important | 1 | | Next week in federal appeals court, Democrats will seek former White House Counsel Donald McGahn’s testimony. They’ll be setting up a possible third article of impeachment for obstruction of justice, regarding President Donald Trump’s handling of the Russian election-meddling investigation. Meanwhile, Trump and fellow Republicans continue to blast charges at Democrats for the first two articles, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has delayed submitting to the Senate for trial. How does the public view this? A new survey shows more Americans — 49 percent — support passing the articles and removing the president than the 45 percent who don’t. This OZY op-ed predicts the chief justice’s impeachment legacy.
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| 2 | | “Go to Pakistan!” That’s one Uttar Pradesh policeman’s virally circulated reaction to Muslim anger in an area that saw most of India’s 27 deaths and mass detentions from demonstrations this month. The Dec. 11 passage of the Citizenship Act Amendment, which helps religiously persecuted migrants but excludes Muslims, has many wondering if the the country’s constitutionally enshrined secularism is all but dead. Where are things headed? Violence has tapered off in the last week, but Yogi Adityanath, who runs India’s most populous Uttar Pradesh state, has threatened to confiscate property from demonstrators to pay for damage — perhaps inciting new unrest. | |
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| 3 | | “The guy is freaking evil.” That’s how some members of the Navy’s elite commando team saw Edward Gallagher. Videos leaked to the New York Times feature soldiers’ statements that the special operations chief stabbed a sedated prisoner, leading to murder charges (he was acquitted). The statements, which accuse Gallagher of criminal misconduct, were inconsistent and false, his lawyer says. What’s at issue? President Trump has made Gallagher’s case a cause célèbre, ordering the Pentagon to restore his SEAL membership — a dispute that precipitated Navy Secretary Richard Spencer’s dismissal. OZY looks back at a World War II war crimes struggle. | |
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| 4 | | Is it Trumponomics? The American president’s break from Republican orthodoxy on a variety of economic policies, like putting the screws to global trade, at the very least haven’t hurt. The week ended as 2019 has fared: On a steady upward climb, with the tech-oriented Nasdaq stock index cracking 9,000 Thursday for the first time. Elsewhere, Brexit is helping stunt European growth and trade woes have tranquilized China’s commercial leviathan. What about 2020? The forecasts vary wildly, from rosy odds of continued Wall Street exuberance to the bubble bursting, with perhaps an 8-percent correction next month. | |
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| intriguing | 1 | | Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster triggered a phaseout of nuclear reactors across the world. But as the climate crisis worsens, it may be time to reconsider, argues journalist Carolyn Kormann. A study by Columbia University states if Japan and Germany had cut down on coal power instead of nuclear, 28,000 air-pollution-induced deaths and 2,400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions could have been prevented. What do scientists say? According to a 2018 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, there are four climate protection pathways, all of which require major nuclear power expansion. This OZY op-ed argues for an atomic revival. | |
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| 2 | | Like many visionaries, William Darity Jr. admits his idea has been regarded as “something out of cloud cuckoo land.” But as the century’s third decade begins, his modern reboot of the Depression-era Works Progress Administration is getting a serious hearing in the corridors of power, OZY reports. The federal government would provide jobs with benefits for anyone who wants them, paid through carbon, estate or financial transaction taxes. Who takes this seriously? Democratic contenders Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker have spoken well of Darity’s scheme, although a supportive former adviser to candidate Joe Biden called it “a very heavy lift.” | |
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| 3 | | The Vatican’s halal dish was meant to welcome Muslim diners, but the right saw it as an attack on the homeland. Nothing says European culture war like what goes on dinner tables, with pork-free menus in Italy and France seen as a Trojan horse for Muslim migrants. One political observer says food is especially useful for politicians in Italy, where patriotism isn’t particularly strong. Do they have a point? Culinary experts note that many Italian specialties, like spaghetti — a Chinese import — actually have foreign origins, so epicurean chauvinism is somewhat disingenuous. OZY examines Italy’s political landscape. | |
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| 4 | | He’s still making a list. Back in 2014, two social scientists suggested that the ubiquitous Elf on the Shelf holiday toy — which adorably “reports” behavior back to Santa — would inure kids to constant surveillance. They were greeted as crackpots, but now it seems they had 2020 foresight. Today, college students’ phones are tracked to count attendance and everyone, it seems, is subject to secret tracking. Where is this taking us? While the elf doesn’t actually surveil, less obvious location- and image-capturing has backed up authorities’ once-toothless “permanent record” threats with data that may never be erased. OZY exposes secret surveillance apps. | |
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| 5 | | As the NFL closes its regular season Sunday, quarterback Eli Manning will lace up for his final Giants game. The humble play-caller has won two Super Bowls, both against the juggernaut New England Patriots, in 2007 and 2011. He didn’t brag, letting teammates take credit for wins while facing the press after losses. A Southerner, he loved the Big Apple, and its fans returned that affection. How will he depart? Playing backup, he won’t go out in glory as his brother Peyton did in Super Bowl 50, but he could make the NFL Hall of Fame — or try his luck with another team. | |
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