billionaires – Page 40 – Hellbound and Down

Farming To Feed Eight Billion Is A Business, Not A Hobby

We live in a world where oligarchs accumulate land, use their media assets to denigrate natural foods, and invest in fake alternatives. On the other ‘side’, wealthy professionals calling themselves freedom-fighters travel the world and the internet insisting we should eat organic and local. Meanwhile, the food security of many of the eight billion plus of us remains at the mercy of the weather, diseases and insects. Neither side offers a viable solution, or much benefit for many beyond themselves..

An increasing realization of the corruption and greed that drives much of our New Normal is motivating a growing movement for self-sufficiency. Local sourcing of natural-grown foods is coupled with denigration of big agribusiness and industrialized food production. Incoherently, it is also often coupled with claims that those backing the big agribusiness enemy are aiming for depopulation, while the way in which small-scale agriculture will feed the world’s growing population is left unexplained.

From the comfort of big jet planes made in huge factories, it is now possible to gain likes by posting photos of the organic and rather cute livestock we left back home. These can be supplemented with pictures of the Thai rice, Costa Rican coffee and Mexican avocados from our favorite brunch spot. This approach to food and agriculture is a hobby, and a good one. But the world cannot support eight billion such hobbies.

The other side of the Agriculture coin has also been doing us harm; an obese population in rich countries with declining life expectancy, fat on industrial corn syrup, seed oils and other unnatural metabolism adulterators, coupled with declining physical activity. Nor are we gaining by unevidenced claims that diets including meat or raw milk will somehow restart an age of plagues. Or that humans should transform themselves into insectivores.

Regulating independent family farmers out of business, with their generations of knowledge, is not a step forward either but a decimation of rural society and human dignity – of the reason for living in the first place. Replacing them with centralized fake food factories funded by wealthy investors and their pet celebrities will concentrate wealth rather than food security. To survive and thrive – all of us – we need to face the realities of growing and delivering huge quantities of healthy, human food.

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All Things Bugs: Bill Gates, U.S. Military Among Investors in GMO Insect Protein for Humans

While regulators in non-U.S. countries, including Singapore, have issued approvals for specific insect-based foods, in the U.S., the regulatory landscape is murkier — there is no legal approval process or clear-cut prohibition of insects for human consumption.

As a result, insect-containing foods have reached U.S. consumers, even though one of the few existing U.S. laws that address insects in the food supply refers to them as “filth” and a form of “adulteration.”

Crickets and grasshoppers reach U.S. consumers in a variety of forms, from protein bars to protein shakes. They’re also found on restaurant menus and are promoted as pet food and animal feed ingredients.

With few U.S. regulatory barriers to contend with, investors like Bill Gates and Big Food giants such as Tyson Foods have also begun investing in “alternative protein” startups — despite mainstream media “fact-checks” claiming Gates doesn’t support the consumption of insects.

Internist Dr. Meryl Nass, founder of Door to Freedom, told The Defender lax U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations — under which many insect-containing foods can be classified as “Generally Regarded as Safe” (GRAS) — “means they don’t require testing” and enable the FDA to “look the other way.”

“How long will it take before we learn whether these foods are safe? It could take generations,” Nass said.

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Hedge Fund Billionaire Donates $12 Million To Defeat Florida Marijuana Legalization Measure, Calling It ‘A Terrible Plan’

A hedge fund billionaire announced on Friday that he’s spending $20 million “in support of candidates and to oppose Amendment 3” a Florida marijuana legalization proposal set to go before voters in November. Of that, a $12 million donation will go directly to the Vote No on 3 campaign.

Ken Griffin, CEO of the financial firm Citadel LLC, called the legalization initiative “a terrible plan to create the nation’s most expansive and destructive marijuana laws.”

“These investments reflect my commitment to the policies and principles that have made Florida so successful—equal opportunity, high-quality education, efficient and effective government and safe and strong communities,” Griffin wrote in a Miami Herald op-ed.

The Miami-based hedge fund manager, investor and entrepreneur described his millions in campaign donations as “investing in Florida’s future.”

“No other state is making so much progress, so quickly, on so many fronts,” he wrote. He said he’s opposing Amendment 3 “to ensure that our state’s many advantages aren’t thrown away.”

“Passage of Amendment 3 would create a monopoly for large marijuana dispensaries and permit pot use in public and private areas throughout Florida,” he claimed in the piece. “That will help no one other than special interests—and it will hurt us all, especially through more dangerous roads, a higher risk of addiction among our youth, and an increase in crime.”

Meanwhile a recent poll suggests the amendment currently has enough support to pass, with majority support across every voter demographic surveyed.

The University of North Florida (UNF) poll, released on Tuesday, found that 64 percent of likely voters back the cannabis reform measure, surpassing the 60 percent threshold required for enacting a constitutional amendment. Notably, the respondents in the survey were read the full text of the Amendment 3 summary that will appear on their ballots.

Democrats were most supportive of the proposal at 79 percent, followed by independents (63 percent) and Republicans (50 percent). There was also majority support across each race and age demographic, as well as among both those who voted for President Joe Biden (78 percent) and former President Donald Trump (50 percent) in 2020.

The new donations from Griffin narrow the gap between the legalization proposal’s supporters—who have raised far more overall, predominantly from the marijuana company Trulieve—and opponents, led largely by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has repeatedly lashed out against legalization.

A member of DeSantis’s staff, senior analyst Christina Pushaw, posted Griffin’s op-ed on on social media, adding: “Whether you are for or against marijuana, the fact is that Amendment 3 is NOT what its backers try to back it as. Don’t California our Florida!”

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Elon Musk’s ‘Election Interference’

A “White Dudes for Harris” Zoom call reportedly raised $4 million in donations for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. After the call, the @dudes4Harris account on X was briefly suspended.

Is this election interference?

If we remain in reality, the answer is of course not.

Even if X CEO Elon Musk ordered the account suspended because of its politics, there would be no (legal) wrongdoing here. X is a private platform, and it doesn’t have any obligation to be politically neutral. Explicitly suppressing pro-Harris content would be a bad business model, surely, but it would not be illegal. Musk and the platform formerly known as Twitter have no obligation to equally air conservative and progressive views or give equal treatment to Republican and Democratic candidates.

But there’s no evidence that X was deliberately trying to thwart Harris organizers. The dudes4Harris account—which has no direct affiliation to the Harris campaign—was suspended after it promoted and held its Zoom call and was back the next day. That’s a pretty bad plan if the goal was to stop its influence or fundraising. And there are all sorts of legitimate reasons why X may have suspended the account.

The account’s suspension is “not that surprising,” writes Techdirt Editor in Chief Mike Masnick (who, it should be noted, is intensely critical of X policies and Musk himself on many issues). “Shouldn’t an account suddenly amassing a ton of followers with no clear official connection to the campaign and pushing people to donate maybe ring some internal alarm bells on any trust and safety team? It wouldn’t be a surprise if it tripped some guardwires and was locked and/or suspended briefly while the account was reviewed. That’s how this stuff works.”

If we step out of reality into the partisan hysteria zone, however, then the account’s temporary suspension was clearly an attempt by Musk to sway the 2024 election.

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TESLA TO MANUFACTURE HUMANOID ROBOTS THAT COULD BE AVAILABLE BY NEXT YEAR, ELON MUSK SAYS

Are robots poised to soon become our overlords? Maybe not yet, although billionaire technologist Elon Musk says they could soon take over Tesla production facilities as the company moves forward with plans to begin producing humanoid robots called Optimus as soon as next year.

In a post on X, Musk said, “Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies in 2026.”

First named the “Tesla Bot” and revealed in 2021 at a Tesla AI Day event, the robot’s design has drastically changed over the last few years. Recently renamed Optimus, the humanlike robot was designed to perform dangerous work and repetitive tasks.

At 170 centimeters in height and weighing around 123 pounds, the robot’s new design is sleek compared to its appearance while in the initial prototype phase.

Tesla’s development of Optimus is not the first time robots designed to mimic human capabilities have made news. Other automotive and robotics companies, including Honda and Boston Dynamics, have made progress in recent years in the development of robots that include those with humanoid designs.

In 2015, DARPA hosted the Robotics Challenge, and many of the designs looked similar to the robots currently under development by Tesla.

The event, held at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, aimed to have participants create robot systems and software teams to help humans under conditions of natural and man-made disasters.

Team Kaist of Daejeon, Republic of Korea, won first place and the $2 million prize with their robot DRC-Hubo, while Team IHMC Robotics from Pensacola, Florida, secured second place and $1 million with their robot Running Man.

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Paediatrician is alarmed at Bill Gates’ plan to inject 500 million children with harmful and unnecessary vaccines

According to a report published last week by the World Health Organisation (“WHO”) and United Nations Children’s Fund (“UNICEF”), global childhood immunisation rates have stalled, with 84% of children vaccinated in 2023, which has not improved despite efforts. According to the report, this stagnation highlights ongoing challenges in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, including poor access to health services and fragile, conflict-ridden areas.

The report highlights the reduction in missed doses of “routine” DTP vaccines last year with 13.9 million fewer children receiving all doses in 2022. The report also laments the gaps in measles vaccinations, noting that outbreaks hit 103 countries.

GAVI’s plan aims to vaccinate 500 million children by 2030, with existing and new vaccines, claiming it will avert up to 9 million deaths. The organisation is seeking $9 billion in new pledges of the $11.9 billion needed for the strategic period.

However, Dr. Paul Thomas, who is the author of a study comparing the health outcomes of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children and others, argued that vaccination programs are unnecessary. Additionally, he argued, success should be measured on the overall health of the population, not on vaccination rates.

“The less we vaccinate, the healthier the population,” he said.

The paediatrician’s warning highlights the potential risks and unintended consequences of mass vaccination efforts. He told The Defender that the global vaccination programmes continue to use the dangerous whole-cell DTP formulation instead of the less risky acellular version.

The whole-cell vaccine, which contains the entire Bordetella pertussis organism rather than just purified components, has since the 1930s resulted in widespread reports of neurological damage. It was phased out in the US by 1997, but the formulation has continued to be used in low- and middle-income countries, potentially killing millions of children.

Dr. Thomas also doesn’t agree with WHO’s stance on measles.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “Measles outbreaks are the canary in the coal mine, exposing and exploiting gaps in immunisation and hitting the most vulnerable first.”

Dr. Thomas stated that measles is not a threat to well-nourished, healthy children and that the focus on vaccines as a solution “is destroying the immune systems” of those who are highly vaccinated.

“The focus should be on making sure children of the world have adequate nutrition and adequate support of vitamins A, D and C,” he said.

WHO’s report noted “progress” in some areas of global immunisation including HPV vaccine uptake.

Thomas called the HPV shot “the most dangerous vaccine on the planet other than COVID,” and argued that it “should have been removed from the market long ago.”

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Bill Gates Is Investing “Billions” In The New Wave Of Nuclear Power

It isn’t often Bill “Mr. I Know What’s Best For The Entire World” Gates comes up with an idea that we aren’t immediately skeptical of, but his recent pledge to promote next generation nuclear power sounds to us to be a common sense solution to multiple problems we’ll be facing in coming years.

Gates is pledging billions of dollars to promote nuclear through startup TerraPower LLC, OilPrice.com wrote this week. And it looks like that number could grow.

Gates recently told Bloomberg: “I put in over a billion, and I’ll put in billions more.”

OilPrice.com notes that nuclear power is gaining global traction as a key player in decarbonization strategies. In addition to TerraPower, companies like Sam Altman-led Oklo are also focused on modernizing nuclear with small modular reactors.

Advocates emphasize its immense clean energy potential, proven technology, and existing infrastructure. Although not renewable, nuclear energy emits zero carbon and could help meet global emissions targets.

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“DMCA Does Not Apply”: Musk Says X Will Not Remove CNN Debate Streams, Footage

X owner Elon Musk has clarified that the platform will not block or remove live streams and footage of the Presidential debate on Thursday, despite apparent demands by CNN that social media companies do not allow creators to use their feed.

Podcaster Tim Pool claimed that he’d been told by CNN that he would not be legally allowed to simulcast the debate and provide his own commentary and fact checks on it.

The Post Millenial then highlighted an email they received from CNN, in which the network stated that “CNN’s debates are exclusive to CNN and may not be streamed or streamed with verbal or digital commentary on any platform or social media site by another party, other than the embeddable YouTube player via the CNN YouTube channel.”

The email also stated “Podcast Use: Similar to broadcast rules, news organizations may use audio clips (up to 3:00 minutes at a time) on their shows after the debate conclude and must credit the ‘CNN Presidential Debate’ verbally in introducing the clip.”

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