EU Power in the Middle East

Considering the increasing tensions and international competition in a very volatile region, if the EU seeks to become a strong actor in the MENA, it must uphold its values with tangible actions and not with contradictory statements, Assem Dandashly and Christos Kourtelis write.

In the last three decades, there has been a steady increase in the European Union’s efforts to shape the setting of its southern neighbourhood.

From the launch of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in 1995, and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in 2004, to the 2008 Union for the Mediterranean, the dominant belief among policymakers in Brussels was that providing both financial and technical support would enable the EU to use its normative power to persuade its neighbours to accept its values.     READ MORE...

Rafah Gate

 

Japan's Robots

 

Unwilling to Take Palestinian Refugees

(AP) — As desperate Palestinians in sealed-off Gaza try to find refuge under Israel’s relentless bombardment in retaliation for Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 attack, some ask why neighboring Egypt and Jordan don’t take them in.

The two countries, which flank Israel on opposite sides and share borders with Gaza and the occupied West Bank, respectively, have replied with a staunch refusal. Jordan already has a large Palestinian population.  

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi made his toughest remarks yet on Wednesday, saying the current war was not just aimed at fighting Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, “but also an attempt to push the civilian inhabitants to ... migrate to Egypt.” He warned this could wreck peace in the region.    READ MORE...

Walking the Dog

 

Macron Opposes Gender-Inclusive Spelling

Macron used the occasion to wade into a culture war debate, backing a right-wing bill to ban the use of "inclusive language" -- a popular trend for using both masculine and feminine versions of words when writing.

France must "not give in to fashionable trends," he said as he inaugurated the Cite Internationale de la Langue Francaise just hours before the Senate was due to debate the proposed law.

Modern French presidents love a cultural "grand projet" -- an imposing monument to "scratch" their name on history, as ex-leader Francois Mitterrand put it in the 1980s.   READ MORE...

Feeling Down?

 

It's Fall Already

By now, your shorts and t-shrits are probably packed away in replace of knitted sweaters and jeans. Just as our wardrobe needs updating with seasonal changes, so does our home – out goes the patio furniture and in comes the warming blankets.

And what better way to get excited about your home update than with the latest decor trends that will help create an autumnal sanctuary at home.  READ MORE...

Shoes

 

Into Fall and Football

For those of you not paying any attention to the calendar, the month of October ended yesterday; although, it's hard to believe that anyone was not aware that HALLOWEEN ended the month...

While October represented, for the most part, above normal temperatures, the month is still one of moderate warmth.

It is usually the month of November where the temperatures begin their gradual ride downwards.  That is to say, they fluctuate between 50 and 60 degrees.  When this happens, we are experiencing typical fall weather.  The kind of weather that is DAMN NEAR PERFECT to sit in a stadium and watch football games.

However, the temperatures are a little bit high for the players, as they probably prefer temperatures that fluctuate between 40 and 50 degrees.  If the temperatures drop down between 30 and 40, then the players not running will get cold, and the quarterbacks don't always function at their best...  although, some do because they like the cold.

Personally, I don't like sitting in a stadium seat watching a football game, even if I am not cold and it is not windy because, the seat after 30 minutes hurts my butt.  If I have a stadium cushion, the pain does not start until after 50 minutes or so.  In addition to a sore butt, my back does not like sitting upright unless it has something to lean against.

So, if I am going to watch any kind of football game, it is going to be in my living room, while I am sitting on the couch.  I also don't like using the toilets in a stadium, nor do I like sitting so close to strangers, many of whom like to get drunk before the game is over.

 

Babies

 

EV Market Could be the Next Big FLOP

Just like Ford’s "Edsel" model in the 1950s, Trump administration economist Steve Moore cautioned that electric vehicles (EVs) may be the auto market's "next big flop."

"Henry Ford's son was named Edsel, and this was going to be the great car, all of the executives said, 'This is the car everybody's going to want to buy.' Ford made 500,000 of these new sedan cars, but guess what?" Moore said on "Varney & Co." Monday. "Nobody bothered to ask consumers whether they wanted the car."

"And of course, the Edsel was one of the great flops of all time," the economist continued. "I'm here to tell you, if these trends continue, we're going to see the EV market become the next big flop because car buyers don't want them."

Moore’s comments come as the EV push at Ford and General Motors hit a speed bump that’s cutting into the automakers’ profits and causing them to reevaluate their electric plans amid a price war and supply chain challenges.  READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

 

First Humanoid Robot Factory in USA

Imagine a factory that can make humanoid robots that can walk, run, and work like us. Sounds like a sci-fi movie, right? Well, it’s not. It’s RoboFab, and it’s opening soon here in the U.S.

RoboFab is a manufacturing facility in Salem, Oregon, that is set to open later this year. It is the brainchild of Agility Robotics, a company that specializes in creating biped robots that can navigate complex environments.

RoboFab will be the world’s first factory for humanoid robots, capable of churning out 10,000 robots a year. The factory will use advanced automation and assembly techniques to produce Digit, the flagship product of Agility Robotics.  READ MORE...

Never Even Imagined

 

Halloween Decorations

 

Robot Dog Becomes Tour Guide

We saw Spot run, jump, and even dance... but now we can see Spot talk. In a somewhat unsettling video posted by Boston Dynamics, we see its robot dog outfitted with a top hat, mustache, and googly eyes as it chats with staff members in a British accent, taking them on a tour of the company’s facilities.

“Shall we commence our journey?” Spot asks. “The charging stations, where Spot robots rest and recharge, is our first point of interest. Follow me, gentlemen.” As shown in the demo, Spot is capable of answering questions and even opens its “mouth” to make it seem like it’s actually speaking.  READ MORE...

Spinning

 

Electron Charge Within Millisecond Coherence Time

Coherence stands as a pillar of effective communication, whether it is in writing, speaking or information processing. This principle extends to quantum bits, or qubits, the building blocks of quantum computing. A quantum computer could one day tackle previously insurmountable challenges in climate prediction, material design, drug discovery and more.  READ MORE...

A team led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has achieved a major milestone toward future quantum computing. They have extended the coherence time for their novel type of qubit to an impressive 0.1 milliseconds—nearly a thousand times better than the previous record.

Skulls