Mark Chadbourn

Asia-Pacific stocks set to slip as investors weigh tariffs, OPEC+ output hike Investors will be keeping a watch on oil prices after OPEC+ agreed to raise production to 547,000 barrels per day in September.

Asia-Pacific markets opening lower.

What have I done now?

Richmond County Sheriff's Office - Georgia 43m • 5 Avoid the area of Barton Chapel and Meadowbrook Drive and all of Meadowbrook. A shooting has occurred with multiple individuals shot and deputies are actively searching and chasing suspects in the Meadowbrook area.

PSA.

Moodys Chief Economist Mark Zandi: “The (US) economy is on the precipice of recession…Consumer spending has flatlined, construction and manufacturing are contracting, and employment is set to fall. And with inflation on the rise, it is tough for the Fed to come to the rescue.”

Donate to West Cork Walk 4 Gaza, organized by Sam Simpson Communities from all over West Cork are coming together on Saturday 9th August to ‘Walk the Length o… Sam Simpson needs your support for West Cork Walk 4 Gaza

Sharing this as sadly can no longer do it due to work commitments (life huh).

Hit the link for the go fund me 👍

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey: “Trump has no respect for allies. To show our Canadian friends we stand with them, the PM should host a Commonwealth economic summit.

“Closer Commonwealth ties will strengthen all our nations against Trump’s trade war and help deliver the growth Britain urgently needs.”

All surviving former IDF Chiefs of Staff, Mossad directors, Shin Bet Chiefs and Police Commissioners have issued a joint statement warning Israel that Netanyahu is leading the nation to unprecedented defeat. (Restart Israel)

A British crow is asking passersby if they're alright.

Thank you.

One term would be perfect. Presidents would have to make radical changes to achieve their legacy rather than simply trying to get re-elected.

Trump’s Tariffs Are Making Money. That May Make Them Hard to Quit.

Trump’s tariffs could be one of the biggest contributors to economic inequality in American history.

The money raised by them will allow Trump to achieve his aim of slashing taxes for the wealthy. Meanwhile the cost of the tariffs will be paid by working people through increased prices.

Trump aide Stephen Miller has accused India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The Modi-Trump authoritarian love-in has done a 180 in recent days. Trump is stung that India won’t do exactly what he wants.

There will be a few of those moments, no doubt.

Me taking a smiling selfie as an excuse to get a picture of the man behind me at the bar, despondently counting out beer money.

Two men seated at a table, slumped forward, possibly asleep, possibly dead, heads in arms. In the background, a man with a thousand yard stare drinks alone.

A standing woman addresses three people, two women and a man, all seated, oddly, in a row. They all have expressions of hopelessness on their faces.

A pint glass of a mysterious green drink stands alone on a bar of pale, office furniture wood. I never found out what this was, it looked like washing up liquid. When I asked the lady behind the bar, she just said "You probably wouldn't like it"

9 years ago today I was in Luxembourg and found The Bar of Ultimate Despair, a place so bleak I probably wouldn't believe my memory if I hadn't taken pictures. Brightly lit, pale wood officey furniture, one single beer on draught and a clientele whose common mood could not be described as convivial.

If you’re looking for a template for Trump, it’s here with his biggest pal in
Central America.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele: “Constitutional reform does not mean the end of democracy.”

Two days ago he abolished presidential term limits, allowing indefinite re-election.

Taiwan is reporting continued Chinese air activity over the Taiwan Strait.

Labour is facing a two-fronted battle: and, whisper it, e... With a new left party launching, the danger now is that disillusioned voters hand more to rivals from both flanks

I’ve written a few times about how the public everywhere is demanding change on a big scale and is throwing votes at anyone offering a move away from situation normal.

Rawnsley’s piece here flags up the threat to Labour from that shift.

Coming elections could throw up some wild results.

🙄

Plume of smoke rises from a volcano

The Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka, Russia, has erupted for the first time in 600 years.

It’s linked to the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the area a few days ago.

Morning Bluesky.

A fire is raging at an oil depot at Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi after a Ukrainian drone attack overnight.

#explodey

The White House Rose Garden as it was - green Now - paved over

Trump Kills Beauty.

Advertise your account with a gif

Sun over a quiet street

Nice evening.

Deadly DC plane crash was years in the making, air traffic manager tells NTSB The NTSB concluded three days of investigative hearings into the collision between an Army helicopter and a passenger plane that killed 67.

"The deadly mid-air collision at Reagan Airport in January was years in the making, the operations manager of the DCA air traffic control tower on the night of the accident told the National Transportation Safety Board on Friday."

"A US Think Tank recently war-gamed a Chinese blockade of Taiwan. The results: even limited military action could kill thousands.” (Taiwan Plus News)

Yes.

Volume.

There’s also a large-scale military deployment reported in China's Fujian, the region closest to Taiwan.

Chinese naval exercises are now taking place in the Guangdong waters, Taiwan Strait.

What’s interesting is that the drills for the first time involve both civilian and commercial vessels, which are widely expected to be used by the Chinese Navy in any landing operation in a conflict with Taiwan.

As a Medieval Archaeologist, I do not approve of this message. The Middle Ages were smarter than modern day Utah.