It is undeniable that world capitalism is in a profound crisis. The Iran conflict is the latest hammer blow – following on from many – that has shaken the capit
— Read on marxist.com/a-very-british-catastrophe.htm
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Born in 1868 into a poor family in Edinburgh, James Connolly was a genuine proletarian. His working life commenced at the age of ten. All his life he lived and
— Read on marxist.com/james-connolly-and-the-easter-rising.htm -
“At this stage Micheál Martin is not in control. The people of Ireland are in control. They have every motorway blocked in Ireland. They have businesses shut do
— Read on marxist.com/ireland-fuel-protests-show-the-way.htm -
Did you know that Adam Smith, the poster child of free-market capitalism… was also a major influence on Karl Marx?
— Read on marxist.com/podcast-how-adam-smith-influenced-karl-marx.htm -
Just five months ago, Bulgaria was in the grip of one of the biggest protest movements in its history. Based on wide social layers – in particular the youth – a
— Read on marxist.com/radev-wins-the-bulgarian-elections-what-does-this-mean-for-the-working-class.htm -
In day-to-day life under capitalism and class society, the vast majority of people feel alienated from society, including from its greatest art and culture.
— Read on marxist.com/art-alienation-and-revolution.htm -
Is AI a revolutionary leap forward for humanity – or the latest crisis capitalism has engineered for itself? In this episode of Against the Stream, Hamid Alizad
— Read on marxist.com/will-ai-destroy-capitalism-a-marxist-analysis.htm -
NYT reports Russia’s advance in Ukraine has slowed to a crawl — the worst pace since 2023, with full Donbas capture more than three decades away at this rate.
— Read on euromaidanpress.com/2026/05/10/nyt-lost-starlink-throttled-telegram-missed-recruits-russias-worst-battlefield-year-since-2023/ -
Trump called Lukashenka his “friend” after the latest prisoner exchange deal. The Belarusian bank financing Russia’s shells is back in the dollar system.
— Read on euromaidanpress.com/2026/05/11/trumps-state-department-refused-to-recognize-lukashenka-in-2020-today-hes-a-friend/ -
Hiram Bernard
7-8 May 2026: Thursday 4:30 PM
NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS CAT LADY WORKING AWAY IN A SUB-BASEMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK
Quotes:
· “It’s the most corrupt administration I’ve ever seen in my life.” David French on Nicolle Wallace, MS Now.
· “It’s a small price to pay…” for saving all those lives. (Not Your) Buddy Carter, District 1, Georgia talking about gas prices. Carter can’t even conduct a town hall. He is horrible. (5/8/26).
· “Donald Trump’s friend,…Putin…openly planning to kill Americans….scheming with Iranians to kill Americans.” Joe Scarborough, MSNow 5/6/26.
· “Donald Trump hates experts.” Joe Scarborough, 5/8/26.
News Notes: (5/7/26) Russia and Ukraine
· Russia has announced that it is “escalating the temporary transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children to participate in Russian-run summer camp programs in occupied Ukraine and Russia.” (quote from Institute for the Study of War, ISW).
· Russian Cossack organizations are “increasingly penetrating the school system in occupied Ukraine” (ISW)
· Artek International Children’s Center (sanctioned for its role in the forced transfer, deportation, and re-education of Ukrainian children) is “becoming increasingly involved in the production and provision of components for the Russian military.” (ISW)
· Ukraine has now survived four winters of systematic Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure. Kviv Independent.
· The Insider: Secret program which teaches hacking inside Bauman University. Instructor GRU. Also criticizing the Russian elite. There is disaffection with Putin.
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Ehlers-Danlos syndrome – Johns Hopkins Connective Tissues Disorder Clinic.
Morning Joe Gossip: Joe is driving everybody crazy, especially the dreadful Mika. I think she’s going to run away with the weatherman, Bernie Rayno.
News Notes: Russia (5/8/26)
· The Economist is reporting on a document indicating that Russia at one point offered to provide Iran with unjammable dromes to fight the United States.
· Economist: “Now a confidential document obtained by the Economist from a trusted source suggests that Russia has offered to provide Iran with unjammable drones and training on how to use them against American troops in the Gulf and perhaps elsewhere. Until now, …Putin’s government is tougt to have provided intelligence that enabled Iran to target American forces in the Middle East. This is the first evidence that it may also have offered to supply innovative weapons in large enough numbers to inflict many casualties on American and allied forces….The secret plan involves Russia providing Iran with 5,000 short-range fibre-optic drones of the sort used in the war in Ukraine, an unknown number of longer-range satellite-guided drones, and training to use both. It is contained in a ten-page proposal prepared by the GRU, the intelligence arm of Russia’s armed forces, for presentation to Iran.”
· “a remarkable document” Shashank Joshi, Defense Editor. “quite detailed”
· Joshi: The U.S. must realize its limits of leverage over Iran. The eventual plan will resemble the plan hammered out by Obama. Ramping up leverage through strikes has failed. Only 25% of millile launchers. Continued strikes represent “catastrophic consequences to the world economy.”
News Notes: Trump Administration
· The Washington Post is reporting that the national debt has taken a turn upward and Washington barely notices.
News Notes: Trump Administration Graft, Greed and Corruption
News Notes: Media: Steve Bannon (5/8/26)
· Bannon has Phillip Patrick, of the Birch Gold Group on his show going on about Biden and banks buying gold. They are also whining about the national debt, as if they had nothing to do with driving it into the sky.
Life Notes: Hiram Bernard
· Hiram is rail thin and has stopped eating on his own. We are now back to feeding him through a tube in his stomach. He went downstairs when I fed the other cats and bowl-shopped their bowls even though he hadn’t finished his own. That’s a good sign. We have another appointment next week, but we are both depressed with the fact that he went back to having to be fed. We are not ready for him to leave us. He is such a precious soul.
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Cashing in on the crown: How Trump turned the presidency into a personal money machine — The Insider
Donald Trump is the only billionaire ever to occupy the Oval Office, and since returning to the precedency in January 2025, his family’s wealth has grown…
— Read on theins.press/en/corruption/291857 -
Morning from coastal Georgia
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apple.news/ACcNqsY4pT5efg6wo3KzZwA
“Any lingering awkwardness between the hosts and their guest of honor was dispelled by the fundraiser’s $12 million haul, much of it from cryptocurrency moguls.”
Excerpt From
“The Venture-Capital Populist”
George Packer
The Atlantic
https://apple.news/ACcNqsY4pT5efg6wo3KzZwA
This material may be protected by
“In 2023, when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, Sacks demanded that the federal government bail out the uninsured deposits of start-up companies, much of the money from crypto firms. “Some libertarians care about the freedom of only one person,” Peter Thiel, the entrepreneur, investor, and right-wing provocateur, once said of his friend Sacks.”
Excerpt From
“The Venture-Capital Populist”
George Packer
The Atlantic
https://apple.news/ACcNqsY4pT5efg6wo3KzZwA
This material may be protected by copyright.
“After the election, the new president appointed Sacks as his special adviser, or “czar,” for AI and crypto. After decades of keeping as far from Washington as possible, Silicon Valley would finally have its own man in the”
Excerpt From
“The Venture-Capital Populist”
George Packer
The Atlantic
https://apple.news/ACcNqsY4pT5efg6wo3KzZwA
This material may be protected by copyright.
“The Stanford Review, the conservative campus publication that Thiel had started as an undergrad. It took aim at the politically correct orthodoxy and anti-Western ideology that swept over American higher education in the late ’80s and early ’90s and never really left. But the outnumbered young conservatives’ mockery almost always overshot the target. An entire issue was devoted to making light of rape, including a contribution from Sacks that challenged whether statutory rape should be a crime. (He has since expressed regret for some of his youthful writings.)”
Excerpt From
“The Venture-Capital Populist”
George Packer
The Atlantic
https://apple.news/ACcNqsY4pT5efg6wo3KzZwA
This material may be protected by copyright.
“But these 20- and 30-somethings were not inspired in the same way that the founders of earlier Silicon Valley companies were: “They didn’t follow the vision of Steve Jobs, that tech can democratize power. They came to get rich.” McNamee added, “If their value system had been different, we would have a completely different country today.””
Excerpt From
“The Venture-Capital Populist”
George Packer
The Atlantic
https://apple.news/ACcNqsY4pT5efg6wo3KzZwA
This material may be protected by copyright.
Law, Power, and Justice 