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.
Wage Gap Between CEOs and US Workers Jumped to 670-to-1 Last Year: Study (Maria)
The author writes, “The wage gap between chief executives and workers at some of the US companies with the lowest-paid staff grew even wider last year, with CEOs making an average of $10.6M, while the median worker received $23,968. A study of 300 top US companies released by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) on Tuesday found the average gap between CEO and median worker pay jumped to 670-to-1 (meaning the average CEO received $670 in compensation for every $1 the worker received). … The report, titled ‘Executive Excess,’ comes amid a wave of unionization efforts among low-wage workers and growing scrutiny of the huge share buyback programs many corporations have been using to inflate their share prices.”
She Was Jailed for Losing a Pregnancy. Her Nightmare Could Become More Common (Donkeyhotey)
The author writes, “On 4 November 2019, TV stations across California blasted Chelsea Becker’s photo on their news editions. The ‘search was on’ for a ‘troubled’ 25-year-old woman wanted for the ‘murder of her unborn baby’, news anchors said, warning viewers not to approach if they spotted her but to call the authorities. The next day, Becker was asleep at the home she was staying in when officers with the Hanford police department arrived. ‘The officer had a large automatic weapon pointed at me and a K-9 [dog],’ Becker, now 28, recalled in a recent interview. ‘I walked out and surrendered.’”
Dozens of Jerusalem Day Videos Showed Jews Beating Palestinians. Only Two Were Arrested (Russ)
From Haaretz: “Numerous videos and photographs taken on Sunday in Jerusalem appear to show offenses committed by Flag March participants against Palestinians along the route of the march and in areas adjacent to the Old City. The police say more than 60 people were arrested and detained in the city that day, the large majority of them Palestinian. Only two of the people arrested were Jews. In the videos one sees Jews and Palestinians committing assaults, acts of vandalism and theft, shouting racist chants and incitement, using pepper spray and throwing rocks. In a statement issued by the police at the end of Jerusalem Day, District Commander Doron Turgeman said: ‘I wish to express great admiration for our commanders and police officers who operated in all the sectors to maintain security and law and order.’”
The Ancient Man-Made Longyou Caves Surrounded in Mystery (Sean)
From Interesting Engineering: “In the village of Shiyan Beicun deep in the Zhejiang province of China sits the Longyou caves. These caves were left undiscovered for millennia until one local man decided to test the validity of the local legend. Myths about the local ponds’ ‘bottomless’ properties were the talk of local lore for as long as anyone could remember. One man decided that this myth finally had to be put to the test, so he rallied others in the community and they bought a large hydraulic pump. After pumping for 17 days, the man and thus the world discovered expensive hand-dug caves under the water of the town’s ponds that contributed to the seeming bottomlessness of the water.”
Buttigieg: “Price of Gasoline Is Not Set by a Dial in the Oval Office” (Reader Jim)
From Axios: “Soaring gas prices across the country are out of the White House’s hands, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on ABC’s ‘This Week’ Sunday as he rebuked oil company executives for not upping production. ‘Gas prices have continued surging and look headed for $5 a gallon nationwide,’ writes Axios’ Matt Phillips. ‘I don’t think it’s correct to say it hasn’t made any difference at all,’ Buttigieg said about Biden’s decision earlier this year to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. ‘This is an action that helped to stabilize global oil prices,’ Buttigieg said, adding that Biden’s actions around ethanol fuels have also had an effect.”
Dom Phillips: Sister of Missing British Journalist in Brazil Urges Action (Carina)
The author writes, “Dom Phillips, a freelancer who has written about Brazil for The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New York Times and others, went missing with Bruno Araujo Pereira, a local expert and former government official whose job was to protect Brazil’s uncontacted tribes. The pair were last seen over the weekend in Javari Valley of Amazonas state—near the border with Peru. The Javari region is home to the most uncontacted indigenous people in the world. His sister Sian Phillips told Sky News she is concerned there is illegal logging and drug trafficking in the area where he disappeared. According to The Guardian, Mr Pereira had received a number of threats from loggers and miners in the region.”
