fortuner q 2024 review

fortuner q 2024 review Left wing sees a silver lining in accused assassin's actions

There's a story from the earliest days of cinema that seems applicable to Sora, the text-to-video creation tool launched by OpenAI this week. And given that Sora's servers are struggling with demand , with many OpenAI subscribers still waiting to try it out, we've got time for stories. You probably know of Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station (1896) by the Lumiere brothers, even if you've never seen it. Like Sora, the Lumieres created very short movies that showcased the latest tech. We're talking cinematograph rather than AI rendering, and a luxurious 50 seconds of film rather than the maximum 20 seconds allowed in Sora videos. Still, it's the same principle: This was an early peek at a shockingly new form of entertainment. According to legend — a legend cemented in Martin Scorcese's charming movie about a boy in the Lumiere era, Hugo (2011) — Arrival of a Train audiences ran in terror from a steam engine that appeared to be heading straight for them. A similar sense of panic clings to Sora — specifically, panic about what AI videos might do to further crack up our "post-truth" media landscape. The average viewer is already having a hard time judging what is real and what isn't, and the problem is worse if they're depressed . We're living in a golden age of conspiracy theories. The world's richest man already shared an AI deepfake video in order to help swing an election. What happens when Sora can make any prompt look as real as something you might see on the evening news — ready-made to spread on social media? OpenAI seems to think its watermarks, both visible and invisible , would prevent any shenanigans. But having downloaded dozens of Sora videos now, I can attest that the visible watermark is tiny, illegible, and fades into the background more often than not. It would be child's play for video editing software to clip it out altogether. So a world of deliberate disinformation, either from bad political actors or influencers trying to gin up their engagement, is barreling down on us like a train. Right? Wrong. Because as the actual story of the Lumiere movie tells us, humans are actually a lot smarter about new video entertainment than we give them credit for. Here's the thing about Arrival of a Train : the legend is almost certainly wrong. We have zero first-hand evidence that audiences fled the cinema, or even flinched when they saw a train approaching in a 50-second clip. Media studies professor Martin Loiperdinger calls the panic tale " cinema's founding myth ," and notes it can be traced back to books written in the second half of the 20th century. It's possible that authors conflated it with the Lumieres' later experimental 3-D version of Arrival of a Train , which screened a handful of times in 1934 and was — like a lot of 3-D movies to come — a novelty, and a commercial failure. So no, early audiences likely did not confuse a moving image of a train with a real train. Rather, they seem to have adapted to the whole concept of movies very quickly. Contemporary accounts of the Lumiere shorts (of which there were dozens; Arrival of a Train was not seen as a stand-out) are filled with excitement at the possibilities now unlocked. "Why, if this continues," wrote one newspaper, Le Courier de Paris , in 1896, "we could almost overcome memory loss, almost put an end to separation, almost abolish death itself." (Spoiler alert: we did not, although that sounds like a great premise for a 19th century Black Mirror episode.) Another periodical, La Science Francais , enthused about the "most unbelievably wonderful sorcery" that had created the cinematograph's "hallucinatory phantasmagoria." Even today's most tech-happy AI boosters would have a hard time endorsing Sora in the same terms. Because like most AI, Sora is often "hallucinatory" — and not in a good way. As I discovered in the moments that OpenAI servers weren't slammed, almost every Sora-generated video has some detail that looks wrong to human eyes. I typed a prompt for "journalist slams desk in frustration at not being able to access AI videos," then noticed a pen that appears and disappears in the journalist's hand. The mistakes went on and on. The novelty factor diminished fast. Friends were amused and a little freaked out by the realness of the swag in "hip-hop artist models a cozy Christmas sweater" — until we spotted that the rapper's gold chain had become a gold pony tail at the back, and the reindeer on the sweater had eight legs. Sora's response to "a funeral mass with circus clowns" pretty much nailed the prompt ... except that the colorful-wigged, red-nosed figure in the casket was missing his body. That's not to say Sora won't have an immediate impact on the moving image industry. Given less outlandish prompts, it could certainly replace a lot of the generic B-roll often seen in YouTube explainers and corporate training videos. (That's assuming OpenAI isn't going to be forced to cease and desist training Sora on internet video footage without the makers' permission.) It is to say that there's a significant barrier to entry when it comes to creating videos featuring anything unusual, anything you're trying to lie about, anything that Sora hasn't been specifically trained on. Rooting out all those mistakes, to the point where we won't immediately notice, can be an exercise in frustration. And perhaps these early mistake-filled AI videos will serve as a kind of mass inoculation — a small dose of the post-truth disease, one that effectively gives our brains AI-resistant antibodies that can better prepare us for a future epidemic of visual fakes. AI video needs to board the clue train I'm certainly less impressed with AI after I prompted Sora for a new take on the Lumieres' Arrival of a Train. I asked for a video where a locomotive does actually break through the projection screen at the end, crushing the cinematograph audience. But Sora couldn't even access the original 50-second short, which is way out of copyright and widely available online (including a version already upscaled by AI ). It hallucinated a movie called "Arrival of a tal [sic] train," apparently released in the year "18965." As for breaking a literal fourth wall, forget about it: despite multiple prompt-rewording attempts, Sora simply couldn't grok what I was asking. The projection screen remained intact. Still, this version of Sora may still be a harbinger of some terrifying visual fakery to come — perhaps when more robust AI video tech falls into the hands of a future D.W. Griffith. Two decades passed between Arrival of a Train and Griffith's infamous movie The Birth of a Nation (1915) — the first real blockbuster, a landmark in the history of cinema, which also happened to be a skewed take on recent American history stuffed with racist lies. Griffith's movie, protested at the time by the NAACP, was hugely influential in perpetuating segregation and reviving the Ku Klux Klan. So yes, perhaps Sora's release is slowly nudging us further in the direction of a fragmented post-truth world. But even in an AI-dominated future, bad actors are going to have to work overtime if they want to do more damage to society than the cinematograph's most dangerous prompts.Croc: Legend Of The Gobbos Has Been Delayed - Press Start AustraliaPHOENIX — Attorney General Kris Mayes is going to court with a largely untested legal theory to force a Saudi company to stop “excessively pumping groundwater’’ at its western Arizona alfalfa operations and require it to set aside funds to compensate neighbors it has damaged. The lawsuit filed Wednesday claims that Fondomonte LLC, the Arizona subsidiary of the company, has created a “public nuisance” by pumping so much water it has dried up nearby wells and resulted in subsidence of the land around Vicksburg in La Paz County. It also says the damage is threatening sediment buildup that reduces water quality and damages appliances, pumps and pipes. None of that pumping violates state water laws, Mayes acknowledged. Portions of the state are within “active management areas’’ where pumping of groundwater is regulated. Pumping pretty much everywhere else — including where Fondomonte operates — is ungoverned. Discussions at the state Capitol about imposing new rules on these areas have broken down. Mayes blames the problem here on “legislative failure to address a water crisis with catastrophic effects on the groundwater level in the Ranegras Basin’’ of La Paz County. She said that’s the reason Fondomonte came here to grow alfalfa to feed dairy cattle in Saudi Arabia, where such farming is banned. “Fondomonte is taking advantage of Arizona’s failure to protect its precious groundwater resources,’’ Mayes said. Mayes wants a Maricopa County judge to rule that Fondomonte’s pumping violates the “public nuisance’’ provision of the state criminal code. “Dangerous precedent,” company says Fondomonte is gearing up to fight the use of the nuisance law to curb what it says are its legal operations. “We believe the attorney general is setting a dangerous precedent attempting to penalize farming and the wider agricultural industry within the state of Arizona,’’ said company spokesman Barrett Marson. “The company complies with all state and local regulations.’’ Mayes isn’t disputing that. Her claim is that Fondomonte’s operations are harming its neighbors and, under Arizona law, creating a nuisance. “Arizona law is clear on this point: No company has the right to endanger an entire community’s health and safety for its own gain,’’ Mayes said. Marson, however, said the allegations are “totally unfounded’’ and the company will fight the litigation. Arizona’s nuisance law has two methods of enforcement. One makes it a Class 2 felony to maintain a public nuisance. In this case, since the defendant is a limited liability company, jail time is off the table. That would leave a fine of $750, which would make no difference in a case like this. The other method, though, allows the Attorney General’s Office to ask a court to enjoin the activity. That is the order Mayes seeks, as well as a requirement for Fondomonte to set up an “abatement fund’’ to reimburse others who have been affected. It will be up to a judge to decide whether the nuisance law fits what is happening here. There really is no precedent. The only known use of the law in a situation like this came earlier in Mayes’ tenure, when she used it to go after a company’s plan to mine rock and gravel on a 25-acre parcel it owned in a neighborhood in a rural area near Chino Valley. The site was within 100 feet of homes. State Mine Inspector Paul Marsh said at the time he had no choice under existing law but to approve the mining plan. So Mayes, claiming nuisance, got a court to issue a preliminary injunction. But there never was a final ruling on whether the mine was a nuisance, or whether the nuisance law applies: The lawsuit went away after the company abandoned its plan after someone else bought it. Land sinking In this case, Mayes said there is clear evidence of the effects of Fondomonte’s operations. Operating in the Ranegras Basin since 2014, the company has multiple wells, each capable of pumping up to 4,000 gallons of water per minute. She said in 2023 alone, Fondomonte used about 31,196 acre-feet of groundwater within the basin. That is considered enough to serve about 93,000 single-family homes. But the attorney general said there are more immediate and visible consequences. Mayes said a well less than a mile from Fondomonte’s properties went dry about five years ago. And in late 2017, the same happened to a well for the Friendship Baptist Church about 1.8 miles away. “The land is literally sinking in La Paz County with as much as 9.8 inches of subsidence documented in the immediate vicinity of Fondomonte’s farms,’’ she said. Mayes said she is not arguing that the growing of alfalfa itself is a nuisance, acknowledging it is grown throughout the state by others — and that much of it is shipped overseas, including to China. She said the future of growing the water-intensive crop here “is a question for the Legislature.’’ But she said there is no excuse for lawmakers. “They have been completely AWOL when it comes to addressing rural Arizona’s water needs and these situations where people are being harmed,’’ she said. The attorney general isn’t the only one. La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin decried the lack action by state lawmakers to place any restrictions on water use in her area. “That is why we are seeing foreign companies come over to these areas, purchase land and pump water out so that they can supplement their alfalfa and send it back home,’’ said Holly. “Attorney General Kris Mayes is the first one who has stepped up and done anything about it,’’ the Republican supervisor said of the Democratic prosecutor. “I know my constituents will be thrilled that somebody’s actually paying attention to the real problems here, which are wells that are going dry, the land subsidence that we’ve seen, and the concern that we have for the future of our basin.’’ Agricultural wins at Legislature Efforts to address the problem have been stalled at the Capitol amid a dispute over not just whether regulation is needed but who should determine any restrictions. Irwin and other rural supervisors want both monitoring and conservation of groundwater, pointing out that farms don’t even have to report how much they are pumping. But that has bumped up against agricultural interests who argue that, in many cases, they were here first and, even with the current targets being out-of-state and foreign firms, they fear any potential state interference on their own operations. So far, the agricultural interests have won out. In fact, lawmakers have carved out special protections. For example, there is a state statute that says agricultural operations that were around before surrounding residential development “are presumed to be reasonable and do not constitute a nuisance.’’ Mayes, however, said that doesn’t apply, and not only because residents were there long before Fondomonte started farming alfalfa and pumping groundwater in 2014. She also pointed out that same law does not apply if “the agricultural operation has a substantial adverse effect on public health and safety.’’ Mayes, in her lawsuit, spoke to the exception, calling the excessive pumping “injurious to health’’ and even “indecent’’ because it interferes with the ability of people to enjoy their property. Republican lawmakers, anticipating what Mayes was going to do, tried to undermine her ability to sue. Sen. Sine Kerr, R-Buckeye, added a provision to HB 2124 last year dealing with agricultural water use, to strip the attorney general of the right to bring any sort of nuisance action, regardless of the reason. That bill was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. She said lawmakers need to address water issues “in a holistic manner’’ rather than tinkering with water laws on a piece-meal basis. If Mayes’ new lawsuit succeeds, she already has her next target in mind: Riverview Dairy’s pumping in the Willcox Basin of Cochise County. Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, Bluesky , and Threads at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com . Respond: Write a letter to the editor | Write a guest opinion Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

Sundance Film Festival unveils its lineup including Jennifer Lopez, 'Questlove' and moreST. JOHNS, Mich. , Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AgroLiquid , a leader in high-efficiency crop liquid fertilizer solutions, today announced the acquisition of Monty's Plant Food Company , a Louisville -based specialist in soil health and plant nutrition technology. The acquisition, effective Jan. 1, 2025 , brings together two family-founded businesses that excel in agricultural innovation and share a commitment to farmer success. "This strategic combination allows us to bring crop nutrition technologies to growers that wouldnʼt otherwise be available to them," said Nick Bancroft , CEO of AgroLiquid. "While both companies share the same goals in advancing agricultural innovation, our different approaches to achieving them will create new opportunities to optimize nutrient efficiency and productivity for growers." The acquisition unites AgroLiquidʼs expertise in liquid fertilizer solutions with Monty's specialized knowledge in soil health and humic technology . Both companies will maintain their distinct brands and continue operating independently through the 2025 growing season. "Joining forces with AgroLiquid marks an exciting new chapter for Monty's Plant Food," said Jeff Sangalli , CEO of Montyʼs Plant Food Company. "Our shared farmer-first philosophy and commitment to innovation made this a natural fit. By combining our complementary strengths, we're positioned to deliver even greater value to the agricultural industry." The integration will focus on leveraging operational capabilities, including manufacturing, warehousing and storage infrastructure. Following the acquisition, Monty's Plant Food will continue operating under its current name as a privately owned company, with Jeff Sangalli continuing to lead the business. About AgroLiquid AgroLiquid , headquartered in St. Johns, Mich. , manufactures and distributes high-efficiency liquid fertilizer formulated to protect nutrients from loss to the environment. AgroLiquid's products work with, instead of against, the biology of the soil, which makes them more usable by the crop. Continuous research and product improvement, coupled with an ethical business model, keep AgroLiquid focused on its mission: "To Prosper the Farmer." About Monty's Plant Food Company Monty's Plant Food Company , headquartered in Louisville, Ky. , manufactures plant and soil enhancement products for agriculture, lawn and garden, turf, hemp and wildlife markets. Founded in 1997, Monty's combines proprietary humic technology with traditional nutrients to develop innovative, environmentally responsible solutions that maximize crop yields. For 27 years, the company has served as a trusted advisor in soil health and plant nutrition, delivering proven solutions to agricultural communities worldwide. SOURCE AgroLiquidNoneLuxembourg – 11 December 2024 - Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) today announced that Seaway7, part of the Subsea7 Group, has signed a vessel reservation agreement with Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm 1 for the transportation and installation of turbines for the Dogger Bank project, offshore the UK. Offshore works are expected to commence in 2026. This represents additional work for Seaway7 at this development, where it is currently installing monopile foundations and transition pieces. The value related to this substantial 2 agreement will be recognised in backlog in the fourth quarter. Dogger Bank Offshore Wwind Farm is a joint venture partnership between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn (20%). Subsea7 defines a substantial contract as being between $150 million and $300 million ******************************************************************************* Subsea7 is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry, creating sustainable value by being the industry’s partner and employer of choice in delivering the efficient offshore solutions the world needs. Subsea7 is listed on the Oslo Børs (SUBC), ISIN LU0075646355, LEI 222100AIF0CBCY80AH62. ******************************************************************************* Contact for investment community enquiries: Katherine Tonks Investor Relations Director Tel +44 20 8210 5568 ir@subsea7.com Contact for media enquiries: Nikki Beales Communications Manager, Seaway7 Tel +44 (0)7843895292 nikki.beales@seaway7.com www.seaway7.com Forward-Looking Statements: This document may contain ‘forward-looking statements’ (within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements relate to our current expectations, beliefs, intentions, assumptions or strategies regarding the future and are subject to known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘future’, ‘goal’, ‘intend’, ‘likely’ ‘may’, ‘plan’, ‘project’, ‘seek’, ‘should’, ‘strategy’ ‘will’, and similar expressions. The principal risks which could affect future operations of the Group are described in the ‘Risk Management’ section of the Group’s Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements. Factors that may cause actual and future results and trends to differ materially from our forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to): (i) our ability to deliver fixed price projects in accordance with client expectations and within the parameters of our bids, and to avoid cost overruns; (ii) our ability to collect receivables, negotiate variation orders and collect the related revenue; (iii) our ability to recover costs on significant projects; (iv) capital expenditure by oil and gas companies, which is affected by fluctuations in the price of, and demand for, crude oil and natural gas; (v) unanticipated delays or cancellation of projects included in our backlog; (vi) competition and price fluctuations in the markets and businesses in which we operate; (vii) the loss of, or deterioration in our relationship with, any significant clients; (viii) the outcome of legal proceedings or governmental inquiries; (ix) uncertainties inherent in operating internationally, including economic, political and social instability, boycotts or embargoes, labour unrest, changes in foreign governmental regulations, corruption and currency fluctuations; (x) the effects of a pandemic or epidemic or a natural disaster; (xi) liability to third parties for the failure of our joint venture partners to fulfil their obligations; (xii) changes in, or our failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations (including regulatory measures addressing climate change); (xiii) operating hazards, including spills, environmental damage, personal or property damage and business interruptions caused by adverse weather; (xiv) equipment or mechanical failures, which could increase costs, impair revenue and result in penalties for failure to meet project completion requirements; (xv) the timely delivery of vessels on order and the timely completion of ship conversion programmes; (xvi) our ability to keep pace with technological changes and the impact of potential information technology, cyber security or data security breaches; (xvii) global availability at scale and commercially viability of suitable alternative vessel fuels; and (xviii) the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this document. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange release was published by Katherine Tonks, Investor Relations, Subsea7, on 12 December 2024 at 07:00 CET. Attachment SUBC Dogger Bank

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Daniel Penny, a military veteran who choked an agitated New York subway rider and was acquitted of homicide this week, has been invited by Vice President-elect JD Vance to join Donald Trump’s suite at the Army-Navy football game on Saturday. The Marine veteran was cleared of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely ’s 2023 death. A more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed last week. Vance said Penny, 26, accepted his invitation to join the president-elect and him at the game. “Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance said in a post on X. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.” — The Associated Press The case sparked national debate, with some hailing Penny as a hero for attempting to subdue a man he considered a menace to public safety and others seeing him as a white vigilante who choked a Black man to death. Political figures on the right have defended Penny since he was charged for the death in May 2023. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran for the GOP presidential nomination and was tapped by Trump last month to lead an effort along with billionaire Elon Musk to cut government spending, donated money to his legal defense fund. After the acquittal, Penny gave an extensive interview to Fox News and declared he’s “not a confrontational person.” He told the network that he wouldn’t have been able to live with “the guilt I would have felt if someone did get hurt, if he did do what he was threatening to do.” “I’ll take a million court appearances and people calling me names and people hating me, just to keep one of those people from getting hurt or killed,” Penny said. Trump has not referred to the case publicly recently, but last year he told The Messenger that he thought Penny and other people on the subway were “in great danger.” Some New Yorkers protested the trial outcome this week, holding signs and chanting Jordan Neely’s name in a Manhattan square. Vance, who served in the Marine Corps, including in Iraq, said this week that “justice was done in this case” and Penny never should have been prosecuted. Penny has been hailed a hero by many, but Neely’s death also divided the city as residents grapple with how to respond to mental health crises threatening public safety. Passengers said Neely hadn’t touched anyone but had expressed willingness to die, go to jail or even to kill. The former street performer was homeless, had schizophrenia and had synthetic marijuana in his system. He had been convicted of assaulting people at subway stations.