The Evening: Moderna Half-Dose Booster, U.S. Embassy in Colombia Havana Syndrome, Ronnie Wood, and More

Email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser.

Good Evening,

It's Tuesday, October 12th.

Moderna Argues FDA Should Authorize Half-Dose Booster

In documents released Tuesday, Moderna argued that the FDA should authorize a half-dose of its coronavirus vaccine as a booster shot for recipients at least six months after the second dose, citing evidence that the vaccine’s potency against infection wanes over time, as the NYT reports.

U.S. Embassy Staff in Colombia Struck With Havana Syndrome Ahead of Blinken Visit

The U.S. Embassy in Colombia is investigating several cases of the mysterious neurological affliction known as Havana Syndrome, U.S. officials said, days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit, as the WSJ reports.

G-20 Emergency Meeting on Afghanistan

With Afghanistan cut off from most of its foreign support, the European Union pledged a major $1.15 billion aid package during a virtual Group of 20 summit, calling it a step to avoid "catastrophe,” as the Washington Post reports.

Executive Education

Delve into China’s domestic and elite politics, its growing international influence, and its economic development trajectory with CSIS scholars in a three-day hybrid course. Apply today for Dynamics and Implications of China’s Rise, a CSIS Executive Education course.

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

3%

Nearly 3 percent of the U.S. workforce quit their jobs in August—reflecting how the pandemic has continued to jolt workers’ mindsets about their jobs and lives.

Source: The Washington Post

Critical Quote

“Pandemic outbreaks in critical links of global supply chains have resulted in longer-than-expected supply disruptions, further feeding inflation in many countries. Overall, risks to economic prospects have increased, and policy trade-offs have become more complex.”

— Gita Gopinath, IMF chief economist

iDeas Lab

Construction continues at Ream Naval Base amid concerns that the new facilities are being built to facilitate a Chinese military presence in Cambodia. Over the course of August and September, three new buildings have gone up and a new road (pictured above) has been cleared, among other changes.

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: Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images.) Members of the Taliban delegation meet with foreign diplomats in Qatar's capital Doha as they seek recognition, as well as assistance to avoid a humanitarian disaster.

This Town Tomorrow

At 10:00 a.m., join CSIS President and CEO Dr. John J. Hamre for a conversation with Lockheed Martin CEO James D. Taiclet on the future of warfare.

Then, at 1:00 p.m., the CSIS Global Health Policy Center convenes leading experts on the AIDS epidemic to discuss Emily Bass' new book, “To End a Plague: Americas Fight to Defeat AIDS in Africa.”

Also, at 5:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council hosts a conversation on the socioeconomic implications of Covid-19 and the role of international financial institutions in pandemic economic recovery with Paulo Guedes, Brazil’s Minister of the Economy.

Video

Last Friday, the CSIS Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative hosted the fourth session of the eleventh annual South China Sea Conference to analyze key developments in the South China Sea over the past year and potential paths forward.

Podcasts

This week, CSIS’s Joseph Majkut dives into the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report with Dr. Robert Kopp, a climate scientist and professor at Rutgers University.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

In case you ever forget how truly great the Rolling Stones are/were, the band continues to create and perform new music, release content from its archives, and a slew of documentaries have been produced that are designed to illuminate the band.

Recently, I’ve watched two of them, both produced in 2019. Interestingly, in these films the focus is on sidemen Bill Wyman and Ron Wood, not the typical Mick and Keith story.

“The Quiet One,” is the story of Stones’ bass guitarist Bill Wyman, who meticulously kept an exhaustive archive of everything he did with the Stones during his time as a founder of the band in 1962 until his retirement in ’93. It’s a really cool film that dips into Wyman’s archive: film, video, audio, memorabilia, etc.

This weekend I watched “Somebody Up There Likes Me,” a documentary by director Mike Figgis about Stones’ guitarist Ronnie Wood. Many are quick to dismiss Wood as the Stones’ “third guitar” partner to Keith Richards.

Brian Jones, an original Stone, had massive influence on the band and was its early star until he burned out and drowned at the bottom of a swimming pool in 1969. Mick Taylor, who replaced Jones, performed on the Stones’ seminal early 70s records, “Let It Bleed,” “Sticky Fingers,” and “Exile on Main Street.

In a way, “Somebody Up There Likes Me” is a necessary addition to the body of work about the Rolling Stones because it underscores what a force Ron Wood truly is, and what he means to the band. The film features this clip of the Stones performing in ’78 and I can’t stop watching (and listening to) the interplay between Wood and Richards as they trade licks and fuse their guitars into a seamless, blistering force. Oh, and Mick, Charlie (rest his soul) and Wyman are not bad either. Turn this up LOUD.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Kendal Gee, Paige Montfort, and Chris Healey.