{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/60427f9d34b9a27f4b6e3a8d/641331d909f8560011e7c8e3?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"The “Wickedly Talented Adele Dazeem” Edition","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/60427f9d34b9a27f4b6e3a8d/show-cover.png?height=200","description":"<p>This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined for a special episode by the most glamorous of RatSec co-hosts emeritus, Shane Harris, to hand out some Academy Awards for events in national security over the past year.</p><p>The nominees include:</p><p>For “Best Make-Up” (i.e., what was the year’s most memorable apology?):</p><ul><li>The Biden administration’s confession that its <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/us/politics/biden-spy-balloon-ufo.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">balloon bombardment was a bust</a>;</li><li>Kevin McCarthy’s ongoing <a href=\"https://www.axios.com/2021/05/13/liz-cheney-kevin-mccarthy-trump\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mar-a-Lago mea culpa</a>;</li><li>Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s resignation over her <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/19/world/europe/liz-truss-lettuce-stream.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">positively wilting</a> <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/20/uk/liz-truss-government-crisis-thursday-gbr-intl/index.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">economic plan</a>.</li></ul><p>For “Best Score” (i.e., who came away as the year’s most unexpected winner?):</p><ul><li>Western Europe, whose <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/europe-slashed-winter-gas-use-amid-energy-crisis-2023-02-21/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">uncharacteristic balminess</a> helped it weather the winter without Russian energy imports;</li><li>The F-22, which got its <a href=\"https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2023-02-06/chinese-balloon-downed-first-kill-f-22-fighter\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">first kill</a> (of a Chinese spy balloon) even as the U.S. military <a href=\"https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/05/13/the-f-22-is-going-away-eventually-but-not-before-the-air-force-gets-comfortable-with-its-successor/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">debates whether to discontinue it</a>;</li><li>China, whose <a href=\"https://thediplomat.com/2023/03/the-broader-context-behind-chinas-mediation-between-iran-and-saudi-arabia/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">late role in the Saudi-Iran rapprochement</a> allowed it to seize much of the credit.</li></ul><p>For “Best Supporting Actor” (non-state actor, that is) (i.e., which non-governmental figure had the most oversized role on the national security stage this year?):</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/elon-musk-twitter-terrible-things-hes-said-and-done\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Comic book villain</a> Elon Musk;</li><li><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qyEG7Wr7tY\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Manic pixie jury foreperson</a> Emily Kohrs;</li><li>Tucker Carlson, the only man who has gotten <a href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/10/tucker-carlsons-fighting-words\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">less credible since he stopped wearing a bowtie</a>.</li></ul><p>For “Best Actor” (i.e., which world leader left their mark on the world stage this past year?):&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Volodymyr Zelensky, the man who <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0-Yeqh4PFY\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">stayed</a>;</li><li>Vladimir Putin, who seems intent on <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-putin-one-year-anniversary-df699dc348444c878bb4041158ccb84c\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">doubling down</a> on his failing gambit in Ukraine;</li><li>Xi Jinping, who <a href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/10/chinas-xi-gains-unprecedented-third-term-as-president.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">locked down his control of the Chinese Communist Party</a>—but perhaps <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/world/asia/china-zero-covid-protests.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">not the Chinese people</a>.</li></ul><p><br></p>","author_name":"The Lawfare Institute"}