пропозицій і програм.

Усі сайти мають мобільні версії і представництва в соціальних мережах. А також читачі мають можливість підписатися на отримання актуальної інформації і привабливих пропозицій за допомогою електронної пошти.

Для виробників та комерсантів пропонуємо публікацію рекламних повідомлень, які можуть містити:

– інформацію про нові продукти або акції вашої компанії;
– нагадування про ваші продукти чи послуги (анонси, огляди, статті, в т.ч. відеоматеріали);
– інформацію для зміцнення репутації вашої компанії і торгової марки;
– інформацію для збільшення впізнаваності вашого бренда;
– інформацію для підвищення лояльності до вашої компанії і торгової марки; – інформацію, що викликає додаткову стимуляцію цільової аудиторії для здійснення покупки.

Пропонуємо регулярне (можливе і щоденне) поширення ваших прес-релізів, новин, анонсів та інших інформаційних матеріалів за допомогою Мережі Купуй!

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Arkansas sues YouTube over claims it’s fueling mental health crisis

little rock, arkansas — Arkansas sued YouTube and parent company Alphabet on Monday, saying the video-sharing platform is made deliberately addictive and fueling a mental health crisis among youth in the state.

Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office filed the lawsuit in state court, accusing them of violating the state’s deceptive trade practices and public nuisance laws. The lawsuit claims the site is addictive and has resulted in the state spending millions on expanded mental health and other services for young people.

“YouTube amplifies harmful material, doses users with dopamine hits, and drives youth engagement and advertising revenue,” the lawsuit said. “As a result, youth mental health problems have advanced in lockstep with the growth of social media, and in particular, YouTube.”

Alphabet’s Google, which owns the video service and is also named as a defendant in the case, denied the lawsuit’s claims.

“Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work. In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls,” Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement. “The allegations in this complaint are simply not true.”

YouTube requires users under 17 to get their parent’s permission before using the site, while accounts for users younger than 13 must be linked to a parental account. But it is possible to watch YouTube without an account, and kids can easily lie about their age.

The lawsuit is the latest in an ongoing push by state and federal lawmakers to highlight the impact that social media sites have on younger users. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in June called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms about their effects on young people’s lives, like those now mandatory on cigarette boxes.

Arkansas last year filed similar lawsuits against TikTok and Facebook parent company Meta, claiming the social media companies were misleading consumers about the safety of children on their platforms and protections of users’ private data. Those lawsuits are still pending in state court.

Arkansas also enacted a law requiring parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts, though that measure has been blocked by a federal judge.

Along with TikTok, YouTube is one of the most popular sites for children and teens. Both sites have been questioned in the past for hosting, and in some cases promoting, videos that encourage gun violence, eating disorders and self-harm.

YouTube in June changed its policies about firearm videos, prohibiting any videos demonstrating how to remove firearm safety devices. Under the new policies, videos showing homemade guns, automatic weapons and certain firearm accessories like silencers will be restricted to users 18 and older.

Arkansas’ lawsuit claims that YouTube’s algorithms steer youth to harmful adult content, and that it facilitates the spread of child sexual abuse material.

The lawsuit doesn’t seek specific damages, but asks that YouTube be ordered to fund prevention, education and treatment for “excessive and problematic use of social media.”

California governor vetoes bill to create first-in-nation AI safety measures

Sacramento, California — California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday.

The decision is a major blow to efforts attempting to rein in the homegrown industry that is rapidly evolving with little oversight. The bill would have established some of the first regulations on large-scale AI models in the nation and paved the way for AI safety regulations across the country, supporters said.

Earlier in September, the Democratic governor told an audience at Dreamforce, an annual conference hosted by software giant Salesforce, that California must lead in regulating AI in the face of federal inaction but that the proposal “can have a chilling effect on the industry.”

The proposal, which drew fierce opposition from startups, tech giants and several Democratic House members, could have hurt the homegrown industry by establishing rigid requirements, Newsom said.

“While well-intentioned, SB 1047 does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making or the use of sensitive data,” Newsom said in a statement. “Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions — so long as a large system deploys it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology.”

Newsom on Sunday instead announced that the state will partner with several industry experts, including AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, to develop guardrails around powerful AI models. Li opposed the AI safety proposal.

The measure, aimed at reducing potential risks created by AI, would have required companies to test their models and publicly disclose their safety protocols to prevent the models from being manipulated to, for example, wipe out the state’s electric grid or help build chemical weapons. Experts say those scenarios could be possible in the future as the industry continues to rapidly advance. It also would have provided whistleblower protections to workers.

The legislation is among a host of bills passed by the legislature this year to regulate AI, fight deepfakes and protect workers. State lawmakers said California must take action this year, citing hard lessons they learned from failing to rein in social media companies when they might have had a chance.

Proponents of the measure, including Elon Musk and Anthropic, said the proposal could have injected some levels of transparency and accountability around large-scale AI models, as developers and experts say they still don’t have a full understanding of how AI models behave and why.

The bill targeted systems that require more than $100 million to build. No current AI models have hit that threshold, but some experts said that could change within the next year.

“This is because of the massive investment scale-up within the industry,” said Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher who resigned in April over what he saw as the company’s disregard for AI risks. “This is a crazy amount of power to have any private company control unaccountably, and it’s also incredibly risky.”

The United States is already behind Europe in regulating AI to limit risks. The California proposal wasn’t as comprehensive as regulations in Europe, but it would have been a good first step to set guardrails around the rapidly growing technology that is raising concerns about job loss, misinformation, invasions of privacy and automation bias, supporters said.

A number of leading AI companies last year voluntarily agreed to follow safeguards set by the White House, such as testing and sharing information about their models. The California bill would have mandated that AI developers follow requirements similar to those commitments, said the measure’s supporters.

But critics, including former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, argued that the bill would “kill California tech” and stifle innovation. It would have discouraged AI developers from investing in large models or sharing open-source software, they said.

Newsom’s decision to veto the bill marks another win in California for big tech companies and AI developers, many of whom spent the past year lobbying alongside the California Chamber of Commerce to sway the governor and lawmakers from advancing AI regulations.

Two other sweeping AI proposals, which also faced mounting opposition from the tech industry and others, died ahead of a legislative deadline in August. The bills would have required AI developers to label AI-generated content and ban discrimination from AI tools used to make employment decisions.

The governor said earlier this summer he wanted to protect California’s status as a global leader in AI, noting that 32 of the world’s top 50 AI companies are located in the state.

He has promoted California as an early adopter as the state could soon deploy generative AI tools to address highway congestion, provide tax guidance and streamline homelessness programs. The state also announced last month a voluntary partnership with AI giant Nvidia to help train students, college faculty, developers and data scientists. California is also considering new rules against AI discrimination in hiring practices.

Earlier in September, Newsom signed some of the toughest laws in the country to crack down on election deepfakes and measures to protect Hollywood workers from unauthorized AI use.

But even with Newsom’s veto, the California safety proposal is inspiring lawmakers in other states to take up similar measures, said Tatiana Rice, deputy director of the Future of Privacy Forum, a nonprofit that works with lawmakers on technology and privacy proposals.

“They are going to potentially either copy it or do something similar next legislative session,” Rice said. “So it’s not going away.”

Brazil imposes new fine, demands payments before letting X resume

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA BRAZIL — Brazil’s Supreme Court said on Friday that social platform X still needs to pay just over $5 million in pending fines, including a new one, before it will be allowed to resume its service in the country, according to a court document. 

Earlier this week, the Elon Musk-owned U.S. firm told the court it had complied with orders to stop the spread of misinformation and asked it to lift a ban on the platform. 

But Judge Alexandre de Moraes responded on Friday with a ruling that X and its legal representative in Brazil must still agree to pay a total of $3.4 million in pending fines that were previously ordered by the court. 

In his decision, the judge said that the court can use resources already frozen from X and Starlink accounts in Brazil, but to do so the satellite company, also owned by Musk, had to drop its pending appeal against the fund blockage.  

The judge also demanded a new $1.8 million fine related to a brief period last week when X became available again for some users in Brazil. 

X, formerly known as Twitter, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

According to a person close to X, the tech firm will likely pay all the fines but will consider challenging the fine that was imposed by the court after the platform ban.  

X has been suspended since late August in Brazil, one of its largest and most coveted markets, after Moraes ruled it had failed to comply with orders related to restricting hate speech and naming a local legal representative. 

Musk, who had denounced the orders as censorship and called Moraes a “dictator,” backed down and started to reverse his position last week, when X lawyers said the platform tapped a local representative and would comply with court rulings. 

In Friday’s decision, Moraes said that X had proved it had now blocked accounts as ordered by the court and had named the required legal representative in Brazil. 

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Комп’ютерні ігри пропонують широкий спектр жанрів та стилів, які можуть задовольнити будь-які вподобання. Від стратегій та симуляторів до шутерів та рольових ігор, кожен може знайти щось для себе.

Ось кілька популярних комп’ютерних ігор, які варто спробувати:

The Sims 4 – симулятор життя, де ви можете створювати та керувати персонажами у віртуальному світі.

Minecraft – гра-пісочниця, де ви можете будувати та досліджувати безмежні світи.

Call of Duty: Warzone – популярний шутер у жанрі королівської битви.

League of Legends – багатокористувацька онлайн-гра в жанрі MOBA, де команди змагаються за контроль над картою.

Кіберспорт, або електронний спорт, стає все більш популярним у всьому світі. Це змагання з відеоігор, де професійні гравці та команди змагаються на високому рівні. Деякі з найпопулярніших ігор у кіберспорті включають League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), Fortnite та Overwatch.

В Україні кіберспорт також набирає обертів. Наприклад, команда Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) є однією з найвідоміших і успішних команд у світі, особливо в таких іграх, як CS:GO та Dota 2.

Геймерство – це захоплюючий світ, де люди грають у відеоігри для задоволення, змагань або навіть професійно. Це може включати як одиночні ігри, так і багатокористувацькі онлайн-ігри, де гравці взаємодіють один з одним у віртуальних світах.

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our skype: isgnet

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CrowdStrike executive apologizes to Congress for July global tech outage

WASHINGTON — An executive at cybersecurity company CrowdStrike apologized in testimony to Congress for sparking a global technology outage over the summer. 

“We let our customers down,” said Adam Meyers, who leads CrowdStrike’s threat intelligence division, in a hearing before a U.S. House cybersecurity subcommittee Tuesday. 

Austin, Texas-based CrowdStrike has blamed a bug in an update that allowed its cybersecurity systems to push bad data out to millions of customer computers, setting off a global tech outage in July that grounded flights, took TV broadcasts off air and disrupted banks, hospitals and retailers. 

“Everywhere Americans turned, basic societal functions were unavailable,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green said. “We cannot allow a mistake of this magnitude to happen again.” 

The Tennessee Republican likened the impact of the outage to an attack “we would expect to be carefully executed by a malicious and sophisticated nation-state actor.” 

“We’re deeply sorry and we are determined to prevent this from ever happening again,” Meyers told lawmakers while laying out the technical missteps that led to the outage of about 8.5 million computers running Microsoft’s Windows operating system. 

Meyers said he wanted to “underscore that this was not a cyberattack” but was, instead, caused by a faulty “rapid-response content update” focused on addressing new threats. The company has since bolstered its content update procedures, he said. 

The company still faces a number of lawsuits from people and businesses that were caught up in July’s mass outage. 

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Виробництво олії включає кілька основних етапів, залежно від типу олії та технології, що використовується. Ось основні методи виробництва:

Пресування:
Гаряче пресування: Насіння соняшника нагрівають до певної температури, а потім віджимають пресом. Це дозволяє отримати більше олії, але вона може втратити деякі корисні речовини.

Холодне пресування: Насіння віджимають без попереднього нагрівання, що дозволяє зберегти більше корисних речовин, але вихід олії менший.

Екстракція:
Використовується спеціальне обладнання та розчинники для вилучення олії з насіння. Цей метод дозволяє отримати більше олії, але потребує додаткових етапів очищення.

Рафінація:
Олію очищують від домішок, що дозволяє отримати продукт без запаху та смаку. Цей процес включає кілька етапів, таких як фільтрація, нейтралізація, відбілювання та дезодорація.

Виробництво олії вимагає високоякісного насіння та сучасного обладнання для досягнення найкращих результатів.

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Former executive gets 2 years in prison for role in FTX fraud

new york — Caroline Ellison, a former top executive in Sam Bankman-Fried’s fallen FTX cryptocurrency empire, was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday after she apologized repeatedly to everyone hurt by a fraud that stole billions of dollars from investors, lenders and customers. 

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said Ellison’s cooperation was “very, very substantial” and “remarkable.” 

But he said a prison sentence was necessary because she had participated in what might be the “greatest financial fraud ever perpetrated in this country and probably anywhere else” or at least close to it. 

He said in such a serious case, he could not let cooperation be a get-out-of-jail-free card, even when it was clear that Bankman-Fried had become “your kryptonite.” 

“I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years here,” he said. “I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison.”

She was ordered to report to prison on November 7. 

Ellison, 29, pleaded guilty nearly two years ago and testified against Bankman-Fried for nearly three days at a trial last November. 

At sentencing, she emotionally apologized to anyone hurt by the fraud that stretched from 2017 through 2022. 

“I’m deeply ashamed with what I’ve done,” she said, fighting through tears to say she was “so so sorry” to everyone she had harmed directly or indirectly. 

She did not speak as she left Manhattan federal court, surrounded by lawyers. 

In a court filing, prosecutors had called her testimony the “cornerstone of the trial” against Bankman-Fried, 32, who was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison. 

In court Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon called for leniency, saying her testimony was “devastating and powerful proof” against Bankman-Fried. 

The prosecutor said Ellison’s time on the witness stand was very different from Bankman-Fried, who she said was “evasive, even contemptuous, and unable to answer questions directly” when he testified. 

Attorney Anjan Sahni asked the judge to spare his client from prison, citing “unusual circumstances,” including her off-and-on romantic relationship with Bankman-Fried and the damage caused when her “whole professional and personal life came to revolve” around him. 

FTX was one of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, known for its Superbowl TV ad and its extensive lobbying campaign in Washington before it collapsed in 2022. 

U.S. prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried and other executives of looting customer accounts on the exchange to make risky investments, make millions of dollars of illegal political donations, bribe Chinese officials, and buy luxury real estate in the Caribbean. 

Ellison was chief executive at Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency hedge fund controlled by Bankman-Fried that was used to process some customer funds from FTX. 

As the business began to falter, Ellison divulged the massive fraud to employees who worked for her even before FTX filed for bankruptcy, trial evidence showed. 

Ultimately, she also spoke extensively with criminal and civil U.S. investigators. 

Sassoon said prosecutors were impressed that Ellison did not “jump into the lifeboat” to escape her crimes but instead spent nearly two years fully cooperating. 

Since testifying at Bankman-Fried’s trial, Ellison has engaged in extensive charity work, written a novel, and worked with her parents on a math enrichment textbook for advanced high school students, according to her lawyers. 

They said she also now has a healthy romantic relationship and has reconnected with high school friends she had lost touch with while she worked for and sometimes dated Bankman-Fried from 2017 until late 2022. 

Biden administration seeks to ban Chinese, Russian tech in most US vehicles

New York — The U.S. Commerce Department said Monday it’s seeking a ban on the sale of connected and autonomous vehicles in the U.S. that are equipped with Chinese and Russian software and hardware with the stated goal of protecting national security and U.S. drivers.

While there is minimal Chinese and Russian software deployed in the U.S, the issue is more complicated for hardware. That’s why Commerce officials said the prohibitions on the software would take effect for the 2027 model year and the prohibitions on hardware would take effect for the model year of 2030, or Jan. 1, 2029, for units without a model year.

The measure announced Monday is proactive but critical, the agency said, given that all the bells and whistles in cars like microphones, cameras, GPS tracking and Bluetooth technology could make Americans more vulnerable to bad actors and potentially expose personal information, from the home address of drivers, to where their children go to school.

In extreme situations, a foreign adversary could shut down or take simultaneous control of multiple vehicles operating in the United States, causing crashes and blocking roads, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told reporters on a call Sunday.

“This is not about trade or economic advantage,” Raimondo said. “This is a strictly national security action. The good news is right now, we don’t have many Chinese or Russian cars on our road.”

But Raimondo said Europe and other regions in the world where Chinese vehicles have become commonplace very quickly should serve as “a cautionary tale” for the U.S.

Security concerns around the extensive software-driven functions in Chinese vehicles have arisen in Europe, where Chinese electric cars have rapidly gained market share.

“Who controls these data flows and software updates is a far from trivial question, the answers to which encroach on matters of national security, cybersecurity, and individual privacy,” Janka Oertel, director of the Asia program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on the council’s website.

Vehicles are now “mobility platforms” that monitor driver and passenger behavior and track their surroundings.

A senior administration official said that it is clear from terms of service contracts included with the technology that data from vehicles ends up in China.

Raimondo said that the U.S. won’t wait until its roads are populated with Chinese or Russian cars.

“We’re issuing a proposed rule to address these new national security threats before suppliers, automakers and car components linked to China or Russia become commonplace and widespread in the U.S. automotive sector,” Raimondo said.

It is difficult to know when China could reach that level of saturation, a senior administration official said, but the Commerce Department says China hopes to enter the U.S. market and several Chinese companies have already announced plans to enter the automotive software space.

The Commerce Department added Russia to the regulations since the country is trying to “breathe new life into its auto industry,” senior administration officials said on the call.

The proposed rule would prohibit the import and sale of vehicles with Russia and China-manufactured software and hardware that would allow the vehicle to communicate externally through Bluetooth, cellular, satellite or Wi-Fi modules. It would also prohibit the sale or import of software components made in Russia or the People’s Republic of China that collectively allow a highly autonomous vehicle to operate without a driver behind the wheel. The ban would include vehicles made in the U.S. using Chinese and Russian technology.

The proposed rule would apply to all vehicles, but would exclude those not used on public roads, such as agricultural or mining vehicles.

U.S. automakers said they share the government’s national security goal, but at present there is little connected vehicle hardware or software coming to the U.S. supply chain from China.

Yet the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a large industry group, said the new rules will make some automakers scramble for new parts suppliers. “You can’t just flip a switch and change the world’s most complex supply chain overnight,” John Bozzella, the alliance’s CEO, said in a statement.

The lead time in the new rules will be long enough for some automakers to make the changes, “but may be too short for others,” Bozzella said.

Commerce officials met with all the major auto companies around the world while it drafted the proposed rule to better understand supply chain networks, according to senior administration officials, and also met with a variety of industry associations.

The Commerce Department is inviting public comments, which are due 30 days after publication of a rule before it’s finalized. That should happen by the end of the Biden Administration.

The new rule follows steps taken earlier this month by the Biden administration to crack down on cheap products sold out of China, including electric vehicles, expanding a push to reduce U.S. dependence on Beijing and bolster homegrown industry.

US to propose ban on Chinese software, hardware in connected vehicles, sources say

Washington — The U.S. Commerce Department is expected on Monday to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on American roads due to national security concerns, two sources told Reuters.

The Biden administration has raised serious concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on U.S. drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the internet and navigation systems.

The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the decision had not been publicly disclosed.

The move is a significant escalation in the United States’ ongoing restrictions on Chinese vehicles, software and components. Last week, the Biden administration locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports, including a 100% duty on electric vehicles as well as new hikes on EV batteries and key minerals.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in May the risks of Chinese software or hardware in connected U.S. vehicles were significant.

“You can imagine the most catastrophic outcome theoretically if you had a couple million cars on the road and the software were disabled,” she said.

President Joe Biden in February ordered an investigation into whether Chinese vehicle imports pose national security risks over connected-car technology — and if that software and hardware should be banned in all vehicles on U.S. roads.

“China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security,” Biden said earlier. “I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.”

The Commerce Department plans to give the public 30 days to comment before any finalization of the rules, the sources said. Nearly all newer vehicles on U.S. roads are considered “connected.” Such vehicles have onboard network hardware that allows internet access, allowing them to share data with devices both inside and outside the vehicle.

The department also plans to propose making the prohibitions on software effective in the 2027 model year and the ban on hardware would take effect in January 2029 or the 2030 model year. The prohibitions in question would include vehicles with certain Bluetooth, satellite and wireless features as well as highly autonomous vehicles that could operate without a driver behind the wheel.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers in November raised alarm about Chinese auto and tech companies collecting and handling sensitive data while testing autonomous vehicles in the United States.

The prohibitions would extend to other foreign U.S. adversaries, including Russia, the sources said.

A trade group representing major automakers including General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai and others had warned that changing hardware and software would take time.

The carmakers noted their systems “undergo extensive pre-production engineering, testing, and validation processes and, in general, cannot be easily swapped with systems or components from a different supplier.”

The Commerce Department declined to comment on Saturday. Reuters first reported, in early August, details of a plan that would have the effect of barring the testing of autonomous vehicles by Chinese automakers on U.S. roads. There are relatively few Chinese-made light-duty vehicles imported into the United States.

The White House on Thursday signed off on the final proposal, according to a government website. The rule is aimed at ensuring the security of the supply chain for U.S. connected vehicles. It will apply to all vehicles on U.S. roads, but not for agriculture or mining vehicles, the sources said.

Biden noted that most cars are connected like smartphones on wheels, linked to phones, navigation systems, critical infrastructure and to the companies that made them.

Apple MacBook Air

Чип M3 від Apple:
8‑ядерний центральний процесор: 4 ядра продуктивності та 4 ядра ефективності
10‑ядерний графічний процесор
Апаратно прискорене трасування променів
16‑ядерна система Neural Engine
Пропускна здатність пам’яті 100 ГБ/с
Мультимедійний процесор

Апаратне прискорення H.264, HEVC, ProRes і ProRes RAW
Процесор для декодування відео
Процесор для кодування відео
Процесор для кодування та декодування відео ProRes
Процесор для декодування AV1

Дисплей Liquid Retina:
Діагональ 15,3 дюйма, підсвічування LED, технологія IPS,1
роздільна здатність 2880×1864 пікселі (224 пікселі на дюйм)
Яскравість 500 кд/м²
Колір

Відтворення 1 мільярда кольорів
Розширена колірна гама (P3)
Технологія True Tone

Пам’ять:
8 ГБ об’єднаної пам’яті
Можлива конфігурація: 16 ГБ або 24 ГБ
8 ГБ об’єднаної пам’яті
Можлива конфігурація: 16 ГБ або 24 ГБ
16 ГБ об’єднаної пам’яті
Можлива конфігурація: 24 ГБ

Акумулятор і живлення:
До 18 годин відтворення фільмів у Apple TV
До 15 годин користування бездротовим інтернетом
Літійполімерний акумулятор 66,5 Вт⋅год
Адаптер живлення з двома портами USB‑C потужністю 35 Вт
Кабель USB‑C / MagSafe 3
Підтримка швидкого заряджання з адаптером живлення USB‑C потужністю 70 Вт

Накопичувач:
Накопичувач SSD 256 ГБ
Можлива конфігурація: 512 ГБ, 1 ТБ або 2 ТБ
Накопичувач SSD 512 ГБ
Можлива конфігурація: 1 ТБ або 2 ТБ
Накопичувач SSD 512 ГБ
Можлива конфігурація: 1 ТБ або 2 ТБ

Заряджання й підключення:
Порт MagSafe 3
Порт 3,5 мм для навушників
Два порти Thunderbolt / USB 4 із підтримкою:
Заряджання
DisplayPort
Thunderbolt 3 (до 40 Гбіт/с)
USB 4 (до 40 Гбіт/с)

Можливість підключення дисплеїв:
Підтримка штатної роздільної здатності на дисплеї із високоякісним передаванням 1 мільярда кольорів. Додатково можна підключити:
Один зовнішній дисплей із роздільною здатністю до 6K й частотою 60 Гц
Закрийте MacBook Air, щоб використовувати другий зовнішній дисплей із роздільною здатністю до 5K й частотою 60 Гц

Відтворення відео:
Підтримка форматів HEVC, H.264, AV1 і ProRes
HDR зі стандартами Dolby Vision, HDR10 та HLG

Відтворення аудіо:
Підтримка форматів AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC,
Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus і Dolby Atmos

Клавіатура і трекпед:
Клавіатура Magic Keyboard із підсвічуванням:
78 (США) або 79 (ISO) клавіш, включно з 12 повнорозмірними функціональними клавішами та 4 клавішами зі стрілками у формі перевернутої букви «Т»
Touch ID
Датчик зовнішнього освітлення
Трекпед Force Touch для точного керування курсором і розпізна­вання натиску, підтримка натискання із зусиллям, пришвид­шення дій, малювання з ураху­ванням сили натискання і жестів Multi-Touch

Бездротовий зв’язок:
Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)4
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.3

Камера:
Камера FaceTime HD 1080p
Удосконалений процесор обробки сигналу зображення з обчислювальним відео

Аудіо:
Система із шести динаміків, зокрема низькочастотних із функцією пригнічення резонансу
Підтримка просторового аудіо під час відтворення музики чи відео з Dolby Atmos за допомогою інтегрованих динаміків
Просторове аудіо з функцією динамічного відстеження рухів голови під час використання AirPods (3‑го покоління), AirPods Pro та AirPods Max
Система з трьох спрямованих мікрофонів
Режими «Ізоляція голосу» та «Широкий спектр» для мікрофона
Покращена чіткість голосу під час аудіо- та відеодзвінків
Порт 3,5 мм із розширеною підтримкою високоомних навушників

Вимоги до середовища під час експлуатації:
Лінійна напруга: від 100 до 240 В ~
Частота: від 50 до 60 Гц
Температура під час експлуатації: від 10 до 35 °C
Температура під час зберігання: від –25 до 45 °C
Відносна вологість: від 0 до 90% без конденсації
Висота над рівнем моря під час експлуатації: протестовано до 3000 м
Максимальна висота зберігання: 4500 м
Максимальна висота під час транспортування: 10 500 м

Розміри та вага:
Товщина: 1,15 см
Довжина: 34,04 см
Ширина: 23,76 см
Вага: 1,51 кг5

Операційна система:
macOS — це передова операційна система для комп’ютерів. А macOS Sonoma відкриває нові можливості для роботи й ігор на Mac, зокрема для поліпшення якості відео­презентацій, посилення результатів у іграх і персоналізації ваших пристроїв.

Доступність:
Функції доступності допомагають людям з інвалідністю максимально ефективно користуватися MacBook Air. Завдяки інтегрованій підтримці цих функцій люди з порушеннями зору, слуху, моторики або труднощами навчання можуть створювати неймовірні речі.
Деякі функції:
VoiceOver
Диктування
Збільшення контрастності
Зменшення руху
Субтитри наживо
Пульт перемикачів

Вміст комплекту:
MacBook Air 15 дюймів
Адаптер живлення з двома портами USB‑C потужністю 35 Вт
Кабель USB‑C / MagSafe 3 (2 м)

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California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction

SACRAMENTO, California — California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Governor Gavin Newsom signed Friday. 

California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform’s algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children’s access to social media, but those have faced challenges in court. 

The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users’ personal information in ways that could harm children. 

It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impact of social media on the well-being of children. 

“Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement. “With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits.” 

The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between midnight and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children’s accounts to private by default. 

Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their age. Some argue it would threaten online privacy by making platforms collect more information on users. 

The law defines an “addictive feed” as a website or app “in which multiple pieces of media generated or shared by users are, either concurrently or sequentially, recommended, selected, or prioritized for display to a user based, in whole or in part, on information provided by the user, or otherwise associated with the user or the user’s device,” with some exceptions. 

The subject garnered renewed attention in June when U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms and their impacts on young people. Attorneys general in 42 states endorsed the plan in a letter sent to Congress last week. 

State Senator Nancy Skinner, a Democrat representing Berkeley who wrote the California law, said that “social media companies have designed their platforms to addict users, especially our kids.” 

“With the passage of SB 976, the California Legislature has sent a clear message: When social media companies won’t act, it’s our responsibility to protect our kids,” she said in a statement.

AviaFest.com for sale!

It sounds like you’re interested in aviation festivals! One of the most notable aviation events in Ukraine is the KharkivAviaFest. This festival is held at the Korotych airfield near Kharkiv and is known for its impressive air shows and diverse ground activities.

The festival typically features:
Six-hour air shows with performances by top Ukrainian and international pilots. Exhibitions showcasing aviation, space, and technical achievements. Interactive activities like introductory flights, parachute jumps, and air tours. Entertainment including live music, food courts, and various attractions for all ages. It’s a fantastic event for aviation enthusiasts and families alike.

Aviation festivals can be a lot of fun, even if it’s your first time. They offer a unique opportunity to see incredible aircraft up close and witness thrilling aerial performances. If you ever get the chance to attend one, it might be an exciting new experience for you.

Here are some tips and things to expect when attending an aviation festival:
What to Expect:

Air Shows: These are the main attractions, featuring aerobatic displays, formation flying, and sometimes even historical reenactments with vintage aircraft.

Static Displays: You can walk around and see various aircraft up close, from small private planes to large military jets.

Interactive Activities: Many festivals offer opportunities for introductory flights, simulator experiences, and even parachute jumps.

Exhibitions: There are often booths and displays from aviation companies, showcasing the latest in aviation technology and services.

Entertainment: Live music, food stalls, and family-friendly activities are usually available to keep everyone entertained.

Tips for Attending:
Arrive Early: This will give you time to explore the static displays and find a good spot for watching the air shows.
Dress Comfortably: Wear comfortable shoes and clothing suitable for the weather. Hats and sunscreen are a must if it’s sunny.

Bring Essentials: Pack water, snacks, and a camera. Binoculars can also enhance your viewing experience.
Check the Schedule: Make sure to get a program or check the event’s website for the schedule of performances and activities.

Stay Safe: Follow all safety instructions and be mindful of restricted areas. Aviation festivals are a fantastic way to learn more about aviation and enjoy a day out.

More information here

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China-connected spamouflage impersonated Dutch cartoonist

Washington — Based on the posts of an X account that bears the name of Dutch cartoonist Bart van Leeuwen, a profile picture of his face and short professional bio, one would think the Amsterdam-based artist is a staunch supporter of China and fierce critic of the United States.

In one post, the account blasts what it calls Washington’s “fallacies against the Chinese economy,” accompanied by a cartoon from the Global Times — a Beijing-controlled media outlet — showing Uncle Sam aiming but failing to hit a target emblazoned with the words “China’s economy.”

In another, the account reposts a Chinese propaganda video about the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, writing “today’s China is closely connected with the world, blending with each other, and achieving mutual success.”

But Van Leeuwen didn’t make the posts. In fact, this account doesn’t even belong to him.

It belongs to a China-connected network on X of “spamouflage” accounts, which pretend to be the work of real people but are in reality controlled by robots sending out messages designed to shape public opinion.

China has repeatedly rejected reports that it seeks to influence U.S. presidential elections, describing such claims as “fabricated.”

VOA Mandarin and DoubleThink Lab (DTL), a Taiwanese social media analytics firm, uncovered the fake Van Leeuwen account during a joint investigation into a network of spamouflage accounts working on behalf of the Chinese government.

The network, consisting of at least nine accounts, propagated Beijing’s talking points on issues including human rights abuses in China’s western Xinjiang province, territorial disputes with countries in the South China Sea and U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

Fake account contradicts real artist

Van Leeuwen confirmed in an interview with VOA Mandarin that he had nothing to do with and was not aware of the fake account.

“It’s ironic that my identity, being a political cartoonist, is being used for political propaganda,” he told VOA in a written statement.

The real Van Leeuwen is an award-winning cartoonist whose works have been published on news outlets around the world, such as the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Korea Times, Sing Tao Daily in Hong Kong and Gulf Today in the United Arab Emirates.

He specializes in editorial cartoons, whose main subjects include global politics, elections in the U.S. and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Several of his past illustrations made fun of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s economic policies and the opaqueness of Beijing’s inner political struggles.

After being contacted by VOA Mandarin, a spokesman from X said the fake account has been suspended.

Other than finding irony in being impersonated by a Chinese propaganda bot, Van Leeuwen said the incident also worries him.

“This example once again highlights the need for far-reaching measures regarding the restriction of social media,” Van Leeuwen wrote in his statement, “especially with irresponsible people like Elon Musk at the helm.”

After purchasing what was then called Twitter in 2022, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO vowed to reduce the prevalence of bots on the platform, but many users complain it has become even worse.

Musk, the world’s richest person, is a so-called “free speech absolutist,” opposing almost all censorship of people voicing their views. Critics say his policy allows racist and false information to flourish on X.

Former President Donald Trump has praised Musk’s business acumen and said he plans to have the man who may become the world’s first trillionaire head a commission on government efficiency if he is reelected in November.

Network of spamouflage accounts

Before its suspension, the X account that impersonated Van Leeuwen had close to 1,000 followers, more than Van Leeuwen’s real X account. It was registered in 2013, but its first post came only last year. The account’s early posts were mostly encouraging and inspiring words in Chinese. It also posted many dance videos.

Gradually, the account started to mix in more and more political narratives, criticizing the U.S. and defending China. It often reposted content from another spamouflage account called “Grey World.”

“Grey World” used a photo of an attractive Asian woman as its profile picture. Most of its posts were supportive of Beijing’s talking points. It regularly posted videos and cartoons from Chinese state media. It also posted several of Van Leeuwen’s cartoons about American politics.

VOA Mandarin and DTL’s investigation identified “Grey World” as the main spamouflage account in a network of nine such accounts. Other accounts in the network, including the fake Van Leeuwen account, amplified “Grey World” by reposting its content.

But posts from “Grey World” had limited reach on X, despite having tens of thousands of followers. For example, between August 18 and September 1, its most popular post, a diatribe against Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, was viewed a little over 10,000 times but only had 35 reposts and 65 likes.

After the suspension of the fake Van Leeuwen account, X also shut down the “Grey World” account.

The spamouflage network is not the first linked to China.

In April, British researchers released a report saying Chinese nationalist trolls were posing as American supporters of Trump on X to try to exploit domestic divisions ahead of the U.S. election.

U.S. federal prosecutors in 2023 accused China’s Ministry of Public Security of having a covert social media propaganda campaign that also aimed to influence U.S. elections.

Researchers at Facebook’s parent company Meta said it was the largest known covert propaganda operation ever identified on that platform and Instagram, reported Rolling Stone magazine.

Network analysis firm Graphika called the pro-Chinese network “Spamouflage Dragon,” part of a campaign it identified in early 2020 that was at the time posting content that praised Beijing’s policies and attacked those of then-President Trump.

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