The scope and scale of the climate crisis’ impact on the world economy. How miscalculation risks escalation in the Middle East. Russia’s secret foreign ‘policy’ plan to undermine US global dominance and re-align the balance of power. Do longer lives inevitably include difficult last years? What’s behind senior execs’ new obsession with weights?
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Jonathan Watts, Climate crisis: average world incomes to drop by nearly a fifth by 2050
(The Guardian, 17 April 2024)
New research conducted at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact (available HERE) estimates that the cost of environmental damage will be six times higher than the price of limiting global heating to 2C. Rising temperatures, heavier rainfall and more frequent and intense extreme weather could cause $38tn (£30tn) of destruction each year by 2050, inflicting crippling losses on almost every country, but with a disproportionately severe impact on those least responsible for climate disruption, further worsening inequality (the permanent average loss of income worldwide will be 19% by 2049, with a reduction in the US and Europe of about 11%, while in Africa and south Asia it will be 22%) (free access, reads in 5-6 min).
Click here to read the full article
Ronen Bergman, Farnaz Fassihi, Miscalculation Led to Escalation in Clash Between Israel and Iran
(The New York Times, 18 April 2024)
How a perilous situation could spiral out of control. This article based on a broad range of interviews with key players details the way in which miscalculation could lead to escalation. The reason: the unwritten rules of engagement in the long-simmering conflict between Israel and Iran have changed drastically, making it harder than ever for each side to gauge the other’s intentions and reactions. In this particular case, Israeli officials claim they didn’t see a strike on a high-level Iranian target in Syria as a provocation and did not give Washington a heads-up about it until right before it happened. “If we get into another round of tit for tat, it can easily spiral out of control, not just for Iran and Israel, but for the rest of the region and the entire world” (gifted article, reads in about 10 min).
Click here to read the full article
Catherine Belton, Secret Russian foreign policy document urges action to weaken the U.S.
(The Washington Post, 17 April 2024)
Interesting insofar as this describes “analytically” what’s been known for years. It codifies Russia’s hybrid war against the West and the way in which Russia seeks to subvert Western support for Ukraine and disrupt the domestic politics of the US and Europe through campaigns supporting isolationist and extremist policies. The Russian government calls for an “offensive information campaign” and other measures spanning “the military-political, economic and trade and informational psychological spheres” against a “coalition of unfriendly countries” led by the US. It wants to forge a global order free from US (Western) dominance and to refashion geopolitics by drawing closer to China, Iran and North Korea in an attempt to shift the current balance of power (gifted article, reads in 6-7 min).
Click here to read the full article
Dhruv Khullar, How to Die in Good Health
(The New Yorker, 15 April 2024)
Many of us expect that our bodies and minds will deteriorate in our final years, but a growing number of celebrity doctors and biohackers now argue that it doesn’t have to be this way. One of the most renowned is Peter Attia (who co-authored the best-selling “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity”), convinced that science, technology, and targeted work can solve a uniquely modern problem: the “marginal decade” at the end of our lives, when medicine keeps us alive while our independence and capacities bleed away. He offers very specific advice, but his critics claim that his quest for physical optimization can easily become a substitute for deeper fulfillment. The question is: do longer lives always include more difficult years? (metered paywall, reads in about 15 min).
Click here to read the full article
Chris Bryant, Why Everyone in Finance Is Getting Ripped
(Bloomberg, 15 April 2024)
As a segway to the article above. Is the ‘fitness’ obsession among senior executives all about attention-seeking and status signaling or does it have more to do with the awareness of the need to keep physically healthy and mentally resilient? Probably a bit of both. This article about Goldman Sachs bankers’ weight-training habits points to this new trend, which is not only about longevity but also about increased productivity. And it applies to everybody: women, men and clients! (gifted article, reads in 6-7 min).
Click here to read the full article
