More evidence of tariffs working: "Global drugmakers have been ramping up U.S. manufacturing since last year & stockpiling inventory as [Trump 2.0] moves to impose 100% tariffs on branded ‌drugs unless companies ⁠cut prices or make medicines domestically." Lilly's the latest.

Breaking News: US Launches ‘Major’ Retaliatory Strikes on Iran The red line has been crossed. Following repeated attempts to attack US military personnel in the region, the US has launched massive, coordinated airstrikes on Iranian targets and Iranian-backed proxy infrastructure. This is a significant escalation from previous precision strikes. The Pentagon is sending a clear message by striking command centers, drone facilities and ammunition depots. Tehran has misjudged Western resolve for months, believing it could attack US assets with impunity while providing Russia with the machinery of war. Now the tables have turned. As the authoritarian axis pushes global boundaries, the US response shows that actions have serious consequences. The chessboard is shaking.

Would the PRC under Xi stop satisfied if it could somehow succeed in absorbing #Taiwan#? Fishy sovereignty trolling around Japan’s Ryukyu Islands & the Philippines’ Batanes Islands strongly suggests otherwise! And lo & behold: an academic workshop at #China’s# Jinan University just “unanimously concluded” (一致认为) that the Batanes Islands rightfully belong to Taiwan, not the Philippines. This when unorthodox views on PRC territorial claims cannot be raised & debated without Party approval—certainly not in the brutal “new era” of Xi Who Must be Obeyed... It’s rather part of Beijing’s classic “Fake It Till You Make It” approach to asserting sovereignty. Professor @rdmartinson88 brings the receipts! Curated content from previous 21 CMSI Notes here: @NavalWarCollege/@ChinaMaritime Note 22: “Testing Boundaries: The Lan Hai 201 Mission East of Taiwan” From CMSI Director CAPT @ChrisHSharman, @USNavy (Ret.): China Maritime Watchers: Can a fisheries research ship become an instrument of statecraft? According to this latest CMSI Note, the answer is yes. In this new CMSI Note, Professor Ryan Martinson examines the 17-23 July deployment of the Lan Hai 201 east of Taiwan, arguing that its mission was about far more than fisheries research. Operating in the EEZs of the Philippines, Taiwan, & Japan, the Lan Hai 201’s operations appears to support Beijing’s broader effort to suggest ambiguity of the sovereignty of the Ryukyu Islands & the Batanes. Drawing on ship tracking data & publicly available Chinese-language material, this note shows how civilian research vessels have become another tool in Beijing’s expanding gray-zone playbook—& why they deserve the same attention as the better-known activities of the China Coast Guard.

Masks Off in Moscow: Kremlin’s Top Propagandist Preaches Open Genocide vladimir Solovyov, the loudest and most prominent voice in the Russian state apparatus, has just peeled back the last remaining layers of Kremlin diplomacy and delivered a statement that echoes the darkest pages of modern history. In a statement on national television, Solovyov said "We must show such cruelty that anyone who even thinks of harming our country, our political leadership and our people has a clear understanding: we will wipe him out, his family, his people and his country This is not a message of military strategy; it is an explicit, state-sanctioned call for collective punishment and total annihilation. But reading between the lines, this extreme rhetoric reveals deep concerns within the regime. You are not threatening to wipe out entire bloodlines and nations when your "special military operation" goes according to plan. While Ukraine systematically drains Russia's fuel logistics and the elite shows signs of internal rifts, the Kremlin is left with nothing but loud, desperate threats. The louder they scream, the more panicked they become.

2/2 I would add that Tsinghua University's Li Daokui recently noted that "Using the term "K-shaped divergence" creates the false hope that the upward arm of the "K" can pull up the entire economy. This misdirects our focus. We must recognize that single upward trajectory cannot carry the weight of the entire economic base."

At a Beijing summit on July 27–28, 2026, CCP leader Xi Jinping issued a direct directive urging over 60 million Chinese overseas across nearly 200 nations to "actively serve the great cause of national reunification". The high-level meeting included top regime officials like Wang Huning, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Under official United Front strategy, Beijing explicitly urged overseas communities to "rally hearts and strength" and leverage their unique advantages to advance the Party’s core political objectives. These outreach efforts are managed by the United Front Work Department (UFWD), the Party agency tasked with expanding influence abroad and mobilizing global diaspora communities. By treating foreign citizens and residents of Chinese descent as tools for state goals, the regime continues extending its political reach into sovereign nations. When an authoritarian party-state openly mobilizes millions of overseas residents for its geopolitical agenda, where should host nations draw the line between genuine cultural ties and foreign influence operations?

Russia struck Poland with a Kh-101 cruise missile today It’s the 2nd time Russia strikes Poland strikes with a cruise missile (the 1st one being a Kh-55 on Dec. 16 2022) However, today’s strike is the first Russian strike on Poland by a cruise missile with an explosive warhead