In this issue:
Gilead
Gun nuttery
Fig. 1. Foxtrot comic strip by Bill Amend, August 21, 2022, via GoComics, fair use.
Previous research has found that crime goes down when vacant houses are fixed up, but it was unclear whether the connection between those two things was more than a coincidence. To nail down whether home repairs actually prevent crimes, the Penn team tackled the question with the same rigorous approach doctors use to study a new drug: with a randomized, controlled trial.[1]
I think we now know this works, but we also know this doesn’t work well enough to be the only strategy. The bottom line is that paying attention to the physical environment in which crime occurs is an important piece of the overall puzzle.[2]
Ellie Rushing, “Can widespread trauma therapy prevent gun violence? This community leader says yes,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 13, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/philadelphia-trauma-therapy-gun-violence-prevention-will-little-personal-development-20221213.html
Tom Avril, “Renovating abandoned houses reduces the rate of gun violence, Penn study finds,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 14, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/health/gun-violence-philly-abandoned-houses-penn-study-20221214.html
Fig. 1. “Elon Musk shared a video of his entrance on his Twitter account.” Photograph attributed to Elon Musk, October 26, 2022, via the New York Post,[3] fair use.
Laura Forman, “Twitter’s Advertising Truth Hurts,” Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitters-advertising-truth-hurts-11670706720
Hey look what they found in the "Twitter Files"
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) December 11, 2022
Keith Olbermann, “Hey look what they found in the ‘Twitter Files&rsquo,;” Twitter, December 11, 2022, https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/1601983506070081536
My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2022
Elon Musk, “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” Twitter, December 11, 2022, https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1601894132573605888
Charlie Warzel, “Elon Musk Is a Far-Right Activist,” Atlantic, December 11, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/elon-musk-twitter-far-right-activist/672436/
Joseph Menn, “Elon Musk uses QAnon tactic in criticizing former Twitter safety chief,” Washington Post, December 12, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/12/musk-child-porn-qanon/
Stephen Wilmot, “Half-Price Tesla Stock Is Still No Bargain,” Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/half-price-tesla-stock-is-still-no-bargain-11670851513
Cat Zakrzewski, Joseph Menn, and Naomi Nix, “Twitter dissolves Trust and Safety Council,” Washington Post, December 12, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/12/musk-twitter-harass-yoel-roth/
Zoë Schiffer and Casey Newton, “Twitter’s risky plan to save its ads business,” Platformer, December 13, 2022, https://www.platformer.news/p/twitters-risky-plan-to-save-its-ads
Steve Burgess, “Please Advise! Is Elon Musk Really That Vile?” Tyee, December 14, 2022, https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2022/12/14/Please-Advise-Elon-Musk-Really-Vile/
Joseph De Avila, “Twitter Suspends Account That Tracked Elon Musk’s Private Jet,” Wall Street Journal, December 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitter-suspends-account-that-tracked-elon-musks-private-jet-11671036887
Rebecca Elliott, “Elon Musk Sold More Than $3.5 Billion Worth of Tesla Shares,” Wall Street Journal, December 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-sold-more-than-3-5-billion-worth-of-tesla-shares-11671071099
So-called ‘ridesharing’
Drivers
Fig. 1. “Clarkdale Classic Gas Station, Clarkdale, Arizona,” Photograph by Alan Levine, October 28, 2016, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
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Daniel Wiessner, “Biz groups say Biden independent contractor rule clashes with federal law,” Reuters, December 14, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/legal/biz-groups-say-biden-independent-contractor-rule-clashes-with-federal-law-2022-12-14/
- [1]Tom Avril, “Renovating abandoned houses reduces the rate of gun violence, Penn study finds,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 14, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/health/gun-violence-philly-abandoned-houses-penn-study-20221214.html↩
- [2]Thomas Abt, quoted in Tom Avril, “Renovating abandoned houses reduces the rate of gun violence, Penn study finds,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 14, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/health/gun-violence-philly-abandoned-houses-penn-study-20221214.html↩
- [3]Thomas Barrabi, “Elon Musk barges into Twitter HQ as deal nears: ‘Let that sink in,’” New York Post, October 26, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-barges-into-twitter-headquarters-as-deal-nears/↩