Trump’s Venezuela squeeze goes well beyond Monroe Doctrine

A massive military buildup in the Caribbean has sparked speculation that the US is now engaged in its latest chapter of direct intervention in Latin America. For now, at least, President Donald Trump has walked back suggestions that Washington is eyeing strikes inside Venezuela, seemingly content with attacking numerous naval vessels under the guise of

Eurocope pot calling the American kettle black

I recently attended the excellent Kilkenomics festival in Kilkenny, Ireland. If you ever get the chance to go, I recommend it. Putting comedians and economists on the same stage doesn’t sound like it makes sense, but it’s surprisingly effective; they balance each other out quite well. And Ireland is a wonderful country, of course. But I did

Dems: Epstein Emails Show Trump Knew of Abuse

WASHINGTON — US House Democrats investigating the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein released emails Wednesday they say show President Donald Trump knew about the financier’s abuse of underage girls as far back as 2011. The three emails released by Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform were among 23,000 pages of documents turned

Next phase of Germany’s Nord Stream probe may strain Poland ties

Gas leaking from the ruptured Nordstream 1 pipeline off Sweden’s coast. Photo: Swedish Coast Guard The Wall Street Journal recently published a detailed piece about “The Nord Stream Investigation That’s Splintering Europe Over Ukraine.” The gist is that Germany’s investigation into the Ukrainian trace, which is likely a preplanned red herring as argued here in early 2023

Bill Gates drops a climate bomb on COP30

Shortly before COP30 talks begin in Brazil, tech billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates has launched a “narrative grenade” into the discourse of climate politics by publishing a lengthy memo calling for a rethink of how the climate crisis is framed and addressed. Gates calls for a “strategic pivot” in climate strategy. That appears to have

US Senate advances bill to end record-breaking government shutdown

WASHINGTON — Seven US Senate Democrats and one independent joined Republicans on Sunday night in advancing legislation to reopen the government and temporarily keep it afloat until the end of January, after a record-breaking shutdown that began October 1. Democratic Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New

Obama dig may have triggered Trump’s White House demolition

President Barack Obama famously chided Donald Trump in April 2011 during the annual White House correspondents’ dinner. The reality show star had repeatedly and falsely claimed that Obama had not been born in the United States and was therefore ineligible to be president. Trump’s demands that Obama release his birth certificate had, in part, made

The East’s View of Western Interpreters

The traffic of ideas between East and West has always been more than philosophical—it mirrors the evolution of civilization itself. From the time Jesuit missionaries brought clocks and star charts to Ming China or when German philosophers discovered Sanskrit and the Upanisads, the meeting of cultures has been a dance of fascination and misunderstanding. Western

Rethinking tech antitrust, China export controls and Japan tourism

Editor’s Note: The following is a slightly abridged version of Noahpinion’s “At least five interesting things: Smart Ideas edition (#71)”, published on November 8. 1. Are we wrong on antitrust? In the 2000s and 2010s, America generally saw slow growth, low levels of business investment, and low business dynamism. We also saw increasing levels of

In ‘The Eleventh Hour’, Rushdie writes like time is of the essence

Salman Rushdie’s new collection of short stories urgently recollects his literary legacy. It’s as though time is increasingly uncertain, so the need to tell stories is great. Its title, “The Eleventh Hour“, says as much, and the book succeeds “Knife” (2024), written about his attack on stage in 2022. The central story portrays students and
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