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Time Is Money

Jul 9, 2023 • 5 min read

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Netherlands Government Collapse
Amazon's Rivian Partnership

Week Recap:

Israel's Ministry of Defense announced the purchase of 25 additional F-35 stealth fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, in a deal valued at $3 billion. This acquisition increases Israel's F-35 fleet to a total of 75 aircraft.
China has decided to implement export controls on two rare earth metals, gallium, and germanium, beginning August 1, citing "national security" reasons. Exporting these metals will require a license. Gallium and germanium are critical to several industries, especially in consumer and defense tech.
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has partnered with Nasdaq to include a Coinbase surveillance sharing agreement (SSA) in a refiling for a spot Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund) under the iShares Bitcoin Trust.
Alef Aeronautics, a mobility firm backed by SpaceX, has received a Special Airworthiness Certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its "Model A" flying car. This is the first time a vehicle of this kind has been granted legal approval to fly by the federal government.
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction preventing agencies and officials from the Biden administration from discussing "protected speech" with social media companies, alleging that the Biden administration is pressuring social media companies to promote and censor certain content.
Meta launched a new social media app called Threads, aiming to compete with Twitter. The app is built on Instagram's user base and allows for posts of up to 500 characters.
Maine has become the first state in the United States to decriminalize the sale of sex, initiated on Monday. In contrast to legalization, which outright permits certain actions, decriminalization implies that the government will not penalize individuals for engaging in particular acts that were previously against the law.
As of July 1, following Australia's top drug regulator's reclassification of MDMA and psilocybin, Australian doctors are now allowed to prescribe these substances under specific conditions.
French legislators have approved a law permitting law enforcement to remotely activate the cameras, microphones, and GPS in devices belonging to suspects.
OpenAI has released its latest text-generating model, GPT-4, for general use via its API. The model, an upgrade from its predecessor GPT-3.5, accepts both text and image inputs and generates human-level text, including code.
Leqembi, an Alzheimer's drug developed by Eisai and Biogen, has received full FDA approval, making it the first drug that can slow the disease's progression.
Meta's newly launched social media app, Threads, has received a cease-and-desist letter from Twitter.
The U.S. has decided to send cluster bombs to Ukraine, leading to a heated debate. These weapons spread many smaller bombs over a large area, and can cause long-term harm if they don't explode. This decision has created tension within NATO (and congress), as 18 members have banned such weapons.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, nearly half of the water taps across the United States dispense water tainted with "forever chemicals." These are synthetic chemicals, polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that are resistant to breaking down in the environment and in the human body, leading to potential health risks.
the Falcon 9 rocket launched 48 Starlink satellites from a California base, marking the 12th mission for this specific rocket, which had previously deployed various other satellites and missions.

Netherlands Government "Collapse":

In the Netherlands, the government, led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, "collapsed," meaning it ceased to function due to irreconcilable differences within the ruling coalition over immigration and asylum policies.
Rutte's VVD party proposed to limit migrant numbers and separate refugee families, a plan rejected by two of the four coalition parties. Rutte resigned but will stay in office until a successor is chosen. The dispute arose amidst an influx of asylum seekers, particularly from African nations and Ukraine, straining the country's resources.
Discussed policies included creating distinct asylum classes, capping family reunification, and restricting the admission of war refugees' children. However, these propositions faced opposition and the government couldn't continue to function together.
The forthcoming election, possibly in mid-November, will be significantly influenced by the immigration issue, due to a projected rise in asylum applications from 21,500 in 2022 to over 70,000 in 2023. As the crisis unfolds, it not only impacts the Netherlands but also provides a glimpse into the challenges other European countries may face regarding immigration issues.

Amazon's Rivian Partnership:

Amazon's partnership with Rivian, an electric vehicle company, plans to transform the work of its 275,000 drivers, who deliver 10 million packages daily worldwide.
The collaboration began in 2019 when Amazon purchased 100,000 electric vans from Rivian, part of Amazon's commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Amazon has been a substantial and early investor in Rivian, showing their firm belief in the company's mission.
Over 1,000 Rivian vans have been deployed by Amazon since July, now serving over 100 U.S. cities. The initial plan, as announced by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, was to have 100,000 Rivian vans on the road by 2024, but this timeline has been extended to 2030.
Currently, most Amazon drivers still use about 110,000 gas-powered vans. Amazon leases these vans to its 3,500 third-party delivery firms, or delivery service partners (DSPs), at a discount.

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