Author: KnowledgeHippo

While the push for products like Lovense and WeVibe, another popular brand of remote-controlled vibrators and stimulation rings, may seem self-evident — to create pleasure — many of the latest sex technologies often have a higher goal. Make Love Not Porn, a user-generated social sex platform, aims to eliminate the unrealistic standards created by hard porn by showing unrehearsed, consensual, “real world” sex, said Cindy Gallop, company founder and veteran sex educatorMeanwhile, products like the VDOM, a wearable genital prosthesis that can be turned from flaccid to erect with the help of a smartphone app, are aimed less at fetishists…

Tesla technicians who quit their jobs in Sweden say they still support the US company’s mission and its top CEO. But they also want Tesla to embrace the Swedish way of doing business.They call it the Swedish Model, a way of life that has defined the country’s economy for decades. At its heart is the partnership between employers and employees to ensure that both sides benefit from a company’s profits.Instead, four technicians who walked off the job on Oct. 27 said they have been subjected to what they described as the “typical U.S. model”: six-day work weeks, inevitable overtime and…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday revised its guidelines for monitoring the genetic signatures of viruses collected from people newly diagnosed with HIV, a controversial practice used by state and local health agencies to contain infections.The updated policy encouraged health officials to be more transparent with their communities about the monitoring, one of several changes sought by HIV advocacy groups concerned about how so-called molecular surveillance could violate privacy and political patients’ rights.But the agency did not adopt more significant changes that some advocates had pushed for, such as allowing health services to opt out in states…

While Rome’s charms may be, as they say, eternal, it has never been a city particularly prized for its hotels. Until recently, luxury accommodation in the Italian capital usually meant a flamboyantly decorated stack meant to evoke the city’s 16th- and 17th-century palaces, replete with gilded furniture and vague nostalgia. Over the past year or so, a whole new breed of luxury hotel has emerged, paying homage to the modernist architects who rebuilt much of Rome in a rationalist style in the early to mid-20th century. The Bulgari Hotel, for example, opened last summer in a massive 1930s government building…

A retaliatory strike by U.S. Special Operations in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday killed a senior leader of a militia that U.S. officials blame for recent attacks on U.S. personnel, the Pentagon said, following President Biden’s promise that the response to a series of attacks by The Shia militias will continue.The Pentagon said the man was a leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah, the militia that officials said was responsible for a drone strike in Jordan last month that killed three US service members and wounded more than 40.A US official said the strike was a “powerful” blow to the militia commander,…

In the United States, some labor unions, city governments and city councils have weighed in on the Israel-Hamas war, issuing statements in support of the cease-fire — often after strong objections from some of their members and constituents.On Wednesday night, the school board in Ann Arbor, Mich., became one of the first public school districts in the country to vote in favor of such a declaration.Supporters of the resolution, including Palestinian Americans and Jewish board members said the declaration was an urgent moral imperative amid a humanitarian crisis.But the vote — 4 to 1, with two abstentions — was divisive…

Last spring, it looked like Tucker Carlson might have reached the end of his streak route through American media and politics.Fox News canceled his top-rated show, depriving Mr. Carlson of his prime-time nightly platform. But it kept him under a contract, worth more than $15 million a year, that prohibited him from taking a job with a rival.Under the old legacy media rules, Mr. Carlson would have been off the air and out of sight until after the 2024 election, when his contract expired. But Mr. Carlson is no typical TV star. And what was once normal in his industry…

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday banned unsolicited robocalls generated by artificial intelligence amid growing concerns about voter disinformation and consumer fraud facilitated by the technology.The FCC’s unanimous decision cited a three-decade-old law aimed at curbing spam calls, clarifying that spam calls generated by artificial intelligence are also illegal. In doing so, the agency said it expanded the ability of states to prosecute the creators of unsolicited spam bots.”It seems like something from the distant future, but it’s already here,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable…

Cale Yarborough, who won three straight NASCAR Winston Cup Series championships and whose 83 victories tied him for sixth on the all-time wins list, died Sunday. It was 84.He was battling a rare genetic disorder, his family told The Associated Press.At the height of his success, Yarborough won nine races in 1976, nine in 1977 and 10 in 1978, capturing the points championship each time. His feat was tied until 2008, when Jimmie Johnson matched it. Yarborough was also runner-up in the series in 1973 and 1974 and again in 1980.He won the Daytona 500 four times (1968, 1977, 1983…

The damage that air pollution can cause is extensive and well-known: Chemicals produced by human activities can trap heat in the atmosphere, change the chemistry of the oceans, and harm human health in a myriad of ways.Now, a new study shows that air pollution can also make flowers less attractive to pollinating insects. Compounds called nitrate radicals, which can be abundant in nighttime urban air, severely degrade the scent emitted by the pale evening primrose, reducing visits by pollinating hawkmoths, researchers reported in Science on Thursday.This sensory pollution could have far-reaching effects, hindering plant reproduction and reducing the production of…