Some well-meaning but going-nowhere peace ideas for Ukraine.
Monday, July 27, 2026
2:00PM Water Cooler 12/27/2022
~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
Thomas Frank on How the Feckless Democrats Trashed the American Middle Class
How Democrats abandoned populist economic ideas and whether there is a future for progressivism.
Russia Says Europe Will Struggle To Replace Its Oil Products
More debate over the impact of Western sanctions on oil price.
2:00PM Water Cooler 12/26/2022
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Holiday Thread ~
Cal Grad Student Worker Strike Ends With Deal Panned by Many Rank-and-File Union Members
One dissenting student negotiator said the tentative agreement “does not come close to our initial demands and it leaves a lot of our co-workers still rent burdened, still impoverished.”
US-China Struggle for DR Congo Resources Intensifies
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s estimated $24 trillion of untapped mineral resources is coveted by both the US and China as rivalry heats up.
NATO’s Ghosts of the Past Return in Kosovo-Serbia
Serbian president says the situation now resembles the “Chekhov’s gun” narrative principle: “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.”
Cultural Stereotypes of Multinational Banks
Data on banks’ investments in European sovereign debt show that trust importantly influences cross-border investment.
Battery Recycling Is Essential to Clean Energy
Can manufacturers help create a circular process for lithium ion battery recycling?
Tesla Joins My Imploded Stocks, -70% from Peak: Object of Religious Veneration Turns into Automaker
Beyond the consensual Tesla hallucination, the real world for automakers is not fun.
