Friday, December 6, 2024

Trump, Tariffs, Exchange Rates, and the Strong Dollar Problem: The Message of Elections in the US and Japan

Trump’s win highlights popular anger in the US, Japan, and Europe over the economy despite high stock prices and low unemployment

Links 12/6/2024

“Bad Neighbour, Worse Trade Partner”: Would Mexico Be Better Off Without Canada?

If one of the presumed goals of president elect Donald Trump’s first round of tariff threats was to sow discord and division among Washington’s USMCA partners, it’s working like a dream.

Why Did the French Government Fall and What Happens Next?

Some detail on the French government crisis and what the next moves may be.

Data Centers Are Sending Global Electricity Demand Soaring

The International Energy Agency forecasts that data center demand for energy will more than double by 2026, with AI the big driver.

2:00PM Water Cooler 12/5/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, syndemics; UnitedHealthcare assassination: More details emerge; Boeing dropped a satellite, says new whistleblower; Nietzsche’s typewriter ~

Murder and Social Murder: The Case of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson

Outside his family., friends, and close colleagues, not many tears are being shed over the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson.

Links 12/5/2024

How Right-Wing Media Is Like Improv Theater

New establishment sore-loserdom: trying to discredit right-wing messaging as like comedy theater, when the joke was running Kamala.

Experiencing Natural Disasters Increases Partisan Disagreement on Climate Change

Those experiencing a climate-change-induced disaster wind up having more polarized beliefs about the role of human action.

NATO Pledges Urgent Support for Ukraine’s Battered Infrastructure

NATO messaging about “helping” Ukraine is become even more divorced from reality.

2:00PM Water Cooler 12/4/2024

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, syndemics; UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot dead in Midtown Manhattan; DNC race begins ; UAW cuts off pay from striking staffers ~

Geoengineering Could Alter Global Climate. Should It?

Scientists and companies increasingly support blocking some sunlight to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Links 12/4/2024

Politics and Medicine, Medicine and Politics

On the long-standing US conflict between freedom and the rise in the scientific and professional practice of medicine, with that, authority