War
Stoltenberg says NATO ready to respond to ‘assertive Russia’ politico.eu
The Polish minister confirmed that Poland and the Baltic states would host four rotating battalions and that he talked with Stoltenberg about permanently stationing weapons stores in Poland, “which is crucially important for us and strengthens our sense of security.”
AI
Computers could develop consciousness and may need 'human' rights, says Oxford professor telegraph.co.uk w!
Marcus du Sautoy, who took over from Richard Dawkins as Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University in 2008 said it was now possible to measure consciousness and, in the future, technology could be deemed to be ‘alive.’
Israel
Israeli Ex-Officers Issue Peace Plan, Condemn Gov't Inaction abcnews.go
It calls for a freeze on settlement building, the acceptance in principle of the Arab Peace Initiative and the recognition that east Jerusalem should be part of a future Palestinian state "when established as part of a future agreement." The Israeli opposition and much of the international community have long argued for these proposals.
This is an interesting, developing story that has been brewing (at least publicly) the last week or so with evidences of a split occurring between Israel's military and politicians on a 2-state solution. Only time will tell how deep this will go, but it's something to keep an eye on, particularly in light of France's 2-state solution peace talks coming up next month. It seems to be promoting much of what the “world” wants for a 2-state solution. Here's the proposed plan: PDF
Global
G7 vows growth efforts as Japan's Abe warns of global crisis in.reuters v
"Global growth remains moderate and below potential, while risks of weak growth persist," they said in a declaration. "Global growth is our urgent priority."
Society
Eleven states sue Obama administration over bathroom guidance for transgender students washingtonpost v
The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, states that the guidance “has no basis in law” and could cause “seismic changes in the operations of the nation’s school districts.”
Nanotechnology
Powering nanotechnology with the world's smallest engine phys.org
...we have now produced nano-engines that can be operated with beams of light to work pistons, pumps and valves. Made from gold nanoparticles bound together by a heat-sensitive chemical, our machines are strong, fast and simple to operate, making them extremely practical for future applications.
Israel
Doom and gloom – or a note of optimism for Israel's future? jpost
This metaphor [poor, weak and pathetic Samson] came to mind listening to Israeli cabinet ministers, MKs, diplomats and American Jewish leaders at Sunday’s Jerusalem Post Conference in New York as they depicted a very gloomy and dark portrayal of Israel and the challenges it faces.
Robotics
Robots Learn How to Make Friends and Influence People technologyreview
...researchers have developed an algorithm that could give robots the ability to deftly maneuver through spaces packed with unpredictable humans.
Global Economy
Connecting everyone to internet 'would add $6.7tn to global economy' theguardian
Bringing internet access to the 4.1 billion people in the world who do not have it would increase global economic output by $6.7 trillion (£4.6tr), raising 500 million people out of poverty, according to a study by PwC.
Babel
This nifty earpiece will translate your conversations in real-time thenextweb v
Working much like the Babel Fish from ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,’ the Pilot can translate live speech. So, if you have it in your ear and you’re talking to someone who speaks French – you will hear what they say in English and they will hear you in French.
AI
Artificial Intelligence Recreates Nobel Prize-Winning Physics Experiment - In One Hour forbes
“A simple computer program would have taken longer than the age of the universe to run through all the combinations and work this out.”
Google made an insanely high-res camera to preserve great works of art theverge v
"The capture time has been reduced drastically," says Marzia Niccolai, technical program manager at the Cultural Institute. "Previously it could take almost a day to capture an image. To give you an idea, now if you have a one meter by one meter painting, it would take 30 minutes."
Government Tech
UK developing digital driving licence bbc
CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood said: "Security has taken a significant step forward to support digital payments on phones, so the framework is in place for other secure applications, such as a digital driving licence.
There are not many people in the UK that do not carry a smartphone with them every day, so it is a logical next step.
Exosuits, robot arms and mini subs: This is the military's future armytimes
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency filled the courtyard at the Pentagon on May 11 with a variety of exhibitions at its annual DARPA Demo Day, giving the defense community and media a chance to see the next steps to maintain supremacy on the battlefield.
See this article for DARPA’s New Robotic Arm is Straight Out of Terminator v. Note: the video might make some a little uncomfortable. Like me. :)
Self Driving Vehicles
Otto, founded by ex-Googlers, is bringing self-driving technology to trucks techcrunch v
Unlike others, which are designing new vehicles that drive autonomously, Otto focuses on technology that can be fitted into trucks that are on the road now. Rather than eradicating drivers by making them obsolete, the immediate goal is assistance. The duo told Backchannel that, among many things, they aim to let drivers safely take a sleep break while leaving their truck driving autonomously.
3D
3D printer uses lasers to create metallic objects in midair engadget v
...instead of spitting out one layer over another, the machine was designed to ooze out metal that immediately freezes solid. That allows it to print free-form patterns that look like they're suspended in air, like coils. Created by the university's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the printer uses "ink" composed of silver nanoparticles. A focused laser then heats the material and solidifies it as it comes out.
Shape-shifting modular interactive device unveiled bristol.ac.uk v
Cubimorph is a modular interactive device that holds touchscreens on each of the six module faces and that uses a hinge-mounted turntable mechanism to self-reconfigure in the user’s hand. One example is a mobile phone that can transform into a console when a user launches a game.
Ok...so this looks like blocks...moving around :) To get a 'long view' perspective on the intention of this kind of technology, Create Anything You Want With Programmable Matter v is a good, introduction video of how dreamers dream when they dream of programmable matter.
Society
Supreme Court dodges major decision on Obamacare birth control reuters
The court's action avoided a possible 4-4 split that would have affirmed the lower-court rulings. The justices, shorthanded following February's death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, threw out seven rulings by federal appeals courts around the country that had backed the Obama administration.
Canada Moves to Ban Discrimination Against Transgender People nytimes
The legislation comes at a time of intense debate over transgender rights in the United States, and it fulfills a pledge Mr. Trudeau made during his election campaign last year. The government timed the introduction of the bill to coincide with an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
Mexico's president calls for nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage theguardian
The announcement, which coincides with the National Day Against Homophobia in Mexico, came after Nieto met at a roundtable with representatives of LGBT groups.
Abortion
South Carolina passes bill banning abortion after 19 weeks startribune
The legislation will now head to Gov. Nikki Haley's desk. The Republican said in March she will almost certainly sign it, but wants to look at the details once it reaches her desk.
Pope
Pope Francis says Islam and Christianity share an ‘idea of conquest’ washingtonpost
“It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam," he said. "However, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest."
Yet another reminder that the Pope does not speak for God! Also see Pope Francis: Christianity and Islam must integrate in Europe
China
Pentagon: China Restructures for War freebeacon
The armed forces were reformed with new military regions, a new command structure, and updated strategies to better fight regional, high technology warfare, the 145-page report to Congress says.
Israel
Jerusalem is being divided de facto' israelnationalnews
A number of leftwing NGOs including Ir Amim and Tag Meir have called upon Israeli police this week to bar the annual Jerusalem Day “Rikudgalim” march from parts of the Old City.
Without peace, Mideast extremism will hit Israel,' Abbas warns jpost
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the French initiative for an international peace conference aimed at resolving the Middle East conflict.
“When two sides are invited to a meeting, one cannot present preconditions,” the Palestinian leader said. “It’s the international community that should determine what is right and what isn’t.”
Iran
Head of Iran’s hate cartoon fest equates Holocaust with Israeli actions in ‘Palestine’ timesofisrael
Several cartoons on display focus on Benjamin Netanyahu, with one depicting the Israeli prime minister as a member of the Islamic State jihadist group and holding a sabre in his hand.
Another shows a map of the Middle East with a coffin bearing the word “Holocaust” flattening Palestinians in place of what should be the country of Israel.
See also Iranians say Holocaust cartoon contest not aimed at denial and Israeli leader: Iran mocks WWII Holocaust, prepares another
Future
Huawei prepares for robot overlords and communication with the dead washingtonpost
...Kevin Ho, president of its handset product line, told the CES Asia conference in Shanghai that the company used science-fiction movies such as “The Matrix” to envision future trends and new business ideas.
He described a future where children use apps such as WeChat to interact with dead grandparents, thanks to the ability to download human consciousness into computers. Such technologies would require huge amounts of data storage, which could generate business for Huawei, he added.
US Goverment
State Department keeps saying that erased video of tough question from Fox News reporter was a ‘glitch’ washingtonpost
Undercovered media story of the week: Fox News correspondent James Rosen revealed that video of him asking a tough question of a State Department spokesperson disappeared from the agency’s video archive. Poof! Where the exchange once existed, a flash of white light replaced it.
At issue was Iran. Let’s turn back the clock. In February 2013, Rosen pressed then-State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on whether the United States was carrying on “secret, bilateral” discussions with Iranian leaders. No, Nuland said.
What I find interesting, and why I'm relaying this, is there was another video 'glitch' a little over a month ago: OBAMA CENSORS HOLLANDE'S 'ISLAMIST TERRORISM' REMARK (if you can handle David Wood's particularly sarcastic brand of apologetics, he has a good layered verion of that glitched, then magically found, videos on YouTube that really calls into question the 'glitch')
Two-State Solution
Gold: Israel opposes French plan even if it includes ‘Jewish state’ recognition jpost
“There are many problems with the French initiative, one of them is the lack of recognition of a Jewish state,” Gold said Thursday. “But even if that were changed, it wouldn’t alter many fundamental problems with the French initiative.”
Gold voiced anger at France’s vote last month at the UNESCO executive board meeting in favor of a resolution on Jerusalem that expunged any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount.
Google to ban payday loan advertisements washingtonpost
The decision is the first time Google has announced a global ban on ads for a broad category of financial products. To this point, the search giant has prohibited ads for largely illicit activities such as selling guns, explosives and drugs, and limited those that are sexually explicit or graphic in nature, for example. Critics of payday lenders say they hope the move by Google and other tech companies might undercut the business which finds huge numbers of willing customers on the internet.
Ok - I can't say I have much good to say about PayDay lenders, BUT what I find interesting is Google has a) decided to discrimintate against a broad group by not allowing advertising from them, and b) done so from pressure from 'civil rights' groups.
Archaeology
Star pupil finds lost Mayan city by studying ancient charts of the night sky from his bedroom telegraph.co.uk
William Gadoury, 15, was fascinated by the ancient Central American civilization and spent hours poring over diagrams of constellations and maps of known Mayan cities.
And then he made a startling realisation: the two appeared to be linked.
Well it's all fun and games until the anthropologists weigh in :) Check out the second half of this later article in Gizmodo where it seems like this might not be so true, after all.
North Korea
Kim Jong Un says North Korea won’t use nukes first usatoday
Kim warned the U.S. to stay out of Korean affairs but offered to enter talks with South Korea aimed at easing tensions on the peninsula. "As a responsible nuclear weapons state, our republic will not use a nuclear weapon unless its sovereignty is encroached upon by any aggressive hostile forces with nukes," Kim told the Workers' Party of Korea congress in Pyongyang. Kim added that the North "will faithfully fulfill its obligation for non-proliferation and strive for the global denuclearization."
Society
Frozen fans urge Disney to give Elsa a girlfriend in sequel theguardian v
The record-breaking and critically acclaimed 2013 animated film tells of Princess Elsa’s struggle to master her magical powers to reconnect with her sister Anna. It was widely construed as the studio’s first foray into feminism because it eschewed a traditional happy-ever-after with a prince in favour of sisterly devotion. Now Twitter users have called upon Disney to give Elsa a girlfriend in Frozen 2, which is currently in production.
See also Why #GiveElsaAGirlfriend Shouldn’t Surprise Anyone
Some people, including many Christians, were surprised at the news. I, for one, found their surprise a little surprising. In fact, anyone shocked by this news hasn’t been paying attention to what’s going on in the culture.
AI
WHY AI? currentoldnews.blogspot
Back before I started this blog, when I used to email links of current event stories, a friend cornered me at church one day. Cocking his head a little funny, he said something to the effect of: "You sure email a lot of stuff about AI!"
His confused, perplexed response to AI articles as "current (old) news" was understandable - and perhaps you share his sentiments. And I admit - it is a little unusual because it is so sci-fi and out there, seeming more at home in a movie than in a newspaper.
In my first long-form article on this blog, I ramble on a bit as to why I include AI articles so often in these daily lists of news. 'Long' is a key word. Grab your coffee before clicking the link :)
Building AI Is Hard—So Facebook Is Building AI That Builds AI wired
No joke. Inside Facebook, engineers have designed what they like to call an “automated machine learning engineer,” an artificially intelligent system that helps create artificially intelligent systems. It’s a long way from perfection. But the goal is to create new AI models using as little human grunt work as possible.
Tech
Personal aircraft aiming to take off from your home phys.org
Founded in February 2015 by four engineers and doctoral students from the Technical University of Munich in Germany, Lilium has already proved the concept with several scale, 25 kg prototypes and is now developing its first ultralight vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
The dream continues...:D
Watch robo cockroach buddies help one another climb stairs theverge v
It's a simple demonstration, meant to show how smaller robots like this can work together to overcome tasks they can't handle alone. The UC Berkeley scientists from the university's Biomimetic Millisystems Lab have been playing with their roach and bug designs for a while now, and suggest the bots will eventually find a place in disaster rescue scenarios.
Cambridge scientists lay claim to world’s tiniest engine, a million times smaller than an ant heralddemocrat
It’s at [the] microscopic scale that scientists at the University of Cambridge say they’ve constructed a working engine. The prototype motor, which the physicists described Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, relies on lasers, gold particles and the exploitation of a nifty physics principle called van der Waals forces.
Looking to light highways with light-emitting cement phys.org
During the day, any building, road, highway or structure made out of this new cement can absorb solar energy and emit it during the night for around 12 hours.
Why We Should Care About the Autonomous Robot That Just Performed Surgery on a Pig fortune
The significance of this, beyond its meaning in the medical world, is that surgery strikes most of us as just about the last job we could imagine a robot doing. But robots are clearly on their way to doing it.
Death
Dead could be brought 'back to life' in groundbreaking project telegraph.co.uk
A biotech company in the US has been granted ethical permission to recruit 20 patients who have been declared clinically dead from a traumatic brain injury, to test whether parts of their central nervous system can be brought back to life.
AI
Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence whitehouse.gov
...the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is excited to announce that we will be co-hosting four public workshops over the coming months on topics in AI to spur public dialogue on artificial intelligence and machine learning and identify challenges and opportunities related to this emerging technology.
Cashless
Inside the Secret Meeting Where Wall Street Tested Digital Cash bloomberg
The event -- announced in a statement this Monday -- marked a key moment in the evolution of blockchain, notable both for what was achieved, as well as how many firms were involved. The technology’s potential has captivated Wall Street executives because it offers a way to free up billions of dollars by speeding transactions that currently can take days, tying up capital. But a huge piece of that puzzle is transforming cash into a digital form. And while some firms have conducted experiments, the Chain event showed a large number of them are now looking jointly at a potential solution.
Pagenism
Pagan prisoners to be allowed robes, incense and tarot cards behind bars ibtimes.co.uk
The guidance is included in a 104-page document, called Faith and Pastoral Care for Prisoners, that sets out provisions for worshippers of all faiths, including Zoroastrianism and Baha'i.
