Extra, Extra
Moving Companies: “China’s mass detention and surveillance of ethnic Uyghurs turned its far western region of Xinjiang into a global symbol of forced labor and human rights abuses, prompting Congress to ban imports from the area in 2021.” What did China do then? They moved the Uyghurs. NYT (Gift Article): Far From Home: Uyghur Workers in Factories Supplying Global Brands. (Reminder: It’s not that we don’t need tougher standards and deals when it comes to trading with China. It’s that our current efforts are counter-productive.)
+ Clean and Jerk: “More than $14 billion in clean energy investments in the U.S. have been canceled or delayed this year, according to an analysis released Thursday, as President Donald Trump’s pending megabill has raised fears over the future of domestic battery, electric vehicle and solar and wind energy development.” (Even if you don’t care about climate issues, that’s a lot of spending and jobs down the tubes.)
+ What Elon Strange Trip It’s Been: Elon Musk’s official role within the United States government is coming to an end. A breakup was inevitable. But much of the analysis I see of the split reads more like an Elon press release, taking everything he says at face value, ignoring the heinous damage he’s done, and discounting the role his efforts to increase his stock price plays in all this spin. (And don’t be too happy about the Schadenfreude. Elon leaves his government gig with many massive government deals and, despite the damage he’s done to his brands, he’s still more than twice as rich as the world’s second richest person.)
+ RF KO: “The decision also forfeited the U.S. government’s right to purchase doses ahead of a pandemic, and canceled an agreement set up by the Biden administration in January to prepare the nation for a potential bird flu pandemic.” U.S. Cancels Contract With Moderna to Develop Bird Flu Vaccine. (Relax, everyone. It’s not like a deadly disease could mutate and spread from birds to humans and then require a remarkable vaccine to save millions of lives…)
+ Tough News to Swallow: It’s a small study, but new research out of UCSF suggests that cannabis presents cardiovascular risks, even when its consumed via edibles.
+ Detached Reality: “A Swiss Alpine village was largely wiped out on Wednesday after a massive glacier carrying rock and debris detached and roared down the mountainside, destroying everything in its path.” (The accompanying video is crazy.)
+ Field of Dreams: ” Justin seems normal, too. He’s 36, tall and slender, and wears a backward baseball cap most days that gives him the look of a slacker teen. But for a certain subset of people, Justin is far from a normal person.” How to Become a Fantasy-Sports Millionaire.
