What We're Watching
Mueller Report Machinations – The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to authorize a subpoena to force Attorney General William Barr to deliver Special Counsel Robert Mueller's "full and unredacted" report. If Barr refuses, the ensuing legal battle could drag on for years, but the political impact will be immediate as Democrats accuse Republicans of a coverup and Republicans accuse Democrats of playing politics with the law. Raising the stakes, The New York Times and the Washington Post reported Wednesday that anonymous members of Mueller's team claim the report's findings are more critical of President Trump than Barr has indicated. A warning shot from Team Mueller that Barr better be more forthcoming?
Pirates of the Caribbean – A surge in the number of pirate attacks in the 10-mile stretch of water between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago suggests Venezuela's economic crisis has allowed criminal gangs to expand operations offshore, in particular to control drug trafficking into the Caribbean Sea. In some cases, scarcity in Venezuela has pushed criminal gangs to carry out maritime robberies of Trinidadian fishermen.
What We're Listening To
An incredibly lewd song that explains why Brazil's congress shut down yesterday during a debate on pension reform.
What We're Ignoring
Sisi Soaps – The government of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is reportedly extending its dominance of national media into production of the country's extremely popular TV soap operas, and a production company linked to the military is taking charge of some of the most popular shows. Makers of these shows have reportedly been informed that they must, for example, always portray the army and police in a positive light, cast the banned Muslim Brotherhood as odious and dangerous, and encourage children to obey their elders. Sounds like really exciting TV.
Health Warnings from Donald Trump – The president of the United States warned this week that the noise produced by wind turbines causes cancer. Your Friday author concludes from this that if Don Quixote had simply worn earplugs, he might well be alive today.
