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Hungary
February 26, 2018 Back from the dead, Hungary opposition renews bid to oust Orbán. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's rightwing Fidesz, a runaway favorite in opinion polls, suffered a setback in a mayoral race in a southern town called Hódmezővásárhely, a rural bastion of the anti-immigrant Fidesz for more than 20 years. Orbán, who poses as a savior of Europe’s Christian nations, seeks a third straight term, pushing a fierce anti-immigration message and pursuing policies that diverge politically and economically with mainstream European Union peers. But a shadow was cast over his prospects when an opposition-backed political novice comfortably beat the Fidesz candidate for mayor in Hódmezővásárhely near the Serbian border, a town defended by a steel fence to keep out migrants, one of Orbán's defining policies from the past four years. (Source: Yahoo)
Comments: "Soros generated article".; "Fake news."
Erdély
2018. II. 22. Levél itthonról haza. Kedves Komám! Hallám, hogy erőst ideges vagy, mert azt hallád, hogy terrorista, agymosott, zombi, orbánbérenc, bunko fidesznyik vagyok. Hallod-e, honfitárs, én veled nem vitatkozom, a bicska sem nyílik ki a zsebemben. A te bajod, hogy hallgatsz-e a vadakat beszélőkre, hagyod-e, hogy hergeljenek, s osztán úgy belélovallod magad, hogy még az Erdélyt s a székelyt is j-vel írod. Én nem tudom, komám, jó-e ez, de ha erőst jót tesz a lelkednek, felőlem eresszed. Nem haragszom reád, megbocsájtottam azt is, amikor bedőltél a süket dumának, hogy ha mi itt, a határon túliak, ha magyar állampolgárok leszünk, sebtében hagyunk csapot s papot, s bévonulunk hezzátok buszon, vonaton, fehér lovon, síppal, dobbal s nádi hegedűvel, s osztán mind feléljük a nyugdíjadot. Jó vicc, nem es mondom, mert nem vagy te még nyugdíjas, nem es értem, mit kellett idétlenkedj, s mit kell neked úgy félteni azt, ami nincs, de hát ez már legyen a te bajod. Én azt tudom mondani csak, mi jól megvagyunk itt, bajunk is, dolgunk is van elég, s megölne a szégyen, ha felverné a gaz a portánkat, apáink sírját, s itt hagynánk a templomot s az iskolát. Nem akarom itt a múltat hánytorgatni, de úgy tudd meg, még ma is fáj nekünk, hogy megtagadtál, de lelked rajta, s Isten segítsen, mint tököt a lejtőn, ha nem hiszel a szemednek, de hiszel a lopott fényképeknek, s ma esmenn jajveszékelsz. Megmondom az egy őszintét, én tényleg nem értelek, kicsi komám, pedig értek én a magyar szóból, még akkor es, ha te vágódeszkán klopfolod, s én lapítón potyolom a flekkennek valót, s ami neked hasábburgonya, nekem szalmapityóka. Azt látom, hogy mostanában erőst fel vagy idegesedve, s feszt azzal bajmolódsz, hogy izengess otthonról haza: ne szavazzak, mert semmi közöm, s nem fizetem az adót. Hát ide figyelj, kedves komám! Jusson eszedbe, hogy megfizettünk mi eléggé Trianonért, száz éve fizetjük annak adóját. Nyugodjál meg, feleslegesen ne gyötrődj, mert árt az egészségednek, s ha tényleg olyan sz@r állapotban vannak a kórházak, mint ahogy azt híreszteled, jobb lesz neked, ha elkerülöd, hogy ott kúráljanak. Szóval, inkább szedd össze magad, s gyere hozzánk, meglássad, hogy szép itt nálunk, Erdélybe’. Emmá ecce’ így igaz, s tudjad, hogy az idegek nyugtatására van elég bévált gyógymód: friss levegő, finom borvíz, füstölt szalonna, kolbász, pityókás házi kenyér, az es bizonyított, hogy pár kupica oroszhegyi pálinka kiöli a mérget a szervezetből. Erőst el fogsz csodálkozni, hogy nem vagyunk se terroristák, se zombik, gerincünk is van. Nem járunk mi talpig székely gúnyába öltözve, s nem a széklábat faragjuk feszt a székely himnuszt énekelve, sült galambra várva. Hallod-e, édes komám, ha jót akarsz magadnak, s az agyadat még nem mosták ki, sokat ne politizálj, ne bőcselkedjél, s ne is oktass minket, mert mi itten makacs székelyek vagyunk, s eddig es úgy vót, s most sem lesz másként: ha eccer is rajtunk múlik, azt csinálunk, ami nekünk jólesik. Ha választani adatott jogunk, hát választunk, s ezér’ ne mocskolj minket, hanem szavazzál te es a neked jobbikra, s mi es arra, ki nekünk jobb. S ezzel el van boronálva. Na, s még egyet mondok: ha minket megtagadsz, magadat es megtagadod, mert mi úgy tanultuk, s úgy tudjuk, s ehhez tartjuk magunkat, hogy egy az ország, egy a haza, egy a nemzet, s nem méltó magyarnak vallani magát, aki ezt elvitatja, megtagadja. Tiszta beszéd, ugye? Azt mondom, csúfot magadból ne űzz, s ha még izennél valamit, arra válaszolj, hallám, amit itt leírtam, megértetted-e? (Forrás: LázárE)
Carpathian Basin
21 february 2018 Analysed genome-wide ancient DNA data from 225 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between 12000 and 500 bc. The genomic history of southeastern Europe. Farming was first introduced to Europe in the mid-seventh millennium bc, and was associated with migrants from Anatolia who settled in the southeast before spreading throughout Europe. You see the west–east cline of ancestry in indigenous hunter-gatherers and, in eastern Europe, the early stages in the formation of Bronze Age steppe ancestry. The first farmers of northern and western Europe dispersed through southeastern Europe with limited hunter-gatherer admixture, but that some early groups in the southeast mixed extensively with hunter-gatherers without the sex-biased admixture that prevailed later in the north and west. Southeastern Europe continued to be a nexus between east and west after the arrival of farmers, with intermittent genetic contact with steppe populations occurring up to 2,000 years earlier than the migrations from the steppe that ultimately replaced much of the population of northern Europe. (Source: Nature)
Russia
28th February 2018 Billionaire oligarch Prigozhin is accused of masterminding Russia’s fake news factories. According to an indictment filed by Special Counsel Mueller's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Prigozhin’s cash fuelled the troll factories. These so-called factories, officially known as the Internet Research Agency, which is based in St Petersburg, pumped out masses of anti-western and anti-Clinton propaganda during the presidential race. And according to files obtained by CNN, Prigozhin’s firm Concord Catering and Concord Management and Consulting financed the troll agency. He reportedly paid an army of dedicated trolls, who filled two office blocks, $600 per month to create pro-Putin propaganda and online comments which appeared on western news outlets. Mueller’s team filed criminal charges against 13 Russians and two Russia-based companies relating to inference in the 2016 campaign. (Source: TheSun)
February 26, 2018 Russian defense companies have created a plane-mounted laser that can hit satellites. Weapons maker Almaz-Antey has “completed work on the anti-satellite complex,” which includes the laser and associated ground control gear. Last April, Almaz-Antey general designer Sozinov told that Russian leadership had ordered the company to develop weapons that could interfere electronically with or achieve “direct functional destruction of those elements deployed in orbit.” The program builds off the Soviet-era Beriev A-60, a gas laser fitted inside a heavily modified Ilyushin Il-76MD cargo plane. The effort also bears some resemblance to the Soviets’ 1984 Kontakt 30P6 program, which sought to modify a MiG-31D to draw targeting data from the Krona-N space and satellite observation complex and shoot down an enemy satellite with a 79M6 Kontakt missile. The new laser will be fitted aboard a brand-new, as-yet-unnamed aircraft. The developments in laser technologies are in step with U.S. and Chinese advancements in this area. (Source: DefenseOne): https://tinyurl.com/y7x2s5lo
Sweden
23.02.2018 A number of Swedish scientists are researching how to produce digital copies of those who have already passed away. Scientists noted that as far back as 30 years ago, people stuck to a couple of pictures of their deceased relatives as the only memory of them, whereas nowadays, the technology could enable one to talk to a program which provides the image of a departed loved one, allowing them and their relatives to re-live the happy moments of their past. (Source: SputnikNews)
21 Feb 2018 Multi-cultural utopia /video/: https://tinyurl.com/y8vb882j
Europe
Feb 24, 2018 Prodi, a former prime minister of Italy, said in an interview that he and an ex-chancellor of Austria, Gusenbauer, had worked to try to bring Ukraine and the European Union closer together. “It was Gusenbauer heading the group; we did all our efforts to have peace in Ukraine,” Mr. Prodi said. Mr. Gusenbauer, who led Austria from January 2007 to December 2008, denied any involvement in Mr. Manafort’s work in Ukraine but acknowledged that he had met him twice and talked to European and American politicians about Ukraine, as Mr. Prodi had also done. Mr. Gusenbauer said that he had been “remunerated” for his work on behalf of Ukraine, but he did not say by whom. He added that he had only met Mr. Manafort two or three times. In 2012 and 2013, Mr. Yanukovych was trying to negotiate an “association agreement” with the European Union, which was made difficult by his jailing of political opponents, like Tymoshenko, Ivashchenko and Lutsenko in 2011 and 2012. European officials were keen to secure the agreement, and tried to get Mr. Yanukovych to release the detainees. Mr. Prodi said that Mr. Gusenbauer was the “coordinator” of a group of like-minded liberal and center-left politicians on the issue, including Mr. Kwasniewski and two presidents of the European Parliament, Cox of Ireland and Schulz of Germany. In 2012 he had been invited by Mr. Schultz to go to Ukraine with Mr. Kwasniewski, the first of some 25 trips, all done “pro bono,” Mr. Cox said, to try to get the detainees released. Mr. Cox and Mr. Kwasniewski were successful in obtaining the release of Mr. Ivashchenko and Mr. Lutsenko, who is now Ukraine’s prosecutor-general. Mr. Cox made clear his distaste for Mr. Yanukovych, adding: “I wouldn’t lobby for him.” “I did meet Manafort two or three times during our mission in Ukraine in 2012 and 2013, but that’s it. At the time, he was an adviser to President Yanukovych, whom I also met, and it was only natural that our paths had to cross a couple of times” Mr. Kwasniewski said. “The last time I saw Manafort was probably around the fall of 2013. He never paid us". he added. The release of some of the detainees did help Ukraine’s relationship with Brussels, but then Mr. Yanukovych rejected the association agreement, in favor of a free-trade relationship with Russia. That, in turn, started the demonstrations that led to Mr. Yanukovych’s downfall, the Russian seizure of Crimea and the current conflict in eastern Ukraine. (Source: TheNewYorkTimes)
South Africa
28 February 2018 White South African farmers will be removed from their land after a landslide vote in parliament. The country's constitution is now likely to be amended to allow for the confiscation of white-owned land without compensation, following a motion brought by radical Marxist opposition leader Malema. It passed by 241 votes for to 83 against after a vote, and the policy was a key factor in new president Ramaphosa's platform after he took over from Zuma in February. Mr Malema said the time for 'reconciliation is over'. 'Now is the time for justice'. 'We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land.' A 2017 South African government audit found white people owned 72 per cent of arable land compared with 85 percent when apartheid ended in 1994. Parliament ordered its constitutional committee to report back on the issue by August 30. Botched and often violent redistribution of land in neighbouring Zimbabwe under ex-leader Mugabe left many farms in ruins, and the drop in production triggered an economic crisis that still haunts the country. (Source: Mail)
China
February 25, 2018 The ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee has proposed to remove term limits for the president and vice president. Xi, 64, was approved to begin his second five-year term late last year. He has also moved to shore up his legacy, last year taking on the mantle of “core” of the party leadership, elevating him above his predecessors to a position reminiscent of communist China’s founder, Mao. A party that allows a leader through cult and power of personality to re-write the rules of succession is not a political party confident in itself. Since his elevation to the presidency in 2012, Xi has overseen a wide-ranging crackdown on corruption that has helped him eliminate rivals and consolidate his grip on power. As commander in chief of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Xi has also been at the helm of a military modernization campaign that poured cash into the country’s defense budgets while streamlining its forces. (Source: JapanTimes)
Indonesia
Feb 28, 2018 Two Indonesian Christians were publicly whipped for gambling, a rare case of non-Muslims being punished here under Islamic law, as the country shifts toward a more politicized brand of the religion associated with the Middle East. The man and woman are residents of Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra island, a province that has imposed strict Shariah law. They were whipped at least six times each. Last year, hard-liners succeeded in a campaign to imprison the Christian governor of Jakarta for blasphemy. Lawmakers are now negotiating a revision of the criminal code, including provisions pushed by Islamic parties that would imprison gay people or unmarried cohabiting heterosexuals. Some 98% of Aceh’s five million people are Muslims. They can face flogging for offenses including drinking alcohol, adultery, gay sex, gambling or having romantic relationships before marriage. The province’s Shariah courts are imposing hundreds of whippings a year. The minority in Aceh who aren’t Muslims have a choice of being punished under either the civil code or Shariah. (Source: TheWallStreetJournal)
Jordánia
2018. II. 24. Magyarország. Lyrics : Awaad. Melody: Jbarah. Performance: Murad & Jbarah. /video/: https://tinyurl.com/yacwhdv4
Syria
February 27, 2018 The United States remains focused on eradicating the last vestiges of the islamic state. On February 11, Secretary of Defense Mattis stressed that, following the group’s defeat, there is no plan for a deeper U.S. commitment in Syria. Several weeks later on February 23, President Trump echoed Mattis’s message, saying that the 1,700 to 2,000 U.S. troops in the country would “go home” after isis had been beaten. Yet on February 7, just a few days before Mattis’s remarks, Major General Jarrard, the commander of U.S. special forces in Syria, told the media that his mission is to support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Syrian Kurdish militia-led force that has been instrumental in the fight against isis. The SDF, however, has enemies beyond isis that include Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies, as well as the Syrian government and its Iranian allies. In an interview with CNN on that same day, Lieutenant General Funk, the commander of U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq, promised that Americans in the town of Manbij, which the Kurdish-led SDF captured in August 2016, would “defend themselves.” Both he and Jarrard were aiming their messages not at isis which has been absent from Manbij for months - but at Turkey. After Turkey attacked the Kurdish enclave of Afrin, many SDF fighters left the battle against isis to fight the Turks. How such pledges square with the notion that the U.S. mission in Syria is limited to defeating isis is unclear. Defending the SDF from its enemies exceeds the parameters of an anti-isis campaign, not to mention the 2001 congressional authorization for use of military force against al-Qaeda. Yet the Trump administration’s proposed defense budget for 2019 aims to transform the SDF into a 35,000-man local security force, at a cost of another $300 million in 2019; this would come on top of the $393 million it plans to spend on ammunition and weapons for the group this fiscal year; the total amount set to be spent on the SDF this year is $500 million. The Trump administration also wants to erect a local government in eastern Syria to fight against isis and, should the need arise, the Syrian government. The message, it seems, is that Washington has big plans for the Syrian Kurds. Today, the United States has a policy of incrementalism, working on behalf of one player in the Syrian morass. America’s adversaries will learn how better to attack U.S. forces and allies. With time, U.S. personnel will face greater risk while the deepening morass will demand either concession or escalation. (Source: DefenseOne)
February 22, 2017 Russia tests new stealth fighter over war-weary Syrian skies. The single-seat, twin-engine planes were allegedly filmed nearby Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base near the southeastern city of Latakia along the Mediterranean coastline and employ state-of-the-art stealth technology to avoid radar detection. They were developed to challenge the U.S. F-22 Raptor - and have been called the “F-22 killer.” In December, Russian President Putin declared Moscow’s mission in Syria was over, with officials noting that 38 warplanes were returning to Russia. (Source: TheWashingtonTimes)
United States
February 28, 2018 The Pentagon just revealed how much it spends helping foreign militaries. By gathering all this data in one place for the first time, Department officials have dramatically improved transparency around their overseas activities. It underscores DoD’s commitment to the Asia rebalance. The display shows U.S. Pacific Command as the second-largest funding recipient among the geographic combatant commands, behind only European Command, whose total is inflated by Congressionally-driven funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. (Source: DefenseOne): https://tinyurl.com/yagvnz3z
Febr 26, 2018 Speaking to an audience of active-duty airmen, US Air Force Chief of Staff General Goldfein predicted it’ll only be a “matter of years” before American forces find themselves fighting from space. Goldfein made the comments February 23 while delivering a speech at the Air Force Association’s 34th annual Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition in Orlando, Florida. “[It’s] time for us as a service, regardless of specialty badge, to embrace space superiority with the same passion and sense of ownership as we apply to air superiority today,” he said. Rep. Rogers, the Strategic Forces Subcommittee chairman, recently proposed the creation of a new “Space Corps,” one that would be modeled after the Marines. The proposed service branch, it was argued, would keep the United States ahead of rival nations like Russia and China. The idea was scrapped this past December - at least for now. Needless to say, Rogers’ proposal did not go over well with the USAF; the creation of the first new uniformed service branch in 70 years would see Pentagon funds siphoned away from the Air Force. The USAF is asking for $8.5 billion for space programs in the 2019 budget, of which $5.9 billion would go to research and development, and the remaining for procurement of new satellite and launch services. Over next five years it hopes to spend $44.3 billion on development of new space systems, which is 18 percent more than it said it would need last year to cover the same period. (Source: Gizmodo): https://tinyurl.com/ybamerw3
26th February 2018 The very real dangers posed by technology include rampaging robots and a super-intelligent AI that could turn against its masters. We'll have trained it to be like us, trained it to feel emotions like us, but it won't be like us. It will be a bit like aliens off Star Trek – smarter and more calculated in its actions. It will be insensitive to humans, viewing us as barbaric. So when it decides to carry out its own experiments, with viruses that it's created, it will treat us like guinea pigs." The report titled ‘The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation’ was compiled by representatives from Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute and Cambridge University’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. Attacks could range from drones to bots being used to distribute fake news on social media. digital assistants (from Amazon's Alexa to Apple's Siri) are in our homes and in the phones we carry with us. AI is also powering the self-driving cars. In some cases, the bots are already outsmarting humans. In May of last year, Google's AlphaGo AI triumphed over the world champion at the ancient Chinese board game of Go. Then in August, an AI beat the world's best pros at the video game DOTA 2. (Source: TheSun) The report: https://tinyurl.com/y9h42mwy
Feb 25, 2018 An emerging field, digital phenotyping, that is trying to assess people’s well-being based on their interactions with digital devices. Researchers and technology companies are tracking users’ social media posts, calls, scrolls and clicks in search of behavior changes that could correlate with disease symptoms. Mindstrong Health, a mental health start-up in Palo Alto, Calif., is observing people’s smartphone use. The company has developed a research platform to continuously monitor users’ phone habits, looking at changes in taps and clicks for hints about mood and memory changes associated with depression. Now the company is participating in a large government-funded study of trauma patients to study whether patients who go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder also develop corresponding changes in their smartphone use. Sharecare, a digital health company based in Atlanta, offers a wellness app - an emotional selfie - with an optional feature that analyzes users’ stress levels during phone calls. After each call, the system delivers reports like “you seemed anxious” or “you seemed balanced.” It also characterizes users’ relationships with the people they call in terms of attitudes like “dominance” or “affection.” (Source: TheNewYorkTimes)
February 23, 2018 Every AI advance by the good guys is an advance for the bad guys, too. Here is a selected list of the potential harms discussed in the 100-page report titled “The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation”: Digital: automated phishing, or creating fake emails, websites, and links to steal information; faster hacking, through the automated discovery of vulnerabilities in software; fooling AI systems, by taking advantage of the flaws in how AI sees the world. Physical: automating terrorism, by using commercial drones or autonomous vehicles as weapons; Robot swarms, enabled by many autonomous robots trying to achieve the same goal; Remote attacks, since autonomous robots wouldn’t need to be controlled within any set distance. Political: propaganda, through easily-generated fake images and video; Automatic dissent removal, by automatically finding and removing text or images; Personalized persuasion, taking advantage of publicly-available information to target someone’s opinions. (Source: DefenseOne)
February 23, 2018 The special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election in the United States accused Manafort Jr., President Trump’s former campaign chairman, of secretly paying a group of former European officials to lobby for Ukraine in 2012 and 2013, when its government was pro-Russian. According to the indictment, Mr. Manafort and his colleague Gates “secretly retained a group of former senior European politicians to take positions favorable to Ukraine, including by lobbying in the United States.” They were informally called the Hapsburg Group. In a June 2012 memorandum labeled “Eyes Only,” Mr. Manafort described a “Super V.I.P.” effort, which aimed to “assemble a small group of high-level European highly influential champions and politically credible friends who can act informally and without any visible relationship with the Government of Ukraine.” The group was managed by “a former European chancellor”. In 2013, that politician and other former politicians quietly lobbied members of Congress and officials in the Obama adminstration on behalf of Ukraine, which was then led by Mr. Manafort’s client, President Yanukovych. (Source: TheNewYorkTimes)
Feb. 22, 2018 U.S. naval update map. It shows the approximate current locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), based on available open-source information. No classified or operationally sensitive information is included in this weekly update. CSGs and ARGs are the keys to U.S. dominance over the world's oceans. The CSG includes significant offensive strike capability. A CSG is centered on an aircraft carrier, which projects U.S. naval and air power and supports a Carrier Air Wing (CVW). An ARG is centered on three amphibious warfare ships, with a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) embarked. An MEU is built around a heavily reinforced and mobile battalion of Marines. (Source: Stratfor): https://tinyurl.com/y82mr9jx
Brazil
Feb 26, 2018 Catholic leaders in the vast Amazon basin consider whether the church should let married men become priests in certain cases. The issue is likely to be discussed at a gathering of bishops Pope Francis has called for next year about the church in the Amazon. The Vatican is contending with a shortage of clergy to serve isolated communities in the region, as well as a growing challenge from evangelical Protestantism, which allows married ministers. Around the world, the ratio of Catholics to priests has risen sharply in recent decades, to 3,100-to-1 in 2015 from 1,900-to-1 in 1980, according to Vatican statistics. It is especially high in South America - 7,100-to-1, almost four times as high as in North America. Permanent deacons - those who aren’t preparing to become priests- are typically married men, and they have taken up the slack in many parts of the world. There were 45,300 permanent deacons world-wide in 2015 - three quarters of them in North America or Europe - compared with 416,000 priests. But deacons can’t celebrate Mass or hear confessions, essential limitations in a church where the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, are of central importance. Proponents of allowing married men to serve as priests under certain circumstances support ordaining so-called viri probati - Latin for “proven men” - who are community leaders. By the 16th Century, celibacy became the rule in the Latin Church. Today, fewer than 2% of the world’s Catholic priests are married, most of them clergy in the two dozen Eastern Catholic Churches, which are in communion with Rome but follow the Orthodox practice and allow for married priests. Since the 1980s, the Catholic Church has also ordained some married Protestant clergy, almost all of them Anglicans who have converted to Catholicism. The church is facing some of the same challenges in underserved areas of Africa and Asia. And 3,600 of the 17,200 parishes in the U.S. were without a resident priest as pastor in 2017. (Source: VSJ)
Globalization
27 February 2018 There are huge opportunities for motivated groups to pursue new models of criminality. Smart TVs and video conferencing systems at a firm are typically more vulnerable than conventional computers. The criminals could activate the microphones and stream the audio of all meetings held, to an AI driven translation and transcription service (already available from Google and Amazon)'. In the future AI could be used to alter crucial data to sabotage the operations of companies. An oil and gas firm could be tricked into bidding for drilling and mining rights in a wrong and not profitable location. There is also the danger that bank account balances could be 'subtly and consistently tweaked' so that when they try to file accounts at the end of the year they are 'inexplicable' and result in a major loss of consumer confidence. How an explosive AI impersonation attack could spread: a piece of malicious software is placed on your laptop or computer. It accesses records such as calendar, emails and messages, and passes the details to an Artificial Intelligence program. That software process the mass of information and replicates the way you communicate with specific individuals. It then impersonates you to trick work colleagues and contacts into infecting their systems. Now imagine that it has AI that can understand all of that material and can train itself on how you differently communicate with different people. It could then contextually contact your co-workers and customers replicating your individual communication style with each of them to spread itself. Such an attack is likely to explode across supply chains. (Source: DailyMail)
February 27, 2018 Scientists are reconstructing bird genomes in hopes of “de-extinction.” with DNA from a museum specimen. Scientists at Harvard University have assembled the first nearly complete genome of the little bush moa, a flightless bird that went extinct soon after Polynesians settled New Zealand in the late 13th century. The nonprofit conservation group Revive and Restore aims to resurrect vanished species including the passenger pigeon and the woolly mammoth, whose genomes have already been mostly pieced together. Nearly complete extinct genomes include two human relatives, Neanderthals and Denisovans, in addition to the woolly mammoth, and the passenger pigeon. The zebra-like quagga was the first extinct species to have its DNA sequenced, back in the genomic Stone Age of 1984, but it’s not up to modern standards. Scientists are also close to reconstructing the genomes of the dodo, the flightless bird that went extinct from Mauritius, its only home, in the late 1600s; and the great auk, which lived in the North Atlantic before dying out in the mid-19th century. Last month, researchers in Australia unveiled the genome of the Tasmanian tiger, the last of which died in captivity in 1936. (Source: Stat): https://tinyurl.com/y96aup52
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