"For Chinese people, Google is not god, and even if it puts on a full-on show about politics and values, it is still not god. In fact, Google is not a virgin when it comes to values. Its cooperation and collusion with the U.S. intelligence and security agencies is well-known. All this makes one wonder. Thinking about the United States' big efforts in recent years to engage in Internet war, perhaps this could be an exploratory pre-dawn battle." —Excerpt from a commentary on Google in the overseas edition of People's Daily, the primary newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party. A related commentary in the same paper accuses Google of continuing to censor search in other countries, including the USA.
Chinese Communist Party newspaper accuses Google of colluding with U.S. spies
One year ago today, first tweet on 'mystery pneumonia' in Wuhan, China
• A year ago today, this tweet warned of a "SARS/Suspected SARS Pneumonia Outbreak in Wuhan, China." • Now, COVID-19 has killed 350,000 in US, and counting. This appears to be the first tweet to have ever discussed what we now know as the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. Sources on the internet in China reported… READ THE REST
Highly contagious COVID variant first found in UK is now in California and Colorado, could change course of pandemic in US
"The overall picture is pretty grim." —Bill Hanage, Harvard epidemiologist New York Times, December 30, 2020 In Colorado and California, there are now two confirmed cases of that new and highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the UK. Neither of these two confirmed cases of COVID variant B 1.1.7 has a travel history, which… READ THE REST
First known US case of highly contagious COVID-19 variant from UK reported in Colorado
The highly infectious variant of COVID-19 first reported in the U.K. has now been reported in Colorado, say U.S. health authorities on Tuesday. From Reuters: "The effort to distribute and administer the vaccine is not progressing as it should," Biden said in Wilmington, Delaware. At the current rate, "it's going to take years, not months,… READ THE REST
The hand warmer in this portable heater might just make it your favorite item in your home office
Sometimes, you'd really rather just boost the temperature in your bedroom or home office by a few degrees without firing up your central heating and paying to pump that heat throughout the entire house. In that case, you just need a portable heater that can wrap a cocoon of warmth around a relatively small, contained… READ THE REST
The Sky Lite Laser Galaxy Projector can turn your bedroom ceiling into a beautiful night sky
Earlier this month, stargazers were dazzled by a rare celestial event as The Great Conjunction offered a view of Jupiter and Saturn huddled close together in the night sky. The planets themselves aren't actually in closer proximity to each other, but just the idea of seeing this optical convergence that hasn't been viewed from Earth… READ THE REST
This honeycomb-patterned gel cushion could be the answer to that nagging back pain
None of us are getting any younger. And while the ravages of time work differently on everyone, there seems to be one area where everyone from seniors down to the way-too-young start feeling discomfort first. Oh, that aching back. A lot of that may have to do with how many of us spend huge portions… READ THE REST