Reading archive 2023-01-26

Biden bans logging roads in much of America’s largest national forest: White House reinstates protections in Tongass National Forest that were undone by Trump; move aims to protect fish and a giant carbon sink

$400 million investment approved for redevelopment near FedEx Field: State bonds will funnel cash to Prince George’s County to redevelop a 5-mile corridor in Landover, regardless of whether the Commanders stay

FBI shuts down ransomware gang that targeted schools and hospitals: Attorney General Merrick Garland said the group, called Hive, extorted hundreds of organizations before getting hacked itself

Meet the man who unwittingly triggered the war over gas stoves: The son of a labor icon, Richard Trumka Jr. warned that gas ranges could harm children’s health. He’s since been swept up in the backlash against regulating gas appliances.

ELON MUSK CAVES TO PRESSURE FROM INDIA TO REMOVE BBC DOC CRITICAL OF MODI: Officials from India’s ruling right-wing party said American tech companies like Twitter and YouTube complied with demands to remove the documentary. - "While Musk has been glad to stand up to suppression of speech against conservatives in the United States — something that he has described as nothing less than 'a battle for the future of civilization' — he appears to be failing at the far graver challenge of standing up to the authoritarian demands of foreign governments. ...

"When Musk took over, Twitter had just a 20 percent compliance rate when it came to Indian government takedown requests. When the billionaire took the company private, some 90 percent of Twitter India’s 200 staffers were laid off. Now, the Indian government’s pressure on Twitter appears to be gaining traction. 

"A key difference may be Musk’s other business entanglements. Musk himself has his own business interests in India, where Tesla has been lobbying, so far without luck, to win tax breaks to enter the Indian market."

Russia-affiliated journalist paid for Quran burning in Sweden

Timothy Snyder Twitter thread: "In defeating Russia’s armed forces and exposing Russia’s weakness, the Ukrainians have both made a larger war in Europe far less likely, and gotten China’s cat’s paw under control."

Arizona Republicans exempt lawmakers from the state’s open-records law: After Ginni Thomas’s emails and the work of the Cyber Ninjas go public, GOP legislators retreat into secrecy

Rush Limbaugh’s Toxic Legacy: The more unpleasant side of Limbaugh does not appear in his new posthumous book, but it is hard to not think about its influence. - "No matter his supposed philanthropy, Limbaugh never really concealed the fact that he was far more interested in making money than in effecting social change. Asked by 60 Minutes what he was trying to do with his show, Limbaugh replied that he was ultimately 'trying to attract the largest audience I can and hold it for as long as I can, so I can charge advertisers confiscatory advertising rates. This is a business.' Asked by the host if he was therefore 'in it for the money,' Limbaugh replied that of course he was in it for the money. In Radio’s Greatest of All Time, he similarly notes that when his critics 'examine this program, none of them do so in terms of the career aspect of it' but instead 'look at me as a political figure who happens to be on the radio.' Limbaugh was selling a product, not waging a policy crusade."