Afternoon Tea - Arson-Proof Fungus

Disappearing Latine drivers, Biden’s Korean Secret Service agent, Saudi Stick-and-Carrot, fungus that can eat charcoal, oysterbed revivification, Dr. Oz has a primary challenger, we need new SciFi that doesn’t just reinvent the office & kitchen every 30 years, and a new dinosaur just dropped. It’s Thursday, December 2nd 2021, and this is your Tea. Your vibe is a soothing trance re-work of the classic Pink Floyd.

“If Everybody’s White, There Can’t Be Any Racial Bias”: The Disappearance of Hispanic Drivers From Traffic Records (ProPublica) This is confusingly dastardly. If you are looking for a journalistic outfit to donate to for the end of the year, there are few better choices than ProPublica.

Saudis used ‘incentives and threats’ to shut down UN investigation in Yemen (Guardian) This is much more simplistic in its malevolence. This kind of tackle football diplomacy is ensuring that the war continues.

No, Biden Doesn’t Have a ‘Chinese Handler.’ He’s a US Secret Service Agent. (VICE World News) If your relatives are posting this low-effort conspiracy theory, it tells us three things about them. First, they forgot this decorated Korean American was also Secret Service handling Trump. Secondly, they can’t tell the difference between Korean and Chinese Americans. Third, they don’t actually care and are kinda racist.

Stop Telling Me Trust-Fund Kids Are Financial Wizards (Daily Beast) Every single tech luminary or feel-good rags to riches story you read about expensive apartments has the same fatal flaw. They all forget to mention trust funds, investment from family, or the parents who happened to have coworkers who run IBM.

Hedge fund CEO readies Senate bid despite Oz announcement (Politico) & Dr. Oz's campaign and the hidden danger of woo woo cranks (The Week) We don’t usually take strong positions on horse races, but Dr. Oz is so utterly repellant and damaging to the health discourse of this nation, we had to make an exception. We hope he loses by 50 points and wastes a bunch of bad people’s money

Same Old (Real Life) Utterly engrossing discussion of our total lack of imagination when it comes to Sci-Fi. Just imagine, George Jetson still had to commute to work. If you click on one thing in the Tea this week, open this tab and read it this weekend.

This Fire-Loving Fungus Eats Charcoal, if It Must (New York Times) Fungus can’t be killed in a way that matters, and apparently is learning how to eat fire.

World’s largest oyster restoration completed on Piankatank River (Virginia Mercury) Oysters are some of the most effective cleaners of our waterways in existence. This is wonderful news, and communities across the country should steal it wherever feasible.

This bizarre armored dinosaur had a uniquely bladed tail weapon (National Geographic) New dinosaurs are coming out with weapons now. Gotta love when the market hype cycle catches up to old interests.

Poem of the Tea: Utterly gorgeous, powerful, emotional ad about spending your life waiting for Santa. Best commercial of the year, you’ll yell when you see who it’s for.

Take care of each other, and don’t wait a lifetime to tell people you love them.

Yours,