RIP, 0% Club. Two thumbs eternally down.
Rotten Tomatoes announced a new ratings system that will ditch critic scores and feature only audience scores. To commemorate this change, we would like to recognize the highly exclusive 0% Club. Only ~40 films — including titles like Simon Sez, The Nutcracker in 3D, The Ridiculous 6, and Police Academy 4 — received 0% scores from critics on a minimum of 20 reviews in Rotten Tomatoes history. That is quite a feat.
In thousands of years, when some alien civilization is digging up Earth, we sincerely hope that their lone archaeological discovery is Simon Sez. Onto the next planet they’ll go to search for intelligent life!
💰 Boom time defense contractors
🇦🇫 Taliban: Women can't speak in public
😩 Trampoline park employees' paychecks bounce
–Max, Max, and Owen
KEY STORY
Telegram v. France
Telegram said its founder has “nothing to hide” after his arrest by French authorities
Pavel Durov founded “Russia’s Facebook” but left Russia after refusing to turn over protesters’ data to Russia’s government. He then established Telegram as a private messaging app beyond the reach of governments. It now has nearly 1B users
On Sunday, French authorities arrested Durov and accused him of failing to prevent crimes on Telegram. Telegram has said, “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform”
Dig Deeper
France has been at the forefront of efforts to force tech companies to moderate content
It belongs to the EU, which passed the landmark “Digital Services Act,” a law that requires platforms to police harmful content and disinformation
The arrest of Durov is the most drastic enforcement of the EU’s efforts to date
KEY STORY
Boom Time for Big Gun
A Financial Times analysis found that defense companies will soon have record levels of cash
Per the FT, the 15 largest defense contractors will earn $52B in free cash flow – effectively profit – by 2026, almost twice the 2021 level. The surge is a result of tensions in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East
Governments have been placing arms orders since 2022, but it takes years for those orders to be fulfilled, and revenue isn’t recorded until they are. The surge thus reflects $13B recently allocated by the US to arm Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine and $10B allocated by the UK toward arms for Ukraine
Dig Deeper
The deals will leave the contractors with billions of dollars of cash, which will likely lead to stock buybacks and dividends, pushing up share prices and acquisitions
Analysts expect defense spending to remain high for at least a few more years, then tail off as the war in Ukraine stagnates or ends. One such analyst told the FT that the industry is a “cyclical business,” fluctuating with the outbreak and end of wars
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KEY STORY
Affirmative Action Impact
MIT reported a sharp decline in black and Hispanic students following the end of affirmative action
Universities’ incoming classes will be the first since the Supreme Court ruled most affirmative action university admissions programs unconstitutional
Per new data from MIT – the #2 US university, per US News & World Report – the share of “historically under-represented racial and ethnic groups” in its incoming class fell from 25% to 16%, with the share of black students falling from 15% to 5%, Hispanic from 16% to 11%, and white from 38% to 37%
The Asian-American share grew from 40% to 47%
Dig Deeper
MIT’s president said the new class “does not bring…the same degree of broad racial and ethnic diversity that the MIT community has worked together to achieve over the past several decades”
The lawyer who brought the case that overturned affirmative action said, “Every student admitted... will know that they were accepted only based upon their outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements, not the color of their skin”
KEY STORY
Taliban Bans Women’s Voices
The Taliban are cracking down on women’s voices, among other things
The Islamist regime published a new set of rules under which women must veil their faces and bodies and remain silent in public so as to avoid tempting men
While women may speak at home, they must do so quietly and can be prosecuted if their voice is heard from outside the house
Women are also now prohibited from looking directly at men they are not related to. Taliban officials can punish violators as they see fit
Dig Deeper
The new restrictions create a “distressing vision for Afghanistan’s future,” a UN representative said: “[The laws] extend the already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, with even the sound of a female voice outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation”
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
💥 Israel ordered the evacuation of part of central Gaza after Hamas rejected the most recent US-backed ceasefire proposal
🇩🇪 Germany’s chancellor visited the site of Friday’s ISIS stabbing and vowed to “do everything” to deport individuals who are “not allowed to stay in Germany”
🚗 Canada announced a 100% tariff on China-made electric vehicles (EVs), including Teslas, and a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum
💵 Kamala Harris’ team announced that she has fundraised $540M since entering the race
🤝 Former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard endorsed Donald Trump
COMMUNITY
🧐 Yesterday’s question: What about the fall are you most excited for?
Some of the MANY reasons I am excited for fall:
-Crisp air
-Coffee tastes better in the fall
-the FOOD. Chili, soups, pumpkin desserts
-the colors
-all the movies
-Everyone’s in a better mood
Overall it's just so cozy... best season of the year by far.
Fall hopeful and excited wish: return/rescue of space station astronauts ASAP. THEN, Boeing research/discoverer what the f*** went wrong this time, eliminate incompetent engineers, admit any/all wrongdoing, rehab corporate/employee structure with an eye to quality and excellence and errorless products' control, et al.
It’s going to be over 100 in Chicago this week so I’m excited for the ability to breathe again. Also ready for the Bears to hurt me again
🧠 Today’s question: What’s something you learned this summer?
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
🐬 Love at first bite: A sexually frustrated dolphin is believed to have attacked swimmers in a seaside town in Japan this summer
🟨 A wrongful wee: A 66-year-old former Lenovo computer salesman fired after a bladder condition forced him to relieve himself in a hotel lobby is seeking at least $1.5M in damages
75k rubber ducks going into the Chicago River for the Chicago Duck Derby!
💰 The irony…: Former employees of a popular Georgia trampoline park claim their final paychecks bounced after the park unexpectedly closed earlier this month
🌭 Average Missouri diet: Authorities arrested three Missouri residents for feeding an infant only goat milk, sausages, and Mountain Dew. The cops also found 80 marijuana plants on their property
🦅 Bird of buffet: Missouri conservation officials captured a bald eagle initially believed to be injured but later determined to be “too fat to fly”
ROCA WRAP
A Deadly Deal
Last week, a luxury yacht capsized off the coast of Sicily, killing tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch – dubbed the “UK’s Bill Gates” – and six others. Now, authorities are investigating his death.
Lynch founded Autonomy, a digital surveillance company, in 1996. HP acquired it in 2011 for $11.7B, and Lynch took home around $700M. Within a year, though, HP had accused Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain – Autonomy’s VP of Finance – of fudging numbers to overstate Autonomy’s success before the merger. Lynch blamed HP for mismanaging the assets.
HP began pursuing legal options and sued Lynch and Chamberlain in 2015 for $5.1B. Then, in 2018, a US jury indicted Lynch and Chamberlain on criminal charges and asked the UK to extradite the pair to the US, where a legal battle ensued.
In January 2022, a UK court ruled in a civil case that Lynch inflated Autonomy’s value. While damages would be decided later, the judge indicated they would be far less than the $5.1B HP asked for. Two years later, this March, Lynch and Chamberlain’s US trial began. Lynch, 58, faced up to 25 years in US prison.
This June, the US court found Lynch and Chamerblain not guilty on all counts. While they would likely have to pay damages for the UK suit, the duo would avoid prison time.
To celebrate, Lynch took a trip on his yacht – but the celebration wouldn’t last.
Last Saturday, Chamberlain was hit by a car during a morning jog and hospitalized. UK police say there is no evidence that the incident was “suspicious or untoward.”
Then, two days later, Lynch’s yacht sank off the coast of Sicily, killing Lynch, his daughter, four guests, and the yacht’s chef. Lynch’s wife, five guests, the captain, and eight crewmembers survived. Later that night, Chamberlain succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
Italian authorities said a severe storm hit the waters, sinking the boat. However, suspicions of foul play have emerged as the company that owns the ship said that the crew not only should have had a lookout but should have known about the storm and made preparations.
A manslaughter investigation has since been opened. This time, Lynch and Chamberlain won’t be around to celebrate the verdict.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of two Roca readers: Tom and Alex in Northern Michigan. When we announced our trip to Michigan, they generously offered to host us at their home near Traverse City. We stayed with them last night and enjoyed some fascinating conversations about Michigan, the media, and UFOs. We are currently basking in the glory of their beautiful 30-acre property. Tom and Alex, thank you!
–Max and Max
