Brigadoon Daily
Your daily dose of the emerging issues + independent thinkers shaping commerce + culture
November 29, 2021
Michigan, Mikaela Shiffrin, Moët, Money, Metaverse
TOP FIVE
1. Japan approves extra defense spending + sets a record
2. Sweden named its first woman prime minister. Seven hours later she resigned.
3. Democrats struggle to energize their base
4. Why the metaverse is fashion's next goldmine
5. Jim Harbaugh and Michigan get their Ohio State win
BRIGADOON EVENT
Brigadoon Workshop | World 2022
7 Elections + 7 Topics
Wednesday, December 8 @ 12:00 - 2:00 pm ET
In-person or Virtual or On-demand
More @ thebrigadoon.com/events
GLOBALIZATION + STATECRAFT
Three threats to the global economic recovery: Tightening American monetary policy, slowing China, and the Omicron variant.
Economist
The US and China are already at war. But which kind? The fact that war can be fought in so many ways in the 21st century might reduce the need for actual military conflict.
FT
Inside China’s brash, new approach to state media
VOA
Jamie Dimon walks back his quip about China’s Communist Party.
NYT
More businesses will stand up to China after the Peng Shuai outcry: It’s getting harder for executives to balance supporting social causes with reaping the riches of the Chinese market.
Bloomberg
Peng Shuai’s assault allegation focuses attention on China’s elite political factions: Zhang Gaoli’s fate depends more on his powerful network than the merits of the case.
FT
In IOC’s ‘quiet diplomacy,’ critics see whitewash of China’s actions: The handling of the Peng Shuai case raised new questions about the IOC’s relationship with China. One Olympic official called its actions ‘discreet.’ Critics called it collaboration.
NYT
Does the West dare give China’s Xi Jinping an Olympic-sized snub? After the disappearance of the tennis player Peng Shuai, murmurs about a boycott of China’s winter games are growing louder. But do the politicians, sponsors and sporting authorities have too much to lose.
Oliver Shah
Taiwan hosts second US Congressional delegation in two weeks: WSJ reports the visit comes days after the White House invited Taiwan to a meeting of democracies, exacerbating tensions with Beijing.
3 bodies found amid violence in Solomon Islands: NYT reports the police were trying to determine if the charred remains found in the capital’s Chinatown district were linked to the protests, in which demonstrators set fire to buildings.
+ The decision by the Solomon Islands’ central government to switch its diplomatic relationship from Taipei to Beijing in 2019 was the driving force behind the protests, according to experts, with the move exacerbating social and political fault lines dividing the nation.
Japan approves extra defense spending and sets a record: WSJ reports with China in mind, Tokyo budget allots 1.14% of GDP for the military, erasing longstanding guideline.
US looks to NATO to deter Russian aggression as Ukraine warns of possible coup: WSJ reports the Biden administration considers options from deterrence to diplomacy and wants a NATO meeting next week to discuss common actions.
Biden wants to focus on China. Putin has another idea
Doyle McManus
Memes, merchandise, and Mars cocktails: Russia’s mania for Elon Musk has no bounds
WP
France says it is willing to discuss autonomy for Guadeloupe: Reuters reports France is willing to discuss autonomy for the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe if it is in the interests of the people who live there, government minister Sebastien Lecornu said. Guadeloupe and the nearby French island of Martinique have seen several days of protests against COVID-19 measures that have spilled over into violence.
How an American in Paris won the rarest of French honors
LAT
France, Italy sign pact seeking more influence in Europe: WSJ reports the Franco-Italian treaty is aimed at bolstering collaboration on areas such as foreign policy and defense, industrial policy, and the EU’s fiscal rules.
Why Italy's presidential election matters: With its poor track record of managing EU funds, Italy’s recovery plan will be a major test for the future of EU policymaking more generally. While it is widely agreed that Prime Minister Mario Draghi must remain on the scene to oversee the plan’s implementation, in what capacity would he be most useful?
Nouriel Roubini + Brunello Rosa
Sweden named its first woman prime minister. Seven hours later she resigned. A volatile political landscape and a tenuous hold on power prompted Magdalena Andersson's resignation on her first day as leader.
TNS
SCMP: German coalition seals deal for new government, new tough-talking China policy
+ The coalition agreement text contains more than a dozen references to China
+ The text says it seeks China’s cooperation ‘on the basis of human rights’ where possible
Regretful Prince Charles flies to Barbados to watch his realm become a republic: The Times reports The Queen will feel “sadness” and the Prince of Wales “a twinge of regret” as Barbados cuts ties with the monarchy this week, becoming the world’s newest republic after centuries of British rule. In an unprecedented move, Prince Charles, 73, will be the first member of the royal family to attend the transition of a realm to a republic, during a two-day visit to the island. Dame Sandra Mason, the governor-general, will be sworn in as president, replacing the Queen as head of state on the country’s 55th anniversary of independence on Tuesday.
Brazil’s President Lula is staging a comeback. Can he bring the country along? Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former president, has beat back a flurry of corruption cases and climbed to the front of next year’s presidential race.
NYT
Petrobras doubles down on hydrocarbons as part of $68bn investment plan: FT reports Petrobras of Brazil, Latin America’s biggest oil producer, is to boost its capital expenditure to $68bn over the next five years, as the state-controlled group bets on its role as a low-cost hydrocarbon supplier in the energy transition.
A power struggle over cobalt rattles the clean energy revolution: The quest for Congo’s cobalt, which is vital for electric vehicles and the worldwide push against climate change, is caught in an international cycle of exploitation, greed, and gamesmanship.
NYT
COVID
The Omicron variant panic: WSJ opines markets fall, but the biggest danger is more government lockdowns.
+ @flacqua: New Boris Johnson Covid measures: Anyone entering the UK must take a PCR test and isolate until result. Contacts of suspected omicron cases must isolate for 10 days. Tighter rules on masks in shops & public transport.
Israel bans foreigners from entering country to stop Omicron variant: TJP reports new restrictions to go into effect on Sunday night. One case of Omicron confirmed, seven under investigation.
‘The virus is always searching for its next move’: Why science is alert to new variants: Omicron strain is latest to be detected as scientists anticipate one that could replace Delta.
FT
POLITICS + CAMPAIGNS
Biden’s challenge, gamble, and wish set the table for the 2022 elections
WP
Democrats struggle to energize their base as frustrations mount: Even as President Biden achieves some significant victories, Democrats are warning that many of their most loyal supporters see inaction and broken campaign promises.
NYT
‘Ed the Trucker’: The Trump Republican who’s riding high in New Jersey: “If anything, my election showed nobody’s untouchable,” said Edward Durr Jr., who pulled off a stunning victory to win a New Jersey State Senate seat.
NYT
+ $1.776 trillion = The economy of Texas
+ Texas is the world’s ninth-largest economy
+ Texas has a bigger economy than Canada, Russia, South Korea, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, and the Netherlands.
Everyone’s moving to Texas. Here’s why.
Farhad Manjoo
The newest Texans are not who you think they are: The record influx of recent arrivals from all over might be exactly what the state needs. That includes Californians. (And no, they’re not turning Texas blue.)
Texas Monthly
An American secession? It’s not that far-fetched: Texit. The new California republic. Polls in the US show strong support for splitting the nation along blue-red lines.
Max Hastings
When Federal employees telecommute, why are agencies in DC? The idea of moving offices to the heartland has been floated for years. It’s never been more relevant.
Faith Bottum
DISRUPTION + INNOVATION
Nuclear fusion: Why the race to harness the power of the sun just sped up: Advances in technology and funding have sparked optimism in an area that has promised much but delivered little in six decades.
FT
COMMERCE
Employers are hiring. Why are so many workers holding back? The US labor market is caught between a pandemic that isn’t quite over and an inflation surge that’s gathering steam.
Niall Ferguson
Video: Why the metaverse is fashion's next goldmine
BOF
The metaverse is just the latest incarnation of Las Vegas: Facebook’s reinvention aims to create a standardized virtual reality where the house always wins.
Izabella Kaminska
The truth about blockchain: It will take years to transform business, but the journey begins now.
Marco Iansiti + Karim R. Lakhani
How to get blockchains to talk to each other: If blockchains are really going to give us the internet of money, they’ll need to work together.
Mike Orcutt
Who is Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto? What we know—and don’t know: In an age in which it is hard to be anonymous, the identity of the cryptocurrency’s inventor remains a mystery.
WSJ
+ @marcaross: It's hard to believe #Bitcoin would be as successful if the founder's name was John Smith and not Satoshi Nakamoto.
TV news’ dangerous bet: Hedging on a streaming future: While touting new platforms (think: CNN+ or Fox Nation), top broadcast and cable executives are incentivized to protect the linear status quo, given that’s where the money is — even if it’s a rapidly declining business model.
THR
+ The UK lost around 3,250 pubs and bars—about 6.8% of all such businesses—between March 2020 and September this year, according to consultants AlixPartners and CGA.
SPACE + SCIENCE
He spent almost 50 years alone at 10,000 feet. His hobby helped shape climate research in the Rockies. An amateur scientist began logging snowfall to keep busy. Along the way, he became an unwitting chronicler of climate change in a region known as the water tower for the drying American West.
WP
PERFORMANCE
Is ‘innovation’ what we think it is? Narratives and conflicting tropes
Kevin Richard
CULTURE
Virgil Abloh dies of cancer at 41: WWD reports Virgil Abloh, the founder of luxury streetwear brand Off-White and artistic director of men’s wear at Louis Vuitton, has died from cancer at the age of 41. One of the most influential designers of his generation, Abloh had been privately battling the disease for several years, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said in a statement on Sunday. The designer died in hospital in Houston, TX, on Sunday, according to sources familiar with the matter.
How Black Ivy rewrote the style book: The edgier version of America’s elite dress code is back — in a new remix.
FT
The Grand Tour presents: Carnage A Trois
Trailer
The Beatles were like aliens from the future in 1969 - and they are still as radical today: In a postwar Britain divided by class identity and economic decline, they were complex, emotional men whose music still thrills.
Jonathan Freedland
SPORT
In jolt for the program and the rivalry, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan get their Ohio State win: The Wolverines and their coach, at last, took down the Buckeyes, and did so commandingly on a day that won't be forgotten in The Big House.
SI
How did Michigan football finally beat Ohio State? They had will to go with skill
Mitch Albom
+ @latimes: Breaking: USC is expected to close its three-month search with a bombshell hire, landing Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley to turn around the Trojans program.
Shiffrin ties Stenmark record with win in women’s slalom: AP reports Mikaela Shiffrin marked the return of the women’s World Cup to North America by setting yet another record — and the two-time Olympic champion did it Sunday on home snow. Shiffrin beat Petra Vlhova — her main rival — for her 46th career win in slalom. That matched a 32-year-old record for most World Cup wins in a single discipline, set by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark in giant slalom. While the 26-year-old Shiffrin hails from Vail, Colorado, she can almost consider Killington a hometown race as she honed her skills nearby at the Burke Mountain Academy as a teenager.
+ @sportbible: Bayern break the record of most goals in a single calendar year in the Bundesliga!! 102 goals. We're still in November.
They set out to hike three of America’s longest trails in less than a year. What could go wrong?
LAT
+ The Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide are among America’s longest trails.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Curation and commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon
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