ITK Daily | July 19

Geopolitical Business Communications

Happy Wednesday.

Here’s today’s ITK Daily.

To be ITK, know this:?

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ITK Summer School session: Communications

Decisions made in Beijing now influence actions in Brussels, which then compel policy in Washington, DC.

Managing this dynamic, geopolitical business communications environment is challenging for government officials, policymakers, voters, and CEOs of multinational companies.

So.

Next up.

ITK Summer School session: Communications: How the Media, Journalists, Bloggers, and Social Media Cover Globalization.

Next Tuesday - July 25, 2023, @ 9:00 am (NYC).

Online live or on-demand.

45 minutes.

Class is in session.

Book your spot here:?https://www.caracal.global/store/itk-summer-school-communications

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The man charged with steering the yuan through China’s economic turmoil: Pan Gongsheng has experience in high-stakes tasks, but China’s fragile economy raises new risks.?WSJ

The old approach to US-China relations no longer works: A new architecture of engagement, based on a Sino-American secretariat, is urgently needed.?Stephen Roach?

What drives Putin and Xi (Part 1): A conversation with Stephen Kotkin and Orville Schell.?Foreign Affairs

AP: US deploys nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea in show of force against North Korea

US soldier held in North Korea after crossing border: WSJ reports an American man on a tour of the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area crossed over the military demarcation line without permission, the U.N. Command said.

North Korea detains US soldier who ran across DMZ: NYT reports the soldier had recently been released from a South Korean prison, an official said. He was to return to Texas for additional disciplinary actions.

South Korea moves forward on reactor construction plans: Nikkei reports the nation needs to think about new nuclear plants, says energy minister.

Japan PM rounds out energy-focused Gulf tour with Qatar visit: AFP reports Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited gas-rich Qatar on Tuesday to wrap up a Gulf tour centered on energy security and cooperation with Tokyo's main suppliers.

US pushes military cooperation in space: Conflict in Ukraine has made it clear that space is fundamental to modern war, says chief of space operations.?WSJ

WP: Ukraine aims to sap Russia’s defenses, as US urges a decisive breakthrough

Politico: EU plans €20B fund to stock Ukraine’s military for years

Russian deserters keep fleeing abroad: The number of Russian deserters is rising. Thousands of men continue escaping the country, desperate to avoid military service.?DW

A current war collides with the past: How World War II endures in Ukraine: World War II has been an ideological battlefield in today’s war in Ukraine, and it is cropping up on the actual battlefield as well.?NYT

G20 meeting in India split on debt relief and Ukraine: DW reports finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies met to discuss a raft of issues, including debt restructuring deals for low-income nations and the effect of Russia's grain deal pullout on developing economies.

From Khrushchev’s KGB to Putin: The deep roots of Russian influence in Africa: When Russian President Vladimir Putin develops his network of influence in Africa, he isn’t doing so at random. He is drawing on the rich history of Soviet relations with African countries that dates back to the 1960s and the efforts made by Russian spies during the Cold War to counter US influence on the ground.?AFP

Nikkei: Turkey's Baykar signs largest drone deal with Saudi Arabia

France and Italy send firefighting planes to Greece: Le Monde reports the planes and their teams of firefighters are part of a European Union civil protection mechanism, and they will join some 30 Romanian firefighters already stationed in the country.

Macron skeptical about hire of American economist to regulate Big Tech: The French President said he was expecting an explanation of the appointment from the European Commission.?Le Monde

Tony Blair’s Labour rehabilitation continues as he shares stage with Keir Starmer: Current Labour leader tells the party’s last election-winner he will keep making ‘tough decisions’ amid a row over welfare.?Politico

Populism has given the elites more power than ever: The rise of protectionism empowers a ‘deep state’ that demagogues claim to hate.?Janan Ganesh

AP: Trump and his legal woes overshadow DeSantis as he rolls out military policy plan in South Carolina

Six candidates have qualified for the Republican debate: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, and Tim Scott have met the Republican National Committee’s polling and fundraising thresholds to earn invitations to the first GOP presidential primary debate next month, Politico reports.

AP: House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial

Disney's 100th year is anything but magical so far:?

- 7,000 job cuts?

- Linear TV assets up for sale

- Theme park traffic slowest in a decade

- Streaming losses of ~$800 million in Q3

- Shares closed at lowest level this year on Monday

HT @MorningBrew

Microsoft to charge $30 per month for generative AI features: FT reports the tech giant’s chief Satya Nadella defends premium price for a new version of office software.

Taco John’s, Taco Bell terminate ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark tussle: WSJ reports the restaurant chain Taco John’s said it is giving up its fight defending its trademark of the phrase.

Why United Airlines’ huge bet on Newark airport is not paying off: US carrier has gone all-in on New Jersey hub that suffered storm-related meltdown this summer.?FT

How London first gentrified, then became bourgeois: Gentrification has made the entire inner ring around the center of the British capital unaffordable.?Le Monde

Why ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ still matters at 50, and not just to dads: Pink Floyd’s masterpiece maintains a cross-generational appeal that has made it among the best-selling albums of all time.?WP

In the 90s, we worried about Nirvana ‘selling out’. I wish that concept still made sense: Big data has helped the music industry sell us only what we already like – but the results are less alive and less surprising.?Dan Brooks

Oppenheimer review: Christopher Nolan's break down of an atomic genius: For his 12th feature film, the British-American director focuses on three periods throughout the life of the creator of the atomic bomb, a complex figure who combined idealism and opportunism.?Le Monde

Vingegaard pulverizes Pogacar in Tour de France Alpine time-trial: AFP reports Jonas Vingegaard soared to a crushing triumph on stage 16 of the Tour de France on Tuesday, winning the 22.4km time trial by 1min 38sec from Tadej Pogacar, who was second.

The US wants a Women’s World Cup three-peat. The world has different ideas.?The US hopes to extend its dynasty in the 2023 tournament that begins this week. But its young, injury-riddled squad faces tougher competition from European powers.?WSJ

An ACL crisis at a moment of global growth for women’s sports: “The quintessential ACL-busting cohort is in female soccer players,” said Andrew Pearle, chief of the Sports Medicine Institute at the Hospital for Special Surgery.?WP

49ers Enterprises completes Leeds United takeover: The Athletic reports Leeds United are under new ownership after the English Football League (EFL) approved the sale of the club to 49ers Enterprises. 49ers Enterprises taking full control of Leeds brings to an end Andrea Radrizzani’s time at Elland Road, where he has been the majority shareholder since 2017.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc?

Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal

Caracal produces ITK Daily.

Geopolitics is disrupting every business and industry.

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Led by a Michigan-born and DC-based global business advocate with experience in US and UK national political campaigns, US-China commercial relations, NATO, and media engagement, Caracal is a geopolitical business communications firm specializing in global business issues at the intersection of globalization, disruption, and politics.

Caracal lives and breathes at the intersection of globalization, disruption, and politics, home of the world's most savvy participants.

Clients are Chief Communications Officers and executives responsible for corporate affairs, public affairs, and communications who rely on Caracal for help navigating today's interconnected business environment with intelligence, strategy, and engagement.

Caracal believes that to be a world-class geopolitical business communicator, you need global street smarts coupled with holistic, high-frequency, and high-low communications.?

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