Biden Orders Attack on Iran Allies in Syria

The U.S. launched airstrikes at an eastern Syrian site allegedly tied to Iranian-backed Shia militias, following rocket attacks against regional American forces in recent weeks. It’s the first known military action ordered by President Joe Biden, with the Pentagon saying the measured response with minimal casualties sends “an unambiguous message” that Biden will act to both protect troops and de-escalate tensions. (Sources: CNN, ABC)

2. Party Line

Allies of former President Donald Trump say he’ll declare himself the presumptive 2024 GOP nominee at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday. His Save America PAC has $75 million on hand to spend on kingmaking in the 2022 midterms. As Manhattan prosecutors pore over his recently acquired tax returns, Trump’s move puts many would-be GOP presidential contenders on ice. (Sources: The Hill, Axios, NPR, NYT)

3. Rainbow Gavel

A Malaysian man has won his case against an Islamic ban on same-sex acts. Thursday’s verdict from the Muslim-majority nation’s highest court was unanimous,spurring hopes that LGBT citizens could someday live openly without fear — although they currently face up to two decades in jail if charged under theBritish colonial-era law. (Source: Reuters)

4. Fire Sale

Large plots of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest — including national forests and Indigenous-owned land — are being sold illegally on Facebook Marketplace, the platform’s classified ad service. The company says it will work with authorities but won’t act on its own, arguing its policies already ask buyers and sellers to follow local laws. What should Facebook do? Vote here. (Source: BBC)

So overdue that his hair weighed 77 pounds by the time a barber got to Baarack the sheep, an escape artist who was wandering on his own in Australia before the wild and woolly ram was finally caught.

Before he emerged from political obscurity to enter the House of Representatives in 2012 — before he narrowly lost a Senate race in 2018 and well before his failed 2020 presidential run — the Texas politician was a bass guitarist in a punk rock band. That character still shows in his skateboarding and the casual charm on display in this interview on The Carlos Watson Show. And while we don’t know what his political future holds, it helps that Sen. Ted Cruz, to whom he lost in 2018, now has to fight not just the moniker of “lyin’ Ted,” but “flyin’ Ted.”

2. Freddy Lim

The 45-year-oldTaiwanese politician is lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Chthonic. Strictly speaking, heavy metal is not punk but when you consider Motorhead or the Cro-Mags, the lines get blurred. With two terms in Parliament under his belt, along with nice slots at a lot of noted metal festivals, Lim is killing it. And selling records.

3. Nadya Tolokonnikova

If you’re seriously opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, you likely won’t make it to the legislature. But if you’re willing to brave prison and feel the pulse of the country’s cultural landscape, you can challenge the Kremlin autocrat. Like 31-year-old Tolokonnikova, a co-founder of the protest punk rock band Pussy Riot that has repeatedly embarrassed Putin, including by invading the pitch dressed as police officers during the 2018 soccer World Cup final in Moscow.

This weekend, binge the best of politics with The Carlos Watson Show. Rep. Katie Porter discusses the Jan. 6 riot and the future of capitalism. Republican consultant Alex Castellanos predicts the party’s next presidential candidates. And political analyst Heather McGhee proposes a fix to the media’s role in fomenting racial divides. All on The Carlos Watson Show.

1. Pandemic Hit

The 20 countries with the most COVID-19 cases as of early February contribute 31 percent of the world’s imported labor. With border restrictions still largely in place, the global economy is likely to face a labor shortfall in the coming months. But when economic migration restarts, governments and bodies like the United Nations are ready to use big data like never before to try to track who goes where.

2. Climate Crisis

From Guatemala to Pakistan to Nigeria, the world is poised to witness its biggest mass migration ever, with up to 143 million people expected to relocate amid climate change-induced crisis. And Americans are far from immune, as the recent Texas deep freeze has shown. A new report suggests 162 million Americans — half the nation’s population — could soon be vulnerable to environmental degradation.

3. Gender Difference

But how does migration actually play out? A new 13-year study of Tanzania’s Hadza foragers tracked their movements over a total distance traveled of 13,000 miles. It found that men travel faster than women (who are often carrying children) — until they’re in their mid-40s, when men slow down and women maintain their pace. These findings are being applied to new National Science Foundation research into future migration patterns.

Killer Petey’s tattoo says “I kill for pleasure.” And for the most part, Brazilian Pedro Rodrigues Filho largely only killed people who were killers. So when his father killed his mother, Filho visited his dad in jail, where he killed him and ate his heart. Filho himself is now out of prison and says he’s stopped killing. Would you go to dinner with him? Read more on OZY.

2. Cannibal Date

What if your victim wants to be eaten? German killer Armin Meiwes posted on a blog that he was “looking for a well-built 18- to 30- year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed.” One man responded. They met at a farmhouse, where Meiwes cut off his victim’s penis, tried to eat it — and finding it too chewy, gave it to his dog instead. He ate the rest of his victim over 10 months.

If you’re looking for traditional stand-up, look no further than this British comic with a singsong Northamptonshire accent. He’ll leave you in stitches with his observations on everyday absurdities. Watch him plot revenge on a mocking store manager.

2. Elsa Majimbo

Take everything the Kenyan teen says with a pinch of salt … and peals of laughter. She emerged from nowhere amid the pandemic as one of 2020’s most talked-about comedians. Armed with mini sunglasses and often crunching on chips, her commentary on social norms, punctuated by cackles, will have you endlessly scrolling her Instagram feed.

3. Santiago Rivas Camargo

He wants to end the nation-state … through comedy. I’m not joking, though Rivas, a masterful Colombian comic with a belly and beard to boot, usually is. Like when he takes American tourists on a hilarious tour of his country’s capital, Bogota. Read more on OZY.

Can you find the four things that are different in the two images above?

Congratulations to the winners of our Feb. 18 contest: Cathy LoFaro, Pat Blair, Louanne Varnier, Shari O., David Sadleir, Jo Anne Miller and Jacqueline Townsend.

Shaan Merchant added a splash of humor to this Whiskey in Your Coffee.