The SUDAN Story.

Previously posted on my Facebook page. Not updated.

NEWS: “Violence Rages in Sudan’s Darfur Two Decades On.” And adds: “The resurgence of ethnically motivated attacks in the country’s restive western region has led to enormous displacement and a growing humanitarian crisis.” 

WHILE we are busy with our emphatic drama on Ukraine, as the media continually feed us stuff to hate Vladimir Putin the more, bloody violence in Sudan or the Sahel Region hasn’t really subsided. Before Kyiv blew up again, troops pulled out of Afghanistan were simply relocated to 750 U.S. military bases abroad.

       Sure, the current tempest in Eastern Europe is hot because Putin is the anti-hero. Geopolitical power play marquee. Meantime, my ice-cold pragmatism insists: Do we really care about what’s going on in Africa? 6 million deaths annually from deadly diseases before Covid? And nonstop violence tooled by Western armory? Do we?

       Let’s revisit Darfur or the War in Darfur, a major armed conflict in Sudan that began in early 2003. Apparently, the mayhem out there was overshadowed by the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March that year. The Sudan issue was a war between rebels associated with the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement versus the government of Sudan. Both SLM and JEM accused the Khartoum leadership of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arab population.

       The crisis resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the indictment of Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. Mr al-Bashir was taken out by the military in the spring of 2019. But the horror didn’t end there. 🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩

DARFUR could be the “poster of the macabre” but Sudan per se is in bloody turmoil even after military strongman Omar al-Bashir was ousted via a successful putsch in 2019.

       From August 2021, the country was jointly led by Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok. But in Sept last year, a failed attempt at a coup d’état from the military again ensued and led to the arrest of 40 military officers. A month after, another violent hassle rocked again (!) and resulted in the capture of the civilian government, including (now) former Prime Minister Hamdok. The coup was led by general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (whoa!) who subsequently declared a state of emergency.

       The confused craziness wasn’t over. In November last year, Hamdok was reinstated as prime minister after a political agreement was signed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to restore the transition to civilian rule, with Burhan retaining control. Apparently, the political animosities don’t easily end. Hamdok resigned as PM in January.

       Current tally of darkness: By March, 2022 over 1,000 people including 148 children and 144 women had been detained for opposing the coup, there were 25 allegations of rape and 87 people had been killed including 11 children. But, of course, we don’t really read this kind of news because our mind is all over Ukraine. 🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩

AS the usual case, Washington’s premium interest on Sudan and the region—is to correct it, politically. No interest at all in economics. As armed conflicts rage, refugee resettlement is the focal goal over stabilization via end of wars. Such a template hasn't proven effective in recent years. Policy disagreements mar, delay, or downplay U.S. humanitarian aid to Sudan throughout the last quarter of the 20th century.

       For fiscal years 2005–2006, the U.S. committed almost $2.6 billion to Sudan for humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping in Darfur as well as support for the implementation of the peace accord and reconstruction and development in southern Sudan. Yet these haven’t worked so far.

       Then there’s the sanctions. Sudan was added to the State Sponsors of Terrorism list in 1993, alleging that Sudan harbored members of the Abu Nidal Organization, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad. As violence in Darfur worsened, larger economic sanctions were handed out in 2007.

       However, in Obama time in 2009, the U.S. released new conditions to ease sanctions. But these only resulted into two Sudans: Sudan and South Sudan.

       In 2019 or 2020, Trump removed Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list after Sudan agreed to pay $335 million in compensation to the families of victims of the 1998 United States embassy bombings. And then, here comes another bloody ruckus.

       What mystifies, as ever, is the presence of China in the background—of course, by way of economics--while maintaining hands-off politics in Sudan and South Sudan. Politics is Washington’s gig. Beijing certainly doesn’t mind. 🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩

NEWS: “Violence Rages in Sudan’s Darfur Two Decades On.” But Chinese investments don’t seem to mind. While the U.S. puts emphasis on geopolitical cleaning-up of the world as in what remains of Sudan, China ups its trade mojo. Beijing may traditionally say “…nah ah!” when a business prospect country is mired in political strife but Sudan and South Sudan are exceptions, it seems.

       Despite the challenges of working in a war zone, China dominates what analysts have assessed as the third largest oil reserves in Africa. Boom.

       By now we know that China’s success in Africa—or in other regions—comes from its tendency to ignore stuff like human rights and international law. Such an approach aids Beijing’s foreign policy blueprint via the Belt and Road Initiative, a project designed to expand China’s sphere of influence in the Global South.

       International Crisis Group, Brussels: “In the wake of Sudan’s partition, Beijing has accelerated a re-orientation of its engagement in the resulting two states, most significantly through a new courtship in Juba. China’s historical support for Khartoum left a sour legacy in the South, but the potential for mutual economic benefit means a new chapter in bilateral relations is now being written. Balancing new friends in Juba with old friends in Khartoum, however, has proven a delicate dance.”

       Which the Dragon doesn’t mind. Apparently. 🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩

SUDAN has a population of almost 44 million. The country’s GDP growth rate is within the region’s average of 3.4 percent, that is low per global standard. The ideal GDP growth depends on the country and its economic expansion cycle, which means 2 percent in the U.S. is considered “healthy.” Anyhow, no matter how high the economic spike is, if goodness doesn’t benefit the people but its few wealthy, what is the point?

       Sudan’s unemployment rate of 17.10 percent is almost 3 times the Africa’s average of 6 percent. Although the country has formidable economic chips: Oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly, milling. The country’s top trading partners: United Arab Emirates, China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt—with the Chinese rapidly gaining.

       Meanwhile, Sudan and South Sudan’s conflict reminds us of Ukraine and Russia vis a vis Kyiv’s Naftogaz and Moscow’s Gazprom.

       Upon independence in 2011, South Sudan secured three-quarters of the oil held by the once unified nation which immediately caused a number of disputes, cross-border violence, and failed negotiation attempts. In order for the oil from South Sudan to be exported, it had to first travel to refineries in Khartoum and be transferred to port terminals in Port Sudan.

       The price of this transportation was unsettled before the separation of the state which caused disputes that escalated in January 2012 when the Sudanese government claimed that Juba owed $1 billion in unpaid fees. South Sudan countered that Khartoum stole $815 million worth of oil from their territory. And so on and so forth. You may google the rest but the two Sudans “agreed” somehow.

       Then there’s China in between as an economic mediator, kinda. 🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩

IN August 2017, it was reported that Chinese investments in Sudan's oil sector had surpassed $15 billion and that both countries remained committed to cooperating with each other as Sudan was ready to overcome any obstacles in further Chinese investment and China was ready to face challenges regarding Sudan's debt and consequences from the separation of South Sudan. There you go, right?

       The inflow of China's foreign direct investments (FDI) in Sudan (before the separation) began in 1996 and was primarily driven by oil investments. Even non-oil FDI which was directed towards the service sector and light manufacturing seemed to follow closely with investments in the oil sector.

       Prior to the split, Chinese investments or FDI’s in Sudan between 2000 and 2008, excluding money bankrolled for oil interests, were equivalent to $249 million and bilateral trade between the two countries rose from $103 million in 1990 to $9.7 billion in 2007. By 2010, China became Sudan's largest trading partner and these investments had direct impacts on the economic prospects of the country as its revenue rose exponentially between 2002 and 2008.

       Overall, China's FDI has had a double effect of expanding the export sector and reducing Sudan's dependence on imported key oil products. The CNPC's investment in the domestic refining capacity of the country has contributed to import substitute industrialization (ISI) which is an economic policy that replaces foreign imports with domestic production and, thus, has given rise to other processing industries based on oil, specifically in plastic products and road construction.

       Even as Sudan went two-ways, China didn’t relent. South Sudan boasts 3.5 billion barrels’ worth of crude oil in proven reserves, and petroleum geologists will likely find more in the two-thirds of South Sudan that they have yet to explore. Of course, Beijing is there. And so as the U.S. willingly tries to fix the political tempest in Sudan, China awaits while watching the NBA playoffs. But business happens as usual. 🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩

[Photos: World Council of Churches. SAT-7 UK. Reuters.]

CHINA and TAIWAN.

Previously posted on my Facebook page. Not updated. 

MY TAKE on the NEWS . The “Many Taiwan-China Dares by way of Joe Biden” News: “Biden Says We’ve Got Taiwan’s Back. But Do We?” / “Biden Pledges to Defend Taiwan if It Faces a Chinese Attack.” / “U.S. Speeds Up Reshaping of Taiwan’s Defenses to Deter China.” / “Biden Veers Off Script on Taiwan. It’s Not the First Time.” The President and the current United States leadership per se are obviously not yet done with Ukraine-Russia tempest. Almost $50 billion shipped to Kyiv in two months, yet we are seeing another unfolding deadly drama in Asia?

       I don’t think that’s gonna happen though.

       The New York Times follows up with its report with: “Biden pledges to defend Taiwan against China, but the U.S. is outgunned.” U.S. outgunned? Whoa! I don’t think so. Despite China’s massive population that is almost 5x the size of the U.S., Beijing’s military spending is only 1/4th of Washington’s budget. America has 750 military bases overseas; China, 1—in Djibouti. So by sheer mathematics of heft, yes—the U.S. can “defend” Taiwan.

       But a war in the East ain’t gonna happen.

       To reiterate his earnestness, Biden adds that he is moving away from “…a policy of `strategic ambiguity’.” And said that to protect the island democracy, he would go beyond what the U.S. has done for Ukraine. So more spending?

       The dare doesn’t stop there, of course. The Biden administration, NY Times goes on, is taking lessons from the war in Ukraine to turn Taiwan into a “porcupine” bristling with weapons that would inflict severe pain if attacked.

       And so on and so forth. Scary. Lest these are all talk per chess game tactic. 🇨🇳🇺🇸🇹🇼

TAKE into account though that the President said those words while prepping up for a summit with Australia, India and Japan. Yet the off-the-cuff vow to defend the island militarily against China complicates diplomacy, particularly for Australia.

       Given: These Asia/Pacific powerhouses are traditional U.S. allies, with India neither here nor there. Fact: Australia and Japan, both trade #1 with China, are recent signatories to the Beijing-led 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the largest trade bloc in history. The U.S. has overtaken China as India’s top economic buddy but India is an enigma. It recently thumbed-down Biden’s call of sanction on Russia; PM Narendra Modi reiterated his support for Vladimir Putin.

       Meanwhile, NY Times adds: ““Offhand remarks that vary from the official talking points have become a feature of the Biden presidency, even as they leave his staff scrambling to spin them away afterward.” You see, Biden seems to talk about this stuff and next, we ask: Did he mean it, was he coaxed, what’s up? Yet seriously, the way Biden goads China per Taiwan, reminds me of how it was before Vlad lost his poise in February.

       Weird, whacked, but still cause for concern. 🇨🇳🇺🇸🇹🇼

QUESTION is: Would China invade its former nemesis albeit “sibling,” you reckon? Nope. I don’t think China/Taiwan will be like Russia/Ukraine. They got different issues. Per Moscow/Kyiv, you may start with the gas disputes and Donbas coal. China and Taiwan? Beijing will remain Taiwan's largest export destination in 2021. In that year, Taiwan exported approximately $125.9 billion worth of goods to the mainland, increasing from around $102.45 billion in previous year. And China hosts 12 (Taiwan-owned) Foxconn factories, including the largest in Shenzhen.    

       Meantime, since Taiwan lifted a ban on Chinese investment in June 2009, google your numbers. Ergo: The Chinese (mainlanders or Taiwanese) dictum is straight-through “Business as usual.” And war is bad for business.

       Let’s be honest here though: Is this obvious goading good for a fight, good or necessary to the world? Well, China can easily pull back and resort to “selective isolationism,” they are used to that trick. But given Beijing’s massive investments per Belt and Road Initiative blueprint, what if the Dragon bites the coaxing? What, Beijing gathers its mostly economic allies and Washington converges its military allies, and what do we see? The U.S. already battling Russia, and next China? Remember: China and Russia are BFFs.

       WTH. I rest my case. 🇨🇳🇺🇸🇹🇼

MY THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted in my Facebook page. 

New York Sun: “Seattle’s Police-Free Occupied ‘CHAZ’ Zone Is Now Wasteland of Abandoned Buildings, Vandalism, and Homeless Doing ‘Fentanyl Flop’.” During the Occupy movement of 2011, it’d seem the “occupation” of a certain real estate was geared at betterment of life. I offered to write a grant to turn an abandoned building into a community project. Nope. “Occupiers” simply wanted to occupy, that’s all. Hot on idealism, short on practical sense or real toil. 😒😟🤨

New York Times: “How Does Paris Stay Paris? By Pouring Billions Into Public Housing.” Public housing in the U.S. accommodates 2.1 million low-income people in 1.1. million apartments. As of a 2023 HUD report, there are approximately 582,000 Americans experiencing homelessness. Federal housing budget is $3.7 billion, but that’s excluding the budget to house thousands of migrants. Top 3 best public housing systems in the world: Singapore, Sweden, Finland. 🏠🇫🇷🏘

New York Times: “Chicago Begins Evicting Migrants From Shelters, Citing Strain on Resources.” Officials say more than 2,000 people would be evicted by the end of April. Already, U.S. homelessness reached an all-time high in 2023, making many across the country question as to what is being done to address the growing homeless crisis. As the Department of Housing and Urban Development confronts a budget shortfall. Then comes the unabated surge of migrants. 🗽🏃‍♀️🏃

New York Times: “Niger Orders American Troops to Leave Its Territory.” And adds: “The West African country’s military junta said the presence of U.S. forces was “illegal.” Increasingly, West Africans are questioning the motives of Western countries operating in Africa. Also days ago, Zimbabwe officials expelled U.S. election “observers,” accusing them of “promoting regime change.” Meanwhile, China stays as the largest investor in Africa in terms of total capital. 🇳🇪🇳🇪🇳🇪

New York Times: “Ohtani Makes South Korean Fans Forget Rivalry With Japan.” Baseball fans in South Korea seem to embrace Shohei. Cool! Time to heal a history of fierce rivalry. Armed animosity pervaded between these neighbors in the past. The Imjin War of 1592, Japan’s invasion in 1894, and WW2 hostilities. Silent mutual hate. Yet sports, apart from the ability to forge friendships among strangers, also usher forgiveness and healing between enemies. 🇯🇵⚾️🇰🇷

New York Times: “See-Through Baseball Pants Have Fans, and Brands, Pointing Fingers.” And adds: “A redesign of M.L.B.’s uniforms has put Fanatics and Nike at the center of a debate about performance versus quality in sportswear.” More people would crowd a stadium if uniforms are see-through. Uh huh. Cellphone cameras blazing! “See through” is an expression of team politics? Individual truth? Right? As long as it sells and it’s labeled “politically correct,” I guess. ⚾️👖⚾️

New York Times: “No Alternative for Rafah Invasion, Netanyahu Says, as Rift With U.S. Grows.” A day after agreeing to President Biden’s request to send officials to Washington to discuss Rafah, the Israeli PM said “there was no other option but to send forces into the crowded city.” A steely nerve Bibi, unperturbed and defiant? Or a Joe, unable to excise U.S.’ vaunted clout over a top ally? The world watches America more than it awaits Israel to stand down. 🇮🇱☮️🇵🇸

New York Times: “Israel Faces Tough Balancing Act on Russia and the West.” Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin aren’t really adversarial although gray areas pervade. Unlike many Western countries, Israel has refused to sanction Russia per invasion of Ukraine. Yet reports of “Moscow's reception of a Hamas delegation” less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 attack prompted concerns in Tel Aviv. But all these offer more intrigue than legitimacy. 🇮🇱☮️🇵🇸

New York Times: “From Moscow to Mumbai: Russia Pivots South for Trade.” And adds: “Once dependent on Europe for trade, Russia has been forging new routes that will allow it to skirt Western restrictions. A planned railway through Iran could be key for those ambitions.” What if BRICS focuses its trade negotiations only with partner economies? And G7 sticks with its allies? You think they’d be lesser military playbooks to influence geopolitics? Just wondering. 🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺

New York Times: “Aid groups have declared Sudan to be the site of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” But the suffering Sudanese people have received little help. Tons and tons of food couldn’t get into Gaza as the U.S. et al negotiate with Israel to let `em pass. What’d happen to those piled up food/s? Let them rot? Why not ship them to Sudan, which faces a rapidly deepening crisis. Nearly 18 million people face acute hunger as war rages across the country. 🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩

The HAITI Story.

Previously posted on my Facebook page.

NEWS. “How a French Bank Captured Haiti.” / “French Bank to Study Its Role in Haiti After Times Report.” We are so into Ukraine/Russia, Johnny vs Amber, and (now) Roe… that other issues, albeit global, seem lacking in gravitas. It’s all about what reigns high and hot per media narrative, of course. A lot of stuff and things of equally significant value are happening beyond the cracks of the American couch. Such as in Haiti.

       New York Times adds that C.IC. or Crédit Industriel et Commercial helped finance the Eiffel Tower’s construction by squeezing Haiti’s treasury to near death when the island was a French colony. The Tower was completed in 1887. After 300 years of colonial rule, Haiti gained independence in 1804—which is a good 83 years to the Eiffel Tower.

       The C.I.C., won’t talk about it, but The Times tracked how much its investors made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries — and what Haiti lost. Founded in 1859, the C.I.C. has been majority owned by Crédit Mutuel, one of France’s top five banking groups, since 1998, and fully owned since 2017.

       Well, we are pretty much aware that after a colonizer left, it didn't really abandon its trade interests in its former territory. The milking of resources etcetera continues. So the allegation, which isn’t really hard to believe, is a no brainer. But why, after all these years? Then let’s do politics.

       Haiti is apparently an election runup pitch in France—as the newly elected Emmanuel Macron battles the Left for dominance in Paris’ Parliament. Which he lost. For the first time in 20 years, a French prez who won a second term failed to win an absolute majority in Parliament thereby “…forcing Macron to deal with a defiant left and a resurgent far-right.” 🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹

NOW that election/s in France are over, let’s wait how President Emmanuel Macron and a majority opposition Parliament deal with Haiti, its former colony. I don’t know about that, LOL! Meantime, here is the News: “Invade Haiti, Wall Street Urged. The U.S. Obliged.” New York Times adds: “The long occupation of Haiti began with a drumbeat from the bank that became Citigroup, decades of diplomatic correspondence and other records show.”

       History: Following the assassination of Haitian President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam in 1915, President Woodrow Wilson sent the United States Marines into Haiti to restore order and maintain political and economic stability in the Caribbean. This occupation continued until 1934.

       And so from France’s C.I.C., came City Bank. Google and it’d bring you to City Bank of New York, founded in 1812—onto the National City Bank of New York and Haiti, 1909 – 1922. City Bank’s history in Haiti shows how racial ideology and economic policy have long coalesced to justify colonization in Latin America and the Caribbean, writes UCLA Peter James Hudson. Not easy to question such an assertion.

       Haiti was one of the earliest targets for City Bank’s internationalization. This was part of a wider push into Latin America and the Caribbean that found support in the State Department. The US was then pursuing a policy of “dollar diplomacy,” attempting to use financial muscle to bring political stability to the region. 🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹

BANKS and Haiti. Let’s continue… Giant global banks’ initial investments in nations that obviously wanted aid, like Haiti, came through their participation in the financing of infrastructure projects. Should we go to Bretton Woods of 1944 and the birth of the I.M.F. and World Bank? We don’t need to.

       In the case of Haiti, City Bank et al financed dock and railway projects in 1910. They used these initial investments as a springboard to take over control of Haiti’s economy and financial system, especially through the Banque Nationale d’Haiti, a privately run bank of issue controlled by French and German interests. As City Bank’s investments in Haiti and the Banque Nationale increased, so too did their involvement in Haiti’s internal affairs. And so on and so forth.

       Meanwhile, Haiti remains the poorest country in the LAC (or Latin America and the Caribbean) region and among the poorest countries in the world. In 2021, Haiti had a GDP per capita of $1,815, the lowest in the LAC region and less than a fifth of the LAC average of $15,092. On the UN's Human Development Index, Haiti ranked 170 out of 189 countries.

       Now the current News: “U.S. Accelerated Expulsions of Haitian Migrants in May.” New York Times adds: “The uptick has rekindled criticism that the Biden administration treats Black migrants differently than others, an allegation it denies.” Of course. 🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹

Famous Stuff & Things.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

EVENTS in HISTORY. “Proclamation No. 1081” contained the formal proclamation of martial law in the Philippines by President Ferdinand Marcos (d. 1989), as announced on September 23, 1972. That day marked the beginning of a 14-year period of authoritarian rule, which included 8 years of Martial Law (till 1981), followed by six more years of Marcos dictatorship. The Marcos family was finally ousted on February 25, 1986 via a “People Power” Revolution. 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭

INTERESTING PEOPLE. Jann Wenner (born 1946) is co-founder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone magazine, and former owner of Men's Journal etc. A vivid example of Left/liberal mind that plays ideological confection to his sweet advantage. Though I follow the citation icon, the Hall of Fame has faced controversy for eligibility favoritism. Then Jann’s breach of common friendship and (publishing) agreements with John Lennon and Hunter S. Thompson. And more. 😏😒👎

FAMOUS STRUCTURES. The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a colossal sculpture that features the 60-foot-tall heads of four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The structure was carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed the sculpture and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941. 🇺🇸🗽🇺🇸

FAMOUS STRUCTURES. The Leaning Tower of Pisa or Torre Pendente di Pisa in Pisa, Italy is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. The height of the tower is 183 feet 3 inches from the ground on the low side 185 ft 11 in on the high side. The identity of the architect of the tower is a subject of controversy. For many years, the design was attributed to Bonanno Pisan. 🇮🇹🙃🇮🇹

BTW, the Leaning Tower of Pizza is different. That pizza was created by my friend Buono in Brooklyn NY. 

ABOUT THE LAW. The Official Secrets Act is a legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information. Based on the U.K. Official Secrets Act 1911, OSAs are currently in-force in over 40 countries, (former British colonies). The U.S. does not have OSA although the Espionage Act of 1917 has similar components. As early as the 16th Century, Queen Elizabeth I declared that all accounts of Francis Drake's circumnavigation were “secrets.” (Visual: GooglePlay.) 😒😞🤐

OSAs are currently in-force in over 40 countries, including Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Myanmar, Uganda, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom, and have previously existed in Canada and New Zealand.

FAMOUS SPORTS EVENTS. “Rumble in the Jungle,” Oct. 30, 1974. Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round bout in Kinshasa, Zaire (now, Democratic Republic of Congo). Ali regained his world heavyweight title. In this match, Ali popularized “rope-a-dope” or the bait and switch tactic. He would feign weakness, allowing George to attack him, tired him out. Then Ali sprung to punch Foreman out. 🥊🥊🥊

INTERESTING PEOPLE. Nate Silver (born 1978) is a statistician whose approach uses probabilistic and statistical modeling to understand complex social systems. His data-driven “thoughts” successfully predicted outcomes in 49 of the 50 states in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. He gave Donald Trump only a 28.6 percent chance of victory in 2016, but this was higher than many other forecasters, including the media. Insight based on data, not partisan zeal. 📝📌🧮

FAMOUS PLACES. Yosemite National Park in California, covers 759,620 acres in four counties, centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity. Almost 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada. 🌄🏞🌅

FIRST INVENTIONS. First computer. The Antikythera mechanism is believed to be the earliest known mechanical analog computer. It was designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was discovered in 1901 in a wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, and has been dated to c. 100 BCE. Charles Babbage, an English mechanical engineer, is considered the "father of the computer.” He conceptualized and invented the first mechanical computer in the early 19th century. 💽💻📀

FASCINATING PEOPLE. Tallest man: Robert Pershing Wadlow, born in 1918 in Alton, Illinois. Robert’s height was 8 ft 11.1 in while his weight reached 439 lb at his death at age 22 in 1940. His coffin measured 10 ft 9 in long by 2 ft 8 in wide by 2 ft 6 in deep. During a professional appearance at a festival in Michigan, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, leading to infection. He was treated with blood transfusion and surgery, but his condition worsened. He later died in his sleep. 😟🙁☹️

Photo credits: HubPages. CNN. HackerEarth.