Author Archives: Yves Smith

The United States Is the Main Obstacle to Peace in Palestine

A good, high level review of how Israel’s long-standing and now accelerating ethnic cleansing in Palestine depends on US backing.

Links 6/18/2024

Private Equity Becomes Roach Motel as Public Pension Funds and Other Investors Borrow As Funds Remain Tied Up

Oopsie! Private equity firms are hanging on to investor money for an unseemly amount of time! What to do?

Land Grabs Squeeze Rural Poor Worldwide

Under the radar, investment funds have been buying farm land in poor countries, leading to substantial price rises.

Next Stage – The General Staff’s Targets After Putin’s Feint

Putin threw down a marker with his immediately-rejected peace offer last week. So where might the war go now?

Michael Hudson: Agricultural Imperialism in the EU

How the US has used control over the supply of key agricultural commodities to defend its hegemony.

Links 6/15/2024

French Snap Elections: ‘Cohabitation’ Could Reshuffle the Cards Between President and Prime Minister

What are the practical consequences if French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc fares poorly in the upcoming snap elections?

Michael Hudson: US Cryptocurrency as an Offshore Banking Center

Yet another cryptocurrency scheme, here for its major use case, tax evasion. But for a good cause, the US dollar!

“Debilitating a Generation”: Expert Warns That Long COVID May Eventually Affect Most Americans

Some updates on long Covid make for an indictment of US public health. Not that that should come as a surprise.

Western Officials and Press Starting to Acknowledge Impact of Russian Electric War on Ukraine

The Anglospehere press is slowly waking up to the relentlessness and effectiveness of Russia’s electric war in Ukraine.

Biofuels Manufacturing Found To Be a Significant Source of Hazardous Air Pollution

Biofuels plants emit serious nasties like formaldehyde.

Intrigue About Exit of Mustafa Nayyem, Ukraine Restoration Funding Chief and Maidan Revolt Instigator, Diverts Attention from Boneheadness of the Scheme

An overdue discussion of the Ukraine restoration con, with tooth-gnashing over the exit of Mustafa Nayyem as a tell.

“Dollar Doomsters Have Got It All Wrong”

Why reports of the [imminent] death of the dollar are greatly exaggerated.

Corporate Landlords’ Profits Soar as Tenants Drown in Rent Hikes and Fees

Cheerleading about a flat CPI ignores the housing, with tenants generally and the ones with corporate landlords not getting relief