Tangentially related ...

More from the article ...

... Many modern Windows computers rely on full-disk encryption, called BitLocker, which is enabled by default.

This type of technology should prevent anyone except the device owner from accessing the data if the computer is locked and powered off.

But, by default, BitLocker recovery keys are uploaded to Microsoft's cloud, allowing the tech giant -- and by extension law enforcement -- to access them and use them to decrypt drives encrypted with BitLocker, as with the case reported by Forbes. ...

@#19 ... MAGATS are ------- retarded ...

I am not yet convinced of that.

What I do see, however, is that MAGA seems to want to (I'll be kind) cause grief for people with political views they do not agree with.

I remain to be convinced that this is the "new Peyton Place."

Or just a continuation of what has always occurred.

That is, sex for influence.

... "Enough already of Washington's orders over politicians in Venezuela," ...

But, didn't Pres Trump say that he now controls Venezuela?

"American First" or "America Whimsical" ???

@#3 ... s that actually earth return and not induction from the overhead line? ...

I do not see a "return line" on the poles here. Just the "feed line."

So, yeah, I'd say, it is earth return.

Stated differently, I see the transformers being fed from the wire on the pole, but I also see a line from the transformer down the pole into the ground. Combined with the lack of a return feed, classic earth return configuration.

@#10 ... letting a Fascist Admin run roughshod over US cities for political purposes. ...

Yup.

Even the Trump admin now seems to be realizing that.

OK, on my property, which is definitely not "rural electrification," I am subject to this single-wire earth return (inducing hum into the audio I listen to).

One thing I note, if I place voltmeter probes in the dirt of my yard twenty or thirty feet apart and in parallel with the power wires on the street, I see a significant voltage on the voltmeter. Single digit voltage.

Can I take advantage of that earth return? Maybe to charge batteries?

OK, on my property, which is definitely not "rural electrification," I am subject to this single-wire earth return.

One thing I note, if I place voltmeter probes in the dirt of my yard twenty or thirty feet apart and in parallel with the power wires on the street, I see a significant voltage on the voltmeter. Single digit voltage.

Can I take advantage of that earth return? Maybe to charge batteries?

More from the article ...

.... Single-wire earth return is principally used for rural electrification, but also finds use for larger isolated loads such as water pumps. It is also used for high-voltage direct current over submarine power cables. Electric single-phase railway traction, such as light rail, uses a very similar system. It uses resistors to earth to reduce hazards from rail voltages, but the primary return currents are through the rails.[1] ...

From the sub-summary ...

... American farmers, who once fed the world, face a volatile global market with diminishing federal backing ,,,

Maybe those farmers should buy more Trump digital coins, as Saudi Arabia seems to have done?

@#3 ... "Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows" ...

Possibly.

But my concern in the Minneapolis incidents is that Pres Trump is (intentionally?) provoking, not quelling, unrest.

And why might he be doing that?

@#1 ... A must read! ...

While in the past I have been reluctant to agree with fmr Rep Taylor-Greene (understatement), in this instance I do agree with her apparent awakening to the evils of Pres Trump's MAGA.

@#4 ... What's up with that? ...

Pres Xi being told by his military strategists that invading Taiwan may not be a good option for the nonce?

So, Pres Xi gets rid of those military advisors?

@#3 ... China's Top General Accused of Giving Nuclear Secrets to U.S. ...

Yeah, I saw that. Actually, I heard that on a show I watch (Bloomberg's The China Show that appears here at 8PM EST).

But, is that an excuse or a reason?

Pres Xi seems to have been doing a major purge of his military staff of late.

What's up with that?

@#7 ... there's a way to make change ...

Pleas explain ...

How does a Republican make a change within the current MAGA-controlled Republican Party without having to deal with threats of violence?

Was he presented with the, ~retire or be fired~ dictum?

@#262 ... Me or the DNC? ...

Both.

Both have had failed strategies.

But the whole Jill Stein thing has gotten old.

She will never win a nation-wide election.

So, why does she continue to waste peoples' money trying to that goal?

On the other hand Mayor Mamdani had a strategy that worked.

... Easily discredited propaganda ...

Yeah, that seems to be what is currently being discovered about the Trump Admin.

A question of, "~believe what we tell you to believe~ vs. ~believe your own eyes in the videos you see.~

Pres Trump seems to have gotten away with that approach regarding J6 (~peaceful demonstrators~).

But, now it seems to be more of a ~Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me~ type of issue.

... The 2A people are coming out in droves against ICE after the Alex Pretti shooting. ...

(I presume 2A means Second Amendment, if not, please correct me)

It is looking that way.

Even the NRA has exited the closet on this issue.

So, as AG Bondi seems to state, Pres Trump's private militia invasion of Minneapolis is not about immigrants, but about trying to affect the next elections?

@#260 ... Well then, America is ------.

Stuck between choosing between oligarchy party #1 or oligarchy party #2. ...

Possibly.

But Jill Stein?

I mean, really.

A candidate whose candidacy only seems to keep Republicans in power.

Maybe, look towards a better strategy for 2028?

@#17 ... Majority isn't the way our system works. ...

100% agreement on that.

The Electoral College is how our system works.

OK, beyond that, I was replying to a comment that said, "this is what we voted for."

We did not vote for this.

The Electoral College voted for this.

Apologies for the wall-of-text.

But NBC News seems to be going to the heart of the matter in their article.

More from the article ...

... The Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday that Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission which controls the armed forces, was under investigation and accused of serious "violations of discipline and law."

Liu Zhenli, another People's Liberation Army general and a lower member of the commission who was in charge of the Joint Staff Department, was also put under investigation, the ministry said.

The statement gave no details about the allegations against them or the charges they were facing. But an editorial Sunday in the Liberation Army Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the country's armed forces, suggested that Zhang, 75, was accused of corruption and possibly disloyalty to Xi. ...

"This is a reminder coming directly from President Xi Jinping, that political loyalty stands well before combat readiness," he told NBC News in a telephone interview Monday. "Political disloyalty is a cardinal sin inside the party. And the message is clear: it's a political accusation," he said. "I think the message is extremely clear, no one is safe."

Xi could have let Zhang, 75, retire to save face, he said, adding that this was "very important in China." ...

Of the six generals Xi appointed to the commission in 2022, only one is left, allowing the president to consolidate power, but also heightening the risk of a military miscalculation when it comes to Taiwan, according Steve Tsang, the director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London.

"Removing generals like Zhang means that there will not be any general who would dare to advise Xi against a military adventure when the time comes, and this increases the risk of a miscalculation," he said in an email Monday. ...

@#20 ... where he is expected to retire soon ...

So, maybe the Pres Trump telling him... retire, or be fired? You're killing my polling ...

@#19

Found this ...

Bovino removed from his role as US Border Patrol commander at large, The Atlantic reports