China ‘Is the Only One in the Race’ to Make Electric Buses, Taxis and Trucks
December 3rd, 2018“Chinese makers produced 99% of electric buses deployed globally from 2014 to 2017.”
Via: Wall Street Journal:
A national project to replace millions of gasoline-fueled taxis, buses and trucks with new electric models is boosting China’s ambitions to lead the global shift to battery-powered transportation.
Signs of progress can already be found on American, as well as Chinese, roads in the form of electric buses and vans built by Chinese makers.
“China is the only one in the race; it’s all Chinese manufacturers,” said Sandra Retzer, the Beijing-based head of sustainable mobility at the German Agency for International Cooperation, which is working with the Chinese government to develop green transportation, referring to the commercial electric-vehicle market. “German cities are tendering for electric buses now, and there’s no German offer.”
U.S. Navy Admiral Scott Stearney Found Dead in Apparent Suicide
December 2nd, 2018Via: CBS:
Vice Adm. Scott Stearney, who oversaw U.S. naval forces in the Middle East, was found dead Saturday in his residence in Bahrain, officials said. Defense officials told CBS News they are calling it an “apparent suicide.”
Stearney was the commander of the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. Rear Adm. Paul Schlise, the deputy commander of Fifth Fleet, has assumed command, the Navy said in a statement.
“Scott Stearney was a decorated Naval warrior. He was a devoted husband and father, and he was a good friend to all,” the statement said.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Bahraini Ministry of Interior are investigating Stearney’s death, the Navy said, but foul play is not suspected.
France: “State of Insurrection” as Fuel Tax Riots Engulf Central Paris
December 1st, 2018There are many images at Daily Mail.
Via: Reuters:
Rioters ran amok across central Paris on Saturday, torching cars and buildings, looting shops, smashing windows and clashing with police in the worst unrest in more than a decade, posing a dire challenge to Emmanuel Macron’s presidency.
The authorities were caught off guard by the escalation in violence after two weeks of nationwide protests against fuel taxes and living costs, known as the “yellow vest” movement after fluorescent jackets kept in all vehicles in France.
In Paris, police said they had arrested almost 300 people while 110 were injured, including 20 members of the security forces. Police fired stun grenades, tear gas and water cannon at protesters at the top of the Champs-Elysees boulevard, at the Tuilleries Garden near the Louvre museum and other sites.
In some areas there was virtually no police presence at all, as groups of masked men roamed in the shadows of the capital’s fabled landmarks and through its fanciest shopping districts, smashing the windows of designer boutiques.
Open Thread: Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush Dead at 94
December 1st, 2018Where does one even start?
I was going to write, “Christmas comes early to the world,” and leave it at that, but when I saw what the Washington Post had up on the front page, I almost couldn’t believe it.
Most people have absolutely no idea what the Bush criminal dynasty has been up to over the last several decades, just like they wouldn’t recognize the special significance of the number 322 appearing in a piece about a dead member of Skull and Bones.
Mention any of it, Skull and Bones, Prescott Bush, Zapata Oil, Mena, the covert and illegal arming Iraq… How many people would you have to talk to before you found anyone who knew anything about any of this?
100?
1,000?
10,000?
I think that 322 at Operation Mockingbird Washington Post is them flipping us the bird and saying, “We got away with it. All of it.”
Strange Seismic Waves That Rippled Around World Leave Scientists Bewildered
November 29th, 2018Via: Independent:
Just before 9.30am on Sunday 11 November, a series of unusual seismic pulses rippled around the world almost undetected.
The waves rang for over 20 minutes, emanating about 15 miles off the shores of Mayotte – a tiny island in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Africa.
From here, they reverberated across Africa, setting off geological sensors in Zambia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
They crossed the Atlantic, and were picked up in Chile, New Zealand, Canada, and even Hawaii nearly 11,000 miles away, the National Geographic reports.
Despite their huge range, the waves were apparently not felt by anybody. However, one person monitoring the US Geological Survey’s live stream of seismogram displays did notice the unusual waveform and posted it to Twitter, sparking the interest of other geologists and earthquake enthusiasts.
Gender X [???]
November 29th, 2018I don’t watch any TV. Is this what TV is like now?
Via: Hedgehog:
Rivian R1T All-Electric Pickup Truck
November 29th, 2018I’ve mostly stopped posting about future electric vehicles (you can’t even shake a stick at all the announcements), but the Rivian R1T is particularly interesting.
Days before the Rivian R1T was officially announced, Elon Musk said that Tesla will be bringing their pickup to market much sooner than previously indicated. It’s easy to see why, if you look at what Rivian has just announced.
What’s happening with electrification and the other big players in the pickup truck sector?
With Ford, who wants to increasingly focus on milking truck profits, it could get ugly over there in a couple of years when Rivian and Tesla enter the pickup truck market. Ford only has a hybrid F-150 planned for 2020.
How about GM’s plans for an electric pickup? Maybe after another couple of decades. *chortle* A bit like fusion power plants. *snort*
My take on EVs has always been that performance and eventual cost savings will make them attractive options. Internal combustion vehicles simply can’t compete with electric models in terms of performance. Ask Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc. who all got it wrong, got their asses kicked by Tesla, EVEN IN GERMANY, and are now tripping over each other trying to catch up.
The same thing that happened to the smug German luxury brands is going to happen to pickups.
The electrification of the truck market is the next multibillion dollar opportunity that the traditional American automakers will fumble.
Ah well, maybe they’re planning to ask to be bailed out by the government again.
Via: Electrek:
Following the unveiling of the Rivian R1T all-electric pickup truck, we took a closer look at what is becoming one of the most anticipated EVs scheduled to come out in the next two years.
Here’s a ton of pictures, videos, and GIFs of the Rivian R1T, and why I ordered one.
As we already reported, the R1T’s specs are unbelievable.
It’s equipped with 4 electric motors, each a 147 kW power capacity at the wheel, while the total power output can be configured to different levels from 300 kW to 562 kW (input to gearbox).
The different power levels match different choices of battery packs, which are another impressive feature since they have the highest capacity of any other passenger electric vehicle out there: 105 kWh, 135 kWh, and 180 kWh.
Rivian says that it will translate to “230+ miles, 300+ miles, and 400+ miles” of range on a full charge.
They’re talking about a charge rate of up to 160 kW at fast-charging stations and an 11-kW onboard charger for level 2 charging.
Related:
Could Rivian Founder Become Elon Musk of Electric Pickups?
Sedans Aren’t Dead. American Sedans Are.
Chinese Government Gets Real Time Location Tracking Data On Electric Vehicles
November 29th, 2018Via: East Bay Times:
When Shan Junhua bought his white Tesla Model X, he knew it was a fast, beautiful car. What he didn’t know is that Tesla constantly sends information about the precise location of his car to the Chinese government.
Tesla is not alone. China has called upon all electric vehicle manufacturers in China to make the same kind of reports — potentially adding to the rich kit of surveillance tools available to the Chinese government as President Xi Jinping steps up the use of technology to track Chinese citizens.
“I didn’t know this,” said Shan. “Tesla could have it, but why do they transmit it to the government? Because this is about privacy.”
More than 200 manufacturers, including Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Mitsubishi and U.S.-listed electric vehicle startup NIO, transmit position information and dozens of other data points to government-backed monitoring centers, The Associated Press has found. Generally, it happens without car owners’ knowledge.
The automakers say they are merely complying with local laws, which apply only to alternative energy vehicles. Chinese officials say the data is used for analytics to improve public safety, facilitate industrial development and infrastructure planning, and to prevent fraud in subsidy programs.
But other countries that are major markets for electronic vehicles — the United States, Japan, across Europe — do not collect this kind of real-time data.
Former Federal Prosecutor Behind Jeffrey Epstein Deal Is Now Trump’s Secretary of Labor
November 28th, 2018Via: Miami Herald:
Facing a 53-page federal indictment, Epstein could have ended up in federal prison for the rest of his life.
But on the morning of the breakfast meeting, a deal was struck — an extraordinary plea agreement that would conceal the full extent of Epstein’s crimes and the number of people involved.
Not only would Epstein serve just 13 months in the county jail, but the deal — called a non-prosecution agreement — essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people who took part in Epstein’s sex crimes, according to a Miami Herald examination of thousands of emails, court documents and FBI records.
The pact required Epstein to plead guilty to two prostitution charges in state court. Epstein and four of his accomplices named in the agreement received immunity from all federal criminal charges. But even more unusual, the deal included wording that granted immunity to “any potential co-conspirators’’ who were also involved in Epstein’s crimes. These accomplices or participants were not identified in the agreement, leaving it open to interpretation whether it possibly referred to other influential people who were having sex with underage girls at Epstein’s various homes or on his plane.
As part of the arrangement, Acosta agreed, despite a federal law to the contrary, that the deal would be kept from the victims. As a result, the non-prosecution agreement was sealed until after it was approved by the judge, thereby averting any chance that the girls — or anyone else — might show up in court and try to derail it.
This is the story of how Epstein, bolstered by unlimited funds and represented by a powerhouse legal team, was able to manipulate the criminal justice system, and how his accusers, still traumatized by their pasts, believe they were betrayed by the very prosecutors who pledged to protect them.
“I don’t think anyone has been told the truth about what Jeffrey Epstein did,’’ said one of Epstein’s victims, Michelle Licata, now 30. “He ruined my life and a lot of girls’ lives. People need to know what he did and why he wasn’t prosecuted so it never happens again.”
Now President Trump’s secretary of labor, Acosta, 49, oversees a massive federal agency that provides oversight of the country’s labor laws, including human trafficking. He also has been on a list of possible replacements for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who resigned under pressure earlier this month.
Estimated Autism Rate in U.S. Is 1 in 40 Children
November 26th, 2018In other news, screen addicted babies.
Via: U.S. News:
An estimated 1 in 40 U.S. children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and many struggle to access treatment, according to a new study led by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.
Autism diagnoses have risen slightly in the last 20 years, and the figure cited in the new study – 1 in 40, or 1.5 million children – is higher than a previous government estimate. Yet the true scope of the condition remains unknown, according to the report, which was published in the medical journal Pediatrics and used data collected voluntarily from parents of more than 50,000 children ages 3 to 17 in 2016.
