"We trusted the government not to screw us, but they did. We trusted the tech companies not to take advantage of us. But they did. That is going to happen again, because that is the nature of power." -- Edward Snowden.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BreakingPoints
Focus has been on the resulting rise in oil prices, but it is potential food shortages the world should be paying attention to, said ICC secretary-general John Denton.
About one-third of global fertilizer shipments pass through the narrow waterway, creating potentially catastrophic knock-on effects for agricultural producers.
Technology companies issued as much as $300 billion in guarantees tied to AI data centers and chips over the past year, according to a Financial Times analysis.
These aren’t conventional loans. They’re something called residual value guarantees, and the way they work is almost elegant in how much they hide.
The US Coast Guard said Friday that its forces intercepted a ship that was attempting to bring fuel to Cuba, as the US continues to enforce a ramped-up oil embargo on the country, which has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis.
The Coast Guard said that the incident occurred in early September, when a “Coast Guard tactical team” boarded the M/V Grace, a 300-foot-long container ship, in the Caribbean Sea.
By Dave Vine, counterpunch.org
Long before Trump took office, U.S. taxpayers have spent far more on the Pentagon — and its wars — than most know. For decades, Congress, the White House, and the Pentagon have hidden the military’s true cost through little-known bureaucratic practices and budgeting tricks. Journalists, academics, and think tank experts have, with rare exceptions, perpetuated the problem by repeating “official” numbers that don’t come close to telling the full story.
The global bond market experienced a dramatic sell-off, sending US government borrowing costs to levels not seen in over two decades. On Thursday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note surged to 5.34%, marking its highest point since 2002. This sharp increase in yields reflects a broader trend of investor unease, as concerns mount over the sustainability of government deficits and the threat of renewed inflation, particularly driven by persistently high oil prices and ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Miller’s central insight is simple. A ceasefire can reopen a shipping lane overnight. It cannot manufacture a compressor, mobilize commissioning engineers, or pay a contractor. The next phase of this crisis, he writes, is a competition for cash, equipment, qualified contractors and finished fuel.
Dave De Camp, antiwar.com
Israeli forces killed at least 10 Palestinians in Gaza over the past three days, according to numbers from Gaza’s Health Ministry, as the IDF continues its constant violations of the US-backed ceasefire deal.
In that same time, at least five Palestinians died of wounds sustained by previous Israeli attacks, and one body was recovered from the rubble, bringing the number of fatalities added to the death toll over three days to 16.