Friday, April 25, 2025

How the American Economy Is Rigged to Serve the Rich, and Why Tariffs Won’t Change That

The money to support well-paid American jobs exists—it’s just being hoarded by the rich.

Trump Wants World to Subsidise US Empire

A Trump advisor argues, in all seriousness, that other countries should help bear the cost of US empire because it confers so many benefits on them.

Links 4/24/2025

Climate Change: Where are We and Where are We Going, in Five Recent Books?

A few weeks ago, I repeated the drive of seventy miles along the north-south path of Hurricane Helene that I made two weeks after the storm .  In the few wealthier sectors along this highway, downed trees have been removed and sawn for lumber (at a large loss) or chipped.  I have heard hardwood and […]

China Sends Strong Message to “Global South” (and US) Via Its Embassy in Argentina

“[W]e urge the US side to detoxify its mind. Instead of devoting its time and energy to… attacking China, it would be much more productive to make real contributions to the development of the countries of the region.”

Company Accused of Organizing National Rental Housing Cartel Goes on Offense as Trump DOJ Mothballs Price-Fixing Case 

In a lawsuit against Berkeley, RealPage contends that using pricing algorithms to coordinate residential rents among mega landlords is “free speech.”

The Dangerous Illusion of Climate Resilience

The latest floods, wildfires, and other disasters reveal the flaws of adaptation as the main response to climate change.

What Science Says About Food Additives

RFK Jr. has said the U.S. should end the use of synthetic food additives. How would that affect public health?

Links 4/23/2025

Prevagen®: A Most Curious Dietary Supplement for Your Brain

Dietary supplements are a large part of the alternative medicine universe, with annual sales of more than $70B in the United states and much more than that in the rest of the world.  I have followed the supplement business since tryptophan, a canonical amino acid marketed as a sleep aid, caused an outbreak of eosinophilia-myalgia […]

‘Making the West Great Again’

At her recent meeting with Trump, IItalian PM Giorgia Meloni declared her allegiance to “western nationalism.” What does such nonsense portend for Italy and Europe?

AI Energy Demand Can Keep Fossil Fuels Alive, Tech Backers Promise World’s Two Biggest Oil Producers

An AI-fossil fuel axis is forming in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia as AI advocates pledge an endless need for energy — spelling disaster for the climate.

Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – War with Iran

The 9/11 attack on the U.S. triggered a series of disastrous wars in the Mideast in which the U.S. pursued the goals of overthrowing despots, securing oil supplies, and removing any real or potential military threats to Israel. The result was a large expenditure of blood and treasure for very little geopolitical gain and the […]

Links 4/22/2025

As Appetite for War and Repression Rise in the New Western (Dis-)Order, Palantir Is Making a Killing

Silicon Valley’s darkest and most secretive unicorn “has finally made it big”. But at what cost to the rest of us?