| The discovery of new fast radio burst (FRBs)from an unknown source outside of our galaxy, made by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst (CHIME/FRB) Collaboration, was detailed in a report released in Nature magazine on Wednesday. Although already shrouded in mystery, what makes these FRBs, dubbed FRB 180916.J0158+65, so special is that they are the first to have produced a periodic pattern. FRB 180916.J0158+65’s cyclical pattern stretches over a 16-day period. The pattern begins with a noisy four-day period in which FRBs are emitted from the unknown source. This is followed by a 12-day period of radio silence, before the cycle starts over again. “This FRB we’re reporting now is like clockwork,”says Kiyoshi Masui, assistant professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. |
| B&G Foods has retired the black ‘chef’ mascot who once graced its Cream of Wheat packaging. B&G stated they were “initiating an immediate review of the Cream of Wheat brand packaging” because of “concerns regarding the Chef image.” The brand promised to “proactively take steps to ensure that we and our brands do not inadvertently contribute to systemic racism” and reminded consumers that they “unequivocally stand against prejudice and injustice of any kind.” Cream of Wheat fans might wonder how the anonymous smiling chef perpetuates systemic racism, but they know better than to voice their doubts out loud. No one, from large corporations to the people who buy their products, wants to be seen as racially insensitive, and the range of behaviors that fall under that heading appears to be expanding rapidly. Aunt Jemima, of pancake syrup fame, is the character based on the offensive “mammy” racial stereotype; the original model for the character was born a slave in the South. Over the last 70 years, Quaker gradually lightened Jemima’s skin and made her thinner, finally ditching her “mammy” bandana entirely for the most recent 1989 reinvention. In short, she’s been “problematic” since day one, even before you get to the ingredients in the products marketed under her name (spoiler alert: Aunt Jemima syrup contains no actual maple syrup, but it does have a lot of high fructose corn syrup). |
| An internal CIA report about the Vault 7 fiasco paints a damning picture of the main US spy agency. WikiLeaks released the CIA’s hacking tools, likely leaked by an insider, while CIA chiefs were too busy cooking up Russiagate. Vault 7 was the name given to cyber attack tools developed by the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI), and published by WikiLeaks in March 2017. It was the largest data breach in Langley’s history, with long-lasting consequences. For example, Chinese cybersecurity companies recently used Vault 7 evidence to show that the US has been hacking China for over a decade. According to a just-released internal CIA report, “CCI had prioritized building cyber weapons at the expense of securing their own systems. Day-to-day security practices had become woefully lax. Most of our sensitive cyber weapons were not compartmented, users shared systems administrator-level passwords, there were no effective removable media controls, and historical data was available to users indefinitely,” the report goes on to say. The heavily-redacted document actually dates back to October 2017 and was only made public Tuesday by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), in an effort to pressure the new Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe into imposing new security measures. While the CIA ineptitude is the obvious takeaway, no one seems to have noticed the real bombshell: the timing of the breach and its implications. |
| Sky News is the latest broadcaster in the UK to tell its staff not to tweet about politics in an attempt to portray itself as an impartial outlet. It’s time UK broadcasting grew up and admitted there is no such thing. Bias is a fact of life, everyone has prejudices about almost every facet of life. Everyone knows this, even children know it, but there seems to be one segment of society that believes it can inoculate itself against bias, British journalists. Many in this profession think they are capable of being completely fair minded. Unlike the rest of society, they think they have found clear objectivity, they just relay facts and leave it up to those watching or reading to make up their minds. The BBC, Sky, ITN and Channel 4 will all plead till the cows come home that they are impartial, even in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary. The latest indication of this is Sky News’ new guidelines for staff on social media. Such is the extent to which they believe their staff are capable of displaying impartiality, that they have banned all those who do not work in the politics department from tweeting about politics, completely. This even extends to “liking” posts that are “at odds with Sky News’ obligations and values”. |
| As a number of projects planned under government-to-government deals have sparked controversy in Nepal over their transparency, a government committee has recommended that Germany’s Munich Airport not be appointed as the operator of Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa. Located in south-central Nepal, Gautam Buddha International Airport, which will serve as the gateway to the international pilgrimage destination of Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, will be Nepal’s second international airport. “We have suggested that in view of the controversy in Nepal regarding government to government deals, Gautam Buddha International Airport’s operation should not be handed over to Germany’s Munich Airport,” said Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, joint secretary at the Ministry of Tourism. “We have suggested that the permit should be awarded through an open competition,” said Lamichhane, who led the committee. |
| Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi announced that Indonesia would prevent haj departures to Saudi Arabia this year, a decision that affected hundreds of thousands of would-be pilgrims in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Indonesia has the largest haj pilgrim quota of any country. The House of Representatives and lawmakers on Commission VIII overseeing religious affairs criticized him for not consulting with the House before deciding to cancel the 2020 haj pilgrimage over coronavirus concerns. John Kennedy Azis of the Golkar Party, a political party in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s ruling coalition, questioned Fachrul’s sudden announcement of the policy, saying there had been no pressure for the central government to announce it immediately without consulting the legislative body. Indonesia initially planned to send about 221,000 people on the annual pilgrimage, and nearly 180,000 people had already paid for the journey, Religious Affairs Ministry data shows. The government said the pilgrims would be placed on next year’s haj. |
| Police have arrested a 42-year-old church caretaker from Pancoran Mas district in Depok, West Java, over alleged sexual abuse. Parents had reported “suspicious behavior” of the caretaker, identified only as SPM, said Azas Tigor Nainggolan, the alleged victims’ attorney. “He often kissed and hugged the boys and put them on his lap. Some parents also claimed that he verbally bullied the kids,” Tigor told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. The parents reported their suspicions to the church pastor, who conducted an internal investigation. Afterward, some 20 boys reportedly came forward and said they had been molested by SPM. “The investigation revealed that SPM has been abusing kids since 2002. All the victims are male, aged 11-15,” Tigor said. |
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