Fearless commentary on finance, economics, politics and power

Species loss ought to be a topic of paramount importance. Satyajit Das uses a new book on biodiversity, Lost Animal, as a point of departure.

Before following the various US/Western hegemony-defending conflicts became a large task when done properly, we’d occasionally quiz readers on the condition of their economy, meaning personal, local and industry indicators. These queries provided informative sightings that would check the accuracy of official statistics and storylines. It should have occurred to me a long time ago […]

The media landscape continues to shift as Netflix purges its executive class while Larry Ellison borrows big dollars to backstop his son’s Skydance media empire.

Democrats have an opportunity to take real action on AI data centers to protect people and the environment. But will they take the risk?

Today’s Iran war news: Pressures grow as Iran takes a harder posture, Israel vows infrastructure destruction, and Turkiye may back the Saudis

I visited the Fountain of Youth several times as a child.  St. Augustine, oldest city of European origin in North America (1565), is full of tourist attractions directed primarily at children, from the Old Jail to Potter’s Wax Museum, to the remarkable Castillo de San Marcos.  The latter is the only one that still has […]

Why do some people always need new goods, even when the ones they have are just fine?

Modern military institutions continue to invest enormous resources in tanks, crewed aircraft, aircraft carriers, and missile defense systems even as technological change challenges their strategic utility. Cultural prestige, reputational inertia, and institutional interests sustain weapons programs long after their original justifications have weakened. The resulting cult of weaponry can subordinate national security objectives to the preservation of increasingly questionalble military capabilities.

The media is speaking with almost one voice to enforce the neoliberal order: ordinary citizens must submit to the needs of the investor class.

Today’s Iran war news: Iran and the US poke at each other as futile talks continue and Trump loudly contemplates big, self-defeating strikes.

Did The Canary just go down in history as one of the first media organisations in the collective West, if not the first, to be dispatched by debanking?

A Senate health reform blueprint targets insurers, PBMs, and administrative abuses while leaving nosebleed hospital prices largely untouched.

As disaster looms in the November mid-term elections, the Trump regime is riven with internal dissent and ugly scandal. Scott Bessent, Stephen Miller, and Susie Wiles have leading roles.