Gandalv

Chronic back pain can make your future look rather small. First you avoid lifting shopping, then you start choosing chairs carefully.

Yet a review of 239 randomised trials found that short exercise sessions could produce meaningful improvements in pain and function.

It did not identify a miracle movement or test one perfect timetable. What it offers is a much more hopeful starting point: you may need less exercise than you think to begin moving forward.
gandalv.substack.com/p/back-pain-ca…

A 41-year-old US Army soldier has been arrested near Gloucester on suspicion of obtaining or disclosing protected information and assisting Russian intelligence. British counterterrorism officers worked with the FBI and US military, and searches are under way at two locations in Gloucestershire. He remains in police custody in London.

The potentially significant detail is his access. US Army Counterintelligence Command described the suspect as a senior soldier entrusted with sensitive information. That makes this an investigation into a possible threat from within the military, although authorities have not publicly identified what information was allegedly involved or whether anything reached Russia.

The distinction matters: an arrest on suspicion of espionage does not establish that secrets were passed, that an intelligence operation succeeded or that the suspect is guilty.

America’s borrowing costs depend on the price investors demand to lend it money. Today’s $42 billion auction of 10-year Treasury notes reportedly attracted below-average demand, adding a warning signal after inflation pushed yields higher.

The distinction matters: higher yields alone can reflect changing expectations for inflation and Federal Reserve policy. A weak auction can also indicate that buyers want a better price to absorb new government debt.

One disappointing sale cannot establish a lasting retreat from US debt. The stronger evidence would be repeated weak auctions, investors demanding higher yields than expected and borrowing costs remaining elevated afterwards.

If that pattern develops, Washington faces more expensive refinancing, while households and businesses can also face higher borrowing costs.

Here is mister no bullshit,

Sikorski: US negotiators are wrong to think this war is only about land.

Russia already committed to respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders. Europe’s objection to a new “security architecture” begins with that inconvenient fact.

Germany’s Johann Wadephul says Europe must help shape any settlement affecting its security. Kaja Kallas argues that Moscow is pretending to negotiate while continuing attacks on civilians.

Trump’s suggestion of a wider agreement encompassing Europe therefore raises a fundamental concern: could peace in Ukraine become a vehicle for rewriting the rules Russia broke?

European officials are in Abu Dhabi but remain outside the main US-Russia-Ukraine talks. Moscow opposes their participation; Rubio supports eventual involvement.

Europe has leverage. Washington cannot independently lift EU sanctions, promise EU membership or commit European resources to reconstruction.

Its governments now need a common position on what they will support, fund and refuse. Otherwise, they risk being invited to implement a settlement whose essential terms have already been negotiated without their meaningful participation or consent.