warfare

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Alibaba Founder: US Spent $14T on the Wrong Thing

'You're supposed to spend money on your own people,' not war, Jack Ma said

(Newser) - Tempted to blame China for your economic woes, America? Take a look in the mirror instead. That was the message of Alibaba founder Jack Ma Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he wagged a finger at the US for blowing $14 trillion on war efforts over...

This May Be First Evidence of Hunter-Gatherer War
This May Be First Evidence
of Hunter-Gatherer War
NEW STUDY
Jan 21, 2016 12:49 PM CST

This May Be First Evidence of Hunter-Gatherer War

27 people killed in 10,000-year-old massacre in what is now Kenya

(Newser) - Scientists working on the shores of Lake Turkana in Kenya have uncovered a grisly scene : the bodies of 27 people, killed around 8,000BC. Experts say the spot, called Nataruk, may be the first to reveal evidence of a massacre—or perhaps even war—between two nomadic hunter-gatherer groups, one...

UN Starts Talks on 'Killer Robots'

Rights groups worried about machines programmed to kill

(Newser) - It sounds like a panel discussion worthy of Comic Con, but this four-day summit on "lethal autonomous robots" is instead taking place under the auspices of the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva, reports AFP . The premise is simple enough: Groups such as Human Rights Watch are worried...

Rights Group: Time to Ban Killer Robots

International treaty needed before it's too late, group says

(Newser) - The world needs to ban robots capable of killing without human input before they become a reality on the battlefield, a human rights group warns. Human Rights Watch and Harvard's International Human Rights Clinic are calling for an international treaty to ban the "development, production and use of...

Iraqi War Zone Sees Big Spike in Birth Defects

Fallujah reports unusually high rate of abnormalities

(Newser) - Doctors in Fallujah are seeing an alarming rise in the number of birth defects and early life cancers. They have no definitive evidence, but suspicion has naturally fallen on toxic materials left behind after years of modern warfare, reports the Guardian. The rate of birth defects—including multiple tumors, nervous...

Tudor Sailor Bones Set for Exhibit

400 went down on Mary Rose as dismayed king watched

(Newser) - The bones of King Henry VIII's faithful fighters will soon go on display in a Portsmouth museum, nearly 500 years after they were defeated at sea by the French. The sailors of the flagship Mary Rose went down to defeat in a battle among 80 other Tudor vessels against 225...

Killer Robots Pose Danger to Humans: Report

Machines need 'warrior code,' says analyst

(Newser) - The warfare of the not-so-distant future will rely on robots that can make decisions for themselves—and for our own safety, they’ll need a firm code of conduct, says a US Navy report in the first “serious” study of robot ethics. “There is a common misconception that...

Peace Team Rushes to Gaza as Toll Tops 520

Sarkozy to meet with Israeli leaders today

(Newser) - A European peace and humanitarian team and French President Nicolas Sarkozy headed to the region today as Israeli ground-assault tanks pushed further into Palestinian territory, and edged the death toll close to 530, Reuters reports. Hamas militants have retaliated by firing rocket-propelled grenades at tanks in eastern Gaza, and at...

Taliban Shows Fresh Fangs in US Base Attack

Secure in Pakistan, insurgents gain next door in Afghanistan

(Newser) - The Taliban demonstrated complex tactics and a renewed taste for conventional warfare in the attack on a remote outpost that claimed the lives of nine US soldiers yesterday, Reuters reports. The militants drove the residents from a nearby village and used it as a base of operations from which to...

Gun-Toting Robots Patrol Iraq
Gun-Toting Robots Patrol Iraq
Aug 4, 2007 4:43 PM CDT

Gun-Toting Robots Patrol Iraq

(Newser) - Heavily armed, remote-controlled robots are on the ground in Iraq—a first in military history. Only three of these robo-soldiers, armed with M249 machine guns, are currently deployed, but the Army has requested 80 more. Their location is classified, but officials report they're involved in reconnaissance and street patrol missions....

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