Archive for June 26, 2012

Cyborg Insect Drones are Capable of Injecting Sedatives or Truth Serum!

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June 26, 2012

The Future of Drone Surveillance Swarms of Cyborg Insect Drones

In his lab at Penn, Vijay Kumar and his team build flying quadrotors, small, agile robots that swarm, sense each other, and form ad hoc teams — for construction, surveying disasters and far more.

GRASP LAB

The General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory integrates computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering in a vibrant, collaborative environment that fosters interactions between students, research staff and faculty. GRASP has grown into a $10 million research center with impressive technological innovations. Pioneering GRASP researchers are building autonomous vehicles and robots, developing self-configuring humanoids, and making robot swarms a reality. Our doctoral students are trained in theory and practice and mentored to become leaders in research and education. The graduates of the interdisciplinary Master’s in Robotics program are uniquely equipped to face research and development challenges of the fast-growing robotics industry.

Image Source: usatrends.org

Tags: CIA, cyborg, darpa, drone, grasp, insect, lab, military, surveillance

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After an Israeli Strike on Iran

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June 26, 2012

Analysis confirms that the danger of Iranian nuclear weapons far exceeds the danger of eliminating those weapons before they come into existence.

Mr. Eisenstadt and Mr. Knights expect a short phase of high-intensity Iranian response, to be followed by a “protracted low-intensity conflict that could last for months or even years” – much as already exists between Iran and Israel, (Source: Washington Times).
Image Source: europesworld.org/

Seven Possible Responses

Missile strikes on Israel
Terrorist attacks on Israeli
Attacks on Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan
Kidnapping of U.S. citizens
Clashes with the U.S. Navy
Missile or terrorist attacks on neighboring states
Closing the Strait of Hormuz

Tags: 5th, Aircraft Carrier, AMERICA, ASSAD, australia, B2, B2 Stealt, Bomber, Canada, carrier, China, eu, European, Fifth, Fleet, germany, Gulf, Iran, IRNA, Israel, Middle East, nuclear, Oil, Persian, press, PressTV, program, RT, russia, sanction, sanctions, states, stealth, Strait of Hormu, syria, Tehra, tension, tv, U.S., UK, UNION, United, us, us aircraft, US Nav, usa, War, weapon, y U.S. Navy

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Banking: Non-performing Loans (NPLs) in China on the Rise

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June 26, 2012

Ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking sector in China

Expect profound changes in China’s banking sector

The ratios steadily declined until last year when bad loans associated with local government financing platforms started emerging. This triggered fresh concerns about the quality of banks’ loans. Indeed, the amount and ratio of NPLs have been climbing at many state-owned banks and joint-stock commercial banks, and economists say this trend may continue and erode banks’ assets since more firms are expected to have trouble repaying loans as the economy cools.

MIT Professor: Potential Dangers of China’s Banking System

To guard against growth of bad loans, the China Banking Regulatory Commission has established a new set of guidelines in line with the Basel Accord III. The guidelines, which come into effect at the beginning of 2013 along with the Basel agreement, require that the capital adequacy ratio needs to be at least 11.5 percent for large banks and 10.5 percent for small ones. In the first quarter of 2012, the ratios at all five state-owned banks were all above 12 percent. Many other banks, however, are struggling to meet the requirements.

Tags: Banking, China, danger, mit, non, npl, performing, slow down, state

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Phone: Nokia Kinetic Device Prototype

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June 26, 2012

HumanForm was created in a joint effort between Nokia Design and Nokia Research Center to translate the most promising new nanotechnologies into meaningful user experience, prototype those for decision making; and transfer and set aspiration for future portfolio.

Project is a key to bring significant user experience benefits to the market thereby creating mindshare and value share through nanotechnology enabled experiences.

HumanForm is a visionary solution for a dynamically flexible device beyond touch screen and voice communication where technology is invisible and intuition takes over. Natural interactions are enabled with kinetic user interface.

HumanForm concept and a follow-up Nokia Kinetic Device prototype were launched in Nokia World 2011.

To learn more, visit: research.nokia.com/

Picture the Future of Mobility

Tags: concep, mobile phone, nanotechnology, nokia, Nokia Design, Nokia Research Center, NRC, phone, prototype

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Water: Drought Blue Gold, Water Wars: Crisis of Global Proportions

Filed under: Climate, Future Predictions, Water by futurepredictions — Leave a comment

June 26, 2012

“Feeding some 9 billion people by mid-century in the face of a rapidly worsening climate may well be the greatest challenge the human race has ever faced.” By Joe Romm

In sub-Saharan Africa, “the prognosis for agriculture and food security in a 4C world is bleak”, according Philip Thornton, of Kenya’s International Livestock Research Institute, who led another research team. He notes there will be an extra billion people populating the continent by 2050. Source: menwithfoilhats.com

P1 of 4: Blue Gold, Water Wars: Crisis of Global Proportions

In every corner of the globe, we are polluting, diverting, pumping, and wasting our limited supply of fresh water at an expediential level as population and technology grows. The rampant overdevelopment of agriculture, housing and industry increase the demands for fresh water well beyond the finite supply, resulting in the desertification of the earth.

P2 of 4: Blue Gold, Water Wars: Crisis of Global Proportions

Corporate giants force developing countries to privatize their water supply for profit. Wall Street investors target desalination and mass bulk water export schemes. Corrupt governments use water for economic and political gain. Military control of water emerges and a new geo-political map and power structure forms, setting the stage for world water wars.

P3 of 4: Blue Gold, Water Wars: Crisis of Global Proportions

We follow numerous worldwide examples of people fighting for their basic right to water, from court cases to violent revolutions to U.N. conventions to revised constitutions to local protests at grade schools. As Maude Barlow proclaims, “This is our revolution, this is our war”. A line is crossed as water becomes a commodity. Will we survive?

P4 of 4: Blue Gold, Water Wars: Crisis of Global Proportions