Theories of Consciousness

Two Theories of Consciousness Faced Off. The Ref Took a Beating.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/science/two-theories-of-consciousness-faced-off-the-ref-took-a-beating.html
Related:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08888-1.pdf 

Daniel Dennett’s Science of the Soul
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/27/daniel-dennetts-science-of-the-soul

Nicholas Humphrey’s Beautiful Theory of Mind
https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/nicholas-humphreys-beautiful-theory-of-mind
In his new book, “Sentience,” a neuropsychologist argues that consciousness evolved to make us feel that life is worth living. 

Related Readings:

http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/06/how-consciousness-evolved/485558/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/opinion/sunday/are-we-really-conscious.html

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/anatomy-attention

Trump's Crypto Obsession

Why Is Trump So into Crypto?
https://youtu.be/uVCOHC_ktlg

At a Dubai Conference, Trump’s Conflicts Take Center Stage
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/us/politics/trump-cryptocurrency-usd1-dubai-conference-announcement.html
A deal for a state-backed Emirati firm to use a Trump-affiliated digital coin was announced in a panel that included the president’s son and his business partner, who promised, “This is only the beginning.” 

Realpolitik - From Kissinger to Trump

Trump Is Fulfilling Kissinger’s Dream
https://www.aol.com/trump-fulfilling-kissinger-dream-122600144.html
Perhaps no other American statesman has ever disdained the role of idealism in foreign policy—the meddling of human-rights activists and democracy crusaders—quite like Kissinger. Until now, that is. In just the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second term, not only has the president sidestepped those annoying do-gooders Kissinger had to contend with, but he has pretty definitively blown them away with a few robust huffs and puffs. And the change, which Kissinger could have only dreamed about, is bewildering to consider.

Kissinger's corrosive legacy still weighs on U.S. policy in Asia
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Kissinger-s-corrosive-legacy-still-weighs-on-U.S.-policy-in-Asia
Strategy of aiding China's rise has come back to bite Washington and its allies.

What Henry Kissinger wrought
https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/11/30/16454260/henry-kissinger-obituary-cold-war-100
One of America’s most important statesmen gave the world a series of diplomatic breakthroughs, and hundreds of thousands of bodies.

Henry Kissinger, the Hypocrite
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/opinion/henry-kissinger-the-hypocrite.html

Henry Kissinger’s central role in the U.S. carpet bombing of Cambodia
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/30/henry-kissinger-cambodia-bombing-war/
Nowhere is the debate over the legacy of former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger more searing than in the countries that bore the brunt of his military polices, such as Cambodia. Historians say his decisions led to decades of violence that have continued to haunt Cambodian society.
For many in the country, Kissinger’s impact was not abstract but visceral and continues even after his death. Land mines planted during Cambodia’s three-decade-long civil war, which was driven in part by U.S. interference, are still exploding today. In neighboring Vietnam and Laos, officials are also still undergoing the painstaking process of identifying and removing unexploded ordnance from a war that Kissinger helped to wage five decades ago.

 
The People Who Didn’t Matter to Henry Kissinger
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/henry-kissingers-indifference-worlds-most-helpless-people/676177/
Lauded for his strategic insights, the former secretary of state is better remembered for his callousness toward the victims of global conflict. 

The Next Economic Paradigm

The Post-Neoliberal Imperative
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/post-neoliberal-imperative-tariffs-jennifer-harris
Contesting the Next Economic Paradigm. 

Russia's Economy

Vladimir Putin’s money machine is sputtering
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/04/27/vladimir-putins-money-machine-is-sputtering
After years of resilience, Russia’s economy is slowing down. 

The tables have turned, and Putin’s Russia is now in dire trouble
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/05/01/tables-have-suddenly-turned-putin-russia-dire-trouble/

Housing Subsidies

Fannie and Freddie May Foment Another Crisis
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/fannie-and-freddie-may-foment-another-crisis-mortgage-interest-rate-housing-loan-1e383ea2
They now back more than 60% of new mortgages, versus roughly 45% before the meltdown in 2008.

US versus China - Who has the Upper Hand?

What's at Stake in the Trade War with China?
https://youtu.be/pYmF73FiuSM

Why China Could Win Trump’s Trade War
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/how-china-can-win-trumps-trade-war-tariffs-economy-time-midterms-f6028b7f
Beijing probably can keep its economy afloat until the U.S. midterm—which is likely all it needs.

Why China has the upper hand in its trade war with America
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/05/01/why-china-has-the-upper-hand-in-its-trade-war-with-america
A truce is still possible, but no one wants to be first to pick up the phone. 

Why the US will lose against China
https://www.ft.com/content/75f358e2-1802-4c7f-9b74-9c42af2bdeb4
Trump’s unreliable America is throwing away the assets it needs.