Chinese War Plans; Useless UN?; Obama and Xi Save the World; The Gay Bishop; Rising the Dead to Sainthood; Jupiter's Complex; and Cortana in the Fridge

War

Are We Ready for War With China? newsweek

China’s improved military capabilities, particularly for anti-access and area denial (A2AD), mean that the United States cannot count on gaining operational control, destroying China’s defenses and achieving decisive victory if a war occurred.

With that in mind, this report rand.org examines alternative paths that a war between the United States and China might take, losses and other effects on both sides, preparations that the United States should make and ways to balance U.S. war aims against costs should war occur.

Communicating with Digital Dead; Me and My Robot Shadow; Volunteers Needed to Not Drive Car; Hidden Drone Pods; Robot Bats; Catholic 'Transgender' Teacher; Artists Sue Phoenix; and Sitting the Rails

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.

Defective Embryo, Healthy Baby; China Calls Cold War; Just War or Just Peace?; UNESCO's Jew-less Temple Mount; Israel Increases Troops at Temple Mount; Israeli Exerts Sovereignty over Golan; State of PA Passports; Israel Who?; Canadian Hostages; NK Plutonium; 3D Cast; Starshot Reality; 2020 Olympic Asteroids; Foldable Phone; e-Skin; Archerfish Saw Mine; Big Banks with Small Plan; Hiding from the 99%; and the Reoccurring Overpopulation Panic

A lot of stories about Israel today. Also, check out the underground bunkers for the uber-rich and a quick history on fears of overpopulation!

Abortion

Study: When tests detect birth defects, babies can still be born healthy worldmag

Researchers at the University of Cambridge, who published their results in the journal Nature Communications, found even when half the cells of an early-stage mouse embryo were abnormal, the embryo was still able to fully repair itself because the abnormal cells self-destructed and healthy cells replaced them. In many cases, the process completely repaired a defective embryo, leaving it with all healthy cells even though some of the placental cells were still abnormal. Even in cases where 75 percent of an early-stage embryo’s cells were abnormal, the ratio of normal cells increased as the embryo developed.

$100M Alien Hunt; Fighting No Abortion in Poland; Robo Bird; Napster Steels Against Cancer; Man's Arm Controlled by Man's Brain; Rain Cells; Street-Legal AI; Sharia Law Without Discrimination; U.S. Under (Simulated) Attack; Pope Greece's Unity; Indian Jews; and UN Reflects Mankind;

Space

Stephen Hawking announces $100M ‘Breakthrough Starshot’ project to find alien life nydailynews v

The Breakthrough Starshot Project was unveiled Tuesday on the 102nd floor of One World Observatory, where Hawking was joined by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner in announcing the ambitious plan.

TAX AVOID; ORTHODOX HOMOSEXUAL; ISRAEL AGAINST ARMS; 18-ROTOR 'COPTER; SYRIAN TRUCE FAILING; EXTREMISM LIBERALLY DEFINED; MUSLIM GHETTO; AHMADIS THREATS; NK DEFECTION; GLASS WORKS; GLASS WORKS; FINDS BY ACCIDENT; RISE OF THE BOTS; MASS SUICIDE ATTEMPTS; NORWAY's SAME-SEX VOTE; POPE EXCELS IN MINCING WORDS; CAR-DAR; 7 YEAR TERM; UN-ITY AGAINST VIOLENT EXTREME

Taxes

Can pay, won't pay: Tax avoidance throughout history bbc

The Panama Papers have revealed the massive scale of tax dodging schemes of the rich and powerful. But tax avoidance is nothing new - people have been coming up with schemes and loopholes for as long as there have been taxes.

Israel

Group of Israeli Orthodox rabbis urges greater acceptance of homosexuals jpost

While the document stated that the "Torah prohibits homosexual acts," the paper penned by the rabbis stressed that Orthodox communities should be more accepting and socially inclusive.

A reminder that though we look to Israel as time wraps up, that as a nation they currently as lost and blinded as the rest.

Israel has hit ‘dozens’ of Hezbollah arms transfers, Netanyahu says timesofisrael

Saying that he was proud of Israel’s ability to maintain “relative quiet and security” in an otherwise stormy Middle East, he told soldiers stationed there: “We act when we have to act, including here and across the border, with dozens of strikes, to prevent Hezbollah acquiring tie-breaking weaponry.”

Travel

Watch an 18-rotor electric helicopter take its first manned flight engadget

The designers still have to ramp up their tests to the point where the Volocopter hits its full 60MPH top speed, but they're now confident enough that they hope to take pre-orders later this year. It'll likely only be limited to enthusiasts at first, but the dream is to use the aircraft's unique properties to expand what's possible.

Syria

Syrian PM says Russia to back new Aleppo attack; opposition says truce near collapse in.reuters

The ceasefire came into effect in February with the aim of paving the way for a resumption of talks to end the five-year-long war. But it has been widely violated, with each side blaming the other for breaches. The fighting south of Aleppo marks the most significant challenge yet to the deal.

Global Religion

Losing my religion: life after extreme belief theguardian

Fleeing the grip of a sect can be a matter of life or death. Megan Phelps-Roper, and two other former believers, reveal how they lost almost everything when they lost their faith

It's no accident an "evangelical" (Westbro) Christian, Jew, and Muslim are highlighted in this article as breaking free from the bondage of extreme religion.

Islam

UK Muslim ghettoes' warning telegraph.co.uk

British Muslims are becoming a nation within a nation, the former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned.

Kill Ahmadis' leaflets found in UK mosque bbc

A mosque trustee said he had never seen the leaflets before and suggested they were fakes or left there maliciously.

North Korea

Senior N. K. intelligence officer, diplomats defect koreaherald

The colonel-level intelligence officer came to Seoul last year and gave a “detailed testimony” on the Reconnaissance General Bureau’s espionage operations against the South, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an unnamed source with knowledge on the inner workings of the communist state.

See also NORTH KOREAN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER DEFECTS TO SOUTH IN ‘HIGHEST LEVEL CASE’

Archeaology

Ancient Glass-Works Prove Israel Was World Glass Production Center jewishpress

These kilns, about 1,600 years old (dating to the Late Roman period), indicate that the Land of Israel was one of the foremost centers for glass production in the ancient world.

Accidental Discoveries: Hikers Stumble Upon Archaeological Finds in Israel jpupdates

“Israel is a very small country, intensively settled over thousands of years, and there are 37,000 registered archeological sites, so almost everywhere you have the potential to find things,” says Yardenna Alexandre, an IAA research and field archaeologist stationed in the Jezreel Valley.

AI

(chat)Bots, explained recode.net

A bot is software that is designed to automate the kinds of tasks you would usually do on your own, like making a dinner reservation, adding an appointment to your calendar or fetching and displaying information. The increasingly common form of bots, chatbots, simulate conversation. They often live inside messaging apps — or are at least designed to look that way — and it should feel like you’re chatting back and forth as you would with a human.

Suicide

Aboriginal community in Canada declares emergency as 11 people try to commit suicide in one night itv

There have been 101 suicide attempts in the Attawapiskat First Nation, a remote 2,000-strong village near James Bay in northern Ontario, since September.

Apostasy

Norway's state church votes in favour of same-sex marriages mjtimes.sk.ca

Of 115 synod members present at the Church of Norway's council, 88 voted in favour, meaning that the state church will adopt provisions for marrying same-sex couples at its meeting next year and make it part of its official liturgy.

Pope

Pope invites Catholics to ignore church doctrine in document rife with calculated ambiguity albertmohler

Albert Mohler spends the entire briefing today discussing the Pope's document released last week and why it matters to Bible-believing Christians (hint: the Gospel is at stake)

Driverless Car

Ford tests Lidar-equipped car in pitch darkness techcrunch

By using Lidar, Ford recently showed that its autonomous vehicles can drive in complete darkness without human intervention. In the process, they remind us that the self-driving car is about a lot more than as-good-as-humans: It’s about harnessing tech to make cars far safer and smarter than human drivers.

UN

New UN Secretary-General may be elected for 7 years for first time tass.ru

The next UN Secretary-General can be elected for 7 years instead of 5 years for the first time and not be eligible for reelection. President of the UN General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft has told TASS that such an opportunity is currently discussed by the UN member-countries during the secret consultations.

I couldn't find a corroborating article. If true, you know this will kick off the prophesy-phere a chattering...

At Geneva conference, Ban calls for global partnership to prevent violent extremism un.org

the Secretary-General told the Geneva Conference on Preventing Violent Extremism – The Way Forward, co-hosted by the Government of Switzerland and the UN. Mr. Ban stressed: “Let us also recognize that today, the vast majority of victims worldwide are Muslims.”

Violent extremists seek to divide communities and the goal is to let fear rule, he said. “Let this conference – and our unity today – be the ultimate rebuke to that bankrupt strategy.”

North Carolina Support; Discriminating Behavior Not People; New Morality Pope; Rich and Famous Sinners; Wrestling with the Future; Turkey's State; Girl Infantry-Man; and Testing Global Banking

Society

Six Reasons North Carolina Got It Right townhall

On Monday Lt. Governor Dan Forest, who helped call the special session to pass HB2, called the executive in charge at one large protesting company and simply asked if him if he or anyone there had a actually read the bill.

He admitted they had not. They just labeled it “discriminatory” without even reading it.

An article linked to by today's Tim Challies update. Been tricky to find anyone not bashing North Carolina over this law.

3 Reasons Why Religious Liberty Laws Don’t Discriminate thegospelcoalition.org

One of the most ubiquitous phrases is that such bills are a “license to discriminate.” According to this line of thinking, it is invidiously discriminatory if a baker, florist, or photographer declines to use his or her creative talents in service of a same-sex wedding ceremony.

Two from Tim Challies in one day!

The New Morality of Pope Francis newyorker

I was ordained in early 1969, a few months after the promulgation of “Humanae Vitae,” the Vatican’s resounding condemnation of “artificial birth control,” which would define my future. I was a chaplain at a university where, true to the era, the norms of sexual morality had been upended. I certainly saw the need, in those wild days, for a humane and ethical analysis of the state of sexual intimacy, personal commitment, erotic longing, and gender rights. But, believe me, the triumphalist salvo from Rome made the moral condition worse, not better.

An opinion piece on how relative moralism was enshrined in Catholism long before Pope Francis. This article's author sees that as a good thing, and is praising the latest pope for pulling back further from absolutes. I found it worth reading, seeing the insights of one who is lost and deep within an idolatrous system where the issue at stake is not whether or not any decisions conform to God's word, but the words of the popes. Interesting read: sad because of the utter blindness of this man and enraging because of the utter joy taken in promoting a system wickedly at odds with God and calling it good. (Rom 1:32)

Depravity

The Troubled Minds of the Rich and Famous news.nationalgeographic

Talking from her home in Alexandria, Virginia, Kalb takes us inside the brain of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, explains how Howard Hughes had a grilled cheese sandwich problem, and why Charles Darwin is her hero.

Sin has affected how we think and relate and understand (known as the Noetic Effect of sin). This means that people really do end up a mess even by man's noeticly-effected-standard, but when we look for an answer in psychology, as the author of this book is doing, we are missing that we, ourselves, are corrupted and looking for the out for our own responsibility! This look at those in history shows us that being well-known doesn't change our nature. Not even one bit.

Singularitry

The funny things happening on the way to singularity techcrunch

About 10 years ago, inventor, futurist and now Director of Engineering at Google Ray Kurzweil famously embraced the concept of “the singularity” — that moment in time when machine intelligence surpasses our own. Kurzweil predicted the singularity would occur by 2045, and man and machine would become inseparable.

Given the relationship most people have with their smartphones, you could argue it’s already happening.

Though deeply entrenched in a humanistic worldview, an engaging read.

Turkey

One day after Israel issues travel warning to Turkey, US follows suit jpost

"The US Mission in Turkey would like to inform US citizens that there are credible threats to tourist areas, in particular to public squares and docks in Istanbul and Antalya," the statements reads.

Military

Louisiana woman makes U.S. Army history ksla

A Robeline native is making armed forces history as the first woman to enlist in the infantry in the United States Army.

Banking

4 top banks used blockchain tech to trade credit swaps qz

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) successfully traded credit default swaps on the blockchain, according to an announcement today.

61 Free; NK Decisions; Israel + China = Free Trade?; Israel Dims the Lights; Persecution?; The Lesser Light; War Tools; The WiFi Knows; Breaking Babel's Barrier; DNA Photography; Autonomous Race; AI Talent in Demand; Rogue Bots to be Common; Seeing Eye AI; Bank Down; Replacing Words of Christ with Man's; M I S S I S S I P P I, and Global Education

Crime

Obama Commutes Sentences of 61 Prisoners   nbcnews

President Obama backed up his calls for reforming the way society punishes non-violent criminals on Wednesday by commuting the sentences of 61 prisoners — a third of them lifers.

Nuclear

Obama meets with Asian leaders about North Korea nuke threat   usatoday

On the eve of a global meeting devoted to nuclear security, President Obama huddled Thursday with the leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea to discuss ways to meet one particularly worrisome nuclear threat: North Korea.

Also see Four dangers the nuclear talks will overlook

Israel

Israel, China announce bilateral free trade talks   jpost

A free-trade agreement with the world’s second-largest economy could have major implications for Israeli industry with the government estimating it could double trade between the two nations from today’s roughly $9 billion, boost technological cooperation and open the path for more investments.

Palestinians charge Israel with decrease in electricity flow, say sets 'dangerous precedent'   jpost

The Israel Electric Corporation decreased the flow of electricity to Jericho and the Jordan Valley to one-third of its normal flow on Thursday, according to Hisham al-Omari, director-general of the Arab Electricity Company in east Jerusalem.

Sources in the energy sector told The Jerusalem Post that the supply of electricity to Jericho had only been halved, from 15 megawatts to 7.5 MW, as of Thursday morning due to an unpaid debt of around NIS 1.72 billion to the IEC.

Christanity

Growing number of Americans believe Christians complain too much about 'persecution'   christiantoday

LifeWay Research on Wednesday released its findings that six in 10 Americans say religious liberty is on the decline – up from just over half (54 per cent) in 2013.

However, a growing number also believe that American Christians complain too much about how they are treated; rising from 34 per cent in 2013 to 43 per cent in 2015.

There's much to suspect about this one (who is classified a "Christian"?, perceived complaining or real complaining?, etc). However, a couple thoughts - 1) if true born again believers are complaining, then that is, indeed, a problem because of damage done to our witness of Christ; 2) we need to be careful about how we talk about the loss of our freedoms, remembering our hope is not America (1 Peter 1:3), and people are looking for an excuse to disparage Christ; and 3) we should be willing to hand over our freedoms for the sake of Christ's name. In short, while we have been given avenues in our society (such as courts) to challenge religion freedom issues (and in many instances even right and OK to do so), in the end this is a good warning to make sure we're about making Christ known, and not about keeping our freedoms!

Space

The Moon: An Unexplained Phenomenon   redice

...collection of interesting quotes from scientists, authors, researchers, NASA insiders and star-gazers relating to the enigmatic and often inexplicable nature of the moon

I include this because it's a list of secular, Creator denying men who look at His creation and can only exclaim, "It's impossible!" :)

Military

9 New Tools That Will Change the Future of War   popularmechanics

These weapons, drones, and battlefield devices—some recently deployed, others in early R&D—will help the Pentagon fight more effectively with fewer troops.

Tech

New MIT research opens door for password-free Wi-Fi   mashable

The team led by Professor Dina Katabi devised a system called Chronos, which enables a Wi-Fi access point to precisely pinpoint all the adapters connected to it. This tech could be used to grant access to a Wi-Fi router based on the user's exact location, making it much harder to an intruder to access the network from a remote place.

I like how they casually say at the end:

The system is not without challenges, one of them being privacy: The system could be used as yet another way to track one's location. But any technology that has the potential to increase Wi-Fi security should be given a chance in our book.

Microsoft brings real-time translation to custom apps with Speech Translation API   winbeta

This speech translation service can also be used in a numerous amount of situations, both person to person, or human to machine. Examples include personal translation, subtitling, or remote or in person multilingual communications. It even can be used in groups, such as in online gaming chatrooms or real-time presentations such as keynotes.

First-of-their-kind images could aid in use of DNA to build nanoscale devices   phys.org

This unique imaging capability, pioneered by Berkeley Lab scientists, could aid in the use of DNA segments as building blocks for molecular devices that function as nanoscale drug-delivery systems, markers for biological research, and components for computer memory and electronic devices. It could also lead to images of important disease-relevant proteins that have proven elusive for other imaging techniques, and of the assembly process that forms DNA from separate, individual strands.

AI Tech

THIS IS ROBORACE’S INSANE AUTONOMOUS RACE CAR   digitaltrends

Roborace aims to be the first racing series for autonomous cars, but seeing as there aren’t many of those around that are built for racing, series organizers are creating their own. But what exactly does a driverless race car look like?

AI

Million-dollar babies   economist

Another high-stakes game, however, is taking place behind the scenes, as firms compete to hire the smartest AI experts. Technology giants, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Baidu, are racing to expand their AI activities. Last year they spent some $8.5 billion on research, deals and hiring, says Quid, a data firm. That was four times more than in 2010.

There will soon be so many more examples of bots going rogue like Microsoft's Tay that we will 'become immune to it'   businessinsider

"Obviously nobody at Google set out to do that, it was just an effect. We will see many more of these. So many more we will become immune to it. It'll be like when your PC goes dead. It's not the end of the world, you just restart your PC — you don't tweet about it," Mortensen said.

Microsoft has an app that lets blind people 'see' again   digitaljournal

The system is called Seeing AI and was built by Saqib Shaikh, a blind Microsoft engineer who wanted to become more involved in the world.

Includes video demonstration

Banking

Your Neighborhood Bank Is About to Have Its 'Uber Moment'   fortune

The new Global Perspectives & Solutions (GPS) report from Citigroup...says that U.S. bank staffing will dive 30% between 2015 and 2025, from 2.6 million to 1.8 million. (It’s already down from a pre-crisis peak of 2.9 million.) And things are even tougher in Europe, where bank branch employment is expected to drop from 2.9 million to 1.8 million.

False Religion

Reformation is nothing to celebrate, says Cardinal Müller   catholicherald.co.uk

Cardinal Müller says in the new book: “If we are convinced that divine revelation is preserved whole and unchanged through Scripture and Tradition, in the doctrine of the Faith, in the sacraments, in the hierarchical constitution of the Church by divine right, founded on the sacrament of holy orders, we cannot accept that there exist sufficient reasons to separate from the Church.”

A reminder why Catholism and Christanity are incompatible. In that one quote, he adds tradition, sacraments, reliance on an organization (their definition of 'church'), etc to the clear words of Scripture that all of those are false. The very reason he can't celebrate the Reformation is why those who hold to what God has said in Scripture as faith in Christ alone (Gal 3:26, et al) take great joy that God used men like Luther to break from men who valued their own way over the Way (John 14:6)!

Society

Mississippi passes bill allowing armed security in churches   christiantoday

The bill, which has been sent to the House for further work, has received heavy criticism both within the Senate and from state police officers. It has also elicited debate over interpretations of Christian scripture.

Whatever you think about this, it even being a 'thing' is an indication of the days we are in...

Mississippi's religious freedom bill: Not discriminatory or 'one of the worst'?   cnn

"This bill doesn't stop anyone from getting what they want from the state. I have a problem with the discrimination of Christian belief," said Republican state Rep. Randy Boyd, one of the bill's sponsors. "I don't uphold discrimination but I believe the Christian belief is more discriminated against than other things. ... I'm trying to get a happy medium here where people get their rights and other people aren't pressured into doing anything they don't believe in against their religious beliefs."

Global Governance

Tony Blair warns of 'flabby liberalism'   bbc

"The centre has become flabby and unwilling to take people on. We concede far too much. There's this idea that you're part of an elite if you think in terms of respectful tolerance towards other people. It's ridiculous," Mr Blair told the BBC.

See also EDUCATING YOUNG PEOPLE ON CITIZENSHIP VALUES IS FUNDAMENTAL TO BUILDING A TOLERANT WORLD

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)