Tag Archives: Sudden Outbreak of Common Sense

Google pulls leading robots from DARPA involvement

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“ATLAS, a stompy kill-bot created by Boston Dynamics, and SCHAFT, a more abstract but well-balanced man-bot created by a Japanese company of the same name, were recently purchased by Google, which has made a rather abrupt overall turn toward robotics research. Schaft’s decisive first place and ATLAS’ strong second-place finish in the first leg of DARPA’s Grand Challenge are now basically Google’s by corporate marriage. That’s a problem for DARPA, since Google has vowed not to pursue any military contracts in the future — and this week, that policy finally came into effect.  DARPA and Google have two competing narratives as to why this happened.”

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/185570-google-finally-proves-it-wont-pursue-military-contacts-pulls-leading-robot-from-darpa-competition

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Cops Can’t Search Cell Phones Without a Warrant, SCOTUS Rules

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“The court released a landmark decision in the case of Riley vs. California, forbidding warrantless police searches of the contents of arrestees’ cell phones. The ruling opinion notes that cell phones have in fact become tiny computers in Americans’ pockets teeming with highly private data, and that gaining access to them is now fundamentally different from rifling through someone’s pockets or purse.  The court also rejected prosecutors’ notion that the ability to remotely wipe or lock a phone required police to search the devices immediately upon arrest before evidence could be destroyed–an ironic argument given that police pressed for those same remote ‘kill switch’ abilities.”

http://www.wired.com/2014/06/supreme-court-rules-cops-cant-search-cell-phones-without-a-warrant/

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U.S. promises to phase out landmines that target people

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“The United States will phase out its stockpiles of landmines designed to target people, moving closer to joining a global ban on a weapon that kills more than 15,000 people a year — most of them civilians.  Activists have long pressured the United States to join the international treaty banning the production, stockpiling and use of anti-personnel landmines — the kind meant to kill or maim when someone steps on them.  Such mines are easily triggered when stepped on, unlike anti-vehicle mines. Those weapons can still kill, but only go off when heavy vehicles pass over them.  Some criticized the United States for failing to commit to a ban on the use of its current stockpiles of mines.”

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/27/us/u-s-landmines/

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House unexpectedly votes to stop warrantless NSA searches

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“By a vote of 293 to 123, a bipartisan coalition in the House voted to ban the National Security Agency from conducting ‘backdoor searches’ on United States citizens, a process that allowed the intelligence community to collect data on Americans without a warrant as long as the official target was a foreigner.  The amendment ‘specifically prohibits the NSA from using information identifying U.S. citizens to search communications data it collects under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.’  Additionally, the House voted to ban the NSA from installing backdoor search capability into the hardware and software of other companies.”

http://rt.com/usa/167372-house-amandment-stop-nsa-searches/

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California Judge Throws Out Teacher Tenure

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“The decision hands teachers’ unions a major defeat in a landmark case.  Judge Treu agreed with the plaintiffs’ argument that California’s current laws make it impossible to remove the system’s numerous low-performing and incompetent teachers, because the tenure system assures them a job essentially for life; that seniority rules requiring the newest teachers to be laid off first were harmful; and that granting tenure to teachers after only two years on the job was farcical, offering far too little time for a fair assessment of the teacher’s skills.  Further, Judge Treu said, the least effective teachers are disproportionately assigned to schools filled with low-income and minority students.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/us/california-teacher-tenure-laws-ruled-unconstitutional.html?_r=1

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Warrantless cellphone location tracking is illegal, US circuit court rules

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“A US Appellate Court has ruled that police must obtain a warrant before collecting cellphone location data, finding that acquiring records of what cell towers a phone connected to and when it was connected to them constitutes a Fourth Amendment search. This ruling, from the 11th Circuit, is in opposition to a ruling made nearly a year ago by a separate appellate court.  In its reasoning, the court notes that while the Fourth Amendment has traditionally been applied to property rights, it’s gradually expanded to protect much more, including communications.  The court cites a Supreme Court ruling that found that tracking a person using a GPS unit installed in their car requires a warrant.”

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/11/5801238/warrantless-cellphone-location-tracking-illegal-us-court-rules

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S.F. Taxi Chief Resigns, Predicts Industry Wipeout By Lyft And Uber

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“In a sense, it’s shocking to hear such grim assessments about the state of an industry–one that seems like a basic city service–that has been around for decades. But this is a lesson for other cities: San Francisco’s taxi system is notoriously horrible, with too few cabs on the road, too many cabbies who lie about having broken credit card machines so customers will pay cash, and problematic drivers.  A look at 1,700 customer complaints by the Bay Citizen reveals all sorts of issues, including cabbies smoking, texting while driving, falling asleep at the wheel, and just being rude. Should we surprised that the industry is in danger of toppling over?”

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3031448/heres-an-idea/head-of-san-francisco-cab-company-predicts-lyft-and-uber-will-put-the-industry

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New Orleans replaces all public schools with charter schools

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“An all-charter district signals the dismantling of the central school bureaucracy and a shift of power to dozens of independent school operators, who will assume all the corresponding functions: the authority to hire and fire teachers and administrators, maintain buildings, run buses and provide services to special-needs students.  Of the Recovery School District’s 600 employees, 510 will be out of a job by week’s end. All 33,000 students in the district must apply for a seat at one of the 58 public charter schools.  Just before [Katrina], the elected Orleans Parish School District was bankrupt and couldn’t account for about $71 million in federal money.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-new-orleans-traditional-public-schools-close-for-good/2014/05/28/ae4f5724-e5de-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html

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House Votes to Make It Easier to Fire VA Officials Involved in Scandal

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“The House voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to make it easier to fire senior Veterans Affairs officials involved in the healthcare scandal, just hours after President Barack Obama delivered a speech that failed to satisfy those looking to take quick action against the VA. Members passed the VA Management Accountability Act in an easy 390-33 vote — the only ‘no’ votes came from Democrats.  Passage of the bill is the latest domino to fall in the expanding healthcare scandal.  The VA recently admitted that long wait-times for health clinics contributed to the death of more than 40 veterans, and it later came out that the VA had known about these problems for years, but tried to cover up the problem.”

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/21/house-votes-to-make-it-easier-to-fire-va-officials-involved-in-ongoing-scandal/

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Kentucky Gains Federal Permit For Its Hemp Seeds

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“Federal drug officials approved a permit Thursday ending a standoff that had imperiled the state’s experimental plantings this spring, agriculture officials said.  Kentucky’s Agriculture Department expects to receive delivery of the shipment of seeds from Italy on Friday, state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said. Kentucky’s eight pilot hemp projects for research were put on hold after the seed shipment was stopped by U.S. customs officials in Louisville earlier this month. The state’s Agriculture Department then sued the federal government in hopes of freeing the seeds.  Growing hemp without a federal permit was banned in 1970 due to its classification as a controlled substance.”

http://www.lex18.com/news/kentucky-gains-federal-permit-for-its-hemp-seeds

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