Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Wednesday


Panama Papers fallout -- Officials around the world are scrambling to beat back public outrage over the documents that shed light on how the rich and powerful hide their money. Iceland's prime minister resigned on Tuesday amid the scandal. What led to the papers being leaked? A cryptic message to a German newspaper kicked off an investigation.

Tensions are escalating between social conservatives and corporations after Mississippi became the latest state to sign a law protecting discrimination against same-sex couples. PayPal says it would cancel a plan to create 400 jobs in North Carolina because of a similar measure affecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Unrelated to the backlash, there's a movement to impeach Alabama's governor amid a sex scandal.

The F.B.I. could always crack the encryption code. Why wouldn't the FBI realize we know that and just unlock the iPhone privately? They're not saying whether the information it extracted from the iPhone used by a gunman in the San Bernardino, Calif., attack has been useful to its investigation. Much ado about nothing. A lawyer for the bureau says it hasn't told Apple how it cracked the company's vaunted encryption methods. The comments come as WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, introduced full encryption for its service, to ensure that only the sender and recipient can see photos, videos and group text messages.

Cyber crime and cyber warfare are accelerating. There were no classes nor teachers at the University of Northern New Jersey because it was created by federal law enforcement officers as a way to catch criminals involved in student visa fraud. More than 20 people were recently arrested, government officials say.

San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to approve six weeks of fully paid leave for new parents.




April 6, 2016

National Walking Day


National Walking Day falls on the first Wednesday of April. "All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking." That quotation by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was included in a Stanford University study in 2014 that showed how walking can fuel creative thought. It's no mystery that walking enhances health. But researchers have found that it also improves the flow of oxygen to the brain, helping with mental awareness and memory. The annual event was introduced by the American Heart Association about 10 years ago because people, it says, spend too much time sitting in front of screens at work and home. Regularly placing one foot in front of the other, ideally briskly, for at least 30 minutes a day can offset that inactivity and reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease and stroke. Researchers have found that walkers are most likely burning more calories than they think. There is a lot of advice out there about the types of shoes to buy and the pros and cons of activity trackers.

Walking along a pier in Brooklyn - Waiting for my "ship" to come in.

Personally, I enjoy walking when doing something interesting with friends or family. Walking for health reasons is not part of my regular routines though I do run around a lot during the course of most days. I'm lucky not to have arthritis or any physical problems making walking far more enjoyable. Nietzsche connects for me through Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Z) which goes to 2001: A Space Odyssey (film) but I do not find creativity when walking as he suggests. Many times it's quite the opposite and boring. I dislike being bored. I prefer to fly, drive, bike, or anything else that moves quickly.

Walking into the future




April 7, 2016 - New Moon 18° Aries

In these energies we find a reboot for Bernie and Cruz
Bernie's sixth win in a row.

NY Primaries on April 19 will be in the energies of a
Full Moon 2° Scorpio. 2 will get stung.