Friday, September 20
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> YouTube influencer MrBeast and Amazon sued by five contestants in the upcoming "Beast Games" reality show over alleged unsafe working conditions and sexual harassment (More)
> JD Souther, singer-songwriter known for penning hit songs for artists like the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, dies at age 78 (More)
> Portland selected as home of WNBA's 15th franchise, will begin play in 2026 (More) | Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson breaks WNBA single-season record for rebounds; Wilson also set the record earlier this year for most points in a season (More)
Science & Technology
> Researchers link obesity with fatty buildup around neurons in the brain's appetite control center; substance may be responsible for insulin resistance in diabetic patients (More) | Blood sugar, insulin, and diabetes explained (More, w/video)
> Largest-ever black hole jets observed by astronomers, stretching 23 million light-years in length; structure is equivalent to 140 Milky Ways lined back to back (More, w/video)
Business & Markets
> Boeing temporarily furloughs tens of thousands of employees to cut costs amid ongoing strike from its largest union; affected employees will be furloughed for one out of every four weeks until the walkout ends (More)
> Tupperware Brands files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following recent slump in sales; company intends to continue operations and will launch 30-day bidding process to find a buyer (More) | 23andMe independent board directors resign over CEO's plans to take the genetic testing company private (More)
> Google wins court challenge to overturn $1.7B antitrust fine imposed by the European Union in 2019 related to tech giant's digital advertising business (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> The House votes 220-202, with some Republicans joining Democrats to reject a stopgap government funding bill brought by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA-4); bill included measure to require proof of citizenship to register to vote (More)
> New analysis shows national, year-over-year drop in overdose drug deaths, in some states by as much as 20% or 30%; marks the first decrease since 2020 (More) | How opioids affect the body (More, w/video)
> Armenian prosecutors accuse Russia of paying six Armenians almost $2,400 each in monthly salaries for military training in preparation for an armed coup (More) | Ukrainian drones hit large missile depot in Russia (More)
2023 Taxes
Every year, my wife and I file for an extension on paying our taxes from April 15 until October 15... there is no restrictions to do this but we do this because some of the tax docs that we need, we do not receive until August each year.
This SIX-MONTH extension allows us to collect another 6 months of interest from our investments. As a result, the interest earned more than covers the taxes owed, so we NEVER reduce our PRINCIPLE, and our finances are always growing.
What baffles me is that our friends, both Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives, Capitalists and Socialists, ALL COMPLAIN about having to pay TAXES. AND YET... if you are not a capitalist, a republican, or a conservative, you are voting for candidates who want to INCREASE YOUR TAXES.
This attitude simply makes no sense to me.
Either you want higher taxes or...
You do not want higher taxes...
Now, for the wealthy folks here in the US of A, they don't give a shit about higher taxes, because their money is sheltered and when taxes go up, they only pay the increase on what they claim, not what is sheltered.
It is perfectly legal to do this but what the wealthy people are causing is for the US govt to always have a shortfall in taxes. The middle class pays the burden for the wealthy being able to shelter their money.
CONGRESS WILL NOT CHANGE THIS LAW... mainly because most of Congress is also sheltering their money away from taxes.
AMERICANS ARE TYPICALLY NOT VERY SMART WHEN IT COMES TO PAYING TAXES OR TRYING TO AVOID PAYING TAXES...
BlockChain and Quantum Computing Warning
Insider Brief
- Quantum computers could potentially break current blockchain encryption, risking billions in cryptocurrency assets, according to a quantum policy expert.
- Quantum-resistant cryptography and quantum random-number generators are emerging as vital solutions to protect blockchain networks from quantum attacks.
- Companies are already developing quantum-secure blockchain technologies to counter these future threats.
Quantum computing is maturing.
Both crypto and quantum are earning attention from Presidential candidates and global policymakers, eager to tap into both the power of these new technologies, as well as the extensive communities of advocates.
Taken separately, practitioners of those fields may be excited about this developments. However, the two deep techs are on a collision course.
Quantum computing is poised to disrupt a wide range of industries, and the world of cryptocurrencies is no exception, points out Arthur Herman in a recent op-ed in the Korea Herald. Herman, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and Director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative, writes that the same technology that could unlock immense computational power might also render existing cryptographic systems, including those that secure blockchain networks, vulnerable to attacks.
This alarming possibility, he argues, should be a wake-up call for the cryptocurrency industry and for anyone relying on blockchain technology. READ MORE...
Thursday, September 19
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 2024 Primetime Emmys bring in 6.9 million viewers, a 54% jump over the previous broadcast (More) | California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs law aimed at protecting actors from AI digital clones being used without their consent (More)
> Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles files appeal with Swiss court in effort to overturn decision to take away an individual bronze medal she won at the Paris Olympics (More)
> Shortlist of six novels selected for prestigious Booker Prize for fiction, including a record five female authors; winner set to be announced Nov. 12 (More)
Science & Technology
> New estimates project deaths from drug-resistant infections to rise by 70% by 2050, claiming roughly 2 million lives per year (More) | What are superbugs, and where do they come from? (More)
> Astronomers propose measuring the wobble of Mars along its rotational axis to test whether dark matter—an unknown substance making up about 26% of the universe's matter—could be made of tiny black holes (More) | Black holes 101 (More, w/video)
> Social messaging platform Snap unveils new operating system for its fifth generation smart glasses; debut signals a renewed push by the company into augmented reality (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.0%, Nasdaq +0.2%) ahead of anticipated Federal Reserve decision to lower benchmark interest rates at end of two-day policy meeting today (More) | What is the Fed, anyway? (More, w/video)
> BlackRock and Microsoft to launch $30B investment fund to build data centers and secure energy sources to power resource-heavy AI systems (More) | Why does AI require so much energy? (More)
> AT&T to pay $13M to settle Federal Communications Commission investigation tied to 2023 cloud data hack; issue is separate from hack revealed this year to have compromised 73 million customers' Social Security numbers and passwords (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> House Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA-4) to hold vote today on stopgap bill ahead of Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline; bill includes provision requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote (More) | Democratic-led bill to establish nationwide right to in-vitro fertilization falls short of 60 votes needed to advance in Senate (More)
> Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to launch investigation into assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, parallel to FBI investigation (More) | See updates (More)
> Canada's ruling Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, loses Montreal parliamentary seat in special election; defeat is the second recent upset for Liberals following loss of long-held Toronto seat in June (More)
Fixin' the Economy
First of all, I would say that the government has to STOP ITS SPENDING. Not only does government spending increase INFLATION but it also increases the NATIONAL DEBT which is going to bite us in the ASS one day.
With that said, the government SHOULD (but it will not) REDUCE SPENDING.
So, what area(s) of the budget would you reduce?
- Social Programs
- Education
- Unemployment insurance
- Healthcare
- Social Security
- Military
- Green Energy
- Other
- of its initial cost
- of our weakened economy
- the rest of the world is not going there
- oil/gasoline keeps our economy strong
Earth's Inner Core
Deep beneath our feet, at a staggering depth of over 5,100km, lies Earth's inner core — a solid ball of iron and nickel that plays a crucial role in shaping the conditions we experience on the surface. In fact, without it we'd be unlikely to even exist.
But despite its significance, it's a bit of a puzzle how it formed and developed. We don't even know how old it is. Luckily, mineral physics is bringing us closer to solving the mystery.
The inner core is responsible for Earth's magnetic field, which acts like a shield, protecting us from harmful solar radiation. This magnetic field might have been important for creating the conditions that allowed life to thrive billions of years ago.
The Earth's inner core was once liquid, but has turned solid over time. As the Earth gradually cools, the inner core expands outwards at the surrounding iron-rich liquid "freezes". That said, it is still extremely hot, at least 5,000 Kelvin (K) (4726.85°C). READ MORE...
Wednesday, September 18
Taking Responsibility
IF... WE as a country... DO NOT see the THREAT that CHINA presents then the USA is DOOMED to be subservient to CHINA.
- Maintaining power and control
- Destroying Donald Trump
- Controlling the flow of information
- Weaponizing the DOJ & FBI
- Continuing illegal immigration
- Stop the use of Petroleum Crude Oil
- Becoming a Green Energy Nation
- Increasing our Welfare and Social Programs
- Rasing our TAXES
- Creating Govt controlled abortions, not States
Humanoid Robot Coming
The following companies/countries are mass producing humanoid robots in 2025:
- Agility Robotics
- Fourier Intelligence
- Kepler
- Tesla
- Robots don't get sick
- Robots don't get pregnant
- Robots don't need vacations
- Robots don't need benefits
- Robots don't ask for wage increases
- Robots don't go on strike
- Robots don't take their knowledge another company
- a good return on investment
- house-keeping duties
- grounds maintenance
- chauffeur