Facebook Said to Create Censorship Tool to Get Back Into China
November 22nd, 2016#fuckerberg
Via: New York Times:
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, has cultivated relationships with China’s leaders, including President Xi Jinping. He has paid multiple visits to the country to meet its top internet executives. He has made an effort to learn Mandarin.
Inside Facebook, the work to enter China runs far deeper.
The social network has quietly developed software to suppress posts from appearing in people’s news feeds in specific geographic areas, according to three current and former Facebook employees, who asked for anonymity because the tool is confidential. The feature was created to help Facebook get into China, a market where the social network has been blocked, these people said. Mr. Zuckerberg has supported and defended the effort, the people added.
Tesla Builds Advanced Microgrid on Ta’u, American Samoa
November 22nd, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in NZ.
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Via: Wired:
The island of Ta’u in American Samoa, more than 4,000 miles from the United States’ West Coast, now hosts a solar power and battery storage-enabled microgrid that can supply nearly 100 per cent of the island’s power needs from renewable energy.
The microgrid is made up of 1.4 megawatts of solar generation capacity from SolarCity and Tesla and six-megawatt hours of battery storage from 60 Tesla Powerpacks. The whole thing took just a year to implement.
Trump Won’t Pursue Charges Against Clinton
November 22nd, 2016Wow!
Via: New York Post:
President-elect Donald Trump won’t subject Hillary Clinton to a criminal inquiry — instead, he’ll help her heal, his spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Tesla Officially Opens in New Zealand
November 22nd, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand, but I have nothing to do with Tesla.
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If you have any interest in getting a Tesla Powerwall 2 in New Zealand, Tesla is taking names and numbers. Unlike other markets, Tesla didn’t provide an option to pre-order the Powerwall 2 in New Zealand, so we’re somewhere near the back of the queue, as usual.
The more interest, the sooner we’ll get them over here, and the sooner other storage companies will be forced to drop their prices.
Thousands of Green Cards Missing, Federal Officials Say
November 22nd, 2016Mmm hmm.
Via: KABC:
Thousands of green cards have gone missing, and it is causing concern for national security officials.
A new report by the Office of Inspector General Department of Homeland Security shows the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service is struggling to issue green cards in a proper manner.
The report said thousands of green cards have simply gone missing and warns that those documents could allow terrorists or criminals to stay in the country.
The audit was a follow-up to a March 2016 report that found hundreds of green cards had been sent to the wrong addresses.
It turned out the problem was far worse than originally thought because over the last three years, USCIS produced at least 19,000 cards that included incorrect information or were issued in duplicate.
The agency also received over 200,000 reports of cards potentially delivered to the wrong address, or not being delivered to applicants that were approved for them.
The majority of the mistakes made are partially due to “flawed design and functionality problems” in the agency’s Electronic Immigration System, also known as ELIS, the report added.
Police Fire Water Cannon at Dakota Pipeline Protesters in Freezing Weather
November 21st, 2016Via: Reuters:
Police fired tear gas and water at hundreds of protesters in the freezing North Dakota weather late Sunday and early Monday, in the latest violent clash over a pipeline project running through the state.
An estimated 400 protesters mounted the Backwater Bridge just north of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, and attempted to force their way past police in what the Morton County Sheriff’s Department described as an “ongoing riot.”
The $3.7 billion Dakota Access project has drawn steady opposition from activists since the summer, led by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose tribal lands are adjacent to the pipeline. Native American activists and environmentalists say the line threatens water resources and sacred tribal lands.
A joint statement from several activist groups said protesters Sunday were trying to remove burned vehicles blocking Backwater Bridge in order to restore access to the nearby Standing Rock Sioux encampments so emergency services and local traffic can move freely.
Police fired volleys of tear gas at the protesters to prevent them from crossing the bridge. Law enforcement also fired rubber bullets and sprayed protesters with water in temperatures that reached as low as 18 Fahrenheit (minus 8 Celsius) overnight.
Japanese Earthquake
November 21st, 2016Update: Tsunami Warnings Lifted
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UPDATE: COOLING AT FUKUSHIMA DAINI REACTOR 3 HAS RESUMED
Via: NHK – Live
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UPDATE: Miyagi Prefecture – Evacuate Immediately
Via: NHK – Live
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Update: One Week to Restore Power Before Dangerous Temperature Reached at Fukushima Daini
Via: NHK – Live
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UPDATE: COOLING AT FUKUSHIMA DAINI REACTOR 3 HAS STOPPED
Exact quote:
“Temperature will not rise to dangerous levels for a while.”
Via: NHK – Live
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Update: External Power Used for Cooling Damaged Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Not Affected
Via: NHK – Live
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Update: Fukushima Prefecture – Evacuate Immediately
Via: Japan Meteorological Agency:
Tsunami Warnings issued for the following coastal regions of Japan:
Evacuate immediately
FUKUSHIMA PREF.
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Via: NHK:
The magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan around 6 AM Japan Time on Tuesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a tsunami warning for the coastal areas of Fukushima.
The estimated height of tsunami is 3 meters.
U.S. Citizens Now Hold About $1.3 Trillion in Student Loan Debt
November 21st, 2016Via: Finance Geography:
The New York Fed’s second quarter numbers are out for 2016 and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for student loan debt. Officially, the nation owes $1.26 trillion in student loan debt. Realistically, we are probably over the $1.3 trillion mark when taking into account the fact that the Fall semester has just started and many Spring graduates are still in the grace period.
Just one year ago, student loan debt was at $1.19 trillion. About $70 billion worth of student loans have been added in the last 365 days.
Student loan debt has been the largest sector of non-mortgage debt since March 2010 and it seems to be growing at what might be an untenable pace. At the beginning of 2004, the nation owed about $260 billion in student loan debt and default rates were relatively low.
In the past 12 years, we have added a trillion dollars to that amount and gained about 4% in the overall college graduation rate. While an educated populous is a good thing, the number of those not making payments on their student loan debt as soared. Approximately 40% of those who owe money on student loan debts are not making any payments on them at all, either from defaults, forbearance, deferment, or being delinquent.
Trump’s Picks For AG & CIA Happy To Undermine Civil Liberties, Increase Surveillance
November 20th, 2016Via: TechDirt:
This is (unfortunately) not a huge surprise, but it appears that a Trump administration is going to be much worse for civil liberties and surveillance. Earlier today, Donald Trump named his choices to head the CIA — Rep. Mike Pompeo — and to be the next Attorney General — Senator Jeff Sessions — and both have terrible records on surveillance, civil liberties and whistleblowing. They also are problematic in other areas, but in the areas where we cover, it’s not looking good.
America Called Bullshit on the Cult of Clinton
November 20th, 2016Via: Reason:
If you want to see politics based on emotionalism over reason and a borderline-religious devotion to an iconic figure, forget the Trump Army; look instead to the Cult of Clinton.
Ever since Donald Trump won the presidential election, all eyes, and wringing hands, have been on the white blob who voted for him. These “loud, illiterate and credulous people,” as a sap at Salon brands them, think on an “emotional level.” Bill Moyers warned that ours is a “dark age of unreason,” in which “low information” folks are lining up behind “The Trump Emotion Machine.” Andrew Sullivan said Trump supporters relate to him as a “cult leader fused with the idea of the nation.”
What’s funny about this is not simply that it’s the biggest chattering-class hissy fit of the 21st century so far — and chattering-class hissy fits are always funny. It’s that whatever you think of Trump (I’m not a fan) or his supporters (I think they’re mostly normal, good people), the fact is they’ve got nothing on the Clinton cult when it comes to creepy, pious worship of a politician.
