Happy Monday.
To be ITK, know this:
WP: Hard-right coalition leads in Italy election, according to exit polls
+ Giorgia Meloni could become Italy’s first female prime minister.
+ Giorgia Meloni and far-right Brothers of Italy in line to form a new coalition with right getting 41-45% of the vote, while left alliance has 25-29%.
Politico: Italy on track to elect most right-wing government since Mussolini: Exit polls
AFP: Inspired by Tolkien, Meloni is on a quest for Italy’s ‘ring of power’
Italy votes decisively for a coalition of nationalist-right parties: Economist reports that Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy, looks set to be the next prime minister.
Putin bets it all in Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin had wanted a war on the cheap in Ukraine. But he has now called for mobilization. The move is incredibly dangerous, not least for Putin himself. Der Spiegel
+ Putin is essentially going all-in. He has deprived his people of the illusion that the invasion of Ukraine could be pursued at little cost. And he has also deprived himself of the possibility of pulling back from his destructive adventure.
+ "It is a paralysis that speaks for him in a certain sense," political scientist Abbas Galyamov said on Dozhd, the Russian broadcaster in exile. "He has apparently understood that he only has poor options to choose from."
+ Partial mobilization is a huge and risky move for Putin. It contradicts the system of rule he has built over the decades, one rooted in the principle that Russian citizens should not be unduly troubled.
+ The number of people to be mobilized is classified. According to the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, the official figure of 300,000 reservists isn't in it, but rather 1 million. If that's true, then Putin is settling in for a long war.
Putin knows he can’t win in Ukraine. His only goal now is to save face and stay in power: Lack of support from fellow autocrats and military setbacks forced a reckless gamble and even threaten Russia’s grip on Crimea. Mark Galeotti
+ Vladimir Putin appears finally to have realized that he is not going to win his war in Ukraine. However, in taking significant steps last week to ensure that he does not lose it, he has upped the stakes in ways he may not be able to control.
+ Professor Mark Galeotti is the author of Putin’s Wars: From Chechnya to Ukraine, to be published by Bloomsbury on November 10
Book reviews: At stake in the US-China rivalry: The shape of the global political order Dexter Roberts
+ In just over 40 years, the People’s Republic of China has arisen from the political chaos and poverty of the Mao Zedong era to become a powerhouse on the world stage.
+ China, whose Communist Party celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, is a key example of “durable authoritarianism”
+ The Tiananmen massacre. Many Chinese now feel incapable of opposing the party and resigned to accept its worst excesses.
+ Today Xi is pushing a very different narrative, one that promises a benevolent regime whose paramount aim is to meet the needs of all Chinese through campaigns such as the “common prosperity” venture.
+ China emphasizes its humane and effective leadership by contrasting it with an uncaring and chaotic government in the United States.
+ Beijing hopes to convince the world of the effectiveness of its surveillance state and eventually shatter the dominance of the US democratic model.
+ “Xi Jinping is no longer interested in following examples set by others. He wants to put his own mark on China — and on the world.”
The new India: Expanding influence abroad, straining democracy at home: As India rises, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced little pushback as he weaponizes institutions to consolidate power and entrench his Hindu nationalist vision. NYT
+ Modi’s focus has been more fundamental: a systematic consolidation of power, achieved not through dramatic power grabs but through more subtle and lasting means, aimed at imprinting a majoritarian Hindu ideology on India’s constitutionally secular democracy.
+ India is a rising economic force, having just passed Britain, its onetime colonial overlord, as the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Iran’s women are desperate and furious. They won’t take it any more: Uprising is in motion after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for wearing her headscarf in an ‘improper’ manner. It’s a battle the country’s women have been fighting for more than 40 years. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
+ The Islamic Republic of Iran has systematically harassed women over the past 43 years on their right to decide what they wear by imposing mandatory veiling.
+ Over the first years of the revolution, women lost their right to divorce, the custody of their children, and travel without their husband’s permission. Most symbolically, they were forced to wear veils regardless of their beliefs and ideology.
Death toll from Iranian protests climbs to 41: FT reports President Ebrahim Raisi urges the authorities to ‘decisively deal with those who disrupt the country’s security and peace.’
Target Venus not Mars for first crewed mission to another planet, experts say: Despite its ‘hellish’ environment, scientists argue there are good reasons to focus on ‘Earth’s sister.’ Guardian
+ Venus is significantly closer, making a return mission doable in a year, compared with a potentially three-year roundtrip to Mars.
+ “Venus gets a bad rap because it’s got such a difficult surface environment,” said Dr Noam Izenberg of the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory and one of the proponents of the Venus flyby.
+ “It’s really not a nice place to go. It’s a hellish environment, and the thermal challenges for a human mission would be quite considerable,” said Prof Andrew Coates, a space scientist at UCL’s Mullard space science laboratory.
Silicon Valley slides back into ‘bro’ culture: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Marc Andreessen show how the tech industry’s insular culture remains largely unchanged. NYT
+ Women still get just 2 percent of venture capital funding, and Black founders get 1 percent, where the largest tech companies have made negligible progress on diversifying their staff and where harassment and discrimination remain common.
Messari raises $35M to expand ‘Bloomberg of crypto’ ambitions Fortune
Chief metaverse officers are getting million-dollar paydays. So what do they do all day? Disney, P&G, LVMH, and other big names have invested in chief metaverse officers to plot a course through the next chapter of the internet. Do companies really need them? Bloomberg
+ Advertising giant Publicis Groupe SA introduced the newest member of its C-suite at a technology conference in Paris this year. He goes by Leon. He’s the chief metaverse officer.
+ Leon has a LinkedIn profile, an email address and a French accent. But he doesn't get a paycheck: Leon is a lion-esque digital avatar.
+ While Leon isn’t human, companies are increasingly hiring real people to help them navigate the so-called “meta-jungle.”
+ The stakes are potentially big: McKinsey & Co. consultants estimate that annual global spending related to this virtual landscape could reach as much as $5 trillion by 2030.
+ Call it metaverse FOMO. Bosses feel it.
GM employees will be required to return to the office at least three days a week, starting later this year, the automaker confirmed Friday.
From HP sauce to Burberry, the future of the Queen's endorsements is up in the air: Royal seals of approval aren't automatically carried over to a new monarch. CBC
+ More than 700 brands that currently hold a royal warrant.
+ Royal warrants have been granted by the Royal Family since the 15th century, with royal coats of arms being displayed by businesses since the 18th.
Voters divided amid intense fight for control of Congress, poll finds: With six weeks to go, Republicans hold a firm lead on the economy, inflation, and crime, but Democrats have the advantage on abortion and climate change. WP
+ At this point, both sides are highly motivated to turn out in November.
+ Biden continues to be a drag on Democratic candidates this fall. The Post-ABC survey pegs his approval rating at 39 percent, with 53 percent disapproving, including 41 percent strongly disapproving.
+ The state of the economy looms as a major issue over the election. About 3 in 4 Americans say the economy is either “not so good” or “poor” while about 1 in 4 say it is “good” or “excellent.”
JD Vance playing defense in unexpectedly close Ohio Senate race: If Republicans cannot drag Vance across the finish line, it could spell doom for the party’s hopes of flipping the Senate. Guardian
+ Although Trump won Ohio by eight points in 2020, recent polls show Vance and Ryan essentially tied.
The megastate GOP rivalry between Abbott and DeSantis: Publicly, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has not criticized the migrant flights from his state by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. Privately, the Florida governor’s stunt stung the Texas governor’s team. NYT
+ The Florida governor’s gambit stung Abbott’s team. No one in the Texas governor’s office was given a heads-up that DeSantis planned to round up migrants in San Antonio, according to people familiar with the matter.
Brazil’s election and the search for an economic revival: Ahead of October’s vote, Brazilians must decide between the free-market Bolsonaro administration and the more interventionist Lula. FT
+ Gross domestic product expanded just 0.15 percent, on average, annually in the decade up to the end of 2021.
+ As Brazilians prepare to vote on October 2, it is the widespread decline in quality of life that is at the forefront of their minds.
+ “We have low investment rates, low saving rates, the deterioration of the demographic profile and, the most important one, a lack of productivity growth. In terms of productivity, Brazil has stagnated for the past 20 to 30 years” -- Evandro Buccini, an economist at Rio Bravo Investimentos
Pharoah Sanders walked among us: The jazz icon’s music embodied a search for something greater. Maybe it’s closer than we think. WP
+ Is that why people called his music “spiritual jazz?” Because it made us feel like we were being released from the physical world.
Eliud Kipchoge lowers his own marathon world record by half a minute: WSJ reports the 37-year-old Kenyan set the mark of 2:01:09 with his victory in the Berlin Marathon.
How Angel City FC created a women’s soccer moneymaker: The National Women’s Soccer League franchise is wrapping its first season by blowing past its financial goals. WSJ
+ When Angel City began planning in 2020, it aimed for 5,000 season tickets in its first season. It sold nearly 16,000, and season-ticket renewals for 2023 are near 90%.
+ Angel City planned for an average attendance of 8,000 to 10,000 at 22,000-seat Banc of California Stadium. It’s on track for about 19,000, including four sellouts.
+ Angel City shot for $3.25 million in corporate partnerships, which it believed was the highest in the NWSL in 2019. It sold $11 million this season.
+ Founders include actress Natalie Portman and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, and investors read like a post-awards show mixer: actresses Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria, Jessica Chastain and Gabrielle Union, and athletes Mia Hamm, Candace Parker and Lindsey Vonn.
+ Angel City publicly earmarks 10% of sponsorship revenue toward various community and charity programs. Some other pro sports teams figure community-building or charitable elements into their sponsorship deals.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
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