State of Big Tech 2022: Dismantling National & Global Digital Enclosures
From fintech to food systems to social media, the State of Big Tech offers a blueprint for the 99% to break privatized status-quo enclosures.
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The Destiny of Civilization: An Interview with Michael Hudson on Economic Development, Rentierism, Debt, China
Another tour de force with Michael Hudson, covering development, rentierism, economic narratives, debt dynamics, and the rise of China.
Read more...CDC, In Yet Another Data Debacle, Fails to Protect You by Butchering Reveal of Covid “Escape” Variant BQ.1*
CDC failed to alert the public to a rapidly doubling and dangerous new variant, BQ.1.* I look at the timeline that shows CDC’s failure to warn, then do a post mortem. Is CDC’s latest betrayal due to malevolence or operational incapacity? Finally, I look at the software CDC depends on, Pangolin.
Read more...Research into 1930s Commuting in London Shows How Public Transport Boosts the Labour Market
In the light of the recent cancellation of bus lines and an announced tube fare increase, this piece analyzes the historic benefits to the labor market of a functioning public transport system.
Read more...Mission Accomplished: “Super Mario” Draghi’s Legacy and the Italian Election
Turnout in Italy’s election was the lowest since WWII as voters lose faith in a system unable to reverse a declining standard of living.
Read more...New USPS Delivery Network: Radically Cutting Rural Service, Headcount; Likely to Further Slow Delivery
The gutting of USPS is accelerating. A step backwards for what passes as American civilization.
Read more...Gorbachev Paved Way for Oligarchs – Aleksandr Buzgalin
By opposing deep democratic reforms from below, Gorbachev laid the groundwork for privatization and the looting of the 1990s.
Read more...Some Rural Hospitals Are in Such Bad Shape, Local Governments Are Practically Giving Them Away
John here. This article provides an interesting view of the economics of rural hospitals, which are closing at an alarming rate. In particular, it highlights how counties often negotiate from desperately weak positions, even when they have invested in the infrastructure. Another recent KHN article reported on the start-up Noble Health, which took over two […]
Read more...National Cyber Defenses Mean Businesses Can Keep Making Money From Public Services
By John McGregor, a translator and political violence researcher Cyber attacks targeting private sector providers for essential public services result in additional waste of public resources. When public health care fails in cyber security, politicians are quick to blame staff on the ground. But when private companies become the weak link, state resources are spent […]
Read more...Truss and Sunak’s Reheated Thatcherism Is the Last Thing the UK Needs
Truss and Sunak treat the Iron Lady as their muse, while Labour touts another flavor of neoliberalism, that of Tony Blair.
Read more...Boris Johnson Is Going – but His Cronyism and Corruption Are Here to Stay
Has Johnson left a lasting mark on the Tories, or is it merely that he overshadows his entirely underwhelming potential successors?
Read more...The Capitalist Solution to ‘Save’ the Planet: Make It an Asset Class & Sell it
John Bellamy Foster explains the plans to create assets on the back of everything nature does and expropriate it from the global commons.
Read more...Groundhog Day For America’s Energy Grid
More energy woes coming to some parts of the US due to the failure to address known infrastructure problems.
Read more...Some Quick Thoughts About Russia’s Resilience and America’s Malaise
Seeking reader input on preliminary hypotheses on why Russia is faring better than expected under the sanctions while the US is suffering.
Read more...The Fifth Anniversary of the Grenfell Tower Fire, Aesthetics, and Social Murder
What were the causes behind Grenfell Tower’s beautiful, smooth facade?
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