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Submission + - Microsoft investigates Israeli military's use of Azure cloud storage (theguardian.com) 1

Epeeist writes: Microsoft is investigating how Israel’s military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, is using its Azure cloud storage platform, amid concerns the company’s staff in Israel may have concealed key details about its work on sensitive military projects.

The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found Unit 8200 has used a customised and segregated area within Azure to store recordings of millions of calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank.

According to Unit 8200 sources interviewed as part of the investigation, intelligence drawn from the enormous repository of phone calls held in the cloud has been used to research and identify bombing targets in Gaza.

Comment Re:When dictators lead in innovation (Score 1) 61

Meanwhile the complacent west will go through a phase of relearning the value of what it used to have. It will do us a lot of good and it'll prime us to take world leader role at a later date

You are speculating, and I will speculate even further. If there is a Western renaissance, it will be without the US. Reading the international papers, it is apparent that the US is now regarded as unreliable and a dubious ally. Other alliances are being formed, and other trading partnerships, and there are discussions going on about reducing the reliance on the US.

Submission + - China solves "tunnel boom" problem with MagLev trains (theguardian.com) 1

Epeeist writes: The newest version of the maglev train is capable of travelling at 600km/h (about 370mph). However, the train’s engineers have wrestled with the problem of the shock waves which occur as the train exits the mouth of a tunnel. These are colloquially known as a “tunnel boom”

Researchers have discovered that placing innovative soundproofing buffers at tunnel mouths can reduce "tunnel boom" shock waves by up to 96%.

This opens the possibility of a future line connecting the capital, Beijing, with Shanghai, reducing journey times from 4.5 hours to 2.5 hours, about the duration of a domestic flight between the two cities.

In China, the cost of a high-speed rail ticket is cheaper than air travel (¥600 compared with ¥1,200), unlike in many other countries. Flights emit on average seven times more CO2 than high-speed rail by distance travelled, representing a big potential carbon saving.

Submission + - Superman becomes an ICE agent (theguardian.com)

Epeeist writes: Former Superman actor Dean Cain has announced he has signed up to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), in order to support US president Donald Trump’s anti-immigration agenda.

The article says nothing about his acting career after his stint as Superman, but it does say that he is a deputy sheriff and reserve police officer.

Comment It isn't unclear at all (Score 4, Insightful) 165

It is unclear why the Trump administration seeks to end the missions.

The clue is in the phrase in the first sentence, "which provide vital climate and agricultural data for scientists". Since Trump and his acolytes claim that "climate change" is a hoax, why fund programmes that might show that it is happening.

In a similar vein, I see that the US Department of Health and Human Services is terminating 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines because of "safety concerns".

Who needs facts, when you can simply declare what is, and what is not true?

Comment Why the need for a 600 mile range? (Score 1) 180

I don't know about the US, but the average distance people drive here in Europe is less than 100Km/day (I presume "greater than 600 miles" is actually 1000Km).

I am not sufficient of an engineer to decide whether this is feasible or economic, but how about EVs having a small battery for the average day journeys, and space to add a larger battery if you have the occasional need for a longer journey?

Comment Another danger to birds (Score 2) 97

And larger slower moving blades would be less dangerous too? Not to mention that wind power kills far less birds than the pollution from other types of energy production does.

Domestic cats are much more of a danger to birds than wind turbines.

It has also been shown that painting wind turbine blades can mitigate bird kills.

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