Bank of England bond sales don’t cost taxpayers anything

Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall

“It’s the original purchases that are costing the taxpayer money …. the loss was baked in when the Bank of England bought all those bonds back when. Buying gilts with 1/2% and the like coupons just was/is going to lead to a loss. A loss that can be taken in one of two ways but a loss which is going to be taken in one of those two ways. … The loss comes from having done Quantitative Easing, not from the clean up that is Quantitative Tightening. Sorry, there is no free money.” (06/10/26)

https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/bank-of-england-bond-sales-dont-cost-taxpayers-anything

ICE Occupation of Minneapolis Still Wreaking Economic Carnage

Source: The American Prospect
by Bryce Covert

“It was February in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Maria Gonzalez was leaving her hotel cleaning job. Thirty minutes later, a co-worker uploaded a video in their group chat that showed ICE agents storming the hotel and searching for Latino people as part of Operation Metro Surge. They eventually grabbed three of her colleagues and took them away; she believes that, had she still been at work, she likely would have been detained. … The hotel business tends to be weak in winter months, she said, but it nosedived starting in December as the surge began, which meant she was called in to work less. Then a week after the hotel incident, ICE showed up at her own door while she was at home with her husband and two teenage children, pounding and kicking it, demanding to be let in.” (06/10/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/06/10/ice-occupation-minneapolis-still-wreaking-economic-carnage/

Pakistan renews air strikes on Afghanistan, killing dozens

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“Pakistan has renewed deadly air strikes on neighbouring Afghanistan, officials in both countries said Wednesday, in the worst violence in weeks following a period of relative calm. Pakistan’s government said on Wednesday that 26 ‘militants’ linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group were killed in the attacks. … Islamabad accuses the Taliban government of sheltering militants behind a surge in attacks, particularly the TTP, which has waged a violent campaign against Pakistan for years.” (06/10/26)

https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20260610-pakistan-renews-air-strikes-on-afghanistan-killing-several

Pathology and Politics

Source: Quillette
by Ron Capshaw

“British author Josh Ireland’s account of Josef Stalin’s quest to liquidate Leon Trotsky is a story of pathology and politics. Ireland doesn’t spend much time on Lenin, who makes only spectral appearances, or on the ideological quarrels between Mensheviks, Leninists, Stalinists, and Trotskyists. He is preoccupied with the two personalities at the centre of his story: Stalin the obsessive hater and the hapless and suicidally negligent Trotsky.” (06/10/26)

https://quillette.com/2026/06/10/pathology-and-politics-death-of-trotsky-josh-ireland-review-stalin/

In this state, nurse practitioners pay for the right to do their job

Source: Washington Post
by Donna G Matias

“For more than 30 years, nurse practitioner Marcy Markes has cared for patients in intensive care units and small-town clinics across Missouri. She holds degrees from the University of Missouri and runs an allergy and asthma clinic in Columbia, Missouri. The state has a serious health care access problem, and its residents would be better off if experienced providers like Markes were free to provide the care they are licensed to give. Instead, a state law requires nurse practitioners to contract with a physician, which by some estimates can cost an average of $7,000 per year. The price tag for Markes to practice? $50,000 a year. … Courts have increasingly been willing to reassess occupational licensing laws that appear to serve entrenched economic interests more than consumer protection. Missouri’s CPA regime presents a fairly clear case …” (06/10/26)

https://archive.is/lXAc6

Japan: Growing backlash over Trump’s use of anime characters

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“A backlash is growing in Japan over US President Donald Trump’s use of popular anime and manga characters in his posts on social media. Upset has been brewing since March, when fans started noticing the president using images of – and in some cases depicting himself as – iconic Japanese animation characters like Pikachu, Naruto and Yu-Gi-Oh!. Almost 20,000 people have now signed an online petition, arguing he does not share the values of the characters, and that using them for political reasons could infringe the creators’ rights. Pokémon Company International has condemned Trump’s use of its imagery. The BBC has contacted other rights holders and the White House for comment. The petition calling for Trump and the White House to respect Japanese manga was first launched in March, when a couple of posts caught the attention of some fans.” (06/10/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx7vynyl4eo