Before our current age of nuclear war anxiety, there was widespread concern about an earlier terrifying weapon of mass destruction: poison gas. I will describe the history of war gases in the context of our current concerns about atomic war. It is an ugly topic, but examining it may provide some hope for a way […]
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Sunday, August 24, 2025
Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – Poison Gas
Topics: Coffee Break, Guest Post
Posted by Haig Hovaness at 2:00 pm | 32 Comments »
Australia & Japan Are Seemingly Having Second Thoughts About the De Facto Asian NATO
Japan and Australia are finally questioning US exploitation. But what can they do about it?
Topics: Australia, China, Doomsday scenarios, Europe, Globalization, Guest Post, Japan, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 36 Comments »
Links 7/22/2025
Topics: Links
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:55 am | 147 Comments »
Brussels’ Latest Destructive Project, Culling the Euro Area’s Banks, Hits a Snag
The governments of Italy and Spain are doing everything they can to obstruct EU-supported bank mergers from taking place within their borders.
Topics: Guest Post
Posted by Nick Corbishley at 6:45 am | 17 Comments »
Africa’s Minerals Are Being Bartered for Security: Why It’s a Bad Idea
A minerals-for-security deal among the DRC, Rwanda and the US is as bad as the Ukraine “raw earths” security commitments.
Topics: Africa, Commodities, Doomsday scenarios, Guest Post, Politics, Privatization, Ridiculously obvious scams
Posted by Yves Smith at 5:55 am | 6 Comments »
The Fight for Hearts and Minds: Christian Churches Filling Void Created by Social Service Cuts, With Some Also Hard-Selling Far Right Political Messages
As safety nets shred, some Christian churches provide key services to the poor while others use the desperation to build political power
Topics: Banana republic, Guest Post, Income disparity, Politics, Privatization, Social policy, Social values, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 1:28 am | 23 Comments »
Coffee Break: Trump Makes an Example Out of Paramount
President Donald Trump has zeroed in on Paramount, the weakest of American media titans, to administer a lesson in sontaku, the Japanese art of “obeying in advance” or “following unspoken orders.”
Topics: Coffee Break
Posted by Nat Wilson Turner at 2:00 pm | 36 Comments »
AI and Workers’ Wellbeing: Lessons from Germany’s Early Experience
An only mildly negative report on AI implementation from Germany, and why that is not likely to be generalizable to the US.
Topics: Guest Post, Income disparity, Technology and innovation, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 12 Comments »
Links 7/21/2025
Topics: Links
Posted by Conor Gallagher at 6:55 am | 153 Comments »
U.S. Inches Closer to Causing Major Caucasus Crisis With Offer to Administer Transport Corridor Between Turkey and Azerbaijan
Moscow takes measures against Baku and Yerevan to warn against corridor move that would upset regional balance and be blow to Iran and Russia.
Topics: Doomsday scenarios, Energy markets, Europe, Guest Post, Middle East, Russia, Turkey
Posted by Conor Gallagher at 6:00 am | 29 Comments »
Can This Industry Be Saved? The Case of Natural Diamonds
The once prized diamond is now merely a natural diamond and losing ground to its cheaper manufactured cousins.
Topics: Curiousities, Social values, Technology and innovation, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 5:00 am | 24 Comments »
‘Farming in the Dark’: Brooke Rollins’ Leadership, DOGE’s Grip and the Cost to American Agriculture
In her first six months, Donald Trump’s second agriculture secretary has altered the course of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She says prosperity is ‘just around the corner.’ But staffing cuts and restricted research could have long-lasting impacts.
Topics: Banana republic, Commodities, Environment, Guest Post, Privatization, Regulations and regulators, Risk and risk management, Science and the scientific method
Posted by Conor Gallagher at 4:00 am | 5 Comments »
Links 7/20/2025
Topics: Guest Post, Links
Posted by Haig Hovaness at 6:55 am | 169 Comments »
The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: Farewell My Lovely (1975) Run Time: 1H 35M
Farewell My Lovely is a film about a jaded detective Phillip Marlowe and his search for a gangster’s moll named Velma.
Topics: Guest Post, Sunday morning Antidote movie
Posted by semper loquitur at 6:30 am | 23 Comments »
Western Life Is Only One Way to Live
The “march of civilization” is the West’s founding myth. And yes, it’s a myth.
Topics: Income disparity, Social policy, Social values
Posted by Conor Gallagher at 5:00 am | 35 Comments »