The Republic Strikes Back

“If you owe your bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem. But if you owe a million, it has.”

– John Maynard Keynes (This quote reminds us of too big to fail)

“Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.” – Ibid.

“Ideas shape the course of history.” – Ibid.

The Republic Strikes Back: The Trump administration had announced over fifty billion dollars worth of tariffs on Chinese imports on Friday, and China has not taken kindly. Effective July 6th, the twenty-five percent tariffs would affect a listed 800 items. Beijing attempted negotiations with the United States to no avail, and has announced that they would fight back with tariffs just as high and would mark any previous trade deals made by Trump as “invalid.” Trump’s only response has been that additional tariffs would come were China to retaliate.

Survival of the Saudi Strikes: Saudi-led coalition air attacks struck Yemen’s Hodeidah airport on Sunday. The strikes were part of a three-year ongoing conflict that has killed over 10,000 people. The Red Sea port in Hodeidah is the main supply point for the Iran-backed Houthis, losing it would sever the supply line from the Red Sea to their main stronghold in Sanaa.

The United Nations fears an assault on Hodeidah could induce a famine, which would endanger millions of lives. Hodeidah residents have already suffered from air strikes, port blockades, hunger, and cholera. Furthermore, residents worry that a siege on Hodeidah will end their already meager sources of income to provide for their families.

The UN hopes to broker a deal to take over the administration of Red Sea port and the withdrawal of Houthis fighters. It’s reported that UN special envoy Martin Griffiths is currently in Sanaa and at an advanced stage in talks to broker a deal with the Houthis for their withdrawal from the port. He is expected to report to the UN security council on Monday.

– Child sex abuse has become almost synonymous with child labor in Pakistan. Almost 90% of all working children under the age of 14 are sexually abused in Kasur, an extremely conservative city in Punjab. (Guardian)

– A suicide bombing in the eastern province of Nangarhar in Afghanistan killed at least 26 people, and ISIS claimed to be behind the attack. Undeterred by this disturbance in the peace, and in honor of Eid al-Fitr, the religious holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani extended the ceasefire with the Taliban. Ghani continues to pursue peace with his ceasefire and offered medical and humanitarian aid to wounded members of the Taliban. (NPR)

– Lech Kaczynski, the Polish President who died in a plane crash in 2010, has become the center of conspiracy theories promoted by his twin Jaroslaw and his Law and Justice party. Even though Jaroslaw is not the President or Prime Minister, if he wants a law passed, it usually gets passed. Using the death of his brother as propaganda and driving the conspiracy theories to investigate his potential oppositions, Poland is on a rollercoaster looking for the truth behind the tragedy. (NYT)

– Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn who assumed the throne in 2016 after his father’s passing, has officially taken the assets of the royal family and has made it his own personal asset. These assets are worth over $30bn and had previously been exempt from tax and duties while under the Crown Property Bureau, which had controlled the royal wealth. With this move, the assets are subject to the same taxes and duties as any assets belonging to a citizen. Here’s someone who’s not looking for that great tax haven, or maybe he’s got something up his sleeve. (Guardian)

– Malaysia’s newly elected former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his team are trying to overcome all of the financial misconduct by scandal-tainted former Prime Minister Najib Razak, who accumulated over $250 billion in national debt. Even at the young age of 92, the resurgent Mahathir has kept a punishing schedule while he attempts to fix the country. (NYT)

American (Business and Politics) Gladiators, Bezos vs. Trump: Trump has always held an aggressive tone toward Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. It could be the wondrous ability to rock the no hair look proudly, the riches and fortune acquired as a self-made man, or the power and respect that Bezos holds that Trump strove for in his race for the presidency. Constantly on a warpath, the president has made claims toward tax evasion by the richest man in the world time and time again, and Bezos continues to flaunt his wealth and power through his influence to retaliate and make fun of the businessman turned politician.

More Reads:

• Laura Bush: Separating children from their parents at the border ‘breaks my heart’ (WaPo)
• Separated at the Border From Their Parents: In Six Weeks, 1,995 Children(NYT)
• How Trump Came to Enforce a Practice of Separating Migrant Families (NYT)
• Trump’s Decision To Separate Families Heats Up Immigration Debate (NPR)

– After the Cold War, many people relegated espionage to the back burner as something that nation-states really did not conduct or had little impact. Then came Wikileaks, Assange, and Russia’s political interference in elections, Cambridge Analytica, and Facebook weaponized by nation states. Espionage apparently doesn’t begin and end with just elections as World Cup soccer matches are also critical enough to engage in some spying: South Korea unfazed by Swedish spy game. (Reuters)

– World Cup fever is everywhere except in the United States. And while Ronaldo had a hat trick, Messi had a difficult game. That said, Messi is still considered one of the first preeminent players in soccer and now there’s analysis to show that Messi Walks Better Than Most Players Run. This analysis similar to one done on LeBron James and how he “has perfected the art of resting while playing.” Now if only there was a way for us mere mortals to get a workout while loafing around. (FiveThirtyEight & ESPN)

– While some of us exercise a fair bit, it’s unfortunately “not enough for us to achieve and maintain good health. We must also try to sit less, according to a fascinating new study of the separate physiological effects that exercise and light, almost-incidental activities, such as standing up, can have on our bodies.” (NYT)

– By all accounts the economy is humming and doing well. “But that number hides a perplexing anomaly: The percentage of men who are neither working nor looking for work has risen substantially over the past several decades.” (NYT)

– Will the good economy keep going strong or are we headed towards choppy waters: “Fund managers warn a downturn is coming and ‘it’s going to be pretty ugly’.” Regardless, we suggest readers always be safe and invest in yourself. But if things do get choppy, here’s “How To Make Lots Of Money During The Next Downturn.” And don’t get too pessimistic too soon, as Paul Samuelson, a Nobel Prize economist is quoted as saying: “The stock market has forecast nine of the last five recessions.” (Yahoo Finance & Financial Samurai)

– We hope there isn’t a downturn anytime soon as our nation’s infrastructure needs to be really improved. So much so, that “Domino’s Is Fixing America’s Crappy Roads For Pizza Safety And That’s Pretty Embarrassing.” (Jalopnik)

LAST MORSELS

“The political problem of mankind is to combine three things: economic efficiency, social justice, and individual liberty.” – John Maynard Keynes

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