Friday, August 28, 2026

Coffee Break: Working Class Life, Climate Change, Politics and Science

Part the First: A Day in the Life of the Working Class.  When members of the Professional Managerial Class speak of the working class, seldom do they know what they are talking about.  This is news only to said denizens of the PMC.  While I am a paid-up member of the PMC now, I worked […]

Europe Heads Into Winter With Gas Storage at a Two-Decade Low

Another look at an expected shortfall for states in Europe meeting targets for gas reserves and what the consequences might be.

Links 8/28/2026

More Signs of Escalation in the Ceuta-Morocco Border Crisis

The main underlying issue is “control over the Strait of Gibraltar,” since at the present time the straits around the world “are part of the critical chain of a world at war”.

Russia’s Arctic Route

Welcome to the world’s newest chokepoint, the Arctic passage. No dollars required.

US‑Canada Trade War Deepens as Trump Revives Depression‑Era Trade Tool – What’s at Stake for Consumers and the Midterms

Trump seems to think that Canada is lacking in power and he can kick them around. He may learn otherwise, but at cost to ordinary Americans.

The Modern West Belongs to Valle-Inclán’s Esperpento, Not Nolan’s Odyssey

Nolan distorts classical myth to preserve heroic grandeur; Valle-Inclán’s esperpento deforms it to show that the ideal has decayed into satire.

Extremist Billionaire Media Owners Want to Steal Your Social Security So They Don’t Have to Pay Slightly Higher Taxes

Cutting Social Security and Medicare attacks millions of ordinary workers to avoid taxing the rich or reducing waste in our health system.

Links 8/27/2026

Iran War: Bloomberg Claims High Oil Flows Through Hormuz as Iran Threatens for Real Closure; Diesel Stress Rises as Canada Oil Exports to Fall Near Term; Investors Diss Bessent Treasury Meddling, Finger Inflation as the Issue

Today’s Iran war news: Diverging claims on Strait of Hormuz oil transits as Iran vows tight closure and investors trash Bessent Treasury meddling.

Satyajit Das: Political Films Part 2 – Probably!

Satyajit Das continues his discussion of some iconic political films. Please add your faves!

Sunscreen for Lakes and Dams: Could a Thin Floating Layer of Nanomaterial Shield Water from Evaporation?

Geoengineering proposals, such as preventing water evaporation and reflecting sunlight, are set to increase. How to evaluate them?

Coffee Break: Someone Stupid Heads From South Carolina to DC

The South Carolina special election to replace the late, great Lindsey Graham was held last night and the stupid won in a big way, by that I mean his sister.

This American City Perfected Clean Water for Beer — Now It’s Fighting to Keep Cancer-Causing Nitrates Out of the Tap

Rural communities can treat water to reduce nitrates to safe levels. But what about well water polluted by runoff from fertilized fields?

Links 8/26/2026 Plus Iran War Note