This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 51%. (I'm a bot)

WARSAW, March 29 - Poland wants the European Union to use all tools at its disposal to limit the amount of Ukrainian grain entering the EU market, the prime minister said on Wednesday, amid fury among farmers because imports have depressed Polish grain prices.
"We demand the use of all regulatory instruments - quotas, tariffs, which will limit or block the import of Ukrainian grain into Poland," Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference.
Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, had its Black Sea ports blocked following Russia's February 2022 invasion and it found alternative shipping routes through EU states Poland and Romania.
Logistical bottlenecks mean large quantities of Ukrainian grains, which are cheaper than those produced in the EU, have ended up in central European states, hurting prices and sales of local farmers.
Poland would ask the European Commission to employ a protective clause regarding grain imports to Poland from Ukraine, Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk said after meeting with farmers' representatives on Wednesday.
Poland would also be seeking to export existing grain stocks to free up storage space by the next harvest, said Kowalczyk, who has had to be escorted out of an agricultural fair in the central city of Kielce after he was accosted by a crowd of angry farmers and had eggs thrown at him at another event a week ago.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: grain^#1 farmers^#2 Poland^#3 European^#4 Kowalczyk^#5
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Reading through various white papers on data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the like reveals the strange and terrifying totalitarian system that's rapidly evolving towards human imperceptibility.
THE EVOLVING ROLE OF OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE

The intelligence environment has been significantly changed over recent years by many factors, including tech-savvy threat actors, the rapid spread of online communications, increased societal unrest and changing geopolitical dynamics. Government and corporate sectors alike are facing an increasing volume and diversity of threats to their communities and businesses.
These threats, combined with masses of data from exploding numbers of online platforms, create a perfect storm of challenges for intelligence teams. As the threat landscape evolves, the technology used to uncover these threats must also evolve - that is where advanced open-source intelligence (OSINT) solutions play an increasingly critical role. Open-source intelligence, often referred to as a subset of digital intelligence, is the process of collecting, analyzing, and extracting meaningful insights from publicly available data sources, including social media, news feeds, blog sites, discussion forums, and more. Terrorist groups, human trafficking networks, politically motivated extremist groups, and other criminals and threat actors are radicalizing, advertising, recruiting, and planning across a constantly evolving range of websites and social media platforms across the Surface, Deep and Dark Web, often communicating in ways that make it difficult for intelligence and law enforcement organizations to monitor their activities and understand the nature of these threats at any given moment.
The sheer volume and complexity of data presents significant challenges - monitoring online platforms and uncovering critical insights is beyond human scale and any attempt to simplify masses of data looking for anything interesting will inevitably lead to false positives and (worse still) operator burnout. This is driving a need for the advanced, AI-enabled insights into masses of online data that open-source intelligence technology delivers.
OSINT is emerging as an invaluable primary intelligence source across law enforcement, intelligence, defense, security vetting, and corporate agencies worldwide. To showcase best practices for applying OSINT to some of the world’s biggest challenges, this section explores several key use cases: — violent extremist threat monitoring, — security vetting/insider threat, — assistance to law enforcement and — corporate supply chain protection
…meme culture is where AI-enabled risk analytics prove to be invaluable in interpreting threats that appear in the form of images, videos, written text, or digital network connections. For example, Fivecast OSINT solutions have been proven to save analyst teams hours and days of manual data manipulation with ongoing, repeatable, and automated collection and assessment of these diverse data mediums, presented in a way that makes assessment efficient. The customizable risk detection framework rapidly surfaces content of interest, including user-defined keywords, phrases, and quotes in posts, while automatically assessing images and videos for objects, memes, concepts, logos, and text (extracted through optical character recognition) of interest.
…as specialist OSINT companies move into this space, with tailored products to keep pace with the vetting, revalidation, and now continuous vetting requirements of governments and corporates, the interest in online data for vetting and insider threat use cases is steadily growing.
Continuous vetting is the ongoing, “light-touch” monitoring of security clearance holders, a considered move away from the flawed paradigm of assessing a security clearance at intervals of five and ten years. Although still in its conceptual phase in Australia, the United States is moving ahead at pace.
In October 2021, William Lietzau, the Director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, said approximately 4 million defense personnel, including military, civilians and contractors, are subject to their continuous vetting program, which is part of the agency’s Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative and security clearance process.
…If Alshamrani’s (a person accused of terrorism) account had been continuously monitored, it is likely his online activity would have alerted defense vetting agencies well before the attack took place.
OSINT is well established as a source of intelligence in law enforcement, both within Australian and partner agencies overseas. In part, this early formalization of OSINT as a primary intelligence source was necessary due to the “Going Dark” phenomenon. Going Dark was a term first coined in 2015 by then Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey to describe the effect of major telecommunications providers – device manufacturers and app developers alike – enabling end-toend encryption by default across their product ranges. The effect was to freeze out (almost totally) telecommunications intercept, the ‘wiretap’ capability, and digital forensics, the capability to ‘crack’ devices in use by criminals.
Without this baseload data collection, law enforcement rapidly pivoted to alternatives, implementing strong collection and assessment of publicly available online data to provide that broad awareness of the criminal milieu so critical to effective investigations …: OSINT directly assists surveillance by building out a target’s pattern of life prior to a team deploying in the field offering critical insights such as networks of likely social interactions, frequented locations, propensity for violence, or access to weapons. The same can be said in support of human source recruitment and management, where OSINT can be used to passively observe any changes in the interactions, motivations, and activities of an individual that may be of concern to their case officehandler.
…The ANOM app: instead of providing secure communication, it was actually a trojan horse covertly distributed by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), enabling them to monitor all communications.

CORPORATE & SUPPLY CHAIN

Fivecast was tasked to seek out supply chain risk for a global corporate in vehicle manufacturing.
By examining the company’s various subsidiaries’ official presence across three key social media platforms, analysts were able to quickly establish that protest activity was occurring against one of their manufacturing plants in Germany. Although, at the surface level, this protest activity appeared to be organized by a local trade union, Fivecast was able to establish a deeper underlying motivation by exploring the online activity of the key news agency promoting this protest activity – Rote Fahne News, the news arm of the Marxist-Leninist party of Germany. From a broad brief to discover supply chain risk across a broad portfolio, OSINT was able to establish the threat, its location, and its underlying motivation
Previously the domain of well-managed telecommunications intercept, which has all but “gone dark”, enterprise-level OSINT systems are the obvious replacement to fill that data collection gap. OSINT will become the backbone for data collection on which investigations are built. Rapidly scalable, automated, high reliability, cloud-hosted OSINT systems able to reach online data anywhere (from anywhere) will capture the digital patterns of life of an individual out to 1000s of persons of interest at once.
Machine Learning is a current application of AI-based around the idea that we should really just be able to give machines access to data and let them learn for themselves. A simple way that Fivecast defines AI/ML in OSINT is any capability informed by a model that is “trained”. In this regard, there are a range of capabilities available in advanced OSINT tools now:
— Image detection and classification (including facial recognition) – searches of complete and partial images against mass datasets to return high accuracy matches. — Automated person of interest resolution – taking basic biodata of an entity/entities, finding new data and resolving it to those entities with high accuracy. — Logo detection – recognizing simple and complex (e.g. on clothing) logos in images. — Sentiment and emotion – detection and assessment of sentiment (positive/negative) and key emotions (anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness) in text. — Text similarity – understanding the content and context of passages of text and finding similar meanings in other text (e.g. identifying threats of violence).
These capabilities are all loosely clustered around sifting and sorting functions – how to make the data haystack as manageable as possible for analysts and investigators. In the coming five years, we will very likely see a transition in the focus of the AI/ML from assistance to decision-making. The size of the data haystack is already well beyond human scale, regardless of your intelligence mission. Perhaps discomforting for some, but that point is approaching where the volume (and complexity) of final decision making will be too much - OSINT tools become so good at finding what the intelligence user demands that the tool must also make increasingly complex decisions on what to do with that data output.

Game-Changing, Actionable Intelligence with AI-Driven Computer Vision

Computer vision is a field of artificial intelligence that trains computers to interpret and understand the visual world. Using digital images from cameras and videos and deep learning models, machines can accurately identify and classify objects — and then react to what they “see.”
Data-driven organizations across all industries are unlocking actionable intelligence from real-time video data coupled with other edge sensor data like audio and biometrics, artificial intelligence (AI), and high-performance edge computing. Adding stored historical data enables a powerful method of using deep learning techniques on videos and digital images known as computer vision, and it’s not only transforming organizations, but more importantly, it’s changing how they build or deliver a product or service. According to IDC, forward-looking organizations that maximize their data to generate insights are two times more profitable and see eight times more growth than their peers.
Computer vision capabilities are fast becoming a significant contributor to that end. Analysts at Omdia expect the global computer vision software market to reach $33.5 billion by 2025 (growing at 42.1 percent year over year). Connecting computer vision to the edge directly impacts what customers do to drive revenue in their organizations. Whether it’s gaining a greater knowledge of customer behavior within a retail space, predicting failures in oil and gas pipelines, controlling autonomous vehicles in a smart city, or managing traveler flow in an airport, private and public organizations of all sizes are capitalizing on the petabytes of audio-visual data captured daily
Historical data can be used as a training archive to develop increasingly accurate models for compelling insights.
government agencies need real-time monitoring at public events or for agriculture, construction, or mining organizations requiring immediate response to system failures in the field
An agile edge-to-core computer vision platform and framework allow cognitive insights to be generated close to the data sources and saved for later use The addition of new systems designed to enhance protection can actually add security gaps and holes if they are not well integrated.
…an environment susceptible to ‘monitoring fatigue’.

Monitoring behaviors - from vehicles to people

Information technology and telecom, energy, banking and finance, transportation and border security, water, and emergency services. These critical infrastructures share a common threat of vandalism, theft and attack coupled with concerns for regulatory compliance and the liability associated with trespassing. By adding advanced perimeter security solutions, these sites can detect intruders before they breach the perimeter.
Radar detection solutions that warn of fast-approaching vehicles coupled with license plate recognition solutions can provide both advanced warning of an imminent threat and the analytics to quickly react to and mitigate potentially dangerous situations. AI-powered heat mapping and behavior analysis tools can also amplify a security team’s ability to proactively assess threats through crowd-gather alerts, wrong-way travel, and other data-driven information.
Milestone revolutionized the industry by leading the transformation from analog to IP cameras. The transformation set the stage for modern video surveillance technology. In 2014, Canon acquired Milestone…By 2019, our net revenue reached just over 143 million USD…by 2022, 215 million USD. …Today, we are present in 25 countries and with partners and customers in nearly every corner of the world.
Data-driven video technology increases the value of video streams—traditionally utilized for safety and security purposes—by combining Artificial Intelligence (AI) with video technology. For example, by adding Artificial Intelligence to the mix, we are getting things like Adaptive Video Analytics, which allow users to calibrate the AI model deployed at various sites. In practice, this means that the industry will continue to move towards embedding self-learning, self-calibrating video analytic technology into cameras and other devices, allowing them to self-adjust to changing scene conditions. All that data will be captured by the Video Management Software (VMS). In the future, this data will improve the accuracy of Video Analytics and make the value of the video streams captured, organized, and archived by the VMS incredibly important. Data-driven video technology will truly “make the world see.”
Threats, unlike any previously imagined have become real and commonplace
Preventing access to physical machines and networking using biometric credentials is in keeping with a broader industry trend to phase out easily compromised techniques such as passwords and pins.
Security no longer involves simply physical access; it now must embrace digital access and the authorization to execute transactions and services using personal devices. Examples include leveraging biometrics built into mobile devices such as mobile phones and electronic wearables to provide real-time requests for authorization to complete transactions, access systems, or to move data. Electronic objects and networks which may be connected and accessed using personal electronics include:

-The onboard computer system in vehicles, such as automobiles and scooters
-Medical devices, both external and inside the body
-Financial accounts, payment systems, and healthcare systems
-Entertainment platforms, such as video games and television
-Exercise equipment
-Luggage tracking
-Home appliances and HVAC Systems
-Access control door readers with Bluetooth technology

In the world of digital security these are all considered “connected objects.” Biometric solutions play a mission critical role in the new world of “connected objects” to provide verification and trust (certainty) of an individual’s identity for frictionless, secure physical and digital access. Biometrics provides assurance that only an authorized individual can access their “connected objects.”

Security trends to watch for in 2023

2023 will see significant adoption of AI-based analytics in cameras and video management systems (VMS) as more manufacturers provide this feature within their standard camera lines. There are simply too many camera streams for humans to monitor effectively, so AI-based analytics will be a catalyst that enables security departments to do more with less.
Video surveillance for education must integrate easily with other security applications to extend the power of the system.
...ditching manual methods once and for all.
Successful businesses are preparing their operations for the future and want a video surveillance system that is AI capable and has the flexibility to run advanced analytics. Dynamic shifts over the past few years in the way the world does business forced companies to use technology in new ways. Video surveillance systems, once only used for security, are now a tool to help optimize business operations. Businesses want an AI-ready video surveillance system that will generate useful insights from gathered data.
Over 50% of businesses are using AI in some way, with more than 25% reporting widespread AI adoption within their company, according to a 2022 AI business survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The survey shows that businesses that are not already using AI know that new, modern technologies will automate their systems and processes in the future and are budgeting for the infrastructure now.
Video surveillance systems capable of running AI help businesses scale their ability to analyze and act on data. Advanced uses include systems that can automatically detect and send real-time alerts of security threats and gather data to provide useful information like peak foot traffic or customer wait times.
In 2022 inflation broke a 40-year high. There are few indications that consumers or businesses can expect inflation relief in the cost of goods and services in the near future. Security companies must find ways to increase revenue to compensate for the higher prices in materials, overhead increases, wage inflation, and the possible attrition of customers who need to “tighten the belt.”
According to the National Apartment Association (NAA), demand for apartments is at an all-time high. The demand is driven by a number of young adults aged 18 to 24 who are delaying home ownership and an aging population sometimes choosing to live in apartments.
Parks Associates research finds that 80% of property managers plan to implement smart home devices within the next 12 months, demonstrating a strong demand for automation and operational efficiency in the MDU space (living in an apartment with a roommate, basically).
Whether for a video doorbell or freestanding camera, manufacturers are improving pixel quality, night vision, thermal vision, camera view, camera durability, battery life, and A.I. detecting capabilities.
adoption of vehicle monitoring services is on the rise
almost 50% of apartment or townhome residents report having a package theft, while over 60% of condominium residents report having a package stolen.
Overall, Swiftlane estimates $6 billion worth of packages were stolen in 2020.
Frictionless Technology Keeps Gaining Momentum
Before the pandemic, the market was moving toward frictionless options, but COVID accelerated the need for touch-free technology. Today, the frictionless user experience is here to stay, the company says, because it delivers highly secure access using biometric identifiers that are unique to each individual, have greater ease of use, and can reduce the spread of germs.
The three primary technologies used to create a frictionless experience are iris scans, facial recognition and facial authentication. Iris scans have proven to help boost security, but adoption has lagged, given the disruption it creates for movement into secure areas. Facial recognition, primarily used in mass surveillance, has shown promise, but privacy concerns have slowed adoption.
And, with the introduction of facial authentication in everyday consumer products such as the iPhone, it is becoming the go-to technology to create a frictionless environment
When facial authentication is coupled with intelligent systems, not only can someone receive real-time security alerts when unauthorized access to restricted entrances occurs, but they also get actionable data to modify user behavior.
The security industry is innovating rapidly to provide new solutions that drive revenue and customer loyalty. Product features that are cutting edge today will be expected features in base model products. Dealers need to keep abreast of the latest innovations to source products that customers will start to demand
The impact on security dealers looks to be a net positive, as the major players in the home security space are currently seeing record highs in revenue despite slowed growth and times of economic uncertainty.

Big thank to u/touny420
Here are some romanian news about Tate that global news hasn’t reported about yet :)
They wiretaped Tates phonecalls in jail. In these conversations he planned his escape to Dubai, ordered the intimidation of witnesses and tried to bribe romanian politicans. +They Found 4 instances from last 2 years where Tate bribed police to escape charges of human trafficking +Exposed him for lying about having cancer +A lot more
Wiretaped jail conversations:
1 Tate instructed his cousin Luke to call the victims and say he is a lawyer and Tate will push 200 million defamition lawsuits if they don’t drop the charges which is basically witness intimidation since his cousin is not a lawyer.
Article about him wanting to flee to Dubai and instructing his cousin to intimidate witnesses : https://m.digi24.ro/stiri/actualitate/justitie/interceptari-fratii-tate-voiau-sa-plece-in-dubai-strategia-bazata-pe-mincuni-si-santaj-pentru-a-scapa-de-arestul-preventiv-2263871
2 He also called 2 persons who he was not allowed to call trough Luke. He also ordered his assistants to say to 2 romanian politicians that Tate will reward them if they defend him and help him in this case which is bribing.
Article: https://www.gandul.ro/stiri/exclusive-the-mistake-that-nailed-andrew-and-tristan-tate-even-more-how-the-british-millionaires-fell-into-the-net-of-diicot-prosecutors-19937225
3 He told his cousin Luke to pay woman so they defend him online and even come to court and defend him and cry and put on a fake show
Is included in article from point 1
4 He told Luke to call a sheikh and order a private jet for the same day he had a 30 day hearing so he could directly fly to Dubai. Prosecutors say he wanted to flee since he wouldn’t be allowed to leave the country. Defense says he wanted to go to Dubai only for medical treatment and not flee. Same day the cancer reports leaked but then in romanian news medical documents leaked that he knew on the 03.02 he doesn’t have cancer and that was one whole month prior.
Is included in article from point 1
Doctor findings that confirm he doesn’t have cancer that he had one month before his manger posted that he has cancer :
https://www.curentul.info/actualitate/biopisa-lui-andrew-tate-arata-ca-nu-are-cancer-si-poate-suporta-arestul-preventiv/
Tates witness intimidation bribing of police and getting access to the romanian MAI (is like FBI ) database :

• They found 3 victims who went to the Bucharest police station in the last 2 years to file 4 charges (1 woman went twice). They wanted to file charges against Tate for human trafficking and his assistant Georgiana for abuse because she regularly hit the girls and forced them to work 15 hours a day. But the local police was bribed by Tate. And when they arrived police called Luana who is the former police woman who is part of Tates criminal organisation. And then Georgiana together with police intimidated the victims and stopped them from filing charges. 

https://www.gandul.ro/english/exclusive-four-complaints-for-beatings-and-other-violence-filed-on-behalf-of-the-tate-brothers-with-the-voluntari-police-all-complaints-lay-unresolved-19919120
https://www.gandul.ro/english/exclusive-voluntari-police-officers-suspected-of-helping-the-tate-brothers-escape-some-charges-former-policewoman-luana-radu-is-alleged-to-have-been-the-contact-19914600
Edit: Another woman was abused by Tates assitants and held in Tates complex. Luana part of Tates organization told the girl she has connections to police and DICOT and she won’t be able to charge Tate and his assistants. Once she escaped and went to the police they didn’t want to prosecute Tate.
https://www.gandul.ro/actualitate/exclusiv-cum-erau-chinuite-sclavele-sexuale-ale-fratilor-tate-19915461

• They also found out that Tate trough the help of Luana got acces to the datatabase of romanias MAI which is equivalent to the american “FBI” after his house raid in april of 2022 and was always checking if people were searching his name, who was coming after him and the ongoing state of the investigation 

https://www.gandul.ro/actualitate/dezvaluiri-socante-din-ancheta-fratilor-tate-fosta-politista-luana-radu-a-accesat-baza-de-date-a-mai-ca-sa-afle-date-din-ancheta-era-imposibil-fara-sprijinul-altor-persoane-19934934
Exposing Tate for lying about his jail conditions:
He has a 2 man cell with his brother which has a TV. He was also allowed to get food from fancy restaurants delivered to his jail. They also go shopping once a month for all the detained people and he usually orders fruits snacks and personal hygiene stuff.
He was so arrogant to even ask the guard to get him a ps4 and allow a hairstylist into his jail because the razors the jail gives him are not good enough
He was never in solitary confinement or mistreated like he said multiple times
Article about his jail conditions : https://www.gandul.ro/stiri/exclusive-andrew-and-tristan-tate-asked-for-playstation-and-hairstylist-in-custody-how-the-police-reacted-19934365
I used gândul news since there aren’t many other romanian news that post articles in english. If you don’t like gândul you can find these articles in other romanian news too .

At first glance, the Tim Hortons at 3433 North Road in Burnaby, British Columbia, appears to be just like any other outlet of the popular Canadian coffee chain. But for the past five years, it has unwittingly become a haven for the homeless. One woman [known as Cindy Hicks] in particular, has made this location her home, staying from the early hours of 5 AM until their closing time at 11 PM. For Hicks, it has become a sanctuary [back in 2012, Hicks was evicted from her co-op housing as reported by the Burnaby Now]— a place of refuge from the cold and cruel world that exists beyond the doors. She has become a familiar face, with regular customers and employees alike bearing witness to her daily struggle.
Despite the numerous attempts of patrons to reach out to Hicks and help her (including visits from authorities and Fraser Health, who say they’ve previously offered her options for food and shelter), she remains steadfast in her unwillingness. Well-intentioned individuals have even gone the extra mile and contacted her family members, who say they’ve had to sever ties with Hicks.
Cindy’s strained relationships with her family members, including her son, Roy Asselstine, paints a disheartening picture of her situation. According to Asselstine, his mother’s “persistent pattern of taking from others” has left the family feeling exhausted and disheartened, as her unwillingness to accept help and make meaningful changes in her life has pushed them to distance themselves.
However, she is not completely closed off to interaction. The woman will graciously accept food and coffee from kind strangers, but her reluctance to accept more comprehensive assistance has become a source of frustration for many in the community, leaving some individuals feeling that Hicks is using their generosity without making any effort to improve her situation.
Last year, a local resident, James Foster, opened his home to Cindy in an attempt to offer her refuge and support. However, Cindy did not take advantage of this opportunity to improve her situation. According to Foster, she had the chance to obtain her government identification and apply for pension benefits but refused to do so. Instead, Foster says Hicks spent “several months” sitting on his couch “in a catatonic-like state,” ultimately leading Foster to ask her to leave his home. In recent days, Cindy has been spending some nights at the home of another nearby resident, Heather Campbell. However, this arrangement has been inconsistent, and Cindy continues to return to Tim Hortons on most occasions.
Amidst the ongoing situation, Cindy’s son, Roy Asselstine, has addressed Tim Hortons staff, customers and local residents with a heartfelt plea, asking them not to enable his mother’s detrimental behavior. Roy states, “I urge everyone in the community, as well as the patrons and staff of Tim Hortons, to reconsider supporting my mother’s reliance on others. Although it may seem like a compassionate gesture, it ultimately perpetuates her struggle and hinders her from taking charge of her own life.”
Roy’s emotional appeal highlights the importance of understanding the long-term consequences of well-intentioned gestures. His words serve as a reminder that meaningful change often requires a different approach, one that doesn’t enable destructive habits, even when the intention is well-meaning and to try to provide immediate assistance. By urging the community to reconsider their actions, Roy hopes to create an environment that encourages his mother to take responsibility for her life and seek the help she needs to overcome her challenges and move towards a better future.
One would also expect Tim Hortons to address the issue of a homeless individual occupying their premises for such an extended period, but surprisingly, the company has done little to intervene. It seems that the plight of the homeless woman is a low priority for the franchise, and her presence has become an accepted, albeit unfortunate, part of the daily routine at this location.
This situation also raises several critical questions: What does this say about our society’s response to homelessness? Have we become desensitized to the point where we can sit and sip our coffee, unbothered by the person struggling to survive just a few feet away? And why has Tim Hortons, a brand synonymous with Canadian values, chosen to turn a blind eye to the plight of the homeless woman in their midst? While some may argue that the woman’s continued presence at Tim Hortons is a testament to the company’s tolerance and understanding, it is also indicative of a deeper, systemic problem. The issue of homelessness extends far beyond the doors of a single coffee shop; it is a reflection of the inadequacy of social support structures and the lack of affordable housing options for those in need.
As Canadians, we must come together to address these underlying issues and create a more compassionate and inclusive society. Providing food and coffee to a homeless individual is a kind gesture, but it is merely a temporary solution to a much larger problem. Moreover, it is crucial for businesses like Tim Hortons to play a more active role in addressing the issue of homelessness. By partnering with local organizations and advocating for social change, they can demonstrate their commitment to the communities they serve and work towards a future where no one has to call a coffee shop their home.
The story of Cindy Hicks serves as a sobering reminder of the challenges faced by many in our society. It is time for all of us — individuals, businesses, and the government — to take responsibility for the well-being of our fellow citizens and work together to create a world where everyone has access to a safe and stable environment.
Story/Source: https://medium.com/@BurnabyBulletin/burnaby-tim-hortons-becomes-haven-for-homeless-woman-30396e632f88

Tonight I went to see local news legend in Portland. I personally witnessed april asking innocent bystanders if they would come into their van to “pet their pet raccoon” I hope nobody did but I can only imagine the horrors they faced when they found a family of raccoons dressed up as different characters of twilight. There was actual rabies dripping from the ceiling. 10/10 don’t recommend unless you already have rabies

I'm at Amazon right now and as you can tell by the news there's going to be another wave of layoffs and forced RTO in May or so. The current guidelines are that RTO is only going to be for the building that's attached to your name and for me that means a local office that's about a ~35-40 minute drive. If I can stay in my current location, I have absolutely no problems with commuting to the office.
I've lost all trust in senior leadership here and I'm expecting them to come out with news saying that teams will need to move back to the original office location. In the case that happens, should I suck it up and stay here for another year and then jump ship or should I just jump ship immediately?
The tradeoff for this is a tough one. I'm up for mid-level promotion some time this year which would bring my total comp up to $252k and I really need the money to help my family with some things, at least for the next year or so. At the same time I really don't like the idea of relocating just to risk getting laid off a month or 2 later which is why I've been thinking about joining a startup as a mid-level / senior engineer with remote flexibility instead since they don't have building leases or anything to worry about.

The internet gets a bad rap, and to some extent for good reason: get-rich-quick schemes abound, influencers play of anxiety to garner big followings, and news regularly showcases humanity's worst while ignoring our best. But just like with life, the internet is what you make it. You can get swept into the latest get-rich-scheme or put in the hours learning a new skill. You can listen to partisan influencers rant about things you have no control over or organize with folks in your community to tackle real local issues. You can become jaded hearing about the latest catastrophe or be inspired reading about the latest medical or technological breakthrough.
The choice is ours.

原文链接
2015年，中国中部城市商丘——一个面积与肯塔基州相当的地级市——在制定未来20年的规划时，将自己定位为拥有庞大的铁路、公路和内河航运网络的交通枢纽。
截至2020年底，商丘已建成高铁114公里，多条铁路在商丘交汇。到2025年，商丘预计其高速公路网络覆盖率将增加87%。这座没有机场的城市正在同时建设两座机场、三条新高速公路和足够容纳2万辆汽车的额外停车位。
挥金如土的基础设施建设远未结束。2月23日，在庆祝与一家国有投资公司建立新的合作伙伴关系时，商丘市委书记重申了该市作为物流重地的愿景，这有助于商丘借钱开展更多项目。
那天早上，该市的公交运营商宣布因财政困难被迫停运。该公司表示，在疫情的沉重打击下，商丘市政府没有提供承诺的补贴。于是公司拖欠了几个月的员工工资，甚至没钱为电动公交车充电。公告在发布几小时后成为全国头条新闻，商丘市政府进行了干预，该公司删除了公告。
像商丘这样的地方眼下在中国比比皆是。作为执政的共产党今年全力推动经济增长的一部分，本已因大规模基础设施借贷而负债累累的地方政府正在承担更多债务。他们正在建设更多的公路、铁路和工业园区，然而这些经济活动的回报越来越微薄。城市苦于为新项目筹集资金以及为旧项目支付利息，正在削减公共服务和福利。
2014年，中国新疆地区第一条高速铁路试运行。 Visual China Group, via Getty Images
商丘是中国20多个因地方政府未能提供必要的运营资金而导致公交停运或陷入困境的城镇之一。武汉等城市削减了医保。还有一些城市削减了政府工作人员的工资。与北京接壤的河北省许多地方政府未能在冬季支付天然气取暖补贴，导致居民在创纪录的寒潮中受冻。
近三十年来，全世界都羡慕中国的地方政府。它们似乎拥有无限的资源来兴建机场、道路和工业园区，其中许多是通过出售土地筹集资金的。
现在，许多这样的城市都陷入财政混乱。在该国坚定推行“清零”政策的过程中，地方政府耗尽了金库来遵守严格的检测、隔离和封锁规定。企业在勉强挣扎，缴税下降。在政府一次次的打击下，房地产开发商不愿买地。
“如果土地销售没有大幅恢复，政府就没有钱花在基本服务上，”加州大学圣地亚哥分校政治学副教授史宗瀚(Victor Shih)说。“地方政府——尤其是三四线城市——仍将难以履行其许多预算义务。”
官方数据显示，截至2022年底，中国31个省级政府负债约35万亿元人民币，比三年前增长66%。国际货币基金组织的一份报告中估算的数字为9.5万亿美元（约合人民币65万亿元），相当于该国经济总量的一半。
投资是中国经济增长的惯用策略，但从这些城市接受投资的热情程度中很难看出它们已经负债累累。
官方媒体上充满令人目不暇接的新项目报道。中国经济产出最大的省份广东宣布，2023年该省将在1530个项目上投资8.5万亿元。商丘所在的河南省表示，将在2500个项目上投资1.8万亿元。
问题是，这些政府没有钱。
上海一家生产高铁部件的工厂。 Aly Song/Reuters
在中国，政府几乎拥有所有土地，多年来，许多地方政府的主要收入来源一直是向开发商出租或出售房地产。但根据财政部的数据，去年土地出让收入下降逾五分之一。由于新冠“清零”政策，中国31个省级政府全部出现赤字。根据标普全球的数据，三分之二的地方政府实体借款超过了北京设定的非官方债务门槛，截至12月，其未偿债务已超过其收入的120%。
在商丘，政府没有具体说明如何为其2023年的701个项目提供资金。该市确实表示，去年其土地销售收入是该市目标的一半，并已花费75亿用于偿债。换句话说，商丘用超过三分之一的税收收入来支付债务利息。今年，官员们寄希望于土地销售的大幅增长和税收收入的一些增长。
但商丘并不打算把这笔钱用于公共服务。相反，根据该市网站上的预算文件，该市计划削减教育、医疗、就业保护、交通和许多其他公共服务的支出。
文件称：“我们要把保障和改善民生建立在经济发展和财力可持续的基础之上。”
中国到处都是花费巨大基础设施，政府喜欢夸耀它们，但它们并不能满足公众最迫切的需求。
中国政府喜欢说中国拥有世界上最长和最快的高铁。但除了连接北京、上海、广州和深圳等特大城市的几条线路外，大多数线路的运营都低于运力，亏损严重。中国国家铁路集团去年表示，在过去十年中建造的中国高速铁路中，约80%建在偏远和贫困地区。
北京交通大学教授赵坚在一篇文章中警告说，高铁可能成为压垮中国经济的“灰犀牛”，因为许多地方政府为了建设高铁背负了大量债务。但大多数这样的铁路运送的是人，而不是货物。因此，只有在人口密集、人们愿意为速度花更多钱的地区，它们才有意义。
地方领导人对基础设施项目感兴趣，因为这些项目的经济回报虽然很少，但却有立竿见影的效果——人们可以得到建筑工作，公司可以得到建筑合同。这种短视做法在中国政治体系中占主导地位，在这种体系中，干部的职责是达成领导人设定的目标，而不考虑经济或人力成本。
去年，列车行驶在张家口和北京之间的一条专为2008年奥运会修建的铁路上。 James Hill for The New York Times
商丘市政府吹嘘说，在该市中心城区的230万居民中，每人约有14平方米的绿地。商丘今年最大的基础设施项目之一是一座湿地公园。近年来，在修建了许多通往偏僻地方的道路之后，地方政府在城市美化项目上投入了大量资金。
每个人都能拥有绿地是好事。但与中国大多数内陆城市一样，商丘并不富裕。该市的大学毕业生在社交媒体上抱怨说，很难找到一份月薪超过两千元的工作。它的基本养老金每月为老年人提供113元，今年增加了10元。
很多60岁以上的中国人都靠这样的养老金生活。根据官方数据，2021年，超过1.62亿人获得了3715亿元的基本养老金，平均每人每月约195元。居民们可能更愿意把政府花在失业保护、公共汽车服务和福利上，而不是高铁和绿地。
商丘也不例外。
今年2月，陕西省西北部蒲城的一名居民在当地政府的网上论坛上抱怨说，市中心到火车站之间没有公交服务。
“这可是最基本的民生工程都没有办到，”这位署名李宏博的居民写道。“民生这倒退了。希望相关领导能够重视一下。”

Adam and Chris discuss hangovers, roofing, and Sunny Hostin on 'The View' before playing another round of March Madness Madness. Chris reports the news, starting with a local story of a man jumping out of his speeding vehicle midcar chase. Next, the guys talk about a Dutch sperm donor facing legal action after fathering 550 children which leads to Adam wishing he could just date a version of himself. They also learn about a lab-grown meatball created with mammoth DNA.
Oz Pearlman aka 'Oz the Mentalist' joins them and explains how mentalism works before showcasing his skills on Adam and Chris. Oz also talks about ultramarathon running, bending a spoon for Larry David, and how psychics use "cold reading".
“Ah shaddup”

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MayDay Health in Boise Code enforcement in action
Are we going to start blocking websites, like Aid Access and Red State Access?
I just wish they would fix potholes and junked cars this quickly.

https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/big-sky-passenger-rail-authority-submits-proposal-for-southern-montana-passenger-service

https://apnews.com/article/disney-world-desantis-florida-theme-park-65ba19dd7af7927b07185f52d0a6e2a7
DeSantis officials have been quoted as saying they were surprised Disney didn’t push back on handing over control, but looks like they had a different plan. I had been wondering as well why Disney never made any statements about it!
From what I saw this is going to be tough to defeat in court, especially since this was all negotiated in a public forum. Looks like everything Disney need was legal and above board.
Do you think this impacts the perception of DeSantis?
Do you wish the state could have done more to curtail the operation of the business?
Here’s the article I saw saying this would be tough for Florida to defeat and that the government would as surprised when Disney didn’t fight back about having to hand over control to Reedy creek.
https://www.wftv.com/news/local/power-play-disney-handicapped-new-reedy-creek-board-before-handing-over-control/P5XHTWXIZZCCXFYXTOFKKQMLXY/

Daniel Shin, the co-founder of Terraform Labs and former CEO of Chai, has been detained by South Korea's Seoul Southern District Court. The detention review began at 10:30 local time, according to the Korean media outlet "Financial News". The reasons behind his detention have not been disclosed yet. This news has caused ripples in the cryptocurrency community, as Shin is a well-known figure in the industry and his detention could have far-reaching implications.

The Science

In some people, higher levels of progesterone cause PMS). Studies show symptoms of PMDD are also caused by progesterone through allopregnanolone.
If you have PMS caused by higher progesterone levels and/or are experiencing symptoms of PMDD, I urge you to talk with your doctor about the risks of using progestin-only birth control before beginning, so you can discuss those risks thoroughly and your progress can be monitored.
This includes hormonal IUDs. While some practitioners will tell you there are no systemic effects with hormonal IUDs, there are studies that show that they do. (Here is a another study, and even the Mirena's product information admits to some systemic side effects, such as headaches in 16.3% of their users during clinical trials.)

My Personal Experience

Before the IUD, I had very mild PMS (feeling a little slowetired/irritable) for 2-4 days in my luteal phase, which resolved before my period started. I've tracked my cycles and symptoms daily for years, and use LH tests for that extra bonus knowledge. (I have endometriosis, so I like to know when to expect my periods.) My PMS is definitely associated with the progesterone surge, and not the subsequent drop, as the drop is what seems to resolve my PMS. I also have a history of becoming depressed on oral contraceptives and the depo provera shot. However, the depo lupron shot was fine, and danazol was great. (Just today, I learned neither depo lupron nor danazol contain any form of progesterone, while oral contraceptives and depo provera do contain forms of progesterone.)
After having a Skyla IUD put in, I developed from full-blown PMDD symptoms. During the luteal phase of my cycle, I was having daily panic attacks and was depressed to the point of being suicidal. Every little thing that went wrong felt like the end of the world. My migraines, which had been manageable before, became more frequent and I started getting visual auras that completely blinded me. Whether that was from the stress of being anxious and depressed or a direct result of the IUD, I don't know.
Every time I went in to ask if my symptoms could possibly be caused by the IUD, I was told, "The hormones only act locally! There's no systemic effects!" For six months, I descended into a frenetic, panicked depression every luteal phase.
Finally, during what felt like some kind of weird disassociative break (during a luteal phase) I pulled out the IUD and I still cannot fully tell you why. I felt possessed; it was like my body was moving without my control.
After that, the nightmare wasn't fully over. I did immediately feel better after removing it, but it took months for the PMDD to wane back into PMS. Gradually, each cycle, the symptoms became less extreme. It's been 4 cycles since I've had it removed, and I'm currently in my "bad time." I felt depressed since the day before yesterday, panicky and depressed last night, and today feel a little slower but better. It's worlds away from how I was with the IUD.
Now, I don't think I actually qualify for a PMDD diagnosis, but I absolutely did when I had the IUD. I am grateful for the increased understanding of PMDD I have after this experience, and a huge amount of respect for the people who live with it and manage it. It was a living hell for me, I was a danger to myself every cycle, and so I'm glad to not be in the throes of it anymore.
To clarify: this post is not meant to scare people away from trying a hormonal IUD. If a hormonal IUD sounds like a good option for you, I support it, especially if other forms of hormonal birth control containing synthetic progesterone have been good for you. However, if you have a history of not doing well on them, please proceed with caution and discuss with your doctor. And if your doctor is not familiar with the systemic effects, consider sharing the articles about IUDs linked above so they can better help you.