Let Them Eat Cake (and Have Air Condition)
October 21, 2019
“Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”
“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. ”
– George Orwell
Global Warming Leads To Qatar Cooling
Fun facts about the tiny country of Qatar, one of seven nations that comprise the Arabian Peninsula: it’s less than 7,000 sq miles with fewer than 3 million inhabitants; it’s the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas, making it fabulously wealthy; it’s hosting the 2022 World Cup; and it’s one of the hottest places on earth.
The current international goal for limiting damage to the planet from global warming is 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial times. Qatar’s average temperature already exceeds that limit. Its summers are unbearable — temperatures close to 123F have been recorded in the capital city of Doha, which is why for the first time the international football tournament will be held in November-December instead of the traditional June-July slot.
Climate change inflicts suffering in the world’s poorest places — Somalia to Syria, Guatemala to Bangladesh. Yet to rich nations like Qatar, global warming is an engineering problem, not an existential one — fixable with gobs of money and a little technology. To allay concerns about the well-being of athletes and spectators alike in 2022, a leading engineer designed a virtual outdoor air conditioning system at the new Al Janoub soccer stadium, one of eight to be spruced up and cooled down in time for the tournament.
It’s something Qatar was already doing to survive the heat. The country air-conditions outdoor markets, sidewalks, even malls, so people can window shop with a cool breeze. Sadly, the cycle is vicious: outdoor air conditioning produces carbon emissions that create global warming, boosting the desire for more air conditioning, which necessitates the burning of fuels that emit more carbon dioxide.
Patience For Maduro Runs Dry
- Under the autocratic rule and disastrous policies of price and currency controls instituted by right-wing president Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s economy continues to crumble and its basic infrastructure to collapse. After Maduro came to power 20 years ago his government stopped releasing public health data.
- Venezuela’s water system is so deteriorated that entire areas can be without running water for months. Independent studies have shown dangerous levels of bacteria, meaning drinking the water can be a matter of life and death.
- Case in point: the current rate of infant mortality from diarrhea is six times higher than it was 15 years ago. (NYT)
One Country’s Trainwreck Is Another Country’s Hero
- To most of the world Turkey’s invasion of the Kurdish-held territory in northern Syria, and the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians and fighters alike, is a foreign policy disaster. But inside Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a hero.
- To Turks, Operation Peace Spring is not only the achievement of an important long-standing national security goal — it has allowed Erdogan to whip up nationalistic sentiment and drive a wedge through his political opposition.(Guardian)
- Kurdish General Slams U.S.-Syria Policy; Gen. Petraeus Calls Withdrawal ‘A Betrayal’ (NPR)
- As U.S. Leaves Allies in Syria, Kurdish Commander Struggles With Fallout (NYT, $)
- Kurdish fighters leave Syrian border town, giving Turkey control (Guardian)
Not Enough Cheese
- President Trump has hailed Mexico’s cooperation in a joint policy effort to stop immigration at the US southern border. And recently Mexico’s interior secretary vowed the country would “very soon” see results of the deployment of a new 70,000-strong National Guard — a showpiece unit formed this year by Mexico’s president — against resurgent violence and record murder levels in the country.
- But therein lies the conundrum of why hundreds of guards can be deployed to block a peaceful convoy of Hondurans traveling north, while only 35 troops were sent in to seize Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s son, a notorious cocaine trafficker in his own right, blacklisted by the US since 2001. Ovidio Guzmán López, aka “the Mouse”, was captured by police, but just as quickly freed by hundreds of better-armed Sinaloa cartel gunmen, along with 51 of their imprisoned comrades, in a bloody prison break.
- A British filmmaker said: “This is the first open confrontation between the authorities and the Sinaloa cartel. The remarkable thing is the speed with which … cartel members arrived and dominated the centre of this town.” An expert on the Sinaloa cartel said: “For a decade, war between the cartels is reflected within the police, army and all forces.” Official collusion at some level is inevitable. (Guardian)
Additional World News
- U.K. Parliament Votes To Delay Vote On Johnson’s Breakthrough Brexit Plan (NPR)
- Chilean President Suspends Fare Hikes; 3 Die In Supermarket Fire As Protests Continue (NPR)
- Britain makes move to bring home Isis children stranded in Syria (Guardian)
- China’s defence minister says resolving ‘Taiwan question’ is national priority (Reuters)
- Hong Kong: Petrol bombs tossed at police in latest protest (BBC) & Hong Kong firms, lacking riot insurance, pick up pieces from protest damage (Reuters)
Trump, Inc.: “O Lord, Drain the Swamp, But Not Yet!”
- New York City’s property tax forms state that the person signing them “affirms the truth of the statements made” and that “false filings are subject to all applicable civil and criminal penalties.” The punishments for lying to tax officials, or to lenders, range from fines to criminal fraud charges.
- Two former associates of President Trump, Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort, are serving prison time for offenses that include falsifying tax and bank records, some of them related to real estate. With this legal standard in mind, it remains to be seen whether Trump will ever face charges for lying on multiple tax documents related to his real estate holdings.
- Documents obtained by ProPublica show stark differences in how Trump’s businesses reported some expenses, profits and occupancy figures for two Manhattan buildings — the figures on documents provided to lenders show the buildings to be much more valuable and profitable than the figures provided to NYC taxing authorities.
- One finance and real estate expert said the discrepancies in Trump documents are clear “versions of fraud.” As she noted: “This kind of stuff is not OK.” (ProPublica)
- Additional quote: “In May 2014, Trump told an Irish television station that he would “absolutely” release his tax returns if he entered the race. “If I decide to run for office, I’ll produce my tax returns, absolutely,” he said. “And I would love to do that.” (CNN)
Americans: Losing My Religion
- The overall percentage of Americans who describe themselves as Christian is declining.
- In Pew telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65 percent of American adults described themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, a number that was down by 12 percentage points over the past decade.
- Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” now stands at 26 percent, an increase of 9 percentage points since 2009. Those who describe themselves today as religiously unaffiliated are mostly young adults.
- The data shows a wide gap between older Americans (Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation) and Millennials in their levels of religious affiliation and attendance. More than eight-in-ten members of the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) describe themselves as Christians (84 percent), as do three-quarters of Baby Boomers (76 percent). In stark contrast, only half of Millennials (49 percent) describe themselves as Christians. (Pew Research)
- White evangelicals love Trump and aren’t confused about why. No one should be. (NBC)
- ‘I prefer non-religious’: why so few US politicians come out as atheists (Guardian)
Additional USA News
- Mulvaney Walks Back Ukraine Remarks, Admits It Wasn’t A ‘Perfect Press Conference’ (NPR)
- Justice Department distances itself from Giuliani (CNN)
- Trump Drops Plan To Host G-7 Summit At His Miami Resort (NPR)
- Are US billionaires really going to pay more tax? (BBC)
- U.S. Government Still Uses Suspect Chinese Cameras (WSJ, $)
Hello Darkness, My Really Good Friend
- Researchers say our brains do their best to shield us from contemplating our own inevitable demise. A study found that the brain categorizes death as an unfortunate event that only befalls other people, thereby shielding us from existential fear.
- One expert explained: “The brain does not accept that death is related to us. We have this primal mechanism that means when the brain gets information that links self to death, something tells us it’s not reliable, so we shouldn’t believe it.” The protection may switch on in early life as our minds develop and we realize death comes to us all.
- Being shielded from thoughts of our future death could be crucial for us to live in the present. (Guardian)
- Why Aren’t We Curious About the Things We Want to Be Curious About?: You’ve been clickbaited by your own brain. (NYT, $)
- Why Everything Is Getting Louder: The tech industry is producing a rising din. Our bodies can’t adapt. (Atlantic, $)
LAST MORSELS
“Life is for the living.
Death is for the dead.
Let life be like music.
And death a note unsaid.”
– Langston Hughes