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"According to Theresa Chu, a lawyer with the Taiwan Falun Gong Attorney Group, "Forced organ harvesting is not only used to carry out the … genocide of Falun Gong practitioners and ethnic minority groups, such as Uyghurs, but also implicated in massive economic profits from organ transplantation, transnational organ sale, transplant tourism, and organ brokerage.""

"The communist regime in China has plans to export its horrific practice of forced organ harvesting as soon as it's able to tear down ethical standards in the transplant industry established by the West, Dr. Torsten Trey warns."

"Last year, two reports were published that broadened our picture of the scale and method of this atrocity. "Bloody Harvest/ The Slaughter-An Update" by investigators David Matas, David Kilgour, and Ethan Gutmann was released on June 22 in Washington, D.C. This report shows detailed evidence of the massive number of organ transplants taking place in Chinese hospitals. It analyzed hospital revenue, bed counts and utilization rates, surgical personnel, and other data and reached the conclusion that China is performing 60,000 to 100,000 transplants per year, far exceeding the Chinese government's claim of 10,000 per year."

DRIVERS-TREATMENT-TTHM-POLLUTION-SCARCITY-FUNDING Disinfection by-products (DBP) are a class of chemical by-products also referred to as trihalomethanes (THMs), formed when chlorine or bromine interacts with the natural organic materials found in water. DBPs also include other formed products, such as haloacetic acids, haloacetonitriles, haloketones, and chlorophenols. The composition and levels of specific DBPs are determined by water quality, water treatment conditions, and disinfectant type (IPCS, 2000). Primary sources of DBPs are chlorinated drinking water and recreational water bodies, such as swimming pools. In drinking water, trichloromethane is the predominant DBP, usually found at much higher levels than bromodichloromethane; tribromomethane is the least abundant (Krasner et al., 1989). DBPs are volatile at room temperature and can be detected in ambient air during activities such as showering, bathing, dishwashing, and swimming (Backer, et al., 2000; Gordon et al., 2006). Trichloromethane has industrial applications and is used to produce refrigerants and feedstock. It may be released into the environment where chlorine-based chemicals are used for bleaching and disinfecting processes or disposed at hazardous waste sites (IPCS, 2004; LaRegina, et al. 1986). Tribromomethane has limited industrial uses, mainly in geological assaying, electronics manufacturing, and as a solvent in laboratory analyses (ATSDR, 2005). DBPs tend not to bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms or persist in open or surface waters or soils, but they can remain in water within closed pipe systems. Workplace exposure may occur during the production of trichloromethane or tribromomethane, or in workplaces where DBPs may be generated, such as pulp or paper manufacturing, swimming pools, and water treatment plants (IPCS, 2004).

"The space in which work gets done has radically shifted, but human nature remains the same. As workers, we crave a digital experience that's reliable, equitable, productive, helpful, and pleasant. The organizations that overcome the "experience debt" that overhangs typical digital workplaces - by reimagining and deploying the digital workplace the right way - are the ones that will attract and retain top talent. At the same time, they're continuously improving productivity+.. In doing so, they'll become the organizations and the people that thrive in an ever-disruptive world. + = innovation, inclusion, connection, collaboration, purpose, engagement, and beyond…" This piece hints to that need for a radical new workspace. So good.

You wonder if it's the pandemic that is really the driver for people to seek companionship via virtual connections, or is it the start of a trend. The article talks about elderly people being taken advantage of in many of the cases. It also mentions that it's not just some rogue criminal but in some case organizations that are behind these scams.

This report focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the underdeveloped world, and outlines 'six essential solutions to build a safer world.' 'The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a world that is unequal, divided, and unaccountable. The health emergency ecosystem reflects this broken world. It is not fit for purpose and needs major reform. Hundreds of expert recommendations have been made over the last two decades, new structures have been created, but the level of ambition and action has failed to match the global need. We know what to do. We just cannot seem to do it'

The Aging Water Infrastructure (AWI) research program is part of EPA's larger effort called the Sustainable Water Infrastructure (SI) initiative. The SI initiative brings together drinking water and wastewater utility managers; trade associations; local watershed protection organizations; and federal, state, and local officials to ensure that all components of our nation's water infrastructure….drinking water treatment plants, drinking water distribution lines, sewer lines, and storage facilities….meet future needs. The AWI research program supports the four priority areas of the SI initiative's strategy: (1) Better Management - moving beyond compliance to sustainability and improved performance, (2) Full-cost Pricing - helping utilities to recognize the full cost of providing service over the long term, (3) Water Efficiency - promoting water efficiency in the residential and commercial sectors, (4) Watershed Approach - integrating watershed management principles and tools into utility planning and management practices. The driving force behind the SI initiative and the AWI research program is the "Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis." In this report, EPA estimated that if operation, maintenance, and capital investment remain at current levels, the potential funding shortage for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure could exceed $500 billion by 2020.

DRIVER-TTHMs-POLLUTION-PURITY-INFRASTRUCTURE-TREATMENT Trihalomethanes (THMs) are the result of a reaction between the chlorine used for disinfecting tap water and natural organic matter in the water. At elevated levels, THMs have been associated with negative health effects such as cancer and adverse reproductive outcomes. Now a study by government and academic researchers adds to previous evidence that dermal absorption and inhalation of THMs associated with everyday tap water use can result in significantly higher blood THM concentrations than simply drinking the water does [EHP 113:863-870]. The results of this exposure assessment study could serve as a guide for future epidemiologic investigations exploring the potential connection between THMs in tap water and adverse health effects.

Here are 12 critical facts about TTHM as the city's fight to reduce it continues: 1. Trihalomethanes are actually a group of four chemicals that are formed along with other disinfection byproducts when chlorine reacts with organic materials such as leaves or dirt in water, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2. TTHMs are odorless and colorless, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. That means the high levels of TTHM in Flint water last year are not related to problems such as discoloration and odor in tap water. 3. The four trihalomethane chemicals are chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform. 4. U.S. EPA regulates TTHM at a maximum allowable, annual, average level of 80 parts per billion. The standard has been in place since December 2001 for large public surface water systems and since December 2003 for small surface water and all groundwater systems. 5. Four of eight testing sites in Flint averaged more than the acceptable limit of 80 parts per billion of TTHM last year. 6. Testing for TTHM is done on a quarterly basis, which means that people who use the system are exposed to water for several months before public notice is required. That's because TTHM is a chronic -- not immediate --health threat, according to the DEQ. 7. U.S. EPA estimates the 80 parts per billion standard prevents an estimated 280 cases of bladder cancer each year out of a total of more than 330 million people who use public water supplies nationwide. 8. Since it started using the Flint River as its water source, three quarterly tests have produced these TTHM results in the city: 15 samples have been above the TTHM threshold. Nine samples have tested at less than 80 parts per billion. 9. The most recent quarterly test showed just one site of eight that was above the 80 parts per billion threshold. And a voluntary test of the same sites in late January by the city were all within were all within the limits. 10. The testin

"Dozens of microchips scattered over the cortical surface might allow researchers to listen in on thousands of neurons at the same time." These microchips will work to record brain activity and may also "stimulate neurons...to to explore for treating brain disorders like epilepsy and Parkinson's or restoring brain function lost to injury" Currently this system is being tested on rats but there are still challenges to overcome such as how to get the chips across and in the human brain with the goal of being a less invasive alternative and how to organize and collect all the data that could be transmitted.

Designers should ensure that spaces for all six modalities of work will be available as needed for both hypersensitive and hyposensitive occupants. While the right sizes and combinations of space will vary for each organization, the key is to provide a seamless array of choices. Spaces should easily adapt to the needs of people with work styles and behavioral needs at both ends of the spectrum. They also must be exceptionally flexible to integrate new technologies over time and, as more people continue to work remotely after the pandemic, to blend real and virtual work environments. Our current design is old and un-informed. We are ripe for a huge disruption in this space. I saw some recent pictures of Tesla's office. It's lame. How can you expect excellent and group breaking work when the environment is meh.

Princeton researchers have developed a new way to make fuel from cellulose-Earth's most abundant organic compound, found in all plant cells-speeding up a notoriously slow chemical process and in some cases doubling energy yields over comparable methods. Cellulosic biomass has long been seen as a key ingredient in curbing greenhouse gas emissions, providing the feedstock for a renewable and clean-burning transportation fuel. The U.S. Department of Energy has conducted a series of studies showing that at least one billion tons of biomass could be sustainably harvested each year in the United States without disrupting forests or food production to produce biofuels, largely from cellulose.

I mean, It's a fair question.

Assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist appears to have been carried out by what the New York Times calls "a high-tech, computerized sharpshooter kitted out with artificial intelligence and multiple-camera eyes, operated via satellite and capable of firing 600 rounds a minute." This and unmanned drones might herald a more expansive and ongoing set of targeted killings by state entities but also by networks, organizations, or even individuals and perhaps complicate traditional forensics in connecting actors with actions.

CIPPEC is an Argentina-based independent nonprofit organization that works on better building public policies. The report presents four domestic politics scenarios: Many hands for little cake - Disperse power in exclusive societies. Cohesive and powerful - Integrated societies that have a voice in politics. Members only - An exclusive world with concentrated power. One for all - Concentration of power in inclusive societies and four Global Governance scenarios: Big foot in a local world Big Friendly Giant - big firms in a global scenario Small is beautiful The small under global rule

Redefining robots. Scientists say they've witnessed a never-before-seen type of replication in organic robots created in the lab using frog cells. Among other things, the findings could have implications for regenerative medicine.