Posts - Americans

NASA Tries Crowdfunding To Save Neil Armstrong’s Space Suit

News

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has launched a campaign to raise funds in order to conserve and restore the spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong on the first-ever moonwalk in 1969. The campaign is aptly entitled “Reboot the Suit.” Beginning the restoration project now will hopefully allow the suit to be made available to the public by July 2019, the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

NASA has partnered with the organization Kickstarter, a program that allows individuals to donate to a particular cause, in order to raise the necessary funds. The conservation project is necessary to both protect the spacesuit and to make it available to the public as the suit is deteriorating and has not been displayed to the public since 2006.

NASA is a federally funded program and federal appropriations provide the majority of the Smithsonian’s operating budget. However, projects like Reboot the Suit do not receive federal funding, so the only way to conduct this restoration project is through private funding. Utilizing a program like Kickstarter allows countless people the opportunity to become part of this historic project and all those who donate on Kickstarter will receive regular updates on the project and can follow the process each step of the way.

Like most of the spacesuits in the Air and Space Museum’s collection, Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit is presently stored in a climate-controlled storage area not accessible to the public. Interestingly, these spacesuits that protected astronauts while they travelled to the moon and back, are extremely fragile. Conservation efforts are required in order to stop the current deterioration of the spacesuit and to ready the suit for public display and access.

As scientists complete the restoration process, they will utilize state-of-the-art technology and techniques in 3D scanning, chemical analysis, photogrammetry and CT scanning that will create a detailed map of the spacesuit in order to documents its condition. This research will aid scientists in creating the perfect environment to protect the suit for public display while preserving the suit in its present condition.

As of 4:27 P.M. EST on July 20, 2015, the Kickstarter campaign has raised $79,466 of the requested $500,000 by 1,040 donors. The campaign will run until August 19, 2015.

Curious UK Driverless Car Law Still Requires A Non-Driving Driver

Entertainment News

The United Kingdom took steps Monday to join in the global adoption of driverless vehicles, enacted legislation that makes driverless cars street legal though curiously not so driverless. If the new laws are in place long term the future of driverless road transportation in England and possibly other parts of the world hardly looks like the stuff of dreams.

The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has laid down the law regarding driverless technology. The advent of driverless vehicles was seen by many as the end of traffic legislation because machines have rules engraved into their systems. Unlike humans, they are infallible. They neither break the law nor make mistakes. However, UK lawmakers are not taking any chances. Through a new set of rules to be released by the DfT, road users keen on acquiring driverless vehicles will have a lengthy set of guidelines to follow.

Some of the rules have not changed. Car owners, for example, will still have to get insurance cover and a roadworthiness certificate. However, beyond that, everything else is different.
Perhaps the most peculiar rule is that owners must “maintain the regular appearance of someone driving a car – like looking in the correct direction when at junctions… to not confuse other motorists.” This effectively means that operators must look like they are in control of the vehicle, even though they are not, which effectively takes away the whole purpose of having a driverless vehicles.

Other regulations prohibit the consumption of alcoholic beverages or drugs before going into their cars and consequently on the road. Also, use of mobile phones inside the vehicles is strictly outlawed.

Additional features are expected to be fitted inside the vehicles before they can be deemed roadworthy. They include a “black box” similar to those found on aircrafts. The black boxes would be responsible for “capturing data from the sensor and control systems associated with the automated features as well as other information concerning the vehicle’s movement.” The feature will improve the operators’ experience by ensuring their safety on the road.

With driverless technology already being rolled out in multiple states across the globe, legislative backing is required. Yet while the UK has set the pace for other countries lagging behind in adoption due to no proper legal framework it appears it may have jumped the gun and crafted rules that severely handicap the bright future of a promising technology yet to be fully developed or understood by lawmakers.

After all, who wants to pretend to drive a driverless vehicle.

After 50 Years United States And Cuba Reopen Embassies

Entertainment News

At 12:01 a.m. this morning, the United States and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations when they reopened embassies in each other’s countries. This historic move took more than two years to coordinate and is greater than 50 years in the making. Specifically, both nations had to overcome years of enmity and animosity in order to make this work. The Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, will travel to the Cuban Embassy in Washington D.C. to raise the Cuban flag, while the raising of the United States flag in Cuba will take place in August, when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Havana. Kerry’s visit to Cuba is the highest-level trip by an American official to Cuba since 1959.

The reopening of embassies is the first step in what is expected to be a years-long process of diminishing Cubans’ anti-American sentiment. Cuban President Raul Castro stated last week that “a new stage will begin, long and complex, on the road toward normalization.” This stage “will require the will to find solutions to the problems that have accumulated over more than five decades and hurt ties between our nations and peoples.”

Ties between Washington and Havana finally snapped in 1961 when Cuban leader Fidel Castro threatened to expel American diplomats for meddling in Cuban affairs. The Cuban government had seized American property and executed American officials from the Fulgencio Batista regime, which was overthrown by Fidel Castro. The years that followed included the failed U.S. led invasion of the Bay of Pigs, the declaration by Fidel Castro that his revolution was socialist, repeated CIA attempts to assassinate Castro, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. These events further poisoned relationships between the countries for decades.

Despite these events, in 1977, a brief period of improved relations between Cuba and the United States occurred and both countries opened Interests Sections in the buildings of their former embassies. These Interests Sections were a step below embassies and allowed the sparring countries to maintain diplomatic dealings without officially restoring relations.

Despite the reopening of the embassies, many questions remain, such as if/when the American trade embargo of Cuba will be lifted; whether Cuba will improve the human rights of its citizens; and whether the lives of Cubans will improve. Presently, the average income of a Cuban citizen is $20 monthly.

The Obama administration recently eased travel restrictions between the countries and expanded the amount of goods that Americans visiting Cuba could take home, such as Cuban cigars and rum. Earlier this spring, Obama also removed Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. All of these measures will hopefully, in time, improve everyday relationships between the countries and will encourage citizens of both countries to accept each other rather than further instill negative feelings about each other.

Chinese Government Caught Censoring Nearly 5 Per Cent Of All Social Media Posts

Entertainment News

In China’s growing online community, comments on corrupt administration officials, ‘unwarranted’ mention of Chinese politics and even anti administration rumors are strictly prohibited. So much do the Chinese rulers wish to suppress such information that they are censored and even deleted such comments from Chinese social media without the users’ knowledge.

Research on China’s online community indicated glaring intrusions by the Chinese government into people’s lives. Conducted by Citizen Lab, from the University of Toronto, the researchers indicated that censorship on China’s online community occurred on a massive scale that included the mainland’s most popular texting app WeChat.

Censorship of mobile texts in the country is an open secret. What the report brought to light was the shocking extent to which it occurred. Out of 36,000 posts covered by the study between the months of June 2014 and March 2015, 4% had been censored. In addition, 100 public accounts on WeChat had been shut down for “spreading distorted historical information.”

The report’s author, Jason Ng, reported that keywords relating to corruption were five of the 50 most sensitive keywords. Chinese president Xi Jinping’s has been widely criticized for not doing enough to stem the country’s rampant corruption that is already threatening to bring down decades of economic progress. Rather than encouraging citizens to speak openly about the vice and even report suspicious transactions to authorities, the president prefers censorship of such “rumors”. According to him, such “sensitive” information needs to be kept off public forums, especially if it involves his own strong men such as Bo Xilai, who has been charged with multiple counts of corruption.

What is even more puzzling is how these censorships are carried out. According to Ng, it was impossible for an algorithm to pick up all keywords arithmetically, some needed human intervention to pick up. Ng said, “WeChat appears to tread in ambiguous waters [regarding censorship], forcing us to ask questions like: are those who object to a given post regular users, or are they employees of WeChat or the government?” If government agencies are involved, that would be the greatest act of intrusion into its citizens’ privacy and breach of their inherent rights to unrestricted interaction and unlimited expression.

In 2013, Beijing launched an “anti rumor campaign” that threatened all rumormongers with unprecedented gaol time. The administration then cracked down on religious movements such as the Falun Gong. By the time reports of social media censorship erupted, the citizens had had enough. Pro democracy protests escalated in the country’s capital all through the end of last year, threatening to tear apart one the world’s largest economies. President Xi Jinping’s administration’s intolerance to opposition is a far much greater threat to the country’s stability than are a handful of comments on mobile chat forums.

North Korea Reports 99.97 Per Cent Turnout For Local ‘Elections’

Entertainment News

North Korean officials, not exactly known for their love of democracy, reported a stunning 99.97 percent voter turnout for the recently held State controlled local elections, which are held to “elect” representatives nominated by the ruling party.

In the past State controlled media have reported a 99 per cent voter turnout with all those voting saying “yes” for uncontested candidates.

The official Korean Central News Agency Pyongyang (KCNA) said “All participants took part in the elections with extraordinary enthusiasm to cement the revolutionary power through the elections of deputies to the local people’s assemblies.”

Apparently the only eligible voters who do not cast a vote are those out of the country according to KCNA. Even the elderly, the infirm and hospital patients vote through “mobile ballot boxes”.
Setting an example for the democratic process was North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who cast his vote in front of a barrage of media cameras.

In 2011, 28,116 representatives were elected as deputies to local assemblies with not a single vote of opposition to the candidates.

During each four-year term, the State approved candidates who enter the election unopposed, meet once or twice each year to “approve” budgets and “endorse” leaders put forward by the ruling party.

Last year, North Korea, ruled by the Kim family for more than sixty years, held national elections for its rubber-stamp parliament with a 99.97 percent voter turnout.

Foreign Affairs experts said the only worthwhile thing that comes from such election is that they provide a glance into who is still favored by Kim Jong-un and who is not, as dozens of senior North Korean officials have been kicked out of seats of power by the leader since he took control following his father’s death in 2011. One of those was his once favored and powerful uncle Jang Song-Thaek, who was sentenced to death in 2013 for being “factionalist scum”.

In April Kim Jong-un also replaced his defence minister, whom he had executed with an array of anti-aircraft guns, highlighting that the nation of North Korea is run in a truly medieval fashion.

Falling Ruble Leads To Spike In Counterfeit U.S. Dollars Inside Russia

Entertainment News

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of counterfeit foreign bank notes floating around Russia following the devaluation of the ruble which raised the value of the US dollar and the Euro according to the Russian Central Bank. In a statement the Bank said that for the first half of 2015 there had been a 39.9 percent rise in the number of fake notes discovered within the banking system.

A Bank spokesman said many more fake dollar and euro notes would be circulating within the retail system, undetected.

Just recently 1,500 foreign bank notes were taken out of circulation after being found floating within bank branches. The Russian news agency Interfax said 1,400 of the notes were US dollars and only 90 were euros, as they were harder to fake.

Meanwhile because of the falling value of the ruble, there has been an apparent decrease in the rate of fake domestic notes being produced. The number of fake ruble bills discovered fell by 2.1 percent in the first half of 2015 – 7,300 fake notes worth 150.8 million rubles ($2.7 million). Of these, 76.7 percent were 5,000 ruble bills ($88), the largest denomination.

The ruble’s value fell when the West imposed sanctions over Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis and when oil, Russia’s main export, prices fell. Since January 2015, the value of the ruble has fallen by 40 percent against the U.S. dollar and almost 30 percent against the euro.

The European Central Bank has reported that in the second half of 2014, 507,000 counterfeit notes were withdrawn from circulation from a total of 16 billion real euro bills in circulation for the same period.

There has also been a resurgence of black market currency trading similar to the Cold War era, with everyone from taxi drivers to staff working in hotels frequented by tourists offering visitors exchange rates much higher than they would get at official foreign exchange centers or banks.

Relationship Cheaters On Edge World Wide As Affairs Site Ashley Madison Hacked

News

Tens of thousands of relationship cheaters are especially nervous this morning as Ashley Madison, the eHarmony for adulterers, was revealed to have been hacked by a group that is now threatening to release users’ personal data unless the site discontinues its services. The Impact Team, an unknown hacking group, released caches of users’ personal data from the website to demonstrate the validity of their claims.

Chief executive Noel Biderman, who helms the Canadian parent company Avid Life Media (ALM), acknowledged the breach and commented that he was “working diligently and feverishly” to pull the leaked data offline.

ALM has acknowledged being one of the latest companies to have been hacked despite advanced protective technologies The company has guaranteed a thorough investigation and will receive help from law enforcement going after the hackers.

Although the amount of information hacked by the Impact Team remains unclear, the hacking group has claimed to have access to financial records, user databases and other sensitive data. Samples of this data such as employee credentials and bank account data of the company have been leaked by the group.

The Impact Team says that they hacked ALM for their “false claims” that users could clear their membership information for only $19. AdultFriendFinder was hacked by cybercrooks only weeks before this incident is a very similar situation.

The Impact Team claims that, despite what ALM claims, the billing information of users such as names and addresses stay after users delete their account info.

The hackers demand that the ALM websites be taken offline or personal information of users will be leaked to the public. This hack poses a greater threat than typical security breaches of social networking or e-commerce sites. The data that was breached can potentially be used for extortion or blackmail.

Whatever the motives of the attackers the breach of an online hookup site with millions of members poses a far greater problem than a similar hack against a mainstream e-commerce or social networking site. Users are being warned by security experts of the potential risks involved with this security breach, including violence by angered domestic partners.

Renowned Physicist Stephen Hawking Backs $100 Million Search For Alien Life

Culture

The search for extraterrestrial life stepped up a notch today with the announcement from renowned Professor Stephen Hawking that he is backing a new initiative which will use sound in an attempt to answer the long asked question of “is there life in space?”

The $100 million initiative, reportedly the biggest to date in support of the search for life in space as we know it, will involve a ten year period of eavesdropping on broadcast signals from one million stars closest to Earth.

Speaking on behalf of the Breakthrough Initiatives group at the Royal Society in London today, Hawking said: “Somewhere in the cosmos, perhaps, intelligent life may be watching these lights of ours, aware of what they mean. Or do our lights wander a lifeless cosmos – unseen beacons, announcing that here, on one rock, the Universe discovered its existence. Either way, there is no bigger question. It’s time to commit to finding the answer – to search for life beyond Earth,” he said.

“We are alive. We are intelligent. We must know.”

The public was encouraged to help in the efforts to find a signal from space through the SETI@home project.

The Breakthrough Initiatives group claims the search for “signs of intelligent life” will cover an area 10 times bigger than any previous program, and will scan five times more of the spectrum of radio broadcast signals at a speed 100 times faster than before, using the Green Bank Telescope which is in West Virginia, USA, and the Parkes Telescope in the Australian State of New South Wales.

The Astronomer Royal, Lord Martin Rees said “The search for extraterrestrial life is the most exciting quest in 21st-century science. The Breakthrough Initiatives aim to put it on the same level as the other ultimate scientific questions.”

The man bankrolling the initiative is Yuri Milner, the US based high tech billionaire, He said he believed technology was now at a stage where it was possible to put listening for extraterrestrial intelligence signs in a proper scientific context.

Current technology gives us a real chance to answer one of humanity’s biggest questions: Are we alone?,” he said . “With Breakthrough Listen, we’re committed to bringing the Silicon Valley approach to the search for intelligent life in the Universe. Our approach to data will be open and taking advantage of the problem-solving power of social networks.”

Hawking added that the search for extraterrestrial life was one of the most important scientific endeavours humans had to attempt.

“To understand the Universe, you must know about atoms – about the forces that bind them, the contours of space and time, the birth and death of stars, the dance of galaxies, the secrets of black holes.”But that is not enough,” he said.

“These ideas cannot explain everything. They can explain the light of stars, but not the lights that shine from planet Earth.To understand these lights, you must know about life. About minds.”

Deadly New African Bird Flu Has Health Officials On High Alert

Health & Wellness

Health and medical organizations throughout West Africa are on high alert following reports that a highly contagious strain of avian flu is quickly spreading through the region. The reports say the flu is wiping out poultry farms and there are fears the virus strain will spread to humans.

The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said poultry farms and markets throughout Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria have been hit hard with the H5N1 virus which if unchecked has the potential to affect 330 million people across West Africa, a part of the world still reeling from the Ebola crisis.

The news also mean that U.S. farms and health officials will be on high alert as a similar yet less virulent strain of avian influenza has decimated chicken populations across the midwest this year.

FAO head Juan Lubroth said “Urgent action is needed to strengthen veterinary investigation and reporting systems… to tackle the disease at the root, before there is a spillover to humans.”

He said in Nigeria 1.6 million birds have been either killed by the disease or have had to be killed to stops its spread, damaging the economy and removing a relatively cheap food source in the impoverished country.

There have not yet been any reported outbreaks in the other West African countries of Cameroon, Mali and Togo Benin, but agricultural groups are on high alert to prevent the virus’s spread.

Both local and international medical aid groups are preparing for the worse and many of the measures used recently in attempts to contain the deadly ebola outbreak will be deployed if the virus spreads to humans. The UN has asked for $20 million from donors to respond to the outbreak and prevent its spread.

West African officials have been urged by the U.N. to trace where infected animals had been sold in an attempt to find the sources of the outbreak.

Lubroth said the poultry industry has grown rapidly throughout West Africa in recent years with the Ivory Coast for example reporting a growth of 60 percent. However regulatory systems and veterinary services have not keep pace.

H5N1 bird flu reportedly first infected humans in Hong Kong in Hong Kong, spreading throughout Asia and into Africa and Europe.

Defense Giant Lockheed Acquires Helicopter Maker Sikorsky In $9 Billion Deal

Finance

In a big move for Lockheed Martin, the largest U.S. weapons maker will acquire Sikorsky Aircraft, a division of United Technologies. The sale price: $9 billion. The deal is expected to close later this year or early 2016. Sikorsky, maker of the Black Hawk and Marine One helicopters, has been manufacturing helicopters for the U.S. government since 1958. The acquisition is the largest for Lockheed since it bought Martin Marietta for approximately $10 billion over twenty years ago. Lockheed’s purchase of Sikorsky further strengthens the weapon maker’s stronghold on the United States defense business, with its nearest competitors, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, only small players.

Department of Defense budget reports show that the United States military has requested $1.6 billion to buy 94 UH-60 Black Hawks in 2016. Further, in 2014, Sikorsky won a $1.24 billion contract from the United States Navy to manufacture six new helicopters by 2020 and a total of 21 helicopters by 2023. These new helicopters will replace the current Marine One Fleet.

Sikorsky accounted for only 10% of United Technologies’ profits for the first quarter of 2015. Company officials state that selling the Sikorsky division will allow the company to focus more of its attention and power on other high-tech factions of the defense industry. United Technologies also owns the Otis brand of elevators, the Carrier line of air conditioners and the Pratt & Whitney brand of jet engines.

The Black Hawk helicopter was made famous for its missions in Somalia in 1993. Eighteen American soldiers were killed during the Battle of Mogadishu where two helicopters were shot down. The events became the basis of the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.”

Both shares for Lockheed Martin and United Technologies rose more than 1% this morning in early trading.

New York’s JFK Airport To Open New Terminal Exclusively For Animals

News

A new luxury terminal for at JFK airport will open in 2016. Yet the 178,000 square foot facility won’t be for humans but rather it will be used exclusively by animal passengers. The new facility comes as the present facility, Vetport, built in the 1950s, is increasingly in disrepair. Aptly named ARK, after Noah’s Ark, the new terminal will provide state of the art holding and quarantine areas for all types of animals.

Horses in quarantine, which usually lasts three days, will rest in hay-lined, climate-controlled stalls featuring showers and will have daily exercise. The facility will have the capacity to hold up to 70 horses and 180 cattle at any given time and there will also be an aviary for birds, holding pens for sheep, pigs and goats, and a special area for penguins to allow mating privacy.

Cats will have their own tree to climb and dogs will have access to a 20,000 square foot luxury resort facilitated by the company, Paradise 4 Paws, that includes flat-screen televisions, massage therapy, doggie pedicures and bone-shaped splashing pools. Owners will have the ability to watch their beloved pets via webcam.

Maybe most importantly, all animals will have access to veterinary care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, run by Cornell University’s veterinary school.

Presently, JFK airport receives the majority of animals entering the United States. As of now, horses must be driven to a quarantine facility in Newburgh, NY about 81 miles north of the airport. The new ARK facility will eliminate this drive and further will allow planes to taxi directly to the facility. This should reduce stress on the horses as well as injury.

ARK Development has signed a 32- year lease for the facility with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the completed facility will be subject to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approval.

Fares for animals utilizing the facility have yet to be determined. It is likely that fancy dog suites could cost greater than $100 per night. Presently, it costs approximately $1,000 to transport a dog from the United States to London. It can cost over $10,000 to transport a horse.

Despite the cost, millions of pet owners will utilize the amenities that the ARK facility will offer. The pet industry is booming and more often than not, pet owners do not hesitate to spend large amounts of money in order to pamper their beloved companions.

Air Filled Tires Could Soon Become Thing Of The Past

Finance

The days of the “I got a puncture on the way to work” late excuse may be coming to an end with news that air filled (pneumatic) tires may soon be a thing of the past. South Korean tire manufacturer Hankook said it was in the final stages of factory testing a series of consumer oriented airless tires (also called non-pneumatic tires, or NPTs).

American tire manufacturers Michelin and Polaris have had NPT’s on sale since late 2013, but these are designed for agricultural vehicles like tractors and combine harvesters, and off-road ATV’s.

Hankook said its’ focus was on producing NPT’s for the much more profitable consumer market, not just for low-speed, ruggedness applications like its two American competitors.

A statement released by Hankook said the current series of “rigorous tests” were designed to prove stability, durability, and hardness (efficiency), which included the ability to take high-speed turns on a slalom like course and the ability to maintain “integrity” at speeds in excess of 80 mph.

The statement said the tests had shown “impressive results in five categories which demonstrated that the NPTs could match conventional tires in terms of performance.”

Road safety experts said although the Hankook internal test results were promising, there was no guarantee that the tires would be released for consumer use any time soon. They said there would need to be a lot of independent safety testing done before they were allowed to be sold generally.

Environmental groups have welcomed the news of the NPT’s because the tires are fully recyclable and appear to have a much longer life than traditional tires, and also because Hankook has found a way to lessen the manufacturing carbon print by reducing manufacturing steps from eight to four.

NPT’s have long been used for children’s bikes, wheelbarrows, shopping carts and other slow speed requiring wheeled applications but their durability, especially outdoors has proven to be a minus in their development.

Drone Operators In Search Of Epic Photos Again Disrupt California Firefighting Planes

News

As the California drought drags on, firefighters face a new enemy in their battle with wildfires: civilian drones.

Outside of LA on Friday, airborne firefighters were again prevented from making water drops on a wildfire by the activities of some local drone operators in search of spectacular pictures of the raging inferno. With the threat of mid-air collisions too great to continue, firefighters were prevented from performing their duties for a duration of around 20 minutes. Although drones can be a wonderful way to explore one’s surroundings, some of the “hold my beer” types are clearly interfering with the serious work of the fire teams.

Although the drone operators were likely to have obtained some extraordinary footage, civilians fled their cars on Interstate 15 as the wildfire passed through and burned many cars in the process. The charred vehicles should be a stark reminder to drone operators that the wildfires are serious business and anything that prevents an emergency response could endanger lives.

Four lanes of the I-15 were burned over a span of many yards. The blaze was battled by some 1,000 firefighters along with 22 fire engines, seven airplanes, and other equipment. The fire began in the desert near Phelan, 75 miles northeast of downtown LA. Damage totals included three houses, 64 vehicles, and eight other buildings.

The individuals fleeing their vehicles on I-15 included one Talia Sclafani, who just prior to running from her vehicle had been ordered by police to stay in her car. Trusting her own intuition, she fled along with others to a nearby hillside where they remained for three hours as the blaze passed through. Referred to as the “North Fire,” it burned over 3,500 acres and was only 5% contained. Firefighters attempted to salvage some of the vehicles by doing their water drops on the freeway, as citizens in nearby houses doused their homes and property in defense against the fire.

Conditions remain ideal for more wildfires and the FAA has placed temporary flight restrictions against unmanned drones during such fires. Compliance with the restrictions is currently voluntary, but if operation is done in a dangerous manner or the behavior continues after being contacted by the FAA, fines ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 could be imposed.

California lawmakers are eyeing tough new penalties in draft legislation revealed last week. That legislation came after earlier reports about drone operators preventing fire crews from dousing the flames.

ISIS Has Now Established A Terror Camp In Bosnia To Launch Attacks In Europe

Entertainment News

In the secluded woodlands of Bosnia, ISIS has developed a stronghold in the town of Osve, which came to light during a raid on a neighboring village by the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), Bosnia’s state police agency. It is suspected the base is being used as a training camp or possibly as a stage from which to launch terror attacks inside European countries. During the SIPA raid on the village of Gorjna Maoca, officials discovered that ISIS members have been secretly buying land in the town of Osve. The move by ISIS is logical as it is close to the Mediterranean, a travel route used by terrorists from Syria, Iraq and North Africa.

Locals regularly hear gunshots from surrounding woods, suggesting training exercises by the group. Adherents to the strict form of Islam known as Wahhabism, remained in Bosnia following the civil wars of the 1990s and many who join ISIS originate from this subset of Islam. Couple this fact with the ease of access to weapons there, as well as the remote nature of the suspected village and there is much to attract ISIS to the region.

It is known that 12 ISIS fighters have already been trained and left Osve, with five already reported dead in Syria. Known ISIS supporter Harun Mehicevic is among those who have purchased land in the village. He is joined by other ISIS members Jasin Rizvic and Osman Kekic, who are currently fighting in Syria. The report titled “The Lure of the Syrian War: The Foreign Fighters Bosnian Contingent,” states that between 2013 and 2014 there were over 200 individuals who travelled from Bosnia to Syria, including women and children. As of this January, the report also stated that around 50 individuals had returned from Syria. Sarajevo University professor Vlado Azinovic and Islamic theologian Muhamed Jusic authored the report.

Suspected individuals in Bosnia are currently under surveillance by SIPA. Fighters continue to arrive in Bosnia from Syria, and ISIS’s self-described “gateway to Europe” through Libya was announced earlier this year, with ISIS bases already established in that country. There are still many clouds on the horizon for the Mediterranean region, and Europe.

After 22 Year Drought U.S. Claims Victory At International Math Olympiad

News

In Chang Mai, Thailand, Team USA eked out a narrow yet important victory in the International Mathematical Olympiad where the team of top-ranked students from around the country battled teams from over 100 other countries to come out the winner. The win ends a 21 year gap since team USA last took the podium. Social justice warriors were quick to bemoan the fact that only two on the team were female, but it should nonetheless be celebrated considering the lackluster press that U.S. education has received in recent years. The U.S. defeated China 185-181, with South Korea taking third.

Head coach for Team USA, Po-Shen Loh, said that it is important to teach the principles behind math rather than memorization of formulas. He sees this strategy as the best way to broaden math’s appeal to U.S. students and thereby increase their abilities in the subject. Loh is not new to the competition, having been a contestant in 1999, when the U.S. took 10th place. In recent years it has usually placed second or third.

The competition at the Olympiad is much less cutthroat than in the traditional Olympics. Teams sometimes actually assist one another, and many top students do end up coming to U.S. universities. Loh said about the competition, “I will say that it’s not really a super-great spectator sport, in the sense that if you are watching them, it will look like they are thinking…inside their heads, if you could spectate, that would be quite the sport.”

In contrast to the fact that the best students from the U.S. came out on top this year, American students still remain below average in the world in math and science. The win by Team USA is a good sign, but when are we going to see a ticker tape parade in Times Square for the achievements of these mathletes? Perhaps that won’t happen until, like Loh says, the events inside the competitors minds could be displayed using some yet to be made technology.

Med School Grads Ditching Residency For Lucrative Digital Health Startups

Finance

Recent medical student graduates in the San Francisco Bay Area graduates are foregoing the residency route and instead pursuing entrepreneurship opportunities in the field of digital health. So called “digital health” is defined as the integration of wireless devices, hardware sensors, social networking, personal genetic information, etc. into the health industry. One firm that encourages this development is Rock Health, a venture capital group aimed towards bringing more technological integration to the healthcare industry.

Rock Health has worked with startups that have developed wearable devices and mobile apps to give patients more involvement in their health. One success story comes from Omada Health, which offers online coaching in dealing with preventable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. As part of their service, they mail customers a wireless scale and a pedometer to keep track of patients’ progress.

By 2012, hospitals began rapidly moving away from paper-based records and into electronic storage. With doctors currently only spending eight minutes on average for each individual patient (partially due to record-keeping needs), digital health firms allow more opportunity for physicians to keep up with patients’ progress. They could also open up access to patients who may not otherwise have been able to see a physician.

Stanford and UCSF have some of the lowest residency route stats in the country. In particular, Stanford ranked 117 out of 123 schools. UCSF is number 98. Those foregoing residency are drawn to startup opportunities like those at Rock Health. These companies have demonstrated great willingness to hire grads with no experience, in part due to their insider knowledge of the industry. Having not worked in residency, these grads would also be less complacent to practices that may need improvement.

Part of the shift of medical grads towards digital health startups may be explained by the lack of career opportunities and earning potential, along with rising discontent among the ranks of primary care physicians. UCSF MD graduate Rebecca Coelius said, “I loved working with patients but I looked around me and realized that I didn’t want the jobs of anybody who had ‘succeeded’ as a clinician.” Perhaps this revolution from the digital health industry will cast out the stereotype of the overworked and cynical doctor.

Google Expanding Into Local Services Business With HomeJoy Acquisition

Finance

Google is getting into the local services game after it announced it will be releasing technology to match local professionals to customers for services in all aspects of home maintenance. Customers will have access to services for lawn mowing, painting, plumbing, cleaning, etc. Google announced that they will be using some of the technical talent that developed by Homejoy, a company google recently acquired that allows users to connect with local cleaning professionals, but current plans for the site are to discontinue business as of July 31, 2015. This move by Homejoy is part of the push by Google towards.

The venture capital arm of Google known as Google Ventures, had previously contributed to Homejoy’s $40 million in funding. The details are not concrete yet, but there is suspicion that the talent from Homejoy will be used in a new Google search feature. Google has made similar moves in the past, having released comparative services for air travel and hospitality. They are also looking to develop a mortgage comparison feature.

Combining all these capabilities with Google Wallet could be the end goal, such that customers only enter payment information one time and have access to a multitude of services. Google Wallet is the company’s current mobile payment system. With mobile searches now outnumbering those on desktops, this strategy makes sense. Some of the upside for Google would be from taking a small fee for each transaction from the service or product to which Google is connecting the customer.

Similar efforts in this market are under works by Pinterest and Amazon. One of Google’s current partners in this area is Delivery.com. CEO of Delivery.com, Jed Kleckner, sees Google as a means to “close the last mile” in the transaction process. To that effect, he doesn’t see Google as cannibalizing sales from their online presence. Instead, he views the actions by Google as a validation of this type of industry.

Saudi Arabia Arrests Over 400 As Bloody ISIS Attacks Continue

Entertainment News

Attacks by Islamic State (IS) militants have continued through the Ramadan holiday as arrests of 431 suspected IS militants have been reported by Saudi Arabia. The announcement was made following an IS attack near the nation’s highest security prison on Thursday. In typical fashion, a car bomb was exploded at a checkpoint, but killed only the driver. Saudi Arabia has claimed that numerous plots by IS terrorists have been thwarted in recent months.

Alleged offenses include smuggling explosives, surveying potential attack sites, and manufacturing suicide vests. IS has called for attacks on Saudi Arabia and recently killed 25 people in May as a result of two Shi’ite mosque bombings. In June, 27 more were killed in a suicide bombing, also at a Shi’ite mosque.

One of IS’s stated priorities is the removal of Shi’ite Muslims from Saudi Arabia and the Arabian peninsula in general. As Sunnis and Shi’ites continue to kill each other in the region, Obama and other U.S. diplomats have been attempting to push tolerance, despite a history of conflict between the two groups dating back to the 7th century.

On Friday, one of the deadliest IS attacks took place in Iraq, killing more than 100 people in a truck bomb explosion. This particular attack involved the driver of an ice truck, who lured in customers to his truck with the announcement of a discount in honor of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan. The city where the attack took place was also a mostly Shi’ite area. Despite the constant refrain on some American media of an Islamic war on America, most victims of Islamic attacks continue to be other Muslims. With such terrible attacks continuing through Ramadan, the holiest days of Islam, the hope for this conflict to dwindle out of existence seems to be very small.

Google Posts Largest One Day Gain In U.S. Stock Market History

Finance

Following the release of its quarterly earnings report on Friday, Google posted a 16% jump in its stock, which translates to $65.1 billion for the company. This barely beat the previous record of $65 billion in 2000 by Cisco Systems Inc. The windfall occurred after the earnings report beat analyst estimates, which had not occurred since the end of 2013. Also prompting the run up in its stock price were promises by the company that it would be curtailing its spending on risky investments.

Google CFO, Ruth Porat, stated that Google will control its costs more diligently in the future. This came as welcome news to investors who had been dissatisfied with Google’s diversification away from its core business of internet search and advertising. Investment in other projects such as its self-driving cars and the unpopular Google glass eyewear, had begun to increase the growth rate of its operating expenses beyond that of the company’s revenue.

The change in strategy by Google follows its recent hire of Ruth Porat as CFO from Morgan Stanley. Google CEO Larry Page and co-founder Sergey Brin had resisted scaling back the company’s R&D projects until Porat came on board.

Google’s meteoric rise in stock price did not allow it to take Apple’s position as the most valued U.S. company. The two companies currently stand at market values of $469 billion for Google and $747 billion for Apple. The fortunes of Page and Brin each rose by over $4 billion following Friday’s events. Although some may be disappointed to learn that Google will be cutting back on its research into interesting projects, shareholders may be few among them. With revenue growth accelerating in light of new cost controls, some analysts foresee several more quarters of Google beating earnings estimates.

China Is Now Arming Rebels In Proxy War Against India

Entertainment News

Chinese meddling is suspected in the recent deaths of 18 Indian military personnel. India’s counterterrorism group, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have also discovered more evidence linking China’s involvement with north-east rebels in the Chandel district of Manipur. Such Chinese support of anti-Indian terror is not unusual. On June 25, 2015 China blocked a movement by India in the UN sanctions committee over the release of terror group leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. Lakhvi’s group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, was responsible for the 2008 Mumbai hotel attack which claimed 160 lives.

The recent attack was carried out by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang or NSCN(K) along with help from the United Liberation Front (UNLF). These are part of an umbrella group known as the United Liberation Front of Western South Asia, which India suspects is supported by China. The attack took place on June 4 following NSCN(K)’s breaking of a decade long cease fire with New Delhi. The NIA has been informed that the chief of the UNLF’s Manipur group has been in contact with China as of 2008.

NIA sources have also reported that in 2009, the UNLF leader had been involved in arms dealing along the Chinese-Myanmar border. China will sometimes use front companies as a cover for their intelligence operations, one example being Aye Kyi Kaung Co Ltd. This company was used in a meeting with the UNLF in order to discuss Indian troop and missile deployment in the northeast.

According to former member of NSCN(K), N Kitovi Zhimomi, these reports of Chinese involvement are accurate. Kitovi left the group after suspecting Chinese support was for purely selfish reasons, and not in pursuit of his group’s cause.

China’s ambassador to India in 2014 stated that, “China, India, and Pakistan ought to work together to deal with the problem of terrorism and root out the cause of terrorism.” The recent release of Lakhvi along with last month’s attack in north-east India show how empty these statements are.

Australia Takes Steps To Stop Being World’s Extinction Leader

Culture

After years of neglect and reckless inactivity toward the saddening loss of animal species, the Australian government is stepping up activity to save dozens of species at the brink of extinction. Australia already has the worst extinction record in the world. For a species, being classified as close to extinction in the country is as good as hammering the last nail on the coffin. The government’s response to calls for their increased presence in the preservation of wildlife is a welcome relief but will it be enough to save an entire species?

Australia’s Department of Environment recently launched the Threatened Species Strategy on Thursday. The strategy which was launched in Melbourne at the Threatened Species Summit seeks to protect animals and plant species nearing extinction.

Reports indicate that 20 species of mammals together with 20 birds and another 30 plants run risk of extinction in the country. An additional 1800 species have been classified as under threat.

Since 1788, Australia has lost a shocking 29 mammal species. The government’s hands off approach to preservation of wildlife has been cited as the reason for the loss of animal diversity. The Australian authorities, however, see things differently. According to them, feral cats, altered fire regimes, pests and weeds and the agricultural industry’s expansion are to blame for the spate of extinctions.

During the summit, Environment Minister Greg Hunt detailed a five year strategy to save the country’s wildlife. The minister revealed that the strategy will involve the killing of 2 million feral cats and the creation of secure havens where habitat conditions can be monitored.

Hunt said, “We are drawing a line in the sand today which says ‘on our watch, in our time, no more species extinction. It’s tough, it’s a challenge, we can do much and we can do better.”

Hunt also called upon local partners to help out where possible. He said, “This Action Plan starts now. Success will depend on strong partnerships, given we all have a role to play in the fight against extinction. The Australian Government cannot succeed without the community joining us.”

Environment groups welcomed the government’s long overdue intervention in the protection of species in Australia. Through concerted efforts between the two partners, Australia’s days as the country with the worst extinction record will be buried in the past and many threatened animals will have an opportunity to live.

European Cities Quickly Ditching Cash For Smart Payment Systems

Finance

Despite a number of concerns, European cities are now far ahead of the U.S. in the transition to a cashless economy with everywhere from hotels to grocery shops to the kindergarten kids selling cookies in the neighborhood accepting cashless forms of payment. While using hard currency is fast becoming outdated, not everyone is happy with the turn of events. Money offered the convenience of anonymity and full custody of one’s funds while with cashless systems, individual card information can be accessed by anyone including a grocer, jeweler or even the local tailor raising the prospect that this could be the end of privacy as we know it.

Europe’s fast transition to a cashless society has been heralded as the dawn of a new age. Traditional monetary operations were both time wasting and financially constraining. Grocers spent a lot of time ringing purchases and processing cash transactions, taxi drivers stalled beside roads for up to half an hour counting money and looking for change, banks handling bills and coins were forced to spare a huge chunk of employee turnover time in physically accounting for money. With the cashless system, Europe has been thrust into a new era of increased productivity and business efficiency.

Cashless transacting is exploding in Europe and the tap-and-go contactless credit card model is the most preferred. Finextra, a leading news service in Europe, put it ideally, “contactless is the new normal in Europe, with more than a billion tap-and-go purchases worth €12.6 billion on Visa cards in the last 12 months.”

However, all is not rosy with the new system. Worried Europeans are increasingly becoming alarmed over the massive amount of data companies are collecting on them. Retail chains give a unique number to new card buyers and build data on the buyer’s buying habits. Through the data, retailers can figure out intricate details such as if a buyer is married, their drinking habits, when they shop, their favorite cologne, if they are pregnant and if so, how far along they are. The cashless system has basically eroded all privacy and laid individual persons bare before all.

European citizens have had to make a tough call, choosing between the convenience of paperless transactions and their inherent right to privacy. With companies hoarding mountains of information on unaware citizens, unease is being directed toward just how much information can be gathered from individual spending habits and just how identifiable people have become.

Just what do companies do with all this personal info? Is it sold to the highest bidder? Are individual rights to privacy being breached on a global scale? Does the freedom from intrusion still hold meaning in a cashless economy? As much as a cashless system is intended to benefit the end consumer, these concerns must be addressed before its full benefits can be enjoyed.

Study Finds Summer Makes Us Lazy

Health & Wellness

Ever wonder why you often feel a little lazy, unproductive but nicer to be around in the summer?

The answer may lie in a series of studies that have been made over recent years which have found that quite figuratively, and like flowers left in the summer sun without water, our brains wilt on warm, summer days

An American Time Use Survey taken in 2008 found that on a rainy day we worked on average 30 more minutes than we did on sunny days.

Similarly, a 2012 combined University of North Carolina and Harvard University study of bank workers in Japan, found they were more productive on bad weather days than sunny days. The study involved the time workers processed loan applications, regardless of how often they had done the task.

The findings of both studies are not actually rocket science – both concluding humans lacked motivation on warm sunny days, while on unpleasant days, unless one was a rain freak, people did not want to venture outside.

The 2012 study also tried to determine why weather had an affect on production. The Harvard researchers randomly assigned study participants data entry tasks. Before beginning work, some participants were shown six photos of nice weather, outdoor activities, and were asked to note their daily routines. The researchers found participants produced less work when they viewed the fine weather photos, focusing less on their work and more on what they could be doing other than working, regardless of what the weather was like outside. Just thinking about sunny day activities before commencing work, dropped production.

Back in 1994, a study on ambient mood altering showed that pleasant weather lead to noticeable and measurable lapses of concentration. That study involved 122 undergraduates who were required to participate in higher education surveys. On fine weather days, study participants were easily persuaded to agree to less than solid arguments put forward, while on bad weather days, there was much more thought given to survey questions with answers based on free thinking rather than persuasion. The study concluded that good weather made people more open to suggestion at the expense of analysis.

Other studies have even found that the hotter the weather, the less likely people were to question what they were told. Renowned psychologist Uri Simonsohn found that potential students were more inclined to enroll in colleges that were famous for their academic workload if they visited them on a bad weather day.

A 2013 study conducted by economist Marie Connolly even concluded that on days with temperatures over 90 degrees, people were more likely to feel less saddened by the prospect of divorce or being widowed than on days with lower temperatures.

The natural question that arise from these studies is whether pollsters and advertisers take into consideration the weather when planning.

Three Year Old Girl Becomes First To Receive Artificial Skull Transplant

Health & Wellness

A three-year-old girl in China has received the first ever artificial skull thanks to cutting edge 3D printing technology. The young patient, known as Han Han, received three 3D printed titanium mesh skull implants, replacing the entire top portion of her skull.

Having received the first ever full skull reconstruction surgery via 3D printing technology Han Han will now be able to lift her head off of her pillow for the first time. At the Second People’s Hospital of Hunan Province in China, the little girl underwent the 17 hour surgery after having suffered from a rare disorder causing her head to grow four times larger than normal size. Translated from Chinese as “whole brain shrinking plastic surgery, the procedure involved the reconstruction and printing of a new titanium skull in 3D in order to reposition her brain.

“CT results showed that Han Han’s brain was filled 80 percent with water,” stated Dr. Bo of the Second People’s Hospital of Hunan Province. “If she was not sent to hospital for treatment, Han Han would not have survived the summer. We had to first eliminate the infection in Han Han’s head because the brain wound area was too large, and we needed to do skin graft surgery and insert a shunt to help eliminate the infection, and remove the fluid from her brain.”

Han Han’s father, Chen Youzhi, was strapped for cash when the child’s mother left her at 1 year old. Youzhi was able to scrape together donations of 100,000 Chinese Yuan from friends and family in order to reach the goal of 400,000–500,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately $64,000–$80,000) for his daughter’s surgery. It was via donations online that Youzhi was able to get this life-saving surgery his daughter that would change her life.

Surgeons used 3D data along with a CT scanner to develop models for 3D printing of three mesh skull implants made out of titanium that would replace the entire top portion Han Han’s skull. The process consisted of peeling her scalp from the skull and attaching it to protective saline pads. Then, drainage tubes were placed in her head, slowly releasing the CSF. Finally, the surgeons took their three 3D-printed titanium implants and placed them into her head, recreating a new skull for her.

The very first 3D printer full skull reconstructive surgery in the world was a success after Han Han was breathing and opened her eyes prior to being transferred for recovery to the ICU. As Han Han continues growing, her own bone will continue to grow and surround the titanium implants, leading to the top of her skull becoming stronger. It is expected Han Han will make a full recovery.

3D printing has aided in the improvement of many infants’ lives besides Han Han, such as Gabriel Manderville. Baby Gabriel suffered from epileptic seizures and began to forget the fundamentals he had learned. Gabriel underwent a successful hemispherectomy treatment in which a 3D-print brain replica ensuring further mental development as well as allowing him to be free of seizures.

The 3D printing revolution has led to rapid innovation in the medical world. Medical 3D printing first started with devices such as the hearing aid. Now there are 3D-printed bone replacements, implants, and soon human tissue. 3D printing advancements have helped people change how they perceive medical illnesses.

Lack Of Funding Means Thousands Of Rape Kits Sit Untested

News

Across the nation, kits taken from rape victims shortly after the horrific crime is committed are sitting on shelves without being tested. These rape kits are obtained during a four-hour invasive examination whereby medical practitioners collect DNA samples from the victim’s body. In theory, this DNA evidence should then be tested, entered into a national database, and matched to known samples in an effort to assist police in catching the rapist. At about $1,500 a pop to test each rape kit, the expense and backlog of tests prohibit some police departments from testing the kits as often as they should. In fact, records obtained from 800 police agencies reveal that they are storing more than 70,000 untested rape kits. The failure to test these kits in a timely manner result in criminals going free.

Congress recently approved $41 million in grants to assist police departments in clearing rape kit backlogs. However, evidence shows that much of these funds are not reaching local and state police authorities where the stored test kits could be tested and the backlog program reduced. Scott Berkowitz, president of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network stated that the current issue is not the amount of federal funding, but that it is not reaching the intended targets. Over the past 10 years, nearly $1.2 billion has been allocated towards addressing the country’s DNA testing needs, including the taking of inventory and testing of sexual assault kits. However, many of these funds have been spent on more general DNA testing improvements and administrative expenses.

In cases of rape, one break in the case can have exponential effects. For example, Laura Neuman was raped at gunpoint when she was 18 years old. Her rape kit sat on the shelf for years and the crime went unsolved for 19 years. Finally, Neuman insisted that police reopen the case and just days later, fingerprints resulted in the arrest of her rapist. If Neuman’s rape kit was tested right after her attack, countless women could have been saved from being brutally raped. In fact, police obtained fingerprint matches on 12 more cases, cases that never would have been solved if Neuman had not persisted that her case be reopened.

The very least agencies can do is test the rape kits that are invasively collected from rape victims after being attacked. These rape kits have the power to provide evidence identifying unknown assailants, exonerate the wrongly accused and confirm the accounts of rape victims.

International Space Station Survives Brush With Dangerous Space Pollution

Entertainment News

The International Space Station crew was ordered to take cover for a short period of time in an escape vehicle on Thursday as a small piece from an old Russian satellite almost collided with them. The latest brush with space garbage highlights the fact that as more countries send satellites and humans into orbit the amount of debris generated by these activities is becoming a serious concern for those already in orbit.

In Houston, NASA Mission Control officials were able to determine that the space junk would float near the space station at approximately 7:01 AM CT. In order to ensure crew safety, flight engineers Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly were ordered by ISS Commander Gennady Padalka to board a Soyuz escape vehicle.

The crew was instructed to go back to work once the space debris passed by without contact.

Kelly, one of the flight engineers, tweeted about the incident saying, “Happy there was no impact. Great coordination with international ground teams. Excellent training”.

No ISS systems were negatively affected as the NASA astronaut and Russian cosmonauts waited within the Soyuz pod.

As there are an estimated 500,000 pieces of space junk trapped in Earth’s orbit, NASA must weigh the risk-reward scenario when it comes to spending prolonged time in space. Although most pieces are only 2 inches across, the debris ahs to the potential to harm the space station as well as satellites. Moving at a speed of 17,500 mph, the debris can cause damage to all that lies in its path.

NASA said that this incident marks the fourth time the crew of the space station had to move to the Soyuz in order to avoid a possible collision with space junk.

In the spirit of Shark Week, after the incident, Van Cise made a suggestion in reference to Austin Powers tweeting, “We need to launch a #SpaceSharknado where sharks have freakin’ laser beams on their heads #pewpewpew,”

Both Kornienko and Kelly are on a yearlong deployment in the space station to help anticipate some issues with sending a human mission to Mars. Interestingly, Kelly, along with his twin brother Mark Kelly who is a former astronaut who last flew aboard the Endeavour Space Shuttle, is a part of twin experiment.

The space station is scheduled to receive three new crewmembers on July 22 from Japan, Russia and the US.

Hotel Staffed By Robots Offers Glimpse Of Japan’s Future

Entertainment News

The new Henn-na hotel near Nagasaki, Japan offers guests a unique experience as most of the hotel staff consists of robots. The name of the hotel fittingly means “strange” in Japanese as the hotel is a combines an amusement park with a standard business hotel. The hotel is located north of Nagasaki in Sasebo and is a part of a Holland-based amusement park called Huis Ten Bosch. The hotel featuring androids and dinosaur robots is set to open today. It features 72 rooms and a 20 member staff, half robots and half humans.

When first entering the hotel, guests are greeted with a giant robot arm used in industries. Supplied by Yaskawa electric, this robotic arm serves a cloakroom for those interested. Guests place their belongings inside a receptacle in the wall from where the robotic arm can reach. From there, the arm places the luggage in one of 30 different cubbyholes. Another interesting feature is the facial recognition for door entry. Guests can be scanned at the front desk and use their face in the place of a key. A robot concierge is also available to answer questions, in English and Japanese, for guests about the surrounding amusement park.

The rooms, designed by associate professor at the Institute of Industrial Science in the University of Tokyo Yoshiyuki Kawazoe, have a minimalist appeal to them and come complete with a personal android robot on a bedside table. This robot can pull practical information from the Internet such as weather forecast and can wake up guests. Vending machines can also be seen throughout the hotel. During a press review earlier this week, there was some minor malfunctioning with the robots.

The hotel is built to accommodate the growing number of visitors to the Huis Ten Bosch amusement park. Also, the Henn-na hotel is one of the cheapest options in the area as it offers rooms for around $73, which is half of the price of other hotels in the area. Replacing human staff with robots in an attempt to keep prices down is a reoccurring trend in Japan. Some are excited about the move towards a more automated experience while others are worried about the loss of jobs and the effect that will have on the economy. Yet Japan’s population is increasingly elderly and the birth rate is falling, meaning in order to stay productive the country must quickly adopt the widespread use of robots.

CDC Warns Of Rapid Spread Of Lyme Disease Across The Country

Health & Wellness

A new report by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that Lyme disease is spreading across the country. In addition to the disease’s expansion throughout the nation, it is also becoming more prevalent in known hotspots along the East coast. So, as the numbers of counties with a high incidence of Lyme disease has increased more than 320%, the disease is also appearing in states where it was never previously recorded.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. This bacteria is found on and transmitted by the blacklegged deer tick, Ixodes scapularis.

According to the CDC, there are apparently two main reasons to explain the rapid expansion of the disease: 1) climate change; and 2) reforestation/suburbia. Warmer climates cause the life cycle of the tick carrying the culprit bacteria to speed up. This means that the tick will survive long enough to breed and spread the bacteria to more ticks. As ticks can be active any time the temperature is above freezing, warming climates throughout the country means more areas for the ticks to thrive.

The expansion of suburbia, including the forest clearing and reforestation that goes along with it, has resulted in an increase in the number of favorable habitats for the offending ticks. Specifically, white mice are the natural predators of deer ticks. As people clear forests that are homes to white mice, thereby killing them off, the deer tick population has soared. Moreover, the newly established neighborhoods are often built along the new forest lines, placing humans in close proximity to the ticks’ habitats.

Lyme disease, identified in 1975, can cause a number of health problems. Patients treated with antibiotics right after infection are usually cured without any residual problems. However, left untreated, Lyme disease can cause symptoms affecting the skin, nervous system, heart and/or the musculoskeletal system.

In the majority of cases, a bull’s eye rash, about two inches wide, will appear and expand around the bite site. Early symptoms include chills, fever, headache, stiff neck, joint/muscle pain, fatigue and swollen glands. As the disease progresses and if left untreated, symptoms such as severe fatigue, stiff neck, tingling/numbness in the extremities or facial paralysis can occur.

As ticks attach to humans only as a result of direct contact, it is important to be aware of your surroundings when outside and near the woods. Search yourself, your children and pets for ticks after the day’s adventures and be attuned your body. If you experience the aforementioned symptoms, it would not hurt your doctor and express your concerns.

Creepy Apple Patent Reveals Plans For Ad Targeting Based On What’s In Your Bank Account

Finance

A patent filing by Apple Inc. has revealed a creepy new plan to show iPhone users ads based on the amount of money available in your their bank account. The idea is to show only ads for products a user can afford.

The system that Apple secured with the patent advertises “goods and services to users of mobile terminals, based for example on the users’ profile.” According to the patent, the profiles of users may be based from their available pre-paid credit, meaning the system would connect to a bank account or other sources of financial information.

Apple filed the patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last year.

Although Apple already keeps important user bank details with Apple Pay, this new patent will have the company storing even more information about bank accounts and the income of its user, essentially building a financial fingerprint of everyone who has an Apple account.

Profiles created for users will include information such as target telephone type, sex, age, income level as well as available credit. Advertisers who post ads on through the new service will then be able to target users based on this highly personal data.

Apple claims this is to be an opt-in service and that the advantage of having the system will mean users only seeing ads of things that they can afford rather than things out of their price range, though what starts as opt-in only usually doesn’t stay that way.

With only a patent in the works, there is no guarantee that this system will ever make it to the market. As with Apple Pay, it is highly unlikely that Apple would sell the information gathered from users to advertising companies though that wouldn’t prevent them from using the information if it was provided through Apple’s interface.
As technology increases and becomes more personalized, users will have to decide whether the added convenience and customization is worth the invasion of privacy as companies like Apple begin to have access to more and more personal information. Although Apple and it’s advertisers may have good intentions with the information the mass harvesting of data can lead to negative unforeseen consequences for users, such as from data breaches and discriminatory business practices.

Six Years And Millions Of Miles Later, Google’s Self Driving Cars Finally Involved In Injury Causing Accident

Finance

After six years of testing and millions of miles travelled, one of Google Inc.’s self-driving prototype cars was finally involved in its first accidents with injury on Thursday in Mountain View, California. Google, better known for its ubiquitous search engine, is quickly emerging as a leader in the self-driving car industry and regularly tests on public roadways. Thankfully only minor injuries were reported to its passengers and employees.

Google stated that the three employees involved in the July 1st rear-ending complained of minor whiplash and were examined and released to go back to work. The other car’s driver also complained of pain in his back and neck.

In California, an individual has to ride behind the wheel of any self-driving vehicle tested on public roadways in order to take control in an emergency situation. Typically, Google sends an additional employee out in the passenger seat in order to record information concerning the ride on a laptop. In this instance, there was a passenger in the back seat too.

Google has heavily invested as a leader of self-driving vehicles; technology it feels will ultimately be more efficient and safer than human drivers.

Google stated that in six years of testing and 1.9 million miles, this was the 14th accident. Google also stated that its cars have not been the cause of any accidents, even though in 2011 a car was taken out of self-driving mode and used on an errand by an employee who was rear-ended by another vehicle.

Google also said that its cars were rear-ended in 11 out of 14 of the accidents.

Chris Urmson, head of Google’s self-driving car program, wrote in a blog post on Thursday that his cars “are being hit surprisingly often” by distracted drivers, perhaps people looking at their phones.

“The clear theme is human error and inattention,” Urmson wrote. “We’ll take all this as a signal that we’re starting to compare favorably with human drivers.”

Urmson said in a telephone interview that his team was looking in to whether its cars could somehow alert distracted drivers prior to a collision. Honking is one possibility, but Urmson stated he did not want to annoy the residents of Mountain View.

In an accident report filed by Google with the California Department of Motor Vehicles concerning the July 1 crash:

Google’s SUV was travelling behind two other vehicles at approximately 15 mph in self-driving mode as the vehicles approached a green light at an intersection.

The first car slowly came to a stop in order to avoid blocking the intersection — traffic was completely stopped on the far side. The Google car along with the car in front of it stopped.

Within approximately a second, a fourth vehicle rear-ended the Google vehicle at approximately 17 mph. The other car failed to brake according to on-board sensors.

The other car’s driver reported “minor neck and back pain.” The SUV’s rear bumper suffered minor damages, and the vehicle that hit it losing its front bumper.

While Mountain View police responded, an accident report was not filed.

The collision puts the company into interesting legal territory about just who takes the blame if fault must be assigned in a crash. Given Google’s vehicles are not piloted by humans, who merely observe the actions of the computer, there are questions of liability – is it the vehicle’s owner or Google itself that should be blamed?

The rarity of human harm caused by the vehicles has thus far not fully opened this can of legal worms but this is expected to be a significant hurdle for the industry to cross as the technology becomes more widespread.