Baidu's Driverless Taxis Win New Approval In China

Artillery is the cheapest way to take out defenders entrenched in cities. Therefore, the supply of artillery units is important. Driverless cars and SUVs are the safest and most versatile way to equip artillery units. As a result, all countries are racing to develop commercial driverless car capabilities and issue permits to such companies.

And Lithuania? What Lithuania... We are trying to catch old Belarusian tractors in the fields of Lithuania. Who gave them permission to drive around those fields and carry manure? Artificial intelligence is not needed in Lithuania, because it would compete with the stinking old Goat and  Goats Kid, who are the only ones allowed to have intelligence.

 

"SINGAPORE -- China took a notable regulatory step in the field of driverless taxis, with two cities giving Baidu Inc. approval to operate ride-hailing services without a driver or a person overseeing safety in the vehicle.

The Chinese search-engine giant, which already operates self-driving taxis, plans to add five unmanned cars each to the cities of Wuhan and Chongqing, it said. These vehicles will run in designated areas of those cities during the daytime, when there tends to be more traffic on the road, the company said. The approvals also allow Baidu to charge users for the rides, it said.

China, seeking to catch up to the U.S. in the field of autonomous driving, has been increasingly active in setting up regulations that allow self-driving vehicles on public roads. Establishing such a regulatory framework helps clarify rules and responsibilities and opens up roads for companies to run businesses.

This month, the southern metropolis of Shenzhen started implementing rules that say unmanned driverless cars can run only in designated areas, and that service operators of such cars will be held responsible in the case of traffic accidents.

The issuing of permits to Baidu highlights that Chinese regulators have established basic rules to govern a new area of business, said Wei Dong, vice president of Baidu's intelligence driving division. More than a dozen cities in China have set up pilot areas for testing driverless vehicles on public roads since authorities started approving such tests in 2020.

In the U.S., General Motors Co.'s Cruise LLC in June received a permit to charge for fully driverless rides at nighttime in San Francisco, while Waymo LLC, an Alphabet Inc. unit, earlier this year started to operate cars without any human control, also in San Francisco. Waymo's rides are free and available only to its staff.

In Wuhan, in central China, Baidu will operate its service in a roughly 5-square-mile designated area, while in the southwestern city of Chongqing, it will operate in an area of about 12 square miles, the company said.

Driverless robotaxis have already been approved to run in certain areas of Beijing, but a safety person is required to sit next to the driver's seat. Last month, Baidu and Pony.ai, a rival backed by Toyota Motor Corp., received commercial permits for such services there.

Baidu, based in Beijing, plans to double the size of its robotaxi fleet in China to more than 600 cars by the October-December quarter, Mr. Wei said.

For every two robotaxis in service, Baidu has one staffer monitor the vehicles remotely, he said.

Jin Jianbing, an e-commerce worker in Beijing who has been on Baidu robotaxi rides, said he would be excited to try the new service but wouldn't immediately use it with his family. He believes in the safety of autonomous vehicles, he said, but added: "I'd be conservative with the elderly and children."" [1]

1. Baidu's Driverless Taxis Win New Approval
Huang, Raffaele. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 09 Aug 2022: B.4.

Vakarai svajoja atsipratinti nuo rusiško titano

 

Europa yra labai graži vieta gyventi. Štai kodėl ji taip tolygiai apgyvendinta. Tiesiog palyginkite gražias vynuogynų kalvas Italijoje su tuščiomis kalvomis Kalifornijoje. Šiandieninei rimtai energijos gamybai reikia daug tuščios vietos. Tiesiog pabandykite pastatyti naujus vėjo malūnus Vokietijoje ir pažiūrėkite, kas iš to išeis. Ir JAV, ir Rusija turi šią tuščią erdvę. Europa to neturi. Taigi, Europa perka ir pirks nemažai daug energijos naudojančių gaminių, tokių, kaip titanas ir titano detalės. Pagal deglobalizacijos svajones JAV turi juos gaminti dviem didžiulėms turtingoms rinkoms – JAV ir Europai. Dėl to JAV gaminami daug energijos suvartojantys gaminiai yra brangesni, nei tokie pat rusiški produktai, kuriuos mielai perka Kinija, gaunanti iš to pigumo konkurencinį pranašumą. Tai skatina infliacijos lūkesčius Vakaruose, kurie naikina Bideno, Scholzo ir Macrono administracijų politines perspektyvas. Vakarų verslui irgi nepatinka naujas Kinijos konkurentų konkurencinis pranašumas, atsirandantis pigios rusų energijos pagrindu. Šios Vakarų valstybių administracijos gali neturėti pakankamai laiko įgyvendinti savo deglobalizacijos svajones. Vis dėlto, jos toliau svajoja:

 

    „Europos gamtinių dujų krizė rodo pramonės strategijų, kurios remiasi Vladimiru Putinu, problemą. Kai kurios Vakarų vyriausybės ir įmonės vis dar negavo atmintinės.

 

    Neseniai Europos Sąjunga atsisakė planų įtraukti Rusijos VSMPO-Avisma į savo septintąjį sankcijų etapą. 

 

VSMPO yra didžiausias pasaulyje titano gamintojas, kuris yra būtinas statant orlaivius, nes yra tvirtas, atsparus korozijai ir daug lengvesnis už plieną. Beveik pusė viso pasaulio titano naudojama aviacijos pramonėje.

 

    Titano rūdos ilmenitas ir rutilas yra prieinamos daugelyje šalių, tačiau galimybė jas paversti titano kempine – gryniausia titano forma, kuri maišoma į lydinius pramoniniais tikslais – yra daug ribotesnė. Pasak JAV geologijos tarnybos, Rusija iki pandemijos pagamino maždaug penktadalį pasaulinių atsargų, todėl ji yra trečioje vietoje po Kinijos ir Japonijos (atitinkamai 40% ir 25%). Tačiau Kinija sunaudoja dar daugiau titano, nei pagamina. Svarbiausia, kad VSMPO parduoda gatavus titano gaminius dirbtinai žemomis kainomis, todėl tikriausiai dėl to jis patenkina maždaug pusę „Airbus“ titano poreikio. Bendrą įmonę su VSMPO turėjusiai „Boeing“ tai buvo trečdalis.

 

    Dėl to VSMPO buvo atleista nuo Vakarų sankcijų. Vis dėlto JAV aviacijos ir kosmoso gigantai, tokie, kaip „Boeing“, „Raytheon“ ir „General Electric“, arba pasitraukė nuo rusiško titano, arba sumažino jo naudojimą.

 

    Priešingai, „Airbus“ perka jį per nesankcionuotas dukterines įmones. Europos lėktuvų gamintojas pabrėžia, kad tai trumpalaikė priemonė, tačiau ji garsiai ir sėkmingai siekė, kad VSMPO nepatektų į sankcijų sąrašus. Interviu „Airbus“ vadovas Guillaume'as Faury pažymėjo, kad sankcijų dėl titano poveikis Maskvai bus nedidelis. „Tie, kuriems taikytume sankcijas, būtume mes patys“, – sakė jis. "Kalbant apie VSMPO: jei jie nustos pristatyti pasaulinei pasaulinei lėktuvų ir kosmoso pramonei, tai istorijos pabaiga. Taigi, tai yra tipiškas pralaimėjimas."

 

    „Airbus“ ir kiti Vakarų gamintojai gavo laiko perkelti tiekimo grandines kitur. Tačiau taip pat yra rizika, kad vyraus patogumas, kaip tai atsitiko po to, kai Rusija 2014 m. atgavo Krymą. Nuo to laiko aviacijos bendrovės sukaupė didesnes atsargas, o „Airbus“ teigia, kad Krymo krizė paskatino ieškoti alternatyvių titano šaltinių. Tačiau tikroji diversifikacija neįvyko.

 

    Gamybai jau turi įtakos šiandieninė situacija. „Raytheon“ generalinis direktorius Gregas Hayesas praėjusią savaitę analitikams sakė, kad keletas verslo reaktyvinių lėktuvų gamintojų, kurie yra jos „Pratt & Whitney Canada“ padalinio klientai, šiais metais „bus be variklių“.

 

    Ir reikalai blogėja: liepą Maskva užblokavo Rusijos titano eksportuotoją, kad jis negalėtų parduoti aukščiausio lygio Vakarų aviacijos ir kosmoso kompanijai, sakė klientui artimi žmonės.

 

    Kad ir kaip pakenktų VSMPO, V. Putinas galėtų bet kada nutraukti visą titano eksportą ir nukreipti jį į Kiniją, kaip tai padarė su nafta. Net jei tai reikštų mažesnes pajamas, Rusijai gali nerūpėti: praėjusį mėnesį paskelbti antrojo ketvirčio einamosios sąskaitos duomenys rodo, kad Rusija turi daugiau užsienio valiutos, nei žino, ką su ja daryti.

 

    Aviacijos ir kosmoso pramonei bus sunku atsikratyti priklausomybės nuo Rusijos. Išskyrus Japoniją, JAV sąjungininkai nėra titano kempinės gamintojai, net kai jie eksportuoja titano rūdas. Vienintelis aktyvus gamintojas pačiose JAV yra Solt Leik Sičio gamykla, kurios pajėgumas yra menki 500 tonų per metus. Prekybos departamentas ne kartą perspėjo, kad status quo kelia grėsmę nacionaliniam saugumui. Rusijos gatavus titano gaminius pakeisti dar sunkiau.

 

    Iki šiol Vakarai daugiausia dėmesio skyrė energijai ir puslaidininkiams. Titanas yra pažeidžiamumas, į kurį taip pat nereikėtų žiūrėti lengvai.“ [1]

1.  The West Must Wean Itself Off Russian Titanium
Sindreu, Jon. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 09 Aug 2022: B.12.

The West Dreams To Wean Itself Off Russian Titanium

Europe is a very nice place to live. This why it is so evenly populated.  Just compare nice vineyard hills in Italy with empty hills in California. Today's serious energy production needs a lot of empty space. Just try to put new windmills in Germany and see what will come out of it. Both USA and Russia have this empty space. Europe does not. So Europe is and will be buying a lot of energy intensive products, like titanium. USA has to produce it for two huge rich markets - in USA and in Europe - according to the de-globalization dreams.  This makes USA produced energy intensive products more expensive than Russian stuff picked up by getting a competitive advantage from it China. That feeds into inflation expectations in the West that are killing the political prospects of Biden, Scholz, and Macron administrations. Western business also does not like the new competitive advantage of Chinese competitors, which is emerging on the basis of cheap Russian energy. These administrations of Western countries might not have enough time to realize their de-globalization dreams. Still, they proceed dreaming:

"Europe's natural-gas crisis shows the problem with industrial strategies that rely on Vladimir Putin. Some Western governments and companies still haven't gotten the memo.

Recently, the European Union scrapped plans to include Russia's VSMPO-Avisma in its seventh round of sanctions.

VSMPO is the world's largest producer of titanium, which is essential for building aircraft because it is strong, resistant to corrosion and far lighter than steel. Almost half of global titanium is used in aerospace.

Titanium ores ilmenite and rutile are available in many countries, but the capability to turn them into titanium sponge -- its purest form, which is mixed into alloys for industrial purposes -- is far more limited. Russia produced roughly a fifth of global supplies before the pandemic, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, putting it in third place behind China and Japan with 40% and 25%, respectively. However, China consumes even more titanium than it produces. Crucially, VSMPO sells finished titanium goods at artificially low prices, which is probably why it serves about half of Airbus' titanium needs. For Boeing, which had a joint venture with the company, it was a third.

As a result, VSMPO has been exempted from Western sanctions. Still, U.S. aerospace giants like Boeing, Raytheon and General Electric have either walked away from Russian titanium or minimized its use.

By contrast, Airbus keeps buying it through unsanctioned subsidiaries. The European plane maker emphasizes that this is a short-time measure, but it has vocally -- and successfully -- lobbied to keep VSMPO off sanctions lists. In an interview, Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury pointed out that the impact of titanium sanctions on Moscow would be small. "The ones we would sanction would be ourselves," he said. "As for VSMPO: If they stop delivering to worldwide global aerospace, it's the end of the story. So it's a typical lose-lose."

Airbus and other Western manufacturers have gained time to shift supply chains elsewhere. But there is also a risk that convenience prevails, as it did after Russia's recovery of Crimea in 2014. Aerospace companies have since accumulated larger stockpiles, and Airbus says the Crimea crisis prompted it to identify alternative titanium sources. But actual diversification didn't happen.

Production is already being impacted by today's situation. Raytheon Chief Executive Greg Hayes told analysts last week that several business-jet makers that are customers of its Pratt & Whitney Canada arm "are going to be without engines" this year.

And matters are getting worse: In July, Moscow blocked a Russian titanium exporter from selling to a top Western aerospace company, people close to the client said.

As damaging as it would be for VSMPO, Mr. Putin could shut off all titanium exports at any point, redirecting them to China as he has done with oil. Even if it implies lower revenues, Russia may not care: Second-quarter current-account data released last month suggested that the country has more foreign currency than it knows what to do with.

The aerospace industry will find it hard to shed its dependence on Russia. Apart from Japan, U.S. allies aren't producers of titanium sponge, even when they export titanium ores. The only active producer in the U.S. itself is a Salt Lake City plant with a paltry 500 tons a year of capacity. The Department of Commerce has repeatedly warned that the status quo is a threat to national security. Russia's finished titanium products are even harder to replace.

So far, the West has focused its "reshoring" efforts mainly on energy and semiconductors. Titanium is a vulnerability that shouldn't be taken lightly either." [1]

1.  The West Must Wean Itself Off Russian Titanium
Sindreu, Jon. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 09 Aug 2022: B.12.

Nevykėlis G. Landsbergis pritartų pilietybės atėmimui iš pasaulinio lygio sportininkės M. Drobiazko

G. Landsbergis pritartų pilietybės atėmimui iš visų Lietuvos gyventojų. Visus deportuoti, o turtus atiduoti jam, ponui Broileriui. Pasaka. Net senas Ožys, kuris dažnai nusišneka, iki tokių kvailysčių nepritempia.

Atviras laiškas Lietuvos konservatoriams ir liberalams

 Jūs pernelyg lengvai pasivadinate Lietuva, kalbate, kad atstovaujate visos Lietuvos interesams. Realiai esate mulkių gauja. Kai sekančių rinkimų metu kartu su jūsų mažais narkotikų kiekiais išspirsime jus iš valdžios, jūsų teatras, neva atstovaujant visai Lietuvai, baigsis.

Anyone can learn anything they want

"It may seem that it was enough for Richard Feynman to become a Nobel Prize laureate in physics and one of the most famous scientists, but the physicist always wanted to know more, writes bomba.co.

 

His biographer, James Gleick, wrote: "He had equal respect for all professions, learning to play the drums, massage, telling stories and flirting with women in bars, all of which he saw as crafts with their own rules that could be learned."

 

Was learning easy for Feynman because he was a genius and had an inventive, lightning-fast mind? In that case, we have no choice but to marvel at his ability to learn both acting and quantum physics. Fortunately, Feynman's ability to learn was not just about his innate ability. He had his own way of learning new things. This method is simple and suitable for everyone.

 

R. Feynman's learning method:

 

1. Teach the child.

 

R. Feynman was one of the most advanced people in science. He claimed that even the most complex scientific statements can be explained in understandable terms.

 

The physicist believed that the use of buzzwords shows that a person does not understand what he is talking about. That's why Feynman's first step became the condition that everything you want to learn must be explained in writing as if it were being read by an 8-year-old age child.

 

When you write down an idea from beginning to end in simple language that even a child can understand (use only the most popular words), you encourage yourself to understand the essence of the subject more deeply and simplify the connection between different ideas.

 

If you are having difficulties at this stage, you will clearly understand your weaknesses.

 

2. Go back

 

At first, it will be difficult to explain new things in an exceptionally simple way. Just make a note of it every time you encounter difficulties or something becomes unclear. Let it be a marker that shows a specific place that needs to be repeated again.

 

For example, if you have a biology test coming up, but you are not able to "humanely" explain the essence of evolution, open the book and read the appropriate section. Then close your textbook, grab a clean sheet of paper, and explain the idea (in this case, evolution) that you had trouble learning.

 

3. Review and simplify

 

At this stage, you need to have notes that succinctly explain what you are trying to learn on your own. It remains for you to review and consolidate the knowledge you have received.

 

Read what you wrote out loud. If the explanation seems complicated, sounds vague, it indicates that there is a need to deepen the understanding of this area."