What We Read Today 03 September 2014

Econintersect: Every day our editors collect the most interesting things they find from around the internet and present a summary “reading list” which will include very brief summaries (and sometimes longer ones) of why each item has gotten our attention. Suggestions from readers for “reading list” items are gratefully reviewed, although sometimes space limits the number included.

Standoff with west reveals splinters in Putin’s Eurasia project (Jack Farchy, Financial Times) Vladimir Putin reportedly has a vison of a Soviet Union, Version 2.0, which involves an economic union from eastern Europe through central Asia to be a counter block to the EU to the west and China to the east.

In May the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed a treaty that brought the Eurasian Economic Union into existence. This was to be the kernel of a new economic empire. But now that Putin is willing to starve Russians by banning food imports in retaliation for economic sanctions by the west, which in turn are in response to Putin’s aggressive actions toward Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan are refusing to go along. They prefer to allow their people to eat rather than sacrifice them to the glory of Putin’s vision. Presidents of both countries are speaking out in opposition to Putin’s machinations and the sanctions games that he is joining. Vlad the Impaler better watch the position of his petard.

Nasty, brutish and artsy? Neanderthal hashtag engraving found (Sharon Begley, Reuters) New research is “a major contribution to the redefinition of our perception of Neanderthal culture”. Artwork found in a cave in Gibraltar is the first to be clearly identified as made by Neanderthals. A picture has been emerging in recent years of Neanderthals as an advanced intellectual species. Econintersect: Could it be that Neanderthals were a more intelligent and pacifist but widely dispersed humanoid species (compared to homo sapiens) that was overcome by a larger population of aggressive, swift afoot and less intelligent brings? Think about the possibilities if your ego will allow. Read the research paper: A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar (Joaquin Rodriguez-Vidal et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America).