Pentagon Hasn’t Disclosed Thousands of Air Strikes by U.S. Army Helicopters and Drones
February 6th, 2017Via: Military Times:
The American military has failed to publicly disclose potentially thousands of lethal airstrikes conducted over several years in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, a Military Times investigation has revealed. The enormous data gap raises serious doubts about transparency in reported progress against the Islamic State, al-Qaida and the Taliban, and calls into question the accuracy of other Defense Department disclosures documenting everything from costs to casualty counts.
In 2016 alone, U.S. combat aircraft conducted at least 456 airstrikes in Afghanistan that were not recorded as part of an open-source database maintained by the U.S. Air Force, information relied on by Congress, American allies, military analysts, academic researchers, the media and independent watchdog groups to assess each war’s expense, manpower requirements and human toll. Those airstrikes were carried out by attack helicopters and armed drones operated by the U.S. Army, metrics quietly excluded from otherwise comprehensive monthly summaries, published online for years, detailing American military activity in all three theaters.
Most alarming is the prospect this data has been incomplete since the war on terrorism began in October 2001. If that is the case, it would fundamentally undermine confidence in much of what the Pentagon has disclosed about its prosecution of these wars, prompt critics to call into question whether the military sought to mislead the American public, and cast doubt on the competency with which other vital data collection is being performed and publicized. Those other key metrics include American combat casualties, taxpayer expense and the military’s overall progress in degrading enemy capabilities.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military activity in all three war zones, indicated it is unable to determine how far back the Army’s numbers have been excluded from these airpower summaries.
FedEx Bets on Automation as It Prepares to Fend Off Uber and Amazon
February 5th, 2017Via: MIT Technology Review:
When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight, your FedEx package might someday be delivered by a robot.
Rob Carter, FedEx’s chief information officer, says the shipping giant is considering small vehicles that could drive around neighborhoods and make deliveries without human drivers.
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FedEx is also researching ways it could further automate the way it transports packages. Carter says the company is working with the startup Peloton Technology, whose semi-autonomous technology electronically links trucks into small caravan groups called platoons. The system, which uses wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication to enable the driver of a lead truck to control the gas and brakes of a truck following closely behind him, is designed to reduce wind resistance and save fuel. The technology is considered a significant step toward fully autonomous trucks, and Peloton has said it will release it in late 2017.
Carter says FedEx is also “very much interested in” completely autonomous trucking and has partnered with several automakers that specialize in that technology, including Daimler and its Freightliner truck division and Volvo.
Europe: Vegetable Shortages Due to Weather
February 4th, 2017Via: Reuters:
British supermarkets have taken to rationing shoppers to three iceberg lettuces per visit after bad weather hit growing conditions in Spain, leading to a shortage in supplies that is set to continue through to March.
Tesco (TSCO.L), Morrisons (MRW.L) and Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) have all imposed restrictions on bulk purchases after production in Spain was hit by crop damage from flooding late last year followed by unusually cold weather last month.
The limited supply of lettuces follows a continuing shortage of courgettes in Britain. Supplies of broccoli and aubergines have also been limited.
The shortages add to the problems for UK supermarkets who are already facing inflationary pressures as a result of the weaker pound since Britons voted to leave the European Union last year.
Vegetable production in the EU is at 60 percent of the normal level due to bad weather affecting producers right across the Mediterranean, from Greece to Spain, the Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers and Live Plants (FEPEX) said.
Exports from Spain, which accounts for around half of EU vegetable exports, have fallen by around 30 percent although this varies by crop.
Fukushima Reactor Radiation Levels Soaring Unexpectedly
February 4th, 2017Via: ScienceAlert:
The radiation levels inside Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor No. 2 have soared in recent weeks, reaching a maximum of 530 sieverts per hour, a number experts have called “unimaginable”.
Radiation is now by far the highest it has been since the reactor was struck by a tsunami in March 2011 – and scientists are struggling to explain what’s going on.
The previous maximum radiation level recorded in the reactor was 73 sieverts per hour, a reading taken not long after the meltdown almost six years ago. The levels are now more than seven times that amount.
Exactly what’s causing the levels to creep upwards again is currently stumping the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco). But the good news is that they say the radiation is safely contained within the reactor, so there’s no risk to the greater population. *wink*
The Surgeon Giving His Patients VR Instead of Sedatives
February 3rd, 2017Via: BBC:
The surgeon makes his first cut and blood spills down Ana’s leg. She’s surrounded by medical equipment – stools, trolleys, swabs, syringes – with super-bright surgical lamps suspended above the bed. Her vital signs are displayed on monitors just behind. But Ana is oblivious. She’s immersed in a three-dimensional re-creation of Machu Picchu. She begins her journey with a breathtaking aerial view of the ancient city clinging to the mountainside, before swooping down to explore the details of stepped terraces, moss-covered walls and tiny stone huts.
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Engrossed in the virtual reality, she barely noticed the scalpel slicing her flesh. “I was transported,” she says. “Normally I’m very stressed, but now I feel so, so relaxed.”
The End of Employees
February 3rd, 2017Via: Wall Street Journal:
Never before have American companies tried so hard to employ so few people. The outsourcing wave that moved apparel-making jobs to China and call-center operations to India is now just as likely to happen inside companies across the U.S. and in almost every industry.
SNOLAB: Inside the Dark Matter Lab Buried Over a Mile Underground
February 2nd, 2017Via: Vice:
SNOLAB, one of the world’s premier laboratories, searches for dark matter, supernovas, and neutrinos 6,800 feet underground.
Yemen: Al-Qaeda Knew SEALs Were Coming
February 1st, 2017Via: ABC:
Al-Qaeda fighters seemed ready for Sunday’s deadly Navy SEAL raid in Yemen, a source familiar with the action told ABC News, almost as though they knew the Americans were coming.
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Accompanying the SEALs on the raid were dozens of special operations forces from a partner nation in the region, the source familiar with the raid told ABC News.
With armed drones flying overhead, the SEALs arrived at the compound under the cover of darkness and immediately took heavy fire, the source said.
According to the source, it was clear that the AQAP fighters in the compound knew the Americans were coming and engaged them with heavy weapons.
On Monday, Davis said there were women among the AQAP fighters who “ran to pre-established positions as though they had trained to be ready and trained to be combatants and engaged with us.”
AP Claims Trump Threatened to Use U.S. Military Force Inside Mexico
February 1st, 2017Via: AP:
President Donald Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send U.S. troops to stop “bad hombres down there” unless the Mexican military does more to control them itself, according to an excerpt of a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press.
The excerpt of the call did not make clear who exactly Trump considered “bad hombres,”—drug cartels, immigrants, or both—or the tone and context of the remark, made in a Friday morning phone call between the leaders. It also did not contain Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s response.
Shell Will Start Installing Electric Vehicle Chargers at Its Gas Stations This Year
February 1st, 2017Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand.
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Via: Electrek:
In a future where the world’s car fleet is rapidly transitioning to electric vehicles, gas stations will be forcefully downgraded to simple convenience stores and consequently, they will lose a significant revenue stream brought in by people stopping for gas but buying something at the convenience store.
Some oil companies have accepted that the transition is happening and started installing electric vehicle chargers at their gas stations. Shell is the latest major company to jump on board.
The company says that they will start deploying the charging stations in Britain and the Netherlands later this year.
Shell’s business director John Abbott revealed the new business plan to Financial Times (paywall):
“We have a number of countries where we’re looking at having battery charging facilities. If you are sitting charging your vehicle, you will want to have a coffee or something to eat.”
Related: Total Installing Solar Panels at Its Gas Stations
