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An Anonymous Coward writes:

Amazon will invest $5 billion in a second headquarters in a North American city outside of Seattle.

Amazon.com Inc. already has a sprawling Seattle headquarters that attests to its size and ambition. Now the world's largest online retailer plans to open a second North American campus -- dubbed HQ2 -- that Amazon says could be just as big as the existing one.

The company is asking local and state governments to submit proposals for a development that will likely cost more than $5 billion over the next 15 to 17 years and give the winning city or town an enormous economic boost. Amazon is already one of the biggest employers in Seattle and expects the new headquarters to house as many as 50,000 workers, many of them new hires. Cities have until next month to apply through a special website, and the company said it will make a final decision next year.

The mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, quickly expressed interest. So did officials in Chicago; Philadelphia; Hartford, Connecticut; Tulsa, Oklahoma; St. Louis; and Rhode Island, demonstrating that Amazon will wield a lot of leverage in making its choice.

"We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters," founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said in a statement. "Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-07/amazon-hunting-for-second-u-s-headquarters-to-host-50-000-staff

Will the new HQ be in the U.S.?

Additional coverage at Reuters, NPR, Business Wire and The Washington Post

Original Submission

darnkitten writes:

In a rare moment of sanity in the literary world, the manager of the late Sir Terry Pratchett's estate has followed the beloved author's wishes and destroyed the hard drive of the computer containing his unfinished works by crushing it with a steamroller. As many as ten unfinished works were on the drive, which, after being unsuccessfully steamrolled several times, was finally securely destroyed by being put through a rock crusher.

The pieces will be displayed at the Salisbury Museum as part of a Pratchett exhibition.

While I do, personally and professionally, mourn the loss of Sir Terry's remaining work; as a librarian navigating a publishing world increasingly dominated by the likes of James Patterson's literary mill, I applaud the Pratchett estate's willingness to defend him from a legacy of eternal "new releases" based on random back-of-a-napkin jottings and used-bubble-gum-wrapper sketches, as seems to be the industry norm these days.

Now, all they have to do is resist the no-doubt-considerable monetary lure of officially-licensed Terry Pratchett's Discworld (TM) novels.

That being said, what posthumous releases or ghostwritten literary sequels have you read and enjoyed? Also, do you consider any of those be considered worthy sequels or additions to the originals?

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

The US Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) at Fort Benning, Georgia recently provided a glimpse into the future of combat as robotic and autonomous systems worked together as robotic "wingmen" in simulated combat operations. The Maneuver Robotics and Autonomous Systems (MRAS) demonstration conducted on August 22 was the first such event in a three-year program aimed at bringing together robotic combat vehicles and unmanned aerial systems (UASs) to improve ground combat formations.

According to the Army, MRAS is a joint operation between the US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, US Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center and the Office of Naval Research. The purpose is to pair UASs and unmanned ground systems as a way to extend the range and engagement time of ground forces while reducing the risk to flesh and blood soldiers.

[...] "Robotics and autonomous systems help provide a way to give us enhanced capability to the formation, and provide a greater range of operations," says Dr. Robert Sadowski, Robotics Senior Research Scientist, US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center. "We can use robots to do those things they do well and offset those things that humans do well."

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41191327

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy says he will ask the courts to revoke a law passed by the Catalan regional government to hold a referendum on independence. He described the vote, planned for 1 October, as illegal.

Earlier, state prosecutors said they would bring criminal charges against Catalan leaders for their endorsement of the referendum.

The pro-independence majority in Catalonia's parliament passed the referendum law on Wednesday. Spain's wealthy north-eastern region already has autonomous powers but the regional government says it has popular support for full secession.

See also:

• Will Catalonia try to secede from Spain this year? [Jan 2017]
• Catalan independence: Plan for quick split from Spain after vote [Jul 2017]
• Catalonia's push for independence from Spain [Nov 2015]

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

France plans to pass legislation this year to phase out all oil and gas exploration and production on its mainland and overseas territories by 2040, becoming the first country to do so, according to a draft bill presented on Wednesday.

President Emmanuel Macron wants to make France carbon neutral by 2050 and plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions by leaving fossil fuels, blamed for contributing to global warming, in the ground.

Under the draft presented to cabinet, France will no longer issue exploration permits. The extension of current concessions will be gradually limited until they are phased out by 2040 - when France plans to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles.

A largely symbolic gesture, but sometimes symbols matter.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

For the first time ever, NASA's Juno spacecraft has spotted electrons being fired down into Jupiter's atmosphere at up to 400,000 volts. That's an enormous amount of energy that gives rise to the planet's glowing auroras. These incredibly high voltages, however, are only spotted occasionally — and that's raising questions about what exactly is behind some of the planet's most vivid glows at the poles.

The discovery, detailed in a study published today in Nature, was made possible by the instruments on board Juno, which has been orbiting Jupiter for a little over a year, passing by the poles closer than any other spacecraft has before. It confirms, in part, what astronomers expected, but it also shows that Jupiter's auroras behave differently than auroras on Earth — through processes that we don't fully understand yet.

Auroras, on both Earth and Jupiter, are formed when charged particles like electrons spiral down a planet's magnetic field lines, entering the atmosphere and creating a glow. On Earth, the most intense auroras are caused by solar storms, which occur when high-energy particles ejected from the Sun rain down on our planet. When these particles enter the atmosphere, they interact with gases and make the sky glow red, green, and blue at the poles. On Jupiter, auroras are formed by particles ejected mostly from the Io, the planet's moon. Io's volcanoes spew huge amounts of sulfur and oxygen into space, loading Jupiter's magnetic field with particles.

[...] "We've never flown right over the poles of Jupiter before," says Jonathan Nichols, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester, who did not take part in the study. "So Juno is telling us about those particles for the first time."

https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/6/16256926/nasa-juno-jupiter-auroras-electrons

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Danish company Vestas Wind Systems is one of the biggest makers of wind turbines in the world, recently surpassing GE's market share in the US. But as the wind industry becomes more competitive, Vestas appears to be looking for ways to solidify its lead by offering something different. Now, the company says it's looking into building wind turbines with battery storage onsite.

According to a Bloomberg report, Vestas is working on 10 projects that will add storage to wind installations, and Tesla is collaborating on at least one of those projects. Vestas says the cooperation between the two companies isn't a formal partnership, and Tesla hasn't commented on the nature of its work with Vestas. But the efforts to combine wind turbines with battery storage offer a glimpse into how the wind industry might change in the future.

Because the wind doesn't blow all the time.

Original Submission

martyb writes:

Reports are coming in about a massive earthquake which hit late Thursday night in Mexico.

The Telegraph has live coverage; most recently:

A rare and powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico late Thursday, killing at least 15 people as seismologists warned of a tsunami of more than 10 feet.

The quake hit offshore in the Pacific about 75 miles southwest of the town of Tres Picos in far southern Chiapas state, the US Geological Survey said, putting the magnitude at 8.1.

Mexico's president said the earthquake magnitude was 8.2, the strongest in a century in the country.

The USGS (United States Geological Survey) has a page with copious data and reports available. Here is their Tectonic Summary:

PiMuNu writes:

Most cycle-commuters will tell you cycling to work is the best way to get to and from work and it's probably doing you some good. However a recent major study, published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that the health benefits are staggering, slashing the risk of heart disease and cancer. FTFA:

Research has consistently shown that people who are less physically active are both more likely to develop health problems like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and to die younger. Yet there is increasing evidence that physical activity levels are on the decline.

The problem is that when there are many demands on our time, many people find prioritising exercise difficult. One answer is to multi-task by cycling or walking to work. We've just completed the largest ever study into how this affects your health.

You can read an article here at The Conversation website and you the original research is here at the BMJ website.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Coca-Cola is using the HeroX crowd-sourcing platform to hold a $1 million competition for a new sugar substitute:

"Sugar is now the number one item that consumers want to avoid in their diets," says Darren Seifer, a food and beverage industry analyst with the NPD Group. The message to consume less is coming from health experts around the globe.

It's a challenge for the beverage industry, as is the fact that many consumers don't like the idea of artificial sweeteners found in diet drinks. So, the search for new, alternative sweeteners that can appeal to consumers' changing tastes is in full swing. And Coca-Cola has turned to crowd-sourcing.

The company has launched a competition on the crowd-sourcing platform HeroX. According to this description on Coca-Cola's corporate website, Coke is seeking "a naturally sourced, safe, low- or no-calorie compound that creates the taste sensation of sugar when used in beverages." The company says, "one grand prize winner will be awarded $1 million in October 2018."

So, can scientists come up with this kind of sweetener? "Well, this is a hundred-million dollar question, because it's so difficult and so potentially lucrative," says Paul Breslin, a professor in the nutritional sciences department at Rutgers University and a member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center.

Hang on, is it a one million dollar question or a hundred-million dollar question? Maybe I should get Silicon Valley to fund my sugar substitute instead of Coca-Cola.

Related: Coca-Cola Pulls Twitter Campaign after being Tricked into Quoting "Mein Kampf"
Twitter Monetizes By Adding Coca-Cola Emoji (where is our sponsored emoji?)
How Coca Cola's 3D Times Square Advertising Sign Works

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Overstock.com and the Internet Archive have separately discussed their decisions to hold onto cryptocurrencies rather than convert them immediately. From news.bitcoin.com:

Operating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, the Internet Archive has accepted bitcoin donations since 2012. This week Kahle decided to explain to the public in a blog post why bitcoin remains a fixture in the nonprofit's balance sheet.

"A foundation was curious as to why we have Bitcoin on our balance sheet, and I thought I would explain it publicly," explains Kahle. "The Internet Archive explores how bitcoin and other Internet innovations can be useful in the non-profit sphere – this is part of it. We want to see how donated bitcoin can be used, not just sold off."

[...] At the beginning of August the company's CEO, Patrick Byrne revealed it is currently stashing fifty percent of its bitcoin revenue. Byrne has been [a] long-time bitcoin proponent and believes the technology behind the decentralized currency will be the future of finance. During a budget report, Byrne revealed the business used to keep 10 percent of the daily bitcoin revenue the company earned and converted the rest of the funds to USD. Now Byrne details that the corporation's board of directors has authorized a strategy to hold fifty percent of the firm's bitcoin revenue.

The original announcements:
http://blog.archive.org/2017/09/02/why-bitcoin-is-on-the-internet-archives-balance-sheet/
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/edited-transcript-ostk-earnings-conference-155549361.html (requires ECMAScript to "Read More")

Note: "HODL" appears to be a bitcoin joke, see here

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

In the suburbs of China's capital, a 32-year-old engineer creates the kind of larger-than-life, shapeshifting robots that most have only seen in "Transformers" movies.

Sun Shiqian's roomy warehouse on the outskirts of Beijing houses a hulking menagerie, from a sleepy cow to a fiery metal dragon that stands 4.9 metres (16 feet) tall at the flip of a switch.

A graduate of China's prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts, Sun worked as an engineer before deciding to devote himself full-time to what he calls "robot arts".

"As a child, I loved watching cartoons with robots," Sun told AFP.

"But I noticed that they were all from either Japan or the United States. There were no Chinese robots."

At the World Robot Conference in Beijing last month, the sculptor showcased an ox with the mechanical ability to transform into a robot "gladiator," equipped with steel abs and all.

None of them is called Optimus Prime.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Following Martin Shkreli's conviction for securities fraud, he has listed his unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album on eBay. He purchased the album for $2 million in 2015 and has repeatedly threatened to destroy it:

Martin Shkreli may finally release the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, that he purchased back in 2015. The widely despised pharma bro has listed the album on eBay and is currently taking bids. At the time of publish, offers are hovering around $100,000.

The sale includes the double CD and a "finely crafted booklet," as well as legal expenses up to $25,000 "to ensure the final purchase details are mutually agreeable." In the listing, spotted by Page Six, Shkreli writes that he "decided to purchase this album as a gift to the Wu-Tang Clan for their tremendous musical output. Instead I received scorn from at least one of their (least-intelligent) members, and the world at large failed to see my purpose of putting a serious value behind music. I will be curious to see if the world values music nearly as much as I have." Shkreli claims that he will donate half of the sale proceeds to medical research.

[In the listing], Shkreli notes that "at any time I may cancel this sale and I may even break this album in frustration."

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Nation-states came late to history, and there's plenty of evidence to suggest they won't make it to the end of the century

If you'd been born 1,500 years ago in southern Europe, you'd have been convinced that the Roman empire would last forever. It had, after all, been around for 1,000 years. And yet, following a period of economic and military decline, it fell apart. By 476 CE it was gone. To the people living under the mighty empire, these events must have been unthinkable. Just as they must have been for those living through the collapse of the Pharaoh's rule or Christendom or the Ancien Régime.

We are just as deluded that our model of living in 'countries' is inevitable and eternal. Yes, there are dictatorships and democracies, but the whole world is made up of nation-states. This means a blend of 'nation' (people with common attributes and characteristics) and 'state' (an organised political system with sovereignty over a defined space, with borders agreed by other nation-states). Try to imagine a world without countries – you can't. Our sense of who we are, our loyalties, our rights and obligations, are bound up in them.

[...] This is the crux of the problem: nation-states rely on control. If they can't control information, crime, businesses, borders or the money supply, then they will cease to deliver what citizens demand of them. In the end, nation-states are nothing but agreed-upon myths: we give up certain freedoms in order to secure others. But if that transaction no longer works, and we stop agreeing on the myth, it ceases to have power over us.

Polities will return to the city-state, or will multi-national corporations step in?

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

For all the tales of noble poverty and leaking ancestral homes, the private wealth of Britain's aristocracy remains phenomenal. According to a 2010 report for Country Life, a third of Britain's land still belongs to the aristocracy. Notwithstanding the extinction of some titles and the sales of land early in the 20th century, the lists of major aristocratic landowners in 1872 and in 2001 remain remarkably similar. Some of the oldest families have survived in the rudest financial health. In one analysis, the aristocratic descendants of the Plantagenet kings were worth £4bn in 2001, owning 700,000 acres, and 42 of them were members of the Lords up to 1999, including the dukes of Northumberland, Bedford, Beaufort and Norfolk.

The figures for Scotland are even more striking. Nearly half the land is in the hands of 432 private individuals and companies. More than a quarter of all Scottish estates of more than 5,000 acres are held by a list of aristocratic families. In total they hold some 2.24m acres, largely in the Lowlands.

Answer: own all the land, pay no taxes, and get the system to give you massive hand-outs.

Original Submission

We had three Soylentils send in notice of a major breach at Equifax. The company has a web site specifically for this breach: https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/.

Equifax Data Breach Could Affect 143 Million Americans

takyon writes:

Equifax, one of the big three US consumer credit reporting agencies, says that criminals exploited a web application vulnerability to gain access to "certain files":

Equifax Inc. today announced a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting approximately 143 million U.S. consumers. Criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files. Based on the company's investigation, the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017. The company has found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax's core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases.

The information accessed primarily includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver's license numbers. In addition, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 U.S. consumers, and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers, were accessed. As part of its investigation of this application vulnerability, Equifax also identified unauthorized access to limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents. Equifax will work with UK and Canadian regulators to determine appropriate next steps. The company has found no evidence that personal information of consumers in any other country has been impacted.

Is there a silver lining to this event?

Also at NYT, Ars Technica, and CNN.