Trump Looks for New Intelligence Chief

“I like when you vet,” President Donald Trump told journalists, saying they often “do a very good job. Not always.” The ambiguous compliment followed the Friday withdrawal of Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe, a Trump loyalist, as a replacement for departing Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. Ratcliffe had touted qualifications, like having prosecuted major terrorism cases, that media reports showed to be exaggerated. Still, Trump said news outlets treated his choice “very harshly.”

Who might be next? Even an interim replacement is uncertain. By law, it would be CIA veteran Sue Gordon, Coats’s deputy. She’s liked by key congressional Republicans, who may resist reported administration efforts to name someone else.

The US Economy Looks for Its Peak

It’s been the best of times. American economic indicators have strengthened since 2009. But as OZY reports, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell this week carefully executed a “pirouette,” cutting interest rates for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. Normally, that’s to fight economic weakness, and this week, there were storm clouds: deadlocked trade negotiations with China spurred President Donald Trump to vow new tariffs on Chinese goods — unnerving investors — while global growth is weakening.

What’s next? China, with bigger economic troubles, is defiant. Its new UN ambassador said that if Washington wants to talk, “then we will talk. If they want to fight, then we will fight.”

France's Yellow Vests Aren't What You Think

The Gilets Jaunes movement, unlike what its many detractors have insisted, pits everyday French against Paris’s elite, writes journalist Christopher Ketcham. After dodging tear gas with the demonstrators in multiple cities and interviewing many of them, he reports that none espouse the right-wing or intolerant views that much of the French and American press have ascribed to them.

What are they fighting for? They’re hardly monolithic, but common themes shine through, like a disdain for President Emmanuel Macron’s neoliberalism, and even a counterintuitive concern about global warming — which demonstrators point out is disproportionately the result of upper-income consumption.

Catch up on the movement’s origins with OZY.

Florida Case Seen as Test of Foreign-Born Citizen Purge

A federal judge may be writing a precedent that could haunt naturalized U.S. citizens. She’s deciding whether to strip citizenship from Parvez Manzoor Khan, a Florida trucker from Pakistan who married an American and obtained U.S. citizenship. But Khan didn’t disclose on his 2006 naturalization forms that he’d been ordered deported in 1992, which happened in California, he says, without his knowledge.

What’s at stake? Revoking citizenship is a rare step traditionally reserved for those linked to unspeakable violence, but the Trump administration initiative that ensnared Khan — the first to go to trial — has targeted 1,600 for denaturalization.

Also Important...

Protesters have begun their ninth weekend of pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong. Three people have been arrested in the July 27 murder of an off-duty Los Angeles police officer. And military rulers and opposition leaders in Sudan have signed a constitutional declaration to cement a power-sharing agreement they signed last month.

In the week ahead: Sentencing for Cesar Sayoc, who’s admitted to mailing bombs to opponents of President Trump, is scheduled for Monday. Tuesday is the 74th anniversary of the world’s first nuclear attack, on Hiroshima, Japan. And the Hajj, Islam’s annual pilgrimage to Mecca and other holy sites, is expected to begin Friday.

OZY is hiring! We’re looking for an ambitious journalist to cover business and finance through unique, analytical and globally minded write-ups. Check out our jobs page and read the description here.

How to Farm Phones for Fun and Profit

They need the clicks and you need the money, so why not? Much has been made of industrial-scale phone farms in China, “engaging” with websites to boost their alleged audience numbers. But with the help of cut-rate smartphones and apps, ordinary Americans are doing the same thing on a smaller scale. They’re racking up phones while racking up fractions of cents per “view.”

How does it work? “Incentivized traffic” apps connect sites that want more traffic with viewers who get paid for their clicks and time, say, watching videos. Farmers get their phones to do it continuously, with the help of other apps.

Scientist Loses Fight for the Life of Beloved Chimp

Poaching happens. No one knew that better than Kevin Langergraber, who studies chimpanzees in Uganda’s Kibale National Park. But this week the Arizona anthropologist witnessed Kidman, an adult female, being speared by poachers. But the two hunters weren’t expecting the angry scientist, who frightened them off and used one of their spears to battle the attackers’ dogs, killing seven and allowing another chimp to escape.

What’s the lesson here? Efforts to fight poaching in wildlife preserves aren’t keeping up with the need. Langergraber hopes his experience will be a “kick in the butt” to fund more teams to prevent such slaughter.

Read OZY’s look at saving Pakistan’s pangolins.

Western Sahara's 'Gandhi' Fights for Peace

As a young woman, Aminatou Haidar’s thirst to free her native Western Sahara from Moroccan rule saw her tortured during three years in prison. Four decades later, the occupying government still sees her as a dangerous separatist and agitator. But Haidar may be the strongest force preventing her fellow Sahrawis, some 170,000 of them in Algerian exile, from taking up arms. As younger leaders emerge, Haidar worries they won’t share her patience and will follow burgeoning regional militant movements toward violence.

What divides the generations? Haidar’s contemporaries know the cost of war, having lost family members, while for younger Sahrawis, armed struggle is a more abstract path to independence.

Inside the Game Studio That Never Was

For the 25 employees of Drakore Studios it was a dream come true: a game development gig that paid. Until the paychecks failed to appear last month as the founder, Rana Mahal, claimed he’d secured the rights to a promising project, and investors were interested. “I made mistakes,” he admitted after the studio failed, but “didn’t maliciously intend for this to happen.”

How can it go so wrong? Game development is driven by professionals motivated by passions that can blind them to something that looks too good to be true — until it’s too late.

OZY takes a look at the future of gaming.

How a Rugby Star Became a Champion of Intolerance

“Hell awaits you.” That’s what former Australian Super Rugby superstar Israel Folau posted on Instagram in April about a list of “sinners” that included liars, thieves and homosexuals. This week Folau announced that he’s suing Rugby Australia, accusing the organization of wrongfully terminating him because of his religious beliefs.

Why does this matter? In the months since Folau’s dismissal, he’s given voice to so-called “quiet Australians” who are socially conservative and feel their views are trampled upon by liberal elites — such as when he was barred from covering legal expenses on GoFundMe.

Read OZY’s Immodest Proposal for gender equality in sports.