The Strange World Of… Steve Reich - The Quietus

Exhibit AFriends, He’s Exhibit A on why billionaire wealth should be taxed, why we have to get big money out of politics, why billionaires shouldn’t be allowed to buy up major media, and why our government shouldn’t give them huge military contracts. I’m talking about Elon Musk, of course. Yesterday, former Ukrainian defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov thanked Musk for restoring his Starlink satellite’s vital high-speed connectivity: “Thank you, @elonmusk. We hope for your continued support.” (Connectivity had slowed after Musk posted Saturday that “Zelensky has gone too far.”) But who gave Musk authority to slow his satellite service in the first place — or, for that matter, to publicly comment on Ukraine President Zelensky? (Musk says Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government, and that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” But if that’s the case, why did Fedorov thank Musk?)Every time I list another of Musk’s outrages, someone says, “Yes, but he’s an innovator!”He’s not. As is made clear in Alex Gibney’s smart new documentary, “Musk,” Elon didn’t invent Tesla. He didn’t invent X. He didn’t invent SpaceX.

Friends, Welcome back to class. Today, I introduce issues that continue to be vigorously debated: the effects of globalization and technological change on widening inequality. In case you missed them, here are the classes that have been released so far: Class 1, Class 2. For Class 3, just double-click on the video below, and you’re in the third week of class. Some background: Many policymakers regard both globalization and technological change as “inevitable” forces that improve economic efficiency — and that should not be altered by political decisions. I remember discussions in the Clinton White House leading to NAFTA and China’s ascension to the World Trade Organization in which administration officials described both as “necessary” to the evolving global economy. New technologies such as supersonic jets, AI, and facial-recognition software have also been assumed to be beyond political debate or control. But neither globalization nor the path of technological change is inevitable. Government decides on timing (how quickly should we globalize or should a new technology be introduced?).

Israeli settlers have attacked European diplomats, including a French mayor, near the Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank. The delegation was visiting Palestinian olive harvesters on Saturday when the Israeli attackers confronted the group. The attack comes a day after settlers assaulted a US journalist north of Ramallah. In Saturday’s incident, the settlers targeted Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said. “A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged,” Prevot said, linking the attack to what he called Israel’s “illegal settlement policy” and pledging to push for further European Union sanctions. French mayor Bernard Baudoux, who was assaulted, told the AFP news agency that the violence suggests that “there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government” towards settler violence. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, said the settlers surrounded the diplomats’ vehicles, pelted them with stones and smashed their windows.

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What researchers uncovered through lab testing and surveillance footage, prosecutors said, was a plot by his fellow graduate student to intentionally poison him.