“Floating armoury” ship reportedly seized by Iran

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“A vessel reportedly operating as a ‘floating armoury’ in the Gulf of Oman has been seized by Iranian military personnel, according to the maritime risk management company Vanguard. The ship is now ‘bound for Iranian territorial waters,’ the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation said. BBC Verify has checked ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic which shows the vessel – identified by Vanguard as the Honduras-flagged Hui Chuan — last broadcast its location 70km (40 miles) north-east of Fujairah in the UAE on Wednesday. Hui Chuan’s operators told Vanguard it was operating as a floating armoury which stores weapons for security firms who protect ships at sea from attack by pirates. BBC Verify cannot confirm what was on the ship or who it was used by.” (05/14/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx219xwxg9no

Steve Trinward

How CEOs Use “Neutral” Legislature Group to Indoctrinate State Lawmakers

Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish

“Executives from Amazon, Walmart, and scores of other anti-worker, anti-regulation corporations are paying millions to influence elected officials through the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), researchers and former lawmakers who have attended the meetings told the Prospect. In exchange for donating to the NCSL Foundation, the NCSL allows executives to set conference agendas and put their preferred speakers on panel discussions about policymaking, they said. The arrangement is giving corporate interests significant power to shape how lawmakers think about issues, especially those in which they have little or no expertise, these critics say. The benefits go well beyond those that the NCSL Foundation says on its website come with the annual sponsorship fees at various price levels, such as invitations to meetings.” (05/14/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/05/14/how-ceos-use-neutral-legislature-group-indoctrinate-state-lawmakers-ncsl/

Steve Trinward

Cuba: Regime considers $100 million US aid offer as energy crisis worsens

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“The Cuban government says it is open to reviewing a US offer of $100m (£74m) in aid, hours after rare protests over worsening power cuts erupted on the Communist-run island. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on Thursday that Cuba was ‘ready to hear the details of the proposal and how it would be implemented’. The shortages have been exacerbated by a US-imposed blockade of oil which has squeezed the country’s supplies of essentials such as diesel and fuel oil. Hospitals have been unable to function normally, and schools and government offices have been forced to close. Tourism, an economic engine for Cuba, has also been impacted.” (05/14/26)

http://bbc.com/news/articles/cd7pyrj0vx7o

Steve Trinward

How McCarthy scared America silent

Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by David Volodzko

“This year, the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, FIRE is proud to present the limited series ‘Figures of Speech,’ looking at the heroes and villains of free speech in American history. We begin with Joseph McCarthy, the senator who became our censor-in-chief and gave us a new term for political oppression: McCarthyism.” (05/14/26)

https://www.fire.org/news/how-mccarthy-scared-america-silent

Thomas L. Knapp

A Failing, Flailing President Supplicates Xi

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“To be clear, China has many significant problems of its own. It faces a demographic crisis: Its working age population has been shrinking for more than a decade. Its economy is deeply unbalanced, relying on unsustainable trade surpluses and unproductive investment to make up for inadequate consumer spending. Its economic growth is slowing. It suffers from high youth unemployment. Discontent is rising, held in check by autocratic, police-state measures. But despite China’s domestic troubles, in geopolitical terms China is on the ascendant. Trump’s visit to Beijing is a field trip by a failing, flailing would-be autocrat pleading with a real strongman, who leads a much more serious country, to bail him out of the mess he’s made.” (05/14/26)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/a-failing-flailing-president-supplicates

Thomas L. Knapp