"U.S. officials called London insurers and brokers, trying to figure out how the market operates, industry insiders said." When applied to the current administration, I urge caution in using terms like "plans," "strategy," "policy," or "doctrine." www.wsj.com/finance/u-s-...

5/ And on the Strait of Hormuz, they had NO PLAN. I can't go into more detail about how Iran gums up the Strait, but suffice it say, right now, they don't know how to get it safely back open. Which is unforgiveable, because this part of the disaster was 100% foreseeable.

I was in a 2 hour briefing today on the Iran War. All the briefings are closed, because Trump can't defend this war in public. I obviously can't disclose classified info, but you deserve to know how incoherent and incomplete these war plans are. 1/ Here's what I can share:

Vladimir Putin’s administration has endorsed a plan to bolster the prime minister’s party by flooding social media with messages designed in Russia and posted by influential Hungarians. ft.trib.al/LUbnQf9

On the one-year anniversary of his detention by federal authorities, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and First Lady Rama Duwaji welcomed Mahmoud Khalil, his wife Noor, and their baby boy, Deen, to Gracie Mansion to break the fast together.

Concerning insideevs.com/news/789269/...

When a US missile killed 160 children, president shits-a-lot claimed Iran stole the missile and fired at the school. When asked why he was the only one making this claim, he said "because I just don't know enough about it". Go ahead. See if you can make this make sense. (Source: RB Hubbell)

If the government dropped a bomb that took my kid from me, I wouldn’t be thinking about politics or strategy. I’d be thinking about who did it, and how far I’d have to go to make them feel what I felt. People act surprised when the world gets more dangerous, but this is exactly how it happens.

GOP is Putin's asset.

Geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East once again shows that reliance on volatile oil and gas exposes economies to price shocks. Renewables, electrification and storage offer more stable long term energy costs and stronger energy security.

FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?

Lots of fine print to go through - but what a week for our first episode, "Free the app stores" youtu.be/gDpOVo7seOo?...

Cartoon by John Deering

They beat a blind refugee who speaks no English for failing to obey police commands he could not understand. Then instead of apologizing, they charged him with possession of a “weapon”—HIS WALKING STICK. Then they dumped him miles from home without notifying anyone, after which he was found dead.

War crime! SANCTIONS!

a year is a long time in politics

It's galling to contemplate but I really think you have to admit that Musk buying X was an unqualified victory. It can't be exaggerated just how much prominent journalists, pundits, business type, etc. mistake the vibe on X for "how the country is feeling."

No it’s what he said. Read what he said.

"A review of the published documents reveals a pronounced double standard: tech platform employees’ names are systematically redacted, while civil society participants and commission officials remain fully identified"

This is some genuinely psycho shit...

That‘s the spirit.

Judge Reyes starts with a comparison: George Washington versus Kristi Noem.

Every accusation is a confession.

Heroes come in many forms and this is one of them

Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning. Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.

ALEX JEFFREY PRETTI. Gone, but never forgotten... #RIP_Alex 💔

Sarah Cooper is back. 👏

Two women trained as first responders were abducted by three ICE agents. One of the agents starts seizing. The other two don’t know what to do. The women jump into action and save the agent’s life, only to be re-handcuffed and processed. www.startribune.com/detained-by-...

there are so many gutting stories, but this one is hitting me extra hard. just imagining wael tarabishi slowly dying without his dad there to care for him because he was jailed by ICE makes me…i don’t have words. this country is disgusting.

Leaked footage from Iran show how regime thugs from the IRGC in technicals are indiscriminately shooting into crowds using automatic weapons. This scene probably happened around January 8 to 10 in Tehran.

Wild stuff. "A Year Inside Kash Patel’s F.B.I.: Forty-five current and former employees on the changes they say are undermining the agency and making America less safe." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

She was absolutely right. And she would have been an amazing President.

Carney: "American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, a stable financial system... this bargain no longer works. Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition... recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as a weapon. Tariffs as leverage ... "

Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum.

Emergency member states' meeting later today. If Trump's unhinged threats over Greenland have one positive effect it's to drive home the point that a trade deal with the US isn't worth the paper it's written on. The US has gone rogue and that's becoming clear to even the most timid European leaders.

Ask yourself: If Donald Trump was intentionally trying to destroy the United States, how could you tell the difference?

A WSJ visual investigation found that the Minneapolis ICE killing is one of 13 incidents where federal immigration agents have used deadly force against civilians in vehicles since July www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...

The Norwegian Nobel Prize committee has been forced to make a statement, declaring that the prize cannot be transferred. It's hard even to comprehend how stupid this has become

BREAKING: A Russian newspaper today — “America no longer sees our country as a threat… The US leader’s philosophy is closer to the values of Russia’s president, not the politicians of the Old World… he sees Europe as a liberal stronghold that must be destroyed…” Read that again.

When one makes up that many lies it's inevitable the lies will conflict with each other. It's more proof that it's all been lies.

Trump's DOJ was monitoring all the movements of the Miami Herald reporter who was covering the Epstein case.

#Perscheid fehlt mir

#Perscheid fehlt mir.

Merry Christmas! Michelle and I hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with light and joy.