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Virtual reality romance on display at annual Tokyo Game Show

Hiroshani Hiyama
Yahoo! News
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 16:57 UTC
Japan Game Show
© AFP/Toru Yamanaka
Attendants hold smartphones to introduce games at the Tokyo Game Show 2016 in Chiba, a suburb of Tokyo, on September 15, 2016.
Game geeks with a heart for digital romance have something to celebrate as sensual, soft-spoken cyber women are blurring the line between reality and fantasy at the Tokyo Game Show.

Virtual reality took centre stage at the annual exhibition Thursday, with Sony Interactive Entertainment showcasing PlayStationVR (PSVR), a much-anticipated head-mounted display debuting next month.

Dozens of software titles for the device are in the pipeline, allowing players to fly like an eagle, drive sports cars in high-speed races, and explore castles. Gamers can also indulge in fantasy by flirting with virtual females thanks to increasingly realistic VR technology.

Among such offerings is "Summer Lesson", which puts the user in the company of a soft-spoken, yet chatty, beauty. "One thing that we cared the most about for 'Summer Lesson' was to create a sense that a character is truly there," said Jun Tamaoki, a developer behind the software by Japanese toy and game giant Bandai Namco, told AFP.

However, Tamaoki shrugged off concerns that such an experience could discourage players from going out to meet real women. "I think this could improve the communications skills" of even the shiest game players, Tamaoki said. "Summer Lesson" is playable on the PSVR but does not feature male characters to interact with.

Comment: Scary study shows virtual reality games could be used as pain killers

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Bomb

TSA K-9 dogs are failing bomb-sniffing tests

Scott Freidman
NBC News
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 16:49 UTC
airport dog
© Michael Dwyer / AP file
Massachusetts State Police officer Rob Gallant patrols with his bomb-sniffing dog Chico at Logan International Airport in Boston on July 1.
Bomb-sniffing K-9 teams at 10 major U.S. airports have failed tests that check how accurately they can detect explosives, according to an NBC News investigation.

New records obtained by KXAS through a Freedom of Information Act request call into question whether those dog teams are training enough to stay sharp and keep bombs out of airports and off planes by screening baggage, cargo and passengers for potential threats.

K-9 teams funded by the Transportation Security Administration have failed annual certification tests at 10 large airports 52 times between Jan. 1, 2013, and June 15, 2015, the most recent detailed numbers TSA provided. Some teams failed to find explosives, while others had too many false alarms that could cause unnecessary airport evacuations.

Dog teams failed 21 times at Los Angeles International, and 10 times at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., during the same time period. Teams at Chicago's O'Hare, Reagan National in D.C., JFK in New York, San Diego and Bradley International in Hartford, Connecticut, all failed from one and three times.

Comment:



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Fire

Islamophobia: Suspect in 9/11 anniversary arson attack on Florida mosque arrested


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 00:49 UTC
Islamic Center of Fort Pierce
© Mike Brown/Reuters
A view of the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce
A man suspected of starting the fire that heavily damaged the Islamic Center in Fort Pierce, Florida has been arrested. The crime was committed on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

"A fire at any place of worship is a tragedy. Early evidence led to us to believe this was an arson attempt," St. Lucie County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Garry Wilson told reporters on Wednesday. "An arrest has been made 65 hours after the fire was started."

The sheriff's office said they arrested Joseph Michael Schreiber, 32, who had a previous conviction for armed robbery. The sheriff said they followed up on community tips and surveillance footage, which showed a man leaving the mosque on a motorcycle.

After obtaining a search warrant to investigate Schreiber's home, a motorcycle found there matched the one seen on surveillance footage. Police were still at the home collecting evidence at the time of the Wednesday evening news conference.
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Arrow Down

Facebook censoring Dakota Access pipeline livestream protests


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 03:07 UTC
Dakota access pipeline protest
© Andrew Cullen / Reuters
Protesters demonstrate against the Energy Transfer Partners' Dakota Access oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S. September 9, 2016
An alternative media group's live coverage of riot police clashing with protesters at a construction site of the Dakota Access pipeline was blocked by "Facebook's automated censorship system". However, the social network hasn't been doing much about it.

Unicorn Riot was in North Dakota Tuesday, covering a "direct action" protest against the Dakota Access pipeline. Any time they tried to post their livestream, Facebook rejected the link as one that "our security systems detected to be unsafe."

Twenty-two protesters were arrested by police in riot gear, including two Unicorn Riot journalists. The crude oil pipeline is the subject of protest, in part, because environmentalists and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe claim its construction is destroying sacred sites and natural resources or risks damaging them.

Comment: Facebook is behaving more like an information gatekeeper for the PTB every day:

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Dollars

Leaked documents link Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's campaign with questionable dark money fundraising


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 06:45 UTC
Scott Walker
© Brian Snyder / Reuters
Former Republican U.S. presidential candidate and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker faced threats of losing his title in 2012 during a recall election. He won, but newly-leaked documents show that Walker and his team may have only done so by engaging in questionable fundraising.

Documents recently released to the Guardian show the extent to which Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker had to pursue money during a tough recall in 2012. They reveal the way that politicians rely on private donors and shadowy nonprofits.

According to the documents, Walker may have owed his successful recall election to private donors who were able to secretly fund his campaign using tricks that pushed the limits of the law.

Fundraising isn't the only fishy aspect of what the Guardian refers to as the "John Doe Files." Rather, it is the first step in a long chain of events that cast a shadow over Wisconsin's politics and the cozy relationship between corporations and politicians that is bolstered by campaign finance committees posing as nonprofits.

Comment: Unfortunately this appears to be business as usual; all U.S. elections are rigged:

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Pistol

Ohio cop kills 13yo boy after he pulls BB gun


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 15:20 UTC
cop kills 13 yo boy
© Phil Noble / Reuters
Columbus Police Department, Ohio was responding to a report of an armed robbery when the incident occurred. The robbery victim told police that they had been approached by a group of people demanding money and one of them had a gun.

Officers said they saw three suspects fitting their descriptions and approached them. Two of the suspects fled on foot while officers tried to arrest the third suspect, identified as 13-year-old Tyree King.

"Officers followed the males to the alley ... and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband," police said in a statement early Thursday. "One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times."
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People

Far from over: Paris anti-labor reform protests turns violent


RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 15:21 UTC
Paris labor clashes
© Ruptly
People took to the streets across France on Thursday to once again protest the government's controversial labor reforms. Violent clashes with police were reported in Paris and Nantes where tear gas was used.

There was a heavy presence of riot police in the French capital where thousands marched against the legislation, which allows employers to hire and fire people more easily, as well as negotiate working times with their staff directly.

Clashes broke out in Paris as groups of young protesters, who had their faces covered, provoked the police by throwing stones and flares. Law enforcement replied with batons and pepper spray.

Five police officers and at least one protestor were injured in clashes in Paris, French broadcaster iTELE reported, adding that 10 people were detained.
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Cloud Precipitation

No kidding! U.S. one of the most depressed countries in the world

Deidre McPhillips
USNews.com
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 10:05 UTC
India depressed
© Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
India suffers the most years of life lost due to disability or death caused by depression and anxiety.
Mental health issues cut the most years off of life in Asia and the U.S.

The U.S. is one of the most depressed countries in the world, according to the World Health Organization.

In terms of quality years of life lost due to disability or death - a widely adopted public health metric that measures the overall burden of disease - the U.S. ranked third for unipolar depressive disorders, just after India and China.

India, China and the U.S. are also the countries most affected by anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to WHO.
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Newspaper

Americans' trust in mass media sinks to new low in Gallup polling history

Art Swift
Gallup
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 15:00 UTC
US media news persons
Americans' trust and confidence in the mass media "to report the news fully, accurately and fairly" has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This is down eight percentage points from last year.

Gallup began asking this question in 1972, and on a yearly basis since 1997. Over the history of the entire trend, Americans' trust and confidence hit its highest point in 1976, at 72%, in the wake of widely lauded examples of investigative journalism regarding Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. After staying in the low to mid-50s through the late 1990s and into the early years of the new century, Americans' trust in the media has fallen slowly and steadily. It has consistently been below a majority level since 2007.
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Info

All-female flotilla tries to sail through 'criminal' Gaza blockade and raise awareness of Palestinians plight


Sputnik
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 13:35 UTC
Women's Boat to Gaza
© Rumbo a Gaza / Pablo Miranzo
A group of activists are sailing from Barcelona to the Gaza Strip in an effort to draw attention to the role of women in the survival of Palestinian people, blockaded in Gaza.

On September 14 two sailing boats set sail from the port of Barcelona on the Women's Boat to Gaza, in order to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians living under blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The two boats are called "Amal" (Hope in Arabic) and "Zaytuna" (Olive), and are crewed by women from 15 different countries. One of the crew, Jaldia Abubakra, told Sputnik Mundo that the activists want to draw attention to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. "I hope that we will wake up the conscience of humanity, and draw attention to this criminal blockade of Gaza, which has lasted for nearly ten years," said Abubakra, who was born in the city of Beersheba in southern Israel and now lives in Madrid.
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