Archive for category: Uncategorized

Now you can read the controversial Definers research about George Soros and Facebook

By Anthony Ha

Facebook is still dealing with the fallout from a New York Times report outlining the company’s strategy to fight back against criticism, particularly its work with Definers Public Affairs, an opposition research firm with ties to the Republican Party.

That work included a document that Definers sent to reporters suggesting ties between George Soros and progressive political groups criticizing Facebook. The Times story described the broad strokes of the claims made by Definers, but the document itself has not been shared with the public — until today, when it was published by BuzzFeed.

At this point, the contents aren’t particularly revelatory, but the document is still worth reading, since it’s at the center of the recent controversy.

It’s titled “Freedom From Facebook Potential Funding,” and it begins:

Recently, a number of progressive groups came together to form the Freedom From Facebook campaign which has a six-figure ad budget. It is not clear who is providing the large amount of funding for the campaign but at least four of the groups in the coalition receive funding or are aligned with George Soros who has publicly criticized Facebook. It is very possible that Soros is funding Freedom From Facebook.

The …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

SoftBank sets indicative share price of 1,500 yen for next month’s IPO

By Catherine Shu

In a regulatory filing today, SoftBank Group said it has set an indicative price of 1,500 yen ($13.22) per share for the initial public offering of its domestic telecoms unit next month. This means the offering is potentially worth 2.4 trillion yen (about $21.16 billion), making it one of the largest IPOs ever. The price is the same as the tentative one SoftBank disclosed in a previous filing earlier this month.

The IPO is set for Dec. 19 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and its final price will be determined on Dec. 10. The record for the largest IPO is currently held by Alibaba Group, which raised a total of $25 billion in 2014. If there is enough demand for SoftBank Group’s shares, a overallotment can potentially increase its offering’s total by 240.6 billion yen (or about $2.12 billion), bringing it closer to the amount Alibaba raised.

One interesting aspect of this initial public offering is SoftBank Group’s efforts to reach retail investors. For example, brokerages have run television ads for the offering in Japan.

SoftBank’s brand recognition may appeal to individual investors, but at the same time it may also have to answer questions about how investments by its Vision …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

China leaves Huawei founder off honor roll marking 40 years of economic success

By Rita Liao

In the lead up to China’s 40th anniversary of reforms and opening up, People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, published a list on Monday commending 100 extraordinary contributors to the country’s economic development.

Familiar names like Jack Ma of ecommerce operator Alibaba as well as Pony Ma of gaming and social networking firm Tencent made it to the short list, while one heavyweight was conspicuously missing: Ren Zhengfei, the 74-year-old founder and CEO of Chinese telecommunications behemoth Huawei.

While People’s Daily did not reveal the algorithms behind its nominating process, industry observers grappled with Ren’s absence and speculated why the father of the world’s largest telecom equipment manufacturer and second-largest smartphone maker was left off the rank.

One widely cited reason is the intentional coverup of Huawei’s alleged ties to the Chinese government in the backdrop of increasing US-China trade tensions. In August, US President Donal Trump signed a bill that would ban government agencies from using products and services from Huawei and its Chinese competitor ZTE over national security concerns.

Australia and New Zealand subsequently banned Huawei and ZTE as they joined a band …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

CRISPR scientist in China claims his team’s research has resulted in the world’s first gene-edited babies

By Catherine Shu

In what represents a dramatic and ethically fraught escalation of CRISPR research, a Chinese scientist from a university in Shenzhen claims he has succeeded in helping create the world’s first genetically-edited babies. Dr. Jiankui He told the Associated Press that twin girls were born earlier this month after he edited their embryos using CRISPR technology to remove the CCR5 gene, which plays a critical role in enabling many forms of the HIV virus to infect cells.

The AP’s interview was published after a report by the MIT Technology Review earlier today that He’s team at the Southern University of Science and Technology wants to use CRISPR technology to eliminate the CCR5 gene and create children with resistance to HIV.

He’s claims are certain to cause a huge stir at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing, set to begin in Hong Kong on Tuesday. According to the Technology Review, the summit’s organizers were apparently not notified of He’s plans for the study, though the AP says He informed them today. (It is important to note that there is still no independent confirmation of He’s claim and that it has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.)

During his interview …read more

Source: Tech Crunch