In the Transparency Report’s latest edition, Google has revealed that the final six months of 2012 saw an increase in government requests to remove content — often YouTube videos. Google received 2,285 such requests (compared with 1,811 during the first half of 2012) that named a total of 24,179 pieces of content for removal (compared with 18,070 in the preceding period).
Continue reading… “Google sees spike in government requests to remove content”
How we pay taxes.
Taxes are complicated. There are a lot of numbers involved. But that’s where graphs help answer the biggest questions: Where do our tax dollars come from? Where do they go? Who pays how much? How has it changed over time?
Continue reading… “14 charts that show how we pay taxes”
Raymond Alvarez: “We are a nation of laws.”
There was a time when another nation found itself confronted with unwanted visitors who ignored their laws. The people fought these squatters and went on to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Cherokee Nation initially lost its case, but won on subsequent appeal.
Over 16,000 dead pigs have been found in China’s rivers.
The “dead animals in Chinese rivers” toll seems to have stabilized. According to recent reports, over 16,000 dead pigs have been joined by 1,000 dead ducks and, rather ominously, 13 dead black swans in China’s rivers. The discovery of so many carcasses has elicited no small amount of public concern in China, as well as mockery elsewhere — even Jay Leno got into the act.
Continue reading… “China’s dead pig dumping scandal”
Every month, 14 million Americans get a disability check.
The number of Americans who are on disability has skyrocketed in the past thirty years. Medical advances have allowed many more people to remain on the job, and new laws have banned workplace discrimination against the disabled, but disability is still on the rise. Fourteen million people now get a disability check from the government every month.
Continue reading… “The startling rise in disability in the US: 14 million Americans can’t work”
On September 16, 2011, President Obama signed the America Invents Act.
On March 16, 2013, the third and final wave of provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) became effective. This completes the overhaul of the U.S. patent law that began with the enactment of the AIA on September 16, 2011. The United States will move to a first-to-file system with these provisions. It will greatly expand the definition of prior art and usher in the use of post grant review.
97% of those surveyed “strongly agreed” with the statement, “I personally do not want to be killed by a drone.”
The Administration’s controversial drone policy could be headed for a possible setback. According to a new poll conducted by the University of Minnesota a broad majority of Americans are opposed to being killed by a drone strike on U.S. soil.
Continue reading… “Most American’s opposed to being killed by a drone: Poll”
For every emergency situation, a city’s first response
will be to “get eyes on” the situation
Futurist Thomas Frey: Yes, drones have been around for a long time and the military has already committed countless billions to drone R&D, but when a U.S. Senator dedicates 13 hours to filibuster the topic of drones, it signals far more than a token political move.
Continue reading… “We have Officially Entered the Drone Era”
Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.
China’s version of Twitter, a microblogging service called Weibo was launched in 2010. Just like Twitter, users are allowed to post 140 character messages with @username and #hashtags. 140 characters in Chinese contain significantly more information content than in English.
Continue reading… “China’s Twitter censorship measured by computer scientists”
Satellite shot of the building from the report.
New York Times correspondents David Sanger and David Barboza, and technology reporter Nicole Perlroth are out with a huge report on Chinese cyber-attacks on US companies. The New York Times has gotten their hands on an advanced copy of a report by Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm the newspaper had previously hired when it got hacked.
Continue reading… “Chinese army tied to cyber attacks against U.S.”
The right to keep and fly drones.
A Virginia House panel approved, last week, a two-year moratorium on drone use within the state. In December, the City Council in Berkeley debated a similar proposal from its Peace and Justice Commission. The Peace and Justice Commission wanted to prohibit the city from purchasing, borrowing, testing or using drones, or allowing “drones in transit.” However, hobbyists would have been allowed to use drones which didn’t carry cameras or audio surveillance equipment. The legislation was shot down because, as Berkeley Councilman Gordon Wozniak argued, “Berkeley doesn’t have jurisdiction over its airspace and can’t enforce it unless we buy Patriot missiles to shoot things down.” Both of these bills were prompted by law enforcement officials wanting to use drones for surveillance and intelligence gathering.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) calls this “spying.”
Continue reading… “The right of the American people to keep and fly drones”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQfluxpYVds[/youtube]
Florence Martin-Kessler, a documentary filmmaker and Anne Poiret, a filmmaker and investigative journalist embarked on the first of four trips to Juba in 2011. Juba is the soon-to-be capital of South Sudan. Their mission was to follow he “state builders.” The state builders are the people in the South Sudanese government and in the United Nations who would be on the front line of implementing, step by step, a road map for the world’s newest state.
Continue reading… “South Sudan: Building a country from scratch”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.