Saturday, October 5, 2024

The Desire to Be “Your Own Boss” in America

On the romance of being you own boss.

Links 6/9/2024

The War Racket in Germany 

What happens when everyone starts to believe in the con? 

Thousands of Children Got Tested for Lead With Faulty Devices: What Parents Should Know

Faulty lead test kits made by Magellan Diagnostics may have been used as late as 2021 to test children for exposure to the toxic metal. The company agreed to pay $42 million to settle criminal charges that it concealed malfunctions.

One Issue Proved Key to the Opposition’s Stunning Success in India’s Election: Caste Politics

Did Modi’s BJP suffer a setback due to failing to provide enough economic benefits to lower-caste voters?

Links 6/8/2024

Black Sea Port Becomes Geopolitical Battleground Between China and the EU

Western handwringing over China building a port a little too close to Europe’s backyard.

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/7/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, pandemics; Trump, Trump, Trump; Taylor Swift, superspreader; many new Covid numbers, some irritating; Vivian Maier’s first exhibition; steroids: is everybody really taking them? ~

The Cautious US Escalation Against Russia Is Developing Not Necessarily to US Advantage

The US does not look to have come out well from its latest dominance display against Russia.

Links 6/7/2024

X Premium Users Face Stark Choice: Hand Over Biometric Identitifiers to “Spooky” Israeli Firm or Get Demonetised

“The personal data processed by this X subcontractor includes data of a sovereign nature. An identity document is a sensitive document. This raises a number of questions…”

When It Comes to the Environment, There Really Is No Such Thing as a “Good” Car

The problem with the EV as a climate change remedy is that it is still a car.

Research on Earth’s Raging Heat of 2023-24 Is Picking Up

La Niña will most likely quell a stretch of global record heat, but human-produced greenhouse gases loom as large as ever.

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/6/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; Trump Georgia case delayed; Joe and Jill Biden at Omaha Beach; don’t try this at home! ~

The EU’s Outsourced Migration Control Is Violent, Expensive and Ineffective

Does a critique of EU migration policies reveal more than it intended to?