Japan Has Created Black Mirror-Inspired Bee Drones – Futurism

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Accidentally Rediscovered Be careful what you tweet. Credit: Netflix

In the final episode of NetflixsBlack Mirror, the government claims to be using Autonomous Drone Insects to counteract the collapse of the bee population. Spoiler alert: theyre lying.

Its soon discovered that these bee drones are actually being used for mass public surveillance. Worse, the drones areprogrammedto kill. The deaths are linked to awebsite promoting a Game of Consequence where Twitter users can vote to kill one hated public figure using the hashtag#DeathTo.

Now, similar drones are coming to Japan, without all the government secrets and Twitter deaths (we assume). Japans insect-sized drones were turned into artificial pollinators with the help of a coating of horse hair and an ionic sticky gel. The drones work like bees and use their hairs to pick up pollen from one flower and deposit it into another.

Researchers from Japan actually discovered this ionic gel accidentally, and then published their work in the journal Chem. Back in 2007, one of the researchers, chemist Eijiro Miyako, was working on possible liquid electrical conductors. One attempt to do so produced a wax-like sticky gel. The gel was shelved after Miyako considered it a failure. It was rediscovered after a decade during a lab cleanup and, to Miyakos surprise, the gel remained unchanged.

This project is the result of serendipity, Miyako said. We were surprised that after 8 years, the ionic gel didnt degrade and was still so viscous. Conventional gels are mainly made of water and cant be used for a long time, so we decided to use this material for research.

Miyako tested the pollen-grasping abilities of the gel by coating ants with it, which he then left to roam free in a box of tulips. Researchers observed that ants coated with the gel were able to collect more pollen than those that werent. In addition, a separate test applying the gel to houseflies revealed that it changes color when exposed to different sources of light potentially giving it a camouflage effect that can help artificial pollinators avoid predators.

With the gel tested and proven to be sticky enough, the next thing to do was to look for the artificial pollinator. Miyako found a $100-four propeller droneand gave it a fuzzy, bee-like exterior. It was the teams AIST colleagues Masayoshi Tange and Yue Yu who decided to use horse hair on the drones surface. These bristles gave more surface area for pollen to attach to, and at the same time, provided electric charge that kept the pollens in place.

The drones were tested on Japanese lilies, with the team flying them by remote control. The drones would pick up pollen from one flower, and then flewto another flower todeposit the pollen.

The findings, which will have applications for agriculture and robotics, among others, could lead to the development of artificial pollinators and help counter the problems caused by declining honeybee populations, Miyako said. We believe that robotic pollinators could be trained to learn pollination paths using global positioning systems and artificial intelligence.

As bees enter the endangered species list in the United States, these natural pollinators will need all the help they can get. Artificial pollinators can lessen the burden of modern agricultural demand, giving the bees breathing space to recover their numbers. Hopefully, these drones wont turn out to the way their Black Mirror counterparts did, but we can worry about that later. For now, getting these drones out there to see just how much they could help will keep the world pollinated.

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Japan Has Created Black Mirror-Inspired Bee Drones - Futurism

Elon Musk: The Model 3 Battery Will Be Below 100 kWh – Futurism

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In Brief

Usually, any news fromElon Musk regarding Tesla is good news. However, some may be disappointed by the CEOs latest round of tweeting. In response to a question on battery capacity, Musk hinted that the currently unannounced capacity of the companys next model, the Model 3, will not exceed 100 kWh.

This particular wording led some to wonderif the top battery pack option would be 100 kWh. Unfortunately, Musk was quick to dash those hopes as well, tweeting that the size of the new model is a limiting factor.

No specifics have been released on just how far below 100 kWh the capacity of the highest end Model 3 will be. Last year, a Tesla executive did mention that the base option would have a capacity of under 60 kWh, and Musk has said that the base model would have a range of at least 346 kilometers (215 miles). The higher-end versions are expected to achieve a range of more than 482 kilometers (300 miles). Given that the Model 3 is smaller and lighter than other Tesla models, it will likely be able to achievethose ranges even with smaller capacity batteries.

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Elon Musk: The Model 3 Battery Will Be Below 100 kWh - Futurism

What is Freedom – Holistic Politics

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Freedom. We sing about it in our patriotic songs. We teach it to our children in school. Hollywood and Madison Avenue glorify it. Here in the United States, freedom is the civic religion.

But if freedom is our civic religion, why is the libertarian movement in the U.S. so small? Why is government so big and our jails so full? Is all our talk of freedom mere lip service? Are we a nation of sheeple duped by the powers that be?

To some degree, yes. But these are not the major reasons why the libertarian movement is so small. Pure libertarians lack credibility with the masses because they dont necessarily offer liberty. Abolish the government willy nilly and reduced liberty is the likely result. The power vacuum left by vanished government is likely to be filled by feudal warlords, a military junta and/or invading armies. Anarchy with liberty may be possible but it is not automatic. The People are prudent to refuse the risk.

What about moderate libertarians? What about those who would like to shrink the federal government to its Constitutional bounds? Why havent freedom lovers joined their banners en masse? Well, some did, for Ron Pauls recent run for President, but not nearly enough to win the Republican nomination, much less elect a President. This is supposed to be the Land of the Free. What gives?

It took me years to figure it out, but I believe I have the answer. It is an answer most active libertarians will not like to hear. Pragmatic libertarians do indeed offer liberty, but liberty is not the same thing as freedom!

By liberty I mean what my libertarians friends mean by liberty: liberty is the absence of coercion. It is a state of being where transactions are voluntary, where all constraints are the result of honest contracts. I like liberty. I wish we had more of it, here and in other parts of the world. I even have a series on libertarian strategy in the the hope that libertarians become more successful in increasing liberty. But liberty is not the same thing as freedom. Freedom is something bigger.

So what is freedom?

You can pull out a dictionary for a stilted definition. I will define it simply: freedom is being able to do what you want to do. Free speech and free beer both speak of freedom. Free speech is a freedom that comes directly from liberty. Free beer, however, requires more than mere permission to drink fermented barley. It requires that someone has gone through the trouble to brew the beer and is willing to give it out. If no one is so inclined brew beer and give it away, the ideal of Freedom as in Free Beer contains a conflict. Free beer for you means beer servitude for someone else.

This is why freedom-loving Vulcans stick to promoting liberty. They see the potential conflict inherent in free beer freedoms as a contradiction. Liberty can be granted to all who respect the liberty of others or at least thats the ideal. (In practice we run up against a few conflicts or even contradictions.) So many libertarians would define freedom down to mere liberty, and thus wall off from their minds the messy business of balancing trade-offs.

I say mere liberty because for many people more liberty need not translate into more freedom. A marginal increase in liberty can result is subtantially less freedom, especially in the short run. This, I submit, is why libertarianism has limited popularity here in the Land of the Free. For millions of people liberal and conservative ideas offer more increments freedom than many libertarian ideas.

Consider a single mom who has to put in 50 hour weeks at Dennys to support her children. A cuddly fascist offering government childcare and socialized medicine along with his program of censorship of naughty TV and conquering Bolivia for no good reason offers more freedom to this mother than a smaller government libertarian. This is but one illustration. I give others elsewhere.

Libertarianism has limited popularity for good reason.

This is not a libertarian site. It is a pro-freedom site. Here, we attempt to balance several freedoms, including:

Back when I was a libertarian and active in the Libertarian Party, I spent thousands of dollars and hours promoting the party and the cause. Converts and recruits were few and far between. Today, I am mostly out of the game, playing Candy Land with my young daughter instead of placing signs, dropping leaflets, working booths and attending meetings. Yet I have well over a hundred people lining up to join my nonexistent new political party proposed elsewhere on this site.

Freedom is popular here in the Land of the Free.

What is not popular is knowledge of how to be more free. Many liberals call for mass bureaucracy because they know no other way to achieve freedom from the boss. If that is you, or you wish to persuade such liberals otherwise, see the red titles on the sidebar. Likewise, many environmentalists believe we have to abride economic freedom and/or our prosperous way of life in order to preserve nature. For you I have the green article series. For those of you who desire a safe and moral place to raise your children, there are the blue articles.

If you are ready to dive in and look at specific proposals, feel free to jump to the relevant article series. On the other hand, if you are a top down thinker, or a libertarian/small government conservative who has a hard time grokking the distinction between liberty and freedom, please continue with this series.

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What is Freedom - Holistic Politics

Advocates Say Sweeping Anti-LGBT Religious Freedom Bill Has ‘No Limitations’ – Texas Observer

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Senator Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, introduces Attorney General Ken Paxton during A Call to Prayer for Texas at the state Capitol.

With the media seemingly preoccupied by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patricks bathroom bill, three Republican state senators have quietly introduced a sweeping anti-LGBT religious freedom measure.

Senate Bill 651, filed last week, would bar state agencies that are responsible for regulating more than 65 licensed occupations from taking action against those who choose not to comply with professional standards due to religious objections.

Eunice Hyon Min Rho, advocacy and policy counsel for the ACLU, said SB 651 would open the door to rampant discrimination against LGBT people, women seeking reproductive health care and others. Rho said the bill could lead to doctors with religious objections refusing to perform medical procedures, teachers not reporting child abuse if they support corporal punishment, or a fundamentalist Mormon police officer declining to arrest a polygamist for taking underage brides.

This is incredibly broadly written, said Rho, who monitors religious freedom legislation across the country. Its just really alarming. There are no limitations to this bill.

Rho said only one state, Arizona, has passed a similar law, but unlike SB 651 it includes exceptions related to health care and law enforcement. She also warned that anti-LGBT state lawmakers may be trying to use the bathroom bill as a distraction.

I think because some of the bills are receiving more attention than others, its a way for them to sneak some stuff through with a little bit less fanfare, Rho said. This is a tactic weve seen in countless states.

The three senators listed as joint authors of SB 651 Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola and Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last year, Perry obtained a non-binding opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton saying an American Bar Association rule prohibiting LGBT discrimination would violate the religious freedom of attorneys if adopted by the Texas Bar Association.

In its preamble, SB 651 notes that more than half of Texas senators, and over one-third of state representatives, are licensed in occupations regulated by the state.

Those occupations include mental health counseling, and Rho said SB 651 could be partly intended as a pre-emptive strike against efforts to ban the widely discredited practice of reparative therapy, which seeks to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of patients. The controversial practice is also known as conversion therapy or ex-gay therapy.

David Pickup, a licensed counselor who practices reparative therapy in Dallas, called SB 651 a good step in the right direction.

For those therapists who are religious, certainly it would apply, said Pickup, whos fought efforts to ban reparative therapy in other states. I would prefer if there was something that mentions therapy specifically.

Courtesy of Celia Israel

Representative Celia Israel, D-Austin, whos led efforts to ban reparative therapy, said it wasnt immediately clear how SB 651 would affect her legislation if both measures pass. But Israel noted that SB 651 is one of several anti-LGBT measures originating in the more conservative Senate.

We stand ready to defend against all of them as they work their way over to the Texas House, said Israel, one of the Legislatures two openly LGBT members. My colleagues are all saying this is likely to be the most divisive session they have ever experienced.

As of Thursday, nine anti-LGBT bills had been filed in the 2017 session, according to Equality Texas, compared to at 23 in 2015. But there were indications that additional anti-LGBT religious freedom proposals are coming before the March 10 filing deadline.

Representative Scott Sanford, R-McKinney, a Southern Baptist pastor who co-chairs the right-wing Legislative Prayer Caucus, told supporters prior to the session that attacks on religious liberty are going at us fast and furious.

The number of bills that were going to have to file is amazing to protect the religious liberty of Texans, Sanford said.

Representative Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, the other co-chair of the Prayer Caucus, characterized the groups approach as a balancing test between discrimination and the exercise of religion.

Theres a lot of areas out there where we can be proactive and say, You will not be harmed if you exercise your religious liberty in this manner, said Krause, an attorney.

Dan Quinn, a spokesman for the pro-LGBT Texas Freedom Network (TFN), said he doubts any anti-LGBT legislation will slip through under the radar. Like the bathroom bill, its expected to face strong opposition from the business community.

Everyone who cares about equality and discrimination is watching these bills very closely, Quinn said. It may pass, but it aint gonna pass in the dark of night.

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Advocates Say Sweeping Anti-LGBT Religious Freedom Bill Has 'No Limitations' - Texas Observer

Support freedom of the press – The Missoulian

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The new administration is questioning the motives and actions of legitimate news outlets as a way to prioritize its own rhetoric, distract us from unconstitutional directives and quash dissent. While we must hold the press accountable, we must also preserve their independence.

Freedom of the press is front and center in our democracy. The First Amendment clearly states this: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. But freedom of the press is dismissed routinely by totalitarian governments. Control of the media is one of the first goals of those who would control any society.

In Russia, the Kremlin controls national television, newspapers are mostly owned by those with ties to the Kremlin, and punitive laws criminalize dissent and criticism of Putins government. Even in America, freedom of the press has been challenged. Despite Jeffersons declaration that he would rather have newspapers without a government than a government without newspapers, the Sedition Act was passed in 1778.

Fortunately, the courts continue to re-affirm freedom of the press. As Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black wrote in 1971, "The Government's power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government."

Steve Bannons attacks on the free press are attacks on the First Amendment. It is crucial for citizens to support impartial and independent reporting by reading broadly, objecting to censorship, examining and rejecting fake news and subscribing to publications that inform us about the administrations actions. The publics right to know is at stake.

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Support freedom of the press - The Missoulian

Is this is what religious freedom means? – Jackson Clarion Ledger

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Katherine Klein, Guest Columnist 11:04 a.m. CT Feb. 9, 2017

Katherine Klein(Photo: Special to The Clarion-Ledger)

Late January, President Trump signed an executive order suspending refugee resettlement from any country for 120 days and suspending resettlement from Syria indefinitely. In the same order, he banned the entries of nationals from seven majority Muslim countries for 90 days. This ban was issued under the guise of safety, despite the fact no American has been killed by a foreign national or refugee from the specified seven nations since 1975.

This refugee ban does, however, put at risk the lives of people who will be turned away. These are people women, children, families who have already been extensively vetted, have been found to pose no risk to our country, and are likely to be at a high risk of victimization if they remain in their own countries. It is particularly poignant that Trump chose to sign these orders on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Before and during World War II, the United States turned away thousands of refugees fleeing Nazi terror. Among them was Anne Frank, whose family was denied entry into America in the interest of protecting national security.

Aside from inaccurate targeting, this ban is also unconstitutional. President Trumps executive order favors Christian refugees and stigmatizes Muslims. Can supporters of Trump honestly in good faith stand by this order? Is this what religious freedom in America has come to mean?

Religious freedom does not mean a Christian theocracy.

True religious freedom means the ability to believe what you believe without fear of community reprisal. True religious freedom means the government does not favor one religion over another. These are the basic principles upon which our nation was founded. To undermine these tenants is to betray what America stands for.

America is a melting pot; a diverse fabric of varied life experiences. No group of people is more or less important than another. The greatest thing we as Americans and as Mississippians can do to protect the institutions of religious freedom is to oppose government involvement in religious issues.

The ACLU of Mississippi is calling on the governor and all Mississippians to speak out against this immoral immigration ban and to speak up for true religious freedom. To sign our petition, go tohttps://action.aclu.org/secure/MS-religious-freedom-petition.. Together, we can show the nation that Mississippi values the religious rights and freedoms of all.

Katherine Klein is the Equality for All Advocacy coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi.

Read or Share this story: http://on.thec-l.com/2kT8dIJ

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Is this is what religious freedom means? - Jackson Clarion Ledger

Like Freedom Fighters Before Us, We Believe Human Nature Bends Towards Justice – Forbes

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Forbes
Like Freedom Fighters Before Us, We Believe Human Nature Bends Towards Justice
Forbes
From where we sit in history we do not know for certain where we are along the path to freedom, justice and equality. Just when we feel that we have emerged into an era of hope, of fallen barriers and new opportunities, those very advances can be ...

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Like Freedom Fighters Before Us, We Believe Human Nature Bends Towards Justice - Forbes

Trump Puts Religious Freedom Front and Center – The Epoch Times

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In matters small and large, President Donald Trump has served notice that religion will play a significant role in how he carries out his duties.

His inaugural ceremony featured a record six clergy members taking part, rather than the usual one or two, and some of the more poetic passages in Trumps speech were about the role of faith in our nations life.

At the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 2, Trumpsremarks took up thematically the question of faith and politics with a robust defense of religious liberty and an assertion that our rights and freedoms come from God.

Trump quoted Thomas Jefferson in saying, Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?

According toMark David Hall, professor of politics at George Fox University and author of Faith and the Founders of the American Republic, Trumps remarks as a whole harkened back to the ways in which the nations founders discussed religion.

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Mark David Hall,professor of politics, George Fox University

It was very prevalent in the American founding that religious liberty or freedom of conscience is a gift of God, Hall said. Trumps remarks reminded Hall of George Washingtons 1790 letter to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. The letter makes clear, religious liberty is a gift from God for all people in America.

Patrick Garry, professor of law at the University of South Dakota law school, said Trumps remarks were in the natural law and natural rights tradition. If our rights are given by God, then there is a truth that transcends humanity.

Gary Smith, professor of history at Grove City College and author of Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush, said Trumps remarks were in the mainstream of presidential speeches at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.

Presidents typically use the prayer breakfast to speak about what their faith means to them, Smith said, or the role of faith in America, or the importance of faiths role in addressing various problems, or to encourage support for particular policies.

Smith felt the context within which Trump defended religious liberty was significant. We have a much more militant atheist community than before, Smith said. The proposition that our rights come from God is much more under fire than it ever has been in American history.

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Patrick Garry,professor of law, University of South Dakota School of Law

In his speech, Trump finds a basis for national unity in God being a common creator: We are all united by our faith in our Creator and our firm knowledge that we are all equal in His eyes. We are not just flesh and bone and blood. We are human beings, with souls.

Garry sees in this invocation of God the creator a subtle rejoinder to doctrines that emphasize our differences. The primary word we have fed on, particularly during the Obama administration, is diversity, Garry said. Here [Trump] is using religious faith as a matter of unity. Thats different.

The theme of unity echoed Trumps inaugural speech, when, for instance, he said, And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator.

Hall believes that there is a significant difference between Trumps praise of religious liberty and the tendency by the Obama administration to speak of freedom of worship.

Many on the right do think that religious liberty was threatened in profound ways under the Obama administration, Hall said.

Freedom of worship protects what churches or clergy do, but it doesnt extend to individuals. If you are a small businessperson, a florist, a baker, a photographer, and you have a sincerely held religious objection this right will not be protected.

By vowing to defend religious liberty, Trump is saying under his administration there will be an effort to protect people like that.

At the prayer breakfast, Trump mentioned two policies drawn from his understanding of freedom of belief: repealing the Johnson Amendment and reforming immigration policy to protect religious tolerance in the United States.

The 1954 Johnson Amendmentnamed for its sponsor, then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnsonstrips from religious or charitable organizations their tax exempt status should they endorse or oppose political candidates. Critics have charged the amendment denies religious and charitable groups freedom of speech and freedom of belief.

In his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Trump advocated repeal of this law, and now he has put this on his agenda as president.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump bow their heads in prayer during the Inaugural Luncheon in the US Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2017. President Trump is attending the luncheon along with other dignitaries after being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. (Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)

Regarding his plans for immigration, Trump said, We will develop a system to help ensure that those admitted into our country fully embrace our values of religious and personal liberty, and that they reject any form of oppression and discrimination.

Another instance of Trumps emphasis on religious liberty occurred in his executive order on immigration, which specified that persecuted religious minorities should receive priority in appealing for refugee status.

The order has been criticized as being aimed at Christians who have suffered persecution in the Middle East.

In defending this provision, Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute notes in an article in Christianity Today that Christian refugees from Syria have been marginalized. The executive order will help this population, Shea notes, but it will also help Rohingya Muslims from Burma, Ahmadi Muslims from Pakistan, Iraqi Yazidis, Iranian Bahais, and Vietnamese independent Buddhists.

Smith said that Americans need to take seriously a presidents rhetoric about faith, but cautions keeping a healthy skepticism, since such arguments may be stated mainly for their political benefits.

Garry finds something unusual in Trumps remarks at the prayer breakfast. I dont think this is just politics, he said. I thought he would be like everyone else and modify everything he said earlier. I think this might be very sincere.

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Trump Puts Religious Freedom Front and Center - The Epoch Times

A new front in the assault on women’s freedom: Anti-choice activists now going after birth control – Salon

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Most conservativesare masters of the bad-faith argument, but none so more than anti-choice activists. For decades now, anti-choicers have perfected the art of concealingtheir hostility to abortion and contraception with terms like pro-life and theirsupposed concern with protecting womens health.

This disingenuous approach characterized the conservative response to a Department of Health and Human Services requirement, created under the Affordable Care Act, that requires insurance plans to cover contraception without a co-payment.

Until recently Republicans have framed their objections to mandatory contraception coverage witha religious freedom argument, arguing that the mandate offended the sensibilities of religious employers.Efforts to chip away at insurance coverage of contraception were largely focused on carving out broad exemptions for employers who claimed a religious objection to the mandate, instead of ending the regulation itself.

But now were living under President Donald Trump in an America shaped by Breitbart News, and right-wingers opposed to womens reproductive freedom can zoom right past the euphemism and into the territory of belligerent misogyny.

Trumps chief strategic advisor, Steve Bannon, used to run Breitbart and under his leadership, the arguments against contraception were a bit less genteel whatanti-choice activiststypically prefer.

The rightsmore openly misogynist direction may go a long way in explaining the reaction ofRep. Diane Black, one of the most outspokenly anti-choice members of Congress, to questions she was asked about contraception at apress conferencelast week.

It started when a reporter asked Black whether House Republicans intended to preserve the contraception benefit, if and when they finally got around to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.

Black at first answered a question about the birth control benefit byinaccurately stating that people could simply obtain care elsewhere, the GOPs long-touted but misleading alternative to Planned Parenthood affiliates, Christine Grimaldi of Rewire wrote.

Yep, Black mixed up two separate anti-contraception cover stories:When objecting to insurance coverage for contraception, the standard right-wing script calls forcomplaining thatit offends the religious sensibilities of Christian employers to lettheir employees have thatcoverage.

Black apparently got confused, however, and started reciting the script that conservativesuse for another purpose forjustifying slashing the federally funded contraception that millions of womenobtain throughPlanned Parenthood.Thatswhen conservatives claim that women can simply go to other publicly funded clinics for contraception, even though repeated investigations have demonstrated thisis simply not true.

But in the age of a Breitbart White House,theres no need to bother with nuanced distinctions between differentbad-faith arguments for undermining contraception access.

After a reporter clarified that the birth control benefit applies to insurance, not clinics, Grimaldi continued, Black said that a comparable benefit isnt on the table, quickly turning again to other facilities as the catchall solution.

Its unfortunate that Rep. Black continues to misrepresent Planned Parenthood as she simultaneously threatens to rip affordable birth control access from 55 million women all while apparently failing to understand how the birth control insurance benefit works, Mary Alice Carter, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, wrote by email.

Blacks planto slash both insurance coverage for contraception and contraception funding atPlanned Parenthoodwould derail the family-planningstrategies of many women who now use birth control probably most of them. This doesnt just concern lower-income women, either. Middle-class women will suffer if they suddenly have to pay hundreds or even thousands a year for coverage thats currently available for free.

The congresswomans simply invoking the existence of public clinics(which cant possibly take onPlanned Parenthoods patients, much less all the women nowreceivingcontraception through private insurance) shows that shedoes not actuallycare how many women she cuts off from birth control.

Of course, this is Breitbarts America, where women who use contraception which is more than99 percent of sexually active women at some point in their lives are accused of being ugly, crazy and a threat to national security. In that environment, theres little need for Black to keep up the pretense that this is anything but a war on birth control.

Contraception is expensive, Dr. Shanthi Ramesh, a fellow of family planning at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, explained over the phone.

She argued that women should be able to choose contraception based on effectiveness and lifestyle fit, instead of thinking, How much is this going to cost me out of pocket?'

There is no lack of evidence that women faced barriers to accessing birth control before the enactment of the ACA, wrote Dr. Diana Greene Foster, director of research atAdvancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, in an email.A study of over 500 women seeking abortions before the ACA from five clinics across the country showed that 12 percent had unprotected sex because they could not afford birth control or their insurance wouldnt cover it. Another 20 percent reported that they ran out of supplies, a problem greatly alleviated by insurance coverage and a one-year supply.

Beyond citing the practical issues, Ramesh also objected to the inherent sexism of the arguments against contraception coverage. She pointedout that a wide range of preventive services, such as vaccines and cancer screenings, are covered by ACA guidelines andinclude men and children as well as women.

Contraception, she said, shouldnt be this additional service that gets flagged separately and highlighted as different. Its a part of being a healthy, productive member of our country, and we really owe it to women to provide them the service.

Ather press conference, Black was accompanied by Lila Rose,who runs the anti-choice organization Live Action and has along history of scare-mongering about the evils of contraception and premarital sex. In 2012 Roseparticipated in an anti-contraception documentary Birth Control: How Did We Get Here? where she took a stance against all forms of non-procreative sex, saying, There was a time when birth control was unthinkable,when contraception was unthinkable, because people who got married a beautiful part of marriage was the hope for children together. She also decried contraception for encouraging sexual activity and experimentation in unmarried people.

When I asked Ramesh about the value of sexual abstinence, the rights preferred method of contraception for someonenot ready to become pregnant, she was skeptical. She noted that she advises women of all their options, including abstinence, but its very few and far between that would like to rely on abstinence as their primary form of contraception, she said.

Of course, this battleis about the largerstrugglebetween what women want for themselves and what right-wing zealots want for them.Its just that in Trumps America, conservatives who oppose reproductive freedom are feeling a lot less shy about their desire to drive women back into subservience.

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A new front in the assault on women's freedom: Anti-choice activists now going after birth control - Salon

Pipeline foes pivot to religious freedom – E&E News

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Ellen M. Gilmer, E&E News reporter

The waters of Lake Oahe are at the center of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's religious freedom argument against the Dakota Access pipeline. Photo by Ellen M. Gilmer.

Opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline are taking a new approach in the courtroom: religious freedom claims.

Following news last night that the Trump administration had granted the final easement needed for Energy Transfer Partners to construct the oil pipeline beneath Lake Oahe, a dammed section of the Missouri River, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe submitted a flurry of overnight legal filings seeking to block the project.

According to tribal lawyers, placement of a pipeline beneath the Missouri River would desecrate sacred waters used for religious ceremonies. The Cheyenne River people occupy a sprawling 4,200-square-mile reservation along the river in South Dakota, just south of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The two tribes have been battling the pipeline in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since last summer.

"The Tribe does not argue that Dakota Access may not have its oil pipeline elsewhere, or that infrastructure projects in Lakota territory must be barred forever; only that this pipeline, sited through these sacred waters, owned in trust by the United States for this Tribe, violate the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's and its members' right to exercise their religion," Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP attorneys representing the tribe told the court.

The argument came in several overnight filings: a revised complaint against the Army Corps of Engineers' approval of the project; a request for a preliminary injunction that would block construction while the core claims are pending before the court; and a request for a temporary restraining order that would block construction immediately, without a court hearing.

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Without a construction freeze, tribal members near the construction site in North Dakota face imminent harm from confrontations with law enforcement and private security, the lawyers said.

They noted that they would have raised the religious freedom claims sooner, but they were under the impression they would be able to discuss the issue during an in-depth environmental review process promised by the Obama administration.

The Trump administration scuttled that review this week, opting to instead rely on a less detailed environmental assessment completed last year, which found no significant impact from the pipeline (E&E News PM, Feb. 7).

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which has taken the lead on many previous legal actions in the case, has not yet filed a challenge to the easement approval.

The Cheyenne River Sioux's new claims center on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a 1993 law that says the federal government cannot "substantially burden a person's exercise of religion" unless it has a compelling interest and uses the "least restrictive means."

While previous claims focused on the tribal consultation process and potential environmental harms, the latest briefs say the presence of the pipeline with or without a rupture would sully their sacred waters.

"The Lakota people believe that the mere existence of a crude oil pipeline under the waters of Lake Oahe will desecrate those waters and render them unsuitable for use in their religious sacraments," the brief said, noting a Lakota prophesy that a "black snake" will destroy the people's homeland. Lakota people make up the Cheyenne River tribe.

But RFRA's "substantial burden" test is a tough one.

In a 2009 decision, for example, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a group of American Indian tribes making similar claims. The Navajo Nation, Havasupai Tribe and others argued that a Forest Service plan to use artificial snow for skiing on a northern Arizona mountain violated their religious freedom rights because the artificial snow would contain trace amounts of human waste, desecrating an area tribal members use for worship. The court found that the government's action did not represent a substantial burden.

"That is, the presence of the artificial snow on the Peaks is offensive to the Plaintiffs' feelings about their religion and will decrease the spiritual fulfillment Plaintiffs get from practicing their religion on the mountain," the opinion said. "Nevertheless, a government action that decreases the spirituality, the fervor, or the satisfaction with which a believer practices his religion is not what Congress has labeled a 'substantial burden' ... on the free exercise of religion."

The Cheyenne River Sioux's claim could be viewed similarly, as the tribe has expressed opposition to the "mere existence" of the pipeline beneath the river.

Pipeline proponents have also repeatedly pointed to an existing natural gas pipeline that runs beneath the river as evidence that current opposition to construction is unfounded. Cheyenne River lawyers addressed the issue briefly in the restraining order request, arguing that Dakota Access' transport of oil would specifically fulfill the tribe's "black snake" prophesy.

"Indeed the Tribe has tolerated the construction and operation of natural gas pipelines under Lake Oahe because these natural gas pipelines are not the Black Snake of Lakota prophecy and do not burden Tribal religious practice," the brief said.

Some court watchers have already given the tribe's new legal strategy long odds. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Brandon Barnes said the tribe has an uphill battle because RFRA was intended for narrower application.

"They have a tough road ahead of them," said Barnes, who is a lawyer. "Using [RFRA] in this way to stop a pipeline from being built is probably not the way it was intended to be used."

Barnes noted that Judge James Boasberg may be reluctant to consider new claims after the tribe had the length of the litigation and the earlier environmental assessment process to voice their concerns. But, he added, constitutional claims do tend to catch extra attention from judges.

"He is a very reasonable judge, so I think he will consider everything that comes in front of him with the due deference it deserves," he said. "Legally, the RFRA argument seems weak compared to an environmental argument, but from an optics perspective, you don't want to impinge on someone's constitutional right."

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AFA: Time is now for EO on religious freedom – OneNewsNow

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President Trump is making good on campaign promises one after the other, but he's getting some pushback on one of them.

Fairly consistently on the campaign trail, and as recently as last week, President Trump made a pledge that certainly encouraged evangelicals:

"... I want to express clearly today to the American people that my administration will do everything in its power to defend and protect religious liberty in our land."

Someone in the White House leaked a draft of an executive order that would do just that, and in no uncertain terms. It specifically states that people and organizations do not forfeit their religious freedom while earning a living or seeking a job effectively protecting Christian bakers, florists, photographers, and the like.

The leaker, however, made sure a copy got to the militant homosexual lobby and the result, says the president of the American Family Association, is that that group is bringing all its firepower to bear on Mr. Trump.

"Hell hath no fury like the LGBT community scorned," says Tim Wildmon. "He's getting pushback from [his daughter] Ivanka Trump and her husband [Jared Kushner]. They're telling President Trump Don't sign anything like this because it will hurt you."

The executive order has never been more needed, Wildmon adds.

"A lot of these LGBTQ communities ... want to force Christians into submission," he tells OneNewsNow. "The stories are ample across the country: if [for example] you don't participate in their wedding ceremony with your business, then they want the government to drive you out of business."

The American Family Association has launched an online petition asking President Trump to sign the executive order on religious liberty (see video below). Wildmon says he will personally deliver it to the White House.

Editor's Note: The American Family Association is the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates OneNewsNow.com.

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Stephen Bannon once tried to make a documentary about eugenics, Hitler, and clones – The Week Magazine

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Before he was the executive chair of Breitbart and long before he was ever a chief strategist to the president of the United States of America, Stephen Bannon wanted to make a movie. One of those movies, which never came to fruition, was a Hamilton-style rap musical about the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Another, The Daily Beast has learned, was "an epic documentary-style film about the eugenics movement, Adolf Hitler, 'blood purity,' abortion, contraception, Darwinism, mutants, and cloning."

The 11-page outline for The Singularity: Resistance Is Futile (as the project was naturally called) credits Bannon as writer, producer, and director, although Bannon reportedly met with filmmaker Mel Gibson about getting the picture off the ground. "Essentially, Bannon's is a Christian right-friendly story of arrogant scientists trying to perfect the human race at the expense of the natural order and God's vision of humanity," The Daily Beast writes of the 2005 project.

The Singularity is divided into 22 segments, including "The Religion of Technology," which begins by talking about "the garden of the new Eden, fruit of the forbidden tree: clones, mutants, and designer humans." Other sections touch on the "subjugation of race and class throughout time," the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia, "the survival of the fittest," the "Aryan Elite," and "the Commercial Eugenics Civilization," which discusses "the perfectibility of life through a human-controlled elite race that will bring about a better world."

But wait, there's more! Bannon goes on to discuss "Yuppie Science"; "bio-technology as big business"; the "new age superpowers" of China, Singapore, Walt Disney, and Ted Williams; and "post-humanity." Read more about the project at The Daily Beast. Jeva Lange

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The evolution required to achieve a sustainable online ecosystem – Marketing Land

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Ad blocking certainly got the industry talking in 2016. It was included for the first time on Gartners 2016 Hype Cycle for Digital Marketing and Advertising and cited as a critical issue in LUMAs annual State of Digital Media report. It also acted as a positive catalyst for change with increased emphasis on creating high-quality, targeted ad campaigns, as illustrated by initiatives such as the Coalition for Better Ads.

But talking about ad blocking only gets us so far; it is the end result of a set of much deeper issues an increasingly strained relationship between publishers and users where a lack of communication and value exchange has led to audience dissatisfaction.

To reduce ad-blocking rates and ultimately secure the future of the online ecosystem publishers and users must pass through three phases of content compensation.

Due largely to the rise of ad blocking, we are currently immersed in phase one compensation awareness which involves publishers communicating the need for content compensation in the form of either advertising or currency.

Traditional forms of published content whether in newspapers, in magazines or on television are financed through a combination of advertising and user subscriptions. But with the explosion of the supposedly free internet, the link between advertising and content production costs hasnt been transparently communicated.

Users must understand digital advertising isnt there to irritate them but to fund the content they enjoy reading or watching.

Premium publishers are already taking steps to increase awareness of the importance of content compensation; earlier this year, The New York Times delivered a pop-up to ad blocker users saying the best things in life arent free. And The Atlantic recently prevented ad block users from accessing its content in an attempt to educate them about the value exchange of digital advertising, giving them the option of whitelisting the site or subscribing to an ad-free version.

In the UK, the Guardian newspaper had already appealed to readers to fund reporting around Brexit, and with the publications coverage of the presidential election receiving record digital traffic over 23 million unique visitors in one day its message continues to gain strength. Editor in Chief Katharine Viner said in a press release, Never has the world needed independent journalism more than now.

Awareness of the need for content compensation is certainly on the rise, but there is still some way to go before all users understand the cost associated with quality online content.

As compensation awareness continues to grow, we will move into the next phase of compensation consent, creating a more transparent relationship between publishers and users. European publishers already have a legal requirement to gain consumer consent for the use of cookies to collect and store customer data, and this existing process could be expanded to encompass content compensation.

When users give cookie consent, they confirm they understand the publisher is using cookies for tracking purposes, and that they are happy with the publishers privacy policies and data practices. If compensation consent is added to this process, users will validate their understanding of the publishers content compensation policies and will agree to receive advertising in return for free access to online content, or whatever compensation model the publisher is using.

This will mean users are effectively opting in to advertising or another model of content compensation.

The final phase of content compensation will be compensation choice, where giving users a variety of options will become the norm. Through simple software-as-a-service solutions, publishers will offer a range of compensation methodologies, and consumers will choose the experience they want via a natural and willing transaction.

While advertising is not the only way to pay for content, its likely to be a popular option for consumers, and both customized and standard ad models will be available. In addition, users will be able to choose micro-payments, where they pay for each piece of content individually, or macro-payments where they pay a regular subscription for access to an entire website or group of sites.

The rise of ad blocking has highlighted an important truth: The relationship between the publisher and the user must change, and we must move towards transparent transactions between content creators and content consumers.

While the first phase of compensation awareness is already well under way, its essential to move through the phases of compensation consent and compensation choice before a truly sustainable digital ecosystem can emerge.

Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

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The evolution required to achieve a sustainable online ecosystem - Marketing Land

The Connected Car Ecosystem: 2016 – 2030 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts – Yahoo Finance

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LONDON, Feb. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The growing proliferation of embedded in-vehicle connectivity and smartphone integration platforms has made connected cars one of the fastest growing segments of the IoT (Internet of Things) market. Keen to establish recurring post-sale service revenue streams, all major automotive OEMs are investing in connected car programs. Other ecosystem players, such as mobile operators and telematics specialists, are also vying to gain a larger share of the opportunity. In fact, many mobile operators have expanded beyond their traditional role as connectivity providers, to offer end-to-end connected car platforms directly to automotive OEMs and aftermarket suppliers.

By the end of 2016, SNS Research estimates that connected car services will account for $14 Billion in annual revenue, driven by a host of applications, including but not limited to infotainment, navigation, fleet management, remote diagnostics, automatic crash notification, enhanced safety, UBI (Usage Based Insurance), traffic management and semi-autonomous driving.

The "Connected Car Ecosystem: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" report presents an in-depth assessment of the connected car ecosystem including OEM connected car programs, enabling technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, applications, collaborative initiatives, regulatory landscape, standardization, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents market size forecasts for connected car services from 2016 through to 2030. The forecasts are segmented for 3 connectivity models, 5 application categories, 5 regions and 17 leading countries.

The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report.

Topics Covered

The report covers the following topics:

- Connected car ecosystem

- Market drivers and barriers

- Enabling technologies and key trends

- Connected car programs and platform offerings

- Embedded, tethered and integrated connectivity models

- Analysis of key applications and opportunities

- Regulatory landscape, collaborative initiatives and standardization

- Industry roadmap and value chain

- Profiles and strategies of over 240 leading ecosystem players, including automotive OEMs, mobile operators and connected car platform specialists

- Strategic recommendations for ecosystem players

- Market analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030

Forecast Segmentation

Connected car installed base and service revenue forecasts are provided for each of the following submarkets and their subcategories:

Connectivity Model

- Embedded

- Tethered

- Integrated

Application Category

- Communications, Infotainment & Payments

- Navigation & Location Services

- Vehicle Management

- Safety & Security

- Driver Assistance & Autonomous Driving

Embedded Car Connections

- GSM

- CDMA-2000

- W-CDMA

- TD-SCDMA

- LTE & 5G

- Satellite & Other Technologies

Tethered Car Connections

- Wireless

- Wireline

Integrated Car Connections

- Apple CarPlay

- Android Auto

- MirrorLink

- Others

Regional Markets

- Asia Pacific

- Europe

- Middle East & Africa

- North America

- Latin & Central America

Country Markets

- Brazil

- Canada

- China

- Egypt

- France

- Germany

- India

- Indonesia

- Italy

- Japan

- Mexico

- Russia

- Saudi Arabia

- South Africa

- South Korea

- UK

- USA

Key Questions Answered

The report provides answers to the following key questions:

- How big is the connected car opportunity?

- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?

- How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?

- What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?

- Which countries and submarkets will see the highest percentage of growth?

- Who are the key market players and what are their strategies?

- How will connected cars drive investments in Big Data, cloud computing, analytics and other technologies?

- What are the growth prospects of embedded, tethered and integrated connectivity options?

- How do government mandates and initiatives impact the adoption of embedded connectivity?

- What are the future prospects of self-driving cars and cooperative V2X applications?

- Do LTE and 5G technologies pose a threat to the 802.11p standard for V2X communications?

Read More

- What strategies should automotive OEMs, mobile operators and connected car platform specialists adopt to remain competitive?

Key Findings

The report has the following key findings:

- By the end of 2016, SNS Research estimates that connected car services will account for $14 Billion in annual revenue, driven by a host of applications. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 31% between 2016 and 2020.

- Although the market is presently dominated by infotainment and telematics, connected driver assistance systems and autonomous driving applications will witness the highest growth rate over the next four years.

- Multiple automotive OEMs are beginning to integrate in-vehicle payment capabilities with their connected car platforms to make it possible for drivers to pay for services such as fuel, parking, food and tolling, without having to leave their vehicles.

- The connected car ecosystem continues to consolidate, with larger players investing in acquisitions to increase their market share, technical capabilities, revenue and geographic reach. For example, semiconductor giant Intel has made a spate of acquisitions including Altera, Yogitech, Arynga and Itseez, to bolster its IoT and connected car capabilities.

- Many mobile operators have expanded beyond their traditional role as connectivity providers, to offer end-to-end connected car platforms directly to automotive OEMs and aftermarket suppliers.

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3095583/

About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com

For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: query@reportbuyer.com Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: http://www.reportbuyer.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-connected-car-ecosystem-2016--2030--opportunities-challenges-strategies--forecasts-300405322.html

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The Connected Car Ecosystem: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts - Yahoo Finance

Webgility Unveils New e-Commerce Ecosystem, Unites Best-in-Class Systems and Companies to Build Better … – PR Newswire (press release)

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The e-Commerce Ecosystem is a high-powered, collaborative network of best-in-class, streamlined, integrated e-commerce business applications. Hand-picked for their excellence in specialized categories of online sellingsales, accounting, inventory, and shippingthe industry leaders that make up the e-Commerce Ecosystem stand united to change the lives of sellers for the better. By invitation only, the esteemed group has been vetted as the ideal candidates in each of the specialized retail verticals and also specifically selected to represent best-in-class applications to make up an optimum technology stack for online merchants. In the coming months, Webgility will announce the members of this new Ecosystem.

"For 10 years, Webgility has been able to study and support thousands of e-commerce businesses and millions of online orders. This has put us in the unique position to cure what ails online sellers," said Parag Mamnani, founder and CEO, Webgility. "The new e-Commerce Ecosystem is the antidote for app fatigueone that gives sellers a useful, sustainable way to grow their business. Our mission has always been to enable online retailers to focus on what they love doing and now we have not only alleviated their operational headaches, we have given their operations a strategic advantage. Stay tuned for more details as we embark on this game-changing adventure."

ABOUT WEBGILITY Webgility, Inc. is the leading provider of e-commerce automation software for multi-channel companies, managing millions of transactions for 10,000-plus online connections every month. Webgility's mission is to empower online retailers to focus on their passion by simplifying operations. Its Unify solution connects all revenue streams, expenses, and business systems so businesses can have better perspective, make smarter decisions, lower costs, and simplify bookkeeping. Webgility is a certified partner of Intuit, QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite, and works with more than 70 e-commerce platforms and SaaS providers (including Amazon, eBay, BigCommerce, Shopify, and Magento), payment processors (PayPal, Stripe, Shopify Payments, Square), and hosting providers. Founded in 2007, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with an international branch in Indore, India. For more information about Webgility, visit http://www.webgility.com.

For more information, please contact: Eileen Conway Zealot Communications for Webgility 650-245-9015 eileenc@webgility.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/webgility-unveils-new-e-commerce-ecosystem-unites-best-in-class-systems-and-companies-to-build-better-businesses-300404691.html

SOURCE Webgility

http://www.webgility.com

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Webgility Unveils New e-Commerce Ecosystem, Unites Best-in-Class Systems and Companies to Build Better ... - PR Newswire (press release)

Boost IP regime, start-up ecosystem and fund-raising options – The Straits Times

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Strategy 3: Strengthen enterprise capabilities to innovate, scale up

A stronger intellectual property regime, a more vibrant start-up ecosystem and a wider variety of fundraising options for high-growth companies.

These are some essential ingredients to make Singapore a choice location for innovative companies developing products and solutions for the world, according to the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE).

"Our economy is only as strong and resilient as each of our enterprises can be competitive," the committee noted, adding that this effort requires government agencies, industry and other stakeholders to work together to build an ecosystem for innovation and enterprise growth.

The committee made a number of key recommendations aimed at developing the innovation ecosystem.

First, it suggested that Singapore's intellectual property (IP) regime be strengthened to help enterprises commercialise research findings and IP from research institutions.

The committee also called for further boosts to the start-up ecosystem by enhancing mentorship, helping to raise the profile of Singapore start-ups and expanding the entrepreneurial pipeline. This means remaining open to entrepreneurial talent from around the world, and facilitating mentorship and networking within the start-up community so that experienced individuals can work with up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

This includes growing the community of IP and commercialisation experts and developing a standardised IP protocol to be adopted by all public agencies and publicly funded research entities - such as the Agency for Science, Technology and Research institutes, autonomous universities and hospitals.

"We are starting from a position of strength. We already have a critical mass of high-tech sectors in Singapore, a vibrant start-up and financing ecosystem, world-renowned universities and research institutions, and a strong global pool of research scientists and engineers," the report noted.

The committee also called for further boosts to the start-up ecosystem by enhancing mentorship, helping to raise the profile of Singapore start-ups and expanding the entrepreneurial pipeline.

This means remaining open to entrepreneurial talent from around the world, and facilitating mentorship and networking within the start-up community so that experienced individuals can work with up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

Ultimately, Singapore needs to be more open to change and risk-taking in order to survive in a world where disruption has become the norm, said Trade and Industry (Industry) Minister S. Iswaran.

Mr Iswaran, co-chairman of the CFE, added that the Government, enterprises and individuals cannot become "ossified in their position". "We must be prepared to learn from (failure), learn to fail fast, fail smart and recalibrate," he said.

The CFE also made recommendations aimed at helping companies to scale up. These included a call for deeper collaboration between large and small enterprises, for instance, through corporate venture funds.

The panel also suggested that high-growth enterprises receive more dedicated and customised help when venturing abroad, as well as more support for raising capital.

"For enterprises based here to scale up, more smart and patient growth capital - long-term capital which brings along ideas and expertise - is needed," the report said.

"We should encourage a variety of private-sector funding sources, including banks, venture capital funds and private equity funds. Where appropriate, the Government can partner these funds to invest for growth."

A simpler regulatory framework for venture capital firms would help boost the ecosystem here, the committee said, adding that the Government should look into encouraging more private equity firms to invest growth capital in Singapore-based companies looking to regionalise.

The committee suggested a private market platform for Asian enterprises to access financing from a wider network of investors.

It also said that the Government should permit dual-class share structures for listed companies, while instituting safeguards to promote market transparency and mitigate governance risks.

The sum of all these efforts should create a "strong base of globally competitive enterprises", which will in turn "support our economy to grow and create good jobs".

An integrated ecosystem supporting innovative growth companies from the start-up phase to late-stage growth is critical in strengthening the capital market, said Dr Steven Fang, chief executive of CapBridge, an online platform that allows companies to raise capital from a global pool of investors.

"While ample funding for early-stage start-ups is important, it is equally critical to have funds for late-stage enterprises, and here is where we see the gap," he added.

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Deny strip mine request over ecosystem devastation – Bradenton Herald (blog)

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Bradenton Herald (blog)
Deny strip mine request over ecosystem devastation
Bradenton Herald (blog)
A mound of phosphate from the Mosaic beneficiation plant is piled high after being processed from sand dredged at the Mosaic Wingate Creek Mine in East Manatee County. Mosaic is seeking permission to expand its mining operations at its Wingate East ...

and more »

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Deny strip mine request over ecosystem devastation - Bradenton Herald (blog)

Prep for Robot Apocalypse with Programmable Cyborg Arms – Geek

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Prepare for the coming robot apocalypse with a programmable cyborg arm.

Two crowdfunding projects launched this monththe MeArm Pi kit and uArm Swiftin hopes of spreading bionic love across the globe.

UK-based Mime Industries quickly surpassed its 10,000 Kickstarter goal, cementing production of its Raspberry Pi-controlled machine.

We believe in helping people understand how the world works, the MeArm Pi campaign page said. With so much development going on in robotics at the moment, now is the perfect time to get to know what it takes to build your own robot.

Mime Industries

Allegedly simple enough for a child to assemble, the kit includes a standard Pi HAT (also sold separately for 25 ($31)), which attaches to your Raspberry Pi computer for remote programming or direct control via built-in joysticks.

Early-bird buyers can snag a build-it-yourself robot arm for 50 ($63)10 off the standard Kickstarter price. The kit comes with everything you need to use it except the Raspberry Pi, which comes bundled with a power supply and 8GB SD card for 110 ($138).

The first 1,000 products are expected to begin shipping in July.

Cant wait that long for a personal robotic assistant? uArm Swiftfor all your 3D printing, laser engraving, writing, painting, and other creative needsis estimated to dispatch in May. From San Franciscos UFACTORY comes two plug-and-play, open-source, Arduino-based desktop robotic arms.

UFACTORY

Boasting the high precision needed for drawing, laser engraving, and light painting, the uArm Swift features offline learning mode, all-in-one software, and a mobile app for remote control.

For a discounted $289, the basic kit includes the uArm Swift, Bluetooth, Swift Universal Holder, and Swift Gripper; the pro basic kit upgrades to the uArm Swift Pro and adds a Swift 3D printer and Swift laser for $449. Other perks are also available at varying cost tiers.

It is not only a robotic arm that you can own but also a chance to decide how you want to involve robot technology in your life, UFACTORY said in its crowdfunding pitch.

With a month left, the Indiegogo project has raised $272,000 from 553 backerswell beyond the companys $10,000 fixed goal.

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Ballpark of the Palm Beaches opens to public for first time on Feb. 18 – Palm Beach Post

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Its a spring training ritual for baseball fans in Florida and Arizona watching the first workouts by pitchers and catchers at the the start of the long baseball season.

That wont happen at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches next week when the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals start reporting to their first spring training season in West Palm Beach.

The first day the general public will be allowed on the $150 million complex is Feb. 18, the same day the Astros hold their first full-squad workouts with pitchers, catchers and position players. The Nationals hold their first full-squad workouts on Feb. 19.

But because the complex is still an active construction site, fans will not be able to hang out by the clubhouses for autographs when players report for the first time. And they cannot watch the first workouts by pitchers and catchers.

Astros pitchers and catchers report Tuesday and hold their first workouts on Wednesday. Nationals pitchers and catchers report Tuesday and hold their first workouts on Thursday. Position players for both teams report Feb. 17.

Its a brand-new facility. We want to make sure everything is secure. I think (fans) will understand, said Gene Dias, the Astros vice president for media relations.

We decided Feb. 18 would be a safe date. That makes sense for us because its the first full-squad workout and in the past thats the day when we get a lot of fans to come out because they want to see all the players working out together for the first time.

The 160-acre facility, built over an old landfill south of 45th Street and west of Interstate 95, is just about done. While both teams hold practice sessions over the first two weeks of camp, work will continue in the main stadium up until the first game on Feb. 28 when the Nationals host the Astros.

Admission and parking for the workouts are free. So far, one parking area has been identified for fans at the northwest corner of the complex with access off Haverhill Road.

The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, which first announced the public access date last month, will release more details about the workouts next week.

The Astros six practice fields are on the on northeast and east side of the complex. The Nationals fields are on the southeast and south corner of the complex. Four practice fields abut Military Trail, bordered by protective netting to prevent baseballs from hitting traffic on the road.

The complexs main entrance is off Haverhill Road.

Of all 12 practice fields, two have the same configurations as Nationals Park in Washington and Minute Maid Park in Houston.

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Ballpark of the Palm Beaches opens to public for first time on Feb. 18 - Palm Beach Post

Poopy Situation Down Under: Why 36 Australian Beaches Were … – Live Science

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There's an icky situation Down Under: Thirty-six Australian beaches have been closed due to contamination from human feces.

Australia's Environment Protection Authority gave every beach in Melbourne a "poor" water-quality rating this week because of the fecal contamination, and deemed them not suitable for swimming. The EPA officials said in a tweet that recent heavy rainfall likely caused the pollution. One of Melbourne's daily newspapers, The Age, reported that the city was hit with one month's worth of rain 1.97 inches (50 millimeters) on Sunday night (Feb. 5).

The poor water quality could last through the week, according to Anthony Boxshall, EPA group manager of applied sciences. [10 Ways the Beach Can Kill You]

"The bay is like a shallow tub and all the catchments drain into it," Boxshall told The Age. "The water stays in the bay for quite some time just because it's got that little entrance so there's not much exchange."

An EPA map of the affected area shared on Twitter shows beaches dotted along the bay, and the narrow inlet to the ocean. Based on this geography, as Boxshall said, the contaminants entering the bay due to stormwater runoff do not actively interchange with the ocean water.

#BeachReport forecast: 36 beaches are rated POOR due to recent rain and likely stormwater pollution. Updates: https://t.co/lt0qAextBL pic.twitter.com/dtW0u4sTvb

To determine contamination levels, the EPA tests water samples for enterococci a bacteria group that is an indicator of fecal contamination, according to the EPA's Beach Report. Water rated as "poor" due to bacteria means swimmers are at a higher risk of such illnesses as gastroenteritis (also known as stomach flu).

"It'sgastro [intestinal illness]that we're worried about and infections," Boxshall said. "For some people like kids, older people who are more frail, pregnant women, people who for whatever reason their immune system might be more sensitive,gastro can be more serious, sowe issue these alerts."

Melbourne's beaches were last contaminated with fecal matter after the beginning of the new year, according to The Age. During that contamination event, the EPA declared 21 of the area's beaches unsafe for swimming.

Contaminated water can cause a number of other illnesses, from respiratory diseases to diarrhea. For example, one pathogen that could be found in water contaminated with sewage is adenoviruses when waterborne, this can cause gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the stomach and intestine, Stephen Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, previously told Live Science. Another common pathogen is norovirus, which causes diarrhea and vomiting. Rotavirus also causes diarrhea and vomiting, along with fever, and is the common cause for infants' diarrhea, according to Morse. Thought not as common as norovirus or rotavirus, astrovirus also causes diarrhea.

Bacteria in water such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus causes vibrio infections, and can also contaminate seafood, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. People with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS, are particularly susceptible to cryptosporidium, a parasite found in contaminated water, Live Science reported.

Original article on Live Science.

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Poopy Situation Down Under: Why 36 Australian Beaches Were ... - Live Science