October 27, 2020

empowering you with insights and information from the edge of today’s headlines

Politics

American Consumerisms: Americans have been stocking up on a lot of items during the pandemic (toilet paper, hand sanitizer, board games), but one item that has been on the must-have list: military gear. Sales have jumped 20 times compared to last year, as Americans prepare for a rough climate post-election. Following televised protests this summer, Americans were exposed to the plethora of available tactical gear. The majority of consumers for these sites has turned from law enforcement to civilians — the biggest seller on Gladiator Solutions is a $220 body-armor plate meant to withstand bullets fired from an AK-47.

Surprise Winner: The mayor of a small village in Russia was running unopposed in the recent election, and in order to create an illusion of democracy, he asked Marina Udgodskaya to run against him. Udgodskaya cleaned city hall, and the mayor expected an easy victory. True to 2020, Udgodskaya won the election, and she agreed to be sworn in, more than doubling her salary to 29,000 rubles, or about $380 a month, and settled into the mayor’s office in city hall. Non-democratic democracies often create the illusion of choice by installing a patsy to run against a political candidate, as Putin has done in the last few elections. But every so often, the people find their voice, and choose the unexpected.

Sudan: Sudan has agreed to normalize relations between itself and Israel, following a brokered agreement with the US. Prior to agreeing to the reconciliation, however, the US agreed to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism (this designation was assigned in 1993 and resulted in significant and painful sanctions). But the designation was removed only after Sudan agreed to pay $335 million to the US, earmarked for American victims of terrorism launched from Sudanese soil. And Sudan has already signaled that the full accord could only come with ratification by the national parliament, which has yet to be formed. While we approve of the prospect of peace, we’d prefer that blackmail wasn’t the motive, and that terrorists couldn’t pay their way out of accountability.

Human Rights: Last week the UN General Assembly elected 14 new members to its Human Rights Council. The new members included human rights abusers such as Cuba, China, Venezuela and Russia, while Saudi Arabia failed to garner enough support (irony does exist). As the head of the UN Watch group said, “electing these dictatorships as UN judges on human rights is like making a gang of arsonists into the fire brigade." The US already pulled out of the council in 2018, as the Trump administration cited alleged bias against Israel.

French Boycott: Muslims around the world all calling for a boycott of French goods following clashes over caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. (A French teacher was beheaded after showing satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons to a classroom.) Pakistan’s parliament on Monday passed a unanimous resolution that accused French President Emmanuel Macron of propagating “hate-driven acts under the garb of freedom of expression.” Kuwaiti stores pulled French yogurts and bottles of sparkling water from their shelves, Qatar University canceled a French culture week, and calls to stay away from the Carrefour grocery store chain were trending on social media in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Protests have been held in Iraq, Turkey and the Gaza Strip. Macron has vigorously defended such depictions as protected by the right to free speech.

Essential Santas: The Health and Human Services department has halted a $250M advertising campaign, after the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas leaked details of a broken promise. The Santas were deemed essential workers by the Trump administration and were offered a sweetheart deal in exchange for promoting a potential coronavirus vaccine: the Santas and their elves would get early vaccine access. The HHS backed out of the deal (possibly because no vaccine is available prior to the election), and the Santas released the audio tapes. The Santas were also part of a campaign that was supposed to include celebrities, like Dennis Quaid, who declined to participate after they realized this was a political stunt and not a public health announcement. Over 100 Santas had volunteered for the assignment, and most will be out of work this season, as even Macy’s has cancelled its Santa photo-ops this year due to COVID concerns.

Science

Moon water: NASA’s SOFIA telescope (which sits on top of a Boeing 747 and studies space with an infrared light) has discovered water on the sunny side of the moon, not puddles or streams but molecules. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said “we don't know yet if we can use it as a resource,” but having water could aid in a crewed moon station for both life and fuel. The water molecules were discovered in Clavius crater, a large crater in the moon's southern hemisphere. NASA suggests there’s as much as 600 million metric tons of water ice there, although it is unclear how it arrived or how it can be used.

Set your timer: The next SpaceX crew is expected to launch on November 14 at 8PM ET. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission will launch the agency’s astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Soichi Noguchi, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to the International Space Station.

Japan’s Going Green: Japan’s Prime Minister announced that Japan will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. The world’s third largest economy had previously committed to achieving an 80% cut in emissions and become carbon neutral “as soon as possible.” Japan’s targets are now in line with 60 other countries including the European Union and South Korea. The country will begin with building new solar cells and carbon recycling, and it has continued to invest in coal (it is currently building 17 coal-powered plants).

Electric Supertruck: Remember the Hummer, a symbol of macho gas guzzling? Well, Hummer has introduced a 350-mile range “electric supertruck” with 1,000 horsepower and a diagonal driving feature called “Crab Mode,” to help one navigate extreme off-roading. The electric truck is set to go into production in late 2021, possibly ahead of Tesla’s Cybertruck, and for an estimated price of $113,000. The electric truck will be the first vehicle to feature General Motors’ new modular electric vehicle platform and battery, known as Ultium. GMC claims claims the Hummer EV will have the capability to charge at rates of up to 100 miles in 10 minutes — which translates to a full charge in less than 40 minutes. GMC even partnered with Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite, for its onboard computer system. So now those Tesla bros who want to really flex their muscles will have an alternative.

Culture

Scary Places: Burger King is running a Halloween promotion that offers free food to customers who visit the abandoned restaurant locations of its rivals. Burger King will alert you to a “Scary Place” and a Whopper in exchange. Burger King reminds you that you might “hear the sizzling screams of the flat top.” Unfortunately, the locations are only based in a few cities. McDonald’s is also running a Halloween promotion at some of its Canadian locations, allowing for virtual trick-or-treating in order to receive a McDelivery offer.

Hawkeye Lives Again: In 2017, Jeremy Renner, the Avengers actor, launched an app that was meant to be a fun interaction with the Hawkeye. The app was supposed to let his community of fans interact and share personal moments, but it became a joke among critics (similar to his music career). However, trolls forced the app to shutdown in 2019 after they impersonated Renner and created a general sense of chaos. Sound intriguing: the app and the story behind its failure has resulted in a podcast, called The Renner Files.

Holidays are coming early: It isn’t even Halloween and the airwaves are full of Christmas cheer. One sure sign of the impending early holiday season: KFC is bringing back its fried chicken-scented fire logs. The log smells of 11 Herbs and Spices and is from Enviro-Log, which burns cleaner than firewood. So if you’ve had enough of the quarantine smell of your house, why not go fried chicken.

— Lauren Eve Cantor

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