Racism is 'unfortunately part of' football said Bristol Rovers forward Shaq Forde, after he was sent online abuse last month.

It’s been 11-years since I have written about the PowerShell Toolkit that was originally created by the development team in SDL.  Back then I was able to fumble my way through setting it up, editing a few files, and automating the creation of a project in Trados Studio.  In all the time since then it’s … Continue reading Trados Studio – Powershell Trilogy Part 1

Cuando comencé este blog por el año 2008, me propuse encontrar y compartir información valiosa para nosotros, los traductores junior, y por eso siempre tomé como referencia a muchos profesionales con más experiencia en esta profesión.

Uno de ellos es Miguel Llorens, el traductor financiero, que con su inteligencia y sarcasmo me resonaba un poco al Dr. House de la traducción.

Miguel es, tiempo presente, porque las personas que dejan huellas profundas, en algunos o no tanto en otros, no se van. Su energía deambula en los pensamientos de aquellos que mascullando sobre algún tema traductoril percibe el roce ligero de su impresión.

Por eso nos encontraremos a la vuelta de la esquina o de algún término enrevesado.

This is the last part of a series on training for legal translators. See the first post here. To put yourself on the path to becoming a good legal translator, you need to make one big study commitment. A big study commitment is anything that takes at least a year, challenges you, and costs a lot of […]

How should you translate into English the terms de una parte and de otra parte that you find at the start of Spanish contracts?   What’s the job of de una parte and de otra parte in a Spanish contract? If you’ve read a couple of Spanish contracts, this seems obvious. But there is a […]

L'actualité aidant, une personne sur twitter a exhumé un vieux billet que j'avais écrit en Mai 2011. A l'époque, je parlais du Parti Socialiste... sans fausse modestie, j'avais vu plutôt juste... Aujourd'hui, on peut déjà parler d'un autre "parti" mais...

1. Trump says Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency  The Globe and Mail
2. Why is Elon Musk becoming Donald Trump's efficiency adviser?  BBC.com
3. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead new 'Department of Government Efficiency' in Trump administration  CTV News
4. George Conway: Musk, Ramaswamy to lead ‘nonexistent department’  The Hill

Les pycnogonides, une espèce marine apparentée aux araignées, peuvent faire repousser des parties du corps après amputation, et pas seulement de simples membres, selon une étude publiée lundi, ouvrant la voie à de nouvelles découvertes sur la régénération.

"Personne ne s'attendait à cela", a déclaré Gerhard Scholtz de la prestigieuse université Humboldt à Berlin, et l'un des auteurs principaux de cette étude parue dans la revue Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Nous avons été les premiers à démontrer que c'était possible", a-t-il ajouté. Il est connu qu'une multitude d'espèces d'arthropodes tels que les mille-pattes, les araignées ou d'autres insectes peuvent faire repousser une patte après l'avoir perdue.

"Les crabes peuvent même se débarrasser automatiquement de leurs membres s'ils sont attaqués", a déclaré Gerhard Scholtz, précisant: "ils les remplacent par un nouveau membre". Ce que les chercheurs ont découvert à travers leurs expériences avec ces minuscules créatures à huit pattes, est qu'elles sont capables de régénérer même d'autres parties du corps. Pour l'étude, ils ont amputé différents membres et parties postérieures du corps de 23 pycnogonides juvéniles et adultes, et ont observé les résultats.

Repousse d'un corps à partir de seulement quelques cellules

Aucune régénération de parties du corps n'a été constatée dans les spécimens adultes, mais certains étaient toujours en vie après deux ans. Les spécimens juvéniles, en revanche, ont connu une régénération complète ou quasi-complète des parties du corps manquantes, y compris l'intestin postérieur, l'anus, la musculature, et certaines parties d'organes génitaux.

A long terme, 90% des pycnogonides ont survécu, et 16 spécimens juvéniles ont effectué leur mue par la suite au moins une fois. La régénération postérieure a ainsi été constatée chez 14 des spécimens juvéniles tandis qu'aucun des spécimens adultes n'a mué ou ne s'est régénéré. Les capacités de régénération varient à travers le règne animal.

Les vers plats, par exemple, peuvent faire repousser leur corps à partir de seulement quelques cellules. Les vertébrés, dont les hommes, n'ont quasiment aucune capacité de régénération à l'exception de quelques espèces comme les lézards, qui peuvent faire repousser leurs queues.

Selon Gerhard Scholz, les résultats de l'étude ouvrent de nouvelles voies de recherche dans le domaine. "Une multitude d'espèces différentes peuvent être testées de cette manière", dit-il, ce qui pourrait permettre de comparer les mécanismes de régénération. "Au bout du compte, peut-être que les mécanismes que nous découvrons chez les arthropodes nous aiderons dans les traitements médicaux après la perte d'un membre, d'un doigt, etc... chez les humains", espère le chercheur.

Based on a survey of 2548 American adults conducted by Pew Research Center in 2021, this study finds that trust in the accuracy of news circulated on X (former Twitter) is positively correlated with following news sites on X, underscoring the crucial role of trust in news accuracy in shaping news-seeking behaviour. Trust in news accuracy also positively relates to political participation via X. Those who trust in news accuracy are more likely to perceive X as an effective tool for raising public awareness about political and social issues, as well as a positive force for democracy. However, exposure to misinformation weakens the connection between trust in news accuracy and users' perception about X as an effective tool for raising public awareness about political or social issues and as a positive driver for democracy.

The study investigated the influence of ebullient supervision on employee commitment in a Ghanaian public university through the mediating role of employee engagement. The simple random sampling technique was used to draw 302 administrative staff of the university to respond to the self-administered questionnaire on the constructs. Furthermore, the partial least square structural equation technique was deployed to test the research hypotheses in the study. The results showed that ebullient supervision had a significant positive relationship with employee commitment and employee engagement. The findings further revealed that employee engagement positively correlated with employee commitment. Finally, the study's findings established that employee engagement partially mediated the link between ebullient supervision and employee commitment. The study emphasised that various supervisors in a university's administration should create an environment that favours fun where subordinates can form ties with one another.

Internship courses, unlike others, are multi-pronged because they require coordination at different levels. Typically, a faculty member coordinates the communication and implementation at each level to achieve the desired outcomes. We call the position that this faculty holds the “internship coordinator”. For the work of the internship coordinator to be successful, he/she may need to synchronize the work of the internship with all parties involved. Failure to coordinate at one level or another may affect the work of other parties involved in completing the internship for the students. This paper explains the experience of an internship program at the computer science department (COSC) at Indiana University Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). We focus on the work of the internship coordinator for this program and his work to communicate and coordinate to successfully implement the internship experience for the students. We first discuss the theoretical foundation that led to the development of internship programs in academia and then elaborate on the multiple levels of the role of the internship coordinator in completing the internship experience for the students.

Aim/Purpose: The study aims to explore the attributes of self-phubbing and partner-phubbing, as well as their impact on marital relationship satisfaction and the quality of communication. Furthermore, it aims to comprehend how these characteristics could impact an individual’s total level of life satisfaction. Background: The study aims to establish a clear association between specific mobile phone usage behaviors and their subsequent impact on relationship satisfaction and the quality of communication. This study investigates the effects of two types of behaviors on interpersonal relationships: self-phubbing, which refers to an individual being deeply absorbed in their own mobile phone use, and partner-phubbing, which refers to witnessing one’s partner being deeply absorbed in a mobile device. Methodology: This study utilizes a quantitative approach. The poll involved 150 smartphone users in Malaysia who are in relationships, and they participated by completing a questionnaire. The data analysis was performed using the Partial Least Squares-based Structural Equation Modeling method. Contribution: This research addresses the gap and gives insight into the consequences of self and partner phubbing and its impact on the relationship and life satisfaction among partners by providing a research model that was validated with primary data. Findings: The results of this survey show that smartphone conflicts harm relationship satisfaction but not communication quality. It was revealed that communication quality does not directly bring a negative impact on life satisfaction, but it directly affects relationship satisfaction, which, in turn, harms life satisfaction. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings of this study can be used by practitioners to improve relationship counseling and therapy. Through the integration of the notion of phubbing and its impact on relationship happiness, couples can receive guidance on how to reduce the tension that arises from using smartphones. Recommendation for Researchers: Previous research was conducted exclusively on only an individual’s phubbing behavior, but limited work was done on the partner’s phubbing behavior. Future researchers can enhance this model by identifying more factors. Impact on Society: This study addresses broader societal ramifications in addition to the dynamics of particular relationships. This study promotes a more mindful use of smartphones by exposing the complex relationships between technology use, relationship happiness, and general life contentment. This will ultimately lead to healthier relationships and improved societal well-being. Future Research: In the future, we are going to implement an artificial neural network approach to test this data to predict the most important factors that influence phubbing.

If partnering with local firms is an intuitive strategy with which to mitigate uncertainty in foreign ventures, then why don't organizations always partner with local firms, especially in uncertain settings? We address this question by unbundling the effects of uncertainty in foreign ventures at the venture and country levels. We contend that, while both levels increase the need for partnering with local firms in foreign ventures, country-level uncertainty increases the difficulty of partnering with local firms and decreases the likelihood of such partnerships. We also posit that experiential learning helps firms manage the two types of uncertainty, and thereby reduces the need for partnering—yet, experience in the host country makes partnering more feasible and increases the likelihood of such partnerships. To test our hypotheses, we conceptualize the decision to partner with a local firm in a foreign venture as a multilayered decision, and model it accordingly. Using a global sample of venture capital investments made between 1984 and 2011, we find support for the distinct effects of venture- and country-level uncertainty as well as for corresponding levels of experiential learning. These findings have implications for the literature on cross-border venture capital investment and international business in general.

Literature on partnerships has grown rapidly in the past decade across different disciplines. However, despite conceptual attention to the value of strategic multi-stakeholder collaboration to promote peace and reconciliation, challenges posed by (post-)conflict, fragile contexts have barely been considered in empirical studies. In this article we contribute by bringing together debates from different partnership literatures and providing an overview of existing, relatively limited research insights on partnerships for peace in fragile states. We present a typology of different levels (local, national, international) at which collaboration takes place and different types of partnerships (philanthropic, transactional, engagement, transformative). This is exemplified with specific attention to Africa, where most fragile states are found, and to partnerships with transformative potential. The analysis suggests that the lowest-level (local) partnerships tend to exclude the national government, while the most recent international, multilateral-driven collaboration has not included business; national cases are most transformative but incidental and not yet leveraged internationally. Despite the interconnected nature of conflict and fragility issues, linkages between partnerships and partners at different levels are largely missing, offering potential for further development by a broad spectrum of scholars and thought leaders. Insights from 'extreme' unconventional contexts thus have relevance for management research more generally.

"Best Places to Work" (BPTW) and similar competitions are a proliferating form of third party employment branding. Little is known, however, about how single or repeated third party employment branding occurrences relate to key human capital outcomes. Extending signaling theory by considering signal credibility and comparability, we use archival and survey data from 624 BPTW participants in sixteen competitions across a three-year period to develop and test hypotheses linking BPTW certifications to collective turnover rates and key informant perceptions of applicant pool quality. We find that certifications are associated with lower turnover rates, and in addition, propose competing crystallization and celebrity hypotheses that model turnover trajectories with repeated certifications, finding diminishing marginal turnover reductions across multiple certifications. We also examine company size and industry job opening moderators, finding that as certifications increase, applicant pool quality is (1) higher in smaller companies and (2) higher when job openings are scarcer. Finally, beyond being certified or not, we find supplemental evidence for effects of the specific certification level achieved (e.g., 2nd versus 15th). This investigation advances theory related to collective turnover, applicant pool quality, and employment branding, and is relevant to company decisions about seeking or re-seeking third party certifications.

Female corporate leadership has drawn increasing attention from academia and practitioners. We contribute to the literature by examining the impact of CEO succession with gender change—i.e., a male CEO succeeded by a female or vice versa. We propose that due to gender differences in executive leadership positions, CEO succession with gender change may amplify the disruption of the CEO succession process and thus adversely affect post-succession firm performance and increase the likelihood of successor early departure. Using data from 3,320 CEO successions in companies listed in China's Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 1997 to 2010, we find evidence to support this argument. We also find that the negative (positive) impact of male-to-female succession on firm performance (the likelihood of successor early departure) may be weakened by positive organizational attitudes toward female leadership as indicated by the presence of other female leaders on the firm's board of directors and/or top management team, and the successor's inside origin.

Management scholars have noted that leader departures often foreshadow higher turnover intentions (or lower organizational attachment) by subordinates left behind, especially when relationships between the departing leader and the subordinates, or leader-member exchanges (LMX), had been of high quality. In this paper, we posit that the quality of subordinates' relationships with all members of their relational system, not only their leader, must be considered to better understand how leader departures affect subordinates' organizational attachment. Our proposed relationships are illustrated in a theoretical model that includes phenomena at the individual-level (i.e., a subordinate's identification with the departing leader and with his/her organization), at the group-level (i.e., turnover contagion), and at the organizational level (i.e., organization-wide developmental climate). As such, we propose that elucidating how leader-departures affect organizational attachment requires multi-level theorizing and constructs. Theoretical and practical implications of such a 360-degree relational perspective on leader-departure effects are discussed.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency, rewarding two of Trump’s well known supporters from the private sector.

Musk and Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,“ Trump said in a statement.

Trump said the new department “will provide advice and guidance from outside of government,“ signaling the entity would operate outside the confines of government.

However, it would work with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach” to government never seen before.

Trump said their work would conclude by July 4, 2026, making it a “gift” to the country on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Musk, ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world, already stood to benefit from Trump’s victory, with the billionaire entrepreneur expected to wield extraordinary influence to help his companies and secure favorable government treatment.

Musk gave millions of dollars to support Trump’s presidential campaign and made public appearances with him. Trump had said he would offer Musk a role in his administration promoting government efficiency.

He has many links to Washington, opens new tab and his lineup of companies includes electric car company Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, social media platform X and rocket company SpaceX.

“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk said, according to Trump’s statement, which called the new government initiative “potentially ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,“ referring to the U.S. plan to build the atomic bomb that helped end World War Two.

Ramaswamy is the founder of a pharmaceutical company who ran for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump and then threw his support behind the former president after dropping out.

“We will not go gently, @elonmusk,“ Ramaswamy said on X.

Musk reposted the announcement from Trump on his X account and added comments such as that, “The merch will be (fire),“ using three fire emojis, and, “People have no idea how much this will move the needle!”

He also posted: “Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!”

The acronym of the new department - DOGE - coincides with the name of the cryptocurrency dogecoin that Musk promotes.

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NEW DELHI: A toxic haze enveloped India’s national capital on Wednesday morning as temperatures dropped and pollution surged, reducing visibility in some parts and prompting a warning from airport authorities that flights may be affected.

Delhi overtook Pakistan’s Lahore as the world’s most polluted city in Swiss group IQAir’s live rankings, with an air quality index (AQI) score of more than 1,000, considered “hazardous”, but India’s pollution authority said the AQI was around 350.

Officials were not immediately available to explain the variation.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the pollution had reduced visibility to 100 metres (328 feet) in some places by around 8 a.m. (0230 GMT).

“Low visibility procedures” were initiated at the city’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, operator Delhi International Airport Limited said in a post on social media platform X.

“While landing and takeoffs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected,“ the authority said.

CAT III is a navigation system that enables aircraft to land even when visibility is low.

The IMD said the city’s temperature dropped to 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday morning from 17.9C on Tuesday, and may fall further as sunlight remains cut off due to the smog.

Delhi battles severe pollution every winter as cold, heavy air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from farm fires set off illegally in the adjoining, farming states of Punjab and Haryana.

Previously, authorities have closed schools, placed restrictions on private vehicles, and stopped some building work to curb the problem.

The city’s environment minister said last week that the government was keen to use artificial rain to cut the smog.

Pakistan’s Punjab province, which shares a border with India, has also banned outdoor activities, closed schools, and ordered shops, markets and malls to close early in some parts in an effort to protect its citizens from the toxic air.

KUALA LUMPUR: AutoCount Dotcom Bhd (ADB), via its wholly-owned subsidiary Auto Count Sdn Bhd (ACSB), partnered with IAB LCCI Ltd, a collaboration formed following the Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers’ (IAB) acquisition of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) qualifications.

This agreement sets the stage for Asia’s first Cloud Accounting Certification Program, which will equip finance professionals with essential skills for the digital era.

The program will be launched on January 1, 2025, marking a significant step forward in modernising the region’s accounting landscape.

Under this collaboration, ADB will design the certification curriculum around its AutoCount Cloud Accounting software.

The syllabus will be submitted to IAB LCCI for accreditation.

IAB LCCI is regulated by the UK’s Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), enhancing the certification’s credibility and alignment with global standards.

With LCCI’s extensive reach across Asia, the certification will be accessible through its network of educational centres and partner institutions, providing aspiring accountants with in-demand cloud accounting expertise.

ADB CEO Yan Tiee Choo said this collaboration with IAB LCCI allows the company to empower the next generation of accountants across Asia.

“Our goal is to provide a practical and accessible path to certification in cloud accounting, supporting not only recent SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) graduates but also those seeking to upskill in a fast-changing industry.

“Together, we are paving the way for a more adaptable, technology-driven accounting workforce across the region,“ he said.

Bursa Malaysia-listed ADB is a leading provider of accounting and business software solutions.

IAB Group and IAB LCCI CEO Sarah Palmer said LCCI has been a leader in offering globally recognised qualifications for over 120 years.

“Our partnership with ADB reflects our shared commitment to advancing the accounting profession by equipping future finance professionals with relevant, high-quality skills.

“By collaborating with ADB, a pioneer in cloud accounting solutions, we ensure that this certification meets the industry’s evolving needs and helps individuals succeed in a digital-first finance sector,“ she said.

The certification offers a clear advantage for students and professionals looking to expand their accounting capabilities.

By learning on ADB’s cloud platform, candidates will gain hands-on experience in digital accounting practices, preparing them for careers in an increasingly automated finance landscape.

With the signing of this agreement, ADB solidifies its position as a leader in cloud accounting solutions and furthers its commitment to innovation in financial technology and education.

This partnership aligns with ADB’s vision to become Asia’s top business software provider, fostering a future-ready workforce and advancing the region’s digital transformation.

CONTINENTAL has launched its Mini Program on the TNG eWallet, allowing Malaysian drivers to purchase Continental tyres with ease through their mobile phones. This launch is celebrated with exclusive promotions from 7 November to 30 November, coinciding with the 11.11 Mega Sale. Customers can enjoy up to RM1 million in cashback, with an average of 15% per transaction.

Additionally, any customer spending a minimum of RM300 from 7 November 2024 to 31 January 2025 will be entered into a lucky draw, with one entry for each RM300 spent. The grand prize includes a gold bar worth RM10,000, with other prizes like three iPhone 16 Pros, two PS5 consoles, two Huawei MatePad 11.5” PaperMatte Editions, and two Trapo Vouchers. Weekly winners can also receive cashback, a Limited-Edition Continental x Touch ‘n Go NFC Card, and more.

Andrea Somorova, Managing Director of Continental Tyre Malaysia, shared that this partnership reinforces Continental’s commitment to digital innovation and customer convenience in Malaysia, expanding their reach through the TNG eWallet alongside existing platforms like Shopee and Lazada. Alan Ni, CEO of TNG Digital, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the TNG eWallet’s role as a lifestyle app, which, with over 22 million verified users, now offers a streamlined, digital tyre purchase and installation experience.

The Mini Program simplifies tyre shopping by helping users find the right tyre pattern and size, apply promo codes, select dealers, and schedule installations at over 120 Continental outlets across Malaysia. Once payment is confirmed, customers can proceed to their selected dealer for free installation, with balancing and optional alignment services.

Unable to get untracked in a backside start, Mikha Fortuna unleashed a strong finishing kick, birdying the last two holes to post a three-under 69 and trail Thai PK Kongkraphan by four at the start of the Party Golfers Ladies Open.

Weathermen say occasional dust storm and dusty winds may also blow for the next four to five days

Met Office warns rains may generate urban flooding; asks travellers, tourists to take extra caution

Both flirt with a problematic undercurrent - one that glosses over, if not romanticises, domestic violence

Tremors reported in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan, Lakki Marwat, Swat, Chitral, Faisalabad and other areas

Yves Saint Laurent will be well-liked simply by folks around the globe. Whether it's in fashion or perhaps inside our lifestyle, YSL handbags replica are usually just about the most well-known totes on the list of known as brand names. The particular reputation of our own Yves Saint Laurent totes duplicate just isn't integrated 1 day. To be able to thank you for our beloved fans’ help, we have been building a lower price inside our cheap YSL bags. Yves Saint Laurent totes duplicate are usually...

Posts circulating on social media claim that politician and lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan has accused two senior Supreme Court judges, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar, of facilitating a political party.

The claim is false.

On October 23, a user on X posted a...

Privacy: Ross Ulbricht handed in his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court last week, highlighting an important Analog Equivalent Privacy Right in the process: Just because you’re using equipment that makes a third party aware of your circumstances, does that really nullify any expectation of privacy?

In most constitutions, there’s a protection of privacy of some kind. In the European Charter of Human Rights, this is specified as having the right to private and family life, home, and correspondence. In the U.S. Constitution, it’s framed slightly differently, but with the same outcome: it’s a ban for the government to invade privacy without good cause (“unreasonable search and seizure”).

U.S. Courts have long held, that if you have voluntarily given up some part of your digitally-stored privacy to a third party, then you can no longer expect to have privacy in that area. When looking at analog equivalence for privacy rights, this doctrine is atrocious, and in order to understand just how atrocious, we need to go back to the dawn of the manual telephone switchboards.

At the beginning of the telephone age, switchboards were fully manual. When you requested a telephone call, a manual switchboard operator would manually connect the wire from your telephone to the wire of the receiver’s telephone, and crank a mechanism that would make that telephone ring. The operators could hear every call if they wanted and knew who had been talking to whom and when.

Did you give up your privacy to a third party when using this manual telephone service? Yes, arguably, you did. Under the digital doctrine applied now, phonecalls would have no privacy at all, under any circumstance. But as we know, phonecalls are private. In fact, the phonecall operators were oathsworn to never utter the smallest part of what they learned on the job about people’s private dealings — so seriously was privacy considered, even by the companies running the switchboards.

Interestingly enough, this “third-party surrender of privacy” doctrine seems to have appeared the moment the last switchboard operator left their job for today’s automated phone-circuit switches. This was as late as 1983, just at the dawn of digital consumer-level technology such as the Commodore 64.

This false equivalence alone should be sufficient to scuttle the doctrine of “voluntarily” surrendering privacy to a third party in the digital world, and therefore giving up expectation of privacy: the equivalence in the analog world was the direct opposite.

But there’s more to the analog equivalent of third-party-service privacy. Somewhere in this concept is the notion that you’re voluntarily choosing to give up your privacy, as an active informed act — in particular, an act that stands out of the ordinary, since the Constitutions of the world are very clear that the ordinary default case is that you have an expectation of privacy.

In other words, since people’s everyday lives are covered by expectations of privacy, there must be something outside of the ordinary that a government can claim gives it the right to take away somebody’s privacy. And this “outside the ordinary” has been that the people in question were carrying a cellphone, and so “voluntarily” gave up their right to privacy, as the cellphone gives away their location to the network operator by contacting cellphone towers.

But carrying a cellphone is expected behavior today. It is completely within the boundaries of “ordinary”. In terms of expectations, this doesn’t differ much from wearing jeans or a jacket. This leads us to the question; in the thought experiment that yesterday’s jeans manufacturers had been able to pinpoint your location, had it been reasonable for the government to argue that you give up any expectation of privacy when you’re wearing jeans?

No. No, of course it hadn’t.

It’s not like you’re carrying a wilderness tracking device for the express purpose of rescue services to find you during a dangerous hike. In such a circumstance, it could be argued that you’re voluntarily carrying a locator device. But not when carrying something that everybody is expected to carry — indeed, something that everybody must carry in order to even function in today’s society.

When the only alternative to having your Constitutionally-guaranteed privacy is exile from modern society, a government should have a really thin case. Especially when the analog equivalent — analog phone switchboards — was never fair game in any case.

People deserve Analog Equivalent Privacy Rights.

Until a government recognizes this and voluntarily surrenders a power it has taken itself, which isn’t something people should hold their breath over, privacy remains your own responsibility.

Pirate Parties: This past weekend, elections were held in Luxembourg and the Czech Republic. The Pirate Party of Luxembourg tripled their support and entered the Luxembourg Parliament with two MPs, and in the Czech Republic, the Pirate Party increased their support further – now receiving a full 17% in Prague.

With 6.45% of the votes of the final tally, the Luxembourg Pirate Party is entering its national Parliament, being the fifth Pirate Party to enter a national or supranational legislature (after Sweden, Germany, Iceland, and the Czech Republic). This may not seem like much, but it is a very big deal, for reasons I’ll elaborate on later. A big congratulations to Sven Clement and Marc Goergen, new Members of Parliament for Luxembourg!

Further, the Czech Republic has had municipal elections, and the Czech Pirate Party showed a full 17.1% support in Prague, the Czech capital, making the Pirates the second biggest party with a very narrow gap to the first place (at 17.9%). This may or may not translate to votes for the Czech national legislature, but is nevertheless the highest score recorded so far for a Pirate Party election day. I understand the Czech Pirates have as many as 275 (two hundred and seventy-five!) newly-elected members of city councils, up from 21 (twenty-one). Well done, well done indeed!

For people in a winner-takes-all system, like the UK or United States, this may sound like a mediocre result. In those countries, there are usually only two parties, and the loser with 49% of the vote gets nothing. However, most of Europe have so-called proportional systems, where 5% of the nationwide votes gives you 5% of the national legislation seats. In these systems, the parties elected to Parliament negotiate between themselves to find a ruling majority coalition of 51%+ of the seats, trying to negotiate common positions between parties that are reasonably close to each other in policy. This usually requires a few weeks of intense negotiations between the elections and the presentation of a successfully negotiated majority coalition.

Further, it could reasonable be asked what kind of difference the Czech Republic or Luxembourg could possibly make on their own in the global information repression. The answer is, a whole lot. The key here is realizing that one country is sufficient to break the global repression of information; the repression is completely dependent on every single country keeping watertight doors. If one single country decides to allow the free movement of culture and knowledge, then all such distribution will immediately be based there. The copyright industry lobby in other countries will protest, quite loudly, but there’s not really anything they can do about it.

And since the problem from a policymaking standpoint has been that the industry-age era politicians consider the Internet-related policy areas completely peripheral in the first place, conceding those policy areas will be seen as very cheap price to bind those votes to a majority coalition.

“One country is sufficient to break the global repression of information.”

A relevant comparison is how Canada has now legalized cannabis at the country level, following many state-level initiatives here and there in the world, and at once, the floodgates are open. Not just for the illegal distribution networks, but more importantly, for legalization everywhere else. As a German politician dryly said today, “what’s possible in Canada is also possible in Germany”, proposing that cannabis should be legalized outright in Germany. I would imagine the tone is similar in most places — or, importantly, many enough places.

The Luxembourg and Prague coalition talks have just started, with an outcome typically expected in a few weeks.

Felix Prangenberg Wethepeople Endstate Part

Felix Prangenberg has produced a lot for his WTP "Endstate" part during his Cali trip, in which each clip is just sick! enjoy the video! Best regards, your kunstform BMX Shop

Video: Grant C.

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Felix Prangenberg - Wethepeople Foundation DVD Video Part

Felix Prangenberg's Wethepeople Foundation DVD Part went finally online! The Wethepeople team set out in january 2016 to film for their third full-length BMX video and traveled to over 10 countries, exploring over 20 cities and destroying themselves mentally and phisically in the process. Check Felix Prangenberg's Part right now!

Enjoy the Video, your kunstform BMX Shop Team!

Video: Calum Earnshaw

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RADIO BIKES BMX PARTS GIVEAWAY with Robin Kachfi

Radio Bikes sent our team rider Robin Kachfi two brand new Radio Bikes Nemesis bars in copper, which you can win!
All you have to do is:


1. Follow Radio Bikes on Instagram

2. Subscribe to Robin's Youtube Channel

3. write below the youtube video, how did you started riding BMX (NO FAKE STORYS ALLOWED)


GOOD LUCK, Your kunstform BMX Shop Team!

Video: Robin Kachfi

Subscribe to our youtube channel: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/kunstformbmxshop