Thursday, May 2, 2024

“The True Shocking Driver of Crime in America”

A theory of crime, which while it has some explanatory power, weirdly omits white collar crime.

The Culture of the CIA, a First Look

How the CIA evolved, or depending on your point of view, devolved into what it is today.

2:00PM Water Cooler 5/1/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, pandemics, Trump’s plans, Biden’s polling, jobs numbers, marijuana to Schedule 3, DEA proposes ~

TaxCast #142: Blockchain Havens

How blockchain/crypto tax havens are displacing traditional tax havens.

Links 5/1/2024

Stasi in the West

Governments across the West are enacting more draconian measures to silence all criticism and are increasingly asking citizens to inform on one another.

AirBnB Again in Bed With Surveillance State Tactics by Asking for Biometric ID, Spurring Illinois “Mass Arbitration” Action

AirBnB seems determined to violate customer privacy by demanding government ID images, against the laws of some states. What gives?

AC, Power Banks, Mini Fridges: Oregon Equips Medicaid Patients for Climate Change

Health insurers like Oregon’s Medicaid find it cost effective to give patients equipment to protect them from heat as well as wildfire smoke

H5N1 Happily Mutates Away, while Public Health Establishment Plods Along, Treating the Virus as a Food Supply Issue, and Not as a Potential Pandemic

Lambert puts on his Mr. Pandemic™ hat.

2:00PM Water Cooler 4/30/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, pandemics, and partially open thread ~

“The Four Key Reasons Why The U.S. Will Never Stop Targeting Russia’s LNG Sector”

The US has launched an LNG war against Russia. How likely is it to prevail?

Links 4/30/2024

Could Lithium-Rich Bolivia Be Next On BRICS’ Membership List? Russia Seems to Think So

“BRICS is an organization, not a military alliance. It is simply a platform to agree on positions and adopt mutually acceptable decisions that are based on sovereignty, independence and mutual respect.”

String of Conveniently Timed Spying Cases in Germany Influence EU Elections, Undermine Chancellor’s China Efforts, and Spread Fear of Russian Fifth Column

Spies, spies everywhere. 

Big Oil’s Dangerous Radioactive Secret

How workers bear the brunt of the oil and gas industry’s hidden contaminated waste.