MDMCB ENT: November 2017

Friday 24 November 2017

China kindergarten sex abuse and 'needlemarks' claims prompt police probe

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese police are investigating claims of sexual molestation and needlemarks on children at a Beijing kindergarten, the latest case in a booming childcare industry to spark outrage among parents.

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Uber data breach includes UK users — but it’s still not clear how many

The UK’s digital minister has said the October 2016 data breach that Uber disclosed this week does affect UK users — though it’s still unclear how many are impacted at this stage. Read More

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Mnangagwa, the 'Crocodile,' sworn in as Zimbabwe president

HARARE (Reuters) - Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in on Friday as President of Zimbabwe in front of thousands of cheering supporters at Harare's national stadium, bringing the final curtain down on the 37-year rule of Robert Mugabe.

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This bakery is selling bread made from insects

McDonald's just posted the ultimate Black Friday Twitter fail

For big name brands like McDonald's, it's crucial to get your marketing and promotion spot on — especially on big holidays.

Mistakes do happen, though.

On Friday morning, the official @McDonaldsCorp account posted what we're guessing was probably a scheduled tweet. The idea was clearly to promote some kind of Black Friday offer.

Unfortunately, things didn't quite go to plan.

Black Friday **** Need copy and link****

— McDonald's (@McDonaldsCorp) November 24, 2017

Oh dear.

At the time of writing, that tweet has been up for over three-and-a-half hours. Here's the screengrab, for when it inevitably gets deleted: Read more...

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You can give your loved ones the gift of flight this holiday season, no wings or ticket required

Every little kid dreams of flying. Not in an airplane, but real flying. Maybe like a superhero with one arm thrust forward, or a bird, soaring over trees and lakes.

Turns out dreams can come true; with some smart tech. DJI has paired its Mavic Pro drone with a first-person view headset — the DJI Goggles, for an immersive flying experience that will satisfy tech enthusiasts and outdoorsy types this holiday season.

When the Goggles first launched in May, they sold out on the DJI website in three hours. But DJI has restocked them just in time for Black Friday, at $449.

Here’s what the Mavic+Goggles combination offers that makes it a great gift for someone special. Read more...

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China police probe latest claims of childcare abuse

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North Korea replaces soldiers, South Korea awards medals after defector's border dash

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has reportedly replaced guards and fortified a section of its border with South Korea where a North Korean soldier defected last week, while South Korean and U.S. soldiers have been decorated for their role in the defector's rescue.

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Mnangagwa, the 'Crocodile,' to be sworn in as Zimbabwe president

HARARE (Reuters) - Emmerson Mnangagwa will cap a stunning political comeback on Friday when he is sworn in as Zimbabwe's president, bringing the final curtain down on the 37-year rule of Robert Mugabe.

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South African appeals court more than doubles Pistorius sentence

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday increased Oscar Pistorius' murder sentence to 13 years and five months after the state argued that his original sentence of six years was "shockingly lenient".

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The Oropendola / Wacky gymnast of the bird world

Oropendola nest

I’m not much of a bird watcher, but on my first visit to Costa Rica I kept hearing this strange sound, almost like one bird trying to laugh while another one is whistling. That made me look up, and when I spotted the bird that was making the sound, I started to laugh. I had the distinct impression that it was putting on a show just to entertain the tourists, and it immediately became one of my favorite rain forest animals. The bird is called the Oropendola (often, and understandably, misspelled as “Oropendula”). It’s a largish bird that looks black from a distance but is actually dark brown, with bright yellow tail feathers. There are two species of Oropendola: the Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus) and the Montezuma Oropendola (Gymnostinops montezuma). Oropendolas are native to Central America, with some found as far north as southern Mexico and some as far south as Ecuador and Brazil. In the parts of Costa Rica I’ve visited, the Montezuma Oropendola is more common.

Swingers
Both species of Oropendola share a unique and rather silly characteristic, as hinted at by the bird’s common name (roughly, “gold pendulum”) and the Latin genus name Gymnostinops. A male Oropendola stands on a thin horizontal branch, with his claws wrapped most of the way around it. Then the bird spreads his wings and swings around the branch so that he’s hanging upside down, his yellow tail feathers prominently displayed above him. Sometimes he reverses the motion and springs back to the top, and sometimes he flips all the way around the branch like a gymnast on the horizontal bar. At the same time, the bird lets out its loud, goofy call [click here to listen]. During mating season (January to May), this goes on pretty much all day, every day.

Scientists will tell you this behavior serves a purely utilitarian purpose. When a male displays his tail feathers and makes the distinctive mating call, it attracts females, end of story. (In a typical Oropendola colony, there are five females for every male, so the males keep busy.) Like most scientific explanations, this one is sensible and descriptive—but also dull and unimaginative. Thousands of bird species manage to mate without such an elaborate ritual, even if they don’t have yellow tail feathers. I have an alternative explanation for both the swinging behavior and the call: Oropendolas flip around branches because it’s fun, and the call can be translated directly into English as “Wheeeeeeee!” Watch these birds for a few hours and you’ll probably come to the same conclusion.

The name Oropendola is also suggestive of the bird’s unusual nest: a long, narrow woven basket one to two meters in length. Each nest holds just one adult female and her offspring. They hang from the highest branches of tall trees, sometimes in clusters of dozens or even hundreds.

The Birds and the Bees
As with other rain forest creatures such as sloths and leaf cutter ants, Oropendolas participate in some interesting symbiotic relationships. I’ve read two very different accounts, both involving the cowbird, which does not build its own nest but lays its eggs alongside those of the Oropendola. According to one source, Oropendolas like to nest in trees where hornets are found, because the hornets keep away the cowbirds; Oropendolas, in turn, protect the hornets from bees. Other sources say the cowbirds are a desirable neighbor, and that Oropendolas like hornets because they attack botflies, the real enemy. Botflies like to lay their eggs directly on newly hatched Oropendolas, and the botfly larvae feed on the birds. But cowbird eggs hatch before the Oropendola eggs do, and the young cowbirds feed on the botflies, thus protecting the Oropendola.

Oropendolas are not the largest or most colorful birds; most tourists in Central America’s rain forests are really looking for the Resplendent Quetzal, with its absurdly long, bright green tail. But what the Oropendola lacks in sheer flashiness it makes up for in style. —Joe Kissell

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I have two brief movies of Oropendola in action. I took these by holding my digital camera up to the lens of a telescope, so the quality isn’t the greatest, but you’ll get the general idea. [Movie 1 (3.8MB)] [Movie 2 (3.8MB)]

You can find a very complete account of the Montezuma Oropendola on The University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web. A different account is at The Milwaukee Public Museum (scroll down a bit). For an article on the Crested Oropendola, see The Honolulu Zoo.

Black Friday sale – Disrupt Berlin tickets are buy-one-get-one free for one day only

We here at TechCrunch love a good holiday sale as much as the next person — maybe even more. So, we’re jumping on the Black Friday bandwagon to offer an outstanding deal on Disrupt Berlin tickets. Today only, we’re going BOGO on Berlin. Yup, buy one general admission ticket to Disrupt Berlin today, and you’ll get a second general admission ticket for free. Read More

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Friday 24 November 2017

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