Canadians showed more courage, fortitude, and doggedness at Juno Beach than J.D. Vance or any of these creatures could possibly summon.
Keith Johnson
@kfj-fp.bsky.social
Energy, geopolitics, geoeconomics, trade, seapower, for Foreign Policy. There's a little kicking. https://foreignpolicy.com/
Until the Trump administration blames the Garfield administration for food price inflation, I am holding off.
Not sure what’s next, but definitely reach out if you’re in need of an experienced writer and editor on foreign policy and national security issues. My recent focus has been on the intersection of technology and international conflict, but I have a wide range of interests.
After intervening with hail mary's in Argentina and Japan, I guess it was only logical that Scott Bessent would have to do the same to stop the bond rout in the US. home.treasury.gov/news/press-r...
Treasury Announces Increased Sizes of Nominal Long-End
Liquidity Support Buybacks Beginning September 9, 2026WASHINGTON, D.C. —The U.S. Department of the Treasury is increasing, by at least double, the size of liquidity support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal coupon securities (the 10-year to 20-year sector and the 20-year to 30-year sector). The current maximum size of $2 billion per operation will be at least $4 billion per operation. This change is effective September 9, 2026 and will be in effect for the remainder of this refunding quarter (through November 4, 2026). Treasury will provide more information about future buyback sizes at the next Quarterly Refunding, scheduled for November 4, 2026. This increase in buyback operation sizes reflects Treasury’s desire to provide greater liquidity support in longer-dated nominal sectors where there is consistent strong sponsorship from market participants, as evidenced by the significant volume of high-quality offers Treasury routinely receives in longer-dated buyback operations.An updated tentative Treasury buyback schedule will be released at a later date.###
home.treasury.gov
This is very good. Europe is hot this summer. I nearly died twice today. Already. foreignpolicy.com/2026/08/10/e...
Europe’s Summer of Nightmares
Punishing heat and wildfires have cost billions and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
foreignpolicy.com
I just saw a meme that said “get in losers, we’re reclaiming the emdash”. People. PEOPLE. Where are your STANDARDS? It CLEARLY should be “get in, losers — we’re reclaiming the em dash.”
This was almost surely not the worst part of flying with Ryanair. bsky.app/profile/theg...
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2mo agoRyanair passenger almost sucked out of shattered window during flight
I actually used the EGY-ARG game as an excuse to teach the young ones how to pronounce "horseshit." As in FIFA and this entire World Cup are horseshit.
I know this is a hard concept for Trump to grasp, but individual European countries, trade-wise, are not separate. They are part of the EU. You can't boycott Spain any more than you can boycott Germany. Also, it's remarkably stupid and petty. Also, who would give up jamon and good olive oil?
I am still, and I cannot stress this enough, white-hot livid at the injustice done to Egypt on Tuesday at the World Cup.
I talked to Mitch McConnell for 18.5 minutes but Rose Mary Woods erased the tape
Albuquerque PD has killed more people in the last decade-plus than British cops have this entire century. Yikes. bsky.app/profile/econ...
The Economist@economist.com · 2mo agoSince 2013, 116 people have been shot and killed by Albuquerque’s police, according to one non-profit. The city is an extreme manifestation of a broader problem
and so it begins: U.S. Treasury grants waivers on Iranian oil and petrochemical exports (and associated banking transactions) through late August. (This could be a $60 bln annualized windfall for Tehran.) ofac.treasury.gov/media/936206...
ofac.treasury.gov
First, it's "Somalis." Second, a worse thing you can do in Minnesota is shoot a mother in the face repeatedly as she drives away from you. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3mo agoDr Oz: "You're not allowed to complain about Somalians, because that's racist. And the worst thing you can be in Minnesota is a racist."
Among the many hills I would die on—starting with "garry-mander"--is that Randy Travis's version of King of the Road is infinitely superior to Roger Miller's.
Donald Trump, a fan of golden statues, marble monuments and cage-fighting, has yet to appoint a horse to his cabinet. He has, however, appointed unqualified sycophants to positions of high rank
America must hope Donald Trump is not a new Caligula
In the annals of rulers committing acts of folly, Roman decadence stands out
econ.st
I know I am old-school, but why would you deliberately throw away all the advantages of U.S. power and influence and become a horrow show/laughingstock for no gain whatsoever?
I bought and read "Moby Dick" the other week. I had never read it. On the one hand, I can see the Great American Novel args. On the other, what a very weird book. Personally, I loved the 80% that was dedicated to whaling encyclopedia. The plot is exactly what you know: Ahab, white whale, ends badly.
On this (global) labor day, I can't complain about the job I have, which is fun, and not at all stressful. But the most fun I ever had was helping run an independent bookstore. You can open boxes of books, place books (properly), straighten them, and help customers. Support your local bookstore.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary is comparing Iranian leaders to rats in a sewer pipe and spewing misinformation. x.com/SecScottBess...
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on X: "It is very difficult for rats in a sewer pipe to know what’s going on in the outside world. Some color for the Iranian Leadership as they literally sit in the dark: 1. The United States has complete control of the Strait of Hormuz. 2. There is a hard currency, i.e. U.S. dollar," / X
It is very difficult for rats in a sewer pipe to know what’s going on in the outside world. Some color for the Iranian Leadership as they literally sit in the dark: 1. The United States has complete control of the Strait of Hormuz. 2. There is a hard currency, i.e. U.S. dollar,
x.com
I will go to my grave (perhaps later today, if my editor's mood is anything to go by) without knowing whether it is 'cease fire' or 'cease-fire.' It doesn't matter in this particular case, but as a matter of language.
All of these podcasts are good but this one is primo www.ft.com/content/2404...
Economic warfare: lessons from history, with Mark Harrison
What four centuries of conflict can tell us about today
ft.com
Oorah! bsky.app/profile/ryan...
Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray”@ryanjreilly.com · 5mo ago"ICE agents will be stationed outside graduation events for the nation’s newest Marines to identify whether any of their family members are undocumented, according to the Marine Corps."
If someone actually is a writer, as in writes for a living, the idea of outsourcing even an idea to a machine (AI) is insanity. Writers don't even like their editor to fuck with their copy, and those are humans they know and only hate with cold seething rage.
To paraphrase a great Texan, and a nearly great American, please clap. Seriously. My social media managers are holding me hostage on a diet of quinhoa and Le Croix. foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/26/i...
Iran Is Putting a ‘Toll Booth’ in the Strait of Hormuz
Some ships are getting through: those that pay, and those that play.
foreignpolicy.com
It's hard to believe Little Marco somehow made himself even smaller and sadder.
This remains on the White House website, from last June, which still raises a lot of questions. www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...
Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated — and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News
The world is far safer after President Donald J. Trump’s highly successful, decisive precision strikes against the Iranian regime’s key nuclear
whitehouse.gov