China over Capitalism | Kumbaya and Kavanaugh | 2018 is the new 1984

“I learned that Osama bin Laden’s strategic logic was to embroil the United States in a never-ending conflict to ultimately bankrupt the country. “All that we have to do is send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written ‘Al Qaeda,’” he said in 2004, “in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving for it anything of note ….” Why are we continuing to do what Bin Laden wanted all along?” – Joe Quinn, The Real Lesson of Sept. 11, NYT Op-ed

“But the basic principle of guerrilla warfare must be the offensive, and guerrilla warfare is more offensive in its character than regular warfare.” – Mao Tse-tung

Manufacturing Terrorism: The US State Department released its 2017 Country Reports on Terrorism Wednesday. The assessment, performed annually, identified Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism, with a “near-global reach.” It has been so designated since 1984, and is one of four countries on the list which includes North Korea, Syria, and Sudan. Iran and the proxy groups it finances are said to be responsible for attacks or attempted attacks in the Middle East, Europe, South America and Africa. The report also accuses it of sending suspected operatives to the US, citing the arrest last summer of two men in Michigan and New York thought to be working undercover for the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah.

Overall, terrorism has declined worldwide, but on Wednesday President Trump extended for another year Proclamation 7463, first issued after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Originally meant to declare a temporary state of national emergency, the proclamation authorizes the president to mobilize the military, bypassing Congress. The Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since withdrawing from the nuclear deal last May. The goal now is to negotiate a bilateral treaty that will cover Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs. President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are expected to be in New York next week for the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly, but there are no plans for a meeting with US officials.

2018 is the new 1984: This is getting scary. China will soon have a “social credit” score for every one of its 1.4 billion citizens. The higher the score, the better the perks. When the surveillance system is fully operational, every single person will be constantly watched by cameras with facial recognition, body scanning and geo-tracking capabilities. An official Communist Party outline claims the system will “allow the trustworthy to roam freely under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step”. (ABC)

Country and China over Capitalism: Now we’ll never know if he was serious. Chinese technology titan Jack Ma promised President Trump last year his e-commerce giant Alibaba would help create a million American jobs. Wednesday Ma told Chinese state media that, thanks to an escalating US trade war, the deal’s off. (WaPo)

Sweden Says All Right, Far-Right: In Swedish politics, which bloc will blink first? Just one seat separates the governing coalition of the left from the center-right coalition that is the main opposition. After elections this month neither side has a majority, but both have pledged not to make a deal with the Sweden Democrats, the right-wing anti-immigration party with neo-Nazi roots. The new parliament convenes next week, so one of the two bigger blocs will probably have to throw in the towel. (NYT)

– “Trump suggested a wall across the Sahara, according to Spain’s foreign minister.” (WaPo)

– “Spain Now Sees More Migrant Arrivals Than Any Other European Country: This summer, Spain became the main entry point for migrants crossing into Europe. As of early September, more than 35,000 people crossed into the country…” (NPR)

– “Frites, chips, fries, whatever Europeans want to call them — they’re shrinking.” (WaPo)

– “Walmart Pulls Soviet-Themed Shirts After Lithuania Objects: Lithuanians have little fondness for Russia. Memories of decades of brutality linger, even more than a quarter century after the fall of the Soviet Union. So a Walmart T-shirt with a hammer and sickle emblem was never likely to be a best seller there. Now, it’s not being sold at all.” (NYT)

– “The map we need if we want to think about how global living conditions are changing.” (Our World in Data)

A Techopolist Invests Billions of Aid Dollars in Africa: It is difficult for Bill Gates to fathom a world view that fails to see the need for equality at home and globally, and sneers at the spirit of philanthropy. In the face of “America first” nationalism, and burgeoning European nativism, Gates attempts to find what works best to revive the West’s faltering conscience. One way is to remind wealthy nations that investing in the health and education of developing countries is a universal benefit. The latest global survey done by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation says by the end of this century there will be 4 billion more people on earth, and 75 percent of those will be born in Africa.

Accordingly, half of the Foundation’s spending goes to Africa. Leaving aside the philosophical notion of a spirit of generosity, Gates gives an example of why it’s important not to succumb to current cynicism about international aid organizations. “The stability of Africa makes a huge difference to the entire world. A pandemic like Ebola can spread very fast,” and many others spread even faster if there are no local health services to contain them. The report’s global scorecard for the UN’s sustainable development goals for 2030 shows most things are improving almost everywhere, but continued progress, Gates points out, depends on the level of future investment.

Yemen’s Starving Children: The CEO of Save the Children International says Yemen’s four year old civil war between Shia Houthi rebels and troops loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi is putting 5.2 million children, an entire generation, at risk of starving to death. “In one hospital I visited in north Yemen, the babies were too weak to cry, their bodies exhausted by hunger,” she said. (Guardian)

The Muscovian Candidate: The New York Times takes an in depth look at the craziness surrounding the attack on the 2016 presidential election, from hacked emails to social media fraud to suspected spies—what we know so far and what it means—and President Trump’s claim that it’s all a hoax. (NYT)

Singing Kumbaya and Kavanaugh: Evangelical and social conservative leaders are telling Senate Republicans and the White House that if Brett Kavanaugh isn’t confirmed for a seat on the Supreme Court, the faithful may just stay home in November. (NYT)

Kavanaugh’s Legal Clerkships Meets Legally Blonde: A Yale law school professor (Amy Chua best known for writing the book about Tiger moms and parents) was known for instructing female law students preparing for interviews with Brett Kavanaugh on how to dress to exude a “model-like” femininity to help their chances of getting hired. Being told Kavanaugh liked a certain “look” made one young woman so uncomfortable she decided not to seek a clerkship with him. (Guardian)

– “In Lab Turned Casino, Gambling Monkeys Help Scientists Find Risk-Taking Brain Area: Experiments with two gambling monkeys have revealed a small area in the brain that plays a big role in risky decisions.” We can learn a lot about ourselves from animals. (NPR)

– Today in aquatic news, octopuses on MDMA are a lot more social (and are probably REALLY excited at how many hands they have) and a restaurant in Maine is getting their lobsters high before they cook them.Can it become normal to bake lobsters to make this joke easier to write? (Guardian)

– “People Like You More Than You Know: All it takes is a little conversation” And a little less action…? (Scientific American)

– “Faster. Slower. How We Walk Depends on Who We Walk With, and Where We Live.: Men tend to walk differently with other men than with women. And Americans walk faster with children, whereas Ugandans move more leisurely.” (NYT)

– “Giant spiders’ web covers Greek beach: Spiders’ mating season leaves plants at Aitoliko Lagoon covered in 300-metre cobwebs.” Nope. No. Nope. (Guardian)

“Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath

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