XI’S GOTTA HAVE IT: China Gains Secret Access to Nvdia Microchips by Renting Computers. “The buyers and sellers of computing power and the middlemen connecting them aren’t breaking any laws, lawyers familiar with U.S. sanctions say. Washington has targeted exports of advanced chips, equipment and technology, but cloud companies say the export rules don’t restrict Chinese companies or their foreign affiliates from accessing U.S. cloud services using Nvidia chips.”
Author Archive: Stephen Green
August 27, 2024
MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: Wargaming the Electoral College: The Spoiler That Wasn’t.
The Polymarket results are closely in line with various polls (more on those in a moment) supposedly showing that Harris had opened things up in the Southwest (Ariz. and Nev.), shored things up in the Upper Midwest (Mich. and Wisc.), and weakened Trump slightly in the South (Ga. and N.C.).
The net result is a 251-251 tie (including leaners) with Pennsylvania determining the winner. The numbers and the swing states haven’t changed that much but Harris has more routes to victory than Biden had, and Trump has fewer than he had against Biden.
About those polls…
Stephen Kruiser and I were having this conversation earlier today on our Five O’Clock Somewhere video live chat that pollsters seem to be oversampling Democrats as part of the Uniparty push to make Harris seem inevitable.
That said, she is likely doing better than Biden was doing against Trump, if only because she doesn’t look and sound like she has one foot in the grave. That alone was probably enough to win back some stragglers.
Enter one Robert F. Kennedy Jr as he (mostly) exits the race.
Much more at the link.
August 26, 2024
THE LEFT DOESN’T PRODUCE ENOUGH CHILDREN SO THEY HAVE TO INDOCTRINATE OTHER PEOPLE’S: Kamala Harris Wants Your Kids in Public School and She Wants Them There NOW!
EARLY CHECK-OUT: President Vacation.
DEEP DIVE: Inside Boeing’s factory lapses that led to the Alaska Air blowout.
The door plug that blew out on Alaska Flight 1282 at 16,000 feet over Portland had sealed a hole cut out of the fuselage for an optional emergency exit door installed by only a few airlines.
Most 737 MAX 9s, like the Alaska jet, have a plug there, not a real door. To a passenger seated at that location, it looks like just another cabin window.
And the mechanics in Renton assembling the airplane don’t typically have to do anything with a door plug. It comes fully installed from Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan., and there’s usually no reason to open it in Renton.
A specialized door crew in Renton of about 20 to 25 mechanics covering three assembly lines is dedicated to the work of rigging passenger, cargo and other doors. They work first shift, 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
They are the only mechanics that do such work, and even they rarely deal with a door plug. A Boeing manufacturing record lists door plug work performed in Renton just four times last year, one time in 2022 and twice in 2021.
A 35-year veteran on the door team told NTSB investigators that he is “the only one that can work on all the doors” and he was typically the only mechanic who would work on door plugs.
That mechanic was on vacation on the two critical days, Sept. 18 and 19 last year, when the door plug on the Alaska MAX 9 had to be opened and closed.
It’s a lengthy read but worth your time.
HEALTH: Breakthrough medical treatment kills prostate cancer, study finds. “Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery that could revolutionize the treatment of prostate cancer. By targeting a single enzyme called PI5P4Kα, scientists have found a way to potentially kill prostate cancer cells, offering new hope for patients who face the growing challenge of treatment resistance.”
MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: That Trump Fellow Who’s Been President the Last Four Years Sounds AWFUL.
ANALYSIS: TRUE. The Palestinian Flag: As Inauthentic as the Palestinian People.
YOUR MOVE, XI: No U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers Deployed In The Pacific. “The departure of USS Abraham Lincoln coincides with the change in homeport of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) from Yokosuka, Japan to Bremerton, Washington. The Ronald Reagan‘s replacement, the USS George Washington (CVN 73) still in San Diego on a scheduled port visit.”
PROFILES IN COURAGE: Kamala Harris Is Trying to Back Out of the Debates.
DECOUPLING: Chinese firms import record levels of chip making equipment.
The country imported a record $26 billion worth of such machinery, while ASML — a Dutch firm that makes the world’s most advanced chip lithography devices — reported surging sales to China.
A Washington-based semiconductor trade association, meanwhile, warned that Chinese tech giant Huawei was building a secret set of chip making facilities to evade US sanctions, according to Bloomberg.
Semiconductors have emerged as a key issue in the US-China rivalry, with Washington enlisting allies to restrict Beijing’s access to the most advanced chip technology: A think tank said this week China lags the sector’s global leaders by about five years.
Intel continues struggling and China looks serious about catching up to Taiwan Semi.
WOEING: Major Tom Not Coming Home on Starliner — What Next for Boeing? “There’s no way NASA will certify Starliner for manned missions without yet another crewed flight test to the ISS. You know, one that ends successfully with the astronauts coming back home in the same space capsule they arrived in. Since Starliner is done on a fixed-price basis, that extra flight test — just like the extra unmanned flight test in 2022 — will come out of Boeing’s pocket.”
THAT’S GREAT BUT WHEN IS NEW GLENN FINALLY GOING TO FLY? Blue Origin sets date for next New Shepard flight after completing parachute investigation.
A COUP IN FRANCE?
We're now 48 days afterwards and Macron and his government are still running the country, they've basically ignored the election results which is unprecedented in the history of the French 5th republic. pic.twitter.com/V7ostiA2Ec
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) August 24, 2024
Plus: “Let’s see what Macron ultimately does but we’re truly witnessing something extraordinary that demonstrates how undemocratic France has become: the people voted and the result of their vote is so far simply rejected because those holding power don’t like it.”
This is the in-your-face version of how the Obama cabal hamstrung the Trump administration.
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: It Would Be Super Great If Tim Walz Could Tell the Truth About Anything. “I’m surprised that Trump hasn’t started calling Walz’s lies “Walzhoods,” which I think that I may start using now.”
BATTLESWARM BLOG: Two Views Of Ukraine’s Invasion Of Russia.
The biggest fallout of the Kursk incursion is a dog that didn’t bark. “Nukes haven’t flown. Throughout this war, the Russians have, at every stage, identified a series of red lines, saying that if you cross this line we’re going to nuke Washington and Warsaw, Berlin and Paris and London and the rest, and at every stage it’s turned out to be a bluff. Well, now the Ukrainians have crossed the international border in force. They have castrated the Russian military in the area.”
“The Russians are showing an inability or an unwillingness to go to that level, and that tells me that the conservatism in Western capitals about challenging the Russians is about to evaporate. Because if the Ukrainians can do this without that sort of counter reaction, then pretty much every Russian threat to this point is meaningless.”
Much more at the link.
FASTER, PLEASE: Gen Z Men Are Turning to Trump From Harris.
NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG: Wayne County Michigan: Only 50 Republicans Hired as Poll Watchers. “In a recent development in Wayne County, Michigan, more than 700 Republicans applied to be poll watchers for the upcoming elections. However, out of the 2,350 poll watchers hired, only 50 of them were Republicans. This stark contrast has raised concerns among the Republican community about fair representation and transparency in the polling process.”
2024: Donald Trump Sensed a Trap by the Left and Didn’t Fall for It. “He explained his decision by expressing concern that Democrats would leak classified information and then attempt to accuse him of being the source of the leaks.”
August 23, 2024
DIVERSITY FESTIVAL:
At least 3 people have been stabbed to death and several people are receiving CPR after a mass stabbing attack at a “diversity festival” in Solingen, Germany 🇩🇪 @BILD reports that eyewitnesses saw “an Arab-looking man” stabbing people
This is how the city describes the… pic.twitter.com/9AAmpNNT8w
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 23, 2024
IT’S TIME FOR VICTORIA TAFT’S West Coast, Messed Coast™—Kommie Kamala’s Border Disaster Edition
Details about the forgotten radios were included in a recent report from Rep. Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican member of the congressional task force investigating the events of that day. Higgins claims that a county emergency services commander had “personally reminded” Secret Service counter-sniper teams to pick up their assigned radios at a command post located at the Butler County Fairgrounds. “It didn’t happen,” according to Higgins’ report.
That detail was confirmed to CNN by Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger.
“I can confirm that the Butler County ESU team made radios available to the Secret Service and that they were not utilized by the Secret Service,” Goldinger said in a statement. While it’s unclear if Secret Service would have gotten the warning about a man on the roof had they picked up the radios, Goldinger said, “It is safe to assume that if a holder of an ESU radio was paying attention, they would have received the call.”
It probably isn’t practical to disband the Secret Service and use competitive bidding to hire private security — but it sure is tempting.
PAULA BOLYARD: The Nightmare Has Come full Circle.