Brain
Elon Musk launches Neuralink, a venture to merge the human brain with AI theverge
The company, which is still in the earliest stages of existence and has no public presence whatsoever, is centered on creating devices that can be implanted in the human brain, with the eventual purpose of helping human beings merge with software and keep pace with advancements in artificial intelligence. These enhancements could improve memory or allow for more direct interfacing with computing devices.
Society
WATCH: University Students Stumble over Who Has Freedom to Live and Work According to Beliefs adflegal.org v
Don’t like President Trump? It’s fine to tell people you won’t write a speech supporting him. Muslim singer? No one should force you to perform at an Easter service under threat of government punishment. But for a Christian creative professional, photographer, writer, or artist, it seems they must live by a different standard. To get a sense of just how confusing this issue seems to be for some, we visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison to hear what students have to say.
Society
Same-sex Valentine's Day cards are on the shelves at Sainsbury's for the first time home.bt w!
The 'cute' cards have a simple design featuring illustrations of a man and a man, and a woman and a woman, along with the words ‘You + Me’.
Syria
Aleppo: Russia announces ‘humanitarian pause’ as residents fear devastating ‘final push’ from Putin and Assad independent.co.uk
The break in hostilities is planned for daylight hours on Friday, with two corridors opened for rebels, whom are allowed to take their arms, and six others for civilians and the wounded.
Also see Russia calls for 10-hour ‘humanitarian pause’ in Aleppo timesofisrael
Archaeology
Gate shrine from First Temple period unearthed at Tel Lachish National Park jpost
A rare gate shrine dating to the First Temple period (8th century BCE), unearthed in Tel Lachish National Park, near Mount Hebron, may prove King Hezekiah’s Biblically-recorded efforts to abolish worship in the region, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday.
Also see II Kings 18:1-8
Space
The Spin of the Milky Way galaxy's Halo spaceref
Astronomers at the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts lsa.umich.edu (LSA) discovered for the first time that the hot gas in the halo of the Milky Way galaxy is spinning in the same direction and at comparable speed as the galaxy's disk.
Society
Transgender 'woman' arrested for voyeurism in Target changing room washingtontimes
Police responded to a call on Monday from a woman who said she noticed someone reaching over her stall and taking pictures while she was trying on clothes, the Post Register reported. The victim confronted the perpetrator, who ran out of the store.
Also see Transgender 'woman' accused of videotaping 18-year-old in Target fitting room pix11, where at least the police are shown with some remaining sanity:
Smith is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in Bonneville County and was booked as a male into the Bonneville County Jail bonnevillesheriff on a $30,000 bond.
Abortion
The FAQs: Supreme Court Rules on Texas Abortion Case thegospelcoalition.org
In one of the most significant rulings on abortion in decades, the Supreme Court ruled on Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt in a 5-3 decision to overturn state laws designed to regulate abortion clinics in a way that would protect women’s health.
For a related story, see US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pharmacists' Case against Extreme Washington Law
Syria
In Syria's Aleppo, divided locals share fear of total siege foxnews
As government forces mount attacks to close the only road to the opposition-held areas in the east of the city, rebels outside Aleppo are slowly constricting the passage to the western, government-held side. International relief organizations have warned that the city of Aleppo is "effectively cut off from humanitarian aid.
Also see Russia says 48-hour truce reached in Syria's Aleppo
Basic Income
Swiss say 'no' to a guaranteed income from the government usatoday v
Nearly 77% of the voters opposed the controversial measure that would mandate the government to pay $2,600 a month to each adult — regardless of work status or wealth — and $650 to each child. Only 23% favored the referendum.
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.”
Global Economy
Connecting everyone to internet 'would add $6.7tn to global economy' theguardian
Bringing internet access to the 4.1 billion people in the world who do not have it would increase global economic output by $6.7 trillion (£4.6tr), raising 500 million people out of poverty, according to a study by PwC.
Babel
This nifty earpiece will translate your conversations in real-time thenextweb v
Working much like the Babel Fish from ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,’ the Pilot can translate live speech. So, if you have it in your ear and you’re talking to someone who speaks French – you will hear what they say in English and they will hear you in French.
AI
Artificial Intelligence Recreates Nobel Prize-Winning Physics Experiment - In One Hour forbes
“A simple computer program would have taken longer than the age of the universe to run through all the combinations and work this out.”
Google made an insanely high-res camera to preserve great works of art theverge v
"The capture time has been reduced drastically," says Marzia Niccolai, technical program manager at the Cultural Institute. "Previously it could take almost a day to capture an image. To give you an idea, now if you have a one meter by one meter painting, it would take 30 minutes."
Government Tech
UK developing digital driving licence bbc
CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood said: "Security has taken a significant step forward to support digital payments on phones, so the framework is in place for other secure applications, such as a digital driving licence.
There are not many people in the UK that do not carry a smartphone with them every day, so it is a logical next step.
Exosuits, robot arms and mini subs: This is the military's future armytimes
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency filled the courtyard at the Pentagon on May 11 with a variety of exhibitions at its annual DARPA Demo Day, giving the defense community and media a chance to see the next steps to maintain supremacy on the battlefield.
See this article for DARPA’s New Robotic Arm is Straight Out of Terminator v. Note: the video might make some a little uncomfortable. Like me. :)
Self Driving Vehicles
Otto, founded by ex-Googlers, is bringing self-driving technology to trucks techcrunch v
Unlike others, which are designing new vehicles that drive autonomously, Otto focuses on technology that can be fitted into trucks that are on the road now. Rather than eradicating drivers by making them obsolete, the immediate goal is assistance. The duo told Backchannel that, among many things, they aim to let drivers safely take a sleep break while leaving their truck driving autonomously.
3D
3D printer uses lasers to create metallic objects in midair engadget v
...instead of spitting out one layer over another, the machine was designed to ooze out metal that immediately freezes solid. That allows it to print free-form patterns that look like they're suspended in air, like coils. Created by the university's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the printer uses "ink" composed of silver nanoparticles. A focused laser then heats the material and solidifies it as it comes out.
Shape-shifting modular interactive device unveiled bristol.ac.uk v
Cubimorph is a modular interactive device that holds touchscreens on each of the six module faces and that uses a hinge-mounted turntable mechanism to self-reconfigure in the user’s hand. One example is a mobile phone that can transform into a console when a user launches a game.
Ok...so this looks like blocks...moving around :) To get a 'long view' perspective on the intention of this kind of technology, Create Anything You Want With Programmable Matter v is a good, introduction video of how dreamers dream when they dream of programmable matter.
Society
Supreme Court dodges major decision on Obamacare birth control reuters
The court's action avoided a possible 4-4 split that would have affirmed the lower-court rulings. The justices, shorthanded following February's death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, threw out seven rulings by federal appeals courts around the country that had backed the Obama administration.
Canada Moves to Ban Discrimination Against Transgender People nytimes
The legislation comes at a time of intense debate over transgender rights in the United States, and it fulfills a pledge Mr. Trudeau made during his election campaign last year. The government timed the introduction of the bill to coincide with an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
Mexico's president calls for nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage theguardian
The announcement, which coincides with the National Day Against Homophobia in Mexico, came after Nieto met at a roundtable with representatives of LGBT groups.
Abortion
South Carolina passes bill banning abortion after 19 weeks startribune
The legislation will now head to Gov. Nikki Haley's desk. The Republican said in March she will almost certainly sign it, but wants to look at the details once it reaches her desk.
Pope
Pope Francis says Islam and Christianity share an ‘idea of conquest’ washingtonpost
“It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam," he said. "However, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest."
Yet another reminder that the Pope does not speak for God! Also see Pope Francis: Christianity and Islam must integrate in Europe
China
Pentagon: China Restructures for War freebeacon
The armed forces were reformed with new military regions, a new command structure, and updated strategies to better fight regional, high technology warfare, the 145-page report to Congress says.
Israel
Jerusalem is being divided de facto' israelnationalnews
A number of leftwing NGOs including Ir Amim and Tag Meir have called upon Israeli police this week to bar the annual Jerusalem Day “Rikudgalim” march from parts of the Old City.
Without peace, Mideast extremism will hit Israel,' Abbas warns jpost
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the French initiative for an international peace conference aimed at resolving the Middle East conflict.
“When two sides are invited to a meeting, one cannot present preconditions,” the Palestinian leader said. “It’s the international community that should determine what is right and what isn’t.”
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')
North Korea
Kim Jong Un says North Korea won’t use nukes first usatoday
Kim warned the U.S. to stay out of Korean affairs but offered to enter talks with South Korea aimed at easing tensions on the peninsula. "As a responsible nuclear weapons state, our republic will not use a nuclear weapon unless its sovereignty is encroached upon by any aggressive hostile forces with nukes," Kim told the Workers' Party of Korea congress in Pyongyang. Kim added that the North "will faithfully fulfill its obligation for non-proliferation and strive for the global denuclearization."
Amazing Tech
Reconfigured Tesla coil aligns, electrifies materials from a distance phys.org v
The system works by remotely oscillating positive and negative charges in each nanotube, causing them to chain together into long wires. Cherukuri's specially designed Tesla coil even generates a tractor beam-like effect as nanotube wires are pulled toward the coil over long distances.
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.
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.”
Society
Excitement in China as Google, Instagram jump Great Firewall – for just two hours washingtonpost
It was a brief moment of excitement and freedom, swiftly crushed.
A good reminder of the freedom we haven't yet lost.
Looming Tie Leads to Rare Move from SCOTUS (Little Sisters) nbcnews
In a highly unusual move that could be designed to head off a 4-4 tie, the U.S. Supreme Court today asked new questions in one of the term's most contentious cases — the contraceptive requirements of Obamacare.
N.C. attorney general refuses to defend ‘bathroom bill’ in court washingtontimes
North Carolina’s attorney general said Tuesday he will not defend the state’s “bathroom bill” in court after several pro-LGBT groups filed a lawsuit challenging the legislation’s constitutionality.
Sigh. See "the list" of those leaning with disgust on NC: More than 80 Major CEOs, Business Leaders Demand North Carolina Repeal Discriminatory Law
ISLAMOPHOBIA testkitchen.huffingtonpost
It might be impossible to create a comprehensive list of discriminatory acts against American Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim, but The Huffington Post will document this deplorable wave of hate for all of 2016 using news reports and firsthand accounts. The breadth and severity of Islamophobia in America can no longer go unnoticed. Enough is enough.
Huffington Post (a site I rarely link) has taken on the task of being the defenders of Islam. Like a watchdog for anything anti-Islam ranging from true hate to conservative Christians talking about hope in Christ. The Poverty Law Center must be proud.
Genetics
If We Don’t Own Our Genes, What Protects Study Subjects In Genetic Research? iflscience
President Obama remarked “I would like to think that if somebody does a test on me or my genes, that that’s mine.”
Lots of people would make that same assumption – it seems sensible that we would each “own” our genetic information. But the legal reality is quite different. And that could turn out to be a problem, because research projects like the Precision Medicine Initiative rely on research participants trusting that their information is protected once they agree to share it.
Also see The Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program
Israel
Report: ISIS planning 'imminent' attacks on Jewish children in Turkey jpost
Islamic State terrorists had reportedly "advanced plans" to murder Jewish children in attacks aimed at educational and youth institutions in Turkey, according to Britain's Sky News on Monday.
Temple Institute Inaugurates Registry of Biblically Eligible Kohanim jewishpress
The Temple Institute has announced a bold new initiative to identify, select and register kohanim-priests who would be eligible to participate in the process of preparing the Red Heifer, which is used in the ritual of purifying Jews from the tuma-impurity of the dead.
Banking
Bank of England to Raise Bank Capital Buffer as Safeguard nytimes
Lenders in Britain would be required to set aside the equivalent of 0.5 percent of their assets as weighted by risk by March 29, 2017, the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee said on Tuesday.
Also Bank of England warns on Brexit, tightens buy-to-let mortgages with video
This is the apocalyptic scenario Britain's biggest banks have to face in the Bank of England's latest stress test businessinsider
The test will be the third run by the Bank of England, and is used as a measure of how well Britain's banks would be able to cope should the world suffer a major economic shock in the coming year.
AI
McCann Japan hires first artificially intelligent creative director thedrum
The AI has been built to respond to a product or message with the optimal commercial direction, based off historical data. The AI has also been built to then learn from the results of the campaigns its directed, in theory creating an increasingly more effective AI creative director.
Tech
Nano Dimension files patent for 3D printed shielded conductors in PCBs 3ders
Since its inception in 2012, Israeli 3D printing company Nano Dimension has risen to the top of its field; namely, the development of 3D inkjet, 3D software, and nanomaterials. Just last week, the company announced a partnership with FATHOM to bring the Nano Dimension Dragonfly 2020 3D printer to Silicon Valley and surrounding areas, and the company has now signalled its intention to develop further innovative solutions for its 3D printed PCBs, both locally and internationally.
Brain Tech
IBM delivers a piece of its brain-inspired supercomputer to Livermore national lab 3ders
The TrueNorth chip itself has more than 5.4 billion transistors, about as many as a state-of-the-art conventional silicon chip today. But this chip’s transistors are configured as a million neurons, or the equivalent of brain cells, and 256 million synapses, or connections. It consumes only about 70 milliwatts of power, or the equivalent of a hearing-aid battery. That’s an order of magnitude better than other solutions, said Dharmendra S. Modha, an IBM fellow and chief scientist of brain-inspired computing at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., in an interview with VentureBeat. The Livermore project is an important test of a new computer architecture that could be used in everything from single-chip computers to systems with thousands of chips.
Japan
Japan approves record-high budget, focusing on defense, economic recovery usatoday
The Japanese government approved a record defense budget Tuesday as new laws went into effect, easing restraints on Japan’s military and permitting Japanese troops to defend the United States for the first time since World War II.
Also Security legislation takes effect
Space
Mystery object crashes into Jupiter nypost
Something slammed into Jupiter last week, leaving amateurs and experts alike coming up with their own big bang theories.
Includes blurry, shaky videos :)
NASA’s new inflatable space home cnbc
It looks like a giant pillow, but is meant to be a home away from home for astronauts in space.
With animation of how it'll work...maybe
End of the World
5 Dates the World Was Supposed to End smosh
For as long as mankind's been around, humans have been predicting exactly when we’re all going to die. The “Millennium Apocalypse” panic had many convinced the Earth would end on January 1, 1000, perhaps due to Y1K stone tablet glitches. London astrologers (note, NOT astronomers) predicted a worldwide flood for February 1, 1524, causing many English to head off to higher pubs. And we all remember how the planet ceased to be on December 21, 2012, according to the Mayan Apocalypse at the end of the 13th b’ak’tun, either due to an asteroid, alien invasion, supernova, or failure to renew our planet license.
A reminder that only the Father knows the day and hour when the world will end:
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matt 24:36-39 NASB, c.f. Mark 13:24-32)
Other...
Motorized Papasan Chair is the Most Comfortable Form of Transportation Around industrytap
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)
