USA is pretty low on the list of countries I could imagine implementing something like this. Given Russia's, China's, and a large portion of SEA countries' internet censorship track records...

I'd put the USA pretty high on that list. They've implemented plenty of their take-downs over the past year, and are more capable of introducing something like this than any SEA state.

I think many people living in the US are unaware of just how bad the rest of the world has it, sometimes.

That's not the point at all. The USA claims to be a bastion of democracy and freedom. Therefore it has significantly higher standards to live up to than countries like Russia and China.

Are you diabetic by chance?

Nope.

Welp, I'm gonna disrupt their business model by creating a laundromat operated exclusively by bitcoins.

Hey man, Facebook's gotta put that In-q-tel capital to work!/s

But on a more serious note, isn't shining IR directly into your eyes from such close distances hazardous?

I'm sure the amount of IR light involved is far less than the exposure you get from walking outside on a nice sunny day.

No idea, could be, could be not. Without any data, making assertions about things we don't understand is dangerous ;-)

I thought the premise of the "Solar Freakin' Roadways" video was to pit the solar roadways against a direct competitor like, solar freakin' panels above the roadways.

The real premise is to pit SFR against a sane alternative. Even putting panels above (or alongside) all roadways is prohibitive due to the transmission line requirements ($1 - $2 million per mile).

There's far more to be said for siting solar where you use it (e.g., on top of roofs, buildings, parking structures, etc.), or where the siting is optimal, in concentrated locations. Because it turns out we're not hurting for space to put solar cells, but rather, we need to get the costs down. A 100 mile square of solar collectors in the desert would more than provide for all electrical generating needs for the US, and you'd have a small set of long-distance transmission lines from it.

So does anyone have a recap of this chain of events?

From the last time I heard about this, it sounded like he was bullied into selling his shares to one of Putin's buddies, and stepping down. Then he said he would like to stay in Russia, now he's fleeing?