XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   The govt has "reacted" following Facebook's decision to block   
   (apparently) any content from Australian sources.   
      
   The AUS govt has proposed a code that will see network operators   
   pay for Austalian news content.   
      
   After initially threatening to pull services from AUS Goggle   
   relented and has now started to negotiate deals with major news   
   services in AUS to pay for content.   
      
   But Facebook has refused to negotiate and this morning pulled the   
   plug not only on AUS news content but apparently any factual content   
   incl govt and emergency services and even the weather.   
      
   At a news conf Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Facebook has   
   damaged its own brand and has overreacted to what has been proposed.   
   He underlined it was still govt policy to have major internet services   
   that redistribute news content pay for that content.   
      
   He told reporters he hoped Facebook would review is decisions and indicated   
   reps from the company would be invited to discuss what they have done   
   and find a way forward the would still provide Australians with health and   
   weather information during the covid pandemic.   
      
   Other commentators say the move just shows how over-reliant people   
   are on internet companies and maybe it's time for Australians   
   to re-assess their use of these kinds of "free" services.   
      
   --   
   Google will pay News Corp for the right to showcase its news articles   
   CNBC, 17 Feb 2021 17:26Z   
   Google struck a three-year deal with the Murdoch family owned media   
   conglomerate News Corp., which includes ad revenue sharing and the   
   development of a ...   
   [Google seems to be "experimenting" with search function in Australia.   
   When I stopped getting things in the search list I was expecting I   
   changed to Bing and they turned up again].   
      
     Major Australian media company strikes Google news pay deal   
     The Associated Press, 15 Feb 2021 03:39Z   
     Canberra, Australia. Seven West Media has become the largest Australian news   
     media business to strike a deal with Google to pay for journalism in a ...   
      
     Facebook restricts Australians' access to news   
     ABC News, 17 Feb 2021 19:47Z   
     Australians are being blocked from accessing news in their Facebook feeds,   
     in a dramatic escalation of the social media giant's stand-off with the   
     federal govt.   
      
     Facebook can't be trusted for reliable news, says govt, as Mark   
     Zuckerberg speaks to the Treasurer   
     ABC News, 17 Feb 2021 21:43Z   
     Facebook's credibility as a source for news should be questioned, according   
     to Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, who warns content on the site will   
     now come from groups without fact-checking capabilities or editorial   
   policies.   
      
   Pfizer says South African variant could significantly reduce vaccine protection   
   CNBC, 17 Feb 2021 23:14Z   
   A laboratory study suggests that the South African variant of the   
   coronavirus may reduce antibody protection from the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine   
   by two-thirds, and ...   
      
     `Bristol Covid variant' that may diminish vaccine efficacy discovered for   
     first time in US   
     The Independent, 17 Feb 2021 18:13Z   
     The Bristol variant of the coronavirus has been detected for the first time   
     in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)   
     said on ...   
      
   [Read The Labels People!]   
   Some COVID-19 vaccine intended for second doses 'inadvertently' given as   
   first doses instead, Pa. health secretary says   
   WTAE Pittsburgh, 17 Feb 2021 23:46Z   
   Some COVID-19 vaccine that was shipped to providers and intended as second   
   doses was inadvertently used as first doses, Pennsylvania's acting health ...   
      
   Amid Rising Seas, `Dry' Jersey Shore Resort Is Wetter Than It Likes   
   NBC 10 Philadelphia, 17 Feb 2021 22:09Z   
   The impacts of rising sea levels can be clearly seen in Ocean City, New   
   Jersey, a family resort town spending tens of mns of dollars to deal   
   with flooding.   
      
   Victoria's third lockdown is over but what is the political cost for Daniel   
   Andrews?   
   ABC News, 17 Feb 2021 19:46Z   
   Victoria's snap coronavirus lockdown could present a new challenge for   
   Daniel Andrews if he has to take tough action in the future, with the   
   Premier's social and political capital taking a hit over the past week,   
   writes Richard Willingham.   
      
     Victorian lockdown 'not about a virus', Liberal MP tells online protest group   
     ABC News, 17 Feb 2021 21:44Z   
     Three Victorian Liberal MPs address a group of vaccine conspiracy theorists   
     and anti-lockdown protesters at an online rally, hours before the state's   
     stage 4 restrictions lift.   
      
   'The world's leading bank robbers': US indicts North Korean hackers   
   ABC News, 17 Feb 2021 22:42Z   
   Three North Korean computer programmers are charged by the US over a massive   
   hacking spree aimed at stealing more than $US1.3 bn in money and   
   cryptocurrency, affecting companies from banks to Hollywood movie studios.   
      
   The CDC Just Predicted a "Rapid Rise" in COVID Cases   
   Best Life, 17 Feb 2021 19:30Z   
   A new report from the CDC has predicted that highly contagious variants of   
   the virus could lead to a "rapid rise" in COVID cases.   
      
     New Covid-19 Nigerian variant detected in the UK with 38 confirmed cases   
     The Sun, 16 Feb 2021   
      
   Million-year-old mammoth DNA rewrites animal's evolutionary tree   
   Ars Technica, 17 Feb 2021 18:30Z   
   Ancient DNA has revolutionized how we understand human evolution, revealing   
   how populations moved and interacted and introducing us to relatives like the   
   ...   
      
     This mn-year-old DNA from mammoth teeth is the oldest ever sequenced   
     ABC Science, 17 Feb 2021 15:58Z   
     It's not quite Jurassic Park, but scientists have successfully extracted and   
     reconstructed mn-year-old DNA from mammoth teeth -- and solved a couple   
     of mysteries about the creatures' evolutionary history along the way.   
      
   NASA Will Listen for Thumps on Mars From Perseverance Rover's Arrival   
   The New York Times, 17 Feb 2021 22:54Z   
   When the Perseverance rover sets down on Mars on Thu, another NASA   
   spacecraft already there will be listening for the thump-thump that will   
   result when ...   
      
   Son of prominent conservative Brent Bozell charged in Capitol riot   
   The Hill, 17 Feb 2021 15:25Z   
   Authorities have charged Leo Brent Bozell IV, son of prominent conservative   
   commentator Leo Brent Bozell III, for crimes related to the mob attack on   
   the Capitol.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)