The Avocado Toast Whisperer | Trump’s Supreme Legacy | Technology & Homelessness

“We grew up founding our dreams on the infinite promise of American advertising. I still believe that one can learn to play the piano by mail and that mud will give you a perfect complexion.”

“Thanks again for saving me. Someday, I’ll save you too.”

– Zelda Fitzgerald

“I married the heroine of my stories.”

– F. Scott Fitzgerald

Will Huawei and Chinese Tech Companies Dominate Western Markets?: In the 32 years since Huawei Technologies’ founding, the company has become a successful multinational conglomerate as the largest telecommunications-equipment manufacturer, and the second largest manufacturer of smartphones, in the world. Eighteen of those 32 years were spent building the brand in Europe. Hard work and innovative products, alongside the subtle lobbying of providing jobs, corporate and charitable sponsorships, and research investments, enabled the company to ingratiate itself with European governments. However, growing concern over possible security risks now threatens to unravel Huawei’s careful cultivation of its huge European market.

Increasingly, the US has restricted the use of Chinese technology for fear it could be used for espionage. Now, Germany, France, and the Czech Republic are also considering restricting Huawei from their 5G networks, and the head of Britain’s intelligence service has raised alarms about using Chinese networking technology. The director of a policy think tank in Berlin said of Huawei: “Until there were red flags on security risks, it was smooth sailing for them in Europe. The movement that you’ve seen over the past three months is all in one direction: to find regulatory measures to curtail the use of Chinese equipment in Europe.”

Huawei steadfastly denies any wrongdoing, and indeed, one cybersecurity expert said the shift in Europe was due more to suspicions about China than any specific actions on Huawei’s part. The real culprit is Beijing’s history of hacking and stealing trade secrets, its poor record on human rights and internet censorship, and its cybersecurity rules that require network operators to defend national security interests. “The Chinese are increasingly departing from the common vision that we’ve had at the UN level about what our cybernorms are, and how we follow international law in cyberspace,” the expert said. “They have no willingness to play along in this space.”

Additional reads: “China Transforms, and a Factory Owner Struggles to Follow” (NYT) and “U.S. Will Seek To Extradite Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, Canadian Diplomat Says” (NPR) and “Huawei calls for swift end to case of executive arrested in Canada” (Reuters)

The Bourne Identity or The Accidental Spy?: The Russian court-appointed lawyer for Paul Whelan, the ex-marine arrested in Moscow in December on an unspecified espionage charge, said his client was carrying state secrets when arrested but may not have realized it. “I can only confirm that information constituting state secrets was found in the course of Whelan’s detention,” the lawyer told reporters Tuesday outside a courtroom. “I do not know how he got it, and what he was supposed to do with it; it is also unknown whether Whelan was aware that he possessed secret information.” Whelan will remain in Lefortovo prison at least until February 28 while authorities continue their investigation. If ultimately convicted, he could be sentenced to 20 years. Whelan is the security director for a Michigan-based automotive parts supplier and holds US, Canadian, British and Irish citizenship. His family said he was in Moscow for a wedding. (Guardian)

The Importance of Being Earnest With Climate Change: 72 percent of Americans now say global warming is personally important to them, while 73 percent accept that it’s actually happening, according to a poll taken in November and December by the Yale program on climate change communication. This is the highest level of concern since Yale started polling the question in 2008. A smaller proportion, 62 percent, understands that humans are the primary cause of warming. Yale’s findings are backed by findings from a separate new research by the University of Chicago and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.(Guardian)

Additional read: “Greenland’s ice melting faster than scientists previously thought – study: The pace of ice loss has increased four-fold since 2003 as enormous glaciers are depositing ever larger chunks of ice into the Atlantic ocean, where it melts, causing sea levels to rise” (Guardian)

Her Royal Highness The Avocado Toast Whisperer: Prince Harry’s bride, born Rachel Meghan Markle, acquired several royal appellations after her marriage. She’s Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Sussex, the Countess of Dumbarton, Lady Kilkeel, and Princess Henry of Wales. Now she’s earned a new title, this one conferred upon her by an old friend, her former makeup artist, Daniel Martin, who was visiting over the weekend. He announced it on Instagram: Avocado Toast Whisperer. (Guardian)

– “Opinion: What I Learned Leading America’s 1st Nuclear Inspection In North Korea” (NPR)

– “Exclusive: Iraqi scientist says he helped ISIS make chemical weapons” (WaPo)

– “Top diplomat for European affairs resigns from State Department” (WaPo)

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Trump’s Legacy Will be Preserved for Decades: On Tuesday the Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of allowing the Trump administration to enforce its plan to restrict transgender people from serving in the militarywhile the legality of such a plan continues to be debated in lower courts. Dissenting were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. (Guardian)

The Supreme Court has agreed to take up its first gun case in nearly a decade. It’s a right-to-carry case out of New York as the city currently bans transporting permitted handguns outside city lines, even if the gun is not loaded and is locked in a container; therefore, as it stands, guns can really only be taken to the handful of shooting ranges within city limits. The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association is challenging that regulation. Five conservative justices now sit on the court, and it is expected that they are less likely to approve of gun regulations and laws. So depending on how broadly the court rules, the case could have wide ramifications for gun rights and gun restrictions across the country. (NPR)

– “Wilbur Ross To Testify On Census Citizenship Question At House Oversight Hearing” (NPR)

– “These 3 Former Kansas Republicans Say They No Longer Felt At Home In The GOP” (NPR)

– “U.S. home sales hit three-year low, prices rise slowly” (Reuters)

Does Technology Cause Homelessness?: Seattle, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley are the cities with the greatest concentration of technology companies and also one of the highest concentrations of homelessness. (Seattle Times) If technology is so great why are there so many people without homes in these cities with so many billionaires? City officials in Oakland, California wanted to clear the homeless communities off their streets, so last year they began moving people into tiny sheds under a freeway. Officials called their “tuff shed” experiment an innovative emergency tool to combat homelessness and give people a safer form of shelter and security while working to get them services and housing. Critics say housing homeless people in makeshift structures that resemble basic toolsheds is a visible symbol of the obscene housing crisis in a region that’s home to staggering tech wealth, rapid gentrification, and widespread displacement of black residents. Both are right. (Guardian)

Additional reads:

– “LA’s Battle for Venice Beach: Homeless Surge Puts Hollywood’s Progressive Ideals to the Test” (Hollywood Reporter)

– “The Fight to Keep Teachers in Tech Hubs From Being Priced Out” (NYT)

– “Why are we relying on tech overlords like Microsoft for affordable housing?” (Guardian)

People are really starting to dislike the elites, especially the teach ones, because they have created companies and industries where everyone wins except a small number of shareholders:

– “The new elite’s phoney crusade to save the world – without changing anything” (Guardian)

– “Record private jet flights into Davos as leaders arrive for climate talk” (Guardian)

– “Why US rightwing populists and their global allies disagree over big tech” (Guardian)

Technology is oftentimes a codeword for efficiency. And John Henry can tell you that machines and robots are the masters of efficiency. When robots start taking jobs en masse there will likely be a popular-human revolt. “People keep attacking Waymo’s autonomous cars: So is it everyday troublemaking, or is this a meaningful protest to automation?” (Fast Company) “Uber is exploring autonomous bikes and scooters” (Tech Crunch) “The AI market is growing, but how quickly is tough to pin down” (Tech Crunch) In the short run companies might not decide to go with robots: “Robot Hotel Loses Love for Robots: The robot revolution will have to wait at the Henn na Hotel in Japan, which is laying off low-performing droids” (Wall Street Journal) But in the long run, technologists are drawn to robots like moths to a flame: “A Poker Playing Robot Goes To Work For The Pentagon” (Wired) A major problem with society today is the lack of regulation at existing and frontier technologies. We have a Congress that doesn’t even understand social networks. How can we expect them to adequately regulate and safeguard privacy, artificial intelligence, and robots?

“By the time a person has achieved years adequate for choosing a direction, the die is cast and the moment has long since passed which determined the future.” – Zelda Fitzgerald

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