UK Sings U2 Lyrics | China’s “Reeducation Schools” | American History Gen Z

“A piece of writing is a dangerous thing,” he said. “It can change your life.”

“I have never been able to understand the complaint that a story is “depressing” because of its subject matter. What depresses me are stories that don’t seem to know these things go on, or hide them in resolute chipperness; “witty stories,” in which every problem is the occasion for a joke; “upbeat” stories that flog you with transcendence. Please. We’re grown ups now.”

– Tobias Wolff

The UK Sings U2’s With or Without You: A majority of the British electorate voted in 2016 to leave the European Union, and it was up to Prime Minister Theresa May to negotiate the terms of the withdrawal and chart a path forward when the UK leaves in March 2019. Earlier this week she presented the result of her nearly 2 1/2 year travail, a 585 page draft Brexit deal that polls show only 19 percent of the population supports, and 42 percent opposes. May defended the deal to Parliament Thursday, but it is so unpopular inside her own conservative party that some cabinet members resigned in protest, with one calling for a vote of no-confidence.

Several suggested solutions to particularly difficult problems are quite controversial. Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, shares a border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member. Under the tentative deal Northern Ireland would largely remain in the EU’s single market, allowing free movement of goods and services, but keeping it subject to EU regulations. That’s a nonstarter for critics, including May’s key Northern Irish allies. Scotland’s voters were resoundingly against Brexit in 2016; Thursday, a government spokesperson called the draft deal “essentially dead”, adding: “Brexit isn’t a better future — it is a backward step into an imagined past.” When May was asked about the possibility of holding another referendum on withdrawing, she rejected that notion outright.

Additional read: “Brexit: A guide to where we are.” (BBC)

Uighur Muslims Continue To Have No Rights: For decades, there have been marriages and business ties between Pakistanis and Uighurs from China’s Muslim-majority Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. But since April 2017 Xi Jinping’s government has been conducting a heartbreakingly unconscionable crackdown on its Uighur minority with the aim of stripping away their ethnic identity, suppressing their Islamic faith and ensuring their loyalty to China. It’s believed that hundreds of Uighur wives of Pakistani men have disappeared into China’s internment camps, and untold numbers of their children have been seized and placed for “reeducation.” Rights groups estimate possibly 1 million Uighurs and other minorities are detained in these camps. (NPR)

You Have The Right To Pay Up: Russia’s foremost anti-corruption activist and Putin foe Alexei Navalny has won a landmark victory in the upper chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR ruled seven arrests of Navalny between 2012 and 2014 were politically motivated and violated his rights. A news release announcing the verdict said: “The Court called on Russia to provide a legal mechanism for the authorities to take due regard of the fundamental importance of the right to peaceful assembly and show the necessary tolerance for unauthorized, peaceful gatherings.” The court also ordered Russia to pay Navalny about $72,000 in damages, which we all wish him good luck in collecting. (WaPo)

Five Eyes For An Eye, Makes The Whole World Finally See Who Did It:To virtually no one’s surprise, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor now claims Saudi agents, including the head of forensics at the national intelligence service and members of the security detail for de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are responsible for murdering Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey last October. Five hapless suspects now face the death penalty in this most recent effort to distance the crown prince from complicity in the grisly assassination. (Guardian) Additional read: “Former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia says the kingdom is lying about Khashoggi killing: ‘You don’t bring a bone saw to a negotiation’” Ya think? (Business Insider)

The Pacific Ocean’s Specific Owner: Critical trade disputes between China and the US are still ongoing, but tensions are rising even faster over which country will dominate the Pacific Ocean, specifically the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. In a meeting last week in Washington Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis traded barbs with their Chinese counterparts. Afterward, Pompeo opened a news conference referencing “our strong ties with a democratic Taiwan,” a particular anathema to China. The Chinese defense minister said later: “To achieve reunification is a mission for our party and our country…[if] this territorial integrity is under threat…[China would move to maintain it] at any cost.” US defense of Taiwan has stepped up considerably since John Bolton came on board as national security advisor last April. (NYT)

– “‘People are scared’: deadly legacy of Isis continues to shape lives in Iraq” (Guardian)

From American History X to Gen Z: Pew Research Center reports that post millennials from six to 21 years of age are the country’s most racially and ethnically diverse generation yet. They’re also on their way to becoming the best educated generation yet. Whether people born after 1996 are called Generation Z, or iGen, nearly half, 48 percent, are from communities of color. Also, “There’s much more Hispanic and Asian presence among the nation’s children and youth today,” said a senior researcher at Pew. (NPR)

– “It Was A Big, Blue Wave: Democrats Pick Up Most House Seats In A Generation” (NPR)

– “A Defeat for White Identity: What the midterms tell us about racial backlash and economic populism.” (NYT)

– “America’s Problem Isn’t Tribalism—It’s Racism: Only one of America’s major political parties relies on stoking hatred and fear against those outside its coalition.” (Atlantic)

– “Yes, It’s Almost Decision Time For 2020 Democratic Presidential Hopefuls” (NPR)

– “Do the Math. Moderate Democrats Will Not Win in 2020.: Learning the right lessons from the midterms is key for the party.” (NYT)

– “F.D.A. Plans to Seek a Ban on Menthol Cigarettes” (NYT)

– “The Earth is in a death spiral. It will take radical action to save us:Climate breakdown could be rapid and unpredictable. We can no longer tinker around the edges and hope minor changes will avert collapse” (Guardian)

– “Germany’s Real Political Divide Is Generational: Younger voters are fed up with the country’s history of pessimism and oppressive consensus.” (NYT) That is what they always say about young voters. But young voters don’t vote. Then they get old and maintain the status quo.

– “Edmunds: Black Friday Isn’t What It Used to Be.” Good, mindless capitalism wants us to be mindless consumers. Don’t spend, invest in yourself. Guard your wallet like you would guard your independence. (NYT)

– “How This All Happened: This is a short story [actually quite a long read] about what happened to the U.S. economy since the end of World War II.” (Collaborative Fund)

– “How Google And Amazon Got Away With Not Being Regulated” (Wired)

– “Quitting Instagram: She’s one of the millions disillusioned with social media. But she also helped create it.” We now know smoking is incredibly addictive and horrible for our health. In a few months-years-decades the same will be said of social media. In the meantime just because something doesn’t have a surgeon general’s warning doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful with it. (WaPo)

– “The world’s most expensive ham: A tiny organic farm in south-western Spain produces unconventional ham that sells for €4,100 (£3,600) a leg, and is recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s most expensive.” (BBC)

– “When men wore pearls: ‘Pearls are a global phenomenon, and like no other gem,’ says jewellery historian and curator Beatriz Chadour-Sampson. ‘They were a girl’s and a man’s best friend for many centuries. It’s only today that we consider pearls not appropriate for men to wear.’” (BBC)

– “Getting Into Harvard Is Hard. Here Are 4 Ways Applicants Get an Edge.:The federal case against Harvard University brought to light several factors that give applicants an edge.” (NYT)

– “How Podcasts Became a Seductive—and Sometimes Slippery—Mode of Storytelling” (New Yorker)

– “The buried secrets of the deadliest place on earth: Chicxulub Puerto, Mexico, is the centre of the impact crater that scientists believe was made when the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs smashed into the Earth’s surface.” (BBC)

– “Haunted by His Brother, He Revolutionized Physics: To John Archibald Wheeler, the race to explain time was personal.” (Nautilus)

– “The Watcher: A family bought their dream house. But according to the creepy letters they started to get, they weren’t the only ones interested in it.” (The Cut)

– “Medium is a poor choice for blogging” (Medium)

“In the present case it is a little inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible to any public office of trust or profit in the Republic. But I do not repine, for I am a subject of it only by force of arms.” – H.L. Mencken

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