Reading

Created
Thu, 30/01/2025 - 21:32
Politics has returned to Europe’s wealthy protectorates, which, after the phone-call on Jan. 20, 2025, between the then-President-elect and the Danish prime minister, suddenly find themselves faced with an open-ended era of shakedowns by its guardians and an unreliable big neighbor to the East. Neither its political class nor its aging, nostalgic population is prepared […]
Created
Thu, 30/01/2025 - 21:12

Shortly after the Gaza ceasefire deal was signed, I had the pleasure of a conversation with Francesca Albanese, the UN Rapporteur on Palestine. The occasion was MeRA25’s National Convention (Jan 2025) where this video was screened. Enjoy our conversation and, in particular, Francesca’s inimitable capacity to talk like a dispassionate lawyer and, at once, a […]

The post Yanis Varoufakis in conversation with Francesca Albanese appeared first on Yanis Varoufakis.

Created
Thu, 30/01/2025 - 20:35
Crooked Timber has survived more than 20 years by continuously refreshing our group. Members have left because they have said what they want to say, or just because life happens, and others have joined to add to the conversation. Today, we are welcoming Hannah Forsyth and Lisa Herzog. Hannah is an Australian historian of capitalism, […]
Created
Thu, 30/01/2025 - 16:47
Last week: Tonight: Aviation expert James Fallows wrote last night: There appears to have been a disastrous collision between a regional jet, a CRJ made by Bombardier and flown by American Eagle Airlines, with more than 60 people aboard en route from Wichita, and a military helicopter, reportedly a Blackhawk flown as “VIP Transport” by the US Army. News footage from local TV stations captured the collision, for instance this from local NBC news. The news is tragic and still unfolding. As in all aviation disasters, early reports can be misleading; I’ll follow up with more details tomorrow, as more become known. The most recent mass-fatality crash had been almost 16 years ago. That was in February, 2009, when the crew of a Colgan regional jet, a feeder for United Airlines, apparently mis-managed an icing emergency, and crashed on approach to Buffalo, New York. Since then, the relentlessly safety-minded collaborative culture of the US air travel system has made commercial airline travel in the United States the safest mode of travel ever invented.
Created
Thu, 30/01/2025 - 13:57
Today, we solve the ‘Case of the Missing Report’. Recall from – The Case of the Missing Report – Part 1 – that the Asian Development Bank published a report I had written (with Randy Wray and Jesus Felipe) – A Reinterpretation of Pakistan’s ‘economic crisis’ and options for policymakers (draft version) – in June…
Created
Thu, 30/01/2025 - 13:00
The WSJ has the story of Trump’s latest grift: Serious talks about the suit, which had seen little activity since the fall of 2023, began after Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg flew to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to dine with him in November, according to the people familiar with the discussions. The dinner was one of several efforts by Zuckerberg and Meta to soften the relationship with Trump and the incoming administration. Meta also donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Last year, Trump warned that Zuckerberg could go to prison if he tried to rig the election against him.  Toward the end of the November dinner, Trump raised the matter of the lawsuit, the people said. The president signaled that the litigation had to be resolved before Zuckerberg could be “brought into the tent,” one of the people said.  Weeks later, in early January, Zuckerberg returned to Mar-a-Lago for a full day of mediation. Trump was present for part of the session, though he stepped out at one point to be sentenced—appearing virtually—for covering up hush money paid to a porn star, one of the people said.
Created
Thu, 30/01/2025 - 11:30
So it begins. (That is not what happened. Colombia said they didn’t like Trump landing military aircraft in their country and treating their citizens like shit. Trump agreed to allow Colombia to send their own airplanes to pick them up and treat them humanely.) The total amount US sends to all underdeveloped countries is $60 million. We sent $30 million to Gaza for medicine. The idea that Hamas is using $30 million dollars worth of condoms is insane but it’s the kind of thing the wingnuts love (“dirty, dirty”) so it will join the rest of the lunatic fringe lies that Trump is spewing. Like this one: Total lie. This did not happen. Republicans in DC know this because they aren’t this stupid but they either think it’s clever and funny or they just don’t care that the president is apparently suffering from dementia.
Created
Thu, 30/01/2025 - 10:00
I don’t know what the observances of these events were in the past but I can’t for the life of me see what the harm was in doing it. It just seems like benign celebrations of our pluralistic society, like St Patrick’s day parades or Mardi Gras. Why is this a problem? But I guess the white guys are upset so they have to stop doing it. Many companies in the private sector are ending their DEI programs as well which I have to assume is being done just to make their MAGA customers happy. And I suppose they’re probably happy to abandon all their anti-discrimination policies as well. But take a look at this: Republican attorneys general from 19 states want Costco Wholesale to ditch its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, making the call days after the retailer successfully defended its DEI policies as good for business to shareholders.