ameriken

They've raised over $1m on indiegogo. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways

Shot across the bow...

Chinese military unit charged with cyber-espionage against U.S. firms By Ellen Nakashima and William Wan, Published: May 19 E-mail the writersThe Justice Department has indicted five members of the Chinese military on charges of hacking into computers and stealing valuable trade secrets from leading steel, nuclear plant and solar power firms, marking the first time that the United States has leveled such criminal charges against a foreign country. The landmark case paves the way for more indictments and demonstrates that the United States is serious about holding foreign governments accountable for crimes committed in cyberspace, officials said at a news conference Monday. The Obama administration “will not tolerate actions by any nation that seeks to illegally sabotage American companies and undermine the integrity of fair competition in the operation of the free market,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said. The decision to confront China grew out of a White House strategy formulated two years ago to impose increasing costs on Beijing if it didn’t respond to requests to stop its widespread hacking for commercial advantage. The indictment is intended to address what President Obama and senior intelligence officials have called one of the top threats to national and economic security, with an estimated annual cost to the U.S. economy that ranges from the tens of billions of dollars to more than $100 billion. The criminal charges provoked a response from Beijing, which said Monday that it was suspending high-level cyber talks with the United States that began in June. China has summoned the U.S. ambassador over the hacking charges. According to an online notice posted Tuesday by state-run Xinhua on Weibo, Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang summoned Abassador Max Baucus to complain that U.S. authorities published their indictment ignoring the strong protests by Chinese authorities. “Given the lack of sincerity by the United States for cooperation to solve cyber security problems through dialogue, China has decided to suspend the activities of the Sino-U.S. Cyber Working Group,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement. The charges are “purely ungrounded and absurd,” Qin said. He added that the United States had “fabricated facts” in the indictment, which he said “seriously violates basic norms of international relations and damages Sino-U.S. cooperation and mutual trust.” The leaks from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden already had complicated the talks. Beijing has pointed to disclosures by Snowden of vast NSA surveillance activities — including spying on Chinese companies — to assert that the United States is the greater aggressor in the area. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “We regret China’s decisions.” But she added that she does not think the development will affect strategic and economic dialogue meetings with China, scheduled for early July. More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-to-announce-first-criminal-charges-against-foreign-country-for-cyberspying/2014/05/19/586c9992-df45-11e3-810f-764fe508b82d_story.html

Thanks for clearing that up Randy. Yeah, they do take their time, we're 14 months into the process at this point. The only thing the govt does quickly is process payments.

Couple of quick questions regarding the IR5. Now that we did the opt in and got the GZO #, am I correct that the DS260 is the online version of the DS230, and this is also the equivalent of P3? Does anyone have an estimated time frame of DS260 from submission to interview? One final: once the IR5 is approved, I understand this is essentially a green card. What is the time frame the parent has to enter the US?

Exactly! Just in NY State they propose replacement of the Tappan Zee bridge at just under 4 billion, that is a suspension highway bridge spanning the Hudson river, with about a mile of level causeway approach. http://www.newnybridge.com/about/ I agree, CNN must have left off a zero.

I heard the price tag was supposed to be $20 billion. For some reason that just sounds way too low, esp considering they've gotta go through the Bering Strait.

Update: we sent the opt-in email on April 13 and just got the GZO's today. 26 days.

Great. We just did an opt-in for her parents about a week ago and I was wondering how long this might take. Slow is right, Email works at the speed of light but gov't works at the speed of dark. We started this process for Jie's parents over 13 months ago and we're not even at P3 stage yet.

You don't know if there is a "lie". Just because someone decides to stay now does not mean they intended to stay when they got the visa. Maybe true...but it doesn't matter what the person intended, what matters is what the IO 'thinks' they intended. Even if the IO is completely wrong in judging intent, their decision is final.

I really wish I could unread that Doug.

Seems like they're finding everything but the plane.

Asian transportation and ocean are just not getting along too well lately.

Obviously, he doesn't teach Math. Well, let's continue counting....#15, when you meet someones mother don't say "Hi mă"

Yeah, but the young, naive, inexperienced college student is probably more likely to be lured, especially by the cash, than those of us who've built up a good dose of skepticism, wisdom, or whatever you want to call it.

What stands out most is not what I see, but rather what I don't see...the lack of art and any other forms of human expression.

294 Missing After Ferry Sinks off South Korea's Coast SEOUL, South Korea April 16, 2014 Nearly 300 people are missing and at least four are confirmed dead after a ferry carrying 462 people, many of them students, sank in cold waters off South Korea’s southern coast Wednesday. There were fears of a big jump in the number of deaths, as dozens of boats, helicopters and divers scrambled to rescue passengers who had been on the ferry travelling to the southern island of Jeju. Those rescue efforts will continue overnight. One rescued passenger said he believed that many people had been trapped inside the ferry when it sank. The confirmed fatalities are a female crew member, 22, and a male student. The ferry, identified as the Sewol, was sailing to the southern island of Jeju when it sent a distress call as it began leaning to one side. The passengers include more than 300 students from Danwon High School in Ansan, near Seoul, who were on a school trip. More: http://abcnews.go.com/International/ferry-sinks-off-south-korea-coast/story?id=23339906

I want to believe she's right, and while it is possible the plane is still around, it is not probable. I feel really bad for her...CNN has had her on from the start and keep bringing her back to entertain her idea that everyone is still alive. The fact that they keep giving her air time might just be what is fostering her belief, otherwise she might be able to accept a different conclusion. I guess all these ships and planes that are focusing on the pings they're hearing are just spinning their props.

Daily Currant is satire. But I found it quite funny considering how CNN has been running the crap out of this story. "Breaking News: Malaysia Flight 370 has NOT been found, updates to follow" LMAO

Not related to China but most definitely to immigration and language. I'm sure this would never fly in the US. Married Couples Separated by German Language Test BERLIN April 6, 2014 (AP)By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated PressMichael Guhle met the love of his life on the beach of a little fishing village in Vietnam. Thi An Nguyen was selling freshly cooked mussels and fruit to the German tourist and they immediately clicked. Soon the Berlin nursing home worker was saving up all of his money and vacation days to visit Nguyen. Marriage was supposed to bring them together. Instead, it was the beginning of a long ordeal apart. Germany blocked Nguyen from entering the country after she flunked the language test that Germany requires aspiring immigrants to pass — even those married to Germans. "I thought marrying the person you love and living together was a human right," Guhle said in his modest two-room apartment on the outskirts of Berlin. "Apparently this is not the case in Germany." Germany adopted German language regulations for prospective immigrants in 2007. Most EU countries — including France, Italy, Spain and Sweden — do not require foreign spouses to pass mandatory language tests before they join their partners in Europe. Austria, Britain and the Netherlands are among countries that require language tests before foreign spouses can enter the country, but experts say Germany's test is the toughest. The European Commission has criticized the law in Germany, saying it may violate European treaties. And a legal challenge to the European Court of Justice is expected to be heard this month. As things stand, however, binational couples like Guhle and his wife face costly and daunting challenges. Germany defends the law as a way to prevent forced marriages and to help immigrants integrate more easily. Critics maintain the law discriminates against the uneducated and poor. Most agree immigrants should learn German, but opponents of the law say that could be done more quickly, cheaply and easily in Germany. "Well-educated people who can afford the language classes won't have any problems meeting the language requirements quickly — but not the others," said Hiltrud Stoecker-Zafari, the head of the national Association of Binational Couples and Partners. "Therefore we think: This country obviously wants to send out the message that financially weak and not well-qualified spouses should not even come here." The rest of the article: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/married-couples-separated-german-language-test-23211366

They're stating there are other objects that could give a ping at that frequency, but what makes this unique are the one-second intervals. But everyone keeps showing some skepticism since this hasn't been officially confirmed by the Aussies.

I believe the CVR and FDR are loops that only record the last 30 minutes of flight, so I'm wondering how much they can glean from the boxes. Certainly they'll know what systems were operating or not at the time it finally went down but we likely will have no idea what was said in the cockpit after 'alright goodnight' (unless the crew was still alive when they hit the ocean). A standard CVR is capable of recording 4 channels of audio data for a period of 2 hours, probably will have nothing, however most FDRs record approximately 17-25 hours worth of data in a continuous loop, long enough for it to show issues from before the plane dropped off radar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockpit_voice_recorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_data_recorder Geez, where did I come up with 30 minutes? I must have been confusing the recording abilities of the FDR with those of my brain.

I believe the CVR and FDR are loops that only record the last 30 minutes of flight, so I'm wondering how much they can glean from the boxes. Certainly they'll know what systems were operating or not at the time it finally went down but we likely will have no idea what was said in the cockpit after 'alright goodnight' (unless the crew was still alive when they hit the ocean).

Your idea rings a bell Doug, but it's otherwise a crappy story.

On a more serious note, I cannot even fathom the internal conflict the families must be going through...needing to find the plane so they can finally have closure, while hoping this is not the plane in order to keep alive the possibility that it landed somewhere and they're still alive.