The French surrender to Astronomers – my town likely to be next
"New enviro-policy to 'end light pollution' has France on track to look like North Korea at night." Continue reading →
Estonia launches national car-charging network
"Estonia’s reputation as one of the most wired-up countries in Europe has been boosted further with the opening of what is being billed as the world’s first nationwide electric car charging network. The network of charging points, which was opened officially on Wednesday but has been running for several months, uses direct current (DC) to charge cars in less than 30 minutes, rather than the alternating current (AC) technology used by most which can take up eight hours to recharge a car’s battery. There are believed to be around 650 electric cars in Estonia, more than 500 of which were Mitsubishi i-MiEVs given to social workers by the government in 2011." Continue reading →
3D technology brings medieval books to life
"Precious mediaeval books, usually displayed in glass cases and touchable only with gloves, can now be read in glorious 3D, thanks to a system unveiled Tuesday at the world’s top tech fair. With the 3D interactive book explorer, users browse through the sinewy Latin text and colourful illustrations penned centuries ago but in a distinctly up-to-date manner. The text is scanned in and displayed on a flat-screen display and readers, standing a couple of metres (feet) back from the screen, scroll through the pages just by waving their hands in the air to operate motion sensor cameras. The reader can flip the book through 360 degrees and in 3D." Continue reading →
Microsoft and Oracle ask European Union to ‘protect competition’ against Google Android
"Google was in the firing line again on Tuesday after a group of major companies, including Microsoft and Oracle, complained to the European Commission over Google’s offerings for Android-powered mobile phones. 'We are asking the Commission to move quickly and decisively to protect competition and innovation in this critical market,' said Thomas Vinje, Brussels-based counsel for FairSearch, which groups 17 high-tech companies, including also Nokia, Expedia and TripAdvisor. FairSearch said it had filed a complaint with the Commission, charging that the Internet giant wanted Android operators to use its leading applications such as Maps or YouTube." Continue reading →
New technology allows the paralyzed to paint with their brainpower
"A computer programme enabling paralysed patients to create artwork using just the power of their brains drew big crowds on Wednesday at the CeBIT, the world’s top IT fair. Under a system pioneered by Austrian firm g-tec, the user wears a cap that measures brain activity. By focusing hard on a flashing icon on a screen, the cap can recognise the specific brain activity connected to that item, allowing the user to “choose” what he or she wants the computer to do. The artist can select various shapes and colours via brainpower and build up a basic picture on the screen, explained g-tec sales director Markus Bruckner. The user can also draw straight lines." Continue reading →
Detlev Schlichter: Global economic policy now firmly in the hands of money cranks
"During the early honeymoon between ‘Abenomics’ and financial reality, the idea of printing yourself to prosperity is likely to have imitators, with the UK being a prime candidate. In terms of total indebtedness, the UK is the one industrialized country that can compete with Japan, meaning it is in the same supersized debt-pickle. Over at Threadneedle Street, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Paul Tucker, openly fantasized about negative interest rates recently, outgoing Governor Mervyn King voted for more QE (overruled), and Governor-elect Mark Carney promises to be, well, – flexible. Bottom line: desperation is spreading. Watch this place!" Continue reading →
Which Dominoes Are Next to Fall in Europe?
"As we saw in The Real Cyprus Template (the one you're not supposed to notice), once the smart money exits the at-risk banking sector, it is allowed to fall. This suggests that one way to identify which dominoes are likely to fall next is to look at the smart money's deposits in each nation's banks. If the smart money has pulled most of its capital out, ECB and Eurozone authorities have a diminishing stake in propping up the domino. As a result, its fall becomes increasingly likely." Continue reading →
Dutch bank ABN has no gold left for its clients
"This week, a well-known Dutch bank was the first financial institution to inform its clients that their 'gold investments' are no longer physically deliverable, proving that the physical gold and 'paper gold' are different commodities with different prices. The world’s financial system is short on gold and no gold bars, except those that are kept by the owners, are safe from confiscation. ABN AMRO, the biggest Dutch bank, has sent a letter to its clients stating that they will no longer be able to take physical deliveries of the gold they have bought through ABN. Instead they are offered money at the current market rate for gold." Continue reading →
German Family Seeking Asylum to Continue Homeschooling Kids in US Fights Deportation
"On April 23, 2013, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case of Romeike v. Holder, where the family will attempt to have the deportation order made against them set aside. While the Romeikes had originally been granted asylum in the United States, on the grounds Germany prevented them from homeschooling their children, that decision was overturned by a panel of the Board of Immigration Appeals. German parents have not been able to legally homeschool their children since the practice was banned by the Nazis in 1938." Continue reading →
Europeans slammed by austerity measures now enraged by political corruption
"A wave of corrosive political scandals at a time of economic woe is exacerbating the outrage of European citizens, who are channelling resentment into street protests or at the polls. Italy, Spain and Greece have all been hit by fraud or graft cases allegedly involving the top brass. France joined the ranks of scandal-hit nations this week after its former budget minister was charged with tax fraud. In France, outrage over the budget minister scandal has yet to erupt into popular protests. But in some countries of southern Europe, which for several years have been hit by austerity measures more severe than in France, fury has coiled into potent blowback." Continue reading →
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