Cummins and Hyundai Building All-Electric Excavator
October 31st, 2018Via: Electrek:
Electric propulsion is taking over almost every segment of transportation and now it’s even getting into heavy machinery.
Cummins and Hyundai partnered up to make a new small all-electric excavator. They unveiled the prototype this week.
D. S. Kim, Senior Executive Vice President & CTO at Hyundai Construction Equipment (HCE) announced the new product.
He expects small excavators are great candidates to be first heavy machinery to be electrified:
“As electric vehicles continue to expand their share in the automotive market, we are simultaneously seeing the electrification of commercial power systems being pursued by many as both an environmentally friendly and economically sustainable solution for construction equipment. HCE anticipates mini excavators, which operate in urban workplaces close to residential areas, will be a prime candidate to electrify to meet zero-emission and low noise requirements in the near future.”
VW and Ford in Talks on Self-Driving and Electric Vehicles
October 31st, 2018Via: Reuters:
Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co are in “exploratory talks” to jointly develop self-driving and electric vehicles in a far-reaching strategic alliance meant to save the companies billions of dollars, according to a person familiar with the matter.
1949 Mercury Coupe Goes Electric with a Tesla Battery Pack
October 31st, 2018Via: Electrek:
ICON, a restomod company based in Los Angeles, and Stealth EV, a company specializing in electric car conversions, unveiled a new EV conversion at SEMA today: a 1949 Mercury coupe with a Tesla battery pack.
They say that the 1949 Mercury EV Derelict was commissioned by a longtime client, who gave ICON the “go-ahead to push the boundaries of design and engineering.”
The concept of “resto-modding” involves restoring older vehicles while adding new technology to make them safer and more convenient.
In this case, ICON said that it “forensically disassembled the body, replaced all rubber, added insulation and sound-deadening products everywhere. It then reassembled the vehicle in a manner that tried to make it look like nothing had been touched. A robust 4-wheel-independent chassis was developed with Art Morrison Enterprises alongside Brembo brakes.”
They released several images of the result…
Nearly $6 Billion Belonging To Dead Libyan Dictator Gaddafi Has Gone Missing
October 31st, 2018Via: ZeroHedge:
Nearly nine months after Politico first reported that interest payments stemming from nearly $70 billion in frozen assets formerly belonging to the regime of deceased Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi had been paid to opaque accounts belonging to the Libyan Investment Authority, UN investigators are finally looking into where the money went. At last count, RT reported that interest payments generated by the assets had reached $5.7 billion. According to public broadcaster RTBF, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the money flows, the money may have gone to accounts controlled by Libyan militia groups that have been accused of human rights abuses.
U.S. Intel Budget Soars Under Trump
October 31st, 2018Draining the swamp?
Via: AFP:
US spending on intelligence has soared under President Donald Trump, figures released on Tuesday showed, as the government stepped up cyber warfare activities and boosted spying on North Korea, China and Russia.
Spending on civilian and military intelligence jumped by 11.6 percent to $81.5 billion in fiscal 2018, which ended on September 30, according to the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Spending for the National Intelligence Program, which spans some 16 agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, some defense operations and reconnaissance from space, rose to $59.4 billion from $54.6 billion in fiscal 2017.
The Military Intelligence Budget came in at $22.1 billion, up from $18.4 billion in fiscal 2017.
The Trump administration has sharply increased both military and intelligence outlays, spending more on personnel, equipment and operations.
Under Trump, the CIA has resumed paramilitary actions like drone strikes in conflict zones, and also expanded investments into human intelligence.
More Robots to Hit the Aisles at Schnucks Grocery Stores in St. Louis Area
October 30th, 2018Via: St. Louis Post Dispatch:
In at least 15 Schnuck Markets stores, the future is now.
Aisle-scanning retail inventory robots, known as Tally, will soon be wheeling around in a growing number of locations as the St. Louis area’s leading grocer expands its partnership with San Francisco firm Simbe Robotics.
The robot, which moves around on a Roomba-looking base, uses cameras and sensors to perform inventory checks and alert employees when an item needs restocking or if price tags don’t match advertisements.
Waymo Autonomous Cars Coming to California
October 30th, 2018Via: Wired:
The driverless cars cometh. Waymo just became the first company allowed to test fully self-driving cars—the kind with no carbon-based beings behind the wheel—in the state of California.
The outfit that started life as Google’s self-driving car project has been running driver-free cars in Arizona for almost a year, where the state testing rules are far more lax than in California, and where it plans to launch a commercial robo-taxi service by the end of the year. But securing the right to do the same in its home state is still a milestone, and evidence it can win over even comparatively wary regulators to the way of the robot.
To begin, the truly driverless cars will test only at up to 65 mph in the southern Bay Area, in Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Palo Alto. (Waymo and its parent company Alphabet are headquartered in Mountain View.) The company said it will inform local governments before expanding its tests any further. And though Waymo has clearly stated its intention to run its own driverless taxi service, the company’s first driver-free passengers will only be employees. Waymo did not say when it will open its cars to the wider California public.
U.S. to Deploy Over 5,200 Troops to Mexico Border
October 29th, 2018Via: Reuters:
The U.S. military will deploy over 5,200 troops, including armed soldiers, to bolster President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure the border with Mexico as a caravan of migrants treks toward the frontier, a senior U.S. general said on Monday.
General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, the head of U.S. Northern Command, said 800 U.S. troops were already en route to the Texas border and 5,200 would be headed to the southwest region by week’s end, far higher than the 800 to 1,000 initially forecast.
January 2018: Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Police and FBI Held Active Shooter Drill at Jewish Community Center (Blocks Away from Tree of Life Synagogue), Right Around the Time Bowers Joined Gab
October 28th, 2018January 2018: Active-Shooter Drill Planned at Squirrel Hill Community Center
Via: WPXI:
Updated: Jan 25, 2018 – 6:50 PM
Local and federal law enforcement will conduct an active-shooter drill Thursday night at a Pittsburgh community center.
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County police, as well as FBI personnel, will stage the scene at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill from 8 p.m. to midnight.
“These exercises help the community, first responders and other officials know what to expect and how to react to a major situation,” said Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich. “The exercise also provides an opportunity to enhance the emergency plan as needed.”
The public will see a large law enforcement presence at the center near the intersection of Forbes and Murray avenues. During the drill, Darlington Road will be closed from St. Edmund’s Way to Murray.
The drill will include apprehending a shooter, evacuations and treating victims on the scene. At least 50 volunteers from Squirrel Hill and the Jewish Community Center staff will participate in the exercise.
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Robert Bowers: Pittsburgh Shooting Suspect Was Avid Poster of Anti-Semitic Content on Gab
Via: CBS:
Screenshots from Bowers’ Gabe profile are still archived. Bowers joined Gab in January 2018, according to his profile, which said at the top of the page: “jews are the children of satan.”
More: @Roosh
Claim: Khashoggi Was Going to Expose Saudi Use of Chemical Weapons in Yemen
October 28th, 2018Via: Express:
Last night a close friend of Mr Khashoggi revealed that he was about to obtain “documentary evidence” proving clams that Saudi Arabia had used chemical weapons in its proxy war in Yemen.
“I met him a week before his death. He was unhappy and he was worried,“ said the middle eastern academic, who did not wish to be named.
“When I asked him why he was worried, he didn’t really want to reply, but eventually he told me he was getting proof that Saudi Arabia had used chemical weapons. He said he hoped he be getting documentary evidence.
“All I can tell you is that the next thing I heard, he was missing.”
