15 mixed victory for israel, electric F-150

the weekly rundown

hi friends. a couple of you noticed we didn’t include our usual blurb at the top of last week’s issue - there was just so much to cover, we totally forgot to write one up! we know you’d never forget about us though, or about our subscriber referral program! we baked another batch of chocolate chip cookies this weekend, so get yours today by referring three friends.

big idea: israel wins the battle, loses the war

1. a ceasefire appears to be holding after 11 days of israel bombing the heavens out of gaza. after nearly 250 people died, a hundred thousand people displaced, six hospitals damaged, and half of gaza left without clean water, israel decided it had destroyed enough.
2. the ceasefire is tenuous at best, with israel continuing to attack people praying at al-aqsa mosque in jerusalem, israeli drones constantly flying overhead in gaza, and 72% of israelis thinking the war should continue.
3. so what’s changed after all this bloodshed? on the ground, nothing really. the blockade of gaza will continue, settlers will keep on expanding their occupation of jerusalem and the west bank, netanyahu will hold onto power, the US will refuse to engage with hamas because they’re labeled terrorists, and arab nations will wish the palestine issue would just disappear.
4. however, it is clear that israel lost the PR war for the first time ever. media outlets (while still skewing heavily pro-israeli) did cover palestinian losses extensively, especially after the AP’s press office in gaza was destroyed by israel. social media in particular became unwelcome terrority for israeli propaganda, with TikTok videos of destruction in gaza gaining millions of likes. progressive activists drew parallels between the black lives matter movement and the plight of the palestinians.
5. we hope this latest war on gaza has fundamentally shifted the overton window for political action here in the US. a Pew poll last week found that less than half of young jewish americans are “emotionally attached” to israel, compared to two-thirds of older ones. a February Gallup poll found that 53% of dems think the US should pressure israel to make peace with palestine, a record-high. Joe, who has moved to the left on domestic issues, is out of step with the current democratic party on foreign affairs. who knew a septuagenarian could have such old-fashioned views?

story to watch: Ford unveils electric F-150

1. Ford unveiled its second commercially available electric vehicle on wednesday, the F-150 Lightning truck. built on a slightly modified version of the gas truck’s platform, the Lightning promises up to 300 miles of range, 0-60 in 4.4 seconds, and the ability to act as a generator for your home, all starting at less than $40k.
2. Ford is betting people want a normal looking truck (not a spaceship) with a low price. the F-series is the best selling vehicle in the world, ever, and Ford thinks it can not only convince existing fans to switch to electric, but also attract new customers. it’s making a concerted effort to go after businesses, which buy huge numbers of trucks annually. who knew the maker of the Pinto could make something so exciting?

this week’s image: polish soccer fans

• (The Guardian) polish soccer fans riot and burn stuff...because their team won. we’re pretty sure warsaw would be totally destroyed by now if their team lost.

this week’s number: ‘muricans throw away 110 pounds of single-use plastic annually

1. a new report this week found that the average american throws away 110 pounds of single-use plastic (like disposable forks and food packaging) each year, the most in the world. compare that to just 73 pounds in canada, or 40 in china.
2. this amount is only expected to grow, as production will expand by 30% by 2026. ExxonMobile and Dow were identified as the top producers of these wasteful products. just think about how stupid it is to package food, the definition of a perishable item, in plastic, a virtually eternal compound.

what we’re cooking: tres (quatro?) leches

1. just in time for the beginning of summer, we baked up a batch of our famous tres leches cake, even though we use four kinds of milk. a deliciously moist sponge cake soaked in a mixture of homemade dulce de leche, evaporated milk, and heavy cream, this is just what you want when it’s 87 degrees with 87% humidity outside. plus, some strawberries so you can tell your mom you ate fruit today.

and, in case you missed it:

• as we discussed in issue 3, AT&T continues to struggle to rollout its 5G network. it sold off its media company (which included HBO, WarnerBros, and Batman) at a $50+ billion loss this week.
• fidelity is rolling out no-fee investing accounts for teenagers - because just what the stock market needs is more hormonal and sleep-deprived traders addicted to Reddit
• Uber released its list of most commonly forgotten items in 2020, and canadians have apparently left diplomas, teeth, and poutine in various cars over the year

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal (@faisalc93), and Ahmed (@ahmedhcheema). learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!