The 1970s was an unforgettable decade for racing, design, and craftsmanship, particularly in the automotive world. Sports cars of the time, especially the Porsche 911, stood as symbols of precision, speed, and elegance. Inspired by this golden era, Ferro & Company introduces the Time Master 70’s — a timepiece that captures the spirit of the 1970s, designed for those who appreciate the beauty of both classic cars and fine watches.
Note- prices are in USD.
A Fusion of Precision and Heritage
Much like the legendary Porsche models of the 1970s, the Time Master 70’s is a perfect blend of bold design and engineering excellence. Drawing inspiration from the sleek dashboards and smooth curves of 70s sports cars, this watch embodies the timeless style and craftsmanship of the era. Whether you’re a car enthusiast or a collector of fine watches, the Time Master 70’s offers a link to the past, with modern reliability.
39 mm Brushed Stainless Steel 316L Case: Built to last, the case reflects the robust yet elegant design of classic sports cars.
47 mm Lug to Lug: A comfortable fit for everyday wear.
20 mm Lugs: Compatible with various straps for personalization.
10.4 mm thick (Japan MVT) / 11 mm thick (Swiss MVT): Slim enough for versatility, substantial enough to make an impression.
Flat Sapphire Crystal with A/R Coating: Scratch-resistant and designed to reduce glare, ensuring clear readability.
Movement: Choose between the reliable Japan Miyota 9039 Automatic or the precise Swiss ETA 2824-2 Automatic .
6 mm Screw-down Crown: Ensures water resistance and durability.
10 ATM (100-meter Water Resistance): Built to withstand the elements, perfect for daily adventures.
20 mm 316L Stainless Steel Bracelets with On-the-Fly 6-click internal micro-adjust system: Offers unparalleled comfort and ease of adjustment.
Super Luminova BGW9 Lume hour indices with Super Luminova Orange hands: High visibility in low-light conditions, just like the gauges on a race car’s dashboard.
Inspired by 1970s Automotive Excellence
For Porsche enthusiasts & other supercars from the era, the Time Master 70’s offers more than just a timekeeping function. Its design is inspired by the sleek lines and elegant simplicity of 70s sports car models. The clean dial mirrors the precision instruments found in the cockpits of vintage sports cars, while the bold, luminous hour indices ensure visibility reminiscent of race car dashboards.
1973 Dodge Charger dashboard.
Just as a Porsche 911 is a symbol of balance between design and power, the Time Master 70’s reflects the same ethos—perfectly balancing functionality and aesthetics. The precision of the Swiss ETA 2824 or Japan Miyota 9039 movement mirrors the finely-tuned engines that defined an era of automotive glory.
Limited edition
The Time Master 70’s is quickly becoming a collector’s item, with only limited units remaining. This limited-edition watch is nearly sold out! If you’re looking to own a piece of 1970s-inspired heritage, now is the time to act . With shipments scheduled for mid-October, this is your last chance to secure your Time Master 70’s.
Ready for the Open Road?
Whether you’re behind the wheel of a classic car or simply enjoying your everyday adventures, the Time Master 70’s is your ultimate companion. With its striking design and precision engineering, it’s more than just a watch—it’s a tribute to the elegance and excitement of the 1970s racing era.
Don’t miss the opportunity to own a timepiece inspired by a legacy of speed, craftsmanship, and timeless style. Order your Time Master 70’s today! The time Master watches will ship by mid October.
The full Hunter’s Moon—a moon known for its extra-bountiful glow in autumn, one that traditionally helped hunters harvest venison into the late evening, before the winter freeze—will rise on Oct. 17. It will loom larger and brighter than ever. The reason?
It will be a supermoon. But not just any supermoon.
The Hunter’s Moon this October will be the biggest supermoon of the year, the fourth and final one of 2024.
How the Hunter’s Moon Got Its Name
Both Colonial Americans and Canadian Settlers once had to hunt to fill their stores before settling into their lodges for the winter. To this end, they would hunt late into the evening while deer and other large game were easy to spot in the open stubble fields after the harvest.
These night hunts were assisted by moonlight from October’s full moon, which mysteriously rose sooner than expected and loomed larger than was typical. It was as if it provided light specifically for their hunting.
What looked like a helping hand from the full moon gave rise to its traditional name: the Hunter’s Moon.
This year, the Hunter’s Moon falls on Oct. 17, reaching peak illumination at exactly 7:26 a.m. EDT. It will be below the horizon for stargazers here in Canada and the rest of North America at that time. But at sunset that evening you can look eastward and find it still quite full, as it will seem the following evening, on Oct. 18, and the evening prior, on Oct. 16. Moons don’t change their cycles on a dime.
It Will Be a ‘Supermoon’
Similar to September’s huge Harvest Moon, October’s full moon will be a supermoon. It will appear larger and will be closer to the Earth than usual, which happens because the moon’s distance from Earth isn’t fixed. Our largest natural satellite travels along an oval-shaped orbit, so sometimes it’s nearer and other times further away.
When a full moon occurs near the point closest to Earth along said orbit, a point called the perigee, a supermoon results. This occurred in September’s Harvest Moon and will happen again for October’s Hunter’s Moon, making it the fourth and final supermoon of the year; the largest in 2024.
The Hunter’s Moon traditionally follows the Harvest Moon. Shutterstock/Harry L/Richard OD
On Oct. 16, perigee will be reached. At exactly 8:57 p.m. EDT, the moon will be 222,055 miles from Earth, roughly 17,000 miles nearer than average. Not 12 hours later, the full moon will fall. Supermoons can loom 7 percent larger than normal, though human eyes can’t usually tell. It’ll also shine slightly brighter.
Facts And Folklore of Autumn Full Moons
As full moons go, autumn’s are famously big. Supermoon or no supermoon, farmers have long relied on fall full moons for moonlight when working late to bring harvests in before the frost. Folklore says these moons are larger and even seem to forestall their departure mysteriously, as if gracing the harvest with extra illumination.
The “Hunter’s Moon” usually falls in October, but not always. Full moons in September, October, and November sometimes swap names. Harvest Moon always denotes the moon closest to the equinox (the first day of fall) and usually falls in September, and so, they are most commonly in September. But every so often, October’s full moon is closest to the equinox (which is in late September) and thus assumes the title Harvest Moon. When that happens, the Hunter’s Moon gets bumped into November.
Swapping names is unusual for full moons; they don’t follow that tradition in other months. April’s Pink Moon and June’s Strawberry Moon don’t shift, nor do moons of other months. Furthermore, most moon names denote the month’s entire lunar cycle, whereas the Harvest Moon and Hunter’s Moon denote just the full moon event.
Colonial Americans traditionally hunted after the autumn harvest to fill their stores for the winter months. Shutterstock/Maciej Pawlik
Autumn moons loom larger than usual, too. Astronomers say this is just an optical illusion. Autumn moons often appear near the horizon because the moon’s arc is so affected by Earth’s axial tilt during the equinox. They may seem larger when viewed next to terrestrial foreground objects like trees or buildings. The psychological impact this has makes the moon look grander.
It’s just an illusion, though—the “moon illusion.”
But there’s more to the equinox than smoke and mirrors. Some of the strangeness is real, as autumn moons follow a perplexing schedule. On average, throughout the year, the moon rises 50 minutes later each night as its orbit carries it steadily eastward. But around the equinox, it may rise as few as 23 minutes later. This boon to farmers is no illusion.
Astronomers twist their tongues to explain it.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac says it’s because the moon’s arc has its greatest northerly component during fall and is thus at its longest. Now traveling rapidly northward, it appears to rise sooner than expected, and all the more so the further north you go.
All together—the Hunter’s Moon, the extra moonlight, the equinox, the moon illusion, and the largest supermoon of 2024—it seems we’re in for a sublime lunar spectacle. There’s a chill in the air. So grab your fall coat for an evening under the warm glow of the Hunter’s Moon. For the Silo, Michael Wing.
Featured image- Designed by friends at The Epoch Times Shutterstock/solepsizm/Richard OD/Harry L
When a Porsche minivan doesn’t exist, billionaire Mark Zuckerberg makes one himself, with the help of West Coast Customs FOR HIS WIFE PEDIATRICIAN Dr. Priscilla Chan.
A Personal Touch to Porsche
In social media posts, Zuckerberg proudly shared his creation, revealing how he personally designed the vehicle. The customized SUV features a stretched wheelbase, lower ride height, and a larger rear spoiler. Additionally, the car sports black alloy wheels paired with yellow brake calipers, giving it a sleek, aggressive stance. This minivan, which still carries the DNA of a high-performance vehicle, adds a dash of Silicon Valley flair to the family’s collection.
The Porsche That Became a Minivan
Zuckerberg’s project began with the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT, a model already known for its performance and luxury. Fitted with a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine producing up to 650 horsepower in updated form, the base model is an impressive machine. However, the tech mogul wasn’t content with the stock design. He wanted something more practical, particularly for family use. Thus, the Cayenne was stretched, and sliding doors were installed, giving it the feel of a minivan with the heart of a performance SUV.
Porsche’s Minivan Vision
Interestingly, Porsche itself once entertained the idea of a minivan with its Vision Renndienst concept, designed in 2018. The Renndienst, however, never went beyond the prototype stage. The Renndienst model had a futuristic design with six seats, placing the driver in a central position.
Although Zuckerberg’s minivan doesn’t replicate this setup, it opens up the possibility of what Porsche could achieve if they embraced the concept for production.
A Luxury Minivan Market?
While the luxury SUV market is saturated, the minivan sector, especially in regions like Asia, has seen growing demand for high-end models. Zuckerberg’s bespoke Cayenne reflects that trend, though it is unclear if the customization was purely aesthetic or if performance upgrades were made as well. With the ongoing development of a three-row electric SUV from Porsche set to release by 2027, one can’t help but wonder if the tech billionaire’s vision might influence the automaker’s future designs. For the Silo, Verdad Gallardo.
These 5 Hot-Rodders Forged the Legacy of the Flathead
The impact of Ford’s flathead V-8 on the hot rod scene is undeniable. But the individuals that immortalized this engine—and, along the way, laid the foundation for the hot-rod scene—are the real heroes.
photo- Brandan Gillogly
n the early 1900s, horsepower was almost exclusively for the Gatsbys of the world. Ford’s flathead V-8, introduced in the depths of the depths of the Great Depression, changed all that. But it needed some help from car obsessives, who went on to invent what we now know as hot-rodding. Learn about them below, then check out Preston Lerner’s deep dive on the Flathead and its impact here.—Ed.
While it’s not without its flaws, the Ford flathead V-8 marked a significant milestone in the history of American performance. Ford’s mass production of the flathead opened up racing to a whole new audience and helped an industry flourish. Ford wasn’t alone, however, as the factory-built flathead was just a building block. Several individuals, through their own innovation and business acumen, were able to build flathead V-8s to horsepower levels that pushed boundaries of speed, developed a massive segment of our hobby, and forged long-lasting businesses, many of which are still with us today. Here are five pioneers of the aftermarket that used the flathead V-8 to cement themselves and their companies in American culture.
Ed Winfield
Magnifico
1901-1982
Known as “The Father of Hot-Rodding,” Winfield got his first job in a blacksmith shop when he was just eight. By the time he was 11, he was stripping down the neighbor’s Model T to shed weight and make it faster. Two years later, he was working on carburetors in Harry A. Miller’s Los Angeles shop where Barney Oldfield’s groundbreaking Golden Submarine race car was being built. With a knack for machinery and an intimate knowledge of engines, Winfield started his own carburetor company in 1919 and began grinding cams the following year. His carburetors were used on eight of the ten Indy 500 winners from 1933-1946, the only exception was Wilbur Shaw, who had won with a Winfield-fed Shaw/Offenhauser engine in 1937 and switched to Maserati power for his wins in 1939 and 1940.
Winfield did it all, from serving as a riding mechanic and racing at Ascot Speedway to working with major automakers in developing engines. Winfield also helped a young Ed Iskendarian with cylinder head work. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011.
Vic Edelbrock Sr.
Magnifico
1913-1962
Already an established mechanic, Vic Edelbrock Sr. designed the Slingshot intake manifold for flathead Ford V-8s in 1938 and tested it on his own 1932 Ford roadster on Southern California’s dry lakes. After WWII, Vic moved into a new shop in Holywood and designed his first cast aluminum cylinder head for flathead V-8s. Also in 1946, Edelbrock created its first catalog of speed parts, and soon its products were found on cars competing in virtually every form of racing, whether it was on the 1/4-mile, on circle tracks, or America’s dry lakes. His son, Vic Jr., took over the business after his passing and expanded the business to include fuel injection and superchargers. Vic Jr. passed away in 2017, but the company continues to make performance parts. To this day, the company makes Victor and Victor Jr. cylinder heads and intake manifolds that keep their legacy alive.
Stu Hilborn
Magnifico
1917-2013
Born in Canada, Hilborn came to southern California in time to graduate high school and attend junior college in Los Angeles before enlisting in the Army Air Corps (you’re going to notice a trend here). While working on aircraft, Hilborn began scheming up a new way to feed fuel to engines, and once he was back in Southern California, he built a dry lakes racer that would prove his constant-flow fuel injection could compete and win against carburetors. The sleek racer was the first to eclipse 150 mph on the dry lakes and graced the fourth cover of Hot Rod magazine in April, 1948.
Hilborn continued to modify and improve his fuel injection design, and in 1952 Bill Vukovich drove the Fuel Injection Special in the Indy 500, where he led 150 laps and was just nine laps from the finish when a steering issue sidelined the car. That was tough luck for Vukovich, but 22-year-old Troy Ruttman passed him and took the win. Rutman, like Vukovich, was running Hilborn fuel injection, as were the remaining drivers on the podium. You can think of Hilborn’s mechanical fuel injection taking over for Winfield’s carburetors, as the individual throttle body system became the induction of choice for America’s top racers, dominating the Indy 500 for decades, claiming 34 victories along the way. Hilborn stacks appeared on road racers of all kinds, and the company’s two-port units could be found atop supercharged drag cars as well, but it all started with the dry lakes flathead.
Alex Xydias
Magnifico
1922-2024
Alex Xydias passed away earlier this year at the age of 102, leaving behind an impressive legacy of business achievement and generosity. His name is synonymous with the So-Cal Speed Shop, the Burbank speed equipment emporium he founded after leaving the Army Air Corps in 1946. The most famous product of that enterprise is the iconic belly tank lakester that graced the January 1949 cover of Hot Rod magazine after it ran using Ford V-8-60 power. The So-Cal Speed Shop followed on the success of the lakester with a sleek streamliner that would go on to be powered by a Mercury flathead that would push the car to 210.8962mph, the fastest time of Speed Week 1950, earning Xydias back-to-back spots on the coveted Hot Rod trophy, and the first in excess of 200mph.
Xydias forged relationships with speed parts manufacturers and helped get race-winning parts into the hands of southern California hot-rodders through his shop, but So-Cal Speed Shop also sold parts across the country through its mail-order catalog, using the fame of his racing success to get more enthusiasts involved by proving what the flathead was capable of.
Ed Iskenderian
Magnifico
1921-
Ever a hot-rodder, Ed Iskenderian’s T roadster was and continues to be an influential build, but there’s a reason he’s known as the Camfather. Shortly after returning from United States Army Air Corps service during WWII, Iskendarian was eager to return to building engines, particularly flatheads, but the booming demand vastly exceeded supply. He didn’t waste time waiting for other cam grinders to catch up. Instead, Isky, already experienced with tool and die work, purchased a machine and converted it to grind cams. Not only were his camshafts effective, but Isky was a talented marketer, coining the term “5-Cycle Cam” to describe his camshafts that used valve overlap and the escaping exhaust gases to scavenge the incoming intake charge. In addition to his many pioneering valvetrain advancements, Isky is also credited with selling logo t-shirts before anyone else.
Iskendarian cams are still used by some of the quickest and fastest racers today.
Featured image via –Historic Vehicle Association For the Silo, Fabian Hoberg / Hagerty.
The Pakistani national who allegedly plotted to travel to New York to murder Jews was seeking refugee status in Canada, according to an immigration consultant.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, who came to Canada in June 2023 on a student visa, was arrested on Sept. 4 by the RCMP for allegedly intending to carry out a mass shooting targeting Jews in New York City. He was charged by U.S. authorities with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and the United States is seeking to have him extradited.
Fazal Qadeer, an immigration consultant who had worked with Khan, said Khan was applying for refugee status on the basis of sexual orientation, saying he is gay, CBC reported on Oct. 7.
It is not known what Khan’s refugee claim status was when he was arrested, but Qadeer said Khan had recently had a lengthy interview with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in September that Khan entered Canada on a student visa.
According to a U.S. criminal complaint that was unsealed in September 2024, Khan repeatedly expressed his support for ISIS and his intention to carry out a terrorist attack around November 2023.
That month, he began interacting online with an undercover FBI agent, and explained his plan to attack Jewish religious centres in the United States around the time of the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel.
In a statement, IRCC said it would not comment on individual cases, but that all asylum claimants receive an “independent and fair assessment on the individual merits of their claim,” which included whether they fear persecution based on race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or if they are LGBT.
Minister ‘Confident’ in Screening System
Khan’s arrest came months after a father and son were arrested by the RCMP in Richmond Hill, Ont., for allegedly being in the “advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto.” The two are facing nine terrorism charges, including conspiracy to commit murder on behalf of ISIS.
Ahmed Eldidi had been admitted into Canada in 2019 and later given citizenship, while Mostafa Eldidi was granted refugee status, according to documents provided by IRCC.
Miller defended Ottawa’s immigration system when appearing before the House of Commons public safety committee in September, saying the government remains “confident in the way our biometric system works in the progressive screening that operates in our country.”
Miller told the committee that Ahmed Eldidi had his initial temporary resident visa application refused because of concerns he would not leave Canada at the end of his authorized stay, but his second application was approved after an officer was satisfied he merely intended to visit Canada. He was given a favourable recommendation, Miller said, and officers found no issues that made him inadmissible to Canada.
Conservative MPs on the committee questioned screening procedures and accused the Liberal government of removing the mandatory requirement for police background checks for arrivals from some countries including Pakistan in 2018.
The IRCC’s website currently states that those applying for permanent residence, citizenship, or the International Experience Canada program “may need to provide a police certificate for any other programs” if they have a prior criminal record, but does not specifically mention Pakistan. For the Silo, Matthew Horwood.
Featured image- RCMP logo is seen outside the force’s ‘E’ division headquarters in Surrey, B.C., on March 16, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck.
Considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was chosen as the NBA’s most valuable player six times and an NBA All-Star nineteen times during his storied twenty-season career for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. Famous for his dunking skills, he was so dominant on the UCLA Bruins varsity squad that the NCAA banned the dunk after the 7’2″ superstar led his team to a 30-0 season and the first of three college national championships. He would go on to be the #1 pick in the NBA draft in 1969 and was named the league’s Rookie of the Year. He would win five more MVP awards before becoming an assistant coach for several teams, including the Los Angeles Clippers and the Lakers.
In addition, he has made numerous appearances in film and television and published several best-selling books.
photos- Noel Kleinman.
Now the swanky Marina del Rey pad Abdul-Jabber called home from 2011 to 2021 has hit the market. Across the street from the Ritz Carlton and the California Yacht Club, the luxe but laid back four-bedroom, three-bath residence is one of just twelve homes in an exclusive gated community.
Kareem’s former home was thoughtfully designed for its very tall owner, featuring enlarged doorways and other modifications.
An airy open-floor plan connects the large living room and formal dining room area with a stellar kitchen, complete with granite counters, a spacious island, custom cabinets, and stainless steel appliances. Sliding doors open onto a side garden patio.
On the second level, find hardwood floors and a stunning primary suite with a fireplace, a massive walk-in closet, and a fantastic private balcony with views of the nearby marina. The luxurious spa-inspired bathroom includes dual vanities plus a separate Jacuzzi spa tub and steam shower. A third floor offers an additional bedroom perfect for a home office, with another patio offering views of the Ritz Carlton and the marina. An oversized garage offers space for two cars and four additional outdoor parking spaces. Additional features include a whole-house water filtration system, automatic lighting, and a monitored/remote-access camera security system.
Marina del Rey is a coastal community noted for its small-craft harbor, one of the largest in North America with over 5,000 boats.
A destination for kayaking, bird-watching, and recreation of all kinds, the harbor is often visited by harbor seals, sea lions, and dolphins. The home is just steps from the harbor and the Marvin Braude bike path. A short walk takes you to Trader Joe’s, the unique shops of Abbot Kinney and several world-class restaurants. Rapper Ice Cube has a home in Marina del Rey, while other celebrities keep their luxury yachts in the local harbor and frequent its shopping and dining hotspots. For The Silo, Bob Walsh/ friends at toptenrealestatedeals.com
An electric vehicle is seen being charged in Ottawa on on July 13, 2022. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
More than half of Canadians DO NOT support the federal government’s mandate to require all new cars sold in Canada to be electric by 2035, a recent Ipsos poll finds.
Canadians across the country are “a lot more hesitant to ban conventional cars than their elected representatives in Ottawa are,” said Krystle Wittevrongel, research director at the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), in a news release on Oct. 3.
“They have legitimate concerns, most notably with the cost of those cars, and federal and provincial politicians should take note.”
The online poll, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the MEI, surveyed 1,190 Canadians aged 18 and over between Sept. 18 and 22. Among the participants overall, 55 percent said they disagree with Ottawa’s decision to ban the sale of conventional vehicles by 2035 and mandate all new cars be electric or zero-emissions.
“In every region surveyed, a larger number of respondents were against the ban than in favour of it,” MEI said in the news release. According to the poll, the proportion of those against the ban was noticeably higher in Western Canada, at 63 percent, followed by the Atlantic provinces at 58 percent. In Ontario, 51 percent were against, and in Quebec, 48 percent were against.
In all, only 40 percent nationwide agreed with the federal mandate.
‘Lukewarm Attitude’
Just 1 in 10 Canadians own an electric vehicle (EV), the poll said. Among those who don’t, less than one-quarter (24 percent) said their next car would be electric.
A research report released by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in March this year suggests a trend similar to that of the Ipsos poll’s findings. The report indicated that only 36 percent of Canadians had considered buying an EV in 2024—down from 51 percent in 2022.
“Survey results reveal that Canadians hold mixed views on ZEVs [Zero-Emission Vehicles] and continue to have a general lack of knowledge about these vehicles,” said the report by EKOS Research Associate, which was commissioned by NRCan to conduct the online survey of 3,459 Canadians from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7.
The MEI cited a number of key reasons for “this lukewarm attitude” in adopting EVs, including high cost (70 percent), lack of charging infrastructure (66 percent), and reduced performance in Canada’s cold climate (64 percent).
Canada’s shift from gas-powered vehicles to EVs is guided by federal and provincial policies aimed at zero-emission transportation. The federal mandate requires all new light-duty vehicles, which include passenger cars, SUVs, and light trucks, sold by 2035 to be zero-emission—with interim targets of 20 percent by 2026 and 60 percent by 2030.
Some provincial policies, such as those in Quebec, are even stricter, including a planned ban on all gas-powered vehicles and used gas engines by 2035.
‘Unrealistic’
The MEI survey indicated that two-thirds of respondents (66 percent) said the mandate’s timeline is “unrealistic,” with only 26 percent saying Ottawa’s plan is realistic.
In addition, 76 percent of Canadians say the federal government’s environmental impact assessment process used for energy projects takes too long, with only 9 percent taking the opposite view, according to the survey.
A study by the Fraser Institute in March said that achieving Ottawa’s EV goal could increase Canada’s demand for electricity by 15.3 percent and require the equivalent of 10 new mega hydro dams or 13 large natural gas plants to be built within the next 11 years.
“For context, once Canada’s vehicle fleet is fully electric, it will require 10 new mega hydro dams (capable of producing 1,100 megawatts) nationwide, which is the size of British Columbia’s new Site C dam. It took approximately 10 years to plan and pass environmental regulations, and an additional decade to build. To date, Site C is expected to cost $16 billion,” said the think tank in a March 14 news release.
On April 25, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada since 2020 has attracted more than $46 billion cad in investments for projects to manufacture EVs and EV batteries and battery components. A Parliamentary Budget Officer report published July 18 said Ottawa and the provinces have jointly promised $52.5 billion cad in government support from Oct. 8, 2020, to April 25, 2024, which included tax credits, production subsidies, and capital investment for construction and other support.
On July 26, a company slated to build a major rechargeable battery manufacturing plant in Ontario announced that it would halt the project due to declining demand for EVs.
In a news release at the time, Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials Canada Inc. said it was taking “immediate action” to address a “recent significant slowdown in short- and medium-term EV growth projections affecting its activities.”
For The Silo, Isaac Teo with contribution from the Canadian Press.
Broad Arrow Auctions has released the complete digital catalog for its upcoming inaugural Chattanooga Auction, set for 12 October 2024 at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Tennessee and we have it here for you to drool over (see below).
Among the 90+ collector cars on offer at the single-day sale are no less than 15 variations of the 911 model, including such rarities as the 1984 Porsche 911 SC RS Gruppe B “Evolutionsserie”, the vertible “missing link” in any Carrera RS collection.
Friday, October 11 9:00 am – 5:00 pm ET Saturday, October 12 9:00 am – 1:00 pm ETAuction Saturday, October 12 1:00 pm ET
If your old enough to remember big ass tube tv’s or roof antennas dangling on the roofs of the neighborhood houses then consider this- theme songs from those TV shows can immediately bring back memories and nostalgia from your childhood or teenage life. That is pretty powerful stuff right? One of the reasons why many theme songs continue to be so memorable is because they’re truly unique, written and performed by top-notch musical talent.
But which iconic tune has had the most influence over the years?
By exploring IMDb’s 100 greatest TV theme songs, our friends at Spin Genie have revealed the composers and musicians who have accumulated the most success for their contribution to iconic TV series. Using this data we will analyze the total streams, monthly listeners, and estimated earnings in CAD dollars for the appropriate TV show theme tune.
We will also judge the TV series by reviewing IMDb ratings and Rotten Tomatoes scores, as well as the annual searches for each theme song. Sound fair? Let’s dig in.
PS If you have some spare time in between binging on your favorite TV shows, check out the latest online slots available on Spin Genie.
The most successful TV theme songs:
The Sopranos
Woke Up This Morning – Alabama 3
Royalty score: 8.43 out of 10
In first place is “Woke Up This Morning”, a song by British band Alabama 3 from their 1997 album Exile on Coldharbour Lane. Best known as the opening theme song for the American television series The Sopranos. “Woke Up This Morning” has over 37.9 million streams on Spotify, with estimated earnings of $231,206, and the band has 320,321 monthly listeners. The Sopranos is one of the most influential TV dramas, smashing IMDb ratings with a score of 9.2 out of 10. On Rotten Tomatoes, the drama received a 96% audience rating and recorded 24,600 annual worldwide searches for its theme song as of July 2024.
Get a Life
Stand – R.E.M.
Royalty score: 7.57 out of 10
Following up in second place is “Stand”, a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from the album Green in 1989. It was used as the theme for the 1990-1992 Fox sitcom Get a Life, starring Chris Elliott. The theme song has amounted to 46.6 million Spotify streams with earnings of almost $284,100.
Get a Life is one of the top-rated TV series on our list, recording a perfect 100% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The show also performed well on IMDb, with ratings of 8.1 out of 10.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Royalty score: 7.07 out of 10
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” rounds out the top three, heard in 1990 as the theme song for the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The lyrics were composed by rapper and sitcom star Will Smith, performing under his stage name, the Fresh Prince, with Jeffrey Townes producing the song under his stage name DJ Jazzy Jeff. Originally, composer and producer Quincy Jones pitched the song, but Smith wrote the lyrics after reading up on an episode script. Jones immediately loved it and accepted it as the theme song.
Further findings:
The song “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” from the sitcom of the same name is the most streamed theme song on Spotify, with a total of 123.2 million streams.
The Sopranos achieved the best IMDb rating of 9.2 out of 10, making it the highest-reviewed TV show.
M*A*S*H, an American war comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from 1972 to 1983, has the most-searched-for theme song with almost 200,000 people searching for it. It’s a song that was written specifically for the show by Johnny Mande and Michael Altman and is called “Suicide Is Painless”.
How to avoid being hacked during this Fall’s travel season.
According to a recent study by cybersecurity firm NordVPN, one in four travelers has been hacked when using public Wi-Fi while traveling abroad. However, unsecured Wi-Fi is not the only factor travelers should be worried about.
Last year, the FBI published a tweet (see below) warning users against smartphone charging stations in public places (airports, hotels, and shopping malls). Hackers may have modified the charging cables with the aim of installing malware on phones to perform an attack called juice jacking.
“Digital information, although it exists virtually, can also be stolen using physical devices. So it is important to take a 360-degree approach and secure your device from both online and offline threats,” says Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity advisor.
What is juice jacking?
Juice jacking is a cyberattack where a public USB charging port is used to steal data or install malware on a device. Juice jacking attacks allow hackers to steal users’ passwords, credit card information, addresses, names, and other data. Attackers can also install malware to track keystrokes, show ads, or add devices to a botnet.
Is juice jacking detectable?
Juice jacking attacks can be difficult to detect. If your device has already been compromised, you may notice some suspicious activity – but that won’t always be the case.
For example, you may notice something you don’t recognize on your phone — like purchases you didn’t make or calls that look suspicious.
Your phone may also start working unusually slowly or feel hotter than usual. Chances are you may have picked up malware. For a full list of signs to watch out for read on and find out how to know if your phone is hacked.
How to protect yourself
Since no sign of juice jacking is 100% reliable, it is best to avoid falling victim to this attack by using the following the advice:
Get a power bank. Power banks are a safe and convenient way to charge your device on the go. Getting a portable power bank means that you’ll never have to use public charging stations where juice jacking attacks occur. Always ensure your power bank is fully charged so you can use it on the go.
Use a USB data blocker. A USB data blocker is a device that protects your phone from juice jacking when you’re using a public charging station. It plugs into the charging port on your phone and acts as a shield between the public charging station’s cord and your device.
Use a power socket instead. Juice jacking attacks only happen when you’re connected to a USB charger. If you absolutely need to charge your phone in public, avoid the risk of infected cables and USB ports and use a power outlet. This is typically a safe way to charge your mobile device and other devices in public.
CHICAGO (October, 2024)— After receiving nearly 50,000 emails from In Defense of Animals supporters, McCormick Place Lakeside Center has taken a crucial step in safeguarding migratory birds by installing bird-safe window film on its iconic glass walls. This renovation addresses the soaring number of bird deaths caused by window collisions at the convention center, which claimed the lives of over 1,000 birds in a single night last fall.
“Windows collisions rank among the deadliest threats to birds,” said Katie Nolan, Wild Animals Campaigns Specialist for In Defense of Animals. “With wild birds in steep decline — over 3 billion lost in the past 50 years — we are delighted that the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority has taken a crucial step by installing bird-safe window film at McCormick Place. This sets a new standard for all North American buildings to follow. Building managers can save millions by installing bird-safe window film and turning off lights.”
McCormick Place, situated along the Mississippi Flyway — a crucial migration route — has long been a site of concern for bird collisions, particularly during spring and fall migrations. In Defense of Animals and its Interfaith Vegan Coalition witnessed the devastating impact firsthand when attending a conference at McCormick Place in 2023.
“The bird deaths we witnessed at McCormick Place were heartbreaking,” said Lisa Levinson, Campaigns Director for In Defense of Animals. “While a member of our Interfaith Vegan Coalition was able to rescue one injured bird, many more had perished in a single night. We couldn’t be happier that McCormick Place has stepped up to protect these vulnerable birds.”
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which manages McCormick Place, announced the $1.2 million usd/ $1.62 million cad project to install bird-safe film has been completed, covering two American football fields’ worth of glass / or approximately 1.3 Canadian football fields’ worth of glass. The newly installed bird-safe window film is a critical part of reducing bird collisions, along with measures such as dimming or turning off lights during peak migration seasons. These actions help protect migratory birds, many of whom face deadly threats from light pollution and reflective windows.
McCormick Place’s efforts align with broader city initiatives like Lights Out Chicago, which aims to reduce bird deaths by encouraging buildings to dim their lights during migration periods. The installation of bird-safe window film will go a long way in ensuring that migratory birds continue to travel safely through the city. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.
Kirsty Harris depicts the most iconic man-made event that might take place in a landscape: the detonation of the atom bomb.
Often working at scale, Harris confronts her audience with a vision of awe and beauty. Mushroom clouds hang over desolate expanses of the Nevada desert, provoking contemplation at the intersection of humanity, brutality, technology and nature.
Harris’s practice is steadfast; her paintings are informed by deep research, and this arduous process is echoed in depictions of a split-second event painted over a period of several months.
– Zavier Ellis for the Saatchi exhibition 2023
Buster Jangle, Easy, 50 x 60 inches, 2016
CBP: Your paintings reconstruct photographic documents of the atomic bomb tests, often in the Nevada desert, in a range of exhibition display formats. Can you introduce the core themes of your work?
KH: I am interested in the way these events from history disrupt and scar those barren landscapes. These swirling, bubbling apparitions are like curses or spells that we’ve cast on ourselves, so violent.
My work might feel confrontational, maybe abrupt at first, then hopefully unravelling into something more. I am also drawn in by the stories and myths that run alongside the scientific nature of the subject. We all know that beauty doesn’t have a moral duty to be inherently good. It’s something I think about, the push and pull of awe. The tests made in the desert are so fascinating, the photographs are very rich, colourful, and vivid, due to the way the light refracts and the type of film used. These practice runs at annihilation are so beautiful – it’s unreal. It’s dark.
Georg, oil on un-stretched linen, 59 x 79 inches, 2023
CBP: You talk about early memories and family history in attending CND rallies as a child. Can you discuss this influence on the subject of your painting today?
KH: As I was becoming more and more interested in landscape painting I noticed they all have something occurring, could be farmers, the sun setting, a stormy sky, a battle, a tiny stream. Alone at Tate Modern I was looking at a painting of a single cloud by Richter and then suddenly something clicked in my head. I was walking around, eyes wide with a slack jaw, thinking “oh wow this is what I must do. Paint mushroom clouds.”
The anticipation of piling onto a coach and ending up somewhere waving my homemade banner and singing and chanting at CND protests are evocative memories from my childhood. In our doorway at home, visitors were welcomed by a massive poster of Thatcher & Reagan parodied in a Gone With The Wind movie-style poster, complete with a billowing mushroom cloud in the background. We collected protest badges and leaflets and the atmosphere was potent and thrilling, but I didn’t catch on to what we were shouting about until later. So it was always there in me. A weird relationship with the subject matter.
Plowshare, oil on linen, 80cm x 60cm, 2024
CBP: Many years ago I visited a small museum in the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, Albuquerque, New Mexico near the atomic bomb test sites. The original photographs of the test bombs were shown alongside reportage photographs of the real bombs and their impact (I think). Also displayed was a fascinating comic book type narrative depicting the daily life of the factory workers who built the bomb and their families. I recall being quietly absorbed by the experience, though I questioned what it was I was looking at, in terms of archive material, as a museum display, and how it made me feel.
When you research and paint your subject, how do you negotiate what you feel about the source material and its transition into you what you are painting? Has it changed over time?
KH: It feels like science fiction.
Through the extensive documentation of nuclear detonations, I can view how these expansive entities change millisecond to millisecond, from the fireball to the pure white cloud left hanging at the end. In my publication, Completely er, unfolding itself (2019), I transcribed the first live official television broadcast of an atomic explosion – given the code name ‘Charlie’ – in 1942. The reporters struggle, grasping for the language to describe the mushroom cloud in front of them – and I get where they were coming from.
We are in such close proximity right now to digital versions of war. Scrolling through instagram you have temu trying to sell you some shitty plastic drawers and then 1 second later a mother holding her tiny dead child wrapped in tarpaulin, and worse. It’s so brutal.
I keep thinking how can we be doing that to ourselves, can they never see themselves in the faces of the people they kill and torture. Nothing is worth this brutality.
I guess my brain is always negotiating how much to watch in order to feel informed but not go reeling into despair, like all of us.
Blue Danube, Oil paint on lightbox tondo, 80cm x 80cm x 11cm, 2023
CBP: In 2007 Mark Wallinger created ‘State Britain’, for the Tate, a meticulous recreation of real-life antiwar demonstrator Brian Haw’s banned protest camp outside the Houses of Parliament. Rather than importing elements of the real camp as a readymade, Wallinger chose to painstakingly recreate it as a painted facsimile. This solitary studio activity would have given him time to reflect on its impact, the life sacrifice Brian Haw made, and what he as an artist was recreating.
How does time and the meticulous process of painting your subject impact on the meaning of the work for you?
KH: Like the women at Greenham Common, Brian Haw was the artwork, the awesome spectacle. Inconvenient clutter. The resilience is truly remarkable. Wallinger’s piece pays tribute to this but, a little like the fake Lascaux caves. Good if you can never see the real thing, but there’s no point looking up close. I found the political implications of it very interesting.
Large paintings take me such a long time, it’s ridiculous.
I have to continually change my vantage point. If it’s possible I turn the painting upside down, take photos of it and desaturate it. Stand up painting, sit down painting. Up the ladder, sat on the floor. I always imagine the next one will be more straightforward but in 25 years, that has never happened, so why would it now? But while there is much anxiety balled up in the action of painting, it is also a hypnotic and calming process. Studying a millisecond of time for so long. I don’t know if it matters to anyone else how long I’ve looked at the painting or the source material, but the act of looking is so important to me. Displaying a painting on your wall at home, you might not realise it but with so much flashing and moving imagery invading our lives (with invitation) a semi-permanent, static, image has a big impact. I love it when there are different layers of meaning to dive into, even if they are not explicit your subconscious will identify them. Looking at an artwork every day builds up a special relationship and enriches the way my mind moves.
Buster Dog,oil on glass, 25cm x 20cm x 4cm, 2021
CBP: Scale feels important both in terms of the impact of your subject for the viewer and your immersion into it when painting it. Can you talk about this aspect of the work?
KH: When you start a painting, there are near unlimited decisions to make. One I used to have trouble with was how big it should be. So I started to use data to construct systems that help me decide. In my paintings, often each square inch (or centimetre) of linen represents a certain number of tons of TNT. This in turn is the unit of measurement chosen, by the military, to denote the yield of the detonation.
These hidden codes might reward an inquisitive viewer.
Really, what I want to do is make paintings so vast that that’s all they see and think about for a moment.
Investigating ideas of scale in a different way: Since 2013 I have been adding to and updating an audio composition entitled How I Learned to Stop Worrying (1945-2024). It is a musical account of every officially recorded nuclear explosion detonated between 1945 and the present day: each different instrument represents a country that partook; each month in history lasts a second on the recording; each note played depicts a single bomb. Eight musicians contributed to the piece and it was quite an epic translation of data to plot out the notes.
Grapple, oil paint on glass, table, 75cm x 50cm x 60cm, 2023
CBP: Can you reveal some of the mark making techniques and tools you use in your painting.
KH: On my larger paintings I staple the linen flat to the wall and then prime it with clear primer. This enables me to really push on the canvas without worrying if I will hit the crossbar. I would love to be laying down decisive, thick, final brush marks, but what comes out is me dabbing layers and layers of thin oil paint, leaving it to evaporate and then repeating the process. My paintings are usually very matt which somehow feels right given that I’m painting dust clouds and sand half the time.
I painted a lot of small paintings on glass during lockdown.
There was something comforting about the contained nature of those pieces. It is quite a different process but still I am basically dabbing on paint until it gets thick enough to create some depth. In a development from these smaller pieces I created a much larger light box piece, Blue Danube, 2023. It plays with the notions of nuclear tourism, emitting its own light in a kind of perverse advert.
Nevada, oil on board, 30cm x 40cm, 2024
CBP: Your titles are short but ranging from factual to enigmatic, how do title your work?
KH: Hard to explain how some titles come to me. A lot of the detonations use people’s names for code names, a bit like cyclones.
Some of my favourites:
“The instrument is not the Music” is the title of a tapestry where the image is a female scientist inspecting and testing a metal instrument. A still from a British documentary it shows the intricate process in a factory where workers unknowingly fabricate the components that will eventually be assembled to create an atomic bomb. tbf my boyfriend came up with that one. He is great at titles if I get stuck.
“Blue Danube” I liked because it is a river (starting in the Black Forest and ending in the Black Sea) a piece of classical music and a bomb. All the Bs, the Beautiful Blue Danube.
Always noting potential titles down in my phone notes, I also dedicate time to skim reading when I need quite a few titles at once. They always come!
Installation shot at Saatchi Gallery 2023, Charlie, oil on un-stretched linen, 112 x 69 inches, 2017
CBP: Can you talk about your studio practice routine when carrying out archival research?
KH: There is the National Archives (UK) and Internet archives (USA) which I find very useful. I trawl through images via the normal channels and in addition watch out for vintage postcards on ebay, old photographs that people have sent me from their Uncle or Grandad’s collection. Declassified documents made into pdfs. We have a decent projector at home now so it’s great to watch documentaries on a large screen. Sometimes I take screenshots from military footage so the freeze-frame I choose may not have been studied widely. It’s interesting how in some images, due to the way the camera has responded, the sky looks black and the clouds are bright white. I have some exciting opportunities coming up, some top secret documents that someone is going to let me look through. And I’d like to work out ways to access small archives. There is one in particular in Germany that looks amazing.
At the moment I’m looking for glow.
Teapot HA, oil on un-stretched linen, 64cm x 51cm, 2019
CBP: What projects are you working on at the moment?
KH: I have time to settle into the studio right now and test out some things I have been thinking through. Last year was a busy one with a solo show at Studio KIND and a big group show at Saatchi Gallery. I am looking forward to a group show in London with some top painters (heroes) next year. Plus a possible group show in New York, just waiting to find out. I also have a soft focus vision of a show in the UK in a massive derelict space. It will be nice to hibernate like a little bear in my studio this winter and come back with new energies.
Sanctuary II, oil on un-stretched linen, 302cm x 217cm, 2018
Kirsty Harris b. 1978 Raised in Yorkshire, artist and curator based in east London.
Co-founder of Come Quick Disaster and on the steering committee for Mental Health Arts organisation – Broken Grey Wires.
Recent solo and 2 person shows include; 2023 THAT LETHAL CLOUD, StudioKIND, Braunton, Devon, UK., HEAVY WEATHER, Splice, Perseverance Works, London, UK. 2022 INTERVENTION, DIY performances during the 59th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy.
Recent group exhibitions include; 2024 LATRINE’S HAUS OF ART, Vane Gallery, Gateshead, UK. SEX SELLS – BEYOND THE HISTORICAL MATRIX, Semjon Contemporary, Berlin, Germany, HOW LONG IS FOREVER, Galerie 37, Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany. BEYOND THE GAZE – RECLAIMING THE LANDSCAPE, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK. Curated by Zavier Ellis. 2023 A GENEROUS SPACE 3, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Yorkshire, UK. Invited by Karl Bielik, TWO PLUS TWO MAKES FOUR, Auxiliary Warehouse, Middlesbrough, UK. Curated by Broken Grey Wires, THE SUBVERSIVE LANDSCAPE, Tremenheere Gallery, Cornwall, UK. Curated by Hugh Mendes. X – Contemporary British Painting, Newcastle Contemporary Art, UK. Curated by Narbi Price. 2022 ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION, Royal Academy, London, UK.
STOW, OH, September 30, 2024 — Our friends at Audio-Technica are pleased to announce the introduction and availability of its AT-LP8X Semi-Automatic Direct Drive Turntable.
The AT-LP8X is Audio-Technica’s new flagship turntable and its first-ever semi-automatic model.
It is designed to deliver exceptional vinyl record playback, with features including a VM95 Series cartridge (included), adjustable VTA (vertical tracking angle), a newly-designed motor, and additional refinements.
In addition to delivering outstanding sound from 33-1/3, 45 and 78-RPM records, the Audio-Technica AT-LP8X offers the convenience of semi-automatic operation, where the tonearm raises itself off the record and the motor stops at the end of a side. The AT-LP8X comes with a pre-mounted high-performance AT-VM95E Dual Magnet phono cartridge with an elliptical stylus, for superior resolution, stereo imaging, and tracking. The cartridge is pre-mounted on Audio-Technica’s new AT-L10 removeable headshell (also available separately) for easy installation. The AT-VM95E is compatible with any VM95 Series replacement stylus.
Adjustable Vertical Tracking Angle VTA
The J-shaped aluminum tonearm is inspired by classic Audio-Technica designs and has adjustable VTA, enabling it to be optimized for virtually any phono cartridge. In addition, the AT-LP8X provides adjustments for anti-skating and tracking force, and comes with a sub-counterweight that enables the use of cartridges with a weight range from 14 to 23.5 grams.
The AT-LP8X incorporates a new low-torque direct drive DC motor, with a speed sensor system that ensures accurate speed stability. It features a 1-inch-thick (25 mm) rubber-damped, anti-resonance, die-cast aluminum platter and a rubber mat, the most substantial platter ever offered on an Audio-Technica turntable, for reduced resonance and more accurate and uncolored vinyl playback. It also features a new internal switching power supply that is optimized for audio use, ensuring minimum noise in the signal chain. The AT-LP8X comes with a detachable RCA cable, removeable hinged dust cover, and 45-RPM adapter.
The Audio-Technica AT-LP8X Semi-Automatic Direct Drive Turntable is now available, at a suggested U.S. retail price of $999 / CAD $1,348. For the Silo, Frank Doris.
Audio-Technica was founded in 1962 with the mission of producing high-quality audio for everyone. As we have grown to design critically acclaimed headphones, turntables and microphones, we have retained the belief that great audio should not be enjoyed only by the select few, but accessible to all. Building upon our analog heritage, we work to expand the limits of audio technology, pursuing an ever-changing purity of sound that creates connections and enriches lives.
— For further information regarding product availability and pricing in Europe, contact Tanya Williams ([email protected]) please mention The Silo when contacting.
On August 30, the US requested consultations respecting Canada’s Digital Services Tax Act under the dispute settlement procedure set out in the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). The US maintains that by imposing the tax, Canada has failed to provide US service providers and investors treatment no less favourable than it provides to Canadian service providers and investors. Given Canada’s unique trade relationship with the US, this could have major implications.
The essence of the complaint is that Canada is violating a specific CUSMA obligation to grant US firms terms that are no less favourable than its own companies receive.
This is called national treatment. The crux of the US argument is that the revenue and earnings thresholds are so high that no Canadian service provider would be subject to the tax, but at least some US providers would be. While the DST is not discriminatory on its face, its practical effect is discriminatory.
Canada’s taxation of digital services has been an on-going contentious issue with the US. The new legislation entered into effect on June 20 and imposes a 3-percent levy – retroactive to January 1, 2022 – on revenue (not income) earned from digital services when certain thresholds are met. Annual gross revenues in a calendar year must exceed €750 million for the tax to apply. The taxpayer must also earn at least C$20 million in Canadian digital services revenue in a calendar year. Affected companies are to start paying the tax next June 30.
On August 1, the Congressional Research Office released a paper outlining multiple concerns. It cites industry associations that maintain that Canada’s DST could “cost US exporters and the US tax base up to $2.3 billion annually and could directly result in the loss of thousands of full-time US jobs.” The paper also cites possible violations of CUSMA and WTO obligations.
The paper also notes that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has applied sanctions under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act against digital services taxes enacted by other countries. Section 301 is much broader in its application than either CUSMA or the WTO.
The CUSMA panel could decide for the US if the facts establish that only US companies meet the €750 million threshold for overall earnings and whose Canadian digital earnings exceed C$20,000,000.
Aside from the possibility of an adverse panel decision and action by the US under Section 301, there are other factors that Global Affairs Canada should consider before the Canadian government commences with the retroactive portion of the tax.
CUSMA is up for renegotiation on July 1, 2026. The process on the US side starts with a USTR report to Congress, due by the end of 2025, that will include an assessment of CUSMA’s operation, as well as a recommendation on CUSMA extension. As Canadian initiatives to impose digital taxes have been a US concern for years now, the recommendation will doubtless address the question of Canada’s DST regime. If that regime remains an open issue and US concerns are not satisfied, the stage could be set for the ultimate demise of CUSMA in 2036.
CUSMA Article 32.6 also provides that a party can withdraw from CUSMA upon giving six months’ notice to the other parties.
Decision time for the Canadian government falls on June 30, 2025, and it has to decide whether to go ahead and start collecting its retroactive DST and face the inevitable hostile reaction of its largest trading partner. This has to be carefully managed, or this small issue could become a big one. For the Silo, Jon Johnson.
Jon Johnson is a former advisor to the Canadian government during NAFTA negotiations and is a Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute.
What vehicle never got the engine it deserved? That’s the question posed to our friends at Hagerty Auto Insurance. Their love of cars goes back decades, or centuries and they’ve all been wondering how much better certain cars would be if they had a different engine …
… Or a better engine, something that truly spoke to the rest of the car. Let’s see what alternate car realities they would have created.
A Standard V-8 for Every Cadillac
Lies! All lies! Cadillac
For me, it’s the fact that all Cadillac cars (cars—Escalade excluded) from the last 20 or so years lack a standard V-8 engine. GM has an excellent LS motor, and a baby Caddy with a modest 4.8-liter small-block would give buyers more reason to avoid a thirsty BMW for a slightly more thirsty Caddy.
As the Caddy becomes larger, the V-8 engine follows suit (5.3-liter CTS, 6.2-liter CT-6, etc.) with increased displacement, and forced induction for the V-series examples. The inherent torque and simplicity of a pushrod V-8 complements the minimalist architecture of GM’s new EV powertrains, and exclusively pairing those two in a luxury car brand will make Cadillac more appealing than any of its competition. — Sajeev Mehta
As under-the-radar-good (and as mod-friendly) as the ATS-V’s LF4 V-6 is, I agree. After having spent over ten thousand miles with the smaller of the Alpha-chassis Caddys, the ATS should have gotten the 455-horse LT1 from the Camaro, and the ATS-V should have gotten the LT4. — Eddy Eckart
V-8 Bronco Raptor/ Ford GT
Ford
Ford Bronco Raptor. Lack of a V-8 is … yeaaaaah. For the record, I am fully aware that you can’t easily fit that V-8 into Ford’s T-6 frame. Actually, here’s the same opinion again: This also applies to the most recent Ford GT. — Matt Tuccillo
For sure, the Ford GT shoulda had a V-8. — Larry Webster
I think I’ll also jump on the Ford GT bandwagon, as I don’t care for the reasoning of why it got the EcoBoost V-6. That car deserved a V-8 based on heritage alone. – Greg Ingold
Yes, please! Kill the flying buttress, make room for a 900+ horsepower Coyote with a twin-screw supercharger. — Sajeev Mehta
V-8 Prowler
FCA
The Plymouth Prowler comes to mind. Chrysler Corporation came up with a car that was a modern nod to the classic hot rod but forgot the one factor that people want from a hot rod: A V-8 engine. You have to actively try to miss that detail. I don’t think anyone would’ve minded seeing a 318 Magnum out of a Ram pickup in the Prowler, as long as it came with eight cylinders. — Greg Ingold
Honda Motors in a Modern Lotus
Lotus
Any modern-day Lotus fits in this category. They make do with Toyota engines but the chassis deserves the character of a Honda motor. — Larry Webster
Having a Lotus with a K-Series would be excellent! Totally agree with that take. — Greg Ingold
A Straight-Six SLK
Mercedes-Benz
Let’s not overlook the original Mercedes SLK. This folding-roof roadster needed Mercedes’ juicy and punchy 2.8-liter straight six. That supercharged four-cylinder engine was disappointing, and the manual gearbox was even worse. — Larry Webster
I only thought of this car/engine combo since I yanked my 1989 Continental Signature Series out of storage. Turns out it needed new rubber, and tires from a 1989 Ford Taurus SHO are a smidge wider on the same-sized wheel. Getting a set of those and slapping a set of 1/4-inch spacers on the rear gave it a stance that I can’t stop looking at. And now, curiously, it’s getting a lot more compliments. Even the manager of a local burger joint stopped me from giving my order so he could compliment me on it.
He thought it was a Town Car, but that’s not the point. These moments get this Lincoln-restomodding fool thinking about one thing: Ford needed an automatic transmission ready for the Taurus SHO sooner, and should have slapped it all into the 1989 Continental. Such a tragedy! — Sajeev Mehta
The Citroën DS was so unconventional and interesting that it’s easy to forget there was only ever an old-fashioned, underwhelming OHV four under the hood. The later SM got a Maserati V-6, but the DS was never so lucky. — Andrew Newton
The Sky Shoulda Been the Limit
GM
GM flogged its Ecotec four-banger, and I know they made crazy power for drag racing. But I thought the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky deserved a more refined motor. — Larry Webster
They needed an LS, maybe just a small-displacement 4.8-liter, to keep Chevrolet appeased with their Corvette’s dominance. But I am sure that was discussed in some conference room at GM, and it was quickly shot down. — Sajeev Mehta
Featured image- Ford GT with Ecoboost 6 cylinder engine.
SAN FRANCISCO (Sept, 2024) — In Defense of Animals, SF Zoo Watch, and Panda Voices are calling on Mayor London Breed and the San Francisco Zoo to immediately abandon their reckless and costly plan to acquire giant pandas.
Finland today announced it will return its pandas to China eight years ahead of schedule citing their unaffordable upkeep, following Edinburgh Zoo’s recent decision to not renew its panda contract owing to the extreme cost. Despite these clear warnings, San Francisco’s panda plan — estimated to cost an astounding $70 million usd/ $94.3 million cad over 10 years — has not been abandoned, even as the city witholds funds for vital public services, and the San Francisco Zoological Society struggles with repeated crises.
Mayor Breed’s plan to import pandas to the crisis-stricken San Francisco Zoo has been strongly opposed by animal advocates. Photo: JackPhoto.com/In Defense of Animals
“Finland’s decision to return its pandas early due to soaring costs should be a wake-up call for San Francisco,” said Brittany Michelson, Campaign Specialist for Captive Animals at In Defense of Animals.
“Finland and Edinburgh were financially better prepared and better managed, yet even they couldn’t sustain their panda exhibits. San Francisco is already in financial trouble, and this panda plan is another disaster waiting to happen.”
“San Francisco City and San Francisco Zoo share the same policy — let residents suffer while running after doomed vanity projects,” said Justin Barker of SF Zoo Watch. “The zoo and the city have cut off funding for the most vulnerable while privileging the doomed panda plan.”
“The fact that the Ahtari Zoo in Finland is returning giant pandas JinBaoBao (Lumi) and HuaBao (Pyry) nearly nine years before their contract ends shows the huge challenge and the financial issues zoos face when hosting giant pandas,” said Taciana Santiago, Co-Founder of Panda Voices. “The popularity of these bears often overshadows the costly expenses and highly-specialized care these very sensitive animals demand. If these conditions are not met, the pandas’ wellbeing will be sacrificed, like we sadly observed with pandas YaYa and LeLe, who suffered at the Memphis Zoo until 2023. We hope San Francisco Zoo, which already faces substantial financial issues, can learn from these experiences and stop their unsustainable and cruel plans to host giant pandas.”
LeLe died and YaYa became extremely ill at Memphis Zoo. Photos: Panda Voices
Despite its crumbling infrastructure and multiple languishing infrastructure projects, the San Francisco Zoo is moving forward with plans to house pandas.
Meanwhile, other zoos like Finland’s Ahtari and Edinburgh have already concluded that panda programs are financially unsustainable. Worse yet, the San Francisco Zoo has failed to address major animal welfare and labor issues, ignoring serious concerns raised by staff over unsafe conditions and multiple preventable animal deaths. Last week, the zoo’s board retained its leadership, despite an overwhelming 97% vote of no confidence from union members.
The century old San Francisco Zoo has deferred maintenance and let upgrade projects languish for years. Photo: In Defense of Animals
“Bringing pandas into an environment where the current animals are already suffering is not only reckless but cruel,” added Michelson. “The San Francisco Zoo is in no state to care for these highly sensitive animals when it can’t even meet the needs of those already in its care.”
At a time when Mayor Breed is pausing $33 million usd/ $44.5 million cad in spending for crucial community services such as housing support and violence prevention, diverting millions more toward a panda exhibit is unconscionable. The estimated costs for the panda acquisition far exceed the $25 million usd/ $33.7 million cad the mayor plans to raise from private donors:
$35 million usd/ $47.2 million cad or more for new exhibits and holding facilities.
An annual loan fee of $1-2 million usd/ $1.4 -2.7 million cad to China for the pandas.
$1.5-3 million usd/ $2-4 million cad per year for food, veterinary care, staff, and maintenance.
“Pandas have pushed yet another world-class zoo beyond its financial limits,” added Michelson. “San Francisco Zoo has proven, time and again, that it cannot manage its finances, fix infrastructure issues, or protect its animals. Adding pandas to this mix is a recipe for disaster.”
In Defense of Animals, Panda Voices, and SF Zoo Watch urges the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Mayor Breed to immediately halt the panda plans and prioritize addressing the zoo’s current crises. The panda plan has faced opposition from San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin and nearly 14,000 concerned citizens have already flooded the inboxes of Mayor Breed, city officials, and the San Francisco Zoo, urging them to abandon this dangerous plan. Concerned citizens and animal lovers can take action by sending an email at www.idausa.org/sfpanda. For the Silo, Brittany Michelson.
Featured image-Giant pandas Panpan (right) and Yueyue are shown in a Jan., 2019 handout photo from the Calgary Zoo. The first giant Panda twins born in Canada. Handout photo by The Calgary Zoo.
The Art of Hi-Fi, Volume 6: Guitars from Octave Records Features an Extravaganza of Playing Styles and Sounds– Octave’s latest offers a wide selection of guitar styles and genres, from solo acoustic to all-out rock on overdrive – September, 2024 – What’s not to love about guitar music? Especially when it’s as well-recorded and soulfully played as the selections on The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 06: Guitars, the latest release from Octave Records. The album features a wide range of artists, styles, and instruments, from the solo acoustic 12-string guitar of Bill Kopper on “Hungry Heart” to Americana, jazz, pop, well-loved covers, and Connor Terrones tearing it up on Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression.” It’s all here, captured in Octave Records’ stunning Pure DSD high-resolution recording quality.
Paul McGowan, Octave Records’ CEO pointed out: “Guitars are part of the soundtrack of our lives, from sweet acoustic and warm jazz tones to the powerful electric guitar sounds that have galvanized generations of listeners. Yet it’s extremely challenging to capture these many and varied musical and sonic flavors on a recording. We are thrilled with the sound and performances of our Octave artists on The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 06: Guitars, who did a fantastic job of showcasing the almost limitless potential of the instrument.”
The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 06: Guitars was recorded with Octave’s Pyramix-based Pure DSD 256 recording system, using a variety of microphones to capture the wide variety of guitars on the album: steel-string and nylon-string, 12-string guitar, electric, pedal steel, resonator, and even baritone guitar. Everything from the crystalline overtones of a steel-string guitar to the roar of a guitar amp speaker pushed beyond its limit is here to enjoy. The album was recorded, mixed and produced by Paul McGowan, with Terri McGowan and Jessica Carson assisting in the recording and production duties. It was mastered by Gus Skinas.
The album begins with Julian Peterson’s soulful Americana-tinged “Am I Wrong” by Keb’ Mo’, singing and playing a resonator guitar using a slide, a deep, elemental sound. The bossa-nova-tinged “Amor Prohibido” features Bill Kopper on nylon-string, accompanied by bass and percussion. It’s a lively musical dialogue, beautifully recorded. Kopper and the trio also contribute “Sweet Lorraine,” played gypsy jazz style with a snappy, cutting guitar tone, and he goes solo with the gorgeous 12-string sound and complex fingerpicked voicings of “Hungry Heart.”
The wailing sound of the pedal steel guitar is featured on Greg Schochet’s country original, “Broken Down Chair,” with Schochet’s plaintive singing and sparse acoustic guitar playing carrying a wry tune about likening his life to the well-worn piece of furniture. Khabu Young contributes a dazzling instrumental version of the Beatles’ “Come Together” on solo baritone guitar, and the amount of sound he gets out of just the one instrument is remarkable.
The Seth Lewis Trio offers intimate versions of the Bacharach/David classics, “The Look of Love” and “Close to You,” featuring the warm, rich tones of Lewis’ acoustic and electric basses, along with piano, organ, and drums. Wyn Walke digs into the 1930s American classic “Deep Elem Blues,” made popular by the Grateful Dead in the 1960s, performed here in a stately version with vocals, lap steel guitar, bass, percussion, and piano. The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 06: Guitars closes with a dramatic musical shift: Connor Terrones’ incendiary instrumental version of “Manic Depression,” with multiple guitars, bass, and drums blasting away to bring the album to a roaring no-holds-barred conclusion. Turn it up!
The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 06: Guitars features Octave’s premium gold disc formulation, and the disc is playable on any SACD, CD, DVD, or Blu-ray player. It also has a high-resolution DSD layer that is accessible by using any SACD player or a PS Audio SACD transport. In addition, the master DSD and PCM files are available for purchase and download, including DSD 512, DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64, and DSDDirect Mastered 352.8 kHz/24-bit, 176.2 kHz/24-bit, 88.2 kHz/24-bit, and 44.1 kHz/24-bit PCM. (SRP: $29usd / $39 cad.)
World Economic Forum’s EDISON Alliance Impacts Over 1 Billion Lives, Accelerating Global Digital Inclusion.
The EDISON Alliance has connected over 1 billion people globally to essential digital services like healthcare, education and finance through a network of 200+ partners in over 100 countries.
Investments in bridging the universal digital divide could bring $8.7 trillion usd/ $11.7 trillion cad in benefits to developing countries, home to more than 70% of the Alliance’s beneficiaries.
The Alliance’s 300+ partner initiatives, including digital dispensaries in India, economy digitalization programmes in Rwanda and blended learning in Bangladesh, continue to shape a digitally equitable society.
Follow the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2024 here and on social media using #SDIM24.
New York, USA, September 2024 – The EDISON Alliance, a World Economic Forum initiative, has successfully connected over 1 billion people globally – ahead of its initial 2025 target – to essential digital services in healthcare, education and finance in over 100 countries. Since its launch in 2021, the Alliance has united a diverse network of 200+ partners from the public and private sectors, academia and civil society to create innovative solutions for digital inclusion.
Despite living in a digitally connected world, 2.6 billion people are currently not connected to the internet.
This digital exclusion impacts access to healthcare, financial services and education, contributing to significant economic costs for both the individuals involved and their countries’ economies.
Klaus Schwab- German mechanical engineer, economist and founder of the World Economic Forum.
“Ensuring universal access to the digital world is not merely about connectivity, but a fundamental pillar of equality and opportunity,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chairman of the World Economic Forum. “Let us reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that every individual, regardless of their geographic or socioeconomic status, has access to meaningful connectivity.”
The Alliance has made substantial progress in South Asia and Africa.
In Madya Pradesh, India, The EDISON Alliance fostered the Digital Dispensaries initiative, a collaboration between the Apollo Hospitals Group and a US telecom infrastructure provider. This partnership has successfully delivered quality and affordable healthcare, improving patient engagement, addressing gender health disparities and optimizing patient convenience, and making it a scalable model for delivering patient-centric healthcare through digital solutions. Other partner projects improved digital access through economy digitalization programmes in Rwanda, provided solutions for bridging the education gap in Bangladesh with blended learning techniques and explored solutions to reduce financial exclusion in Pakistan.
“Everybody, no matter where they were born or where they live, should have access to the digital services that are essential for life in the 21st century,” said Hans Vestberg, Chair of the EDISON Alliance, Chairman and CEO of Verizon. “Making sure that everybody can get online is too big a challenge for any one company or government, so the EDISON Alliance brings people together to find practical, community-based solutions that can scale globally.”
By driving digital inclusion through its 300+ partner initiatives, the Alliance contributes to unlocking the immense potential of the digital economy. Achieving universal internet access by 2030 could require $446 billion usd/ $600 billion cad, but would yield $8.7 trillion usd/ $11.7 trillion cad in benefits for developing countries. This highlights the significant potential of digital inclusion to drive economic growth and improve lives. The EDISON Alliance has made substantial contributions to this goal, with over 70% of its impact concentrated in developing nations.
The milestone of connecting 1 billion lives was initially targeted for 2025.
Achieving this ahead of schedule demonstrates the effectiveness of its partners, through collaboration and targeted projects, in bridging the digital divide and providing access to critical services to underserved communities.
Beyond digital access, the rapidly evolving technological landscape – marked by such advancements as artificial intelligence, presents opportunities and challenges. The EDISON Alliance remains committed to ensuring that marginalized communities can fully benefit from these developments and avoid being left behind. As technology continues to advance, the Alliance will focus on expanding digital access, fostering innovation and addressing the digital gender gap to create a more inclusive digital future.
About the Sustainable Impact Meetings 2024
The Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2024 are being held this week in New York. Over 1,000 global leaders from diverse sectors and geographies will come together to assess and renew global action around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a series of impact-oriented multistakeholder dialogues. The meetings are an integral part of the Forum’s year-round work on sustainable development and its progress.
The Indonesian Pharmacist Association or more popularly abbreviated as Pafi is a forum for pharmacists in Indonesia to participate in improving the level of public welfare, especially in the fields of Public Health and Pharmacy, in addition to their daily duties.
One of the active branches that continues to strive to improve the quality of pharmaceutical services is Pafi Muara Bungo. For more complete information, check the website .
To facilitate providing the best service to the community, Pafi Muara Bungo continues to develop various initiatives and programs, including providing online registration for pharmacist members in the district.
The PAFI organization is a Professional Organization that is Work and Service-oriented.
In this case, it has 4 goals, such as:
Realizing a Just and Prosperous Society based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution quoted from the central PAFI, in fact, Indonesian Pharmacists have existed since the Proclamation of Independence of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 1945, have fought side by side with all groups of society, to eliminate colonialism from the face of the earth of Indonesia, and have actively participated in defending the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and then participated in Community and State Development.
Therefore, Indonesian Pharmacists are one of the development potentials that have never been absent in the struggle for state development until today, continuing to optimize services to the Indonesian people.
Realizing Optimal Health for the Indonesian People
The second goal of PAFI is to realize optimal health for the Indonesian people. In this case, PAFI Muara Bungo is actively disseminating information about health and the importance of proper drug use. Such as, recommendations to increase awareness before consuming these drugs, consulting with doctors and pharmacists before using drugs, and providing education related to disease prevention.
Developing and improving Indonesian Pharmaceutical Development
Developing and improving development in the world of automatic pharmacy can also increase efficiency and accuracy in providing services to the wider community.
Both the central Pafi and Pafi Muara Bungo in particular have developed an integrated pharmaceutical information system. It is expected to be able to provide faster and more accurate information online. So that health information is easily accessible to various levels of society.
Improving Member Welfare
One of the main goals of Pafi Muara Bungo is to improve the competence and welfare of its members. Various training and seminar information for Muara Bungo pharmacy experts is updated on the website.
It is hoped that with the increasing competence possessed, the welfare of Pafi members will also increase. Good news for pharmacists can join the training, the first step, register first to become a member of Pafi Muara Bungo.
Training and seminars on pharmacy management, the use of technology in pharmacy services, and the development of soft skills such as communication and auto services can be followed. In addition, there is a lot of job vacancy information for fresh graduates and pharmacists for better jobs. For the Silo, Anna Melnikova.
Popcorn ceilings are a well-known finish that resembles a bubble-like textured surface. They were trendy from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. This is why homeowners who have had difficulty removing carpet and green tiles in the kitchen now want stucco removal.
Steps to Remove Popcorn Ceilings
The most effective way to remove a textured popcorn ceiling is to use a large paint scraper. However, if you do not follow the correct procedure and do not know the nuances, you can end up with a huge mess.
Here are some practical tips that you can use to remove popcorn ceilings from your home:
Determine if your popcorn ceiling contains asbestos. If you built your home before 1980, there is a chance that your popcorn ceiling contains asbestos. This is a dangerous material that can cause serious health problems. To do this, buy a special test kit or hire a professional.
Gather the right tools. To remove a popcorn ceiling, you will need a scraper, an aerosol can, a ladder, and safety equipment (goggles, gloves, and a respirator).
Clear the space. Make sure the room is empty before removing a textured ceiling. Cover large items that you cannot take out with a heavy-duty tarp.
Disconnect ceiling lights. This will reduce the risk of accidental damage. Secure electrical wires with special wire nuts to prevent electric shock while working.
Protect electrical outlets and light fixtures. Cover them with plastic wrap and masking tape. This blockage will prevent water from entering the outlet and reduce the risk of short circuits.
Protect floors, doors, and windows. Cover all surfaces with a heavy tarpaulin mat and secure it with masking tape.
Wet the ceiling. Fill a spray bottle with warm water and a few drops of detergent and spray the ceiling.
Scrape off the popcorn texture. You can use a wide putty knife for this. Use smooth, even movements to remove the material effectively. You can add more water to make the process easier. Wait 24 hours for the ceiling to dry before moving on to the next step.
Apply a sanding coat and sand. This will help you fill in any gaps and provide a smooth surface. Let the mixture dry, and then sand again to remove uneven areas.
After this, you can prime and paint the ceiling as desired.
Finally, you can remove the mat, put the lamps and fans back, remove the socket covers, and arrange the furniture.
Removing the popcorn ceiling is quite problematic. This process requires special tools and skills. The main problem with removing popcorn texture is the colossal mess it creates. Only professionals can remove popcorn ceilings without dust and dirt. If you’re intimidated by cleaning or need more time, hiring professionals is a great way to solve the problem.
How to simplify the process of removing popcorn ceilings?
If you want to simplify removing popcorn ceiling as much as possible, use the services of professionals from Renovated-Home. Experienced craftsmen will help transform your home into the place of your dreams. Renovated-Home craftsmen use leading technologies to remove textured ceilings. The surface is removed without dust and mess.
The Renovated-Home team works in Toronto and provides the highest professional services. Сraftsmens have extensive experience leveling ceilings, so you will not have to wait long. They will perfectly level the surface and clean up everything after themselves, leaving a clean space in your home.
If you have questions about the cost, request a consultation. Managers will contact you and calculate the cost of work individually, considering the area, ceiling height, and the presence of furniture. Get a free consultation right now. For the Silo, Kristina Rigina.
I’m so excited to join forces with charity Made By Dyslexia today to launch the free onlineUniversity of Dyslexic Thinking, hosted by Open University and available to access from all around the world.
We decided to launch the university to teach the skills most relevant to today’s world – Dyslexic Thinking skills.
The courses are for anyone, at any stage of life; you might be a dyslexic looking to learn more about your Dyslexic Thinking skills and apply them to different industries, or someone who isn’t dyslexic but is curious to understand how this kind of thinking works in action, and why these skills are more valuable than ever before.
This morning, Made By Dyslexia revealed its new Intelligence 5.0 report, which includes research from Randstad Enterprise that shows the skills inherent to dyslexics are the most sought-after in every job, in every sector, globally.
The report clearly demonstrates that today’s AI-driven world needs a new kind of intelligence focused on human skills such as complex problem solving, adaptability, resilience, communication and creative thinking.
These are skills dyslexics naturally possess but aren’t measured by traditional education and workplace tests, which instead focus on dyslexic challenges. Based on this, it concludes the outdated systems that are designed to teach and measure intelligence need a rethink – it’s time for a new school of thought.
And this is where DyslexicU comes in! We’re shaking things up and teaching the skills the world needs. We need more innovators, problem-solvers, storytellers and unconventional thinking. The online course features many of the world’s greatest dyslexics talking about how Dyslexic Thinking skills like this have fuelled innovation and success, and the lessons we can gain from their experiences. They’re the kind of lessons I wish I was taught in the classroom.
I’m delighted to be joined by some of the incredible (dyslexic) course contributors today to launch DyslexicU at Virgin Hotels New York City, including HRH Princess Beatrice, Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock, and Jean Oelwang.
HRH Princess Beatrice
Courses in ‘Entrepreneurs & Start-Up Mentality’ (made in partnership with Virgin StartUp) and another on ‘Changemakers & Activism’ (made in partnership with Virgin Unite) are available on DyslexicU, hosted on Open University today, with lots more to come later this year (or next term, should I say?!) They cover subjects such as storytelling, sport, fashion, culinary arts, and music.
While ‘U’ might technically’ stand for ‘University’, I quite like the irony that it resembles the ‘U’ that myself and many dyslexics sometimes see scribbled on our report cards, because traditional education systems are not made for minds like ours. If you’re a dyslexic, I know how disheartening that can be. I hope the launch of DyslexicU today can be a reminder to you that thinking in a different way to everyone else is indispensable in this new world of work. It’s your superpower.
OPP officers stand near the scene of a shooting where one Ontario Provincial Police officer was killed and two others were injured in the town of Bourget, Ont. on May 11, 2023. The Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle
Violent crime is surging in some of Canada’s major cities, with sexual assault rates showing the largest increase over the short and long term, according to a new report.
Sexual assault cases climbed in eight of nine major cities over the past seven years, with Ottawa being the exception to the trend, according to a study [read the full report at the end of this post] by the Macdonald Laurier Institute (MLI). The incidence of sexual assault has risen since 2016 in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Peel, Ont., and York, Ont., with the last nearly doubling from 2016 to 2023.
“In recent years there has been a surge in violent crime across Canada as a whole,” says the report authored by Dave Snow and Rickard Audas, senior fellows at MLI. “We found that violent crime was increasing in many cities in the short-term, most notably for sexual assaults and robberies.”
Winnipeg and Edmonton recorded the highest number of sexual assault cases during the seven-year period. In 2023, Edmonton had a sexual assault rate of 108.64 cases per 100,000 people, while Winnipeg saw a rate of 107.76. Toronto followed at 97.8 cases.
The rate in Peel, on the other hand, was 52.15 cases last year, the lowest among all major cities.
The study’s goal was to analyze crime trends at a local level. To do so, the authors looked at 10 years of police-reported violent crime records from nine major cities, which they say account for one-third of the Canadian population.
They considered four crime categories: homicide, aggravated assault, sexual assault, and robbery. They did not include Vancouver data on sexual assault because of differences in how it reports the crime, they noted.
Winnipeg: Highest Robbery Rates
The robbery rate in Manitoba’s capital last year was nearly triple that of every other major city, at 305.82 cases per 100,000 population, according to the report. The rate has increased by more than 50 percent since 2016, decreasing slightly from 2019 to 2021, and reaching a peak in 2023.
The authors noted the rate decline coincides with the years of pandemic lockdowns.
The second highest robbery rate last year was in Edmonton, which had less than half that of Winnipeg, at 106.01 cases per 100,000 population. Alberta’s capital city had the second highest rate for the entire period, while Montreal and Toronto have followed closely in recent years.
By contrast, York reported the lowest robbery rates since 2016 among all major cities, with 31.66 cases last year. Ottawa and Peel also reported lower rates than other cities.
Edmonton: Highest Rates of Aggravated Assault
Edmonton’s aggravated assault rate in 2023 was more than four times that of any other major Canadian city except Winnipeg, said the report, at 38.72 incidents per 100,000 population compared to Winnipeg’s 22.81.
Aggravated assault refers to injuring, maiming, disfiguring, or endangering someone’s life, according to the Criminal Code of Canada.
The aggravated assault rate from 2016 to 2023 was highest in Edmonton, where it’s been rising steadily over the last decade, according to the study. Winnipeg had the second highest rates in the study period.
The authors said that despite being Canada’s largest city, Toronto has experienced “a considerable decline” in its aggravated assault rate over the last decade, with 8.29 cases in 2023.
York had the lowest rates since 2016, followed by Peel and Montreal. For The Silo, Carolina Avendano/The Epoch Times.
Those who are in the Armed Forces and the general population of Anime fanatics seem to overlap too often to be coincidence. What one armed forces deployment in Okinawa, Japan does to you…
Remember who you’re fighting for. For us, It’s always been Ankou team. Yukari is best girl.
To take a few educated guesses: there’s some of you who are still in denial about liking anime, some of you who are seething with rage that anime even exists in the first place, and probably a few older fellows who are about to be extremely confused. (we’re sorry)
BUT For those of you who already know what’s up: here’s the skinny- basically this post is just a heads up on a sale of all things anime at the kommandostore. Yep that store. Impressive surplus and new military style clothing and ephemera. That shit looks good and holds up. It is tough.
So what about the anime sale?
No codes, human instrumentality, getting isekai’d by truck-kun, or magical-girl transformations needed to take full advantage this weekend. Whether you’ve deliberately sought it out or stumbled upon it on accident, there’s no running from the appeal of anime merch. It’s fun, colorful, sassy, sexy, suggestive and playful. The perfect sort of addition to a pack or helmet cover or laptop or whatever. You get the idea. Maybe you didn’t even know that the kommandostore, known for high quality new and surplus military clothing and items even did that kind of stuff and are just finding out now? If that’s the case, know that all the merch is done in collaboration with Atamonica and is our magnum opus.
The founder of Anduril loves it so much that it’s officially licensed, but that’s a story for another day…
Anduril- transforming US & Allied military capabilities with advanced technologies.
So regardless of if you’re ready to disappoint and confuse your loved ones, or if you’re in the ironic denial phase of being an Anime-watcher ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US! We hope you enjoy all the deals with us this weekend.
Just throw it all in your cart and we’ll do the hard work while you finish catching up on the seasonal shows/Vtuber VODs/manga… 2D > 3D (´･ω･`) We love the anthropomorphized missiles so much it’s unreal. Go follow Atamonica. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.
Let’s Hope for Solid Hit from the PBO’s Third Swing at Carbon Tax Analysis
The “corrected” analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office of the carbon tax and rebates is due soon. One hopes it will get more things right in this third crack at evaluating the government of Canada’s assurance that most Canadians will receive enough from the carbon tax rebates to cover their cost of paying the tax.
Reporting in 2022 and in an update last year, the PBO analysis confirmed the government assertion so long as induced economic effects from the carbon levy are not included. However, once the economic damage from the levy is included, the PBO concluded that the rebates fall short of keeping family budgets whole.
The PBO’s conclusion was seized on by Conservative politicians and others to justify calls to revoke the carbon tax. Now, more knives have come out. The NDP says it would scrap the tax on households and put the burden on large emitters, but it does not yet explain how it would square that with the current big-emitter carbon tax. And BC, where carbon taxing began in Canada, has said it would drop the tax if Ottawa removed the legal requirement.
Much is at stake with this third PBO swing.
After the second report, the PBO admitted that its analysis had included, in addition to the carbon tax on households, the tax on large emitters as well. The economic impacts had been taken from work passed over to the PBO by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), which included the effects of the tax as applied to both industrial and household payers. The budget officer said the error was small and had little consequence for the analysis and promised a corrected version this fall.
The Canadian Climate Institute estimates that 20-48 percent of the emissions reduction by 2030 will come from the levy on large emitters compared to 8-14 percent from households. Given the scale of the large emitters tax, it is likely that it has significant economic effects on any forecast. Fixing this should not, however, be the most consequential revision to its analysis.
The PBO’s first two efforts had an analytical asymmetry. It measured the economic cost originating in the tax, exaggerated as it turned out, but did not attempt to capture the economic benefits (not to mention any health gains) from the effects of the household carbon levy in mitigating climate change. Put differently, their work was, in effect, based upon the faulty premise that climate change brings no economic damage. The massive and growing costs of cleaning up fire and flood damage and adapting to the many other consequences of global warming bear evidence of such costs. The PBO could and should do its own analysis of those climate change costs and, hence, the benefits of mitigation. Or it could more easily tap into the substantial body of available literature.
Lowering Canada’s Gross Domestic Product
In Damage Control, the Canadian Climate Institute estimated climate change would lower the Gross Domestic Product by $35 billion from what it would otherwise have been in 2030; the impact would rise to $80 to $103 billion by 2055. Through cutting emissions, the household carbon tax will reduce this cost. International literature is rich, and the PBO could review it for applicability to Canada. As but one example, Howard and Sterner’s (2017) meta-analysis on the impacts of climate change concluded most studies underestimated them. Their preferred estimate points to a GDP hit of between 7 and 8 percent of GDP if there are no catastrophic damages and 9 to 10 percent if there are. Conceptual thinking is also advancing. Consideration is being given to there being “tipping points” where a certain degree of climate change may have much more non-linear dramatic economic effects. Some, like Stern and Stigliz, even question the worth of comparing an economic outlook with mitigation action against a status quo baseline as the PBO has done. They argue that without mitigation, there may not be a sustainable economic outcome.
Finally, those still inclined to think that a corrected Fall 2024 PBO report will provide ammunition to “axe the tax” need to ask themselves two questions.
First, is there value in the emissions reduction resulting from the household carbon tax? The Canadian Climate Institute concludes that the 8-14 percent contribution to emissions reduction by 2030 will grow in later years. Even with the tax and all the other policies announced to date, there is a 42-megatonne gap in Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction target. More than 200 Canadian economists signed an open letter asserting that “carbon pricing is the lowest cost approach because it gives each person and business the flexibility to choose the best way to reduce their carbon footprints. Other methods, such as direct regulations, tend to be more intrusive and inflexible, and cost more.” If not the household carbon tax, then what else?
Don Drummond is the Stauffer-Dunning Fellow in Global Public Policy and Adjunct Professor at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University and a Fellow-In-Residence at the C.D. Howe Institute.
As the automotive industry evolves at a rapid-fire pace, trust in autonomous driving vehicles remains a critical challenge amid pervasive reliability concerns. Addressing this substantial industry pain point is automotive AI technology disruptor Autobrains Technologies. Its game-changing “Liquid AI” innovation—combining AI-assisted driving with its Autonomous Driving capabilities—directly addresses such marketplace reliability concerns, setting new standards for autonomous driving in the process.
“The safety debate surrounding AVs is more relevant than ever,” notes Autobrains Founder and CEO Igal Raichelgauz. “While AVs promise to reduce traffic fatalities by eliminating human error such as distracted driving, there are still significant reliability concerns for both manufacturers and drivers. The ongoing dialogue around AVs is critical, and we’re not only at the forefront of these discussions, but also advancing AI that prioritizes driverless car safety. We believe our Liquid AI technology offers a paradigm shift by mimicking human cognitive processes, thereby improving the system’s adaptability and decision-making in real-time. The automotive industry stands at a crossroad. We are proud to lead this charge, setting new standards for what AI in driving can achieve.”
Driving Change
Autobrains’ revolutionary Liquid AI technology enhances situational awareness and decision-making, providing a safer and more reliable driving experience. As AI continues to evolve, these advancements are crucial in building trust and adoption among drivers and manufacturers, alike. Combining AI-assisted driving with its Autonomous Driving capabilities, Liquid AI enhances situational awareness and decision-making, providing a safer and more reliable driving experience, which is crucial in building trust and adoption among both drivers and manufacturers. As AI continues to be integrated into vehicles, the question of generating trust becomes paramount.
“The reliability of Autonomous Driving has been a significant concern for both manufacturers and drivers,” said Raichelgauz. “We believe that our Liquid AI technology offers a paradigm shift by mimicking human cognitive processes, thereby improving the system’s adaptability and decision-making in real-time. Traditional AI, with its narrow focus, often falls short when faced with the unpredictable nature of real-world driving. Liquid AI, however, marks a significant departure from this approach. By incorporating principles of human cognition, it learns and adapts in real-time, ensuring that our driving systems are predictable and optimized for any real-world driving scenario.”
There are several key factors that differentiate Liquid AI from traditional AI systems. These include:
Robust Edge Case Handling: Effectively addresses the long tail of edge cases that traditional AI systems struggle with.
Human-Like Cognitive Processing: Mimics human decision-making, allowing for better handling of unpredictable real-world conditions.
Efficient Resource Utilization: Lower computational power requirements make it scalable across various vehicle models without compromising performance.
Real-Time Learning: Liquid AI adapts in real-time to new driving scenarios, ensuring higher accuracy and fewer false positives.
With a background in AI innovation spanning multiple disciplines, Raichelgauz is a distinguished technology executive who has co-founded several successful businesses, including Cortica—a company renowned for its self-learning technology in visual perception. Under his leadership, the Autobrains Liquid AI technology is now driving consequential change in the automotive industry by resolving autonomous vehicle reliability.
“The automotive industry stands at a crossroad,” Raichelgauz continued. “As we continue to integrate AI into our vehicles, the question of generating trust becomes paramount. Traditional AI, with its narrow focus, often falls short when faced with the unpredictable nature of real-world driving. Liquid AI, however, marks a significant departure from this approach. By incorporating principles of human cognition, it learns and adapts in real-time, ensuring that our driving systems are predictable and optimized for any real-world driving scenario. At Autobrains, we are proud to lead this charge, setting new standards for what AI in driving can achieve.” For the Silo, Merilee Kern.
Back in February we wrote about the superb Oculus Rift virtual reality sailing app MarineVerse Cup. This fully immersive and accurate simulation surprised us with its physics based playset and incredibly realistic sense of actually sailing. (Add a fan moving air into your face and body for an even more visceral experience.) It is a most welcome virtual reality experience.
MarineVerse started development with a focus on regattas while aiming to create what the developers called “a chill sailing game”. Like all robust apps, the developments and updates continued and I wouldn’t be surprised if one day we might see knot tying or rigging etc. as part of their sailing school.
Night Sailing!
The latest update allows VR mariners to try night sailing & boating and experience relaxing sailing under the stars at Akalana Island while testing navigation skills like never before.
Night Navigation Practice
Have you ever sailed at night? Can you distinguish safe water from an isolated danger mark by just looking at its lights? Often a feared outing for a novice sailor in the real world, you can learn safely, at your own pace, and without the fear of grounding your boat and risking your life.
Test your skills in MarineVerse Cup:
( The video doesn’t do it full justice; make sure to try it in VR yourself. )
Apple has just officially launched iOS 18, a major update that is set to redefine the iPhone experience with enhanced personalization, new capabilities, and seamless integration for gaming and entertainment. Available for download starting today, iOS 18 promises to bring a whole new level of interaction and performance for iPhone users starting with the older generation Xs and up to the latest 16 Pro.
Key Features of iOS 18
– Revamped User Interface (UI): iOS 18 introduces a more customizable interface, with dynamic widgets, a redesigned lock screen, and adaptive app layouts, making the experience more personal than ever.
– AI-Powered Personalization: Leveraging advanced AI, the system learns from user preferences, adjusting app recommendations, notifications, and even battery optimization to match individual habits. This feature promises a smarter, more intuitive user experience.
– Interactive Widgets: For the first time, iOS users can engage with widgets directly from the home screen. Whether it’s checking game stats or adjusting settings, this allows for quicker access to essential functions.
– Performance Boost: Apple has integrated the A18 Bionic chip into the latest iPhones, resulting in faster processing speeds, optimized graphics, and better multitasking capabilities. This is especially beneficial for gaming, where users will notice smoother graphics and higher frame rates.
– Expanded Gaming Capabilities: iOS 18 introduces Game Mode, a dedicated feature that optimizes performance while playing online games by reducing background processes and enhancing network stability. Users will experience faster response times and less lag, which is critical for real-time multiplayer games. This is coupled with Enhanced AR support, bringing online games to life in ways previously unseen.
– Cross-Device Connectivity: With iOS 18, gaming moves seamlessly across Apple devices. Game progress can now be synced across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, allowing users to pick up where they left off, regardless of the device they’re using.
Comparison with Previous iOS Versions
– Performance Gains: Compared to iOS 17, iOS 18 offers up to 30% faster app launches and a 20% increase in battery life for gamers. This is a result of the new battery optimization algorithms and improved processor efficiency.
– Gaming Improvements: The introduction of Game Mode and AR-enhanced experiences is a leap from previous iterations, positioning iOS 18 as the ideal platform for mobile gaming enthusiasts. Apple’s new Metal 3 framework [MetalFX upscaling first seen in an impressive 2022 demo showcasing Resident Evil Village running as a Mac port- see video below CP] also enhances the gaming experience with more detailed textures and faster loading times.
Impact on Online Gaming
iOS 18’s Game Mode and improved connectivity features ensure that mobile gamers can enjoy uninterrupted, high-performance gameplay on online platforms. This feature helps tackle a longstanding challenge of latency and performance dips during competitive play.
“iOS 18 transforms the online gaming landscape by making iPhone not just a communication device, but a full-fledged gaming console in the palm of your hand. With its advanced features, smoother gameplay, and seamless cross-device experience, iOS 18 is a game-changer,” said Vadim Khrulev, Founder and CEO at thesolitaire.com.
With iOS 18, Apple is once again pushing the boundaries of what is possible on a mobile device. For gamers, content creators, and everyday users, the new OS offers unmatched personalization, performance, and cross-platform experiences. As the gaming industry continues to expand, iOS 18 ensures that iPhone remains at the forefront of the digital entertainment world.
There is something very strange about the crystal blue waters in the Caribbean Sea, dotted with white sand islands and coconut trees, that seems to attract unsolved mysteries.
But unless the minds behind Wikipedia or mainstream science have a change of heart, the ever-mysterious underwater highway known as Bimini Road will likely remain case-closed.
Thereby hangs a tale common to throngs of mysterious places in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Florida Keys wherein ships, divers, and other witnesses speak of the unexplained—only to be scoffed at, derided, and scorned.
As with the Bermuda Triangle, Atlantis, and the fountain of youth, the Bimini Road joined the list of Caribbean enigmas when, in 1968, Joseph Manson Valentine, Jacques Mayol, and Robert Angove dove 18 feet underwater about a mile off of North Bimini, some 80 miles northwest of the Bahamas, and saw what they described as “pavement” on the ocean floor.
A host of roughly rectangular stone slabs, they reported, rounded like loaves of bread by the sand and current over centuries, formed a flawlessly straight line. Its main feature stretched over 2,600 feet and curved like a “J” at one end. There were two smaller line features. Megalithic in size, the blocks were each 7 to 13 feet wide with right angles and seemed laid level by human hands.
A satellite view of Bimini. Public DomainA map of North Bimini showing Bimini Road. Rainer Lesniewski/Shutterstock
The anomaly posed many questions to scientists.
How did it form? Was it made by man or nature? Could advanced civilizations have existed so early as to make this—in the Ice Age? Before the region sank beneath the sea 10,000 years ago? Or could nature have created something so fine-tuned? Thus began a clash of ideas.
There were two camps.
One dove down and saw a man-made road. Scientists and amateurs alike looked, and their eyes told them enough: this could not be natural.
The other camp was more skeptical. To avoid rocking the boat (figuratively speaking), they used science to explain the road to fit the foregoing research: it was natural.
As discoveries go, this one saw funded scientists fly in to investigate. Eugene Shinn from the University of Miami’s Department of Geology was foremost among them. Mr. Shinn dove down in 1978 and took radiocarbon core samples. Ultimately, he stated, it was beachrock—a mix of sand, shells, and cement—created by nature.
Megalithic blocks form a line on the seafloor off North Bimini. FtLaud/Shutterstock
The so-called “consensus” of science that grew out of Mr. Shinn’s research, more or less, says this: Bimini Road formed under the surface of the island.
It was exposed by coastal erosion some 2,000 years ago. Its gaps at regular intervals were opened by natural jointing. This view is widely held and amplified on Wikipedia today.
The other camp is less uniform. Visiting Bimini Road, the notion was put forward: there was “overwhelming evidence that the road is made-made.” Their voices spoke from less lavish soapboxes: alternative media, websites, books, anecdotes. Much of it smacks of “New Age” and probably is sprinkled (or drenched) with misinformation to smear those brave voices speaking truth to orthodoxy. And there were voices whose minds changed.
Among the theorists, archaeologist William Donato suggested that Bimini Road isn’t a road; the line of stones forms a wall known as a breakwater, built to protect a prehistoric settlement from waves. This engendered its alter ego: Bimini Wall.
One of the strongest arguments for a man-made Bimini Road comes from Gavin Menzies’s (former British Submarine Commander and amateur historian) book, “1421: The Year China Discovered the World.” He writes: “Small stones are placed underneath larger ones, apparently to make the sea-bed level;” the structure “contains arrow-shaped ‘pointers’ that can only have been man-made;” and “some small square stones have tongue and grooved joints.”
Mr. Menzies, considered an outlier in both camps, believes ancient Chinese explorers anchored here and built the road as a slipway to repair a ship.
In 2022, British author Graham Hancock appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast to discuss the road. He said it was artificially “propped up” and “leveled out” with smaller rocks. “When you dive on it,” he told Mr. Rogan, “it’s impossible to believe it’s entirely the work of nature.”
And there have been accounts that got their wires crossed.
Stones ranging from 7 to 13 feet in width pave the underwater road at North Bimini. FtLaud/Shutterstock
Ironically, both Wikipedia and Mr. Menzies offer polar opposite arguments but cite the same man.
Mr. Menzies noted David Zink, who explored Bimini Road in 1974, mentioning “small stones” under the larger ones being a second layer beneath the Bimini Road. Wikipedia also cited Mr. Zink but with a reversal: the conclusion about this second layer “was likely incorrect.”
Amid all the clashing, we managed to obtain exclusive insight into the debacle.
Bimini Road, also called Bimini Wall, is believed to have been built to protect a prehistoric settlement from waves. FtLaud/Shutterstock
Psychologist Greg Little, author of “Edgar Cayce’s Atlantis,” revealed to the newspaper another flip-flop. He claims to have evidence of scientists altering core samples to support that Bimini Road was naturally formed. He says they admitted being pressured to do so by “all the craziness” surrounding Bimini Road, that it was “done for fun,” and it was done “to make a good story.”
To verify Mr. Little’s claims, the scientist in question was contacted directly who replied they were “not going to nit-pick over Little’s concerns.”
If true, the claim raises questions: Why would the orthodoxy mislead? What do they stand to gain by disproving ancient man’s involvement in the creation of Bimini Road?
This was posed to Mr. Little, who drew on psychology to explain:
“All contradictions to their beliefs are probably perceived as a direct threat to them professionally and psychologically,“ he said. ”The long history of science has countless examples of widely held beliefs that were proven wrong by research. But even in the face of incontrovertible proof that these beliefs were wrong, many so-called scientists refused to accept the new evidence.”
As for Bimini Road—whether it’s case-closed, as the “consensus” says, or mysterious as ever—there’s perhaps a way to know: Visit Bimini Road. Swim the crystal blue waters. Witness its wonders yourself with your eyes. For the Silo via Michael Wing & friends at theepochtimes.com.
