Thursday, October 3, 2024

Reflections on the War on Work as a War on Workers

Recalling what good union jobs once meant for workers and communities and describing some damage done by the war on labor

FDA Rejects MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD Treatment – A Drug Researcher Explains the Challenges Psychedelics Face

The FDA is wary of approving club drugs like MDMA and psychedelics for medial purposes.

America Needs Intel Economically and Politically—But Is It Too Late?

On Intel’s storied history and self-destruction via greed, and now US stealthy financial support with no accountability.

2:00PM Water Cooler 8/13/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, syndemics; Transcript of Trump’s X interview; NIH shuts down its COVID-19 treatment guidelines website for special populations; geofence warrants banned by Fifth Circuit; €16.9 trillion in labour extorted from the Global South by the Global North. ~

Capitalism, Mass Anger, and 2024 Elections

More and more, officials are using anger as an excuse of censorship and arrests. Is capitalism the root? And is there actually “mass anger”?

Links 8/13/2024

Wave of ATM Bombings in “Cash-Addicted” Germany Prompts Calls for Fewer ATMs and Less Use of Cash

“We see ATM blasts all over the world, but the intensity that we experience in Germany is really in a league of its own.”

Are We Headed for All-Out War in the Middle East?

Tensions are high and the US has made a move to increase its already substantial military forces in the Middle East

East Harlem ‘Passive House’ Apartment Complex is the Nation’s Biggest Ultra-Green Development Yet

Affordable housing built with attention to ventilation, windows, sealing and other details saves energy and utility costs

2:00PM Water Cooler 8/12/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; Kamala on the cover of Time; Trump files suit against DOJ for political persecution; Thomas Frank on liberals; Front Porch Forum in Vermont ~

The Effect of AI Adoption on Jobs: Evidence from US Commuting Zones

Using data across US commuting zones over the period 2000-2020, this column presents evidence that AI adoption has reduced employment, except in high-paying occupations and those requiring a degree in STEM disciplines

Links 8/12/2024

Lina Khan’s FTC Gears Up to Go After Algorithmic Black Boxes Governing Workers’ Lives, but It Might Be Running Out of Time

A closer look at “algorithmic wage discrimination” used at gig companies (and increasingly across all industries), one potential tool to stop it, and how the FTC is zeroing in on the practice. 

Forty Percent of Biden IRA Manufacturing Projects Behind Schedule or Paused

A new study by the Financial Times on the early results from Biden Administration IRA spending raises as many questions as it answers.

The Myanmar Mess

For those of you, like me, who have grievous little understanding of Myanmar, this presentation provides a history, particularly of British misrule and the major ethnic groups, discusses the interests and actions of the major powers, and reviews the recent fighting and the prospects for Myanmar. The look of this video is a bit homespun, […]