“The latest critique of capitalism from Jason Hickel and Yanis Varoufakis …. ‘Capitalists are the ones who determine what to produce, how to use our labour and who gets to benefit. The rest of us – the people who are actually doing the production – do not get a say.’ This is simply factually wrong because markets. Capitalists might try to direct our labour into the production of things that we out here, we consumers, might not want. The Ford Edsel, say. But when we don’t want it then the capitalists stop so directing our labour into the production of what we do not want. For if they don’t they then go bust — as the death of four out of five new attempts at capitalism show. … This is not a complicated logical proposition but it’s one that seems to entirely escape two university professors here.” (02/14/26)
“The rumors of discussions on Russia’s return to the dollar system sparked speculation about the strength of the financial alternatives deployed to bypass sanctions. While the central bank denies being involved in such talks, the Kremlin clarified that Russia never left the dollar: it was excluded.” (02/15/26)
“‘American Independence was then & there born. John Adams wasn’t talking about July 4, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence. He was referring to the beginning of the real American Revolution that kicked off years earlier in February 1761. That’s when James Otis Jr delivered a fiery 5-hour speech railing against the writs of assistance. While the Declaration of Independence was a seminal moment in the Revolution, it was the culmination of more than 15 years of radical changes in the minds and hearts of the people that started with Otis’s speech.” (02/13/26)
“Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison in Russia after being poisoned with a deadly toxin found in the skin of Ecuadorian dart frogs, the UK and other allies have [claimed]. The ‘barbaric’ act — using a neurotoxin that is classed as a chemical weapon — could only have been carried out by Vladimir Putin’s government, they said on Saturday. … Russian authorities have previously claimed the dissident’s death was not suspicious but had been caused as a result of ‘combined diseases,’ including an irregular heartbeat.” (02/14/26)
“Donald Trump’s new national security strategy placed greater emphasis on the homeland (unneeded and even ominous for the health of the U.S. republic) and the Western Hemisphere (potentially beneficial) at the expense of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Since World War II — starting with the 40-plus-year, worldwide, grandiose Cold War instituted by Harry Truman and the subsequent war on terrorism — the U.S. superpower has worried more about threats to Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East than the countries in those regions. The tragic result was unneeded wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and two wars with Iraq. And those are just the largest quagmires the United States got itself into during that period; countless smaller military interventions were conducted in far-flung countries.” (02/14/26)
