International Courts, OpenAI Sued, & Paleo’s Disproven
May 1, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Wednesday! Today, we’re talking about Mexico vs. Ecuador, the U.S. and Canada vs. India, Kenya vs. flooding, Nicaragua vs. Germany (and Israel), Biden vs. marijuana, newspapers vs. OpenAI, and the paleo diet vs. science.
Here’s some good news: The White House has reformed the U.S. environmental review process to speed up approval of clean energy projects like wind and solar farms. Also, a new regulation from the FDA will gradually phase in oversight of new tests developed by laboratories, improving the safety and accuracy of medical tests.
“Old age, believe me, is a good and pleasant thing. It is true you are gently shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front stall as spectator.” – Confucius
Mexico Gets Judicial With It
It feels like there have been a bunch of international court battles in the news lately – this time, Mexico is the one that’s looking to join in on the fun. This Tuesday, Mexico took Ecuador to the International Court of Justice, claiming that the country violated international law when it raided the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest a former vice president who’d just been granted asylum by Mexico.
Mexico’s suit hopes to see Ecuador take “appropriate and immediate steps to provide full protection and security of diplomatic premises” within its borders and allow Mexico to clear its diplomatic premises in the country. It also calls on the court to provide Mexico with reparations and suspend Ecuador from the U.N.
Meanwhile, Ecuador has filed its own ICJ suit against Mexico, alleging that Mexico’s decision to grant asylum to Ecuador’s former vice president was a blatant attempt to “shield Mr. Glas from enforcement by Ecuador of its criminal law” which “constituted, among other things, a blatant misuse of the premises of a diplomatic mission.”
India Is, Somehow, Not In Deep
On Monday, the White House said it viewed India’s alleged role in two separate assassination plots in both Canada and the U.S. as “a serious matter.” According to a report by the Washington Post, India’s intelligence agency was directly involved in a plot to kill a prominent critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi living in the U.S., as well as another plot that ended with the shooting death of a Sikh activist in Canada last year.
India has responded to the WaPo report by calling it “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter,” adding that “speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful.” India’s government claims it wasn’t involved in the plots.
Normally, a foreign government being involved in the attempted murder of a U.S. citizen would likely raise some louder alarms, or at least some harsher criticism. However, the White House is courting India as a potential ally in its Cold War rehash with China, so the response to the plots has been quite muted – good to know where priorities lie. As one of America’s closest allies (literally), Canada has similarly played it cool, despite the “credible” evidence.
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Africa Needs An Ark
- There’s a flood of floods around the world, and this time the heavy rains are falling down in Africa. According to the country’s cabinet, water levels at two of Kenya’s hydroelectric dams have reached “historic highs” due to unusually high levels of seasonal rainfall, and local populations are already being threatened by the floods – 66 people died on Monday, and yesterday, the government ordered citizens to evacuate flood zones immediately or be moved by force.
- “We will assist you all and ensure we resettle you in an area that the government has identified,” said President William Ruto on a visit to one village where flood waters broke through a blocked tunnel, killing 48 people. Floods in the rest of Africa have killed over 150 people in Tanzania and Somalia, which border Kenya, and also affected hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia and Burundi.
A No-Go For Nicaragua
- On Tuesday, the International Court of Justice rejected Nicaragua’s request for the U.N. to block Germany from sending aid to Israel, which was also bundled with a request to force Berlin to resume its funding for the UNRWA aid agency. The ICJ voted 15-1 against Nicaragua’s request, saying that the order didn’t prove that Germany failed to prevent genocide in Gaza by sending weapons to Israel. The court did note its concern over the situation in Gaza, especially the living conditions of Palestinians.
- Germany is one of Israel’s staunchest supporters, with former chancellor Angela Merkel going as far as calling Israel’s security Germany’s “reason of state.” This is due to the atrocities that Nazi Germany committed against Jews during the Holocaust. Because of this, Berlin has cracked down on pro-Palestinian political activity to an extreme extent – schools have been granted the ability to ban Palestinian flags and keffiyeh scarves, and authorities have issued bans on many pro-Palestinian protests. Those not suppressed have been met with police violence and raids on organizers.
More Mixed Nuts
- Indonesia’s Mount Ruang erupts again, spewing ash and peppering villages with debris (AP)
- Philippines accuses China of damaging its vessel at hotly contested shoal (NBC)
- Estonia says Russia violates international rules with GPS interference (Reuters)
- Chinese scientist who first published COVID sequence stages protest after being locked out of lab (AP)
Middle East Mixed Nuts
- Rafah, Gaza: 20 dead after Israeli airstrike, hospital staff say (CNN)
- Attorneys inside and outside the administration urge Biden to cut off arms to Israel (Politico)
- Exclusive: Gaza hospital staff questioned by ICC war crimes prosecutors (Reuters)
- Gaza: Israeli PM Netanyahu says Rafah attack will happen regardless of deal (BBC)
Biden Bets Big On Blunts
- Dark Brandon is joining the blunt rotation. The Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to approve an opinion by the Department of Health and Human Services that marijuana should be reclassified from the most strict Schedule I to the less stringent Schedule III. Since 1971, marijuana has been in the same category as heroin, methamphetamines, and LSD.
- Schedule III substances include Tylenol with codeine, steroids, and testosterone. Rescheduling the drug will not only acknowledge that marijuana may have medical benefits, but will open the door for the study of those potentials. It will also help dispensaries by getting rid of IRS code Section 280E, which prohibits cannabis companies in states where weed is legalized from deducting ordinary business expenses.
Artificial Intelligence, Very Real Theft
- Yesterday, eight daily newspapers sued OpenAI and Microsoft for using their content to train ChatGPT. The copyright infringement suit argues the tech giants copied millions of stories from the newspapers “with impunity” and without permission or compensation.
- The suit also argues that ChatGPT sometimes attributes incorrect information to the newspapers, destroying their reputations – the example given was when ChatGPT claimed The Chicago Tribune recommended a baby product when the product had actually been recalled for safety reasons.
More Nuts In America
- Columbia University threatens to expel student protesters who occupied administration building (AP)
- No retrial for Arizona rancher accused of murder of Mexican man (Guardian)
- House Democrats announce they would save Speaker Mike Johnson if Marjorie Taylor Greene triggers her effort to oust him (CNN)
- Kristi Noem ‘had a shot’ at Trump VP slot before dog-killing boast, sources say (Guardian)
- Rep. Elise Stefanik seeks probe of special counsel Jack Smith over Trump 2020 election case (CBS)
- WATCH: Professor who correctly predicts elections says Biden can win despite latest polls (CNN)
Paleo Goes Plant-Based
- The paleo diet is a fad diet consisting of lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. It’s based on eating what early humans (allegedly) used to consume before they mastered the art of agriculture, which (allegedly) made us start eating too many grains and legumes. Proponents say that humans haven’t fully evolved to handle those foods and that a more hunter-gatherer-style diet can help with weight loss, and reduce inflammation and heart disease.
- According to new research published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, though, our hunter-gatherer ancestors might have eaten fewer mammoth steaks and more plant matter. The study focused on a group of people who lived in what’s now Morocco and examined their teeth and bones to determine their diets. They found that most of the humans actually got most of their dietary protein from plants instead of meat.
- The study’s lead author said, “While not all individuals primarily obtained their proteins from plants at Taforalt, it is unusual to document such a high proportion of plants in the diet of a pre-agricultural population.” Apparently, many of the subjects consumed “fermentable starchy plants” like wild cereals or acorns as a staple of their diets – don’t count on your favorite influencer changing their diet to include more of those ingredients, though.
More Loose Nuts
- Man injured after kicking bison in the leg while under influence of alcohol at Yellowstone (ABC)
- Louisiana Will Get a New City After a Yearslong Court Battle (NYT, $)
- For cicadas, it’s safety in numbers. Is climate change throwing off their timing? (NBC)
- The Latest Online Culture War Is Humans vs. Algorithms (Wired)
- Friends From the Old Neighborhood Turn Rivals in Big Tech’s A.I. Race (NYT, $)