Mark Blyth debunks the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in just one paragraph

Well, this is where Europe once again has disappointed, unfortunately. The whole point of [the General Data Protection Regulation] (GDPR) wasn’t about data protection. It was essentially scaring Facebook and Apple and the rest of them into paying some taxes—basically saying: ‘If every time that you switch on your platform you have to click through 12 screens of approval you know you’re going to lose 80 per cent of your users. Most of your business is data accumulation from your users.’ Particularly on the Amazon and Facebook side of things. ‘So you really need to wise up and play ball.’ It seems that, with the intervention of the Dutch and the Estonians and a few others who love tech, that’s gone by the wayside. We’re going to have some nominal taxation and they’re going to be able to continue doing what they want.

I would add, had the EU, i.e. Germany, insisted on hard taxing Trump would have a&%-F§%"ed their car industry.

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1. Shiki Taira - Japanese painting

2. and here

3. "In virtue of this privilege, in testimony of my affectionate respect for a revered chief […] I have determined to name this noble peak of the Himalayas Mont [sic] Everest.”

4. Bad news from Apple? Residual Seasonality

5. Nude modelling in old age

6. The audience fainted, “dropping off their seats one by one like ripe plums.” - not for the faint-hearted!

7. Steady supply of cocaine reduces violence - country-specific

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1. Architectural eye candy

2. Former CIA Chief Explains How Spies Use Disguises

3. When Apple introduced the iPod in 2001, they pioneered a new kind of physical listening experience and changed music forever.

4. Universities: Is free speech under threat?

5. Signaling, Shame, and Silence in Social Learning