The intelligence chiefs of the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US had a public meeting at Stanford University on Tuesday to warn Silicon Valley and the global tech community, that China has mounted an unprecedented campaign to steal cutting edge technology from the West, before the door of sanctions and regulations slams shut.
Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are being trumpeted as a cure for obesity. While they are proven to induce weight loss, the underlying issues that cause obesity - ultra processed food - are largely unaddressed. Metabolical is Rob Lustig's latest book on the topic
On October 14th, 2023, The Voice to Parliament Referendum which would have given Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders a body to advise Parliament, was defeated 60% to 40%. Professor Chris Wallace analyses what went wrong and the impact the defeat will have on Australian politics and race relations.
Elon Musk's X/Twitter owes a syndicate of 7 banks $13 billion, $10 billion of which is secured by Twitter assets and $3 billion is unsecured. All $13 billion is non-recourse debt. In other words, Musk does not guarantee it. All quarterly interest payments have been paid, even as X's EBITDA has plummeted. The Banks are eager to sell the debt but who will buy it and at what price ?
What is the State ? How has it evolved ? Is it different from nationhood ? And what about failed states ? As Louis XIV said "L'Etat c'est moi."
As Covid 19 becomes a seasonal illness, a new booster shot is being rolled out alongside the flu shot as an annual update to increase our defenses. But masking skepticism and medical misinformation still deter many people from taking the precautionary shot.
Movie Codes were introduced in the UK and the US in the 1920s and 30s. The US model focused on sex and violence while the UK monitored class divisions and other social issues. Alfred Hitchcock successfully navigated both Codes first in the UK where he began his film career and then in the US.
Exim Bank is playing a growing role in financing the export drive of US small business. In California alone, they have 650 exporter clients who ship overseas, product worth $14 billion.
Governor Newsom, in the wake of the death of Senator Dianne Feinstein, has appointed Laphonza Butler to serve out the remaining 15 months of her term. A labor activist, political consultant and a lesbian, Senator Butler's appointment is historic. Will she run for a full term in 2024 ?
The Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Military have a unique relationship among developed nations. James Char explains how the two work closely together.
California's senior Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away September 28, 2023. Her life and legacy are unique and reflective of the San Francisco values she embodied.
Professor Jablonski is a biological anthropologist at Penn State University. She has done extensive research in the fields of the evolution of skin and skin color.
Since the mid 2000s, China has taken a more aggressive stance on the world stage and towards the United States in particular. President Xi Jin Ping reformed the constitution, got rid of term limits and is effectively President for Life. He has rejected collective rule of his predecessors and has concentrated power in his office, much like Mao Zedong. Where will these changes lead China and America ?
Barbie, the Summer blockbuster which has already grossed $1.34 billion worldwide, is a unique film that caught the public's attention at a unique moment in time. It has become a cultural phenomenon and stirred debate.
Is Russia so desperate for old Soviet era shells and ammunition still made by North Korea and interoperable with Russian armaments, that they would trade their advanced high tech weapons with Kim ? And what does China - North Korea's largest donor - make of this unlikely alliance ?
San Francisco's great wealth creation in the 19th and 20th centuries as well as the emergence of dynastic family elites largely developed as a result of exploitation of nearby natural resources. But most great cities have followed a similar path. And today's Silicon Valley fortunes are little different in that respect, but substitute the mining of academic excellence for natural resources.
Award winning film maker, John Montoya discusses the 10 part docuseries entitled When the Sound hits the Walls which he is producing . It will feature the Hyde Street Studios, where Rock and Roll Greats like Herbie Hancock, the Headhunters, Creedence Clearwater, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Jefferson Airplane produced iconic hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Shattered Nation, written by Oxford Professor Danny Dorling, demonstrates how the United Kingdom has been fundamentally damaged by 40 years of neoliberal policies of successive Conservative and Labour governments. Inequality is on the rise while life expectancy is declining and infant mortality is on the upswing. What has caused the reversal in social progress in the UK and how can it be turned around ?
The India and US relationship is growing in importance and per Prime Minister Modi and President Biden will be the defining global relationship of the 21st Century. And the 4 million Indian American community serves as a cornerstone of the growing trade, academic, business, finance and cultural links between the two countries.
Sweden's path to NATO membership has been made more arduous by Turkey, itself a NATO member. Despite Turkish President Erdogan's agreement at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Swedish concessions, the process drags on. Turkey's Parliament reconvenes on October 1, 2023 to consider the issue. Professor Paul Levin of the Stockholm University Institute of Turkish Studies (SUITS), walks us through the history.
Gina Raimondo spent four days in Beijing and Shanghai discussing the US' position on tariffs, investment and export controls. And making it clear to her hosts that US National Security concerns will play an important role in our $700 billion trade relationship.
The US is taking a closer look at restricting the export of sensitive dual use technology to China through CFIUS and the recent Executive Order of President Biden. Putting the brakes on globalization.
Goldman's CEO has had a rough few months: second quarter earnings were down 58%. And his strategic push into consumer finance has stalled. Pre-eminent financial journalist William D. Cohan who profiled David Solomon for Vanity Fair shares his impressions.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has rattled his nuclear saber. But Russia is not at existential risk and its' security concerns are of its' own making. Why has he introduced the use of nuclear weapons into his confrontation with Ukraine and its' erstwhile supporters in NATO ?
The Emergency Docket of the US Supreme Court was a rarely used way to seek the intervention of the Court. But during the Trump Administration and more recently the Biden Administration it has become more widely used. It is now called the Shadow Docket. Professor Vladeck walks us through his book explaining the implications.
11 of the top 16 AI companies in the world - Nvidia, ChatGPT, OpenAI - are located in the Bay Area. And new venture capital investment and talent is flocking to the area. But how will regulation impact the development of the industry.
Environmental, Social and Governance(ESG) as an investment framework has been in the news through 2023. Is ESG under threat because of its' political profile ?
California has the largest number of Alzheimers cases of all 50 states according to a recent study from Rush Medical College in Chicago. Several counties - MiamiDade in Florida, Baltimore, Maryland and Bronx, New York - showed higher concentrations of the disease than expected. What factors contribute to Alzheimers and what lessons can we learn from this nationwide study ?
The Ocean Globe Race is the successor to the Whitbread Round the World Race and 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread. Starting from Southampton in September the 7 month race will have three ports of call: Cape Town, South Africa, Auckland, New Zealand and Punta del Este, Uruguay. Tan Raffray will skipper the French entrant ,the Neptune, one of 14, representing 8 countries. One of his 10 person crew Bertrand, a seasoned sailor, has Parkinsons - an added challenge that will give ...
An intense and gripping film about the Father of the Atom Bomb, who led the Manhattan Project in World War II, Robert Oppenheimer.
