Topic Reading-Vol.3245-2/28/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The greatest security threat of the post-truth age

When our security is threatened, we take some action to protect our interests or safety. For example, if someone breaks into your house, you call the police. That’s home security. If you have cash more than needed, you’ll probably save or invest it instead of keeping it in your wallet. That’s financial security. When a neighboring country has crossed the border to invade your territory, it is national security. Then your defense forces are deployed. In any case, people usually take a countermeasure to protect their interests. However, when it comes to an environmental crisis or epidemic, not everyone shares the same security threat. Some may be more conscious about waste, recycling, or pollution while others don’t pay attention at all. Also, most people follow the social distance guidelines and face mask requirements but some ignore these essential preventive measures. Furthermore, certain people resist vaccination, which makes it difficult to contain the infectious disease within the community.

Such epistemic or cognitive security seems to become a more serious problem in the 21^st century where people tend to get information mainly or only from preferred sources or online communities, such as SNS and reviews.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about another security threat in our days.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210209-the-greatest-security-threat-of-the-post-truth-age

Topic Reading-Vol.3244-2/27/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Singapore vending machines now dispense salmon, crab and even cacti

There are several ways to get steak meat. You can go to a supermarket or butcher to buy fresh beef. You can order frozen beef online. You can also order a delivery service for a cooked steak. But none of these options is usually available instantly at midnight. Now, there is another way to get steak meat or salmon 24/7 in Singapore, the largest city-state where people are always busy. Vending Machines. They are actually contactless, safe, and easy to buy. You don’t need to worry about the social distance. You may think it’s odd to buy regular meals by a vending machine but the industry is growing having been promoted by entrepreneurs. In fact, the cost to install and operate vending machines is far cheaper than opening a store or a restaurant. There is even a chain of unstaffed convenience stores, that sell everything from plasters to baked beans out of machines. As the variety expands, more people might use vending machines as another option to get food. The question is how close the vending machine is that sells the food you want.

Enjoy reading the article and think if you may try a vending-machine-meal at home.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56066064

Topic Reading-Vol.3243-2/26/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Three killed in New Orleans gun shop shooting

Read the headline, “A shooting at a gun shop”. Sounds very scary, doesn’t it? In the state of Louisiana, concealed weapons permits are processed at the state level. But there is no permit, background check, or firearms registration required when buying a handgun from a private individual. Also, the state does not prohibit the open carry of firearms in public. It is legal to carry a gun without a permit for anyone at least 18 years old, as long as he or she is not prohibited from carrying a firearm.

So, a shooting could occur at any retail store at any time by anyone. And if that happens at a gun shop, where gun lovers flock to, others like the shop staff and customers, could shoot back to defend themselves. That is what happened at a “Discount Firearms” shop in New Orleans on Saturday. Such incidents could occur at a restaurant, supermarket, or even at a toy store.

In fact, the US has the highest estimated number of guns per capita, about 120 guns for every 100 people. There are more guns than the population in America.

Read the article and think about what makes American gun owners feel so unsafe.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56144794

Topic Reading-Vol.3242-2/25/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

This AI reads children's emotions as they learn

Will AI help us facilitate better interaction and teaching? It seems it will. There is a startup in Hong Kong that has developed an AI-assisted system to read students’ emotions, such as happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and surprise during class. The system was trained to read the facial data of the students and interprets their emotional expressions without recording their faces. It helps teachers recognize how well their students understand the class or tasks even online. In fact, it is not easy for any teacher to know how their students are feeling in the classroom where dozens of students are studying at the same time. The AI emotion reading technology might give teachers a chance for earlier intervention without waiting to see the test results, which is too late. Indeed, AI is taking human’s knowledge, experience, and intelligence as it is trained with massive data, whose volume is way beyond the capacity of any human. Since AI has been practically used only for a few years so far, it won’t be so long before many of humans’ subjective judgment and analysis is replaced by AI.

Can it be used to read the feeling of your loved ones?

Enjoy reading the article and watching the video and think how you’ll be using AI a few years from now.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/16/tech/emotion-recognition-ai-education-spc-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3241-2/24/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Covid and suicide: Japan's rise a warning to the world?

In Japan, the number of people who took their own lives rose last year by 750, nearly four percent. It had been declining since 2009 when the world suffered a financial shock. While fewer males committed suicide last year, nearly 7,000, about 15% more women over the previous year, killed themselves Why?

Many women work in the tourism, retail, and restaurant industries whose businesses were badly hit by the coronavirus. And many of them are non-permanent, part-time workers, who are the first to be laid off. Also, nowadays, many women choose to live by themselves to avoid being house-wifed or unfairly-burdened. Indeed, traditional gender roles are still expected in Japan. So, Japanese women were more vulnerable last year financially and socially. Finally, there was a spike in women’s suicide in October especially among those who were in their 40s. It is presumed that the suicide of a famous then 40-year-old actress somehow affected the already vulnerable women of the same generation.

Though vaccinations have started in some countries, the pandemic is still spreading around the world and many businesses are struggling to survive. We may find similar reports from other countries soon.

Read the article and learn about the factors that could make people more vulnerable.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55837160

Topic Reading-Vol.3240-2/23/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Thousands of turtles have been rescued from freezing waters in Texas

As normally-warm Texas suffered from sub-zero temperatures and power outages, people and animals on land had to endure unprecedented cold winter days. In Texas, houses aren’t built for such low temperatures, people aren’t used to ice and snow, and animals aren’t covered with fat or fur. People all struggled to get heat by boiling water or covering themselves with blankets. The severe winter temperatures also affected creatures in the water. Sea turtles were among such unfortunate examples. Unlike sea animals like dolphins, turtles are ectotherms, or cold-blooded, whose internal temperature varies according to the surrounding water. So, at low temperatures like below 10°C, they can become cold-stunned and unable to swim. They float up to the surface and become vulnerable to be hit, eaten, or stranded. Indeed, turtles become so motionless and defenseless that immediate rescue is imminent. Fortunately, with the efforts of heartwarming Texans, who themselves are enduring the cold, over 2,600 turtles had been rescued as of Feb. 18^th. Also, a space venter SpaceX provided the rescue team with a power generator to heat the facilities that housed the rescued turtles. It is grateful that a space venture’s interest also lies in the creatures of Mother Earth.

Enjoy reading the article and see the photos of the sea turtles rescued by humans.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/18/us/texas-turtles-freezing-rescue-texas-trnd/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3239-2/22/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

China overtakes US as EU's biggest trading partner

If you’ve read just the headline, you might think China has become a more significant trade partner than the US for European countries. Indeed, last year’s sheer trade volume between the EU and China surpassed the one with the US, which was partly boosted by China’s quick recovery from the pandemic. But the US is still the EU’s biggest export market. Also, if you take trade in services and investment into account, the overall transatlantic economic relationship remains much stronger than that between Europe and China. However, if the US keeps its arrogant, protective trade policies, not only the EU but also other economic allies will have no choice but to deepen their economic ties with China. In fact, late last year when the US was in political chaos, the EU finalized an investment agreement with China to boost market access.

After all, it’s not the issue of which side of the Pacific Ocean is more important to the EU and other countries. China is becoming a more important trade and business partner for all the countries but the US.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about the numerical aspect of the China-EU relationship.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56093378

Topic Reading-Vol.3238-2/21/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Fake Amazon reviews 'being sold in bulk' online

When you buy something online, you usually select a product or brand, check the descriptions and specifications, compare the prices, and narrow down the selection to one or two. Then, what do you do before making a final decision as to which one to buy or whether to buy the one you’ve chosen or not? Many people now refer to online reviews before making any purchase decisions. But how genuine are the reviews on online marketplaces? Some reviews are overly positive and others are extremely negative. Do you think people usually rate or star only one or five on the scale of one to five? Surprisingly, many positive reviews are produced by incentives or completely fake. And they are actually sold online even in bulk. So, if you find a number of very positive reviews, you may want to have a critical eye on them to find if there are too many similar words in them or if the number or length of the sentences is the same. While online marketplaces and platformers are trying to remove those suspicious reviews, they can hardly catch up with the incentives that are offered to reviewers who try to make their reviews look genuine.

After all, life isn’t always judged by awesome or awful, love or hate, again or never. It seems that it is you who has to judge the integrity of the reviews before making your purchase decision.

Enjoy reading the article and think about how you will judge the genuineness of online reviews.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56069472

Topic Reading-Vol.3237-2/20/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

When the Dalai Lama dies, his reincarnation will be a religious crisis.

Dalai Lama isn’t a name but a title given to the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. It has been reincarnated 13 times since 1391 and the 14^th and incumbent Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso. He has lived in India as a refugee since 1959 when a revolt against the Chinese occupation failed. Though he’s in good health, he is 85 years old. When he passes away, a search for the next Dalai Lama will begin. It is believed that Dalai Lama’s mindstream is transferred to the intended body of the baby who was born in that year, more known as the reincarnation. Traditionally, the search is conducted by designated Tibetan priests but current Tibet is fully administrated and controlled by China which doesn’t want others to decide the influential spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Even though Dalai Lama said his exiled office would not seek independence from China for Tibet, the Chinese authority wants someone pro-China to be his successor. Will the next Dalai Lama be reincarnated or appointed?

Enjoy reading the article and learn about Tibetan Buddhism’s six-century-old reincarnation system.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/14/asia/dalai-lama-china-death-reincarnation-dst-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3236-2/19/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Coca-Cola company trials first paper bottle

Setting an ambitious goal tends to initiate huge, challenging work. In fact, a number of countries and companies have declared to eliminate all plastic containers, bags, and straws by 20XX. The question is how. For example, fizzy drinks like coke and beer need containers that withstand the forces exerted. Also, the containers need to be moldable to create shapes and sizes of specific drinks. And they need to be printable for labels and durable for transport and storage. In order to create a plastic container substitute with paper, there are a lot of technological and economical challenges. Indeed, plastic is more durable, affordable, and flexible than paper substitutes. But one by one, these hurdles have been cleared to realize a plastic-free world.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about the challenges to replace plastic containers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56023723

Topic Reading-Vol.3235-2/18/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Just six feet wide, 'London's skinniest house' is for sale for $1.3 million

$1.3 million for a two-bedroom designer house with a basement and patio in west London. Sounds attractive, doesn’t it?

How much space is it? About 96 square meters, or a little over 1,000 square feet. Not so spacious but above average condominium in Tokyo.

Is that a flat? No, a house with four floors and a basement that are accessed by spiral stairs.

What does the house look like? It’s skinny, only 1.8 meters wide, and the front door is about half of the width. So, you need to be fit to go in and out of the house and up and down the stairs to live in the house. Also, you can’t bring in furniture that is wider than the door or windows.

Sounds a little squeezing. Well, despite some physical limitations and requirements, the inside of the house doesn’t make you feel compressed or stressed.

Do you want to take a look at it? Just make sure that you can go through the front door and use the spiral stairs.

Enjoy seeing the photos of this skinniest house in London.

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/london-thinnest-house-sale-scli-intl-gbr/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3234-2/17/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Same winter, different way to school

Guizhou is a mountainous, landlocked province in the southwest region of China. Though it is rich in natural and environmental resources, it had not been economically so prosperous until recently. However, thanks to the central government's support, Guizhou is now one of China's fastest-growing economies especially in data and technological industries.

There, a 68-year-old grandfather in a rural mountain village used to take his 8-year-old grandson and 6-year-old granddaughter to and from school each day that sat four kilometers away since their parents lived and worked in a city as migrant workers. It took them an hour each way to walk across a hill. It sounds like a kind of modern folktale, doesn’t it? The long daily walk must have given them the chance to talk a lot about children’s schooldays and the old man’s life stories. It must have been long and hard but also precious time for them. What was the old man doing while he was waiting for his grandchildren?

Now, the family moved to a new residential community in a poverty alleviation relocation site in a town. It takes the young siblings only 10 minutes to walk to school and kindergarten. It also relieved the old man from most of his duties to keep his living, not to mention the long walk to and from school. What does the old man do now during the day?

Enjoy reading the article and seeing the photos to learn about the change in a lifetime in a rural area in China.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202102/11/WS60249f98a31024ad0baa8b71_1.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3233-2/16/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Calculate the environmental footprint of your food

When you are starving, filling the stomach is the first priority, which means calory to produce energy to survive. In the meantime, there are quite a number of fortunate people in the world, mainly in developed countries, who can afford to choose what to buy and eat. If you are one of the fortunate people, what are your priorities when you do grocery shopping, the appetite, price, taste, or health? Each factor is tied to your emotion, wallet, tongue, and body respectively, and the decision is probably made to compromise these factors. But there is another aspect you may want to look at your diet. The environmental footprint. For example, a banana is filling, tasty, healthy, and inexpensive. But where was it produced, how was it packaged, how long was it transported, and how much of the banana is wasted? Indeed, unless you grab a banana from the tree yourself and eat it entirely including the skin, you’ll accumulate a lot of carbon footprint to consume a banana. And you also need to take how much water and fertilizer was used to grow the fruit into consideration. They all add up. Surprisingly, the whole food system accounts for nearly 20 to 40% of all human-produced greenhouse gas emissions. But such figures aren’t labeled on most of the food.

Now, here is a calculator that measures how much impact your choice of food has on the health of the planet. Indeed, it seems to be the time to worry about the health beyond ourselves.

Enjoy reading the article and try the calculator to find the environmental footprint of your choice of food.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210204-calculate-the-environmental-footprint-of-your-food

Topic Reading-Vol.3232-2/15/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Hyundai's latest concept 'car' walks to places it can't drive

Another science-fiction-like vehicle is under development. The Hyundai Tiger X-1 is an all-terrain vehicle that can drive with four wheels and also walk with four bendable legs. Where the surface is clear for wheels, it just drives like a robotic vehicle. But where there are obstacles that can not be driven over, the vehicle switches to the walking mode by extending and bending the legs to walk over them while keeping the cargo area level. With these flexible legs, it can drive or walk in any direction. It is designed to deliver rescue or essential materials to the places where other delivery vehicles cannot reach, such as earthquake devastated areas.  It can also work with a drone for better accessibility and energy efficiency.

It seems very helpful for humanitarian missions. But it would be very scary if it were used for malicious purposes.

Enjoy reading the article and imagine when you’ll see such autonomous robot-vehicles are hanging around near your house.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/09/business/hyundai-walking-car/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3231-2/14/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Volkswagen is exploring flying vehicles in China

China is the world’s biggest auto market, having sold over 25 million new cars last year. It is also the home for electric vehicles, auto-driving vehicles, and drones. Because of the powerful administration’s try-and-fix approaches, new technologies have been tested and tried more aggressively than other markets. Indeed, there are incomparable scale and speed merits for automakers in China. Also, there are abundant resources and investments for new and emerging technologies that have been fueling the development of new automotive technologies.

For Volkswagen, Germany’s automotive giant, it is the single largest for now and the most promising market for the future to develop, produce and sell automobiles with new technologies beyond electric vehicles and self-driving technology. They are now looking into flying vehicles, or vertical mobility and investigating feasibility and partners. Will China be the first country that grows the electric vertical and landing, or eVTOL, industry?

Enjoy reading the article and learn about what the automotive industry is eyeing for the future.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/09/business/volkswagen-flying-vehicles/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3230-2/13/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Essential foods for Chinese New Year's Eve

A lunar calendar is based on the monthly cycles of the Moon’s phases that turn approximately 29 and a half days in the solar calendar. Therefore, a lunar year is about 354 days, about 10 days shorter than that of a solar year. For Chinese people, Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is the biggest annual event. They celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season from New Year’s Eve with family members, which creates the world’s largest human migration each year. This year, the first day of the Chinese New Year was February 12, which is the Year of the Ox. It is also the time to enjoy having very special foods and meals according to the traditions of the region. As you know, foods vary greatly by region in China. Indeed, China is a big country by size and has the longest history, and Chinese people are very keen on enjoying foods together. What do they eat for this special occasion?

Enjoy seeing the photos of delightful foods and meals for the Chinese New Year.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202102/08/WS6020a51ca31024ad0baa8004_1.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3229-2/12/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Nuclear-powered rocket could get astronauts to Mars faster

A manned mission to Mars is our next space dream after the Moon, which is only about 384,000 km away. With current technologies, it takes about three days to get there. But Mars is much farther away. The closest that Earth and Mars would approach each other would be when Mars is at its closest point to the sun and Earth is at its farthest, which is about 55 million kilometers apart. That is over 140 farther than the Moon. With chemical engines, which are used by today’s rockets, it would take at least three years to get there and come back. If astronauts stay in space that long, they are exposed to hazardous space radiation and risks for malfunctions or accidents, not to mention the zero-gravity environment that weakens their physical strength and mental conditions. So, a Seattle-based nuclear technology company proposed nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) engine which could reach Mars in 90 days. Why not? There have been nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for decades. But there still are concerns about the radiation from the reactor to the astronauts and the environment. How can those potential problems be solved?

Enjoy reading the article about this new technological solution to reach the red planet and beyond.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/03/world/nuclear-powered-rocket-scn-spc-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3228-2/11/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Lillördag: Sweden's workers de-stress with 'Little Saturday'

If you work Monday through Friday, there are four evenings that you are not supposed to go so crazy just to make sure that you’ll be ready to work on the next day. This could be frustrating for those who work from home because of the pandemic and also those who live in high-latitude regions where nights are long and outside is cold in the winter. So, instead of waiting for Friday evening, what about making Wednesday evening special to reward yourself for the work you’ve done for the last three days and shape up for the next two days? In fact, this is a common practice among Swedish workers and families. It’s simple. Make Wednesday evening like little Saturday and have moderate fun, such as having drinks with friends or colleagues, a special dinner with the family, or dessert after dinner. In fact, experts say people tend to be more motivated with smaller goals within the week so that they can feel a sense of achievement and fulfillment, which in turn gives the reason for a little celebration.

Indeed, big events won’t happen so often, but little things can make all the difference.

Enjoy reading the article and think about how you want to spend your mid-week evenings.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210129-lillrdag-swedens-workers-destress-with-little-saturday

Topic Reading-Vol.3227-2/10/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Amazon faces spying claims over AI cameras in vans

1984 is a social science fiction novel written by George Orwell in 1949, which describes the world of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of persons and behaviors within society. In the novel, people are constantly monitored by “Big Brother,” the ruler of the totalitarian state who never shows up but constantly monitors the citizens by telescreens for the sake of safety and security.

Amazon has state-of-art fulfillment centers that they are maximizing safety and efficiency. For example, employees’ moves are constantly monitored and warned if they get too close to each other to keep a social distance. Now, they also want to do the same for the last-mile safety, Delivery. They installed AI-powered cameras in their delivery vans to record footage of drivers continuously. The camera system uploads footage of 16 potentially-unsafe actions like hard braking and driver distraction. Also, it gives a verbal warning if it finds the driver looking at a phone or yawning.

Nowadays, this kind of safety monitoring system has been featured in both commercial and passenger vehicles. Do you think it helps you drive safely or makes you feel oppressed?

Enjoy reading the article and think about what Big Brother could do to the modern world.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55938494

Topic Reading-Vol.3226-2/9/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Record-breaking roller coaster will travel more than 155 miles per hour

Are you a roller coaster fanatic, not just a lover? The height, speed, and length are three key elements of the excitement of riding a coaster. If you want to ride the world’s tallest coaster, you’ll need to get on the Kingda Ka, at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, USA. If your interest is the speed, you can experience the world’s fastest coaster called the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi in the UAE. If you want to enjoy a very long ride, you should try the Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land amusement park in Kuwana, Japan. But instead of going to these three distant amusement parks in different regions, you can experience the world’s fastest, tallest, and longest roller coaster in one place if you can wait until 2023. Falcon’s Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya is under construction near Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The four-kilometer-long ride will feature a thrilling 160-meter-deep vertical drop at a speed of 250-plus km/h. During the three-minute-long ride, you can also enjoy panoramic views of the amusement park if you ever have a chance to look around.   

Only one condition applies besides the age, height, and physical restrictions to get on the coaster. You need to be a passport holder of one of the 51 countries/territories to be granted a tourist visa (as of January 2021) to enter and stay in Saudi Arabia.

Enjoy reading the article and watching/feeling the video rendering to decide if it’s worth traveling all the way to the capital of the desert kingdom.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/world-fastest-roller-coaster-six-flags-qiddiya/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3225-2/8/2021

Topic Reading-Vol.3225-2/8/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Canada will list the Proud Boys movement as a terrorist group

Founded in 2016, the Proud Boys is a far-right, neo-fascist nationalist organization for men in the USA and Canada. The extremists’ organization consists of thousands of members and recruits mainly young white males from suburbs. Though they haven’t staged any major violent events yet, some of the members have been arrested for violence. They have been labeled as a hate group, as well as being misogynistic, Islamophobic, and anti-immigration. Also, they only allow biological men to become a member who is chauvinists. Because of their extremism, the group has been banned from social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. And on February 3, Canada, a multiracial and multicultural nation, has officially designated the Proud Boys as a terrorist group. This move will allow the authority to freeze the group’s financial assets and criminalize their financial and recruiting activities. However, for some reason, the US doesn’t have such laws to designate a domestic group as a terrorist organization. So, they can still recruit extremist members, march streets with guns, and raise and manage funds in the US. As their supportive president is gone from the office, how long and how much their activities will be allowed in the US?

Enjoy reading the article and learn about a group of extremists in North America.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/03/americas/canada-proud-boys-terror-group/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3224-2/7/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Nike made a hands-free shoe and you have to see it to believe it

One of the businesses that have enjoyed an unexpected growth during the pandemic is comfortable clothes and shoes as people work from, study at, and just stay home. So, won’t it be great if there are shoes that don’t bother your hands to be put on and taken off like slippers? Nike got some idea and has introduced a hands-free shoe, called the Go Flyease. It’s a lace-less sneaker that can be put on and taken off without using hands. You don’t have to be lazy to enjoy this new mechanism that makes your life easier. How does it work?

Enjoy watching the video to learn about this latest lace-less, hands-free shoe from Nike.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/01/business/nike-hands-free-shoe/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3223-2/6/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Why your face could be set to replace your bank card

How would you like to pay your bill, cash, check, card, phone, or face? In the past few years, pay-by-phone has become popular in many countries and overwhelmingly in China. It’s a matter of time as to when you start using one if you haven’t. Now, with advanced facial recognition technologies, you no longer need a phone or card with you for payments. Facial recognition payment might sound futuristic but it is already happening in China and has been rolled out in the US, too. You may worry about the security issue but the service providers say it’s safer than a password. In fact, photos are converted into mathematical maps of unique facial vectors so that outsiders can’t identify the person. Also, the accuracy is so high that even identical twins are recognized as different persons. Indeed, iPhone users seem to be happy with facial recognition and Apply Pay, it might not take so long to see this new payment method can be chosen at shops, restaurants, and e-commerce sites. Another contactless payment transaction under the coronavirus pandemic.

Enjoy reading the article and think if you can show the same smile for a ripoff or good deal.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55748964

Topic Reading-Vol.3222-2/5/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

US airport screeners confiscated guns at record rate in 2020

It is NOT illegal to own and carry guns in America, though restrictions may apply by state. But no passengers are allowed to carry a gun on a commercial flight, except for security officers who are permitted to. However, nearly 10 guns were confiscated each day, or 3,257 in total, at 234 airport checkpoints in the US last year. It represents approximately 10 firearms per million passengers, which is about twice as many as the previous year. Why did so many more Americans try to carry guns with them on a flight? Actually, Firearms can be in checked luggage but must be unloaded and packed in a locked hard-side case. So, did those who tried to carry their guns with them feel so unsafe and want to protect themselves at the airport or on the flight? And why did the figure increase that much last year? Was that because of the coronavirus pandemic, BLM movement, or presidential election? In fact, most of the guns confiscated were loaded, ready to shoot.

Enjoy reading the article and think which protects more nowadays, a gun or facemask.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/tsa-guns-confiscated-2020/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3221-2/4/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

What's new in fast food: Chicken sandwiches and cauliflower rice

As the coronavirus is still continuously spreading all across the world, eat-in restaurants are having another bleak year. For US fast-food chains, it is essential to grow take-out and delivery sales to keep their stores running. So, they are adding new menu items to lure customers who want either healthier or heavier meals. For example, the Nashville Hot Crispy Chicken Sandwich, the Grilled Spicy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich with Cilantro Lime Sauce, the Cauliflower rice as a low-carb alternative, the Nothing But Stuffed Crust pizza dough, and the Detroit-style Pizza, none of which tells you what sort of chicken sandwich or pizza is. But they are something new and different. That’s the key. Well, as working from home is becoming a standard work style for many, new menus for takeout or delivery seems to be a good encouragement for workers and delightful entertainment for families.

Enjoy reading the article and watching the video to learn about fresh menus from American fast-food chains.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/30/business/new-fast-food-january-2021/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3220-2/3/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Got a package you didn't order? It could be a scam

Have you received any merchandise that you hadn’t ordered from online retailers like Amazon? If you have multiple times, that could be brushing scams. Many online shoppers check the ratings of the merchandise or the seller before making their purchase decisions. Therefore, for online retailers, these ratings are essential for their businesses. In the rating, the number of items sold is another important factor. So, some online sellers try to boost their ratings by paying people to post positive reviews about their merchandise or do it themselves. In order to make fake reviews look genuine, some of them try to trick the online platformers by placing gift orders to those whose names and addresses are found. This practice is called brushing, and it is a scam. That’s why some people have received totally unexpected, usually unwanted merchandise whose sender is unknown multiple times. Though it causes no financial or legal problems by receiving such “gifts,” it surely annoys you. Also, your name and address are both known to someone. If you receive such a delivery, you should contact customer service of the online shopping site and even change your password. But the actual victims of this brushing scam are those who check the reviews and ratings of the merchandise.

Enjoy reading the article to learn about this mysterious package delivery.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/23/business/package-didnt-order-brushing/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3219-2/2/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
I witnessed the rise of Nazism firsthand

Can you imagine what life was like if you were born a Jew in Berlin in 1930? Year by year, life would have become constrained, threatened, and dangerous by Nazi oppression. You could have been treated inhumanely in a concentration camp to death or put into a gas chamber. Whatever the reason, there were small numbers of people who were freed after the war and lived a new life. Dr. Irene Butter is one of such witnesses of Nazi brutality and cruelty in Germany back then. She was sent from the concentration camp in Holland to the infamous Bergen-Belsen camp in Germany as a prisoner, to Switzerland for a hostage exchange, to a refugee camp in Algeria, and finally to the United States of America as an immigrant in December 1945. Until then, she had been forced to do anything without choice. Indeed, she is one of the few surviving firsthand witnesses of Nazi fascism, racism, and nationalism. Seven decades and five years later on January 6 this year, she had to witness a similar incident at the US Capitol, the symbol of democracy, freedom, and equality when the rioters, some of whom with Nazi symbols, stormed into the capitol building while elected representatives arguing for impeachment.

It may be the time to hear what a firsthand witness of the rise of fascism and Nazism.

Read the article and learn about what happened to a teenage girl in Nazi Germany.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/26/opinions/holocaust-fascism-un-capitol-riots-butter/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3218-2/1/2021

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

'Degree inflation': How the four-year degree became required

What are important qualifications for a middle-skill job, such as a supervisor, support specialist, sales representatives, clerk, and administrative assistant? Besides the job skills, experience, IT literacy, communication skills, eagerness to work, or a bachelor’s degree?

There has been a rising demand for bachelor’s degrees in jobs that hadn’t require one, which is called degree inflation. In fact, the degree gap between the demand for a college degree in job postings and the current or former job occupants has been widening. Indeed, as more jobs are taken by machines and automation, qualifications for the same role need to add new requirements. But does it have to be a college degree? In fact, newly added qualifications may not always bring in more competent candidates to the open position because they may be overqualified or unsuitable for the job. Instead, experienced workers may be more eager to advance their careers within the company or for a new job that they can make use of their skills. Also, a college degree requirement could draw a line between social backgrounds, family incomes, and races because attending college is too expensive for low-income families. Some companies though have already found that it is more efficient to give the chance to already-working employees to advance as they tend to be more committed to the job and company. In fact, the turnover of internally filled positions is much lower than bringing someone with a degree from outside.

It seems that it is time for employers to reexamine what a college degree requirement costs and does to them.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about what degree inflation brings about.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210126-degree-inflation-how-the-four-year-degree-became-required