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Trump Desperately Tries to Control Global Chaos Unleashed by Iran War
New Republic • 1 week ago

Trump Desperately Tries to Control Global Chaos Unleashed by Iran War

Donald Trump is offering a Band-Aid to fix the broken global supply chain as his illegal war with Iran spirals out into a regional conflict—but is it just another moneymaking scheme? The president announced on Truth Social Tuesday that he’d ordered the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, or DFC, to provide political risk insurance “at a very reasonable price” to “ALL shipping lines”—but “especially Energy”—traveling through the Persian Gulf. Trump’s announcement comes after the price of gasoline spiked 11 cents overnight and the price of natural gas increased 5 percent. As part of a series of retaliatory strikes on nearby nations, Iran struck energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of all oil trade must pass through, causing crude oil prices to jump 7 percent. Trump had a solution to that too, it seems, and not a good one. “If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible,” he wrote. “No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD.”Trump is casually suggesting that the United States direct millions of taxpayer dollars to fund military protection for ships carrying oil and gas, amid an ongoing major combat operation that most American taxpayers do not support and their representatives did not authorize. At the same time, Trump’s offer for cheap insurance doesn’t quite pass the smell test. The president did not specify how he would ensure the insurance would be reasonably priced. His post could indicate that the U.S. government plans to subsidize the insurance, which could mean spending even more taxpayer dollars. The DFC offers investors political risk insurance to protect assets lost due to a range of conditions including “declared or undeclared war.” Those funds are held by a Corporate Capital Account used for the DFC’s investments and operating expenses, but excess collections are typically credited to the Department of the Treasury, according to a congressional research report from 2022. In essence, Trump helped to start a war in the Middle East, and then offered to sell insurance to anyone afraid their stuff might get destroyed. That sounds like what some might call a racket.

Why the private-credit panic is misplaced
Semafor • 1 week ago

Why the private-credit panic is misplaced

Beneath every troubled loan sit billions in private equity that, due to the way these deals are structured, will be wiped out before lenders lose a dollar.

France and U.K. Get Roped Into Trump’s Iran War
New Republic • 1 week ago

France and U.K. Get Roped Into Trump’s Iran War

France and the United Kingdom have entered the Iran conflict.French President Emmanuel Macron ordered France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to move from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Sea.In a prerecorded speech that aired on French television Tuesday afternoon, Macron told his countrymen that he had also deployed Rafale fighter jets, air-defense systems, and airborne radar systems in the preceding hours to aid the Middle East offensive.“This requires our support. That is why I have decided to send additional air-defense assets there as well, along with a French frigate, the Languedoc, which will arrive off the coast of Cyprus later this evening,” Macron said. “And we will continue this effort as much as necessary.”Hours earlier, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that his country would send a warship and helicopters to Cyprus, where a drone hit an outlying U.K. military base. The development occurred around the same time that Donald Trump said he was “not happy” with the U.K.’s decision to withhold base access on the island from U.S. military forces.“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump told reporters at the White House, seated beside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.The U.S. and the U.K. had clashed on the issue over the weekend, though Starmer capitulated to Trump’s demands by Sunday, permitting U.S. forces to use U.K. bases to strike Iran. British officials believe that the drone strike on their base in Cyprus occurred before Starmer’s revised guidance was issued, reported The Wall Street Journal. British forces have so far been unable to note with certainty which government was behind the drone strike.“The strike on RAF Akrotiri last night is deeply concerning, an example of the dangerous and indiscriminate attacks by Iran & its proxies,” British Defense Secretary John Healey wrote on X, noting in another post that there were no casualties on the island and damage was minimal. “Our best assessment is that the drone was fired before the Prime Minister’s statement last night on the US use of UK bases.”Greece also issued military support to Cyprus after the airstrike, ordering two frigates and a pair of F-16 fighter jets to the island on Monday.“Following the unprovoked attacks on the territory of Cyprus, Greece will … contribute in every possible way to the defense of the Republic of Cyprus in order to address the threats and illegal actions taking place on its territory,” Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said in an address on Monday.More than a dozen countries were roped into the conflict just 72 hours after the U.S. began bombing Iran, effectively destabilizing the entire region while disrupting global markets and oil production.

Cory Booker Catches Kristi Noem Lying Under Oath Multiple Times
New Republic • 1 week ago

Cory Booker Catches Kristi Noem Lying Under Oath Multiple Times

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker called out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Tuesday for repeatedly lying under oath about her agency’s operations.During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Noem lied or played dumb multiple times about her agency’s alleged misconduct, including detaining U.S. citizens and children, federal agents entering school property, and ICE violating court orders.Moments after asserting that she ran a tight ship at DHS, Noem claimed she couldn’t give an “accurate number” of U.S. citizens detained by ICE as of last October. Booker pointed out that public records indicated at least 170 incidents of DHS detaining U.S. citizens, including 20 children. Noem insisted that DHS did not detain children and separate them from their parents. In reality, ICE has detained hundreds of children, and families of mixed legal status are being regularly torn apart by the administration’s relentless immigration crackdown. Booker pressed Noem on how long detentions last for American citizens. “We don’t detain American citizens,” Noem replied. “You are not speaking truthfully under oath,” Booker interrupted, pointing to the case of Isaias Pena Salcedo, a U.S. citizen who was held by ICE for 70 hours, even after he showed federal agents his passport. Booker also called out federal immigration agents giving themselves permission to violate the Fourth Amendment and conduct warrantless raids on private homes.“You have situations where your officers are violating the sanctity of people’s homes, arresting and detaining them, and holding their children, and you’re acting as if you don’t know about it and saying that under oath,” the New Jersey Democrat said. Booker then pushed back on Noem’s outrageous claim that she was not familiar with the shooting of Marimar Martinez, a U.S. citizen who was shot five times by federal agents in Chicago. Not only was the officer who shot her caught bragging about it—but former CPB chief Greg Bovino reached out afterward to congratulate him. In fact, the officer claimed over text message that Noem herself had also offered him her support.“The case was thrown out of court, and you represent here that you don’t know about it,” Booker said incredulously, displaying a poster of the text messages behind him. Booker didn’t stop there: “Are you aware of your officers’ activities in places like schools? Are you aware of your officers’ activities at our public schools?”“Sir, we don’t go into schools and do targeted law enforcement operations,” Noem replied. That was yet another lie. Booker cited multiple instances where federal immigration agents had entered school property as part of enforcement operations, including a January raid on the grounds of a high school in Minneapolis, and an incident just last month when federal agents blatantly lied to Columbia University staff in order to abduct a student from her dorm. Booker also referred to an incident in February, in which a group of children fled from a school bus stop in New Jersey as an ICE operation unfolded nearby. “Secretary Noem, these are kids. They’re terrified in our communities. How do you think that affects them, when children in my state go running, fleeing, and often you all pursue children?” he asked. Booker also hit back at Noem’s claim that her agency complied with court orders, citing a chief judge in Minnesota who found that ICE had violated nearly 100 court orders since the beginning of January. He cited another judge in New Jersey who determined in February that DHS had violated 52 separate court orders, “all involving cases where immigrants successfully challenged the legality of their detention.”“You are violating the separation of powers, violating court orders, and routinely violating the civil rights of Americans. This is a reckless and out of control agency that you are responsible for,” Booker said. “Either you are incompetent or you are violating laws with impunity. You should step down from your position. If you don’t, you should be removed by this president, and if not, Congress should impeach you.”“I appreciate the encouragement,” Noem replied.

Dave Rubin Unlocks New Level Of Stupidity With Iran War Take
13:03
The Majority Report • 1 week ago

Dave Rubin Unlocks New Level Of Stupidity With Iran War Take

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