Paradise Revisited Atlantic (Micael T)
Scientists stunned by signs of ancient life in a place no one expected Science Daily (Kevin W)
How the Himalayan Blackberry Took Over the Pacific Northwest JSTOR (Micael T)
Global trade in cocaine, methamphetamine is booming, UN drug report shows Reuters
Left-Wing Ideology, Mental Health and Body Modification Journal of Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Science. Micael T:
“This study focuses specifically on the dimension of social leftism—defined by specific attitudes on issues such as gender, race, immigration, sexual orientation, and personal expression. This conceptualization is distinct from economic leftism, which concerns views on redistribution, market regulation, and social welfare“
So they are actually studying neoliberal identity-mongers, which has nothing to do with the left.
A “study“ for the commentariat to shred into tiny, tiny pieces.
https://joibs.org/index.php/joibs/article/view/78/47
Climate/Environment
Climate risks ‘no longer peripheral’ to inflation and monetary policy FTAdviser
https://www.ftadviser.com/content/7b51a2b4-10ea-40b6-86d5-0653ebbcbaf4June has featured record-breaking westerly wind bursts in the Pacific.
This is causing new Kelvin wave activity that will shift more warm water toward the eastern Pacific, probably culminating in the strongest El Niño on record this year — possibly by a wide margin. pic.twitter.com/dBI8mba6QP
— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) June 23, 2026
Ça fond a une allure apocalyptique
Iso de 0 à 4500 mètres d'altitude… Plus de 30 degrés à 1000m d’altitude, 40 Annecy
Le mont-blanc et ses glaciers dégoulinent. Nous perdons notre eau potable. Une 3e vague de chaleur est pressentie et ils ne parlent que de climatisation pic.twitter.com/qqoISHS2WD
— Valerie Paumier présidente de RESILIENCE MONTAGNE (@Valerie_Paumier) June 24, 2026
Think it’s hot? The Antarctic Peninsula is unusually warm too. British Antarctic Survey
Utah officials warn of ‘totally unprecedented’ water shortages as towns run dry Salt Lake Tribune
How much deforestation is your country importing through trade? Hannah Ritchie (Micael T)
Hedge Fund Targets $500 Million for El Niño Crop Risk Trade Bloomberg
China?
China vows to seek tariff cuts with US while decrying its ‘malicious’ trade acts South China Morning Post
Strategic minerals corridor, against China German Foreign Policy
China Leverages Its Critical Minerals Advantage Against Japan Bloomberg
NZ internal report warns of Chinese military forays in Pacific France24
‘China Initiative 2.0’: US crackdown on Chinese scholars intensifies South China Morning Post (guurst)
China Prepares Second LNG Terminal to Receive Arctic LNG 2 Cargoes High North News
Japan
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived Japan Times
Koreas
North Korea’s Kim watches weapons tests and calls for ‘deadly and destructive’ military posture Independent
Southeast Asia
China built Indonesia’s nickel boom. Will it stay for the bust? Asia Times (Kevin W)
Africa
Weaponizing the Womb: Reproductive Genocide in Tigray Genocide Watch
Sudan: New UN Human Rights Report – ‘Brutal Use of Sexual Violence in Sudan’ All Africa
What a surge of anti-migrant protests says about South Africa Economist
Johannesburg Collapse Risk Spurs Call for State to Run City Bloomberg
South of the Border
Economic losses mount as Venezuela earthquake death toll grows Aljazeera
Venezuelans take search for the missing into their own hands as earthquake death toll climbs Associated Press (Kevin W)
Venezuela: Earthquake Death Toll Rises, US SOUTHCOM Deploys Military Assets VenezuelAnalysis (Robin K)
Massacred for Supporting Che Guevara Huseyin Dorgu (Robin K)
Colombia’s Cocaine Trade Now Outearns Its Oil Exports OilPrice
European Disunion
France records hottest day ever as Europe suffers brutal heat wave NBC
Old Blighty
‘It’s dangerous’: how schools, care homes and other UK workplaces are coping in searing heat Guardian
UK June heat record broken for third day in a row as ministers urged to act Guardian (Kevin W)
UK housebuilders warn of ‘shockwaves’ as tariffs on steel imports double Financial Times
US tariffs bite as UK food and drink exports sink to 10-year low The Grocer
Farmers criticise government plan to counter threats to UK food security Guardian
Israel v. The Resistance
Mild by Trump standards. Trump uses “The Islamic Republic of Iran” when he want to show a modicum of respect:
Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows at least 26 vessels over 10,000 dwt transiting the Strait of Hormuz with AIS on using the southern route from 1410 hrs on June 25, when Ever Lovely was hit, to 1200 hrs on June 26. Eight used the Iran-approved northern route pic.twitter.com/eCznPh6eVD
— Lloyd's List (@LloydsList) June 26, 2026
New Report Reveals True Extent of Devastation of US Fifth Fleet HQ in Bahrain Simplicius
The underlying report: How Iran Devastated an American Naval Base—and Caused a U.S. Recalculation Wall Street Journal
Here are the details of the framework deal between Israel and Lebanon signed today. Here is why it is a non-starter:
1) The deal is not a peace deal but just a framework for future talks. No recognition is involved.
2) The core mechanism is two "pilot zones." The Lebanese…
— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) June 26, 2026
The US-Iran war may have ended but the death toll continues to mount Telegraph
Safety Is When There’s No One Dying New York Review of Books (guurst)
Soldiers wounded during the Iran war accuse Pentagon of downplaying their injuries Independent
Gulf states press US not to ignore threat from Iranian missiles The Times
Israel says troops will not withdraw from Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria ‘security zones’ New Arab
Forever wars: Israel’s cycle of conflict shows no finish line Aljazeera
Yemen’s Houthi group vows to target any Israeli presence in breakaway Somaliland Anadolu Agency
Another Hormuz? The Red Sea’s Threat to the Global Economy Council for Foreign Relation
New Not-So-Cold War
France seizes fifth Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker linked to Ukraine war Aljazeera
Ukraine’s Belarus Gambit: When Strategic Pressure Produces Political Escalation Kautilya
Russia’s fuel crisis and Crimea’s logistics problems: is the Kremlin losing its grip on reality? TopWar (Micael T)
Russia preparing possible ‘provocation’ in Baltic states or Poland, sources say Guardian. At the risk of offending readers who are exceptions, isn’t “Latvian intelligence” an oxymoron?
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Nearly a million passports just exposed on the public internet—and anyone could access them with a simple URL CA. From earlier this month, still germane
Imperial Collapse Watch
US army bases to host critical minerals plants in onshoring push Mining.com
Trump 2.0
John Bolton pleads guilty in classified documents prosecution The Hill
John Bolton pleaded guilty Friday to unlawfully retaining sensitive national security information. Under his plea agreement, he faces up to 5 years in prison, up to 3 years of supervised release, a $2.25 million fine, forfeiture of his government pension, and is due to be… https://t.co/ptTon5ucHJ
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) June 27, 2026
Immigration
Over 425,000 Kids in U.S. Face Deportation Hearings Without Lawyers DropSite
Economy
Inflation in “Core Services” Surges, plus AI’s Impact on Electricity & Goods: Inflation beyond Gasoline Wolf Richter
Mr. Market Needs a Therapist
Asian stocks suffer fresh rout as rollercoaster week draws to close Channel News Asia
‘Hugely Troubling’: A Former Wall Street Regulator Is Getting Nervous Politico
SpaceX bond sale signals markets are in ‘bubble territory’, warns Allianz CIO Financial Times
AI
The Tokenpocalypse Is Here: Companies Are Scrambling To Stop Spending So Much on AI 404 Media
The month Generative AI lost its mojo Gary Marcus
The state of the AI economy Exponential View (Micael T)
Why Are People Using AI to Text Their Friends? Terry Nguyen (Micael T)
Elite Malfeasance
Medicare Advantage Company Pays $342M to Government in Midst of Billing Probe KFF Health News
The Bezzle
Stablecoin Crash? Barry Ritholtz
Ares Management flagship private credit fund slammed with withdrawal requests City AM
This Year’s Fed Stress Test Is A Hollow Exercise Awaiting Its Final Blow Better Markets
Meet the multi-millionaire power couple who’s think tank advocated ‘communism for landlords’ and a global welfare state while living in $30M mansion New York Post (Micael T)
Guillotine Watch
Class Warfare
The United States Can Afford to Modernize Itself. Capital Simply Refuses to Pay William Murphy (Micael T)
The Rating Racket CADTM (Micael T)
Techno-oligarchy and privatization of sovereignty: the new phase of capitalism Rebelion via machine translation (Micael T)
Antidote du jour. Tracie H:
Female house sparrow on our roof.
She’s been chirping and peering over the edge of the roof. I think she’s a little envious of the hummingbird enjoying a little birdbath below that is really too small for the house sparrow.
And a bonus (Chuck L):
Failed Flight Leads To New Life For Eagle
A few months ago, park visitors started noticing something strange near a quiet pond beside the woods. A young eagle was following a swan family across the grass, staying close behind the cygnets as if it belonged with them. At first,… pic.twitter.com/KOAZbkxAax
— The Husky (@Mr_Husky1) June 25, 2026
“Why Are People Using AI to Text Their Friends?”
Very disturbing this article. I mean, people not bothering to answer personal messages from friends and families but fobbing it off to an AI to do so for them. I wonder if this will become a sort of way of ghosting people. Letting AI do all the work while not committing emotionally to any of the messages until the contact is lost. That seems to have happened with the author Terry and his friend K. The Reddit link in that article is worth reading through to-
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/1ru97y3/family_friend_sent_me_ai_generated_response_to/
Imagine how much time you could save if you delegated raising your kids to your robot. You aren’t thinking big enough! : )
According to CEO of ‘OPENAI’ you would save a lot money.
But he’s never been great with numbers.
I thought the reason to have kids was to enjoy the experience/challenge of raising them. Plenty of true emotion during the journey.
I had a younger (48) friend do this to me. I scolded them ruthlessly. He said he did it because of his insecurities. Like all technologies, its’ goal is to make us more comfortable, and never mind the repercussions.
Too true. You don’t resolve your insecurities by avoiding them.
This AI communications system looks like a technological version of Prozac, or a prefrontal lobotomy.
Stay safe.
The current discomfort felt by people who believe they are receiving these AI texts could very well be a temporary issue. I wouldn’t be surprised if LLMs improved over the next few years to the point that they can plausibly imitate a person’s writing/texting style. They will also probably be able to carry on phone conversations using your friend’s voice. Then the discomfort will extend to everyone continuously, regardless of how authentic text/voice communications seem.
I think people may react by seeking out more in-person discussions with friends. I think live music performed by humans in small venues may become more important. But who knows. AI will supersede us in virtually every area of human activity. The question is how many people will want to keep their agency even after we’ve been superseded by AI. I personally think maintaining my skills as a writer, musician, and administrator will be very important and lead to a higher quality of life. Also, paradoxically, maintaining your knowledge and abilities will make you a better user of AI :)
Is the new york post a newspaper?
It is like a child discovering hypocrisy before they had found the world in which they were placed.
I found the article quite hard to read, it had a beginning, a strange middle and no end.
Anything that mentions Marina Abramović,the affluents’ preferred iconoclast, should be held with tongs.
I’m sure officer taibbi will be proud to serve against this minor deviation.
Transcript:
Matt, we’ve got a deviant message
MT: I’m on call with my family wealth manager
This is important
MT: why?? does it mention me me???
No, you don’t count but It might, in the future, in a far far away galaxy, affect your family wealth!
MT: I’m on it!!
Yes, much the same: Please partake of our tasty contempt for rich people LARPing as revolutionaries, but do also see them as a sinister and totally believable threat to Our Way of Life.*
Yesterday’s pile-on included a reference to one of Taibbi’s post-Kirn projects, which I thought might have been this one, usefully curated by Due Dissidence this past March (without them, it would probably be unwatchable):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAPT6JPj7yQ
I won’t make any more Taibbi comments, if no one else does. Can we have an MOU on Taibbi-related content?
*A contradiction within this contradiction, which the Post piece brings out more clearly than Taibbi, is the matter of why there might be an inexhaustible well of rage against the rich (to be usefully directed against the left-ish ones) in the first place.
paul
Does the New York Post speak English or only Foghorn Leghornism?
power couple who’s think tank
Sheesh.
I fear the shivering middle only listens to tank think, which has been working so well in the Asias and south america
Some other regions go straight to the source, real tanks.
“ think tanks positioned to help New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani achieve his Democratic Socialists of America-backed “worker’s paradise.””
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
“Soldiers wounded during the Iran war accuse Pentagon of downplaying their injuries”
‘They explained that, according to Army protocols, a soldier is only ever classified as “seriously injured” or “very seriously injured” if they are believed to be at risk of dying from their wounds within 72 hours.’
Obviously a way to under-report any casualties. By that protocol you can have your hand or even arm blown off but you would not be classified as “seriously injured” which is, you know, nice to know. Hopefully this will not boomerang on those soldiers after they leave the services when the VA will tell them that they were never reported as seriously injured at the time when obviously they were.
Contract for neuralink incoming.
We”ll give a new arm or leg which won’t work (apart from transmitting data to health insurance and payday loan companies) and you’ll have served by tidying up our casualty numbers.
Free bronze star if you sign up in the next 30 seconds.
Left-wing ideology and mental health.
As a leftist, I will put away my tendencies to be too sensiitive. This essay is a piece of merda.
Page 17: “The present study confirmed many prior findings from the literature. We found that measures of mental health were moderately related to leftism political ideology, such that worse mental health was related to leftism views. This is in line with most research on the topic (Bernardi, 2020; Dutton & Kirkegaard, 2022b). The better a given question measured mental health, the more strongly it associated with leftism. Similarly, the better a given question measured leftism, the more it is associated with psychopathology.”
Do you have any doubts about why gayfolk wanted to get homosexuality out of the DSM as an “accepted” mental illness?
Much of the study is also taking qualitative variables, like support for Ukraine, and desperately jamming them into quantitative modeling. Yet this survey isn’t an experiment.
My favorite, from page 8: “The median absolute factor loading was 0.65 and the lowest was 0.11 (“Homosexual behavior is fine when it is private and chaste”).”
Who writes such crap?
Then come the confirmations of the quackery:
Page 19: “This study has a number of limitations. First, being a survey study based on paid subjects, it has the same sampling bias as other such research. Since the hourly wage of survey subjects is close to the minimum wage in the USA, this presumably results in selection bias for who spends their time participating.”
My eyeballs are spinning, chastely, in their sockets.
Page 19: “Fifth, since we relied mainly on self-report, the research is beset with the problems common to self-report measurements (such as over-reporting bias due to awareness or stigma or errors due to mental instability).”
Oh.
We are at the same level as the absurd U.S. “assigned at birth” racial categories, which have brought the world such colonialist classics as Jada Pinkett Smith’s Cleopatra is really black (my grandmama told me so).
Yet people have been sent to gas chambers for “analyses” that were the same banality of evil as this one.
The authors don’t seem to define “leftism”, unless this is it:
“It can be observed that leftism correlates positively with each variant of the p factor (variables 1-5), as well as with tattoos, piercings, unnatural hair color and being female, ”.
Or perhaps:
“it is assumed that psychopathology causes leftism”
And the authors define body modification as dyeing one’s hair or getting piercings or tattoos. Oh dear.
Why does it feel like this was written by incels?
Good to know their definition of leftism has nothing to do with economics or wage suppression or monopoly pricing and all that other “non-leftist” stuff. / ;)
I’m not sure if there is a precise definition in the paper. A quick scan reveals this on page 7:
“For political ideology, we similarly wanted to measure the construct with breadth. For this purpose, we created a set of 41 items concerning typical political disagreements in the USA at the time of this survey. Item examples are: “The world is suffering from overpopulation.”, “Affirmative action is discrimination.”, “I support Israel against Hamas.”, and “Progressive taxation (higher tax rates for higher incomes) is the best way to structure a tax system.”. These items are measured on a 1-7 scale, going from strongly disagree to strongly agree.”
Table S2 starting on page 31 lists all 41 questions. They are interesting. I’m certain I don’t fully understand the methodology but I’m guessing that they associate certain answers with being more or less left or right in disposition.
For example, one item is “Racial diversity is more important than viewpoint diversity.” I’m betting that the more one tends to agree with this the more they will be considered “left” under the definition they use.
Another example is “I feel overwhelmed or anxious by climate change.” Again, I’m betting that they interpret more agreement with this as being more “left”. I wonder a little if being “overwhelmed or anxious” about anything might correlate with worse mental health outcomes.
It seems that “I support sending more aid to Ukraine” is interpreted as a sign of leftsim to the extent one agrees.
Probably the most interesting bit of this study is the question it raises about how strange and incoherent our typical definition of “left” is.
I don’t think the items they use to define “left” are connected by any principal. Why does support for aid to Ukraine and the belief that “Politics suffers from white overrepresentation” go together in any way? I might be wrong, but it seems that their underlying assumption is that these attitudes represent a coherent political ideology, whatever you want to call it. I don’t think this is warranted.
Wait for the ‘research’ and article to bloom on A I like algae in a summer stock pond on our heating eaarth.
I only count as a sub-amateur psychologist, but if they’re seriously interested in these kinds of questions, for left or right ideology, in an American sample, shouldn’t they at least be accounting for mediating effects of the “Big 5” personality factors?
I’m honestly mostly skeptical about psychology in general, but the results for those seem pretty solid and common sense: high neuroticism & low conscientiousness are the big risk factors for most diagnosable things the MMPI-2 would pick up, but openness to experience is typically the strongest correlation with “lefty” behaviors
Leftist is a neologism that baffles me.
What’s the term for someone who grew up in peace, saw their parents and themselves benefit through reasonably circumspect government?
Socialist is fine by me.
This was intended as a reply to DJG
But I am reminded of Keynes beauty contest.
20 people with degrees from 27 countries all looking desperately at each other, their eyes’ screaming ‘well, what do you think? let’s leave it to the professionals who pay us.
Musa al-Gharbi has a new article about the state of “leftism” that he sees as replicating an older and wider split between “authoritarian socialism” and “liberal socialism”, where the current woke pseudo-leftism, by its disregard for the material welfare of the people it claims to advocate for, shades much more into the authoritarian camp. As usual for him, it is a carefully reasoned argument from the premises he’s been working with since grad school, although I am not sure everything about it sounds right. Leftism is working toward a more equal society and only falls into authoritarianism when it (1) goes overboard on that goal (“equality of outcomes”, which few people, and not even Marx, really want), (2) extends beyond rough equality of material status into symbolic status markers (because people never stop wanting symbolic status upgrades, where many are content at an “enough” level of material benefits), and (3) concentrates judgment and control in the usual self-appointed leadership class (the vanguard movement, the Inner Party, the thought police and ideological priesthood, etc.). Liberal socialism to him would be like a somewhat more redistributionist version of the New Deal with tolerance for more variability of symbolic affiliations. Or that is my interpretation of what he’s saying.
paragraghs man, I’m just post boomer
Musa al-Gharbi has a new article about the state of “leftism” that he sees as replicating an older and wider split between “authoritarian socialism” and “liberal socialism”, where the current woke pseudo-leftism, by its disregard for the material welfare of the people it claims to advocate for, shades much more into the authoritarian camp.
As usual for him, it is a carefully reasoned argument from the premises he’s been working with since grad school, although I am not sure everything about it sounds right. Leftism is working toward a more equal society and only falls into authoritarianism when it
(1) goes overboard on that goal (“equality of outcomes”, which few people, and not even Marx, really want),
(2) extends beyond rough equality of material status into symbolic status markers (because people never stop wanting symbolic status upgrades, where many are content at an “enough” level of material benefits), and …
(3) concentrates judgment and control in the usual self-appointed leadership class (the vanguard movement, the Inner Party, the thought police and ideological priesthood, etc.).
Liberal socialism to him would be like a somewhat more redistributionist version of the New Deal with tolerance for more variability of symbolic affiliations. Or that is my interpretation of what he’s saying
re: Utah leaders warn of water shortage.
Don’t suppose all these Utah data centers would have anything to do with that.
“There are 19 operating data centers in Utah with a combined capacity of 788 MW, and 20 planned projects that would add 28,436 MW of additional capacity. Explore the map and tables below for details.”
https://www.cleanview.co/data-centers/utah
How much water do data centers use?
summary finding:
Data centers consume a significant amount of water, with large facilities using up to 5 million gallons per day, which is comparable to the water use of a small town. This high demand for water is primarily for cooling the servers to prevent overheating.
(Brookings and eesi.org)
From eesi.org:
https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption
The worrying thing is data centers pumping aquifer water for use. Aquifer water is ancient water, very slow to recharge, not like surface water.
Despite a new law, conservationists are worried about AI water use in Utah
https://www.upr.org/environment/2026-04-29/despite-a-new-law-conservationists-are-worried-about-ai-water-use-in-utah
When aquifer water is depleted below a certain level it is essentially gone until it can recharge, which take years.
I believe diesel trucks can distribute bottled water to those who need it.
Except when there is no deisel or water.
This problem is a peter thiel hot tub level discussion.
Seems like Utah’s leaders pointing to climate change while omitting data center water use is a misdirection or at least an obfuscation. Wonder if there’s political campaign money in the misdirection. / ;)
the image of peter thiel in a hot tub is image-evocative and enough to gag a maggot.
I have read scuttlebut that it was in that environment that the ceo of openAI met his truelove.
A meeting of minds and sperm, to no obvious purpose to the commonwealth
From stupidea:
I blame the parents.
It’s called ‘mining the aquifer’. On the same level of intelligence as burning your furniture to stay warm. Data centers should not be permitted in any area where water supply is limited. If they are, it should be with the caveat that water has to be recirculated. Utah can cool water overnight, when temperatures drop; it just costs money to build recirculating systems, and it’s easier to just keep ripping through our country’s fresh water supplies, because no one has insisted otherwise.
Data center needs for both power and water should by law rank far behind residential, industrial, and domestic agriculture use. If and when things get tight, shut them down. Happens to farmers all the time, and there is no reason to let people go thirsty because data center users want to replace human coders.
Local and state officials who have let these centers be built with no oversight or restraint should be ashamed of themselves.
Data centers don’t need water.
They need cooling
Cooling can be done lots of ways that don’t consume water.
Using single pass through water for cooling is cheaper that’s the only reason they do this.
Oh sweet Jesus. At the threat of being accused of thread jacking, have you guys seen the design of the new US passport? Just stumbled upon it on Trump’s Truth Social account-
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116818397307589675
This is a joke, right? right? not right?…..
Glad I renewed my passport before T’s “L’etat, c’est moi” redesign.
Nope. It’s the real deal. I had to check it out-
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/26/politics/passport-trump-photo-rendering
Mine expires soon, but no big trips planned. I think I’ll wait til this reich is in history’s dustbin to renew. Surely a redesign will be ready to go shortly after trump’s new plane departs DC for the last time.
Albania Bound?
Looks like this new design is only default at the DC passport office. From the CNN article you linked:
Speaking to CNN at the time, an official said that the passport “will be the default passport out of the Washington Passport Agency when available” for those who renew their passports in person at that location.
“Online options or other locations will maintain existing passport design,” the official said.
Seems to be a limited-time edition only available from the “Washington office” whereas online and other locations will still use the existing design. Phew!
Might be his most long lasting legacy(how many passports issued a year?).
I like it, shows who is in charge of everyone apart from themselves and israel.
Why doesn’t he just insist on the official wording:
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list,
Checking it twice,
Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town
Imagine being a American landing in a country that Trump has just been fighting with and hitting them with tariffs. So they go up to customs, hand over their passport, and the custom officers spots Trump’s image when he opens it up. Not a comfortable feeling that.
A tear will emerge, they will sob;
“That’s when ameriky was just getitng great again, cepting the coloureds who are all democrats, can’t unload a gun barrel on them anymore cause of the leftists”
My understanding was that this was an add-on-cost option?
Name, Image , and Likelness royalties for His Highness?
Rumor has it— assuming he is still alive.. that he is heading to Noem’s South Dakota(tm) for July Fourth.
No doubt to announce his addition to Mt Rushmore…
Maybe he will add a virtual trump visage with some techie drone swarm….
It’s all mind-numbingly tiresome.
There is the trump gold option*,eight tear off presidential pardons included**.
Issued by the family wealth office***.
* requires a soft credit check
** requires at least one felony and scrutiny from the trump family office.gov***
***proud to be a partner to the DOJ and SEC
Where will they get brown stone for his nose, let alone the gilt for his combover?
Transcript:
DT:
you know I’ve spent a lot of time in yerlowstone, its a beautiful space, big, big mountains.
Great, great place,and I’ve talked to myself, and a lot of others, and we all agree it could be a lot better with me on it.
I told you we needed a ballroom for all the following and preceding presidents who did not see the need to present big balls.
Stupid leftists, who refuse to recognize my place on that thing somewhere without a luxury, beautiful hotel, will experience epic fury.
The Fool is conflating Yellowstone NP (Montana/Wyoming/Idaho) with Mount Rushmore (South Dakota).
‘Shaiel Ben-Ephraim
@academic_la
Here are the details of the framework deal between Israel and Lebanon signed today. Here is why it is a non-starter
3) One zone sits in territory Israel seized in the last two weeks. Netanyahu openly says the IDF does not need it. So Israel is “conceding” land it grabbed specifically to hand back.’
What’s the bet that the IDF can’t hold this territory because Hezbollah keep on slamming them with FPV drones. I have been reading about one place – the Ali al-Taher height – that the Israelis tried to storm with tanks but Hezbollah saw them off again and again. Don’t know if it is the same place. I guess that the Israelis want the Lebanese army to clear this zone so later on it will be safe for the IDF to attack there.
As Amforta’s has noted narcissists become more thin skinned and more extreme in their reactions as they age and become less competent overall.
I think we can see this in Trump’s reaction to botching the repairs on the reflecting pool.
To Trump, a very visible failure like this is existential.
Which is why he seems obsessed by it.
It MUST be due to sabotage and the perpetrators must be punished to the fullest…very publicly.
Or the Donald will be seen as a failure, which he is.
If Trump follows the pattern of other Narcissist I have encountered he will become increasingly this skinned and his reaction to any percieved opposition or slight will become more extreme.
Until things come completely apart.
Trump is not yet visibly foaming at the mouth and chewing the rug, but he’s not far from it.
It’s going to be a lively Summer.
Trump is really obsessed with the Reflecting Pool, He has been saying that somebody used a box-cutter to cut a long gash in the lining of it and is now posting an image of troops guarding that pool-
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116818025512975700
It boggles the mind that one can live for 80 years, meet many thousands of people, be married 3 times, raise kids, experience a huge variety of places and things, achieve the Presidency, but along the way never learn that sometimes it’s best to admit making a mistake.
DJT raised his kids??? Omigod, I really doubt it and sincerely HOPE NOT!
Fox News was reporting, with a chryron filling the bottom 4th of the screen: “Obama slammed for monument to himself while Trump restores American monuments.”
A whole wing of the White House gone, national parks trashed, and I could just go on and on but sure.
(Restores might be the wrong verb. It was yesterday and I don’t have the exact exact quote in my head anymore.)
Fox is a Murdoch outlet. / ;)
Make that Mordor outlet. (Truth in advertising.)
Reminds me of an episode from the animated series The Tick. The one where the super-villain Chairhead (so called because his head from the neck up was the exact shape of a bentwood chair) had got a giant laser and was writing his name on the moon. He finished the “C” and most of the “H” before The Tick stopped him.
The closing scene showed the result. Turned out he had used the entire visible surface of the moon for those two letters. We could only imagine what would have happened if he had got to finish.
To be fair, the flock cameras might have detected a coloured walking nearby at sometime.,visibly spitting leftist ideas, which are scientistically known to create algal bloom.
What more proof do you need?
Needs a coffee warning! It’s OK, laundry day- no harm, no foul.
“The Tokenpocalypse Is Here: Companies Are Scrambling To Stop Spending So Much on AI”
‘Consulting giant Accenture is trying to figure out how to stop non-technical workers from blowing through companies’ AI token budget’
This is all a part of the rug pull that those AI corporations are doing. Get everybody in and then start charging them. Only the mathematics don’t work and I am dubious about this article blaming it all on the non-technical workers. The only way that I can see this working out is if each worker has an allocated annual budget of tokens but even then, I cannot see it working. Are they going to really punish workers for using those tokens too fast when they just finished threatening those very same workers to use AI or else?
Utah fires: Just stumbled on a fascinating article from 2017 High Country News
featured in Best Science and Nature Writing- 2018….by Douglas Fox. Highly reccomend it.
great read… really eye popping, and, even as a resident of the northern rockies that tries to keep up on news and science, very new to me. A smoke-jumper pal was on the tarmac ready to be the next crew dropped onto the Storm King fire outside of Glenwood Springs, CO…. he would have perished.
(jumping out of planes into fires is a bit of a challenge to rationalize, but folks gotta eat…)
https://www.hcn.org/issues/49-6/
If the Colorado river basin emergency is NOT a reason to put the skids on data centers, I don’t know what is. Perhaps humans justly deserve the desert dessert .
The mid-east disasters and warfare/humanitarian sh*t- show of Israel /Straights of Hormuz / Iran may have some competition for eyeballs this summer.
jefemt, this article is extraordinary, a real eye-opener. I had no idea regarding these details and the new imaging techniques available. I live in British Columbia, very prone to huge wildfires, and I will pass this on. Thanks.
Off topic: Has anyone heard/seen from Wukchumni?
I miss his comments. Hoping he is just taking a break.
Speaking of breaks, I may have to comment less myself, as I am buried in work. Post July 4th weekend things should get easier. I’ll continue to read the Iran war updates. Thanks again, Yves, for all your hard work keeping this place going.
Probably hiking the Sierra or the SoCal transverse ranges. We’ve been having gorgeous June weather in California. It would be a shame to not take advantage of it.
He’s probably on some hill, checking it’s without signal and going through his 45’s on a wind up dansette to best prepare for his return to the world wide internet.
Sure. I think its already happening. Just who do these non technical workers think they are!
Curious about not using “AI” to track and regulate token use.
We Surveyed 1,000 People About Their Budgets. The Picture Is Ugly. (NY Times)
Or, the NY Times front page headline is We Crunched the Data: There’s a Grocery Price Emergency in America.
By Lael Brainard and Rohit Chopra
It’s bad and getting worse. My locally owned grocery is going to start charging 10-15 cents for paper grocery bags starting July 1st because their paper bag supplier has raised its prices. The grocery story margins everywhere are so slim that even tiny price hikes the stores must pay to suppliers now have a ripple effect.
We had an Aldis move in locally last year and they charged 12 or 13 cents for paper bags from the beginning. Locals soon learned to save the bags with the handles. I double mine up and fold flat, store some in the back of the auto and reuse regularly. I also have one of the old Target burlap sack material shopping bags as well.
I have been a vocal advocate of banning single use plastic baggettes, which are almost ubiquitous. However, I have generally been met with blank stares. No one seems able to make the connection between disposable plastic items and petroleum usage. The better argument I have found to be is to point out the absolute mess these baggies make when released into the wild.
I have yet to see a comparison of the “carbon footprints” of plastic bags versus paper bags. At least you can compost the paper bags after they become worn out.
Stay safe.
I may be misremembering (too frequent these days), but food was not wrapped in plastic in the 1950s, when I was young. Meat and fish were often gotten separately at a butchers’ or fishmongers’ counter at the grocery and handed to you wrapped in paper, once you had told them what you wanted. The 1960s were when plastic packaging started appearing everywhere. With Amazon, in this century, half your shipment has been plastic stuff to cushion what you ordered, although I think they may have started using waste paper packing material recently.
In many ways the modern supermarket is a horrifying place if you think about what goes into creating the environment you walk into. Aisles and aisles of unhealthy foods in bright, attractive packages that you are told not to buy by finger-wagging RFKjr types. Vast displays of plastic packaged meat (mostly from abused animals) which will probably have a large percentage of it sent rotting into the landfill. Pesticide saturated vegetables polished to a high gloss that are supposed to be your healthy option. Miles of carbonated soda and “energy drink” shelves to add even more sugar to your diet. Yes, sugar is in everything, almost impossible to avoid, the “good” supposedly natural kind and the “bad” corn syrup kind both adding tons of calories to your meals. It’s a weird and scary place that you have to not think about to visit.
Get like kristi neom:
Stock prices are up,what’s the problem, jeffery epstein gave a lot to charity, took care of children etc.
Complain about eating, heating, warm yourself by the markets that are on fire!
File under Isr vs the Resistance.
Jimmy Dore hosted by Due Dissidence guy Russell Dobular.
Watch Israeli Diplomat FLIP OUT Over UN Report Showing Israel INTENTIONALLY Massacred Children!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av4TVgac0_o
(Background: the Lobby got UN Special Repporteur Francesca Albanese * sanctioned from the US and the UN and her husband demoted in his job at the World Bank after she filed her report.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6e-9qzjbKM
All is not well in the GOP base.
* per wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesca_Albanese
Comment removed due to AI slop.
https://joibs.org/index.php/joibs/article/view/78/47
My wife’s grandson observed of a young woman’s array of facial piercings that she looked like she’d fallen face-down in a fishing tackle box.
That said, this “study” seems wasted energy and effort. Anyone who is not depressed much of their waking hours under prevailing conditions is blest with ODing on obliviousness.
The mental health disorders of the investigated population is, per the philosophical paragragh in the study, is courageously refusing to submit to the reality being imposed by war-mongering oligarchs and their enlistees.
One of the investigators was a Kierkegaard. Soren cringed in his crypt.
re: El Salvador
BERLINER ZEITUNG
machine-transl.
Interview with German entrepreneur Lina Seiche, advisor to the minister of education in El Salvador and Bitcoin cheerleader
A German woman at the court of the philosopher-king: Insights into El Salvador’s transformation
President Bukele has transformed El Salvador from the most dangerous to the safest country in its hemisphere. His methods are condemned in the West. But the question is: When does a state have legitimacy?
https://archive.is/irC4l
For some embedded videos in the original:
https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/article/eine-deutsche-am-hof-des-philosophenkoenigs-einblicke-in-el-salvadors-verwandlung-10134784
re: Armenia elections
COVERT ACTION MAGAZINE
Secretary of the Communist Party in Armenia Says that Political Repression is Off the Charts Under Nikol Pashinyan Who is Becoming a Closer U.S. Ally
27th June
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2026/06/27/secretary-of-the-communist-party-in-armenia-says-that-political-repression-is-off-the-charts-under-nikol-pashinyan-who-is-becoming-a-closer-u-s-ally/
The AEON article about the Zetas narco gang fails, mysteriously, to mention their unique selling point: they began their careers as Mexican paramilitaries trained in the US at the School of the Americas.
RE: antidote eagle
Bald Eagles do not develop all-white crown feathers until they are 4-5 years old. A mature bald eagle “swimming’ with a mature Swan is more than unusual. (Bald Eagles are ruthless predators.)