Posts

Boeing proves protectionism doesn’t pay

By Yaël Ossowski | Comment Central Yaël Ossowski argues that the Boeing-Bombardier affair shows that waging trade wars isn’t to anyone’s benefit, certainly not consumers, workers, and citizens who have the most at stake. A stinging rebuke by the U.S. International Trade Commission last month was a hard defeat for Boeing. The American aircraft manufacturer brought a case to the U.S. Department of Commerce last…

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Sugar subsidies are anything but sweet

By Yaël Ossowski | Washington Examiner For far too long, domestic producers of sugar have gotten a sweet deal from the federal government. Thanks to the U.S. sugar program, sugar beet and sugar cane farmers have had the advantage of minimum prices, cheap loans, and tariffs to keep out competitors — all at taxpayer expense. Tariffs on sugar were some of the first trade regulations…

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The Innocents Abroad Podcast Episode 18: East vs. West

East versus West. What constitutes a western country, and what’s an eastern country? Is it cultural? Reflective of how societies are organized? What about art and expression? Todor and Yaël debate the notion and recount their recent trip to Odessa, Ukraine, where they were confronted with the debate, and also put the final touches on the first printed edition of the Devolution Review magazine. theinnocentsabroad.comdevolutionreview.com

Trade Panel’s Rejection of Trump’s Jet Tariff Is a Sign of Good Things to Come

By Yaël Ossowski | Morning Consult As President Donald Trump schmoozed with economic titans in Davos, Switzerland, over the weekend, news from Washington indicated parts of his trade agenda won’t go forward as planned. In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. International Trade Commission struck down the Trump administration’s request to slap tariffs of 300 percent on commuter jets from the Canadian aircraft company Bombardier Inc….

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Workers can’t afford tariffs or a trade war, President Trump

To the Trump protectionist hammer, every product imported looks like a nail. On Monday, we learned that President Trump’s trade enforcer, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, announced new tariffs on solar panels and washing machines assembled outside the U.S. For washers and dryers from companies such as Samsung and LG, steep tariffs as high as 50 percent will be applied while solar panels assembled abroad…

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Questionable tastes and precarious friendships: ‘Art’ reveals the complexity of post-modern friendship

By Yaël Ossowski | Devolution Review Review of ‘Art’, a play by Yasmina Reza. Performed at Vienna’s English Language Theatre Jan. 15 – Feb. 24, 2018 Directed by Sean Aita For any young fool, a hefty portion of their lives is fraught with the pursuit of finding an ideal partner. There’s a plethora of novels, paintings, magazines, and Tumblr blogs dedicated to the jewel of…

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Beyond the Café Window

Beyond the café window, there’s a young girl squeezing her schoolbooks between her clasped arms. Her round glasses sit low on her nose, and her long brown hair swings from side to side. She’s waiting on the light to change, her head quickly darting to and fro to anticipate the bustle of horn-friendly cars. The maroon blouse around her shoulders and torso flutters as the…

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Crypto Imagination and the Coming Nightmare

In one of the episodes in the newest seasons of Netflix’s Black Mirror, a young woman visits a strange museum across the way from a gas station in the hot desert. Inside, she meets the museum’s proprietor who offers her an early tour. The exhibitions preserved onsite include eccentric artifacts viewers of the series recognize from other episodes, along with new ones that are just…

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The Scotch Enlightenment Podcast

Last week I was a guest on the Scotch Enlightenment podcast. I had a great conversation with Daniel and Bill, and I recommend you give a listen! ––– In our first regular episode of The Scotch Enlightenment, Yaël Ossowski (@yaeloss) joins us for an hour full of society, economics and technology. Our topics in this podcast include: Why no one should trust a German solution…

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