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.
Read more...Author Archives: Yves Smith
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.
Read more...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.
Read more...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.
Read more...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.
Read more...Links 11/21/2023
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.
Read more...Finland Is Hellbent on Positioning Itself as a Frontline NATO State Against Russia
Finland seems happy to be set up by NATO to make trouble for Russia.
Read more...Ukraine End Game: Putin and Medvedev Discuss Maps, Putting Kiev on the Menu
Recent statements by Putin and Medvedev about Kiev suggest Russia might be thinking about taking it. But how could that now be advantageous?
Read more...Comparing How the West and China Offer Loans to Developing Countries
China challenges Western institutions. Each side offers distinct and competitive lending strategies for global infrastructure and development
Read more...Book Review: Tackling the Riddle of Free Will
Two provocative books explore whether humans have “freee will,” as in control over their personalities, actions, and fates.
Read more...Gaza: Did the West Learn Nothing from the Peace Process in Ireland?
UK politicians’ ambivalence over a Gaza ceasefire shows how little they learned from the Troubles
Read more...“Should CalPERS Fire Everyone and Just Buy Some ETFs?”
Another well-substantiated critique of CalPERS’ investment performance.
Read more...Links 11/17/2023
Michael Hudson: Were the Prophets Anti-Semitic? Debunking Netanyahu’s Distorted Biblical Justifications for Genocide
Michael Hudson explains why Netanyahu’s invocation of Samuel is a rank distortion of Mosaic covenants and the implications of that episode.
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