According to the Gemini AI, the most streamed event in history was the November 15, 2024 professional boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which attracted an estimated global audience of just over 100 million, peaking at 65 million concurrent live viewers. I’ll admit I only vaguely remember anything about that sports event and until I glanced at the Wikipedia page wasn’t even sure which boxer had won.

Would a Billion People Watch the "High-Tech Duel" That Decided the Ukraine War?

RON UNZ

Eight persistent economic myths help protect vested interests, deepen inequality and accelerate environmental destruction. The economy must be rebuilt around wellbeing, sustainability and justice.

Australia and the world are facing existential and other major human-induced threats: climate change; destruction of our life support system, the natural environment; social breakdown due to increasing gaps in wealth, income and political power; a severe shortage of housing; inflation; and a high risk of nuclear war.

Mark Diesendorf

The funeral insurance industry has one design flaw it cannot fix: the customer who wins is the one who dies promptly. David Tyler reads the fine print.

This writer is turning 78 next month, but refuses to hear the final siren. But let’s talk death. Or rather, a business everyone is dying to get into.

You’ve seen the ads. Actors of a certain age, silver but sprightly, provident to a fault, ‘Doing The Right Thing’ by the grandkids with a few dollars a week. The soft piano. The kitchen bench. The promise that your family won’t be ‘burdened’.

Every time a house collapses in Gaza, it's not just walls and lives that fall. A photograph kept in a box, a letter written by a grandfather, a wedding program, a school map — proof that a family lived there — can also disappear. Wired magazine reported on July 6 how the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit is attempting to address this loss with a simple yet powerful idea: creating a digital archive that cannot be looted or erased.

How Palestinians Are Building a Digital Archive That Can’t Be Erased

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its naval and aerospace forces launched a joint missile and drone operation in response to the latest US attack on southern Iran, IRNA reported.

"In an initial response to the aggression, the IRGC naval and aerospace forces conducted a joint operation and attacked 85 important US military facilities of the US Navy's 5th Fleet in the Salman port in Bahrain, as well as the Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait using drones and missiles," IRGC said in a statement, as quoted by the Fars news agency.

The IRGC said the US “blatantly violated the ceasefire” and undermined the Islamabad agreement by striking coastal bases and non-military stations in Hormozgan and Mahshahr.

The IRGC also said it shot down a US MQ-9 drone that attempted to interfere in the operation.

The longer we wait for revolution, the more weapons they’ll have in place to stop us.

                       Caitlin Johnstone

GUSNOTE: TOO LATE... THE SYSTEMS ALREADY HAVE ALL THE WEAPONS THEY NEED TO DEFEAT A REVOLUTION... EVEN IN THE DAYS OF THE MOST FAMOUS REVOLUTION — AND I MEAN 1848 — THE STATES WIN. THE BOURGEOIS HAVE HAD THE UPPER HAND... THE REVOLUTION STARTED IN 1917 IN RUSSIA ENDED UP WITH THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION AND THE PSEUDO-CAPITALISATION OF RUSSIA.

On the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara, Ukraine and Russia seemed to be locked in a competition to see who can torch more of the opponent’s capital. Russia won.

On the night of July 7, Kiev launched over 430 UAVs at Moscow and the Moscow region – the biggest such attack in the past two years. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, over 95% of all Ukrainian drones launched that night were targeting the Russian capital. Russia shot down most of them well before they reached the capital, except 36, which were intercepted near Moscow.

Kiev lit the fuse – Russia lit up Kiev

Moscow deflected a huge UAV assault and dealt crushing strikes on Ukraine’s military production, exposing the mismatch in aims and effect.

By Nadezhda Romanenko

As Belgium responded to the corruption of Trump and Infantino in the best way possible by thumping the US soccer team, Andrew Brown sends birthday greetings to a foundering empire.

Dear America,

Happy 250th, mate.

Quarter of a millennium. Massive effort. Not many countries make it that far, and fewer still make it that far while holding a national debate about whether children deserve lunch.

You started with liberty. Then democracy. Then somewhere in the third act you flogged the lot to a private equity firm and kept the merchandise rights. Now you are three corporations in a trench coat, standing on an aircraft carrier,

screaming about freedom at a bloke who cannot afford an ambulance.

The democratic project is about more than elections; its institutions must be revitalised on the basis of fairness, respect, openness, integrity and trust.

The most obvious sign of democratic retreat in Australia is the rise of One Nation. Voters are supporting this racist and populist party because they are sick and tired of the untrustworthiness of our major parties, as shown in their response to the gambling lobby.

John Menadue

The United States’ military attacks on Iran and Venezuela, its support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and invasion of Lebanon, and its mounting economic blockade of Cuba are the issues which have most hit the headlines, in what is clearly a rising pattern of U.S. military aggression. Less reported, but also a powerful part of the same pattern, is U.S. participation in military attacks deep inside Russia. This fact that the United States is now prepared to militarily attack a nuclear armed state, something it has never been prepared to do previously, is itself a new qualitative escalation in U.S. willingness to extend the scope of military aggression. 

The Aims of NATO/U.S.-Organized Missile Attacks Inside Russia Go Far Beyond Russia Alone

By John Ross

President Donald Trump said earlier Monday that he didn’t know what a red card was before last Wednesday’s U.S.-Bosnia match.

But FIFA President Gianni Infantino actually gave him a lesson on soccer’s disciplinary system during a 2018 Oval Office meeting after the United States secured the right to co-host the 2026 World Cup.

During the visit, which followed the successful United Bid, Infantino explained the sport’s use of yellow and red cards before pulling one of each out from a case.

“In soccer we have referees and they have cards: yellow cards and red cards,” Infantino told Trump. “Yellow card is a warning, and when you want to kick out someone, a red card. Like this!”

Trump appeared amused by the demonstration.

In 2007 Vladimir Putin warned the West about pushing NATO further east... But the stupid boffins at NATO and the idiots of the West wanted to destroy Russia by using Ukraine as a battering ram... 

In one of the most explosive interviews of the year, George Galloway confronted Piers Morgan over the reality of the Ukraine conflict and the lack of historical accountability in mainstream media coverage.

"You're a FANBOY!" George Galloway SILENCES Piers Morgan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl3ni4l8aO0

The coming NSW ICAC hearings are only part of a deeper problem. Entrenched factional power, gambling interests and political cowardice are corroding trust in Australia’s institutions.

I cannot pretend to be terribly surprised or shocked to learn that the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption is soon to hold public hearings into NSW Liberal Party factional branch stacking, pre-selection rorts and receipt of prohibited donations, primarily from the real estate industry.

Jack Waterford

I received the following email and question from a friend, a man with extensive experience in the US defense realm, who is a solid analyst. His question is legitimate and I will attempt to answer it. He wrote:

Dear Larry 

I read your interesting message. I am at the hospital so I can is only use my phone. Here is my question. If your numbers are correct then how come the Russians seem to be unable to defeat the Ukrainians? They seem to find it difficult to make much territorial progress and now are under heavy pressure in Crimea. I also think they are having major problems defending critical infrastructure including refineries and ports and thus have serious fuel shortages.