Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Pope Francis visits Myanmar. As the Rohingyas’ plight spirals deeper into a humanitarian crisis, the Pope begins a six-day trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. This will be his first visit to Myanmar and he’ll have to tread carefully. The government has denied allegations of a systemic campaign of violence.
A clash over appointees at the US consumer protection agency. The decision of who ultimately leads the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may be moving to the courts, as the White House and Democrats battle over which of two interim appointees should stay to run the agency.
US holiday shoppers hit the internet. Black Friday sales numbers are beginning to surface as online retailers look to Cyber Monday to extend their disruption over brick-and-mortar stores. This second day of deals and discounts remains a bellwether for retailers of all stripes. Cyber Monday is predicted to hit a record-breaking $6.6 billion on its own.
Over the weekend
Terrorists killed 305 people in the Sinai peninsula. After Friday’s bombing (paywall), when two dozen assailants barged into a mosque in the deadliest terrorist attack in Egypt’s modern history, officials are saying that the attack “will not go unpunished.” US president Donald Trump used the opportunity to tweet about his travel ban and US-Mexico border wall project.
The FBI failed to disclose Russian hacker activity for a more than a year. Kremlin-backed cyber espionage group Fancy Bear was targeting Gmail accounts belonging to US government officials, but several targets weren’t warned for over a year. The resulting DCLeaks email dump revealed hundreds of US lawmakers’ emails and phone numbers.
Nearly 100,000 costumed anime fans gathered in Singapore. Attendees flocked to the C3 Anime Festival Asia Singapore. First held in 2008, the three-day event is now so popular that there are festivals in Bangkok, Jakarta, and Tokyo. The conference is slated to go to Hong Kong in February next year.
Quartz obsession interlude
David Kaufman on the statistics of Malia Obama dating a white guy at Harvard. “One need only look to the vitriol heaped upon tennis star Serena Williams last winter when she revealed her engagement to Alex Ohanian, the white co-founder of Reddit who’s now her husband (and daughter’s father).” Read more here.
Matters of debate
“Strategic stress” can improve your company’s performance. Deviations from the strategic plan may not be detrimental to corporate performance.
Sweden’s cooling housing market is a preview for others. Low interest rates and rapidly rising house prices have been making the central bank nervous.
Net neutrality can’t fix the internet. Internet providers have been abusing the world wide web for a long time.
Surprising discoveries
Indian neurologists made an app for porn addiction. When a user tries to access adult videos, the app recites speeches by Nelson Mandela or plays Hindu devotional songs.
Goats can become emotionally aroused. And horses are a bundle of feelings. Science has a lot to say about animal sentience.
A documentary on the Nanjing Massacre is getting a second life. Chris Magee, the grandson of the man who shot the original footage, is recreating images of the city to bring its history to light once more.
Three people still depend on iron lungs. The polio survivors live in different states in the central US and still depend on the antiquated technology to survive.
Sesame Street keeps on making awesome parodies. This video knockoff of the Netflix blockbuster Stranger Things is making the rounds on the internet.
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