January 12, 2021

empowering you with insights and information from the edge of today’s headlines

While you were watching the coup…some lighthearted news you might have missed

Political Drama of the Fashion Kind:  Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris is featured on the February cover of Vogue magazine. However, the cover photo that is used in the print version of the magazine was apparently not approved by the VP (it shows her in her own clothes, her trademark Converse with a pink and green background as a nod to her sorority colors). The cover photo for the digital version and apparently the one approved by the VP and her team, shows her in a powder blue suit. The cover has caused an internet controversy because 1) how could Anna Wintour change photos without approval from the VP and 2) how could Anna Wintour choose to make the first woman VP look unprofessional, casual. Websites have popped up en masse to pay tribute or critique Harris’s fashion choices, but we are waiting for the one on Joe Biden’s ties and socks.

Parler gets Downloaded: You may have heard of Parler, the “free speech” aka zero moderation competitor to Twitter which was loved by the right wing. This week due to its lack of content moderation policies which led to “inciting violence” Parler was pulled from the Apple and Google app stores and then deplatformed itself from Amazon Web Services. Prior to disappearing, however, 70TB of data from the platform (including messages, metadata, videos and user profiles) had been scraped and archived, which should be helpful to law enforcement. Apparently, it wasn’t just its content moderation policies that were lax, but Parler used a variety of free trials and WordPress-friendly plug-ins to build its site, which allowed hackers easy entry.

Parler users also weren’t too concerned about their own privacy. Prior to the shutdown, Marjorie Taylor Greene, newly-elected QAnon Congresswoman, asked followers to post their phone numbers, emails and names in order to stay in contact with her. Thousands replied.

Alibaba goes National: Rumors have been spreading in Asian media that the Chinese Communist Party plans to nationalize Jack Ma’s Alibaba and Ant Group. The People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the CCP, said the government's "anti-monopoly work" will lead to "better development." The paper said the party Politburo thought 'anti-monopoly work' should be strengthened to prevent the disorderly expansion of capital. In October, Xi Jinping, Chinese President and CCP general secretary, had said that the plan was to make China a more state-controlled economy based on domestic demand. Alibaba had a market cap of over $820B last year, prior to the disappearance of both Jack Ma and Ant Group’s IPO.

Women Go Jobless: The The U.S. labor market lost jobs in December for the first time in eight months, losing 140,000 jobs and and per an analysis by the National Women’s Law Center, all of them belonged to women of color. The losses coincide with new spikes in COVID transmission rates nationwide, which have forced renewed cuts in the hospitality and leisure sectors. Closed schools, caregiving, and jobs where you can’t work from home are weighing heavily on women, and creating the foundation for further inequality in the workplace.

Musk asks for Help: Apparently when you become the richest man in the world, you ask Twitter for advice on how to spend your money. Elon Musk’s fortune rose to over $200B this week on gains in Tesla (he owns 20% of the company). In 2018, Musk outlined his plans for donations, but apparently he has only ever given $257M to charity (or that is all that he has disclosed), which went to the Musk Foundation, and which equates to 0.1% of his net worth. He claims to have signed up for the Giving Pledge, although he hasn’t put his intentions in writing. (In 2017, when Bezos took the #1 spot in wealth, he too went to Twitter to ask for advice; apparently, he should have just asked his wife who donated over $6B in 2020.) These entrepreneurs seem to feel the need to reinvent philanthropy before they give — not everything is a problem without an existing solution.

US goes for the Terrorists: The Trump Administration is making its last attempts to thwart the incoming Biden Administration, and this week we saw Pompeo designate Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism, designate the Houthi rebels of Yemen as a terrorist group and removing the longstanding guidelines over government contacts with Taiwanese officials. We suspect when you are looking to burn the house down, you might as well attempt it from all angles.

Free Speech vs Regulation: After Donald Trump was permanently banned from Twitter on Friday, several international officials spoke up against the move. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Twitter's permanent suspension of President Trump is "problematic," as speech should be monitored by the government and regulations not the opinions of tech entrepreneurs. EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton wrote, "The fact that a CEO can pull the plug on POTUS's loudspeaker without any checks and balances is perplexing." Alexei Navalny, the Russian dissident, also condemned Twitter’s move citing that "this precedent will be exploited by enemies of freedom of speech around the world." The US is unique with its First Amendment, but we suspect we’ll see heavy tech regulation similar to the EU if the Congress actually ever gets around to doing anything.

In case you have the desire to get in on the action, there is a game called “You have to ban the President,” a choose your own adventure social media banning game. Guess we are all that bored.

mRNA gets the Spotlight: Moderna, the biotech company behind one of the two mRNA-based vaccines currently being rolled out globally to stem the tide of COVID-19, has announced that it will pursue development programs around three new vaccine candidates in 2021. These include potential vaccines for HIV, seasonal flu and the Nipah virus. The HIV candidate, which is developed in collaboration with both the AIDS Vaccine Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is expected to enter into Phase 1 trials this year.

Walmart creates a Fintech: Walmart is creating a fintech startup with Ribbit Capital, one of the investment firms behind Robinhood. John Furner, CEO of Walmart, said “for years, millions of customers have put their trust in Walmart to not only save them money when they shop with us but help them manage their financial needs, and they’ve made it clear they want more from us in the financial services arena.” Walmart has reach to customers who may be unbanked or do not have traditional banking relationships, so this move could further democratize financial services. We just hope they don’t gamify them as well.

SVU Goes Broadway: Broadway has been shut down since March 12, 2020, and Law & Order: SVU has decided to do something about it. Warren Leight, the showrunner, stated “We are trying to hire every Broadway actor we can while we and they wait for the curtains to rise again. And yes, by Broadway, we of course also mean off, and off-off, and off-off-off.”

SATC gets a Reboot: HBO Max will revive Sex and the City with a 10-episode series, although it will have a new name (And Just Like That…) and no sign of Kim Cattrall’s Samantha. Apparently the real life feud between Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker is keeping Cattrall off the show. As one person put it, Cattrall’s response is definitely a 2021 Mantra: “I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself.” We also wonder why Samantha wasn’t just recast with Randy Rainbow or Chelsea Handler, and swept on the under rug.

NFL taps Spongebob: This weekend the NFL attempted to lure in younger viewers by broadcasting a game on the Nickelodeon network. The stream included commentary from a former player and graphics which were both tailored to a kid-friendly audience. Slime cannons went off after touchdowns, first down markers were replaced with Nickelodeon colors and players off field were seen on the stream with giant hamburgers on their heads. We’ll wait and see how the NFL deals with concussions —maybe Wile E Coyote and the anvil?

Apple goes Hyundai: When you think of Apple and the connotations of its premium brand is your next thought, Hyundai? Apple is in early talks with Hyundai to partner with its expected electric vehicle. Apple has been working on self-driving technology and is expected to build a better battery in the next five years. While we happily overpay for our iPhones each year, we don’t think we’ll have the same impulse when it comes to a Sonata.

Ben & Jerry’s goes to the Dogs: Ben & Jerry’s has entered the pet food business with a line of frozen dog treats. Doggie Desserts go on sale in U.S. groceries and pet stores later this month. The treats come in two flavors: pumpkin with cookies and peanut butter with pretzels. They’re made from the same ingredients Ben & Jerry’s uses in its non-dairy human desserts. Since we have all been stress eating ice cream and adopting pets during the pandemic, this definitely feels like a perfect pairing.

— Lauren Eve Cantor

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