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Archive for the ‘economics’ category: Page 159

Aug 27, 2017

The great outer space LAND GRAB of the near future: Conflicts over space rock mining rights

Posted by in categories: economics, geopolitics, governance, law, space travel, treaties

(Natural News) Space has become a veritable goldmine of natural resources for many companies, yet can anyone lay claim to them? That’s the question legal experts claim will become relevant in the future as firm turn to the stars for precious metals and minerals, and it’s one that also needs to be answered as soon as possible to avoid hostility between competing firms and countries.

Barry Kellman, law professor of space governance at DePaul University in Chicago, explained: “There is a huge debate on whether companies can simply travel to space and extract its resources. There is no way to answer the question until someone does it.”

According to one international treaty, this need not even be an issue. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, formally known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, has served as the main standard for sharing space. As per the 1967 treaty, no single country can claim “national appropriation” of celestial bodies “by occupation or by other means”. (Related: MINING just one large asteroid could COLLAPSE the world economy due to surge of new supply for valuable metals.)

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Aug 27, 2017

Cyberattacks, not North Korea, pose greatest security threat

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, economics, military

Based on the news, one would think the greatest threat to our nation is North Korea’s looming capability to strike the continental United States with nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

While the Hermit Kingdom’s ability to launch missiles with miniaturized nuclear payloads that can reach the U.S. is alarming, another threat to our national and economic security — targeted cyberattacks by state-sponsored advanced persistent threat (APT) groups and terrorist and criminal non-state actors — is being overlooked.

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Aug 26, 2017

It’s possible that we can build a society where people don’t have to work – here’s how

Posted by in categories: economics, employment, finance, sustainability

Work isn’t working anymore. Labour productivity has fallen in the UK since the financial crisis; 13.5 million people are living in low-income households; real wages are falling and the Gini coefficient, which measures inequality, is rising.

The sustainability and quality of jobs in our economy is also decreasing – 7.1 million workers now face precarious working conditions, meaning that uncertainty (and for many, anxiety) itself is now built into our employment system. According to some estimates, 30 per cent of UK jobs could potentially be automated away by the early 2030s. Depending on the sector, this will mean a remarkable reduction of required hours of human labour. With less work to go around, we will find ourselves in heightened competition with machines and each other, ever more desperate for stability.

Is this our only future? No. But in order to change it and move beyond this crisis, we first need to confront our very conception of work. For a long time we have thought of work as a matter of individual choice – a free, private agreement between a single person and an employer. You, the thinking goes, are free to pick whatever job you like as long as the employer is happy to have you on board and there are a sufficient number of jobs created by the free market.

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Aug 24, 2017

The Great US-China Biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence Race

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, economics, health, internet, mobile phones, robotics/AI, security

The risk factor is that iCarbonX is handling more than personal data, but potentially vulnerable data as the company uses a smartphone application, Meum, for customers to consult for health advice. Remember that the Chinese nascent genomics and AI industry relies on cloud computing for genomics data-storage and exchange, creating, in its wake, new vulnerabilities associated with any internet-based technology. This phenomenon has severe implications. How much consideration has been given to privacy and the evolving notion of personal data in this AI-powered health economy? And is our cyberinfrastructure ready to protect such trove of personal health data from hackers and industrial espionage? In this new race, will China and the U.S. have to constantly accelerate their rate of cyber and bio-innovation to be more resilient? Refining our models of genomics data protection will become a critical biosecurity issue.

Why is Chinese access to U.S. genomic data a national security concern?

Genomics and computing research is inherently dual-use, therefore a strategic advantage in a nation’s security arsenal.

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Aug 23, 2017

Colorado School of Mines plans to launch space mining graduate program

Posted by in categories: economics, education, law, policy, space

You can go to school for space mining.


GOLDEN, Colo. — The Colorado School of Mines plans to launch a new graduate program that could help people inhabit other planets some day.

The school is working to launch the space resources graduate program that will teach students how to explore, extract and use resources not only on Earth but also on the moon, Mars, asteroids and more.

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Aug 21, 2017

Paul Tudor Jones Wants to Crowdsource “Good” Companies — By Imogen Rose-Smith | Institutional Investor

Posted by in categories: business, economics, ethics, finance

” … Paul Tudor Jones co-founded JUST Capital to fix the ills of corporate capitalism by identifying the most just or “good” companies. Will it work?”

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Aug 21, 2017

The Great Transhumanist Game — Part 1 — How to Win

Posted by in categories: economics, geopolitics, transhumanism

~ Gennady Stolyarov


This video was created by Gennady Stolyarov II, Chairman of the U.S. Transhumanist Party, as a piece in the Great Transhumanist Game orchestrated by Professor Angel Marchev, Sr., Ph.D., of the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

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Aug 21, 2017

The Great Transhumanist Game — Part 2 — How to Play and Not to Play

Posted by in categories: economics, geopolitics, transhumanism

~ Gennady Stolyarov


This is the second video created by Gennady Stolyarov II, Chairman of the U.S. Transhumanist Party, as a piece in the Great Transhumanist Game orchestrated by Professor Angel Marchev, Sr., Ph.D., of the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Continue reading “The Great Transhumanist Game — Part 2 — How to Play and Not to Play” »

Aug 20, 2017

VW’s electric microbus will become a reality in 2022

Posted by in categories: economics, robotics/AI, transportation

When Volkswagen unveiled the ID Buzz, the assumption was that it would meet the same fate as many concept cars: it’d look good at an auto show, and promptly disappear when cold economic realities set in. Thankfully, the Buzz won’t suffer that fate. VW has announced that it will put the Microbus-inspired EV into production, with a launch expected by 2022. We wouldn’t expect everything about the Buzz to remain intact (those large wheels are likely the first things to go), but the ’60s-inspired styling, semi-autonomous driving and all-wheel drive option will carry over. VW is even teasing a cargo variant, so couriers may have a clean (and slightly kitschy) alternative to the usual vans.

The EV is primarily targeted at China, Europe and North America.

The melding of a nostalgic vibe with electric transportation is the primary allure, of course, but VW notes that going electric should make it very practical. As it doesn’t need a giant gas engine, there’s a tremendous amount of space. You’d get as much passenger room as a big SUV in the size of a compact commercial van, VW says. It’s also practical for the automaker. If prior leaks are accurate, VW is producing the Buzz precisely because it’s based on the same platform as other ID cars, making it far less expensive to develop than the previous Microbus concept (which had a one-off platform).

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Aug 20, 2017

Where is China’s Silicon Valley?

Posted by in categories: economics, innovation

The technology furor that has emerged way before 2014, and swept across the country can’t be more pronounced. As many as 17 national-level innovation demonstration zones from coastal Shenzhen to inland Chengdu city have been handpicked by the State Council, or China’s cabinet, and allowed to offer favourable policies to spur innovation and drive regional economic growth based on their respective strengths and geographical advantages.


Beijing has picked 17 tech hubs across the country to transform from a manufacturing-reliant economy to one led by tech and innovation.

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 12 August, 2017, 8:16am.

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