Having previously enriched the campaign treasuries of Democrat politicians nationwide, the great Effective Altruist Sam Bankman-Fried continues to enrich at least some Americans, according to “A $700 Million Bonanza for the Winners of Crypto’s Collapse: Lawyers” (New York Times):
Lawyers, accountants, consultants, cryptocurrency analysts and other professionals have racked up more than $700 million in fees since last year from the bankruptcies of five major crypto firms, including the digital currency exchange FTX, according to a New York Times analysis of court records. That sum is likely to grow significantly as the cases unfold over the coming months.
What is the NYT’s evil twin, the New York Post, writing about? “Migrant arrested 6 times for 14 crimes in first two months in NYC”:
A man who arrived in New York City two months ago from Venezuela has randomly attacked at least three strangers and two cops, and gotten arrested – and released – six times on 14 different charges, police and sources said.
Daniel Hernandez Martinez, 29, arrived on June 27 and allegedly committed his first crime the following day.
On Aug. 21, he violently attacked a woman in Midtown, cops said. He “grabbed a stranger by the hair, dragged her across the floor and kicked her,” and smashed her phone on West 45th Street around 1 a.m., court documents show.
What else has been interesting in recent news? “Maryland elementary school brings back MASKS for kids as it forces third-graders to don N-95s again after spate of pupils testing positive for COVID-19” (Daily Mail):
In a letter sent to parents on Tuesday, Rosemary Hills Elementary School principal Rebecca Irwin Kennedy said she made the move after ‘three or more individuals’ caught the virus in the last ten days.
She demanded students don thick N95 masks to ‘keep our school environment as safe as possible’, despite a recent study finding the mask may expose users to dangerous levels of toxic chemicals.
And while even embattled medical guru Dr Anthony Fauci admits there is a lack of evidence the masks stop the spread of Covid, Kennedy told parents the N95s will only become optional after 10 days.
This is my old school district, as it happens, Montgomery County Public Schools. It’s interesting that there is no explanation of how SARS-CoV-2 will be stopped if the students remove their masks “while eating or drinking”. The letter from the principal doesn’t mention any changes to lunch procedures. So the kids all sit in the classroom together wearing masks and then they all sit together at lunch not wearing masks?
What the Maryland principal did, of course, would be illegal under Florida law. Not contrary to a governor’s order, but illegal under a statute passed by the legislature. Third graders in Florida could tell the fearful Fauci-denying adults where to put their N95 masks.
Readers: What’s caught your eye in recent news?
Caltech is dropping its longstanding admissions requirement for applicants to have completed calculus, chemistry and physics courses.
This will not end well.
You have to wonder whether it will make any difference. The high school students who want to study STEM will have taken those courses in high school regardless of whether they are required & will be sure to show the university the high grades they attained. The high school students who haven’t taken those courses and are admitted to Caltech probably are not going there to get a STEM degree but rather a degree in say sociology or history or English, assuming Caltech offers those degrees. I don’t know that a Celtech degree in one of those subjects is worth more, or much more, than a degree from say Cal State at Northridge in one of those subjects. And that assumes the student finishes the degree program, which is probably a big assumption given that the competition will be a lot more intense at Caltech. This sort of thing which presumably is done to make an end run around the ban on race preferences in admissions probably accomplishes very little positive for anyone.
The Council of Birmingham (UK’s second largest city) has declared itself bankrupt yesterday. I haven’t read many articles, but they will probably suggest, as usual, that the answer is MORE IMMIGRATION.
Here are the Councillors (Chaman Lal, pictured, is Lord Mayor of Birmingham):
https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/councillors/name
I didn’t know that there are only 57.9% Whites [CNN spelling] left in Birmingham. 8 percentage points to go and they can be outvoted forever. Birmingham will be a good case study for the rest of Europe.
The French are still unbeatable at oversizing the administration (49 councillors for a 75,000 city, i.e. 1530 inhabitants per councillor). Birmingham 101 councillors for 1.1 million inhabitants, i.e. 11,335 inhabitants per councillor.
Living here in the Olney, MD (KGAI), and often visiting Silver Spring or Bethesda you can be sure I will not be wearing a mask in this area. I feel bad for the kids that need to deal with this especially as the temperatures here have been over 90 degrees every day.
I enjoyed this story about a woman who smuggled a gun into a White Sox baseball game by hiding it in the folds of her belly fat. It’s always nice to have a built in holster, I suppose. The accidental discharge is a concern though.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/whitesox/2023/08/29/white-sox-game-shooting-fan-snuck-gun-into-stadium-in-belly/70710099007/
Forgive my ignorance, but from where is the nearly a billion dollars in legal fees going to be paid? I mean the firms are bankrupt and don’t really own much of any value. Sorry, creditors, I guess.
“bankrupt” means liabilities exceed assets, but they still had/have assets. As you point out, the creditors will get less/nothing.