Four fixes to rescue Toronto’s downtown + a teen sues the TDSB and police
The Toronto Star
23-05-16 11:25
Auto giant Stellantis warned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in April that it could pull out of a multibillion-dollar EV deal to build an electric vehicle battery factory in Windsor, Ontario unless the federal government raised its subsidy offer to match those given to Volkswagen in the US. Stellantis has already suspended construction work at the Windsor facility. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the situation was a cause for concern and called on Trudeau to offer more support, while Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland called for Ontario to contribute further funds to the deal.
Elon Musk claims George Soros ‘hates humanity.’ The ADL says Musk’s attacks ‘will embolden extremists’
CNN
23-05-16 16:34
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has come under fire for baseless comments on Twitter that accused philanthropist George Soros of hating humanity and eroding the fabric of civilisation. Soros, a Holocaust survivor, is frequently targeted by conspiracy theorists and antisemites. Musk's remarks have been criticised by the Anti-Defamation League and others for potentially fueling further attacks on Soros. Recent data suggests that the volume of hate speech on Twitter has grown significantly under Musk's ownership of the social media network. Soros disclosed, shortly before Musk’s attack, that he had disposed of a modest stake in Tesla. Both men had been targets of short sellers.
Twitter, Saudi Arabia and a number of individuals are being sued by a humanitarian aid worker accused of being a dissident, who claims an attempt was made to silence him. Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, who had worked for the Red Crescent in Riyadh, used an anonymous Twitter account to criticise Saudi Arabia in 2018. He was later taken away by Saudi authorities but it remains unclear how he was linked to the Twitter account. Al-Sadhan has now filed a federal racketeering lawsuit against Twitter, which lost its public relations office under Elon Musk in 2020, and the kingdom. The suit also names Ahmad Abouammo, Ali Alzabarah and Ahmed Al-Mutairi.
Google has said it will delete personal accounts that have been inactive for two years in an effort to improve security by reducing the threat from hacking. Affected users will receive a number of notifications from Google to their account address and recovery email address prior to the accounts being deleted. The new policy applies across Google Workspace services and apps including YouTube, Google Photos, Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet and Calendar.
Twitter has been sued in the Northern District of California by an American citizen, Areej Al-Sadhan, who argues the social media firm let employees reveal the identity of her brother, police detainee Abdulrahman Sadhan, to Saudi agents. The leak led to his incarceration. The suit cites repeated security failures at Twitter, which reportedly allowed spies working for the platform to send details on thousands of anonymous users to the Saudi government, while royal funds were invested in the company, making the country a large shareholder. Various Saudi officials and the kingdom itself are named as defendants in the suit. The filing hinges on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute. The case is the latest to be brought against Twitter over allegations it upheld Saudi practices against dissidents.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been accused of sparking anti-Semitic sentiment after likening George Soros to the Jewish X-Men villain Magneto and alleging that the billionaire philanthropist "hates humanity". His comments attracted criticism, including from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which said Soros was often "held up by the far-right, using anti-Semitic tropes, as the source of the world’s problems”. Documents filed last week revealed that Soros Fund Management had sold its entire $16m allocation of Tesla shares in Q1 2023.
Facebook and Instagram have launched a £10 paywall allowing users to pay monthly for a verified profile, offering access to extra features such as two-factor authentication. Named Meta Verified, it requires users to upload their government-issued ID to the website. iPhone users of either app must pay £11.99 per month due to a purchase surcharge applied through Apple's App Store. Twitter recently launched a blue tick system overhaul, allowing users to buy verified profiles for $8 each. Silicon Valley companies have collectively announced hundreds of thousands of redundancies following a weakened demand post-pandemic.
Lawyers for Tesla say an appeals court should reconsider a ruling that it breached labor law when CEO Elon Musk warned employees about the possible loss of stock options if they backed unionization. A tweet sent by Musk in 2018 included the statement "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing?" The tweet breached the National Labor Relations Act's prohibition on threatening to retaliate against employees for union organizing.
Tesla's lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling that CEO Elon Musk unlawfully threatened employees with a loss of stock options in a 2018 Twitter post amid a union organizing effort at a Fremont, California, facility. Three judges had upheld a National Labor Relations Board ruling concerning the tweet. Tesla wants the full 17-member court to hear the case. The company also argues that the tweet was protected by free speech laws and that the fired Tesla employee was let go over providing false documentation concerning employee harassment.
Martha Stewart at age 81 has become the oldest cover model for Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit edition. The celebrity, who was photographed in swimsuits in the Dominican Republic in January, said that she wanted to show that a woman of her age could still look good. Sports Illustrated has diversified its models in recent years, with a transgender model featuring in its 2020 edition.
Tesla will launch advertising for its electric vehicles for the first time, said CEO Elon Musk at the company’s investor day. Tesla has previously relied on word of mouth and incentivised referrals for marketing. Musk said that the Tesla ads would be aesthetically pleasing and informative. In a follow-up interview with CNBC’s David Faber, Musk also stated that Tesla’s “full self-driving” technology will allow for vehicle leasing within a robotaxi fleet in 2021. The Tesla founder also argued that remote working was “morally wrong” and that China needed to be taken at its word that it views Taiwan as integral to the country. He suggested that if China took Taiwan, it would harm all international businesses and companies that rely on the nation for manufacturing. Musk also noted that Twitter, which he acquired last year, had recently experienced a $40m loss due to ads being checked for accuracy and subsequently labelled “misleading”.
The CEO of AI firm OpenAI, Sam Altman, has called for the creation of a licensing body for the world's most powerful AI algorithms. Speaking at a hearing of the US Senate this week, Altman said that, as AI became more advanced, people were understandably anxious about its power and how it could change human lives. He recommended that a new agency should ensure compliance with safety standards for use of AI, including its ability to generate misleading and false statements. The proposed agency could license the most powerful AI systems and withdraw that licence where any risks were identified.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting that a self-driving upgrade for the company’s vehicles was getting close to being safer than human driving. He also told the meeting in Texas that the car and solar panel manufacturer would try some advertising. While relying on Musk to generate free publicity, Tesla has avoided paid advertising, a strategy Musk had once described as Apple's ‘graveyard’. The decision followed a call by one shareholder for the company to advertise, an idea, Musk indicated, had merit.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has told US legislators that government regulation over AI is essential to mitigate risks posed to humanity. Speaking at a US senate judiciary subcommittee, Altman said “if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong”. Despite ongoing political divisions, he urged Congress to introduce rules aimed at regulating tech companies. OpenAI was founded to improve lives with AI, but regulation is necessary due to concerns over disinformation, job security and other dangers, Altman said. He proposed the formation of a US or global agency to license the most powerful AI systems, having authority to intervene.
Martha Stewart's breaking barriers with Sports Illustrated cover and that's a good thing ... right?
CBC
23-05-17 08:00
Martha Stewart stars as the oldest-ever Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model at the age of 81. The magazine has been actively trying to diversify their cover stars, featuring women of all ages and backgrounds to address ageism criticism, with editor-in-chief MJ Day stating that the publication is targeting a demographic of women previously overlooked. However, critics have questioned whether the magazine’s objectification of women is a barrier that needs breaking, with one fashion editor describing the narrative as ‘slightly more complicated than one of straightforward celebration’.
Linda Yaccarino, a veteran media executive and former chairman of NBC Universal Advertising and Partnerships, has been named CEO of Twitter, replacing Elon Musk. Musk, who is still executive chair and owner, will retain the CTO role, where he will oversee product technology and system operations. The move is expected to help Twitter recover from a period of turmoil during Musk's six-month tenure, when many of the company's top advertisers left because of concerns about offensive or toxic content, as well as layoffs within the company's ad and safety teams. Yaccarino's extensive advertising experience means she is expected to attract more top advertisers to the platform, but she may struggle with Musk's outspoken opinions as Twitter's most followed user. Yaccarino's remit is unclear, and top talent in tech may be reluctant to join the company, given Musk's history of upending Twitter's culture and cutting staff.
France is surpassing Britain as a leader in Europe and making progress with its big business investment and tech start-ups. With infamous hurdles such as a 35-hour week, high taxes and lengthy lunches, British business leaders have dismissed the French efforts to improve. This couldn't be further from the truth and France is beginning to outshine great britain through reforms, pro business and pro innovation engagements — wooing global corporations such as Tesla and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to invest in France.
Despite China’s weak electric vehicle (EV) sales this year, Li Auto has set new sales records in April, reflecting the company’s confidence in design and battery technology. The Beijing-based start-up sold 25,681 units in April, up from 23.3% the previous month, making it the closest challenger to Tesla in the world's largest EV market. Li Auto stepped up production of its high-end models amid a bruising industry price war, however, it resolutely stayed out of the price cutting frenzy amongst its rivals.
The Dutch government could limit cattle numbers to two cows per field the size of a football pitch as part of efforts to reduce polluting methane emissions and help the Netherlands meet EU climate targets. The limit, which the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has not yet approved, would toughen the existing average of 2.5 cows per hectare. Farmers have protested widely against environmental measures which they claim damage their livelihoods, with the farmer-backed Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) becoming the largest party in all 12 Dutch provinces in regional elections earlier this year.
Twitter has drawn criticism for purging accounts, including those that have been inactive for years, some of which belonged to deceased individuals whose profiles served as a lasting digital legacy. Although Facebook and Instagram allow users to ask that an account be closed or memorialised, Twitter offered no such option. Social networks have struggled to formulate policies on how best to preserve the online footprints of deceased users. Elon Musk, recently appointed CEO of Twitter, announced that dormant accounts would be being deleted. Some users and experts have questioned whether archiving the deleted accounts would be sufficient, or whether that archive would be archived and appropriately curated.
