A Quick News Flash of the World Today

I am back with this months variety of stories and pieces of news to remember, and to learn from!! I will start with Cute and Entertaining stories, segway into Serious and Think-About stories, which are stories to keep an ear open on, and pay attention to!! Then end with a Fun story to feel refreshed, and bright going back to your day-to-day missions!!

Source: Here

For our first story is a really interesting one that caught my eye, and I think this company did an interesting move!! This story that interested me, was about a hacker, who stole $600 million worth of cryptocurrency from a trading site. But the part that really caught my eye, was how he was then offered a job as the Chief Security Advisor to Poly Network, which the very company he robbed!! To back up to get a better sense of everything; Poly Network, is a platform for making cryptocurrency (CC) transactions across different blockchains. Also the half a billion was stolen through a vulnerability identified by a hacker, named Mr. White Hat. So because Poly Network wanted to fix this flaw in there "Hack-proof" code, Poly Network decided the best way to achieve this was to hire the man, that proved it wasn’t!! Mr. White Hat was even offered a $500,000 as a reward if he could track down, and identify the flaw which allowed him to breach the network’s security. However he turned it down before returning the stolen property to the users who lost it. However more aware after all of this, Poly Network decided to announce?that anyone using their platform to trade CC would receive up to $100,000 in Ethereum as a “bug bounty” if they found a critical vulnerability, and then brought it to the attention of the company. In all I though this was a intriguing story, I thought that Poly Network was very flexible and smart, and I also thought this was a great way to start off this months " A Quick News Flash of the World Today!!"

Source: Here

For this next story is one a new way that was been created to keep deceased loved ones, close. This new way is by using the ashes from the deceased, and molding them into a collection of rock!! The people that came up with this was a startup called Parting Stone looking to give people both a personal, and portable way to remember someone they’ve lost. Which besides the fact its nice to carry a reminder of a love one, the traditional casket burial funerals is expensive. Which gives opportunity to a sea of new companies who want to help people find better, cheaper solutions!! I thought this was really unique, that might be a some good idea for some that I wanted to share!!

Source: Here

This next story is also on an innovative idea, and a cool way to do something!! This new idea is related to mining out metals, and minerals such as zinc, selenium, nickel, and cobalt. So for context, right now big machines, and traditional strip mining are being used to mine these materials, which gives off sulfur dioxide, and other pollutants. But there is another way other that nature created that takes these minerals out of the soil, which is called Phytomining. This process of uses a select few species of plants called “hyperaccumulators,” that can absorb large quantities of these minerals, and deposits them in their shoots, branches, and leaves. These plants can literally suck the soil dry of minerals like zinc, selenium, nickel, and cobalt!! How the Phytominin process works is you trim a few feet of a 20-feet tall green shrub. These leavings are then collected and burned to create “bio-ore,” which is filled with 20 to 25% nickel by weight. However “At this stage, Phytomining can go full-scale for nickel immediately, while Phytomining for cobalt, thallium, and selenium is within reach,” said Antony van der Ent, a senior research fellow at Australia’s University of Queensland, told?Grist,?in a special report on Phytomining in Indonesia. Which would be an interesting and exciting advancement, and it will be pretty neat to see the development and progress in this field!!

Source: Anthony van der Ent, UQ [Nickel-rich sap coming from Phyllanthus rufuschaneyi]

Now for the last Cute and Entertaining story is how solar panels are an amazing technology, and can really help!! Solar panels are a really cool way of getting energy, and is a way you can be off-grid while still having power. Which is pretty cool and in fact, since 2017, revenues from the off-grid solar industry continue to rapidly growing 30% annually, said World Bank, who add that 180 million off-grid solar panels were sold to people in countries including Nigeria, Pakistan, and Lebanon. Decommissioned solar panels are also being shipped to these countries, and while perhaps not good enough to maintain government or industry-imposed standards for power generation at a Google campus. Decommissioned solar panels are often just fine for meeting the needs of powering a house, or a water pump, or something equally small!! “The off-grid solar industry is instrumental for achieving universal electricity access,” said Riccardo Puliti of the report, the Regional Director of Infrastructure, Africa, at the World Bank. I never really thought about how to reuse solar panels, and I always thought that if a solar panel was decommissioned it wasn't working anymore, which creates waste. So the fact that these solar panels, which still sort of work, are still being put to use and being useful, is great!!

Source: Here

Now that we are at the end of the Cute and Entertaining stories, we will transition it Serious and Think-about stories!! Which aren't bad but are stories to focus and pay attention to, and to Think-about!!

Source: Here

For the first story and also the next one in the Serious and Think-about section, are once on protests that have been happening. The first one is the one I talk about are the protests against Justin Trudeau, on things like encouraging vaccines, along with most likely some other of his ideas. Protests that have started popping up, and where sever enough that the Liberal party cancelled a event that they where holding in Bolton, Ont. Most of these protests happen around the area that Trudeau is speaking, like the protest in Cambridge, Ont., where Trudeau's appearance was delayed for an hour because of the disruptions.?Trudeu has responded by calling for Erin O'toole to condemn these protesters, which Erin O-toole did with saying ” I strongly condemn any form of harassment and protest the like we’ve seen,” in Fredericton on Aug 29th before Trudeu's event on Aug 31st at the University of Sudbury. “We should be having a healthy and respectful debate of ideas. And we have no time for people that bring in negativity to campaigning.” Which I am glad that he did and I am interested on how these protests will go [ I encourage you to research about it yourself on Google ]

Source: Here

The next protests I am going to talk about is happening across sea, in a place that's had a lot happen in a short amount of time. The protests are in Afghanistan, and these people are protesting: because the new government in Afghanistan has signaled that working women should stay at home, and in some instances have ordered women to leave their workplaces. One protest was in Kabul Sept 3 by a group of Afghan women calling for equal rights and full participation in political life. They marched on the street in front of Afghanistan's Finance Ministry, chanting slogans and holding signs demanding involvement in the Afghan government, and calling for constitutional law. This confrontation that was organized by the Women's Political Participation Network, and even though there where just a few dozen people it was extremely brave of them to speak out!! The Taliban leaders did publicly insist that women will play a prominent role in society, and have access to education. But the group's public statements about adhering to their interpretation of Islamic values have stoked fears that there will be a return to the harsh policies of Taliban rule two decades ago. Polices which caused women to disappeared from public life. Which would be a tremendous set back, and I hope that the Taliban will stay true to that, and maybe then release some of the constants that they have on women.

Source: Here [ Protest for women rights in the City of Herat on Sept 2 ]

Going off of protests lets review the Category 4 storm hurricane that has torn up the US, and also Cuba. Hurricane Ida more recently went along the East cost of the US causing enormous amounts of rain to follow, and of course flooding and wreckage from its 80 km-140 mph winds. US President Joe Biden has pledged to help those affected by the storm, also saying he will visit Louisiana to survey some of the damage. Biden then said “My message to the people in the Gulf Coast who I am going to visit tomorrow: we are here for you and we’re making sure the response and recovery is equitable so those hit hardest can get the resources they need and are not left behind." Saying on a high note that the flooding in Louisiana was less than the region experienced during Hurricane Katrina, crediting federal investments in the area’s levee system. “It held, it was strong, it worked,” he said during remarks at the White House. I am thrilled that the defenses are getting stronger, and hopefully at some point we will have defenses that will make the damages from the hurricane, minimal!!

Source: Here [ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/energy-companies-race-complete-gulf-mexico-evacuations-2021-08-27/]

Now for the last story in the Serious and Think-About segment, is one that impacts me in Alberta. What has happened is: that Alberta has reinstates mask mandate and liquor curfew, and has also is going to implement financial incentive for unvaccinated amid surge in COVID-19 cases. To start with the last one; Alberta is going to be offering 100 dollars to unvaccinated to people, to get vaccinated. Why now? Well the cases are going up and this is a measure to try and stop a fourth-wave from happening, and to stop cases in general from going up. The other measures like; the mandated masks that need to be worn in indoor spaces, and how licensed establishments will need to end liquor sales at 10 p.m, are also measures to stop the COVID cases from growing anymore. “It is clear that we are at risk of exceeding our province’s ICU capacity if we do not make changes to our approach now,” said Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw. Which makes sense even though kind of sucks that where going backwards instead of forwards, but because out vaccinated percentage is 5% lower then the Canadian average, we are being hit harder with cases. So hopefully this will make sure that the next time measures are taken down, its for good!!

Source: Here [ https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/kenney-shandro-hinshaw-and-yiu-to-provide-alberta-covid-19-update-friday-morning ]

For the very last story and one in the Fun category, is how some boys in Ireland found a message in a bottle!! The trio of boys visiting an Irish beach found a message in a bottle while walking alon the beach, among some rocks along the coastline. This bottle was found to have crossed all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, from Newfoundland, Canada. The boys enlisted the help of a relative to retrieve and open the bottle, which contained a message authored by Canadian fisherman Craig Drover. What was written was a simple description of how Dover was passing his time: "This bottle was tossed over the side of the Artic Eagle on the grand banks of Newfoundland, Canada while fishing for snow crabs." A bottle which traveled a far ways, and probably made a wonderful memory for the boys that found it!!

[ Below is a photo of a snow crab for those of you interested ]

Source: Here [ https://oceana.ca/en/marine-life/cephalopods-crustaceans-other-shellfish/snow-crab ]

With that I hope you learn something new or try a new hobby of sorts, and I hope you have a interesting month!!

R4eCute and Entertaining stories:

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/crypto-trading-platform-poly-network-offers-job-to-hacker-who-stole-600m/ August 8 2021

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/parting-stone-turns-ashes-into-a-collection-of-small-memorial-stones/ August 28 2021

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/phytomining-is-like-metal-farming-nickel-zinc-and-cobalt-using-plants/ August 31 2021

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/the-second-hand-market-for-solar-panels-could-be-a-market-solution-for-power-access/ Sept 1 2021

Serious and Think-About stories:

https://globalnews.ca/news/8156568/trudeau-condemns-anti-vax-protesters-accuses-them-of-endangering-others/ Sept 2 2021

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-protest-racist-death-threat-sexist-1.6157617 Sept 2 2021

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/03/asia/kabul-afghan-women-protest-intl/index.html Sept 3 2021

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/2/ida-death-toll-rises-to-18-after-hurricane-hammers-northeast Sept 4 2021

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/27/not-good-cuba-us-brace-for-hurricane-ida Sept 4 2021

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/kenney-shandro-hinshaw-and-yiu-to-provide-alberta-covid-19-update-friday-morning Sept 4 2021

Fun Story:

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/08/19/ireland-message-bottle-Newfoundland-Canada-County-Kerry-Ireland-Craig-Drover/3011629401838/ Sept 2 2021

Pictures:

https://www.messagely.com/welcome-messages/ August 8 2021

https://tr.educations.com/articles-and-advice/what-can-i-do-with-a-computer-science-degree-18814 August 8 2021

https://partingstone.com/products/human-solidified-remains August 28 2021

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/phytomining-is-like-metal-farming-nickel-zinc-and-cobalt-using-plants/ August 31 2021

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/the-second-hand-market-for-solar-panels-could-be-a-market-solution-for-power-access/ Sept 1 2021

https://medium.economist.com/can-we-know-what-animals-are-thinking-83991bc994c4 Sept 1 2021

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/energy-companies-race-complete-gulf-mexico-evacuations-2021-08-27/ Sept 4 2021

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/kenney-shandro-hinshaw-and-yiu-to-provide-alberta-covid-19-update-friday-morning Sept 4 2021

https://oceana.ca/en/marine-life/cephalopods-crustaceans-other-shellfish/snow-crab Sept 2021