Saturday, October 11
US-China beef escalates—again
Leon Neal, Pool /Getty Images
After weeks of diffusing trade tensions, the US and China have resumed throwing punches. Yesterday, President Trump announced a 100% additional tariff on Chinese goods and export restrictions on “all critical software” on Nov. 1—a response to China going gloves off by imposing unprecedentedly strict export controls on rare earth metals this week.
He also said there’s “no reason” for him to meet China’s leader Xi Jinping two weeks ahead of their planned tete-a-tete.
Why is Trump so mad?Under regulations announced Thursday, China will require foreign companies producing goods containing Chinese rare earths to get approval from Chinese authorities to export them.
Trump said that China is exploiting its “monopoly” power on rare earths, a group of 17 metals integral to tech like missiles, smartphone chips, and EV batteries.
Tough before talks: This move came despite the US and China agreeing in June on the outline of a deal that included loosening rare earths export restrictions. By throttling the supply of vital tech used by American companies, including US military contractors, experts say China is trying to get leverage in trade negotiations with Trump. China also took other muscle-flexing actions this week, like opening an antitrust probe of American chipmaker Qualcomm’s recent acquisition of Israeli semiconductor firm Autotalks.
China’s trump card
Rare earths aren’t actually…rare, since many countries, including the US, have deposits. But China controls around 60% of rare earths mining—a process that comes with heavy environmental costs—and over 90% of processing, according to the International Energy Agency.
It’s not just a problem for the US: Foreign companies that export products containing Chinese rare earths are caught in the crossfire. Germany said it’s working with the EU to boost rare earths production in Europe.
As the stock market flashed red…investors piled into safe haven assets like US government bonds and gold, as well as shares of US-based rare earths producers, sending their stocks surging.—SK
Rare earths aren’t actually…rare, since many countries, including the US, have deposits. But China controls around 60% of rare earths mining—a process that comes with heavy environmental costs—and over 90% of processing, according to the International Energy Agency.
It’s not just a problem for the US: Foreign companies that export products containing Chinese rare earths are caught in the crossfire. Germany said it’s working with the EU to boost rare earths production in Europe.
As the stock market flashed red…investors piled into safe haven assets like US government bonds and gold, as well as shares of US-based rare earths producers, sending their stocks surging.—SK
At A Glance
Bookkeeping
> 92%: US GDP growth in the first half of 2025 attributed to information-processing equipment and software, according to a Harvard economist.
> 44.8 oz: The amount of 21-karat gold on the world's most valuable gold dress— worth over $1M—approximately the weight of a dachshund.
Browse
> Unveiling the Roman Colosseum's once-secret corridor.
> Reddit users share their favorite non-tech hobbies.
> More and more people want to smell like dessert.
> Goats and sheep are hired to prep the ski slopes.
> Robot steals the show at Paris Fashion Week.
Listen
> Is there such a thing as too much empathy?
> Fortunes fold when sweepstakes company goes under.
Watch
> Building luxury doomsday bunkers for billionaires.
> How much information can a human head hold?
> Day in the life of a 102-year-old French yogi.
Long Read
> Why young people in China are paying to look and feel employed.
> Trials and tribulations of a Revolutionary War reenactor.
> A road trip through America’s swamps reveals how the wetlands embody resilience, beauty, and forgotten stories.
Most Clicked This Week: What it costs to grow old in your home. (w/interactive)
Historybook: Earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, kills 230,000 people (1138); Eleanor Roosevelt born (1884); "Saturday Night Live" premieres (1975); Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes first American woman to perform a spacewalk (1984); ... and Alexei Leonov, first person to ever perform a spacewalk, dies (2019).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The Las Vegas Aces look to win WNBA championship tonight (8 pm ET, ESPN) after being up 3-0 in WNBA Finals against the Phoenix Mercury (More)
> Turning Point USA to host "All-American" Super Bowl halftime show amid NFL's decision to select Bad Bunny to perform at halftime of Super Bowl LX (More) | Judge dismisses Drake's defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" diss track (More)
> NBA to play two preseason games in China this weekend for first time in six years (More) | Erik Spoelstra tapped to succeed Steve Kerr as head coach of Team USA men's basketball (More)
Science & Technology
> Intel unveils new computer processor, Panther Lake, in bid to reestablish reputation as leading chipmaker; Panther Lake to be manufactured at new $20B Arizona facility and debut in laptops next year (More)
> Astronomers detect lowest-mass dark matter object yet via tiny distortion caused by its gravity; object's mass is a million times that of our sun (More) | What is dark matter? (1440 Topics)
> Behavioral scientists find some dogs show addictive-like behaviors toward toys, mirroring human addictions to gambling, gaming, and smartphones; research team to publish follow-up study examining how addictive traits differ by breed (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.5%, Nasdaq -0.1%) as the US government shutdown continues (More)
> The US directly purchases Argentine pesos and agrees to offer $20B in financing as part of rescue effort to stabilize Argentina's economy (More) | Read a history of Argentina's economy (More)
> IRS announces new federal tax brackets for 2026 to adjust for inflation (More) | At least 22 states are experiencing a recession or close to it, new analysis finds (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Israeli government approves ceasefire deal with Hamas; 200 US troops will monitor the exchange of hostages and prisoners, expected within days (More) | White House denies striking a boat carrying Colombian citizens last week (More)
> Texas' highest criminal court halts the execution of Robert Roberson, convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter, who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome (More) | See background on the controversial diagnosis (More)
> French appeals court increases the prison term for a man convicted of raping Gisèle Pelicot (More) | See previous write-up (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Healthy LIFE
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Most of us live our lives relatively healthy in that we work hard, play hard, sleep hard, and eat hard... and it is only when we reach middle-age that we start to experience changes in our bodies that are difficult to overcome... then, when we retire, those changes manifest themselves in serious healthcare issues.
For me, this happened all at once at the age of sixty; for my wife, this happened after she had retired at age 65.
I had a heart attack, contracted two forms of cancer, and had five lower back disks fused. My wife has had two hip replacements and has lower back stenosis and arthritis.
We were both told that the exercise that kept us healthy is what caused our bodies to wear out quicker... however, the arthritis has nothing to do with age and had our bodies not been healthy, it would have been much worse for us.
Neither my wife nor I were overweight until we both hit the age of 60 and then the chemistry of our body changed, and it was easy to gain weight plus our activity levels started to decrease as well.
The key to a satisfactory older life is still healthy eating, exercise, and sleep. We also stopped drinking alcohol, and I stopped smoking at age 40.
Many people think drinking alcohol is the key to enjoying yourself and while alcohol is enjoyable to drink, especially with family and friends, it is not needed for enjoyment. Enjoyment is a mental activity, easily accomplished without alcohol.
However, it is your decision on how you want to live your life.
A Thermometer for Measuring Quantumness
If there’s one law of physics that seems easy to grasp, it’s the second law of thermodynamics: Heat flows spontaneously from hotter bodies to colder ones. But now, gently and almost casually, Alexssandre de Oliveira Jr.(opens a new tab) has just shown me I didn’t truly understand it at all.
Take this hot cup of coffee and this cold jug of milk, the Brazilian physicist said as we sat in a café in Copenhagen. Bring them into contact and, sure enough, heat will flow from the hot object to the cold one, just as the German scientist Rudolf Clausius first stated formally in 1850. However, in some cases, de Oliveira explained, physicists have learned that the laws of quantum mechanics can drive heat flow the opposite way: from cold to hot.
Friday, October 10
Wonderings 7
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In the past, our purpose, at least for Americans, was to enter heaven by believing in Jesus... however, as I grew older, I began to wonder about the other major religions and why were Americans just focused on Christianity.
Even if one accepted all TWELVE RELIGIONS (in a combined sense) as being the gateway to our purpose here on earth, it does not explain the VASTNESS OF THE UNIVERSE.
Purpose must have meaning and it makes no sense that religion is what caused the creation of the universe... UNLESS our TWELVE RELIGIONS were specifically designed for the ENTIRE UNIVERSE.
AND... if that is the case, then there must be other human beings out there or other life forms (entities) that have a need for our religion.
So, until we understand more about RELIGION, I am not sure is that represents a fair purpose.
Some other purposes:
- Propagation of the Human Race
- Acquiring as much wealth as you can
- Acquisition of assets
- Acquiring power/control over people/land
- Living life to the fullest
- Acquisition of knowledge
- Becoming one with nature
- Living life as simply as one can
- Growing technology
- Space exploration
- Treating others as you want to be treated
- Exploring the arts
As you can see, a long list has been easily created and there are many other items that could have been listed that would have answered the question as to our purpose.
Mankind is the only creature on earth (we cannot speculate outside of earth) that KILLS other living creatures for pleasure and not just for survival.
That statement should have been listed as one of our purposes. SURVIVAL
The rather important question here that has been rather obviously avoided is...
IS MY PURPOSE MORE VALID THAN YOUR PURPOSE?
Maybe our purpose is just to think about what our purpose might be and then to convince others to believe like we do... which means our purpose is changing people's minds.
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