Three particularly stressed oligarchs are getting a lot of negative attention this week as Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta faces a $1.4 trillion lawsuit, Sam Altman’s OpenAI is bleeding talent and their IPO seems an ever more remote possibility, and Larry and David Ellison are in a full-on media war with 12 attorneys general over their attempted purchase of Warner Bros Discovery.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
More on the Next ‘Super El Niño’
An update on near and longer-term forecasts for the impact of the arriving super El Niño.
Iran War: US Considers Reducing Middle East Military Presence as Conflict Widens Regionally; Market Wobbles Intensify as Government Bond Interest Rates Rise Globally and AI Bubble Implosion Seems Imminent
Today’s Iran war news: Iran ups the ante as markets look even more green around the gills.
Desperate Times Call for Turkish Measures
Türkiye is being called upon for a more active role in against Iran and Russia. Will it oblige and would it make any difference?
The AI Boom Runs on an Even More Dangerous Machine (Part 2)
Silicon Valley promises abundance, but corporate America is built for extraction, and AI is their new vehicle.
Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – The Lonely Voice of Ted Postol
For more than three decades, MIT physicist Ted Postol has challenged official claims about U.S. missile-defense performance. His remarkable isolation points toward a deeper problem: the defense establishment generates abundant technical criticism but too often fails to give that criticism enough leverage to stop troubled weapons programs before enormous commitments are made.
The Next Energy Crisis Could Be a Water Crisis
An overview of the increased stresses on water supplies and their relationship to energy production.
Iran War: Trump Threatens to Bomb Oman as Iran Attacks on Shipping Notch Up, WSJ Reports Planning for Bigger Escalation; Debate Over Covert Transits
Today’s Iran war news: Trump vocalizes aggressively, including threatening nukes, as Iran and Ansar Allah dig in and energy supplies tighten
Online Age Verification, the Trojan Horse for Digital Identity, Hits Resistance in France
Across the world countries are adopting policies that threaten to radically transform the Internet.
Inside NYC’s K-Shaped Economy: A Few Do Well, Most Do Not
Nitty gritty data on how the rich are pulling away from everyone else, too politely called a K-shaped economy. That is setting in nationwide.
Coffee Break: LA Lakers Owner Bought Out by Kushner & Iger After Maybe Crossing Mubadala
Insurance billionaire Mark Walter briefly owned both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers before being forced to sell one of the teams, seemingly under the duress of a criminal investigation involving a certain sovereign wealth fund that is very well connected in Hollywood.
Ancient Forests Took 100,000 Years to Recover From the Last Global Warming Period Similar to Today – Wyoming Fossils Reveal What Happened
Forests are remarkably resilient, but what counts as time is far longer than a human lifespan.
