Despotism currencies

The Despotism of Isaias Afewerki

Alex de Waal | Baffler | 2nd September 2022

If you find yourself wondering why there has been war and famine in the general vicinity of Ethiopia for as long as you can remember, a large part of the answer is the man in the headline, Isaias Afewerki, who led Eritrea to a righteous victory in its war of independence from Ethiopia, but has since turned Eritrea into a military dictatorship fixated on the destruction of Ethiopia and Tigray (4,090 words)

Interview: Vitalik Buterin

Noah Smith | Noahpinion | 2nd September 2022

I haven't generally wanted to read or hear about cryptocurrencies for the past decade or so, but I make an exception for Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, who talks sense at a high intellectual level, and who understands the psychology and politics of finance as well as he does the tech. Here is that rare thing, a piece on crypto worth the time of the disinterested general reader (4,900 words)