“Making an enemies list is creepy. Publishing the names of people you dislike to fuel political supporters’ prejudices is even creepier and potentially dangerous. That’s what New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has done with the introduction of a property tax surcharge on relatively high-value second homes linked to a searchable online database of those who could be affected. The socialist mayor’s defenders point out that tax and property information is a matter of public record in New York, but the packaged publication of surcharge targets and Mamdani’s history of calling out opponents by name suggests something nastier is going on.” (08/03/26)
“In 1925, John Maynard Keynes dismissed Marx’s Capital as an obsolete economic textbook that no serious economist would still assign. He was not being contrarian. By the time he wrote that, the marginal revolution of the 1870s had already done the intellectual work: Jevons, Menger, Walras, and later Wicksteed, Marshall, and Böhm-Bawerk had dismantled the labor theory of value that Marx’s entire economic system rested on. Among economists, the argument was over, and Marx had lost it. So why does Marx remain one of the most cited authors in the humanities and social sciences, a century and a half after his death, in fields far removed from the one where his core claims were actually tested?” (08/03/26)
“A cyberattack tapped the data of some 31,000 people in Liechtenstein’s register of people behind companies and foundations in the wealthy principality, the government said. The ‘register of economic beneficiaries’ was accessed at night from Wednesday into Thursday last week, the government said. It said that the breach was noticed on Thursday, that measures were taken to secure data and the system taken offline. The government said there were no indications that any data was altered or deleted.
The list of people behind companies, foundations and trusteeships is part of efforts to combat money laundering and terror financing.” (08/03/26)
“The popular rightwing network spent months building a case for the Iran War. Now they are invested in keeping up support, even if hosts have to deny reality.” (08/03/26)
“The desire to ban speech, in any form, is an example of insecurity inside society and government. Knowing that certain words or images may in some way draw revulsion and offense is a risk an individual must take. Not everyone will experience the same offense or revulsion, and some may even find arousal or delight in such words or images. It’s what makes the human experience unique and it is why free expression is a sacred thing.” (08/03/26)
“The governing body of European football, UEFA, has threatened legal action against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, venture capitalist Joshua Kushner — brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — and other individuals involved in the controversial plan to privatize a share of the World Cup’s commercial operations. UEFA is ‘actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints’ against Infantino, reads a letter sent to Infantino, seen by the Telegraph. The move follows Infantino’s proposal to transfer FIFA’s commercial rights and tournament operations to a private entity firm — in partnership with Thrive Capital, Kushner’s venture capital company — allowing private investors to acquire a 20 percent stake. UEFA opposed the plan and unanimously voted to boycott the World Cup if the project was adopted, arguing it had been developed without proper consultation with member associations and would effectively privatize part of the tournament’s commercial business. The proposal was ultimately shelved.” (08/03/26)
Source: Foreign Policy
by Samuel Bendett & Maria Snegovaya
“Among the various challenges that Russia has faced since its ill-conceived full-scale invasion of Ukraine, one of the most acute has been a severe labor shortage. Russia’s deepening demographic crisis, combined with mass emigration and recruitment of hundreds of thousands of men into the army, has sharply exacerbated the problem. … By 2030, Russia will need to bring 10.9 million people into the workforce, according to Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov, with more than 90 percent replacing retiring workers and roughly 800,000 filling newly created positions. The rapid expansion of defense production has drawn workers away from civilian sectors, intensifying competition for an already scarce workforce. … The Kremlin’s response has rested on three pillars: mobilizing underutilized domestic labor, expanding prison labor, and increasing labor migration. Each proves to be either insufficient or self-defeating. When it comes to Russia’s labor shortage, the cure is worse than the disease.” (08/03/26)
