It isn’t getting too much attention from the press, but Israel is effectively fighting a two-front war, trading nearly daily strikes from Hezbollah in Lebanon. Over the weekend, Israel (most likely) struck Iranian consulate in Damascus – killing three Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) commanders and several other. The strikes were to scramble the arms shipment and logistic support that Iran is giving to Hezbollah.
Iran vowed retaliation, and within hours US officials confirmed that US forces intercepted an explosive drone targeting al-Tanf base in Syria. It’s the first attack on US troops since 4 February. In proxy wars, there is always the danger that no one wants to touch will spread anyway.
Google agreed to destroy the browsing data of millions of users collected while in “incognito” mode – which is about the stupidest damn thing you could call it if you were trying to get away with covert tracking of anything. The upshot being that the sweaty orgy you watched when the wife was asleep will stay your little secret.
The incognito lawsuit hasn’t done too much to the parent company’s share price – up 8% for the year – although the gains were outpaced by the S&P500 index as a whole. With Apple and Tesla stumbling, the Magnificent 7 stocks are now down to the “Fab 4” – with Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon still on a tear.
Radio Free Asia has closed its doors in Hong Kong. The former CIA influence op from the 1950’s was co-opted by the Clinton Administration in 1994 to provide unbiased news coverage, which RFA swears it does. The outlet has run afoul of new amendments to China’s National Security Law, so vaguely worded that it can mean whatever Beijing wants it to mean. That’s not going to help the country attract foreign investment, but it’s worth noting that while the US congress toys with the notion of banning Tik Tok on national security grounds, Beijing defines general social cohesion – or lack of it – as a legitimate security threat.
Always wary of China’s expansive definition of “security”, South Korea’s SK Hynix – the world’s second largest chipmaker - will invest $4bn to build a chip-packing plant in Indiana. The demand for high-skilled labor for this sort of operation is tight, so the site has access to Purdue University, home of the country’s largest semi-conductor and micro-electronics engineering programs. And just let the Chinese try to invade Indiana.
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