Ronan the sea lion can keep a beat better than humans ZME Science
Samurai City in progress
How long does it take to plan a bridge? Construction Physics
Is the first-person narrator a uniquely American idea? LitHub
Climate/Environment
A giant expansion in the North Atlantic called the “cold blob”
Cold blobs are a result of AMOC slowdown
Does this indicate that AMOC growth is slowing?
Could El Niño heat in the Pacific Ocean take heat from the North Atlantic? (Climate Reabalyzer, June 1, 2026)
It is larger than Copernicus’s third size. pic.twitter.com/2uEt3Q0RK6
— Peter D. Carter (@PCarterClimate) June 3, 2026
NASA-funded study reveals hidden ozone damage from wildfire smoke NASA
President Trump announces $700 million in new aid to struggling coal industry Associated Press
Global catastrophe insurance gap exceeds $420 billion Bloomberg
More states are turning to virtual power plants as energy demand rises Climate News
pandemic
Ebola, hantavirus: Erosion of global health cooperation could threaten further crises in the future The Conversation
South Korea
North Korea unveils nuclear fuel factory as Kim vows to ‘dramatically’ increase France’s deterrence power24
China?
Art that distances Shangri-La from the Pacific Polar Region
China takes aim at micro-dramas that promote ‘display of wealth’ and ‘distorted views’ South China Morning Post
India
Cockroach Janta Party – Anna Hazare Redux?Wire
Doctors warn of two-week shortage of key cancer drugs in India The Indian Express
syrakistan
Pro-Israel voices win; bill to prevent US-Israel military integration is scrapped – Responsible State Strategy
US senator calls for release of US citizens abducted by Israeli military Al Jazeera
Revealed: Israel’s curriculum to “influence national consciousness” +972 Magazine
***
After military defeat, “humiliated” enemy moves to hybrid war: Khamenei Press TV
Experts debunk Iran nuclear weapons theory written by dissident Larry C. Johnson
***
Defense Minister Al-Monitor says Israel will continue operations in Lebanon for the time being despite ceasefire
Sheikh Qasem condemns Washington declaration, calls direct talks a ‘travesty’, says Al Mayadeen
Africa
Fighting in Somalia’s capital sparks anger over election postponement Al Jazeera
old blighty
Palantir wins £9m contract to manage UK firearms licenses: CIA-backed company that keeps records on firearms, bombs and poisons The Register
Britain’s police culture – from the Nowak murder to the suppression of protests – increasingly corrupt Jonathan Cook
Burnham confirms he will run to succeed Starmer as prime minister if he wins Makerfield by-election
discord in europe
EU enlargement: Merz and Macron plan ‘new momentum’ Euractiv
EU trade representative wants to emulate US enthusiasm in negotiations with China Politico
France invites Finland to join nuclear deterrence initiative YLE
Caucasus
EU promises aid to Armenia, denounces Russian economic coercion, Intellinews a whopping 50 million.
A new war that’s not so cold war
President Zelenskiy proposed a face-to-face meeting in an open letter to Putin and the BBC. Explanation:
More seriously, the following may occur:
1) All pro-Trump influencers suddenly become fanatical NAFOids.
2) Intensification of Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilians
3) Mr. Rubio reminds everyone that the United States is definitely on Kiev’s side and always will be.
4) President Trump’s escalation… https://t.co/rQRIjlfdCF
— Russians with Attitude (@RWApodcast) June 4, 2026
House passes bill providing billions of dollars in additional military aid to Ukraine as war escalates
Ukraine’s SPIEF attack aims at maximum provocation, drones spotted flying from Simplicius towards Baltic Sea
NATO moves into long, dirty war against Russia Mark Sleboda (Video)
imperial collapse watch
America’s Long War against All Julian MacFarlane
Lafaire Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein, the Russian Mob, and the Maxwell Family’s Hidden Assets (with Mo Tkasik) Chris Hedges Report
south of the border
Venezuelan government orders airlines, shipping companies to deposit fuel payments into US Treasury accounts Venezuela Analysis
Venezuela: Congress pushes for reforms to open electricity to private sector Venezuela Analysis
Venezuela’s Rodriguez visits India to ensure oil revival in Caracas Intellinews
Didi’s Court: Pitbulls fighting for Mr. Maduro in Manhattan
Evo Morales denounces government plot to detain and hand him over to US telesurers
President Trump escalates attack on Cuba with new sanctions and threat of intervention
Trump 2.0
Senate Republicans reject amendment to ban President Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund The Hill
1. Don’t believe the headlines.
President Trump’s $1.776 billion slush fund is not “dead.”
The Trump administration wants the public to believe he is dead.
But their actions tell a completely different story.
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 4, 2026
What President Trump brought to Amazon Bloomberg
Democrats are the worst
Democrats outraged by Platner’s latest revelations Politico
It’s so crazy that the only person who said anything bad about Platner was a far-right Zionist operative who wanted to join Collins’ campaign (whose employer worked on Project 2025), and whose accusations were carefully crafted with a view to avoiding litigation and discovery. https://t.co/uFXew6Waeu
— Fellow John Brown (@_gothlorien) June 4, 2026
Watchdog group urges President Trump to impose unparalleled spying powers while keeping Warners from hiding behind Palt.
House Democrats Join Republicans in Supporting Deeper U.S.-Israel Military Integration Shared Dream
San Francisco progressives cleaned the clock this election San Francisco Standard
accelerationist
Greg Brockman: Introducing CHATGPT’s billionaire-funded Trump to power AI and design high-tech weapons Mint News
Founders Fund launches game show featuring Sam Altman, Palmer Lackey and other tech elites TechCrunch
Technology helps Trump hunt ICE watchers as detainees strike across the US Tech Policy Press
agriculture
Possibility of beef prices soaring after cow maggot outbreak in Texas cows – after DOGE halts prevention efforts Forbes
A.I.
US officials focus on government stocks of AI giant NOTUS
Sanders follows Trump in seeking government funding for private company Semaphore
The beginning of salvation. You see, AI as a model is not economically viable. However, it has current national security applications and implications. So if you package it as the latter, Uncle Sam won’t let it go, even if it’s a hype bubble and you oversell to investors and customers. https://t.co/zLVIUr1Kum
— Bex (@BexStreams) June 5, 2026
US National Security Agency uses Anthropic myth in cyber attack FT
New bipartisan law takes major step to limit state regulation of AI Gizmodo
Distilling Meta’s data center strategy and the Mad Max period of the AI boom
Republicans probe China’s influence on data center opposition Politico
academy glove
My SSN was exposed in a breach at Columbia University that had nothing to do with Ars Technica.
‘We were attacked as bad Jews’: Columbia University faculty members who supported Gaza protests sue Trump’s anti-Semitic foundation The Guardian
basil
S&P reaffirms existing rules, blocks SpaceX from initial entry into US benchmark index CNBC
class war
Part of the problem with allowing the surplus from our collective work and efforts to be monopolized by a small number of monopolies is that it leaves us with largely meaningless decisions about where to invest that surplus. https://t.co/ZiEPKNRK3q
— Stacy Mitchell (@stacyfmitchell) June 3, 2026
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