“This is my last article for TomDispatch. For over a decade, Tom Engelhardt has given me a platform to write about pretty much anything that grabs my — I’ll admit it, easily attracted — attention. It’s been a wonderful partnership for me, offering not just a place to publish, but a chance to think, talk, and often argue with the best editor I’ve ever worked with. A rarity in the age of Internet insta-publishing, TomDispatch subjects every article to the scrutiny of three separate proofreaders. Not for Tom the misplaced apostrophe or the confusion between ‘their’ and ‘they’re.’ Unlike the New York Times in a May 12, 2026 headline, no article appearing in TomDispatch would ever go rogue and ask the question, ‘Did the Fifth Circuit Go Rouge With Its Abortion Pills Ruling?'” (05/31/26)
“Decline is a choice. President Trump could not have said it better. Two years ago, everyone was talking about the Roman Empire, musing over its tragic decline. Would the United States fade the same way, with relentless clashes among different demographics fighting for a diminishing share of the government pie? Was Pat Buchanan right? The Republic is over, and the days of Empire have hastened the end of this once glorious experiment, he claimed. Historians note that democratic systems don’t last longer than 250 years. Yet the United States will celebrate its semiquincentennial. President Trump will be in office until 2029. Even if a Democrat follows him, the United States will have endured past the expected expiration date.” (06/01/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“The UK is getting crazier and crazier in its defense of Israel. Now they’re canceling the visas of mainstream normie political pundits for criticizing the state of Israel, and investigating people for antisemitic hate crimes when they denounce Zionists who aren’t even Jewish. American progressive commentator Cenk Uygur and his nephew Hasan Piker have both been denied visas by the British government, saying they were blocked from entering the country because of their criticism of Israel. ‘I’ve been banned from the UK,’ Uygur said in a tweet. ‘I tried to get on a flight to London to attend SXSW London and give a speech at Oxford. I’ve been banned for criticizing Israel. Are we free anymore? This is oppression of Western citizens by our own governments on behalf of a different country!'” (06/01/26)
“Ethiopians voted Monday in an election marred by insecurity but widely expected to see the ruling Prosperity Party secure the majority of legislative seats and give Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed another five-year term. A heavy military presence was observed in the capital, Addis Ababa, as watchdogs called for a peaceful vote in the country that is Africa’s second most populous and host of the African Union. The head of the electoral commission, Melatework Hailu, said security incidents were reported at polling stations in two volatile regions, Oromia and Amhara. Voting resumed at some but did not at 143 others, and it was not clear whether voters would have another chance to cast ballots. No details were given about the insecurity. Voting in 50,000 other polling stations proceeded as Ethiopians choose more than 500 members of the House of Representatives, who will vote to select the prime minister. More than 50 million people, out of Ethiopia’s estimated population of 130 million, are registered to vote.” (06/01/26)
“Israel’s government ordered strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, a day after its ground forces reached their deepest point in Lebanon in 26 years and as Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, including the outskirts of the coastal city of Haifa. A joint statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the orders to attack targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs followed what they called repeated violations of the ceasefire by Hezbollah and ‘attacks against our cities and citizens.’ Hezbollah agreed to halt attacks on Israel when the ceasefire was signed in mid-April, but the militant group resumed the assaults after Israeli strikes in Lebanon that Israel characterized as self-defense. After Monday’s warning, large numbers of people were seen fleeing the area known in Arabic as Dahiyeh, jamming roads leading out of the suburb, where Hezbollah enjoys wide support.” (06/01/26)
“Throughout most of human history, commerce and government have been intricately linked, at least geographically. Hubs of trade and business have almost always also been the seats of government. As cities grew and flourished, as commerce grew and flourished, and as both expanded into surrounding areas, governance became necessary and, thus, inevitable. And as cities preceded ‘countries’ or empires by decades, if not centuries, those cities that tended to fare the best at enduring and growing were also the ones that were most successful at enabling commerce, creating wealth, conquering neighbors and their lands, etc. All of which is to say that the governments of the richest and most productive cities evolved into regional governments and into imperial governments and national governments, etc.” (06/01/26)
“Nvidia has announced a new chip for PCs as it moves into the consumer market for devices integrated with AI technology. ‘This reinvention of the computer is as big of a deal as the reinvention of the phone into what we now know as the smartphone,’ Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang said as he unveiled the RTX Spark chip. Huang made the announcement on Monday as he delivered a keynote speech ahead of the opening of the Computex technology show in Taipei, Taiwan. Separately on Sunday, the US tightened its rules on selling Nvidia’s most advanced chips to Chinese firms. The RTX Spark is ‘a new superchip … for the era of personal AI agents – offering a new class of computer that moves from tool to teammate,’ Nvidia said on its website.” (06/01/26)
“Tina Peters, the former clerk convicted of participating in a scheme to chase election conspiracy theories promulgated by President Donald Trump, was released from prison Monday after the president successfully pressured Colorado’s Democratic governor into commuting her sentence. Peters’ release was confirmed by the Colorado Department of Corrections. The state agency said it would have no more information about the 70-year-old inmate. Her sentence was shortened by Gov. Jared Polis last month after Trump waged a lengthy pressure campaign against the governor an d his state. Peters served less than a quarter of her nine-year sentence. Peters was the first local election official to be charged with breaching security after the 2020 election. She snuck in an outside computer expert affiliated with My Pillow Chief Executive Mike Lindell — who himself denied that Trump lost the White House in 2020 — and the person copied the county’s Dominion Voting Systems computer server as it was updated in 2021.” (06/01/26)
“Primary care physicians—internists, general practitioners, family doctors, and pediatricians—are the key point of patient contact with the medical system. They have been leaving the medical profession in droves because their conditions of practice have become intolerable. These doctors are being pressured to see more patients in shorter appointments despite ever more complex cases and treatment options, even as they are required to spend more time at computer terminals entering patient data. One recent paper in the Journal of General Internal Medicine calculates that primary care doctors, to meet all of their clinical and clerical obligations, would literally need to work 26.7 hours a day.” (06/01/26)
“Over the past year, two military campaigns against Iran by the United States and Israel never triggered a popular uprising that would fell the Islamic Republic, as hoped. Instead, President Donald Trump has now reached a tentative deal with the regime to address two international concerns: ending Iran’s nuclear program and opening the vital Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Still, many Iranians, especially the millions living abroad, have been busier than usual. They are trying to unite behind new plans for what to do if the government does collapse – notably, how to ensure no violence against the regime and its followers as a way to entice defections. They are heartened by reports of a power struggle in Tehran.” (05/29/26)
