Brigadoon Daily | Global Street Smarts

Your daily dose of the emerging issues + independent thinkers shaping commerce + culture

January 21, 2022


Moving the party to the metaverse

TOP FIVE

1. Putin loves to roll the dice

2. Most NFTs are more like baseball cards

3. NYC Mayor Adams will convert paycheck to cryptocurrency

4. Namibia’s Skeleton Coast

5. Playoffs are a quarterbacking fantasy

GLOBALIZATION + STATECRAFT

WP: Biden insists US won’t accept a ‘minor incursion’ by Russia into Ukraine after remarks drew criticism

US allows Baltic NATO members to send arms to Ukraine: WSJ reports the decision will enable shipments of US-made antitank and air-defense weapons to Ukrainian military.

+ Six bipartisan Senators have introduced a bill to authorize the US to enter into a Lend-Lease agreement with Ukraine.

Senators wrestle with Russia sanctions as Ukraine crisis deepens: Politico reports, “We should impose those sanctions sooner rather than later, not wait for the invasion to start," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

Despite differences, US stresses trans-Atlantic unity on Ukraine
WP

Is the US ready for a Russian invasion of Eastern Europe?
Jerry Hendrix

Is the Ukrainian military really a David against the Russian Goliath? As tensions rise ahead of Friday’s crunch talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the Ukraine crisis, memories of the Russian army swiftly overpowering the Ukrainian military during the 2014 Crimean annexation have resurfaced. But Ukraine has significantly improved its defense capabilities – with more than a little help from NATO countries.
AFP

Putin loves to roll the dice. Ukraine is his biggest gamble yet. The former spy chief’s tolerance for risk is tested as he threatens a ground war unseen in Europe since the 1940s.
WSJ

Russia’s central bank proposes ban on crypto trading and mining: FT reports digital currencies display ‘aspects of financial pyramids’ and could ‘service illegal activity’, say policymakers.

Israel to buy 3 submarines from Germany's Thyssenkrupp: DW reports the Israeli government has announced a deal to buy 3 submarines from German giant Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.

Today: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold an online summit with President Biden. The meeting comes at a time when Japan and the United States are seeking to deepen cooperation on defense, economic security, and strategic trade issues, in response to shared concerns about China.

Australia, UK work on security ties as China’s clout expands: Bloomberg reports UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss and Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace are meeting Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne and Minister for Defense Peter Dutton for the first time since Canberra signed the deal in September.

The Winter Games in China: Lonelier, quieter, spookier
James Hohmann

US foe or specific weapon not behind sustained, global campaign causing ‘Havana Syndrome,’ CIA finds: Politico reports even as the CIA-led probe into the cause of symptoms continues, the broader intelligence community-backed this finding with varying degrees of confidence.

Havana Syndrome unlikely caused by US foes, CIA says: WSJ reports the agency concluded that other medical conditions, stress, or unexplained factors could be behind the ailments that have been reported in roughly 1,000 personnel.

What foreign ambassadors really think about Biden’s first year: Pick up the phone, they say: “We're talking about 10 f---ing minutes of your time.”
Politico

DISRUPTION + INNOVATION

Your medical history might someday include ‘climate change’: Last summer, a doctor wrote “climate change” in his patient’s chart. But is medicine really ready to address systemic health impacts?
Wired

‘It’s all just wild’: Tech start-ups reach a new peak of froth: There’s more money and more bubbly behavior. Investors insist it’s rational.
NYT

Now you can rent a robot worker—for less than paying a human: Automation is reaching more companies, imperiling some jobs and changing the nature of others.
Wired

Google is working on an AR headset.

Instagram is testing out a subscription service for content creators.

Twitter embraces NFTs with new profile-picture feature: WSJ reports the service will be available to some users of the company’s Blue subscriber service.

Facebook owner Meta dives into NFT digital collectibles craze: FT reports the social media group plans to enter the hype-fuelled $40bn market for creating and selling non-fungible tokens.

Most NFTs are more like baseball cards than fine art: Collectors aren’t just paying crazy prices for blockchain entries. They’re also buying affordable access to communities and the opportunities that come with it. (Ask Eminem.)
Scott Duke Kominers

Apple’s head of comms is leaving after less than a year: The Verge reports Stella Low is out, Apple vet Kristin Huguet Quayle is in.

Andreessen Horowitz seeks $4.5bn for new crypto investments: FT reports the planned fundraising illustrates how Silicon Valley firms are fuelling a boom in cryptocurrency start-ups.

CNBC: Peloton to halt production of its bikes, treadmills as demand wanes

Superstores can meet half their electricity needs with rooftop solar, says a new report: From Walmart to Ikea, a report finds that the rooftops of big-box stores offer enough solar potential to power the equivalent of 8 million American homes.
WP

Amazon is opening a 30,000-square-foot store with QR codes and palm-scanning checkout: WP reports the e-commerce giant’s first physical apparel store in California will harness QR codes and real-time recommendations for a ‘seamless’ shopping experience.

Here’s the trailer for “WeCrashed,” Apple TV+’s drama series about the rise and fall of WeWork.
YouTube

POLITICS + CAMPAIGNS

Jan. 6 Panel seeks testimony from Ivanka Trump: NYT reports the House inquiry into the Capitol riot requested cooperation from the former president’s eldest daughter and revealed new details about what unfolded inside the White House on Jan. 6.

GA prosecutor requests special grand jury in probe of Trump’s efforts to overturn election results: WP reports the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said the move is necessary to compel some witnesses to testify.

Giuliani coordinated plan to declare Trump victor in states he lost; some GOP electors refused to go along
WP

America is overdosing on the apocalypse: There are grounds to worry about the quality of US democracy but fanatics are a minority.
Edward Luce

House GOP plots policy agenda for 2022 elections with help from Gingrich
WP

NYC Mayor Adams will convert his city paycheck to cryptocurrency via Coinbase: The Verge reports he can’t get paid directly in cryptocurrency under US labor law.

Crypto’s power play: NYT reports cryptocurrency executives are lobbying lawmakers to embrace blockchain technology, but the industry has a sustainability issue tied to its heavy energy use. On Thursday, members of the House energy committee held a hearing on “Cleaning Up Cryptocurrency: The Energy Impacts of Blockchains,” and the experts called as witnesses will try “to turn the conventional narrative on its head,” as John Belizaire, chief of Soluna Computing, put it in his written testimony.

+ “Crypto’s energy consumption is a feature, not a bug,” Belizaire wrote.

Home sales reached 15-year high in 2021: WSJ reports existing-home sales rose 8.5% last year to 6.12 million, fueled by low-interest rates and remote work. Housing economists expect the market frenzy to subside in 2022.

Tory civil war could drag on to the summer: Whatever the Gray report says, the PM will not quit and the plotters won’t give up... making Labour the only winners.
James Forsyth

Boris Johnson and his political legacy are both in peril: None of his rivals in the Conservative Party has the prime minister’s pull with working-class voters.
Bobby Ghosh, Adrian Wooldridge + Therese Raphael

CULTURE

Bloomberg: Paris Hilton is back and moving the party to the metaverse

The coffee maker: James Hoffmann is one of the most followed men in caffeine. Here’s an illustrated look at how he became an expert.
NYT

Sarcastic superpower: Why Bill Murray is the perfect Marvel villain: The indie veteran has confirmed he will appear in the new Ant-Man film. As a master of sardonic asides, he’s the perfect fit.
Guardian

The eerie, lunar nothingness of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast: The stretch of coastline in southwest Africa is a strange and beautiful reminder that, in the end, we are powerless against nature and time.
NYT

SPORT

Mexican cross-country skier won’t let pain, age or failure end her Olympic dream: Mexican cross-country skier Karla Schleske competes in the BSF Nationals at Solider Hollows, Utah, on Jan. 11. Schleske missed out on qualifying for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, but that isn’t stopping the 39-year-old from looking ahead to 2026.
LAT

Football, the ultimate team sport, has been distilled to a single position: These playoffs are a quarterbacking fantasy, thanks to the design of the modern NFL.
WP


Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

Curation and commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon

Brigadoon is Global Street Smarts.