7: Hinduism

Would you like @DOGE to audit the IRS?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2025

DeepSeek R1, Gemini Flash 2.0, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, o3-mini, GPT 4o, Sonar, Grok 2 - all in one single Perplexity Pro subscription for $20/mo.

— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) February 6, 2025

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

ChatGPT can now edit videos.

No need to pay professional editors $4000 per month.

Here’s how to do it in a few minutes:

— The AI Colony (@TheAIColony) February 6, 2025

The US vs. China AI war is getting brutal.

- DeepSeek was ahead
- OpenAI fought back with o3-mini
- Now ByteDance enters the game with OmniHuman-1

This isn't just about AI. It's a race for dominance.

And if you think I’m exaggerating, wait till you see OmniHuman-1 in action👇 pic.twitter.com/cZniZvERGB

— EyeingAI (@EyeingAI) February 6, 2025

How options traders make money:

90% - they don’t
10% - sell a course on trading options

— Douglas A. Boneparth (@dougboneparth) February 6, 2025

https://t.co/ApBkmsG8uU #ai #video #videochat #venmo #socialmedia #social @iqramband @samyr_q @lessin

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) February 6, 2025

Goodbye Sora

Meta just dropped VideoJAM, and its INSANE

13 WILD examples so far (Don't miss the 5th one) pic.twitter.com/9xLpGvW445

— Poonam Soni (@CodeByPoonam) February 6, 2025

The World’s Richest Men Take On the World’s Poorest Children The world’s richest man is boasting about destroying the United States Agency for International Development, which saves the lives of the world’s poorest children, saying he shoved it “into the wood chipper.” ......... By my calculations, Elon Musk probably has a net worth greater than that of the poorest billion people on Earth. Just since Donald Trump’s election, Musk’s personal net worth has grown by far more than the entire annual budget of U.S.A.I.D., which in any case accounts for less than 1 percent of the federal budget. ........... Cutting aid, Kennedy noted, “would be disastrous and, in the long run, more expensive.” He added: “Our own security would be endangered and our prosperity imperiled.” ......... In contrast with Kennedy, the Trump administration braids together cruelty, ignorance and shortsightedness, and that combination seems particularly evident in its assault on American humanitarian assistance. ........... Remember the American panic over the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014? (Trump was particularly hysterical back then.) In the end, an Ebola pandemic was averted — in part because of U.S.A.I.D.’s work in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. .......... It is fair to complain that U.S.A.I.D. is endlessly bureaucratic and that too much of the aid goes to so-called Beltway bandit American contractors rather than to needy people abroad. ........... Trump’s claim that it spent about “$100 million on condoms to Hamas” (he doubled his previous claim of $50 million). .......... Male condoms cost the U.S. government 3.3 cents each, so that would be three billion condoms. By my calculation, for Hamas to use up that many condoms in a year, each fighter would have to have sex 325 times a day, every day. ............. That might wipe out Hamas as a fighting force more effectively than Israeli bombardment. ........... In any case, the actual amount of U.S. assistance spent on condoms for Gaza in recent years appears to have been not $100 million but $0. ........... Trump’s policies are as reckless as his rhetoric. I’d welcome some restructuring of U.S.A.I.D. But this isn’t restructuring but demolition — a blow to our values and interests alike. ............ Musk lambasted U.S.A.I.D. as “a criminal organization.” In fact, many of its employees have risked their lives in the best tradition of public service. ........... Trump’s moves are of uncertain legality, not least because U.S.A.I.D. was established by Congress, but the outcomes are indisputable. Around the world children are already missing health care and food because of the assault on the agency that Kennedy founded to uphold our values and protect our interests. ..........

what’s unfolding is sickening

There Is No Going Back No one in the executive branch has the legal authority to unilaterally cancel congressional appropriations. No one has the legal authority to turn the Treasury payments system into a means of political retribution. No one has the authority to summarily dismiss civil servants without cause. No one has the authority to take down and scrub government websites of public data, itself paid for by American taxpayers. And no private citizen has the authority to access the sensitive data of American citizens for either information gathering or their own, unknown purposes......... it is not as if the president of the United States has the authority to unleash an unvetted, unaccountable private citizen onto some of the most sensitive data possessed by the federal government. ........ “Constitutional crisis” does not even begin to capture the radicalism of what is unfolding in the federal bureaucracy and of what Congress’s decision not to act may liquidate in terms of constitutional meaning. .......... the courts are slow-moving and reactive, and as we wait for the federal judiciary to make its moves, Trump and Musk are creating facts on the ground. .......... Those with the direct institutional power to slam the brakes lack the will and those with the will lack the power.

Trump Has a Master Plan for Destroying the ‘Deep State’ “Either the deep state destroys America or we destroy the deep state.” ........ would elevate personal fealty to Mr. Trump as the central value in government employment, processes and institutions. ........ If Mr. Trump has a chance to implement his various plans, expect a weaker American government, worse public services and the dismantling of limits on presidential power.

Stephen Colbert Is a Little Alarmed About Trump’s Gaza Proposal Colbert wasn’t the only host flabbergasted by President Trump’s plan to take over Gaza, move the Palestinians out and turn it into a resort destination.



Why Gen X Women Are Having the Best Sex In an era plagued by sex negativity, only one generation seems immune: mine.

Prophecies Can Be Tricky

Prophecies Can Be Tricky

Prophecies have always intrigued humanity. They’re like riddles whispered through time, offering glimpses of the future yet cloaked in ambiguity. The way prophecies are interpreted can lead to vastly different understandings, even among people reading the same texts. Let’s explore this fascinating dynamic with a few examples, starting with one of the most enduring debates in history: the Messiah.

The Messiah: A Tale of Two Interpretations

Jews and Christians both revere the Book of Isaiah, but their interpretations of its messianic prophecies diverge sharply. Christians see Jesus as the fulfillment of these prophecies, pointing to aspects of his life, such as his birth in the line of David and his triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. To them, Jesus is the Messiah foretold by Isaiah.

Jews, however, have a different perspective. They envision the Messiah as a king who will bring universal peace and prosperity, transforming the world into a harmonious paradise. By their criteria, Jesus—a humble teacher and a “fakir” by their reckoning—did not fit the mold. For them, the Messiah is yet to come.

This divergence highlights a key truth about prophecies: fulfillment often depends on interpretation. Christians point to prophecies Jesus fulfilled, like entering Jerusalem on a donkey. But what if the Jews, in waiting for their Messiah, must now expect someone outside the line of David? Prophecies, it seems, are as much about how they are read as about what they predict.

Donkeys, Airplanes, and Second Comings

One of the most curious prophecies about the Messiah described him arriving in Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. For centuries, scholars pondered its meaning. Today, we understand it as a literal act Jesus performed. But imagine if the prophecy had instead been interpreted as “the Messiah will enter the world riding the back of a donkey.” Would it have changed the narrative around the virgin birth?

Fast forward to the Second Coming of Jesus. Many believe it’s written that Jesus will return by descending from the clouds. What if this prophecy refers not to his mode of entry into the world but his arrival in your city? Perhaps “flying on the clouds” is an ancient way to describe airplanes. How else could someone thousands of years ago convey the idea of modern aviation?

Then there’s the prophecy that “all the world will see him at once.” Today, that’s not just plausible but commonplace. Half the world watched Lionel Messi during the last World Cup—on television and online. The technology exists for the Second Coming to be broadcast globally, ensuring everyone can witness the event simultaneously. Prophecies that seemed impossible centuries ago now align perfectly with current technology.

Media, Messiah, and the Modern Age

Another prophecy states that the Second Coming will be unmistakable. Imagine the level of media coverage if Jesus returned today. When the Pope visits a city, it’s global news. The returned Messiah would command exponentially greater attention. With 24/7 news cycles and instant global communication, his arrival would indeed be unmistakable.

Praying for the Kingdom

For 2,000 years, Christians have recited the Lord’s Prayer, taught by Jesus himself. The prayer addresses God, not Jesus, pleading, “Your kingdom come.” It’s a call for God to establish His rule on Earth.

Interestingly, Hindus have a similar expectation. They await the return of Lord Vishnu in his final incarnation as Kalki, who will end this age and usher in a new one. Previous incarnations of Vishnu—Rama, Krishna, Buddha—each marked pivotal moments in history. Could the age-ending prophecies in Christianity and Hinduism be describing the same event?

The Age to Come

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, saying they will not be forgiven “in this age or the age to come.” This implies the current age will end, to be followed by a new one. The Book of Isaiah vividly describes this new age as one of universal peace and prosperity—a golden era where swords are beaten into plowshares.

Silicon Valley visionaries speak of an “Age of Abundance,” where advanced technology eradicates poverty and solves humanity’s greatest challenges. Could this be the age foretold by ancient prophecies? The convergence of spiritual and technological visions suggests that humanity might be on the cusp of something extraordinary.

A Final Thought

Prophecies are tricky because they require interpretation, and interpretation is shaped by context, culture, and belief. What seemed mysterious or impossible to ancient readers might be perfectly logical to us today. As we consider prophecies about the Messiah, the Second Coming, and the age to come, it’s worth asking: are we reading them with the right eyes? Only time will tell.

5: Hinduism

Sai Baba Is Back

The Economist: Sai Baba: Sathya Sai Baba (Satyanarayana Raju), one of India’s most controversial gurus, died on April 24th, aged 85

Religion And Globalization Go Together

Image via WikipediaThe fluidity of globalization and the internet can lead to feelings of rootlessness. That is where religion comes in. A lot of mobile populations get their sense of belonging from religion. That is the intersection between tech and religion.