“In a speech delivered in the autumn of 2002, as the United States moved inexorably toward war with Iraq, the late Joan Didion delivered an offhand remark that effectively summed up the flaw at the heart of the logic behind that coming war, and of the logic of a number of wars before it, and of a number of wars to come. Referring to ‘the ‘war on terror’ that the President had declared’ of which the operation against Iraq was the centerpiece, Didion added a parenthetical critique: ‘… as if terror were a state and not a technique.’ Twenty-three and a half years later, we live in the detritus of a general lack of understanding of precisely that point.” (06/03/26)
“Thousands of Albanians took to the streets of Tirana on Tuesday night protesting against a development planned by a company linked with Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on an environmentally sensitive part of the Adriatic coast. The €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) resort is being led by Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners on an island off Albania and an undeveloped stretch of coastline near the Vjosa-Narta protected landscape, a wetland home to flamingos, seals and sea turtle nesting sites. … Protests by locals and non-profit organisations started after large barbed wire fences were erected by developers at the proposed site in Zvernec, near Vlora. Several hundred gathered and clashed with private guards on Saturday and some were injured, a Reuters witness said.” (06/03/26)
“he United States and Russia have agreed on little in the war in Ukraine. The one thing they have agreed on is the existential necessity of avoiding a direct war between NATO and Russia, which could become a third world war or even a nuclear war. … The possibility of that caution failing is now at perhaps the highest level it has been at any time of the war. One flashpoint for a wider war is the Baltic states, while another is actually inside Ukraine, in the capital Kiev, which hosts American and European diplomats and military officers.” (06/03/26)
“President Donald Trump acknowledged criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as ‘crazy’ in a phone call that involved expletives, saying he was ‘a little bit perturbed’ that Israel’s fighting with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran. But even as the U.S. president conceded the tensions in an interview released Wednesday, he insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu was solid and that they connected, in part, because they are both ‘wartime’ leaders. … The president’s comments about the Monday call offered a sign of the growing pressure he faces to resolve the Iran war as higher energy prices and economic uncertainty threaten Republican prospects in the midterm elections and hamper global commerce.” (06/03/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
Connor O’Keeffe
“As Kevin Warsh takes over as chair of the Federal Reserve, investors and financial media outlets are looking closely for any hints at how his appointment will impact monetary policy. One series of comments Warsh made while testifying to Congress back in April as a nominee has been getting more attention in recent weeks, following some high inflation reports. Essentially, Warsh signaled that he believed in focusing primarily on inflation data from core or even trimmed price indexes. To understand what that means or why it matters, it’s important to note that, originally, ‘inflation’ was a term that simply meant the act of increasing, or inflating, the money supply.” (06/03/26)
“A prediction market reported U.S. Rep. George Santos to federal prosecutors after he boasted he’d be going to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, then bet against his own attendance, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Kalshi, the online prediction marketplace, referred Santos to the Department of Justice after detecting suspicious trades made by the former congressman ahead of Trump’s Feb. 24 speech, the person said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Kalshi also reported the trades to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal regulatory body that has vowed to crack down on insider trading in prediction marketplaces.” (06/03/26)
“James goes to Osaka for an informal book launch, speaks to the book’s translator, and pays respects to a dearly departed Corbett Report member. And he even encounters some facial recognition gates along the way!” (06/03/26)
