Hobbes’s State: “Why Are You Hitting Yourself?”

Iran Fires 'Warning Shots' On 'Unauthorized' Vessels Trying To Traverse Hormuz Strait Summary Rtrs citing Iran's Fars: Iran's armed forces carries out a missile launch operation from southern regions of the country toward specified targets. Reports of US ships targeted (unconfirmed); also 'warning shots' fired on 'illicit' vessels. Per Axios: "U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, but President Trump has yet to give it his final approval." Unconfirmed reports of Ayatollah denial of MOU. Saudi state media reports...

Authoritarianism Doesn't Arrive With A Coup... It Arrives With A Login Authored by Sam Lowry via dailysceptic.org, Authoritarianism doesn’t usually arrive with a coup. It arrives with a login, a compliance form, a penalty notice for keeping records in the wrong format. It comes with a quietly extended electoral term, a cancelled bank account, a prison sentence for a social media post. Each measure has a reasonable-sounding justification. The problem is the direction — and how far it has already travelled. Power is migrating from the visible arena of democratic politics to the...

Netanyahu Left 'Personally Stunned' By Trump Rhetoric Prohibiting Lebanon Strikes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his inner circle were reportedly blindsided - left "stunned" - after President Trump dropped a surprise line effectively clipping Israel's wings in Lebanon, according to Axios, citing sources familiar with the exchange. On Friday, Trump declared the US had "prohibited" further Israeli strikes just as the administration-brokered 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon kicked in. The US President was unusually harsh in rhetoric with America's longtime #1 Mideast ally, writing on Truth Social that "enough is enough". AFP...