Ep. 105: A New Low?
Hey FRs,
It's hard to know when you've reached bottom, especially when it comes to this administration, but suggesting it would be acceptable for Iran to bomb California may be the nadir. If it's not, we're more f**ked than I thought.
This week the guys covered this development plus the possible advent of another pandemic, this time involving the PLAGUE?!
WTF happened at Russia's Anti-Plague Research Institute?
A 28-year-old researcher named Daria Shapalova broke a test tube at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Irkutsk on September 25th and died six days later of what Russian officials call "pneumonia of unknown etiology." Funnily enough, that's the same phrase Wuhan used for early COVID.
The hospital shut its inpatient unit the night she died, before the public knew anything, and 60 colleagues are now under isolation. Luckily, the agency investigating the outbreak is the same one that oversees the lab. 😵💫
Did Saudi Arabia retake the port the Houthis seized?
Yep. More than 100 Saudi aircraft struck Houthi positions on Sunday, and the Institute for the Study of War calls the Houthi retreat from Mocha a "major collapse," with fighters pulling back roughly 30 kilometers. The US provided intelligence support for the mission. Great, sure, but this comes a month after the Saudis asked for help and Trump ignored them.
Retaking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is obviously good news, but insurance rates remain elevated, and Iran is reportedly testing longer-range missiles now that US forces have pulled further back, meaning the fight isn't over; it's just relocated.
Did Trump suggest Iran could bomb Los Angeles or San Diego?
Yes, yes, he did. At a campaign rally, Trump said an Iranian strike on Los Angeles or San Diego would be "a small price to pay," and his crowd cheered. I hate when people ask this question, but seriously, can you imagine if a Democrat said this, let alone a Democratic president?
This follows a separate Oval Office comment, reported last week, in which Trump told Tucker Carlson "we all die anyway" when asked about the consequences of the Iran war. Two American cities, one of them a military hub, floated as acceptable collateral by the sitting president, in public, to applause. 🤯
Why did Hegseth order a firing squad for a 2009 shooter?
The Pentagon confirmed Trump approved Pete Hegseth's recommendation to execute Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter who killed 13 people in 2009, by firing squad. It will be the military's first use of the method since World War II and its first execution since 1961. I guess this is what Hegseth calls progress.
The timing follows recent botched lethal injections, including Tennessee's Christa Pike. Five US states already allow firing squads as the drugs for injection become harder to source. Whatever the method, the deeper problem doesn't change: a system willing to kill people will occasionally(?) get it wrong.
Missed the full episode? Get your weekly dose here:
Drop us a line....
Email us your questions and tell us your thoughts at Theforeignreportlpn@gmail.com.