# civil society (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 11 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover civil society. Page: Feed: --- ## [Towards hope – the transformative power of affects in academia: On alternative ways of perceiving and narrating bipartisan politics in Taiwan](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/26/towards-hope-the-transformative-power-of-affects-in-academia-on-alternative-ways-of-perceiving-and-narrating-bipartisan-politics-in-taiwan/) _2026-08-26 · Chee-Hann Wu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Hsiao-Man Cavalli and Lily Y.H. Lin. This article explores how emotions shape the study of Taiwan’s party politics, examining how researchers’ embodied experiences can deepen understanding of political differences. Through reflections on collaborative research, it highlights how acknowledging emotions fosters more nuanced, inclusive, and relational approaches to conducting and… ## [Expressing Emotions in a Colonial Text: Huang Fengzi’s Taiwan no shōjo (A Young Girl of Taiwan)](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/25/expressing-emotions-in-a-colonial-text-huang-fengzis-taiwan-no-shojo-a-young-girl-of-taiwan/) _2026-08-25 · Chee-Hann Wu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Anne Sokolsky.​ This article examines Taiwan no shōjo (1944), a collection of essays by Taiwanese writer Huang Fengzi, arguing that its emotional language reveals the complexities of colonial identity under Japanese rule. Through an analysis of competing voices and affective expressions, it explores how emotions, power, and cultural belonging shaped both the text and its colonial… ## [Feeling Taiwan: Emotions, Knowledge, and the Politics of Everyday Life](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/24/feeling-taiwan-emotions-knowledge-and-the-politics-of-everyday-life/) _2026-08-24 · Chee-Hann Wu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Po-Han Lee, Alvaro Martinez-Lacabe, and Yu-chin Tseng.​​ This special issue, featuring the co-editors and authors of the recently published edited volume, Feeling Taiwan, explores how emotions shape Taiwan’s politics, history, and everyday life. Drawing on six case studies, it examines how feelings are not separate from knowledge but fundamental to understanding identity, social change,… ## [Alang emerges as primary graveyard for sanctioned 'shadow fleet' tankers as legal pressure mounts](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/alang-emerges-as-primary-graveyard-for.html) _2026-08-22 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ In a significant shift that appears to be reshaping the global maritime demolition landscape, oil tankers from the so-called "short fleet" — vessels operating under international sanctions — are reported to be increasingly making their final voyage to the shipbreaking yards of Alang-Sosiya in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district, industry data reveals.According to latest figures from the ship recycling ## [Leaked GOP Memo: Data Centers Politically Toxic, Might Cost Ohio Senate Race](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/news-analysis/leaked-gop-memo-data-centers-politically-toxic-might-cost-ohio-senate-race/) _2026-08-22 · Ben Bartee · The Daily Bell_ Originally published via Armageddon Prose: Ohio GOP Senate candidate Jon Husted is in hot water with the electorate, caught in a statistical tie with his Democrat challenger. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, via a memo leaked to CIA mouthpiece Axios, blames popular blowback on mass data center construction. From the memo: “Jon Husted and Sherrod Brown are in a dead heat. Private… ## [Doug Casey: Is Academia Riddled with Fraud?](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/exclusive-interviews/doug-casey-is-academia-riddled-with-fraud/) _2026-08-21 · Bryan Lutz · The Daily Bell_ Summary Casey and Smith argue that Western institutions are rotting on multiple fronts at once: academia is riddled with fraud and DEI bloat, the U.S. government’s debts — including 9 million defaulted student loans and $1.3 trillion in annual interest expense now exceeding both the defense and Social Security budgets — can never be repaid, and Europe is being overrun by migration it lacks the… ## [Patrick Newman on the Rise of the Corporatist State](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/exclusive-interviews/patrick-newman-on-the-rise-of-the-corporatist-state/) _2026-08-21 · Bryan Lutz · The Daily Bell_ Summary Patrick Newman discusses his new book, Cronyism: Rise of the Corporate State, 1849–1929, the second installment in a series that began with Cronyism: Liberty Versus Power in Early America, 1607–1849 (2021), and which carries a foreword by Nobel laureate Thomas Sargent. His thesis is that big business, far from being victimized by government during this era, actively lobbied for tariffs,… ## [Three Things We can Do Now as the US Empire Ends](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/editorials/three-things-we-can-do-now-as-the-us-empire-ends/) _2026-08-21 · Bryan Lutz · The Daily Bell_ Originally posted by Karen Kwiatkowski at her substack: It’s premature, but Trump may be following my advice on Iran. All I did was lay out a path of least resistance, and in my experience, this is the most likely path followed by man and state. The trick is to perceive how how the “state” views “least resistance,” and how it defines “easier.” DC consistently does the easy thing, choosing… ## [India's top 25 family business houses control up to a fifth of national GDP, World Bank study finds](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/indias-top-25-family-business-houses.html) _2026-08-21 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ A new research has revealed that despite decades of liberalization, India's corporate dynasties have only tightened their grip on the economy—capturing 20% of GDP at their peak and expanding into nearly every industrial sector while quietly driving up prices.At their zenith in 2012, the gross revenues of India's top 25 family business houses equaled one-fifth of the entire country's GDP. ## [Teaching Maritime Culture and History in Eastern Taiwan](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/21/teaching-maritime-culture-and-history-in-eastern-taiwan/) _2026-08-21 · NGA Shi Yeu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Eric Siu-kei Cheng. This article explores how maritime education in Taitung turns Taiwan’s eastern coastline into a living classroom. Drawing on fieldwork, community collaboration, fisheries, food education, and Green Island’s White Terror heritage, the author shows how students engage with environmental sustainability, Indigenous knowledge, local livelihoods, cultural preservation, and… ## [Point a Domain, Start a Pit (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/kkgkkqdwqhFB) _2026-08-21 · **Sponsored**_ Point any domain to a blacked-out, poison-green coming-soon page with an email waitlist. ## [The Gloves Are Off: ICE, Electric Shock Weapons and Secret Police](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/editorials/the-gloves-are-off-ice-electric-shock-weapons-and-secret-police/) _2026-08-20 · Bryan Lutz · The Daily Bell_ Originally posted by John & Nisha Whitehead at the Rutherford Institute: “Electric shock has long been a common method of inflicting torture or other forms of ill-treatment worldwide. While electric shocks are sometimes inflicted using makeshift equipment—for instance, car batteries, mains wires or cattle prods—a wide variety of electric shock devices are specifically designed for and marketed to… ## [“Rogue AI Agents” Aren’t Rogue, They’re Fulfilling Their Functional Goal: Automating Sociopathology](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/editorials/rogue-ai-agents-arent-rogue-theyre-fulfilling-their-functional-goal-automating-sociopathology/) _2026-08-20 · Bryan Lutz · The Daily Bell_ Originally posted by Charles Hugh Smith at Oftwominds.com: Add all this up and what we’re hyper-hurriedly “manufacturing” is an automated army of self-cloaking digital sociopaths. Since the status quo is characterized by self-serving PR, misdirection and delusions, it shouldn’t surprise us that “rogue AI agents” aren’t actually rogue, they’re doing exactly what they’re designed to do, which… ## [China’s Maritime Pressure Spans Sea and Screen: Taiwan Needs a Regional Evidence Network](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/20/chinas-maritime-pressure-spans-sea-and-screen-taiwan-needs-a-regional-evidence-network/) _2026-08-20 · NGA Shi Yeu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Ming-hui Tang. This article analyses how Beijing combines maritime patrols, AI-generated propaganda, and legal framing to create an illusion of administrative control around Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines. To counter this strategy of jurisdictional enclosure, it argues that Taiwan must leverage its strategic position to build a public regional evidence network with its neighbours.… ## [A rejoinder on ‘Naxal grass’ — but what about ‘Dimagi Naxals’?](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/a-rejoinder-on-naxal-grass-but-what.html) _2026-08-19 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ Following my blog, in which I cited renowned mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik, who mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Dimagi Naxal” remark by stating that the word “Naxal” refers to a “special river reed that grows in North Bengal (kash grass) with silvery flowers”, and that “Naxali” would be the name of Lord Shiva’s son Kartikeya, who was “born amongst these reeds”, I received an interesting ## [Psychiatry as Diabolical Pseudoscience: The Sordid Tale of Lindsay Clancy](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/news-analysis/psychiatry-as-diabolical-pseudoscience-the-sordid-tale-of-lindsay-clancy/) _2026-08-19 · Ben Bartee · The Daily Bell_ Originally published via Armageddon Prose: “The ten most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the psych ward, and I’m here to help.” -The Gipper Lindsay Clancy, currently on trial, allegedly strangled her own three children in the basement of the family home with exercise bands in January 2023. She had seen multiple psychiatrists over the course of the previous four months. If… ## [Islands as Breathing Infrastructures: Why Are More Visitors Making Livelihoods More Difficult in Today’s Kinmen?](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/19/islands-as-breathing-infrastructures-why-are-more-visitors-making-livelihoods-more-difficult-in-todays-kinmen/) _2026-08-19 · NGA Shi Yeu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Chengyu Yang. This essay examines how Kinmen’s surge in cross-strait transit passengers strains local livelihoods and infrastructure without delivering proportional economic benefits. As a passage between Taiwan proper and mainland China, Kinmen acts as a "breathing infrastructure", a delicate sea-air system easily desynchronised by weather disruptions. Consequently, high passenger… ## [From Dimagi Naxal to Kartikeya: The curious journey of a political expression](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/from-dimagi-naxal-to-kartikeya-curious.html) _2026-08-18 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ Following the Prime Minister’s “Dimagi Naxal” remark, there appears to have been a huge backlash, especially from protagonists of the “Cockroach Janata Party.” The term is being variously interpreted as a move to “isolate” dissidents, following the claim of a successful campaign against Naxalite violence. Social media is full of “Dimagi Naxal Party” memes, making a joke of an ## [Staying Afloat in the Wave of Zero-Fees Policies: Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and its Impact on the Taiwanese Fishing Industry – Part II](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/18/staying-afloat-in-the-wave-of-zero-fees-policies-agreement-on-reciprocal-trade-and-its-impact-on-the-taiwanese-fishing-industry-part-ii/) _2026-08-18 · NGA Shi Yeu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Shao-Yun Chang, Vanny El Rahman, and Beatrice Zani. This article (part 2) continues to illustrate how the US-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) and its mandatory "zero-fee" recruitment policies impact Taiwan’s fishing industry. While designed to protect foreign migrant workers from predatory debt bondage, the policy places heavy financial strain on small-scale vessel owners… ## [What We Do: Organizational Development | BE4SI](https://be4si.substack.com/p/what-we-do-organizational-development) _2026-08-18 · Ryan Turner · Business English for Social Impact (BE4SI)_ Part of our series on the services BE4SI provides to nonprofits and social enterprises in Europe, the United States, and beyond. ## [Elon Said Money Will Die By 2036. The Fed Is Betting On It](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/exclusive-interviews/elon-said-money-will-die-by-2036-the-fed-is-betting-on-it/) _2026-08-17 · Matt Morgan · The Daily Bell_ Summary The host argues Elon Musk is half-right that “money won’t matter by 2036”: AI and robots genuinely collapse the price of anything machines can make (computers down 93% since 2000, video/audio down 67% since 2009), but that deflation never lands in your cost of living because life’s big expenses — tuition, childcare, medical care, services, up 125% since 2000 — are bottlenecked on land,… ## [PixelRift — Platforming with Level Editor (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/IUtlrcoIXxys) _2026-08-17 · **Sponsored**_ Includes a built-in level editor, campaign with elemental heroes, and boss encounters. ## [This Video Explains a Lot About the Elites Who Want You Dead](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/exclusive-interviews/this-video-explains-a-lot-about-the-elites-who-want-you-dead/) _2026-08-17 · Matt Morgan · The Daily Bell_ Summary Fitts argues that when the 1995 push by financial leaders to put America on a fiscally sound footing collapsed into the three-week government shutdown, the establishment “gave up on the country” — as the president of the nation’s largest pension fund told her — and launched a financial coup, moving money out starting that fall, which became the $21 trillion in missing federal money… ## [Americans are falling into the socialist trap by blaming capitalism for the damages of statism.](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/editorials/americans-are-falling-into-the-socialist-trap-by-blaming-capitalism-for-the-damages-of-statism/) _2026-08-17 · Matt Morgan · The Daily Bell_ Originally posted by Daniel Lacalle on his blog: Americans are falling into the socialism trap by not realizing that solving big government problems with an even bigger one is dangerous. Many blame capitalism for their affordability problems, when the true cause is statism. Statism is the gradual replacement of civil society, markets, savings, and individual choice by political control, public… ## [Keynes Before He Became a Keynesian](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/editorials/keynes-before-he-became-a-keynesian/) _2026-08-17 · Matt Morgan · The Daily Bell_ Originally posted by George Ford Smith at Mises.org: The costs of war are vast and horrific. Most people know this, which raises the question of why the US government seemingly can’t live without it. Is it simply a matter of applied Keynesianism, that of spending the country into vast riches while also spending ourselves safe? For the industrial recipients of the spending war signals successful… ## [Anarcho-Evangelism (Part Six): You’d Never Shop the Way You Vote](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/news-analysis/anarcho-evangelism-part-six-youd-never-shop-the-way-you-vote/) _2026-08-17 · Matt Morgan · The Daily Bell_ By Matt Morgan, Editor at The Daily Bell: Voting, we are told, is choice. It’s a sacred choice… The kind men died for. And because it is sacred choice, the system built on it must be accountable to you, the chooser. That is the belief. Hold it up next to the choosing you do the rest of the week. One bundle, every four years, no returns A typical supermarket carries more than 30,000 products. You… ## [Staying Afloat in the Wave of Zero-Fees Policies: Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and its Impact on the Taiwanese Fishing Industry – Part I](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/17/staying-afloat-in-the-wave-of-zero-fees-policies-agreement-on-reciprocal-trade-and-its-impact-on-the-taiwanese-fishing-industry-part-i/) _2026-08-17 · NGA Shi Yeu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Shao-Yun Chang, Vanny El Rahman, and Beatrice Zani. This article (part 1) examines how the US-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) and its mandatory "zero-fee" recruitment policies impact Taiwan’s fishing industry. While designed to protect foreign migrant workers from predatory debt bondage, the policy places heavy financial strain on small-scale vessel owners already facing… ## [DOJ Indicts SPLC ‘Political Extremism Expert’ on Wire Fraud Conspiracy](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/news-analysis/doj-indicts-splc-political-extremism-expert-on-wire-fraud-conspiracy/) _2026-08-16 · Ben Bartee · The Daily Bell_ Originally published via Armageddon Prose: Imagine, if you will, a land so utterly devoid of actual white supremacist terrorism that professional race hustlers resort to synthesizing it — conjuring it alchemically out of whole cloth like a jinn — in order to leverage it as the pretext to foist their progressive social engineering machinations on the American public. That land is America, and those… ## [World Bank: India's human capital crisis isn't in schools—it's in homes, villages, and jobs](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/world-bank-indias-human-capital-crisis.html) _2026-08-16 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ A new World Bank report, Building Human Capital Where It Matters, has revealed that India's human capital deficits are entrenched across homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces, with maternal education creating lifelong skill gaps, rural health quality varying by 46 percentage points between villages, and self-employed workers earning barely half the returns to experience of their salaried peers.In ## [World Bank: 70% of workers trapped in no-learning jobs as human capital stagnates globally](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/world-bank-70-of-workers-trapped-in-no.html) _2026-08-16 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ A new report released by the World Bank has delivered a sobering assessment of global human capital development, finding that progress has stalled or reversed across much of the developing world. The report, Building Human Capital Where It Matters, quantifies how deficits in nutrition, learning, and employment can erase 51% of future earnings in low- and middle-income countries, while exposing ## [How the First World War Destroyed the Gold Standard](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/editorials/how-the-first-world-war-destroyed-the-gold-standard/) _2026-08-15 · Matt Morgan · The Daily Bell_ Originally posted by Ryan McMaken at the Mises Institute: As Trump’s “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth demands a fifty-percent increase to the war budget—topping an eye watering $1.5 trillion—it may be instructive to remember that war spending has always and everywhere been the primary enemy of sound money. Some advocates of the warfare state like to lay the blame on social spending, but it has… ## [Whitney Webb: How the Epstein Network is Privatizing Govt & Building the Surveillance State](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/exclusive-interviews/whitney-webb-how-the-epstein-network-is-privatizing-govt-building-the-surveillance-state/) _2026-08-15 · Matt Morgan · The Daily Bell_ Summary Webb argues that Ohio’s “Silicon Heartland” data-center buildout is anchored by Leslie Wexner — Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent benefactor, whom she links to alleged organized-crime ties and the Mega Group that spawned Birthright Israel — who used public-private partnerships and his New Albany Company to seize de facto control of local and state government and funnel taxpayer money to big… ## [Never miss a game (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/B1CjzUSeNsaT) _2026-08-15 · **Sponsored**_ Follow any team; get an hour and one-minute web and email reminders. ## [Hip-Hopping to Regime Change? USAID Efforts in Cuba](https://thedailybell.com/all-articles/editorials/hip-hopping-to-regime-change-usaid-efforts-in-cuba/) _2026-08-15 · Matt Morgan · The Daily Bell_ Originally posted by Patrick Pillow at the Libertarian Institute: With Cuba seemingly becoming the next focus for the Trump administration, it is worth looking into previous efforts by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the country. Today, we turn toward the agency’s connection with Cuban hip-hop. In 2008, USAID launched the Cuban Civil Society Support Program, an… ## [Black Philanthropy Month 2026 – My Reality Check for Me](https://be4si.substack.com/p/black-philanthropy-month-2026-my) _2026-08-14 · Ryan Turner · Business English for Social Impact (BE4SI)_ We're talking non-profit / non-government organizations, philanthropy, civil society, and social impact in the heart of Europe and in the U.S. Each month, we produce the NGO Leadership Update and the CEE Regional Roundup. ## [Twenty years of Taiwan in Avignon: soft power on someone else’s terms](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/14/twenty-years-of-taiwan-in-avignon-soft-power-on-someone-elses-terms/) _2026-08-14 · Chee-Hann Wu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Romain Blachier. This article explores Taiwan’s twenty-year presence at the Festival Off d’Avignon, arguing that international cultural exchange is shaped by language, institutional practices, and artistic selection. It highlights how these factors influence what Taiwanese artists can communicate abroad and emphasises the value of sustained cross-cultural collaboration. Continue reading ## [Yamuna river floodplains remain under severe threat amidst proposed policy dilutions: SANDRP](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/yamuna-river-floodplains-remain-under.html) _2026-08-13 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ In an article published by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) titled "Yamuna Manthan Aug 2026: Floodplains remain under threat", a series of recent scientific studies and regulatory developments highlight a critical reality: relying solely on sewage treatment and pollution control will not revive the Yamuna River. The SANDRP article emphasizes that "their findings ## [At Last! A Proven Way for Nonprofit Leaders, Managers, and Teams to Escape Hollow Jargon, End Meeting Fatigue, and Revitalize Their Action](https://be4si.substack.com/p/at-last-a-proven-way-for-nonprofit) _2026-08-13 · Ryan Turner · Business English for Social Impact (BE4SI)_ If you are tired of defining your entire career by what you don't do, this will be the most liberating page you read all year. ## [Nonprofit Undictionary](https://be4si.substack.com/p/nonprofit-undictionary) _2026-08-13 · Ryan Turner · Business English for Social Impact (BE4SI)_ If you are tired of defining your entire career by what you don't do, this will be the most liberating page you read all year. ## [Field notes from Douliu’s urban resilience drill](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/13/field-notes-from-doulius-urban-resilience-drill/) _2026-08-13 · Adrian Chiu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Tom Wilson. Urban resilience drills in Taiwan have been promoted as a cornerstone of President Lai's whole-of-society approach to preparing for contingencies and crises. How do they look in practice? Drawing on observations of the urban resilience exercise in Douliu, this article explores how everyday state-society relationships can shape and complicate efforts to build resilience.… ## [Paradox of Stanford's Hoover Institute: Freedom from Communism, but freedom for whom?](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/paradox-of-stanfords-hoover-institute.html) _2026-08-12 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ A few days ago, we went to San Francisco, ordinarily a six-hour drive from Los Angeles. However, it took us more than eight hours because a fire had broken out on one of the mountains along the highway, forcing us to take another route, part of which ran along the seashore.It was my second visit to San Francisco, and a very short one. Earlier I visited San Francisco about two years ## [Taiwan’s view on Free and Open Indo-Pacific](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/12/taiwans-view-on-free-and-open-indo-pacific/) _2026-08-12 · Adrian Chiu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Dr Madhukar Shyam and Manya Singhal. This article argues that Taiwan's foreign policy towards the Indo-Pacific should be analysed within the framework of the New Southbound Policy and President Lai's NSP+. The FOIP strategy is perceived by Taiwan as an approach that will ensure its sovereignty. Beyond condemning China's expansionism, Taiwan should adopt the "porcupine strategy", invest… ## [Arrest of Christian leader in Raipur sparks concerns over minority rights and free speech](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/arrest-of-christian-leader-in-raipur.html) _2026-08-11 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ The arrest and remand to judicial custody of Arun Pannalal, president of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, has triggered concern among civil-liberties, religious-freedom and minority-rights activists, who have accused the Chhattisgarh government of using criminal law to suppress dissenting voices.Pannalal was reportedly arrested from his residence in Raipur late on Friday night, August 7, and was ## [As luxury home prices surge, India’s affordable housing market faces a squeeze](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/as-luxury-home-prices-surge-indias.html) _2026-08-11 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ India’s housing market is increasingly showing two very different faces: affluent buyers are driving demand for premium homes, even as the supply of genuinely affordable housing continues to shrink.The contrast is particularly visible in South Delhi, where prices of luxury independent floors rose as much as 21% year-on-year in the April-June quarter of 2026, according to a report by Golden Growth ## [A Dual-Use Defence Industry for Taiwan: Potential and Pitfalls](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/11/a-dual-use-defence-industry-for-taiwan-potential-and-pitfalls/) _2026-08-11 · Adrian Chiu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Drake Long. This article explores the opportunities and challenges facing Taiwan's dual-use defence industry. Although Taiwan's industry is ambitious to become a manufacturing hub for drones and other dual-use technologies, its success depends on sustained government investment and access to foreign markets, with the EU as an ideal target for deepening ties. Continue reading ## [Does Silicon Valley Dream of Philip K. Dick?](https://henryfarrell.net/does-silicon-valley-dream-of-philip-k-dick/) _2026-08-10 · Henry Farrell · Henry Farrell_ Silicon Valley likes to dress its ambitions in the glistening garb of science fiction from the 1950s, when authors such as Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke spun tales of humanity spreading through the stars. But what kind of future are we really hurtling towards? Increasingly, it is looking much more like the one anticipated \[ \] ## [Beyond Flashpoints: Understanding the Politics Behind Taiwan’s Strategic Choices](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/10/beyond-flashpoints-understanding-the-politics-behind-taiwans-strategic-choices/) _2026-08-10 · Adrian Chiu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Lucy Best. This article argues that issues of everyday governance, such as budgets, industrial development, and energy availability, that underpin Taiwan's strategic success have become increasingly important for Taiwan's partners to understand. Taiwan's resilience is a question of whether its democratic institutions can continue to manage disagreement, produce effective policy and… ## [India’s growth story meets a stark wealth divide: Billionaires gain as top 1% owns 40% of wealth](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/indias-growth-story-meets-stark-wealth.html) _2026-08-07 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ India’s rapid economic expansion is accompanied by an increasingly concentrated distribution of wealth, raising fresh questions over how headlines GDP figures reflect the economic reality of ordinary Indians.A two year old social-media post by former bureaucrat Anil Swarup, founder chairman of Nexus of Good, has resurrected a debate over the gap between India’s aggregate economic size and ## [Beyond the China Lens and the Silicon Shield: The Case for Taiwan to Explore Credibility Diplomacy](https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/08/07/beyond-the-china-lens-and-the-silicon-shield-the-case-for-taiwan-to-explore-credibility-diplomacy/) _2026-08-07 · Adrian Chiu · Taiwan Insight_ Written by Noah Metheny. This article argues that the China lens and the silicon shield each capture part of Taiwan's strategic importance, but neither explains its growing international influence. Moving beyond both narratives requires recognising that Taiwan increasingly derives influence from credibility rather than legitimacy, earned through decades of institutional development and democratic… ## [From Indian deserts to Joshua tree: A journey into a fragile ecosystem](https://www.counterview.in/2026/08/from-indian-deserts-to-joshua-tree.html) _2026-08-07 · Unknown · RajivBuzz_ I have visited deserts in India, one of them being the Rann of Kutch, which is home to the rare wild ass. It has an ecosystem of its own. The vast expanse of the Rann is mostly barren, with wild asses moving around in groups. There are a few bushes and scattered patches of water bodies. I have travelled across the Rann not once, but half a dozen times.Another desert I have visited is ## [What We Do: Grant Reporting and Impact Narratives | BE4SI](https://be4si.substack.com/p/what-we-do-grant-reporting-impact-narratives) _2026-08-07 · Ryan Turner · Business English for Social Impact (BE4SI)_ Part of our series on the services BE4SI provides to nonprofits and social enterprises in Europe, the United States, and beyond. ## [What We Do: Capacity Building | BE4SI](https://be4si.substack.com/p/what-we-do-capacity-building) _2026-08-06 · Ryan Turner · Business English for Social Impact (BE4SI)_ Part of our series on the services BE4SI provides to nonprofits and social enterprises in Europe, the United States, and beyond. ## [\[BE4SI\] NGO Leadership Update - Issue #15](https://be4si.substack.com/p/ngo-leadership-update-fifteen) _2026-08-05 · Ryan Turner · Business English for Social Impact (BE4SI)_ Our monthly update for leaders, teams, and organizations in the non-governmental / nonprofit sector