Extra, Extra
A Whiter Shade of Frail: WaPo (Gift Article): Trump offered White South Africans a new life. Thousands took him up on it. “Adri is one of 6,069 people who have been admitted to the United States as refugees since October, according to State Department figures. All but three were from South Africa. Her journey reflects the wholesale transformation of the refugee program under the Trump administration, which early last year froze refugee admissions save for one specific group.” Plus, US claims ‘emergency refugee situation’ as it admits 10,000 more white South Africans.
+ Gabbard Exits: Tulsi Gabbard to resign as director of national intelligence. “The former Democratic congresswoman said she would be leaving her job following her husband’s cancer diagnosis.” Gabbard was often the odd person out when it came to the major moments or decisions one associates with her job. “During pivotal moments as Trump deliberated over possible military action or watched live video feeds of operations in Iran or Venezuela, Gabbard was often not in the room, underscoring her outsider status … She is the fourth Cabinet member — all women — to leave Trump’s administration.”
+ Endgame On? “Trump’s repeated threats to resume attacks since then have proved to be bluffs. The leaders in Tehran have been calculating for two months that Trump would not launch another attack, and for this reason they have made no concessions despite the damage they suffered from 37 days of relentless strikes. On the contrary, their terms for a settlement are those of a victor: They demand war reparations, no limits on uranium enrichment, recognized control of the strait, and an end to sanctions.” Robert Kagan in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump’s Endgame Is Surrender. And from WSJ (Gift Article): Iran Mediators Race for Deal to Head Off Looming U.S., Israeli Strikes. Meanwhile, Iran and Oman in Talks Over Strait of Hormuz Ship Payment System.
+ Recycled Content: “A group of volunteers tracked 53 polypropylene plastic cups starting in recycling bins at Starbucks locations across nine states and Washington DC. Each recycling bin had signs clearly indicating these specific cups could be recycled. The results were stunning: not one cup ended up at a recycling facility.” (One wonders if Starbucks cups are the exception or the norm.)
+ Kyle Busch: “The news comes 11 days after Kyle Busch radioed into his crew near the end of a Cup Series race at Watkins Glen asking a doctor to give him a ‘shot’ after he finished the race. According to the television broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold.” NASCAR icon Kyle Busch dies at the age of 41.
+ Let There Be Light of Consciousness: “Throughout the investor prospectus, SpaceX reiterates that its ultimate goal is to establish colonies on the moon and Mars that will usher in human civilization’s next evolution and expand humanity’s presence in the universe. By moving beyond the only home we have ever known, we ensure species-level redundancy and that the light of consciousness will not be tied to a single planet subject to the inevitable hazards of a harsh and vast universe.” And that’s not even the weirdest part of the SpaceX IPO filing. The company also spent $131 million on Cybertrucks last year. (Maybe after the IPO, they can upgrade to something less embarrassing.) Mars colony and Grok warnings: five strange details in SpaceX’s pitch to investors. And from Bloomberg (Gift Article): SpaceX IPO Makes Musk ‘Otherworldly’ Rich.
