Booze + Weed = Industry Buzz | The Taliban’s ‘Moderate’

www.ozy.com [OZY.COM]( [VIEW ONLINE]( 10 MUST READS TODAY [Daily Dose]( Wednesday Sep 11, 2019 1 [Provocateurs]( [Provocateurs]( [The Taliban's Hidden Moderate]( An outsider turned deputy political head, Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi is now central to ending the war … eventually. Outside Moscow’s President Hotel in February, the deputy political head of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi Ali Mardan Qul, voiced his grievances with a tilt in his eyebrows. “Earlier, the Americans had told us only the Taliban wants withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. But today, all Afghans have only one thing to say: We don’t need the existence of foreign forces in our country. The U.S. must leave,” the lean and long-faced Uzbek leader said deliberately, in broken but fluent English. He was not loud or demonstrative. And yet the formal, bearded and bespectacled man radiated intensity. [READ MORE]( 2 [Fast Forward]( [Fast Forward]( [Will Weed-Infused Drinks Get the Booze Industry Buzzing Again?]( Cannabis-infused drinks — alcoholic and nonalcoholic — are set to take over the beverage world. Alcohol sales in the U.S. are in steady decline — they’ve gone down three years in a row. Experts say health and wellness concerns are turning people away. But brewers may finally have found the savior they’ve been desperately seeking. Recreational cannabis use is legal in 11 of the United States, Guam and the District of Columbia. Now, a growing number of path-breaking brewers and other entrepreneurs are adding weed to beverages to offer healthier drinks than regular beer or wine — while retaining the high that consumers seek. In the process, they’re giving birth to an entirely new industry and offering major breweries a lifeline just when their business otherwise appears headed for rocky times. [READ MORE]( 3 [Opinion]( [Opinion]( [Lack of Control Will Force Countries to Say No to Libra]( China is the latest to posture against decentralized cryptocurrency, and it won’t be the last. Recent news that China’s central bank was close to issuing its own cryptocurrency should have given few people cause for surprise. The People’s Bank of China launched its digital currency research lab in 2017, and work on the project has reportedly been going on for five years. It’s fair to assume that the announcement of the digital renminbi has been fast-tracked because of Facebook’s announcement of its Libra cryptocurrency. Beijing’s reaction is not unprecedented in terms of approach; China is just one of a series of countries posturing against Libra and decentralized cryptocurrency in general. India has recently been mulling outlawing cryptocurrencies altogether. Anyone dealing with them can face a fine of up to $3.5 million and 10 years in jail. The European Union has also hit back hard against Libra. France’s finance minister says it is out of the question that Libra might one day become a sovereign currency. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, says Libra will be subject to the highest standards of regulation. [READ MORE]( [Sponsored by: MIT]( [Tapping the Economic Potential of Blockchain With MIT Faculty]( Everyone agrees that blockchain technology has the power to change the way business is conducted — and to reshape our economic and social systems. But in spite of this growing awareness, there is still pervasive uncertainty and confusion surrounding the technology. The six-week Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application online course from the MIT Sloan School of Management is designed to equip you with the knowledge to understand the capabilities and limitations of blockchain, assess which business problems it can solve and harness the innovative possibilities it presents. Interested in mastering blockchain and its power to transform? [Find out more about this online program here.]( 4 [Opinion]( [Rep. Eric Swalwell: Assault Weapons 'Bans' Are Meaningless Without Buyback]( Democratic presidential candidates are getting the idea. Congress has been slower to act. 5 [Good Sh*t]( [Why Margaret Atwood’s 'The Blind Assassin' Is Worth Revisiting]( As the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale launches, we remember this sprawling, turn-of-the-century novel that brings Gilead sharply to mind. 6 [True Story]( [When They Tortured Me]( The worst you’d expect for speaking out as a student might be a reprimand, not being imprisoned and beaten for years. 7 [True Story]( [The Little Shop Around the Corner on 9/11]( Noam Freedman’s little cop-and-fire outfitter shop gave him an up-close seat to a tragedy for the ages. 8 [Fast Forward]( [As the Amazon Burns, Indonesia Shows World How to Fight Forest Fires]( Blazes across Indonesia in 2015 left Southeast Asia shrouded in a haze. Now, the country offers a global model of prevention. 9 [Good Sh*t]( [Hiking in the Fairy-Tale 'Narnia' Hills of the Czech Republic]( This breathtaking hike takes you to one of the country’s most impressive, yet lesser-known, natural attractions. 10 [Flashback]( ['Suspicious Minds' Sparked Rock's Most Unforgettable Comeback]( The final No. 1 single of Elvis’ career turns 50. OZY & Sony tell the story behind the hit. You Should Know This [Watch OZY and Oprah's New TV Show...]( OZY Media Mountain View, California 94040 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Read Online](