Day's Headlines: Google, Am I Good?; End-Run BDS with Bonds; Fleeing BDS in LA; California's Sort Of Anti-BDS Law; Out on Bad Behavior; CA Plays Planned Parenthood Protector; Slave Recruit; Sinning Against Nature; 3D and Electrified Graphene; Quantum Computer Coming Soon; Creepy-Smart; Sanbot Service; Pizza Factory; AI Hope; and Sub Quiet

Friday, September 2, 2016

Google, Am I Good?; End-Run BDS with Bonds; Fleeing BDS in LA; California's Sort Of Anti-BDS Law; Out on Bad Behavior; CA Plays Planned Parenthood Protector; Slave Recruit; Sinning Against Nature; 3D and Electrified Graphene; Quantum Computer Coming Soon; Creepy-Smart; Sanbot Service; Pizza Factory; AI Hope; and Sub Quiet

Depravity of Man

Am I a good person? You asked Google – here’s the answer theguardian w!

But before we even get to the question of what would make a good person, there is a basic difficulty with our inquiry: if we ask ourselves, the answer we get will probably be tainted with lies. Even when we know we have done wrong, our minds set at work to scrub the knowledge out. A rather elegant study recently published in PNAS showed that we have difficulties even forming memories of the times we have behaved unethically, and if they ever are formed, they disintegrate faster than other ones. And this is a truth that was known long before lab science, by anyone who studies human nature, from St Augustine to Jane Austen.

While clearly not holding to a biblical view point (and effectivly calling Jesus just another man and totally misunderstanding the point of Job), this is a good reminder that the problem with defining "good" is good by whose standard? God declared it's by His standard that we must be good, and said no one is good (Psalm 53:3, c.f. Romans 3:12). Jesus pointed to the Pharasees and said our righteousness must exceed those who were so about obeying laws that they even made up more laws to obey (Matt 5:20). No one is good, and certainly no one is perfect as God is and demands (Matt 5:48), but that's why Jesus had to live and die. To not only pay our fine in a legal sense through His death for our sin, but to also live righteously so that HIS righteousness could be credited to our account (2 Cor 5:21). There's only been one good man (Jesus - fully God, fully man), which is why there's only one way to be saved from the wrath of God! (John 3:36)

BDS

Israel Bonds Announces Alternative BDS Campaign on Campus 5tjt

The initiative encourages Israel’s supporters to oppose BDS on campus by donating long-term Israel bonds (five or ten-year maturities) to their college or university of choice. Because the institution must hold the bonds until maturity, donating Israel bonds encourages and facilitates educational institutions to be invested in Israel for a sustained period of time.

Meet the Pro-Israel Student Leader Who Fled UCLA After Feud With BDS ‘Bullies’ forward

...since last November, Chatterjee has found himself at the center of a familiar pattern of back-and forth between Israeli and Palestinian advocacy groups that plays out on campuses across the country. The uproar caused Chatterjee to leave California and finish up his law degree at New York University — and rethink stepping back into any position of power.

California Lawmakers Vote 60-0 for Softened Anti-BDS Bill forward

The version that was passed Tuesday does not prohibit companies working with the state from boycotting Israel. Rather, companies have to certify that they do not violate California civil rights laws in boycotting a foreign country, according to The Jewish Journal.

Abortion

Woman leaves prison after feticide conviction overturned sfgate

Patel was convicted in 2015 of killing her premature infant by taking abortion-inducing drugs and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She appealed her feticide and child neglect convictions and the Indiana Court of Appeals in.gov vacated both convictions in July, finding that the state's feticide law wasn't meant to be used to prosecute women for their own abortions.

But the appeals court found that Patel should be resentenced on a lower-level child neglect charge that carries a maximum three-year sentence.

Calif. legislature poised to criminalize distribution of Planned Parenthood-type sting videos washingtonpost

The California legislature is near final approval of a bill that would make it a crime, punishable by a jail sentence, to carry out and distribute undercover video or audio stings against Planned Parenthood and other health-care groups.

Society

Georgetown University will recruit descendants of slaves sold in 1838 to enroll as students telegraph.co.uk

The 272 men, women and children were sold by two priests in 1838, who used the money to pay off debts at the Jesuit university georgetown.edu. Recent revelations about the transaction have prompted student protests and an internal investigation of the role slavery played in Georgetown's history.

Pope

Pope Francis warns the 'destruction' of the environment is contributing to the refugee crisis independent.co.uk

Speaking at a press conference in Rome to mark the Catholic church's World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the Pope warned that "global warming continues" and claimed it was the "most vulnerable" who are already suffering as a result.

If you can handle more, also see Pope Francis: Global Warming a ‘Sin,’ Man Can Atone by Recycling and ‘Car-Pooling’ breitbart

Research

3-D graphene has promise for bio applications news.rice.edu

“We started thinking about this for bone implants because graphene is one of the most intriguing materials with many possibilities and it’s generally biocompatible,” said Rice postdoctoral research associate Chandra Sekhar Tiwary, co-lead author of the paper with Dibyendu Chakravarty of the International Advanced Research Center for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials in Hyderabad, India. “Four things are important: its mechanical properties, density, porosity and biocompatibility.”

Iowa State engineers treat printed graphene with lasers to enable paper electronics scienmag

To make all that possible, the engineers developed computer-controlled laser technology that selectively irradiates inkjet-printed graphene oxide. The treatment removes ink binders and reduces graphene oxide to graphene – physically stitching together millions of tiny graphene flakes. The process makes electrical conductivity more than a thousand times better.

Quantum

Google’s Quantum Dream May Be Just Around the Corner technologyreview

While Google itself remains tight-lipped on timings, New Scientist reports that many researchers in the field reckon its team isn’t far from completing perhaps the most advanced quantum device the world has seen. “It’s Google’s to lose,” Simon Devitt, from the Riken Center for Emergent Matter Science riken.jp in Japan, told the magazine.

Future

Beautiful, efficient, data-sucking Smart Cities: Why do you give us the creeps? theregister.co.uk

Jo So, CTO of industry solutions at Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group, provided an update at the company’s Connect event in Shanghai this week. He said there were over 100 implementations under the Smart Cities programme. But what I was learned was that despite – or perhaps, because of – Smart Cities’ utopian intentions, the vision only really seems to being put into practice by authoritarian city-state strongmen.

Robots

Chinese Firm Qihan Launches Robotics-as-a-service With Sanbot digitaltrends

Shenzhen-based Qihan qihan.cn is looking to roll out a new robotics-as-a-service model, selling the robots and support to various industries, including health care, education, and security. Sanbot is already in service in China, offering flight information to stressed travelers at the airport, patrolling warehouses as a security guard, providing a telepresence for doctors in patient’s homes, and acting as a fun friend and learning resource for kindergarteners.

Robots and on-board ovens deliver on Zume’s promise of better pizza techcrunch v

Zume Pizza zumepizza founder Julia Collins and her Elon Musk-esque approach to pizza doesn’t care much for the rest of the pizza industry. In her mind, the pizzavations of the previous decades are irrelevant if the pies arrive soggy, cold and packed with chemicals. She is taking on the pizzastablishment with robots, a truck, 56 ovens, a passionate staff and some predictive analytics.

AI

Could artificial intelligence help humanity? Two California universities think so seattletimes

Call it artificial intelligence with a human touch. This week, two California universities separately announced new centers devoted to studying the ways in which AI can help humanity.

Military

The US Navy is hoping its new nuclear submarine will be the stealthiest ever businessinsider

The emerging Ohio Replacement Program ballistic missile submarines, designed to patrol the undersea domain performing a crucial strategic deterrence missions, is slated to be operational by the 2030s and serve through the 2080s.

Others...

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