Aid Workers, Billionaires, Musical AI, & Jon Stewart vs. Apple
April 3, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Wednesday! Today, we’re talking about the World Central Kitchen tragedy, Wisconsin’s campaign financing, Biden and Xi’s conversation, Forbes’ list of billionaires, anti-Muslim incidents, musicians calling out the use of AI, and Jon Stewart’s problem with Apple.
Here’s some good news: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a new safety rule on Tuesday requiring two-person crews on railroads. The Biden administration is eager to introduce new rail regulations after the incident in East Palestine, Ohio, last year. Also, U.S. nonprofit Pure Earth, which works with communities across the Global South to help fix environmental problems left behind by mining, is bringing the southern Peruvian jungle in the Madre de Dios region back to life.
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” – Dalai Lama
Israel Doesn’t Want Aid
Early Tuesday morning, three IDF airstrikes killed seven aid workers in Gaza working with the nonprofit World Central Kitchen (WCK) to distribute food to the starving enclave. The convoy of WCK vehicles was traveling through Gaza with the knowledge of the IDF. At least two of the convoy’s three vehicles were marked with WCK insignias, and the volunteers were wearing vests with the logo. The vehicles were reduced to smoking husks by the attacks, indicating that multiple strikes were fired at each one.
One former British Army artillery officer and munitions expert interviewed by CNN said that the damage dealt to each car was consistent with “highly accurate drone-fired missiles.” He said that it was “hard to believe” that the incident was an accident, as drone-fired missiles are fired with the help of other surveillance drones, which should have been able to spot the logos on the vehicles’ roofs.
The Israeli military is “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident,” but the damage has been done – the WCK and another aid organization collaborating with the group have announced that they will be pausing operations in Gaza. So far, at least 196 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since last October, according to the U.N.
Wisconsinites Don’t Want Cheese
In Tuesday’s primary elections, Wisconsin voters cast ballots in the presidential primaries, and also on a pair of Republican-backed constitutional amendments, one of which would ban the use of private money to fund election efforts in the state.
The amendment came in response to funds provided to state election officials by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. The money, part of a $300 million donation to the Center for Tech and Civic Life, was sent to local election officials nationwide to help them buy the supplies needed to smoothly run elections at the peak of the pandemic. The five largest cities in the state received $8.8 million split between them, with about $10 million divided around the state’s largest 200 communities.
Republicans have nicknamed the funding “Zuckerbucks,” and have complained that the funding mainly went to Democratic strongholds in the state. “There’s no guarantee that the election will be funded fully in the absence of outside money,” said the head of Wisconsin’s League of Women Voters. Voters in smaller towns, she added, might be deterred by long lines brought about by a lack of workers thanks to lower funding.
A Quick Superpowered Phone Call
- U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke for the first time since they met face-to-face at the APEC summit in San Francisco last November on Tuesday. In their phone meeting, the two leaders touched on the usual friction points (U.S. export bans on superconductors to China, Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea, etc.), but also areas where the superpowers have space to collaborate, including cutting down on narcotics, tackling climate change, and setting up guidelines for AI.
- The call also served as a check-in for collaborations established last year, including a pledge to curb the spread of fentanyl and re-established military-to-military communications between the two countries. The White House said that the two leaders hope to meet in person again this year.
The Rich Are Eating Good
- Forbes released its annual list of global billionaires yesterday, and there are more of them than ever before – and boy, are they rich. Forbes’ list shows that there are 2,781 billionaires in the world as of 2024, and they’re worth about $14.2 trillion in total — that’s 141 more billionaires compared to 2023, and a $2 trillion increase from last year as well.
- Bernard Arnault and his family, the heads of the LVMH luxury brands conglomerate, topped the list in terms of net worth, clocking in at $233 billion. Second fiddle to the LVMH gang was Elon Musk, who’s now worth about $195 billion after both Tesla and Twitter have seen their valuations dip over the past year. In third and fourth place were Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, who are worth $195 billion and $177 billion, respectively.
More Mixed Nuts
- 1 dead, 2 injured in Finland school shooting, 12-year-old suspect (USA Today)
- Fire at Istanbul nightclub kills dozens during renovation work, state media says (CNN)
- Benedict backed me up on rights for LGBTQ couples, Pope Francis says (NBC)
- American teenager among 3 killed in an avalanche near the Swiss resort of Zermatt (NBC)
- Ukraine attacks Shahed drone factory, oil refinery deep inside Russia (Politico)
Islamophobia Is Back On The Menu, Unfortunately
- The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released its 2023 numbers this week, which found a massive uptick in anti-Muslim bias incidents in the U.S. The group received a total of 8,061 complaints in 2023, the highest number of such incidents recorded in 30 years, with nearly half of them occurring after October 7.
- The most common complaints CAIR received in 2023 were over immigration and asylum (which made up 20% of all complaints), followed by employment discrimination (15%), education discrimination (8.5%), and hate crimes and incidents (7.5%). From 2021 to 2022, there was actually a decrease in reports, so this was a very notable shift.
Artists Against AI, Again
- Over 200 musical artists have signed an open letter from the Artist Rights Alliance, an artist-led non-profit organization that advocates for musicians, urging AI developers and digital music platforms to stop using AI “to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.” Among those signing the letter are Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, and Smokey Robinson.
- “We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem,” the letter reads. Among the concerns expressed was that using preexisting work to train AI models to ultimately replace artists would “substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists.”
More Nuts In America
- Trump posts $175 million bond in New York civil fraud case (CNN)
- Judge rejects Hunter Biden’s bid to dismiss tax charges (Politico)
- RFK Jr. argues that Biden is a bigger threat to democracy than Trump (CNN)
- Protest vote over Biden’s handling of Gaza lands in Wisconsin (NPR)
- Arizona abortion rights amendment backers says they’ve gathered signatures needed for 2024 ballot (NBC)
You Khan’t Interview Her
- According to “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, Apple actively discouraged the media personality from interviewing Federal Trade Commission Chairperson Lina Khan during his tenure hosting a show and podcast on Apple TV. Stewart told the story as he hosted Khan on his show, which aired on Comedy Central late Monday night.
- “I wanted to have you on a podcast and Apple asked us not to do it,” Stewart told Khan on her “Daily Show” appearance. “They literally said ‘please don’t talk to her,’ having nothing to do with what you do for a living. I think they just … I didn’t think they cared for you is what happened … Like, what is that sensitivity? Why are they so afraid to even have these conversations out in the public sphere?”
- Under Khan’s leadership, the FTC hasn’t actually targeted Apple, though it has challenged Amazon, Google, and Microsoft in multiple anti-monopoly suits. However, the U.S. Department of Justice recently announced a massive antitrust suit against Apple accusing the tech giant of perpetuating a monopoly over the smartphone industry.
More Loose Nuts
- New York inmates are suing to watch the solar eclipse (ABC)
- Supporting the team or the SS? German soccer jersey with No. 44 pulled over Nazi symbolism (NBC)
- “Put the Phone Away or Pay” campaign targets distracted driving (Axios)
- Eight passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian cruise ship left without them (NBC)
- Costco begins offering Ozempic prescriptions to some members (CNN)