North Korea
North Korea 'will test missiles weekly', senior official tells BBC bbc
"We'll be conducting more missile tests on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis," Vice Foreign Minister Han Song-Ryol told the BBC's John Sudworth. He said that an "all-out war" would result if the US took military action.
[OPINION] America Can’t Do Much About North Korea theatlantic
Research
How the media warp science: the case of the sensationalised satnav theguardian
There’s a famous cliché which says “If you like sausage, you should never see one being made”. Well, earlier this week I saw how a science news story occurred, from experiment to media coverage, and I think the same applies here.
Note: the author's almost too casual with some of his language...
Antisemitism
Seattle synagogue vandalized with Holocaust denial graffiti cnn
Temple De Hirsch Sinai was spray-painted with graffiti calling the Holocaust "fake history," Rabbi Daniel Weiner said.
War
Stoltenberg says NATO ready to respond to ‘assertive Russia’ politico.eu
The Polish minister confirmed that Poland and the Baltic states would host four rotating battalions and that he talked with Stoltenberg about permanently stationing weapons stores in Poland, “which is crucially important for us and strengthens our sense of security.”
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.”
Terrorism
Incendiary devices found hanging on Tyngsborough power lines bostonglobe
Federal, state, and local authorities Thursday said they could find nothing to suggest the devices were installed as part of a terror plot. But they said the incident, which involved objects resembling pipe bombs, had targeted a key electrical link between Canada and the Northeastern United States.
Society
Google Ventures Bans Investments in North Carolina recode.net
Google Ventures, now known as GV, has joined a growing list of tech and corporate heavyweights speaking out against North Carolina’s HB 2, a law that the companies say discriminates against transgender people in the state.
They continue to line up. See also Bank of America Joins Backlash Against North Carolina LGBT Law
U.S. military suicides remain high for 7th year usatoday
The Pentagon reported Friday that 265 active-duty service members killed themselves last year, continuing a trend of unusually high suicide rates that have plagued the U.S. military for at least seven years.
Heartbreaking.
North Korea
North Korea to pursue nuclear and missile programmes uk.reuters
North Korea will pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile programme in defiance of the United States and its allies, a top Pyongyang envoy said on Friday, adding that a state of "semi-war" now existed on the divided Korean peninsula.
Obama and Xi agree to fully crack down on North Korea businessinsider
"Both leaders committed... to strengthen coordination in addressing the shared threat presented by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems," the White House said.
Paganism
Spanish Archaeologists Try to Reconstruct Fragments of the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead ancient-origins
For the last 14 years, twenty archaeologists, Egyptologists, and Spanish specialists have been working on the southern foot of the hill of Dra Abu el-Naga with a team of over a hundred Egyptian workers. During this time, they have united their efforts and been studying every part of the area, and scrutinizing every centimeter of a vast necropolis which is overflowing with burials from different eras.
There seems to be a certain obsession with translating this book lately...
Apostasy
Christianity is no longer compulsory for Oxford Theology students christiantoday
The reduction in compulsory modules for second and third year students will enable other papers to be taken, including "feminist approaches to religion and theology" and "Buddhism in space and time".
Biology
A programming language for living cells mit.edu
MIT biological engineers have created a programming language that allows them to rapidly design complex, DNA-encoded circuits that give new functions to living cells.
Smoking During Pregnancy Seems to Alter Fetal DNA webmd
For the study, researchers collected blood samples from newborns, mainly from the umbilical cord. Compared to babies of nonsmokers, those born to regular smokers had over 6,000 spots where DNA was chemically modified.
AI
China To Face Off Against AlphaGo With Own AI Team androidheadlines
An A.I. development team out of China, called China Computer Go Team, has announced that they have their own Go-playing A.I. in development. While an A.I. capable of playing Go at all is an accomplishment, this team has decided that’s not quite enough. Instead, they intend to develop their A.I. with the goal of challenging AlphaGO at its own native game.
Appeal Parking Tickets Via Bot in New York City fortune
A parking-lawyer web robot that has saved British drivers nearly $4 million in fines over the past several months is now ready to help Americans, starting with New Yorkers, by appealing their tickets for free.
Complete with creepy eye icon for the bot
Space
ASAP concerned NASA is taking risks to meet Orion schedule nasaspaceflight
NASA’s key advisory body has warned the agency that schedule pressure, in combination with cost pressure, is causing compromises that carry additional risk. Focusing on the Orion spacecraft, NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) claimed NASA is “taking risk after risk” to meet the schedule for Orion’s opening missions.
Automation
Amazon, Microsoft look for big data role in self-driving cars reuters
Amazon, Microsoft look for big data role in self-driving cars
Banking
Blockchain--What You Need to Know prnewswire
Spearheaded by Bitcoin, blockchains achieve consensus among distributed nodes, allowing the transfer of digital goods without the need for centralized authorisation of transactions.
Other...
Scientists may have just uncovered an ancient Viking site in North America businessinsider
HOW DID THE APOLLO COMMAND AND SERVICE MODULES SEPARATE? popsci
Interesting videos about something you never even once wondered about
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.
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
Nuclear
Nuclear Plant Leak Threatens Drinking Water Wells in Florida nytimes
Samples of the water at various depths and sites around the power plant showed elevated levels of salt, ammonia, phosphorous and tritium, a radioactive isotope that is found in nature but also frequently associated with nuclear power plants.
Tech
Apple’s Recycling Robot Needs Your Help to Save the World wired
Apple calls the machine Liam. A custom-designed R&D experiment, Liam dismantles iPhones and sorts the components for recycling. The project was kept secret for three years, says Mashable deputy tech editor Samantha Murphy Kelly, who was allowed a sneak preview of Liam in action.
Saving the world, one iPhone at a time. Also: Liam Robot Recycles iPhones Piece by Piece (Video).
North Korea
North Korea Tests New Rocket Engine, State Media Says nytimes
North Korea said on Thursday that it had successfully tested a new rocket engine that would significantly bolster its missile capabilities, and South Korea called on its people to heighten vigilance against possible terrorist attacks by the North.
AI
Microsoft AI chatbot designed to learn from Twitter ends up endorsing Trump and praising Hitler independent.co.uk
Microsoft created a chatbot that tweeted about its admiration for Hitler and used wildly racist slurs against black people before it was shut down.
I wonder what offended Microsoft more - the Hitler reference or the Trump one? I kid! Seriously, though, I’m “eh” about chat bots in general (kind of like digital parrots, really). However, this ties into an article on a list I posted a couple days ago from business insider about machines being “Like sociopaths and psychopaths” when it comes to having a sense of morality.
Meet Baby X bloomberg
Mark Sagar started his career by building medical simulations of body parts. He took those skills and went into CGI, most famously for "Avatar," "King Kong" and others. Now he's combining his skills and building an entire brain and responsive face on a computer in order to map human consciousness.
(Video - 3:51)
Japanese AI software co-writes short story ibtimes.co.uk
The novel, ironically titled The Day a Computer Writes a Novel, was written by an AI software programme created by a team from Japan's Future University Hakodate. While it didn't take first prize at the third Nikkei Hoshi Shinichi Literary Awards, it did make it through the first round of screening.
Other...
Scientists say Shakespeare's skull may be missing from grave businessinsider
