Engelhardt, A Personal TomDispatch Farewell (of Sorts)<\/a> TomDispatch. All good things must come to an end, and sadly that includes TomDispatch (although as you will see, many of its authors will continue to hold forth at The Intercept)<\/p>\n Octopuses use mirrors to find food they cannot see<\/a> Science Daily (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Bring Back Ostracism?<\/a> Classical Wisdom (Micael T)<\/p>\n Often Caught Reading<\/a> Literary Review (Anthony L)<\/p>\n How To Lie With Charts and Graphs<\/a> Un-Diplomatic (Micael T)<\/p>\n On Oversocialization<\/a> Idle Rambler (Micael T)<\/p>\n Why Are Men So Bad at Making\u2014and Keeping\u2014Friends?<\/a> Derek Thompson (Micael T)<\/p>\n #COVID-19\/Pandemics<\/p>\n A family member is a doctor. It’s common enough they have a term for it: the covid to hospice track. It’s a slide of about 6 months.<\/p>\n \u2014 MistSandGrass\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Mistsandgrass) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Climate\/Environment<\/p>\n The looming El Ni\u00f1o could be bad \u2013 but much worse is to come<\/a> New Scientist<\/p>\n In a warming Arctic, gray whales struggle to find nourishment<\/a> Alaska Beacon<\/p>\n The planet may become too hot for rice to be cultivated in many areas it currently exists<\/a> Live Science<\/p>\n Trump uses wartime powers to dole out $700m to \u2018clean, beautiful\u2019 coal<\/a> Guardian<\/p>\n Water wars washing away South Asia\u2019s fragile peace<\/a> Asia Times (Kevin W)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n China?<\/p>\n China\u2019s real estate funk drags down yet another sector: property service providers<\/a> Reuters<\/p>\n The Nexperia saga continues<\/p>\n China\u2019s Dongguan Intermediate People\u2019s Court has accepted Wingtech\u2019s lawsuit against Nexperia and its Dutch entities under China\u2019s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (AFSL)<\/p>\n Wingtech (the Chinese owner) is demanding full control restored plus around $1.1\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/a9vG1QGhhw<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/gR3ZHzf3EM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 David Lee (@DavidLe76335983) June 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n China harvest rains dent some wheat quality, may spur imports<\/a> Reuters<\/p>\n The blood cancer that became solvable<\/a> Works in Progress. Micael T: <\/p>\n The regulations for clinical trials are there to protect people from the big pharma\u2018s disregard for anything but profits. I am not sure if China playing fast and lose with trials is the way to go. Murky incentives to convince people to participate in experiment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n Africa<\/p>\n From the Horn of Africa to the Sahel, instability seems to be becoming permanent<\/a> MetaDefense<\/p>\n Civilians flee as Somali troops and opposition-allied militias trade fire in Mogadishu<\/a> Guardian<\/p>\n At least 350 killed in 5 days of Sudan tribal clashes<\/a> EFE<\/p>\n The Longest Betrayal<\/a> Global Geopolitics. On the recolonisation of Zimbabwe<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n South of the Border<\/p>\n \u2018Blood gold\u2019: how gangs took control of Venezuela\u2019s mines<\/a> Japan Times<\/p>\n US imposes new sanctions on Cuban president and Castro family members<\/a> Guardian<\/p>\n Bolivia\u2019s blockade crisis risks tipping into civilian clashes, analysts warn<\/a> Mercopress<\/p>\n Inventing \u201cMachismo\u201d in the US<\/a> JSTOR (Micael T)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n European Disunion<\/p>\n EU Grants Leeway to Countries Struggling with Energy Crunch<\/a> Bloomberg<\/p>\n Putin and AfD plot to reopen Nord Stream pipeline to Europe<\/a> Telegraph<\/p>\n Repair backlog apparently jeopardizes operational capability<\/a> Tagesschau via machine translation (guurst)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Old Blighty<\/p>\n Rural UK \u2018particularly at risk\u2019 of diesel shortages if Iran war continues<\/a> Guardian<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Israel v. The Resistance<\/p>\n Iran says it fired warning missiles, drones at US warships in Gulf of Oman<\/a> Jerusalem Post (Ann)<\/p>\n Trump says Iran retains only 21%-22% of missile stockpile after US strikes<\/a> Anadolu Agency. The worst is Trump likely believes that. <\/p>\n Iran General rejects Trump\u2019s request to meet Supreme Leader, warns of reprisals<\/a> Janta Ka Reporter, YouTube. Note section starting at 3:40, senior Iranian reaffirming the necessity of the US returning $24 billion in frozen assets as the price of entry for a MOU. Also later discussion of the Ivanka-Albania scam. Per Vikas Santi: \u201cThis Albanian island thing is peak rapaciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n Amb. Chas Freeman: Israel\u2019s Free Fall on All Fronts<\/a> Dialogue Works, YouTube. A particularly good talk, with many important secondary points, like Freeman deeming recent US actions v. Oman as considerably increasing the odds of Omani cooperation in running the Persian Gulf Authority. <\/p>\n Will Iran respond to the Zionist ethnic cleansing campaign in Lebanon?<\/a> Vanessa Beeley. Uh oh:<\/p>\n And we\u2019re going to first of all talk about Lebanon because Netanyahu today and Katz have put out a statement basically saying that Washington has given them the green light to expand. their brutality and their airstrikes into Beirut. Now, presumably, initially,we\u2019ve seen also Ben Gavir putting out statements saying that Dahiyeh should be flattened. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Alastair Crooke: IRAN\u2019S TRIGGER WARNING: \u2018Withdraw from Lebanon\u2026 Any Violations and We Strike<\/a> Dialogue Works, YouTube<\/p>\n Netanyahu faces plunging support in north Israel as voters demand tougher Lebanon stance<\/a> Reuters<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s Smotrich announces plan for 2,162 homes in occupied West Bank<\/a> Aljazeera<\/p>\n Israel seeks to recruit ultranationalists for police unit at Al-Aqsa Mosque <\/a> Middle East Online (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Israel reportedly deployed elite forces in Azerbaijan, operated Somaliland base, during Iran war <\/a> Times of Israel (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Trump wants the Palestinians to pay for the U.S. occupation of Gaza<\/a> Mondoweiss (Kevin W)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n New Not-So-Cold War<\/p>\n House Passes Bill To Give Ukraine Billions in Additional Military Aid as War Escalates<\/a> Antiwar.com (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s SPIEF Attack Aims for Max Provocation, as Drones Witnessed Coming From Baltic Direction<\/a> Simplicius (Kevin W). BTW some bad reporting by Simplicius. The SPIEF site is very remote from St. Petersburg proper. Alexander Mercours, who had been to St. Petersburg regularly, with at least one time a very long visit, said the not even the smoke from the fire would be visible from the venue, but clearly many of the guests were liked to have encountered it in the environs of their hotels. <\/p>\n \u201cToday Europe Is a Rabid Dog\u201d: Scott Ritter Unleashes Stunning Attack on Europe at SPIEF<\/a> APT, YouTube. Hoo boy.<\/p>\n Putin\u2019s Message to Ukraine: \u201cKeep on working, Brothers\u201d<\/a> Larry Johnson <\/p>\n Open Letter to Chancellor Friedrich Merz<\/a> Jeffrey Sachs (Micael T)<\/p>\n Ukrainian drone explodes in Romanian port<\/a> RT (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Euroclear has requested a stay on the recovery of \u20ac200 billion in favor of the Central Bank<\/a>. Vzglayd via machine translation (Micael T). Gee, I thought Euroclear had taken the position was that the Moscow Arbitration Court did not have jurisdiction. Save for very narrow issues, filing normally = acceptance of jurisdiction. So I have to assume that the Moscow Arbitration Court could enforce its judgement on at least some of the $200 billion seized from the Russian Central Bank and others. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Big Brother is Watching You Watch<\/p>\n Palantir. IT\u2019S WORSE Than You Think<\/a> Double Down News<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Imperial Collapse Watch<\/p>\n The U.S. Can\u2019t Be Trusted <\/a>Daniel Lorison. Important. <\/p>\n Main Message of Putin\u2019s SPIEF Speech: Tectonic Shift in Global Economic Power is Irreversible<\/a> Sputnik<\/p>\n Three Dualities of the American Political Psyche<\/a> Finn Andreen (Micael T)<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8BREAKING: The CIA officer caught with $40 million in gold bars allegedly invented an entire fake top-secret spy program to steal the money.<\/p>\n As if this story couldn’t get and wilder:<\/p>\n -David Rush allegedly built a sham “special access program,” the blackest box in U.S.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/uwbkQQ0xlE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Mapping Qatar\u2019s $400 Billion Footprint in the United States<\/a> FDD (resilc)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Trump 2.0<\/p>\n Click through, please:<\/p>\n \ud835\udde3\ud835\uddee\ud835\ude06-\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddfc-\ud835\uddfd\ud835\uddf9\ud835\uddee\ud835\ude06. \ud835\udde6\ud835\uddee\ud835\uddfb\ud835\uddf0\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddfb\ud835\ude00-\ud835\uddf4\ud835\uddfc-\ud835\uddee\ud835\ude04\ud835\uddee\ud835\ude06. \ud835\udde7\ud835\uddf5\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddf2 \ud835\uddef\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddfc\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddf5\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddff\ud835\ude00 \ud835\uddfd\ud835\uddee\ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddf1. \ud835\udde7\ud835\uddff\ud835\ude02\ud835\uddfa\ud835\uddfd’\ud835\ude00 \ud835\uddf3\ud835\uddee\ud835\uddfa\ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddf9\ud835\ude06 \ud835\ude00\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddee\ud835\ude06\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddf1.<\/p>\n For the past several weeks I tracked one chain of dealings, from a 2021 yacht introduction in the Adriatic to a US sanctions repeal signed into\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/YQELt3UQ0d<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 AJ Jaff (@aj_geo_analysis) June 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Mikey Weinstein on breaking the story of Hegseth slashing 180 faiths from DoD\u2019s recognized religions<\/a> YouTube (Chuck L)<\/p>\n Judge blocks series of Trump policies halting immigration processing<\/a> The Hill<\/p>\n MAGA Voters Lose Flights, Jobs, and Money After Spirit Airlines Collapse Hits Home<\/a> Egberto<\/p>\n Video: Police Tussle With Diabetes Experts at ADA Meeting<\/a> MedPage Today (Dr. Kevin). Wowsers. <\/p>\n U.S. to Dismantle System Tracking Atlantic Currents That Are at Risk of Collapse<\/a> Yale 360<\/p>\n 5 Reasons Why Ken Paxton Is the Epitome of MAGA Crookednes<\/a>s Medhi Hasan. Tell us how you really feel \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Immigration<\/p>\n Republicans push $70B for immigration enforcement through US Senate, with no limits on ICE<\/a> Kansas Reflector (Robin K)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Tariffs<\/p>\n China, EU slam proposed US tariffs, reject forced labour allegations<\/a> South China Morning Post<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s tariffs are back \u2013 and the timing couldn\u2019t be worse for Asia<\/a> Asia Times (Kevin W)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Economy<\/p>\n OECD warns of \u2018dark scenario\u2019 if Gulf energy crisis drags on<\/a> Financial Times. Gee, ya think?<\/p>\n Iran war: Even a peace deal won\u2019t fix energy crunch<\/a> DW<\/p>\n Mercuria shipping head says fuel shortages could idle 10% of global fleet<\/a> S&P Global <\/p>\n Global LNG tightness could trigger unprecedented demand destruction<\/a> Upstream Online<\/p>\n 84% of the drop in global onshore crude inventories over the last two months has come from two countries. Those conducting the largest SPR releases: the US and Japan. Not much movin’ or a shakin’ elsewhere (\ud83d\udc40 China). pic.twitter.com\/GwbuDWCZ3i<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matt Smith (@mattvsmith01) June 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Scramble for biofuel as oil prices rise \u2018could push world closer to food crisis\u2019<\/a> Guardian<\/p>\n The Clock Is Ticking: Fertilizer, Food, and the Fragility of Global Agriculture<\/a> Council for Foreign Relations\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n AI<\/p>\n Energy failures are destined to doom Wall Street\u2019s AI euphoria<\/a> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph. Important. We\u2019ve said this sort of thing from time to time, but important to have the argument well substantiated. <\/p>\n Donald Trump says US may take equity stakes in AI companies<\/a> Financial Times<\/p>\n As with fat tails Llms are frequency machines that fail to extrapolate outside the sample set. What they know is the VISIBLE.<\/p>\n Almost as bad as economists, almost worse than psychologists. https:\/\/t.co\/NopxFTpQKH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n turns out AI models cannot do math.. even grade school math. the kind a 10-year-old solves.<\/p>\n Apple published a devastating study that exposes a massive illusion at the core of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n they took the standard math benchmark (GSM8K) that every AI company uses to\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/1PuseqIwYz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 How To AI (@HowToAI_) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Spotify\u2019s 2026 Master Plan | The Investor Day That Wasn\u2019t About Music \ud83c\udfb6\ud83d\udcca<\/a> Vinyl Culture (Micael T)<\/p>\n China fueling U.S. data center resistance, AI groups claim<\/a> Axios (fk)<\/p>\n How Antihumanism Turned on Its Authors: Has AI Rendered Critique Superfluous?<\/a> Hedgehog Review (Anthony L)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Bezzle<\/p>\n Musk\u2019s SpaceX empire could be overvalued by $1 trillion<\/a> Yahoo<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Guillotine Watch<\/p>\n Now we know why Peter Thiel packed his bags for Argentina.<\/p>\n Milei just submitted his AI legislative framework to Congress, where he proposes: \u2014 Micha\u0142 Podlewski (@trajektoriePL) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A Billionaire Explains Why American Business Now Feels like the Mafia <\/a>Matt Stoller<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Class Warfare<\/p>\n The Butlerian Jihad Has Begun<\/a> Charles McBryde (Micael T). Today\u2019s must read. <\/p>\n The Myth of Assimilation<\/a> Aporia (Micael T)<\/p>\n Why is \u2018doomspending\u2019 on the rise?<\/a> Guardian<\/p>\n Gen Z faces \u2018crush recession\u2019 due to dating costs and emotional risks<\/a> Fox Business<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Antidote du jour (via<\/a>):<\/p>\n And a bonus:<\/p>\n This is Henry, a Nile crocodile believed to be the oldest known crocodile in the world. He is thought to have been born around 1900 pic.twitter.com\/EvvjdMzMMB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) June 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A second bonus:<\/p>\n The orphaned baby goat rejected by its own herd after a wolf killed its mother now sneaks in every night to sleep safely among the shepherd dogs. \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/fKMxoTel9y<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Figen (@TheFigen_) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A third:<\/p>\n This compilation brings together courtship displays from male peacock spiders filmed over the years<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf9: Michael Lun pic.twitter.com\/EMlVmXUigb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And since Henry might not suit everyone, yet one more:<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in Japan. pic.twitter.com\/HB5TtxOLLe<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 S p r i n t e r (@SprinterPress) June 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n See yesterday\u2019s Links and Antidote du Jour here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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\u2013 zero regulation on AI development,
\u2013 a brand-new “non-human corporation” category for AI\/robot-operated entities with limited liability\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/JF1rUxWzlJ<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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