Reflectii

From the very start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the risk of it escalating into a nuclear conflict has been a feature of much commentary about the war. From explicit as well as thinly veiled mentions of it by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the warnings of Western observers about the dangers of any direct confrontation between NATO and Russian forces, the nuclear dimension to this war has never been far from the surface.

Just like the rise of cryptocurrencies as a three-trillion-dollar digital asset class has evoked both enthusiasm and ire in the world of traditional finance, the next wave of technology-powered financial innovation is sparking a blend of anxiety and exuberance. It’s called decentralized finance (DeFi), referring to the use of blockchain technology to allow users to cut out intermediaries and directly lend, invest, and access capital markets.

Currently, Germany owns only one class of fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons – the Tornado.

Germany is going to purchase F-35 fighter jets made by US firm Lockheed Martin to replace its ageing Tornado aircraft, Reuters reported, citing two government sources.

Reporting violations in an active conflict, previously a daunting and life threatening task, has now become easier thanks to open-source reporting techniques. Thanks to much improved cameras in mobile phones, the digital media being uploaded by combatants themselves to social media and other sites online is now of a very high resolution. Couple that with the availability of high-quality satellite imagery and digital tools that let you sift through the masses of data being uploaded online, and reporters enjoy a much greater ability to investigate war crimes as they happen.

Last week, I was on a panel with Jason Furman and Joseph Stiglitz, discussing the recent surge in inflation and the prospects for the future. We took some questions from the audience, but there were a number for which we did not have time. I have picked some of these questions to answer myself, for anyone who may be interested.

According to the usual story, analytic philosophy was born when Bertrand Russell revolted against a version of Hegel’s idealism that had dominated the Cambridge philosophy scene. So how is it that around 100 years later, Robert Brandom, an influential philosopher grappling with technical debates at the heart of analytic philosophy, publishes an 856-page book dedicated to interpreting Hegel? Paul Redding explains how Russell’s failed attempt to use Gottlob Frege’s logic as a foundation not only for mathematics, but for the natural sciences, ended up calling for solutions found in Hegel’s philosophy.

“God is getting ready to do something amazing.” * “Try to stay away from speculation.”

Is the Russian invasion of Ukraine part of the end times prophecies?

It seems that many Christian leaders are watching closely to find out. Some have made a leap of faith and claim God’s prophecy is being fulfilled, while others have cautioned it is just too early to tell.

My old boss Herman Kahn, with whom I worked at the Hudson Institute in the 1970s, had a set speech that he would give at public meetings. He said that back in high school in Los Angeles, his teachers would say what most liberals were saying in the 1940s and 50s: “Wars never solved anything.” It was as if they never changed anything – and therefore shouldn’t be fought.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Refugee Convention, one of the signal moral advances in human history. Negotiated in the wake of World War II and initially limited to Europe, the treaty established the first binding legal protections for individuals forced to flee their countries. These rights and responsibilities, which were made universal in the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1967, remain a cornerstone of the global humanitarian regime. The convention is, however, showing its age. Many governments are failing to fulfil their legal obligations under it, and the convention does little to address the plight of internally displaced persons as well as those driven from their nations by more complex dynamics, including criminal violence and climate change.