Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web.
Kirk LaPointe, editor-in-chief:
You can count on one hand the number of pieces in The Atlantic that have not skewered Donald Trump. This look at his non-deal with North Korea counts among them. - The Atlantic
Soon, robots will be writing this. Maybe they can now. But historian Jill Lepore tells us to worry a little less about our work disappearing. - The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/04/are-robots-competing-for-your-job
The longtime, oft-injured quarterback for the BC Lions, Travis Lulay, writes a wonderful retirement piece for his fans. - 3DownNation
https://3downnation.com/2019/02/28/travis-lulay-reflections-as-i-retire-from-the-cfl/
Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor:
Russia’s Internet Research Agency, infamous for its efforts to help throw the 2016 U.S. presidential election to Donald Trump, caught some return cyberfire from the United States on mid-term election day last November. - Washington Post
Changes to the Canada Laughs comedy station on SiriusXM Canada satellite radio are no laughing matter for Canadian gagsters, with many worrying that new programmers Just For Laughs would sideline them in favour of more routines from big names in standup from outside the Great White North. - Globe and Mail
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/article-canadian-comics-fear-just-for-laughs-takeover-of-key-satellite-radio/
Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:
Target for today on the Trump trade and tariff battlefront: autos and auto parts imports. - Peterson Institute for International Economics
Many American states have yet to initiate any renewable energy initiatives. - U.S. Energy Information Administration
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=38492&src
Glen Korstrom, reporter:
Astounding to watch the volatility in the share price for the company formerly known as Weight Watchers (now WW) – up 600% and then down 80%, all in the last two years.
On February 27 it was down 72% from September, when it announced its bizarre plan to rebrand as WW, which would be the hardest two letters to say together.
This column assesses the “ridiculousness” of WW’s rebrand in the context of its history and has lessons for other companies on navigating disruptive times. - Ad Week
For more insight on the company’s perspective on what it is doing, here’s a transcript of its earnings call, on February 27, when its shares plunged more than 34%. - Seeking Alpha
Being a foreign correspondent is not like it used to be, given that technology can trace whereabouts and put sources at risk. The New York Times’ Paul Mozur does a good job here explaining his strategies for operating in the surveillance state that is China. - New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/technology/personaltech/digital-footprint-surveillance.html
Drilling home that the reality that the world is starting to embrace cannabis as a substance worth regulating, as opposed to banning, are relaxations on laws in countries that have historically been the most repressive.
Thailand, for example, is legalizing medical marijuana. Last week, the Thai government started offering the opportunity for people who possess and use cannabis to apply for amnesty. Patients who are accepted will be able to continue to use marijuana for health reasons until the new regime is put in place. - Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30364830#.XHWhIZBWKuQ.twitter
Hayley Woodin, reporter:
A legal editor’s perspective on what was learned from Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony, in Q&A format. - The New Yorker
One opinion on the Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi. Michael Fuchs writes that the U.S. president repeatedly undermined his negotiating position by framing the meeting and his diplomacy with North Korea as a success from the start. - The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/28/hanoi-summit-collapse-trump-amateur-hour
If you missed it, former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony regarding government interference in SNC-Lavalin legal proceedings can be watched in full and is truly something to behold. - CPAC
http://www.cpac.ca/en/programs/in-committee-house-of-commons/episodes/65941207
