Good Evening,
It's Monday, January 4th. |
England’s Third Lockdown
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered a third national lockdown for England amid a surging coronavirus outbreak driven by a U.K. variant that appears to be more contagious and may have greater implications for children, as the Washington Post reports. |
Iran Increases Uranium Enrichment, Seizes South Korean Chemical Tanker
Iran announced on Monday that it had increased its uranium enrichment levels, bringing it closer to developing the capacity to produce a nuclear weapon within six months. And, as the NYT reports, in another provocation, seized a South Korean chemical tanker. |
Saudi Qatar Feud to End
Saudi Arabia moved to end a yearslong regional dispute with Qatar, taking a first step toward resolving a bitter feud that has fractured the Middle East and hampered U.S. efforts to isolate Iran as the WSJ reports. |
Global Forecast 2021
 In The End of OPEC or a New Beginning?, the first commentary of our new series, Sarah Ladislaw examines how oil markets face unprecedented headwinds that will reshape oil market geopolitics even beyond the current crisis. Will this bring about the end of OPEC or a new beginning?
Global Forecast is an annual collection of essays by CSIS experts focused on the critical issues facing the United States and the world in the year ahead.
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Coronavirus Crisis Update
The Coronavirus Crisis Update podcast brings you the latest updates and analysis from CSIS experts and the leaders directing the global response. Past guests include NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, White House Chief of Staff-designate Ron Klain, IHME Director Dr. Chris Murray, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Representative Tom Cole (R-OK), Former FDA Commissioner Peggy Hamburg, and more. Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify. |
Video Shorts
Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel! |
In That Number
50-70%
In a televised address to the United Kingdom on Monday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new Covid variant was 50 percent to 70 percent more transmissible.
Source: Washington Post |
Critical Quote
“Let me be candid with you: This virus is out of control.”
— London Mayor Sadiq Khan |
iDeas Lab
A new report from CSIS Korea Chair uses satellite imagery to examine the continued operations of the Kal-gol missile operating base and its threat to U.S. and allied military on the peninsula, in Japan, and in the Pacific.
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia. |
Optics
(Photo credit: Bill Clark - Pool/Getty Images.) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi waves a gavel during the first session of the 117th Congress on January 3, 2021 in Washington, DC. |
Recommended Reading
“The Plague Year,” by Lawrence Wright for The New Yorker. |
This Town Tomorrow
Tomorrow, at 3:00 p.m., join CSIS for a conversation with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on how the U.S. can outpace its competitors on 5G while protecting national security.
And, at 10:00 a.m., the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings hosts a panel discussion on domestic issues in Pakistan, ranging from the human and women’s rights to ethnic and religious insurgencies.
Later, at 5:30 p.m., the Institute for Policy Studies will examine what needs to change in the U.S.-Iran relationship and what U.S. policy rooted in respect of Iranian dignity could look like. |
Video
China is on path to become a high-tech superpower, but its commercial aircrafts still fall short from the United States and Europe. CSIS’s Scott Kennedy explains why China’s aerospace sector has struggled for decades. Watch the full video here. |
Podcasts
In the last Russian Roulette episode of 2020, Heather Conley sat down with Ambassador John J. Sullivan, the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation and former Deputy Secretary of State. They discussed the highlights and low points of his tenure as Ambassador and more.
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. |
Smiles
Happy New Year! Congratulations to all you fans of the Washington Football Team for making the playoffs and to my Baltimore Ravens. Bal-ti-MORE!!!!
If you were watching the Team stumble their way into the playoffs last night, you may have missed CNN’s excellent film, “Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President.” Even though the Ravens are my flock, I’ve got serious love for Chase Young, Alex Smith, and the Team, so I watched most of the game. But I was able to catch a chunk of the Jimmy Carter flick during garbage time. It was so good that I stayed up late to watch the rest on the midnight replay. And what this film does is it underscores what a good, honest, and decent person Jimmy Carter is whether you like his policies or not.
I was 8 years-old when Carter was elected. That’s kind of when the world turned from black and white to color for me. I knew that Jimmy Carter was our first rock and roll president, before Bill Clinton was. The film explains this in detail by utilizing interviews with Carter’s famous musician friends, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and the late Greg Allman to name a few. Dylan uses the Lynyrd Skynyrd lyrics to “Simple Man” to explain how he views Carter.
The film also contains some great concert footage. One of the clips that caught my eye was some rare film of Bonnie Bramlett performing “Hold On, I’m Comin’.” I couldn’t locate that footage, but check this clip out of Bonnie. She was a special performer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW8r5q48tOc.
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