France has had an influential and informal empire in Africa since the end of colonialism, maintained through elite social ties and frequent military intervention.
Since 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron has wanted to “reset” or “refound” this status quo.
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In 2020, Macron began reducing French troop deployments in Africa, where up to 5500 French troops have fought insurgents since 2013.
Without the prospect of future French backing, local military commanders decided to overthrow their civilian governments.
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In the power vacuum left by France, coup leaders and some governments have turned to an unlikely new ally: Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries.
But a much greater power is also now gearing up to increase economic, military, and diplomatic ties to Africa: the United States.
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For a close case study of France’s troubled African empire, subscribers can read our Brief on Vincent Bollore and Emmanuel Macron from April 2022: brief.bismarckanalysis.com/p/french-elite…
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The current chairman (since 2021) and publisher (2018) of the NYT is 42-year-old A. G. Sulzberger.
He is the sixth male member of his family to publish the Times since 1896.
The Sulzberger family also makes up 30% of the Times’ board of directors and controls 70% of it.
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The family controls the NYT through the Ochs-Sulzberger Family Trust. The trust owns 94% of the Times’ powerful Class B shares. The Class B shareholders select 70% of the board.
The trust, meanwhile, is run by a committee of eight trustees—all family members.
Thousands of people die each year waiting for transplants, because there aren’t enough human organs to go around.
If transplant organs were cheap and abundant, they would not just solve shortages, but greatly expand the number of people who might benefit from transplants.
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One of the key live players in xenotransplantation is Martine Rothblatt, the founder and CEO of the $12 billion biotech company United Therapeutics.
The company was behind the first-ever successful transplant of a genetically engineered pig heart into a human in 2022.
Comparisons are sometimes made between the education levels and intelligence of politicians in various countries. Everyone wants smarter politicians or so they think.
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The elephant in the room are opportunity costs that draw talent that might otherwise go to government into key parts of private sector.
In the United States personal returns for running for office aren't amazing. Be they intellectual, financial, or social.
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No matter how public spirited it is difficult to overcome the opportunity costs of working in more lucrative or less difficult fields.
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