The FIFA World Cup New York New Jersey transportation fiasco will provide an excellent case study for books on government, of what happens when multiple layers of public agencies reach agreements that satisfy their collective constraints, delivering a disastrous collective outcome.

"pivots" www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

#trump #PopeLeo.

This weekend a good illustration of how when elections get politically coded, nothing else matters. Yes Hungary significant but there were also elections in Djibouti and Benin that besides intrinsic interest, have significant geopolitical dimensions. Links below:

We're going to need justice and accountability for the Wednesday 8 April Israel attack on Beirut. Of course we're going to need justice for other stuff too, but that was especially egregious.

There is absolutely no way that the Arab Gulf countries are going to be reconciled to paying Iran for use of their own territorial waters.

Oil traders rn

I know that CNN in general and Anderson Cooper in particular are not the problem, but to hear him refer to Iranian citizens gathered around bridges as "human shields" when it would be a war crime to strike these civilian targets is just ridiculous.

#Iran #Trump

A simple statement via a photograph. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04...

Going with the theory that Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff General Randy George due to a disagreement over the hit on the Tehran - Karaj B1 bridge.

The Jacob Weisberg NYT column explaining the appeal of Jeffrey Epstein as a "dark connector" is good, but it is again an illustration of the definitive explanation of Epstein, before it was even a thing, being written 30 years ago by David Brooks: Status-Income Disequilibrium [links below] ...

There's a scene in Die Hard 2 when, as the US Special Forces show up ostensibly to save Dulles (yes I know it's Stapleton) Airport and us all from terrorists, John McClane (Bruce Willis) says to Ed Trudeau (Fred Thompson), "Did things just get better ... or worse?" Prescient scene.

This is Trump clearly confusing a story that Chief of Staff Susie Summerall Wiles told him about Vince Lombardi yelling at her father, Pat, believing it happened to him.

This NYT article convincingly explains that the pivotal moment in the run-up to the current Iran war shambles is Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not understanding what Iran's nuclear negotiators were offering at talks in Geneva on 26 February. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/u...

Don't think it has sunk in that there will be hours of long-distance train disruption in Washington DC this evening because of a Republican fundraiser at Union Station. It's not just part of the station off-limits, it's major delays to trains.

This photograph by Sarah Yenesel from a WSJ markets story today captures a decades-long arena for Donald Trump, that of the TV-driven securities trading floor. It goes back to the 2000s era CNBC culture, Rick Santelli and Tea Party genesis. It may be all Trump ultimately cares about.

The idea "Let's discuss how to prevent an Islamic Republic from succeeding in a race to a nuclear bomb ... in Pakistan" is truly next level cognitive dissonance.

The headline TRUCIAL TAUNT is right there for someone doing a story on Trump stating that he and the Ayatollah will control the Strait of Hormuz.

NYT LGA crash rolling updates feels compelled to mention ... a 2014 Joe Biden quote.

"stoking tensions"

There's a deep cut riff to be done on Bournemouth Football Club having both an Adam Smith and a David Brooks in the squad.

You will not do any better reading of decades of popular and elite cultures than this sequence of obituaries in the New York Times. For an added bonus, throw in the article about Elvis Presley as an Army conscript, a parallel with the #BTS situation.

Three weeks into the war, Iran has regime continuity, durable missile and drone capability, sanctions relief and a higher per barrel oil revenue, de facto control of Hormuz, the business model of its Arab Gulf rivals under severe strain, and one Joker still in the pack (Houthis).

It's a bit weird that Israel set in motion events that cost Qatar $100 billion (4 years lost LNG revenue of $20 billion a year plus $20 billion LNG train replacement cost) and ... it's all in the rear view mirror already.

Big @nytpitchbot.bsky.social "whether it's" energy. Carter got stuck with Iran taking hostages. Reagan, Bush, and Trump unwisely chose their battles. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/w...

Between Donald Trump blowing up elementary schools in Iran as part of a war damaging the global economy, and a scandal involving the Chabad rabbi at Oberlin College and Conservatory, I have never felt more politically homeless.

"testing norms" (WSJ)

How it started / how it's going

The real winner from the US Supreme Court striking down Donald Trump's tariffs? US President, Donald Trump. [via Bloomberg News] www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

"puckishly aggressive conservative"

This detail from the Henry McGowan case as reported by the New York Times should have been in the RTE report given its specificity to Ireland: "He followed lights and signs to the city [Dublin]. He saw a train that said “At Henry” — ...

"boundary-pushing impulses" (WSJ)

"norms" (WSJ)

It got lost in the #Greenland tariff threat lunacy, but the Trump rant about the Wall Street Journal, Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan, and the Fed, which he presented as reaction to news today, was published by WSJ 3 days ago. But they put it in the weekend print edition today.

Days when the New York Times Op-ed page feels like that moment in Return of the Jedi when the Emperor reveals that the Death Star is "quite operational"

"as if"

US dept of energy statement on #Venezuela: "All proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil and oil products will first settle in U.S. controlled accounts at globally recognized banks ..."

New Seinfeld episode plot strand just dropped #Venezuela #maduro

Impeachable insanity.

Disappointed in how far this thread has gotten and the name Pierre Poujade has not come up despite being germane to the original query.

From UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on #Yemen: "particularly given the prevailing security challenges and threats posed by terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda, the Houthis and the Muslim Brotherhood," See what they did there? www.wam.ae/en/article/b...

Events since December 26 (Israel, Somaliland, Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen) are overlay of structural geopolitical issues with chronic deterioration of ministry of foreign affairs capacities (decisions now with the chief executive) plus seasonal issue of many MFAs on holidays.

Newcastle United (Saudi Arabia ownership) play Manchester City (UAE ownership) in 2 weeks in the Carabao / League Cup, which is at the two-leg semi-final stage. The teams will also meet in the Premier League in February. Not easy to stay out of politics when chasing money. #Yemen

The last time I can remember Saudi Arabia being this angry at the UAE, it was the breakdown of the GCC single currency project in 2010, for which Saudi Arabia blamed UAE. There was an oblique statement from then King Abdullah, invoking Zayed and Rashid as examples to follow, a dig at the sons.