China Plans to Launch ‘Artificial Moon’ Satellite by 2020
October 19th, 2018Via: Asia Times:
Officials in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, have unveiled a science fiction-like plan to launch what’s known as an illumination satellite, or “artificial moon,” in two years.
Local newspapers reported that the illumination satellite would be designed to complement the moon at night, with its own brightness eight times that of the earth’s natural satellite, and “bright enough to replace street lights in the city.”
X-37B Military Space Plane Wings Past 400 Days on Latest Mystery Mission
October 19th, 2018Via: space.com:
The latest mystery mission of the U.S. Air Force’s robotic X-37B space plane has now passed the 400-day mark.
This mission — known as Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-5) — was rocketed into Earth orbit on Sept. 7, 2017, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The uncrewed space plane is carrying out secretive duties during the X-37B program’s fifth flight.
Microplastics Found in 90 Percent of Table Salt
October 19th, 2018Via: National Geographic:
Microplastics were found in sea salt several years ago. But how extensively plastic bits are spread throughout the most commonly used seasoning remained unclear. Now, new research shows microplastics in 90 percent of the table salt brands sampled worldwide.
Of 39 salt brands tested, 36 had microplastics in them, according to a new analysis by researchers in South Korea and Greenpeace East Asia. Using prior salt studies, this new effort is the first of its scale to look at the geographical spread of microplastics in table salt and their correlation to where plastic pollution is found in the environment.
Mexican Town Practically Eliminated Crime by Throwing Out Politicians and the Police
October 19th, 2018Via: Al Jazeera:
Trump Threatens to Use Military to Shut Southern U.S. Border
October 18th, 2018Via: Reuters:
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military and close the southern U.S. border on Thursday as more Hondurans and Salvadorans joined thousands of migrants in Guatemala headed north.
“I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught – and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Several thousand Honduran migrants traveled this week through Guatemala headed to Mexico, with some hoping to cross into the United States to escape violence and poverty in Central America.
China May Have $5.8 Trillion in Hidden Debt With ‘Titanic’ Risks
October 17th, 2018Via: Bloomberg:
China’s local governments may have accumulated 40 trillion yuan ($5.8 trillion) of off-balance sheet debt, or even more, suggesting further defaults are in store, according to S&P Global Ratings.
“The potential amount of debt is an iceberg with titanic credit risks,” S&P credit analysts led by Gloria Lu wrote in a report Tuesday. Much of the build-up relates to local government financing vehicles, which don’t necessarily have the full financial backing of local governments themselves.
Tesla Model 3 Drive System Designed to Last for Over One Million Miles
October 16th, 2018Via: Electrek:
Tesla says that the Model 3 drive system is designed and validated for over one million miles of range.
Today, the automaker released impressive pictures of Model 3 drive units after testing, which Elon Musk says “drove 1M miles”.
To The Stars Academy $37 Million “Deficit”
October 15th, 2018Take Off Your Pants and Jacket… and bend over:
If we’re fucked up, you’re to blame
Via: Ars Technica:
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company has incurred losses from operations and has an accumulated deficit at June 30, 2018 of $37,432,000. These factors raise doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Related: Tom Delonge Asking for People to Invest in His UFO PSYOP
Smart Home Surveillance: Governments Tell Google’s Nest To Hand Over Data 300 Times
October 15th, 2018Shocker.
Via: Forbes:
Anyone pumped for this week’s launch of Google’s Home Hub might want to temper their excitement. A smart home is a surveilled home. That’s been the concern of privacy activists since citizens started lighting up their abodes with so-called “smart” tech in recent years.
Take Google’s current smart home division, Nest Labs. It’s been told to hand over data on 300 separate occasions since 2015.
How Many Households Qualify as Middle Class?
October 15th, 2018Via: Of Two Minds:
By the standards of previous generations, the middle class has been stripmined of income, assets and purchasing power.
What does it take to be middle class nowadays? Defining the middle class is a parlor game, with most of the punditry referring to income brackets as the defining factor.
People tend to self-report that they belong to the middle class based on income, but income is not the key metric: 12 other factors are more telling measures of middle class membership than income.
