James Conran

Anthropic adoption has overtaken OpenAI adoption among US businesses in the US! More at today's Chartbook Top Links:

Both published today. I wonder why one is framed as a bad thing, and the other is framed as a good thing?

Barely a month ago this man was imprisoned for the violent rape of a Sikh woman believing that she was a Muslim. No Douglas Murray articles in the Spectator, no Baroness Fox speech in the Lords. No riots. Two tier? Too right bbc.com/news/articles/…

EU spokesperson commemorative message on the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre Which is also, incidentally, the date for the first in person EU China trade talks for some time

Volatility in Irish GDP numbers is so extreme that it is likely to cause the entire eurozone to report negative GDP change in Q1.

@n_hold @its_mccarthy Have you read Peter Hall’s article on policy paradigms? Monetarism vs Keynesianism in the UK is also his working example.

@its_mccarthy Simon Clarke's chapters in The State Debate paired with his Keynesianism, Monetarism book to see how the theoretical framework does/n't translate into interpretation of empirical evidence; excerpts from Smith's Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism; Copley's Governing Financialisation

In the beginning stages of thinking about a grad seminar on "the state," what are your favorite books and / or articles?

In August, 28% of Americans blamed data centers for rising electricity prices, now 53% do.

@SethAckerman It’s a bit enigmatic, how are you reading it? It kind of hints at but doesn’t actually claim they have some kompromat and then veers more towards claiming senators and evangelicals will choose Israel over Trump if Bibi makes them choose.

this article from last summer, published in the miriam adelson-owned daily israel hayom at a moment of trump-bibi tensions over gaza, never got the attention it deserved. it might help explain the mystery of why trump keeps being so deferential to netanyahu despite seemingly holding all the cards in the relationship. israelhayom.com/2025/05/16/net…

Germany has failed to win a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) secured 104 votes in the General Assembly, falling 23 short of the required two-thirds majority. It is the first time Germany has missed out on a rotating seat.

This is just how they bury sociologists in France.

@Birdyword Ofc being "the last successful government" raises some questions about just how successful it was...

An idle thought: the Coalition was the UK's last quasi successful government (lasted the full course with the same PM, who was PM again after the election), and the cast of characters from 2010-15 seem to have had notably more second-act careers than subsequent administrations.

In the past year close to half of OECD countries have hit their all-time HIGH working-age employment rate. The OECD average is soaring. AI impact?

Iran striking a civilian airport terminal in Kuwait is a big step up the escalation ladder. Gruesome footage.

Emily Thornberry has today said the government has let down the Palestinian people, and allowed Israel to act with impunity. The audacity. Here she is in October 2023 refusing to condemn Israel cutting off power and supplies to Gaza. Don’t let these people rewrite history.

@herr_naphta WIshful thinking probably but I have a feeling Farage/Reform is doing the same here. After a period where it had looked like they were really preparing to win it feels like they're just consolidating ±20% of the electorate.

Pretty awesome that the Minnesota Republican Party is just self-immolating. Hard to believe that ~7 months ago they had a decent shot at the governor's race.

Republicans don't just admire different people from Democrats. They have lower opinions of almost everyone.

@bnzchr @MattBruenig @avrilbradley23 Net migration has declined more in the UK than in Denmark.

The Party that gained *most* was the anti-immigration RW populists, but by less than in other European countries. The obvious lesson is that the SDs stayed above water and remained a viable candidate for coalition govt because their record on immigration means they have something almost no other centre-left party in Europe has, namely credibility as a potential govt. On the other hand, if you want to argue that social democrats should follow the model of Keir Starmer and the Italian PD, you're more than welcome to do so.

New Danish government

Mark Nowak has shown remarkable dignity in the face of unimaginable loss, refusing to let his son’s murder be used to fuel hatred or division. Contrast that with the grubby politicians trying to profit from Henry’s death despite his family’s explicit pleas.

The actions of Vickrum Digwa are grotesque. The failures of the police are disturbing. And the exploitation of Nowak's murder by politicians and pundits is shameful. We know where all of this rhetoric leads.