Daily Archives: March 27, 2022

The human mind of today is like a jungle full of the wild beasts of accumulated desires. And the heart of most people has become like honey hidden in a rock. Infinite divine energies lie dormant in everyone, but people are unaware of this. They have become like fish that are dying of thirst even though they live in water. Ammas mission in life is to awaken the infinite Divine Power that is innate in everyone, and to lead humanity along the right path of selfless service and love for others.

In the present-day world, no one has any real peace of mind. Even those who own huge ships, airplanes and enormous wealth are unhappy and discontented. One often reads about people committing suicide, even though they lived in air-conditioned mansions. If it were external conditions that gave one happiness, these people who lived in the lap of luxury wouldnt have committed suicide. So we shouldnt waste our lives seeking happiness in external things. Instead, we should strive to discover the true source of happiness and blissthe Divine Self within us. This is the core of Ammas message.

Real love and compassion have almost disappeared from the earth. Nowadays, love has become exceedingly rare. Ammas mission is todemonstrate pure, selfless love to the world, and to awaken that divinelove in people.

Today, many of those who as children prayed for the health andlongevity of their parents now curse their parents who have grown old and infirm. They look upon their aged parents as a burden and pray that they will soon die. This is the kind of love that we see in the world today. All worldly love seems to eventually turn into hatred. People come closer only to separate later on. No one loves another more than they love themselves. Ammas mission is to make people realise the insubstantial nature of worldly love, and to instil true love and spiritual values within them, through her own example. Ammas message to the world is: Awaken the Divine Love within you.

When Amma speaks about the limitations of worldly love, Amma certainly doesnt mean that you should stop loving others, or that you should resent anyone. Amma only asks that you transform your selfish and desire-motivated love into a selfless love that is free of expectations. If our left hand is hurt, we will eagerly extend our right hand to render service to the wounded hand, giving it relief and solace. We should love and serve others in the same way, seeing ourselves in their place, identifying with them.

The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian

View post:
Awaken the Divine Love within You - The New Indian Express

A once viable mine could be reactivated and put Kings Mountain on the map in the lithium industry.

With that vision in mind, Albemarle Corp., which owns the old mine and approximately 800 acres of property in Kings Mountain, continues to take steps to make it a reality.

Representatives with the organization will host the first of several meetings to discuss the project with the community at 7 p.m. Monday, March 28, at Kings Mountain City Hall, 101 W. Gold St., Kings Mountain.

That first meeting will serve as an introduction of Albemarle to residents, though the company has been operating a lithium research and processing facility in the community since 2012.

Organizers also say it will be the beginning of a dialogue they hope to continue throughout the process.

Will residents get all their questions answered? Probably not, say Albemarle representatives.

We dont have (all the)answers just yet, but we really want to communicate to everybody that were starting that process, said Alex Thompson, vice president of human resources with Albemarle.

The interest in lithium mining isnt new, but the uptick in electric vehicles is taking it up a notch.

As more car makers create new battery-powered cars, the need for lithium increases. And with the rising fuel costs, that interest is piquing.

Albemarle has lithium mining operations in Chile and Australia, but if they successfully tap into the resource in Kings Mountain, it will have a significance.

If this project moves forward, it will be the first hard rock lithium mine in the United States, said Jennifer Diggins, director of government and community affairs with Albemarle.

That means that unlike many mines which use a brine and evaporation technique, spodumene, which is high in lithium, is extracted directly from the rock by crushing and grinding it.

Based out of Charlotte, Albemarles Kings Mountain facility is located on Holiday Inn Drive a stones throw from I-85.

Last year the company opened the Battery Materials Innovation Center on the property where they say valuable research is underway, research that could improve the longevity of todays lithium batteries.

Kings Mountain is the home of one of the worlds best research centers to develop advanced lithium materials, said Glen Merfeld, chief technology officer with Albemarle. We've been hiring and developing that team for the last three years, and weve got a pretty impressive group there.

The company employees 170 people and 50 contractors and anticipates hiring hundreds more at various skill levels if and when the mine goes back into operation.

Current salary base is $90,000.

More: Hounds Drive-In, Campground could become a lithium mine

The company has been buying propertyincluding Hounds Drive-In and Hounds Campground for $22 million earlier this year.

Theyve met with some county and city leaders and will soon do some drilling for testing purposes.

Company representatives say theyre years away from submitting multitude permits while attempting toclearfederal, state, county and city hurdles in the process.

This is the start of a long journey, said Thompson.

That said, representatives said theyre already having those conversations and looking at future jobs and the education needed to fill them.

Diggins said shes already met with the superintendent of Cleveland County Schools. She said the company would like to develop programs that send students on a path for some of the geology and research positions needed at Albemarle.

We need to create that talent pipeline, she said.

As Gaston County had public meetings regarding lithium mine proposed in Cherryville by Piedmont Lithium, some residents shared concerns of noise, dust and traffic congestion.

We havent started that process to really quantify what those impacts will be, said Thompson.

As part of the process, Thompson said Albemarle would conduct air, water, noise and traffic congestion studies and ways to mitigate any issues.

This will be a years-long project that we are committed to and committed to doing it the right way, Diggins added.

Diane Turbyfill can be reached at 704-669-3334 and dturbyfill@shelbystar.com.

Read this article:
Corporation looks to restart lithium mining in Kings Mountain - Shelby Star

There will be as many as 11 teams that will have new coaches when the 2022 high school spring sports season officially begins in the second week of April.

Former pro baseball coach joins Saints: 'Destiny': Carson Cross goes from Milwaukee Brewers to St. Thomas baseball coach

Dubben takes over at Dover: Dover High School names Dubben head baseball coach; spent last four years at STA

New coaches include Lauren Delong (Marshwood girls tennis), Matt Moreland (Marshwood boys lacrosse), Kirstin Fleming (Oyster River girls lacrosse), Wyatt Gantenbein (St. Thomas Aquinas boys tennis), Jeff Thorsen Traip Academy softball),Jody Donohue (Traip girls lacrosse), Bruce Joyce (Exeter baseball), Matt Brewster (Exeter boys lacrosse), Melvin Torres (Dover softball) and Billy McNamara (York boys lacrosse).

Here's a look at some of the new head coaches.

Delong, coming over from York High School where she coached the girls varsity tennis team for three seasons, is now ready to get startedwith the Hawks.

Delong said the excitement of the girls is what she reallyfeeds off, and is ready to see the development in the players over the course of the season.

"The girls learn new skills, they enjoy each other and develop a love for the gamebecause tennis is a lifelong sport, it's all about that longevity," Delong said. "I'm almost 50 and I still compete and play. Tennis is a sport that I love more than anything.It's an honor to share it with the girls and inspire them to play it, love it and enjoy it their whole lives."

Marshwood athletic director Rich Buzzell is "very excited" to have Delongon board.

"She's very invested in the tennis landscape and community, and comes with a wealth of tennis-playing experience," Buzzell said. "The combination of the two is a big win for our program. Our kids are super lucky to have her in this position."

Moreland said coaching for him is all about the player'senjoyment of the game.

"Just the kids having fun, if they get through the season and had a great time, thenthat's pretty much the end goal," Moreland said. "Getting everybody improving and having a good time."

Moreland, who served as Ralph Ruocco's assistant for many years,also played lacrosse for Marshwood back in the 1990s.

"We're excitedto have him make the next step in his career,"Buzzell said. "Ralph's shoes will be tough to fill, but Matt is up to the challenge;we're looking for him to build on our recent successes."

Fleming has bigger goals than just wins and losses for the Bobcats this year.

"Obviously winning and losing, that's what you see on a piece of paper," Fleming said. "It's easy to look at stats that way, but I think my goals are to get everybody on the same page, and just kind of firing on all cylinders. I want the girls to feel really connected as a team. I do think this is a fresh start and a new chapter, not to be clich. If we can all get on the same page and have focus on what we need to do, and not depend on certain people and get everybody involved, from defense to midfield to offense, then, that to me, is a success."

Joyce replaces longtime head coach Kevin McQueen, who called it a career after last season, his 25th with the Blue Hawks.

Exeter won three state titles under McQueen in 2013, 2017 and 2018. Joyce was on McQueen's staff the past 11 years, andis ready to start his inaugural season as head coach.

"I certainly welcome the opportunity, that's for sure," Joyce said. " When the opportunity arose, I couldn't say no."

Joyce mentioned that he and McQueen workedwell together and had a lot of fun doing so. Joyce said besides the team's record, continuing to grow relationships with both the upperclassmen and underclassmen is histop priority.

"We have a nice, solid group of returning guys," Joyce said. "We've got some good young kids in the program. We want to continue to carry on what we've built there, and build on, not just the success on the field, buta lot of good things that we've done off the field; we're trying to carry on those traditions."

Brewster, who takesover for 23-year Exeter head coach Gerry Holly, has been coaching in the club circuit since 2015, but this is his first high school head coaching opportunity.

"I'm absolutely fired up," Brewster said. "I have a great group of kids, it's a great community in Exeter. Exeter has a really good history of being a good program and being highly competitive; I'm excited to continue that."

Brewster'smain focus is tomakesure the kids get better in every aspect, and not just putting the ball through the net.

"I want them to develop as lacrosse players, but also as human beings," Brewster said. "I think that if you can create a culture where kids come in and leave better lacrosse players and better people, then you've done a good job as a coach. If you set the right culture and get the kids to work hard, everything else is going to fall into place."

Torres, who coached for three seasons at Great Bay Community College,is ready for his first year with Dover.

The Green Wave will field a younger team, but Torres is ready for the challenge.

"The season will be a successful one if we have a winning season, and improve as a team," Torres said. "I want the girls to continue to learn the game and get better every day, that's the main goal."

Traip Academyis entering its third season with girls lacrosse as a varsity spot, andDonohue is ready to transcend the program. Donohue has also coached girls basketball at Shapleigh Middle School.

"I'm looking forward to building theteam, and building the sense of community around the team like I did with Shapleigh," Donohue said.

The Rangers, after 22 games as a varsity program, are still looking for their first win.

"I want them to be able to have that (winning) feeling, that sense of accomplishment from a win," Donohue said. "It's not all about winning, I love to win, don't get me wrong, but not at all costs. Sportsmanship and work ethic is way more important to me."

Originally posted here:
There will be many new high school coaches around the Seacoast this spring - Seacoastonline.com

Members of the alliance with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida SimonUte

Members of the inter-parliamentary alliance on China (UK) have issued the following statement at the conclusion of their visit to Lithuania.

We, members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (UK), have had the privilege of meeting with Lithuanian parliamentarians, government officials and military leaders over our visit to Vilnius.

We are deeply grateful for the warm welcome that we have received from our Lithuanian colleagues, that exemplifies the strength and longevity of the growing bond of friendship between the peoples of the United Kingdom and the Baltic states.

Today, Lithuania, a country that knows only too well what living under the oppressive rule of the Soviet Union was like, has held firm in the face of increasing pressure from authoritarian regimes in both Moscow and Beijing.

As Putin's senseless war in Ukraine continues, Lithuania, a country of just 2.4 million, has taken in over 30,000 refugees - at least 1,000 a day since the beginning of the invasion.

Lithuania has been at the frontline of the Moscow backed Belarussian dictatorship's efforts to destabilise Europe by deceiving and coercing thousands of unregistered individuals into entering Lithuania in an act of heinous state sponsored human trafficking.

Lithuania has also been uncowed by vindictive trade sanctions from Beijing and has dared to call the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius for what it is - an office not just for the city of Taipei but for all Taiwanese people.

As we return to the United Kingdom, we call on our government to take action to support Lithuania by:

- Redoubling the UK's defence commitment to the Baltic states, providing an unambiguous deterrent against Russian aggression in the region; including supplying the Baltic states with the necessary air defence capabilities to establish a defensive dome protecting the region;

- Maximising military support for Ukraine's self defence in the recognition that of Ukraine falls this could spark a domino effect through Europe, including Lithuania;

- Providing Lithuania and other states with the economic assistance needed to house refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine;

- Committing to reducing strategic dependency on authoritarian regimes, including Russia and China, on critical supply chains including in energy and rare earth materials;

- Affirming the sovereign right of Lithuania to develop relations with Taiwan as it sees fit, and work to foster greater engagement with Taiwan in diplomatic exchange, trade and defence;

- Calling out the Chinese government's refusal to condemn Putin's war in Ukraine, and ask it to commit to sanctioning the Russian regime should it continue to escalate the war, war crimes and humanitarian crisis; and

- Commending Lithuania for its role in supporting Belarussian opposition figures fleeing the Lukashenko dictatorship and raise the Belarussian regime's state sponsored human trafficking at the UN Human Rights Council.

- Gathering evidence of Putin's war crimes from survivors, witnesses and experts, to be brought to the International Criminal Court.

Geraint Davies MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP Lord (David) AltonMembers of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China

Tags: China, Lithuania, Lord Alton, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Geraint Davies MP

ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. As our audience increases - so do our costs. We need your help to continue this work.

Please support our journalism by donating to ICN today.

Excerpt from:
Statement from members of inter-parliamentary alliance on China (UK) | ICN - Independent Catholic News

Mathias Dpfner, the CEO of Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, recently met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk for an interview.

The interviewtook place at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California,and the men discussed Russia's invasion into Ukraine, space travel, and what makes human beings special.

You can read a transcript of the conversation below.

Mathias Dpfner: Before we talk about the future, let's look at the present. There is war in Europe. If you see the horrible images of Putin's troops invading Ukraine, killing people. What are your thoughts?

Elon Musk: It is surprising to see that in this day and age. I thought we had sort of moved beyond such things for the most part. It is concerning. If you can get away with it, then this will be a message to other countries that perhaps they could get away with it too.

Dpfner:Have you been surprised by Putin's behavior? I mean, I remember the discussions in the recent weeks when most of the Europeans thought he is not going to do it. A lot of Americans were convinced he is going to invade. What was your expectation?

Musk:My best guess was that he would seek to capture the Eastern third of the country. Frankly, if you just listened to the rhetoric, then it is clear that he was going after at least portions of Ukraine that have a significant percentage of Russian speakers. He did that already in Georgia.

Dpfner:In a way, if you listen carefully to dictators, they very often say what they want to do. You just had to take it seriously.

Musk:Yeah. They are not subtle.

Dpfner:But so far, there is a possibility that Putin achieves pretty much the opposite of what he wants to achieve. He wants to disentangle America from Europe. He wants to weaken NATO. So far, he has strengthened NATO. He has united the west. It is almost a bipartisan topic that unites democracies and open societies. With regard to the long-term outcome, are you rather pessimistic that it is going to strengthen Putin and thus, paving the way for other examples like China or elsewhere? Or are you more optimistic that it could be a turning point for a different security policy of the West?

Musk:I do think this will strike the West. I suppose of course that people realize, maybe we should not have all these internal squabbles when there are more serious threats.

Dpfner:Volodymyr Zelenskyy put it very clearly. "I need ammunition, not a ride". Europe, particularly Germany, struggled a long time. How about the American government?

Musk:I think the American government has done more than people may realize. But it is just not been very public. But it is important to do something serious. We cannot let Putin take over Ukraine. This is crazy.

Dpfner:Parts of the world, particularly Europe, have learned the wrong lesson from the Third Reich and the Holocaust. And that lesson is: no military intervention ever again. Trying not to get involved. Now, there is the opportunity that we learned the real lesson, and that is never ever racism, never ever genocides and never ever appeasement.

Musk:Appeasement obviously did not work against Hitler. And how much better would the world had been if they had stopped him early. Better for everyone.

Dpfner:You did something very concrete, 48 hours, upon the request of the digital minister of Ukraine. And that was delivering Starlink material in order to grant internet access. What was the motivation, and how is it developing?

Musk:We did think that Starlink might be needed, and we took some preemptive actions to ensure that it could be provided quickly. When the request came, we acted very rapidly. It is worth noting that the satellite internet connectivity of Ukraine was taken offline by a cyberattack on the day of the invasion permanently. The cell towers are either being blown up or they are being jammed. There is a major fiber backbone which the Russians are aware of. It was quite likely that they will sever that fiber link. This would leave Ukraine with very few connections open. So Starlink might be, certainly in some parts of Ukraine, the only connection.

Dpfner:What happens if the Russians and Chinese are targeting satellites? Is that also a threat for Starlink?

Musk:It was interesting to view the Russian anti-satellite demonstration a few months ago in the context of this conflict. Because that caused a lot of strife for satellite operators. It even had some danger for the space station, where there are Russian cosmonauts. So why did they do that? It was a message in advance of the Ukraine invasion. If you attempt to take out Starlink, this is not easy because there are 2000 satellites. That means a lot of anti-satellite missiles. I hope we do not have to put this to a test, but I think we can launch satellites faster than they can launch anti-satellites missiles.

Dpfner:Russia said that they are going to stop the delivery of rocket engines. Is that a threat or an opportunity for SpaceX?

Musk:At SpaceX, we design and manufacture our own rocket engines. So we did not really own any Russian components at all.

Dpfner:Is it dangerous for the United States of America?

Musk:Boeing and Lockheed have strongly relied on the Russian RD-180 Engine. Which I should say, to be fair, is a great engine. They are hoping to move away from that in the future with engines from Blue Origin. There is also the Antares which uses the RD-180, I believe. They will not be able to fly as a result.

Dpfner:With knowledge, products and services, Elon Musk is almost a strategic weapon in modern warfare. How do you see your role in that context?

Musk:I think I can be helpful in conflicts. I try to take a set of actions that are most likely to improve the probability that the future will be good. And obviously sometimes I make mistakes in this regard. I do whatever I think is most likely to ensure that the future is good for humanity. Those are the actions that I will take.

Dpfner:A couple of months ago we had an exchange about Ernst Jngers famous book "Storm of Steel". You were very fascinated by that book, which has been published roughly a hundred years ago, about Jngers experiences in the First World War. Why is that book so important for you?

Musk:I read a lot of books, and for some reason I am fascinated by war and history in general. It is not just history of war, but just history in general. Jngers book is an excellent personal account of World War One. The lesson taken from that book is we don't ever want to do that again.

Dpfner:There is a big controversy around that book. Some people are saying this is glorifying war...

Musk:It is definitely not!

Dpfner:It is rather positive nor negative. It is just describing what happened in a terrible way.

Musk:Nobody is reading that book and says, I want to do that too. For me, it is just fascinating to read about history. I mean, learn the lessons of history, such that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Dpfner:History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. And we see a rhyme these days. Back to the big strategic picture. The terrible actions of Putin are, to a certain degree, also a result of strategic mistakes that Europe, particularly Germany, has made, the dropout of nuclear energy in 2011.

Musk:It is very important that Germany will not shut down its nuclear power stations. I think this is extremely crazy.

Dpfner:If we really want to reduce Putin's power as well as Europe's and Germany's dependence on Russian energy, we have to decarbonize. It's the only way. Is more nuclear energy the key to free ourselves from dictators and autocrats like Putin.

Musk:I want to be super clear. You should not only not shut down the nuclear power plants, but you should also reopen the ones that have already shut down. Those are the fastest to produce energy. It is crazy to shut down nuclear power plants now, especially if you are in a place where there are no natural disasters. If you are somewhere where severe earthquakes or tsunamis occur, it is more of a question mark. If there is no massive natural disaster risk-which Germany does not have-then there is really no danger with the nuclear power plants.

Dpfner:Aren't there any safer alternatives that could have a similar effect? Solar and wind won't do it. Do you have any other ideas in mind about future energy policy?

Musk:I think long term, most of civilization's energy is going to come from solar, and then you need to store it with battery because obviously the sun only shines during the day, and sometimes it is very cloudy. So you need solar batteries. That will be the main long-term way that civilization is powered. But between now and then, we need to maintain nuclear. I can't emphasize that enough. This is total madness to shut them down. I want to be clear, total madness.

Dpfner:Let's see whether this very clear words are heard in Germany.

Musk:I would say this is a national security risk.

Dpfner:How is the climate issue going to look like in 15 years? Better than today?

Musk:From a sustainable energy standpoint, much better.

Dpfner:So we are going to solve this problem?

Musk:Yes, absolutely. We will solve the climate issue. It is just a question of when. And that is like the fundamental goal of Tesla.

Dpfner:You once said that the decrease of birth rate is one of the most underestimated problems of all the times. Why?

Musk: Most people in the world are operating under the false impression that we've got too many people. This is not true. The birth rate has been dropping like crazy. Unfortunately, we have these ridiculous population estimates from the UN that need to be updated because they just don't make any sense. Just look at the growth rate last year. See how many kids were born and multiply that by the life expectancy. I would say that is how many people will be alive in the future. And then say, is the trend for birth rate positive or negative? It is negative. That is the best case, unless something changes for the birth rate.

Dpfner:That is also why we need alternatives. You have recently presented Optimus, a human robot, and shared great expectations, what that could do for the world. I assume it is not only about the first visit to Mars that could be done by Optimus, but it might also be a game changer in AI. Could you share this vision?

Musk:With respect to AI and robotics, of course, I see things with some trepidation. Because I certainly don't want to have anything that could potentially be harmful to humanity. But humanoid robots are happening. Look at Boston Dynamics. They do better demonstrations every year. The rate of advancement of AI is very rapid.

Dpfner:Concretely, Optimus is going to be used in Tesla factories. That is one of the use cases, but what is the broader use case beyond Tesla?

Musk:Optimus is a general purpose, sort of worker-droid. The initial role must be in work that is repetitive, boring, or dangerous. Basically, work that people don't want to do.

Dpfner:Why has Optimus two legs? Just because it looks like a human being, or is it more practical? I thought four legs were better.

Musk:Haha, four legs good, two legs bad. Kind of reminds me of Orwell. Humanity has designed the world to interact with a bipedal humanoid with two arms and ten fingers. So if you want to have a robot fit in and be able to do things that humans can do, it must be approximately the same size and shape and capability.

Dpfner: Do you think that Optimus is going to play a role in our daily life, helping us in the household and things like that?

Musk:Yes. A general focused humanoid.

Dpfner:The prototype is going to be ready by the end of this year. When is it a product that can be mass marketed?

Musk:I think we will have something pretty good at the prototype level this year, and it might be ready for at least a moderate volume production towards the end of next year.

Dpfner:You said the potential is bigger than the potential of Tesla. If that is true, then it must be really a mass market product. But anyway, Optimus is also an answer to the problem of dropping birth rates. If we have not enough human people, we need more bots to get work done.

Musk:Optimus will be helpful with respect to dropping growth rates. But if these things continue, then what happens? Humanity dies out. Is that what we want?

Dpfner:Or replaced by artificial intelligence. Human beings powered by Neuralink.

Musk:Neuralink in the short term is just about solving brain injuries, spinal injuries and that kind of thing. So for many years Neuralink's products will just be helpful to someone who has lost the use of their arms or legs or has just a traumatic brain injury of some kind. That is what Neuralink will be useful for many years.

Dpfner:Could you imagine that one day we would be able to download our human brain capacity into an Optimus?

Musk:I think it is possible.

Dpfner:Which would be a different way of eternal life, because we would download our personalities into a bot.

Musk:Yes, we could download the things that we believe make ourselves so unique. Now, of course, if you're not in that body anymore, that is definitely going to be a difference, but as far as preserving our memories, our personality, I think we could do that.

Dpfner:The Singularity moment that the inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil has, I think, predicted for 2025 is approaching fast. Is this timeline still realistic?

Musk:I'm not sure if there is a very sharp boundary. I think it is much smoother. There is already so much compute that we outsource. Our memories are stored in our phones and computers with pictures and video. Computers and phones amplify our ability to communicate, enabling us to do things that would have been considered magical. Now you can have two people have a video call basically for free on opposite sides of the world. It's amazing. We've already amplified our human brains massively with computers. It could be an interesting ratio to roughly calculate the amount of compute that is digital, divided by the amount of compute that is biological. And how does that ratio change over time. With so much digital compute happening so fast, that ratio should be increasing rapidly.

Dpfner:Talking about speed, you have the vision that one day, Starship could be able to get from A to B in 30 minutes all around the globe. Is that correct? It's like a global super taxi. You can just go from San Francisco to Nairobi?

Musk:The landing will be loud. So you would probably be connecting cities that are next to oceans or seas. So you can land far enough offshore that the landing noise is not disturbing to people

Dpfner:Coast to coast would be a realistic option?

Musk:Yes, it is like an intercontinental rocket.

Dpfner:You have solved so many problems of mankind and presented so many solutions. I'm surprised that one topic does not seem to fascinate you as much: Longevity. A significantly increased life span. Why aren't you passionate about that? Aren't you personally interested in living longer?

Musk:I don't think we should try to have people live for a really long time. That it would cause asphyxiation of society because the truth is, most people don't change their mind. They just die. So if they don't die, we will be stuck with old ideas and society wouldn't advance. I think we already have quite a serious issue with gerontocracy, where the leaders of so many countries are extremely old. In the US, it's a very, very ancient leadership. And it is just impossible to stay in touch with the people if you are many generations older than them. The founders of the USA put minimum ages for a local office. But they did not put maximum ages because they did not expect that people will be living so long. They should have. Because for a democracy to function, the leaders must be reasonably in touch with the bulk of the population. And if you're too young or too old, you can't say that you will be attached.

Dpfner:Is there a kind of ideal, maximum age? How old would you like to get?

Musk:I think for political leadership, you want to be ideally within 10 or at least, 20 years of the average age of the population. And for me, I certainly would like to maintain health for a longer period of time. But I am not afraid of dying. I think it would come as a relief.

Dpfner:You may not be able to see the vision of SpaceX come true in your life?

Musk:I would like to live long enough to see that.

Dpfner:How do you feel, being - at a net worth of USD 260 billion roughly - perceived as the richest person on earth?

Musk:I do think that Putin is significantly richer than me.

Dpfner: You really do?

Musk:Yeah.

Dpfner:Do you know John Law?

Musk:No.

Dpfner:John Law used to be the richest person on earth 300 years ago. He was a Scottish guy and lived in the end 17th century and the early 18th century. He was a gambler, 'un homme femmes', then a very successful investor, and financial engineer. He was the biggest art collector on earth. He created a stock market bubble in France through a rush behind the shares of the Mississippi company. And was ultimately the reason for one of the first financial crises. John Law used to own roughly 30% of the United States of America then. In the end, he went bankrupt. Did you ever think about what would happen if something were to go wrong and you were to lose everything?

Musk:There have been many times when I expected to lose everything. Who starts a car company and a rocket company expecting them to succeed? Certainly not me. I had less than 10 percent chance of success. After the third failure of SpaceX in 2008, I knew that if the fourth launch failed, SpaceX would be dead. We had no money for the fifth launch. Tesla's been on the verge of bankruptcy many times. We even closed on the last day of the financing round in 2008. Remember, back then General Motors and Chrysler had gone bankrupt and Ford was on the brink of it. So, imagine trying to raise money for an electric car startup while General Motors was going bankrupt. People were very angry that I even asked. But we were able to raise just enough money to squeak by. And closed the financial round for Tesla on the last hour of the last possible day in 2008. Christmas Eve. Had we not closed the round then, we would have gone bankrupt two days after Christmas.

Dpfner:Elon Musk is not only an entrepreneur, he is also a philanthropist. What are the goals of your foundation?

Musk:I do want to emphasize that SpaceX and Tesla fundamentally intend to improve the quality of the future. Especially in terms of usefulness to humanity. Tesla by accelerating sustainable energy. And SpaceX by making multiplanetary intercourse possible. This is more than I can do myself. When it comes to donations, I'd say it is very difficult to give away money effectively. If you care about the reality of doing good and not the perception of doing good, then it is very hard to give away money effectively. I care about reality. Perception be damned. So, there's obviously environmental causes, there is education, especially science and engineering education. Pediatric healthcare. Hunger these days is more of a political and logistics problem than it is not having enough food. There is a lot of food. In the US and many countries, the issue is more obesity than it is hunger. So, I'm always looking for ways to give away money that are effective.

Dpfner:If you google Elon Musk, I think you would have more than 200 million search results and nearly 80 million Twitter followers. You are definitely one of the most popular people on earth. Is popularity a pleasure or a liability for you?

Musk:It makes it difficult to go buy coffee at the corner. It is hard to go around places, or at least be able to just go to the store or walk down the street. Now it is quite difficult to do that.

Dpfner:It reminds me a bit of a former chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl, who once told me, you cannot imagine how terrible it is to go into a restaurant and everybody recognizes you, comes to your table, asks you for an autograph. That is terrible. There is only one thing in life that is worse. And that is: if nobody comes to your table anymore.

Musk:Hahaha. I just try to find a corner table that is in a dimly light or something, where I can stay out of the way.

Dpfner:Is there anything that you most urgently want to achieve?

Musk:In the short run, and the most pressing is completing full self-driving, so that we have full self-driving operating at a substantially safer level than humans. Basically, it comes down to solving the problem of real world AI. That consumes a lot of my mind. And getting the starship to work. Not only getting it to orbit but achieving rapid reusability - which is really the holy grail of rocketry that is necessary for humanity to become a multiplanet species. And I think those things might happen this year.

Dpfner:Anything that you really would like to achieve, which you think is going to be impossible?

Musk:Impossible is a strong word.

Dpfner:You don't like that word.

Musk:It's a strong word. I approach things from a physics standpoint and the word impossible is more or less banned in physics. I'm really worried about this birthrate thing. That's been troubling me for many years, because I just don't see it turning around. Every year it's worse. And I drive my friends crazy with this.

Dpfner:Walter Isaacson is planning your biography. He has written about the lives of Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, and Leonardo DaVinci. Among the four, with whom would you like to meet and have a glass of wine?

Musk:I would be honored to meet any of them. I think Benjamin Franklin would be the most fun at dinner.

Dpfner:And who is the one you think you are closest to? Would it be Leonardo DaVinci?

Musk:I am pretty different. But it might actually be Benjamin Franklin. He did a lot of science and engineering. DaVinci wrote a book, seeing himself first and foremost as an engineer. Actually, in his application for the position that eventually enabled him to create all of the art, it was all about his engineering ideas. Just in the end, he mentioned doing some art. I think it's funny that DaVinci really thought of himself as an engineer. But he was pretty impressive for his time.

Dpfner:You said that you cannot be alone. I very much share that feeling. Where does it come from?

Go here to see the original:
Musk discusses war in Ukraine and importance of nuclear power - Business Insider

The world's top innovations to support an ageing workforce have been recognised at a Newcastle awards ceremony this week.

The Work for tomorrow event saw 11 teams, from start-ups to established businesses, recognised for their ideas to influence the future of work at an event in The National Innovation Centre for Ageing at the city's Helix site.

Brazilian company Labora Tech was crowned the overall winner for its data-driven job-matching and reskilling platform while London-based community interest company Brave Starts scooped the Community Award for its programme that helps adults unsure about starting a new career to understand what they want, and how to get there.

Read more: Deloitte launches UK first 'future of work' offices in Newcastle

Coun Karen Robinson, deputy Lord Mayor and Sheriff for Newcastle, presented the awards.

The programme is run by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC), which chose Newcastle as the location due to The National Innovation Centre for Ageing's role in helping employers turn ageing workforces into an opportunity.

Statistics cited by the ILC show show that across the G20, one in three workers is aged 50 and over, and this is set to increase to four in 10 by 2040. The ILC says too often, barriers such as poor health, caring responsibility or ageism in the workplace shut out older workers from the jobs market.

Lily Parsey, global policy and influencing manager at the ILC, said: Newcastle was an ideal location to host the awards ceremony for Work for tomorrow. The National Innovation Centre for Ageing, based at the Catalyst, is a thought-leader in breaking the misconception that ageing is a problem for our economy and helping businesses and employers turn this into an opportunity.

"The Centre and Newcastle University are close partners of ours and we hope to continue the conversation with Newcastle and international employers big and small - to shake up the narrative and transform the future of work in response to longer and changing working lives."

Nic Palmarini, director of the National Centre for Ageing, was on the judging panel for the awards, which are supported by the Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources.

He said: From supporting health in the workplace to innovative programmes developing workforce skills and policies that address discrimination at work, the Future of Work competition received more than 60 submissions from organisations and individuals across 17 countries.

"At the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing weve been part of the whole process partnering with the International Longevity Centre and hosting - in Newcastle - the award ceremony that have seen Brazilian Company Labora Tech winning the main prize and UK based Brave Start winning of the NICA Community Award.

"This event further demonstrates NICA's commitment not only to developing innovation in crucial areas of ageing and longevity such as work, but also to using its role of national excellence as a lever to promote Newcastle and its unique qualities internationally.

Srgio Serapiao, co-founder and CEO of winners Labora Tech, said: I am delighted and honoured to win this competition. The competition has shown the quality and power of initiatives all over the world. I am sure we can contribute a lot to co-design the future of work.

Other shortlisted organisations included Australian mental wellbeing specialists Ageing Workforce Ready; American podcast 'Please Ignore Us' which tells the story of ageing workers, and Layertech Labs, a Philippine programme that helps women in rural settings to learn digital skills.

Excerpt from:
Newcastle hosts international awards showcasing innovations for ageing workforce - Business Live