Perception differs from reality on immigration, the robots are coming, and we're running out of Nitrous Oxide.
There are a lot of Muslims in European countries and there are many more who have been forced from war zones like Syria and are looking for a new place to call home. But how many? It turns out that the perception is a lot different than the reality. Many Europeans dramatically overstate the Muslim population in their home countries: “The average French estimate was that 31% of the population was Muslim — almost one in three residents. According to Pew Research, France’s Muslim population actually stood at 7.5% in 2010, or one in 13 people … Italian, German and Belgian respondents all guessed that more than a fifth of the resident population was Muslim, while in reality the figure ranges from 3.7% in Italy to 7% in Belgium.”
+ Brits also vastly overestimated their Muslim population (by about three to one), and those surveyed “overestimated the 2020 population by an even greater margin (22% versus an actual projection of 6%).” And get this: A study of 3 Million Brexit Tweets revealed that Brexit ‘leave’ voters talked about immigration more than anything else.
+ None of this is intended to suggest that migration is not an enormous story in 2016 (especially for those who have been displaced). Reuters has a solid series on the topic. The Migration Machine: Millions of people, billions of dollars – and Europe’s struggle to cope.
Out Like Flint
For the past year, Americans have been locked in a fierce political debate that dominated everything from our media to our dinner conversations. But a big, obvious problem that politicians are there to fix didn’t get fixed. There’s probably a lesson there. In the meantime, unfiltered Flint tap water is still unsafe to drink.
A Family Resemblance
“Almost 30 years after the Hama massacre, Hafez’s son, Bashar, faced his own revolt when peaceful protests against his rule erupted across Syria in 2011. Some believed the softly-spoken ophthalmologist would show more restraint than his authoritarian father.” Aleppo obliterated such hopes.
+ “Aleppo has been part of human history for some five thousand years. Abraham is said to have grazed his sheep on its slopes and donated their milk to the local poor.” Today it is a demolished battleground featuring many participating world powers. Robin Wright: The Battle For Aleppo, Syria’s Stalingrad, Ends.
+ PBS Newshour: Here’s what Aleppo looked like before the shelling began.
This Oughta Get Your Interest
“It reflects Fed officials’ confidence in the strengthen of the U.S. economy and what officials see as budding signs of higher inflation.” For the first time in a year, the Fed raised interest rates, and signaled more hikes to come in 2017.
This Lede’s Not Big Enough For Both of Us
For obvious reasons, I’ve been thinking a lot about the intersection of politics and media these days. In this post, I look back at a pretty amazing day in October when two potentially massive news stories broke. One dominated our discourse for weeks, while the other was put on the back-burner – only to return this week. This is How Pussy Won, Beating Everybody including the Russians.
Stop Ignoring the Robot in the Room
There’s been a lot of talk about jobs and populism vs globalism, but the truth is that automation is killing jobs faster than they can be outsourced. The New Yorker’s Elizabeth Kolbert looks at a few recent books to try to give some clues to the question a lot of people have: How long will it be before you lose your job to a robot? These stories always remind me of the old Woody Allen routine: “My father had worked for the same firm for twelve years. They fired him. They replaced him with a tiny gadget, this big, that does everything my father does, only it does it much better. The depressing thing is, my mother ran out and bought one.”
+ “And you’re doing well right now and I’m very honored by the bounce. They’re all talking about the bounce. So right now everybody in this room has to like me, at least a little bit.” Yes, the techies went to Trump Tower.
+ Elon Musk and Travis Kalanick are joining Donald Trump’s strategic and policy forum.
+ The Atlantic: Why Trump and the Tech Industry Are on a Collision Course.
+ Uber’s self-driving cars just rolled into San Francisco (even if the DMV didn’t approve them). This might not change much. As far as I can tell, most San Francisco drivers already seem to assume their cars are self-driving.
Meme Myself and I
2016 has been maligned for many things, but no one can argue that it wasn’t a pretty damn great year for Internet memes (you know, those fun things the Internet was known for before it got famous for fake news). Here’s NY Mag with a look back at the best memes of 2016.
+ And Google is out with their always interesting look at the year in search.
+ The best year-end collections are the collections of photos, and Kottke has a collection of the best of those collections. (And yes, that wording should be read as a cry for help.)
Being There
“Here’s a complaint one might not expect to hear from teenagers: They wish their parents were around more often.” Now, don’t read too much into that. The teenagers don’t want you to meddle, provide feedback, or even say a word. Just sit there. From the NYT: What Do Teenagers Want? Potted Plant Parents. (I look forward to this phase. At this point, my kids just want the iPad.)
Hello (Again) Cleveland
The Indians were in the World Series. The Cavs won it all. And now Cleveland is left with just one powerful reminder of its professional sporting past: The Browns. During a winless season, The Ringer checks in with a reporter who has been covering the team for two decades. The Queen of the Damned. (People should just look at Browns games like they look at their kids on the weekend. At least they’re outside and getting some exercise.)
Bottom of the News
This is some bad news for the holidays. There’s a nitrous oxide shortage that is affecting the nation’s whipped cream supply. (I’d like to publicly apologize for my role in using up all the nitrous. It’s been a long news year.)
+ NPR tries to unravel the science mysteries of asparagus pee. (After this, I’m gonna need some Fresh Air … hello … is this thing on…?)
