America, The Economic Heavyweight | Israel Ixnays Enemies | Freshman 15 & Midlife 30

“In politics as in philosophy, my tenets are few and simple. The leading one of which, and indeed that which embraces most others, is to be honest and just ourselves and to exact it from others, meddling as little as possible in their affairs where our own are not involved. If this maxim was generally adopted, wars would cease and our swords would soon be converted into reap hooks and our harvests be more peaceful, abundant, and happy.” – George Washington

America Throws its Economic Weight: President Trump decided to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal earlier this year. In doing so, he said he would reimpose strict sanctions against Tehran, which would include harsh repercussions for any companies doing business with the Islamic Republic. On Tuesday the sanctions were re-imposed, targeting Iran’s purchases of US dollars, metals trading, coal, industrial software and the auto sector. Trump tweeted: “These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level. Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States.”

On Wednesday China and Germany issued strong statements which signal a growing anger from US partners over Trump’s threat to penalize businesses from third countries that continue business ties with Iran. Beijing’s foreign ministry said: “China has consistently opposed unilateral sanctions and long-armed jurisdiction…. (its) commercial cooperation with Iran is open and transparent, reasonable, fair and lawful, not violating any United Nations Security Council resolutions.” European leaders have tried urging firms not to pull out from Iran, but many companies have quit, saying the risk is too great for their US businesses.

Global Trade Wars Impact Hometown Businesses: Ratcheting up the trade war between the US and China is Beijing’s announcement Wednesday that it will impose a 25 percent tariff on an additional $16 billion of imported US goods, matching an earlier move from Washington. China will raise tariffs on coal, medical instruments, and cars beginning August 23. That is the date US Customs will begin collecting duties on 279 Chinese product lines ranging from motorcycles to steam turbines and railway cars. No end is in sight to the tit-for-tat protectionist measures as the US is currently reviewing 10 percent duties on another $200 billion in Chinese imports and might even raise that to 25 percent. Reciprocal action from China is certain.

Trade war threats among world leaders might sound like political saber-rattling rhetoric to some. But the old saw “all politics is local” does come to mind, considering the impact on one small South Carolina company that plans to lay off almost all its workers — 126 people — because of the Trump administration’s tariffs. Element Electronics, which assembles televisions, also plans to close its plant. The company said the layoffs, beginning in October, and the plant closure are a direct result of US tariffs on important Chinese parts it uses to assemble TVs.

Puerto Rico’s Misery Continues: Hurricane Maria ravaged the island of Puerto Rico almost a year ago. And for almost 1,000 families, mostly in remote, mountainous, poorer communities, there is still no electricity. The hardships imposed on these households is difficult to imagine. People dependent on medications that must be refrigerated, go without. Food consists of whatever comes in cans and tins. Wage earners making $7.25 an hour cannot afford generators. If a generator is donated, there is not enough money to buy the gasoline to keep it running. The territory is broke, the infrastructure is archaic, people are hurting, and the power authority is $9 billion in debt. Still, its newly appointed CEO was granted an annual salary of $750,000. Frustrated Incorporated. (Guardian)

ISIS Prisoners or Vacationers: The commanding general of US Central Command said that several hundred ISIS affiliated fighters, who surrendered to Afghan authorities over the weekend, were war criminals, not honored guests of the country. The remarks were in response to an article appearing in the New York Times August 4 that said the fighters were being held in guesthouses, and were allowed to keep their cellphones and give interviews. General Joseph Votel said that after the initial surrender, there was a “moment in time” as the Afghans “were working their way through it.” (NBCNews)

Israel Is Deadly Serious About Its Enemies: A senior official from a Middle Eastern intelligence agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed Israel completed another assassination mission Saturday, at least the fourth in three years directed against an enemy weapons engineer on foreign soil. One of Syria’s most important rocket scientists, Aziz Asbar, was killed by a car bomb apparently planted by Mossad, the Israeli spy agency. Asbar led a top-secret weapons development unit whose goal was creating an arsenal of precision-guided missiles that could take out Israeli cities hundreds of miles away. (NYT)

Crawfish, Loved in Louisiana, Not So Much In Germany: It seemed like a good plan to deal with a problem – catch the invading crawfish from the waters of two parks in Berlin and sell them to chefs and businesses. One trendy food market hosted a Louisiana-style crab boil in mid-July, cooking the crawfish in a piquant broth and serving them on trays with corn and potatoes. Turns out the locals haven’t developed a liking yet for that taste. As one chef explained, most of his customers “are older and prefer a simpler recipe.” (NPR)

Severe Drought Down Under: Parts of eastern Australia are undergoing the worst drought in living memory. Its most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), which produces about 25 percent of the country’s agricultural output, is now 100 percent in drought. Farmers are telling harrowing stories of failing crops, severe water shortages, and an inability to feed livestock. Scientists are reluctant to blame any single event on rising emissions. But the government says some of the aspects that affect drought, like high atmospheric pressure, could be becoming more likely because of human-induced climate change. (BBC)

Congressman Involves Son In Illegal Trading Scheme: Federal prosecutors have filed a 30-page indictment against New York Republican Congressman Chris Collins, his son, and another man, charging them with 13 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud and false statements. The congressman, who sits on the board of Innate, learned non-public information on June 22, 2017 from Innate’s CEO that the treatment had failed in drug trials. Collins immediately alerted his son, Cameron, who passed the information along to certain people so they could begin selling off their stock. The insider information allowed Cameron and others to avoid more than $768,000 in losses they would have incurred if they had traded the stock after the drug trial results became public. Although Collins himself did not trade any Innate stock, all three men charged are alleged to have lied to law enforcement about their actions.

In February 2016 Collins became the first sitting member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump’s presidential bid. Wednesday Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, released a statement that said in part: “the allegations against Rep. Collins demand a prompt and thorough investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Insider trading is a clear violation of the public trust.”

Additional Read: “This Is the Way Paul Ryan’s Speakership Ends: The Republican leader is walking away. Don’t ask him about Trump anymore.”

– In the 1990s Vice President Mike Pence argued that Bill Clinton’s admission of an affair with a White House intern, and prior lies to the public about it, meant Clinton should be removed from office, because the president of the United States should be held to the highest moral standards. (CNN)

– “Why Crazy Rich Asians Could Be a Watershed Moment for Asian Representation in Hollywood.” (Vanity Fair)

– Hopefully Crazy Rich Asians will be a movie as entertaining and evergreen as The Fugitive. But one movie critic says: Hollywood Doesn’t Make Movies Like The Fugitive Anymore: The Harrison Ford–starring thriller represents the best of a genre that has faded: the character-driven action movie for adults.” (Atlantic)

– People talk about the Freshman 15 but what about the midlife 30? Keeping the weight down isn’t just for looks. Daily moderate to vigorous physical activity significantly cuts the risk of mortality – even if accumulated in chunks of ten minutes or less. Just do it. (AoM)

– “Why You Should Let Your Kid Be Annoyingly Repetitive.” (Offspring)

– The way we teach math in America hurts all students, but it may be hurting girls the most. (NYT)

– So as a parent: let my kid be repetitive and figure out how to teach them math. And apply hand sanitizer… except, wait: “Some Bacteria Are Becoming ‘More Tolerant’ Of Hand Sanitizers, Study Finds.” Life is hard. (NPR)

– More news to scare parents: For the first time in 50 years, a new tick species has arrived in the United States – one that in its Asian home range carries fearsome diseases. (NYT)

– “The New Housing Crisis: Shut Out Of The Market.” (NPR) Parents just can’t win in this day and age. Maybe that’s why the birth rate in America is plummeting.

– Well if you can’t buy a house, then rent one. With the sharing economy it seems like anything can be rented. And now we can even rent other people: the real reason people rent middle-aged men in Japan may surprise you. (CNN)

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