October 2, 2020

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

Since we all need a laugh….Just over a year ago, NY-based creative director Rajeev Basu adopted a puppy name Remy, and Rajeev soon realized that pretty much all Remy wanted to do was nap. “In fact, I think Remy has taken it up competitively,” he jokes. Cue Between Two Naps, a collection of high-fashion helmets – for dogs. They are designed to keep your pup warm, fashionable and nap-ready at all times.

Politics

The Other Debate: While most Americans spent the week with a raging headache, New Zealanders were treated to a more civilized affair. The two debaters were women — incumbent Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern vs the National Party Leader, Judith Collins. One of the more interesting or light hearted take aways was that Ardern admitted to using cannabis in a heated discussion regarding legalizing the drug. The election is only two weeks away, and Ardern’s party is comfortably in the lead.

Inclusive Debates: One intrepid TikToker pointed out that she was unable to watch the debates because she is deaf, and the US Presidential debate had no sign language interpreters. (While we have full hearing, we had a hard time understanding the words through the noise.) However, with roughly 600,000 deaf Americans, we do believe that in 2020 it shouldn’t be too hard to be inclusive. They should have hired Eminem’s ASL concert interpreter.

Brexit goes to court: The EU has launched legal proceedings against the UK for effectively breaching the Brexit deal. The dispute is largely over a proposed new law that would prevent the UK nation of Northern Ireland from following EU trade rules and keeping a "soft" border. The EU is giving the British government one month to respond before the matter goes to the EU Court of Justice. This all comes as Brussels and London are about to enter the final round of withdrawal talks at the EU Summit on October 15, where they hope to finalize a Brexit deal for EU leaders to approve.  

Lost Amnesty: Amnesty International will halt operations in India after its bank accounts were frozen and its executives interrogated by financial authorities, the latest steps in what the human rights group called a two-year campaign of harassment. The only other country where the organization has ceased operations is Russia, although the group does not have a presence in China.

Maritime disputes: Israel and Lebanon, longtime enemies who have fought some of the bloodiest wars in the Middle East, have finally agreed to start talks over an ongoing maritime dispute. The talks, to be brokered by the US in conjunction with the UN, will be the first time Israel and Lebanon — who have no diplomatic ties and often clash over land borders and ideology — have engaged in direct dialogue in thirty years.

Technology

Facebook consolidates: Facebook introduced a new Accounts Center which allows users to manage settings across a variety of Facebook-owned apps. Facebook also launched cross-platform messaging between Instagram and Messenger this week. Despite being under antitrust scrutiny, Facebook seems to be consolidating its platform in order to make it more difficult to break up.

CEOs go to DC: The Senate Commerce Committee voted to subpoena the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter for testimony on the liability protections that shield them from lawsuits over users' posts, among other tech issues. While this seems to be a push to distract ahead of the US election, politicians do want answers to their concerns over privacy and antitrust, not just bias.

Collective action: In India, founders of dozens of startups gathered to discuss setting up a startup collective to fight the power of Google and Facebook (about 56 founders were on the Zoom call). “We, the country’s digital startups, need to have a joint voice so that the government and the people will listen,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of the country’s leading digital payments brand, Paytm. The founders discussed alternatives to the App Store, joint activism and monopolies. The Group is also considering asking the Indian government to make tech companies “local” — similar to how the Trump administration forced TikTok into US “ownership.”

Culture

Mikhael Pence: Sacha Baron Cohen seems to have been the only film maker to complete a film during this period. The trailer for Borat 2 is up (and appeared on the @KazakhstanGovt Twitter account), and the movie is expected to be out before the election. Pence seems to have been punked by the comedian during CPAC — the premise of the movie is to marry off Borat’s daughter to Pence.

Cult Obsession: HBO’s documentary series called The Vow (which details the NXIVM sex cult) is overlapping with reality. Clare Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune and the deep pockets behind the cult, has been sentenced to more than six years in prison. Bronfman pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges related to forced labor, extortion and sex trafficking. The head of the cult (Vanguard aka Keith Raniere) will be sentenced later this month after he was found guilty at trial.

Going to Eleven: The cast of This is Spinal Tap has announced a virtual reunion for October 14, with proceeds going to Pennsylvania Democrats. The 1984 rockumentary was mostly improvised at the time, so we expect big things from the Zoom - hopefully they still fit into the big hair and pleather.

Climate Stamps: The Finnish Post commissioned a series of stamps (designed by Berry Creative) which help to tell the story of climate change through their heat activated design. Once you rub them, additional images appear to send a message about the consequences of climate change. We agree with the designers, “unlike the effect in the stamp, climate change is not reversible.”

Red Taboo: Pantone, the color registry, has introduced a new color: Period Red. Pantone said it wants to overturn the taboo about talking about menstruation. The color came out of a joint project with Swedish feminine products brand Intimina which is launching a campaign to help make periods just a part of regular life.

STEM to the Rescue: Netflix will be making an animated series for Ada Twist, Scientist (the book series about a second grader and born scientist with an large sense of curiosity). The powerhouse behind the production includes the Obamas and the creator of Doc McStuffins. The series will air in 2021, and we can’t wait!

— Lauren Eve Cantor

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