Commentary In his eloquent and prophetic January 1989 farewell address to the nation, President Ronald Reagan gave us a somber warning, saying, “If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are. I’m warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in the erosion of the American spirit.” In…
SCOTUS Wakes Up
Commentary The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) hasn’t given conservatives a straight flush. Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh broke ranks with their conservative confrères in the so-called voter rights case in Alabama. I say “so-called voter rights case” because, in fact, it had nothing to do with the law, which stipulates that…
Restoring the Meaning of Independence
Commentary In light of the United Kingdom’s 2020 decision to withdraw from the dysfunctional European Union, we might reflect on the historical context of our Independence Day and why we celebrate it. Two hundred and forty-seven years ago, the American Colonies severed the bonds with Britain, and our forefathers crafted a visionary document they called…
The Titan Disaster: Blame Techno-Complacency?
Commentary “This operation will be conducted inside an experimental submersible vessel that has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body.” “Travel in and around the vehicle could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma, or death.” Those are quotations from a waiver signed by a 2022 passenger on OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan submersible, the…
All About Prigozhin
Commentary There’s no doubt that the brief, but significant armed mutiny by Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin damaged Vladimir Putin. Indeed the Moscow Times described Putin as being “seen as weakened.” Russia Today asked the question, “Was it a one-off or an ominous sign?” And the Russia Post headline identified “The Prigozhin Mutiny as a…
Why Getting Your Car Repaired Is Nearly Impossible
Commentary The word “market” is usually associated with the stock market or perhaps a farmers’ market. This is a truncated view based only on what we see or hear reported in the financial press. The market in the real world is a vast collaborative effort involving exchange relationships all over the world, designed by no…
Biden’s Weaponizing the Dollar Against Russia Has Backfired
Commentary In the full panoply of the Biden administration’s foreign policy errors aned gaffes, perhaps none was so stupid as its failed attempt to weaponize the dollar—the world’s reserve currency—against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. It’s telling that during World War II, neither the United States nor the United Kingdom—when the British pound sterling was…
Pump the Brakes on the AI Hype?
Commentary The hype, as they say, is real with AI. Everyone is bullish on the potential created by generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and its slew of competitors and alternative contenders. When ChatGPT was released late last year, more than 100 million users signed up within two months. Since then, Alphabet Inc….
2023: A Year of Surprises
Commentary Bank failures, an artificial intelligence-led bull market, persistent inflation, eurozone recession, France engulfed in riots, and perhaps the biggest U.S. presidential corruption scandal ever. Looking back on the first half of 2023, it is hard to believe the extraordinary events and outright surprises of recent months. Some of the possibilities I forecast in January…
Are There Too Many Arts Graduates?
Commentary I can vividly remember the afternoon of my university graduation ceremony, not least of all because I got lost on the way to pick up my academic robes. I had hired them out from the University of Queensland (UQ)—for not an insignificant sum, I might add—and spent more than an hour desperately trekking across…
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