Source: Reuters
“Days after the U.S. floated an offer in the hopes of re-opening negotiations, Iran on Sunday released a response focused on ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, where U.S. ally Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Tehran also included a demand for compensation for war damage and emphasised Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state TV said. It also called on the U.S. to end its naval blockade, guarantee no further attacks, lift sanctions and end a U.S. ban on Iranian oil sales, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said. Within hours, Trump dismissed Iran’s proposal with a post on social media. ‘I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, without giving further detail.” (05/11/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-rejects-irans-response-us-peace-proposal-unacceptable-2026-05-11/
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Joshua Mawhorter
“As kids we may remember the old trope — often seen on TV or in movies — where a stronger kid would overpower a weaker kid and use the weaker kid’s hands and arms to hit him, asking mockingly, ‘Why are you hitting yourself?’ Most adults would recognize this as illegitimate for obvious reasons: though the weaker kid’s hands are literally hitting him, he is obviously being coerced against his will, such that the stronger kid is the aggressor. While most adults would pride themselves on the ability to distinguish between external coercion and self-inflicted punishment, they often fail this when it comes to the state. In fact, this is the very core of Thomas Hobbes’s social contract theory — since the state represents the people by social contract, whatever the state does to an individual, that individual has consensually done it to himself.” (05/08/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/hobbess-state-why-are-you-hitting-yourself
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Adar Weinreb on the Israel-Palestine conflict.” (05/10/26)
https://rumble.com/v79n98s-ff-446-adar-weinreb-on-the-israel-palestine-conflict.html
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Vladimir Putin has said he thinks the Ukraine war is winding down, hours after he had vowed to defeat Ukraine at Moscow’s most scaled-back Victory Day parade in years and even as two of his senior aides played down the notion of a quick end to the conflict. ‘I think that the matter is coming to an end,’ Putin said of Europe’s deadliest conflict since the second world war. He said he would be willing to negotiate new security arrangements for Europe and that his preferred negotiating partner would be Germany’s former chancellor Gerhard Schröder – a choice unlikely to be accepted in Ukraine and the EU. However, two top Kremlin representatives played down any idea of a quick end to the war. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said this weekend that reaching a peace agreement on Ukraine would take a long time.” (05/10/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/10/vladimir-putin-suggests-ukraine-war-is-coming-to-an-end
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Since CNN’s launch, ‘the news’ has gone from short daily feeds covering pre-deadline events to 24/7/365 real-time coverage of far more things, in far more detail, by numerous and varied outlets. In theory, that should make the public much better informed than we used to be. We can know more OF what’s happened, and know more ABOUT what’s happened. In reality, I’m not sure our attention to important facts about important events has really increased. The 24-hour news environment seems far richer in sensationalism, pearl-clutching, and outrage bait than in useful information about the important stuff.” (05/09/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20610
Source: The Block
“Bitcoin briefly surged to reclaim $82,000 on Sunday following a weekend rally, while Sui saw a notable price increase driven by institutional developments. According to The Block’s crypto price page, bitcoin rose 1.4% to $81,700 as of 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, ET. Earlier in the day, the cryptocurrency rose above $82,200, the highest level since May 6. … Meanwhile, Sui emerged as the clear outperformer among altcoins today, surging 25% in the past 24 hours to $1.34, according to The Block’s price data.” (05/10/26)
https://www.theblock.co/post/400663/bitcoin-briefly-tops-82000-sui-jumps-25
Source: Reason
by Stephanie Slade
“The Dissident Right is furious with Neil Gorsuch for saying America is a creedal nation. That just goes to show how out of touch its obsessions are.” (05/09/26)
https://reason.com/2026/05/09/right-wing-influencers-dont-understand-what-makes-america-great/
Source: Axios
“Universities across the country are rescheduling or canceling finals after a cyberattack shut down a learning platform used by thousands of schools for course information and assignments. The attack comes at a critical moment for college students who are cramming for finals — and underscores education’s growing reliance on singular technology platforms. With caps and gowns already purchased at campuses across the country, several universities announced that the shutdown forced them to reorganize or scratch finals. … on Thursday, an ‘unauthorized actor’ made changes to Canvas pages, forcing the education tech giant to take the site offline. Personal information like names, email addresses, student IDs and messages appeared to have been breached.” (05/08/26)
https://archive.is/MAXUB
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Trita Parsi
“The war in Ukraine shattered a core assumption about great-power dominance: that size and military strength are enough to impose one’s will. Ukraine showed otherwise. With the right strategy, geography, and resolve, a weaker state can survive and blunt — and in key respects even defeat — a much stronger adversary. The United States now faces an uncomfortable parallel. The war with Iran is exposing similar limits to American power. For decades, U.S. grand strategy has rested on primacy — the belief that America’s unmatched military capabilities enabled it to uphold global stability and shape outcomes across regions. After the failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, many Americans have reached a stark conclusion: the cost of primacy is no longer sustainable — and no longer serves U.S. interests.” (05/08/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/war-with-iran/
Source: OilPrice.com
“Suspiciously well-timed oil and prediction market trades tied to the Iran-U.S. conflict totaled roughly $7 billion. Traders executed massive sell orders in Brent, WTI, gasoline, and diesel futures shortly before ceasefire announcements, strike delays, and Strait of Hormuz reopening news, with some accounts reportedly achieving win rates as high as 93%. Lawmakers and analysts suspect insider leaks, but investigations by the DOJ and CFTC face challenges as prediction markets and digital betting platforms make detecting illegal trading activity increasingly difficult.” (05/10/26)
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/7-Billion-In-Perfectly-Timed-Oil-Bets-Sparks-Insider-Trading-Fears.html
