Russian Space Weapons, Red Dust, & Google Goes Green
February 16, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Friday! Today, we’re talking about Russian space weapons, same-sex marriage in Greece, India’s campaign finance laws, Joe Manchin’s ideal running mates, a climate protest, and Google helping the environment (really!).
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“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” – Martin Luther
Space: The Final Frontier (Of Conflict)
On Wednesday, House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Turner (R-Oh.) warned the press about a “national security threat” that was apparently so pressing, he called on President Biden to declassify “all information” touching the subject. Today, sources on Capitol Hill told the media that the pressing matter was related to a Russian plan to put nuclear weapons into space.
Luckily for, well, everyone, the inside sources said that the weapon wouldn’t be aimed down at Earth – Moscow plans to target satellites. A Democratic Representative on the House Intelligence Committee said that the news was “significant” but also “not a cause for panic.”
Meanwhile, presidential hopeful Donald Trump had his own run-in with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview that he would prefer to have Biden as president because he’s “more experienced” and “predictable” than Trump. Donald decided to take the comments in an interesting way, saying that Putin had given him a “great compliment, actually.”
“He wants Biden because he’s going to be given everything he wants, including Ukraine,” said Trump, adding that “The only president in the last five that hasn’t given Russia anything is a president known as Donald J. Trump.”
A Really Bad Look For Rishi
According to new data released by the Office for National Statistics, the U.K.’s economy fell into a recession at the end of last year. The data shows that gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 0.3% in the last three months of 2023 thanks to a weak holiday retail showing and a general decline in all sectors of the national economy. The recession is another blow for Rishi Sunak’s government, which is already struggling ahead of national elections slated for later this year.
“This is Rishi Sunak’s recession, and the news will be deeply worrying for families and business across Britain,” said Rachel Reeves, the second-most senior leader of the Labour Party. The ONS projects that economic growth was just 0.1% in 2023, making it the country’s weakest year since 2009 (excluding the Covid pandemic years).
The economic stagnation has brought soaring consumer prices, higher cost of living, and a spike in borrowing costs to the British population. The Bank of England is expected to begin cutting interest rates as soon as this summer following 14 straight quarters of borrowing increases, as inflation has begun to stabilize. “There are signs the British economy is turning a corner,” said the Bank’s chancellor.
If It Worked For The Spartans…
- Greece has become the first Orthodox Christian country in the world to legalize same-sex civil marriage. The bill, drafted by newly-elected center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, received support from both sides of the aisle and passed with 176 votes in the 300-seat parliament. Oh, and if you’re wondering how many Orthodox Christian countries there are in the world, there are about a dozen.
- After the bill was passed, the prime minister tweeted that Greece “is proud to become the 16th (European Union) country to legislate marriage equality,” adding that “This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece — a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values.”
Editor’s note: If you want to read more about the Spartans, here you go.
No More Covert Campaign Cash In Kashmir
- On Thursday, India’s Supreme Court outlawed a particular type of political donation. The court ruling struck down donations called “political bonds,” which allowed individuals and corporations to donate to political candidates anonymously through India’s state-owned bank.
- The bonds were developed in 2018, allowing corporations to skirt long-standing campaign finance laws. Prior to 2018, political parties had to reveal the origins of any donations above $200. At the same time political bonds were allowed, India’s national government removed a cap on corporations’ political donations and also repealed laws requiring companies to disclose their donations, basically allowing corporations to donate as much as they wanted anonymously.
- The ruling is likely to hit the BJP the hardest – in the 2022-23 fiscal year, watchdogs found that 85% of all political donations went to the ruling party, and the party also received 90% of all corporate donations over the same time period.
Additional World News
- ‘She said yes’: Australian prime minister proposes to partner on Valentine’s Day (NBC)
- Red flags, missed clues: How accused US diplomat-turned-Cuban spy avoided scrutiny for decades (AP)
- Tobago oil spill spreads to Grenada waters and could affect Venezuela (Guardian)
- Trump is rattling Europe. Now Harris is going there to try to calm nervous allies (NPR)
- US intercepts weapons shipment bound for Houthis (Politico)
- South Korea says opening diplomatic relations with Cuba would shock North Korea (AP)
Middle East News
- Israel complains after Vatican denounces ‘carnage’ and disproportionate response (ABC)
- US reviewing reports of civilian harm by Israel, State Dept says (Reuters)
- Israeli forces storm the main hospital in southern Gaza, saying hostages were likely held there (AP)
Well, It’s No ‘96 Bulls
- Senator Joe Manchin still hasn’t announced if he’ll be launching a third-party presidential campaign, but he’s already been thinking about running mates. “Hypothetically, if I was picking my running mate, really who I would ask right now is Mitt Romney,” Manchin said, before adding that he’d also consider former Sen. Rob Portman.
- While Manchin identifies as a Democrat, the two potential running mates he named are Republicans. “Third party run, everything is on the table,” Manchin said in response to a question from NBC News. “Nothing’s off the table. I’m still evaluating all that. Super Tuesday pretty much would be a deadline that tells you where you are.”
I’m Gonna Do It…I’m Gonna Drop Red Dust On The Constitution
- The National Archives rotunda and galleries (where they filmed the scene in National Treasure) closed briefly after two climate protesters dumped red powder on the case that holds the Constitution (which is not what they stole in National Treasure). “We are determined to foment a rebellion,” one of the men said. “We all deserve clean air, water, food, and a livable climate.”
- Climate change activism group Declare Emergency confirmed that two of its members were responsible for the protest. The contents of the red powder remain unknown, but the protective case around the Constitution prevented any damage. This type of protest has become common in recent years, with climate activists doing things like gluing their hands to a Picasso and smearing cake on the “Mona Lisa.”
Additional USA Reads
- Trump says he purposefully mixes up politicians’ names (Axios)
- Ontario school shooting threat: California student faces attempted murder charges after classmate raised concerns (CNN)
- Trump reiterates to NATO allies: If you don’t pay up, ‘I’m not going to protect you’ (Politico)
- Florida bill that would require schools to teach history of communism spurs debate (NBC)
- Michigan GOP chair officially ousted after weeks of chaos (Politico)
- ‘America is a factory farming nation’: key takeaways from US agriculture census (Guardian)
- Trump’s first criminal trial set to begin March 25 as judge denies bid to dismiss “hush money” case (CBS)
Google Uses Its Surveillance For Good
- On Wednesday, Google announced a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) that will see the tech giant following its former motto of “Don’t be evil.” Together, Google and the EDF will track methane emissions and oil and gas infrastructure from space – Google will contribute by using its satellite imagery and its AI to track fossil fuel infrastructure, while the EDF will track methane emissions using its MethaneSAT satellite, which can track the greenhouse gas from Earth’s orbit.
- “Infrastructure changes rapidly, and keeping a map like this up to date requires constant input. But this is something that we in our maps and geo organization, we’ve built up a lot of expertise,” said a higher-up at Google’s Geo Sustainability team. “We think this information is incredibly valuable for energy companies, researchers, and the public sector to anticipate and mitigate methane emissions.”
- Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gasses in the short term, though carbon dioxide can last much longer in the atmosphere. Methane is 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the air, but its effectiveness tapers off after about 20 years – carbon can last hundreds of years. Steven Hamburg, chief scientist at EDF, said, “The timing really matters. Because if we do it really quickly and dramatically reduce those methane emissions, we can significantly reduce that rate of warming over the coming decades.”
Additional Reads
- AI companies agree to limit election ‘deepfakes’ but fall short of ban (WaPo, $)
- New York City is suing TikTok and Instagram for ‘addicting’ children (The Verge)
- Musk’s X sold checkmarks to Hezbollah and other terrorist groups, report says (Ars Technica)
- The world’s largest iceberg, A23a, is in its ‘spinning era’ as it moves to warmer waters (USA Today)
- Why a rare ‘golden’ tiger photographed in India is worrying conservationists (CNN)
- ‘Squishmallows’ toy maker and Build-A-Bear are in a plush war over ‘copycat’ accusations (AP)
- Teacher formerly known as Rachel Dolezal loses job over OnlyFans account (Guardian)