News of the World

[kyonides]

A SpaceX Mars rocket prototype just exploded.

It was still a success

A giant experimental rocket built by Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully soared eight miles above the company's testing facilities in South Texas on Wednesday and came back down as planned, before crashing into the ground in an enormous plume of flames and smoke.

    Thankfully, it was an un-manned test flight for this prototype. But Musk seems to have a trend for embracing such screw-ups and using what he learned for better products down the line.

I don't see how an explosion and some rapid descent can be good for an expensive project like a starship but Musk isn't worried about it at all.

So how are they supposed to reuse the spaceship that was supposed to be reusable in the first place!? Musk gotta be crazy indeed.

Michigan state rep. threatens 'Trumpers,' calls on 'soldiers' to 'make them pay'
Michigan's attorney general condemns the threats and the congresswoman's response

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/michiga...e-them-pay

Democrat Michigan state Rep. Cynthia Johnson was stripped of her committee seats by senior GOP state officials after she released a video on Facebook Tuesday, as a warning to Trump supporters who had left her threatening messages.

Let's take a look at what the politician commented on that video.

So this is just a warning to you Trumpers. Be careful, walk lightly, we ain’t playing with you. Enough of the shenanigans. Enough is enough.
And for those of you who are soldiers, you know how to do it. Do it right, be in order, make them pay.

Well, that sounds truly like a threat, don't you think?
I know that being called ghetto hood rat isn't funny at all but that doesn't mean she's entitled to threaten her aggressors the way she did...  
How exactly did she end up in such an awkward situation? Well, she was against letting the witnesses testify in front of a committee if they were not under oath. She was told that was no legal proceeding at all, they just were looking for ways to improve the electoral process.

Other representatives had stripped her of her committees but are considering taking further actions against her based on the ongoing investigation's advances.

How China stands to profit from the coronavirus pandemic
Beijing is closing the economic gap as the US economy shrinks

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/how-...s-pandemic

China's rapid return to more normal activities, including commercial, puts it ahead of the United States and Europe, and now South Korea, in terms of economic activity.
It can also use its position to try and pick up market share from competitors – from shipbuilding to steel-making to chip-making – who are still operating under COVID quarantine conditions.

In the realm of biotechnology, defense experts have also pointed to exponential levels of growth.

As of December 2, 2020, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), in terms of the phase 3 trials of prospective COVID-19 vaccines, 7 out of the 13 candidates have links to China.
Three of these candidates are not only from China, but are directly tied to the People's Liberation Army [PLA].

For one, Sinovac, a China-based biopharmaceutical company, has contracted to supply 50 million doses to Turkey, 46 million to Brazil and 40 million to Indonesia. Meanwhile, CanSino Biologics, another China-based vaccine conglomerate, has agreed to supply 35 million doses to Mexico, as well as supply its vaccine to Argentina, Chile, Pakistan and Russia.
Despite marketing campaigns indicating that the medical supplies were out of generosity to nations overwhelmed by the virus, analysts have since contended that many were sold – shipped with a Chinese flag across the packaging and phrases of friendship – and much of the vital supply line, including test kits, were proven defective.

Yeah, a Costa Rican public health institution CCSS purchased thousands of masks... that didn't protect health workers from contracting the Wuhan virus. China also "donated" masks and PPE.

France to start research into enhanced soldiers

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55243014

The French armed forces have been given the go-ahead to start research on developing "enhanced soldiers".
A report laid out conditions under which work on implants and other technologies designed to improve battlefield performance should be carried out in the future.
The report stresses that other nations are exploring such possibilities, and that France must keep up.
Defence Minister Florence Parly has emphasised the need to look ahead.
The report mentioned research on implants that could "improve cerebral capacity" or help soldiers tell enemy from ally. These could also allow commanders to locate them or read their vital signs from a distance.

Curiously she had stated before that France had no immediate plans to develop invasive technology for soldiers. Now that's exactly what they are looking for right now.
BBC also recalled how Musk implanted a chip in Gertrude the pig not long ago. It was supposed to allow the development of a human (or animal) machine interface.

French cabinet backs law targeting extremism

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55253832

The French cabinet has approved a bill aimed at tackling radical Islam after a recent series of attacks by extremists.
The draft law, part of a long-term drive by President Emmanuel Macron to uphold secular values, tightens rules on home-schooling and hate speech.
But Prime Minister Jean Castex called it "a law of protection" that would free Muslims from the grip of radicals.
He insisted that the text was not "aimed against religions or against the Muslim religion in particular".
Doctors could be fined or banned for performing virginity tests on girls.
There are new rules on financial transparency for Muslim associations and a requirement that they sign up to France's Republican values in return for funding.

There are people opposing such a bill and I'd love to ask them if they can really live their peaceful lives knowing that imams and other radical  Muslims are teaching their followers that they should attack anybody criticizing Islam. The law would also forbid anybody from revealing other people's private data over the internet to let others hurt or threaten them somehow.
Before the French teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded, people had launched an online campaign against him.

Court finds UK war crimes but will not take action

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55247033

The International Criminal Court says it will not take action against the UK, despite finding evidence British troops committed war crimes in Iraq.
A 180-page report says hundreds of Iraqi detainees were abused by British soldiers between 2003 and 2009.
But the ICC could not determine whether the UK had acted to shield soldiers from prosecution.
The MoD said the ICC report "vindicates our efforts to pursue justice where allegations have been founded".
The ICC told the BBC: "It is without dispute there is evidence war crimes were committed."
Its report said there was a reasonable basis to conclude that at least seven Iraqis were illegally killed while in British custody between April and September 2003.

So they abused the detainees and even killed some of them but they won't be punished!?

Mining giant Rio Tinto to rebuild ancient aboriginal caves

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55250137

Mining giant Rio Tinto must rebuild a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal cave system it blew up in May, an Australian parliamentary inquiry has said.
The Juukan Gorge caves in Western Australia were destroyed as part of an iron ore exploration project.
In a report released on Wednesday, the inquiry blasted Rio Tinto's "inexcusable" act, and said they should compensate the traditional owners.
Earlier this year several senior figures at the company, including Chief Executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques, resigned over the incident, following a backlash from shareholders and the public.
Before their destruction, the Juukan Gorge caves in Pilbara had shown evidence of continuous human habitation since the last Ice Age.
They were seen as one of Australia's most significant archaeological research sites, but they also had more than eight million tonnes of high-grade iron ore, with an estimated value of £75m (A$132m; $96m).

That's what you get for destroying a valuable archaeological site for the sake of extracting iron.
Who knows if they'll manage to restore most of it some day... and it won't be cheap at all.

Russia to set up naval base in Sudan

Details have emerged of an agreement between Khartoum and Moscow for Russia to establish a naval base on Sudan's Red Sea coast.
The deal, signed last week, will allow Russia to keep up to four navy ships, including nuclear-powered vessels, in Port Sudan for the next 25 years.
Analysts say the move is part of Russia's attempt to reassert its geopolitical influence.
It's suffered a series of setbacks this year in its backyard, including the defeat last month of its traditional ally Armenia by Turkey-backed Azerbaijan.
In 2017, on his first visit to Russia, Sudan's former president, Omar al-Bashir asked President Vladimir Putin to "protect" his country from United States' aggression.
Mr Bashir has since been ousted from power and is being held in prison in Khartoum.

For some reason they didn't post a dedicated or permanent link to this article.