In support of Pres. Biden’s intention to keep schools open, his administration has announced plans to begin shipping 5 million rapid COVID-19 tests each month to both public and private K-12 schools. This is in addition to the $10 billion previously allocated to schools for testing. The Wall Street Journal reported, on 12 January, that...
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OLD MACDONALD HAS A DRIVERLESS TRACTOR
Deere & Co. has introduced a fully autonomous farm tractor. Weeders, drones, and other automated farm tools have been around for a while (see “Automation on the Farm,” 15 May 2018 and “Robots Take the Farm Field,” 4 May 2021), but a driverless tractor has waited until now. Not a moment too soon: farmers can...
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BUILDINGS THAT HEAT AND COOL THEMSELVES WITH SUN POWER
Engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute, Germany’s renewable energy skunkworks, have developed an elegantly simple exterior covering for buildings that heat and cool the rooms inside, slashing energy use and boosting efficiency. The cladding is made of up solar panels that can be as large as roughly four feet by 12 inches. Each panel can power...
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HERE’S WHERE ALL THAT EXTRA LITHIUM WILL COME FROM
We’ve said it before: lithium is the currency of the digital economy, the key battery ingredient that brings to life everything from smartphones to electric cars. But the metal has begun this year with a 13-percent price spike and renewed fears of short- and long-term shortages, thanks to kinks ranging from China’s closing of processing...
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TRANSCENDING THE DELUSIONS OF INSTITUTIONAL CONTROL
By Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD, Progressive Radio Network In his 1938 song “Scottsboro Boys,” blues artist Lead Belly warned us to remain alert, “stay woke,” as we pass through unfriendly and prejudiced lands and territories. “I advise everybody to be a little careful,” Lead Belly sang, “stay woke, keep your eyes open.” We...
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TURKS DUMP LIRA TO BUY CRYPTO
The lira, Turkey’s national currency, has become such a risky store of value that Turks are placing their faith in cryptocurrencies. Despite a government ban on using crypto as a form of payment, ads touting crypto have been plastered on buses and billboards and popped up in the airport at Istanbul; crypto shops have opened...
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THIS WEEK IN SURVEILLANCE
BIG TECH’S GREAT WALL AROUND CHINESE UYGHUR GENOCIDE NBA Warriors team owner Chamat Palihapitiya has walked back controversial comments that he and other American CEO’s could give a rat’s ass about the Chinese carrying out a genocide against the minority Uyghurs within their borders. “When I listened to this week’s podcast again, I noticed a...
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LOOKING FOR COLLUSION? TRY GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK
Another week, another revelation of mega corporations engaging in illegal practices to hurt consumers and undercut competition. This time the news is about two of the largest current controllers of online advertising, Google and Facebook (now Meta), conspiring together to swallow the pie and keep challengers out. Specifically, according to newly revealed papers of a...
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PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE!
By Bradley J. Steiner, American Combato In any art, martial art, visual art, performing art, art of clothing design, art of building weapons, houses, or vehicles, etc. or the art of persuasion or argument, doing, once the mechanics have been learned, remains the only path to perfecting, and to truly expert, masterful performance. Because the...
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BLOCKCHAIN BATTLES
TOMORROW’S STREAMERS WILL DEMAND CRYPTO INNOVATIONS, SAYS HULU. Does the future of Hulu’s entertainment streaming service involve cryptos and the metaverse? If its latest job search is any indication, the answer is yes. The American streaming platform, a rival to Netflix, is looking for expertise aimed towards “tomorrow’s streamers.” A “Brand Culture Marketing Manager” would...