Author: nick
The U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would cost Iran approximately $276M/day in lost exports and disrupt $159M/day in imports, a combined economic damage of ~$435M/day, or $13B/month. Source link
Swalwell ends gubernatorial bid. On Sunday, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D–Calif.) ended his campaign to be governor of California after a former staffer and other women accused him of rape and other sexual misconduct. In a statement posted on X, Swalwell apologized for “mistakes in judgement” he had made while also saying he would defend himself from the “serious, false accusations” that had been made. I am suspending my campaign for Governor. To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have…
As the United States and Israel press their war of aggression against Iran—now entering its second month—attention has understandably focused on the carnage in the Middle East. Yet with the Strait of Hormuz effectively blockaded and global energy markets in turmoil, the conflict’s ripples extend far beyond the Persian Gulf. In East Asia, America’s closest treaty allies, Japan and South Korea, are absorbing punishing economic shocks from their dependence on Middle Eastern oil, while Washington’s diversion of military assets has left them feeling exposed and annoyed. Meanwhile, Beijing, Washington’s bete noire, looks on with barely concealed satisfaction, its state media…
Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair The recent events on the national and world stage are pretty hard to ignore given the effects on Americans, our allies and even our fellow Montanans who just want to go fishing. But the wheels are coming off Donald Trump’s MAGA-mobile in real time and the result is absolutely predictable as he, his administration, and our once-stable nation are now all over the road, bouncing off curbs, going through fences, and headed for the barrow ditch. The undeniable signs aren’t coming from “lib-tards” — they’re coming from hard right-wing MAGA supporters, or perhaps “former supporters”…
Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, by Gavin Newsom. Penguin Press, 304 pages. Let’s start with the acknowledgments, usually the best place to begin in a political memoir. Here the author admits that he is less composer and more collaborator. Although his name appears on the cover and the story is his own, the real work of compilation is done by a shadow army of ghostwriters, developmental editors, line editors, copy editors, and fact checkers. No one feels any compunction about this arrangement. It is just the way the business works. The writers and editors offer their…
In her temporary restraining order application in Doe v. OpenAI (see also the complaint), plaintiff asks, among other things, that OpenAI cut off ChatGPT access by a user; ensure that he not create new accounts; and notify plaintiff if the user does try to access ChatGPT. Here are the factual allegations: Plaintiff Jane Doe is in immediate danger. Driven by a ChatGPT-fueled delusional spiral, her ex-boyfriend (the “User”) stalked and harassed her for months—generating dozens of fake psychological reports about her via ChatGPT and distributing them to her family, friends, and colleagues, which escalated to leaving her voicemails threatening her…
The U.S. and Iran were close to a deal in Islamabad when the Americans shifted the goalposts and walked away, said Iran’s foreign minister. Iranian Foreign Minister Abas Araghchi. (Hamed Malekpour/Tasnim News Agency/Wikimedia Commons) By Jake JohnsonCommon Dreams Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday that the Trump administration’s representatives derailed marathon talks in Pakistan’s capital with maximalist demands, just as the two sides were “inches away” from a preliminary agreement to end the six-week conflict. “In intensive talks at the highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with U.S. in good faith to end war,” Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media. “But when just inches…
Why Democracy Still Matters in Venezuela Source link
Unless he suddenly loses practically all of the instincts and tactical astuteness that got him where he is, President Trump will win the Iran war. It may be that it will have proved a mistake to go to negotiations, but as the president has made clear before and during the Iran negotiations in Islamabad, he expects to win either way. This is as he possesses, with his Israeli allies, the ability to clear the Hormuz Strait to assure that Iran does not become a nuclear military power, and to strangle Iran so that it has no ability to underwrite international…
The near constant refrain has been that they’ve been at war against us for 47 years, and now we are (finally) hitting back. It isn’t always obvious whether this claim is, in the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s phrase, “boob bait for the bubbas” or believed sincerely. Like most claims in politics, there are some facts to support it. The Iranian regime has been hostile from its beginning. The collapse of the American-allied Shah’s regime, and the triumphant return to Iran of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini with demonstrations in his favor larger than any seen in the history of the world,…