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How a New Digital Dollar Could Shake the U.S. Financial System
President Joe Biden yesterday issued an executive order that could lead to the U.S. creating a digital currency.
Biden’s order said a U.S.-issued digital currency could be used to “support efficient and low-cost transactions, particularly for cross‑border funds transfers and payments, and to foster greater access to the financial system, with fewer of the risks posed by private sector-administered digital assets” such as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But there are “potential risks and downsides to consider,” and Biden ordered federal agencies to prepare a report within six months analyzing the implications.
Digital currency issued by a central bank can be used as a tool for government surveillance of citizens and control over their financial transactions. This has been a concern with China’s digital currency, which is in the early stages of rollout.
Priest Who Balked at COVID Precautions Removed From Parish
A priest who balked at some of the Vermont Roman Catholic diocese’s COVID-19-related precautions has been removed from his parish. Bishop Christopher Coyne announced the decision about the Rev. Peter Williams in a letter to the Holy Family Parish of Springfield and Chester community on Tuesday, myNBC5 reported.
Williams posted a message on the parish’s YouTube page in January objecting to the bishop’s request that priests get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be required to wear a mask in certain situations and get tested every other week, which Williams said he would not do.
He said he had hired a lawyer and was asked by the diocese to resign from the parish but had no intention of doing so.
The Vaccine Mandate Remains at Some New York City Restaurants
On Tuesday night, about 20 people descended on Dame, in Greenwich Village, to protest the restaurant’s request that indoor diners provide proof of vaccination, a day after the city dropped its vaccine mandate.
When the city on Monday ended its requirement that restaurants ask indoor diners for proof of vaccination, it left it up to owners to decide whether to voluntarily continue those requests. And some restaurants, like Dame, are not ready to let go of the safety measure, which they see as a way to protect their customers and employees.
House OKs Bill Protecting Disclosure of COVID Shot Status
The Kentucky House voted Thursday to prevent state and local governments and public colleges from requiring employees or students to disclose their COVID-19 immunization status.
The measure also would allow parents to opt out of a coronavirus vaccine for their school-aged children on the basis of “conscientiously held beliefs.” The proposal won 71-22 House passage and moves on to the Senate. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers.
The bill was introduced more than two months ago, but it didn’t start advancing until this week. Its sponsors agreed to a more limited version that dropped a proposed ban on private employers from inquiring about the vaccination status of their employees or customers.
High Fuel Costs Put Damper on Trucker Convoy Encircling DC
Rising gas prices across the nation are making it difficult for the “People’s Convoy,” a group of truck drivers protesting COVID-19 mandates and currently encircling Washington, DC.
The People’s Convoy, similar to Canada’s Freedom Convoy that cut off major supply routes to the U.S. while protesting COVID, left Southern California on February 23 for a cross-country trip to Washington, DC. Republican Senator Ted Cruz visited the convoy in Maryland and claimed high gas prices were hurting the truckers’ protest.
Cruz confirmed his visit and shared photos and videos with the convoy. He dubbed the truckers “patriots” and was seen riding in the passenger seat of the convoy’s lead truck. “Thank you to The People’s Convoy for speaking out for freedom,” Cruz tweeted. “Petty government tyrants shouldn’t force people to make private healthcare decisions.”
Brown University Lifts Mask Mandate, Makes COVID Testing Optional for Undergraduates
Brown University is shedding its mask mandates for students and employees starting Monday, according to an email sent Friday by Russell Carey, executive vice president of planning and policy.
Undergraduate students also won’t have to be tested regularly for COVID-19, according to the university. Undergraduates were previously required to take two COVID-19 rapid antigen tests per week since the beginning of the spring semester due to the surge caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
“As with vaccination status, no one should ask another individual about their personal choice to wear a mask,” he wrote Friday.
Brown announced last year it would require COVID-19 vaccines — including booster shots —for all employees and students who would be on campus or engage in any level of in-person instruction. Those with a medical or religious exemption, however, will still have to test twice per week and wear a mask indoors, said Carey.
GiveSendGo Says It Will Refund Remaining Donations to Truckers Convoy
GiveSendGo, the fundraising platform turned to by many who looked to support the Canadian trucker convoy after GoFundMe refunded donations made to campaigns supporting the group, announced Thursday that it will also be refunding donations from several campaigns.
“The Canadian government has criminalized the receiving of funds from the Canadian trucker campaigns and are now trying to seize the funds to redistribute,” the company said in a Thursday morning tweet.
“In order to protect our Givers and the intended purposes of their gifts, funds not already transferred to the recipients from the ‘Freedom Trucker Convoy’ campaign will be refunded. Additional information will be posted shortly. Thank you for your patience.”
Last month, Canadian officials allowed banks to begin freezing the accounts of people who were confirmed to be involved in the protests, which included those who donated to the GoFundMe and GiveSendGo fundraisers for the convoy.
Students Trapped in Quarantine Beg for Help Online as China Faces Biggest COVID Outbreak Since 2020
China is fighting its biggest COVID-19 outbreak since the early days of the pandemic, with discontent spreading on social media after one university cluster left students reportedly without access to bathrooms or drinking water.
Throughout the pandemic, China has adhered to a strict zero-COVID policy that aims to stamp out all outbreaks and chains of transmission using a combination of border controls, mass testing, quarantine procedures and lockdowns.
At the Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology University in northeastern Jilin province, students took to social media to plead for help, saying they had been left to fend for themselves after a cluster was detected on campus.
Facebook Allows Posts With Violent Speech Toward Russian Soldiers in Specific Countries
Facebook and Instagram have instituted a temporary change in policy that allows users in some countries to post content that’s usually forbidden, including calls for harm or even the death of Russian soldiers or politicians. The change first surfaced in a report by Reuters, citing internal emails to moderators. In them, the outlet reports mods are told that calls for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will be allowed, as long as they don’t contain threats toward others or “indicators of credibility” like saying where or how the act will take place.
In a statement sent to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said, “As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.”
The New York Times confirmed this policy applies to people using the service from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
The Observer: Living in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism
You’ve probably had the experience. You go online to look into buying something, a pair of walking shoes perhaps. You land on a website, search styles, prices and reviews. You’re not ready to purchase so you quit and move on.
Soon you begin receiving ads for shoes, socks and even walking tours. You start visiting these websites, too, and eventually more ads come your way. You are experiencing what Harvard Business Professor Shoshana Zuboff called surveillance capitalism. It is the focus of her 2019 book “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.”
EU and UK Open Antitrust Probe Into Google and Meta Over Online Ads
Regulators in Europe and the UK have opened an antitrust probe into a deal between Google and Meta on online advertising, in the latest effort to tackle the market power of the world’s biggest technology companies.
The move follows U.S. antitrust investigators who are also probing an agreement informally known as “Jedi Blue.” The search engine giant and Facebook’s parent company have been accused of working together to carve up advertising profits, acting together to buttress their businesses.
The EU and UK probes represent the latest assault on Big Tech from global regulators that are also preparing to unleash new rules designed to challenge the primacy of groups such as Google, Meta and Amazon. In response, U.S. tech groups have launched lobbying efforts in Washington and Brussels in an effort to protect their interests.
