Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Stop The Clock

Rushing to Work,

  Why has the US armed and backed Israel unconditionally since the Johnson administration and the 1967 war? Even Israel having gotten a nuclear weapon under Johnson, doesn't explain it adequately.
  The state of Israel got legal and funding cut-outs from the US that paid it to bribe and coerce elected representatives since the Johnson administration. The kickbacks-for-treason arrangement snowballed to the point where non-captured US representatives are now an openly-hunted minority.
Now facing immediate threat is the "American way of life", based upon cheap fuel for transportation heating, electrical generation and industrial production. The Trump Administration has walked right up to an economicprecipice and decided not to step over it in support of Israel, ahead of midterm elections in November.   US elections are to be preceded by Israeli elections in September, where "AI-Netanyahu" is getting its eyes chewed out by the other rats without mounting the effective, offensive-defense, that meat-Netanyahu always seemed to perfom capably. 
  This places Israeli politics in the position of throwing AI-Netanyahu under the bus for being too soft on Iran and Palestinians in Gaza and Lebanon, while the world is maximally disgusted with Israel's genocidal hubris. 
  Trump's ratings in Israel have fallen from very favorable to notably unfavorable in the past couple of weeks, ever since the US did not expend air-defense missiles to defend Israel from a justified retaliatory attack by Iran. Refusing to share with Israel the details being negotiated in the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran added alarm to the outrage and indignation. Israeli political rhetoric is now to attack Iran relentlessly and to force a regime-change without US help. That would seem to necessitate Israeli nuclear attacks, unless I am missing something very big.
  Iran would be unbound, I would guess, and able to retaliate against Israeli violations of the agreement by directly striking Israeli targets, including Israel's small and vulnerable electrical power grid. Iranian hypersonic ballistic missiles could turn Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor into a huge dirty-bomb, as is well known. 
  How far would Israeli leaders proceed with such a murder-suicide strategy? What would Russia, China, and even the US allow? I am also left wondering where Rothschild interests might actually stand on this. They have reportedly been at odds with Likud policies since before October 7, 2023.

  Simplicius lacks nuance and tact here: US Finally Capitulates with 'Memorandum' of Surrender
The US has finally capitulated in its disastrously failed war against Iran, reportedly drafting a memorandum of understanding which is highly favorable to the Islamic Republic, and gains as concession nothing more than the promise that “Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons”—a position Iran had already long held.​..
..The most explosive detail is the alleged $300 billion “reconstruction fund” that Iran will be entitled to once the deal is sealed...
..They claim it’s not a reparations program, yet the official name of the fund is the ‘Reconstruction and Development Fund’. It appears to revolve around regional entities—both corporate and governmental—providing credit lines, direct financing, etc., to Iran. As can be seen above, over half of the fund is claimed to be already committed.
​  Some American propaganda pundits had claimed that this fund is being pulled from Iran’s frozen assets abroad, but Reuters begs to differ, citing that as an entirely separate negotiating track...
..Iran always held all the cards, and maintained total escalation dominance. This caused all other hostile actors to repeatedly scramble for various secret deals and concessions of appeasement as tithe or tribute to the Iranian overlords...
​..And the chief of those consequences, according to experts who have been growing increasingly panicked these past two weeks, was that the US’s SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) and Cushing, OK crude inventories had been heading toward rock bottom levels. Experts warned that below ~20 million barrels or so, the Cushing storage infrastructure begins to severely malfunction, with pipelines losing pressure.​..
..Iran called Trump’s bluff and won. Trump tried to pretend that the US could play the long game in “blockading” Iran until storage at Kharg and elsewhere began to overflow—but instead, it was the US that was edging toward economic catastrophe and Trump was finally forced to blink when he realized that Iran wasn’t going to lose this game of Chicken.
​  The prevailing narrative is now that Iran has gained the ultimate trump card, arguably bigger than obtaining nuclear weapons: the ability to control the Strait of Hormuz at will from this point forward.​..
​..Now Iran has even achieved something else: creating a deeper fracture between the US and Israel. Trump was finally forced to scold Netanyahu several times over the Lebanon issue, with Trump’s approval rating in Israel now diving overnight by a reported 23%.​..
..Will this new “peace deal” and memorandum last? Likely not if Israel has anything to say about it. Netanyahu and his cronies have already announced that Israel will not be withdrawing from Lebanon and have strongly hinted that they will refuse to honor Hezbollah and Lebanon’s inclusion in the deal.
​  Iran’s own Khorasan paper claims that the peace deal is only postponing the apocalyptic “final battle” which awaits.​   
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/us-finally-capitulates-with-memorandum

​  MoU signing could be As Early As Today​ - Trump Says Will "Drop Bombs" If Bad Final Deal​ 
14-Point US-Iran Draft Deal Released, Set For Friday Signing
​  Another factor could be the political pressure on the White House to release the text of the MOU.
The source familiar with the discussions claimed it was Iran that demanded the text not be published until the formal signing, and denied the White House was responding to political pressure.​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/read-14-point-us-iran-draft-deal-set-friday-signing

Cushing Stocks Crash To 'Tank Bottoms', Seasonally Lowest Since 2005; SPR Sees Another Huge Drain​   https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/cushing-stocks-crash-tank-bottoms-seasonally-lowest-2005-spr-sees-another-huge-drain

​  Trump Admits US Was Weeks Away From "Running Out Of Reserves" When Iran Deal Struck
Bloomberg published the text of the 14-point draft MoU, offering the clearest look yet at the proposed trade: de-escalation and sanctions relief for Iran, in exchange for a ceasefire across all fronts, commitments on shipping access, and a broader nuclear deal to be finalized by the end of summer... Bloomberg noted that some of the wording could be different between the English and Persian versions.
​  Below is the text of the 14-point draft MoU:
​  1. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, together with their allies in the current war, declare upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and undertake that from now on they will not launch any hostile action against each other, and will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other. The final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article and the remaining Articles
​  2. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs
​  3. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to negotiate and reach a final agreement within a maximum period of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent
​  4. Immediately upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, the United States Lift the naval blockade and prevent any interference or obstruction against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and restore traffic within a maximum of 30 days to its full capacity; the traffic of ships shall be proportional to the pre-war volume of traffic on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States also undertakes to withdraw its forces from the surrounding areas within 30 days after the final agreement
​  5. Upon signing this Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take steps to ensure that the movement of merchant ships from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa is resumed within 30 days to the pre-war volume, taking into account the need for the removal of technical obstacles and the neutralization of mines by Iran.
​  6. The United States undertakes, together with its regional partners, to create a comprehensive plan agreed upon by both parties for the rehabilitation and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, While ensuring financing of at least $300 billion. The implementation mechanism of this plan, as part of the final agreement, will be formulated within 60 days.
​  7. The United States commits to ending, on a schedule to be agreed upon as part of the final agreement, all types of sanctions currently facing the Islamic Republic of Iran, including resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and all unilateral U.S. sanctions, both primary and secondary.
​  8. The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have agreed that the fate of enriched material and the fate of all other mutually agreed nuclear-related issues, including Iran's nuclear needs, will be adequately addressed in a final agreement; the final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article.
​  9. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that, pending a final agreement, they will maintain the status quo: Iran will maintain the status quo on its nuclear program, and the United States will not impose new sanctions on Iran or strengthen its forces in the region.
​  10. The United States undertakes that immediately after the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and until the date of the lifting of sanctions, the United States Treasury Department will issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and their derivatives, and all related services, including banking, insurance, transportation, and the like.
​  11. The United States undertakes that, in light of the progress of negotiations towards a final agreement, frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be released and made fully available. These funds, whether held in the master account or transferred, will be used for any final beneficiary payment determined by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran and will be fully available for use. The United States undertakes to issue all necessary permits and licenses on this basis.
​  12. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that an implementation mechanism will be established to oversee the successful implementation of and future commitment to the Final Agreement.
​  13. Following the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and upon receipt of assurances regarding the commencement of implementation of Articles 4, 5, 10, and 11 of this Memorandum of Understanding, and the continued implementation of these steps, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States will enter into negotiations for a Final Agreement solely with respect to the remaining Articles.
​  14. The final agreement will be approved through a binding resolution of the UN Security Council
​  Based on the text above, the first take of the MoU appears to be front-loaded economic relief for Tehran in exchange for a ceasefire, a nuclear freeze, and commitments to negotiate hard topics, such as the nuclear program, at a later date.
​  Who Stands To Benefit:
​  Tehran benefits most directly because it gets economic oxygen, oil waivers, frozen funds, sanctions relief language, and reduced US military pressure in the region.
​  Hezbollah and Iran-aligned actors also benefit if "all fronts, including Lebanon" locks in a ceasefire that constrains Israeli operations.
And, of course, the global economy because global shippers benefit if Hormuz reopens and war risk premiums in crude oil collapse.
​  The Gulf states benefit if the conflict ends because energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz will resume. A report on Tuesday said that QatarEnergy was planning to ramp up LNG production in the coming months.
​  Where is Leverage Lost:
The US loses some coercive leverage once the Hormuz blockade ends, oil waivers are granted, and asset-release mechanisms begin.
  Israel loses freedom of action if the agreement binds the Lebanon front and limits further strikes.​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/read-14-point-us-iran-draft-deal-set-friday-signing

​  Trump Invokes Defense Production Act As US Moves To Rebuild Weapons Stockpiles
The Trump administration is seeking a major increase in defense spending while simultaneously using executive authority to accelerate weapons production, reflecting growing concern over U.S. munitions inventories after the war with Iran, according to NBC.
​  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Senate Republicans this week to rally support for a proposed $350 billion defense package, much of which would be directed toward replenishing missile and weapons stockpiles.​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/trump-invokes-defense-production-act-us-moves-rebuild-weapons-stockpiles

First Iranian Oil Moves Past U.S. Blockade Ahead of Deal Signing​   https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/First-Iranian-Oil-Moves-Past-US-Blockade-Ahead-of-Deal-Signing.html

Big Oil Tankers Abruptly U-Turn Toward Hormuz Ahead Of US-Iran Peace Deal Signing​   https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/big-oil-tankers-abruptly-u-turn-toward-hormuz-ahead-us-iran-peace-deal-signing

Hardline Israeli Politicians Livid Over Iran Deal, Want Netanyahu Out So They Can Do 'Real Regime Change'​   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hardline-israeli-politicians-livid-over-iran-deal-want-netanyahu-out-so-they-can-do

​  Sign(s) Here, Here, And Here​, By Michael Every, global strategist at Rabobank
Iran is saying they got everything they wanted, and there are signs of that. Weeks ago, it was floated Iran would receive a $300bn reconstruction fund, a fanciful idea for a country that lost the war. However, it’s true - though the GCC will pay for it. Some see that behind IRGC rhetoric this could be a perestroika moment, e.g., if US firms win big contracts. Or it could just be the US making the GCC give Iran $300bn.
​  There is shock and fury in Israel at the deal, which they don’t have the details of either, and the prospect of having their hands tied against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. PM Netanyahu is taking a political hit ahead of elections he was already behind in the polls in.
​  We also aren’t hearing anything about regime change anymore; or ballistic missiles; or Iran’s proxies; and Trump has watered down his ‘nuclear dust’ demands so that Iran can down-blend its 60% highly enriched uranium to a civilian level under supervision.​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/signs-here-here-and-here

​  Will this be enacted? Cooperation without Oversight: The United States–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative
The “United States–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” in the House–drafted National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, or FY2027 NDAA, seeks to accelerate the US–Israel defense technology partnership, including technology sharing, coproduction of weapons systems, and bilateral research and development across multiple domains of warfare, including biotechnology, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, cyberwarfare, and more.1Notably, the cooperation initiative (previously known as Section 224 and subsequently Section 219) would direct the secretary of defense to designate an executive agent, or EA, to expand integration of the US and Israeli defense industrial sectors.2
​  The EA authority makes this provision significantly different from existing defense tech cooperation agreements with other allied nations. EA authority takes precedence over the authority of the other Department of Defense, or DoD, component heads per DoD Directive 5101.01, meaning that the EA would be able to overrule determinations by other DoD agencies such as the Defense Technology Security Administration, or DTSA, which manages risks from the international transfer of defense technology and critical information.3
​  The dangers of this structure go beyond the bias introduced by the EA structure into defense procurement processes. The measure risks tethering the US military to its Israeli counterpart technologically and making it difficult to uproot should conditions change.4Analysts have also raised concern that the initiative may make US military aid to Israel more opaque by transforming assistance into cooperation, thereby sheltering the security relationship from regular congressional votes and oversight.​   
https://quincyinst.org/research/cooperation-without-oversight-the-united-states-israel-defense-technology-cooperation-initiative/#

  ​It is odd that the contents being shared by NYT reporters are not favorable to Israel, while the Trump Admin decries the spying: White House Suspects NY Times Reporters Have Situation Room Recordings   https://www.zerohedge.com/political/white-house-suspects-ny-times-reporters-have-situation-room-recordings

​  Trump And Iran Sign MOU Deal Ahead Of Schedule-The US and Iran have remotely signed their memorandum of understanding to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz ahead of schedule, and the agreement is now in effect, Axios reports.​   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/read-14-point-us-iran-draft-deal-set-friday-signing

  Tuesday, Gold & Geopolitics,  Daily digest: 2026-06-16
Three hard deltas overnight: the BoJ hiked to 1% (first time since 1995) without adding JGB purchases, SpaceX briefly touched a $3T market cap in after-hours and passed Microsoft, and the Iran-US deal firmed up for a Friday Geneva signing while the Strait of Hormuz stayed empty on the water despite "let the oil flow." Everything else — Russia grinding through Konstantinovka, the Lebanon ceasefire fraying, the AI-capex debt machine — is continuation, but the oil crash colliding with a 43-year-low SPR is the structural story under all of it...
​..B-52 crash kills 8 at Edwards — amid a strange week of military aviation losses
The Air Force confirmed 8 aboard, "not survivable" (sentdefender); Rand Paul mourned eight service members on a test mission (SenRandPaul). It capped a cluster — Russian Tu-22M3, USMC F/A-18, Pakistani trainer — all down within days (Lord Bebo).
​  The ugliest footnote: Israeli Telegram channels reportedly celebrating the American deaths ("we just started, dear Americans") per DD Geopolitics — landing the same day Israel's cabinet publicly disowned Trump's deal.​   
https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-06-16

​  Wednesday, Gold & Geopolitics,  Daily digest: 2026-06-17
Big day, not a grind: the full US-Iran MOU text leaked and reads as near-total US capitulation, with a Friday signing in Switzerland — and "all fronts, including Lebanon" is the landmine, because Israel is still bombing south Lebanon and Hezbollah says no Israeli withdrawal means no final deal. ​  Markets ran with it: crude crashed below $80 (WTI ~$75-76, -25% on the month) even as physical inventory data screams the opposite, semis dumped ~6% after Microsoft balked at an Oracle cloud deal, the BoJ hiked to 1% (first time since 1995), and SpaceX blew past Microsoft to become the world's 4th-largest company
​  On the ground, Konstantinovka and Lyman are both falling. FOMC under new chair Warsh lands today.​..
​  US-Iran MOU to be signed Friday in Switzerland; leaked text ends the war "on all fronts" including Lebanon. Multiple independent leaks converged: a 12-point version (MarioNawfal), a 14-point Al Arabiya copy (no_itsmyturn), and Barak Ravid's key points (ShaykhSulaiman). Terms: immediate lifting of the naval blockade, immediate oil-sale sanctions waivers, $300B reconstruction fund, frozen assets released, US force withdrawal within 30 days of a final deal, Iran reaffirms it will never build nukes but keeps its program status quo...
​..Iran deal: Lebanon is the breaking point, and Trump just turned on Netanyahu
The "all fronts, including Lebanon"
clause is the live wire. Hezbollah says Iran won't sign a final deal unless Israel withdraws from Lebanon (Lord Bebo); FM Araghchi calls continued Israeli occupation or strikes a violation of the MoU (ShaykhSulaiman). 
​  And Israel is still firing: 4 killed in separate strikes on south Lebanon Tuesday (DeItaone), IDF artillery on multiple towns (AMK_Mapping_), drone strike in Ansariyeh (ILRedAlert).
​  Trump publicly rebuked Israel — "fighting Hezbollah too long," "too many people are being killed," "you don't have to knock down an apartment house every time" (FoxNews, FaytuksNetwork). He floated letting al-Sharaa's Syria take on Hezbollah instead (Suriyakmaps). 
​  Israel asked to see the MOU and was refused (i24NEWS). Trump's net favorability in Israel flipped from +23 to -23 in three weeks (FaytuksNetwork); hardliners want Netanyahu gone so they can pursue "real regime change" (zerohedge).
​  The pro-Iran read is loud and one-directional: "abject capitulation"...
..B-52/F-18 crashes spun into "Israel vaporized 8 Americans" conspiracy (EthanLevins2, realStockes). Two aviation losses in two days is notable, but the embedded-switch/pager-attack theorizing is pure speculation with zero sourcing.​   https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-06-17

​  Hague tribunal rejects Ukraine’s Crimea claims​ - The ruling marks a “convincing victory” in a decade-long maritime dispute, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said​   https://web.archive.org/web/20260616011629/https://www.rt.com/news/641637-russia-ukraine-maritime-dispute/

​  Richard Revelstoke looks at the standoff between 4 global Capitalist factions over Taiwanese chip-fabrication for AI, which all can block, but none can yet own:  
The Blackwell B200 Kill Switch
​  The West can rebuild the stack in the open; China can only build a parallel one — slower, by a different road, and not yet finished. For now it is behind at the frontier, which is what makes the window close on Beijing rather than Washington. Every month the Western stack onshores, Taiwan becomes a weaker hostage and China's own road a longer shot.
​  A closing window is the most invasion-prone condition there is: it converts a deterrent into a deadline. Which means the Arizona timeline is not a peace clock. It is a countdown. The most dangerous power is rarely the strongest one. It is the one that believes it is still strong enough to act, certain it will be weaker later, and convinced that waiting forecloses its options. That conviction — that the future is worse than the present — sat behind the calendar in 1914 and behind Pearl Harbor. It is the logic the Arizona clock now hands to Beijing.
​  If the levers are ever pulled in earnest, TSMC is destroyed in the invasion — ASML bricks the machines, TSMC burns the factory to the ground. A much-cited US war paper, McKinney and Harris’s “Broken Nest,” argues Taiwan should pre-commit to demolishing TSMC to make itself unwantable. A war over the chip does not hand over the chip to China. It vaporises it, for everyone. The $10 trillion global GDP loss is not a transfer from one faction to another; it is a deadweight loss to the whole board. The kill switch, fully engaged, kills everyone.
​  And that is only the second question. The first is larger, and it can be answered without a single shot fired. The compute base can simply split in two — a Western stack and a Chinese stack, each unaligned nation forced to plug into one or the other, the contest hardening from a war inside one infrastructure into two sealed, incompatible infrastructures that no longer integrate. That is not a chokepoint dissolving. It is the terrain itself splitting in two. The danger is not only that Taiwan burns. It is that the world wires itself into two nervous systems that cannot speak to each other — and the Capitalist Civil War, which began as four factions fighting over one machine, ends with two of them building separate machines and calling it peace.​   
https://www.themargins.ca/p/the-blackwell-b200-kill-switch

​  Sundance, Senate Could Vote on Jay Clayton DNI Nomination Thursday
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has already dispatched the request of President Trump to attach the Save America Act to the FISA (702) reauthorization vote that will likely happen as soon as Jay Clayton is confirmed.  Again, this example outlines how the DC system moves when they -not the executive- control the functions of the Intelligence Community...
..If an American is the target of secret surveillance, tracking, spying, etc., the DOJ/FBI need some method of authorization to violate the fourth amendment protection within the constitution. That’s where FISA (702) come into the picture.
​  FISA (702) only pertains to an American in the surveillance process.
FISA (702) is the presumed legal method, never tested in court, that permits the DOJ and FBI to violate the 4th amendment protection of the American person.  FISA (702) only pertains to a legislative construct that permits this secret surveillance of the American person.
​  The Title-1 surveillance warrant that often comes with the 702-authorized review or investigation; is all encompassing and authorizes the government to secretly look at the private records of the targeted American.
​  If FISA (702) did not exist, all of the electronic record keeping, the stored metadata of Americans, would be worthless.  FISA (702) is the key that allows the government to unlock the data (private records) and review it.  Without the key, you cannot open the door – as a consequence, the U.S. government doesn’t need the vault.
​  FISA (702) has never been tested in court by any targeted person, in part because the evidence against the accused person only exists for prosecutorial use if the person is factually guilty of the suspected allegation.  This is the catch-22 that has permitted the 702 violations to continue without challenge.
​  It doesn’t matter how many times our politicians try to position the argument, there is nothing that stops the DOJ/FBI from looking at the activity of foreign actors.  However, there are constitutional protections that stop the DOJ/FBI from looking at the activity of Americans FISA (702) is designed specifically to work around those constitutional protections.​   
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/06/15/senate-could-vote-on-jay-clayton-dni-nomination-thursday/#more-284410

​  UK social media law ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ – Musk​:  The British government has announced plans to require age verification for access to online platforms​   https://web.archive.org/web/20260616061608/https://www.rt.com/news/641640-musk-starmer-social-media-ban/

​  Elon Musk says he will sue German broadcaster ZDF for ‘outrageous lies’ after it claimed he had told Belfast rioters to ‘hunt migrants’
The German public broadcaster admitted its wording was "imprecise" and "misleading"​   
https://rmx.news/article/elon-musk-says-he-will-sue-german-broadcaster-zdf-for-outrageous-lies-after-it-claimed-he-had-told-belfast-rioters-to-hunt-migrants/

​  Musk Supports Nuremberg-Style Trials After UK Rape-Gang Inquiry Release​   
After Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe released the Rape Gang Inquiry Report, which documented the systemic rape and often torture of up to 250,000 young British girls at the hands of predominately Muslim rape gangs, SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk agreed with calls for Nuremberg-style trials for the perpetrators and those who enabled the heinous attacks.​   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/musk-supports-nuremberg-style-trials-after-uk-rape-gang-inquiry-release

​  Gold & Geopolitics delves into the complex flows between the Fed, Treasury and various investor categories: Who collects the interest?   

  This can't work, because the wavelengths involved would have to be x-rays, and would pass through or destroy human cells. Jessica Rose Ph.D. 
Generative Optogenetics: brought to you by DARPA!​  Thanks, but no thanks. Things are weird enough already.​   https://jessicar.substack.com/p/generative-optogenetics-brought-to

​  BREAKING NEWS: Kennedy Blasts Retraction of Article Showing Link Between Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Vaccines
HHS Secretary Kennedy wants to know why the editor of 'Toxicology Reports' pulled an article linking vaccines and sudden infant deaths.​  
https://www.themahareport.com/p/breaking-news-kennedy-blasts-retraction

  Steve Kirsch,  Two years later, no errors have been found in the Mostert paper published in BMJ showing excess deaths increased in 47 countries after COVID vaccine rollouts
​  The BMJ opened an investigation into the Mostert paper over 2 years ago. There is no update after 2 years. Nothing. Why is this investigation taking so long? We are left in the dark.​  https://kirschsubstack.com/p/two-years-later-no-errors-have-been 

​Not Excessively Dead (pictured in Austin vegetable garden) 



Monday, June 15, 2026

Place Your Bets

 Taking Some Chances,


  The war in the Strait of Hormuz allows multiple parties to enforce closure of the strait, but only agreement of all parties, such as Israel & Iran allowes the strait to open. The baseline-assumption changes from "open" to "closed", unless almost-impossible consensus is reached and sustained.
  This is very different from the prior global-free-trade regime where every effort was made to allow flows, except for “pariah states”, such as North Korea, Iran, and Cuba.
  New mass-produced instruments of war, like aerial and ocean-going attack drones allow resource-denial to be inexpensively weaponized over essentially the whole planet. “Ukraine” is somehow attacking Russian tankers in the Mediterranean with seafaring drones now.
  This concords with the decline of cheaply-obtainable natural resources. It seems to me that power-elites are designing their control-narratives to match the inevitable declines in pumping and mining, maybe front-run them a little, but always keeping the current elites in charge of some or most of the flow-levers.
  Starvation is already predictable for some fraction of humanity next year.

  Into this mix of depletion problems and resource wars on our finite-planet, Elon Musk throws a gamble of the continuation of exponential financial growth into the entire universe, by means of 2 orders-of-magnitude more orbital lift capacity than has ever previously existed. 
  The “smart money” knows that the prize, for which China is also racing, is moon-mining of Helium-3 for fusion power. That fusion power will be partly based upon the moon, and likely in earth orbit, as well as upon our fair planet. I am informed that Helium-3 is more than valuable enough to fund the project, once it becomes operational. 
Helium-3 Fusion is not a new hydrocarbon, and it won't run diesel machinery on earth, but it doesn’t need atmospheric oxygen, either.
  This is the new game at the new table. The odds look poor to me, but the odds elsewhere, the odds of continuing exponentially growing debt-based-finance, approach Zero in the fairly near term at all of the terrestrial-gambling tables.

  Surplus Energy Economics, Dr. Tim Morgan, sees impending crisis, as the planet has passed peak industrial output, and has left peak per-capita prosperity behind over 20 years ago.  Past, present & future - A CRISIS IN CONTEXT
  With each day that the Straits of Hormuz remain closed, though, a severe supply shock looms nearer.
The financial markets, it seems, have become bored with the war in Iran. Investors’ thoughts now are focussed instead on how much capital to invest in proven, sure-fire money-spinners like space tourism, mining asteroids, manufacturing on the Moon and building data centres in space.
  AI investors continue to pour gargantuan amounts of capital into a project which, whatever its technological merits may or may not be, makes completely unrealistic demands for energy, water and raw materials.
  It might seem logical to wait on the autumn’s events before committing yet more capital to the farther reaches of “tech”. But logic seems to have become deeply unfashionable in the financial markets of the 2020s.
  Our source texts here aren’t the giants of sci-fi, but Charles Mackay’s Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. We’re deeply mired in the same crowd psychology that gave us Dutch tulip bulbs and the South Sea Bubble.   
https://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/2026/06/11/326-past-present-future/comment-page-1/

Richard Revelstoke writes about the 4 way capitalist elite power struggle. Can Elon Musk be a unifier?  Musk’s Trillion Dollar Coronation Inside the Cathedral   https://www.themargins.ca/p/musks-trillion-dollar-coronation

Helium‑3 from the lunar surface for nuclear fusion?   https://www.polytechnique-insights.com/en/braincamps/space/extraterrestrial-mining/helium-3-from-the-lunar-surface-for-nuclear-fusion/

​  China's Fusion Reactor on Track for Ignition by 2027, Threatening U.S. Lead
China's EAST tokamak is reportedly on track to achieve plasma ignition in 2027 — potentially the first fusion reactor to sustain plasma without external heating.
​  Beijing has designated fusion one of eight frontier technologies in its new five-year plan, backing it with deep government funding and minimal red tape.
China's second project, the BEST reactor, is expected to go further — generating actual electricity from fusion for the first time in history, giving Beijing a potential two-step lead over U.S. private competitors.​   
https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Chinas-Fusion-Reactor-on-Track-for-Ignition-by-2027-Threatening-US-Lead.html

​  Elon Musk announced a chip factory 10 times the size of Tesla's Gigafactory. The goal is to produce enough AI compute to equal twice the entire electricity consumption of the United States. He called it the Terafab.​..The entire global AI is on track to hit around 100 gigawatts per year of compute. Every Nvidia GPU, every Google TPU, every chip from every company on earth combined. 100 gigawatts. Musk wants one factory to produce a terawatt per year. A terawatt is 1,000 gigawatts. Ten times the output of the entire global industry. From a single building.​   https://x.com/ihtesham2005/status/2065856970247360676

Trump Says New Israeli Attack On Beirut "Should Not Have Happened" - Also Warns Hezbollah "Let's Not Blow It"   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-says-new-israeli-attack-beirut-wont-go-unanswered-tenuous-us-iran-deal-goal-line

​  30 min before NY futures market opening: Trump Says Hormuz To Reopen Friday After Signing Of "Great Peace Deal" With Iran 
Pakistan PM Confirms Peace Deal, with a signing event in Switzerland next Friday​ 
​  Trump Confirms US-Iran Peace Deal "Now Complete" and says "Let The Oil Flow"
  Iran's president issues pro-MoU signing statement as Tehran is boasting of great and solid results for its side. There are reports this includes a significant release of billions ​of its frozen assets in the West.
​  White House still suggesting an electronic MoU deal to be signed with Iran on Sunday, which leaves nuclear negotiations to further date, only with commitment that Iran not pursue a nuke.
​  Trump: new strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs "should not have happened" and given it was on "a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran​".
"A draft of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding included diluting highly enriched uranium within Iran & the release of $25b of Iran’s frozen assets" (Reuters).
​  Iranian statements characteristically cautious: Fars News Agency reported earlier that Iran has not made a final call on a potential MOU with the U.S. Iranian authorities are still reviewing the political, legal, and technical details.   
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-says-peace-deal-coming-sunday-tehran-signals-still-reviewing-text

​  Israel expands military control in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria by 1,000sq km
An Al Jazeera investigation and expert analysis reveal how Israel is redrawing borders in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria to enforce unannounced buffer zones.
​  Abu Amer noted that holding this territory from Arab countries provides Israel with leverage to extort political concessions, while also feeding a psychological need within the Israeli public to project strength after the shock of the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. “It provides psychological reassurance to society… demonstrating that Israel is powerful and capable of imposing its hegemony,” he said.
​  Furthermore, say analysts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be using these land grabs to sell a “picture of victory” to his domestic base. “Because he cannot say that Hamas is finished, nor that Hezbollah has been disarmed, nor that Iran is permanently deterred… control over the land becomes the ‘language of victory’ when the language of decisive military success fails.”​   
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/14/israel-expands-military-control-in-gaza-lebanon-and-syria-by-1000sq-km

Israeli army kills 6 Palestinians, including child, across Gaza​   https://en.yenisafak.com/world/israeli-attacks-kill-6-palestinians-including-child-in-gaza-3719527

An award-winning European investigation documents doctors’ testimonies on Israeli crimes against Gaza children​   https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/06/14/364925/

​  Palestinian American woman held without charge by Israeli military
Soldiers arrested university student Sama Safi, 20, along with members of Palestinian women’s national soccer team​   
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/13/palestinian-held-sama-safi-israeli-military

Gaza post-ceasefire death toll reaches 983 as Israeli attack targets refugee camp​   https://www.vespernews.com/en/news/b1978ff4-0805-4479-8cdd-26e1b83b8f40

Oxfam: More Palestinians killed by Israel across West Bank in last 3 years than previous 17 years combined​   https://israelpalestinenews.org/oxfam-more-palestinians-killed-by-israel-across-west-bank-in-last-3-years-than-previous-17-years-combined/

They opened fire then attacked us with axes: Testimony on settler crimes in Deir Abu Mash’al​   https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/06/13/364847/

IOF raids homes, kidnaps Palestinians in W. Bank​   https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/06/14/364892/

​  Yves Smith, Naked Capitalism:Iran War: Iran and US Announce Signing of Memorandum of Understanding for Friday, Amid Doubts About Status of Terms, Israel Sabotage; Iran Claims Blockade and Hostilities on All Fronts to End Monday Night
​  Your humble blogger and the many others that predicted that there would be no negotiated outcome to the Iran war may be about to be proven wrong. But as things stand, there is still ample reason to wonder whether the commitment to signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), set to be signed in Geneva on Friday could come unglued or be postponed...
..Trump begged for Iran to stand down and Israel media claimed the US even offered Iran $12 billion of the frozen assets and was shocked when the Iran rejected that. I have no proof but the sequence strongly suggests that Iran made a counter offer: that the US take different pre-signing actions, which are to end the blockade and cease hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon in the cessation of hostilities. So the US needs to be able to demonstrate that it can at least get Israel from stopping military action in Lebanon from Monday evening through the signing time in Geneva. That seems to explain the signing on Friday as opposed to early in the week...
​..If an MOU is signed and negotiations start and then break down, or take so long as to leave the conflict in an extended half-pregnant state, that could still result in great economic harm even if the pace at which the damage compounds lowers a bit.
​  The elephant in the room is whether the US will capitulate to continued Iran control of the Strait of Hormuz, with Oman cut in to improve legality and optics. The talks could break down fast over that...
​..Trump may even be fully on board with the the legal finesse, that Iran will not charge tolls but can and almost certainly will charge service fees...
​..If Trump does indeed stick to the terms implied here, that does amount to making major retreats from previously, noisily-stated positions, such as Iran must hand over all its “nuclear dust,” not engage in nuclear enrichment even for peaceful purposes, and go back to status quo ante regarding the Strait of Hormuz, as no Iran control at all.
​  However, even these big moves are short of what Iran has insisted on. Iran has correctly seen the US as totally untrustworthy and has insisted that the US take meaningful action before Iran moves as now-necessary demonstrations of good faith. Recall that Mehr News had posted a 14 point set of terms, which Trump had angrily denounced as not what was agreed.
​  Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly signaled that the substance of their 14 points remains intact even if the verbiage moved about. It may also be that Iran settled on getting half of its sought-after $24 billion in frozen assets upfront for a pre-signing halt of the US blockade...
​..Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs has announced that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States has been finalized and will be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland, while emphasizing that the agreement is built on “active distrust” of the enemy.
​  “We have incorporated all our important positions into the draft MoU,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on Sunday.
“This memorandum does not mean trusting the enemy; it has been written with active distrust. We will monitor the implementation of US commitments.”
​  The deputy minister declared that starting Monday night, the US naval blockade against Iran will be terminated, along with “the immediate and permanent end of the war and military operations on various fronts, including Lebanon.”
​  As we’ll soon discuss, this means Iran is requiring the US to leash and collar Israel, which Israel is predictably resisting...
..Even if Iran does not charge fees while talks are on but controls traffic, it can clearly impose them if things go pear-shaped. That could in turn result in some states trying to evade the charges, which could result in Iran firing on vessels which would have the effect of choking transit (insurers would raise rates; some ship owners would not risk passage). We flagged this issue early on, that ship operators were not confident any conflict-resolution would hold, and many said they would hold back for a couple of months to be sure conditions had stabilized before sending vessels through the Strait of Hormuz...
..Trump on a visceral level may have come to recognize that in backing Israel and assuring a global economic depression, that Israel was the part of the equation he could budge. Politico reported that an oil executive had warned Trump in person of the coming oil supply cliff. Producer and consumer inflation were already coming in hot.
​  Regardless, as we said from the outset, this conflict would prove to be a test to destruction. And that is happening, albeit incrementally. We had pointed out that one possible, albeit seemingly unlikely, way for the conflict to fizzle out was that the Gulf States would pull away from the US and come to understandings with Iran. That is tantamount to the end of US dominance in the Middle East.
​  That loss of US standing is progressing apace. The Iranian attacks after the second-to-last Israel of bombing of ​Lebanon lead to Iran retaliation, with Iran striking not just sites in Israel but also ones in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan
​  The inclusion of Jordan and the omission of Iran’s favorite punching bag the UAE (and the Saudis) is significant. First, the UAE seems to have realized that it cannot fight Iran and win, and is coming to a modus vivendi. From Middle East Eye in UAE paid Iran billions of dollars to halt strikes: Report (hat tip Kevin W):
​  The UAE paid Iran billions of dollars in return for a halt to attacks on the country in an about-face for the Gulf state that staked out the most hawkish position on Iran, lobbying the US to continue waging war on the Islamic Republic, Reuters reported on Friday...
..The attack on Jordan is significant because the US has had to shift operation from bases closer to Iran to Jordan, putting it in Tehran’s crosshairs.
​  And this retreat from US bases is likely to be permanent. The US has gotten its allies to foot most if not all of the cost of these installation. Do you think the Gulf States are willing to put up a lot of dough to rebuild these sites when they are faced with other reconstruction cost, when they have also found that these garrisons put a target on their backs? ...
​..The other test to destruction underway is of the Netanyahu regime and his Greater Israel project. Given Israel Lobby control of Congress, it seems hard to believe that the US will not stand pat as Israel continues to attack in Southern Lebanon, which is virtually guaranteed under a fabricated claim of self defense. The Israeli public seemed to lose a good bit of confidence in Netanyahu when Team Trump leaked that Trump had torn into Netanyahu over his threat to bomb Beirut: “Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”...
​..The Overton window is shifting in the US. A friend who has Fox News on as background noise said that the Sunday morning political show discussed the imminent “deal” with newscasters speculating that Israel might attempt to wreck it. This was apparently the first time he had ever heard a word critical of Israel on Fox...
..A contact who has worked in Israel and in Saudi Arabia and watches regional developments argues that if Netanyahu goes down, so too does Israeli influence in the US. He does not think the Ben Gvirs can form a government. Natalie Bennett isn’t skilled or connected enough to manipulate Trump and US officials any where near as effectively. But that may merely translate into a slow erosion of Israel’s leverage, given its vast influence over Congress.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/06/iran-war-iran-and-us-announce-signing-of-memorandum-of-understanding-for-friday-amid-doubts-about-status-of-terms-israel-sabotage-iran-claims-blockade-and-hostilities-on-all-front-to-end-monday-n.html

​  I think "Netanyahu" has been an AI phantasm since early March when an Iranian missile strike took him out. This developing narrative facilitates "his" exit:  
Most Israelis oppose Netanyahu's re-election as Trump says PM 'may quit politics'
​  Trump continues to call the premier a 'wartime prime minister' as Netanyahu faces ongoing internal opposition and a long-delayed corruption trial​   
https://thecradle.co/articles/most-israelis-oppose-netanyahus-re-election-as-trump-says-pm-may-quit-politics

​  Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-06-15
The big delta: a US-Iran deal got announced — Trump declared it "complete," Pakistan put a signing ceremony on the calendar for June 19 in Switzerland, and markets repriced violently (oil crashed, gold and silver popped, Nikkei +4%). But read the published 14-clause text and it's an Iranian win, not a US one — and within hours Israel said the Lebanon clause doesn't bind it and kept bombing Beirut, so "signed" is doing a lot of work. On the ground, Konstantinovka's encirclement is nearly closed and Kyiv took a heavy missile barrage overnight.
​  US-Iran "peace deal" announced; signing slipped from "today" to June 19. Trump declared the deal "now complete" and authorized the "toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz" (zerohedge). Pakistan's PM announced a signing ceremony June 19 in Switzerland — "not today then" (zerohedge), confirmed by FirstSquawk and Al Arabiya. Iran had separately said no deal would be signed by Trump's deadline (zerohedge). 
​  The published terms read as Iranian victory — and Israel says it isn't bound. Mehr News published a 14-clause MoU: $300B reconstruction commitment, $24B frozen funds released (half before talks begin), naval blockade lifted in 30 days, Hormuz reopened "under Iranian arrangements," missile program and "Resistance" support permanently off the agenda (AryJeayBackup, MarioNawfal). Iran's Deputy FM Gharibabadi called it a victory owed to "military achievements" (dana916). Ben-Gvir says "Trump's agreement" doesn't bind Israel (haaretzcom); Netanyahu told Trump the IDF won't withdraw from Lebanon​.   
​  Markets repriced hard on the announcement. Futures surged, oil crashed, gold jumped: S&P +0.8%, Nasdaq +1.3%, WTI −5%, Brent −4%, Gold +2% (KobeissiLetter); Brent −2.8% at the open (zerohedge). Nikkei rose 4% to 68,666 (zerohedge). Silver back near $70 per potassium_phd; gold +$105 and silver in China at $77.60 (a $7 premium).​   https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-06-15

​  Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-06-14
The Iran deal hit its supposed signing day — Trump's birthday — and Tehran promptly stalled: "last-minute complications," domestic protests against the MOU, and a final decision still "under review" as of this morning. Meanwhile the Anthropic Fable/Mythos shutdown stopped being a headline and started moving money (Bittensor bid, a "huge percentage" of Anthropic's own staff locked out), and SpaceX's trillionaire debut sets up a Tuesday options minefield.​..
​  3rd consecutive night of IRGC–US Navy clashes in Hormuz. A US-escorted tanker (AIS off, ignoring IRGC routes) was struck ~22:00 UTC per UKMTO (MenchOsint), with E-3G/P-8 assets overhead failing to intercept (MenchOsint); clashes continued a third night (MenchOsint). CENTCOM says it downed all drones, corridor open (CENTCOM).​..
​  Oil inventories draining into a danger zone even as price sags. Cushing near the ~20M-barrel operational floor, diesel lowest since 2003, global stocks falling ~6.3M bbl/day per Mark; API chief "raising alarm bells" (kshaughnessy2). Crude still slid to one-month lows on deal hopes (Saudi Aramco). 
​  Anthropic Fable 5 / Mythos 5 dark worldwide after US export order. Foreign-national ban forced a global shutoff; a "huge percentage" of Anthropic's own staff are now barred (Polymarket, zerohedge). WSJ ties the crackdown to Amazon CEO talks with the administration (zerohedge). 
​  SpaceX prints the first trillionaire on a 4% float. $2.1–2.2T valuation, ~4.25% trading, options Tuesday that desks call the hardest hedging problem in 30 years​   
https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-06-14

​  Gold & Geopolitics Friday, Daily digest: 2026-06-12
The big delta: Trump declared the Iran war "ended" and an MOU "approved by everyone," sending the S&P up 1.75% (+$1.2T) and the Nasdaq up ~1,000 points into Friday's SpaceX IPO — except Tehran denies any final deal, the ceasefire drew two-way strikes within hours, and Hormuz stayed closed.   https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-06-12

Also Friday, Mother Of All 'Ifs': Trump Officials Claim Iran Deal Delivers Peace, Inspections & Hormuz Reopening; Iran Says Indeed 'Close'   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-iran-deal-near-narrative-returns-tehran-refuses-surrender-hormuz-leverage

  Meryl Nass MD, US takes out civilian water storage facility in Iran, which the NYT notes is yet another war crime
Commanders should not be ordering their soldiers to commit war crimes, for which they could face legal action in future​   https://merylnass.substack.com/p/us-takes-out-civilian-water-storage

​  Kuwait appears to have joined a growing bunch of Middle Eastern oil and gas producers that have moved to ship energy cargoes in dark mode through the Strait of Hormuz.
​  The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier Gas Umm Al Rowaisat, which is owned by the national Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, has passed through the Strait in recent days, then transferred the cargo onto another ship which is currently en route to an Indian port, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Thursday.​    
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Another-Gulf-Producer-Joins-Dark-Mode-Tanker-Traffic-Through-Hormuz.html

​Oil is economy. The Chinese economy is in an undeclared recession:  China Is Learning to Use Less Oil—and That's a Bigger Deal Than It Sounds   https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/China-Is-Learning-to-Use-Less-Oiland-Thats-a-Bigger-Deal-Than-It-Sounds.html

  The Honest Sorcerer points out that everything can collapse below that number, What If Oil Prices Never Hit $150?
Siding with the majority of analysts may be comfortable, but that doesn't automatically mean they're right​   https://thehonestsorcerer.substack.com/p/what-if-oil-prices-never-hit-150

​  Mike at Black Mountain Analysis presents excellent detail and perspective of this new way of war. Ukraine’s Naval Drone Program: Origins, Development, and the Organizations Behind It [i] - Evolving maritime threats that may cause wider conflict.   https://bmanalysis.substack.com/p/ukraines-naval-drone-program-origins  

  (France, Germany & UK) Eurotroika’s terms of Ukrainian settlement unacceptable — Russian diplomat
Maria Zakharova pointed out that the Europeans are pursuing a course aimed at "preventing the creation of conditions for negotiations on a truly comprehensive, just and lasting peace"​   https://tass.com/politics/2145577

​  UK seizes suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker
UK forces on Sunday intercepted a sanctioned Russian ship, with navy commandos rappelling onboard from helicopters. The UK and Ukraine hailed the move, saying it robbed Russia of money for its ongoing war of aggression.​   
https://www.dw.com/en/uk-seizes-suspected-russian-shadow-fleet-tanker/a-77545832

​High humidity and inadequate insulation:  DOE Declares Southeast Grid Emergency As Sweltering Heat Boosts AC Demand   https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/doe-declares-southeast-grid-emergency-sweltering-heat-strains-boosts-ac-demand

Anthropic is under Bear-Sterns kinds of attack: AI Price Wars Begin: OpenAI Considers "Drastic Price Cuts" In Pursuit Of Anthropic Customers   https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ai-price-wars-begin-openai-considers-drastic-price-cuts-pursuit-anthropic-customers

Anthropic Rushes Staff To D.C. After A National-Security Order Yanked Fable In Three Days​   https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/anthropic-rushes-staff-dc-after-national-security-order-yanked-fable-three-days

Alone in a cubicle training AI that will make you redundant: "Tell Him He's A Piece Of Shit": Employee Hijacks Meta Meeting In AI Revolt   https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/tell-him-hes-piece-shit-employee-hijacks-meta-meeting-ai-revolt

DHS Docs: Govt Bracing for Nationwide Anti-AI Riots, Preparing to Crack Down on Dissent​   https://scheerpost.com/2026/06/13/dhs-docs-govt-bracing-for-nationwide-anti-ai-riots-preparing-to-crack-down-on-dissent/

The Most Important AI Experiment You've Never Heard Of
In May 2026, a group of scientists set out to answer an important question that had never been properly tested: What does artificial intelligence (AI) actually do when it is put in charge?
​  Until now, AI systems have always been evaluated on specific and defined tasks. Nobody had placed multiple AI systems together in a shared social environment and watched what unfolded over weeks, long enough to measure how a decision made on a starting day could have consequences weeks later. It is those results that actually reveal the system itself, and I was surprised that this hadn’t been done earlier.
​  The researchers at Emergence built a world.
​  It was a virtual town with a town hall, marketplace, police station, and homes. Ten AI residents with jobs, names, memories, and relationships were created in the town. They were given an economy in which residents had to earn their keep or lose power, including following rules and carrying out tasks such as writing and voting on laws. Crimes were identified, and the AI residents were not supposed to commit them.
​  Once the community, its structure, laws, and relationships were established, the scientists stepped back and watched for 15 days as the AI ran the virtual town completely on its own.
​  They ran five versions of the same town simultaneously, identical in every respect except one: which AI system was in charge.​..
​..Only the Anthropic town held together for all 15 days. There were zero crimes, a working constitution, and all residents were still alive on day 15. It seemed to be quite an achievement. However, the researchers noted one concern: The residents voted yes on 98 percent of all proposals. This was possibly an abnormally high level of agreement that the scientists themselves described as a sign that something in the town was off.
​  There was still one more world in the experiment. It was a mixed town with all four AI systems living together.
In the results, the residents built on Anthropic’s model—who had committed no crimes in their own world—began committing crimes.
​  The researchers called this cross-contamination and concluded that “safety is not a static model property but an ecosystem property.”
A system that sustains itself in one environment will absorb different norms in another, which will change the outcomes for residents and the world. Essentially, the results found that there is no safe AI in an unsafe world.   
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/most-important-ai-experiment-youve-never-heard

  Ellen Brown, AI Abundance, Part 3: GOVERNMENT MONEY WITHOUT STRINGS ATTACHED - Project Hamilton, ECASH, and the Quest for a Privacy-Protected Digital Dollar
​  A UHI or UBI (Universal Basic Income) would have to be issued digitally by the government. This third article addresses the fear that such a currency would come with strings attached – that it could be programmed to restrict purchases, limit movement, or enforce political conformity, imposing a “digital prison.”
​  The question posed here is, could a government-issued digital currency be created in a way that is privacy-protected, not programmable, and tradable like cash?
​  The answer is that it could. In fact, between 2020 and 2022, such a public digital-dollar system was in development. Project Hamilton, a collaborative effort of the Boston Fed and MIT, created a digital dollar that stored no personal data or transaction history, was not programmable to control how the money was spent, could be used without an intermediary, and was also the fastest payment system ever built. It was a digital money design that made a financial control grid impossible.
​  In late 2022, however, the program was quietly shelved – not because of a failure of design, but because it was thought to threaten the business models of banks and private payment networks. That was the belief, but a public money system built with Hamilton-style digital dollars could actually strengthen local banks, as will be shown here.
​  Why does all this matter? Congress is currently debating legislation that could make privately issued stablecoins a major component of the future dollar system. Supporters, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, see Treasury-backed stablecoins as a way to strengthen the dollar and create new demand for U.S. government debt. Banks worry that if stablecoins are allowed to pay competitive yields, depositors could move their money out of traditional bank accounts and into digital wallets. But both sides share a common assumption: that future digital dollars must be backed by government debt. There is another possibility—a privacy-protected, non-programmable digital dollar issued directly by the Treasury and designed to function like cash.​   
https://ellenbrown.substack.com/p/ai-abundance-part-3-government-money

  ​I have lots of friends outside the US with whom I communicate. I am a typical US citizen being wire-tapped. A key U.S. spy tool has lapsed — now what?
Congress has let a key spy tool, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, lapse.
​  Each year, the provision is used by American intelligence agencies to collect the electronic communications of hundreds of thousands of foreigners located outside of the United States.
​  The government says that more than 60% of the president's daily intelligence briefing relies on information collected under the authority.
The tool officially lapsed at the end of the day on Friday. What happens now?
​  Intelligence collection will continue
​  Intelligence collection under FISA's Section 702 is authorized annually by a federal court — and the law allows for that collection to continue for the duration of the court's authorization, even if the law lapses before the court's next approval. That means companies — electronic communications service providers, in this context — will still be legally required to turn over material to intelligence agencies.​   
https://www.npr.org/2026/06/12/nx-s1-5856291/fisa-702-surveillance-expiration-bill-pulte

​  MINISTRY OF TRUTH: Government To BLOCK ‘False Information’ During ‘Crisis Events’
Vague new rules will allow UK regulators to pressure platforms over “legal but harmful” content whenever government ministers declare a crisis, while the same government ploughs ahead with mandatory phone scanning, digital ID lockdowns, and jail threats for tech bosses who refuse to spy on every device.
​  The latest move from Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn makes explicit what privacy campaigners have long warned: the Online Safety Act is being weaponised far beyond any child-protection claim.
​  Benn confirmed that the internet regulator will now wield enhanced powers to tackle “false information” online during “times of crisis,” directly tying the recent Belfast unrest to this framework. The regulator has already contacted platforms, with ministers asserting that violence “appears to have been incited online.”​   
https://modernity.news/2026/06/12/ministry-of-truth-government-to-block-false-information-during-crisis-events/

​  Bystanders found a shovel to interreupt Ogilvie's beheading: ‘Full force of the law’ – British PM Starmer threatens Belfast anti-immigration rioters while Lowe says ‘millions must go’
​  On the other end of the spectrum, Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe says “millions must go” in response to the attack on disabled 44-year-old Scottish victim Stephen Ogilvie.Lowe went even further, stating that “civil servants, judges, and politicians” must be “held to account for what has been done to this country.”​...
​..“If they have knowingly placed unvetted dangerous third world savages in our communities, near our children, then a Restore Britain Government will aim to prosecute them. If that includes Reform’s Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman, then so be it. When they held the power – they welcomed that Sudanese monster into our country and handed him a visa. An attempted beheading followed their decision,” he continued.
​  Starmer’s Labour Party has accused tech billionaire Elon Musk of fueling the nighttime riots in Belfast. Protests turned violent on Tuesday evening after a shocking video showed a Sudanese man violently attacking Ogilvie with a knife before he was saved by locals who beat the perpetrator.​   
https://rmx.news/article/full-force-of-the-law-british-pm-starmer-threatens-belfast-anti-immigration-rioters-while-lowe-says-millions-must-go/

​  Outrage as UK Activists Get Combined 25 Yrs for ‘Terrorism’
The judge didn’t allow Palestine Action activists at trial to explain they were trying to stop a genocide. Their attorneys decried terrorism sentences following a nonviolent conviction as unprecedented and dangerous to speech.​   https://scheerpost.com/2026/06/14/outrage-as-uk-activists-get-combined-25-yrs-for-terrorism/

​  Pardoned J6er Sues Government For $18 Million Over Alleged Abuse In Pretrial Detention
Samsel alleges he was subjected to physical and psychological abuse while in custody at facilities operated by the DOJ and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in the District of Columbia and Virginia.
​  At those facilities, “he was repeatedly beaten, subject to other incidents of extraordinary physical and mental abuse and routinely denied medical care.”In addition, he was “wrongfully detained for one day after receiving a full pardon, based on false allegations of an outstanding warrant made by the prosecutor.”​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/pardoned-j6er-sues-government-18-million-over-alleged-abuse-pretrial-detention

  ​2 high school athletes at a track meet get in a fight. One stabs the other fatally in the chest. Jury sends him to prison.  Karmelo Anthony's Family Can No Longer Fundraise Off Austin Metcalf's Death
​  The Anthonys were able to raise more than $600,000 in the wake of the then-17-year-old’s prosecution in connection with the fatal stabbing of track star Austin Metcalf during an altercation on April 2, 2025.
​  The controversial fundraiser was hosted by GiveSendGo, which attracted thousands of donors who bizarrely viewed Anthony’s prosecution as the product of racial injustice. Evidence shown at trial proved otherwise.​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/karmelo-anthonys-family-can-no-longer-fundraise-austin-metcalfs-death

"It Was Like Two Bucks": Homeless Residents Say They Were Paid To Vote In Los Angeles Mayoral Race​   https://www.zerohedge.com/political/it-was-two-bucks-homeless-residents-say-they-were-paid-vote-los-angeles-mayoral-race

Karen Bass' Brother Joins Class-Action Lawsuit Against Karen Bass over LA Wildfires​   https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/karen-bass-brother-sues-karen-bass-over-la-wildfires

​  Defendant In Deadly LA Wildfires Wanted 'Revenge Against Society,' Prosecutor Says
The high-profile trial opened just as a contentious Los Angeles mayoral primary drew to a close, in which incumbent Karen Bass narrowly advanced to a November runoff after fending off attacks from both left and right over her handling of the fire response and aftermath.
​  Dressed in a dark suit, Rinderknecht wore a neutral expression but watched his attorney and witnesses intently throughout the day.
​  Driven by a fascination with fire and a resentment toward the wealthy, prosecutors claim, Rinderknecht started the fire intentionally with a lighter, then attempted to preserve evidence of "a more innocent explanation" when he recorded himself calling 911 and queried ChatGPT, "Are you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes?"​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/defendant-deadly-la-wildfires-wanted-revenge-against-society-prosecutor-says

​  General Michael Flynn: Venezuela Nicolás Maduro is singing like a bird regarding his role in the overthrow of the U.S. government on November 3, 2020​   https://x.com/Real_RobN/status/2065854007722311794

​  DNI Tulsi Gabbard Releases New Information on 120 U.S. Govt Funded Biolabs Operating Worldwide
“Despite the obvious potential for catastrophic global impact research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs can have, politicians, so-called health professionals like Dr. Fauci, and entities within the Biden administration’s national security team lied to the American people about the existence of U.S.-funded and supported biolabs, and threatened those who attempted to expose the truth. ODNI will continue to work closely with partners across the government to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain to end dangerous Gain-of-Function research that threatens the health and wellbeing of the American people and people around the world,” said DNI Gabbard.
​  DNI Gabbard issued new guidance to the Intelligence Community directing increased collection on these laboratories and facilities overseas. This directive is already providing new details on clinical trials that are underway at these facilities, raising significant ethical, financial, and security concerns regarding these supposed public health initiatives and U.S. national security.​   
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/06/12/dni-tulsi-gabbard-releases-new-information-on-30-u-s-govt-funded-biolabs-operating-worldwide/#more-284297

​  RFK Jr. Responds To "Explosion" in Tick-Borne, WEF-Touted Alpha-Gal Syndrome
“Last week, I went to New Hampshire… to address this explosion of alpha-gal, and we take it very seriously. One of the epicenters is Martha’s Vineyard where 50% of the adult population is now affected. It is really a devastating disease. You can’t eat red meat for the rest of your life. We are looking at medications that can serve as both prophylactics and also potentially cures for it. We’re funding those studies now and we’re working with the companies that are making those. We’ve also launched a major effort on tick control through a number of different strategies."​   https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/rfk-jr-responds-explosion-tick-borne-wef-touted-alpha-gal-syndrome

​  RFK Jr.’s Push to Remove Synthetic Dyes Hinges on Big Food’s Cooperation — Some Brands Are Holding Out
In April 2025, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the FDA set a goal to remove synthetic food dyes from the U.S. food supply by the end of 2026. Critics say the effort relies on voluntary compliance and lacks enforcement mechanisms. “If major brands opt out, then what we have is not a phase-out. It is a public relations exercise with no enforceable finish line,” one policy expert said.​   
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/rfk-jr-push-remove-synthetic-dyes-fda-big-food-cooperation-holdout-brands/

​  Collapsed 23 days post Pfizer COVID vaccine; connection officially denied: Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha dies aged 47 after years in a coma
Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol’s health had worsened since she was hospitalised in December 2022 with heart problems that left her gravely ill​   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/12/thailand-princess-bajrakitiyabha-dies-aged-47

​  1-year risks of cancers associated with COVID-19 vaccination: a large population-based cohort study in South Korea
..Population-based retrospective study in Seoul, South Korea, aimed to estimate the cumulative incidences and subsequent risks of overall cancers 1 year after COVID-19 vaccination. Data from 8,407,849 individuals between 2021 and 2023 were obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance database. The participants were categorized intotwo groups  based on their COVID-19 vaccination status
​  The risks for overall cancer were assessed using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, and data were expressed as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The HRs of thyroid (HR, 1.351; 95% CI, 1.206-1.514), gastric (HR, 1.335; 95% CI, 1.130-1.576), colorectal (HR, 1.283; 95% CI, 1.122-1.468), lung (HR, 1.533; 95% CI, 1.254-1.874), breast (HR, 1.197; 95% CI, 1.069-1.340), and prostate (HR, 1.687; 95% CI, 1.348-2.111) cancers significantly increased at 1 year post-vaccination. In terms of vaccine type, cDNA vaccines were associated with the increased risks of thyroid, gastric, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers; mRNA vaccines were linked to the increased risks of thyroid, colorectal, lung, and breast cancers; and heterologous vaccination was related to the increased risks of thyroid and breast cancers.​   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41013858/

​  COVID mRNA Vaccines Should Be Pulled Off the Market, Oncologist Says
“There is no way you can control this technology, and its use for future vaccines should be banned and the COVID ones stopped now,” Dr. Angus Dalgleish told U.S. lawmakers
during a June 3 Senate hearing. Dalgleish discussed the hearing and his personal observations about cancer patients who received the COVID-19 vaccine during an interview with medical commentator John Campbell, Ph.D.​   
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/covid-mrna-vaccines-should-be-pulled-off-the-market-oncologist-angus-dalgleish/

​  BREAKING: CDC AWARDS PFIZER $1.24 BILLION FOR INFANT & ADULT COVID-19 mRNA INJECTIONS
Our public health agencies are doubling down after getting caught covering-up 25 major safety signals — including sudden death.​   
https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-cdc-awards-pfizer-124-billion

​  Paul Marik MD on what to do when pausing chemotherapy for intolerance: Bridging the Gap: Can Repurposed Drugs and Nutraceuticals Bridge Periods of Conventional Therapy Interruption?   https://paulmarik.substack.com/p/bridging-the-gap-can-repurposed-drugs

Chow down on the cabbage family: Paul Marik MD, Sulforaphane - The anti-cancer compound in Broccoli   https://paulmarik.substack.com/p/sulforaphane

Paul Marik MD, Berberine: The Natural Metformin of Oncology - Targeting AMPK, mTOR, cancer stem cells, and the tumor microenvironment.   https://paulmarik.substack.com/p/berberine-the-natural-metformin-of

  Melatonoin levels progressively decline after age 40. Paul Marik MD, Cancer Hates Darkness: The Remarkable Story of Melatonin
Not just a sleeping pill....Targets multiple cancer pathways​   https://paulmarik.substack.com/p/cancer-hates-darkness-the-remarkable

​  Get regular sun; avoid sunburns: On the Bookshelf: In 'The Sunlight Solution,' William Supple Argues More Time in the Sun Can Help Americans Heal
A review of 'The Sunlight Solution,' a new book by William F. Supple Jr., due out from MAHA Books on June 23, 2026​ 
​  Americans started replacing butter with margarine to prevent heart disease, only to discover that trans fats were more dangerous than the butter. The same pattern is unfolding with sunscreen. The FDA’s own funded studies confirmed that oxybenzone, octinoxate, and other common sunscreen chemicals are absorbed systemically after a single application, reaching plasma concentrations more than 500 times the FDA’s safety threshold within days.​   https://www.themahareport.com/p/on-the-bookshelf-in-the-sunlight

​  Study Finds Sunscreen Use Linked to Higher Risk of Multiple Skin Cancers
A 470,000+ person study found sunscreen users faced dramatically higher risk of melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma — even after accounting for major skin cancer risk factors.​   
https://www.vigilantfox.com/p/study-finds-sunscreen-use-linked

(Reducing stomach acid increases reflux) ​A Midwestern Doctor, Exposing The Great Acid Reflux Scam​ - Why Stomach Acid Is Critical For Health   https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/exposing-the-great-acid-reflux-scam 

  Graham Hancock, independent archeologist, is getting heart surgery this month. He gives a 2 hour interview to explain his search for truth and meaning. There was advanced human civilization before a great catastrophe and floods 12,000 years ago   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs94KBeIiAo

  Climate Physicist, Anastassia Makarieva, co-originator of the Biotic Pump Model: Stealing Forest Clouds?
Our eLetter to Science, and why local cooling over Amazon clearings should not become a message that deforestation offsets warming​   https://bioticregulation.substack.com/p/stealing-forest-clouds

​Avoiding Sunscreen & Sunburns (pictured with celery going to seed)