The Post-Partisan Emporium

  Ebbing Civility LINH DINH [Pakse, 5/12/23] I had a foul start to my day. At the 24-hour Vietnamese eatery, the overnight crowd leaves a mess which the owner only cleans up around 6AM. Arriving before 5:30, I had to ignore all the tissues on the floor as I ate my egg noodles with duck. There was also some wetness and two sprigs of mint on my table, left by somebody. Worst was a smell of dirty dishes in fetid water. I couldn’t wait to bolt. This explains why pricier Subinh Hotel has become my favorite. It’s still more affordable, though, than a ghetto Chinese takeout with you on the wrong side of the bulletproof plexiglass. Most dishes at Subinh are expertly prepared and artfully presented. A plate of  crispy pork  with cucumber, tomato, carrot, slivers of cabbage and a sprig of cilantro is just $4.27. A dinner of  cashew chicken  with assorted vegetables, rice and a pot of tea is $5.64. In this cool and civilized setting, you can linger in comfort. Just a decad...

  How to Manufacture a Pandemic BY   DR CARL HENEGHAN AND DR TOM JEFFERSON How do you get people to take pharmacological action against something that hits them on average once a year and lasts a few days, like acute respiratory infections? They have been around since creation and are extremely familiar to everyone around the globe, including animals. Acute respiratory infections manifest themselves with a range of symptoms – from none all the way to pneumonia and death from respiratory failure. Thankfully this happens only in a small minority of cases. To sell, you have to have a market, but familiarity breeds contempt. So you have to create a market for your products, be they medicines, opinions, careers, research funds or whatever. One approach is to confuse a syndrome with a disease. This means using the  F-Word  ‘flu’, a terrible Anglo-Saxon colloquialism which is used all over the world, even by WHO and the U.S. CDC. Using the F-word, you are bundling up f...

G7 to discuss digital currency standards, crypto regulation And other FUN things! Financial Digitalization 19 . We will continue policy deliberation on digital money to harness the benefits of innovation such as payment efficiency as well as financial inclusion while addressing potential risks to the stability, resilience and integrity of the monetary and financial system. A reliable, stable, and transparent global payment system is a key foundation for our economic and financial activities, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) could have a substantial role to play in this context. We recall the Public Policy Principles for Retail CBDCs agreed in October 2021  We share the importance of developing policy discussions on digital identity systems and other means to build trust and security in data sharing. We will share and accelerate best practices on digital identity and credentials and support discussions on the ongoing development of the OECD draft recommendation on t...