Political world is pathetic and needs a complete overhaul

Today, I have listened to a most horrendous account or “circus” of accounts of 36 years ago and the supposed nomination of a supreme court nominee.

Today’s TV coverage and the action of our national political adults strongly points out the horrendous misuse of power and lack of any political intelligence there might have been or should have been. I seriously feel we as voting individuals should work together, get involved and clean house at the national level.

We continue to look and sound like fools all around the world. I am quite embarrassed for all of us. The political world is pathetic and needs a complete overhaul!

We live in what should be the greatest country in the world, and we look like morons.

Please get out and vote, and let’s make our country great again, (seriously).

Teresa French, Victoria……….

We must move now into doing mode’: Germany’s political mess is annoying business leaders

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s position is looking weaker-than-ever and German business leaders are worried about it.

Leading a fractious coalition government since voters delivered a hung parliament during Germany’s last election in October 2017, Merkel’s long-term leadership of Germany – one that has previously earned her the nickname of “Mutti,” or “Mummy,” – has looked increasingly shaky over the past year.

After months of inconclusive talks to form a coalition government, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) agreed somewhat reluctantly in March to forming another coalition with Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

The six-month old coalition is not a happy one, with infighting over immigration policy and, most recently, a very public dispute over a spy chief accused of harboring far-right views.

Coalition could collapse

German business leaders told CNBC that they’re not too impressed by the political infighting that is preventing policy changes and economic reforms from taking place. There are also concerns (something missing here?)

Joachim Lang, director-general of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), told CNBC on Tuesday that the unstable political situation in Germany could get worse – with the possibility of the coalition breaking up.

“The situation is very unusual but my gut feeling is that they (politicians) have realized the danger and they now have to make up their mind if it’s better to stay in a grand coalition or to go their own ways and this decision will be made within a few weeks.”

The chancellor was dealt another political blow on Tuesday when lawmakers voted one of her closest parliamentary allies out of his role, raising further doubts over her political authority.

Volker Kauder, the head of the parliamentary group of Merkel’s CDU was defeated by fellow CDU member of parliament Ralph Brinkhaus. The result was a surprise – Kauder had been in the role for over a decade and Merkel had clearly recommended that Kauder be re-elected.

The overt rebellion has not gone unnoticed by Germany’s media, print newspaper Die Welt headlined its Wednesday edition, “Revolution inside the CDU” while Der Spiegel’s online version called it a “destructive vote of no confidence.” Even public broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s Editor-in-Chief Ines Pohl said in an op-ed on Tuesday that “Merkel’s time is coming to an end.”

‘We must stop talking’

Other business leaders are worried about what a weakened Merkel could mean for tackling challenges within the German economy. Klaus Rosenfeld, chief executive of manufacturing group Schaeffler, told CNBC that politicians need to stick together.

“The challenges for the short-term, but also the mid and long-term, can only be solved together, if business leaders and politicians work together,” he told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on Tuesday at a BDI investor day.

At the same event, Markus Steilermann, the chief executive of manufacturer Covestro, insisted that there was no time to waste in addressing the changing needs of Germany’s economy, such as the development of energy infrastructure and digital technologies. Businesses have also called for regulations to be eased, or easier to implement, to improve Germany’s business environment.

“We must really move now into doing mode,” Steilermann told CNBC on Tuesday. “We really need to address the big picture items, we need to stop talking about small items and in-fights, we really need to move now and make sure we address key issues to boost the German economy and strengthen Germany in the context of having a very stable European Union.”

When Deep Tech Helps Doctors See Clearer Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2018/08/features/sginnovate-ai-med-tech-medo-see-mode/

AsianScientist (Aug. 7, 2018) – By Sandy Ong – In 1815, French physician René Laënnec found himself in a dilemma. He needed to listen to his patient’s heartbeat but didn’t want to press his ear against her chest. Instead, he rolled up his notebook into a tight cylinder and listened through it instead—thus, the world’s first stethoscope was born. The simple stethoscope has since revolutionised the way physicians listen to their patients’ bodies, its widespread use evident in its presence around nearly every doctor’s neck. Fast forward to the 21st century, Dr Dornoosh Zonoobi is looking to create a similar milestone in medical technology. Her company, Medo, is developing technology that will allow doctors to see—rather than hear—and understand what is going on inside a patient using ultrasound. Though extremely powerful, the effectiveness of an ultrasound is hindered by the expertise needed to interpret the images. To overcome this, Dr Zonoobi, a research scientist with over a decade’s experience in medical imaging, and her two Medo co-founders devised an algorithm that uses machine learning and cloud computing to make ultrasound imaging easy to interpret and use in disease diagnosis. Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2018/08/features/sginnovate-ai-med-tech-medo-see-mode/

“We started working on deep learning for ultrasound because the device and technology is there, but there aren’t too many people who can read and interpret these images,” says Dr Zonoobi. “We want to build a stethoscope of the future. We want to democratise medical imaging and make it available to anyone, anywhere.” Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2018/08/features/sginnovate-ai-med-tech-medo-see-mode……………

How To Navigate A City Without Getting Lost Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2018/08/tech/sensors-smart-address-plate/

AsianScientist (Aug. 7, 2018) – Researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have developed a suite of technologies to enable better navigation in crowded cities. The Global Positioning System has an average error of ten to 30 meters, and indoor navigation systems are still in their initial stages of deployment. To improve the accuracy of location tracking, especially in urban settings, Professor Anthony Yeh Gar-On and his research team at the department of urban planning and design of HKU have invented a system consisting of a smart address plate (SAP), a smart address coding system and a smart address plate management system (SAP-MS). The SAP is a bluetooth, low-energy proximity-sensing device that stores a unique geo-coded smart address ID of a building. When users are within the confidence range of an SAP, they will be notified of their exact location. Apart from providing more accurate location information to occupants and visitors, property management staff can use the SAP-MS to carry out real-time updating of information such as the number of building occupants, the names of shops, the schedules of on-site functions and so on. The SAP-MS can also be used to monitor whether SAPs have enough power, are functioning properly, or have been removed or stolen. The SAP-MS of rooms in a building can be linked up with the district-wide SAP-MS network, and finally, the city-wide SAP-MS network to become a single complete smart city address management system. The team is filing an international patent cooperation treaty related to this new invention, and is in discussions with the Hong Kong SAR government, as well as major shopping malls and office buildings, to deploy this system in real-world settings. Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2018/08/tech/sensors-smart-address-plate………….

CNIC And China UniCom To Build 5G Technology Joint Lab Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2018/07/tech/5g-technology-joint-laboratory/

AsianScientist (Jul. 19, 2018) – The Computer Network Information Center (CNIC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Network Technology Research Institute of China Unicom have signed a cooperative agreement to establish a 5G Technology Joint Laboratory. 5G technology is regarded as an enabler of China’s scientific and technological development, which in turn has far-reaching impact on the country’s economic development. By establishing the joint lab, CNIC and China Unicom will strengthen cooperation in 5G technology development through collaborations on a series of key technologies such as edge computing, network slicing, the Internet of Things and industrial Internet. The lab will release joint research results and develop advanced applications based on China Unicom’s 5G industrial environment. It will also explore the use of 5G technology in supporting field science outposts and scientific expeditions. Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2018/07/tech/5g-technology-joint-laboratory/

“China Unicom has been attaching great importance to 5G technology innovation and its applications in new areas,” said Dr. Zhang Yong, director of the Network Technology Research Institute of China Unicom. Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2018/07/tech/5g-technology-joint-laboratory/