Author: nick

[ad_1] India’s imports of Russian crude oil have surged to a record high, with Moscow now supplying more than half of the country’s crude oil requirements. According to recent reports, Russian oil accounted for over 50% of India’s imports in June after a temporary US sanctions waiver expired. This development is far more significant than most people realize. It once again demonstrates that governments can impose sanctions, issue political declarations, and threaten economic consequences, but markets ultimately follow economic self-interest. From the beginning, I argued that sanctions against Russia would not produce the outcome Western policymakers expected. Russia is not a small…

[ad_1] I discuss the possibilities of America relinquishing its global ambition to reduce its footprint to a regional hegemon in the Western hemisphere. The new technologies of AI, UAVs and hypersonics rather easily challenge the spending paradigms and mission architecture of the American armed forces. There are no near-peer competitors, every nation on Earth is now a peer to modern western war machines. America boasts a magnificent 20th century war machine is not fit for purpose for 21st century peer warfare. The crossroads is chock-full of landmines. References: Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech…

[ad_1] Photograph Source: Petty Officer 2nd Class Dartanon Delagarza – Public Domain In the annals of policy, strategy and budgeting, the AUKUS pact comprising Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States will be seen as one of the most mindless, absurd projects of tiny, poorly furnished minds.  Not for those in the UK and US, with both receiving Croesus-rich dollops of Australian cash for stuttering submarine programs.  Not for flabby think tankers who repeatedly run out bills on the advisory circuit lauding the importance of costly boats and the China threat.  It will be down to Australian government officials, elected and appointed,…

[ad_1] Catherine Connolly. Image: Wikipedia. I recently had the chance to send a message to the President of Ireland, Her Excellency Catherine Connolly. President Connolly is a vocal supporter of Palestine and remains one of the few European heads of state to explicitly accuse Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza. She has a long history of this advocacy; while previously serving as a member of the Dáil Éireann—the lower house of the Irish Parliament—she famously argued that if Ireland couldn’t recognize Israel as a “terrorist state,” then the country was “in serious trouble.” The President’s sister, Dr. Margaret…

[ad_1] The British government plans to make social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok show more content from what it calls “trusted” news sources, such as the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, in users’ feeds and search results. U.K. culture minister Lisa Nandy said this would help people find accurate news and fight the spread of lies and misinformation online. The proposal came just days after the government announced plans to ban most social media use for children under 16. Social media firms may push back, saying the rules could limit user choice and hurt other creators. The proposal…

[ad_1] Poster for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (detail). Recent public comments made about AI suggest that Americans have difficulty with the implications of linear time. This is odd given that its conception is largely Western and is centered on the clock time used to coordinate capitalist employment. The conceptual difficulty regards sequencing, or plans for future actions. But it also involves the distribution of profits.  100% of the capital equipment used in Western economic production was produced by workers. So, why does the resulting product belong to financiers rather than those who produced it? To use a physical metaphor, if I…

[ad_1] (Yes: This is another post touching not only on legal issues but also on soccer. If you are one of the unfortunate few missing out on the “beautiful game” during the World Cup, you can just skip this post.) Last week, I blogged about the straight red card suspension given to the “striker” (attacker) on the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT), Folarin Balogun. I took the view that the red card for stepping on the ankle of his Bosnian opponent was incorrect—primarily because the simple act of leaping in a legitimate attempt win the ball could not be viewed…

[ad_1] Israel’s latest war on Lebanon is now threatening to unravel the fragile understanding that Washington and Tehran reached to halt their 2026 confrontation. Under the interim agreement that Pakistan mediated, the United States and Iran declared a permanent end to military operations on every front, Lebanon included. Israel, not a party to the pact, refused to comply. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on June 15 that his forces “will stay in the Lebanon security buffer zone for as long as necessary,” and nine days later Defense Minister Israel Katz declared the military would not pull out even if the…

[ad_1] Property damage to a Rolls-Royce facility in Novi, Michigan, which had phrases such as “MTU ARMS GENOCIDE” and “FREE PALESTINE” painted on its exterior. Rolls-Royce produces parts for Israeli army vehicles. MTU is Rolls-Royce’s German subsidiary, which makes the engines for the Israeli army’s Merkava tanks. (Photo via US DOJ) Property damage to a Rolls-Royce facility in Novi, Michigan, which had phrases such as “MTU ARMS GENOCIDE” and “FREE PALESTINE” painted on its exterior. Rolls-Royce produces parts for Israeli army vehicles. MTU is Rolls-Royce’s German subsidiary, which makes the engines for the Israeli army’s Merkava tanks. (Photo via US…

[ad_1] Today, it’s 242 cities. A starter home runs seven figures in three times as many places today as it did before the pandemic. Zillow published the count recently. Half the states now have at least one million-dollar starter home city. California alone, unsurprisingly, has more than one hundred. In the studies, a “starter home” is just the bottom third of houses in an area. What that means is the first rung, the small house on a small lot or shared small lot, where you have your first kid, build equity, and learn what owning a house is like, is…