Australia Probes ‘Deeply Disturbing’ Allegations of Chinese Political Interference
November 24th, 2019*pfft* In other (long forgotten) news: New Zealand: National MP Trained by Chinese Spies
Via: Reuters:
Australia’s domestic spy agency is investigating whether China tried to install an agent in federal parliament in what Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday called “deeply disturbing” allegations.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) said it had launched an investigation before the alleged plot was reported by Australia’s “60 Minutes” program and affiliated newspapers on Sunday.
The reports said a suspected Chinese espionage ring had offered “a seven figure sum” to pay for a Melbourne luxury car dealer, Bo “Nick” Zhao, to run for a seat in Australia’s federal parliament.
Hong Kong Elections: Pro-Democracy Camp Has Won 17 Out of 18 District Councils
November 24th, 2019Via: South China Morning Post:
The anti-establishment reverberations from almost six months of street protests swept through polling stations across Hong Kong on Sunday, as voters in record numbers roundly rejected pro-Beijing candidates in favour of pan-democrats.
The tsunami of disaffection among voters was clear across the board, as pan-democrats rode the wave to win big in poor and rich neighbourhoods, in both protest-prone and non protest-afflicted districts and, in downtown areas as well as the suburbs.
Less immediately obvious was whether there was a generational divide in the way the people voted, but ousted pro-establishment district councillors suggested that young, first-time voters had been instrumental in dislodging them from their perch.
By 9am on Monday, the pro-democracy camp has won 17 out of 18 district councils, taking more than 278 seats.
All councils were previously under pro-establishment control from the 2015 elections.
Navy Secretary Fired Over SEAL Controversy
November 24th, 2019Via: ZeroHedge:
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper asked Navy Secretary Richard Spencer to resign on Sunday after the Pentagon chief lost confidence in how Spencer handled the case of a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq, according to the Pentagon.
Was Cringe Inducing Cybertruck Window Demo Failure a Marketing Stunt?
November 23rd, 2019Update: Now 200,000 Reservations
200k
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2019
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I watched it live and it was definitely cringe inducing. I physically winced and mumbled, “Ouch, that’s not a good look, Elon.”
Knowing that most mainstream media coverage of Tesla is negative, my thoughts turned to how these outlets are going to have a field day with the incident. Endlessly playing it. Looping it.
And the memes…
The next day, my son asked my mother in law if she had heard about the new Tesla truck and she said, “Yes, the one where they threw a rock through the window!”
It was a large ball bearing, not a rock. And it didn’t go through the windows, plural (two windows were damaged after two different throws). But, close enough.
Hmm…
My mother in law knew about the Tesla truck, at some level, which seemed astonishing to me. My mother in law has no interest in electric vehicles, technology, Tesla, anything like that at all, but she knew about that cracked Tesla truck windows incident…
My eyes narrowed and I started scratching my chin…
Was the whole mess some sort of information operation?
No way. It couldn’t be. A marketing stunt?
No.
Maybe?
Well, I just saw this while looking through Reddit: Elon Musks had the armored windows fail on purpose to trick the internet into making memes and therefore creating free advertising for the cyber truck.
Is this a crazy theory?
Look at the reservations after less than two days:
“With no advertising & no paid endorsement”
But virtually all media running headlines about the failed demo.
One example, Reuters: Shattered Glass: Futuristic Design Questioned After Tesla Cybertruck Launch.
Did this lead more people to look at the truck who would have otherwise not looked at it? Despite the window demo mess, did some of those people pull out their wallets?
Sure, it’s only $100 to get in the queue, but what I’m trying to understand is, if the demo was so disastrous, why did 146,000 people pay $100 to express interest in purchasing roughly $8 billion worth of those trucks?
In less than two days.
For the lulz?
Or, did the Cybertruck’s shit-your-pants specs trump the deluge negative press everywhere?
Amazon Is Planning to Open Cashierless Supermarkets Next Year
November 23rd, 2019Via: Bloomberg:
Amazon.com Inc. is preparing to open Amazon Go supermarkets and pop-up stores, an expansion of the company’s cashierless ambitions that includes the possibility of licensing the technology to other retailers.
The new store formats and licensing initiative could launch as soon as the first quarter of 2020, according to a person familiar with the project. Amazon is testing a supermarket equipped with Go technology in a 10,400-square-foot retail space in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The Encyclosphere Is Coming
November 22nd, 2019Via: Larry Sanger:
We are fed up.
After ten years of domination by big social media—which might finally be in decline—we are tired of giant Silicon Valley corporations using us contemptuously. We still remember an Internet in which we charted our own destiny and owned our own data.
It’s not just social media. It’s Wikipedia, too. If you want to participate in the world’s largest encyclopedia, you must collaborate with a shadowy group of anonymous amateurs and paid shills on exactly one article per topic. If you’re new, you won’t be treated very nicely. If you don’t play their strange game, you’ll be summarily dismissed. Like the social media giants, Wikipedia has become an arrogant and controlling oligarchy.
Like Facebook, Wikipedia is also controlling its readers. It feeds them biased articles, exactly one per topic, does not let users give effective, independent feedback on articles (you’re forced to become a participant if you just want to give feedback) or to rate articles. They have, in a very real way, centralized epistemic authority in the hands of an anonymous mob. This is worse than Facebook. At least with Facebook, Congress can call Mark Zuckerberg to testify. There isn’t anyone who is responsible for Wikipedia’s content—certainly not Jimmy Wales. The situation is, in some ways, more dire than with Facebook, because you can’t effectively talk back to Wikipedia.
The old proverb tells us that knowledge is powerful. More specifically, authoritative statements of what is known on various subjects are powerful. How? Such statements can be used to influence elections, justify policies, and articulate controversial points of view—in effect to gain, wield, and build and consolidate power. The power to declare what is known is nearly the power to rule the world. No small group—no person, corporation, oligarchy, or cadre of insiders—should wield such power.
California Faces Decade of ‘Unique’ Wildfire Blackouts
November 22nd, 2019Via: Reuters:
California utility PG&E Corp has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade.
PG&E initially said outages would happen only a couple of times a year, but millions of Californians were hit by four massive shutdowns in October alone.
The outages started in June, growing in duration and scale, with the largest in state history occurring on Oct. 26, cutting electricity to around 2.8 million people over five days.
With six of the 10 most destructive fires in California history started by electrical equipment or power lines, PG&E says shutdowns are a needed measure during windstorms. The state’s largest utility filed for bankruptcy in January, citing $30 billion in civil liabilities from blazes, and says it cannot afford further penalties.
The company’s critics say Californians are paying for PG&E’s failure to upgrade infrastructure and want to see the company “harden” power systems, rather than close them down.
Has the United States ever seen anything like this?
Energy experts say the scale of California’s shutdowns appear unprecedented in the United States, where intentional outages usually occur at a power plant threatened by a hurricane or in a localized area ahead of a storm.
“It’s kind of unique to California,” said Glenn McGrath of the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Putin: Scientists Died Trying To Create Weapon That ‘Has No Equal In The World’
November 22nd, 2019It’s a missile with a nuclear propulsion system: 9M730 Burevestnik/Skyfall
Via: Daily Mail:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told widows of the five scientists who died in a nuclear explosion earlier this year that their husbands were working on ‘the most advanced and unmatched technical’ weaponry.
Putin’s comments came during a ceremony of state decorations at the Kremlin today where he awarded the deceased employees of Russia’s state nuclear company with the Order of Courage, posthumously.
…
On August 8, five employees of the Russia’s nuclear company, Rosatom, were blown up while testing a nuclear rocket propulsion system at the Nyonoska testing site in the White Sea. The blast caused a brief radiation spike in the nearby city of Severodvinsk.
Putin said that they made ‘an indispensable contribution to the strengthening of the Russian state.’
He expressed his condolences to the widowed but maintained that Russia would go on developing this type of advanced weaponry.
Tesla Unveils Cybertruck: Electric Pickup with Range Up to 500 Miles, Stainless Steel Body, Starting Price of $39,900
November 21st, 2019Update: Tesla Already Received 146,000 Cybertruck Pre-Orders Worth Over $8 Billion
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Update: Tesla Cybertruck Will Have Solar Roof Option to Add 15 Miles of Range Per Day
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Will people ignore how weird it looks in order to get specs that no other truck has?
Probably.
Via: Electrek:
After months of hype, Tesla has finally unveiled its Cybertruck electric pickup truck today in Los Angeles. The vehicle features up to 500 miles of range, a starting price of just $39,900 and much more.
…
Three versions of the Tesla Cybertruck are going to be available with different battery packs and drivetrain configurations.
The single motor RWD version will offer 250 miles of range.
A dual motor all-wheel-drive version will reach 300 miles of range and a tri-motor version will have 500 miles of range…
GM Announces Electric Pickup, Hours Ahead of Tesla’s Pickup Announcement
November 21st, 2019Via: Electrek:
Speaking at an investor conference today, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company’s first electric pickup truck will “go on sale” in “the fall of 2021.”
She said that she sees demand for electric pickup trucks:
“General Motors understands truck buyers and… people who are new coming into the truck market,”
The CEO made the announcement the same day that Tesla is unveiling its own electric pickup truck.
GM has been feeling pressure to electrify its pickup trucks, which represents most of its sales and its most profitable segment.
Its biggest competitor, Ford, already announced plans to launch an electric Ford F150 pickup.
Furthermore, Ford has also invested in Rivian, an EV startup that is bringing to market its own electric pickup truck, the Rivian R1T, next year.
