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Europe’s war fever has gotten so overcooked that Poland is now handing out weekend warrior bootcamps to anyone with a pulse. Over 20,000 eager recruits have signed up — including Polish mothers, who apparently plan to protect their kids by learning how to trade the stroller for a rifle.

https://nypost.com/2025/09/13/world-news/thousands-in-poland-seek-military-training-over-fears-of-russia-attack/

The logic is almost charming — except that putting women on the front lines usually signals desperation, not clever strategy. What’s really amusing is watching a country that normally treats gun ownership like a state secret suddenly discover its citizens are useful as a militia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJLheUN3Ahs

Europe’s “contributions” to NATO are little more than a rounding error, with Uncle Sam footing most of the bill for decades. As for actually fighting a drawn-out war with Russia? Europe can barely manufacture enough weapons for a parade, let alone sustain an attrition conflict. The logistics, the equipment, the resources — all missing in action.

In a nutshell, Europe’s war fever is so bad it’s training moms with rifles while still relying on Uncle Sam for weapons it can’t build and wars it can’t fight.

While NATO — a.k.a. the North Atlantic Terror Organization — is busy auditioning for Best False Flag in Poland to get the “Peace Maker in Chief” (a.k.a. Warmonger in Chief) to dust off Article 5, ASEAN is having a much quieter moment. Thailand and China are calmly redrawing the shipping map with their Land Bridge project — basically telling the U.S. Navy, “Thanks, but we’ll take a shortcut.”

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/policy/40055312

Thailand’s Land Bridge project will run on a 50-year Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Net Cost model, with one private partner granted the concession to build and manage the entire project.
The vision is clear: turn Thailand into a regional and global trade hub by linking the Gulf of Thailand to the Andaman Sea. Two deep-sea ports, connected by double-track rail, intercity motorways, and pipelines, will create a direct alternative to the congested Strait of Malacca — reshaping Asia’s shipping lanes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=MD-9fQpDNRA

China’s economy just hit the snooze button for the second month in a row, and this time it’s not a seasonal cold — it’s structural. Investment has collapsed like a bad soufflé, housing is still in the doghouse, and government spending has lost its magic wand. Consumption is wobbling too, despite subsidies and a stock rally doing their best cheerleader impressions. With weak growth but soaring equities, policymakers are stuck wondering whether to hit the stimulus button now or later. Industrial output and retail sales are both slowing, making the whole picture look like a slow-motion replay of a downturn.

In a nutshell, in China, the numbers say “slowdown,” the markets say “party,” and Beijing is trying to decide whether to be the DJ or the bouncer to ‘Make China Great Again’ sooner or later.

Sir “Keith” Starmer’s Labour government seems to have discovered a new economic strategy: repel capital at all costs. Pharma giants like AstraZeneca and Merck are bailing on the UK faster than you can say “uninvestable,” shelving billions in projects and thousands of jobs thanks to suffocating regulation and taxes. Apparently, Britain’s new growth model is driving innovation straight to other countries.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/astrazeneca-pauses-cambridge-investment-uk-b2825876.html

Capital goes where it’s welcome and earns a return — not where it’s strangled by bureaucrats. No one should be shocked if more companies pack up across Europe as Keynesian planners keep punishing innovation. That’s not how you create prosperity — that’s how you chase it away.

In a plot twist straight out of a dystopian sitcom, Albania just appointed the world’s first AI “minister” to fight corruption—because nothing says “public trust” like replacing politicians with code. Meet Diella, the virtual Minister for Public Procurement, sworn in to make tenders “100% corruption-free.” Sure, because nothing ever goes wrong with software.


https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/diella-worlds-first-virtual-ai-minister-appointed-amid-protests-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/123897816.cms?from=mdr

Microsoft helped build Diella—red flag number one—and now she gets access to a million government documents. Brilliant idea: fight corruption by giving Big Tech the keys to the state. AI may be clever, but it’s still just programmed code—meaning it inherits whoever wrote the “ethics.” The irony? Replacing failed politicians with AI just automates the same corruption, only faster and with fewer bathroom breaks.

https://youtu.be/wK6Doju8AXg

Society has reached the point where we trust robots more than people—because nothing says “healthy democracy” like outsourcing leadership to an algorithm.

AI is only as honest as its coder, and with Microsoft writing the moral script, Diella isn’t exactly the savior of transparency. This isn’t progress—it’s a neon sign flashing the world has lost faith in politics.

Donald Copperfield, the failed-realtor-turned-politician with six bankruptcies to his company names, now wants companies to ditch quarterly reports for semiannual ones—because apparently, less transparency means better management. He claims it’ll “save money” and let managers “focus on running their companies,” which sounds suspiciously like “hide bad news longer.” Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett once agreed, arguing that quarterly guidance fuels short-term thinking—convenient, since Buffett’s strategy is literally “buy and hold forever.” But in today’s stagflation, this push feels less about strategy and more about damage control. When the bosses stop talking every three months, it’s rarely because they’re brimming with good news.

Cutting transparency might save a few bucks in compliance costs, but it risks spooking investors and injecting more volatility into already jittery markets. A Columbia Law study on Tel-Aviv’s 2017 switch to semi-annual reporting found stocks of firms that dropped quarterly updates fell 2%, while those that stayed quarterly rose 2.5%—proof that investors value clarity over penny-pinching. The real issue isn’t saving audit fees; it’s confidence. Less frequent reporting signals weaker earnings ahead, triggers portfolio reshuffling, and makes money managers more risk averse. And if there’s one thing markets hate more than bad news, it’s uncertainty.

https://clsbluesky.law.columbia.edu/2024/07/18/how-shifting-to-semi-annual-financial-reporting-affects-market-dynamics-and-governance/

In a nutshell, when CEOs start begging to cut quarterly reports, it’s not efficiency they’re after—it’s extra time to hide the bad news before investors panic.

August retail sales got a nice “back-to-school” caffeine shot, as shoppers clicked their way to bargains instead of swallowing tariff price hikes. Headline ‘nominal’ sales popped 0.6%, and the core group clocked in at a strong 0.7%. Online shopping was the star student, jumping 2%, while furniture and personal care flunked the test. Even bars and restaurants saw a 0.7% boost — probably thanks to well-heeled stock market winners toasting their summer gains.

Adjusted for the “CP-Lie,” retail sales rose a meagre 0.3% — still stuck at March 2025 levels and well below the April 2022 peak. Historically, real retail spending peaks alongside the S&P 500-to-oil ratio, which will inevitably fall below its 7-year moving average sooner or later — a classic recession red flag. Markets, of course, are busy whistling past the graveyard.

In a nutshell, August retail sales got a sugar rush from back-to-school shopping, but adjusted for inflation they’re flatlining — a classic recession red flag that markets are happily ignoring.

After last week’s “miraculously smooth” auctions and with the Fed reportedly set to cut at least 25bps, the US Treasury decided to auction $13 billion of the 19-year, 11-month UN6—because who doesn’t love a long-dated reopening?
The high yield came in at 4.613%, down from last month’s 4.876%—the “lowest since October 24,” because apparently history is a marketing tool. And of course, it edged just 0.2bps through the When-Issued 4.615%—the third straight “through auction,” because consistency in minor pain is apparently something to brag about.