202 The Last Sunday: Media Matters
"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.” ~ Psalm 95
Media Matters
You’ll have to wait a few more days for First Draft’s third and final opening installment. We’ll share a link as soon as it is posted at revfisk.com. But right now, today, we are pivoting. Because media matters. The stories you hear, the streams you ride, the waves that pressure you, matter. It's not okay that they are lying to you. It's not ok that they are plotting to enslave you with debt. It's not okay that the poor, the widow and the fatherless have no defender. It's not okay that the seven deadly temptations are now our 'hood's virtues. Our story matters more. The pivot has been in place for months, waiting for projects to open other doors. But today is the time. MadPxM is officially not my newsletter. MadPxM is your go-to source for weekly filtering of “the news” for the sake of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in the age of Googlzon. I’ll be right here with you, but only to point the way. We’re all in this together, and you are not alone. We each face battles no one else knows anything about, and we do so in the power of the Spirit who searches the depths and cries out, “Father!” As you wish, watch me fight my own battles now at revfisk.com, and stay tuned to MadPxM for the world’s leading narrator for navigating the endless streams of crazy in the Name of Jesus Christ. Till angel cry and trumpet sound, The Mad Christian
The Blitz
Digital Age
Elon Musk made good on last week’s threat to go “thermonuclear” on Media Matters, launching a lawsuit against the liberal media watchdog. Media Matters alerted key Twitter advertisers that their ads were playing alongside “pro-Nazi” content, essentially organizing a boycott of X/Twitter. As a consequence, major brands withdrew their business from the social media platform, impacting revenue. Musk’s critics made light of the legal action, saying he should be able to handle pushback if he is the free speech “absolutist” he claims to be. However, the lawsuit from Twitter HQ claims Media Matters made more mischief than just lobbing epithets. Staff at Media Matters created fake accounts to produce nasty content and followed fringe users. By refreshing the feed, they were able to eventually generate side-by-side images to spook advertisers. X noted, “These contrived experiences could be applied to any platform.” (Real Clear Politics, The Federalist, ZeroHedge)
After outcry from staff, Open AI has reinstated its former CEO Sam Altman as boss. The whirlwind ouster-and-return has mystified many, with rumors that his firing was due to his carelessness over a “powerful artificial intelligence discovery that…could threaten humanity.” But a few folks suggested that this is just another chapter in the Silicon Valley soap opera. (AP, Reuters, Vanity Fair)
Researchers made a “Twitter in a bottle” and populated it with bots, hoping to find ways to make social media “less polarized, less caustic” for people. The bots read the news and then discussed it. The model they believed provided the best outcome was one where bots were exposed to posts from opposite political affiliations, suggesting that it might be possible to “build a social network that drives deep engagement — and thus profits — without letting users spew abuse at each other.” Or it might just prove that humans are not bots! (Business Insider)
Google’s chat bot, Bard, will watch YouTube videos for you, scraping the content and providing a summary. (The Verge)
The Military
The US Army has written to servicemen who were fired for refusing the covid vaccine, advising them that they may now “correct their [discharge] record.” Critics said the mass letter is an attempt to win over former soldiers as recruitment goals fall short. Around 8,000 service members were fired but (according to what we’ve read) only 43 of them have returned. The Armed Forces were in the news for other reasons last week, with reports that base personnel in North Dakota were warned not to attend conservative events while more money is being directed to diversity in the Navy. (Daily Mail, The Federalist)
The Pentagon has failed its sixth consecutive audit. “This time around, 1,600 auditors combed through DOD’s $3.8 trillion in assets and $4 trillion in liabilities, conducting some 700 site visits. They found that half of DOD’s assets can’t be accounted for.” (The Hill)
From the Mad☧Tank
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Crime
Police are investigating potential mechanical failure in a car crash that ended in a fiery explosion on the Rainbow Bridge which links the US and Canada. Initial reports inferred a terror attack, but police have identified a couple who died when their car became airborne and crashed through toll gates. (BBC)
Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with killing George Floyd has been stabbed in prison. He will be moved to federal prison for his own safety, according to reports. (Post Millennial)
Pro-Palestinian protestors have disrupted the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City by gluing their hands to the street. (Sky News)
Economy
The price of Thanksgiving dinner was up again this year, but an economic adviser to the Biden administration insists real wages have grown and the economy is “on the right track.” (Daily Signal, Post Millennial)
Americans still spent $9.8bn in online sales after Thanksgiving, up 7% from last year. (CNBC)
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the owner and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has plead guilty to money laundering after allowing billions of dollars worth of unregulated transactions to flow through the platform. US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the company helped “criminals across the world who use Binance to move their stolen funds,” including transactions between the US and Iran. (The Verge)
Births, Deaths and Marriages
An Alabama woman who happens to have two wombs is now pregnant with a baby in each. (Not the Bee)
Shock! An actual woman has been crowned Miss Universe. (Not the Bee)
Climate and the Natural World
The Federalist: “Green“ industries are surviving on government subsidies and lawmakers are cashing in. (The Federalist)
A Colorado funeral home faces over 200 charges for allowing bodies to decay in a building after selling customers the promise of a “green” burial. (PJ Media)
Wildfires have brought wolves back to California. (Scientific American)
Science
A falling slinky spring gives scientists a lot to talk about. (STEM Learning, Wired)
A bit West World? A 3-D printed robotic hand has “tendons” and “bones” to mimic human movement. (ArsTechnica)
Culture
Not everyone is a fan of lists, but we found this one really thought-provoking. It’s a list of useful principles, revealing a lot about humans as creatures of habit and folly. (The Prism)
Outsourcing writing to AI has the benefits of time-saving and convenience, but for humans, “Writing is the process by which you realize that you do not understand what you are talking about.” We write to think. (Farnham Street)
Things to tell yourself before you start drawing. (We Present)
The makers of Wallace and Gromit have said there’s no need to panic after their favorite clay supplier shut up shop. Aardman Animations say they have plenty stocked up for future movies. (The Guardian)
Health, Medicine and Food
China is reportedly warning of an increase in respiratory illnesses, including a “mysterious” pneumonia virus. The World Health Organization says they have not detected any unusual pathogens circulating. (Kathmandu Post, Straits Times)
Residents of a Kentucky town have been allowed to return after a train derailment spilled molten sulfur, causing a fire. (WNG)
Florida Rep. Tyler Sirois wants to ban lab-grown meat being sold in his state. (Politico)
French cheese makers are upset with a draft EU law. The new regulations for recycled packaging threaten the “single use” wooden boxes traditionally used to pack Camembert. (Politico)
Jews and Turks
Hamas has released 43 hostages as part of an agreement with Israel, with more set to be released today. Israel has released 150 Palestinian prisoners in exchange, saying they will extend a temporary ceasefire if more hostages are released. Though one journalist interpreted the unbalanced swap as Israel “not valuing Palestinian lives”, Israel is obliged to its tradition of redeeming captives which means they will do what they must to recover their citizens. A number of commentators have remembered the 2011 hostage drama of an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped and exchanged after five years for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. (AP, Commentary, The Jewish Chronicle, Jerusalem Post)
The IDF says it has found a rocket-making facility under a mosque in Gaza. (Breitbart)
A group of Yemeni Houthi rebels has hijacked a massive cargo ship, ticking off a lot of world leaders in the process. The pirates say they are retaliating against Israel on behalf of Palestinians, but global shipping is just not that simple. The massive vessel is operated by a Japanese company, managed by a Greek company, flagged in the Bahamas, registered in the UK, with crew hailing from Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Mexico and Philippines, all 25 of whom are now being held hostage. The ship is part-owned by an Israeli billionaire, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says no Israelis were aboard. Other countries may also be upset since the Red Sea shipping lane is used for about 20% of the world’s crude oil transport. (AP, CNN)
Stories from Far Away
🇰🇵North Korea has successfully launched a spy satellite. This is the third time Pyongyang has tried to get a satellite into orbit and comes not long after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin offered to help out with North Korea’s space program. (BBC)
🇮🇹Over 300 Mafia mobsters and hangers-on have been tried in a specially-built bunker courtroom in Italy. More than 200 defendants were convicted for crimes including drug and arms trafficking. The 'Ndrangheta is the most powerful criminal syndicate in Italy and one of the wealthiest. (Daily Mail, The Guardian)
🇲🇾 Muslim-dominated Malaysia has warned British band Coldplay that they’d better not do anything to promote LGBTQ things when they perform in Kuala Lumpar on Wednesday. Malaysian authorities said they will cut power to the concert if there are any shenanigans. (The Guardian)
🇸🇴Once-in-a-century floods have claimed 29 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands in West Africa. (BBC)
🇮🇳Rescuers in India hope to reach workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel by Thursday. 41 men have been trapped for almost two weeks after the roof above where they were digging fell in. (The Guardian)
🇮🇪 A stabbing attack in Ireland has provoked violence in the streets of Dublin after reports that the suspect was an immigrant sparked outrage. City gardaí are trying to determine if there was a connection between the man and his victims, a group of children and their carer but a lot of details are sketchy. The Garda Commisioner said the rioting was driven by “far right ideology” and fueled by “misinformation and rumor circulating on social media.” (Irish Times, Not the Bee)
🇬🇧Conservative British politicians have expressed concern over the potential sale of the Telegraph newspaper to a conglomerate backed by the United Arab Emirates. (Politico)
🇨🇳China’s attempts to keep its youth off social media may have worked, but now older folks are falling for it, as advertisers pivot to a different customer base. Elderly Chinese are reportedly seeking connection using the internet and with prices of phones and data dropping, they are some of the Internet’s biggest fans. (Wired)
Quick Hits for the Eyebuds
🏛️An impressive virtual tour of ancient Rome
🏴 The unpredictable banquets of England’s first celebrity chef
🧵The genius of the sewing machine
🇦🇺 The “world’s most dangerous bird” emerges like a beast out of the sea
❄️ Landing a 787 in Antarctica
🏃♂️ A man ran a marathon a day for a whole year and raised £1M for cancer
🎳 Pins on strings are upsetting the world of bowling
A Good Word: Links from the Show Notes
On this week’s Stop the White Noise (YouTube, Rumble), Jonathan and Meridith discussed the downside of public vulnerability, criticism and praise. Viewer questions included: “When do hypothetical questions become a problem?” and “What does it means to ‘not eat with such a one?’” All this white noise is enough to send you back to the Word! This week’s recs are all Scripture and we’re here for it:
Try reading Romans 4 paired with Psalm 32
Psalm 49:13-15 and Psalm 37 or
read (or rap, if you prefer) Psalm 54, 55, 56, and 57 with music
Dig in to:
Jeremiah 30 and 31
Proverbs 3&4
Psalm 138, 140, and 141
Psalm 118
Sweetness You May Have Missed
This Week Preached:
Podcast Release:
Let us pray. Eternal God, merciful Father, You have appointed Your Son as judge of the living and the dead. Enable us to wait for the day of His return with our eyes fixed on the kingdom prepared for Your own from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.