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473 lines
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<meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" name="viewport"/>
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<title>26 May, 2022</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<body>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Seeing America, Again, in the Uvalde Elementary-School Shooting</strong> - Nineteen children and two adults were murdered in Texas. This is the country that gun-rights advocates have chosen. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/seeing-america-again-in-the-texas-elementary-school-shooting">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Will the Coronavirus Pandemic Ever End?</strong> - If Americans decide too soon that it is over, it could paradoxically drag on even longer. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/will-the-coronavirus-pandemic-ever-end">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Is the Fall in the Stock Market Telling Us?</strong> - Investors are fearful of a recession, but the White House says the economy is resilient. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-is-the-fall-in-the-stock-market-telling-us">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Hard-Won Triumphs of a Life on the Corner in West Baltimore</strong> - Fran Andrews’s story became a book, a miniseries, and an inspiration. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/afterword/the-hard-won-triumphs-of-a-life-on-the-corner-in-west-baltimore">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How to Prevent Gun Massacres? Look Around the World</strong> - Australia, Britain, Canada, and other countries have enacted reforms that turned mass shootings into rare, aberrational events, rather than everyday occurrences. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/how-to-prevent-gun-massacres-look-around-the-world">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>Countries are limiting food exports. It may make global hunger worse.</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/RKM0_l2yUK_clQf7QJHD2QYzj5g=/399x0:3600x2401/1310x983/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70912150/GettyImages_1240366921.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Farmers harvest wheat on the outskirts of Jammu, India, on April 30. A recent heat wave has affected the yield of India’s wheat crops. | Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Trade is vital to mitigating the global food crisis.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T4UTou">
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Two weeks ago, India, the world’s second-largest producer of wheat by volume, announced export restrictions on the commodity. India’s wheat farmers are facing an estimated loss of <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/27/heat-wave-in-india-threatens-residents-and-crucial-wheat-harvest.html">15 to 20 percent</a> of their crop due to a <a href="https://www.vox.com/23057267/india-pakistan-heat-wave-climate-change-coal-
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south-asia">devastating heat wave</a>, and the government cited concerns about domestic food security in explaining the move.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hfq8Ge">
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While India’s wheat only represents a small percentage of global wheat exports and the government announced that it still plans to export to <a href="https://content.dgft.gov.in/Website/dgftprod/9032ac12-29a8-4a67-8e3b-bd0dc07c39a5/Noti%2006%20Eng.pdf">countries in need</a>, the restrictions are only the latest in a distressing global trend that, if it continues, will add to already-rising levels of global hunger.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J5itiD">
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Before the war in Ukraine, food prices were already at some of their highest historical levels due to high fuel and energy prices, droughts, and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Russia’s invasion exacerbated them, pushing prices to <a href="https://www.vox.com/23022693/war-
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ukraine-shipping-food-hunger">record highs</a> in March. People in countries with high levels of food insecurity are at greater risk of hunger as bread becomes more expensive and scarce.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3f1r1l">
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The problem isn’t production. Even with the war in Ukraine — one of the world’s leading wheat producers — there’s actually enough wheat to feed everyone in the world. The USDA projects that <a href="https://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/wasde0522.pdf">2022/2023 production</a> will be down 0.6 percent from 2021/2022 — not good, but not catastrophic in itself. Major producers beyond Ukraine, including India, Argentina, Australia, and Canada, can actually make up for most of the wheat lost or restricted by Russia’s war. The problem is that it is getting more expensive than ever to move the wheat to where it needs to be, and that problem may only get worse.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="S1CeHr">
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India is only the latest country in recent weeks to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/18/countries-banning-food-exports-amid-rising-prices-inflation.html">restrict exports</a>. Countries like <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-serbia-grains/serbia-to-ban-exports-
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of-some-foodstuffs-president-says-idINL2N2VC0OL">Serbia</a>, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Egypt have restricted wheat exports this year, and other countries have restricted exports from sugar to vegetable oil to maize. While India’s wheat restrictions alone should have limited effect on global food prices, they could push even more countries to follow suit. And that would be disastrous, potentially tipping a volatile global food situation into a crisis.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AtCVCk">
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Here’s why experts think that, and why the world’s governments need to act differently to forestall a humanitarian catastrophe.
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</p>
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<h3 id="FVQV0M">
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The Ukraine war, energy, and the global food crisis
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="APsygD">
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Food prices are at <a href="https://www.vox.com/23022693/war-ukraine-shipping-food-hunger">near-record highs</a> and have been rising almost continuously for the <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-
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perfect/2022/2/27/22950805/russia-ukraine-food-prices-hunger-invasion-war">last two years</a>. The war in Ukraine has made the situation worse, as Russia and Ukraine produce large percentages of the world’s wheat, sunflower oil, and other vital food commodities. A rise in fuel prices is also a major contributor to the rise in food prices, as food now costs more to store, process, and transport.
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</p>
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<div id="n2DmRS">
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<div id="datawrapper-7aGKn">
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</div></div></li>
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</ul>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g873b5">
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xAAl7B">
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Rising food prices are adding to hunger crises in countries with already-high levels of food insecurity and <a href="https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/one-person-likely-dying-from-hunger-every-48-seconds-in-
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drought-ravaged-east-africa-as-world-again-fails-to-heed-warnings/">drought</a>, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. They are also disproportionately affecting people in Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Yemen, which rely on Russia and Ukraine for most of their wheat. The number of food-insecure people in the world has risen from an estimated 768 million in 2020 to <a href="https://static.hungermapdata.org/insight-reports/latest/global-
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summary.pdf">869 million</a> in May 2022.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WETP9x">
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Many countries outside of the Black Sea region export wheat, and about <a href="https://www.vox.com/23022693/war-ukraine-shipping-food-hunger">30 percent</a> of the world’s wheat is in storage, so there’s enough wheat to feed everyone in the world. But if wheat producers continue to put export restrictions in place, experts warn that prices will continue to rise to unmanageable levels and more people will go hungry.
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</p>
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<h3 id="GMLCl7">
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What do export restrictions mean for global hunger?
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ofvpsN">
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On <a href="https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/india-india-bans-wheat-exports-due-domestic-supply-concerns">May 13</a>, India announced export restrictions on wheat, but noted that it would honor pre-ban commitments and still accept requests from governments dealing with food insecurity. In the wake of the announcement, there was an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-15/world-s-food-problems-piling-up-as-india-restricts-wheat-
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exports">immediate price spike</a> (although that has <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ZW=F/">since abated</a> somewhat in the past week).
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VJ6T8X">
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The worry about India’s move is that it could contribute to the world’s looming food crisis. But the biggest problem isn’t necessarily the direct long-term effects of a ban on global prices — that could, in fact, be negligible. While India is a major global wheat producer, most of the wheat it produces is consumed locally; India accounted for <a href="https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/TCL">less than 1 percent</a> of global wheat exports in 2020.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="go3Fw1">
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Rather, experts worry about the example it sets for other producers. Historically, when countries, particularly large global players, institute export bans, other <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/bad-worse-how-export-restrictions-exacerbate-global-food-security">countries follow suit</a>. This leads to higher global prices due to decreased supply, which generate panic about shortages, which then sparks a vicious cycle of price-raising and more widespread hunger as food-insecure countries struggle to afford food for their populations.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bUvthi">
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In a previous global food crisis in 2007-’08, which <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/225na1_en.pdf">drought and fuel prices</a> also contributed to, insulating<strong> </strong>trade policy changes <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/583201468337175309/pdf/WPS5645.pdf">are estimated</a> to have led to almost half of the global rice price increase and about a third of the global wheat price increase.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SjErgs">
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In our current crisis, export restrictions rose at the beginning of Covid-19, kicking off a period of price spikes, and have been <a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/laborde6680/viz/ExportRestrictionsTracker/FoodExportRestrictionsTracker">on the rise again</a> this year in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s estimated that pre-India trade restrictions contributed to <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/global-food-crisis-world-bank-51649369287">about one-sixth</a>, or 7 percentage points, of the global wheat price rise. For people living in poverty, an increase of that size can be catastrophic.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/7s2eeka3Q40iTfQ1GPaaFq91cl8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23588119/GettyImages_1240745459.jpg"/> <cite>Sam Panthaky/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Workers stand next to a heap of wheat being loaded onto a ship at the Deendayal Port Authority seaport at Kandla, India, on May 18.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9FAC9D">
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In March, Chris Barrett, a professor at Cornell who researches food security, told me about economist Kym Anderson’s <a href="https://fsi-
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live.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/anderson_swinnen_presentations.pdf">comparison</a> of export bans to people standing up during a sports match at a stadium. At first, the people standing can see better, but then everyone follows suit and no one ends up benefiting.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="D55Vaz">
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“In the end, nobody’s getting a better experience of the match,” Barrett said, “but there’s a lot of unnecessary conflict and unnecessary expenditure of energy to deliver an inferior result, and that’s where we wind up with export bans. Export bans don’t accomplish much, if anything, and nothing lasting for countries that implement them, but they cause real problems for others.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="8r0kra">
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The potential implications of India’s export restrictions
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sYoQX5">
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Economists are <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/wheat-exports-ban-policy-impact-farmers-
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explained-7917789/">critical</a> of India’s restrictions (its exceptions notwithstanding), and think that the negative impacts for both global markets and domestic producers could be similar to what we’ve seen in the past, even if it’s not directly through the loss of Indian wheat.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xxQZxP">
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Communication and perception end up being a big part of the story. If people think there’s scarcity, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy; if countries say they’ll do one thing and instead do another, it also may lead to panic. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1816062">in April</a>, “We already have enough food for our people but our farmers seem to have made arrangements to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/17/business/india-wheat-export-
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ban-food-prices-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html">feed the world</a>,” offering to fill in some of the export gaps left by the war in Ukraine.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2zvEGP">
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“The exuberance about the ability to feed the world was not realistic,” Siraj Hussain, an expert on agriculture and rural economy at Arcus Policy Research, told me over email.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l0XlJk">
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While export bans are purportedly put in place to help people domestically, there’s little evidence they have this effect. In the case of India, export bans historically have ended up <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/wheat-exports-ban-policy-impact-farmers-explained-7917789/">hurting farmer incomes</a> by creating an <a href="https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=TAD/CA(2018)4/FINAL&docLanguage=En">unpredictable market environment</a> and cutting off their access to markets that will give them <a href="https://www.oecd.org/regional/agricultural-policies-in-india-9789264302334-en.htm">higher prices</a>. Those bans may help domestic consumers for a while — at least until everyone starts standing up in the stadium — but they end up hurting domestic farmers. Given that over <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS?locations=IN">40 percent</a> of people in India are employed in agriculture, that’s a lot of people who could get hurt.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4qqPRD">
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Export restrictions are easy to implement because they don’t cost money, and it “sends a strong policy message of, ‘we protect you and keep the food at home,’” said David Laborde, a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) who runs their <a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/laborde6680/viz/ExportRestrictionsTracker/FoodExportRestrictionsTracker">Food and Fertilizer Export Restrictions Tracker</a>. But “the reality is keeping food at home doesn’t mean it ends in the plate of the people who need it.”
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/DV5SfGjy0YxwxUd3SzZZjznsRIM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23588075/GettyImages_1240742540.jpg"/> <cite>Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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A laborer works inside a mill producing refined wheat flour in Khanna, India, on May 18.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3bSjUG">
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To protect farmers and others at risk of hunger at a volatile time, governments can instead increase social protection such as <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/21427889/cash-
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benchmarking-usaid-global-poverty">cash transfers</a> or school feeding programs, or <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/wheat-exports-ban-policy-impact-farmers-explained-7917789/">raise the minimum support price</a> for farmers. (India is providing social protection by continuing a <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/centre-extends-pmgkay-beneficiaries-to-get-free-foodgrains-till-
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sept-7837726/">food subsidy program</a> reaching about 800 million people that was effective at <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2022/04/05/Pandemic-Poverty-and-Inequality-Evidence-from-
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India-516155">fighting poverty</a> during Covid-19.)
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XHepUN">
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The stringency of India’s restrictions will determine how much they ultimately affect global food prices. India has already announced that it will allow <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/centre-relaxes-ban-on-wheat-export-may-13-7921670/">exports</a> registered before May 13, and that it will continue to trade with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/india-open-
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exporting-wheat-needy-nations-ban-84741351">food-insecure countries</a>, <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/food-
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grains-shouldnt-go-the-way-of-covid-vaccines-india-to-west-2988954#pfrom=home-ndtv_bigstory">particularly</a> in <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/india-bans-wheat-export-citing-food-security-risk-7916598/">the region</a>. If India in practice ends up exporting basically what it would have anyway, then the export restrictions themselves shouldn’t have too many long-term price implications for the world. “For me the India ban is much more a communication problem and bad example than something that will traumatize markets,” Laborde said.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OUpqw3">
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Laborde noted that Argentina, another major global wheat supplier, would be the next to watch given its history of export restrictions. Negative knock-on effects extend not only to global producers, but also to regional producers who might be inspired to ban exports. Tanzania and Uganda, for example, aren’t big players in the global wheat market, but to a country like South Sudan already suffering from high food insecurity and conflict, a ban from those two countries could be devastating.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YNUuYj">
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There also may be negative longer-term effects of export restrictions for countries that implement them. The restrictions hit the credibility “of India as a reliable supplier of anything in global markets,” <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/wheat-exports-ban-policy-impact-
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farmers-explained-7917789/">wrote</a> agriculture researchers Ashok Gulati and Sanchit Gupta in the Indian Express.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gSw5I2">
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The World Trade Organization (WTO) doesn’t have disciplinary measures against export bans, Barrett said, because in 1994, when the <a href="https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/books/071/07475-9781557756213-en/C10.xml">protocols were written</a>, it was more worried about import bans. Changes to international trade policy <a href="https://www.orfonline.org/expert-
|
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speak/the-world-in-disarray/">may be possible</a> as <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/bad-worse-how-export-
|
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restrictions-exacerbate-global-food-security">early as June</a>, when the WTO’s postponed 12th Ministerial Conference is set to take place.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I1koz3">
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In the meantime, however, a food crisis looms. One big thing countries can do to prevent it is resist the temptation to restrict food exports amid the global economy’s gyrations.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ovg2pN">
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>With Ricky Gervais’s new special, Netflix yet again suffers transphobic fools</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/nakLVA03UmIovpaYFksjCOmFNNI=/480x0:4256x2832/1310x983/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70911909/RGCS_00190_R.0.jpeg"/>
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<figcaption>
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|
Ricky Gervais performs in Netflix’s 2018 special <em>Humanity</em>. The comedian’s latest Netflix special has come under fire for transphobia. | Ray Burmiston/Netflix
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Does Netflix even care that Ricky Gervais’s SuperNature is rife with transphobic TERF ideology?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XrWcZG">
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Who knows exactly what response Netflix expected for <em>SuperNature</em>, Ricky Gervais’s transphobic new standup special, but pardon us while we refrain from clapping.
|
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</p></li>
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</ul>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FOuXwV">
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After the backlash to Dave Chappelle’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/22722357/dave-chappelle-the-closer-
|
|||
|
|
netflix-backlash-controversy-transphobic">transphobic 2021 Netflix special <em>The Closer</em></a>, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/netflix-ted-sarandos-dave-chappelle-
|
|||
|
|
walkout-1235033910/">said</a> he believed in “artistic expression,” and that his stance toward Chappelle’s comedy hadn’t changed — implying that trans people would just have to get over it. That seems to be the platform’s party line on transphobia. The company’s long-term investment in Gervais includes releasing shows he stars in, like <a href="https://www.avclub.com/derek-proves-again-that-ricky-gervais-nice-side-is-n-1798180609"><em>Derek</em></a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/arts/television/after-life-ricky-gervais-review.html"><em>After Life</em></a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/comedians-netflix-paid-millions-ricky-gervais-new-special-2018-3#ricky-
|
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|
|
gervais-40-million-3">reportedly</a> paying him $40 million in total for his most recent pair of comedy specials. <em>Humanity</em>, released to Netflix in 2018, likewise <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2018/03/ricky-gervais-
|
|||
|
|
netflix-transphobic-jenner-1201938675/">reeked of transphobia</a>. In <em>SuperNature</em>, the level of transphobia goes several degrees further than <em>Humanity</em> and even further than Chappelle’s seeming fixation on pronouns and genitalia. Gervais parrots numerous ideas that form the backbone of transphobic <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/9/5/20840101/terfs-radical-feminists-gender-critical">TERF ideology</a>, then blames transgender audiences for being mad.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Nl1D9v">
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Gervais, like many other comedians of late, has <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/4/21048179/ricky-gervais-offensive-comedy-transphobic-caitlyn-jenner-jokes-
|
|||
|
|
cancel-culture">spent his last several cycles</a> on the comedy circuit reacting over and over again to so-called “woke” culture and comedy, as if the concept of comedy that refuses to punch down is so egregious all he can do is continually react to it, then react to the reactions to his reactions.
|
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0BaXTc">
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This time around, having been through repeated backlash over his previous offenses, he’s at pains to explain the structure of his comedy — to explain to us why he holds the comedic high ground over his invisible future catcallers. See, he stops to inform his audience, the joke he’s about to tell isn’t offensive because he’s being ironic. Now he’s being metaphorical. Now he’s using figurative language to illustrate that words aren’t violence.
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sihU1Z">
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|
Gervais, predictably, given his <a href="https://rvamag.com/gay-rva/does-ricky-gervais-hate-trans-people-or-not.html">overt approval</a> of TERF talking points, builds his entire indignant anti-woke stance specifically around transgender people: their anatomies, their pronouns, their existence. It takes him all of two minutes to make his first trans joke: A mention of fellow British comic Eddie Izzard, who has <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/eddie-izzard-credits-laverne-cox-caitlyn-coming-out-
|
|||
|
|
transgender/">long identified as transgender</a> and began using she/her pronouns two years ago. The “joke” isn’t actually a joke, because Eddie Izzard merely existing isn’t inherently funny; but the audience laughs at Izzard’s name, right on cue, because Gervais, having already condescended to explain irony to us, expects us to laugh at the whole <em>concept</em> of Izzard, or maybe the concept of finding Izzard funny, or an uncomfortable mix of both.
|
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ati5mo">
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|
It doesn’t matter which of these jokes is intended, because Gervais has already rejected the counterargument that a hateful joke is only “ironic” when everyone is in on it and when no one is secretly having their actual bigotry reinforced by the cruelty at the center of said irony. Toward the end of the show, he drags out an appalling sketch full of racist Sinophobic stereotypes, which he insists isn’t racist because it’s “ironic.” Doesn’t matter that this kind of “irony” is <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/11/23/13659634/alt-right-trolling">what allows white supremacists to operate in plain sight</a>. Doesn’t matter that five minutes into <em>SuperNature</em> an audience member audibly laughs at a mention of rape, which might indicate that perhaps Gervais’s audience isn’t as ironically humorous as he wants them to be. No, Gervais seems to have decided that because words aren’t literal physical violence, nothing he says can cause harm.
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zjSPqN">
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|
And once establishing this up front, he <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2022/05/ricky-gervais-trans-jokes-netflix-special-backlash-1234727843/">proceeds to use trans people as a (metaphorical) punching bag</a>.
|
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</p>
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aDYm6j">
|
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|
Gervais has <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1153701926065909762">said</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1208161256307351555">repeatedly</a> that he doesn’t disrespect “real” trans people; rather, he only mocks specific people he sees as male sexual predators who’ve usurped “real” trans identity in order to prey on women by pretending to be women. This is pure TERF rhetoric divorced from reality.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eJZiQD">
|
|||
|
|
Gervais has <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/4/21048179/ricky-gervais-offensive-comedy-
|
|||
|
|
transphobic-caitlyn-jenner-jokes-cancel-culture">spent years</a> making fun of trans women onstage; on social media, he’s spent the past few years amplifying transphobic TERF talking points about how trans people (usually women) are <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1050707771837026304">rapists</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1185516030090776578">perverts</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1208005552053374976">liars</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1208063434413215744">linguistic terrorists</a>. Much like JK Rowling, Gervais <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1208354523942719489">claims</a> to be very concerned with the state of cis men pretending to be women in order to rape them, while <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1208161256307351555">insisting</a> that “real” trans people should be respected; but if you look for examples of Gervais actually embracing, supporting, or affirming “real” trans women, you won’t find any. Trans people seem to only interest Gervais when he has an excuse to dismiss or dehumanize them — or <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1061277856511213569">joke about beating them up</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/286533111804751873">compare them to rodents</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nc62qL">
|
|||
|
|
Onstage, his obsession with trans people includes a vile fixation on anatomy. He expects his audience to laugh at the idea of a trans woman having male anatomy; he expects us to ridicule the idea that anyone <em>wouldn’t</em> laugh. Over and over again he “jokes” about trans women having penises. He says he personally supports trans rights, then talks about trans women raping other women, implies that trans people are “mental,” and implies that trans people invented “self-identification” sometime after the ’60s in order to exploit their marginalized status. Woe for today’s kids, he suggests, whose too-woke parents might force them into a “trendy” trans lifestyle.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="udIVP1">
|
|||
|
|
Any trans person who complains about his comedy is “virtue signaling.” Such trans people are, he tells us, motivated by superiority and a wish to tear other people down. It surely has nothing to do with the <a href="https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release/">astronomically high levels</a> of violence against trans people, nor the equally high levels of trans <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2021/">mental health issues</a> and <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/data-on-transgender-youth/">suicidal ideation</a> — all of which are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4707041/">directly linked</a> to harmful transphobic rhetoric. Of course Gervais makes no mention of this; it’s not funny, after all, and it undercuts his ultimate thesis that insensitive or deliberately offensive humor should be seen as a form of affection and caring. We’re expected to speak his lingua franca of bad jokes and meet him halfway by agreeing that “identity politics” should be just as susceptible to mockery as everything else.
|
|||
|
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</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0tLp9d">
|
|||
|
|
Given the TERF-y interludes, <em>SuperNature</em> is an unnecessarily cruel piece of transphobic rhetoric. But without the TERF-y parts, it just feels superfluous; there’s no real reason for it to exist. Gervais needs transphobia to have something to say, and apparently Netflix does too. The streaming service surely understood that by releasing this special, it would get more of the backlash it received after <em>The Closer</em>. During that backlash, Sarandos <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/11/22720724/netflix-suspends-
|
|||
|
|
trans-employee-tweeted-dave-chappelle-the-closer">first said</a> that he didn’t believe <em>The Closer </em>could cause any real-world harm, then <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/netflix-ted-sarandos-dave-
|
|||
|
|
chappelle-walkout-1235033910/">recanted</a> that statement, possibly after trans activists and allies pointed out horrifying trans suicide statistics. (It’s worth noting that Netflix has also made a <a href="https://www.the-
|
|||
|
|
sun.com/entertainment/3929022/how-much-dave-chappelle-get-paid-netflix-special/">significant financial investment</a> in Chappelle.) Netflix went through all this once, yet still chose to release <em>SuperNature</em> at a moment when vulnerable trans people are already getting hit with <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/22358864/trans-issues-
|
|||
|
|
sports-health-care-bills-laws-arkansas-alabama-montana-south-dakota">wave after wave of unnecessary cruelty</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g1RaSO">
|
|||
|
|
The implication seems clear: Netflix is just fine suffering transphobic fools for views. It’s just fine inflicting bigoted hateful rhetoric on its subscribers. It’s just fine with the subsequent real-world harm that comes from amplifying such views. The platform’s choice to release this special now, during a wave of unprecedented anti-trans legislation, is unconscionable. It’s not just that Gervais, his fellow contrarian comedians, and his large audience may feel validated and affirmed in their hatred of trans people and will pay that forward in the form of more cruelty and discrimination. It’s not just that actual trans people may be hurt, may internalize harmful messages and shame because of <em>SuperNature</em>’s existence. It’s that Netflix is an influencer; its decisions make waves. By openly signaling that trans people and their allies are disposable within its business model, Netflix sets a precedent that many other companies in the tech and entertainment industries are likely to follow.
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YSqwDn">
|
|||
|
|
And, sure, this is nothing new — but that doesn’t make it hurt less. If trans people are to be thrown to the wolves of comedy, one would hope the wolves would at least be funnier.
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xA2jx2">
|
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</p>
|
|||
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<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann’s new crypto project sounds like a scam within a scam</strong> -
|
|||
|
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<figure>
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="A man with shoulder-length hair wearing a t-shirt and suit jacket speaks to an off-camera
|
|||
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crowd." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5sAPWO549PNSOOMDSiL8C28m-K4=/811x0:7360x4912/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70911831/945571920.0.jpg"/>
|
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<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Adam Neumann, co-founder of WeWork and the crypto company Flowcarbon, speaks at an event in Shanghai in 2018. | Jackal Pan/Visual China Group via Getty Images
|
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</figcaption>
|
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|
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</figure>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
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|
Turning carbon credits into crypto won’t fix climate change.
|
|||
|
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</p>
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eV14Q6">
|
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Adam Neumann is back. The cofounder and former CEO of WeWork and subsequent subject of the podcast-turned- TV-series <a href="https://www.theverge.com/22984498/wecrashed-review-apple-tv-plus">WeCrashed</a> now says he wants to fix climate change — with crypto.
|
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|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="q7AQ5I">
|
|||
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|
Specifically, Neumann wants to put carbon credits on the blockchain. But making carbon credits easier to buy and sell does nothing to solve the real problem with carbon credits and offsets, which is that they’re <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/how-to-repair-the-worlds-broken-carbon-
|
|||
|
|
offset-markets">broken</a>. More easily trading a broken product doesn’t make it any less broken.
|
|||
|
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</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O3gTrZ">
|
|||
|
|
Neumann’s new company is called Flowcarbon, and it has big ambitions, which will be backed by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/exclusive-neumann-backed-climate-tech-venture-flowcarbon-
|
|||
|
|
raises-70-mln-2022-05-24/">$70 million</a> from the crypto arm of the venture capital firm a16z. On its <a href="https://www.flowcarbon.com/about">website</a>, Flowcarbon says that the current system of buying and selling carbon credits is built on an “opaque and fractured market infrastructure” and that the carbon credits themselves have “little liquidity, accessibility, and price transparency.” In other words, the problem is the carbon credit <em>market</em>, and the way to fix it is by making it easier to trade carbon credits.
|
|||
|
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</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="S7rhEt">
|
|||
|
|
This is a classic argument for a crypto company, by the way. The answer for everything in the crypto world seems to be <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/23071245/bitcoin-price-crypto-ethereum-nfts-defi-stablecoin">greater commodification</a>. But when it comes to saving the planet (as with most things in life), that’s not necessarily true.
|
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|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wl6p6u">
|
|||
|
|
Carbon credits and offsets are two sides of the same coin, and the terms are often used interchangeably. A carbon offset refers to a project that reduces carbon dioxide emissions (preserving forests is a popular one), and carbon offsets generate carbon credits. And both trade in units that represent one metric ton of carbon dioxide. Flowcarbon is supposed to work through the creation of a new crypto token, called the Goddess Nature Token, or GNT. Those tokens would represent carbon credits, and Flowcarbon users looking to trade carbon credits would do so by buying and selling those tokens.
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aOYga1">
|
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|
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That second part has the potential to be problematic: Unlike stocks or cryptocurrencies, carbon offsets ultimately need to be taken off the market in order for them to have any lasting, traceable impact on a company or individual’s carbon footprint. Google, for example, “<a href="https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en//green/pdfs/google-carbon-offsets.pdf">retires</a>” any carbon offsets it buys, putting a stop to the trading so nobody else can claim their climate benefits. (How effective those offsets ever were is debatable.) Flowcarbon users have the option to retire their tokens, redeem them for classic carbon credits off the blockchain, or keep trading them. If a Flowcarbon user were to keep the carbon, well, flowing<em> </em>by trading away their carbon credits, they can’t claim to have offset any of their own emissions.
|
|||
|
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</p></li>
|
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</ul>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FzX8hb">
|
|||
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|
“I think they’re trying to solve something that’s not a problem,” <a href="https://environment.yale.edu/profile/mendelsohn">Robert Mendelsohn</a>, a professor of forest policy and economics at Yale, told Recode. “The kinds of things that blockchains are good at, which is sort of just making sure nothing gets lost, isn’t really a problem with the current market. That’s not where they’re broken. Where they’re broken is the credits themselves may not actually be causing any reduction in carbon.”
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fm3IzZ">
|
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|
|
As my colleague <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/27/20994118/carbon-offset-climate-change-net-zero-neutral-emissions">Umair Irfan wrote in 2020</a>, one of the key principles for making a good carbon credit is “additionality,” or ensuring that a carbon offset project will actually lead to a reduction of emissions that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. This is trickier than it sounds: A <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2020-nature-conservancy-carbon-offsets-
|
|||
|
|
trees/?sref=qYiz2hd0">2020 Bloomberg investigation</a> found that carbon offsets sold by the Nature Conservancy, one of the largest environmental nonprofits in the world, were based on forested properties that likely would have been preserved even without extra funding. In other words, the emissions reductions from those trees would have happened anyway, making them invalid as carbon offsets.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ILw6hE">
|
|||
|
|
That’s just one example. Carbon credits and offsets frequently miss the mark, and in some cases can even cause <a href="https://features.propublica.org/brazil-carbon-
|
|||
|
|
offsets/inconvenient-truth-carbon-credits-dont-work-deforestation-redd-acre-cambodia/">additional harm to forests</a>. Carbon offsets that don’t provide any additional emissions reductions allow companies who buy them to claim they’ve made a difference to their carbon footprint without having any real impact. “They haven’t offset anything,” Mendelsohn explained. “They’ve just got this worthless piece of paper saying they got a credit. You could put that credit onto the blockchain, and it would be just as worthless.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Vu1Y91">
|
|||
|
|
It’s not exactly clear how Flowcarbon would actually make carbon offsets more useful or trustworthy. Nicole Shore, a Flowcarbon spokesperson, said in an email that the credits backing the GNT “follow the criteria of the global carbon market” and come from one of four large carbon credit registries. The company also says the carbon credits behind its token have been “certified,” but it doesn’t detail how that certification process happens, or if it has a verification system that’s any different from the current carbon credit market.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RWg1h6">
|
|||
|
|
The difficulty of verifying carbon credits means it can take a while for more of them to come on the market. As more companies become interested in purchasing credits to offset their emissions, that can create a bottleneck.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wocr4s">
|
|||
|
|
“The problem with the current markets is nothing to do with how we can trade these more effectively,” said <a href="https://4c.cst.cam.ac.uk/staff/dr-anil-madhavapeddy">Anil Madhavapeddy</a>, who is an associate professor of computer science and technology at Cambridge University and the director of the <a href="https://4c.cst.cam.ac.uk/">Cambridge Center for Carbon Credits</a>. “We just do not have enough supply.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3XMTnD">
|
|||
|
|
Madhavapeddy, like Flowcarbon, is working on building a blockchain-based solution for carbon credits. But unlike Flowcarbon, he isn’t interested in building a marketplace for those credits. Instead, he’s focused on verifying they’re real by using satellite imagery and remote sensing technology to monitor carbon offset projects around the world and recording the results on the blockchain. Madhavapeddy hopes that technology will make it easier to get more carbon credits on the market more quickly.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VUfqwm">
|
|||
|
|
Instead of building a whole new marketplace for carbon credits, for now, Madhavapeddy just wants to help ensure that those credits are based on something that will have a real impact. “Because the supply is so constrained, you don’t need to tokenize all these things,” Madhavapeddy told Recode. “It takes years for new (carbon offset) projects to kick off, so every marketplace constructed right now is just shuffling the same old pieces around.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9sLiDT">
|
|||
|
|
Crypto’s climate credit gold rush isn’t going unnoticed by the traditional players in the market, either. Verra, the world’s largest carbon-offset registry, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-largest-carbon-offset-registry-cracks-down-on-crypto-11653510288">announced</a> this week that it will no longer allow its credits to be used as the basis for crypto tokens. Active crypto markets for carbon credits, Verra said, create too much confusion over who should get final credit for carbon reductions.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V0CYji">
|
|||
|
|
Once carbon credits become more readily available — and verifiably trustworthy — it’s possible companies like Flowcarbon could be key to making carbon credits and offsets more easily accessible to regular folks who are interested in offsetting their carbon emissions. But let’s not forget what happened last time Adam Neumann promised big things when founding a company with a <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/160299/wework-book-review-billion-dollar-
|
|||
|
|
loser-rise-fall-adam-neumann">questionable business model</a>. WeWork speculated on how flexible our relationship with our built environment could be, and while it remains to be seen if Flowcarbon is any different, we can’t afford to leave our relationship with the natural world open to similar speculation.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="E3OiK4">
|
|||
|
|
Commodifying nature is part of what led us to our climate mess in the first place. Perhaps it’s time to learn from our mistakes.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Praggnanandhaa joins the IOC family</strong> - The chess wizard will be on the rolls of the company once he turns 18</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Surabhi aims an Olympic medal</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Queen Spirit runs to glory in Nilgiris Derby Stakes</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Multifaceted, Matera, Fortunate Son, Prince O’ War, Arcana and Philosophy impress</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bopanna-Middelkoop enter French Open pre-quarterfinals</strong> - Bopanna and Middelkoop won in straight sets against their opponents Andrey Golubev and Fabrice Martin</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>World is realising India means business: Modi</strong> - ‘Since 2014, political will has been evident, with reforms undertaken continuously’</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Nation emulate YSRCP’s flagship programmes: Dharmana</strong> - Samajika Nyaya Bheri Bus Yatra was launched in Srikakulam</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>TN BJP workers give PM Modi rousing reception</strong> - This is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to Tamil Nadu after the DMK assumed power last year.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Workshop for poultry farmers</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Shigella cases confirmed in Thrissur</strong> - Two cases at Govt. Engineering College</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How can Ukraine export its harvest to the world?</strong> - Ukraine has crops that could help lower food prices, but there’s no easy way of getting them.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>‘We don’t want UK-EU trade war’ - Irish PM</strong> - Micheál Martin says he is hopeful he will not have to contemplate tariffs against UK exports.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Europa Conference League final: Roma 1-0 Feyenoord - Nicolo Zaniolo hits winner for Italians</strong> - Roma win their first major European trophy after defeating Feyenoord in the inaugural Europa Conference League final.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Jose Mourinho: ‘A serial winner who has brought Roma to life’</strong> - Roma’s Europa Conference League final win means Jose Mourinho has won five European finals out of five and is a ‘serial winner who has brought the Italian club to life’.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Severodonetsk: Battle for key road as fighting reaches Ukraine city</strong> - Severodonetsk under constant shelling but a vital artery into the city is still open, Ukraine says.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>After 30 years, the world can now play the lost Marble Madness II</strong> - Scrapped Atari arcade rarity traded trackballs for joysticks—was it the right call? - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1856354">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Critical Zoom vulnerabilities fixed last week required no user interaction</strong> - If your machine failed to get them automatically, you’re not alone. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1856508">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>More than 1 in 5 COVID survivors may develop long COVID, CDC study suggests</strong> - The study assessed the relative risks of 26 conditions linked to post-COVID. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1856498">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Prominent ex-Tesla self-driving car exec leaves Apple for greener pastures</strong> - CJ Moore will join lidar company Luminar to lead software development. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1856457">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Microsoft Dev Box will virtualize your Windows development PC in a browser window</strong> - Windows 365-powered VMs support variable hardware and software configs. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1856389">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>I think the reason that schools are so dangerous is because of the name “School”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
If we renamed all education centres as “Uterus” then republicans might actually care about what’s inside them.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/here_for_the_lols"> /u/here_for_the_lols </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxwd5w/i_think_the_reason_that_schools_are_so_dangerous/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxwd5w/i_think_the_reason_that_schools_are_so_dangerous/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>The Pope goes to New York and gets picked up at the airport by a limousine.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
When he sees the car, he motions to the driver and says: “Do you mind if I ask you a favor?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“A favor for the Pope??” exclaims the driver, “of course - anything!”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“You know, I hardly ever get to drive, and I’d really like it if I got to drive now. Would you please let me?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The thought of the Pope getting behind the wheel scared the driver - what if he got into an accident?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
On the other hand, the driver felt that he couldn’t say no to the Pope himself, so he reluctantly obliged and let his Holiness get behind the wheel.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
To his utter dismay, the Pope turns the key, lights up the limousine’s rear tires and speeds up like a maniac!
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
After driving in excess of 100 mph in a 45 mph zone, a police car drives up alongside them and orders them to stop immediately. The Pope slams on the brakes and comes to a dead stop, as does the pursuing police officer.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The police officer emerges from his vehicle, briefly peers through the limousine’s window, then hurriedly steps back in.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
His sergeant got this call:
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Cop: “Sir, I have a problem.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Sergeant: “What kind of problem?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Cop: “Well, I pulled over this driver for speeding, but he’s someone really important.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Sergeant: “Important like… the mayor?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Cop: “No, no - a lot more important than that.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Sergeant: “Important like… the governor?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Cop: “Way more important than that, Sarge.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Sergeant: “Important like… the President?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Cop: “Even more important than him.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Sergeant: “Who’s more important than the President?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Cop: “I don’t know sarge, but he has the Pope DRIVING for him!”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Superd3n"> /u/Superd3n </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxt230/the_pope_goes_to_new_york_and_gets_picked_up_at/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxt230/the_pope_goes_to_new_york_and_gets_picked_up_at/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>I know we’re all supposed to be tolerant of people from other cultures, but is it too much to ask that Asian waiters learn that all Caucasians don’t look alike? My waiter just served my food to some other customer!</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Wait. Never mind. That wasn’t my waiter.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/NopeNopeNope2020"> /u/NopeNopeNope2020 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxip28/i_know_were_all_supposed_to_be_tolerant_of_people/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxip28/i_know_were_all_supposed_to_be_tolerant_of_people/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>One day, Einstein has to speak at an important science conference.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
On the way there, he tells his driver that looks a bit like him:<br/> “I’m sick of all these conferences. I always say the same things over and over!”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The driver agrees: “You’re right. As your driver, I attended all of them, and even though I don’t know anything about science, I could give the conference in your place.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“That’s a great idea!” says Einstein. “Let’s switch places then!”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
So they switch clothes and as soon as they arrive, the driver dressed as Einstein goes on stage and starts giving the usual speech, while the real Einstein, dressed as the car driver, attends it.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
But in the crowd, there is one scientist who wants to impress everyone and thinks of a very difficult question to ask Einstein, hoping he won’t be able to respond. So this guy stands up and interrupts the conference by posing his very difficult question. The whole room goes silent, holding their breath, waiting for the response.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The driver looks at him, dead in the eye, and says :
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“Sir, your question is so easy to answer that I’m going to let my driver reply to it for me.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ReaIZx"> /u/ReaIZx </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxdhrf/one_day_einstein_has_to_speak_at_an_important/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxdhrf/one_day_einstein_has_to_speak_at_an_important/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>Let’s all take a moment to Thank Amber Heard’s team of Lawyers for their efforts and hard work</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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to prove Johnny Depp’s innocence.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/4BDUL4Z1Z"> /u/4BDUL4Z1Z </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxyr8b/lets_all_take_a_moment_to_thank_amber_heards_team/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/uxyr8b/lets_all_take_a_moment_to_thank_amber_heards_team/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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