The Good News

• Fears of a ‘Twindemic’ Recede as Flu Lies Low (NYT, $). Dodging the double whammy.
• Tasmanian devils claw their way back from extinction (ScienceMag)
• From a long shot to an actual shot: Delivery of first Covid-19 vaccines expected Monday (NBC)

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” ― George Orwell

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth.” ― William Faulkner

Hong Kong Freedom Fighter Faces Jailtime

(Anthony Kwan via Getty Images)

Jimmy Lai, 73, the outspoken Hong Kong media mogul and pro-democracy activist, was denied bail Saturday and taken to jail in shackles after his latest arrest under the territory’s onerous new national security law. Beijing passed the law in late June over strong international objection and massive protests in Hong Kong; the legislation broadly criminalizes four types of activity — secession, subversion of state power, terrorism, and collusion with foreign entities.

Since the law’s passage, Hong Kong’s government has embarked on a widespread effort to crack down on dissent and rein in the pro-democracy demonstrations that have roiled the city for years. Hundreds of activists have been arrested since mid-summer, but few have been formally charged for violating the law. 

Lai publishes the Apple Daily, a pro-democracy tabloid newspaper that’s highly critical of the CPC. He became a frequent target of the Hong Kong government and its Communist Party backers in Beijing. Lai has been arrested multiple times in relation to his involvement in demonstrations against the CPC, but this time he is specifically accused of asking a foreign country, organization, or individual to impose sanctions or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China. It’s the gravest legal danger he’s been in so far. 

Lai’s case has gained international attention, sparking comments by prominent US politicians. Vice President Pence tweeted that the charges against Lai “are an affront to freedom loving people” everywhere. Pence called Lai a “hero” who has stood up for democracy and the rights of Hong Kong residents, adding: “#FreeJimmyLai.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that the security law “makes a mockery of justice.” He called for Lai’s immediate release, saying his only crime was speaking the truth about China’s authoritarian Communist Party government. 

Prosecutors requested Lai’s case be adjourned to April 16 to give police time to review more than 1,000 tweets and comments on his Twitter account. With bail being denied, the elderly activist can expect to remain in custody until his case goes to trial. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. 

Hershey Commits A No-No In The Cocoa World

(Scott Olson via Getty Images)

• A bitter battle between the maker of foil-wrapped Hershey’s Kisses and West African farmers who harvest much of its cocoa beans is hopefully melting in time for the holidays. The dispute began in November when cocoa industry traders noticed an unnamed source had purchased so many cocoa beans in the futures market that prices rose over 30 percent. 
• On November 30th, the Coffee and Cocoa Council and the Ghana Cocoa Board wrote Hershey accusing the company of “Abuse of the derivatives market to impoverish the West African farmer.” The groups said the company had used the New York exchange “to take delivery of physical cocoa” in order to avoid paying the newly introduced Living Income Differential (LID), an extra $400 surcharge per ton of cocoa beans intended to address the grave poverty West African farmers face. 
• The cocoa regulators said by manipulating the futures market and making direct purchases the company was in conflict with its own sustainability programs, which address decades-long problems in the industry like child labor violations. Less than a week later, Hershey’s reached a sweet deal with the board representing farmers in Ivory Coast, and the council agreed to end its threat to suspend Hershey’s participation in the sustainability programs in Ivory Coast. Ghana’s ban on sustainability programs with Hershey is not yet lifted, but talks are underway. (NBC News)

Not Exactly Model Behavior

• An Iranian teenager who posted freakishly distorted pictures of herself on Instagram has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of corrupting young people and disrespecting the Islamic Republic. 19-year-old Sahar Tabar, whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand, was arrested over a year ago for her social media activities; at one time she had 486,000 followers on Instagram. 
• Iranian state TV broadcast her remorseful confession in October 2019, which drew a lot of sympathies. She was described as “a victim with an abnormal personality and mental state” who sought “vulgarity” on social media. Her medical records proved a history of visits to psychiatric hospitals, seemingly demonstrating that she had a mental illness, and making her 10-year sentence even less explicable. 
• Tabar’s lawyers had pointed to her age at the time she committed the alleged offenses, and asked for her release. The former Instagram star says she is still hoping for a pardon. (Guardian)

 Additional World News

• Can’t hack it? Putin can: Russian Hackers Broke Into Federal Agencies, U.S. Officials Suspect (NYT, $)
• Huawei worked on several surveillance systems promoted to identify ethnicity, documents show (WaPo, $)
• An unrivaled unicorn: TikTok owner Bytedance set to become world’s most valuable VC-backed company (Axios)
• Party hardly: why Australia’s big political parties are struggling to compete with grassroots campaigns (Guardian)
• A Discreet Indian Firm is Running a Global Disinformation Campaign, Says Report (Vice)
• Arrests as Indian workers ransack iPhone plant over wages (BBC). How about them Apples?
• As Iran mulls retaliation for nuclear scientist’s death, a riddle remains. What exactly was he working on? (CNN)
• Britain and EU Extend Deadline on Brexit Talks (NYT, $). “There is a deal to be done, if our partners want to do it.” 
• Why France’s protests against a police security bill might be paying off (Vox)
• A Roman Catholic country goes pro-choice: Argentina Chamber Of Deputies OKs Bill Legalizing Abortion (NPR) 
• Bolsonaro branded ‘homicidally negligent’ over Brazil’s vaccine planning & Brazil’s Bolsonaro approval rating stays at highest level during pandemic (Guardian, Reuters)
• Decriminalization Can End Mexico’s Drug Wars, Say Advocates (Foreign Policy) 

Stop The Steal Takes A Stab In The Dark

• Several people were stabbed and at least 33 people arrested in Washington DC over the weekend in clashes between “Stop the Steal” protesters and counter-protesters. Six people were arrested for assault on police officers, 10 arrested for simple assault, four for riotous acts, two for crossing a police line, and one for possession of a prohibited weapon, a Taser. 
• Four stabbing victims were said to be in critical condition. Eight members of the Metropolitan Police Department suffered injuries in connection with the demonstrations that had begun earlier on Saturday, when large groups gathered outside the Supreme Court and at Freedom Plaza to protest the presidential election results. Most individuals were not wearing masks. (CNN)

Chilling Vaccine Facts

• This weekend, FedEx and UPS began shipping 2.9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to hospitals, clinics, and other distribution points across the nation. The two companies have divided up the country — a UPS spokesman said: “We know exactly what states we have, and they know what states they have.” The vaccine shipments are fragile and will be getting special treatment, including priority access at the airport. 
• Pfizer’s vaccine is particularly difficult to store and ship, because it must be kept at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, in a sealed box, with dry ice. Each suitcase-size box contains from 1,000 to 1,500 doses; the custom “thermal shippers” act as mobile freezers for clinics that don’t have the necessary specialty equipment. The thermal shippers will be transported from Pfizer’s storage sites in Michigan and Wisconsin to 64 states, territories, and major cities across the US. 
• Both companies have spent years building up their health-care logistics businesses; they have systems in place to allow for the special handling of fragile medical products. Collectively they’ve hired 170,000 additional employees to keep pace with demand. Even so, the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine will be unlike anything ever tried before. 
• “[It’s] going to be the most complex vaccination program ever attempted in human history,” said one expert. Time is of the essence. The vaccines can last up to 30 days in Pfizer’s boxes, as long as they’re not opened more than twice in one day, for no longer than a minute each time. And the dry ice must be replenished every five days. (CNBC)

Additional USA News

• Not a fighting chance: Trump and his GOP allies vow to ‘fight on’ after Supreme Court rejects legal challenge to overturn election results (WaPo, $)
• White House Staff Members Will Be Among First in U.S. to Be Vaccinated (NYT, $)
• American Elites Still Don’t Understand How COVID-19 Works (Atlantic, $) 
• Report blames national Dems for role in Iowa caucus mess (AP). Putting the DNC in dunce.
• Democrats call civil war cease-fire during Georgia Senate runoffs (Politico)
• As Year-End Looms, Lawmakers Still Seek Deal On More Coronavirus Aid (NPR). Unlike Amazon, there’s no promise this package will be delivered by Christmas.
• Americans used disaster housing more than 1 million times in 2020 (Axios)
• Can Joe Biden cancel student loan debt without Congress? (Vox)
• Somebody must’ve gotten their M.D. in misogyny: Wall Street Journal denounced after ‘sexist’ article calls Jill Biden ‘kiddo’ (Guardian)
• Brandon Bernard Was Just Put to Death In Trump’s Unprecedented Push for Executions (Vice)
• Behind Washington’s 180 on Facebook: A rethink of monopoly power (Politico)

AirBn-Blew It

• Trying to time the stock market isn’t a very good idea, but if you have a brokerage account, and you want to make a really fast buck, here’s an idea: get in on an anticipated IPO (initial public offering) when the market opens on day one, ride it up, and sell before the market closes. Sure it can be risky, but there’s also the possibility of a huge reward. 
• Examples: Shake Shack went public back in January 2015; its shares exploded 135 percent on the first day of trading. Beyond Meat soared 170 percent on its first trading of trading in May 2019. To try this you have to be disciplined, and you have to pay attention. Really, really, pay attention. Particularly if you’re eligible to buy before the IPO. 
• Here’s why. Say you’re an Airbnb host, and you get an email from the company. Do not delete that puppy. Granted, the company has to take some blame here. In November, it sent out an email to thousands of hosts inviting them to buy all or part of an allotted 200 shares at $68 a share ahead of the IPO. Unfortunately, the email’s subject line was: “Airbnb’s Directed Share Program.” Not exactly attention-getting, and plenty of hosts paid no attention. 
• Now they’re sad. Airbnb made its public debut last Thursday, shattering expectations and doubling its offering price. If those hosts had bought all 200 shares they were allotted at $68 a share, they could have sold them on day one at closing for $144 a share — a sweet $15,200 profit. (NPR)

Additional Reads

• Fit for a king: true glory of 1,000-year-old cross buried in Scottish field is revealed at last (Guardian)
• 2020 vision: How photography helps us make sense of this unforgettable year (NatGeo) 
• The History Behind TIME Choosing President-Elects as Person of the Year (Time). Guess that’s one of the perks of the POTUS.      
• Which celebrity should be the face of the COVID-19 vaccine? (The Verge) 
• Swimming against the stream: HBO Max Plan Makes WarnerMedia Chief A Hollywood Villain (NYT, $)
• Christopher Nolan Will Not Watch a Movie on a Smartphone Because He Still Doesn’t Have One (Vanity Fair) 
• Stroll down memory lane with this 1996 instructional video on How To Internet (Ars Technica)
• AI Algorithms Are Slimming Down to Fit in Your Fridge (Wired)
• We aren’t too bullish: Can dairy adapt to climate change? (BBC)
• How Neutral Theory Altered Ideas About Biodiversity (Atlantic, $)
• Plastic surgeons say business is up; partly because clients don’t like the way they look on Zoom (WaPo, $). Maybe a camera filter would be cheaper?

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