Odds and Ends — 19 March 2024
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:
World’s Largest Pension Fund Seeks Information on Bitcoin Under Portfolio Diversification Plan
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia glitch lets customers withdraw millions
Ether at $3,100 could liquidate $212M worth of leveraged long positions
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
What the Data Says About Pandemic School Closures
A variety of data — about children’s academic outcomes and about the spread of Covid-19 — has accumulated in the time since. Today, there is broad acknowledgment among many public health and education experts that extended school closures did not significantly stop the spread of Covid, while the academic harms for children have been large and long-lasting.
While poverty and other factors also played a role, remote learning was a key driver of academic declines during the pandemic, research shows — a finding that held true across income levels.
Politics:
“It was jarring for folks in the room to see how quickly just a handful of these types of threats could spiral out of control and really dominate the election cycle,” said one of the organizers.
https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1769773564272476353
Trump has been unable to get bond for $464 million judgment, his lawyers say
“Trump knew this judgment was coming, and his inability to obtain a bond suggests he is much less wealthy than he claims to be.” — Taegan Goddard
Trump’s Empty Pockets Make Him an Overseas Mark
Donald Trump, the self-described multibillionaire and ‘king of debt,’ said he doesn’t have enough cash on hand to appeal a $454 million civil fraud judgment against him. Embarrassing, of course. But his empty pockets also raise the possibility that his collection of urban real estate, golf courses and snake oil may be headed for a brutal financial squeeze.
Trump’s predicament is also the latest reminder that his financial challenges make him a national security threat — something that has been a reality ever since he was elected president in 2016. He’s always been willing to sell his name to the highest bidder. There’s no reason to believe that Trump, whose businesses collected millions of dollars from foreign governments and officials while he was president, won’t have a for-sale sign out now that he’s struggling with the suffocating weight of court judgments.
https://twitter.com/djrothkopf/status/1769755052212670506
https://twitter.com/secretsandlaws/status/1769526508576465318
It’s Time to Unleash Kamala Harris—to Trigger Trump
https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1769739903771025720
Russian Disinformation Is All About Immigration
In recent weeks, Russian state media and online accounts tied to the Kremlin have spread and amplified misleading and incendiary content about U.S. immigration and border security.
The campaign seems crafted to stoke outrage and polarization before the 2024 election for the White House, and experts who study Russian disinformation say Americans can expect more to come as Putin looks to weaken support for Ukraine and cut off a vital supply of aid.
Breyer Sounds an Alarm Over Supreme Court’s Direction
In earlier interviews, Justice Breyer could be rambling and opaque. This time he was direct. He said he meant to sound an alarm about the direction of the Supreme Court.
Said Breyer: “Something important is going on.”
He continued: “There are too many questions. Are they really going to allow women to die on the table because they won’t allow an abortion which would save her life? I mean, really, no one would do that. And they wouldn’t do that. And there’ll be dozens of questions like that.”
https://twitter.com/TimothyDSnyder/status/1769727686190989478
Secret Pentagon Program Echoes Pedophile Ring in “True Detective” Series
CARCOSA is an AI-driven program that aims to reduce information overload for soldiers.
Well, “Carcosa” has a long history that predates True Detective.
https://twitter.com/Will_Bunch/status/1769725841238298858
Is the Destruction of Gaza Making Israel Any Safer?
More than five months in, Israel has neither a military strategy for eliminating Hamas nor a political strategy for living with Gaza.
https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1769393685874057260
Trump Golf Club Settlement Hangs Alina Habba Out to Dry
Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, paid $82,500 last week to settle a lawsuit alleging that it had silenced a sexually harassed waitress by tricking her into an unfair hush money deal, according to the ex-employee’s lawyer.
But the curiously worded contract left the former president’s own attorney Alina Habba—a rising star in his orbit—wide open to getting sued herself.
https://twitter.com/FixMediaNow/status/1769791374302253504
Serendipity:
DNA Tests Are Uncovering the True Prevalence of Incest
People are discovering the truth about their biological parents with DNA—and learning that incest is far more common than many think.
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