Author Archives: Yves Smith

Rorschach Test: Revealing Western Press Reactions to Xi Jinping Speech at Davos

Xi Jinping gave an important speech at Davos, even if it was mainly updates on favorite themes. But the press reactions…..

5 Things You Should Know About ‘Free’ At-Home Covid Tests

The Covid free test program isn’t really.

The Biden Employer Vaccine Mandate: In Defense of National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor

A refreshingly balanced take on why the Supreme Court was correct in shooting down the Biden employer vaccine mandate.

Airlines Threaten to Ground Many Passenger and Cargo Flights Over Cell Operators’ Refusal to Change 5G Plans

Airlines and cargo carriers threaten to throw down the guantlet if Verizon and AT&T don’t back off from their Wednesday 5G rollout.

Rentier Capitalism and Class Warfare in Kazakhstan

Blame Kazakhstan ‘free’ market reforms that benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of the working class for recent protests.

Unredacted Antitrust Complaint Shows Google’s Ad Business Even Scummier than Many Imagined

Even more ugly details about Google misbehavior in the online ad market.

Eurasia’s Ring of Fire

A theory of empire, based on aspirations for control of Eurasia.

Links 1/15/2022

Wrong Way CalPERS: Dumping $6 Billion of Private Equity After Struggling to Put Money to Work and Then Increasing Target

CalPERS is trying to do something more obviously nonsensical than usual.

Is Geneva 2022 Munich 1938 Without Chamberlain’s Piece Of Paper? How To Read the US Paper to Russia For Peace For Our Time

Why the US is looking at best mighty unserious in its talks with Russia.

Our Rolling Civil War

The institutional left has abandoned leadership of a nascent civil war to the institutional right.

More on the Morbidity Risk of Omicron: “Like a Chess Grandmaster Playing Against Schoolboys”

A lot of the misunderstanding of Omicron is actively cultivated.