Yearly Archives: 2023

NATO’s Proposed “Military Schengen” Is a Thinly Disguised German Power Play Over Poland

Is Germany going to succeed in advancing a key EU aim, putting a trouble-making Poland in a box?

2:00PM Water Cooler 11/23/2023

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

Links 11/23/2023

Restructuring of the Global Economy – Michael Hudson, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen

A wide-ranging talk, both geographically and historically, on the accelerating changes in the global economy

Russian And Chinese Focus Alights On Iraq’s Strategically Vital Akkas Project

To what ought to be the considerable embarrassment of the US, China and Russia looks set to cinch a major gas licensing deal in Iraq.

2:00PM Water Cooler 11/22/2023

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

Links 11/22/2023

Do Masks Work During the Pandemic? Scientists Say “Yes.” Secondary Reviews of Clinical Trials Say “No.” So, Which Is It?

Four authors with top statistical chops, including Yaneer Bar-Yam and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, stomp all over the anti-mask Cochrane Report.

Hamas-Israel Hostage Deal Only a Pause in Destruction of Gaza

The Hamas-Israel hostage/4 day pause deal does not change the trajectory of the conflict.

Paging OpenAI Board: ChatGPT on “Handling CEO Termination Delicately” versus Larry Summers, Who Is Still Not Fit to Run a Dog Pound, on New Board

The apparently soon-to-be-ex OpenAI board would have been well served to talk to lawyers about its row qith Sam Altman…or even ChatGPT.

2:00PM Water Cooler 11/21/2023

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

Geopolitical Rivals Are Key Suppliers of West’s Green Energy Materials

Opposie! The West increasingly needs critical materials from countries against which we have escalated, particularly for green energy.

Links 11/21/2023

The Far-Reaching Implications of Javier “the Wig” Milei’s Election Victory in Argentina

Clearly, a majority of voters have had enough of the status quo. What they want is a seismic shift in the underlying political and economic dynamics. And that is what they will get, for better or worse (my money is on the latter).

What Does Mustard Gas Have in Common with Crypto and Blockchain?

In Let Them Eat Crypto, Peter Howson warns that these schemes are fraudulent and causing indefensible harm to both humanity and the planet.