Violent COVID Protests Rock Guangzhou
On Monday, following several nights of city residents scuffling with COVID enforcement officers over China's "zero-COVID" lockdown measures, protesters in the city of Guangzhou overturned police cars, tore down COVID control barriers, and clashed with police in the streets.
The violence comes as Guangzhou — an industrial center hub with a population of 19M — documented more than 6.2K COVID cases on Tuesday. The government began to ease its dynamic zero-COVID policy last week.
Pro-China narrative
With surges in cases popping up throughout the country, the PRC's zero-COVID strategy has proven effective in keeping citizens safe from the virus while simultaneously opening the economy. The current public health policy has been working but can only be successful if everyone participates.
Anti-China narrative
Putting aside the human rights aspect of China's zero-COVID strategy, President Xi's policy is also damaging the country from an economic and public health perspective. Whether or not Xi has successfully pushed the country enough to achieve zero-COVID compliance, people may begin to notice his hypocrisy as the economy shrinks — something he could've avoided if he'd allowed his citizens to learn to live with the virus.
Tesla: $55B Pay Deal to Keep Musk 'Engaged'
On Tuesday, the head of Tesla's board of directors, Robyn Denholm, testified in a trial challenging a $55B compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk. Denholm said she was focused on the results Musk could deliver, not how much time he would commit to Tesla.
It comes after board member Ira Ehrenpreis took the stand on Monday, where he stated that the largest executive-pay package in US corporate history was determined by the board to keep Musk "engaged" in the company.
Narrative A
This compensation plan is clearly excessive. Musk has benefited from his influence over the board's committee — which has falsely claimed that it has no conflicts of interest — and been rewarded for his part-time management role at Tesla, largely on the grounds of milestones that had already been achieved when shareholders voted.
Narrative B
This compensation plan has granted Elon Musk his fair share of Tesla's success, especially considering he took a high risk to receive a high reward. Though Tesla skeptics ridiculed his decision at the time, Musk's management has led the carmaker to increase its value from $59B to $600B, achieving almost all his stipulated performance targets.
Nerd narrative
There's a 47% chance that Elon Musk will be the richest person in the world on December 31, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
NASA Launches Artemis Moon Rocket
The American space agency NASA launched its new Artemis Moon rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla. early Wednesday morning. The 100m-tall vehicle is the agency's most powerful rocket ever launched.
This marks the start of NASA's new flagship program following years of delays and billions in cost overruns. Artemis' debut flight carries three test dummies in the crew capsule, Orion, on its three-week flight orbit around the Moon. Orion will return to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific in December.
Narrative A
Eventually, NASA will return astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972, including the first woman. As part of a long-term plan for a Moon-to-Mars exploration in the next 20 years, the Artemis project is an exciting test to see how close humanity is to reaching much further than the Moon in the decades to come.
Narrative B
Despite the long-term plan for the Artemis program this decade, only now is NASA creating a single management structure to handle its entirety. Whilst the intentions are exciting, there has clearly been a lack of administration that may have been left too late to fix before the planned personnel moon landing in 2025.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that NASA will next land astronauts on the Moon by Aug. 2, 2029, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Day 266 Roundup: US Sources Suggest Missile that Landed in Poland was Ukrainian
After a missile crossed Ukraine's border into Poland late on Tuesday killing two civilians, three US officials told the Associated Press that preliminary investigations suggested the projectile was an air-defense missile launched by Ukrainian forces attempting to stave off a salvo of Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
The incident prompted widespread speculation that the missile was fired by Russia, with some calling for NATO's article 4 or article 5 to be evoked. Leaders from the G7 countries were also called into an emergency meeting while the G20 summit was underway in Indonesia.
Pro-establishment narrative
While the incident in Poland is unlikely to trigger NATO's article 4 or article 5, it underscores the very real risk of a full-blown Russia-NATO war in the event of an accident or a miscalculation.
Pro-Russia narrative
Premature statements from Ukrainian and Western officials that Russia was to blame for the incident in Poland are a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the war. All Russian missiles had hit their targets precisely.
Nerd narrative
There's a 5% chance that a NATO country will evoke Article 5 by December 31, 2022, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Oil Tanker Hit by Armed Drone off Oman Coast
A Middle East-based defense official said on Wednesday on condition of anonymity that an oil tanker associated with Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer was struck on Tuesday night by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman.
The Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping firm, which was operating the Liberia-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon, stated it had been “hit by a projectile” some 150 miles off the coast of Oman, causing "some minor damage to the vessel's hull" but "no reports of injuries or pollution."
Anti-Iran narrative
This is a classic Iranian tactic attack a ship using drones then deny responsibility. This is how the Islamic Republic operates and why the US and Israel must act aggressively. The mullahs in Tehran only understand the language of decisive action — Israel must be prepared to respond to provocations.
Pro-Iran narrative
Tehran anticipated that Israel and its Arab allies would conduct malicious actions during the World Cup. This attack was about media hype and defaming Iran. Israel is facing problems forming a cabinet — this incident is a geopolitical distraction.
McConnell Wins Senate GOP Leader Reelection
On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) won a challenge from Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for his post, securing another two years as GOP Senate leader.
McConnell — the longest-serving GOP leader in Senate history — won the leadership vote 37-10, with one senator abstaining.
Narrative A
McConnell has proven he can no longer effectively lead the GOP in the Senate. This election cycle, he undermined the party by criticizing the quality of the candidates. He also spent too much on incumbents and short-changed challengers, leaving Scott to make up the spending deficit. This is a disappointing outcome.
Narrative B
Knowing he had no shot at upending McConnell, Scott was merely trying to save face for his failures in the midterms. His challenge to the leader was nothing more than an attempt to make McConnell look bad, pass the buck for the GOP’s shortcomings and, most importantly, win favor with former Pres. Trump, whose disdain for McConnell is well known.
Federal Judge Blocks Title 42 Border Policy
Title 42, the public health emergency measure used to expel migrants who cross into the US illegally, was struck down by a federal judge on Tuesday.
Judge Emmett Sullivan of the US District Court for DC ruled that the measure — which was adopted during the Trump admin. — violates the Administrative Procedures Act. Biden’s admin. says it will comply with the order.
Left narrative
Title 42 was disguised as a public health order, but was always just an inhumane way to deny legitimate asylum seekers access to the US, and it’s about time it ended. The US government could’ve taken other measures — such as letting migrants self-quarantine or ramping up vaccinations — rather than barring them all from entering. Biden is absolutely right to agree with this latest ruling.
Republican narrative
If you thought the Biden administration’s handling of the border was bad before, things are about to get much worse. The US isn’t ready for the massive surge of illegal border crossings on the way. This will put border patrol agents at risk, and make the country less safe as a whole.
FTX Digital Assets Seized by Authorities in Bahamas
After filing for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the US on Tuesday, the assets of FTX Digital Markets have been seized by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas. This comes after a bankruptcy court filing alleged that the crypto exchange issued unreliable financial statements, mishandled confidential data, and used corporate funds to buy homes for employees in the Bahamas.
FTX Digital, a non-US company unit, is using Chapter 15 to shield itself from creditors seeking to file lawsuits and tie up assets in the US. Bahamian authorities say they've transferred the assets to a digital wallet under their control for "safekeeping."
Pro-establishment narrative
The collapse of FTX shows just how risky it is to invest in cryptocurrency. The US government, among others, is justifiably investigating the matter, and it's key to track how the public sector will respond through legislation. Companies like FTX need to be regulated the same way traditional banks are.
Establishment-critical narrative
The pious calls of regulators are disingenuous. Besides the current headlines of bankruptcy, financial fraud, and risky investments, FTX's relationship with politicians and governments also needs scrutiny. The multi-billion-dollar exchange was used for everything from funding Ukraine's war effort to political campaign donations in the US. The public sector got tangled up in this crypto mess.
Kuwait Hangs Seven People in First Executions Since 2017
In its first execution in five years, Kuwait on Wednesday hanged seven individuals, including four Kuwaitis, a Pakistani, a Syrian, and an Ethiopian. Two of the seven were women.
The state-run KUNA news agency said all seven had been convicted of premeditated murder, though the oil-rich nation has received condemnation from both rights and governmental organizations.
Pro-establishment narrative
The Middle East is rampant with not only public executions but executions for non-violent crimes like drug trafficking, homosexuality, adultery, and religious heresy — a tool used to infuse fear among the public and silence dissent. The international community has a duty to oppose these human rights violations by calling for the total abolishment of the death penalty.
Establishment-critical narrative
While the West should continue to condemn the misuse of capital punishment in non-Western states, it shouldn't resort to blackmail as the EU has done with its threats to Kuwait's visa bid. International law allows capital punishment in certain instances, and Kuwait has sparingly used it for the most severe crimes.
US Senate Advances Respect for Marriage Act
The Respect for Marriage Act passed a significant milestone in the US Senate on Wednesday, as lawmakers voted 62-37 to prevent a filibuster and advance the law that would write marriage equality into federal law to an up-or-down vote later this week.
All 50 members of the Democratic caucus were joined by 12 Republicans in a vote that had been delayed since July when the House passed the act. A bipartisan agreement had postponed the vote until after this month’s midterm elections.
Republican narrative
The Respect for Marriage Act is a Trojan horse that will pave the way to increased federal action and litigation against religious groups under the guise of protecting same-sex marriage rights. It does nothing to actually advance LGBTQ+ freedoms but does everything to threaten religious ones.
Democratic narrative
This bill — a proactive measure to protect same-sex marriage — carefully balances LGBTQ+ rights and religious freedom, as attested by the support it has garnered from members of both groups. Any talk of this act working in opposition to religious rights is just a way for the opposition to rile up its base.