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Back in the 70s and 80s, the USSR’s economy was in terrible shape. It hadn’t always been, that’s a triumphalist myth: for a long time it out-performed the West, and economic textbooks of the 50s discuss the problem that the Soviets were growing faster than we were.

So Reagan’s administration came up with a plan: they’d increase defense spending, the Soviets would have to do the same, and the strain would screw over their economy. There’s various arguments, but it seems to have worked.

Recently Trump suggested that Russia, America and China all cut their defense spending in unison. Russia was interested, China said no.

Now, of course, the US spends way more than anyone else on its military, but that’s mostly because it over-pays for everything because of vast corruption.

The unfolding events in Turkey following the detention of Istanbul’s elected mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, mark yet another moment of crisis for Turkish democracy. This latest act by Erdoğan’s government is part of a long campaign to dismantle democratic institutions and silence opposition; it is not merely an attack on an individual, but an assault on […]

Mahmoud Khalil’s harrowing and unlawful detention on March 8th captured widespread attention after plain-clothes ICE...

BEEF BOULETTE BURGERS 2 pounds ground beef1 cup dairy sour cream½ cup dry bread crumbs1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained and chopped2 tablespoons finely chopped onion2 tablespoons snipped parsley1½ teaspoons salt¼ teaspoon pepper Mix all ingredients. Shape mixture into 8 patties, each about ¾ inch thick. Broil or grill 4 inches from […]

DOGE claims it’s not an “agency” that has to comply with FOIA. We don’t buy it — and so far judges haven’t, either.

The post DOGE Keeps Trying to Dodge the Freedom of Information Act. So We’re Suing. appeared first on The Intercept.

Public commentary on Peter Dutton’s possible referendum on a ministerial discretion to deprive dual nationals of their Australian citizenship has focused on whether or not this is just a thought bubble and whether or not it is politically wise to be holding yet another referendum. The real issue goes much deeper, to the merits of Continue reading »

Before this election is much older, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are going to have to determine where they stand on all the important issues. There’s a substantial chance that both are wrongly positioned and that each might have to face the other way, or perish politically. It’s not for an argument about which vista Continue reading »

If we are to build a broad consensus in Europe against Trump, we need to bring Palestine into equal focus with Ukraine, argues Martin Shaw

On its 15th birthday, the health care law’s shortcomings and sellouts are creating Unaffordability For All.

The court condemned Ukrainian authorities for failing to prevent a fiery 2014 massacre in which dozens of anti-Nazi activists were burned alive – but the judges’ political bias meant victims were implicitly blamed for their fate, and their families received a paltry 15,000 euro payout. The European Court of Human Rights has found the Ukrainian government guilty of committing human rights violations during the May 2, 2014 Odessa massacre, in which dozens of Russian-speaking demonstrators were forced into the city’s […]

The post Ukraine guilty of human rights violations in trade union massacre, top European court finds first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Ukraine guilty of human rights violations in trade union massacre, top European court finds appeared first on The Grayzone.

Disney+ dropped a new Season 2 trailer for Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu-starring Doctor Who - and they enlisted Phil Collins to help.

" Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick suggested this week that only ‘fraudsters’ would complain about missing a monthly Social Security check, and that most people wouldn’t mind if the government simply skipped a payment. — Axios

People are overreacting that the Trump administration’s planned overhauls of the Social Security Administration could lead to delayed or missed Social Security payments and cause senior citizens hardship. Take my ninety-four-year-old mother-in-law, Barbara—if her check didn’t come as scheduled, she wouldn’t even complain—because she would soon be dead.

‘If I’m gonna to be this person, I gotta live by morals and standards’: how one man left his old life behind to start anew

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

Nigel Farage's party is structured around a series of opaque companies, but who is really behind them? Josiah Mortimer investigates

A Cornell student suing the Trump administration over free speech — and now facing deportation threats — shares his story on The Intercept Briefing.

The post Exclusive: As Trump Threatens to Deport Him, Momodou Taal Says It’s “Time to Escalate for Palestine” appeared first on The Intercept.

Susanne K Langer understood the indispensable power of metaphors, which allow us to say new things with old words

- by Sue Curry Jansen & Jeff Pooley

Read at Psyche

. Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound masterpiece. And that 1960s choreography! I just love it.

The media is often more interested in what led to mothers being jailed than in the safety of the babies they're forced to have behind bars, argues Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia