The Panama Papers: Massive Leak About Shell Companies Operated Through Law Firm Mossack Fonseca
April 3rd, 2016The media organizations involved with this story want to present it as an endless drip of information for as long as possible. Here are a few portals to begin with:
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
If you want a single story summary of what this is, see, What Are the Panama Papers?
Dutch Government Considering Only Allowing Electric Vehicle Sales Starting in 2025
April 3rd, 2016I’d like to see people buying EVs, but not because that’s their only choice.
I’m guessing that by 2025, electric vehicles will not only outperform gas models in every metric, they will be cheaper to buy, operate, maintain and insure.
No maniac nanny state legislation necessary.
Via: Electrek:
After India evaluating a scheme for all its fleet to be electric by 2030, now we learn that the Dutch government is discussing the possibility to ban gas-powered car sales and only allow electric vehicle sales starting in 2025.
Although the parliament is considering the possibility to implement such a drastic law, the house is divided and the liberal coalition in power does not see the rule being implemented any time soon.
New Zealand: Council in Drought Prone Canterbury Consents to Foreign Company Extracting 40 Billion Litres of Water
April 3rd, 2016Meanwhile, west of Whangarei, Golden Bay and Hastings…
Now that the New Zealand milk bubble has busted: How about water?
Via: Stuff:
A council in the drought-prone Canterbury plains is selling the right to extract 40 billion litres of pure, artesian water to a bottled water supplier.
The Ashburton District Council is selling a section in its business estate, known as Lot 9, for an undisclosed sum. It comes with a valuable resource consent that allows abstraction of water from aquifers beneath the town.
The council has refused to publicise information about the deal, which is understood to be with an overseas company.
It has outraged some residents, who say water is desperately needed locally.
The area’s artesian water is increasingly popular in overseas markets such as China, with its New Zealand origin often featuring in branding and marketing.
The consent allows the holder to take 45 litres of water a second from local aquifers, totalling more than 1.4 billion litres a year.
It expires in 2046, meaning the buyer will gain access to more than 40 billion litres of Ashburton’s pure water.
…
Council chief executive Andrew Dalziel would not answer questions about the sale, citing commercial sensitivity. Standing orders prevented councillors from discussing the sale, which is expected to be finalised in June.
It is understood there has been no consultation with ratepayers or other interested parties, such as iwi, about the deal.
Where’s the Lane? Self-Driving Cars Confused by Shabby U.S. Roadways
April 2nd, 2016*har*
Via: Reuters:
Volvo’s North American CEO, Lex Kerssemakers, lost his cool as the automaker’s semi-autonomous prototype sporadically refused to drive itself during a press event at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
“It can’t find the lane markings!” Kerssemakers griped to Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was at the wheel. “You need to paint the bloody roads here!”
Shoddy infrastructure has become a roadblock to the development of self-driving cars, vexing engineers and adding time and cost. Poor markings and uneven signage on the 3 million miles of paved roads in the United States are forcing automakers to develop more sophisticated sensors and maps to compensate, industry executives say.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently called the mundane issue of faded lane markings “crazy,” complaining they confused his semi-autonomous cars.
An estimated 65 percent of U.S. roads are in poor condition, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, with the transportation infrastructure system rated 12th in the World Economic Forum’s 2014-2015 global competitiveness report.
Austria Wants to Deploy Soldiers to Border with Italy
April 2nd, 2016Via: Reuters:
Austria plans to deploy soldiers at the Brenner border with Italy to stem an expected increase in migrants trying to get to northern Europe, Defense Minister Hans Peter Doskozil told a German newspaper on Saturday.
Austria, which has broken ranks with Germany in handling Europe’s migrant crisis by imposing border restrictions, has previously said it is preparing to introduce tighter controls if needed. But the minister’s choice of words appears to have intensified the discourse.
“As the EU’s external borders are not yet effectively protected, Austria will soon ramp up strict border controls. That means massive border controls on at the Brenner (Pass), and with soldiers,” Doskozil told Die Welt daily.
America’s Million-Doctor Shortage Is Right Around the Corner
April 2nd, 2016Via: MarketWatch:
The doctor is disappearing in America.
And by most projections, it’s only going to get worse — the U.S. could lose as many as 1 million doctors by 2025, according to a Association of American Medical Colleges report.
Primary-care physicians will account for as much as one-third of that shortage, meaning the doctor you likely interact with most often is also becoming much more difficult to see.
Tasked with checkups and referring more complicated health problems to specialists, these doctors have the most consistent contact with a patient. But 65 million people live in what’s “essentially a primary-care desert,” said Phil Miller of the physician search firm Merritt Hawkins.
Possibly Related: IBM Watson Health
Massive Demand for Tesla Model 3
April 2nd, 2016People Pre-Ordering Now Might Not Receive The Car Until 2020
253,000 pre-orders now.
Via: Jalopnik:
As for actual order fulfillment for the Model 3, Fortune broke down the numbers with Cairn Energy Research Advisors. Tesla expects to begin shipping the car at the end of 2017, and an optimistic estimate for Model 3 production rate would be 76,860 total by the end of 2018. The Tesla factory in Fremont, California can churn out 500,000 cars in one year—including the Model S and Model X—and according to Fortune, Tesla has only shipped just over 100,000 in its existence.
With those estimated numbers, about 40,000 of the people who registered prior to the unveiling of the car—seeing as every person completes the order—won’t even receive a Model 3 by the end of 2018. By the end of 2019, the Cairn Energy analysts predict a total of 212,646 Model 3 cars to have been shipped.
That fulfillment statistic still leaves about 20,000 of the first-day orders out of the mix if every registered person ends up buying the car, and those folks will roll over into the next decade waiting for their Model 3. These statistics aren’t from Tesla and can’t be certain, but keep in mind that the company had to lower its Model X delivery expectations in 2015 due to assembly snags.
—
It’s 232,000 now.
Now 232k orders
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2016
Keep in mind, this is not like the Powerwall, where people just filled out a form indicating their interest.
With the Model 3, people have to pay Tesla a grand to be in the queue.
Via: Bloomberg:
In the history of the automobile, this is definitely something we haven’t seen before.
Tesla has lifted the veil on its most important undertaking: the Model 3, a $35,000 car designed to bring electric vehicles and autonomous driving to the masses. By the looks of it, and the interest it’s attracting, it just might succeed.
On Thursday, Tesla raked in 134,000 reservations, each with a $1,000 deposit. And that was before most people saw the car—today, Chairman Elon Musk announced another 64,000 and counting. A little perspective on those numbers: There are now more reservations for the Model 3 than total sales of all previous Tesla cars combined. In the unlikely event that all the refundable deposits turn into deliveries, this would represent an almost $9 billion launch.
CIA Leaves Explosives on School Bus After Training Exercise
April 1st, 2016Via: AFP:
A Virginia school bus ferrying students to and from classes this week had explosives under the hood after the CIA accidentally left them following a training exercise, the intelligence agency said.
“Last week, a CIA K-9 unit conducted a routine training exercise with law enforcement officials in Loudoun County, VA,” the CIA said in a statement on Thursday. “During the exercise, explosive training material was inadvertently left by the CIA K-9 unit in one of the buses used in the exercise.”
The bus was used Monday and Tuesday to transport high school and elementary students, who were in no danger because the explosive materials were “incredibly stable,” the Loudoun County sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The CIA said it had taken “immediate steps to strengthen inventory and control procedures” in the training program and would conduct a “thorough and independent” review of the incident.
The agency placed the explosive materials inside the engine compartment while training explosives-detecting dogs during spring break, the CIA said.
Some of the material “appears to have been dislodged… and fell into the engine compartment,” the sheriff’s office said.
A technician conducting routine maintenance on the bus found the explosives on Wednesday.
The CIA has suspended its program until it completes its review, the sheriff’s office said.
Saudi Arabia Plans $2 Trillion Megafund for Post-Oil Era
April 1st, 2016Via: Bloomberg:
Saudi Arabia is getting ready for the twilight of the oil age by creating the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund for the kingdom’s most prized assets.
Over a five-hour conversation, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid out his vision for the Public Investment Fund, which will eventually control more than $2 trillion and help wean the kingdom off oil. As part of that strategy, the prince said Saudi will sell shares in Aramco’s parent company and transform the oil giant into an industrial conglomerate. The initial public offering could happen as soon as next year, with the country currently planning to sell less than 5 percent.
Japan: Cervarix and Gardsil Victims to Sue Government and Drug Makers
March 31st, 2016Via: Japan Times:
Victims suffering side effects from cervical cancer vaccines that were once recommended by the government announced Wednesday they will file a lawsuit against the state and drugmakers.
“Many victims are still suffering from side effects of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines Cervarix and Gardsil, which include overall pain and disorders of perception, movement and memory,” lawyer Masumi Minaguchi, a representative from the planned lawsuit’s defense team told a news conference in Tokyo.
Minaguchi said the victims will file the suit sometime after June against the central government, GlaxoSmithKlien PLC, the maker of Cervarix, and Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., the maker of Gardsil, at four district courts in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.
