steve sharra

JUST IN: 🇮🇷🇺🇸 Professor Marandi shuts down Trump's claim and says there are NO negotiations: “I assure you there are absolutely NO US–Iran talks” “There's no way in the world Iranians are going to trust Trump. We are at war Iran is prepared for a very, very long war... has Trump by the throat”

@HappyKayuni @danbanik @GlobalDevPod @doro_tembo Awesome topic!! All the best Prof and the panelists.

This Thursday, 19th March, the DoE will be hosting the World Bank Group for Malawi Economic Monitor launch, a timely and high-level dialogue on “Getting Reforms Right” and the urgent task of reversing Malawi’s export decline. @danbanik @GlobalDevPod @stevesharra @doro_tembo

Good one! Lol...

BREAKING: Claude can now research like a Stanford PhD student. Here are 9 insane Claude prompts that turn 40+ research papers into structured literature reviews, knowledge maps, and research gaps in minutes (Save this)

If Western universities abandon the classics while China invests millions studying them, who will become the real guardians of Greek civilization? In 2024, China hosted the World Conference of Classics in a massive convention center outside Beijing. Diplomats, scholars, and politicians gathered as Xi Jinping sent a message describing ancient Greece and China as two civilizations that shaped humanity from opposite ends of Eurasia. Then came a striking announcement: China would establish a Chinese School of Classical Studies in Athens. At the same moment this was happening, many Western universities were closing or merging their classics departments. Programs devoted to Greek and Roman texts were shrinking across Europe and North America. China, meanwhile, is moving the opposite direction. Universities there are translating works by Plato, hiring Greco-Roman scholars, and opening new departments dedicated to classical studies. Some Chinese scholars even compare the relationship between Greece and Europe to that of Confucius and East Asia. In other words, while the West debates whether the classics still matter, China is studying them with renewed seriousness.

In Johannesburg, South Africa, I sat down at the Thabo Mbeki Foundation for their podcast, African Renaissance, on which Mbuyiseni Ndlozi grilled me for an hour and a half about capitalism, war, and the Global South. You can watch our conversation here: youtube.com/watch?v=pCnVCn…

China developed its economy by defying free trade — not embracing it. Plenty of developing countries have liberalised their economies but remained in subordinate positions. Why did China succeed where other developing countries failed? China succeeded via gradual and controlled liberalisation. It actively used state intervention to defy, rather than conform to, the deeply asymmetric structures of the capitalist world economy. Although China opened up to trade and private capital, it maintained tight controls over the flow of capital in and out of the country. China’s joint venture requirements forced foreign firms to partner with Chinese state-owned or domestic firms as a condition of market access. And China’s strong state ownership in the economy meant that the state could retain control over important industries and resources, as well as direct investment to strategic sectors at below-market rates. None of these strategies — capital controls, mandated technology transfer, state ownership of strategic sectors — are consistent with free-market doctrine. They are, in fact, direct violations of it. And they are precisely why China’s integration into the world economy produced industrial upgrading rather than permanent subordination.

I just gave a closed-book, pen-and-paper midterm exam in my 300-level course at UBC with 100 students. All exams were graded by an experienced graduate-level TA according to a rubric. *** The average was 64/100.*** My class averages at UBC are usually 80-85. Context: • This was the first midterm, covering ONLY 4 weeks of material. • Students had a list of possible questions in advance: no surprise questions. • Questions included (a) 3 concept definitions, (b) 3 paragraph-long questions, and (c) a 1.5-page essay. • I have taught this class multiple times. Nothing in my teaching style changed this semester. • We read entire paragraphs of text in class, so students don't have to do something on their own that wasn't covered during the lecture. • Students take a 10-question multiple-choice quiz at the end of every class (30% of the final grade). • Attendance is 95-99% every class. Attention during lectures and participation in pair-work activities are very high → anticipating the end-of-class quiz. *** But unfortunately, I suspect many students are not reading the material on the syllabus. They are asking LLMs to summarize it instead.*** After the midterm, students reported: • They thought they knew concept definitions but couldn't produce them on paper. • They thought they understood the arguments but struggled to connect them or identify points of agreement and disagreement. My view: It might be “cool” or “innovative” to teach students to summarize readings with ChatGPT or write essays with Claude. But we may be doing them a disservice: reducing their ability to retain material, think creatively, and reason from what they know. If you only read what AI has summarized for you, you don’t truly "know" the material. Moving forward: We have a second midterm coming up. I don't know how to convey to students that the best way to do better on the exam is to rely on and improve their own reading skills.

US troops report commanders framing Iran war as ‘God’s plan’ —— As first reported by independent journalist Jonathan Larsen, a US combat-unit commander told non-commissioned officers that the war on Iran is part of “God’s divine plan,” allegedly claiming President Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus” to ignite Armageddon. The complaint, filed with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, is one of more than 110 logged within 48 hours from over 40 units across at least 30 installations. Complainants, including Christians, a Muslim, and a Jew, have requested anonymity to avoid retaliation. The Pentagon has yet to respond. According to MRFF President Mikey Weinstein, service members report “unrestricted euphoria” among segments of the chain of command portraying the assault on Iran as biblically sanctioned and tied to end-times prophecy in the Book of Revelation. One NCO wrote that such rhetoric is eroding morale and violating constitutional oaths, particularly for troops in Ready-Support status who could be deployed at any moment. The controversy unfolds as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth expands overt evangelical programming within the Pentagon, including prayer sessions and Bible studies aligned with staunch pro-Israel theology. Weinstein reports that many US commanders appear particularly enthused by the prospect of an intensely violent confrontation, emphasizing how much bloodshed they believe is necessary to align events with a fundamentalist Christian end-times narrative.

On the peculiar habit of purchasing way more books than you will ever have time to read. And then on the one day the world blows up, you have one or two reference points to put things into context... Throw back to a time when Peace Studies was my daily bread.

France, Germany and the UK have issued a statement condemning Iran's "disproportionate" response. I want to know what they think is a "proportionate" response when invaders assassinate your head of state and civilian leaders in an explicit campaign to destroy your government.

Some observations and comments on Trump and Israel's war on Iran: 1. Tehran is not looking for a ceasefire and has rejected outreach from Trump. The reason is that they believe they committed a mistake by agreeing to the ceasefire in June - it only enabled the US and Israel to restock and remobilize to launch war again. If they agree to a ceasefire now, they will only be attacked again in a few months. 2. For a ceasefire to be acceptable, it appears difficult for Tehran to agree to it until the cost to the US has become much higher than it currently is. Otherwise, the US will restart the war at a later point, the calculation reads. 3. Accordingly, Iran has shifted its strategy. It is striking Israel, but very differently from the June war. There is a constant level of attack throughout the day rather than a salvo of 50 missiles at once. Damage will be less, but that isn't a problem because Tehran has concluded that Israel's pain tolerance is very high - as long as the US stays in the war. So the focus shifts to the US. 4. From the outset, and perhaps surprisingly, Iran has been targeting US bases in the region, including against friendly states. Tehran calculates that the war can only end durably if the cost for the US rises dramatically, including American casualties. After the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran says it has no red lines left and will go all out in seeking the destruction of these bases and high American casualties. 5. Iran understands that many in the American security establishment had been convinced that Iran's past restraint reflected weakness and an inability or unwillingness to face the US in a direct war. Tehran is now doing everything it can to demonstrate the opposite - despite the massive cost it itself will pay. Ironically, the assassination of Khamenei facilitated this shift. 6. One aspect of this is that Iran has now also struck bases in Cyprus, which have been used for attacks against Iran. Iran is well aware that this is an attack on a EU state. But that seems to be the point. Tehran appears intent on not only expanding the war into Persian Gulf states but also into Europe. Note the attack on the French base in the UAE. For the war to be able to end, Europe too has to pay a cost, the reasoning appears to be. 7. There appears to be only limited concern about the internal situation. The announcement of Khamenei's death opened a window for people to pour onto the streets and seek to overthrow the regime. Though expressions of joy were widespread, no real mobilization was seen. That window is now closing, as the theocratic system closes ranks and establishes new formal leadership. Again: The question "How will this end?" should have been asked before this war was triggered. It wasn't.

China's performance on Nature's university ranking is astonishing. After Harvard, every single university in the top 10 is Chinese. Wuhan University—in the city that Westerners considered an unknown outpost—outperforms Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Cornell, Columbia and Chicago.

@ItsBule @PempheroMphande Exactly! Been meaning to inbox to ask.

@PempheroMphande What happened to your page? Read the whole thing hoping yankho ndilipeza 🤦

A few days ago I was having a walk in my neighbourhood in Chigumula around 10am. A man and her wife who had slowly driven past me, stopped to talk to me. The man said, “Mr P, my wife thought that was you.” “It’s me, indeed. How are you guys?” I asked. “We are good. We are big fans of yours. What happened to your page?” We talked about a few things after exchanging pleasantries. They were curious about a lot of things so our conversation was mostly me answering their questions. At the end of the conversation and as they were driving away slowly , the wife asked me a question i found interesting. This is the question that makes me post to twitter. She said, “Koma nde ntchito mumagwira ? Nanga nthawi zino simukuyenera kukhala ku ntchito?” “Do you work? Do you go to work if you are walking this time?” That was her question. I responded to without even thinking about it, “What is work?” They had already begun driving away. She might have said something but i didn’t hear it. But i definitely heard her laugh and saw her wave goodbye. I laughed, smiled too and waved back. But as i carried on with my walk, I kept thinking about it. What is to work? How do Malawians and most people understand what to work is? That morning I had woken up around 5:45am. The first thing I did was to go outside the house. I like to breathe in the fresh air at dawn and watch the sunrise. At around 6am, I wrote down the to do list for the day and expenses I would make for the day. Then I went outside to stretch and exercise a little bit. At 8am I had an online meeting. Then made a few phone calls to different people at all the organisations/companies i run to touch base and check progress of pending assignments etc. At 9am I had a counselling session with a client. By the time I was going for the walk, from the comfort of my phone accomplished so much…..Well, It was during the covid pandemic that we learnt what to work really is for most people like myself…. Anyway, around 2pm i still went to the physical building i call my office where people say “he has gone to work!” I spent the entire afternoon responding to emails, making calls before i left… Now what is to work? I ask you all.

You can now earn a PhD in China by creating a product instead of writing a 100-page dissertation! China has grown tired of PhD students writing research papers that no one reads and is now demanding that they build real products instead. This radical shift in the philosophy of higher education in China represents a formal transition from "textual academia" to "utilitarian academia," where the traditional doctoral dissertation is replaced by the creation of a tangible product. The brilliance of this idea lies in its direct approach to the scourge of "dead research" that consumes years of researchers' efforts only to remain locked away in drawers, thus transforming the university from an intellectual silo into a productive engine that feeds the market and fosters innovation immediately.

@HappyKayuni @Gowokani11 @doro_tembo @TanjaDHendriks There is no better gratitude than this for the work of mentorship.

Academia often places immense pressure on us, and at times the work can feel thankless. That’s why hearing something positive truly matters—it reminds us why we do what we do and helps rejuvenate our energy. @Gowokani11 @stevesharra @doro_tembo @TanjaDHendriks

@mlcalderone Won't he be reaching fewer readers? The Atlantic subscription is more expensive than NYT's. At least for now. At least for me.

David Brooks is joining the Atlantic as a staff writer. "The Atlantic will be the home for all of David’s writing, and he will also host a new weekly video podcast that will launch later this spring. David worked as an opinion columnist at The New York Times for 22 years." theatlantic.com/press-releases…

And here I was, thinking it's actually woke movements that draw attention TO "the destructive impact on society of market capitalism."