Why the death of Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi looks more and more like an inside job rather than an accident.
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
The Twenty-First Century Executive Branch Is a Criminogenic Environment
Alexander Hamilton’s “energy in the Executive” has a downside.
How Workers Are Revolutionizing the South
USW’s Donetta Williams says workers are educating themselves about collective action, seeing through the right-wing corporate pandering, and then shrugging off the South’s anti-labor traditions to chart a path forward for their families.
Data Centers Set to Consume 9% of U.S. Electricity by 2030
Electricity demand is set to increase markedly thanks to uses like AI and cryptocurrencies.
Death and the Cinema
A discussion of film, even films about death, will hopefully come as a distraction from turbulent news.
2:00PM Water Cooler 5/31/2024
~ Today’s Water Cooler, politics and pandemics; aftermath of Trump’s conviction, including medical exam; Biden and the youth vote; CDC knew Covid was airborne January 30, 2020 ~
Biden Authorizes Ukraine to Make “Limited” Strikes on Russia With US Weapons
The Biden Administration doubles down yet again against Russia, even as the Collective West is running out of options.
From Debunking to “Pre-bunking”: EU Opens Up Another New Front in Its War on Information
“Perhaps if you think of information as a virus, instead of treating an infection once it has taken hold — that is, debunking — it is much better to vaccinate so that the body is inoculated.” Welcome to prebunking.
Donald Trump Conviction Open Thread
Trump was convicted on all 34 counts in his New York “hush money” trial. What next?
Will Israel Kill Public Support for America’s Bipartisan Consensus?
Could there be a tiny silver lining in the Israel genocide in Gaza?
2:00PM Water Cooler 5/30/2024
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics, Trump convicted on all 34 counts, yellow waders for Merchan’s jury instructions, H5N1 breakout scenario, “Decolonize the gut!”, “They were careless people….” ~
Global South Suffering Due to Powerful Nations’ Elite-Serving Policies
The World Bank projects the worst slowdown in over four decades in 2024. This is mainly due to Western powers’ contractionary policies
