Sweden Close To Victory Over Coronavirus; Never Had A Lockdown Or Mask Mandate
September 9th, 2020Via: Summit News:
As the rest of Europe and the world remains under the grip of draconian rules and the threat of new lockdowns, Sweden, which allowed its citizens to remain free throughout the entire pandemic, has pretty much declared victory over the coronavirus.
The country now has one of the lowest infection rates on the planet, and it’s difficult not to admire how it has handled the past year, with no strict lockdown or compulsory face mask rules. All businesses, schools and public places remained open in Sweden for the duration.
“Sweden has gone from being the country with the most infections in Europe to the safest one,” Sweden’s senior epidemiologist Dr. Anders Tegnell commented to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Amazon Wants Alexa to Move Into Your Apartment Before You Do
September 9th, 2020Via: Vice:
On Thursday, Amazon announced a new program called Alexa for Residential that would make it cheaper for apartment complexes to integrate Alexa and Amazon devices into their rental units. This should come as no surprise, especially considering that the pandemic has allowed Amazon to grow even more entrenched in our daily lives.
Before you move in, a smart speaker will be installed that will need no set-up from you—it can even give you a tour before you move in and answer questions about the rental unit. According to The Verge, Amazon insists property managers won’t access any tenant data and all voice recordings will be deleted daily, all in the name of offering “custom voice experiences that go beyond the walls of their apartments.”
Australia Flies Journalists Out of China After Questioning by State Security Officials
September 9th, 2020The irony is incredible. Who will fly the Australian journalists experiencing late night police shakedowns… out of Australia?
Via: CBC:
Two Australian foreign correspondents were flown out of China for their safety after being questioned by China’s state security ministry, the Australian government said on Tuesday.
The correspondents for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Australian Financial Review (AFR) sought shelter in the embassy in Beijing and the consulate in Shanghai as diplomats negotiated with Chinese officials to allow them to leave the country, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said.
Negotiations over the two journalists — the ABC’s Bill Birtles and the AFR’s Michael Smith — reached the highest level of the Australian government, a source told Reuters.
Chinese police entered the homes of the two men, who lived in Shanghai and Beijing, after midnight last Wednesday and told them they were barred from leaving China, Smith said.
Gravitricity: Gravity Energy Project to Generate Electricity by Plunging Heavy Weights Down Disused Mine Shafts
September 8th, 2020This seems like an interesting idea. It’s a bit like pumped hydro, but without the requirement of elevated water storage.
Via: Newsweek:
An energy project that will generate electrical power using gravity, by raising and lowering heavy weights down mine shafts, could spark into action next year.
U.K.-based Gravitricity said in a press release that its plan to store and release clean energy by hoisting and plunging weights down shafts close to 5,000 feet deep is now closer to becoming a reality, as construction of a prototype started in August.
In theory, upon completion the system will suspend weight of up to 12,000 tonnes using cables and a winch in a shaft. Raising the weight charges the system, while dropping it discharges electricity to a power grid, effectively acting as a generator.
Nikola and GM to Make 900-Horsepower Electric Truck
September 8th, 2020Via: Yahoo Finance:
Nikola (NKLA) and GM (GM) are teaming up to take on Tesla’s cybertruck.
The electric truck startup announced Tuesday it has selected GM to be its manufacturing parter for its electric pickup truck dubbed the Badger. The Badger will use GM’s widely acclaimed Ultium battery technology. Additionally, Nikola will hand over $2 billion in stock to GM — giving the automaker an 11% stake in the company.
…
On paper, the truck stands to be a beast. It’s expected to have 906 horsepower and have a 600-mile range using both battery and hydrogen fuel cells. Nikola has said pricing will start at $60,000 for the electric vehicle version and $90,000 for the one that also includes the hydrogen cell.
The Badger is expected to be unveiled in early December. Production has been set for 2022.
The Air Force Just Tested “Robot Dogs” For Use In Base Security
September 8th, 2020Bonus: Another one for your Starlink Is Mainly for Rural Internet Access *wink* file folder.
Via: The Warzone:
They look like they were cast straight from an episode of Black Mirror, and eventually, their mission could be similar in some ways, but for now, robot dogs are stretching their legs in the big test exercise environment for the United States Air Force.
Last week, the U.S. Air Force hosted the second demonstration of its new Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), a digital battle network system designed to collect, process, and share data among U.S. and allied forces in real-time. The ABMS has already undergone several tests, including a live-fire exercise earlier this year conducted with data and communications provided, in part, by SpaceX Starlink satellites.
Related: See Spot Scan: Ford Deploys Robot Dog to Map its Facilities
Dozens More Mystery Drone Incursions Over U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Revealed
September 8th, 2020Via: Forbes:
I recently described how a swarm of drones flew in a restricted area at Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant on two successive nights last September. A new cache of documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) reveals how 24 nuclear sites suffered at least 57 drone incursions from 2015 to 2019 – and Palo Verde itself was overflown again in December, despite new security measures.
The documents were obtained from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by Douglas D. Johnson on behalf of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU). The SCU’s main interest is in anomalous aerospace phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs, but Johnson uncovered a series of incidents involving something less exotic but potentially more threatening: commercial drones.
Disney Filmed ‘Mulan’ in Xinjiang, Where China Operates Concentration Camps
September 8th, 2020Via: Hollywood Reporter:
Disney’s big-budget remake of Mulan, already the subject of a pro-democracy boycott, has come under additional fire for filming scenes in China’s Xinjiang Province, where Beijing is accused of perpetrating human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims on a massive scale.
Not only did Disney shoot in the region, but the studio appears to have offered its gratitude to Chinese government agencies involved in alleged abuses.
U.S. Government Asks Mitre Corp to Build Creepy Surveillance Technologies
September 7th, 2020Via: Forbes:
Among the government’s wilder Mitre orders: a prototype tool that can hack into smartwatches, fitness trackers and home thermometers for the purposes of homeland security; software to collect human fingerprints from social media websites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the FBI; support in building what the FBI calls the biggest database of human anatomy and criminal history in the world; and a study to determine whether someone’s body odor can show they’re lying.
Surveillance Video Shows Bags of USPS Mail Being Dumped in Glendale Spa Parking Lot
September 7th, 2020Via: KTLA:
Piles of mail were found in two separate locations in Glendale Thursday morning, including one incident where a rented truck was captured on surveillance video dumping bags of unopened letters and packages in the parking lot of a business.
The first incident was reported at 7:30 a.m., in the 1000 block of Allen Avenue, according to Glendale Police Department Sgt. Christian Hauptmann.
Roughly two hours later, police received another call regarding dumped mail, this time behind a business in the 1600 block of Glenoaks Boulevard, according to Hauptmann.
It was the second reported incident — outside 7Q Spa Laser & Aesthetics — where surveillance video captured the moment a rented truck dumped bags of unopened mail and took off.
