Big Bang May Not Be The Beginning of Everything, New Theory Suggests ScienceAlert (Chuck L)
3,500-year-old graves reveal secrets that rewrite bronze age history ScienceDaily (Kevin W)
The Silent Virus Behind Mono Is Now a Prime Suspect in Major Diseases Bloomberg
Climate/Environment
Why Is Hail Getting So Big? Wall Street Journal
The atmosphere is getting thirstier and it’s making droughts worse – new study The Conversation
Rising sea temperatures spawning killer Med storms, study warns ekathermerini
Farmers’ harvest in limbo after UK endures driest spring in nearly 70 years Independent
China?
Hopes for a Xi-Trump summit are naively misplaced Asia Times (Kevin W)
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Falling sales underscore China’s property sector woes Nikkei
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China’s “intelligent mines” are getting rid of truck drivers and diesel fuel Kevin Walmsley
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You’ve heard of rare earths. What you haven’t heard is that the West can’t even finish turning them into a magnet.https://t.co/5trcBQpWYc
— William Huo (@wmhuo168) June 5, 2025
China’s Rare Earth Ban Starts Shutting Down Auto Production Ian Welsh (Micael T)
China issues rare earth licenses to suppliers of top 3 U.S. automakers, sources say: Reuters CNBC (Kevin W). This is not explicit here, but one assumes this change covers the global operations of these companies.
The reactions to Luanna Jiang’s Harvard commencement speech in both China and the US are really interesting to study, in that they are so illustrative of the current zeitgeist in both countries.
First of all, let’s be clear, her speech wasn’t well received on either “side” at… pic.twitter.com/VKOWzbeauS
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) June 5, 2025
Africa
Israel’s expanding shadow in Africa’s Great Game The Cradle
European Disunion
Pipelines That Could Spark the Next Price Shock OilPrice. Although loss or restrictions on these transits would have global implications, the EU would be first in the line of fire.
The emperor has no tanks Adam Tooze, Financial Times. On European military pork.
Nato chief is determined to give Trump a win with 5% defence spending plan BBC (Kevin W)
Gala of the Unscrupulous – How Profit Hunters Squeeze the Earth Uninhibitedly and with Impunity Nachdenkseiten via machine translation
‘These are not numbers – they are people’: what ex-communist Slovenia can teach the world about child poverty Guardian (Kevin W)
Old Blighty
British Army supplier founded by Tony Blair’s son raises $20m Telegraph. Colonel Smithers: “Where there’s a trough, there’s a Blair.”
The merits of a wartime mentality Engelsberg Ideas
HMRC plans for tax raid on pensions Telegraph. From last week, still germane.
UK tech job openings climb 21% to pre-pandemic highs The Register
Israel v. the Resistance
Netanyahu confirms Israel arming clans opposed to Hamas in Gaza BBC. (Kevin W: “Not so much ‘clans’ as Jihadists.”
Inside the Hamas unit fighting Israeli-armed gangs that loot aid and facilitate displacement in Gaza Mondoweiss
Israeli Army Faces Technical, Mechanical Failures in Gaza War – Report Palestine Chronicle
The Genocidal Heart of Israeli Society Ahmad Ibsais (Chuck L)
⚡️🇮🇱JUST IN: ‘Sadistic Rituals’ – Survivors Testify to Knesset About Childhood Sexual Abuse Network in Israeli Religious Ceremonies:
During a special joint Knesset session on Tuesday, several women, mainly from the ultra-Orthodox and religious Zionist communities, came forward… pic.twitter.com/SPMDbFUv1m
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) June 5, 2025
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My Clash with Dan Cohen Alon Mizrahi
How the Media Manufactured a ‘Genocide’ Tablet. Help me. How about the US government loudly backs and funds the Israel genocide? To pretend this is comparable to other cases is rich.
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Israel ‘will attack Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed’ Arab News
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine’s dangerous new ‘gift’ to Washington Aaron Mate
This is funny. Do you think there will be any meaningful records?
🇺🇸🇺🇦‼️THE END HAS BEGUN: US auditors have arrived in Kyiv – Are they investigating where the money is?‼️
June 6, 2025
The foundations of the Ukrainian political scene are shaking again – and not because of what is happening on the front line, but because of the arrival of… pic.twitter.com/tblCJLYFa3
— Djole 🇷🇸 (@onlydjole) June 6, 2025
Ukraine deceived American capitalists Vyzglad via machine translation (Micael T)
Scott Ritter : Is the US at War With Russia? Judge Napolitano, YouTube. Includes important detail on the CIA’s “Russia House”.
Imperial Collapse Watch
Airlines left with fewer flight routes as global conflict zones expand Independent
NTSB finds fuel leak and improperly installed parts in the engine of an airliner that caught fire Associated Press
Trump 2.0
Judge Determines Trump Will Get The Nation On Weekdays, While Musk Gets Every Other Weekend And Holidays Babylon Bee
Russia Offers Political Asylum to Elon Musk over Trump Feud Newsweek (resilc)
Sometimes I wonder how the media would write about what’s happening in the U.S. if it were just covered as the banana republic it’s rapidly turning into.
It’d probably go something like this:
“Escalating Power Struggle Between Strongman and Key Oligarch Threatens Regime…
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) June 6, 2025
The End of Silicon Politics Yascha Mounk
Musk says SpaceX will retire Dragon spacecraft amid bitter Trump dispute Guardian (Kevin W)
Elon Musk proposes forming new political party amid tensions with Trump Anadolu Agency
Methinks Mike Benz doth protest too much:
Elon Was Always The Secret Weapon Behind Trump 2.0 pic.twitter.com/ii1HBqTKza
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) June 6, 2025
🇺🇸Elon Musk Finally Realizes Trump’s Working for the Deep State…?
I warned all the way back when Elon Musk got involved in the US proxy war in Ukraine (and also US regime change efforts vs. Iran), offering Starlink to enhance US-backed hostilities – that this would inevitably… https://t.co/hNv1YEJYl1 pic.twitter.com/VMV6qtWjsL
— Brian Berletic (@BrianJBerletic) June 6, 2025
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US declares Biden fuel economy rules exceeded legal authority Reuters (Kevin W). Note not a court determination
MAPPED: 70 Percent of Trump’s Cabinet Tied to Project 2025 Groups DeSmog
Will Military Officers Have to Sign a “Loyalty Oath” to Trump? A Senior Officer and MRFF Client Says it “Appears to be Imminent.” Military Religious Freedom (Chuck L). The site name gives me the willies, but with Trump, no ego-driven demand is too extreme for him not to attempt.
DOGE
DOGE can access sensitive Social Security records, Supreme Court rules Politico (Kevin W)
DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI to Help Kill Veterans Affairs Contracts ProPublica
Tariffs
Japan, US ‘yet to find common ground’ on tariffs: Tokyo’s top negotiator Anadolu Agency
Trump’s tariffs have become his Vietnam – and the right is breaking ranks Guardian (Kevin W)
Immigration
Agents Use Military-Style Force Against Protesters at L.A. Immigration Raid New York Times (resilc)
Trump’s justifications for the latest travel ban aren’t supported by the data on immigration and terrorism The Conversation
Immigration surge cost state, local governments $9 billion in 2023, nonpartisan CBO says Iowa Capital Dispatch (Robin K)
Mr. Market is Moody
Global Bond Auctions Show Weaker Trend as Fiscal Pressures Grow Bloomberg
The dollar just had its weakest start to a year on record. Why it might be doomed to fall even further. MarketWatch
Loan defaults are looking worse below the surface Financial Times
Trade war bigger challenge for EM central banks than COVID-19: IMF Daily Sabah
The Bezzle
A simple comma is going to cost Apple billions in Europe Jérôme Marin
Global slowdown in banking regulation LeMonde
Class Warfare
Why Is Pizza So Expensive Now? What It Reveals About the US Economy Bloomberg. resilc: “Wake me up when the bonus army reaches Tyson’s Corner on way to Das Capital Hill.”
Consumers Are Financing Their Groceries. What Does It Say About the Economy? New York Times
Guillotine Season Is Coming: The Real Reason Living In America Is Getting Harder YouTube (resilc)
The hidden time bomb in the tax code that’s fueling mass tech layoffs Quartz. Paul R: “They stopped allowing deducting R&D expenses and that led to a lot of engineering etc. layoffs.”
Trump AI Czar Sacks on Universal Basic Income: ‘It’s Not Going To Happen’ Business InsideR
Wealthier Americans flock to dollar stores as tariffs stoke consumer angst Financial Times
Paraguay’s Bolt and Uber Uprising Paraguay Post
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Antidote du jour (John U):
And a bonus:
Have you ever seen a real life zebra crossing?
Only in Africa! pic.twitter.com/yvcqXAMXwY
— Culture Explorer (@CultureExploreX) June 5, 2025
