There were some interesting profiles following the NotPetya attack on Maersk in 2017 where Maersk claimed to have 1,200 - 1,500 applications, 49,000 laptops, 6,200 servers.
Maersk are entering into block-chain "distributed ledger technology" with IBM and similar modern solutions. But one article put $300 of every $2,000 of shipping costs for administration and paperwork[0].
I think you're right, there is a massive advantage to be had, and companies are chasing that advantage. But from my (tangential logistics) background, even the biggest shipping companies have the usual range of legacy systems, heavy administration overhead, plenty of paperwork, excel-based-tools and huge integration headaches.
If you're looking a 20 x 20 x 20 meters of gold (i.e. 8000 cubic meters, not a 20m3 cube) then that's more like 154,000 metric tons.
Which Wolfram Alpha helpfully confirms is approximately equal to the mass of all gold ever mined. There is some contention about this value, the World Gold Council posit 197,576 metric tons (and up to 3000 additional tonnes per year) [1], USGS suggest a cube with 28 meter sides, or 244,000 metric tons [2].
400,000 kg probably comes from 20 cubic meters of gold (386,000 kg).
The "generally understood" purpose of prison is for:
retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation
The US skews a more towards the retributive (i.e. "just punishment") than other jurisdictions. For example, the federal sentencing guidelines explicitly prohibit reduced sentences in order to facilitate rehabilitation (except drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs).
It's easy enough to imagine a society where prison has a significantly less retribution focused, instead focusing on how a criminal can be rehabilitated (education opportunities, community corrections orders e.t.c). Popular example being some Nordic prisons.
There is considerable variation in how pardons are applied around the world. Many with simple checks and balances:
- Require nomination or agreement by the AG.
- Prohibit pardoning of political crimes or other self-interest.
- Require approval by at least on other minister, or the whole cabinet, or some portion of the legislative body.
- Require a published request for pardon, justification of the pardon, and the judiciary's comment about this justification.
- Prohibited during lame duck or caretaker periods.
- Allow commutations only.
- Allow pardons only when someone is actually serving their sentence.
- Eliminate mandatory sentences, allows judges to exercise mercy in sentencing.
What bugged me was the complete lack of depth, one of the most interesting (and pertinent) topics surrounding the use of these devices are the legal implications.
There is no state that allows you to bug someone else's conversation. Intentionally causing a surveillance device to be installed in someone's home (which he clearly did) without their consent must present some legal issues?
Likewise, individuals are in some cases liable for the results traps they set. For example, the countdown (on the latest video) is troubling because it's reasonable to expect people to panic, and act erratically in response. What happens if they seriously injure themselves trying to escape the imagined bomb?
Someone else doing something illegal (stealing your "trap" package) doesn't protect you from prosecution or lawsuits.
Anyway, it would hear about the discussion with they had with lawyers before they did this. There's very little depth in many of the more recent videos. They're merely entertainment, not educational/engineering videos.
MHRA give more details of the approval process on their site[1]:
> This was done using a regulatory process known as a ‘rolling review’. A ‘rolling review’ can be used to complete the assessment of a promising medicine or vaccine during a public health emergency in the shortest time possible. This is done as the packages of data become available from ongoing studies on a staggered basis.
> The MHRA expert scientists and clinicians reviewed data from the laboratory pre-clinical studies, clinical trials, manufacturing and quality controls, product sampling and testing of the final vaccine and also considered the conditions for its safe supply and distribution.
> The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, part of the agency, has been and will continue doing, independent laboratory testing so that every batch of the vaccine meets the expected standards of safety and quality.
The information sheet for doctors gives a long list of "we don't know yet" about safety and efficacy for certain populations[2].
"In an emergency" has always been allowed reason to leave home during the Victorian lockdowns.
1 - https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/how-we-live