"Tell me how this ends?" In an emergency Iran-edition of the Washington Roundtable from @newyorker.com, @janemayer.bsky.social @sbg1.bsky.social and I dig into the rationales, the blind spots, the finances, and the key lessons from Vietnam to Iraq and beyond swap.fm/l/tny-tps-Awdxs
You can see why Russia sees an opportunity to settle scores. "Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East, the first indication that another major U.S. adversary is participating — even indirectly" www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Unsettling to see Drew Thompson worried about the sudden stop in PLA flights near Taiwan chinadrew.substack.com/p/the-pla-ha...
Jimmy Lai will not appeal his 20-year sentence for national security crimes, say his lawyers
apnews.com/article/hong...
“If a U.S. role were to be confirmed, the strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the Middle East.” www.reuters.com/world/middle...
New NY Times ’visual investigation’ strongly suggests that the US fired the missile that hit the Minab school Saturday. (Though is very careful with its language to not say it conclusively.)
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/w...
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi stock index plunged 12%, its steepest-ever daily percentage drop, taking losses over the past two days to 18% on concerns over the fallout of the Iran war.
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
A Kuwaiti F/A-18 fighter jet was the cause of the accidental shootdown of three American F-15s on Sunday, according to three people familiar with initial reports of the incident.
All three U.S. aircraft went down, but their pilots ejected safely.
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
"How long is it since we unleashed Chiang Kai-shek?" (June 1, 1954)
China’s undersea advances, including the expected deployment of submarines equipped with longer-range and more accurate ballistic missiles, will allow it to assert its interests farther from its shores, senior U.S. naval commanders said in congressional testimony Monday.
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
NEW
The White House has submitted its War Powers report to Congress for the attack on Iran.
The justification for military action rests on 1) Iran's supposed continued quest for nuclear weapons and 2) the threat Iran's missiles pose to US forces, vessels, civilians and those of partners. 1/n
As the U.S. and Israel have pummeled China’s closest partner in the Middle East, killing Iran’s leader and calling for its people to overthrow the government, Beijing has responded with sharp denunciations, but little more.
www.wsj.com/world/iran-c...
Wang Yi to Lavrov on the Iran war:
"It is unacceptable for the U.S. and Israel to launch attacks against Iran in the midst of their ongoing negotiations, still less to blatantly assassinate a leader of a sovereign country and instigate regime change."
www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/syst...
Breaking featured image 2025
A Hong Kong appeals court has overturned pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai's fraud conviction relating to an alleged lease violation at the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper headquarters. 🔗 buff.ly/oowqFoc
This is the worst case scenario occurring at almost all turns.
- Tased and struck over misunderstanding
- Stays in jail for a year because of slow wheel of justice and ICE fears
- PD screws up in releasing him
- Border Patrol release catastrophically screwed up
- PD blows off missing persons report
AIs can’t stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations
Leading AIs from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google opted to use nuclear weapons in simulated war games in 95 per cent of cases
www.newscientist.com/article/2516...
A judge rejected a Justice Department request to search devices seized from a Washington Post reporter as part of a probe of alleged mishandling of classified information by a government contractor.
The Trump administration is sending all pregnant unaccompanied minors apprehended by immigration enforcement to a single group shelter in South Texas. The decision was made over urgent objections from the administration's own health and child welfare officials, who say both the facility and the region lack the specialized care the girls need. That's according to seven sources who work at the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which handles the custody and care of children who cross the border without a parent or legal guardian, or are separated from family by immigration authorities. All of the sources declined to be named for fear of retaliation. Since late July, more than a dozen pregnant minors have been placed at the Texas facility, which is located in the small border city of San Benito. Some were as young as 13, and at least half of those taken in so far became pregnant as a result of rape, sources said. Their pregnancies are considered high risk by definition, particularly for the youngest girls.
“The Trump administration is sending all pregnant unaccompanied minors apprehended by immigration enforcement to a single group shelter in South Texas”
Some are as young as 13.
"This is 100% and exclusively about abortion”—former head of unaccompanied minor program
www.tpr.org/news/2026-02...
WSJ: A major U.S. arms-sales package for Taiwan is in limbo following pressure from Chinese leader Xi and concerns among some in the Trump administration that greenlighting the deal would derail President Trump’s coming visit to Beijing, according to U.S. officials.
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
Sad to learn of the death of King Liu, the founder of Giant Bicycles. I met him in 2014, when I moved to Taiwan. He had an incredible savvy for business but only in old age to he truly get into bicycles as something to ride instead of merely a product to sell
www.nytimes.com/2013/08/31/w...
Guardian: The Yangtze River in China, which has been in ecological decline for 70 years, is showing signs of recovery due to a sweeping fishing ban.
One biologist said it was the most positive freshwater conservation story seen anywhere in the world in 20 years.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Japanese authorities said they seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its captain after he refused to stop for an inspection while sailing in Japan’s maritime zone, an incident that risks adding to tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
www.wsj.com/world/asia/j...
The Central Intelligence Agency released a new video on Thursday seeking to capitalize on upheaval at the top of China’s armed forces to recruit potential spies.
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
What a story:
“Lewandowski and Noem, both married, have denied the reports of the affair, but people said they do little to hide their relationship.
“The pair have been using a luxury 737 MAX jet, with a private cabin in back, for their travel around the country”
1/
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
"A Chinese sea captain of a Hong Kong-flagged vessel accused of damaging undersea cables and a gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in 2023 pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a Hong Kong court. Around 18 witnesses could be called to testify, the court heard Wednesday." apnews.com/article/balt...
We have received numerous credible reports of torture, killing, and inhumane treatment of detained individuals at the Camp East Montana migrant detention facility, located within Fort Bliss. #txlege
The father of HK democrat Anna Kwok has been found guilty of handling funds linked to an "absconder" - the first family member of a wanted activist to be convicted of a national security offence. In full: buff.ly/Bf7KIGh
NYT: Federal prosecutors failed to secure an indictment against six Democratic lawmakers who enraged President Trump by reminding active-duty members of the military and intelligence community that they were obligated to refuse illegal orders
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
After Takaichi said Japan could get drawn into conflict if China tried to seize Taiwan by force, Beijing lashed out.
But that strategy has largely backfired. Takaichi has declined to retract her comments and was resoundingly rewarded for her show of strength by voters.
www.wsj.com/world/asia/j...
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
