Applications are open for the Finance Summer School 2026. Last two have been at Brown. This one is at LSE thanks to LSE European Institute and Huth Initiative, plus the Berkeley Program on Finance and Democracy. Stellar Line up. Apps open: forms.gle/WsEVk4Yy52Dn...
Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to watch them die. One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.” Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness. Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.” Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%. AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)
A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"
Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
African officials express concern that the nuclear armed, ethnically volatile former British colony is sleepwalking towards a human rights disaster. #NewsIfUSAWasAForeignCountry
We’ve reached the point where “did the foreign dignitary pay proper obeisance to the Mad Emperor?” is apparently a perfectly fine basis for U.S. foreign policy.
Passage from Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World
Reposting as Sagan is so prescient from 30 years ago.
if you want to know where we are in Western climate politics, the Bank of England, one of the few central banks with an environmental mandate, has just published its 2025-2028 research agenda and there isnt a single word on climate
www.bankofengland.co.uk/research/ban...
Incredible first day of presentations at this year's HPE grantee conference. We kicked things off with Asensio Robles, @atrasi.bsky.social, Eric Helleiner, and Jamie Martin discussing the role of private banks in Spain's democratization, and neoliberalism in Thailand's "sufficiency economy"
Thank you for creating this, Palma! May I be added? Thanks :)
So excited to present as one of the Summer 2024 grantees! The whole two days look unbelievably interesting - grab those spots to attend while you can!!