Reading

Sometimes I want to comment on topics without doing a full piece.

According to Trump tariffs on Canada and Mexico, at 25% except on energy, which will be 10%, start tomorrow. Along with the 20% tariff on China, the cost to the US is likely to about 1% of GDP. Canada could lose as much as six percent.

Expect retaliation from both countries. Some of it will be sub-Federal, the Ontario Prime Minister has said he’ll raise prices for electricity sent to New York state, for example. Sorry folks, I know most of you didn’t vote for Trump, but…

At launch sites, rockets are leaving a trail of damage to wildlife, vegetation, and water

The post Rockets Are Blasting the Environment appeared first on Nautilus.

In my article ‘Pipes, Profits and Peace: Toward a Feminist Political Economy of Gas during War’, which was awarded the 2024 AIPEN Richard Higgott Prize for best journal article, I analyse the cessation of government subsidies on gas to the Ukrainian population.

The post Leaving Everyone Behind: The Green Transition amid Violent War appeared first on Progress in Political Economy (PPE).

Issue 60 of the Nautilus print edition combines some of the best content from our January and February 2025 online issues. Our cover story is a deep dive into wolf reintroduction in the American Northwest—and what we did to the wolves to make it happen—by editor at large Kevin Berger. This issue also includes contributions from theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder, author […]

The post Print Edition 60 appeared first on Nautilus.

The president just pledged to sink millions in taxpayer funds into the ever-volatile world of cryptocurrencies.

Photo by ajay_suresh on Wikimedia

Photo by Freepik

Photo by Freepik

Photo by wayhomestudio on Freepik

Photo by Aldair Donaldo Ordoñez De Yta on Pexels

Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels

In the swirl of horrendous news following the US president-elect’s taking his oath of office, there’s been one shining light. On 13 February, an ad boldly declaring “No to Ethnic Cleansing” appeared in the New York Times. More than 350 American rabbis, creatives and activists put their names to it, protesting against the president’s blithe Continue reading »

Peter Dutton deserves a little sympathy as he indignantly denies any conflict of interest or impropriety over his purchases of banking shares and real estate. Many people always believe the worst of politicians, particularly if there is any suggestion of abuse of position, making money on the side, or personal enrichment. Dutton has pointed to Continue reading »

Kudos to President Donald Trump! He thinks he has solved the security problems in Europe and the Middle East. His ideas for peace by in Gaza via force and land grabbing, however, have not augured well with key powers in the region. The Arabs felt they have been betrayed by Trump who gave Israel carte Continue reading »

The world is shocked by President Trump’s solution for the ‘Palestinian Problem’. It’s similar to the one his father used to up-market his NY tenement properties – call in the police to throw the tenants out into the street. We are all amazed by Donald Trump’s proposed solutions to two major international conflicts. Yet we Continue reading »

The recent article by Christopher M. Johnson on Australia’s liquid fuel security risks underscores an urgent reality: our nation remains dangerously dependent on imported oil. As global supply chains face increasing instability, the risks to Australia’s economy and national security are mounting. The solution is clear – electrification of transport, particularly rail, offers a pathway Continue reading »

Jeff Bezos recently announced that the Washington Post would henceforth dedicate its op/ed pages to “free markets and personal liberties”. His Whole Foods business also asked the National Labor Relations Board to “set aside the results of a union election” that endorsed collective bargaining. The Australian social psychologist Alex Carey explained these interrelated events in Continue reading »

Why a controversial chemical is tainting your foods — and what you can do to protect yourself.

Trump’s EPA could stop states from warning people about potentially dangerous chemicals sprayed on their food.

The relation of knowledge to power is one not only of servility but of truth. Much knowledge, if out of pro­portion to the disposition of forces, is invalid, however formally correct it may be.If an émigré doctor says: ‘For me … is a patological case’, his pronouncement may ultimately be con­firmed by clinical findings, but […]

In a clash of self-described progressives, GOP donors are pouring money into the race to unseat Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey.

The post Trump Donors Try to Buy Pittsburgh Mayor’s Race appeared first on The Intercept.

Mahra was just 31 years old when she was forced to seek refuge in a camp. A mother of four, and expecting a fifth, Mahra was one of 4.5 million people in Yemen displaced by the Saudi-led war, and one of 21 million people in need of urgent humanitarian aid. Conflict had compounded an already […]

“Do you mind me shouting at you like this, or would you prefer I let you pass without shouting at you?”

“I’m a medical doctor who just looked at your health records, and good news! You’ll never get cancer!”

“Your parents were wrong to name you that!”

“Your name is NOT my name too! I just like shouting at people I don’t know, because I am a small, empty garbage person! I’m gonna stop right after this!”

“How can I make your life easier!?!”

“What does that song even mean!?! Is it just about two guys with the same name? It doesn’t make any sense! Who’s the main character in the song? You or the person who is singing? Is someone walking with you with that name or does the whole world have the same name as you? You don’t have to answer! These questions are rhetorical!”

“Is it okay if I throw you a bag with enough money in it to pay off all your credit card debt?”

“Hey! I have a picture over here that definitively proves who shot JFK, if you want to come see!”

“I understand how all this constant shouting must be a living nightmare for you!”

Some parliamentary seats have as many as 30,000 voting-age residents who are unable to vote

Glimpse into the daily life of a female shaman who hosts ayahuasca ceremonies for tourists in the Peruvian Amazon

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

For years, I practised medicine with cool certainty, comfortable with life-and-death decisions. Then, one day, I couldn’t

- by Ronald W Dworkin

Read at Aeon

Update 2025-03-21: This blog post is extremely long (if you're reading this, you must already know I'm terribly long-winded). I was in the middle of consolidating it with other posts to make a final, single “wrap up” post of the OSI elections when, in the middle of doing that, I was told that Linux Weekly News (LWN) published an article written by Joe Brockmeier. As such,I've carefully left the text below as it stood it stood 2025-03-20 03:42 UTC, which I believe is the version that Brockmeier sourced for his story (only changes past the line “Original Post” have been HTML format fixes). (I hate as much as you do having to scour archive.org/web to find the right version.) Nevertheless, I wouldn't have otherwise left this here in its current form because it's a huge, real-time description that as such doesn't make the best historical reference record of these event.

A ‘no pain, no gain’ mentality might make sense when striving for change – but don’t confuse discomfort and distress

- by Nicholas Van Dam

Read at Psyche