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).
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 Korea
North Korea Fires 5 Short-Range Missiles Into The Sea npr
"The missiles were fired near the eastern coastal city of Hamhung, and analysts say the short-range projectiles traveled about 120 miles," Elise tells our Newscast unit.
Creepy Robots
Sophia The Robot youtube
(Video - 2:37)
AI
The Sadness and Beauty of Watching Google’s AI Play Go wired
At first, Fan Hui thought the move was rather odd. But then he saw its beauty. “It’s not a human move. I’ve never seen a human play this move,” he says. “So beautiful.” It’s a word he keeps repeating. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.
Google just proved how unpredictable artificial intelligence can be businessinsider
Like the previous article, but includes an interesting section near the bottom:
Like sociopaths and psychopaths, AIs may be able to learn to imitate empathetic and ethical behaviour, but we should not expect there to be any moral force underpinning this behaviour, or that it will hold out against a purely utilitarian decision.
Exploring the risks of artificial intelligence techcrunch
Artificial intelligence is making an extreme entrance into almost every facet of society in predicted and unforeseen ways, causing both excitement and trepidation. This reaction alone is predictable, but can we really predict the associated risks involved?
Twitter Facial Analysis Reveals Demographics of Presidential Campaign Followers technologyreview
The analysis by Wu and co is straightforward. They study both candidates’ followers, their user names, geographical information and each follower’s number of followers to determine their influence. In particular, they look at each user’s picture and use a machine-learning program to determine whether it shows a male or female and to identify that person’s ethnicity.
Medical
Blind woman may see thanks to gene therapy and light engadget
The procedure injected her eye with viruses containing DNA from light-sensitive algae, letting them mimic the eye's rods and cones by generating electricity whenever they're subjected to light.
Korean startup develops handheld sonogram zdnet
Mobile healthcare isn't just about fitness trackers and apps: South Korean startup Healcerion has developed an innovative handheld sonogram device and accompanying big data analyses for on-scene check-ups that could save thousands of lives.
Medical?
Brain-Zapping Headphones Could Make You a Better Athlete technologyreview
The mild stimulation, called transcranial direct current stimulation, essentially makes it “slightly easier for the neurons to fire,” says Chao. ...some scientists say marketing claims like the ones Halo is making are irresponsible because they are not grounded in peer-reviewed science.
Israel
Jordan to install cameras at Jerusalem mosque news.yahoo
Jordan said on Sunday it will set up security cameras around Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the coming days to monitor any Israeli "violations".
Some of the last Jews of Yemen brought to Israel in secret mission jpost
Clandestine activity of the Jewish Agency culminated in the aliya of the 19 Jews, fourteen from the town of Raydah and a family of five from the capital Sanaa.
The Jewish Agency noted that some fifty Jews remain in Yemen...These last Jews have chosen to remain in the country without Jewish communal or organizational infrastructure, the Jewish Agency said.
Apostasy
Who is an evangelical Christian? christiantoday
Evangelical: One word, various shades of meaning. Thus, the confusion on who are the real evangelicals and what their real numbers are.
British Baptists and same-sex marriage: Can the denomination hold it together? christiantoday
The statement, emailed to ministers and church secretaries on Friday, stressed the independence of the local congregation – part of the BUGB 'Declaration of Principle' – but under the heading 'Walking together in Unity' said that "recognising the costs involved and after careful and prayerful reflection and listening, we humbly urge churches who are considering conducting same-sex marriages to refrain from doing so out of mutual respect".
Others...
Marble Machine (music instrument using 2000 marbles) youtube
(Video - 4:32)
Mathematicians Have Discovered a Prime Conspiracy wired
Metallic Ink Revealed in Burned Vesuvius Scrolls news.discovery
1896 Horseless Carriage Was a Hybrid Car news.discovery
