“Iran and Saudi Arabia concluded a deal Friday to restore normal diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies within two months. The agreement came at the end of a week of Chinese-brokered negotiations in Beijing, which brought an end to the rift between the two governments that has existed ever since Saudi Arabia broke off relations in 2016. If the agreement holds, it will be an important step forward in regional diplomacy, and it may help in facilitating progress towards a more lasting truce in Yemen.” (Daniel Larison/Responsible Statecraft)
“The complicated story of how The Ukraine is turning down hundreds of Afghan soldiers who want to join its war effort.” (SEMAFOR)
“In one month, the general election could serve as a bellwether for how Democratic voters across the nation think about crime – a topic that became deeply politicized during an uptick in violence after the onset of Covid-19 and the widespread call for police reform after George Floyd’s murder. Chicago is the third largest city in the US, and its nearly three million residents are deeply segregated and break down into almost equal thirds white, Black and Hispanic. What may appear on the surface to be a reliable Democratic stronghold actually encompasses a wide spectrum of moderate liberals, progressives and even some Trump supporters, the latter concentrated among cops, firefighters and other public workers living on the far Northwest Side." (The Guardian)
“Men have dominated human societies for centuries, and myriad inequalities — from the gender pay gap to the dearth of female politicians and chief executives — persist to this day. But Reeves’s core argument is that there’s no way to fully understand inequality in America today without understanding the ways that men and boys — particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds — are falling behind.” (Ezra Klein)
“(Biden’s) tax proposals include — among other items — stepping up the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%; raising the top capital gains tax rate to 39.6% for million-dollar earners; a broad 25% minimum tax targeted at billionaires; and higher taxes on stock buybacks. On the other side of the ledger, he would reinstate the expired child tax credits from his pandemic relief package.” (SEMAFOR)
“Most defamation suits against media companies are dismissed on First Amendment grounds, but this lawsuit, filed in March of 2021, has already survived a motion to dismiss. Most suits that survive this long are settled (like the lawsuit brought by the parents of Nicholas Sandman against The Washington Post), but, in this case, Dominion has little incentive to settle. Its entire business model requires the public’s trust, and a clear statement that Fox was lying, on purpose, is probably worth more to it than whatever Fox would offer by way of a “no fault” settlement. Moreover, Fox might not want to settle this case: Smartmatic, another voting machine company, has also filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox, and that case has survived a motion to dismiss as well. If Fox settled with one, it would almost have to settle with the other. Both companies have also sued Newsmax, which seems to be competing with CNN for Fox’s audience. Cases like this usually settle because media defendants don’t want to open themselves up for ‘discovery,’ which allows plaintiffs to see internal discussions at the organization. Fox is offering an object lesson as to why companies fear discovery.” (Elie Mystal/The Nation)
Wagner Group mercenaries are being butchered in Ukraine, but US intel expects them to keep stirring up trouble elsewhere on Russia's behalf (Business Insider)
Protests and the Future of Democracy in Israel (The Daily)
“Advising Berchtold and managing key relationships on Capitol Hill is a small army of over 30 lobbyists, deployed to defend the company from growing criticism by senators like Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Klobuchar, who serves as the chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights, has made repeated calls to the Department of Justice to investigate Ticketmaster and break up the company if any wrongdoing is uncovered during a DOJ review of the consent decree it created to foster competition in ticketing.” (Billboard)
“I once admired Russell Brand. But his grim trajectory shows us where politics is heading.” (George Bonbiot)
The famous Mexican ultramarathon festival known as Caballo Blanco (White Horse) pits outsiders against Indigenous runners in Urique, Chihuahua state. In its 20th year, the weekend attracts 1,200 people of all ages to compete in the races, the longest of which is a 50-mile ultramarathon. Many of the local Raramuris, or light-footed ones, test their renowned endurance against athletes while wearing simple sandals, known as huaraches and often made of discarded car tires. (The Guardian)
“EW's brutally honest Academy panel calls The Whale 'grotesque,' says Top Gun: Maverick 'looks like a big beer commercial,' and one hopes he'll 'never have to watch Cate Blanchett act again.'“ (EW)
“Miley Cyrus‘ eighth studio album arrives on a cloud of mystery, which is unusual for an artist who isn’t exactly the shy and retiring type. Cyrus is a straight-talker who is normally game for a laugh on the promo circuit, but since co-hosting a televised New Year’s Eve special with her godmother Dolly Parton, she has kept a curiously low profile and even stayed quiet on social media. Until its week of release, all we really knew about ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ is what Cyrus tells us on the chart-conquering ‘Flowers’, its inescapable and fundamentally self-possessed lead single: “I can love me better than you can.” (NME)
“President Joe Biden unveiled a $6.8 trillion budget on Thursday that would expand support for poor and middle-class Americans—and tax the rich to help pay for it. ‘Folks, let me tell you what I value with the budget I’m releasing today,’ he said at an event in Philadelphia. ‘I value everyone having an even shot. Not just labor, but small-business owners, farmers, so many of the people [who] hold the country together who have been basically invisible for a long time.’ The proposed budget includes hundreds of billions of dollars each for childcare assistance, health coverage assistance, home care for the elderly and disabled, paid leave for workers, free community college and prekindergarten, and homeowners’ and renters’ assistance. The plan is a blueprint of Biden’s priorities as he prepares—presumably—to run for reelection.” (TNR)
“Once upon a time, Intel generated fat margins by milking its commodity business for PCs (CCG) and high-end server chips (DCAI). Today, in the midst of a promising Cloud Computing and AI market, CCG and DCAI barely make money, only $0.4B in Q4 22. This is a grave problem that casts doubt on Intel’s ability to produce revenue in a product segment that they used to own.” (Monday Note)
“Torpekai Amarkhel (above), a 42-year-old journalist from Afghanistan, was among the 60-plus asylum seekers who died recently when their boat capsized en route to Europe. She was a single passenger among over 200 Afghans, Iranians, and Syrians trying to make it ashore off a boat that embarked from Turkey. On the shore, lapped by the late winter waves, Italian aid workers finally found her blue and white United Nations ID card this month amid the floating detritus and the skeleton of a small wooden ship. The tempest and cries for help had come and gone. The deaths added to a confounding story of betrayal, which I find hard to reckon with after having spent nearly two decades associated with Afghanistan as a journalist and public affairs employee of the U.S. government and United Nations. Only this time, the death was that of a friend and colleague. I had worked closely with Torpekai on stories about Afghan women journalists and all those crucial ‘human rights’ issues that bothered the conscience of anyone who knew the tragedy that lay beneath the surface of a tortured land.” (The Diplomat)
“The relationship between China and the US is commonly portrayed in terms of geostrategic competition, often leading to pessimistic accounts of international cooperation. This, in turn, glosses over important institutional innovations and joint efforts around shared concerns on climate change and the clean energy transition. As the shift towards renewable energy accelerates demand for transition energy metals, such as lithium, nickel, and rare earths, how will resource consuming regions, including the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Korea, navigate their relationship with China and the larger developing world, which hold these mineral deposits and are likely to exercise sovereign control over natural resource management?” (Wilson Center)