Large technology corporations have the ability to analyze potential competitors and acquire them before they have a chance to compete. This is detrimental to consumers as it eliminates competition in the marketplace. Facebook has acquired more then 75 companies (e.g. WhatsApp, Instagram, Lightbox etc. ), Amazon has acquired more than 100 (e.g. Audible, Whole Foods, Ring etc.), and Alphabet, the umbrella organization which owns Google, has acquired more than 200 (e.g. Picasa, YouTube, Songza etc.). In 2010 and 2011, these technology juggernauts were acquiring competition at a rate of more than 1 company per week
Surprisingly, it was not the Ku Klux Klan that created the insignia of the ghostly white hooded robe as the uniform of the Ku Klux Klan as Hollywood was the first to portray this ensemble in the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. The film was directed by David Wark Griffith, who wanted to portray the infamous Ku Klux Klan as modern Knights of the Round Table, directing his costume department to invent a rather frightening, single piece outfit with knight insignia (e.g. the Knights Templar crucifix etc.). These costumes were based upon the Christian flagellant society of Spain, who donned the capirote (pronounced “kah-pee-row-tay”), a pointed hooded headware worn during Easter processions as a means of penance. The costume became immensely popular and could be ordered from a catalog which Griffith setup to sell within. Shortly afterward, the Ku Klux Klan adopted these textiles as their official uniform
The term “Roman Candle”, most commonly used within the fireworks industry, is in reference to a horrible execution method used most commonly by the Roman Emperor Nero.Nero would instruct his soldiers toforcibly coat the bodies of enemies and victims within pitch, oil, wax, and other flammable materials before lighting the feet of these victims to be used as human candles during formal parties, purposeful in its design to create the most prolonged and agonizing torture possible
During the 2022 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup in Qatar, the Chinese government intercepted and censored all footage displayed in China in a concerted effort to prohibit Chinese citizens from observing World Cup fans from around the world enjoying and celebrating the games without masks as the Chinese government does not want the Chinese public to believe that doing so is a potential possibility
Within the days following September 11, 2001, Google states that the keyword most heavily searched worldwide was “Nostradamus” in reference to French astrologer and mystic Michel de Nostredame, more commonly known by the name “Nostradamus”. de Nostredame is believed by some to have possessed supernatural abilities during his lifetime, specifically the ability to predict future calamitous events
The U.S. $100.00 note was updated in 2013 to employ better and more advanced security measures. The $100.00 bill released in 2013 was a marvel of engineering which included the portrait watermark from the 1996 rendition, as well as the security strip which glows under ultraviolet light. In addition to these security features, color shifting ink was employed upon the bell which appears in the bottom right hand corner next to the text which states “100”, microprinting was implemented on Benjamin Franklin’s jacket cuff to inscribe “The United States of America”, “USA100” around the blank space containing Franklin’s portrait, “ONEHUNDREDUSA” along the golden quill, small 100’s in the notes borders, and a three dimensional ribbon which causes the bill to change its bell icons into text which states “100” when tilting the bill either up or down while continuing to focus upon the blue ribbon shown
Everything performed during espionage is illegal as the act of espionage itself is by definition illegal which is why the imaginary concept of a “license to kill” is irrelevant and redundant as any execution performed during a spy operation is considered a legal act by the state of the officers nationality (e.g. the U.K., the U.S., France etc.), as these actions are always considered prudent and necessary of an officer in the field being that officers have extensive training for situations which they may encounter during a mission
The cocaine extraction process is complicated but begins with workers shredding the leaves of the coca plant into fine particulate with machinery (e.g. weed trimmer etc.) after which cement powder is added, then sulphuric acid dissolved in water, with the leaves then being placed into an oil drum and doused with gasoline. The mixture is left to sit for an extended period of time so that the cocaine itself can be extracted from the coca leaf. The oil drum mixture is stirred continuously using a large rod and then poured through a filter into another container where battery acid is introduced. The battery acid is sulphuric acid making it similar to the first few steps but it is slightly different as it is diluted with water to become no greater than a 37% concentrate. Battery acid helps to separate the cocaine liquid from the gasoline, with 90% of the barrel being gasoline and 10% at the bottom being pure liquid cocaine. Because the gasoline and liquid cocaine have different specific densities, plantation workers place a hose into the bottom of the barrel so that the liquid cocaine can be extracted, either using a pump or gravity by manually sucking on the hose until liquid cocaine starts flowing through. Pure liquid cocaine is clear like water, and has an acidic, bitter, strong taste. Sodium bicarbonate is then added as it helps to eradicate the excess gasoline and battery acid which remains and turns the liquid white. Once the liquid is dried, it begins to resemble cocaine but the process is not yet complete. The dried powder is then cooked on a stove top and stirred continuously to remove further impurities, the top layer is then removed the same way soup skin is removed with a brown colored liquid left remaining which is cocaine. The brown liquid is spread onto a baking pan and left to dry. It is this paste that is passed onto drug cartels to then be distributed internationally
Every 5 years, all North Korans over the age of 17 are expected to vote in a democratic election in which 687 members of North Korea’s Supreme Peoples Assembly are elected to represent the North Korean people. Voters are handed a ballot with a single name pre-written upon it and are expected to place this supposed vote in a ballet box, however the ballet box is not enclosed for privacy, rather it is open and on display for all to watch as a persons peers submit their vote. This entire charade is pointless as there are no choices for voters, it’s merely an exercise to create the illusion of democracy for the international community. Perhaps the only positive which comes of this system is that there is no instability within North Korean families with opposing political ideologies as is the case with other democratic nations. Additional positive characteristics of this shameful display of democracy in action is that voters do not need to be familiar with candidates or their policies and platforms and they do not have to worry after having voted if they indeed chose the wrong candidate. The primary reason as to why these sham elections occur is because the North Korean government uses the process as a census to detect those who oppose the current status quo of the North Korean dictatorial political regime. Private voting booths are available but are treated with significant stigma as anyone who uses one in order to write in a candidate or perhaps a short message which is contradictory to the current administration of Kim Jong Un is subject to being questioned and arrested for the crime of “subversion of the North Korean political process”, something which would be unimaginable in most democracies. The entire operation is essentially a method of detecting and exposing dissenters. The 2014 election recorded a total turn out of 99.9% of the North Korean population
Although Canada does not have a 5th Amendment like the U.S., it does have the ability to invoke Section 13 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees that “a witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to incriminate that witness in any other proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence”. Although the 5th Amendment does not exist in Canada, a collection of laws that function as the same purpose do exist affording both Canadian and U.S. citizens the right to make no statement so as not to incriminate themselves when being questioned. An individual cannot use the 5th Amendment or Section 13 as an absolute and unwavering protectionary device from any statement however. Discretion is provided dependent upon whether or not the person being questioned reasonably believes that disclosure of information could be utilized in a criminal prosecution or that it could lead to other evidence that may be used against that person in the future. In the US, an individual who has been convicted of a crime and sentenced cannot invoke the 5th Amendment. When an individual is able to leverage the 5th Amendment, their silence or refusal to answer questions cannot be used against them in a criminal case meaning a prosecutor cannot argue to a judge or jury that the defendant’s silence implies guilt. In Canada, Section 13 only protects against the use to incriminate prior compelled testimony and is not valid against the use of testimony previously voluntarily supplied
