Stories and links that are of interest or relevance to leaders, strategists, campaigners and organisers.
Inequality and the economy
Is the capital gains tax discount an act of intergenerational ‘bastardry’?
If we want to avoid becoming a nation where the great divide is between those who own property and those who never will, we should jump at the chance for reform.
As Workers Struggle, Our Political Class Goes All In On a Permanent War State
From blood banks to food insecurity, a snapshot of a country whose raison d’etre is increasingly open sadism and violence
Emergency Prices: How Private Equity Captured the Ambulance Market
Emergency service costs have been going up for years, frustrating city officials. One reason seems to be private equity, which bought up ambulance makers and raised prices.
There’s a wave of attacks on the ruling class
People have reached a breaking point. American consumer sentiment is terrible, registering at the lowest level ever recorded this week. Gas prices just jumped more in March than they have in any month since 1967. The Iran War was historically unpopular from the beginning, and now the massive economic ripple
How ‘Muskism’ Is Changing the Way America Works
In a new book, Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff argue that Elon Musk’s disruptive approach to business is transforming both politics and the economy.
Want to know capitalism’s endgame? Just look at private equity – it has captured our everyday lives
These companies now own everything from nurseries to care homes, squeezing vital services for profit while we foot the bill, says Hettie O’Brien, author of The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against Itself
Global affairs
The Plot is Lost: Leaderless at the Limits of Empire
Trump has never known what he was doing. Now, he knows even less.
Trump hits record polling lows over Iran, economic anxiety
Plus, Pam Bondi is out as Attorney General, and Trump’s numbers on tariffs at the anniversary of “Liberation Day”
Iran war chokes helium supply, tying up even more AI resources
The war in Iran is threatening the global supply of helium, an essential component in cooling chip-making tools.
Trump’s Secret Wars on the World Keep Expanding
Our analysis reveals that the “peace” president has embroiled the U.S. in more than 20 military interventions, armed conflicts, and wars.
Navigating the impact of the Middle East conflict
Assess the investment implications of the Iran conflict, and explore the potential economic and market impact under different scenarios, with the latest analysis from J.P. Morgan’s Market Insights team.
Donald Trump’s approval rating collapses with working-class voters
The president is deeply underwater with this crucial demographic in a pivotal election year.
Don’t believe a syllable of what they’ve told us about the war on Iran
I don’t believe that wars are like rock concerts, where the press gets VIP tickets and gets to talk to the band backstage after the show.
Israeli-Backed Militia Launches Deadly Attack on Gaza Refugee Camp Under Cover of Airstrikes
“We were shocked when [they] entered the neighborhood and began firing at people’s homes and at the children inside those homes.”
The War Against Iran is Killing U.S. Hegemony
In this new iteration of my newsletter, I’m hoping that each dispatch connects at least somewhat to the one before, rather than being a semi-random string of emails connected to current events, but not to one another. In that vein, today’s newsletter will very clearly pick up where
Megyn Kelly Calls Out Trump as the Most ‘Gullible’ President
The conservative TV host says Trump has been made to look a fool on the world stage.
Unions
The union man who unleashed a political earthquake in California
For decades, Dave Regan has used California’s direct democracy system in a relentless campaign to shore up union power — and his own. But his newest mission is on an entirely different scale.
Workers’ rights
The Fair Work Commission has abolished junior rates of pay for most over 18s. It’s a positive step
The decision will go some way to improve pay equity for young adults. But it will not directly address some other issues of fairness in the workplace.
Despite Apocalyptic Warnings, California Fast Food Wage Hike Didn’t Kill Jobs
UC Berkeley study finds employment held steady — and only pennies were added to menu prices.
A company has built a free pay and award checking app
When Portable received a $1.1M BRII grant to build Sweep, it validated a simple idea: technology can help solve underpayment in Australia.
Now that idea is real.
Sweep has grown into more than just a pay checker. It now includes:
• Payslip analysis
• Award interpretation
• AI-powered Q&A
• Help preparing conversations with employers
• Legal referral support
Read the full story
https://lnkd.in/g3Xqht9R
Now that idea is real.
Sweep has grown into more than just a pay checker. It now includes:
• Payslip analysis
• Award interpretation
• AI-powered Q&A
• Help preparing conversations with employers
• Legal referral support
Read the full story
https://lnkd.in/g3Xqht9R
Samsung workers threaten strike, demand share of $38 billion AI memory windfall
Around 30,000 workers rallied as the union demanded 15% of operating profit, roughly $400,000 per employee
Data, tech and privacy
Huge Group of Experts Warns Meta That Its Pervert Glasses Will Enable Terrible Crimes
Meta’s plans to add facial recognition tech to its smart glasses, as part of a new feature dubbed “Name Tag,” has outraged rights groups.
Rental platform unnecessarily collected the data of millions of Australians, privacy commissioner finds
2Apply’s over-collection of personal information adds to the power of the real estate industry in the competitive rental market, Carly Kind says
AI and the future of work
Jeremy Ney (@jeremybney)
More than half of all companies announcing layoffs are citing AI as a driver.
Data is pulled from quarterly earnings and scraped from public news reports.
Data is pulled from quarterly earnings and scraped from public news reports.
For every $100 in data centres, $80 leaves Australia almost immediately
Data centres are the infrastructure boom of the decade. But how much of the investment actually stays in the country?
Analysis Finds That Google’s AI Overviews Are Providing Misinformation at a Scale Possibly Unprecedented in the History of Human Civilization
A new analysis commissioned by The New York Times suggests that Google’s AI Overviews are wrong an astonishing percentage of the time.
Bosses say AI boosts productivity – workers say they’re drowning in ‘workslop’
Workslop refers to AI-generated work that seems polished but is flawed and in need of heavy corrections
AI can cost more than human workers now
When AI labs raise prices, big spending on AI could shift from a flex to a liability.
Campaigning, communications and social media
DNC Rolls Out New Organizing Playbook Ahead of Midterms
The playbook for Democratic campaigns reflects on some of the tactics and strategies that failed Democrats in the past.
Slopaganda wars: how (and why) the US and Iran are flooding the zone with viral AI-generated noise
Even obviously fake propaganda videos can influence viewers – and erode their trust in all kinds of information.
The Old Way of Campaigning Won’t Cut It Anymore
A successful campaign in 2026 must operate like a full-time production studio. Candidates and incumbents should center each day on content creation. That does not mean uploading the same video to every platform. It means creating output tailored specifically for TikTok or Instagram or YouTube.
Society, media, news and culture
What Is Rustin’s Challenge?
Why did the Left turn its back on a transformative economic and social program in favor of maximalist sloganeering and alienating tactics?
Revealed: Australia’s secret Anti-Protest Force for US Department of War
Revealed: AFP and Defence Dept secretly set up US Department of War Protest Force as public concerns over AUKUS and Donald Trump rise
The Rapture Lobby: Christian Zionism and America’s Holy War in Iran
A network tied to Christian Zionism and Christian nationalism is pushing an apocalyptic worldview into U.S. power, where officials like Pete Hegseth frame war with Iran as part of God’s plan. Backed by groups like Christians United for Israel and allies including Mike Johnson, it casts large-scale violence as a necessary step toward a prophesied end.
How Celebrity Smear Campaigns are Inspiring Attacks on Birth Control
Conservative billionaires are weaponizing pop culture news to draw in a new generation of young women
The Neo-Nazi Enforcer Who Helped Build Peter Thiel’s Online Influence Empire
New Epstein-linked revelations show how neo-Nazi operative Andrew Auernheimer became a crucial link between Peter Thiel and the online far-right subcultures waging ‘memetic warfare’ against their enemies
The Christian Nationalist Schism: Fascist Religion at the End of Empire
The fight between MAGA and the pope is a preview of something much larger and more dangerous
‘I know it’s illegal’: Artist behind ‘Aussie’ posters reveals new target
Peter Drew has been hanging his controversial posters around Australia for 10 years, and has no plans to stop.
Climate Change
Data centers create ‘heat islands,’ warming local land by up to 16 degrees
Researchers found that roughly 340 million people now live within 6.2 miles of a data center
Scientists have found an alarming environmental impact of vast data centers
The vast data centers that power artificial intelligence guzzle huge amounts of energy but they also have another alarming impact, according to new research.
