Friday, August 16
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists signs deal with AI company Narrativ that will allow actors to license a digital replica of their voice for advertisements (More)
> Wally Amos, founder and iconic spokesperson of Famous Amos cookies, dies at age 88 (More)
> Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy, the No. 10 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, to miss regular season due to a knee injury (More) | PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs kick off today (More)
Science & Technology
> Humans undergo rapid biological changes around ages 44 and 60, study finds; thousands of molecules and microbes increase or decrease the most around those periods, causing changes to cardiovascular health and immune function (More)
> South African lungfish species sets record for world's largest animal genome to be sequenced, with 90 billion base pairs of DNA, 30 times as many as the human genome (More)
> Mouse study shows experiencing stress sends messages from the brain to the gut, reducing beneficial bacteria responsible for preventing inflammation (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow +0.6%, Nasdaq +0.0%) after consumer price index rose 2.9% year-over-year in July, the lowest since 2021 (More) | Weekly mortgage applications for US home purchases hit highest level in 19 months; refinance applications hit highest level since May 2022 (More)
> Candy giant Mars to acquire snack maker Kellanova in $36B all-cash deal; Mars owns brands like M&Ms and Snickers, while Kellanova owns brands like Pringles and Cheez-Its (More)
> Activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management launches proxy fight at Southwest Airlines, seeks to replace 10 of 15 board directors (More) | Victoria's Secret taps CEO Hillary Super of competitor Savage X Fenty as its next chief (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> World Health Organization declares a global health emergency over the spread of an especially virulent strain of mpox, formerly monkeypox, in Africa (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces he will not seek reelection next month amid decade-low approval ratings; announcement follows a series of corruption scandals plaguing the country's ruling party (More)
> Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigns amid ongoing fallout over the handling of Israel-Hamas war protests on campus (More) | US judge rules UCLA must ensure Jewish students can access classes and campus amid protests (More)
Back to SCHOOL
I just heard on FOX News this morning that the cost of returning ONE CHILD back to public education is between $800 and $1,000.
This amount of money is typically due to the cost of clothes that the parents must buy or say they must buy for their child plus supplies and a backpack.
I find this rather amusing as well as ridiculous because my parents purchased me a couple of pair of jeans, 2-3 knit shirts depending upon the shape of my knit shirts from the previous year, a couple of long sleeved shirts, maybe a sweater, put the winter jacket I wore last year would be worn for a good 4-5 years. I would get a pair of winter shoes, again depending upon the shape of the ones I wore the previous year.
I was in style, and no one ever made fun of the clothes I was wearing because all the other children and teenagers were wearing the same types of outfits.
WE HAVE CAUSED OURSELVES to spend more money because of wanting to have 5-10 new outfits for each year of school.
We must realize HOW STUPID AND FOOLISH this parental feeling is.
We are causing OURSELVES to go INTO DEBT...
My parents spend even more on clothes for me to go to college, but once there, I very seldom wore the new clothes that were purchased because only a few needed to be fashionable in college.
Wake up PARENTS and teach your children the power of being debt free by being frugal with your spending.
Your spending contributes to sustaining INFLATION...
China's Solar Panels
America wants to open the Apocalypse mine: Energy for millennia, but 5 trillion would wipe us out
Renewable energy has always been an inexpensive and environmentally friendly option. However, the industry is continuously searching for more efficient elements. When it comes to solar panels, China is at the forefront with these that we present to you.
Silicon solar panels make a comeback: they outperform perovskite panels
Thursday, August 15
Most, if not all of us, go through phases that many would classify as: adolescence, teenager, young adult, adult, middle age, senior citizen, retired... all of which takes us towards and into DEATH... with death being our final phase which is pretty much instantaneously. That is to say that while some of us slowing die, when we finally die the actual occurrence takes less than a second.
We know what happens before death but what happens after death?
- Nothing?
- Something, but we don't know what yet?
- We turn into a spirit
- We are born again into someone or something else
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 2024 Paris Olympics brought in over 30 million viewers a day across NBC platforms, an 82% increase from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (More) | Gymnast Jordan Chiles forced to return bronze medal in women's floor exercise final after arbitration panel denies Team USA's appeal (More)
> Dallas Cowboys become first sports franchise worldwide to top $10B valuation (More) | Frank Selvy, two-time NBA All-Star who once scored an NCAA Division 1- record 100 points in a game, dies at 91 (More)
> Fans won't be allowed outside Wembley Stadium for Taylor Swift's five-night concert stint in London in wake of Vienna terrorist threat (More) | MTV Video Music Awards shifted to Sept. 11 due to recently scheduled presidential debate (More)
> Google begins rolling out AI-powered voice chatbot Gemini Live to Android users, rivaling ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode; latest feature was announced at Google's Pixel 9 launch event (More) | See all updates (More)
> Researchers develop first-ever thermally insulated, "smart" breathable clothing that can adapt to fluctuating temperatures; technology could help safeguard workers in hot environments (More)
> Extinct walrus-like species discovered in the UK and Belgium; fossil of mandible, dating from 1.7 million to 2.2 million years ago, sheds light on evolution of modern walruses (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.7%, Dow +1.0%, Nasdaq +2.4%) following news wholesale prices rose 0.1% last month, below expected 0.2%; consumer price index report due this morning (More)
> Avon files for bankruptcy to offload about $1.3B in debt amid hundreds of lawsuits alleging cancer links to the talc found in company's eye shadows, other makeup products (More)
> Paramount to shut down 11-year-old TV studio by end of week in cost-cutting effort in advance of merger with Skydance Media (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Tropical Storm Ernesto expected to strengthen into a hurricane by tomorrow after moving through the Caribbean, north of Puerto Rico, as of this writing (More)
> Arizona and Missouri to vote on proposed amendments codifying the right to an abortion in state constitutions in November ballot initiatives (More)
> Iran reportedly willing to refrain from vowed attack on Israel in the event of a Gaza cease-fire (More) | Talks to restart tomorrow; Hamas reiterates conditions reportedly agreed upon in July (More) | The US approves $20B in weapons sales to Israel including fighter jets, air-to-air missiles (More)
Our Flip-Flopping Government
Liberals versus Conservatives
<OR>
Democrats versus Republicans
<OR>
Socialists versus Capitalists
WE, the PEOPLE...
have put ourselves in an unbelievable LOSE/LOSE situation with our Federal Government and our elections every four years.
BUT...
if and when our situation changes then we will NO LONGER be a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC...
Here is our DILEMMA...
First, Donald Trump was president and sets all sorts of programs in place that changed our culture and society...
Second, four years later, Joe Biden becomes president and sets all sorts of programs in place, most of which were completely opposite to those of his predecessor...
Third, during these eight years, the house went from Republican control to Democratic control and back to Republican control.
GUESS WHAT?
The HOUSE went off in one direction with the Republicans then went off in an opposite direction with the Democrats, then when the Republicans took back control, it went in the opposite direction of the Democrats.
Fourth, also during these eight years, the Senate went in the exact same direction from Republican to Democrat and may or may not change in this next Presidential cycle.
By now, you should be getting the idea. The American people because of our flip-flopping political system rarely ever gets anything accomplished other than passing a temporary budget that is short term at best.
What the Democrats are going to try to do with all this illegal immigration is make these illegals citizens of the USA in the hopes that they will vote the DEMOCRATIC TICKET.
If that happens, there is a very good possibility that the Republicans WILL NEVER HAVE any control of the House or Senate ever again. It could also be that same way for the Presidency. If and when this happens, the USA will no longer be a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC that embraces a two-party political system.
This will fundamentally change our country and there is no telling how that change will alter the future of the USA domestically and internationally.
Transforming MARS Could be Easier
neighbor so it could support human civilization. The idea might not be so far-fetched, research published today in Science Advances suggests.
Injecting tiny particles into Mars’s atmosphere could warm the planet by more than 10°C in a matter of months, researchers find—enough to sustain liquid water. Although the scheme would require about 2 million tons of particles per year, they could be manufactured from readily available ingredients found in martian dust.
“It’s not that often you get some really quite new, innovative idea for terraforming,” says Colin McInnes, a space engineer at the University of Glasgow not involved with the work. “The gap between where Mars is and where Mars could be for habitability is narrower than we might think.” READ MORE...