Monday, June 9, 2025

Links 6/6/2025

China’s Quiet Rapprochement With Israel

“The war continues, but the war is not the theme of Israel-China bilateral relations.”

Satyajit Das: Lessons from Japan’s Massive Debt Hangover

While there are things the debt-addled West can learn from Japan, the dirty secret is they were in some key ways in better shape than we are.

Yanis Varoufakis: In the EU Nothing Succeeds Like Gross Failure: The Astonishing Case of Ursula von der Leyen

A much-deserved evisceration of both Ursuala von der Leyen and the chumps who’ve bought what she has been selling.

John Helmer: Putin Hits Pause Button on Oreshnik-Level Retaliation for Ukraine Strike on Russian Nuclear Deterrence Assets

In his latest talk with Ray McGovern on Dialogue Works, John Helmer gives far and away the best overview1 so far in the wake of Ukraine attacks on bridges and civilian trains, drone attacks targeting bombers in Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces, a failed new attack on Kerch Bridge, and phone discussions between Lavrov and Rubio […]

Links 6/5/2025

A Culture War is Brewing Over Moral Concern for AI

As AI systems increasingly display emotion — genuine or not — public opinion will split around calls for their rights.

Like China, a Mexico Tariffs Own Goal: US Dependence on Mexico Energy Trade Means “Those Tariffs Never Stood a Chance”?

More evidence of Trump cluelessness in his Mexico and China tariffs bobs and weaves.

Rajiv Sethi: American Leadership in Higher Education Is Being Lost for Good, to China’s Benefit

Why you can stick a fork in US higher education excellence.

Plastic Mulch Promised Better Harvests. It May Be Hurting the Soil Instead.

Plastic mulch pollution may linger for centuries

Links 6/4/2025

MAHA Influencers, the Future of Public Health, and Longings for Immortality

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Report has dropped!  The original document included phantom (hallucinated?) references, but those have been fixed apparently.  Or maybe not.  A graduate student who wrote a review with the same defects would get a flat “F”, but this does not seem to matter.  Could AI (Algorithmic Intelligence) have had anything […]

Rob Urie: What Do the Western Drone Attacks Mean for US – Russia Relations?

On Ukraine’s recent escalations: “Westerners sanguine about the prospect of nuclear war are fools.”

Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Continues Assault on Obamacare

Rather than end Obamacare, which would be politically costly, the Trump Administration is working to hollow it out.

Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – Ukraine War Report

I have followed the war in Ukraine closely since 2022, and now that the war seems to be heading toward a conclusion, I would like to offer some observations. The War Was Planned and Guided by Western Governments  Recent revelations have ended the pretense that Ukraine has been directing its war against Russia independently with […]