Thursday, 4 May 2023

Rep. Jamie Raskin Is Considering Running For The US Senate


Rep. Jamie Raskin will spend the month of May considering a run for Maryland retiring Sen. Ben Cardin’s seat.

Time reported on their interview with Raskin:

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, will spend the rest of the month deciding whether he will run for U.S. Senate in what is already shaping up to be a crowded primary battle to replace outgoing Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin.

“After five months of chemo, I am taking the month of May to seriously investigate the 2024 election, the Senate, the House, and the role I can best play in Democratic victory and progress in the country,” Raskin tells TIME.

The Senate elections in both California and Maryland are likely to be determined in the Democratic primaries in each state.

If Raskin decides to run, he will compete in a field that includes Rep. David Trone and Will Jawando. However, Jawando has already said that if Raskin runs for Senate, he will drop out of the Senate race and run to replace Raskin in the House.

Raskin has already beaten Trone in the Democratic primary to replace then Rep., now Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who left his House seat to successfully run for the Senate in 2016.

Senate Democrats could soon have either Reps. Jamie Raskin, Adam Schiff, or Katie Porter as U.S. Senators.

As the Republican Senate caucus gets more radical, Democrats are filling their side of the aisle with established public servants.

The Maryland race shouldn’t be as expensive as the Senate contest in California, but two of the most interesting contests in the country look to be Democratic primaries in very blue states.



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source https://1steconomic.com/rep-jamie-raskin-is-considering-running-for-the-us-senate/

Catch coronation fever in London’s affluent Mayfair ‘hood


London’s coronation fever for King Charles III this Saturday is already catchy, especially at grand hotels like the Dorchester.

Visitors may want to check out this stately stay in the heart of posh Mayfair, which has turned back the clock by recreating the look of its historic 1953 facade honoring Queen Elizabeth’s own coronation

Today’s updated version honors theater designer Oliver Messel’s original decor for the Queen 70 years ago by making the hotel’s facade resemble the interior of a theater as seen from the stage. 

And while the property’s renovation is ongoing — its first in more than 30 years — the rooftop overlooking Hyde Park will be open for a Coronation Day lunch with first-class seats to watch a celebratory flyover by the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team comprised of helicopters and historic Spitfires. A coronation-themed tea will also be on offer in the newly renovated Promenade from Friday, May 5 to Monday, May 8. 

The Princess of Park Lane, otherwise known as “the Dorch,” was part of London’s high society where Marlene Dietrich stayed, Noel Coward performed on piano and General Eisenhower established his wartime base. It’s also where Elizabeth Taylor signed her contract for “Cleopatra” while in the hotel’s Harlequin Suite bath and where the King’s father held his bachelor party.

These days, the hotel’s Promenade boasts the Vesper Bar, with über-chic interiors by Martin Brudnizki, who was inspired by the 1930s. The Vesper Bar also references the James Bond novel, “Casino Royale,” and the Vesper martini, which uses both gin and vodka instead of dry vermouth, and a lemon peel instead of an olive. (It was reportedly Bond creator Ian Fleming’s favorite drink.) 


King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort.
Getty Images

A close-up of the Dorchester's celebratory facade.
A close-up of the Dorchester’s celebratory facade.
AP

A coronation-themed tea in the Dorchester.
A coronation-themed tea in the Dorchester.
AP

Philip Hamond, designer florist at the hotel, working alongside a display showing a coronation-themed cake and floral arrangements.
Philip Hamond, designer florist at the hotel, working alongside a display showing a coronation-themed cake and floral arrangements.
AP

The property doesn't shy from otherwise chic interiors.
The property doesn’t shy from otherwise chic interiors.
Handout

Another highly designed space inside.
Another highly designed space inside.
Handout

The Promenade also boasts the Artists’ Bar, with its circular Lalique crystal bar and Liberace’s mirrored piano as its centerpiece.

Less-pricey options in the district include the Mayfair Townhouse, which also has a literary reference as it sits on Half Moon Street behind townhouse mansions, including the fictional home of Algernon Moncrieff in Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.” 

While in the ‘hood and still hungering for literary inspiration, walk over to Piccadilly Circus for lunch on the fourth floor of Waterstones, billed as Europe’s largest bookstore, or head for a coronation-themed high tea or a G&T at the nearby and ever-royal Fortnum & Mason.  

It may not be your own coronation — but with this trip, you can certainly feel royal.



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source https://1steconomic.com/catch-coronation-fever-in-londons-affluent-mayfair-hood/

Here’s What B2B Customers Want To See

Facebook parent Meta says ChatGPT-related malware is rising


Facebook owner Meta said on Wednesday it had uncovered malware purveyors leveraging public interest in ChatGPT to lure users into downloading malicious apps and browser extensions, likening the phenomenon to cryptocurrency scams.

Since March, the social media giant has found around 10 malware families and more than 1,000 malicious links that were promoted as tools featuring the popular artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, it said in a report.

In some cases, the malware delivered working ChatGPT functionality alongside abusive files, the company said.


Meta said the malware delivered working ChatGPT functionality alongside abusive files.
AFP via Getty Images

ChatGPT logo
ChatGPT is luring users into downloading malicious apps and browser extensions.
REUTERS

Speaking at a press briefing on the report, Meta Chief Information Security Officer Guy Rosen said that for bad actors, “ChatGPT is the new crypto.”

Rosen and other Meta executives said the company was preparing its defenses for a variety of potential abuses linked to generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, which can quickly create human-like writing, music and art.

Lawmakers have flagged the tools as likely to make online disinformation campaigns easier to propagate.

Asked if generative AI was already being used in information operations, the executives said it was still early, though Rosen said he expected “bad actors” to use the technologies to “try to speed up and perhaps scale up” their activities.



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source https://1steconomic.com/facebook-parent-meta-says-chatgpt-related-malware-is-rising/

Tuesday, 2 May 2023

Balaji Forfeits and Settles $1 Million Bitcoin Bet – But Stands By Hyperinflation Thesis

Former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan has withdrawn from his notorious $1 million Bitcoin bet, in which he gambled $1 million in USDC on the price of Bitcoin reaching $1 million. 

However, the investor stands by his thesis that the US dollar is on the road to hyperinflation, stressing that the economy will not experience the “soft landing” promised by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. 

Burning a Million Dollars

In a tweet on Tuesday, Balaji announced that he had mutually agreed to settle his uber-bullish Bitcoin price bet upfront. He provided on-chain evidence of three $500,000 payments, including one to Medlock (the counterparty of the bet), another to charity organization Give Directly, and another to Bitcoin Core development

That’s 50% more than the former exec had to commit – and comes 46 days ahead of schedule. Speaking at Consensus 2023 last week, he had assigned a roughly 10% probability to his prediction of financial calamity actually coming true within that time. 

“The reason I did this was because I do believe in the public good, but unfortunately we can’t rely on the public sector anymore to tell us when something’s wrong,” wrote Balaji. “So I spent my own money to send a provably costly signal that there’s something wrong with the economy.”

In an attached video, the investor explained that financial turmoil can happen fast – and without warning from regulators or the government. For example, Ben Bernanke said the economy might be in for a “mild recession” in April 2008, only five months before the great financial crisis officially began. 

Likewise, it only took the Federal Reserve two days to inject $300 billion into the economy following Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, and two weeks for $500 billion to flow out of commercial bank deposits into money market funds. 

The Economy is Breaking

According to Balaji, multiple areas of the economy are already bordering on breaking. The US Debt ceiling is fast approaching, most US banks are now near insolvency, and the assets held by failed banks are now comparable to 2008 in value. 

Furthermore, bonds suffered their worst year ever in 2022, which have been largely bought by banks and insurance companies. Student loan debt and credit card debt are also at all-time highs, amounting to $180 billion and $960 billion respectively. 

Balaji also believes that countries are “de-dollarizing” at a rapid pace, echoing views published by BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes last month that the dollar could be on track to lose its status as the global reserve currency.

“If you believe there’s a high probability of these simultaneous economic crises causing a massive print in 90 days, 900 days, or even 90 months — then you expect some kind of default, and you expect fiat crisis,” wrote Balaji on his site. “And you’ll want to be prepared, whatever that means to you.”

The post Balaji Forfeits and Settles $1 Million Bitcoin Bet – But Stands By Hyperinflation Thesis appeared first on CryptoPotato.




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source https://1steconomic.com/balaji-forfeits-and-settles-1-million-bitcoin-bet-but-stands-by-hyperinflation-thesis/

Madonna postpones tour due to serious bacterial infection : NPR

The performer Madonna, onstage at the 65th Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles in February. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide ca...