Ghost Music: Spotify Playlists Contain “Anonymous, Low-Cost Playlist Filler” to Avoid Paying Royalties to Real Musicians
December 20th, 2024Give ’em what they want…
Via: Harper’s Magazine:
According to a source close to the company, Spotify’s own internal research showed that many users were not coming to the platform to listen to specific artists or albums; they just needed something to serve as a soundtrack for their days, like a study playlist or maybe a dinner soundtrack. In the lean-back listening environment that streaming had helped champion, listeners often weren’t even aware of what song or artist they were hearing. As a result, the thinking seemed to be: Why pay full-price royalties if users were only half listening? It was likely from this reasoning that the Perfect Fit Content program was created.
Blinken Admits Past 20 Years Of U.S. Regime Change Efforts Abroad Basically A Failure
December 20th, 2024
Via: ZeroHedge:
Now with just weeks to go before the Trump administration takes over the White House, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has issued some interesting and surprising admissions. He told an audience of the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday that Biden’s policy on Iran hasn’t been more muscular because Washington’s regime change efforts in the region over the past two decades have basically been failures.
It’s rare for a top official who is still in office to so bluntly describe that regime change efforts have been doomed. Blinken had been asked specifically of the US supporting Iranian opposition groups to overthrow the government in Tehran.
“I think if we look at the last 20 years, our experiments in regime change have not exactly been resounding successes,” he responded. “So, I think we have to have an appropriate degree of humility in focusing in that way on a problem.”
Ukraine: Millions of Hours of Drone Video to Train AI for Battle
December 20th, 2024Via: Reuters:
As the future of warfare pivots towards artificial intelligence, Ukraine is sitting on a valuable resource: millions of hours of footage from drones which can be used to train AI models to make decisions on the battlefield.
AI has been deployed by both sides on the battlefield during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to identify targets, scanning images far quicker than a human can.
FAA Temporarily Bans Drones in Parts of New Jersey
December 19th, 2024Via: ABC News:
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ban on drone operations in several areas of New Jersey until Jan. 17, unless operators are granted special permission from the government due to “special security reasons.”
…
The temporary flight restrictions, which are set to last until Jan. 17, have been implemented beginning Wednesday in the following locations: Hamilton, Bridgewater, Cedar Grove, North Brunswick, Metuchen, Evesham, Camden, Gloucester City, Westampton, South Brunswick, Edison, Branchburg, Sewaren, Jersey City, Harrison, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Winslow, Burlington, Clifton, Hancocks Bridge and Kearny.
Related: Multiple Drone Incursions Confirmed Over Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
The Traditional House “Continuing Resolution” Fraud
December 18th, 2024The 1,547-page, $110+ Billion House “Continuing Resolution” meant to avert a government shutdown includes:
-A pay increase for members of Congress from $174,000 to $243,000 per year.
-A new football stadium in D.C.
-72 pages of “Pandemic Preparedness and Response” policy
-…— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) December 18, 2024
Via: Truthstream Media:
Dow Jones Industrial Average, 10th Straight Down Session, Longest Losing Streak Since 1974
December 18th, 2024Via: Yahoo Finance:
Stocks were clobbered Wednesday after the Federal Reserve, despite slashing interest rates by 25 basis points, signaled it would cut fewer times next year than previously projected.
All three major reversed gains following the decision to end with steep losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 2.6%, or over 1,000 points, clinching its 10th straight down session, the longest losing streak since 1974. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell roughly 3%, and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid more than 3.5%.
Australian Drug Regulator Knows DNA Fragments in mRNA Vaccines Can Enter Nucleus and Integrate into Genome
December 18th, 2024Via: Dystopian Down Under:
Internal emails from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) reveal that the regulator withheld knowledge of DNA contamination risks relating to the modRNA vaccines from the public, presenting a picture of certainty on safety where there is none.
Released under Freedom of Information (FOI), the cache of emails shows that high-level TGA staff knew elements of the modRNA vaccines can enter the cell nucleus and integrate into the genome, despite the agency’s official line that such events are not possible.
However, TGA personnel appear more preoccupied with “allaying fears in the public” than with investigating the potential risks.
Big Brother Camera Surveillance Changes Visual Perception
December 18th, 2024Via: Study Finds:
The results were remarkable: “Our surveilled participants became hyper-aware of face stimuli almost a second faster than the control group. This perceptual enhancement also occurred without participants realizing it,” says Seymour. This held true whether the faces were looking directly at them or away, though both groups detected direct-gazing faces more quickly overall.
This heightened awareness appears to tap into ancient survival mechanisms. “It’s a mechanism that evolved for us to detect other agents and potential threats in our environment, such as predators and other humans, and it seems to be enhanced when we’re being watched on CCTV,” Seymour explains.
Importantly, this wasn’t simply due to participants trying harder or being more alert under surveillance. When the researchers ran the same experiment using simple geometric patterns instead of faces, there was no difference between the watched and unwatched groups. The enhancement was specific to social stimuli – faces – suggesting that surveillance taps into fundamental neural circuits evolved for processing social information.
Russia Claims Cancer Vaccine Ready for Use in 2025
December 17th, 2024Via: Daily Mail:
Russia’s health ministry claims it has developed a vaccine against cancer that will be rolled out to patients for free.
Andrey Kaprin, who heads the Radiology Medical Research Center of the Ministry of Health, said the shot will launch in early 2025, according to state-run media.
The vaccine will apparently be used to treat cancer patients, rather than being given to the general public to prevent tumors from forming in the first place.
Previous comments by Russian government scientists suggest each shot is personalized for the individual patient, which is similar to cancer vaccines being developed in the West.
It is currently not clear which cancers the vaccine is designed to treat, how effective it is or how Russia plans to roll it out.
The name of the vaccine has not been revealed.
Ukraine Assassinates Russian General in Moscow
December 17th, 2024Via: Daily Mail:
One of Vladimir Putin’s top army generals in charge of nuclear and biological forces has been killed in an explosion after a bomb hidden in an electric scooter was detonated outside his apartment in Moscow.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov died in the blast moments after he emerged from his apartment block with his assistant, who was also killed.
He is believed to be the most senior military officer to be assassinated since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
