Opinion - Daily Politics

In a video analysis on the House of El (@HouseofEl) YouTube channel, the host examined Europe's recently announced €860 billion defence plan, emphasising its clear move away from American weapons suppliers towards European-made equipment.

The plan, described as the largest European defence spending increase since the Cold War, includes binding requirements: by 2027, 40% of military purchases must involve joint European procurement, rising to 55% from European or Ukrainian manufacturers by 2030. The SAFE loan mechanism, comprising €150 billion, favours European producers, effectively excluding US defence contractors unless Washington negotiates separate agreements with Brussels.

Data presented in the analysis shows this shift is ...

In an analysis published on his Daniel Davis / Deep Dive (@DanielDavisDeepDive) YouTube channel, retired Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis examined the evolving military dynamics of the Iran conflict, arguing that Tehran has adopted a deliberate strategy to outlast the United States through a protracted war of attrition.

Davis contended that US war aims, particularly President Trump's stated demand for "unconditional surrender," are militarily unattainable without a massive ground invasion— a prospect he deemed unrealistic given current force levels and Iran's size, terrain, and prepared defences. He noted that Iran has spent decades constructing dispersed, underground "missile cities" designed to survive sustained bombardment ...

A recent discussion on Reports on China (@ReportsOnChina) examined the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran, focusing on Iran’s military resilience, asymmetric warfare strategy, and the broader geopolitical implications of the conflict.

In the video titled “Ben Norton: Can Iran beat Israel and the US, and how?”, political economist Ben Norton argues that Iran has developed structures designed to withstand decapitation strikes against its leadership. According to Norton, Iran’s political and military institutions are organised so that leadership roles can be quickly replaced if senior figures are assassinated. He also points to what he describes as a decentralised “mosaic” defence structure intended to ...

In an interview with Owen Jones (@OwenJonesTalks) published on his YouTube channel, foreign policy analyst Trita Parsi offered a critical assessment of the Trump administration's handling of the war with Iran, arguing that the United States has already lost strategic control of the conflict.

Parsi, co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, stated that the administration's initial plan "came crashing down within 48 to 72 hours of that war" and is now "scrambling to come up with a plan B." He pointed to shifting justifications, goals, and timelines as evidence that "Trump has already lost control of the war," while ...

In an interview with the YouTube channel Think BRICS (@ThinkBRICS), Professor Mohammad Marandi offers a stark analysis of the potential consequences of a US-led war against Iran. The discussion, hosted by Lorenzo Maria Pacini, frames recent Western media coverage of Iran as a coordinated "information warfare" campaign aimed at manufacturing public consent for military action. Marandi argues that this misrepresents internal events and downplays foreign interference.

Marandi warns that such a conflict would have catastrophic and uncontrollable regional repercussions. He emphasises that Iran's extensive network of underground missile and drone bases, developed over decades, is designed for retaliation. He states that ...

In a discussion hosted by Rachel Blevins (@RachelBlevins), international relations analyst Mark Sleboda argues that Ukraine is facing an impending economic and political collapse, which could happen before a decisive military defeat on the battlefield. This assessment focuses on the worsening state of Ukraine's energy infrastructure following ongoing Russian drone and missile strikes.

Sleboda points out that despite a brief, U.S.-brokered ceasefire on energy strikes due to harsh winter weather, Russia has resumed major attacks targeting electrical substations and the national grid. These strikes aim to cripple military logistics, which rely heavily on electric rail, and to disable Ukraine's military-industrial workshops. ...

In a discussion hosted by Dr Myriam Francois (@DrMyriamFrancois1), journalist and author Lucia Osborne-Crowley, one of the few reporters permitted to attend the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, analyses the dynamics of Jeffrey Epstein's inner circle. The conversation centres on why widespread child sexual abuse persisted at the core of this powerful network for decades, arguing it was enabled by more than individual criminality.

Osborne-Crowley explains that while some associates were allegedly directly involved in abuse, a broader circle was complicit through their presence and silence, attracted by access to elite power and "untouchable luxury" Epstein provided. A central thesis is the "attraction ...

A segment on The Jimmy Dore Show (@thejimmydoreshow), featuring economist Jeffrey Sachs, analysed recent public remarks by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent concerning Iran. The discussion centred on the Secretary's admission that the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" sanctions policy had successfully collapsed Iran’s currency, caused bank failures, and created severe import shortages, leading directly to widespread public protests.

The show presented this as a clear admission that U.S. sanctions are a form of deliberate economic warfare and a regime-change tool, intended to create domestic unrest. Sachs argued that such a policy constitutes illegal collective punishment under international law. The segment criticised ...

In an interview on the "Daniel Davis / Deep Dive" channel, retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor offered a stark analysis of the potential consequences of a US military attack on Iran. Macgregor warned that such action, driven by a push from figures like Mike Pompeo and major donors for regime change, would likely backfire catastrophically.

He argued that Iran, a nation of over 90 million with significant missile capabilities, cannot be successfully invaded or occupied. A strategy limited to economic strangulation and bombardment would likely trigger a devastating military retaliation against US regional bases and allies. This, Macgregor stated, would ...

Claims of a lack of accountability for COVID and allegations of a US government cover-up were the focus of a recent interview featuring economist Jeffrey Sachs on The Jimmy Dore Show.

In the discussion, Sachs outlined his view that the most plausible explanation for the origins of COVID-19 is a lab-related incident linked to US-funded research, rather than a natural spillover from a wet market. He argued that gain-of-function research, allegedly supported by US government funding, was being conducted prior to the pandemic and that key records have never been fully examined or disclosed.

Sachs criticised what he described as a failure ...