Category Archives: Global Issues

What’s Going on With Shipping?

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My New Year’s resolution: Throw some new things at you in these posts!

Truth: I spend a lot of time on my phone. I used to listen almost entirely to audio podcasts, but a lot of podcasters have added a YouTube channel to their productions, so now I watch/listen to YouTube as well. “The Almighty Algorithm” suggests a lot of things, I try out a fair number of them, click away after a few minutes and try something else. But today I’m offering you a link to a channel that has really caught my attention recently.

The host, Sal Mercogliano, has a long history in the maritime industry. Through his posts, I’ve learned about the rash of Russian vessels sinking recently in the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. Who knew?

Other posts talk about the size of container vessels, the problem of too many goods going one direction and too few goods going the other direction, and the need for the US Navy to have a sizable merchant marine fleet to assist with deliveries, and other functions. Again, who knew? And who knew that American ship-building capacity has dwindled since the demise of the Soviet Union whereas China’s has increased rapidly.

If you take a look around your home and around your community, the importance of shipping to our privileged lives is obvious. But we just don’t think about it much. Spend a few hours in 2025 learning more about shipping!

Sources and Methods

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Good morning, readers,

I have been speechless for a while, but I thought I could at least share with you some of the things I pay attention to when I’m not reading or watching mainstream news. I just never watch news on TV anymore unless I know there’s a storm coming. But I’m not totally ignorant of what’s happening in the US and the rest of the world. So here are some of the sources I find useful to keep tabs on the various wars, elections, and other info.

Click on these links. Seriously! Watch and listen to a few. When I insert links into blog posts that I write, they rarely get any clicks. Perhaps when I feature them in this way, you’ll take notice.

Ukraine: The Latest
At the start of the invasion of Ukraine, David Knowles, a young journalist with The Telegraph, gathered fellow journalists to keep people informed about military news, political news, and personal stories about what’s happening in Ukraine. David died suddenly a few months ago, but his colleagues have kept the work going.

Battle Lines
Battle Lines is also a podcast from The Telegraph. I don’t love it as much as the one focused on Ukraine, but Battle Lines covers a lot more territory. It’s a source of news about Africa, which we don’t hear much about elsewhere, as well as the middle east and Ukraine.

Preston Stewart
Preston Stewart is an invaluable resource if you want to understand the wars in Ukraine, Israel, and now Syria. If he is out of his element, he provides links to excellent resources. He’s also a quick study, so he will be well informed tomorrow, if not today. Stewart has several worthy news sites to check out.

Passing Judgment
Are you tied of war news? Then tune in to Passing Judgement. Law professor Jessica Levinson offers clear, articulate information on current legal affairs, often with interviews of people with knowledge of particular cases or issues.

Call Me Back
Dan Senor offers daily updates on the situation in Israel. I find him to be a welcome counter to the mainstream media in the US and UK. Lots of interviews with key Israeli journalists and good information about Israeli politics.

Quillette Podcast
I trust Quillette on culture war issues. Jon Kay and Iona Italia interview people immersed in various culture wars in the Anglosphere.

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression has taken over the job of protecting our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly. The ACLU abdicated this role in favor of defending Woke, so keep up to date on this critically important work via So to Speak.

Health Check
This is a BBC podcast that I’ve listened to for as long as podcasts have been a thing. Yes, it discusses issues within the context of the UK’s National Health Service, but the information about new approaches to many health conditions is useful, plus it features information about health concerns around the world.

Pacific Northwest Weather Watch
This is a new one for me, but I discovered it just before our recent wind storm. It was right on target.