Bitcoins finite supply compares favorably to agenda-driven printing of money by governments, noted the Avast security ambassador, who also chairs the Human Rights Foundation and the Renew Democracy Initiative.

Speakingto Forbes on the intersection of human rights and new technologies, Kasparov said cryptocurrencies enable the public to regain control of personal finances at a time when unilateral moves by government and institutions are on the rise.

The good thing about bitcoin is that you know exactly the number the magic number of 21 million. And we understand the formula behind that. But when you look at the other side, the Fed for instance, you never know how many trillions of dollars will appear on the market tomorrow that will damage your savings, he observed.

Kasparov said cryptocurrencies potential for abuse gets overstated but it is the upside which must be harnessed to empower individuals. Crypto offers means to protect personal finances against inflation and state interference and anything that can offer us the opportunity to take back control or some control of our privacy is always welcome, the chess grandmaster said.

Thats why I think the steady rise in popularity of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology as a concept is inevitable, because its a response to the shift of power from individuals to states or other institutions that may act on our privacy without our consent, he added.

As chairperson of the Human Rights Foundation, Kasparov has promoted blockchain and cryptocurrency as a means to empower dissidents around the world.

For us, it was important for us to address every violation of human rights, and we were trying to help these people, most of them under severe attacks by their governments even if they left their countries, their financial accounts were hacked, their information was stolen so we have been providing special training courses.

He continued: Weve invited famous hackers to help them and to work with them we have been using every opportunity to offer them extra protection, and of course blockchain and bitcoin were very natural choices to incorporate into this strategy.

Kasparov also criticized the discriminatory treatment of customers from one territory to the other by tech giants and encouraged internet users to practice digital hygiene to stay safe from governments and other third parties.

This article was reprinted from Bitcoin.com

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World's Best Chess Player: Bitcoin Empowers Individuals to Be More Than Just Pawns to Reckless Governments | Jeffrey Gogo - Foundation for Economic

The Texas Longhorns landed a big recruit on Friday, and Lincoln Riley appeared to issue a response on Twitter.

2022 quarterback recruit Quinn Ewers announced on Twitter Friday that he was committing to the Texas Longhorns.

Ewers is the No. 1 recruit in the 2022 class, according to 247 Sports and ESPN, so that was a huge get for Tom Hermans program. Ewers chose Texas over rival Oklahoma, among other programs, which may have led to a response from Riley.

The Oklahoma Sooners head coach tweeted an emoji of a chess piece on Friday night.

That may be Rileys way of saying hes playing chess, not checkers. If so, he probably has some sort of corresponding moves ready to go.

In addition to having Spencer Rattler and Tanner Mordecai competing at quarterback this year, Oklahoma landed a big commitment from 2021 quarterback Caleb Williams last month. They may not have landed Ewers, but they still should be well set at the quarterback position.

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Did Lincoln Riley respond to Texas landing QB Quinn Ewers with chess tweet? - Larry Brown Sports

Over 90% of CHESS users can meet the proposed go-live date of April 2022; ASX now reviewing consultation feedback.

ASX is now carefully reviewing the consultation feedback and following up with some CHESS users on points of detail they raised in order to meet the proposed implementation timetable.

Early results show an overwhelming majority of CHESS users can meet the proposed timetable for implementing CHESS. Despite the high number of positive responses, no final decision on the revised schedule has been made. It remains subject to a detailed review of all submissions and any other relevant considerations before being finalised by ASX.

As at Tuesday, 4 August: * 88 submissions have been received, representing 92% of the 96 CHESS users*91% of CHESS users who made submissions can meet the revised go-live date for CHESS replacement of April 2022 *The few exceptions not yet able to confirm readiness have asked for more information on particular issues, which ASX will assist with in the near-term.

CHESS users are those organisations that plan to connect to the new system, including clearing and settlement participants, product issuer settlement participants, approved market operators, back office software developers, payment providers and share registries.

ASX is currently following up with CHESS users that havent responded to ensure as much input as possible is received from those organisations that must accredit their systems and/or attest to their operational readiness prior to go-live. Their feedback is important for the safe and timely transition to the new system.

ASX will publish its response and a summary of the feedback once all submissions have been reviewed. We will also engage with the regulatory agencies on the revised project timetable prior to its public release.

Dominic Stevens, ASX Managing Director and CEO said: We appreciate the input and responses weve received from the market - not just for this consultation but for the CHESS replacement project overall. The project has taken on even greater significance in recent months, with the accelerating need for more innovation, digitisation and straight-through processing of transactions and corporate actions.

The CHESS replacement project has involved the most interaction ASX has ever undertaken with the market. Were grateful that so many CHESS users have responded constructively to this consultation. This provides us with a sound starting point as we now carefully consider all submissions.

Mr Stevens continued: While recognising there is still much for everyone to do, we are excited by the fact we are close to 100% complete on customer functionality and set to move into industry-wide testing in the coming months.

Background

ASX and a broad stakeholder community have been working together since 2016 to successfully deliver the system to replace CHESS. This has involved significant collaboration on business requirements, adoption and mapping of ISO 20022 messaging, solution design for new features, and connectivity to the new system.

At its core, the new system will deliver existing services; new functionality; high availability, reliability and performance; and underpin Australias financial markets for the next decade and beyond.

In developing the consultation paper published on 30 June that set out a proposed 12-month extension, ASX considered several factors. These included the ongoing impact of COVID-19, functionality changes requested by users, and additional time for ASX and CHESS users to complete development and readiness activities.

The project is progressing well, with 90% of the core clearing and settlement functionality used by customers already deployed in the Customer Development Environment.

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ASX set to move into industry-wide testing of blockchain-based settelement system - Finextra

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most mysterious and tragic diseases, and scientists are still grappling to understand what causes it, and how to avoid it.

But a new review of Alzheimer's research has identified 10 suggestions backed by "strong evidence" that could reduce your risk for the disease, including reading, and avoiding stress and trauma.

The paper,published today in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, listed another nine tips backed by "weaker" evidence, including getting sufficient sleep and working out.

In the most comprehensive meta-analysis of Alzheimer's research to date, the researchers in China analyzed 395 previous studies, including randomized controlled trials (the gold standard of scientific research) and observational studies.

"Over time, there will be more evidence," Lei Feng, a co-author of the study, told Insider. "This is the best evidence we have now for prevention. We cannot wait until we have the perfect solutions."

Here is a run-down of the preventative measures Feng and the team identified, and why they could be effective:

Exercising your brain is one strong strategy for reducing your risk of developing Alzheimer's.

Mentally stimulating activities such as reading, playing chess and doing puzzles help preserve brain structures and cognitive functions that are implicated in dementia.

Additionally, the review found that people who received a strong formal education early in life had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's. Although your own early education is out of your control, parents can consider their children's schooling as an investment for their brain health later in life.

The review recommends physical activity and healthy eating behaviors in order to achieve a BMI in the 18.5 to 24.9 range, which is considered normal weight. You can calculate your BMI here.

Adults aged 65 and over should make sure they are not underweight and closely monitor any unhealthy weight loss, which can be an early predictor of Alzheimer's disease.

While some supplements and diets have been advertised to promote brain health, these claims are not necessarily backed by scientific evidence.

The review considered studies of vitamin C, and found it might help reduce your risk of Alzheimer's but is not as strong as other interventions.

More important are your homocysteine levels. High homocysteine is a risk factor for both Alzheimer's and heart disease, and it can be treated with vitamin B and folic acid supplements.

You've heard this advice before, but getting sleep and not smoking can seriously improve the overall quality of your health.

Getting sufficient, high quality sleep was found to decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease, while smoking tobacco increases that risk.

Yielding these common public health recommendations is also helpful for decreasing your risk of other preventable diseases that could further harm your brain health.

Head trauma was among the 10 strongest suggestions to reduce Alzheimer's risk.

That means taking seriously concussions, head collisions in contact sport, and falling or slipping.

Staying physically healthy can affect your brain health, so it's no surprise that preventable health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease were associated with high Alzheimer's risk.

Blood pressure is also considered a risk factor depending on age. Adults younger than 65 should avoid high blood pressure. Older adults with orthostatic hypotension (or, low blood pressure), or who have suffered a stroke, should be monitored for cognitive decline.

"The brain health behaviors and heart health behaviors that reduce the risk of getting high blood pressure or obesity in the first place are behaviors that people should do earlier in life in order to reduce these comorbidities," Seth Gale, a behavioral neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the study, told Insider.

Stress and depression were both found to be strong risk factors for Alzheimer's.

They point to the importance of understand the impact your mental health can have on your physical health.

Whether you experience stress and depression may be out of your control, but you can try to mitigate their effects with mindfulness practices such as guided meditation or by seeking professional help.

Read more:

15 common misconceptions and surprising realities about dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's could be caused by bad oral hygiene, according to new research

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19 science-backed ways to reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease, from reading to playing chess - Insider - INSIDER