Big Oil, Bank Rates, & Labeling AI Content
May 10, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Friday! Today, we’ll be talking about Trump’s promise to Big Oil, declassified U.S. intelligence, Indonesia’s president, the Bank of England, how the GOP feels about Biden withholding weapons from Israel, gun thefts, and TikTok labeling AI content.
Here’s some good news to hold you over through the weekend: Vermont passed a bill this week to make big fossil fuel companies pay for damage from global-warming-fueled weather disasters. Also, the Treasury Department found that after just three months, the Inflation Reduction Act has saved Americans an estimated $600 million on EVs through tax credits. Over in Iceland, the “world’s largest” plant designed to suck planet-heating pollution out of the atmosphere began operating this week. Finally, a boom in wind and solar meant a record-breaking 30% of the world’s electricity was produced by renewables last year, marking a major turning point in the shift to clean energy.
“Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.” – John F. Kennedy
Trump’s Not Asking For Chump Change
You wouldn’t expect a president to go whale-hunting during a busy election season, but that’s exactly what Donald Trump is doing – though in this context, we’re using “whale” to mean “high roller.” Last month, the former (and maybe future) president sat down with some of America’s top oil executives at his Mar-a-Lago resort to ask for campaign cash, offering promises of environmental deregulation in exchange for $1 billion.
Citing an increase in environmental policies under Biden despite big oil spending over $400 million on lobbying efforts last year alone, Trump said that he would end Biden’s freeze on new liquified natural gas exports on his first day in office, and also said he would scrap the Biden EPA’s recently-finalized tailpipe emissions standards.
Despite Trump’s characterization of his $1 billion ask as a bargain deal, oil executives haven’t exactly flocked to the Trump campaign like Black Friday shoppers to a Walmart. The Trump campaign has received just $6.4 million from big oil in the first quarter of 2024, according to analysis by one climate group. However, some oil executives are planning to hold a large fundraising event for the campaign in the next few months, so there’s still time for cash to flow.
Speaking Too Loudly And Carrying A Big Dossier
The U.S. has increasingly turned to declassifying intelligence documents to score points on the world stage. For example, in February 2022, the Biden administration published intelligence material regarding the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, and showed that the Kremlin was considering using chemical and biological weapons.
In an article in Foreign Affairs, one former CIA analyst and a former CIA acting director argue that the strategy of regularly declassifying intelligence for short-term gains might cause damage to the U.S. intelligence community in the long run. They claim that releasing intelligence can tip off adversaries about U.S. intelligence sources and methods, and might even make future intelligence assets wary of sharing secrets with American spy agencies. They also point to the politicization of intelligence, citing the Gulf of Tonkin incident where Lyndon B. Johnson misrepresented intel to Congress, manipulating lawmakers to give him increased wartime powers.
The authors encouraged the American intelligence community to create stronger guidelines regarding the release of intelligence, warning that routine declassifications would eventually erode America’s intelligence advantage.
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Banking On Good Vibes
- It looks like banks are cautiously optimistic about inflation following a period of record-high rates. The Bank of England decided to maintain interest rates at their 16-year high of 5.25% on Thursday but indicated that it might move to cut rates as early as June as inflation looks to be cooling off. The move mirrors the U.S. Federal Reserve’s call to maintain high interest rates for at least another month.
- Things are looking up for the U.K. as the economy slowly rises out of recession. The Bank of England said that the economy rose 0.4% in the first three months of 2024, marking the end of a recession that began late last year. Inflation, meanwhile, has been high since 2021, when Covid and the conflict in Ukraine pushed up prices worldwide. Central banks like the Bank of England often raise interest rates in order to cool off borrowing and reduce prices.
New President, Old Problems
- In February, Prabowo Subianto (a politician, businessman, and retired army general) won Indonesia’s presidential elections. But up until late April, it was unclear if he’d actually end up being sworn in on inauguration day. On April 22, Indonesia’s Constitutional Court dismissed a case brought by two losing candidates in the presidential elections, who claimed that the voting process was riddled with government interference and voting fraud, but many still take issue with the results.
- Prabowo’s vice presidential running mate is the 37-year-old son of Indonesia’s outgoing president, who concentrated power into the presidency and crippled the nation’s anti-corruption watchdog in 2019. Prabowo himself, meanwhile, is the product of Indonesia’s past authoritarian regime. He attended the American School in London for high school and received military training at Fort Bragg and Fort Benning in the U.S.
- He then returned to Indonesia and quickly became the head of Kopassus, Indonesia’s special forces command. He was dismissed in 1998 due to his role in multiple human rights abuses (the murder of civilians and the “disappearing” of student activists). He was somehow able to avoid any consequences for his actions in exchange for giving up power at the time but has now found himself back at the top of Indonesian politics. President Biden and other world leaders have congratulated Prabowo on his victory despite his past.
More Mixed Nuts
- Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people (AP)
- Natalie Elphicke apologises for comments about ex-husband’s victims (BBC)
- World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target (Guardian)
- Saudi forces ‘told to kill’ to clear land for eco-city (BBC)
- World Food Prize goes to 2 who helped protect vital seeds in an Arctic Circle vault (AP)
- Chinese PR boss says sorry after glorifying work-till-you-drop culture (Guardian)
- Is a previously unheard-of First Nation just Canada’s latest Pretendian case? (Guardian)
Weaponizing Weaponry
- During a CNN interview on Wednesday, former President Biden said he would not send weapons to Israel if it invades Rafah, where over a million Palestinians have been forced to shelter. Former President Trump took to Truth Social yesterday to accuse Biden of “taking the side of these terrorists, just like he has sided with the Radical Mobs taking over our college campuses.”
- Trump wasn’t the only Republican with thoughts, either. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) tweeted that Biden “has put a hold on vital military aid to Israel because he is more concerned with appeasing his political base than standing by our allies. Jewish-Americans will remember this betrayal in November.” Even Sen. Mitt Romney said, “We stand by allies, we don’t second guess them.”
Lock Your Doors (And Your Guns)
- An analysis of FBI data by the gun safety group Everytown found that the rate of guns stolen from cars in the U.S. has tripled over the last decade, making this the largest source of stolen guns in the country. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Director Steve Dettelbach said the data should encourage Americans to adopt safer storage practices.
- The rate of stolen guns from cars increased nearly every year since 2014, with a significant jump during the pandemic. Nearly 112,000 guns were reported stolen in 2022, and just over half of those were from cars. “People don’t go to a mall and steal a firearm from a locked car to go hunting. Those guns are going straight to the street,” said Dettelbach.
More Nuts In America
- Barron Trump: Donald Trump’s youngest son to play role at Republican convention (BBC)
- USC faculty body votes to censure university leaders over protests (Axios)
- Roger Forston: Airman fatally shot by Florida deputy in wrong apartment, family attorney says (CNN)
- Houston mayor says police chief is out amid probe into thousands of dropped cases (NBC)
- Judge rejects Hunter Biden’s appeal on gun charges, paving way for trial in June (ABC)
- Noncitizen voting is rare. Republicans are focusing on it anyway. (WaPo, $)
- Southeast is lashed by more severe weather after deadly storms and tornadoes hit Tennessee (CNN)
TikTok Really Wants To Put A Label On It
- TikTok is taking on AI-generated content. The embattled (at least in the U.S.) social media company has begun rolling out a new program to label artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) in order to prevent the spread of misinformation.
- “AI enables incredible creative opportunities, but can confuse or mislead viewers if they don’t know content was AI-generated,” said the company in a statement on Thursday. “Labeling helps make that context clear—which is why we label AIGC made with TikTok AI effects, and have required creators to label realistic AIGC for over a year.”
- Meta and Google have similarly announced that their platforms will label AI-generated content. TikTok’s take on the labels will see the platform adopt the Content Credentials technology, a type of tamper-evident metadata developed by Adobe that can be attached to videos. TikTok’s adoption is the first time that Content Credentials will be used on a large social media platform, positioning the company as a test case for wider adoption. It looks like TikTok wants some good press as its legal battle against the U.S. government is about to kick off.
More Loose Nuts
- Cruise ship sails into New York City port with 44-foot dead whale across its bow (ABC)
- Supreme Court sides with music producer in copyright case over sample in Flo Rida hit (AP)
- Spanish investigation into Shakira’s alleged tax evasion dropped (Guardian)
- Malaysia plans to give orangutans to countries that buy palm oil (Guardian)
- Utah offers 20 team name ideas, including Frost, Hive, Venom (ESPN)
- Internet sleuths say Noelia Voigt left hidden message in Miss USA resignation: ‘I am silenced’ (NBC)
- Neuralink’s first implant partly detached from patient’s brain (Guardian)