Putin To Skip G20 summit
Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin won't attend the G20 summit of the world's largest economies in Bali, Indonesia in person next week, officials in Moscow and Jakarta said Thursday. It will be the first meeting of G20 leaders since the start of the Ukraine war.
Russia will send Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead, while the Russian leader is reportedly set to participate in one of the G20 meetings virtually. In recent months, Western leaders had called on Jakarta to exclude Putin from the summit amid the Ukraine war.
Anti-Russia narrative
Putin's decision not to attend the G20 summit underscores his increasing isolation amid his unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine. Likely scared to face Western leaders, Putin — who would have had nothing productive to contribute — preferred to evade this uncomfortable reality.
Pro-Russia narrative
Washington and its allies have already hijacked previous G20 meetings to claim a moral high ground over Russia and denounce it for the Ukraine war — and this summit won't be any different. Given Washington's hypocrisy and the West's lack of interest in using the G20 to discuss the world's many current problems in a cooperative spirit, Putin's decision not to attend is perfectly understandable.
Study Identifies Neurons That Restore Walking After Paralysis
Following a study that saw nine paralyzed patients walk again after prolonged electrical stimulation to injured regions of the spine, researchers have identified neurons that could help restore the ability to walk in people suffering from paralysis.
All recipients of the treatment — which included intense physical therapy as well as targeted electrical stimulation — had experienced damage to their spinal cord resulting in severe or complete paralysis. They all saw immediate improvements, which continued over the five months of treatment.
Narrative A
While still in the early stages of study, the findings of this research provide groundbreaking insights into the functioning of neurons in the lumbar spine. These results are a significant step forward in helping the paralyzed walk again.
Narrative B
As groundbreaking as it is to help people walk again, it's often not the only priority for those suffering from spinal cord injuries. Quality of life can be vastly improved by the treatment of other associated problems. This research offers more broadly applicable conclusions that could help improve other functions, and those minor accomplishments shouldn't be overlooked.
Narrative C
This research shouldn't be celebrated as its conclusions are based on the abuse of animals. Crushing mice's spines to intentionally paralyze them was unnecessary, especially considering that the physiological differences between species mean mice are poor surrogates for humans.
COP27 Report: CO2 Pollution to Hit All-Time High This Year
Fresh data released Friday at the COP27 climate summit show that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are expected to rise 1% in 2022 to reach an all-time record.
According to the Global Carbon Project, this level corresponds to 37.5B tons, a new record. If the trend continues, humanity could pump enough CO2 into the atmosphere to warm Earth to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures — the limit set in the 2015 Paris climate agreement — in just nine years.
Pro-establishment narrative
Much is at stake in Sharm el-Sheikh. Per UN reports, climate impacts are causing global suffering on a rampant scale, and the expectation is that all countries will increase their ambitions to stay below the +1.5°C mark. COP27 must showcase commitment to a $100B goal and agree on a robust climate finance arrangement for the future.
Establishment-critical narrative
We are in the middle of an interlinked climate, energy, nature, and food crises. Despite small glimmers of progress, the world is still nowhere near the scale and pace of climate action needed to secure a net zero and resilient world by 2050. National governments must radically and rapidly strengthen their climate actions before 2030 — this new report shows how "behind the eight ball" we are.
Narrative C
The catastrophic framing of climate change does far more harm than good, not only by impacting the mental health of our youth, but by alienating and polarizing large portions of the population and distracting from other important issues. Climate alarmism must be taken with a grain of salt.
Nerd narrative
There's an 85% chance there will be at least 2˚C degrees of global warming by 2100, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Day 261 Roundup: Ukraine Reclaims Dozens of Towns in Kherson Following Russian Withdrawal
Ukraine has reclaimed dozens of towns and settlements in the southern Kherson region following the withdrawal of Russian troops from the west bank of the Dnipro River.
Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as many as 41 towns and settlements had been recaptured, but the figure couldn't be independently confirmed. He said: "Today we have good news from the south. There are now dozens of Ukrainian flags flying where they rightfully belong as a result of the ongoing defensive operation. 41 towns and villages have been liberated."
Narrative A
Ukraine is demonstrating that, with continued Western military aid, it is able to drive Russian forces out of its territories. This bolsters the argument that support needs to be maintained until a total Russian defeat is achieved.
Narrative B
Retaking parts of Kherson is one thing, recapturing the rest of the region alongside Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea is another. Ukraine's gains should be used to leverage Kyiv's negotiating position to bring a swift end to this conflict — it should not be treated as a justification to drag out the war.
Nerd narrative
There is a 3% chance that Ukraine will officially recognize a former Ukrainian territory as independent before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
US Midterms: Ariz. and Nev. Won't Finish Counting Ballots Until Next Week
With around 570K ballots remaining to be counted in Arizona's midterm election and 50K left to go in Nevada, the fate of which party takes control of the Senate — as well as the Ariz. governor's race — likely won't be known until next week.
In the Arizona governor's race, Democrat Katie Hobbs held an extremely slim lead of 50.7% to 49.3% over Republican Kari Lake, with Hobbs having grown her lead after Thursday's results were added.
Democratic narrative
Arizona and Nevada always take longer to count due to mail-in votes, and this year is no different. Even after 17K ballots were affected by machine problems, they were sent into secure drop-boxes and will be counted. Unscrupulous Republicans like Kari Lake are trying to instill election fraud fears in their supporters, which is an insult to poll workers who are working hour shifts to count hundreds of thousands of ballots.
Republican narrative
Democrats have ignored Americans' growing distrust in the electoral system so egregiously that they now preemptively announce ballot counting delays. Most developed countries, as well as large US states like Florida, have figured out how to conduct elections on election day. It should be no different in the swing states like Arizona and Nevada.
Study: COVID Reinfections May Increase Risk of Serious Disease, Death
A new study published Thursday from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., suggested that people who sustain multiple COVID infections increase their risk of hospitalization, serious health complications, and death — regardless of vaccination status.
The research — which analyzed almost 5.8M health records — showed that those with multiple COVID infections were at risk of several health issues up to six months following their most recent illness, with this risk increasing with each successive infection.
Narrative A
It's time to fast-track COVID Vaccine 2.0 already, but both Democrats and Republicans are standing in the way. With new variants, debilitating long COVID, and societal fatigue with the pandemic, a decrease in funding and lack of interest has made the virus run laps around our response to it. We need to re-invigorate developing a superior next-generation COVID vaccine with the same zeal and support as the Trump-era Operation Warp Speed.
Narrative B
If the goal is to prevent COVID infections — even mild ones — we’re going to drive ourselves crazy. It's not uncommon for some viruses to make people sick after vaccination. Expecting a measles-like lifelong immune response from a COVID vaccine isn't realistic. It's time to revisit flawed terminology like "breakthrough infection" and "long COVID" to refine our conversations. The purpose of COVID vaccines is to prevent severe illness and death — the current suite does a terrific job of that.
Nerd narrative
There is a 19% chance that there will be recurring virus-driven lockdowns during the period 2050, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Crypto Exchange FTX Files for Bankruptcy
Amid a rush of customer withdrawals that left the firm teetering on the edge of collapse, cryptocurrency exchange FTX announced Friday that it's filing for bankruptcy, with founder Sam Bankman-Fried stepping down as CEO.
Users began withdrawing their funds from FTX last week after an article appeared on the crypto news site CoinDesk suggesting that Alameda — a hedge fund owned by Bankman-Fried — held billions of dollars worth of FTX's own currency, FTT, from clients' accounts to use as collateral in further loans.
Narrative A
FTX was seen as one of the more reputable firms in the crypto world, and its founder was considered a Capitol Hill darling, having donated millions to political campaigns and helped write legislation around cryptocurrencies. This shocking twist — which will have ripple effects across the crypto world — brings all of that into question and renews calls for more regulation.
Narrative B
All of these problems stem from the lack of clarity provided by US legislators, which has driven 95% of the crypto market offshore. They are now largely powerless to retrieve the funds, and it makes no sense to further punish US crypto companies for these mistakes with a regulatory crackdown.
Nerd narrative
There's a 95% chance that FTX.US will default or delay for more than 120 hours on payment to at least one FTX.US user before 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Boston to Pay $2.1M for Refusing to Fly Christian Flag
After five years of litigation and a Supreme Court ruling, the city of Boston, Mass. agreed to pay $2.1M to Boston resident Hal Shurtleff's Christian group Camp Constitution. The city previously refused to fly the flag in City Hall despite displaying other flags expressing various messages throughout the years.
The SCOTUS decision comes after Camp Constitution first requested to fly its Christian flag — which is white, with a red cross on a blue background in the upper left corner — on one of three poles at City Hall Plaza to celebrate Constitution Day in 2017.
Right narrative
This was a big win for Camp Constitution and religious liberty, which for too long has been denied using the establishment clause. Certainly a Christian flag has as much right to be flown as the Pride flag or any other symbol Boston has approved over the years. The hypocritical, woke agenda has been exposed, and from now on Boston's anti-religion efforts should receive more scrutiny.
Left narrative
The Constitution says the government “shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.” Allowing a religious flag to fly over a government building would clearly violate this. SCOTUS's decision and this settlement set a dangerous precedent for weakening church-state separation, as well as allowing – at least hypothetically – more nefarious symbols to be displayed on public property in the future.
US Midterms: Young Voter Turnout Second Highest in 30 Years
As Democrats celebrate their better-than-expected performance in Tuesday's midterm elections, increased focus has been put on the effect young voters had on the outcomes in several states.
Researchers say the recent midterms had the second-highest turnout among voters under 30 in at least the past three decades, with around 27% of voters between the ages of 18-29 casting a ballot. The 2018 midterms saw the highest turnout among young voters, with about 31% voting.
Democratic narrative
Young voters have made their voices heard by telling the political establishment that they won't stand for anti-democratic politicians, namely Republicans, who want to take away their rights and distract from real issues, such as climate change and access to abortion. The future of the Democratic party, and consequently for the country as a whole, is with young Americans who want to build a more fair and equitable nation.
Republican narrative
America's youth has become increasingly politically illiterate Schools and universities have been peddling woke ideology for years now, distracting many young voters from key priorities. The result is young people who want policies that "feel good" but are incapable of making the tough choices that come with governing a nation.
Report: Musk Warns of Twitter Bankruptcy as Executives Quit
With some advertisers leaving the platform and top executives resigning from their positions, Twitter CEO Elon Musk reportedly hinted at the possibility of the company filing for bankruptcy if it's unable to reverse its sharp decline in revenue.
On Thursday, executives who departed from the company included head of safety and integrity, Yoel Roth, chief information security officer Lea Kissner, chief privacy officer Damien Kieran, and chief compliance officer Marianne Fogarty.
Narrative A
With the FTC breathing down his neck, advertisers leaving in droves, and staff cuts leaving users' privacy vulnerable, Twitter faces a genuine risk of collapse. Revenue decline aside, the FTC could fine the company billions of dollars if it feels it's breached its settlement, which would virtually evaporate any prospects of Musk making it out of this dilemma unscathed.
Narrative B
Musk's Twitter purchase can be seen as a calculated business strategy or as an attempt to dominate the news cycle. Either scenario will likely bring success to Musk and his companies, despite the seemingly feeble start. While some might say he's stretched too thin, it would be foolish to think he doesn't have some tricks up his sleeve to boost all three of his companies' valuations through his new social media platform.