Friday, October 30, 2026

Coffee Break: The Selfish Gene at 50, Big Medicine, Alt Medicine, and the End of Football

Part the First: The Selfish Gene is 50 Years Old.  The mid-1970s brought forth two biology books that have had a lasting impact.  The first is Sociobiology: A New Synthesis (1975) by the ant biologist E.O. Wilson of Harvard.  Sociobiology is a topic for another time, and it may require me to finally get some […]

Trump’s Russian Diesel Is a Legal Hot Potato With a Five-Year Fuse

How Trump’s Russian diesel scheme is at odds with import bans that carry criminal penalties.

Links 10/30/2026

After Fleeing to Florida, Flavio Bolsonaro Compares Himself to Juan Guaidó, Charles de Gaulle and José Martí

The farce is strong with this one.

Iran War: Senator Murphy Warns of “Insane” US Attack Plans as Iran Rejects JD Vance Negotiation Outreach, Wall Street Journal Applies Porcine Maquillage to Unsustainable US Hormuz Oil Shuttle Defense

Today’s Iran war news: More US threats and misguided outreach as Robert Barnes reports Trump favors trying to take Strait of Hormuz islands

James Galbraith: What Can the Last Great Crash Say About the Next One? Oil, AI, and the Perils of Technological Revolution

Did huge oil discoveries trigger for the Great Crash? And if so, what does that tell us about AI risk versus its overextended stock valuations?

The Road to a United States of Europe Is Paved with Protests

Deepening EU integration protects the euro but disempowers national states, sparking protests from citizens seeking a lost status quo.

How the Law Protecting Americans from Surprise Medical Bills Is Driving Up Healthcare Costs

Provider chicanery is producing the perverse outcome that curbing surprise billing is blowing out healthcare charges elsewhere.

Links 10/29/2026

Former CalPERS CFO Charles Asubonten Continues His Over Three-Year, Failed Legal Campaign to Silence Naked Capitalism Reporting With New Federal Suit in the Northern District of Alabama

Former CalPERS CFO Charles Asubonten doubles down on a losing legal campaign intended to silence Naked Capitalism.

Charles Asubonten v. Aurora Advisors Incorporated: Filed in Maryland February 2024, Dismissed April 2025, Appeal Dismissed July 2026, Motion to Reconsider Denied August 2026

The second unsuccessful case by Charles Asubonten seeking to silence Naked Capitalism’s reporting.

Charles Asubonten v. Susan Webber: Filed in Maryland in July 2023, Dismissed February 2024

The first in a pair of Charles Asubonten’s groundless and unsuccessful cases against Naked Capitalism’s reporting.

Mirable Dictu! AI Is Set to Destroy Major Software Quasi Monopolies

Will AI software clones wreck the predatory business models of giants like Adobe and Microsoft? One can hope.

Satyajit Das: On Cinema – The Wages of War

Another Satyajit Das thematic sampling from cinema and discussion, here on war.

Coffee Break: Elon Musk Has a Hand in Everything from Anthropic to Skydance to Texas Politics

Elon Musk is playing an outsize role in media, politics and tech in his dealings with Skydance, Anthropic, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.