Many countries across the world have held inquiries into what worked and what didn't during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some have been better than others, but none of them looked like the complete sham accountability exercise that saw Anthony Fauci required to testify to Rand Paul's committee. So what should we have been talking about, and why has the United States decided uniquely that it is determined to be the least-well prepared for any future similar crisis? Let's discuss.

Following Trump's reportedly successful meeting with Ukraine's President Zelensky, many reporters are talking about how various factors are 'turning' Trump, or 'warming him' towards Ukraine and against Putin's Russia. At this stage in the Trump presidency, with all that has happened in the last year and a half - such commentary is baffling at best. Only possible by those who have a problem understanding just how much the game has changed. Let's discuss.

President Trump was in talks to discuss all his options in massively escalating the war against Iran over the weekend. It turns out, they were a lot more limited than he had imagined. Now, confronted as he has finally been, with the enfeeblement he has brought upon the US military, he must surely understand how few options he really has, and how bad all of them are. So suddenly diplomacy is back in vogue, and the US has to find a way to spin an obvious defeat into a victory. Let's discuss.

In this news round-up of the week on Friday July 24th 2026. President Trump is furious about the rapid leaks about all the mis-steps and u-turns he's making over the Iran war. But they are many, and serious, and reveal that his push for military escalation is based on a delusion. The Saudis are furious about Trump agreeing a nuclear deal with them and then AFTER it was publicly announced, tacked on a condition that they find impossible to stomach. South East Asian countries are furious about Trump landing massive costs and consequences on them without apparently caring. And Trump has delivered the latest version of his global tariffs operation - and done so by slandering everyone for being just peachy with the idea of modern slavery.

President Trump's biggest triumph, according to some, was to get Israel and Hamas to agree to his Gaza peace deal. And then, to follow that up with the creation of the Board of Peace to oversee an astonishingly ambitious transformation of the territory from wartime disaster to thriving economic centre. Since then, it seems that the driving energy behind the plan has pretty much disappeared, leaving Gaza in as bad a position as ever before. Let's discuss.

As Trump's attacks on Iran resume, and his rhetoric escalates, reports are emerging that officials in the Pentagon are just not telling the White House, and Pete Hegseth, the truth about how depleted the US arsenal actually has become. Why? Largely because Hegseth's purges of senior figures have trained everyone to understand that the bearers of bad news, or even just cold reality as it exists outside of Donald Trump's wishful thinking, generally get fired. So it could well be that this escalation is the biggest mistake of the war so far. Let's discuss.

Canada is having a wildfire problem - a huge wildfire problem right now. In the past, it has collaborated with its southern neighbour over such moments - a reciprocal arrangement that has had lots of activation in recent years. But this time it's different. This time President Trump is seeing the large amount of unpleasant smoke making its way across the border and afflicting US cities, and using that to renew his economic threats and to mutter once again about the '51st State'. Obviously, it's not really about air pollution. Let's discuss.

In this news round-up of the week for Friday July 17th 2026. President Trump addresses the nation and declassifies documents to show just how vulnerable US elections are. The documents don't show what he says they do - but that won't matter for what comes next. The Iran war is back in full flow - analysts are detecting a new strategy in the US military operation, and Iran's factional infighting took an interesting turn. And manly man's man Pete Hegseth doesn't think men in the US military are quite manly enough. Also, a passing nod to the UK getting a new prime minister, and the potential fascinating World Cup moment that has nothing to do with football.

President Donald Trump outraged much of the world yesterday when he announced his latest bold and audacious venture - a Strait of Hormuz protection racket. The US would promise to protect ships wanting to transit through the Strait, in the face of hostility by the Iranians, in return for a toll charged at a massive 20% of the value of the ship's cargo. The gulf states particularly were furious, and clearly made their displeasure known - with the result of one of the fastest u-turns ever. But also gathering clouds for a big announcement on Thursday. Let's discuss.

The Strait of Hormuz is the focus point once again. Iran has declared it closed. President Donald Trump has declared it closed to Iranian shipping with the reinstatement of the US blockade. But, this time, the US will escort ships out - for an extremely large fee. Seems like a return to how it was before, but it's different. This is no longer a war of economic attrition, it is a fierce fight over who controls the Strait from now on. That is established as the question that will ultimately show who won this war. Let's discuss.