Links 6/21/2026

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1. The Rev Kev June 21, 2026 at 7:18 am

   “Trump’s 250-foot vanity arch may be just the beginning as White House seizes power to shatter DC’s skyline”

   Rumour has it that Trump plans to install a massive horizontal bar atop the Washington Monument thus forming an enormous ‘T’ – after which it will be renamed the Trump and Washington Monument. Ironically, the inspiration for this idea came from “The Handmaid’s Tale”-

   https://the-handmaids-tale.fandom.com/wiki/Washington,_D.C.?file=Handmaids_Tale_3x06_Washington_Mall.jpg

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   1. The Rev Kev June 21, 2026 at 7:28 am

      Rats! The link broke. Here is another-

      https://dcist.com/story/19/06/28/heres-how-d-c-appears-in-the-handmaids-tale/

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   2. Carolinian June 21, 2026 at 7:54 am

      Johnson/McGovern report that a threat now exists from the Israel direction of full Epstein file spillage. Will Trump be gone before his arch can triumph?

      This will be too late for the rest of us of course.

      It is interesting that in his latest interviews DJT is sounding more like the old Trump who scoffed at DC/Versailles shibboleths. Clearly a truth bomb Samson Option is needed.

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   3. Victor Sciamarelli June 21, 2026 at 8:44 am

      This is extraordinary even coming from Trump. Is it not widely understood that a triumphal arch symbolizes a certain military victory and pride in your armed forces?
      Trump is in the middle of what is arguably the biggest military blunder in US history and clearly a defeat, and he thinks now is the time to build a giant triumphal arch.

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2. Ben Panga June 21, 2026 at 7:18 am

   The US signs terms of surrender in the Persian Gulf AND Keir Starmer resigns* [tomorrow] all in a few days.

   Christmas in June :)

   (*To be replaced by a new feckless drone in Burnham)

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3. farmboy June 21, 2026 at 7:43 am

   won’t be enough ships’ fuel to supply the current global commercial fleet.
   JustDario
   @DarioCpx
   ·
   1h
   Kind reminder: because there has been no demand destruction whatsoever so far, 3 weeks ago, Mercuria shipping head warned that starting from July, there won’t be enough ships’ fuel to supply the current global commercial fleet.

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   1. The Rev Kev June 21, 2026 at 7:50 am

      The only question is whether the remaining bunker fuel will be reserved for ship carrying vital products such as oil and gas or will be given to ships transporting junk meant for Amazon and the like. I guess that there will be bidding war between countries who need that bunker fuel for the ships that they charter for their on use.

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   2. farmboy June 21, 2026 at 8:29 am

      “Trump is so desperate to avoid an oil crisis that he still lets Iranian oil tankers sail out of it”
      JustDario
      @DarioCpx
      ·
      2h
      The Strait Of Hormuz is still shut by the IRCG

      Trump is so desperate to avoid an oil crisis that he still lets Iranian oil tankers sail out of it

      The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is holding up today, but no chance Israel will withdraw

      Clearly, Iran holds all the cards

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4. Carla June 21, 2026 at 7:45 am

   Re: Tulsi Gabbard story from National News Desk.

   Is National News Desk a reliable source? Here’s an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry on NND:

   “The program has been accused by Media Matters for America of airing COVID-19 misinformation,[11] inviting commentators from “anti-immigrant” organization FAIR,[12] repeatedly airing a National Taxpayers Union falsehood regarding the cost of the INVEST in America Act,[13] promoting efforts to counter inclusion of critical race theory in public schools,[14] and concealing interviewees’ support of Republican efforts to restrict voting while discussing election security.[15][16][17]

   The National News Desk has distributed multiple stories based on videos manipulated by the Republican National Committee. In one instance, a video distributed by the organization purported to show American president Joe Biden soiling himself.[9]”

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   1. Ben Panga June 21, 2026 at 7:50 am

      Here’s a link to Gabbard’s press release on the same topic

      https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2026/4163-pr-10-26

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   2. artemis June 21, 2026 at 7:57 am

      I had to go and check on that FAIR anti-immigrant claim — whew, it was Federation for American Immigration Reform (never heard of it before) not Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (the FAIR I know).

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5. farmboy June 21, 2026 at 7:59 am

   “market increasingly vulnerable to a short-covering rally…”
   Ole S Hansen
   @Ole_S_Hansen
   Over the past seven weeks, managed money’s net long position in Brent crude has collapsed from a 7½-year high of 496k contracts to a 2026 low at 114k contracts in the reporting week ending 16 June, when prospects of a US-Iran peace deal gathered momentum and Brent subsequently tumbled 14%. The scale of the liquidation highlights how quickly speculative sentiment has swung from fears of a prolonged supply disruption to expectations of a sizeable supply surge once flows through the Strait of Hormuz normalise.

   However, as highlighted previously, last week’s 45% reduction in the net long was driven primarily by aggressive short selling rather than long liquidation. Gross short positions surged to 231k contracts, the highest level since the pandemic, while long exposure remained relatively elevated. This leaves the market increasingly vulnerable to a short-covering rally should the expected supply recovery prove slower than currently priced, or if traders are forced to reassess what given the present situation constitutes a fundamentally justified crude price.

   Note weekly COT data from the CFTC will be published Monday due to Friday’s Juneteenth holiday.

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6. The Rev Kev June 21, 2026 at 8:03 am

   “Why Amazon hates ‘human-in-the-loop’ AI governance”

   The Australien govt is also falling for this idea. A coupla days ago it was found that an algorithm was being used to see how much support was given to those accessing the aged care system. And once the algorithm had spoken, that was it and humans were barred from making their own judgements. They weren’t even in the loop. It raised an unholy row so now the govt has had to back down on that last feature-

   https://www.sbs.com.au/news/video/concerns-over-governments-new-aged-care-algorithm/fma3whlgs

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   1. vao June 21, 2026 at 8:47 am

      The article left me with the nagging feeling that the objectives of those AI proponents are twofold:

      1) reduce human intervention in those AI-driven processes as much as possible, since human beings are slow and their performance is unsteady (as they are not robots) — and I suspect, because they are also expensive;

      2) but keep human beings liable for the consequences of whatever those AI agents do — for after all, those human beings are formally in charge, hence responsible, to whom one deflect blame and apply a punishment in case of failures.

      I wonder how much those AI gurus have actually read about how people work in organizations. They should know that simplifying steps, bypassing formal communication channels, or cutting corners is ubiquitous — because otherwise many organization’s processes would slow down to a crawl: that is why “work to rule” is an effective action. But unlike AI agents, people usually do not go about destroying everything just to fulfil a very specific goal. Which is also why the AI gurus are so interested in capturing the actual way of working of human employees so that they can “turn their workflows, domain knowledge, and accumulated judgment into AI systems that improve with each use”. But that presumes observing people at work, not people trying to corrall AI agents.

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      1. TimH June 21, 2026 at 9:00 am

         keep human beings liable for the consequences of whatever those AI agents do

         Precisely what that German court just did in finding Google liable for defaming lies in AI search summaries.

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7. lyman alpha blob June 21, 2026 at 8:17 am

   RE: Companies That Embraced AI Are Now Rotting Away in a Very Specific Way

   After describing the accelerating crapification caused by “AI”, there is this remedy –

   “Going forward, a shift is clearly needed: employers need to figure out how to ensure that AI is only being used when it actually makes sense and adds value.”

   Or, alternatively – hear me out here – maybe just not use the clankers at all?

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   1. vao June 21, 2026 at 8:49 am

      Logically, the sentence you quote is perfectly correct, appropriate, and congruent with your suggestion: if AI does not make sense and does not “add value” (to whom?), it should not be used.

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   2. The Rev Kev June 21, 2026 at 8:52 am

      ‘Going forward, a shift is clearly needed: employers need to figure out how to ensure that AI is only being used when it actually makes sense and adds value.’

      The cynic in me reads that to say that if the AI screws up, that those employers will still hold those employees responsible for any mess made and not the AI’s programmers. As it is, they are being held responsible for where and how they use that AI.

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      1. TimH June 21, 2026 at 9:03 am

         But if Gov uses AI to auto decide welfare payments, for example, and also AI to triage complaints, then there is no recourse.

         Reminds me of the good ol’ days trying to cancel AOL.

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8. Carla June 21, 2026 at 8:29 am

   “Democrats must drastically change approach to gaining Latino vote” archived:

   https://archive.ph/C0vpO

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9. The Rev Kev June 21, 2026 at 8:40 am

   “German chancellor criticizes EU budget proposal, opposes more debt”

   It may be that Merz realized that Germany itself would be on the hook for much of any extra debt taken on by the EU. And as it stands, Germany has more than enough economic problems without taking on any more.

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   1. vao June 21, 2026 at 9:00 am

      A controversy just erupted in Germany regarding the “hidden load” imposed on the German budget by the EU mounting debts.

      It is estimated that till 2030, Germany will have to pay back its share of the EU debt amounting to €120b (it was €118b in 2025, and only €15b in 2021). That represents €1’437 for each person living in Germany. The total EU debt was already €800b in 2024, and will amount to €1150b in 2030, whereas only 5% of that money serve to cover EU programmes (the rest are credits to EU states, to Ukraine, to other extra-EU states, etc).

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