Humanoid robots are approaching the physical capabilities required for infantry combat. Once machines become stronger, faster, more precise, more expendable, and easier to reproduce than human soldiers, military competition could make the human infantryman obsolete. But the deeper consequence may be cultural: what happens to warfare when armies no longer require courage, sacrifice, or heroes?
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Gates and Rockefeller Foundations’ Green Revolution Failing Africa
How 20 years of Gates and Rockefeller Foundations’ green revolutions initiatives have yielded little in Africa and even done harm.
Robert Urie: There Is No Bond Market Panic. Who Benefits from Claiming That There Is One?
You have been had! The current bond market media panic is a con! But cui bono, aside from clickbait-y sites?
Iran War: Bessent’s “The Nigger Gets It” Iran Sanctions Strategy as His Ex-Boss Druckenmiller Trashes His New Treasury Scheme; Iran Hits US Escorted Tanker as Strait of Hormuz Transits Fall Further
Today’s Iran war news: Even more Trump Administration flailing about in the form of Bessent’s Operation Economic Outcast.
A Failed Murder-for-Hire Plot in Bolivia Exposes the Inner Workings of the US’s Donroe Doctrine
The rise and fall of “Maga’s Man” in Latin America.
Coffee Break: Trump’s Policies Could Hurt GOP Senate Candidates in Maine and Texas
The crude venality of the Trump administration blew up trade talks with Canada and are triggering a backlash with rural Texans that could cost the GOP control of the US Senate.
How Riding the Subway as a Kid Changed the Way I See the World
An ode to the public transportation commute—for the way it forces a visceral reminder of our shared humanity.
Iran War: Bessent’s Flailing and the Misunderstood Coming, Strait of Hormuz “Closure” Accelerated Crisis
Today’s Iran war post: Bessant’s twin messes, neither of which he is managing well, plus some other sightings.
Spooks Run the Show
Perfidery and treachery abound as the latest Israel-Türkiye standoff leads to many questions.
Small and Stuck: Why European Firms Can’t Scale
European businesses make it less often into the really big leads than their US counterparts. It’s not for want of trying.
The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: The Eccentrics (1973) 1H 20M Plus Bonuses!
A sweetly silly tale of the power of dreams versus the weight of authoritarianism.
Extreme Heat Waves Fuel Political Tensions in Europe
No progress made in limiting heat deaths over the past five years.
