While the pandemic has severely impacted travel, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has used the downtime to ramp up biometric spying technology at 76 airports around the country. Those efforts are detailed in a recently released the “CBP Trade and Travel Report.” The report details measures by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to...
Tag: feb 16 2021
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THE FACEBOOK-APPLE WAR HEATS UP
“Inflict pain.” That’s the word from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, talking about rival Apple in a war waged around end-user privacy. Reports suggest Facebook is planning an antitrust legal suit over Apple’s iOS privacy features. According to its claims, Apple “abused its power in the smartphone market by forcing app developers to abide by App...
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DRAGHI: ITALY’S NEW BANKSTER PM
Mario Draghi, the former leader of the European Central Bank who has been credited with saving the euro in 2012, has been tapped by Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella to be the new Prime Minister to help the country emerge from economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. Now in charge of the EU’s third-largest economy, Draghi...
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CHINA, U.K. FIRE SHOT IN MEDIA WAR
The tension between China and the U.K. increased last week after Beijing barred BBC World News from televisions across the country in response to British media regulator Ofcom’s decision earlier this month to revoke the license of the China Global Television Network (CGTN) to broadcast in Britain. The BBC said it was “disappointed” by Beijing’s decision. The BBC noted Radio Television...
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BIDEN PLANS TO CLOSE GUANTANAMO PRISON
The Biden administration said Friday that one of its goals is to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, which currently holds 40 inmates. In 2019, NPR reported the U.S. spent more than $6 billion to operate the facility for the past 19 years. Even with 40 inmates, the prison costs American taxpayers $380...
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INDIA GOVERNMENT VS. FARMERS: NO END IN SIGHT
Well into its third month, the farmers’ protests in India continue. Last week, Twitter found itself at odds with government officials who demanded that the social media platform block some pro-farmer handles. The Wall Street Journal reported that Twitter conducted an investigation and found some of the accounts it had restricted in the country should...
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PROTESTS IN MYANMAR KEEP RAGING
As we have been reporting in the Trends Journal, tens of thousands of protesters, ranging from students to government workers, have been taking to the streets in Myanmar (“Burma” is the name of this country that is recognized diplomatically by the U.S.) demanding the military release leader Aung San Suu Kyi and hand back power...
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DESANTIS FLIPS BIRD AT BIDEN
News reports intensified that President Biden and his coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci are threatening action to restrict the travel of Floridians unless the state abides more closely to the White House’s COVID demands. Under Governor Ron DeSantis, the state has been among the most successful U.S. examples of dealing with COVID-19 while keeping the...
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ANTIBIOTICS IN BABIES CAUSING MAJOR HEALTH CONCERNS
In ancient times, the Greeks and Indians used molds and certain plants to treat infections. Serbians used moldy bread, and Russian peasants applied warm mud as a cure for infected skin wounds. While some ancient techniques had a level of success in stopping life-threatening bacterial infections, the discovery of penicillin in 1921 by Sir Alexander...
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GERMANY: CASES UP, LOCKDOWN MORE
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last week that countrywide lockdown restrictions, which have been in place to fight the COVID War and were set to expire on 14 February, would extend until at least 7 March. A report obtained by Euronews.com said the new guidelines will be in place until there are seven straight days...