The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday began counting ballots from a presidential election marked by delays and fears of violence and vote-rigging, straining hopes for its first-ever peaceful transfer of power. After a relatively bloodless vote, election officials…
Turkey Tops China As World’s Top Jailer Of Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group, has released its annual census showing the number of journalists imprisoned across the world. More than 250 journalists are behind bars for the third consecutive year and the CPJ said that an authoritarian approach…
Holiday Villas for Rent – Sri Lanka
Birdsong Residence, Kandy, Sri Lanka (price category 1,800 USD per month) More info Yuli Nandas – Makola (price category 280 USD per month) More info
Resorts in Sri Lanka
Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort (800 USD per night category) Excellent reviews, High-End category More info Cinnamon Bey Beruwala (100 USD per night category) Thousands reviews, best of the mid-class More info &…
Google wins lawsuit, can continue to use facial recognition tech on users without consent
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that alleged Google’s nonconsensual use of facial recognition technology violated users’ privacy rights, allowing the tech giant to continue to scan and store their biometric data. The lawsuit, filed in 2016, alleged that…
Facebook least trusted big tech company, finds survey
In a reflection of what a series of data leaks and scandals has done to damage the reputation of Facebook, a new survey has found that the world’s largest social network leads the list of companies that people trust the…
Saudi-led Coalition Uses Sudanese Child Mercenaries In Yemen War
Saudi Arabia allegedly offered approximately $10,000 to families in Darfur, Sudan if their sons joined the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, the New York Times reported on December 28th. According to the report, as many as 14,000 Sudanese militiamen have been fighting…
Skepticism & Pocahontas jokes: Twitter reacts to news Elizabeth Warren running for president in 2020
With a mere 673 days until the 2020 US presidential election, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has announced the formation of an “exploratory committee” to consider a run for the highest office in the land. In American politics jargon, this means…
The Establishment Will Never Say No to a War
The question before us is a relatively simple one: What would be the criteria for removing our remaining troops from the Iraqi, Syrian, and more general Middle Eastern conflicts? Or, for that matter, from Afghanistan, where we have been trapped…
The mystery of the ISS hole just got even weirder
One of the year’s biggest space stories just gets weirder and weirder. Earlier this week, a Russian cosmonaut who investigated the mysterious hole in the Soyuz capsule docked to the International Space Station revealed that the hole was definitely drilled…
Bubble of Everything Correction Continues
Starting in 2008, central banks created a bubble in sovereign bonds, the bedrock of the current financial system. These bonds represent the “risk free” (if they are not Argentine, Greek, Venezuela or Zimbabwe bonds) rate of return, or the rate…
Boeing-Embraer venture cleared by Brazilian justice
A Brazilian justice is allowing airplane manufacturers Boeing and Embraer to proceed with a joint venture, overruling a temporary injunction that stalled the deal. The decision was made Saturday morning by Federal Court President Therezinha Cazerta, who said that the matter…
2019 Global Aerospace & Defense Industry Outlook
The commercial aircraft order backlog is at its peak of more than 14,000, with about 38,000 aircraft expected to be…
Nissan taking orders for $1.1 million GT-R supersport
Nissan Motor Co. will be building 50 examples of the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign, which was unveiled at the Goodwood Festival, There is some reason: GT-R 50th anniversary next year. Customers will be able to pick their own colors for their…
Audi E-Tron GT vs. Tesla Model S
The Audi E-Tron GT will have a 90-kWh battery and is said to return 400 km (248.5 miles). The Model S, with only a 75-kWh pack, is rated for 416.8 km (259 miles) using the EPA test. Audi E-Tron and Tesla…