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Can Putting a Price on Africa’s Biodiversity Save It? (Maria)

The author writes, “In the Valley of the Nile, since long before the days of pharaohs, Egyptian farmers have relied on annual floods to fertilize soil and sustain their civilization. Egypt’s rulers came to understand that the Nile depends on the Highlands of Ethiopia, which supply at least 80% of the water that flows into the Mediterranean. But few realize that even today, this rainfall depends on Congo Basin rainforests. … The genius feature of tropical rainforests is that they do not simply take in rainwater; they create more.”

Hundreds of Air Traffic Controllers Take Second Jobs as US Shutdown Continues (Sean)

The authors write, “Hundreds of US air traffic controllers have taken second jobs after missing their first full paychecks due to the government shutdown, intensifying strain on an already stretched aviation safety system, a union official said. Air traffic controllers and trainees are taking side hustles like waiting tables, delivering food for DoorDash, driving for Uber, grocery shopping for Instacart, and signing up as weekend tutors to make ends meet as the shutdown enters its 28th day.”

This 16-Year-Old American Is Among Hundreds of Palestinian Children Jailed in Israel (Laura)

From The Intercept: “On the morning of October 13, Zaher Ibrahim desperately tried to find his son among the dozens of newly freed Palestinians streaming from Red Cross buses in the occupied West Bank city of Beitunia. Zaher’s son, Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian American, was swept up by Israeli forces during a dawn raid at their home in the village of al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya in February. The Israeli military charged Mohammed with throwing a rock and striking a car driven by an Israeli settler, an accusation he and his family deny. While Israel has not publicly provided evidence, Mohammed has spent the last eight months in Israeli prisons awaiting a trial that has been repeatedly postponed. Mohammed has been barred from speaking with his family, who have continued to push for his release. And after learning that he suffered a scabies infection and severe weight loss, Mohammed’s family has begun to fear for his life.”

Meet the Senate Aide With a $44,000 Taxpayer-Funded Commute (Reader Steve)

From Politico: “The top aide to Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas charged $44,000 to taxpayers over the past two years in commuting expenses between Washington and Lynchburg, Virginia, where he lives, according to public records. The reimbursements paid to Brent Robertson are legal and comply with congressional rules governing expense reimbursements, according to experts who reviewed his arrangement, but they also said it was highly unusual and at odds with the intent behind those rules.”

FROM 1941: Who Goes Nazi? (DonkeyHotey)

From Harper’s Magazine: “It is an interesting and somewhat macabre parlor game to play at a large gathering of one’s acquaintances: to speculate who in a showdown would go Nazi. By now, I think I know. I have gone through the experience many times — in Germany, in Austria, and in France. I have come to know the types: the born Nazis, the Nazis whom democracy itself has created, the certain-to-be fellow-travelers. And I also know those who never, under any conceivable circumstances, would become Nazis. It is preposterous to think that they are divided by any racial characteristics. … Nazism has nothing to do with race and nationality. It appeals to a certain type of mind. It is also, to an immense extent, the disease of a generation — the generation which was either young or unborn at the end of the last war. This is as true of Englishmen, Frenchmen, and Americans as of Germans. It is the disease of the so-called ‘lost generation.’”

Drone Photo Winners Will Amaze Your Eyeballs: From a High-up Horseman to a Holy River (Dana)

The author writes, “A solitary horseman, illuminated by a beam of light, stands on the snow, surrounded by eerie and jagged mountain peaks. It’s an otherworldly image and it raises the question: How did a photographer manage to make such a captivating picture? The answer: Drones. That particular photo, titled ‘The Lone Horseman,’ by Dennis Schmelz, a filmmaker based in Germany took top honors in this year’s Siena awards, a global competition that celebrates the art of aerial photography captured by drones.”