Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in a talk before reporters Monday ripped the Trump administration, blaming the US for giving into Iran’s demands that a peace framework incorporate the Lebanon front.

Trump “exerted pressure” on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu within several telephone calls “in the run-up to the signing of the memorandum of understanding” – and ultimately prevented Israel from disarming and destroying Hezbollah, he asserted.

Katz expressed “regret” at the US linking up Iran and Lebanon, saying: “The connection between the Iran and Lebanon fronts is an American interest; if there had been no connection between the fronts, Hezbollah would have collapsed.” 

Katz suggested the Israeli army was then forced to go to a “Plan B,” which he outlined as “pushing deeper into the ‘Yellow Line’ zone in southern Lebanon” – which extends nearly 10 kilometers into Lebanon, and mainly constitutes what the IDF currently occupies.

The Times of Israel bluntly put it as follows:

Briefing reporters, Katz claimed that had it not been for American pressure on Israel, the IDF would have caused Hezbollah’s collapse in Lebanon. He said the IDF had planned a “massive” aerial campaign that, he claimed, “would have dismantled Hezbollah,” and that the terror group was “begging the Iranians to save it.”

The defense minister blamed US President Donald Trump’s linking of the US-Iran talks with Lebanon for preventing Israel from doing so. According to Katz, when Trump “linked Iran and Lebanon,” Israel had to stop “bringing down buildings in Beirut,” but could carry out “surgical strikes” on Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital.

Katz emphasized, “I’m sorry about that linkage, but it was an American interest. They very much wanted to advance the possibility of negotiations with Iran.”

He also noted of recently strained US-Israeli relations, “when you enter into a partnership, it has advantages, but it also comes with certain constraints.”

“People should not hold their breath wondering where the next place will be from which Israel will withdraw in Lebanon, because it will not happen until Hezbollah is disarmed. We have no territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but until Hezbollah is disarmed, we will not withdraw a millimeter,” Katz added.

He also said, “When it comes to defending ourselves, there are no compromises, not in Lebanon and not in Iran.”

The defense chief then made clear that Israel is preparing to go it alone regarding Iran if need be:

“If Iran attacks, that is the third Iran war. The situation is very clear. There is no reality in which Israel will allow missile fire at its territory without responding with force. It could happen within two days. My directive to the IDF is to prepare for a blue-and-white operation in Iran.”

🚨Three remarkable comments from Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz today:

On the reported plan to topple the Iranian regime, originally prepared under former Mossad chief David Barnea:

“There were external actors who were supposed to join, but they did not allow it to…

— גיא עזריאל Guy Azriel (@GuyAz) June 29, 2026

The “blue-and-white” label is apparent reference to taking the war to Iran, but without external Washington help. However, it’s also clear that the Iranians have in the past been able to inflict serious damage on Israel, even when it did have active and significant US military support.

The defense minister also again admitted that Israeli intelligence has had assets inside Iran all along, but that these ground elements were prevented from orchestrating full regime change in the Islamic Republic.

Via Remix News,

Germany’s Verena Brunschweiger, a self-described “radical feminist,” is promoting the slogan: “My lineage ends with me.” She says she hopes to encourage people, especially White people, to stop having children.

She claims that Western pro-natalists only want to “control women, and keep refugees out.”

The article on her views, from Australian broadcaster news.com.au, is entitled: “‘My bloodline ends with me’: Why feminist ‘childfree icon’ wants fewer ‘white babies’ and more refugees”

The report quoted her as saying: “We have a proud slogan, ‘My bloodline ends with me.’ I think this is a responsible choice.”

Brunschweiger said that Europeans are to blame for the poor quality of life in Africa, and she would invite the entire world to Europe.

🇩🇪German feminist Verena Brunschweiger promotes the slogan “My lineage ends with me.”

She calls for people, especially White people, to stop having children.

She claims that Western pro-natalists only want to “control women, and keep refugees out.”

Brunschweiger said that… pic.twitter.com/8DGwDdQkQU

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 27, 2026

“So I would take all immigrants and refugees in because we ruined the world, so to speak.”

“We produce the climate change which makes life in Africa, for instance, miserable and horrible. So of course, why not invite [them] if they want to come?”

She said that in her home country, “populist nonsense” is being promoted by the German party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

In einem neuen Interview verkündet die kinderlose Verena Brunschweiger stolz, dass ihre Blutlinie mit ihr endet und das sei die verantwortungsvolle Entscheidung. Sie fordert weniger ‚weiße Babys‘ im Westen und attackiert Elon Musk sowie alle, die mehr Nachwuchs wollen, um die… pic.twitter.com/5Y7q3rpb2g

— Lexa 🇩🇪 (@rebew_lexa) June 29, 2026

She claimed the party wants Germans to have more babies so “they can say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, dear refugees, go back and drown or die or starve or whatever, because we have so many of our own people and we have to care for them first.”

“They say we need our own kids because German white kids are better than other kids who immigrate into the country,” she added.

“All the white people go, ‘Wouldn’t it be so horrible if we lost the white people, the white majority?’ They always want white women to have more babies to in order to be able to say, ‘Oh, stay the way we are, we are already full,’” she added.

She says Western countries have a moral duty to accept refugees.

“Because we produce all the climate change and all those things which make them leave [their] country,” she said.

Despite immigrants producing children at a much higher rate than White people, especially African migrants, she dismisses any argument against restricting immigration.

She said that she “of course” targets Whites specifically to stop having children.

“My focus, and that’s what drives the AfD nuts, is we have to cut back our numbers,” she said.

Read more here…

A six-figure salary is considered low-income in a handful of California counties, according to the 2026 income limits set by the state’s Department of Housing & Community Development.

These new income limits, which took effect June 23, are used to calculate the cost of affordable housing for certain state housing assistance programs.

Most counties saw an increase in the cutoff for what is considered low-income, and seven counties—Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Santa Clara, Orange, and Santa Barbara—had their cutoffs set at six-figure amounts.

As Cynthia Cai details below for The Epoch Times, Santa Cruz County has the highest cutoff, with a limit set at $122,200 for a single-person household. This is a nearly 10 percent increase from the previous year, which set the low-income cutoff at $111,100.

For each additional person added to the household, the income cutoff is adjusted so that “income limits should be higher for larger families and lower for smaller families,” the Department of Housing & Community Development wrote in its memo.

Following Santa Cruz are three more coastal counties: San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin.

These three counties have cutoffs of $117,700 for single-person households, which is also an increase from the previous year’s limit of $109,700.

The low-income limit in Santa Clara is set at $113,700 for single-person households, and in Santa Barbara it is set at $102,000.

Two counties, however, are maintaining their low-income cutoffs from last year. Solano County will continue to use $76,950 as its limit, and Shasta will continue to use $54,500.

These figures come as housing and affordability remain top issues for residents.

“California home prices continue to be much more expensive than the rest of the US,” the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) reported in its 2026 Housing Affordability Tracker.

A mid-tier home, or the average-value middle-market property, costs around $775,000 in California, according to the LAO. That’s nearly double the national average of $398,771 for a mid-tier house, according to Redfin.

The Golden State saw a rapid home price increase of 14 percent per year during the pandemic from 2020 to 2022, the LAO stated. But home price growth has slowed down since then. The average price of a mid-tier home is currently increasing by approximately 1 percent per year.

“While home prices have stabilized, housing has become less affordable for most Californians in recent years” due to incomes failing to keep pace with the increase in housing costs, the LAO added.

As a result, only about 23 percent of households would qualify for mid-tier home mortgages in 2026, down from roughly 31 percent in 2019.

The state’s low homeownership and higher-than-average rental costs and home values were also noted in a recent report by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), which said the state “has a housing problem.”

“Homeownership is the second lowest in the nation, and housing has become a dominant reason people leave the state,” the report states.

“Two of every three Californians say the cost of housing is a ‘big problem’ in their part of California.”

Ownership is particularly low among young adults, with about 31 percent of people between 30 and 34 years old reporting owning their own home. The national average for homeownership among that age group is about 49 percent.

Rental costs in California also exceed the national average by about 40 percent, the PPIC reported. The average cost to rent is about $2,159 in California compared with the national average of $1,526.

The PPIC noted that coastal cities face the highest costs, and large numbers of people are relocating inland, where costs are lower but housing supply struggles to keep up with demand.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

A theme park in Britain has received intense backlash for marketing exclusive access, halal vendors and Islamic stalls, effectively sidelining non-Muslims.

Gulliver’s Land in Milton Keynes is handing its rides and grounds to a day promoted as reserved exclusively for the Muslim community. Organisers described it as a “Muslim Theme Park experience” with unlimited rides, halal food vendors, Islamic stalls, kids’ activities and limited tickets sold primarily to that group.

Promotional material from Mubarak Moments, the group behind the event, highlights “a theme park reserved exclusively for the Muslim community” and “exclusive access… for one evening only,” effectively confirming the event is a faith-targeted buyout of a family theme park.

Another day in 2026 Britain: Gulliver’s Land hosting a ‘Muslim Theme Park Experience’ with halal only vibes and Islamic stalls.

Faith, fun & family… for some. Where’s the English family day?

Imagine the outrage if they had an English only day. pic.twitter.com/27zDtZJsb7

— British Bastard ?? (@BritishBastardX) June 29, 2026

A Milton Keynes local community hub post on Facebook stated “This event has been independently organised by a Muslim community group, so naturally its primary focus is on bringing the Muslim community together, just as any community group would when organising an event for its members.”

The post continued, “That said, there is nothing to suggest that people of other faiths or backgrounds are unable to attend and enjoy the event. Everyone is welcome to attend in the spirit of mutual respect and understanding.”

It added, “As with any community-led event, it is expected that those attending will be supportive of the organisers, respectful of the event’s purpose, and considerate of everyone present.”

Some suggested the event was fake, manufactured as rage bait, but the organiser’s original post is here:

Note how the image on that post features a Muslim family, where as in the other image that element has been removed.

Responses poured in immediately. One user summed up the widespread frustration: “Two-tier Britain in full effect. While English culture gets sidelined and mocked, we’re funding and celebrating parallel societies on our own soil. Gulliver’s Land should be for British families, not imported theocracies.”

Exactly.

Two-tier Britain in full effect.

While English culture gets sidelined and mocked, we’re funding and celebrating parallel societies on our own soil.

Gulliver’s Land should be for British families, not imported theocracies.

This nonsense ends when we take back…

— Harry Lines??????? (@HarryLines7) June 29, 2026

Others asked the obvious follow-up questions that never receive answers from officials or venue managers: when is the Christian family day, the English-only evening, or the Jewish community slot? Calls for boycott spread quickly. Several noted the hypocrisy directly: if the same marketing had read “reserved exclusively for the English community,” every equality body, media outlet and politician would have descended within hours.

How does this support multiculturism – this is deeply divisive.
When will people be told to sit at the back of the bus for segregation! Wake up to Racism in all its guises!

— MPsFailPeople (@MPsFailPeople) June 29, 2026

When is the Christian, Jewish, Sikh Theme park experience day?

— Ben Graham (@BenGrahamUK) June 29, 2026

not very inclusive

— The Celtic Patriot (@Celticpatriot_) June 29, 2026

While Americans reading this might think it’s another example of how far teh UK has fallen, this is also going on over there, in Texas of all places.

Earlier this year a taxpayer-funded indoor waterpark in Grand Prairie, Texas – the $88 million Epic Waters facility built with public sales tax money – advertised its 3rd Annual DFW Epic Eid celebration as a “Muslims only” event. Flyers specified modest dress rules including burkinis for women, halal-slaughtered meat, a private prayer room, and Islamic etiquette such as lowered gaze around the opposite sex.

Backlash forced organisers to edit the language to “modest dress only” and “all are welcome,” yet the underlying restrictions remained visible in FAQs. Critics pointed out the obvious double standard: a publicly funded venue effectively closed to regular visitors for a faith-specific gathering.

The outrage was immediate and effective. Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatened to withhold $530,000 in state grants from the city if the discriminatory event proceeded. Grand Prairie officials canceled it.

Perhaps an even more disturbing development in Texas is the East Plano Islamic Community project, rebranded as The Meadow. This planned development of 1,000 homes, a mosque and schools has drawn concerns over potential Sharia enforcement inside what amounts to a parallel community.

NEW: ‘Muslim City’ in Texas gets legal win after a judge ordered that the state must comply with developers.

The East Plano Islamic Community (EPIC), which has now been rebranded to The Meadow, will feature 1,000 homes, a mosque, schools, and more.

Texas leaders are worried… pic.twitter.com/HoSvNeV307

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 30, 2026

Governor Abbott has been clear that Sharia law, Sharia cities and no-go zones have no place in Texas. Developers still secured a legal win ordering state compliance.

Meanwhile, back in the UK, multiple landlords have advertised rental properties exclusively for Muslims in breach of the Equality Act 2010. Ads on Facebook, Gumtree and Telegram specified “Muslim only,” “only for Muslims,” or “for 2 Muslim boys or 2 Muslim girls.” Some targeted Muslim students only. These are not fringe cases. Investigations found dozens of such listings operating in plain sight while authorities focus enforcement resources elsewhere.

Any native British landlord attempting the reverse – advertising “English only” or “Christian only” – would face immediate investigation, fines and media pile-ons. The asymmetry is the definition of two-tier treatment.

Britain’s own institutions have tilted the field further. All members of the government’s “anti-Muslim hostility” advisory group have documented links to Islamist organisations. The state effectively handed rule-writing power over “hostility” definitions to the very networks that benefit from reduced scrutiny.

Schools received official guidance urging staff and pupils to report perceived “anti-Muslim hostility,” creating an Orwellian atmosphere where questioning Islamic practices or parallel societies risks being treated as thoughtcrime.

The same authorities that move swiftly against native dissent have shown remarkable tolerance for actual criminal networks. Sadiq Khan once claimed there were no grooming gangs in London. Police are currently investigating around 4,000 cases.

None of this is about preventing people from celebrating their faith. It is about whether public venues, taxpayer assets and the legal system treat every community by the same rules. When theme parks, waterparks and housing markets begin carving out faith-exclusive zones while the host population is told any reciprocal preference is bigotry, the social contract fractures.

Texas demonstrated that elected leaders can still draw a line against explicit religious discrimination in public facilities and win. Britain’s trajectory has been the opposite: accommodation of separatism, institutional capture by one-sided “hostility” definitions, and native families left wondering why their own cultural continuity receives less protection than imported alternatives.

The Gulliver’s Land episode is simply the latest visible symptom. It will not be the last unless the underlying policy of mass low-assimilation immigration and selective multiculturalism is reversed. Equal rights mean equal rules. Anything less is not tolerance – it is managed decline.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Latvia has announced confirmation its government has inked a new deal for Ukraine to assist in a Ukrainian drone manufacturing plant on Latvian soil, right near the border with Russia, as well as close to the Belarusian border.

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said following an emergency cabinet meeting held in Latgale that his country will “accelerate plans to establish a joint drone manufacturing facility with Ukraine and aims to locate it near the country’s eastern border region,“ regional media reports.

The small Baltic country has been a member of NATO since 2004, and along with other allies like Estonia and Lithuania (both of which also joined NATO during the mid-2000s expansion wave).

These Baltic states have remained outspoken in their anti-Moscow hawkishness, and this latest announced plan of Latvia to produce drones with Ukraine once again reveals that there’s no heed being given to Russia’s red lines.

The Kremlin has for years warned European states that constant NATO and military infrastructure expansion right up to Russia’s borders could trigger major war. Of course, in Ukraine it has, but fears remain that some kind of major provocation could result in direct Russia-NATO conflict.

Regional media is really emphasizing the closeness of the planned facility to Russia:

Kulbergs said the agreement on cooperation in the field of unmanned systems, signed at the beginning of June, includes plans for joint production. In particular, a manufacturing facility is to be built rapidly near Latvia’s border with Russia.

The prime minister said the government would do everything necessary to ensure the facility is located close to the border. He added that the region needs economic activity, investment and jobs.

So now these Baltic leaders are just openly prodding and provoking Russia, it seems.

The Latvian leader after saying all of this is still promoting the ‘defensive’ nature of such a joint drone program: “Kulbergs also said that new counter-drone systems are expected to become operational along Latvia’s borders with Belarus and Russia in July and August, allowing the country to respond to aerial threats without deploying aircraft on every occasion.”

“If there is a drone threat, we will not have to scramble aircraft every time. It is a very expensive and effective solution, but it is neither the best nor the most efficient one,” he said further.

There’s been a heightened spillover threat of UAVs from the context of the Russia-Ukraine theater, however, in some cases these have been reported to be errant Ukrainian drones, and not just Russian ones.

Russian media has really seized on this trend…

Latvia and Ukraine to build interceptor drones together — to defend Latvian airspace from drone incursions

Every drone that has breached Latvian airspace has been UKRAINIAN

Kiev now manufacturing drones in Latvia to shoot down drones from Kiev? pic.twitter.com/JJjU9jaaoU

— RT (@RT_com) June 29, 2026

Kulbergs is also saying he hopes to reach Ukraine’s level of drone defense by the end of the year. The Zelensky government has over the past year been aggressively marketing its expertise to allied nations, and even in the Middle East in the context of the Iran war.

Via Remix News,

An overwhelming number of French people, totaling 83 percent, say they support the deportation of specific categories of foreigners currently residing in France, focusing particularly on delinquents, criminals, or the long-term unemployed, according to a recent CSA survey conducted for Europe 1, CNews, and the JDD.

For young people, 90 percent of them support deporting these categories.

This sentiment shows consistency across genders, with 82 percent of men and 84 percent of women in agreement. Socioeconomic data indicates 84 percent approval among lower socioeconomic groups, 87 percent among the inactive population, and 78 percent among higher socioeconomic professionals.

From a political standpoint, the desire to dismiss foreign delinquents, criminals, or long-term unemployed individuals consistently secures a majority regardless of party alignment.

On the left, sixty-nine percent of voters support the idea, which breaks down to sixty-six percent for LFI, seventy-five percent for the PS, and sixty-eight percent for the Greens. The sentiment is markedly stronger on the right, where ninety-six percent of Les Républicains voters favor the implementation of this process, closely followed by National Rally voters at ninety-three percent approval.

Incredibly, tens of thousands of foreigners with criminal records and deportation orders cannot be removed from France, often resulting in tragedy, including rapes and murders.

Regarding immigration in general, polling from Ifop and Odoxa routinely shows that between 60 to 70 percent of French believe there are “already too many foreigners in France” and that “welcoming additional immigrants is not desirable.”

This polling data emerges alongside ongoing political debates on the topic, such as statements from political figures like Eric Zemmour, who previously stated during an appearance on Europe 1: “I am for zero immigration but also for negative immigration.”

He said that legal immigration drastically increases the rate of overall immigration, notably through family reunification policies. He also said during the program: “I think we need to start remigration.”

Read more here…

Authored by Guy de la Bédoyère via DailySceptic.org,

Fear is implanted in us as a preservative from evil but its duty, like that of other passions, is not to overbear reason, but to assist it. It should not be suffered to tyrannise in the imagination, to raise phantoms of horror or to beset life with supernumerary distresses.

Samuel Johnson in the Rambler (1761)

No-one’s disputing that very hot weather can be challenging, even dangerous, for some people. But I’ve been fascinated by the news coverage of the heatwave over the last week or so, largely because I’m currently touring in the American West, as I often am. Reading the British news one could be forgiven for thinking the country was on the brink of destruction.

However, it also links into an accumulating culture of fear which is having a paralysing effect on wider society. It’s been developing for years, driven not only by a news media craving stories, but also government seeking ever more control over our lives, and a vast industry capitalising on promoting fear to sell solutions, reassurance and ‘peace of mind’.

Out here the weather is seriously dangerous in ways most of we Brits have little or no idea. About two weeks ago I was driving across South Dakota into North Dakota through epic downpours that were like carwashes for the gods, and in 80mph winds. But the place carried on, as we did. I drive around 10,000 miles in the American West annually and I have developed a healthy regard for the weather, without letting us stop what we’re doing. We simply adapt.

You might remember that in 2023 there was a heat dome over Texas. Since we were due to fly into Dallas Fort Worth, we were a little worried, thanks in no small part to the tireless BBC that left us and everyone else with the impression that all Texas was about to be obliterated in a conflagration.

Naturally, when we rolled up, we found Texas was hot but in a 100% operational state. Everything was working as normal. We went about our road trip as planned. In southeastern Texas we visited a forest, lush with leaves and long green grass. We found a couple of nonagenarians, who in Britain would have been locked in a freezer to save their lives, out walking as they always did. We told them about the news in Britain. They laughed and carried on.

The interesting thing is not then the heat, or in my case the torrential downpour across the northern Great Plains on a remote and almost entirely empty road, but the fixation in the media and government to turn everything into something to be terrified of.

In recent years, Covid was utilised as the pretext for driving hundreds of millions of people to the brink of – or even actual – mental breakdown from fear. Now it seems the long-term impact on wider society is becoming clearer though Covid is only one facet of a mesmerising array of reasons to be petrified. However, we also have it within us to drive ourselves mad with fear.

In his Journal of the Plague Year (1722) Daniel Defoe included this observation of how fear of the contagion could lead to irrational behaviour, when describing what had happened in 1665:

It was in those shambles that two persons falling down dead, as they were buying meat, gave rise to a rumour that the meat was all infected; which, though it might affright the people, and spoiled the market for two or three days, yet it appeared plainly afterwards that there was nothing of truth in the suggestion. But nobody can account for the possession of fear when it takes hold of the mind.

The Telegraph has an article about how school trips are shortening because “Anxious parents are cutting children’s overnight school trips short”:

Steve Hallett, the Director of Operations at Rock UK, which offers residentials at centres across the UK, said a typical trip has fallen from four or five days to two or three.

He said it was partly because of costs but also described an increasing trend of parents collecting their children early or even staying at the site after they drop their children off.

Mr Hallett added that it had become more common for children on residentials to sit out certain activities, watching from the sidelines.

“The level of anxiety is really high. Children who have come through that Covid age, we’re seeing a level of concern even about going outside let alone being away from home,” he said.

A source at another residential company in southern England said a traditional trip was “always a week long” but had shortened since the pandemic.

They said: “Since the pandemic, many parents won’t even allow their children to go on your typical sleepover with friends because of the safeguarding concerns… to go from never being away from home to being away from home for a week is a big thing. Children find it overwhelming and exhausting.”

They gave examples of parents raising concerns about their children being abducted, the food their children are eating and calling the centre during a trip saying: “I’m worried that my child’s going to be cold in the accommodation.”

“There is this anxiety and it’s not helping with the children’s resilience. Parents are less likely – because of those growing fears from the pandemic – to want to allow those children to go off and take those types of risks that allow them to build that resilience,” they added.

One wonders what sort of adults these children will grow into. Last year, Joanna Gray wrote a piece called ‘Why Do Schools Now Resemble Prisons?’ for this site. It’s a dystopian tale of a world of security fences, lanyards and lockdown drills. I can second that. After I left full-time teaching in 2016, I delivered a Classics day to sixth formers at a West London comp. It was a terrifying place. Just being let in was like trying to enter a US high-security establishment. Inside it was a seething mass of teenagers contained in their ‘safe and secure’ environment like battery chickens.

We can only hope that when they grow up and escape into the adult world, they can leave the nonsense behind them. But I’m afraid it’s all too likely that growing up in a climate of fear is encouraging a significant minority to hide at home, unable to contemplate either going to school or facing adult life.

Before I was 10 years old back in the mid-1960s, my idea of fun on a Saturday was to meet a schoolfriend in London, spend five shillings each on a ‘blue rover’ ticket and then pass the day riding around on the tube with a nebulous aim to travel from the end of each line to the other.

I don’t think it ever occurred to my parents either to discourage or even stop me. In 1970 I was fortunate enough to go on a school classics cruise around the Mediterranean on a battered old ship called the SS Nevasa. Twenty-four boys in the charge of one teacher and not a risk assessment in sight! I remember vividly how the captain reminded us sternly that we were embarking on the high seas and not to go near the rails in rough weather.

Fear is a very useful phenomenon. A fear of crashing waves, based on knowledge of what water can do, might keep one away from the end of a jetty or off the deck of a cruise ship in a storm. A fear of traffic helps keep us away from roads. One might take reasonable precautions to avoid catching a serious infection. But there is a limit. To return to Defoe again, representing himself in the first person as the anonymous ‘Citizen’ recounting his experiences:

I had two important things before me: the one was the carrying on my business and shop, which was considerable, and in which was embarked all my effects in the world; and the other was the preservation of my life in so dismal a calamity as I saw apparently was coming upon the whole city, and which, however great it was, my fears perhaps, as well as other people’s, represented to be much greater than it could be.

In other words, as Samuel Johnson noted, fear can assist reason but fear for fear’s sake can overwhelm us. It not only makes things seem far worse than they are but also cripples our ability to cope.

In a time of heightened scrutiny on the memory supply chain, overnight the world’s largest chipmaker, Taiwan’s TSMC, is reportedly building out a domestic DRAM supply chain in Taiwan amid a severe global memory shortage, bringing in Winbond as a partner, UDN reported.

TSMC and Winbond are collaborating on a localized DRAM supply chain using 3D wafer-on-wafer (WoW) stacking technology, where Winbond would supply DRAM memory wafers to be stacked with TSMC’s logic wafers. The move is designed to keep critical memory production close to home while feeding the demand of AI hardware.

Key details:

• The tech: WoW uses hybrid bonding to directly stack logic chips and memory wafers vertically, creating tens of thousands to millions of micro copper interconnects — shortening data transmission distance versus traditional packaging, with higher bandwidth, lower latency, and better power efficiency. It’s positioned as critical for AI servers, HPC, and edge AI devices.
• Why Winbond: TSMC’s WoW memory wafers have historically relied on Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. With global memory supply extremely tight and those three running near full capacity, TSMC is diversifying. Winbond’s long track record in niche/specialty DRAM and NOR Flash, plus its mature 12-inch wafer production, high yield, and quality control, made it a fit.
• Strategic angle: This is framed as TSMC cultivating a domestic supply chain to strengthen Taiwan’s self-sufficiency in AI chip components — elevating Winbond from a peripheral player to a core part of the global AI supply chain, and reinforcing Taiwan’s overall position in AI semiconductor manufacturing.
• Caveat: Winbond declined to comment on specific clients/deals, and TSMC had not responded by press time — this is sourced to unnamed industry insiders, not confirmed by either company.

Some more technical color on what Winbond actually brings: 

• Several outlets cite Winbond’s proprietary architecture called CUBE (Customized Ultra-Bandwidth Elements), described as purpose-built for WoW integration, with scalable memory density from 256Mb to 8Gb per die. Crypto Briefing
• Why now? Well, as everyone knows by now, the memory pricing backdrop is extreme, if not outright absurd, with all demand crushed except for (off-balance sheet_ debt-funded data centers .One analysis flagged that DRAM prices rising nearly 75% in early 2026, and with the memory crunch expected to persist until at least 2027, that’s the real catalyst pushing TSMC to diversify away from Samsung/SK Hynix/Micron.
• This is not Winbond’s first rodeo on this front. Separately, Winbond has also been building a DRAM foundry partnership with Elpida targeting graphics DRAM, not cutting-edge HBM — framed by one analyst as a resilience/diversification move for Taiwan’s supply chain rather than a direct challenge to Korean HBM dominance. 

That said, multiple outlets note that neither company has gone on record so far  “Specific details surrounding the TSMC-Winbond collaboration remain sparse, as neither company has issued significant announcements regarding the project”, consistent with the UDN piece’s framing that Winbond declined comment and TSMC hadn’t responded by press time.
If you want, I can pull Winbond’s stock reaction (2344.TW) specifically, or draft this into a quick ZeroHedge-style piece tying it to the broader memory-shortage/CXMT thread you’ve been tracking.

TSM gained 3.60% on June 29, with traders attributing the move directly to the Winbond partnership news. 

China imposed new export controls Monday on 40 Japanese entities it says are contributing to the country’s “remilitarization,” as tensions with Tokyo rise.

China’s Commerce Ministry on Monday placed 20 Japanese entities, including the National Institute for Defense Studies and research centers for ground, naval, and air systems, as well as multiple divisions of Mitsubishi Corporation, on a control list, which prohibits Chinese and foreign exporters from selling to them dual-use items made in China. Dual-use items can be used for both civilian and military purposes. 

Additionally, 20 other entities were added to a watch list requiring enhanced licensing scrutiny for dual-use items; it includes Mitsui E&S, which makes engines and other equipment for ships, divisions of Fujitsu and Komatsu corporation, drone maker Terra Drone Corporation, nuclear fuel processors, and multiple units of OKI Electric Industry,. 

Domestic exporters, as well as overseas organizations or individuals, are prohibited from transferring Chinese-origin dual-use items to the named entities, according to the statement, adding that any ongoing activities must stop immediately.

Chinese companies exporting to these firms will be required to apply for special licenses, submit risk assessment reports on the Japanese companies and written pledges that the dual-use items will not be used for military purposes.

Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have been increasingly tense since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year implied Japan could intervene if China used military force against Taiwan, an island democracy China claims as its own.

Meanwhile, Japan has accelerated its military expansion, especially by adding offensive capabilities, which Beijing has condemned.

The export controls are “entirely justified, reasonable and lawful,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said, adding they are aimed at “firmly deterring Japan’s reckless pursuit of ‘new militarism.’”

“We hope Japan will recognize its mistakes, reverse its wrongful course, genuinely reflect on its past and return to the right track,” it added.

Japan did not reflect and instead the country’s top government spokesperson called the curbs as “unacceptable and extremely regrettable,” while calling on Beijing to retract the measures.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Monday that Japan would take necessary countermeasures after thoroughly assessing the curbs and their impact.

Under Takaichi, Japan’s military has been equipped with more offensive capabilities, including long-range missiles on remote islands. Exports of lethal weapons are now allowed under a new policy. Japan will revise its defense and security documents by December, which could further increase its defense budget.

On Monday, Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force announced the deployment of a Type-12 missile launcher on the southernmost remote island of Minamitorishima, an apparent response to China’s growing activity expanding into the Pacific.

In February, China put an initial 20 Japanese companies on an export control list and 20 others on a watch list. The Commerce Ministry said that since then, “instead of reflecting on its past and correcting its course, Japan has continued down the wrong path” by accelerating remilitarization, deploying offensive weapons and launching missiles.

The ministry emphasized the curbs affect only a small number of Japanese entities, and the measures only apply to dual-use items. “They do not affect normal Sino-Japanese economic and trade exchanges, and honest and law-abiding Japanese entities have absolutely nothing to worry about.” 

The measures function more as a “diplomatic message” as Beijing steps up its pressure on Tokyo, said George Chen, partner for Greater China at the advisory firm The Asia Group.

“From Beijing’s perspective, Japan has not taken meaningful actions to stabilize bilateral ties,” Chen said. “And concerns are growing in China about deeper defense cooperation between Japan, the United States, and potentially other partners.”

In the short term, Japan–China relations will likely remain fragile “and at risk of slipping further if neither side moves to arrest the downward trend,” he added.

For Beijing, the issue of Taiwan is particularly sensitive. China considers the self-ruled island its own territory, to be retaken by force if necessary, and has increased military pressure on it.

Earlier this month, the Chinese coast guard conducted patrols east of Taiwan in what state media described a “pointed warning” to Japan and the Philippines following an announcement that the countries would discuss their maritime boundaries in waters that Beijing views as its own.

The United Kingdom, Germany and France in a rare joint statement last week condemned Chinese activities in the waters east of Taiwan, adding they opposed any change of the status quo between China and Taiwan.