US shooting of Chinese balloon an overreaction, says Beijing

Published

2 years ago

February 5, 2023

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WASHINGTON China on Sunday protested against Washingtons decision to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over North America, accusing the United States of overreacting and warning that it reserves the right to take retaliatory measures.

China expresses its dissatisfaction and protest against the US use of force to attack the unmanned civilian airship, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Washingtons actions showed it was obviously overreacting and seriously violating international practice, the ministry added.

Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said in a separate statement that Beijing reserves the right to use the necessary means to deal with similar situations, without elaborating.

The shooting down of the suspected spy balloon, off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, has highlighted how relations between the two superpowers can be held hostage to domestic politics in the US, said Chinese analysts.

Professor Zhu Feng, dean of the Institute of International Relations at Nanjing University, said what should have been a technical issue had become a high-level issue of security confrontation between China and the US.

This should serve as a reminder to Chinese and American leaders that in order to have a stable and manageable Sino-US relationship, emotional domestic politics must be kept at a distance, otherwise the bilateral relationship will only get worse, he added.

Mr Hu Xijin, a former editor-in-chief of state-run tabloid Global Times and a commentator known for his nationalistic views, said the manner in which the politicians in the US had stirred up American public opinion with the incident meant that shooting down the balloon was the only way that it could be brought to a conclusion.

The balloon, first spotted earlier last week loitering over Montana, has been shot down by an F-22 fighter jet using an air-to-air missile, according to US military officials. Remote video URL Beijing has rejected allegations that the balloon was meant for espionage, saying instead that it was an unmanned civilian airship intended to monitor the weather.

The incident scuppered an impending visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with Washington saying it would not be appropriate to travel to Beijing for meetings at this time.

Experts had hoped that Mr Blinkens visit who would have been the most senior US diplomat to travel to Beijing since 2018 would put a floor under the bilateral relationship and prevent ties from deteriorating further.

Chinese analysts said the US response was an escalation, pointing out that it showed how anti-China sentiments in the US political establishment were proving to be the biggest impediment to the improvement of ties.

The incident, which was closely watched on social media by netizens in both countries, also showed that public opinion in both countries was becoming more inflammable, making the future more bleak, said Professor Shi Yinhong, director of Centre on American Studies at the Renmin University of China Embed Twitter Tweet URL Writing on Weibo, Mr Hu said the shooting down of the balloon showed that the US was incapable of dealing with the incident in a practical manner, and must politicise it.

China is dealing with a US that does not need to drink to get drunk, its internal (political) strife is constantly generating hostilities that spill over to the international stage, he said. More On This Topic US postpones Blinken trip to China over spy balloon incident The 7 days before suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down in the Atlantic: A timeline

Environment

Tenways C GO 600Pro commuter e-bike is as smooth as it gets

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Tenways C GO 600Pro commuter e-bike is as smooth as it gets

The e-bike industry has stalled a little bit in terms of features, and with harsh new legislation coming in from places like California, maybe it is time to start looking at e-bikes that are light, efficient, and smooth rather than how much wattage they can output. The Tenways CGO 600Pro, which comes in at just 37 pounds, is a model e-bike you should keep an eye on…

The CGO 600Pro comes in 2 flavors: a carbon belt single-speed version that Micah reviewed and this one, which is a chain and 8-speed Shimano gears. The belt drive is going to win out on simplicity and weight but if you are expecting to get close to the ‘class 1’ top speed of 20mph or need to go up some significant hills, you’ll want to opt for the chain/gear version here.

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One thing I love about this bike is the tradeoff decisions. These keep the price low and weight down while still providing a great ride. The spec sheet overall is solid but not top-shelf.

Tenways CGO600 Pro tech specs (chain/geared version)

Motor: 350 Watt rear hub motor with 45 Nm of torque
Top speed: 20 mph (32 km/h)
Range: Claimed up to 53 miles (85 km)
Battery: 36V 10Ah (360 Wh)
Weight: 37 lb (16.8 kg, over 40lbs with fenders, kickstand, etc)
Frame: 6061 aluminum alloy
Tires: CST Puncture-proof 700*45C-size Tires
Brakes: Tektro dual-piston hydraulic disc brakes
Gearing: Shimano 8-Speed Claris
Extras: Compact LED display, 4 pedal assist levels, slim fender set, kickstand, internally routed cables, LED lighting, removable battery, Tenways app integration, torque sensor, four color options

No Throttle?

Note that as a class 1 e-bike, neither belt/chain version has a throttle. While this may be controversial to some, it not only simplifies the bike, it makes it a Class 1, which will be legal in the most places. I tend to think of no throttle as a “foot throttle” and for the commuter application, this will serve well. Would I appreciate a throttle on a hill start? Perhaps.

The idea of this bike is to just enhance your pedal bike experience. You are going to get some exercise on this bike versus a bike that is a glorified low-power moped that runs on throttle with vestigial pedals.

More importantly, the torque sensor here is phenomenal; I mean, it is probably the best torque sensor I’ve ridden connected to a rear hub motor. The acceleration is smooth and strangely powerful for the 350W/45nm motor. Significant hills are a breeze, and this is one of the few bikes where I forget that I’m using an e-bike sometimes (until I look down and I’m going 20mph with little effort). Hills are also where the gearing really helps.

The tires are also the perfect size for a commuter with puncture resistance and treads that will do OK in rain and snow.

The bike itself is also very stealthy in terms of showing that it is a powered e-bike. The small 36V, 10Ah battery is integrated magnificently into the narrow downtube of the bike. All of the cables are integrated into the bike frame for a super-clean look. The rear hub motor is small but packs a punch. Many people won’t even recognize this as an e-bike. While I’m proud to be riding an e-bike around, perhaps some people would like to keep that on the down-low.

Brakes are great with hydraulic Tektros clasping against 160mm rotors in front and back. It is such a light bike that stopping can be jarring.

Assembly was super easy and took about 30 minutes with the included tool set. The battery came about 40% charged but was ready to go within a few hours with the 3A charger. Shoutout to Tenways for using a water-resistant standardized barrel charger adapter and not some proprietary adapter so that I can use one from another bike when I inevitably lose it.

Electrek’s take

The Tenways CGO600 is a fantastic light, clean, stiff and smooth e-bike that I have 0 reservations about recommending. While the battery and motor are small, they power the light bike admirably and for around 50 miles (your mileage will vary).

Currently there is a $200 off promotion code “HAPPY2025TW” at checkout bringing the CGO600Pro down to $1399 which is an amazing price for this bike:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Technology

Mark Zuckerberg slams Apple on its lack of innovation and ‘random rules’

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Mark Zuckerberg slams Apple on its lack of innovation and 'random rules'

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears at the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, Sept. 25, 2024.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg slammed rival tech giant Apple for lackluster innovation efforts and “random rules” in a lengthy podcast interview on Friday.

“On the one hand, [the iPhone has] been great, because now pretty much everyone in the world has a phone, and that’s kind of what enables pretty amazing things,” Zuckerberg said in an episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience.” “But on the other hand … they have used that platform to put in place a lot of rules that I think feel arbitrary and [I] feel like they haven’t really invented anything great in a while. It’s like Steve Jobs invented the iPhone, and now they’re just kind of sitting on it 20 years later.”

Zuckerberg added that he thought iPhone sales were struggling because consumers are taking longer to upgrade their phones because new models aren’t big improvements from prior iterations.

“So how are they making more money as a company? Well, they do it by basically, like, squeezing people, and, like you’re saying, having this 30% tax on developers by getting you to buy more peripherals and things that plug into it,” Zuckerberg said. “You know, they build stuff like Air Pods, which are cool, but they’ve just thoroughly hamstrung the ability for anyone else to build something that can connect to the iPhone in the same way.”

Apple defends itself from pushback from other companies by saying that it doesn’t want to violate consumers’ privacy and security, according to Zuckerberg. But he said that the problem would be solved if Apple fixed its protocol, like building better security and using encryption.

“It’s insecure because you didn’t build any security into it. And then now you’re using that as a justification for why only your product can connect in an easy way,” Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg said that if Apple stopped applying its “random rules,” Meta’s profit would double.

He also took shots at Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which had disappointing U.S. sales. Meta sells its own virtual headsets called the Meta Quest.

“I think the Vision Pro is, I think, one of the bigger swings at doing a new thing that they tried in a while,” Zuckerberg said. “And I don’t want to give them too hard of a time on it, because we do a lot of things where the first version isn’t that good, and you want to kind of judge the third version of it. But I mean, the V1, it definitely did not hit it out of the park.”

“I heard it’s really good for watching movies,” he added.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

Sports

Santa Anita racing ppd., track used for fire relief

Published

4 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Santa Anita racing ppd., track used for fire relief

Associated Press

Jan 11, 2025, 01:32 PM ET

LOS ANGELES — A flare-up of the wildfire on the west side of Los Angeles that prompted new evacuations has caused Santa Anita to cancel horse racing this weekend.

The track in Arcadia, near the smoldering Eaton fire that decimated Altadena, had said Friday that it would go ahead with Saturday racing, pending air quality conditions.

However, track officials said early Saturday that given the Friday night developments involving the Palisades fire, there will be no racing this weekend.

They said air quality standards at the track remain well within the limits set by the California Horse Racing Board and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, but cited the growing impact of the fires throughout Los Angeles County.

The sprawling 90-year-old track is being used to support several relief efforts.

The charity drop-off that was set up at the Rose Bowl was relocated to Santa Anita’s south parking lot on Friday. Southern California Edison is using the entire north parking lot as its base camp to restore power to those in the affected areas. The track is working with other organizations requesting space.

Morning training will continue as scheduled Saturday and Sunday. The track has its own security staff and does not use local first responders for normal events.

Rescheduled dates for the postponed races will be announced later.