North Korea
North Korea Close to Having Nuclear-Armed ICBM: Official defensetech.org
North Korea now has an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, armed with a nuclear warhead capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, but they have yet to solve the “re-entry problem” that would burn up the warhead as it hits the atmosphere, a senior military official said Thursday.
Russia
Pentagon Confirms Russia Has a Submarine Nuke Delivery Drone popularmechanics
The U.S. intelligence agencies estimate Status-6 will carry a multi-megaton thermonuclear bomb payload. For comparisons' sake the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was 16 kilotons, several orders of magnitude smaller. A one megaton bomb is the equivalent of 1,000 kilotons—one one million tons of TNT. Reports from Russia indicate the bomb could be as large as 100 megatons.
Reports from Russia indicate the bomb could be armed with a "salted bomb", or one that "salts the Earth" with the dangerous isotope Cobalt-60. Such a bomb could spread such high levels of radioactivity it would prevent anyone from using the attack zone for approximately 100 years. Depending on location and prevailing weather conditions, such an explosion would also carry vast amounts of radiation inland.
Syria
Pictures of splendors past: Aleppo before the war reuters p
Before Syria's ruinous civil war struck Aleppo, the country's largest city was a busy commercial powerhouse and a proud historic center - its long heritage on display in ancient landmarks still used by modern day traders, travelers or worshippers.
South Korea
South Korean Lawmakers Vote Overwhelmingly To Impeach President npr.org a
South Korean lawmakers voted 234-56 on Friday to impeach President Park Geun-hye. A constitutional court will now decide whether to remove from office the country's first female leader, who's been mired in a corruption scandal that has paralyzed the country's political system.
Also see Opinion Journal: Italian Uprising wsj v and Impeaching South Korean President Park Geun-hye: Where Does The Country Go From Here? forbes
Philippines
U.S. may lose launch pad for military patrols aimed at China cbsnews
The Philippine defense secretary said Thursday it’s highly unlikely his country will allow the U.S. military to use it as a springboard for freedom of navigation patrols in the disputed South China Sea to avoid antagonizing China.
Delfin Lorenzana said U.S. ships and aircraft could use bases in Guam, Okinawa or fly from aircraft carriers to patrol the disputed waters.
Iran
At Iran amusement park, kids can fire plastic bullets at Netanyahu effigy timesofisrael
At the City of Games for Revolutionary Children, located in Mashad, kids as young as 8 are taken through various stations aimed at teaching them about Iranian military history, and psyching them up for any battles that the Shiite country might face.
Society
Fairness for All: Evangelicals Explore Truce on LGBT and Religious Rights christianitytoday
“What we’re looking at here is potentially a paradigm-shifting option,” said Shapri D. LoMaglio, the [Council for Christian Colleges and Universities]’s vice president for government and external relations. “The way that these two sets of rights have been talked about most often has been that they must compete. If something like this was to go forward, what might that mean about how we differently or better understand rights? Rights need not always be secured by one group at the expense of another group.”
...several prominent religious liberty advocates—including the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention—that opposed the Utah compromise model aren’t on board with Fairness for All...
Black rights activist Viola Desmond to be on $10 bill torontoobserver.ca
Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz made the announcement today at the Canadian Museum of History historymuseum.ca in Gatineau, Que.
Desmond is often referred as the “Rosa Parks of Canada,” for her defiance of segregation. On Nov. 8, 1946 she sat in a “whites-only” section of a New Glasgow movie theatre.
Washington Post Appends "Russian Propaganda Fake News" Story, Admits It May Be Fake zerohedge
It was the closest the Washington Post would come to formally retracting the story, which has now been thoroughly discredited not only by outside commentators, but by its own editor.
Also see Washington Post issues major correction after pushing bogus news to warn of fake news washingtonexaminer
Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo and others earn top scores for LGBTQ equality marketwatch
The Corporate Equality Index rates companies based on how inclusive their policies and benefits are towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. It uses five categories as measurement: non-discrimination policies, employment benefits, LGBTQ diversity and inclusion, public commitment to LGBTQ equality and “responsible citizenship.”
Abortion
Ohio lawmakers pass bill banning abortion after 20 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest nydailynews v
The House voted 64-29 to pass the bill already approved by the Senate.
Christianity
Christian Charity Compassion International Could Be Forced Out Of India christiantoday
Now embattled and facing a crisis of popularity because of a decision to withdraw banknotes from circulation – hitting India's poor and middle classes and threatening its economic growth – he's more than ever reliant on the Hindu religious right that backed him for the premiership. Modi's BJP is the political wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) britannica, a Hindu Nationalist organisation promoting the belief that India is Hindu and that minority religions – like Islam and Christianity – are inferior faiths.
Discoveries
Khatyrka meteorite found to have third quasicrystal phys.org
Prior to the 1980's, scientists believed there were just two types of solids; crystals and amorphous solids. Crystals are materials made of atoms that are joined in a repeating lattice. Amorphous solids are rather the opposite, having no real order. But then researchers discovered that another type of structure could exist, at least theoretically—quasicrystals. They are made of latticed atoms, like crystals, but do not repeat. After establishing their existence, researchers began making them in labs—over 100 have been created thus far. At the time, it was not clear if quasicrystals could exist naturally, though some suggested there was no reason for them not to come about under conditions similar to those used in labs—thus began a search for an example.
CRISPR
UMMS scientists co-discover first 'off-switches' for CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing eurekalert.org
CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing is quickly revolutionizing biomedical research, but the new technology is not yet exact. The technique can inadvertently make excessive or unwanted changes in the genome and create off-target mutations, limiting safety and efficacy in therapeutic applications.
Robots
Capita to replace staff with robots to save money theguardian
It said it would use the money it saved from sacking thousands of staff to fund investment in automated technology across all of the company’s divisions. The announcement will fuel growing fears that human workers will have to make way for robots, as companies turn to technology to boost profits.
Chip' robot greets customers in Sydney shopping centre itnews.au
Chip' is a 1.7m tall, 100kg robot owned by the Commonwealth Bank and developed by Spanish firm PAL Robotics pal-robotics. It boasts a 12.1 inch touchscreen and a mix of cameras, lasers, ultrasounds, microphones and speakers that allow it to recognise faces, have conversations, answer questions, move around, and handle objects.
Tech
Lost and found: Japan tags dementia sufferers with barcodes yahoo
A company in Iruma, north of Tokyo, developed tiny nail stickers, each of which carries a unique identity number to help concerned families find missing loved ones, according to the city's social welfare office. The adhesive QR-coded seals for nails -- part of a free service launched this month and a first in Japan -- measure just one centimetre (0.4 inches) in size.
Others...
Secrets and lies of a master spy: The agent who fooled the British, Russians, Italians, Japanese AND the Nazis during WW2 telegraph.co.uk
No comments :
Post a Comment