Out of the 2,095 members of the 2020 Forbes World’s Billionaires list, 552 live in just ten cities. And for the sixth year in a row, more billionaires call New York City home than any other city in the world. This year 92 billionaires live in the Big Apple — as their primary residence — 8 more than a year ago. The richest person in New York City is Bloomberg LP founder and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who spent nearly $1 billion of his $48 billion fortune on a failed presidential campaign before dropping out in March to endorse Joe Biden. Other notable NYC billionaire residents include hip-hop superstar Jay-Z and Julia Koch, the widow of former Koch Industries magnate David Koch. The collective net worth of the city’s billionaires is $424 billion, down $45.7 billion from a year ago. China retains its title as the country with the most cities in the top 10, with Shenzhen moving up one spot to No. 7 and Shanghai and Beijing staying flat at No. 6 and No. 4, respectively. Hong Kong is once again the city with the second most billionaires in the world. These four cities are home to 228 billionaires. The Forbes World’s Billionaires list is a snapshot of wealth using stock prices and exchange rates from March 18, 2020. Some people become richer or poorer within days of publication. We list individuals rather than multigenerational families who share fortunes, though we include wealth belonging to a billionaire’s spouse and children if that person is the founder of the fortune. In some cases we list siblings or couples together if the ownership breakdown among them isn’t clear, but here an estimated net worth of $1 billion per person is needed to make the cut. We value a variety of assets, including private companies, real estate, art and more. We don’t pretend to know each billionaire’s private balance sheet (though some provide it). When documentation isn’t supplied or available, we discount fortunes. For daily updates of net worths, go to www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires.
NOT MARS : Wadi Rum, Jordan in 4K Ultra HD
Wadi Rum Protected Area is famous for its stunning desert landscape, spectacular sandstone mountains, desert valleys, canyons, dunes, arches. It is also known as The Valley of the Moon. Wadi Rum has been used as a filming location in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘Prometheus’, ‘The Martian’ and many other movies. Wadi Rum Protected Area is inscribed as natural and cultural UNESCO World Heritage site (quote): “It features a varied desert landscape consisting of a range of narrow gorges, natural arches, towering cliffs, ramps, massive landslides and caverns. Petroglyphs, inscriptions and archaeological remains in the site testify to 12,000 years of human occupation and interaction with the natural environment.” Recorded April 2017 in 4K Ultra HD with Sony AX100.
Transhumanism and the future of capitalism: The next meaning of life
Steve Fuller discusses what it would mean to be a person in a world of radical human transformation via technology.
Although there is no single definition of ‘transhumanism’, the term broadly relates to the idea that the human species should radically transform itself as it has the physical environment through the use of advanced technology. Steve Fuller writes on the link between transhumanism and capitalism and elaborates on what it would mean to be a person in such a world.
Capitalism is not normally seen as an especially ‘humanistic’ ideology. Yet central to the legal innovations that enabled the rise of capitalism in the early modern West was a doctrine of the person as a being who is free to exchange goods and services. In the eighteenth century, this freedom was characterized as an ‘inalienable right’, which is to say, not transferable to another either by choice or under duress.
Thus, a strong normative distinction between people and property was institutionalized, which had not existed in slave or feudal societies. The sting of the Marxist critique of capitalism comes from observing that this distinction is not upheld in practice. Instead, a supposedly inalienable right of the person becomes a site for exploitation, as asymmetrical power relations in the marketplace reduces human labour to inhuman capital inputs.
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Sri Lanka elected as Chair of the Seventh Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD), in Bangkok
The Seventh Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) held on 20th May in Bangkok-Thailand, was convened as a virtual meeting for the first time, complying with the ‘new normal’ in the COVID 19 context, and Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), H.E. (Mrs.) Samantha K. Jayasuriya, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, was elected by acclamation as the Chair of 7th APFSD and will serve for a period of one year.
The 7th APFSD was held under the theme ‘Accelerating action for and delivery of the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific’. Recalling that the UN has declared a ‘Decade of Action’ in realizing the 2030 Agenda, Ambassador Jayasuriya, addressing the Opening Session underscored the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships and well coordinated response at national, and regional levels, including with all institutions and all members of society, as well as from the multilateral cooperation framework, in moving forward.
Joining the Opening Session online from New York was the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, and the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, and H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand, also addressed the Session. The speakers highlighted the need to change the challenges posed by COVID-19 crisis into new opportunities. They suggested on enhanced investments in social protection and health care, developing economic models aiming at green jobs, leveraging on innovations to advance technology based solutions while bridging the digital divide and enhancing scientific cooperation in the Asia Pacific Region etc.
Joining from Colombo, Dr. Sugath Yalegama, Director General of the Sustainable Development Council of Sri Lanka shared Sri Lanka’s responses to contain the COVID 19 and actions taken in accelerating progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Emphasizing the necessity and importance of focusing on immediate and medium term strategies, in the post COVID 19 context, he also highlighted that the new realities need to be incorporated into the goals and targets of 2030 Agenda.
The Session was joined online by over 730 participants representing member States, major stake holders, civil society and NGOs, and was declared opened by H.E. Fidelis Magalhães, Minister for Legislative Reforms and Parliamentary Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, as the outgoing Chair of the 6th APFSD. The annual Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) is an inclusive intergovernmental forum and a regional platform for supporting countries, in particular those with special needs, in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Ms. Shiranthi Ratnayake, Additional Director General, National Planning Department, Ms. Samanthi Senanayake, Director and Ms. Sheron Hewawaduge, Assistant Director, Sustainable Development Council of Sri Lanka joined virtually from Colombo, and Mrs. Poornima Gunasekera, Head of Chancery, Mr. Anil Sirimanna, Counsellor (Commerce), and Ms. Saritha Ranatunga, Second Secretary of the Sri Lanka Mission in Bangkok also represented the GOSL delegation to the 7th APFSD.
ROCKET PROPELLANTS
Propellant is the chemical mixture burned to produce thrust in rockets and consists of a fuel and an oxidizer. A fuel is a substance that burns when combined with oxygen producing gas for propulsion. An oxidizer is an agent that releases oxygen for combination with a fuel. The ratio of oxidizer to fuel is called the mixture ratio. Propellants are classified according to their state – liquid, solid, or hybrid.
The gauge for rating the efficiency of rocket propellants is specific impulse, stated in seconds. Specific impulse indicates how many pounds (or kilograms) of thrust are obtained by the consumption of one pound (or kilogram) of propellant in one second. Specific impulse is characteristic of the type of propellant, however, its exact value will vary to some extent with the operating conditions and design of the rocket engine.
Liquid Propellants
In a liquid propellant rocket, the fuel and oxidizer are stored in separate tanks, and are fed through a system of pipes, valves, and turbopumps to a combustion chamber where they are combined and burned to produce thrust. Liquid propellant engines are more complex than their solid propellant counterparts, however, they offer several advantages. By controlling the flow of propellant to the combustion chamber, the engine can be throttled, stopped, or restarted.
A good liquid propellant is one with a high specific impulse or, stated another way, one with a high speed of exhaust gas ejection. This implies a high combustion temperature and exhaust gases with small molecular weights. However, there is another important factor that must be taken into consideration: the density of the propellant. Using low-density propellants means that larger storage tanks will be required, thus increasing the mass of the launch vehicle. Storage temperature is also important. A propellant with a low storage temperature, i.e. a cryogenic, will require thermal insulation, thus further increasing the mass of the launcher. The toxicity of the propellant is likewise important. Safety hazards exist when handling, transporting, and storing highly toxic compounds. Also, some propellants are very corrosive; however, materials that are resistant to certain propellants have been identified for use in rocket construction.