The Sy Hersh effect: killing the messenger, ignoring the message

Map Shows Homebuilders Pulling Back Nationwide "Given Limited Visibility To Demand" Even as homebuilders offer mortgage-rate buydowns, closing-cost incentives, and upgraded amenities to attract buyers on the sidelines, clouds of uncertainty continue to build over the housing market. New U.S. single-family permit activity fell again in January, highlighting yet more caution among builders ahead of the spring selling season as they respond to softer demand. Goldman analysts, led by Susan Maklari, provided clients on Friday with a snapshot of homebuilders across America and a housing heat map suggesting continued sluggishness across...

Having amassed the heaviest US air power in the Middle East since the disastrous 2003 Iraq invasion, President Trump is now considering an initial, limited strike on Iran to force it to bow to the maximalist demands of Israel and the United States. The idea is based on two deeply questionable premises: Reported by the Wall Street Journal, the single-strike scenario […]

Moscow Claims NATO Nuke Smuggling Plot Into Ukraine - UK Denounces 'Heinous' Charge It's hard to know what's true amid the fog of war, but when Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) comes out with whatever new accusation it lodges against Ukraine it usually 'goes big'. That's true of the latest statement Tuesday, which happens to mark the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Ukraine invasion of 2022. The SVR is newly alleging that France and the UK are plotting to secretly arm Ukraine with a nuclear weapon. French M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile. Photo credits:...