ITK Daily | October 2

Happy Sunday.

To be ITK, know this:

AP: Brazil holds historic election with Lula against Bolsonaro

+ Voting is scheduled to start at 8:00 am local time in Brasilia (7:00 am ET) and concludes at 5:00 pm local (4:00 pm ET).

+ In the Brazilian electoral system, a winning candidate must gain more than 50% of the vote.

+ In Brazil’s sparsely populated Amazon region, the polls often go to the voters.

Mahsa Amini: At least 92 people have been killed as Iran has cracked down on women-led protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the notorious morality police, the group Iran Human Rights said Sunday.

+ The British Army is training 10,000 Ukrainian civilians to be battle-ready fighters.

Vladimir Putin’s ‘Medea’ Maureen Dowd

+ "Putin, too, feels disrespected, still mourning the breakup of the Soviet Union, content to murder any number of innocent Ukrainians to slake his longing to stitch that lost empire back together."

+ "What if you’re dealing with a malefactor with no concern for consequences? A modern Greek tragedy."

Russia abducts head of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, operator says: Politico reports Ukrainian operator Energoatom says Ihor Murashov was arrested by Russian patrols Friday afternoon.

India 5G: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in India on Saturday, calling it a “step towards the new era.”

Liz Truss was told: don’t do this. Her attitude was: I don’t care: She always wanted to hit the ground running as PM. But she’s been poleaxed by her first big policy announcement. Despite the resulting chaos, she genuinely believes this is a temporary slip-up. The Times

+ While the savagery of the market reaction surprised most people in 10 Downing Street, both Truss and Kwarteng were warned that they risked an adverse reaction to slashing taxes and pushing supply side reforms to boost growth.

+ A senior figure at the Treasury called the decision to scrap the top rate of tax in a cost-of-living crisis “f***ing insane,” the day before the budget. Another said the unfunded tax cuts were “what Venezuela does.”

+ The problem is, she has already lost control of the politics, which means she may not get the opportunity to show what her economic theories can achieve.

Bloomberg: Truss says it was Kwarteng who decided to cut UK’s top tax rate

+ Tory anger builds, MPs including Gove say they won’t back it

+ Poll shows majority think Truss has lost control of the economy

+ The Conservative Party’s annual conference begins in Birmingham today

Tomorrow: Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to speak at the Conservative Party conference at 4:00 pm local time.

UK Tory civil war deepens as Michael Gove blasts Liz Truss budget: Politico reports the leading Brexit campaigner turns on former Cabinet colleague amid bitter fallout from mini-budget.

Boris Johnson is still living inside Tory heads Politico

+ "He loves the limelight. He loves being the center of attention."

+ Former allies of Johnson believe that even he knows, however, that the chances of a second coming are slim — but that he will nevertheless enjoy keeping the narrative alive.

+ Neither former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, nor his former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, are expected to attend the annual party gathering.

+ “Johnson is the off-the-shelf solution for lots of people,” a Tory MP noted this week.

Will nostalgia kill the British Right? Ross Douthat

+ "Liz Truss, the new prime minister of Britain who may not be the prime minister for long, is by general agreement out of touch with reality."

+ "Facing a European future that’s so plausible and grim, it’s not surprising that some right-wing politicians would seek refuge in the happier, simpler future once promised by the past."

King Charles III won't attend COP27 after Truss reportedly 'objected': AFP reports King Charles III will not travel to next month's United Nations climate summit in Egypt, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Sunday, after UK Prime Minister Liz Truss reportedly "objected" to the keen environmentalist attending.

What could the coronation of King Charles look like? A solemn religious ceremony in Westminster Abbey could come late next spring. CBC

+ An audience more in the 2,000-plus range is expected for Charles.

Elgin Marbles: The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis believes that Britain is edging closer to returning the Elgin Marbles and will raise the subject with Liz Truss on a visit to London this year.

+ Ownership of the sculptures has been a source of rancor between Britain and Greece since 1801.

Should museums return looted artifacts to their countries of origin? Museums around the world contain pieces that were stolen or taken by force during colonial rule. Do you think they have a right to keep and display these objects? Or should they give them back? NYT

A big idea in robotics: Ally CEO Mitch Tolson realized that robots were getting too complex and expensive for businesses to adopt. That’s when Mitch took a deep dive into “imitation learning” - the idea that robots can learn by watching humans work.

+ A universal, no-code robotic arm that any business can implement and costs 70% less to produce than competing bots.

Coroner lists Instagram algorithm as contributing cause of UK teen’s death: ARS reports coroner Andrew Walker concluded that 14-year-old named Molly Russell's death couldn't be ruled a suicide. Instead, he described her cause of death as "an act of self-harm whilst suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content."

+ Walker came to this decision based on Russell's "prolific" use of Instagram—liking, sharing, or saving 16,300 posts in six months before her death—and Pinterest—5,793 pins over the same amount of time—combined with how the platforms catered content to contribute to Russell's depressive state.

+ Meta called content "safe" that a UK judge found "impossible to watch."

+ Pinterest apologized, saying it didn't have the technology it currently has to more effectively moderate content that Molly was exposed to. But Meta's head of health and well-being, Elizabeth Lagone, frustrated the family by telling the court that the content Molly viewed was considered "safe" by Meta's standards.

BeReal has officially made it in America: BeReal gets the SNL treatment. This skit manages to explain the time-sensitive social media phenomenon “BeReal,” by setting it against a bank robbery. Watch the skit here.

+ "I'm gonna BeReal!"

Was the skit sponsored content for BeReal?

Apocalypse now: Democrats embrace a dark midterm message: Biden and the Democrats planned to run mostly on their accomplishments. But warnings of a Republican dystopia are becoming a bigger part of their message. WP

+ With a tough midterm election about six weeks away, many Democrats have largely settled on a campaign message... Instead, it amounts to a stark warning: If Republicans take power, they will establish a dystopia that cripples democracy and eviscerates abortion rights and other freedoms.

+ The GOP holds a sizable advantage on issues like the economy and crime, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Hurricane Ian: Biden will visit Florida on Wednesday to survey the damage left behind by Ian.

+ Mortgage rates in the US are already through 6%, more than double what they were 9 months ago.

Gavin Newsom brings the fight to red states: He says he’s not running for president, but he is carving out a lane in a possible future Democratic primary. Politico

+ This summer, a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll of voters in California — home to both Newsom and Harris — found Newsom faring better than the vice president in a test of Democratic and independent voters’ preferences if Biden did not run in 2024.

Tour of Croatia: Slovenian rider Matej Mohoric won the Tour of Croatia on Sunday, finishing just one second ahead of Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard after the sixth and final stage.

Top US ski mountaineer gets Buddhist cremation in Nepal: AFP reports the body of renowned US ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson, who died on Nepal's Manaslu peak, was cremated close to a Buddhist stupa in Kathmandu on Sunday. Monks chanted prayers and played traditional drums as her family, and fellow climbers offered flowers and traditional Buddhist scarves on her body.

It's possible Man City is too good at soccer.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

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