Politics
Mexico Promises Aid to Texas in Wake of Hurricane Harvey
What kind of upside down, topsy-turvy, mirror universe exists where a foreign country seems to be more concerned with the well-being of America than its own president? This one, apparently.
Hurricane Harvey (or Tropical Storm Harvey) swept across Texas this weekend and left a swath of destruction, flooding Houston and forcing 30,000 people to seek shelter. The damage was so severe that, according to sites such as The Hill and Washington Examiner, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso promised to help Texas recover from this horrific natural disaster:
“The government of Mexico takes this opportunity to express its full solidarity with the people and government of the United States for the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas.”
This isn’t the first time the Mexican government has offered to help America recover from particularly powerful hurricanes, as in 2005, Mexico sent aid to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
“As we have done in the past, Mexico stands with Texas in this difficult moment,” states Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, Mexican consul general in Austin, Texas.
While the Texans left homeless by Hurricane Harvey are no doubt thankful for Mexico’s aid, President Donald Trump is less thankful. In fact, he’s oblivious to the country even offering to help with the recovery, because, you guessed it, he still wants Mexico to pay for the border wall. Trump released the following Twitter post yesterday, albeit long before the Mexican government promised to aid Texas:
With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017
The response to President Trump’s tweet is almost universally negative. Some commenters point out the Mexican government already stated it won’t pay for the wall, while others call Trump everything from a bully to a psychopath (their words, not mine). And yet Mexico is still willing to help Texas. This, my friends, is what decent human beings do: they help people in need without question, even after being insulted almost nonstop for over a year. We all could learn a lesson from Caso and Gutierrez, especially President Trump, who has yet to even acknowledge the Mexican government’s intent to send aid.
We here at Geek Reply are thankful for Mexico sending aid to Texas to help it recover from this disastrous event. We also wish the best to everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Industry and Service
Republican lawmakers and Apple CEO Tim Cook meet in Washington
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with Republican lawmakers who will probably lead committees that regulate the tech sector.
Republican representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, Darrel Issa of California, and Cathy McMorris Rogers of Washington are among those with whom Cook has booked meetings.
The meetings were probably planned several weeks, if not months, beforehand. Top conservatives have criticized Apple since the beginning, and many of them have joined with Twitter CEO Elon Musk in their recent dispute with Apple.
Jordan has publicly expressed his support for Elon Musk, as Bloomberg notes.
When the GOP wins over the House in 2023, Jordan is also set to serve as chair of the House Judiciary Committee. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s chairman is most likely to be McMorris Rodgers.
They both will play a key role in developing the GOP’s technology policy agenda for 2023.
What is particularly on the agenda is unclear. Even when he is not called to testify about big tech, Cook travels to Washington, DC, on several occasions each year.
Gadgets
EPA establishes a new office devoted to civil rights and environmental justice
The goal is to make sure marginalized people are considered in environmental decisions.
According to Reuters, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a new office to assist underserved communities in coping with the additional responsibilities of pollution and climate change. 200 EPA workers from the Washington headquarters and 10 regional bureaus will work in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
“The establishment of a new office dedicated to advancing environmental justice and civil rights at EPA will ensure the lived experiences of underserved communities are central to our decision-making while supporting community-driven solutions,” remarked Kamala Harris, vice president of the US.
As part of a $60 billion investment in environmental justice, one of the main responsibilities of the new office will be to supervise the distribution of $3 billion in grants for environmental justice that were made possible by the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. Additionally, it will ensure that other EPA initiatives adhere to President Biden’s Justice40 initiative, which aims to ensure that 40% of certain government spending go to underserved communities. Finally, it will assist localities in obtaining funds, upholding human rights legislation, and resolving environmental disputes.
The opening of the new office took place in Warren County, North Carolina, the scene of demonstrations against the disposal of toxic waste there in 1982. While the 22-acre dump was not stopped as a result of the civil disobedience actions and arrests that followed, the current environmental justice movement was born. Participants remembered the protests’ 40th anniversary last week.
Politics
Pewdiepie has Gotten into Trouble Yet Again
The competition between Pewdiepie and T-Series has been going on for quite a while. I say this mostly because if Pewdiepie was in the middle of a smear campaign, I would certainly believe that it was all a ploy by T-Series in order to make him lose popularity. However, it seems like T-Series doesn’t have to do much as Pewdiepie is no stranger to getting himself into trouble.
So, what did Pewdiepie do this time? Well, in his most recent edition of “Pew News,” a semi-satirical series where Pewds offers his own take on news events or YouTube discussions, he dedicates the last portion of the video to shouting out smaller YouTube creators he enjoys watching. One of those creators is E;R (otherwise known as “EsemicolonR”), an essayist who often includes anti-Semitic, sexist, homophobic, and cruel language in his videos.
At least that’s what TheVerge and so many outlets/other YouTubers are saying. I took a look at E;R’s content and saw mostly meme videos about political stuff. The guy even made a tribute to Tay AI. You can see a whole documentary made about this by Internet Historian down below:
However, the subjects tackled in the videos can be a bit more problematic because of the current political climate with Pewdiepie. As such, we can assume that a lot of people don’t find this very funny and even reprehensible. Especially when the US is caught in the middle of tension thanks to laws like FOSTA, which are an indirect cause of Tumblr’s collapse right now.
Ever since Pewdiepie has made the shoutout, the channel has gained over 15,000 Subscribers. Of course, this also means that the ire of the people who are against him has risen even more. As such, we’re in this situation where Pewdiepie has gotten himself into trouble yet again despite knowing that the current situation is tense. I guess some people will never learn.
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