Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Coffee Break: Texas Primary Results Could Flip US Senate

Texas’ primary election results illustrate an ongoing realignment in the Democratic party that gives Dems reason to hope for a US Senate majority.

Can Sheinbaum Avoid A Death Spiral After the El Mencho Killing?

Why Sheinbaum is likely to find that decapitating cartel leaders is no more likely to succeed than Israeli decapitation has in the Middle East.

Links 3/4/2026

Iran War: More on Why US/Israel Success Impossible as Israel and US Operations Take More Hits, Trump Proposes Unhinged Strait of Hormuz Escort Scheme, Western Media Misinforming Public

The latest updates on the Iran war, from kinetic, economic, and narrative perspectives.

Türkiye Does Standoff Shuffle With Kurds Toward Iran

Turkish officials say they share Iranians pain but Tehran should show “greater flexibility” as Ankara discusses “buffer zone” in Iran to counter US-armed Kurds. 

Even Patients Are Shocked by the Prices Their Insurers Will Pay — And It Costs All of Us

The bad incentives that lead health insurers not to balk overmuch at outrageous hospital charges.

Coffee Break: Armed Madhouse – Algeria and Gaza Parallels

Military dominance is often treated as strategic insurance. Yet history suggests that battlefield superiority can generate domestic political instability when the moral and reputational costs of sustained force penetrate the patron state’s political system. Examining France in Algeria alongside the contemporary U.S.–Israel alliance, this article argues that the decisive variable is not military capacity but legitimation capacity — the ability of a democratic society to sustain political consent under the burdens of prolonged external conflict.

AI and the Distribution of Income Between Capital and Labour

AI is working according to plan, further enriching the owner class at the expense of workers.

Links 3/3/2026

Iran War: Israel Air Defenses Crumbling, US Base Attacks Continue as Markets Set for Wile E. Coyote Moment

The Iran war situation has developed not necessarily to the advantage of the US and Israel.

Spain Risks Wrath of Trump After Denying US Forces Permission to Use Jointly Operated Bases to Attack Iran

Madrid’s words and actions regarding West Asia once again stand in stark contrast with those of the continent’s “Big Three”, Germany, France and the UK.

Qatar’s LNG Blackout Just Broke the Global Gas Market

More on the global impact of QatarEnergy’s LNG production stoppage and the uncertainty over when it might resume operation.

Coffee Break: Narrative Wars as US Media Struggles to Manufacture Consent

Narrative war rages as missiles fly. Various influencers, corporate and national media outlets are firing up their fog of war machines in a vicious fight for control.

Is That New Procedure Proven? MedTech Billing Codes and Evidence-Based Medicine

How Category III CPT codes for new procedures became entangled in a politically driven, zero-sum reimbursement game, to patient detriment.

Links 3/2/2026