Monday, March 4
Corporate ESG is Collapsing
ESG, or “Environment, Social, and Governance,” is the new feel-good buzzword in the halls of global corporations and megabanks. It’s a PR push to cloak morally disastrous firms in a veneer of social and environmental responsibility — lip service — but at the end of the day, I believe the market will speak.
If ESG initiatives cause these companies to bleed money, they’ll start pulling back, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing. Although the ESG trend is far from dead, I doubt it was ever really about being profitable…it makes more sense as a set of PR initiatives and feel-good public-private partnerships where neoliberal institutions, bureaucrats, and megacorporations can pat one another on the back for being “environmentally and socially-conscious.” READ MORE...
Sunday, March 3
In The NEWS
The US plans to begin airdropping aid into Gaza in coming days.
President Joe Biden announced the decision Friday, a day after more than 100 Palestinians were reportedly killed and hundreds of others wounded during a string of events involving Israeli troops at an aid delivery route. Conflicting reports describe the cause of the incident and the subsequent casualties; the United Nations and European Union are pushing for an independent investigation.
Editor’s note: In Friday’s digest, we mischaracterized the chaotic scene in Gaza City described above. The number of deaths and injuries attributable to gunfire versus the crowd surge was at the time, and remains, unclear. See an overview here.
Thousands gather for Navalny's funeral in Moscow.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was laid to rest in Moscow Friday, drawing thousands of his supporters to pay tribute. Navalny died two weeks ago in an Arctic prison while serving multiple sentences for charges including extremism. Prison officials have claimed the 47-year-old died of sudden death syndrome, a catch-all term for various causes of cardiac arrest.
Fashion icon and New York designer Iris Apfel dies at 102.
Apfel, a self-described "geriatric starlet," was known for her eclectic style and oversized glasses (see photos). She had nearly 3 million followers on her Instagram, was the subject of a 2014 documentary called "Iris," and once had her clothes featured in an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Between 1950 to 1992, Iris owned an international textile firm with her late husband, Carl, and helped restore the White House for nine presidents. The cause of her death wasn't disclosed.
CVS, Walgreens to begin selling abortion pill mifepristone.
The pharmacy chains will start dispensing the pill as soon as next week in a phased rollout in states where it is legal. Mifepristone has been around for more than 20 years and is one of two drugs used for medically induced abortions. The Supreme Court will consider a lower court ruling this spring that weakened the Food and Drug Administration's 2016 and 2021 decisions to make the abortion pill widely available.
CDC officially ends five-day COVID-19 quarantine guidance.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer requires people to stay at home for five days after testing positive for COVID-19. The agency said people don't need to quarantine if they have been fever-free and without symptoms for at least 24 hours and take precautionary measures, like wearing a mask. The new guidance is similar to recommendations for other common viruses, like the flu.
Boeing in talks to buy fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystems.
The Wichita, Kansas-based Spirit AeroSystems was previously owned by Boeing until a spin-off in 2005. Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems have been under scrutiny for a door panel blowout during an Alaska Airlines flight in January and quality issues surrounding Boeing 737 Max models. Spirit AeroSystems is also considering selling its Northern Ireland business, which supplies parts to Boeing's rival Airbus.
New slug species discovered off southwest coast of UK.
The new slug species, named Pleurobranchaea britannica, is between two and five centimeters long and is a type of side-gill sea slug. The slugs were first found in 2018 and 2019 by researchers from the UK and Spain but identified as a new species only recently, according to an announcement Friday.
2024 Election
Biden sincerely believes that since he beat Trump once, he can beat him again.
Trump sincerely believes that despite his 91 felony indictments, that he will be the GOP choice for President.
Trump also believes that he is a victim of ELECTION INTERFERENCE by the Democratic Party, aided by the mainstream media, the DOJ and the FBI - two government agencies weaponized by the Democrats.
Trump has to put up a HALF BILLION DOLLARS before he can even appeal his lates conviction that he committed FRAUD against the people of NYC.
Trump does not seem overly concerned about that which means, he probably has access to that money even though he may not like it.
A lot of experts believe that the Supreme Court, if they hear the case, will rule favor of Trump. However, if they do not, Trump is still confident that despite what is happening to him, he will be elected President.
There is really no way of knowing what will happen, but if the independents elect Biden again because they dislike Trump, then they are really electing Kamala Harris to become our President, should anything happen to Joe.
It should not bother us that Kamala is a female but what should bother us, is her incompetence to even handle the job of VP. If she is not VP material than how can she possible be POTUS material?
Even more alarming is that fact that the WORLD is getting considerably close to WWIII as a result of Ukraine/Russia, Israel/Hamas, Hezbollah, and China/Taiwan... not to mention the fact that Iran and North Korea are very close to building a nuclear bomb.
A WEAK PRESIDENT ONLY ENCOURAGES THE ENEMIES OF THE USA TO BECOME MORE AGGRESSIVE.
Liberals/Democrats/Progressives/Socialists do not believe that the rest of the world is stupid enough to begin WWIII...
However, NATO and the European Union do not agree with the liberals, democrats, progressives, and socialists... and see what Russia and China are doing as a REAL THREAT.
Two other issues that seem to be escaping the minds of the voters are:
- Our increasing national debt
- BRICS war on the US dollar
Humanoid Robot Crew Operates India's Spacecraft
ISRO's Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) will ferry a humanoid robot to space on a test flight later this year and carry three astronauts next year. (Image credit: ISRO)
India is steadily inching toward the first uncrewed flight in its human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan (Sanskrit for "celestial vehicle"). Early last week, the nation's space agency successfully completed the final test to qualify the test flight's rocket engine, approving it to be capable of safely ferrying astronauts to space.
This engine test was the seventh of its kind in which flight conditions were simulated to assess the device's endurance and performance under normal, and abnormal, conditions including varying thrust and propellant tank pressure, officials said in a statement on Wednesday (Feb. 21). These tests are being carried out at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Since 2014, seven years after the Gaganyaan program was first initiated, ISRO has has been perfecting its homegrown flight hardware including engines, solid rocket boosters, crew escape systems and parachutes ahead of the uncrewed Gaganyaan-1 (G1) mission, tentatively scheduled for the third quarter of this year. READ MORE...
Saturday, March 2
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
In partnership with NativePath
> Video game giant Electronic Arts lays off 670 employees, roughly 5% of its workforce, amid industrywide layoffs (More) | Universal Music Group begins previously announced layoffs across multiple company music labels (More)
> Héctor Ortiz, former MLB catcher and longtime Texas Rangers coach, dies of cancer at 54 (More) | Former WWE star Billy Jack Haynes charged with second-degree murder in connection with shooting death of his wife (More)
> Iowa's Caitlin Clark now 18 points from breaking all-time, men's or women's, NCAA basketball scoring record; Iowa takes on Ohio State Sunday to wrap up their regular season (More) | Clark declares for WNBA Draft, widely expected to be top pick (More)
Science & Technology
> Prostate cancer involves two distinct subtypes, new study finds; results may lead to more targeted treatments for the disease, which affects one in eight adult men (More)
> Brain waves during sleep help flush cellular waste from the brain during sleep; rhythmic movement of neurons pushes cerebrospinal fluid through tissue, supports links between high-quality sleep and health (More)
> Daddy longlegs species found to have a set of underdeveloped eyes as embryos; vestigial organs implying some types of the insect diversified earlier than previously thought (More)
Business & Markets
> US stocks markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.5%, Dow +0.1%, Nasdaq +0.9%); Nasdaq and S&P 500 rise to all-time highs (More) | Key inflation metric—personal consumption expenditures price index—rose 2.8% year-over-year, the slowest annual pace since March 2021 (More)
> OpenAI faces investigation from US Securities and Exchange Commission over whether company's investors were misled (More) | US Commerce Department launches probe into potential national security risks of smart vehicles produced in China and otcountries (More)
> Weight Watchers shares drop 18% after Oprah Winfrey announces exit from company's board, plans to donate all her stock to a museum (More) | Humanoid robot startup Figure AI valued at $2.6B after raising funds from investors including Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, Amazon, OpenAI, and Microsoft (More)
Illegal Immigrants
However, the USA has always hunted down and deported any immigrant who illegally crossed to boarder UNTIL President Biden allowed a flood of illegal immigrants to cross our southern borders from Mexico.
For three years this has been allowed to take place and there are estimated to be TEN MILLION illegal immigrants in the USA.
Many of these illegal immigrants wanted to go north into sanctuary cities and states where it was believed that would be taken care of by local residents and local governments.
There is no vetting process for illegal immigrants so we all allowing criminals to enter our country. It is also widely believed that South American countries are emptying their prisons and sending their inmate to the USA for us to deal with.
In addition to these criminals, members of Mexican Drug Cartels are also entering the USA along with citizens from:
- China
- Pakistan
- Iran
- Other countries in the Middle East
- Other countries in Africa
How did these people get to Mexico to enter the USA illegally from countries OVER 3,000 MILES AWAY?
It is estimated that over 30,000 Chinese Military Age males have entered this country... and it is doubtful they seek asylum or came her to work.
It is estimated that about 100,000 military age males from the Middle East who are suspected TERRORISTS have entered the USA as well. What do you think they are here for?
Most of these ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS:
- don't speak English
- have no technical skills
- have not been immanentized against diseases
- have no means of financial support
- if they get sick they will drain hospital resources
WHO DO WE TAKE CARE OF FIRST???
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS\
OR
AMERICAN CITIZENS...
Non English speaking children will be sent to our schools and how do we propose to teach them if our teachers don't speak Spanish?
Do we hire translators for all these classes reducing our educational budgets?
How do you think Americans are going to feel when these alleged TERRORISTS start committing terrorist activities and we don't have enough law enforcement to protect our citizens?
Are we going to enlist the National Guard?
Are we going to send in the US Military?
AND WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH ALL THESE ILLEGALS WHEN HUMANOID ROBOTS START TAKING AWAY AMERICAN JOBS?
Cuba to Join BRICS
Following the expansion announcement at its 2023 annual summit, all eyes have been set on who could eventually join the BRICS collective. Subsequently, with its global cooperations growing by the day, that list has started to take shape. Amid recent discussions with Russia, could Cuba be set to join & accept BRICS currency in 2024?
Indeed, those expansionary theories have coincided with the BRICS development of its local currencies. Although its embrace of de-dollarization and promotion of local currencies has been integrated, its work on its native assets continues. For the nations seeking to join the alliance within this calendar year, the development of that currency could play a crucial role. READ MORE...
Friday, March 1
Superconductivity
- Scientists have made a discovery that may help to unlock the microscopic mystery of high-temperature superconductivity
- The paper published in Nature could help address the world’s energy problems
- The new experimental observation quantifies the pseudogap pairing in a strongly attractive interacting cloud of fermionic lithium atoms
An international team of scientists has made a new discovery that may help to unlock the microscopic mystery of high-temperature superconductivity and address the world’s energy problems.
In a paper published in the journal Nature, Swinburne University of Technology’s Associate Professor Hui Hu collaborated with researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in a new experimental observation quantifying the pseudogap pairing in a strongly attractive interacting cloud of fermionic lithium atoms. READ MORE...
Low Cholesterol Levels
- Quit smoking cigarettes
- Quit drinking alcohol
- Quit eating red met
- Quit eating fried foods
- Quit eating sweets and sugars
- I exercised daily
- Got plenty of sleep
- Learned how to manage stress
- Ate a healthy diet
- drinking 4-6 glasses of red wine each year
- eating pizza once every quarter
- having 1-2 cheeseburgers each year
- eating strawberry preserves on English Muffin once or twice a month
- not exercising on the weekends
- having a slice of apple pie twice a year
- had a ribeye steak 6 times in 36 years
- eating a 6 times in 36 years
Antimatter
It's extremely rare and usually exists for just 142 billionths of a second.
Positronium can generate huge amounts of energy. It can shed light on 'antimatter' which existed at the beginning of the Universe, and studying it could revolutionise physics, cancer treatment, and maybe even space travel.
But until now the elusive substance has been almost impossible to analyse because its atoms move around so much.
Now scientists have a workaround - freezing it with lasers.
"Physicists are in love with positronium," said Dr Ruggero Caravita, who led the research at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern), near Geneva. "It is the perfect atom to do experiments with antimatter." READ MORE...