News and Views on the Global Stage....

Aya copy2
Currently...

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the End to ‘International Law’

If Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellars) can “learn to shop worrying and love the bomb,” then I can certainly “learn to stop worrying and love the end to international law.” To wit: After the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran — including 30 bombs on the compound of the Ayatollah Khamenei — I’ve been spending a lot of time watching BBC and France 24 news coverage, largely because they’re ad-free and actually have correspondents in Iran. Of course, the coverage on these two channels is largely anti-U.S. and anti-Israel, though they kinda give Israel more of a pass in protecting itself against an existential threat. The BBC even did a live interview with an officer in the Iranian Foreign Ministry, who blamed everything on the U.S. and Israel and refused to say if the Ayatollah is still alive. What I found most interesting was an interview with U.S.-based David Albright, president of the non-profit Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, D.C. He seemed to support Trump’s actions and certainly Israel’s, and even pinpointed hidden Iranian nuclear development sites that should be struck. Albright’s most salient point was that what came to be known as “international law” — as symbolized in the

Read More »
Eggs
My Take

Trump SOTU: ‘I Beat Inflation!’ — True, Provided You Buy Only Eggs

Food prices are up 10 percent since Trump 45 left office. Now, almost all of that can be attributed to Joe Biden, but when Trump 47 claims to have licked “the worst inflation in history,” two truths stand out: 1) Nixon-Carter inflation was worse than Biden’s, and 2) Other than egg prices, food prices under Trump have either stayed the same or risen, and risen considerably when it comes to beef and coffee. Therefore, Mr., Mrs., and Ms. America — and the “he, she, it, and they” versions as well — when you go to the grocery store, load up on eggs. You will enjoy your newfound egglicious diet, and your pocketbook will thank you for it.

Read More »
Grim3
My Take

Tired of Life? Canada Now Offers 24/7 Assisted Suicide

Maybe those highly favored Canadian hockey players, fresh from a shocking defeat by Trump USA in the Winter Olympics, may be the first in line. Canada now offers instant assisted suicide. You may have to wait weeks to see a doctor, but the Grim Reaper is at your beck and call daily. The country’s assisted extermination system, known as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), has become one busy little beaver, er, grave digger. The Chief Coroner’s Medical Assistance in Dying Death Review Committee in Ontario Province recently revealed how death on demand works — and works quickly. Just-released 2023 statistics for that province alone show that, on average, 65 people were euthanized the very same day they requested it, while another 154 bit the bullet the day after applying. That’s about 200 dead on demand in 24 hours in just one province. Not bad for a medical system that can make you wait weeks or months for life-saving surgeries or treatments, forcing Canadians with money to come spend it on medical services in hated Trumpland. Catch this: Before 2021, you had to wait a whopping 10 days for the Reaper to see you, but that year, the Canadian Parliament passed

Read More »
SOTU2
My Take

SCOTUS Rules on Constitution: No Presidential Speech Longer than 30 Minutes

In a stinging rebuke to President Trump following his 2026 State of the Union Speech, the Supreme Court ruled that presidential speeches longer than 30 minutes defy the authority granted under Article 2 of the Constitution. The vote was 9-0. “Despite 1st Amendment free speech rights, the U.S. Constitution severely limits a president’s authority to bore a nation to death,” the unanimous ruling stated. “Speeches longer than 30 minutes violate the citizenry’s rights to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. For two hours, no one without a streaming service was able to pursue any form of happiness if he or she did not like being subjected to a one-hour-forty-seven-minute rant full of lies, damned lies, and statistics [thank you Mark Twain].” Trump immediately vowed to disband the Supreme Court, calling the justices all traitors. He also immediately scheduled a nine-hour speech and defied the nation’s network and cable television channels from not airing it. “I will lay forth every fact proving that America is the hottest nation on earth,” Trump vowed. “Nine hours might not be enough, but don’t dare change that dial!”

Read More »
Alaska3
Currently...

Ukraine Year 5: What Happened to Trump 24-Hour Solution?

The Ukraine resistance against Russian aggression enters year five today, and the people and soldiers of Ukraine are owed one huge salute for an amazing job in keeping a superpower at bay. In fact, in the past 24 hours, Ukraine has reclaimed 150 square miles of territory Russia had previously overtaken. And so, the war goes on despite Candidate Donald Trump’s repeated pledge that he could end the war in 24 hours. Of course, that was always prefaced by “the war wouldn’t have started under me,” a proposition that may or may not be true, given how Putin is now walking all over President Trump Trump’s 24-hour pledge quickly descended into a peace proposal that basically handed everything Russia wanted on a platter. Ukraine, of course, didn’t cotton well to that initial plan, and territorial concessions continue to weigh on any peace deal Ukraine will agree to. Let’s see what, if anything, Trump will mention about Europe’s longest conflict since World War II, deadliest too, in his State of the Union address tonight. He will, without a doubt, tout eight peace deals he says he’s reached, but some of those have re-flared up after he announced them, while his Gaza

Read More »
SOS3
Currently...

Trump Approval Hits Biden Levels as He Loses Swing, Hispanic and Young Voters

President Trump has hit a new low in approval ratings nationwide at 38 percent*, down from 48 percent when he began his second term. The dramatic slide reflects his loss among voting groups he attracted in 2024: young voters, Hispanics, and independents, or what we call swing voters. His dramatic slide also reflects voters’ economic woes, especially when it comes to paying for the essentials of living, including food, rent/mortgage, insurance, energy, and just about every product that doesn’t come from China. Unfortunately, Trump and team — spoiled brats all — don’t get it. They don’t shop at the supermarket weekly. They live off lavish bank accounts or get overpaid in government jobs and don’t have to suffer like the rest of us. No doubt, Trump in his State of the Union tomorrow night will emphasize just how hunky dory everything is — for the Trumps and cronies, anyway. He’ll talk about the U.S. being “the hottest nation on earth,” gas prices that are tumbling (maybe the only thing that costs less these days), the numerous peace deals he’s achieved (cough, cough), the price of eggs going down, etc., etc. And he’ll even try to say that inflation is gone

Read More »
TDS3
My Take

Trump Hospitalized with Dreaded TDS: Tariff Derangement Syndrome

“I’m in charge here!” President Donald J. Trump shouted — reminiscent of the late, not-so-great Alexander Haig — as he was carried out by medics to be taken to the hospital with a suspected onslaught of Tariff Derangement Syndrome — TDS! “You can’t do this!” the presidential shouting continued as he was wheeled out of the Oval Office. “We have the hottest nation in the world. There’s $18 trillion in foreign investments at work right now. I negotiated eight peace settlements. I’ll get those ingrates on the Supreme Court who think they can do this to me. I’ll raise tariffs 1,000 percent. I’ll show them!” The often-fatal disease struck the president just hours after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that he lacked authority to raise tariffs under IEEPA, the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, and after he took to the TV to denounce the justices who voted against him, vowing tariff revenge. Trump is only the second president to be overcome by TDS. The other was William McKinley, who also levied high tariffs as a means of American economic might. Trump often cited McKinley as he raged against other nations that charged the U.S. higher tariffs than we charged them.

Read More »

Keep Up With World Events
and the Latest in Great Literature