Archive for August, 2015
Breathing Beijing’s Air Is the Equivalent of Smoking Almost 40 Cigarettes a Day
August 24th, 2015Via: Economist: Pollution is sky-high everywhere in China. Some 83% of Chinese are exposed to air that, in America, would be deemed by the Environmental Protection Agency either to be unhealthy or unhealthy for sensitive groups. Almost half the population of China experiences levels of PM2.5 that are above America’s highest threshold. That is even […]
GMO: “Independent Expert” Was Actually Paid $25,000 by Monsanto
August 24th, 2015Via: GM Watch: In what appears to be an exercise in damage limitation, an article in the journal Nature has disclosed that Kevin Folta, a plant scientist at the University of Florida, received a US$25,000 grant last year from Monsanto. Monsanto noted that the money “may be used at your discretion in support of your […]
NASDAQ FUTURES: LIMIT DOWN
August 24th, 2015Via: CNBC: U.S. stock index futures screamed lower on Monday, with Dow futures (Chicago Board of Trade: @DJ.1) briefly tumbling more than 700 points, as fears surrounding the health of China’s economy multiplied. The Dow futures held about 650 points lower, with the S&P futures off about 70 points, and the Nasdaq 100 futures off […]
China Shares Wipe Out 2015 Gains as Stocks Tumble 8.5%
August 24th, 2015Via: MarketWatch: Chinese stocks plummeted Monday, erasing gains for the year, as fears about the deepening effects of a slowdown in the world’s No. 2 economy rattled investors world-wide. Stock markets slid across Asia and a number of regional currencies fell to fresh multiyear lows. China’s main stock index, which closed 8.5% lower on Monday, […]
Afghanistan Has Cost the U.S. More Than the Marshall Plan
August 23rd, 2015Via: Bloomberg: The U.S. has now spent more on the reconstruction of Afghanistan than it spent on the Marshall Plan, which resuscitated Europe after World War II, according to a special inspector general. The Marshall Plan delivered $103 billion in today’s dollars to 16 European countries between 1948 and 1952. That has now been topped […]
Asia Stocks Continue to Plummet
August 23rd, 2015Via: Reuters: Asian stocks dived to 3-year lows on Monday as a rout in Chinese equities gathered pace, hastening an exodus from riskier assets as fears of a China-led global economic slowdown roiled world markets. Safe-haven government bonds and the yen rallied on the widespread unrest in the financial markets, set in motion nearly two […]
Updates Back to Normal Tonight
August 22nd, 2015I’ve been down in the South Island visiting with friends for the weekend. I’m headed home now, so updates will be back to normal soon.
U.S. Government, Police Working on Counter-Drone System
August 20th, 2015Via: Reuters: As concerns rise about a security menace posed by rogue drone flights, U.S. government agencies are working with state and local police forces to develop high-tech systems to protect vulnerable sites, according to sources familiar with the matter. Although the research aimed at tracking and disabling drones is at an early stage, there […]
Is a Cambrian Explosion Coming for Robotics?
August 20th, 2015“Gill A. Pratt will be stepping down next month from his position as a Program Manager of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Arlington, Virginia…” Via: American Economic Association (.pdf): About half a billion years ago, life on earth experienced a short period of very rapid diversification called the “Cambrian Explosion.” Many theories have […]
Carbon Nanofibres Made from CO2 in Air
August 20th, 2015Via: BBC: Scientists in the US have found a way to take carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and make carbon nanofibres, a valuable manufacturing material. Their solar-powered system runs just a few volts of electricity through a vat full of a hot, molten salt; CO2 is absorbed and the nanofibres gradually assemble at one […]
