Author Archives: Yves Smith

Links 4/15/2023

Russia Leaves Neoliberal West to Join World Majority

The sanctions against Russia and Russia’s kinetic war in Ukraine have produced great changes in and outside. But what are their implications?

Clarence Thomas Proves Its Time for Supreme Court Term Limits

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been caught out engaging in serious misconduct. But what to do?

Amid Efforts to Cool the Planet, Solar Geoengineering Draws Heated Debate

Geoengineering schemes are getting more press as CO2 levels keep rising. But how can their risks be assessed?

Larry Johnson and Other Former Insiders Debunk Air Guardsman-as-Pentagon-Leaker Story as Press Cheers Arrest

The Air National Guardsman as Pentagon leaker story is comig apart. But like “six guys in a boat”, no one in polite company will say so.

Banning TikTok Could Weaken Personal Cybersecurity

Banning TikTok would be a messy business….and probably not technologically enforceable.

Is National Public Radio Actually National Private Radio?

Matt Bruenig does the unthinkable and investigates the quetion of whether National Public Radio is state media.

Feds Bust $3.4 Billion Crypto Theft, Demonstrating Ability to Penetrate Supposed Secrecy

One of the big selling points of crypto, privacy, is rapidly disappearing.

Wall Street, Venture Capital Drive High Drug Prices

How the government enables drug company grifting via giving them the store while funding reserch.

I Tried to Pay My Taxes in Cash – Here’s What Happened, and Why the IRS Should Make It Easier To Do So

A shaggy dog story on trying to get the IRS to accept cash….

Links 4/12/2023

James K. Galbraith: The Gift of Sanctions – An Analysis of Assessments of the Russian Economy, 2022 – 2023

Galbraith debunks conventional wisdom on sanctions against Russia.

Trouble in Multifamily CRE: Two Big Messes, and Investors Are on the Hook, Not Banks

Data about who holds CRE loans is incomplete, but more is owned by investors than the media generally acknowledges.