The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is late to the geoengineering party, at least compared to its British counterpart. But it has now arrived, with an influential friend in tow: the CIA.
Continue reading… “CIA investigates geoengineering to fix climate”
Winklevoss twins
Bitcoin, an alternative crypto-currency, exists outside the realms of governments and central banks. But now, two backers of the digital money are seeking to bring bitcoin into the investing mainstream — if they win the approval of the United States government.
Continue reading… “Winklevoss twins plan to bring Bitcoin into the investing mainstream”
Three-person IVF could eliminate debilitating and potentially fatal mitochondrial diseases that are passed on from mother to child.
The UK is set to become the first country to allow the creation of babies using DNA from three people, after the government backed the IVF technique.
Continue reading… “UK government to allow three-person IVF”
National Security Agency headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland.
New York Times: The revelations that telecom carriers have been secretly giving the National Security Agency information about Americans’ phone calls, and that the N.S.A. has been capturing e-mail and other private communications from Internet companies as part of a secret program called Prism, have not enraged most Americans. Lulled, perhaps, by the Obama administration’s claims that these “modest encroachments on privacy” were approved by Congress and by federal judges, public opinion quickly migrated from shock to “meh.”
Continue reading… “NSA surveillance is criminal”
Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, says the internet is facing a “major” threat from “people who want to control it on the sly” through “worrying laws” such as SOPA, the US anti-piracy act, and through the actions of internet giants.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during the Global Alcohol Policy Symposium.
A couple months ago, Philip Howard, a professor at the University of Washington and the Central European University, was walking past Gezi Park with a Turkish friend at dusk. He had just joined Philip from prayers and asked him what he thought about the brewing debate over the park’s future. Like most Turkish voters, he is a fan of the country’s prime minister, Erdogan. Like most of the country’s voters, his friend easily integrates his faith with his daily routines. But he said simply “Istanbul doesn’t need another Mosque.” He started pointing off in different directions. “There’s one there, there and there. And there and there and there. Istanbul needs a park.”
Continue reading… “Why governments use broadcast TV and push dissidents to use Twitter”
The old looking after the even older in China.
Sixty-eight year old Zhang Guosheng spends his days caring for an 81-year-old fellow villager — washing his clothes, bringing meals to his bed and keeping him company — a routine he will keep up until he himself needs the type of care he is now providing.
Continue reading… “China’s elderly care for those even older”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZAR7hbcBsA[/youtube]
When a bridge falls in America, like this one near Seattle last week, infrastructure spending has a way of transforming into a national obsession. Fortunately, falling bridges in America are still a rarity. But, infrastructure spending is being squeezed at the very moment that infrastructure spending is a historic bargain for the federal government.
Continue reading… “Falling bridges and the decline of U.S. infrastructure spending”
Governments can be extremely antagonistic to personal photography.
You should get yourself ready for the imagery war against personal photography and capturing of video. In some ways, this war isn’t just coming, it’s already begun. Forces are lining up on both sides and preparing for action. And the anti-imagery people may have a better chance of winning.
Continue reading… “War against personal photography and video is coming”
Google Glass
Privacy issues related to Google Glass are drawing government attention. A U.S. Congressional Privacy Caucus committee sent a letter to Google chief executive Larry Page asking just how the company plans to protect both people wearing the device and the people it records.
Continue reading… “Google Glass privacy issues raises questions from U.S. government”
At $1.1 trillion, student debt eclipses all other forms of household debt, except for home mortgages.
The U.S. government is forecast to turn a record $51 billion profit this year from student loan borrowers, a sum greater than the earnings of the nation’s most profitable companies and roughly equal to the combined net income of the four largest U.S. banks by assets.
Continue reading… “U.S. government student loan policy reaping $51 billion profit”
Every business could face 46 separate audits (from the 45 states that collect sales taxes plus the District of Columbia).
Legislation on internet sales tax could subject small online businesses to up to 46 state audits. And since sales taxes vary among thousands of tax jurisdictions across the country, the chances that auditors will find mistakes—and slap the business owners with penalties—are very good. If truth-in-advertising requirements applied to legislation, says Heritage Action’s Dan Holler, the Marketplace Fairness Act would be renamed the Tax Audits from Hell Act of 2013.
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.