Odds and Ends — 27 March 2023
A Drabble:
I come from a small family, on both sides. Most of us gone now. Julie and I never had kids; cancer took her last winter. My dad was an only child, as am I. On my mom’s side, just her and uncle Bob who’s been married and divorced four times, but never had kids. Three of his exes are dead and the other one moved across the country to get away from that asshole. So it falls to me to take care of Bob. But I know what he did to mom. Oh yes, I’ll take care of him alright.
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:
Elon Musk Says Twitter Worth $20 Billion, or Less Than Half What He Bought it For
Where the U.S. Government Went Wrong in Regulating Crypto
First Citizens Said to Near Deal for Silicon Valley Bank
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
Long Covid: Three years and no magic bullet
China’s huge quarantine camps standing months after ‘zero COVID’
Florida Man:
How a Freedom Loving State Fell for an Authoritarian
DeSantis is a politician who preaches freedom while suspending elected officials who offend him, banning classroom discussions he doesn’t like, carrying out hostile takeovers of state universities, and obstructing the release of public records whenever he can.
And somehow Florida, a state that bills itself as the home of the ornery and the resistant, the obstinate and the can’t-be-trodden-on, the libertarian and the government-skeptic, has fallen for the most keenly authoritarian governor in the United States.
Politics:
The clips and headlines coming out of the rally were enough to incite panic in any Republican concerned about the party’s ability to defeat President Joe Biden. The current president should be extremely politically vulnerable: Inflation is still hurting voters and some economists are predicting a recession. And yet, rather than attack Biden for those weaknesses, Republicans are held captive to Trump’s grievances.
Taiwan residents flee remote islands as China severs internet sea cables
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister on Sunday, a day after Yoav Gallant called for suspending the government’s judicial overhaul plan and warned opposition, including within the military, to the legislation was undermining Israel’s national security.
Strike brings Germany’s public transport network to halt
The alarming comeback of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party
A specter is haunting Austria—the prospect of a government led by Herbert Kickl, boss of the far-right Freedom Party (fpö).
According to a poll on March 11th for Profil, a weekly, the fpö is now comfortably the strongest party in the Alpine republic, with 31% of the vote, followed by the Socialists (spö) at 25% and the centre-right Austrian People’s Party (övp) with 22%.
Trump lawyer: Former president’s attack on Bragg was ‘ill-advised’
Serendipity:
Why Are Public Restrooms Still So Rare?
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