Saturday, January 11, 2020

11 January - Cryptogon

Surveillance Plane Joins Intensifying Hunt For Mystery Drones Over Colorado And Nebraska

January 11th, 2020

Via: The Drive:
The War Zone was among the first to report back in late December 2019 that eyewitnesses throughout northeastern Colorado had begun seeing formations of large drones flying at night in complex grid-like patterns over rural areas and farmland. Since then, the sightings have multiplied and the drones have begun appearing in neighboring Nebraska, as well. 

U.S. Alcohol Related Deaths Doubled Over 20 Years

Surveillance Video from Jeffrey Epstein’s First Apparent Suicide Attempt ‘No Longer Exists’

January 10th, 2020
Via: NBC:
The surveillance video taken from outside Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell on the day of his first apparent suicide attempt has been permanently deleted, federal prosecutors said Thursday

The Case Against Reality – Prof. Donald Hoffman on Conscious Agent Theory

January 9th, 2020

Book: The Case Against Reality: How Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes by Donald D. Hoffman
Via: Zubin Damania:

American Dystopia: San Francisco in Decline

January 7th, 2020

Via: Fox:

Iran Fires Rockets at Iraqi Bases Hosting American Soldiers

January 7th, 2020

Update: Trump Says No U.S. Troops Hurt in Iran Strikes

I tried posting a link on Facebook to an article on Veterans Today by Gord Duff. It was refused - a minor surprise. He rips the mask off Trump's activities and threats - including references to black ops and threats of domestic action in Iran against civilians and government. I ended up Tweeting ( as opit ) about 2 articles, thinking blowback from restricting arms sales to allies ( Turkey ) was coming home to roost. oldephartte

Military Contractors Raytheon, Lockheed Martin See Stock Prices Soar Amid Iran Crisis

Sacramento: McDonald’s Blasts Bag Pipe Music in Attempt to Drive Homeless People Away

January 6th, 2020

Via: CBS Sacramento:

Wallbox Quasar Bidirectional Home DC Charger Will Turn EVs Into a Huge Tesla Powerwall

January 6th, 2020

It’s absolutely bizarre that this didn’t happen years ago. Nissan was doing it in Japan on a limited basis, but it never took off. This Quasar unit is so much smaller than Nissan’s; maybe that will increase interest/demand.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t yet work with Tesla vehicles.

Letter Written by U.S. Marine General Indicated American Forces Were About to Leave Iraq

January 6th, 2020

What the hell is going on?
Via: Daily Mail:
Reports Monday that the U.S. would soon withdraw all its forces from Iraq were turned on their heads minutes later when U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters there were no plans to pull up stakes.

‘There’s been no decision whatsoever to leave Iraq, period,’ Esper said, adding that he and his staff were ‘trying to figure out’ the meaning of a letter signed by a brigadier general that suggested the opposite.
( Meanwhile some of us recall there was no prior announcement of a permanent presence in Iraq - nor a coherent reason given for doing so at all when one realizes Cheney's office blinded the CIA nuclear threat desk with the outing of Valerie Plame ( Wilson ) and Brewster-Jennings as a company front. )

Workplace Lockdown and Surveillance with Biometric Technologies

January 6th, 2020

Via: Wall Street Journal:
Plastic cards may soon give way to biometric systems, microchip implants, gait recognition and other technologies that aim to improve security, generate health data and monitor workers.
( That 'Land of the Free' line becomes more vicious snark every year. )

For Tech-Weary Midwest Farmers, 40-Year-Old Tractors Now a Hot Commodity

January 6th, 2020

Via: Star Tribune:
Kris Folland grows corn, wheat and soybeans and raises cattle on 2,000 acres near Halma in the northwest corner of Minnesota, so his operation is far from small. But when he last bought a new tractor, he opted for an old one — a 1979 John Deere 4440.
He retrofitted it with automatic steering guided by satellite, and he and his kids can use the tractor to feed cows, plant fields and run a grain auger. The best thing? The tractor cost $18,000, compared to upward of $150,000 for a new tractor. And Folland doesn’t need a computer to repair it.
“This is still a really good tractor,” said Folland, who owns two other tractors built before 1982.
“They cost a fraction of the price, and then the operating costs are much less because they’re so much easier to fix,” he said.
Tractors manufactured in the late 1970s and 1980s are some of the hottest items in farm auctions across the Midwest these days — and it’s not because they’re antiques.

Cost-conscious farmers are looking for bargains, and tractors from that era are well-built and totally functional, and aren’t as complicated or expensive to repair as more recent models that run on sophisticated software.
( A couple of months back my insurance company advised me rates were going up - to cover repairs on increasingly 'sophisticated' autos and associated electronic gimmickery . Ain't 'progress 'wunnerful. Fire up YouTube and listen to Scotty Kilmer mock things like plastic header pipes. Meanwhile, Down Under, John Cadogan has taken a break from vehicle reviews to do political commentary. Rough and Ready. I hadn't heard such fun since George Carlin. He is not impressed with fire readiness.)

Epstein Murder: Fake Noose?

January 6th, 2020

Full Episode: 60 Minutes Investigates the Death of Jeffrey Epstein

Finland’s New Prime Minister Calls for Four Day Work Week with Six Hour Work Days

January 6th, 2020

Via: Independent:
( Why not ? Kids can't find 'full time' jobs anyway. There's no public good in tying 'benefits' to a 40 hr week )

Australia First to Test New Lithium Sulphur Batteries

January 6th, 2020

Via: Monash University:
Imagine having access to a battery, which has the potential to power your phone for five continuous days, or enable an electric vehicle to drive more than 1000km without needing to “refuel”.

Monash University researchers are on the brink of commercialising the world’s most efficient lithium-sulphur (Li-S) battery, which could outperform current market leaders by more than four times, and power Australia and other global markets well into the future.

Samsung’s Upcoming AI Avatar Production System Partially Leaked

January 6th, 2020
Via: Good Content Tech:

Trump Doubles Down on Threat to Attack Iran Cultural Sites

January 5th, 2020

Via: AFP:
US President Donald Trump doubled down Sunday on a threat to attack Iranian cultural sites despite accusations that any such strike would amount to a war crime.
Tehran’s foreign minister had reacted to those initial comments by drawing parallels with the Islamic State group’s destruction of the Middle East’s cultural heritage.

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