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Israel Continues Strikes on Lebanon
Plus, kidnapped and found in time.
Good morning and Happy Wednesday! Here are the Flag’s Top Five stories that should be on your radar to start the day:
US: In a blow to Trump, Nebraska governor will not call a special session to change state's electoral votes (NBC News)
World: Biden notes "remarkable sweep of history" in his final United Nations address as president (CBS News)
Business: DOJ sues Visa over debit card market monopoly (Fox Business)
Technology: Intel launches new AI chips as takeover rumors swirl (Yahoo Finance)
Sports: Brett Favre tells Congress he's been diagnosed with Parkinson's (NBC News)
And of course, some good news: Boy Kidnapped 73 Years Ago is Finally Found–Just in Time to Reunite with Dying Brother.
BECOME A FLAG BEARER
🇺🇸 Somewhere between your high school history textbook and the Appalachian mountains, there's a forgotten state that almost made it onto the map. Here’s a tale of how a certain almost-state never got a star on the flag. Subscribe now to dig deeper.
POWERED BY MASTERWORKS
From CEOs to shop owners, investors in Masterworks’ art offerings have received more than +$60,000,000 in total net proceeds to date (including principal) across their 23 exits.*
Surprised that so many people are interested in art investing? Bank of America recently found 83% of wealthy American investors 43 and under already collect, or want to. Normally, only the top 1% of investors would be able to diversify with art like Picassos and Banksys. But with Masterworks, you can easily diversify into this asset class without needing millions, or art expertise.
With a team that’s been working since 2019, Masterworks investors have realized representative annualized net returns like +17.6%, +17.8%, and +21.5% among assets held for longer than one year.
TRENDING
Right: Why Is Harris Still Losing? Robert McCain, The American Spectator
Right: Harris Seeks Second Debate Because She Is Losing, Eddie Scarry, The Federalist
Right: Gallup: GOP Owns 9 of 10 Issues, Race Trump's 'To Lose', Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner
Left: Harris Path to Victory Goes Through Pennsylvania, Jonathan Alter, Washington Monthly
Left: Jane Fonda to Young People: Do Not Sit Election Out, Mark Hertsgaard, The Nation
Left: What Really Went Down at the Teamsters, Harold Meyerson, American Prospect
MIDDLE-EAST
Israel Continues Strikes on Lebanon
Today’s Top Story: On Monday, Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed over 500 people, including women and children, and wounded at least 1800, marking the deadliest day of the conflict with Lebanon since 2006. Tensions with Hezbollah escalated following the death of a top commander; civilians in Hezbollah-controlled areas were urged to evacuate.
Reporting from the Right: Israel, Hezbollah resume missile launches after conflict's deadliest day since 2006 (Fox News)
Reporting from the Left: Israeli strikes cause deadliest day in Lebanon in nearly 2 decades. Here’s what we know (CNN)
RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT
Israel is Going After Hezbollah
The Top Argument From The Right: What Israel hopes to achieve against Hezbollah as it ramps up attacks, Mike Brest, Washington Examiner: “Israeli forces have escalated their attacks in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, over the last couple of weeks, leading to an increase in the likelihood of an all-out war. … The Israeli military also announced what it called a “targeted strike” in Beirut, which reportedly targeted Hezbollah’s southern front commander Ali Karaki, according to Axios. Due to concerns that Hezbollah could carry out a cross-border raid targeting civilians near the northern border, as Hamas did on Oct. 7, 2023, in the southern part of the country, Israel evacuated more than 50,000 people from the northern communities who remain displaced. Lebanon has also evacuated tens of thousands from the areas in its south. Israeli leaders have said the goal of their operations against Hezbollah is to return those families to their homes in the northern part of the country as their operations have intensified in recent weeks. … The U.S. government believes that there is a diplomatic solution to ending the conflict as opposed to an escalation, though its efforts to prevent one have seemingly been largely futile at this point.”
Honorable Mention #1: Israel’s Righteous War on Hezbollah, Rich Lowry, National Review.
Honorable Mention #2: The Israel-Hezbollah Conflict Intensifies, Mary Trimble et al., The Dispatch.
LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT
Traumatizing Lebanon
The Top Argument From The Left: Israel’s growing war with Hezbollah is traumatizing Lebanon. There’s only one path to peace, Mohammad Bazi, Los Angeles Times: “Israel’s remote detonation of thousands of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies has set off a series of escalations leading to the deadliest day of Israeli airstrikes against Lebanon in nearly two decades. But while many Western politicians, analysts and media outlets were fixated on the novelty of an attack that seemed to be pulled from the pages of a spy thriller…they largely ignored the sheer terror thousands of Lebanese civilians experienced during the explosions that shook crowded neighborhoods over two days last week. … Israel’s exploding pagers and handheld radios escalated the conflict with a particularly insidious and reckless attack that likely constituted a war crime. … The attack detonated thousands of bombs across a country roughly the size of Connecticut — in grocery stores, hospitals, sidewalk cafes and barber shops and at funerals. Children, medical workers and innocent bystanders were killed and maimed. … The road to de-escalation and calm in the region must begin with a cease-fire in Gaza. As long as the Biden administration refuses to acknowledge and act on that reality, Lebanon and the Middle East will be overwhelmed by more bloodshed, fear and chaos.”
Honorable Mention #1: Sadness and dread as the next Lebanon war looms, David Ignatius, The Washington Post.
Honorable Mention #2: Big Brother without borders: Israel’s psychopathic warfare in Lebanon, Belén Fernánez, Al Jazeera.
FLAG THIS
Israeli Support For Full-Scale Attack
Before Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, a Jewish People Policy Institute survey revealed that 62% of Jewish Israelis support a "full force" attack on Hezbollah, with 36% backing immediate action and 26% advocating for an offensive after operations in Gaza conclude.
Among right-wing Israelis, 57% favor launching an attack on Hezbollah immediately. In contrast, many Israelis prefer a strategic approach, supporting a civil administration for Gaza led by Palestinian and Arab elements, with Israel maintaining security control (The Jerusalem Post).
WATERCOOLER
Eisenhower and Kruschev, Forgetting Helps, Blinking Babies
On This Day in 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev caps his trip to the United States with two days of meetings with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The two men came to general agreement on a number of issues, but a U-2 spy plane incident in May 1960 crushed any hopes for further improvement of U.S.-Soviet relations during the Eisenhower years.
Knowable Magazine: Why Forgetting May Make Your Mind More Efficient
Today I learned babies blink less than adults.
POWERED BY MASTERWORKS
From CEOs to shop owners, investors in Masterworks’ art offerings have received more than +$60,000,000 in total net proceeds to date (including principal) across their 23 exits.*
Surprised that so many people are interested in art investing? Bank of America recently found 83% of wealthy American investors 43 and under already collect, or want to. Normally, only the top 1% of investors would be able to diversify with art like Picassos and Banksys. But with Masterworks, you can easily diversify into this asset class without needing millions, or art expertise.
With a team that’s been working since 2019, Masterworks investors have realized representative annualized net returns like +17.6%, +17.8%, and +21.5% among assets held for longer than one year.
Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investment involves risk. See Important Reg A Disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.
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“Net Annualized Return” refers to the annualized internal rate of return net of all fees and expenses, calculated from the offering closing date to the date the sale is consummated. IRR may not be indicative of Masterworks paintings not yet sold and past performance is not indicative of future results. For additional information regarding the calculation of IRR for a particular investment in an artwork that has been sold, a reconciliation will be filed as an exhibit to Form 1-U and will be available on the SEC’s website. Masterworks has realized illustrative annualized net returns of 17.6% (1067 days held), 17.8% (672 days held), and 21.5% (638 days held) on 13 works held longer than one year (not inclusive of works held less than one year and unsold works).
*“Net proceeds” represents the total liquidation proceeds distributed back to investors, net of all fees, expenses and proceeds reinvested in Masterworks offerings, of all works Masterworks has exited to date. This metric is not considered a presentation of performance but rather a mathematical figure that displays a platform metric on size, scale, and operation of the platform.
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