What Actually Mattered This Week: Brazil’s January 6 Moment

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WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERED THIS WEEK

1,200 detained after Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazil’s Congress, other buildings

Two years after the January 6 insurrection in the United States, January 8 became a day of national shame in Brazil.

Thankfully, the insurrection has no impact on the legitimate transfer of power to recently elected President Lula.

The riots are over for now. So what’s the real threat to democracy?

A serious portion of the population remains agitated, radial, and politically violent.

Special counsel named to probe classified records found at Biden’s private home and office

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate the classified government records found at the private home and office of President Joe Biden.

The main differences between this incident and former President Trump’s?

Many fewer documents were recovered…and Biden is actually cooperating.

French unions call for strikes as government presses ahead with pension reform

President Macron wants to cut costs in France’s pension system by raising the retirement age by two years...but is facing a fierce showdown from labor unions.

At 62, France has the lowest retirement age in the European Union (tied with a few others, but the French are hellbent to keep it from going up).

Facebook, YouTube, TikTok among tech giants sued by Seattle schools for allegedly contributing to youth mental health crisis

Social media companies are responsible for the decline in mental health among youth and should be held accountable accordingly.

In a perfect world, they would:

1. Warn users about the dangers their products pose and ask for informed consent

2. Stop marketing/advertising social media to kids and teens and restrict access to 18+ or 21+, just like tobacco and alcohol

3. Fund youth prevention and education programs

4. Pay for damages if they’re found to be legally negligent

(A man can dream…)

TRUTHS, DAMNED TRUTHS, AND STATISTICS

% of Americans who think businesses should take a public stance on current events, by political party

Democrats: 75%

Independents: 40%

Republicans: 18%

-Gallup

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THE GZERO WORLD WE’RE JUST LIVING IN

GRAPHIC TRUTH

YOUR GZERO WORLD

What's in store for the global economy in 2023? Well, it's not going to be pretty.

A raging war in Europe, sky-high inflation, and an unstable China will create strong economic headwinds in the year to come. But it's not all doom and gloom. I look at the state of the global economy in this new year with renowned global economist, Dambisa Moyo, to put it all into perspective on?GZERO World.

Global inflation is not going anywhere anytime soon as the likelihood of a worldwide recession looms large. And yet, for most of us living here on Planet Earth, now is the best time to be alive in human history. Globalization has brought prosperity to billions worldwide. And in the United States, the economy has made it out of the pandemic remarkably well.

But will out of control inflation, an unstable China, and a rogue Russia change this equation in 2023? Moyo discusses how these combined threats will affect the world economy this year.

"We're now over 8 billion people. Issues around inequality, issues around supply, as well as climate transition energy issues, and debt. And so there are ongoing challenges, that we were already facing, but I think those things will be accelerated in 2023," she explains.

For a longer, wider-ranging version of my interview with Alinejad, check out the GZERO World?podcast.

WORLD IN 60 SECONDS

What's on the agenda at the Three Amigos Summit?

Is Russia on a path towards becoming a failed state?

Will banning public Palestinian flag flying lead to further conflict in Israel?

Find out in this week’s World in 60 Seconds!

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BECAUSE THE INTERNET

Someone call the WTO:

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WHAT TO READ THIS WEEK

Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates By Emma Ashford

“Oil, the State, and War” by Emma Ashford is a thoroughly researched and thought-provoking analysis of the role of different kinds of petrostates in global politics. Ashford challenges conventional wisdom and debunks myths on the link between oil production and foreign policy behavior, convincingly arguing oil’s geostrategic role is widely misunderstood. It’s the rare scholarly book with immediate practical implications for policymakers.

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DEEP THOUGHTS

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. – Confucius

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Thanks for reading!?Please subscribe to Signal?for daily coverage from GZERO Media and deep dives from yours truly. And make sure to read my new book?The Power of Crisis?for a roadmap of this decade's great crises and how they might help us build a better world.

I am president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media and foreign affairs columnist at TIME. I currently teach at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University. You can follow me on?Twitter,?Facebook, and?Instagram.