Brigadoon Daily
Your daily dose of the emerging issues + independent thinkers shaping commerce + culture
December 1, 2021
Rihanna, Queen Elizabeth II, Xiomara Castro, Éric Zemmour, Richard Moore
TOP FIVE
1. Barbados declares Rihanna a national hero
2. The next Austin? How about Arkansas.
3. Tesla is either the future of cars or the ultimate meme stock.
4. The Guccis are really not happy about ‘House of Gucci’
5. Serie A opening a regional office in NYC
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GLOBALIZATION + STATECRAFT
Barbados declares Rihanna a national hero after ditching Queen Elizabeth II as head of state
WP
+ After 55 years, Barbados has officially severed ties with Queen Elizabeth II — and one of its first actions as the world’s newest republic was to honor global superstar Rihanna with the title of “national hero.”
A Mexican crypto startup wants to make cash remittances cheaper: Bitso says it’s helping money transfer services cut the cost of exchanging dollars for pesos.
Bloomberg
Wife of drug king 'El Chapo' sentenced to prison: DW reports Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of the notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo'' Guzman, was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday, on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. The Mexican cartel leader's wife Emma Coronel Aispuro pled guilty to having participated in her husband's criminal activities. In 2015, she helped him in a dramatic escape from prison.
AFP: Brazil's Bolsonaro joins Liberal Party ahead of 2022 vote
Xiomara Castro poised to win power in Honduras: The Times reports Honduras looks poised to elect a pro-China president, potentially robbing Taiwan of one of its few remaining allies in Latin America. Xiomara Castro, 62, of the Liberty and Refoundation party, has promised to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing once she is elected.
Today: The European Commission will announce its strategy to outbid China in global infrastructure projects with a plan dubbed “Global Gateway.”
Éric Zemmour announces presidential run: The Times reports Éric Zemmour, the radical right polemicist, formally entered the presidential race today, vowing to save France from destruction at the hands of Muslims, immigrants, and criminals abetted by "the elites." Zemmour, 63, who has upset the political landscape with a three-month undeclared campaign, made his announcement in an apocalyptic ten-minute video that intercut clips of riots, Muslims, and Africans with shots of France’s past glory.
AFP: Zemmour’s fall in polls signals ‘lack of presidential credibility’ amid campaign launch
WP: Far-right commentator Éric Zemmour joins race to become French president
French nationalist TV host launches presidential bid to challenge Macron: WSJ reports Éric Zemmour plans to run in next year’s election with a tough line on immigration, Islam, and the European Union.
Josephine Baker takes her place among French greats in Panthéon: The Times reports Josephine Baker, the American cabaret artiste, and wartime French Resistance agent, was inducted today into the Panthéon, the mausoleum in Paris for national heroes, as part of President Macron’s drive to commemorate more women there.
Josephine Baker is first black woman inducted into France’s Panthéon
WP
Sir Keir Starmer blindsides deputy Angela Rayner with surprise Labour reshuffle
The Times
NATO warns Russia against Ukraine 'aggression': DW reports NATO said there would be "consequences" for Russia if it launches an invasion of Ukraine. Russia, meanwhile, warned the West to steer clear of Moscow's "red lines."
Tensions with Russia loom over NATO talks: WP reports the Biden administration is trying to forge a unified response to Russia’s military buildup near the Russian border with Ukraine.
US, allies warn Russia over military buildup: WSJ reports NATO warned that its members would impose significant costs on Russia if it launched a new military incursion in Ukraine while making clear the limits of support.
Bloomberg: Putin says China isn’t a threat, but US hypersonic weapons are
A ‘Simpsons’ episode lampooned Chinese censorship. In Hong Kong, it vanished. NYT reports the episode mocked both Mao Zedong and the government’s efforts to suppress the memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
EU wants China to prove tennis star Peng Shuai is safe: DW reports Peng Shuai disappeared on November 2 after posting a message on social media alleging that a top Chinese official had sexually assaulted her. She reappeared two weeks later, but concerns about her safety remain.
China’s silence on Peng Shuai shows limits of Beijing’s propaganda: Officials have struggled to respond to a sexual assault allegation that hits at the heights of its buttoned-up political system.
NYT
The most powerful data broker in the world is winning the war against the US
Matt Pottinger + David Feith
Biden's China playbook: Cooperation or confrontation? 2 experts weigh in on merits and flaws of Biden-Xi summit.
Nikkei
MI6 chief warns of security threat from China ‘miscalculation’: Richard Moore also raises concerns about Beijing’s ‘harvesting’ of data via surveillance technologies.
FT
China now our biggest priority, says head of MI6 Richard Moore: The rise of China is the “single greatest priority” for MI6, with Beijing conducting large-scale espionage activities against the UK, Britain’s foreign spy chief has said. In his first public speech, Richard Moore, known as C, warned that the “tectonic plates are shifting” as Beijing’s power — and its willingness to assert it — grows.
The Times
Adapting to China's rise is 'greatest priority for MI6': UK spy chief: Taiwan issue poses 'serious challenge to global stability and peace,' Moore warns.
Nikkei
Pearl Harbor 80 years on: Lessons and legacies: Japan and US struggle to put fraught history to rest.
Nikkei
AFP: Ethiopia PM claims war gains, urges rebels to 'surrender'
AFP: French military facing growing protests in Sahel
COVID
MW: ‘This is not going to be good’: Moderna CEO on what scientists are telling him about the omicron coronavirus variant
Moderna chief predicts existing vaccines will struggle with Omicron: FT reports Stéphane Bancel foresees ‘material drop’ in current jabs’ effectiveness, sending stocks and oil prices lower.
+ Biden says fight against Omicron won't include "shutdowns or lockdowns."
Incoming chancellor Scholz wants vaccine mandate in Germany: DW reports Germany could make coronavirus vaccines mandatory as early as February or March 2022, according to chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz. But he insisted that the issue would be decided in parliament.
Axios: FDA panel backs Merck's antiviral COVID pill
POLITICS + CAMPAIGNS
CNN: Meadows cooperating with January 6 investigators
The Hill: Meadows reaches initial cooperation deal with Jan. 6 committee
Biden faces US legislative logjam in run-up to Christmas: FT reports the clock is ticking for Democrats to pass a $1.75tn spending bill, avert a government shutdown and avoid default.
Ahead of 2022, the GOP advantage grows: Incumbents tend to have a good feel for political headwinds, which makes congressional retirements a reliable measure of approaching midterm elections. Incumbents are more likely to give up their seats when they expect their party to take a bath.
James Hohmann
+ In 2010, 16 House Democrats opted not to run again — and Republicans picked up 63 House seats. Currently, 18 House Democrats have announced they pass on another term.
PA-SEN: Celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz plans to run as a Republican for Pennsylvania’s open US Senate seat, sources tell AP
Axios: Chris Christie: Trump administration "didn't get a lot of stuff done"
Crypto lobbying: Coinbase added its seventh outside lobbying firm of 2021 last month.
Hill staffers are wearing sneakers now: Congress is modernizing thanks to the pandemic. But it still has a long way to go.
Elaine Godfrey
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s adviser, a figure of fascination and schadenfreude: Washington has long been captivated by fallen star narratives, which has made President Biden’s national security adviser a figure of fascination, somewhere between sympathy and schadenfreude.
NYT
The next Austin? How about Arkansas. Seriously. Home to corporate behemoth Walmart, a rising state university, and awash in philanthropy money, this Texas neighbor is home to a new crop of urban hotspots.
Conor Sen
LA’s port could have been in Santa Monica. Here’s how San Pedro won out: When you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense for 1890s LA to put its port all the way in San Pedro. This is the story of how that came to be — and not the competing alternative, Santa Monica.
LAT
DISRUPTION + INNOVATION
The Pentagon’s $82 million Super Bowl of robots: Inside a three-year competition that raises the question: How long until humans are obsolete?
WP
COMMERCE
Bloomberg: Goldman CEO warns NYC must ‘keep itself attractive’ to workers
How Christie’s is pitching its expansion from Picassos to NFTs
WSJ
New people are coming to crypto — and they may not like Bitcoin
Joe Weisenthal
Investors snap up Metaverse real estate in a virtual land boom: Transactions for properties in digital realms are jumping, guided by the same principle in the physical world: location, location, location.
NYT
Brands no longer see Metaverse-like worlds as abstract gimmicks
WSJ
The Facebook executive in charge of the company’s cryptocurrency push just quit: David Marcus’s high-profile departure comes months after the company began hitting walls in Washington when it relaunched its cryptocurrency initiative.
WP
How Tiger tore up the rules of venture capitalism: The US investment fund is betting on global macro trends rather than fussing about individual stocks
John Thornhill
Bloomberg: Salesforce names Bret Taylor as Co-CEO with Marc Benioff
AFP: Twitter bans sharing of photos without consent
How Jack Dorsey failed Twitter
James D. Walsh
+ About 49 percent of pre-pandemic moviegoers are no longer buying tickets. Some of them, roughly 8 percent, have likely been lost forever.
CNBC: AMC, Sony offering NFTs to people who purchase advance Spider-Man tickets
+ AMC is the latest legacy company to get into the NFT game.
+ The theater giant and Sony Pictures will offer 86,000 non-fungible tokens around its “Spider-Man” release.
Electric vehicles will account for about half of auto sales in the world’s major markets by 2030 as sticker prices reach parity with gasoline-fueled cars, according to a survey of automotive executives.
The trillion-dollar Tesla gamble: Tesla is either the future of cars or the ultimate meme stock. There's only one scenario where the stock's trillion-dollar valuation pans out, and it's a long shot.
Fortune
AI is making applying for jobs even more miserable: Asynchronous video interviews are bad news for both employers and would-be employees.
Sarah O’Connor
MARKETING + COMMUNICATIONS
What Jamie said: Last week at a Boston College Chief Executives Club event, JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon relayed a "joke" he made during his recent visit to Hong Kong: "The Communist Party is celebrating its 100th year. So is JPMorgan. And I'll make you a bet we last longer." Here are the four lessons from this "joke."
Marc Ross - Caracal
SPACE + SCIENCE
Ladies who launch: Women are powering the private space industry: The billionaire flyboys of space tourism get all the attention, but women are developing some of the most promising technologies designed for the final frontier.
Fortune
The Times: NASA cancels spacewalk after Russian anti-satellite missile test leaves orbiting debris
PERFORMANCE
Why emotionally intelligent people embrace the rule of clocking out: The rule of clocking out will help you set priorities, avoid burnout, and find more time in your day.
Justin Bariso
CULTURE
Gucci’s moment: As the brand turns 100, creative director Alessandro Michele is leading the fashion industry toward a different future.
WP Mag
Gucci family, Tom Ford slam ‘House of Gucci’ as ‘insult’ to brand’s legacy: LAT reports the Gucci family has threatened legal action and says Ridley Scott’s ‘House of Gucci,’ starring Lady Gaga, portrays family members as ‘thugs.’
The Guccis are really not happy about ‘House of Gucci’: When artistic license collides with reality, which one wins?
NYT
What lies beneath: The secrets of France’s top serial killer expert: An intrepid expert with dozens of books to his name, Stéphane Bourgoin was a bestselling author, famous in France for having interviewed more than 70 notorious murderers. Then an anonymous collective began to investigate his past
Scott Sayare
Life of Pi author Yann Martel on how to write a hit book, film, and play: Life of Pi started out as a novel, became a Hollywood movie, and is now opening in the West End — its author reveals the dramatic differences in the creative process for page, screen and stage.
The Times
SPORT
Serie A is following in the footsteps of LaLiga and Bundesliga by opening a regional office in New York City in January.
How Major League Soccer plans to overtake baseball
CNBC
Disrupting golf: The Saudi-backed plan to shake up the sport: Inspired by cricket’s Indian Premier League, a company owned by the Public Investment Fund is exploring new formats for the game.
FT
Ex-NBA stars join finance giant to back Asian basketball league: Bloomberg reports the Raine Group and several former NBA stars are backing a Hong Kong startup that’s piecing together Asia’s first major basketball club competition with FIBA’s blessing. Asia League Holdings Ltd. has raised $13 million to date from investors including retired players Metta Sandiford-Artest, Baron Davis, and Shane Battier, boosting its valuation to $100 million.
Over 23 years, lessons in life and sobriety for a father and son on the Appalachian Trail
LAT
DFP: Michigan State football's Mel Tucker named Big Ten Coach of the Year
LSU poached Brian Kelly from Notre Dame with a reported 10-year, $100 million contract.
Fenway Sports, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, agreed to buy the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Curation and commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon
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