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China’s Competitive Edge: Solar Exports [Peter Zeihan, Zeihan on Geopolitics]

By William McClain

In Peter Zeihan [Zeihan on Geopolitics], Politics

February 1, 2023

286 views

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• The Chinese government is considering putting export bans on certain types of solar panel manufacturing, specifically the ability to make the wafers and ingots that go into certain types of silicon panels.
• This potential ban could be a retaliation to recent actions taken by the United States.
• China has a history of dominating the manufacturing of technology, but not its innovation.
• The United States is mandating that a rising percentage of solar panels have to be manufactured in the United States, and the Chinese edge in the technology could be lost.
• The United States is unlikely to pursue industrial espionage, but South Korea, France, and Israel are the three countries most likely to do so.
• The Biden Administration is likely to either pursue technology transfer against the home country, or have South Korea steal the technology and negotiate with the United States.
• Solar panels are becoming more efficient and the political will to play hardball with China is present, so the Chinese leadership in the sector may be numbered.

Published February 1, 2023
Visit YouTube to watch Peter Zeihan’s original vlog China’s Competitive Edge: Solar Exports

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Instagram’s co-founders are mounting a comeback [Casey Newton, Platformer]

By Spencer Chen

In [Platformer]

January 31, 2023

304 views

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• Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the co-founders of Instagram, have created a new venture called Artifact, a personalized news feed that uses machine learning to understand user interests and will soon let users discuss articles with friends.
• Artifact is a kind of TikTok for text, Google Reader reborn as a mobile app, or a surprise attack on Twitter.
• The app opens to a feed of popular articles chosen from a curated list of publishers, and users can follow other users and comment on posts.
• The breakthrough that enabled Artifact was the transformer, which Google invented in 2017 and allowed machine learning systems to understand language using far fewer inputs.
• Artifact is attempting to do the same thing as TikTok, but for text, and is funded by Systrom and Krieger themselves.
• The company plans to include only publishers who adhere to editorial standards of quality, and will remove individual posts that promote falsehoods.
• The team of seven people working on the app includes Robby Stein, a top product executive at Instagram from 2016 to 2021.

Published January 31, 2023
Visit Platformer to read Casey Newton’s original post Instagram’s co-founders are mounting a comeback

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Once Again, I Will Have to Take a Heavier Hand with the Comments [Freddie deBoer, Freddie deBoer’s Substack]

By Spencer Chen

In Freddie deBoer

January 31, 2023

257 views

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• The publisher had posted a divisive cultural topic and the comments had become anti-LGBTQ, so the publisher had to go back to the drawing board.
• The publisher is a leftist and has conventional left-wing views on almost everything, including a commitment to progress on LGBTQ issues.
• The publisher is critical of the contemporary American left of center and many left-of-center people right-code him.
• The publisher believes that many people on the right have an obsession with gender issues and need to ask themselves about their mental health.
• The publisher reminded readers that they can always take their ball and go home, and that he has to make decisions that are consistent with his values.
• The publisher also reminded readers that most drag performers are not trans.

Published January 31, 2023
Visit Freddie deBoer’s Substack to read Freddie deBoer’s original post Once Again, I Will Have to Take a Heavier Hand with the Comments

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Microsoft Earnings, Azure’s Slowdown, Office Strikes Back [Ben Thompson, Stratechery]

By Spencer Chen

In Ben Thompson [Stratechery]

January 31, 2023

256 views

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• Microsoft reported its slowest sales growth in more than six years last quarter, with revenue expanding 2% to $52.7 billion and net income falling 12% to $16.4 billion.
• Intelligent Cloud business, which includes Azure cloud-computing business, grew 18% to $21.51 billion, with Azure growing 31%.
• Microsoft’s commentary on the PC market was encouraging, with Windows OEM revenue expected to decline in the mid to high 30s, in line with the PC market, and usage intensity of Windows continuing to be higher than pre-pandemic with time spent per PC up nearly 10%.
• Azure growth moderated, particularly in December, and Microsoft expects Q3 growth to decelerate roughly 4 to 5 points in constant currency.
• Office 365 Commercial is seeing slowing seat growth, but is being offset by upselling current customers to the highest per-seat pricing plan (E5). E5 offers integrated and automated security, advanced compliance capabilities, audio conferencing and calling capabilities, and Power BI capabilities.

Published January 31, 2023
Visit Stratechery to read Ben Thompson’s original post Microsoft Earnings, Azure’s Slowdown, Office Strikes Back

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Kroger workers allege massive wage theft: “I’m tired of having to beg” [Tesnim Zekeria, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen

In [Popular Information]

January 31, 2023

164 views

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• Rodney McMullen, CEO of Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the country, launched “MyTime” in 2022, claiming it would simplify day-to-day work.
• Since its roll-out, MyTime has caused a host of problems, including missing pay and incomplete checks, leaving many workers unable to pay rent or bills.
• Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Kroger from coast-to-coast, accusing the grocery giant of wage theft.
• Kroger claims to have resolved most issues, but UFCW President Marc Perrone says thousands across the country have still not received their most recent paycheck.
• Kroger workers are low-wage and vulnerable, with a 2022 study finding that 75% of surveyed workers across three regions were food insecure and 14% were homeless or had been homeless in the previous year.
• Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh has asked for resources to educate workers about their rights and hire more investigators to handle claims.

Published January 31, 2023
Visit Popular Information to read Tesnim Zekeria’s original post Kroger workers allege massive wage theft: “I’m tired of having to beg”

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January 30, 2023 [Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American]

By Spencer Chen

In Heather Cox Richardson [Letters from an American]

January 31, 2023

230 views

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• Joe Biden: 46th President of the United States, celebrated the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is investing $1.2 trillion in fixing highways, bridges, and internet access, and creating 20,000 jobs in Maryland.
• Called attention to the effects of the new border enforcement measures providing migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela a legal path to obtain a two-year visa.
• Republicans plan to hold hearings on what they call Biden’s border crisis, but the White House called out “some elected officials” for “trying to block the Administration’s effective measures because they would rather keep immigration an issue to campaign on than one to solve.”
• House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) promised to “hit the ground running” on crime, energy, inflation, life, taxpayer protection, and more, but Republicans have turned to investigations, abortion, threatening the national debt, and trying to defund the Internal Revenue Service instead.
• Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month U.S. tourist visa, likely to avoid the many investigations underway in Brazil for fraud and inciting an attack on the government.

Published January 31, 2023
Visit Letters from an American to read Heather Cox Richardson’s original post January 30, 2023

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Semiconductors: China’s the Odd Man Out [Peter Zeihan, Zeihan on Geopolitics]

By William McClain

In Peter Zeihan [Zeihan on Geopolitics], Politics

January 31, 2023

306 views

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• The US, Dutch and Japanese have joined the American sanctions package against China for high end semiconductors, creating an international ecosystem of production.
• The nature of the semiconductor industry requires multiple steps of production that must all be done in the same place, making it difficult to replace missing countries.
• The Dutch need a strong ally to avoid getting dragged into continental affairs and the US is the best option for them.
• The Japanese are co–mingled with the US through trade deals and are the only country to have struck deals with both the Trump and Biden administrations.
• Korea is the only country left to join the sanctions, but they are in a difficult spot with their neighbors.
• The Chinese are now out of the game for mid to high end chips, leaving the globalized system of trade for these chips in its final years.

Published January 31, 2023
Visit YouTube to watch Peter Zeihan’s original vlog Semiconductors: China’s the Odd Man Out

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Of Course Drag Isn’t Dangerous, It’s Just Played Out and Corny [Freddie deBoer, Freddie deBoer’s Substack]

By Spencer Chen

In Freddie deBoer

January 30, 2023

242 views

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• The interviewee is a progressive person who is fighting against anti-LGBTQ bills in Republican states.
• They recognize that drag shows have become normalized and embraced by a sports league, which is a sign of progress but also a loss of something that was once countercultural.
• They argue that drag shows are not inherently sexual and that parents should be able to make the choice to take their children to a drag show or not.
• They point out that the same cultural processes that make drag shows more acceptable are also making gay marriage possible.
• They argue that normalization and assimilation are the same thing and that marginalized people cannot have both respectability and radicalism.

Published January 30, 2023
Visit Freddie deBoer’s Substack to read Freddie deBoer’s original post Of Course Drag Isn’t Dangerous, It’s Just Played Out and Corny

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Intel Earnings, Intel’s Plunging Margin, The Dividend Question [Ben Thompson, Stratechery]

By Spencer Chen

In Ben Thompson [Stratechery]

January 30, 2023

281 views

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• Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is leading the company through a multi-year turnaround, attempting to catch up to TSMC in terms of process and create a customer service organization from scratch.
• Intel’s current financial woes are the result of years of decisions and investments not made, leading to a mismatch between decisions and consequences.
• Intel is still paying a dividend despite its need for cash, likely due to its long history of dividend payments and the need to maintain investor support.
• Intel’s adjusted free cash flow was negative $4 billion, and the company is forecasting a gross margin of 34% for the next quarter.
• Intel is taking an especially large hit from losing market share to rivals, and is eliminating jobs and slowing spending on new plants in an effort to save as much as $10 billion.

Published January 30, 2023
Visit Stratechery to read Ben Thompson’s original post Intel Earnings, Intel’s Plunging Margin, The Dividend Question

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Inside the audacious new scheme to erase LGBTQ people from Michigan schools [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen

In [Popular Information]

January 30, 2023

161 views

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• Great Schools Initiative (GSI): A newly-formed conservative group launching a plan to remake Michigan public schools by exploiting a Michigan statute that allows parents to opt their children out of sex education.
• Led by co-founders Nathan Pawl, Matthew Nelson, and Monica Yatooma, GSI seeks to redefine “sex education” to include a teacher wearing a rainbow pin, teaching about the women’s suffrage movement, the availability of a gender-neutral bathroom, any book with LGBTQ characters, and any acknowledgment of LGBTQ pride week.
• GSI plans to overwhelm Michigan schools with litigation, funded by the far-right Thomas More Society. The group has access to the LET THEM BE Facebook group, which has over 55,000 members.
• GSI’s website features testimonials from fake Michigan parents, and it is unclear who is funding the group’s operations.

Published January 30, 2023
Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post Inside the audacious new scheme to erase LGBTQ people from Michigan schools

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