Today’s Water Cooler: Trade and heavy machinery, Houston chemical fire, plate tectonics and ice ages, superbugs in space, Iowa manure, Midwest flooding, PG&E and fire, college deans on corruption, advertising in space
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Technology: From Copycats to Innovators
How China is cuttting into America’s technology advantage, and how the US can respond.
Another Theresa May Faceplant as the Brexit Clock Ticks: Speaker Bercow Nixes Another Meaningful Vote in Current Session [Updated]
Brexit demonstrates the saying, “Things look the darkest before they go completely black.”
Bill Black: The Day Orthodox Economists Lost Their Minds and Integrity (#MMT)
Chronicling and debunking more scurrilous attacks against MMT.
2:00PM Water Cooler 3/18/2019
Todays Water Cooler: Open thread.
Report from the Ground in Paris: The Most Recent Gilets Jaunes Protests
A report from Colonel Smithers.
Electronic Health Records: Death By A Thousand Clicks
Rather than an electronic ecosystem of information, the nation’s thousands of EHRs largely remain a sprawling, disconnected patchwork. Moreover, the effort has handcuffed health providers to technology they mostly can’t stand and has enriched and empowered the $13-billion-a-year industry that sells it.
Shotgun Marriage: Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank Discuss Merger
Even by the low standards of necessity-driven bank mergers, the proposed tie up of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank looks particularly dodgy.
“Middle Class” Once Meant Stability and Now Means Fragility
The middle class used to be the bedrock of American institutions. Now its members are coping with an uncertain future.
Seeking Feedback on Possible Meetups: DC on Thursday March 28, Milwaukee on Wednesday May 1?
Please react to some ideas for meetups!
Can Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Be Trusted To Turn Facebook into a “Privacy-Focused Communications Platform?”
Spoiler alert: No.
Who’s Behind Trump’s Claim the Green New Deal Will Cost $100 Trillion?
President Trump’s claim that the Green New Deal would cost $100 trillion can be traced back to the Manhattan Institute, a think tank backed by fossil fuel investor Paul Singer and companies like ExxonMobil.
