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Posted: 22 Jul 2016 06:27 AM PDT
The Apple Car doesn’t even technically exist, but it’s already been delayed, according to a new report. In a look at brothers working on Apple’s ultra-secret car project said to be called Project Titan, technology site The Information revealed that Apple has delayed its vehicle to 2021. Several rumors have claimed Apple had planned a 2020 launch for Apple Car, but The Information’s sources say that the project has “run into challenges,” and that a person who had worked on the Project Titan team confirmed Apple has pushed back its target launch from 2020 to 2021. Over the last couple of years, reports have surfaced saying Apple is working on an electric car that could come with self-driving features. While the company itself hasn’t acknowledged those claims, Apple CEO Tim Cook has been coy when talk of an Apple Car has popped up, leaks have come fast and furious from the Project Titan team, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has described Apple’s car project as the “worst-kept secret” in Silicon Valley. He’s even called Apple “Tesla’s Graveyard,” a place where Tesla engineers go when they can’t hack it at Musk’s company. Analysts, too, have chimed in, saying that Apple, which experienced its first revenue decline since the iPhone’s launch in 2007 last quarter, is in need of a major new innovation. A car, they suggest, would fit that mold. However, developing a car is much different than making a new smartphone or computer, and it’s an entirely new industry for Apple. The company has reportedly hired a countless number of engineers with experience in vehicle technology and its chief of design, Jony Ive, has reportedly been doing research on car design. That all comes before Apple bundles electric vehicle technology, safety standards, and all the other features required to get a car on the road. Indeed, some that have worked in the automotive industry for years have criticized Apple’s idea. Last year, former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson said Apple shouldn’t even build a cardue to high costs and low returns. Another former GM executive, Bob Lutz, told CNBC in September that Apple is looking down the barrel of a “gigantic money pit.” “Apple has no experience,” Lutz said. “There’s no reason to assume Apple will do a better job than General Motors,Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota or Hyundai. I think this is going to be a gigantic money pit.” Regardless, if The Information’s sources are right, Apple is still moving ahead with the car. It just might not reach the roads nearly as soon as some, including Apple, might have liked. Apple declined Fortune’s request for comment on The Information’s story. This article originally appeared on Fortune.com |
Monday, July 25, 2016
Apple’s Next Huge Project Has Been Delayed - Fortune
IMF Head Calls for Quick End to Brexit Uncertainty - TIME Business
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Posted: 22 Jul 2016 12:27 AM PDT
BEIJING (AP) — The head of the International Monetary Fund called Friday for quick action to end uncertainty over Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, which she said is dampening global economic growth. The IMF cut this year’s global growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 3.1 percent in a report released this week due to the shockwaves of the British vote, said Christine Lagarde. Lagarde spoke after meeting with the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, and leaders of the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and other bodies ahead of this weekend’s gathering of finance officials of the Group of 20 major economies. “Our first and immediate recommendation is for this uncertainty surrounding the terms of Brexit to be removed as quickly as possible so that we know the terms of trade and the ways in which the United Kingdom will continue to operate in the global economy,” said Lagarde at a news conference. Lagarde said that before the British vote, the IMF had been preparing to raise its global growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points due to improvement in Japan, China and the 17-country euro zone. “Unfortunately, the United Kingdom decided to go for Brexit,” said Lagarde, a former French finance minister. “This is disappointing.” Investors are watching the G20 meeting for any sign the United States, Germany, China and other major economies may agree on joint action to accelerate a weak global economic recovery. A similar meeting in February in Shanghai ended with a joint statement that said coordinated action was impossible because major countries were at different points in their economic cycles. Some investors believe envoys in Shanghai agreed secretly to weaken the dollar to spur trade but there has been no official confirmation of that. The final statement from this weekend’s gathering in Chengdu in China’s southwest “will be under scanner for any hints of policy coordination — monetary or fiscal,” Citigroup economists said in a report. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, speaking to reporters in Athens before flying to China, downplayed the likelihood of joint action. “I don’t think this is a moment that calls for the kind of coordinated action that occurred during the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009,” said Lew. “It really is a moment where we each need to do what we can to ensure that where growth is soft it gets stronger and that prospects for the medium- and long-term are improved.” Lew appealed for close integration of Britain and the EU in the event of a split. “The best outcome is one that maximizes the integration of the UK and Europe and — because it’s likely to be a process that, at best, goes well beyond weeks or months — to have the nature of the discussion to be characterized by amicable, pragmatic engagement where the focus is on maximizing integration and cooperation.” |
Munich shooting and right wing extremism - Independent
Everyone must read this post about the Munich shooting and right-wing extremism
Germany is struggling to heal following the tragic events in Munich on Friday which saw nine people killed and 27 more injured after an 18-year-old went on a shooting spree.
Ali David Sonboly had allegedly opened fire at a McDonald’s restaurant in the city on the five year anniversary of the Anders Behring Breivik Norway massacre which killed 77 mostly young people, and injured over 200.
Sonboly, who was born in Germany and is of Iranian descent, had reportedly been fascinated by shooting sprees, including that of the right-wing extremist Breivik.
Robert Fisk, writing for the Independent, was quick to point out a double-standard with the way terror attacks are reported:
When first we heard that three armed men had gone on a 'shooting spree' in Munich, the German cops and the lads and lassies of the BBC, CNN and Fox News fingered the 'terror' lever. The Munich constabulary, we were informed, feared this was a 'terrorist act'. The local police, the BBC told us, were engaged in an 'anti-terror manhunt.'
However Sonboly doesn’t have any connections to Isis, and despite a witness claiming they heard him shout “Allahu Akhbar”, the overwhelming body of evidence suggests he had shouted insults to foreigners.
The shooting challenges the idea that only Muslims can be 'radicalised'.
Academic, journalist and editor-in-chief of Ajam Media Collective Alex Shams wrote the following Facebook post exploring Iranian identity and the prevailing concept of whiteness as a mark of superiority in response to the attack:
Sunday, July 24, 2016
5 ways to stay mentally strong even though you're about to crack - TIME
5 Ways to Stay Mentally Strong When You Think You’re About to Crack
Everybody has those work days that no amount of coffee, chocolate or wine can seem to fix. Whether you’re recovering from a too-short weekend or pushing through the end of a too-long work week, it’s hard to keep your brain decluttered and calm. Prioritize self care with these easy tips and refresh your mind without missing your deadlines.
If you’re in the office, leave your desk for a second to stand in a power pose and take in some deep breaths. Make a quick to-do list so you can visualize your tasks to make them seem less daunting and then plan for a night of TV watching, cooking or coloring to get your mind off of everything. You’d be surprised what a difference it can make.
G 20 meeting in China emphasises measures to prevent fallout from Brexit - Reuters
G20 will use 'all policy tools' to protect growth as Brexit looms
Leaders from the world's biggest economies are poised on Sunday to renew their commitments to support global growth and better coordinate actions in the face of uncertainty over Britain's decision to leave the European Union and growing protectionism.
The meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 major economies in China's southwestern city of Chengdu is the first of its kind since last month's Brexit vote and a debut for Britain's new finance minister. Philip Hammond faced questions about how quickly the UK planned to move ahead with formal negotiations to leave the EU.
"We are taking actions to foster confidence and support growth," a draft statement by the policymakers seen by Reuters said.
"In light of recent developments, we reiterate our determination to use all policy tools – monetary, fiscal and structural – individually and collectively to achieve our goal of strong, sustainable and balanced growth," it said.
The International Monetary Fund this week cut its global growth forecasts because of the Brexit vote. Data on Friday seemed to bear out fears, with a British business activity index posting its biggest drop in its 20-year history.
The draft communique, expected to be issued at the end of the meeting on Sunday afternoon, said Brexit added to uncertainty in the global economy but G20 members were "well positioned to proactively address the potential economic and financial consequences".
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Saturday it was important for G20 countries to boost shared growth using all policy tools, including monetary and fiscal policies as well as structural reforms, to boost efficiency.
"This is a time when it is important for all of us to redouble our efforts to use all of the policy tools that we have to boost shared growth," Lew told reporters.
The specter of protectionism, highlighted not only by Brexit but also by U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's "America First" rhetoric and talk of pulling out of trade agreements, also hangs over the two-day meeting.
"Not only Brexit but various risks of low growth remain, and there was a lot of debate on the need of monitoring developments including terrorism, geopolitical risks and refugees," said a Japanese finance ministry official.
"A lot of concerns were voiced over spreading measures for protectionism."
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Erdogan modelled Turkey after Third Reich - Independent
President Erdogan may be democratically elected, but his Turkey is modelled on the Third Reich
In the present chaos, Erdogan can reinforce his demand for an executive presidency and the death penalty may return 'by popular demand'
At New Year, Turkey’s President Erdogan famously mentioned Hitler’s Germany as an example of an executive presidency, and the reference seems to be apt.
It was not long after Erdogan’s AKP (Justice and Development Party) came to power in 2002 that it became clear that the party was not as clean (“ak” means clean in Turkish) as they claimed. Charges of corruption against Erdogan for his period as mayor of Istanbul were dropped, a tax fraud amnesty was passed as well as an opaque public procurement law. Erdogan also reneged on his electoral promise to remove parliamentary immunity for non-parliamentary offences.
Backed by the cadres of the Gülen movement (Fethullah Gülen is a reclusive Turkish imam who since 1999 has been resident in Pennsylvania), Erdogan’s supporters took over leading positions in state and local administration. In 2008, there was a “settling of accounts” with “the deep state” – the secular state-military-mafia triangle which had hitherto ruled Turkey – which resulted in the imprisonment of well over 500 of the AKP’s opponents, mostly from the military.
It was the move from the Gülen movement in December 2013, which had infiltrated both the police and judiciary, to expose the widespread corruption in government and business circles, including Erdogan’s own family, which triggered the present confrontation.
In a witch-hunt, as Erdogan himself called it, thousands of police officers, judges and public prosecutors were removed the following year. There were also claims that 40 high-ranking officers in the military belonged to the Gülen movement, but the military resisted an investigation because of lack of evidence.
However, the arrest of gendarmerie officers and public prosecutors for stopping trucks carrying arms to jihadists in Syria increased tension with the military as well as the military’s reluctance to follow the government’s directive to intervene in Syria. Although a new chief of the general staff was appointed and the previously imprisoned officers were rehabilitated, the underlying grievance remained.
Turkey’s president has never ceased to stress he has been democratically elected – but so was Adolf Hitler. In a process similar to the Nazi party’s policy of Gleichschaltung (coordination) the AKP has gradually taken control of all aspects of Turkish society. Like the Third Reich’s Sondergerichte (special courts), two years ago a system of penal courts of peace was established, each with a specially appointed single judge to take care of opponents of the regime.
Like Der Führer, Turkey’s Reis (“leader”) has a strong sense of mission and a cult of personality has also grown around Erdogan. One party supporter hailed the president with the welcome, “O messenger of God”, and an AKP deputy claimed “even touching our prime minister is worship to me”.
The downside is that when things backfire, even a prophet can get nasty. In his broadcast after the failure of the July 20 bomb plot in 1944, Hitler regarded his survival as “a confirmation of the task imposed on me by Providence”. Likewise, President Erdogan regards the failure of the July 15 coup as “a gift from God” and an opportunity to cleanse the military and clean “the virus” from all state institutions.
To date, some 60,000 have either been detained or suspended in an extensive purge of the military, police, intelligence organisation, local government, judiciary, education system and several ministries – all suspected members of FETÖ (Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation).
In addition, Erdogan has declared emergency rule for three months and a temporary suspension of the Human Rights Convention, all “to protect democracy” and “clean the state apparatus fully of members of the Gülen movement”. The president has guaranteed there will be no restrictions on rights and liberties, which hardly squares with the right to govern by decree and ban publications, speeches and public gatherings.
In the present chaos, Erdogan can reinforce his demand for an executive presidency. There is also talk of the return of the death penalty “by popular demand”.
A deeply divided country has now turned in on itself with the threat of mob rule, where Erdogan’s supporters roam the streets, attack his opponents and communities are split. Turkey is staring into the abyss but under the leadership of a vindictive president it is difficult to see what can prevent disaster.
In the present chaos, Erdogan can reinforce his demand for an executive presidency and the death penalty may return 'by popular demand'
At New Year, Turkey’s President Erdogan famously mentioned Hitler’s Germany as an example of an executive presidency, and the reference seems to be apt.
It was not long after Erdogan’s AKP (Justice and Development Party) came to power in 2002 that it became clear that the party was not as clean (“ak” means clean in Turkish) as they claimed. Charges of corruption against Erdogan for his period as mayor of Istanbul were dropped, a tax fraud amnesty was passed as well as an opaque public procurement law. Erdogan also reneged on his electoral promise to remove parliamentary immunity for non-parliamentary offences.
Backed by the cadres of the Gülen movement (Fethullah Gülen is a reclusive Turkish imam who since 1999 has been resident in Pennsylvania), Erdogan’s supporters took over leading positions in state and local administration. In 2008, there was a “settling of accounts” with “the deep state” – the secular state-military-mafia triangle which had hitherto ruled Turkey – which resulted in the imprisonment of well over 500 of the AKP’s opponents, mostly from the military.
It was the move from the Gülen movement in December 2013, which had infiltrated both the police and judiciary, to expose the widespread corruption in government and business circles, including Erdogan’s own family, which triggered the present confrontation.
In a witch-hunt, as Erdogan himself called it, thousands of police officers, judges and public prosecutors were removed the following year. There were also claims that 40 high-ranking officers in the military belonged to the Gülen movement, but the military resisted an investigation because of lack of evidence.
However, the arrest of gendarmerie officers and public prosecutors for stopping trucks carrying arms to jihadists in Syria increased tension with the military as well as the military’s reluctance to follow the government’s directive to intervene in Syria. Although a new chief of the general staff was appointed and the previously imprisoned officers were rehabilitated, the underlying grievance remained.
Turkey’s president has never ceased to stress he has been democratically elected – but so was Adolf Hitler. In a process similar to the Nazi party’s policy of Gleichschaltung (coordination) the AKP has gradually taken control of all aspects of Turkish society. Like the Third Reich’s Sondergerichte (special courts), two years ago a system of penal courts of peace was established, each with a specially appointed single judge to take care of opponents of the regime.
Like Der Führer, Turkey’s Reis (“leader”) has a strong sense of mission and a cult of personality has also grown around Erdogan. One party supporter hailed the president with the welcome, “O messenger of God”, and an AKP deputy claimed “even touching our prime minister is worship to me”.
The downside is that when things backfire, even a prophet can get nasty. In his broadcast after the failure of the July 20 bomb plot in 1944, Hitler regarded his survival as “a confirmation of the task imposed on me by Providence”. Likewise, President Erdogan regards the failure of the July 15 coup as “a gift from God” and an opportunity to cleanse the military and clean “the virus” from all state institutions.
To date, some 60,000 have either been detained or suspended in an extensive purge of the military, police, intelligence organisation, local government, judiciary, education system and several ministries – all suspected members of FETÖ (Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation).
In addition, Erdogan has declared emergency rule for three months and a temporary suspension of the Human Rights Convention, all “to protect democracy” and “clean the state apparatus fully of members of the Gülen movement”. The president has guaranteed there will be no restrictions on rights and liberties, which hardly squares with the right to govern by decree and ban publications, speeches and public gatherings.
In the present chaos, Erdogan can reinforce his demand for an executive presidency. There is also talk of the return of the death penalty “by popular demand”.
A deeply divided country has now turned in on itself with the threat of mob rule, where Erdogan’s supporters roam the streets, attack his opponents and communities are split. Turkey is staring into the abyss but under the leadership of a vindictive president it is difficult to see what can prevent disaster.
Businesses had no plans for Brexit either - Bloomberg
New U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May says “Brexit means Brexit,” but many companies are struggling to figure out what the country’s departure from the European Union will bring for them. Outside advisers are eager to lend a hand.
Banks like Citigroup Inc. and Nomura Holdings Inc. have set up internal Brexit teams and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has hired Jose Manuel Barroso, former president of the European Commission, to guide it through the thickets in Brussels.
Jose Manuel Barroso Photographer: Carl Court/Getty Images
Outside the financial services industry, responses have ranged more widely. International telecoms giant Vodafone Group Plc has not set up a Brexit squad despite warning that it might have to move its headquarters away from London, while U.K.-focused discount retailer Poundland Group Plc -- confronted with a rise in prices of imported goods it sells because of a plunging pound -- has created such a panel, executives said.
Instead of tackling weighty strategic questions like these on their own at a time when the conditions of Brexit remain unclear, many companies are turning to accountants, consultants and lawyers, who are lining up spreadsheets, PowerPoints and conference calls to gear up for a boom in demand.
“It was such a shock to so many companies in so many industries that there is going to be an exit that they didn’t have any contingency plans in place,” said Karen Briggs, a senior partner at KPMG who was appointed head of Brexit at the accountancy firm, leading a team of 10 to 15 specialists who are advising clients.
Briggs said inquiries have focused on immigration, legal issues and tax matters related to Brexit. She said she expects to hire additional staff in coming months but could not quantify the possible financial impact on the firm.
Brexit Center
While the vote to leave the EU caught many companies and politicians by surprise, the Big Four accounting firms responded quickly. Deloitte had a dedicated Brexit Center led by partner Rick Cudworth up and running the day after the vote. It has set up a special website and email address to field client requests.
A Deloitte webinar on Brexit on Monday attracted 2,000 clients. The firm has opened a hotline for clients worried about immigration restrictions and devised a “Brexit lab” as a way for companies to assess the impact on their businesses.
“Clients are quite unclear about what steps they should take and they’re adopting a wait-and-see approach,” Cudworth said. “In a time of uncertainty it is better to be prepared. It’s about taking a very pragmatic approach.”
Ernst & Young has had a team since last year to prepare for the referendum and has put together a group of 60 partners to advise clients on how to respond. Steve Varley, U.K. chairman of the firm, attended two business leaders’ meetings with the government in the week after the referendum to press the case that U.K. companies want to be able to continue hiring skilled workers from the EU while maintaining access to the single market.
After the fall in the pound and in advance of possible restrictions on immigration, one of the biggest concerns among companies is the impact of Brexit on pay and hiring.
Consulting firm Mercer has put together a working group to answer client questions about talent, pensions and employee health and benefits issues.
Daily Queries
“Whenever there’s change, there’s a lot to be done,” said Kate Fitzpatrick, senior global mobility consultant at Mercer. “It will have an impact on overall talent strategy and where companies will find the skilled resources. We’re getting queries daily.”
While many companies are waiting to see what happens, financial services firms can’t afford to stand by until the Brexit conditions are clear. At Citigroup’s London base, a group of top executives meet every week to mull over the Brexit fallout and plot strategy, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity as the details aren’t public.
Colin Church, chief risk officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Conor Davis, head of credit sales for the region, are among the members. Zdenek Turek, head of the lender’s Dublin-based Citibank Europe Plc unit, and U.K. country head James Bardrick, help chair the meetings, the people said.
“If you’re a financial institution, there’s nothing you can really do about how the geopolitical situation pans out,” said Pri de Silva, an analyst at CreditSights Inc. in New York. “You’re going to have to wait and see how the chips fall and then act accordingly. It’s like trying to play a game without knowing the rules of the game.”
Nomura, Goldman
Nomura has appointed a steering committee, headed by Europe chief Jonathan Lewis, to examine the impact of the vote, people with knowledge of the matter said. In the wake of the referendum, Goldman Sachs hired Barroso as non-executive chairman of its international unit -- for which Brexit looms as a key issue, even though the firm did not cite it as a reason for the appointment.
Along with consultants and accountants, lawyers say they’re already seeing benefits as companies turn to them for advice.
“We think we are pretty suited for the questions which come, and they have been coming quite a lot,” Stephan Eilers, managing partner at law firm Freshfields, said in an interview. “Brexit has not been the fall over the cliff.”
Friday, July 22, 2016
8 non-Euro EU members fear marginalisation after Brexit - Financial Times
8 fear consequences of Brexit vote
Tony Barber in London
©PA
Britain’s departure from the EU will deprive the eight other countries in the bloc that are not in the euro zone of a powerful ally, forcing them into difficult policy choices, according to officials and analysts in the nations concerned.
“The UK’s exit from the EU will change the relationship between eurozone countries and those without the common currency, to the detriment of the latter,” said Sebastian Plociennik, head of the EU programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, a think-tank.
“They will be faced with a choice between fast-track adoption of the euro or political and economic marginalisation.”
While not everyone in non-euro countries would see the future in such stark terms, the non-euro nations are worried that, without the UK, the EU balance of power will swing strongly in favour of eurozone governments. That could make it more difficult for the interests of those outside the single currency to gain a proper hearing.
To the extent that France, Germany, Italy and others pursue initiatives aimed at closer economic, financial and fiscal integration of the eurozone, the impression could arise that the non-euro countries are stuck in a sort of EU second tier or outer circle.
Lubomir Zaoralek, Czech foreign minister, was among the first to warn of the risks, saying in the wake of the Brexit vote: “The debate on the EU’s future must take place on the platform of 27 states . . . The wrong response would be hasty integration.”
Apart from the UK, the non-euro states in the EU are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
Disagreements run deep among eurozone governments over a more integrated currency union, including on common deposit insurance and fiscal transfers.
But countries doubtful about adopting the euro, such as Poland and Sweden, found the UK a reassuring presence in Brussels, demonstrating with its economic weight and financial sector’s strength that the EU was beyond any doubt a multicurrency union.
With the UK inside the EU, the combined gross domestic product of the non-euro member states amounts to about 40 per cent of that of the 19 eurozone nations. With the UK out, the GDP of the non-euro states will shrink to about 16 per cent of the eurozone.
Including the UK, the non-euro countries have a combined population of 170m, half that of the eurozone. Without Britain, this figure shrinks to 105m, or just over 30 per cent of the eurozone total.
June 2016: The UK vote to leave throws into doubt the EU’s survival as support for expansion evaporates
One early casualty of Brexit was a deal that David Cameron, former prime minister, negotiated in February to loosen the terms of British membership — an agreement that had important implications for non-euro countries.
It stated that “measures, the purpose of which is to further deepen economic and monetary union, will be voluntary for member states whose currency is not the euro”. This meant, for instance, that non-euro countries were free not to assist in the financial rescues of eurozone states.
Thanks to the UK’s No vote, that deal is no longer valid. The EU reverts to the status quo ante, in which Denmark alone has a legally enshrined right not to adopt the euro — although Sweden rejected joining the currency union in a 2003 referendum, and other governments have not pressed Stockholm hard on the issue since then.
All the central and eastern European states that joined the EU between 2004 and 2013 are, under EU law, obliged to adopt the euro if they meet the membership criteria.
This worries Poland, the largest economy in central and eastern Europe and the sixth-largest in the EU. Speaking a few days after the UK referendum, Witold Waszczykowski, Poland’s foreign minister, said: “Joining the euro today and taking on a common economic policy with its taxes, fiscal solutions, minimum wage based on the level used in western Europe — this would be a disaster for the Polish economy.”
At the same time, Mr Waszczykowski also sees the disadvantages of being on the outside. “If we’re not in the eurozone, then we will not be able to take part in the political structures which the eurozone wants to create,” he said.
Tony Barber in London
©PA
Britain’s departure from the EU will deprive the eight other countries in the bloc that are not in the euro zone of a powerful ally, forcing them into difficult policy choices, according to officials and analysts in the nations concerned.
“The UK’s exit from the EU will change the relationship between eurozone countries and those without the common currency, to the detriment of the latter,” said Sebastian Plociennik, head of the EU programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, a think-tank.
“They will be faced with a choice between fast-track adoption of the euro or political and economic marginalisation.”
While not everyone in non-euro countries would see the future in such stark terms, the non-euro nations are worried that, without the UK, the EU balance of power will swing strongly in favour of eurozone governments. That could make it more difficult for the interests of those outside the single currency to gain a proper hearing.
To the extent that France, Germany, Italy and others pursue initiatives aimed at closer economic, financial and fiscal integration of the eurozone, the impression could arise that the non-euro countries are stuck in a sort of EU second tier or outer circle.
Lubomir Zaoralek, Czech foreign minister, was among the first to warn of the risks, saying in the wake of the Brexit vote: “The debate on the EU’s future must take place on the platform of 27 states . . . The wrong response would be hasty integration.”
Apart from the UK, the non-euro states in the EU are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
Disagreements run deep among eurozone governments over a more integrated currency union, including on common deposit insurance and fiscal transfers.
But countries doubtful about adopting the euro, such as Poland and Sweden, found the UK a reassuring presence in Brussels, demonstrating with its economic weight and financial sector’s strength that the EU was beyond any doubt a multicurrency union.
With the UK inside the EU, the combined gross domestic product of the non-euro member states amounts to about 40 per cent of that of the 19 eurozone nations. With the UK out, the GDP of the non-euro states will shrink to about 16 per cent of the eurozone.
Including the UK, the non-euro countries have a combined population of 170m, half that of the eurozone. Without Britain, this figure shrinks to 105m, or just over 30 per cent of the eurozone total.
June 2016: The UK vote to leave throws into doubt the EU’s survival as support for expansion evaporates
One early casualty of Brexit was a deal that David Cameron, former prime minister, negotiated in February to loosen the terms of British membership — an agreement that had important implications for non-euro countries.
It stated that “measures, the purpose of which is to further deepen economic and monetary union, will be voluntary for member states whose currency is not the euro”. This meant, for instance, that non-euro countries were free not to assist in the financial rescues of eurozone states.
Thanks to the UK’s No vote, that deal is no longer valid. The EU reverts to the status quo ante, in which Denmark alone has a legally enshrined right not to adopt the euro — although Sweden rejected joining the currency union in a 2003 referendum, and other governments have not pressed Stockholm hard on the issue since then.
All the central and eastern European states that joined the EU between 2004 and 2013 are, under EU law, obliged to adopt the euro if they meet the membership criteria.
This worries Poland, the largest economy in central and eastern Europe and the sixth-largest in the EU. Speaking a few days after the UK referendum, Witold Waszczykowski, Poland’s foreign minister, said: “Joining the euro today and taking on a common economic policy with its taxes, fiscal solutions, minimum wage based on the level used in western Europe — this would be a disaster for the Polish economy.”
At the same time, Mr Waszczykowski also sees the disadvantages of being on the outside. “If we’re not in the eurozone, then we will not be able to take part in the political structures which the eurozone wants to create,” he said.
Turkey high level security meeting after coup - Bloomberg
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with top security officials for the first time since Friday night’s thwarted coup amid a widening purge of state institutions, and has vowed to make an “important” announcement afterward.
Following a National Security Council meeting in Ankara that began at about 1 p.m., Erdogan will also gather with ruling AK Party government ministers as well as the full cabinet in a series of meetings that could last several hours.
Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli told BloombergHT television in an interview Tuesday that measures to be announced will include a “new framework in line with the constitution” for the prosecution of the coup plotters. Erdogan’s chief adviser Cemil Ertem told Anadolu news agency there’s no plan to impose capital controls, and Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Twitter that policy steps taken will be “market friendly.”
The government’s crackdown in reprisal for the coup attempt has been swift and severe. Turkey has detained, suspended, fired or stripped the professional accreditation of around 60,000 people, according to Bloomberg calculations. Erdogan has blamed the foiled military intervention on supporters of U.S.-based religious leader Fethullah Gulen. As that purge extended to the country’s academic institutions on Tuesday evening, the lira weakened to within 1 percent of a record low.
Academics including university presidents were barred on Wednesday from traveling abroad until further notice, state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing the Council of Higher Education. They have been told to “assess” academics and staff linked to Gulen. NTV said that presidents of four universities were removed from office. And 245 staff were fired at the Youth and Sports Ministry, it said.
Obama Call
The purges have unsettled Turkey’s allies and investors by raising concerns that Erdogan’s response may be an overreach that further destabilizes Turkish society and weakens its institutions. Erdogan has been seeking to consolidate power in the presidency since he was elevated to that office two years ago, and has indicated he believes the attempted coup vindicates his policies. Late on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama, in a phone call, urged his ally to act in a way that was “consistent with the democratic” values of the Turkish constitution.
“We are witnessing a crackdown of exceptional proportions in Turkey at the moment,” Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s Turkey researcher, said in a statement. “While it is understandable, and legitimate, that the government wishes to investigate and punish those responsible for this bloody coup attempt, they must abide by the rule of law and respect freedom of expression.”
Moody’s Investor Services said Monday that it’s put Turkish debt on review for a possible downgrade from its Baa3 credit rating, already the lowest investment grade, because of the attempted coup and its potential impact on growth. JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note Wednesday that Turkish sovereign bonds worth $7.2 billion are at risk of forced selling if Turkey’s ratings are cut to junk.
The lira was trading at 3.04 to the dollar, compared with about 2.90 in the days before the attempted coup. Yields on Turkey’s 10-year bonds rose for the fourth day in a row to 10.12 percent.
Death Penalty
As the post-coup backlash gathers pace, European leaders have warned Turkey about re-instituting the death penalty, with French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday saying such a move would end Turkey’s European Union membership talks. The last executions in Turkey were in the mid-1980s and capital punishment was formally abolished in 2004.
The U.S.-Turkish relationship has been tested by recent events, with officials trading barbs in the last few days about Turkey’s request that the U.S. extradite Gulen, who has denied any involvement in the failed putsch. On Tuesday, the defense ministers of the two NATO countries spoke by phone and re-affirmed their commitment to fight Islamic State, the U.S. Defense Department said in a statement.
The coup attempt came with Turkey engaged in an escalating fight with Kurdish PKK rebels and unsettled by a series of major bombings claimed by Islamic State. Seeking to end speculation that Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan had been harmed during the military uprising, Turkey’s Justice Ministry told NTV that he was “in good condition.”
Following a National Security Council meeting in Ankara that began at about 1 p.m., Erdogan will also gather with ruling AK Party government ministers as well as the full cabinet in a series of meetings that could last several hours.
Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli told BloombergHT television in an interview Tuesday that measures to be announced will include a “new framework in line with the constitution” for the prosecution of the coup plotters. Erdogan’s chief adviser Cemil Ertem told Anadolu news agency there’s no plan to impose capital controls, and Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Twitter that policy steps taken will be “market friendly.”
The government’s crackdown in reprisal for the coup attempt has been swift and severe. Turkey has detained, suspended, fired or stripped the professional accreditation of around 60,000 people, according to Bloomberg calculations. Erdogan has blamed the foiled military intervention on supporters of U.S.-based religious leader Fethullah Gulen. As that purge extended to the country’s academic institutions on Tuesday evening, the lira weakened to within 1 percent of a record low.
Academics including university presidents were barred on Wednesday from traveling abroad until further notice, state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing the Council of Higher Education. They have been told to “assess” academics and staff linked to Gulen. NTV said that presidents of four universities were removed from office. And 245 staff were fired at the Youth and Sports Ministry, it said.
Obama Call
The purges have unsettled Turkey’s allies and investors by raising concerns that Erdogan’s response may be an overreach that further destabilizes Turkish society and weakens its institutions. Erdogan has been seeking to consolidate power in the presidency since he was elevated to that office two years ago, and has indicated he believes the attempted coup vindicates his policies. Late on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama, in a phone call, urged his ally to act in a way that was “consistent with the democratic” values of the Turkish constitution.
“We are witnessing a crackdown of exceptional proportions in Turkey at the moment,” Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International’s Turkey researcher, said in a statement. “While it is understandable, and legitimate, that the government wishes to investigate and punish those responsible for this bloody coup attempt, they must abide by the rule of law and respect freedom of expression.”
Moody’s Investor Services said Monday that it’s put Turkish debt on review for a possible downgrade from its Baa3 credit rating, already the lowest investment grade, because of the attempted coup and its potential impact on growth. JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note Wednesday that Turkish sovereign bonds worth $7.2 billion are at risk of forced selling if Turkey’s ratings are cut to junk.
The lira was trading at 3.04 to the dollar, compared with about 2.90 in the days before the attempted coup. Yields on Turkey’s 10-year bonds rose for the fourth day in a row to 10.12 percent.
Death Penalty
As the post-coup backlash gathers pace, European leaders have warned Turkey about re-instituting the death penalty, with French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday saying such a move would end Turkey’s European Union membership talks. The last executions in Turkey were in the mid-1980s and capital punishment was formally abolished in 2004.
The U.S.-Turkish relationship has been tested by recent events, with officials trading barbs in the last few days about Turkey’s request that the U.S. extradite Gulen, who has denied any involvement in the failed putsch. On Tuesday, the defense ministers of the two NATO countries spoke by phone and re-affirmed their commitment to fight Islamic State, the U.S. Defense Department said in a statement.
The coup attempt came with Turkey engaged in an escalating fight with Kurdish PKK rebels and unsettled by a series of major bombings claimed by Islamic State. Seeking to end speculation that Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan had been harmed during the military uprising, Turkey’s Justice Ministry told NTV that he was “in good condition.”
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Elon Musk Just Unveiled His New Vision for Tesla - Fortune
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Posted: 21 Jul 2016 05:53 AM PDT
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk published his “master plan part 2” on Wednesday night that disclosed a wide-ranging vision for his companies including new future Tesla vehicles, car sharing, urban planning concepts, and a combined SolarCity and Tesla that would sell solar panels and batteries. Musk, who is the largest shareholder in both Tesla and SolarCity, emphasized that the companies must be joined in order to efficiently make and sell solar panels and batteries. A month ago, Tesla announced that it was seeking to buy SolarCity for $2.86 billion. While shareholders initially reacted negatively to the deal, causing Tesla’s shares to drop dramatically, in recent weeks Tesla’s stock regained their lost value, indicating investors could now be more comfortable with the merger. Musk told the Wall Street Journal this week that he expects a two-thirds majority to approve the deal.
Musk also said that the only reason that the companies weren’t combined from the beginning was because of “an accident of history.” Musk clarified in a tweet that the companies “should have been done under the same corporate umbrella from the beginning.”
The post wasn’t just a merger pitch, but in Musk’s usual grandiose style he ticked off the goals and driving forces behind all of his business decisions. His over arching ambition, he said, is to deliver “sustainable energy” and end the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. He published the first part of his “master plan” a decade ago during the very early days of Tesla and SolarCity.
In Musk’s blog post, he revealed plans for new future Tesla vehicles, including a semi truck (Tesla Semi), a future compact SUV, a new kind of pickup truck, and what he described as “high-density urban transport,” or a bus. The company has hinted about most of these cars before over the years, but this is the first time I’ve heard about a possible Tesla bus. Musk said that the semi and the urban transport system are in “early stages of development” and could be ready to unveil in 2017. The “Tesla Semi” would lower the cost of transporting cargo and would also make cargo transport safer, said Musk. Musk also described a more well-designed urban bus that would be smaller, autonomous, free of passenger aisles, and would take riders all the way to their destinations. Bus drivers would be fleet managers, wrote Musk. Musk’s transport vision also includes car sharing, which analysts have speculated that Tesla would pursue for some time. Tesla customers could add their cars to a “shared fleet” by tapping a button on a Tesla phone app, wrote Musk. That could lower the cost of ownership of a Tesla, because it could generate income for you, he said. Autonomous cars were also a major theme laid out by Musk as way for cars to travel more safely and to be managed as a group. In May, a Tesla car crashed while its autonomous car software was enabled, marking the first known fatality in an autonomous car. U.S. regulators are investigating the accident. Finally, Musk also discussed his concept of making his factories more efficient and innovative, which he calls “the machine behind the machine.” (Read more about his industrialization plans here). Next week Tesla will hold a customer party at its “gigafactory,” a massive battery factory under construction outside of Reno, Nev. SolarCity is also building a factory in upstate New York with a plan to churn out highly efficient solar panels. This article originally appeared on Fortune.com |
US says deals with UK only possible after completion of Brexit - Bloomberg
Brexit talks must be completed before US will agree UK trade deal, John Kerry tells Boris Johnson
Johnson, a key proponent of Brexit who was surprisingly named as foreign secretary by Theresa May was grilled by reporters on previous gaffes
There can be no trade deal between Britain and the US until the country’s exit from the European Union is complete, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Secretary of State John Kerry said.
“Though clearly you can begin to pencil things in, you can’t ink them in, and that’s entirely right and proper,” Johnson told reporters in London on Tuesday when asked about the possibility of a bilateral post-Brexit trade agreement.
Kerry told a joint news conference with Johnson that it would be “physically impossible” to negotiate a deal with the UK while it remains part of the EU.
The comments came after Johnson and Kerry said the “special relationship” between the two countries would continue despite last month’s Brexit vote.
After a meeting in which the two discussed foreign-policy issues including the Middle East, Kerry said he’s “absolutely confident” the countries will continue to have “special and unbreakable ties.”
The attempt to offer continuity on diplomatic policy comes as the new government under Prime Minister Theresa May seeks to end weeks of turmoil in British politics following the Brexit vote.
Kerry said he’s “gratified by the reassurances” he got at a meeting with May on Tuesday morning. She’s “clearly ready to hit the ground running,” he said.
Johnson, a key proponent of Brexit who was surprisingly named as foreign secretary by May after he pulled out from challenging her for the premiership, was grilled by reporters on previous gaffes.
The former London mayor, who said during the referendum campaign that President Barack Obama’s “part-Kenyan” ancestry made him hostile to Britain and previously compared presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to a “sadistic nurse in a mental hospital,” refused to apologise for any past undiplomatic remarks.
“There is such a rich thesaurus now of things that I’ve said that have been, one way or another, through what alchemy I do not know, somehow misconstrued that it would really take me too long to engage in a full global itinerary of apology to all concerned,” Johnson said.
© 2016 Bloomberg
Johnson, a key proponent of Brexit who was surprisingly named as foreign secretary by Theresa May was grilled by reporters on previous gaffes
There can be no trade deal between Britain and the US until the country’s exit from the European Union is complete, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Secretary of State John Kerry said.
“Though clearly you can begin to pencil things in, you can’t ink them in, and that’s entirely right and proper,” Johnson told reporters in London on Tuesday when asked about the possibility of a bilateral post-Brexit trade agreement.
Kerry told a joint news conference with Johnson that it would be “physically impossible” to negotiate a deal with the UK while it remains part of the EU.
The comments came after Johnson and Kerry said the “special relationship” between the two countries would continue despite last month’s Brexit vote.
After a meeting in which the two discussed foreign-policy issues including the Middle East, Kerry said he’s “absolutely confident” the countries will continue to have “special and unbreakable ties.”
The attempt to offer continuity on diplomatic policy comes as the new government under Prime Minister Theresa May seeks to end weeks of turmoil in British politics following the Brexit vote.
Kerry said he’s “gratified by the reassurances” he got at a meeting with May on Tuesday morning. She’s “clearly ready to hit the ground running,” he said.
Johnson, a key proponent of Brexit who was surprisingly named as foreign secretary by May after he pulled out from challenging her for the premiership, was grilled by reporters on previous gaffes.
The former London mayor, who said during the referendum campaign that President Barack Obama’s “part-Kenyan” ancestry made him hostile to Britain and previously compared presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to a “sadistic nurse in a mental hospital,” refused to apologise for any past undiplomatic remarks.
“There is such a rich thesaurus now of things that I’ve said that have been, one way or another, through what alchemy I do not know, somehow misconstrued that it would really take me too long to engage in a full global itinerary of apology to all concerned,” Johnson said.
© 2016 Bloomberg
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Childhood memories : why so difficult to recall - Independent
Childhood memories: why are they so difficult to recall?
Early memories are powerful in shaping the adults that we become, and cultural differences in parenting style may have an impact on what we remember
Most of us don’t have any memories from the first three to four years of our lives – in fact, we tend to remember very little of life before the age of seven. And when we do try to think back to our earliest memories, it is often unclear whether they are the real thing or just recollections based on photos or stories told to us by others.
The phenomenon, known as “childhood amnesia”, has been puzzling psychologists for more than a century – and we still don’t fully understand it.
At first glance, it may seem that the reason we don’t remember being babies is because infants and toddlers don’t have a fully developed memory. But babies as young as six months can form both short-term memories that last for minutes, and long-term memories that last weeks, if not months. In one study, six-month-olds who learned how to press a lever to operate a toy train remembered how to perform this action for two to three weeks after they had last seen the toy. Preschoolers, on the other hand, can remember events that go years back. It’s debatable whether long-term memories at this early age are truly autobiographical, though – that is, personally relevant events that occurred in a specific time and place.
Of course, memory capabilities at these ages are not adult-like – they continue to mature until adolescence. In fact, developmental changes in basic memory processes have been put forward as an explanation for childhood amnesia, and it’s one of the best theories we’ve got so far. These basic processes involve several brain regions and include forming, maintaining and then later retrieving the memory. For example, the hippocampus, thought to be responsible for forming memories, continues developing until at least the age of seven. We know that the typical boundary for the offset of childhood amnesia – three and a half years – shifts with age. Children and teenagers have earlier memories than adults do. This suggests that the problem may be less with forming memories than with maintaining them.
But this does not seem to be the whole story. Another factor that we know plays a role is language. From the ages of one to six, children progress from the one-word stage of speaking to becoming fluent in their native language(s), so there are major changes in their verbal ability that overlap with the childhood amnesia period. This includes using the past tense, memory-related words such as “remember” and “forget”, and personal pronouns, a favourite being “mine”.
It is true to some extent that a child’s ability to verbalise about an event at the time that it happened predicts how well they remember it months or years later. One lab group conducted this work by interviewing toddlers brought to accident and emergency departments for common childhood injuries. Toddlers over 26 months, who could verbalise about the event at the time, recalled it up to five years later, whereas those under 26 months, who could not talk about it, recalled little or nothing. This suggests that preverbal memories are lost if they are not translated into language.
However, most research on the role of language focuses on a particular form of expression called narrative, and its social function. When parents reminisce with very young children about past events, they implicitly teach them narrative skills – what kinds of events are important to remember and how to structure talking about them in a way that others can understand.
Unlike simply recounting information for factual purposes, reminiscing revolves around the social function of sharing experiences with others. In this way, family stories maintain the memory’s accessibility over time, and also increase the coherence of the narrative, including the chronology of events, their theme, and their degree of emotion. More coherent stories are remembered better. Maori adults have the earliest childhood memories (age 2.5) of any society studied so far, thanks to Maori parents' highly elaborate style of telling family stories.
Reminiscing has different social functions in different cultures, which contribute to cultural variations in the quantity, quality and timing of early autobiographical memories. Adults in cultures that value autonomy (North America, Western Europe) tend to report earlier and more childhood memories than adults in cultures that value relatedness (Asia, Africa).
This is predicted by cultural differences in parental reminiscing style. In cultures that promote more autonomous self-concepts, parental reminiscing focuses more on children’s individual experiences, preferences, and feelings, and less on their relationships with others, social routines, and behavioural standards. For example, an American child might remember getting a gold star in preschool whereas a Chinese child might remember the class learning a particular song at preschool.
While there are still things we don’t understand about childhood amnesia, researchers are making progress. For example, there are more prospective longitudinal studies that follow individuals from childhood into the future. This helps give accurate accounts of events, which is better than retrospectively asking teens or adults to remember past events which are not documented. Also, as neuroscience progresses, there will undoubtedly be more studies relating brain development to memory development. This should help us develop other measures of memory besides verbal reports.
In the meantime, it’s important to remember that, even if we can’t explicitly remember specific events from when we were very young, their accumulation nevertheless leaves lasting traces that influence our behaviour. The first few years of life are paradoxically forgettable and yet powerful in shaping the adults that we become.
This article was first published in The Conversation. Jeanne Shinskey is a senior lecturer in the department of psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London
Early memories are powerful in shaping the adults that we become, and cultural differences in parenting style may have an impact on what we remember
Most of us don’t have any memories from the first three to four years of our lives – in fact, we tend to remember very little of life before the age of seven. And when we do try to think back to our earliest memories, it is often unclear whether they are the real thing or just recollections based on photos or stories told to us by others.
The phenomenon, known as “childhood amnesia”, has been puzzling psychologists for more than a century – and we still don’t fully understand it.
At first glance, it may seem that the reason we don’t remember being babies is because infants and toddlers don’t have a fully developed memory. But babies as young as six months can form both short-term memories that last for minutes, and long-term memories that last weeks, if not months. In one study, six-month-olds who learned how to press a lever to operate a toy train remembered how to perform this action for two to three weeks after they had last seen the toy. Preschoolers, on the other hand, can remember events that go years back. It’s debatable whether long-term memories at this early age are truly autobiographical, though – that is, personally relevant events that occurred in a specific time and place.
Of course, memory capabilities at these ages are not adult-like – they continue to mature until adolescence. In fact, developmental changes in basic memory processes have been put forward as an explanation for childhood amnesia, and it’s one of the best theories we’ve got so far. These basic processes involve several brain regions and include forming, maintaining and then later retrieving the memory. For example, the hippocampus, thought to be responsible for forming memories, continues developing until at least the age of seven. We know that the typical boundary for the offset of childhood amnesia – three and a half years – shifts with age. Children and teenagers have earlier memories than adults do. This suggests that the problem may be less with forming memories than with maintaining them.
But this does not seem to be the whole story. Another factor that we know plays a role is language. From the ages of one to six, children progress from the one-word stage of speaking to becoming fluent in their native language(s), so there are major changes in their verbal ability that overlap with the childhood amnesia period. This includes using the past tense, memory-related words such as “remember” and “forget”, and personal pronouns, a favourite being “mine”.
It is true to some extent that a child’s ability to verbalise about an event at the time that it happened predicts how well they remember it months or years later. One lab group conducted this work by interviewing toddlers brought to accident and emergency departments for common childhood injuries. Toddlers over 26 months, who could verbalise about the event at the time, recalled it up to five years later, whereas those under 26 months, who could not talk about it, recalled little or nothing. This suggests that preverbal memories are lost if they are not translated into language.
However, most research on the role of language focuses on a particular form of expression called narrative, and its social function. When parents reminisce with very young children about past events, they implicitly teach them narrative skills – what kinds of events are important to remember and how to structure talking about them in a way that others can understand.
Unlike simply recounting information for factual purposes, reminiscing revolves around the social function of sharing experiences with others. In this way, family stories maintain the memory’s accessibility over time, and also increase the coherence of the narrative, including the chronology of events, their theme, and their degree of emotion. More coherent stories are remembered better. Maori adults have the earliest childhood memories (age 2.5) of any society studied so far, thanks to Maori parents' highly elaborate style of telling family stories.
Reminiscing has different social functions in different cultures, which contribute to cultural variations in the quantity, quality and timing of early autobiographical memories. Adults in cultures that value autonomy (North America, Western Europe) tend to report earlier and more childhood memories than adults in cultures that value relatedness (Asia, Africa).
This is predicted by cultural differences in parental reminiscing style. In cultures that promote more autonomous self-concepts, parental reminiscing focuses more on children’s individual experiences, preferences, and feelings, and less on their relationships with others, social routines, and behavioural standards. For example, an American child might remember getting a gold star in preschool whereas a Chinese child might remember the class learning a particular song at preschool.
While there are still things we don’t understand about childhood amnesia, researchers are making progress. For example, there are more prospective longitudinal studies that follow individuals from childhood into the future. This helps give accurate accounts of events, which is better than retrospectively asking teens or adults to remember past events which are not documented. Also, as neuroscience progresses, there will undoubtedly be more studies relating brain development to memory development. This should help us develop other measures of memory besides verbal reports.
In the meantime, it’s important to remember that, even if we can’t explicitly remember specific events from when we were very young, their accumulation nevertheless leaves lasting traces that influence our behaviour. The first few years of life are paradoxically forgettable and yet powerful in shaping the adults that we become.
This article was first published in The Conversation. Jeanne Shinskey is a senior lecturer in the department of psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Trump convention takes on warlike atmosphere to emphasise threats - New York Times
Thunderstorms passed over Cleveland early Monday morning, but they reappeared Monday night inside Quicken Loans Arena, where the first night of Donald J. Trump’s coronation struck a dark and foreboding tone unmatched by any convention in recent history. Our takeaways:
We’re in grave danger
The lineup of speakers presented a United States in danger, threatened from abroad and from within, a once-proud nation on the very brink of chaos and dystopia. Six of the speakers were military veterans, including Marcus Luttrell, the celebrated former Navy SEAL, who bluntly warned that “the enemy is here.” A half-dozen more were relatives of Americans murdered by foreign terrorists or illegal immigrants — threats to the nation’s safety and cohesion that often mingle in the Trump worldview. Another was the former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who likened the country to a circa-1980s New York in need of a strong hand. “There is no next election,” Mr. Giuliani warned. “This is it!”
No time for soft notes
A night of doom and gloom was punctuated by the emergence of Mr. Trump’s media-shy wife, Melania, ostensibly in the traditional spousal role of humanizer. And yes, Ms. Trump spoke of her husband’s patriotism and how much he cared for their son, and urged Republicans to look past the rancor of the primary season. Yet Ms. Trump’s ably delivered address was strangely impersonal — devoid of colorful stories and anecdotes about this most colorful of candidates. (It also had parts strikingly similar to a 2008 Michelle Obama speech.) In the end, her message was the same as every other speaker’s: Mr. Trump is strong and resolute.
Slide Show
SLIDE SHOW
|
14 Photos
The First Day of the Republican National Convention
The First Day of the Republican National Convention
Credit
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Trump in charge
Scott Baio may have been an early speaker on Monday, but there was no question who was in charge. It is one thing for the presumptive nominee to make an early appearance at his own convention, as Mr. Trump did when he introduced his wife before her speech. It is quite another to step on one of the most putatively powerful moments of the night, as Mr. Trump did when he phoned in to Fox to attack Ohio’s popular governor, John Kasich, for skipping the convention in Cleveland. Mr. Trump’s tirade pre-empted the network’s coverage from the convention stage, where two American survivors of the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, were recounting their experience.
Mechanics matter
With Mr. Trump fully in charge, the convention displayed many of the logistical creaks and misfires as did his winning primary campaign. Instead of building to a crescendo — with each speaker reinforcing the next — the night ebbed and flowed, from remarks by intense and high-energy speakers like Mr. Giuliani to the meandering, strained speech by a former general (and onetime potential running mate), Michael T. Flynn. Mr. Trump’s own Fox hit appeared to force the network to go to commercials during an emotional and heart-rending speech by Patricia Smith, the mother of the Benghazi victim Sean Smith.
Ms. Trump’s well-received speech seemed to signal an end to the night, and delegates soon began drifting out of the arena with more than an hour left to go. One of the party’s rising stars, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, ended the evening speaking to a mostly empty room. The house band’s closing performance of “Sweet Caroline” ended halfway through the song.
Find out what you need to know about the 2016 presidential race today, and get politics news updates via Facebook, Twitter and the First Draft newsletter.
Continue reading the main story
We’re in grave danger
The lineup of speakers presented a United States in danger, threatened from abroad and from within, a once-proud nation on the very brink of chaos and dystopia. Six of the speakers were military veterans, including Marcus Luttrell, the celebrated former Navy SEAL, who bluntly warned that “the enemy is here.” A half-dozen more were relatives of Americans murdered by foreign terrorists or illegal immigrants — threats to the nation’s safety and cohesion that often mingle in the Trump worldview. Another was the former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who likened the country to a circa-1980s New York in need of a strong hand. “There is no next election,” Mr. Giuliani warned. “This is it!”
No time for soft notes
A night of doom and gloom was punctuated by the emergence of Mr. Trump’s media-shy wife, Melania, ostensibly in the traditional spousal role of humanizer. And yes, Ms. Trump spoke of her husband’s patriotism and how much he cared for their son, and urged Republicans to look past the rancor of the primary season. Yet Ms. Trump’s ably delivered address was strangely impersonal — devoid of colorful stories and anecdotes about this most colorful of candidates. (It also had parts strikingly similar to a 2008 Michelle Obama speech.) In the end, her message was the same as every other speaker’s: Mr. Trump is strong and resolute.
Slide Show
SLIDE SHOW
|
14 Photos
The First Day of the Republican National Convention
The First Day of the Republican National Convention
Credit
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Trump in charge
Scott Baio may have been an early speaker on Monday, but there was no question who was in charge. It is one thing for the presumptive nominee to make an early appearance at his own convention, as Mr. Trump did when he introduced his wife before her speech. It is quite another to step on one of the most putatively powerful moments of the night, as Mr. Trump did when he phoned in to Fox to attack Ohio’s popular governor, John Kasich, for skipping the convention in Cleveland. Mr. Trump’s tirade pre-empted the network’s coverage from the convention stage, where two American survivors of the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, were recounting their experience.
Mechanics matter
With Mr. Trump fully in charge, the convention displayed many of the logistical creaks and misfires as did his winning primary campaign. Instead of building to a crescendo — with each speaker reinforcing the next — the night ebbed and flowed, from remarks by intense and high-energy speakers like Mr. Giuliani to the meandering, strained speech by a former general (and onetime potential running mate), Michael T. Flynn. Mr. Trump’s own Fox hit appeared to force the network to go to commercials during an emotional and heart-rending speech by Patricia Smith, the mother of the Benghazi victim Sean Smith.
Ms. Trump’s well-received speech seemed to signal an end to the night, and delegates soon began drifting out of the arena with more than an hour left to go. One of the party’s rising stars, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, ended the evening speaking to a mostly empty room. The house band’s closing performance of “Sweet Caroline” ended halfway through the song.
Find out what you need to know about the 2016 presidential race today, and get politics news updates via Facebook, Twitter and the First Draft newsletter.
Continue reading the main story
Trump conquered the Republican Party now the protest - Telegraph
Donald Trump has conquered the Republican Party. Now come the protests
TIM STANLEY
19 JULY 2016 • 6:30AM
W
elcome to the Trump convention. Not the Republican convention: the Trump convention. And all he hath wrought.
On Monday night we watched a former Calvin Klein model warn us against socialism, Rudy Giuliani transform into Grandpa Simpson and Donald Trump emerge from the smoke machine fog like a contestant off Stars in their Eyes. "Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be... a presidential nominee!"
He introduced his wife, Melania. Yet another former model. She was beautiful as this convention is ridiculous.
Some things you need to know. It’s hot here in Ohio. Really, really hot. Cleveland’s outskirts, where I’m staying, are a queer mix of industrial and rural; I spotted a deer wandering across the railway tracks. As you enter downtown, the buildings shoot up to the sky and the temperature grows more oppressive. Sunday night there was a terrible storm. Monday morning, the air was close and wet.
“I met a fat man with a thin man on a dog leash – the thin guy was walking around on all fours, barking. The fat guy screamed: “Kick ma dawg for Trump! Kick him, y’all!”
”
The entrance to the convention hall is down a long, narrow alley full of TV cameras and pork rib restaurants. It’s filled with preachers screaming about Jesus. I met a fat man with a thin man on a dog leash – the thin guy was walking around on all fours, barking. The fat guy screamed: “Kick ma dawg for Trump! Kick him, y’all!” I have no idea what the point was. There doesn’t have to be one. People have come here to be heard, no matter what they’re saying.
I took a detour down to the riverside, where there was an America First Unity Rally. Trump rallies are unusual because even the pro-Trump speakers get shouted down by the pro-Trump audience. The host, a large Iowan in a cowboy hat called Ken Crow, was trying to talk and a black guy started drowning him out by yelling: “Build that wall! Build that wall!” Mr Crow shouted back: “It's a long day patriot. Don't go horsesh*t.” Mr Crow was joined by a lady with an extreme tan and very blonde hair in a small skirt that kept lifting in the breeze. “I can feel a Marilyn Monroe moment coming on!” she joked. Luckily, she said, she was wearing panties underneath.
These are people who were with Trump from the very beginning, the people who – in their own words – cling passionately onto guns and bibles. Nothing wrong with that. I go to Mass every Sunday and I’m pretty smart with an air-gun. What’s striking among the America First crowd, is their sense not of potential – that old American dream – but of anger at the attempt to take away what little they have. Mr Crow told us about his first meeting with The Donald. He’d asked Trump why he was running and Trump said: “Why do you think I’m running?” Crow replied: “To preserve what you’ve built.” And Trump said: “To preserve what everybody’s built.”
Note: preserve. Not build more, not expand, not create – but preserve. You might argue that Trump is conservatism in its purest sense, the sense of being about conserving the best of the past. You might also argue that this represents a break from Reaganism, which is optimistic and about growing the economy to the advantage of the individual. I’ve been a US conservative convention goer for eight years and I can tell that a change has come over them. You used to hear a lot about defending the Constitution and shrinking the government. Not so much anymore.
The people who are interested in those things are here. On Monday afternoon, God bless them, they tried to kick Trump off the ticket with a rules challenge on the convention floor. They failed and stormed off. They never had the numbers necessary to do it and the Republican establishment has reconciled itself to Trump anyway – so no dice. I visited the Never Trump HQ and it was, at that particular moment, just two guys with laptops. Nevertheless, while the anti-Trump forces are small in number they are powerful with the punditocracy and the talk shows are brimming with movement intellectuals denouncing the nominee of their party.
This creates the false sense that the Republican opposition is way bigger than it really is. For a sense of how Trumpism has captured the heart of the GOP, one only had to watch Rudy Giuliani's remarkable speech – which capped an evening of anti-foreigner rhetoric that included two army guys detailing how to kill an enemy combatant. Giuliani was all teeth and fists. Mad as Hell. Not. Going. To. Take. It. Any. More. The convention loved it. How strange to see people I know, and rather like, transformed suddenly into an audience of pure rage – people who are middle-class, small town, hard-working, Christian. I cannot stress how pleasant the Trump supporters really are to speak to. But presented with the possibility of Hillary Clinton entering the White House and they become wild and angry. One can feel the philosophical disagreements with Trump just melting away.
So any real opposition will come from outside the convention, and that’s where things get scary. The cops are policing the demos with a rapid response team that rides around with guns and mace on black bicycles – like postmen in the age of the apocalypse – and they generally outnumber the protesters. The saddest sight in the world was an individual Muslim woman in the main square pleading through a microphone that she was an American, too. Around her was a ring of cops on bikes, holding back about twelve Christians shouting that Mohammed is the Devil. Back down the alley leading to the convention hall, I ran into Geert Wilders – leader of the Dutch far-Right. He said Trump was the kind of "strong leader" than Americans and Europeans are looking for.
What happens with the Black Lives Matter folk arrive in big numbers? The liberals, the hippies, the environmentalists, the professional trouble-makers, the people who believe they can bring down Trump by showing him up by encouraging violence? I await their arrival with genuine fear, and with – dare I say it – nervous excitement. Someone has to dissent seriously in Cleveland. Someone has to say Trump is wrong.
In the train station on the way home there was a brass band playing Happy Days are Here Again. And an old guy with a t-shirt that read: “Jesus Rebukes Those He Loves.” Amen.
TIM STANLEY
19 JULY 2016 • 6:30AM
W
elcome to the Trump convention. Not the Republican convention: the Trump convention. And all he hath wrought.
On Monday night we watched a former Calvin Klein model warn us against socialism, Rudy Giuliani transform into Grandpa Simpson and Donald Trump emerge from the smoke machine fog like a contestant off Stars in their Eyes. "Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be... a presidential nominee!"
He introduced his wife, Melania. Yet another former model. She was beautiful as this convention is ridiculous.
Some things you need to know. It’s hot here in Ohio. Really, really hot. Cleveland’s outskirts, where I’m staying, are a queer mix of industrial and rural; I spotted a deer wandering across the railway tracks. As you enter downtown, the buildings shoot up to the sky and the temperature grows more oppressive. Sunday night there was a terrible storm. Monday morning, the air was close and wet.
“I met a fat man with a thin man on a dog leash – the thin guy was walking around on all fours, barking. The fat guy screamed: “Kick ma dawg for Trump! Kick him, y’all!”
”
The entrance to the convention hall is down a long, narrow alley full of TV cameras and pork rib restaurants. It’s filled with preachers screaming about Jesus. I met a fat man with a thin man on a dog leash – the thin guy was walking around on all fours, barking. The fat guy screamed: “Kick ma dawg for Trump! Kick him, y’all!” I have no idea what the point was. There doesn’t have to be one. People have come here to be heard, no matter what they’re saying.
I took a detour down to the riverside, where there was an America First Unity Rally. Trump rallies are unusual because even the pro-Trump speakers get shouted down by the pro-Trump audience. The host, a large Iowan in a cowboy hat called Ken Crow, was trying to talk and a black guy started drowning him out by yelling: “Build that wall! Build that wall!” Mr Crow shouted back: “It's a long day patriot. Don't go horsesh*t.” Mr Crow was joined by a lady with an extreme tan and very blonde hair in a small skirt that kept lifting in the breeze. “I can feel a Marilyn Monroe moment coming on!” she joked. Luckily, she said, she was wearing panties underneath.
These are people who were with Trump from the very beginning, the people who – in their own words – cling passionately onto guns and bibles. Nothing wrong with that. I go to Mass every Sunday and I’m pretty smart with an air-gun. What’s striking among the America First crowd, is their sense not of potential – that old American dream – but of anger at the attempt to take away what little they have. Mr Crow told us about his first meeting with The Donald. He’d asked Trump why he was running and Trump said: “Why do you think I’m running?” Crow replied: “To preserve what you’ve built.” And Trump said: “To preserve what everybody’s built.”
Note: preserve. Not build more, not expand, not create – but preserve. You might argue that Trump is conservatism in its purest sense, the sense of being about conserving the best of the past. You might also argue that this represents a break from Reaganism, which is optimistic and about growing the economy to the advantage of the individual. I’ve been a US conservative convention goer for eight years and I can tell that a change has come over them. You used to hear a lot about defending the Constitution and shrinking the government. Not so much anymore.
The people who are interested in those things are here. On Monday afternoon, God bless them, they tried to kick Trump off the ticket with a rules challenge on the convention floor. They failed and stormed off. They never had the numbers necessary to do it and the Republican establishment has reconciled itself to Trump anyway – so no dice. I visited the Never Trump HQ and it was, at that particular moment, just two guys with laptops. Nevertheless, while the anti-Trump forces are small in number they are powerful with the punditocracy and the talk shows are brimming with movement intellectuals denouncing the nominee of their party.
This creates the false sense that the Republican opposition is way bigger than it really is. For a sense of how Trumpism has captured the heart of the GOP, one only had to watch Rudy Giuliani's remarkable speech – which capped an evening of anti-foreigner rhetoric that included two army guys detailing how to kill an enemy combatant. Giuliani was all teeth and fists. Mad as Hell. Not. Going. To. Take. It. Any. More. The convention loved it. How strange to see people I know, and rather like, transformed suddenly into an audience of pure rage – people who are middle-class, small town, hard-working, Christian. I cannot stress how pleasant the Trump supporters really are to speak to. But presented with the possibility of Hillary Clinton entering the White House and they become wild and angry. One can feel the philosophical disagreements with Trump just melting away.
So any real opposition will come from outside the convention, and that’s where things get scary. The cops are policing the demos with a rapid response team that rides around with guns and mace on black bicycles – like postmen in the age of the apocalypse – and they generally outnumber the protesters. The saddest sight in the world was an individual Muslim woman in the main square pleading through a microphone that she was an American, too. Around her was a ring of cops on bikes, holding back about twelve Christians shouting that Mohammed is the Devil. Back down the alley leading to the convention hall, I ran into Geert Wilders – leader of the Dutch far-Right. He said Trump was the kind of "strong leader" than Americans and Europeans are looking for.
What happens with the Black Lives Matter folk arrive in big numbers? The liberals, the hippies, the environmentalists, the professional trouble-makers, the people who believe they can bring down Trump by showing him up by encouraging violence? I await their arrival with genuine fear, and with – dare I say it – nervous excitement. Someone has to dissent seriously in Cleveland. Someone has to say Trump is wrong.
In the train station on the way home there was a brass band playing Happy Days are Here Again. And an old guy with a t-shirt that read: “Jesus Rebukes Those He Loves.” Amen.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Why This Mobile Tech Company Was Just Acquired for $32 Billion - Fortune
Posted: 18 Jul 2016 06:18 AM PDT
SoftBank’s impending takeover of ARM Holdings means the Japanese firm is buying the most important company in the world of mobile processors.
ARM’s processor designs power more than 95 percent of the smartphones out there (Intel has never been able to replicate its desktop success in this space). From the iPhone and AppleWatch down to the cheapest Nokia phone out there, you can be pretty sure that your mobile device has an ARM-based chip inside.
The 25-year-old British company has the crucial advantage of not having to make its own chips—it just designs the processor architecture and licenses it to companies such as Qualcomm, Samsung and Apple.
In fact, ARM’s genesis dates back to the collaboration between Apple and Acorn, the computer company whose Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processor powered Apple’s Newton personal digital assistant in the early 1990s.
The SoftBank deal is worth around $32 billion, and the Japanese communications conglomerate is promising to make its new baby flourish like never before.
SoftBank said Monday that it would at least double ARM’s U.K. headcount and to grow its employee numbers outside the country over the next five years. The business model will stay the same, as will the company’s organizational structure and senior management.
ARM’s headquarters will remain in Cambridge, in the east of England. Much as Intel and Stanford University have been essential to Silicon Valley, ARM and the University of Cambridge have been central in the development of the smaller “Silicon Fen”—a cluster that also gave birth to big data outfit Autonomy (disastrously purchased by Hewlett-Packard) and Bluetooth chip firm CSR (now owned by Qualcomm).
Of course, ARM’s potential future does not just lie in mobile. Because the company’s architecture is designed to use as little power as possible (a must-have in phones), it is also well-placed for the nascent Internet of things—the new world of everyday devices that have processors and radios embedded in them to give them some smarts and connect them with the Internet.
While the Internet of things has a lot of buzz about it, it still has yet to reach the ubiquity enjoyed by smartphones. That said, smartphone growth is slowing as the market saturates, and companies such as ARM need to diversify.
In May, ARM said more than half of the 4.1 billion ARM-based chips that shipped in the first quarter of this year had been for non-mobile markets—though mobile did account for two-thirds of ARM’s royalties for the period.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son was clear in his Monday statement about where he sees ARM’s value. “ARM will be an excellent strategic fit within the SoftBank group as we invest to capture the very significant opportunities provided by the Internet of things,” he said. “This is one of the most important acquisitions we have ever made.”
SoftBank said it would not only invest in more engineers for ARM, but also look for “complementary acquisitions” to maintain the firm’s “R&D edge.”
ARM has recently been no slouch on this front anyway. Last year alone it bought Internet-of-things security firms Sansa (which it is using as the basis for a new development hub in Israel) and Offspark, Bluetooth technology companies Wicentric and Sunrise (which will again aid its Internet-of-things efforts on the communications side), and virtual-prototyping outfit Carbon Design Systems.
The British company is developing its own operating system for the Internet of Things, called mbed. The idea here is to make it easier for companies entering the space to pick up an ARM-based chip and quickly set up a working connected device.
SoftBank, meanwhile, last week announced a joint venture with Internet-of-things technology and services company Aeris. The joint venture will push Aeris’s network and platform in Japan, India, Europe and the U.S., targeting markets such as the automotive industry.
It’s not hard to see how a big beast such as ARM will fit into such a strategy.
“This move by ARM is recognition of the limits of this current market and the need to invest to expand beyond PC and mobile into the multitude of consumer home, building, car and other platforms emerging in the Internet of things,” said Mark Skilton, a professor at Warwick Business School.
“This needs bigger pockets to take on completion to scale these markets…Telecoms companies have had an interesting challenge to position the vital network ‘glue’ to connect all these devices and services, but seek a bigger part of the market share through similar integration into the delivery device end.”
As some have noted, SoftBank’s timing on the ARM acquisition has been fortunate, thanks to the impact of the Brexit vote on the pound.
The British government, of course, is leaping on this spot of good post-Brexit news. “Just three weeks after the referendum decision, it shows that Britain has lost none of its allure to international investors,” said chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond.
Hammond also said the deal—the largest-ever investment from Asia in the U.K.—would “turn this great British company into a global phenomenon.”
It already is that, by any measure. Though if SoftBank plays its cards right, and if the Internet of things explodes as predicted, ARM could indeed become even more important than it already is.
This article originally appeared on Fortune.com
Turkish coup failed but troubles ahead - Independent
As a botched attempt at an undemocratic military coup took place in Turkey on Friday night, confusion reigned, jets flew overhead, and military vehicles took to the streets of Istanbul and Ankara. Soon, however, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a live FaceTime address to the nation, calling on people to take to the streets to overturn the coup and defend democracy. The result left 265 dead, 1,440 wounded and the return of Erdoğan’s democratically elected government.
This reads like a people’s success story: unlike the jubilant crowds that met the tanks in Turkey’s 1960, 1971 and 1980 coups, this time, the Turkish public responded with a firm “no”. Turkey’s opposition parties – usually vehemently opposed to Erdoğan’s AK Party – hurriedly rallied to denounce the coup attempt and state their commitment to democracy on Saturday. Many international heads of state, the UN, and NATO called for the continuation of Turkey’s democratically elected government. The people’s will had triumphed over militarism.
But while the Turkish government congratulates itself and its loyal 51 per cent for a historical night of defending democracy, this feels far from a victory for Turkey’s secular and minority groups. Secular Turkish Muslims, non-Muslims, non-Sunnis, Kurds, LGBT individuals, dissenting journalists, academics, and others who wish to see Erdoğan step down through due democratic process after 12 years of rule fear that Friday’s events will only sow deeper division in Turkish society.
No one wants the instability and civilian oppression that martial law brings, but many Turks have long been hoping in vain for a truly democratic government, one that, in the true definition of the term, listens to the 49 per cent who happen to disagree with the Islamist and authoritarian direction of the ruling party. It has now long been the case in Turkey that, when the word “democracy” is used by the state, the calling card is coming out: it directly means their sustained electoral majority, and this justifies whatever is next to come. Democracy has become shorthand for a majority with homogenous values having the right to decide the fate of a diverse and increasingly demoralised minority.
Yesterday’s show of democracy was therefore not only questionable in label, but its aftermath looks set to be, too. The government’s heavy-handed clampdown has already begun. A remarkable 2,839 army members, and 2,745 judges and prosecutors have been detained within 24 hours: assuming all arrests are based on solid impartial evidence, it is an intelligence feat of astounding accuracy and speed, which Turkey’s recent failures to detect terrorist plots suggests unlikely. The sheer numbers bear the hallmarks of a purge, as any unlawful arrests fall through the cracks. Erdoğan has also regained some international sympathy, while bolstering a domestic support base that had temporarily waned due to tensions about Syrian refugees.
The frightening violence of Erdoğan’s supporters in their so-called caretaking of democracy on Friday night; the rhetoric of democracy and majoritarianism that Erdoğan uses interchangeably without qualm; and the pursuit of vengeance over mercy in the aftermath marks this failed coup as the start of darker days for Turkish democracy.
This reads like a people’s success story: unlike the jubilant crowds that met the tanks in Turkey’s 1960, 1971 and 1980 coups, this time, the Turkish public responded with a firm “no”. Turkey’s opposition parties – usually vehemently opposed to Erdoğan’s AK Party – hurriedly rallied to denounce the coup attempt and state their commitment to democracy on Saturday. Many international heads of state, the UN, and NATO called for the continuation of Turkey’s democratically elected government. The people’s will had triumphed over militarism.
But while the Turkish government congratulates itself and its loyal 51 per cent for a historical night of defending democracy, this feels far from a victory for Turkey’s secular and minority groups. Secular Turkish Muslims, non-Muslims, non-Sunnis, Kurds, LGBT individuals, dissenting journalists, academics, and others who wish to see Erdoğan step down through due democratic process after 12 years of rule fear that Friday’s events will only sow deeper division in Turkish society.
No one wants the instability and civilian oppression that martial law brings, but many Turks have long been hoping in vain for a truly democratic government, one that, in the true definition of the term, listens to the 49 per cent who happen to disagree with the Islamist and authoritarian direction of the ruling party. It has now long been the case in Turkey that, when the word “democracy” is used by the state, the calling card is coming out: it directly means their sustained electoral majority, and this justifies whatever is next to come. Democracy has become shorthand for a majority with homogenous values having the right to decide the fate of a diverse and increasingly demoralised minority.
Yesterday’s show of democracy was therefore not only questionable in label, but its aftermath looks set to be, too. The government’s heavy-handed clampdown has already begun. A remarkable 2,839 army members, and 2,745 judges and prosecutors have been detained within 24 hours: assuming all arrests are based on solid impartial evidence, it is an intelligence feat of astounding accuracy and speed, which Turkey’s recent failures to detect terrorist plots suggests unlikely. The sheer numbers bear the hallmarks of a purge, as any unlawful arrests fall through the cracks. Erdoğan has also regained some international sympathy, while bolstering a domestic support base that had temporarily waned due to tensions about Syrian refugees.
The frightening violence of Erdoğan’s supporters in their so-called caretaking of democracy on Friday night; the rhetoric of democracy and majoritarianism that Erdoğan uses interchangeably without qualm; and the pursuit of vengeance over mercy in the aftermath marks this failed coup as the start of darker days for Turkish democracy.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
The Ultimate Job Seeker’s Guide to LinkedIn - TIME
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Posted: 13 Jul 2016 03:00 AM PDT
As of June 2016, the unemployment rate sits at 4.9% — roughly where it was ten years ago today. But in the decade since, much has changed. The Great Recession took the economy on a wild ride, making job seekers clutch their resumes close to their chests. The “Gig Economy” came into being, and many who were once employed in their career of choice found new jobs as drivers, errand runners, and temps of all stripes. And of course the process of finding jobs changed radically, too. The dominance of big job boards like Monster and CareerBuilder is no more. Now the most sought-after gigs go to people who know people.
This is where the LinkedIn comes in. Born in 2002 in co-founder Reid Hoffman’s living room, the social network is now the de facto career destination on the web. Neither a job board, company review website, nor an online gossip mill, LinkedIn is the go-to portal for professional networking, offering a variety of tools toward that end. Job seekers (both active and passive) who once regarded every turn of phrase on their CV as a competitive secret now post their job experience online with pride.
LinkedIn currently has 433 million members from more than 200 countries. According to comScore, the site’s age demographics are the most balanced in all of social media. As of late 2014, 35% of its users were between 18-34 years old, 40% were 35-54, and 25% were age 55 and over. It’s also a user base that’s consistently growing — two people join LinkedIn per second, with recent college graduates representing the bulk of the site’s new members.
But why are they coming? That is the big question behind the popularity and utility of LinkedIn. With cash-strapped employers offering fewer benefits and people feeling simultaneously overworked and under-employed, the loyalty that once shored up the workforce has eroded. Now workers make lateral move after lateral move like a real-world Frogger, occasionally leaping up another level in their professional life. And to move up — or over — they need to have connections. That’s where LinkedIn comes in.
Here’s what you need to know to master it.
The LinkedIn Homepage
After you sign up for LinkedIn and build your profile (more on that below), the LinkedIn homepage serves as the starting point for your business-oriented online dealings. Structured like the infinitely scrolling news feeds of Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn’s interface is designed for interaction. It wants you to give virtual high-fives and pats on the back to your colleagues and contacts — and to help you connect you with even more of them.
At the top of the homepage in black is the navigation bar, which serves as the launch pad for many interactions on the site. The search window takes up a lot of space on this strip. That’s because LinkedIn wants its users to seek out former (and future) colleagues, companies, and other organizations. The advanced search link next to the search windows lets users further tap the vast amounts of professional data that people plug into this social network.
On a related note, this user data is what makes LinkedIn so valuable, both professionally and financially. In fact, partly because of this vast trove of professional information, Microsoft recently purchased LinkedIn for about $26 billion, one of the largest technology acquisitions ever.
But back to the navigation bar. On the top right you’ll also find icons (with alert badges) for messages from other users, notifications from LinkedIn, and connection invitations. If you’re an active LinkedIn user, clearing the alerts on these three icons can be a Sisyphean task — especially because the social network will throw some suggestions in them to keep your account whirring. If you’re an “inbox zero” type, you might want to unsubscribe from that philosophy while using this site.
And finally, in the right corner of the navigation bar is the account and settings icon. This is where you can adjust things like privacy preferences, languages, and account types.
LinkedIn is free to use, but it also offers a “premium” version for $30 per month. That may seem like a steep rate, but it’s a popular offering — the social network raked in $532 million in LinkedIn Premium fees in 2015 alone.
Below the navigation bar is the dashboard, a not-so-subtle prompt by the company for users to plug more information into their personal page. Within this panel you’ll see how many connections you have, as well as a link to information about how many people have viewed your profile recently. Yes, unlike Facebook and Twitter, on this social network you can see who has been scoping you out — well, some of them. For a complete list, you’ll need to subscribe to LinkedIn Premium. (Now you can see why so many people pay up.)
Below the dashboard are the usual social media tools, which let users add content to the site’s feed, including status updates, photos, and posts. On LinkedIn, status updates and posts are distinctly different pieces of information. A status update is a good way to say whatever is on your mind, or to share links that you think your professional contacts would find interesting. Posts are articles that you can publish on LinkedIn. Clicking on “publish a post” opens a text editing page that lets users add rich media including images, videos, presentations, tweets, and even podcasts to your LinkedIn feed. It’s a very good professional publishing tool. Once you create and share these updates, images, or other media, they all go into that infinite scroll that your contacts see on their LinkedIn homepages.
Finally, in the right-hand column of the LinkedIn homepage is the “keep in touch” box. A horizontally scrolling carousel of your contacts, this is LinkedIn’s way of encouraging interaction among its users. The idea is that liking a recent update or sending a quick message to a former colleague can be a great way to get you two working together again. Hey, it can’t hurt, right?
Your LinkedIn Profile
The secret to getting the most out of your LinkedIn experience is straightforward: you’ve got to put your best effort into making a rich and vibrant LinkedIn profile. If you don’t believe me, take recruiters’ word for it. According to a 2014 survey by recruiting platform Jobvite, 93% of hiring managers look at people’s social profiles before deciding to hire them. So set all your Facebook posts to private, delete any inadvisable tweets, and let LinkedIn be your face to the professional world.
The first step in doing that actually involves your face — make sure to post a profile picture on your account. According to LinkedIn, people are 14 times more likely to open a profile with a photo attached to it. As for what makes a good profile picture (should you smile or not?), there are different schools of thought. Recruiters spend lots of time looking at LinkedIn and have excellent advice for crafting attention-getting profiles.
Beyond the photo, there’s still much to be done in crafting an effective LinkedIn profile. Just as important as including a profile photo and your name is writing a headline for your profile. Found just below your name on your profile, the headline — along with your current job title — is one of few bits of information shown when your profile is found by LinkedIn’s search engine, so make it a good one. Just make sure not to repeat your job title there. Instead, use the headline like a newspaper editor would: to grab a person’s attention and compel him or her to read on.
One way to do this is to write your headline (and as much of your profile as possible) around keywords specific to the job you want (not necessarily the job you’ve got). To do this, pull up a job listing you may be interested in, note the important terms, and then weave them into your profile, starting with the headline. So, for instance, you may feel like you’re just a lowly staff accountant, but in the headline, you become a “Experienced Corporate Accountant With Experience Handling Millions in Billables.” Lo and behold, lowly no more.
Next on the profile is the summary panel. Similar to the “objectives” area at the top of a resume, this is where LinkedIn users can write a brief blurb about who they are and what they do. But unlike on a resume, this spot is a good place to get creative and let your personality show. In other words, feel free to write in the first person here (it comes across as friendly and engaging) and go ahead and mix in personal and volunteer passions to paint a full, vivid portrait of who you really are. The idea is to give people more reasons to interact with you online, and eventually — hopefully — in person, too.
Another major element of your LinkedIn Profile is the experience panel. This is more or less your resume, repackaged for the web. And don’t just stop with your current gig — fill this out as far back as it’s applicable. Profiles are 12 times more likely to be viewed if they list more than one job, says LinkedIn.
But don’t make it difficult on yourself. Feel free to copy and paste as well as elaborate or curtail the keystrokes you’ve already painstakingly pecked out for your resume. But again, mind the tip above about keywords. If you want to be the person that people find on LinkedIn, you need to promote yourself as the person they are looking for.
And if you’re good at your job (or even if you aren’t), don’t hesitate to brag. Listing your various skills is another way to get eyeballs coming your way. As easy as clicking a box, listing your skills will prompt your contacts to endorse your talents. And these endorsements look great to hiring managers when they check out your profile.
Rather than cramming everything onto an 8.5×11-inch page, LinkedIn lets its users go much further in promoting themselves, especially through the other various sections that the profile allows. Beyond the typical resume section headers for education, outside activities, and awards the site lets users include other important information like test scores, advice for contacting, and even causes you care about. And the more information that you include on your profile, the more likely it is to be served up in other users’ search results. So grab that keyboard and start writing.
Making Connections
A connection, LinkedIn’s version of Facebook’s friends and Twitters followers, is what happens when two people on LinkedIn acknowledge they know each other in some capacity. And this makes an important difference between LinkedIn and those other sites — you don’t have to agree with or like your LinkedIn connections, since they aren’t your friends or followers. You merely need to know them. (And really, that’s not even an official requirement.)
Connections are important to LinkedIn for the reasons they are important in the physical world: The more you have, the more opportunities become available to you. For example, say you work in sales and want to sell your wares to someone at Acme Corp. Searching for Acme Corp. on LinkedIn, you discover that you don’t know anyone who works there. But you do know someone who knows someone who works there (what LinkedIn calls a “second degree” connection). And now you can ask your connection for an introduction to that person. So, it pays to know people.
As involved as the profile-making process on LinkedIn can be, all that effort pays off when you start making connections. For instance, if you told LinkedIn you went to a particular school, it will use that information to help you find fellow classmates. Likewise, if you worked at a certain company for a period of time, LinkedIn will cross-reference its database to help you connect with co-workers from your tenure there. So, the more information you give LinkedIn, the more connections it can help you make.
Another way to bulk up on your connections is to simply click the “grow your network” link on the LinkedIn homepage. LinkedIn has an impressive suggestion engine that mines lots of online data to figure out the people you are interacting with. To do this, LinkedIn documents who you search for online and even in your email. Is it creepy? It sure can be. But the service is also free — and of course you know that nothing is truly free. (Note: There are ways to minimize the data you share with LinkedIn, but they also reduce the service’s effectiveness. To access these, select the “privacy” link on the account and settings icon on the righthand side of the navigation bar.)
Other ways to make more connections on LinkedIn is to be active on the site. Posting frequent status updates and commenting or liking others will circulate your name on other peoples’ LinkedIn feeds, potentially helping your profile to catch their eye. Likewise, publishing posts on LinkedIn will circulate content with your name attached to it, helping to promote you as a thought leader in your line of work.
You can also bolster your LinkedIn network by joining groups there. A way for users to share news and have discussion with other users who aren’t necessarily connections, LinkedIn’s groups feature is an excellent way to do some old fashioned networking on a newfangled social network. However, there is a minor challenge in using this feature: You have to find quality groups. As with many new social media features, people rushed to make groups, and then, in many cases, users didn’t follow. But active groups can be a great way to make connections that you might otherwise miss.
The Future of Work
When Microsoft announced its plans to acquire LinkedIn, it said its goals were to “accelerate the growth of LinkedIn as well as Microsoft 365.” That means that the LinkedIn we see today most likely will not be the same as the LinkedIn of tomorrow. But then again, nothing successful ever stands pat in the business world. And neither do ambitious LinkedIn users.
There are many more features to LinkedIn than were mentioned in this guide. But the ones mentioned here serve as a solid foundation for getting the most out of your experience on the professional social network. But to use it right, you need to use it frequently, and in that, LinkedIn can be a bit of a rat race. If it sounds like a lot of work, it is. But if you can’t work hard at improving yourself professionally, what does that say about the effort you put in on the job?
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6 Things Recruiters Look For in Your LinkedIn Profile - TIME Business
Posted: 13 Jul 2016 03:00 AM PDT
The saying, as it goes, is that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Most people in the job market barely even get a first chance.
According to an eye-tracking study by The Ladders, recruiters spend six seconds on average looking at a resume. LinkedIn profiles get even less time. According to Heather Whaley, a principal with Hunt Executive Search, these six things stand out when scanning through profiles to fill positions:
1. Are You Smiling In Your Photo?
Though it’s not mandatory for your profile photo, a smile will help more than it hurts. “I definitely recommend smiling in a photo,” says Whaley. Flashing some teeth can make you seem more approachable, and that, after all, is the name of the job hunting game.
But don’t worry about getting professional headshots done, she says. Whaley’s own profile photo was taken using an iPhone while on a date a couple years ago. But it’s key that you still look like your image. “Don’t use a military photo from 15 years ago,” she says.
2. Write a Meaningful Headline
In many ways, the profile’s headline is its most important element, because it’s the one piece of information, other than your photo and current position, that shows up on LinkedIn searches.
“It should say something about who you are professionally,” says Whaley. That means it shouldn’t say “actively seeking opportunities,” even if you are. Instead, it should say something like “an experienced warehouse manager in the beverage industry.”
3. Treat Your Career History Like a Resume, Sort Of
Whaley points out that LinkedIn is actually not a job hunting or recruiting site — it’s a professional networking site. So, not only should you not worry about being there, you should also populate it with your most current job history. That said, keep in mind that it’s a public forum, so if there’s information in your CV that should remain private (like how much revenue a department you managed brought in), simply leave it out.
Also unlike your resume, you don’t have to sweat over formatting very much. And if you’re unsure of how to word your profile or if you should even be on the site, just look up your boss. Whaley almost guarantees he or she is on there.
4. Who Are Your Connections?
Who you connect with on LinkedIn can be a challenging thing to wrap your head around. On the one hand, users may be reluctant to connect with people that they hardly know (or don’t regard well) because they feel that their professional reputation is tied to it. On the other hand, the more connections you make on LinkedIn, the more opportunities may flow your way.
Whaley looks at people’s connections on the site for a couple of reasons. “I would never discredit somebody because they don’t have any shared connections of mine, but there is an instant level of confirmation or comfort when I see that we share a first- second- or third-degree connection,” she says. “If I know that they are in my circle of connections . . . that tells me that if I really cared to, I could check them out.” Also though, if she does share connections with a person, it’s a great icebreaker when striking up a conversation, either online or in person.
5. Keep Your Education Up to Date
Here’s a behind-the-scenes LinkedIn hack that worth taking note of. When searching for perspective job candidates on LinkedIn, recruiters can ask the site’s search engine to only return results of people with certain educational degrees. So if you typically lop off that M.A. in Art History, you might want to put it (or any other educational information) back in. Otherwise you risk losing out.
6. Endorsements Versus Recommendations
There are two ways that people can praise your work on LinkedIn. Endorsements are quick hits, something that LinkedIn prompts users to do on the site. Whaley says endorsements tend to have more weight in filling the lower- and mid-level jobs, because HR generalists are using LinkedIn exclusively to fill open positions. It’s easier to find people with the necessary skills when they’ve been endorsed for them.
Recommendations, meanwhile, take a little more initiative to attain — either someone will write one for you because they are so impressed with your work, or they’ll write one for you because you asked them to (and hopefully they were also still impressed with your work). Because recommendations take more effort, they carry more weight with recruiters, says Whaley. “A recommendation is synonymous with a reference,” she says.
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