China To Establish $10 Trillion Economic Zone In Space [???]
November 4th, 2019Via: ZeroHedge:
According to the Global Times, China plans to establish an Earth-moon space economic zone by 2050, which is expected to generate $10 trillion worth of services per year. The zone will cover areas of space near Earth, the moon and in between.
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In other words, while the US contemplates a Green New Deal, China is set to counter with a “Space New Deal”, which would likely cost tens of trillions too.
Why Are So Many People Over 55 Going Bankrupt?
November 4th, 2019Via: MarketWatch:
One major factor behind the rise of these bankruptcies: medical debt. In fact, six out of 10 people 65 and older who file bankruptcy do so because they can’t afford to pay their enormous medical bills, Lawless says.
‘Starlink Is a Very Big Deal’
November 3rd, 2019This contains some techno-optimist glossolalia, but it’s the most informative piece I’ve found on Starlink so far.
Via: Casey Handmer’s Blog:
Starlink, SpaceX’s plan to serve internet via tens of thousands of satellites, is a staple in the space press, with articles appearing every week on the latest developments. The broad schema is clear and, thanks to filings with the FCC, a sufficiently well motivated individual (such as your humble servant) can deduce a great deal of detail.
Google Given Green Light for Toronto Smart City
November 2nd, 2019Via: BBC:
Sidewalk Labs’s plans to create a smart city in a disused area of Toronto can proceed but on a much smaller scale than it had wanted.
Any data the Google-affiliate collects there must be treated as a public asset.
Waterfront Toronto, the group charged with overseeing development of the area, voted unanimously for it to proceed, after imposing several conditions.
The project has proved controversial.
Sidewalk Labs had wanted to develop a 190-acre (0.7-sq-km) site but was given permission for just 12 acres. It had also wanted to create its own group to oversee the data collected by sensors around the city, which was also rejected.
The project will now move forward to a more formal evaluation and further public consultations. A final vote on whether to approve the project is set for March 2020.
Related: Google’s Burbclave in Toronto
Saudi Attacks on Yemen’s Farmers Are Pushing the Whole Country into Famine
November 2nd, 2019Via: Mint Press:
Almost immediately after March 2015, when the war began, the Saudi-led Coalition began targeting Yemen’s rural livelihood, bombing farms, food systems, markets, water treatment facilities, transportation infrastructure, and even agricultural extension offices. In urban areas, fishing boats and food processing and storage facilities were targeted.
Before the war began, over 70 percent of Yemen’s population lived in villages dispersed in the mountains and small towns with irregular, and at times torrential, summer rainfall. These rural residents relied on agriculture and animal husbandry and grew fruits and vegetables to feed their own families and to sell to markets. Yet that way of life has all but disappeared since the Saudi attacks began, undermining rural livelihoods, disrupting local food production, and forcing rural residents to flee to the city.
Now, Yemen’s nationwide level of household food insecurity hovers at over 70 percent. 50 percent of rural households and 20 percent of urban households are now food insecure. Almost one-third of Yemenis do not have enough food to satisfy basic nutritional needs. Underweight and stunted children have become a regular sight, especially amongst the holdouts in rural areas. Families that have fled to cities are often forced to beg or to pick through the trash for food scraps.
Ghislaine Maxwell Was a Guest at Jeff Bezos’s Secret Book Retreat
November 2nd, 2019Via: Vice:
Every fall, the elite of the literary world and Hollywood convene at a highly secretive writer’s retreat hosted by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and no one talks about it.
Not every Campfire attendee is a household name: Tech entrepreneurs and industry power brokers are also invited to rub shoulders with celebrities.
Now, Motherboard has learned that one of Campfire 2018’s attendees was Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who is alleged to have been instrumental in grooming young women into convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring. Reporting on Maxwell’s alleged role, via victim statements and court records, goes back to 2011.
Two Campfire 2018 attendees independently confirmed to Motherboard that Maxwell attended the exclusive retreat that year. One of the sources maintained that Maxwell had attended three Campfires including 2018, but that Maxwell was not an attendee at Campfire 2019 held in early October.
Portion of Keystone Pipeline Shut Down After 380,000-Gallon Oil Leak in North Dakota
November 2nd, 2019Via: USA Today:
A portion of the Keystone Pipeline in North Dakota was shut down this week after more than 380,000 gallons of oil leaked, the pipeline owner said in a statement.
Meanwhile, environmental groups argue that the spill and the pipeline’s volatility is why the separate Keystone XL pipeline should not be built.
Pipeline owner TC Energy said Thursday that an estimated 9,120 barrels of oil spilled near Edinburg, North Dakota, affecting 22,500 square feet of wetlands about an hour from the Canadian border.
The Race for Quantum Supremacy
November 2nd, 2019Via: Vice:
U.S. Debt Surpasses $23 Trillion for First Time
November 1st, 2019Via: The Hill:
The federal government’s outstanding public debt has surpassed $23 trillion for the first time in history, according to data from the Treasury Department released on Friday.
Growing budget deficits have added to the nation’s debt at a speedy rate since President Trump took office. The debt has grown some 16 percent since Trump’s inauguration, when it stood at $19.9 trillion. It passed $22 trillion for the first time just 10 months ago.
Of the $23 trillion figure, just under $17 trillion was in the category of debt held by the public, which is a more useful gauge of the debt the government has to pay down, and the number typically used in calculating the nation’s debt burden. The other $6 trillion comes from loans within government bodies.
Still, the $23 trillion figure marks a milestone.
“Reaching $23 trillion in debt on Halloween is a scary milestone for our economy and the next generation, but Washington shows no fear,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the fiscally conservative Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
“Piling on debt like this is especially unwise and unnecessary in a strong economy,” he added.
Britain Orders Immediate Moratorium on Fracking Due to Earth Tremor Concerns
November 1st, 2019Via: Reuters:
Britain will impose an immediate moratorium on fracking, the government announced on Saturday, saying the industry risked causing too much disruption to local communities through earth tremors.
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The decision follows a report on an incident at a site run by British energy company Cuadrilla near Blackpool, northern England where a 2.9-magnitude tremor shook houses in August.
