What we’re reading (10/22)
“Peter Todd Was ‘Unmasked’ As Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Now He’s In Hiding” (Wired). “When Canadian developer Peter Todd found out that a new HBO documentary, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, was set to identify him as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, he was mostly just pissed. ‘This was clearly going to be a circus,’ Todd told WIRED in an email…The search for the creator of Bitcoin has dragged into its orbit a colorful cast of characters, among them Hal Finney, recipient of the first ever bitcoin transaction; Adam Back, designer of a precursor technology cited in the Bitcoin white paper; and cryptographer Nick Szabo, to name just a few. Journalists at Newsweek, the New York Times, and WIRED, among others, have all taken stabs at solving the Satoshi riddle. But irrefutable proof has never been unearthed.”
“The Quarter-Trillion Dollar Rush To Get Money Out Of China” (Wall Street Journal). “Chinese residents have been illicitly moving billions of dollars out of the country under authorities’ noses as a cratering property market and economic uncertainties push people to find safer places to park their wealth overseas.”
“Bed Bath & Beyond Stores Are Back From The Grave. Sort Of.” (Washington Post). “Bed Bath & Beyond seems to be the brand with more lives than an adventurous feline. Over the past 18 months, the retailer — once known for its sprawling stores stacked high with air fryers, trash cans and bedding — has gone through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, store closures, layoffs, liquidation, a new owner of its brand, a website relaunch and a new chief executive. Now the retailer is going back to its roots and opening a handful of small-format brick-and-mortar stores, according to parent company Beyond.”
“Inside The Bungled Bird Flu Response, Where Profits Collide With Public Health” (Vanity Fair). “When dairy cows in Texas began falling ill with H5N1, alarmed veterinarians expected a fierce response to contain an outbreak with pandemic-sparking potential. Then politics—and, critics says, a key agency’s mandate to protect dairy-industry revenues—intervened.”
“E. Coli Outbreak Linked To McDonald’s Quarter Pounders” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). “CDC, FDA, USDA FSIS, and public health officials in multiple states are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections. Most people in this outbreak are reporting eating the Quarter Pounder hamburger at McDonald’s before becoming sick. It is not yet known which specific food ingredient is contaminated. McDonald’s is collaborating with investigation partners to determine what food ingredient in Quarter Pounders is making people sick. McDonald’s stopped using fresh slivered onions and quarter pound beef patties in several states while the investigation is ongoing to identify the ingredient causing illness.”
