Biden admin awards $8.5B to Intel for advanced chips
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the agreement will set the U.S. up to meet its target of producing 20% of the globe’s leading-edge chips by the end of the decade.
Tag: Subsidies
Russians vote for Putin
For charts, see the original post.
Today Russians are set to head to the polls for their country’s presidential election over three days – with only one expected outcome. Incumbent President Vladimir Putin will win comfortably. The Russian president is elected by direct popular vote. If no candidate receives over 50% of the vote, then a second round is held between the two most popular candidates three weeks later. It’s the first time that multi-day voting has been used in a Russian presidential election, as well as the first allowing voters to cast ballots online.
…
Russia’s war economy is holding up. Wages have soared by double digits, the rouble is relatively stable and poverty and unemployment are at record lows. For the country’s lowest earners, salaries over the last three quarters have risen faster than for any other segment of society, clocking an annual growth rate of about 20%.
The government is spending massively on social support for families, pension increases, mortgage subsidies and compensation for the relatives of those serving in the military.
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US rice exported to Haiti may be harmful to health
Rice exported to Haiti—mostly from the United States—contains unhealthy levels of arsenic and cadmium, which can increase the risk of various cancers, heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses, new research shows.
US rice exported to Haiti may be harmful to health
China Overtakes Europe in Clean Energy Tech Research
China has become a powerhouse in clean energy, and has overtaken the EU on clean technology research, a paper prepared for the European Commission has shown.
“China has caught up with the EU in R&D expenditure. While Chinese R&D intensity more than doubled since 2000, EU R&D intensity grew much slower. As a result, China caught up with the EU while the US keeps a consistent lead,” according to the brief on the EU-China exposure in trade, investment, and technology.
“China is increasingly becoming a world leader in science and innovation, for several critical technologies outlined in the 2023 Commission Recommendation on critical technology areas for the EU’s economic security,” the authors of the study for the Commission wrote.
China Overtakes Europe in Clean Energy Tech Research
China is eating Europe’s lunch, as well! On another note, the EU should worry more about their dependence, on the US, than on China. Then again, they’re a vassal state of the US.
Previously:
Argentina: the movement against Milei has begun
As we were about to publish the latest editorial of the Argentine section of the IMT, concerning the first budget announcements of the new government of far-right demagogue president Milei, he doubled down: announcing by decree the abolition of over 300 pieces of legislation, which regulate economic activity in a wide range of fields. This is an unprecedented, ultra-liberal assault on the rights and living conditions of the working masses, introduced using undemocratic emergency decree powers. The announcement provoked a spontaneous movement of protest, with thousands coming out into the streets of Buenos Aires, as Alejandro Spezia describes in this special update (the original article follows after).
Argentina: the movement against Milei has begun
Milei Couples ‘Total Crackdown’ on Protest With Economic Shocks in Argentina
“Protest is elemental to Argentine social and political life, so it’s not difficult to imagine how this ends,” said one journalist.
Milei Couples ‘Total Crackdown’ on Protest With Economic Shocks in Argentina
The Day Ted Cruz Stopped A Bad Internet Bill
Well, this was a bit of a surprise. Over the past couple of weeks I wrote about how Senator Josh Hawley was planning to try to hotline his terrible No Section 230 Immunity for AI Act. As we have explained multiple times, the bill is so poorly drafted that it would make a mess of the entire internet. After rumors of two attempted hotlines (effectively trying to sneak the bill through if no Senator objects) planned for last week, and then a rumor of a Tuesday night attempt, Hawley finally took to the floor Wednesday morning to make the push. If C-SPAN’s clunky embed feature works, you can watch it here:
The Day Ted Cruz Stopped A Bad Internet Bill
Related:
The Finnish government plans to criminalize communist symbols
On August 31st 2023 the Finnish government released a rather confusing document advocating the banning of communist symbols. The completely outlandish document is called a “Government statement to Parliament on promoting equality, gender equality and non-discrimination in Finnish society”. What does a document with such a title have to do with communism?
The Finnish government plans to criminalize communist symbols
ExxonMobil foresees profit and expansion surge fueled by Guyana, Permian advancements
ExxonMobil foresees profit and expansion surge fueled by Guyana, Permian advancements
With an annual total capital expenditure and exploration expense projection ranging between US$23 billion to US$25 billion, ExxonMobil is set to allocate US$22-$27 billion annually toward project spending until 2027. This includes a commitment to emerging ventures in lithium and low-carbon initiatives, with an 18% increase in spending in these areas.
Emphasizing its dedication to the energy transition, ExxonMobil’s Low Carbon Solutions division is expected to witness an increase in budget from US$17 billion to US$20 billion between 2022 and 2027, contingent upon government support.
The company plans to ramp up annual share buybacks to $20 billion by 2025, an increase from the current US$17.5 billion, following the completion of the Pioneer merger. Additionally, ExxonMobil continues its divestment strategy for refining operations.
Related:
Free Speech Groups Call on Congress To Block NewsGuard Funding
As many as 36 groups advocating free speech, the Free Speech Alliance, have turned to US Congress with a request to stop any further funding of NewsGuard.
Free Speech Groups Call on Congress To Block NewsGuard Funding
Previous NewsGuard posts (not necessarily conservative):
NewsGuard is very neutral. Its Board of Directors is
The EU, NATO, NewsGuard and the Voltaire Network (original)secret, but its Advisory Board includes one of the co-founders of Wikipedia (Jimmy Wales) as well as the former director of the CIA and the NSA (General Michael Hayden), the former Secretary General of NATO (Anders Fogh Rasmussen), the former Secretary for Homeland Security (Tom Ridge) or the former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy – i.e. Propaganda (Richard Stengel)
Consortium News Sues NewsGuard, US Government For Alleged Defamation
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Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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