Monday, March 4

Spiral


 

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...

Start Me Up

 

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.


SOURCE:  1440 News

2024 Election

 It would appear that our next Presidential Election will be a re-match between Trump and Biden.

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
If we continue to spend and continue to increase our national debt there will come a point in time, where there is a good possibility that we default on our loan payment, or we start printing more money.  The latter will devalue the dollar and increase inflation.
More and more countries are joining BRICS and agreeing not to use the US dollar when buying goods/products from other countries, as was done in the past.
While this may not seem like a big deal, not using the US dollar causes the US dollar to lose value.  Since the US dollar is no longer backed by GOLD at FORT KNOX, its value is based upon people overseas wanting the US dollar.
In point of fact, if a weak person is elected to the Presidency in 2024, the rest of the world will take advantage of that in a variety of ways.  The first of which will be Russia sending a nuclear weapon to THEIR SPACE STATION to be used as an intimidation factor AGAINST THE USA.
Our enemies, using what we did to them, are finally going to start taking global control away from us.

Somewhat Political



 

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...

Japan's Humanoid Robots

 

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)

SOURCE:  1440 News

Illegal Immigrants

The USA has always prided itself over the fact that its doors are always open to LEGAL IMMIGRANTS - especially those who seek asylum or those who offer this country special or unique skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.


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?

Through the Tunnel


 

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...

A Day in the Life

 

Friday, March 1

The Wind Cries Mary

 

Superconductivity

An international research team has made a pivotal discovery in high-temperature superconductivity by quantifying the pseudogap pairing in fermionic lithium atoms. This discovery not only deepens our understanding of quantum superfluidity but also holds promise for enhancing global energy efficiency through advancements in computing, storage, and sensor technologies. Credit: SciTechDaily.com



  • 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

Breakthrough in High-Temperature Superconductivity

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...

Somewhat Political





 

Low Cholesterol Levels


Last year my cholesterol level was 84 which included both good and bad cholesterol and this year my cholesterol level was 70, which also included both good and bad cholesterol.

I am sure my cholesterol levels prior to last year were equally as low but I never paid any attention to the results of my blood work unless my doctor brought it to my attention, which was never the case.

In 1987, at the age of 40, I accomplished the following goals/tasks:
  • Quit smoking cigarettes
  • Quit drinking alcohol
  • Quit eating red met
  • Quit eating fried foods
  • Quit eating sweets and sugars
I also made sure:
  • I exercised daily
  • Got plenty of sleep
  • Learned how to manage stress
  • Ate a healthy diet

For the last 36 years, I have allowed myself to violate the agreement I made to myself by:
  1. drinking 4-6 glasses of red wine each year
  2. eating pizza once every quarter
  3. having 1-2 cheeseburgers each year
  4. eating strawberry preserves on English Muffin once or twice a month
  5. not exercising on the weekends
  6. having a slice of apple pie twice a year
  7. had a ribeye steak 6 times in 36 years
  8. eating a 6 times in 36 years

My ability to do this is based upon discipline and determination.
I eat the following foods:  fish, chicken, turkey, beans, all kinds of vegetables, turkey burgers, turkey hot dogs, soups, salads, sugar free deserts, eggs, turkey sausage, noodles, rice, coffee, tea, and SAMS flavored water.

I am 6 foot - 1 inch and weigh around 210-215 pounds after weight 260 for several years.

The key to losing weight is not exercise or specialized diets but monitoring how much you eat on a daily basis.  I try to eat 5 small meals a day that offer me no more daily calories than 2,000, really trying to focus of 1,600 to 1,800.

Why am I doing this?
I want to live as long as I can providing I am in good health.  My mother lived to almost 96 years old with her health failing when she was 94.  I would like to live longer than my mother.

I have gotten so used to eating what I do that when I eat a steak or hamburger now, they taste horrible and not just because of all the grease.    It is good that these foods no longer taste good because it helps me not to want them any longer.

Life is too short and I would rather live my life like this than live my life being OBESE and eating whatever is out there and not worrying about how much.

I have also lost my taste for alcohol, and I stopped smoking COLD TURKEY and never looked back.

Scary Things


 

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...

Revolution