Farmers, Pollution, VPNs, & Influencers Deliver The News
November 19, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Tuesday! Today, we’ll be talking about the G20 summit, escalations with Russia, farmers, pollution, winter weather, where people get their news, and VPNs.
Here’s some good news: The Biden administration sent Congress a roughly $100 billion emergency funding request to rebuild communities hit by disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Also, a pregnant cow was rescued by firefighters after she got stuck in a small swimming pool in Ketton, Rutland. The picture of her being lifted out of the pool is truly adorable.
“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” – Walter Winchell
Lula Wants To Feed Ya
It’s been a fraught couple of weeks in international news, but here’s a reminder that, somewhere out there, someone is trying to improve the world. In Brazil yesterday, where world leaders are meeting to participate in the G20 summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a global alliance aimed at combating hunger worldwide, named (imaginatively) the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.
In his opening remarks, Lula cited statistics from the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization which show that there are 733 million undernourished people worldwide. “In a world that produces nearly 6 billion tonnes of food every year, this is unacceptable,” he declared. “It is the task of those gathered around this table to address this shameful scourge that dishonours humanity.”
Thus far, 82 countries (including all 19 G20 nations), 26 international organizations, nine financial institutions, and 31 philanthropic foundations and non-governmental organizations have all announced their intention to support the new endeavor, but it’s not clear how or what the alliance will do to fix the hunger problem.
Russian Into A Global Conflict
Back to your regularly-scheduled programming, we’ve got an unsurprising development in the Russia-Ukraine conflict – which might become the Russia-Ukraine-U.S. conflict if things get worse. In response to President Biden’s move authorizing Ukraine to use American long-range ballistic missiles to strike targets in Russia, the Kremlin has warned that the decision marks “a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict.” What does that mean? Nobody’s sure yet, and apparently the only way to find out is firing a couple U.S. missiles towards the world’s second-biggest nuclear power.
“This is a very big step toward the beginning of the third world war,” said one of Russia’s top lawmakers yesterday. That statement is in line with Putin’s previous remarks that his country would treat any such development as NATO’s “direct participation” in the war.
In an interestingly-timed development, Sweden published a 32-page brochure instructing its citizens on how to prepare for a possible conflict with Russia. The pamphlet advises Swedes to join volunteer defense organizations, donate blood, take courses in CPR, and organize with neighbors in order to help shore up their country against a possible Russian attack.
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Pitchforks Are In The Air
- On Monday, French farmers stepped up their protests against the E.U.-Mercosur trade agreement, which will see the E.U. strengthen its economic ties with the South American Mercosur bloc (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia). French farmers say the deal would be unfair to them because South American farmers aren’t subject to Europe’s more stringent environmental regulations, but proponents say that Europe needs to expand its trade partners as the U.S. transitions into a Trump presidency. Despite the pressure on France’s government to oppose the trade bill, the E.U. should be able to pass some of the most controversial measures without affirmation from Paris.
- Across the Channel, U.K. farmers staged their own protests yesterday. A line of tractors made its way towards London in preparation for a larger protest in front of the Palace of Westminster scheduled for today. U.K. farmers are protesting an inheritance tax included in the Labour government’s new budget, which will raise taxes on land inheritances worth more than £1 million. Farmers claim the tax will affect them disproportionately, and one representative of the protests says the tax shows that Labour “has become urban… divorced from a big section of the community.”
Smog Is Also In The Air
- What’s more November than pumpkin spice lattes, crisp fall air, and a turkey on the table? In Delhi, the answer is, apparently, smog. On Monday, air pollution levels across the city spiked to their highest level of the year. The day’s 24-hour air quality index (AQI) reached 484, almost ten times the AQI that India’s Central Pollution Control Board has designated as “good” (0-50).
- These catastrophic levels of smog have become a yearly occurrence in India’s most populated city. As the air gets colder in the late fall, it traps more smog lower in the atmosphere. Making things worse are two factors – first, some local farmers burn their fields to clear them after the fall harvest; second, as the weather gets colder, people are also more likely to burn fires for warmth at home.
- Both of those issues add more smoke and particulates to the air, which is already full of fumes from cars and industrial sources. Local authorities have tried for years to get a handle on the situation, but a lack of enforcement and the fact that a lot of the pollution comes from crop fires outside of Delhi have only made the pollution problem worse.
More Mixed Nuts
- Telecoms cable in Baltic Sea may have been severed, says Finnish owner (Guardian)
- Amsterdam violence exposes anti-immigrant Islamophobia in the Netherlands (NBC)
- North Korean leader calls for expanding his nuclear forces in the face of alleged US threats (AP)
Middle East Mixed Nuts
- An Israeli airstrike hits an area in central Beirut near the Lebanese government headquarters and several embassies (ABC)
- Armed looters hijack almost 100 trucks carrying aid supplies into Gaza (Guardian)
- At least 34 killed in Israeli strike on Beit Lahia, northern Gaza (BBC)
Not Thankful For This Weather
- Next week is one of the busiest travel weeks of the year thanks to Thanksgiving, which, of course, means Mother Nature is ready to ruin your plans. The Midwest, the Southeast, the mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast are all expected to see rain and snow this week, with more than 25 million people covered by National Weather Service watches and warnings related to winter storm activity yesterday.
- The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes in San Diego said the incoming atmospheric river in the PNW — with likely impacts Tuesday through Friday — is predicted to be an AR3- or AR4-level phenomenon, indicating strong to extreme precipitation. This will bring a chance of snow to parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
#GRWM To Influence American Politics
- A new Pew Research Center survey found that about 21% of U.S. adults get their information from news influencers, citing the fact that creators have “helped them better understand current events and civic issues.” Unsurprisingly, the number was higher among young adults, with 37% of people ages 18 to 29 saying they turn to influencers for news.
- This year’s Democratic convention was the first to bring in social media content creators, credentialing 200 of them for the event to try to connect with younger audiences. The Republican convention hosted more than 70 influencers as part of a content creator program. TikTok is the only site where left-leaning influencers outnumber those on the right.
More Nuts In America
- Trump names Brendan Carr, senior GOP leader at FCC, to lead the agency (AP)
- Trump confirms plan to declare national emergency, use military for mass deportations (ABC)
- House Ethics panel to meet Wednesday as Gaetz question looms (Politico)
- Democratic US Rep. Mikie Sherrill announces run for New Jersey governor (AP)
- After Democrats lost the working class, union leaders say it’s time to ‘reconstruct the Democratic Party’ (NBC)
Your VPN Can’t Protect You From Religion
- Excuse us, your usage of a computer program is actually against our religious beliefs! According to Pakistan’s top council of clerics, the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) is against Islamic laws. On Monday, Raghib Naeemi, chairman of Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology, said that VPNs allow people to access sites banned by the country’s government (including X/Twitter), meaning they can be banned by the council thanks to its mandate to regulate anything contributing to the “spread of evil.”
- In his statement, Naeemi added that any platforms or tools – VPNs included – that help spread controversial, blasphemous, or anti-government propaganda “should be stopped immediately.” People all across the world use VPNs to dodge location-related content blocks, government censorship, or just anonymize their internet browsing. In Pakistan, the move to outlaw VPNs might be aimed at shutting down supporters of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who plan to march on Islamabad to pressure the government into releasing him from prison.
More Loose Nuts
- No planes and no ‘spoilers.’ How one man trekked from Egypt to Japan without flying (NPR)
- Burglars steal vehicles from royal Windsor Castle estate that’s home to Prince William and Kate (NBC)
- Accused of violating worker rights, SpaceX and Amazon go after labor board (NPR)
- ‘The View’ Tackles ‘Morning Joe’-Donald Trump Détente: Sunny Hostin Slams “Kissing The Ring” (Deadline)
- Earth ring theory may shed light on an unexplained ancient climate event, scientists say (CNN)
Team Thoughts
Kayli – That statistic about TikTok having left-leaning influencers probably won’t help their case when they try to argue that they should be allowed to stick around in the U.S.
Marcus – Some doctor I follow on Instagram posted a poll showing that people trust him more than the CDC. Insane.
