AI is ‘An Idea’

THE BLOGS
Devsena Mishra
AUG 28, 2021, 

Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them.

When was the last time we heard a logical definition of AI? Perhaps, it was in 1956, at Dartmouth Conference, when the first time the idea was presented as: “any computer program that does something that we would normally think of as intelligent in humans.” From Arthur Samuel’s first board game-playing program in 1950 to AlphaGo’s win over Lee Sedol in 2016, efforts of building intelligence in the computer program turned out to be a little harder than what was anticipated.

“The Age of AI: And our Human Future,” is the upcoming book of Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Daniel Huttenlocher and this is not the first time that a book with such a title is coming to the market. From the last decade, every single published work on AI sounds similar to sci-fi movie/novel promotion, and they often tend to start with the same plot too (i.e. some AlphaXYZ defeated an Asian mind).

From an article “How the Enlightenment Ends” (published in 2018) in which Kissinger has argued how human society is unprepared for the rise of Artificial Intelligence, to his upcoming book it took him only a year (and two partners- Eric Schmidt and Daniel) to declare that AI will destabilize everything and it is the humanity that needs to adapt to this revolution!

The race for AI is on. In the last 3-4 years alone, over 30 countries have released their national plans/strategy for AI. And if that’s not enough, almost every major political leader and head of the state have also commented on AI and its implications on the Future.

But there is an interesting catch here. AI has been introduced as the ‘Artificial Intelligence,’ which is built upon the Big Data, which is controlled by the Big Tech club, so everyone else (other than Big Tech club) who is discussing, producing, or consuming AI, will remain a follower. And this few decades of unique mileage that a few US Tech giants have got is the only certainty about the future.

It’s a known fact that the computer, internet, and cyber, the foundational blocks of big data and AI, have been invented as some outcome of military and intelligence R&D projects.

Let’s assume a scenario, what if the world would have taken AI in its true sense i.e. as another technological advancement. Then this technology would have contributed more effectively to human life and economic progress than now. But that’s not the goal of this invention.

For the creators/propagators of AI, the definition in their mind is not Artificial Intelligence they see AI as ‘An Idea.’ An idea through which they think they can influence and control more effectively, and forever.

And at the same time, this idea has a desire to project itself as some Alien Intelligence (another definition for AI they probably have in their mind).

The propaganda for AI starts from the simple Google search and Wikipedia definition and from there it goes to Tech talks, opinion pieces, interviews/discussions, etc. distributed across all forms of media. Observing their language from an outside view often gives this impression as if something is coming from Mars, which has to come (like an asteroid about to hit the earth), and which is irreversible and uncontrollable by the human (species of this planet)!

The basic idea of AI is based on learning, which is an endless endeavor in itself! So it is certain that neither the pace nor the outcomes can be the possible motivational factor behind the uncertain journey of teaching computers playing board games, with a hope of developing tactics in them that are appropriate to solve general human problems. Now the question comes then what’s the real source of inspiration for such decades’ long investment and labor? The answer can be searched in Dr. Kai Fu Lee’s book “AI Superpowers, China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order.”

AI is the product of Silicon Valley and now there are two Silicon Valley at the front seat of global AI efforts, one in the USA (the original one) and another in China (Zhongguancun). It is not a coincidence that the Chinese AI revolution – the Cloner’s success, is largely driven by former big tech executives like Dr. Kai Fu Lee (chairman of Sinovation Ventures), who has worked with three big tech players- Microsoft, Google, and Apple before investing/incubating Chinese startups. Dr. Kai writes in his famous book ‘AI Superpowers’ that “China and the United States have already jumped out to an enormous lead over all other countries in artificial intelligence, setting the stage for a new kind of bipolar world order.” This year, when social media giants shut the voice of ex-US President Donald Trump, the biggest brand ambassador of the ‘America First’ approach, that move raised some questions on the values they represent. The new generation of the valley appears quite globalist in their approach and they coined and popularized many global ideas in the last few years. But this was not the case before.


Some Background

Silicon Valley, which is branded as the ultimate destination of entrepreneurship and the highly successful ‘garage startups’ that it produced in the last few decades, is the product of the ‘America First’ approach itself.

Frederick Emmons Terman, the leader of Allied radio-jamming efforts in World War II, is credited to be called the father of the Silicon Valley. It was Terman’s vision to lease out the university’s land to high tech startups to build the Stanford Industrial Park, which is now called the Stanford Research Park and the ‘Engine’ of Silicon Valley, which is home to over 150 high tech startups, including HP, VMware, Tesla, Steve Jobs’ NeXT computer, and Facebook, etc., which are leading the global AI bandwagon.

Similarly, the ideas of ‘venture capital’ and venture capitalist were coined to encourage the private sector investments in businesses by returning soldiers of World War II.

And this was not the first such experiment! There is a long history of the American scientist fraternity, their businesses, and defense and intelligence communities working together with the ‘America First’ approach, from the creation of atomic bombs to satellites to the famous moon landing efforts. So when in the Regan Defense Forum 2019, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon had said: “If big tech is going to turn their backs on the Department of Defense, this country is in trouble. That just can’t happen.” He simply echoed the spirit of his seniors!

AI as Animal Intelligence

Defining AI as Artificial Intelligence is misleading in many ways. ‘Learning from experience’ the core idea behind the AI advancement, represents only a tiny aspect of magnificent human intelligence. In fact, by that logic, AI should have been defined as ‘Animal Intelligence,’ as this trait is more common and relevant for animals, not humans (unless you don’t see the things from a Darwinian perspective). The human mind and intelligence drive through self-consciousness, wisdom, and creativity, and none of these could be programmed in machines.

There is an unwritten rule in driving that says as long as the ‘speed’ is in your control, you are driving it- the moment it goes out of control the speed drives you. Something similar has happened with the AI efforts.

The aspects of uncertainty and abnormality that AI propagators often highlight, demonstrates nothing but an inherent element of ignorance toward humanity, nature, and its creations, rooted in the culture of some parts of the world.

An Indian Perspective

Technology brings efficiency and speed, and in that context, even a basic calculator can be called smarter than average human intelligence but that does not make human intelligence an irrelevant idea.

The ultimate goal of technology is ‘success’ but that success is for whom? Human is at the core of all technological invention. Technology must help, not disregard the human being, and this is a basic requirement that cannot be violated at any cost!

In that light, AI or any other tech product can be an assistant of the Human workers, an efficient assistant, not his competitor.

In Bharat, there are several historical and ancient accounts that specify the objectives of the human research (Anusandhan) and invention (Avishkar), with clear distinctions between the constructive (Sur) and destructive inventions (Asura Invention, another AI).

With this ancient wisdom and clarity in thought, Bharat can show a direction to the world in developing a global system that can better protect the values of human life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Devsena Mishra promotes advanced technologies, startup ecosystems and Indian government’s business and technology related initiatives like Digital India, Make in India and Startup India etc. through her portals, articles, videos, and books.

Energy Infrastructure Near Hurricane Ida

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Disruptions Map

Hurricane Ida is approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast region — home to key U.S. energy infrastructure — and is expected to make landfall on August 29. Hurricane Ida could affect local energy supply and demand, especially for transportation fuels and electricity. Our Energy Disruptions Map shows storm-related geographic data (also referred to as map layers) from the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service and map layers for energy-related infrastructure such as high-voltage transmission lines, power plants, and petroleum bulk terminals.

We also publish key production, consumption, and operational status information. We collect and publish hourly electric load data for each of the 68 balancing authorities in the Lower 48 states in the U.S. Hourly Electric Grid Monitor. The effects of storms on electric load may become apparent in the data as long as balancing authorities can transmit information to us. For example, in September 2017, widespread outages following the landfall of Hurricane Irma resulted in electricity demand in Florida falling to 64% lower than typical levels for that time of year.

Our Nuclear Outages status page maintains the daily status of each of the nation’s 57 nuclear power plants, based on status reports to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Louisiana has two nuclear power plants: Waterford Unit 3, located near New Orleans, and the River Bend nuclear power plant, located farther inland. Both facilities were operating at full capacity as of August 27.

We collect and publish transportation fuels data regionally at the Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) level. The Gulf Coast is a key region for U.S. petroleum infrastructure because it contains more than half of the U.S. petroleum refining capacity.


Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, East Coast and Gulf Coast Transportation Fuels Markets

Typically, demand for transportation fuels increases rapidly in the days before the arrival of a hurricane in the affected areas as consumers purchase fuel to prepare for evacuation. This rapid, unexpected increase in demand puts pressure on local inventories because the rest of the supply chain has not had time to respond. Louisiana has declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Ida’s landfall.

Our Weekly Petroleum Status Report provides the most recent weekly estimates of regional petroleum markets. As of the week ending August 14, the Gulf Coast region had 84.9 million barrels of motor gasoline, or about 6% lower than last year in mid-August.

Principal contributors: Kristen Tsai, Elesia Fasching

Featured image from U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Disruptions Map

Originally published on TODAY IN ENERGY.

Organic cotton totes that replace plastic bags now an environmental issue

Cotton bags have become a means for brands, retailers and supermarkets to telegraph a planet-friendly mindset.

PHOTO: NYTIMES

PUBLISHED  AUG 26, 2021, 

NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - Recently, Venetia Berry, an artist in London, counted up the free cotton tote bags that she had accumulated in her closet. There were at least 25.

There were totes from the eco-fashion brand Reformation and totes from vintage stores, totes from Soho House, boutique countryside hotels and independent art shops. She had two totes from Cubitts, the millennial-friendly opticians, and even one from a garlic farm. "You get them without choosing," Berry, 28, said.

Cotton bags have become a means for brands, retailers and supermarkets to telegraph a planet-friendly mindset - or, at least, to show that the companies are aware of the overuse of plastic in packaging.


There was a brief lull in cotton tote use during the Covid-19 pandemic, when there were fears that reusable bags could harbour the virus, but they are now fully back in force.

"There's a trend in New York right now where people are wearing merch: carrying totes from local delis, hardware stores or their favourite steakhouse," said designer Rachel Comey.

So far, so earth-friendly? Not exactly. It turns out the wholehearted embrace of cotton totes may actually have created a new problem.

An organic cotton tote needs to be used 20,000 times to offset its overall impact of production, according to a 2018 study by the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark. That equates to daily use for 54 years - for just one bag.

Based on that metric, if all 25 of her totes were organic, Berry would have to live for more than a thousand years to offset her current arsenal.

"Cotton is so water intensive," said University of Maine's environmental science professor Travis Wagner.

It is also associated with alleged forced labour, thanks to revelations about the treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, China, which produces 20 per cent of the world's cotton and supplies most Western fashion brands.

And figuring out how to dispose of a tote in an environmentally low-impact way is not nearly as simple as people think.

One cannot, for example, just put a tote in a compost bin. Ms Maxine Bedat, a director at the New Standard Institute, a non-profit focused on fashion and sustainability, said she has "yet to find a municipal compost that will accept textiles".

And only 15 per cent of the 30 million tons of cotton produced every year actually makes its way to textile depositories.

Even when a tote does make it to a treatment plant, most dyes used to print logos onto them are PVC-based and thus not recyclable; they are "extremely difficult to break down chemically", said Mr Christopher Stanev, the co-founder of Evrnu, a Seattle-based textile recycling firm.

Printed patterns have to be cut out of the cloth; Mr Stanev estimates that 10 to 15 per cent of the cotton that Evrnu receives is wasted this way.

At which point there is the issue of turning old cloth into new, which is almost as energy intensive as making it in the first place.

"Textile's biggest carbon footprint occurs at the mill," Ms Bedat said.

The cotton tote dilemma, said Ms Laura Balmond, a project manager for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Make Fashion Circular campaign, is "a really good example of unintended consequences of people trying to make positive choices, and not understanding the full landscape".

How did we get here? Arguably, it was British designer Anya Hindmarch who put the reusable cotton bag on the map. Her 2007 "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" tote, created with the environmental agency Swift, sold for around US$10 (S$13.52 in today's exchange rates) in supermarkets. It encouraged shoppers to stop buying single-use bags and went effectively viral.

Eighty thousand people queued in one day in the UK, alone, the designer said. And it was effective. The number of bags bought in the UK dropped from around 10 billion to about six billion by 2010, according to the British Retail Consortium.

"It was important at the time to use fashion to communicate the problem," Hindmarch said.

The original Anya Hindmarch tote that kick-started the anti-plastic-bag campaign (left) and the updated tote made from recycled plastic. 

PHOTOS: NYTIMES

Naturally, it soon became a branding tool.

The famed cream-and-black tote from the New Yorker magazine turned into a status symbol; since 2014, the Conde Nast-owned weekly has gifted two million bags to subscribers, according to a spokesman for the magazine.

Kiehls, the skincare line, offers totes for US$1, while fashion brands like Reformation began bagging purchases in black cotton versions. Ms Lakeisha Goedluck, 28, a writer in Copenhagen, said she has "at least six".

Some customers get rid of theirs by selling them on Poshmark, a social marketplace for new and second-hand goods.

The idea, said Mr Shaun Russell, the founder of Skandinavisk, a Swedish skincare brand that is a registered B Corp - or business that meets certain standards for social or environmental sustainability - is "to use your customers as mobile billboards". It is free advertising. "Any brand that claims otherwise would be lying," he added.

Ms Suzanne Santos, the chief customer of Aesop, does not know exactly how many ecru - or unbleached linen - bags the Aussie beauty brand produces every year but admitted it is "a lot".

Aesop, which is also a registered B Corp, first introduced them as shopping bags a decade ago. Ms Santos said customers consider them "an emblematic part of the Aesop experience".

MORE ON THIS TOPIC
'Greenwashing' is rampant in online stores, consumer authorities find

So much so that the brand receives angry e-mail messages when they fail to arrive with online orders.

Cotton bags have long existed in luxury: shoes and handbags come in protective dust wrappings. But the supposed sustainability of totes means more brands than ever are packaging wares in ever more layers. Items that do not even need protection from dust, like hair scrunchies, organic tampons and facial cleansers, now arrive swaddled in a sleeping bag.

"It's just packaging on top of packaging on top of packaging," Ms Bedat said.

The New Yorker tote, which has become a status symbol unto itself. 

PHOTO: NYTIMES

That is not to say that cotton is worse than plastic, or that the two should even be compared. While cotton can use pesticides - if it is not organically grown - and has dried up rivers from water consumption, lightweight plastic bags use greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels, never biodegrade and clog up the oceans.

Weighing the two materials against each other, "we end up in an environmental what-about-ism that leaves consumers with the idea that there is no solution", said environmental studies and science professor Melanie Dupuis from Pace University in New York.

Retailers' solutions Buffy Reid, of the British knitwear label &Daughter, halted production of her cotton bags in April this year; she is planning to implement an on-site feature where customers can opt into receiving one.

Though Aesop is not halting production, the brand is converting the composition of their bags to a 60-40 blend of recycled and organic cotton. "It will cost us 15 per cent more, but it reduces water by 70 per cent to 80 per cent," said Ms Santos.

Some brands are turning to other textile solutions.

British designer Ally Capellino recently swapped cotton for hemp, while Hindmarch introduced a new version of her original tote, this time made from recycled water bottles; Nordstrom also uses similar bags in its stores.

In the end, the simplest solution may be the most obvious. "Not every product needs a bag," Comey said.

Robert F. Kennedy's assassin granted parole by California board

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Prosecutors declined to argue Sirhan Sirhan should remain in prison

The Associated Press · Posted: Aug 27, 2021 5:57 PM ET 

The photo above shows U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy speaking in Atlantic City, N.J., in May of 1968, just weeks before he was fatally shot in Los Angeles. (The Associated Press)

U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's assassin was granted parole Friday after two of RFK's sons spoke in favour of Sirhan Sirhan's release and prosecutors declined to argue he should be kept behind bars.

The decision was a major victory for the 77-year-old prisoner, though it does not assure his release.

The ruling by the two-person panel at Sirhan's 16th parole hearing will be reviewed over the next 90 days by the California Parole Board's staff. Then it will be sent to the governor, who will have 30 days to decide whether to grant, reverse or modify it.

Douglas Kennedy, who was a toddler when his father was gunned down in 1968, said he was moved to tears by Sirhan's remorse and he should be released if he's not a threat to others.

"I'm overwhelmed just by being able to view Mr. Sirhan face to face," he said. "I think I've lived my life both in fear of him and his name in one way or another. And I am grateful today to see him as a human being worthy of compassion and love."

Shot at L.A. hotel

The New York senator and brother of President John F. Kennedy was a Democratic presidential candidate when he was gunned down June 6, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after delivering a victory speech in the pivotal California primary.

Sirhan, who was convicted of first-degree murder, has said he doesn't remember the killing.

This June 28, 1968, file photo, shows the main entrance to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. (David F. Smith/The Associated Press)

His lawyer, Angela Berry, argued that the board should base its decision on who Sirhan is today.

Prosecutors declined to participate or oppose his release under a policy by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, a former police officer who took office last year after running on a reform platform.

Gascon, who said he idolized the Kennedys and mourned RFK's assassination, believes the prosecutors' role ends at sentencing and they should not influence decisions to release prisoners.

RFK’s son favors parole for father’s assassin Sirhan Sirhan

By JULIE WATSON and BRIAN MELLEY

1 of 8

In this image provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Sirhan Sirhan arrives for a parole hearing Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, in San Diego. Sirhan faces his 16th parole hearing Friday for fatally shooting U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP)


SAN DIEGO (AP) — The youngest son of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy spoke Friday in favor of paroling his father’s assassin at a hearing in which prosecutors declined to attend to argue he should be kept behind bars.

Douglas Kennedy, who was a toddler when his father was gunned down in 1968, said he was moved to tears by Sirhan Sirhan’s remorse and should be released if he’s found to not be a threat to others.

“I’m overwhelmed just by being able to view Mr. Sirhan face to face,” he said. “I think I’ve lived my life both in fear of him and his name in one way or another. And I am grateful today to see him as a human being worthy of compassion and love.”

Sirhan, who was in a blue prison uniform with a paper towel folded like a handkerchief and tucked into his pocket, smiled as Kennedy spoke.

Sirhan Sirhan, 77, told members of the California Parole Board at this 16th bid for freedom that he had learned to control his anger and was committed to living peacefully.

“I would never put myself in jeopardy again,” he said. “You have my pledge. I will always look to safety and peace and non-violence.”

Some Kennedy family members, Los Angeles law enforcement officers and the public submitted letters opposing Sirhan’s release, Parole Board Commissioner Robert Barton said at the start of the proceeding held virtually Friday, where Sirhan appeared from San Diego County prison.

“We don’t have a DA here, but I have to consider all sides,” Barton said, noting it would consider arguments made in the past by prosecutors opposing his release, depending on their relevance.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, a former police officer who took office last year after running on a reform platform, says he idolized the Kennedys and mourned RFK’s assassination but is sticking to his policy that prosecutors not influence decisions to release prisoners.

That decision is best left to board members who can evaluate whether Sirhan has been rehabilitated and can be released safely, Gascón told The Associated Press earlier this year. Relitigating a case decades after a crime should not be the job of prosecutors, even in notorious cases, he said.

Sirhan has served 53 years for the murder of the New York senator and brother of President John F. Kennedy. RFK was a Democratic presidential candidate when he was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after delivering a victory speech in the pivotal California primary.

Sirhan, a Christian Palestinian from Jordan, has acknowledged he was angry at Kennedy for his support of Israel.

When asked about how he feels about the Middle East conflict today, Sirhan broke down crying and temporarily couldn’t speak.

“Take a few deep breaths,” said Barton, who noted the conflict had not gone away and still touched a nerve.

Sirhan said he doesn’t follow what’s going on in the region but thinks about the suffering of refugees.

“The misery that those people are experiencing. It’s painful,” Sirhan said.

If released, Sirhan could be deported to Jordan, and Barton said he was concerned he might become a “symbol or lightning rod to foment more violence.”

Sirhan said he was too old to be involved in the Middle East conflict and would detach himself from it.

“The same argument can be said or made that I can be a peacemaker, and a contributor to a friendly nonviolent way of resolving the issue,” Sirhan said.

Paul Schrade, who was wounded in the shooting, also spoke in favor of his release.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spoken in favor of Sirhan’s release in the past, wrote in favor of paroling Sirhan.

Sirhan’s defense attorney, Angela Berry, said argued that the board’s decision should be based on who Sirhan is today and not about past events, which is what the board has based its parole denials on before. She said she plans to focus on his exemplary record in prison and show that he poses no danger.

“We can’t change the past, but he was not sentenced to life without the possibility of parole,” Berry told the AP on Thursday. “To justify denying it based on the gravity of the crime and the fact that it disenfranchised millions of Americans is ignoring the rehabilitation that has occurred and that rehabilitation is a more relevant indicator of whether or not a person is still a risk to society.”

Sirhan’s hearing was being presided over by a two-person panel that usually announces its decision the same day. After that, the Parole Board staff has 90 days to review the decision, and then it is handed over to the governor for consideration.

Sirhan was sentenced to death after his conviction, but that sentence was commuted to life when the California Supreme Court briefly outlawed capital punishment in 1972. At his last parole hearing in 2016, commissioners concluded after more than three hours of intense testimony that Sirhan did not show adequate remorse or understand the enormity of his crime.

Berry said California laws approved since 2018 support her case. One she plans to point out to the board favors releasing certain older prisoners who committed crimes at a young age when the brain is prone to impulsivity. Sirhan was 24 at the time of the assassination.

Barton the board was required to give “great weight” to youth parole eligibility.

Sirhan has in the past stuck to his account that he doesn’t remember the killing. However, he has recalled events before the crime in detail — going to a shooting range that day, visiting the hotel in search of a party and returning after realizing he was too drunk to drive after downing Tom Collins cocktails.

Just before the assassination, he drank coffee in a hotel pantry with a woman to whom he was attracted. The next thing he has said he remembered was being choked and unable to breathe as he was taken into custody. At his 2016 hearing, he said he felt remorse for any crime victim but couldn’t take responsibility for the shooting.

Sirhan told the panel then that if released, he hoped he would be deported to Jordan or live with his brother in Pasadena, California.

After 15 denials for his release, Berry said it’s difficult to predict how much of an impact the prosecution’s absence will have on the outcome.

“I like to think it’ll make a difference. But I think everybody is not impervious to the fact that this is political,” she said.

___

Melley reported from Los Angeles.

The Americas Remains the Region Worst-Hit by COVID-19: PAHO

Dr. Carissa Etienne: "Even as Latin America continues to lead global infections, with 7 of the top 20 countries and territories with the highest mortality rates in the world... just over 23% of people in the region have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations."

| Photo: Twitter @GHS

Published 26 August 2021

Despite the fact that the Americas is leading global infection figures, with higher mortality rates, just over 23% of people completed their immunization schedule, regretted Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Latin America and the Caribbean continue to be considered as the region worst hit by Covid-19, reporting an increased toll of confirmed cases and deaths.

The Americas Report More Than Half of Global COVID-19 Deaths

Despite the fact that the Americas is leading global infection figures, with higher mortality rates, just over 23% of people completed their immunization schedule, regretted Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

She reported that over 1.5 million new cases and nearly 20,000 deaths were reported during the last week.

Dr. Etienne explained that PAHO and Covax mechanisms deliver nearly 12 million Covid-19 vaccine doses stemming from the United States, Spain, Norway, France, and Sweden; however, this amount of vaccine doses is not enough to protect hundreds of millions of vulnerable people.

"Some countries have no choice but to depend on donations to immunize their populations," Dr. Etienne added.

PAHO highlighted that several Latin American and Caribbean countries including Cuba are already involved in manufacturing their own anti-Covid-19 vaccines, a way to reduce dependence on imports.

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF COMPROMISE —

“Worst cloud vulnerability you can imagine” discovered in Microsoft Azure

30% of Cosmos DB customers were notified—more are likely impacted.

JIM SALTER - 8/27/2021, 

Enlarge / Cosmos DB is a managed database service offering—including both relational and noSQL data structures—belonging to Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure.

Cloud security vendor Wiz announced yesterday that it found a vulnerability in Microsoft Azure's managed database service, Cosmos DB, that granted read/write access for every database on the service to any attacker who found and exploited the bug.

Although Wiz only found the vulnerability—which it named "Chaos DB"—two weeks ago, the company says that the vulnerability has been lurking in the system for "at least several months, possibly years."

A slingshot around Jupyter

Jupyter notebook functionality in CosmosDB enables many advanced data visualization techniques with relatively little coding experience or effort.
Wiz

A privilege escalation vulnerability allowed anyone with a Cosmos DB account to filch the private key for any other Cosmos DB account, by way of the Jupyter notebook functionality.
Wiz

Once an attacker has the victim's primary key, it's game over—full read/write/delete access is granted permanently, and cannot be revoked without replacing the affected keys.

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FURTHER READING

Cloudy with a chance of neurons: The tools that make neural networks work

In 2019, Microsoft added the open-source Jupyter Notebook functionality to Cosmos DB. Jupyter Notebooks are a particularly user-friendly way to implement machine learning algorithms; Microsoft promoted Notebooks specifically as a useful tool for advanced visualization of data stored in Cosmos DB.

Jupyter Notebook functionality was enabled automatically for all Cosmos DB instances in February 2021, but Wiz believes the bug in question likely goes back further—possibly all the way back to Cosmos DB's first introduction of the feature in 2019.

Wiz isn't giving away all the technical details yet, but the short version is that misconfiguration in the Jupyter feature opens up a privilege escalation exploit. That exploit could be abused to gain access to other Cosmos DB customers' primary keys—according to Wiz, any other Cosmos DB customer's primary key, along with other secrets.

Access to a Cosmos DB instance's primary key is "game over." It allows full read, write, and delete permissions to the entire database belonging to that key. Wiz's Chief Technology Officer Ami Luttwak describes this as "the worst cloud vulnerability you can imagine," adding, "This is the central database of Azure, and we were able to get access to any customer database that we wanted."Advertisement

Long-lived secrets

Unlike ephemeral secrets and tokens, a Cosmos DB's primary key does not expire—if it has already been leaked and is not changed, an attacker could still use that key to exfiltrate, manipulate, or destroy the database years from now.

According to Wiz, Microsoft only emailed 30 percent or so of its Cosmos DB customers about the vulnerability. The email warned those users to rotate their primary key manually, in order to make certain that any leaked keys are no longer useful to attackers. Those Cosmos DB customers are the ones which had Jupyter Notebook functionality enabled during the week or so in which Wiz explored the vulnerability.

Since February 2021, when all new Cosmos DB instances were created with Jupyter Notebook functions enabled, the Cosmos DB service automatically disabled Notebook functionality if it wasn't used within the first three days. This is why the number of Cosmos DB customers notified was so low—the 70 percent or so of customers not notified by Microsoft had either manually disabled Jupyter or had it disabled automatically due to lack of use.

Unfortunately, this doesn't really cover the full scope of the vulnerability. Because any Cosmos DB instance with Jupyter enabled was vulnerable, and because the primary key is not an ephemeral secret, it is impossible to know for certain who has the keys to which instances. An attacker with a specific target could have quietly harvested that target's primary key but not done anything obnoxious enough to be noticed (yet).

We also can't rule out a broader impact scenario, with a hypothetical attacker who scraped the primary key from each new Cosmos DB instance during its initial three-day vulnerability window, then saved those keys for potential later use. We agree with Wiz here—if your Cosmos DB instance might ever have had Jupyter notebook functionality enabled, you should rotate its keys immediately to ensure security going forward.
Microsoft's response

Microsoft disabled the Chaos DB vulnerability two weeks ago—less than 48 hours after Wiz privately reported it. Unfortunately, Microsoft cannot change its customers' primary keys itself; the onus is on Cosmos DB customers to rotate their keys.

According to Microsoft, there's no evidence that any malicious actors found and exploited Chaos DB prior to the Wiz discovery. An emailed statement from Microsoft to Bloomberg said, "We are not aware of any customer data being accessed because of this vulnerability." In addition to warning 3,000+ customers of the vulnerability and providing mitigation instructions, Microsoft paid Wiz a $40,000 bounty.

“Worst cloud vulnerability you can imagine” discovered in Microsoft Azure | Ars Technica

Guatemala Assists Migrants Deported From the US

Latin American migrants arrive in Guatemala, Aug. 25, 2021.

 | Photo: Twitter/ @conamigua1

Published 26 August 2021

"The promises that Biden had made made regarding migration does not correspond to what he is implementing," The Migrant House NGO Director Mauro Verzeletti pointed out.

On Wednesday, Guatemala’s National Council for Assistance to Migrants (CONAMIGUA) Secretary Raul Berrios traveled to the El Ceibo border point with Mexico to coordinate care for Central American migrants who are entering his country due to the U.S. accelerated expulsion policy.

Guatemalan Congress Repeals State-of-Calamity Decree

"We spoke with these people to know about their needs and provide them voluntary return service to El Salvador and Honduras,” Berrios stated. About 400 migrants on average per day have been deported to Guatemala since July 30, when U.S. President Joe Biden officially resumed the Trump administration's policy of immediate deportations.

The asylum seekers are sent from the U.S. border to El Ceibo without economic resources to return to their home countries. The Migrant House (MH) NGO Director Father Mauro Verzeletti condemned this policy, arguing that the Guatemalan-Mexican border zone lacks the infrastructure to receive migrants.

"The promises that Biden had made made regarding migration does not correspond to what he is implementing," Verzeletti pointed out.

"Nations cannot manage migration alone. To solve mass migration to the U.S., Biden must adopt a policy of multilateral cooperation," he added.

On Wednesday, Guatemala’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Pedro Brolo requested that the return of migrants be carried out through either the reception centers established in Tecun Uman and San Marcos cities or through the Air Force center in Guatemala City so as to receive deported migrants in a safe and dignified manner.

On March 21, 2020, Former U.S. President Donald Trump approved a deportation policy known as Title 42, which allows migration authorities to immediately deport undocumented migrants to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Thanks to this policy, from October 2020 to June 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deported 751,844 migrants who attempted to cross this country’s southern border.

Nicaragua, Mexico & Argentina Support Investigation of Almagro

Luis Almagro has destroyed the OAS as an institution and is getting away with murder, said Bolivia's Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta in a meeting with Almagro. | Photo: Twitter @KawsachunNews

Published 26 August 2021 (20 hours 59 minutes ago)

Nicaragua, Mexico and Argentina support Bolivia's initiative to investigate Luis Almagro's actions in the 2019 Bolivian electoral process and coup d'état.

During an extraordinary virtual meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), which brings together its 34 active member countries, the Government of Bolivia reiterated that it would initiate a campaign against the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, denouncing "interference" and a "new and unjustified outrage" against the Andean country, when Almagro claimed again on August 9 that there had been fraud in the Bolivian presidential elections of 2019.

Bolivia Denounces Interference Attempt at OAS

During his intervention, the Bolivian Foreign Minister, Rogelio Mayta, warned that "if Luis Almagro's actions are not overseen through the institutional channels," in the future, other countries in the region could be, like Bolivia, victims of attacks and coups d'état promoted by the OAS Secretary-General.

The position of La Paz was supported by several countries, among them Mexico, Argentina, and Nicaragua, which denounced, in addition to the interference of the OAS in the electoral process, the support of the organization to the de facto government led by Jeanine Áñez.

Speaking at the session, the Nicaraguan ambassador, Luis Alvarado, reiterated the "firm and unwavering solidarity and support to the people and government of Bolivia, which continues to confront the coup aggression perpetrated by the OAS General Secretariat."

The Nicaraguan official considered "illegal and fallacious" the report presented by the mission of that regional organization in 2019 on the "irregularities" in the Bolivian electoral process.





Alvarado denounced that through the political instrumentalization of the electoral mission of the US government, through its frontmen in the OAS General Secretariat, the coup d'état of 2019 against the then president and candidate, Evo Morales, was materialized.

For her part, the Mexican ambassador, Luz Elena Baños, raised her voice in support of the Bolivian government, criticizing Almagro for "exceeding his functions" and "deepening polarization" in the hemisphere.

The OAS Secretary General, strongly supported by the United States, is accused of being behind the coup d'état in Bolivia. In view of Almagro's continuous interference in the internal affairs of other nations, different countries in the region agree on the urgent need to replace the OAS with other organizations, such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), among others.

Salvadorans Reject Implementation of Bitcoin Law

Visual arrangement that includes the flag of El Salvador. 

| Photo: Twitter/ @JusBecuze
Published 27 August 2021

Around 77.5 percent of the Salvadoran population considers the adoption of the Bitcoin as a legal tender was not a wise decision.

The Salvadoran Association of International Cargo Transporters (ASTIC) requested the modification of President Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin Law because it rejects the mandatory use of cryptocurrency as payment.

RELATED:
World Bank Not to Assist El Salvador in Bitcoin Implementation

"No Central American carrier who is hired by a Salvadoran economic agent will accept bitcoins as payment," ASTIC said and explained that carriers will only accept cash.

Arguing that only El Salvador has established Bitcoin as legal tender, the ASTIC pointed out that carriers cannot require customers from other countries to use that cryptocurrency.

The cargo transporters warned they will suspend their services if they do not get a favorable response to their request from Congress and the Presidency. They also pointed out that if the Bukele administration insists on forcing them to receive Bitcoins, the value of all freight charges will be increased by 20 percent.

 

In June, the Salvadoran Congress approved the “Bitcoin Law”, which should be implemented on Sep. 7. This possibility, however, is being rejected by workers, university students, and transporters, who called for citizen protests on Friday.

Recently, the Francisco Gavidia University's Citizen Studies Center published a poll according to which 77.5 percent of the Salvadoran population considers that the adoption of the Bitcoin as a legal tender was not a wise decision.

Nevertheless, the Bukele administration asked Congress to approve the use of over US$200 million for implementing the cryptocurrency as legal tender. Around US$150 million would go towards a trust that would guarantee the "automatic and instantaneous convertibility" of Bitcoin to dollars and vice versa. Another fraction of the US$200 million budget would be used by the government to provide citizens with a "bonus" to encourage them to use an electronic wallet.

All of this would be possible by making a budget modification, which allows Bukele to use US$600 million from a loan granted by the Central American Development Bank (CABEI) for the Trust for the Economic Recovery of Salvadoran Companies (Firempresa).

Environmental Protest Reaches London’s Financial Center

Environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion has set 4 days of protests in London this week, ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. | Photo: Twitter @CallawayClimate

Published 27 August 2021

The financing of fossil fuels is killing the planet, Extinction Rebellion group's banners warned as they disguised as bankers with their faces and hands painted red to look like blood.

Environmentalists, who have been demanding urgent action in the streets of London to curb climate change for several days, targeted on Friday the City of London, the heart of the UK's financial center.

Extinction Rebellion Calls for Climate Protest in Berlin

The known "Blood Money" march was directed mainly against banks that finance companies that profit from extracting fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal, Prensa Latina reported.



The financing of fossil fuels is killing the planet, Extinction Rebellion group's banners warned as they disguised as bankers with their faces and hands painted red to look like blood.

Two of the protesters scaled the entrance portico of Standard Chartered and sprayed the bank's windows with red paint. At the same time, another group did the same to the façade of the building that houses the corporation that manages the City.

We want the banks to recognize their role in the current climate crisis, a young woman who preferred to remain anonymous told Prensa Latina.

The activist assured that banking institutions such as Barclays and HSBC invest in the fossil fuel sector, being aware that oil, natural gas, and coal are among the leading environmental pollutants.

Will, who held up one end of a large banner, "Nothing is Impossible," noted the British government's goal of reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 is too late.





The march that disrupted the City of London on Friday was called by the British green group as part of its "Impossible Rebellion," a civil disobedience action launched on Monday after months of inactivity due to the pandemic.

The Metropolitan Police did not report the number of people arrested at the protest yet. Still, as of yesterday, when activists painted the fountain in front of Buckingham Palace red, there were around 300 detained.

Fake blood thrown over London’s Guildhall during Extinction Rebellion protests

Sean Seddon

METRO UK

Friday 27 Aug 2021 

Climate protesters have accused financial institutions of making ‘blood money’

 (Picture: AFP)

Extinction Rebellion protesters have targeted London’s financial district as its fortnight of action continues.

The group daubed the Guildhall in the City of London with red paint and accused financial institutions of making ‘blood money’.

Fake blood was also poured over the London Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the banking and financial services company Standard Chartered.

Protesters have threatened two weeks of disruption, prompting the Metropolitan Police to draft in extra officers from elsewhere in the country ahead of the weekend.

So far 305 arrests have been made over the protests for a wide variety of offences, including 112 on Tuesday alone.

Extinction Rebellion said in a statement: ‘The Guildhall is the administrative and ceremonial heart of the corporation of the City of London.

‘It is the symbolic and actual centre of the system that is killing us.’

Extinction Rebellion have taken to the streets of London for a sixth day running (Picture: AFP)

Today’s protests are part of its ‘Impossible Action’ campaign (Picture: AFP)

Protestors targeted the Guildhall at the heart of London’s financial district (Picture: AFP)

Demonstrators marched with signs reading ‘fossil fuel finance is killing the Earth’ and ‘the financial industry is bleeding the Earth dry’.

The climate activists launched a week of action on Monday, with members occupying parts of London including Parliament Square and Oxford Circus.

Yesterday, activists dyed the water red in the fountains outside Buckingham Palace.

Extinction Rebellion is calling on the government to halt all new fossil fuel investment immediately.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police said it is preparing to deploy thousands of extra officers in the capital over the bank holiday weekend to police further climate protests as well as other planned events.

Deputy assistant commissioner Matt Twist said: ‘As we head into the weekend, we are ready to respond to a number of different demonstrations by protest groups, including Extinction Rebellion.

The controversial protest group has threatened a fortnight of disruption in the capital (Picture: AFP)

Costumed protesters covered Paternoster Square with fake blood (Picture: PA)

The group are targeting financial institutions it says are profiting from environmentally damaging practices (Picture: Getty)

‘This past week, officers have worked hard to balance the rights of the protesters with those of the community, however on many occasions demonstrators’ actions became unreasonable and they caused or tried to cause serious disruption to the public and businesses.

‘Activists have frustrated the policing response by using complex lock-on devices which take time for officers to safely remove.

‘They have also used paint to deface London landmarks – action which we consider is totally unacceptable

‘Like everyone else, Extinction Rebellion have the right to assemble and protest, however this is a qualified right, and they do not have the right to cause serious and unreasonable disruption to others.

‘The unreasonable disruption caused by Extinction Rebellion, particularly as London continues to recover from the pandemic, is deeply frustrating, especially for communities who will see local officers pulled into central London in response.’

Extinction Rebellion’s ‘Blood Money’ march hits City of London

Central London’s big banks and giant financial organisations became a target of today’s protest

The Big Zero report
Dimitris Mavrokefalidis
Friday 27 August 2021

Image: ELN

Hundreds of Extinction Rebellion activists took to the streets around the Bank of England today to protest against financial institutions in the city.

On their fifth day of demonstrations, with their so-called ‘Blood Money’ march in the City of London, the mob targetted financial institutions and businesses that they claim fund fossil fuel industries.

During the march, some rebels climbed on the top of a central bank’s doors and threw fake blood over the building.

Dr Gail Bradbrook, Extinction Rebellion Co-Founder, Tim Crosland, Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, Director of Plan B and Environmental Lawyer and protestors talked with ELN about the importance of today’s protest.

ELN contacted the Bank of England, the City of London Corporation and Barclays for a response and they declined to comment.

Watch the video to find out more.

Buckingham Palace: Arrests as Animal Rebellion protesters dye fountains red

By Laura Webster @LauraEWebsterr

Digital Audience and Content Editor

26th August

Animal Rebellion protesters stand in the fountain at the 

Queen Victoria Memorial, which they have covered in red paint

SCOTLAND Yard said arrests have been made after demonstrators released red dye into the Buckingham Palace fountains in protest at animal hunting.

Campaign group Animal Rebellion staged the protest at the Victoria Memorial water feature, which sits directly in front of the Queen’s London residence, this afternoon.

The group said it had dyed the fountains “blood red in a protest against use of crown land for hunting and animal agriculture” during two weeks of events in the capital urging action on the climate crisis.

The Metropolitan Police tweeted: “A number of activists have vandalised the Victoria Memorial water feature outside Buckingham Palace.

“We are on scene and arrests have been made. The suspects are being taken to custody.”



Demonstrators were detained by police officers as they stood in the red water at the monument to Queen Victoria, with some holding flares and signs.

Harley McDonald-Eckersall, a spokesperson for Animal Rebellion, said: “Crown land should be used to grow healthy, nutritious food for all and to provide homes for the animals we share this country with.

“We are demanding that the Queen end the use of crown land for industries which are contributing to the climate and ecological emergency and the death of animals.”

Extinction Rebellion began its Impossible Rebellion protests this week and is demanding the UK Government immediately ends investment in fossil fuels that are driving climate change.



A series of arrests have been made as the environmental group targeted areas across London, including Oxford Circus yesterday, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Scotland Yard said a “significant” operation would be in place for the climate protests over the bank holiday weekend but also acknowledged the activists’ “important cause”.

Extinction Rebellion: Government must end investment in fossil fuels immediately

“We know that mass participation and civil disobedience works”.

Basit Mahmood Today

As Extinction Rebellion engages in two weeks of climate protests, we take a closer look at what the group hopes to achieve as a result of the latest action it is undertaking and what its message is to its critics.

Extinction Rebellion also known as (XR) has made it clear that it believes in using non-violent civil disobedience to compel governments to tackle what it says is a climate and ecological emergency. The recent report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading authority on climate science, made clear the scale of the crisis facing the planet.

Scientists declared that human activity was responsible for changing the earth’s climate in unprecedented ways, warning that within the next two decades, temperatures could rise by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, meaning there could be more extreme weather events. Countries like Germany and Belgium have suffered the deadliest flooding in decades, with at least 190 people losing their lives last month. The 20 hottest years since records began in 1850 have occurred in the last 22 years.

Groups like XR are demanding the government act faster to tackle the threat posed by climate change. The UK will be hosting the UN Climate Change Conference (Cop26) in Glasgow in November, where heads of state, climate experts and campaigners try to coordinate action to tackle climate change.

“We’re out on the streets ahead of the COP26 climate talks. We have our three demands, tell the truth, act now and put in place a national citizens assembly on the climate crisis,” says Nuala Gathercole-lam, a spokesperson from the group.

“But we’ve also got an immediate demand this time, for government to stop all new investment in the fossil fuels immediately.”

Nuala says that this isn’t a particularly radical or new demand, with the International Energy Agency also saying that countries must halt all investment in new fossil fuel supply projects.

“We’re saying to the government, that if you’re at all serious and if you want to show the public and the world that you’re serious about the climate crisis ahead of COP26, this is the least that you could do, it’s the smallest first step you could take.”

More than 200 arrests have taken place since XR began its protests, known as the Impossible Rebellion which kicked off on Monday. The group says it will also be focusing on the capital’s institutions which it says are helping to fuel climate change.

XR says it does not plan to disrupt public transport. “This time we’ve been in Covent Garden, in Cambridge Circus, we’ve actually been in relatively undestructive locations and the idea has been to hold crisis talks.

“The government hasn’t consulted with ordinary working people about how we address this crisis and so we’ve said come to the table let’s talk about this, the public deserve to be part of the conversation.”

The government has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. In recent week,s there’s been an attempt among the right to portray commitments to net-zero as too expensive and unrealistic. It’s a charge that Nuala rejects.

“It’s ridiculous. The idea that we would determine whether or not we act on the climate crisis on the basis of what the poorest in society can afford out of their own pocket is completely ridiculous.

“There is the money to pay for this. What we need is for the government to make a plan to pay for it, the idea you would leave it up to whether people can afford to insulate their own houses , change their boilers, is completely insane. The government has just scrapped the green homes grant which was a big investment in insulating homes and helping people out with fuel poverty at the same time and transitioning away from such heavy fossil fuel use, so they’re moving in the opposite direction.”

There has been some criticism of Extinction Rebellion in the past, for lacking racial diversity and being too middle class. Does Nuala agree with such criticism?

“It’s absolutely the case that this crisis will play out along existing fault lines of class and race as we see food shortages and price hikes. In response to that, it’s people of colour and working-class communities that are going to feel that first and at XR we very much understand we have a job to do.

“We’re not diverse enough, the climate movement isn’t diverse enough, this rebellion actually started on the anniversary of the Haitian revolution and was opened by the XR internationalist solidarity network. We’re going into rebellion in solidarity with groups that have been in rebellion for centuries around the world and just here in the UK now we’re waking up to the fact that the system we’re in is coming for us as well. We know we need to be in solidarity with people who have had to fight for life for hundreds of years.”

Over the coming days XR is planning further protests, occupations and acts of rebellion in a bid to get the government and others to recognise the scale of the climate emergency facing the planet. There will be a Carnival for Climate Justice.

“We know that mass participation and civil disobedience works”, says Nuala.

“It worked in the civil rights movement in the US, it worked when the suffragettes did it to get votes for women in the UK, it worked in 2019 after our rebellion, Parliament declared a climate emergency. So we know this works and there are lots of different ways to get involved, you don’t have to be ready to be arrested or be doing this full-time, just come down and speak to us.”

Basit Mahmood is co-editor of Left Foot Forward