Category Archives: Guest Post

2:00PM Water Cooler 2/7/2025

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, syndemics; Possible Democrat strategies against DOGE; The notion of “racial capitalism” decried; Gallery: Hole punches ~

Links 2/7/2025

Oil for Migrants: Did the Trump Administration Just Reset US Diplomatic Relations With Venezuela?

Big things are happening in US-Venezuela relations. But can they last?

Even US Messaging Outlet RFE/RL Having Trouble Prettying Up Trump Planning to Buy Ukraine Rare Earths Empty Bag

There is both less and more in the Trump offer to arm Ukraine in return for rare earths than meets the eye.

James K. Galbraith Discusses His New Book, Entropy Economics, Plus DOGE, Bitcoin and Tariffs

A wide-ranging talk with Jamie Galbraith on his book, Entropy Economics, which focuses on the neglect of real resources, and recent events.

2:00PM Water Cooler 2/6/2025

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; DOGE as a revolutionary NRx (neo-reactionary) project; DOGE seeks to avoid FOIA; DOGE given sysadmin privileges at Office of Personnel Management with days of the Inaugural; An atmospheric Turner ~

Hubert Horan: Can Uber Ever Deliver? Part Thirty-Four – Tony West’s Calamitous Legacy at Uber and with the Kamala Harris Campaign

On Tony West as intellectual leader and major implementer of the similar Uber narrative-driven strategy and the failed Harris campaign.

Artificial Intelligence and Financial Stability

On the high odds of winding up with the Peter Principle of AI implementation in financial institutions, and what to do to prevent that.

Hottest January in the History of Januaries

A fresh sighting on the relentless march of climate change, with the January just past the warmest on record.

2:00PM Water Cooler 2/5/2025

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; DOGE: New lawsuit from Public Citizen on DOGE data “access”; DOGE goons have write access to Treasury’s payments system (Tankus, Wired, Marshall, but not Taibbi) ~

The Mass Deportation Handoff, Biden to Trump

Despite Trump’s enthusiasm for rough treatment of illegal immigrants, growth of the deportation industrial complex has been a two-party affair

Michael Hudson: Trump’s Tariffs Could Cause Huge Global Crisis

Michael Hudson and Ben Norton take a deep dive into Trump’s contradictory and potentially disastrous economic plans, starting with tariffs.

Rob Urie: To End Oligarchy, End Finance Capitalism

One prescription for rolling back oligarchy.

What Just Happened to UK TBTF Lender Barclays’ Online Banking Services, and What Could It Mean for the Wider World?

“[W]e have this house of cards where you’ve got an awful lot of institutions working co-operatively with each other, but if one messes up the system, then the whole system fails.”