A postgraduate in philosophy, politics, and jurisprudence, now employed at a small book publishing firm. I have interests in ancient history, cross-cultural dialogue, religion, mysticism, and psychoanalysis.

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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 23rd, 2023

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  • The Supreme Court on Thursday set new limits on affirmative action programs in cases involving whether public and private colleges and universities can continue to use race as one factor among many in student admissions.

    The court held, in a 6-3 opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that Harvard and UNC’s admissions programs violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

    Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

    The blockbuster cases put affirmative action, which has been used for decades by colleges and universities to address inequality and diversify their campuses, in the spotlight. The Supreme Court had repeatedly ruled since 1978 schools may consider the race of applicants in pursuing educational benefits from a diverse student body, so long as they did not use a quota system.



  • An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court charges the China-based chemical company Hubei Amarvel Biotech Co. as well as three company executives with fentanyl trafficking, precursor chemical importation and money laundering.

    Prosecutors said Amarvel Biotech used deceptive practices to evade authorities, such as advertising that it could disguise its products as dog food, nuts or motor oil to ensure “safe” delivery to the United States and Mexico.

    Interesting. The US is not taking them to court for simply ‘making fentanyl’, which obviously isn’t a crime, but with specific trafficking charges and even money laundering.

    In a statement, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy, charged U.S. prosecutors with imposing a “long-arm jurisdiction," adding that the move could harm counter-narcotics operations between the two countries.

    “The incident was a well-planned entrapment operation by the US side, which seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights of relevant enterprises and individuals,” the spokesperson said. “China strongly condemns it.”

    Weird line to take. There’s nothing wrong with China legitimately producing pharmaceuticals which are in demand in other countries, but there is a lot wrong with money laundering and drug trafficking. It’s no use saying, ‘it’s not fair for you to catch us in the act!’