Can $335M Compensate for Terrorism?

It’s time to pivot from blaming China for the pandemic. Or so President Donald Trump appears to have concluded, lashing out at top epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci in a campaign call, referring to him as a “disaster.” He’ll have to maintain slightly better decorum during the final presidential debate with Joe Biden on Thursday, however, where microphones will be muted when the other candidate is speaking to avoid a repeat of the first debate’s chaos.

(Sources: CNN, Al Jazeera)

2. Supreme Setback

The Supreme Court has allowed Pennsylvania, a key swing state, to accept mail-in votes up to three days after the election on Nov. 3. The top court will also review a controversial Trump administration policy under which asylum seekers who travel through Mexico to the U.S. are sent back to the southern country while their cases are resolved.

(Sources: WaPo, CNBC)

3. Payback Time

Sudan has agreed to pay $335 million to the families of American victims of al-Qaeda attacks and, in return, the State Department will remove the country from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Money can never compensate for human lives, but if this is Washington’s new approach, should the U.S. pay the families of innocent victims killed in its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? Vote on Twitter.

(Source: NYT)

4. Russia’s Ruined Revenge

Russia was plotting cyberattacks against this year’s Tokyo Olympics, eventually postponed because of the pandemic, British intelligence says. Tensions are also high between New Delhi and Beijing after Indian troops captured a Chinese soldier along their disputed Himalayan border.  

(Sources: BBC, Guardian)

1. Chile’s Chicago Contradiction

It’s neoliberalism’s ultimate success story — and the darkest stain on its reputation. Mentored by American economists Milton Friedman and Arnold Harberger, a group of Chilean exchange students who came to be known as the “Chicago Boys” were placed in charge of Chile’s economy by dictator Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s. They transformed Chile into a booming free market economy that others came to envy. But it came at a cost: deep inequality. Oh, and I’m not sure how a brutal dictatorship squares with little government regulation.

2. Pandemic Peeve

Leading health policy experts are convinced neoliberal policies weakened the public health systems of the U.S., Italy, Spain and others, leaving them ill-equipped to deal with the pandemic. From New Zealand and South Korea to Vietnam, countries that have had the most success in the crisis have one thing in common: heavily subsidized or free health care, including insurance.

3. Don’t Write It Off

Yet while several critics have started writing obituaries for neoliberalism, citing the pandemic as the final nail in its coffin, others point out that state interventions during the crisis are often aimed at restoring the economy to a point where deregulation can work again.

There’s a reason his art is in black and white — it’s a metaphor for the racism that persists in his country, South Africa, nearly three decades after the end of apartheid. The acclaimed artist is based in Germany now, but the streets of Johannesburg remain his preferred canvas. He records every step of the artistic process — so you’re just as likely to see him performing as an acrobat as you are to see him wielding his favorite tools: charcoal, chalk and paintbrushes.

2. Lady Aiko

The Tokyo-born Aiko started out working at a studio with famous pop artist Takashi Murakami in Brooklyn in the 1990s but couldn’t resist the freedom that street art offered. She marries Japanese and Western themes in her large, colorful murals and worked with Banksy on his film, Exit Through The Gift Shop. You might have seen her work on the Bowery Wall in New York City.

3. Bety Avila

The Mexican street artist comes from a family with careers in science and math so she studied architecture at university to convince her parents she would be able to put food on the table. Today she’s a celebrated artist, her work a surreal blend of reality and fantasy.    

Get the scoop on what's being said behind closed doors on Capitol Hill with former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a face of the Republican establishment who tells Carlos why he thinks it's "virtually impossible" for Trump to win reelection. Will Flake run in 2024? Watch The Carlos Watson Show today to find out.

Russia’s wrongdoings only follow ancient Olympic tradition. In A.D. 67, Roman Emperor Nero bribed competitors to make sure he won events and used his clout to ensure singing and acting were included as categories in the games. (He’d been practicing for years.) Read more.

2. Kick to the Face

Disqualified during his bronze-medal fight at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for taking too much injury time after falling to the mat, Cuban taekwondo athlete Angel Matos pushed and then kicked the Swedish referee presiding over the match. Matos got a lifetime ban but his coach said the referee — who needed stitches — had been too strict.

3. Sore Winners

It was a badminton racket of a different kind. Eight female players from China, South Korea and Indonesia threw games in the 2012 London Olympics to draw favorable opponents in the semifinals. At one point, the opposing Chinese and South Korean doubles teams were both trying to lose the same game. Eventually, players from the three countries were disqualified.

4. Spoken Too Soon

"A gold medal — that's something no one can take away from you," Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson said after winning the 100-meter race and breaking the world record at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Only they did take it away when they found banned steroid stanozolol in his urine.

The rose petals and pistachios on the icing give it the look of a garden in spring. And the rose water, lemon zest and ground almonds inside offer a combination of freshness and richness that you’ll be hard-pressed to find with another dessert.

2. West African Lime Cake

The lime juice is beaten with the eggs in this West African delicacy that’s simple to make and impossible not to relish. It’s served with a peanut garnish on top for a slight crunch.

3. Pavlova

Popular in New Zealand and Australia, it’s a roller coaster of flavors that starts sweet and ends tangy. Made with stacks of crunchy meringue, the dish comes with a topping that consists of whipped cream, your favorite berries and, most importantly, lemon shavings.  

What’s your favorite citrus dessert?

We asked you to match carpets to their place of origin. Sarah L., Audrey S., Denelle P., Timothy M., Yanita, Scott A., Patricia P., Lutz P. and David P. — you got it right! Left to right, they’re from Scandinavia, China, Morocco and Turkmenistan.