THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

PONDER. Especially in the U.S. or in richer economies, one day of war or one day of disagreement in a global political table means (non)buying/selling of stocks. Then Wall Street waits and chills. Progress in talks means millions$ and billions$ in one day! Meanwhile, bored peeps "bet" online. Wager on "to be or not to be." Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland, Taiwan (per China), Lebanon (per Israel). Would Volo Zelensky launch a new drone, per post-G7 summit? Etc etcetera. Like this is the World Cup or NBA Finals.

      Many of my brilliant Left-wing friends don't see that, actually. They just want to tell you they are smarter than most. Well, a much younger Shayne Coplan is smarter than them or us, grizzled analysts of geopolitics, LOL! Prediction market, right? 😏😒🤨

Good Morning America: “Moscow hit by largest Ukrainian attack since the start of the war.” Whoa! Right after the EU tried to work things out at G7 in France, with President Trump on centerstage? Wow! Of course, Russia will retaliate. BRICS buddy China can probably persuade Vladimir Putin to stand down a bit, or Mr Trump can also cool down the Kremlin? But then, Russia is not "mellow touch." This Ukraine move easily derails what current peace negotiations are being worked out, this time Europe in it. 

       Volodymyr Zelensky is a complete magnificent idiot. Since the Iran crisis seems to be subsiding, now it's time to regain the limelight again? More military aid coming to Kyiv, and onto Volo’s offshore accounts? 🇷🇺☮️🇺🇦

CBS: “Trump promised a tougher Iran deal. How it compares with Obama's.” How do we compare, really? You see, when Barack Obama sat in 2009, China/Russia’s BRICS was also born. But it took a few years before the trade bloc gained, globally, and exerted influence, mainly on the trade territory. Then there was the Arab Spring in 2011, the impact of which Mr Obama largely ignored. Recheck how we handled Afghanistan and his upgrade of U.S. military aid to Israel before he left White House in 2016.

      Fact of human existence: Geopolitics evolves and alters the grid. Superpower leaders and their so-called allies need to adapt.

      I reiterate this as I did before the advent of Donald Trump in Washington. Barack Obama is a traditional hawk, not the coolest dove that his doowops on Social Media chant, just because he said the nicest words.

      Mr Trump and Iran: He “relaxed” the nukes/WMD talk and zoomed in on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, reassures the Arab League that their economic agenda carries on, and deals with the Iranian people’s recovery from the gargantuan pain by releasing their $24 billion frozen money (+ Gulf states' pledge of $300 billion investment fund). These are also in consonance with China’s MENA trade stakes. All of these will hopefully be finalized in Switzerland tomorrow.

      Tell me, Donald Trump’s playbook isn’t good because it isn’t “tough” enough? What is tough? Pulverize Iran to bloody smithereens? 🏛🗽🏛

Time: “Trump Says Netanyahu Has to Be 'More Responsible With Respect to Lebanon'.” The President adds: “I'm not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah," amid concerns the parallel conflict could derail the U.S.-Iran peace deal.

       I am kind of baffled that many seem shocked or infuriated by President Trump’s Iran moves. I am thumbs-up, from Day 1. These: <>Long talks to avoid a U.S. military operation after the IRGC massacred thousands of protesters. <>Decision to hit after the negotiation failed. <>The erasure of the Supreme Leader. <>Meeting with China (Iran's top oil client and BRICS boss); right after, Vladimir Putin conferred with the CCP. <>The day before the deal was announced, the UAE (another BRICS member) pledged a $15 billion aid to Iran. <>Per the paperwork, I concur with the release of the frozen $24 billion Iranian assets and Gulf nations’ proposed $300 billion (whoa!) for Iran's reconstruction, provided Tehran meets the U.S. requirements. And more.

       I mean, wow! These happen when the world's superpowers (starting with America and China) decide to fix stuff rather than use a crisis as a tool for a power play contest. ☮️☮️☮️

The Guardian: “Stephen Colbert used unauthorized 'Peanuts' music on 'Late Show.' CBS is paying up.” The lowdown: CBS reached a licensing agreement with Lee Mendelson Film Productions to pay an undisclosed fee for the unauthorized use of the Peanuts track "Linus and Lucy" during the May 21 finale of The Late Show. The copyright owners, who have been actively enforcing their rights, agreed to donate all proceeds to World Central Kitchen.

      Left-wingers and their hallelujah peeps on Social Media now trumpet that Mr Colbert himself has donated the moolah to charity. I am not saying he doesn't give to the poor, he does as do other known people. In fact, cartel bosses and Mafia dons, powerful politicians and dubious corporate gods, also heavily donate to charity. You dig?

      Of course, this comedy/drama emanates from President Trump’s lawsuit vs CBS, regarding the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, agreed to a $16 million settlement with Mr Trump. Mr Colbert blames The D for his termination; CBS counters his show ain’t earning. (Note: “Late Show” viewership average is only half of the numbers that Fox’s Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld individually generate.)

      My issue? I don’t dig Stephen Colbert’s cheap trick as he goes out of CBS, in cahoots with his TV crew. Juvenile mischief. The shrewd “sabotage” could even be planned out with Lee Mendelson FP, who knows? A probe is necessary. But still, the tactic is what I call “unprofessionally immature” (sic). Oh well. Overall, I see all these as grandiose frivolity while the world hurts from gut-level imperatives. 🤨😞🤨

My pleasure from various forms of entertainment, such as music, movies, sports, literature–are not affected by my political bent or ideological beliefs, or even my cultural/religious background. Sure, I get pissed by Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young’s bloated (overkill?) partisanship angst these days, but I still listen to their old songs. I am a fan of their art/music. Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Meryl Streep, and those other mouthy Hollywood liberals? Give me a good movie or TV series, I’ll go watch. 

      Conservatives or Right-wingers? Before I gave up my virulent Left-wing girth (in the mid-1990s) I was high on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s southern blues-rock (still is), and of course, I remain as a Clint Eastwood diehard, from his spaghetti western days to directorial craft. I do revisit the classics by John Wayne and Charlton Heston. Etc etcetera.

      In all, I never was interested in “The Apprentice” or listened to Donald Trump talk about himself on TV or elsewhere, but I essentially thumb-up his political playbook or POTUS policies. Need I say more? 🎼😎🎥

Associated Press: “Federal government seeks to halt 1st U.S. reparations program for Black people.” I am not against redemption per se or correcting the evils that humanity committed in the past. But I’d prefer a more realistic, doable system on how to implement the “paying up” process. Not ideological overreach, that the “new” Left is hot and high with. Anyhow, imagine the budget to “fact-check” lineage or direct links to slavery in the U.S. that lasted for 246 years? From Jamestown 1619 to 1865’s 13th Amendment. 

       There’ll be whole lotta court hearings and piles of paperwork, massive research. Note that there are approximately 49.2 million Black Americans living in the United States, and we are not counting the biracial population. Meanwhile, what about the people who were colonized by powerful countries in history? Do we have “reparations programs” for them, too? 🏛🗽🏛

THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Reuters: “Sweden passes 'good behavior' law to kick out immigrants.” Just by reading the banner pitch, you’d start howling wadda(!!!) right? Anyhow, Scandinavian countries are known, controversially known, for their strict immigration laws, most of which I concur with. Example: Denmark requires newly arrived asylum seekers to pay for their own housing and food. Under this controversial "jewelry law," police can seize cash and valuables over DKK 10,000 (roughly $1,450). The government justifies this by arguing that refugees must help cover their welfare costs, though sentimental items like wedding rings are exempt. Oh yes. Not all refugees are dirt-poor, you see.

      Hey, why do migrants, off the southern border, love America? They can nonchalantly cross the boundary, in and out whenever. Get government dole-outs etcetera. So regardless that many are delivered to farms and factories to toil as virtual slaves, the other amenities that the U.S. offers are enticing enough. (Nope, I am not talking about the cartel angle. That’s another huge subject.) 🇸🇪🏃‍♀️🏃

CBS: “Former SpaceX welder becomes a millionaire after historic IPO.” Elon Musk’s SpaceX completed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on June 12, which resulted in an implied valuation of roughly $1.77 trillion. Easily, that makes Elon the first trillionaire on Planet Earth. Hey, I don't care about the super-rich or how their wealth measures to trillions$ or gazillions$, as long as their lowly workers become rich, too. So, yes! Elon Musk for President! LOL! 💰😎💰

People: “Just a tight circle gathered on Buckingham Palace's balcony for Trooping the Colour.” Just talking about numbers, okay? No judgment at all. The UK’s “Trooping the Colour,” which involves over 1,400 parading soldiers etcetera, costs an £10 million (or $13.4 million) to hold. Meanwhile, a U.S. review of troops or military parade is estimated to cost between $25 million and $45 million. Concerned? 

       Well, check out China. Although the CCP does not publicly disclose the specific budget for its troop reviews or military parades, security analysts from Taiwan estimated that Beijing’s version of such an event approximately costs 36 billion yuan (or around $5 billion). Uh huh? Yet China’s military budget of $277 billion is “spare change” compared with America’s unbelievable $954 billion, and exponentially spiking! 🙂🙃😉

Reuters: “UAE reportedly releases billions for Iran in major diplomatic shift.” Makes sense to me. Instead of handing arms aid to a favored side in this war, the UAE offers money to the other side. This war has already stalled so much economic activity and the fact is, the Iranian people need help. 

       Plus this: The total business investments across Arab League nations exceed $910 billion. These state-owned investment funds manage over $4 trillion globally. They invest heavily into technology, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure. Take note as well that although the UAE and Iran are traditional rivals or non-allies, they are both new members of the China-led BRICS trade bloc. 👍☮️👍

THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

The issue: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended the Arsenal Premier League title after-party in Brooklyn on May 30, but snubbed the Israel Day parade the next day. You see, I may have an “untoward” word about the Jewish government on account of the Gaza annihilation but I am an ordinary dude, not the Mayor. Zohran can always voice his political displeasure of Bibi Netanyahu, of course, but he is also Gotham’s hizzoner. New York is the state with the largest Jewish population in America, with over 1.7 million Jewish residents. New York City has the highest number of Jewish residents of any city. 

       Forget that The Big Apple is also home to the world’s most number of billionaires, but who cares, right? Not all Jewish in NY are as rich as Mike Bloomberg or Steven Cohen. I have Jewish in Queens who are as “everyday people” as you and me; some of them share my anti-war activism. Anyhow, would Zohran attend the Knicks/Spurs Finals game/s at MSG? Well, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is Jewish, same with Timothee Chalamet and Ben Stiller. But then, the Mayor may sit with Arsenal buddy Spike Lee instead? Fosho. 😞🤨👎

Yahoo: “Ball State's Gavin Yates-Lyons fatally shot after graduating high school.” A year after I landed in America via New York City (from the Philippines), the Columbine school massacre shocked the world. I was also extremely baffled. Yet from that point, mass shootings spiked exponentially, and as politics divides Americans, hate and mental health crises heightened. And gun ownership increased to 120.5 per 100.

      Then, I may have agreed that “fascination” with guns was a Right-wing story. Not really. Guns are not a sole Conservative or NRA obsession. It is an American cultural fact. I know of many Left-wing or liberal/progressive friends who actually own more than 3 guns each. The U.S. hasn’t really gone past the 1880s Tombstone/O.K. Corral fix. So be it. Hence, the common sense reflex (sic) is to keep that firearm in a “secret safe.” Only you know the combination, especially if you have kids or minors in the house. And try to be cool. ☮️🗽☮️

MONDAY THOUGHT, 2. The Independent: “Former ICE chief accuses Trump's inner circle of 'watering down' deportation policy.” Pressure. That’s what the Minnesota drama was successful at. Push ICE away, as the Left made good as well in pushing public scrutiny about the state’s massive social services scam. Anyhow, this data matters why ICE had to step up: Historically, or before the 21st century, border crossings were at 100k a year. In Fiscal Year 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 400,651 apprehensions along the Southwest border. But the crisis level shuddered the most from 2021 to 2024, when the number exploded to 1 million+ average. (We are back to 1970s level a year after Donald Trump sat in White House.)

      We can probably argue data per fentanyl addiction or whatever. The fact is, that gargantuan increase in the undocumented not just crushed or bankrupted U.S. immigration fiscal management, but the issue also heightened the U.S. divide. We are not really discussing the immediate outcome of the problem. We are using this as a weapon to demonize the other half of the partisanship caterwaul. 🗽🏃‍♀️🏃

Reuters: “Canada's new citizenship rules are opening a door many Americans didn't expect.” There is a huge population of Asians and Filipinos in Canada. I have many relatives there. You see, Canada has historically maintained more lenient and structured immigration pathways than many other developed nations, including the United States. Yet as Donald Trump got more strict in implementing border security (due to the obvious), the Left howled that POTUS is actually “limiting” U.S. entry, regardless of passport and visa. So go to Canada, which is more lenient. Duh. But get in, legally. Of course. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

CBS: “Jill Biden defends Hunter pardon: 'We could not let our son go to jail'.” That is a mother talking. That is an emotional reflex. Instinct. So that isn’t news. I remember my mom (when she was still alive), she’d pay bail (or whatever) + “bonuses” to narcotics agents, call kin who were government officials, to get my erring brothers out of jail. That was then, of course, my siblings have long been reformed. No one spent a day in the slammer.

      Imagine all the mothers who sold properties or took out massive loans to “save” their children from imprisonment? The difference with Hunter is, he is the son of the President of the United States of America. So before others were pardoned per Presidential Pardon privilege, Hunter should get it first. Uh huh. 🏛🗽🏛

Business Insider: “Peter Thiel's reported move to Argentina reflects a growing trend among billionaires.” Trend? Come on, now. Mr Thiel is a billionaire. The super-rich could have 15 residences, globally–especially in those countries that they have investments. Billionaires can “move” wherever and whenever they want. Then they can easily move back to their “roots” when the mood beckons. (They even have private airplanes sitting in their private hangars!) That is just the way they are, not because of "Trump's economy." Hey, there's still no "wealth tax" in the U.S. or wherever in the world. Those few economies who do, charge only an average of 1 percent. ✈️😰✈️

Rolling Stone: “Morgan Wallen knocks over a piano on stage during Denver concert.” Nobody hurt? So this is not news. This is typical rock music (or whatever genre) onstage antics. The Who’s Pete Townshend made it an art, actually. Destroying his Stratocaster or ramming it on the speakers as a concert finale. Remember Ron Mael of the less popular Sparks? His gimmick was wicked stoicism, before he kicked his piano down. In 1987, Billy Joel flipped over his keyboard during a concert in Moscow. Yes, in Russia! Hey, better than political grandstanding or anti-Trump howls, you reckon? LOL!

      On Friday night in Denver, the country star Morgan did a Billy “mischief.” While the reason given on Joel’s display of defiance was his displeasure with film crew lighting, Morgan’s piano uprising seems to have stemmed from some good, old-fashioned technical difficulties. Of course, critics and media often label Mr Wallen’s "outlaw" image and fan base as politically conservative or "MAGA-coded.” You dig? 🎸🎼😰 

Yahoo Sports: “Ohtani shows off his 2-way greatness with another historic performance.” Good to know that sports superstars are getting to be more (culturally) diverse. NBA’s Nikola Jokic is Serbian, Luka Doncic is Slovenian, and Victor Wembanyama is French (parents were from Belgium and Congo). Of course, Ohtani san is Japanese. And top NFL draft pick, Fernando Mendoza of the Las Vegas Raiders has roots in Spain and Cuba.    

       And need I repeat: These NBA guys are Filipino-Americans (or mother is Filipina): Dylan Harper (San Antonio Spurs), Jordan Clarkson (New York Knicks), Jared McCain (OKC Thunder), Jalen Green (Phoenix Suns), and Dylan’s bro Ron Harper Jr. (Boston Celtics). Dylan who played against Jared in the Conference finals, will be pitted versus Jordan in the Finals. Sweet! ⚾️🏈🏀

THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Rolling Stone: “Tulsi Gabbard Resigns as Director of National Intelligence” / Time: “Tulsi Gabbard Resigns as Trump's Director of National Intelligence.” Reason given: Her husband's cancer diagnosis. Hint: She had recently stopped short of agreeing with President Trump that Iran’s nuclear program posed an imminent threat. Or whatever the “agreement” or “disagreement,” as told by Left-wing media.

       As I said in the early days of Trump appointments last year, I give these hires the benefit of the doubt. Many will get the “You are fired!” holler or pressured to resign. Expected. That’s a Trump mojo! The top Cabinet dude who's still in there is Defense chief Pete Hegseth. Meanwhile, I just sit here and read and observe–and judge by how policies are carried out or pursued. Whoever is in charge below the Bosschief. 🏛🗽🏛

New York Times: “The Secretive Conglomerate That Controls Cuba’s Economy.” And adds: “A shadowy state enterprise run by the military is a focal point of Washington's pressure campaign against Cuba.” / Also: “Cuba Says It’s Ready to Negotiate.” Not so hard to link Venezuela's magnificent economic collapse to how the Caracas leadership managed PDVSA's massive oil wealth. Think Cartel de los Soles, which is controlled by military officials and traditional drug bosses. 

       Quietly, a military junta also took over Myanmar in 2021. What has Myanmar got in abundance? Opium. Meanwhile, Cuba is not a top producer of illicit drugs but it is a known transit point for narcotics from South/Central America to the U.S. 🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺 

New York Times: “Military Fraternity Running Iran Has Long History of Hard-Line Positions.” And adds: “Decision making in Iran is guided by a small group of men associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.” Aside from branches in the navy and aerospace, IRGC's ground force number is around 200,000. Add paramilitary and auxiliary combatants. 

       Then there's the elite Quds Force that trains Hezbollah, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, Iraqi Shia militants, pro-Assad militias in Syria, and Shia fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Defeating the IRGC and its so-called “Axis of Resistance” wouldn't be possible in war or military engagement. But containment of their power is possible. 🇮🇷🇮🇷🇮🇷

CNN: “CIA reportedly escalates covert war against drug cartels inside Mexico.” Reportedly? If I am still in grade school, I’d probably be, “Whoa?!?” The fact is, the CIA, DEA et al have been working with Mexico against narcos since the 1940s, and became intensive in the late 1960s to 1970s, driven by rising U.S. recreational drug use. Then came the rise of cartel boss Felix Gallardo in the 1980s, and should we discuss “indirect” relations with the formation of NAFTA in 1994? Meanwhile, I haven’t seen an involved pursuit of drug cartels in many years until Claudia Sheinbaum and Donald Trump came into power. 🇺🇸💉🇲🇽

Washington Post: “Many Americans think Trump assassination attempts were fake, survey finds.” Oh yeah? Because those who were kind of interviewed by The Post in the "survey" are those who'd say the botched slay tries were fake? Tell me about a hate-Trump doomsday howler who’d say otherwise? Anyhow, these are how surveys, polls, and studies are conducted these days, especially on the subject of politics or political partisanship, or on the subject of Donald Trump. 🤨😞🤨

Associated Press: “Rubio responds to China's threat to take Taiwan by force.” Intrigues, intrigues. But a media-fed rabble-rouse. They simply wouldn’t stop goading this drama! Just these facts: Taiwan’s giant Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics, operates 12 factories across China, with the largest located in Shenzhen. Where does top microchip maker TSMC get its silicon? China, the world’s runaway top producer of the chemical element. Etc etcetera. Both are Chinese, and their topmost cultural priority: Business. Refer to Taiwan as an Asian Tiger stalwart in late-1990s, and China’s entry to the WTO in 2001. War, quarrels, and such are bad for business, trade, or economics. 🇹🇼🇺🇸🇨🇳

The Guardian: “Gunshots fired in Philippines senate in standoff with senator Ronald dela Rosa.” I didn’t read fatalities or injuries, besides from a heavily “memefied” Bato dela Rosa tripping on the stairs as he evaded arrest. So I hope the dude who helped oversee the former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs” peacefully submit to ICC justice. Lose the drama, please! 

       Meanwhile, let me say this. Although the International Criminal Court (ICC) came into force only in 2002, then President (or dictator) Ferdinand Marcos Sr. should’ve been tried in an international court as well, post-1986. Yet his widow Imelda was acquitted in New York court in 1990. The family’s 20-year piles of crimes were definitely not just those that the wife was accused of (racketeering, conspiracy, fraud). Of course, the Marcoses are Washington buddies, the Dutertes are not. And when we talk of drug wars and wars per se, is the ICC looking at each and everyone? Selective justice? ☮️🇵🇭☮️

I read several posts exalting NYC Mayor Mayor Zohran Mamdani as "the best politician in the world," following news that he has taken steps to reduce the city’s budget deficit, cutting it by $5 billion. Zohran has released a $124.7 billion Executive Budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2027, but it is not yet final or fully applicable. It is a Proposal, he didn't "erase" the debt or deficit, as the FB memes trumpet.

      While the proposal represents a balanced plan that closes a previous $12 billion deficit (that he inherited from Eric Adams), it now heads to the City Council for review and final adoption. Not too fast. And even if the plan is approved, Mr Mamdani still faces a remaining $5.4 billion to $7.1 billion deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, with proposed cuts targeting agency efficiencies, health plan audits, and reduced rental assistance. 🏛🗽🏛

Variety: “Sydney Sweeney's 'Euphoria' role sparks backlash from actual OnlyFans models.” Come on! Because Sydney is “supposedly” on the Right side of the culture war? Meanwhile, I don’t watch “Euphoria” but I get it. Meanwhile, I watch “Margo's Got Money Troubles,” which also deals with OnlyFans gigs for women. I do have a few friends who “moonlights” there, too. I don’t judge them, so be it. This is not political. Just a legit job for many. As in a movie/TV series role isn’t supposed to consider whatever the actress/actor’s personal politics or their perceived Left/Right angst are. Let them do their job! 🤨😞🤨

LA Times: “Calif. mayor resigns after being charged with promoting propaganda for China.” Eileen Wang, the erstwhile mayor of Arcadia, "agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government.” Ms Wang was born in China. Her father was a physician for the University of Southern California, while her mother was an acupuncture doctor. Espionage between superpowers is a fact but that’d be a long discussion. Anyhow, what I question here is the timing of this news or case. Dubious. Why?

      President Trump starts his China visit today. Apparently this news would be on the table, last-minute shudder–as POTUS and Xi Jinping talk. Integral in their meeting is how to end the Iran crisis. The truth: Whatever Mr Trump does, this side of Washington has got to demonize it. Or the playbook has got to fail. Sad. 🇺🇸☮️🇨🇳

NEWS STUFF. Polymarket fuzz. Teen-age brawls. Oil fields and stuff. Impossible war. Trump and Europe. Mexico and cocaine trafficking.

Time: “Chuck Schumer Urges White House to Follow Senate in Prediction-Market Ban.” Clearly, Mr Schumer is referring to New York City-based Polymarket, the world's largest decentralized prediction market platform. “Prediction market platform” is the tuxedo-styled way of saying “casino” or sidestreet betting. The issue with politics is “insider trading.” But there’s more to this “prediction” wagering that makes President Trump’s foreign policy playbook a mere game-room fodder. Polymarket's founder and CEO is 27-year old Shayne Coplan, who is now worth over a billion$. 😏😒🤨

Yahoo: “Deputy and umpire arrested after brawl at youth baseball tournament.” Not being able to prevent the brawl means the game officials are remiss or incompetent. Fire them! Anyhow, the larger issue here is the growing, widespread violence among youths. Grade school or high school youngsters. Sure, we have those shenanigans in our time but then, the way society now looks at “violence” is blurred by “culture war” complexity. Example: I saw this video of girls in a wild, loud, and nasty brawl. Everybody’s clickin’ their iPhones, heckling and laughing. Comments include, “Oh yeah! Girlz can do it, too! Why not?!?” I digress. 😞🤨👎

Jalopnik: “Inside the quiet heists siphoning a billion dollars a year from Texas oil fields.” The U.S. is the world's top oil producer and second top importer (next to China). America buys petroleum (including crude oil, refined products, and biofuels) from 86 countries (not including Iran, even before this war). Take note as well that the U.S. has just resumed importing oil from Russia and, you know, the deal with Venezuelan oil. Anyhow, the U.S. is only the world’s 3rd largest oil exporter, behind Saudi Arabia and Russia. So much oil in America! Yet the spike in gasoline prices consistently shudders consumers each time a global drama happens. Think about that. ⛽️🗽⛽️

ABC: “Trump must choose between 'impossible' war or 'bad deal,' IRGC says.” The grim fact about Iran's IRGC? The end of this war doesn't mean this dreaded Shia army will also stop training or supporting terror groups. The horror of terrorism lurking in the shadows stays with us, unless significant issues are fixed while talking, not fighting. Hence, an agreement between Washington and Tehran at this point, could calm situations down, leading to more negotiations. My pragmatic, at the same time, hopeful take: The 9 countries that keep nuclear warheads will hold on to their weapons of mass destruction but global terrorism can be contained and totally eradicated. 🇺🇸💉🇲🇽

BBC: “Senior Republicans push back as Trump eyes bigger troop drawdown in Europe.” I support President Trump’s “plan” to cut the number of American troops in Germany (or Europe). I don’t care if these soldiers are reassigned in Asia (in Japan and South Korea mainly) or sent back home to help fortify the U.S. border. The D's move in Europe is directly linked to his disapproval of Washington's costly role in NATO. As long as NATO is active, there will be no peace in Eastern Europe. 🇺🇸☮️🇺🇳

LA Times: “Alleged top cocaine trafficker arrested in Calif., officials say.” Yesterday’s news, Reuters: “Mexico arrests top cartel leader wanted by U.S. with a $5 million bounty.” Effectively, President Claudia Sheinbaum and POTUS are on the same page in regards to the pursuit of drug cartels. I am all for this. As I reiterated, the record number (1+ million average) of undocumented border crossings from 2021 to 2024 are facilitated by drug cartels (for obvious reasons). I have no conditions, whatsoever, with drug traffickers. These hounds are also, mostly the human/sex traffickers and gunrunners or weapons smugglers. 🇺🇸💉🇲🇽

NEWS & STUFF. Correspondents dinner shooting. Jimmy K. Panama Canal and Strait of Hormuz. Etcetera.

Good Morning America: “How the Secret Service was able to stop the D.C. shooting suspect.” Grownup discussion of this issue matters–especially in these dark days of widespread hate. And how political/societal hate implodes and explodes in (usually) deadly violence. Yet what I read: The Correspondents Dinner was “scripted.” A ready hate-Trump yarn, in the absence of an insight. Idiotic. Anyhow,  what are mostly scripted? Regime change. Pre-planned by a host country’s opposition and/or military “reformists/rebels” and the sponsoring foreign (super)power. Think Manila 1986 and Caracas 2026. (Hey, let’s talk as adults.) ☮️🗽☮️

The Independent: “Melania urges ABC to 'take a stand' after Kimmel's 'widow' joke before shooting.” The First Lady has criticised down-low jester Jimmy over a joke in which he called her an "expectant widow" just days before a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Of course, this dude has said more crap that only drunken roadside imps yap about. Why would ABC allow this “late night TV hooligan” to stay on the mic? Because he brings in viewership$? 🤨😞🤨

Associated Press: “Panama Canal fees spike to $4 million as ships flee Hormuz chokehold.” Sure, there are alternative routes, and the winners are big business, as ever. Although Panama has full ownership and control of the Canal since 1999, operations of its key ports are under these giants: The Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, a BlackRock-led consortium, and Maersk. For U.S. interests, it helps that President José Raúl Mulino maintains a “a pragmatic, cooperative relationship” with the Trump administration. Jose is on the same page with Washington, in regards to Chinese influence and migration. 🇵🇦⛽️🇺🇸

NBC: “Clinton, Bush, Obama and Biden share their opinion on America's future.” POTUSes. I didn’t read their “opinions,” but you know. Anyhow, stuff that Donald Trump is dealing with are basically handed to him by past presidents. The difference is, The D tries hard to fix them.

      These: Bill Clinton’s trade pact with China’s Jiang Zemin in 2000 ushered in China’s relentless trade expansionism. George W. Bush’s handling of the post-9/11 anti-terror program only heightened global terrorism rather than contained the scourge. Barack Obama’s management of the war in Afghanistan and upgrade of military aid to Israel perked up Washington’s military brinkmanship. And Joe Biden’s relative nonchalance in “letting in” a record number of undocumented migrants (1+ million average) crashed an already bankrupt fiscal management of immigration policies. 🏛🗽🏛

Reuters: “United CEO reportedly raises industry-reshaping deal with American Airlines to Trump.” And so on and so forth. Sans the Iran war, which Mr Trump tried to avoid, his POTUS playbook is meant as a reset. Cut costs, review of U.S. aid and NATO share, foreign policy premium on trade, immigration whip and crime pursuit. So shudder is an understatement. Of course, he expected the thumbs-down. You see, the universe has evolved, especially with the economic advent of China. Trump is set to shake the Dragon’s expansionism as he maintains America’s stature as global #1. But look at how Europe deteriorated, as Asia and the Middle East move ahead. 🏛🗽🏛

STUFF. Hungarian elections. Fentanyl and drug cartels. Political party cliches.

Associated Press: “Hungary's election jolts Trump world, raising new concerns about midterms.” What is so big a deal with JD Vance’s endorsement or Donald Trump's so-called alignment with the vanquished chief, Viktor Orban? I look beyond the U.S. Left/Right angst.

      Seriously, new leader Peter Magyar's party Tisza is not very different from Mr Orban's Fidesz. They were former partymates, in fact. Tisza or Mr Magyar is Center-Right, hardcore European populist, and heavily anti-migrant. Essentially a MAGA parallel. Although Orban isn't really old at 62, Hungarians want a younger Rightist leader. Magyar is 45.

      Meanwhile, Europe has been going Right-wing in recent years, due to social issues, not necessarily political. They are hobbling from a gasping economy (below 1 percent) since 2009, and reeling from the migrant crisis since 2016. Yet it seems cool to stereotype voters or the people based on academic boxes or the "convenience" of drawing whatever to the hate-Trump board. As though the U.S. really changed that much, regardless of Donald Trump. It’s all relatively good. But look at Europe. The global power pre-21st century has considerably been weakened by the EU leadership's ineptitude and whacked sense of priority. 🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺

CBS: “Fentanyl lab uncovered as U.S. pressures Mexico on cartels.” I am diggin’ how Claudia Sheinbaum and Donald Trump are working together versus drug cartels. Carry on! Meanwhile, take note of the record number (1 million+!) cartel-facilitated border crossings from 2021 to 2024, as Joe Biden erased the Merida Initiative and replaced it with his “holistic” Bicentennial Framework for Security etcetera. Laughable!

      Yet these on Trump II: <>Lowest number of migrant crossings since the 1970s! <>Mexico has transferred nearly 100 high-ranking cartel members to the United States across three major operations since February 2025. <>And of course, the erasure of drug kingpin El Mencho. 🇺🇸☮️🇲🇽

When the smart-ass blah on your face about Far Right stereotypes or Far Left cliches, it’s as though you are clueless as dumb. Politics varies depending on where we are. Cultural facts more than ideological alignments. “Right-wing” parties in Europe, for example, are called Sweden Democrats, Freedom Party of Austria, Alternative for Germany or AfD, VOX, Reform UK etcetera. Per academia, they are Conservative populists, yet if you dig in what they’re fighting for, you’d see parallels with other cultures that are also boxed as revolutionaries, liberals or progressives. 🏛🏛🏛