ITK Daily | December 20

Happy Tuesday.

Here’s today’s ITK Daily.

To be ITK, know this:

*** ITK Daily will be on hiatus starting December 24, returning on January 9. ***

New: Caracal launches new Global Great Lakes service.?More information is?here.

"Caracal believes the future of the global economy is the Great Lakes, and with increased energy and focus, diplomats and industry can benefit immensely from more engagement."

From zero COVID to no plan: Behind China’s pandemic u-turn: After micromanaging the coronavirus strategy for nearly three years, the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, has suddenly left the populace to improvise.?NYT

+ “The whipsaw speed of this shift is partially the extent to which this is the decision of one man. But also it’s officials trying to please that one man, and trying to run where you think he’s headed — sprint, in fact."?

AUS-CHN: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the sixth Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue will take place on Wednesday.?

+ The last edition was held in 2018.

Taiwan opens investigation into China's TikTok: Reuters reports Taiwan's government has opened a probe into Chinese-owned social-media platform TikTok on suspicion of illegally operating a subsidiary on the island, though the company's owner denied the accusation.

Delete TikTok, House GOP foe of China says: Politico reports Rep. Mike Gallagher raised concerns that TikTok may track users’ personal data even outside the app itself, in addition to its highly personalized in-app algorithm.

US Republicans to turn up pressure on Biden with China panel: Incoming chair urges bipartisan cooperation to compete with 'enemy' Communist Party.?Nikkei

+ Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) told CNN on Sunday that he views the ruling Chinese Communist Party as "as an enemy of the United States."

TJT: Poll shows nearly 65% disapprove of tax hikes to cover Japan's increased defense budget

+ North Korea tested two ballistic missiles on Sunday that could potentially reach Japan.

Japan may be ready to break away from decades of pacifism?Donald Kirk

Canada wants ties with Korea, Japan as strong as with UK, France, Germany: Joly: She made the comment while speaking about the government’s new Indo-Pacific strategy in Montreal on Monday.?Global News

Russia, China to hold joint naval drills as Moscow and Belarus vow to cement ties: WSJ reports the annual exercises to highlight the close partnership between the two nations as the Kremlin seeks to bolster support among partners, including Minsk, to offset Western isolation for its war in Ukraine.

CNN: Thai warship sinks in severe weather, leaving 33 crew missing

+ Google CEO Sundar Pichai meets PM Modi, says looking forward to supporting India's G20 presidency

Erdogan may have just made the biggest mistake of his political career?Asli Aydintasbas

Ukraine must be given long-range missiles: Putin is intent on winning and believes the West daren’t raise the stakes. Future security depends on proving him wrong.?William Hague

Putin’s mission to Minsk raises fears he will drag Belarus into Ukraine war: Guardian reports Putin and Lukashenko announce more joint maneuvers as Kyiv warns of a potential new invasion from the north.

+ Ukraine has warned that Russian forces could prepare a new offensive from there.

Reuters: UK's Sunak to attend Baltic summit, meet UK troops in Estonia

Unloved at home, Emmanuel Macron wants to get ‘intimate’ with the world: The French president’s frenzied diplomatic overtures in recent months come as turmoil grips the world.?Politico

EU Parliament scandal: The Morocco connection: Attention focuses on Rabat in snowballing corruption probe.?Politico

Despite scandal, South Africa’s president wins battle to lead ANC: NYT reports Cyril Ramaphosa was able to secure enough support to stay in control, almost assuring him a second term as the country’s leader after elections scheduled for 2024.

ANC conference: South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa defies scandal to win party vote: BBC reports South Africa's scandal-hit President Cyril Ramaphosa has been re-elected as the governing ANC's leader to wild cheers from his supporters.

Trump, Bolsonaro, Meloni, and the new wave of populism?Marc Champion

The year the strongmen stumbled: Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine demonstrated why authoritarian rule so often ends in disaster.?Gideon Rachman

COP15: Nations reach 'historic' deal to protect nature: BBC reports nations have agreed to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030 in a landmark deal aimed at safeguarding biodiversity.

CBDCs: The Atlantic Council calculates that 114 countries are now exploring establishing their own digital currencies — representing over 95 percent of global GDP — including around 60 in the advanced or final stages of their research.

Nouriel Roubini: ‘I hope I didn’t depress you too much’: The famously gloomy economist has turned up the dial on dark predictions for 2023 and beyond but is upbeat about technology and the meaning of life.?FT

Who is Rep.-Elect George Santos? His résumé may be largely fiction.?Santos, a Republican from New York, says he’s the “embodiment of the American dream.” But he seems to have misrepresented a number of his career highlights.?NYT

+ @NKingofDC: Wow. Voters in Long Island elect a guy to Congress who appears to be a complete fiction. Nothing in his resume lines up with reality. The Manchurian Candidate.

+ @JakeSherman: This NYT story on Santos is one of the wildest I've read

I sense Rep.-Elect George Santos won't make it to DC on January 3.

What Kevin McCarthy will do to gain power: The Republican leader’s ambition has always been his defining characteristic. Attempting to placate both Trumpists and moderates may lead to his downfall.?New Yorker

Sinema’s switch was months in the making. Now it’s a challenge for Democrats.?Unhappiness ran in both directions and loomed over the Arizona senator’s political future.?WP

AP: Biden’s bullish 2024 talk does little to tamp down chatter

What Trump promised, Biden seeks to deliver in his own way?AP

'How dare he?': New Hampshire seethes at Biden's planned changes to the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries: NBC News reports resistance to the president's proposed changes to the 2024 Democratic presidential primary calendar has unified Granite State residents across party lines.

‘He’s got a huge problem’: Mike Pence struggles to find his path back to the White House.?Politico

The rise of the DeSantis Democrats: Like Reagan Democrats once upon a time, these voters have already reshaped the political landscape in Florida. Can they do the same nationally in 2024??Olivia Reingold

The surprising resurgence of Republicans in Miami: Growing support in south Florida could signify that the party has honed its appeal to more culturally conservative Latino voters.?FT

+ Florida Governor Ron DeSantis became the first Republican candidate for statewide office in 20 years to conquer Miami-Dade, the state’s most populous county and a Democratic bastion dominated by black and Hispanic voters.

How Trump jettisoned restraints at Mar-a-Lago and prompted legal peril: The inside story of how Trump transplanted the chaos and norm flouting of his White House into his post-presidential life, leading to a criminal investigation into his handling of classified documents that presents potential legal peril.?WP

+ @NBCNews: BREAKING: Jan. 6 committee approves four criminal referrals against former Pres. Trump:

? Obstruction of an official proceeding

? Conspiracy to defraud the United States

? Conspiracy to make a false statement

? Inciting or assisting an insurrection

Coal?is on track to hit an all-time high for consumption in 2022 thanks to the energy crisis, the International Energy Agency said last week.

BlackRock?plans no major changes to how it engages with companies and votes on environmental and social issues in the year ahead.

Latin America emerging as hot spot for more climate-friendly jet fuel: Reuters reports Latin America is drawing early investment for jet fuel produced from materials like forest residues and palm oil as emission-conscious airlines scour emerging markets for less-polluting fuel to power flights, industry executives say.

WP: Bankman-Fried agrees to extradition from Bahamas to face US charges

Crypto king was a crony capitalist at heart: The fall of the FTX boss is less of a told-you-so moment for the currency than a lesson about influencing the powerful.?Gerard Baker

Welcome to digital nomadland: A Portuguese island created a village for remote workers, promising community to the newcomers and prosperity to the locals—then delivered on neither.?Wired

Stella McCartney + LVMH?are backing a venture capital fund focusing on sustainable fashion technologies.

Christie’s sold record $8.4 billion in art in 2022: WSJ reports Millennials won nearly a third of luxury, and contemporary lots offered this year, Christie’s said, but Paul Allen’s $1.6 billion trove pushed the house to a high.

The fashionable dogs of Instagram: Dogs such as Tika the Iggy are proving more than just meme-worthy, they are fuelling the growth of pet apparel.?FT

Instagram’s notes feature leaves Millennials nostalgic, Gen Z confused: The new function, which mimics AIM’s away messages, highlights a generational divide among Instagram users.?WSJ

Instagram is a site of protest for the Chinese diaspora: How mood boards, meme pages, and the anon submission feature became forms of resistance and fed global civil arrest over the country’s zero-COVID policy.?Wired

Elon's stale playbook: At Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk was a jerk with a grand vision. At Twitter, he's just a jerk.?Insider

+ Here's the Musk playbook:

1) Enter a field with very little competition. Claim that your new company will solve a massive, global problem or achieve a seemingly impossible goal.

2) Raise money from a fervent group of true believers and keep them on the hook with flashy, half-baked product ideas. Suck up billions from the government. Underpay, undervalue, and overwork your employees.

3) Repeat.

+ Twitter is the antithesis of an "Elon Musk company." It's an influential but small player in a field that is dominated by giant, well-funded competitors. The government is more likely to put the clamps on Twitter than give it some windfall contract.

+ But perhaps most importantly, a lot of people think Twitter — and Musk's ownership of the company — is part of a global media problem, rather than some grand solution.

+ And without a big, world-changing promise to paper over his sophomoric product ideas and erratic management, Musk's Twitter takeover is doomed.

Nike 2002 advert: Secrecy, stunt doubles and moody stars – the making of an iconic advert: Those involved in Nike’s Secret Tournament commercial before the 2002 World Cup tell James Gheerbrant about its lasting impact.?The Times

The Times: House of Cards creator eyes sequel with a youthful edge

Qatar got the World Cup it wanted: In the end, after a tournament shadowed by controversy since the host rights were awarded, Qatar had the turn in the global spotlight it sought.?NYT

World Cup 2022: In the end, Qatar wins: The World Cup was a symbolic and diplomatic success for its host country. This undeniable success in terms of PR must not, of course, mask all the darker sides of an environmentally-aberrant project also hit by suspicions of corruption and human rights violations.?Le Monde - Editorial

‘Like paradise’: Argentina erupts in celebration of World Cup win: Streets of central Buenos Aires are a cacophony of yelling and horns after shootout victory against France.?The Guardian

Argentina, caught in economic depression, gets something to cheer in World Cup win: Triumph in the epic final match of the tournament gives crisis-torn South American country a feeling of new hope.?Politico

The night Messi won the World Cup: Told with some help from the man himself?Oliver Kay

Lionel Messi:

10 x La Liga titles

4x Champions League titles

1x Ligue One title

7x Ballon d'Or

6x European Golden Shoe

1x Copa America title

1x World Cup champion

Messi to Miami: An MLS masterstroke or Beckham’s biggest gamble??The MLS side is reportedly confident of landing Argentina’s World Cup hero this summer. But is signing the 35-year-old right for Inter Miami and the league??Guardian

FIFA?announced that the 2025 Club World Cup would expand to 32 teams and take place every four years.

'It is heaven-sent' – 2026 World Cup sees big changes: The US, Mexico, and Canada are to host the next edition with 48 teams, despite FIFA's vow never again to have joint hosts. Although the format has still not been agreed upon, the allocation of continental slots is settled.?DW

Mikaela Shiffrin launches a new Youtube series, Moving Right Along: Catch the first episode?here.

+ mikaelashiffrin: "For so much of my career, my story has been told through someone else’s perspective. I am so grateful not only for the media’s interest in sharing my personal journey, but also for sharing this sport that has provided so much passion and joy for my family and me."

+ Shiffrin expressed a desire to give fans “a lens” into her world “in hopes that it might resonate with someone out there.”?

Warriors General Manager Bob Myers swears by the in-person micro-meeting: The Golden State GM caught up with GQ about how he gets things done: communication, owning mistakes, and making time to actually think.?GQ

LeBron James is an aging legend. Another season is slipping away.?The Lakers, who appear to be going nowhere (again), are squandering the last, best years of one of the greatest players in NBA history.?SI

Showtime it ain't.

At 50, ‘Immaculate Reception’ still lifts a region’s spirits?AP

+ “Dec. 23 will henceforth be celebrated in Pittsburgh as the Feast of the Immaculate Reception,” legendary local sportscaster Myron Cope proclaimed.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc?

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