FD Afternoon Tea 11.9.2020 - Multiple Intelligences

Had to cut it off to make sure I wasn’t adding to the miasma of anxiety and doomscrolling. Now with a president-elect, let’s get back to it!

Cyprus begins to talk unification, Trump & Rudy talked in the Four Seasons Total Landscaping parking lot, GA GOP Senators talk disease info, Tucker talks Biden as a hologram, Esper gets fired, and Carson got that ‘rona.

The world reacts to Joe Biden’s win (Al-Jazeera) If you wanted to spend 20min evaluating the leaders of the world responding to Biden’s election, AJZ has you sorted. Trump is currently fundraising off of the claim that he’s fighting the decision in court. However, the fine print of that donation system states that up to 60% of those funds could be used to pay off campaign debt.

Man featured at Giuliani press conference is a convicted sex offender (Politico) The Dark Carnival Pokémon wasn’t done with us yet. The cavalcade of stars at this Baby’s First Last Stand was at a bit of distance from the local school & houses of worship:

Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson claims Joe Biden is a hologram who doesn't actually exist (MSN) I mean…does what it says on the tin. Tucker Carlson thinks that Biden is a “projection of sorts - a hologram designed to mimic the behavior of a non-threatening political candidate.” If Biden is a Hologram, we’re living in Back to the Future II.

Georgia on my mind (Popular Information) & Loeffler among senators whose stock trading during coronavirus raises questions (Atlanta Journal Constitution) The last two Senator races that are too close to call are in Georgia. And the two GOP Senators defending their seats have a year of stock trades that can most charitably be described as “interesting” given how members of Congress were informed about COVID-19.

Cyprus leaders, in first encounter, back five-way U.N. meeting (Reuters) A historic first step to talks that could result in the reunification of Cyprus. Not likely, but possible?

UAE Opens Consulate In Morocco-controlled Western Sahara (Barrons) & US poised to flout int’l law as part of potential Morocco-Israel normalization deal (Responsible Statecraft) The idea I discussed back in February has clipped along. UAE is steaming ahead, in violation of international recognition that Western Sahara is not sovereign Moroccan territory. Additionally, Pompeo looks to be hustling to get a deal done where Morocco recognizes Israel, in exchange for the USA & Israel recognizing Morocco’s claims to Western Sahara. We shall see if it gets done before the administration is out the door.

Amazon patents method of grouping toxic players together online (GamesIndustry) Can we speed this along? Because yes please.

They Went To Jared (Vanity Fair) Just the most infuriating, comprehensive read on why you don’t just go to your son-in-law to solve everything from the Middle East peace process to creating a PPE mafia.

Ben Carson is the latest Trump official to test positive for coronavirus (CNN) Speaking of proof that general intelligence doesn’t exist, Dr. Ben Carson, famed neurosurgeon and current non-mask wearer, got that rona. Dr. Carson is the best proof that you can have virtuoso-tier skill & talent in one tier, and be a complete poltroon in others.

How Indigenous voters swung the 2020 election (High Country News) Great story about Arizona and Wisconsin, reminding Americans that our Indigenous peoples make the difference far more often than we’d like to admit.

The Most Famous Paradox in Physics Nears Its End (Quanta) Theoretically, black holes can’t transmit/allow even information to escape from them. But they need to somehow such that we can detect them. We might have figured out how this works.

Song of the Tea: It can be nothing but Lose Yo Job by iMarkkeyz & SuedetheRemixGod, ft. GetThisDance. Yes, this is the track Maya Rudolph played on her phone during the SNL cold open over the weekend.

What some folks call impossible, is just stuff they haven't seen before.

Yours,T