Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – Peace Power and Arms Control

For decades, arms control has struggled against recurring cycles of fear, secrecy, and technological competition that steadily erode international agreements. This article argues that advances in satellite observation, telecommunications, and evidence integration make a fundamentally different approach possible. Rather than relying primarily on diplomatic assurances, future arms control can be supported by verifiable trust.

Knee Pain? Ragged Cartilage? Research Suggests Surgery’s Not the Best Answer

Some news you can use: on a dodgy knee procedure that while deservedly falling in popularity, is still being practiced.

Links 7/14/2026

Iran War: Trump Lashes Himself to Strait of Hormuz Mast With Renewed Blockade, Intensified Attacks on Iran; Oil Crunch Worsens as Iran Halt Fujairah Shipments, Houthis Threaten to Close Bab el-Mandeb

Today’s Iran war news: Trump is indeed making himself Herbert Hoover 2.0 with his latest escalation.

Will the Bank of England Ever Give Venezuela Back Its Gold?

It’s already been more than seven years since the UK confiscated Venezuela’s gold reserves, which have since more than doubled in value. 

On the US-EU Productivity Debate: James Galbraith Responds to Paul Krugman

An exchange about American versus European productivity is really about the US need to substantiate its superior status.

Coffee Break: Will the Trump Admin Make OpenAI Its Lucky 31st Investment and Bailout Softbank?

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman offered the Trump regime a 5% stake. Will it become the Trump regime’s 31st buy-in in time to save SoftBank?

Trapped at Home: Climate Stress Is More Likely to Immobilize the Poor Than to Move Them

A new study argues that climate change will not produce mass migration of the poor, using debatable assumptions.

The Case of the (France-Sized) Missing Antarctic Ice

“It’s just a question of whether we’re fast enough to stretch out that loss to several thousand years versus dumb enough to keep warming the planet and seeing it collapse very quickly in a century or two.”

Links 7/13/2026

Iran War: What Happens When the US Hits the Limits of Escalation Options?

Today’s Iran war news: The current escalatory trajectory is set to lead only to bad outcomes, yet complacency seems widespread.

Lindsey Graham Bites the Dust 

Leading warmonger dies suddenly immediately upon returning from Ukraine—at least that’s the official line. 

Links 7/12/2026

The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: Hószakadás AKA Snowfall (1974) Run Time: 1H 33M Plus Anil Seth On Why AI Is Not Conscious Plus Bonuses!

Hószakadás is a movie about life and death on the fringes of war.

Machine Gun-Toting Israeli Settlers Detain Ro Khanna During Trip to Occupied West Bank

“These hoodlums come in with machine guns—M4, an American-made machine gun—and they detain us. They block off the road.”