Report: India, Brazil Among the Most Dangerous Places for Activists
According to a report released on Wednesday, India, Brazil, Mexico, and Cambodia are among the most dangerous places on the globe for human rights defenders.
As per the report, published by the UK-based Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, Brazil topped the list with 63 attacks recorded against activists in 2022, followed by India with 54 and Mexico with 44 attacks in the same year.
Meanwhile, Cambodia had 40 recorded attacks, followed by the Philippines with 32 and Honduras with 31 attacks. Belarus, Peru, Colombia, and Uganda were the next most dangerous countries, with between 17 and 28 recorded attacks.
Narrative A
This scale of attacks against activists shows that governments worldwide are failing to protect their countries' human rights. Multinational corporations should not be threatening the health and safety of political activists who have a thorough knowledge of the interworkings of local contexts, human rights, and environmental risks. Instead, they should partner with these activists and utilize their expertise for good.
Narrative B
Although nothing justifies unprovoked attacks, global activists should not be generically portrayed as a force for good, especially when many of them face accusations of spreading dangerous misinformation about the establishment. Unfortunately, they usually rely on tactics that are hard to police without limiting free speech or taking administrative action. As they increasingly become the most dangerous spreaders of misinformation stoking opposition to critical developmental projects, it is imperative to dispel lies and protect stability in countries across the world.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that 1.1B people will be living in liberal democracies in the world in 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Senate Democrats Launch Renewed Effort to Counter China
Senate Democrats on Wednesday launched a renewed effort to develop new bipartisan legislation to bolster US competitiveness with China, building on the "strong foundation" set last year by the "Chips and Science" Act.
The outlined goals would limit the high-tech and investment flow to China, promote investment in US industries, foster cooperation with allies — exemplified by providing a US-led alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative — and deter China from conflict with Taiwan.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has argued that time is running out amid Beijing's attempts to surpass the US, further stating that Republicans — namely Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas)— have welcomed the move.
Pro-establishment narrative
The recognition of the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the very existence of the US and its most fundamental values has cut across the US political divide, reversing decades of wishful thinking that China would eventually be liberalized if it were integrated into the global order. Americans do not want a Cold War 2.0, but they must protect themselves and the future of the free world.
Establishment-critical narrative
Though Washington repeatedly claims not to be seeking conflict with China, its actions say otherwise. Polarized politics in the US have made it difficult for the two major political parties to reach a bipartisan compromise on domestic issues, instead forcing them to demonstrate their ability to cooperate in international matters, such as through opposition to Beijing, thus creating a situation that restricts de-escalation efforts.
Nerd narrative
There's a 20% chance that there will be a US-China war before 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
FDA Approves World's First RSV Vaccine
On Wednesday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Arexvy, the world's first Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine for adults 60 and older.
The approval of Arexvy, developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is based on the FDA's analysis of data from a phase III clinical trial in which the vaccine's single-dose shot reduced the risk of lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV by nearly 83%.
Though the efficacy data on Arexvy is reportedly sufficient for approval, the FDA has acknowledged potential safety issues over Guillain-Barre syndrome — a rare neurological disorder that can result from the shot.
Narrative A
The approval of the world's first RSV vaccine is a tremendous opportunity to help address a critical public health need. The development of Arexvy is a breakthrough that will save many lives by preventing millions from contracting a highly contagious, life-threatening disease.
Narrative B
It is essential to adequately assess this shot's efficacy and potential association with Guillain-Barré before releasing it for public use. Moreover, additional research is needed to determine if it can be given seasonally, like flu shots, and how effective it will be for RSV patients undergoing specific treatments, such as chemotherapy or organ transplants.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that a universal flu vaccine will be available by May 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Astronomers Spot Star Potentially Swallowing Own Planet
In a study published in Nature on Wednesday, a multi-university team of scientists revealed that they may have caught a star swallowing a planet in its orbit — a phenomenon that has not been directly observed before.
The cosmic feast reportedly occurred in our own Milky Way galaxy, roughly 12K lightyears away, in the eagle-like constellation Aquila.
Scientists believe the planet was a gas giant the size of Jupiter, which spiraled towards a dying star 1K times its size before being pulled into the star's core.
Narrative A
While astronomers have previously seen planets just before and after being engulfed by a star, this is the first time the act of consuming an entire planet has been observed. This discovery is exciting as it represents a missing link in astrophysics and can help better understand the full life cycle of stars.
Narrative B
Astronomers speculate the combination of a white-hot flash followed by a colder, longer-lasting signal could only have been produced by a star engulfing a nearby planet. However, more data needs to be collected to reach a consistent and scientifically agreed-upon conclusion. This data is a clue about how stars behave but not the final verdict yet.
Nerd narrative
There is an 80% chance that the Universe will end, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Israeli Raid Kills 3 Palestinians Accused of Deadly Settler Attack
During a raid into the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli forces on Thursday killed three Palestinian fighters, two of which Israel said shot dead a British-Israeli settler in the West Bank and her two daughters in April.
Lucy Dee was killed last month alongside her two daughters when a car they were traveling in was shot at in the West Bank in April. The sisters died immediately from their injuries while their mother succumbed to her wounds in hospital several days later; they lived in the Israeli settlement of Efrat.
Palestinian militant group Hamas confirmed that the men killed were members of its armed wing and that the two suspects carried out the April attack. Witnesses said Israeli undercover units surrounded a house in the old city exchanging fire with the three men, leaving the structure badly damaged by explosions and bullet holes.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Israel's actions in the West Bank continue to push Palestinians into a corner as it assassinates members of Palestinian resistance factions. It's ultimately Israel that is to blame for the increase in violence throughout the holy land. Emboldened by international silence after killing more Palestinians last year than in any other calendar year since the Second Intifada, the occupation is becoming even more violent.
Pro-Israel narrative
Those killed in Thursday's raid were terrorists who brutally murdered an innocent woman and her two daughters. Israel will not allow terrorists to have a safe haven anywhere in the West Bank, and every Palestinian attack will be either countered or responded to with lethal force. Lucy Dee's family will at least have some resolution knowing that the killers have been neutralized.
Report: US Students' History, Civics Hit Record-Low
Data released Wednesday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) shows that in 2022, only 13% of eighth-grade students in the US scored proficient or above in history, while only 22% were proficient or above in civics.
This represents a five-point drop from scores in 2018 for history and a two-point drop for scores in civics, the lowest scores since the NAEP began testing for civics in 1998.
US Education Sec. Miguel Cardona linked the decline to the "profound impact" of school closures during the pandemic, also objecting to funding cuts or "banning history books and censoring educators." NAEP board member Martin West, however, cautioned that the data doesn't provide reasons for the decline.
Democratic narrative
Republican-led states are defunding education to advance their so-called "school choice" agenda and censor material they find distasteful. As censorship of topics relating to race and LGBTQ+ issues has accelerated under the guise of "parents’ rights," it's no surprise that understanding of history and civics has become a casualty as students become pawns in a culture war. Students can recover from the pandemic-induced drop in learning but not from a methodical dismantling of America's public education system.
Republican narrative
Leftists and their bureaucratic education system have nobody to blame but themselves, as their draconian COVID policies educationally stunted the next generation of Americans. Beholden to teacher's unions, Democrat-run states that kept their students away from the classroom longer suffered more than states that kept their schools open. Charter and religious schools outperformed public schools during the pandemic, showing a course correction on education policy toward choice and freedom is long overdue.
Cynical narrative
The NAEP results are routinely trotted out to advance political agendas by people with little understanding of what they actually mean. On state and local levels, "proficient" means at grade level, whereas the NAEP uses proficient to indicate an advanced understanding of the material. There is also evidence that the NAEP standards are too high to be an accurate measure of competency, as half of the students at a "basic" level end up receiving a Bachelor's Degree. Any decline is bad news, but we ought to be skeptical of any apocalyptic messaging based on these numbers.
Report: China Phone Monitoring Targets Uyghurs
According to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report published on Thursday, Chinese authorities monitor the phones of ethnic minority Uyghurs, with a list of 50K known multimedia files used to flag violent extremism. Possession of the Quran is reportedly enough to trigger a police interrogation.
The list includes alleged "violent and terrorist" content from militant groups like the Islamic State but also allegedly includes material from organizations that promote the identity or self-determination of the mostly Muslim Uyghurs from the far-west Xinjiang region.
According to HRW, these organizations include the separatist East Turkestan independence movement, the World Uyghur Congress exile group, and the US government-funded news outlet Radio Free Asia. Other banned material allegedly includes information about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, readings from the Quran, and Islamic songs.
Anti-China narrative
The Chinese government has surveilled and detained Uyghurs simply due to their religion. This has nothing to do with national security or fighting terrorism and everything to do with clamping down on minorities who wish to be free from the CCP regime. Countries concerned by these findings should identify the technology companies involved in this illegal surveillance and take appropriate action against them.
Pro-China narrative
Nations with an anti-China agenda have consistently concocted misinformation about what's really happening in Xinjiang. The PRC's policies aren't about human rights or religion; they're about combating violent terrorism and radicalization. As Washington intensifies its aggressive stance, its government-funded human rights organizations are fabricating stories about Uyghur oppression to build anti-China sentiment around the world.
Nerd narrative
There's a 20% chance there will be a US-China war by 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
NYC Subway Death Ruled a Homicide
On Wednesday, New York City’s medical examiner announced that the death of Jordan Neely, a man who had been shouting at people on a subway train Monday, was a homicide. Neely died from compression of his neck after a fellow rider put him in a lengthy chokehold.
A spokesperson for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said police and prosecutors are investigating the incident, which happened on an F train in Manhattan. A video appeared to show Neely’s head and neck being held for several minutes until the homeless man’s body went limp.
The unidentified 24-year-old US Marine who restrained Neely was questioned and released by police. Although the examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide, investigators will determine if homicide charges should be pursued.
Left narrative
Tragedies like this are a result of policies that dehumanize homeless people across the country, creating an environment where people feel entitled to not only mistreat them but to use a potentially lethal hold on someone suffering an obvious mental crisis. Our society needs more compassionate policies to avoid future incidents like this.
Right narrative
This is a tragic result of liberal cities' soft-on-crime policies that allow crime to run rampant, forcing average citizens to intervene. If cities were tougher on crime and police forces were better supported, citizens would be protected, and these types of incidents could be avoided.
Nerd narrative
There's a 2% chance that a large American city will fully abolish its police department before 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
4 Proud Boys Charged with Seditious Conspiracy
Proud Boys members including leader Enrique Tarrio, as well as Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl, have been convicted of seditious conspiracy for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol riots.
Alongside the four convicted, who also faced charges of obstructing the Electoral College vote and tampering with evidence, the jury also convicted a fifth member, Dominic Pezzola, of obstructing a proceeding of Congress and the destruction of government property, among others.
After the three-month trial and more than a week of deliberations, however, Pezzola was found not guilty of seditious conspiracy.
Democratic narrative
Donald Trump called on his supporters to "stand by" after losing the election, and the Proud Boys took him at his word. Under the leadership and persuasion of the former president, these individuals violently broke into the US Capitol thinking they would stop Joe Biden from becoming president, which is a blatant violation of the law and arguably treasonous. This case was cut and dry, and the jury made the right decision.
Pro-Trump narrative
These charges were based on the loosest definition of 'seditious conspiracy,' with federal prosecutors claiming that an intricate plan isn't required to be a conspiracy. The defense was also barred from calling witnesses regarding alleged federal informants among the Proud Boys on Jan. 6. This calls into question whether the jury received all the facts necessary to convict American citizens of such a serious crime.
Establishment-critical narrative
Both critics on the right and the left have raised deep concerns about the role of FBI informants in the orbit of the Proud Boys, including Tarrio's alleged past as a "prolific informant" himself. We must be cautious of conspiracy theories from both sides, but there's good cause for concern that the agency's informants got entangled in this group in a messy fashion. Americans have every right to question the FBI as an institution and if it protected democracy the best it could have on Jan 6.
White House Hosts CEOs to Discuss AI Policy
US Pres. Biden and Vice President Harris met with the CEOs of major tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, on Thursday to discuss the potential risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and how governments can properly address them.
Just before the meeting, the White House announced a number of plans to address problems associated with programs like ChatGPT and other AI systems. Lawmakers, fearing that "deepfake" technology will proliferate misinformation, seek to create policies that will regulate how federal agencies procure and use AI systems.
The White House also announced it will invest $140M from the National Science Foundation to create new research hubs to bring the total of active institutes to 25, as the administration looks to learn more about the ever-evolving technology.
Narrative A
Both Congress and the White House have made a point to not create a blanket regulation covering AI at large and to be cautious in its approach to this emerging technology. Some critics may say the White House has not acted strongly enough as concerns surrounding AI grow, but it's taking a prudent approach to invest in research and craft an individualized approach for each potential issue. A decentralized approach to regulating AI is the most effective way to handle this complex issue.
Narrative B
The White House must act swiftly and strongly as it looks to establish safeguards against the potential dangers of AI. Harris’ meeting with CEOs of leading AI companies is a nice step, but the Biden administration’s voluntary blueprint last year is not enough to prevent an explosion of bias and misinformation brought by AI. Pres. Biden must issue an executive order to further enhance regulation efforts.