Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Coffee Break: Centrist Win in California, AIPAC Loss in New Jersey, Platner Under Seige

Centrist Dems likely won in California, but Trump and Schumer both lost in Iowa and Dem hacks turn on Graham Platner.

How Propaganda and False Information Are Undermining Humanitarian Work

How the post-truth era makes it harder for humanitarian organizations to build trust, protect civilians, and save lives.

Links 6/3/2026

Iran War: Rubio Testimony Raises Questions as to Why Iran Is Bothering With Talks; Intensified Tit-for-Tat Attacks Continue; US Muscles Oman

Today’s Iran war update: The kinetic war is heating up as the US keeps demanding things of Iran that Iran has already rejected.

A Food Philosophy for Our Time?

It is clear that in much of the so-called developed world, food has largely lost its meaning beyond nourishment.  Julian Baggini has written about this, ten years ago in The Virtues of the Table, which is especially useful in considering how and why we eat.  More recently Baggini has expanded his range in How the […]

Commodity Markets Are Living on Borrowed Time

Another warning that the deceptive calm in the commodity markets is not set to last.

Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – Game of Drones

Drone warfare is transforming the economics of military power. Cheap autonomous systems built from globally scaled civilian technologies are eroding the traditional monopoly on precision strike capability once held by major powers. As persistent surveillance, attritable attack systems, and rapid adaptation reshape the battlefield, military advantage may shift away from major powers dependent on high cost systems in favor of those who adopt low-cost distributed defenses.

Trump’s $1.8 Billion Insurrectionist Slush Fund ‘Dead for Now’ Amid Furious Public Backlash

Trump has been forced into a retreat after a $1.8 billion fund for insurrectionists was a grift too far.

Links 6/2/2026

Iran War: Iran Rug Pulls Trump by Suspending Talks Over Ceasefire Violations, Escalating with Demands to End Attacks in Gaza and West Bank, Threat to Close Hormuz and Choke Bab El-Mandab; More on How Hormuz Traffic Will Stay Low Even if “Deal” Agreed

Today’s Iran war news: Iran demands a end to hostilities on all fronts or Bad Things happen. Trump choke chained Bibi…but will that last?

The Trump Administration’s Electoral Meddling in Latin America Reaches New Heights in Colombia

Perhaps in 50 years’ time, the CIA will declassify documents showing how they and Mossad rigged elections throughout Latin America during the mid-2020s.

A Peptide, a Secretive Scientist, and a Debate Over Evidence

RFK, Jr. is backing a peptide out of Zagreb, BPC-157, which has lots of fans and very little evidence. What could go wrong?

Coffee Break: Dem Centrists Pick Their Side, Stand With ICE and Israel, Not Mamdani

The dividing lines in the Democratic party came into sharp focus at New York’s Israel Day Parade, an anti-ICE protest in New Jersey, and the pages of the New York Times and social media.

France’s “Forward Deterrence” Vis-à-vis Russia Raises The Risk Of Nuclear War

France plans to deploy Rafale jets armed with tactical nuclear bombs to Poland and other EU states to threaten Russia.

Links 6/1/2026