Photo by Benjamin Combs on Unsplash
👋 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.
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🇭🇰 In last week’s missive I mentioned the escalating unrest in Hong Kong. That has continued, but there’s been a new twist: U.S. companies are getting drawn into the protests. Read on for more.
Other tech-related stories in this week’s NN: Facebook, Trump, and that Biden ad; a New Yorker longread on Amazon by Charles Duhigg; power-tips for Mac users, and more.
Here are ten items worth your time this week:
⚠️ 1) Shot: Apple, Google Pull Hong Kong Protest Apps Amid China Uproar [WSJ]
“The swift removal of these apps will likely help lower the two tech giants’ risk of running afoul of the Chinese government and upsetting consumers in the country. But it leaves the companies open to criticism outside of mainland China that they are siding with Beijing in the contentious debate over Hong Kong’s future.”
🏀 2) Chaser: The Houston Rockets Were China’s Team. Then a Hong Kong Tweet Happened [WSJ]
“The impact from a tweet by Houston general manager Daryl Morey in support of antigovernment protesters in Hong Kong quickly spread to the NBA as a whole.”
🗣️ 3) Facebook’s Hands-Off Approach to Political Speech Gets Impeachment Test [New York Times]
Saying a Trump video ad "made false accusations, CNN immediately refused to air the advertisement. But Facebook did not, and on Tuesday, the social network rejected a request from Mr. Biden’s presidential campaign to take it down, foreshadowing a continuing fight over misinformation on the service during the 2020 election as well as the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
🔮 4) Tech-related longread of the week, by Charles Duhigg: Is Amazon Unstoppable? [New Yorker]
“Politicians want to rein in the retail giant. But Jeff Bezos, the master of cutthroat capitalism, is ready to fight back.”
🧰 5) Master your Mac with these 18 power tips [Fast Company]
“The trusty macOS you use every day hides powerful features – some old, some brand-new – that can make your experience more productive and enjoyable. ”
🕵️♀️ 6) Coleen Rooney accuses Rebekah Vardy of leaking stories to Sun [The Guardian]
“Coleen Rooney has claimed to have caught another footballer’s wife passing her private information to the Sun, after apparently running an elaborate sting operation that involved placing false stories in the tabloid newspaper.”
⏱️ 7) Eliud Kipchoge Dashes Past 2-Hour Marathon Barrier In Assisted Event [NPR]
“Three-time Olympic medalist Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours, clocking in at 1:59:40 as he passed the finish line Saturday morning in Vienna, Austria.”
🇮🇳 8) Rana Dasgupta: The Best New Indian Novels [Five Books]
“Right now, extremely interesting things are happening in Indian literature…Today, English-language publishing is seeking a much greater diversity of voices.”
🗡️ 9) Japan ninja student gets top marks for writing essay in invisible ink [BBC]
“Eimi Haga followed the ninja technique of ‘aburidashi’, spending hours soaking and crushing soybeans to make the ink. The words appeared when her professor heated the paper over his gas stove.”
😍 10) Dog’s reaction to a new puppy [Reddit/aww]
📖 Book I’m Currently Reading
“Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman. I am familiar with many of the concepts he writes about, having heard so much about this book over the years, but have never delved into it – until now!
💡 Quote of the week:
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
🇪🇨 BONUS QUOTE:
"What’s happening in Ecuador is not the fault of Maduro…I don’t move my mustache and topple governments. I’m not Super Mustache…” – Nicolás Maduro
👊 Fist bump from New Delhi,
Newley