“Ukraine is losing the land in the war that they refuse to lose in the peace. But, for Zelensky, losing the war may be preferable to losing the peace. The result will be the same for Ukraine, but perhaps not for its president. If Ukraine loses the peace, Ukrainians will blame Zelensky. But if Ukraine loses the war, Zelensky can blame the U.S. and Europe.” [editor’s note: Ah a little bit of progress — After nearly four years of the Russian forces failing to secure the Donbas, Snider has progressed from “Ukraine CAN’T WIN” the war to “Ukraine IS LOSING” the war. Maybe he’ll eventually figure out that this war, like all wars, only has losers (excepting political class profiteers) – TLK] (02/04/26)
“Tunisian lawmaker Ahmed Saidani has been arrested by police, a move seen as part of a larger crackdown on critics of President Kais Saied. Saidani had recently criticized Saied on social media, mocking him for the lack of significant achievements, leading to his arrest. … The arrest highlights the growing tension in Tunisia, as the government appears to tighten control over political expression and opposition voices.” (02/04/26)
“Given current realities, it’s hard to turn away from the immediate economic and political situation, but sometimes an overflow of ignorance demands it. The claim that a country is facing a crisis due to a falling birthrate should be an immediate signal that you are not hearing from a serious person.” (02/04/26)
“By any reasonable standard, most of Trump’s tariffs are plainly illegal. Two lower courts have ruled against them. The Trump administration appealed those decisions, and in early November the Supreme Court heard arguments on the case. Many businesses that have found it impossible to make long-term plans with the fate of the Trump tariffs in limbo eagerly awaited the Court’s ruling. They’re still waiting. And I can’t see any plausible explanation for the delay other than Supreme cowardice.” (02/04/26)
“The Trump administration on Wednesday pushed for a trade system involving price floors for minerals during a summit it held with representatives from multiple nations. Vice President J.D. Vance announced the price floor initiative at the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting at the State Department. ‘This morning, the Trump administration is proposing a concrete mechanism to return the global critical minerals market to a healthier, more competitive state: a preferential trade zone for critical minerals protected from external disruptions through enforceable price floors,’ Vance said.” (02/04/26)
“Robby Soave delivers his radar on the recent raid of offices of the social media platform X in France, and the concerns about X’s AI chatbot Grok” (02/04/26)
“When Don Lemon was arrested after reporting on the aggressive protest of a church … the Trump administration claimed that Lemon and another journalist present at the event had violated federal laws meant, in part, to shield churches from having their services disrupted. The administration’s message was clear: Disrupting church services and taking away the right of others to worship freely and in peace is unconscionable. How dare protesters infringe on those congregants’ First Amendment rights! Who would do such a thing? Well, one of the first things this White House did after Donald Trump’s second inauguration was to rescind the 2021 guideline that required CBP and ICE agents to do everything in their power to avoid conducting operations in or near ‘protected areas’ like churches, hospitals, and schools. It wasn’t long before agents were showing up at just those sorts of places in the apparent hope of surprising their targets.” (02/04/26)
“European lawmakers from three left-leaning parties said Wednesday the EU should investigate TikTok over allegations of censorship [sic] in favor of the right. One of TikTok’s new owners as of late January is a Donald Trump ally, Oracle’s Larry Ellison. Users say that since the change in ownership, the platform has censored [sic] hot-button issues in favor of the president and his political camp, according to reports — including limiting posts about the Epstein files and protests against U.S. border agents in Minnesota. TikTok said some users have experienced disruption due to technical issues.” [editor’s note: TikTok is not a government and has no power to censor, just to control how its own property is used. It will be interesting if a government “nudged” them, though – TLK] (02/04/26)
