Sunday, June 1
In The NEWS
At least 111 people dead after floods submerge market town in Nigeria.
The deaths came after torrential rains and a dam collapse flooded Mokwa, a market town in central Nigeria, which serves as a key hub where southern traders buy food from northern farmers. Flooding routinely kills hundreds of people each year across the country, worsened by poor drainage, blocked waterways, and unregulated construction.
White House acknowledges errors in "Make America Healthy Again" report.
The report (read here), led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has come under scrutiny after researchers and journalists found it cited several studies that do not exist or misrepresented the findings of actual studies. The administration attributed the errors to "formatting issues." Critics argue the errors raise questions about the report's credibility and the role of potential AI-generated content.
Taylor Swift regains control of her music, buys back her first six albums.
The 35-year-old bought the master recordings of her albums from Shamrock Capital, ending a yearslong dispute over the ownership of her catalog, including music videos, artwork, and unreleased tracks. The purchase price was reportedly around $360M but not officially disclosed. The milestone follows Swift's publicized conflict with record executive Scooter Braun, who previously owned her masters, leading to Swift's "Taylor's Version" rerecordings.
Ancient Mayan city unearthed in Guatemala, including pyramids.
Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a nearly 3,000-year-old Mayan city called Los Abuelos in northern Guatemala, featuring pyramids, monuments, and a unique canal system. Los Abuelos means "The Grandparents" and gets its name from two human-like rock sculptures at the site. The finding suggests the city was a major ceremonial center during the Middle Preclassic period.
Scientists pinpoint gene responsible for survival of bubonic plague.
Scientists discovered changes in a single gene, known as pla, in the plague bacterium Y. pestis allowed the plague to persist and spread over centuries. Strains with fewer copies of the gene became less deadly but more transmissible, enabling the disease to linger across Europe, Asia, and Africa long after the initial Black Death outbreak (see overview) during the 14th century.
Fed's preferred inflation gauge rises lower than expected in April.
The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which measures costs consumers pay across a wide range of items, excluding food and energy, rose 2.5% year over year and 0.1% month over month. The annualized rate is down from 2.6% in March. The index is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure; the central bank targets 2% annual inflation.
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Dirty Politics
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When I think about the Biden administration, I think about the Nixon administration and the corruption that was associated with that Presidency.
After Joe Biden left office, he announced he had been diagnosed with an advanced cancer...
Advanced cancer does not happen overnight which means either his Presidential doctor was too stupid to catch it or caught it and COVERED IT UP...
Not only did they cover up the cancer, but they covered up his declining health which should be a CRIME.
WHO WAS INVOLVED WITH THE COVER UP???
- The Doctors
- Joe Biden's Wife
- Joe Biden's Press Secretary
- The White House Staff
- Democratic Leaders in Congress
- The mainstream media
How can we ever believe that the DEMOCRATS will not do this again...
We have no assurances that this will not happen again...
With Nixon, it was just a few people that helped cover it up and was not nearly as big as the coverup for the Bidens...
Dirty politics
Dirty politicians
Dirty supporters
My problem is not just with the Democrats but will all politicians because I think both parties do this on a regular basis... it's just that we do not know about it... they keep it hidden...
Those that get caught are the stupid ones...
7 habits of men who have quietly lost their joy in life, according to psychology
might seem fine on the surface, but beneath that veneer, their joy has faded into a mere memory.
Psychology gives us insights into these quiet transformations. And it’s crucial to identify them, not only in others but also in our own lives. Understanding these seven habits can help us spot the signs and bring back the happiness that may have slipped away unnoticed.
In this article, we’ll explore the 7 habits of men who have quietly lost their joy in life, according to psychology. Get ready to dive deep into the human psyche and perhaps, find a path that leads back to joy.
Saturday, May 31
Writing is Pure Joy
This caricature while completed in 1977/78 by a local Alamance County, North Carolina artist, for an entirely different reason, still has relevance today since it symbolizes my desire to write. I supposed today, I would be sitting in front of a keyboard or a tablet instead of a typewriter.
I write about things that interest me when I write my essays or opinion pieces. My interest flow around politics, economics, education, philosophy, psychology, and memories
I write lines of poetry that started in high school but did not become full blown daily exercises until 1972 when I returned to college after being in the military for 21 months. My poetry is about things I see, I feel, I imagine, and that I project.
I write novels and this activity did not start until 2015 when I retired, and I wanted to make sure I had something to do. Ten years later, I have completed 15 novels with another five that I have started but got sidetracked on an idea for another novel. My novels are typically 100,000 to 150,000 words; however, my current novel is tentatively planned for 300,000 to 500,000 words.
My novels revolve around science fiction, spies, a variation on current events, futuristic novels, and fall from grace.
Finally, I maintain two blogs daily, REFLECTIONS: White Scorpion which is where I post my poetry, both current and poems written in the past. MY WRITTING JOURNAL which started out as a place to post only my current essays and opinions. However, over the years, I have transformed it into a blog that also posts almost anything I can think of including photos, items on health and fitness, other opinions, other articles, recipes, videos from places like rumble, etc.
My Writing Journal will continue to evolve as I continue to find things that I think readers will enjoy reading and/or knowing about.
Both my blogs will continue for as long as I have the ability to write. They will not continue because of the number of hits I receive each day. I write because I like to write, and I share because I like to share. What you do with it is your business.
CEO says AI could replace 50% of entry-level jobs
Surely a bot can’t spend a full morning deleting emails and call it a day by 3pm…or can it? The billionaire CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, told Axios this week that AI could eliminate 50% of all white-collar, entry-level roles within the next one to five years, potentially pushing unemployment rates up 10% to 20%.
He even floated a “token tax” that would require AI companies to pay 3% of their revenue from each use of their models to the government, which could then reinvest it in some way, such as into retraining programs for workers.
Is he for real?
Critics immediately pointed out that “white-collar bloodbath” rhetoric is just as much a part of the AI hype machine as Studio Ghibli memes. Mark Cuban said Amodei needed to chill, pointing to past technological advancements and automation pushes that displaced workers like secretaries for a while, but ultimately created new industries and jobs.
Still, the fear of AI taking your job may be warranted…especially if you’re just entering the workforce. Recent college grad unemployment rose to 5.8% during Q1, the highest it’s been since 2021, according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. And unemployment has spiked in technical fields that have seen rapid advancements in AI.Earlier this month, Microsoft announced it was laying off 3% of its staff, including many engineers.
Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike cut 5% of its workforce (500 jobs), saying AI was reshaping the industry.
But AI may not be ready for prime time. A few weeks ago, Klarna reversed course and started hiring humans again after pivoting to AI customer service agents.—MM
What if the truth offends? Publish it anyway
Are we protecting the vulnerable, or suppressing dissent? In an era marked by cancel culture, outrage cycles, and the censorship of opposing views, philosopher Peter Singer makes a powerful case for freedom of thought and expression. He argues that silencing uncomfortable ideas doesn’t make us safer, it makes us less capable of growing, reasoning, and addressing the pressing challenges of our time.
At A Glance
Bookkeeping
> 10.38 carats: The size of a rare kite-shaped pink diamond ring headed to auction, with ties to Queen Marie Antoinette.
> 8%: The number of fake reviews detected from 31.1 million reviews submitted on Tripadvisor in 2024.
Browse
> Mapping every understaffed US air traffic control tower.
> The benefits of having good posture.
> Margarita cocktail recipes for every mood.
> ... and how root beer got its name.
> When a tailless alligator crosses the road.
Listen
> The "planet hunter" searching for alien life.
> Could brain scans help us cure depression?
Watch
> How our age affects our decision-making on risks.
> Inside OpenAI's Stargate megafactory and the $500B bet on the future of AI.
> An investigation into why a Stradivarius violin costs $14M.
> Six Wienermobiles compete in the inaugural Oscar Mayer Wienie 500.
Long Read
> How millennials learned to sit at their desks and love the lunch bowl.
> A visual deep dive into drug and alcohol abuse among music stars.
> The history of how snails and oysters became luxury foods.
Most Clicked This Week: Toddler becomes youngest-ever Mensa member.
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