http://theoptimist.com/#!sLfYr
Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization Philip E. Auerswald and Iqbal Z. Quadir, Editors MEDIA SERVICE America — A Failed State? by Johan Galtung, 7 Apr 2014 - TRANSCEND Media Service Depends, of course, on the criteria. A state has an inside towards its citizens, and an outside toward the state system. Depends on domestic and foreign policy, in other words. That means it can fail in two ways, by not catering to its citizens and by not coming to terms with other states.
Environmental Impacts of Cultured Meat Production - Environmental Science & Technology University of Oxford, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Oxon OX13 5QL, U.K. University of Amsterdam, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, NL-1018 WV Amsterdam, Netherlands Environ. Sci.
[2010] U.S. Spies Want Algorithms to Spot Hot Trends The U.S. intelligence community wants a sharp competitive edge on the world’s best and brightest ideas. In an effort to find the next big thing before it happens, they’re looking to do away with fallible human trendspotters, and enlist an algorithmic system to “scan the horizon” and tap into the first signs of burgeoning memes in science and technology. Iarpa, the intel world’s far-out research arm, is already wary of trusting big calls and predictions to flesh-and-blood experts alone. Earlier this year, the agency solicited proposals for a system that would evaluate and rank the value of expert opinion based on niche, learning style, prior performance and “other attributes predictive of accuracy.”
Bionic Handling Assistant A freely movable handling system The Bionic Handling Assistant comprises three basic elements for spatial movement, along with a hand axis and a gripper with adaptive fingers. Its eleven degrees of freedom allow a wide variety of task-specific travel paths, which unlike conventional handling systems are not purely linear. The three basic elements each comprise three actuators, which are supplied with compressed air at the interfaces of the elements. Resetting is effected by the loop-like design of the actuators, which act like a spring when the compressed air is discharged. Hazard-free cooperation between humans and technology The use of polyamide makes the bellows structure of the system inherently flexible; it is stiffened in a specific manner by the pneumatic control unit.
Kubatana.net speaks out from Zimbabwe Change starts with us. Right? Posted on February 11th, 2014 by Bev Clark. Filed in Uncategorized, Zimbabwe Blog. Comments Off 2012 Global Peace Index « Vision of Humanity through See the latest peace news and research Contact us Vision of Humanity is an initiative of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). Eat Less Meat And Cheese, Environmental Group Recommends Gidon Eschel, a professor of climate physics at Bard College in New York, spent much of his youth in Israel with cows — tending to a dairy farm as a boy and his own beef cattle farm years later. “I loved it,” he said. “It’s too bad it is so unequivocally bad for the environment.” That message is not all that new. From the documentary Food, Inc. to Michael Pollan's bestselling books to the cautions of many doctors, meat — red meat in particular — has gotten a bad rap in recent years.
Drop in US crime reveals complex role of poverty A plunge in US violent crime over the last two years despite the economic downturn appears to confirm what experts have long known -- that poverty alone does not drive delinquency. The latest figures released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) show the lowest level of violent crime since the 1960s and a 5.5 percent decline in 2010 alone, following a 5.3 percent drop the previous year. Robbery is also down nationwide -- by 9.5 percent in 2010 and 8.0 percent in 2009 -- despite soaring unemployment and a grim economic outlook. Key Policy Institutions and Think Tanks in Peacebuilding and Related Fields Dear Colleagues Over the past two decades, many new institutions from governments, foundations and nonprofits have emerged that provide in-depth policy analysis of current conflicts and the effectiveness of existing responses. In order to stay up to date on current crises, success stories in preventing, managing and transforming conflicts, and larger policy lessons for the field, reading reports from many of these institutions is indispensable. While it is not possible to provide a complete list of all these institutions in the world, I wanted to start off by providing a list of some the key institutions out there. Feel free to suggest additional institutions. Also if you're looking for more media/news reporting, please visit the posting Useful Media Sites for News About Conflict and Peace.
Largest ever marijuana plantation hidden under black netting in Mexican desert Discovery comes as Mexico drug violence takes upswingMore than 40,000 people have died in drug violence in Mexico since late 2006. By Daily Mail Reporter Updated: 17:49 GMT, 15 July 2011 Mexican soldiers discovered the largest marijuana plantation in the country's history, hidden under black cloth in the middle of the desert.
The Shadow Superpower - By Robert Neuwirth With only a mobile phone and a promise of money from his uncle, David Obi did something the Nigerian government has been trying to do for decades: He figured out how to bring electricity to the masses in Africa's most populous country. It wasn't a matter of technology. David is not an inventor or an engineer, and his insights into his country's electrical problems had nothing to do with fancy photovoltaics or turbines to harness the harmattan or any other alternative sources of energy. Instead, 7,000 miles from home, using a language he could hardly speak, he did what traders have always done: made a deal. He contracted with a Chinese firm near Guangzhou to produce small diesel-powered generators under his uncle's brand name, Aakoo, and shipped them home to Nigeria, where power is often scarce.