Sunday, January 15
Saturday, January 14
Tik Tok Banned In Kentucky
WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Kentucky is joining more than 20 U.S. states in banning the popular video app TikTok on government devices citing cybersecurity concerns.
The state said it had updated its employee handbook to bar state employees from using government-managed devices to access the Chinese-owned app "other than for a law enforcement purpose." On Thursday, the governors of Wisconsin and North Carolina signed orders banning TikTok on government devices. Ohio, New Jersey and Arkansas also took similar actions earlier this week.
Some states have gone farther than targeting TikTok. New Jersey and Wisconsin for example also banned vendors, products and services from other Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies, Hikvision (002415.SZ), Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) - the owner of WeChat, ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) as well as Russian-based Kaspersky Lab. READ MORE...
Is Fate simply Fate or Is It Intentional?
For me, I see the Democrats as LYING all the time and I see the Republicans as DOING NOTHINg all the time... both behaviors are equally as bad.
While going GREEN does in fact make sense, to save the planet more or less, it is foolish to jump there all at one time... the move have to be gradually while not too slow that it accomplishes nothing.
However, most of the rest of the world, does not give a shit about going GREEN and will be spending very little, if any, of their revenues in an feeble attempt to go there... however, these countries may invest in electric cars down the road, but they will only be available to the wealthy.
Russia and China will look into fusion generators for spacecraft but not necessarily for domestic consumption, so it will only have military applications, so that they can get a head start on outer space which is coming sooner than later.
In the meantime, the USA faces the onslaught of illegal immigration, illegal drugs, crime and violence, and inflation which will change the complexity of the country forever. Even the Democrats will cut back on their spending when they realize inflation is not decreasing over time.
Slow economic growth will put the USA in a subordinate position among the other nations of the world which will have negative implications for years... however, those negative implication will cause the rapid growth of robots to do the work of humans in an effort to reduce cost. The initial cost of robots will be expensed out over 20-30 years so that the annual cost will be minimal... and a reduction of costs will ensue.
However, nothing has been mention about the military and national defense should Russia and China decide that the USA is open for exploitation...
Stranger things have happened in the country... especially, when we never imagined that a day like 9/11 would ever happen... are we still that naive?
Tesla Turns Up The Heat
Jan 13 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has slashed prices globally on its electric vehicles by as much as 20%, extending an aggressive discounting effort and challenging rivals after missing Wall Street delivery estimates for 2022.
The move marks a reversal from the automaker's strategy over the last two years when new vehicle orders exceeded supply. It comes after CEO Elon Musk warned that the prospect of recession and higher interest rates meant it could lower prices to sustain growth at the expense of profit.
Musk acknowledged last year that prices had become "embarrassingly high" and could hurt demand. Shares were down 2.6% on Friday, following the stock's worst year since its inception due to delivery issues and growing competition.
Tesla lowered prices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, following a series of cuts last week in Asia, in what analysts saw as a clear shot at both smaller rivals that have been bleeding cash and legacy automakers aggressively ramping up electric vehicle production. READ MORE...
Friday, January 13
TIK TOK Fined in France
TikTok is the latest tech giant to be schooled by France’s data protection watchdog for breaking rules on cookie consent.
The €5 million penalty announced today by the CNIL relates to a cookie consent flow TikTok had used on its website (tiktok.com) until early last year — in which the regulator found it was not as easy for users to refuse cookies as to accept them — so it was essentially manipulating consent by making it easier for site visitors to accept its tracking than to opt out.
This was the case when the watchdog checked in on TikTok’s process, in June 2021, until the implementation of a “Refuse all” button on the site in February 2022 — which appears to have resolved the matter. (And may explain the relatively small fine levied in this case, along with the number of users and minors affected — as well as the enforcement relating only to its website, not its mobile app.)
Tracking cookies are typically used to serve behavioral advertising but can also be used for other site activity, such as analytics.
“During the check carried out in June 2021, the CNIL noted that while the companies TikTok United Kingdom and TikTok Ireland did offer a button allowing cookies to be accepted immediately, they did not put in place an equivalent solution (button or other) to allow the Internet user to refuse their deposit just as easily. Several clicks were necessary to refuse all cookies, against only one to accept them,” the watchdog notes in a press release [translated from French with machine translation].
“The Restricted Committee considered that making the refusal mechanism more complex actually amounts to discouraging users from refusing cookies and encouraging them to favor the ease of the “Accept all” button,” it added, saying it found TikTok had therefore breached a legal requirement for freedom of consent — a violation of Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act “since it was not as simple to refuse cookies as to accept them”.
In addition, the CNIL found that TikTok had not informed users “in a sufficiently precise manner” of the purposes of the cookies — both on the information banner presented at the first level of the cookie consent and within the framework of the “choice interface” that was accessible after clicking on a link presented in the banner. Hence finding several breaches of Article 82.
Friday the Thirteenth
So today is another Fridaty 13th and all we have to do is point our noses and eyes to our nation's capital and we'll see enough crazy shit to last us a lifetime.
FOX News has their camera crews down at the border in Texas, filming all the illegal immigrants coming across into this country and CNN, CBS, ABC, & NBC report nothing, so many people think there is not crisis. WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH?
We have over 6% inflation and the Biden administration says the economy is healthy and if there is a problem then it was caused by COVID, Russia, or Trump. WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH?
Crime and violence is running wild in almost all Democratic managed large cities and those Democratic Mayors there is no problems in their cities, in fact, crime and violence are down. WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH?
President Biden just got caught for doing the same thing with classified documents that Trump did, and knew this before the mid term elections but only released the information this week. WHY?
And what about all those TWITTER FILES that Musk released? It pretty much proves the Democrats were trying to censor information. DO YOU THINK ANYTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM?
that was a rhetorical question...
Migrants Can Use Moblle App to Gain Entry in USA
WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border can now use a mobile app to schedule a time to approach a land port of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed on Thursday, a move intended to reduce unauthorized crossings but which has sparked concerns over privacy and access.
The app, called CBP One, is available in English and Spanish and will allow migrants in Central and Northern Mexico who upload biographical information and a photo to request an appointment at one of eight ports in Texas, Arizona and California, according to a fact sheet.
The administration had announced it would expand its use of CBP One, giving asylum seekers direct access to enter their information as a pre-screening step before an appointment. Launched in 2020, the app has previously been used to allow people crossing legally at land ports of entry to submit their information beforehand and for non-governmental organizations to request humanitarian entry for certain migrants.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration touts the app as a more regulated, potentially quicker alternative to crossing the border. But advocates worry asylum seekers will be required to submit personal information without being guaranteed entry and that some may not have access to a cell phone or internet.
The app rollout comes after Biden last week announced his administration would expand COVID-era "Title 42" restrictions to quickly expel Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border back to Mexico while opening up legal pathways for those who have U.S. sponsors and enter by air.
Biden, a Democrat who intends to seek re-election in 2024, has been criticized by Republicans for what they consider permissive border policies amid record crossings. READ MORE...
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration touts the app as a more regulated, potentially quicker alternative to crossing the border. But advocates worry asylum seekers will be required to submit personal information without being guaranteed entry and that some may not have access to a cell phone or internet.
The app rollout comes after Biden last week announced his administration would expand COVID-era "Title 42" restrictions to quickly expel Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border back to Mexico while opening up legal pathways for those who have U.S. sponsors and enter by air.
Biden, a Democrat who intends to seek re-election in 2024, has been criticized by Republicans for what they consider permissive border policies amid record crossings. READ MORE...
Thursday, January 12
Anddroid Phones to get Statellite Connectivity
A new partnership between the satellite phone firm Iridium and chip giant Qualcomm will bring satellite connectivity to premium Android smartphones later in the year.It means that in places where there is no mobile coverage, handsets can connect with passing satellites to send and receive messages.
Qualcomm's chips are found in many Android-powered smartphones.
Apple announced a satellite feature for the iPhone 14 in September 2022.The service is currently only available for sending and receiving basic text messages in an emergency.
British smartphone maker Bullitt was the first to launch its own satellite service, beating Apple to the post. It is also for emergency use, and will be available in selected areas when first rolled out. The new partnership will make the same service accessible to millions more smartphone users, without tying them to a particular brand - but it will be down to the manufacturer to enable it.
Iridium is the original satellite phone system, sending its first satellite in to orbit in 1997. It completed a refresh of its network of 75 spacecraft in 2019. The satellites cover the entire globe and fly in low orbit, around 485 miles (780km) above the Earth, and groups of them can communicate with each other, passing data between them.
Qualcomm said that at first the new feature, called Snapdragon Satellite, will only be incorporated into its premium chips so is unlikely to appear in budget devices. But it will eventually be rolled out to tablets, laptops and even vehicles, and also become a service that is not restricted to emergency communication - although there is likely to be a fee for this.
Satellite connectivity is broadly considered to be the next frontier for mobile phones because it tackles the problem of "not-spots" - areas where there is no existing coverage. These tend to be more common in rural or remote places. It has already been successfully deployed to provide broadband coverage by services such as Elon Musk's Starlink.
Satellite broadband is fast and generally reliable, but more expensive than cable or fibre connections. Use of the the feature will be subject to local government regulations, as countries including India and China ban the use of satellite phones.
Solar Farms Out At Sea
Indonesia is a nation of more than 10,000 islands, so supplying the whole country with electricity is a huge challenge. More than a million people are not connected to the electricity grid at all.
"Those people who don't have electricity are living on remote islands, so in this situation it's hard to connect a cable to them and it's hard to install other expensive solutions such as wind turbines," says Luofeng Huang, a lecturer in mechanical engineering at Cranfield University.
Solar power is one option to provide those islands with energy. It has become much cheaper in recent decades - the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that it is becoming the cheapest option for new electricity power plants.
But solar farms take up lots of space - space that might be better used for housing, farming and business. So scientists and engineers are working on ways to install solar panels on the ocean surface, providing power to those living onshore nearby.
"Floating solar is very convenient because it can just be put on top of the water, and if you need more electricity you can put on more solar panels," says Mr Huang. Floating solar is already in use at a number of sites around the world, but on lakes, rather than the sea. READ MORE...
What May Happen
First of all, while the GOP has the majority in the House, they do not control the Senate nor do they control the Whitehouse... THEREFORE, very little if anything will get accomplished over the next two years.
Second, the GOP majority in the House will be holding hearings on all kinds of stuff that the Democrats have tried to HIDE, and the best that will be accomplished there will be convincing the mainstream media to publish any of it... My guess is that they will ignore most of it, and downplay the rest, always drawing back to the terrible days of Trump.
Third, inflation ain't going anywhere and if anything, it will get worse before it gets better... this means get ready to pay higher and higher prices for all the shit that you think you need and cannot do without.
Fourth, illegal immigration will continue to increase over the next two years, regardless of the pressure that the GOP led House tries to place on the Senate and the Whitehouse... however, it will take a couple of years before some of the UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES of this illegal immigration begin to play out. Unintended consequences ALWAYS bite people in the ass harder than they anticipate.
Fifth, while the USA is playing around with the concept of going green by destroying oil and gas production in favor of wind and solar, the rest of the world is giving us the middle finger because they ain't doing shit to save the planet and they won't do shit, because it will hurt their economies.
Sixth, by the time Biden leaves office in 2024, Robots will be taking jobs away big time in the USA as they are already in the far east. Businesses can cut labor cost long term by replacing workers with robots and 2024 will be the year that we really start to see this play out. Question: How will workers pay their bills if their jobs are replaced by robots?
Seventh, our education system K-12 will continue to worsen because all our PhD Educators think that K-12 should prepare students to go to college rather than prepare them to go to work. Not all jobs will be college graduate jobs unfortunately. Educators will not be able to identify with students as they force them to make high marks on certified tests and not teach them to RETAIN KNOWLEDGE.
Eighth, as the Dems continue to put money into social programs and green programs and not increase money to the military, the USA will end up with an obsolete military force in the next two years, not to mention a piss poor space program. Believe it or not, CHINA is doing the exact opposite with their space and military programs. Question: What do you think they know that we do not?
Nineth, racism will worsen in the USA and the Dems try to push their equality and equity programs. What these Dems fail to realize is that not everyone is handsome or attractive. Not everyone is gifted athletically, musically, artistically, or mentally... and, to try to create equity is going to be like spitting in the wind and it is going to piss a lot of people off.
Tenth, the frigging BILLIONAIRES will continue to get wealthier and wealthier as prices increase and people continue to buy shit that they don't really need, but TV commercials have convinced them they need. That greed will continue to destroy the middle class and the wealthy are laughing at us because we are so stupid. If we could control our greed, they could not increase their wealth.
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