Brigadoon Radio | A Bridge Too Far

On this episode of Brigadoon Radio, Gerald Ashley and Marc Ross discuss Canada's 'Freedom Convoy' + Ambassador Bridge trucker protest, Ukraine status update + Diplomacy, the 2016 Bitfinex hack + DOJ arrest of New York City married couple Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, and what they are reading and watching.

Here are the show notes and support materials for this episode of Brigadoon Radio:

What is the Freedom Convoy? Trucker protests in Canada explained
WSJ

Ambassador Bridge blockade has both sides on edge: “You have 100 people who are holding hostage part of our national economy,” the mayor of Windsor said Wednesday.
Politico

"Resolve this:" Gov. Whitmer calls on Canadian government to reopen Ambassador Bridge
WWMT

Windsor officials seek injunction to end Ambassador Bridge blockade
Detroit News

Ford plant shut down over COVID-19 truck blockade in Canada
AP

Canadian bridge blockade stretches fragile auto supply chain
Bloomberg

Trudeau says using military to end Ottawa protest ‘not in the cards right now’: Police said that a “significant element” from the United States has been involved in the participation, funding, and organization of the “Freedom Convoy.”
WP

Freedom Convoy: Paris protest banned by police ahead of arrival
BBC

The Paris police ban a protest convoy inspired by the Ottawa demonstration
NYT

Automakers work to bypass trucker protest at Ambassador Bridge as plants cancel shifts
Detroit Free Press

Sergey Lavrov: Putin’s man who can switch from bruiser to charmer
The Times

Vladimir Putin is a product of modernity: Why the tension in Ukraine may feel deceptively regressive.
Atlantic

Finns don’t wish ‘Finlandization’ on Ukraine (or anyone): The Cold War term for a kind of stifled sovereignty has gained attention as a possible solution to the standoff with Russia. But the nation it’s named for would rather forget about it.
NYT

Spy world wary as Biden team keeps leaking Russia intel: US national security figures get that information war is the new battleground. But "how many freaking times do they need to warn that anything may be imminent?” one asked.
Politico

Why the big table in Moscow? Macron refused a Russian COVID test
CNN

Macron refused Russian COVID test in Putin trip over DNA theft fears
Reuters

Putin's White Table in Macron Talks Sparks Endless Memes
Moscow Times

DOJ announces arrests in alleged $4.5 billion cryptocurrency laundering scheme: ABC News reports a New York City couple is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon.
ABC

Inside the chess match that led the Feds to $3.6 billion in stolen Bitcoin
Time

‘The intelligence coup of the century’: For decades, the CIA read the encrypted communications of allies and adversaries.
WP

Hipsters in $4.5B crypto heist even weirder than you think
Daily Beast

Brewster's Millions
IMDB

Graphic: Geopolitical Hotspot – the Sahel
Geographical

Uranium in Niger: When a blessing becomes a curse
Abhijit Mohanty

Africa has quietly become the epicenter of the Islamist threat: As the world watches Afghanistan, groups such as al-Qaeda are eyeing the Sahel for expansion of its network.
David Pilling

France’s fiasco in the Sahel: France’s war in Mali failed to address core political problems and brought chaos, with jihadist groups operating across the region. Will a military pull-out avert the humiliation the US experienced in Afghanistan?
Le Monde diplomatique

In ‘Touriste’, heroic Russians save the Central African Republic. The truth is even stranger: The Wagner Group and the warped reality of a Russian action movie made in Africa.
FT

Chinese firms now hold stakes in over a dozen European ports
NPR

Why Most Things Fail Paperback
Paul Ormerod

The Train
IMDB

Raven Rock: The Story of the US Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself--While the Rest of Us Die

Garrett M. Graff

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Brigadoon Daily | Feb. 11

TOP FIVE:

1. WP: Paris and Brussels to ban ‘Freedom Convoy’ inspired by Canadian protest

2. The DOJ’s $3.6B bitcoin seizure shows how hard it is to launder crypto: Wired reports a couple allegedly used a “laundry list” of technical measures to cover their tracks. They didn’t work.

3. Silicon Valley’s tech monopoly is over. Is the future in Austin, Texas? LAT reports the Bay Area’s hold on venture capital remains solid, but the loss of Tesla and other companies could threaten California’s economic future.

4. The Snoop Dogg has bought control of Death Row Records, the label where he began his career, from a group owned by Blackstone.

5. 100 million Americans can legally bet on the Super Bowl. Sports will never be the same: Bloomberg reports the first Super Bowl of the online betting era is upon us, and it’s going to be wild.

Brigadoon Daily | Feb. 10

TOP FIVE:

1. Vladimir Putin is a product of modernity: Tom McTague writes why the tension in Ukraine may feel deceptively regressive.

2. European scientists set nuclear-fusion energy world record: WSJ reports the findings suggest this approach can be scaled-up for use in power plants.

3. In praise of unglamorous American invention: Virginia Heffernan writes forget Blue Origin, Silicon Valley, and unicorns—small but mighty innovations are the true breakthroughs of human ingenuity.

4. Can old sneakers really be a legitimate investment? DW reports many online resellers and even one of the oldest and biggest auctions houses in the world think so. Recent astronomical prices may prove them right.

5. Esports to be included as pilot event at Commonwealth Games: BBC reports the inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships will have separate branding, medals and organization. But there is hope within the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) that esports could become a part of the full program by the 2026 Games. Hamilton in Canada, frontrunners for the 2030 event, are also understood to be keen on esports being included.

Brigadoon Daily | Feb. 9

TOP FIVE:

1. Europe needs 65 million electric vehicle chargers by 2035: Bloomberg reports a report from EY and Eurelectric calls for $134 billion in infrastructure investment.

2. Forget T-shirts and tote bags. NFTs are the hot new campaign swag. Politico reports consultants are launching NFT platforms to help clients cash in on the boom and engage with voters after the technology exploded in popularity last year.

3. Hedonism is overrated – to make the best of life there must be pain says this Yale professor: The Guardian reports the most satisfying lives are those which involve challenge, fear, and struggle, says psychologist Paul Bloom.

4. OK, WTF are wordcels and shape rotators? Matthew Gault writes knowing what shape rotators and wordcels are will make you significantly dumber.

5. How Olympians embraced mental health after Biles showed the way: NYT reports Simone Biles’s public struggles gave other Olympians tacit permission to share their vulnerabilities. Some of them have.

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