Development

Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Asked recently what he might do differently in managing the Covid19 pandemic the president responded, “Not much.” Little does he recognize or acknowledge the successes of and lessons to be learned from countries he has contemptuously labeled “shitholes.” What is lost to public health from this scorn […]

China

GOP Death Cult Forbids Mandatory Masks, Keeping US in Crisis, as China Grows 3.2%

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Georgia governor Brian Kemp, one of the worst and most corrupt people in the world, is attempting to prevent municipalities in Georgia from fining people for refusing to wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He is suing Atlanta over it. The question is not whether his obstructionism […]

Climate Crisis

Why it doesn’t make Economic Sense to Ignore Climate Change in our Recovery from the Epidemic

The Conversation

By Anna Skarbek| – It will be tempting for some to overlook the climate change challenge in the rush to restart the economy after the pandemic . . . In the United States, the Trump administration is reportedly contemplating a coronavirus rescue package tailored specifically to oil and natural gas producers, while the Chinese government […]

Development

The Coronavirus has sent Stocks Plummeting – Could a Recession be Next?

The Conversation

By Michael Walden | – Fears are growing that the new coronavirus will infect the U.S. economy. U.S stocks are headed for their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis; companies including Apple and Walmart have been warning of potential sales losses from COVID-19 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Americans to […]

Democracy

Health, Poverty, Conflict in Charts: Is the World Better off Today than ever before in History?

The Conversation

By Julius Probst | – Swedish academic Hans Rosling has identified a worrying trend: not only do many people across advanced economies have no idea that the world is becoming a much better place, but they actually even think the opposite. This is no wonder, when the news focuses on reporting catastrophes, terrorist attacks, wars […]

Banking

Not the Onion: Ivanka Trump in running for World Bank Head

Juan Cole

WASHINGTON (Ma’an) — Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, and US President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, are reportedly among possible US candidates to replace the outgoing World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. Earlier this week, Jim Yong Kim announced he would be stepping down as the World Bank’s president three […]

Democratic Socialism

Solar & Wind: How free electricity would change the world (Economist Video)

contributors

The Economist | (Video News Report) | – – “magine if heating and powering homes became free in the next decade. What would that mean for the world?” How free electricity would change the world | The Economist

Development

Morocco’s Solar Power Revolution Sparks Jobs, High-Tech Investment

contributors

Concentrating Solar becoming engine of development, according to World Bank

Bill of Rights

Given Trump’s Betrayal, Can we Crowdfund American Aid and Soft Power Abroad?

contributors

David Holdridge | (Informed Comment) | – – The current debate between liberals and the Trump Administration on American soft power abroad is not being framed correctly. Liberals should be arguing for more American citizen engagement overseas rather than for maintaining and extending into the future a dependency on USAID and the State Department. Since […]