Ron Paul on the Iran invasion

Iran had been warning for months – since the last US/Israeli surprise attack in June – that if they were attacked again they would not hold back on US bases in the region and that they would close the Straits of Hormuz. Trump and Netanyahu attacked anyway, and Iran has done what it said it would do. 

Now the Strait of Hormuz is closed, oil is about to go out of control, and the global economy – along with the US dollar – seems about to implode.

On March 6th, President Trump refused a UK offer of help, saying we don’t need help when we’ve already won the war. Five days later, at a rally in Kentucky, President Trump repeated that “We’ve won the Iran war!”

It was his “Mission Accomplished” moment, because this weekend, just days after declaring victory against an “obliterated” Iran, Trump began begging other countries to send ships to help the US open the Strait of Hormuz.

Thus far every country has declined, understanding that such a mission has little chance of success.

Tragically, the war thus far has claimed at least 14 servicemembers. It is likely the toll is far worse than they are telling us. Every US military facility in the region is either damaged or destroyed. Billions of dollars of radar and other equipment are destroyed. Our allies in the region, because they allowed their territory to be used to attack Iran, have also seen massive retaliatory destruction. 

This is surely one of the worst military disasters in US history. There are no military options available beyond the unthinkable: the use of nuclear weapons.

The only viable option that remains is one that was often urged in the Vietnam War: Just get out. Now! No return to US bases, no security guarantees to Gulf States. End the US empire in the Middle East and elsewhere. If not, it’s only going to get worse.

~ Ron Paul, "Just Get Out! Now!," LewRockwell.com, March 17, 2026

 

Kevin Duffy on the American exceptionalism bubble

The U.S. is leading the world towards chaos, divisiveness and aggression while China is the leading it towards stability, openness and restraint. 

This is obvious to most of the world yet 95% of Americans remain deluded by the fog of "U.S. exceptionalism."

~ Kevin Duffy, X post, March 16, 2026

 

Kevin Duffy on the death of Paul Ehrlich, author of 'The Population Bomb'

Funny how life has come full circle, at least in my lifetime.  The experts who once worried about: 

- global cooling -> now obsess about global warming

- world poverty -> now fear the economic rise of China 

- overpopulation -> now issue dire warnings about countries with declining populations

~ Kevin Duffy, Twitter/X, March 16, 2026

(Paul R. Ehrlich, 1932-2026)

1968

 

Time magazine on Eileen Gu and U.S.-China geopolitics

Questions about Gu’s citizenship status, rather than the dramatic victory [in the freestyle skiing big air competition at the 2022 Beijing Olympics], dominated the post-event press conference.  Olympians must be citizens of the country they represent, and China does not allow dual citizenship.  But no evidence suggests that Gu has renounced her American citizenship.  So did China make an exception for Gu?  During an hours-long interview in the Scharnitz rental house she’s sharing with [her mother] Yan, Gu declines to engage on the citizenship question.  “I don’t really see how that’s relevant,” she says.  (The Chinese Olympic Committee did not respond to a request for comment.) 

She tried not to take the backlash personally.  “There are geopolitical factors at play, and people just hate China generally.  So it’s kind of difficult when I’m lumped in with this evil monolith that people want to dislike,” says Gu.  “It’s never really about me and my skiing.”  In late 2024, the Chinese government announced that around 313 million people had taken up ice and snow sports, or related leisure activities, since the 2022 Olympics.  “I’ve made a lot of positive impact at nobody’s expense,” says Gu.  “And I genuinely mean this without a hint of sardonic humor: use the time and creativity that it takes to craft some of these insults to think about what your talents are, and how you can use them to make the world better.” 

She doesn’t believe it’s her place to comment on, say, China’s checkered human-rights record.  For example, the U.S. government has accused China of abuses against its majority-Muslim Uighur population.  “I’m not an expert on this,” she says.  “I haven’t done the research.  I don’t think it’s my business.  I’m not going to make big claims on my social media.”  But as a Stanford international-relations major, she could surely do her homework on this issue, no?  “I’m just more of a skeptic when it comes to data in general,” says Gu.  “So it’s not like I can read an article and be like, ‘Oh, well, this must be the truth.’  I need to have a ton of evidence.  I need to maybe go to the place, maybe talk to 10 primary-source people who are in a location and have experienced life there.  Then I need to go see images.  I need to listen to recordings.  I need to think about how history affects it.  Then I need to read books on how politics affects it.  This is a lifelong search.” 

So if she’s asked about Donald Trump’s China tariffs during an Olympic press conference in Italy, don’t expect a weighty answer.  “I would just say, ‘I didn’t know I got promoted to trade minister,’” says Gu.  “It’s irresponsible to ask me to be the mouthpiece for any agenda.”

~ Sean Gregory, "‘I Don’t Believe in Limits.’ How Eileen Gu Became Freestyle Skiing’s Biggest Star," Time magazine, January 22, 2026

February 9, 2026

 

Doug Casey on international law

Here’s an analogy. Look at the world of international law as a sleazy nightclub with 200 customers. Some are going to be raucous, some will be quiet; some are friendly, some are aggressive; some smart, some stupid. 

There will always be a few gangbangers who don’t like each other, some townies who hate the preppies, some junkies, a couple of ex-cons, and a few psychos. And there’s no cop to keep order. The world is just like that bar. No written rules, just some vague understandings. And lots of misunderstandings. Like in any bar, customers size each other up, deciding who to drink with, who’s looking for trouble, or, if you’re a bad actor, who you can beat up and roll.

The US used to be the toughest customer in the saloon of international law, buying friends with free drinks. But he’s turned into a mean drunk who’s overdrawn his tab. The other customers who used to tolerate his eccentricities have started to dislike, disrespect, and resent him. It will probably end up like an altercation in Deadwood’s Gem Saloon.

~ Doug Casey, "Cost of the Iran War—and Why It Will Fuel Inflation," International Man, March 13, 2026

 

Napoleon Bonaparte on war blunders

Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake.

~ Napoleon Bonaparte

 

Sun Tzu on avoiding conflicts

If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by.

~ Sun Tzu