All articles from Naked Capitalism
Coffee Break: Senate Dems Throw Teetering Trump a Lifeline
Senate Democrats threw a teetering Trump administration a lifeline by folding on the U.S. government shutdown. Let's parse the kayfabe.
‘An Indictment of the Trade Union Movement’: Why No One is Organising Seasonal Workers
Farm workers go on unofficial strikes as their temporary visas create barriers to union membership
Links 11/12/2025
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The Trans-Caspian Pipeline Is Resurrected as the U.S. Plots a Return to Central Asia
The Turkish Trojan Horse pressures Russia and Iran on new fronts, but China holds dominant position.
Why Trump’s 50 Year Mortgage Scheme Is an Even Worse Idea Than You Imagined
The Trump/Pulte 50 year mortgage scheme is indeed really bad even before getting to the fact that it would probably increase home prices.
“Regime Change” in Venezuela Is a Euphemism for U.S.-Inflicted Carnage and Chaos
A sadly necessary reminder of what US regime change operations are about. Hint: nothing good.
Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – The Future of Elite Forces
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have exposed a new reality: the battlefield is becoming too transparent, too fast, and too automated for mass, low-skill infantry to survive. In that environment, militari
The ‘Supercenter’ Effect: How Massive, One-Stop Retailers Fuel Overconsumption − and Waste
To confirm prejudices some of you may habor: supercenters are bad! No wonder retailers love the format.
Links 11/11/2025
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Washington and Tel Aviv Accuse Iran of Planning to Assassinate Israeli Ambassador in Mexico Without Showing a Shred of Proof
Here's the kicker: according to the Mexican government, there are no official reports of any such attack.
Shutdown Has Highlighted Washington’s Retreat From Big Ideas on Health Care
Health care in the US has become too big to fix.
Who Will End Up Paying for the AI Spending Spree?
AI is now so clearly a money burn pit that efforts are already underway to fob the losses off on taxpayers. Is there any way to head it off?
Coffee Break: Mamdani’s Battle With Entrenched Power Begins
New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani won the election, but now his real battle with entrenched power begins.
Russia’s Choices as It Brings Ukraine to the Brink with Electricity War, Takes Pokrovsk
Even with Russia's domination undeniable as its electricity attacks turn off power all over Ukraine, Russia still has complex choices to make.
Links 11/10/2025
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The E.U. ‘Derisks’ Itself Into Another Disaster
Despite years of supposed preparation, the bloc is now scrambling for rare earths. Will the US have any more success?
Book Excerpt: How Coyotes Found a New Homeland in the East
The explosion of populations east of the Mississippi was made possible by logging and the slaughter of wolves.
Military Moral Injury, Violence, and the Parable of the Guinea Worm
The casual US celebration of violence runs into the reality that those required to inflict it regularly suffer deep inner damage.
Links 11/9/2025
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The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: The Confessions of Felix Krull (1958) Run Time: 1H 46M
The Confessions of Felix Krull is a movie about a charming, kind hearted scam artist and his adventures.
What Can Europe Learn From China’s Critical-Tech Innovation Push?
China’s rise in frontier technologies narrows its gap with the US as Europe struggles with slow replication and fragmented research.
Links 11/8/2025
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Always Watching: How ICE’s Plan to Monitor Social Media 24/7 Threatens Privacy and Civic Participation
How ICE plans even more sweeping surveillance of social media sites.
Another Shutdown Cost: Skewed and Limited Private Data as Economic Hazard
Due to the shutdown, official economic data has slowed to a crawl. Policymakers, markets, and citizens are turning to private-sector numbers.
Coffee Break: Wither Sport, Unwellness, Chimpanzee Metacognition, The Sokal Hoax, and a Political Temblor
Part the First: Wither Sport in This Modern World? The World Series ended last week with two games for the ages. These were the only MLB baseball games I watched all season, and as a baseball man of
How Neoliberalism Is Digging the Holes of Flagging, Indebted Economies Even Deeper
Indebted, low growth economies have a path for recovery. But neolibearlism stands in the way.
Links 11/7/2025
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The Digital Euro Just Hit a Wall of Resistance
Turns out the Euro Area's banks, citizens and even some EU lawmakers are not quite so keen on the project.
Fatties and Diabetics Not Welcome! Immigrants With Health Conditions May Be Denied Visas Under New Trump Administration Guidance
MAHA meets immigration, with deemed-unhealthy applicants set to be denied visas under new Trump Administration guidance.
Mamdani’s Win and the Price of Urban Life: Why City Voters Are Seeking Change
The soaring costs of city life appear to be sending urban voters toward progressive leaders who promise relief, both in the U.S. and globally.
Bill Gates Wants to Set the Environmental Agenda Ahead of COP30: It’s Not Surprising
Bill Gates’s bid to reframe the environmental agenda suggests it’s often set top-down, serving a particular set of interests, in this case, AI
Trump Looks Likely to Lose at Supreme Court on Challenge to His Assertion of Emergency Tariff Authority. How Much Damage Would That Do to His Pretenses of Power?
The tariff situation has developed not necessarily to the Trump Administration's advantage. What happens if it loses at the Supreme Court?
Links 11/6/2025
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Call Your Congresscritters: OpenAI Laying the Groundwork for Massive Federal Bailout
AI is not just coming for your job. Industry leaders plan to pick your pocket on a massive scale via a bailout.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Shifting Landscape of Trade and Investment
The US has responded a bit China's Belt and Road initiative by increasing foreign direct investment in participating countries.
Health Advocates Call for a Federal “Reboot” in Addressing Ultra-Processed Foods
The debate over ultra-processed food is becoming more intense. But has any real progress been made in discouraging consumption?
Coffee Break: Zohran Mamdani Wins New York City in a Youthquake
Zohran Mamdani's youthquake overturned the New York power structure, and his victory has national implications.
Revolutions in Russia in 1917: February and October
A summary of the tumultuous events of Russia's 1917 revolutions.
Links 11/5/2025
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The Primary Care Puzzle: Can It Be Solved?
Lisa Rosenbaum, MD, is a national correspondent for the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). She has just published Is a Long-Simmering Crisis Boiling Over? U.S. Primary Care Today. The easy, and
With Baseless Fraud Claim, White House Says Trump Preparing Anti-Voter Executive Order
Yet more Trump threat display to try to extend the reach of his faction, here by stymieing voter access to elections.
“The Multipolarism of Fools: The BRICS Are Not the Answer”
A hot mess of a BRICS critique, among other things lambasting the growing association as anti-democratic.
Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – The Poseidon Problem
Russia’s new Poseidon weapon, a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed undersea drone, threatens coastal cities with massive radioactive destruction. Its speed, stealth, and long range make very difficult to
The Lasting Economic Scars of War
War is even more destructive in economic terms than is widely acknowledged.
Links 11/4/2025
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How Brazil’s New Digital Payments System Managed to Enrage (and Terrify) Both Wall Street and Silicon Valley
A mobile payments system that is publicly controlled, easy to use and without fees (for individuals and small businesses) is "tough to beat.”
Wall Street Journal Insults Reader Intelligence, Depicts Lenders as Addressing Loan Risks When That Horse Has Left the Barn and Is in the Next County
The Wall Street Journal does its readers no favors in its whole-hog adoption of the fraud spin in 'splaining high profile loan losses.
Technology Empires and the Race to Cement Dominance
A look at how the US and China are seeking to achieve technology hegemonies, and the efforts of smaller countries to carve out niches.
Coffee Break: MAGA Civil War – America First vs. Israel First
A major MAGA civil war has erupted pitting Tucker Carlson against what Nick Fuentes calls "Israel First" Republicans.
Mission Impossible: Why the US Cannot Reverse Its Manufacturing Decline
Debunking magical thinking about the US regaining its manufacturing mojo at scale.
Links 11/3/2025
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Tracing a Line Between Israeli Pager Attacks and Ukraine Collapse to the Tennessee Munitions Factory Explosion that Killed 16 Workers in an Impoverished Region of the U.S.
The so-called ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ goes up in smoke.
Trump’s Deportations Are Causing Farm Labor Issues. He Hasn’t Presented a Viable, Long-Term Solution.
Trump has cast the H-2A program as a quick help for farmers. At the same time, the program has been suspended during the government shutdown, which could cause production problems.
Medicare Advantage: Fraudulent and Misleading Marketing Lures Seniors into Plans Inferior to Traditional Medicare
A guide on the structure of Medicare Advantage, why it is a bad deal, and how to steer clear of aggressive and even fraudlent marketing.
Links 11/2/2025
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The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: Faust (1926) Run Time: 1H 46M Plus Halloween Bonuses!!
Faust is a movie about the power of love over the power of evil.
The Shutdown – And the House’s Inaction – Helps Pave Congress’ Path to Irrelevance
Where’s Congress? The institution is unwilling to assert itself as an equal branch of government.
Links 11/1/2025
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Data, Power and Emissions: How AI’s Growth May Slow Down the Green Transition
AI's power demands are producing heavier use of fossil fuels to generate electricity.
SNAP, the Nation’s Largest Food Aid Program, Is About To See Cuts. Here’s What You Should Know.
A court ruling will force the Administration to use emergency funds for SNAP benefits. But the money will run out in weeks. What then?
Coffee Break: Political Grownups, Bending Time, CDC at Sea, Snakebites, and AI Again
Part the First: Where Have All the Grownups Gone? Corey Robin is always worth reading (the first edition of The Reactionary Mind is much better than the second), and lately he has been more active pu
The Macroeconomic Implications of Extreme Weather Events: Insights from Advanced Economies
Economists are starting to come to grips with the costs of weather/climate change induced disasters. But are their approaches adequate?
Links 10/31/2025
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The Pushback Against Marco Rubio Begins in Latin America and the Caribbean
"There will be no advances in negotiations with the United States if Marco Rubio is part of the team." Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
A Few Thoughts About the Russian End Game in Ukraine and the Risk of Losing the Peace
New musings on what sort of conclusion to the war Russia might impose, and specifically, how Russia reduces its security risks.
Rage Against the ICE Machine
Anti-ICE protestors are showing signs of developing effective strategies and tactics.
Sudan War: Gold, a Key Port, and Two Armies With No Legitimate Claim
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of Sudan’s warring parties, have taken over El Fasher, a city in Darfur, western Sudan. This city is the largest in the region, and its capture signals the RSF’s co
Big Employers Using AI to Decimate White Collar Jobs; What Happens When Real Incomes, Employment, and Social Compacts Erode?
Big companies are cutting white collar jobs, because AI, and warn more is to come. What does this mean for the economy and social stability?
Links 10/30/2025
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The Stage Is Set For a US-Instigated Security Dilemma Between the Eurasian Rimland & Heartland
The US and its major European and Asian allies have embarked on a Eurasia contaiment strategy. What are its prospects?
Nationalism – Good or Bad?
Richard Murphy argues that it’s long past time to stop equating all nationalism with Nazism and instead embrace a form of nationalism based on the politics of care.