Wednesday, November 20, 2024 What you need to know: Father Rene taught me philosophy, introducing me to Heidegger and Levinas (masters of phenomenology – his favorite study), Nietzsche, Camus, Hannah Arendt and many other greats. He also taught me a very important lesson that I try to carry up to this day: the moral imperative of judging through evidence. BY January Makamba Today marks two years since the passing of Father Rene McGraw OSB, a Benedictine monk, who was my teacher, friend and mentor at St John’s University, a Catholic university in Minnesota, USA, where I was privileged to graduate from. Father Rene easily makes the list of people who have had a positive influence in my life. He was thoroughly grounded in his Catholic faith but was generous and
Author Archives: The Esbec Team
Thursday, November 14, 2024 | 2420 Views |
Nov
Donald Trump picked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead a new government-efficiency commission. Their aim is to cut government spending, and one idea they’ve floated is to ax federal agencies. Millions of Americans are employed by the US government. Here’s how the agencies break down and what workers make. Elon Musk’s government-efficiency commission could end up costing some federal workers their jobs. As he and the former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy begin to outline their priorities as leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency, created by Donald Trump, one of those priorities seems to be eliminating government agencies. Most recently, Ramaswamy told Fox News, “We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright.” More than 2 million Americans collect their paychecks from the federal government, so Business Insider looked
Nov
Alibaba Group Holding is advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technology in China to unleash productivity across various industries, chief executive Eddie Wu Yongming said on Wednesday at the country’s annual internet conference. The e-commerce giant is committed to laying the infrastructural groundwork and supporting systems for AI development in the country, Wu told attendees at the World Internet Conference hosted by the Cyberspace Administration of China in the canal town of Wuzhen in eastern Zhejiang province. “In the next three decades, AI will comprehensively enhance productivity across the globe,” he said, according to a statement from Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post. “Artificial intelligence is gradually permeating various industries to drive a series of productivity revolutions,” Wu said, adding that the firm already offers open-source versions of its AI
Nov
In July, a jury in New York convicted South Korean-born Hwang on 10 of the 11 charges he faced. Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFPSource: AFP The founder of US investment firm Archegos, Bill Hwang, was jailed for 18 years on Wednesday for a multibillion-dollar fraud that contributed to the fund’s 2021 implosion, US media reported. In July, a jury in New York convicted South Korean-born Hwang on 10 of the 11 charges he faced and for which he could have been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. “The sentence has to reflect the seriousness of the event,” said judge Alvin Hellerstein according to The New York Times, which also reported the 18-year prison sentence. Hwang’s family-owned hedge fund had taken huge bets on a few stocks
Nov
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the director of national intelligence, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, has little experience working with the nation’s spy agencies and a long track record of echoing the Russian disinformation they work to expose and to counter — a combination her critics claim should be disqualifying. Gabbard, 43, who represented Hawaii as a Democrat from 2013-2021 and ran for the party’s presidential nomination in 2020 before becoming a Republican earlier this year, has been accused of harboring sympathies for the Kremlin and parroting propaganda generated by Russia to justify its invasion of Ukraine. At the outset of the conflict, Gabbard blamed the Biden administration and NATO, claiming they had provoked Russia’s aggression by ignoring what she called its “legitimate security concerns” about Ukraine potentially becoming a member
Nov
A 26-year-old house help is before the Bekwai Circuit Court for allegedly pouring acid on a Senior High School leaver. Ernest Agyei has denied causing harm to Benjamin Asante. He was granted a GH₵50,000.00 bail with two sureties to reappear on December 17, 2024. Police Chief Inspector Christian Amartey, substituting the old charge sheet with a new one, had earlier told the Court presided over by Mr Isaac Apeatu that Asante, the victim, was also the complainant and a former student of Yamfo Anglican Secondary School near Sunyani. Chief Inspector Amartey said the victim was a resident of Trede as Agyei, the accused person, was a house help resident at Pakyi No 2. Prosecution said on December 22, 2021, complainant’s brother Francis Agyei invited the complainant to assist him in
Nov
LONDON — The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv temporarily closed its doors on Wednesday out of “an abundance of caution,” as it warned that a potentially “significant” air strike may be coming. “The U.S. Embassy recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced,” the embassy said in an update. A picture shows a view of the US embassy in Kyiv on May 18, 2022, as the embassy reopens after closing it for three months due to the Russian invasion. Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images The embassy said it had received “specific” information about the potential strike on Nov. 20. The warning arrived amid fears that the war could escalate, a day after Ukraine’s military first launched U.S.-made long-range ATACMS missiles toward targets within
Nov
The IAF also struck over 100 terror targets in Lebanon, including launchers, weapons storage facilities, command centers, and military structures over the past day. By JERUSALEM POST STAFF NOVEMBER 20, 2024 13:12 Updated: NOVEMBER 20, 2024 13:15 IAF strikes Hezbollah rocket launchers on Sunday that fired at the Haifa Bay area, November 20, 2024. (IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT) The Israel Air Force (IAF) eliminated the commanders of Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile and operations unit in the coastal sector, the military announced on Wednesday. The commanders were responsible for terror attacks against Israeli citizens, including missile attacks on civilian communities in the Western Galilee and Israel’s coastal area. Additionally, while operating in southern Lebanon, IDF soldiers located weapons storage facilities and struck terrorist command centers both on the ground and in the air.
Nov
Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s court has remanded Abdul Aziz Yousif Mohammed Adam also known as Aziz to Luzira Prison on charges of defrauding over Shs 2.3 billion in a bogus gold deal. Aziz was on Tuesday arraigned before the court presided over by senior principal magistrate grade one Jalia Basajabalaba read to him one count of obtaining money by false pretence. Court heard that Aziz and others still at large between September and October 2024 within the areas of Kampala in Kampala district with intent to defraud, obtained $650,000 (about Shs 2.3 billion) from Osman Hassan by falsely pretending that they were selling to him gold whereas not. The records indicate that in September, Abdel Azim Hussien Mohamad Hosman, an investor contacted his relative Osman, a resident of Dubai where
Nov
According to recent studies, over 46% of teens report experiencing cyberbullying, with the numbers rising each year. As our children spend more time in digital spaces, the need for robust protection has never been more critical. This comprehensive guide will explore the most effective anti-cyberbullying apps available in 2024, helping parents make informed decisions about […]
Nov
Getty Images Pollution has disrupted transport services in Delhi Winter has come to Delhi and with it, a familiar sense of gloom. The sky here is grey and there is a thick, visible blanket of smog. If you stay outdoors for more than a few minutes, you can almost taste ash. You will feel breathless within minutes if you try to run or even walk at a brisk pace in the smog. Newspapers are back to using words like toxic, deadly and poisonous in their main headlines. Most schools have been shut and people have been advised to stay indoors – though those whose livelihoods depend on working outdoors can’t afford to do so. Delhi’s air quality score was somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 on Monday and Tuesday, according to
Nov
A strong US-Israel relationship benefits not only the Middle East but the world, and that will come when our enemies know messing with us is not worth the trouble. By JUDAH WAXELBAUM NOVEMBER 20, 2024 04:06 US REPRESENTATIVE Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is applauded by US House Speaker Mike Johnson during a meeting with House Republicans in Washington, last week. President-elect Donald Trump has named Stefanik the next US ambassador to the UN, among other pro-Israel cabinet choices. (photo credit: Allison Robbert/Reuters) Donald Trump is heading back to the White House, and with him, a return to ironclad support for the US-Israel relationship. Trump ushered in new levels of Israeli normalization in the Middle East during his first term, and he is poised to pick up where he left off. The
Nov
The Chinese move has shocked the industry. Photo: Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP/FileSource: AFP Hundreds of employees of French cognac maker Hennessy, part of the LVMH group luxury empire, went on strike on Tuesday to protest measures the brand plans to employ to circumvent Chinese tariffs imposed in a spat with the EU. Some 500-600 staff in cognac’s home Charente region in southwestern France were protesting at an experimental plan to export the drink in vats, rather than bottles, which will be subject to additional taxes estimated at 35 percent, France’s CGT and FO unions said. “Management told us they wanted to do tests on exporting the products in vats with a view to future bottling in China by a service provider” and no longer in France, Frederic Merceron, FO representative
Half of survey respondents also say mining giant’s workplace culture has improved ‘a lot’ or ‘a little’. More than one-third of workers at Rio Tinto experienced bullying in the previous 12 months, a progress review has found, nearly three years after the mining giant pledged to tackle pervasive sexism and racism in the workplace. Among the nearly 12,000 surveyed Rio Tinto employees, 39 percent reported being bullied, up from 31 percent in 2021, the report commissioned by the British-Australian company showed on Wednesday. Female employees were more likely to say they experienced bullying. Half of the women surveyed reported such experiences, compared with 36 percent of men, up from 36 percent of women and 29 percent of men, respectively, in 2021. The rise in bullying against women was partly due