Monday, October 20, 2025

Commodities: Why They Are a Challenge for Investors

Uncertainty is pushing investors to consider commodities but playing them is not as easy as you think!

Links 10/19/2025

The Sunday Movie Presents: Charade (1963) Run Time: 1H 56M

Charade is a romantic comedy-drama movie about thieves, money, and love in 1960’s Paris.

How a Bush-Era ‘Green’ Solution Made Climate Change Worse

Journalist Michael Grunwald digs into uncomfortable truths about food and agriculture in his new book, ‘We Are Eating the Earth.’ 

Links 10/18/2025

Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Amounts of Lead, New Report Says – A Pharmacologist Explains the Data

As whey and protein powders have moved from the bodybuilder/fitness community to the mainstream, a new study raises alarms about lead levels.

Book Review: The Mixed Blessing of Antibiotics

“Dangerous Miracle,” by Liam Shaw, is a sweeping account of the rise and precarious future of a live-saving antibiotics.

Coffee Break: Politics and Science and Politics, a Coral Catastrophe, Mamdani, and the New ICE Age

Part the First: Politics and Science.  It will be s surprise to no one that autism is somewhere nearby: Inside FDA, career staffers describe how political pressure is influencing their work.  The inquiry came in August and struck scientists at the Food and Drug Administration as highly unusual.  The leader of the center that regulates […]

‘We’re Not Going to Forget’: Pritzker Warns Trump Enforcers Miller, Homan, Bovino That Immunity Not Forever

Governor Pritzker has gotten out of bed to threaten Team Trump over ICE abuses. But this still amounts to a wet noodle lashing.

Links 10/17/2025

The Trump-Putin Phone Call: US Makes Process Concession to Russia and Trump Softens Stance on Tomahawks.

A reading of the Trump and Kremlin statements shows that most commentators are out over their skis as to what the Trump-Putin phone call portends.

How a One-Man Grassroots Campaign Scuppered the EU’s Latest Plan to Suffocate Online Privacy (For Now)

Could this campaign serve as a template for others aimed at preventing similar dystopian measures from becoming law in other ostensibly democratic jurisdictions?

Data Centers Spark Bipartisan Fury As Energy Costs Soar

Voters are waking up to the fact that their soaring electricity costs represent a big subsidy to data centers. What happens next?

Afghanistan–Pakistan Clashes in Middle East Context

Nothing exists in a vacuum. This is especially true when trying to understand the Middle East. There is no event that happens in this region that isn’t related to its overall direction. The recent clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be read in that light. When asked to explain what is happening between these two […]

What Does New High in US Stock Market Margin Debt Portend?

Looking at the significance, or not, of a record high in stock market margin debt.