Miscellaneous News -- May 21, 2019

Updates

May 25, 2019: with regard to the Baltimore cybersecurity debacle, now we know. The same folks who brought us the false "Steele dossier," brought us this. This is being reported by The New York Times, behind a paywall, but available via google:

For nearly three weeks, Baltimore has struggled with a cyberattack by digital extortionists that has frozen thousands of computers, shut down email and disrupted real estate sales, water bills, health alerts and many other services.

But here is what frustrated city employees and residents do not know: A key component of the malware that cybercriminals used in the attack was developed at taxpayer expense a short drive down the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at the National Security Agency, according to security experts briefed on the case.

Since 2017, when the N.S.A. lost control of the tool, EternalBlue, it has been picked up by state hackers in North Korea, Russia and, more recently, China, to cut a path of a destruction around the world, leaving billions of dollars in damage. But over the past year, the cyberweapon has boomeranged back and is now showing up in the N.S.A.’s own backyard.

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Medical for all: California has already decided to provide free health care for immigrants. The only question is "how much?" The governor wants to cover only those under 26, while legislators want to provide Medicaid to all. Wow, that California governor is a really conservative wacko hardliner. Meanwhile, all those Californians paying $2,500/month for family medical insurance can get in line behind the new folks. What a great state.  I assume it's just a matter of time before California driver's licenses will be available through vending machines. Just enter your identifying data, "verify" that you have taken a driver's education course and have car insurance, insert a dollar, and get your driver's license. A commercial driver's license -- a CDL -- the ones required to drive the big rigs would cost $2.

Isonomy: a new word for me.

USPS: testing driverless trucks on the 1,000-mile stretch between Phoenix and Dallas. Link here.  What could possibly go wrong? Why did "Kramer" and "Newman" just flash across my mind?


Baltimore: still hobbled after two weeks. Cyberattack. It could be worse. It could have been a "Mars" attack.


Making NYC great again: New York City's economy grew at a blistering 3% rate in 1Q19.

Unemployment declined for the fifth straight quarter, with the average unemployment claims decreasing 6.4% since the previous quarter, the report shows. The city’s lowest unemployment numbers are in Queens, with a rate of 4%. The Bronx has the city’s highest unemployment rate, at 6.2%, while unemployment is at 4.7% in Brooklyn, 4.1% in Manhattan and 4.5% on Staten Island.

The average hourly earnings were up 4.5%, compared with the same time last year, from $35.84 to $37.43. Venture-capital investment also hit a record high, with $4.46 billion in investments in the first quarter.

Boom! Edith Wharton's oceanfront Newport mansion sells for almost $12 million.

Boom! Not to be outdone, Saudi buyer snaps up two -- count 'em, two -- Bel-Air homes to create a $52-million compound. And this, folks, is why millennials are driven to socialism. I assume the second home is for the harem.