Musk Warns World Government Summit Against 'Too Much' World Government

 Elon Musk on Wednesday told an audience of government representatives at Dubai's World Government Summit that earth should avoid "too much of a single world government" in order to avoid creating a "civilizational risk."

"If you look at the rise and fall of civilizations throughout history, civilizations have risen and fallen, but it hasn’t meant the doom of humanity as a whole, because they have been given all these separate civilizations that were separated by great distances," Musk continued, using the fall of Rome while Islam was rising as an example of a situation which resulted in the preservation of knowledge and scientific advancements.

 "I’m not suggesting war or something … we need to be a little bit wary of actually being cooperative too much," Musk continued. "It sounds odd, but we just want to have an amount of civilizational diversity such as if something goes on wrong with some part of civilization, the whole thing doesn’t collapse. Humanity keeps moving forward."

Musk also recommended that world leaders and corporate officers should speak in their own voices.

"I think people should speak in their own voice. I would encourage CEOs, legislators, to speak authentically.. Do the tweets yourself and convey your message directly," he said.

When asked when he anticipates finding a new CEO for Twitter, Musk replied that it would be "probably toward the end of this year."

"I think I need to stabilize the organization and just make sure it’s in a financial healthy place," he said. "I’m guessing probably toward the end of this year would be good timing to find someone else to run the company."

During the roughly 35 minutes Musk was speaking, he also touched on concerns over artificial intelligence, and the possibility of space aliens.

Watch:

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/civilizational-collapse-musk-warns-world-government-summit-against-too-much-world

Military AI Applications Will Be As Game-Changing As Nukes: Former Google CEO

 Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt says that artificial intelligence will be as game-changing as nuclear weapons when it comes to military applications.

"Every once in a while, a new weapon, a new technology comes along that changes things. Einstein wrote a letter to Roosevelt in the 1930s saying that there is this new technology—nuclear weapons—that could change war, which it clearly did," Schmidt told Wired. "I would argue that [AI-powered] autonomy and decentralised, distributed systems are that powerful."

With Schmidt’s help, a similar view has taken root inside the DOD over the past decade, where leaders believe AI will revolutionize military hardware, intelligence gathering, and backend software. In the early 2010s the Pentagon began assessing technology that could help it maintain an edge over an ascendant Chinese military. The Defense Science Board, the agency’s top technical advisory body, concluded that AI-powered autonomy would shape the future of military competition and conflict. -Wired

According to Schmidt, the US military has good people, but a bad system which could benefit greatly by upgrading their technology.

"Let's imagine we’re going to build a better war-fighting system," he said, outlining what would amount to an enormous overhaul of the US military. "We would just create a tech company ... It would build a large number of inexpensive devices that were highly mobile, that were attritable, and those devices—or drones—would have sensors or weapons, and they would be networked together."

The problem with today’s Pentagon is hardly money, talent, or determination, in Schmidt’s opinion. He describes the US military as “great human beings inside a bad system”—one that evolved to serve a previous era dominated by large, slow, expensive projects like aircraft carriers and a bureaucratic system that prevents people from moving too quickly. Independent studies and congressional hearings have found that it can take years for the DOD to select and buy software, which may be outdated by the time it is installed. Schmidt says this is a huge problem for the US, because computerization, software, and networking are poised to revolutionize warfare. -Wired

Schmidt, coincidentally (or not) is backing a company called Istari, which uses machine learning to virtually assemble and test war machines.

"The Istari team is bringing internet-type usability to models and simulations," he said, adding that "This unlocks the possibility of software-like agility for future physical systems—it is very exciting."

According to Paul Scharre, a VP at the Center for a New American Society think tank, "The big challenge that the US military faces going forward is how to rapidly adapt commercial technologies for military use faster than competitors."

In his book, Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Scharre says that the Pentagon's share of global R&D spending has dropped from 36% in 1960 to 4% today.

Scharre says it's valuable for people like Schmidt to bridge the gap between the private sector and government, and that 'tech ambassadors' can help the Pentagon learn how to cut red tape and become a more attractive partner to startups.

"We're still trying to build a 21st century military with a 20th century bureaucracy," he said.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/military-ai-will-be-game-changing-nukes-former-google-ceo

Lawmakers discuss foreign policy tools to stem fentanyl crisis

 Lawmakers discussed potential foreign policy changes to counter the fentanyl crisis during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday, emphasizing the need to crack down on Chinese and Mexican officials to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. 

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), most of the fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. is produced in illicit labs in Mexico using chemicals from China.

“We need to use every foreign policy tool we have to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country. This means asking Mexico to do more to disrupt criminal organizations from producing and trafficking fentanyl,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the committee chair, said.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) on Sept. 20, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 100,000 people in the U.S. died of drug poisonings or overdoses in the 12-month period ending in January 2022. Of those deaths, 67 percent involved fentanyl or other synthetic opioids.

The DEA has pinpointed the sources of the “vast majority” of fentanyl coming into the U.S. as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, both from Mexico, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said. 

After receiving chemicals from China, according to Milgram, cartels mass produce fentanyl powder, then press the powder into fake prescription pills, often selling it on social media in the U.S.

“We are now seizing fentanyl in all 50 states and it is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced,” Milgram said. “For all these reasons, our top operational priority right now is to defeat these two cartels.”

Many Republican senators blamed the fentanyl trafficking on the Biden administration for not taking more action to stop immigration at the southern border. 

“Mexican cartels leverage their drug trafficking profits to acquire sophisticated weapons, corrupt officials, challenge the authority of the Mexican state and commit terrible atrocities,” the committee’s ranking member, Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), said. “The same cartels are profiting from and prolonging the illegal migration crisis caused by the Biden administration’s weak enforcement of border security and immigration controls.”

Todd Robinson, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, said the Biden administration and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are prepared to “bring the full power of American diplomacy to this challenge.” 

Robinson said that regulations should be comprehensive, as synthetic drugs like fentanyl can be produced anywhere using completely legal chemicals and equipment. 

“We hope Mexico will invest more in combating the synthetic drug threat from prevention, treatment and recovery to the investigations and prosecutions,” Robinson said. “The United States remains committed to meaningful counter-narcotics cooperation with the [People’s Republic of China], despite the PRC’s limited willingness to engage on the issue of late.”

Biden addressed the fentanyl crisis in his State of the Union address last week, pledging to launch more penalties to crack down on fentanyl trafficking, work with couriers to inspect packages for drugs and put more drug detection machines at the border. 

During the hearing, Menendez expressed his concerns about lacking cooperation from Mexican officials.

“I don’t know how many more lives have to be lost for Mexico to get engaged,” he said. 

Menendez and other lawmakers said that expanding sanctions on China could be an option to force cooperation in combating synthetic opioid trafficking. 

“If China is complicit in supplying fentanyl that comes to the United States, then we need to consider an appropriate sanctions regime,” Risch said. “China’s complacency could have dire consequences for the future of its nation.” 

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3860077-lawmakers-discuss-foreign-policy-tools-to-stem-fentanyl-crisis/

Oakland declares emergency after ransomware attack

 Oakland, Calif., declared a local state of emergency on Tuesday night following a ransomware attack that impacted the city’s network a week ago.

The city’s interim administrator, G. Harold Duffey, issued the emergency as the city continues to experience a network outage that has impacted nonemergency systems, including phone lines. The city’s financial systems, fire emergency services and 911 dispatch have not been impacted.

City officials said in a press release that the local emergency allows the city to speed up “the procurement of equipment and materials, activate emergency workers if needed, and issue orders on an expedited basis.”

The city also said that its information technology department is working with law enforcement and a forensics firm to investigate the scope and severity of the incident, which began on the night of Feb. 8. 

“This continues to be an ongoing investigation with multiple local, state, and federal agencies involved,” the press release said.

https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/3859932-oakland-declares-emergency-after-ransomware-attack/

Biden Willing To Let Germans Freeze In Blowing Up Pipeline: Seymour Hersh Interview

 Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh in a fresh interview with Germany’s Berliner Zeitung newspaper which follows up on his bombshell reporting How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline, has provided more context to the Biden White House's decision-making behind the brazen, high-risk covert op.

"The President of the United States would rather see Germany freeze than [see] Germany possibly stop supporting Ukraine," Hersh asserted.

He explained that in reality the Ukraine conflict was "not going well for the West" and that it's important to remember that Stream 2 "was put on hold by Germany itself, not international sanctions, and the US was afraid Germany would lift sanctions because of a cold winter."

That's when the legendary investigative journalist emphasized: 

"The point is that Biden has decided to let the Germans freeze this winter. The President of the United States would rather see Germany freeze than [see] Germany possibly stop supporting Ukraine."

Hersh has also in a fresh update to his Substack teased that more details are coming based on his sources. "Stay tuned," he said. "We are only on first base…" - writing that: 

"There may be more to learn about Joe Biden’s decision to prevent the German government from having second thoughts about the lack of cheap gas this winter."

In the meantime, Russia says it is preparing to convene a special meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the case of the Nord Stream sabotage...

The Russian mission to the United Nations said on Wednesday it is planning this meeting for Feb.22, and it comes after Moscow has demanded answers from the Biden administration related to allegations and reporting revealed by Hersh.

While so far the mainstream media has by and large been completely silent on Hersh's findings, Reuters has belatedly acknowledged it as follows on Wednesday:

U.S. investigative journalist Seymour Hersh wrote in a blog that an attack on the Russian-operated pipelines under the Baltic Sea was carried out last September at the direction of U.S. President Joe Biden.

The White House has dismissed the report as "utterly false and complete fiction."

And yet, previously top US officials have in so many words openly admitted that they welcomed the news of the Nord Stream pipeline explosions. Recent statements such as in the following Senate testimony by Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland are quite revealing...

Nuland bluntly saying that the pipeline sabotage left the administration "very gratified" should have been featured in every major newspaper across the US and world, yet has been given almost zero attention by establishment media and the big news networks. But this only goes to Hersh's point in his latest interview: his own reporting and exposing of US government secrets going all the way back to My Lai is often initially ignored or even fought against, until it becomes impossible to ignore, and only much later is near-universally lauded when the truth is belatedly and grudgingly acknowledged. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/biden-willing-let-germans-freeze-blowing-pipeline-seymour-hersh-interview

Many retirees can't wait until 70 to collect Social Security, but they could with this strategy

 Many employers provide matches to encourage people to accumulate money for retirement, but few help with payout strategies when it's time to retire

Delaying the start of Social Security benefits is a powerful way for retirees to cope with inflation, survive bad investment markets and reduce the risk they'll run short of money. The advantages of waiting are so great that financial planners often recommend their clients tap other savings, such as retirement funds, to help them delay claiming.

Employers could increase their workers' financial security by offering a similar "bridge" strategy as part of 401(k)s and other workplace retirement plans, according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The bridge strategy would tap a worker's retirement account to pay amounts roughly equal to the foregone Social Security checks.

People can create such bridges on their own, of course. If Social Security projects your benefit at age 62 will be $1,500 a month, for example, you could set up automatic monthly withdrawals of that amount from your 401(k) at retirement. But having an employer offer the option could make the process easier and encourage more people to delay, says Gal Wettstein, the center's senior research economist and co-author of the study.

The benefits of waiting are huge

Social Security benefits are incredibly valuable to retirees. Benefits are adjusted annually for inflation and, unlike retirement savings, can't be depleted by bad markets, bad investing decisions or bad luck.

People can claim Social Security retirement benefits at any time from ages 62 to 70. Starting before your full retirement age, which is currently between 66 and 67, typically means settling for a permanently reduced benefit. Delaying beyond full retirement age, by contrast, increases retirement benefits by 8% each year until your benefit maxes out at age 70.

Waiting until age 70 can increase your Social Security checks by at least 76% compared to starting at 62, Wettstein says.

"The higher monthly benefit means you have more guaranteed income, which will last you for the rest of your life," Wettstein says.

(By the way: Your Social Security benefits begin earning inflation adjustments starting at age 62, whether you've started receiving them or not, according to the Social Security Administration. So next year's 8.7% cost of living increase is no reason to speed up your application if you're able to hold off)

Also see: 'Let's stand up for seniors': Biden invites Republicans to promise that Social Security cuts are off the table

Most people are still claiming too early

Copious research has shown that most people are better off waiting to claim Social Security. It's particularly important for the higher earner in a married couple to delay, since that benefit determines what the survivor gets after the first spouse dies.

A study by economists from the Federal Reserve and Boston University found that "virtually all" U.S. workers ages 45 to 62 should wait beyond age 65 to claim, and 90% should wait until age 70, although only about 10% currently do. Claiming too early will cost the typical worker over $182,000 in lifetime discretionary spending, the economists found.

The average claiming age inched up between 2008 and 2018, from 63.6 to 64.7 for men and from 63.6 to 64.6 for women, according to the Social Security Administration. Most people still claim their benefits before reaching their full retirement age, which means their benefits are permanently reduced.

Few retirement plans help with payout strategies

Many employers provide matches to encourage people to accumulate money for retirement, but few help with payout strategies when it's time to retire, Wettstein notes. A few offer the option to annuitize, which means turning some or all of the account balance over to an insurance company in exchange for a guaranteed stream of payments.

Most people don't much like the idea of giving up big chunks of their savings, Wettstein notes. His study presented an alternative -- the employer-provided bridge -- to a nationally representative sample of 1,349 people ages 50 to 65 who had not retired and who had at least $25,000 in their 401(k). The strategy would allow participants to use up to half of their retirement account balances to replace Social Security checks while they delayed claiming.

A "substantial minority" said they would use the strategy if offered, the researchers found. About 27% of those who were given a brief description of how it worked said they would use it. The percentage willing to use the strategy rose as participants were given more information, with 35% of those given the most complete explanation saying they would use it. In addition, 31% said they wouldn't opt out if their employer made the bridge strategy the default option.

Wettstein says to his knowledge no employers are currently offering a bridge strategy, but he hopes the research will spur some to consider it. Figuring out when to claim Social Security is daunting enough for the average worker, let alone deciding how and when to tap retirement funds, he says. An employer-provided bridge strategy could make waiting easier for many.

"If it's all set out for you in a way that is effortless, that is definitely attractive," Wettstein says.

https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20230215223/many-retirees-cant-wait-until-70-to-collect-social-security-benefits-but-they-could-if-they-used-this-strategy

California woman accidentally runs over, kills would-be catalytic converter thief: cops

 A California woman accidentally ran over and killed a man police said had been trying to steal her catalytic converter Tuesday.

The unidentified woman was sleeping inside her Ford Excursion in the parking lot of a Palmdale shopping center when a group of four alleged thieves pulled up around 6 p.m., the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said.

Two Hispanic men and two Hispanic women parked in the stall next to their sleeping victim. One man hopped out of the car, laid underneath the woman’s SUV and began sawing off the catalytic converter, deputies said.

“The victim woke up from the sound, turned the car on, put the vehicle in reverse, and felt a bump like she ran something over,” the department said in a release.

The woman stopped immediately and called 911, leaving the ran-over suspect lying beneath her car.

Sheriffs arrived to find the Ford partially backed out of the parking stalls with the man still underneath and the alleged thieves’ car parked next to it.

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The suspect had crawled beneath the woman’s SUV to saw off her catalytic converter, cops said.

Christopher Sadowski

The driver ran over the suspect when she put her car in reverse.

John Nacion/NurPhoto/Shutterstoc

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The man was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police later identified him as a grand theft suspect.

The three others from his group were detained.

Police have not released the identities of those involved, or said whether the theft victim would face any charges. The case was classified as a homicide.

Catalytic converters are a hot commodity for auto thieves.

Last week, jackers swiped the iconic Oscar Mayer Mienermobile’s catalytic converter while it was parked at the Sonesta Suites on Paradise Road in Las Vegas.

In New York City, such thefts rose as much as 600% across the five boroughs last year, The Post reported.

https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/california-woman-runs-over-kills-would-be-catalytic-converter-thief-cops/