Source: TomDispatch
by Tom Engelhardt
“Yes, he’s done quite a job so far and, in a way, it couldn’t be simpler to describe. Somehow he’s managed to take the greatest looming threat to humanity and put it (excuse the all-too-appropriate image) on the back burner. I’m thinking, of course, about climate change. My guess is that you haven’t read much about it recently, despite the fact that a significant part of this country, including the city I live in, set new heat records for June. And Europe followed suit soon after with a heat hell all its own in which, at one point, the temperature in part of Spain hit an all-time record 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit. And oh yes, part of Portugal hit 115.9 degrees as both countries recorded their hottest June ever.” (07/15/25)
https://tomdispatch.com/donald-trumps-greatest-triumph/
Source: Reuters
“South Korea’s defence ministry summoned Japan’s defence attache on Tuesday to protest over an annual white paper published by Tokyo, which made a territorial claim over disputed islands located in the East Sea. Both sides claim longstanding territorial rights over the islands, which are known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese, and lie roughly halfway between the two countries. … Tokyo has claimed the islands as its own territory in its annual defence white paper for decades, prompting protests from Seoul. The islands are currently controlled by Seoul with a small contingent of coast guards.” (07/15/25)
https://archive.is/eswuu
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Thousands of Afghans have moved to the UK under a secret scheme which was set up after a British official inadvertently leaked their data, it can be revealed. In February 2022, the personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan were leaked. The previous government learned of the breach in August 2023 when some of the details appeared on Facebook. A new resettlement scheme for those on the leaked list was set up nine months later, and has seen 4,500 Afghans arrive in the UK so far. But the existence of the leak and relocations were kept secret after the government obtained a super-injunction stopping it from becoming public.” (07/15/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg8zy78787o
Source: National Review
“Not All Tax Cuts Are Created Equal.” (07/15/25)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/not-all-tax-cuts-are-created-equal/
Source: The Hill
by Gleb Tsipursky
“Imagine a hidden tax draining your organization of its most valuable assets. This tax does not appear on any financial statement, yet it quietly saps productivity, fuels turnover and stifles innovation. It is the tax of outdated managerial intuition, a toll exacted on employees who dare to work outside the traditional office walls. This is not a hypothetical problem. In the post-pandemic tug-of-war over the future of work, a groundbreaking 2025 peer-reviewed study published in ‘Work, Employment and Society’ reveals the shocking extent of this issue. … This is not a story about lazy employees; it is a story about leaders clinging to a bygone era, unable to see performance when it is not physically in front of them.” (07/15/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/5400428-proximity-bias-discriminates-remote-workers/
Source: Fox News
by Liz Peek
“The Democratic Party has no leader and no message. That’s not a right-wing talking point; that’s the findings of a poll commissioned by a Democrat SuperPAC. As reported by The Hill, a survey conducted between May and June by Unite the Country showed voters perceive the Democratic Party as ‘out of touch, woke and weak.’ Worse, perceptions and confidence in the party have actually soured since last year’s election, when Democrats not only lost the presidency, but also the Senate and the House. Democrat support from White men, Hispanic men and working-class voters in general has collapsed to below 35%. The poll is especially worrisome for Democrats in that it surveyed voters across 21 swing counties in 10 battleground states – the regions which will determine the outcomes of future elections.” (07/15/25)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/liz-peek-democrats-identity-crisis-shows-no-sign-getting-better-its-actually-getting-worse
Source: Bloomberg
“Apple Inc. has struck a $500 million deal to buy rare-earth minerals from MP Materials Corp., the US producer that just last week secured backing from the Pentagon. The two companies will also work together to ‘establish a cutting-edge rare earth recycling line’ in Mountain Pass, California, and ‘develop novel magnet materials and innovative processing technologies to enhance magnet performance,’ Apple said Tuesday in a statement. … the Pentagon took a $400 million stake in MP last week to secure supplies of magnets critical for military and other applications. The deal came with $1 billion in financing from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to fund a major new plant.” (07/15/25)
https://archive.is/qYOaF
Source: SFGate
“Ukraine’s prime minister announced his resignation Tuesday in the first formal step of what is expected to be a significant reshuffle of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government, which could also see the country’s ambassador to Washington replaced. ‘I am tendering my resignation from the post of the Prime Minister of Ukraine,’ Denys Shmyhal wrote in a letter posted on his Telegram page. Zelenskyy said Monday that he has offered Shmyhal’s job to 39-year-old Yuliia Svyrydenko, who is currently deputy prime minister and the country’s first female economy minister. Svyrydenko played a key role in negotiating a U.S.–Ukraine mineral agreement.” (07/15/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/ukraine-s-prime-minister-resigns-opening-the-20770719.php
Source: The Daily Economy
by Anthony Gill
“Do increases in the minimum wage only manifest themselves in reduced employment? Or are there other not-so-visible, but also not-so-trivial, effects that should be part of the policy discussion? As I will argue with a short anecdote, the consequences of government interfering with private labor contracts can arise in some surprising places.” (07/15/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/how-minimum-wages-punish-cash-businesses/
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“This civilization is sick. It is genocidal. It is ecocidal. It is omnicidal. We are ruled by psychopaths, while the best among us are relegated to the fringes of the fringe. We are hurtling into totalitarianism and armageddon at breakneck pace while our attention is aggressively pulled toward the vapid and the inane. You should share none of the values and priorities of this freak show. You should not let any aspect of this dystopia inform your decisions regarding who you should be and what kind of life you should live.” (07/13/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/07/13/dont-take-instruction-on-how-to-live-your-life-from-a-stark-raving-mad-society/
