Author Archives: Yves Smith

Biden Administration/CDC “Mission Accomplished” Mask Reversal: Hubris? Incompetence? Toadying to Business?

Why the policy-making part of the CDC should be burned to the ground: it’s highly politicized yet not very good at politics.

No Matter How Powerful Israel’s Military Becomes, It Still Can’t Win

Israel’s conflict with Palestine is a constant threat that even the most advanced weaponry can’t tamp down.

Costco Is Mean to the Disabled and Elderly

Costco is not nice.

Links 5/15/2021

Bill Black: The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One (Part 1/9)

Bill Black traces the history of modern American financial fraud starting in this episode with the S&L Banking scandal.

Revealed: Big Pharma’s Plot to Derail US Covid-19 Vaccine Waiver

Confidential documents expose the pharmaceutical lobby’s attempts to recruit lawmakers for anti-TRIPS vaccine waiver effort.

Musical Interlude (“On the Path of Decent Groove”): Belshazzar’s Feast

Another musical offering, this one the over-the-top turbo-charged cantata, Belshazzar’s Feast, by Sir William Walton.

Book Review: A Ground-Level Look at America’s Health Care System

In “The Hospital,” Brian Alexander chronicles the struggle to provide adequate health care in small-town America during Covid.

Links 5/14/2021

CalPERS Long-Term Care Program Bleeds Policyholders Dry via 10X Higher Premiums, Gross Mismanagement, Bad Faith Dealing

CalPERS continued to abuse its long-term care policy holders, via contract-defying rate increases vastly higher than other insurers.

Why Biden’s Carbon Pricing and Electric Vehicle Plans Won’t Avert Climate Crisis

Unfortunately, central Biden Administration climate change policies, like carbon taxes/pricing, fall well short of the level of action needed

Iran To Saudi Arabia: Sell Our Oil And We Will Reduce Houthi Attacks

An credible outlet reports that Iran is negotiating with the Saudis to work around US economic sanctions. Oops!

A Night Under the Bombs in Gaza

It is a long and tough night in Gaza. We cannot sleep. The house feels like it is shaking. We are all afraid.

Links 5/13/2021

Sputtering About Crypto and the US Pipeline Ransomware Attack

You can hear the silence about the role of crypto in the Colonial Pipeline and a growing spate of ransom demands.