05 May 25 Monday Briefing
Sawasdee, Cinco de Mayo!
Sawasdee from Krung Thep! I’m glad to be back in Southeast Asia, even if only for 20 days, before I head off on another month-long work travel stint to the UK, Europe, the US, and Saudi Arabia. Monday Briefings might be sporadic as a result, but I’ll keep my Notes up to date.
News Roundup
Tariff see-sawing continues, and the latest – 100% on movies produced outside the US, is ostensibly to save Hollywood from dying a “very fast death” because it is “a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat”. Meanwhile, the de minimis loophole ends – RIP small packages – and more pain is about to hit hard, according to the Port of Los Angeles CEO.
Watch/Scroll
My country went to the polls this past weekend, and while the result surprised absolutely no one, the meme production was elite tier. What was not so elite tier, however, would be the White House cosplaying Trump as… the Pope.
Anyone remember the DumpsterFyre that was Billy McFarland’s Fyre Festival? Well, he’s back after cancelling Festival 2, and looking for… a buyer for the brand? 😂
Read
I’ve finished Careless People, and all I can say is why the fuck didn’t you leave earlier, Sarah? Seven years is way past any kind of “statute of limitations” on ignorance and complicity. You may not be a Harvard-educated American Jew, Sarah, but at some point you became the very thing you despised.
On colonialism, neocolonialism, and the struggle of rajahs, Khlongs and Subaks collaborator
‘s new novel, Rajah Versus Conquistador, dropped a few days ago. Give it a whirl.Ponder
Fittingly, from the land of elephants, we ponder rewriting the relationship between beast and keeper.