Federal Trade Commission Intensifies Investigation of Twitter
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has acknowledged an investigation into Elon Musk’s mass layoffs, and a wide-ranging investigation into the company's privacy practices, according to documents described in a report by a Congressional committee.
According to the report, the FTC has sent more than a dozen letters to Twitter and its lawyers since Musk took over the company in October. The letters requested more information about the privacy settings associated with the new Twitter Blue subscription and for the company to "identify all journalists" who were granted access to company records.
Left narrative
No matter how much Twitter needs to cut costs, it still needs to meet legal obligations. The FTC is conducting a thorough investigation to ensure that consumer privacy regulations are being met. It is of the utmost importance that consumer information is protected, no matter how unpopular the investigations may be.
Right narrative
There is no reason why the FTC would need to know the identities of journalists who engaged with Twitter records or internal communications about Elon Musk. All of Twitter's decisions do not need to be analyzed based on user privacy. This is an unreasonable overreach of a government organization and this kind of weaponization of government needs to be stopped.
Report: Australia to Buy Nuclear Subs From US
According to anonymous US officials, Australia is expected to announce it will buy as many as five US Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines in the 2030s as part of the AUKUS agreement – a trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK, and the US.
AUKUS — announced in 2021— will reportedly see at least one US submarine visit Australian ports in the coming years, and will end in the late 2030s with a new division of submarines being built with British designs and American technology.
Establishment-critical narrative
Even if it takes Australia longer than expected to build up its fleet of nuclear-power subs, China will see this as a provocation and the start of a nuclear arms race in the region. Beijing might not immediately retaliate, but this agreement will eventually see it further invest in its military and could force other neighbors to pick sides in a Cold War-style conflict.
Pro-establishment narrative
Australia must adopt this nuclear-powered submarine plan in order to protect the peace and stability of the region and guard against aggression from China. Its neighbors and allies should understand this deal as a peaceful one, not an act of war. In addition to defense, Australia will benefit from jobs created and technological advancements in its broader economy.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that Australia will commission its first nuclear-powered submarine by November 2036, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Day 379: Several Killed in Russian Missile Attacks Across Ukraine
Russia launched widespread missile attacks early on Thursday, striking energy infrastructure across 10 regions but also hitting a number of residential buildings and killing a number of civilians.
According to Valerii Zaluzhnyi — commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces — Russia launched a total of 81 missiles, 34 of which were, he said, shot down by Ukraine's air force and the country's air defenses. Zaluzhnyi added that Russia had deployed eight drones over Ukraine, four of which were shot down.
Pro-establishment narrative
Russia's deliberate targeting of energy infrastructure — unnecessarily increasing the suffering of civilians — amounts to war crimes. This continuing Russian barbarity must be confronted.
Pro-Russia narrative
Russia's latest missile attacks on Ukraine were a direct retaliation to the terrorist attack that was last week carried out in Russia's Bryansk region with the help of Ukraine's security services.
Nerd narrative
There is an 18% chance that Russia will capture or surround a large Ukrainian city before June 1, 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Japan: Arrests Made After Wave of 'Sushi Terrorism'
On Wednesday, police in Japan arrested two teenagers and a 21-year-old man on suspicion of obstructing a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant's business after videos of their unhygienic pranks sparked outrage online.
The pranks — dubbed "sushi terrorism" — involve diners licking shared soy sauce bottles, sucking the rim of a teacup before putting it back, and rubbing saliva on passing sushi pieces on conveyor belts for social media clout.
Narrative A
The Internet has given a minority of mean-spirited teens and young adults a platform to gain attention, fame, and "likes" and "shares" as proof of their banal online existence. "Sushi terrorism," which overnight invalidated a staple of Japanese culture, is reminiscent of the viral "ice cream challenge" a few years ago — when youngsters posted videos of themselves licking ice cream and putting the tubs back in store freezers. Only harsh punishments, such as heavy fines or jail terms, will spread awareness that such irresponsible acts are a crime and that there will be no copycat acts in the future.
Narrative B
Japan is renowned for its exacting cleanliness standards and culinary etiquette. However, the "sushi terrorism" trend violates all food and hygiene norms and blots the sushi train culture. It is extremely problematic and exposes the problem with the conveyor-belt restaurant model — which is based on the belief that people will behave. With rising COVID infections, conveyor-belt sushi chains must re-evaluate their hygiene standards as well as address the chronic labor shortage. Occupational health and safety protocols have needed a review of this dining style for some time.
US Veterans Testify About 'Catastrophic' Impact of Afghan Collapse
Active-service members and veterans who served in Afghanistan gave firsthand Congressional testimony on Wednesday about the US withdrawal from the country — describing the death and destruction they witnessed on the ground while imploring Congress to help US allies that were left behind.
Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a marine who protected Kabul's airport on Aug. 26, 2021, when two suicide bombers attacked crowds of fleeing Afghans, spoke about his experience, describing the blast and seeing his dead comrades.
Republican narrative
The evidence continues to mount that the Biden admin.'s rushed and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan directly led to the fall of Kabul and the Taliban returning to power. There's no excuse for the unjust suffering the Afghan people have endured since then, all because Biden wanted to score some cheap political points. Trump agreed to a withdrawal plan, but Biden's rushed execution caused a massive disruption that would not have occurred under the previous administration.
Democratic narrative
The US' disastrous invasion and occupation of Afghanistan under George W. Bush, not Biden's withdrawal, are to blame for the fall of Kabul and the current security crisis. The fact that Afghan security forces crashed immediately following the US withdrawal indicates that the security situation was simply unsustainable, and the collapse was essentially inevitable. There are, of course, valid criticisms of the withdrawal, but most have been unnecessary partisan attacks against Biden — and Trump's role also deserves scrutiny.
Lockdown Files: Matt Hancock Wuhan Lab Leak Comments Censored
New releases from the Telegraph's "Lockdown Files" — revelations primarily from a collection of WhatsApp texts exchanged by the UK government during COVID — show that former Health Sec. Matt Hancock was censored by the Cabinet Office over concerns that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab leak.
The draft of Hancock's "Pandemic Diaries" saw him express skepticism over Chinese officials' version of events. According to Beijing, the virus was first discovered in a wet market in Wuhan, coincidentally near a government virology lab.
Narrative A
It's unacceptable that the UK government has such a difficult time criticizing China. This oppressive regime is not only committing human rights abuses at home but has potentially covered up a major blunder that resulted in the shutting down of the global economy. A more hawkish stance must be taken towards Xi Jinping, and the possibility that COVID did potentially originate in a lab must be held as politically acceptable.
Narrative B
The theory that the COVID pandemic was the result of a lab leak was dismissed not only due to partisan politics but because of a wide variety of human performance factors, including cultural cognition, self-selection, and social proof. Fundamental failings in the way humans practice scientific discourse, rather than a desire to appease China, contributed to the scientific establishment's rush to thwart this as a potential explanation.
DR Congo: At Least 40 Killed In Alleged Rebel Twin Attacks
Local authorities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) stated on Thursday that over 40 people have been killed in twin attacks carried out overnight on Wednesday in the neighboring villages of Mukondi and Mausa in the Beni territory of the North Kivu province.
The provisional death toll from the raids — attributed to the allegedly Islamic State (IS)-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels — is 38 people in Mukondi and eight in Mausa, most of them reportedly killed with knives.
Narrative A
The DRC-based Ugandan rebel group ADF has consistently executed deadly attacks in North Kivu despite Kinshasa enforcing a state of siege in the area, revealing that the M23 is not the only threat to national and regional stability. And though cooperation between the DRC and Uganda has indeed achieved some tactical and operational goals against the ADF, the group's inner circle has not been broken yet.
Narrative B
While undeniable that the ADP has not been defeated yet, as it keeps creating chaos in the eastern DRC, joint efforts by Congolese and Ugandan forces have successfully expelled the ADF from the Ituri province, allowing civilians to return to their villages, and rescued those held in captivity by the terrorists. There is still a long way to go to eradicate ADF, but authorities are on the right path.
US Senate Blocks Overhaul of DC Criminal Code
On Wednesday, the US Senate, with many Democrats joining the minority Republicans, voted 81-14 to approve a GOP-backed measure that blocks Washington, DC, from revamping its criminal code.
Pres. Joe Biden, who recently said he supported the resolution — which passed the Republican-led House in February — is expected to sign it.
Narrative A
Homicides are on the rise again in DC, and the best way to stop the surge is by putting violent people in jail and keeping them there. The biggest obstacles to keeping the streets safe are repeat offenders — a reality that Biden has rightly recognized by showing his support for this resolution.
Narrative B
With the start of his re-election campaign imminent, Biden has disappointingly folded to GOP pressure in order to appease the opposition. The DC bill isn’t soft on crime – which isn’t even a hot-button issue according to recent polling — it's more focused on reducing unnecessary incarceration. But Biden has reverted to his old “tough on crime” self, dismissing DC's sovereignty in the process.
Report: Carbon Capture Technique Shows Promise
Scientists have reportedly outlined a new and efficient approach for capturing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from the air and transforming the gas into bicarbonate of soda to be stored in seawater. The process is predicted to be three times as efficient as other related methods and will speed up the use of technology for implementation.
In June 2022, Climeworks AG, a Swiss start-up company, began construction on a site that would be the company's second "direct air capture" plant and was expected to recover 36K tons of CO2 annually. The site was slated to house 80 large blocks of fans and filters to capture the greenhouse gas.
Narrative A
The deployment of "carbon, capture, utilization, and storage" technologies often catches a bad rep for the cost of investment. Critics are misunderstanding the benefits as well as the potential for a sure-fire low-carbon solution. Even with the naysayers, these technologies are gaining momentum, and in 2020 alone, governments put up more than $4.5M in support. The world will come to understand that "net zero" emissions cannot be achieved without this method. This is vital for addressing climate change.
Narrative B
Carbon capture is not new, it began in the 1970s and has a long history of failure. The technology behind CCUS has been rebranded by oil companies as a "climate-friendly" practice and used to produce more oil and gas, increasing emissions. Global carbon capture projects have failed one after another with the most notorious failure being the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak in California. These efforts are exorbitantly expensive and dangerous, and the long-term life of a capture project is questionable, at best.
Biden Reveals $6.8T Budget Proposal for 2024
On Thursday, US Pres. Joe Biden unveiled a $6.8T budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year and proposed new taxes on the wealthy, which the White House said will reduce the federal deficit by nearly $3T and set a record for defense spending.
The budget for the fiscal year starting in October would see individuals earning more than $400k pay 39.6% income tax, up from 37%, while the federal capital gains tax would nearly double from 20% to 39.6% for those earning over $1M.
Democratic narrative
While undeniably ambitious, Biden’s plan is a credible spending package that would reduce the deficit and protect vital social insurance programs. Meanwhile, the GOP is holding the American economy hostage by refusing Democrats' proposals without presenting any of their own as an impending catastrophic default inches ever closer.
Republican narrative
Biden’s plan is not based in reality and is just a mechanism to raise taxes and grow the government. While the proposal would allegedly reduce the deficit by $3T over the next decade, it doesn't meaningfully cut spending to tackle the national debt, which the Congressional Budget Office projected will grow by more than $20T over the next 10 years.