Month: August 2024
Brazil bans X for refusing to comply with Supreme Court order
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has ordered the nation’s internet service providers to block the social media platform X. The New York Times reports that the order stems from owner Elon Musk’s refusal to appoint a legal representative for his case and comply with Moraes’ order to shut down X accounts he deemed as harmful to the democratic process. The order has been published online by Brazilian news site Poder 360.
The justice issued a deadline to telecom companies and tech giants to remove the X from its app stores and platforms. Apple and Google have five days to take down the social media app from its app stores. Brazil’s telecommunication’s agency Anatel has confirmed it has received the order, and ISPs in the country have just 24 hours to comply with the order.
Justice Moraes’ order doesn’t just block the country’s access to X. It also makes it a crime to use the app through a virtual private network (VPN). Anyone caught accessing X with a VPN could face a daily fine of 50,000 Brazilian Real (around $8,900).
Justice Moraes also froze the Brazillian bank accounts of SpaceX’s Starlink internet service provider on Thursday to further pressure Musk to comply with the court’s order. SpaceX, like X, is a private company majority owned by Musk, and X has $3 million in unpaid fines related to its case in the country. The day before, Justice Moraes issued a threat to ban the X platform entirely across Brazil if the social media company did not appoint a legal representative in the country. The deadline passed without any change to the court’s docket so the judge followed through on his promise.
Starlink expressed its disapproval with the order, vowing to fight the ruling. It even threatened to make its services free to customers to subvert the justice’s order.
The legal fight between Justice Moraes and Musk has been fuming for months. The Supreme Court Judge is also Brazil’s electoral authority and has been monitoring and issuing orders to candidates to steer clear of spreading false information through internet and social media channels.
Brazil’s 2022 presidential election between infamous incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and challenger and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was reportedly filled with attempts to present voters with false information. Justice Moraes was, until recently, president of the nation’s Superior Electoral Court, which gave him the power to order takedowns of content that violated previous court orders. The judge issued a similar block of the messaging app Telegram for failing to freeze offending accounts, which was lifted after compliance.
Musk characterized Moraes’ directives to take down or freeze similar misinformation accounts from X as “censorship orders.” Earlier this month, Musk expressed his continued refusal to comply with the court by closing X’s Brazilian office in order “to protect the safety of our staff.” X’s Global Governments Affairs team also promised to publish all of “Judge de Moraes’ illegal demands and all related court filings.”This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/brazil-bans-x-for-refusing-to-comply-with-supreme-court-order-230247980.html?src=rss
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has ordered the nation’s internet service providers to block the social media platform X. The New York Times reports that the order stems from owner Elon Musk’s refusal to appoint a legal representative for his case and comply with Moraes’ order to shut down X accounts he deemed as harmful to the democratic process. The order has been published online by Brazilian news site Poder 360.
The justice issued a deadline to telecom companies and tech giants to remove the X from its app stores and platforms. Apple and Google have five days to take down the social media app from its app stores. Brazil’s telecommunication’s agency Anatel has confirmed it has received the order, and ISPs in the country have just 24 hours to comply with the order.
Justice Moraes’ order doesn’t just block the country’s access to X. It also makes it a crime to use the app through a virtual private network (VPN). Anyone caught accessing X with a VPN could face a daily fine of 50,000 Brazilian Real (around $8,900).
Justice Moraes also froze the Brazillian bank accounts of SpaceX’s Starlink internet service provider on Thursday to further pressure Musk to comply with the court’s order. SpaceX, like X, is a private company majority owned by Musk, and X has $3 million in unpaid fines related to its case in the country. The day before, Justice Moraes issued a threat to ban the X platform entirely across Brazil if the social media company did not appoint a legal representative in the country. The deadline passed without any change to the court’s docket so the judge followed through on his promise.
Starlink expressed its disapproval with the order, vowing to fight the ruling. It even threatened to make its services free to customers to subvert the justice’s order.
The legal fight between Justice Moraes and Musk has been fuming for months. The Supreme Court Judge is also Brazil’s electoral authority and has been monitoring and issuing orders to candidates to steer clear of spreading false information through internet and social media channels.
Brazil’s 2022 presidential election between infamous incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and challenger and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was reportedly filled with attempts to present voters with false information. Justice Moraes was, until recently, president of the nation’s Superior Electoral Court, which gave him the power to order takedowns of content that violated previous court orders. The judge issued a similar block of the messaging app Telegram for failing to freeze offending accounts, which was lifted after compliance.
Musk characterized Moraes’ directives to take down or freeze similar misinformation accounts from X as “censorship orders.” Earlier this month, Musk expressed his continued refusal to comply with the court by closing X’s Brazilian office in order “to protect the safety of our staff.” X’s Global Governments Affairs team also promised to publish all of “Judge de Moraes’ illegal demands and all related court filings.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/brazil-bans-x-for-refusing-to-comply-with-supreme-court-order-230247980.html?src=rss
NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Saturday, August 31 (game #181)
Looking for NYT Strands answers and hints? Here’s all you need to know to solve today’s game, including the spangram.
Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #181) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Makeshift music
NYT Strands today (game #181) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
POOLSPOOLMOONPINESOONWAVE
NYT Strands today (game #181) – hint #3 – spangram
What is a hint for today’s spangram?
• Unusual instrumentalists
NYT Strands today (game #181) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First: left, 4th row
Last: right, 3rd row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #181) – the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today’s Strands, game #181, are…
SPOONSBROOMCOWBELLWASHBOARDSTOVEPIPEBONESSPANGRAM: JUGBAND
My rating: ModerateMy score: Perfect
I’d never heard the term JUGBAND until today, but fortunately the theme clue of ‘Makeshift music’, coupled with my finding SPOONS early on, cemented the central concept in my mind very early on today.
That made the task easier – but still not easy, because a couple of entries aside (WASHBOARD, COWBELL) I didn’t know these things were used as instruments. Solving it therefore became a task in trial and error, with me looking for words, playing them, and seeing if they were answers. How do you play a BROOM? What is a STOVEPIPE? I may never know the answer (unless I look it up), but I am at the very least intrigued now.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Friday 30 August, game #180)
FALLOUTUNCHARTEDMINECRAFTHALOOVERWATCHSPANGRAM: VIDEOGAMES
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT’s new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I’ve got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you’re struggling to beat it each day.
Quordle today – hints and answers for Saturday, August 31 (game #950)
Looking for Quordle clues? We can help. Plus get the answers to Quordle today and past solutions.
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
Quordle today (game #950) – hint #1 – Vowels
How many different vowels are in Quordle today?
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #950) – hint #2 – repeated letters
Do any of today’s Quordle answers contain repeated letters?
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.
Quordle today (game #950) – hint #3 – uncommon letters
Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?
• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today’s Quordle answers.
Quordle today (game #950) – hint #4 – starting letters (1)
Do any of today’s Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?
• The number of today’s Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.
If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you’re not ready yet then here’s one more clue to make things a lot easier:
Quordle today (game #950) – hint #5 – starting letters (2)
What letters do today’s Quordle answers start with?
• A
• T
• I
• S
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #950) – the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today’s Quordle, game #950, are…
AWOKETIBIAITCHYSNACK
One word in today’s Quordle is far, far harder than the other three – or at least that was my experience. TIBIA, with its repeated letter I and its B in the middle caused me no end of trouble; I needed three guesses to solve it, despite having three yellows already in place when I started it.
Fortunately, I had three guesses spare, so still scraped home. That was thanks to AWOKE, ITCHY and SNACK all proving much more simple to spot, so the end result was a last-gasp win.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Daily Sequence today (game #950) – the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today’s Quordle Daily Sequence, game #950, are…
UTILEBOUGHMOUTHCRYPT
Quordle answers: The past 20
Quordle #949, Friday 30 August: ARISE, OLDER, ISSUE, ERUPTQuordle #948, Thursday 29 August: DECAY, DRUID, AVOID, KNEEDQuordle #947, Wednesday 28 August: VIOLA, GONER, CAVIL, SHAREQuordle #946, Tuesday 27 August: ABYSS, DAILY, AGONY, MUSKYQuordle #945, Monday 26 August: NEVER, CHUNK, AUNTY, CROUPQuordle #944, Sunday 25 August: APTLY, LEVER, STORK, WIDOWQuordle #943, Saturday 24 August: EVENT, APNEA, SWATH, IRONYQuordle #942, Friday 23 August: LAUGH, SATYR, CACHE, CLONEQuordle #941, Thursday 22 August: BEARD, PAYER, BROWN, TRUCKQuordle #940, Wednesday 21 August: ALOFT, SNUCK, LAPSE, COMICQuordle #939, Tuesday 20 August: CHIEF, SNORT, OUNCE, MILKYQuordle #938, Monday 19 August: GIVEN, STIFF, STOOL, ANTICQuordle #937, Sunday 18 August: DEPTH, JUICY, GAWKY, INLAYQuordle #936, Saturday 17 August: HUMUS, FRONT, FUNNY, DRYLYQuordle #935, Friday 16 August: BRICK, CABLE, INBOX, FLOSSQuordle #934, Thursday 15 August: STINT, TRAIL, DECAL, BRAINQuordle #933, Wednesday 14 August: TENOR, CLEFT, USHER, CREEPQuordle #932, Tuesday 13 August: LIMIT, AMBLE, ALBUM, BULLYQuordle #931, Monday 12 August: CHEER, FUNKY, TRITE, THUMPQuordle #930, Sunday 11 August: COURT, LOAMY, TOAST, OCCUR
NYT Connections today — hints and answers for Saturday, August 31 (game #447)
Looking for NYT Connections answers and hints? Here’s all you need to know to solve today’s game, plus my commentary on the puzzles.
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.
What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #447) – today’s words
(Image credit: New York Times)
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
GREEKCHEFCROWNSPORTSMONTICELLORINGSGARDENEAGLEBUSINESSROOTSTORCHWEDGEBARKARTSSHIELDCOMICS
NYT Connections today (game #447) – hint #1 – group hints
What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
Yellow: Print partsGreen: Found in a forest?Blue: Green cuisinePurple: Dollar designs
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #447) – hint #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
YELLOW: NEWSPAPER SECTIONSGREEN: TREE FEATURESBLUE: KINDS OF SALAD CHEF, GARDEN, GREEK, WEDGEPURPLE: SEEN ON BACKS OF U.S. COINS EAGLE, MONTICELLO, SHIELD, TORCH
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #447) – the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today’s Connections, game #447, are…
YELLOW: NEWSPAPER SECTIONS ARTS, BUSINESS, COMICS, SPORTSGREEN: TREE FEATURES BARK, CROWN, RINGS, ROOTSBLUE: KINDS OF SALAD CHEF, GARDEN, GREEK, WEDGEPURPLE: SEEN ON BACKS OF U.S. COINS EAGLE, MONTICELLO, SHIELD, TORCH
My rating: StupidMy score: Fail
Another day, another Connections fail. And I don’t even care, it’s just stupid. Look, how am I supposed to know what is on the back of US coins? I’m not in the US! I DO NOT CARE WHAT IS ON THE BACK. Do you know what’s on the back of British coins? No. So why should I know what’s on US coins?
And what is a WEDGE salad? I have never, ever heard that term before. So yeah, whatever, I failed. See you again tomorrow, when I will undoubtedly fail again because this game is biased and stupid.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Friday, 30 August, game #446)
YELLOW: SPARKLING THINGS DIAMOND, GLITTER, GOLD, SEQUINGREEN: PARTICIPATE IN SUMMER OLYMPIC EVENTS BOX, DIVE, FENCE, ROWBLUE: WONDERS OF THE WORLD GARDENS, LIGHTHOUSE, PYRAMID, TEMPLEPURPLE: ICE ___ CREAM, CUBE, MACHINE, STORM
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
Telegram: ‘The dark web in your pocket’
The arrest of Telegram’s chief executive in France has ignited a debate about moderation on his app.
The arrest of Telegram’s chief executive in France has ignited a debate about moderation on his app.
Oprah, Sam Altman, and MKBHD walk into a TV show about AI and it’s not a joke
Oprah will host an AI special with Bill Gates, Sam Altman, and more.
Oprah Winfrey is taking her signature interview style to the world of AI and bringing some of the biggest names in tech and policy with her for a new TV special.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and more are all set to appear to discuss and demonstrate AI with Winfrey. “AI and the Future of Us” will air on ABC on September 12 at 8 p.m. ET and stream on Hulu the following day. Winfrey’s special is designed to demystify AI and explore how it will affect our lives.
Altman will explain the fundamentals of AI. Then, Gates will extend that to the changes AI may bring to education, healthcare, and other sectors, and Wray will touch on what AI means for law enforcement and national security.
For a more hands-on demonstration of AI’s capabilities, YouTube creator and technologist Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) will showcase existing products with AI already embedded. She’ll also discuss the growing influence of digital content creators in educating the public about technology, including AI. Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, co-founders of the Center for Humane Technology, are set to discuss ethical issues around AI with Winfrey, as will Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson.
“AI. It may fascinate you or scare you. Or if you’re like me, it may do both,” Winfrey explains in her promo for the show. “So, let’s take a breath and find out more about it. I’ve gathered some of our country’s leading experts to answer all of our questions.”
Oprah AI
“AI and the Future of Us” comes at a time when AI is rapidly becoming more capable and powerful even as it draws increasing criticism and concerns about how it might negatively impact the world. Given the lineup of influential speakers and the current public interest in AI, “AI and the Future of Us” is likely to attract a wide audience.
Oprah Winfrey’s involvement is arguably the biggest sign of AI becoming mainstream. How she presents AI may influence a lot of people as they develop their own opinions on AI. By dedicating a primetime slot to this topic, ABC and Winfrey are acknowledging AI’s growing significance and the need for informed public discourse.
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Labor Day Fitness Deal: Save $70 on This Under Desk Elliptical Machine at Amazon
Under-desk ellipticals enable you to exercise while sitting at a desk all day. Get this one at a deep discount during Amazon’s Labor Day sale.
Under-desk ellipticals enable you to exercise while sitting at a desk all day. Get this one at a deep discount during Amazon’s Labor Day sale.