Archive for the 'Economy' Category
The Vending Machine Of The Future Is Here, And It Knows Who You Are
December 9th, 2014I haven’t bought anything from a vending machine since 2005. Then again, I haven’t been to a town with traffic lights in nearly two years. In any event, here’s one for your bulging Not-The-Onion file folder. Via: Telegraph: The Luce X2 Touch TV vending machine, which was debuted to industry professionals in Hertfordshire in October, […]
Energy Crisis: Turn the Wind Turbines Off When the Electricity Prices Get Too Low
December 7th, 2014What we’re dealing with in New Zealand is sort of mini, South Pacific version of Enron. —New Zealand: Commercial Solar Boom Underway Most people in New Zealand haven’t heard of Enron’s numerous and insidious scams, but they should familiarize themselves with what happened: Before passage of the deregulation law, there had been only one Stage […]
Afghanistan: The Making of a Narco State
December 6th, 2014Oh yes, the big “mystery” as to why the Taliban cut off opium production baffles Rolling Stone. 9/11 scratches more itches than anyone in the corporate media could possibly imagine. I’d say that one of main purposes of 9/11 was to restart the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars of heroin money into the […]
Enphase Says Solar + Solar Market “Infinite,” Ahead of Australia Battery Pilot
December 5th, 2014Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in NZ. Via: RenewEconomy: When the world’s biggest supplier of solar inverters (sometimes described as the “brains” of solar PV systems) sets up camp in Australia, it’s probably a development worth noting. California-based “solar-tech” company Enphase opened offices in Sydney and Melbourne around 18 months ago, and since then, […]
Sears to Accelerate Closings, Shutter 235 Stores
December 5th, 2014Via: CNBC: Sears shares fell Thursday, after the struggling department store announced an adjusted net loss of $296 million—in line with the updated guidance it gave in November. The retailer also said it’s accelerating the number of stores it plans to close this year, boosting its list from the 130 underperforming stores it announced in […]
Chinese Economy Now Largest in the World
December 4th, 2014Via: Marketwatch: The Chinese economy just overtook the United States economy to become the largest in the world. For the first time since Ulysses S. Grant was president, America is not the leading economic power on the planet. It just happened — and almost nobody noticed. The International Monetary Fund recently released the latest numbers […]
Iraqi Army ‘Had 50,000 Ghost Troops’ on Payroll
December 3rd, 2014Via: BBC: An investigation into corruption in the Iraqi army has revealed that there were 50,000 false names on its payroll. Known in the military as “ghost soldiers”, they either did not exist or no longer reported for duty, however their salaries were still paid. A statement from the PM’s office said the payments have […]
Google’s Intelligence Designer
December 3rd, 2014Via: MIT Technology Review: But Hassabis sounds more excited when he talks about going beyond just tweaking the algorithms behind today’s products. He dreams of creating “AI scientists” that could do things like generate and test new hypotheses about disease in the lab. When prodded, he also says that DeepMind’s software could also be useful […]
Electricity Infrastructure in Detroit “Beyond Salvage”
December 2nd, 2014Via: Mlive: When a major U.S. city’s government loses power to its schools, fire stations, government buildings and sporting arenas because it’s operating on an antiquated power grid that it can’t afford to update, it’s national news, Detroit proved Tuesday. Media across the nation covered the power outage that selectively impacted municipal buildings in Detroit, […]
As Oil Prices Plunge, Wide-Ranging Effects for Consumers and the Global Economy
December 2nd, 2014Via: Washington Post: Tumbling oil prices are draining hundreds of billions of dollars from the coffers of oil-rich exporters and oil companies and injecting a much-needed boost for ailing economies in Europe and Japan — and for American consumers at the start of the peak shopping season. The result could be one of the biggest […]
