Group items tagged

Australia is on one of the fastest moving tectonic plates on the planet, and must therefore update its longitudinal and latitudinal positions on global maps periodically. In the last 50 years four such updates have happened, and another is in the works. The last one, in 1997, moved the country's position by about 650 feet, the upcoming one moves only about 5 feet. These changes may seem minute on the global scale, but will be very important to GPS systems, which will be crucial to industries of the future.

Unsustainable workloads and low morale among family doctors, according to MPs, must be addressed immediately. The lack of medics in any general practice is endangering the safety of millions.

What's the solution--higher taxes so the publicly funded health system can take care of its people? What is getting in the way of this is central to the current turmoil in Britain. It would be interesting/fun to dig deeper.

This article cites a few surveys taken since President Obama took office. It is interesting to look at this in comparison to the article we read from 2006 about Chavez and his disapproval of the Bush administration.

Rail contractors forced to suspend projects as govt's payments dry up Sept. 30, 2011

Bullet services to 'stay slow' during checks-investigation of "I've also learned from the investigation of the (Wenzhou) accident that many workers were actually working 24-7 (to meet deadlines), and multitasking can cause a series of problems," he said.

Title: China Interested In California's High-Speed Rail -Transcript Morning Edition 4/10.

Good overview-history of hsr projects around the world from Trains Magazine.

Title: Japan scrutinizes Chinese rail patents

Fast, faster, fastest: high-speed intercity passenger rail is gaining momentum in the United States. But are fast trains a smart public investment? Good overview article

An interesting piece on the place of technology in combatting climate related disaster as well as the push and pull between state and federal government in the context of California wildfires.

This is really interesting - and kinda sad. Hasn't military technology migrated into the public sector before and made our lives better as a result (like GPS)? Why are these satellites any different?