'Beware of Jews' Retraction; Growing China; Stretching Philippines; AI Audit; Finding Recalled Cars; Brain 10x Faster Than Before; Google Filtering Hate; Sunscope; Third Arm Support; Defending Against the Hurtful; and Texan Bathrooms

Antisemitism

Artist behind 'beware of Jews' sign apologises for causing offence theguardian

Franck Allais, a freelance photographer, said the contentious sign was part of an artistic project, which includes depictions of a woman pulling a shopping trolley, a man pushing his wheelchair and a cat.

Allais said he intended the project to be a comment on identity and that the sign in Stamford Hill, one of the largest Hasidic communities in Europe, was not an antisemitic statement. He said he was left shaken by the offence he had caused.

I posted the original story of this 'antisemetic' act yesterday on the previous blog, but appears that I (as well as several others) jumped to conclusions about the intent. I appologize for my part in passing the original story around.

Trump's Missing Jew; Three Gender California; Bathroom Bowl Pressure; Scientific Sounding Rant; Pro-Life, Ambivalent-Trump; Sovereign California; and Singled Out in Turkey

Holocaust

Trump fails to mention Jews in Holocaust remembrance statement usatoday

In a departure from predecessors on both sides of the political aisle, President Trump’s statement Friday marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day ushmm.org did not mention the deaths of six million Jews — a lapse the head of the Anti-Defamation League adl.org called “puzzling and troubling.”

Also see Statement by the President on International Holocaust Remembrance Day whitehouse.gov

Jordan's Red Line; Signing Off; Self-Balancing Motorcycle; Holo Cube; Testing Your Future; Law Breaking Pollution; Texas Takes on Bathrooms; The Distressing Cross; When Human Remains Aren't People; Zuckerberg for Office; and Where to Stand to Be Left in the Dark

Israel

Jordanian official: Moving US embassy to Jerusalem would be ‘catastrophic’ jta.org

An embassy move would be a “red line” for Jordan, would “inflame the Islamic and Arab streets” and serve as a “gift to extremists,” [Jordanian minister Momani] said, adding that Jordan would use all possible political and diplomatic means to try and prevent such a decision.

Third Wall, Second Temple; Auctioning Slab of Commandments; Restricting Conservative Videos; Google DoubleClicks with You; The IOT Revolt; Doing Carter Wheels Around Biology; Fat Flyer; Traffic Smarts; Air Powered Drone; Colombia Skips Venezuela; Policing Loyalty; Birthright Bonanza; and Russia's Nuclear Tip

Archeaology

Evidence unearthed of Jerusalem’s protective ‘Third Wall’ from Second Temple period jpost

Compelling evidence from the breaching of Jerusalem’s so-called “third wall” – which was said to surround the capital during the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 CE – may finally help to conclusively prove its existence.

The historian Josephus, a witness to the war, recorded numerous details about the third wall. In his telling, the wall was designed to protect the new quarter of the capital, then known as Beit Zeita, which extended beyond its boundaries, north of the two existing city walls.

Recognizing Half of U.S.; Fading Sunday; Chicago's Illogical Transgender Rulling; Banned Books; Training Kids for War; Ignoring Missile Treaty; Philippines Ram; Miami Zika Pools; Horse Tech for Humans; and Mars in Ultaviolet

Privacy

Half of US adults are recorded in police facial recognition databases, study says theguardian

A report from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology georgetown.edu found that more than 117 million adults are captured in a “virtual, perpetual lineup”, which means law enforcement offices across the US can scan their photos and use unregulated software to track law-abiding citizens in government datasets.

Also see the report: The Perpetual Line-up perpetuallineup.org

Closed Liberty; Church Bathrooms; Russia's Regress Begins; Aussies Block (ish) SSM; Drugged Out; Bio-Hacking at the Top; Censoring the Censors; Nod to Pay; Nano Transistor; Spacey Brain; Houthi in the Machine; and Drone Death

Society

Christian-owned bakery in Oregon closes after religious freedom fight results in steep fines christiandaily

On Sept. 29, the Christian-owned bakery Sweet Cakes thanked the people who prayed for and supported the business, but at the same time announced that the bakery has already closed. No explanation was provided on the Facebook statement, Catholic News Agency details.

According to Q13 Fox News, Sweet Cakes' storefront in Oregon has been closed since 2013. However, owners Aaron and Melissa Klein continued to operate their business from their home. Their legal representative Hiram Sasser explained that the bakery was closed "months ago" but the couple still received inquiries for possible orders, thus the Facebook announcement.

Yahoo, Watchin' You; Stalled Gender; Killing Wins the Day; Russia is Awesome!; 40 Million Prep for the Bomb; Aleppo is Not the End; Iraq Wants Turkey (Out); U.S. Blasts Israel; Tractoring Around; and Bees Dance Ahola

Privacy

Yahoo 'secretly monitored emails on behalf of the US government' theguardian

The company complied with a classified US government directive, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency (NSA nsa.gov) or FBI fbi.gov, two former employees and a third person who knew about the program told Reuters.

Some surveillance experts said this represents the first known case of a US internet company agreeing to a spy agency’s demand by searching all arriving messages, as opposed to examining stored messages or scanning a small number of accounts in real time.

North Carolina Backs Down; Obama's Stump Speech; The Next Long Range Satellite; Heady Dog Test; Radioing Emotions; Cancer Anti-Virus; and Self-Driving Government

Society

North Carolina Governor Drops 'Bathroom Bill' Lawsuit Against U.S. npr.org

In court documents Friday, Gov. Pat McCrory cited "substantial costs to the State" as one reason for dropping his lawsuit against the federal government, writing that it did not serve the "interests of judicial economy and efficiency."

Motherless Babies; Gifting Death; Ball Goes Fore Pride; Abortion-Murder Plan Falls Short; Rest in Bits; A Real Blood Red River; Petra's Aphrodite; Alexander or Someone Else; Nero Coin; Israel's Finalized Military Deal; 9/11 Veto Threat; Chevy Reads Your Mood; Virtual Typer; Milky Chart; and Noisy Words

Research

Motherless babies possible as scientists create live offspring without need for female egg telegraph.co.uk

The landmark experiment by the University of Bath bath.ac.uk rewrites 200 years of biology teaching and could pave the way for a baby to be born from the DNA of two men.

A little sensationalized as it's more "maybe" than "possible", but a step in a scary direction.

The Online Hate-Crime Club; Bathroom Fight Rages On; Morality of Chimeras; DNA's Glow; Catch an Asteroid; Machines vs. Bugs; and Iran Sends Russia

Society

London Mayor To Set Up Police ‘Online Hate Crime Hub’ In ‘Partnership’ With Social Media Firms breitbart

“The purpose of this programme is to strengthen the police and community response to this growing crime type” is was announced, and will “involv[e] a dedicated police team” backed by “volunteers”.

Bathroom Challenge; 'Science' Delayed; Planned Parenthood Keeps the Cash; Zika's 25%; Slimy Slabs; Fukushima Deniers; The Israeli Hostility Games; Direct Gene Editing; Dragon(no)fly; Unexplainable Spaaaace (bum, bum, BUUUM); Robot Hotel; Brain Eye Chip; Bombing for Clarity; and Big Flight Data

Society

Barack Obama's transgender bathroom guidelines challenged by more than a dozen states independent.co.uk

The states will appear before a federal judge in Fort Worth on Friday to argue that the Obama administration’s directive presents “unlawful changes” in US law.

Also see 13 states to ask court to stop White House transgender bathroom policy washingtonexaminer

That lawsuit, filed in federal court in Nebraska, includes Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming.

20 Secs West of Japan; 400M in Bad Timing; 140 Years of Work; Bathroom Crumble Delay; Neural Dust; Printed Fuel; Robot Spun; and Private Ride to the Moon

North Korea

North Korean missile lands perilously close to Japan washingtonpost

In flight time, that meant the missile was only 20 or 30 seconds from Japan itself, said Euan Graham, who served as a British diplomat in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.

Gay Mingled In; Women on the UK Front-line; 10 (More) States Sue Obama; State Money for Soft Landings; China Incensed in Seoul; Hold it Together NATO; Even Dallas is Israel's Fault; Syndrome K; Iran Seeks Nuke; House Denies Boeing; DNA Player; Robot Ends Standoff...and Life; Small, 3D Portions

Society

ChristianMingle now allows gay dating, after a lawsuit washingtonpost

The lawsuit, according to Christianity Today, argued that ChristianMingle violated California’s non-discrimination law that prohibits for-profit companies, such as Spark Networks, which owns ChristianMingle, from discriminating against customers on the basis of sexual orientation, among other categories.

Based on their ads, I've never thought of ChristianMingle as anything more than a cultural Christianity thing - and the fact that only 1 board member stepped down as a result of the ruling is probably a good indication that that's about as deep as their theology goes. However, still an illustration of the overarching enforcing of state religion.

US Sings Its Part; Kim Jong Un Sanctions; Mass. Transgender Compromise; Chi Phi is for "Men" Too; Israel and US Practice Self Defense; Navy Sails the Southern Seas; Delivery Drone Trial in London; and Power Grip

Israel

US accuses Israel of ‘systematically' seizing Palestinian land jpost

US State Department spokesman John Kirby further charged that such seizures plus “settlement expansions and legalization of outposts is fundamentally undermining the prospects for a two-state solution.”

Trudeau's Pride; Public Accommodating Churches; Social Justice VBS; Religions Unite in Munich; Search Paranoia; Italy's Chaos; 100,000 Missile Threat; Manhattan Cleanup; Plasma, Que Rica!; Dumb AI = Smart AI; Stocking Up; Juno's Jupiter; and Buddha's Maybe Skull

Society

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau marches and dances in Toronto Pride parade 9news.au v

Thunderous applause greeted Mr Trudeau as he paraded down a main Toronto street on Sunday local time, waving a Canadian maple-leaf flag bordered with a rainbow.

Also see Syrian refugee marches beside Justin Trudeau in Canadian pride parade

$10.50/hr; Missile Fired at China - Accidentally; Israel Charging for Terror; Qualitative Edge for a Price; NC Hangs onto (Most of) Original Law; Brainless Consciousness; July 4th - Jupiter; and Underwater Drones

Minimum Wage

Minimum wage goes up in City of LA, unincorporated areas of LA County asianjournal

The minimum wage in the City of Los Angeles and unincorporated areas of LA County is now $10.50 an hour. The city and county join the District of Columbia and 12 other cities, states and counties that boosted the hourly pay rates on Friday, July 1.

If they keep this up, soon I'll be making minimum wage :)

AI Editor in Chief; Musk-Bot; (Taxable) Electronic Persons; Transgender Soldier; School Violates HB2; CRISPR Approved (Kinda); Considering Russian Sanctions; Pentagon's Hidden Wounded; NK Missile Flops, Again; Iran Flies Boeing; Israel's QME; NY's Anti-BDS and Beyond; Smithsonian's Qur'an Exhibit; Unity Fire; A Space Base Hop Away; and The X-57

AI

IBM’s AI system Watson just edited an entire magazine all on its own digitaltrends

According to a press release published via The Drum, the magazine edited by Watson consists of a variety of features that cover Watson’s different analytical functions, as well as how it can assist modern-day marketers. Moreover, The Drum reports that Watson has also been programmed to have the ability to answer a series of questions pertaining to “advertising legend” David Olgivy. and has even predicted a list of winners for this year’s Cannes Lions awards.

Scottish Church Votes Anti-God; Cuban Flights Cleared(ish); LA Parks' Bathroom of Choice; Scores of Attacks, UN Condemns One; 10,000 Leagues Below the Sea; Elon's Dream; MS Stem Cell Treatment; Brain Bifocals; 3D Printed Brain Funded; and Vyo

Apostasy

Scottish Episcopal church leaps towards allowing gay marriage theguardian

The Scottish Episcopal church voted on Friday by 97 to 51, with three abstentions, to remove a clause in its canon law that states that marriage is a union of a man and a woman. Before the change can be enacted, it must win a two-thirds majority in a second vote next year.

Synod members voted to delete the first clause of canon 31, which states: “The doctrine of this church is that marriage is a physical, spiritual and mystical union of one man and one woman.”

11 State Sue; The Dragon-Lady; Superbug in the US; Robots for Workers; WHO Singles out Israel; Temple Mount Support in the Knesset; China's Nuclear Subs; Robots in Pain; and Students Beat NASA at Their Game

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.”

US Glitch; Accommodate or...; SSM Acceptance Rising; Signing the Gals Away; The Synthetic Human Project; Origami Robot With a Purpose; Hyundai's Iron Man; Bio-Glass; Magnetic Explosions; Islam-land; Turkey's Anti-Terror Problem; Entitled

Of course today we have the government's bathroom...policy. Also, the US is trying to explain a second video 'glitch'. And if those stories aren't enough, check out the meeting held earlier this week to talk about creating a completely synthetic human genome.

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')