Craig Venter.
Luck is something you create.
News Items is as invaluable a way to start the day as a strong cup of coffee or a sip of mild gin” — Graydon Carter, editor and author of ‘When The Going Was Good’.
1. J. Craig Venter, a scientist and entrepreneur who raced to decode the human genome, died on Wednesday in San Diego. He was 79. His death was announced by the J. Craig Venter Institute, a nonprofit research organization founded by Dr. Venter and based in San Diego and Rockville, Md. The institute said in a statement that Dr. Venter had been hospitalized recently for side effects from cancer treatment. In the 1990s, Dr. Venter, a risk-taker and intense competitor, made a bold move when he decided that the Human Genome Project, a $3 billion government program for decoding the human genome, was moving slowly enough that he could enter the race late and beat it with a much faster method. His gamble paid off. In 2000, his company, Celera, made a joint announcement with a rival group saying that they had assembled the first human genomes, a landmark step toward uncovering the genetic basis of human disease and origins. (Sources: nytimes.com, genome.gov)
2. President Trump told Axios he's going to keep Iran under a naval blockade until the regime agrees to a deal that addresses U.S. concerns about its nuclear program. Trump is rejecting an Iranian proposal to first open the Strait of Hormuz and lift the blockade, while postponing nuclear talks to a later stage. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has prepared a plan for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, three sources with knowledge said. After the strikes, which would likely include infrastructure targets, the U.S. would press the regime to come back to the negotiating table and show more flexibility. (Source: axios.com)
3. President Trump is slated to receive a briefing on new plans for potential military action in Iran today from CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper, two sources with knowledge tell Axios. The briefing signals that Trump is seriously considering resuming major combat operations either to try to break the logjam in negotiations or to deliver a final blow before ending the war. CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran — likely including infrastructure targets — in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, three sources with knowledge said. (Source: axios.com)
4. Eurointelligence:
The prospect of renewed strikes (is) especially bad news. We are currently in what we’d describe, based on the IMF’s own account, as the adverse scenario. The strait of Hormuz has been shut for months, and may well be shut for months more. But there’s relatively little physical infrastructure damage so far.
However, at least two major things could move us into the more severe scenario. One is if restricted traffic through Hormuz becomes semi-permanent even after the war, because Iran simply cannot set up its toll system to move more than 100 ships a day through a now-heavily mined waterway. Another, related to the strikes, is that Iran responds to further escalations with wholesale destruction of Middle Eastern oil infrastructure. If the Houthis in Yemen get involved, this could even threaten the alternative Red Sea route that has been diverting a considerable amount of normally Hormuz-bound oil.
Our sense is that Trump and the Iranians are playing a game of chicken. They both believe their respective blockades are the most effective way to exert leverage without escalating catastrophically. Neither side has much incentive to blink, and the risk of this escalation happening is ever-present in the background. This is not conducive to resolving the Hormuz shortage anytime soon. (Source: eurointelligence.com. Italics mine.)
5. Oil surged past $125 earlier today to its highest level since the Middle East conflict began, as fears mounted of a prolonged disruption to global energy supplies. (Source: ft.com)
