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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.
UN Ocean Treaty Talks Resume With Goal of Preserving Biodiversity (Maria)
The author writes, “United Nations members gather Monday in New York to resume efforts to forge a long-awaited and elusive treaty to safeguard the world’s marine biodiversity. Nearly two-thirds of the ocean lies outside national boundaries on the high seas where fragmented and unevenly enforced rules seek to minimize human impacts. The goal of the U.N. meetings, running through March 3, is to produce a unified agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of those vast marine ecosystems. … ‘The ocean is the life support system of our planet,’ said Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Canada’s Dalhousie University.”
More Than 100,000 Israelis Protest Against Judicial System Reforms (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “More than 100,000 people in Israel took to the streets on Saturday in a show of opposition to planned judicial reforms, the organizers said. It was the seventh consecutive week that people have protested against the government’s controversial legal plans to deliberately weaken the Supreme Court. The aim of the reforms is to give parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority. Politicians are also to be given more influence in the appointment of judges.”
Federal Officials Say More Than 100 Children Worked in Dangerous Jobs for Slaughterhouse Cleaning Firm (Mili)
The authors write, “The Labor Department said Friday it found 102 children as young as 13 working hazardous overnight jobs cleaning slaughterhouses in eight states in what it called a ‘corporate-wide failure’ by one of the largest food sanitation companies in the country, Packers Sanitation Services Inc. … The Labor Department says the children who were working overnight shifts used ‘caustic chemicals to clean razor-sharp saws.’”
Her Baby Has a Deadly Diagnosis. Her Florida Doctors Refused an Abortion. (Bethany)
From The Washington Post: “Deborah and Lee Dorbert say the most painful decision of their lives was not honored by the physicians they trust. Even though medical experts expect their baby to survive only 20 minutes to a couple of hours, the Dorberts say their doctors told them that because of the new legislation, they could not terminate the pregnancy. … Florida’s H.B. 5 — Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality — went into effect last July, soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a half-century constitutional right to abortion.”
He’s Energized Nigeria’s Young Voters. Will They Turn Out for Him? (Russ)
From The New York Times: “The race is wide open in the presidential election in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and a struggling economic powerhouse. Youth looking to evict the old guard are cheering on Peter Obi, a surprise third-party candidate.”
The Outrageous New Way Big Pharma Is Trying to Rip Us All Off (Reader Jim)
From The Hartmann Report: “Big Pharma is buying off members of Congress to encourage an end to ‘March-in’ and block any efforts to regulate the cost of drugs or let Medicare negotiate prices.”
Man Beats Machine at Go in Human Victory Over AI (Sean)
The author writes, “A human player has comprehensively defeated a top-ranked AI system at the board game Go, in a surprise reversal of the 2016 computer victory that was seen as a milestone in the rise of artificial intelligence. Kellin Pelrine, an American player who is one level below the top amateur ranking, beat the machine by taking advantage of a previously unknown flaw that had been identified by another computer. But the head-to-head confrontation in which he won 14 of 15 games was undertaken without direct computer support.”
