Slow Read No. 4
07/09/2026 · 13 pieces
Sent before the per-theme emails: one edition covering every theme.
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01 ★★★★★ Pick of the week Added 07/09/2026
In Venezuela, Trump opens the era of American recolonisation
Original title: Au Venezuela, Trump ouvre l’ère de la recolonisation américaine
Takes apart the White House fact sheet for a 100-year, 65-billion-barrel oil concession clause by clause: Venezuela receives roughly USD 55 billion in present value against reserves worth far more, with a US veto over board appointments and American law as the governing jurisdiction. Places the arrangement alongside early-20th-century concessions in Persia, Iraq and Kuwait, all of which were later nationalised.
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02 ★★★★★ Added 07/09/2026
Will Huawei catch up to Nvidia by 2030?
Models Huawei’s chip roadmap against US export controls on advanced manufacturing nodes and high-bandwidth memory, concluding it is unlikely to close the performance gap with Nvidia this decade and could fall to around 1 per cent of Nvidia’s compute output by 2028 if confined to Chinese-made memory. Independent modelling from a source built specifically to replace vibes with numbers in AI commentary. Long and technical; budget the time.
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03 ★★★★☆ Added 07/09/2026
In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD made history
Original title: En Saxe-Anhalt, l’AfD a écrit l’histoire
Reads Ulrich Siegmund’s victory speech after the AfD’s best regional result in Germany since 1945 as a deliberate division of labour: a media-friendly frontman paired with ideological content parked in a 156-page platform document. Argues the party’s near-term target is capturing public broadcasting and education rather than conventional governance.
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04 ★★★★☆ Added 07/09/2026
Korea’s Trillion-Dollar Sovereign AI Investment: Nvidia Wins, Hynix Loses
Traces Seoul’s USD 919 billion sovereign AI build-out to a government tournament that eliminated a small local model, Motif, despite it beating incumbents on benchmarks, reportedly over concerns about foreign investor influence. Argues the strategy hands Nvidia a new customer base while leaving Samsung and SK Hynix shareholders exposed to a shift away from memory chips.
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05 ★★★★☆ Added 07/09/2026
Bernie Sanders: "We must pause AI. IMMEDIATELY"
Original title: Bernie Sanders : « Nous devons mettre l’IA en pause. IMMÉDIATEMENT »
Publishes Bernie Sanders’ address introducing the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act in full, which would freeze advanced AI development pending a new federal rulemaking body, then situates it against Talarico’s redistributive dividend model and Bannon’s nationalist framing as three competing strands of AI populism. Notes the bill has close to no chance under a Republican Congress.
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06 ★★★★☆ Added 07/09/2026
Two Paths for Rideshare Organizing
Weighs the traditional push to reclassify rideshare drivers as employees against newer sectoral-bargaining models that leave contractor status intact, arguing the latter can win faster gains but risks codifying pay below minimum wage. Uses the SEIU’s home-care organising as a cautionary comparison for what durable worker power actually requires.
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07 ★★★★☆ Added 07/09/2026
Trump's Coalition Is Coming Apart in the Polls
Original title: La coalition Trump se défait dans les sondages
Applies Ipsos polling data to show Trump’s approval falling from 47 to 33 per cent since the start of his second term, with independents down 19 points, and argues the erosion is driven by economic dissatisfaction rather than foreign policy or culture. Benchmarks the collapse against historical midterm patterns.
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08 ★★★★☆ Added 07/09/2026
The Familiar Hong Kong Addresses in America’s Iran Sanctions
Traces Hong Kong company addresses that recur across entities named in successive US sanctions actions against Iran, in the filings-based tracking style that is this outlet’s specialty. Paywalled beyond the published summary, so this description rests on the outlet’s own abstract rather than the full investigation; flagged accordingly.
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09 ★★★★☆ Added 07/09/2026
The Real Predator
Original title: Le vrai prédateur
Argues Meta engineered its platforms to exploit adolescent neurodevelopment specifically, distinguishing deliberate dopamine-targeting design (unpredictable notification timing, infinite scroll) from a passive refusal to add safety measures. Draws on the Facebook Papers and Frances Haugen’s disclosures to argue leadership knew the harm and shipped it anyway.
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10 ★★★★☆ Added 07/09/2026
After Work, We’ll Have Each Other
Argues that when AI removes the economic necessity to work, societies risk reverting to relational structures where standing comes from group membership and personal ties rather than individual accomplishment, the pattern in most societies before modern labour markets. Surveys historical cases (18th-century courts, 1980s elite social circles) where that reversion produced clannish, exclusionary hierarchies rather than leisure.
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11 ★★★☆☆ Added 07/09/2026
Zhu Rongji’s “Big Move”
Part of Wire China’s retrospective on Zhu Rongji, the reformist premier who centralised state power even as he opened China’s economy, following its career profile with a piece on one specific consequential decision. Paywalled beyond the published summary; flagged accordingly.
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12 ★★★☆☆ Added 07/09/2026
Michael McFaul on Autocrats vs. Democrats
An interview built around the former US ambassador’s own book, which frames today’s disorder as a contest between an autocratic and a democratic bloc rather than a return to Cold War bipolarity. Worth reading as the view of someone who spent years inside the US–Russia relationship, with the obvious caveat that he is arguing for his own framework.
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13 ★★★☆☆ Added 07/09/2026
China’s Appeal to Central Asia is Growing at Russia’s Expense
Argues China’s economic and infrastructure ties to Central Asian states have deepened enough to displace Russia as the region’s primary external partner, continuing a shift tracked since the war in Ukraine strained Moscow’s capacity to compete there. Paywalled beyond the published summary; flagged accordingly.
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