Between Conciliation and Coercion

Source: The Realist Review
by James W Carden

“Superimposing a coherent narrative where none likely exists in order to explain the policies of President Donald J. Trump is an deeply unenviable task, not least because of the famously mercurial nature of the President. In order to make sense of his policies toward Russia and Ukraine it helps to begin with the obvious: President Trump has set for himself the goal of winning a Nobel Peace Prize by the end of his term, as such, he will do almost anything to achieve it. It is the way in which he has gone about doing this that many find so confounding. Depending on your point of view, Trump’s approach has been either highly innovative or highly erratic.” (01/20/26)

https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/between-conciliation-and-coercion

Thomas L. Knapp

We’d Have Been Committed for Predicting Half of What Trump Has Done

Source: The UnPopulist
by Jacob Grier

“Today marks the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. We thought it would be the perfect occasion to look back at some of the low-lights of Year 1 of Trump 2.0 and imagine the diagnosis that the self-proclaimed cool heads would have ascribed to us Trump worrywarts if we had predicted even a fraction of what His Orange Eminence and Wannabe Nobel Peace Laureate went on to do. Actually, we know their diagnosis because they were not shy about telling us.” (01/20/26)

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/wed-have-been-committed-for-predicting

Thomas L. Knapp

Defining peace in a Trumpian era

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“From Greenland to Ukraine to Venezuela, President Donald Trump has relied on a dizzying diversity of definitions for peace over the past year. They range from ‘peace through strength’ (using tariffs or troops) to temporary and shaky ceasefires. He has brokered deals that offer security if the United States gains natural resources or that assume economic integration between rivals can alone ensure tranquility. He overarchingly sees his role as a ‘president of peace’ (an allusion to ‘prince of peace’) and as deserving of winning a Nobel Peace Prize or, at least, an actual winner’s gold medal given to him this month as a gift of gratitude. Lately, however, he’s warned that he does not feel ‘obliged to think purely of Peace.'” (01/20/25)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0120/Defining-peace-in-a-Trumpian-era

Steve Trinward

MN: Tafoya launches US Senate bid

Source: CNN

“Michele Tafoya, a longtime sportscaster and conservative commentator, has officially announced she will run for US Senate in Minnesota, giving the Republican Party a well-known candidate in a state that’s being roiled by the ongoing federal immigration crackdown. In a video announcing her campaign launch on Wednesday morning, Tafoya said: ‘For years, I covered the biggest football games in America,’ adding that ‘it taught me about how leadership really works when leaders are prepared and accountable.’ … The broadcaster’s entry jolts an already dynamic contest set off by Democratic Sen. Tina Smith’s retirement announcement last year. Meanwhile, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is weighing whether to launch a run for governor that could further disrupt the state’s political landscape.” (01/21/26)

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/20/politics/michele-tafoya-us-senate-minnesota

Thomas L. Knapp

Meta lays off hundreds in Seattle area

Source: Seattle Times

“Meta is laying off 331 workers in the Puget Sound region as part of broader cuts to its virtual reality division. The Facebook parent company last week said that it was cutting about 10% of its 15,000-employee Reality Labs division as it shifts resources away from what it called the metaverse to wearables like smart glasses. … Reality Labs has been a key part of Meta’s postpandemic growth in the Seattle area. … Meta’s layoffs are the latest to hit the local tech industry over the past year of cuts, including some made by the company in October that hit its artificial intelligence teams.” (01/20/26)

https://archive.is/SUZLa

Thomas L. Knapp

“Might Makes Right” Will Not Be Effective, Even in the Western Hemisphere

Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland

“‘The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must’ is a quote that has come down through the ages from the Greek historian Thucydides’[s] History of the Peloponnesian War, written in 416 BC. It has come to encapsulate the ‘might makes right’ philosophy in international relations and is embraced by some in the realist school of foreign policy. Such realists are mostly right about how the world still works, but have a PR problem in today’s milieu of woke platitudes in international relations. Despite the fact that the balance of power and spheres of influence still shape the worldview of the vast majority of global leaders, some of these strong countries usually dress up the reasons for their military interventions in terms of democratization, humanitarian ends, or their national security.” (01/20/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/01/20/trump-greenland-foreign-policy/

Thomas L. Knapp