South African boxers Simpiwe «Chain Reaction» Konkco, Hekkie «Hexecutioner» Budler and Zolani «Last Born» Tete have been recognised by The Ring magazine and awarded ratings on a prestigious list that some fighters can only dream of getting on to.
© Source: http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2017/01/12/Downgrade-hangs-over-SA%E2%80%9A-warns-SP
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RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of Boeing shares at an underperform rating because of the prospect of declining profit margins in its commercial airplane business and the risk of President-elect Donald Trump’s trade policy agenda.
«We have found a strong correlation between Boeing’s commercial operating margins and the average age of Boeing’s platforms. … We see signs that this is already starting to drive commercial margin pressure,» analyst Matthew McConnell wrote in a note to clients Wednesday.
«It is unclear how President Trump will differ from ‘candidate Trump,’ but following through on the protectionist policies that were central to his campaign could be a headwind to the commercial aerospace sector,» he added.
© Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/12/sell-boeing-on-lower-plane-profitability-trump-rbc-says.html
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On Wednesday morning, President-elect Donald Trump might have had reason to be nervous — if, of course, he acknowledged that feeling existed. Claims of the Russian government possessing damaging information about his personal life were everywhere. His secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson was facing tough questions from Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about Russia and Vladimir Putin. And Trump was scheduled to hold a news conference — his first since last summer.
By the time Trump was done with his lunchtime news conference — one filled with half -truths and distortions — he had won the day.
How? By turning the Russia story into a debate over fake news and the media — and in so doing, turning the media against itself.
This was no accident. From Trump’s opening statement, it was clear that he wanted to make the story of the day one about the media and its foibles. Here’s the first thing Trump said :
It’s very familiar territory, news conferences, because we used to give them on an almost daily basis. I think we probably maybe won the nomination because of news conferences and it’s good to be with you.
We stopped giving them because we were getting quite a bit of inaccurate news, but I do have to say that — and I must say that I want to thank a lot of the news organizations here today because they looked at that nonsense that was released by maybe the intelligence agencies? Who knows, but maybe the intelligence agencies which would be a tremendous blot on their record if they in fact did that. A tremendous blot, because a thing like that should have never been written, it should never have been had and it should certainly never been released.
Immediately the theme of the news conference is established. Most of the media is good. But some aren’t. And this whole Russia story is really about why some in the media — BuzzFeed, in particular — decided to publish a dossier filled with unverifiable claims about Trump. Whether or not Trump had seen the two-page summary of what was in the dossier — intelligence officials said he had — was lost in the shuffle.
Then came Trump’s showdown with CNN’s Jim Acosta in which Acosta repeatedly tried to ask a question of the president-elect only to be stymied in his attempt to do so. Here’s that exchange:
ACOSTA: Can you give us a question since you’re attacking us? Can you give us a question?
TRUMP: Don’t be rude. No, I’m not going to give you a question. I’m not going to give you a question.
ACOSTA: Can you state …
TRUMP: You are fake news.
If there was any question what the story coming out of the news conference would be, it ended in that exchange. Conservatives cheered Trump’s willingness to shout down an adversarial reporter. The media warned of the dangers posed by Trump’s willingness to punish journalists who didn’t treat him well. Talk of what made “fake news” was everywhere. So was chatter about whether or not BuzzFeed should have published the dossier.
What wasn’t everywhere — and by that I mean top of mind for the average American — was Trump’s skirting of a blind trust for his assets. Or his continued unwillingness to condemn Putin. Or any real clarity about what he knew when about the Russian dossier. Or any serious discussion about Trump’s continued unwillingness to release his tax returns.
You get the idea. The day became dominated by two narratives that are good for Trump: 1) Him versus the media and 2) the media versus the media.
You let this happen!!!!, screamed media critics. You followed the bright shiny thing rather than pushing Trump on what really matters!
An easy charge to level. But one that is simply not borne out by the facts. Reporters did try to push Trump. He refused to engage, preferring to either call on reporters more favorable to him — the question on Trump’s recommendations for the media to do better was ridiculous — to help drive his preferred message.
And we — the media — covered the lack of a blind trust. And Trump’s refusal to release his taxes. And his lack of criticism of Putin. But all of that got lost amid the maelstrom about the media that Trump was able to kick up and then — through the power of social media — stoke.
. @CNN is in a total meltdown with their FAKE NEWS because their ratings are tanking since election and their credibility will soon be gone!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2017
Trump won Wednesday. That’s a testament to his nuanced understanding of how the modern media works, the media’s own soft spots and the ways in which polarization dictates how people consume any news event. It’s also further evidence that the Trump presidency will be like nothing politics has ever seen before.
© Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/12/how-donald-trump-won-wednesday/
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January 12, 2017
— It can be tempting to see prayer as a potentially futile exercise, a wishful technique or set of hopeful words to try to get through some difficult situation or manage pain – but not necessarily something that leads to practical results. Yet many, including me, have found that prayer can indeed bring tangible healing. Last month, a news article caught my eye when it asked: “Can science explain the reason why people get healed after being prayed for?” The story reported how researchers from Vrije University in Amsterdam are “looking into the science behind healings that occur after prayer.”
Often research into science and prayer relates to how mental states reduce stress or produce other physical changes with positive health effects. But more than 140 years ago, a woman named Mary Baker Eddy dedicated her life to looking deeply into what she believed must be a spiritual law behind the healing works of Christ Jesus. Her inspired search of the Bible culminated in her discovery of what she termed Christian Science , and she published her findings in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” a book that continues to show how we can indeed find healing solutions through scientific prayer.
Wait … scientific prayer? Yes – prayer based on the spiritual truth of God’s infinite goodness and its expression in all creation. Such prayer enables us to trust that despite the surface appearance that there is only physical cause and effect, the love that God has for each of us is spiritual fact and primal cause.
I was able to apply this divine Science in my prayers for myself when I discovered an abnormal growth on my body. Its location suggested this could be a serious condition. However, as I turned to God in prayer, I felt assured that since there is one almighty God, one supreme good cause, then this condition, although it seemed frightening, simply couldn’t be true about who I really was as God’s good spiritual creation.
My daily prayers became the application of this spiritual truth. I saw more clearly that no matter how serious a problem looks, it doesn’t change the fact of God’s love for us or our loveliness to God. Divine Love doesn’t create or know us as suffering, pained, conflicted mortals, but rather as immortal ideas of its goodness.
From this spiritual viewpoint I began to gain a clearer view of the actual unreality of the not-good growth in light of the reality of good, and the unhelpfulness of any speculation about it. My desire to better feel my inherent wholeness was answered as I saw more fully the truth about my true identity and relation to God as Love’s perfect, spiritual expression. In a very short time, the growth simply dissolved, and hasn’t returned.
On the basis of this central truth of God’s allness, many have found that prayer becomes reliably effective. It lifts thought to a higher standpoint that’s in accord with what God is, knows, and does. Praying from this spiritually scientific standpoint, one starts to find more healing, harmony, and right answers to problems of all kinds.
© Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/A-Christian-Science-Perspective/2017/0112/The-Science-behind-prayer-that-heals
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Surely you’ve heard of Elijah Page? A voice from the past, yes, but a voice you remember: he played guitar and stood up alone to sing about injustice and heartbreak in the days when it still seemed possible to change the world. Dylan, Guthrie, Seeger, Page – performing in clubs and at festivals, for audiences that took those voices to heart, that shaped their lives according to the songs they heard.
In reality, you are unlikely to have heard of Elijah (or Eli) Page, because W B Belcher invented him for his debut novel – but Page is a pretty convincing concoction. A compelling performer in his day, he vanished from the scene and, it seems, disappeared completely, as the narrator, Jack Wyeth, relates. Wyeth is a Page-obsessed folkie, a millennial with father issues (his guitar-playing dad left when he was five) who drops girlfriends and dead-end jobs like so much change from his pocket, never able to settle, never knowing what he wants.
One day, out of the blue, he gets a call from Eli Page’s manager. Page is ready to write a memoir; all he needs is a ghostwriter. Wyeth takes the job and goes to upstate New York but when he gets there he discovers, perhaps unsurprisingly, that his task is not as straightforward as he’d hoped.
The American folk scene offers a good canvas for the shattering of youthful illusions. It is hard to avoid comparing this novel to the Coen brothers’ haunting 2013 film, Inside Llewyn Davis , in which Oscar Isaac plays a 1960s folk musician based on a singer called Dave Van Ronk. Van Ronk gets a namecheck in Belcher’s book and, for those who love conspiracy theories, it may be worth noting that the writer who helped Van Ronk put his posthumously published memoir together was called Elijah Wald.
There’s more. Albert E Brumley’s 1929 spiritual “I’ll Fly Away”, which you can find on the soundtrack of the Coens’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? , also gets a mention here. This is the kind of knitting together that is intrinsic to folk on both sides of the Atlantic, where old tunes and new tunes circle each other and bind until it becomes hard to tell them apart.
Folk is – let’s be frank – always on the margins. If it weren’t, it wouldn’t be a place for rebellion and protest. Both Eli and Jack are marginal figures – even in their own lives, it seems. What brings them together is a need to escape from the confines of the present day, though that desire takes different forms. Eli has become a crank, a near recluse: imagine Bob Dylan crossed with J D Salinger and you’ll start to get the picture.
Belcher’s portrait of small-town life and the dark currents running under any surface is well done, and it’s clear that the author knows the drill. He lives along the same river, the Battenkill, that winds through the book; he is also on the board of directors of Caffe Lena in New York, the most venerable folk venue in United States.
Perhaps, at times, the material is a little too close to his heart. One of the strengths of Lay Down Your Weary Tune is its sense of mystery, but that mystery is stretched out just a little too long. What is going on with Eli? Who is responsible for the strange spate of crime in town? The story is a good one – laced with lost fathers and vanished daughters – but like those long, long Child ballads, it wouldn’t have suffered by losing a verse or two. And sometimes the similes get out of hand: wine glasses that “chirped like falsetto birds” when they clinked; a spine curved “like a lazy creek”. It’s lovely, but occasionally distracting.
The characters, however, are vivid and true. Jack becomes enamoured of Jenny, whose connection to Page is a puzzle right to the end of the book. Jenny is soft and strong and real, and her attachment to her ex-fiancé, a bullying local police officer called Cal, perfectly convincing. Eli stays just out of focus – but by design, dimmed to himself as well as to the people who try to get close to him. In the final pages, Jack finds a moment in which he sees: “Everything was perfect and everything was perfectly broken.” That may be the vision he has to live by. I’ll be happy to listen to the next song Belcher chooses to sing.
Lay Down Your Weary Tune by W B Belcher is published by Other Press, 408pp, £13.99
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If you’re a woman under 50, the name Mildred Hubble probably means something to you. Jill Murphy wrote her first book, The Worst Witch , when she was just 18. First published in 1974, it captivated audiences with its story of a bumbling young girl trying to scrape through her magical education. Perhaps your imagination was first caught by the books, with their descriptions of Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, which “stood at the top of a high mountain surrounded by a pine forest” and “looked more like a prison than a school, with its gloomy grey walls and turrets,” and the students themselves “dressed in black gymslips, black stockings, black hobnailed boots, grey shirts and black-and-grey ties”.
Or perhaps it was the Nineties TV show that you really remember, starring Georgina Sherrington as Mildred, practically falling over her incredibly long plaits, and Felicity Jones as a deliciously posh and evil Ethel, Mildred’s long-standing nemesis.
However you fell in love with Mildred, Maud, Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom, there’s good news. The Worst Witch returns today on CBBC (4.30pm), with a cast borrowed from Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey , updated special effects, and a more modern take on a magical boarding school. The series will also be available globally on Netflix later this year.
Mildred Hubble is played by 13-year-old Bella Ramsey, a talented actress who frequently stole the show in several recent episodes of Game of Thrones : no easy feat in a programme overrun with known scene-thieves. But unlike Mildred Hubbles of yore, this character is not from a family of witches – she’s just a normal girl from a council estate.
Like Hermione or Harry in Harry Potter , she has no idea magic even exists until she makes her way to school. In fact, here the script seems to borrow directly from Harry Potter: Maud’s question, “Didn’t anything ever happen to you that you couldn’t explain?” is reminiscent of Hagrid’s “Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?”
Dowton Abbey ’s Raquel Cassidy makes for a particularly sarcastic Mistress Hardbroom, with other teachers played by Kacey Ainsworth, Clare Higgins and Amanda Holden.
There are lines about allergies and preferring “Ms” over “Mistress”, and even references to online magazines for witches. But while there are plenty of superficial updates, this new series doesn’t need to stray too far from the timeless source material. It’s full of brilliant women – students and teachers alike. Just look at these badass bitches:
But The Worst Witch is, essentially, a story aimed at bookish young women that deals with imposter syndrome. Mildred finds herself at a competitive school, in intimidating surroundings, with a demanding and complex set of rules and requirements. Murphy writes, “There were so many rules that you couldn’t do anything without being told off, and there seemed to be tests and exams every week.” She constantly feels like an outsider – she even has the wrong cat. But despite constantly doubting her own ability and even her own identity as a “witch”, she frequently surprises herself (and others) with great achievements.
The new series runs with this theme – Mildred stumbles across the school by chance, and knows nothing at all about witch society. She fumbles over the appropriate way to address people, she gets motion sickness when magically transported (which other students find “pathetic”), she tells herself she cannot do potions or exams.
But when it comes down to it, Mildred’s fears about herself are misplaced. Friends and teachers are able to sense her talent, even as she makes mistakes. This is a show that also shows how constant comparisons with peers can only lead to more insecurity – brainbox Ethel is unreasonably hard on herself for missing the 100 per cent mark.
This is a delightful adaptation with a cast full of personality and an empowering message for CBBC audiences, which tells us you can save the world, even if you trip over your shoelaces while doing it. What could be more faithful to Murphy’s original books?
The Worst Witch, a CBBC production in collaboration with ZDF, ZDF Enterprises and Netflix, airs on CBBC today at 4.30pm.
© Source: http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2017/01/why-elijah-page-best-folk-singer-youve-never-heard
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Here are five easy-to-keep beauty resolutions for 2017:
We all know that going to sleep with a face full of makeup is a big beauty no-no, as it can encourage clogged pores and breakouts, but makeup removal can sometimes feel like a huge chore.
If you have a tendency to be lazy about your nighttime skincare cleansing regime then make things easy for yourself: Micellar water will remove products and impurities with no need to even rinse your face — meaning precious extra minutes in bed and happy skin come morning.
Face masks used to mean a gloopy mess and stained towels, but those days are long gone thanks to sheet masks, which have completed the transformation from niche Korean beauty product to mainstream bathroom staple.
If your approach to skincare is haphazard at best, then try keeping a few sheet masks at home, and pop one on whenever you need a quick and easy rescue remedy.
The advantage with individually-packaged masks is that you can test out different varieties, brands and ingredients affordably.
SPF is another golden beauty rule that can feel like a chore, but the potential skin damage caused by exposure to UVA rays should not be underestimated.
Kill two birds with one stone by opting for a hardworking SPF that will provide protection whilst also covering additional skin issues, such as one that offers intense hydration, or one that helps combat the signs of ageing — there are plenty of innovative products on the market.
If you’re bored with your makeup routine then try shaking things up every now and then with a catwalk-inspired look. Don’t be intimidated by the bolder trends, but rather use them as a reference point, test out one new element. What will it be — vivid eyeshadow? Bolder brows? Dare to experiment.
A simple move that could see you reap long-lasting benefits is to invest in a silk pillowcase. Upgrading from cotton to silk is rumored to help skin maintain its moisture, as well as reducing hair breakage, split ends and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Make every minute of beauty sleep count in 2017!
© Source: http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/fashion/beauty/2017/01/12/Minimal-effort-maximum-impact-5-beauty-resolutions-youll-actually-keep
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Pointing toward possible confrontation, Donald Trump’s selection for secretary of state likened Beijing’s island-building in the South China Sea to a takeover of another country’s territory and spoke of forcing Beijing to fully apply sanctions on North Korea.
China will likely be alarmed by former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s Senate confirmation hearing remarks on Wednesday. While they focused largely on Russia, reflecting Tillerson’s past relationship with its President Vladimir Putin and allegations of Russian hacking into the U. S. election, his testimony on China presented a sharp change in tone from the Obama administration’s focus on cooperation.
Under Obama, the U. S. has worked with China to fight climate change and contain Iran’s nuclear program. But Beijing has only half-heartedly pressed North Korea over its nuclear weapons program and has willfully disregarded Washington’s appeals to moderate its activities in the South China Sea.
It has reclaimed more than 3,000 of acres of land and constructed military-grade infrastructure, and reportedly installed weaponry, on reefs and islets mostly in the Spratly Island chain, where five other governments have territorial claims.
Accusing Beijing of «declaring control of territories that are not rightfully China’s,» Tillerson compared its island-building efforts and deployment of military assets on the islands to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea — an action that ended up prompting tough U. S. and European sanctions.
He called China’s actions «extremely worrisome. » The U. S. failure to respond «has allowed them to keep pushing the envelope» in seas that carry $5 trillion of trade annually, he said, suggesting Trump would adopt a tougher approach.
«This is a threat to the entire global economy if China is allowed to somehow dictate the terms of passage through these waters,» Tillerson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Asked if he supported a more aggressive U. S. posture, he said, «You’re going to have to send China a clear signal that first the island building stops, and second your access to those islands is also not going to be allowed. »
China’s embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. China is stressing mutual respect and cooperation in response to the tough talk from Tillerson.
Such rhetoric from Washington isn’t surprising. Past U. S. administrations have entered office seeking to get tougher on China, and failed. Trump himself has threatened to impose punitive tariffs to address America’s trade imbalance with China and tested ties by questioning the longstanding U. S. policy on the status of Taiwan.
A perennial challenge is to break China’s long-time partnership with North Korea’s hereditary dictatorship. Beijing is unwilling to exercise economic pressure that could destabilize its unpredictable ally, even as it shares U. S. concerns about the isolated nation’s rapid development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to deliver them.
Earlier this week, outgoing Secretary of State John Kerry chided Beijing over its efforts to pressure North Korea, which relies on China for 90 percent of its international trade. He said China needed to «increase its focus» and that the U. S. may need «more forceful ways» of dealing with North Korea.
Tillerson spoke in starker terms. He accused China of making «empty promises» on North Korea and supported U. S. sanctions on Chinese companies found to be violating U. N. Security Council resolutions, recently beefed up to tighten restrictions on North Korean coal imports.
«If China is not going to comply with those U. N. sanctions then it’s appropriate for the United States to consider actions to compel them to comply,» Tillerson said.
Speaking generally, he described military force as the «least attractive option. » And he sought to play down Trump’s recent tweet on North Korea’s development of a missile that could strike America — «It won’t happen! » — saying it wasn’t a «red line. «
© Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article126056179.html
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) — Kim Jong Un ‘s powerful younger sister was blacklisted by the U. S. Treasury Department this week because of her key role in North Korea human rights abuses.
Kim Yo Jong, whose birthdate is Sept. 26, 1989, according to the Treasury, is «part of the agency in North Korea who’s responsible for propaganda, for censorship, controlling information so that the people of the country do not know about the rest of the world,» said U. S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski, Yonhap reported.
Malinowski added Kim reinforces the regime’s «system of deifying of, worshiping the family, the leadership. »
«All of these are critical parts of the North Korean regime’s efforts to control its population and to deny them human rights,» Malinowksi told Yonhap. «This list is another sign of the commitment of the United States to identify the individuals, the people, by name in the North Korean government who are responsible for the worst human rights abuses that happen in that country and to hold them accountable. »
The younger Kim is reportedly the vice director of the propaganda department of the Korean Workers’ Party.
She was one of seven North Korean nationals, and two North Korean entities, blacklisted by the Treasury this week.
The sanctions are necessary, according to John Smith , acting director for the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, because the «North Korean regime not only engages in severe human rights abuses, but it also implements rigid censorship policies and conceals its inhumane and oppressive behavior,» Kyodo News reported .
Malinowski said the message is not specifically targeting the North Korean leadership but serves as a broader warning to North Koreans who may be associated with rights abuses.
The younger Kim has often been seen on North Korean television, including at the Seventh Party Congress, accompanying her brother in state ceremonies.
A former North Korea diplomat has said Kim directs all major public events on behalf of her brother.
© Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/01/12/Kim-Jong-Uns-sister-Kim-Yo-Jong-on-US-blacklist-for-propaganda-censorship/8061484235087/
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Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said he will soon announce whether to run for South Korea’s top job as he returned home and strongly hinted at his political ambitions before hundreds of cheering supporters.
Mr Ban’s return is likely to heat up local politics as he is considered as the only major conservative contender in a possible early election to replace impeached President Park Geun-hye.
Dozens of politicians have already bolted from Ms Park’s conservative ruling party and want to align with Mr Ban, while the main liberal opposition party is escalating the political offensive against him.
«Many people have asked me whether I have a will for power,» Mr Ban told a televised conference upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport, near Seoul.
» If ‘will for power’ means uniting a divided country into one and making it a first-class country again, then I have already said I am ready to burn my body in devotion to this and my mind hasn’t changed,» he said.
As his supporters shouted his name, Mr Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, said he will get diverse opinions about his return to South Korean politics.
«Based on my talks with people, I will make a decision that will be free from selfish motives. That decision won’t take long,» he said.
Opinion polls show Mr Ban is one of the favourites to succeed Ms Park, who is now on trial at the Constitutional Court, which will determine whether to formally end her rule and hold a new election.
The opposition-controlled parliament impeached her last month over her alleged roles in an explosive corruption scandal.
South Korea is scheduled to hold a presidential election in December.
Mr Ban, who ended his 10-year service as UN chief last month, is a soft-spoken career diplomat known for a gentle image and an ability to avoid making enemies.
But he also faced criticism that he lacks charisma and experience in domestic politics.
Many South Koreans have taken great pride in him because they think Mr Ban’s top UN job represents their country’s rise in the international arena from the rubble of the 1950-53 Korean War.
But critics say Mr Ban would not have assumed the UN post without help from the government of late president Roh Moo-hyun, which reportedly made massive efforts to make him a first South Korean UN chief.
Mr Ban denied an allegation in the media that he took bribes from a businessman who was at the centre of a corruption scandal that led to Mr Roh’s suicide in 2009.
Two relatives of Mr Ban were charged in the US in an indictment unsealed on Tuesday with plotting to bribe a Middle East official to influence the 800 million dollar sale of a building complex in Vietnam.
Mr Ban’s main potential rival is Moon Jae-in, a former leader of the largest opposition Democratic Party who lost the 2012 election to Ms Park.
A survey released this week by Realmeter showed Mr Moon had a 27.9% approval rating compared with Mr Ban’s 20.3%. The survey of 1,511 respondents had a margin of error of 2.5 points.
AP
© Source: http://www.independent.ie/world-news/exun-chief-ban-kimoon-hints-at-south-korea-presidential-bid-35362668.html
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When Kai Kloepfer points his.40 caliber handgun, it fires like any other weapon. But when someone else gives it a try, it doesn’t work. It’s the first firearm with same built-in security as many smartphones.
Smart-gun technology is not new, yet these guns are not mass-produced or sold in the U. S., partly due to fears they are a backdoor to greater gun…
If the gun is picked up by an authorized user, a sensor recognizes the fingerprint and it will fire.
Guns that only work for their owners used to be the stuff of movies, like James Bond’s gun in “Skyfall,” but Kloepfer thinks he has the technology to make them a reality, reports CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil.
He realized he couldn’t stop mass shootings, but he thought he could still save lives.
After all, in one year alone, nearly 600 people died in firearm accidents. There were thousands more suicides, many committed with guns that do not belong to the victim.
“Why did it take four and a half years to put a fingerprint reader on the side of a gun?” Dokoupil asked him.
“Well, it’s not as simple of a process as you might imagine,” Kloepfer said. “It’s also not something anybody has ever done before.”
Kloepfer’s weapon doesn’t only lock like a smart phone – it charges like one.
The invention has won him some deep-pocketed allies.
“Kai is the Mark Zuckerberg of guns,” Ron Conway said.
Conway was an early investor in Google and Facebook, and now he’s a putting his money behind Kloepfer’s smart gun.
“What Kai has done is used all of the latest technology available us to innovate a truly authenticated gun. You couldn’t do this five years ago,” Conway said.
But a push for similar guns misfired memorably in the late 1990s. A Colt prototype failed in a major demonstration, and Smith & Wesson dropped its smart gun program after resulting boycotts nearly bankrupted the company.
“What has changed from then until now to make it possible to make a smart gun like the one you’re working on?” Dokoupil asked.
Kloepfer said his gun is “relatively reliable.”
“I know, like, when I’m using it, when I’m testing it, it functions almost every single time,” Kloepfer said.
But not every time, as we saw firsthand when Kloepfer’s prototype — a modified Glock .22 – failed.
Still, he thinks an ultra-fast and reliable final weapon isn’t far off.
“I’m now to the point where… I’m able to start raising money, building a team, sort of really transitioning it to a real company, a real startup – instead of just a kid in his garage working on a science project,” Kloepfer said.
One of the big questions is whether traditional gun owners would ever buy a smart gun. The big gun lobbies say most would not.
But in a poll published last year in the American Journal of Public Health, nearly 60 percent of Americans said that if they were to purchase a new handgun, they would at least consider a smart gun.
© Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/smart-gun-fingerprint-reader-biofire-kai-kloepfer-pushback-firearm-community/
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