10 end to endless wars?, the sports betting era

loyal subscribers will know that this is a big week for TWR - it’s our big 1-0! we hope you’ve enjoyed the ride as much as we have. as a birthday gift, consider referring us to a friend and earn neat groovy dope cool prizes! we’re delivering our first batch of chocolate chip cookies to readers this week! they’re homemade with sea salt, browned butter, and toasted sugar 🤤

big idea: Joe commits to leaving afghanistan

1. Joe announced he would withdraw all american troops from afghanistan by 9/11. this goes well beyond his promises during the campaign, when he would only commit to withdrawing most troops by the end of his first term (not year). 
2. we predict pakistan, the taliban’s biggest sponsor, will push them to make significant concessions at the ongoing peace talks, and the US will convince the afghan government to do the same if they want to live past september. whether that’ll work, or if any such agreement will be lasting, is anyone’s guess. the taliban knows the afghan government will not go down without a bloody fight in cities like kabul.
3. for americans, it’s doubtful that the $50 billion we spend annually in afghanistan will be redirected towards domestic projects. troops will be stationed in nearby countries and contractors in afghanistan in case things fall apart (like in iraq). longer term, the US will continue drone strikes in afghanistan, as in yemen, somalia, and pakistan. well, we guess that’s the closest we’ll get to ending our endless wars...
4. for afghans, their country is in shambles after generations of war stretching back 200 years. women and ethnic minorities will likely lose what little progress they’ve made under either a peace agreement or taliban rule. this is an incredibly impoverished yet independent nation with over 20 separate militias or terror groups, a 50% literacy rate, and deep ethnic and tribal divides.
5. so, why did Joe decide to overrule the military and withdraw now? maybe he realized there’s little difference between 3500 and 0 troops on the ground, maybe he got tired of dealing with afghanistan and a global pandemic, maybe he saw al-qaeda had moved camp into the gulf and northern africa, or maybe he truly was sick of people dying overseas for little reason.

story to watch: NFL signs deal with bookies

1. the NFL signed a billion-dollar, 5-year deal with a casino and two online bookies, FanDuel and DraftKings, kicking off the sports gambling era in the US. it had been illegal for most of the US for decades up until a supreme court ruling in 2018. 
2. historically, all the professional leagues opposed sports betting because of a scandalous history of match fixing, biased referee calls, and point shaving. after the supreme court ruling though, they all jumped in, eager to make a quick buck off of gambling addicts, with the NFL being the last league to strike a deal. we shouldn’t be too surprised though - the NFL has been making billions off of players’ concussions for years.
3. about half of the states have legalized some form of sports gambling, with most of the others on their way. leagues and networks will start incorporating ads for their preferred bookie into games, with ESPN already trialing a live ticker for the over/under of XFL matches.

this week’s image: light upon light

(NYTimes) a woman sets up her lantern shop in jerusalem for the ramadan shopping season

this week’s number: 26% of americans live in multigenerational home

1. research has found that more than a quarter of americans live in a home with three or more generations in 2021, a huge jump compared to just 7% in 2011. while many people started living with their grandparents because of the pandemic, 72% of those polled said they planned to continue to do so even after COVID.
2. ‘muricans are finally realizing that nuclear families and generational independence aren’t all that amazing. now time to convince them about bidets...

what we’re reading: “No Logo”

1. a detailed, 500-page read by a noted social activist, this anti-globalization take on branding and advertising studies the techniques used by multinational corporations like Nike, Shell, and McDonald’s to influence consumer choice
2. the book brought into the mainstream concerns about exploitative overseas manufacturing, advertising aimed at children, and corporate abuse of copyright laws. sure, it’s great and all but we can’t believe this is the second week in a row we’re recommending a book written by a canadian.

check out "No Logo" on amazon

and, in case you missed it:

• Moderna and Pfizer refused to help J&J and AstraZeneca sort through their vaccines’ blood clotting issues #healthcareheroes
• Uber had a record breaking March despite COVID, while last year Amazon gained 50 million Prime subscribers because of it
• everyone’s heard about the canadian lawmaker stripping on Zoom, so we’ll end with a florida man story: a florida man successfully drove his Hyundai across an opening drawbridge, while on his phone

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