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Well, yes

The US military has destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including a submarine, since Saturday, Brad Cooper, the commander of the US Central Command, said late on Tuesday. “Today, there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman,” he said in a video statement.

Shipping through the strait of Hormuz – typically a vital artery of the world economy, with about a fifth of oil supplies and seaborne gas tankers passing through it – has largely ground to a halt.

Iran has land based antiship missles. Quite how good they are, well. Would beat an unescorted tanker, fer sure. Often enough anyway. Get through an Aegis system? Almost certainly not.

But hanging about seems sensible enough….

But, but, we’re Speshul!

A bill to recognise English as an official language of New Zealand has cleared its first hurdle in parliament amid ridicule from opposition parties and linguists who say it is “unnecessary” and “cynical”.

The bill seeks to give English, which is spoken by 95% of the country, the same official status as te reo Māori (Māori language) and New Zealand sign language. The bill said the status and use of the existing official languages would not be affected.

How dare the normies, with their normie language, get what we speshul folk have?

And I do think it fun that sign language is official but English is not. Because, well, sign language is normally based upon an underlying and what is NZsl but upon English?

Typical

It was one of the most disproportional votes-to-seats results seen anywhere in the world. But then, nowhere in Europe but the UK still uses first past the post.

The first-past-the-post system was the fortress sustaining the old parties, but “small” party interlopers it was designed to keep out have stormed the walls, and could yet overrun the castle. YouGov finds that Nigel Farage could become prime minister on a 23% vote, against the strong wishes of three-quarters of the country. Voting has become a fruit machine with random results when tiny shifts bring cascading seats.

The consequences run deeper than fair voting or psephology. The primacy of a few voters in a few marginals has profoundly distorted the way we live. Our exceptional inequality, among the the worst in the developed world, is exacerbated by our two-party system. Still we suffer the after-effects of Thatcherism and austerity – extremist approaches that would be mitigated in a proportional system. Revealing research from Compass this week tracks how two-party politics began falling apart as more middle-class voters, also suffering from a cost-of-living squeeze, were ignored by a system that took them for granted but provided no better representation to low-income voters in urban seats.

As the results of democratic elections might bring about a winner Polly doesn’t like then and therefore the system of democracy must be changed.

Which is to wholly miss the point of elections, of democracy. They’re a way of changing the rulers without bloodshed. If you change the system so that the rulers casnnot be changed then that’s not democracy.

Isn’t this precious?

Between 2021 and 2025, Black nonbinary artist Sage Ni’Ja Whitson visited 91 locations across 15 states – in all of these sites a trans, gender nonconforming, or intersex individual had died, either by murder or suicide. At each site they conducted a ceremony of their own to bear witness to what had happened there.

“It was very challenging in ways that I’m continuing to mend from and rest with,” they said. “It is not ‘inexpensive’ on my body and spirit. That cost I knew would be there.”

I’ll invent a boogie, a rain dance, a prayer, a ceremony, which is very taxing upon me, then you all bow down to me as the artist.

Currently showing at Los Angeles’s California African American Museum (CAAM) is These Waking Glories, Whitson’s solo show displaying a variety of photos and other pieces in conjunction with these ceremonies. A moving and important bearing of witness to the violence that continues to ravage the communities of both racial and gender minorities, it is a powerful show that should be experienced.

Now, as we all know, some considerable portion of these dead are sex workers. Or, to use older language, trannies who may or may not have been wholly open about physical matters before proferring. Or even during. They are indeed individual and precious snowflakes because all humans are that. But tranny tart is a risky profession. It’s not obvious that tranny, as tranny, nor black, has much to do with it.

But, you know, art…..

Emergency tin foil hat delivery required in Ely

So, does the aggression have an explanation? Could it all be down to money? In fact, could it just be down to the only part of the international rules-based order in which Donald Trump has any interest at all? Is this all about defending the dollar?

Trump has already taken out Venezuela, which has attempted to trade oil in a currency other than the dollar.

Iran was doing the same thing, not least with China.

The dollar’s hegemony as the world’s reserve currency has been both the strength and the weakness of the USA since 1945, massively over-inflating the dollar’s value relative to real US trade, which is why it runs perpetual trade deficits and has lost so many blue-collar and even white-collar jobs. At the same time, that overstated value has delivered power and the opportunity to intervene, which has gone to the heads of presidents stronger than Donald Trump.

That hegemony has, in no small part, been reinforced by the dollar’s use as the universal trading medium for oil, the literal fuel of the modern global economy. If that hegemony were broken, US power would be seriously undermined.

That oil is traded in $ is not even true, let alone important. We just see the generally quoted oil price as being in $. You can – and people do – buy or sell in any currency you like.

Conspirazoid nonsense – as if that’s new from this quarter.

Didn’t take long, eh?

The owners of WH Smith’s former high street empire have parachuted in a team of corporate troubleshooters less than a year after taking over the chain.

The Telegraph understands that private equity firm Modella Capital has asked advisers at Teneo to come up with a restructuring plan that will put the business – now trading under the name TG Jones – on a more sustainable footing.

Of course, this is why Smith’s sold them anyway – it’s a difficult line of business these days. But no doubt we’ll soon enough see people blaming private equity rather than the tough line of business.

Ouch

Ireland has suffered nearly 150 incidents of anti-Semitism in the past six months, a Jewish group has revealed.

The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland (JRCI) recorded 143 anti-Semitic incidents between July last year and January, averaging nearly one per day.

It’s one of those oddities that the place is alarmingly antisemitic. But:

It called for the “rapid development of a dedicated national plan to counter growing anti-Semitism” and protect the 2,200 Jews living in Ireland.

Assume each incident affects one person only. That’s still a 5% chance for any individual of being subject to an “incident” in only 6 months.

That’s, you know, a lot?

Err, yes Bill

Mr Clinton told the hearing: “I wish Chauntae had told me [she was being abused]. I liked her.”

“I didn’t think it was anything unusual, I can’t tell you how many aeroplanes I’ve been on where rich people ask me to go and they had someone offering me a massage,” he added.

Definitions matter, eh? Massage means what? The definition of is is? What, in fact, is sex?

BrewDog and the cumulative preference shares

The UK and Irish assets of BrewDog, the Scottish self-styled “punk” brewer, have been sold to the US cannabis and drinks firm Tilray for £33m, in a deal that will cost nearly 500 jobs and leave legions of the company’s early-stage crowdfunders empty-handed.

The cash out – such as it was – happened some years back. Without looking up the details there was some private equity money that came in. OK. But as part of that capital raising – or maybe it was payout to founder, not sure – there was an issuance of 18% cumulative preference shares. And you don’t need many years of 18% cumulative before that eats all the equity. Which is why other investors are geting nowt.

James Watt and Martin Dickie, who co-founded the business in 2007, are thought to have already made £100m between them – three times Monday’s sale price – by cashing out shares in 2017, when the private equity group TSG bought 22% of the company.

That’s the bunny with the 18% cumulatives…..

Fun stuff, eh?

Senator Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna, a representative, on Monday introduced legislation that would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on America’s billionaires.

It didn’t, doesn’t, work in California so let’s take is nationwide!

Of course, Saez and Zucman say it will be great. Which is all we need to know to show they’ve stopped being economists and are now activists only.

Seems very weird

The health official behind the pause of the NHS’s puberty blocker trial has been blocked from any further involvement amid accusations of bias.
Prof Jacob George is said to have raised concerns over the trial after taking up his role as the chief medical and scientific officer at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) earlier this year.
The regulator’s subsequent intervention in the debate led to the Department of Health announcing that the experiment would be paused.
But Prof George has now been recused from any further involvement after social media posts emerged of him praising JK Rowling and criticising people for the denial of “basic biological fact”.

So no one who knows anything may be involved in a medical trial?

The Guardian’s economics coverage is always such fun, eh?

The trade-weighted dollar, measured against a basket of global currencies, has lost 7% of its value over the past year despite strong US economic growth and soaring stock prices on Wall Street. That partly reflects the outlook for inflation, and therefore interest rates, but also perhaps a more nebulous sense that the US policy framework is not as solid and predictable as it may once have been.

Well, yes, etc etc.

But nowhere does she mention tariffs. Which is really pretty important. Because whjolly standard theory and observation says that the imposition of tariffs raises the FX rate. So, given The Donald’s love of tariffs the $ FX rate should be rising. Which means that the fall is doubly surprising. Something that really should be mentioned…..

This all seems wholly logical

Under Monday’s changes, adults and accompanied children claiming asylum will receive a 30-month period of protection if it is granted.

At a 30-month review refugees with a continuing need of sanctuary will have their protection renewed, while those whose countries are now deemed safe will be expected to return home.

The new rules will not apply retrospectively to anyone who has applied before Monday.

Under the previous system refugees were granted five years of protection and allowed to bring their families, followed by possible permanent settlement.

Just over 100,000 people claimed asylum in 2025, 4% less than the previous year. Half of asylum seekers arrived through unauthorised entry routes, such as small boats.

The change follows Mahmood’s visit last week to Denmark, which introduced a similar approach in recent years.

The Danish government has reduced asylum claims by more than 90% in a decade, but has been accused of breaching the human rights of refugees.

Possible to argue it’s too much, not enough and all that. But the general idea, that refuge lasts until you don;t need refuge seems fair enough. As should be true of council housing of course – sure, you get help when you need it. But why in buggery should you gain a below market tenancy for life just because you did need help for a bit?

This is legally interesting

The UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus has been hit by a drone strike, causing limited damage and no casualties, Cypriot authorities and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have said.

That base is sovereign UK territory. So, legally, they’ve attacked the UK. If you really stretch it doesn’t that mean we can call on Nato to beat up Iran? Certainly, it’s now – legally, all that international law stuff – OK for us to respond, no?

Yes, very good

I loved this reaction by Tom Butcher to my video transcript on the MMT economy. He said in a comment:

It strikes me that no-one spends any time worrying that they will run out of emails. I just type it in. The only concern is how much to write on what subject and where to send it for best effect. Same with Govt money. Just type it in. How much to create for which purpose and where to send it for best effect; .. ah, there’s the rub!

Quite. That’s why we’ve all got spam folders filled with million upon million pieces of worthless crap.

His own analysis

And if the private sector runs a surplus, the government has to run a deficit.

And by surplus, I mean saving, and therefore, private saving must equal a government deficit; otherwise, the equation doesn’t balance because, in accounting, and this is important, credits and debits always match.

This is based upon sectoral analysis, because of course it is. But sectoral analysis only balances if you include foreigners. Which is important in a country that runs a large trade deficit and therefore a large capital acount surplus….