Newley Purnell

Sent as a newsletter September 5. Not on my list? Sign up here.

👋 Hi friends,

Welcome to the latest edition of Newley’s Notes, a weekly newsletter containing my recent Wall Street Journal stories, must-read links on tech and life, and funny dog videos.

Image of the week, above: “Theatre d’Opera Spatial," by Jason Allen, via Discord. (See item eight below.)

My WSJ latest:

💻 My latest story, out Thursday: Global VPN Providers Pull India Servers Over New Cybersecurity Rules.

It begins:

Major global providers of virtual private networks, which let internet users shield their identities online, are shutting down their servers in India to protest new government rules they say threaten their customers’ privacy.

The Indian agency overseeing computer security will soon require VPN operators in India to collect information such as customer’s names, email addresses and the IP addresses they use to connect to the internet. Providers must maintain the data for at least five years and furnish the information to authorities when asked.

Among those shutting down their India servers: NordVPN, Private Internet Access, IPVanish, TunnelBear, ExpressVPN and Surfshark.

It’s the latest example of New Delhi getting tough with foreign tech firms.

Here are 10 items worth your time this week:

1) 🇷🇺 Mikhail Gorbachev, who brought about “perestroika” and “glasnost” as the final leader of the Soviet Union, died at age 91. (Here’s the back story on his much-shared 1997 Pizza Hut commercial.)

2) 🐦 Twitter is testing a feature that would let paying users edit tweets up to thirty minutes after they’re published.

3) 🇨🇳 My colleagues Josh Chin and Liza Lin have a WSJ essay out that’s adapted from their new book, “Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control.”

4) 🇭🇰 More than two years into the pandemic, Hong Kong is still requiring people arriving in the city to quarantine in hotels. But that mandate may be lifted in November, Bloomberg reports.

5) ✍️ Politico has a profile of Jelani Cobb, the new dean of the Columbia Journalism School.

6) 🌏 RandomStreetView.com: click a button to be transported to a new part of the world.

7) 📱 Where do memes come from? More and more, from TikTok.

8) 🤖 A man won first place in a digital art competition for a work he made using an AI generator, sparking controversy online.

9) 🍝 Pasta-sauce related mishap of the week: “Memphis, TN police say a tractor-trailer spilled Alfredo sauce all over I–55.”

10) 🦦 This week’s moment of zen: petting an otter’s hands.

•••

🦴 Dog-related video of the week:

“Found my dog crying at the back door.”

•••

💡 Quote of the week:

“A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” – Ansel Adams

•••

👊 Fist bump from Hong Kong,

Newley

Sent as an email newsletter Aug. 22, 2022. Want to join my email list? Sign up here.

👋 Hi friends,

Welcome to the latest edition of Newley’s Notes, a weekly newsletter containing my recent Wall Street Journal stories, must-read links on tech and life, and funny dog videos.

I had two stories out last week.

💬 The first, on Tuesday: Hong Kong’s Crackdown on Dissent Hits Facebook Pages. It began:

HONG KONG—-A national-security crackdown in Hong Kong has extended to Facebook pages on which many workers and residents traded gossip.

Several prominent Facebook pages that were used to share anonymous comments about government and educational institutions in Hong Kong have shut down in recent days, following the arrest last week of two men by national-security police on suspicion of sedition. The men were administrators of a social-media group and suspected of publishing posts that “promote feelings of ill-will,” police said.

💻 And the second, an exclusive with a colleague on Friday: Roblox Poaches Seasoned Meta Executive as It Chases Growth in Asia

It began:

HONG KONG—-Roblox Corp. has poached a Meta Platforms Inc. executive for the newly created role of Asia-Pacific head of public policy, as the videogame company chases growth in the region.

Steve Park, the longtime government relations head for South Korea and Japan at Facebook’s parent company, will join Roblox next week, a spokeswoman for the San Mateo, Calif.-based company said.

Mr. Park has been at Meta for more than eight years and in a previous position worked on the company’s Oculus virtual-reality business, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Here are 10 items worth your time this week:

1) 🗞 A Washington Post longread: “Road to war: U.S. struggled to convince allies, and Zelensky, of risk of invasion.”

2) ⚽ A very cool sporting milestone yesterday: 21-year-old New Jersey native Brenden Aaronson became the first American to score for an American manager in the Premier League, helping underdog Leeds beat perennial power Chelsea. Watch the goal here. It was all about dogged running, a defining Aaronson quality.

3) 📺 For the first time ever, more people in the U.S. watched streaming services than broadcast TV or cable in the same month (July).

4) 👂 Some hearing aids will now be available for purchase over the counter in the U.S.

5) 😲 “Max Headroom” is being rebooted as a dramatic series.

6) 🏝️ A massive piece of environmental artwork by Michael Heizer, in the Nevada desert, is about to open after a half century. It’s remarkable.

7) ☕ Starbucks is leaving Russia. The eerily similar Stars Coffee is now popping up around the country.

8) 💇‍♂️ Three words: USA Mullet Championship. (Via Chris D.)

9) 📸 Wonderful: portraits of American sightseers at national parks in the 1970s, by Roger Minick. (Via Benjamin L.)

10) 🎧 An excellent episode of “Cool Tools,” one of my favorite podcasts: Larry Keely, Innovation Scientist.

•••

🦴 Dog-related video of the week:

“my dog was supposed to run over to me and sit”

•••

💡 Quote of the week:

“Above all, do not lie to yourself.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

👊 Fist bump from Hong Kong,

Newley

Sent as a newsletter August 15, 2022. Want to join my email list? Sign up here.

👋 Hi friends,

Welcome to the latest edition of Newley’s Notes, a weekly newsletter containing my recent Wall Street Journal stories, must-read links on tech and life, and funny dog videos.

My WSJ latest:

🇨🇳 🇹🇼 I had a story with a colleague out Monday, and on Tuesday’s WSJ page one, about Taiwan suffering sustained cyberattacks following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.

The Chinese Communist Party “didn’t go easy on the internet,” said Taiwanese Lt. Gen. Lu Chien-chung.

Here are 10 items worth your time this week:

1) 😔 Terrible news: Author Salman Rushdie was attacked and suffered multiple apparent stab wounds on Friday. As of Saturday he had been taken off a ventilator and was speaking. Iran has denied any link to the incident.

2) ⚖️ My WSJ colleague Valerie Bauerlein has a long-read out on the Murdaugh saga in South Carolina, focusing on a new angle: the legal battles.

3) 📱 New research from Pew underscores a social media trend: Teens in the U.S. are abandoning Facebook and flocking to TikTok.

4) 🎾 Forty-year-old Serena Williams, who’s won 23 tennis majors, indicates she’s retiring from the game.

5) 🔢 The World Excel Championship 1) is a thing, 2) is being broadcast on ESPN2.

6) 🚁 Coming to United Airlines: electric flying taxis?

7) 🎙 “How a Phoenix record store owner set the audiophile world on fire.”

8) 🔮 Hacker News discussion: “What’s the next big thing that few people are talking about?”

9) 🌏 Here is a clickable map showing where the world’s notable people were born.

10) ✒️ Reddit thread: “What is the piece of writing advice that has helped you most, personally?”

•••

🦴 Dog-related video of the week:

“World Dog Surfing Championship Makes A Big Splash In California”

•••

💡 Quote of the week:

– “When stumped by a life choice, choose ‘enlargement’ over happiness.” – Oliver Burkeman

•••

👊 Fist bump from Hong Kong,

Newley