Fearless commentary on finance, economics, politics and power

POTUS Trump extended the ceasefire despite Iran refusing to send a delegation to Islamabad for more negotiations. Plus, “Is There a Method to America’s Madness?” pro and con.

We have discussed the Great American Food System (GAFS) throughout this series, most recently in review of What to Eat Now (2025) by Marion Nestle.  That the GAFS is productive, in both tonnage and profit (for some) is a given.  But a common view of its critics is that much of this production is misguided, […]

AI surveillance and algorithmic management threaten worker autonomy and dignity.

Israel’s pursuit of territorial expansion is driven by persistent security and ideological pressures, but the conditions required for successful consolidation are increasingly absent. A dense web of constraints—geographic, demographic, legal, and geopolitical—prevents expansion from producing durable stability. The result is a pattern of recurring conflict and bounded escalation without resolution.

AI appears to perform no better than astrology, yet even the author of this critical piece defends its use in medicine.

POTUS Trump and the Iranians are locked in a high tension stand off and the pressure on everyone is building like divers trapped in a bell that’s springing leaks as it descends into the abyss. And the hallucinations and delusions are building as bubbles form in the bloodstream and the brain. Let’s start with the […]

“Argentina should focus on what it is ‘inherently competitive’ at: agriculture, mining, oil and gas. What God has given us.”

The Trump Administration engages in displacement activity by beating up on NATO in the hope that works better there than with Iran.

Palantir, the ontology company, has dropped a new manifesto, and co-founder Peter Thiel has a scary new company called Objection.

Micheal Hudson describes how the US and Iran threats against energy production is MAD, as in mutual assured destruction.

Leaks from White House insiders reveal Trump kept out of situation room in key moments of war. Iran won’t be going to more talks.

Europe sure could use Libya’s oil, gas, and petrochemical products now, but the self-destructive policy there is illuminating today.