Left narrative

Oil giants have gained excess profits due to the war in Ukraine and the rapid rise of energy prices. A more serious and fair windfall tax on energy companies' profits would redress the imbalance between companies' contributions to the state and their earnings and help struggling families pay their rapidly increasing utility bills. Individuals are obligated to contribute to society through taxes and other forms of support, and companies must do so too.

Right narrative

Windfall taxes weren't a good idea in the first place, and increasing them will have serious repercussions. While it may seem like an obvious solution to the UK's growing hole in public finances, in reality, it's a short-term crutch that will lead to a new set of problems down the road It discourages domestic investment and sends the dangerous message to businesses that success must be accompanied by a heavy price.

Anti-China narrative

The Philippines should boost its security ties with Washington as China's expansionism increasingly threatens its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. It's no coincidence that key regional players such as Japan have also opted to join the US in stepping up deterrence against Beijing. Given China's increasingly aggressive stance, the question is no longer if, but when, military escalation will occur.

Pro-China narrative

The US is exploiting the alleged "Chinese threat" to defend its hegemonic claims around the world. Manila must understand that Washington is not concerned with any of Manila's security interests, but that the US seeks to use the Philippines as another tool in a potential conflict with China. The Philippines should therefore pursue a well-balanced foreign policy as a sovereign state and thus avoid becoming a de-facto US colony again.

Pro-establishment narrative

Ukrainians have fought not only for their own country but also for all of Europe, reminding the alliance why it was founded in the first place. It's only right that the EU opens its doors to Ukraine.

Establishment-critical narrative

If Ukraine were to join the EU, it would only further complicate the country's relations Russia and draw the world even nearer to a global conflict. The West should resist being so blindly positive about Kyiv's potential bloc candidacy.

Nerd narrative

There is a 1% chance that Ukraine will join the European Union before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Pro-establishment narrative

The new King belongs on the five-dollar banknote. The Labor government does not have the mandate to implement a "republic by stealth" and — until the Australian people make the democratic decision otherwise — Australia is still a constitutional monarchy. Charles III possesses the same level of affection for the nation as his late mother — Australia should honor that.

Establishment-critical narrative

King Charles III will still be featured on Australian currency, just not banknotes. It is high time that First Australians — who make up 3.2% of the population — were consulted and recognized through the currency of Australia, rather than the lineage of colonizers.

Pro-establishment narrative

While this research finding may seem worrying, it has not gone through the rigorous peer review process. While during the pandemic many scientists started publishing their research on “preprint servers” prior to review in an attempt to more quickly share findings, this practice is dangerous — it means that there is less oversight on research and unverified scientific findings may confuse the public. More validation is needed; the processes of scientific research and confirmation must run their due course.

Establishment-critical narrative

While peer review is important, the world of publishing moves dangerously slowly — with some studies taking months or even years to move through the peer review and publication process. Preprints accelerate scientific communication and sharing scientific knowledge in a timely manner far outweighs the risks of sharing un-reviewed work. This is just the beginning of findings about the risks of Merck's product, and the public deserves to be aware of the early findings.

Left narrative

Thanks to the anti-immigrant beliefs of Italian leadership, tens of thousands of asylum seekers have been intercepted at sea and forced back to Libya, where they face unimaginable atrocities. If Italy wants to work with Libya, it should amend the agreement to include releasing migrants from detention centers and ensuring they can safely arrive in Europe.

Right narrative

Though some in the EU leadership don't acknowledge it, there are dozens of individual countries within the bloc, each of which has its own right to border protection. If Italy wants to enact stricter illegal immigration laws, it should be allowed to allocate more resources toward that goal. And if other countries wish to open their doors, they should be given the resources to do so. Europe is facing an unprecedented immigration crisis — as not all are refugees — and it calls for real solutions, not empty virtue signaling.

Cynical narrative

While all eyes are now on Italy, the West, with its neocolonial policies and imperial logic, is itself responsible for the ongoing migration and refugee crisis and the rise of populist and right-wing governments in Europe, such as that of Giorgia Meloni in Italy. It must not be ignored that, ultimately, it was NATO's "humanitarian intervention" that destroyed Libya and opened Pandora's box.

Pro-establishment narrative

Although DeFi platforms are popular because of their transparent nature, they’re also vulnerable to major hacks. North Korean hackers have abused these vulnerabilities and have popularized the switch from attacking mainstream crypto platforms to focusing on unguarded decentralized ones. DeFi platforms need to strengthen their security through measures including third-party audits.

Establishment-critical narrative

Governments spying on average citizens is coming disguised as cyber security against threats from US adversaries, including North Korea and Russia. Canada was able to do this when it regulated cryptocurrency during last year’s trucker protests, setting an example for other countries. Financial autonomy is tough in a surveillance state.

Republican narrative

Omar's concerning comments downplaying 9/11 as well as comparing the US to terrorist organizations are solid justifications for her committee removal. Her comments about Israel — a trusted US ally — are also concerning. Former House Speaker Pelosi set the precedent of removing officials from such positions, so McCarthy is well within his rights to make this move.

Democratic narrative

After unfairly blocking Schiff and Swalwell, once again McCarthy is unfairly targeting Democratic representatives. McCarthy lacks the moral compass to make a decision on which Democrats should take part in important committees. This reeks of political revenge and bigotry.

Right narrative

Claims that DeSantis is trying to erase Black history are ludicrous, as these revisions were in the works before Florida issued its complaints. Nonetheless, this is a win for DeSantis’s fight against "woke" culture, and a victory for students who can now study Black history without an ideological bent distorting the facts or sowing division by defining people as oppressors and oppressed based simply on race.

Left narrative

It’s hard to accept the College Board's claim that its watering down of the curriculum isn’t a reaction to complaints from DeSantis, whose term as governor has been largely devoted to erasing Black and LGBTQ+ experiences from education. The College Board caved, and sadly students will now be robbed of the educational opportunity to understand how Black history impacts the present world Americans live in.

Pro-establishment narrative

Though interest rates have been raised again — and output in Britain is still expected to shrink this year — prospects for the British economy are much better than in the immediate aftermath of Liz Truss's premiership. This measure may be seen as overprotective, but the UK's central bank deserves credit as it has been exceeding expectations while dealing with multiple shocks. Previous fears of a "Great Recession 2.0" should be replaced with hope.

Establishment-critical narrative

The Ukraine war, pandemic, supply chain chaos, and labor shortages have not helped Britain's economy over the past years, but it's inconceivable that the BoE still refuses to take responsibility for its own mistakes. The inflationary spiral affecting the UK was created much earlier than these shocks because interest rates were kept close to zero for too long. Central planners should be honest with the public when their mistakes lead to life-altering cost-of-living crises.

Nerd narrative

There's a 50% chance that UK's annual inflation rate will be at least 6.63% by 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.