The basic dilemma for China's leaders is: you have to cut either the clean energy industry or the coal industry down to size; both can't continue to grow like they have. These targets just show they still haven't made up their minds, balking at the economic fallout from either.

Senior State Department official stresses that the US continues to consider India a critical partner as we repeatedly punch them in the neck www.scmp.com/news/china/d...

"Sadly, the left will not support [Kash] Patel." -Christian Parenti, Dec 31, 2024

Who is driving the Argentina bailout in the Trump admin? Is it Bessent himself?

Why is Adobe Reader giving me pop up ads for their own AI

They’re funded by real estate and Silicon Valley and—in a total inversion of reality—keep taking credit for Mamdani’s primary win: by @ahjohnson.bsky.social

China, the world’s largest carbon polluting nation, has announced a new climate fighting goal to cut emissions by 7% to 10% by 2035.

More and more people are starting to think that by default, any statement coming from the Department of Homeland Security or the FBI is a lie. Wait till they hear about the first couple decades of those agencies!

Pretty big news in global trading circles China will no longer ask for or avail itself of benefits and flexibilities for developing countries as a part of World Trade Organization negotiations, Beijing announced on Tuesday.

Dear friends, As have become a habit, I mark each #autumnequinox by sharing a small poem by Xin Qiji. I also start my translation cycle of Chinese and Japanese poems and prose that mark the twenty-four lunisolar micro-seasons. Translation notes blogged here: #everynightapoem

Very encouraging readouts from both sides of the Trump–Xi call. Trump implies the TikTok deal is going forward but the Chinese language is ambiguous. Xi emphasized hopes for an open investment environment for Chinese capital in the US, which is a good sign.

I’m all for US leaders giving up on hegemony / primacy but it’s not actually possible for the US to tend to its own affairs and leave the rest of the world alone. Capitalism is a global system and the US will remain a huge part of it

There is no policy, only things that happen

I’m very excited for this discussion with @daveckang.bsky.social, @zenobiachan.bsky.social, and Jackie S H Wong. They wrote “What Does China Want?”, the rare academic article that started a social media controversy. Join us! Sep 25 Thu 1–2pm ET quincyinst.org/events/what-...

Has no one made an Adam Smith in Beijing joke?

A masked ICE agent sprayed David Black, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, directly in the face during protests outside the ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois. Photo by Ashlee Rezin of the Chicago Sun-Times.

'She said she and her Chinese friends used to blame themselves for not resisting Beijing more boldly. “I never imagined Americans would be so meek,” she said. “By comparison, we were actually pretty brave.”' www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/b...

“It felt surreal as it was happening,” Morris Katz, a top Mamdani adviser, said of the scene. “What used to be backroom deals in C-suites to decide what the future of our city would look like is now A.O.C. and Zohran in Long Island City at 3 a.m.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/n...

I dunno if liberalism can be saved but all available evidence suggests it’s incapable of saving itself

I was just notified of ANOTHER death in ICE custody — the 16th since Trump took office. The second death TODAY. This is absolutely unacceptable.

Fun story this morning. I spoke with Curtis Evans, the retired Marine in the viral photo below who took part in the anti-ICE protest at Broadview. He's a thoughtful guy, well read and with a dry sense of humor. Story @taskandpurpose.com taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-...

In a former life, I used to see performances by small dance companies. Most of the audience consisted of people from other small dance companies. This looks to be similar though on a larger scale. Nvidia to Invest $100 Billion in OpenAI for Data Centers www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

RIP Jonathan Lear, philosopher and psychoanalyst. He unexpectedly got me to take Kierkegaard, Plato, and Freud seriously. And changed what it meant for me to take a thinker seriously. I miss reading the Republic with him sometimes and especially today.

"Antifa" is very millennial-coded

oh no what happened

Do you think Trump went to any of his kids’ pediatrics appointments

This is exactly what a baby trying to convince his doctor not to give him a shot would say.

In the last six weeks, the Tenant Union Federation launched seven (7) majority tenant unions, across five (5) states, representing 1000 units of housing owned by Capital Realty Group, a New York-based corporate landlord. The first portfolio organizing of its kind... www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

"Venture capitalists in clean tech are starting to say out loud what they’ve suspected for a while: China’s dominance has left key sectors in the West uninvestable... They plan to use climate week in New York to talk about little else." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

EXCLU: @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social will announce today he is cancelling a televised town hall with WABC News planned for Sept. 25 in the wake of the network suspending comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show last week. www.amny.com/news/mamdani...

CATL is ready to assist European battery makers and contribute to building up a regional industry hub as the Chinese giant bets on strong growth in the continent’s EV market.

“After cuts to food stamps, Trump administration ends government’s annual report on hunger in America” This reminds me of the way Trump wanted to deal with the Covid pandemic: “If they stopped testing, the numbers wouldn’t be so bad!”

Incredible parallels in this Berinsky & @gabelenz.bsky.social paper. Politicians didn't stand up to Joe McCarthy in large part because they incorrectly inferred McCarthy/ism was extremely popular. Not standing up to McCarthy was a kind of 1950s Popularism gated academic.oup.com/poq/article/...

This footage is a huge hit on the right, they just love it

“Pelayo said her dad described being held in a room with at least 150 other men as ICE officers constantly yell at them and call them slurs. He also told his daughters detainees are only given food and water based on good behavior.” These are the conditions at the site of yesterday’s protest.

Schumer is not cutting the mustard

This is a really intriguing poll but the writeup doesn't quite do it justice, and they sorta half-bury a negative finding. I get it, writing these things up for maximum impact is very difficult! (I just happen to be awesome at it.) Couple thoughts on this and the challenge.

One of the key ways you refuse to comply with fascism is by becoming even louder and more fearless in supporting vulnerable people. You SHOW that you are unwilling to throw the "undesirables" under the bus if only for self-preservation because under fascism you will also become undesirable one day.

Critical part of the President's new $100,000 charge for H1-B visas: The Administration can also offer a $100,000 discount to any person, company, or industry that it wants. Replacing rules with arbitrary discretion. Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.

“OpenAI’s own advanced reasoning models actually hallucinated more frequently than simpler systems. The company’s o1 reasoning model ‘hallucinated 16% of the time’ when summarizing public information, while newer models o3 and o4-mini ‘hallucinated 33% and 48% of the time, respectively.’”

I genuinely cannot believe that Ezra Klein said we should run pro-life candidates in Kansas, Ohio, and Missouri; three states that recently held abortion referendums where the pro-choice side won!

Did ICE check with the village of Broadview before filling their air with tear gas

I think "Trump is bad because he's making us lose to China" is a terrible talking point in every respect but it is really funny to imagine Xi waking up every morning to receive the latest briefing on US political developments

The Trump administration’s cruel immigration enforcement tactics are recklessly endangering all Illinoisians, including hardworking immigrants and US citizens. This isn't the nation I know or grew up in — know your rights, stand up, and speak out.

"mom, why is JD Vance an autocrat?" "because people didn't like his movie, dear. now put the sandbag up on the street."

If you’re in Naperville, or other burbs, you can even tell people you’re from Chicago now and we won’t make fun of you. New battle lines have been drawn.

The memes and online footprint of Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson don’t place him neatly in a box, though many are still trying. www.wired.com/story/no-one...

Headlines on the Bloomberg Terminal from Air Force One: *TRUMP: TV LICENSES SHOULD BE TAKEN AWAY IF BAD PUBLICITY FOR ME *TRUMP: IF TV SHOWS 'HIT TRUMP' SHOULD BE DISCUSSED ON LICENSES *TRUMP ON TV SHOWS CRITICIZING HIM: THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO

Look who came with

Hmmmm