Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Artificial intelligence firms initially justified their extreme capital investment (the four largest tech companies expect to spend more than $750 billion for AI infrastructure just this year) by saying that the technology would replace all human workers. They’ve since recognized what an unbelievably bad PR pitch that was, and have pivoted to promote a sunnier scenario where ‘we’re going to be able to keep people at the center of everything’, as OpenAI’s Sam Altman said in May. But there’s a sobering reality underneath the rhetorical shift: AI is turning out to be more expensive for businesses than paying their workers. And that could be one of the many triggers that collapses the fragile economic edifice that the dreams of AI are propping up. The news has mostly been relegated to the business pages, but AI firms repriced their product for business customers in recent months.” (07/08/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/07/08/great-ai-repricing-isnt-going-well/
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“Thousands thronged the streets of Najaf on Wednesday as the coffin of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, moved through the holy city in a procession devoted to Iraq, home to Shia Islam’s most sacred shrines. … After a massive procession in Iran’s holy city of Qom, Iraqi officials and senior politicians received Khamenei’s remains on Tuesday night at Najaf International Airport, in the presence of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and one of the late leader’s sons. … Khamenei’s final burial will take place on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad in northeast Iran.” (07/08/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/iraqs-holy-cities-host-funeral-processions-irans-khamenei
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Ukraine: The Dark Specter Haunting The NATO Summit.” (07/07/26)
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1RKjppqLQvNJw
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t extraordinarily arrogant by disposition. Even when I was five years old, I felt like my mom was making glaring mistakes and should take orders from me. And I bluntly told her so! When I started collecting minor accomplishments, my inner sense of self-satisfaction grew stronger and stronger. Now it’s sky high.” (07/07/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/sixteen-fun-facts-about-me
Source: CNN
“President Donald Trump said he believes the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran ‘is over,’ after the US and Iran exchanged strikes across the Middle East. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched strikes on US military targets across Bahrain and Kuwait in response to a wave of US strikes. And Iran’s military said it targeted an air base in Bahrain that hosts US forces. The US had launched strikes and reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales as ‘punishment’ for attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz, according to an American official.” [editor’s note: Not only has there been no declaration of war, there has been a concurrent “war powers resolution” ordering Trump to end the war. If Congress had a spine, he’d have been impeached and removed by now – TLK] (07/08/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/08/world/live-news/iran-war-nato-summit-ukraine-trump
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“[P]erhaps the most destructive ‘own-goal’ of the US attack is the Iranian decision to establish control over the Strait of Hormuz. Even in the US/Israeli attacks of last June, the Strait was kept open by Iran. It is a vital trade route and in everyone’s best interest to keep open for business. The February attack and Iran’s strong regional response led the country to embrace what some have called a de facto nuclear weapon: control of the Strait. … It is in the best interest of the United States to abandon claims on Hormuz – which is thousands of miles away – and live with the consequences of Trump’s mistake.” (07/07/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2026/07/06/lets-leave-the-strait-of-hormuz-alone
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Does Tucker Carlson Understand the Rigged Two Party System?” (07/07/26)
https://rumble.com/v7ccd2q-does-tucker-carlson-understand-the-rigged-two-party-system-gracearchy-with-.html
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“A federal immigration agent fatally shot a driver in Houston on Tuesday morning, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) has said. Agents stopped Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at around 6.50am and tried to [abduct] him, according to ICE, which described Salgado Araujo as a Mexican national and an ‘illegal [sic] alien’ whom the agency was seeking as part of a ‘targeted enforcement operation.’ … According to ICE, Salgado Araujo ‘weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer’. The confrontation resulted in ‘our officer firing his weapon in self-defense [sic]’.” (07/07/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/07/ice-agents-shoot-motorist-texas-houston
Source: Garrison Center
by Joel Schlosberg
“Big business versus big government is the ultimate false dichotomy of our time. Championing the former won’t break the cycle that allows both to marginalize the scope of (and solutions emerging from) voluntary cooperation, decentralized association, and individual freedom.” (07/07/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20727
Source: WRAL News
“Three people were killed across Ukraine on Wednesday in overnight Russian attacks, including one in Kyiv, where powerful explosions hit for the second night in a row. Several explosions were heard shortly after midnight, before authorities issued an air raid alert. It was an unusual sequence of events because warnings typically precede strikes, giving civilians time to find shelter. In Kharkiv, two people were killed and 20 others were injured in a series of overnight strikes, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. … [In Russia] Nizhhnekamsk Mayor Radmir Belyayev said Ukrainian drones damaged industrial facilities in the city and injured several people. Belyayev didn’t name the facilities that were damaged. Yuri Slyusar, the governor of the Rostov region, said that Ukrainian drones hit and damaged two oil tankers in Taganrog Bay, injuring two crew members. The crew of one of the ships had to be evacuated.” (07/08/26)
https://www.wral.com/news/ap/83bcb-russian-attacks-kill-3-across-ukraine-strikes-kyiv-for-second-consecutive-night/
