|
Listen To This Story
 |
PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
Facebook Takes Down Russian Network Impersonating European News Outlets (Maria)
The author writes, “Facebook parent Meta says it has disrupted a large Russian network of fake accounts impersonating European news outlets to push a pro-Kremlin view of the war in Ukraine. Separately, the social media giant says it also took down a network originating in China targeting the US midterm elections and criticizing the Czech government. While the campaigns were not connected, the dual takedowns underscore how social media platforms continue to be ripe targets for efforts to shape the narratives around high-profile events, said Ben Nimmo, Meta’s global threat intelligence lead.”
‘Reason to Worry’: Italy’s Meloni Holds a Mirror to Trump’s GOP (Sean)
From Politico: “U.S. conservatives are rallying behind Italy’s newly elected far-right prime minister — praise that highlights the Trumpification of GOP foreign policy doctrines and the fragility of the Western coalition against Russia’s war in Ukraine. Giorgia Meloni’s deep ties to the American right are unusual for a foreign leader: She counts Steve Bannon as an ally and has spoken twice at U.S. conservatives’ premier annual gathering. Statements of support for Meloni’s victory have come almost exclusively from U.S. Republicans, while as of Wednesday President Joe Biden had yet to offer the far-right firebrand his congratulations.”
EXPLAINER: Rare Sedition Charge at Center of January 6 Trial (Reader Steve)
The authors write, “The founder of the Oath Keepers and four associates are on trial in the Capitol attack on charges that include seditious conspiracy — a rarely used Civil War-era accusation that strikes to the heart of what prosecutors say happened that day. Stewart Rhodes and his followers are the first Jan. 6 defendants to stand trial on such a charge for what prosecutors say was not a suddenly ignited riot but a coordinated plot to stop the transfer of presidential power.”
Sheriff: ‘I’m Sick of These Black Bastards… Every Black That I Know, You Need to Fire Him…’
(DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “On one end of the phone was Columbus County [North Carolina] Sheriff Jody Greene. On the other was then-Captain Jason Soles, who had just been tapped to lead the Sheriff’s Office while elections officials investigated a complaint questioning whether Greene was eligible to serve as sheriff. Greene wanted to know who in the department had communicated with Lewis Hatcher, the former sheriff whom Greene had narrowly defeated in the election, and Melvin Campbell, a recently-fired sergeant, both of whom are African-American. In Greene’s words, they had a ‘snitch’ in the office, leaking information to his political opponent who had sued to be reinstated until the election protests were resolved. ‘I’m sick of it. I’m sick of these black bastards,’ Greene said to Soles.”
Nord Stream Gas Ruptures Could Leak ‘Unprecedented’ Amount of This Potent Greenhouse Gas (Sean)
The author writes, “Experts say that the unexplained explosions in the Nord Stream pipelines running from Russia to Europe could release an ‘unprecedented’ amount of the greenhouse gas methane and be enormously damaging to the climate. More than 100,000 metric tons of natural gas are bubbling on the surface of the Baltic Sea over a 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) area, leaking into both the water and the atmosphere. Around 90% of that is methane, a greenhouse gas with more than 80 times the global warming power of carbon dioxide (CO2).”
Cambodian Mega Dam’s Resurrection on the Mekong ‘the Beginning of the End’ (Laura)
From Mongabay: “A long-dormant plan to build a mega dam on the mainstream of the Mekong River in Cambodia’s northeastern Stung Treng province appears to have been revived this year, leaving locals immediately downstream of the potential sites worried and experts confounded. First studied in 2007, the 1,400-megawatt hydropower project, known as the Stung Treng dam, has reared its head in many forms, only to be canceled or scrapped. … However, on Dec. 29, 2021, Royal Group — arguably Cambodia’s largest and best-connected conglomerate — wrote to the government, requesting permission to conduct a six-month feasibility study across a number of sites along the Mekong in a bid to revive the long-sought-after hydropower project.”
The Consciousness of Bees (Mili)
The author writes, “The latest research indicates that even tiny-brained bees are profoundly intelligent creatures that can memorize not only flowers but also human faces, solve problems by thinking rather than by trial and error, and learn to use tools by observing skilled bees. They even appear to experience basic emotions, or at least something like optimism and pessimism. The possibility of sentience in these animals raises important ethical questions for their ecological conservation, as well as their treatment in the crop pollination industry and in research laboratories.”
