iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 10/10/2026

I thought I knew how Westminster worked until the book by @iandunt.bsky.social was suggested to me.

Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 20/09/2026

Considering that dollarisation of the world economy first arrived decades ago with the Saudi's involvement over their oil trading, this headline is not as surprising as it otherwise would have been.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 19/09/2026

Came across a review of this excellent book within the pages of the Journal of Economic Literature. Well worth a read if you are managing a university department, or a university. The book is useful for insiders and non-insiders!https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo254659525.html

press.uchicago.edu

Mission and Margin

An insider’s guide to university finances, for non-insiders. The finances of higher education have never been more challenging. From two-year institutions to the Ivy Leagues, from department chairs to...

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 16/09/2026

Tightening needed given high levels of consumer debt (made up of: mortgages, credit card balances, car financing, etc.), and inflation. POTUS won't be pleased though.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 27/08/2026

They work if the secondary sanction is put on a country that is not a substantial player within the targeted area. This is why they won't work with most Chinese entities given their preeminence in so many fields. Also, trade using shadow-pricing techniques can create some evasion opportunities. 1/2

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 24/08/2026

An unfortunate consequence of increased consumption, due to the wealth effect, is that both the savings rate and actual savings decline. In turn, this can impact liquidity within the banking sector and squeeze the availability of credit.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 24/08/2026

Not that the comparison makes any sense, but reading Scott Bessent makes me yearn for Janet Yellen even more.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 22/08/2026

Great weekend of football - PL table: 1. Arsenal 2. Brentford 3. 4. 5. . . . . 20. Tottenham Hotspur

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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 21/08/2026

Wall Street investors say a move to buy more long-term US debt is a ‘band-aid on a bullet hole’ as concerns mount over Washington’s $40tn debt burden and smouldering inflation. ft.trib.al/hDKy6Z7

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 20/08/2026

As with such things a sense of trust in those handling decisions, and a belief in their competence drives market sentiment. Bessent is failing to reassure on either of the above two prerequisites. American adventurism (military and otherwise) appears to come at a price.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 16/08/2026

For Jason Arday's young family, please consider a donation.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 14/08/2026

Important to know the science explaining the causes of global warming has been with us for decades.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 24/07/2026

"The UK has allowed the US to launch “defensive” operations from British bases hosting American planes since the start of its war on Iran but has refused to help in offensive operations." Surely, in the context of an illegal war, the distinction between defensive and offensive disappears. No?

theguardian.com

UK ‘ready to defend itself’ after Iranian threat over US bases

IRGC claims base in south-west England was used by US to launch bombing missions, making it ‘legitimate target’

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 17/07/2026

I remember once being asked by a Bank economist whether fiscal policy ought to come under the Bank's remit as well. My response was negative. But improved coordination with the Treasury over conducting both fiscal and monetary policy can't be a bad way forward.

theguardian.com

How Burnham’s team could reshape the Bank of England

Taking a fresh look at the Bank’s role would send a strong signal that a Burnham government is prepared to do things differently

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 08/07/2026

Desiring Greenland was left off of this list.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 07/07/2026

If Ed Miliband is good enough for Nick Stern, he'll be good enough for all of us.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 01/07/2026

Tuchel's appointment as England team coach was announced in October 2024 and started on January 1, 2025. Contract length was for 18 months, which would have ended yesterday. In October '24 the FA knew dates for WC2026, so why was a short contract issued only for it to be extended afterwards?

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 24/06/2026

How much are people across the world paying for their carbon emissions? | Our World in Data share.google/bf34wreUf2Zk... Quick answer is: on average, not enough. However, not surprising given that 71% of emissions are not covered by carbon pricing mechanisms of any kind.

share.google

How much are people across the world paying for their carbon emissions?

Around 30% of the world’s emissions have some carbon price, but how much extra are people paying?

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 23/06/2026

Faragists say Burnham's win in Makerfield was driven, in part, by many of their supporters voting for Burnham to get Starmer out. But polling had suggested strongly that Reform would have beaten Labour handsomely at the next GE. So, why have so many Reform voters voted in a way to get Starmer out?

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Lauren Gilbert @lgilbert.co · 21/05/2026

I'm hiring for In Development's first not-me hire. Help shape the future of development journalism; edit pieces that do serious cost-effectiveness analysis AND have jokes. Up to $90k USD, fully remote worldwide. indevelopmentmag.com/jobs/

indevelopmentmag.com

Jobs – In Development

evidence and argument for a developing world

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 05/05/2026

Tonight the Emirates felt like a giant bouncy castle.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 05/05/2026

A lucky young man sitting next to me on the way home proudly showing these off.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 24/04/2026

Delighted to see the Israel-US war on Iran is on pause, and pray that it may continue. Just recently an old friend asked for my thoughts on this conflict. The following was my response (written in a personal capacity): www.theindiaforum.in/internationa...

theindiaforum.in

The Israel-US War on Iran

The Israel-US war on Iran resulted from a convergence of Netanyahu’s long-held ambitions, US economic manipulation, and self-serving advice on the nuclear issue. With American officials openly eyeing ...

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Reposted by Parviz Dabir-Alai

Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

The deputy leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, owns a property company - Quidnet REIT. From 2020 to 2022 it paid Tice and his trust £600k in dividends. Quidnet should have paid £120k of tax on those dividends. It didn't. A 🧵 with evidence from the company's own filings:

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 12/04/2026

BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn... Iran war: Tehran-US peace talks fail to reach deal as Washington issues 'final offer'. Under Obama's tenure the process leading to the JCPOA took 18 months. It appears as though Vance & Co wanted to conclude a more complex deal in just 21 hours.

bbc.co.uk

Iran war: Tehran-US peace talks fail to reach deal as Washington issues 'final offer' - follow live

Vice-President JD Vance says Tehran did not accept Washington's terms, as Iran's foreign minister calls on US to hold back from making

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Reposted by Parviz Dabir-Alai

Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Senator Chris Murphy, "The Strait of Hormuz was open before the war began" "We are now seeking to solve a problem that we created" "This is insanity"

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 23/03/2026

In all the years of supporting Arsenal I had never ever left any of our matches early. But our 2nd half was so poor yesterday (uncompetitive, toothless, lacking in desire, rudderless, meek) that I left before the end. The int'l break has come at a good time for us. We get up and go again.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 17/03/2026

With his resignation statement Joe Kent has thrown Hegseth, Witkoff, Kushner, Rubio and Netanyahu, not to mention Trump himself, under the bus.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 04/03/2026

Just goes to show that, if we wanted to, even some of the worse tragedies can be expressed in a lighthearted manner.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 03/03/2026

This is the Rose Garden Palace in Iran, built in 16th Century, renovated in 18th Century, and finally rebuilt in 1865. If I remember correctly, my parents had taken me for visits when I was a child. If the other place is to be believed, it was bombed yesterday by USIS.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 22/02/2026

Colour pencil shop in Tehran, Iran. (courtesy of reddit.com)

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 15/02/2026

A convincing performance at the Emirates is to be cherished these days. And to top the experience, in the queue to the station after the game I overheard a Wigan fan tell another Wigan fan: "and we didn't concede any goals from set play". Classic.

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Parviz Dabir-Alai @dabir-alai.com · 27/01/2026

Perhaps my favourite podcast of all time is this 26 year old (to the day) conversation between Melvyn Bragg, Will Hutton and Amartya Sen appearing as part of the BBCR4's 'In Our Time': www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

In Our Time - Economic Rights - BBC Sounds

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the relationship between democracy and capitalism.

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