Embrace the Messiness
September 24, 2019
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” – Bruce Lee
Leaving Sanctuary For Sanctions
After President Trump reimposed tough sanctions on Iran in May 2018, the country had hoped it could rely on European commitments to compensate for much of the revenue it was losing. At the 2018 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in August, European leaders were largely on Iran’s side as they tried desperately to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal.
This year’s UNGA — September 17-30 — is much different. Iran is now admitting how much damage the American-led sanctions have done to its economy — crashing the currency and turning the country’s economic mini-boom into a recession. Its American-educated foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reserved much of his anger for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, calling him a “warmonger”. But Zarif also had harsh words for the Europeans, saying Sunday they had “failed in every single one” of their specific commitments.
“They think they need some green light from the U.S.,” Zarif said, suggesting Britain, France and Germany had strung him along with promises they hadn’t intended to keep if it meant increased strain on their fractious relationship with the Trump administration.
President Hassan Rouhani and Zarif continue denying any Iranian involvement in the destruction of two Saudi Arabian oil facilities, but their assertions ring hollow. Prior to the Saudi attacks Trump’s offer of negotiations and France’s efforts to mediate appeared promising. Now France’s priorities have shifted — from brokering a meeting between Tehran and Washington, to just trying to prevent a military conflict.
Additional trailers
In The Name Of The Father, The Son, And The Holy Airbnb
- German society is moving away from religion and especially from the church. Religious orders are dying out; the number of monasteries and convents is rapidly shrinking. Fewer and fewer people are willing to dedicate their entire lives to God.
- In an effort to try keeping live-in communities from vanishing altogether an association of Catholic congregations has come up with a novel idea: women and men of any age can “live, pray, work and learn” in a monastery for three to 12 months as part of a “voluntary year.”
- Participants don’t commit to anything, and they can leave at anytime. It’s all about familiarizing people with monastic life and all its spiritual aspects. (Spiegel)
The Foley Of Man
- Man Made Music is a global sonic studio used to developing audio for TV, movies and radio. But for half of 2017 the team was working on a unique sound for Nissan’s electric vehicles — a “noise” the company’s hybrids and electric vehicles could make at certain speeds to announce themselves on the road.
- The complex task was in preparation for a federal safety regulation to take effect in 2020. Nissan will introduce “Canto” — a hum whose pitch rises as the car accelerates — on the Leaf next year. (NYT)
2 Out Of 3 Ain’t Great, Meatloaf
- Statistics — numbers — are often used more to persuade than inform. Statistics are not immutable facts.
- Nate Silver wrote in his 2012 book The Signal and the Noise: “The numbers have no way of speaking for themselves. We speak for them. We imbue them with meaning.” So when statistics are misused, they can have dangerous consequences, as anti-Brexiters saw in 2016.
- Data is playing an ever more prominent role in society. It is vital that people have a basic level of statistical literacy — the ability to spot ways in which numbers can be misused, and to be able to deconstruct claims based on statistics. (Aeon)
- We need to be educated on both quantitative and qualitative. The Decline of Historical Thinking (New Yorker, $): “That’s what history does best. It locates us and helps us understand how we got here and why things are the way they are. “History instills a sense of citizenship, and reminds you of questions to ask, especially about evidence,” Willis told me. In a follow-up e-mail after our conversation, Mikhail wrote, “A study of the past shows us that the only way to understand the present is to embrace the messiness of politics, culture, and economics.””
Additional World News
- US-North Korea nuclear talks are sputtering. South Korea is furious.: “The US position has been really harmful,” said a senior adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in. (Vox)
- The climate crisis explained in 10 charts: From the rise and rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to possible solutions (Guardian)
- He’s Trying To Fill In The Gaps On Google Street View — Starting With Zimbabwe (NPR)
- Police Dressed as Protesters: How Undercover Police in Hong Kong Severely Injured People (NYT, $)
- Trump’s Hold on Military Aid Blindsided Top Ukrainian Officials (NYT, $)
- China Scores Businesses, and Low Grades Could Be a Trade-War Weapon: Beijing hopes its social credit system will quickly punish companies accused of wrongdoing. U.S. firms could get hit, too. (NYT, $) and The Quantified Country (SupChina)
Keep Your Friends Close And Your Enemies Under Ukrainian Surveillance
- On Monday President Trump denied explicitly tying US military aid for Ukraine to a demand that its president investigate his political opponent, Joe Biden. Trump told reporters he hoped they’d see a transcript of the call, but then suggested releasing the transcript would set a bad precedent.
- Trump then escalated his attacks against Biden, and hyperbolically declared if a Republican ever did or said what Joe Biden did or said, the Republican would get the electric chair.
- Also on Monday the nonprofit government watchdog group Common Cause filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice, accusing Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani of illegally soliciting a political contribution from Zelensky and Ukranian officials by urging them, allegedly, to investigate Biden. (WaPo)
Additional USA News
- Think America’s fate hinges on the 2020 presidential race? You’re forgetting something: Democrats can’t execute a long-term political project without winning state-level races. Yet, the prize of the White House is distracting liberals from this fact (Guardian)
- The Democrats Don’t Have the Suburbs Sewn Up Yet: To build a national majority, the party has to win the areas around smaller cities, which have resisted the blue wave. (NYT, $)
- Trump critic and rising GOP star Ben Sasse is now a Trump apologist. How sadly predictable.: Sasse could have been a thought leader of post-Trumpian conservativism. What is he now? (NBC News)
- Donald Trump vs. the United States of America: Just the facts, in 40 sentences. (NYT, $)
- Silicon Valley Is One of the Most Polluted Places in the Country: Microchip manufacturers contaminated the groundwater in the 1980s. Almost 40 years later, the cleanup still isn’t complete. (The Atlantic, $)
- Congress Asks More than 80 Companies for Big Tech Complaints (NYT, $)
Starting A Healthy Movement Starts At Your Bowels
- Bowel health is largely determined by the vast population of bacteria that live in our intestine, called the gut microbiome. A high-fiber diet is crucial for healthy bowels, as these bacteria break down fiber into substances that have anti-inflammatory properties.
- Diets high in salt, saturated fat and red meat can increase the risk of inflammatory diseases.
- “Specific bacteria have been linked to bowel cancer,” said one expert. “We think that the maintenance of [the bacteria] is probably linked to diet, because you find higher rates of bowel cancer in places with high red meat consumption, and lower levels in areas where diets are based more on high fiber content.”
- So diet is crucial, but remember to exercise, reduce your stress levels, and don’t put off the urge to go. (Guardian)
Don’t Mislead My Heart, My Achy Breaky Heart
- Heart attack symptoms can be surprisingly misleading, especially if they appear gradually. A recent US study published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing found that while 57 percent of patients reported an “abrupt symptom onset,” the other 43 percent experienced “gradual symptom onset.”
- The study’s author said both are a medical emergency and require immediate help, but those with a gradual onset of symptoms experienced, on average, eight hour delays in getting life saving treatment.
- Plaque buildup creating a blockage in arteries causes heart attacks. Symptoms can be sudden or gradual depending on how severe the blockage is. Apart from acute chest pains and sharp arm pain (usually in the left arm), symptoms include chest tightness, tingling fingers, jaw pain, stomach or back pain, breathlessness and indigestion.
- One cardiac nurse said “the nerves that send heart pain to the brain also supply the jaw and the left arm and so on.” The brain can’t distinguish where the pain is coming from, so if you feel pain in a place you think is unrelated to a heart attack, she advises you err on the side of caution and call 911 or an ambulance. (Guardian)
LAST MORSELS
“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one” – Bruce Lee
LAST SONG