Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“I realize Democrats and progressives more generally love to lose. What else can possibly explain their insistence on framing their policies in the worst possible way? This point is continually pounded home when progressives adopt the framework where the right wants the unfettered market, but progressives want the government to have more control. This is wrong logically and it is horrible messaging politically. Most people like the market and distrust the government. It is absolutely crazy that Democrats and progressives would deliberately put themselves on the wrong side of this balance.” (07/08/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/07/08/republicans-love-the-government-and-democrats-who-claim-otherwise-are-jerks/
Source: The National [UAE]
“Two crew members of a Greek-operated bulk carrier have been killed in an attack by sea drones and speedboats off Yemen, a shipping delegation from Liberia told a meeting of the UN shipping agency IMO on Tuesday. The Liberia-flagged vessel was attacked on Monday evening off the coast of Hodeidah, maritime monitors reported. It was the second Red Sea attack in 24 hours following a period of relative calm in recent weeks. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), run by the British navy, said the ship had sustained significant damage and lost all propulsion after being hit by five rocket grenades. The vessel, Eternity C, was another Greek-owned bulk carrier, following an attack on Sunday against a Greek-operated vessel that was hit by gunfire, drones and missiles in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack.” (07/08/25)
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/07/08/second-red-sea-ship-attacked-off-yemen-after-houthis-claim-assault-on-greek-bulk-carrier/
Source: Cato Institute
“Modeling War on the Korean Peninsula.” (07/08/25)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/power-problems/modeling-war-korean-peninsula
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson
“‘Winning the fight against hunger starts here,’ reads the notice at a local restaurant, advertising a campaign against food waste. This is an example of something that Jonah Goldberg talks about from time to time, citing the political scientist Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn: the ‘clear but false idea.’ It makes superficial sense: If there were less waste, there would be more food available to eat, which would make it easier to feed hungry people. That’s the idea, anyway. The truth is that waste makes food less expensive rather than more expensive. … To govern is to choose, and the American people, in choosing, may need to be reminded from time to time that not every desirable outcome is compatible with every other desirable outcome.” (07/08/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/immigration-abortion-policy-tradeoffs/
Source: SFGate
“The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates. The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable, which was first reported by The Washington Post. The recipients of the scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal and voice mail, were not identified in the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press. ‘The State Department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,’ it said.” (07/08/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/impostor-uses-ai-to-impersonate-rubio-and-contact-20760975.php
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Trita Parsi
“An intensified rivalry between the two Middle East powers is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘how.'” (07/08/25)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-turkey/
Source: Common Dreams
by Frances Moore Lappé
“Americans are waking up to President Donald Trump’s assaults on our democracy. In just four years, his documented lies have topped 30,000. He has also broken laws, including his attempts to dismantle government agencies, his blatant conflicts of interest with Elon Musk, and his disregarding courts on a number of fronts. We honor those courageously stepping up to hold Trump accountable — from Indivisible to Common Cause to Democracy Forward, and many more citizen-organizing efforts. But our appropriate outrage might hide a danger — that in focusing on Trump’s shocking amorality we could slide over a painful truth we must embrace to create the democracy we need and want: His rise is a symptom. Donald Trump was able to triumph because of deep dysfunction long built into our governing structures.” [editor’s note: A rare somewhat sane “progressive” analysis of the deeper issues, although still missing part of the point – SAT] (07/08/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-distraction
Source: CNBC
“Block CEO Jack Dorsey spent the weekend building Bitchat, a new decentralized, peer-to-peer messaging app that works entirely over Bluetooth mesh networks, with no internet, central servers, phone numbers or emails required. The Twitter co-founder announced Sunday that the beta version is live on TestFlight, with a full white paper available on GitHub. … Bitchat enables ephemeral, encrypted communication between nearby devices. As users move through physical space, their phones form local Bluetooth clusters and pass messages from device to device, allowing them to reach peers beyond standard range — even without Wi-Fi or cell service.” (07/07/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/07/jack-dorsey-whatsapp-bluetooth.html
Source: Crooked Media
“MAGA Revolts Over Epstein List Reversal.” (07/08/25)
https://stitcher.simplecastaudio.com/9aa1e238-cbed-4305-9808-c9228fc6dd4f/episodes/f8377453-e715-4438-b6b6-dc7f85665878/audio/128/default.mp3
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ron Paul
“This week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington DC for the third time in Trump’s short second term in office. While we do not know what President Trump is telling him this time around, this might be the time to finally give Israel some ‘tough love’ that many parents practice with their teenagers.” (07/08/25)
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2025/07/07/what-trump-should-tell-netanyahu/
