The Pentagon insists the Strait of Hormuz remains open, but after weeks of renewed Iranian attacks on ships, traffic through the vital waterway has slowed again, pushing up global oil prices. ... President Trump threatened Wednesday to "bomb and destroy" an Iranian bridge or power plant for every new attack by Iran on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. read more
Analysis: For all the political sound and fury around them, America's tariffs have produced only modest economic effects.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asked diplomats to push back against talk of a "kill switch" in American technology products ... read more
The FDA hasn't said where the cases are or how they're linked.
The Justice Department told a judge it will withdraw its subpoenas for grand jury testimony and phone record records from New York Times reporters during a heated court hearing Thursday. read more
@#8 ... Or, maybe they did and he didn't listen. . . as usual. ...
That's where I'd put my money ...
Related ...
'Easier access': US export change for the UAE to boost Emirati drones, AI tech
breakingdefense.com
... The status change should "shorten procurement timelines, make sustainment less cumbersome and facilitate closer cooperation between American defense companies and UAE institutions," one analyst told Breaking Defense.
Washington's recent decision to significantly ease export controls for the UAE should give a boost to the Emirates' domestic production of high-tech drones and other military hardware, thanks to more available dual-use tech like computer chips, analysts told Breaking Defense.
The US Commerce Department announced on July 10 that the Emiratis will be upgraded to the A:5 export country group, making the UAE the first Arab state -- and the second Middle Eastern state after Israel -- to be granted the coveted status.
"They'll have much cleaner and easier access to dual-use technology and other technologies with defense implications," Michael Horowitz, a former senior Pentagon official who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, told Breaking Defense.
"While munitions are governed by the US munitions list, controlled by the State Department, the decision by the Commerce Department will make UAE access to American technology substantially easier." ...
Yeah, prior automation forays have targeted those who did the work. Can you say Unimation?[1] I knew you could.
But now, automation, driven by AI, is going after those who sit for a living.
So, there should be no surprise that those folk want to unionize.
1 - Unimation - en.wikipedia.org
... Unimation was the world's first robotics company.
It was founded in 1962 by Joseph F. Engelberger and George Devol and was located in Danbury, Connecticut.[1]
Devol had already applied for a patent an industrial robotic arm in 1954; U.S. patent 2,988,237 was issued in 1961.[2][3][4] ...
Related ...
A brewing battle: More IT workers want unions. The industry doesn't.
www.computerworld.com
... Rising anger over widespread layoffs, disillusionment with Big Tech, and threats of mass displacement by AI have tech pros taking a good, hard look at unions.
Until recently, many tech professionals viewed themselves as a special and respected worker class: highly educated, hard-working, well paid, and in demand.
"They considered themselves above unions," says Zak Thompson, senior software engineer at Kickstarter and union steward at Kickstarter United.
Big Tech issued aspirational mission statements that motivated workers, workplaces were seen as meritocracies, and employees were encouraged to speak out if they were unhappy. If workers didn't like where they worked, they just moved on: other employers would be falling over themselves to hire them.
How times have changed.
Now, fed up with mass layoffs, disillusioned with Big Tech's direction, and stunned by bold management proclamations that AI will displace huge numbers of people in many tech jobs -- starting with programmers -- interest in unions has risen sharply among tech professionals. Workers in some organizations, including Kickstarter, have already taken the plunge. ...
Trump's Saudi nuclear deal risks igniting a Middle East arms race, lawmakers warn
www.politico.com
... The agreement, which could let Riyadh enrich its own uranium within a decade, is sparking warnings that Turkey, Egypt and others could soon demand the same deal, unraveling years of U.S. nonproliferation policy. ...
More from the analysis ...