Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“In the wake of Japan’s early general election on February 8, 2026, much of the commentary has focused on two major aspects: the landslide victory of Sanae Takaichi’s Jiyū-Minshutō (Liberal Democrat Party, LDP) of 316 seats; and LDP’s hardline shift against immigration and foreign workers. Underdiscussed, however, are the likely impacts the election outcome has on Japan’s economic fortunes.” (02/26/26)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Ben Armbruster
“Trump administration officials are apparently aware that Americans do not want to go to war with Iran. Indeed, poll after poll (after poll) shows that voters have no interest in starting another Middle East conflict, let alone embarking on an Iraq war-style regime change operation. But the White House is working on ways around that. Trump officials’ latest thinking, according to a new report from Politico, is to have the Israelis attack Iran first and hope the Iranian retaliation targets U.S. forces in the region, which, in turn the theory apparently goes, Americans back home would be more supportive of a U.S. counterstrike in defense of U.S. troops.” (02/26/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-iran-attack-americans/
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison
“Iran may be willing to accept a new nonproliferation agreement with limits far beyond what the Non-Proliferation Treaty requires, but it is not going to accept those limits indefinitely. You can have significant limitations on Iran’s nuclear program for a certain period of time, but you are never going to get those limitations made permanent. Smart negotiators would understand that and adjust accordingly. The U.S. has Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner instead.” (02/26/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-presidents-stupid-and-unrealistic
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter
“It truly is something to behold, the way President Donald Trump plays these Democrats like a cat swats around a mouse. The only difference in that dynamic is that the mouse can’t help itself; it doesn’t know it’s being played. Democrats…well, maybe they are only as smart as a mouse. It’s tough to know. The only things that can be known are just how pathetic Democrats are, and Donald Trump lives rent-free in their head, their dreams and in every breath they take. I expect pathetic Democrat activists to be able to control themselves about as well as a starved Pavlovian dog in a bell factory; they aren’t very bright and have spent their lives buying into the BS the leftist corporate media and their masters in the Democrat Party have been selling.” (02/26/26)
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman
“On October 30, 1938 a very young Orson Welles pulled a clever stunt. He masterminded a live radio dramatization of H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds, presented as if CBS was actually reporting on a Martian invasion. Although the program occasionally notified listeners that it was a dramatic presentation, not news, thousands of Americans panicked, packing churches, fleeing their homes, and jamming switchboards. Last weekend Citrini Research released a report — on Substack! — titled The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis. The report, which rapidly went viral, laid out a scenario for economic and financial chaos caused by AI, written as if it were a retrospective published after the dire developments it projected. … There are two distinct questions about the huge reaction to a report that didn’t actually contain any news.” (02/26/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/when-extraterrestrials-attacked-the
Source: Law & Liberty
by Helen Dale
“The latest tranche of the Epstein Files has fleshed out the sheer scale of the billionaire’s reach and highlighted the fragility of good character.” (02/26/26)
Source: Foreign Policy
by Anne Neuberger
“Innovative, low-cost weapons have destroyed sophisticated military systems that can be dramatically costlier to build and operate. Russian warships costing tens of millions of dollars have succumbed to semi-autonomous Ukrainian sea drones costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even cheaper commercial drones have not only destroyed million-dollar tanks but have also performed missions that were once only possible with advanced military helicopters. Countering these drones can drain the defender’s coffers. … The barrier to entry for sophisticated, high-impact warfare is collapsing with the global availability of cheap, powerful, and adaptable commercial technology. This new reality leaves policymakers and citizens grappling with a set of profound challenges. Countries are confronting central issues around these novel strategic asymmetries and how to control the proliferation of advanced weapons when they are built from commercial components.” (02/26/26)
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak
“In a market economy, a producer exchanges his product for money. He then exchanges the received money for the products of other producers. Alternatively, we can say that an exchange of something for something takes place by means of money. Things are, however, not quite the same once money is generated out of ‘thin air’ because of the expansionary central bank policies. Once money out of ‘thin air’ is employed, it sets in motion an exchange of nothing for something. This amounts to a diversion of resources from wealth generators to the holders of the newly generated money. In the process, wealth generators are left with fewer resources at their disposal, which in turn weakens their ability to grow the economy.” (02/26/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/02/what-causes-stagflation/
Source: Common Dreams
by Klaus Moegling
“The use of key security policy terms in public discourse is intended to suggest facts that serve to calm people down. However, there are many reasons for concern that could also trigger peace forces. Political scientist and historian Herfried Münkler called for a European atomic bomb as early as 2023. There is currently an increasingly heated debate about whether Germany should seek refuge under France’s nuclear protective shield in view of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. The leader of the Social Democrats in the European Parliament, Katarina Barley, also raised the issue of acquiring nuclear bombs as part of European armament in 2024. The German and French heads of government, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron, are also paving the way for talks on European nuclear armament and the extension of France’s nuclear umbrella, according to Merz in his speech at the Munich Security Conference in early 2026.” (02/26/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/no-nuclear-protective-shield
Source: Jacobin
by David Sirota
“With Donald Trump’s tariffs being ruled illegal, the government may be on the hook for up to $170 billion in refunds. Because Amazon helped conceal how much tariffs raised consumer prices, it will be easier for companies to hoard refunds for themselves.” (02/26/26)
https://jacobin.com/2026/02/tariffs-refunds-trump-bezos-amazon/