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Archive for August 5th, 2020

August 5th, 2020 - 11:32 pm § in Donald Trump, Foreign Affairs

Nuclear Taboo in the era of Trump

The Nuclear Taboo is the title of a book by Nina Tannenwald, an academic who specializes in “global security issues, efforts to control weapons of mass destruction, and human rights and the laws of war,” according to her profile here. She works at Brown University. Other people like her [...]

August 5th, 2020 - 8:12 pm § in Misc.

BOOM!!!

With at least 137 dead, including an American, hundreds still missing, and more than 5,000 injured, the Beirut port terminal explosion of Aug. 5, 2020, grabbed the world’s attention. In September 2013, a cargo ship named MV Rhosus, owned by a Cyprus-based Russian businessman, sailed from the B[...]

August 5th, 2020 - 7:29 pm § in America, Politics

Public health officials are quitting because of threats, harassment

From NBC’s Today Show, Aug. 5, 2020:  [...]

August 5th, 2020 - 5:04 pm § in Economics

Higher grocery prices aren’t your imagination

     “Grocery prices have skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic,” CNBC says (read story here). I’ll bet you’ve noticed. I have.      I’m talking about grocery prices, not your total food spending, which may be less if you ate out a lot until Covid-19 closed [...]

August 5th, 2020 - 4:03 pm § in Donald Trump, Economics, Politics

The fight over unemployment benefits

Mailing a letter the other day, I saw a “Help Wanted” sign in the post office window, for jobs starting at $17.59 an hour. Some quick math in my head and that’s about $700 a week, which is maybe $600 of take-home after taxes. Here in Washington, a person who earned $700 a week befo[...]