Author Archives: Conor Gallagher

Germany Holds an Election in an Alternate Reality

The likely new government looks determined to double down on Germany — and Europe’s — destruction.

BRICS, Boers, and Preparing for Conflict With China in South Africa: Examining the US Pressure Campaign

In addition to Greenland and the Panama Canal, Washington is doubling down on efforts to “dominate” naval theaters in a conflict with China.

Links 2/17/2025

Climate Crisis Is Causing a Chocolate Market Meltdown: Study

Between July of 2022 and February of last year, cocoa prices jumped by 136 percent, partially due to climate extremes in West Africa’s Cocoa Belt.

Links 2/16/2025

US Export Controls and the Restructuring of Global Value Chains: An Analysis of Japanese Multinationals’ Exits From China

If tighter trade controls are making it more difficult for Japanese firms in China to access advanced components and technologies, the effects may be reflected in the exit behaviour of Japanese firms from China rather than in trade statistics.

Links 2/12/2025

Paradise Is a Police State: Examining the Techno-Optimism of Billionaire Silicon Valley Investor (And Unofficial Trump Administration Adviser) Marc Andreessen

The unlimited AI and energy now being unleashed is supposed to usher in a new utopia centered around low wages and prices. So why are Andreessen and friends so intent on a police state as part of the grand experiment we’re all being enlisted in?

Links 2/5/2025

Does Trump’s Attempted “Dismantling” of Spook-Infested, Regime Change Agency USAID Herald a New Foreign Policy Era?

It looks more like an attempt to bring under control rogue agencies that were hostile to Trump during his first term in office as well as a shift in the type of “values” the US will support abroad.

Links 2/3/2025

How Do We Get Competent Politicians?

Richard Murphy argues that all prospective UK parliamentarians and councillors should have to take an exam to prove their competence.

Links 2/2/2025