Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Sold 85% of $4 Billion Position in Taiwan’s TSMC
April 28th, 2023If China was to invade Taiwan, there might be a plan to prevent any of TSMC’s fabs from falling into Chinese hands:
The US would sooner see TSMC fabs destroyed than fall into Chinese hands should Xi Jinping invade Taiwan, according to a former national security advisor to the Trump administration.
“The United States and its allies are never going to let those factories fall into Chinese hands,” Robert O’Brien said at the Global Security Forum in Qatar this week.
In O’Brien’s mind, a successful invasion of Taiwan would reposition China as the leading semiconductor manufacturing power almost overnight. Or as he put it, China would become “the new OPEC of silicon chips.” O’Brien contends the US will destroy Taiwanese fabs to prevent China from gaining the technological advantage.
Of course, doing so would have severe consequences for the world economy. Last year the US National Security Agency estimated the loss of TSMC at more than $1 trillion dollars.
The former advisor’s comments breathe new life into rumors that the US would enact a scorched-earth policy to prevent sensitive semiconductor tech from falling into Chinese hands.
The effect of such an invasion would be like a slow moving EMP attack hitting the developed world. Instead of everything going down in seconds, it might take weeks or months.
What Country Produces the Most Semiconductors?
Taiwan
The tiny East Asian country of Taiwan, whose diplomatic status is disputed by China, is the world’s undisputed leader in terms of raw semiconductor manufacturing. This is largely due to the work of a single company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) which singlehandedly manufactures roughly 50% of the world’s semiconductors. Unlike semiconductor manufacturers such as Samsung or Intel, which produce semiconductors for use in their own products, TSMC manufactures semiconductors for many other companies, including Apple, AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and more. This is known as the foundry model of business.
And now, I wonder what Warren Buffett knows?
Via: Nikkei:
Buffett also commented on the sale of the bulk of Berkshire’s stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. After buying more than $4 billion in shares in the world’s biggest chipmaker between July and September 2022, it slashed its holdings by 85% to $617 million by the end of 2022.
Buffett said geopolitical tensions were “a consideration” in the divestment. He described TSMC as a well-managed company but added that Berkshire had better places to deploy its capital.
New Nanoparticles Can Perform Gene Editing in the Lungs
April 28th, 2023What could possibly go wrong?
Via: MIT News:
Engineers at MIT and the University of Massachusetts Medical School have designed a new type of nanoparticle that can be administered to the lungs, where it can deliver messenger RNA encoding useful proteins.
With further development, these particles could offer an inhalable treatment for cystic fibrosis and other diseases of the lung, the researchers say.
“This is the first demonstration of highly efficient delivery of RNA to the lungs in mice. We are hopeful that it can be used to treat or repair a range of genetic diseases, including cystic fibrosis,” says Daniel Anderson, a professor in MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES).
Inside the Chaotic World of Kids Trying to Play Video Games on School Laptops
April 27th, 2023Assuming you think it’s ok for children to have access to these devices during school (I don’t), the IT departments could easily implement domain whitelists. This means that only sites explicitly whitelisted by the administrators would be accessible by the students.
All of that said, I salute the entrepreneurial genius of the boy who makes the fake educational/gaming sites for profit.
Via: Vice:
Kids have been trying to play video games on school computers for as long as computers have cropped up in schools, but decades ago, they jumped through those hoops in a dedicated computer lab, or secretly downloaded homemade games to their TI-83 calculators while pretending to crunch equations. But these days, computers are deeply intertwined into education, and many school age children have regular access to a computer, usually a Chromebook or iPad, as early as 1st grade, when kids are only six or seven years old.
What exists now is an escalating game of whack-a-mole between students, teachers, and IT departments, as kids hopeful to do anything but school work try to find a way to play games.
…
Geometry Spot is run by 16-year-old Jerry Klamm, who attends high school in New York. This is one of many smokescreen websites that Jerry runs, a practice that dates back to middle school. At the time, Jerry had been trying to build up a personal YouTube channel.
“I was at school,” said Jerry during a recent interview with Waypoint, “and someone said, ‘That’s a cool website, but why don’t you add games to it that we can play in school?’”
He did, and suddenly, a lot of people at Jerry’s school were visiting his site—to play games. A typical cycle would then play out, with Jerry making a website with embedded games for fellow students to play during and between class, before the school caught on and banned it.
Now in high school, Geometry Spot is the latest in that chain, a website that’s done well enough that it now includes ads, and generates what Jerry’s father, Chris Klamm, calls “real money.”
AI-Generated Pizza Commercial
April 26th, 2023AI generated video is mostly nightmare fuel at this point.
But this…
I laughed so hard, I nearly injured myself.
Via: tom’s HARDWARE:
In the last few months, we’ve seen how large language models such as ChatGPT can generate text copy, how image generators like Stable Diffusion can create pictures on demand and even how some can do text-to-speech. One enterprising developer who goes by the handle Pizza Later, combined five different AI models to create a live action commercial for a fictional pizza restaurant called “Pepperoni Hug Spot.”
Forbes ’30 Under 30′ Mega Fraudsters
April 26th, 2023Via: New York Post:
Disgraced Frank founder Charlie Javice has joined the likes of Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Bankman-Fried on a growing list of founders to be lavished with honors by the financial news outlet Forbes – only to later face criminal fraud charges.
Forbes has faced relentless mockery on social media – with users pointing out the dubious record of business figures who have earned a spot on one of its “30 Under 30” lists or the cover of its magazine.
“The Forbes 30 Under 30 have collectively raised $5.3B in funding,” tech investor Chris Bakke tweeted on Tuesday. “The Forbes 30 Under 30 have also been arrested for frauds and scams worth over $18.5B. Incredible track record.”
Jacinda Ardern Accepts Fellowships at Harvard University
April 26th, 2023Via: Reuters:
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday that she was taking up three fellowships at Harvard University later in 2023.
…
Harvard University said in a statement she had been appointed to dual fellowships at Harvard Kennedy School and to a concurrent fellowship at the Berkman Klein Center.
“I am incredibly humbled to be joining Harvard University as a fellow – not only will it give me the opportunity to share my experience with others, it will give me a chance to learn,” Ardern said in the statement.
RFK Jr. Explains How Democratic Party Is Already “Rigging” 2024 Race
April 26th, 2023“…even if RFK Jr. had widespread support—he doesn’t—the Democratic Party would simply screw him over.”
–Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wants a Law to Punish Global Warming Skeptics
Via: Summit News:
Alternative Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has accused the Democratic Party of “rigging” the primary system to ensure Joe Biden stands a better chance by refusing to hold debates and changing the first primary vote to South Carolina, where Biden is popular, rather than New Hampshire.
Fox Fired Tucker Carlson – Update: Not Fired?
April 26th, 2023Update:
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Via: Paul Watson:
Related: Tucker Carlson’s Exit Wipes Out $700 Million In Market Value For Fox
Miscarriage and Stillbirths
April 25th, 2023Via: Dr. John Campbell:
Japan’s ispace Seeks to Land First Private Spacecraft on the Moon
April 25th, 2023Update: Lost Communications, Landing Probably Failed
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Live:
Via: EL PAÍS:
The Japanese probe Hakuto-R — which is about the size of a large refrigerator — will try to land in Atlas, an impact crater in the far north of the Moon, within the unexplored Mare Frigoris, or Sea of Cold. If it succeeds, it will not only become the first spacecraft to land in this area, but also the first private company to land on the lunar surface.
