My 3 day weekend reads:
• His bike was stolen in Virginia. His response was to collect bikes to fix and give away to people in need. Pruitt, an assistant rector at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Leesburg, Va., posted on a private Loudoun County Facebook page that he’d fix anyone’s bicycle free. In the post he also said he was accepting unwanted bikes, which he’d fix and donate to people in need. He ended with: “Hope and pray this bike met the need of the person who took it.” That day, he received about 30 bicycles at his townhouse. After his next post, about 500 people expressed interest in either donating bikes or having Pruitt fix them. (Washington Post)
• A New Film Details the FBI’s Relentless Pursuit of Martin Luther King Jr. Smithsonian scholar says the time is ripe to examine the man’s complexities for a more accurate and more inspirational history (Smithsonian)
• Corporations’ Political Reckoning Began With a Newsletter One after another, major companies pledged this week to stop donating to politicians whose objections to America’s election results led to a riot at the U.S. Capitol. They were reacting to pressure that began with an article not in the New York Times or Washington Post, but a newsletter called Popular Information. (Bloomberg)
• Analysis: TV news is realigning, with Fox’s ratings sagging and CNN’s soaring Furthermore, a big chunk of Fox’s base audience was demoralized by Trump’s loss in November and disheartened by the pro-Trump riot last week. Fox’s average viewership levels are about 20% lower than they were before the election, even though overall TV news viewership is elevated due to the current combination of crises. (CNN)
• Welcome to the Roaring ’20s, but Maybe Not for Stocks When the world finally bids good riddance to Covid-19, courtesy of a bevy of novel vaccines, expect Americans to emerge from their lairs with a joie de vivre not seen since the 1920s. That’s marvelous news for the economy, which could use some cheer after a punishing year, and for the many companies that will help keep the good times rolling. Just don’t expect the party on Main Street to spread to Wall Street, which had a rollicking celebration of its own this past year. (Barron’s) see also The Rich Are Minting Money in the Pandemic Like Never Before Americans have become, by some measures, richer during the pandemic than ever before. It’s a difficult thing to fathom, what with the economic collapse and the surge in the ranks of the jobless, the homeless and the hungry. But the top 20% or so of earners have had to worry little about such matters. (Bloomberg)
• How to Hold Social Media Accountable for Undermining Democracy While the blame for President Trump’s incitement to insurrection lies squarely with him, the biggest social media companies — most prominently my former employer, Facebook — are absolutely complicit. They have not only allowed Trump to lie and sow division for years, their business models have exploited our biases and weaknesses and abetted the growth of conspiracy-touting hate groups and outrage machines. (Harvard Business Review)
• Rise of the Coronavirus Cranks: Long form look at how “Covidiots” became a movement. And so I reluctantly support this lockdown for the same reason I initially supported the first one, as a last resort. It seems to me to be the only way to ensure that everybody is able to access healthcare, whether they have COVID or not. As soon as it has achieved its goal, I will press for it to be lifted. I am fully aware of the social and economic havoc lockdowns cause. We will spend much of the remaining decade picking up the pieces. (Quillette)
• How will you actually know when it’s your turn to get the COVID-19 vaccine? When and how you’ll be notified about your place in the vaccine line—and how proactive you’ll have to be in finding the information—will depend heavily on the state and city you live in. (Fast Company)
• 41 minutes of fear: A video timeline from inside the Capitol siege At 2:12 p.m. on Jan. 6, supporters of President Trump began climbing through a window they had smashed on the northwest side of the U.S. Capitol. “Go! Go! Go!” someone shouted as the rioters in military gear streamed in. It was the start of the most serious attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812. The mob coursed through the building, enraged that Congress was preparing to make Trump’s electoral defeat official. “Drag them out! … Hang them out!” rioters yelled as they gathered near the House chamber. (Washington Post)
• The Staying Inside Guide: Jazz, Live From Your Living Room With in-person concerts still shut down, a chance to improvise on the jazz-club experience—from virtual tours of Louis Armstrong’s house to performances that rework the music of Stevie Wonder and Erykah Badu. (Wall Street Journal)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Adam Karr, portfolio manager at Orbis Investments and head of the US division. The firm, which manages $37B in assets, has a unique fee approach, where they only pay if they outperform, and refund fees when they underperform.
5 different datasets concur that we just had warmest decade and warmest 6 years on record.
Source: @WMO
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