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Odds and Ends — 19 June 2026

preparedwombat

Published: 19 Jun 2026 › Updated: 19 Jun 2026Odds and Ends — 19 June 2026

Odds and Ends — 19 June 2026

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Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:

Binance’s MiCA fight raises questions over ECB influence

Franklin Templeton Files for ETFs That Funnel Stock Dividends Into Bitcoin

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Immune system may attack nervous system in some Long COVID patients

Iran:

Trump in Defeat

The war, which the United States fought alongside Israel, accomplished none of the goals that Trump named at the outset. Instead, it only empowered the hard-liners in Tehran and arguably emboldened them to someday seek a nuclear weapon. Despite that, the president was so desperate for the war to end that he repeatedly backed off his threats—allowing Iran to call his bluff—and upbraided his close ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for responding to attacks in the region in a manner that jeopardized the negotiations.
Trump won’t admit to any of this. He has spent recent days furiously spinning the tentative deal as a clear win, and has seethed at unflattering comparisons with the deal that President Obama struck with Iran more than a decade ago, aides and outside advisers told me.

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Fox News Runs Supercut of Senators Ripping Trump’s Deal

Fox News put together a scathing supercut of U.S. Senators knocking President Donald Trump’s deal with Iran…

The Symbolism Isn’t Great

Are we sure that signing a peace treaty in Versailles — the literal home of terrible peace treaties — was a good idea?

Politics:

Trump’s Contradictions Reveal Fading Superpower Status

…the administration’s contradictions and obfuscations about the status, cost, rationale and resolution of the war reveal something different than officials intend. It’s not just that they appear to be in denial about what the conflict means. It has enabled the rest of the world to clearly see what the White House cannot acknowledge: The United States is no longer the world’s unquestioned hegemon, and the promise of its protection is not absolute. The war in Iran marks the end of any lingering illusions of American omnipotence.
Almost every end of empire has been accompanied by a particular kind of wishful thinking — call it self-deception, call it willful misdirection — to process the new reality.

Trump Compared Himself to Mao, Stalin, Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun

Orbán’s Media Empire Implodes After Election Defeat

Viktor Orban’s vast media empire, which played a key role in sustaining the Hungarian nationalist leader in power for the past 16 years, collapsed two months after a historic election defeat.
Hundreds of journalists working the pro-Orban Mediaworks Hungary Zrt. were reportedly given notices of termination this week and several publications will be shuttered and others rationalized.

Trump Blamed Greene for Threats Against Her Son

———— Stark. Raving. Mad. ————

Trump Says There Are ‘No Limits’ to His Power

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

New Mexico Epstein probe subpoenas US Attorneys' offices

Epstein files have emails about him looking into a baby farm and human cloning

———— Blatant In-Your-Face Corruption ————

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

Moscow residents complain of black rain after largest Ukrainian attack hits oil refinery

Suspect arrested in killing of Putin critic may have Russian intelligence links

———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————

Senate Threatens to Freeze Hegseth’s Travel

Senate lawmakers are threatening to freeze Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget if the Pentagon doesn’t turn over more details about the deadly bombing of an Iranian girls school in February and full videos of lethal strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in the waters off Latin America.

———— Mors Imperii ————

Call me Ishmael:

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“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.” – Plutarch

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