Let’s take a walk around the world and see what is happening.
Israel’s war cabinet decided on its response to Iran’s unprecedented attack. It sent missiles into Iran, escalating an already difficult situation. Iran has said it won’t immediately retaliate. But the Mullah’s will eventually do something. It will not be pretty.
What we all need to understand is that all in the cabinet are aligned – if Netanyahu were to leave today, the war would continue in Gaza, and the Iran situation would be no different. This conflict is dangerous for the world.
India’s one billion electors are headed to the polls. Though the voting has started, we will not know the outcome until early June. In each area where polling is taking place, alcohol cannot be sold. Even the hotel fridge booze is removed (I know; it happened to me in Delhi, then Hyderabad, then Mumbai). Apparently, being sober helps with better decision-making. This has not been my experience of politics, especially in Wales.
The aircraft frequently used by King Charles III – an A321neo (not a Boeing) – suffered from an interesting problem. Some windows fell out when the aircraft was 14,000 in the air after taking off from Stanstead. It returned just 36 minutes later. Airbus is always trying to match Boeing.
Mike Johnson, still speaker of the US House of Representatives at the time of writing, has done the right thing about aid for Ukraine and Israel. The House is sending big buckets of cash to both ($61 billion to Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel), assuming the Senate agrees. This is why some of his republican colleagues want him out. They want him to do the wrong things. Moscow Marje, for example, wants to end aid to Ukraine so that Russia can win. The Neville Chamberlain in drag queen is furious that the speaker worked with both sides of the house (which is his job). Others want to send support to Israel; others don’t. The GOP is not a political party. It is a seething mess of ambition, stupidity, and greed.
Mike Johnson said he had asked God for guidance before deciding to go for broke on the foreign aid package. Marjorie Taylor Greene also chatted with God, but hers lives in Florida.
The US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did not face an impeachment trial. The Senate voted it down. They wanted to watch the Trump-Stormy Daniels trial and see him squirm and then take a nap. On two consecutive days, Trump fell asleep while the court was busy selecting a journey. He must be exhausted with all his social media work as his DJT company goes up and down on the NASDAQ (up to $33/share from $26 but down from the launch price of $76).
Someone on the internet accused Stormy of “doing anything to make money.” Her response was brilliant: “I would never sell Bibles,” she replied. I bet she wouldn’t sell golden sneakers, either.
Speaking of Trump’s media company, its CEO (Devin Nunes) has written to the SEC to suggest that someone (possibly someone he knows) is engaged in naked short trading. Before you get excited, this is a description of someone or some group shorts a stock without first borrowing the shares. It's a practice that is effectively banned in the US, with regulators requiring trading firms to make sure that traders have the securities on hand to complete a short sale. Short selling is legal. It occurs when a trader borrows shares of a stock they believe will lose value, and then immediately sells the shares on the market for cash proceeds. Later on, if the stock price falls, the trader purchases that stock at the lower price, and then returns the shares to their trading firm from which they were originally borrowed. The short seller's goal is to purchase the stock at a lower price than the borrowed shares to pocket the difference in value. The naked short seller doesn’t borrow or have any stock at all.
To further isolate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Kennedy clan came out in force to support Joe Biden. They accept that the son of Senator Robert Kennedy is bonkers and that his conspiracy theory-driven platform for the presidency is bizarre.
Scotland has abandoned most of its climate change strategy. Unfortunate, since the Scottish National Party government is in fact a coalition with the Green Party of Scotland, who are (as one might expect) unhappy at the decision of the SNP. They are holding a special meeting to decide whether to pull out of their supply agreement and force the SNP to rule as a minority government. Humza Yousaf, First Minister, said the 2030 targets were impossible to meet, so new targets would be set for 2045 (and they will also be impossible to meet, since the SNP will be out of power at the next election).
Billionaire singer Taylor Swift has released a new double album called The Tortured Poets Department (must have been drinking the nice red Californian wine: Lost Poet). One track seems to target Kim Kardashian – the track is called thanK you aIMee. Get it? She also sings about Dylan Thomas, the Welsh poet and bon-vivant.
Sir Andrew Davis (80) – a simply superb orchestral conductor and musicologist, former Musical Director of the Toronto Symphony (1975 - 1988), Glyndebourne, Melbourne Symphony, BBC Symphony Orchestra (where he relished conducting the Last Night of the Proms) and the Lyric Opera (Chicago) – has died from Leukemia. He will be missed. One of his achievements was to create a new version of Handel’s Messiah in 2010, which is fun to listen to.
Posh spice is fifty. Let that sink in.