Brigadoon Daily
Your daily dose of the emerging issues + independent thinkers shaping commerce + culture
November 4, 2021
The battle to control the metaverse
TOP FIVE
1. How South Korea became a cultural juggernaut
2. Havana Syndrome demonstrates the power of suggestion
3. NASA’s new rovers will be a fleet of mobile robots
4. Did Lady Gaga really stay in character for 18 months?
5. Dusty Baker still not ready to walk away
BRIGADOON EVENT
Brigadoon Author Talk | November Call
Why nature makes us happier, healthier, and more creative
When: 2:00 - 2:45 pm ET | Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Speaker: Florence Williams | Author of The Nature Fix
Watch: What happens when you spend just 5 minutes in nature?
Go outside. Go often. Bring friends. Breathe.
An intrepid investigation into nature’s restorative benefits by prize-winning author Florence Williams.
Click here.
GLOBALIZATION + STATECRAFT
Introducing the chokepoint economy, when shortages start to matter
Bloomberg
China is rapidly accelerating the expansion of its nuclear stockpile and is likely seeking to quadruple its number of nuclear warheads by 2030, according to the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on China's military power.
Bloomberg: China’s latest Delta outbreak its most widespread since Wuhan
Analysis: Xi's 'common prosperity' feels the heat as economy fizzles: Divide the cake or make it bigger? Debate returns to China.
Nikkei
Bipartisanship on Chinese tech hits a snag: Consensus on Congress’s flagship bipartisan issue looks increasingly elusive, as the GOP expresses frustration over Democratic reluctance to tighten restrictions on research and technology flowing to China.
NJ
What the new China focus gets wrong: Competition requires balance
Richard Fontaine
+ A European Parliament group landed overnight in Taiwan, in a move likely to provoke fury in Beijing and refocus attention on EU-China relations
+ The trip comes days after Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu visited Brussels, where he met with members of the European Parliament and Belgian parliamentarians, having earlier in the week visited the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
OTD: In 1839 the first Opium War between China and Britain began, with the Battle of Chuenpi. HMS Volage and HMS Hyacinth defeated 29 Chinese vessels.
Japan’s voters endorse getting tough on China: The weekend elections defied predictions—and gave Prime Minister Kishida room to step up defense spending, regional exercises, and more.
Bruce Klingner
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday he will try to arrange a meeting with Biden soon, possibly by year-end, following up a chat on the sidelines of the United Nations climate conference.
From BTS to ‘Squid Game’: How South Korea became a cultural juggernaut: The country was once largely known for cars and smartphones, but a global audience has become mesmerized by its entertainment, and creators say success didn’t happen overnight.
NYT
France's Macron pays tribute, bids 'adieu' to Merkel: DW reports French President Emmanuel Macron took Germany's Angela Merkel to the Burgundy town of Beaune as part of her farewell visit. He was also to present her with France's highest award, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor.
OTD: In 1985 two French secret service agents pleaded guilty to manslaughter related to the bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand, on July 10, 1985. The ship was in the area to protest about nuclear testing in the Mururoa atoll, French Polynesia.
Ethiopia declares state of emergency as conflict escalates: FT reports authorities in Addis Ababa prepare for a possible military assault by forces from Tigray.
Bloomberg: How Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed went from Nobel Peace Prize to Tigray crisis
+ Failure to manage ethnic tensions at the root of Abiy’s troubles
+ Bond yields soar as rebel troops threaten the capital city
Born in Blackness by Howard W French review – Dehumanised in the age of discovery: The scale of the west’s exploitation of Africa and Africans in the pursuit of economic power is laid bare in this painful, passionate retelling of Eurocentric history.
Guardian
Havana Syndrome demonstrates the power of suggestion: Researchers are finally learning why US spies and diplomats are suffering from noise-related illnesses. The explanation seems to lie with neuroscience, not fiendish weaponry.
Faye Flam
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-03/havana-syndrome-demonstrates-the-power-of-suggestion
Marines will overhaul recruiting, retention in shift away from a young, ‘replaceable’ force, general says: The service is going to have to “treat people like human beings instead of inventory,” said the Marine Corps commandant, Gen. David H. Berger.
WP
POLITICS + CAMPAIGNS
AP: Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey narrowly won reelection
AP: Biden says Virginia race wasn’t blowback against him
The next Democrat reckoning
Gabriel Debenedetti
Democrats need to face up to their public school problem: Education should be helping Democrats, not hurting. What happened?
Jonathan Chait
Terry McAuliffe bet on voters hating Trump. Turns out they dislike Democrats more. Glenn Youngkin’s victory should send shock waves through the Democratic Party, which continues to alienate once-dependable members of its base.
Charlie Sykes
One simple reason for the Republicans’ good day: Political parties always struggle in off-year elections when led by an unpopular president like Biden. But politicians will draw more complicated conclusions, and these will guide future behavior.
Jonathan Bernstein
A sobering reality hits Democrats after election losses
Dan Balz
The Hillary playbook does not work
Sarah Jones
Youngkin’s win in Virginia started with Biden’s debacle in Afghanistan
Marc A. Thiessen
Fortune: Oddsmakers: Republicans are now the clear favorite to win the House and Senate in 2022
WP: US hits another wrenching milestone in the pandemic: 750,000 deaths
+ A new Gallup Poll finds 51% of Americans say the coronavirus situation is getting better, up from 20% in September.
+ However, 51% think pandemic disruption will continue throughout 2022.
DISRUPTION + INNOVATION
Pentagon wants AI to predict events before they occur: Haven’t we seen this film before?
IEEE Spectrum
COMMERCE
Kirsten Lynch, a Chicago city kid, is ready to run Vail Resorts: The resort operator’s new CEO on the importance of data, diversity, and little-known ski areas.
Bloomberg
They started with $10,000. Now they're taking on ESPN: How the brothers behind the scrappy startup FloSports are going big by going small. For now, at least.
Inc.
Amazon’s new TV sets are about more than selling hardware
Variety
Facebook wants to build a metaverse. Microsoft is creating something even more ambitious: FC reports rather than ruling one metaverse, Microsoft wants its Mesh platform to be the glue that holds a multiverse of many worlds together.
The battle to control the metaverse: Microsoft vs Meta: Office workers will decide which tech giant dominates the more immersive virtual world.
FT
Why Facebook is more worried about Europe than the US: Whistleblower Frances Haugen’s revelations aren’t sparking a European move to regulate the social media giant — they’re sealing it.
Politico
Google to pursue Pentagon cloud-computing contract: WSJ reports the company pulled out of bidding for a similar project three years ago amid employee complaints about doing military work.
Axios is now worth $430 million.
Black Rifle Coffee, which aspires to become a right-wing Starbucks, will go public via a SPAC.
Allbirds raised $303 million at a $2.4 billion valuation in its IPO.
The crypto exchange FTX hired Mark Wetjen, a former CFTC commissioner, to run its policy and lobbying operations.
Nike wants to sell sneakers in the metaverse.
Considering a ‘neobank’ or fintech? The lowdown on the fees, perks, and long-term prospects of challenger banks
Fortune
Gallup: Early US holiday spending plans look similar to 2020
+ Americans expect to spend $837 on gifts, similar to last year's estimate
+ Nearly two-thirds say their holiday spending will be the same as last year
+ Metrics point to an average year for holiday retail sales
‘The Great Resignation’ misses the point: The phrase has come to describe record levels of job turnover. But it overlooks the bigger story: a radical rethinking of our relationship to work.
Wired
SPACE + SCIENCE
NASA’s new rovers will be a fleet of mobile robots that work together: Deploying autonomous mini-rovers could help us explore places where conventional ones can’t go.
TR
PERFORMANCE
Lessons in constructive solitude from Thoreau: The writer used his self-quarantine at Walden to pursue an intensive course in self-education. In the present pandemic moment, there’s plenty to learn from standing still.
NYT
CULTURE
Damon Galgut wins 2021 Booker Prize for fiction: DW reports it was third time lucky for the South African author, who was also shortlisted in 2003 and 2010. His book "The Promise" was the overwhelming favorite for the prize.
AFP: For Stella McCartney, fashion must ditch leather or die trying
Gucci’s Hollywood romp: The brand takes over a tourist block for glamour with a seedy edge.
Cathy Horyn
Madness in her method: Did Lady Gaga really stay in character for 18 months? Lady Gaga inhabited her role in the upcoming drama House of Gucci off-screen and on for a year and a half. Was the ‘psychological difficulty’ she suffered as a result worth it?
Guardian
Water bear fossil and grizzly bear selfie — October’s best science images: The month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.
SPORT
DFP: Detroit Grand Prix to return downtown in 2023 under contract approved by City Council
Dusty Baker has devoted his life to baseball. He’s still not ready to walk away. By almost any measure, Dusty Baker is one of the great managers in baseball history. But he is still known as much for what he hasn’t done as for what he has.
WP
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Curation and commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon
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