Archive for the 'Economy' Category
How An Amateur Rap Crew Stole Surveillance Tech That Tracks Almost Every American
October 12th, 2018Via: Forbes: Today TransUnion says TLO is capable of “processing trillions of records at sub-second speeds.” It can quickly uncover relevant data like individuals’ family members and social media profiles. One of the most important features for law enforcement combines photos from surveillance cameras with a huge trove of license plate numbers to nearly instantly […]
Air Force Awards Launch Vehicle Development Contracts to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, ULA
October 10th, 2018Via: SpaceNews: The U.S. Air Force announced on Wednesday it is awarding three contracts collectively worth about $2 billion to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems and United Launch Alliance to develop launch system prototypes. The funding is for the development of competing launch system prototypes geared toward launching national security payloads. Each company will […]
GM Appoints Ex-CIA Deputy Director, Co-Vice Chair of the Council on Foreign Relations to Its Board
October 10th, 2018More connections than a switchboard, including an NSC role where, “She had oversight responsibility for covert action programs and special reconnaissance missions,” and In-Q-Tel. Via: CNBC: General Motors appointed a former deputy director of intelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency to its board on Wednesday. Jami Miscik is the chief executive and vice chair of […]
Financial Accounts May Be “Modified” to Shield Classified Programs
October 9th, 2018Not a new policy: missingmoney.solari.com Via: Federation of American Scientists: In an apparent departure from “generally accepted accounting principles,” federal agencies will be permitted to publish financial statements that are altered so as to protect information on classified spending from disclosure. The new policy was developed by the government’s Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) […]
Tesla Model 3 Is #1 Top Selling American Car In USA
October 9th, 2018Via: CleanTechnica: Tesla’s production and sales growth is stunning. It is one of the most dramatic manufacturing stories in US history, let alone 2018. The sales records and eye-warping bar charts are in multiple important categories, not just in the electric vehicle space. However, one story I haven’t seen highlighted yet is that the Tesla […]
Jeff Bezos Is Planning to Ship ‘Several Metric Tons of Cargo’ to the Moon
October 5th, 2018Via: Vice: Jeff Bezos’s pet aerospace exploration project is planning to send “several metric tons” of unspecified cargo to the Moon in the next five years. Blue Origin, described by Bezos as “the most important work I’m doing,” signed a letter of intent with German aerospace companies OHB Space Systems and Security and MT Aerospace […]
An Estimated $3 Trillion in Daily Commerce Flows Through Ancient COBOL Systems
October 4th, 2018Via: Reuters: The Common Business-Oriented Language was developed nearly 60 years ago and has been gradually replaced by newer, more versatile languages such as Java, C and Python. Although few universities still offer COBOL courses, the language remains crucial to businesses and institutions around the world. In the United States, the financial sector, major corporations […]
Amazon Raising Minimum Wage to $15
October 3rd, 2018Mmm hmm. Meet the Robots at Amazon: Of course, Amazon spins this by saying that they need humans to build and service the robots, so don’t worry about automation. *grin* Other commentary: Bezos’ Decision to Raise Wages is Largely a Machiavellian Distraction Amazon Eliminates Monthly Bonuses and Stock Grants After Minimum Wage Increase The Real […]
U.S. Government Can’t Account for $21 Trillion Since 1998
October 3rd, 2018This is from December 2017. Via: USA Watchdog: Michigan State University economics professor Mark Skidmore made an astounding discovery about the finances and budgets of the U.S. federal government earlier this year. He and a team of graduate students discovered $21 trillion missing in the federal budget going back to 1998. Dr. Skidmore, who specializes […]
Tim Berners-Lee Working on Decentralized Apps and Data Storage
September 29th, 2018Via: Fast Company: On his screen, there is a simple-looking web page with tabs across the top: Tim’s to-do list, his calendar, chats, address book. He built this app–one of the first on Solid–for his personal use. It is simple, spare. In fact, it’s so plain that, at first glance, it’s hard to see its […]
