Taiwan shoots at Chinese drone over outlying island for first time: FT reports Taipei seeks to balance assertive response against the risk of sparking actual conflict.
Hello.
Read this: Xi Jinping’s vision for tech self-reliance in China runs into reality: After heavy national investment in semiconductors to break a dependence on global chips, Xi seems unhappy with the results. NYT
How should a nation build a modern economy?
With competition or protection?
With global talent or domestic interests?
This is Xi's greatest challenge.
Moving China from being just a big economy to being a world-class economy.
+ (Xi) doesn’t hide his fondness for the Mao era’s top-down approach to tackling big obstacles: mobilizing national resources, which he claims is a big advantage of China’s state-dominating political system.
+ Such inward and backward vision has come to define Mr. Xi’s views on how China should advance to become self-sufficient in tech and how fast.
+ He (Xi) has promoted technocrats from the space and defense industries who pulled off technologically challenging projects that he believes testify to the strength of China’s system.
+ Xi says China’s prosperity and security depend on self-reliance in technology
Read this: Debts mount with China's prestigious silk road project: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is hoping to create new markets for his country and establish his legacy with the New Silk Road project. But has he bitten off more than he can chew? Debts are mounting – and not only in China. Der Spiegel
+ The New Silk Road is Xi's legacy. It has long since become part of the communist creed and has been enshrined in the party constitution since 2017
+ When Xi announced $60 billion in Chinese economic aid, the internet censors could barely keep up with deleting angry comments. The general tone: Why is the government distributing money abroad rather than giving it to the Chinese?
Read this: ‘On a par with the Russians’: Rise in Chinese espionage alarms Europe: Western spy chiefs say the sophistication of Beijing’s intelligence operations is now comparable to the Kremlin’s. FT
+ The FBI has said it opens a new investigation into Chinese espionage every 12 hours
More alarming?
A new investigation case every 12 hours or 730 new investigations a year?
HBD: Today, did you wish Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Happy Birthday?
Today: The twenty-fifth anniversary of Princess Diana’s death
Guardian: Boris Johnson wants to ‘do a Berlusconi’ back to power, says Rory Stewart
+ Former Tory rival says outgoing PM aims to return to No 10 in the style of other deposed populists
+ Boris Johnson refused to rule out a political comeback as he entered his final few days as prime minister
Moon. Saturday. NASA is now targeting this Saturday for the next attempt at launching its Artemis I mission to the moon. NASA is prepping for liftoff of the Space Launch System rocket + Orion capsule at 2:17 pm EDT Saturday. There is a two-hour launch window.
Report: Future of corporate communications Edelman
+ The report finds that 43% of communication teams are now centralized under the CEO — a pivot away from reporting to marketing, human resources, or legal functions
+ “I’m talking to more CEOs every day who recognize that one of the most critical skill sets they need sitting by their side are communicators— and I include marketers in that," says JC Lapierre, chief strategy and communications officer at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Goldman Sachs lifts all COVID protocols and orders staff to return to the office full-time.
Read this: Frustrations mount at Washington Post as its business struggles: With digital subscriptions and digital advertising revenue stagnating, the company is on a pace to lose money this year. NYT
Three businesses problems with the Washington Post:
1) Too much heavy news - a better high-low mix needed
2) Too much of a super regional paper - global expansion + ambition needed
3) Not developing a community - more offline + IRL events needed
+ The Washington Post has fewer than the 3 million paying digital subscribers it had in 2020.
CNBC: Panera Bread tests artificial intelligence technology in drive-thru lanes
+ Two Panera Bread locations in upstate New York are testing artificial intelligence technology that takes drive-thru orders.
+ Restaurants have been investing in improving the drive-thru experience for customers, adding more lanes and testing tech that would improve order accuracy and service times.
+ About 45% of Panera’s more than 2,000 locations have drive-thru lanes.
OOO: US employees left an average of 9.5 vacation days unused by the end of 2021, with one-third not taking any time off.
Monkey business: Micky Dolenz of The Monkees has filed a lawsuit against the DOJ requesting FBI records related to the band.
Professionals never ask to see their FBI files...
Months after that slap, Chris Rock says he turned down hosting the Oscars next year: LAT reports Chris Rock told an audience Sunday that he turned down hosting next year’s Oscars after Will Smith struck him onstage at this year’s ceremony.
Hollywood is wild.
Brigadoon Monthly Call | September
Communicating innovation
Suzanne Zurn
Head of Strategic Communications
National Security Innovation Network
Wednesday - September 21
2:00 pm ET
$45.00
Brigadoon Members attend free
Serena Williams, triumphant, onward, for another night: The legend disrupts a planned farewell with a straight-sets victory. Jason Gay
+ “I’m from Compton, California, you know? And I made it.”
The Yankees and LBJ are coming to Milano: The New York Yankees and a group backed by LeBron James will reportedly invest in the €1.2 billion ($1.2 billion) takeover of the Italian soccer team AC Milan.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
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