Chet Collins

iOS 15 ‘iCloud Private Relay’ Feature Won’t Be Available in China, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and More - MacRumors

Courage!

On the privacy front, it was good to see that Apple is still taking the fight to tracking.

Last year: websites and apps.

This year: email marketers.

Did Louis DeJoy take over for Tim Cook because they really mailed in the updates at WWDC this year.

The odds that Apple will roll in with iOS 15 and have food tracking and mindfulness be on par with LoseIt! or Headspace are about 0%.

Look at how lame sleep tracking is on watchOS. Basically meaningless.

I could not get this salad out of my head on my walk.

G-7 Nations Agree on New Rules for Taxing Global Companies - WSJ

For advocates, a minimum tax rate would end what they say is a “race to the bottom” in recent decades as countries engaged in competitive rounds of tax cuts to draw businesses away from each other.

In other words, high tax nations are upset that they have to lower their rates to be competitive. So, instead of making their country a more hospitable business environment, they changed the rules.

Facebook’s New Trump Rules - WSJ Opinion

This comes the week after Facebook was forced, in embarrassing fashion, to reverse its censorship of commentary about the origins of the coronavirus after the “expert” consensus ruling out a lab leak collapsed.

Still hard to believe that anyone uses the thing.

Apple Staff Complain About Plans for Return to Office Work in Letter to Tim Cook - MacRumors

Without the inclusivity that flexibility brings, many of us feel we have to choose between either a combination of our families, our well-being, and being empowered to do our best work, or being a part of Apple. This is a decision none of us take lightly, and a decision many would prefer not to have to make.

And yet, every day in our careers before March 13, 2020, we managed to pull it off.

While Student Loan Payments Are Paused, Do These Things With the Extra Money - TIME

Experts say now is the time to stop holding your breath for student loan relief and instead focus on getting your finances in order.

Gasp.

Morning show.

🎭

Not sure why Trump shut down his blog.

Judging the value of a website based on “social interactions” is a huge mistake.

Nice contrast on the front door.

🦩

Given the maturity of HomeKit, I still get accessories saying “No Response” way too frequently.

Israel-Gaza Conflict Spurs Bitcoin Donations to Hamas - WSJ

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has seen a surge in cryptocurrency donations since the start of the armed conflict with Israel last month, a senior official with the group said, exploiting a trend in online fundraising that has enabled it to circumvent international sanctions to fund its military operations.

Crypto is great.

Nice to have help on doctor appointment days!

Summer is here.

☀️

I know that I’m a long time away from being able to fully focus at Mass.

So the days when family are around to help, it’s very nice.

Kids are very excited about special visitors!

Biden Budget Said to Assume Capital-Gains Tax Rate Increase Started in Late April - WSJ

President Biden’s expected $6 trillion budget assumes that his proposed capital-gains tax rate increase took effect in late April, meaning that it would already be too late for high-income investors to realize gains at the lower tax rates if Congress agrees

No one likes the kid who changes the rules in the middle of the game.

Biden Budget Plan Would Remove Ban on Federal Funds for Abortion - WSJ

The president’s budget, released Friday, doesn’t include the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funding for abortion

Unity!

While this marked the first time in decades that a president sought to strip the language, the change wasn’t highlighted in a budget fact sheet released by the White House.

Normalcy!

Amazon and Walmart Have an Rx for Healthcare. The Cure Won’t Be Easy. - WSJ

Artificially high costs are passed on to patients, employers and taxpayers in the form of higher premiums and deductibles. And because many Americans get insurance via their employer, those who are dissatisfied with their plan might need to change jobs to get a better one.

This is the most poorly researched paragraph I’ve read in a very long time.

“Almost 30% of the time, patients would save money by paying cash instead of using their insurance. The fact that this is ever the case tells you how messed up the current system really is,” says Zach Reitano, CEO of the cash-pay healthcare startup Ro.

Nice analysis of bias there, btw. Zach, the CEO of a cash-pay start-up thinks health insurance is messed up.

The “messed up” part of the current system is that people buy insurance to cover basic services that they should pay for out of pocket. It’s like buying a warranty on your car that covers oil changes, tire rotations, and air filters. Of course it’s going to be expensive and inefficient! Health insurance should cover major, catastrophic events.

It’s a Travesty to Compare the Capitol Siege to 9/11 - WSJ Opinion

We are living in perilous times. When a modern democracy deploys forces of intimidation—whether government, corporate media or cultural institutions—to promote the ruling majority’s propaganda, it is time for good people to stand up and object. The world-changing attack of Sept. 11, 2001 shouldn’t be used, either as precedent or moral authority, to create a commission whose sole purpose is to turn a straightforward law-enforcement failure into destructive political theater.