“The Federal Aviation Administration is demanding an accident investigation into this week’s out-of-control Starship flight by SpaceX. Tuesday’s test flight from Texas lasted longer than the previous two failed demos of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, which ended in flames over the Atlantic. The latest spacecraft made it halfway around the world to the Indian Ocean, but not before going into a spin and breaking apart. The FAA said Friday that no injuries or public damage were reported. The first-stage booster — recycled from an earlier flight — also burst apart while descending over the Gulf of Mexico. But that was the result of deliberately extreme testing approved by the FAA in advance. All wreckage from both sections of the 403-foot (123-meter) rocket came down within the designated hazard zones, according to the FAA.” (05/30/25)
“The US has sent Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington, the White House confirmed on Saturday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had been presented with ‘elements of a US deal’ by his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi during a short visit to the Iranian capital. It comes after a report by the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had further stepped up its production of enriched uranium, a key component in the making of nuclear weapons. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday …. ‘a detailed and acceptable proposal’ had been sent to Iran by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. The US proposal ‘will be appropriately responded to in line with the principles, national interests and rights of the people of Iran,’ Araghchi wrote on X.” (05/31/25)
“As my colleague Bob Kuttner noted earlier this week, Wall Street Journal editorialists have been regularly chastising Donald Trump for his deviations from conservative orthodoxy, which almost nobody defends so faithfully as the Journal’s editorial scribes. But even the Murdoch minions must take second place when it comes to the care and feeding of paleoconservatism’s foundational beliefs. Their fiercer and more literate defender, today and for the past half-century, is George Will. Both Will and the Journal agree that Trump has trampled one conservative axiom after another: free trade, opposition to entitlements, the freedom of established institutions (elite universities, major corporations, white-shoe law firms) to do as they please, and resistance to the growth of state and, most particularly, presidential powers.” (05/30/25)
“Cameras from a bygone era. Rusty typewriters. Vintage radios. Matchboxes once used to light contraband cigarettes. In an age of new technology and artificial intelligence, a visit to the New Delhi home of Aditya Vij is like stepping into a time machine. Every corner of his museum feels like a carefully constructed history chapter. The anthropologist is an avid collector of artifacts and has dedicated his life to antiquities. Over decades, he has doggedly collected thousands of items that span several centuries and documented their relevance and the impact they have had on society. Each collectable he has salvaged feels like a victory against time, Vij says, underscoring his belief that maybe one individual’s attempts can quietly resist their erasure from people’s memory.” (05/31/25)
“For centuries, the traditional role of elite universities like Harvard has been to train the next generation of leaders in every field of endeavor, to hold before them an open door to power and influence. So why on Earth are we holding that door open to communist Chinese nationals? I had a good friend in high school, sharp as a tack, double legacy at Yale, graduated Harvard Law and by 30 she was at the State Department. The joke was, ‘Don’t piss off Becca, she can pick up the phone and have you killed.’ The point here is that, for better or worse, and it’s often the latter, graduates of top schools are meant to create a class of people who lead the country, who lead its industries and sciences, who stay at the Princeton Club in midtown, and wear their college ties.” (05/31/25)
“The Art Institute of Chicago’s director was detained in Germany last month after drunkenly stripping naked on a United Airlines flight — but will now return to his high-paying post following an internal investigation. James Rondeau is set to return to work on Monday after the humiliating April 18 incident forced him to take a voluntary leave from the nationally renowned museum — where he pulls in over $1 million a year. ‘I deeply regret this incident and the impact it has had on the museum and me and on my colleagues,’ Rondeau said in a statement to CBS News. ‘I have dedicated the past 27 years of my professional career to the Art Institute and I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue furthering its mission.’ Rondeau was flying from Chicago to Munich when he was taken into custody upon landing for reportedly disrobing mid-flight after consuming alcohol and prescription medication.” (05/31/25)
“For decades, Tejon Ranch, California’s biggest parcel of privately held land, has been simultaneously entangled in preservation and development efforts, as well as litigation with environmental groups over the land’s future. Now, there’s a new wave of turmoil, and changes are afoot. In early April, Tejon Ranch Co. entered into a proxy fight with Bulldog Investors, a New Jersey-based investment group that states its intentions plainly on its homepage, as, ‘Our goal is to solve two common issues most investors face: minimizing risk while producing equity-like returns.’ Bulldog’s aggressive tactics and willingness to make a move against the rest of Tejon’s board came as an affront to the Lebec-based corporation, which presents itself as steward of a parcel of land that has served as the wild geographic divider between Los Angeles and the rest of the state.” (05/31/25)
“Last Wednesday morning, a surreal scene unfolded at the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (a man with two Crusades-themed tattoos and the author of a book calling for a modern ’American Crusade’) inaugurated a new, perhaps monthly Christian prayer and worship service at the Pentagon auditorium. Hegseth’s personal pastor (who leads a Tennessee church associated with theocratic (and self-described ’paleo-Confederate’) theologian Doug Wilson) flew in to lead the prayer service, where he suggested Donald Trump was divinely appointed to the presidency. And in his opening remarks, Hegseth led a prayer to ‘King Jesus,’ telling military staff gathered for the purportedly voluntary service that ’where we need to be as a nation’ is praying ’on bended knee, recognizing the providence of our lord and savior Jesus Christ.'” (05/29/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Gaza’s youngest social media influencer has been killed by Israeli forces after touching tens of thousands of lives with her stories of survival in the besieged Palestinian territory. Her name was Yaqeen Hammad. She was 11 years old. Israeli forces fired upon starving civilians in Gaza on Tuesday when they rushed inside a facility holding aid …. A new report from the Associated Press confirms that Israeli forces have been using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza as a matter of policy. This is actually using human shields in the very real sense of deliberately forcing civilians between yourself and potential enemy fire, not in the fake sense of being somewhere near civilians as per the made-up ‘human shields’ narrative that Israel uses to blame its daily massacres on Hamas.” (05/29/25)
“Alejandro G. thought that driving full-time for Uber in Houston offered freedom — flexible hours, quick cash, and time to care for his young son. But that promise faded fast. ‘There are hours when I make $20,’ he told me. ‘And there are hours when I make $2.’ As his pay dropped, he pawned his computer and camera, began rationing the insulin he takes to manage his diabetes (putting his health at risk) and started driving seven days a week, often late into the night, just to break even. Alejandro, whose real name is withheld for his privacy, is one of millions of workers powering a billion-dollar labor model built on legal loopholes. Companies like Uber insist they are tech platforms, not employers, and that their workers are independent contractors.” (05/29/25)
