EconTalk, 05/25/26
Source: EconTalk
“Facing Death (with Sebastian Junger).” (05/25/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/facing-death-with-sebastian-junger/
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
Lebanon: Twelve killed in Israeli strike
Source: US News & World Report
“An Israeli airstrike on a village in eastern Lebanon killed 12 people, the country’s state-run National News Agency said Tuesday. The strike late Monday in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley area came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had authorized more intensive strikes targeting the Hezbollah militant group across Lebanon. The Israeli military did not comment on this particular strike, but said Monday that it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in eastern Lebanon. Rescue workers say that a dozen bodies were pulled out of the rubble following an intense wave of overnight strikes targeting swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon.” (05/26/26)
Support Our Troops: What It Really Means
Source: Antiwar.com
by William J Astore
“‘Support our troops’ is a catchphrase, almost a mantra, often used by cynical politicians to suppress dissent about their disastrous wars of choice. Basically, dissenters are accused of being unpatriotic because their criticism allegedly betrays the troops and weakens national resolve. It’s a BS argument but it’s often compelling and even convincing to some. Americans have a civic religion defined by the Pledge of Allegiance, the flag, the National Anthem, military parades and pageantry, and U.S. history taught as heritage and as a celebration of American goodness and greatness. When you step outside of that, when you criticize it, dissent from it, you must be prepared to be attacked as a heretic.” (05/25/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/william_astore/2026/05/24/support-our-troops-what-it-really-means
Blanche cites nearby shooting incident in renewed White House ballroom whine
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The administration of US President Donald Trump has renewed its push to lift a court ruling barring progress on a new White House ballroom, once again citing gun violence as a reason for pursuing the construction. In a court filing submitted on Sunday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche argued it was ‘urgent’ that the ballroom be completed. ‘This is a terrible, tremendously harmful case to the United States of America, and all it stands for!’ Blanche [whined], denouncing the lawsuit that has paused construction. As justification, Blanche pointed to the events of last Saturday, when a 21-year-old suspect named Nasire Best approached a White House security checkpoint in Washington, DC, pulled out a gun, and started shooting. One bystander was injured. The suspect was killed after an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service agents.” (05/25/26)
Iran in Vain: Rooting for the “Bad Guy” is No Vice When Your Guy is Worse
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid
“Every Monday, Donald Trump announces an impending genocide of biblical proportions and every Tuesday he backs down at the last minute while reminding us that doomsday could still come at any given second but a big-beautiful peace deal is also really, really fucking close. The mainstream news mostly just seems to take all this diplomatic madness at face value while reminding us how impossibly complicated diplomacy is and that only their Washington trained experts can lead us through it. The only problem with that explanation is that all their think tank wonks seem to be chasing Donald from one flip-flop to the next like small-town weathermen covering big-town storms.” (05/24/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/05/iran-in-vain-rooting-for-bad-guy-is-no.html
Ukraine war: Russian regime threatens more Kyiv strikes, tells foreign nationals to leave
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Russia has threatened to launch a fresh wave of ‘systematic strikes’ against Kyiv, days after carrying out one of its largest attacks on the Ukrainian capital since the start of the war. The new strikes will target ‘decision-making centres and command posts,’ alongside drone manufacturing facilities in the city, Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement. Moscow has called for foreign nationals and diplomats to leave Kyiv ‘as soon as possible’ and warned citizens to stay away from administrative and military buildings. Large-scale Russian strikes on Saturday night killed four and injured about 100 people in Kyiv and other areas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Moscow said that barrage and threatened further strikes were in response to what it claims was a deliberate Ukrainian attack on a student dormitory in the town of Starobilsk on Friday, in which Russian officials said 21 people were killed.” (05/25/26)
Efficient Insider Trading and Public Corruption
Source: Pierre Lemieux
by Pierre Lemieux
“Economically and morally, there is nothing wrong, on the contrary, with insider trading as such. But there is everything wrong when it is done by corrupt rulers or their cronies.” (05/24/26)
https://pierrelemieux.substack.com/p/efficient-insider-trading-and-public
CA: Risk of large explosion at chemical tank is “off the table”
Source: USA Today
“The risk of a ‘massive explosion’ at a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has been ‘eliminated,’ local fire officials said on May 25, resolving what authorities described as a possible ‘worst-case catastrophic event.’ … Roughly 40,000 people were ordered to evacuate from Garden Grove, a city south of Los Angeles, after a tank storing a toxic industrial chemical overheated on May 21. Initial efforts to secure the tank failed, leading authorities to expand the evacuation zone as they warned the container could potentially ‘blow up.’ On May 24, authorities discovered a crack in the tank holding 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate. … Methyl methacrylate is a volatile, flammable liquid often used in the manufacture of resins and plastics, according to the EPA. California health officials said no exposure to the product is expected as long as evacuation orders are followed.” (05/25/26)
Trump’s Iran exit ramp is a long shot. He doesn’t have a better option.
Source: Washington Post
by David Ignatius
“President Donald Trump appears to be nearing an escape ramp from the Iran war, but it’s one that represents a risky bet that Tehran’s divided leadership will opt for postwar modernization rather than continuing conflict with the United States and Israel. Like most peace deals, the framework described by U.S. officials Sunday would be a series of compromises, well short of the capitulation that Trump sought when he joined Israel in launching the war on Feb. 28. The Iranian regime can claim victory simply by having survived the assault. If these hardline leaders continue to destabilize the region, however, the deal will probably collapse in another round of strife.” (05/25/26)
Former prosecutor calls for EU statute blocking US sanctions on ICC members
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“A former prosecutor at the international criminal court has called for an EU-wide statute blocking what she describes as ‘thuggish’ and ‘bullying’ US sanctions imposed on members of the court that are designed to send the court into oblivion. In February 2025, the US imposed sanctions on 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor as well three Palestinian organisations, in response to the ICC decision in 2024 to issue arrest warrants for members of the Israeli cabinet, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The US sanctions – which include travel bans and asset freezes – have locked judges out of the European financial system, making it impossible for them or their families to live normal lives.” (05/24/26)