Sunday, May 18, 2025

Links 5/18/2025

The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: Life Is Sweet (1990) Run Time: 1H 43M

Life is Sweet is a charming tale of a working class British family in the 1990’s.

Bobby Kennedy Jr. Makes Eugenics Great Again at Health and Human Services

RFK Jr. embrace pseudoscience and embarks on eugenicist policies that seek to identify and disempower the underprivileged.

Links 5/17/2025

Trump’s Trade Deals Endanger Farmers and Our Food System

Trump is reversing protections of the US food system, subjecting farmers to a race to the bottom in international markets

Shanghai’s Liberation Daily Interviewed Michael Hudson: The Trade Conflict Has Brought Irreversible Impacts, Trump Is Compromising Himself

A look at the US’s flagging economic model and how the Trump trade war will affect the US, China, and other counties.

Coffee Break: Notes on Pandemic Responses, a Human Pathogen that Eats the Plastic of Medical Devices, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services Speaks Out

Part the First: Retrospective Notes on a Pandemic.  BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal, has recently published two interesting pieces on COVID-19.  The first is an analysis by Anthony Costello, who was previously Director of Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health at the World Heath Organization: UK decision not to suppress covid raises questions […]

Japan to Arm Wrestle the US About Tariffs….and What About Restrictions on Chinese Investments and Products?

Japan wanted an early US trade deal. It is discovering that its sort-of special relationship with the US is not getting it any breaks.

Links 5/16/2025

US Looks to Escalate Its Economic War Against the World’s Poorest By Taxing Remittance Payments

Paradoxically, this is likely to create more, not less, illegal immigration to the US. 

Book Review: A Skeptical Look at Grand Designs for the Future

A harsh look at schemes for a happy future, at least for billionaires, which ignore their problems and excuse tolerating rot today.

Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic Prove the Sickness at the Heart of the NHS

Most users of GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic need to stay on them long-term to keep pound off. So is medicine promoting an addicition?

Big Law Deals With Trump Are Backfiring on Top Firms

Major law firms in a storng position to fight Trump diktats about backing conservative interests are paying a price for selling out.

Links 5/15/2025

Trump Smoke and Mirrors on Full Display in Claimed “$142 Billion” Saudi Arms Deal

A look at the workings and effectiveness of Trump hype, from the touted India-Pakistan mediation to DOGE to the new Saudi arms agreement.