Badger (Noun) secondary meaning: The weasel that dug a hole for Trevor Milton of Nikola.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Nikola Corporation, a publicly traded company created through a special purpose acquisition company transaction, will pay $125 million to settle charges that it defrauded investors by misleading them about its products, technical advancements, and commercial prospects. The settlement follows the SEC’s litigated action filed earlier this year against Trevor Milton, the company’s founder and former Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman. (AutoInformed: SEC Charges Nikola Founder Trevor Milton With Fraud)
The SEC’s order says that “before Nikola had produced a single commercial product, Milton embarked on a public relations campaign aimed at inflating and maintaining Nikola’s stock price. Milton’s statements in tweets and media appearances falsely gave investors the impression that Nikola had reached certain product and technological milestones.”1 Continue reading
FAA Warns Broadband Could Pose Safety Threat to Airlines
Technology can cause problems. Consider social media helping the Republican led insurrection at the US Capital to overturn an election.
Today the Federal Aviation Administration issued a so-called Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) telling aircraft manufacturers, radio altimeter manufacturers, operators and pilots of the planned deployment of 5G wireless broadband networks in the 3700-3980 MHz bands (C-Band).1 The FCC and its apparently careless regulations on high-speed internet, and corporate lobbyists for the telecommunications industry are the sources of the problem. Broadband is also being proposed by some automakers and suppliers as a way to wirelessly recharge electric vehicles.
Broadband deployment is currently underway and there is scarce data on it’s actually safety effects on flying. In short, your smartphone or someone else’s or the Verizon or AT&T cellphone tower (they own the frequencies that appear to be the most problematic with overlap interference) could kill you if it affects airline navigation, particularly in the safety critical instrument-approach-to-landing phase of flying. The device does not have to be in use on the plane. “There have not yet been proven reports of harmful interference due to wireless broadband operations internationally, although this issue is continuing to be studied,” said the FAA. See pilot Juan Browne on automatic landings in poor visibility click here. Continue reading →