Extra, Extra
Our Own Worst Enemy? “For the moment, China’s rulers have avoided overtly antagonizing America, because they believe that, even in decline, it remains uniquely dangerous. After Trump’s interventions in Venezuela and Iran, and his threats to Canada and Greenland, the Beijing Daily, a Communist Party mouthpiece, wrote that the U.S. was ‘dragging the world back to a dark age of plunder and division through superior military might.’ But that bluster obscures a colder calculation: Chinese leaders believe that Trump’s struggle to dominate the world is actually aiding China.” Evan Osnos in The New Yorker: The Future, Made in China.
+ A Flock of Shit: “Bakely, 50, began to feel like she was constantly being watched. She says she installed three cameras around her home and on her patio, to see if he was staking out her cul-de-sac. She bought a hidden-camera detector and nervously waved it down every wall. Three times, in desperation, she says she drove her Kia to a mechanic’s shop, asking them to scan for trackers on her car.” How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking. Plus, A Texas deputy searched 83,000 flock cameras to track down a woman who had an abortion. And, Flock cameras are getting mobbed.
+ Shallow End of the Gene Pool: “President Donald Trump on Saturday sharply criticized U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s assessment that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of shoddy construction and not the work of vandals, as he claims.” Pirro told the truth. Her days are numbered.
+ Snapped: “Even before the most drastic changes take effect, more than 4 million people are estimated to have already lost the critical food aid between last July and April — many of whom are children.” NPR: Over 4 million people are no longer receiving food aid amid sweeping changes to SNAP. Meanwhile, on the other end of the food chain… Trump Media’s paid data feed giving Wall Street faster access to Trump’s posts is now live.
+ Dear Gianni Letter: “FIFA is not moving forward with a controversial plan to allow private investors to purchase a stake in the World Cup, according to a statement from FIFA president Gianni Infantino.” (The blood is in the water in one of the world’s most cutthroat organizations. Seems highly likely that Infantino loses his job along with this debate.)
+ Screen Shots: “A powerful one-two punch from ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘The Odyssey’ has fueled the biggest collective weekend in box office history.”
+ Rolling With the Oldies: “Curmudgeonly roadblocks or the last beacons of sanity? These car owners disable alarms and reconfigure dashboards in search of low-tech bliss.” These Drivers Are Taking Extreme Measures to Avoid New Car Technology. (I’ll keep the new tech. But bring back the knobs!)
