CNN Town Hall: Stick to the Script
February 23rd, 2018Via: Real Clear Politics:
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor Colton Haab appeared on FOX News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight to talk about his saga with CNN and how they “scripted” a question for him to use at Wednesday night’s town hall event hosted by the network and moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Haab, a JROTC member who helped shepherd students to safety, was approached by the network to ask a question at the town hall. Haab showed CNN what he wanted to say but said Carrie Stevenson, an executive producer at CNN, ultimately rejected it and instead after several conversations “scripted” a question for him.
“CNN had originally asked me to write a speech and questions and it ended up being all scripted,” Haab said to a local news outlet Wednesday night.
…
Haab told Carlson he wanted to go “speak [his] part” and “open eyes” to a few things he thought could make the situation better. Haab said the network was dishonest and that is why he decided not to attend. He also said he was directed to “stick to the script.”
“She had actually said that over the phone that I needed to stick to the script,” Haab said of the CNN producer.
SpinLaunch
February 23rd, 2018I just hope there’s plenty of 4K footage of the launch centrifuge facility when it experiences catastrophic failure.
Via: TechCrunch:
What if instead of blasting cargo into space on a rocket, we could fling it into space using a catapult? That’s the big, possibly crazy, possibly genius idea behind SpinLaunch. It was secretly founded in 2014 by Jonathan Yaney, who built solar-powered drone startup Titan Aerospace and sold it to Google. Now TechCrunch has learned from three sources that SpinLaunch is raising a massive $30 million Series A to develop its catapult technology. And we’ve scored an interview with the founder after four years in stealth.
Nissan to Begin Easy Ride Trial in Japan
February 22nd, 2018Via: Reuters:
Facing a future in which self-driving cars may curb vehicle ownership, Nissan Motor Co is taking its first steps to becoming an operator of autonomous transportation services, hoping to break into a segment set to be dominated by Uber Technologies and other technology firms.
In partnership with Japanese mobile gaming platform operator DeNA Co, the automaker will begin public field tests of its Easy Ride service in Yokohama next month, becoming among the first major automakers anywhere to test ride-hailing software developed in-house, using its own fleet of self-driving electric cars.
How General Electric Gambled on Fossil Fuel Power, and Lost
February 22nd, 2018Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand.
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Via: Reuters:
Rather than rising, GE Power’s profit fell 45 percent last year, forcing GE to slash its overall profit outlook and cut its dividend for only the second time since the Great Depression. Its shares have plunged more than 50 percent since the March forecast. Former CEO Jeff Immelt was replaced in August.
John Flannery, GE’s new chief executive, blamed the forecast, along with poor management and other factors, for the power business meltdown. In January, he warned the pain would continue this year “and potentially be worse than expected.”
What GE has not emphasized is that wind and solar now cost substantially less than gas and other conventional energy sources – and have for years, according to a widely respected energy cost report Lazard has published since 2008.
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But according to more than a dozen former executives, rivals and energy experts interviewed by Reuters, GE’s reading of the market left the company deeply vulnerable to the sudden drop in demand for conventional power plants, as sales of wind and solar surged.
“There are just fewer gas turbines being bought,” one former GE executive said. “The market is not flat, it’s down.”
Ex-CIA Director: U.S. Meddles in Foreign Elections for a ‘Very Good Cause’
February 21st, 2018Via: The Hill:
Following a federal indictment of Russians accused of meddling in the U.S election, a former CIA director on Friday said the U.S. “probably” meddles in other countries’ elections, as well.
The Russian embassy flagged his comments.
When asked whether the U.S. interferes in other countries’ elections, James Woolsey said, “Well, only for a very good cause in the interests of democracy.”
“Oh, probably, but it was for the good of the system in order to avoid communists taking over,” he told Laura Ingraham on her Fox News show on Friday night.
Woolsey served as CIA director under former President Clinton.
The Car of the Future Will Sell Your Data
February 20th, 2018No.
Via: Bloomberg:
Picture this: You’re driving home from work, contemplating what to make for dinner, and as you idle at a red light near your neighborhood pizzeria, an ad offering $5 off a pepperoni pie pops up on your dashboard screen.
Are you annoyed that your car’s trying to sell you something, or pleasantly persuaded? Telenav Inc., a company developing in-car advertising software, is betting you won’t mind much. Car companies—looking to earn some extra money—hope so, too.
South Korean Cryptocurrency Regulator Found Dead at Home
February 20th, 2018Via: Wall Street Journal:
A South Korean official who guided Seoul’s regulatory clampdown on cryptocurrencies was found dead on Sunday, according to a government spokesman.
Jung Ki-joon, 52, was head of economic policy at the Office for Government Policy Coordination. He helped coordinate efforts to create new legislation aimed at suppressing cryptocurrency speculation and illicit activity, the spokesman said.
Semiofficial news agency Yonhap reported that Mr. Jung was presumed to have suffered a heart attack and police had opened an investigation into the cause of death. Yonhap also reported that Mr. Jung was found at home. The government spokesman said later that “he died from some unknown cause. He passed away while he was sleeping and [his] heart [had] already stopped beating when he was found dead.”
Mr. Jung’s colleagues said he had been under heavy stress in recent months as South Korea worked to tackle cryptocurrency speculation, Yonhap reported.
Academic Investigating Chinese Influence Peddling in New Zealand Had Break-Ins at Home and Work
February 19th, 2018Via: New Zealand Herald:
A New Zealand academic who made international waves researching China’s international influence campaigns has linked a number of recent break-ins to her work.
University of Canterbury professor Anne-Marie Brady, speaking today from Christchurch to the Australian Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee in Canberra, outlined three recent events which caused her concern.
“I had a break-in in my office last December. I received a warning letter, this week, that I was about to be attacked. And yesterday I had a break-in at my house,” she said.
She said this weeks’ burglary at her Upper Riccarton home was particularly suspicious.
“I had three laptops – including one used for work – stolen. And phones. [Other] valuables weren’t taken. Police are now investigating that.”
Brady also said her employer at Canterbury University had been pressured following earlier work on China’s Antarctic policy and – following a recent visit to China – sources she had talked to were subjected to visits from authorities.
“People I’ve associated with in China, just last year, were questioned by the Chinese Ministry of State Security about their association with me.”
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Her outspokenness became extremely public after she published in September a “Magic Weapons” paper using New Zealand as a case study in explaining China’s extra-state exertion of influence.
The paper highlighted a river of campaign donations to governing parties, and how a cluster of former senior politicians – including former prime ministers and mayors – and family members of current government ministers had been appointed to boards of state-owned Chinese banks, companies and think tanks.
More: ‘Magic Weapons’: China’s Network of Influence in New Zealand
The Secret on the Ocean Floor
February 19th, 2018Via: BBC:
In the summer of 1974, a large and highly unusual ship set sail from Long Beach in California.
It was heading for the middle of the Pacific where its owners boasted it would herald a revolutionary new industry beneath the waves.
Equipped with a towering rig and the latest in drilling gear, the vessel was designed to reach down through the deep, dark waters to a source of incredible wealth lying on the ocean floor.
It was billed as the boldest step so far in a long-held dream of opening a new frontier in mining, one that would see valuable metals extracted from the rocks of the seabed.
But amid all the excited public relations, there was one small hitch – the whole expedition was a lie.
This was a Cold War deception on a staggering scale, but one which also left a legacy that has profound implications nearly half a century later.
L.A. County’s Homeless Problem Is Worsening Despite Billions from Tax Measures
February 19th, 2018Build the sprawling San Angeles favelas with autonomous construction drones!
No?
Via: Los Angeles Times:
Los Angeles County’s homeless population is increasing faster than the supply of new housing, even with the addition of thousands of beds in the last two years and millions of dollars beginning to flow in from two ballot measures targeting the crisis, according to a long-awaited report by the region’s homelessness agency.
The report showed that officials two years ago far underestimated how much new housing would be needed when they asked city and county voters to approve the tax measures.
As a result, a $73-million annual shortfall in funding for the county’s comprehensive homelessness program could more than triple, a Times analysis of the report found.
Providing permanent housing for the county’s chronically homeless population would require more than 20,000 new units, about 5,000 more than projected two years ago, the report said.
