It was with great fanfare that the president in October announced plans to provide blanket pardons to all Americans suffering from the stigma of having a federal marijuana possession conviction on their criminal records.
President Biden: What happened to the marijuana pardons you promised?
Related:
Tell the White House to Open Pardon Applications Immediately
Washington Admits to ‘Aggressive’ Meddling in Iran as Tehran Recalls 1953 Coup
The United States is taking “aggressive steps” to support Iranians taking part in protests which have engulfed multiple Iranian cities, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has admitted.
Related:
NPR is a problem. Good and proper leftists who read Current Affairs may already realize this. “Of course. NPR (Neoliberal Propaganda Radio) is a bastion of establishment groupthink and orthodoxy that gives cover to imperialism and corporate capitalism.” By contrast, readers on the Right who find themselves consuming Current Affairs may have an equally disdainful but entirely different critique. “Of course. NPR is an elitist liberal propaganda cult that serves as a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party, is openly hostile to any conservative voices, and ought to be defunded!”
NPR is Not Your Friend
U.S. tech companies that receive federal funding will be barred from building “advanced technology” facilities in China for 10 years, the Biden administration has said.
U.S. Bars ‘Advanced Tech’ Firms From Building China Factories for 10 Years
They’ll just go to Vietnam, or India, where wages are lower!
Lincoln wanted to end slavery—but wasn’t keen on integrating African Americans into US society. His first attempt to send them offshore proved disastrous.
When Abraham Lincoln Tried to Resettle Free Black Americans in the Caribbean
Months after an MIT professor was cleared of spying for China, he helped make a major scientific discovery. But he says the success has been bittersweet.
MIT professor wrongfully accused of spying for China helps make a major discovery
The U.S. Lost the 5G Race…after an Immigrant was Forced to Leave via Newsthink
Related:
The U.S. Needs a Million Talents Program to Retain Technology Leadership (archived)
It’s not just a matter of enticing new immigrants but of retaining bright minds already in the country. In 2009, a Turkish graduate of the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Erdal Arikan, published a paper that solved a fundamental problem in information theory, allowing for much faster and more accurate data transfers. Unable to get an academic appointment or funding to work on this seemingly esoteric problem in the United States, he returned to his home country. As a foreign citizen, he would have had to find a U.S. employer interested in his project to be able to stay.
Back in Turkey, Arikan turned to China. It turned out that Arikan’s insight was the breakthrough needed to leap from 4G telecommunications networks to much faster 5G mobile internet services. Four years later, China’s national telecommunications champion, Huawei, was using Arikan’s discovery to invent some of the first 5G technologies. Today, Huawei holds over two-thirds of the patents related to Arikan’s solution—10 times more than its nearest competitor. And while Huawei has produced one-third of the 5G infrastructure now operating around the world, the United States does not have a single major company competing in this race. Had the United States been able to retain Arikan—simply by allowing him to stay in the country instead of making his visa contingent on immediately finding a sponsor for his work—this history might well have been different.
Senate Passes $280 Billion Industrial Policy Bill Meant to Counter China
The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 passed in a vote of 63-33, with 17 Republicans voting in favor. The over 1,000-page legislation includes $52.7 billion for direct funding for the construction and expansion of semiconductor manufacturing and $24 billion for tax incentives and other purposes.
The bill will authorize roughly $200 billion in science and technology research funding that will be spread across several government agencies over the next five years. The largest recipient of the research funds will be the National Science Foundation, which will receive $81 billion.
Related:
Third, the CHIPS Act actually has provisions designed specifically to restrict investments in China. These so-called “guardrails” require that companies taking federal dollars for American projects must also agree not to invest in state-of-the-art technology in China—not just with the federal dollars, with any dollars. Good-faith critics have raised fair concerns that these guardrails should be broader, tougher, and firmer. But any guardrails at all represent unprecedented restrictions on what U.S. companies can do in the People’s Republic. It’s one thing to say an ideal bill would hurt China even more; it’s quite another to try and claim that less-than-perfect restrictions count as “help.”
Pelosi’s Husband Dumped Up to $5M of Tech Stock Right Before Senate Passed CHIPS
Newly released government documents from the 1980s outline the devastation that would be wrought on the planet if nuclear superpowers go to war—which should serve as a reminder for policymakers to prioritize peace negotiations as the war in Ukraine rages on, according to Scott Horton, editorial director of Antiwar.com.
‘Nuclear Winter’ Discussed in Newly Released Reagan-Era Documents
Related:
Biden Administration Slaps Down ‘Crack Pipe’ Funding After Right-Wing Misinformation Spree
On Wednesday, the Biden administration came out and said it would not fund harm reduction programs that use pipes. The announcement comes after heavy pressure from the right, but officials insisted they weren’t caving to the negative headlines.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 