Part the First: Confirmation the Scientific Literature Has Entered Terminal Decline? In an update from last week’s Coffee Break, Cabell’s Predatory Reports database passes 20,000-journal milestone: The US-based information services company reports that Predatory Reports has grown by more than 300% since its launch in 2017. Having reached 10,000 journals in 2019 and 15,000 in […]
Friday, February 13, 2026
When War Weakens Democracy
Wars often undermine democracy, but it appears that that result is not baked in but operates in particular circumstances.
More Handwringing About Collapsing Birth Rates: How Focus on Gender Roles Misses the Mark
Sentimentality about child-rearing is leading experts not to look clinically enough at why birth rates around the world are plunging.
The EU’s Digital Euro Is Just a Whisker Away from Becoming a Legal Reality
The European Parliament wants a central bank digital currency. And it wants it as soon as possible, and in all its possible forms.
Iran Has More Options Up Its Sleeve Than Trump and Netanyahu Assume
As Israel attempts to push the US into war with Iran, more hard looks at how Tehran could retaliate
Why Governments Insist on CBDCs or Stablecoins When Most People Don’t Want Them
CBDCs could create a two-tier wealth system: non-programmable assets for the elite and total digital surveillance for the population.
Has the Rate of Global Warming More Than Doubled?
Troubling global warming updates from the authoritative James Hansen.
Bloomberg’s $108 Oil as Worst Case Iran War Scenario: Too Optimistic?
A detailed Bloomberg report lays out different scenarios for oil prices if Iran attacks. Is its forecast of a worst case of $108 a barrel too cheery?
Suffocating an Island: What the U.S. Blockade Is Doing to Cuba
Medea Benjamin provides a gripping on-the-ground report of how conditions in Cuba are deteriorating due to the US oil blockage.
Satyajit Das: On Cinema – Antonioni’s Mysteries
A look at the major works of Michelangelo Antonioni and how he influenced film-making.
Coffee Break: Crisis of Credibility Edition
The crisis of credibility faced by Western elites as they try and fail to patch over the bursting abscess that is the Epstein files release heralds something much more profound: potential systemic collapse.
Costs of Device-Reliant Parenting: Kids Deficient in Empathy and Storytelling Skills, Can’t Read, Show Declining Cognitive Performance
Another disconcerting report on the harm done to kids by device and tech heavy parenting
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