US To Convert Pacific Oil Rigs Into Floating Targets for China

US To Convert Pacific Oil Rigs Into Military Bases as Part of Anti-China Buildup

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Criticism:

In December 1999, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in response to a congressional mandate issued a report which delineated the impracticality of MOBs, “the largest floating offshore structure ever conceived by maritime engineers”, on the grounds of high cost and vulnerability to threats such as missile attack.

Wikipedia

Whac-A-Mole is fun!

Tesla and Apple’s poor China showing


American tech giants Tesla and Apple are suffering as they face intense competition from Chinese competitors. Elon Musk’s EV company reported a 55% drop in profit and 9% drop in first-quarter revenue Tuesday, its biggest year-on-year fall since 2012. Analysts began forecasting trouble for Musk’s EV empire after Tesla announced price cuts in China. Apple, meanwhile, saw a 19% dip in smartphone shipments to China this quarter, its worst performance since 2020, as it lost ground to local competitors like Huawei. Chinese smartphones are cheaper than iPhones, and have gained traction with more premium design and software features.

Tesla and Apple’s poor China showing

Brazilian lawyer exposes deceit at heart of “Twitter Files Brazil”

An interview with Estela Aranha, who forced Michael Shellenberger to apologize after exposing  his manipulation of data to build a false narrative about “totalitarian” Brazil

By Brian Mier

On April 3,  Michael Shellenberger tweeted a series of excerpts from emails by X executives dubbed, “Twitter Files Brazil”, which alleged to expose crimes by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Moraes, he claimed, had pressed criminal charges against Twitter Brasil’s lawyer for its refusal to turn over personal information on political enemies. Elon Musk quickly shared the tweets and they viralized and were embraced by the international far right, to the joy of former President Bolsonaro and his supporters. A week later, Estela Aranha, former Secretary of Digital Rights in the Brazilian Justice Ministry, revealed rot at the heart of Shellenberger’s narrative. The only criminal charge filed against Twitter Brazil referenced in the leaked emails was made by the São Paulo District Attorney’s Office, after the company refused to turn over personal data on a leader of Brazil’s largest cocaine trafficking organization, the PCC. Shellenberger had cut the section of an email about a São Paulo criminal investigation and mixed it with communications complaining about Moraes on unrelated issues. Pressed by Brazilian reporters, Shellenberger wrote, “I regret my my mistake and apologize for it. I don’t have evidence that Moraes threatened to file criminal charges against Twitter’s Brazilian lawyer.” 


Brazilian lawyer exposes deceit at heart of “Twitter Files”