Slog AM: Katie Wilson Is Impatient With Herself, Brazil Presidential Election Heads to Runoff, Orcs Protest Palantir

I am a global citizen. Just read my wedding diary. Maybe that’s why the news out of Brazil (where I started my career) and Morocco (where much of my family is from) caught my eye this morning. Don’t worry, I’m also keeping an eye on Seattle City Hall’s budget haggling.

Katie Wilson “is as impatient as everyone else” about her slow pace of reform, including dismantling homeless encampments and enacting progressive taxation. Wilson sat down with Seattle Nice and acknowledged how she’s continuing the practice of dismantling homeless encampments without offering shelter to people evicted (aka, sweeps); the punitive pushing around of her predecessors. She stressed the importance of creating good “vibes” for the business community, and made some nuanced arguments about the role of the Seattle Police Department and Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion in arresting and referring our way out of the public drug market crisis (worth a listen!).

Sheriffs across WA shall remain unaccountable to Olympia: On Friday, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Schaller blocked key elements of a law passed by the Legislature this year that set standards for sheriffs, a role that is usually elected, that required them to have five years of law enforcement experience and no serious convictions, to be at least 25 years old, and to undergo background checks. It also allowed for their removal from office. Schaller’s ruling is the latest blow to accountability for sheriffs from the courts.

Alleged Chinese spy arrested, faces charges related to surveilling Taiwanese official’s family in Seattle: KING5 reports that the woman allegedly rented a car in Seattle, drove to the person’s house, and photographed the family and their vehicle, according to US officials. The images were sent to a Chinese official on WeChat.

The first union on Capitol Hill: California Rep. Ro Khanna’s staff have unionized, Politico reports. It’s the first time workers in the US legislature have done so. And it only took four years after a union vote in the Democrat’s office to actually get it done.

Brazil’s elections keep rhyming with America’s. Every four years, the world watches in horror as Americans go to the polls in embarrassingly low numbers to determine how the US will meddle with or support their futures. We experience a tiny fragment of this. In Brazil, elections predict how much of the Amazon Rainforest will get cut down. I was glued to the Rio Times coverage of Brazil’s runoff election results for the past 24 hours. Incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has reduced deforestation significantly, CarbonBrief calculates. His former rival, Trump fan Jair Bolsonaro, led a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula, got convicted, and is currently in jail. The election was between Lula and Bolsonaro’s son. 

Bolsonaro’s son got more votes: Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, has been running in his father’s place to carry the torch in a political alliance that is pro-gun, pro-Bible, all-in on agriculture (including slash and burn operations in the Amazon). Flávio Bolsonaro won 47 percent of the recent election vs. Lula’s 45 percent. Since neither won a majority, there will be a runoff. Lula is a center-left leader way past his prime (he’s 80) who helped bring a generation of Brazilians out of poverty. He’s too damn old to inspire the left and, like Biden, didn’t trust anyone to pass the torch to on his admittedly shallow bench. Brazilian voters go back to the polls on Oct. 25 to decide between Bolsonaro Jr. and Lula.

Death-from-the-sky maker Shield AI is expanding in Seattle, GeekWire reports.One priority of Mayor Katie Wilson’s is to diversify the economy amid a potential slide in tech. Well, there’s always the defense industrial complex. Shield AI makes the X-BAT, an “AI-piloted strike fighter” that outranges a Lockheed Martin F-35A and drops 2,000-pound bombs (like the ones used on Gaza). It’s planning to expand production to a warehouse near SeaTac.

Meanwhile, out of work “orcs” tried to get work at Palantir’s Seattle office. The LOTR-inspired company is involved in ICE’s surveillance of protesters, and gets a lot of Army contracts. It’s the latest milquetoast protest from Climate Defiance:

Morocco’s first female Prime Minister enjoyed her first weekend in power, blessed by the patriarchy. The New York Times notes that King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the third female head of state in a North African country. At the same time, the NYT suggests Moroccan women generally aren’t advancing as quickly in society as their representatives. We’ll see if Moroccan feminism and empowerment can filter down.

Morocco is America’s oldest ally, in a way: It was the first to recognize US independence in 1777. Back then, we asked (paid) them to let up on the piracy and they agreed. Lately, our deals have been about expanding colonialism. Morocco has agreed to recognize the State of Israel, in exchange for the US recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, whose people are only tied to Morocco because of Spanish colonization and dictatorship. You may have seen some of the region if you watched The Odyssey.

Seattle-area ferries delayed or cancelled due to lack of crew: KOMO reports that many routes are down to one boat or out of service entirely. Check the latest WSDOT delays; this morning there were a lot of cancelled Bremerton/Seattle boats. 

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