SCOTUS Hears Section 230 Arguments in Gonzalez v. Google
SCOTUS on Tuesday heard arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, the first time the court has heard a case challenging the scope of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which has been upheld in the lower courts.
Gonzalez v. Google was brought by the family of 23-year-old American college student Nohemi Gonzalez who was killed in the 2015 ISIS terror attack in Paris. Gonzalez’ parents allege that YouTube — which is owned by Google — is liable for damages because its algorithms violated US terrorism laws by recommending videos the terrorists found helpful.
As automated advertising represents a large segment of revenues for the companies facing the suit, the result may make a significant dent into their earnings. In 2022, Google's ad revenue totaled $168B.
Narrative A
Section 230 offers a vital protection that has facilitated the tremendous innovation we’ve seen in online platforms over the past two decades. Without it, companies would be unable to provide the user experience, recommendations, and economic opportunities currently afforded to people around the world. The loss of such legislation would cause irreparable damage to the sector and come at a huge cost to internet users globally.
Narrative B
When Section 230 was first created in 1996, its creators could have never envisioned the behemoth social media would become in the lives of millions around the world. Big Social Media companies represent some of the largest and most influential corporate entities in the world and, with that much power, comes proportionate responsibility. Companies like Google can shape the psyche and actions of the population — there must be greater accountability and regulation in the online world.
Nerd narrative
There is a 43% chance that Section 230 will be revoked or amended by January 20, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
China, Japan Hold First Security Talks In Four Years
China and Japan on Wednesday launched their first official bilateral security talks in four years in the Japanese capital Tokyo, in a bid to improve strained relations between the two Asian powers.
Japan's Senior Deputy Foreign Minister Shigeo Yamada expressed concern about China's alleged use of spy balloons and increasing military activities, including suspected cooperation with Russia.
He also referred to the territorial dispute between Japan and its largest trading partner over the uninhabited Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea and the need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Pro-China narrative
It's not China that threatens stability in the region, but Japan's military buildup to counter the alleged "Chinese threat" while demonstrating just how firm security ties with Washington supposedly are. By bowing to US hegemonic interests and shifting from a defensive posture to offensive deterrence against China, Japan is playing a dangerous game. Tokyo should instead embrace the talks to work with China toward peace and stability.
Anti-China narrative
With the December announcement of its new national security strategy, Japan proved that it's no longer willing to stand idly by and hide behind a naïve belief in its pacifist security stance amid China's military intimidation. Therefore, Tokyo has correctly decided to double its defense spending and expand its alliance with the US. Japan has identified China as the greatest challenge to its security and shouldn't fall for Beijing's tricks.
Nerd narrative
There's a 2% chance that there will be a deadly clash between Japanese and Chinese armed forces before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Mexico's Ex-Security Minister Convicted of Drug Trafficking
After a four-week trial, Mexico's ex-security minister Genaro García Luna on Tuesday was convicted by a New York jury of drug trafficking and taking millions of dollars from Mexico's biggest crime group, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's Sinaloa drug cartel.
García Luna served as the public security minister under Felipe Calderón's presidency from 2006 to 2012, which put him in charge of fighting Mexican drug cartels. He was arrested in 2019 in Texas and had pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors argued that he accepted millions from the cartel in exchange for helping them smuggle narcotics into the US, including tipping them off to police operations, arresting rival cartel members, and appointing other corrupt officials to positions of power.
Pro-establishment narrative
This verdict shows just how high up the corruption went under Felipe Calderón's presidency, as it's scandalous that a US jury could convict Mexico’s former drug czar on charges of aiding the Sinaloa drug cartel. US officials have for years complained about the difficulty of knowing who to trust and share information with inside the Mexican government. Now, that distrust has been proven justified.
Establishment-critical narrative
While US attorneys pat themselves on the back for this conviction, what should be investigated more is what US officials knew about this corruption throughout the years. García Luna worked closely with the US government dating back to the Bill Clinton presidency, during which his corruption was carelessly — or more cynically, deliberately — unnoticed. This shouldn't just be a Mexican story but a conviction of US negligence, too.
Malcolm X's Daughter to Sue Govt. Agencies for Alleged Role in Murder
The daughter of slain African American civil rights leader Malcolm X announced a $100M wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against multiple US government agencies, alleging they were involved in her father’s murder nearly six decades ago.
Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X’s six daughters, announced the lawsuit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the FBI, and the CIA at a press conference flanked by one of her sisters and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Three men were convicted of the murder, though a New York Judge threw out two of the cases — against Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam, who spent decades in prison – in 2021, declaring their convictions to be a miscarriage of justice after evidence emerged that police and prosecutors withheld evidence supporting their innocence.
Narrative A
US counter-subversion operations like COINTELPRO considered activists and leaders like Malcolm X as threats that had to be neutralized by any means necessary. While we may not have direct proof implicating US intelligence agencies in his murder, the FBI’s fingerprints are all over Malcolm X’s assassination, and an unfettered, thorough investigation must be conducted if the powerful are to be held accountable.
Narrative B
While there are still questions to be answered surrounding Malcolm X's assassination, it's important to note that the third man convicted in the murder — whose case was not overturned — had confessed, which doesn't bode well for the government-did-it theory. Though justifiably so, this lawsuit could also simply be Malcolm X's daughter seeking compensation for the pain she's endured after decades of legal battles and controversy involving her father's murder.
Day 364: Fresh Attacks and Air Raid Sirens Follow Leaders' Speeches
Hours after US Pres. Joe Biden and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin delivered contrasting speeches, Ukraine was again hit by a wave of missile attacks with air-raid sirens reported across the country on Wednesday.
A Russian missile strike was recorded in the region of Kharkiv, reportedly injuring two civilians. Russian rockets and artillery were also recorded in the regions of Sumy, Luhansk, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in the past day. One civilian was reported killed and one more injured in the Donetsk region.
Air-raid warnings were also broadcast by Russian radio stations across 10 cities on Wednesday. However, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said the broadcasts had been a result of a "hacker attack" and that there was no imminent threat.
Pro-establishment narrative
After Putin's falsehood-ridden speech, Biden pushed back by triumphantly declaring that Russia will never be victorious against Ukraine. As the one-year anniversary of the war approaches, that's exactly the message that the world — particularly Ukraine — needs to hear.
Pro-Russia narrative
As Putin rightly highlighted, Russia tried to engage the US and NATO on security guarantees before the conflict started — the efforts were ignored and followed by a further buildup of NATO presence on Russia's borders. The blame for this conflict lies with the West for flagrantly posing an unacceptable security risk that prompted a defensive military operation.
Nerd narrative
There's a 5% chance that China will get involved in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict by 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
UK: Shamima Begum Loses Citizenship Appeal
On Wednesday, Shamima Begum, a 23-year-old who joined the Islamic State (IS) in 2015, lost her appeal challenging then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid's 2019 decision to revoke her British citizenship. Begum claimed she was trafficked in her appeal.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled that despite there being "credible suspicion" that Begum was recruited and transferred to IS at the age of 15 for "sexual exploitation," this was "insufficient" to deem Javid's decision as unlawful.
While the commission also claimed there were "arguable breaches of duty" by state bodies in allowing Begum to travel to Syria, Javid — who "welcome[d]" the ruling — made the decision in 2019 due to national security concerns.
Narrative A
The decision is disappointing, and the power to banish a citizen in such an ad hoc manner shouldn't exist in modern society. Lured to Syria as an impressionable year-old, Begum was groomed and trafficked to join IS, and the UK should be treating her as the victim she is rather than leaving her stranded in Syria.
Narrative B
While this is a tragic case, Shamima Begum made a conscious decision to join a murderous terror group that she stayed with and supported for years, and she must take responsibility for her actions. The state has an obligation to prioritize national security, and the commission is right to stand by Javid's decision.
N. Korean Paper Warns Against 'Poisoned Candy' Amid Food Shortage
North Korea's state newspaper Rodong Sinmun warned citizens on Wednesday that consuming external food aid was akin to eating "poisoned candy," as the nation grapples with food shortages due to natural disasters, international sanctions, and cuts in trade with China during lockdowns.
The editorial also urged economic self-reliance, advising North Koreans against receiving aid from what it deems "imperialists" using it as a "trap to plunder and subjugate" its recipients and interfere with internal politics.
This comes as South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, also on Wednesday, that some 700 detainees at three North Korean prisons had died from famine and other diseases over the past two years, while Seoul estimated in December that the North's crop production fell by 3.8% last year compared to 2021.
Establishment-critical narrative
North Korea has joined the nuclear weapons club, and there's little chance of turning back. Rather than living in denial, the West should focus now on ensuring the nuclear program is carried out safely and responsibly, and prioritizing human rights issues. Though nuclear war is frightening, nations such as India and Pakistan were able to build ICBMs while simultaneously joining the international community. It's time for Pyongyang to be invited to the table on the condition that it stops starving its people.
Pro-establishment narrative
The West, particularly the US-South Korea military alliance, has a right to maintain its strict sanctions against and focus on the North's erratic ICBM tests. Though the Kim regime may see this as a threat and subsequently double down on its missile launches, that is no reason for the South or its allies to back down militarily. The North enjoys its stranglehold on its people, which is why it continues to oppress them and fend off Western intervention through nuclear threats.
Nerd narrative
There is a 39% chance that there will be a major famine in North Korea before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
11 Palestinians Killed, Over 100 Injured in Israeli Raid
In a rare daytime operation allegedly to arrest three wanted militants, Israeli forces entered the Palestinian city of Nablus in the northern West Bank on Wednesday, killing at least 11 Palestinians and injuring 102 others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
At least three of those killed were fighters, while at least another three were civilians, including a 72-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy. Palestinian sources said two of the deceased fighters were commanders in Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
The Israeli army said that the raid targeted suspects — who it accused of committing shootings in the West Bank — hiding out in an apartment. It added that troops came under fire but suffered no casualties.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Not even two months into the new year, and Israel has already committed two massacres against the Palestinian people. This massacre was even more heinous than the one in Jenin, as Israeli forces breached Nablus — one of the larger Palestinian cities — during the day when the old city was packed with civilians. 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
Though it's truly tragic when civilians die in the crossfire, the reality is they would still be alive if Palestinian terrorists chose not to hide among the civilian population. Israeli forces were fired upon before they engaged, and the fighters killed launched attacks against civilians. Ultimately, the media will uncritically blame Israel, but the truth is that the deadliest thing for Palestinians is Palestinian terrorism.
Nerd narrative
There's a 44% chance that Israel will recognize Palestine by 2070, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Foreperson: Grand Jury Recommends Indictments in Trump Probe
Emily Kohrs, the foreperson of the Georgia special grand jury investigating allegations that former Pres. Donald Trump attempted to reverse the results of his 2020 election defeat in the state, said in several media interviews this week that the panel recommends multiple indictments.
Kohrs, however, declined to discuss details related to the 26-member jury’s deliberations or unpublished portions of its final report that was partially released last Thursday, as ordered by a judge.
According to Kohrs, the number of recommended indictments "is not a short list," but when asked specifically about Trump, she dodged the question, replying, "you’re not going to be shocked."
Democratic narrative
These cases are delicate and involve many powerful potential indictees, so it’s important that Willis was able to take the cases on a test run — by way of the special grand jury — where she controlled the flow of information before moving on to real trials. Meanwhile, Khors’ media appearances provide valuable observations about which witnesses sound most credible and might best complement physical evidence.
Pro-Trump narrative
Kohrs came across as an unserious grifter in her appearances, making this whole process – which is nothing more than Democrats weaponizing the legal system to attack Trump – look like a farce. In addition to her making the grand jury sound partisan, her revelations didn't reveal any new information.
Nerd narrative
There’s a 53% chance that Trump will be indicted on criminal charges in 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
South Korea: Fertility Rate Drops to Record Low
South Korea’s fertility rate, the lowest in the world for years, has reached an all-time low as the country’s statistics office released data on Wednesday showing the expected number of babies per woman fell to 0.78 in 2022.
This is a drop from 0.81 in 2021, which was the lowest among more than 260 nations tracked by the world bank. South Korea saw the number of newborns decline from 260.6k to 249k in 2022, while the number of deaths, 373k, exceeded births by 124k.
According to UN projections and World Bank data, South Korea has the world’s fastest-shrinking population among economies with a GDP per capita of at least $30k. By 2100, the country’s population is expected to decrease by 53%, deteriorating more than the 43% decline projected in 2019.
Narrative A
South Korea is on the verge of a demographic crisis that will bring an economic crisis along with it. The population pyramid is completely distorted, and the shrinking number of young people won't be able to support the ballooning number of retirees in the coming decades. In addition to the population reducing dramatically, the key number of workers will decrease even more, leading to financial ruin.
Narrative B
Low fertility isn't a bad thing, and in fact, it can be a key component of an alternative economic and social development system. South Korea adopted a plan in the 1960s to reduce population growth, and the measures proved wildly successful in the subsequent decades. Reduced population can lead to innovative ways to order society, all while protecting our environment, which is in grave danger.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that South Korea's fertility rate will be at least 0.891 in 2032, according to the Metaculus prediction community.