Archive for September, 2014
Robirds
September 4th, 2014Via: Slash Gear: Unless you look really close, this robot peregrine falcon would almost look like the real thing from a distance, especially while flapping its wings high above the sky. That resemblance to a real avian predator, however faint, might just be enough to scare away other birds that would other wise ruin crops […]
BP Found Grossly Negligent in 2010 Spill
September 4th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: BP Plc acted with gross negligence in setting off the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a federal judge ruled, handing down a long-awaited decision that may force the energy company to pay billions of dollars more for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier held a trial […]
U.S., Allies to Stage Exercises in West Ukraine
September 3rd, 2014Via: Reuters: As fighting between the army and Russian-backed rebels rages in eastern Ukraine, preparations are under way near its western border for a joint military exercise this month with more than 1,000 troops from the United States and its allies. The decision to go ahead with the Rapid Trident exercise Sept. 16-26 is seen […]
Google Unveils Quantum Computing Research Initiative
September 3rd, 2014Via: Business Week: Google Inc. is broadening efforts to create its own cutting-edge computer technology, seeking to use more artificial intelligence in designs that could someday speed up its services. The company yesterday unveiled a hardware initiative to develop and build processors for its Quantum Artificial Intelligence group, which focuses on technology capable of super-fast […]
NASA Building Air Traffic Control System for Drones
September 2nd, 2014Via: The Verge: NASA is developing an air traffic control system for drones. The New York Times reports the US space agency is working on creating a management system for vehicles that fly at around 400 to 500 feet off the ground — much lower than conventional aircraft — at its Moffett Field base around […]
Halliburton Will Pay $1.1 Billion to Settle Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Lawsuits
September 2nd, 2014Bargains. Via: The Verge: Halliburton has agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle much of its part in 2010’s Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster. The incident killed 11 people, and resulted in the largest oil spill in this history of the US after offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded. Halliburton was responsible for cement […]
350 More U.S. Troops to Iraq
September 2nd, 2014Via: ABC: An additional 350 U.S. troops will go to Iraq to protect U.S. personnel stationed in Baghdad, the White House announced today. The State Dept. had requested extra military personnel for security, and after the Department of Defense reviewed that request and recommended it be granted, President Obama approved the additional forces today, White […]
Millions of Americans Living in Extreme Poverty
September 2nd, 2014Via: Brookings Institution: In the United States, the official poverty rate for 2012 stood at 15 percent based on the national poverty line which is equivalent to around $16 per person per day. Of the 46.5 million Americans living in poverty, 20.4 million live under half the poverty line. This begs the question of just […]
Nigeria Launches New Biometric ID Card – Brought to You by Mastercard
September 2nd, 2014😯 Via: ZDnet: 13 million person pilot of national identity card combines both biometric verification for state services and a prepayment wallet aimed at bringing financial services to the poorest. … Civil liberties NGO Privacy International, which has raised concerns about misuse of surveillance data in Nigeria in the past — including the arrest of […]
In Maryland, a Soviet-Style Punishment for a Novelist
September 2nd, 2014Via: The Atlantic: A 23-year-old teacher at a Cambridge, Maryland, middle school has been placed on leave and—in the words of a local news report—”taken in for an emergency medical evaluation” for publishing, under a pseudonym, a novel about a school shooting. The novelist, Patrick McLaw, an eighth-grade language-arts teacher at the Mace’s Lane Middle […]
