@postdiscipline

Associate Dir. Interdisciplinary Studies @Cal. Don't ask me what my field is, I'm not a donkey. Twisting Marx to make capitalism stronger since I got a mortgage

 Berkeley, CA
isf.ugis.berkeley.edu/people/detail/rakesh-bhandari
Joined October 2016
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I work in an interdisciplinary studies program, and last night was trying to explain how I understand interdisciplinarity. Here are a few quick thoughts for those who may be interested. I would love to hear more ideas!
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The problems from rising fertilizer costs are magnified in the global South. We see rising prices of up to 40% and shortages of ammonia, urea, & other nitrogen blends. Less land is being planted. The reckoning of possibly tens of millions of excess hunger deaths could be felt in 2027. It's been estimated that there could be an additional 50 million people suffering acute food insecurity. By overlooking their disruption to the global food supply for a war of choice, Trump, Hegseth, and Netanyahu have committed war crimes for which we do not have a code yet.
Steven Greenhouse@greenhousenyt2h
Replying to @greenhousenyt
“Compared to last year, our fuel bill is $50,000 higher,” said Vance Ehmke, a Kansas farmer. "With fertilizer there's another $20,000 or $40,000 increase. That’s all due to Trump & his war in Iran. I want to tell you I'm a Republican, and I’m pissed." theguardian.com/commentisfre…

Donald Trump has been a disaster for rural America | Steven Greenhouse

The president’s policies have taken such a toll on farmers that Republicans face trouble in deep-red states

theguardian.com
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But given these harms were foreseeable, as @greenhousenyt quotes American farmers saying, then we have the reckless indifference to welfare and life characteristic of homicide.
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Having to hear such music would certainly make people avoid lives that would send them to hell.
The Extreme Music Enthusiast
@TheExtremeMusi1Oct 25
Around 1500, Hieronymus Bosch painted sheet music on a sinner's bare butt in hell. 500 years later, someone transcribed and performed it. Now you can hear the original butt song from hell.
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Ok the orchestral version is alright. xitter.cf/DuraCervice/status/211…
Jared 🜋
@DuraCervice2h
Replying to @TheExtremeMusi1
Plugged it into Suno to hear it with string instruments
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Great by @RanaForoohar. Perhaps for Black people being a Black member of the working class is more salient than being a member of the working class; or this is the consequence of reporting on levels of racial inequality in regards to wealth, income, educational attainment and scores, and health outcomes more than we report on those levels in class terms. 'Half of college graduates and upper-income adults now consider themselves part of the “working class”. More Republicans than Democrats also self-define this way, which says a lot about how the left has become associated with wealth. Overall, more white people than Black people call themselves working class, which reaffirms the idea central to behavioural economics that a loss (in this case, of relative economic status) is more painful than a gain is pleasurable.'
Financial Times
@FT1h
Opinion: The next few years of US politics will revolve around the issue. ft.trib.al/J41wBNN
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Capital is responding to each hectare of the rainforest being saved with how much of a penalty to the Brazilian stock market and currency (real)? 'Flávio Bolsonaro is the heir to the political legacy of his father, Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain whose four years in power resulted in a 59.5% increase in Amazon deforestation, roughly equivalent to destroying 2bn trees...Flávio Bolsonaro is the heir to the political legacy of his father, Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain whose four years in power resulted in a 59.5% increase in Amazon deforestation, roughly equivalent to destroying 2bn trees.' theguardian.com/world/2026/o…

Flávio Bolsonaro’s advance in Brazil’s election is grim jolt for climate campaigners

Inquest under way into why President Lula’s success in curbing Amazon deforestation has not led to success at polls

theguardian.com
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At the least, we can say that markets don't put value on planet-saving outcomes.
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Strike "foreign" and emphasize billionaire rentiers rather than "corporations" and then apply to the US.
Adam Schwarz@AdamJSchwarz15h
Lula victory speech: "We had to overcome foreign interference through digital platforms, which we will have to regulate. We cannot have monstrously huge corporations earning millions & billions, paying no taxes to this country & trying to steer this country's election results."
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Should China be understood partially not as a tax but domain state, to use Schumpeter's distinction? Revenue has been collected primarily not through taxes but through the Prince's or CCP's sale of land and 'rents' (profits from enterprises the state owns). Of course there are many ways in which the CCP is not a domain state. 'Over the last decade, its tax revenues from the personal income tax averaged just 1.2% of GDP. Ironically, a communist state ideologically committed to collective ownership of the means of production has had to raise revenue by divesting itself of that most sacred input, land. Evidently, the CPC can make the Chinese cower in silence, but finds it difficult to reach into their pocketbooks.'
Arvind Subramanian@arvindsubramanOct 23
Latest @ProSyn piece w/ @navneerajs on China's fiscal fragilities and its implications for China's downside risks: Is a China Implosion Looming? project-syndicate.org/commen…
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Trump should resign. He will spare the country and himself the trials of impeachment. The only Republican upset about that would be Rubio who won't like the advantage Vance gets for 2028 over him. It doesn't matter, in the end; neither of them can get elected.
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Vance can give him all the pardons he wants, and Trump should enjoy a new luxury residence like this. moscowestates.com/property/e…

3,600m² Mansion in Nikolino, Rublyovka | 20-Car Garage & Spa

Grand 3,600m² residence on 6,200m² land. 5 en-suite bedrooms, indoor pool, car lift. Prime Rublyovo-Uspenskoye location.

moscowestates.com
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Holy, moly. I was just advising a student from Indonesia to write something up for Rest of the World, which is a tremendous web publication.
Ben Mullin@BenMullin20h
News: Rest of World, the nonprofit newsroom focused on the impact of technology outside the West founded by Sophie Schmidt, tells donors in an email it will “cease publishing as a standalone entity” at the end of January.
Hello donors, We wanted to reach out and share an update about Rest of World’s future. After more than six years of award-winning reporting, our leadership team has begun the search for a new institutional home for the Rest of World brand and catalogue: an organization that has the reach and scale required to continue to drive impact in 2027. Negotiations are ongoing, and we’ll have news to share with you soon. As a part of that transition, Rest of World will cease publishing as a standalone entity at the end of January. Many of you know our origin story: we set out to chronicle how tech innovation affects people and communities beyond the usual Silicon Valley lens. Our writers documented major shifts driven by artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and gig work in places like Manila, New Delhi, and Lagos. In doing so, we have reported on more than 100 countries and proudly worked with over 400 in-region freelance writers, editors, and photographers.

ALT Hello donors, We wanted to reach out and share an update about Rest of World’s future. After more than six years of award-winning reporting, our leadership team has begun the search for a new institutional home for the Rest of World brand and catalogue: an organization that has the reach and scale required to continue to drive impact in 2027. Negotiations are ongoing, and we’ll have news to share with you soon. As a part of that transition, Rest of World will cease publishing as a standalone entity at the end of January. Many of you know our origin story: we set out to chronicle how tech innovation affects people and communities beyond the usual Silicon Valley lens. Our writers documented major shifts driven by artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and gig work in places like Manila, New Delhi, and Lagos. In doing so, we have reported on more than 100 countries and proudly worked with over 400 in-region freelance writers, editors, and photographers.

Despite our successes, the media landscape has experienced profound challenges in recent years ranging from significant shifts in how audiences engage with news to how journalism is funded. Rest of World experienced these headwinds, too. What does this mean for you? First and foremost, we want to thank you for reading and supporting our work along the way. Whether you gave once or made a monthly commitment to us because you valued our brand of journalism, we’re so grateful! For those of you who are recurring donors, we’ll continue publishing stories over the next three months. Your contributions are still welcome and will help support our writers, editors, and product team members through January. If you’d like to discontinue your donations, you can cancel them in our donation portal, or simply reply to this email and we’ll take care of it for you.

ALT Despite our successes, the media landscape has experienced profound challenges in recent years ranging from significant shifts in how audiences engage with news to how journalism is funded. Rest of World experienced these headwinds, too. What does this mean for you? First and foremost, we want to thank you for reading and supporting our work along the way. Whether you gave once or made a monthly commitment to us because you valued our brand of journalism, we’re so grateful! For those of you who are recurring donors, we’ll continue publishing stories over the next three months. Your contributions are still welcome and will help support our writers, editors, and product team members through January. If you’d like to discontinue your donations, you can cancel them in our donation portal, or simply reply to this email and we’ll take care of it for you.

After January, the site and all stories published on it will continue to be available. Your support makes it possible to preserve our work and keep it accessible. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The Rest of World team

ALT After January, the site and all stories published on it will continue to be available. Your support makes it possible to preserve our work and keep it accessible. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The Rest of World team

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Before MAGA won in 2016, Brexit won at the polls. In 2026, the senior Bolsonaro losing his chance at a pardon for an attempted military coup prefigures a loss of power for Trump. Trump's going back in the impeachment doghouse, however much he tries to disrupt the midterms.
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I couldn't see how Flavio hadn't ensured a furious backlash against him. Flavio: You give one with one hand and take away with nine fingers. Lula: I won't be insulted by someone who has never worked a day of honest labor in his life. Lula lost his finger at a metal factory in 1964
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So more women than men probably turned out to vote in Brazil. The gender polarization was severe.
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É LULA!!!!!
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Is this the concern with gender & sex among philosophers that Kit Fine finds worrisome in the Vanderbilt/Wash U report on academic philosophy? @kate_manne seems to be calling for the philosophical figure of an Enlightenment hero against group conformity. nytimes.com/2026/10/20/opini…

Opinion | What Makes Men in Groups Behave So Badly?

Why do men in groups behave this way?

nytimes.com
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Kit Fine seems quite worried about Karen Barad's work on quantum mechanics. I didn't know Barad is a philosopher. I thought she has a Ph.D. in Physics. Plus, Fine cites passsages from Barad that reminded me of what Ray Monk says Carlo Rovelli argues in his last book. Monk's critical, but Barad's generalizing from quantum physics seems hardly out of the ordinary.
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