Thursday, July 16, 2026
Iran War: Strait of Hormuz Traffic Falls as Trump Threatens Infrastructure Strikes; Iran Alleges $9 Billion of Witkoff/Kushner Profits from Negotiation Intel, Demands Cut;
Today’s Iran war news: Trump’s bluster increases, evidently to compensate for military impotence.
Satyajit Das: Déjà Vu All Over Again! Are Stock Markets Repeating Dot.com Mistakes?
AI valuations make the dot.com era look pale. Yet genuine excitement seems to be wanting.
Senators and Representatives Block $1.15 Trillion Pentagon Bill Over Trump’s Illegal Iran War, Israel Integration
A preliminary success in blocking Trump’s plan to supersize the Pentagon budget and integrate the IDF.
Coffee Break: Texas Gets Trampled by Trump’s DHS
Texas is getting what it voted for with Trump good and hard with ICE murdering a Houston man in cold blood, border walls threatening to mar the Big Bend, and data centers guzzling water and pricing small town families out of their homes.
Should BRICS+ Lead the Global South?
BRICS seems destined never to live up to hopes for it. Is strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement a better strategy?
Iran War: Trump TACOs on Strait of Hormuz Fee as Blockade Starts but Again Threatens to Attack Iran Energy and Critical Infrastructure as Iran Warns of Closure of Bab el-Mandeb, Destruction of Gulf State Energy Production
Today’s Iran war news: Trump’s continued ferocity is way out of line compared to what the US can achieve. So what might transpire?
The Peculiar Notion of “Free Stuff” in Modern American Society
Because reasons, today’s post will be something different, and more personal. I will also come close to violating Horowitz’s Rule: Never generalize about your own necessarily limited experience. Joel Horowitz was my freshman sociology teacher all those many years ago. He was in his mid-thirties when he taught us, and his PhD was a second […]
Hochul Temporarily Bans New Data Centers in NY Amid Scrutiny of Climate Impacts
Mirabile dictu! New York intends to make data centers hew to more stringent pollution, water use and energy cost/impact rules.
Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – Peace Power and Arms Control
For decades, arms control has struggled against recurring cycles of fear, secrecy, and technological competition that steadily erode international agreements. This article argues that advances in satellite observation, telecommunications, and evidence integration make a fundamentally different approach possible. Rather than relying primarily on diplomatic assurances, future arms control can be supported by verifiable trust.
Knee Pain? Ragged Cartilage? Research Suggests Surgery’s Not the Best Answer
Some news you can use: on a dodgy knee procedure that while deservedly falling in popularity, is still being practiced.
Iran War: Trump Lashes Himself to Strait of Hormuz Mast With Renewed Blockade, Intensified Attacks on Iran; Oil Crunch Worsens as Iran Halt Fujairah Shipments, Houthis Threaten to Close Bab el-Mandeb
Today’s Iran war news: Trump is indeed making himself Herbert Hoover 2.0 with his latest escalation.
Will the Bank of England Ever Give Venezuela Back Its Gold?
It’s already been more than seven years since the UK confiscated Venezuela’s gold reserves, which have since more than doubled in value.
