Pre-orders now available for the new book "On Trade War" by Craig VanGrasstek, a leading analyst on global trade. Craig and I were grad-school classmates years back in Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. A brilliant thinker and skilled writer

@simonlester.com

www.amazon.com/Trade-War-Cr...

This forward talks about the importance of the post-WWII global architecture.

Cover of Lester Thurow's book "HEAD TO HEAD: The Coming Economic Battle Among Japan, Europe, and America"

Dust-jacket bio information about economist/author Lester Thurow.

Given the lamentable disruptions in and collapse of the post-WWII global architecture, Lester Thurow's comments at the front of his early '90s book were ironic

Saw the book in a secondhand store last weekend

@simonlester.com

Cover of "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere" by Paulette F. C. Steeves

Paulette F. C. Steeves joins @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social to discuss the deep past of Indigenous people in North and South America during the Paleolithic. bit.ly/3N25onE

20 reactions · 3 comments | The third movement of my Appalachian Suite entitled The Brown Girl. I chose 4 variants of the same melody and transformed them into an Appalachian waltz. Happy New Year! | ... The third movement of my Appalachian Suite entitled The Brown Girl. I chose 4 variants of the same melody and transformed them into an Appalachian waltz. Happy New Year!

My son is an energetic student of folk music globally. His arrangements take the relatively simple melodies and erect interesting architectures around them. This arrangement was particularly lyrical and well illustrates his artistic vision and sensibility.

www.facebook.com/reel/1443259...

Statue of Black teen who fought segregation replaces Robert E. Lee at U.S. Capitol Barbara Rose Johns was only 16 when she led a walkout in 1951 to protest horrendous conditions at her segregated high school for Black students in rural Farmville, Virginia.

This is incredible news. Today, Virginia officials will unveil a statue of Barbara Johns at the Capitol to replace one of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that had stood for more than a century. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

On Tuesday I shared this information with students in my advanced writing class at the U of Nebraska-Lincoln, since many of them are from Nebraska ranch country and wrote, in a recent assignment, about how the Sandhills provide them with such a strong sense of place.

Except from Andrew Husa academic paper explaining that choosing to stay in a rural community is a proactive act of agency.

Andrew Husa explains survey data about rural Nebraskans' sense of place during a Midwest regionalism conference in Sioux Falls, SD.

Andrew Husa, a geography lecturer at the U of Nebraska-Lincoln, says it's important to understand the agency of rural Nebraskans who choose to stay in their home community.

Andrew Husa, UNL geography Ph.D., spoke at a well-organized Midwest regionalism conference in Sioux Falls last weekend, sharing his survey findings on the strong sense of place in the Nebraska Sandhills. Below: excerpts from his academic paper; photo I took at the conference; quote he gave me.

Wendy Cutler, a leading expert on US-Asia trade issues, will speak here at the U of Nebraska-Lincoln on Nov 19 on US-Japanese trade ties. Free and open to the public; also livestreamed

Our university's Yeutter Institute is a cosponsor

@simonlester.com

news.unl.edu/article/cutl...

It's unendingly amusing to me just *how* much of The Wealth of Nations, and of Hume's earlier writings about trade, is about wine.

I grew up in Munich and had no idea about half of the exonyms this lovely city is known by. Monica? Kinda weird but it works I guess…

France puts a former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, behind bars The first French ex-head of state to be jailed since Marshal Pétain

This morning France puts a former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, behind bars at the Prison de la Santé in Paris. Collaborators apart, no western European president or prime minister has ever been to jail in post-war times
economist.com/europe/2025/...
from @economist.com

The Louvre has a wild history of being robbed in broad daylight One of the most infamous heists in the cultural institution’s history was the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa—when Pablo Picasso numbered among the suspects.

I had a ton of fun whipping this up this weekend after the jaw-dropping Louvre heist. Anyone seen some crown jewels or priceless paintings in a shopping bag, suitcase, or artist's hovel recently?

www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti...

Those institutions / policies included decentralization and federalism, freedom of enterprise, labor, and trade, and high state capacity in fields where the government does act, such as infrastructure and social welfare. Peace helped indirectly (no wartime domestic czars!) as well as directly.

Grateful for orgs like @reclaimtherecords.org today as I attempt to get all kinds of historical files. There's so much data WE own that still isn't open to the public!

Reupping this post of mine from earlier today

bsky.app/profile/geit...

This text is from my enovel ANDROID RUN: A congresswoman turns down the invitation to head the CIA because she is troubled by the president's insistence that the CIA be subservient to him

This text is from my enovel ANDROID RUN: A congresswoman angers the president when she defends the separation of powers and Congress' prerogatives to make judgments independent of the executive branch.

This text is from my enovel ANDROID RUN: A congresswoman angers the president when she cites the Constitution in defending the separation of powers and Congress' prerogatives to make judgments independent of the executive branch.

This is the cover of my enovel, written in 2016 and set in the 2040s.

In my enovel ANDROID RUN, written in 2016 and set in the 2040s, the president is Kendell Nolen, a nefarious tech mogul. Below, he erupts in fury when he asks Rep. Tamika Perkins to head the CIA & she stoutly defends the independence of the CIA and Congress. Tamika will go on to challenge the admin

I remain impressed by the quality of the scripts for the LEGION OF SUPERHEROES in the '60s. I still have several of those books. Featured teen heroes

USA blir akterseglat i maktkamp om hamnarna Kinesiska företag driver hamnar runtom i världen. Även i Sverige. Det ger Peking inflytande i bland annat Grekland och Afrika, medan USA blir allt mer akterseglat.

Interesting piece of information I didn’t know: since 2015, Chinese commercial ships are built to be also fit for military use.

This is an aspect to consider when Chinese ships are involved in Baltic Sea cable cuttings.

www.svd.se/a/KMkq4M/kin...

Hmm: imposition of tariffs as an instrument of coercion, divorced from actual trade policy

#ArbitaryMarketDistortions

Over the weekend I read a long thread on a policy issue I've followed for four decades. A fellow making a reasonable, key policy point in the initial post was pummeled and insulted throughout by a marauding horde of shallow smart-alecks acting like 13-year-olds

Russia threatens Bundestag elections with large-scale cyberattacks and disinformation,Bild reported

According to data from the analyses of German intelligence services,Russian authorities allocate up to €2 billion annually for disinformation campaigns

Article describes range of changes toward expected China focus at DOD in regard to funding, weapon systems, troop presence. Elbridge Colby, in the policy undersecretary position, will oversee the strategic changes, in line with his longstanding views

x.com/starsandstri...

Another sign of political volatility in Britain

Timotheé Chalamet’s Impossible to Replicate Charisma A Complete Unknown is a masterclass in the art of the music biopic.

On this week's Slate Culture Gabfest, we talk about Timmy Chalamet as Bobby Dylan in the biopic A Complete Unknown; the Amazon Prime show On Call, from Law & Order creator Dick Wolf; & the generously weird legacy of David Lynch. slate.com/podcasts/cul...

Fate of Nebraska Legislature filibuster rule centers on rural-urban split more than party • Nebraska Examiner Arguments for whether to change the threshold needed to shut off a filibuster appear centered on rural and urban interests, not party goals.

Neb Legislature's Rules Committee did not approve proposals to change the filibuster rule. As the @nebraskaexaminer.com piece explains, some conservative Republican rural state senators recognize that current filibuster rules can at times help rural interests

nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/01/19/f...

I just saw the news and hunted for your bsky account to say I immediately thought of you and am sad at this news. I know Jules Feiffer was a friend and a major influence for you. RIP

Daniel Webster (born Jan. 18, 1782): "No man can suffer too much, and no man can fall too soon, if he suffer or if he fall in defense of the liberties and Constitution of his country."

The Constitution is our indispensable foundation. Americans should be stalwart in defending it.

"The proper function of a government is to make it easy for the people to do good, and difficult for them to do evil."

-- Daniel Webster, born #OTD 1782

In my grad school in the '80s, I was friends with Bill Cochrane, a grand old fellow & senior staff member for Senate Rules Committee. Bill was a key staff member involved in preparations for presidential inaugurations

Bill was from my home county in NC. Years back I saw his grave in Chapel Hill