Wednesday, September 17, 2025
COVID-19 in Context: A Retrospective View
A look at the state of knowledge when Covid-19 started its spread, and some of the questionable choices made despite that.
US Secondary Sanctions “Have Seriously Damaged” Russia-China Bilateral Cooperation
Russian experts say US secondary sanctions are damaging Russia-China commerce. But their solutions don’t seem to be close to implementation.
The Frog or the Scorpion: Do Democrats Really Need to Ask Who Caused the Mess We’re In?
Yes, the Democrats really are hopeless.
Announcing 2025 Water Cooler Fundraiser for Lambert’s Gold Retirement Watch (and Work Done in 2024)
My goal is 🌡️ 400 donors, the same as last year. If you can give a lot, give a lot. If you can only give a little, give a little. (You can also pay it forward by donating on behalf of those whose circumstances have not permitted them to do so.)
2:00PM Water Cooler 2/25/2025
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics ~
America First Deepens World Stagnation
Quelle surprise! America First is another leg down in the developing-country-unfriendly policies the Collective West has pursued.
Larry Ellison’s Dark Vision for OUR Future
One of the few things that the Trump 2.0 administration and Keir Starmer government have in common is the amount of influence Ellison seems to wield over them.
Hubert Horan: Can Uber Ever Deliver? Part Thirty-Five: What Drove Uber’s Recent $8 Billion P&L Improvement?
How did Uber achieved a $8 billion P&L improvement after losing $33 billion in its first 13 years? Misleading accounting plays a big role.
Can Europe Resist Concessions to Russia in Trump’s Ukraine Agreement?
An uber neocon contends that Europe has found substitutes for Russian energy and so can and will increase sanctions on Russia.
2:00PM Water Cooler 2/24/2025
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; Trump and patrimonialism; Spooks stirring from slumber? Elon’s “five bullets” email debacle.HP performs minor act of de-enshittification ~
Minority Reports: How Endowment Effect Would Make Ukraine Mineral Deal as a Tar Baby; Brian Berletic on US Preserving USAID Regime Change Capabilities; John Helmer on Shambolic US Conduct of Ukraine Negotiations
Challenging mainstream and prevailing independent media views on Trump’s plans for Russia and Ukraine and the US role in the world.
Rethinking Unemployment Insurance: New Evidence on Hidden Costs
Taking moral hazard among employed workers into account has substantial effects on the welfare implications of unemployment insurance
