Good Evening,
It's Tuesday, January 19th. |
Members of National Guard Removed from Inauguration Duty
A dozen members of the National Guard have been removed from inauguration duty as the federal government screens troops involved for security concerns. The service members include at least two with possible sympathies for anti-government groups, as the Washington Post reports. |
U.S. Says China’s Repression of Uighurs is Genocide
The State Department declared on Tuesday that the Chinese government is committing genocide and crimes against humanity through its wide-scale repression of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in its northwestern region of Xinjiang, including in its use of internment camps and forced sterilization. The move is expected to be the Trump administration’s final action on China, as the NYT reports. |
Yellen Makes Case For Sweeping Recovery Package
Janet Yellen made the case for another sweeping economic aid package at her hearing to be the next U.S. Treasury secretary Tuesday, pushing back against Republican skepticism of the need for more deficit spending to bolster the recovery, as the WSJ reports. |
Global Forecast 2021
 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. The latest papers look at collective pushback against China, U.S. trade policy, and peace prospects in Afghanistan. |
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
400,000
More than 400,000 people in the United States who had the coronavirus have died.
Source: NYT |
Critical Quote
"The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like."
— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) |
iDeas Lab
The first of China’s new Type 075 landing helicopter dock (LHD) recently embarked on a second round of sea trials—this time in the South China Sea. CSIS analyzed the latest satellite imagery to better understand the vessel's capabilities.
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: Eric Baradat/AFP) Thousands of flags creating a "field of flags" are seen on the National Mall ahead of Joe Biden's swearing-in inauguration ceremony as the 46th U.S. president. |
Recommended Reading
“A Complex Inheritance: Transitioning to a New Approach on China,” by CSIS’s Scott Kennedy. |
This Town Tomorrow
Tomorrow, at 9:00 a.m., join the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development for a virtual launch event of USAID's new Economic Growth Policy, which advances the commitment of USAID and the broader U.S. government to promoting inclusive, sustained, and resilient economic growth in developing countries.
Then, at 10:00 a.m., CSIS welcomes Norman Augustine, a successful CEO, senior government official, and leading intellect, to discuss the need for America to reset its approach to scientific research in America.
And, at 2:00 p.m., the CSIS International Security Program holds a briefing on the key findings from the final report of the CSIS Technology and Intelligence Task Force. |
Video
As part of its Strategic Dialogue on Civic Education as a National Security Imperative, CSIS hosted a conversation between Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, and Suzanne Spaulding, CSIS Director of the Defending Democratic Institutions Project, to examine the ways technology impacts societal resilience and the strength of our democracy. Watch here. |
Podcasts
In this episode, Dr. Roslyn Layton and CSIS's James Lewis discuss how to control the proliferation of technologies for military use with a special focus on China. How can the U.S. balance opportunities for private enterprise with the needs of national security?
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. |
Smiles
"Instant Karma's gonna get you
Gonna look you right in the face
Better get yourself together darlin'
Join the human race."
Phil Spector, the incomparable music producer, serial domestic abuser, and convicted murderer died of Covid while serving out his jail sentence in California last Friday. He was 81. It’s hard to discuss Spector. How could someone who created music that was such a gift to the world be such a monster? But indeed he was.
To me, his music was so distinctive not only because of the famous Wagnerian “wall of sound” that he created in the studio, but because the songs he produced delivered both a joyful noise and a darkness simultaneously.
“Be My Baby,” co-written by Spector and performed by the Ronettes in 1963 is one of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time (Rolling Stone Mag ranked it #22). The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson would listen to it endlessly. It’s a beautiful song, but has an undeniable darkness to it. Same with the Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” released in ’65 (ranked #34 all-time by Rolling Stone.) These are beautiful but haunting songs.
Later, Spector would produce The Beatles “Let It Be” album. Plenty of people have taken issue with Spector’s treatment of the album “Let It Be” including Paul McCartney himself. John Lennon and George Harrison didn’t have a problem with it. In my view, “One After 909,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Dig A Pony,” “I’ve Got A Feeling,” “Get Back,” and the title track are masterworks. My musical life isn’t complete without “Get Back,” “I’ve Got A Feeling,” and “Don’t Let Me Down.”
Lennon and Harrison would go on to create their best solo work with Spector producing. Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and Lennon’s “Imagine” just to name two records. But the first solo work that Spector produced with Lennon was “Instant Karma!” which would become an instant classic and the first solo single by a member of The Beatles to sell a million copies. “Instant Karma!” actually predated Spector’s work on “Let It Be.” Spector came out of a self-imposed retirement which began in ’66 to produce the single for Lennon in 1970. Its success was what brought Spector to produce “Let It Be.”
“Instant Karma!” is another beautiful but haunting song—those drums! It’s hard to reconcile Spector’s evil with the impact and influence he left on the rock world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLy2SaSQAtA.
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