Tough competition during FIRST Robotics final – Kingman Daily Miner – Kdminer

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Photo by Aaron Ricca.

A Lego robot moves stones across a table. Two robots faced off while moving and lifting different objects across the space-table for points. The robots also had avoid small obstacles in order to not lose points.

KINGMAN The competition was fierce, but fun.

After a week of learning to program and build Lego robots, as well as conducting research and building friendships, 40 third- through eighth-grade students put their skills to the test during the final trials of the 2017 FIRST Lego League Lego Camp at Kingman High School Friday.

Kingman FIRST Robotics Team 60 coaches and high school science teachers Celeste Lucier and Jody Schanaman, along with Team 60 student mentors, watched, learned, advised and cheered the various teams on as they and their Lego robots scrambled to lift, shift and move random Lego parts across a space-table during coordinated exercises for points.

Theyll also conducted research to identify real world problems, learning how to create innovative solutions and create a presentation to share their findings.

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Tough competition during FIRST Robotics final - Kingman Daily Miner - Kdminer

Beyond Anime and Manga, Tokyo Content 2017 Showcases VR and … – Variety

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Last weeks Tokyo Content 2017 was an eye-popping demonstration of just how wide-ranging the definition of content has become in Japan. With its seven exhibitions and 1,650 exhibitors, the trade show featured the anime, manga and games that have become emblematic of Japanese content to the world at large.

But the cavernous exhibition halls were also abuzz with visitors examining and experiencing the latest advances in entertainment technology, particularly in augmented-reality and virtual-reality software and hardware.At the booth of Hado, which designs entertainment content for Fuji TV, TV Tokyo and other clients, visitors played Hado Shoot, a game in which players wearing VR headsets shot virtual light balls at each other and racked up points by scoring body hits.

Meanwhile, Marza Animation Planet, a CGI animation house affiliated with Sega, offered a VR exhibit inspired by the Resident Evil sci-fi/fantasy action series. Visitors tried to thread their way through a 3D battle in an underground corridor without getting blasted.

Courtesy of music producer Grandfunk Inc. and animation studio Koo-ki was Around the Sound, an immersive 360-degree VR environment that melded music and colored triangles, cubes and other shapes to entrancing effect.

In a keynote address, Naomi Tomita, head of robotics company Hapi-Robo St and chief information officer for the Huis Ten Bosch theme park, said that the ultimate goal for VR development was the merging of the virtual and the real as the technology advances. Calling himself an analog person, the 69-year-old executive noted that digital technology still had a way to go before it could duplicate what he described as the subtlety of analog.

Not surprisingly, he cited Huis Ten Bosch as an example of that merging. Among the theme parks current high-tech attractions are a robot-staffed hotel and a VR Center that offers such experiences as a virtual bungee jump and a marriage proposal from a handsome virtual guy inside a love simulation booth.

Tomita spoke about Shooting Star, a light show that will unfold nightly at the park fromJuly 22 to Aug. 5. The show features 300 illuminated drones, as well as 3D animation and music.

Its a first for Japan, Tomita said. This is our way of celebrating Huis Ten Boschs 25thanniversary.

But on both opening and closing nights, the show will be supplemented by a huge fireworks display: in other words, a merging of analog and digital entertainment.

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Beyond Anime and Manga, Tokyo Content 2017 Showcases VR and ... - Variety

Graham Simmons Takes Lions Hype To Barely Palatable Level During Sean O’Brien Interview – Balls.ie

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For the first time since 2009 the All Blacks lost a game on home soil as they fell to the Lions at a wet Wellington Westpac Stadium.

It was a thrilling, rollercoaster game, one which saw a first half red card for Sonny Bill Williams and the Lions come back from 18-9 down with just over 20 minutes to play.

The series coming down to a decider in Auckland was clearly too much for Sky Sports interviewer Graham Simmons.

As he spoke to the excellent Sean O'Brien after the game, Simmons wanted to know if the Carlow man fully understood the magnitude of next weekend's third Test.

Immortality beckons, you know that, don't you. Immortality is beckoning.

Immortality, Sean. Just think about what could be achieved on the farm as the Carlow Duncan MacLeod.

Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

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Graham Simmons Takes Lions Hype To Barely Palatable Level During Sean O'Brien Interview - Balls.ie

Organic food sales jump 8.4 percent in 2016 – Capital Press

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Fruits and vegetables continue to lead the way in organic food sales, but proteins and condiments made big gains in 2016.

The U.S. organic industry maintained steady growth in 2016, with food sales increasing 8.4 percent to $43 billion breaking the $40 billion mark for the first time.

The sizable growth is even more impressive considering total food sales increased only 0.6 percent.

Organic food now accounts for 5.3 percent of all food sales in the U.S., another significant first for the organic sector, according to the Organic Trade Association in its 2016 Organic Industry Survey, conducted by the Nutrition Business Journal this spring.

Organic non-food sales also posted robust growth, increasing 8.8 percent to $3.9 billion, far surpassing the 0.8 percent growth in all non-food sales of comparable items, such as textiles, supplements and personal care items.

The organic industry continues to be a real bright spot in the food and agriculture economy, both at the farm gate and the check-out counter, said Laura Batcha, OTA chief executive officer, in the associations executive summary of the survey.

The robust industry continues to gain ground, gaining market share and making its way into new channels such as convenience and drug stores, foodservice and the internet.

Organic fruits and vegetables held onto the top position in the organic line-up with $15.6 billion in sales, 36.3 percent of all organic food sales. Those sales were 8.4 percent higher year over year, more than double the 3.3 percent growth in their non-organic counterparts, and now account for 15 percent of all produce sales.

Organic meat and poultry sales shot up 17 percent to $991 million for the categorys biggest gain ever. Meat and poultry is one of the smallest organic food categories, but organic poultry moved beyond many years of supply shortages and grew at a rate of 23 percent compared with 9.2 percent in 2015.

The other smallest category, condiments, is not a headliner but is showing interesting trends, according to OTA.

Dips and spices both hit home runs, recording the highest growth rates within the food categories, OTA reported. Organic dips posted 41 percent growth in 2016 with $57 million in sales, and sales of organic spices increased 35 percent to $193 million.

The survey did note oversupply in produce, poultry, dairy and eggs in 2016. The change in the organic marketplace from undersupply to oversupply simply exemplified the ebb and flow of supply and demand as the industry grows, OTA stated.

The biggest challenge is how to grow at a rate that allows for farmers to be paid fairly for the extra work they do in organic while also assuring stability of supply, shortage versus glut, spikes in prices versus drops in prices, said Matt Dillon, Clif Bars director of agricultural policy and programs.

Growth in the organic sector also continues to translate into jobs across the supply chain, OTA stated.

More than 65 percent of organic farms sold product in wholesale markets in 2016, and more than 60 percent of organic businesses with more than five employees reported an increase in full-time employment with plans to continue increasing staff in 2017.

Organic offers in many cases the choice for growth and more viable, stable prices for farmers and food manufacturers, Batcha said.

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GARDENING: Reviving St. Augustine grass – Odessa American

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Floyd is a horticulturist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service. He can be reached at 498-4071 in Ector County or 686-4700 in Midland County or by email at Jeff.Floyd@ag.tamu.edu

Floyd is an Agri-Life Extension agent for Ector and Midland counties. To learn more, call the Ector County Extension office at 432-498-4072, or the Midland County Extension office at 432-686-4700, or email jeff.floyd@ag.tamu.edu.

Posted: Sunday, July 2, 2017 3:00 am

GARDENING: Reviving St. Augustine grass By Jeff Floyd Odessa American

Weve discussed a lot of the problems that St. Augustine grass experiences in West Texas lawns but a recent question caused me to realize we havent talked about a basic St. Augustine maintenance schedule for our area.

Question: We have had great success growing Bermuda and St. Augustine, we have mostly shade, and the St. Augustine took over most of the yard. Last year we noticed the St. Augustine was not growing and yellowing and disappearing. It continues to get worse this year. This season I have fertilized, insect and bug killer granules, and Fungicide. No change. Last year I tried Ironite with no change. This month I laid down a strip of dolomite lime, and on the other side of yard a strip of aluminum sulfate. No detectable difference on either side.

Answer: Thank you for the question to Extension. Avoid applying any more amendments or fertilizers until youve gotten on track with a basic maintenance plan and start to see some recovery.

For St. Augustine lawns showing signs of stress, begin with a soil test. Visit http://www.soiltesting.tamu.edu for forms and instructions.

Call the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office if you are having turf grass problems at 498-4071.

Posted in Gardening on Sunday, July 2, 2017 3:00 am. | Tags: Texas A&m Agrilife Extension Office, Jeff Floyd, Pecans, Pruning, Prune, Soft Landscape Materials, Landscape, Gardening, Gardener, Food, Integra, Repeat Applications, West Texas

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GARDENING: Reviving St. Augustine grass - Odessa American

Faith guide – Billings Gazette

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Saturday

Peace Lutheran Church, 1301 Ave. D: Ralph Sappingtons Country/Gospel Liturgy is featured during the 5 p.m. worship service.

United We Stand, Karin, Ryan and Dijana Gunderson in concert at Atonement Lutheran Church, 1290 Sierra Granda Blvd.: At 7 p.m., Heavenly Harp presents United We Stand, a concert by Karin, Dijana and Ryan Gunderson, a mother, daughter and son trio, to encourage people in these tenuous times. The concert features harp, piano, flute and vocals on popular and Christian pieces. For information, call 245-7004, or go to christianharpmusic.com.

Billings Association of Humanists meeting at First Congregational Church, 310 N. 27th St.: Ben Hahns presentation of An Introduction to a Resource Based Economy is at 1 p.m. The term and meaning of resource based economy originated with Jacque Fresco. It is a whole factor socioeconomic system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude.

St. Johns Lutheran Ministries, 3940 Rimrock Road: Marcia Muir, staff chaplain, leads worship in the Ocee Johnson Chapel at 7 p.m.

Pilgrim Congregational Church, 409 36th St. S.: After the 9 a.m. coffee fellowship, the Rev. Steve Heppner leads the 10 a.m. worship service, themed God is worshiped for his authority over peace. Also, John Christian, of Billings American Legion Post 4, gives a patriotic Scripture reading, and Sharon Baldwin offers special music.

Peace Lutheran Church, 1301 Ave. D: Ralph Sappingtons Country/Gospel Liturgy is featured, and Paul Freeman gives a musical offering during the 10 a.m. worship service.

East Gate Wesleyan Church, 625 Mattson Lane: The Holy Eucharist is celebrated as the Rev. Kevin Jones, of Grace Anglican Church in Sheridan, Wyoming, leads the 3 p.m. worship service. Fellowship and refreshments follow.

St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 180 24th St. W.: At the 9:30 a.m. worship service, the Rev. Susan Thomas preaches about transformation, using the texts Isaiah 61:1-3 and Mark 5:1-20, and the Lords Supper is shared with all who wish to partake. Thomas served as a hospital chaplain for many years at Billings Clinic. After the service, refreshments are served in the Garden Room.

Unity of Billings, 9 14th St. W.: At 10 a.m., the Rev. Danielle Egnew, singer/songwriter and interfaith minister, shares her message, "Fear as Our Teacher." Russ White leads the congregational singing of Daniel Namod songs. A potluck takes place after the service. Everyone is invited to share in food and fellowship.

First English Lutheran Church, 1243 N. 31st St.: Christs welcoming of all and the nations birth are celebrated at the 10 a.m. worship service. After the service, Independence Day is celebrated with ice cream bars, and a womens group meeting takes place.

American Lutheran Church worshiping at Moss Mansion, 914 Division St.: An outdoor worship service takes place at 10 a.m. Bring a lawn chair. (No child care is available for this service.)

Construction work at Billings Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2032 Central Ave.: Billings Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is under construction. No services are planned until August.

American Lutheran Church, 5 Lewis Ave.: Family vacation Bible school is offered in three sessions July 12, 19 and 26. Each takes place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and includes a meal, lesson, craft and games for the whole family. RSVP by emailing Rochelle Buyse at rochelle@amluth.org.

The deadline for submitting information for the Faith Guide is noon Tuesday for consideration for publication in the upcoming Saturday edition. The items should be special events open to the public and of interest to readers outside your congregation.

You may mail information to: Faith Guide; Billings Gazette newsroom; P.O. Box 36300; Billings, MT 59107. Items also may be faxed to 657-1208 or emailed to citynews@billingsgazette.com. Be sure to address faxes or emails to the Faith Guide. Or you may drop off your item at The Gazette, 401 N. Broadway; please mark it to the attention of Rachelle Lacy.

Items are used as space is available.

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Faith guide - Billings Gazette

California’s Far North Deplores ‘Tyranny’ of the Urban Majority – New York Times

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Californias Great Red North is the opposite, a vast, rural, mountainous tract of pine forests with a political ethos that bears more resemblance to Texas than to Los Angeles. Two-thirds of the north is white, the population is shrinking and the region struggles economically, with median household incomes at $45,000, less than half that of San Francisco.

Jim Cook, former supervisor of Siskiyou County, which includes cattle ranches and the majestic slopes of Mount Shasta, calls it the forgotten part of California.

In the same state that is developing self-driving cars, theres the rugged landscape of Trinity County, where a large share of residents heat their homes with wood, plaques commemorate stagecoach routes and the county seat, Weaverville, is an old gold-mining town with a lone blinking stop-and-go traffic light.

The residents of this region argue that their political voice is drowned out in a system that has only one state senator for every million residents.

This sentiment resonates in other traditionally conservative parts of California, including large swaths of the Central Valley, which runs down the state, and it mirrors red and blue tensions felt in areas across the country. But perhaps nowhere else in California is the alienation felt more keenly than in the far north, an arresting panorama of fields filled with wildflowers and depopulated one-street towns that have never recovered from the gold rush.

People up here for a very long time have felt a sense that we dont matter, said James Gallagher, a state assemblyman for the Third District, which is a shorter drive from the forests of Mount Hood in Oregon than from the beaches of San Diego. We run this state like its one size fits all. You cant do that.

Many liberals in California describe themselves as the resistance to Mr. Trump. Residents of the north say they are the resistance to the resistance, politically invisible to the Democratic governor and Legislature. Californias strict regulations on the environment, gun control and hunting impinge on a rural lifestyle, they say, that urban politicians do not understand.

The states stringent air quality and climate change regulations may be appropriate for technology workers, Mr. Gallagher said, but they are onerous for people living in rural areas.

In the rural parts of the state we drive more miles, we drive older cars, our economy is an agriculture- and resource-based economy that relies on tractors and trucks, Mr. Gallagher said. You cant move an 80,000-pound load in an electric truck.

A recently passed gas tax, pushed through by the Democratic majority, will disproportionately hurt rural voters, he said.

Taxation and hunting are two issues northerners are quick to seize upon when criticizing laws they feel are unfairly imposed by the state. But there are also more fundamental issues related to incomes and job opportunities that split California into a two-speed economy.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, unemployment rates hover around 3 percent. In the far north, where many timber mills have shut down in recent years, unemployment is as high as 6 percent in Shasta County and 16.2 percent in Colusa County.

Despite a go-it-alone ethos, residents of the 13 counties in the northern bloc are much more likely to receive government medical assistance than those in the Bay Area. In the north, 31 percent take part in Medi-Cal, the California Medicaid program, while the Bay Area rate is 19 percent, and Californias overall figure 28 percent.

United States Representative Doug LaMalfa, a Republican representing Northern Californias First District, blames regulations that have shut down industries for the economic disparities.

Theyve devastated ag jobs, timber jobs, mining jobs with their environmental regulations, so, yes, we have a harder time sustaining the economy, and therefore theres more people that are in a poorer situation.

Because incomes are significantly lower than the state average and the region is so thinly populated, tax revenue from the far north is a fraction of what urban areas contribute. In 2014, the 13 northern counties had a combined state income tax assessment of $1 billion, compared with $4 billion from San Francisco County.

Resentment toward the rest of California has a long history here there have been numerous efforts to split the state since its founding in 1850. After the presidential election, a proposal to secede from the union, driven by liberals and known as Calexit, gained attention.

Residents here have long backed a different proposal for a separate state, one that would be carved out of Northern California and the southern reaches of Oregon. Flags of the so-called State of Jefferson, which was first proposed in the 19th century, fly on farms and ranches around the region.

Jefferson, named after the president who once envisioned establishing an independent nation in the western section of North America, is more a state of mind than a practicable proposal. Many see it as unrealistic for a region that has plenty of water and timber but perhaps not enough wealth to wean itself away from engines of the California economy.

However, two recent initiatives have channeled the deep feeling of underrepresentation.

In May, a loose coalition of northern activists and residents, including an Indian tribe and the small northern city of Fort Jones, joined forces to file a federal lawsuit arguing that Californias legislative system is unconstitutional because the Legislature has not expanded with the population.

States

Population per House member

States

Population per Senate member

California

489,310

California

978,620

Texas

183,127

Texas

886,100

Florida

168,927

Florida

506,782

New York

131,972

Ohio

351,922

Ohio

117,307

New York

319,287

States

Population per House member

States

Population per Senate member

Wyoming

9,768

South Dakota

24,528

Maine

8,803

Vermont

20,868

North Dakota

8,052

Montana

20,659

Vermont

4,174

Wyoming

19,537

New Hampshire

3,327

North Dakota

16,105

The suit, filed against the California secretary of state, Alex Padilla, who oversees election laws in California, calls for an increase in the membership of the bicameral Legislature, which since 1862 has capped the number of lawmakers at 120.

The lawsuit argues that California now has the least representative system of any state in the nation. Each State Assembly member represents nearly 500,000 people and each state senator twice that.

This arbitrary cap has created an oligarchy, the lawsuit says.

By contrast, each member of the New York State Assembly represents on average 130,000 people; in New Hampshire, its 3,330 people for each representative.

Mark Baird, one of the plaintiffs, says residents of Californias far north feel as though they are being governed by an urbanized elite.

I wake up in the morning and think, What is California going to do to me today? said Mr. Baird, a former airline pilot who owns a ranch about an hours drive from the Oregon border. In a grass valley framed by low-lying hills, Mr. Bairds pastures are filled with his small herd of buffalo and a few pens of horses and donkeys.

Mr. Baird complains of restrictions on the types of guns he can own. Its tyranny by the majority, he said. The majority should never be able to deprive the minority of their inalienable rights.

Scott Wiener, a state senator representing San Francisco, says he has sympathy for the concerns of rural voters but rejects the proposal for a larger legislative body.

When you have a state as big and diverse as California, decisions are made that we dont all agree with, he said.

The second initiative is a proposed amendment to Californias Constitution that would change the method for dividing districts of the Legislatures upper house, the Senate. Instead of being based on population as they are now, Senate seats would be tied to regions, giving a larger voice to rural areas in the same way the federal Senate does.

I am asking the people with power to give up some of their power in order to allow all the voices in the state to have a little bit more strength than they do right now, said Mr. Gallagher, the assemblyman.

Northern Californians point out that the United States House of Representatives and Senate are based on the compromise between population and geography.

What I cant get over is that a court can rule that its not good for the state but it stands up at the federal level, said Mr. LaMalfa, the congressman. We wouldnt have a union if we hadnt come up with that compromise.

Mr. LaMalfa, who lives on a farm, says Californias urban denizens think of the rural areas as their park, and deplores what he describes as trophy legislation to protect animal species.

You have idealists from the cities who say, Wouldnt it be great to reintroduce wolves to rural California? Mr. LaMalfa said. He has a half-serious counterproposal: Lets introduce some wolves into Golden Gate Park and the Santa Monica Pier.

Doris Burke contributed research.

A version of this article appears in print on July 3, 2017, on Page A9 of the New York edition with the headline: The Great Red North of California.

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California's Far North Deplores 'Tyranny' of the Urban Majority - New York Times

As we enter a zone of uncertainty… – The Statesman

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April is the cruelest month, so said the famous poet TS Eliot. But one wit remarked that June marks the end of May.

Who would have expected that British Prime Minister Theresa May would lose her majority in Parliament in the June election, which was supposed to strengthen her hand in negotiating Brexit with the European Union?

This expectation reversal was as big a shock as Brexit or Trumpism. May may have found her Ides of March in June. In sharp contrast, unlike earlier in the year when everyone was worried about France falling to populist rule under Marine le Pen, a fresh centrist candidate named Macron won, and was rewarded by a handsome legislative majority to carry out his promise to reform France.

In Bangkok this week to refresh memories of 2 July 1997, I was struck by how history seemed to rhyme in 10 year cycles. Next month would mark not only the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China, but also the 20th anniversary of the Asian financial crisis, when the baht was devalued.

2007 also marked the 10th anniversary of the US sub-prime crisis, which together with the European debt crisis, caused a decade of low growth for the advanced economies.

Initially, investors hardly noticed the tremors from the subprime crisis. On 19 July 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average touched a record high of 14,000. After an adjustment in August to 13,000, the index dropped below 11,000 on September 15, 2008, following the Lehman failure. It fell to a record twelve-year low of 6,547 on 9 March 2009, recording a 53.2 per cent drop over this period. Similarly, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index also crossed the 20,000 milestone on 28 December 2006 and rose to the all-time peak of 31,958 on 18 October 2007.

A year later, it lost 66.6 per cent to a low of 10,676 on 27 October 2008. Ten years later, both indices have once again touched record highs, with the Hang Seng recovering past the 26,000 mark this month, whereas the Dow hit a record peak of 21,528 this week.

Because this rally is essentially tech driven, even the NASDAQ index has surpassed its 2000 tech bubble peak of 5,048 to hit a new peak of 6,305 on 2 June 2017. These market gyrations suggest that another consolidation may be reached sometime soon, except we do not know the exact timing and the trigger.

All we know is the there are many risks out there, including policy uncertainties from whether the Fed would continue to raise interest rates, the sudden re-appearance of inflation and possible geopolitical or natural disaster events.

So far, market worries about Chinas high leverage issues seem to have receded with the stabilisation of US-China relations and better performance at the growth level.

All in all, the markets have priced in so far almost all the Brexit and Trump fears and did not react too much to the recent normalisation of Fed interest rates. The stark reality is that no one knows for sure whether we are in over-priced territory or bubble zone.

The US economy appears to trundle along in reasonable shape, with unemployment numbers reaching new lows. All we do know is asset prices are at record highs, financed by historically high debt and abnormally low interest rates. In this zone of radical uncertainty, we are no longer sure that the GDP indicator reflects the true state of the economy. GDP measures the old resource-based economy well, but does not capture growth in a datadigital economy.

No economy reflects this contradiction more than China, which has shifted from being the largest assembler of the global supply chain towards a consumption and service-driven economy. Both consumption and services crossed 50 per cent of GDP levels, moving closer towards an advanced country pattern where consumption and services account for roughly 60-70 per cent or more of GDP.

If China succeeds in this historic transition, with the old resource-consuming industries, like coal, steel, energy, being phased out, even as the new internet economy trims the inefficiencies in the current Chinese distribution system, then China could break through her middle-income trap. But one recalls that South Korea achieved OECD status in December 1996, only to fall into the Asian financial crisis in 1997/8. Mexico did the same in 1994.

All countries go through growing pains, especially what Austrian economist Schumpeterian called creative destruction.

This transition creates massive winners and also losers. We see this pattern being reflected in the mixture of top Dow Jones index component companies, whereby the leading tech stocks are being priced to win, whereas the old energy, manufacturing and distribution companies are struggling to maintain their market share. Given these radical uncertainties, history is replete with the rise and fall of nations, as well as the rise and fall of companies.

It teaches humility in forcing us to think holistically on the broader trends, whilst sorting out the signals from the noise. Emerging markets in Asia today are facing what is called a middle income trap whereby they need to break through a pain barrier to rise to advanced income status.

Advanced and aging economies countries like Britain and Japan face the opposite, a high income trap where if major policy mistakes are made, a rich country may slide into stagnation and possible lower income levels. Ultimately, demographics and geography determine destiny.

Asia may face many growing pains and a complex operating environment from disruptive technology and excessive competition, including geopolitical rivalry. Western analysts disdain for Asian demagogues is now being haunted by their own demagogues.

Basically, in the midst of these complex transitions through mega-trends, there is also a governance transition. The millennial generation is rapidly taking over in terms of consumption lifestyle, innovation and governance style.

History suggests that it will not be a bloodless transition. Despite all such noise, we should do well to remind ourselves that Asia is still where there is still demographic and technological growth.

Lets see whether the next market adjustment will stall or disrupt that growth trajectory. Happy 10th and 20th anniversaries!

The writer, a former Central banker, is Distinguished Fellow, Asia Global Institute, University of Hong Kong.

Special to ANN.

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As we enter a zone of uncertainty... - The Statesman

Groups draft changes in law on poll automation – Inquirer.net

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Several poll watchdog groups are now drafting amendments that they would propose to strengthen the 10-year old Election Automation Law.

In a press briefing, the Automated Election System (AES) Watch, transparentelections.org, Philippine Computer Society and Reform Philippines Coalition (RPC) said they were already outlining provisions aimed at changing and improving Republic Act (RA) No. 9369.

We are actually drafting a new Automated Election System (AES) law that would strengthen the institution of automated elections in the country, said RPC spokesperson Glenn Chong.

He said the new AES draft aimed to better ensure that the basic principles of an automated poll system were safeguarded.

This would strengthen the security and ensure that our elections would be transparent, clean, honest and secure, Chong said.

Single contractor

The election watchdog groups had been criticizing the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for tapping Smartmatic International for the last three national elections despite the AES providers supposed violations of the provisions of RA 9369.

Recently, the groups said it was possible that fraud was committed during the May 2016 elections after all the security features required by RA 9369 were, according to the groups, disregarded by the Comelec and Smartmatic.

Maricor Akol, transparentelections.org coconvener, said one particular provision that the groups were considering is how to ensure accountability in case the error is committed by the Comelec.

There were no provisions for penalties [in RA 9369]. What would happen if they are the ones guilty of failing to secure the system? What if they fail to do something? In the revision that we are coming out with, well come out with the penalties, Akol said.

AES Watch spokesperson Nelson Celis said the draft measure was already in its final review stage.

It is already for submission to the Senate hopefully in two to three weeks, he said.

Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.

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Groups draft changes in law on poll automation - Inquirer.net

China to Invest Big in Artificial Intelligence and Automation – Wall Street Newscast

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(NEW YORK)At their recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit in Tianjan, China made clear its plan to invest heavily in AI and automation technologies in the next 10 to 15 years.

Among one of the plans discussed is to make Tianjan, China a cash-free city that uses largely electronic payments instead of cash in a partnership with e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE:BABA).

Autonomous vehicles were another particular highlight at the summit, with an ongoing competition involving 63 teams is test Chinese-made self-driving vehicles after go through a series of tests.

At the AI summit Wan Gang, the minister of science and technology, said they would soon release a development plan focusing on AI capability, the application of AI technologies, policies to handle such risks as job losses, and international collaboration.

The United States has taken a global lead in many aspects of artificial intelligence, from automated workplace functions to self-driving vehicles, and venture funding in this area has grown sharply over the past year or so.

So far in the first quarter of 2017, a total of 34 artificial intelligence startups were acquired , which is more than double the amount of activity in the first half of 2016, according to the research firm CB Insights.

AI VentureTech made note in their newsletter that Chinas plan to focus investments into artificial intelligence up to the year 2030 not only confirms the bullish outlook for AI and automation in the coming years, but also should set off alarm bells in the US and other Western nations to get ahead of the expected rise of AI technology so they can secure their leadership position is this emerging industry.

AI VentureTech recently launched a financial advisory division to assist start-ups in the area of artificial intelligence and automation in accessing capital markets, and providing IT staffing for tech companies seeking to broaden their AI and automation operations.

The financial advisory firm will assist companies in the areas of business analytics, data mining, machine learning, artificial intelligence, visualization tools, predictive modeling, and cloud advanced analysis to assist them with accessing investment capital, and guiding them through the expected goal of listing them on a US exchange.

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China to Invest Big in Artificial Intelligence and Automation - Wall Street Newscast

Factions and the Crisis of Power – Daily Maverick

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The African National Congress, both as a liberation project and governing party, faces daunting challenges.

Changes in the strategic environment deamand a rethinking and deliberate balancing. The strategic rebalancing needs to give way to a dialogue over ideas to manage the multiple dilemmas that blight our national life, a stagnant (now recessionary) economy dominated by racialised cartels, and emboldened reactionary forces buoyed by electoral fortunes.

However, a culture of pornographic and unproductive factionalism has become all-consuming within the ruling party, forestalling an imminently cardinal engagement within the organisation, and is devouring the body politic of the sole instrument of African peoples emancipation.

At the heart of the internecine antagonism between the myriad factions is control over state institutions. The state is seen, by the contending factions, not as a site of production of history but rather as a site of accumulation.

The abolition of the colonial-apartheid system of governance and its attended institutions did not resolve the conflict between the social democratic idea, as expressed in the National Democratic Revolution, and the reality of largely racialised social divisions. A great deal of work remains to be done. There still remains an urgent need to achieve an estate of equal citizenship for the historically marginalised black, particularly African people, not just in theory but as a matter of socio-economic fact. Today this process of social democratisation, though advanced, largely because of deliberate policies of the African National Congress, remains incomplete.

We have no need for a litany of statics for the purposes of this intervention. The plain fact is that black Africans are vastly and proportionally over-represented among those who suffer the maladies and afflictions of social marginality in South Africa, however measured. African communities are among the most miserable, violent, and despairing places in this land of fabulous wealth. The prisons are overflowing with young African black men, rates of infection with HIV and other chronic diseases are unacceptably and terrifyingly high in African poor communities, African communities experience lower life expectancies, higher infant mortality rates, lower levels of academic achievement, higher poverty rates, and greater unemployment.

Thus, it is mind-boggling that in the midst of an acute socio-economic emergency, the party of that imminent son of our revolution, OR Tambo, should be bound hand and foot by unproductive factional intrigues. The factional fractures have become unbridgeable ideological chasms.

On the one hand, a faction much maligned by the white-owned media and the chattering classes, distinguished by its callous incompetence and a lackadaisical attitude towards public finances, has sloppily and belatedly donned itself with revolutionary garments.

On the other hand, we have a faction of cynical snake-oil salesmen who are wont on insisting that the National Democratic Revolution as a governing ethos can have no other function than to serve and safeguard the interests and economic-cultural domination of white monopoly capital, which they insist, astonishingly, is a figment of our imagination.

The net effect of these factional contrivances has been the incremental socio-cultural civic ex-communication of the oldest liberation movement on the African continent. There has been a marked demoralisation on the constituent elements of the National Democratic Revolution as expressed in the worrisome results of the 2016 local government elections.

As we deliberate in the policy conference, we must reassert the ethos of service to our disinherited popular masses. We must reject cults of personalities and unproductive factionalism that are leading our revolution adrift. We must categorically and boldly assert that white monopoly capital is the enemy of a sovereign people, and adopt policies that unflinchingly challenge power of the finance-industrial-resource white complex. Equally we must send an unequivocal message to the contemptuous philistine section that we lost our best sons and daughters in the struggle for to liberate this country. We will therefore not mortgage the inheritance of our forebears for defiled pieces of silver.

The primary role of the African National Congress, as the steward of civic cohesion, insurer of geopolitical integrity, guarantor of social progress, and a depository of historic experience, is to direct societys gaze to the effective truth of national redemption, commonly known as the National Democratic Revolution. This task must be undertaken with revolutionary moral clarity and energy. DM

Andile Lungisa is former deputy president of the ANC, Eastern Cape.

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Factions and the Crisis of Power - Daily Maverick

White House Denies Report That Part of Its Science And Technology Office Is Empty – HuffPost

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The White House is denying reports that the one division within the Office of Science and Technology Policy is now completely unstaffed.

CBS News reportedno staff members were left at the offices science division one of four such branches that comprise the OSTP after three employees from President Barack Obamas administration worked their final day on Friday. The OSTP advises the White House on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs, according to its website.

When asked about the alleged vacancies, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told HuffPost on Saturday the report was false.

This is not true, Sanders said in an email. Sadly, someone was more concerned about attacking [President Donald Trump] than getting their story straight.

A White House official familiar with the OSTP told HuffPost that there are 12 staffers currently working in the science division, despite the report that said otherwise. The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter, also said there are 35 people total on staff in the OSTP.

The official said the work of previous science division workers had been passed on to new staffers who have expertise in similar areas of study.

The three science division staffers who finished up on Friday includedElle Celeste, who was previously a biomedical and forensic science expert for the White House. The White House official told HuffPost that Fridays departures were a matter of contract expiration.

After departing from the OSTP, Celeste tweeted her final goodbyes, along with a photo of the science division placard with text saying science division out. mic drop.

Kumar Garg, another former OSTP employee who left his job in January, tweeted that Fridays departures mean there are zero people left in the division. He was the OSTPs assistant director for Learning and Innovation when Trump took office in January.

The Trump administration has faced sharp criticism from the scientific community.In April, tens of thousands of people participated in an estimated 600 March for Science events across the country in protest of the administrations stance on various issues.

Trump, who hascalled climate change a hoax orchestrated by the Chinese, has proposed massive budget cutsfor federal programs including the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, the Department of Energys office of science, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

After Trump revealed his 2018 budget proposal in March, Jeffrey Mervis, science policy reporter for Science Magazine wrotethat it confirms two things that U.S. scientists have long suspected: The new president is no fan of research, and his administration has no overarching strategy for funding science.

The White House has also yet to appoint one of the most influential science roles in federal government,the presidential science adviser, who heads the OSTP. When asked about that vacancy, the White House official familiar with the matter told HuffPost that several very promising candidates for OSTP director are under consideration.

Neither Celeste nor Garg immediately responded to requests for comment from HuffPost.

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White House Denies Report That Part of Its Science And Technology Office Is Empty - HuffPost

Micron Technologies: Be Thankful For The Dip – Seeking Alpha

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Micron Technologies (NASDAQ:MU) stock has been on a rampage this year, outperforming all major market indices by far. Shares have more than doubled in 2016 and are up over 30 percent this year. The question now is whether this run still has legs or not to keep going.

In my opinion, as long as Micron keeps posting spectacular earnings and growth, there is no reason to question the run. However, it seems like the market sentiment is quickly shifting to a bearish stance on tech stocks. People are trying to hedge their positions and reduce their exposure in the tech sector due to fears about valuations. A lot of people think that there is a bubble currently with tech stocks. Now, while it is true valuations are a bit stretched, there is no logical reason to sell a fundamentally solid company backed by strong earnings just because of the sector it is in.

On Thursday, Micron posted another quarter which outperformed analyst expectations across the board. However, shares were down over 5 percent the next day. I believe this is due to hedge funds and other institutions locking in gains and limiting their exposure to tech stocks - the selling pressure probably drove share prices down. This creates the perfect opportunity for retail investors, though, who have more freedom when investing compared to institutions to pick up some shares in a fantastic company.

No matter how you look at it, this quarter did blow out analyst expectations in every conceivable way. Micron reported an EPS of $1.62 versus analyst expectations of $1.51 and a quarterly revenue of $5.57 billion versus analyst expectations of $5.41 billion. I think it is important for everyone to realize that revenue is 20 percent higher compared to the previous quarter and 92 percent higher year over year. Strong cash flows this quarter also allowed the company to strengthen its balance sheet and pay down $1 billion in debt.

This is the 8th straight quarter where Micron has been able to exceed analyst expectations, and there is no sign that the favorable earnings trend will stop anytime soon either. All its business units posted record-breaking revenues this quarter, and revenue from cloud customers alone was nearly 4 times higher year over year. Micron also projects that strong industry demand will continue to remain healthy and persist into 2018, and the company's portfolio of innovative and high-value products will be able to benefit very much from increasing demand. So far, we can see that it is taking full advantage of this broad industry trend and will not suddenly stop doing so anytime soon.

MU Price data by YCharts

Unfortunately, the price action after this earnings report was negative, and Micron shares traded down over 5 percent the following day. There is most definitely a rational reason for this - it can all be explained by looking at the current market state. People are scared and are trying to protect their gains in a bull market that has lasted over 8 years, and tech stocks have gained the most in these 8 years and are being sold off. Nasdaq has fallen 2 percent over the past month and is taking the brunt of criticism by many market bears. People think valuations are stretched and that the run has gone on for too long.

This type of thinking is often what causes people to miss out on investing in fantastic companies - the bottom line is no one has a crystal ball to predict when a sudden stock market crash will occur. As long as you diversify your holdings and adjust your portfolio positions on a regular basis, you will be fine. You cannot time the market and predict when it will fall. Retail investors who sold Micron after its earnings report will end up buying back at a higher price.

However, it makes sense why you would sell if you were a hedge fund or any other money managing institution. Hedge funds and other institutions like mutual funds have investors they need to appease regularly. They manage a lot of money and need to book profits. A lot of the selling we are seeing in the tech sector in general is due to institutions locking in profits. Most hedge funds and mutual funds also have to show all of their positions to investors at the end of the quarter, and with all of the negative sentiment towards tech, it makes sense why some institutions would reduce/sell their positions to make it seem like they are not too exposed to the tech sector. With Micron stock performing so well in the past few months, people had to take profits eventually. Turns out, Friday was that day.

A lot of analysts also upgraded Micron stock following their earnings report. Deutsche Bank raised their price target on Micron from $35 to $37 while maintaining their rating, and Goldman Sachs upgraded Micron's price target from $30 to $33. Stifel Nicolaus maintained their current buy rating and increased their price target by 50 percent, from $40 all the way up to $60 a share!

The bottom line is that it makes no logical sense for everyday retail investors to sell right now. The company's earnings were stellar and exceeded analyst expectations. Real investors do not buy/sell stocks based on the price action of stock, but rather on the fundamentals and earnings of a company. Micron Technologies has solid fundamentals backed by fantastic earnings numbers. It makes no sense for a company to suddenly be 5 percent less valuable after reporting earnings which exceeded expectations. Some people are saying it's because of Micron's valuation, though it only takes a little logical thinking to completely debunk this idea. When you value a company, you do not just look at the present cash flows and earnings - you look into the future, you look for growth. Growth for this quarter exceeded expectations, reaffirming the positive trajectory the company is going in, and the recent analyst upgrades following the quarterly results support this idea. We give Micron Technology a Buy rating and a conservative $36 price target.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in MU over the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Micron Technologies: Be Thankful For The Dip - Seeking Alpha

Missouri scientists create technology to track buzzing bees – STLtoday.com

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COLUMBIA, Mo. Researchers trying to track bee activity to find areas where the bee population is declining could soon be using an acoustic system developed by a research team that includes scientists from Missouri universities.

Scientists developed an acoustic listening system to monitor bee activity in a specific area, The Columbia Missourian reported. The systems small microphone records the pitch and frequency of a bees buzzing and sends that information to data storage devices such as an iPad or USB drive.

The goal is to analyze bee activity for several years and give warnings if bee populations are declining in a specific area, said University of Missouri biology professor Candace Galen.

Which then could be a diagnostic or a warning sign that these are places where we need boots on the ground, people to go out and survey bees and see whos there and who isnt, Galen said.

The team also includes scientists from Webster University in St. Louis, Lincoln University in Jefferson City and Appalachian State University in North Carolina.

The research comes amid reports that bee populations have been declining in North America and Europe since the 1970s. The colony collapse disorder is related to mites, viruses, pesticides and other factors, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The decline of bees is important because bees pollinate a large percentage of the worlds food supply.

We as humans are very dependent on (bees and other pollinators), she said.

The system is cheaper than hiring observers to count and track bees. One device can pick up sound from roughly 9 to 16 feet away, which is more sensitive than the average human ear. The system also can record buzzing for about 96 hours before needing a recharge.

If I had a lot of money to spend on my field team, I could hire a lot of observers and send each of those observers out to different locations, but thats not nearly as efficient as having the little USB drives do this for us, Galen said.

The system can differentiate bees of different sizes and shapes in the same area, which is important for farmers because different crops rely on different bee pollination methods.

The team conducted its research in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, which has a relatively controlled environment with little urban noise, traffic or farm equipment.

The scientists published their study, Flight of the bumble bee: Buzzes predict pollination services, in PLOS One on June 7.

Because the team now knows the system works in simple conditions, it will be used in more complex situations with more noise and plants that require different pollination methods.

The acoustic listening system also allows scientists to track bees without using trap studies or destructive sampling methods, which are more accurate but that kill bees. Galen said destructive sampling is more of an issue because of the decline in some bee populations, with some being including on the endangered species list.

Shake off your afternoon slump with the offbeat or overlooked news of the day.

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Missouri scientists create technology to track buzzing bees - STLtoday.com

5 Top Technology Mutual Funds for Cutting-Edge Investors – Motley Fool

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Investors gravitate to technology stocks because of their exposure to the fast-paced innovative tech sector. Some of the best-known and best-performing stocks of all time have come from the technology industry, and many investors still believe that there's plenty of potential for even bigger gains going forward. Funds with good track records have attracted considerable assets, and that's why the following five technology mutual funds stand out among the elite of the industry.

Data source: Fund providers.

If you want exposure to the top technology stocks, then both the Vanguard and Fidelity technology mutual funds deliver. In both funds, you'll find the stalwarts of the industry among the top 10 holdings, and they make up a relatively large portion of the overall assets of the fund. For instance, more than 40% of the Vanguard fund's assets are tied up in five stocks, and two of those holdings are different share classes issued by the same company. You'll find some companies in adjacent sectors with technology leanings, but for the most part, the Vanguard fund's holdings are squarely within technology. Moreover, with expenses of just 0.10%, the price is right for this index mutual fund.

The Fidelity fund goes a bit further afield, including some companies that aren't strictly tech stocks but that have cutting-edge applications in areas like electric vehicles. You'll pay up for management with this fund, but a greater exposure to companies with a global scope might be worth the extra cost for some tech investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

Two funds from T. Rowe Price make the list, and they have different ways to attack the tech sector. The Science and Technology Fund looks a lot like the Fidelity and Vanguard funds above, with many names from the top ranks of the tech sector. Yet the weightings are much different, with a greater emphasis toward the more innovative companies in the social networking, cloud computing, and internet services industries. You'll also find a greater exposure to high-technology healthcare names, especially those producing cutting-edge medical devices that have had dramatic impacts on the quality and sustainability of healthcare with certain applications. Even with this fund, an international exposure to the sector adds some diversification.

The Global Technology Fund goes a step further, casting its net across the globe in search of the best companies with high-technology aspirations. From pure cloud computing and internet services companies to consumer and industrial stocks with the know-how to bring transformative change to their respective industries, the Global fund makes a slightly different play on where tomorrow's leadership in technology will come.

Finally, the Columbia Seligman fund looks a lot different from its peers. Big tech stocks play a much less important role in this fund, with outsized bets on smaller stocks providing some differentiation from the crowd. That has earned the fund a five-star rating from Morningstar, and long-term performance has also been relatively impressive.

The downside of the fund is that it charges a sales load of up to 5.75%, and expenses of 1.35% per year for the Class A shares of the fund are quite high. That means that money will come out of your pocket when you first buy shares and never get invested into the fund at all, instead going directly to your financial professional.

These top technology mutual funds have attracted considerable amounts of assets, and they each take different tacks toward capturing returns from technology stocks. By looking more closely at these five stocks, you'll be able to pick the one that best fits your own particular investing strategy.

Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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5 Top Technology Mutual Funds for Cutting-Edge Investors - Motley Fool

University of Sydney builds new Red Belly Blockchain technology – ZDNet

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Image: University of Sydney

Researchers at the University of Sydney (USYD) are building a new blockchain technology, dubbed Red Belly Blockchain, that they believe has the potential to revolutionise the global economy.

Named after one of Australia's most deadly snakes, the new system being developed by the university's School of Information Technologies is expected to allow secure and almost instantaneous digital transfer of virtual currencies across the world, touted as faster than the systems in place by the likes of card giant Visa.

"In recent testing, our blockchain achieved the best performance we have seen so far -- with more than 440,000 transactions per second on 100 machines," said USYD academic Dr Vincent Gramoli, who heads up the Concurrent Systems Research Group developing the blockchain.

"In comparison, Visa's network has a peak capacity of around 56,000 transactions per second and the Bitcoin network is limited to around seven transactions per second."

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology originally conceptualised to facilitate the trading of the bitcoin cryptocurrency. In a nutshell, blockchain allows for the tracking of digital assets so that a level of trust and consensus can be established, and previous transactions agreed upon.

According to USYD, its Red Belly Blockchain is the first blockchain being built to work both in public and private contexts, allowing for the exchange to occur in a peer-to-peer fashion, as well as in an industrial environment restricted to certain users.

"As opposed to mainstream public blockchains, ours is not subject to double spending -- when an individual successfully spends their money more than once -- because its chain of blocks never forks," said Gramoli.

Gramoli said the university's blockchain is being developed in part to avoid common problems currently plaguing digital transactions, such as forking, when the blockchain starts to diverge into two or more potential paths forward.

"As opposed to consortium blockchains, it can treat hundreds of thousands of transactions per second coming from a potentially unbounded number of clients. It offers a performance that scales horizontally, which ensures the security of transactions," he added.

The next stage for the Red Belly Blockchain is to develop a recommendation system to automate the selection of the participants of a consensus instance which USYD hopes will ensure the security of the blockchain.

When delivering its 2017-18 Budget, the federal government announced it will be aligning the GST treatment of digital currency, including Bitcoin, with regular money as of July 1 2017, in a bid to promote the growth of Australia's fintech industry.

Australian corporates are also embracing blockchain technology. In October, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, in partnership with Wells Fargo and Brighann Cotton, claimed the first interbank trade transaction combining blockchain technology, smart contracts, and IoT.

In addition, a project using a shared, distributed ledger that can store complete transaction history has almost been completed by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

The exchange recently said its blockchain initiative is on track for a final decision in the second half of 2017, with the prototype complete and the organisation moving to build an "industrial-strength solution" to use as its equity settlement, asset registration, and clearing platform. Its broader plan is to become the first exchange in the world to upgrade to post-trade services using the technology.

ASX group executive for operations Tim Hogben also said recently that blockchain is ideally suited for securely recording medical health information.

Similarly, the Sydney Stock Exchange (SSX) announced a project recently that would see it instantly settle trades using blockchain technology with the help of Sydney-based Bit Trade Labs.

Australia's incumbent telco carrier Telstra announced in September it was experimenting with a combination of blockchain and biometric security for its IoT smart home offerings.

Although the immutable record of transaction has found itself tangled up in a regulatory delegation-fest between government organisations in Australia, with eight different government bodies overseeing blockchain development to some degree in the country, Data61 recently said blockchain holds promise as a new foundation for transactions in society, in particular for voting, notarisation, supply chain, registration, and process coordination, in addition to payment-related services.

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University of Sydney builds new Red Belly Blockchain technology - ZDNet

Ford exec points to ‘great progress’ on driverless cars – USA Today – USA TODAY

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Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press Published 10:53 a.m. ET July 2, 2017 | Updated 10:56 a.m. ET July 2, 2017

Ford will make a driverless car for ride-sharing purposes by 2021, using its Ford Fusion Hybrid.(Photo: Ford Motor Company)

Ford is making "great progress" towards its goal of deploying its first fully self-driving car by 2021, says the automaker's top research executive.

But don't expect Ford to be first.

"We dont worry too much about where the competitors are," Ken Washington, Ford's vice president of research and advanced engineering and chief technology officer. "What we are worried about is how do we bring this technology to market in a way thats a fit (for customers). And thats what we are focused on,"

He spoke as Ford gave reportersrides in the company's self-driving Ford Fusion test car.

Ford is relying on Argo AI a company co-founded last year by Google car project veteran Bryan Salesky and Uber engineer Peter Rander to take the lead on the development of the brains of its self-driving car. Ford acquired a majority stake in Argo AI in February.

"I think we are extremely well-positioned because weve got a technology company working with us that understands how to build the robot," Washington said recently. "And weve got an automotive manufacturer underneath us ....with more than 100 years of experience of systems integration."

Washington has been a top executive at Ford since joining the automaker in 2014 who now is taking on even more responsibility under Ford CEO Jim Hackett. At Ford, Washington oversees the automaker's advanced research and engineering efforts and gained the additional title of chief technology officer in May.

That essentially gives Washington oversight of all of Ford's autonomous vehicle efforts as well as oversight of the development of a wide range of other new technology.

Before joining Ford, Washington was vice president of the Advanced Technology Center at Lockheed Martin and was one of the most prominent African-Americans in aerospace. Now he is one of eight top executives at Ford who reports directly to Hackett.

We spoke with Washington about his new role and Ford's autonomous vehicle programs. The following is edited for clarity and brevity, and includes some additional comments from Washington's recent blog post on Medium, which included an announcement that Ford is creating a new artificial intelligence research team.

Question: So, tell us about your new role, and what you will now be doing at Ford?

Answer: I kind of wear two hats for the company. I am the vice president of research and advanced engineering ... and that didn't change. And with Jim Hackett coming to our company as CEO, he really wants to put an emphasis on technology and its promise for enabling us to be a great business. And so he invited me to be the chief technology officer to help drive that vision. ... And so thats a new role. And in that new role, I am really just looking to do what naturally comes to any executive who oversees a group that does that kind of technology work."

Q: How do the various pieces of Ford's autonomous vehicle program fit together? You have Ford's own development team, Ford Smart Mobility and Argo AI. How does it all work?

A: We recently welcomed Sherif Marakby back to Ford (from Uber). Sherif owns autonomous vehicles at Ford, and so his job is to define for us where we are going to play in the market, and how we are going to bring autonomous vehicle technology to bear and put it into the market.

But building the autonomous vehicle has three parts three big parts. There is the virtual driver, and thats Argos job. Thats the part that replaces the driver with a robot. And that includes software and sensors.

Ford product development is building the vehicle and the autonomous vehicle team is part of that and we are working on the integration of the virtual driver into the vehicle.

Washington elaborated on the role of Ford's internal autonomous vehicle team in his Thursday blog post on Medium:

We are announcing the creation of the robotics and artificial intelligence research team as part of Ford research and advanced engineering. This move aligns multiple disciplines under one team for a more concerted effort as we increasingly come to understand the potential for robotics and artificial intelligence. The move also serves to further advance projects weve already presented such as our autonomous vehicle development program, and those we arent quite ready to reveal.

Q: It's only been a few months since Ford publicly stated its goal to commercially launch a fully autonomous vehicle by 2021 but can you tell us how that effort is going and how fast you are making progress?

A: They are going great, they are absolutely going great.... They have some fabulous momentum. Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, the co-founders of Argo AI, have attracted a really great team already. Over 100 employees are already on board at Argo. So, I am excited about the path they are on. They are making great progress.

Q: It can be difficult from the outside to really know who is leading the race to develop driverless cars. Is Ford leading? Or have you fallen behind competitors like Waymo or even GM? And how much do you think it matters right now?

A: Well I would start by saying there is so much hype out there its hard to sort through it. And you said it well when you said it kind of doesnt matter. We dont worry too much about where the competitors are. What we are worried about is how do we bring this technology to market in a way thats fit. And thats what we are focused on.

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Ford exec points to 'great progress' on driverless cars - USA Today - USA TODAY

Firefighters make progress on Brian Head fire; lake reopens – Las Vegas Review-Journal

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A southern Utah fishing lake is reopening as firefighters gain more of a handle on a two-week old wildfire that has forced out 1,500 people from the area.

BRIAN HEAD, Utah A southern Utah fishing lake is reopening as firefighters gain more of a handle on a two-week old wildfire that has forced out 1,500 people from the area.

The U.S. Forest Service said Sunday that firefighters have made good progress on the blaze thats burned 93 square miles of land.

Its 65 percent contained, with full containment of the western portion expected by the time one of two crews of firefighters from Nevada, Idaho and Utah are relieved of duty Sunday.

Campers, fishers and swimmers can now visit Panguitch Lake.

Authorities are reopening roads but warned drivers to be alert for possible falling rocks and debris.

Multiple communities remain under evacuation orders.

The fire has burned 13 residences and prompted evacuation orders at Brian Head and the Dry Lake area. The orders for those areas have since been lifted, but more than 1,800 firefighters are continuing to battle the blaze.

Because of the fire, Brian Heads July Fourth celebration will be more subdued than in past years. The usual fireworks display is also off the schedule this year and Brian Head Resort spokesman Mark Wilder expects a smaller crowd than the 15,000 or so people who usually attend.

Brian Head town manager Bret Howser said people have been trickling back into town and good vibes are in the air.

Wilder said Friday that the resort areas residents are grateful to firefighters who kept the ski area largely untouched by the flames from the wildfire, which officials say was started June 17 by a man burning a pile of weeds.

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Firefighters make progress on Brian Head fire; lake reopens - Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Justice Department is squandering progress in forensic science – Washington Post

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By Rush D. Holt and Jed S. Rakoff By Rush D. Holt and Jed S. Rakoff July 2 at 7:51 PM

Rush D. Holt is chief executive officer at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Jed S. Rakoff is a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York who served ex officio on the National Commission on Forensic Science.

Imagine this: A cop pulls you over and arrests you because you match the description of someone wanted for a heinous crime. You are innocent, but after being charged and brought to trial, you watch as experts testify with scientific certainty that hair and footprints at the scene match your own, and you are led from the courtroom in shackles.

This may seem like a scene straight out of a TV melodrama, but this scenario happens in real life far too often. A number of forensic techniques including hair- and footprint-matching, mark analysis, bloodstain-pattern analysis and others lack scientific validity and reliability yet are used frequently in our nations courtrooms.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, no fewer than 490 people have been exonerated since 1989 after being convicted on the basis of false or misleading forensic techniques. Just last month, a Michigan man was freed from jail 41 years after his conviction after prosecutors agreed that evidence against him based on an analysis of a single hair didnt meet FBI standards. Another Michigan man was released in May after 25 years in prison following a faulty conviction based on bullets matched to a gun.

During the past decade, thanks largely to a 2009 report from the National Academy of Sciences, we have made important progress in ridding our nations courtrooms of such scenarios. But the Justice Departments recent decision to not renew the National Commission on Forensic Science the primary forum through which scientists, forensic lab technicians, lawyers and judges have worked together to guide the future of forensic science threatens to stall and even reverse that progress.

The NAS report found that too few forensic disciplines, other than DNA analysis, have adequate scientific basis. The report also found that experts often overstate their claims in testimony, invoking unscientific terms like scientific certainty and claiming 100 percent accuracy.

The Justice Department is the responsible agency for prosecuting federal crimes and, in this role, makes frequent use of forensic techniques. It is therefore not appropriate for the Justice Department to be the evaluator of forensic practices. In the 2009 report, the NAS strongly recommended that to avoid a conflict of interest, an entity independent of the Justice Department should oversee forensic standards.

While the Justice Department did not fully embrace this recommendation, it went ahead and, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, helped create the National Commission on Forensic Science. From 2013 until earlier this year, the commission provided a venue for all of the relevant stakeholders to discuss issues facing forensic labs and foundational science and to advance a path forward to strengthen forensic practices and research.

By building consensus among these diverse groups who all care deeply about the integrity of our justice system, the commission promoted important reforms, such as mandatory accreditation of crime labs used by the government and the immediate disclosure to defense counsels of a government forensic experts entire file relating to a defendant. Many of the commissions recommendations have been adopted not only by the Justice Department but also by state and local crime labs. They have also resulted in changes both to prosecutorial practices and to codes of professional conduct for those working in forensic laboratories. With these improvements in providing justice, it is not time to pull back from the forensic commission.

More than 250 individuals and groups, including leading legal scholars and scientific organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, recently submitted public comments to the Justice Department on how to proceed on forensic science. The overwhelming majority of comments urged the department to ensure that there be an independent and transparent oversight body for forensic science like the now-suspended commission.

For now, the Justice Department has taken the opposite view, that there is no conflict with having internal department evaluators oversee forensic science research that their prosecutors hope to use in the courtroom. We urge the attorney general and the department to take a thorough look at the many thoughtful comments from concerned citizens and quickly reconsider this approach. Forensic science requires conflict-free independent evaluation if it is to advance the truth. Peoples lives and our societys faith in the American justice system are at stake.

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The Justice Department is squandering progress in forensic science - Washington Post

Progress continues on Fiber to Home project – Muscatine Journal

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MUSCATINE Progress continues on Muscatine Power & Water's Fiber to the Home project. Expected to be completed in 2018, the project will provide faster internet and enhanced cable television services for customers of MP&W's Communications Utility by replacing traditional coaxial cable with fiber optic technology. On Tuesday, Tim Reed, director of utility service delivery, told the Board of Water, Electric, and Communications Trustees that 73,000 feet, or around 15 percent, of the new aerial wiring is in place, with 1,000 aerial drops completed, and 13,500 feet of new underground wiring is in place with 25 drops completed.

Reed said individual activations should begin in the fall.

"I hesitate to put a date on it because there are so many pieces that have to come together," Reed said.

During the meeting, the board authorized General Manager Sal LoBianco to enter into an agreement for competitive local exchange carrier switching services and operational support for the project. LoBianco said a five-year contract is being negotiated with ImOn Communications of Cedar Rapids to provide voice services.

"This will allow us to get into a business relationship with ImOn a little more quickly," LoBianco said.

All three utilities at Muscatine Power & Water continue to outperform the budget.

The Electric Utility was budgeted to post a deficit of $1,008,131 in May, but the actual loss was $467,510. Jerry Gowey, director of finance and administrative services, reported revenue of $7,383,000 in May was $555,000 more than budgeted. From January to May, a loss of $3,419,487 was budgeted, but the actual deficit was $1,676,283 with a cash balance of $46,227,000 and no debt.

The Water Utility was budgeted to post a loss of $27,898 in May, but the actual loss was $18,917. Gowey said May revenue of $527,000 was $6,707 better than budget. For the year to date through May, profit of $28,877 was budgeted, but actual profit of $154,816 has been posted with a cash balance of $461,000 and debt of $5.6 million. Of that, $5.5 million was to the Electric Utility and $100,000 was to Iowa's State Revolving Fund.

A profit of $147,459 was budgeted for the Communications Utility in May, but the actual profit was $210,103. Gowey said May revenue of $1,158,000 was $10,642 better than budget. For the year through May, a profit of $557,879 was budgeted, but actual profit of $918,967 was posted with a cash balance of $881,000 and debt of $9,044,000, all to the Electric Utility.

The board approved changes in its leadership, effective July 1. Board Chair Susan Eversmeyer, co-owner of River Rehabilitation, stepped down as board chair. Vice Chair Doyle Tubandt, president of Kent Corporation, will replace Eversmeyer. Keith Porter, president and CEO of Stanley Foundation, will be the new Vice Chair.

Gowey will continue as the Board Secretary.

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Progress continues on Fiber to Home project - Muscatine Journal