And Now… “Bird Flu Pandemic Could be ‘100 Times Worse’ than COVID, Scientists Warn”
April 4th, 2024You guys actually took my advice? pic.twitter.com/jxp3DBwKFH
— Natalie F Danelishen (@Chesschick01) April 4, 2024
Via: New York Post:
A bird flu pandemic with the potential to be “100 times worse than COVID” may be on the horizon after a rare human case was discovered in Texas, experts have warned.
The H5N1 avian flu has spread rapidly since a new strain was detected in 2020, affecting wild birds in every state, as well as in commercial poultry and backyard flocks.
But it has now even been detected in mammals, with cattle herds across four states becoming infected, and on Monday, federal health officials announced that a dairy worker in Texas caught the virus.
“This virus [has been] on the top of the pandemic list for many, many years and probably decades,” Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi, a bird flu researcher from Pittsburgh, said at a recent panel discussing the issue, according to the Daily Mail.
“And now we’re getting dangerously close to this virus potentially causing a pandemic.”
Oil Hits $90
April 4th, 2024Via: Bloomberg:
Oil extended advances on escalating tensions in the Middle East after blowing past the $90-a-barrel threshold in the previous session.
Global benchmark Brent rose to above $91, near its highest since October, while West Texas Intermediate was at around $87. Israel has increased preparations for potential retaliation by Tehran after Monday’s strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria, stoking fears of a wider regional conflict.
Cancer-Causing Forever Chemicals Found in BAND-AIDS, Get Directly Into Blood Through Open Wounds
April 4th, 2024Via: Daily Mail:
Bandages from some of the most well-reputed brands, including Band-Aid and Curad, contain dangerous levels of forever chemicals, a shock report shows.
Testing by a leading watchdog found the chemical fluorine in over two dozen different bandages that can be found in millions of medicine cabinets across the country.
PFAS chemicals are sometimes used to make adhesives, and investigators believe they are products of the normal manufacturing process. Fluorine, which is also used to make rocket fuel, can lead to skin burns and eye damage, but it is most dangerous when inhaled.
Dr Linda Birnbaum, a toxicologist and former head of the National Toxicology Program who co-led the lab testing, said the fact that risky chemicals come in direct contact with open wounds was ‘troubling’.
PFAS chemicals can easily enter the bloodstream after a person drinks water or eats food laced with them. Once in the bloodstream, PFAS can lodge themselves within healthy tissue where it can begin to damage the immune system, the liver, the kidneys, and other organs.
Report: “Band-Aids” & Bandages with Indications of PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Report
Research Credit: RP
NSA Official: Practical Quantum Computing Is Coming in 3 to 5 Years
April 4th, 2024My guess is that they already have it.
Via: NextGov:
Practical quantum computing tools are about 3 to 5 years out from workforce use and will likely be accessed through cloud based environments, a top National Security Agency official predicted at a Tuesday Palo Alto Networks public sector cybersecurity event.
Neal Ziring, the NSA’s cybersecurity directorate’s technical director, said that quantum computing systems — which use the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems at an exponentially faster rate than traditional computers and are still largely theoretical — will likely be accessed via cloud computing platforms rather than on-premise installs, due to cost and practicality considerations.
“Even if a government agency would be willing to have one quantum computer on-prem … I don’t think they’re going to be willing to have multiple,” he said.
Beverly Hills: For Lease
April 4th, 2024Via: German in Venice:
Taiwan Earthquake: TSMC Resumes Production; No Damage to Most Critical Chip-Making Equipment
April 4th, 2024Good news.
Via: Bloomberg:
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry restarted operations and emergency personnel worked to help injured and trapped citizens as the island begins to recover from its worst earthquake in 25 years.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the leading producer of advanced chips for Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp., said it would resume production less than 24 hours after evacuating staff and halting operations. The company said there has been no damage to its most critical chip-making equipment.
That statement was bolstered by news on Thursday from Tainan Science Park, where many of those advanced chips are manufactured, that most operations have resumed.
Prince William Photo With Diddy Raises Questions
April 3rd, 2024Questions, questions…
— cryptogon (@cryptogon) April 3, 2024
Via: Newsweek:
Prince William being left out of photos of Prince Harry with Sean “Diddy” Combs in the aftermath of Department of Homeland Security raids on the rapper’s properties has sparked a backlash against the media.
Harry was named in a court filing from music producer Rodney Jones’ $30-million lawsuit against Combs. There is no suggestion the Duke of Sussex knew about, condoned or was in any way implicated in allegations of sex trafficking against Combs.
Articles about the saga used images of Harry with Combs and Kanye West from a concert marking what would have been Princess Diana’s 46th birthday in June, 2007, where William was also present.
Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” Grocery Checkout AI Was Actually 1,000 Contractors in India
April 3rd, 2024
Via: The Byte:
Amazon is giving up with its unusual “Just Walk Out” technology, The Information reports, which allowed customers to simply put their shopping into their bags and leave the store without having to get in line at the checkout.
The tech, which was only available at half of the e-commerce giant’s Amazon Fresh stores, used a host of cameras and sensors to track what shoppers left the store with. But instead of closing the technological loop with pure automation and AI, the company also had to rely on an army of over 1,000 workers in India, who were acting as remote cashiers.
TSMC, UMC EVACUATE CHIPMAKING LINES AFTER MAJOR TAIWAN QUAKE
April 2nd, 2024Via: Bloomberg:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and its closest rival evacuated factory areas after the biggest earthquake to hit its home island in 25 years, casting uncertainty over production at the world’s largest maker of advanced chips.
TSMC, the main contract chipmaker to Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp., moved staff out of certain areas and said it’s assessing the impact of a temblor measuring 7.4 in magnitude off the east coast. The smaller United Microelectronics Corp. halted operations at some plants and evacuated certain facilities at its hubs of Hsinchu and Tainan, it said in a statement.
Taiwanese firms from TSMC to ASE Technology Holding Co. make the vast majority of the semiconductors that go into devices from iPhones to cars from factories vulnerable to even the slightest tremors. A single vibration can destroy entire batches of the precision-made semiconductors. TSMC shares slid about 1.5% in early trade, while UMC was down less than 1%.
Related:
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Sold 85% of $4 Billion Position in Taiwan’s TSMC
TSMC: The World Relies on One Chip Maker in Taiwan, Leaving Everyone Vulnerable
Gaza: Israel Kills Seven International Food Aid Workers
April 2nd, 2024Bomb an embassy, bomb aid workers trying to feed starving people – RFK Jr, Trump + Biden all still want to keep giving them as many bombs as they want plus US taxpayer money with NO CONDITIONS. RFK Jr needs to stop saying he is "anti war" immediately, a perversion of the term.
— Whitney Webb (@_whitneywebb) April 2, 2024
Via: Reuters:
Citizens from Australia, Britain and Poland were among seven people working for celebrity chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Monday, the NGO said.
The workers, who also included Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, were travelling in two armoured cars emblazoned with the WCK logo and another vehicle, WCK said in a statement.
Israel has long denied it is hindering the distribution of urgently needed food aid in Gaza, saying the problem is caused by the inability of international aid groups to get it to those in need.
Despite co-ordinating movements with the Israeli Defence Force, the convoy was hit as it was leaving its Deir al-Balah warehouse, after unloading more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, WCK said.
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war,” said Erin Gore, chief executive of World Central Kitchen.
“This is unforgivable.”
