Around the Traps 8/5/26

 it is time for Around the Traps again.

Aussie,Aussie,Aussie,Oy,Oy,Oy

• Saam Roggeveen on canberra-can-t-want-alliance-more-washington-does
• Adam Andreotto on ai-road-safety-cameras-are-fuelling-a-surge-in-driver-fines-are-they-fair
• Michelle Grattan on antisemitism-royal-commissions-interim-report-leaves-key-questions-dangling
• Nicki Hutley on rba-governors-frank-message-on-the-economy-is-the-biggest-shock
• Stella Huangfu on with-no-easy-options-rba-raises-interest-rates-for-the-third-time-to-quell-inflation
• Gabrielle Appleby on is-australian-democracy-eroding
• Richard Neuman on why-your-next-car-most-likely-be-ev-made-china
• Mark the Graph on finding-r-star-after-great-divergence
• Greg Jericho on in-this-budget-all-eyes-are-on-cgt-but-labors-rumoured-family-trust-tweaks-might-also-help-fight-tax-inequality
• Ben Saul on islamic-state-wives-return-is-no-threat-but-our-cruelty-to-their-kids-is-shameful
• Tina Soliman-Hunter on the-governments-plans-to-bolster-australias-fuel-stores-are-sensible-but-5-years-too-late
• Hiya Harinandini et al on beyond-model-minority-rethinking-australia-s-indian-diaspora
• Kevin Morrison on australian-gas-exporters-will-be-forced-to-set-aside-local-supply-for-domestic-users

OZ Climate

• six-wind-farms-two-solar-hybrids-and-seven-hour-batteries-win-key-cis-tenders-ahead-of-coal-closure
  
• huge-wind-and-battery-project-becomes-first-to-seal-local-benefits-deal-under-rigorous-new-planning-regime
  
• no-more-dark-side-of-the-grid-the-fossil-fuel-empire-loses-ground-to-renewables-and-storage
  
• big-batteries-set-new-charging-records-despite-lack-of-price-volatility
  
• ninety-landholders-3-mobs-two-100-tonne-transformers-90-km-of-cable-marinus-links-long-road-to-coal-country
  
• aussie-researchers-harness-ai-to-help-unlock-cheap-scalable-non-toxic-solar-recycling
  
• record-battery-output-big-winds-push-monthly-gas-generation-to-lowest-level-in-more-than-two-decades
  
• rebate-frenzy-shatters-records-for-home-batteries-and-doubles-year-on-year-rooftop-solar-growth
  
• why-australias-biggest-isolated-grid-now-leads-rest-of-country-in-race-to-reach-80-pct-renewables
  
• worlds-islanded-grids-are-test-beds-for-high-penetration-renewables-storage-and-advanced-controls
  
• nsw-to-fast-track-approvals-for-key-wind-solar-and-network-projects-in-race-to-quit-coal-and-power-smelter
  
• how-rooftop-solar-and-home-batteries-became-kryptonite-to-big-coal-and-the-fossil-fuel-industry
  
• blows-your-mind-regulator-says-boom-in-home-batteries-and-pv-puts-82-pct-renewables-within-reach
  
• the-spot-mirage-low-wholesale-prices-show-the-future-but-are-a-poor-signal-for-new-wind-and-solar
  
• federal-labor-unveils-plans-for-fossil-gas-reservation-to-ensure-share-of-production-is-not-exported
  
• 
  
• Haidee Cadd et al on lake-mud-reveals-7-000-years-of-kangaroo-islands-complex-fire-history

Northern America

• institutional economics on us-productivity-growth-treasury-yields
• Kruggers on how-trump-screwed-himself , curing-us-health-care-part-ii , the-death-star-administration , dont-cry-for-jeff-bezoss-yacht , the-super-rich-are-different-from
• Lydia Khalil on trump-gutted-very-programs-designed-protect-him
• noahpinion on californias-billionaire-tax-is-the-wrong-approach
• Nicholas Grossman on trump-iran-war-reality-check
• Astead Heardon on heather-cox-richardson-america-at-250-grade-history
• Jeff McCausland on hegseth-iran-testimony-house-armed-services
• Dahlia Lithwick on trump-news-todd-blanche-pam-bondi-fail
• Molly Omstead on trump-no-kings-alabama-penis-grandma-trial-protest
• Trent Bridgeman and Brian Finnicane on iran-hostilities-war-powers-restart-clock
• Ken dilaniaan and Carol Leonnig on fbi-investigating-leaks-to-journalist-who-wrote-explosive-article-on-kash-patel-sources
• Ian Millhiser on supreme-court-callais-voting-rights-citizens-united , louise-lucas-fbi-raid-fox-news-todd-blanche
• David Cole on the-second-redemption-voting-rights-act
• Jeet Heer on politics/trump-iran-christopher-caldwell-american-decline, ken-martin-dnc-autopsy-pod-save-america

Europe

• James Paterson on hungary-shows-illiberal-regimes-can-be-beaten-harder-question-whether-they-can-be
• Tyler Cowen on the-ordinary-men-of-the-nazi-party
• Joshua Keating on ukraine-russia-war-iran-drones
• mainly macro on uk-decline-and-stylised-empirical-facts.html?utm_source=follow.it
• Vladimir Bortun on after-a-year-of-reform-uk-in-local-government-the-cracks-are-starting-to-show
• Jon Richardson on russia-doesnt-have-much-to-celebrate-on-victory-day-as-ukraine-brings-the-war-home-to-putin
• Isaac Chotiner on the-uks-antisemitism-problem

Asia

• Nischal Dhungel on when-tankers-stop-tractors-stop
• Henry Storey on asean-s-rules-origin-problem
• Martin Kear on netanyahu-has-pledged-to-finish-the-job-against-hezbollah-its-a-promise-he-cant-deliver-on
• Amin Saikal and Amitav Archarya on no-fear-of-roaring-lions-iran-has-a-long-history-of-standing-firm-against-outside-aggressors
• Lynne O'Donnell on beijing-arrived-late-war-it-cannot-end
• Vivek Krishnamurthy on the-method-in-irans-madness-closure-of-strait-of-hormuz-echoes-a-centuries-old-danish-play-and-is-a-tragedy-for-the-world-order
• Cicept Hidayat and Sondang Sirait on indonesia-democracy-without-collapse
• Thomas Wright on how-trump-got-iran-wrong
• Christopher de Bellaigue on irans-new-winter
• Ishaan Tharoor on how-the-iran-war-is-shifting-power-toward-china
• Fred Kaplan on trump-iran-peace-deal-war-news-oil

Wonk

• David Runciman on gangster politics Thanks Nick
• Martin McKenzie-Murray on heres-piety-your-eye Thanks Nick
• Nicholas Humphrey on you-know-what-consciousness-is-you-live-in-soul-land thanks Nick
• the drying of the isles on the-drying-of-the-isles Thanks Nick
• Sally Hammond on think-tanks-have-defeated-democracy Thanks Nick
• Luke Carman on getting-square-in-a-jerking-circle Thanks Nick
• Howard Wiseman on physicists-have-measured-negative-time-in-the-lab
• Mark the Graph on update-on-iran-war-mexican-standoff , weekly-energy-update
• mainly macro on capital-and-right-wing-populism , should-government-compensate-consumers-for-cost-of-living-shocks
• Tim Harford on lessons-from-your-petrol-pump
• the conversable economist on spring-2026-journal-of-economic-perspectives-freely-available-online
• Abhinandan Kumar on un-not-broken-it-was-built-way
• noahpinion on ais-big-messaging-pivot , could-development-economics-be-more-useful
• Chris Dillow on hating-freedom
• Home and away on the-choice-to-end-a-war-of-choice
• Chris Ogden on iran-wants-oil-tariffs-paid-in-chinese-yuan-is-the-power-of-the-us-petrodollar-in-decline

General

• Alberto Filgueiras on arsenal-might-be-choking-again-in-englands-premier-league-here-are-4-psychological-fixes
• Euan Ritchie on from-fossicking-for-fossils-to-a-champion-for-life-on-earth-sir-david-attenborough-at-100

Climate

• Larelle Bossi on quiet-contradiction-heart-energy-transition
• Meredith Jones on oil-refineries-are-catching-fire-in-war-or-by-accident-how-does-this-worsen-the-energy-crunch
• Benji Jones on bolivia-deforestation-mennonites-climate-change
• skeptical science on fact-brief-windwhales , climate-change-is-destroying-lives-now
• Renske Jongen et al on warming-seas-can-threaten-the-hidden-relationship-that-supports-seagrass-meadows
• ocean acidification on acidification-in-coastal-waters-of-adelie-land-antarctica-1985-2025 , coupled-ocean-warming-and-acidification-reduce-shell-integrity-and-bioenergetics-in-juvenile-mytilus-coruscus
• Wesley Morgan on much-needed-fresh-air-5-outcomes-from-the-worlds-first-summit-on-ending-fossil-fuels
• Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez on urban-trees-cool-the-worlds-cities-more-than-we-thought-but-we-cant-rely-on-them-alone

Andrew Gelman ( mainly stats)

• what-advice-do-you-have-for-this-student-whos-in-his-first-year-of-college-and-interested-in-both-statistics-and-political-science 
  
• John Carlin says
• an-economist-writes-the-fulminations-over-the-1-pick-seem-overheated-to-me
  
• for-once-some-scientific-fraudsters-have-to-pay-their-money-back-to-the-government
  
• expanding-the-stan-users-guide
  
• government policy
• handbook-of-markov-chain-monte-carlo-second-edition
  
• overall-i-remain-a-fan-of-oliver-sacks
  
• david-hogg-on-why-we-do-astrophysics-in-the-face-of-llms-and-the-lack-of-clinical-value
  
• statschat on briefly
• statschat on the-climate-chart-that-sparks-a-count-v-ratio-debate/?utm_source=follow.it

Dianne Coyle ( quirky + book reviews)

• n
• stoat on book-review-handmaids-wail
• Tyler Cowen on ryan-avents-new-book-in-good-faith
• Joel Eissenberg on money-beyond-borders-a-book-review
• Johanna Harris on how-to-read-the-classics-in-an-age-of-distraction-and-3-short-books-to-get-you-going

Vox Wonk

• macroeconomic-consequences-undermining-central-bank-independence-evidence-governor 
  
• connecting-job-seekers-buddies-online
  
• quantifying-impact-iran-war-us-inflation 
  
• how-countercyclical-capital-buffers-travel-internal-capital-markets-and-domestic
  
• use-and-misuse-rd-subsidies-and-tax-credits
  
• understanding-rise-ceo-age
  
• when-ai-meets-local-debt 
  
• way-out-strait-hormuz
  

ISIS Brides.

 The last of the ISIS brides are coming home. I see a number of people who want to deny them passage back here even though they are Australiaan citizens. Just remember a number will be charged with crimes if only  for being in an area Aaustraalians cannot be.

On the whole subjest I agree with Ben Saul.

Just remember these are the last of the group. They started coming back when the LNP was in government. We have not had a whiff of anyone in the 'group' doing anything illegal let alone engaging in terrorist activity.

Just a thought but what do you think would occur in  their behaviour towards the group if you showed kindness. Part of this will be people accepting they made wrong decisions and therefore have to pay the consequences/punishment. 

Mothers  usually care more about bringing up their kids than ensuring their children become orphans for a cause. If the women believed that then it would have already occurred!!

I forgot to add most if not all of the brides went there as teenagers and males in ISIS are known as highly misogynous.

The RBA had no choice

 well the RBA raised rates.

see:

• Nicki Hutley
• Stella Huangfa

and heavily related that great star Mark the Graph

I want to go back into time and do a mea culpa.

I was one of those who thought the RBA was too slow in cutting rates. Everything around us at the time was showing inflation was dropping quickly and wages was NEVER a problem.

That proved wrong. It was wrong becaause the speed limit of the economy was now a lot lower than we previously thought. CBA economic research was first onto this ( after being like me hawkish on rate cutting.) Mark the Graph was also on the job writing brilliantly on this topic.

This also had consquences for fiscal policy. I was sympathetic towards the government. If the RBA is raising rates the budget should be at worst balalnced as Ken Henry has noted. A Government tightening fiscal plicy as the RBA is tightening monetary policy means avoiding a recession becomes quite hard.

However now wee all onow fidcal plocy has to be contractionary. The structural deficit is around $20b and this has to be cut.

I see nothing wrong with the government informing the RBA how much it will cut it. Neither wants to see a recession however the RBA does not want to see any supply side effect turn nito rising inflation!

The Bondi Royal Commision

 I am not happy with the Royal commision.

To my mind there are two things it needs to make judgement on.

1. Were the intelligence and security forces doing their properly in this instance.
2. Why did the two murderers do what they did

I am underwhelmed that Dennis Richardson gave up the ghost on the first. On the surface, as I have constantkly said, it is very hard to stop lone wolf events unless they are incredinly stupid. ( They have been thus far in Australia. We need to see in black and white whether they did their job !

We were told by all and sundry and presumably with the blessing of the various agencies that the two people were very influenced by ISIS. However we have had some politicians like our over-rated premier and some in the media say they were influenced by happenings in Gaza. 

The BIG problem here is the inherent contradiction between these beliefs. IF you are a fervent supporter of ISIS then how in the hell do you support Gazans when ISIS hates them to death. This would be cognitive dissonance big time. Another  problem was the  planning started well before October 7 and the consquences! 

Killing jews in Sydney makes no sense if you believed this for various reasons which are easily apparent.On the other hand killing jews in sydney does make sense if you are a disciple of ISIS.

On a related matter I am dissapointed the council of sydney have not allowed speakers talk on why globalise the Intifada should be banned as a slogan. I have written before how absurd it is for people to believe their lives are threatened in sydney over this phrase. Clearly a lot of education is needed. I hope the speakers can do this otherwise the event will be wasted.

Gerard Henderson watch

 Our friend Gerry is playing the grumpy old man well.

He didn't like panelists on Sally Sara's breakfast program not mentioning the bondi attack involved jews. Well unless you have been living under a rock everyone knows that! He is also with the crowd that allege that it was part of a anti-semitism wave in Australia. No mention from our Gerry of Iranian based motives and their hand in this nor of a criminal attempting to get a better deal by instigating anti-semitism 'problems'. What was also missing was how people who are essentially ISIS disciples' would kill jews because of Gaza when ISIS hates  Palestine and their people!

He is very good at saying people or organisations are left wing, far left wing etc BUT he never defines this. Is it absolute or relative for example. We do not know.

He doesn't like Jimmy Kimmel's joke. He clearly needs an education. Since self-awareness is not a Henderson strength he simply does not understand he is showing , like Chris Kenny did , a lot of ignorance of the topic. Perhaps he should get onto youtube and look up some don rickles roasts where the husband was a lot older than the wife and in advanced years!!

He also claims the independent in the Farrer by-election is a teal without any real explanation. For example is she campaigning on issues the teals have? This apparently too much worrk for our Gerry to do. He simply says climate 200 has contributed to her campaign. Okay how much money was it and was it comparable to the teals in the last election? It is all insinuation. A bit like when he continually refered to Obama as Barak hussein Obama. See

Around the Traps 1/5/26

 It is time again for Around the Traps.

Aussie,Aussie,Aussie,Oy,Oy,Oy

• anonymous on ndis-insider-reforms-conflict-of-interest-quality-auditor Thanks Nick
• Georgia Van Torn on ndis-eligibility-will-be-based-on-functional-capacity-not-diagnostic-labels-but-what-does-that-mean
• Helen Wolfenden on theyre-my-people-radio-presenter-james-valentine-truly-understood-and-valued-his-audience
• Mark the Graph on stagflation-lead-in-australias-saddle , inflation-causes-diagnosis-and-cures , should-rba-raise-rates-in-may-2026 , central-bank-purposefulness-take-two
• Tom Barber on ai-danger-no-longer-myth-it-s-called-mythos
• Frank Bongiorno on  the-times-seem-to-suit-anthony-albanese-so-why-isnt-he-more-popular
• Fei Gao on how-much-a-new-1-000-tax-offset-would-really-be-worth-and-whos-better-off-avoiding-it
• Rachel ViforJ on negative-gearing-tax-breaks-could-finally-be-tightened-in-the-may-budget-what-options-are-on-the-table
• Saul Eslake on cgt-capital-gains-discounts-tax-australia
• Imogen Richards on banning-protest-slogans-wont-end-antisemitism-we-need-to-understand-the-complex-forces-driving-it
• Greg Jericho on inflation-rba-interest-rate-rise-reserve-bank-australia-abs
• Stella Huangfu on australias-inflation-surge-just-made-an-rba-rate-rise-more-likely
• Andrea Carson and Dianna Bossin on albanese-governments-latest-attempt-to-make-tech-giants-pay-for-journalism-is-needed-but-carries-big-risks
• Sean Andrews on ocean-much-more-backdrop-australia-s-security
• Keiran Hardy on royal-commission-report-doesnt-help-us-start-making-sense-of-bondi-terror-attack
• Se Park on albanese-is-prioritising-politics-over-the-responsible-handling-of-isis-families-setting-a-dangerous-precedent
• Kvin Morrison on australia-isnt-getting-a-fair-share-of-tax-on-gas-exports-queensland-has-shown-how-to-raise-the-bar
• Rod Sims on making-tech-giants-pay-for-news-was-a-success-the-first-time-around-it-can-be-done-again

OZ Climate

• ill-sign-you-drill-state-puts-oil-and-gas-project-on-fast-track-one-day-after-calling-in-another-big-battery
  
• how-i-shocked-my-20-year-old-gas-bbq-back-to-life-with-an-electric-conversion
  
• wind-solar-and-battery-projects-at-record-high-but-most-stuck-in-funding-supply-chain-and-other-bottlenecks
  
• wind-solar-and-battery-projects-at-record-high-but-most-stuck-in-funding-supply-chain-and-other-bottlenecks
  
• aemo-looks-to-evs-data-centres-and-industry-to-help-ease-overload-of-rooftop-pv-in-middle-of-day
  
• cheaper-home-batteries-2-0-how-the-rebate-changes-will-affect-prices-and-consumer-choices 
  
• push-for-high-fixed-network-charges-could-kill-the-market-for-home-batteries-just-when-they-are-needed
  
• diesel-consumption-shows-the-decline-in-coal-a-specific-symptom-of-a-broader-need-for-renewal
  
• cant-recycle-solar-this-local-business-is-making-millions-from-copper-aluminium-sales
  
• batteries-both-big-and-small-have-reshaped-the-grid-and-forced-wholesale-prices-down-aemo-says 
  
• when-can-i-get-a-job-community-leaders-say-coal-country-ready-and-waiting-for-offshore-wind
  
• equitable-gas-exit-or-costly-death-spiral-new-report-says-the-choice-is-now-up-to-governments
  
• push-for-high-fixed-network-charges-could-kill-the-market-for-home-batteries-just-when-they-are-needed
  
• australias-sliding-doors-moment-from-dig-and-ship-to-trusted-renewables-transition-partner
  
• solar-and-battery-households-help-grid-by-importing-more-during-day-and-exporting-more-in-evening-peaks
  
• claims-of-huge-new-blow-outs-to-the-snowy-2-0-bill-are-just-plain-wrong
  
• Graham Readfearn on queenslands-renewable-energy-whiplash-how-the-shift-from-coal-stalled-in-australias-most-polluting-state
• Robyn Eckersly on why-the-coalitions-lurch-to-the-right-is-bad-for-the-climate
• Tony Wood on why-australia-has-to-boost-fuel-supply-and-electrify-transport
• Mike Foley and Nic Toscano on australia-s-battery-boom-has-doubled-in-a-year-and-is-rewiring-the-energy-grid
• Peter Hartcher on how-power-from-the-people-carbon-dates-the-opposition

Northern America

• institutional economics on war-and-the-second-moment-in-us-equities
• James Piazza on latest-attack-threatening-president-trump-reflects-rising-political-violence-in-us
• Missy Ryan et al on iran-war-vance-hegseth-trump
• Eric Kramer on europe-ukraine-and-iran-and-trumps-impaired-emotional-cognitive-relationship-to-negative-consequences
• Tyler Cowen on on-health-care-price-transparency-from-the-comments
• Kruggers on the-oil-squeeze-tightens , who-are-you-gonna-believe-trump-or-your-lying-eyes
• Jonathan Chait on trump-language-policing
• Fabio Bertoni on kash-patels-implausible-lawsuit-against-the-atlantic
• John Cassidy on the-lessons-from-jerome-powells-defiance-of-donald-trump
• Andrew Weissman on indictment-southern-poverty-law-center-splc
• Barbara MzQuade on james-comey-second-indictment-8647-trump 
• renew economy on us-predicts-stunning-80-gw-increase-in-big-solar-wind-and-battery-storage-in-next-year-despite-trump
• Ian Millhiser on supreme-court-louisiana-callais-gerrymandering-alito-voting-rights-act
• Richard Hasen on scotus-voting-rights-section-two-ruling-history-worst-century
• noahpinion on scoring-the-jensen-dwarkesh-debate
• Jeet Heer on trump-whcd-shooting-assassination-attempt
• Dahlia Lithwick on supreme-court-analysis-democracy-fail-alito-kagan
• Lisa Needham on blanche-comey-ballroom
• Ken White on the-comey-threat-indictment-is-a-grave-embarrassment-to-the-united-states-department-of-justice-and-the-rule-of-law
• Stepheen Robinson on trump-cognitive-state

Europe

• David Ignatious on russia-putin-threat-europe-nato-raises-questions-about-trump Thanks Nick
• Lauren Cassidy on chernobyl-at-40-secret-stasi-files-reveal-extent-of-soviet-misinformation-campaign-over-nuclear-disaster
• David Marples on forty-years-after-the-chernobyl-disaster-its-legacy-still-resonates
• Jim Smith on chernobyls-wildlife-the-real-story-isnt-the-presence-of-radiation-its-the-absence-of-humans
• Paul Whitely on UK prime-ministers-have-always-faced-political-scandals-so-why-cant-they-weather-them-now
• Lisa Martin on fickle-iceland-geopolitical-pickle

Asia

• Barno Nnouri and Inderjeet Parda on middle-east-conflict-looks-increasingly-like-a-war-nobody-can-win
• Aniello Iannone on taiwan-s-deeper-vulnerability-politics-home
• Gemima Ware on how-israels-history-has-shaped-the-way-it-wages-war
• Lowell Bastista on china-remaking-south-china-sea-return-island-building 
• Manny Maung on myanmar-s-authoritarian-creep 
• Grace Stanhope on japan-charting-new-course-development-looking-wrong-direction
• Gokcay Baibi on could-the-strait-of-malacca-be-the-next-global-flashpoint
• Isaac Chotiner on donald-trumps-lose-lose-negotiations-with-iran
• Javed Noorani and Lynee O'Donnell on afghanistan-surrendering-its-mineral-wealth-its-future
• Micheel Cunningham on beijing-intensifies-diplomatic-isolation-taiwan-s-president
• Khang Vu on south-korea-no-longer-holds-cards-against-north
• home and away on special-edition-on-iran-going-straight-on-the-strait
• Danny Citrinowicz on how-war-saved-iranian-regime 
• Richard Nephew on let-iran-defeat-itself
• Rafeef Ziadah on gaza-six-months-of-ceasefire-have-left-the-territory-in-rubble-and-little-vision-for-the-future-of-its-people

Wonk

• Brad De Long on not-my-john-hicks-lecture-john-hicks-the-apostate ,a-comment-on-noah-smiths-the-moderately-easy-problem-of-conciousness
• wonk watch on utopia-and-the-problem-of-steering-blind Thanks Nick
• anecdotal value on when-i-hear-viewpoint-diversity thanks Nick
• 80000 hours on how-scary-is-claude-mythos Thanks Nick
• Tim Harford on a-30mn-lesson-in-patience
• noahpinion on why-shoplifting-is-bad , the-moderately-easy-problem-of-consciousness 
• the conversable economist on world-war-trade
• Kai Riemer and Sandra Peter on meta-and-microsoft-have-joined-the-tech-layoff-tsunami-but-is-ai-really-to-blame
• Mark the Graph on weekly-energy-price-update
• Miyon Joseph on misdiagnosis-middle-power-cooperation
• James Cross on the-uae-is-leaving-the-opec-oil-cartel-what-could-that-mean-for-oil-prices
• Kristian Ulrichsrn on uaes-opec-exit-has-been-long-in-the-works-and-may-mark-the-beginning-of-a-gulf-realignment
• Alex Tabarrok on capitalism-and-modernity
• Mauro Lubrano on when-technology-becomes-target-political-violence
• Abraham Numbogu and Kaveh Madani on the-race-to-mine-critical-minerals-for-ai-and-clean-energy-is-creating-sacrifice-zones-that-harm-water-and-health-of-worlds-poor
• uneasy money on ayek-and-dworkin-on-the-meaning-of-discretion

General

• Krystal Tolley on mozambique-sky-island-expeditions-found-4-new-species-of-chameleon-already-at-risk-from-forest-loss
• Tyler Cowen on more-on-sir-thomas-gresham-from-my-email
• Mark Connick on how-2-men-smashed-through-a-marathon-barrier-long-thought-unbreakable
• Doug Muir on occasional-paper-blue-angels-devil-hands
• the pursuit of liberalism on is bob dylan a liberal Thanks Tyler

Climate

• skeptical science on climatetrunk-the-really-big-picture-in-four-pictures , how-strong-can-hurricanes-get , new_research
• Ray Wills and Peter Newman on is-oil-king-again-chinas-surging-cleantech-exports-show-the-opposite-is-true
• Bryan Walsh on climate-change-coal-solar-renewable-power
• Alexandra Siqueira on the-cradle-of-earths-rich-ocean-life-was-a-massive-coral-reef-system-20-million-years-ago

Andrew Gelman (mainly stats)

• cdc-update
  
• blogging-and-writing-style
  
• hes-a-music-educator-evaluating-k-12-music-education-systems-and-he-wants-someone-to-look-at-his-measurements-and-statistics
  
• why-isnt-it-possible-to-play-a-fun-and-serious-game-of-poker-not-for-money
  
• should-french-pollsters-be-using-mrp
  
• hey-try-out-the-rmet-the-reading-the-mind-in-the-eyes-test
  
• what-bothered-me-with-the-conversation-of-jay-bhattacharya-and-emily-oster
  
• survey-statistics-exploded-logit
  
• taking-one-more-swing-at-the-foolish-nudgelords-who-associate-the-soviet-union-with-environmental-protection 
  
• show-me-science 
  
• study retracted

Dianne Coyle ( quirky + book reviews)

• april reads
• Rob Henerson on mr-nobody-from-nowhere Thanks Nick
• Tyler Cowen on that-was-then-this-is-now-58
• Martin Kear on dignity-and-resolve-francesca-albaneses-when-the-world-sleeps-humanises-palestinian-lives

Vox Wonk

• when-privacy-protects-excludes-hidden-costs-data-restrictions-digital-lending 
  
• challenging-inequalities-how-we-got-stuck-and-where-we-go-next
  
• using-global-shocks-laboratory-study-executive-pay 
  
• why-liquidity-evaporates-when-it-most-needed
  
• geopolitical-oil-price-shocks-why-these-shocks-hit-harder 
  
• when-public-money-multiplies-and-when-it-does-not-guide-catalytic-effect-blended
  
• reconfiguring-europe-fractured-global-economy-florence-report
  

A rate rise is inevitable

 The March CPI was released yesterday.

Here are a few reaction:

• Greg Jericho
• Stella Huangfu
• Mark the Graph

I reject Jericho's argument and am fully in agreement with both Huangfu and Mark the Graph.

Why you ask?

I am old enough to remember the oil shocks of the 1970s and 80s. ( so is John Quiggin). I reemember the second and third round effects that embedded inflation that took years ( a decade?) to reduce and then it took a nasty recession.

I favour rates rising to 4.5%.