Wednesday, July 2, 2025

2:00PM Water Cooler 5/19/2020

COVID CHART EASTER EGGS ~ BIDEN VEEPSTAKES ~ TRUMP AND HIS SWING STATE VOTERS ~ WARREN AND BIDEN SHARE A BOND ~ GDP PLUMMETS ~ SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE AIR ~ “PLANTISH” ~ ROBOT CARS RECALIBRATE EXPECTATIONS ~ CONTACT TRACING AND PROFIT ~ MAX ERNST AND THE ZEITGEIST

Exclusive: Countries To Face a ‘Wave’ of Corporate Lawsuits Challenging Emergency COVID-19 Measures

Will Covid-19 trigger reprehensible investor-state dispute settlement suits?

Links 5/19/2020

The Lockdown Protestors Are Not Working Class

Contesting the messaging about lockdown protests.

How Germany’s Courts Might Destroy the Eurozone

Without an agreed set of rules, the eurozone cannot be sustained. Ironically, as the EU’s biggest creditor, Germany stands to lose the most from its court’s ruling.

Medicaid Providers At The End Of The Line For Federal COVID Funding

Neglecting facilities that serve Medicaid patients in the Covid-19 rescues puts health infrastructure for the poor at risk of collapse.

2:00PM Water Cooler 5/18/2020

Today’s Water Cooler: This is a very odd-feeling Monday, and I don’t want to edit a snippet for Google.

U.S. COVID-19 Contact Tracing Programs Designed for Failure, Despite Bloomberg Money; Why Can’t the U.S. Copy the Lessons of Hong Kong’s Success?

The US has turned to contact tracing as the latest panacea for slowing the spread of COVID-19. Major flaws in the design of these programs will limit their success.

Links 5/18/2020

Storks Hatch in UK for First Time in 600 Years – Why That’s Great News for British Wildlife

In this time of worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, stork chicks hatch in the United Kingdom for the first time in 600 years.

Brexit: Yet More Chicken

The same bad Brexit dynamics are very much in place.

The Economics and Politics of Social Democracy: A Reconsideration

The inescapable dilemma facing social democracy

Trump CFPB Appointees Use COVID-19 Crisis as Rationale to Weaken Consumer Protection

Trump appointees use the COVID-19 crisis to rollback consumer protections against financial predation put in place by the CFPB.

Links 5/17/2020

Big Oil Taking $1.9 Billion in CARES Act Tax Breaks Aimed at Helping Small Businesses in ‘Stealth Bailout’: Report

$1.9 billion in CARES Act tax breaks intended to allow small businesses to keep people employed are instead being funnelled to fossil fuel executives.