The Pour Over Today - Monday, December 5, 2022

Episode Date: December 5, 2022

Today, we’re talking about a new agreement to sanction Russia that (hopefully) won’t spike oil prices, a catch up on both types of football, Twitter and Hunter Biden’s laptop, and other top news for Monday, December 5th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Sponsored by Dwell

Today, we're talking about a new agreement to sanction Russia that hopefully won't spike oil prices, a catch-up on both types of football, Twitter, and Hunter Biden's laptop, and other top news for Monday, December 5th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour-Over. Here's the verse of the week. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Psalm 51, verse 9. Let's start with some espresso shots.

A European embargo on all seaborne Russian oil starts today, but a last-minute agreement by G7 countries will allow Russian seaborne oil to still be sold to non-EU countries, as long as it's priced at or under $60 a barrel. Together, G7 countries have a near monopoly on maritime services, shipping, insurance, financing, etc., and they're refusing to service all Russian oil unless it's under the price cap. The hope is that this will cut a key source of revenue for Russia without causing global oil prices to skyrocket. Western countries are excited by the agreement, Russia is not. They've promised to retaliate. Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence suggests the war in Ukraine is going to slow

down for a few months because, well, it's cold. Both sides are expected to focus on resupplying and preparing for attacks in the spring. Conflicts between major world powers is enough to make anyone anxious. Yet because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we can trust that our future is secure, no matter what happens. Psalm 18 verse 2 says, The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. They came for a good time, not a long time. After not even qualifying for the World Cup in 2018, the Americans made it to the knockout stage this time and were indeed knocked out by the Netherlands 3-1. The 2026 World Cup is just around the corner though and will be closer to home with the US,

Canada, and Mexico jointly hosting the big event. Turning to the kind of football Americans are best at, the college football playoffs are set. On New Year's Eve, number one, Georgia, will play number four, Ohio State, and number two, Michigan, will play number three, TCU. Winners play January 9th. Unusually, neither TCU nor Ohio State won their conference but still made it, while Alabama sits out for just the second time since the four-team playoffs begun in 2014. Here's a verse to consider whether your team wins or loses. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being content. Whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need, I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4, verse 12-13. An Elon Musk-sanctioned release of the Twitter files dropped on Friday,

detailing Twitter's internal discussions around the New York Post's 2020 article on files found on Hunter Biden's discarded laptop. The files show confusion and debate over Twitter's initial decision to prevent users from sharing the article on Hunter's personal life and business dealings in Ukraine and China that were potentially damaging to his father, then-candidate Joe Biden, just weeks before the 2020 election. Twitter cited its hacked materials policy but reversed the decision days later. Then-CEO Jack Dorsey later called suppressing the story a total mistake. In the two years since the NYP story, information from the laptop has been repeatedly verified as authentic.

Conservatives say the Twitter files are evidence pre-Musk Twitter operated with political bias, while liberals say they simply show an earnest debate over a difficult content moderation decision. Being peaceable, gentle, and open to reason in the face of culturally hot topics like discussions of Hunter Biden's laptop is a sign of God's wisdom in us. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering without pretense. James 3 verse 17. Let's all agree on something. Watching the movie is not basically the same thing as having read the book. But what about listening to the audiobook? Yes, there's some magic to sitting down and turning pages, but audio can be amazing. Just look at Dwell. Dwell is an audio

first Bible app that is so much more than an audio version of the Bible. They offer scriptural playlists, background music, listening plans, different translations, a read-along feature, and so much more. Dwell is audio done excellently, as shown by 28,000 reviews and an average 4.9 star rating. Get 25% off an annual plan when you start your 7-day free trial today. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Georgia's state runoff election between Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock is tomorrow and the stakes are high, ish. While Democrats will control the chamber regardless, the results impact Senate committee assignments and the 2024 Senate map. Speaking of 2024, Democrats are

reshuffling their presidential primary calendar, with South Carolina poised to replace Iowa as the first contest. Alex Jones has filed for bankruptcy protection, saying he has less than $10 million in assets as he faces defamation verdicts ordering him to pay nearly $1.5 billion. Meanwhile, Jones hosted Ye, Kanye, on his podcast where the rapper repeatedly praised Hitler. Ye was subsequently resuspended from Twitter after tweeting a swastika. From the Fed's perspective, November's jobs report was annoyingly good. The economy added 263,000 jobs, significantly better than predicted.

Wage growth remained strong, which is good for workers, but also a core driver of inflation. The Fed's primary focus is reducing inflation, and this jobs report reconfirms it's not coming down easily. Iran's Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri announced that the country will be disbanding their so-called morality police, and that Parliament is considering altering the rule requiring women to wear hijabs in public. The announcements are seen as attempts to peel away support for ongoing protests that are demanding an entire regime change. The Pentagon has a not-so-stealthy grand reveal of its first new bomber in over 30 years, the B-21 Raider. While almost every detail is classified, the Air Force released artist renderings and said the $750 million planes have increased stealth technology, can carry both nuclear and conventional bombs, remain airborne longer,

and be either manned or controlled remotely. That's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you're listening on the Apple Podcasts app, give us a five-star rating and drop a review. If you're listening to us on Spotify, give us a follow and hit the notification bell to never miss a new episode. We appreciate your support and hope you have a great day. We'll see you on Wednesday.