Author Archives: Yves Smith
Rodriguez or Trump: Who Is Really Running Venezuela?
Will Delcy Rodriguez govern as a compliant and coerced US puppet, or as leader of an undefeated and independent Venezuela?
Read more...Thrift Store. Clinic. Roller Rink. New Orleans Center Becomes ‘Radical’ Lifeline Amid Homelessness, Drug Crises.
A New Orleans collective is a heartening example of community self help…and an indictment of income inequality and failing social programs.
Read more...Portland Mayor Decries Mounting Bloodshed, Tells ICE to Get Out After Federal Agents Shoot Two
Portland mayor Keith Wilson called on ICE to halt operations pending a probe of its latest shootings. That won’t happen. So what do cities do?
Read more...Russia’s Second-Ever Use of the Oreshniks Was a Response to Three Recent Provocations
Russia seems finally to have gotten the memo about Trump’s worse-than-bad-US-norms duplicity and love of violence and is escalating.
Read more...The Next Frontier of Climate Accountability: Making Big Food Pay Its Ecological Bill
Food industry induced environmental degradation is more serious than most realize. We could reverse this trajectory….but will we?
Read more...New York City’s MTA Explores How to Use AI to Monitor Thousands of Cameras in Transit System
The NYC transit authority considers how AI with its existing cameras might detect weapons, monitor unattended items or even foresee stampedes.
Read more...Trump’s Gangsterism Escalation: Plans to Steal and Sell Venezuela Oil; Seizure of Russian And Chinese Tankers; Greenlight of Maximum Pressure Sanctions; Venezuela and Denmark Not On Board With Heists
Trump continues on a warpath on multiple fronts: Venezuela, Russia, China, and Denmark.
Read more...Satyajit Das: Much Ado About Nothing – Why President Trump’s ‘Big Deals” Are No Big Deals
A clinical look at Trump’s deal hucksterism versus his typical modest-at-best results.
Read more...Is Trump Building a Massive Data Center Beneath the East Wing? If So, Why?
Is the East Wing redo intended to include a massive data center/command installation? If so, what is the main object of concern?
Read more...In ‘Unhinged’ Rant, Miller Says US Has Right to Take Over Any Country For Its Resources
White House adviser Steve Miller pulls off the mask and shows the face of imperialism: “What’s yours is mine.”
Read more...Links 1/7/2026
Why Politicians Won’t Fix Affordability
Why affordability crisis is a symptom of predatory neoliberal practices. Concentrated wealth looks set to keep this new norm in place.
Read more...Two Decades of Chinese Industrial Subsidies
A profile of China’s subsidies and how they have changed over time. Counter-intuitively, agriculture is the most important recipient.
Read more...With Global Attention on Venezuela, Israel Intensifies Assault on Gaza, Lebanon
Israel continues to kill children because it can.
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