Aside from the techniques of self-defense (i.e., strikes of the hands, kicks, releases and counterattacks, use of weapons, etc.), there are many subtle and obvious things a person can do in order to either reduce the chances of being attacked or be fully prepared in the event an attack comes. Having the skill in which...
Tag: oct 06 2020
HUMAN-MADE “SUPER-ENZYME” SPEEDS PLASTIC DECOMPOSITION
The bacterium I. sakaiensis has been eating away at the 300 million tons of plastic humanity tosses in the trash each year, but it takes the bug weeks to finish a meal. Bioscientists at the Kyoto Institute of Technology engineered a better bug, one that breaks down plastic six times faster than its ancestors. The...
BOTCHED BALLOTS HIT NYC
The great debate about the efficacy of mail-in ballots hit New York City last week when a printing mishap affected absentee ballots in Brooklyn, resulting in an estimated 100,000 voters receiving return envelopes with errors. Michael Ryan, New York City Board of Elections’ Executive Director, said these ballots came with an incorrect “oath envelope.” Some...
FACEBOOK: FU, WE’LL TELL YOU
With the climax of The Presidential Reality Show® just a few weeks away, Facebook declared it would eliminate all advertising that aims to “delegitimize” the election. The Financial Times reported the social media giant changed its hands-off policy regarding political advertising after President Trump raised the topic of fraud during last week’s tense debate in...
HONG KONG: NO PROTESTS. BEIJING RULES
Last week, authorities in Hong Kong continued the effort to stem protests in the city. They deployed some 6,000 police to screen “whole streets of shoppers” to find any evidence they were headed to an anti-protest demonstration during China National Day celebrations. “It’s China’s National Day but this is Hong Kong’s death day,” said one...
CAUCASUS WAR: THE DEADLY FUTURE
Top world powers issued a joint statement last week condemning “in the strongest terms” the recent escalation in southern Caucasus (located on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia) that has led to mounting casualties for Armenia and Azerbaijan. The U.S., France, and Russia have called for a ceasefire after a recent breakout of...
AMERICANS: VIOLENCE AS A MEANS TO POLITICAL ENDS
The violent protests that have erupted in cities across the U.S. in the name of social justice, is, as we had forecast, the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the nation’s overall feelings regarding justifying violence to achieve political victory. Researchers wrote in Politico last week that they’ve observed a troubling trend in...
GOING DOWN, GOING BUST, GOING OUT
AVIATION’S WOES TO IMPACT 46 MILLION JOBS WORLDWIDE. Of the 88 million jobs worldwide that depend fully or partly, directly or indirectly, on aviation, 46 million are likely to be lost temporarily or permanently, according to a 30 September report from the Geneva-based Air Transport Action Group. Airlines, airports, and aircraft makers alone will trim...
GLOBAL ECONOMIC TRENDS
MANUFACTURING STILL INCREASING AS HIRING STAGNATES. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 55.4 in September, the fourth consecutive month showing growing strength. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. However, the gauge was 7.3 percent below its February pre-pandemic level. The ISM’s hiring sub-index registered 49.6 in September, indicating factories...
WILL CHINA’S GOLDEN WEEK REAP GOLD?
China has entered its week-long shopping spree called “Golden Week,” and economists will be observing the willingness of shoppers to open their wallets after the country appears to have firm control over its virus outbreak. Beijing has not recorded a locally transmitted symptomatic case since 15 August, and The New York Times reported there seem...