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Authored by Elias Marat via TheMindUnleashed.com,

Life here on planet Earth often seems harsh, especially in 2020 with a pandemic, tornados and tropical storms, and out-of-control wildfires. However, none of those problems can hold a candle to the ultraviolent conditions of planet K2-141b.

On this brutal exoplanet hundreds of light-years away, oceans are filled with lava, rocks literally rain down on the surface, and howling winds break the sound barrier at thousands of miles per hour – making the hellish planet easily the most extreme ever discovered.

Such are the infernal conditions depicted in a new study by scientists from McGill University, York University and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata published on Tuesday in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

According to the study, K2-141b is one of the latest “lava planets” discovered, where this world orbits so closely to its sun that it almost grazes the star’s surface as it completes its revolution in only six to seven hours. Mercury, which is the closest planet to the sun in our own solar system, takes about 87 days to orbit the sun.

Meanwhile, the oceans of K2-141b are comprised of pure, heaving lava steams.

The atmospheric conditions and weather cycles of the exoplanet are unlike anything seen in our own solar system. While K2-141b is roughly the size of Earth, its surface, ocean and atmosphere are entirely made of rock –molten or otherwise.

“The study is the first to make predictions about weather conditions on K2-141b that can be detected from hundreds of light years away with next-generation telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope,” said lead author Giang Nguyen in a press release.

The scientists found, when analyzing illumination patterns of the planet, that two-thirds of K2-141b never see nightfall and are constantly exposed to daylight – meaning that that side of the planet is always facing its sun.

To call that part of the planet “scalding” hardly does justice to its high temperatures that exceed 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit (3,000 degrees Celsius) – a temperature hot enough to not only melt rocks into lava, but also to vaporize them and create a brutal, unsparing atmosphere.

While the Earth’s water cycle sees water evaporate before it rises up into the atmosphere, condenses, and falls back to the surface as rain, K2-141b only has rocks to work with – hence the constant torrential downpour of stones.

“Our finding likely means that the atmosphere extends a little beyond the shore of the magma ocean, making it easier to spot with space telescopes,” said Nicolas Cowan, a co-author of the study.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the planet never sees light and is constantly experiencing frigid temperatures of minus 392 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 200 degrees Celsius.

To make matters worse, exoplanet K2-141b has winds that reach 3,100 miles per hour (5,000 km per hour), while its ocean of magma reaches depths of 86 miles (140 km), according to the study’s calculations.

On the dark side of the planet, these horrific winds dominate the environment. On the hot side, however, the winds are completely absent. However, the winds carries the rocky “rain” into the deep magma ocean, which then flows back to the bright side to keep the cycle going.

However, this cycle is nowhere near as stable as our own rain cycle.

“It’s a planet that doesn’t make much sense at all. There’s nothing like it in our solar system,” said Cowan.

The scientists hope that they can gain some insights on the formation of planets like our own that also had brutal conditions in their primeval state.

“All rocky planets­, including Earth, started off as molten worlds but then rapidly cooled and solidified. Lava planets give us a rare glimpse at this stage of planetary evolution,” Cowan said.

Hedge funds, who have spent the last 4 years in a paradise of sorts with President Trump slashing regulations, are now opening their arms and are eager to try and embrace what will likely be a far stricter President Biden. 

The Managed Funds Association, which calls itself “The Voice of the Global Alternative Investment Industry”, issued a statement last week after Joe Biden was declared President-elect – to congratulate him, of course, but also to remind him exactly how important hedge funds are to the average American (pause for laughter). 

“The hedge fund and alternative investment industry congratulates President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their election victory. Hedge funds are a critical component in the global financial ecosystem, managing more than $3.3 trillion in assets,” the letter says.

It continues, hilariously trying to remind Biden how important hedge funds are to teachers and fire fighters: “In all 50 states, institutional investors like pension funds, charitable foundations, and university endowments rely on investments in hedge funds, credit funds, and other alternative investment funds to diversify their investments, manage risk, and generate attractive returns in all market conditions. Their investments help support the retirement security of more than 26 million teachers, fire fighters, and other public employees, fund college education, and enable the vital work done by foundations and charities.”

And concludes with obligatory olive branch: “The hedge fund industry looks forward to working with the Biden administration on public policies that promote fair, efficient, and transparent capital markets.”

As Michael Bodley noted on Twitter, there are two notable issues on the table for hedge funds with Biden at the helm of the country. The first is potential updates to an SEC advertising rule that could change how hedge funds market. It’s the first time in 60 years this rule has been looked at. Second is the potential for loosening broker-dealer registration, which could create more competition for raising money. 

No detail from MFA on what those policies are. But lots on the table.

1) Updates to the SEC’s advertising rule for the first time in 60+ years. Could move the needle on how HFs can market.

2) Loosening broker-dealer registration = more competition for raising HF $.

— Michael Bodley (@michael_bodley) November 8, 2020

Recall, Biden has a checkered history with hedge fund managers. Back in 2017 it was reported that hedge fund manager Bill Ackman tried to make an off-color joke about Biden’s deceased son at the SALT Conference, to which Biden replied: “Who is this asshole?”

OK, well that’s kind of funny, actually.

“Look, I don’t know who you are, wiseass, but never disrespect the memory of my dead son!” Biden is reported to have said.

Regardless, the group lobbying Biden now claims it “represents the global alternative investment industry and its investors by advocating for public policies that foster efficient, transparent, fair capital markets, and competitive tax and regulatory structures.”

It has more than 140 member firms that “collectively manage nearly $1.6 trillion across a diverse group of investment strategies.”

The only thing not diverse about these strategies is that they all take a fee. 

Hedge funds, who have spent the last 4 years in a paradise of sorts with President Trump slashing regulations, are now opening their arms and are eager to try and embrace what will likely be a far stricter President Biden. 

The Managed Funds Association, which calls itself “The Voice of the Global Alternative Investment Industry”, issued a statement last week after Joe Biden was declared President-elect – to congratulate him, of course, but also to remind him exactly how important hedge funds are to the average American (pause for laughter). 

“The hedge fund and alternative investment industry congratulates President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their election victory. Hedge funds are a critical component in the global financial ecosystem, managing more than $3.3 trillion in assets,” the letter says.

It continues, hilariously trying to remind Biden how important hedge funds are to teachers and fire fighters: “In all 50 states, institutional investors like pension funds, charitable foundations, and university endowments rely on investments in hedge funds, credit funds, and other alternative investment funds to diversify their investments, manage risk, and generate attractive returns in all market conditions. Their investments help support the retirement security of more than 26 million teachers, fire fighters, and other public employees, fund college education, and enable the vital work done by foundations and charities.”

And concludes with obligatory olive branch: “The hedge fund industry looks forward to working with the Biden administration on public policies that promote fair, efficient, and transparent capital markets.”

As Michael Bodley noted on Twitter, there are two notable issues on the table for hedge funds with Biden at the helm of the country. The first is potential updates to an SEC advertising rule that could change how hedge funds market. It’s the first time in 60 years this rule has been looked at. Second is the potential for loosening broker-dealer registration, which could create more competition for raising money. 

No detail from MFA on what those policies are. But lots on the table.

1) Updates to the SEC’s advertising rule for the first time in 60+ years. Could move the needle on how HFs can market.

2) Loosening broker-dealer registration = more competition for raising HF $.

— Michael Bodley (@michael_bodley) November 8, 2020

Recall, Biden has a checkered history with hedge fund managers. Back in 2017 it was reported that hedge fund manager Bill Ackman tried to make an off-color joke about Biden’s deceased son at the SALT Conference, to which Biden replied: “Who is this asshole?”

OK, well that’s kind of funny, actually.

“Look, I don’t know who you are, wiseass, but never disrespect the memory of my dead son!” Biden is reported to have said.

Regardless, the group lobbying Biden now claims it “represents the global alternative investment industry and its investors by advocating for public policies that foster efficient, transparent, fair capital markets, and competitive tax and regulatory structures.”

It has more than 140 member firms that “collectively manage nearly $1.6 trillion across a diverse group of investment strategies.”

The only thing not diverse about these strategies is that they all take a fee. 

Submitted by Sovereign Man

Students Can Now Pay Tuition Using Coconuts at a Bali University

Bali’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, which obviously has not been doing so hot this year due to COVID-19. With many students facing hardships to pay tuition, one university in Bali is now accepting coconuts, moringa leaves, and gotu kola leaves instead of cash.

The coconuts are then processed into coconut oil by the Venus One Tourism Academy, which is a college that specializes in teaching hospitality services. The coconut oil, along with moringa and gotu kola, are then made into herbal soaps.

At that point, students have the opportunity to practice their entrepreneurship skills, and sell the soap to raise money for themselves and the university.

What this means:

This might sound like a publicity gimmick. But the school has actually been accepting coconuts for payment since March, and only recently did the media catch wind of the program.

And why not? These items actually have real value and use. Plus, students take part in a real world economics lesson; harvesting raw materials, processing them into a more valuable product, and then marketing and selling that product.

Bali has hit some tough economic times, and this is a way to keep creating value regardless. In this case, Bali is suffering from the lack of foreign dollars injected into its economy. In the West, the actual stability and value of the dollar, as well as other currencies, is at risk of inflation due to the massive amounts of money printing. There’s nothing of real value to back it up– such as gold or increased economic output.

Don’t take this as an apocalyptic prediction. The world is not going to end, even if the dollar does. But right now, everything is on the table, and it makes sense to think through worst case scenarios.

We often discuss the benefit of keeping some gold or silver on hand that could be used as money in an emergency– after all it has a 5,000 year history of value. And of course there are other ways to store value– art, antique weapons, or productive land to name a few.

But these are not always easily transported and traded, or immediately useful.

So let’s discuss some other ways to create “money” in an emergency, worst case scenario.

What you can do about it:

Coconuts alone are not a great medium of exchange. They are bulky, perishable, and not everyone likes to eat them. Soap, on the other hand, is universally valuable, relatively compact, and does not go bad. If it was scarce, the value would increase accordingly– that’s just basic supply and demand economics.

The same thing applies to dried beans or grain, for instance. They store well, can be eaten, but in typical times, they are not hard to come by. However, if supply chains suffered and food became scarce, their value would increase.

The added benefit of dried beans is that they can be planted to make more. You can create your own money, just like the Federal Reserve.

Grain, too, has another use. Like the coconuts, it can be processed into a product with more value– in this case whiskey or just any old alcohol.

That can be used for sanitation purposes or fuel. It’s relatively compact, and doesn’t go bad. It can even preserve foods that would rot on their own, and extract the medicinal properties of certain plants.

Plus, drinkable alcohol is also one of those few products which remains in demand no matter what happens in the world.

So alcohol is better money than grain. But a money printer is more valuable than a stash of money.

If you own a whiskey still, you can serve as the clearinghouse for other people’s stored grain (or basically anything else that can be fermented into mash).

Just like when the college makes the coconuts collected by the students into soap, the processor controls the final, more valuable product.

By the way, real soap is made from a chemical reaction between fat and lye. Almost any fat will do– it used to be common to use animal fat (who has seen Fight Club?).

Lye is a little harder to come by, but it can be produced by running water through wood ash. But make sure you know what you are doing, and use caution, as lye is extremely corrosive and will burn your skin.

NOTE: THIS DAILY BRIEFING WAS FILMED THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5. Fielding questions from Real Vision subscribers, senior editor, Ash Bennington, and managing editor, Ed Harrison, analyze how the various outcomes of the 2020 U.S. election will impact markets. Ash and Ed talk about the future of Real Vision content, price action across bitcoin, bonds, and equities, and the likely underperformance of the 60/40 portfolio should the economy enter a cyclical downturn. Ash and Ed analyze how the prospect of divided government (i.e., a Biden presidency coinciding with a Republican senate) will affect earnings potential and fiscal stimulus. They also share their views on potential cabinets picks for the next U.S. President.

The Trump administration plans to throw everything it can against the Iranians before January 20 — the day Joe Biden would be inaugurated and take the White House.

According to Axios on Sunday Pompeo is preparing a “flood” of sanctions in an attempt to ensure the Biden administration would have many more hurdles if it hopes to restore the 2015 nuclear deal brokered under Obama, as Biden previously vowed during the campaign.

One unnamed Israeli source privy to discussions involving US Iran envy Elliott Abrams, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat told Axios’ Barak Ravid that “The goal is to slap as many sanctions as possible on Iran until Jan. 20.”

The detail which is sure to enrage leaders in Tehran the most is that sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program will be done “in coordination with Israel and several Gulf states” — which is the result of the recent peace deals between Israel and Arab League member states, the foremost of which was struck with UAE.

The US administration has reportedly prepared a “target bank” of further entities to be sanctioned, after far-reaching sanctions have already been in place against everything from the auto to aviation to energy to banking sectors. 

Instead of targeting Iran’s nuclear development capabilities directly, which it is believed will be easier for a future Biden administration to peel back, the new sanctions “flood” will focus on Iran’s ballistic missiles production and capability. 

Last month the Trump White House lost its bid for the United Nations to extend a longtime conventional weapons embargo on Iran, which expired Oct. 18, now allowing the Islamic Republic to buy and sell arms without violating international law.

Fox News host Neil Cavuto cut away from a Trump campaign press conference on Monday during which White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany – speaking in her “personal capacity” – claimed that Democrats were ‘inviting fraud’ by disallowing GOP observers to watch the Pennsylvania ballot count.

“One party in America that opposes verifying signatures, citizenship, residency, eligibility. There is only one party in America trying to keep observers out of the count room – and that party, my friends, is the Democrat party.

“You don’t take these positions because you want an honest election. You don’t oppose an audit of the vote because you want an accurate count. You don’t oppose our efforts at sunlight and transparency because you have nothing to hide. You take these positions because you are welcome fraud, and you are welcoming illegal voting.“

“Our position is clear, we want to protect the franchise of the American people. We want an honest, accurate, lawful count. We want maximum sunlight. We want maximum transparency. We want every legal vote to be counted, and we want every illegal vote –“

“Woah, woah, woah,” Host Neil Cavuto then cut in, according to the Washington Examiner. “I just think we have to be very clear. She’s charging the other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting. Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing you this.”

“I want to make sure that maybe they do have something back that up,” Cavuto added. “But that’s an explosive charge to make, that the other side is effectively rigging and cheating. If she does bring proof of that, of course, we’ll take you back. So far, she has started saying, right at the outset, welcoming fraud, welcoming illegal voting. Not so fast.”

Watch:

Fox’s Neil Cavuto cuts away from WH Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany at Trump campaign press conference talking about their legal challenges. “I can’t in good countenance continue showing you this,” he says, until they bring proof that Dems are welcoming fraud and illegal voting pic.twitter.com/VUeNdUY8M4

— Daniel Chaitin (@danielchaitin7) November 9, 2020

Attorney Jenna Ellis of Team Trump had some words for Cavuto:

I didn’t realize Neil had left Fox to join the federal bench in Pennsylvania and already reviewed our 105-page lawsuit filed less than an hour ago.

— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) November 9, 2020

As a reminder, there have been multiple on-record allegations of voter fraud from USPS employees and poll workers, while GOP poll watchers claim they were prevented by Democrats from performing a meaningful observation of poll counts.

Is Fox News deliberately trying to get rid of its conservative audience by giving it the middle finger, or have Fox hosts just lost just any ability to hide their hatred of the 70 million Americans who don’t have Trump Derangement Syndrome? https://t.co/if4fvsHIbk

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) November 9, 2020