Greetings from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, where water is increasingly scarce and gas prices are only going up. Several key parts of society here are on the verge of breaking down, as industries from Uber to water delivery are threatening to go on strike in the coming weeks. Part of the problem with drowning in American news is that we’re often unaware of the gravity of the problems other countries are facing. In the US, taking a long shower usually just means your water bill goes up. In Jordan there’s a distinct possibility that the tap will run dry on any given day, which of course affects people’s ability to cook, clean, and live.
Side Items
New Military Budget Just Dropped: You might have missed this little tidbit, but the politicians running and ruining this country voted yesterday to authorize a record amount of spending for the military budget next year. Members of the house overwhelmingly approved a bill backing record military spending that will reach ~$858 BILLION, which is only about $45 Billion more than Biden initially requested. We’re about a year or two away from the annual defense budget reaching a trillion dollars, and yet there’s no discernible difference in our safety as a nation. On the contrary, the nonstop onslaught of scary headlines and vilification of foreign powers makes it seem like we’re under constant threat, a clear tactic to justify the increased spending. As mentioned last week, this increase in spending doesn’t come with any increase in transparency with regards to how the money is spent. Politicians will be stingy about fixing infrastructure or investing in education or affordable housing or access to food and water or any other necessary and beneficial undertaking, but once the military is involved it’s all “we support our troops endlessly”
Soccer Journalist Dies Under Mysterious Circumstances: Grant Wahl was a prominent US soccer journalist for decades, and he traveled to Qatar to cover this World Cup. He posted this article literally yesterday, criticizing the Qatari World Cup organizers for their apathy regarding migrant worker deaths and human rights abuses. He then attended the Netherlands vs. Argentina match yesterday evening where he collapsed suddenly and died at the age of 48. Not to immediately jump to conspiratorial conclusions, but the timing is extremely odd. I’ll wait for official autopsy results to come out, but keep in mind this is a journalist who had received death threats and was detained at the beginning of the World Cup for wearing a rainbow shirt. I’m not saying there was a plot to kill the man, I’m saying I think there may have possibly been a plot to kill the man
Tunnels to Nowhere: The world’s richest man has been spending alot of time online lately; tweeting out photos of his obsession with caffeine-free Coke, promoting homophobic conspiracy theories and partnering with the worst kind of mainstream journalists to “expose” Twitter’s left-leaning biases. These are the behaviors of an extremely divorced man: like suuuper divorced. Unfortunately, unlike in past generations when we could simply ignore the glaring mid-life crisis, he’s ruining social media and punishing every Twitter user in the process
World Cup Recap
Heartbreak for Brazil: The dancing pigeons have danced for the last time this tournament. After Croatia held them to a 0-0 draw in regulation time, Brazil were this close to going through to the semifinals, after Neymar tiptoed in a beautiful goal in the first period of extra time. But with three minutes remaining in the match (and a questionable decision to push forward despite their lead), Croatia equalized in the final moments of the second period of extra time, sending the match to a nervy penalty kick finish. Croatia’s goalkeeper came up massive for his country, saving the crucial first penalty kick from Brazil and helping his team advance to the semifinals once again
Ref Ruins an Instant Classic: The clown officiating featured in the Netherlands vs. Argentina match put a stain on what will likely be a memorable match, if for the wrong reasons. Mateu Lahoz put up stats that would make Wilt Chamberlain blush, as he gave out 18 yellow cards to everyone from the captains to the assistant coaches and players on the bench. He clearly lost control of the match early on and resorted to punishing players either too harshly in some cases, or not harshly enough. The game itself was mesmerizing, as Messi provided an eye-popping assist to set up the first goal and put away a questionable penalty to give Argentina a 2-goal cushion. But the Dutchmen weren’t so quick to give up, scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, including a brilliant free kick with the final play of regulation, to level the game. After two periods of extra time that saw a few more yellow cards, the game went to penalties where Argentina’s goalie revealed his inner dawg and saved not one but TWO spot kicks. It was an eruption of joy for the South Americans and a frustrating finish for the Dutch