Fearless commentary on finance, economics, politics and power

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s slate of progressive congressional candidates swept the Democratic establishment aside in last night’s primaries, but some not so happy outcomes occurred in other races.

A tally of the great planetary damage expected to result from AI growing use, thanks to its insatiable hunger for power.

Today’s Iran war update: The big struggle is on the narrative front, as Iran swatted back JD Vance claims as the oil cliff keeps approaching.

With few options, Baghdad is promising to rein in militias and pursue other oil export routes. Will any of it stick? 

Why the Trump Administration is set to be able to push around incoming British Prime Minister Andy Burnham even more than with Kier Starmer.

Nuclear war is often discussed as a weapons problem. It is more accurately understood as a trust problem. As trust between adversaries deteriorates, relationships can move through a predictable sequence of rivalry, suspicion, distrust, hostility, and ultimately existential threat perception. Each stage generates evidence that justifies the next, creating a self-reinforcing cycle that expands the influence of what may be called the War Power ecosystem. In a world of nuclear-armed states, the cycle of trust destruction results in repeated games of nuclear roulette in which global catastrophe is at risk with each spin.

Cataloguing some of the less-well recognized ways that Alan Greenspan did tremendous harm to the financial system and citizens at large.

Today’s Iran war news: Despite media cheerleading, JD Vance’s repeated displays of dishonesty do not bode well for getting the “deal” ‘done.

In stark contrast with Russiagate, there is little coverage, let alone outcry, in the Western legacy media. 

Starmer post-mortems raise questions about what next for what passes for UK leadership.

Zohran Mamdani has endorsed multiple candidates in Democratic congressional primaries as part of a “vigorous push by the DSA to claim more ground in Congress.”

The leadership contest in the UK is set to produce yet more flogging of bad neoliberal tropes, so this post provides a needed counterpoint.