First Images of U.S. Troops Occupying Syria’s Oil Fields
November 4th, 2019Oil fields over here. Poppy fields over there.
Via: ZeroHedge:
The reality of American foreign policy all in one stunning image: regional Iraqi Kurdistan24 television has broadcast the first footage of the United States Army seizing and ‘protecting’ a Syrian oil field in the country’s northeast.
Uber Eats Delivery Drone
November 4th, 2019Via: TechCrunch:
Uber has unveiled more details about its plans for Eats delivery via drones. If all goes according to Uber’s plan, it will start flying its first drone model before the end of the year.
Uber’s design, which it unveiled at the Forbes 30 under 30 Summit today, is made to carry up to one meal for two people. Featuring rotating wings with six rotors, the vehicle can vertically take-off and land, and travel a maximum of eight minutes, including loading and unloading. The total flight range is 18 miles, with a round-trip delivery range of 12 miles.
As Uber previously said, the plan is not to use the drones for full delivery, but rather a portion of it. Once a customer orders food, the restaurant will prepare the meal and then load it onto a drone. That drone will then take off, fly and land at a pre-determined drop-off location.
French High School Students Will Learn About Bitcoin And Crypto [???]
November 4th, 2019Via: ZeroHedge:
France is about to introduce an educational module to its high school curriculum that covers Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies.
In June, the French Ministry of National Education amended its study plan to incorporate the world’s largest cryptocurrency. French educators are expected to teach an introductory course that will assist students in understanding the impact Bitcoin has on the French and global economies.
The ministry further provides teachers with three educational explainer videos that address questions such as “Is Bitcoin the currency of the future?”, “Can Bitcoin replace the Euro?” and “Do you have trust in your currency?”
According to the ministry’s outline, students will be required to compare Bitcoin with fiat currencies, which will eventually lead to basic knowledge about Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and their role in the traditional financial world.
The Next Shoe In The Farm Crisis Drops: Bankruptcies Soar 24%
November 4th, 2019Via: ZeroHedge:
The American Farm Bureau (AFB) warned Wednesday that farm bankruptcies are entering a parabolic move.
The farm crisis, as we’ve pointed out, is only accelerating and will likely be on par with the farm disaster that was seen in the early 1980s.
President Trump’s farm bailouts, given to farmers earlier this year, appears to be failing at this moment in time, as a tsunami in farm bankruptcies is sweeping across the country.
With record-high debt, collapsing farm income, and depressed commodity prices, US farmers are dropping like flies as there’s no end in sight in the 15-month long trade war.
AFB said farm bankruptcies for the 12 months ending in September, totaled an astonishing 580 filings, up 24% YoY.
China To Establish $10 Trillion Economic Zone In Space [???]
November 4th, 2019Via: ZeroHedge:
According to the Global Times, China plans to establish an Earth-moon space economic zone by 2050, which is expected to generate $10 trillion worth of services per year. The zone will cover areas of space near Earth, the moon and in between.
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In other words, while the US contemplates a Green New Deal, China is set to counter with a “Space New Deal”, which would likely cost tens of trillions too.
Why Are So Many People Over 55 Going Bankrupt?
November 4th, 2019Via: MarketWatch:
One major factor behind the rise of these bankruptcies: medical debt. In fact, six out of 10 people 65 and older who file bankruptcy do so because they can’t afford to pay their enormous medical bills, Lawless says.
‘Starlink Is a Very Big Deal’
November 3rd, 2019This contains some techno-optimist glossolalia, but it’s the most informative piece I’ve found on Starlink so far.
Via: Casey Handmer’s Blog:
Starlink, SpaceX’s plan to serve internet via tens of thousands of satellites, is a staple in the space press, with articles appearing every week on the latest developments. The broad schema is clear and, thanks to filings with the FCC, a sufficiently well motivated individual (such as your humble servant) can deduce a great deal of detail.
Google Given Green Light for Toronto Smart City
November 2nd, 2019Via: BBC:
Sidewalk Labs’s plans to create a smart city in a disused area of Toronto can proceed but on a much smaller scale than it had wanted.
Any data the Google-affiliate collects there must be treated as a public asset.
Waterfront Toronto, the group charged with overseeing development of the area, voted unanimously for it to proceed, after imposing several conditions.
The project has proved controversial.
Sidewalk Labs had wanted to develop a 190-acre (0.7-sq-km) site but was given permission for just 12 acres. It had also wanted to create its own group to oversee the data collected by sensors around the city, which was also rejected.
The project will now move forward to a more formal evaluation and further public consultations. A final vote on whether to approve the project is set for March 2020.
Related: Google’s Burbclave in Toronto
Saudi Attacks on Yemen’s Farmers Are Pushing the Whole Country into Famine
November 2nd, 2019Via: Mint Press:
Almost immediately after March 2015, when the war began, the Saudi-led Coalition began targeting Yemen’s rural livelihood, bombing farms, food systems, markets, water treatment facilities, transportation infrastructure, and even agricultural extension offices. In urban areas, fishing boats and food processing and storage facilities were targeted.
Before the war began, over 70 percent of Yemen’s population lived in villages dispersed in the mountains and small towns with irregular, and at times torrential, summer rainfall. These rural residents relied on agriculture and animal husbandry and grew fruits and vegetables to feed their own families and to sell to markets. Yet that way of life has all but disappeared since the Saudi attacks began, undermining rural livelihoods, disrupting local food production, and forcing rural residents to flee to the city.
Now, Yemen’s nationwide level of household food insecurity hovers at over 70 percent. 50 percent of rural households and 20 percent of urban households are now food insecure. Almost one-third of Yemenis do not have enough food to satisfy basic nutritional needs. Underweight and stunted children have become a regular sight, especially amongst the holdouts in rural areas. Families that have fled to cities are often forced to beg or to pick through the trash for food scraps.
Ghislaine Maxwell Was a Guest at Jeff Bezos’s Secret Book Retreat
November 2nd, 2019Via: Vice:
Every fall, the elite of the literary world and Hollywood convene at a highly secretive writer’s retreat hosted by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and no one talks about it.
Not every Campfire attendee is a household name: Tech entrepreneurs and industry power brokers are also invited to rub shoulders with celebrities.
Now, Motherboard has learned that one of Campfire 2018’s attendees was Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who is alleged to have been instrumental in grooming young women into convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring. Reporting on Maxwell’s alleged role, via victim statements and court records, goes back to 2011.
Two Campfire 2018 attendees independently confirmed to Motherboard that Maxwell attended the exclusive retreat that year. One of the sources maintained that Maxwell had attended three Campfires including 2018, but that Maxwell was not an attendee at Campfire 2019 held in early October.
