“More than any other region, Asia has felt the knock-on effects of the Iran war in energy supplies. Before the conflict began in February, some 80% of the oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz went to Asian buyers. In recent weeks, as those supplies have dwindled, the region has endured blackouts, fuel rationing, and dozens of protests, from South Korea to the Philippines to India. The expectation was that each country would turn inward to protect petroleum supplies. Not so. With a population of more than half of humanity, Asia has shown a great deal of humanity in tackling the crisis together. ‘Now that they are hostage to events thousands of miles away,’ reported The Economist, ‘the squabbles that frequently break out between Asian neighbours no longer look quite such a threat.'” (06/01/26)
“On a weekday morning in downtown Washington, federal buildings and corporate offices still feel half-full, even as return-to-office emails pile up. At the same time, across the Atlantic, the House of Lords has treated remote work not as a culture-war skirmish but as a subject for a full inquiry on home-based working, backed by extensive evidence and formal hearings. Its Home-based Working Committee spent 10 months asking two simple questions with big consequences: First, is working from home working? And second, if so, how should governments and employers respond? The answer, detailed by researcher Jane Parry in a synthesis of five years of evidence on hybrid work, is clear enough for policymakers. Hybrid work shows only modest average effects on productivity, but it delivers meaningful gains in labor supply, employment rates, recruitment, retention and office efficiency when it is managed deliberately.” (06/02/26)
“What’s the point of trying to civilize the barbarians? Why demonstrate what liberal democracy can offer to a fundamentally illiberal civilization? Why bother trying to make inroads with a ‘basket of deplorables?’ Why bother trying to reason with people who ‘get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations?’ The irony is that the entire argument is fundamentally illiberal. The whole point of liberalism is that your ‘civilization’ does not define you. Nor does your race, sex, nationality, or religion. The whole point of liberalism is that the world is not divided into us versus them. Creating outgroups and outgroup hostility and moral panics is the authoritarian’s playbook. It’s immiserating.” (06/02/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Multiple far right Israeli ministers attended New York City’s Israel Day Parade on Sunday, including Israel’s genocidal finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. Smotrich is ideologically not significantly different from a Nazi. Which means New York City just hosted a Nazi parade that was attended by thousands of people. New York officials are acting shocked and appalled by Smotrich’s appearance at the march, but ‘I can’t believe there were Israeli officials at the Israel parade’ is kind of a hard sell. This is just what supporting Israel looks like: standing shoulder to shoulder with genocidal extremists and making common cause with them. That’s what Israel is.” (06/02/26)
“I will start by noting I am not an academic expert on dating and relationships, nor am I any kind of professional dating guru. Far from it. But what I learned may be useful to some people, in part for those very reasons. If I could make this strategy work, the same may be true for others.” (06/02/26)
“I grew up in Michigan, so even though I didn’t go to the University of Michigan (too rich for my blood), college football was all about the maize and blue. My dad loved Wolverines football and gave my brother-in-law all sorts of a hard time about his having gone to Michigan State (only way it could’ve been worse is if he’d gone to Ohio State). They’ve both passed away in the last couple of years, but the spirit of their love of their respective schools and their football teams lives on in our family. It’s getting, well, different now, however. When I was a kid, college sports were the audition for the pros and occasional scandals would see heralded universities across the country – including Michigan – penalized, both as programs and individual players for violating the NCAA rules.” [editor’s note: I wonder if Hunter’s opposition to government interference in sports extends to gender rules? – TLK] (06/02/26)
Source: Niskanen Center
by Claire Holba, Denise Bell, & Diya Abdo
“The American labor market is sending clear signals: Demand for workers is strong, but the systems designed to connect people to opportunity are struggling to keep up. An aging population, rapid technological change, and persistent mismatches between worker skills and employer needs are converging to create structural gaps that could impede economic growth for decades.” (06/02/26)
“As the American Israel Public Affairs Committee confronts a changing political landscape, one in which support for Israel has become a liability, powerful voices are coming to the defense of AIPAC and its hold on American democracy. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is one such voice. He addressed the issue in an interview with Politico. … Shapiro lamented what he described as the ‘weaponization’ of criticism directed at AIPAC, saying it was ‘being used cynically by some to try and silence certain voices.’ Pressed on whether he meant critics were erasing the distinction between opposition to AIPAC and opposition to Jewish donors, he said yes. Shapiro is recasting the lobby’s scorched-earth tactics against politicians who do not toe the line on Israel as an attack on Jews and their right to political participation.” (06/02/26)
“Though Angelinos started voting early in the mayoral race, today is L.A.’s election day. It’s a race watched with varying degrees of enthusiasm and alarm across the country. Polls show no candidate close to a majority, which means the top two will likely face-off in a November runoff. Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV star, has run a study-worthy campaign and could finish close to the top. He’s a former Palisades homeowner. He now lives in a trailer on his property, upon which he cannot yet re-build after the fires that swept through the area in January 2025. And he’s built his campaign around the government’s absolute failure on every level to assist — or just get out of the way — of a recovery.” (06/02/26)
