We are on the verge of a revolution in how cars are built, and here is a first report on the trend that is developing. Good News on Christmas Day.
Credit: Mercedes-Benz Media
Vision of urban futures: for London, Los Angeles and Shenzhen in 2040+
Hyper-personalised customer experience of the future: through Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR)
Neuromorphic computing: more energy efficiency for future autonomous driving
Technology challenge: researching innovative materials using biotechnology for less environmental impact
Aerodynamic and virtually maintenance free: the more sustainable in-drive brake
Vehicles that generate electricity: new potential for electric mileage from solar paintwork
Game-changing innovative power converter: more efficiency for the high-voltage architecture of the future
Pioneering spirit has been part of Mercedes-Benz DNA for almost 140 years. Through countless innovations, the inventor of the automobile and technology pioneer has continuously paved the way for the development of individual mobility. The VISION EQXX technology programme has already provided a clear preview of efficiency in the forthcoming electric and digital age. However, the journey into the future continues: Mercedes-Benz is constantly researching new technologies to shape the mobility of tomorrow. The company is providing exclusive insights into ongoing research activities aimed […]
Whichever holiday you and your family and friends celebrate at this time I hope this is for you, and those you love and care about, the best and happiest of times together. And to all of you who have sent in contributions to support SR, I thank you and hold you in the deepest appreciation. This has not been an easy year and your readership and support have given me the strength, courage, and commitment to continue what is now a 34-year-long effort to alert you to the trends that are shaping our world and, where I can, to point out what is fostering wellbeing.
Eric Bazail-Eimil and Mia McCarthy, Staff Writers - Politico
Stephan:
Fascist Trump is giving the world a heads-up on the kind of international crises he is going to create as soon as he is sworn into office. He is making it clear that he isn’t going to address any of the geopolitical problems, he is going to bully little countries that have no means to oppose him. Trump is first and last a coward and a bully.
A cargo ship traverses the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama. Credit: Matias Delacroix / AP
Moments after President-elect Donald Trump doubled down on his plans to take back the Panama Canal, Panama’s president said Sunday that the canal will remain under his country’s control.
In a video posted to social media, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who was elected earlier this year on a pledge to bring his country closer to the United States, rejected Trump’s claims that the United States could retake the strategically important waterway. He also disputed Trump’s complaints that U.S. vessels were being charged unfair and exorbitant fees to travel through the canal.
“As president, I want to clearly state that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjoining zone is Panama’s and will remain so,” Mulino said Sunday. “The sovereignty and independence of our country is non-negotiable.” Mulino went on to say that the canal is an integral part of his country’s history and that every Panamanian “carries it in their heart.”
Trump reiterated his intentions to take back the […]
Trump threatened Greenland in his first administration, and he is at it again. What do you notice about both Greenland and Panama? Small, free, and non-threatening. Just what a bully like Trump likes. It would not surprise me if, by the end of Trump’s term, the United States far from being a world leader became a nation despised around the world. Look at the caliber of people Trump is appointing to ambassadorship. Look at who he wants to be Secretary of State, and who he wants to head national security agencies. Nepotism and incompetence are the hallmarks of all these appointments.
Trump says US owning Greenland ‘absolute necessity’ Credit: Yahoo News
President-elect Trump said Sunday evening on social media that the U.S. owning Greenland “is an absolute necessity,” in a statement announcing Ken Howery as his nominee to serve as ambassador to Denmark.
Howery, a tech investor who co-founded PayPal, was ambassador to Sweden in the previous Trump administration.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump said in the Truth Social post.
On Monday, Greenland’s prime minister said the island isn’t up for purchase.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Múte Egede said in a statement, according to reports from BBC and The Guardian.
In late 2019, Trump said that buying Greenland, which is owned by Denmark, was “strategically” interesting, triggering an angry response from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
“Denmark essentially owns it. We’re very good allies with Denmark. We protect […]
Robert Kuttner, Co-founder and Co-editor and Professor - Brandeis University's Heller School - The American Prospect
Stephan:
Have you noticed how many times Trump has either made such a bad decision, Gaetz’s nomination, that it failed, or was outplayed by an oligarch? I think this is going to go on for the next four years, as the oligarchs who own the Congress strive for what they want, not what is best for Americans.
Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and JD Vance at last week’s Army-Navy football game. Credit: Stephanie Scarbrough/ AP
Elon Musk blew up a near-complete bipartisan budget deal with an avalanche of tweets contending that it was too costly, luring Donald Trump into demanding that Republicans kill it. But Musk’s real reason—a story that David Dayen broke in the Prospect—was that the agreement included painstakingly negotiated limits on American tech investment in China. Had that provision passed, it would have been costly to Musk’s extensive Chinese Tesla operations and future AI plans.
Between Tuesday and Thursday, the budget deal collapsed. Trump, following Musk’s lead, threw in a new demand that the deal tackle the debt ceiling, always a politically tricky vote. But neither Democrats nor Republican fiscal hawks would give Trump that.
In the end, legislators of both parties wanted to get home for Christmas, and both houses overwhelmingly passed a simple “continuing resolution” keeping the government funded at roughly present levels through March, plus disaster relief and farm aid. Musk succeeded in stripping out the China provision.
