Brigadoon Daily
August 16, 2021
Brigadoon Daily | Exclusively for Brigadoon Members
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TOP FIVE
1. Autopsy of a failed war
2. Earth is warmer than it's been in 125,000 years
3. “All roads lead to Mar-a-Lago”
4. NASA's new challenge reach moon by 2024
5. Sportswashing and geopolitics
GLOBALIZATION + STATECRAFT
Autopsy of a failed war: Our longest war ends in another abject failure.
Spectator
How the Taliban overran the Afghan army, built by the US over 20 years: Afghanistan’s military was molded to match American operations and collapsed without US air support and intelligence.
WSJ
Inside the UK’s post-Brexit economy: Why investors should have an eye on London: London is firmly open for business, and that is a message emanating from the gleaming towers of the city, the corridors of government, and the flashing screens of the stock exchange.
Worth
Canada is about to have an unnecessary, but very important, election. This is why.
David Moscrop
Dancing on ropes by Anna Aslanyan — the joys and terrors of translation: From Ottoman diplomats to the man whispering in Stalin’s ear, interpreters have played pivotal roles in history.
FT
DISRUPTION + INNOVATION
Earth is warmer than it's been in 125,000 years: A landmark assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change says greenhouse gases are unequivocally driving extreme weather, but nations can still prevent the worst impacts.
SA
AMERICAN POLITICS
Biden administration scrambled as its orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan unraveled
WP
The way the Senate melted down over crypto is very revealing
Ezra Klein
50 years after going off gold, the dollar must go for crypto: After Richard Nixon scrapped Bretton Woods, the US currency’s exorbitant privilege only grew — because the US embraced innovation, not regulation.
Niall Ferguson
COVID anxiety and fear of the base: Americans need to be more tactful and understanding when it comes to measures like masks and vaccines.
Peggy Noonan
“All roads lead to Mar-a-Lago”: Inside the fury and fantasy of Donald Trump’s Florida: Roger Stone, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Ben Shapiro—they’ve all made their way to the Sunshine State, fueling and profiting from a tabloid culture that turns politics into a spectacle, arguably Florida’s greatest export.
VF
COMMERCE
The next big thing will start out looking like a toy
Chris Dixon
Backing the spaceships being built by robots
The Times
Pfizer chief Albert Bourla: ‘We are the most efficient vaccine machine’: The pharma boss on the COVID jab, his exchanges with Trump — and why suspending patents is no way to inoculate the world’s poor.
FT
Charles Tyrwhitt adapts to the age of the homeworker: Nick Wheeler, the founder of the men’s outfitter, says recovery and growth will come through its casual ranges.
FT
SPACE + SCIENCE
NASA has a new challenge to reaching the moon by 2024: Its $1 billion spacesuit program
WP
PERFORMANCE
What we think we know about metabolism may be wrong: A new study challenges assumptions about energy expenditure by people, including the idea that metabolism slows at middle age.
NYT
CULTURE
The ebook at 50 — is the dream of a free, universal library fading? Project Gutenberg’s founder wanted unlimited access for all but his utopian vision has been eclipsed.
Nilanjana Roy
Banksy confirms he was behind a spree of new murals that popped up in coastal England towns: A video posted to the artist's Instagram page confirmed the news.
Artnet
SPORT
The insides of pro bowling balls will make your head spin: They're way cooler than the ones at your local alley.
Popular Science
Messi, PSG, Qatar, FFP, sportswashing, and geopolitics: Quo vadis, football? PSG's signing of Lionel Messi sent shockwaves around the world and sparked euphoria among fans, but it's also added fuel to the burning issue of financial controls in European football, and where the game goes from here.
DW
+ Lionel Messi's signing on fee at Paris St Germain includes some of the French club's cryptocurrency fan tokens, in the latest big name endorsement of new digital assets.
The wisdom of the crowd: Soccer takes the player valuations posted on the website Transfermarkt extremely seriously. It has never really stopped to ask where they come from.
NYT
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Curation and commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon
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