Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Recovery: New York City Homeless Shelters Fill as Rent Aid Disappears
December 28th, 2013Via: Wall Street Journal: New York City homeless shelters—swelling with record-high populations not seen since the Great Depression—are increasingly being sought out by people who participated in a now-defunct rent-subsidy program designed to reduce homelessness, according to a report to be released Saturday. The author of the report, the Coalition for the Homeless, a nonprofit […]
Brainlike Computers, Learning From Experience
December 28th, 2013Here’s one for your Omni-Magazine-Déjà-vu-Moments file folder. Via: New York Times: Computers have entered the age when they are able to learn from their own mistakes, a development that is about to turn the digital world on its head. The first commercial version of the new kind of computer chip is scheduled to be released […]
Michigan: Cars with Self Drive Mode Allowed on Roads; On Board Human Supervision Required
December 28th, 2013Via: CBS: Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a law allowing companies to test driverless cars on Michigan roads. But there’s a key point: Someone must be in the car. In a statement Friday, Snyder says the law is important to keep Michigan involved in research and development of car technology. He also mentioned a need […]
Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap 2013-2038
December 28th, 2013Via: U.S. Department of Defense: 4.1.5 Autonomy and Cognitive Behavior Nearly all unmanned systems require active control of basic vehicle operations and behavior that affects communications, manpower, and system effectiveness. One of the largest cost drivers in the budget of DoD is manpower. A significant amount of that manpower, when it comes to operations, is […]
“The bodies of the poor, when they are not captive, are worth little to corporations. But bodies behind bars can each generate $40,000 to $50,000 a year for corporate coffers.”
December 27th, 2013Via: Truthdig: Shares in the Philadelphia-based Aramark Holdings Corp., which contracts through Aramark Correctional Services to provide the food to 600 correctional institutions across the United States, went public Thursday. The corporation, acquired in 2007 for $8.3 billion by investors that included Goldman Sachs, raised $725 million last week from the sale of the stock. […]
‘We Are Creating Walmarts of Higher Education’
December 27th, 2013Via: The Atlantic: Universities in South Dakota, Nebraska, and other states have cut the number of credits students need to graduate. A proposal in Florida would let online courses forgo the usual higher-education accreditation process. A California legislator introduced a measure that would have substituted online courses for some of the brick-and-mortar kind at public […]
$19M AIDS Vaccine Fraud
December 26th, 2013The remarkable thing here is that he was busted. Via: Medical Daily: Iowa State University researcher, Dr. Dong-Pyou Han, resigned after news broke of an investigation into the validity of his AIDS research. Han is believed to have tampered with research results for a possible AIDS vaccine. “At Iowa State’s request, the research samples in […]
No Hands on Deck: Dawn of the Crewless Ship
December 26th, 2013Automation, lower costs, you know the routine. The monkey wrench in the gears appears further down in the piece. Via: Financial Times: Remote-controlled ships used to come wrapped up as presents under the Christmas tree, but if European researchers and one of the world’s best-known engineering groups have their way, full-size versions will start replacing […]
Pentagon Spending Billions of Dollars on Accounting Boondoggles; Yes, Trillions Still Missing
December 23rd, 2013Black hole. Via: Reuters: With its efforts to build reliable accounting systems in disarray, the Pentagon isn’t likely to meet a congressionally mandated 2017 deadline to be audit-ready. All other federal agencies are audited annually, in accordance with a 1990 law, and with rare exceptions, they pass every year. The Pentagon alone has never been […]
Outrageous HSBC Settlement Proves the Drug War is a Joke
December 23rd, 2013Via: Rolling Stone: If you’ve ever been arrested on a drug charge, if you’ve ever spent even a day in jail for having a stem of marijuana in your pocket or “drug paraphernalia” in your gym bag, Assistant Attorney General and longtime Bill Clinton pal Lanny Breuer has a message for you: Bite me. Breuer […]
