President Biden proposes to spend $2.3 trillion to refurbish U.S. infrastructure, which he defines to include care for children and the elderly and affordable housing, among an expanded concept of economic infrastructure detailed in his plan. The plan would spend the money over eight years and be paid for over 15 years by raising corporations’...
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SPACs BEWARE!
Last Wednesday, John Coates, acting director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Corporation Finance Division, said there are “significant and yet undiscovered issues” related to special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, that are “not going to stop them… but they are… as yet incompletely worked through mechanisms.” SPACs are shell companies that issue stock...
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FRENCH AIR STRIKE IN MALI: MASS MURDER OF INNOCENTS
The French government defended an airstrike earlier this year that a U.N. report said mainly killed civilians attending a wedding. The French defense ministry has insisted that the strike on 3 January killed about 30 Islamist militants, according to a report in the Financial Times. The ministry said in a statement it is “impossible to...
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MOZAMBIQUE: WAR AND TERROR
The Mozambique army said Friday that the city of Palma is safe after last month’s ISIS-affiliated rebels attacked parts of the northern gas exploration hub, killing dozens and displacing tens of thousands. Al Jazeera reported that about 200 armed rebels began the attack on 24 March. There is a significant population of foreign workers, and many...
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BEIJING TIGHTENS GRIP ON HONG KONG: ACTIVISTS OFF TO JAIL
The Trends Journal has been following Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong that started in earnest in 2019 after China announced plans to enforce an extradition bill that would bring criminal suspects in Hong Kong to courts in mainland China. In fear of losing their civil rights, massive protests broke out, but despite the ongoing demonstrations, the extradition...
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MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX: $22B DEAL GOES TO MICROSOFT
On 11 April, the U.S. Army announced a $21.9 billion contract with Microsoft to produce custom augmented-reality headsets, claiming it will give troops an advantage on the battlefield. The army called Microsoft an “industry leader in developing innovative technology,” and the Wall Street Journal reported the new goggles will be similar to their 2018 HoloLens headset. The...
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YOUTUBE CENSORS FLORIDA’S GOVERNOR’S ROUNDTABLE
YouTube, the Google-owned video platform, removed a roundtable discussion on COVID-19 attended by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis due to portions of the video containing what the company called “misinformation” on the virus that “contradicts the consensus of local and global health authorities.” The Tampa Bay Times reported that others in attendance at the roundtable included health experts...
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MYANMAR MILITARY RAMPS UP ATTACKS ON PROTESTERS
As we have been reporting in the Trends Journal, since 1 February, tens of thousands of protesters in Myanmar have taken to the streets to fight for democracy after a military coup overturned recent election results and arrested the civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who reportedly won by a landslide this past November. On...
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BIDEN PLEDGES “UNWAVERING SUPPORT” FOR UKRAINE
President Biden had recently pledged “unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty” amid Russia’s growing military pressure along its border. The Wall Street Journal reported that some of Biden’s top officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, also held phone conversations with their Ukrainian counterparts. “President Biden’s been very clear about this. If Russia...