Down Home Persecution; Dealing With Trump; The 6 Million Dollar Protest; Hope in Bitcoin; Ad Denied for Pricking Consciences; Home, Far Far Away; and Stronger Than Steel and Superman

Christianity

U.S. on List of Christian-Persecuting Nations wnd

The United States, Mexico and Russia were listed as “new and noteworthy” nations in the 2016 “Hall of Shame Report” published by the Washington, D.C., based human rights group International Christian Concern persecution.org, or ICC.

While ICC notes “there is no comparison between the life of a Christian in the U.S. with persecuted believers overseas,” the group noted a number of “worrying trends as an alarming indication of a decline in religious liberty in the United States.”

Here's the ICC report: Hall of Shame pdf

Marriage-less State; Minimum Bandwagon; Rupee Lost; Money Thumb; Lingering Israeli Support; and Underwater Archaeology

Society

A lawmaker's solution for marriage debate: Remove the state host.madison

His bill, filed ahead of the 2017 legislative session, would make Missouri the first state to recognize only domestic unions for both heterosexual and gay couples, treating legal partnerships equally and leaving marriages to be done by pastors and other religious leaders.

Other states including Alabama, Indiana and Michigan failed to pass similar bills to limit the government's role in marriage, and Oklahoma representatives passed a bill that didn't make it out of the Senate.

Aleppo Crush; Castro Canadian Friend; Holocaust on Ice; Cashless Modi; Uncomfortable Abortion Reality; Computer Programmer; ALVINN; BosTonomy; Photon Converter; and Trash Man...IN SPAAAAAACE

Syria

Syrian forces make sweeping gains in eastern Aleppo cnn v

Government forces and armed paramilitary groups loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began a renewed push toward eastern Aleppo on November 15, backed by airstrikes following a three-week lull.

Taking the city would mark a turning point in a civil war that has raged in Syria for more than five years.

Also see Syrian rebel forces in Aleppo suffer 'biggest defeat since 2012' theguardian

The Secret Digital Cash Test; Bitcoin's Questionable Beginnings; Overdue Recession; Nuclear Saber and Cold War 2; China's Rap Recruitment; Extending Settlement Rights; Iran Scolds U.S.; NK's Congress; Travel Ban; Drone Made Badly; AI Dancer; Printing Buildings; Alien Jellyfish; and Relocating a Community

Wall Street discusses secret digital cash test, Iran tells the U.S. to get out of the Persian Gulf, and discovery of a new, glowing jellyfish was announced (there's a video of that!).

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.

Point, Click, Hover; Printed Car Closer; Electronic Synapses; Modern Jewish Kingdom in Ancient Babylon; UN Gasps!; Not Pharaoh; Mr. Mandela Goes to Palestine; NK Readying Next Missile; Abu Who?; Fruit Ninja Weather; 12 Black Holes, Sitting in a Row; Ken Ham Caricature; Methodists Pressure North Carolina; Church of Norway Exodus; Digital Money Tracks Well; and If End Time Theology was a Popularity Contest

Got a crazy mashup of worldviews today! From bashing Ken Ham because public school students go to his museum, to denying that the Biblical Pharaoh was Egyptian, to Methodists lobbying for whatever-you-say-you-are bathrooms in North Carolina. Also Nelson Mandela has been "raised" in the West Bank with a cry of peace and death to Israel.

Drones

The Hover Camera will follow you around and record your entire life mashable v

The Hover Camera is also unlike drones in that it truly hovers after powering it on. You simply let go of it and it'll hover in the air at the altitude (up to 164 feet high) which you let it go at

Personal, small flying drones that can pick indivduals out of a crowd, follow them, and record what they are doing. What could go wrong? For a fuller story on the company, itself, see Zero Zero's Camera Drone Could Be a Robot Command Center in the Future v

Pentagon's 582 Billion; NK Gets Another Finger Wagging; Jordan Warns Israel over Temple Mount Visits; Israel Not Green Enough to Exist; Senate to Obama - Fund Israel; Exodus Reminder; Law of United Methodists Broken; Bakery Turned Away; Peace Everywhere...But Don't Look Hard; EU Bitcoin Exchange; Earth x 3 Sunspot; Skull Password; Google and Gov - BFF?; and Fire by Meteor

Miltary Budget

Pentagon wants $582bn in 2017 budget, quadrupling of spending in Europe rt

Carter said the budget was guided by five factors: the rise of power from Russia and China; the threat of North Korea to the US and its Pacific allies; Iran's “malign influence” against allies in the Gulf; and the ongoing fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

Ice Bacteria; United Health Exits the Exchange; TTIP - the Dream No One Loves; Pay With Your Face(book); China Playing Mars Catch-up; Antbo; NK's Submarine Missile Launch; Russia and NATO's Sabers; Iron Dome Test-Driven in US; and 500 Lbs of Missing Firework Show

Bacteria

HOW BACTERIA CREATE THEIR OWN ICE popsci

Analyses...revealed that [it] uses proteins in its cell membrane to slightly change the position of nearby water molecules so that they would fit more neatly into a lattice, as they are in ice. The bacterium can then use vibrational energy to remove heat from the area around it, coalescing the water molecules into solid ice.

Byzantine Destruction; NK Workers Defect; Fingerprint Currency; Pope Welcomes More to False Church; Automated Guardian Angel; Robotic Chef; Robots Without Knees Work Too; Embryos Edited Again; and SpaceX - Rocket Launch in Reverse

Archeaology

Palestinian Christians bitter over destruction of church ruins in Gaza jpost

Palestine Christians on Wednesday expressed anger over the way the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have handled the ancient ruins of a Byzantine church that were uncovered in Gaza City last week.

See also Builders find remnants from Byzantine period in Gaza

Islamic State nets millions selling plundered antiquities online smh.au

According to Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, IS is making up to $265 million a year by smuggling and selling looted jewellery, coins and other precious archaeological items through auction sites and specialist online stores.

North Korea

Thirteen North Korean restaurant workers defect to South Korea theguardian

Jeong claimed it was unprecedented for so many people to have defected from the same North Korean restaurant abroad. It is also unusual for South Korea to make a formal announcement about defections, or to even comment on them. Jeong said the government decided to go public about the arrivals because of the unusual nature of the defections.

Cashless Society

Fingerprints to be tested as ‘currency’ the-japan-news

Starting this summer, the [Japanese] government will test a system in which foreign tourists will be able to verify their identities and buy things at stores using only their fingerprints.

False Religion

Pope to church: Be more accepting of divorced Catholics, gays and lesbians cnn

"By thinking that everything is black and white, we sometimes close off the way of grace and growth," he writes.

Self-Driving Cars

Toyota Joins the Race for Self-Driving Cars with an Invisible Copilot technologyreview

Toyota’s researchers are developing what they call a “guardian angel” system that will automatically take control of a vehicle, or subtly adjust a driver’s actions, in order to avert danger. In contrast to other companies working on self-driving vehicles, the Japanese carmaker sees combining machine and human driving as a key step toward full autonomy.

Robots

THE WORLD'S FIRST ROBOTIC KITCHEN moley

Moley has created the world's first robotic kitchen. Featuring an advanced, fully functional robot integrated into a beautifully designed, professional kitchen, it cooks with the skill and flair of a master chef. The prototype was premiered to widespread acclaim at Hanover Messe, the international robotics show.

Includes fascinating video.

Alphabet’s secretive Schaft Inc. shows off new bipedal robot in Tokyo techcrunch

There’s a new bot in town (Tokyo, specifically), and while it might not be as cute as Nao, as creepy as Spot and BigDog or as anthropomorphic as Atlas, it might be more practical than all of them. It walks on two legs, but not like a man, or even a bear. This one, designed by Alphabet-owned Schaft Inc., has its own uniquely robotic form of locomotion.

Includes a video. A step in the direction of more functional and less creepy robot :)

Genetics

Chinese Researchers Experiment with Making HIV-Proof Embryos technologyreview

Chinese fertility doctors have tried to make HIV-proof human embryos, but the experiments ended in a bust. The new report is the second time researchers in China revealed that they had a go at making genetically modified human embryos.

Space Tech

SpaceX just made history and landed a rocket on a ship techinsider.io

But the huge, history-making moment — causing everyone at SpaceX to lose their minds in a roar of applause during a live webcast — was when the company landed a rocket on a ship at sea.

NK Warheads; Saint Mother Teresa?; DIY Shopping; Ant-Bot; Better Prison and Gardens; and "Allah Says"

War

N Korea will soon test nuclear warheads bbc

Kim Jong-un's latest comments came as he was overseeing a simulation for the kind of re-entry technology needed to bring a nuclear-armed ballistic missile back into the atmosphere, the KCNA news agency reported.

False Religions

Mother Teresa Will Become a Saint time

Mother Teresa will become a saint on Sept. 4, on the eve of the 19th anniversary of her death...The Catholic church requires that a deceased person perform two miracles before achieving sainthood.

Cashless

DIY Shopping reuters

(Video - 2:18)

Machines

Tiny robot ants pull car with teamwork bbc

Six of the bots - weighing less than 100g (0.22lb) in total - exerted a force of 200 Newtons, which was enough to pull the 1,800kg (220lb) vehicle.

(Video)

Crime

Mass murderer is suing Norway over prison conditions that would be luxurious by US standards business insider

According to Agence France Presse, Breivik's cell has three rooms, "one for living, one for studying, and a third for physical exercise — as well as a television, a computer without internet access and a game console. He is able to prepare his own food and do his own laundry."

Man accused of stabbing Canadian soldiers cited Allah reuters

"While at the scene the accused stated that 'Allah told me to do this, Allah told me to come here and kill people'," Saunders said.

(in a peaceful sort of way)