Haitian President Assassinated by Gunmen at Home, State of Emergency Declared
July 7th, 2021Via: Reuters:
Haitian President Jovenel Moise was shot dead by unidentified attackers in his private residence overnight in a “barbaric act”, the government said on Wednesday, stirring fears of escalating turmoil in the impoverished Caribbean nation.
Related: The Neo-Duvalier Era in Haiti, Largely Orchestrated by the U.S.
13-Year-Old Dies in Sleep After Receiving Pfizer COVID Vaccine
July 7th, 2021Via: Newsweek:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are now investigating the death of a 13-year-old Michigan boy, Jacob Clynick, who died a few days after receiving his second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
…
Clynick received the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on June 13 and died in his sleep on the night of June 15, the outlet reported.
“He passed away in the middle of the night at home,” Clynick’s aunt, Tammy Burages said.
After receiving his second dose, Clynick exhibited common post-vaccine symptoms, such as fatigue, fever and a stomach ache, according to Burages. But, she said that the symptoms were not severe enough to cause concern.
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Clynick’s parents were told that a preliminary autopsy discovered that Clynick’s heart was enlarged when he died, according to the Detroit Free Press, but the Saginaw County medical examiner’s office could not confirm these claims.
Pentagon Kills Microsoft’s $10B JEDI Cloud Contract
July 7th, 2021Via: Ars Technica:
Following years of controversy and intrigue, the Pentagon canceled its JEDI cloud computing contract with Microsoft today.
Microsoft was awarded the contract in October 2019, but work stalled as Amazon, the other finalist, mounted a legal challenge. Now, the Department of Defense has scrapped the entire project, saying that it’s out of date.
“The Department has determined that, due to evolving requirements, increased cloud conversancy, and industry advances, the JEDI Cloud contract no longer meets its needs,” a Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement.
The deal, which was to be worth up to $10 billion over 10 years, was a significant though contested win for Microsoft that would have given its cloud division a healthy boost in revenue and market share. Late last year, Microsoft Azure held 20 percent of the market, trailing Amazon’s AWS’ 31 percent.
In JEDI’s place, the Pentagon said it will be soliciting proposals for a new contract, the Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability, from both Microsoft and Amazon. Oracle, IBM, and Google submitted JEDI bids as well, though Google withdrew its bid under pressure from employees. The Pentagon says it will continue its research to see whether other companies can compete, but it insists that only Microsoft and Amazon are sophisticated enough to meet its requirements.
How Many Robots Does It Take To Run a Grocery Store?
July 6th, 2021How does it handle fruits and vegetables?
Via: Tom Scott:
Research Credit: BVegas
Supermarkets Are Stockpiling Inventory as Food Costs Rise
July 6th, 2021Via: Wall Street Journal:
Supermarkets are stocking up on everything from sugar to frozen meat before they get more pricey, girding for what some executives anticipate will be some of the highest price increases in recent memory.
Spain Drafts Legislation to, “Mobilize All Adults in Times of Crisis”
July 6th, 2021Via: El País:
All adults will be required to provide “personal services” to the state if a crisis is ever declared in Spain, according to the reform of the National Security Law being prepared by the government.
The draft legislation – which incorporates lessons learned during the coronavirus pandemic – indicates that all citizens, without exception, must follow the orders and instructions of the relevant authorities if a state of crisis – or “situation of interest to national security” as it is termed in the document – is declared.
The reform also states that authorities can temporarily requisition all types of assets, take over or temporarily occupy those that are needed and suspend all activity. Citizens who are economically harmed by these actions have the right to compensation, according to the document. In its preliminary version, the bill does not include compensation for people whose services are required by the state.
The wording of the draft bill does not specifically mention Spanish citizens, but rather everyone who has reached the age of majority.
Windows 11 Laptops Will Require Front Facing Camera in 2023
July 6th, 2021Via: TweakTown:
Starting in 2023, all new laptops will require front-facing webcams for Windows 11 — so we expect tape sales to increase by then.
Looters Ransack Bagram Airbase After U.S. Sneaks Out In Middle Of Night
July 6th, 2021Via: ZeroHedge:
The United States has wound down its ‘forever war’ in Afghanistan by essentially sneaking off from its largest base there in the middle of the night, reportedly without so much as informing the local Afghan commander.
The somewhat shocking method of departure which immediately left Bagram a “ghost base” – as some are already calling it – was bluntly described by Associated Press as follows: “The U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said.”
UK: People Who Have Been Vaccinated Represent Half of Recent COVID Deaths
July 6th, 2021It’s working great. It’s fine. Everything is fine.
Northern hemisphere winter is going to be interesting.
Via: Wall Street Journal:
As the Delta variant of the coronavirus surges through the U.K., almost half of the country’s recent Covid-19 deaths are of people who have been vaccinated. But doctors and scientists aren’t sounding the alarm about the apparently high proportion of deaths among the vaccinated population.
On the contrary, they say the figures so far offer reassurance that vaccines offer substantial protection against the variant, particularly after two doses.
Elon Musk Admits Self-Driving Is Harder Than He Thought As Tesla Owners Troll Him Over Missed Deadlines
July 5th, 2021Via: Electrek:
Elon Musk is admitting that self-driving is a harder problem than he originally thought as some Tesla owners are trolling him over yet another missed deadline for Tesla’s self-driving program.
Musk has a long history of failed predictions regarding Tesla bringing a true self-driving system to market.
It was first supposed to happen in 2018, then 2019, and in more recent years Musk has been more careful about the way he talks about full self-driving and now instead refers to a “feature-complete” system that would still rely on the driver’s attention but could lead to true autonomy with data proving that it’s safer than humans.
Related:
California Places Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ Under Review
Automakers Are Rethinking the Timetable for Fully Autonomous Cars
