Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“Everyone’s talking about the Memo of Understanding that has been reached between the US and Iran, set to be signed on Friday. All the most fanatical Zionist warmongers are rending their garments in heartbreak over the development, which is always a good sign, but it remains to be seen how much of this thing actually happens and for how long. One major sticking point in the deal is ending Israel’s assault on Lebanon, which Tehran remains adamant about, warning of an Iranian military response if the IDF doesn’t cease its constant attacks on the country. This could easily end up tanking the whole thing. Either way, I personally can’t see a whole lot to get excited about right now. Any ‘peace deal’ with Iran is at best a temporary pause in the US/Israeli efforts to topple Tehran while the US pursues other war agendas like regime change in Cuba.” (06/17/26)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/06/17/i-hope-iran-keeps-winning-and-the-us-empire-keeps-losing/

Source: Independent Institute
by Raymond J March

“Private companies—whether making medical goods or anything else — flourish or fail by assessing risk well. The FDA doesn’t face that discipline. The agency’s only real power is to remove products from the market or stop them from entering it. That is a blunt instrument applied to an incredibly dynamic market for medical goods. More importantly, accepting risk is a matter of personal preference and available alternatives — circumstances that differ for every patient and cannot be aggregated into a one-size-fits-all standard without discarding what makes medical treatment effective in the first place.” (06/16/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/16/fda-risk-problem/

Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Sasha Putilin

“The results of my ACX Grants 2024 project are in. The project attempted to replicate the 2023 study ‘Learning at your brain’s rhythm: individualized entrainment boosts learning for perceptual decisions.’ It claimed that if you read a person’s brain waves, figured out an individual peak alpha frequency, and flashed a bright white light at that frequency, then they learned a certain perceptual task faster. Why bother? The result hinted that learning may depend in part on how well the brain keeps its rhythms coordinated.” (06/16/26)

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/never-cross-a-river-four-feet-deep

Source: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
by Sarah McLaughlin

“The United Kingdom is unveiling a grand new policy it claims will protect children on social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and X. The exact rules governing the ban will be released before its launch next year, but it will use age verification tools to restrict youth access to social media and other programs. But this new ‘under-16’ policy, like many others before it, is a misnomer. Because whether you’re 15 or 55, it will affect people regardless of age — and drain away all UK citizens’ ability to speak freely and anonymously online.” (06/16/26)

https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/uk-teen-social-media-ban-anonymity-killer-adults

Source: In These Times
by Rebecca Burns

“A $69 billion merger between two real estate behemoths is set to create the largest publicly traded apartment landlord in U.S. history, dramatically expanding the market power of two firms that have been sued repeatedly over alleged tenant abuses and illegal price-fixing. Together, real estate investment trusts (REITs) AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential own more than 180,000 apartments nationwide, with another 20,000 under development. Were these two companies banks or broadcast networks or grocery stores, their merger would face mandatory review by federal regulators. But long-standing loopholes exempt real estate mergers from antitrust scrutiny — even as concerns mount about the consolidation of housing in the hands of large investors.” (06/17/26)

https://inthesetimes.com/article/real-estate-monopoly-equity-residential-avalon-bay