~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
America’s Supersized Military: “The Greatest Fighting Force in Human History”
William Astore provides a cold look at the gap between the cost and overly-ambitious aims of the US military versus results.
“Big Four” Banks in Both UK and Australia Escalate Their War of Attrition Against Cash
UK banks are now making it harder for customers to deposit cash in their own accounts, while three of Australia’s Big Four banks are eliminating cash services from many of their branches.
Angus Deaton on How Neoliberal Ideology Produced Abject US Falling Life Expectancy for Less Educated
Angus Deaton returns to his deaths of despair theme, with updated data and a pointed critique of the role of Chicago School libertarians.
The Movie and the Moment: An Oppenheimer Review Through the Lens of an Anti-War Activist
Some reviewers of the movie Oppenheimer such as Scott Ritter criticize if for effectively whitewashing the horror of nuclear strikes
2:00PM Water Cooler 8/7/2023
~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
The NIH Ices a Research Project on “Health Communication”. Is It Self-Censorship?
What sure looks like an NIH study to improve the medical establishment’s propaganda skills had died a well-deserved death.
The Road That Could Ignite a War in the Caucasus
Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the verge of another war – one that would suck in outside actors like Turkiye, Iran, Israel, India, and of course, Uncle Sam.
What Can Social Movements Learn From Gramsci in Today’s Uncertain Times?
Gramsci encourages movements to pursue wide-ranging interventions, but always to unite them as part of a common program to transform society.
Oil, Gas, Wages, Interest Rates: Biden’s Other 2024 Risks
A supposedly good economy has not helped Biden much and trends such as oil prices do not look to be in his favor.
The Nationalist Right Tries a New Formula to Sell the European Neoliberal Project
In Italy and elsewhere, the right combines anti-immigrant and chauvinist measures with neoliberal policy.
‘Renters Are Struggling’: Economists Back Tenant-Led Push for Federal Rent Control
Economists begin to admit that their models are wrong when it comes to anti-rent control arguments.
