Fuel
There will be pandemonium: The end of the old oil order has already begun (Opinion) salon
It is hard to overstate the significance of the Doha debacle. At the very least, it will perpetuate the low oil prices that have plagued the industry for the past two years, forcing smaller firms into bankruptcy and erasing hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in new production capacity. It may also have obliterated any future prospects for cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in regulating the market. Most of all, however, it demonstrated that the petroleum-fueled world we’ve known these last decades — with oil demand always thrusting ahead of supply, ensuring steady profits for all major producers — is no more. Replacing it is an anemic, possibly even declining, demand for oil that is likely to force suppliers to fight one another for ever-diminishing market shares.
Society
ON TARGET mikewittmer.wordpress
I understand the righteous anger that prompts Christians to join a public boycott of Target for saying men and women can use each other’s restrooms, but I think this move hurts us both in perception and reality.
Whether or not you are 'boycotting' Target because of their restroom stance (and I think they showed their anti-Bibical hand well over a year ago, so this announcement should have been no surprise), this article is well-written from a gospel-over-boycotting point of view.
Robotics
Six robots inspired by real-life animals engadget
Biomimicry is the term for innovations like these, which draw inspiration from the 'power of nature' to solve the toughest human problems. Robots can take on some pretty unlikely tasks, from pollinating flowers as bee populations decline to detecting pollution in waterways. Other robots are designed purely for fun, like this 12-legged robot that walks like a crab and is powered by the sun.
Transhumanism
TRANSHUMANIST RIGHTS ARE THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF THE 21ST CENTURY (Opinion) newsweek
To transhumanists—some who want to become new biological species and others who want to become machines—a new civil rights age is looming. We can already see the start of it with numerous calls for a research moratorium on human genome editing—a scientific feat that took place in China in 2015.
Navigating the future of transhumanism is indeed thorny. And even though a lot has changed and improved in the 55 years since black and white Freedom Riders risked their lives—arriving in Alabama in buses to challenge Jim Crow segregation practices—bigotry, traditionalism, and closed-mindedness is alive and well. And this conservatism may hold us back.
DNA
Gene-trification? Inside the Brooklyn lab where you can splice your own DNA theguardian
It was the first of its kind to open its doors back in 2010 and signaled the rebirth of the gentleman (or gentlewoman) scientist.
Russia
Russia challenges US after Baltic jet face-off bbc
The Pentagon said a Russian jet fighter acted in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner", and performed a barrel roll over its plane.
Russia said that the American jet had turned off its transponder signal, which helps others identify it.
This is the same issue I posted yesterday about the barrel rolls, but with Russia's version of events added.
Iraq
State of emergency declared in Baghdad as protesters take Iraqi parliament washingtonpost v
The surge of protesters into the secure area, which is off limits to most Iraqis, was the culmination of months of street protests. Under huge political pressure, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has attempted to reshuffle his cabinet and meet the demands of the demonstrators, who have been spurred on by the powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. But he has been hampered by a deeply divided parliament, where sessions have descended into chaos as lawmakers have thrown water bottles and punches at one another.
NATO
NATO reportedly plans to send 4 battalions to eastern border with Russia foxnews
According to The Wall Street Journal Friday, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work confirmed the overall size of the force – about 4,000 troops – and said the reinforcements were a response to the increased Russian activity around the nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
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