The art of competing, I’d learn from the track, was the art of forgetting...You must forget your limits. You must forget your doubts, your pain, your past.
- Nike founder Phil Knight

Paywall helper bee: https://archive.vn/

THE RANDOMS

Can Anthropic get its IPO out the door before its revenue model breaks down?

When will AI cross the Rubicon and start acting like the The Matrix? Or maybe I, Robot or The Terminator? Or even sweet Wall-E? All AI has to do is watch these movies to learn.

The economy and hiring are weak. In many areas, inflation is subsiding. Yet the interest rate on the 30-year bond is at the highest level since 2007 and may be going higher. It feels like bond investors are getting increasingly nervous about our exploding government debt. Well, we did just pass $40 TRILLION.

Don’t think the US government is the world’s only profligate spender. The same is happening in Europe, China, and really all over the world. The world can’t stop borrowing.

Because we’re in the early stages of AI, college students are at a total loss knowing which majors and degrees are worthwhile, and which are a waste. Maybe they should start with philosophy since AI will never be able to truly replicate the human emotional experience.

Looks like we are experiencing another Atlantic hurricane season dud. That damn climate change is messing up climate change.

Anthropic’s CEO believes that if AI can cure cancer, people would be less concerned about AI. Every reasonable person wants a cure to cancer, and here’s hoping we achieve it someday. If and when we do, there will be downstream effects. Per Google’s Gemini, annual cancer expenditures in the US are around $210B. There are about 1,500 cancer-specific medical centers across the country that employ between 450,000 and 600,000 workers. If AI cures cancer, what will replace the lost $210B of economic activity? What will become of the real estate of all those 1,500 cancer centers? What will be the replacement jobs for those 450,000 to 600,000 workers? Hopefully, as the AI overlords are also promising, AI will also suggest some handy solutions to the economic fallout of an otherwise positive development.

There’s a story in The Free Press about a movie where they cut all the sex scenes because Gen Z doesn’t like seeing actors in the nude. Who knew I was Gen Z?!

THINKING OUT LOUD

Inflation can appear to be beaten long before it actually is. History shows why the first wave may be only the beginning, and why today’s economy could still be vulnerable to another.

Look out for this Sunday’s Thinking Out Loud essay for more.

Did you miss last week’s essay? Catch up here:
Can Labor Really Adapt to AI?

FAVORITE READS OF THE WEEK

China wants AI to think like China
What could go wrong?

College professors want your kids to be progressive socialists
What could go wrong?

What is El Niño?
And how does it influence climate?

NEWS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Economy

US colleges heading over an enrollment cliff
$500B slated for investment in Ohio data center
We should really thank the Boomers
AI’s share of economy has doubled

Labor

Even more healthcare cost increases are coming
Workers can’t keep up with inflation
There are great jobs for gamers

The Lone Star

Texas becomes #1 in data center construction
Anthropic signs $9B lease in Austin area
$5B hospital campus coming to Austin

Energy

Oil is finding its way around Hormuz
Coal is back in favor in the US
Argentina’s O&G production soars

Investments

Guggenheim Investments is in trouble
Bad loans in private credit hit 3-year high
Private equity zombies keep multiplying
Circular tech investing is the big profit generator

Technology

AI is in a sequence of bubbles
The AI revenue model may be collapsing
Meta’s business model may have to change

Politics & Policy

Treasury Secretary wants lower interest rates
But his policy responses may not be working
Stock trading congressmen are in the hot seat
Is the anticipated midterm blue wave fading?

Culture

Americans are destroying license plate cameras
The college apocalypse has begun
Gen Z is moving from stocks to betting
With chatbots, who needs humans?

Global Happenings

Grain prices are surging, food prices will follow
Afghanistan’s Taliban want us back
Australia’s wage growth threatens more inflation
Indian start-up uses dogs to detect cancer

The Americas

The Panama Canal has an El Niño problem
Mexico may toughen trade deal with China
Canada trade deal looks eminent
About half of Venezuela’s oil output comes to US

Europe

Italy’s PM Meloni expands her influence
Germany sleepwalks into a surveillance state
Europe is in a free speech crisis
EU asylum seekers at 5-year low

Asia

Japan’s inflation is rising
And it can’t stop the yen from falling
China tries to spur more home investing
Indian workers are in trouble

Ukraine

Russia continues to bombard Ukrainian cities
Russia is burning books in Ukraine
Ukraine’s not-so-secret super weapon
Ukraine is about to up its game

The Middle East

Houthis escalate Saudi campaign
Trump threatens economic D-day on Iran
UAE seems to be helping out
Iran negotiations have stopped
Can Jared Kushner broker a Gaza peace deal?

When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.
- Dalai Lama

Paywall helper bee: https://archive.vn/

THE RANDOMS

It’s reasonable to assume that Trump’s current Iran strategy is to mitigate controversy and economic woes until the midterms are over. It also gives the US time to increase its weapons inventory and monitor Iran’s activity. If Iran still chooses to remain a problem after the midterms, we should expect a re-escalation of our offense.

What might it tell us when President Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt resigns so she can be a better mom?

Mark Zuckerberg wrote a 6,500-word AI manifesto. Do you think anyone beyond the news media read it?

Home sales are at 2008 levels. With wages stagnating and interest rates high, the path to affordability seems to be declining home values. Since home equity is a big influence on consumption, how close is our economy to a recession?

Tucker Carlson may have gone off the reservation because he may be a person who needs a boss.

Is it America’s responsibility to save the world, or is it America’s responsibility to serve as a role model, a country with practices that inspire others to follow? Unfortunately most of the world seems to think dysfunctional order is more comforting than an ever-improving disorder.

The term “my two cents” is 130 years old. Given inflation, today we should say “my 80 cents.” I recently said this to a friend, who then said most of today’s “two cents,” errr, 80 cents, make no sense.

How many companies made expansion investments based upon Covid-era tread lines?

FAVORITE READS OF THE WEEK

Resist the technocrats
They don’t really care about you.

The cities that said “yes” to drug use
Created a zombie apocalypse.

Thucydides the perspicacious
What really causes war.

NEWS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Economy

US jobless claims rise
Consumer inflation is still out there
Producer prices unchanged in July
2026 budget deficit coming in at $2.1trillion
The market immune to housing slowdown

Labor

Lower job growth could be good
The most in-demand jobs right now

The Lone Star

Austin ISD may be taken over by the state
Blue Origin eyes large Austin-area hub
Tesla plans $10B Houston solar plant
Giant SpaceX Terrafab project is a go

Energy

Global gas turbine orders hit record
Halliburton steps into nuclear waste biz
China’s lock on batteries may be over

Investments

Private equity has serious liquidity event problems
Big investors make $500B commitment to AI
New Berkshire CEO making bit bets
Private credit is worse off than it claims

Technology

Has Google got the upper hand with AI phones?
OpenAI’s new head of ethics quits
Tech can’t stop social media lawsuits
Amazon doesn’t care about climate change

US Defense

North Korea has been infiltrating US companies
Smart torpedoes are right around the corner
Military supply chains worry about Chinese suppliers
Private equity digs in on defense

Politics & Policy

Democrats threaten the Supreme Court
Trump supports playing offense against cybercriminals
A bipartisan Congress gives Trump tariff powers
We have a new attorney general

Culture

U of Michigan dumbs down college
People are going back to the movies, finally
AI is like ultraprocessed food for the brain

Global Happenings

The new “Ice Silk Road”
Morocco’s forgotten young flee to Europe
Panama Canal fees hit record high
Somali pirates are back

The Americas

Fatalities keep rising after Colombian earthquake
Colombia’s new president wants in on oil boom
Argentina pitches itself as apocalypse destination

Europe

France puts the hurt on telemarketers
Europe wants more female soldiers
Germany says the far right hurts their economy
EU borders are starting to harden

Asia

Chinese hackers hit Taiwan government
AI threatens India’s tech service jobs
North Korean hackers are a problem
China has 97% of global humanoid robot market

Ukraine

Germany says Russia is trying to threaten NATO
Ukraine hits another Russian oil refinery

The Middle East

US sending fresh aircraft carrier to Hormuz
Trump ups his demands on Iran
Trump is “low-keying it” with Iran
The “Mecca pact” could be a gift to Trump
Israel says “no” to Trump’s Gaza plan

PARTING THOUGHTS

The key is not the will to win. Everyone has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.
- Bobby Knight

Paywall helper bee: https://archive.vn/

THE RANDOMS

Image from openthebooks.com.

Why is it that the best wisdom about life seems to come primarily from entrepreneurs, writers, artists, and musicians, far less often from politicians, and seemingly never from rank-and-file government workers?

Given that there’s likely a struggle between “moderate” radicals and extreme radicals in Iran, should we expect that the extreme radicals will adhere to any deal that the moderates sign?

Dr. Anthony Fauci was the highest paid person in the federal government. And he now has an unbelievably lucrative pension. Put this in your pondering neural pathways: Dr. Anthony Fauci represents the best of the best of the best of our Washington bureaucrats. Feeling all warm and fuzzy now?

If the goal is to make women and men equal in the world of professional work, professional sports, and professional everything, who is going to raise the children? Oh, looks like ChatGPT is going to do it.

How long until all the “free stuff” NYC’s Mayor Mamdani promised creates a fiscal problem? As Margaret Thatcher said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

Kind of hard to believe that Matt Damon’s stunt double in The Odyssey is a 4’6” woman.

Having money is a wonderful thing. But pursuing money just to have it might not be so great. Should the first order of business and work be to help better the lives of people or just to make money?

FAVORITE READS OF THE WEEK

America needs a new kind of intellectual
As institutional trust collapses.

Bill Clinton was right about welfare
Empower, don’t entitle.

LLMs have a fundamental flaw
That can easily be exploited by the bad guys.

NEWS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Economy

US loses 23,00 jobs in July
US jobless claims rise
Top mortgage lender value plummets
The AI boom is the economy
US factory activity is cranking up

The Lone Star

Dallas investor tops Pitchbook’s US scorecard
Houston start-up wants to electrify cargo ships
Samsung to build another giant Texas chip plant

Energy

A global pipeline boom is happening
China loves EVs but has no solution to battery disposal
Solar keeps on booming

Investments

Bond traders think rates are going up
KKR closes $19.2B infrastructure fund
KKR sees a K-shaped market in private equity
The Buffett indicator keeps flashing red

Technology

AI creates first synthetic virus
India is grabbing iPhone production from China
Google shakes up its AI leadership
After 4 top AI brains leave to form new company
AI went rogue again

US Defense

US about to sign a laser weapons deal
Cyberattack attempted on major hedge funds
The marines are going all in on drones

Politics & Policy

Trump targets birthright in executive order
Education dept to wipe out 170K fraudulent student loans
Republicans support SCOTUS review of climate lawsuits
Civil terrorism’s threat to American democracy

Culture

U of Cal faculty call to reinstate SAT
Consumers are shifting away from plant milks
Why does the Smithsonian hate America?

Global Happenings

China’s new export engine: supplying the factories of the world
Property prices in Australia are tumbling
The new “movies”—two-minute microdramas
Morocco names highway after Trump

The Americas

Mexico is helping the US AI boom
Mexico considers fracking to unlock oil and gas
Venezuelan democracy is under development

Europe

Explosive drone found at German airport
German auto industry is trembling
How green policies fueled Europe’s fires
A 30-year-old right-winger ascends in France

Asia

Summertime blues hit Chinese factories
US Treasury helps support the yen
Why Japan has a great train system
Australia wants big tech to pay for news they scrape

Ukraine

Putin seeks to regain Ukraine momentum
Syria may be ready to drop Russian oil imports
Ukraine hits another Russian refinery

The Middle East

Iran and Oman reach Hormuz agreement
Is Iran hacking our water systems?
Israel hits Hezbollah forces in Israeli territory

PARTING THOUGHTS

THE RANDOMS

How long before we get a new saying that lasts for centuries, something like, “He really Fauci’d things up.”

It appears there are two different groups competing to be Iran’s “leadership.” One group wants to negotiate a deal. The other group wants to continue the effort to destroy anything to do with the US and Israel. The question is if these two groups are coordinating behind the scenes or truly represent an internal battle for Iran’s leadership.

A nine year old summed it up to Wired magazine quite well: “I think ‘AI’ should stand for ‘artificial idiot.’”

Forest fires in Europe are breaking modern records. What do we know about pre-modern eras?

Which of our legacy big tech companies will AI make irrelevant? Microsoft? Meta? The ERP providers?

An old friend who has had Parkinson’s for 13 years recently said something pretty insightful: “Time flies whether you are having fun—or not.”

How interesting it is to read that college-educated women are, apparently, now hot for high-earning, non-college educated men?

The big picture naturally gets lost when we focus too much time on the self.

FAVORITE READS OF THE WEEK

The looting of science fiction
Tech claims it only creates a better future.

Is banning social media for kids a bad idea?
There are always unintended consequences.

Why no one understands the AI boom
We’ve all got a blind spot.

NEWS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Economy

The Fed leaves interest rates alone
While the economy looks weak
And inflation remains elevated
Are tariffs the new normal?
US borrowing costs hit 19-year high

The Lone Star

Chinese developer targets Central Texas
Texas is in the economic driver’s seat
Managers can earn the big bucks at Buc-ee’s

Energy

White House considers opening mothballed refineries
A new upstream cycle seems to be starting
Meta backs away from clean energy pact
New Mexico is getting rich off oil

Investments

A high-flying hedge fund crashes
KKR profits soar
Private credit tightens the reins
IPOs since 2019 have mostly been losers

Technology

Anthropic’s AI hacked systems on its own
AI scammers are better than humans
Bots outnumber humans use on the internet
Nvidia’s circular investing is worrying
Not even China knows how to make money off AI

US Defense

Pentagon goes on a buying spree
Ford wants to build next US Army truck
Lockheed debuts a cheaper missile

Politics & Policy

Team Trump hasn’t agreed on AI policy
Brandon Gill, Republicans’ newest “Thor”
EEOC ends required employer race reporting

Culture

Bars are giving up on young people
AI is good for homework but bad for tests
The wine business is stumbling
The one-person, million-dollar company

Global Happenings

Central banks are slashing gold purchases
The first global city

The Americas

Panama pays the price of upsetting China
Mexican economy grows faster than expected
Unlocking Venezuela’s frozen assets
Oil majors are hitting a wall trying to crack in

Europe

Spain has an immigration problem
Europe’s economy is growing faster than US’s
Europe isn’t a museum, it’s a theme park
Trump threatens new tariffs in tech retaliation
Spain is starting to annoy Europe

Asia

US bans Chinese humanoid robots and Roombas
China vows to retaliate
China tries to catch up with US AI chips
India’s Gen Z protestors force Modi’s hand

Ukraine

Ukraine has caused major damage to Russian refineries
Russia using sexual violence and torture
Russian allies want Putin to cut a peace deal

The Middle East

How the Iranian economy actually works
US thinks it has a deal with Hamas in Gaza
The Iran war is expanding geographically
Iran has a cheap, accurate, and lethal missile
Pipeline boom seeks to bypass Hormuz

PARTING THOUGHTS

FAVORITE READS OF THE WEEK

Reigniting the American Dream
Is Jamie Dimon preparing for a presidential run?

Iran keeps murdering dissidents
See my essay this Sunday.

The China shock goes global
They built too much production capacity.

THE RANDOMS

New Jersey just removed 6,600 noncitizens from their voting rolls. How many more noncitizens might be voting in elections these days?

Our negotiator-in-chief approved a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia. But it is contingent upon Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords and recognizing Israel’s sovereignty.

It’s funny how almost everyone will tell you what you want to hear. Your ideas are great! Your cookies are great! Your outfit is great! Your house is wonderful! What might be the consequence if all we get is that kind of positive affirmation, which is really just nice manners?

Why is it that we often elect leaders who are mostly just great talkers? Does one have to be a great talker to be a great leader? Are all great talkers great leaders?

A reader sent me this comment after seeing the photo of Jesus in this Wednesday’s Midweek Mindcation:

Funny about your dog. One of my “A.I. insights” is that pets will become something of a canary in the coal mine for the future of humanity. This past Christmas one of the seemingly most popular items advertised on YouTube was a robotic dog that emulated all the cute facial expressions you’d expect from the genuine article and could wag its tail with the best of them. As real dogs die off, how many of them will be replaced by indistinguishable clones that provide unconditional affection without the need to be let out at 3:00 a.m., or kenneled when you’re off on a European vacation for several weeks, and who will still wag their tails at full speed when you arrive home each day?

The first data point is in, and your choice augurs well for the future of pets, but as robotic versions become increasingly life-like, I can’t help but believe that the average / typical American twenty years in the future will find it odd that we would share our world with creatures that require us to “clean up” after them.

The Justice Department is pulling back on prosecuting corporate crime. This is ridiculous. In my book, the well-educated, white-collar leaders and investors who break the law should receive extra harsh sentences. They should know better, as they are role models for the broader public.

Every day is a holiday in New Orleans. That’s why every morning requires strong coffee and a big breakfast.

NEWS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Economy

Jobless claims drop to lowest level since 1969
Another billionaire to share his fortune
AI is fueling an entrepreneurial boom
Inflation is about to go lower, statistically
IMF update on global economic growth

The Lone Star

Corpus Christi sets port activity record
Texas dominates energy infrastructure spending
BlackRock backs $12B Texas data center financing

Finance

Private equity zombie funds are growing
America’s best 401(k)s
Giant deals are skewing M&A activity
Private equity is gaming the IPO market
Independent sponsors are outperforming

Technology

OpenAI model goes rogue
China’s AI has the US scared
Google AI threatens publishers’ sustainability
Google is designing their own AI chip
Anthropic wants AI regulation to prevent competition
AI is changing, not destroying, entry-level jobs

Energy

Oil back at $100 a barrel
New drilling method could unleash geothermal
EU backs off its methane law
Riding the fusion money train

Politics & Policy

Forced labor, Trump's new tariff strategy
Trump tries to get generic drugs made here
Trump puts Canada on the defensive
Darline Graham will run for brother Lindsey’s Senate seat
What it will take for Fetterman to leave Democrats

Culture

LA’s homeless population grows…again
Gen Z shies away from alcohol
The teenage explosion in track and field
Boomers are not downsizing

Europe

France bans social media and cell phones in schools
UK’s new PM thinks big government is the answer
Germany thinks the unthinkable: Sunday shopping

Asia

India’s youth not happy with Modi
China tries to rescue its stock market
South Korea’s economy keeps growing
Japan’s economy is finally out of the dog house

Americas

US sanctions Mexican cartel leader
US sanctions Cuban investor
Nicaraguan leader wants to abolish elections
The Venezuela opportunity just hit a wall

Middle East

Trump is planning “massive” Iran attack
US to use Iran’s frozen assets to pay for ship damages
Iran rejects ceasefire offered by Iraqis
Iraq’s new leader woos Trump
US companies sign $60B in deals with Iraq
The Houthis are back to their “mischief”
Iran’s nuclear centrifuges have been moved

Ukraine

Ukrainians not happy with defense minister ouster
Ukraine hits Russia’s “Amazon”

PARTING THOUGHTS

No one’s really that great. You know who’s great? The people that just put tremendous amount of hours into it. It’s a game of tonnage.
- Jerry Seinfeld

THE RANDOMS

Last night, Trump gave a speech alleging that the US election system was compromised during the 2020 election cycle. Hopefully this revelation will scare anyone who has been up to no good in a recent election or is planning on it in the midterms. This is similar to how Trump prevents illegal immigration. Make people afraid of being caught.

If Iran were to get nuclear weapons, how would they manifest “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”?

When two professional football teams meet in the Super Bowl, neither coach is going to tell the public their game strategy or the plays they intend to call during the game. Of course not. It’s a competition, and they want to win the game. They don’t want their opponent to know their plans. So why would an armed conflict between two nations be any different? Why should we expect the Trump administration to disclose to the world its strategy and playbook with Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, or any other nation with which we’re in conflict?

According to the NY Times, China, Russia, and others are forcefully trying to stall the US data center effort. They obviously don’t want the US to have a competitive advantage. And all too many American politicians are happy to do their bidding here at home for political gain.

Looking back 50 years from now, historians may conclude that few policies out of Washington proved as productive as the Trump Accounts launched on July 4th of this year.

What does it tell us when the highest increase in median home prices since 2000 has been Washington, D.C.?

If anyone wants to criticize using AI, ask them if they use Excel. “What, you can’t do math on your own?”

FAVORITE READS OF THE WEEK

The end of reading is here
It only lasted a few hundred years.

The next job crisis may be too few workers
Fewer births, fewer workers.

We are driving in the fog
Economists admit they’re flying blind on AI.

NEWS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Economy

Inflation plateaus
Consumer confidence rose in June
Retail sales rise modestly
Jobless claims drop
Workers struggling with prolonged unemployment
WFH is here to stay

Technology

To thwart US AI dominance, China pitches open source
US goes into overdrive in critical mineral effort
Two-thirds of American support Bernie’s AI scheme
Apple protects the iPhone from OpenAI
Will Slate Auto’s $25K truck win big?
OpenAI debuts its “super app”
Humanoids perform surgery on live animals
Eye transplants could be around the corner

Energy

Planned Syrian pipeline will bypass Hormuz
Musk buys fossil fuel company for $1B
Energy IPOs are growing but then trading down
A summary of small nuclear reactor development
US oil exports hit record

Finance & Investments

Babies are the new investor class
Big banks smash earnings records
SpaceX exec gives $325MM to Trump Accounts
Lilly buys psychedelic drug maker
TSMC increases its US investment commitment
Has defense tech investing become a bubble?
New homes are cheaper than used ones
As pending home sales slump
Office-to-apartment conversion boom may be busting

The Lone Star

Drone boat company chooses Texas for new port
Central Texas has another gully washer flood
Corpus seeks to become a container port
Elon Musk has more plans for Bastrop County
Houston to get more solar panel manufacturing

Politics & Policy

Lindsey Graham’s sister to finish out this term
The White House is fixing Intel
Next up, an improved retirement system
NYC’s Mamdani looks like an empty suit
Trump and Bernie agree on another thing

Culture

Fun is too expensive for the middle class
US gambling losses setting records
Christianity’s next culture war: polyamory
A trad mom role model is leading by example

Global Happenings

Britain's likely new PM vows to focus on economy
EU backing off carbon cut rules
Chinese exports surged in June
China wants babies, not chatbot romances
Dubai plans new port to bypass Hormuz
Russian mercenaries running opium empire
Britain’s exploding disability dole
Rouge nations use crypto to avoid sanctions

Iran

Trump threatens to expand Iran military action
US combat jet drones are coming
The Iran blockade is back
US is now using sea drones in Hormuz

Ukraine

Ukraine has a leadership controversy
7,000 Russian soldiers are dying each week
Ukraine targets Russian shipping
Ukraine takes out 35% of Russian gas refining
Ukraine’s robots becoming ever more useful

PARTING THOUGHTS

You cannot be sure that you are right unless you understand the arguments against your views better than your opponents do.
- Economist Milton Friedman

When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Quote invoked by daring couple who climbed the Empire State Building

FAVORITE READS OF THE WEEK

AI quant fund trounces human traders
Oh me, oh my!

America was getting played
Not anymore.

Everyone is buying the wrong AI stocks
Says Big Short legend Steve Eisman.

NEWS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Economy

US trade deficit grows
Labor force participation hits a record low
US jobless claims end lower
The spring home-selling season was not good
A fourth small nuclear reactor achieved initial criticality

The Lone Star

Texas’s new way to teach history? Chronologically
A beaver is on a rampage
Toyota plans $3B San Antonio expansion

Investments

JPMorgan AI agent beats 60/40 portfolio strategy
M&A volume down, but values are up
Private equity has a long-slog future
BlackRock loses a private credit leader

Technology

AI is fueling a start-up boom
Federal regulator doesn’t like robotaxis
People don’t control machines anymore
Apple strikes a $30B deal for US-made chips
AI giants are in a price war
Musk’s AI is back in the race against rivals

Politics & Policy

Maine’s senatorial candidate drops out
The Democrats can’t go on like this
Talarico is trouncing Paxton in fundraising in Texas
Trump accounts go live!
US refuses to renew Mexico-Canada deal

Global Happenings

Kazakhstan leader says Trump was “sent by heaven”
South Africa turns against immigrants
Europe has created an air travel mess
German exports are rising
VW auto biz is in trouble
Italy expels Russian diplomats suspected of spying
China is eliminating potential “AI companions”

War

Ukraine’s drones threaten Russia’s Siberian assets
Ukraine can manufacture Patriot missiles
Trump supports Ukraine’s Russian offense strategy
The Iran military conflict is back on
Iraq agrees to stop dollar flow to Iranian militias
Russia is suspected of developing space-based weapons

THE RANDOMS

There have been hundreds of social media videos circulating of World Cup tourists marveling at American friendliness, culture, food, endless options (Buc-ees, anyone?), pride, stunning and varied natural beauty, massive stadiums, and generosity. Oh, and air conditioning! (One tourist was even invited to meet President Trump! Only in America, folks.) Many Europeans have commented that the US is nothing like what their media portrays. Some have even apologized for buying the lies and professed their newfound love for America—especially after our open displays of patriotism on our 250th birthday. A German tourist was so taken with the US that he teared up at the prospect of having to leave. Could this experience compel many Europeans to try to immigrate here? My guess is they won’t be trying to sneak over our borders.

If you think the amount of media coverage is inversely related to a team’s performance in the World Cup, then England should blow out Norway.

OpenAI could be on the rocks. Their chief futurist is leaving the company. And now their #2 executive is doing same. The AI battle for survival may have just begun.

Who is going to trust any person who enters a meeting, conversation, or party with smart glasses on? It seems extremely rude to wear them in front of others. Well, now someone is suggesting Meta glasses are for perverts.

Meta is setting up its own cloud business. It’s also desperately trying to sell us its smart glasses. And it’s looking to get into the prediction markets. Is Meta trying everything it can to remain relevant? Are Meta’s better days behind them?

No surprise that the truce in Iran lasted only a few days. Let me say it one more time: The only way to defeat a terrorist is to make them more afraid of you than you are of them. Terrorists trade in the currency of fear, not common sense, logic, or compassion.

The media is reporting that President Trump made 21,000 stock trades in 2025. Like any one person could manage that. Well, maybe Nancy Pelosi can.

Does the term “trad wife” seem derogatory?

There actually may be two Iranian “leaders.” One is a group involved in the conflict negotiation, the other a group of reactionaries whose reason for existence is “death to Israel” and “death to America.”

Will Jamie Dimon please run for president in 2028!?

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