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The World News Media

TheWorldNewsOrg

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Everything posted by TheWorldNewsOrg

  1. Re: neon. Take a gander at the wikipedia page for neon. It is not just that Ukraine is half the worlds neon production. It is that Russia is another 30 or 40% of the worlds neon production. In other worlds - most all of the neon production is not going to be exported for the near term. Whether there are sanctions or not. Logistics alone are going to trip it up even if it is not embargoed/sanctioned. One company that operates in both russia and ukraine is 65% of world production.
  2. "A searing late summer heatwave has sent the Great Barrier Reef into the red zone for risk, with scientists warning that high sea surface temperatures could have already caused coral bleaching across vast areas" https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-bad-will-it-get-scientists-brace-for-great-barrier-reef-bleaching-20220308-p5a2ta.html
  3. "Detected deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon reached a record high for the month of February following a similar record the prior month." https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/brazil-detects-record-amazon-deforestation-jan-feb-83390957
  4. The Amazon rainforest is reportedly facing a tipping point that will unleash dieback, savannahfication, and change global weather patterns forever. Spoiler: it already happened, faster than expected. Oh, and earthly methane levels continue to rise.
  5. The AP reports that half of American adults were exposed to harmful lead levels as children. Lead poisoning never goes away—and it even gets passed down to one’s children. Is this one of the big roots of American psychosis?
  6. The Iran nuclear talks have stalled amid uncertainty about the Ukraine War and other geopolitical concerns.
  7. Azerbaijan and Armenia, which fought a brief war in late 2020, may be drifting back to open conflict. Violations of the ceasefire have been reported; Azerbaijan allegedly attacked a few villages in Armenia on Wednesday. Sandwiched between Russia, Turkey, and Iran, these small countries have a lot to be worried about…
  8. The terrible floods in Australia were called a “once in a 500-year event.” Get used to it, fellas. The 2022 IPCC report suggests that this is only the beginning. Life may seem stressful now, but remember: these are the good times, so try to enjoy them.
  9. South Korea elected a controversial new President this week, while also experiencing wildfires that threatened a nuclear power plant and forced 6,000+ people to evacuate. North Korea tested its largest ICBM yet, and continues to develop its nuclear test site. Google searches for nuclear war are spiking, and one big bank thinks that nuclear war has a 10% likelihood—probably started by Russia.
  10. Social media are destroying us, which you already know. Were zombie movies just priming us for the mass madness that is to come? Russia is planning to label Facebook/Instagram Meta an “extremist organization.” Well, if it’s any consolation, Facebook Meta’s stock price dropped about 50% in the last 6 months, dragging Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune down with it.
  11. The War in Ukraine could be responsible for a 20%+ increase in food prices this year. You can probably still buy all your foodstuffs at the store at a premium—but the shortages will affect countless peopleacross the third world. Egypt was once the breadbasket of civilization; now it can’t grow enough food for its 100M+ citizens. Lebanon is rationing wheat, while some countries in Africa are simply going without any food at all. Ukraine and Russia account for 30% of global wheat exports and I think it’s safe to say Ukraine won’t be planting much wheat this year.
  12. Lest the Ukraine War crowd out all the other disasters in the world, we should remember that Somalia is still enduring a dreadful drought. The article says that the “UNHCR estimates that in 2022 alone half a million Somalis will likely be displaced before the end of March.”
  13. It has begun, according to some market analysts. Could it have begun long, long ago without any of us noticing? What if it began and ended without us realizing it? It’s been generations since the last (openly) global conflict—how has the grammar of War changed since? While some American investors fear the reality of a World War, others believe the world’s #1 superpower is edging dangerously close to Civil War itself.
  14. Putin’s War has strengthened many alliances, while other geopolitical relationships remain in flux, on the sidelines, or move towards Russia. Lines are being drawn in the sand—but sandcastles never outlast the tides of history.
  15. Russia may be severing itself from the global internet—or being severed. Read more about this here if you dare. Many people are also pushing for a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine, while others are concerned it will escalate tensions too much and bring NATO into a hot War against Russia.
  16. As if fears of a Russian Nuclear World War weren’t enough, India accidentally launched a missile into Pakistan on Wednesday, the result of a “technical glitch.” If tensions were higher between these historic rivals, how might this accident have impacted relations between the two?
  17. The Ukraine War got uglier this week. Heavier sanctions were imposed, Russia deliberately bombed a maternity hospital, Russia started recruiting “volunteer” “soldiers” from the Middle East Syria, and there are fears that Vladimir Putin, currently the world’s most hated man, may resort to chemical —or even nuclear— weapons as his situation grows more paranoid and desperate. Reports are emerging that Russia’s attack on a nuclear power plant was almost much, much worse. And it’s only like week three of this War. This is Collapse.
  18. In lighter COVID/economic news, if our bullshit economy couldn’t get any weirder, an American man used $57,000 of COVID relief money to buy a holographic Charizard (that’s a Pokémon card, for you old folks). Because he wasn’t actually entitled to the relief money, the government confiscated the ultra-rare card. In more serious COVID news, on Friday, China locked down Changchun, a city of 9M people. China is facing the highest number of new cases since February 2020. Their zero-COVID strategy may be coming to an end. Denmark is experiencing record COVID deaths not long after restrictions ended. South Korea is grappling with all-time case/deaths, and Japan is coming off its all-time peak case/death count, while Vietnam’s new case count is setting records every day. Let’s not forget that the height of the Black Plague lasted 7 years—and it took more than 500 years to vanish. We are not done with COVID, no matter what the TV people say. In more COVID news, Long-Covid is really bad for your brain. And the global death count for this pandemic may be 3x higher than the official reported number. That would make 18M+ deaths in two years. On March 11, 2020, just over two years ago, the WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic, and it ain’t over yet. But all around the world, all COVID restrictions are being lifted. The people apparently found a better distraction—War.
  19. China, the world’s largest economy, suffered a stock market drop worse than any day in the last 13 years. The World Bank warns that Russia may be close to a national debt default and nobody has a clear idea on what this would look like. But I can tell you that Ukraine used to export half the world’s neon and that, without it, manufacturing computer chips is gonna get even more difficult expensive.
  20. Earth’s other precious liquid, oil, hit recent record highs this week ($128 USD per barrel), although they dipped a bit since. Rising oil prices will help authoritarian governments (Gulf States, China, Iran, USA, Kazakhstan, etc) stay in power and increase CO2 levels. It’s a lose-lose.
  21. Drought is getting worse in America: communities in Arizona will soon lose access to water. The once mighty Colorado River is drying up, and truckers will soon stop hauling water to some towns—yet new housing is still being developed. When will the people realize there’s no savior coming to bring them water? What will they do? https://grist.org/housing/rio-verde-foothills-arizona-water-megadrought/
  22. In 2021, the nearly-extinct disease was thought to have been eradicated in every country except Afghanistan and Pakistan—but in the past month, it was discovered in Malawi, and then in Israel... Some old classics might be getting a reboot soon—while the World War series is starting development of a hugely unpopular installation to finish the trilogy. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-700510
  23. On Monday, March 14th, the European Parliament ECON Committee will vote on MiCA, the comprehensive crypto regulatory proposal for Europe. At the last possible moment certain parties offered amendments to MiCA that would ban Proof of Work consensus protocols, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other popular blockchains and crypto assets in Europe, issuing an ultimatum to the rest of Parliament: “accept our bitcoin ban or we will oppose the entire MiCA package.” Individuals and organizations should be free to choose the technology most appropriate to their needs. Policymakers should neither impose nor discriminate in favor of a particular technology. This is deeply concerning and would have serious consequences for Europe. Here’s why: The innovative and growing digital asset economy in Europe will vanish. Without Bitcoin and Ethereum, crypto exchanges and other crypto service providers cannot operate profitably. They will be forced to close, move, or block access to Europeans. DeFi protocols dependent on ETH will not be able to legally serve Europeans. Let’s be clear, this activity won’t stop, it will simply move to the United States or Asia, where it is currently welcomed. For example, U.S. President Biden just this week signed an Executive Order stating: “We must reinforce United States leadership in the global financial system and in technological and economic competitiveness, including through the responsible development of payment innovations and digital assets. The United States has an interest in ensuring that it remains at the forefront of responsible development and design of digital assets and the technology that underpins new forms of payments and capital flows in the international financial system[.] Continued United States leadership in the global financial system will sustain United States financial power and promote United States economic interests.“ Europe’s loss will be the United State’s gain, and through MiCA, Europe will permanently cede the leadership and control of Web3 to the U.S., just as it did with Web2, which remains dominated by a handful of U.S. tech giants. It is crucial that Europe stays in the innovation race and takes the chance to build the champions and leaders of the Web3 world to come, creating thousands of jobs in the process. Consumer protection will be harmed by a bitcoin ban in Europe. Due to the nature of digital assets, even if ‘banned’ digital assets will remain available in Europe, just not on safe and regulated EU platforms. This would present severe consumer protection concerns as consumers will be forced to access foreign platforms that may be hard to understand and have less (or no) regulatory oversight. As a French founded and European business, we at Ledger will always protect freedom and self-custody, particularly in our backyard. That is why we are calling on YOU to contact your Member of European Parliament (MEP) and let them know that you oppose a Bitcoin ban in Europe. Here is how: Look up your MEP here. E-mail, call or tweet your MEP and tell them: “An outright ban of proof-of-work assets will cripple the EU market, encourage circumvention of law, worsen consumer protection, and push the industry outside the EU – all with no benefit to the environment! Please ask the ECON Committee to oppose Amendments ALT A and ALT G.” For more information on the proposed proof-of-work ban, we recommend this report prepared by the ADAN.
  24. For my german mates here on reddit. I put a short message below that you can send to your EU representative if you want. Please include the name of the representative and your name at the end. Sehr geehrte Die Abstimmung zum Verbot von sogenannten Proof-of-Work Konsensmechanismen (was einem Verbot des Zahlungsnetzwerkes BITCOIN gleichkommt) soll am Montag, den 14.03., als Teil der neuen MiCA-Verordnung, erfolgen. Ein entsprechendes Verbot wird die EU von der derzeit rasanten ökonomischen, regulatorischen und technischen Entwicklung rund um das BITCOIN-Netzwerk ausschließen. Sogenannte 'nachhaltige' Konsensmechanismen (auch Proof-of-Stake) können aus technischer sowie spieltheoretischer Sicht niemals die gleiche Sicherheit erreichen wie Proof-of-Work. Eine Validierung von Blöcken einer Proof-of-Stake Blockchain ist technisch nicht möglich und entsprechende Netzwerke erfordern immer ein gewisses Maß an Vertrauen in andere Netzwerk-Knoten. Dieses sogenannte Oracle-Problem ist seit Jahrzehnten bekannt und konnte durch einen Proof-of-Work Konsensmechanismen gelöst werden, der nun verboten werden soll. Zudem gab es in den vergangenen Monaten und Jahren zahlreiche Studien, die belegen, dass das Proof-of-Work-Mining gezielt die Energiewende vorantreiben kann, da entsprechende Mining-Geräte als Grundlast beliebig zu- und abgeschaltet werden können und so große Stromnetze stabilisiert werden können. Der ökonomische Anreiz zum Aufbau erneuerbarer Energien steigt also, da diese Energieformen auch in Zeiten von Überproduktion einen Abnehmer finden. Ich bitte Sie daher inständig, gegen die Ergänzungen ALT A und ALT G der MiCA Verordnung zu stimmen, bzw. diese zu entfernen und die EU so vor einem massiven Rückschritt hinsichtlich innovativer Zahlungsnetzwerke zu bewahren. Herzliche Grüße
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