Tag Archives: Brave New World

Police Shut Down Concert Because Rapper Appeared by Hologram

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“A change in the playlist [does not] justify the police shutting down the event, when the objection to the change was the inclusion of someone whose viewpoint the city disapproves of.  It appears that Chief Keef appeared by hologram because there was a warrant for his arrest, perhaps for missing a DUI court hearing or for failing to appear in a child support case; but while that would have justified the police arresting him if he appeared in person (since there would be a viewpoint-neutral justification for that, namely arresting someone for whom there is a warrant), that can’t justify the police stopping the holographic projection.”

http://fee.org/anythingpeaceful/detail/police-shut-down-concert-because-rappers-hologram-was-performing

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Drone drops drugs into Ohio prison yard, inmate brawl ensues

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“It’s not quite the drone-delivery business model that Amazon is planning to offer.  But a drone carrying heroin, marijuana, and tobacco dropped its payload over a prison yard crowded with inmates, causing a brief melee before authorities stamped out the brawl with pepper spray, according to ODRC.  Local media reported Tuesday that the July 29 melee at the Mansfield Correctional Institution began moments after a drone let loose with the goods. At least nine inmates began fighting over the package while other inmates rushed toward the brawl.  None of the inmates are believed to have gotten away with the 65.4 grams of marijuana, 6.6 grams of heroin and 144.5 grams of tobacco.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/08/drone-drops-drugs-into-ohio-prison-yard-inmate-brawl-ensues/

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Jeep owners urged to update their cars after hackers take remote control

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“Security experts are urging owners of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles vehicles to update their onboard software after hackers took control of a Jeep over the internet and disabled the engine and brakes and crashed it into a ditch.  A security hole in FCA’s Uconnect internet-enabled software allows hackers to remotely access the car’s systems and take control. The Uconnect hack affects driving systems from the GPS and windscreen wipers to the steering, brakes and engine control.  The security researchers notified Fiat Chrysler nine months ago.  The update requires users to manually update their cars by visiting the manufacturer’s site, downloading a programme on to a flash drive and inserting it.”

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/21/jeep-owners-urged-update-car-software-hackers-remote-control

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Money Will Be Digital — But Will It Be Free?

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“What a strange world we now live in. Total surveillance of every citizen’s transactions, without any basis or suspicion, is not just normal but presented as a virtue, a form of patriotism. Using cash or wishing to retain your financial privacy is inherently suspect, a radical position, soon to be a crime.  Using cash or wishing to retain your financial privacy is inherently suspect, a radical position, soon to be a crime.  A future where all payments are trackable is terrifying, but a world with centralized control over transactions would be even worse. Digital currency with centralized control means the eradication of property as a right.”

http://fee.org/freeman/detail/money-will-be-digital-but-will-it-be-free

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Origami Robot Folds Itself Up, Does Cool Stuff, Dissolves Into Nothing

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“At ICRA 2015 in Seattle yesterday, researchers from MIT demonstrated an untethered miniature origami robot that self-folds, walks, swims, and degrades. That’s the title of their paper, in fact, and they delivered on all of those promises: from a flat sheet with a magnet on it, their robot folds itself up in just a few seconds, is immediately ready to zip around on land or water driven by magnetic fields, and then when you’ve run out of things to do with it, drive it into a tank of acetone and it’ll dissolve. This is the first time that a robot has been able to demonstrate a complete life cycle like this, and eventually, it’ll be doing it inside your body.”

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/origami-robot-folds-itself-up-does-cool-stuff-dissolves-into-nothing

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Military technology: Laser weapons get real

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“Thanks to computerized aiming, HEL MD can operate in wholly autonomous mode, which Boeing tested successfully in May 2014 — although the trials uncovered an unexpected challenge. The weapon’s laser beam is silent and invisible, and not all targets explode as they are destroyed, so an automated battle can be over before operators have noticed anything. ‘The engagements happen quickly, and unless you’re staring at a screen 24–7 you’ll never see them,’ Blount says. ‘So we’ve built sound in for whenever we fire the laser. We plan on taking advantage of lots of Star Trek and Star Wars sound bites.'”

http://www.nature.com/news/military-technology-laser-weapons-get-real-1.17613

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Mortgage Banks Meet With Danish Government on Negative Rates

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“Denmark is helping its mortgage banks figure out how to tackle negative interest rates after the industry called upon the government to step in.  Business Minister Henrik Sass Larsen is forming a working group that will address the challenges that negative rates pose for the $500 billion industry. The development follows the central bank’s historic efforts to save its euro peg, forcing policy makers to cut the benchmark deposit rate to minus 0.75 percent, suspend government bond sales and sell a record amount of kroner to weaken the currency.  Nykredit and Nordea have said they won’t issue bond-backed mortgages at negative yields. Realkredit Danmark A/S has said it will.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-05/mortgage-banks-to-meet-with-danish-government-on-negative-rates

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Negative mortgage rates in Denmark; $3.6 trillion of negative yield debt

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“With negative interest rates in Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium, and Denmark, it was about time that we saw negative mortgage rates in Europe as well. In January, as much as $3.6 trillion of debt in Europe and Japan traded at negative yields. Unprecedented bond buying by the European Central Bank (the ECB) and Bank of Japan (the BOJ) has resulted in a manipulation of global capital markets that could lead to another major asset bubble.  The situation has gotten so out of hand that not only are interest rates -0.2% at the ECB’s overnight deposit facility, but commercial banks are also lending to individuals at negative rates.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/negative-mortgage-rates-denmark-3-210020766.html

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Corporate bond rates go negative

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“In an unprecedented event, the yield on Nestle’s corporate debt went negative this week.  That means investors are essentially willing to pay for the right to park their cash in the safety of the Swiss chocolate company. The bonds might as well come with a note saying: ‘In Nestle we trust.’ All of this is a sign of the unusual times we all live in thanks to never-seen-before central bank policy. After all, normally bond investors are paid to provide financing, not the other way around. So what’s sparking this latest fad in finance? Central bankers around the world are experimenting with new recipes aimed at jump starting sluggish economies.”

http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/05/investing/nestle-corporate-bonds-negative-rates/

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Dutch man injects Bitcoin wallet NFC chips into his hands

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“As an entrepreneur and founder of Mr. Bitcoin, a company that installs Bitcoin ATMs in the Netherlands and Belgium, Wismeijer had a 2 millimeter by 12 millimeter NFC Type 2 compliant NTAG216 RFID chip injected into the muscle tissue between his index finger and thumb on each hand. One he uses to store and overwrite common, everyday data, such as contact details, while the other holds his encrypted Bitcoin wallet key. After his doctor in Amsterdam understandably refused to perform the procedure, Wismeijer says he turned to a professional piercing artist to do the deed. Wismeijer is already planning to use his chips as keys to NFC-enabled door locks at his home.”

http://www.slashgear.com/man-injects-bitcoin-wallet-nfc-chips-into-his-hands-16355694/

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