Nafeez Ahmed — The Guardian

A US Department of Defense (DoD) research programme is funding universities to model the dynamics, risks and tipping points for large-scale civil unrest across the world, under the supervision of various US military agencies. The multi-million dollar programme is designed to develop immediate and long-term “warfighter-relevant insights” for senior officials and decision makers in “the defense policy community,” and to inform policy implemented by “combatant commands.”

Launched in 2008 – the year of the global banking crisis – the DoD ‘Minerva Research Initiative’ partners with universities “to improve DoD’s basic understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral, and political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the US.”

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FUTURISM UPDATE (October 22, 2014)

INFOWORLD: General Electric lays out big plans for big data http://www.infoworld.com/article/2616433/big-data/general-el…-data.html

THE TELEGRAPH: The Real Cyborgs http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/the-future-is-android/index.html

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: Who Has a Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap? Guess! http://www.21stcentech.com/climate-change-adaptation-roadmap-guess/

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FUTURISM UPDATE (October 21, 2014)

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: Does Lockheed Martin Really Have a Breakthrough Fusion Machine? http://www.technologyreview.com/news/531836/does-lockheed-ma…n-machine/

FINANCIAL TIMES: IBM shares tumble as profits and sales fall at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/500feb78-584e-11e4-b331-00144feab7de.html

FUTURE OBSERVATORY: Ohio State University Invents All-in-One Solar Cell and Battery http://www.21stcentech.com/ohio-state-university-invents-all…l-battery/

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By Tom Risen — US News

The FBI is preparing to launch a facial recognition database this summer that includes photos of people without criminal records- and a court case in New York may expand the ability of the government to request data from Facebook to help.

The bureau’s database, called the Next Generation Identification system, or NGI, builds upon the government’s fingerprint database and is slated to be operational this summer, according to the FBI. This database will contain photos of anybody who sends images as part of an application for a job that requires fingerprinting or a background check – even if that person has no criminal record – according to research by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital privacy advocacy organization. The FBI is slated to have 52 million face images by 2015, according to the EFF.

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FUTURISM UPDATE (October 20, 2014)

MASHABLE: Syrian Woman Wears Hidden Camera to Reveal Life Under ISIS Rule http://mashable.com/2014/09/24/syria-hidden-camera/

TECH CRUNCH: 10 Trends Transforming Enterprise IT http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/18/big-changes-big-money-10-tr…rprise-it/

WIRED: American Schools Are Training Kids for a World That Doesn’t Exist http://www.wired.com/2014/10/on-learning-by-doing?mbid=synd_digg

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By Arik Hesseldahl — Re/Code

Hackers operating somewhere in Eastern Europe have penetrated the networks of energy companies in the U.S., Spain, France and several other countries and may have gained the ability to carry out cyber-sabotage attacks, researchers at the security company Symantec said today.

In what’s being described as a departure from typical hacking attacks that are intended to steal intellectual property, the attackers gained access to industrial control systems used to maintain power grids and oil and gas pipelines and had the ability to take over operations or even damage them.

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The headlines pound away at us day after day with ominous news. Ebola has the potential to spread around the globe through rapid transport on airplanes, trains and automobiles. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other health experts do not recommend shutting down air travel from West Africa. “If you try to shut down air travel and sea travel, you risk affecting to a huge extent the economy, people’s livelihoods and their ability to get around without stopping the virus from traveling,” said Greg Hartl, a World Health Organization spokesperson.

In a recent poll, a majority of Americans believe air travel restrictions are a necessity to stop the spread of Ebola in the United States. In fact, 56 percent said the federal government should bar those who have “recently” been in Ebola nations from entering the U.S. It is obvious we must find better ways to use technology to our advantage to detect people who are showing symptoms of the virus. This is where augmented reality and wearable technology can improve our detection rate of sick people stricken with Ebola.

Currently Ebola screening is taking place at five United States airports: Newark, Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Washington. US government officials claim that 95% of travels from West Africa would go through those airports to enter the United States. Once a traveller passed a screener check-point, they would be free to enter the US without being monitored after that point.

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FUTURISM UPDATE (October 19, 2014)

Why Aren’t Tropical Island Nations Embracing Renewable Energy? http://www.21stcentech.com/tropical-island-nations-embracing-renewable-energy/

LINKEDIN: Marilyn Monroe in London and Continuous Performance Improvement https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141018220154&#…mprovement

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