ITK Daily | November 24

Happy Thursday.

Here’s today’s ITK Daily.

To be ITK, know this:

Scotland cannot unilaterally vote on independence, top UK court says: NYT in a setback to Scottish nationalists, the judges ruled that a second referendum on breaking away from London needed the consent of the British Parliament.

Nicola Sturgeon is no fool – she knows the Supreme Court ruling on Scottish independence will help her cause?Eliot Wilson

+ It was a win-win situation for the SNP.

+ Sturgeon told the media that “this judgment raises profound and deeply uncomfortable questions about the basis and future of the UK”, and reiterated that, for her, this case had not been about the SNP’s mandate for independence.

+ The Supreme Court saw a skirmish. Battle has yet properly to be joined. Time will tell whether the SNP has suffered an early reverse or if it is drawing the unionist parties onto the ground of its choosing.

Most Ukrainians left without power after new Russian strikes: AP reports multiple regions reported attacks in quick succession, and Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said that “the vast majority of electricity consumers were cut off.”?

US concerned Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine: Politico reports officials do not believe there is an imminent threat, but they say Moscow could use the weapons if it continues to lose ground in Ukraine.

What would happen if a nuclear bomb was used in Ukraine??Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and meltdowns at the Chernobyl and Fukushima power plants clearly affected people's health. But experts say it's hard to predict the fallout from a nuclear war today.?DW

+ Nuclear fallout is hard to predict because it is highly dependent on how and where a weapon is used.

+ The detonation of a weapon in the air can kill many people at once, with less of a long-term impact on radiation in the surrounding population and environment.

+ The detonation of a weapon near the surface of the Earth could both kill many people at once and taint the environment and food supply for years.

Turkish airstrikes pose risk to US troops in Syria: Politico reports Turkey launched a series of deadly airstrikes across Iraq and northern Syria on Tuesday in retaliation for last week’s bomb attack in Istanbul.

WP: Kurds brace for renewed Turkish assault as commander seeks US help

Australian business hopeful of better ties with China: Albanese and Xi meeting at G20 raises expectations that Beijing may lift trade sanctions.?Nic Fildes

+ The first bilateral meeting between the leaders of China and Australia since 2016 raised hopes that acrimonious tensions between the countries might be easing, leading to the eventual lifting of trade sanctions imposed by Beijing.

+ China accounted for 42 percent of exports in 2021 as the effect of the sanctions started to surface, but fell below 30 percent in August, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, amid clear signs of trade expanding across the ASEAN region.?

+ The experience of the past two years should serve as a warning that a future geopolitically driven clampdown on trade could be even more painful.

Japan and South Korea are still haunted by the past: Confronting a legacy of forced—and failed—reconciliation.?Eun A Jo

Speaker of the establishment: Hakeem Jeffries becoming House Democrats’ next leader is not necessarily a sign of progress.?Zak Cheney-Rice

+?Jeffries looks the part of a next-generation changemaker down to his campaign-trail tracksuits and Notorious BIG quotes. But for the Democratic Establishment, his ascent has achieved something more urgent than passing the torch: keeping the party’s left flank at bay.

+ His corporate-centrist inclinations are consistent with the evolving role of the Congressional Black Caucus. Now the CBC resembles more of a professional organization for protecting incumbents and advancing the careers of its members.

SEC chair riles Wall Street, Republicans — even some Democrats: The SEC chair has drawn widespread ire thanks to an ambitious regulatory agenda poised to shake up much of corporate America.?Politico

+ SEC Chair Gary Gensler faces a growing political problem: He has a shrinking number of allies in Washington.

+ The growing list of gripes about Gensler threatens to weigh on his political capital as he tries to finalize sweeping regulations opposed by industry, navigate upcoming House GOP investigations and secure his agency’s role in overseeing digital assets as Congress responds to crypto exchange FTX’s failure.

Inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s quest to win friends and influence people: In just three years, the FTX co-founder built a massive operation to woo politicians, regulators, and nonprofits to support his crypto goals.?NYT

+ FTX followed the playbook of larger and more established corporations that spend years carefully spreading money through the political system to cultivate relationships and build clout. But FTX’s influence operation launched faster and was more frenzied.

+ To determine where to spend their money, representatives for a newly formed super PAC operation that received money from FTX executives sent questionnaires to dozens of candidates to assess their stances on cryptocurrency.

+ In a podcast interview earlier this year, Bankman-Fried said he expected to spend “north of $100 million” in the 2024 presidential election.

A biography that may change your mind about J. Edgar Hoover: Beverly Gage’s ‘G-Man’ is a brilliant account of the life and controversial career of the longtime FBI director.?Kai Bird

The influentials 2022: Toronto Life Magazine 's annual ranking of the people whose bravery, smarts, and clout are changing the world as we know it.?Toronto Life

Top 10:

1. Simu Liu - Actor

2. Tiff Macklem - Governor, Bank of Canada

3. Doug Ford - Ontario Premier

4. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of finance + Deputy PM

5. Drake - Musician

6. John Tory - Toronto Mayor

7. Anita Anand - Minister of national defense

8. Lisa LaFlamme - Journalist

9. Jagmeet Singh - Federal leader, NDP

10. Cameron Bailey - CEO and president, TIFF

Inside the Disney Board’s decision to swap Bobs: While some directors were looking to fire Chapek as early as June, Chair Susan Arnold was reluctant to pull the trigger. Now even those cheering the move call Chapek's dismissal brutal: “No statement from him, no comment from him, no grace. It’s f***ing insane.”?THR

+ There was discussion about replacing Chapek as far back as the directors’ late June meeting in Florida.

+?“Bob Iger messed up succession at Disney for 15 years. When he finally did it, it was a colossal mess-up. It’s extraordinary that [Iger] is the guy they chose to come back. It speaks to his reputation and the board’s lack of options and ineptitude. How could they have gotten to this place? How could this happen?”

Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch aims to remake a magazine empire into a Hollywood player: The exec talks candidly about the effort to mine archives for film and TV projects, weathering an advertising downturn and a commitment to high quality digital video.?THR

Why office buildings are still in trouble: Hybrid work, layoffs, and higher interest rates are leaving lots of office space vacant and hurting the commercial real estate business.?NYT

+ The value of US office buildings could plunge 39 percent, or $454 billion, in the coming years, according to a recent study by business professors at Columbia and New York University.

Best books of 2022: Technology?FT

The incredible shrinking future of college: The population of college-age Americans is about to crash. It will change higher education forever.?Vox

+ College enrollment began slowly receding after the millennial enrollment wave peaked in 2010.

+ This trend will accelerate the winner-take-all dynamic of geographic consolidation that is already upending American politics.

+ From 2009 to 2012, Pennsylvania cut public funding for higher education by more than 19 percent, some $430 million. Nationwide, state funding for college dipped by 9 percent.

+ The near future of higher education is one of decline, and its consequences will reshape the American landscape.

Marie Kondo takes on a new role - life coach: There’s a big difference between the way most of us wish we lived and how we actually do. The tidying guru is back with a new book to help fix that.?NYT

Tokyo Vice review — stylish neo-noir series journeys into a criminal underworld: The show follows an American journalist in an expansive narrative that moves from the newsroom to a Yakuza turf war.?FT

Why the National Football League (NFL) ’s big streaming deal is going into overtime: Talks for Sunday Ticket are expected to spill into next year, as 苹果 faces increased competition from 谷歌 for the league’s last available TV rights.?NYT

Phil Knight still has plenty to say about college sports. Is anyone listening??The Athletic

+ Phil Knight turns 85 in February.

Beyond the silver surfers: gaming is not just for the young: Despite their slower trigger fingers, older people are playing more than ever.?FT

+ The Silver Snipers, a group dedicated to older players, with an average age of 70.4; the oldest member is 80.?

+ Games have been shown to improve cognitive function, strategic thinking, boost memory, and can have other benefits for older people too.

Best books of 2022: Sport?FT

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc?

Caracal produces ITK Daily.

Caracal is a geopolitical business communications firm specializing in global business issues at the intersection of globalization, disruption, and politics.

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.

To receive Caracal ITK Daily by email, subscribe here.