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I don't want to be an alarmist, but there's a chance we're running out of swear words. Over the years, our language has become more coarse, and dropping F bombs and other profanities has been fully integrated into our daily exchanges. As use of the words becomes more acceptable, they lose their power. Then what? As MaClean's Brian Bethune explains: "If English should lose its surprisingly small profane vocabulary set through overusage, we would be forced to invent new obscenities. That would be no easy task, given the polished perfection of what biology, time and chance has already bequeathed us." (Are we ready for a world in which shit doesn't happen?)
We now have some data to back up the assumption that you probably already held. Your politically-charged Facebook posts, no matter how impassioned and well-reasoned, are highly unlikely to make a dent in the opinions already held by those who encounter them. But all is not lost. While you might not change your friends' minds when it comes to politics, you're almost certainly changing the way they feel about your friendship. (Related: No one is buying the message implied by all those happy family photos you share either.)
Does Walmart have a target on its back? It sure looks that way when you consider at the soaring crime rates at many of its stores. "Police reports from dozens of stores suggest the number of petty crimes committed on Walmart properties nationwide this year will be in the hundreds of thousands. But people dashing out the door with merchandise is the least troubling part of Walmart's crime problem. More than 200 violent crimes, including attempted kidnappings and multiple stabbings, shootings, and murders, have occurred at the nation's 4,500 Walmarts this year." It's a big problem. It's taxing police departments. And, as Bloomberg reports, it's the direct result of the company's cost-cutting strategies: Walmart's Out-of-Control Crime Problem Is Driving Police Crazy.
"They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department's Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security." The Justice Department just announced they would end the use of private prisons. Letting corporations profit off of incarceration? What could possibly go wrong... (Now that the US will no longer use private prisons, WeWork has some very raw, industrial startup space for rent.)
+ The poor performance of private prisons came to light thanks to journalism (yes, the very same media we love to attack), including an excellent MoJopiece I shared earlier this summer. And here from the publication: This is what's missing from journalism right now.
"We've made online heroes out of them. We call them lone wolf -- that sounds cool. Terrorist -- that sounds cool to people who want to be that." Many publications in France have adopted a new strategy when it comes to covering terror and mass shootings. They're not naming the perpetrators. Can removing the fame incentive make a difference in the mind of a sociopath? It's worth noting that during some recent mass murder events, the shooter actually accessed social media during the incident. Today's murderers don't have to imagine the coverage they'll get. They can experience it.
"Images of the boy sitting in an ambulance were released by activists and have since been shared widely on social media. He was identified as five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, who was treated for head wounds on Wednesday." Another photo -- this one of a shocked and bloodied Syrian five-year-old victimized by an airstrike -- has sparked outrage. Photos like these can grab our attention and humanize distant events. But Syria has been ravaged from air and land for years, and somewhere around 400,000 people have been killed. I'm not sure we need another photo to convince us it's not a pretty picture.
We often imagine autonomous vehicles has being part of some distant future. But Uber just announced that they'll be testing self-driving cars (with passengers ... and drivers, just in case) in Pittsburgh later this month. Uber also acquired Otto, a self-driving truck company that "includes engineers from a number of high-profile tech companies."
No one ever remembers who comes in fifth place. Unless that person fabricates a story about being robbed at gunpoint. Ryan Lochte and his fellow swimmers claimed they were held up in Rio, but it turned out their version of events didn't hold water. As you'd imagine, the Internet is going Brazil nuts. Bottom line: When you spend your life wearing a Speedo, you can't hide much. In the end, Lochte admitted he lied and said me sorry.
+ He Said, She Said: According to the AP, "Lochte first lied about the robbery to his mother, Ileana Lochte, who spoke with reporters." (I don't get young people today. When I was a kid, I wouldn't have even told my mom I was competing in the Olympics.)
+ The NYT with this quote from the vice president for policy at Americas Society and Council of the Americas: "[The incident] has tapped into one of Brazilians' biggest pet peeves -- gringos who treat their country like a third-rate spring break destination where you can lie to the cops and get away with it." (Full disclosure: That's how we treat most American cities too...)
+ Maybe now we can drop that baseless stereotype that Rio is a place where one might get robbed.
+ New Yorker: Why Brazilians are so obsessed with this story.
A baby girl born on a plane has been given a million frequent flier miles by the airline. With advanced medicine and today's science, she might live long enough to find an eligible flight.
+ "Even during snack and play time, Fraley and the other instructors observed their students and gently pushed them to think more deeply." The LA Times takes you to a boot camp to get kids ready for kindergarten.
+ How the humble pencil conquered the world.
+ I have watched Michael Cohen's instantly classic Say's Who interview on CNN about a hundred times. And I still can't wait to watch it again. Although I much prefer the shorter version that I asked someone on Twitter to splice together.
This is a weekly best-of version of the NextDraft newsletter. For daily updates and to get the NextDraft app, go here. (Original story reprinted with permission from NextDraft.)
