In “ The Dark Knight ,” the seminal reboot of the “Batman” cinematic franchise, the Caped Crusader is able to locate any of Gotham’s denizens on a whim, by hijacking the microphones and cameras on their cellphones. FindFace, the identification app created by Alexander Kabakov, 29, and Artem…

A Secret War? Why U.S. Special Ops Are in Africa

"What the military will say to a reporter and what is said behind closed doors are two very different things -- especially when it comes to the U.S. military in Africa." So writes investigative reporter Nick Turse in his latest book, Tomorrow's Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa .…

UPDATE: Thursday Hearing Vacated Share It Share on Facebook Copy link Update: This hearing has been vacated. In an order issued late Tuesday, the judge asked for supplemental briefing from the parties. A new hearing date may be set once that briefing is complete. San Francisco – On Thursday, May 19,…

There was a moment, an hour before an event last week, when 30 or so young fresh-faced people stood around their creation and posed for a group photo. They were in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. All around them, reminders of historic innovations…

The Second Avenue subway won't come cheap. Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images The U.S. ought to be spending more on infrastructure. This is the view of all right-thinking people, 1 and as a right-thinking person I of course endorse it. With interest…

A breath alcohol ignition interlock device. AFP PHOTO/Paul J. Richards A new study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds that drivers who use marijuana are at a significantly lower risk for a crash than drivers who use alcohol. And after adjusting for age, gender, race and…

Your smartphone may include an FM radio chip but, chances are, it doesn't work. Now, an online campaign has launched in Canada, putting pressure on telecoms and manufacturers to turn on the radio hidden in many cellphones. Titled, " free radio on my phone ," the campaign says that most Android…

Image Credit: AlexLMX / Shutterstock On May 16, 2016 — Monday — securities-based crowdfunding goes live in the United States. This means that any American entrepreneur can go out and raise up to $1 million from friends, family, and social network for their startup or small business. However, this…

Loading... Generational issues COMMENT 8.95 BUY COPIES Loading... Executive Summary The “quarter-life” crisis experienced by many 20- and 30-somethings typically involves four stages: 1. Being locked into a commitment (relationship, job, housing, etc.) 2. Ending that commitment, and now feeling…

A boy stands in his home during a 24-hour blackout in the El Calvario neighborhood of El Hatillo, just outside of Caracas, Venezuela. Fernando Llano / AP When a Venezuelan entrepreneur we know launched a manufacturing company in western Venezuela two decades ago, he never imagined he’d one day find…

Dollars for Doctors How Industry Money Reaches Physicians A group of researchers at Harvard Medical School has found that medical industry payments to physicians in Massachusetts are associated with higher rates of prescribing brand-name drugs that treat high cholesterol. The study’s finding,…

( Para ler a versão desse artigo em Português, clique aqui .) What was the most powerful man in Brazil, the billionaire heir of the Globo empire, João Roberto Marinho (above), doing in the comment section of The Guardian ? Granted: His comment received a coveted “Recommended” tag from Guardian…

H umans age gradually, but some animals do all their aging in a rush at the end of life, while others don’t age at all, and a few can even age backward. The variety of aging patterns in nature should be a caution sign to anyone inclined to generalize—particularly the generalization that aging is…

It seemed almost too good to be true. Using Google Earth and a home computer, a 15-year-old schoolboy discovered the remains of a long-lost Mayan City. William Gadoury, from Quebec, Canada, compared maps of 22 star constellations known to the ancient Maya with Google Earth images of Mexico’s Yucatan…

P ensioners should avoid common hay fever, allergy and sleeping tablets over their links to brain damage and dementia, scientists have warned. Last year a study in the US found that taking a daily dose of pills like Piriton and Nytol, for at least three years, raised the chance of getting…

Vynny Brown at his home in Houston. He would like to apply for a management position at the restaurant he works for, but college experience is required. Credit Sarah Lim for The New York Times For seniors graduating from the University of Michigan this month, employers have been lining up since the…

But drivers say its tipping policy is just protecting cheapskates T he settlement of Uber’s labor suit is not yet final, but pissed-off drivers are already kicking off another revolt. This time it’s about tips. Drivers are peeved that tipping will still not be a part of the app. The drivers can can…

Update: The Philadelphia Police Department has admitted it owns the truck , and is launching an inquiry into why it was disguised as a Google vehicle. An SUV tucked away in the shadows of the Philadelphia Convention Center's tunnel bears the ubiquitous logo for Google Maps, and mounted on top of the…

The Army is fast-tracking an emerging technology which gives combat vehicles an opportunity identify, track and destroy approaching enemy rocket-propelled grenades in a matter of milliseconds, service officials said. Called Active Protection Systems, or APS, the technology uses sensors and radar,…

In 2013, anti-piracy prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad filed a motion targeting two of The Pirate Bay’s most recognizable names, ThePirateBay.se (the site’s main domain) and PirateBay.se (a lesser used alternative). Rather than take on the site and its operators directly, Ingblad filed a complaint against…

The Hilarious List Of Hashtags Instagram Won’t Let You Search May 10, 2016 Instagram blocks or censors the search results of hundreds of hashtags. We have assembled a list of the banned tags, and it is both strange and hilarious. The Data Pack first released a list of Instagram’s Banned Hashtags in…

Many hackers-turned-founders understand that sales is an important and valuable skill, but shy away from doing it out of fear and uncertainty. For weekly recaps of The Macro, sign up here . What if I told you that being a great enterprise salesperson requires the same skill set as being a great…

In the south-east of Romania, in Constanța county close to the Black Sea and the Bulgarian border, there lies a barren featureless plain. The desolate field is completely unremarkable, except for one thing. Below it lies a cave that has remained isolated for 5.5 million years. While our ape-like…

The Meiji Ishin, aka Meiji Restoration, took place from 1868 to 1912 and was primarily responsible for the emergence of Japan as a modern, forward looking nation in the early twentieth century. Wary of military intervention and missionary activity by western colonial powers, Japan issued an order in…

Prison phones are a predatory monopoly. One family fought back — and won. On the clock Depending on states, calls from prison can be exorbitantly expensive. If the time you spent reading this article was ​equal to​ the time you spent on a call from prison, this is what you could be paying. Time…

Share New details and announcement trailer released today Minuscule incremental changes are the atoms and cells of Civilization games, which are made up of tiny elements, each made one after another. At each game's dawn, I gaze upon my solitary village, adrift in an ocean of wild tundra and untamed…

Story highlights Transgender woman Geraldine Roman wins seat in Philippines congress LGBT groups celebrate victory as sign of progress in Catholic-dominated country (CNN) Voters have made history in the Philippines , electing their first ever transgender politician to the House of Representatives.…

(Reuters) - A former administrator in Flint, Michigan, charged in a federal lawsuit on Monday that she was fired for seeking a probe into allegations the mayor tried to redirect donations to her personal campaign fund from a charity meant to help families hurt by the city’s water crisis. The…

Panama Papers Include Dozens of Americans Tied to Fraud and Financial Misconduct Mossack Fonseca's files include offshore companies linked to at least 36 Americans accused of serious financial wrongdoing, including fraud and racketeering

A project of The Nation Institute TomDispatch.com Archive Authors Books Press About Contact Support Us Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, The Challenges of 2016 EmailPrint [Note to TomDispatch Readers: The remarkable Noam Chomsky has a new book out: Who Rules the World? It’s almost too obvious to say, but it’s…

Editor's note: This story was nominated as one of the best magazine feature stories of 2017 by the American Society of Magazine Editors. To learn more about ASME and this prestigous nomination, visit here . And to learn more about author Mac McClelland's experience reporting this story, check out…

New malware campaign increases risk of phishing scams. Image: iStock A botnet and cyberattack campaign is infecting victims across the globe and appears to be tracking the actions of specially selected targets in sectors ranging from government to engineering. Researchers from Forcepoint Security…

By You’ve probably heard that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” What you may not know is the origin of this ode to breakfast: a 1944 marketing campaign launched by Grape Nuts manufacturer General Foods to sell more cereal. During the campaign, which marketers named “Eat a Good…

Close-up of Michelangelo’s David Reader question: “Why do all old statues have such small penises?” The reader who sent me this felt that it was a question that was maybe too silly for my blog, but – firstly – there are no questions too silly for this blog, and – secondly – the answer to this…

T he drugmaker Purdue Pharma launched OxyContin two decades ago with a bold marketing claim: One dose relieves pain for 12 hours, more than twice as long as generic medications. Patients would no longer have to wake up in the middle of the night to take their pills, Purdue told doctors. One…