Thursday, December 25, 2025

Links 6/2/2021

Lawmakers Are Firing Back At Fossil Fuel Divestors

Red state retaliation! Fossil fuel states will take business away from firms that divest from energy producers.

The West’s Not Very Hidden Hand in Debt Oppression in Central Asia

How World-Bank-sponsored microlending produced widespread misery in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan: debt collectors use violence.

SoftBank-Funded Silicon Valley Unicorn Katerra, Which Was to “Transform” the Construction Industry, Collapses

Katerra, one of the rare unicorns with a real or at least plausible business, fell to Covid. Lawsuits will fly.

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/1/2021

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

From Tragedy to Hesitancy: How Public Health Failures Boosted COVID-19 Vaccine Scepticism

Who’d have thunk it? Public health incompetence fuels distrust in official recommendations, like vaccines.

Link 6/1/2021

The Empire Strikes Back Against Mexican President AMLO

As The Economist urges Mexican voters to vote for anyone who isn’t AMLO, the US government is up to its old tricks: funneling money to political opposition groups. 

Why Did 72% of Israelis Want Attack on Gaza to Continue?

ir Hever discusses how the attacks on Gaza reveal the extreme right-wing radicalization of most of the Israeli Jewish population

Do Languages Get Simpler When They Get More Complicated?

How and why do languages change?

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: COVID-19 Gooses Local On-Line Shopping and Home Delivery Options

Today is Memorial Day in the U.S. and a bank holiday in the UK. Best wishes to U.S. and UK readers for a pleasant holiday.

Links 5/31/2021

Dominic Cummings: How the UK Ignored Evidence That the Virus is Airborne

“I think we are absolutely fucked. I think this country is heading for disaster. I think we’re going to kill thousands of people.”

Holiday Schedule and Reader Notice

Will Biden Pack the Supreme Court?

Will voting law statutes enacted by Republican controlled-state governments spur Biden to change the structure of the Supreme Court?