September 17, 2020
what we are watching...
empowering you with insights and information from the edge of today’s headlines
International
The Women of Belarus: Nationwide protests in Belarus have lasted for more than five weeks, following the “election” of Lukashenko. Lukashenko met with Putin earlier this week and was able to secure a $1.5B loan to keep his government afloat. The Belarus economy has been hit by the pandemic and the continued protests, while Putin doesn’t seem to want to show that protests can work in order to take down an illegitimate ruler.
The leader of the opposition party, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was forced to flee the country. Lukashenko had jailed or barred many of the male opposition figures who were running against him in the election, and as a result, women have played an outsized role in running the opposition and taking to the streets. The women have been waving flowers and holding non-violent protests, while the Minsk police surround and often attack them.
One artist has captured the mood of the women by painting the Belarusian Venus: a bruised and battered woman lying on the floor over an outline of the country. Chernova, the artist, made the protest art to say: “Everything happening with us here is injustified cruelty against people, against girls - it is a mockery of everything that is wonderful, everything that is soft and warm. It is not just against women, but against Belarus.”
The Iron Wall: On Tuesday, Israel signed agreements with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, (The Abraham Accords) making these the 3rd and 4th Arab nations to recognize Israel. The US was able to broker the deal with the UAE by offering advanced weaponry, and hopes that more Arab nations will begin to open their diplomatic ties. One cynical reason for the new relationship might be that all three are enemies of Iran, so the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Immediately following the accord, telephone and internet services between the UAE and Israel were initiated (Israeli websites had been blocked in the past). Expectations are high for the economic promise of the deal as well: the Israeli Economic Ministry expects that trade between the two nations which is currently $300k per year could rise to $300-500M per year.
While Israel has agreed not to annex Palestinian territory, the Palestinians had expected independence in exchange for peace. Instead, the Palestinians fired rockets from Gaza at Southern Israel to show their distaste of the accords. The next step will be how Saudi Arabia responds to the agreement.
Russian Opposition: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posted a picture of himself from his hospital bed in Germany, as he was finally awoken from a coma after being poisoned with a nerve agent. Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, the same class of chemical that the UK said was used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in 2018. Several European leaders have condemned the attack, while Russia calls the accusations unfounded.
Japan’s Shift: In a more positive transfer of power, Japan’s parliament has elected Yoshihide Suga as the country's new prime minister, following the resignation of Shinzo Abe (due to health concerns). Suga was Abe’s second in command, so the policy goals of the Japanese leader are expected to remain the same, although the Prime Minister will have to deal with the pandemic, a stagnant economy and rising tensions with China. The next big question: will the Tokyo Olympics continue?
Technology
Tech Wages: Several tech companies have decided to cut employee wages, if they choose to move out of major urban areas like New York, San Fransisco and Seattle. Stripe is offering a $20k bonus if you take the 10% pay cut, although most other companies are just weighing the outright cuts. Facebook gave all of its employees the option of working from home permanently, but depending upon where you end up, that will determine your pay. While we understand the justification (lower cost of living), we are not sure how we feel about this. If you are moving to a decentralized workforce with localized salaries, doesn’t quite make sense that any time anyone moves they’ll get a pay cut. We suspect there are some tax implications to having a scattered workforce, but seems like COVID is a grand excuse to cut payroll (despite the fact that the tech sector is booming).
Virtual Reality: Facebook held its own annual event with a focus on its Oculus headsets and other VR/AR devices. They’ll be selling an updated and cheaper version of their AR headsets, and they displayed a virtual office feature for working from home. The firm is expected to announce consumer smart glasses some time next year (since we were all dying for that long anticipated update to Google Glass).
Separately, the New York Times and Facebook have announced a partnership to build augmented reality filters into their Instagram stories. We remember a few years ago when the NYT included the Google viewer with its print edition, and now the paper is taking AR even further. The Instagram filters will also be available for users to overlay over their own pictures. We do like the idea of journalism coming to life, not so much when it comes to your lunch.
Cryptocurrencies: India is planning on banning trade in cryptocurrencies after a series of frauds occurred in 2018. Following Modi’s decision to ban over 80% of the country’s physical currency, crypto exchanges took off in India. Several other Asian countries regulate cryptocurrencies, and some have banned coin offerings. On the flip side, India is one of the first nations to fully digitize its identification program, so the fear of crypto trading seems slightly out of character. The government is considering using blockchain, the software behind cryptocurrencies, to manage land and educational records.
Subscription for Shoes: We remember when Nike attempted to roll out a subscription service for families, since kids’ feet grow so fast (the Nike Adventure Club), but now On Running has taken subscription footwear to a new level. The new sneakers are fully recyclable, so once you’ve hit the pavement enough to wear out your shoes, send them back, and get a new recycled pair. The subscription program will cost $30 a month, and the shoes are expected to last 400km.
Culture
Stop Hate: On Wednesday, a group of celebrities decided to go dark on their social media accounts in order to protest hate speech. The campaign linked to the #StopHateforProfit that also led several companies to stop advertising on Facebook earlier this summer. We are not quite sure of the impact of not seeing posts from Kim Kardashian for a day (although her husband certainly picked an interesting way to make a statement). Seems like it would calm the soul and demonetize the celebrity accounts, but I guess the trolls had a day off too.
Pride Posters: Burger King and McDonald’s have teamed up the past for charity: Burger King sending consumers its competitor’s way to support its signature Ronald McDonald House charity. This month is Pride in Finland, and Burger King has done it again: creating posters and billboards of the two mascots kissing with the slogan “Love Conquers All.” We appreciate the sentiment, but creepy clowns?
Epic Drum Battle: Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters has been having an online drum battle with 10-year old Nandi Bushell. Grohl declared Bushell the winner of round one, and this week he posted a song written for and about the young drummer. We can’t wait to see the next installment.
— Lauren Eve Cantor
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