Monday, June 3, 2024

Israel Boosterism Keeps Israel Bonds Afloat Even as Some Top Global Investors Exit

Israel bonds, an important element of Israel’s war financing, are coming under attack.

Links 6/3/2024

How Influencer Cartels Manipulate Social Media: Fraudulent Behaviour Hidden in Plain Sight

Influencer cartels can improve consumer welfare if they expand social media engagement to the target audience, but reduce welfare if they divert engagement to less relevant audiences. Rewarding engagement quantity encourages harmful collusion

Italy Pipes Up Against NATO Escalation as Court Ruling Could Cut Off Russian Gas Sooner Than Expected

Italy also faces major energy squeeze from Red Sea crisis. Will opposition to Project Ukraine solidify or will Rome go along as it usually does? 

Ready Reckoner For Killing – The Raisi Assassination

Why the death of Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi looks more and more like an inside job rather than an accident.

The Twenty-First Century Executive Branch Is a Criminogenic Environment

Alexander Hamilton’s “energy in the Executive” has a downside.

Links 6/2/2024

How Workers Are Revolutionizing the South

USW’s Donetta Williams says workers are educating themselves about collective action, seeing through the right-wing corporate pandering, and then shrugging off the South’s anti-labor traditions to chart a path forward for their families.

Links 6/1/2024

Data Centers Set to Consume 9% of U.S. Electricity by 2030

Electricity demand is set to increase markedly thanks to uses like AI and cryptocurrencies.

Death and the Cinema

A discussion of film, even films about death, will hopefully come as a distraction from turbulent news.

2:00PM Water Cooler 5/31/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler, politics and pandemics; aftermath of Trump’s conviction, including medical exam; Biden and the youth vote; CDC knew Covid was airborne January 30, 2020 ~

Biden Authorizes Ukraine to Make “Limited” Strikes on Russia With US Weapons

The Biden Administration doubles down yet again against Russia, even as the Collective West is running out of options.

Links 5/31/2024

From Debunking to “Pre-bunking”: EU Opens Up Another New Front in Its War on Information

“Perhaps if you think of information as a virus, instead of treating an infection once it has taken hold — that is, debunking — it is much better to vaccinate so that the body is inoculated.” Welcome to prebunking.