Monday News: “Pandora Papers”; “Whistleblower Accuses Facebook of ‘betrayal of democracy’”; “The Supreme Court Has Gone Off the Rails”; “Virginia Democrats rally to roll back Trump’s 2020 gains with Latinos”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, October 4.

“Facebook has realized that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, they'll click on less ads, they'll make less money,” says Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. https://t.co/wbxxfgorNE pic.twitter.com/zpQIwcdatr

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 3, 2021

• Is it Time for the World Court to Weigh in on Climate Change? (“Vanuatu is maneuvering to call the question, hoping the UN General Assembly will ask the International Court of Justice to rule.”)
• Revealed: Two Thirds of Online Posts from Six Major European Fossil Fuel Companies ‘Greenwashing’ (“One expert called it a ‘systematic deceptive marketing campaign designed to interfere with the solution that is necessary to respond to the climate emergency: stopping fossil fuel production.'”
• Electrify everything and go renewable. Turns out it’s much cheaper than thought (“…the good news is that an electrified household presents an unequivocally cheaper and less wasteful future for everyone. We sometimes forget exactly how much energy is wasted in the production and burning of fossil fuels – around two thirds”)
• When the world actually solved an environmental crisis (“If you haven’t heard about the ozone hole in years, that’s because scientists did a pretty good job saving us from ourselves.”)
• Can We Move Our Forests in Time to Save Them? (“Trees have always migrated to survive. But now they need our help to avoid climate catastrophe.”)
• What the ‘Pandora Papers’ show about how the powerful hide money from public view
• Pandora papers: biggest ever leak of offshore data exposes financial secrets of rich and powerful
• Pandora Papers: A simple guide to the Pandora Papers leak (“The Pandora Papers is a leak of almost 12 million documents that reveals hidden wealth, tax avoidance and, in some cases, money laundering by some of the world’s rich and powerful.”)
• Here Are the Biggest Revelations From the Pandora Papers Leak
• Pandora papers reveal hidden riches of Putin’s inner circle
• US ‘very concerned’ about China’s ‘provocative military activity near Taiwan’
• China Steps Up Efforts to Ring-Fence Evergrande, Not Save It
• U.S. Signals No Thaw in Trade Relations With China (“The Biden administration said it would not immediately remove the Trump administration’s tariffs and would require Beijing to uphold its trade deals.”)
• Japan’s Parliament elects former diplomat Kishida as new PM
• Taliban-style security welcomed by some, feared by others
• In Mexico, Nearly 100,000 People Are Missing (Horrifying.)
• J. & J. to Seek F.D.A. Authorization for Booster Shot (Excellent!)
• Broader Inflation Pressures Are Beginning to Show
• Democrats Weigh Cutting Programs or Reducing Scope to Trim $3.5 Trillion Bill
• Why the Media Got the Story About this Week All Wrong (“The failure of many in the political press to check their blind spots caused them to misunderstand what happened in Congress.”)
• Doomsday Clock for U.S. Debt Ticks, With No Congressional Plan
• Wanted: A better Build Back Better campaign
• Sanders Says Democrats Will Likely Have to Lower the Price Tag on Biden’s Spending Bill (“He also slammed efforts to block the bill.”)
• Why Manchin And Democratic Leaders Might Not Be Quite So Far Apart (“It depends on whether Manchin cares about the bill’s sheer ambition or just its increase in federal spending.”)
• Manchin clashes with fellow Democrats over fossil-fuel demands (The media keeps lying, calling Manching a “centrist,” when actually he’s a conservative Democratic from a deep-red state, while the rest of Senate Dems are the actual centrists. Why does the media do this?)
• ‘Major’ Oil Spill Off California Coast Threatens Wetlands and Wildlife (Oil is a disaster.)
• California Officials Try to Limit Damage From Oil Spill (“The spill of an estimated 126,000 gallons from an oil-processing platform about 5 miles offshore reached beaches and threatened wetlands south of Los Angeles.”)
• Analysis: Global natgas price surge looms for United States this winter
• America is amusing itself to death — and the media still can’t face the truth (“Why is the media ignoring the ‘Eastman memo’? One reason is that its leaders miss Trump — he was great for business”)
• The GOP Doesn’t Care That You Hate It (“The project it is engaged with now is about power not popularity.”)
• The Supreme Court Has Gone Off the Rails
• The Supreme Court’s conservatives cook up a stew of abortion, guns, religion and more
• Five issues to watch as new Supreme Court term unfolds
• Fate of abortion access looms over new Supreme Court term
• Why The Supreme Court Probably Doesn’t Care What Most Americans Think About Abortion Or Gun Rights
• Trump seeking to elevate Republicans who refuse to accept Biden victory (“Ex-president has endorsed Republican secretary of state candidates who would wield enormous power over elections” Very, very dangerous.)
• Don’t give up on Texas, Democrats (“Republicans are alienating voters in the Lone Star State.”)
• ABC Panel Ignites When Chris Christie Accuses Biden of Folding to Progressives After ‘He Couldn’t Stand Up to the Taliban’ (Christie’s a corrupt authoritarian, why on earth would we want to listen to him?)
• Why Kyrsten Sinema’s tactics may backfire
• Activists ambush Sen. Kyrsten Sinema at ASU over immigration, Build Back Better Act
• Independent Poll: Sisolak, Cortez Masto hold slim leads over likely GOP opponents
• Facebook whistleblower reveals identity, accuses the platform of a ‘betrayal of democracy’
• Facebook whistleblower revealed on ‘60 Minutes,’ says the company prioritized profit over public good
• Whistle-Blower Says Facebook ‘Chooses Profits Over Safety’
• Frances Haugen Might Be Facebook’s Biggest Threat in Years
• The Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen, Says She Wants to Fix the Company, Not Harm It
• Ex-Facebook manager alleges the social network fed the Capitol riot
• What They Saw in Ozy (“The story behind the story is about the elite investors who plowed millions into a media dream without much due diligence, persuaded by the charm of Ozy’s head, Carlos Watson”)
• With Just Over a Month Until 11/2, Glenn Youngkin Rallied Last Night with Far-Right Group That’s Virulently Anti-LGBTQ, Anti-Reproductive Freedom, Anti-Marijuana Legalization; Thinks Anti-Racist Curriculum Is “Marxist”; etc. (The keynote speaker last night was “Big Lie” promoter Kayleigh McEnany)
• Fight over Biden agenda looms large over Virginia governor’s race
• With Trump sidelined and Biden floundering, has the Virginia GOP found its mojo?
• McAuliffe campaign mocks GOP’s Youngkin, belittles Black group for endorsing him (This group endorses a LOT of Republicans, including people like Bill DeSteph, Jen Kiggans, Jason Miyares, “Rocky” Holcomb, Glenn Davis, Barry Knight, Chris Jones, Shannon Kane, Chris Stolle, etc.)
• Democrats on defense in tight races as their new House majority faces its first electoral test
• Virginia Democrats rally to roll back Trump’s 2020 gains with Latinos
• Redistricting Commission Fails to Agree on Consensus Map Ahead of Public Comment Period
• Is the redistricting commission listening to what voters want? (In fairness, different voters want different things.)
• “This is grotesque white supremacy. This is the GOP today – literally publishing mailers of Black people hanging in an attempt to get votes.”
• Audio: Nadarius Clark, at 26, is looking to bring a fresh voice to the General Assembly
• A 2020 law could decide whether Dominion customers get zero or $372 million in refunds (“Accounting for costs of power plant closures may be rate review’s biggest fight”)
• D.C.-area forecast: A humid, sometimes showery week, as crisp fall weather takes a pause