PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
After Roe, Dems Seek Probe of Tech’s Use of Personal Data (Maria)
The author writes, “With the Supreme Court ending the constitutional protections for abortion, four Democratic lawmakers are asking federal regulators to investigate Apple and Google for allegedly deceiving millions of mobile phone users by enabling the collection and sale of their personal data to third parties. The decision Friday by the court’s conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade is expected to lead to abortion bans in about half the states. Privacy experts say that could make women vulnerable because their personal data could be used to surveil pregnancies and shared with police or sold to vigilantes. Online searches, period apps, fitness trackers and advice helplines could become rich data sources for such surveillance efforts.”
Case of 11-Year-Old Brazilian Girl Denied Abortion Holds Stark Warning for Post-Roe US (Mili)
From The Intercept: “In recent weeks, a little girl was fighting for her abortion rights in a Brazilian court. The 11-year-old child was being forced by the courts to carry a pregnancy after she was raped, The Intercept Brasil reported. The girl, with the support of her mother, had sought an abortion as soon as the pregnancy was discovered — when she was just 10 years old. A hospital in Santa Catarina, the southern state where they live, refused to perform the procedure without seeking judicial approval first. … Instead of allowing the mother to take the girl for a legal abortion, Judge Joana Ribeiro Zimmer ordered that the girl be separated from her family and go into a shelter — allegedly to protect her from further abuse. But Ribeiro Zimmer also made telling comments that the move to effectively block the abortion was to avoid what the judge incorrectly called a ‘homicide.’”
Jews Overwhelmingly Support Abortion Rights. Overturning Roe Violates My Religious Freedom (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “The Supreme Court’s decision Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade and severely limit abortion access across much of the country is not only an infringement on my human rights. It also violates my religious beliefs. Given that American Jews are one of the most consistently liberal groups in the country, it’s not surprising that an overwhelming majority of us — 83% in one 2014 poll — support legal abortion in all cases. The liberal denomination I belong to, Reform Judaism, puts personal ethics above all else.”
Terrifying Video Shows Autonomous Robot Tank Blowing Up Cars Remotely (Sean)
From BGR: “We’ve managed to create some impressive robots over the years. From medical robots that can perform surgeries to small robots capable of jumping to new heights. There’s even a group of tiny robots we plan to use to explore the Moon. But now, a video of a new AI-powered tank has surfaced. It showcases how the military plans to use these scary advancements in futuristic warfare.”
Farewell to Hong Kong and Its Big Lie (Howard)
The author writes, “Earlier this month, a few days before I packed up my apartment and left Hong Kong, I made my way across the city to Victoria Park. For decades, the city’s residents would gather there in the thousands on the night of June 4 to commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, a moment of mass collective remembrance for those killed by Chinese forces in Beijing in 1989 and, though less so, a nod to the formative role that the crackdown played in the development of Hong Kong’s own prodemocracy movement. This year, the once-moving scene was entirely stamped out by the city’s more authoritarian turn.”
South Africa Police Try to Unravel Mystery of Tavern Deaths (Emily)
The author writes, “Yellow police tape now cordons off the drinking place in the South African city of East London where 21 teenagers died in unexplained circumstances. A forensic team has been going through the site at the Enyobeni Tavern to try to understand what exactly took place. There were no visible injuries on the bodies of the deceased, the authorities have said, so a crush seems an unlikely explanation. Some have said the victims were poisoned, but this is not confirmed.”
Research Suggests There’s a Big Overlooked Benefit of Having Dyslexia (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “The modern world is stitched together by threads of written language. For those with the reading disorder dyslexia, the endless tangle of words can feel like an obstacle to survival. Long framed purely as a learning disorder, the neurological condition that makes the decoding of text so difficult could also benefit individuals and their community in a world full of unknowns.”
‘Meet Us, Don’t Eat Us’: Iceland Turns From Whale Eaters to Whale Watchers (Laura)
The author writes, “Onboard a small whale-watching boat making its way across the choppy waters of Faxaflói Bay, off the south-west coast of Iceland, a guide urges tourists not to eat whale meat. ‘We have a campaign here against whaling,’ says Estelle, who has been pointing out whales and dolphins from the boat. ‘It’s better to meet them in person than to eat them.’ Iceland, one of the few countries in the world to hunt whales commercially, announced in February its plan to end the practice from 2024, though it has not officially banned it yet.”
