Wednesday’s Forum

FILED UNDER: Open Forum
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter and/or BlueSky.

Comments

  1. charontwo says:

    I watched Malcolm Nance yesterday, although I find it hard to make the time, yesterday’s was 90 minutes. But there is a button just below the picture that brings up a very nice transcript complete with times. (I just noticed the transcript button this morning). There is a lot of information presented, significant enough to be worth some time. (The time references in the transcript are nice, because there is a lot of pointing at maps).

    Malcolm Nance

    So there are a lot of forces moving into theatre which Nance expects to be used to occupy islands in the Persian Gulf and the Strait. Nance is pretty sure they will be used with the operations beginning this coming weekend, likely late Friday or on Saturday. (I.e., they will be used, not just for show or threats).

    ETA: The markets disagree with Nance, we will see who is right, Nance or the stock market.

    US stock futures climbed on Wednesday as investors weighed reports that the US has approached Iran with a plan to halt fighting, raising cautious hopes for an easing in a war that has roiled markets.

    Futures linked to the S&P 500 (ES=F) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) rose 0.8%. Meanwhile, Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) jumped 1% on the heels of a day of losses for Wall Street stocks.

    Oil prices retreated over 5%, continuing a wild ride as markets tracked Iran-related developments. West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) fell to around $87, while Brent crude (BZ=F) traded below $95.

    Iran has received a 15-point plan aimed at bringing the Middle East conflict to a close, AP reported, citing officials from intermediary Pakistan. The proposal is seen as a sign of growing urgency in the Trump administration to halt escalating attacks as the economic toll mounts. While President Trump has said the US is engaged in ongoing negotiations with Iran, Tehran has pushed back on claims of direct talks.

    To me, it looks like a lot of stock traders are really really gullible.

    ReplyReply
  2. charontwo says:

    @charontwo:

    Oh, and by the way, Nance thinks Russian Intelligence sees the same things he sees and reaches the same conclusions – meaning the Iranians share his expectations, so they are prepared.

    ReplyReply

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