Specifically, the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google were pressed on the data-sharing agreements that connect their various services, anticompetitive mergers, and their companies’ business practices in China. The biggest takeaway is that the Justice Department has opened investigations into each of the four tech companies.

Amazon has been the subject of the most recent scrutiny. The retail giant was said to have withheld discounts from large retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy, using its influence in the cloud computing market to give it an unfair advantage in retail. On top of that, Amazon may have been giving the same discounts to other companies to give itself an advantage in its competitive ad business, according to a New York Times report.

All in all, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos declined to answer many of the questions put to him by senators. According to one report, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked Bezos point blank if his company has used its retail and cloud computing power to give it an unfair advantage in its advertising business, to which Bezos said he would respond only “at a later time.”

1 lb. white sugar.

1 lb. butter.

3 cups icing sugar.

Desiccated coconut to cover the bannock.

Method

• Beat in a mixer until light and fluffy, adjusting the sweetness if preferred. Add colour a tablespoon at a time until you get a nice bright orange. I use aperone.
• Grease a pastry roller (note there are a variety of different types in the market.)
• Grease another piece of parchment paper or plastic to use as a “carrier.”
• Roll out the shortbread about 1/2 cm thick on the pastry roller. I roll the pastry to about 1.5 cm thickness, folding one edge over to meet the other.
• Cut squares of approximately 18 cm side with a pizza cutter.
• Bake in oven, set to 180 C. About 5 to 10 minutes. They should puff a little and be turning a nice golden colour. There is no need to grease the cookie sheet.
• When there is just a slight hint of colour left, sprinkle the desiccated coconut over them while still warm. Return to oven to continue drying them out. For me, this takes a good 15 minutes as I turn them once to expose both sides.

You can alter the taste to suit yourself. My shortbread is a very rich and luscious version with the quantities given. A shorter and more crisp version would use less sucrose and fat. That is, less butter and icing sugar. Sometimes I mix in some sultanas or currents, so the fat that butter had been doing is now done by the lard in the fruit variety. The fruit variations are also great with savoury bannock. Many variations and possibilities exist. Fun stuff!

Interviewer: Before the ESL One Major [against Newbee], Liquid banned Peruvian hot sauce.

Interviewee: Yeah, that’s one of the rules of Team Secret: “no hot sauce, no happiness.”

Interviewer: Tell me then, where did your work ethic come from?

Interviewee: I haven’t got much of a choice, do I? My first job was when I was 13. I had to work in a gas station in [Perth] Western Australia. My mother stayed at home with my stepfather from Ukraine who was trying to find a job. He wasn’t able to due to paperwork and all that. Whenever people came to the gas station, my mother would be by the cash register, my stepfather would be working in the back, and I would be out front, cleaning the windows washing cars. It was a long time ago, don’t forget.

And I only had to work for ten minutes for each car! Took about two hours in total, small amount of time. Well worth it. We needed to help the family. I needed to buy something, football boots, soccer boots, a new pair of soccer boots, every year. I had to go on part-time jobs. Not really enjoying it, but helping my family out. I don’t really have any other choice… so I guess that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.

Interviewer: What’s it meant to you to have your coach iceiceice share your love of gaming?

Interviewee: I’ll answer that in Chinese. I won’t know what I said.

Interviewer:Based on iceiceice’s play style, is he an unsportsmanlike person?

Interviewee: Um, no. He’s probably THE most unsportsmanlike person I know! We’re always joking around. I’ll ask him, “How old are you?” “65.” “OK, what are you 65?” He’ll say, “I’m 60 years old.” We try to make fun of each other all the time. He gives me nicknames in Chinese, I do the same. We have fun, good times.

Breen: That was the exact same play the Warriors ran earlier in the quarter. They’ll need a different outcome this time around.

Jackson: Yeah, but I have no idea what they’re going to do with these fouls.

Breen: They could choose to just foul every time the Cavaliers advance the ball.

Kerr: WE’RE DOING IT!!!!

Jackson: Wait, are we down one?

Irving: OH MAN I LOVE THIS!!!!

Kerr: Wait, are we only up two?!

Irving: OH MAN I HATE THIS!!!!

Davis: Oh, jeez.

Breen: We’re in a situation where a LeBron three-pointer would give the Cavaliers the win, but a turnover or missed free throws by the Cavaliers would give the Warriors a chance to win.

Jackson: Let’s just be clear, if the Warriors win this game, they are at full strength. No one should be confused about that.

Breen: Well, yes, even though Bogut and Iguodala can’t play for the rest of the playoffs, they are still technically at full strength, as far as they’re concerned.

Jackson: What are they gonna do with these fouls?! We have 30 seconds left to play!!!

Davis: Timeout, Golden State.

Kerr: OK, here we go. Let’s go Curry, go!

“As god is our witness, it’s no longer about if but when,” says CyberMatrix Chairman Tom Winkler playing a Godhood™ demo for the press. “Slow evolution will be a thing of the past.”

Godhood™, which starts shipping next month, is implanted in your cerebellum, a part of the brain where memories and motor coordination occur. By modifying the synaptic connections between neurons, the Godhood™ learns how to learn new things. While in development, tests were performed on rats, who learned to navigate rat mazes and solve complex labyrinthian puzzles in less than a day, a feat that took earlier rat generations years.

“Don’t take my word for it,” Winkler says rotating in midair and darting his finger at the head of the CNN reporter. “Here, Steve Skrobot, try to do some of that for yourself.”

Which brings me to the reasons that this specific album, Don’t Sweat the Technique by Eric B. and Rakim, is one of the greatest of all time. The first reason is that this is one of the very first full-length hip-hop albums to ever be released. Up until that point, most of the albums that were released only featured one MC, or just a MC and DJ.

This was also the first time that a group, in this case Eric B. and Rakim, did the production of the music as well.

This album just seems to have everything from a producer’s standpoint. The tracks are all very well constructed, the samples, and even the transitions. This is one of those albums that you listen to and you don’t want it to ever end.

Now the songs. This is one of those albums that has so many amazing songs, I don’t even know where to begin. The opening song of the album, The 18th Letter, is a little difficult to describe. I really can’t even figure out what the hell is going on for the first 3 minutes or so, but as the song progresses, it is one of the most amazing songs to hit ears in a long time. The beat is absolutely perfect and just compliments the lyrics of Rakim, which are already amazing.

The second song of the album, As the Rhyme Goes On, is where we really start to see the amazing chemistry of the two MCs. This is probably one of the best rap songs I have ever heard. I know, everyone says that, but seriously, it is the truth.

I think one of the big things that I like about this song is the way the production stands in the background. It is never overpowering and it just compliments the whole song. I don’t think that I have ever heard a rap song with the production quality that this one has, and it is really what puts this song at such a high level.

This is also one of the most classic songs of all time for me, and is also one of the first songs I can ever remember hearing when I was younger. As a kid I loved this song and never seemed to get sick of it. It seemed to change my perspective on music and rap music in general.

Once you hear this song, you will understand what I am talking about.

That is all for now, I know I have written way more than I usually do, but I thought this was an album that needed a lot of discussion, if only because of the history of it.

Stay tuned, I will write more soon!