~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics;
Thursday, November 20, 2025
2:00PM Water Cooler 2/18/2025
Trump’s No-Prisoners Approach to Iran-China Oil Crackdown
The US plans further sanctions on intermediaries like tankers and broker that facilitate Iran oil sales to China. Will they work?
Just How Far Could the Fallout from Javier Milei’s $LIBRA Coin “Rug Pull” Scandal Reach?
If Milei is willing to rob not only his own citizens but his own fanbase in the broadest of possible daylight, what else is he capable of?
“We Must Fund Oppositions Properly to Save Democracy”
The Financial Times’ Martin Wolf, like quite a few others, looks for ways to save democracy from itself, as in rule by voters.
Who Is Driving the Global Privatization of Domestic Infrastructure?
An otherwise informative post about the extent and hazards of infrastructure sales misses who the real bad actors are.
DOGEbag Roundup: Horrid Website, This Week’s Agency Targets, Sociology of DOGE
Like Trump, DOGE is very good at sensing weakness.
2:00PM Water Cooler 2/17/2025
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; Humphrey’s Executor on the chopping block; Elon’s (putative) baby momma; Velvet ropes and the American dream ~
We Are Restoring Comments
We are restoring comments. Please read this post in full before commenting.
Hoisted from Comments: A Discussion of China’s Faltering Growth
An example of the comments section at work, here on China, with both some very informative reader content and some sour notes.
A Win in Long-Running Kentucky Retirement Systems Pension Case: Attorney General Thwarted in Scheme to Settle Claims Against KKR and Blackstone on the Cheap
In a step forward for long-suffering Kentucky Retirement Systems (now Kentucky Public Pension Authority) beneficiaries, attorneys for so-called Tier 3 Plaintiffs beat back a scheme by Attorney General Russell Coleman to settle claims against private equity kingpins KKR and Blackstone on the cheap…oh, and completely drop claims against their top partners, here the famed Henry […]
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.
How Much More Is Europe Prepared to Lose?
The EU has already dramatically remade its societies, governance structure, and social values over the past three years in fight against Russia. Where will it end?
